It has been a crazy time here. My last post about the weather? Well, that storm not only brought snow in the mountains but also brought high winds which proceeded to knock out power to over a million people in Washington. Our power at home went out Thursday night around 10:30 and came back sometime on Friday. The power at work was out for 4 days. Poor Chris was without power for 6 days. Work was hectic last week and then we've been busy with family in town.
The holidays have been great so far. I was bad and didn't take any pictures. My camera battery died and I haven't bothered to recharge it. Me is lame!
We found out some news about our place today. John the Builder, who wasn't returning our calls, is no longer working for the building company. The building company wasn't sending out anyone to fix the rest of the stuff because they thought all of it had already been done. Sooo...someone is meant to call us tomorrow to schedule an appointment so we can show them all of the things that still need to be completed. It better happen and soon. I'm so ready to have internet at home!
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
Thursday, December 14, 2006
Lovely, lovely precipitation
A nice storm is passing by this week and is expected to dump 1-3 feet of snow in the mountains. Oh, the joy of snowboarding in powder.
There was a rumor that the PNW would have a crappy season this year. Those rumors have been proven incorrect so far. It seems the rest of the WORLD is having the crappy season. I'm feeling lucky!
There was a rumor that the PNW would have a crappy season this year. Those rumors have been proven incorrect so far. It seems the rest of the WORLD is having the crappy season. I'm feeling lucky!
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Email from Officer Noon
Dear Mr. Johnston,
I monitored the condition of the fellow in the red car over the course of the evening after you all left. Initially he took a turn for the worst and his condition was very grave. Some how though, he pulled through and is expected to survive. He has many injuries and has many surgeries in the coming year. The other driver was released from hospital the following day. Please have a look at our webpage www.westvancouverpolice.ca in the press release section for an update.
Again though, thanks for helping us out. In times like these, where we are unsure of the survival of an individual we must get as much info as we can. The four of you certainly helped us out.
All the best,
Dave Noon
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
The Unfortunate Event
First, the fun stuff: We leave Seattle around 6:45 as planned. Traffic wasn't bad and we made it up to Bellingham by 8:00 PM with the intentions of eating at our favorite rest stop: Casa Que Pasa. Our disappointment was great when we found it is closed for an undetermined amount of time. We found a pizza place with tasty pies.
Our arrival time at Whistler was around 12:00 AM. The roads up were a bit icy, but not too sketchy. We awoke on Saturday to disappointment: no new snow the night before. We headed up Whistler mountain to find mediocre conditions. Julie and I decided to stop boarding after lunch in favor of shopping in the Village. We met the boys back at the condo and then went for sushi at Sushi Village. Yum!
A little bit of snow fell Saturday night, so the conditions were more favorable on Sunday. We boarded all day and had great fun. It wasn't an epic powder day, but it also wasn't icy and crunch like the day before. We headed down the mountain around 3 and then stopped for some eats at our favorite pub before hitting the road around 4 PM.
We were a bit sad to leave since snow was in the forecast for all week. Evidence of this was the rain we had to deal with on the way down the mountain which made the driving conditions unpleasant. Mountain roads are often dangerous - especially when drivers go far too fast. We were about 10 minutes outside of West Vancouver when the Unfortunate Event happened.
We are behind a pick-up truck that is going the speed limit or below - he's driving very safely. And then it happens - a little red car comes around the bend and comes right into oncoming traffic. I see the car go completely into our lane and yell, "Oh Jesus!" because I knew what was going to happen. SLAM! It has a head-on collision with the truck that is in front of us. Amazingly enough, there were no oncoming cars in the northbound lane and there just so happened to be a small, paved shoulder to the side. Tony manages to get our car across the other lane onto the shoulder. Within those few seconds, I was bracing myself for the collision we were about to be in. I am baffled that we did not hit another car, drive into the ditch, drive into the side of the mountain or be hit. Anti-lock breaks and Tony's quick reflexes spared us from our own accident.
We came to a stop and looked back - the accident was pretty bad. The truck was on its side pinned against the guard rail. The front half of the car was smashed and the smell of gasoline was overpowering. People started pouring out of their cars to check things out and several started calling 9-1-1 (including Chris). The first Paramedics arrived 5 minutes later. Soon, multiple fire trucks and paramedics arrived. They had to use the jaws of life to get the driver out of the car. At one point, they pulled out a booster seat and infant car seat from the back seat of the car. Fortunately, both were empty. We aren't sure how long we were there. We had to go to the police station in West Vancouver to give official statements and left there about 9:30 PM.
The driver of the truck came out of the accident with minor injuries. The driver of the car was taken by helicopter to the hospital in Vancouver for surgery. The officer that took our statements will be keeping us updated on how the driver of the car is doing.
It's events like these that remind me of my own mortality and how dangerous car collisions can be. Please drive carefully and defensively and give the ones you love a big hug.
Our arrival time at Whistler was around 12:00 AM. The roads up were a bit icy, but not too sketchy. We awoke on Saturday to disappointment: no new snow the night before. We headed up Whistler mountain to find mediocre conditions. Julie and I decided to stop boarding after lunch in favor of shopping in the Village. We met the boys back at the condo and then went for sushi at Sushi Village. Yum!
A little bit of snow fell Saturday night, so the conditions were more favorable on Sunday. We boarded all day and had great fun. It wasn't an epic powder day, but it also wasn't icy and crunch like the day before. We headed down the mountain around 3 and then stopped for some eats at our favorite pub before hitting the road around 4 PM.
We were a bit sad to leave since snow was in the forecast for all week. Evidence of this was the rain we had to deal with on the way down the mountain which made the driving conditions unpleasant. Mountain roads are often dangerous - especially when drivers go far too fast. We were about 10 minutes outside of West Vancouver when the Unfortunate Event happened.
We are behind a pick-up truck that is going the speed limit or below - he's driving very safely. And then it happens - a little red car comes around the bend and comes right into oncoming traffic. I see the car go completely into our lane and yell, "Oh Jesus!" because I knew what was going to happen. SLAM! It has a head-on collision with the truck that is in front of us. Amazingly enough, there were no oncoming cars in the northbound lane and there just so happened to be a small, paved shoulder to the side. Tony manages to get our car across the other lane onto the shoulder. Within those few seconds, I was bracing myself for the collision we were about to be in. I am baffled that we did not hit another car, drive into the ditch, drive into the side of the mountain or be hit. Anti-lock breaks and Tony's quick reflexes spared us from our own accident.
We came to a stop and looked back - the accident was pretty bad. The truck was on its side pinned against the guard rail. The front half of the car was smashed and the smell of gasoline was overpowering. People started pouring out of their cars to check things out and several started calling 9-1-1 (including Chris). The first Paramedics arrived 5 minutes later. Soon, multiple fire trucks and paramedics arrived. They had to use the jaws of life to get the driver out of the car. At one point, they pulled out a booster seat and infant car seat from the back seat of the car. Fortunately, both were empty. We aren't sure how long we were there. We had to go to the police station in West Vancouver to give official statements and left there about 9:30 PM.
The driver of the truck came out of the accident with minor injuries. The driver of the car was taken by helicopter to the hospital in Vancouver for surgery. The officer that took our statements will be keeping us updated on how the driver of the car is doing.
It's events like these that remind me of my own mortality and how dangerous car collisions can be. Please drive carefully and defensively and give the ones you love a big hug.
Friday, December 08, 2006
sssswwwwoooooossssssshhhhhh
Hello!
I haven't forgotten about you. Promise. We still don't have internet at our new house and work has been very busy the last couple of weeks. Here's a brief list of what's been going on:
Finally closed on the house on Monday.
unpacking, unpacking and more unpacking.
Buying stuff for the house.
Tried to get internet installed on Wednesday but the joiner box was nowhere to be found.
We still don't have a mailbox or garbage bins.
unpacking, unpacking, unpacking.
Going to Whistler this weekend with my Favorite, Chris and Julie. Swoosh!
I haven't forgotten about you. Promise. We still don't have internet at our new house and work has been very busy the last couple of weeks. Here's a brief list of what's been going on:
Finally closed on the house on Monday.
unpacking, unpacking and more unpacking.
Buying stuff for the house.
Tried to get internet installed on Wednesday but the joiner box was nowhere to be found.
We still don't have a mailbox or garbage bins.
unpacking, unpacking, unpacking.
Going to Whistler this weekend with my Favorite, Chris and Julie. Swoosh!
Friday, December 01, 2006
The ongoing headache
Finally, the Certificate of Occupancy was issued today. We are staying at our new house this weekend even though we aren't closing until Monday. Dammit. Me, Tony and Dustin are all in the pissed-off mood with how this closing has happened.
We are going to skip snowboarding this weekend to finish moving the last of our stuff (kitties! computers!) and settle down into our new abode. Our friends will be sad, but they will understand.
OK - must get back to work.
We are going to skip snowboarding this weekend to finish moving the last of our stuff (kitties! computers!) and settle down into our new abode. Our friends will be sad, but they will understand.
OK - must get back to work.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
