So, tariffs went into effect March 4th at midnight. Now what? This, despite most rational people and virtually all non-MAGA economists claiming they’re a bad idea and will have dire economic consequences for both countries. This, despite Trump’s campaign promise to bring down the cost of living on day one in office. And, the 25% on all Canadian goods coming … Read more
In May 2021, ICBC (BC’s government-run car insurance crown corporation) made a major change to how they deal with injuries and vehicular damage resulting from car accidents. As a result of my April 2024 crash, I’ve experienced the full gamut of services provided by ICBC under their no-fault insurance scheme, which removes the ability to sue for vehicular and injury … Read more
November November’s update is both very significant and pretty short. The big news is that, five years after last living in Victoria, we moved back in mid-November. I’m sure I’ll have more to say on the subject eventually, but in short, we signed a lease on November 4th, effective for November 15th, and I. Could. Not. Be. Happier. We’ve been … Read more
August Bike Damage Claim Settled I go into a fair bit more detail in the post about ICBC’s enhanced Care model, but in early August, after a mere five months, my bike and carbon wheel write-off claim was finally settled. It was endlessly frustrating to be repeatedly ghosted by the adjuster, with zero apologies for doing so, but at least … Read more
Note: If you find the context and tense jumping around a bit below, I’ve done some fall and winter edits since I first wrote this in August. Strokes By far the strokes (yes, I had more than one) have had the largest impact on my life. They have affected my cognitive skills, memory, reading, writing, typing, vision, and my right … Read more
On April 14, 2024, I was involved in a severe crash while cycling, resulting in extensive injuries, including multiple strokes and cognitive deficits. Hospitalized for eight weeks, I underwent surgeries that left me immunocompromised and with lasting disabilities.
In 2023 we continued our quest to make up what we lost when the pandemic broke in 2020. Little did I know COVID would play a sizeable role in my experience this year too, but more on that a little later. We finally took the leap to hit the UK and Ireland last summer, but our original Europe plans in … Read more
We were originally going to spend a couple weeks in Ireland in spring 2020 to start nine weeks in Europe, but we all know what happened to travel in the early pandemic. As such, four nights in Dublin and a couple in Galway would have to suffice as our introduction to the Emerald Isle. This covers two nights in Galway … Read more
Being of Irish and Scottish descent, the Irish leg of this trip had always been my priority for coming to the British Isles. We were originally going to spend a couple weeks in Ireland in spring 2020 to start nine weeks in Europe, but we all know what happened to travel in the early pandemic. As such, four nights in … Read more
It was about two and a half years coming, but we finally got back a little of what COVID stole from us in 2020. This post covers six nights in Scotland, after stops in London and York, in early August 2022. The word that comes to mind when thinking about Edinburgh is simply rock. As in, the overriding and dominant thing … Read more