Things I learned this weekend

About Tupperware:

• It's a Thatsa bowl, not Thasta. I wonder how many times I've embarrassed myself by saying the wrong name. A bit of dyslexia there.

About JCS (I watched the commentary with Ted Neeley and Norman Jewison):

• The costumes for the guards are supposed to be a mix of past & present. The cammo pants & combat boots are to represent ties to today, the purple tank tops are "Roman purple" since they are Roman guards, and the helmets were chrome so they'd shine. I think they were a little off when it came to Roman purple.
• The tank scene is supposed to be signifying Judas making his decision and they drive him toward it.
• Ted Neeley did such a good job at trashing the marketplace that they only had two takes of that scene before too many of the props were broken. Luckily they got everything they needed in two takes.
• All of the ruins were actually there, and even some of the scaffolding. They added a bit more scaffolding, grew the grass for Gethsemane, but added very little to the set.
• The choreographer fell down the stone amphitheatre and was badly injured. He had surgery in Jerusalem and then had to be flown back to the US on a stretcher.
• The final scene was supposed to just be the sunset and cross. The shepherd and sheep were unintentional, but "came from out of nowhere" into the shot and Jewison left it in the final cut.
• Ted Neeley met his wife on the set, though they didn't start dating until after the movie was finished.
• During Simon Zealotes, the dancers were working in 110-115°F (43-46°C) heat and could really only work for 30-40 seconds at a time.
• Jewison did a voiceover for the third man to deny Peter
  

Attachments

Throughout our lives, we form attachments to things. They become part of our everyday lives, settling in to our subconscious as we take them for granted. One of those things, for me, has been my email address.

I picked it out when our local cable company (my Dad was a VP there at the time) was just beginning to set themselves up as an ISP. This meant I had my pick of addresses, and thus was able to get liz@. I am trying to remember how long I've had this address, I think I had it when I left university, so at least 11 years, likely a bit longer. I just found out today that the bank of address domains to which I belong is being shut down at the end of March.

This poses a big problem for me. I use this address for everything other than person-to-person communication. I now need to go to every website I can possibly think of where I may have registered and change my address. Some websites will only recover lost passwords by emailing the registered account -- which, after the end of the month, I won't be able to do.

I'm angry that I wasn't given any warning about this change. I could have phased it out over time, given the opportunity. Now I have to fit these changes into a two week span. Argh.

No longer will I have that "really easy to remember" address, and that bothers me. I guess I knew this day would come eventually, but to only know about it 15 days before is so frustrating. I don't want to be forced into this change because Rogers doesn't want to keep up the old domain.

I now have to decide what to do. Do I move everything to an existing address, or create a new address just for this purpose?

I don't need this. I don't want to deal with this. In a small way, I feel like I am losing part of my history. Things change whether I want them to or not, so I guess I don't have any choice but to deal with it. It just pisses me off that I am now inconvenienced by another large corporate decision.

Tax laws suck

Let me begin this blog by stating for the record that John was right. I should have looked into this sooner.

I started doing my taxes yesterday. After coming to a refund total that was larger than I expected, the software halted because my spouse doesn't have a SIN. Knowing that Canadian taxes are based on residency, I have been under the assumption that John's side would be a non-issue for 2007 because he wasn't a Canadian resident. After some research, though, I discovered a few anger-inducing things:

• Because he married a Canadian, he has "residential ties" to Canada in 2007 and thus may be deemed a resident.
• I cannot electronically file my tax return because he doesn't have a SIN, so I have to paper file.
• I have to fill out a 4-page form to determine whether or not CRA deems him to be a resident for tax purposes. This may take 4-6 weeks for an answer.
• If he is deemed a resident, I have to apply for an Individual Tax Number (ITN) so that I can file a T1 for him. Getting the ITN may take an additional 4-6 weeks.

Today being March 10, I have about 7 weeks until our tax deadline of April 30. I may get the residency answer back in time, but I may not get the ITN. I don't really want to apply for the ITN if it isn't necessary, because he will get a SIN as part of his permanent residency application, and then I will have to deal with getting those two numbers merged.

I am really tired of having to fill out paperwork, get things notarized, and constantly explain over and over again the details of my relationship to my husband. It's really not that complicated: he's American, I'm Canadian, and as of right now, we live apart.

Had I researched this earlier, I could have begun the process and received all of the appropriate answers in time for April 30. I'm mad at myself for not checking into this earlier, but at least I didn't leave it any later.

The kicker of this whole thing is that he doesn't have any Canadian income, will have world income which he will have already paid tax on in the US, and will likely not owe anything... though I wouldn't gamble on it. It just angers me that I will have to go through a lot of trouble to get to that point.

Immigration wanted us to prove that we have ties with one another. The tax department will take those ties and say he is deemed a resident and could possibly have to pay tax in Canada. No matter which way we go, we seem to get the short end of the stick. Thanks Canada.

WestJet -- not as great as you thought it might be

When the SJ airport secured WestJet as a tenant, it was lauded as the "next big thing". Competition is wonderful, now you have two choices, Saint Johners! Um, no, we really don't.

Let's say I want to go to Montreal to attend a baby shower for my nephew-to-be. Here are the inherent problems with that plan:

• WestJet only flies to Toronto from Saint John, so your flight will involve going way out of your way, changing planes, and then backtracking. More flights = more chance of delays and getting stuck somewhere.
  
• WestJet only operates on Monday/Wednesday/Friday from Saint John. So much for any weekend getaway plans. [They are adding flights starting on the Victoria Day long weekend, so they will fly every day except Saturday.]
  
• WestJet only operates one flight per day between Saint John and Toronto.
• WestJet's regular fares (ignoring taxes & fees) are consistently more expensive than Air Canada. Seat sales, if you can get them, are better unless Air Canada gets wind of it and matches the price.

I have done more than my share of complaining when it comes to Air Canada, but I just don't see the WestJet advantage when living in SJ. With Air Canada, I can choose between 4 flights per day to Toronto and 3 to Montreal. Flights are scheduled for every day of the week. Prices are still cheaper the majority of the time.

I have heard lots of great things about WestJet -- their have a better record for being on-time and their service is much friendlier. I haven't yet tried them out, though, because of their limitations. I hope as time goes on, and SJ begins more of the energy projects that are in the works, that WestJet will be a better option, more competition, and able to lower their regular fares. Until then, I'm sticking with Air Canada.

In search of snowpants

John still marvels at the snow here, and is eager to catch up on all of that missed opportunity earlier in life for making snowmen, snow angels, possibly snow forts, etc. Thus I am in search of snowpants for an adult male. Not an easy task when you don't want to pay $200 for ski pants, as we found out during our shopping last night. Being end-of-season, and the fact that medium is a popular size, the selection is very limited. Things are going on sale though, which is good.

So far no luck on finding him snowpants, but we are still on the lookout.

Breakup weekend

[No, not me.]

'Tis the season for breakups, apparently. I know 4 couples who are going through the breakup process, and it seemed like a lot of it culminated this past weekend (or at least that's when I heard about it). It's tough to know my friends are in pain. I certainly have been through it myself and know how painful it can be. I've been trying to help in whatever way I can, but Time is the only healer.

Take care, friends. It will get better.

Diamond Shreddies

I was driving down Fairville Blvd a few weeks ago and I noticed a billboard with "new Diamond Shreddies". Hunh, I said. I wonder if they made them frosted or less soggy in milk or something. Since the billboard didn't tell me anything (and I hadn't yet seen the TV ad), I said I'll have to look that up on the Internet later.

I mentioned it to my mother, who told me she'd seen the TV ad multiple times and it looked like they'd just turned Shreddies on their side. I said they must have done something different with them to be using this marketing campaign. The funny thing is, they didn't.

Once I watched the TV ad and visited the website, I immediately saw that it was a clever marketing campaign. A great way to get people interested in a product that has been around for a long time and hasn't changed because it doesn't need to. It actually got me to thinking that I should buy a box of Shreddies since I haven't had some in a while -- exactly what they want me to do.

There are a number of bloggers/comments out there who just don't get it. They're frustrated by the fact that the company is "lying" to us and there's not really anything different about it, totally missing the point of the campaign. One comment even suggested that some people might get so upset about this campaign that it may result in boycotts. Come on. People who buy Shreddies regularly will continue to do so, and people who may have forgotten about Shreddies might buy a box now, after being cleverly reminded to look for the product the next time they're in the grocery store. It's brilliant, really.

I also learned some interesting things about Shreddies while I was looking around. Shreddies started in the UK, and there they also come Frosted and Coco (I bet those would be yummy). Kraft Foods has the trademark rights for the US, but Shreddies are not marketed there. UK boxes of Shreddies used to feature Tom & Jerry.

I miss Honey Shreddies, as I didn't have to add sugar to my cereal because the "honey" flavor gave it the added sweetness I like. From what I can tell, it's still being produced, but I haven't seen it in grocery stores around here for a while. I may have to do another product request.

Creepy Red Eye™, or more?

When I went to see the doctor about my broken toe, I also mentioned my 3 times of getting Creepy Red Eye™. The doctor ordered some bloodwork and also referred me to an opthamologist (for which I still haven't gotten an appointment, but that's expected with the backlog for those right now). I was back at the doctor last week to get the results.

All of the tests came back great, with the exception of one. My ANA result was off the chart. I had a level of 1:640, where the desired level is 1:40. My doctor is concerned that there is possibly some kind of connective tissue disorder going on, and my optometrist had told me that Rheumatoid Arthritis was the #1 thing that Creepy Red Eye™ could be indicating. My grandfather had RA, and my younger brother has Lupus, diabetes, RA, among other things. There are definitely reasons for me to be checked out further by specialists to determine if there is something more serious going on. My doctor ordered a chest x-ray to check for any other areas of inflammation, and has referred me to a rheumatologist, more of a cautionary measure for the referral.

The good news is that I am not experiencing any symptoms other than Creepy Red Eye™. My rheumatoid factor was negative, and I tested negative for Lupus. I'm getting older, and thus don't feel as peppy as I used to, but other than that I'm fine. This could just manifest itself in my eye and then do nothing else, but it's best if I continue to investigate. John, being very familiar with this area, tells me that my blood test result wasn't uncommon, but it is still on my mind. Is this why colds/flu have hit me so hard in the last couple of years?

Tai Chi update

I started Tai Chi beginner class this past Tuesday night. It is a class of about 9 students, and I am the youngest there by about 15 years. I missed only one week, which is good because I thought I had missed two. Since I had also attended the session at the Museum, I wasn't as far behind as I could have been.

I haven't totally formed an opinion yet on whether or not I "love" it. I am neutral, but it is still a very early stage. I am going to have to force myself to slow down as I found I was rushing some of the moves. Being high-strung and in need of some relaxation, my automatic reaction is to do things quickly. Hopefully I can learn to slow down, and gain some benefit from a slower pace. I have a need for something to keep me on an even keel, to be less emotional, not as worried.

I also found I was stretching some of the moves further than intended. I think that comes from having done some yoga. Tai Chi is not an activity in which you push your limits of flexibility; it is quite the opposite. I will have to make that adjustment.

I think I will continue through the beginner course and see what comes of it, and whether I want to join the continuing program. I would still really like to join a yoga class, but haven't managed to make it important enough to research where to go/when it is/etc.

New Passport

Since I got married and changed my name, I've been going through the process of changing all of my documentation to reflect my new name. It is not a task I have enjoyed because it has been taking up a lot of my time and can be frustrating to deal with many offices full of bureaucracy.

Today's name change task is dealing with my passport. I had been delaying the update because of my travel schedule. Your passport must match your ticket in name, so I had to keep my passport in my maiden name until I stopped traveling long enough to surrender it and get the update.

Until recently, you could have your new married name pasted into your passport as an "observation" until it expired and you had to reapply. In the last couple of years (well after 9/11) the Canadian gov't decided they would no longer follow this process, and instead are forcing married women to reapply from scratch.

I do not agree with this new policy, and I believe it is an effort by the gov't to squeeze even more money out of me by making me pay the $87 again, when my passport is only 2 years old. Why don't they offer the option of having me appear in person at a government office, providing all of my documentation, verifying that I am who I say I am, and that I have a new last name? As long as my married identity is verified by an official, why clog the system with an innocuous married name change? What was so bad about the "observation" that it had to be done away with?

So here I sit, following this dumb rule, and will take about an hour for me to be seen. At least they are playing 80s music in the waiting area. I may start karaokeing soon.

Happy [legal] Anniversary

A year ago today, John and I went to the Orange County Courthouse and got married (for the first time). Happy legal anniversary, honey. I love you.

Trying something new

I've decided to step out of my comfort zone (read: the couch) tonight and am going to try Tai Chi. The NB Museum is hosting a session in the Hall of Whales, so I am going to go out and give it a try. John used to do Tai Chi before his instructor moved away, and may want to pick it back up again when he moves here. I thought I would go and see what it was like and if it's something I might want to pick up.

Family Day

Apparently yesterday was a holiday in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Ontario: "Family Day". Basically an excuse to have a day off between New Year's and Easter, and it coincides with Presidents' Day in the US. Manitoba celebrates Louis Riel Day. For the rest of the country (BC, Que, Atlantic), it was business as usual.

My first thought is that the name of the holiday is lame. There was discussion for quite a while on having a national holiday around February, but I thought it was intended to be Prime Ministers' Day (similar to the thought behind Presidents' Day). I don't think having an extra day off will really allow all families to spend more time together. People have Good Friday off and don't recognize Christ's death and sacrifices, so I guess it ends up equal in that respect.

What really peeves me is that Ontario made this a provincial statutory holiday, yet they don't have a stat for Remembrance Day (Nov 11, Veterans' Day in the US). Every day should be "family day". Why doesn't Ontario care to recognize the efforts of the people who fought for our freedom through a paid holiday and the closing of businesses to allow for a time of reflection?

If Family Day encourages some families to spend more time together, great. I'm not discouraging the thought behind the "holiday". However, I think Ontario doesn't have its priorities in order. We may not have our current families if it weren't for the sacrifices made on behalf of those who fought for our country. In my mind, giving thanks and remembering the efforts of others is more important than designating a day for families, when that should already be an everyday focus.

SoCal trip

I had a good, though short, trip to SoCal. It was cooler than the last 2 years I had been there in February, so I didn't end up packing very well. It was more like fall in SJ, so instead of the tank tops, I needed long sleeve t-shirts instead. I ended up repeating clothing a lot.

I arrived at lunchtime on Wednesday. John took me home, dropped off my luggage, discovered the Valentine's Day flowers had arrived a day early, and we decided to go to Olive Garden for lunch. Very yummy, as usual. I only managed to stay awake until 8pm that night.

Thursday I had totally to myself as John had to work. I stayed in for most of the morning, doing laundry, watching some How I Met Your Mother (I had downloaded the episodes a while ago to have for this trip), and waiting for the rain to pass through. Hearing how much rain we got at home, I was pretty worried about my basement. I had my mother drop by and check on it. I thought I was doomed, but thankfully there was only a small amount of water that came in under the door. After the rain stopped, I walked across the street to In N Out for lunch, but ate light due to the upcoming supper where I knew we'd be having a larger meal. I did a little bit of shopping in the afternoon, picking up a couple of electronic things which were much cheaper/better at Radio Shack than at The Source. Now I can use my own headphones on Air Canada flights, and I got a new, better battery for my old cordless phone that I finally placed in the basement. No more running for the phone when I go downstairs to tend to the fire.

Thursday night's dinner was at Claim Jumper, basically a nicer version of Outback Steakhouse. John had steak and I had prime rib, very good. They have honey butter with biscuits, and I had a chocolate cupcake for dessert. I was stuffed, but the meal was very good.

Friday was a half day for John. I took the morning and walked across the street again to pick up a couple of kitchen items for me & my brother. John and I went to El Pollo Loco for lunch, then over to Sam's Club. John bought an atomic clock, a tax book and some chocolate bars for a co-worker (hard time finding them elsewhere). After that we headed to Main Place mall, where I finally managed to score a spring trenchcoat, and a shirt I had waffled on at xmas but was now $5.99. I thought I had stumbled on a sale on pants, but didn't include activewear, so I ended up ditching both pairs of pants.

Saturday was church day, and we had planned on going to see a movie at the $1.50 theatre. Little did we know that theatre would have 2 giant lines, so we opted to go home and watch more HIMYM instead. John has been watching the show from the start and encouraged me to pick it up. I'm glad I did, it's really good. Still think it could have had a better title though. That's what kept me away in the first place.

Sunday we had breakfast at Denny's, then caught the first show of Michael Clayton at 12:25pm. The place was packed. For a movie about to be released on DVD in two days, I was surprised. The movie was good, but we agreed that it wasn't in the same league as No Country For Old Men.

I spent some time reading outside on Sunday afternoon as I was feeling the need to enjoy outside as much as possible. It's depressing to think that I won't be able to abandon my winter jacket for another 2 months. Being outside without freezing my butt off is a novelty John hasn't had to adjust to yet.

So here I am, flying home again. The thing I miss most about flying from pre-911 era issues is being able to bring a bottle of water with me through security. I wonder if they will ever relax that rule.

The battery in my laptop barely lasted over an hour, so no more TV for me until I get another charge. The person in front of me put their seat back, making it really difficult to use the laptop anyway. I made sure I whacked into the seat as much as possible for giving me such little space to work with (yeah, I know, passive-aggressive). I am in a window seat today, and I dislike those. I hate making everyone move when I need to use the bathroom.

Looking forward to getting home and being back in my own bed. Not looking forward to freezing and going back to work. Or getting stuck in Montreal if the high winds keep delaying my flight. Such is life.

Yay, travel

This trip almost didn't happen. The original plan was to leave SJ on the 11th, fly to Tampa, attend meeting on Tuesday, leave Wednesday from Tampa to go to SoCal, returning home on the 18th. Unfortunately, luck mistook me for my husband the day I left.

I left my house knowing that my flight was 25min late. Ok, no problem, I have a 3 or 4 h wait when I get to Toronto, plenty of time. When I arrived at the airport, there was a long line of people waiting to be rebooked for the Toronto flight. It had been delayed again, this time until approx 1:30pm. I was going to miss my connection for Tampa, and there weren't any other flights for the rest of the day. I ended up getting rebooked on a flight to Orlando instead. I tracked my Dad down to see if he could drive me from Orlando to Tampa.

My flight was then delayed even further. It turned out to be mechanical difficulties, combined with waiting on the tarmac in Toronto for 1h20min for fuel. If I missed my meeting, there was no point in even going to Florida at all - my options were best left to either staying home or flying straight to SoCal on vacation. Problem was, work paid for my whole ticket. It was cheaper for them to pay for my vacation leg of the flight than to fly me to Tampa and back. If I missed the work portion of the flight, I couldn't justify to my boss having him pay for my vacation flight. I had to find out if my ticket was refundable. Normally it wouldn't have been, but because the issues were mechanical, they would have refunded the whole ticket. Great for work, but no vacation for me.

A last-ditch effort by the Air Canada agent had me rebooked on a routing through Toronto then Chicago and down to Tampa on another airline. Ok, great, I'll make it to the meeting after all. I got to Toronto and had an hour and a quarter to check in at the United desk, getting boarding passes for substitute flights, and then clear customs. Waiting through the United line wasn't going so well, so I cut over into the first class line and explained that I just needed my boarding pass, here are my vouchers. I got those, and then ran for baggage claim. I waited a ridiculous amount of time for my bag (it came onto the belt about 30min after I got off my flight) and ran to the customs line. The customs agent let me through, and I ran for security. Little did I know that I was "randomly selected" for extra security search. Random my ass - all 3 of us who skipped into the first class line got dinged for extra security. I got through that as fast as I could, ran for my gate (I still have a broken toe, as you recall) and made it just as the last few people were boarding. I got on the plane, we pulled away from the gate, and I thought it was ok... until the captain came on and said that we missed our scheduled departure time and now had to wait on the tarmac until we got another gate or were allowed a new departure time. At least an hour. I wanted off that plane - if I wasn't going to make my connection in Chicago, I wanted to get back on Air Canada and fly straight to Tampa.

We ended up being stuck on the plane on the tarmac for an hour or so, and then left for Chicago. By now I knew I would be missing my connection in Chicago to Tampa, and was really upset about the prospect of having to stay overnight in Chicago where I don't know where to go. I landed in Chicago, and good luck finally struck. My Tampa flight was also delayed, due to weather. I ran for that gate and was able to board.

By this point, I was thoroughly convinced that there was no way my luggage would manage to follow my crazy flight and plane changes. I thought I'd arrive in Tampa but have nothing clean to wear. I landed in Tampa just after midnight Eastern, and seeing that pink bag on the belt made me thank God out loud that my bag had made it. We made it to Tampa.

The rest of my trip was, thankfully, uneventful. I flew from Tampa to SoCal without issue, and am now on my way back home.

This trip reconfirmed some things for me. I prefer flying through Montreal. Dash 8 planes seem to have fewer issues and can fly in bad weather better than the CRJs they use for Toronto. Also, my brother lives in Montreal, so if I get stuck due to weather, I have a place to stay.

I jinxed myself. The flight attendant just asked if there was a doctor on board. Didn't end up being anything serious. Now I'm in Chicago and my next flight is delayed due to high winds. Go winter travel.

Drink crystal update #3

I drove to Moncton yesterday on my drink crystal mission. I found the wholesaler, Rolly's Wholesale, without any trouble. I walked in, asked for the crystals, and the guy went with me to get them. He commented that I must really like my juice. I chuckled and told him my story, though he didn't seem all that interested. He also said that they had only recently begun stocking the crystals, but that they seemed to be selling a lot of them. A good sign for being able to get more again in the future.

I paid for the boxes and he carried them out to my car. As I was driving away, I said to myself, that doesn't seem like the packaging I saw at the store. The case of crystals at the grocery store was flat and wide. I wonder if I got one great big box full of crystals, not in individual packaging? At my next stop, I popped the trunk, opened one box, and voila: one giant box full of crystals. I laughed. I wanted crystals, I got crystals! It comes with a sheet of paper giving the mixing instructions, thankfully.

With this much product exposed all at once, I didn't think it was a good idea to store the crystals in the box long-term. When I got back to SJ, I stopped and picked up some plastic food containers for a better storage solution. Even though I drink the grape pretty much every day, it will take me a long time to work through all of this. It filled 3 containers, each of which holds 4.3L. That's a lot of crystals.

I ended up not buying enough containers, so I still have to get a couple more and do the orange crystals. I'll look after that when I get back from my trip. I may even find some different/better containers.

I mixed up a batch according to the directions on the sheet, but they do caution that you should add more or less mix, according to taste. My first batch needed a bit more mix, but it's ok for now. Next time, I think I will up the mix to 3/4 cup instead of 2/3. That seems closer to the amounts found in the individual envelopes.

So the crystals have been procured, and I'm happy to have the much better-tasting grape back again.

Drink crystal update #2

I promptly heard back from Crosby's this afternoon. They told me the information I received was incorrect, and that they do still produce all flavors of crystals. The wholesaler I spoke with earlier is actually a Sobeys company, so that's why they gave me the song & dance about not having it, but they lied about the fact that the company isn't manufacturing it anymore.

Crosby's suggested 3 possible wholesalers in the province who I could contact to see if they stocked the crystals, as he told me these companies did still purchase crystals from them. I picked the closest one, in Moncton, and gave them a call. My first question was whether or not they
sold to the general public, and they said yes. I then inquired about the crystals, and they said they have both flavors in stock. YAY!!!! I got their store hours and thanked them for the info. I then wrote back to Crosby's and thanked them for their info and help, and that the wholesaler would sell to me.

It seems silly that I have to drive to Moncton to purchase something that is manufactured 15 minutes from my house. However, I can get the product right away and not pay any further markup by going through a second store. Since I will likely be buying a case of crystals, it will last me a long time, and I won't have to make the trip repeatedly. Plus, I am often in Moncton for work or to go to Costco.

I am now making plans to see if I can drive to Moncton on Saturday to go to the wholesaler. I realize I could probably have had this solution earlier if I wasn't as accepting as I usually am, but better late than never.

Drink crystal update #1

Last year I blogged about how my drink crystals were disappearing from store shelves. After writing that blog, I decided to contact Crosby's directly and see if they could shed any light as to what was going on. Here's what they said:

Thank you for your e-mail regarding our Crosby Drink Crystals. We are still producing the drink crystals, however, in March Sobeys de-listed our drink crystals all together and Superstore has been gradually removing one flavour at a time from their shelves. Name brand products, such as ours, are slowly being replaced by no-name brand or "private label" products. The stores will tell you there brand is cheaper, however, they are the one who dictate the price on the store shelf, not the manufacturer. Sadly, there are no longer any stores in New Brunswick currently purchasing either of those two flavours and soon, I suspect, you will no longer be able to purchase any of our drink crystals. We are more than willing to supply any of the grocery chains with our crystals, however, once head-office delists an item even the store manager is unable to order it. Other than travelling out of province, about the only way you will be able to obtain our crystals is to have one of your local corner stores request the item from a wholesaler such as Trecartin Brothers as we are unable to supply small grocers directly. Thank you again for your customer loyalty and your concern.

I pondered this course of action for a while, but since I am somewhat irrationally afraid of asking for things that are not stocked, I hadn't pursued it any further. Lately though, I have been getting more and more fed up. I've found substitute brands, one from Co-op and one from Sobeys, but they just aren't the same. I miss the originals.

I got up the gumption today to call a wholesaler to see if they stocked the crystals before calling or visiting a corner store to make a request. The answer was somewhat surprising. The wholesaler told me they did have Orange, but didn't have Grape because it wasn't being manufactured anymore. Grape is the one I miss the most; the one I notice more difference between the original and the Co-op brand.

I decided to write an email back to Crosby's to confirm that this was true. If so, I guess my quest is over. The orange from Sobeys is close enough that I don't notice too much of a difference. I'll see what their answer is, and whether I have to make substitute grape a permanent change.

Special place

Everyone has that certain place they go when they need to think, to chill, or to just be by themselves and let things go. Even Winnie the Pooh has his "thinking spot". For me, that place is the beach. I go there when I need to think, or when I am mentally exhausted. When I need to think things through, it is a place where I can go and be alone (most beaches around here are usually pretty secluded/quiet) and concentrate solely on the issue at hand, or just let the thoughts come as they may. The waves provide a rhythmic sound that I find soothing. I may not leave with any answers to my problems, but at least I feel more rested, refreshed, and sometimes reinvigorated. I'm not sure why this became my "special place" but I am glad that I have it.

I have not been to the beach in quite a while. There have been a few times lately where I have felt the need to go, but didn't quite make it there. This morning, sitting at my desk, I felt the pull. I barely had the energy to lift the phone receiver... please, no more problems, no more complaints. I don't think I can handle any more right now.

As the day went on, I accomplished more on the project I'm heading, and that gave me a better feeling. The phone seemed to have heard me, and stayed relatively quiet. I also decided to skip my sandwich and go to lunch with a couple of colleagues. That was a good change of pace and lifted my spirits.

I could still use some time at the beach, but again, I won't make it there. Not in this rain. Maybe next week, but hopefully soon. I need some renewal of spirit.

Cordially invited

I just received an e-vite to attend the ECMAs. Hotel, transportation from the hotel to the Aitken Centre, and a couple of meals are included, all you need to do is find your own way to Fredericton. Too bad I don't really care that much about the east coast music scene, and it's also two days before I leave on my next trip, so taking up that much time right before I go isn't an option.

Nice to see that I am starting to get some benefits from having some contacts. Hopefully I'll see more of these. It's little side benefits like this that make my job a bit more bearable some days.

After checking if a substitution was ok, I turned around and offered this to my employee. His gf was excited to have the opportunity at a mostly-free trip. Everyone wins.

UPDATE: Oops. I misread the e-vite. It is just a concert featuring ECMA artists, not the actual ECMAs.