Topic: Little things that make you happy

[5 Wheel Drive]

Got married this weekend and the whole thing was great and went exactly as planned, and it sounds like everyone had a great time. 

Congratulations!!! 

[Sir Osis of Liver]

IQ got called today for a gov't job interview!

Great news and good luck IQ!

[blur911]

A friend of mine is opening a new bar in Kingston, it's pretty cool.

http://www.thewhig.com/2016/06/21/barcadia-quenches-thirst-for-vintage-video-games

That's cool. I don't care too much about arcade games but I went to Barcade in Brooklyn which is a similar setup and they had amazing craft beer. Pretty cool combo.

That might be where he got the idea, he was there during the winter.
BTW, the owner and manager are total gearheads.  Jon has an air-cooled 911C4, an old Datsun 1200, at least 2 Corvairs, etc.  He's build several Grassroots Motorsports challenge cars as well.

[sailor723]

Eldest daughter got made permanent full time faculty at her community college. (She had been on term employment up until now.) Hallelujah!!

congrats! (for your daughter).   faculty, eh?  does she teach?

Taught Bio for awhile on contract. Lately she has been seconded to a pilot program as a "learning strategist" for students that need accommodations.

[KD]

Congrats to Oliver and Sailor! 

Graeme, does she teach at SJ?  I was an instructor on contract there for almost three years.

[sailor723]

Congrats to Oliver and Sailor! 

Graeme, does she teach at SJ?  I was an instructor on contract there for almost three years.

Yes, SJ campus....been there about 5 years now.

[tooscoops]

congrats to those with new jobs or applying! hope they both work out to great full time positions.

and yeah, that bar looks quite cool! i had wanted to do the bar/boardgame thing a long while back, but had no money... by the time i had the backers, someone beat me to the punch in hamilton... ah well. arcade games are great... and depending on the machine some can be had pretty cheap... probably best to actually build your own cabinet and put an emulator in there... cheap and easy, plus you can swap the games any time for a big tournament...

[mlin32]

Riding on a suburban road, there was a little kid on a bicycle that looked up at me, smiled, and waved at me as I rode by on the motorcycle in full gear. (I waved back) That was the cherry on the pie.

After the disappointing West coast and yet more riding this weekend (190 + 220 km), I'm counting my blessings that I live in a place that's really quite the mecca for any motoring/riding enthusiast. My problems are "which route shall I ride that avoids all tourists from Florida/Tennessee/Ohio...?"

Pavement is generally great, scenery is breathtaking, the signage makes more sense than most other states (I struggled with the all-text/no-symbols in WA), maximum posted speeds are consistent and logical (110/90/60 rule), and contrôle isn't out to get you. Weather's not bad either.

People travel 1000s of kms to visit here. And it's my backyard. It's expensive to live and travel logisitics are difficult, but hey, there's a LOT more irritating places to live.

[OliverD]

Are you in Asheville?

[mlin32]

Are you in Asheville?

Yup. Not exactly the centre but about 20km away.

[5 Wheel Drive]

Mrs 5 Wheel drive & I got to have a rare kid-free dinner on Saturday to celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary. 

For those of you in Ottawa, we went to a small local Italian place called Poco Pazzo.  The food is soooo good! 

[Solstice2006]

Mrs 5 Wheel drive & I got to have a rare kid-free dinner on Saturday to celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary. 

For those of you in Ottawa, we went to a small local Italian place called Poco Pazzo.  The food is soooo good! 

Congrats! Guess you guys had kids later in the marriage. 

[5 Wheel Drive]

Mrs 5 Wheel drive & I got to have a rare kid-free dinner on Saturday to celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary. 

For those of you in Ottawa, we went to a small local Italian place called Poco Pazzo.  The food is soooo good! 

Congrats! Guess you guys had kids later in the marriage.

We were married in 2001.  Our oldest was born in 2004, our youngest in 2009.

[mwqa]

$700 returns to London, England from Montreal on Air Canada in September. 

Spent $1100 on same trip last year. 

[Solstice2006]

Mrs 5 Wheel drive & I got to have a rare kid-free dinner on Saturday to celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary. 

For those of you in Ottawa, we went to a small local Italian place called Poco Pazzo.  The food is soooo good! 

Congrats! Guess you guys had kids later in the marriage.

We were married in 2001.  Our oldest was born in 2004, our youngest in 2009.

We were married in 2009.  Oldest was 2011, our youngest 2014. 

Those dates should be kid free more often pretty soon, as your oldest can babysit soon!

[johngenx]

The missus and I are celebrating our 33rd in the backcountry of the amazing Tonquin Valley in Jasper. The kid is away climbing in the Bugaboos so we're going to have our own little "romantic" backpack.

[Ex-airbalancer]

Seeing Mr Thompson kids walk to school, his youngest son has a  knapsack larger than him 

[tortoise]

After the disappointing West coast...

I think this is the 2nd or third time you have mentioned you didn't like Vancouver.

Mind if I ask why?

[Solstice2006]

Seeing Mr Thompson kids walk to school, his youngest son has a  knapsack larger than him 

My daughter (4) has her backpack for JK, and when I take her to school with my son (2), he has an empty backpack too.  He loves doing what his big sister does. 

[mlin32]

After the disappointing West coast...

I think this is the 2nd or third time you have mentioned you didn't like Vancouver.

Mind if I ask why?

Well, YVR was overall better than the US side of things (Seattle......ick !! ). But the accomodations were horrendously expensive- probably the most expensive city I've stayed in. The market/grocery was also on the expensive side. The drivers, well, I think we all know their reputation. And it kind of lacks the laissez-faire, relaxed party feel of Montréal, and from a cultural standpoint, also lacks the Québecois flair. A bit too business-like, too many rules, not enough joie de vivre.

Perhaps it is different in the suburbs. I had only time to stay and wander in the centre-ville and immediate vicinity.