One Track

Last month I had the pleasure of seeing Joel Plaskett Live in Concert for about the 5th time.  He was fantastic and mostly acoustic.  It was a sit down show in a theatre which was new but also quite comfortable.  One of the nicest part of the show was seeing Joel interact and perform with his father.  It gave me hope that I might someday appear in a regional or semi-national publication with my father.  This show was a while ago and I meant to mention it here but April really got a way from me.  The reason I mention it now is because I heard a song on the radio today that featured Joel (Mr. Plaskett is his father's name).  This afternoon CBC Radio 2 played a song by Classified (right after a song by The First Aid Kit).  In this track, Classified figured out that putting a skinny white singer songwriter in the background was the quickest way to get me interested in Hip Hop and get a mention on my blog!  Thanks to Damian for pointing him out to me.

NOTE: Make sure you have your voice heard and vote in the poll.  If you don't vote you will forfeit your right to complain about the results!

A NEW CAR!

So its not a 'new' car but it is a new to me.  I am pretty excited to have my first car!  Also, I finally understand what the Beach Boys songs are about.  I'm not sure what a Deuce Coupe is but that song perfectly describes my car.

I started my search about two weeks ago and looked at a few cars.  Went to a few lots...most of them were closed but I found a good deal in the parking lot near my work.  I called the guy up and scheduled a test drive.  Luckily my friend Jessica came with me.  It was a 2000 Hyundai Accent, with 150k KM, with four winter tires on the rims.  There is no rust on the body and it looked like in really good shape.  One of the major selling points was the sunroof.

I said it was lucky that I brought Jessica with me because the car turned out to be a standard transmission and I have never driven a  standard.  She drove it for me and gave me a sense of what she thought and she also gave me a few tips on how to drive it myself and then gave me my first lesson.  She was very helpful but at the same time she was not very helpful at all.  You know that trick car salesmen use to put pressure on you. "You see that couple over there?  well the are very interested in this car and I think they are gonna make an offer tomorrow.  So if you think you want the car you should probably move quickly".  Well Jessica was that "nice young couple".  She kept saying how great a deal it was and that she might get it for herself if I don't.  Needless to say,  I moved on it.  I took it too a mechanic and he said it looked like a good deal.

I bought the car yesterday and got myself insurance and the registration in the matter of hours.  Side Note: If you are in the market for car insurance,  you should check out the offers made through your Alumni Association.  UWO has a deal with TD and I got a really good rate.  The car sat in the parking lot over night and I went in today and spent a few hours with Jessica in the passenger seat calling out "green light" so I could work on not stalling off the line.  Then at the end of the day I drove the car home.  It was a nerve wracking drive and I'm pretty much guaranteed to get at least one ticket in the next month for a rolling stop,  but I think I am getting the hang of it.  I should be street racing in a few weeks.  I have started collecting Canadian Tire money in my dash,  I have started filling my glove compartment with maps and loose paper and I bought my first product from Amour All.  I will post more pictures as soon as the sun comes out here.

Now the big questions have to be answered.  What do I call my car?  Solo had the Millenium Falcon, Capt. Kirk had the Enterprise, Wayne and Garth had the Mirth Mobile.  Surely, my automobile requires a name of similar prestige and catchy-ness.  I figure because it is an Accent it should be a name that requires it be said with an accent like Dieter, but not so German.  I think it should be a girls name just so when I say "I took Lucy down to the beach" I won't feel like such a loser for going to the beach alone.  But I also want it to be something East Coast-y.  My front runner right now is The Boy (pronounced Baiy with a thick east coast accent) but I'm open to suggestions.

Another important question:  What are my bumper stickers going to say?  Are they printing Jindal-Palin '12 stickers yet?  Here in PEI they have no front license plate so I have the opportunity to express myself through a novelty plate.  I can tell the world what sports team I support or describe what type of conveyance my other car is.  The options are endless.

And of course the age old question:  Hula Girl vs Fuzzy Dice.  Discuss amongst yourselves.

Apparently Ringo wasn't very musical even in cartoon form.

Did the Beach Boys invent the popped collar?  I'm gonna spend the next hour on youtube watching Beach Boys videos and trying to sing the high harmony.  Living alone has its perks.

The Heart of PEI in the Heart of Toronto

If you are in Toronto and wondering what PEI is really like but don't have the time or the money, time or interest to come visit, a major part of PEI is going to be going to be in Toronto for two weeks this spring.  No, I won't be coming through town but the next best thing is.  Anne of Green Gable: The Musical will be doing a two week run in Toronto's Elgin Theatre!    It will be taking a road trip before it begins it 45th(!) season in Charlottetown.  If you are sick of the big city musicals like CATS or Phantom of The Opera or Sound of Music with their filthy felines, deformed organist, and Nazis, I think Anne of Green Gables will be right up your alley.  I have not seen the production but based on the fact that this island is loosely based on the writings of Lucy Maud Montgomery,  this musical is very family friendly and will proabably have ample parking (in the musical not the theatre's parking lot....because the lot is in Toronto).  

Anyway it is at the Elgin Theatre between May 7 - 31 and tickets start at 25$.  If you plan on coming to PEI in this summer or next may I recommend waiting and seeing it here because there won't be much else to do.  

Also of note:  big news here is that the lobster market is crashing.  The market price is at about $3/lbs so if you get a chance to buy a lobster at market price go for it.  You'll be helping the PEI economy and you'll be getting a great deal!  Don't buy from Sobey's or Loblaws....even here they are still selling it here for $8/lbs.   Once again, if you plan on coming to PEI in this summer or next may I recommend waiting and eating it here because there won't be much else to do.  

Stay Tuned for Car News!

PEInniversary

My First PEI Beach.  April 2008

This past week marked my first full year as a resident of PEI.  It seems like the year just flew by but then when I look back at the winter it seems like it really dragged.  I've been wracking my brain trying to decide if it was a good year or a bad year.  When I arrived I knew no one here, my lab was a room filled with boxes, I was stuck in tiny downtown Charlottetown because of my lack of a car and had to deal with a bigger culture shock than I was expecting. I am slowly getting used to the local customs although I still complain about the lack of Sunday shopping.  I am no longer amazed that people here know what seafood is in-season and when the actual seasons begin (Lobster season just began last week and prices are extremely low so I might be indulging a little more this summer).  The laid back lifestyle is readily apparent, (I have had to call my landlord on two different occasions to tell him that I have not paid rent and I owe him cheques.  Right now I don't even have a lease!  He doesn't seem to worried about it) On the work front I feel like the company is on the verge of turning the corner from R&D to actually being on the market.  We have expanded into a second lab,  we are moving into a bigger office (still now window) and I have 300 business cards that I am dying to get rid of.  My algae has suffered through a few contaminant issues but they are still very green.  Personally I feel a lot more comfortable here.  My co-workers are a lot of fun and great to hang out with inside and outside of work.  I am about to get a car so my mobility will increase exponentially.  I assume this will allow me to take advantage of the many beeches and golf courses.

I still miss all my family and friends back in Toronto...but i'm not sure if I miss the Big City Lifestyle.  I definitely miss the public transit, exciting night life, the live music scene and "stuff-to-do" levels.  I don't miss the congestion in general, ten-digit dialing, construction and the boring-coloured gables.

Anyway,  I hope I have a better second year.

Me hanging out (of a car) in PEI, April 2009

Henson's 11

I don't know who was responsible for the casting but I think they did a pretty accurate job.

Does anyone know where you can rent the DVD of The Great Muppet Caper?

Because I didn't Know Who to Email First

Via Neatorma From Thinkgeek.com

The Economy Will Never Be That Bad!

In times of trouble like this people have to start cutting costs.  I just watched a story on CNN about Mrs. Obama's England wardrobe being almost entirely from J. Crew (Oh Jeanie Moos will you ever become a real journalist...honestly, she didn't actually go to journalism school did she?).  It is a nice gesture by Mrs. Obama to say that she isn't wasting taxpayer money on her wardrobe.  But will the economy ever be bad enough to warrant Re-Gifting!  The Obama's presented the Queen of England with an iPod Nano!  Now I seem to remember the good people at CBC sending Obama a thoughtful playlist.  It is pretty obvious that the Obama's simply erased those 49 songs and filled it with pictures and video's of the queen's 2007 American visit.  We should send our Ambassador to the U.S. over to the white house to snoop around for the iPod...it'll be just like that Seinfeld episode except with the possibility of an international incident and guaranteed to be hilarious!  We have to stop him now otherwise next thing you know he'll be giving the Statue of Liberty to Mexico.

The New Prez is obviously letting his daughters do all the gift selection. 

"When British Prime Minister Gordon Brown visited the White House in March, the British press panned Obama's presentation of DVDs of Hollywood films as declasse.  It didn't help that the DVDs didn't work in European players."

Can you imagine the look on Brown's face.  Especially because he obviously put so much thought into his gift for Obama: "a pen holder carved from the timbers of the sister ship ofthe one the White House desk is made from and a first edition of a seven-volume biography of Winston Churchill"