Another strange and rather disquieting day

This was a weird day, really. I got a fair few things accomplished and had the impression that I was doing stuff – but when I look back, there was bugger all achieved. Late morning, Mrs. Ottawacker and I drove out to the Scottish & Irish store, where we purchased various English chocolates for the “loot bags” for Ottawacker Jr.’s birthday party on Saturday. Essentially, it is going to be two hours of soccer, followed by chicken wings and/or pizza at the local pub. Yet, Canadian etiquette demands that each invitee is rewarded for his/her attendance with a loot bag of goodies. It is quite a nice tradition, I suppose, but really, all I got as a kid was a piece of cake on a paper plate.
 
The main thing we accomplished was going to say goodbye to our friend Biruk, who runs the corner store at the top of our road. He is an absolute gem of a human being, and has turned the convenience store into a sort of drop-in centre for all the lonely people and misfits in the area. He told us he was retiring last week – and so we went over with a card and wished him well. Ottawacker Jr. did the same thing when he came home from school. The shop has been bought by a new merchant – but it will be really interesting to see if the same vibe is maintained. I can’t see it happening, to be honest. It’s actually quite a sad day.
 
In the evening, we decided on shawarma for Ottawacker Jr.’s birthday dinner (as he hadn’t had one over the weekend when it was actually his birthday). Mrs. Ottawacker first had some errands to run, so out she went in the car. Except that she didn’t. Having spent $185 on a diagnostic test and $500 on a new car battery, we found out that the issue had not been resolved at all. She put the key in the ignition, turned it, and nothing happened. This happens 4-5 times, and then on the sixth time, the engine springs into life. So, she volunteered me to look after this tomorrow – and then to accompany her down to the shawarma place so I could sit in the car with the engine running and thus wouldn’t have to run the risk of the car not starting in a darkened car park. This I did.
 
Back home, and had the first indications of adolescent behaviour from the youngster. Oh well. Nothing serious, but a realisation I’m not in Kansas anymore.