Saturday, 27 February 2016
Pantherday
------- from The Internet
Taylor sent this to me a while back. I always used to say that Binx looked like a panther. Also, I hate that I now know that "panthers" aren't even really a thing! It is just the darkest colour variant in Leopards and Jaguars. So Binx was a mini-panther and Two is a tiny-tiger.
Please Remove Garbage And Dead Animals
So, not everything was in order when we did our final check at the house today. In fact there were a lot of issues that were not there a couple of months ago when we decided to buy the place. Some things must have got damaged during the moving process and some things didn't get cleaned up as well as we would have liked. There are still a couple of days for the sellers to hopefully deal with the following:
- Broken window at rear of the house (in the dining room)
- Broken glass in rear screen door (in the main kitchen)
- Broken glass in front screen door (in the porch)
- Missing window pane, front of house (in the porch)
- Fridge missing the back panel of the freeze (in the main kitchen)
Note: The panel appeared to be in another corner of the dining room, bent and unusable
- Fixture removed, hole in wall left with exposed electrical wires (in the main entrance way)
- Large hole in wall with exposed insulation (in the master bedroom)
- Cord strung from house to neighbouring house (west-side neighbour, cord runs across the front of the porch and along the east side of the house)
Note: We think this was used to share internet, cable, or telephone
- Rear downspout disconnected from eaves trough and removed from the rear of the house
Note: It looks like it is lying in the small passageway between the houses
- Replacement of expired smoke detectors Issue
There is also some remaining garbage, broken glass, and dead animals that we would like the seller to remove before we take possession, including:
- Dead rat (rear of house, on the patio)
- Dead bird (in the garage)
- Large wood cabinet (in the basement laundry room)
- Garbage (on the roof of the garage, in the garage, in the basement)
- Satellite dish (on the roof of house)
- Bricks and broken mirror (small passageway between the houses)
- Broken Glass (back patio, front porch, small passageway between the houses)
- Debris (behind the garage, southwest corner of the backyard)
- Broken window at rear of the house (in the dining room)
- Broken glass in rear screen door (in the main kitchen)
- Broken glass in front screen door (in the porch)
- Missing window pane, front of house (in the porch)
- Fridge missing the back panel of the freeze (in the main kitchen)
Note: The panel appeared to be in another corner of the dining room, bent and unusable
- Fixture removed, hole in wall left with exposed electrical wires (in the main entrance way)
- Large hole in wall with exposed insulation (in the master bedroom)
- Cord strung from house to neighbouring house (west-side neighbour, cord runs across the front of the porch and along the east side of the house)
Note: We think this was used to share internet, cable, or telephone
- Rear downspout disconnected from eaves trough and removed from the rear of the house
Note: It looks like it is lying in the small passageway between the houses
- Replacement of expired smoke detectors Issue
There is also some remaining garbage, broken glass, and dead animals that we would like the seller to remove before we take possession, including:
- Dead rat (rear of house, on the patio)
- Dead bird (in the garage)
- Large wood cabinet (in the basement laundry room)
- Garbage (on the roof of the garage, in the garage, in the basement)
- Satellite dish (on the roof of house)
- Bricks and broken mirror (small passageway between the houses)
- Broken Glass (back patio, front porch, small passageway between the houses)
- Debris (behind the garage, southwest corner of the backyard)
Signed
Jason and I signed all kinds of house and mortgage related paperwork Thursday evening at the lawyer's office. Our closing date isn't until Tuesday so we did a last minute visit on the property today to check that everything at Casa Verde was still in order. We also got a chance to get a photo with the 'sold' sign too.
Jason and I at Casa Verde - SOLD!
Saturday February 27, 2016
Photo taken by Naz
Thursday, 25 February 2016
Oops, A Double Post
I caught a double post! I am sure it has happened numerous times - that I talk about a topic on Always Standing a second time without referencing the first. It is hard to remember the subject matter of the over 2500 posts I have on here. However, last month I talked about 'Blue Monday' advertising and it turns out that I already know about the dubious science behind it since I had posted about it 5 years ago.
Wednesday, 24 February 2016
But I Thought I Was A Kid
I don't really like coffee but need caffeine everyday now. In the mornings I have a Chai Latte or for a special treat an Ice Cap from Tim Horton's, then at lunch I have a Coke Zero. I can across a Buzzfeed Quiz that says that it can tell your age from your order at Tim Horton's. So I did it and was told that I am 43!! I can't believe it - I rarely go and I don't even get coffee, I get a coffee-milkshake-thing! That seems totally like I should be a child. Jason did the test and it said his Double Double and Boston Cream Donut order meant he was 22. So unfair!
Tuesday, 23 February 2016
Finances In February
Most people know that I hate February and that patterns in my life tend to show that my depression is usually at its worst. (This is why Teri was confused to find out that Winter is my favourite season - because I always talk about how February is so awful.)
This week has been very difficult, reminding me of so many terrible Februarys in the past. We are running into a lot of snags with our mortgage arrangements. The result of this is that I feel anxious all day only to go home and breakdown from the stress - crying off and on through the evenings. I know that it will get sorted out and every day things seem a little better, clearer, more hopeful.
This week has been very difficult, reminding me of so many terrible Februarys in the past. We are running into a lot of snags with our mortgage arrangements. The result of this is that I feel anxious all day only to go home and breakdown from the stress - crying off and on through the evenings. I know that it will get sorted out and every day things seem a little better, clearer, more hopeful.
Monday, 22 February 2016
How Well Did You Know Me?
This is the response post to the list from last week. I wrote these answers right after publishing the original post - so any comments/guesses that got left did not influence me.
----- from Facebook
How did you do?
----- from Facebook
How Well Do You Know Me?
Jeans OR Sweats? Sweats (But, lady-sweats, aka yoga pants)
Coke OR Pepsi? Coke (Coke Zero actually)
iPhone OR Android? Android
Pink OR Blue? Pink to wear, Blue for everything else
Summer OR Winter? Winter
Morning OR Night? Night (the morning is for sleeping)
Tomboy OR Girly-Girl? I refuse to answer this question! I don't fit in either box. I also don't think it is a good idea to classify people this way, both of these terms are antiquated and sexist.
How did you do?
Sunday, 21 February 2016
And So I Cleaned It
Sunday Mornin' Coming Down - A post about my Dad each Sunday, named after a song that he loved.
My father did not like to buy things, well more accurately he didn't like spending money. In order to save money he always tried to keep things around the house going as long as possible so he wouldn't need to go out and get a new one. He wasn't particularly handy, but these were his techniques:
Digital - Ignore It
If any of our digital equipment (video camera, computer stuff, VCR) stopped working, Dad would turn it off and on again. He would push various random buttons. And eventually he would just unplug it, tuck it away somewhere, and ignore it for a while. This was know as the 'fix it fairies' approach, the hope that when we next went to try it, the item would magically work all of a sudden. This actually happened on occasion so it encouraged the continued saving of broken digital things in case they starting working again later.
Mechanical - Clean It
Something mechanical that was broken (an old toaster, power tools, some boating things) required thorough cleaning (and maybe greasing) if broken. This was sometimes accompanied by some light dismantling. I never saw him really take apart anything, he wouldn't have deconstructed the entire lawn mower for example, but there would be some opening and removing things to give it a good clean. He didn't really use this to find and replace broken parts that often, partly because that would require buying something, and partly because I don't think he was very good at identifying parts that were the problem. Cleaning things does prolong their life and his focus on this type of upkeep saved us money for sure.
Physical - Tape It
If the broken or worn out item didn't have digital, electrical, or complicated moving parts, than my dad would use duct tape to reinforce, protect, and repair it. I grew up with sailboats, camping equipment, toys, and other items that featured some liberal use of duct tape. He taped up our Christmas Tree, coolers that cracked, the side of the fridge where the installation was coming out, even cardboard boxes that he wanted to keep. I have learned from his crafty duct tape skills and have employed them on occasion. Sometimes though, it just makes sense to buy a new item.
Following In His Footsteps
That is what has been happening with me over the past few months as our Tassimo machine has gradually started to break down. Jason and I use this coffee maker every single day (at least twice - a drink for each of us) and lately it has been struggling to read the bar codes, incompletely brewing drinks, and leaking a bit. I keep wanting to go out and buy a new one, but they are about $100 and I don't want to spend that to replace a small kitchen appliance right now.
I had asked Jason a bunch of times about the 'cleaning disk' that should have come with the machine and he always said it didn't have one or he had lost it. Finally I looked up how to clean the thing (with or without the disk). So today I took apart the machine, all the removable parts can be put in the dishwasher so I soaked them in lemon juice and washed them with soap in the sink. In the process of doing this I found the cleaning disk, exactly where it should have been, and ran a few 'descaling' cycles. Jason and I had to work hard to clean and clear the nozzle since it had 5 years of gunk trapped in it - the machine has literally never been cleaned, the internet says it should be washed weekly.
It works well again and I am so happy that I put the effort in. Dad would be proud, and I saved $100!
My father did not like to buy things, well more accurately he didn't like spending money. In order to save money he always tried to keep things around the house going as long as possible so he wouldn't need to go out and get a new one. He wasn't particularly handy, but these were his techniques:
Digital - Ignore It
If any of our digital equipment (video camera, computer stuff, VCR) stopped working, Dad would turn it off and on again. He would push various random buttons. And eventually he would just unplug it, tuck it away somewhere, and ignore it for a while. This was know as the 'fix it fairies' approach, the hope that when we next went to try it, the item would magically work all of a sudden. This actually happened on occasion so it encouraged the continued saving of broken digital things in case they starting working again later.
Mechanical - Clean It
Something mechanical that was broken (an old toaster, power tools, some boating things) required thorough cleaning (and maybe greasing) if broken. This was sometimes accompanied by some light dismantling. I never saw him really take apart anything, he wouldn't have deconstructed the entire lawn mower for example, but there would be some opening and removing things to give it a good clean. He didn't really use this to find and replace broken parts that often, partly because that would require buying something, and partly because I don't think he was very good at identifying parts that were the problem. Cleaning things does prolong their life and his focus on this type of upkeep saved us money for sure.
Physical - Tape It
If the broken or worn out item didn't have digital, electrical, or complicated moving parts, than my dad would use duct tape to reinforce, protect, and repair it. I grew up with sailboats, camping equipment, toys, and other items that featured some liberal use of duct tape. He taped up our Christmas Tree, coolers that cracked, the side of the fridge where the installation was coming out, even cardboard boxes that he wanted to keep. I have learned from his crafty duct tape skills and have employed them on occasion. Sometimes though, it just makes sense to buy a new item.
Following In His Footsteps
That is what has been happening with me over the past few months as our Tassimo machine has gradually started to break down. Jason and I use this coffee maker every single day (at least twice - a drink for each of us) and lately it has been struggling to read the bar codes, incompletely brewing drinks, and leaking a bit. I keep wanting to go out and buy a new one, but they are about $100 and I don't want to spend that to replace a small kitchen appliance right now.
I had asked Jason a bunch of times about the 'cleaning disk' that should have come with the machine and he always said it didn't have one or he had lost it. Finally I looked up how to clean the thing (with or without the disk). So today I took apart the machine, all the removable parts can be put in the dishwasher so I soaked them in lemon juice and washed them with soap in the sink. In the process of doing this I found the cleaning disk, exactly where it should have been, and ran a few 'descaling' cycles. Jason and I had to work hard to clean and clear the nozzle since it had 5 years of gunk trapped in it - the machine has literally never been cleaned, the internet says it should be washed weekly.
It works well again and I am so happy that I put the effort in. Dad would be proud, and I saved $100!
Friday, 19 February 2016
Going To Bed With Marketing
Mom sent this to me. I have seen it before, actually it reminded me of the Cow Economics that I posted a while back. It is enjoyable.
----------- from The Internet, adjusted for length and narrative
Clients often ask for a simple explanation of "Marketing."
Well, here it is:
You're a woman and you see a handsome guy at a party.
You go up to him and say, "I'm fantastic in bed."
That's Direct Marketing.
You're at a party with a bunch of friends and see a handsome guy.
One of your friends goes up to him and, pointing at you, says, "She's fantastic in bed."
That's Advertising.
You see a handsome guy at a party.
You go up to him and get his telephone number.
The next day you call and say, "Hi, I'm fantastic in bed."
That's Telemarketing.
You see a guy at a party; you straighten your dress.
You walk up to him and pour him a drink.
You say, "May I?" and reach up to straighten his tie, brushing your breast lightly against his arm, and then say, "By the way, I'm fantastic in bed."
That's Public Relations.
You're at a party and see a handsome guy.
He fancies you, but you talk him into going home with your friend.
That's a Sales Rep.
You're on your way to a party when you realize that there could be handsome men in all these houses you're passing, so you climb onto the roof of one situated towards the center and shout at the top of your lungs, "I'm fantastic in bed!"
That's Facebook.
You're at a party and see a handsome guy.
He walks up to you and says, "I hear you're fantastic in bed."
That's Brand Recognition.
----------- from The Internet, adjusted for length and narrative
Clients often ask for a simple explanation of "Marketing."
Well, here it is:
You're a woman and you see a handsome guy at a party.
You go up to him and say, "I'm fantastic in bed."
That's Direct Marketing.
You're at a party with a bunch of friends and see a handsome guy.
One of your friends goes up to him and, pointing at you, says, "She's fantastic in bed."
That's Advertising.
You see a handsome guy at a party.
You go up to him and get his telephone number.
The next day you call and say, "Hi, I'm fantastic in bed."
That's Telemarketing.
You see a guy at a party; you straighten your dress.
You walk up to him and pour him a drink.
You say, "May I?" and reach up to straighten his tie, brushing your breast lightly against his arm, and then say, "By the way, I'm fantastic in bed."
That's Public Relations.
You're at a party and see a handsome guy.
He fancies you, but you talk him into going home with your friend.
That's a Sales Rep.
You're on your way to a party when you realize that there could be handsome men in all these houses you're passing, so you climb onto the roof of one situated towards the center and shout at the top of your lungs, "I'm fantastic in bed!"
That's Facebook.
You're at a party and see a handsome guy.
He walks up to you and says, "I hear you're fantastic in bed."
That's Brand Recognition.
Thursday, 18 February 2016
Yoda I Am
So far on Always Standing, I have held a lightsaber, been a zombie, and transformed into a character from Avatar. Now here I am as Yoda, A friend at work showed me this, love it!
Done using pho.to
Tuesday, 16 February 2016
How Well Do You Know Me?
This is a very strange list of questions but an interesting experiment none the less (and yes, I got it from Facebook).
------ from Facebook
Leave your guess (about my preferences) in the comments and I have scheduled a post for next week with my actual responses.
------ from Facebook
How Well Do You Know Me?
Jeans OR Sweats?
Coke OR Pepsi?
iPhone OR Android?
Pink OR Blue?
Summer OR Winter?
Morning OR Night?
Tomboy OR Girly-Girl?
Leave your guess (about my preferences) in the comments and I have scheduled a post for next week with my actual responses.
Monday, 15 February 2016
Wedding Bands
Jason and I decided to make our wedding bands at a workshop run by a local jewelry boutique - The Devil's Workshop. The course is the same cost for each couple and then depending on the ring design and choice of metal the material costs differ. We picked silver for a whopping $27 in materials and have a flat/rectangle design. Here is a series of photos I took that details a bit of the 6 hour process:
Right now my ring is still with the jewelers because I am having a chevron put into it, which was too advanced for our workshop. We brought Jason's home though, it looks awesome. His is basically the same as mine above but is thicker. Though technically the 'width' of the metal is the same and it is the 'height' of his ring that is bigger than mine, (but you get the picture.)
The studio took photos throughout the afternoon that they are sending to us later this week. Their shots will be better than the ones I got (and they have pictures of us using fire). We will incorporate a series of those ones into our wedding program.
We decided to make our own rings (instead of each others.)
Here is my work desk all set up and ready to go.
And I ran into trouble almost right away!
I asked Jason to come over and help me cut the silver to length.
Turns out I forgot to put the wax (the blue stuff) on the saw.
Hammered my ring to bring the edges together.
Check out that tight seam!
I surged ahead and had already made a rough circle shape.
Jason was still sanding his stick of silver.
Jason finally gets around to curving his metal.
It takes Jason forever to hammer the two ends together.
So I take it from him to try to help speed up the process.
Oops, I hit it too hard, now he has even more work to do.
This is why we made our own and not each others.
This is why we made our own and not each others.
Two 'circular' rings of silver
Some more hammering is needed.
We solder the ends together at the seam and try them on.
Hard to see the seams of solder in this photo but it is there.
We need to start sanding it away.
More sanding as well as using the buffer.
We both liked this part a lot.
Making them shiny!
Jason inspects our rings
after they come out of the ultrasonic cleaner
A close up of my finished ring.
Well, 'my' part of it is finished...
Right now my ring is still with the jewelers because I am having a chevron put into it, which was too advanced for our workshop. We brought Jason's home though, it looks awesome. His is basically the same as mine above but is thicker. Though technically the 'width' of the metal is the same and it is the 'height' of his ring that is bigger than mine, (but you get the picture.)
The studio took photos throughout the afternoon that they are sending to us later this week. Their shots will be better than the ones I got (and they have pictures of us using fire). We will incorporate a series of those ones into our wedding program.
Sunday, 14 February 2016
Bath Time
Sunday Mornin' Coming Down - A post about my Dad each Sunday, named after a song that he loved.
I mentioned Dad's mustache last week, and have posted a picture before, but I thought it was time to show you all again:
I love that the old photos used to include the date. Ok, actually it totally ruins them for framing and such but it is good reference. I would have no idea when this was taken, sometime in my first few months because of my size, so tiny, but now I know the exact day. I am less than a month old in this photo, literally born only 26 days before.
My Dad does not look nearly tired enough to have been dealing with a for newborn for three and a half weeks. Though I was an excellent sleeper, maybe even from this point.
I don't really recognize that wall paper but it reminds me of Grandma's house, though it could be from the house in Cambridge that I don't remember, since we moved to Paris when I was about a year and a half. However, I totally remember that tablecloth, I think my mom still has it.
I mentioned Dad's mustache last week, and have posted a picture before, but I thought it was time to show you all again:
Dad Giving Me A Bath
June 18th, 1984
Photo of a photo
I love that the old photos used to include the date. Ok, actually it totally ruins them for framing and such but it is good reference. I would have no idea when this was taken, sometime in my first few months because of my size, so tiny, but now I know the exact day. I am less than a month old in this photo, literally born only 26 days before.
My Dad does not look nearly tired enough to have been dealing with a for newborn for three and a half weeks. Though I was an excellent sleeper, maybe even from this point.
I don't really recognize that wall paper but it reminds me of Grandma's house, though it could be from the house in Cambridge that I don't remember, since we moved to Paris when I was about a year and a half. However, I totally remember that tablecloth, I think my mom still has it.
Saturday, 13 February 2016
Still Caterday
------- from Facebook
I didn't even see the cat at first, I just thought the caption was referring to the weird baby penguin with his head sideways.
I didn't even see the cat at first, I just thought the caption was referring to the weird baby penguin with his head sideways.
Thursday, 11 February 2016
Weather From A Skyscraper
There is a building in downtown Toronto that lets us know the weather forecast. I love checking out the what the weather will be by looking at the Canada Life Building. The details aren't sent to our cell phones from a tower on the roof, information isn't displayed on a flashy HD screen on the side, instead you can figure out the next day's weather by knowing the code for the lights on the, quite phallic looking, stick at the top.Temperature: Lights moving up means tomorrow will be warmer, moving down means it will be colder. If the white bands of light are staying steady there won't be a change in temperature.
Precipitation: The big square light at the top can flash and change colour: flashing red is rain, flashing white is snow, solid red is cloudy, and solid green is clear.
Even people who have lived in Toronto for a long time don't believe me when I tell them, but it is true, The Canada Life Building, located at the corner of University and Queen, has been a weather beacon for 65 years. The building is considered historical and was built in 1929. The tower part at the top that broadcasts the weather forecast was the first of its kind in Canada when it was built in 1951, and now it is the only one of its kind left in the country.
Wednesday, 10 February 2016
Not Fair!
This morning Mom and I decided to do another 'view' comparison after chatting for a bit on the phone. After we finished talking we each took a photo of what we have been looking at during the conversation. I like to call her in the morning while commuting to work, usually, when she is at The Cottage, this means that Mom is in bed hanging out with Rasta, or in the bath, or downstairs having coffee. However, she is in Spain for a couple of months so with the time change we are now talking around lunch time for her.
See the small photo on the right for what my commute was like on the bus today - cold, wet, packed, but at least I had a seat. This is from my mom, she wins hands down:
Beach at El Rompido, Spain
February 10, 2016
Photo by Mom
Slow To Notice
It is past 2:30 in the afternoon and I only JUST noticed that I put my shirt on backwards today. Luckily it is a style that isn't noticeable when reversed and I was wearing a shawl/scarf for most of the day. Still, that is a long time and a lot of people seeing me before I figured out I needed to flip my shirt around!
Time For Life Insurance
You need to get life insurance!
I am going to make an assumption here - correct me if I am wrong - you don't have life insurance. Most people don't and if they do it is through their work and they don't know a lot about it. If people do have life insurance, they got it because that have a child, which is good but possibly a bit later than they should have.
Why do I think you need life insurance?
- If you live independently, you need to arrange life insurance to cover funeral costs so friends and family aren't forced to find the money to bury you. Death is expensive, once you are an adult you should make arrangements so that you are paying for those costs - it isn't fair to put the financial burden on the bereaved.
- If you live in a partnership, the above applies but also the consideration of your partner's circumstances. Living choices and lifestyle habits grow out of the combined value of both salaries. The loss of a partner is a loss of that pay cheque, how will the remaining (mourning) partner continue to cover the costs of living the life built together? Life insurance provides the assistance to make the adjustments needed over a longer period of time instead of rushing to find a new place to live, sell a car, etc.
- If you have dependents, the need is obvious. This is the point that I think most people start setting up life insurance and legal wills. The life of your dependents has literally been built with, and sustained by, your salary. They depend on your pay cheque, hence the name dependents. Life insurance provides that money to allow for dependents, and partners, to continue living in the location and lifestyle already established.
Obviously, Jason and I are at the middle point of the above list. It would be easy for me (or him) to say, "I die, you sell the house and move." Without having life insurance that is basically what we would be saying to each other, since our soon-to-be home will have a mortgage that depends on both of us paying and would not be affordable alone. However, we need to find a balance because I also don't like the idea of having a life insurance policy that says, "I die, you get tons of money and then take it easy for the rest of your life." It is much more cut and dry to think about the impact on your children when addressing the financial consequences of your death. I think a lot of people would be less likely to say, "I die, you sell the house and move" to your partner when you have a dependent as well. Yes, the underlying message here is you WILL die, we all will, we just don't know when. Life has a morbid reality.
How do you learn more about life insurance?
Buying a house was hard, organizing renovations was challenging, arranging a mortgage was time consuming, but sorting out life insurance might be the most difficult of all, it is super complicated. My only suggestion is to read about it, ask about it, talk about, and try to figure it out. I looked first to Gail Vaz-Oxlade. Here is where I started my research/understanding:
- How much life insurance do I need?
- Types of life insurance
- Buying life insurance: Do's and Don'ts
Good Luck!
I am going to make an assumption here - correct me if I am wrong - you don't have life insurance. Most people don't and if they do it is through their work and they don't know a lot about it. If people do have life insurance, they got it because that have a child, which is good but possibly a bit later than they should have.
Why do I think you need life insurance?
- If you live independently, you need to arrange life insurance to cover funeral costs so friends and family aren't forced to find the money to bury you. Death is expensive, once you are an adult you should make arrangements so that you are paying for those costs - it isn't fair to put the financial burden on the bereaved.
- If you live in a partnership, the above applies but also the consideration of your partner's circumstances. Living choices and lifestyle habits grow out of the combined value of both salaries. The loss of a partner is a loss of that pay cheque, how will the remaining (mourning) partner continue to cover the costs of living the life built together? Life insurance provides the assistance to make the adjustments needed over a longer period of time instead of rushing to find a new place to live, sell a car, etc.
- If you have dependents, the need is obvious. This is the point that I think most people start setting up life insurance and legal wills. The life of your dependents has literally been built with, and sustained by, your salary. They depend on your pay cheque, hence the name dependents. Life insurance provides that money to allow for dependents, and partners, to continue living in the location and lifestyle already established.
Obviously, Jason and I are at the middle point of the above list. It would be easy for me (or him) to say, "I die, you sell the house and move." Without having life insurance that is basically what we would be saying to each other, since our soon-to-be home will have a mortgage that depends on both of us paying and would not be affordable alone. However, we need to find a balance because I also don't like the idea of having a life insurance policy that says, "I die, you get tons of money and then take it easy for the rest of your life." It is much more cut and dry to think about the impact on your children when addressing the financial consequences of your death. I think a lot of people would be less likely to say, "I die, you sell the house and move" to your partner when you have a dependent as well. Yes, the underlying message here is you WILL die, we all will, we just don't know when. Life has a morbid reality.
How do you learn more about life insurance?
Buying a house was hard, organizing renovations was challenging, arranging a mortgage was time consuming, but sorting out life insurance might be the most difficult of all, it is super complicated. My only suggestion is to read about it, ask about it, talk about, and try to figure it out. I looked first to Gail Vaz-Oxlade. Here is where I started my research/understanding:
- How much life insurance do I need?
- Types of life insurance
- Buying life insurance: Do's and Don'ts
Good Luck!
Tuesday, 9 February 2016
A Family Of Artists
Jason and I are working hard to get our Wedding Website ready so that we can start sending out invitations. It will have lots of information on it, everything from suggested accommodations to dress code descriptions. Since we aren’t having a ‘conventional’ wedding, we don’t want guests to be confused as to what to wear. We asked the three bridesmaids (my cousins: Heather, Fiona, and Sarah) to help us depict appropriate clothing. There are different events in different locations, on different days.
For example, the Friday afternoon paperwork at City Hall is a very small group - just the wedding party and immediate family - but they can dress up if they want. Heather beautifully depicted this:
Then on Saturday, the big wedding day is super casual. The main venue is on Toronto Island (you need to take a ferry or water taxi to it) and the activities we will be having are what you would do at a cottage, beach trip, or picnic. However, people tend to be uncomfortable dressing that casually for something they normally think of as ‘formal’ like a wedding. We don’t want them to end up cold or uncomfortable so Sarah helped us show how dressed-down we would like people to be. (I also think these mannequin guys look quite attractive.)
Lastly, Fiona has created examples of casual outfits that make sense to wear to the dinner and reception that we are having at a local pub on the Saturday Night. I believe she also provided suggestions to Sarah and Heather as to the concept and style of the drawings.
These are just an example each of the drawings, they did more for us and they are all going to be posted on the website. I can't believe how talented my family is, all three are really great artists! It is making me more excited for the wedding.
For example, the Friday afternoon paperwork at City Hall is a very small group - just the wedding party and immediate family - but they can dress up if they want. Heather beautifully depicted this:
Then on Saturday, the big wedding day is super casual. The main venue is on Toronto Island (you need to take a ferry or water taxi to it) and the activities we will be having are what you would do at a cottage, beach trip, or picnic. However, people tend to be uncomfortable dressing that casually for something they normally think of as ‘formal’ like a wedding. We don’t want them to end up cold or uncomfortable so Sarah helped us show how dressed-down we would like people to be. (I also think these mannequin guys look quite attractive.)
Lastly, Fiona has created examples of casual outfits that make sense to wear to the dinner and reception that we are having at a local pub on the Saturday Night. I believe she also provided suggestions to Sarah and Heather as to the concept and style of the drawings.
These are just an example each of the drawings, they did more for us and they are all going to be posted on the website. I can't believe how talented my family is, all three are really great artists! It is making me more excited for the wedding.
Monday, 8 February 2016
Can You See It?
----- from Facebook
According to the post, only 25% of the population can see the image above. I have a hard time believing that I am part of the quarter that can, when I have never been able to see the Magic Eye things. Do you see the animal above? Did Magic Eye images work for you in the 1990s? Leave a response in the comments.
According to the post, only 25% of the population can see the image above. I have a hard time believing that I am part of the quarter that can, when I have never been able to see the Magic Eye things. Do you see the animal above? Did Magic Eye images work for you in the 1990s? Leave a response in the comments.
What I Do And Where
I haven't talking about my job in a while and my company just launched a new website that I thought I would share. I am part of the four-person marketing team at FORREC, where we focus on on promoting the company. My title as Marketing Events Coordinator means that I mainly work on logistics and planning for our attendance at industry tradeshows.
I really love internal and corporate communications, but the business-to-businesses (B2B) marketing that I am now focused on is my second love, and definitely my preferred form of marketing. However, since we aren't working at bringing brand recognition to the 'consumer' or general public, few people even know that this world renown entertainment design company exists in Toronto.
This company that I do marketing for is incredible and I am surrounded by the most amazing talent. I am in constant awe of the creation that is occurring around me every day. Check out the company and the projects we work on at FORREC.COM, our recently redesigned website.
I really love internal and corporate communications, but the business-to-businesses (B2B) marketing that I am now focused on is my second love, and definitely my preferred form of marketing. However, since we aren't working at bringing brand recognition to the 'consumer' or general public, few people even know that this world renown entertainment design company exists in Toronto.
This company that I do marketing for is incredible and I am surrounded by the most amazing talent. I am in constant awe of the creation that is occurring around me every day. Check out the company and the projects we work on at FORREC.COM, our recently redesigned website.
Sunday, 7 February 2016
Buying Appliances
Sunday Mornin' Coming Down - A post about my Dad each Sunday, named after a song that he loved.
Jason and I visited a Sears Whole Home store yesterday in Ottawa. It was a bit difficult for me, as this was the type of store that Dad had worked in for the last 10-15 years of his career before retirement. I remember him making the move from Brantford Sears to sell appliances in Ancaster at this new type of store, I was in Grade 7 or 8 at the time.
We are looking for a stack-able washer and dryer for the new house and it is hard to find decent information about what would be the best one to get (we are considering cost, size, height, durability, and value.) I have been researching online, but am really missing the knowledge I could have gotten from Dad on this - the man knew his appliances.
I wasn't super impressed with the guy that spoke to us at the Ottawa store. Definitely didn't have the charm that I know my dad would have had on the sales floor, since he was pretty enjoyable to be around in general. The vibe at the store was familiar though - employees joking around with each other, the two sales guys hanging out side-by-side, one gave the other a 'nod' as to who would 'get' us.
Dad used to say that he always told potential customers to come back and ask for "George with a beard." I guess at some point there was a second George? It is a bit funny to me because for a while, when I was really young, he used to have a mustache. I always wondered if he had to change his line when he changed his facial hair. However, I think the 'mustache phase' was when he worked as a Department Manager (in many different sections, everything from shoes to seasonal) so he possibly always had a beard by the time he moved into sales.
Jason and I visited a Sears Whole Home store yesterday in Ottawa. It was a bit difficult for me, as this was the type of store that Dad had worked in for the last 10-15 years of his career before retirement. I remember him making the move from Brantford Sears to sell appliances in Ancaster at this new type of store, I was in Grade 7 or 8 at the time.
We are looking for a stack-able washer and dryer for the new house and it is hard to find decent information about what would be the best one to get (we are considering cost, size, height, durability, and value.) I have been researching online, but am really missing the knowledge I could have gotten from Dad on this - the man knew his appliances.
I wasn't super impressed with the guy that spoke to us at the Ottawa store. Definitely didn't have the charm that I know my dad would have had on the sales floor, since he was pretty enjoyable to be around in general. The vibe at the store was familiar though - employees joking around with each other, the two sales guys hanging out side-by-side, one gave the other a 'nod' as to who would 'get' us.
Dad used to say that he always told potential customers to come back and ask for "George with a beard." I guess at some point there was a second George? It is a bit funny to me because for a while, when I was really young, he used to have a mustache. I always wondered if he had to change his line when he changed his facial hair. However, I think the 'mustache phase' was when he worked as a Department Manager (in many different sections, everything from shoes to seasonal) so he possibly always had a beard by the time he moved into sales.
Saturday, 6 February 2016
Spanish Caterday
Mom posted this photo on her blog of cats, they are apparently hanging out by a church in Spain near where she is staying for the next couple of months.
It is hard to tell from her writing where she is staying, she has mentioned Isla Canela, Ayamonte, and other locations. These cats are near a church in Punta del Moral. Google maps shows that all these places are close to each other, and they have a rental car so could be travelling around a bit. The easiest thing to figure out is that she is vacationing with Granny and Pa in the Spanish Province of Huelva - in the south of Spain, right next to the border with Portugal, on the Atlantic Ocean (not the Mediterranean.) It looks like they are having a lovely holiday.
Too Clean To Really Be Feral?
Photo by Mom
It is hard to tell from her writing where she is staying, she has mentioned Isla Canela, Ayamonte, and other locations. These cats are near a church in Punta del Moral. Google maps shows that all these places are close to each other, and they have a rental car so could be travelling around a bit. The easiest thing to figure out is that she is vacationing with Granny and Pa in the Spanish Province of Huelva - in the south of Spain, right next to the border with Portugal, on the Atlantic Ocean (not the Mediterranean.) It looks like they are having a lovely holiday.
The Spanish word for 'cat' is 'el gato'
or 'gata' if it is a female cat,
and a kitten is 'gatito.'
Friday, 5 February 2016
Big Day At The Office
Me And A Floorplan
February 2016
Photo by B on my cell phone
I got to use the big plotter printer for the first time yesterday! I printed out a floor plan for a tradeshow we are attending this year, to get a better idea of what the best booth locations would be. I printed it as 36x48, I think that is inches, I think that means it is 3' by 4'. I could wear this thing as a dress!
Thursday, 4 February 2016
TB - May 2007
Throwback Thursday - Scroll to the bottom of the month and read up. Or click on the earliest post in the month (to view the post and the comments) then keep clicking Newer Post until you finish the month.
I figured it out, the new roommate was Jake! I still don't know if this was the summer that I started at GeoConnections though. May 2007 was the month that I went to France to visit Anna, which was an incredible trip at the tail end of a very difficult time in my life. I had been to Paris briefly in Grade 8 when I went to France over March Break to visit my grandparents, but had only stayed in the city for a few hours. This trip during university really solidified my love and I returned again with my mom and Jason a couple of years ago for another two week stay. Yes, in just Paris, I have spent two separate two-week vacations exploring the city. However, when I visited with Anna we did head out to Chantilly for a day and in 2014 we went to visit Versailles.
Noted Post: The moment that I fell in love with The Eiffel Tower.
I figured it out, the new roommate was Jake! I still don't know if this was the summer that I started at GeoConnections though. May 2007 was the month that I went to France to visit Anna, which was an incredible trip at the tail end of a very difficult time in my life. I had been to Paris briefly in Grade 8 when I went to France over March Break to visit my grandparents, but had only stayed in the city for a few hours. This trip during university really solidified my love and I returned again with my mom and Jason a couple of years ago for another two week stay. Yes, in just Paris, I have spent two separate two-week vacations exploring the city. However, when I visited with Anna we did head out to Chantilly for a day and in 2014 we went to visit Versailles.
Noted Post: The moment that I fell in love with The Eiffel Tower.
Wednesday, 3 February 2016
Peru Overview, With Help From Mom
Each time I travel it seems that I 'report' about it differently on Always Standing. Some of the styles I have used include single photo updates, a series of photos, a rare video post, standard responses, slightly cryptic messages, written posts, live updates, scheduled itinerary details, but most frequently a long list of notes provided as a summary.
My mom has a very consistent documentation style on her blog vicarious travelling, she posts each day of her trip separately and outlines the events like a diary entry. Her goal is to share details with friends, like she would if she was emailing them about the trip. She includes a lot of photos each day, and often captions them (something that I never do.) I figured that because she had also described a big portion of the Peru Trip, I would send you over to her blog for the days that related to my time there.
- MARTES - Tuesday December 29 - We arrived in Cusco in the afternoon, so Jason and I are mentioned (with a photo of us shopping) at the very bottom of Mom's post.
- MIERCOLES - Wednesday December 30 - This is the day that the three of us went horseback riding into the mountains around Cusco. Rereading her post now I am reminded of watching the lightening hitting the hills on the other side of the valley - it was incredible.
- JUEVES - Thursday December 31 - Mom only has a short written post for this New Year's Eve, which was when we spent the afternoon doing a bit of a practice hike. I got good pictures of both Jason and Mom during our walk.
- JUEVES 2 - Thursday December 31 - After she got home from the trip, Mom wrote about the last 6 days in more detail and included photos. This is her bigger post about our Cusco hike.
- SACRED VALLEY 1 - Friday January 1 - The first full day of the G Adventures Tour was a trip in a van around the Sacred Valley. No real hiking to deal with at this point. Her first post is mainly about a weaving place that we visited.
- SACRED VALLEY 2 - Friday January 1 - We also saw various Inca Sites and had lunch at a local restaurant, my mom has lots of photos from this day. Three posts worth.
- SACRED VALLEY 3 - Friday January 1 - This is her final post from New Years Day, mainly focused on Ollantayambo, a town where we visited an amazing Inca Site and then spent the night at a local hotel.
- DAY 1 - Saturday January 2 - The pictures from the first day on the Inca Trail are perfect! They show the sites, the camp, our food, and how much fun we were having (though at the same time, I was still pretty nervous at this point about what the other days would bring.)
- DAY 2 - Sunday January 3 - This day was hard. Everything I had read told me it would be hard and it was. The last hour uphill was very very very difficult and I practically crawled up the last 50 meters. Then, in a surprising twist, the last 2-3 hours doing down hill was even harder for me! I ended up wishing I was still going up hill since the steps down were very painful on my ankles. I was dehydrated and unhappy during that descent.
- DAY 3 - Monday January 4 - Everything I had read was right again - this was the best day on the Inca Trail! I loved every second of it. If you could have seen me I was beaming from ear to ear all day and how could I not be on a day that was an incredible combination of jungle, physical challenge, ancient ruins, mountains, cake, waterfalls, llamas, and more.
- DAY 4 - Tuesday January 5 - We made it to Machu Picchu! My mom has a great picture of the three of us posted.
I am glad to be able to link over to Mom's writing to share my experience in Peru with you. You may want to also read her Reflections or Recommendations for the trip as well. Oh, and like me, she loves to receive comments so feel free to post some either on this post or any of hers.
My mom has a very consistent documentation style on her blog vicarious travelling, she posts each day of her trip separately and outlines the events like a diary entry. Her goal is to share details with friends, like she would if she was emailing them about the trip. She includes a lot of photos each day, and often captions them (something that I never do.) I figured that because she had also described a big portion of the Peru Trip, I would send you over to her blog for the days that related to my time there.
- MARTES - Tuesday December 29 - We arrived in Cusco in the afternoon, so Jason and I are mentioned (with a photo of us shopping) at the very bottom of Mom's post.
- MIERCOLES - Wednesday December 30 - This is the day that the three of us went horseback riding into the mountains around Cusco. Rereading her post now I am reminded of watching the lightening hitting the hills on the other side of the valley - it was incredible.
- JUEVES - Thursday December 31 - Mom only has a short written post for this New Year's Eve, which was when we spent the afternoon doing a bit of a practice hike. I got good pictures of both Jason and Mom during our walk.
- JUEVES 2 - Thursday December 31 - After she got home from the trip, Mom wrote about the last 6 days in more detail and included photos. This is her bigger post about our Cusco hike.
- SACRED VALLEY 1 - Friday January 1 - The first full day of the G Adventures Tour was a trip in a van around the Sacred Valley. No real hiking to deal with at this point. Her first post is mainly about a weaving place that we visited.
- SACRED VALLEY 2 - Friday January 1 - We also saw various Inca Sites and had lunch at a local restaurant, my mom has lots of photos from this day. Three posts worth.
- SACRED VALLEY 3 - Friday January 1 - This is her final post from New Years Day, mainly focused on Ollantayambo, a town where we visited an amazing Inca Site and then spent the night at a local hotel.
- DAY 1 - Saturday January 2 - The pictures from the first day on the Inca Trail are perfect! They show the sites, the camp, our food, and how much fun we were having (though at the same time, I was still pretty nervous at this point about what the other days would bring.)
- DAY 2 - Sunday January 3 - This day was hard. Everything I had read told me it would be hard and it was. The last hour uphill was very very very difficult and I practically crawled up the last 50 meters. Then, in a surprising twist, the last 2-3 hours doing down hill was even harder for me! I ended up wishing I was still going up hill since the steps down were very painful on my ankles. I was dehydrated and unhappy during that descent.
- DAY 3 - Monday January 4 - Everything I had read was right again - this was the best day on the Inca Trail! I loved every second of it. If you could have seen me I was beaming from ear to ear all day and how could I not be on a day that was an incredible combination of jungle, physical challenge, ancient ruins, mountains, cake, waterfalls, llamas, and more.
- DAY 4 - Tuesday January 5 - We made it to Machu Picchu! My mom has a great picture of the three of us posted.
I am glad to be able to link over to Mom's writing to share my experience in Peru with you. You may want to also read her Reflections or Recommendations for the trip as well. Oh, and like me, she loves to receive comments so feel free to post some either on this post or any of hers.
Monday, 1 February 2016
Would You Rather - Sick Edition
Which would you rather have this winter?
FLU - Two weeks, very ill, throat pain, vomiting, achy, fever, 5-6 days off work - My boss had this and is still recovering, it sounds awful. I am very glad to have gotten my flu shot, but that only protects from some of the flu viruses out there.
COLD - Three weeks, quite sick, sore throat, running nose, headache, fever, 1-2 days off work - I am home from work today dealing with a bad cold. It has been coming and going over the last week or so. Some days are better than others but days with a lot of sinus pressure are killer.
COUGH - Three months, not well, dry/scratchy throat, sore muscles and joints, constant coughing, very tired, no days off work - Steph gets this every year. It starts with a couple of really sick days and then just hangs around as a cough/cold for the rest of the winter. I don't know how she deals with it, it would wear me down so much.
Leave your 'choice' in the comments.
FLU - Two weeks, very ill, throat pain, vomiting, achy, fever, 5-6 days off work - My boss had this and is still recovering, it sounds awful. I am very glad to have gotten my flu shot, but that only protects from some of the flu viruses out there.
COLD - Three weeks, quite sick, sore throat, running nose, headache, fever, 1-2 days off work - I am home from work today dealing with a bad cold. It has been coming and going over the last week or so. Some days are better than others but days with a lot of sinus pressure are killer.
COUGH - Three months, not well, dry/scratchy throat, sore muscles and joints, constant coughing, very tired, no days off work - Steph gets this every year. It starts with a couple of really sick days and then just hangs around as a cough/cold for the rest of the winter. I don't know how she deals with it, it would wear me down so much.
Leave your 'choice' in the comments.
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