21:16 - 26.06.05
kilts
First thing this morning I went over to the newly rebuilt drug store. I wanted to go when there weren't many people and I had some free time, so I could just wander the aisles and get acquainted with the layout of the new building. There are a lot more groceries available, but in the other areas it is mostly the same merchandise but more brands. While I was there I bought a nerf football, complete with Canadian flags, for my supervisor. She keeps saying that she is worried about being able to capture my attention. I always tell her to just bounce something off my head if I am too deep into the music to hear her. Now she has no excuse to be shy about following through.
I tried several new things this weekend, dear diary. Like the newest pope, I have never had a driver's licence. I am somewhat younger than him, but well past the age of majority. When I was sixteen I had a learner's permit, but I was a passenger in two accidents within a three month period where the car was totalled while I emerged with minor cuts and bruises. None of the other people in those cars was seriously injured either. I was very grateful that someone was watching out for me (I thought it was my grandmother who had died a few months prior), but I figured I shouldn't press my luck either. I didn't willingly get in a private vehicle for years after and could be described as a white knuckle rider even now. I like busses and Nodwells. Anyone tangling with them is likely to end up the loser - right? Today I went to the gas station and pumped gas for the first time in my life. No big deal you say. But, you see, in addition to being nervous in a car, I am also very nervous around incendiary products. Comes from having spent a few years assisting in the care of burn victims every day during that period. I don't feel safe around things like petrol, thank you very much. I wouldn't wish the effect of a burn from it on the worst person in the world. The reason for the jump to the pumps? My neighbour on the other side of the duplex said I could borrow their lawnmower until I can manage to get a replacement for the one that was stolen from me. The neighbours have a gas mower. They've just moved in and I think their money is quite tight. I offered to supply the jerry can and gas for both of us in exchange for the use of the mower. Not a bad trade.
The second new to me action was to eat jellyfish. Yuh huh. It was number two son's birthday on Friday and his partner's was a month ago. I offered to take them out for dinner to celebrate. My son chose a Chinese meal. His partner felt that I might find the food a little difficult, because it featured authentic Asian cuisine instead of the egg foo yung circuit. I actually enjoyed everything I tasted. Crab soup, curry calamari and prawns, steamed bok choy, jellyfish combined with chicken, and shrimp Kowloon (Hong Kong) style all served over steamed rice. A seafood feast. Dessert was tapioca in mango juice. We arrived just before a large wedding party, so the people watching was pretty entertaining too.
After dinner we headed for the hardware store. My son loves being a homeowner and it shows. I think we wandered the aisles just looking at alternatives for various rooms in their home for about an hour. Really interesting ideas. My son had picked up a composter, which is also new to me,last weekend when he went to get one for himself. When all the boys were living at home there was no organic waste. Whatever was edible got et. Now with just my youngest and I home most evenings there can be quite a bit left over. Still haven't gotten the hang of not cooking for a football team, I guess. At least this way we get good soil/fertilizer - right? The cost of the composters in the store were twice that of what the city was charging. While we were browsing I found another new to me item in a weed whacker. The lawnmowers were 10 times the price, so I settled on trying out the alternative until I can find a second hand mower somewhere.
Any way time for bed now. Good night dear diary.
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