1. You will survive and won’t kill each other.
2. No matter how hard the bride tries to get to the wedding on time, there will be something outside her control that will make her at least a 1/2 hour late. (ie car accidents, bridge closures, car accidents on bridges, slow drivers, etc.)
3. If your wedding is in the lower mainland it is inevitable that at least one person will have eaten a “special cookie” prior to the event.
4. Plan for more dancing and less talking.
5. The ring will eventually fit on the finger. You will just have to wiggle it around a bit.
6. Choose a great tasting cake and don’t freeze any of it for your first anniversary or first born. Just eat it!
7. To make sure there is no rain on your wedding day, use the Canadian Farmer’s Almanac and archived weather data from Environment Canada. It worked for us and how! No rain and sunny blue skies.
8. Slow down and enjoy the day.
9. Don’t forget to be present and listen to the marriage commissioner’s words.
10. Savour having all of your closest friends and family together in the same room, especially the out-of-towners. It is an opportunity that does not present itself frequently enough.

It is back to thesis work today. It has been slow going for me as I find it so difficult to maintain motivation when I am not expected in a classroom, I am thousands of kilometres from the university, and my looming deadline is a year away. I have all the “tools” to organise my time and set reachable deadlines and goals, but it’s hard to be accountable when it’s only to yourself. I suppose I just don’t mind letting myself down.

I must admit that I have a lot on my mind lately besides school. The big one is planning the wedding (75 more days!). It is at a stage now that all the larger decisions have been made and booked, and there are only small things left to sort out. It has also certainly been worrying not being employed and having to rely on one income. However, we both know that it’s only for the short term. I am just trying to have faith that the universe will see things through and all will fall into place.

I will be doing another triathlon in a couple of weeks, and this time with my brother. It’s a mass start in a lake, which I have never done before, so hopefully I don’t get too much water up my nose, what with all the splashing and scrambling! The ride is apparently quite flat, and I am looking forward to a non-asphalt surface for the run. I feel fairly ready for the race, but one can always practice more! It has been challenging to get out and exercise with this heat — especially the running. The sweat has just poured off of me, even when done indoors on the treadmill. I much prefer the swimming practice of course. (I wonder if swimming at the waterslides counts??) We also join our usual cycling group every Tuesday night for three hour rides. Thankfully all of this exercise has meant that I fit into my wedding dress when I went to pick it up on Thursday!

Most shops were only due to open at nine or ten, so we walked over to West 4th and discovered the annual Kitsilano Soapbox Derby. These amazing structures went zooming past us down the hill between Burrard and Yew, with very serious little drivers behind each wheel. There were wooden cars, metal cars, and even a corrugated plastic car. All had big-name sponsors and were equipped with their own brakes, though one vehicle plowed right into the hay bales that marked the finish line, and still another managed a very successful burn-rubber-kind-of-stop that resulted in its graceful halt after a 360 degree turn!

Since I am working full-time on my thesis these days, David and I have had to become more creative with our activities, finding free or inexpensive ways to have fun. It’s been amazing to discover how much you can do for free! Wandering along 4th, watching the soapbox cars whiz past, we learned that they were giving out free samples of Coke Zero at the top of the street, so we made our way there and found a gaggle of pretty people decked out in Coke gear. Strutting about their company SUV and gyrating to the beat of their hip tunes, they barely noticed us scoop a couple of mini cans from their display cooler. Our verdict on the new flavour: tastes like Diet Coke but with no funny after taste. We eventually returned to the Island and enjoyed a plate of deep-fried everything: oysters, cod, calamari, prawns, onions, and fries. Yum.

After a couple of other stops, we started to head towards home. On the way out of the city, we swung past my old elementary school, where I attended kindergarten through grade 2. It still has the same gravel backyard I used to wander around in at lunch, sipping on my tetra pak of Super Socco. We then followed the short route that I used to walk with my brother to get home and discovered our old house has been repainted and fitted with a new railing on the upper balcony. Other than that, it still looks startlingly the same, albeit smaller than eight-year-old Rita’s eyes can recall. It is obvious someone has been taking great care of the place.

Once home, we had Anthony (and Tara!) over for some barbequed salmon, roasted zucchini with feta, and great conversation. A really beautiful and long-lasting day!

Isn’t he cute?

I haven’t blogged for some time as I have been transitioning from work to school mode. I have just resigned in order to re-focus on the thesis, so I’ve had a time of it settling down mentally and switching into academia. Oh, and of course there are always excuses to do chores, Christmas shopping, etc. Procrastination indeed it is, but not in the negative, I-just-don’t-care sense. Nope. I have read that procrastination can entail a myriad of things, including performance anxiety, which is what I suffer from. However, I have also read that if we wait for motivation to arrive before starting on things, we will continue to procrastinate. This means that we must start in order to get motivated, and not the other way around. Who knew? Armed with this knowledge, perhaps we can eliminate the evil of procrastination all together? Ha! Nonetheless, a very wise friend recently informed me that perfect and finished will never be in the same room. This has certainly eased the burden of starting …

The picture above shows a clear case while is actually a blue colour.
Lots of testing still to be done but I love it.

Yes, the condo has these glorified holes in the ground. There is nothing more aggravating than sinking into a freshly-drawn bath and having half of it immediately slosh out through the overflow drain — the latter placed conveniently halfway up the already ridiculously-shallow tub. I much prefer the angled-back and arm rest variety. Swimming capacity would be nice, too. I think I need a pool …