We have the best neighbours…

August 9, 2006 in california living, Friends, neighbors | Leave a comment

Ever! They have not only become our neighbours, but they are good friends now too. And we will be sad to leave them behind when we move back to Canada.

Here are just a few things about them and things they have done that make them the very best!…

The same night that we moved all our furniture into our place in Mountain View, Nicole and Ben came over and introduced themselves, gave us home made brownies as a welcome gift and invited us over for dinner that same week!

Lloyd noticed the smell of baking one evening, he sniffed and mentioned it to Nicole. When she was done baking she brought over a large sample of the chocolate brownies with Swiss chocolate in them! Another time they had leftover birthday cake, so they dropped some by for us!

Coming home from being married in Canada, Nicole and Ben looked after the mail and our plants while we were away (and have every time we have gone!). We came home to a lovely sign on our front door saying “just married”, getting inside we had a bottle of champagne in the fridge and two champagne glasses, my favourite Gerber daisy flowering plant and little hearts scattered on our kitchen table.

It was Swiss Day, August 1st, Nicole and I were chatting online. I was wishing her Happy Swiss Day and said it was B.C. day as well, she said I should put up my flag, I said we did not have one. Not 10 minutes later there was a knock on the door, it was Nicole with a flag of BC!. She had printed out the B.C. flag in color from the web, laminated and stuck to a straw!

    We will miss them dearly and thank them for being such wonderful people.

    Back pain cont.

    August 8, 2006 in back pain, medical | 1 comment

    I went to the Physiatrist this afternoon. I am not sure what I was expecting, I think I was hoping for some more insight or a magical cure to what I have been experiencing over the past year. I did not get any of that. I got more of what I already know, basically “yup you have pain in your lower back”, of course he said it more graciously than that, and explained everything to us. He was a good doctor. He was not conclusive and was not convinced that it was all sacral joint inflammation. He thinks that there could be an inflamed disc too, as when he presses on my lower spin it hurts. He does not think that I have any nerve damage.

    The short story is he thinks there is some inflammation in my lower back most likely caused by trauma of some sort. Somehow we have to decrease that inflammation. There are two possible treatments at this point:

    Treatment option 1) a prescribed anti-inflammatory and perhaps some physical therapy.

    Treatment option 2) injections to try and treat the inflammation, which has more risks than the first treatment option.

    Side effects to treatment option 2) can in very low cases be death (he has never heard of it or experienced it himself, but has happened so they have to mention it) or bleeding, or increased pain. He said it is similar to an epidural women get in child birth but directed to the inflamed area. Treatment 2) also is not a definite solution, because on an MRI inflammation does not show up, they could possibly get the wrong area, whereas oral drugs treats all inflammation.

    Side effects to treatment option 1) possible upset stomach with the pills (in that case he recommended taking them with food). Drugs could make me feel slightly tired.

    Because I am not thrilled with needles, we have decided to go with the anti-inflammatory drugs and more physical therapy first. He also said that I was basically to stop my physical activity, and lift no weights above my hips. No physical activity…. boo! Not happy about that at all. He said he knows it is hard for people my age to not be active and be a slug for a little while, but it could help my recovery. None-the-less I will do what the good doctor tells me (for at least a week ;) ) and if it helps and allows me not to have sharp objects poked into my body, it has gotta be worth it right?

    Hopefool place for rent…

    August 5, 2006 in moving | 7 comments

    If you drive by our place… you will see the following….

    My never ending lower back pain

    July 31, 2006 in back pain, medical | 12 comments

    February 2005 I was in the gym doing an assisted squat on a smith machine and hurt my back, it was not the first time. I have hurt my back several times in the past, the first time I remember hurting it was when I was about 15 years old and I was working at a grocery store. I am not sure what happened, but I must of leaned the wrong way to lift something, the next 2 days I could not move. It healed on it’s own and I was okay within a week. Another time I hurt my back was snowboarding at Sunshine Mountain in Alberta, this time about 23 years old. I was going down the hill and slightly moved one way and I felt my lower back. It was fine that day, later the next day I was in severe pain. I went to my first chiropractor, Dr. Fox in Calgary, he was wonderful, he got me back on my feet in no time at all (a couple weeks) with muscle therapy, adjustments and stretching, that was probably about 2-3 years ago now.

    Last February I went to the physiotherapist (or called physical therapist in the USA) until about mid or the end of April the same year. When I stopped seeing him I felt I had my full range of motion back. July 2005 my back started hurting again, but due to no incident this time. It would just feel stiff and uncomfortable when I got up in the morning. It now has progressed over time, now I cannot stand for over a couple minutes and lying flat causes me extreme discomfort. I went to a chiropractor in Vancouver a couple of times (only went a couple times because I moved to the California) and saw no great improvement. I moved in USA in November with my now husband and did not treat my back, lack of medical insurance, and worry that we were not covered, and expense. Lloyd felt it would be much too expensive to go and we could not afford it so I did not. I tried to continue stretching, but it did not seem to help, nonetheless I continued. Now sleeping also causes me discomfort and I wake up due to the pain after about 6 hours. Finally in March I went to the doctor and found out I was covered if referred for a few visits. She referred me to the chiropractor, who I went to see for about 7 visits in about 4 weeks time. I did not feel any better when I finished, she did mainly adjustments. I went back to the doctor and was referred to a physical therapist, who I went to see for 8 visits in 4 or 5 weeks, again feeling no real improvement at the end of treatment. The physical therapist did stretching, muscle work/massage. Seeing little to no improvement she recommended that I return to my doctor to see what was next.

    I went to the doctor this afternoon (my regular doctor is away so I saw a different one, but still very pleasant lady). She has now recommended me to a physiatrist. She said… a physiatrist is in between a physical therapist and a orthopedist. An orthopedist would mainly be able to recommend surgery, and if I needed it would perform it, but if not would not be able to do much for me. She said for a person my age we want to avoid surgery at all costs and a physiatrist would be able to do some injections to decrease the inflammation in the area bothering me. She did examine me and said that it did not appear to be in my spin, so I was not to worry about spinal problems, but it seems to be in the joints next to my tail bone, the sacroiliac joints. She thought it could be Sacroiliitis, an inflammation of these joints (which is what my doctor in Vancouver thought it possibly might be in October but recommended a new bed, stretching and yoga).

    Injections sound scary to me! I am wondering if I have gotten to the point and need this type of treatment or maybe I just need more physical therapy time? I am returning to Canada in September for some coursework, which I made my doctor aware of, she said I would at least be able to see the physiatrist once maybe twice before I leave. I asked if I should have an MRI or Xray done, and she gave me an order for one just in case it was something else and said they would call me once they received the results.

    In the USA there is a limit to how much physical therapy and chiropractic you receive. Being on an HMO plan, I am entitled to 6-8 visits maximum. I cannot help but wonder if I continued to go to the physical therapist for another month would I get better? When I was injured last February, it at least took 15 or more visits (2-3 months worth!) before I left okay. However, if I was in Canada I do not think I would ever get to a physiatrist, and if I was finally recommended to one, which would be after at least 6 months of physical therapy that was going nowhere, I would then be put on a wait list for 6 months minimum to a couple years to see a physiatrist. So is the USA to quick to jump to a conclusion and should I be continuing to see the physical therapist, or is it indeed time to step it up to a physiatrist and Canada is too lax?

    I am going to go through with it and see the physiatrist while I am in the USA, maybe this is indeed the treatment I need? But I am not going to be quick to get the injections if the physiatrist suggests them, being scared of needles and apprehensive about such an invasive therapy. Returning to Canada in September I will again have no extended medical for chiropractic treatments, which run at minimum $35 a visit. Lloyd being thrifty will probably want me to wait to see if we can get some kind of coverage before seeing anyone. My girlfriend Ali has seen a chiropractor in Victoria who did wonders for her, but wondering if mine is too far gone, or perhaps we she has a different problem with her back. I hope to try Ali’s chiropractor when we return if I still am in pain, if we can afford it of course. I am at the point where I think I am doomed to live with his pain for the rest of my life, and also think I am too young to have back pain, how did this happen?

    Trip to Victoria, immigration b-s… and birthdays and babies!

    July 12, 2006 in california living, immigration shenanigans | 1 comment

    We had a wonderful trip home to Canada at the beginning of July, but as always did not get to visit people or do half the things we wanted to. I guess there is just so much that you can do in only 5 days! Saturday through Monday, Lloyd and I, and my Mom went to stay and Grandma’s and Grandpa’s to prepare for the party. Grandma’s garden was in bloom and looking wonderful. Canada day we spent a leisurely time outside under a tree in the front yard.

    The birthday party for Grandpa on Sunday, went well and we had a beautiful hot day to accompany it.

    Summer is a busy time for birthdays. Almost ten of my close family and friends have birthday in July! May I say I very Happy Birthday to…

    • My new brother in law (he who not be named) who had a birthday sometime in the past year ;)
    • Ali White, a very dear friend turned 27 on July 8th. Picture of her and I below, she was a bridesmaid at my wedding:
    • Nadia Frost, another very dear friend who will be 30 years young July 18th. Picture of her and I below, she was also a bridesmaid at my wedding:
    • My youngest brother Landon, turns 22 on July 17th.
    • Still upcoming this month are my Dad’s, Grandmother’s, Aunt Sonya’s, Joe Lischeron’s, Kimber O’Brien’s birthdays to name a few!

    And congratulations to Carrie and Chris Dye (picture below) who are expecting:

    and Deon Reid who just gave birth to her son Eric yesterday!

    The rest of the time we took care of some chores we have been meaning to do, and got a little visit in with Ali and Bernie. Lloyd worked on Thursday and Friday. The night before we left we met Chris Robb a nd Rebecca at The Superior in James Bay for dinner. They gave us a beautiful print by Barbara Weaver-Bosson for our wedding, thank you! I would say The Superior was an overall hit. The meals were tapas style and very tasty, it was a little on the pricey side, but ambiance was fun and had a guitar player for entertainment.

    We flew out of Victoria on the way back to San Francisco, connecting in Vancouver. We had to go through customs in Vancouver. Instead of going out and around to get into US customs, they directed us another way in which we waited about 10 minutes to open (it was 6am). We ended up being the first in line. He looked at our passports, scanned Lloyd’s then mine… which he stopped. Then put a giant “I” on our customs declaration form and said there was a little something they had to clear up and I had to go through to the immigration office. So we went in and waited for about 20-25 minutes and they finally called ” julie”. No one else getting up I assumed it was me, so I got up and went through the doors. Lloyd came in with me and the customs officer looked at him and said “I only called Julie”, at which point I bite my tongue to correct him that my name was actually “Julia” (I dislike being called Julie by anyone other than certain friends of the family). He opened both our passports and said, “Are you guys like ‘living together’”. I said ah no, he is my HUSBAND! He then asked if I had ever been denied entry into the US, and why. I said I was visiting my fiance and was told I could not prove I was returning to my country of origin. He looked at me and said “and did you?”. Yes of course I answered, I returned for Christmas like I said I would. He kept me quite a few more minutes without saying anything, and asked how long I was waiting, I answered about half an hour, and he said oh that is pretty good (meanwhile it is 7:10, and our plane was to board at 7:00… they get nasty when you point this out, so again kept quiet. Our plane ended up being delayed due to weather in San Francisco, so fortunately we did not miss it.). Finally returned our passports and said I could go. Previously by another customs agent, I have been told that it actually appears on my passport as “removed from the United States” because customs is considered US grounds, and that it will remain on there for quite some time. Thankfully Lloyd and I have been able to travel together since me being “denied”, and besides this trip into the immigrations office have been fortunate. Seems it just depends who you get and if they are in a bad mood or not… which I think is ridiculous. It was ridiculous being denied in October, and continues to be so. I now have a TN Spousal visa…. must I go through these shenanigans every time I cross the boarder? and what would have happened if I didn’t have Lloyd and his passport with me?

    I am trying to find motivation to start the second unit of my geography course, and with volunteering every morning am finidng it increasingly difficult… ug. (hence my procrastination on writing this post instead of doing homework).

    First let me say if you are a male… perhaps you do not want to read this next bit if you are sqeamish at all about ‘women things’… About a month of two ago, I experienced what I felt to be a heart palpitation. We went to the doctor, and she said it was rather normal, and happens most often in women and they think it may have something to do with hormones. She did an EKG, red blood cell test and a tyroid test, all were found to be normal. Recently around my period it has gotten worse, and most recently have experienced a tightness in my chest. I know I can be known to overreact about these things, but was very worried there was something really wrong. I was concerned that the birth control pill may be causing these side effects and perhaps I am at risk for a blood clot. I have always had issues with the pill, and only ever been able to find one that works for about 6-8 months before it causes some major side effects. After some debate, Lloyd and I decided I would stop taking the pill for about 6 months and see if I feel any better. We went to the doctor this morning again to follow up. She said the chest tightness is most likely nothing to worry about and actually gave a name to it (which I cannot remember) and gave me some stretches to do. She again said the heart palpitations were nothing to worry about. She suggested staying away from stimulants, like coffee, tea, alcohol and chocolate for the time being, which I am now really trying to do. I asked about the risk of a blood clot due to the pill, the doctor said it is always a risk however she said in the years that she has been practising medicine she has only had 2 patients to get blood clots due to the pill, and one of them had been a smoker. I told her we were going to try going off the pill to see what effects that had, and she said it was probably a good idea (however when I asked her on a previous visit she said that I was on the pill for long enough that if it were to cause side effects it would have already happened!? hmm). I feel a little more at ease today, but don’t think I will really feel better until I am off the pill a nd these symptoms have completely subsided.

    Volunteering for summer school is over July 25th. My parents are supposed to be coming to visit California the first week in August. I am still hoping to go visit my friend Zoa in Honolulu in August, we will see, depending on prices of flights and progress on my course!

    I have registered to do my 4 remaining pre-requisites courses at UVic this September in order to apply for my post degree program in elementary education. I continue to miss Victoria and Vancouver, and even though I may be away from Lloyd (which I dread) and looking forward to being in Victoria for September. I applied to SFU for these pre-requisites as well, but they are still in the process of reviewing my application, where with UVic it was only the case of re-applying.

    Again… feel free to leaves comments on my blog…. and I would love to hear about what is going on in your lives, do drop me an email if you ever have a chance.

    Trip to Lake Tahoe

    June 22, 2006 in california living | 3 comments

    Lloyd and I decided at long last, we would take a mini-honeymoon/ vacation that we never got after our wedding. Mostly due to Flock work demands (sigh, nothing new!)… who have recently released their public beta, free download at Flock.com.

    Sunday morning, we left Mountain View around 1pm to arrive in South Lake Tahoe just before 5pm. The first night we stayed in The Black Bear Inn, Bed and Breakfast. Both places we stayed were recommended through the Lonely Planet's Guide to California. It was great. The hosts were superb. We arrived in time for the 5pm wine and cheese, where we chatted with a couple in their mid 50's from New Jersey (they were fun to chat with!) until we went to dinner at 7pm. The Inn recommended some restaurants in the area, and Lloyd choose Mirabella, French Cuisine (but American portions!). It was nice, but a little rich.

    Monday morning we woke up for 9am for their breakfast, which was very tasty. We went back to bed after that, (hey we are on vacation!) and checked out my 11am. We went and walked around the shops and decided to take a gondola ride up Heavenly Mountain for a spectacular view from the midway. We then proceeded to drive on the very windy roads towards North Tahoe, where we would be spending our second night. Driving through the windy roads, we stopped at Emerald Bay (on recommendation from a few people) and went for a hike for about 1.5 hours return. It was hot hot hot, but very beautiful.

    We then continued at stopped at Sun Shine Inn, for a late lunch, tasty tasty. We checked in at River Ranch Lodge, which was right next to the Hwy (a little noisy) but clean and had all the amenities, and half the price of the B&B! We relaxed and read some Harry Potter then went to find The Soule Domain for dinner (on recommendation from Mike from Flock – thanks they were all good!). It was located on the state line to Nevada, but on the California side. We were told it would be a half hour wait (and on a Monday night! now that is a popular place), and it was well worth it. We returned back to the lodge to find a bear having a late night snack from the garbage bins. It actually surprised me that when we checked in the front desk warned us of the bears, and gave us a leaflet on bears, but none of the garbage cans were "bear safe", silly if you ask me. We climbed the stairs to see that the bear had also been there, and toppled the garbage on the landing.

    Tuesday morning we woke up late, checked out for 11am, and went for breakfast at Fire Sign Cafe (another one of Mike's recommendations), which was very tasty. We have not found a good breakfast place in Silicon Valley yet, so this was a nice treat. We were going to go for a hike, but decided not to when we saw the elevation for our chosen hike was to be straight up. On the way back from the trail head, we found Horseback riding and took an hour scenic tour on horses. The last time I went horseback riding was when I was 12! My horse's name was Willie, and Lloyd's was Maggie.

    Willie liked to eat a lot, and tried every chance he saw some green grass. The guide got off her horse, and actually tied Willie's rain tighter so that he was not able to do that the rest of the ride. It was $25 for about an hour or $45 for 2 hour ride (per person), which is quite reasonable, as in Half Moon Bay it was $60 an hour, and it Whistler the same. If we go back to Tahoe, we will try to longer ride next time! We then drove home, and hit a little congestion in places on the way home, arriving home to a hot hot house, it is 35 Celsius today. So nice to get away, our first vacation together, especially to experience a new place! I would definitely recommend taking a visit to Lake Tahoe if you are in the area!

    For all my Lake Tahoe photos, click here for my flickr set of Lake Tahoe.

    P.S. While we were away the wasps took the chance to rebuild the nest we knocked down on our patio, + some mud wasps thought they had a good idea and started one too! They were small so Lloyd knocked them down… anyone have any ideas on how to deter them so we do not have to knock down a 4th nest?

    Thank You card from volunteering, new bike, and new correspondence class.

    June 12, 2006 in california living, teaching, volunteering | 3 comments

    I received a nice Thank You card from the Kindergarten teacher I have been volunteering with over the past couple months, which I posted below. School is now over, and I am awaiting for summer school to start, so I can volunteer with them. Summer school is only in the mornings, and only for one month of summer.

    Sharla and Krista were supposed to be coming to visit me this week, which I was really looking forward to, guess they do not read my blog! The day that they were supposed to leave to drive down here, I received an email from Sharla saying that they got tickets to Hawaii instead and would not be coming.

    I received my coursework in the mail for my Geography class, and have already started on it. I will be learning about Heartland and Hinterlands of Canada. I find correspondence work quite difficult, because there is no one to chat with about the course. I was assigned a tutor that can help with questions, but I find it quite helpful to have discussions about the course material. I feel discussions add to my further understanding about the subject and clarifies any small questions I had.

    I got a bike over the weekend, a picture of a similar one below, though mine is light blue. It is called a DiamondBack and Century'06 is the model.

    I road it home from the bike shop, about 5 miles. I was told by the salesperson that the frame on road bikes absorb a lot of the shock of the bumps in the road, however I found on my ride home that my arms were bouncing and itchy because of all the vibrations. I am not sure if it is something that I will just get used to?! or if I should exchange it for another bike with shocks in the front fork.

    P.S. To my non techy savy friend; when reading my blog please feel free to leave comments. You just need to click on the title of the post, and scroll down and enter your information to submit a comment.

    What I’ve been up to since our wedding, and my plans for teaching.

    June 5, 2006 in teaching | 1 comment

    It has now been a little more than a month since our "big day" in Victoria. Things are starting to get back to "normal" for us (whatever "normal" means, someone once told me normal was only a setting on a washing machine). Lloyd continues to work long hours on Flock. Due to this, we still have not managed to get away for a weekend for a semi-honeymoon. Ever weekend we've tried, a techy event in the Bay Area comes up that Lloyd initially wants to attend, which we do not end up doing because of the demands of work at Flock (picture of some of the Flock team below).

    Since the middle of April I have been volunteering at a local Elementary school in Mountain View with a kindergarten class. The year is coming to an end, and I only have one day left with the class. It has been very enjoyable. I have about 60 hours of volunteering now. I heard through the school grapevine that there is summer school that happens in the district. I got in touch with the principal at the school that will be administering the summer school, and I am meeting with her on June 21st to find out what role I can play as a volunteer. Summer school is only in the mornings, from 8am-noon and from June 25-July 26th. Since I now have experience with younger children, I would like to get some experience volunteering with children a little older, grades 3 through 5. I will find out in a couple weeks how I can help.

    My friend Sharla and my ex-roommate Krista, are said to be taking a road trip down to San Francisco to arrive early next week. I don't believe they have much time off work, and will most likely only be staying a night or so, while taking 3 days either side for travel. It will be nice to get together with my girlfriends from home as I have not made a 'best' bud here yet and miss my girlfriends back home a lot.

    I told many people a few weeks ago that since I am a non-resident of the USA I will not be admitted to the teaching credential program at San Francisco State University. Ultimately I would like to be teaching in Canada, therefore Canada would be the best place to get take the PDP (post degree program) in Elementary Education. So we have decided that once we return to Canada I will do just that.

    I am looking into applying to Simon Fraser University and the University of Victoria. Both schools have different pre-requisites to get in to their programs. SFU I still need: 1 lab science, 1 Canadian history, 1 Canadian geography, and 1 math for teachers. At UVIC I still need: 2 lab sciences, and 2 Canadian studies. I have lately been going back and forth with advisors from both school in order to determine what will transfer to what University so I can take a minimum number of courses. I have thus far determined they will both accept Geography 200 (Regional Geography of Canada), taken by correspondence from Thompson River University. I have just registered in that course, and I am just waiting to receive the course materials to start on it.

    There are slight problems with getting the other courses, because Math for Teachers that SFU requires is not at all offered by correspondence. UVic does have a course that transfers to SFU for Math for Teachers, though UVic will not grant me credit for it as I already have two 100 level courses in Math. SFU has just informed me however, that if I show a passing grade in the subject even though no credit was granted, they will accept that. Lab sciences are a little tricky as well, UVic requires to have lab time, so taking a science that I attend labs weekly by correspondence is very difficult.

    I was going to try and take these courses at a local college in California, but I cannot find anything that will transfer to "Math for Teachers" and getting transcripts evaluated from the USA is tricky, time consuming and expensive, not to mention the cost of taking courses in the USA as a non-resident. Most schools in the USA I have to be a full time student, registered in a full time program, with a F-1 student visa, so taking the 3 or 4 courses does not qualify.

    To try to resolve some of these problems I have re-registered as a student at UVic and late-registered at SFU to take these remaining courses this fall. UVic I have already found out that I can register for courses at the beginning of July, I expect not to hear from SFU for another few weeks due to the tardiness of my application. So there is a possibility that I will be back in Victoria or Vancouver this September through December to complete this coursework. I will keep you posted though.

    In the mean time I will take my one correspondence course, and volunteer in the mornings for summer school for elementary children.

    My Grandfather, William Doskotch (picture below), is turning 80 next Tuesday, June 13th. To celebrate my family will be getting together the July long weekend. Lloyd and I have already got plane tickets up for the event, and will be staying for about a week in Victoria, Lloyd working remotely while we are there.

    We have received our photographer's photos from our wedding, and are trying to get a few of them printed soon to send out in Thank You cards. For anyone else that took photos at our wedding, we would love to see them! Having troubles finding my favourite one of Lloyd and I from what the photographer took. Please send them to us, or tell us where you have posted them online. Using Flickr.com is a great way of sharing your photos with friends and family (hint, hint!). And FYI, if you get the Times Colonist, apparently my Mom put something in the classifieds about us on Sunday (June 4th), though I have not seen it yet.

    My 27th Birthday Today

    May 19, 2006 in immigration shenanigans, SF living, silver adventures, teaching, wedding | 3 comments

    Today is my 27th birthday.

    Flowers from my parents and brothers for my birthday:

    Looking back on my 27th year (or being 26th years) many things happened! My life has really done a 180 degree turn!

    I started my 27th year living in Vancouver, BC. In July I moved out from living with a roommate and moved in by myself into a one bedroom apartment on Balsam and 3rd street. My Mom came to Vancouver and helped me re-paint the apartment that the previous tenants neglected to do. Thank you so much to Mom for helping out, it was a much larger job than expected.

    The second weekend in July, I went to a BBQ at my good friends place, Ali and Bernie’s… where I met again Lloyd Budd… and we all know where that ended up! ;)

    At the beginning of August I took a three week holiday from my vindictive boss’s and went to the Bowron Lakes with my Dad, brother Landon, and some family friends. It was a beautiful trip… the whole 7 days that we were there, it rained only for about an hour, which is almost unheard of in that area you can get freak snowstorms in the summer. I then spent a week visiting Sharla in Prince George, and Cheri in Quesnel.

    I returned to Victoria to spend some time with Lloyd and to find out that he received an offer from Flock Inc. who wanted him to start right away. He gave his notice at Mercurial and started working remotely on the Flock project right away.

    September my good friends Nadia and Andrew tied the knot. I was so happy to be included in their special day.

    Lloyd accepted the position at Flock Inc, in California! I had very mixed feelings about him accepting the position, especially since not even a year previous I had moved back to BC, from Calgary, AB in order to be close to my family and friends.  I was not looking forward to the possibility of moving away from everyone again. I agreed it was an opportunity not to be passed by. The original plan was for Lloyd to alternate months in Canada and California for the first 6 months, while I transitioned to move down with him. After the first month we decided that long distance was too difficult, and even though I would miss my family and friend immensely, my heart ached to be with Lloyd more, so we planned for me to join him November 1st.

    We announced our engagement to our family and friends near the end of October. Many were shocked that we got engaged so quickly, little did they know we were actually secretly engaged for a while before that even!

    Entry into the United States proved difficult for me, and I was denied the first time I tried to enter. A week later I got into the USA, and have travelled back and forth with Lloyd since such time. Every time I now enter the USA they ask if I have ever been denied entry? Apparently it is to remain on my “record” for sometime.

    November and December were some tough times for me, I moved to California to be with Lloyd, which was proving to be difficult with him working 16+ hours a day and commuting to Palo Alto, leaving me behind in San Francisco by myself, no friends or family around, and no job to identify with and little to do.

    January and February I took some silversmith classes which I thoroughly enjoyed. I decided however that silversmithing will remain a hobby of mine for now, instead of going professional.

    The commute and the many hours apart was becoming difficult and frustrating, so we made the decision to move closer to Lloyd’s work. Flock moved from Palo Alto to Mountain View for the beginning of March, and we moved from San Francisco to Mountain View that same month. Lloyd can now walk to work, it is only 6 blocks! He now comes home for dinner and we are spending a little more time together than we were, and living in a much nicer place, and I enjoy the community down in Mountain View quite a bit. All round it was a good move.

    April I spent preparing for our wedding, and applying for teaching. Recently discovered that due to our visa being temporary, and being an International student I am not illegible to apply for the program and San Francisco State University.

    Taken after my bridal shower in April in Victoria, BC:

    We got married May 7th, which a community of people, in particular my parents Donna and Bart made possible. It was truly beautiful, I am lucky to have such a wonderful network of friends and family willing to help up to make the day what it was… thank you again to ALL those who helped.

    In short in my 27th year:

    • I met my future husband again, and got married!
    • I quit my Human Resources job at Ernst and Young and moved to San Francisco with my fiance without a job or any prospects!
    • Picked up and left my life in Canada, to follow future husband, so he might be able to realize some of his dreams and aspirations in Open Source community.
    • Went from Human Resources work, to thinking of being a silversmith, to applying to be an Elementary school teacher!

    What will my 28th year hold, I am not sure yet. Not being eligible for a teaching credential in California, I am planning on taking the 4 courses I am missing (take a couple and Foothills College in California and transfer them, the two Canadian studies courses I will take by correspondence) to get into either the University of Victoria or the Simon Fraser University teaching program for when we return to Canada… which I am hoping for sooner than later as I continue to miss my friends and family, and Lloyd is hoping for the later rather than sooner! Other than that, I will play it by ear and see what my 28th year has in store for me!

    We got married

    May 10, 2006 in wedding | 3 comments

    We got married last Sunday, May 7, 2006, at my parents home in Victoria, BC.


    The morning we were to marry, we woke up to pouring rain! I was so upset, and concerned that the day would not be as I dreamed with all the rain… especially since we had planned an outside ceremony. My bridesmaids, my Mom and I went to our hair appointment as planned, and by the time I had finished getting my hair done, by around 11:30 AM the skies were beginning to clear and the sun came out!

    The day before the wedding and the morning of the wedding were stressful for me. I barely slept the night before we got married. On the day of, there were two things in particular I would recommend any bride doing, that helped me relax and ENJOY the day! They were….

    • Firstly go get your makeup done! We got our hair done, then just my Mom and I went to get our makeup done at Clinique and it was so relaxing! I got to sit and just relax, it was wonderful.
    • Another thing I would suggest, even though it is "non-traditional", I would suggest to have your bridal photos taken BEFORE your ceremony. We really enjoyed ourselves, and it was nice to relax and have some fun with the bridal party before our ceremony. Also it allows you to have less time between the ceremony and reception, which I think can be awkward sometimes leaving guests 2-3 hours until the reception begins.

    Our photographer took between 400 and 500 photos of our wedding, and I found about 35 that I thought were good, which I posted on my Flickr account. I am hoping that our friends and family forward us their photos they took as well, so we can add them to our collection.

    All in all, the wedding worked out wonderfully! It really was something that I dreamed of, so many people helped create our beautiful day. THANK YOU! We were married and had the reception at my parents place. My Mom ran the show, and did a superb job! It was a smaller wedding, with about 48 people in total but really really LOVED it and would not trade it for the world!

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