Buried in snow

I know I've been complaining a lot about the weather, but sometimes there just isn't anything else to write about. And, like Pamela, I too like to write about the weather on my blog. Mike and i went home on Saturday for a wedding reception, and like usual, the weather went crazy. As we made the drive around Cameron Lake the first snowflakes brushed the windshield, and I thought, it's a good thing we left early to miss the snowfall. As we got closer to Port Alberni, we could see it had been snowing for a while, but not so much that it was hard to drive. We got into town and it continued to snow and snow the whole reception and all night while we slept at my mom's. In the morning the snow still hadn't let up and the car was buried. We were determined to make it home to Victoria though and Mike thought his soccer game might still be on as someone on his team told us it wasn't snowing in Victoria. (He must not have looked out the window as it did indeed snow here).

So, we made the drive in just under 4 hours through the snow and about 4 or 5 accidents. Even saw a guy trying to drive a motorbike. What kind of person drives a motorcycle on the highway in a snow storm? I don't know, but good old tercel made it all the way home with no problems. Except that we almost ran out of gas as it took us so long to make it to the first gas station we could actually drive into without getting stuck. Scary drive, but the irony is that when we finally pulled onto Richmond and were about 30 seconds from home, we saw home bad Victoria is at dealing with snow. I know we never get snow, but do you think we could hold onto at least 1 snow plow? PA has no problem when it snows. They plow the road, ppl shovel their driveways and sidewalks, and life continues. Even despite the fact that they still can't drink the water. But, oh no, not Victoria. Here, we don't plow or shovel, so that as we approached our street, which is a hill, I could see we weren't going to make it. The street was completely snowed in and ppl were parked all along Richmond. We sat in the car and watched 3 people get stuck on their way up the hill. The thing is, even if you make it up Mayfair, you then have to turn up the driveway, which is also a hill, and by then you've lost momentum. So, we decided to join the cars on the side of the street and walk our bags up to the house. After falling on my face in the snow a few times, we made it into our apartment only to discover that we had no power.

So, it was a lovely time. We lit a lot of candles and then discovered that for some reason two of our power outlets worked. Mike managed to stretch the computer and phone to those outlets so we would have something to do. After calling Sarah and Fraser we decided to brave the weather to all go see Casino Royale together. It was actually kind of fun going out at night in the snow to see a movie. And the theater was absolutely PACKED. I couldn't believe it. But it was fun. And shortly after we got home the power came back on. This, however, was after the fire alarm in our building went off. I'm pretty sure it was the people I could smell down the hall who were most likely hotboxing their apartment. What else is there to do in the snow? I guess that's what they were thinking.

Mike and I camped out in the living room though since we were worried the power might go off again and we needed to use the working outlet to set his alarm. Poor guy, had to wake up at 6 am on a snow day and then found that although last night after the movie we managed to get Tercel up the hill and the driveway (such a good little car :) the doors were frozen shut and he had no way to get the car out of where we'd parked in the guest spaces, worried we'd never get out of our undergroud parkade. So, he had to walk to work. Plus he was working at the Shelbourne store, so it wasn't exactly a short walk in the snow. Meanwhile, I managed to get my internet and keyboard working again, and have plans to do homework since classes at Uvic are cancelled. I have a reserve book out that I was supposed to bring back today but since the number 14 bus is currently stuck at the bottom of the hill, I don't think there's any way of getting to the school.

So I guess it's a snow day. Haven't had a real snow storm in ten years. Funny, too, because I was just saying this last weekend, and thinking maybe we were due for another. Ha. BC finally knows a little of what it's like to live in Canada. It's actually -40 in some areas of the province and is even going to get close to -15 on the island and in Vancouver with the wind. I know it's nothing compared to the rest of the country, but we're catching up. Too bad I don't own a tuque, boots, or winter gloves.

Well, it's back to work. I mean, to start doing work. Maybe school will be cancelled tomorrow too. That would be nice since Mike has the day off. We could have a real snow day together. Going to call my mom now, since she was stranded in nanaimo yesterday. Hope she's made it back to PA alright.

Maybe we will finally have a white Christmas?

Is it Christmas yet?

Some of you have heard me talking about the storm and the rain, and I know I keep writing about how crazy the weather is here. But, here is some proof as to what it looked like last week in my home town of Port Alberni. It makes me think of what it must have looked like after the Tsunami.

It might have been kind of cool to canoe down the street though.

The weather suits the mood of the week however. I've got only 3 weeks left of school and then I'm done for good. But, I have about 10 projects left to complete, and I'm going to be in PA again this weekend for a wedding. Not to mention the fact that I might have mono. I've been finding lumps in my neck and the doctos sent me for a mono spot test the other day. All I know is I feel like crap and my throat hurts a lot, although I don't have any of the other common cold symptoms. I just hope I don't give whatever I have to Mike.

I'm hoping to feel better tomorrow though because Mike and I are going to see The Nutcracker ballet thanks to Jenn's birthday present for me. I'm really excited to see it. It will be my first Christmasy thing this year. And, in December I have plans to drag mike to see Winter Harp with me. I went to their concert last year and the year before and they are amazing. I have 3 of their cd's now. Their music is beautiful, very Celtic. I love it. And they have a writer there who reads Christmas stories. Not to mention that it's at the Alix Goolden (sp?) Hall, which in itself is gorgeous. So, some things to look forward to despite how extremely tired I am. I just slept for 11 hours. Although I will admit it wasn't the best sleep since I had an earache all night. But still 11 hours and I feel like I could sleep for another 5 or 6. Sounds like mono, huh? Seeing as my sister just had it a couple of months ago.

Oh well, soon it will be over and I can just enjoy Christmas. Man, I can sure tell I'm tired. It just took me 3 tries to type the word "enjoy" without adding in an extra letter. Oh, and I forgot, I also finished reading Truth and Beauty, which is sooo amazing. I really think it's a book everyone should read. The title doesn't sound that great, but the book is awesome. I really feel it would help out a lot of people. Especially if you are a writer or a woman with a best friend. And, I saw it at Munro's on their sale table for 6.99. So, don't be surprised if I send it to you for Christmas. :)

Wind, Will Ferrel, and writers.

Boy is it ever windy and stormy on Vancouver Island right now. I can't even believe how stormy it is. For those of you who remember the mild climate of the island, especially Victoria, the weather right now is definitely contradicting that. In Port Alberni there was 119 mm of rain today, and in Cathedral Grove trees are falling over so that no one can drive to or from Port Alberni. This is unfortunate because Mike and I are planning on heading there for the weekend. Hopefully the storm will have passed by then. On the news they showed a tree crashing right into a house in Vancouver and then apparently a condo building under construction collapsed from the heavy wind and rain. It's really remarkable. I tried going to the mall and I could barely get the door to my car open when I left it's so windy. The north of the island apparently has winds of up to 100km an hour. Pretty crazy.

That said, the weather is obviously keeping me indoors. I'm trying to get a lot of homework done, but being inside all day while Mike is at work and I'm on reading break is hard. I keep getting really sleepy for no reason other than that there's nothing to do but homework. I wish reading break wasn't already more than half way over. I feel like I need a month off to accomplish everything I need to do.

On Friday I'm going to stop at my sister's though for her birthday. So, that should be fun. Plus, I have done other fun things so far on reading break:

1) I went to Matt and Sarah's for a games night (Scattegories--hence the title of this post, The Bean game, and Cranium) and got to play with Matt's daughter Ainslie who drooled on me a lot as she is teething.

2) I went out for lunch and shopping with my friend Myana and we went in three of my favourite stores--Out of Ireland, Munro's, and The Christmas Store.

3) Mike and I went to see Stranger than Fiction, which I really enjoyed because it's about writing and it was funny but also sad. Good movie all around.

So, it has been a good reading break. I'm also reading a great non-fiction book my teacher lent me called Truth and Beauty, by Ann Patchett. So far it is excellent. I didn't want to read it at first because I have so many other books on my list that are half read or waiting to be begun, but I figured if I wanted to read this one, it has to be during reading break so I can give it back to my teacher. It's all about friendship between these two women who are writers and grad students together. I definitely recommend it so far.

Well, more news to come, if anything exciting happens...

Trying to study, but....

I'm trying to study right now before my class at 1:30. I have an exam tomorrow morning and I've been studying all week for it, and working hard to finish all the projects I had due so that I could study. But, I think I know most of the stuff now and it's just so boring now reading the same thing over and over. Especially when I know that tomorrow is Friday and then I have 9 days in which I don't have to go to school or practicum or work. I have a lot of stuff to do and catch up on, but the fact that I don't have to be at the school is very exciting. So, basically, this morning has been going by sooo slowly as I wait for it to be time to go to class. I know I should be using the time to study, but I've gotten to the point where I don't care, I just want it to be over. This semester is all about just handing things in and crossing them off my list.

Mike got another call from the RCMP and it looks like he probably won't go until late in January or possible February, because it's going to take another 10-12 weeks to process the information they're going through now, which is where they call all of his character references and people he knows. I have to say that I'm happy he's going a little later, because I don't have to worry so much about having enough money, since he'll have a few extra pay checks before he goes to save. Although, I hope it doesn't mean that we won't get our week at home for Christmas. But, I'm pretty sure we'll get at least 4 or 5 days. It could be the last Christmas on the island for a few years, depending on where Mike gets posted.

The rain has finally stopped and in Victoria fashion the sun is shining again. I don't know why people complain about so much rain in Victoria when we get so much sun too. Although I will admit I've never seen such a rain storm as what we had this past week.

Well, nothing much else is exciting. Mike and I are going home for an entire weekend on the 17th, so I'm excited about that. It's been a long time since I was there for more than one night. It's mike's mom's 50th birthday so we're having her a party in town.

Back to work I guess....

Book lovers and bibliophiles

Go to librarything.com
It's very cool if you love books like me...it lets you catalogue all the books you own and they will actually send you recommendations of what to read next. There are also book lists with book recommendations from people who use librarything, and they're by category so you can look up your favourite type of book. Okay, I'm procrastinating from studying, but this website is great. And free, best of all (up to 200 books, and then you have to pay if you want more)

Rain Rain go away

We went from record sunshine to record rain in BC the past four days. I can't even believe how much it's raining. I played field hockey on Saturday and it was definitely the wettest game I've ever played in my ten years of playing the sport. The turf, which is water based, had so much water on it the ball couldn't move more than a few few before stopping. As of today, the flooding from all the rain has caused evacuations in the lower mainland, and several major car accidents in Victoria, including one invloving a young woman that goes to my Church. She's in critical condition, but apparently is stable, which is good. Watching the news, it's hard to believe that the photos of flooded fields and houses that are covered in water is here, where I live. Usually these scenes are coming to us from other places in the world. We're so lucky in BC to have the mildest weather year round, especially on the island. It really makes you appreciate people who brave other areas of the world.

I've been neglecting my blog for a few days since this week is the busiest of the semester. I've been dreading it for a while, and now that it's here I don't know how I'm going to get all the work done. I have two presentations, two essays, another project, and a final exam. I'm doing well so far, but still have an essay and studying to do. But, then it's reading break and I can catch up on my reading. And then, it's exams, and then Christmas, which I'm very excited about because we actually get to spend a whole week at home. We aren't doing presents since we have no money, but I'm so excited about having a relaxing week with my family that I don't really care!

Hope the weather is sunnier in other parts of the world....although, I am making good use of my Mary Poppins umbrella...