Where Everybody Knows Your Name
I love Peet's. I am affectionately known there as "Holiday Blend Girl", because I requested it, and they gave me their last tin. I wrote a letter to the head office to tell them about how nice they were at the Denver store, and it got forwarded to them. I wanted to write down their names so I would remember the next time I go. Alejandro and Dave. I sampled a new tea (Osmanthus Fancy), and bought a tin of it, it's great. When you buy a tin of tea, you get a cup for free. So I asked them to recommend one, and I tried Imperial Red. It was also tasty. Dave wanted to make sure I liked it since (in his words) "I'm a big tea drinker". It's stuff like this that makes the "I miss Irvine, and I want to go back there" feeling fade, and make Denver seem like home. As Geoff will attest, this is a huge step for me. It takes me a while to adjust to a new place. Those few people from Edmonton who kept in touch after we moved, likely remember how I was feeling after the move to Irvine. I hated it. We didn't know anyone, I was depressed for months. I would cry, and call my friends and family often. It took months for me to warm up to it. And I still love Irvine, but Denver is home now. Once our three years here are done, it's likely I'll want to stay in Colorado. I like being able to see the mountains everyday. I'm very open to Canada too.

When I go to Peet's I like to bring a book and I've been reading "How To Be A Canadian". It makes me laugh out loud, and I think I want to get more books by Will & Ian Ferguson. I'll have to check the Wee Book Inn, as Christmas is just too far away. To give you a sample of it, here is the Canadian winter vocabulary.

Chilly: Below zero with blowing wind and sleet.

Nippy: Well below zero with gale-force winds, ten foot high snowbanks and roaming polar bears.

Cold: Minus 40 with a wind chill factor of at least 100 below.

Really Cold: Exposed flesh freezes in ten minutes.

Very Cold: Exposed flesh freezes in five minutes.

Damn Cold: Two minutes.

Really Very Damn Cold: One minute.

Freezing: Who needs all ten fingers anyway?

Too Cold To Go To The Mall: Theoretical temperature used only in scientific hypotheses (like the infinity symbol, only more abstract)

Note: None of this applies to people living in Victoria, the bastards.
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Here is their province guide of Alberta.
Alberta: "Back Up, Nice and Slow, and No One Gets Hurt"

Location: Left of centre (oddly enough).
Main exports: Wealth and alienation.
Giant Ukrainian Easter Egg: Yes.
Giant Statue of a Sausage: Yes.
Giant Perogy: Yes.
Statue of King Kong: Yes.
UFO Landing Pad: Yes.
What, are they crazy?: And how!
Provincial Motto: "We have oil. We have money. We have guns. Don't piss us off."
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Now, I've seen the egg, and seen pictures of the perogy & landing pad, but I couldn't tell you where they are. My fellow Albertans, please enlighten me if you have seen any or all of these.

Chris posted that Tooker Gomberg had died. Was he the one who wanted to ice the streets so everyone could skate to work? How sad for his family, as he was pretty young.