Summer 2026 part 2: PEI island time

 

Continuing on...

After Nova Scotia, we made it to our Airbnb rental in PEI. Great place! Buggy, but nice views, pretty central, and very comfortable. 

For our first dinner, we went to Malpeque Oyster Barn. My first time, and it was delicious!

The following late morning and early afternoon were spent at a really nice, accessible, shallow beach, where I came away with the mother of all sunburns. Later we prepared our own delicious seafood feast for supper.

The next day, we toured and shopped. First stop, my mother got a special tour of her favourite Island Pottery, then on to PEI Island Preserves for jams and sauces. In Charlottetown, I went a little nuts at COWS Creamery. I came away with two shirts (Macho Man Randy Savage and Avengers: Doomsday. Couldn't decide, got both!), another carton of chocolate-covered potato chips (having already bought one in Halifax the week before), and finished with two big scoops of ice cream.

Wowie Cowie, AFTER the scoop of Moo York Cheesecake

 For our final day on the island, I spent the morning relaxing/recovering while the rest of the family went back to the beach. Later, we went out for one last feed of seafood, did some touring around, and enjoyed a night in.

We stayed over in New Brunswick the following night, and met a friend of my Mom's for pizza. 

A long drive, then we were finally home.

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Having been on my own for most of three previous summers, a family vacation felt very weird at times, being honest. 

On the other hand, the past four months have been a gauntlet and a half, so the socializing and relaxation were very welcome!

Back to the old "routine" next week...

Cheers!

Summer 2026 part 1: Nova Scotia family time

 Decompressing after my first real family vacation in quite some time.

Because of either work, appointments, or my own need for independence, I've spent the past three summers on my own in Ottawa while my parents and sister went to the Maritimes. This time we were burying my grandmother, so going was a necessity.

We left ungodly early on a Friday morning and made it to Dartmouth, Nova Scotia later the following day. My sister and I each got our own hotel rooms, so while those were being readied, went went down to Eastern Passage for some lobster sandwiches, donair bites (something new and delicious my sister introduced me to!), and I found a couple used books.

Later, my mother's cousins and members of their family, who were down for my Nanny's burial, arrived and we showed them around a little. 

I hadn't seen any of them in a good 25 years, so it was really nice.

On my own, I absolutely reveled in having my own hotel room for the better part of a week! 

Writing vibes!

 The service for my grandmother was immediately after the weekend. What was originally planned as an intimate burial with family and a few friends turned into a very respectful funeral attended by many including my cousin, my Nanny's home care attendant who helped her until she went into long-term care, and members of my grandmother's family who I had never even met before!

After a sermon from the minister and a very nice speech from my father, we went outside. Instead of flowers, the family had made a last minute choice to surround my Nanny with dulse (dried seaweed, and one of her favourite snacks).

When everything was done, the family went for dinner at Dianne's, a small Port Greville restaurant with amazing fried clams and scallops.

Over the following days, we took my Mom's family over to Halifax for more touring before the left the next day, went and visited my Grampy MacLellan and Uncle Sean, celebrated my mother's birthday, and I enjoyed one final night of Star Trek and junk food in my room.

After all that, we headed to PEI (See next post).

Cheers

Award of Excellence (plus a bit of surgery)

 

Last week was a whirlwind, to put it mildly!

To begin with, the Friday before last, I was notified of a date of June 11 for surgery to replace the tubes in my ears. I'd been waiting for this for a year so, despite the very short notice, I took it. But that meant dealing with a flurry of last minute calls, meetings, and appointments. And a lot of driving, in the case of my Dad!

After a few days of hearing tests, pre-ops, and putting in a week's worth of work in roughly one day, Thursday was surgery day. A few minor complications with my oxygen levels, but everything went pretty well!

But wait! If you think surgery was the highlight of my week, you'd be wrong...

Amidst all that aforementioned craziness, something pretty awesome happened.

A couple months ago, I was notified by my job coach that LiveWorkPlay was in the process of putting my name up for consideration for an award. They went to several coworkers from CanNor and got more good info than they actually needed. Roughly a month passed, and I was told that I'd won! Aside from my family, I had to keep it a secret until the official announcement.

That official announcement came last Wednesday evening during an awards dinner which was part of the 31st annual conference for the Canadian Association for Supportive Employment (CASE), where I was set to accept the Philip Emerson Award for Employment Excellence, an award that "recognizes an outstanding individual that has made significant contributions to the promotion of full citizenship and personal capacity through employment and innovation within the workplace in Canada."

My parents and sister were with me, of course. Also in attendance were my job coach and several other members of LiveWorkPlay. 

I'll be honest and admit that the scope and significance of the award didn't hit me until the moment it was being announced. Presenting it to me was Philip Emerson himself (really good guy), whose intro touched on my time with LiveWorkPlay, starting at CanNor and eventually moving to Communications, and my work with CanNor's Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility (IDEA) committee. 

I walked to the stage, past a standing and cheering crowd, graciously accepted the award, and gave a small impromptu speech, thanking everyone and emphasizing the independence and joy the job at CanNor has given me!

After my award, and listening to an amazing speech by one of CASE's founders, we were directed to the lobby for photos. 

It was a heck of a night, one that I still can barely fathom nearly a week later! 

I remember a moment a couple days before the ceremony where I actually wondered aloud "Why?" and "What's the point?" But a day or two after, a friend whose family I've known for quite a while now, posted on Facebook about her teenage daughter, who has Joubert syndrome like me, getting her first job at a Lego mini-figure store with the help of a group like LiveWorkPlay. Put things right into perspective!

Infinitely big thank-you's to my family, coworkers, and all the folks at LiveWorkPlay and CASE for making this possible.

Cheers!

Of Heroes and Hosers

 

Heromachine 3, much like the use of my right hand, has been revived! So guess what I've been doing aside from work and wrist exercises lately??

Version 2.5 is really good, but some of my characters just look soo much cooler in the updated hero creator. 

Take, for example, a Canadian super team I came up with recently. Dubbed The Great White Watch (thanks to ChatGPT), the team consists of heroes ranging from an Acadian-inspired warrior woman from Nova Scotia, to a hockey goon (literally named Goon) with strength-enhancing gear (pictured in red and blue), to a humanoid water panther deity. The team already has an origin, several villains, and event too!

I get a good distraction from work and health-related things, and the Scooterverse continues to grow!

Cheers!

A pre-Summer Challenge - Monsters Maintaining Mental health

 

Recent positive test results and doctor's appointments have shown me that my monthly exercise/DVD watching/reading challenges are doing something right.

After a year of waiting, I finally have surgery to replace the tubes in my ears scheduled for later this week. Preceding that will be a few days of short notice pre-op chaos and another special non-medical event which I'll write about later. In the weeks following my surgery, I've got a few other appointments scheduled.

For the month of June, and maybe a little into July, my challenge is a fairly small one: make it through the first season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and finish The Demon King, the most recent (and also last, I think) book in Peter Brett's Nightfall saga and overall Demon Cycle universe.

Given the appointments, surgery, then more appointments, this challenge is less about exercise, and more of a mental health break.

Cheers!

41 in a (simulated) Galaxy Far, Far, Away (and the office)

 

The Earth makes another full rotation and, just like that, I'm now into my 40's!

On the list of blockbusters running from early May to mid-December, The Mandalorian and Grogu fell closest to my birthday and seemed like something my family might enjoy as well, so that's the movie I asked to see the weekend before my 41st.

The theatre I looked at had a lot of different viewing options. The show we had originally planned to see sold out just before we got there, so we chose to see it in 4DX roughly an hour later. We had looked up what 4DX was at home and were prepared, just in case. Before buying tickets we were a little nervous, but did it anyway.

4DX offers movie goers a totally immersive experience, with seats that move with the action, simulated weather and environment effects, smells, and strobe lights. 

Story-wise, The Mandalorian and Grogu is pretty good. Fun, action-packed, and even kind of cute. No need to have watched anything before, but a lot of bits from The Mandalorian and other Disney shows for those who have. 

The 4DX experience though! Almost immediately, my chair was rocking and rolling, feeling every hit amid a simulated blaster fight then lurching forward into a blast of cold air as the hero runs down a snowy peak in an Imperial walker. A few moments of character introductions and plot, and I was blasted forward into hyperspace!

During some plot time, my bladder advised me to take a quick break before the next round of action, and it was a good thing I did. 

The Mandalorian has been asked to find Jabba the Hutt's son, Rotta (^ that guy). Expecting him to be captive, it turns out Rotta is a star gladiator approaching his last match. After a nice bit between Rotta and the Mandalorian, the fun begins!

Mando offers to buy Rotta's contract, only to get into a bar brawl (rough, but exciting), then ends up in the gladiator pit himself where he first fights Rotta (I got slammed by a Hutt!). After yielding, they're both forced to fight a slew of alien monsters. (intense, but I'm pretty sure I was laughing the whole time!) Everyone breaks out onto the streets, and Rotta flees. An exhilarating speeder chase, and the heroes learn who the real bad guy is. The whole sequence ends with a bouncy, blastery storming of an Imperial compound!  

Though other parts of the movie were rather jarring and a little uncomfortable, that entire fifteen to twenty minute sequence, from the moment The Mandalorian lands on the planet until he takes off with his Imperial bounty, might just have been one of the best birthday gifts I've ever gotten. It felt like I was right smack in the middle of the old Star Wars: Dark Forces computer games I used to play!

After that, there's some scary bits with a snake monster, cute stuff with Grogu, and an ending where I was flying with an X-wing squadron!

Pretty intense, but definitely an unforgettable experience!

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I also chose my birthday for my first day back in the office since breaking my wrist. I practiced some movements beforehand and had to adjust and MacGyver a few things when I got in but for the most part, everything held up. 

I was finally able to get the paper copy of an award I'd received (along with other members of my team) roughly a month ago, got a lot of nice comments and sympathies from coworkers, and was able to go for lunch and some Ribfest mini-donuts thanks to an early start! 

Next up: He-Man and two days downtown.

Cheers!

(Countdown to) Gettin' Out 2026

I wish...

The brace I had to wear for my wrist came off very early last week, and I had my first appointment for physio Friday afternoon. So far, the exercises I've been given seem to be going okay (range of motion first, strength later), and I'm even starting to be able to do a few more important things on my own!

Obviously I won't be planning anything like a trip to Toronto, but with some tasks slowly getting easier to do independently, I am very cautiously starting to plan for going back into the office and getting out for some events and movies throughout the next month and a bit!

Ribfest starts the last week of May this year. That and either Mortal Kombat II or the Mandalorian movie would make for one really good 41st birthday! And speaking of birthdays, my Dad has suggested going downtown for my annual birthday burger so we can take the LRT. Sounds like fun.

Things to look forward to and incentives to keep up the exercising.

Cheers!