Blog of the Little Bonsai

Personal Blog of Steve Baumber

Applied for a forest inventory research position at the Pacific Forestry Centre in Victoria. Closing date is May 31. Anyone taking odds on me getting an interview? Emailed cover letters/resumes to two more companies. Loving my ball of confusion. And the beat goes on... Lovely rainy run today, but it's good to be back pounding after the post-marathon break I gave myself. However, I now have fairly painful tendonitis in my right elbow (classic tennis elbow, I believe). How the hell did that happen? Biking? Too much mousing and cursor-keying during my last stint of database work for The Company? It's been lingering for a couple of weeks now. Climbing last night at the indoor gym "Cliffhanger" didn't help; most noticeably during a lunge to a big jug on the bottom side of an overhang on a 5.10-. A little stiff this morning. Maybe I should RICE it. I'll put a bag of frozen peas on it tonight. I hope it clears up in time for Kendo next week... posted by Steve @ 3:41 PM	5.29.2002
Rosemary ran 56:42 in her very first ten K! An excellent time, and matched the goal she was training for - awesome! We had a good BBQ on the beach last night for Brad, but stayed up too late... okay, maybe there's no such thing. Helped Dave and Shannon in their move to their next home - good news is by June they can move into their new house! Well, it's an old house, but it's new to them, and they own it! Rehearsals for the film this weekend went well - I just hope the filming goes well. Not much else to relate... posted by Steve @ 7:39 PM	5.26.2002
Sort of an unremarkable week. Another company has let me know that they aren't hiring. Oh well! Tofino pictures are now on the website. Read up on the evils of the G8. Go Pete go! Running a 10km race with Rosemary (and others from her company) tomorrow morning, and then rehearsals for the movie tomorrow afternoon, followed closely by Brad's birthday celebrations on the beach! More BBQing and some Boci Ball. Baked cookies this morning. God, I make good cookies... posted by Steve @ 4:51 PM	5.24.2002
Back from Tofino - pictures coming to the wesbite soon. We had great weather for the weekend and then got rained out yesterday. Ya, I know, I'm a whuss. "A brave man likes to feel nature on his face. But a wise man knows when to get his head in out of the rain!" Hiked in Cathedral grove (chainsaw finger twitched), ran on hard-packed sand at sunset, and watched the surfers wistfully at Long Beach. BBQ'd seafood, ate lunch at a diner in Ucluelet, watching the sea lions play in the bay. Rode one of the infamous BC Ferries "Fast Cat's" on the way home. Don't get much better mate! Thanks fer the tip Ian - how do I get the year to show first? Congrats Cora Lea (and Uncle Pete of course)! posted by Steve @ 1:19 PM	5.21.2002
Ever wonder why I sound so good at the campfire? Check out http://www.gallagherguitar.com/index.html I sent them an email to "register" my guitar. posted by Steve @ 8:57 AM	5.17.2002
Oops. www.work2travel.ca Sorry Pete. How very unpatriotic of me. Roller blades are now cleaned and oiled and ready for pavement. Which there happens t be a lot of here in da city. posted by Steve @ 8:20 AM
I keep forgetting the cyber wave at Harry (see www.thespitefulmutt.com) and congrats to Pete, the proud owner of www.work2travel.com! posted by Steve @ 7:58 AM	5.16.2002
Acting class left me with a mix of emotions. We were improving phone calls and the use of a closeup camera angle. My improv was to play a character who gets a call from his brother. The brother is getting married to an ex-girlfriend of mine and wants me to be his best man. Monday was five years since another phone call, and it was a tough reminder last night that it was just an improv. Michael still shows up in my dreams, sometimes as a peripheral person, sometimes as a player in what ever my little mind is belching out that night. Soon after he died, I had often awoke from those dreams and had to remind myself that he was gone, or in some cases within the dream I would realize that he "shouldn't be there". Now, it never bothers me. Maybe it's my mind's way of keeping his connection to me "fresh" by giving me "new" memories. Anyway, I'm glad it's sunny this morning. posted by Steve @ 7:24 AM
Finished the work for the company, so I I was out and about on the bike today. Sunshine and warm breezes as I dodged cars and pedestrians... The indy film should be fun, although it will remain to be seen how "professional" it will turn out. The script is not bad, I have a supporting role, but an integral one, with three or four good scenes. The cast is a mix of experience and "raw" talent. We're planning on spending the long weekend camping up near Tofino or Uclulet, wherever we find a spot. Then to Long Beach, hiking and whatever (as long as the weather holds). posted by Steve @ 4:02 PM	5.14.2002
All recovered from the marathon in time to dance to irish bar music at teh Blarney Stone for Ryan's birthday last night. Had dinner at Santos, so I had sangria head this morning. This afternoon, I'm reading through the script for the independant film I auditioned for a week ago - I got a part! Don't know what part, or how involved it will be, but very exciting. I hope that it will be a good experience. No money up front, just on deferral. Of course, I'm in it for the art... Got some short-term work with The Company, which will cover extras like another round of acting classes and repairs to the Gallagher. Man, sunshine has been fantastic, and after a cheapo service to the front forks my mountain bike is now primed for the North Shore... or at least getting me around town. posted by Steve @ 1:40 PM	5.11.2002
Well, 3 hours, 36 minutes and 21 seconds and the Vancouver marathon is over. Not bad. I was hoping for 3:30, but damned if I didn't need a porta-potty stop after the first 10 km. So much for Geoff Galloway's theories on not eating 18 hours before the race. The nice thing is that I feel okay. My legs are sore, but thanks to Nip-Gaurds, no bleeding nipples, and thanks to my stick of Body Glide, no chafing, and thanks to packing tape on the inside of my shoes, no bleeding ankles. In the end, it's as my sister said, "Trust your training." I've had a bath, and I'm now going to have a nap. posted by Steve @ 2:00 PM	5.05.2002
How's this for customer service? Back in November I got my VCR serviced at Sears, and at the same time asked if they had a owner's manual for it. They didn;t have one in stock, but the guy said he could order one in. He never called, I forgot to ask, etc. and so yesterday, five months later, I called and asked if he might still have the manual there. He did, and I picked it up this morning. Yikes. Audition tomorrow for an independent film. Marathon on Sunday. Yee haw. posted by Steve @ 11:32 AM	5.03.2002
Casting call was a big line up. Good thing I got there early. I doubt anything will come of it, but there was a second local casting director there, so perhaps my headshot and resume will be seen by someone else. And then I'll be discovered, etc., etc. Checked into getting my Galleghar touched up. Over the years (I figured out I've had it for 14 years now) it's got nicks in the finish, and around the sound hole, and the finish on the neck is wearing through where my hand holds it. I called a place in Victoria I had been in years ago, and he highly recomended a fellow here in Vancouver. I found his shop after a lot of driving around today, a small basement repair space. He's a little old Japanese fellow, and his sparse shop is filled with guitars and cases. When I wandered in, he was on the phone protesting loudly that Randy Bachman needed a Jeff Beck Humbacker by Saturday, and would they please send one ASAP. Then he smiled, pointed at six cases on the floor and said, "This just came in today. And they want it done by Saturday. Lots of work!" I showed him the guitar, and he knew the make, and proclaimed, "You don't see many of these!". He strummed it a bit and said it was "quite loud", and then set to looking at it. He agreed that I should get the repairs done (but what else was he going to say), especially around the sound hole. But looking at the six cases on the floor, he asked if I could come back next week. I happily agreed. It will be nice to have someone professional go over the guitar and ensure it is in good condition - better than just me changing the strings, Pledging it, and tightening the pegs! I know that the repairs to the finish will cost, but the shop has a good feel to it, and he seems just the sort of wizened old artisan you find only by trying. It will be well worth it to give back to a guitar that's given me myself time and again. posted by Steve @ 8:42 PM	5.01.2002