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Journal Entries for April 2001

April 29, 2001

I was up at Pine Lake yesterday, and let me just say that I am pumped already! It was SOOOO nice out there it was unbelievable. I don't know what temperature it actually reached, but I took off all but my shorts and went out on some docks that were floating but tied to shore and fell asleep. It was very warm. When you close your eyes, it felt like a beautiful hot summer's day, and the only thing that countered that image was the lack of anything green (besides the evergreen trees) and all the leaves were still missing from all the trees. But none the less it was very encouraging. Some familiar faces were there getting their trailers ready for the summer. Nobody I really knew but you see some people there every weekend and before long they seem familiar. I talked to Jayne and she said she'd put together a price for seasonal tenting... So that would be awesome, I'de have my own 'permanent' tent site. I put the battery in the Seadoo the other day and set the clock and stuff on the computer but didn't start it up because I left the keys at my house. I don't really want to start it until we're ready to take it to the lake anyways. It really needs to be washed, as it is quite dusty. But that's easy to fix with a pressure washer. I bought a tent a few weeks ago but haven't had a chance yet to set it up even. It is quite nice though. I think it should suit me just dandy whether I'm at the lake by myself or if some friends come up with me. Bo and I are going camping next weekend, probably to Mount Romulus. He went and bought the back-country camping permits today, so I'll probably need to go buy a backpack and maybe get a lantern too since we'll be hiking in the dark all the way there which was a considerable hike as I remember. I wanted to buy a lantern anyways and need a new backpack as mine is all but falling apart... I think it was actually Jaimee's origionally but she said I could have it or didn't want it or something. It sure saw its use, that's for sure. Jason got quite a nice new one at Marlbourough Mall somewhere though pretty cheap so I think I'll go look there. This weekend I tried to help Rob get that car from Lee's sister's place. We ended up pushing it with the van quite a bit to get it started, and although we made a valiant attempt at getting it to Shauntelle's parents' house, we got as far as the bridge just before Sarcee Trail and it would not go any farther. We ended up towing it with a chain behind the van back to her sister's house. I've never seen so much blue smoke come out of a car. It was such a cloud that for a few moments I could hardly see the car! And that is no exageration! I hope he doesn't buy it, it seems to me like there is more wrong with that car than its worth fixing. But I guess they're going to get their uncle to look at it who is quite a good mechanic from what I hear so he might be able to tell them if its worth it to fix or not. I helped Lee and Rob move this weekend, for they had to get out of their appartment for months' end. But the snag is that Shauntelle's family does not move out of their house till this weekend so we had to put all of Lee and Rob's stuff on the deck and cover it with a tarp. We finished moving the rest of their stuff this afternoon so now they can give the carpets a good cleaning now that there is nothing on them. We had tried to do some spot cleaning to get some stains out but it was quite frustrating having to move everything to one side of the room, clean, and then move it all to the other side to do the other half of the carpet. But its almost finished now and that is good. Oh, on another note, I thought I saw Rob Esau driving an RB Security van today so I decided to give him a call and sure enough, it was him. He's got his journeyman's Locksmith now and their company has quite a large contract with a company that does card access systems for places requiring restricted access to areas, and its all controlled through an SQL based database which is exactly what Rob took a course on previously, so its working out great for him apparantly. We're going to go for dinner this Wednesday so that will be interesting seeing him again. The last time I saw him was at the London Towne Theatre when I took Jessica McAndrews to see Godzilla! So that was quite a long time ago! I remember seeing his parents at Moxies on my 18th birthday though. That was pretty neat. It will be interesting seeing him again, hopefully we can stay in better touch too, its not like we live far away from each other. Anyways, time for bed as I had a pretty full day and am quite tired. I was waiting for Raedene to call but either the ringer is broken or she hasn't yet, and I think I'm going to go to bed. Goodnight.

April 19, 2001

Well I heard from ICBC's Adjuster, Pat, today about my bike. It was a total write-off, but they're going to give me $2,500 for it... Which is better than nothing but I still don't have a bike. But that money will help with the summer expenses anyways. I had thought of putting it towards the Seadoo payments which might be a better idea because the sooner I get that paid off, the more I will get back from them. The loan was calculated over a 5 year term and all the insurance on it was also calculated on a 5 year length, so I'm paying for 5 years of insurance on the loan right now. If say, I pay it back in 3 years, then they will have to refund me two years worth of insurance on it. $2,500 is aproximately a year's payments too, so that would definately help. But I am still a long way from settling over this accident. I am noticing more and more that my back is sore and even painful after a day's work now, whereas it was never like that before. It was strange, last night we were working at the Red Lobster on 36th and 4th Ave, the same intersection where I had the accident. So it was pretty wierd seeing that corner again. Tomorrow I'm going to pick Shauntelle up after work and we're probably going to go tent shopping. I can't wait! 29 more days! Less than a month away. The lake opens in 26 days. Its getting warmer and warmer outside, and it sure gets light early and dark later in the evenings... I remember when it was dark by 6:00 pm! I went out for supper this evening with Becky, something I haven't done in over a month! I haven't even seen her since the accident. So we had an interesting conversation at Moxie's. The food wasn't that good though I thought, my nachos were dry, sparsely populated by toppings and the cheese was all but dried out from being overcooked... Anyways though, I'm going to clean my room a bit, sort a few things and get ready for work tomorrow since we're back on days for the last day of the week... Ironic. (We've been working nights at Red Lobsters the first three nights of this week, today I didn't really work and then tomorrow I'm back to normal time.) The van is running great, although there is one thing I want to get my dad to look at. Pretty hefty on gas though. I guess that's the price to pay though. It will be interesting to see how well it does going to Pine Lake. Who knows, I might have to keep that $2,500 to pay for its gas!

April 15, 2001

I got my van!!! Its been months in the planning and has taken a lot of work, but its finally sitting out front of my house! And it runs beautifully! Yesterday, the first day I had it, I drove from the registry place where I got my license plates, down to Shauntelle's house and picked her up, and then came back up and went and visited Ed and his family. They had long insisted that this mysterious red van of mine must be nothing more than a mystical illusion since they had never seen it but only heard about it, so it seemed appropriate that I would lay that myth to rest. Telle and I stayed there for about an hour and talked with Barb and Ed, watched Sean's Tornado-In-A-Bottle, and drank some good Pepsi. Someone had a little red bouncy ball that provided some unexpected entertainment as well. We didn't see Kristin until we were at the front door about to leave, because she had been sleeping still as she had her wisdom teeth pulled a few days ago. She didn't look too happy to see us. It reminded me of the time James got his wisdom teeth pulled and I think it was a day later he came out to Edmonton with us for a volleyball tournament... Crazy kid. His whole face was just huge! I remember thinking, "I sure hope he doesn't get hit in the face!" I still cringe thinking about that possibility. I can't remember if he played that weekend or not, but he came with us none the less. There are 33 more days until the May Long Weekend. Barb said they had recieved their letter from Sandy Cove with the rates for this year and for the renewal of their seasonal trailer spot, so I guess everything is a go up there. I am really curious to see how Jayne is doing though, I want to give her a call one of these days but I honestly don't know how I'de even start the conversation or even if I would be able to talk to her. Shauntelle and I were joking about driving up there one of these weekends, but I don't think it would be that bad of an idea. I really want to see Jayne and find out from her what's going on. I've heard so many "he-said" "she-said" things that I don't know what to believe anymore. Anyways, its Easter Sunday and I need to get ready because I'm going to go to my aunt's house for dinner.

April 10, 2001

Well, I thought I would never actually have time to sit down here and write about April. Its been so crazy! I can't believe how busy things have been these past several weeks! With the motorcycle accident, and everything that was entailed in sorting that out, (I'll have pictures of the damage pretty soon) as well as the hassle of revamping the whole web page and web server, I have not had much time to actually sit down and write, so consequently both my journal and my diary have been rather empty this past month. And not that there hasn't been anything to write about either, this has been probably one of the most eventful months of the year so far. First of all, some callendar updates. As of tomorrow, Shauntelle and I will have been going out for 2 months. (February 11, 2001 is our anniversary.) Second, as of today there are 38 more days until the first day of the May Long Weekend, although I might be able to get up to Pine Lake sooner than that with the Millers. I should have my van this thursday, (2 days) and if not thursday, by saturday at the latest. The only delay now is the paperwork stuff, such as the safety inspection, license, registration, etc. I'm not going to tell Shauntelle about it either, but rather play down the whole thing so that I might be able to take her out this weekend and have (most of it) a surprise. The second point on my list of things to write about is the fact that I heard from ICBC's representative today, who confirmed that the other driver involved in the accident was in fact 100% at fault and that the repairs (or reimbursement) of my bike can proceed un-hindered now. I thought I would find out today whether or not they had decided if it was worth it to fix my bike, but she said that it would be tomorrow at the latest when I would know. Personally, I hope they decide to fix it up, I know I wouldn't be able to get anything close to it with the money they're bound to say its worth... At least if they fix it I'll have an awesome bike again... I miss it already. Jason got his new pipe for his bike today and he said it runs just awesome. He said his is running a lot more like how mine did. I really hope they decide to fix it. It might have looked like a 'piece', but I never knew a more reliable bike. I did find out another interesting bit of information today. Since I am only 20, I cannot get a rental car, therefore ICBC is unable to provide me with a courtesy car. However, I can take a taxi to anywhere, and so long as I keep the receipts, they will reimburse me when the whole case is settled. As well, they have to pay me for the days I missed resulting from the accident. But again, this will not take place until the whole thing is better and I am "back to normal." With that in mind, I started to anilyze my situation more closely, and experiment to see what things I can do and if there is anything that I cannot. Although I haven't tried to play volleyball again since the accident, I did notice once after a day of scaffold work, that my lower back was really sore. I was noticing today too, that while I was sitting in the truck with my back against the rear of the seat, it felt like something was sticking out of my hip -- a bone or something. I'de had this pain ever since the accident, but always thought it was something swollen and that it would go away, but now after a month I am starting to wonder. Jason knows a good chiropractor and so I am going to go see him to see what he thinks about it. I have been cautioned by many people to not let anything go un-checked. For although I might seem to be feeling good now, often times things start getting better before they get worse. And this is definately one of those pains I am wondering about, because it did result from the accident, and it has not gone away since. We'll see what the chiropractor has to say. Its strange though, I've never been to a chiropractor before in my life. My friend Raedene, who's a figure skator, told me of her visits to the chiropractor and said that it was probably the best feeling in the world after she came out of a session. I am quite skeptical that any bone-cracking, joint-crunching can make me feel "wonderful", but if he can make that thing that's sticking out not bother me anymore then I suppose I should give him a try. Actually, speaking of Raedene, I actually got an email from her the other day, which was a first. Since I've met her, years and years ago, we have this 'thing' where one of us will call the other one every 6 months or so and we usually end up talking for hours, hang up, and then don't hear hide nor hair from each other for another 6 months. The last time I talked to her was around Christmas of this year, so I think its comming up to about the time for another call for one of us here...

On another note, I have really been getting into the Pine Lake spirit, early as it is, I know. Once I get my van, Shauntelle and I have planned to go tent shopping for me, since (if anyone ever saw my tent from last year) they'de understand that I need a new one quite badly... Thanks to Ed though, I have a nice tarp and a rope to tie it over my tent, and by the end of last season I had developed quite a system for setting up and covering my tent, keeping it safe and dry from almost all of the elements. I doubt it would withstand another tornado, but I never had a problem with any rain or hail, and although it let some sunshine through, I never minded that. I saw my Seadoo the other day, looking very majestic and very bored up on its trailer. It too, I think, is dying to get back in the water. Its quite dusty as all of winter's dust has settled upon its smooth blue skin... Last night I went and stayed at Jason's house, where his roommate, Clayton, is quite an avid waterskier. In fact, if I have my friends' friends straight, he used to be a waterski instructor at Sylvan Lake. So it was great to be in the company of other water-lovers. I've been thinking of buying a tuned pipe for it, but I'de like to see how much faster that would make it or how many more horsepower it would add before I go that route, especially since it would probably be quite expensive. I'm definately curious though. It would be a blast having that thing hit 70 mph on the water. Right now I think I've peaked it at 62 mph... It is fast, that's for sure. But can it be faster? Famous last words. Anyways, I think that's been a fair sized entry so far. Unless I'm out with Shauntelle this whole weekend, (and I might be) I may have some time to write more. By then I'm sure to have a few more things to write about, because I'll know the answers to several questions which right now are unanswered. 38 more days! I can't wait!

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