Dave Cowper

This weekend Lesley and I will be working at the 30th Annual Wedding Fair. This event is expecting 3,500 brides and 11,000 visitors total with 170 booths. This event is held just after New Years every year in Vancouver BC, Canada. The Dominion Lending Centers and Keller Williams booth will be the best of course as we will be in it.

We love this event as we get to work with happy newlyweds and first time buyers. It's so cool to help a young couple buy their first home together. It's also so important that we do it right and make the whole experience a pleasant one for them. It's not just about the rate they receive it's about education as well. Sitting down with them in their living room and explaining every step of the processes is just the first step. We leave our First Time Buyers Information Package with them as well as our personal cell phone numbers for any questions they have.

Setup is Thursday and Friday and the Show is 10 Jan - 11 Jan. 2009 all day at the Vancouver Convention and Exhibition Centre, we are usually exhausted and excited at the end of two very long days of meeting the lovely couples with their friends and families.

The prizes awarded at this show are incredible with a $100,000 dream wedding aswell as 1200 other prizes the loot is amazing.

Come and see us if you can, we'd would love to see you or visit us online at http://bcmortgageapproval.com/

Dave Cowper 778-988-2468

Dave@BCmortgageApproval.com

You Know Your Getting Old When... (edit/delete)

The power goes out and your groping around in the dark for the flashlights and candles. Remember the good old days when 9 months after a power failure your family had a baby boom?

Last night we had a big wind storm, not Midwest OMG we're all going to die, but the lights did go out. Well it was a dark and stormy night and was the house ever dark.

Why is it that in the middle of the night when the power fails we jump out of bed to find flashlights?

At one point I thought to my self " what did they do before flash lights when the power went out". In the next instant I went dope no power to fail, throw another log on the fire.

We have become so dependent on safe reliable infrastructure systems that keep us warm, well fed and safe. The power was out for about 5 minutes which was about 5 minutes less time then the 10 we needed to find the flashlights.

So as one of my many New Years Resolutions I plan less Groping for Flashlights...

Where are your flashlights, candles, 3 days supply of water and food?

http://www.pep.bc.ca/hazard_preparedness/Personal_Safety.html

I'll bet you a nickel that you have everything on this basic list at the link above just not all in the same place. Get to work ;)

ps My first post had a full size picture and I miss labeled the content but have permission button.

Be-Safe my friends

Dave Cowper

http://BCmortgageApproval.com

778-988-2468

Referrals Greatly Appreciated.

I was reading ( http://activerain.com/blogs/dazzled )'s Blog (She rocks!!) and found this mention of Knol. Basically it's a wikkipedia type site done by google for people to write knowledge based articles that can be searched on the web.

If that last sentence didn't make you tingle just a little bit read it again. I'll wait......

Google will spider this huge knowledge data base of all the articles that we Active Rainers are going to write. Yes your web-links, name, profile, phone numbers, pictures, can all be included.

Personally I grabbed my name, my company's name and then invented a title/sub-title that had my 13 favorite keywords in it.

Have a look at my handy work (only 6 more hours of my life spent in the cyber space)

http://knol.google.com/k/dave-cowper/bc-home-mortgage-financing-approval/3fsve0k8hjkp/4#

When you do start writing on this site be aware that you can select an option so others cannot edit your site directly but can make suggestions that you will need to approve before they show up your Knol.

Soon all the Active Rainers will be visiting the knol. It's in BETA and only been on since last summer, lots of opportunity there. Imagine if you had started on Active Rain only 6 months after it started... you'd have a baazillion points by now.

Be-safe my Friends

Dave Cowper

http://BCmortgageApproval.com

778-988-2468

Referrals Greatly Appreciated

So the phone rings and my wife comes in and asks the dreaded question "Where is your Cell Phone?" OK normally I'm a calm man but I did scream in terror and may have peed my self just a little bit.

My Crack Berry has the 24 passwords to my life. About 60 some odd phone numbers and the dreaded Disabled Keyboard Lock.

I had dropped it outside at a gas station and someone was calling us (on it) to tell us they had found it!!! It was safe and sound and waiting at the cashier for me to come and pick it up... I cried like a little baby.

OK what did I do right and what did I do wrong.

I had used that little cable that comes with the phone and backed up my passwords and phone numbers on my computer which is also backed up (hmmm sounds like another blog title to be... If your computer crashed tonight...).

The daily alarm goes off at 8 PM. every evening to remind me that it needs to be charged. I assume that was how my phone was found in the snow at the gas station as I was called at 9PM.

My main screen is the ugly uncool one that says..."this phone is the property of Dave Cowper and gives my home number"

I have my speed dial #1 set to Home and list it in my directory that way.

All my passwords are locked behind a pass word keeper. If someone tries to crack it they get ten tries then the phone does a mission impossible "this message will self destruct in 4 seconds" and erases the file.

My keyboard isn't locked but that's what allowed them to phone me on the it.

I have now put my name and number on the back with my Dymo Label Printer.

I didn't report it lost as I didn't know. Imagine my poor little Crack Berry was out of my sight for about 3 hours before I was even knew it was missing. I would have been responsible for the 1-900 and long distance if their had been any.

Did I buy replacement insurance in case I lost it? Nope, "I won't need that", famous last words.

"a popular cell phone insurance provider, estimates that approximately 25% of wireless phones are reported lost, stolen or damaged in any given year".

If you have a cool new phone it is possible to turn on its tracking feature and it will find itself using the built in GPS or some other magic from your computer. The only reason I know that is becausesomeone I know used it to track his teenage daughter. She figured it out in about a week.... My Loving wife offered to divorce me when I jokingly offered to turn on the tracking on her Crack Berry. ; )

Oh and off topic just a little, always back up your phone before you hand it to the cell phone expert/clerk in the mall. There's a very good chance they'll do a master reset and delete 2/3 of the reason you look so smart when someone asks you a question.

Well as it turned out all is well. My lovely phone and I were reunited the next morning (it was a beautiful thing, sniff).

Be-Safe my friends

Dave Cowper

BCmortgageApproval.com

778-988-2468

I was on face book and a young person was commenting on how she didn't understand why everyone was so happy at Christmas.

I have posted my response. To be honest I got a little misty as I replied.

To be clear I love this young woman as one of my own children, she practically grew up with my own daughter and I'm very proud of what she has accomplished so far in her life (23 yrs old).

Her Comment on Face Book (Christmas Eve.)

"Lacey doesn't quite understand why everyone is so freakin happy?!"

My response:

Dave Cowper at 10:52pm December 24

Why am I happy...

White Christmas, ummmm, presents, not hungry, not cold, Sick in a good way ; ) ...
All the Faces that I love on face book are still vertical if a bit cranky.

I Got to read "Was the night before Christmas" to Gabe/Mandy/Ian/Emey/Jeff/Les/me.

Lacey go and give your Grandma a big hug and tell her how much you love her, cuz that is what All the fuss should be about at Christmas.

We need to learn the value of the time we have with the ones we love. That is a lesson I learned after my mom passed away.

Merry Christmas Lacey
LOVE DAD #2

So every one that reads this give your self a hug cuz your a great person and you deserve it. Then go hug your family and tell them how much you love them. Do it on the phone if you have to it doesn't matter.

Then share a comment here with us, It would be cool to see 124,000 comments about Active Rain's Group Family hug on Boxing Day.

Be-Safe my Friends

Huggs, Love Dave

ps Lacey is probably happy again by now if I know her. Kidds!!! : )