Year in Review

What did I accomplish this year? Let's take a look back.

• Took a lot of day trips: Belcarra, Leavenworth, Whistler, Seattle, Buntzen Lake, Steveston, Victoria
  
• Went to Washington, DC
  
• Joined Weight Watchers and lost 20lbs
  
• Had gallbladder surgery
  
• Went camping & wine tasting on the Island and went camping at Alice Lake
  
• Discovered Facebook and reconnected with old friends
  
• Bought a car
  
• Participated in my first AIDS walk
  
• Attended the weddings of Rob & Jen and Brody & Nichole (and unfortunately missed two weddings because of surgery)
  
• Posted every day in the month of November
  
• Became obsessed with Etsy and more interested in home design
  
• Attended the International Friendly between the Vancouver Whitecaps and the LA Galaxy in which David Beckham played
  
• Celebrated my 2nd anniversary with A.
  
• Read 30 books
  
• Had great fun with good friends
  

Here's to more of the same in 2008! Have a happy and safe new year!

Read in 2007

30. Tears of the Giraffe
29. The Golden Compass
28. The Great Gatsby
27. Runaway
26. Atonement
25. Secrets from the Vinyl Cafe
24. In Cold Blood
23. A Long Way Gone
22. The Hidden Diary of Marie Antoinette
21. Night
20. First Among Sequels
19. Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures
18. Mr. Maybe
17. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
16. Bookends
15. Summer Sisters
14. She's Come Undone
13. Shopaholic Takes Manhattan
12. Confessions of a Shopaholic
11. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
10. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
9. The Coffee Trader
8. Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage
7. A Spot of Bother
6. Wonder Boys
5. The Lovely Bones
4. Monster: the Autobiography of an LA Gang Member
3. The Accidental
2. Danny: The Champion of the World
1. A Sunday at the Pool in Kigali

Final books

Here are the final two books of 2007. I did better this year than last so maybe the trend will continue in 2008.

Book 29 was The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman. We sent to see the movie with some friends before I read the book but unfortunately, the theatre was really hot and I fell asleep so I can't tell you what I thought of it. The book though was quite interesting and I got into it in the same way as I got into the Harry Potter books. I'm looking forward to reading the next one.

And finally, book 30 was Tears of the Giraffe by Alexander McCall Smith. This is the second book in the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series and was just as good as books 1 & 3 which I had already read. I really want to go to Botswana to discover the country so lovingly described in the books and I also look forward to seeing the movie based on the first book.

I'm loving...

Vancouver designer Martha Sturdy and her line of fantastic resin home accessories. Perhaps I will try and save for a bowl.

As well as a newly discovered interest in mid-century modern furniture I've recently become fascinated with owls.

This cast iron owl paperweight from The Curiosity Shoppe would make a great addition to a clean desk or sideboard.



I also really like this owl giclee print from boygirlparty.com



And there are 281 pages of "owl" results on Etsy.

I'm loving

I've become addicted to browsing through Etsy and have found quite a few items that would make good gifts or that I would love to own myself.

Here are just a few of the items:


JOY tiny text bowl by paloma's nest


Dude bunny by spidercamp


Owl with pear print by Pistachio Press


Small pool earrings by esdesigns

Other items from around the web:


Out of Circulation - One by Jillian Ditner at Keep Calm


Baby elephant ring holder from Red Envelope. Unfortunately, on backorder until February.


Diana+ camera from the Lomography Shop

HA!

From xkcd.

Etsy n00b

I've been browsing through different Etsy shops for a while but haven't purchased anything until now.

I can't wait until my print by midcenturyjo arrives!

Picnik

Flickr has recently teamed up with Picnik to provide photo editing tools right in the Flickr window. Now each photo has a handy little "Edit Photo" button that will take you over to the Picnik interface. I played around with it a bit and must say, it's a nice tool to be able to access especially if I'm not at my home computer.

Here's a before and after of a shot I took at Buntzen Lake.


Before


After

I didn't change a whole lot, just softened the photo and added the vignette effect, but I think it makes all the difference.

There is also the option of adding text and shapes so I was able to create a nice Christmas photo.



I definitely think I will be using this tool more in the future!

Link roundup

The Good:

Nepalese Wrapping Paper. Made from the inner bark of a wild shrub called Lokta.

Atonement the movie. I am sooo looking forward to seeing this!

Elf Yourself. Upload 4 different photos and watch your friends and family dance.

The Bad and the Ugly:

$1200 for Hannah Montana tickets?! You have got to be joking.

Australian Santas banned from saying "ho, ho, ho" because it may offend some women.

It's gone viral

For all of the YouTube addicts out there, AOL's The Videologist presents the Best Viral Videos of 2007.

I think my favourite is still The Landlord from Funny or Die.

All good things must come to an end

Here we are on day 30 of NaBloPoMo and I've done it - I actually managed to post every single day of the month. So what have I learned from this experiment? I've learned that even though I may not have something to blog about every day, I do have something to post most days and that I shouldn't sit on something I want to post about because chances are I will forget about it and it won't get posted at all. I've come to accept the fact that I'm not a prize winning writer but that I shouldn't worry about it - not all posts have to be long intellectual discourses. And lastly, even though it would be nice to have a large readership, I should post about things because they bring me enjoyment. And hey, if someone stumbles upon my blog and happens to like, that's just a bonus.

So, it's been fun. To cap off this posting extravaganza, I give you another photo.


The Lido Cafe, Calgary, Alberta

I have lots of great memories of this place - Thursday morning $3.88 breakfasts, mini jukeboxes, fall in Kensington...

I'm loving...

I picked up the new issue of Blueprint magazine the other day and fell in love with the dress on the cover from Basix II. Unfortunately, it would probably wash me out. Oh well, a girl can dream...

Sweet mother of pearl

Only watch the following PSA from WSIB Ontario's prevent-it.ca if you don't scare easily. I swear to always clean up any kitchen spills!

I'm loving...

In keeping with my mid-century modern kick here are two clocks that I adore.


Vintage Starburst Atomic Eames Era Wall Clock


Vitra: Sunflower Clock from Velocity

Meet the mascots

The offical mascots for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games have been revealed. Miga is a sea bear, Quatchi is a young sasquatch, and Sumi is an animal spirit. Surprisingly, I think they are quite cute even if they are more of a Japanese style than Canadian.


Miga, Quatchi, and Sumi

Coat woes

I have been on the lookout for a new fall/winter coat for some time now and haven't had any luck. The only one I've found that a) fits and b) I like was over $300 and I don't have that kind of spare cash. Ideally, I am looking for a coat that is either brown or a nice print (i.e. houndstooth) or even dark gray, that hits at the hips or slightly lower (so I don't have to worry about it pulling around my big butt), and doesn't have a slit in the back. This season's details like big buttons and a funnel neck are a bonus but not musts. It would also be ideal if it cost under $150. Any ideas?

*****

On the work front, Microsoft has announced that in 2008 they will be releasing a free plug-in for Microsoft Word that will convert Word documents into DAISY XML files. Not only will this be incredibly helpful to our clients but maybe it will even make our production processes more streamlined and efficient. Great news!

Book 28

I recently finished rereading The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald and was happy to discover that I still love it as much as I did in high school.

The characters and the setting and the imagery all make me want to go back and live in that time. It's such a timeless story and I look forward to rediscovering it in the future.

*****

Only 4 days left of NaBloPoMo. This experience definitely cemented the fact that I don't have enough interesting things to write about everyday and frankly, I amazed I've made it this long.

Day 25

Almost forgot to post today and since I have nothing to say, here is another photo.


Ambleside Beach, West Vancouver, BC, May 9, 2003

I'm loving...

If, by the grace of God, A. and I ever own a house with a wild and overrun garden, this indoor/outdoor sofa and Voltaire chair by Modern Front would be perfect.

All of the items in their Plastic-Fantastic series are reconditioned antique pieces that have been covered in a soft skin rubber. Ingenious!

Podcast Love

If you've ever read Dan Savage's column Savage Love, you know that his advice on all things sex is often crude but always funny and insightful - he definitely doesn't sugar coat things.

On the recommendation of my friend Aaron I decided to check out his podcast, or lovecast as they call it. What I found was yes, full of naughty language, but also funny, interesting and informative. Definitely a good way to spend 40 minutes at work - just make sure you plug in your headphones.

Savage Love Podcast

For something a little more family friendly but no less humourous, check out Stuart McLean's Vinyl Cafe podcast from CBC Radio.

Stuart's Vinyl Cafe show is a CBC Radio mainstay and his hilarious stories about Dave, Morley, their kids Sam and Steph, and a cast of other neighborhood characters are even funnier when listened to.

I'm loving...

When it comes to home decor I tend to lean towards more traditional style furnishings, so it was a surprise to me that I really love this mid-century modern credenza/dresser. If we ever have a bedroom, and A. approves, this is the type of piece that I would love to have.


Danish Modern R-Way Dresser

I am also loving this cute gocco print desk calendar from ebonypaws.

Ramping up

Christmas is approaching which means I get more excited by the day. The only unfortunate thing about Christmas in BC is the lack of snow, so today I give you an old photo of a snowflake Christmas tree ornament.


Taken April 24, 2005

Mother Mother

On Thursday night I am going with some friends to see The Most Serene Republic, Mother Mother and Dragonette. I had never heard either The Most Serene Republic or Mother Mother but thanks to CBC Radio 3's New Music Canada site, I was able to listen to some MP3s and I must say, I quite enjoy both bands.

*Edit: I couldn't figure out how to stop the mini-player from launching everytime you visit the blog so I've just included the link to the song instead.*

Here, for your listening pleasure is Neighbor by Mother Mother.

What's your stereotype?

Because I have nothing else to post today here is a link to a funny blog that Kyenta sent out last week.

See if you can find one that applies to you. Here's mine:


Left Handed People Can Get Drunk From Drinking Candle Wax

Describes me well

Taken October 6, 2007

Cultural Wars on Religion

Yesterday after work I attended a seminar at the college that was put on for employees by some instructors. The purpose of this seminar was to discuss and debate this new culture of attacks on religion. With plenty of books emerging (Richard Dawkins' The God Delusion for one) it seemed like a timely topic. The discussion was very interesting with both sides being debated but a lot of the concepts that were brought up were over my head. Below is a sampling of quotes from my notes as well as links for various theories that I was unfamiliar with.

Faith is a belief that is grounded on no evidence.

Memorizing religious doctrine means it will stay the same over time - paraphrasing makes it easier to change the meaning. This is why religious doctrine is purposely so vague.

The onus lies with the person making the claim to prove its existence, not with the person refuting the claim.

The ultimate proof of God's existence is to have the most grandchildren.

The Convergence of Intelligences

Multiverses

American Heart Journal study of the therapeutic effects that intercessory prayer has on coronary bypass patients.
NY Times article on the study.

New Atheism

Newman's transcendence

Panentheism

It's Friday!!

First, an update on Google Reader.

I find that as I use it more, I come to like it a little more. I used the "email item" feature for the first time today and I REALLY like that the sent messages automatically get put in my Gmail sent mail folder. This makes it a heck of a lot easier to see what I've sent to people.

And now for a photo.


Pike Place Market, Seattle, Washington, October 8, 2007

Blog Readability Test

I saw this on Ballad in Plain E today so I thought I'd test it out on this here blog.



As I commented on Emma's post, this tool must be flawed because there is no way my glob (or blog as the rest of the world calls them) reads at a genius level, unless of course, it requires a genius to decipher what it is that I mean.

Crafty

A while ago I saw this incredibly easy project on one of the home design shows (I don't remember which) and I thought it would make a good addition to the living room.

Presenting... yarn art.



The colours in our living room have gotten progressively warmer over time so we needed some new, and affordable, art for over the couch. We bought the throw pillows at Pier 1 and I thought it would be nice to have something that mirrored the colours. I created this using a large inexpensive canvas and four different colours of yarn. All you have to do is tie it off in the back and wind it around the canvas until you are happy. It literally is that easy!

Battle of the Blog Readers: Bloglines vs. Google Reader

I recently exported all of my RSS subscriptions into Google Reader and I can't quite decide if I like it or not. I decided to try it out because it's one Google feature that I HADN'T tried yet and it seems like a large number of people are using it instead of Bloglines. It does look pretty and has the nice scroll tracking feature (marks each item as read when you scroll past it). I also like that you can mark items as "starred" like Gmail instead of the clippings folder that Bloglines has, which I usually forget is even there. Also, Google Reader seems to be a lot quicker to load than Bloglines. However, overall I think I am still partial to the functionality of Bloglines. I'm not sure if it's just because I have been using it for so long but something about Bloglines just strikes me as friendlier. Some Bloglines features that I love that, as far as I can tell, Google Reader doesn't have are the number of subscribers at the top of each feed and the fact that you can click on that number and see other users that have made their feeds public. I know Google Reader lets you have public pages for each folder, but I have my subscriptions into several folders and I can't see a public page for all of the subscriptions.

For those of you that have tried both out, do you have a preference of one over the other? Why?

Attack of the giant mushrooms

Today was a busy day filled with nothing so instead of writing actual content I am going to post one of my favourite photos that I took recently.


Alice Lake Provincial Park, Squamish, BC, September 15, 2007

PS. Go see No Country for Old Men. It was disturbing and gripping and soooo good! Javier Bardem is seriously creepy in this film.

Lest We Forget

For all of those Canadians, military and civilian, currently in Afghanistan and other theaters of operations - thank you for everything you do.

And for those that served in the past and to those that gave their lives so that we could live ours, we will never forget.


November 11, 2005 Camp Julien, Kabul, Afghanistan

Canucks vs Avalanche

Don't have much to say today so I'll cap off my sports filled week with some photos from the Canucks vs Avalanche game on Friday night.


There were members from each branch of the Canadian military there to do the ceremonial puck drop.




Canucks win!

BCLA 2008

Today after work I have the honour of representing LTAIG at the session planning meeting for the 2008 BCLA conference. At our LTAIG committee meeting last week our executive said they'd like to see more practical sessions and, of course, more sessions geared towards library support staff. I am certainly going to try my best to represent library technicians and assistants.

So, what I'm curious about is this; what would your ultimate conference session be? It doesn't matter what field you work in as long as it's something you are passionate about.

I think mine would have to do with how students with disabilities are served in African schools. Are they able to attend school at all? Are there any services for them or are they shunned by their community members? What about students with AIDS? Would include case studies and examples from people working in schools in Africa.

Whitecaps vs LA Galaxy

I'm at home sick today but the posting must go on if I want to make it to the end of the month. This posting every day stuff is harder than it seems.

Today I give you a photo from last night's Vancouver Whitecaps vs. LA Galaxy International Friendly. The game itself was, frankly, a bit underwhelming but it was still fun and hey, I got to see David Beckham shirtless!


The Whitecaps get ready for a penalty kick.


Shirtless Beckham


This streaker got more cheers than any of the plays during the game.

Gifts for library/book lovers

{Updated Nov 2011: renewed links and added photos!}

Being a library and/or book nerd myself I know that sometimes we are hard to shop for. We have somewhat particular, if not peculiar, tastes and most people think that, if it's worth reading, we've probably read it already. While that is not always the case I thought I'd provide a couple of gift ideas for the nerd on your list.

1. Don't be afraid to give a copy of your favourite book or something you recently read that you loved. Books are ALWAYS welcome and if you go the extra step and add a personal inscription, the gift will be extra special.

2. Since most book nerds have large collections, their friends tend to want to borrow books from them. Need an easy way to keep track of what you've lent out? Try the Personal Library Kit.

3. Any book nerd will tell you that they have long lists of books to read and sometimes it's hard to remember all of them. This Book Lover's Diary provides one handy location to record all of the books that you've read, are wanting to read, quotes that you like as well as other information.

4. Sometimes even the most well-read person gets stuck for something to read. An easy place to turn to for recommendations are books filled with just that. Book Lust by Nancy Pearl or 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die by Peter Ackroyd are two such books.

5. Most library nerds I know are really into anything that is aesthetically pleasing. Candida Hofer's Libraries is a hefty hardcover book filled with gorgeous photos of libraries from around the world - a lovely addition to any coffee table. Another popular option is this Renaissance Library Calendar. {Updated Nov 2011: no longer available.}

{This is the UK cover, but frankly I think it's nicer.}

6. And, as we all know, reading IS sexy. Let your nerd proclaim it loudly with this t-shirt by Sarah Utter. (Here's the guy's version.) Another option for the grammar nazi in your life is this bad grammar makes me [sic] shirt.

Happy Giving!

I'm (still) loving... Handle Me

I already posted this video on Facebook but I love this song so much I just couldn't help it.

Sweden's Robyn (yes, she of "Show Me Love" fame) is reentering the spotlight with this catchy song. The video is kind of bizarre but I've been playing this song on repeat for the past couple of weeks and haven't gotten sick of it yet!

Oh happy day...

Happy Anniversary A.! It's been two wonderful years - here's looking forward to many more...

Runaway

Book 27 was Runaway by Alice Munro.

Incredibly, this is the first year I have ever read any of Munro's short stories and frankly, I don't know what took me so long. I love her writing style, her landscapes are familiar and the characters are interesting. If you've never read Munro before this is a good place to start as it's easy to see why she is called one of the greatest writers of our day.

Into the Wild

A quiet secluded life in the country, with the possibility of being useful to people to whom it is easy to do good, and who are not accustomed to have it done to them; then work which one hopes may be of some use; then rest, nature, books, music, love for one’s neighbor — such is my idea of happiness.

From "Family Happiness" by Leo Tolstoy

It doesn't happen very often these days that a Hollywood movie makes me stop and think but such was the case after seeing "Into the Wild" tonight. A. and I had a good discussion after the movie and it seems like we both took something different away from the movie. Was Chris McCandless selfish or searching for something that was missing in his life or both? This movie was beautiful and sad and thought-provoking and I highly recommend it.

I'm loving...

... these mid-century modern arch chairs from Jennifer Delonge's Fresh Vintage collection. If only I had $1000 and some floor space to spare.

**As seen on Design*Sponge

NaBloPoMo

So it's National Blog Posting Month (NaBloPoMo for short) and since I have been so bad with posting lately, I think I'm going to try and give it a shot. I don't have any one specific theme for posts so things may be all over the place. Perhaps it will be a word I've come across that I like or don't know the meaning for, perhaps it will be a photo I've taken, maybe a video I like or a repost of something I've seen on Facebook if I'm lazy (which is a definitely possibility).

Today, I give you a word I came across in a Maclean's article that I wanted to look up:

concomitant
adj.
Occurring or existing concurrently; attendant

I've been bad

It's been so long since I posted that I'm having a hard time coming up with something to write.

I had a fairly busy summer which included having gallbladder surgery and buying a brand new Mazda 3 with A. We also went on our first solo camping trip together, attended the wedding of some good friends and saw a lot of great films at the film fest. Now we are looking forward to going to Calgary in December for my cousins wedding and Christmas!

Until I can come up with something more to write I will list the books I have read since my last update.

9. The Coffee Trader by David Liss

10. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling (a reread)

11. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling (reread)

12. Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella (reread)

13. Shopaholic Takes Manhattan by Sophie Kinsella (reread)

14. She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb (reread)

15. Summer Sisters by Judy Blume (reread)

16. Bookends by Jane Green (reread)

17. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling

18. Mr. Maybe by Jane Green (reread)

19. Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures by Vincent Lam

20. First Among Sequels by Jasper Fforde

21. Night by Elie Wiesel

22. The Hidden Diary of Marie Antoinette by Carolly Erickson

23. A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah

24. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

25. Secrets from the Vinyl Cafe by Stuart Mclean

26. Atonement by Ian McEwan

The dub dub

For those of you that don't know (which is probably a small number since I've been broadcasting it), I joined Weight Watchers on May 3. So far it's been going fairly well and I've lost 8.4lbs which means I'm almost half-way to my 10% goal! People have been talking about goals lately so I thought it would be a good idea to get mine written down. Besides, public humiliation is always a good motivator! :)

• Control high blood sugar - don't want to take medication!
  
• Feel good about myself again and finally believe A. when he tells me I'm beautiful.
  
• Be able to buy clothes that I want and not worry if a store will have my size.
  
• Be generally more healthy.
  
• Tone mid-section.
  

I've been sticking to the plan pretty strictly (aside from this past weekend - oh, the wine...) so hopefully I don't fall off in a spectacular fashion! Here's to watching the numbers get smaller and smaller!

*****

I finished reading Alice Munro's Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage a while ago and I really enjoyed it. It's the first of Munro's books I've read (shocking, I know) and it won't be the last. The stories were interesting and entertaining and it always makes the reading fun when you recognize the places she's describing. A definite recommendation!

Oops

Well, it's been quite a while since I last posted and a lot has gone on, most of which I can't remember details of.

I've been reading slowly but I was able to add a book to the tally. A Spot of Bother by Mark Haddon is Haddon's sophomore effort and was just as enjoyable as The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time. I don't remember my initial impressions of the book but it was hard to put it down.

*****

We bought two new Ikea bookshelves and some throw pillows for the couch - I'll add pictures once I get them onto the new computer we bought yesterday. We also got a sweet 22" LCD monitor.

Edit: Here are some pictures of our Ikea bookshelves and pillows from Pier 1.




*****

Several weekends ago we decided to get out of the city so we drove down to Leavenworth, WA, a gorgeous Bavarian village in central Washington. It's surrounded by mountains and rivers, has fantastic German food, and Andrew said it took him right back to Germany. It's a 4 hour drive on a twisty two-lane highway, but it was definitely worth it.



*****

We also finally went up to Whistler last weekend with my Mom and Gary. The village was nice and we went up the gondola and chair lift which was amazing, but I have to admit, I think I like Banff better.

My VisualDNA

There are a ton of quizzes out there that will ask you to answer some questions and will then spit out a "personality report" but this is the first one I have seen of it's kind. Instead of various different written scenarios this one asks you to choose between a bunch of photos. They all evoke different thoughts and emotions but only one is right for you. Give it a try.

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

Designing dilemma

Calling all home decorators - I have an issue.

We have decided that we want to inject a little bit of spice into our condo in the form of new throw pillows for the couch. Here's the problem - up until now I have stuck to a colour palette of yellow, gold, blue and brown because the space is so small and I didn't want it to look all crazy. Now, however, I am sick of the gold and beige coloured throw pillows that basically blend into the beige couch.

I bought a rug that I LOVE in Afghanistan that has some dark fuschia, brown, green and yellow in it. I was thinking of perhaps going with fuschia or red and brown but now I'm not sure.

The duvet cover is a light blue, the wall that the couch is on is a goldy yellow and the fireplace surround across from the couch is brown.

Here is a picture of the offending couch.



Suggestions?

Life in point form

• Home safe and sound.
  
• Had an excellent visit with A.'s parents (also went to Peterborough & Ottawa.)
  
• Saw a lot in DC - the pictures are up at Flickr.
  
• One of our favourite stops was the International Spy Museum. Very, very cool.
  
• Stayed at the Adams Inn, a fantastic B&B in the Adams-Morgan neighborhood.
  
• I'm addicted to Facebook.
  

That is all.

The mysteries of Philadelphia

Unfortunately the blogging spirit isn't strong in this one at the moment but I do have a book to add to the list.

Before I get to book number six there are a few points about The Lovely Bones that I wanted to mention that were discussed at our book club meeting this past Sunday. Overall, I loved the book and wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to people however, there were some flaws. The thing I had the biggest problem with was the "fall from heaven" sex scene. If you haven't read the book I won't say much more than it caught me off guard and kind of interrupted the flow of the book for me. Several people mentioned that the characters were basically just two dimensional outlines and, while I agree in some respects, I also think if Sebold had tried to flesh them out any further the book would have been a lot longer than it was. This was an incredibly emotional read and I think this is why I enjoyed it so much - I let myself be immersed by the story rather than thinking about the details too much.

Once I finished reading The Lovely Bones I moved on to Wonder Boys by Michael Chabon which I received as a Christmas gift. I really enjoyed the movie version (even with Tobey Maguire) and have wanted to read the book. While most of the story was similar to the movie there were large chunks, as with any adaptation, that were left out. I especially enjoyed the Passover scene with his in-laws and the "rescue" of James Leer from his family. This is one of the rare times where I don't have a definite opinion on whether I liked the movie or the book better - both were highly entertaining and I will return to both again in the future.

*****

A. and I leave for our holiday on Monday and we couldn't be looking forward to it more. We will spend time with his parents and then we are heading into the States for a 5 day road trip. If anyone has been to Philadelphia or Washington, DC and has any suggestions of things to do or see or restaurants with fantastic food, please leave a comment.

*****

We have spent an obscene amount of time watching the first three seasons of 24 and A. is now hooked. I think I've created a monster.

*****

I took a bunch of pictures of the condo and posted them on Flickr. If you have a good eye for furniture arrangement or have any organizational ideas, please comment on the photos or let me know.

For all you library support staff out there

Thanks to the hard work of our survey committee, the 2007 LTAIG Salary Survey is ready to be officially unveiled.

Please take a few minutes to complete the survey and help us, and you, to learn more about the current employment and salary situation in BC.

The survey can be found here: 2007 LTAIG Salary Survey

Also, feel free to pass the link along to other library support staff so that we can get the broadest range of responses possible.

The deadline for completion is Sunday, March 11th, 2007 and we will have the results ready by mid-April.

Quick update

It's been a while I know but I do have books to add to the list and a photo from a day trip A. and I took.

*****

Let's start with the day trip.

About three weeks ago is was gorgeous on the weekend so we decided to rent a car and go for a day trip. We talked about going shopping in the States but figured we didn't need to spend a ton of money so we decided to just drive. We usually head south to Steveston so this time we decided to go East and see where we ended up. We had to stop for gas somewhere in Port Coquitlam and after realizing we had no idea where we were we bought a map. We looked at the map and headed north to the village of Belcarra hoping to find a cute little restaurant where we could grab a bite to eat. We didn't end up finding a restaurant but we did find a lovely park so we stopped and walked down to the water. I forgot my camera at home so had to make due with the camera on my cellphone. Here is the view from the park.



*****

On to the books.

I've held off on discussing book #3 for a while because it was the first selection of the book club I started and I wanted to wait until we had our first meeting which was this past Saturday.

The Accidental by Ali Smith was my suggestion and I picked it mainly because I had received it as a gift for Christmas. The Accidental is about a dysfunctional family (Eve, Michael, Magnus & Astrid) whose lives are turned upside down when a stranger named Amber arrives at the house they are renting for the summer. At our meeting many people mentioned that they had a difficult time getting past the first chapter but that once they got into the book they really enjoyed it. Personally, it was the beginning of the book that sucked me in and I really enjoyed reading from Astrid's perspective. I didn't like the character of Michael but his part of the story did round everything out. While I was doing some research for I meeting I discovered that the Daily Mail had chosen The Accidental as their book club choice last April and they had developed some discussion questions so we used those to get our own discussion going. Overall, I enjoyed the book and would recommend it to others.

Book #4 was Monster: the Autobiography of an LA Gang Member by Sanyika Shakur aka Monster Kody Scott. The cover of this book caught my eye one day while browsing Chapters so I decided to pick it up. I don't usually read biographies but something about this one really peaked my interest. Sanyika wrote this book while in prison and he gives the reader an all-access pass to his life as a member of the Crips' Eight Tray set. He started out his "banger" career at the age of 11 and his main goal was to work his way up to the upper ranks of power. The book is gritty and real and uses a lot of gang talk and while sometimes those things are hard to read it is also those qualities that make this book impossible to put down.

I'm not going to say a lot about book #5 which was The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold because this is the next selection for our book club. Needless to say, I sped through this book in three days and it will be one that I continuously recommend to people.

*****

Last but not least, A. and I have finally decided to take a vacation and I am really looking forward to getting away for two weeks. We are heading out East to visit his parents for a few days and then we are going to rent a car and head South. We don't have a plan except to see how far we can get before we have to turn around. I'd love to see some of the Carolina's and maybe even Georgia but just going somewhere is enough for me.