Tag Archives: life

On Take Out

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I got take out tonight.  It was cold, wet, and windy, I had no desire to go to the grocery store or attempt to cook something out of the meagre supplies in my food drawer.  I ordered Chinese and ate it by myself in front of my [roomate’s] TV.  

On reflection, this makes me somewhat concerned about my state of being.  Most nights I don’t feel like cooking.  Partially this is because I simply don’t have all the things I’d like to cook with and can’t be bothered to buy them/can’t face the size of the bill if I did.  The other part of the partially is that I don’t have the ambition to cook.  I spent two years cooking for thirty-five people and all “easy” recipes have now been killed for me.  There isn’t much left but take out at this point.  I just hope that doesn’t make me too much like Bridget.

Work, Church, and Coffee

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I realize I’ve been a bit AWOL as of late.  Its been a busy last couple of weeks.  Exactly a week after my depressing day of being un-hired (“We’ve reconsidered” was the exact phraseology, I believe), I started work at a local optometrist.  It is a relatively new optometrist, although as an optical place, it has been around for a long time; the addition of a doctor is relatively new.  We shall see how it goes.  I’m also trying to get lots of paper work together to begin working as a casual employee of an organization in town that runs group homes for people with mental/developmental disabilities.  It sounds quite interesting and will be potentially good preparation for grad school.  Hopefully all of that will come together in the next week or so.  While I am not the type to usually have two jobs on the go at once, I feel like it will all work out in the end.

At the moment, the highlight of the week is choir.  I’ve joined the parish choir at church (read: the non-audition choir at the more informal family-oriented service) and its fun to get together Wednesday night for practice and then sing on Sunday morning.  We sit at the front of the church facing the congregation and while I love looking at the huge rose window with the beautiful organ in front of it every week, I miss facing the altar at times and seeing everything that goes on up front.  It has been a wonderful way to get to know other people at church.  I feel like I’m in now and know lots of people.  The only difficult part is getting there for 8:30 on Sunday morning.  The only bus comes a little early and gets me downtown by about ten after so I usually grab a coffee (I know, not the best thing to wake up vocal chords but the only thing to keep me awake.  Yawning at the front of church while facing everyone not a fantastic idea.) from the Starbucks on the way.  Yes, Starbucks.  It is the only time I drink their coffee when I’m in Victoria as it is not my favourite.  But, the only other coffee shop on my way in the morning doesn’t open until 9 on Sundays, so Starbucks it is.  This morning, I had the horrible experience of finding out that all the Starbucks in the city (or so I was informed) were out of soy milk.  How is a lacto to have their latte without soy milk?!?  After I recovered from that shock, I went into express mode and walked at top speed down to the other end of Yates St to my usual coffee shop, the Serious Coffee at Broad.  Fortunately for me, they had only opened twenty minutes earlier (it was twenty past 8 at this point) and there was no queue.  In and out, 12oz soy vanilla latte in hand, I’m booking it back up the street to get to church in time for our before-service practice.  Up the several tight twists of small stone steps to get to our choir room half way up the tower, I have my coffee and no breath.  But, I’m on time.
Speaking of coffee shops in town, I’ve been conducting an informal survey of prices: I go into a coffee shop, order the same thing (12oz soy vanilla latte) and always bring my own mug and then take note of the price.  While it is always a rip off, prices have varied from $4.12 to $4.63.  Though not dollars apart, that still is a bit of a difference between them.  I’ve got about five different places in my sample thus far.  Mundane, I know, but this has been my life for the last few weeks.
UPDATE: I was charged thirty cents less today at a previously sampled place for my coffee sans mug.  Interesting given the fact that it is supposed to be cheaper if you bring your own mug.

Changing Seasons

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And just like that, as quickly as the leaves are changing colours here in Victoria, the fall sailing season is over.  That’s it; no more cooking for me.  It is kind of strange to think about really.  All I’ve done for the last two years is cook on a sailboat.  Now I’m done.  Two weeks of shipyard and then I’m really done and unemployed.

Its been a fantastic last two years, I’ve throughly enjoyed my time on the boat: the people I’ve met, the people I’ve worked with, and the places I’ve been very fortunate to travel to both at home and abroad.  Soon I’ll be on to the next chapter.

It has arrived

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After a false start last weekend, moving day has arrived.  Today my new roommate is showing up with her parent’s truck to help shift everything over there.  Fortunately for me, its only about 10 or 15 min driving down the road.  It is raining… should I be surprised after the week of rain we’ve had?  No, not really, but I was hoping.

Worlds Away

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I may be only about ten years older than the majority of high school students right now, but I feel generations apart.  Has being a teenager changed that dramatically in the last decade or am I just an exceptional person who was immune to many of the things that teenagers do?  I feel like it is the former.  I hope that this is not a product of some vain sense of superiority on my part, but I don’t think so.

Most of the young people I’ve been interacting with over the last few months seem to be from an elite privileged group.  I even notice it on the bus to and from downtown; they talk loudly on their cell phones and to each other as they listen to iPods and flaunt the latest in designer fashion.  They talk about how they “like just have to” get the newest this or that or how so-and-so is “like so” this or that…  They seem to think they know everything about this celebrity or that band but are clueless as to the more important things in life.  Like how to boil water. Seriously, I’ve been asked.  Some have been everywhere at mommy or daddy’s expense but haven’t experienced anything other than the shopping and five star hotels in those places.  Others haven’t been outside of their city but are equally clueless about life.  The world we live in today is such a global village that to be uninformed about life outside of your small bubble seems a crime.  We live in a period when we have the unique ability to go anywhere and do anything.  Why squander it with ignorance?
One of the most frequent things I hear on the boat is “this is the best food I’ve ever eaten” or “you are an amazing cook,” and sometimes “will you come home with me and cook all the time, I never eat like this at home.”  Again, ego would suggest otherwise, but I really don’t think I am that incredible or the food I make is that wonderfully unique.  I just make things like what I grew up on: random bits of pork cooked with a glaze, potatoes, spaghetti, pasta casseroles, rice dishes…  Part of it is the outdoor environment.  Everyone is hungrier when they spend all day outside and when you are hungry, anything tastes good.  I have another theory about why everyone thinks boat food is so good.  I think it has to do with the food they are accustomed to eating.  (This also goes back to the “How do you boil water?” comment.)  Many of them come from busy working families where parents just don’t have the time to cook a real meal.  This generation has grown up on instant.  Not only do they want everything now, they are not used to anything that cannot be microwaved in less than ten minutes.  No wonder boat food tastes good!  When you are used to over-processed, reheated food, anything made with real fresh ingredients tastes good.  It is saddening to think of what people are missing.
None of this is meant as a broad-brush generalization, painting in all of the young people in our society.  I just feel that it is an overwhelming majority of those with whom I have observed in recent months since returning home from Offshore.  I hope it is just a case of the squeaky wheel being the one taken note of.
Does a rant like this officially classify me as “old fart”?

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Um, so I’m moving again on the weekend. New address email went out tonight, but, once again, if I’ve missed you, let me know and I’ll send you an email.

Good Friends

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I’ve been in Prince George for only a day and a half and already its been fantastic to see so many friends.  Church yesterday was overwhelming with the number of people I knew still; it always was such a caring community to be a part of and this was emphasized even more coming back to it for the first time in a few years.  I have some great friends.  It is so good to share and catch up on life over the past little while and just enjoy great conversations.  I guess that is one of the great things about good friends – you can always catch up where you left off and are always so happy to see each other that it doesn’t seem like years have gone by.

Epiphanies

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Today I have come to the realization that I am actually moving back to Victoria really soon! I am quite excited to be back in one of my favourite cities in the world spending time with all the friends I’ve made there over the last four years. With that realization, however, came a certain amount of dread. I hate moving. I hate having all of my things packed into boxes and freaking out about fitting them all into Dad’s car that I get to borrow for the day. I hate the fact that I don’t have any furniture and need to buy some. Correction, I have a desk that I am unsure if it will fit into the car with four totes, an assorted number of bags and boxes, an ironing board, and a guitar.

Included in today’s epiphany was yesterday’s visit to Ikea, the everything wonderstore. Ikea is dangerous. I went in to look at beds and came out in love with a new duvet. And two cutting boards for 99 cents. The wonderful thing about Ikea is everything comes in little packages that fit into little places like a stuffed car. Even the mattress is tiny when rolled tightly. The less wonderful thing about little packages is the inevitable putting together process that ends with cursing Swedish instructions and microscopic pictures.

I haven’t bought the bed yet. I’m still trying to work out if I want to spend $200 on a bed. This from the girl who spent $100 on two pairs of shoes. Go figure. I’ll probably go back and get it next week because, lets face it, I won’t find one cheaper than that and it is pretty much what I want (except for the amazingly 70’s but still cool green queen. But that is another story.)

Things are slowly coming together. I’m looking forward to not living out of boxes and borrowed space.