B-r-r-r-r!

Ever read something that creeped you right out? I just finished reading a short story by Thomas F. Monteleone that did the trick perfectly. He's a good writer and I'm glad I came across this book, but whew! July is almost over and August beckons. I went and got my car washed today - I should wash my car more often, just to see what kind of dings happened to it over the space of several months. I went to the local Chamois to give my car a very good cleaning. They clean the interior as well, and I was reading that, for a little more, they'll clean the dust and stuff from your motor. Maybe I should get that one day for my car. After all, it's all paid for now. YAY!
The weather around here has been warmer than we're used to, but not unmanageable. There's plenty of water around for folks to water their lawns with. My dad and sister work outside, so they'd probably argue with me about the heat not being unmanageable. After all, I hug the AC in my comfortable little hovel and the only time I go outside is en route to the car, the store, or into my parent's house and enjoy the AC there. I guess I should be complaining about the heat, but considering that we've had a decade of cold summers, I cannot in good conscience complain.
August is a time for birthdays, and I'm getting the gifts ready. There's also an anniversary coming up in my family, so I'm getting ready for that as well. Should be a fun time. I know my entries lately have not been as long as they were in the past, and I honestly have no explanation for that. I'm still writing in my diary and still reading like there was no tomorrow. I'm also still gaming, and I don't think I should record here what games I've been playing or the details of each game. This blog didn't start off as a gaming blog; if anything, it's meant as a reading blog. Perhaps I'll have more to say when I go back to the work at the end of August.
That's about it. BYE.

No pics?

Unfortunately I cannot get the pics from my phone, so I don't have very much to share with you from my trip to Victoria. Here are some of my thoughts. Gorgeous flowers and plants everywhere; not just at the Butchart Gardens. If our growing season was longer in central Canada, we'd have glorious gardens as well. My earliest impression of Victoria, according to my diary, was that it's a city piled high with trees, expensive real estate, and efficient traffic systems. Well, compared with Winnipeg, that is. We went to Duncan and to Sooke to see what they were all about, we luxuriated in the cooler weather (again, compared with Winnipeg... over 30 degrees every freaking day...), and we looked for a mall (yes, there is one in Victoria, and a nice one as well). We did a great deal of walking as well, since parking in Victoria is expensive. The weather was great for walking in capris and pants. Back home we would've died along the way.
I will probably visit Victoria again one day, as it is a beautiful and friendly place. A fine place to retire to, considering all the retirees we saw. That is about it. There's a chance I will be going to the lake with my favourite travelling companion later on, but probably not for a whole week. I got a fair bit of reading done while we were in B.C. when we weren't walking around and admiring the sights. Most recently I've gotten into Piers Anthony's 'Mode' series. Wryly amusing (like me, perhaps?), thought-provoking, and poignant stuff. There are 4 books in the series and I just finished reading the 2nd book. Onto the 3rd one!
That's been my summer so far. I know this is not a very long post, but I don't have much else to say. BYE.

Diary stuff

Just letting you know that I landed safely in Winnipeg. Victoria is a beautiful city, and once I've had more time to ponder my adventure, and once I figure out how to get the photos from my phone, I'll post something. For now, time for another blast from the past.

June 6, 1996 (Date Error — probably meant July 6, 1996) — evening
I’m sorry that I haven’t written much since the 28th. Well, here’s a rundown of the things my family and I did during our time in Minneapolis and Wis Dells. (By the by, we are in Duluth, MN, and we are going home on the morrow.) In Minneapolis, we stayed for 3 nights at the Northwest Inn. Very nice. ★★★½. We went to Mall of America. Excellent! Four floors of nothing but shops and resturants (sic)! You’ve never seen so many stores. I just couldn’t believe it! I spent all of my money on things that I couldn’t get at St. Vital. I bought an X-files T-shirt, a simply amazing C.D. of New Age music, some neat shells, a tape (videotape) of Enya’s music videos, (my favourite songs too!) and some accessories for dressing up Venus. I was broke by then, so my parents bought me everything else. You wouldn’t believe the immensity of the Mall of America! Then, it was Valleyfair. Our first ride was the Wave. Anyway,the Wave is a water ride, and you get very, very wet! You see, you get into this carlike thing. (We went at the back.) The machine starts travelling up this steep incline. You start feeling uneasy as you go higher and higher. The machine reaches the level part of the ride, where you stay up there for a few mins. You feel anticipation, because you know that in just a few seconds, you will be drenched by water. Then you start going down, faster and faster. Water starts collecting as you go. I closed my eyes out of fear. Finally, you reach the bottom, where there is a pool of water waiting. As soon as we made contact, the water pressure is so intense that it gets us all wet. The water is also powerful enough that it creates an actual wave, spilling over passer-by! The next ride I truly loved was Thunder Canyon. You go into a circular boat and then you float down rapids and waterfalls! Yes, you do get very wet! I love these rides because it was very hot out that day. Wisconsin Dells was okay too.

Well, ring my bell!

School's out! My last day for the year was June 30. The admins played 'School's out for summer' over the PA, bringing smiles to all of us. The teachers and admins had a rather rough go of things last week, what with glitches and corrections, and general frustrations, but around 3 yesterday afternoon, we gladly put all that behind us and it was time to party! Actually, we had the party the evening before, which was something of a letdown compared to last year. Plenty of laughs and conversation, but I thought there were just too many people around and, let's be honest, I'm not really big into horse-racing. Hopefully we don't revisit the Downs next year. Certainly, the food was good, but there's more to life than a good buffet. This from a food-lovin' gal, but it's true. I left instructions with the summer custodians on what to do with the plants. Hopefully I don't lose any this year, compared to last year. Speaking of this year, the 8's are gone!!! Not all of them were frustrating, just the ones I encountered on a near-daily basis in the library. The rest of them made for an interesting experience. No doubt I'll have more interesting experiences when the kids come back in September.
Meanwhile, I'm getting things together for the big trip. I probably won't have time to post next week, considering I will be away. Granted, I'll probably have the use of a computer, but when you only have a week to see Victoria and all its glories, who wants to hang around online, plunking words into their blog that nobody reads, anyway? I have gathered together a few good books to read while Mom and I are on the plane. I printed off the important information that will ensure we get on the plane next week. Oops, I just remembered that today is Friday and not Saturday. It feels like a Saturday, but that's the effects of summer vacation. Before long, I'll be relaxed enough to just lie on my futon for hours on end and get some serious reading done.
Oh, and it's CANADA DAY! I should break out the Nylons and listen to their classic take on our national anthem. My favourite when I'm at work and the admins decide to play it over the PA. I found it on Youtube, if anyone's interested.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJI6RE2DK0E . Anyway, our proud yet self-conscious country is 144 years old. Hurrah! I don't have anything planned for today, apart from doing some laundry and getting my stuff together for the trip. The weather looks fairly gloomy, but it should be nicer today than it was yesterday. With that bastard of a Humidex the weather was either 40, 45 or worse. Augh! So that's all for me. When next I post, I should have a few neat stories about Victoria.