Getting in the Christmas Spirit!

Ah Christmas!

The most wonderful time of the year! Full of over-priced gift, crowded parkinglots and burnt cookies! (I can't bake... hence the burning).

Actually, I love Christmas. I'm one of those onnoying people who waits for Christmas all year long and then as soon as thanksgiving is over pulls out the decorations and music.

This year we travelled to a bunch of U-cut tree farms searching for the perfect tree...

... we ended up buying a precut one from the lot at the end of our street. (But it looked pretty good) I voted to use the car cephalopod as the tree topper. That got vito'd in favor of the traditional angel. Instead the octopus and I decorated the tree with some very fishy ornaments.


And what Chrsitmas is complete without a trip to see jolly old Saint Nic?


"and for Chrsitmas I want a pony, and a toy car, and Buzz Lighyear action figures, and a new bike, .... and did I mention a pony?"
"... Get off me kid..."
(Our Santa looks like he had one too many eggnogs!)

just an update!

Today I received my Student Visa in the mail! (One less thing to worry about) I was so excited, I went out and bought myself a one way ticket to New Zealand! This was the final thing I needed to fall into place before the octopus and I could head over seas! Now there's nothing holding me back!
New Zealand, HERE WE COME!

A little Q and A

So, I havn't updated the blog for a bit (mainly because I've been working hard, and havn't gone anywhere exciting!) However, I have had a bunch of questions repeatedly asked of me regarding my future. So I thought I would take this opportunity to update everyone on what's happening for myself and the wandering octopus!

Q: You're going to New Zealand???
A: Yes, actually, I'm surprised at how many people DON'T know I'm going to New Zealand.

Q: When are you leaving?
A: I will be leaving mid-february. My international student orientation begins on the 17th of February, so I should probably be in the country before that. I havn't got my plane tickets yet (soon I hope) so I don't know excatly when I'll be leaving!

Q: What city will you be going to?
A: Auckland!

Q: So it's official that you're going?
A: Yes! (and no) I have been accepted into AUT, I have paid my tuition, I even have a place to live when I arrive there. HOWEVER: my student visa is taking a while to be processed, and until I get that, (hopefully within a week or two), I can't enter the country for any long duration of time.

Q: What will you do once you're down there?
A: I honestly have no idea! I will be starting my Masters of Marine Sciences, which will involve me working in Dr. Steve O'Shea's lab. Dr. O'Shea is an expert on Giant Squid (and other awesomeness), so fingers crossed I'll run into one while helping him out! After a year I will begin my own thesis project!

Q: How long will you be gone?
A: A minimum of two years. It really depends on how quickly I can get my research done, or how much procrastinating I do. (I hear they have excellent diving in New Zealand).

AND... (drum roll please)... the MOST freqently asked question...

Q: Are you excited?
A: ...? No. (please note sarcasm) YES! OF COURSE I'M EXCITED!

I hope this answers some of your questions, if you have any more, comment below, and I'd be happy to answer them!

Happy Halloween

So, now that it is november, and I realize that I'm behind on a post... I hope that everyone has a wonderful Halloween! (I sure did, hence why I didn't update my post on the actual day!)

As promised, here is the costume worn by the Car Cephalopod, as he attended a costume party on All hallows Eve. All in all a good night, except for all the candy we ate.

The Wandering Octopus and the Great Pumpkin

So in case you didn't know, Halloween in coming up in a few weeks! A great time for costumes, candy, and of course Pumpkins!


In order to get the perfect pumpkin, one must visit the Laity Pumpkin Patch! When you arrive, try not to be overwhelmed by the vast feild of pumpkins ready to go home with you! They come in all shapes and size, so choose wisely (it helps to have a design in mind first).

But wait, there's more to the pumpkin patch than just Pumpkins! On our visit we also participated in some fun autumn activities, such as getting lost in a corn maze, being attacked by giant spiders, and watching finding nemo. If you want to get into the halloween spirit early, you could always dress like a pirate! While we were there, we saw alot of farm animals such as ducks, sheep, turkeys, and panda bears. And what octopus blog is complete without a game of:


I am happy that I now have a pumpkin to carve for halloween, and the octopus is happy that he was approached to replace a certain travelocity spokesperson. (we'll see how the negotiations go). Thank you Laity Pumpkin Patch!


Now if only the octopus had a costume for Halloween! Any suggestions?

The Octopus and the Aquarium

Please note: All material in the blog has a Seal of Approval!
Finally, after months of being back on the mainland, I finally had a chance to visit my favorite place in the city (and my second home), the Vancouver Aquarium!
We met my friend Catherine at an iconic symbol of the Vancouver Aquarium, an orca statue/fountain. So, to state the obvious... it's an aquarium, we saw fish, fish and more fish - - But then we saw an "extinct" fish, the coelacanth! (Please note the quotation marks, as this fish has been found off the coast of Indonesia.)
The Vancouver Aquarium is divided into sections based on aquatic habitat.
We started out by journeying to the Arctic exhibit, where we saw beluga's, and did some very important research... VERY IMPORTANT! We also passed by the dolphin tank, which houses three rescued Pacific White Sided Dolphins. (They move fast, and therefore take blurry pictures)
We then ventured into the "Treasures of the BC coast" exhibit, which houses eels, seastars, jellies, and of course (everyones favorite) the elusive Giant Pacific Octopus... who was not so elusive today!
We then made our way to see the dolphin show (have I mentioned they're fast) and if you don't beleive how fast they are... watch this!

(the little boy is so impressed with the dolphins... it was pretty adorable)

Afterwards we made our was to grab a quick bite, and then headed to the much warmer tropical exhibt, which houses large tropcial reef tanks with brightly colored fish, sharks, spiny urchins, and a very curious fresh water pufferfish. The Tropical gallery is also home to an indoor rainforest with parrots, frogs, camen, a sltoh or two, some turtles, and various other animals.
All and all, it was a fun day of frolicking with the oceans animals!

The Octopus Visits Dinotown!

One fine summer day, the octopus and I parked the car and decided to take a scenic boat trip down the river.

As we paddled, we found ourselves surrounded by dense jungle. Up ahead, we saw something moving along the river bank, as we drew nearer, we realized it was a ginormous lizard! It was unlike anything we had ever seen. As we rounded the river bend, we found ourselves nearing a port. We docked our canoe, and ventured into a stone-age metropolis known as "Dinotown". (Y'know, you'd think that the Parks and Services department of Canada would put up sinage warning people about a river through time!.... oh! um... never mind)
We decided to tour around by climbing on the Dinotown Express, a train which takes us around the city! After becoming more familiar with our surroundings, we met some of the locals (they're real party animals).
Just outside of town, the Wandering Octopus discovered a giganic dinosaur skull! We woundered what kind of an animal it could have come from... we didn't have to wait long to find out! An Alosaurus came crashing out of the trees and chased us further into the jungle. Finally we were rescued by a friendly Stegosaurus, who scared away the prehistoric predator. Now, we were lost. Luckily enough, a very tall Brontosaurus told us which direction Dinotown was in. As we journed back we ran into a Styracosaurus (it's like a triceratops), a duckbilled dinosaur, and a guy who was a bit of a bone head (that's a dino joke)! As we reached a large clearing we could see Dinotown in the distance. We started to walk across the clearing, and heard a noise behind us! Turning quickly, we saw a Raptor running after us in pursuit! We took off, and were lucky enough to make it back into town before it caught up to us!
Once back in town we passed some time playing mini-golf, (apparently a popular activity in the Jurrasic Period), and then wrote on a cave wall, so that history would know we had been there!
We started to look for a way home. We priced out airline tickets (but with the prices today, neither of us could afford it). We aimlessly wandered around until we ran into the Wandering Octopus' great great great GREEEEEAT Grandfather! (it's amazing what you can do when you travel back in time). He suggested it would be easiest to just hail a taxi, so we did!
We arrived home exhausted just after dinner, exhasuted from out Prehistoric adventure!