I'm On Steroids!

It finally got to me... I tried to ignore it as best I could, but it wouldn't leave me alone... I thought I was going to go insane if I couldn't find a way to make it stop.

I'm not talking about Chana nagging me to go see a doctor... I'm talking about the itching!

The rash wasn't any better this morning. In fact, it was worse. The affected area seemed to have grown a bit, and the itching was definitely more intense. Still, being the guy I am, I tried to shrug it off and tough it out one more day before getting alarmed. Of course, the very second Chana saw me this morning, she demanded that I go get looked at or run the risk of killing her with stress.

Maybe someday she'll understand my point of view when it comes to doctors... but I doubt it.

Despite my "mind over matter" attitude, however, by the time I got to work I was ready to crawl out of my skin! As long as I had something to occupy my mind, I was fine, but it was a slow day and there was lots of time to sit there at my desk and think, "Damn! This itches!"

I decided I would leave work early and go see a doctor. I figured 2 o'clock would be good, so that I didn't miss too much time. We've got a cruise to pay for, after all! Well, I only made it to 11:30 before I told the boss I just couldn't hang in there any longer. Then I called Chana, and she was only too happy to come get me and take me to the clinic.

Big surprise, eh?

And if caving in like that wasn't a big enough piece of humble pie for me, Chana had to serve it up with a bit of ice cream. Here's how:

We were sitting in the waiting room and talking about all the things that could have caused the rash. As I said, I didn't do anything different on the weekend, didn't change any of my soaps or personal toiletries, and didn't wear any new clothes. It was then that Chana made a joke about me being allergic to my new camera. Ha ha ha.

Wait.

At that very moment, we both knew exactly what had caused the break-out. As stupid as it sounds, it had to have been my new camera... Or, more precisely, the neck strap. You see, there's a piece of soft rubber on the strap right where it rests against my neck. And this is the only new thing that was anywhere near me this weekend. On top of that, I remember having an identical reaction to a hands-free headset I bought for my cell phone. It, too, had that rubbery material on the behind-the-ear part. The resulting rash behind my ear nearly drove me nuts!

So, she not only got me to go to a doctor, but then she diagnosed me before I even got in the room... I'm not going to hear the end of this one any time soon.

Anyway, I've been put on this prescription cream that I have to apply 3 times a day to control the itching and reduce the inflammation. It's something called a "corticosteroid", but I'm going to go with "steroids" because it sounds cooler.

You can't expect me to give up all my Manly Silliness at once...

An Itch to Scratch

I woke up this morning with a that faint tickle in the back of my throat that usually signals the approach of a cold. Sometimes it goes away after my morning shower, but this time it didn't. Nor did a hot cup of Green Tea help at all (yesterday was Day 60, so I'm allowed the caffeine, just not the coffee... yet). It looks like I'm probably coming down with something.

Then, as I was putting on my jacket to leave for work, I noticed that my neck felt a little itchy. Of course, I have next to no wiggle room in my morning routine, so I chalked it up to an irritating shirt collar and promptly forgot about it... until I was on the bus, that is.

I checked to make sure the tag on my shirt wasn't rubbing my neck, causing the irritation. It wasn't. I checked to make sure it wasn't one of my uncomfortable scratchy shirts. It wasn't. So then I felt the back of my neck... I thought I might be just a wee bit paranoid, because I was pretty sure I could feel tiny bumps back there.

It wasn't until I finally got to work that I could check myself in a mirror. Sure enough, the back and sides of my neck are bright red and covered in little bumps. Where the heck did I get this rash from? In all my 35 years on this planet, I have yet to come across something I'm allergic too, so that's out of the question. And yesterday was just a relaxing Sunday at home, so I didn't come into contact with anything out of the ordinary. I even ate the same kinds of foods that I always eat, ruling out some sort of bizarre reaction.

So, what gives?

Much Going On

Okay, since I've been pretty lazy lately about posting, there are a few things to get you people caught up on.

Ready? Here we go...

First of all, as of today, I have gone without coffee for 55 days. For most of that time I was able to say I went without caffeine, but my little slip-up with the Green Tea ruined that. Oh well. Anyway, I've picked a couple of target dates for re-caffeinating this little ol' mind of mine... On Day 60 (June 11) I will allow myself to resume consuming foods and drink that contain caffeine, with the exception of coffee itself. I have decided that Day 75 (June 26) will be The Day... the day that I once again sip from the chalice of java goodness.

Why have I finally decided to go back, you wonder? Well, it all has to do with the third thing I'm going to bring you up to speed on.

Moving on...

Secondly, I made a purchase last Sunday. And, let me tell you, this was one doozy of a purchase! I have finally made the leap into the realm of digital SLR cameras with my acquisition of an Olympus EVOLT-500. This badboy boasts an impressive 8 megapixel resolution, dual media slots, and a 2-lens kit that will have me shooting like a pro in no time (I hope). I loaded 'er up with a 2GB CompactFlash card for some serious storage, and went so far as to spring for the optional remote control so I can take even more pictures of me and Chana that you'll probably never see!

And why would I spend so much money on a camera right before summer holidays, you're also wondering? Well, that too has to do with the third thing... and here it is:

Chana and I have officially booked our vacation for the summer of 2006. Not surprising, since we make a point to take at least one big trip every year, but this one is going to top any trips we've taken so far.

Are you ready for this? On June 30, we'll be leaving Canada for a 7-day cruise of the Eastern Caribbean! First, we'll fly to Miami and spend a couple days with Chana's family before boarding the magnificent Carnival Valor, one of the biggest "Fun Ships" in the Carnival fleet.

Can you believe it?!? A week of utter decadence on a floating paradise! The food... the shows... the sights! I think it might border on sensory overload! And we'll get the chance to do some cool things off the boat, as well, when we put in to places like St. Maarten and St. Thomas. Chana is having a hard time deciding between the Dolphin Encounter or swimming with the stingrays...

So, I decided to end my coffee-drought in time to enjoy some java while on holidays, and I bought the camera (obviously) in order to capture as much of the beauty of the Caribbean as I can.

Well, we're only 25 days away from departure, and there's still lots of stuff to get planned and arranged. In the meantime, check out these links and maybe give us your opinion on what we should try to do while we're down there:

Onboard Experience
Shore Excursions (Nassau)
Shore Excursions (St. Thomas)
Shore Excursions (St. Maarten)

Icefield / Jasper Weekend: Part 4 (a.k.a. "The End")

Okay, so it has taken me more days to tell the story of our long weekend getaway than there actually were in the weekend, and I'm sure you're all sick and tired of the pictures, but I gotta finish what I started...

Sorry.

On the way back to Calgary from Jasper, we had to go back down along the picturesque Icefields Parkway, and right past the Icefields Centre were the whole thing began. Fortunately, the weather was a bit nicer than it was on our way out, so I got the chance to get a better picture of the Athabasca Glacier.

I drove the whole way, which meant two things: We went just a wee bit over the posted speed limit (insert conspiratorial wink and nudge here), and Chana went camera crazy from the passenger seat. This combination seemed to work just fine, as long as she was taking pictures out the front windshield, but almost every shot she took out her window turned out to be a blur.

Once we were off the parkway and back on the main highway back to the city, I made the decision to slow our trip down a little and take a different route. There's a smaller highway that runs parallel to the main one all the way to Banff, called the Bow Valley Parkway. The speed limit is only 60km/hr instead of the 90km/hr posted limit on Highway 1 (where everybody does at least 110km/hr) and it's a lot more scenic. I hadn't been down that road since a buddy and I used it coming back from a weekend in Radium, BC 17 years ago, and Chana had never been on it, so it seemed like a great idea.

Usually after a line like, "it seemed like a great idea" I end up writing about some tragic or ironic twist... but not this time. In fact, it turned out to be the perfect idea. We saw more wildlife along that one stretch of road than we had seen all weekend! The elk were right along the side of the road, and they weren't shy about having their pictures taken.

Chana got a laugh after I pulled over in front of a couple in a truck who were looking at one of these beautiful creatures (that's not the funny part... wait for it). I grabbed my camera, jumped out of the van, and crossed the road toward the animal so I could get a nice close shot. I didn't see what happened in the truck behind me at the time, but Chana told me all about it afterward (and here comes the funny part). As I was framing my shot, the passenger in the truck pointed toward me, said something to the driver, and the driver slowly got out of his truck and timidly made it about halfway across the road to take a picture too. From what we can tell, the two of them had been weighing the danger of such an action until they saw little old me just strut right out there. The sad thing is, the "timid" guy was at least twice my size!

Okay, here's where I have to say that you shouldn't be as stupid as me... You should respect the power and unpredictability of wild animals, no matter how docile they look. And stay in school... And don't do drugs... But with that said, Wow! Did I ever get some good pictures! In your face, guy who is bigger than me!

Also, at one point, we narrowly missed a close encounter with a bear, but that's for Chana to tell...

I guess that about wraps it up... We stopped in Banff for a bite to eat and then it was straight on home to our kids. It was such an awesome, fun-filled weekend that the following Monday I felt like I needed another weekend right away!

And that, my friends, is the sign of a good time.

Boiled Flower Garden, Anyone?

I swear to you, my office smells like someone boiled a flower garden and dumped the water all over my desk.

Today is my 49th day without caffeine and, as such, I have had to be a little more creative than usual with my choice of hot drinks. For a couple weeks, I drank chamomile or apple cinnamon herbal teas that I purchased from Tim Horton's. Not bad at first, but I was glad to finally see the end of those tea bags last week, I'll tell you! "Chamomile" is now my word for "completely lacking in excitement, flavour, or inspiration" and I'll happily stay away from anything with cinnamon in it for a while.

So, last night, as I was picking up a few groceries for the week, I stopped to see what other sorts of teas there might be. Of course, outside of Orange Pekoe or Earl Grey, I'm a complete noob when it comes to these things. Which meant that I just stood and stared at row after row of those little boxes and tins for what seemed like forever. My eyes eventually fell upon a selection of Green Teas and, Green Tea being something I'd never tried before, I chose a variety pack that included things like "Green Tea and Raspberry" or "Green Tea and Peach". Not the most manly sounding drinks, I'll admit, but worth a go.

The Raspberry was my first try this morning, right after I arrived at work. Not bad, I must admit. Definitely more bitter than any of the herbals I've been drinking lately and, for a guy who likes his coffee, a pleasant change. But the one I've just brewed now is a totally different story...

It's called "Green Tea and Jasmine Flowers". And, in case you're wondering, it takes about as good as it smells.

If this doesn't shatter my willpower to stay off caffeine as long as possible, nothing will!

Icefield / Jasper Weekend: Part 3

As I'm sure I've mentioned in the past, Chana has a real love for waterfalls. She loves to look at them, feel their mist on her face, and surround herself with the sound of the crashing water. I'm not kidding when I say she can sit and stare at a waterfall for hours! That's why every trip we take to Banff includes a stop at Bow Falls, one of her most favorite places on Earth.

Well, this little trip to Jasper provided us with the chance to visit a place that neither of us had been before... An awesome display of power and beauty known as Athabasca Falls.

The Athabasca Falls are located on the Athabasca River (who would have thought, eh?), which originates at the Athabasca Glacier. That's right, the very same glacier that we had the pleasure of standing on. That means the same microscopic particles that makes the ice of the glacier look so amazingly blue also gives the river a distinctively milky-green color. That is, until it plunges over the falls and is churned it to a frothy white...

Now, my previous experience with natural attractions such as these told me that the best picture-taking opportunities would be found off the beaten path. You know, sneak out onto a rock here for a better angle, jump a guard rail there for a unique vantage point... That sort of thing. It's always easier to find a more picturesque view than the Park planners originally envisioned.

But I was wrong this time.

The paths and lookout points laid out around the Athabasca Falls couldn't have been more perfect. All the amazing sights that people drive hundreds of kilometers to see are actually visible from a multitude of breath-taking angles. And, on top of that, little things that would normally go unnoticed, such as channels carved by the falls hundreds or thousands of years ago and then abandoned in favor of easier routes, were pointed out. It seemed that around every corner there was something new to discover, turning a mere trip to the falls into a mini-adventure.

One of Chana's favorite spots had to be this little lookout on the south side of the falls. It was so near to the thundering water that mist fell like a heavy rain and drenched her within seconds. Despite the freezing glacier water, she laughed and screamed like a little school girl, trying to coax me over to "share the experience". Even though she called me a "chicken", I preferred to stay dry and take pictures from a distance.

Just when we though we'd seen it all, we discovered another path that seemed to lead away from the falls. In fact, it led right into the middle of one of those abandoned channels I mentioned, and ultimately ended where the water left the falls, widened, slowed, and continued its journey through the valley. It was an awesome sight! And it was here, too, that you could see the mark of Man and the influence of abundant tourism. Yet, unlike so many attraction that are spoiled by graffiti and litter, here, where the water was shallow and the jagged rocks plentiful, people had erected dozens of inukshuks, giving the place an almost mystical feel.

I'm glad we found that path.

After returning to Jasper from the falls, we spent the rest of the day exploring the little stores and shopping for souvenirs for our kids. In the evening, we treated ourselves to a viewing of The Da Vinci Code in the town's tiny little theatre. Although the movie was less impressive than I had expected (maybe I'll get into that another time, but not now), the theatre itself took me back to a time in my childhood before the giant Megaplexes that dominate our city now. It was nice.

And so ended our stay in Jasper. Next, the journey home.

Icefield / Jasper Weekend: Part 2

After leaving the Icefield Centre behind, Chana and I had about an hour's drive ahead of us before we'd reach our next stop... Jasper. Now, if I had been driving this leg of the trip, I'm sure we would have made it in less time than that because my foot tends to be a bit heavy and I rarely stop for any of the sightseeing attractions along the way. In my defense, these "attractions" are usually just plaques telling the story of how a particular mountain got its name, or marking the location where some long-dead pioneer made a mineralogical discovery... Interesting, but not worth losing valuable driving time over.

Fortunately, though, I wasn't driving as we made our way north. We had only been driving about 10 minutes when I felt the van slow down and Chana said, "I'm stopping". Before I could protest, I looked out my window and saw an absolutely amazing series of waterfalls that ended right at the side of the road. There was no plaque to tell us the name (if they even had one), but the Park officials had been wise enough to provide a bit of space for vehicles to pull over.

A few other people had also parked and were taking pictures of each other in front of the cascading water, or climbing up to explore the higher portions of the falls. The highway isn't a very busy one, though, so it wasn't crowded. We had no trouble getting a lot of great shots. I even managed to make my way up to the base of the first fall and found that some of it was still frozen... The sight and smells were amazing!

Eventually, we got back in the van and continued on our way. We were both feeling so good about our trip up to that point and commented to each other about how perfect the weekend was turning out. Too bad it wouldn't last...

When we arrived in Jasper, things took a turn for the worse. Chana had never been there before, and I hadn't been in the little mountain town in 14 years, so we had no idea where we should start looking for a place to stay. A quick drive around town (which only takes 10 minutes, driving slowly) only showed us an abundance of "No Vacancy" signs on each and every hotel, motel, or chalet. Not exactly an encouragement. But Chana, as usual, was the calm one, and she pulled out a pamphlet she had wisely picked up at the Icefields Centre that had all the phone numbers of the accommodations in Jasper.

Long story short, a half an hour and a dead cell phone later, we knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that everything was booked for the night. Not that it mattered too much... We also found out that the average rate for one night at a hotel in Jasper is between $250 and $350! Definitely not what we had expected and certainly not what we had budgeted for! As I began to rant and rave about how I would never return to Jasper, Chana began driving around town again, looking for some sort of inspiration, I guess.

And you know what? She found it.

Many of the homes we drove past had little "Approved Accommodation" signs on them. Now, I'm familiar with the idea of a "Bed & Breakfast", but I really don't like the idea of staying in someone else's home, sleeping down the hall from them, or having to sit down to a meal with a total stranger. But, Chana insisted that we had no choice but to give it a try or turn around and drive the 4 and a half hours back home. Faced with that kind of logic, I had to give in.

And I'm glad I did.

Most of the "Approved Accommodations" also had "No Vacancy" signs out, but we soon found one that didn't. Chana went up to the door (believe me, she's the great negotiator in this relationship) and knocked. It turned out that someone else had gotten there just ahead of us and was in the process of signing in, but the owner of the home explained that, even thought the population of the town was only 5000, there were over 200 Approved Accommodations to be found. And the beautiful thing was, the majority of them were not Bed & Breakfast style set-ups, but simply rooms done up to be exactly like a hotel suite, complete with cable TV, private washrooms, and separate entrances. Now that was something I could do!

We ended up spending 2 nights in Jasper, in 2 different places, and it only cost us a total of $140. That's a far cry from the $500 to $700 a hotel would have set us back! And the places we stayed in were easily as nice, if not nicer, than a hotel suite.

The weekend was saved!

Our first full day in town was Sunday, and we spent the early part of the day going up Whistler Mountain on the Tramway. Chana isn't exactly a fan of heights, but she was very brave on this trip and had her breath taken away by the beautiful view at the top. Of course, once we reached "the top", I realized it was still a fair hike if one wanted to reach the actual summit. No paved pathways or set of stairs here... Just a steep, gravelly path that twisted and turned up the side of the mountain. And, since we were above the treeline at this point, there was no vegetation larger than a tuft of grass to protect me from the biting wind as I climbed.

Chana stayed behind to explore the Gift Shop and eventually make friends with a nice lady from England as I trudged my way to the actual top of Whistler Mountain. I lost my breath a few times and my heart was beating like a jackhammer in the thin air, but I'm a stubborn sort and I'm proud to say that I made it. Of course, the wind has about 10 times worse up there, so I only stayed long enough to get a few pictures before making my way back down to Chana and a little bit of warmth.

Amazingly, that only brings us to about 10:30 in the morning, and the day had a few more adventures in store, but you'll just have to wait for the next post...