Off to the Beach!

Tuomo writes: How convenient! Right when the weather turned from six weeks of clear and sunny (back) to cloudy and drizzly, we're packing our bags and heading to the Beach! Which beach, you may ask. Well... I'll let you know later :-)

In the meantime, enjoy this eternal beach inspired ditty:

Maynards!

Tuomo writes: Here's a clip of one of our favourite TV commercials for Maynards, a Canadian brand of candies ("There's fun inside!"):



The song is by a Canadian group called Major Maker, and guess what - the song is called Rollercoaster. You can see the original full clip here; for more info on the group, see their myspace page.

More Pics of Our Home

Tuomo writes: How about some more pics of our home?

Outside - against the sun, hence not the sharpest pics ever - a bit like the photographer himself... - and the front porch:

More pics of the first floor, i.e. the kitchen and the dining room area:

More on Mr. van Koeverden

Tuomo writes: If mere pics of Adam van Koeverden are not enough, how about a clip of a recent photoshoot:


Adam Van Koeverden's sexy photo shoot

Awwww, shucks... Now what was the 18th letter again? ;-)

Adam van Koeverden and the18th Letter of the Alphabet

Tuomo writes: Adam Van Koeverden, 26, the reigning flatwater kayak Olympic and World champion in K-1500 m, was recently chosen to be the flag bearer for the Canadian Olympic Team ("Team Canada") at the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony.

Congratulations and good luck! Oh and he also makes me think of the 18th letter of the alphabet ;-)

Il Primogenito

Tuomo writes: Whatever you do, don't make snide remarks about his size in front of him. Or wonder if he's pregnant. Or if he's eaten a pregnant cat. Teddy is just big-boned and has feelings too, like his "mommy" and "daddy." So there! :-)

We may have unfortunately lost exact count of how old Teddy, our first cat, is, but he still deserves the moniker Il Primogenito, or "first-born." Our former roommate, who had a cat, moved out with the cat, so we felt we wanted to get a cat, to keep that positive feng shui or whatever cats do to our living environments going on. We did plenty of research on how to choose the right kind of cat, not just in terms of breed but also in personality. Like our roommate's cat, we wanted a personable and people-friendly cat, not a hisser that hides behind couches. Eventually we contacted a lady in Dundalk, a blue-collar suburban area in Baltimore. We refer to her "affectionately" as the *Dundalk White Trash Kitty Whore*. It turned out that after we had given her the check, not only did she have kittens but also puppies for sale in a house that in hindsight had all the tell-tale signs of a puppy mill, something that all our kitty lit sources had warned us not to use...

From the litter that was presented to us, a litter of cute white kittens with peanut patches, Teddy came across as the one that was the most interested in, feisty yet delightfully playful, so we chose him. Once at home, he also turned out to be quite smart too because when he had to go for the first time, he chose to do his business on a pile of newspapers (it probably seemed familiar to him). We caught him in time and brought him again over to the litter box - and he got it! No accidents ever since - except whenever Yours Truly has forgotten to clean his litter box...

For years Teddy was this aloof cat - typical I guess, like your average teenager - who wouldn't interact much with us... except that he clearly enjoyed being in the same room or otherwise near us, purring and minding his one kitty business. Over the years, and in course of the past 2-3 years however, he has become much more affectionate, so that he actually seeks out our attention. He still doesn't like to be picked up, and when he's lying on one of us, if we have to adjust our position, he runs off. However, there's nothing like when in the mornings while I'm having breakfast - especially on mornings when I'm wearing dark and/or when I'm in a rush - he decides to climb on my lap and make himself comfortable. It really breaks my heart when I have to shoo him off. It is so relaxing to have relaxed, purring cat on your lap... You know, that feng shui kinda thing...

Despite several big moves within less than six months, including our big move to Canada, Teddy (and his "sister," on which I'll write later) has adapted pretty well to being a fabulous cat in Canada. Quite an "achievement" for a little kitty cat with humble origins in the suburbs of Baltimore!



To sum, here's some trivia on Teddy:

Full name: Teddy Helluva Cat
Nicknames: Big Cat, Pooper, Hey You
Likes: women; milk that is left over after a bowl of cold cereals
Dislikes: People who pick him up, step on him or don't clean his litter box; car trips; spritzes of water
Favourite hangout around the house: In paper bags, on the couch (see photo)
Favourite pastime: Lounge on the couch while observing the world; lick water in the bath tub
Favourite position: On his back with legs curled up
Guilty pleasure: Chewing on plants (result: barfing at 3 am)
Things that upset "mommy" and "daddy": (nocturnal) hairballs; hair

Pics of the House

Tuomo writes: Here's a pic of our living room area (kitchen to the left):

But who can spot Teddy? :-)

Where's My Safe Left Turn

Tuomo kvetches (again): And now that I’m still in a negative place… It can’t be just me, but I find turning left in the Lower Mainland to be next to impossible. People complain about congested traffic all the time, but I am convinced that part of it has to do with the way intersections and turns to the left in particular have been handled. All other things being equal, if it weren’t, then how come my commute home, which involves several more turns to the left than on my way to work, can take well over five minutes longer?

For one, I hate it when the flow of traffic comes to a grinding halt just because someone has to turn left against on-coming traffic. With no way around this driver, everybody has to wait until there is a gap in the traffic flow for the driver to get out of the way. Hello? More turn lanes, anybody?

Ok so what really gets me the most though are turns to the left that offer turn lanes AND lights… but which are still never on or only for like a fraction of a second. You still end up waiting most of the time till the last moment, preventing drivers behind you from turning and/or moving on. Even better yet, the one or two drivers that do manage to squeeze by at the last moment do this despite the risk of blocking and/or avoiding on-coming traffic… So how does this improve general traffic flow and safety?

Here are just two examples of badly timed or managed intersections for left turners that I can think off the top of my head:

* When turning north from the Langley By-pass on to 200 St, the light (!) allows only few cars to proceed at a time from the turn lanes

* In Richmond, when turning left to Lansdowne Road from Garden City Road, the left-turn light is hardly ever on. In fact, I can’t remember the last time I could turn left at a green light; most mornings I vie for that precious gap in the on-coming traffic

Ahhh... now that I have this off my chest, I guess I can move along in my life :-)

YVR SUCKS!!!

Tuomo kvetches: It's been a while since my last post. I must be going through some light form of culture shock because there are a couple of things I'd like to complain about, so pardon the unusually negative tone...

Don't you hate it when one little thing ruins everything that had been so delightful...?

Last Sunday (July 6), we returned from our three day trip to San Francisco with Pekka and Timo. We had a lot of fun, we walked around and explored the city, and needless to say had a drink or two along the way (more on this at some later point in time).

Our flight back to YVR on AC landed on time after 11pm, and everything went as usual until it was time to get off the plane. During my several decades of travels have I ever experienced where the passengers were literally trapped in the jet way because the door leading to the terminal was locked! After well over ten minutes, the doors were finally opened, and we were let in the terminal and continue our dreary treck to the customs and immigration hall.

What makes me particularly mad is that, all possible security breaches aside worthy a police/RCMP investigation (what if somebody had panicked for instance?), the two people, a young man and a woman, who came to open the door couldn't even bother to say, "We apologise." When I hear the woman say, "Thank goodness someone came to open the door; you could've been there for ages!" I asked her why we had had to wait behind the door for no reason. The only response was a sheepish grin and a shrug of shoulders...

What kind of airport management is this?!? Like does it happen often that YVR staff neglects to keep up with their schedule, especially at late hours when the last thing on passenegers' minds is wondering why they have to wait in a jetway?

All I have to say is that despite the fancy facades at YVR, I don't think I'll enjoy the experience of using YVR ever again. As if I had a choice either... :-(