Serenity

Opens today at a theatre near you! Now I have to find it at a decent theatre near me. I may be going to Victoria or Nanaimo next week to see it (hopefully it will get a longish run). Check out the trailer.

Unexpected Day Off - What to Do?

Okay, it wasn't entirely unexpected, but I was hoping to work today. Unfortunately the skies opened and the clientele decided that a wet vineyard is not as picturesque as a dry one. //sigh//

So how does one spend a very wet day off? Other than cruising blogs and bulletin boards, that is? I found 2 ways:

The Productive
Here are some shots of a nice little dog vest I made for NCGL's next auction. It's made from a piece of orange nylon remnant I found last week, not quite "blaze" orange but should do for hunting season, with a forest green fleece lining and a bit of strategically placed reflective tape. As you can see, it's intended as "one size fits most" (although possibly not Cuinn). I will be making more from blaze orange fleece, but the proceeds will be going to the "Sue's Huge VISA Balance Fund." //grin//

The Un-Productive
In my quest for a new and improved profile pic I took a few self portraits. Crap, is that hard! They were starting to get better but my arms were getting tired, so the quest continues. Remember, I'm the person who had 3 or 4 sets of passports photos taken and still don't like the results (although I'm stuck with it for another 4 or so years). Don't even talk to me about the abomination on my driver's licence. Yikes! I think I'm being rather brave posting these at all. (Strangely enough, these pics look better bigger, click to see, if you dare.) Maybe I'll try again after I get my hair cut, it's bit all over the place.



These ones were a little too close, but I kinda like they way they turned out. //shrug//

What Time Is It?

Here is another cool feature I found the other day - the World Time Server. Being the mathimatically challenged person I am, it's faster for me to click the bookmark and have the time instantly than to first remember how many hours the time difference is and do the math. So here is the time in Halifax and Tunisia and Bhutan.

There is also a cool thing called Meeting Planner to help figure out when people in each chosen area will actually be awake. Very cool.

Here Comes the Rain Again

Yep, it's fall here on the Wet Coast. It started raining last night and according to Mum, it's supposed to keep going until March. Ha, ha, ha! I certainly hope not. Last year it was fairly dry into October, I remember wondering if it would be wet enough to have our Halloween bonfire.

According to the Weather Network forecast for Duncan we're getting rain for about 5 of the next 7 days. We can also see that Niko is NOT getting wet this week in Halifax.

I love the Weather Network site! You can check the weather anywhere - from Aruba to Tunis or Islamabad. It's also not currently raining in any of those places.

More Music

Here's another song that has me tapping my toes, it's an older one by GOB - No Regrets. Be warned, this link goes right to the video, so you may want to check your sound level first.

What Do You See?

Or not?














Did you see the little dog?


So much fun having a grass coloured dog. Not. That's why she wears jingley tags, so I can at least hear her even if can't see her. //laugh//

Memory Floods

Or sensory overload. I'm not sure how to describe this particular phenomenon that's been happening a fair bit lately. It's kind of a memory flash where you go "Oh, NOW I remember."

Here's an example:
Niko, my ex, Ryan and I are going to be selling the last of the toys from The World's Most Unsuccessful Garage Sale in the next Victoria Toy Show. Or more specifically my ex and Ryan will doing the selling, seeing as I will probably have to work and Niko is in Halifax.

Anyway, the point of this rambling is that Jay (the ex) wanted to pick up all the stuff for the sale on Friday when he dropped off Ryan. That's only a month before the sale. So I give him 2 boxes of Niko's stuff and say I'll have the rest ready when he comes back to get Ry. Not once, not twice, but three times he asked if I had any more stuff or if that was all of it. LISTEN TO ME! That was the "arrgghhh, oh yeah, NOW I remember why we are divorced" moment. Now every time I try to organize the sale items I get annoyed. //sigh//

A nice example:
When I am cooking at home and have lots of time to play. I start to hum and am really enjoying cooking, then I get "oh yeah, mmm, NOW I remember what I like about cooking. " And it gets me through the rush times at work thinking back to nice unrushed relaxed cooking. //ahhhhh//

Last one:
I've been organizing photos lately, trying to scan them and save on CDs. I came across one of me with a guy I was seeing for awhile. Once I got over the fact that I wore this shirt out in public (sue me, it was the mid 90's //gag//):

It was an "oh YEAH, now I remember." Damn, we were a cute couple, too bad we lost touch. Anyway, I had nice warm fuzzy memories and now I keep thinking about him, wondering how he is, if I'd still have "that feeling" if I saw him again.

Life with Dogs

Neil's "Life with Dogs" blog is pretty funny. He calls it "a documentary of the life and times of 2 dogs, those who preceded them, and the occasional incoherent ranting of their dog-obsessed owners." Particularly funny are "My Neighbor is a Dork" and "Sola, origins of", among others. The link is in the title bar.

Oops! Hot Spagetti Sauce

Yeah, that hurts a bit when you get it on your face. I was making spagetti sauce last night and was blending it with a hand blender when I moved it the wrong way. Luckily I had let it cool a bit before blending. Still tasted good though.

I made a modified version of the one I learned at school.

Half an onion, small dice
sweat in small amount of oil
add 1 clove minced garlic
1/2 shredded carrot
1 piece small dice celery
cook a bit
add 1/2 teaspoon each dry basil, thyme, oregano, cayenne
pinch of salt & pepper
1/2 cup red wine or cooking burgundy
reduce about 1/2
add 2 cups chicken stock
small can tomato paste
1 large tomato, chopped
simmer about 20 min, COOL a bit, blend

Season to your taste, maybe start with less spices and add in as you go. This is a very rough guide since I made it up as I went. A bay leaf would have been nice but I forgot until too late.

Got Milk?

To go with the baklava? Very tasty! I probably should have let it cool completely before trying but I couldn't wait. It's very sweet, so those with a low sugar tolerance should probably only have a small piece. For the rest of us, it's very nice with a glass of milk.

More Food - Recipe #7 - Baklava with a Twist

I've been looking for a good baklava recipe since sampling the leftovers from a wedding at work. This one appealed to me because I happen to have dates and chocolate on hand. I am going to make it this afternoon seeing as I don't have to work today (or probably tomorrow either, but that's a whole different post //sigh//)

CHOCOLATE DATE-NUT BAKLAVA

Syrup
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
Pinch of ground allspice
Pinch of ground ginger
Pinch of ground cloves

Filling
8 ounces (about 2 cups) walnuts
6 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
6 ounces (about 1 cup) whole pitted dates
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 egg, beaten to blend

11 sheets frozen phyllo pastry (about 1/2 pound), thawed
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

Optional Garnish
2 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
24 walnut halves
Whipped cream

For syrup:
Bring all ingredients to boil in heavy small saucepan, stirring until sugar dissolves. Continue boiling 1 minute. Cool completely.

For filling:
Combine 8 ounces walnuts, 6 ounces chocolate, dates, sugar and cinnamon in processor. Coarsely chop using on/off turns. Transfer filling to medium bowl. Mix in egg.

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Lightly butter 13 x 9 x 2-inch metal baking pan. Place 1 phyllo sheet on work surface (keep remainder covered with plastic and damp towel to prevent drying). Brush phyllo with butter, top with second phyllo sheet and brush with butter, arrange sheets buttered side up and lengthwise in prepared pan, covering bottom and ends of pan. Brush another phyllo sheet with butter. Fold phyllo in half forming 8 x 12-inch rectangle and brush with butter. Repeat with 2 more phyllo sheets. Place 3 folded phyllo sheets in bottom of pan, buttered side up.

Sprinkle half of filling over. Butter another phyllo sheet and fold in half. Butter top and place atop filling. Sprinkle remaining filling over. Repeat buttering and folding with 3 more phyllo sheets. Place atop filling. Butter last 2 phyllo sheets. Place lengthwise in pan, tucking in sides and ends of top and bottom sheets to enclose filling completely.

Carefully cut through top layers of phyllo (do not cut through to filling) to form twenty-four 2-inch squares. Pour any remaining butter over. Bake until top is golden brown, about 45 minutes. Immediately spoon syrup over baklava. Cool completely. Cover and let stand at room temperature overnight.

Garnish

Melt 2 ounces chocolate and 1 tablespoon butter in heavy small saucepan. Dip walnut halves halfway into chocolate; shake off excess. Place on waxed paper and refrigerate until chocolate is set, about 30 minutes. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover walnuts with waxed paper.) Cut baklava into squares to platter. Place chocolate-dipped walnut half atop each square. Serve with whipped cream if desired.

Tips I've found for baklava - pour cool syrup over hot squares or vice versa, do not pour hot on hot or cold on cold.

Alternate syrups - apparently Greek style uses honey and Turkish style uses a sugar/water syrup.

Lemon Sugar/Water Syrup

[edited to add ingredients
2 cups water
2 cups sugar
2 lemon zest strips, each 3 inches long
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice]

In a deep saucepan, combine the water, sugar and lemon zest. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer until thickened, about 15 minutes. Remove the lemon zest and discard. Stir in the lemon juice.

I'll let you know how it turns out and if the kids like it. I'm not telling that it has dates in it until it's too late. Ha, ha, ha, ha!

Recipe #6 - Tunisian Chicken with Honey

Ok, time for less bitching, more cooking! I've seen several version of this recipe, mostly using a whole chicken which I didn't happen to have on hand. This one uses breasts instead and is very tasty. I've also seen it called "North African Chicken" and just plain "Chicken with Honey".

Chicken with Honey

6 boneless chicken breasts
2 T oil
2 onions, small dice
1 cup slivered almonds, ground or crushed
2 teaspoons butter
salt & pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2t crushed black pepper
1 1/2 c chicken broth
1 lemon juiced & zested
1 t fresh basil, minced
1/2 c honey
2 T cornstarch

In pan, heat butter and oil, brown chicken, season with salt & pepper, remove to oven proof casserole dish. In remaining oil, sweat onion and garlic until clear, add almonds, basil, pepper, and honey, cook stirring until mixture is well blended. Combine room temperature broth with cornstarch and add to pan; cook, stirring, over high heat until sauce thickens. Remove from heat, stir in lemon juice and pinch of lemon zest. Pour sauce over chicken, bake covered at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until chicken is tender.

I found it took less time to cook, about 45 min. I also found the sauce a bit bland for a North African dish so I added a 1/2 t each of ground cumin, coriander, paprika and chili paste. I served it with steamed veg and cous cous cooked in chicken stock with lemon juice, remaining lemon zest and 1 t minced garlic. Be sure to serve with the sauce. Also, the left over cous cous and sauce was great for breakfast with an egg cooked in. Mmm mmm!

Finally!

We have a land line. I can't believe how long it took. The Telus guys came out today to make sure it was working, apparently they'd fixed it at the main switching place just before the repair guys arrived. It sounds like it's exactly what I said it was - connected in the wrong place. //sigh//

Anyway, it works now and those who are getting the number have been sent it via email. However, it doesn't mean I'll answer the phone any more than I do now. //grin// It does mean - that if I need 911 I don't have to try to explain where I live, that Selena can now talk to her friends for hours (we'll see) without extra billing minutes, and that we can use long distance if the mood strikes without having a ridiculous bill at the end. Also, I can hook up my fancy new fax/printer/scanner thingy and send faxes without having to go to Staples and pay almost $1 a page.

Apparently Not

Almost a week after we were supposed to have a phone line activated we are still without dial tone. I got an email from the repair people this morning and they FINALLY understand what I was trying to tell them. They are now "running diagnostics" on the line. I emailed them back and said since they originally connected someone else's line to our house that perhaps they connected our line somewhere else. Maybe they could just disconnect it from wherever it is connected and try again. We shall see if they listen or continue to insist that it is connected to our house. //sigh//

Will It Never End?

I'm beginning to question whether or not I actually want a land line anymore. What a freaking hassle! Today's saga continues:

The Repair Dept answers with "In regard to your inquiry, our records do indicate that your telephone service was connected on Sept. 13. Please perform the following troubleshooting steps to see if you can resolve the issue //snipped long list of steps//."

I reply by saying the outlet works, the phone works, it's just that we are not connected. Explain that we have 2 jacks and one was active when we had the wrong number.

They say "Thank you for contacting TELUS. In regard to your inquiry, we have checked your phone number in our system and it appears our Customer Service Department needs to setup an installation service order for the upstairs portion of the address you have mentioned in your email. Please contact them at 1-877-310-2255 and one of our agents will be happy to investigate this issue further."

Argh! No one listens! We don't need installation, we need a freaking dial tone.

Another email from Customer Service "Your number is 250 555 1212. I tried calling the number and it does ring and your voicemail does pick up. Do you have dial tune? If not, please contact repair at 611 or 1-888-611-9988. Concering the other number you should call repair about that as well."

What? What "other number"? My neighbour's? Yes, I've tried calling the number too, it does ring but not a my house. Stay tuned . . .

Stupid Phone Company

What's worse than getting a new phone number and finding it hasn't been out of service very long so you get a million calls for the last people who had the number? Getting a new phone number that someone is still using!

After waiting most of the day for our new number to kick in I was quite excited to get a dial tone. I called the number Telus said I would get from my cell and the phone doesn't ring. Hmm. So I call from the land line to my cell and get the number off the caller id. Not the same one Telus said I would get but I wasn't worried since my confirmation email said "This number is not firm until the line is connected."

Later this afternoon we get a call from someone saying we have their phone number. It takes me a few minute to clue that she means their current phone number. Great. I hate answering the phone anyway, hence caller id, now I have to forward phone calls for someone else. //sigh// She was going to call Telus and I emailed customer service, hopefully they will fix it soon. In the meantime I have to go and email everyone that I sent my new number to and tell them "never mind."

[15 Sep, 0724, edited to add:
As of getting home from work last night, we are back to NO phone service. When I left we still had our neighbours number, later no dial tone. I have no idea how long it will take for them to get it right. //sigh//]

[15 Sep, 1040, edited to add:
Arrggh! I emailed customer service and they replied -"Your service should be working as of Sept 13. If it is not we'll need you to call Telus Repair at 611, because they would be the area to contact now that your order is showing processed."

Which part of "I have no phone service" didn't they hoist in? I sent a form to Repair from the Contact Us page on the Telus website. //grrr//

And of course - "Your billing has begun on Sept 13, so once it is up and running please contact 310-2255 so they can apply a suitable credit for any time you were not in service."

Yeah, OK. As much as Rogers drives me nuts, if they had land line service available here I'd be all over that. //sigh// Stay tuned . . . ]

An Evening with Neil Gaiman - for Me!

I got my tickets today! They went on sale yesterday and I emailed the store to ask if they would hold some for me since I work when they are open (and am in a different city). They held them for me and I got my ex to pick them up. I now have in my hands 2 tickets and just have to find someone to go with me.

I am quite excited! Thanks to Niko (as usual) I was introduced to this author. I was able to attend his last book tour talk (for American Gods) with Niko and had a most enjoyable evening. We almost forgot we were standing in the hottest, stuffiest room in town for over 2 hrs (note to self: arrive early for seats this time). Now I just have to decide what to get signed.

Gotcha! Captivity Redux

Selena managed to catch her rooster today!

Background for those who didn't know, Selena got a young rooster from a friend and he promptly escaped on day 2. We had some great suggestions on how to catch him but were unable to get close enough to try them. He's been on the loose all summer hanging out near the back of the house and roosting in the thicket on the hill. We got some young hens hoping they'd tempt him back to the front of the property but no dice. //shrug//

This morning he was up on the fence strutting his stuff. Selena went out to get some pics, then decided to try the old "maybe he'd like to get some" trick //wink// again and got Owl from the coop. Well, darned if he didn't follow that her all the way back to the chicken pen and right on inside. //happy dance//

Selena went backward one step at a time and Owl the chicken helpfully clucked. Raven the rooster is now happily (we hope) back on the inside. Phew!

From this morning:


We'll try to get some pics of him with his "harem" when I get some more camera batteries.

[edited to add more pics!]
Raven checks out his new home -


Meets the "girls"

Work Woes

//sigh// I really, really like my job, and I love the place I am working. But, (there's always a "but", isn't there?) so far the hours haven't been that great. I managed to get 30 hours in last week even though I only worked 4 days. I'm off today, and am off until at least Wednesday (the restaurant is closed Mon/Tues). This past week Wed was not busy so I didn't work, I'm hoping this coming Wed will be better.

I can talk to my boss, but it's very hard for her to guess what hours will be like because staffing is based on how many reservations we have. Also there are 2 people ahead of me on the list, both have been there way longer. One is back to college but still working weekends, which means I probably won't get many weekend hours. //sigh// I've decided to give it a week or two to settle out and see how many hours I end up with. 30 hours is low but I can deal with that, 20 is impossible to live on, not to mention that I really need 40 hours a week if I want to finish my apprenticeship in 2 yrs. So I may be looking for a new job soon.

Culinary Revelations

Over the last year I have learned lots and lots about cooking and even more about food. I've been thinking about some of the things I've learned and how my tastes have changed.

• Cilantro
  I used to HATE cilantro. I'd pick it out of everything, which made it fun having fresh salsa in Mexico ;-). I've discovered that used properly (including in salsa) it is really nice. I even buy it to use at home.


• Chicken Livers
  I ate chicken livers and liked them. Never in a million years did I think that would happen. Prepared in a tasty sauce, they actually aren't bad. I still won't be buying them for home or eating them in huge quantities but I know now that I can eat them and not be sick.


• Beets
  I've always hated beets. I'm still not a big fan but we have a beet salad at the restaurant that may change my mind. A little lemon vinaigrette and even the dreaded beet tastes nice. Add in the almond crusted honey goat's cheese and it's really good.


• Cloves
  I'm still dubious about widespread use of cloves but we use them at Vinoteca to simmer with the vegetables and it does add a nice flavour.


• Things I've added to my grocery list:
  
  
  • Whole garlic, no more of that powdered stuff. Slice it, dice it, mince it, roast it. Yum!
  
  
  • Fresh lemons. Zest them or juice them, fresh is so much better.
  
  
  • Lemongrass. I never knew what to do with it. It's great in soups or to flavour rice and sauce.
  
  
  • Thai Lime leaves (previously called Kaffir lime leaves but changed due to political correctness). See lemongrass above for revelation.
  
  
  • Yams, celery root, kohlrabi, and sweet potato. Nice alternatives to potatoes. Nice mashed or roasted. Just plain yummy.
  
  
  • Soy beans. Fatima lives on these things. They come frozen in their pods and you just boil them up and eat them. Tasty and nutritious.
  
  
  
  
• Things I've learned:
  
  
  
  • Soup is ridiculously easy to make and tastes incredible.
  
  
  • How to make a to die for pot roast.
    
    We use this at the restaurant for the beef sandwich. Get a pot, cover the bottom with oil, get it really hot, sear the roast on all sides, add small diced mirepois (onion, carrot, celery), turn down heat a smidge, caramelize the veg, add lots of wine (white or red), add water until level is about 1/2 way up beef, throw in a few bay leaves, simmer for a few hours. This is SO good!
  
  
  • Kale with peanut sauce is divine.
    
    I had this at Fatima's yesterday, she says it is very popular in Africa. Basically you chop up your kale, add water (do not cover the kale), start to simmer, add a few chopped tomatoes and a sliced onion. Cook for a few minutes, add a teaspoon or 2 of peanut butter, salt & pepper (taste it and see if you need more), simmer until the water is absorbed. We ate it over rice. She said to try it with some chopped chili peppers on top if you like it spicy, also in Africa they sometimes add shrimp and cashews, then serve it with rice and grilled fish.
    
    Funny thing is that I just bought kale before going to Fatima's, so now I know what to do with it.
  
  
  
  
• Not a culinary revelation but one regarding pronounciation. Fatima is Mozambican Portuguese and her name is pronounced Fah-TIM-ah, not Fa-TEEM-ah. You can always tell who doesn't know her when they phone because they always pronounce her name wrong. I didn't know until I met her that there was more than one way to pronounce Fatima.

Goings On

Bits and pieces of the latest around here.

The rooster isn't interested in chickens.

Or so I'm told. The rooster escaped his second day here and every once in awhile we attempt to catch him. Yesterday Selena and Mum took Owl, the mostly tame chicken, down to where Raven (the rooster) hangs out and tried to get him to follow Owl back to the coop. No go. Apparently Raven just ignored the lovely Owl. Selena and Mum were very disappointed. Back to the drawing board I guess.

Busy, busy restaurant.

The restaurant was so busy last week, that we had to turn away James Barber. I found out that the former "Urban Peasant" cooking show star/chef is a regular customer. He should know better than to come without a reservation. //smile//

Holy Recycling, Batman!

We had 7, yes 7, FULL bins out at the curb this morning. Partly due to me missing the pickup the week before last but also all the stuff from Niko's. I'm not sure if the pickup guys were impressed or not but they stacked all the bins into a leaning tower.

If I was more awake I would have taken a picture, it was quite impressive. We still have one more bin that I was just too tired to haul down to the street.

I still have to take a huge bin of glass, collected over the last year, down to the recycling centre. For some reason they don't take glass in the curbside pickup which is a pain if you don't happen to live in town.

I love the diswasher.

Not a human one, the lovely built in electrical one upstairs at Niko's. I've been hauling my dishes up and down the stairs to use that wonderful machine. It's actually worth the effort to not have to stand in front of the sink getting wet.

"I'm Not Excited"

Says Selena, about going back to school today. Yeah, right. That's why we had to get up at 0630, a full 2 hours before the bus comes. That's why she had a shower last night and organized her clothes. That's why she went to bed on time for once. That's why she wants to be at the bus stop at 0800 "just in case" the bus comes 30 min early. //rolling my bleary barely open eyes// Ha! She is excited but is just too cool to admit it.
[Edited to add: the bus actually came at 0820, 10 minutes early.]

My Quail Experience

Yesterday I was responsible for chicken care while the kids got to go to see the fireworks at Butchart Gardens, one of Victoria's better known tourist traps. Mum was taking Gramma on their annual pilgrimmage and Selena had to go with them since I was working, then Ryan had a day off, so he got to go as well. (All this also meant I got to have a quiet evening at home alone with the pets //grin//, so I treated myself to giant shrimp //yeah, I know// in a lemon saffron cream sauce, cous cous with lemon & cilantro, with asparagus, carrots and baby bok choy. Mmmmm.)

So, anyway, I checked on the chickens when I took the dogs out for business and noticed 2 quail in the chicken run. They saw me and the dogs, tried to escape but couldn't since the run is fenced and covered in net. I'm still not sure how they got in there. Later, when it was getting dark, I took the dogs for their final business, and went to shut the hens into the coop. I'm standing there trying to count them on their roost in the dark when this fluttering and bumping goes on behind me. Scared the stuffing out of me!

I turn and see one of the quail frantically trying to get out. No sign of the other one. Finally I managed to corner it and grab it. At first it was quiet, then it started flapping it's little wings, struggling and letting out the most pitiful noise. I'm sure it thought I was going to eat it. I pin it's wings down, take it out through the greenhouse and let it go. Off it flew, just ahead of the cats, who had heard it's cries for help and were hoping for a snack (no they didn't get it).

I Get My Name on a Certificate

Yep, graduation day was yesterday afternoon. Thankfully it was very short ceremony, it was kinda hot in the area we were using. We got all dressed up in our whites with taller than usual hats, got our picture taken by the newspaper, had speeches, got certificates, ate some appies, had cake, then I went straight to work until 10p. It would have been nice to have more time to chat but that's OK I guess. Nice to see everyone looking well and they all had a pretty good summer.

Oh yeah, and I got an award! In the program it says "Best Overall Professional Student." The wall plaque that has my name on it says "Most Professional Student", and on the Malaspina website there is an end of course award for high marks, so I'm not sure it that's what it is or not. Doesn't really matter as it came with a nice cheque that means I can finally get my muffler fixed, replace the headlight that only works on high beam and still have a few bucks left for a "me" treat. //grin//

Phone Fun

Arrgh! Welcome to the continuing Saga of the Mobile Phones.

1)Mum dropped hers in a nice hot cup of coffee, now it doesn't work. The warranty is voided if it gets wet and we haven't had it long enough to upgrade.

2)Niko moved across the country, so can't use hers over there.

3)That leaves us with 2 phones out of our 3 phone plan useless, of course, we are on a monthly contract and are paying anyway.

4)Oh wait! Mum can use Niko's phone. Now we are only paying for one useless phone.

5)Ooh! Even better I have a brainstorm on the way home from the Rogers Wireless dealer - we'll upgrade Niko's phone to a Firefly for Selena (emergencies only!), and take the SIM card from Mum's defunct phone and put it into Niko's, recycle Mum's phone and Voila , problem solved.

6)Like it could be that easy. Upgraded fine, did it online since the dealer couldn't offer me a Firefly for some reason (they also didn't have any in stock). Firefly arrives today. The stupid thing is still flashing "insert SIM" at me and I did that ages ago.

7)Same thing with the transfer from Mum's phone to Niko's. So I go online to "swap phones" and the Rogers site is SO freaking slow, then it times out.

8)Finally working BUT it turns out the same SIM # was entered for my phone and Niko's phone so I can't to the swap for the Firefly. I guess that explains why we never could get Niko's voice mail to work.

Update:

Suddenly the Firefly started working. Hmmm. Oh well. I played around with Niko's/Mum's and turns out the SIM card was not seated correctly, it was about .25 of a millimetre off. //sigh// All the phones work!

Now all I have to do is convince Rogers to give me the Firefly for free. You see, if you add one to your family plan you get the phone for free and no activition fee, but if you upgrade to one (which I did) you pay all the fees.

Tomorrow is the Big Day

Yet another graduation ceremony. I'm looking forward to this one though and I already have a job (even if the hours a little skimpy right now). We get to wear our whites and parade across the stage, that I can do without, but I am looking forward to catching up with my classmates and of course, the snacks afterward. //grin// Then I go to work and prep for yet another wedding at Vinoteca.

There have been 3 Saturdays in a row with weddings. Nice way to remind Fatima and I of our currently man-less status. //sigh// Oh well, there's always chocolate cake. //grin// I got a killer recipe from Fatima for the chocolate hazelnut cake she makes at work.