So far with Swagbucks, I've earned $35 worth of Amazon.ca gift certificates! :) Not bad considering I've been doing this Swagbucks thing for less than a month. I'm really pleased, because there are 3 or 4 travel books that I've been wanting to buy for a while now. I'm going to keep going and see if I can make more, but I really want to get the books in time for my cruise to Alaska. I might split the order in half, and buy the other 2 books once I've accumulated more gift certificates.

For those who are really into Swagbucks, don't forget to add them to Facebook and Twitter. They post codes almost every day that I try to snag. Those totally help.

If you're still on the fence about Swagbucks, please consider using my referral code! And thanks to all of you that have used my referral code and are actively using Swagbucks.

So far, I'm loving my new LG X120 netbook. When I put it beside my 24" iMac, it looks so cute. I should take a picture of it. :) Anyway I'm having some problems with it - namely PCs are so confusing to me after having my iMac for the past 2.5 years. Especially switching back and forth between then every few minutes. I don't know where any files are located and I keep trying to pull up my widgets and spaces.

But I cleaned up the programs, installed Google Earth, and got the wireless internet working pretty smoothly. Well, J got the wireless internet working.

And also, I don't think the LG Smartlink software works with my Mac, so I can't directly transfer files back and forth. When I link my computers up, all I get is a dumb .exe file, which clearly I can't use on my iMac. I'll have to transfer music the ghetto USB way. But that's okay, I guess.

The netbook came with its own soft carrying case, but I'm going to be on the lookout for some sort of neoprene case for it - something that's slim and not bulky, but will offer a bit more protection than the cheapo one that came with it.

This coming Friday night J and I are going on a double date with a friend and her BF. We're going to see that Transformers movie in IMAX. I guess I'll have to see the 1st Transformers movie before then. Has anyone seen the new movie? Is it good? I'm kind of excited for it being in IMAX!

Then on the weekend, we have vague plans. We will definitely be going to the climbing gym - but I also want to try out the Grouse Grind, just to see why everyone does it. J says The Chief up in Squamish is harder, and I did that last summer. I don't understand why the Grind is so popular - it always looks so busy and there's not even really a view at the top. But, I still want to do it.

And I also want to do The Lions. J said we can do it as a day hike, and I see them all the time in the distance, so it makes sense to climb it. We'll have to check the weather reports though - right now, I see nothing but rain all week. Boo urns!

This weekend was great - gorgeous weather, and fun activities! Even though it was more expensive than I thought it was going to be, I'm okay with it.

Saturday we had a walking date downtown. We started in Stanley Park, walked along the beach, did up Robson St. (and had lunch + cupcakes), then wandered down to the new convention centre, and then back to Stanley Park and the beach. It was nice to people watch and hang out downtown for a change.

Sunday we got up bright and early (6am) and headed up to Squamish for some climbing! We tried to do some crack climbing, but it was an epic fail. We both suck at crack climbing. So after we did a few other routes, we headed back to Vancouver and went to our climbing gym instead. I felt good - strong too. Which is surprising, since we haven't gone very often. But I think we both realize that we're going to have to get a lot better at climbing.

Saturday

• $8 parking - all day parking in Stanley Park. The cheapest place to park downtown.
  
• $45 sushi - I treated J to lunch on our Saturday date downtown. We rarely ever go for sushi, and I can count on one hand the times we've eaten downtown together.
• 2 x cupcakes from Cupcakes - J paid. YUM! I've never had a cupcake from Cupcakes before. They were pretty tasty but I thought the frosting was a bit much. J, on the other hand, devoured his in seconds, and proclaimed the icing the best part.
  
• Starbucks - J paid. We were boiling in the car on the way home, so we stopped and got a cold drink for the car ride.

Sunday

• Tim Horton's breakfast - J paid. I heart breakfast sandwiches. But they're really not good for you.
  
• $23.81 groceries. We went to Superstore and picked up things for a caesar salad, as well as veggies and other lunch items for the rest of the week. Oh, and I picked up my hair mousse ($7). I don't think we'll need to go to the store again until the weekend.

MY TOTAL: $76.81

Not bad!

• Deposit $20 into bank account.
• Buy more hair mousse.
• Figure out what's going on with my BC Parks parking pass - STILL haven't received it.
• Find out when I'm going to get my Shaw Cable refund.
• Figure out when my shoes were shipped (bought flip flops off eBay a few weeks ago).
  
• Wash my car (inside and out).
• Oil change for my car.
• Put away my laundry.
• Start on contract design project.
• Plan a double date with my friend and her BF.
  

Tomorrow J and I have a date. Since we’ve been going out, we’ve never hung out in downtown Vancouver before, so I’m really excited. It’s such a great place to people watch, and there are so many cool little places and buildings and beaches to walk and see. It’s going to be a gorgeous day, and it will be a frugal way to spend time together. Usually we're going hiking or doing something out of the city. It will be a nice change to have a city date. Maybe we’ll grab lunch downtown somewhere, or bring a picnic and have it at Stanley Park. Who knows!

And on Sunday we’re driving up to Squamish to go rock climbing!!! It’ll be my first time outdoor climbing this year. I think we’re also going to do a short hike up that way as well.

I think the weekend will be quit cheap. Obviously we’ll have to pay for gas to get downtown and to Squamish, but after that, there are no fixed expenses for what we have planned. Everything else is up to us – where/what we eat, the activities we do, etc.

How are you going to enjoy the gorgeous weekend weather?

Yesterday at about 5:05pm I left work (our work day is 8:30-5pm). As I was walking out the back door, a woman in another office called out to me, “it must be 5pm, because you’re running out the building!”

Now, normally this comment wouldn’t bother me, because I work until 5pm. So why wouldn’t I leave at 5pm? I’m not packing up my things to leave before 5pm. I work until just after 5pm, and then I leave.

But about 3 months ago, that woman from the other office was having a conversation with my co-worker about how they both stay later than 5pm (they probably stay until 5:15-5:30). They went on to talk about how it must be their generation (they’re both over 40) that has a better work ethic then the current younger generation. And how they hate that the younger generation just leaves right at 5pm on the dot. Now, it’s not like there are cubicle walls in the office. My desk is right beside my co-worker’s desk. So obviously they knew I was there. And I leave every day at 5pm. If something needs to get done that day, I’ll definitely stay later, but why would I volunteer to stay late on a regular basis when I only get paid until 5pm?

And it's not just a couple of incidences. We use a chat program at work to communicate with our co-workers around the province, and it seems like almost every day, my co-worker will monitor who's online at around 5pm, and then announce that "it must be 5pm because s0-and-so just signed off." And if someone leaves a couple of minutes early one day, she "casually" mentions it to the boss.

• Just because someone CHOOSES to stay later than 5pm doesn’t mean they’re a better employee.
• I know for a fact that my co-worker comes in late most days (because I sit beside her). Maybe just by 5 or 10 minutes, but still.
• I have been coming in before 8am most days for the past few weeks. Some days at 7:30am. And I'm never ever late.
  
• I usually just take a 30 min. lunch (I get 1 hr.) – and I always answer my phone during my lunchtime, or do something for someone if they need me to.
• I work efficiently. I rarely take coffee breaks, and I rarely have long chats with the other people in the office. And I certainly don’t sit around reading magazines or the newspaper. Whereas most other people in the office do. I work hard so I don't feel the need to stay late just to show that I work hard.
  

I don’t know what I’m trying to say, but it’s really frustrating that my co-worker is basically shouting from the rooftops that she thinks she’s a better employee because she stay late every day, while believing that the “younger generation” skips out of work at the first chance they get. When in fact, I work more hours per week than she does.

Originally I was going to sell the car and use that money towards traveling. But since I've moved in with J, I'm probably going to be able to save up the $10k by the end of this year (about 6 months earlier than I had anticipated).

So I'm considering letting my sister borrow the car while I'm gone (under her own insurance, that is). It would be nice to have a car when we get back from traveling, especially for job interviews and getting settled back into life.

Logistically, none of the details have even been discussed. I don't even know if she'd want to borrow the car (and have to pay insurance/gas on a student budget), but I think I'm going to offer her the option of borrowing it if she wants to.

If you don't know already, Ginger from Ginger Won't Snap has relaunched her blog! :) And in celebration of it, she has decided to do a bunch of giveaways on her blog.

The first being a $10 US or $15 CDN Amazon gift certificate!

If you'd like to enter, please check out her blog.

You know what sucks? Going back to work after being on vacation. Especially after being around such gorgeous scenery the entire time. But I guess this is just a 2-day work week, and then it’s the weekend again, so I can’t really complain. :)

Yesterday was very relaxed. We unpacked our backpacks, did some laundry, cleaned up ... then went grocery shopping ($47-something for my portion). A little more expensive than normal, but I bought a package of chicken breasts, some sausage, and also some ice cream.

I also went to Canadian Tire so I could buy what I needed for J to do an oil change on my car. That was $24-something. I don’t have the receipts with me, so I’m not sure of the exact total. It’s a lot cheaper to do it ourselves than take it to an oil change place. Luckily J knows how to do an oil change – because I sure don’t.

Oh, and it was J’s turn to buy gas for the car, and that was $43.99. He buys around every 3rd fill-up.

During the evening, our plans were to go watch the Canada Day fireworks, but we were feeling lazy. And J's calf has been bothering him since we got back. I feel kind of bad - his pack was a lot heavier than mine - he had all of the climbing gear and the tent. And near the end of our hike on Day 1, he ended up taking more weight off of my pack (he said maybe 5 lbs or so, but it sure made a difference) because it got to be too much for me. But to be fair, I'm not used to such a heavy pack (I was carrying all the food) and we had been hiking for almost 7 straight hours. When we got home, I weighed my pack and it was 30 lbs. without any of the food. And the food was HEAVY. We think the food weighed about 10 lbs. So my pack was about 40 lbs? :(

Anyway, last night I ended up zoning out and playing The Sims 3 for like 4 straight hours. And J watched Taken. I don't know why though. We both agreed that it looked like the worst movie ever - yet he still insisted on watching it. And we were right. It was HORRIBLE.

How was your Canada Day?

Well, I bought the LG X120 netbook at Future Shop on Friday. After doing hours and hours of research, and waiting patiently for months, it was a deal I couldn't refuse.

The regular price of the netbook was $499. It was on sale for $449, but I was able to get an "open box" model for $349!!! I bought the 2-year extended warranty for $100, because it gives me full coverage around the world. I'm really, really pleased.

I haven't had a chance to play with the computer yet, except to turn it on and play with a few of the functions. I'm going to have to spend a few hours checking everything out. :)

Wow, what an amazing trip! The pictures don't do it justice, they really don't. Grimface Mountain was way more badass than I thought it would be, and I'm really proud that we did it.

Day 1 - 7 hours of hiking up and through a valley.
Day 2 - 1.5 hours of hiking up to the base of Grimface Mountain. We spent an hour or so exploring - which means hiking up up up. Other than that, it was a rest day.
Day 3 - 5 hours of hiking up to the ridge and across to Grimface.
Day 4 - 5 hours of hiking out of the valley.

The picture to the left of this is the route we took up Grimface (in red - click on the photo for a bigger view). And below are a few pictures from our trip. :)