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It's a long weekend here in British Columbia, and a hot one at that.

I stopped in at work on Friday and found that there's a mountain of paper awaiting my return on Tuesday. This is why I don't like taking time off from work: not because I'm some sort of workaholic but because I'm too lazy to want to expend extra energy catching up.

So after tomorrow it's back to work for me - which means that Heather & her daughter will be on their own for 8 or 9 hours each day. Hopefully they make the most of that time to get out and explore the town and meet other moms and kids. I think it's important that they not look to me as the source of all their needs, because that road ultimately leads to resentment and frustration for everyone. In other words, by getting out and about without me they'll feel more empowered about the shape that their lives take.


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It's Friday and the start of a long weekend here in British Columbia. We've unpacked a fair bit of their things, but the lack of space here is making unpacking the rest of it somewhat challenging so we're still living amongst boxes.

Right now we are about to head out for a walk up the Mt. Thom walking trail, which offers some nice views of the Chilliwack Valley. The fresh air and sunshine will do us all some good.

For those of you curious, Heather posted some photos of us on her weblog.


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As Canadian soldiers begin arriving in Afghanistan (some for a second tour there), I'm hoping that the Canadian Government provides these soldiers with the logistical and moral support they've been denied for so long.


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Yesterday I had to drive down to Washington state to meet the moving truck.

Get this: it cost $1890.00 to ship their belongings from Alabama to Seattle, but it would have cost an additional $2900.00 to ship it from Seattle to Chilliwack - a distance of only 140 miles.

Bringing their effects back across the border and into Canada, I had to pay the 14% import tax on the declared value of everything being shipped. Since I wound up having to wait in the Washington truck stop for five hours before the moving van arrived, I had plenty of time to put a value to everything on our copy of the manifest.

As it was all household goods and personal effects, coming up with a value was a matter of making realistic guesses. If I estimated too low a value, the folks at Customs would want to look at everything and come up with their own estimated value. If I estimated too high, then I'd be paying more import tax than I should.

In the end, the import tax came to $110.04. That plus the U-haul rental of $215.00 still worked out to be a heck of a lot less than $2900.00.


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Happy birthday to my ten-year old daughter!

She's finally out of the single digits and into the tweens. Here's hoping that she lives to celebrate entering the triple digits 90 years from now.

I spoke to her and son #2 on the telephone this morning (son #1 was still asleep) and they're both doing fine, but looking forward to getting back home.

On the family front we all seem to be settling down to life here. I have this week off from work so once their belongings arrive from Alabama, we can unpack and start making this house a home. I have to admit that I'm a little intimidated by the level of responsibility I'm now shouldering as well as by the abrupt change in lifestyle, but I'm not experiencing anything that isn't unexpected. I think the both of us are feeling a little anti-climatic, in that we've spent so much time preparing ourselves for getting together that we're now at a bit of a loss as far as figuring out what comes next goes.

Heather and I spend a lot of time talking about what we're both feeling, so that each of us knows and understands each other a little better each day. And at this point, taking things one day at a time is probably a good way to let our minds catch up with the reality of what we've done.


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We're home!

Thanks again, everyone. It's nice to know you're rooting in our corner.

Las Vegas was terrific and we jumped the broom at 10 a.m. on July 11th. The ceremony itself was over so fast that my nerve didn't stand a chance of getting lost along the way.

The remainder of our time in Las Vegas was spent doing the usual newlywed things...which I'll leave to Heather to describe in her weblog (because I try to maintain a PG-14 rating here).

The trip back to Alabama was fraught with difficulties as one of our flights was delayed to the point where we had to overnight in our connecting city. I really didn't mind the extra night to be alone with my new bride, but it did make things a bit more time-compressed for us to be able to leave for Canada on the day we'd planned on. After we did get back to Alabama, we discovered that the airline had lost our luggage, so that took an extra day to catch up to us.

But after all that, we managed to get things all organized and her parents hosted a congratulations/farewell supper at a local restaurant. I could have lived without the 18 separate dire warnings from well-intentioned kinfolk to keep Heather & her daughter safe and happy...but other than that I enjoyed myself.

After departing Alabama on July 16th, the three of us drove through Florida, Mississippi and Louisiana until we arrived in Houston to visit Heather's brother & family for a day or so.

After spending some time getting to know my new in-laws, we drove from Houston, through Oklahoma to Salina, Kansas where we spent the night and had our very first "tiff". As you can imagine, it was followed by mutual apologies and some great make-up sex.

We knew going into this that the intuitive understandings which most couples acquire were going to be a challenge for us - because we simply haven't had the physical time together to develop that ability to know each other's thoughts and feelings. More than anything else, neither of us wants to recreate our previous marriage.


From Salina, we drove through Colorado to Cheyenne, Wyoming. From Cheyenne we drove to Ogden, Utah where I last blogged.

After that last post, we made it to Yakima, Washington last night and thence to Canada this morning.

As you can imagine we're all a little tired of close confinement and it was good to unpack and know that we were unpacking for good. Heather's 5 y/o daughter was a real trouper throughout the whole drive, content to entertain herself in the back seat and not complain if we "were there yet". If only all kids (and many adults) were as delightful to travel with.


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This is my fourth attempt at a blog entry...let's hope that Utah's internet connection is better than Nevada's, Alabama's or Texas'.

Thanks for everyone's well wishes - it's much appreciated!

The synopsis: Yes we tied the knot and we're "on the road". So far (touch wood), everything has been going well with few bumps on the road (and in the marriage). We're currently in Ogden, Utah, with two more travel days to go.

Once we get home, I can offer a more detailed update.

:)



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As Brent pointed out, the Big Day is about 36 hours away...and I'm feeling just a wee bit nervous.

I always knew that there would be life after divorce and I also knew that the chances were good that I'd love again. Having said that, I never would have imagined that it would happen this way...through an offhand decision on June 30th, 2003 to start myself a weblog. As John Prine once wrote: It's a big ol' goofy world...

I've been fortunate to meet a number of my favorite bloggers and those whom I haven't met, I hope to meet one day. For today though, I'd like to thank
Erin because it was through her that I met Heather. And it was through Brent that I met Erin, so I guess I owe him a hearty thank you as well.



Here's hoping I don't fuck everything up.


~ Christopher


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What's eating you these days?

Bedbug populations creeping up again

After a 40-year lull, bedbugs are showing up in ever greater numbers in Greater Vancouver, thanks in part to jet-setting travellers who accidentally import them from warmer countries like Asia and Africa.

Exterminator John Van of the Vancouver-based company B.C. Pest Control has treated 65 rooms in one hotel alone, as well as university dorms and private homes.

He says the number of bedbug calls to his office is 50 times what it was five years ago...

...Entomologist Judy Myers feels the bedbug problem is only going to grow, largely because of their ability to survive.

"If there's nobody around, they can live for up to a year without feeding," says the UBC professor. "They're hard to get rid of."
The approximately five-millimetre long insect is not a disease carrier, but is certainly a nuisance, causing itchy, painful welts to rise on bitten skin.

Some of the reasons bedbugs are so hard to kill:

* They can hide in cracks the thickness of a nickel where it's difficult for sprays to spread.
* Finding all the bugs and eggs can require multiple visits from an exterminator.
* They can hide in bedding, upholstery, carpet and clothing as well as mattresses.
* They emerge from their hiding spots only at night.
* A single female can lay up to 300 eggs, causing populations to grow and spread quickly.

Bedbugs are typically five to seven millimetres long. Experts say the best way to prevent an infestation is to vacuum mattresses regularly and wash linens in hot water.

The problem has been popping up all across Canada in the past 18 months.

Sleep tight!


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Once again people are murdered and hundreds of family's lives are shattered in a paroxysm of hate.



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state lawmaker craft a proposal that would make it illegal for dogs and other pets to stick their heads out the car window

All I can say is that it's high time this was made illegal. In addition to reducing the number of idiot drivers out there who think that piloting a 2 ton vehicle while balancing a squirming animal on their lap is appropriate, it will also reduce the number of eye injuries that occur when grit or dust is blasted into fido's eye at 60 miles per hour.


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Chapter Six... in which Christopher attempts to earn brownie points with his female readership by blogging about menstruation.

This is the Diva Cup:



From all accounts, it's a healthy, inexpensive and comfortable alternative to tampons or pads (or clumps of dried seaweed).

But don't take my word for it...read all about it here and here.


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For some strange reason, Blogger erased my post from Sunday, so here it is again...


Most of you have noticed that the little countdown in the upper right corner of my weblog is fast approaching zero.

July 10th is when Heather and I finally see each other again - and this time for good. The morning of July 11th is when we tie the knot in the shimmering City of Las Vegas.

After a few days of rapture, we will fly back to The Heart of Dixie for a family hoedown before loading up the car and making the long trek to Canada.

Below you can see a map which identifies the states we will be passing through. If you happen to live in one of them and would be tickled pink to meet us, send me an email by Thursday and we'll see what we can do.





If you don't live in one of these states and you're bitterly disappointed that our travelling roadshow isn't passing through your neighbourhood, send me an email anyway.




(get your own personalized map here)


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What the hell is this world coming to?


He grabbed girl's arm -- now he's a sex offender

Fitzroy Barnaby said he had to swerve to avoid hitting the 14-year-old Des Plaines girl who walked in front of his car.

She said he yelled, "Come here, little girl," before getting out of his car and grabbing her by the arm.

He said he simply lectured her.

She said she broke free and ran, fearful of what he'd do next.
In a Thursday ruling, the Appellate Court of Illinois said the 28-year-old Evanston man must register as a sex offender.

While acknowledging it might be "unfair for [Barnaby] to suffer the stigmatization of being labeled a sex offender when his crime was not sexually motivated," the court said his actions are the type that are "often a precursor" to a child being abducted or molested.

Though Barnaby was acquitted of attempted kidnapping and child abduction charges stemming from the November 2002 incident, he was convicted of unlawful restraint of a minor -- which is a sex offense.

Now, he will have to tell local police where he lives and won't be able to live near a park or school.

"This is the most stupid ruling the appellate court has rendered in years," said Barnaby's Chicago attorney, Frederick Cohn. "If you see a 15-year-old beating up your 8-year-old and you grab that kid's hand and are found guilty of unlawful restraint, do you now have to register as a sex offender?"

But Cook County state's attorney spokesman Tom Stanton said Barnaby should have to register "because of the proclivity of offenders who restrain children to also commit sex acts or other crimes against them."

In the criminal case against him, Cook County Judge Patrick Morse said that "it's more likely than not" Barnaby planned only "to chastise the girl" when he grabbed her, but "I can't read his mind."

"I don't really see the purpose of registration in this case. I really don't," Morse said. "But I feel that I am constrained by the statute."

Recognizing the stigma that comes with being labeled as a sex offender, the appellate court said "it is [Barnaby's] actions which have caused him to be stigmatized, not the courts."

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Last night I took my boys to see War of the Worlds.

Interestingly enough Tom Cruise portrays a shallow and self-absorbed divorced father, so essentially he's playing himself.

I don't think this movie will ever rank as one of Spielberg's finest, but the boys enjoyed it.

Tomorrow the kids are off on their big summer trip so I won't be seeing them until the second week of August.

I miss 'em already.


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It's Canada Day!






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