Curling for Team Building

The project I'm on at work right now is quite big with a large team and it's in the home stretch so a team building event was arranged. I'm not sure whose idea it was but they decided on curling. It's not a bad idea since most people are on the same playing level but it's definitely not the safest. Our sheet managed to stay upright but the sheet next to us had one person fall four times. Hard. I've curled before but only ever for a single game in a season so I have no skill. We had one player on our sheet who had played a season so she could at least throw the rocks close to correct. We took turns skipping and played three ends. They stole one on us for two ends and then I skipped the third end and threw the tying rock to the 8 foot. Would have been to the button if I had better sweepers. It was the only rock I threw that I knew in advance I had to get right and the fact that it was to tie the game on our last end made it even more exciting. Still not planning on taking up curling though. 

Moving Carter to UBC

Carter was accepted to UBC this year and since the commute from our house is 1 hour 40 minutes each way the plan has always been to have him live on campus. Preparation started months ago and started with the selection of his room type. He originally asked for a single room with shared bathroom but he ended up getting an apartment style with four rooms, kitchen, living room and two bathrooms. More roommates but more room to move around. It shifted slightly the types of things we packed for him including adding dishes, our old vacuum and more food and drink since he'll have a full fridge.

The move in was well orchestrated. He had a 15 minute time slot and we had to park away from his place to check in and then followed the signs to get to his dorm. We had two vehicles so we were expecting to need his roommates to help us but it turns out this isn't the first time UBC has done this and they had armies of other students ready to help. They had red bins and set parking locations where we were able to unload. I think the actual moving of stuff from vehicles to room was less than 15 minutes. I am a little worried about moving out though. He's going to accumulate things and packing the car did not take 15 minutes when we left our house.

The one unapproved by me item was the giant capybara that he bought at Costco. I'm sure they will have fun with him around campus but he takes up an entire seat on the drive there. The common area of the room is spacious with newer furniture but they have to supply their own TV you can't really hang anything on the walls so eve when fully moved in it felt a bit sparse. So far he says he doesn't spend too much time in his dorm room. He's about a 10 minute walk away and his classes go the full day and he stops off at the cafeteria and gym on his way home. I think he's got at least one roommate that he barely sees.

His personal room is just big enough for a bed, dresser and desk. He brought his own chair and he's got a locker just outside the room where he can store bigger items like golf clubs though with his busy schedule and no part time job I don't think he'll be doing much golfing. The kitchen is galley style and has a dishwasher but it leaked the first time we tried using it so they will probably just hand wash. Most of the rooms force you to get the meal plan and so we had already planned that. So far the cafeteria sounds very good with lots of health options. Hopefully he gets a room again next year though it's not guaranteed. 

 

Sheila's Garden

September 1st was a sad day for the farm. One of the volunteers, Sheila, passed away. She was 84 and it was expected but still sad. I've been volunteering at the farm for 10 years and Sheila was the last of the original volunteers that had started the volunteer gardening team. She was the heart of the farm and will be dearly missed. I had my own issues preventing me from getting to the farm much this year but I think I had last seen her in the spring. She wasn't able to make it out much this year and the garden in the corner known as Sheila's garden needs a bit of care. I plan on dedicating some of my volunteering time to get it back into shape for next season. 
 

The Snowbirds in Whiterock

The Snowbirds were planning a free performance in Whiterock in August as part of their farewell tour. The existing planes have reached end of life so this is their last season before the new planes arrive in the 'Early 2030's. I remember seeing them in Prince George when I was young. I don't think we ever paid to see them but they would practice over the city so my grandmother would take me up to Connaught hill to get a good view. The event in Whiterock started with one of the local hovercrafts showing what it could do and we found a spot on the beach. It was fairly busy but hard to say how many people since we were so spread out.

Callie was the only family member interested in attending and the event itself was fun though but it is a lot of waiting as they set up their tricks. We were at the almost perfect location because when they came back over land they would reenter the water in front of us from right over our head. I like the tricks where they flew in formation the best though they also had some where they would separate and do flybys or draw shapes in the air. They aren't fighter jets but I like that they aren't as loud as the F18's. I think the plan is to purchase something similar for the next generation of planes.

On our way out everyone had to pass over the tracks and unlike an event at UBC, the police can't really prevent people from doing stupid things like walk across the tracks in front of a train. Lucky for everyone though it was a passenger train and they had slowed right down. This was the last event on the West Coast and they spent the rest of the summer making their way back to the east coast before returning to home base in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. I will definitely go see them when they return next.

 

Phoebe Bridgers Laser Show

Callie asked me if I wanted to attend the Phoebe Bridgers laser show at the planetarium and I was immediately onboard. Time with Callie plus the planetarium. I didn't actually know what a Phoebe was but I assume she was born after Friends first aired and Callie likes her music so I was probably going to find it at least somewhat good. She was releasing a new album and the laser show was an opportunity to hear it before it formally comes out.  I've been to the planetarium before to see shows and it was effectively a movie projection onto a curved screen though it is a very complicated looking projector.

As it turned out there were actually a few options to go to. One was likely what I was expecting, with songs played while looking at star related things and the other was a laser show which I've never actually been to. It's an older technology and I guess Phoebe used to go with her parents so she wanted to recreate that nostalgia. It's purely performed with lasers though they use the lasers to create what I would characterize as stick figures. The imagery aligned with the music and I'm sure if I smoked pot it would have been a next level experience. I still enjoyed it though. 
 

Schwab Family Cruise 2026 - Istanbul

Yesterday was another sea day so not much to report and we had passed under the Canakkale bridge yesterday evening so I figured we would reach port overnight. I was still surprised when I opened our curtains in the morning and it felt we had landed in the middle of Istanbul. There was a mosque across from our deck and Galata Port was at our feet. I thought we would exit right onto it but it turns out there are ramps that take you down three stories to customs and you come out on the other side of the buildings you see here. The port consists of numerous shops and restaurants and was active into the night.

We had attempted to plan to see major sites in Istanbul but we soon discovered that Sunday is not a good day to explore the city. Major sites including the Grand Bazaar were closed. Despite the setback we still made a plan to transit to the Blue Mosque. Callie had done a great job this trip figuring out how to get around and she knew there was a train station near the port. We were lucky that the transit system had assigned someone to the ticket kiosk to push buttons since they didn't have an English option. 

Our first destination was the Blue Mosque that I'm assuming gets its name from the bluish marble that covers the site. It's an active mosque so he had been warned about the times for the call to prayer which are based on the location of the sun so they shift over the course of the year. We were greeted by two cats and I had to wear pants, while the woman had to ensure their head, legs and shoulders were all covered. We also had to take our shoes off before entering. The interior was quite beautiful with a carpet covering the entire area. It's definitely a must see sight.

After the mosque, the family stopped off to try out some Turkish coffee. There is a fairly elaborate method to brew it including finely grinding the coffee to the consistency of talcum powder and repeatedly heating and drawing off the form until you have your cup of coffee. I don't drink coffee so I can't describe what it tasted like but Kerry and Carter weren't fans. Kerry described it as being too sweet for her taste. After the coffee we walked by the Higia Sophia however it remained under major renovations and Callie indicated it wasn't worth seeing since so much was inaccessible.

If it hadn't been Sunday our next destination would have been the Grand Bazaar but since it was closed we headed to the Spice Bazaar which was nearby. On our way we did pass many streets of shops outside the Grand Bazaar. I can't say if it compares but I think our experience of buying from of the shops probably was. We entered one shop and were immediately offered free drinks and a seat and then the merchant went into their elaborate game of convincing you to purchase first tea, then spices followed by chocolate. You don't just ask for 100g. You ask but you end up with a giant scoop. It was fun and we were eventually able to say no and make our way out. 

Once we were done buying out spices that were packed like a block of cocaine that we hoped we could get out of the country we noticed we were only a few blocks from our ship so we decided to walk back. From where we were, you could see both Europe and Asia and the area was bustling with activity. I know we didn't do Istanbul justice but we still had a good experience and it was a nice way to cap off our cruise. I'm glad we decided to do this particular trip as it allowed us to see so many diverse locations. On to the next adventure.

 

Schwab Family Cruise 2026 - Santorini

At no point on this particular day were we certain about the form of transport we were going to take next. There was a plan but the plan unfolded in a very unexpected way. Santorini is a beautiful island that doesn't have a dock big enough for the cruise ships so they anchor in the harbor and we have to tender in. Our troubles started the day before when we went to book. We'd been told we could book at the front desk at 3:00p however there was apparently an option to book on your TV starting at 1:00p. By the time we booked we were tender 14 leaving at 9:30a. 

This was just not good enough for Callie's plan for the day so after some discussions with the desk, they indicated we could try to arrive early and for each tender if people don't show we can potentially take an 'early bird' spot. We ended up strategically placing ourselves near the muster area and were able to get on tender #4 so the plan was back in place for a short moment. It's only about a 10 minute boat ride to where they drop us off and our next leg of the trip involved taking a gondola up the hill to Fira and then a bus to Oia. The problem was the gondola had a very long wait despite our early arrival. 

We did have options. We could walk the 588 steps or there was a nice pack of donkeys that would take us to the top. Neither of these were appealing to different members of our party so a third option presented itself. There was a speed boat that could take us to the base of Oia directly and then shuttle us up to our destination. I was hesitant as I saw overloaded speedboats leaving but turns out the tenders we came in on turn themselves into water taxi's. The price wasn't bad considering we would have had to pay for the gondola and the bus anyways and this got us there and back to Fira.

The boat dropped us off at the base of the hill and the shuttle got us to the top quickly. Our driver mumbled something about pick up every hour which wasn't reassuring but that was a problem for later since we knew we could at least take a public bus. Oia is the picturesque hillside town that you see in many Greek advertisements and was filled with jewelry, gelato and Instagram girls. I was surprised to find an elementary school at the top and the white walls were cool to the touch despite being in the direct sun.

The lady who solid us the ticket said we would probably be bored with Oia by about noon and she was correct. We went back to our drop off spot and ended up following some man who took us down the hill a bit to some full sized buses. No one was speaking English but they let us on and we managed to get back to Fira. Our next leg had us taking the city bus to Akrotiri and we attempted to leave from the main terminal which was a chaotic sea of tourists trying to figure out which bus to take and buses backing up trying to hit them. Our bus surprisingly left right when it said it would. 

Akrotiri is a fully covered 'active' archeological dig for what is considered the Pompei of Greece. It's a settlement that had a very rough time of it with multiple earth quakes followed by a volcanic eruption 3,500 years ago that covered the entire city. It wasn't as quick as Pompei so no bodies and the residents had time to pack most of their things but they left a lot behind assuming they would eventually return. The dig started in the 1960's and though they claim it's still active I didn't see any recent activity. Still interesting to see how modern their society was that long ago.

Just down the street from Akrotiri was a series of beaches called White, Black and Red beach. Callie had decided Red beach looked the most interesting and she was correct. It was a bit of a hike to get from the road and over a cliff but it was well worth it. There was a giant red cliff and a wide beach at the base. The family took a swim and then we headed back to the bus stop to catch the bus back to Fira. It was roughly on time but it only came every hour and initially drove by before turning around and picking us up on the way back. 

We managed to get back to Fira around 7:30p and were able to get tickets on the Gondola back down the hill. The friendly Donkey ride salesman was taking his donkey's home to rest for the evening. There was a lot of options for donkey soap, donkey Cheese and various donkey paraphernalia so they appear to be an important part of the islands economy. We saw quite a few people decide to take them up the hill and it's probably your best option if the gondola ever broke down unless you are in Grouse Grind shape. Santorini looks like a nice island to spend a week at though based on the number of Instagram girls it's probably expensive.