2007.07.31

Is it still a housewarming party if I’ve been here for a year?

Posted in Board Games, Friends, House and Home, Parties at 8:34 pm by Jeremiah Wittevrongel

In mid-July of 2006, I took possession of my condo. Just over a year later, I finally managed to have a housewarming party. Though I’m not sure it can still be called a housewarming party since it’s a year later.

In any case, it was a fun evening. A total of about 20 people showed up during the course of things, and somehow I managed to end up with more liquor than I started with. Funny how that happens.

The evening started rather routinely. Collin was already here, and Jason dropped by around 5:30 so we could get a bite to eat. My choice of a black tank top proved to be very poor given the stifling heat. I nearly melted by the time we got to Thai Thai, and it’s only a few blocks away. The bubble tea helped to cool me down a bit, and after we got back to the condo, I set about doing last-minute preparations (mostly dealing with food). Dave called at about 7:30 to say he would be late, then showed up at the door at about 7:50, which was technically 10 minutes early (the party officially started at 8:00). I had just gotten out of the shower, and Jason and Collin were playing Lord of the Rings: The Confrontation while I finished up with the food prep. Dave started playing against Collin after that, and they finally put the games away only when about 12 or so people had shown up.

The majority of folks showed up fashionably late around 9:00 or 9:30 (as I expected), and by 10:00 the place was pretty full. For my part, I spent the evening showing people my place, trying to keep tabs on food (thanks Collin and Jason for doing this), and trying to socialize with everyone. I invited a number of different groups of friends, many of whom had never met each other before, and it was interesting to see how people mixed.

A few things about the party stand out in my mind still:

  1. We went through nearly 1kg of trail mix,. Some people (I’m looking at you, Michael) were picking out the Smarties and leaving the rest. Others ate only the cashews. So at the end of the night I was left with 200g of peanuts, raisins, and almonds.
  2. Almost nobody ate the veggie dip, but the veggies themselves went quickly.
  3. Coffee flavoured beer is disgusting (yes, Brian, it really is).
  4. A new cocktail was born. Kristi has dubbed it “Blue Steel”. I have to say it was quite tasty.

Thanks to everyone who came by and shared in the fun.

2007.07.21

Bowness Park

Posted in Photography, Sports at 10:08 pm by Jeremiah Wittevrongel

I’ve discovered a new favorite route for cycling when I have a few hours to spend: downtown to Bowness Park and back.

IMG_2548
 
 

The round trip takes me about 2.5 hours at a relaxed pace. The route is also a really nice ride. The vast majority of it is along bike paths that wind along side the Bow river, through a myriad of inter-connected parks. The final destination, Bowness park, lies mostly west of 85th street West, making it 84 blocks West of my home downtown (and somewhat North of here as well).

It’s also nice to spend some time relaxing in Bowness park watching the waterfowl, as well as the people padding around the lagoon in canoes.

I’ve made the trip 3 times so far, and will likely keep doing it throughout the summer since it’s a nice varied ride and I don’t spend a lot of time fighting with traffic on the streets like I do going to North Glemore Park.

It’s also kind of fun to ride down Bow Crescent and look at all the houses tucked into the trees along the river, built in an era before the city sprawled as much as it does now.

2007.07.05

The carnies have arrived

Posted in Parties at 6:52 pm by Jeremiah Wittevrongel

Once again, it’s that time of year. The time of year when everyone dresses up in wranglers, boots and hats to stagger around downtown from bar to bar, only to wait in line for hours for the privilege of paying $6 or more for a beer.

In addition to shutting down the city for a week or so, the Calgary Stampede also has a negative impact on my commute to work. Normally, I ride my bicycle clear through the middle of the Stampede grounds. My last ride through there was yesterday, where the carnies were finishing up with their preparations for the masses. Now, that route is closed to me for just over a week, forcing me to take 11th Ave / 12th Ave to Macdonald ave. This normally wouldn’t add a large amount of time to my commute, but given the extra traffic on those routes during stampede, it makes the ride both a lot slower and more frustrating.

I guess it’s only a week. And the Stampede is a good thing in many respects. It just makes traffic hell for everyone downtown. Including me.