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October 25, 2003

Another month has gone by, and I've been busy, busy, busy.  Unfortunately, most of this is from work.  I am still working at my surveying job, but I am looking for new work.  I really want to get some drafting work.  Speaking of drafting, I had my graduation ceremony recently.  I am happy that I now have my certificate.  I was dissapointed that I was the only person from my class that attended.  There were only 7 of us from all the drafting classes.  I have seen a number of films recently.  With the theatre cash available in General Mills' going to the movies is not expensive these days.  Films I have seen lately are Lost In Translation, which was excellent; Runaway Jury, which was very good; Veronica Guerin, which is also excellent; Under The Tuscan Sun, which is a so-so chick flick; and School Of Rock, which was very funny.  I'm still playing D&D, and I have played the board game, Battlecry, with my friend Grant who recently moved from Terrace to the Fraser Valley.  It feels good to finally do some board gaming.  I have really missed it.  That's really about all.  

September 21, 2003

I have been so busy lately that it is difficult to find time to update here, but I'll do what I can here.  I started my new job on August 29.  It is pretty good work, and I have been enjoying it.  I work outdoors all day, and have worked in North Vamcouver, West Vancouver, Vancouver and Burnaby.  There are some amazing homes in West Vancouver.  Incredible how some people live.  Since the company I work for is based in North Vancouver I have a pretty long commute every day.  I have still been running my Dungeons & Dragons campaign on Thursday nights, though now each session is a little shorter as I have to be in bed much earlier.  I don't get around to doing much else on weekdays.  On weekends I try to get out more.  Every Sunday that Sasha isn't in Duncan we go swimming.  On Labour Day weekend we went swimming at Second Beach on the Saturday, and the Kiwanas Community Pool on Sunday and Monday.  Since then we have gone to the Eilleen Dailly Leisure Pool in Burnaby, as the Canada Games Pool is presently closed for maintenance.  That really sums up all I've been doing.  My graduation ceremony is coming up on October 17, 2003.  I'll finally be a college graduate.  That will be good.  I certainly hope that I find time to do some more things, and give you all something to read about.  Until then...

August 28, 2003

Well, it has been over two months since I updated my recent activities here.  Now let's see if I can remember all that I have done in the last two months.  I guess the big news is that I have finally finished school.  My last day of classes was last Friday.  I haven't received all my grades yet, but they have been very good until now.  Tomorrow I go to my new job.  Unfortunately, the job I'm going to is not a drafting job.  Instead it is surveying work.  Fortunately, I enjoy surveying.  I'll be working out of North Vancouver, so I'll have a fairly lengthy commute every day.  Sasha returned from his 6 week vacation at his grandparents' a couple of days ago.  He's not too pleased.  He loves Northern B.C. for some reason.  He'll be starting high school on Tuesday.  I can't belive that I'm the father of a teenage kid.  How bizarre.  I know I ahven't updated my movie page at all this year, but in the last few weeks (thanks to movie cash found in General Mills cereals) I've checked out a few films.  I've gone to see Pirates Of The Caribbean, Buffalo Soldiers, The Italian Job and Mighty Wind.  All were good movies, but not all were great.  The weather down here has been so incredibly dry.  I won't even mind seeing a bit of rain.  We certainly don't want the North Shore to go the way of Kelowna, Kamloops, Cranbrook, etc.  I went to Golden Ears Provincial Park for the first time with my sister and Graeme a couple of weeks ago.  Nice park, but the parking fees are too steep.  A new film starring Will Smith was being filmed in New Westminster last month.  I checked out part of the set, and should be posting a new photo gallery featuring it soon.  Well, my D&D gaming has been going very well, and hopefully soon I can get a board gaming night on the go.  Back in July I went to the Illuminares Lantern Festival at Trout Lake.  That was pretty cool.  It had a very pagan feel to it.  The HSBC Celebration of Light was good.  The Czech Republic and China put on excellent fireworks displays.  Canada's display, on the other hand, was pathetic.  Haven't seen much for bands lately.  The only one was my buddy Victor's band, VP & the Hammerheads at the Yale.  They are a great blues band.  Well, I that sums up the last two months.  I'm sure I've missed something, but that should be enough to keep my faithful readers up to date on  my activities.  I'll try to get in some other site updates, too.

June 21, 2003

Well, my brother Petr and Andrea just got married today.  It was a nice simple civil ceremony in Deer Lake Park.  We had a great dinner at the Hart House Restaurant afterwards (I recommend the venison...yummy).  Petr and Andrea will go and have a church wedding in Slovakia this August.  Other than that, school is still going well.  We are doing structural concrete right now.  Last weekend, after two days of long bike rides, I got a blow-out in my rear tire.  I'll have to replace that.  Well, I hope you are all enjoying the Summer Solstice.

June 1, 2003

Yesterday I saw JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Vancouver.  It was the most incredible show I have ever seen.  I still get chills when I think about it.  I have listened to JCS since I was quite young and have always wanted to see this show.  I am happy to finally have had the opportunity.  I have seen many plays (including a few musicals).  I have also seen many live bands (and some great punk bands), but nothing was as good as this show.  This is something that I will see again the next time it gets to Vancouver.  Jesus Christ Superstar is a work of musical (and lyrical) genius from Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice.

May 19, 2003

I have been busy lately.  School is still going well.  I am managing to keep up the grades.  In fact, I am receiving the Stan Phipps Scholorship/Award this month, so hopefully that is an indication of how well I am doing in school.  Castrated Turnip is yet to jam this year, but my last visit to Victoria was positive, and we will hopefully find a time that we are all available in the near future.  I finally started my new Dungeons & Dragons game on Thursday.  It feels good to be gaiming again.  So far I have four players in my new campaign.  A couple of friends from Terrace have been visiting the Vancouver area; Mike (who stayed at my place for a week) and Gerry.  It was good to see some of the old gang.  The Hyack Festival is going on in New Westminster this week, so I have been out enjoying some of the events.  Oh yeah, I got myself a ticket to go see Jesus Christ Superstar later this month at Queen Elizabeth Theatre.  That is a show that I have always wanted to see, and I am looking forward to it.

March 26, 2003

Well, it has been a long time since I updated here.  I have been quite busy.  The holidays came and went.  Since then it has still mostly been school.  Went to see the movie Daredevil which was great, and a couple of weekends ago I went to see a some great bands at the Picadilly Pub.  These were Billy The Kid And The Lost Boys, The Spinoffs, and Moral Crux.  Moral Crux is an incredible band.  Even In Blackouts was supposed to play, but couldn't make it across the border, which was too bad.  Well, I know that a lot has gone on since December 23, when I posted my last update, but I can't think of anything now.  I'll try to update this site a little more frequently from now on.  Until then...

December 23, 2002

What a busy couple of weeks it has been.  Lots of Christmas stuff to do around my real life things.  School continues to go well.  I should be able to draw up house designs soon.  Two weekends ago, Castrated Turnip jammed for the second time.  We only worked on the new song, Disposaable Relationships, but have a good rough version recorded.  Our next jam should be later this week, but I'll touch on that later.  Last weekend my brotther Pete took Sasha and I to this years production of The Singing Christmas Tree at Broadway Church.  While it was interesting, and well presented, I had problems dealing with the Celine Dion type duets.  During last week I went to Sasha's Christmas Concert at his school.  Sasha sings in the school choir which did a great job with three Christmas songs from around the world.  Sasha flew up to Kitimat for the holidays yesterday, so I'll be spending some time alone.  Of course, I won't be alone for the whole time.  My sister is making Christmas Eve dinner, and I plan to go to that.  Then on Christmas Day  I'll go to the Island to visit Ian and his family.  A couple of days on the Island will be nice.  Castrated Turnip will jam again.  I just have to find someone to feed Ramone and Sunshine while I am gone (and Sasha's goldfish).  Derek G. is having a New Years party at his place, so I plan to go to that.  Then on January 2nd, I have to be back to school.  We get a six and a half hour exam that is worth 30% of the Architectural Course on our first day back to school.  How nice!  Sasha returns home on January 5, after which life will return to normal.  There you have it.  I hope that you all are having a great holiday season.  Talk to you all soon

November 27, 2002

A few weekends ago I was in Victoria and Ian and I had the first jam as the reformed Castrated Turnip.  Micky Christ bassist, Eugene, is playing drums for us.  Although I am reluctant to do so, Ian insists that I play bass, so I have pulled the old Hohner out and am practicing up again.  The first jam was great.  We practiced 3 songs, the Castrated Turnip classic, Love Eternal, which is just a fun easy song to play; the original Sid Died For Squid show opener, Waiting For My Skyhook; and a new rendition of Disposable Relationships.  This last track used to have different music written by Petri and I, but the new version is all original music.  Our next practice will be in two weekends.  Then I plan on spending much of the Christmas holidays on the Island, so Castrated Turnip should have several jams then.  We got our grades for Drafting 1002 (Basic Drafting II) today.  I got 92%.  That means I slipped from an A+ to an A between Basic Drafting I and II.  I think that I can live with that.  We start Architectural Drafting next week.

November 3, 2002

School is going very well.  I got 95% in the first course of the program (Basic Drafting I).  I've been enjoying life here.  I went to Whistler with my sister a few weeks ago.  Last weekend I went to Victoria and saw a Halloween show at the Rat's Nest.  Micky Christ, Big Brown Jobbie, The McGillicuddy's, and Aging Youth Gang played.  It was a great show.  Ian and I discussed putting Castrated Turnip back together again and it sounds like that will happen.  I was impressed with how many homes were decked out in Halloween decorations on October 31.  That's about it for now.

September 20, 2002

Well, it has been a while since my last update but I have been very busy.  Now I'm settled into my new home in New Westminster.  School is going well, and life is good.  I've been out about the city a lot and keeping busy.  It looks like I'm only getting 12 days off at Christmas and it seems unlikely that I will be going up to Kitimat/Terrace.  Keep looking here for updates.  Please sign my guestbook if you haven't yet.  Thanks.

August 22, 2002

Well, this is it.  On Monday I am flying down to Vancouver.  Tomorrow is my last day of work.  Things are very hectic.  I will be bringing a whole bunch of stuff to Bandstra to get shipped to Vancouver tomorrow so I have to pack up my computer tonight.  That means THERE WILL BE NO MORE UPDATES TO THIS SITE UNTIL I AM UP AND RUNNING IN VANCOUVER!!!!  Hopefully, I'll be able to keep this address as I hope to use Telus once I'm in Vancouver.  Well, as long as you are reading this now, the page is still up!  I'd like to say thanks to everyone who has been helping me move stuff this past week (and to those who will be doing so until the end of the weekend.  I have to sign off now.  See you at the other end.


August 11, 2002

Wow.  I realize that there has been a lack of updates here.  That is certainly not because there is nothing going on in my life.  I have just been extremely busy.  I have been working long hours at Adam Engineering, and I had to tell Woodima that I would not be able to do any work for them as I was too busy.  All is still going ahead for my big move to Vancouver.  My first tuition payment at VCC has been made.  I've given my landlord notice that I will be moving and given my employer two weeks notice that I'll be leaving.  Next weekend I'll be having a garage sale to get rid of some of my junk.  I've put an ad in the Bargain Hunter to sell my car.  I plan on heading south in about two weeks.  My brother is still looking for a place for me to rent (and I have to buy today's paper to look for potential homes).  As is typical, I am a little behind in my appartment cleaning, but I am confident that I'll get it all done in time.  I don't quite yet know how I am getting down, but it seems I have two options.  Sylvan is considering going down, in which case I'll load as much as I can into his Nissan truck, and pay him for gas.  If he doesn't then I'll probably fly down, and ship as much as I can via Bandstra (as freight at a rate of $30/100 lbs. of stuff).  Either way, I will have to store some stuff in Terrace for a while.  I should be making an arrangement with Goretti soon, as she has spare rooms in her house.  I hope that the place I fiind in Vancouver will allow cats so that I can have Sunshine and Ramone with me.  Otherwise I'll need to find foster homes for them.  Either way, Mercury will likely find a home at the Terrace Animal Shelter unless I can find someone who wants to take her.  I will not be able to travel with her.  That's all for now, but I'll try to find time to update you all here as soon as possible.  By the way, if you are reading this and have not yet signed my guestbook, then please do so.  Thanks.
July 7, 2002

Well, it's official now.  I am moving to Vancouver in September.  I signed the contracts with HRDC last week.  I will be taking the Drafting (Architectural, Structural, Civil and CAD) Certificate program at Vancouver Community College's City Centre Campus.  The course runs from September 3, 2002 to August 29, 2003.  Sasha will be living with me in Vancouver, where he will be attending grade 7.  The next couple of months will be busy for me.  I have recruited my brother Petr, my sister Lucie, and Derek Gleig to keep an eye out for possible places to live.  I'm hoping to find a  place with two bedrooms that is not TOO expensive.  Probably something in Burnaby or New Westminster.  Then I have to decide what I'm going to move, what I'm going to try to store, and what I'm going to sell in my garage sale.  Then I have to decide HOW I'm going to move.  In the end it will all be worthwhile.  I have been talking to Ian in Victoria, and we will be ressurecting our old band Castrated Turnip.  It will probably only be a 'long weekend' project, but it should be good fun.  As for the present work scene...I'm still working at Adam Engineering.  Lately I've mostly been surveying at the airport, where they are installing a new system to help guide planes in during bad weather.  I'm also going to be working some weekends for Woodima Forestry once Sasha goes to Duncan (he's flying out on July 21st).  That will keep me busy for the rest of the summer so I can pay down some of my debt.  That's all for now.  

June 22, 2002

Thursday on the job at Adam Engineering was interesting.  We had to go out to do a bridge site survey for West Fraser, at the back end of the Kitimat River.  I wasn't looking forward to it, as it meant going into exactly the kind of areas that made me leave my job at West Fraser.  I figured that as long as I see no bears, I'd be OK.  Sure enough, first thing I see when I get to the edge of the river is a huge Grizzly in the direction we had to go.  Fortunately he wandered off and we finished the job with no problems.  Other than that...still waiting for HRDC funding approval and I'm playing in a Marvel Hero Clix tournament tonight.

June 18, 2002

So, here it is, five days later and I've got a new job and have already been accepted into a school.  First, the job:  I started working at Adam Engineering today.  The job consists of surveying and drafting.  Today was my first day on the job.  We were surveying at the airport.  On Thursday, I have to do a bridge site survey in the middle of nowhere.  Yes, it is exactly the kind of work that made me leave West Fraser, but at least there isn't a lot of it.  Next, the school:  I received an e-mail today from Vancouver Community College saying that I was accepted into their drafting program.  Thet's pretty impressive since I only mailed my application yesterday.  Unfortunately, I haven't had my funding approved yet, and they want their first $800+ payment by July 12.  We'll just have to wait and see how that goes.  I hope to hear from the Universty College of the Fraser Valley soon, as I think I would prefer to attend school there.
June 13, 2002

Well, today I officially applied for Education funding from HRDC. If all goes well, I'll be going to school in September, but it could be later (next spring, maybe?). I spent this week doing occupational research, and got it all done. My plan is to go to school to take a drafting course. I want to either get into Vancouver Community College, or the University College of Fraser Valley. I may also apply at Kwantlen University College, North Island College, and College of New Caledonia. I was going to apply at BCIT but their program is booked until September 2003. Now I am waiting to get my funding approved, which shouldn't be a problem. The bigger difficulty will be getting accepted at one of the schools. Most of the schools have limited space, and some have specific requirements that need to have been completed within the last 5 years (I'm so old. Can't believe it has been 16 years since I graduated!). Anyway, I hope it all works out. On a related note, one of the companies that I interviewed during my occupational research, called me today asking if I wanted a job. Go figure, I've been laid off all year, and now I'm getting calls. I'll go see them tomorrow. I'd like some work for the summer. One of the requirements to get the HRDC funding is that you must be unemployed when you apply. Well, today I'm unemployed, so it doesn't matter much to me if I get work from now on. Well, that's my news for today. I'll try to add some more updates to this site soon. Later...

March 31, 2002

Since my old ISP, yellowhead16.net, is shutting down I have to change e-mail addresses.  Anybody who is using my assman@yellowhead16.net address should change it to assman_2@excite.com .  Change is a good thing.


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