Hi everyone!
I'm at Amanda's, enjoying some quality couch time with her. I realized I haven't been posting many photos lately (in part due to Amanda's illness last week), so we decided to try taking a photo with Amanda's Macbook.
She had some Twizzlers handy, so I suggested getting a photo of a Twizzler kiss -- almost a lady and the tramp moment.
But when we took the photo, it came out very muddy and we had very odd expressions on our faces. Ultimately, I made the hard decision and deleted it...
But I'm here with Amanda, the weather is supposed to be good, and hopefully we'll have lots of opportunities for great photos this weekend!
Friday, April 20, 2012
Thursday, April 19, 2012
T-Minus Twenty Hours...
It's just twenty hours now. Twenty hours until I see Amanda again. I haven't seen Amanda since April 9th. I know it's a small amount of time in the grand scheme of things. There are plenty of people who don't get to see their wives/husbands/girlfriends/boyfriends for weeks or months on end while they're away at work.
Still, it has seemed like a long time. I was sort of at loose ends last weekend, and wasn't quite sure what to do by myself. I knitted, read, and played a bunch of Minecraft, but my place seemed really empty without Amanda here.
So in twenty hours I'll be in the parking lot of Amanda's building, watching her step out of her car, just back from work, with a *huge* smile on my face.
...Twenty more hours and counting.
Still, it has seemed like a long time. I was sort of at loose ends last weekend, and wasn't quite sure what to do by myself. I knitted, read, and played a bunch of Minecraft, but my place seemed really empty without Amanda here.
So in twenty hours I'll be in the parking lot of Amanda's building, watching her step out of her car, just back from work, with a *huge* smile on my face.
...Twenty more hours and counting.
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
What is a picture worth?
A lot, as it turns out!
A while back I used Wordle to put together a tag cloud for the library. It was neat to do, but once I finished I put it to the side and didn't play with it again.
Today I updated the library's website to add our tag cloud to the front page (because we don't have any incredibly important news to post right now), and it occurred to me that posting a word cloud of the blog posts I've written would be really neat!
So I checked out the website, found out that I could just put in the address of our blog, and made this word cloud tonight. I assume it just uses the most recent blog posts that are available to an RSS feed, as some words are really overrepresented, and it surprises me that I don't see others.
I may do one of these word clouds now and then as a visual to show what the blog has been about recently. That said, I may also stack the deck a little:
Amanda Amanda Amanda Amanda Amanda Amanda Amanda <3
There we go. The input text for the next word cloud is off to a good start!
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Kissing Couple Book Review - The Magicians by Lev Grossman
In my sickness-induced Amanda-free weekend, I had the time to re-read two of my favorite books that were published in the past few years: The Magicians and The Magician King, both by Lev Grossman. It occurred to me that we haven't written a restaurant review in a while (we missed a good chance to do so last weekend), so I decided to write a book review to fill the gap!
I stumbled into The Magicians by chance when we ordered it at the library. The book looked interesting, and I gave it a try.
It was amazing. The Magicians follows a boy named Quentin who stumbles into a magical college. His life there is everything he hoped for... at least for a while. But he makes a mistake that proves that magical life isn't perfect. And then another. Finally he thinks he's found what will bring him true happiness, a trip to a fantasy world he'd read and dreamed about since he was a child.
The book is interesting and is great to read as a counterpoint to Harry Potter's magical world where everything is black or white. It feels less magical and more real, especially in how the main characters are portrayed.
The sequel, The Magician King, takes things even further. It starts off as a fairly light hearted romp and becomes darker as the book progresses. Quentin and his friends learn the price of seeking power and adventure, and the ending was very approriate. The two books stand on their own fantastically, but if Grossman ever decides to write a third, he's certainly left enough room in the world he's created to finish a trilogy.
I stumbled into The Magicians by chance when we ordered it at the library. The book looked interesting, and I gave it a try.
It was amazing. The Magicians follows a boy named Quentin who stumbles into a magical college. His life there is everything he hoped for... at least for a while. But he makes a mistake that proves that magical life isn't perfect. And then another. Finally he thinks he's found what will bring him true happiness, a trip to a fantasy world he'd read and dreamed about since he was a child.
The book is interesting and is great to read as a counterpoint to Harry Potter's magical world where everything is black or white. It feels less magical and more real, especially in how the main characters are portrayed.
The sequel, The Magician King, takes things even further. It starts off as a fairly light hearted romp and becomes darker as the book progresses. Quentin and his friends learn the price of seeking power and adventure, and the ending was very approriate. The two books stand on their own fantastically, but if Grossman ever decides to write a third, he's certainly left enough room in the world he's created to finish a trilogy.
Monday, April 16, 2012
Just another Scenic Sunday
I'm currently chatting with Amanda, and it sounds like we both had a similar idea today. Amanda went for an hour and a half walk, and I walked the five mile loop in Tumbler Ridge, which took me... an hour and a half.
Anyway, it's more fun wandering hand-in-hand with Amanda and talking with her. With any luck, the weather will be nice this weekend and we'll be able to do a lot more of it!
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Progress, or lack thereof...
My knitting isn't progressing very fast. When I was under the gun before Christmas, I churned out three bulky ribbed scarves in a little over a month. The scarf I'm working on now is made from the same yarn, done in the same style (though slightly wider), and I started just after Christmas.
...I'm not even halfway done.
The scarf is looking great, and I'm really excited about what the final product will be! ...I'm just not as motivated as I should be to put my nose to the grindstone and plug away at it.
Part of the problem is that since I started working on this scarf, I've obtained all sorts of neat yarn. Amanda bought me some at a yarn store in Prince George on our way back north after Christmas, and I've since ordered some from Knitpicks. I've got about a dozen things I'd like to be working on, and instead of just starting on them and indulging my craving I think "Nah, I should probably continue working on my scarf if I do any knitting."
...but then I don't do any. I may need Amanda to give me a pep talk (or a marine corps drill sargeant "motivational speech") to get me moving on my scarf again. With any luck, it'll be done by next winter.
...I'm not even halfway done.
The scarf is looking great, and I'm really excited about what the final product will be! ...I'm just not as motivated as I should be to put my nose to the grindstone and plug away at it.
Part of the problem is that since I started working on this scarf, I've obtained all sorts of neat yarn. Amanda bought me some at a yarn store in Prince George on our way back north after Christmas, and I've since ordered some from Knitpicks. I've got about a dozen things I'd like to be working on, and instead of just starting on them and indulging my craving I think "Nah, I should probably continue working on my scarf if I do any knitting."
...but then I don't do any. I may need Amanda to give me a pep talk (or a marine corps drill sargeant "motivational speech") to get me moving on my scarf again. With any luck, it'll be done by next winter.
Saturday, April 14, 2012
Teasing
As I type this blog post, I'm teasing Amanda via text messaging. I've made a few comments about her birthday gift that I ordered a few weeks ago, but *just* shipped out, and she asked me for a hint tonight.
So I told her that one of the gifts I got her is something she mentioned to me. Then I told her that I got her something that she didn't know existed.
Amanda's birthday is in just over a week, and I'm really looking forward to her reaction. That said, I anticipate an interesting discussion about how truthful my latter statement was. :-)
So I told her that one of the gifts I got her is something she mentioned to me. Then I told her that I got her something that she didn't know existed.
Amanda's birthday is in just over a week, and I'm really looking forward to her reaction. That said, I anticipate an interesting discussion about how truthful my latter statement was. :-)
Friday, April 13, 2012
Contrasts...
Amanda's recent (and sadly, ongoing) illness and my trouble sleeping last night (woke up at 3am, couldn't return to sleep until after 6) got me thinking. There is a major gap between how the world works and how the world should work.
Let's look at sick days for example:
How the world works:
You call in sick, deal with a potentially unhappy supervisor, and lay at home feeling bad, and feeling worse when your next paycheque is short as a result. The other option, frowned upon by most employers, is working through your illness so your paycheque isn't affected, though the health of your co-workers and customers is.
How the world *should* work:
When you call in sick, your supervisor encourages you to stay home and get better soon, and reminds you that you'll still be paid. If you're sick on your days off, you receive normal working days off to compensate for it.
Or what about sleeping problems? What if on a particular night you didn't get nearly enough sleep through no fault of your own?
How the world works:
You go to work exhausted and struggle to stay awake by consuming generous portions of caffeinated drinks. Your work suffers, frustrating your co-workers, customers, and supervisor.
How the world *should* work:
You arrive at work and your employer notices the bags under your eyes and sends you to the back office couch for a two hour nap. Instead of producing eight hours of poorly done work that may have to be redone, you produce six hours of your normal quality work with a much better attitude to boot!
I know these ideas would lend themselves to widespread abuse. I also know that employers, particularly small ones, can't afford to pay their employees to be sick or sleep on the job. But in my pie-in-the-sky world as it "should" be, they make a lot of sense! :-)
Let's look at sick days for example:
How the world works:
You call in sick, deal with a potentially unhappy supervisor, and lay at home feeling bad, and feeling worse when your next paycheque is short as a result. The other option, frowned upon by most employers, is working through your illness so your paycheque isn't affected, though the health of your co-workers and customers is.
How the world *should* work:
When you call in sick, your supervisor encourages you to stay home and get better soon, and reminds you that you'll still be paid. If you're sick on your days off, you receive normal working days off to compensate for it.
Or what about sleeping problems? What if on a particular night you didn't get nearly enough sleep through no fault of your own?
How the world works:
You go to work exhausted and struggle to stay awake by consuming generous portions of caffeinated drinks. Your work suffers, frustrating your co-workers, customers, and supervisor.
How the world *should* work:
You arrive at work and your employer notices the bags under your eyes and sends you to the back office couch for a two hour nap. Instead of producing eight hours of poorly done work that may have to be redone, you produce six hours of your normal quality work with a much better attitude to boot!
I know these ideas would lend themselves to widespread abuse. I also know that employers, particularly small ones, can't afford to pay their employees to be sick or sleep on the job. But in my pie-in-the-sky world as it "should" be, they make a lot of sense! :-)
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Loud Sigh
If you heard a loud sigh a half hour ago, it was probably me. Amanda's not feeling too well, and I told her the exact same thing she told me when I was sick a while back. I told her that unless she's feeling absolutely 100% perfect, that we should cancel our plans for her visiting Tumbler Ridge this weekend.
I'd much rather she was at home in bed recovering rather than driving three hours in each direction to see me.
Some of you reading this might ask "Why don't you drive out to Grande Prairie then, Jake?"
There are a few reasons. First, I work Saturday this week. I have gone out on my short weekends before, but by the time I drive out after work, we basically only have Sunday together. It's still worth it to see Amanda (I *did* drive eight hours for our first date due to a washed out bridge, after all!), but the impetus to go isn't quite as strong.
Second, I don't really think Amanda wants to infect me with whatever's ailing her. I'd like to be there to cheer her up, stock her up with sickday-related stuff (chicken soup, juice, ginger ale, etc.), and generally take care of her, but I think Amanda would feel really guilty if I ended up really sick next week as a result.
Finally, there's a bit of a financial reason. I was in Grande Prairie last weekend, and will be out there for the next two (the first one is close to Amanda's birthday, and the second is just after the Elton John concert Amanda bought us tickets to as my Valentine's Day gift). I love Amanda, and I want to see her, but driving out to Grande Prairie four weeks in a row isn't incredibly kind to my bank account balance...
So I'll miss Amanda this weekend, but her staying in Grande Prairie is probably the right decision.
...a few weeks back I had an idea for a sick day kit for her. Now I *really* wish I'd finished it and given it to her. :-(
I'd much rather she was at home in bed recovering rather than driving three hours in each direction to see me.
Some of you reading this might ask "Why don't you drive out to Grande Prairie then, Jake?"
There are a few reasons. First, I work Saturday this week. I have gone out on my short weekends before, but by the time I drive out after work, we basically only have Sunday together. It's still worth it to see Amanda (I *did* drive eight hours for our first date due to a washed out bridge, after all!), but the impetus to go isn't quite as strong.
Second, I don't really think Amanda wants to infect me with whatever's ailing her. I'd like to be there to cheer her up, stock her up with sickday-related stuff (chicken soup, juice, ginger ale, etc.), and generally take care of her, but I think Amanda would feel really guilty if I ended up really sick next week as a result.
Finally, there's a bit of a financial reason. I was in Grande Prairie last weekend, and will be out there for the next two (the first one is close to Amanda's birthday, and the second is just after the Elton John concert Amanda bought us tickets to as my Valentine's Day gift). I love Amanda, and I want to see her, but driving out to Grande Prairie four weeks in a row isn't incredibly kind to my bank account balance...
So I'll miss Amanda this weekend, but her staying in Grande Prairie is probably the right decision.
...a few weeks back I had an idea for a sick day kit for her. Now I *really* wish I'd finished it and given it to her. :-(
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Long Distance Relationship
Amanda and I took this photo on Saturday on our way out for a walk. This phone booth is located on the outer wall of a nearby convenience store. We walked past it, and then I grabbed Amanda and asked her to come back to get a photo in front of it.
I joked, much as I did in the title of this blog post, that a phone booth was the perfect symbol for our long distance relationship. Occasionally there are busy signals, but overall we have a really good connection.
As a fun side benefit of this photo, Amanda's brother-in-law works for Telus. So I can claim that he endorses and supports this blog now by virtue of his company's logo appearing in it!
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