Month: July 2021

I had a professional painter come over to paint a wall today. This person was an expert and knew what he was doing. He painted the wall that runs the length of my apartment on the living room side.

I could have attempted to paint the wall myself and saved some money but sometimes getting a professional to do a job is worth the cost. He saved me time and any headaches involved with having to waste a weekend or more in doing my own painting.

I’ll let the wall dry and then move my furniture back along the wall to see how I like it. I painted it a nice shade of flat white. If I like what I see, I’ll consider painting the rest of my apartment the same colour.

I just spent the last two days in Victoria, the capital city of this province, and I had an interesting observation. I stayed mainly in the touristy downtown area for my two days and not once during my time there did I see a uniformed member or patrol car of the Victoria police department.

I’m not sure if that’s weird or not. On one hand, the downtown area of Victoria is full of tourists and shops, so you’d think that the city police would have some presence there. Then again, if it’s mainly tourists, maybe there’s not a lot of trouble to be had. I just keep thinking that in the downtown Vancouver area, you wouldn’t need to walk around for two days before seeing members of the Vancouver police department. Of course, downtown Vancouver and downtown Victoria are two different places with very different problems.

I’m also wondering if there were lots of plainclothes members out and about in Victoria and I just didn’t notice them. Perhaps that was the reason I didn’t think there was much of a police presence. In that case, they did an excellent job of keeping out of sight while making sure things were safe. Indeed, I felt safe during my entire short stay in Victoria, both during the day and night.

I’m headed off to Victoria, the capital of this province, for a quick two-day getaway. I’ll getting there by float plane, which will be the second time I’ve travelled by float plane and the first time I’ve been in a plane since the pandemic began.

I’ll be back with a new post on Wednesday.

So how many of you got fatter during the pandemic? I am sure lots of you had your weight go and up and down during the last year and a half. I think I was the same. I’m currently about seventeen pounds heavier than I want to be.

I’m currently trying to eat better to lose those pounds. So far, I’m removing all carbs from breakfast. It’s a start but I can do better. Gotta lose though pandemic pounds.

Over the weekend, I had a new OLED TV delivered to my home. It replaces a 12-year old plasma TV I’ve been limping along with. My new TV is amazing. As such, I’ve been watching way too much material on it. I will write more about it later.

Last week’s heat wave was an eye-opener. It was unlike anything I’ve experienced before in this province. It was beyond just some minor discomfort that could be remedied by a cold drink.

It was so hot I had trouble sleeping. Simply just existing was a chore. I lost my appetite and ate less than usual. I normally get water from my hot water dispenser but it was so hot that I couldn’t bear to drink water that wasn’t cold. I usually have to refill the dispenser every night before I go to bed but during the heat wave, I didn’t touch it for about four days straight. I didn’t drink coffee during that time, again because it was just too hot for that.

Sadly, the heat wave was also deadly. Hundreds of people died last week because of the heat. It’s unbelievable that such an event could occur here in this province and lead to tragedy. This province isn’t really prepared for heat waves of that magnitude. Our homes are designed mainly to keep people warm when it gets cold, not to move heat out of the home. Air conditioning historically has been viewed as an optional luxury. I know that’s how I’ve felt in the past.

I’m not sure if we can keep thinking like that. The world is changing and we must change with it. I don’t know how I lucked into it but I was able to order a portable air conditioner last week. It arrives either tomorrow or the day after. I only have sliding glass doors in apartment and not actual windows, so making this portable A/C unit fit is going to be a challenge that I haven’t solved yet. I will endeavour to be ready for the next heat wave however. I need to be prepared for the next one.

One week ago today, I received a Moderna vaccine shot. Having had a AstraZeneca shot for my first, I am one of those who mixed and matched different vaccine technologies.

As some of you might recall, I had a fairly large immune response to my first shot. I had an incredibly uncomfortable 16 hours of side effects, which included a debilitating headache, muscle aches, chills, and fever. Before my second shot was administered I was warned that there was a strong possibility that I would have just as an intense response or even greater. This warning alone was cause for concern but the day after my shot was forecasted as a dangerously hot day. I was afraid that I would have to deal with side effects plus the heat.

Oddly, I experienced virtually no side effects from the second shot. That’s not to say I was comfortable last Monday. The extreme heat was unbearable. It’s possible that perhaps I did feel some discomfort from the shot but it was masked by the effects of the heat. I can only say with certainty that the slight sore arm was caused by the shot and not the heat.

I am now one week away from being “fully” vaccinated and I am feeling an increasing sense of relief. The mask wearing policy given by public health officials in this province changed a few days ago and mask wearing is now just recommended in public indoor spaces for those who not fully vaccinated. I am taking this recommendation to heart as I believe adherence to public health guidance and vaccines has allowed this province to be reach this level of success.

One week to go.