Life’s Ideas

I am just a stay at home wife but there are many things to do at home. The chores are endless. Before I came to Canada, I worked in the IT field. I have always worked with computer systems both software and hardware and the internet. Now that I stay at home, I use the internet to communicate with my family and friends and to find information on almost anything especially products and services of companies. I also use it to find how-to information, recipes, read the news, find people, check on the latest in entertainment, music and movies.

We have a room upstairs that we use as our office. When my husband is at work, I use that office. We have a home network of three computers so it is just alright if I use any of the computers because all our files are stored in the server. When my husband is at home however, I give him priority over the office upstairs because that is really his computer there. My computer is downstairs but when I work with photos, I like to do it in his computer because it is directly wired to the server while mine is using wireless connection. This means that loading of photos in his computer is way faster than in my computer and I’m talking about several thousands of photos here.

My husband have been offering to buy me a proper computer table but I procrastinated because I really don’t want to rush on buying things. I have my own requirements when it comes to buying things. I usually know what I want and I want it at a very reasonable price. Lately though, I have been working long hours in the computer and using just a small table and small stool. My back is beginning to hurt. This concerns me so much so it was time to set-up a proper working space.

Yesterday, we were at Staples and we bought a corner workcenter table with cherry finish. When we got home, my husband assembled the table right away and it came out perfect to my corner space office and my ergonomic chair. The table is quite sturdy and wide enough for the phone and other computer accessories. It also has enough space in front of me, in case I need to write things down. The CPU holder is very spacious that I think it is big enough to accommodate three CPU’s.

Since I like to work with pictures, I also bought Adobe Photoshop Elements version 7. I slept late last night because I was very busy watching the how-to videos of the software that I just bought. I’m so glad I brushed up with my knowledge in photo-editing in Photoshop which I have not done in quite a long time. I have been using Windows Picture Manager and Olympus Master 2 prior to this. Sooner than later, I will be editing videos and who knows, make movies.

Tags: Adobe Photoshop Elements 7, computer table, computers, home office, internet, Olympus Master 2, photo-editing, server, staples, Windows Picture Manager
Posted in Fun, Handy and Hi-tech Things, Health and Home | No Comments »

We had been planning to go on a trip to the United States by early spring of 2009. I had to get a US visa before then so I booked an interview with the US embassy in Vancouver through the internet. Vancouver is very far from Regina and there was no direct flight to go there. We had to get a connecting flight via Calgary or Winnipeg. We decided to make the most of the trip since we really had to spend a lot of money going there. My husband decided to renew his Philippine passport also although he still has two months before its expiry because the nearest Philippine embassy to us is Vancouver also.

We then contacted our friends from there and asked if we could meet with them. We also wanted to get some advice from them on accommodation, dining and what places to visit. We just booked our hotel and rent-a-car online.

We flew in from Regina and picked our rented car at the airport. We then checked in our hotel and went shopping for some items. Later in the day, we met with a friend at the Sears, just a few blocks away from our hotel. We exchanged stories while I bought some clinique cosmetics.

We left for the Capilano Suspension Bridge. It was already dark when we got there. The park was open during evenings. The place was full of lights and buzzing with energy. From Capilano we had dinner at Moxie’s Grill and parted from there.

The next morning, we went to Vancouver Aquarium. The place is not so big but you can see a lot of unique animals there, including the beluga whales, spotted seals, dolphins, sloth, marmosa, turtles, stingrays, birds and many species of sea plants. They also feature a wide array of frogs and toads.

Then the day of my interview came. My husband accompanied me to the embassy and waited at the nearest Starbucks while I went on with my interview. The waiting in line took a while but the interview only took three minutes. The consul then told me to wait for my passport and visa in the mail within the next five days. Then we went to the Philippine Embassy to renew his passport.

We had lunch after the interview and before dark, we went to Harbour Center and took the elevator to the Harbour Lookout at the 50th floor. The lookout has a 360° panoramic view of the city. We took a lot of pictures with the city lights. We also went to Canada Place for the nightly light show. From there, we had dinner of sumptuous seafood at the famous Carderos restaurant.

Planning on a trip today is very convenient because of the internet . Using it as a resource is always to our advantage.

Tags: beluga, calgary, Canada Place, capilano, capilano suspension bridge, Carderos restaurant, clinique, dolphins, frogs, Harbour Center, Harbour Lookout, internet, light show, marmosa, moxie's grill, passport, philippine passport, regina, seals, sears, sloth, spotted seals, starbucks visa, stingrays, suspension bridge, toads, turtles, US Visa, vancouver, Vancouver Aquarium, whales, winnipeg
Posted in Travels|Vacations | No Comments »