halfway through the month

Its hard to believe that we're halfway through the month of November and in little more than a month it'll be Christmas and then the end of another year. Where has all the time gone you might ask? Well, it seems to speed up as we get older and being busy in our day to day stuff helps it more along even quicker. I still remember those days in elementary school when it seemed that time dragged on and then when summer vacation came along, it was over before you knew it. I guess the perspective changes as we get older.

Now the new week starts with me looking into why I have a surplus with my cellphone provider. I checked my account at with my financial institution and also checked my credit card statements but there's nothing any where to account for it. Either someone has made an error and assigned funds to the wrong account or someone that owes me money has used funds and directed them to this cellphone account. I'll have to go back and check the statements back to when the surplus began and then call the provider to find out where the funds are coming from. Its a nuisance not knowing where its coming from and why!

In other news, I'm taking time to organize my files on my computer and then do a defragmentation of the files before I install the new software that comes with the photo scanner I purchased on my way home Friday. Its taking a bit longer than anticipated. Once that has been done and the test scans have been completed, I'll have some photos to share with you all.

I hope your week goes well. Come back soon! There'll be more!!! - V

smartphones and other stuff

For the last couple of weeks I've been researching smartphones and both netbooks and laptops before making a decision on adding another new element to what I have currently. As far as the smartphones are concerned, I love the Motorola Backflip but am not particularly thrilled about the only provider that goes with that phone. The Motorola Dext is one of my other choices and there's a different provider associated with it. I'll have to check it out in greater detail.

Another choice is a BlackBerry 8530 Smartphone, also with a QWERTY key board like the others, and the same provider that offers the second Motorola phone also offer this one. This BlackBerry is offered at $24.95 with a 3 year contract at $40 per month with a voice and data plan. There is the possibility of purchasing an older BlackBerry model for $25 but I would go for the newer model I mentioned since the price is the same if I plan to go for a BlackBerry.

I've also been looking at various model of netbooks and laptops, such as HP, Dell, Acer and other makes. There's a lot more research to be done there as well before deciding between a netbook (or other) and a smartphone. What I'm looking for is something easy and light to work with for easy communications, from voice to email and so on. Feel free to Google any of the above devices to find out more about them. If you've got some suggestions based on personal experience, I'm all ears!

I'll have more on all this later. Meantime, there are a number of things that need doing, so I'll be off to get those done before returning to the computer this evening. Have a great day, guys!!! - V

Another update

Last evening I received a call on my cell phone. It was from my cell phone provider with a survey and an offer. I ended up getting a second cell phone free included in my current plan and its for Brad's use so he can keep in touch with me and others. When we are spending time together working or having some fun is one thing but the new phone will allow him to call me if I am away at work or in transit to share a business idea or some other thought. Someone was trying to deliver the phone this afternoon but I was at work at the time, so it will be delivered to my work place likely by Friday. I was pleasantly surprised since I didn't expect the phone until early next week with BC Day on Monday (a civic holiday). More on all that later.

Meantime, I am cooking as I write. I have a stew on the stove slow cooking away (chicken legs with diced potatoes, onion, leek, carrot plus herbs, freshly ground pepper and sea salt, together with some water). The whole apartment has the aroma from the stew everywhere. I've enjoyed cooking since I was a teen and have become more daring as time moves on with more complicated recipes. However, often I use no recipe and just use ingredients on hand (a little of this and a little of that). I hope to share my culinary skills with Brad and at the same time, enjoy some of the talents he has to share with me. We can both benefit!

So this is the civic holiday weekend coming up (BC Day). Since I am off on Monday, the holiday, this makes it a three day weekend for me. Should Brad arrive (and I am hoping this is the case), I have great plans for us. Some options are a lunch in White Rock, a Saturday evening watching the fireworks at English Bay, a trip to Burnaby Mountain (lovely view of the lower mainland, the Georgia Strait and the islands) and a hike on one of the many trails on Hollyburn Mountain, just to name a few ideas. Of course, there are many more and lots of time to see the many places of interest. Then the pride parade is coming up this Sunday in Vancouver which is a must-see event for both of us. This will also mean lots of photos of the sights and of both of us.

Then I am also so looking forward to going sailing with Brad and see his nautical skills first-hand. There is so much yet to come! Have a great week what is left of it and then an awesome weekend whether it's a holiday where you are or not! - Volker