weekends & buses

Wow, do real weekends ever fill up? For the second weekend in a row J and I were busy busy busy, but I'm not entirely sure with what. We visited family, we visited friends and suddenly it was Sunday night and time to start getting ready for the week.

My last post was not all bollocks and I have taken the bus to work for the past two days and in all honesty, I like it just fine. The last two days have been exceptionally challenging because I needed to catch an extra bus on the way home to make it to the softball diamonds for a game each night. Monday was easy as pie and I was at the diamond in 70 minutes. Tuesday however was an entirely different story; I started off 10 minutes later and subsequently had delays at both my transfers and it took me an hour and 50 minutes to go the exact same distance. But hey, them's the breaks right?

On the whole taking the bus is definitely easier and less stressful and quite honestly I don't mind it a bit. I have volunteer training this evening, so I get a leisurely morning before driving to work in non-peak hours. Yay!

Tags: /bus/transit/weekend/

traffic - another vote for transit

My new job is very flexible with regard to hours on office days. That means that I get to choose what time I come in, but since my journey includes 3 bridges each day traffic is definitely a factor. This week I have been working with the coordinator I will be replacing (while she is having a baby!) and have been coming in for 8am, which works out fairly well. It allows me to leave by 4pm and thus miss the bulk of the really bad traffic.

Yesterday however, was the worst day yet (traffic-wise) and it started first thing in the morning. Despite leaving at exactly the same time the day before, yesterday was considerably busier - there was no accident, it was just busy. As my little bar chugged its way up the second bridge of my trip, I notice a pickup truck is coming up the carpool lane beside me. The two lanes merge into one and there was a significant amount of space behind me.

I had JUST let a person merge in front of me only moments before, so of course, I ride the car in front of me, assuming that the truck will back off and slip in behind me. No dice.

Instead he speeds up and just starts moving into my lane. Does he put on his blinker? Nope, he just moves over and if you've ever seen my car I'm sure you can imagine that in a fight between a pick-up and my Toyota, I would probably lose. Fortunately there is room in the next lane over and I jerk my car into the other lane, with little time to spare.

Now of course I'm angry and don't want to go behind the truck--out of principle--but will the bitch in the car in front of me (whom I already let in) allow me to merge back into the lane in front of her? Nope, she speeds up and rides the space.

Eventually I manage to merge back over and make my exit - I think I actually may have made it in front of the truck, because they passed me again on the road. Only this time the man in the truck (with two teenage looking boys - way to set an example) gave me the middle finger while pretending to pick his nose. Give me a f'n break...What an asshole.

On the way home, it takes me half an hour to get through the traffic to get over the same bridge, which takes less than 5 minutes when there is no traffic. Grrrr.

The point of this rant, is that before I even started the job, I thought perhaps transit would be the way to go. I imagined (and schedules confirmed) that in terms of time the bus would be close if not faster than driving, plus I wouldn't have the stress of driving after a long day of work.

Take into consideration the fact that I will likely have to drive the same distance to and from work sites with regular frequency all summer long, and that's another vote for transit.

Work also provides an employee bus plan that discounts your monthly pass by about $10 so I think I must be up to three votes for transit now.

Next week, when I don't have to meet anyone first thing in the morning at work, I intend to try getting a ride part way with J and see what time that gets me to work. I'm anticipating 8:30, which could work fabulously for me, except for the days when I have softball...

Tags:/traffic/transit/

Weekend BBQ's

Yay Yay Yay...On our first normal weekend off together in over a year, J and I attended not one, but two barbeques for the long weekend.

Mmmm, Burgers & Beer...

It's so great to be able to have a life!

Summer is going to kick ass this year, even though I will be working most Sundays. But that won't matter at all because I love stewardship work and I'll still get Saturdays with J.

Although it could hamper all those camping plans...

Tags:/BBQ/

New job - two days complete

I'm two days into the new job and I am still so incredibly stoked. Everyone in the office seems amazing and the facility itself, well let me just say if you knew where it was, you'd be jealous.

I am covering a mat-leave so this week and next week I am getting the introduction to the program and the work from the coordinator, so things have been a little slow, but still very interesting.

I attended my first staff meeting yesterday where we did a personal colour analysis and I found out that I am a yellow under normal circumstances but a green-blue-red when I am stressed. What does that mean you ask??

Yellow means that I am:

Being curious about what other think and feel...Being open minded and willing to adapt...Experiments with different ways of acting...Proud to be a "member"...Likes to know a lot of people...Likes to be known by a lot of people...Likes to be known as flexible

and that I exhibit the following characteristics in a rewarding environment:

Friendly, involving, sociable, democratic, playful, changing, flexible...Encouraging interaction...Being heard and listening...Sensitivity to feelings...Consensus building

More interesting the fact that I respond to stress in a Green-Blue-Red fashion means I am:

a person who first meets conflict with caution, examining the situation carefully and logically and waiting for all the facts to come in before making any commitments. If this does not work and there is no important principle involved, they would defer to the other person in the interest of harmony. If the conflict continues, they would come out fighting, but only as a last resort.

It's surprising how accurate these statements are.

But I digress, the pregnant coordinator and I did site visits yesterday, reviewing the potential sites and the work that needs to be done. Now that I can see how much work there is, I am eager to get outside and get dirty!

Tags:/jobs/color analysis/

the importance of money

It's not every day that you turn down a position that makes significantly more money than your current position (or at least it is the first time for me). Especially when you have yet to start your current position, but that is JUST what I did today.

*ring*ring*
I can see from the call display that this is a potential employer calling, however they told me they were hoping to call within a week and it has now been two and a half, so I'm ready for the rejection message and a quick hangup.

After some idle banter that includes telling him I have a new position (as he had called my old place of business and been informed I was no longer an employee) he cautiously asked "So I guess there is no point offering you this position?" I took a moment to be sure, but then replied that I was sorry but unfortunately it was true.

He was understanding, stating that sometimes things are "feast or famine" which is entirely true, since I applied for this particular position all the way back in January.

Now surely you are thinking "girl - your crazy" but the truth is, I had already made this decision when I decided to take on the stewardship & outreach position. Although this job is for a considerable amount of money, the entire position included washing glassware (beakers etc) and acid washing (swirling chemicals such as HCl, acetone etc in the glassware to ensure sterility)...Nope that's it guys. There isn't any more to the job posting, the job is basically cleaning other peoples glassware all day long. Additionally, the job is a minimum 45 minute drive away but much closer to 60-70 minute commute during rush hour.

I'm positive that all those things combined will result in a very miserable granola-girl as cleaning and acid washing in the lab was already one of my least favourite activities.

Since we can afford to live on the lower stewardship salary, my happiness in worth more than money.

Wow..Sometimes being an adult is hard.

Tags:/jobs/happiness/money/

mothers day

Ok so I've been lazy - I admit it, I'm back dating this post. I know my mom deserves better, but hey she gets a post and that's what's important.

I love my mom. She's open, understanding and loving and I am glad there is a special day devoted to all the mothers who sacrifice so that their children can have more. My mom was the one who skimmed off the grocery money when I was a child so that she could save the funds that made it possible for me to attend University and that's only one example of her sacrifices.

I want to say Mothers day was amazing, but the truth is, I did have to work. Fortunately, it was my LAST DAY EVER working in the lab and as such, I was unsupervised and didn't work all that much. After arriving late, I worked for a few hours before rushing off to meet J's mom & family for a wonderfully delicious lunch buffet. We chatted, visited and enjoyed the smorgasboard of food.

After work, I met j back at his mom's before heading over to my parent's where we enjoyed a yummy ham that my dad had cooked and basted on the BBQ.

All in all it was a tiring, but enjoyable day - it feels nice to celebrate mothers and all their accomplishments and sacrifices.

I love you mom.

Tags:/Mothers day/

Make a difference now

So every day you do something little that benefits the environment, you don't do it for recognition nor do you do it because it's the law, you do it because you care. You might turn the tap off instead of letting the water run, take the bus, carpool, make five mini-trips into one organized errand trip or you may simply refrain from littering - it doesn't matter how small, the Earth appreciates your efforts.

You may have heard the radio ads, the Ethical Funds Company is sponsoring the Make a Difference Now Campaign to allow eco-friendly Canadians the chance to share what they are doing to help the environment AND potentially be rewarded for their efforts. All entries to the program will be entered in a draw to win an eco-vacation for four valued at up to $20,000.

So why not click over, show that you care about the environment AND get a chance to win an eco-vacation...How cool would that be?

Tags: /makeadifferencenow/eco vacation

compost harvest

I have had a worm compost for about 5 years. In that time, it has been loved and it has been ignored, but the worms have always been fed and they have always survived. Today I harvested my compost for the first time at the apartment. It really didn't take all that long and I have a large vinyl tablecloth that I use to work on so that I don't make a mess.

The harvest and re-fill took less than an hour to complete and if I keep feeding the worms and harvesting regularly, I can have a bounty of wonderfully rich compost for my plants.

If this all seems like a little bit beyond the scope of your knowledge, let me first direct you to the Worm Woman's site. She has written THE BOOK on worm composting called Worms Eat My Garbage.

So here are a few basic Worm Composting Facts:


• The worms used in a compost are called "Red Wriggler Worms" and though they can be found in your yard or garden, they rarely are.


• Red Wrigglers can eat their weight in organic food waste (ie. fruit, vegetables, coffee/tea grinds, eggshells) per day (if my memory serves me correctly)


• The worms use small granuals of sand in their gut to break down the food, creating compost


• When properly maintained worm composts emit no scent and can be used in apartments, townhomes or other small areas


• Worm composts do not require turning or aeration


• Maintenance of a worm compost requires only regular feeding and regular harvesting

Composting is just another way to reduce waste...and I always feel better when I'm doing that.

Tags:/compost/worm compost/vermicompost/

New Jobs - All Round!

I am pleased to announce that some major changes have been happening in my blogging absence. First off, J & I accepted new positions within a day of each other, which is excellent as it means that we both get to start fresh simultaneously. I am looking forward to excitement and happiness all round once we get settled into our new positions, but we will see.

I have actually accepted two jobs, although the second is VERY part-time at only 5 hours every three weeks, but regardless it is a job and I am very happy about it. It is a community position attempting to raise awareness about healthy cooking, eating and nutrition choices within the youth in the community. We hope to achieve this by helping the teens prepare easy, healthy, cost-conscious meals. The only drawback, is that the events take place on Friday evenings between 9pm and 12am - last night was the first shot, and damn am I tired this morning. Thank Goodness for Starbucks!

My other new position will be starting in a few short weeks and involves coordinating a local environmental stewardship and outreach group for the next year. It is very similar to the summer work I used to do and enjoyed immensely. Although the opportunities and pay in this field is a little less than if I continued to pursue my science career, I have come to realize (in the past year and a half) that outreach work, is close to my heart, and I have missed it dearly, so for now, it is worth the sacrifice. (Email me if you want to know more!)

So I am ecstatic to report that I am officially transforming from a science dork back into a COMMUNITY DORK! It feels so good to know that I will once again be making a difference in the community that I live - positively impacting peoples lives and the environment.

Wow, I really am a community dork aren't I?

Tags: /community/environment/job/

Enviro Fact 2: Wetlands as Habitat

Wetlands are multi-functional and extremely important. In this case I am referring to an estuarine (where the river meets the ocean or where fresh water meets salt water) wetland, although the theory should hold strong regardless.

Wetlands as Habitat are important because they can provide a home, hotel, nursery or restaurant to a host of different species.

• Home-some animals such as herons, beavers, crabs and shrimp inhabit the wetland year round.


• Hotel-some animals such as salmon and birds may merely pass through the estuary as a stop on route to their destination.


• Nursery-some animals such as frogs, salmon and nesting birds use the estuary to lay their eggs and rear their young.


• Restaurant-all animals in the estuary use it as a food source.

This information from the Vancouver Aquarium's Riverworks Program Website...GO CHECK IT OUT!

Tags: /Enviro Fact/wetland/habitat/

quick catch up...& more pictures

After what seems like forever, I finally have a few days off with very few commitments. Mussel project seemed to go on forever and all I have wanted to do is sleep - I have been in bed before 10pm numerous times over the past weeks, but it's finally over for now.

In addition to mussel project, softball season has finally started. We have only played one game, but we started off strong and won that game, which is never a bad thing. I have another game this evening, but it sounds like we are going to be short men, which is never a good way to start the game.

Additionally the pursuit of new jobs and careers continues for both J & I, hopefully our respective searches will prove fruitful in the near future, keep your fingers crossed.

Since I have already had one day off, I finally had time to upload those new pictures I was talking about from our trip to Harrison. I really like this picture of J checking out the shoreline for rocks to put in our fishtank, and it seems fitting as I was in the last picture I posted. Not to mention the random msn messenger message I got from someone on the list whom I never talk with (we all have those - let's be honest) telling me how much they liked this shot - If that's not a bit of an ego stroke I don't know what is. :)


water's edge
Originally uploaded by granola girl :).

Tags:/photography/Softball/