Persistent Illumination

I have just gotten news that my family in Ocean Springs, Mississippi has successfully evacuated to my parents' house in Nashville, Tennessee. More on this to follow.

Update: Check a local news source's link to satellite imagery here.

New update: Aunt Marian writes...

Our neighbors stayed at their house and report that our roof and the boat are okay. However, a foot of water was in the house. As Madeleine can tell you flooding is not covered by insurance unless you have specific flooding insurance. If the roof was hit and let water in or a window blown out and let water in that would be covered by the wind damage part of the insurance - which we do have.

Never thought that one would HOPE that part of their roof blew off in their absence, but then, sometimes that's how it goes...

We are glad that we are here and not there. Here we have a/c and real food. we took our dirty laundry with us and have been able to do laundry. If we were at home we couldn't say those things.

As of September 2, they are still unable to return home to Mississippi.

Now, I will live in a little red house on the top of a hill. My stuff is packed in boxes, and I am by no means settled there, but it is nice to have a new home. Pics to follow, I hope!

Amy, Courtney and I got free admission to Ontario Place for today, courtesy of some free tix won by Coutrney's dad. The costs covered grounds admission and entrance to the Tori Amos concert that evening, but not the $20 to actually get to go on the Ontario Place rides. Aargh.

And oh, yes, we arrived just in time for it to start raining, which made things occasionally unpleasant. Ontario Place does have a guarantee in case of weather, but the season is so close to ending that we did not bother getting tickets.

Every once in awhile, I get to have a fun little personal project or two at ESQ. Below is one of those projects, a "before and after" sequence of things done in Photoshop.

Note that I am removing the "Proof" statements, not adding them.

"Before" 

"After" 

Just a nod this time, but it's not a bad picture if I do say so myself...

Looks like they got themselves some new desktop publishing software, along with a few other toys. I've taken a look-see and all I have to say is ...

Shweet!

So, my girlfriend and her best friend have headed up to Grand Bend for a retreat weekend at the Oakwood Inn Resort.

They left this afternoon. Curious, I checked out the resort's website. Couldn't help but call them up and order a nice little surprise for the girls...hehehehe...

As has happened so often, my life will be changing with the seasons once again. September 3 will mark the first time in nearly three years that I have not had keys for some room or another at the University of Waterloo. I may still be employed by ESQ (and thus the Dean of Engineering) later this fall for a part-time position, and I will be helping out with some things at Alumni Affairs, but otherwise that's it!

I'm looking for a place to live, still. I had secured a place at my favourite old 77 Seagram Dr., but the landlord has dropped the ball once again. Please, everyone, never rent from "Muck Holdings" (ie, brothers Ron/Don Muck, pronounced "mook"), as they have some severe problems about respecting the landlord/tenant laws. As in, they like to continually like to break those laws. They are truly terrible landlords. (Why go back, you ask? Because they are absentee landlords, Toronto based. The law was on my side the whole time so there was little real threat to me personally, just a few headaches that really just became learning experiences. I was willing to stomach a few more headaches, as it's a really nice place.)

That having been said, somebody got in touch with me as they had apparently heard I was looking for a place because somebody was reading this blog (?) and I will check into that soon.

Also looking for a car, believe it or not. I have owned two cars in my life, and now it's time for a third. Why? I will be working as the high school liaison co-ordinator for the Shad Valley head office come September 12, and the position requires considerable travel. Thus, I need to find a car before then.

Interestingly, the recent Assistant Director of ESQ (#2 position) had quit suddenly earlier this summer. I was in competition for the position, but found out at last night's staff banquet that I would not be getting the job. Which is good, because I already have one job, so two jobs might have been a bit much...

And just how was the ESQ staff banquet, you ask?

The banquet room at Angies's kitchen (St. Agatha) was a great environment, with absolutely terrible food.

The crowd was just that - a huge crowd. 100+ people dressed to the nines, well most of us anyways, an interesting contrast against the Angie's backdrop. Nice things were said about everyone, thank yous and pictures and the like. Pictures are sure to be added here soon.

Notables:

• the absence of our director, Bill Baer
  
• the standing ovations for our Assistant Directors past and present, Lynda Martin and Bonney Shelley
  
• the tribute to my ExXtreme 0 counterparts, introduced as "a slacker, a shit disturber and the woman that keeps it all together..."
  
• LJ being absent because she was at Circe du Soleil in TO that night

As for the rest of the night, when most people were asked they will tell you it went something like this...

Well I don't give a dang about nothing
I'm singing and Bling- Blanging
While the girls are drinking
Long necks down!
And I wouldn't trade ol' Leroy
or my Chevrolet for your Escalade
Or your freak parade
I'm the only John Wayne left in this town

And I saddle up my horse
and I ride into the city
I make a lot of noise
Cause the girls
They are so pretty
Riding up and down Broadway
on my old stud Leroy
And the girls say
Save a horse, ride a cowboy.
Everybody says
Save a horse, Ride a cowboy

Here I sit in my computer lab, where campers, leaders and I sit for free computer time listening to Stairway to Heaven, as the rain has forced our outdoors Friday afternoon inside. My rule: "Nobody gets to talk except for my good friends Jimmy Page, Robert Plant and John Bonham on the drums..." (yeah, seems like nobody ever remembers that other guy...)

As for me, my week has by all accounts been fantastic. Amy and I headed out to my leader's house on Wednesday night, to ride horses and relax by the campfire. Yes, LolaJean (aka scarecrow, hi-jinx, skinni mini, Arnold Schwarzenegger, logi...) keeps her horses out by her house, so we went out riding for the evening. I have such tremendous respect for these powerful creatures, and although I am not destined to be the world's greatest horseback rider, Amy did certainly enjoy herself riding around in the moonlight. Thanks so much, LolaJean!

And did I mention that LolaJean lives in Amy's dream home? Ranch style out in the country, huge kitchen, large windows, huge patios, hot tub... yeah looks great!

I also managed to catch up with John Andersen yesterday for lunch, sitting down and catching up on how he has been doing lately. Usual challenges there, but also the usual joys and victories. I'm glad that he's been having a good time with it.

Sometimes it takes an effort for me to slow down, but it's a necessary effort. This weekend was slower weekend, trying just to relax and decompress. Lots has been going on recently, what with the end of camp on the horizon, job interviews, the fact that unlike all of my peers I am preparing for neither co-op nor another term at school. Yes, life is different now - like a blank page, but I'm not quite sure what to write on it yet. My life of stress and action has not left me ("you can take the student out of the university..."), so it's not like I'm used to living a casual life yet.

Meanwhile, I did manage to fit in a few activities this weekend. Caught up with Andrew K on Friday night, a wild goose chase that turned into a relaxing couple of pints at "The Still" on King St. in downtown Kitchener. The Still is an absolute dive, terrible service with mediocre food, I doubt I would go there in the winter. That particular night, however, the open-air patio and live entertainment served us quite nicely, and we caught up on things.

The rest of my weekend was essentially devoted to Amy time and relaxing. Amy and I did a bit of shopping on Saturday (work clothes, formal clothes and Amy clothes) at both 360 degrees and at Conestoga Mall. Apparently it was ESQ day at the mall - many of my co-workers happened to be there. I found the dress pants I was looking for (black, to match Amy's gear) and the rest of the time was shopping for Amy. She got a few things, including an absolutely STUNNING jumpsuit from Fairweather. Lucky among men, am I!

Otherwise I was in pj's by 8pm that night. I'm a bit sad about missing Lauren and Pat's engagement party - Christine reports that it was quite a bit of fun, everbody nicely toasted, in a backyard so nice that "I would consider getting married there." But hey, I can't chase EVERY party that there is, so I will just wish the happy couple well closer to the date.

Today I let the reality sink in that I have some 13 days before I am homeless, so I started looking again for a place to live. Slim pickings. For those of you who read this, and are thinking "WHY ARE YOU LEAVING IT UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE?!?!?!" my response is simply "THAT IS WHAT I ALWAYS DO!" That's how all of my best apartments have come to me - a private two bedroom apartment two blocks from the beach in West Vancouver, $600/month. Got that one the week before I was homeless. The brand new building one block from the UW campus, $400/month for a room that cost $475/month, nicest place I've ever lived, one week before I was homeless. Even some of my nicer residence experiences (UW place, anyone?) came because of last-minute decisions. Already I've had a few nice offers, including the opportunity to head on back to 77 Seagram.

Other than the search, I spent a great day today with my favourite girl at her house, then we went to Courtney's so that I can discover just how "off" my yoga practice that I am, but at least then enjoy a nice dinner (thanks, Ames!) and a rousing game of Trivial Pursuit. And now, off to bed early, to get ready for week 7 of 9 of ESQ...

Top row: Mom, dad.
Middle row: Philip, Simon, Andrew, Matthew
Girls in front: Claire Mousseau, Joanna


A bit of a trip down memory lane, here. It turns out that my big brother used to babysit one of my campers. When camper's mom and dad realized this, they gave him a picture to take to camp today. Above is that picture. Can you tell which one is me?

They are all my family members, except the smallest girl in the front. That is Claire, whom I know from the newspaper. I showed the picture to a friend at Imprint when I was scanning it in, and his response was "yeah, that's Claire, right? I saw that picture last night..."

It's a small world, after all!

It begins now, but I might as well add tonight's updates, looking forward to the future:

- during the day Saturday, Sunday: Amy
- some night next week: staying at LolaJean's house to go horseback riding, then camping out overnight
- my parents just figured out the name of my camp. ExXtreme OA all the way!
- one of my campers used to be babysat by my older brother. Didn't even realize the family connection until parent night tonight
- interviewed for the AD position at ESQ yesterday. Went very well. Will find out about that one in a week or two.
- staff banquet next week. Amy is excited to be my date.

Neal Moogk-Soulis, gentleman and excellent host.

Neal played host to Dan, Amy and I today, taking us sailing on Conestoga Lake where his sailing club is located. Now, I was a bit leery of sailing, having been seasick the last time I was on a boat. However, Neal's version of sailing differed greatly from my last experience - the sailboats he is used barely have a "deck" much less a "below deck," which proved to be quite different for me. I was not expecting a little four seater!

Still, I would not have had it any other way - leaning back, dipping my head in the water, getting to jump ship with Amy in the middle of the lake just to swim around. Neal is a pretty excellent captain, come to think of it - he was able to quickly and easily swing around and pick us up when he felt like it.

Amy (creative director of food production and chef extraordinaire) and Dan (master of all things BBQ) helped prepare the dinner, which Amy and Neal provided. I got the cushy end of things, you might say. Babysitting little Caroline (or, as I called her "bebebebe") for a little while was about the extent of my duties that day. Pretty sweet, if you ask me.

Later, we all took out one of the club's motorboats, with Amy pulling a "Titanic" at the front of the boat for most of the ride. "I'm flying Jack! I'm flying!" Still, she was rapt, and it was fun to watch her.

A late night search for marshmallows ended the night, with some peace and quiet under the "Oh my goodness - I almost forgot there were stars like that!" night sky.

This one is best told in pictures, as soon as I can scan them in.

Meanwhile, it will suffice to say that Amy and I spent a wonderful day in Stratford. I had been there but once before, a shortcoming which served excellently in that it allowed Amy to exercise her hostessing duties. (She did wonderfully, of course!)

There is something about tourist towns that I do truly enjoy. We did "famous" french fries, Rheo Thompson chocolates, played like the fools that we are at (the toy store whose name I can never remember) and closed with a walk down the Avon river. We were hand in hand for most of it, lucky lucky man that I am. Weddings were apparently in full swing that day, and the "Island" on the Avon was quite beautiful for it. I was quite tired by the end of it all, but the day was worthwhile and ended up wonderfully.

WHO WANTS TO GO ON THE AMAZING RACE?!?!?!?

Yes, that's right, CBS TV's very own winner-takes-all world tour competition was recently looking for combatants ... I mean, contestants...

Yes, they rarely advertise for contestants, but the application site has been up recently. Before you head off to California, though, you might want to check the eligibility requirements...

Today I made rocket fuel at ESQ.

And that is all I have to say about that.

Before I forget to mention, this has been one of my best weeks at camp. Highlights:

- some of the kids brought in fabric markers so that they could make me an "I love nerds" T-shirt. Then both kids and leaders signed it. Awwww....Go science camp!

- it's "Halfway Day" today (camp is halfway over), so they were a) giving out donuts this morning and b) raffling off prizes at lunch. I won a $20 gift certificate to Chapters!

- one of the campers said, "Can I have your e-mail address? I want to stay in touch when I go home to Peterborough..." Awwww....

- Amy. Awwwww.....

- the local EWB reps have stopped their presentations at my camp due to exams. I took over for the interim. The presentations have gone so extremely well, my campers have even gone as far as to purchase the white Make Poverty History bracelets that I have been sporting. They really got the message, they like what EWB does.

- honing down the camp schedule is going really well. Ditching activities that do not work, emphasizing those that do. Lots and lots more time in front of the computers is what is has added up to, but thankfully less and less "free computer time." Hooray!

- Amy

- one of my campers protested vehemently about an activity we were about to do. Then, when the activity had finished, they protested vehemently that we were not going to do it again. Methinks I have won over at least that one camper... Awwww....

- six of ESQ's camps are cancelled this week. It's nice to have a quiet week (not to mention that means more liquid nitrogen ice cream for us!)

- our soldering activity from the first half of the summer was scrapped, and replaced with a much better activity. Nothing like soldering with 11-year-olds, but then, it's a really cool activity for the kids and they are really quite good at it.

- Amy. Awwww....

- All this good news and there are still two days left!

When you try to surprise that special someone by placing a treasure hunt around her camp room, it is best not to have it be on the night before the morning that the inner lock of the doorknob freakishly breaks, requiring both UW Plant Operations and your boss' boss to come and fix things and thus embarass pretty much everyone.

Also, when you reach a little further to try and get a special present for that treasure hunt, perhaps don't go too far. When you get Sarah McLachlan to provide personalized, signed memorabilia for her (Amy's favourite musical artist is Sarah), don't expect the reaction to be "Wow, how did you get that?"

Expect instead the reaction to be "Is that forged?" or the ever-popular "There's no way I believe that it's actually her that wrote that..."

Ha. It was still a great time. Amy really liked her present and her treasure hunt, and I think I provoked jealousy among the five other female leaders that helped her complete the hunt. "My boyfriend never does anything like that for me..."