it feels good to be able to sleep in on a Saturday. Right now those guys at work have another hour left to go and most likely they are doing CF again or BOB. I’m glad I took the weekend off.

I responded to one of Rob Sawyers Blog posts about how when he purchased his first computer spending something like $7,000 for it. My first computer was the Atari 130xe back in 1987. I was doing my first stint at telemarketing here in Edmonton with Associated Canadian Travelers. Or ACT. Working extra hours over and above my Army & Navy day job making payments on the computer. I had my last payment to make and Rob and Chris took my cash and went to do that for me over at Electro T’s there in West Edmonton Mall while I was on the phones. It was a cold November evening and I recall how excited I was to get this computer. Chris and Rob brought it around for me after work and drove me home. I had to hook the computer up to my TV. I believe I had enough money to buy a game and I bought “Wizards and Warriors.” I confirmed they had a copy there. This was what Chris and Rob were playing at the time. I recall I bought the modem a week or two later. I wanted to use the Xe for writing but I don’t think Atari even had a word processor back in those days. I graduated the following year to the Atari ST and they had the ST writer. I mentioned to RJS that I wrote my first submission to WOTF back in 1990 on that old ST. I had a cheep noisy dot matrix printer I recall.

I went downtown about 2:20pm just after Anne left for the bottle depot. I had an unusually long wait on the train as it sat there at Clairview for 15 min until it finally pulled out. So as I sped by the manning bridge I pulled out my cell phone hoping to give Anne call. The bottle depot is on the other side of the tracks running parallel to the tracks separated by a ditch a metal fence and a road to the bottle depot. Riding the train the road is easily visible from the train. I hoped to see Anne pushing her cart. I’d call and “I see you!” Type thing. But I got nothing. No dial tone, nothing. Did we forget to pay the bill on my phone? I tried calling at various other times until I got underground but couldn’t get a dial tone. I got off at Bay station and walked heading west behind The Bay heading towards the Boardwalk. I was in a marked crosswalk with the light in my favor and this dipstick just about runs me over.  We’re getting an unusual rainfall, its light rain but falling just strait down, very little wind. It’s rather nice really.  I called again and no dial tone. I found the anthology “The new Space opera.” They only had one copy so I scooped it up and looked around. A few possibilities availed themselves bit most of these were subjects I have no interest in. Near the end of the SF section I found a Robert Charles Wilson novel, “Blind Lake.” It seemed stand-alone.  I picked this up and headed to the checkout counter noticing a couple of shoppers browsing the anthology section I just came out of. If I would have set the anthology down to return to it later it would have been gone. I paid for my books using the reward card Anne gave me about 2 weeks ago. I went to the payphone on the lower level of the Mall and tried to call Anne from there but still nothing. Matter of fact Telus gave me my 35 cents back.

I headed out down along Rice Howard Way to Central and waited for the train back reading a bit of GTS. I boarded the train and after I got out of the tunnel above ground I tried again and after about 2-3 attempts by Belvedere I got a dial tone. I called but I got the service call failed message. I thought it might be because of the weather but other passengers on the train were using their phones. Of course I couldn’t say which service provider they were on.  Maybe Telus is doing something we’re obviously not aware of.  I tried a couple of times again and even got a call while waiting for my bus at Clairview. As so on as I answered it, the line went dead.  I continued to try again and again on the way home and got nothing.

Anne wasn’t home when I got inside about 4:15pm almost an hour ago. No doubt she’s experiencing the same thing I am. I’ve been home for about an hour now and still she’s not home and I still continue to call out but nothing. Weird. I can’t even call Telus operator to see what’s going on. That’s a free *611 call.

So, I bought 3 books this weekend. I have one more to go for August.  “Till human voices wake us.” Mark Budz, “The New Space Opera” by Gardner Dozois and Robert Charles Wilson’s Blind Lake. So this catches me up for August. My bill for both books was $21 for both books including the rewards card. I’m happy with my purchase.

 Anne managed to get through but as soon as I picked the phone up the line went dead on me. I call and I get no dial tone. If this is the nature of what to expect with Telus, we might be better off to go to Rogers. This is the first time we’ve experienced this kind of bad service before.

it was a wet rainy Saturday but 29 years ago this weekend I was at my brother’s wife’s place as they held the wedding down in their basement. I don’t recall much about the wedding except where it was and the reception. Some years latter Doris confided in me saying how she could have easily have married me instead of Mike. Nothing against Doris but I’m happy for Mike it turned out the way it did for him. He has a nice family, although I wish my family there would call me. I’ve been trying to get a hold of them over the years but they aren’t listed in the phone book as far as I know.

Anyway Anne and I had a fight over the cell phone because she couldn’t get a hold of me and I couldn’t get a hold of her but she thought I was playing games with her. Telus is having service issues with some phones. Her phonies unaffected but my phone won’t let me complete calls. Weird. We finally sorted everything out as well. She made me a nice Angus beef cheeseburger and fries and I get a break tonight. I’m so tired I don’t think I’ll need a sleeping pill.  

That’s all for now, 

 
e. Jim