Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Are signs really that hard to follow?

Another pet peeve of mine involving other people's driving are people who do not understand how 2 lanes turning in the same direction works. I tried to find the traffic sign designating 2 lanes turning in the same direction but unfortunately I couldn't find one (oddly enough). What bothers me is how people understand that 2 lanes are turning in the same direction but for some reason, feels that the 2 lanes turn into one and end up cutting into the other person's lane. Can people not understand that if there are 2 lanes turning in the same direction that there are 2 lanes all the way through the turn?? It puzzles me how people engage in this turn only to feel they can drive where ever they want, even if it means other people's lanes. People, learn your signs and please follow them, they aren't there just for show.

Monday, June 23, 2008

Bad Drivers? Inexperienced drivers??

So what is it about merging that people do not seem to know how to do? It's really simple if you think about it, traffic merges from the right and traffic takes turns letting the cars merge in. It's just that SIMPLE. However this is not the case as viewed today and really any other day. You either have people in such a hurry to get to their destination that they speed up not allowing a car to merge, as if one car makes a big difference at rush hour, or you have people unaware of how a merge works and follows the lead car at a steady pace, not slowing down to let a car merge.

What could the reason for this be? Do people actually not know how a merge works? Do they think the sign is posted just to let them know there is a "hidden" street approaching from the right even though the entrance is in plain view? Or are people so inconsiderate of one another that they don't give a crap and prevent others from merging? Whatever the case is, I think people should go back to drivers ed 101 and learn the basics because if you don't know how to do something as simple as merging you should not be on the road. Just my 2 cents.

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Father beats toddler to death

Is it me or are crimes becoming more senseless and violent?

http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/06/17/toddler.killed.ap/index.html

Monday, June 16, 2008

Great Canadian Oil Change Pulls Through

Last month my husband and I went on holidays to Lund, BC. As we like to drive to our destination we decided to get an oil change prior to our holidays and unfortunately VW was all booked up. We ended up going to the Great Canadian Oil Change on 8th St in Saskatoon only to have it improperly done to the point where we leaked oil . It was a bit scary as we were in the mountains and there really wasn't a lot of room to pull over. Needless to say, we were mad.

So back in Saskatoon I followed up with the Great Canadian Oil Change on 8th to be told that he, Emril, was printing off the oil change we had done and was going to fax it to the head office to contact me for further investigation. A week goes by and I do not receive a call. I ended up calling Emril for an update and he goes to print off our work again and tells me to call their 21st street location to talk to Josh, the manager. Sigh.

I contact Josh and he tells me to bring the relevant papers and states that he'll talk to us to find out what happened and then his company goes through the usual process of investigating the sitaution. We go down there and provide Josh the necessary information. I ended up telling him I was supposed to recieve a follow up call and never got one. Surprised Josh states this was the first time he heard about this situation and that he would look into the situation with their 8th street location as any issue goes through him first. He apologizes and we leave with Josh telling us he will contact us once they find out the results of their investigation. So far so good.

As luck would have it another week rolls around and no word. I try phoning for an update but no one answered. Later on that day, John notices that he missed a call and it was the Great Canadian Oil Change. He tries to return the call but the manager had gone home for the day. I phoned the next day only to have Josh apologize profusely for the wait and that we would indeed get reimbursed for our mechanic and hotel bill. YAY! We decide on a convenient time for us to come down and he would cut a check for us.

I am happy to say when we went down to the Great Canadian Oil Change on 21st Street Josh was waiting and had a check already made out to us. He apologize profusely for the delay in getting back to us as he was super busy and understood how if the table was turned, he would expect 100% service. He also offered us a free oil change saying if we ever needed anything or wanted anything checked out he would take care of us. He was super nice and definitely made up for all the troubles.

Saturday, June 14, 2008

Baywest Appliance Service Update

A while back I posted about the poor service I received from Baywest Appliance Service over a ticking fridge. I ended up snail mailing a letter of complaint, being sure to explain exactly what occurred. Shortly after Baywest Appliance received my letter I received a phone call from Dan, the original service technician that had made the original house call. He called on a Tuesday while was at work saying that he couldn't believe I was that mad and that my letter had bothered him all weekend. He apologized, accepted responsibility for the situation and said he had no idea I felt that way and why the situation had not been resolved even though I was billed. I said they also had the worst receptionist ever and he said I probably caught her having a bad day as she is usually friendly. We ended the call with Dan saying he would like to come back and take another look at the fridge and I said I would call him back with a day that would be suitable for my husband and I.

After talking with my husband and picking a day, I called Dan a day later only to recieve his voice message. I left a message including my phone number. A couple days goes by and I still didn't hear back from Dan so I called his number again. He answers, less polite and states he recieved my voice message. We make plans for him to come over between 12-1 on Wednesday. Little does he know, my husband would be meeting him instead of me. Wednesday rolls around and get a phone call at 12:36 saying he was tied up and couldn't make it, he would come Thursday. So much for my husband going home to meet him. That was a bit annoying.

Thursday rolls around and I call Dan's cell at 11:45 to ensure that he would be showing up. After being told the number I called isn't Dan's cell I get directed to another number. I call it and Dan tells me he would not be coming by but Ron would. He tells me to call Ron to make sure he is coming by. Sigh. I call and confirm it with Ron.

Again my husband goes home and sure enough Ron comes by. Ron replicates my original complaint of the fridge making a ticking noise and makes a few adjustment (nothing like the massive work Dan implied would be required - he stated I should learn to live with the noise). The result?? The fridge no longer makes the noise! I can't tell you how satisfied and happy I am. I only wonder if I will recieve yet again another bill. We shall see.

Sunday, June 8, 2008

Vespas on the bike path??

A while ago I noticed 2 people, each riding their own Vespas (at least it looks like a Vespa) on Preston Ave, the stretch that goes by Innovation place. I noticed that they must have gotten the Vespas fairly recently as they were very cautious as they rode and weren't the greatest of drivers. That I can give some leeway to as you have to learn somehow and the only way to get comfortable driving one is to be in traffic. I myself would probably practice in my neighborhood though prior to driving on a busy street. Anyways I thought nothing of it UNTIL what I have been seeing lately.

As I am going to pick up John from work at Innovation Place, I see the exact same woman and man driving their respective Vespas on the bike path. Before I go into a tirade over how wrong I think this is, can anyone tell me if this is indeed legal or not? I would assume those riding it know if it is or not and I will give them the benefit of the doubt that it is. However all the research I've read state that Vespas themselves are not legal on bike paths but electronic scooters that go no faster than 32 km/hr can. This also differs by province I believe. I have to say though, the bikes these people drive have stayed up with traffic and that street they were on, the speed limit is 60 km/hr. Anyway, I will reserve judgment (and when it gets down to it, who am I to judge).

If you know what the laws are regarding Vespas/electronic scooters in the province of Saskatchewan, I would love to hear from you.

Trip to Lund, BC: Part 6 The End

All in all the trip to Lund was a successful and highly enjoyable. We managed to do everything we had set out to do and will most likely replicate this trip again in the future.

The drive back was uneventful and I was thankful for that. Well I guess we were once again locked out of the place in Vancouver that we were planning on staying at but I won't get into the details of that. We managed to find a room that was reasonably priced right downtown Vancouver and met up with our friends Michelle and Brian who we stayed at their place on the way down. We met up with them at Rodney's Oyster House and it COMPLETELY filled my craving for shucked oysters. I always crave shucked oysters when we go to BC and I will have to make a point to always go there. The restaurant is not that big in size compared to other places we've been to so it was a good thing our friends made reservations prior to going there. The place is jam packed with people and played lots of 80s music. It was a happening place with the waiters seen having shooters every now and then (this may not have been a good thing as I think our waiter was drunk by the time we were nearing the end of our meal and made a few minor mistakes which he made up for). We tried a variety of different oysters (I think 7-8 different kinds in total) where there was only 1 type from the west coast. I probably had over 20 shucked oysters that night (none of which contained red tide) with the option of 7 different kinds of sauces. :) It was so good I am craving oysters as I type this.



So the trip to Lund has come to an end and I hope you enjoyed reading about our journey. We've done this trip twice now and I am sure we'll do it again.

Thursday, June 5, 2008

Trip to Lund, BC: Part 5 - Day 2

I have to say, I love waking up in the morning with the view of the ocean in front of us and the sun shining. It was such a gorgeous view that we never once pulled the shades down (and being on the second floor we didn't worry about peeping toms). We took our time in the morning having continental breakfast and heading into Powell River to find a backpack to take with us on our exploration of Savory Island (can you believe when I asked a Walmart worker where their bookbags were located he asked me what a bookbag was!?!). I ended up getting a knapsack and we were set. We drove back to Lund and made it to our 1:00 water taxi reservation (the only way you can get to Savory Island is by boat and you have to make reservations with the water taxi ahead of time). We arrive at Savory Island with a few other people and started exploring. For anyone that has not been there, it is positively beautiful. The side that we got dropped off at was literally covered in clams and starfish.




As I have never tried digging for clams we had a fun time trying to dig one up with empty shells. We were unsuccessful as those suckers moved a lot faster than I was expecting. I took a video of how fast they move as it amused me greatly (note you will have to watch it sideways as I do not know how to rotate a video in Blogger)




Exploring the rest of the island was awesome, we got to see an eagle at a fairly close distance and even stumbled across a deer standing approx. 10 feet away from us. The island was peaceful as there was only one restaurant on it (that was closed when we were there) and a place to rent bikes (also closed). We made it to the other side of the island where there was dead shellfish due to the low tide that stretched as far as the eye could see.

After arriving back at our hotel room we showered and changed for supper. We decided to check out the Shingle Mill Pub & Bistro in Powell River. The food here was alright, nothing too fancy but yet again the view was magnificent.




This night we rented Juno which was absolutely hilarious and I would highly recommend it.

All in all Lund treated us right and it was exactly what we needed. It was the perfect getaway to just relax. For my last post on Lund, BC I will leave you with a video of the scenery we experienced in Lund from our hotel room. Enjoy.

Trip to Lund, BC: Part 4 - Day 1

On our first full day in Lund, we woke up to the sun shining and the view of the ocean from our hotel room (did I ever mention our hotel room was spectacular?). After having a continental breakfast in the Lund Hotel restaurant we made our way to rent kayaks. We rented a 2-man kayak and after nervously getting in the kayak we were off. The weather was gorgeous yet a tad windy making the water slightly choppy which made me nervous sitting in the front. However after a while I got over my nervousness and enjoyed the scenery. It was a blast, having seen a couple eagles and 2 seals. Below are a few pics I took while kayaking and yes I was scared of not only dropping my camera in the ocean but falling out while using it.





After kayaking for 3 hours we headed back to our hotel room to shower and relax before supper. We spent considerable time sitting on our patio enjoying the view. As it was Wednesday we planned to go to the Laughing Oyster Restaurant which was one of our destinations for our trip. Having eaten there on a prior trip we knew their Wednesday supper buffet was going to be good. It did not disappoint. Sitting at a table where we could view out of the massive windows onto the bay, we dined on huge oysters, lamb, steak, calamari, salmon, numerous salads complimented by red wine. We finished our meal off with taramisu. Below is a pic of my plate which I surprising ate all minus the garlic bread. It was DELICIOUS and I would recommend it to anyone going to Lund.




That night we rented 3:10 to Yuma which was an awesome movie and I would recommend it to anyone that wants a western movie different from the shoot 'em up story line between cowboys and Indian style movies.

Sunday, June 1, 2008

Trip to Lund, BC: Part 3

While waiting for a ferry at Earl's Cove we decided to book a room in the Historic Lund Hotel and it was a good thing we did as there were only 2 rooms left. Initially we were thinking about staying in Desolation Sound Resort which is simply awesome looking but super expensive for the short amount of time we would be staying in Lund. When we booked the room they promised that it was the best room in the hotel and well worth the slightly higher price. Having stayed there before I have to admit we were a bit skeptic. However the moment we walked in we knew we made theright choice in staying at Lund Hotel. The room felt like home. Below are a few pics of the room.













As it turned out, this year was the first annual shellfish festival where the Lund Hotel Restaurant and the Boardwalk Restaurant features appetizers of different shellfish. I can't remember what the schedule was but we decided to eat at the Boardwalk Restaurant. We ended up ordering mussels with bacon, a bucket of prawns and of course, kokanee beer. Let me tell you, the mussels were delicious but it was the bucket of prawns with lemon butter, garlic butter and the usual seafood sauce that impressed us the most. Not only were they fresh but they were huge and very, very tasty. For the weak of heart that don't like seeing the entire prawn, you may not want to view the pics below.






Looking at the pics definitely makes me miss the food but it is better to have tasted it than not at all :P So far Lund has met our expectations. Later on in the evening we rented a free movie that came with the room and watched "Cloverfield" which I found highly disappointing. Next up kayaking in the ocean.

Trip to Lund, BC: Part Deux

In continuation to our trip to Lund, BC over the May long weekend, we finally had our car looked at by the mechanic in Golden, BC who was nice enough to fit us in the morning. As it turned out, a seal was incorrectly installed and 2 screws were missing as a result of the oil change we had 2 days prior (see Trip to Lund: Part 1). So after shampooing the under carriage of the car and refilling the car with oil we left Golden, BC. For what it was worth, the people in Golden was friendly and most helpful. After deciding that the car was in good condition to drive we continued on to our destination of Lund, BC.

For anyone who has not driven in the mountains before, the drive to Vancouver is positively spectacular. Every time we've gone out west, we've driven and it is well worth it. We arrived in Vancouver early evening and located the place we were going to crash at. As it turns out the key was not placed where it was supposed to be and we were locked out. Our good friends, Brian and Michelle bailed us out last minute with only 5 minutes notice. We are completely grateful for them. We settled in for the night and went to Las Margaritas for some awesome Mexican food and naturally margaritas. The next day we woke up early and stopped for breakfast at Cafe Zen which has been known for its consistent breakfasts. Then we were off!

To get to Lund, BC you need to take 2 ferries, (one from Horseshoe Bay to Sunshine Coast, and the other from Earl's Cove to Powell River) and I know some people find ferries boring but I love them (it may have something to do with the fact that we don't have any ferries in the prairies). The drive along Sunshine Coast onwards is fun, filled with windy roads and small towns. At last, around 5:00 we rolled into our destination Lund. Read on to find out more about Lund, BC.