If I have done the math right - this should be my 300th post on The Great Abyss!! What a milestone. Seems like only yesterday I was starting this blog and had nothing to say. Now it is 300 posts later and I still have nothing significant to say, but I am enjoying the blogging experience.
Reflect on the best thing about aging, and the worst.
To me one of the best things about aging is the ability to do more. As you get older you are more likely to travel, buy more expensive items and just generally have more freedom. But this is only in theory.
As one gets older one gains more responsibility. More expensive items in the form of cars and houses means financing, loans and mortgages. You are tied down to jobs and places and the idea of being able to do what you want, when you want seems unrealistic. To me, aging can mean increased stress and worry about all the things you are supposed to be doing. I think to back to being a child and all I ever wanted to be was a grown-up. Now that I am an adult (I wouldn't say I was grown-up just yet) I just want the worry-free days of childhood.
There are so many things that come with aging, both good and bad, but as you can't stop from aging, you might as well try your best to stop the bad things from becoming awful or from bothering you too much. I am currently trying to focus on the good things in my life as I get older, like travel and working towards my dream job.
(I thought this one would be appropriate as so many birthdays have just passed.)
Two months later and I still haven't decided what I want from Dave for my birthday. I just bought him his present, Ratchet and Clank Future for his new PS3. It isn't his fault or anything, I haven't picked it out and we don't really get each other surprise gifts - we just end up buying each other gifts that we want but can't rationalize spending money on at the time. Originally I was planning on putting his money as well as that from my parents, towards my macro lens but this didn't happen as at the same time I was going to buy it, I got T-boned. Oh well, one way or another I will figure out what I want for my birthday and then use the money towards that...I just have to figure it out.
I also just got a present in the mail from Chris - she got me a subscription to PhotoLife. In the letter she sent me telling me she had ordered it she called it my birthday present, but if memory serves it is actually my Christmas present. My birthday present was HIMYM Season 1 and a WW cookbook. But either way, the magazine is awesome and I can't wait for the first issue to get here.
Susan Boyle from Britain's Got Talent has made it into the finals. She sang Memories from Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical Cats, which happens to be one of my favourite songs from a musical. She is simply amazing - I can't believe she hadn't been discovered before now.
Sunday was the day I got my scanner/printer, it was also the day that Dave finally got his Playstation 3. He has wanted this thing for years now (pretty much since it came out) and could never rationalize getting it. When we heard he was going to be working in Toronto for a month (turned out to be a month and a half) he decided that the extra money he would make through overtime and his per diem would go towards a Playstation 3 (and games). Then the Sentra got totaled and that dream faded. I really wanted him to get it still, but we had to spend so much money on the car I wasn't sure if he would. Luckily, he didn't stop looking at it, and I talked him into getting it this past weekend - not that it took much convincing. We went to EB Games and
got a pretty good deal (3 games with the system) and another game that I got him as his birthday present (his birthday happens to have been yesterday). I am very happy he got his new toy as he really deserved something for all the hard work he has been doing at DST. And we got Little Big Planet as well which is a game I have wanted to play since he showed it to me (quite possibly to get me to want to PS3 as much as him - which was smart of him).
It is Dave's 24th birthday today. I love you so much sweety, I hope you have a great day.
We had to make the incredibly hard decision two years ago to put Eddy down. He had been diagnosed with kidney failure and was slowly deteriorating. It was hard to see this previously chubby puppy so skinny that his collar could slip off without even a tug. Putting him down was the right thing to do - he was suffering and he didn't deserve to.
He was a true friend, always there for you and always wanting to protect everyone he loved. With his big ears that wouldn't stand up and his ID tattoo that wasn't actually his he was definitely a unique dog (though he thought he was people). He could be incredibly annoying but we loved him even more for it. He carried our family through some tough times and never asked for anything, well maybe a timbit.
I still think of that day as one of the hardest of my life and I still miss him dearly - I think I always will. I love you Eddy.
As a side note: The above photo may seem like a regular pet picture - but it means so much to my mom and I. It was taken the day before we put Eddy down and he was not feeling so well. When he was well, he would give kisses all day long but once he got sick he stopped giving them out so much and they became few and far between. I was so happy that this day he gave my mom some kisses and I was able to catch them on 'film' for her. I know she misses those kisses very much.
Sunday afternoon I set out to get a new scanner - one with the capability of scanning in photographs at different resolutions and sizes than the original image (ie. enlarging the image through the scanner itself rather than through post-processing programs). Originally I was thinking about $100 on a scanner - just a scanner, not a combo printer or anything like that. I had done some research and learned that I was really interested in getting and Epson scanner. They are used by most professional photographers and have the software that would enable me to do what I wanted and so much more. Dave and I ventured out to do some shopping and neither Future Shop (and therefore Best Buy) nor Staples had any Epson scanners. BUT while we were at Staples, we saw the Epson
Artisan 800 printer. It is a pretty expensive machine - it is a fax machine, copier, printer, scanner and photo printer. It pretty much does everything. It has 6 ink cartridges (black, yellow, light cyan, cyan, magenta and dark magenta) and two paper trays (this enables you to always have photo paper and regular paper in the machine and therefore you don't have to switch back and forth as much). I was really interested in the machine and went home and did some more research.
I learned through the fabulous Internet about its pros and cons and read a couple reviews from both companies and customers. The cons of the machine mostly had to do with copying and regular printing and it is expensive to use a regular printer and apparently the copying is a little blurry. Neither of these things matter to me as I do not intend on using it for regular printing or copying documents. I was happy with what I read and since I have been wanting a photo printer for a year or so now I figured I might as well got a machine that can act as a scanner and a photo printer since it does both very well.
We went back to Staples and purchased the machine. I then spent the next 2 hours getting it setup. It took so long due to the fact that I wanted to set it up through the wireless network as the primary computer in the house is a laptop which is almost never connected directly to the network via actual cords. It is pretty awesome that I can be on the main floor and yet still able to scan or print documents to the printer up in the office.
Anyway, I have scanned some photographs already (for the photo restoration assignment I have in my Photoshop course) and am very happy with the resulting images. I will have to wait until I have more time on my hands until I can test drive the photo printing abilities but I am excited about it to say the least.
Chris is 25 today. We just got back from dinner with her, Jerrica, Jake and Erin at Mother Tuckers in the Market. It was a great meal, as it always is. Only another 30 years until retirement!I turned in my first Vacation Request Form at work yesterday for June 3-5.
Dave's younger sister, Jess, is graduating from Trent University on June 3 and we really want to go and support her. I know Dave is very proud of his little sister (as am I of course). We both know how hard it is to finish school no matter what program you are in and Jess was able to do it while working and maintaining her personal life!
After the graduation day, we are planning on going to the Toronto Zoo. We went there about 2 years ago as a side trip after a family event and had a blast - but my camera had camera envy as I was using my little Kodak back then. I want to spend a day there with my new fabulous camera and the zoom lens and quite possibly the tripod as well. I have been to the zoo many times in my life and really like it - the Toronto Zoo takes really good care of their animals and their exhibits are very similar to their natural habitats.
I read a couple web comics on a semi-regular basis. Most of them are usually stand alone pieces and are almost always funny. Questionable Content, however, is a story line and really can't be enjoyed unless read from the very beginning. I like it because it is funny in a witty and sarcastic way (my favourite type of humour). I initially found it because of a posting on Cute Overload and then got hooked. I think everyone should check it out, (you can get to it via the link within this post - or the one in my External Links section to the right).
The 2009 Ottawa Tulip Festival is unfortunately over. Dave and I went to Commissioners Park two or three times, Majors Hill Park once and Parliament Hill once (the latter two on the last day of the festival). I ventured out to some of the more obscure sites on my own while Dave was away - I went to the flower beds along Colonel By Drive and then a few along Queen Elizabeth Drive. I also walked up to Olympic Park near Lansdowne park. So basically the only site I didn't really get to this year was Lansdowne which was home to the Pavilion this year (in the past it has been located at Majors Hill Park) but as it wouldn't have had any large flower beds to speak of, I am fine with missing it this year. I do love the Tulip Festival and feel my shots this year are some of my best. I really tried to get photos that were different from any others I had taken before but I did feel I needed to perfect some of the ones I took last year with my inferior camera. I even got to use my new Slik tripod! Can't wait until next year - hopefully then I will have my macro lens!
This weekend Dave and I finally went shopping to replace the ratty pillows and blankets we have on our bed. Initially I was just going to buy us some cheap pillows and comforters (like the ones we had been using) but we actually got some really nice ones. I even got a nice feather pillow from Zellers!!
The duvet and duvet covers were really quite inexpensive (the entire bedding cost us less than $200) and are really warm. They look really good with the brown pillow cases we bought for our new pillows and the rest of the stuff we have in the bedroom (admittedly this isn't much as our bedroom hasn't really been decorated) like our curtains.
Chris lived at what she called 'Le Manoir' for about 2 years (original photo by Christine Sweeton). The owners were renting it out while they waited for the right time to tear it down and build their dream home. Shortly after she moved out the house was gone. It didn't take long, and really no one noticed the in between steps, it was just gone overnight. This week when I was taking tulip photos around the neighbourhood I realized how far along the new house had come. Luckily it is in the same style as the houses in the neighbourhood unlike the one directly behind it or the one that went up next to the house we used to live at on Glen Ave. Hopefully the exterior will get treated in such a way that it matches the houses around it nicely because the last thing this neighbourhood needs is another uber-modern home.
Write about a childhood memory related to reading.
When I was little, my dad read to me most every night. I remember lying in my bed with him sitting on the edge with the giant fairy tale book in his hands. I would pick out which story I wanted to hear and he would read it to me over the course of a couple of nights. I don't remember any specific details, but the peaceful image is stored in my memory bank.
If you could hire someone full-time to make your life easier, what would their duties be?
Their job would be my job. I would want someone to come and work here so that I could still make money and earn time towards my P.Eng while I was able to work towards my many dreams and aspirations. I would love more time to work on my photography obviously, but other things as well. With no full-time job to attend I could put in enough time and energy needed to properly and quickly lose my extra weight, I could attend to my backyard garden a bit more and my house in general and just enjoy myself more often. Instead, I will have to go to work 8:30-4:30 every weekday and live for the weekends like so many people do these days. I only hope that one day I can be working somewhere I love, but for now, this job is pretty good.
Chris has been away for some time on vacation and is easing back into daily postings. Today's post was about a blog chain award that Heather had given her. You are supposed to list 7 reasons you are awesome and then link to other people's blogs you believe are deserving.
First things first I suppose, 7 reasons why I am awesome (I honestly don't know if I can come up with seven but I will do my best - it may take some time).
So that is that. I hope you enjoyed my blog suggestions - I know I do.
What one moment in your past do you wish was immortalized in a photograph?
Let's be honest here, we all know that most of my moments (and those of my friends) have been captured by one of my cameras. I am not always in my photos, but every so often someone catches me in one, sometimes even at my request. I have photos of the significant events from the time I was born until the current day. My important moments are pretty much covered.
There is however, one thing I wish had been captured in a photo that was not- one thing that leaps out at me at the moment that is - the car accident. I wish the exact moment that protege hit the sentra had been caught so that I could know (and prove) once and for all that he did in fact run that red light! But it was not, and I have begun the slow process of moving on (made even slower by future court dates to contest the ticket).
(image found through Google).
I went into work and my boss helped me find out what station to go to and how to get there, I really appreciated how helpful he was. When I arrived at the station I spoke with an officer, waited for another officer and called the insurance company. I also called my dad and asked him to come up and help me as Dave was in Toronto for work. After taking the car to a body shop and getting a rental car (a stupid, horribly designed Toyota Yaris), my dad took me back to Prescott where I spent the weekend trying to relax and figure out what had just happened.
(image found through Google).
two red 2007 Dodge Calibers (with ~80,000km and ~60,000km) (image found through Google).
Later on we also thought about a new 2009 Pontiac Wave (image found through Google).
After about 2 weeks of car shopping, we came to an agreement to buy the Honda Fit from the dealership owned by family friends back in Prescott. We liked the look of it and felt it was a better fit for our lifestyle. It has tons of space inside (seriously - just wait until you see it, it looks tiny but inside it feels huge!) and has so many features we couldn't afford in a new car.
(image found through Google).
Write about something you believed as a child, that you no longer believe.
As we grow up I feel there are many childhood beliefs that fall to the waist side. I am not talking about the beliefs about Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy or the Easter Bunny, but the ones about people or the world in general. Young children tend to believe that the world is a wonderful place where everyone is happy and so on but as we grow older, we come to the realization that there are many hurtful things (and people) in this world. Things much worse than being called a mean name or not having someone to play with at recess. I wonder what the world would be like if we all held onto our childhood beliefs about people. Would it be better? Or do you believe it would result in a great deal of denial and ignorance?
You are given the opportunity to be an apprentice for one year. Under whom will you apprentice?
Malak Karsh, who went as Malak to separate himself from his older brother, took amazing photographs of nature. He lived in Ottawa and spent a great deal of time photographing the Tulip Festival, which as we all know I absolutely love. I would love to walk around the festival with him today - I know I would learn so much about an event I already love so much. I think it would also be neat to be 'a fly on the wall' while the two brothers were having a discussion about photography.
In today's era, I would love to apprentice with Steve McCurry. He was the National Geographic photographer who took the famous photo of the "Afghan Girl". His photos envoke so much emotion and political angst it makes everyone want to do something to fix the world. Steve McCurry offers a course where you can go out in the field with him. You can shoot alongside him and then he will go over your portfolio with you. It is very expensive but it is something I would love to do once I get better acquatined with his style of photography and portraiture in general.(all images found through Google.)
Yesterday I saw my mom while we were down in Prescott for the day and I gave her a card for Mother's Day. I don't usually get her a gift since she is impossible to buy for and no longer wants little knick-knacks and trinkets. I will call her later on as she is probably out for Sunday breakfast (or just about to leave for it).The previous three days at work have been full of training. Topics such as asbestos, mould Indoor Air Quality, etc have been convered in great detail as well as topics like invoicing and other essential administrative tasks. The days have gone by pretty quickly and it really hasn't been nearly as boring as it could have been. I have done a great deal of doodling on my notes and found myself thinking about cars a fair bit as well. Now comes the task of catching up with my clients and getting all my jobs back on track.
So the previous posts have been showing the progress of my backyard garden and the tulips there in (#1, #2 and #3). This update really shows the variety of tulips that we planted. When they arrived at the house they were in three different bags marked yellow, red and pink/purple. I thought that each colour was going to be one variety of tulip - but to my surprise we seem to have at least 7 different types so far and there are still ones that have yet to bloom. Once again I must state my joy and excitement about the tulips. The yellow one that were the first to bloom are starting to fade and aren't as fabulous as they once were but that's OK - more are coming!!
What responsibility do you have that you'd really like a break from?
The biggest responsibility I would like to a break from is employment. I would love to take some time off and not worry about employment in one way or another. I would love the time to focus on myself and my photography and really figure out what I want out of life. But unfortunately I am the type of person who worries about money, and even when I sit down and determine that I am financially stable I worry about emergencies and would could happen.
What habit do you find particularly annoying in others
Hypocrisy. Now to be honest, I do find something being a little hypocritical sometimes, but I do my best to correct myself and steer away from it to begin with but it is one of the most annoying qualities/habit in a person to me. I had a boss who was one of the most hypocritical people I had ever met and it made me have absolutely no respect for him whatsoever despite the fact that he was my superior. I have also had to displeasure of working with both hypocritical colleagues and classmates at various times in my life. It is something I have to learn to deal with and move on from but I find it especially difficult sometimes - but I am getting better and turning a cheek to it all and realizing that sometimes people are the way they are.
Dave and I made out to the Tulip Festival yesterday (during the opening weekend). We went out to Commissioners Park after a long day of driving and car shopping. It was nice and relaxing, just what the two of us needed. I obviously took a ton of photos but due to a spot on either my lens or within my camera itself, a large percentage of them are not as good as I would have wanted. I was also trying a few different things in terms of aperture settings, etc so some of the photos are a little over exposed. But they are not beyond repair and there will be tons of time to take more photos during the Tulip Festival so I am not discouraged in the least. There shouldn't be any problem with returning multiple times as the event is free and due to Dave's vast knowledge of the area, we are able to park without having to pay the large fees that the lots charge near the sites. I really enjoy the just walking around the Tulip Festival sites and spending time with Dave.
I meant to post this almost a month ago after the snow melted and it seemed like Spring was around the corner - but since it is Canada, more specifically Ottawa, it snowed. It was also right after I watched a news report about BC citizens (it was so long ago that I forget the exact city - but I do remember that it wasn't a small one, possibly Victoria but I;m not positive) having big problems with a recent snow fall. They had received about 5-10cm of snow or something tiny like that and the place seemed to grind to a halt. Elderly were afraid to go outside and people stayed home from work. School were closed and the city was on the brink of declaring a state of emergency.
Wow - simply wow. If I was to describe how I feel about this it would ruin it.
(embedded was disabled) click here to watch it on youtube.
So the tulips started sprouting at the beginning of April. The first one bloomed just a week or so ago and now they are really taking off. The yellow tulips are pretty much all blooming now and the red, purple and pink ones seem to be well on their way. They will likely all be blooming by the end of next week. I spent a little while out there this afternoon taking pictures of them while the power was down - it definitely took my mind of my troubles.
Last night at about 2:30 or 3:00 in the morning, there was a loud explosion, pop noise and a simultaneous flash from all the electronics in my bedroom. The pole mounted transformer that is directly behind my house exploded suddenly. Once I realized what was going on and that I no longer had any power in the house, I looked outside to find a fire truck already on the scene and fire fighters watching the transformer catch on fire. It wasn't a large fire and as it was raining they just kept an eye on it and waited for it to cease. They were however watching it carefully as the embers from the fire were being caught by the wind and landing in trees, on people's lawns and a few on the roof near the transformer. I ended up staying up most of the night watching the scene unfold as I am not comfortable sleeping in power outages. I am not afraid the dark when I can control it but I get really uneasy when I cannot turn a light on when I want to. Anyway, the fire was entertaining for the most part and didn't seem to be too serious. Eventually I started to drift asleep after taking a few photos of the incident. At about 6am the hydro trucks showed up and boy were they ever noisy. I had slept for almost an hour by this point but was unable to fall asleep again. They left at about 9:30 and the power was back on by 10. I was able to sign onto my work email and also get Chris registered for her classes without too much delay.
The pole now looks like this:
*UPDATE* I returned from running a few errands to find the hydro workers back working on this pole as well as some others in the area. It looked like they were fitting them with something. I really don't know anything about the electrical poles and transformers, etc.
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