Sweet Cracker Sandwich, I Can See!

We got our replacement TV today, so we can watch CSI (and pretty much everything else) in glorious HD again! Our PVR was set to record our favourite programs so we pretty much haven't really missed anything, we just have a crapload of stuff to go through now to get caught up.

Now I just have to move my Wii back downstairs so I can play in widescreen progressive scan again :)

FutureShop's insurance department is also freaking awesome. Booked an appointment, walked in, they had all the paperwork done, we just picked up a gift card for the replacement cost of the TV (they didn't have it in stock at the Broadway location, so we had to go to Kingsway to get it) and the replacement remote. I think it took longer to actually purchase the TV than it did to handle the insurance claim. So two thumbs up for Al at Reclaim (name of the insurance department)!

Oh, I got that "sweet cracker sandwich" thing from the comic strip "Get Fuzzy". The cat in it (Bucky, whom we name our cat after) used that and for some reason I find it hilarious.

Amazing Informational Video

Is It New Years Yet?

Woo, I'm back in Vancouver. Tara's still visiting her dad and sorting some stuff out, but they'll be down here before the weekend (hopefully tomorrow sometime). Surprisingly, the drive to and from Lloydminster wasn't too bad. Almost no snow (there was a bit heading into Jasper on the way that was gone when we came back) and light traffic. I guess people tend not to travel on Boxing Day and on whatever day it was when we came back. Overall, the trip was good, aside from the 3000km or so I put on the car in about a week.

Christmas was about as good as it was going to get. I got a remote control Zamboni (pics forthcoming since Tara still has the camera), a subscription to Jugheads Double Digest (sweet) and a bunch of other stuff. Apparently I may still have another present bar fridge for my desk at work still on the way, but it's gotta wait for Tara to get back.

Our townhouse was not broken into over the break, which made me happy, and my extra Wii controller/nunchuk came in the mail and was waiting for me at the post office. And to top it all off, the Canucks beat the Flames tonight, their fourth straight win and third straight against Calgary. Awesome. Nothing makes me happier than seeing Kiprusoff get scored on, except maybe seeing the Leafs lose. Iginla was also held pointless in the game, warranting a victory beer after the game.

So we're slowly moving past Tara's moms death, me more so than her, though, because she's still taking care of her stepdad. She'll be able to get back to her routine soon enough since he's going out to visit an old friend on Vancouver Island. I think that's going to help him lots, which is good.

Also, we should get our replacement TV this week. Then I can hook my Wii back up and start playing Zelda again, dammit (when Tara's not playing Rayman or Monkey Ball, that is)!

So look for pics of the trip in the coming days!

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas, everyone!

We're back visiting Tara's step dad and sister right now. It's been stressful (really, I was expecting it to be) but I think Tara and her family are going to be alright, it may just take awhile. We haven't been getting much sleep because Tara's having trouble falling asleep and her step dad wakes up really early and we don't want to leave him alone right now.

We're going to be driving him to Lloydminster on Boxing Day so he can be with his sons (it's like a 15 hour drive, over 1000km). We both think he's going to start getting much better once we get there. It's going to be a long drive (going through the Rockies in winter should be fun) and we're pretty much going to be turning around and coming back as soon as we get there since I have to be at work January 2nd, but I completely think it's the best thing to do. I'm not worried about the drive at all, at least.

Rich and Jamie, thanks for calling. Tara really appreciated it and we're looking forward to seeing you in January. I got an email from Nintendo and my second Wiimote had shipped, so it's probably in our mailbox right now and we'll be getting our new TV pretty much as soon as we get back!

Apparently I've Been Tagged!

I've been hit! So, six (6) things that are odd about me... Hmm, let me see.

1. I am ridiculously anal about formatting source code at work. It drives me batty when code blocks/braces don't line up nicely, so much so that I'll reformat the code so things look all pretty. On the plus side, people don't hate maintaining my code. My old boss used to find it hilarious.
2. I have really good hearing (I can hear our cat creeping up the stairs at night when he's hunting for exposed extremities), but I sometimes have trouble listening to people talking. Like there's too much background noise or something. Not all the time, though.
3. One of my teeth is smaller than the rest and grew in sideways. My dentist thinks I should leave it the way it is. She says it's a good luck charm. I also play with it with my tongue when I'm thinking, kinda like stroking a beard thoughtfully.
4. I'm a really shy person at heart. All through high school I had a hard time making friends because of my inability to talk to people. At my last job I worked from home and started to get quite antisocial. I'd avoid hanging out in large groups and any situation where I might have to talk to someone. Thankfully, I got laid off and I got a job at a huge corporation so I have to talk to people all the time. I still have trouble initiating conversation unless it's with someone I know quite well, but I've gotten much better in the last year and a half.
5. For some reason, one rule that has always stuck with me, all the way from elementary school, is that you shouldn't start multiple sentences in a row with the same word. I can't for the life of me remember when I was taught that, but I'll go out of my way to rework and reword entire paragraphs to avoid that. It makes writing technical briefs at work really fun.
6. I may be mildly OCD. I always brush my teeth the same way in the morning, running through my mental checklist to ensure that I got all the different areas. At the mall, I'll park in the same area so I won't lose my car. I'll take the same way to a place, regardless of whether or not Tara finds a more efficient/quicker way to go. It actually makes me upset when I break those routines.

I've got more stuff, but the requirement was for only 6 things, so that's all you get! It appears that I've run out of people to tag... I'll hold onto the opportunity for awhile until I find an unsuspecting victim.

Oh, and you know that Twisted Sister video down below there? I got the album. They made an entire Christmas album, the whole thing is available to listen to on their site. It's 100% pure awesome.

When It Rains, It Pours

My mother-in-law passed away today. It happened suddenly during a hospital visit. She had been having health problems for quite some time and had been on some heart medication, which is why she was at the hospital today (having some blood tests done). They're not sure what that cause is yet, but apparently she had very thin "watery" blood.

This caps off a great fall for us. We moved at the beginning of September to our townhouse and had about a weeks notice that the move was a go. My mom came over to help and ended up falling down some stairs and hurt her ankle. At the time she thought is was just a sprain, but found out later it was a fracture and got a cast for a month. Shortly after the move, Tara's step-mother passed away due to liver failure. She had been on dialysis for a long time, so this wasn't a huge surprise, but it was still bad news. We made quick arrangements to fly back to Lloydminster to visit Tara's dad and attend the funeral.

Of course, during all this, I was working on the project from hell (aka: Sims 2 Pets PSP) and was under lots of stress at work and Tara had recently started at her new job, so there was stress there as well. Then our place got broken into and our TV got stolen. And then this.

Next year better be good.

Yay For Being Sick

I thought I had managed to avoid it, but I finally succumbed to Tara's cold. Or maybe it was my coworker who's been sick since he got back from Chicago. At any rate, I felt like crap last night and most of today. Thankfully, I have this amazing ability to sleep as much as I need to when I do get sick. So I finally got out of bed at about 6:30pm today, feeling much better, to watch the Canucks game (we won, that's a whopping 3 game winning streak now). At least I'll be able to salvage some of the weekend, assuming I'm feeling better tomorrow... I still have to finish shopping for Christmas!

Last night was Tara's work party, down at Hotel Vancouver. It was pretty fun, although it probably would have been better if we weren't both sick. The people she works with are just a bit different than the people I work with, though. Maybe I'll finally get off my ass and post some pictures. We've got some good ones of Bucky, too. I can't help myself from taking pictures of him, he's a very photogenic cat.

Oh, and my replacement sensor bar for my Wii has shipped, so it should be here on Monday. We still don't have a replacement TV yet, so I still can't play it, but it's one step closer to me feeding my Zelda addiction again.