It's raining again. Work, that is.

Today was a planned day off, but I ended up having to go to CTV to produce the health reporter. And I do the same tomorrow and Friday. Next day off: April 4. Next day after that? April 17!

I'm going to bed now...

Cheers!

Tuesday. Rain.

After a yesterday that was nothing less than a summer day (20C) and no cold ocean breeze -- today is much like spring should be. Wet. Cold.

Luckily it is of little consequence as I am a workin' stiff later today. A CTV shift that begins at 3:30pm.

Prior to that, I am off to CBC Radio to be interviewed for a short piece on borders.

And then - tax work continues. I banged away last night until after 11pm. Getting close.

Cheers...

Test.

Well, the guerilla marketing has begun.

This morning, Don, Lionel and I attended the Vancouver camera swap. We were armed with hundreds of business cards that read:

"Shoot like a pro?
Now sell like a pro."

www.stockphotosonline.com


The whole plan was simple. To suss out potential clients for our site -- and to pass out cards. Mostly, we stuck cards on car windows.

Anyone who goes to the website will have the opportunity to enter their email in order to be notified of news as we get closer to launching the site.

It will be interesting to see how many people follow through.

After that, it was off to Walmart to buy socks. And then brunch with friends back in my part of town.

Lorne and I went walking at Ambleside in North Vancouver (the beach). It was an amazing summer-like day.

Then we drove over to the Jericho Sailing club for a beer on the balcony...

Later, it was the Sunday shopping for yours truly... and now its time to do some more tax work. But, of course, I am delaying...

Guess I shouldn't

Doug

Saturday morning in grey Vancouver.

It is of little concern, as I am off to work in a few hours -- the news of the day sheltering me from worries about the weather. Rain? Bring it on! Though this is a tad selfish.

My bongo abatement program is in full swing. I headed to the park early this morning and put up several notices from the Grandview Park Residents Association -- simply asking for respect and cooperation from the faux-hippies. We'll see what happens. I have not yet moved forward with the city -- but happy that they understand -- and I think I'll keep them as the ace in the hole.

I am perplexed about the roommate situation. If I am to move (and I don't, especially since I have a new and fun summer project [bongo abatement]) I must give notice by the end of this month.

There had been a chance that 2 friends of mine were going to move in -- but it was decided that the place is too small for three -- and they also come with 2 cats.

So back to square one. If I move at the end of April, it will suck because I am working on the traditional moving day and I am in Calgary for the week prior. Worst case scenario is that I remain here for an extra month solo, and pay $1535 in rent (as opposed to the $500 I've been used to). We'll see what happens. There have been a few bites from some people -- so I am trusting that the universe will take care of me, as it often does.

This is pretty geeky for a 40 year old, but I have managed to create an RSS feed for my blog. If you have a clue as to what that is, the feed coordinates are:

http://roadspill.blogspot.com/atom.xml

If you have no idea as to what an RSS feed (in Atom) is, please continue on!

I've booked a bunch more work at CTV for the summer -- which takes the pressure off. June is thin, and again, I hope the universe will command the CBC to fill that up. I'm sure something will happen.

The Discover Fun TV project continues along... can't reveal much... but it should be a fun summer of doing fun stuff.

Up next: a day off tomorrow -- but the StockPhotosOnline gang is heading to a camera show to start marketing the site. 5 years in the making...

Time for coffee...

Doug

Well, well, well.

Roadspill is one year old. Hard to believe.

Lots of things have happened in the last 365 days. Lots of good, and not much bad. Lots of travel, experiences, work, and good health to boot. We like this.

Here's what was going on a year ago:

Tuesday, March 25, 2003 ::

The first entry.

The big news right now is that I am in the middle of finishing 5 television stories for a national kids show in Canada. So the operative word is busy. But -- I have booked the next adventure: Belize and Guatemala. A little work, a little play.

Work: Screening footage for a documentary on borders. Working on a cooking show.
Fun: Exploring the Belize-Guatemala border. And the tri-point where Mexico, Belize & Guatemala meet.

There you go. At this point, the big things on the calendar are: lots of work, some program proposals, and a trip to Europe in August.

Life is good.

More wisdom to come...

Thanks for reading.

Even if its just me!

Doug

Day for off. Wow, a fellow could get used to this.

I went to see the film Good-bye Lenin! -- it was grand. Set around the fall of the Berlin wall, it tells the tale of a son re-creating East Berlin after the wall falls. He does this so that his mother -- a strong socialist with a weak heart who just came out of a coma -- doesn't find out about the big change to the workers paradise. The fear is that the shock would give her another her attack. Anyway, its a great film and after 2 minutes, I completely forgot it was in German. The subtitles helped.

I finally got my 2001 taxes completed -- and I will drop them off at the accountant tonight. Tomorrow -- 2002. I don't think I'll finish in a day, but it shouldn't be as hard.

And that is about it for now. More later.

Cheers!

It's been a great couple of days -- OFF!

Saturday night I worked until 11 and then went to a housewarming bash until about 2 am. Friends of mine, Lorne and Katrina, have just purchased some swell digs... and it was time to celebrate that.

Sunday started with an early brunch -- followed by dragging my ass all morning... it was sunny and warm and I felt like some major deck time was in order.

Feeling guilty at being sedentary -- I loaded my bike in the car and headed to Point Roberts, Washington, USA. I left the car in Canada and cycled into America. Point Roberts is a great place to cycle -- much like cottage country -- and there is little traffic. It is generally flat, though there is a slight and noticeable climb from the south end to the US-Canada border. The eastern side of PR has a more pronounced bluff over the beach.

After that, I came back to the homestead and watched a documentary on Michael Jackson's face. Poor guy -- too much money, not enough brains. There was also a great edition of 60 Minutes that was required watching: Richard Clarke, the advisor to both the Clinton and Bush II administrations spilled the beans. Basically, Bush ignored warnings about Al Queda -- and chose to focus on Saddam and the faux-weapons of mass destruction. Then 9-11 happened. And Bush realized that Osama was the bad guy -- but that targets in Afghanistan weren't enough (not Hollywood enough?) -- and immediately tried to tie Iraq to Osama and 9-11. And there was no evidence.

And we all know what happened.

Great television -- and great to see it on American television. If there is going to be any chance for peace in the world, the American people have to wake up and see that Bush is making things worse on a daily basis. He is the wrong leader. And he has got to be voted out -- or we're REALLY in for some trouble.

After all that -- Marsha and Tracey came over. They're potential new roommates. We discussed the whole idea.

Monday - today. Off again. Did some stuff around the house. Went to get fixings for some homemade veggie soup. Strolled the drive. Then packed the bike in the car and went cycling at Spanish Banks.

Another fantastic day. 17C! It was nice riding around the edge of English Bay, taking in the spectacular view. This is truly paradise.

Stopped into my new favourite bread store for some loaves (Cob's) and here I sit!

Cheers!

Alive, yes.

Just finished 2 days at the CBC. How cultured, how serene, how professional. I love it there. I feel I gel more with the characters in the Canada Now newsroom than elsewhere. This, of course, is a huge surprise.

In a true sign of summer, the first tickets for Mariner's baseball were purchased today. I'm headed to Seattle in mid April with a buddy to explore secret places and to eat hot dogs and drink beer while watching the M's at glorious Safeco Field.

More work booked... which is nice.

After today's stint at CTV, I have 5 straight days off. It's going to be weird to have all that time. Of course, it will come and go quickly.

Only 5 days until the one year anniversary of this BLOG. One year -- amazing.

That's all for now.

Cheers!

Where's Doug?

Well, after a day off that including wandering across the US border, meat pies, and some great soup... its back to working on the taxes.

Today - Monday - I managed to get out for a cycle... that was nice. And the 2001 hell taxes will nearly be done. Probably tomorrow. Then off to the accountant.

And its back to CTV tonight... 3:30. Not far away!

Cheers!

Doug