I am the Burgerfan!

Even dogs have bad Monday mornings…

Fresh from this evening’s lightning storm, I present: Lightning Collage! Although, Brad might say “Lightning, a view from the window”

Today was the day we cast off the shackles of a dirt yard and put down sod to start building a lawn. We can finally go outside now, and Lola finally has a place to play!

Here is a collage showing the back yard every five minutes during this time:

Here is February’s entry for Brad’s photoshoot challenge. This was one of a series of photos I “drew up” for Tiffany’s Valentine’s Day Card. It was also my first experiment in light-drawing. Pretty fun stuff!

In marketing terms, I am pretty brand loyal about a lot of things. In the case of my home land-line phone, the incumbent Telus was where I was happy to dedicate my patronage for about nine years. In that time there were cheaper alternatives, (such as internet phone services, or dropping the land line altogether for a cell phone). I figured “hey, Telus is the phone expert, they do this well, and I have no problems with them, so why bother making any changes,” case closed.

Then just over a year ago, I started to think “hey, I do not get a lot of value for money on this phone service”. Shaw Cable had been offering their cheaper digital phone service for a while, and I sent an inquiry to Telus asking for a more competitive rate. Instead I got back rhetoric that the competition was not the same product, that Telus offers a higher quality of product and service, and other promotional buzz-words. So, whatever, no deal on the phone, I’ll just leave it alone anyways.

This Christmas Break I had a chance to clean the office a little and catch up on some filing, the contents of which included a recent Shaw Digital Phone ad and 18 months of Telus phone bills. Wow, for what I used and what I paid, I could have saved at least $200 this past year! I kinda need that money more than ever now. So later this week Telus will be getting the punt as I start to cheer for Team Shaw, and we’ll see if they really can deliver the value-for-dollar that they claim.

Don’t worry Telus, unlike many Albertans who seem to despise you with every fiber of their being, I don’t hate you. I just want to pay less money. And you still have my unwavering support when it comes to my cell phone. Which is in the middle of a three year contract. And is not an iPhone…

We moved into the house in May, and our immediate neighbours moved in sometime during the summer. Having never properly met, we thought we’d go over to arrange a visit. Upon answering the doorbell:

Hello, sorry, we are just leaving to the hospital to have our baby.

What are the odds? It was pretty amusing timing.

For many reasons 2008 was an exciting year, but for right now, I am glad its done. Its not that the negatives outweigh the positives, but a terrible market and the prolonged general gloom that’s currently weighing on my mind makes me want to get on with a new year already.

• Weddings – Nicholas and Tanya’s wedding in Mexico made for a good vacation and experience, while Darren and Jessie wielded the Hotel Macdonald and gourmet mini-cupcakes. Happy times for two deserving couples.
• New house – having room for everything and a layout that suits your needs is good, having everything all shiny and new is great! Having two mortgages and sets of bills for four months waiting for the old house to sell, not so much. Having abusive neighbours was terrible, but seeing them taken away by the police, much better.
• New car – After six patient months my new car arrived, a stronger better faster diesel car! Yay!
• Lola’s Firsts – first crawl, first steps, and first crawl up the steps! Well the last one is more scary than the first two, but seeing Lola learn something new (and new words) at a quick rate is pretty fun. First flight (Mexico at about 12 weeks), first passport stamp, and then several more after that! A worse first was Lola’s first surgery at five months, to operate on her skull, and the month of stress leading up to that. However, Lola has proven strong and is better than ever now!
• 30 – myself and people around me turned 30 this year. They weren’t as fortunate to receive surprise trips to see the Price is Right though. And a much needed escape from home! The last decade saw loads of events and milestones, what does the next have in store?
• back to back to back trips – LA in September (Price is Right, Disneyland), Orlando in October (Disney World), Austin in December (Christmas Party). Outlet malls and sunshine at all of the above!
• Dollars and sense – The market dropped out, and people are seemingly irrational with everything finance. My employer’s stock is now a quarter of what it was worth, leaving the company and some of my fellow co-workers with less value than desired. Belt tightening also makes people a little nervous. And I can’t get a decent mortgage for the new house with the little money that’s left. Thats my fault for putting that off a little too long I guess…

And its been -20°C or colder for a month now. What’s up with that? Sure it gets cold in winter, but a month straight? Maybe I’ll get a pet penguin to make it worth it. That would be sweet. I hope everyone has an enjoyable and prosperous 2009.

“Hi there, can you please look up the price of this product?” [pointing to item on receipt]

   “Its [less than half what I paid for it]“

“Okay. I’d like to get the price difference refunded back please.”

   “You purchased this over 14 days ago” [technically: something like 16 days]

“Yes, but it is within 90 days, and I can refund it correct?”

   “Yes”

“And I can go buy it again for [less than half what I paid for it], right?”

   “Yes”

“Can I just cut out the middle steps and take care of this here then?”

   [silence]
   [processing]
   [likely grumbling under breath]
   [price difference refunded]

A few weeks ago most of the neighbourhood was smart and put up their Christmas Lights when it was warm. I was sick and opted for the warmth and comfort of the living room and Xbox 360. I caught a lucky break this weekend with some free time and some decent weather, braved the roof, and set up Version One of the new house Christmas Lights. And Tiffany set up the Tree!

All this wonderfully warm weather makes for some impressive lightning and thunder shows. Last night was viewed in lightning strikes per second. Once the windows got too wet I had to pack it in, but there are still some great photos to be enjoyed. Click over here to see them.