Argh, went and bought a pack of smokes again today.
Why the hell is this so damn hard? So now in addition to smoking, I've been inhaling about 4000 calories an hour. So I'll be a fat bastard with cancer instead of a skinny geek.
May have to patch it....
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
Monday, May 29, 2006
Back Again
So I go into work this morning and the first thing I hear before I even turn on my computer is that my project got cancelled. Again.
I'm never sure if that's a good or a bad thing. It does mean I was bored though.
And I was past the livid rage stage in the non-smoking progression. It ,will be back though. I was in an almost Nirvanic (is that a word?) state: I would stop in the middle of a sentence, would forget what the heck I was doing in the middle of a task. All with a blissful grin on my face.
Of course, that may have been brought about due to lack of sleep last night. I was still on 'holiday time', where I don't go to bed before 1am.
It was tough not smoking, so tough that I had one after work (dammit!). Ah well, I'm glad it was just one. And that was due to an issue that I had resolved, passed along to those whose responsibility it was in the first place, and it wound up back at me. Louisville time.
And the internet dating thing. Well, lets just put it this way. There's a pattern that emerges, those that I contact ignore me, and the few who make first contact, I have no interest in.
Mind you, I wound up being geek-in-shining-armor yesterday for someone who wanted to know if their ex-bf got ahold of their password. After the crisis had passed, we had an email conversation over the course of 4 hours. Naturally, she lives on the other side of the country....
I swear to gods, there a screenplay, tentatively titled "Geek mating Rituals" in all of this.
I'm never sure if that's a good or a bad thing. It does mean I was bored though.
And I was past the livid rage stage in the non-smoking progression. It ,will be back though. I was in an almost Nirvanic (is that a word?) state: I would stop in the middle of a sentence, would forget what the heck I was doing in the middle of a task. All with a blissful grin on my face.
Of course, that may have been brought about due to lack of sleep last night. I was still on 'holiday time', where I don't go to bed before 1am.
It was tough not smoking, so tough that I had one after work (dammit!). Ah well, I'm glad it was just one. And that was due to an issue that I had resolved, passed along to those whose responsibility it was in the first place, and it wound up back at me. Louisville time.
And the internet dating thing. Well, lets just put it this way. There's a pattern that emerges, those that I contact ignore me, and the few who make first contact, I have no interest in.
Mind you, I wound up being geek-in-shining-armor yesterday for someone who wanted to know if their ex-bf got ahold of their password. After the crisis had passed, we had an email conversation over the course of 4 hours. Naturally, she lives on the other side of the country....
I swear to gods, there a screenplay, tentatively titled "Geek mating Rituals" in all of this.
Sunday, May 28, 2006
Vacation: Terminated
So, back to work tomrrow.
Just in time time. I'm now in the "pick a fight" phase of quitting smoking. Which should prove interesting.
Hope the weather is nice at least, I haven't been on the bike in 3 days and miss it already. Not the ride, the view.
Anyway, for those of you who I work with are reading this, you may want to avoid the eleventh floor tomorrow. Or all week.
Just in time time. I'm now in the "pick a fight" phase of quitting smoking. Which should prove interesting.
Hope the weather is nice at least, I haven't been on the bike in 3 days and miss it already. Not the ride, the view.
Anyway, for those of you who I work with are reading this, you may want to avoid the eleventh floor tomorrow. Or all week.
Saturday, May 27, 2006
Review and Return
Well, just came back from X-Men 3 (and I only had to shut up one group of kids twice, but the crying infant wouldn't respond to threats).
I don't want to give it away, but a basic impression should do.
First, it's very obvious that this was not directed by the same person as the first two films: it's very action driven rather than character drive. Not that's necessarily a bad thing, but concerning the subject matter, I would have referred the original hand on the helm.
It really reminds me of the days when I read more comic books. I loved such series as The New Mutants, eXcalibur, Alpha Flight etc. At least for a while. Back in the day (and still now apparently) once Marvel had a best seller (usually after a year) they would move the creative team to a book that wasn't doing so well. What usually happened was the new team would take the story in a completely different direction, getting rid of characters and story ideas in the space of panel or two.
The movie was a lot like that. So not bad, decent actually but handled (jarringly) different than the two previous film. I give it 3 tophats (out of five).
Oh, and I reactivated my profiles on a couple of dating sites.
Sucker for punishment I tells ya....
I don't want to give it away, but a basic impression should do.
First, it's very obvious that this was not directed by the same person as the first two films: it's very action driven rather than character drive. Not that's necessarily a bad thing, but concerning the subject matter, I would have referred the original hand on the helm.
It really reminds me of the days when I read more comic books. I loved such series as The New Mutants, eXcalibur, Alpha Flight etc. At least for a while. Back in the day (and still now apparently) once Marvel had a best seller (usually after a year) they would move the creative team to a book that wasn't doing so well. What usually happened was the new team would take the story in a completely different direction, getting rid of characters and story ideas in the space of panel or two.
The movie was a lot like that. So not bad, decent actually but handled (jarringly) different than the two previous film. I give it 3 tophats (out of five).
Oh, and I reactivated my profiles on a couple of dating sites.
Sucker for punishment I tells ya....
Day .... er, 6?
Quitting smoking sucks. Hands down.
There are times when I am perfectly fine: I can functional as normal human being and not want to crawl into a dark corner, curl up into the foetal position, and whimper.
And so my week of "recharging" is almost done, now it's just another weekend. I got most of what I wanted to do, well, done. I do find that any actual creative endeavors (such as writing, drawing etc) are really unaccomplishable until I've had a full week off. It's at that point (today) that my left-hemisphere has had a chance to unclench and allow some right-brain activity. So I may try some stuff over the next 48 hours.
This week was also a time for reflection on the whole dating thing. Am I ready to date? Do I actually want to enter another relationship? If so, how do I go about actually meeting women?
So I think I am ready to meet someone. But no internet dating (urgh, not going through that again). That means I'll have to actually, you know, leave the house. So what activities should I try? There's the gym of course, but I see so many goombahs trying to chat up girls who look like they want to be anywhere but on the treadmill. I don't want to be one of those guys.
Classes are a possibility. There's yoga, which I really should get back into, for nothing else that getting stretchy again. Don't think I'll ever be actually limber. Then there's things like taking a cooking class, but I highly suspect that it would be a sausage fest (pun intended); a class full of guys trying to meet women.
There's also the whole professional development issues. Work is dragging a bit on the whole educational professional development thing, but it looks like I should be able to get some cash out of them for taking some tech courses. And those are notoriously gender-biased (and all the really cool geek-girls are taken, in my experience).
So what to do? While there's more than a couple lovelies at the office, I swore I would never date a co-worker again. There's always the introduction of singles by mutual friends, but I would have to actually have friends to do that.
Maybe I need to get a social life of some sort....
Ah well, being single isn't all that bad.
There are times when I am perfectly fine: I can functional as normal human being and not want to crawl into a dark corner, curl up into the foetal position, and whimper.
And so my week of "recharging" is almost done, now it's just another weekend. I got most of what I wanted to do, well, done. I do find that any actual creative endeavors (such as writing, drawing etc) are really unaccomplishable until I've had a full week off. It's at that point (today) that my left-hemisphere has had a chance to unclench and allow some right-brain activity. So I may try some stuff over the next 48 hours.
This week was also a time for reflection on the whole dating thing. Am I ready to date? Do I actually want to enter another relationship? If so, how do I go about actually meeting women?
So I think I am ready to meet someone. But no internet dating (urgh, not going through that again). That means I'll have to actually, you know, leave the house. So what activities should I try? There's the gym of course, but I see so many goombahs trying to chat up girls who look like they want to be anywhere but on the treadmill. I don't want to be one of those guys.
Classes are a possibility. There's yoga, which I really should get back into, for nothing else that getting stretchy again. Don't think I'll ever be actually limber. Then there's things like taking a cooking class, but I highly suspect that it would be a sausage fest (pun intended); a class full of guys trying to meet women.
There's also the whole professional development issues. Work is dragging a bit on the whole educational professional development thing, but it looks like I should be able to get some cash out of them for taking some tech courses. And those are notoriously gender-biased (and all the really cool geek-girls are taken, in my experience).
So what to do? While there's more than a couple lovelies at the office, I swore I would never date a co-worker again. There's always the introduction of singles by mutual friends, but I would have to actually have friends to do that.
Maybe I need to get a social life of some sort....
Ah well, being single isn't all that bad.
Thursday, May 25, 2006
Tracking
So I finally got a tracking number for my book order. Looks like it's ben sitting in a sorting station for the past two days. So unless Canada Post has some new fangled teleportation device, I won't be seeing anything until Tuesday. One to three day shipping indeed....
Finally got all the cleaning done. Was going to go for a nice long bike ride, but the thunder and lightning is sort of putting me off. No idea what to do, man am I bored.
I actually attempted to write. After staring at my new Word document for twenty minutes without writing more than two words, I gave up. Just not inspired. Maybe tonight, the right-side of my brain only fires up in the evening. Too used to having the left side have complete and total control during working hours.
Also ran out of all the snacks I got (healthy stuff) on the weekend, I should probably go get some more.
Finally got all the cleaning done. Was going to go for a nice long bike ride, but the thunder and lightning is sort of putting me off. No idea what to do, man am I bored.
I actually attempted to write. After staring at my new Word document for twenty minutes without writing more than two words, I gave up. Just not inspired. Maybe tonight, the right-side of my brain only fires up in the evening. Too used to having the left side have complete and total control during working hours.
Also ran out of all the snacks I got (healthy stuff) on the weekend, I should probably go get some more.
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
Slippage
Damn, went out and bough cigarettes last night. The old "just one" excuse.
They're in the bin now, but a part of me still wants to go dumpster diving and have "just one more".
So why do I keep paying for "Priority Delivery"? You know, supposedly delivered the next day. I ordered some books Monday and the tracking says they are still out East. Just some light reading, but still I have the week off and would like to get them before I go back to work next week.
I guess there is one born every minute, and they are still around 37 years later....
They're in the bin now, but a part of me still wants to go dumpster diving and have "just one more".
So why do I keep paying for "Priority Delivery"? You know, supposedly delivered the next day. I ordered some books Monday and the tracking says they are still out East. Just some light reading, but still I have the week off and would like to get them before I go back to work next week.
I guess there is one born every minute, and they are still around 37 years later....
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
Day 2
One of the key things in quitting smoking is to keep busy.
By 3pm today I have:
Cleaned out my closet and storage room
Cleaned the Bathroom
Repotted all of my house plants
Cleaned the bathroom
Cleaned and detailed my car exterior and interior
I'm gonna run outta things to do around here by Thursday at this rate.
Anyone need any housework done? French Maid's uniform will not be worn. Unless you pay me enough.
At least I'm getting a contact high from all the solvents. Wheeeee!
By 3pm today I have:
I'm gonna run outta things to do around here by Thursday at this rate.
Anyone need any housework done? French Maid's uniform will not be worn. Unless you pay me enough.
At least I'm getting a contact high from all the solvents. Wheeeee!
Monday, May 22, 2006
PC Gaming is Shelved
Oh yeah forgot to mention yesterday.
Dropped by EB games yesterday. Remember a while back I lamented the shrinking shelf space that PC games have at such establishments?
Well, it gets worse.
There were no PC games (except the top 10 releases) on the wall shelves. They were relegated to the floor shelves, along with the strategy guides and lame gadgets and accessories.
So my question is, how do they establish a "Top 10" when they only have 10 games to sell? Easy or hard, depending on your POV.
Sad, my friends; now is the winter of our discount bin.
Dropped by EB games yesterday. Remember a while back I lamented the shrinking shelf space that PC games have at such establishments?
Well, it gets worse.
There were no PC games (except the top 10 releases) on the wall shelves. They were relegated to the floor shelves, along with the strategy guides and lame gadgets and accessories.
So my question is, how do they establish a "Top 10" when they only have 10 games to sell? Easy or hard, depending on your POV.
Sad, my friends; now is the winter of our discount bin.
Sunday, May 21, 2006
Conspiracy Theory
I've never been a conspiracy theory nut, but the whole 9/11 thing always seemed to be too convienient.
There may be some justification for that....
There may be some justification for that....
Withheld to Protect the Author
Somebody, who shall remain nameless but is my little brother, asked me if I ever hold anything back from this blog: it's pretty boring.
Since the bastard is in Mexico, I'll answer that question. Yes, there's some stuff that happens in my life, thoughts, actions and rich internal life that simply doesn't make it here.
Some stuff is just plain boring (yes, even more so that the little nuggets o' wisdom that makes these virtual pages) and I don't think anyone would be truly interested.
An example: I started shopping at Co-op instead of Safeway because the quality of their products is much higher. Oh wait, did I talk about that here? That and the Co-op I go to has alot more cute women. Yes that's my prime motivating factor in any life-shaking decision.
Other stuff is just way too personal for public consumption. There's stuff that I can joke about, but there are some topics and situations where I'm not comfortable in broadcasting them to the general public (okay the three people who read this site anyway). Some things are just private.
No, no examples forthcoming.
I realize of course that the last verboten topical genre is probably ,the most interesting, the meat on this digital bone if you will.
Maybe someday.
In other news, I have been taking on the long and arduous task of burning all my CDs. It's been a surprising enterprise. On one hand, I'm finding disks that I swore that I had and cherished missing from the collection, some others I never knew I had ever acquired and even a couple I had thought lost forever.
Another pleasant surprise is how much I am enjoying this little device. There was a time where music was the center of my life and existence: when I was a DJ and concert promoter. There was music everywhere, and everything was music.
Somewhere along the line, I lost that. Not just when the business fell over (although that is certainly related) but I think at some point I decided music just isn't important.
What a fool I was.
Certainly now there is the danger that I will spend far too much trying to recapture that time and the associated feeling. Not there is nothing inherently wrong with the exercise itself, it's just that I tend to hyper-focus on these sorts of things. Examples are my $3000 worth of Lego, about half as much on original comic-book sketch art on eBay, and an unknown amount on games (not video games, honest to goodness miniature and paper RPGs).
So I will continue to burn what I have before I even consider purchasing any more. However I am compiling a list of must haves for later.
Since the bastard is in Mexico, I'll answer that question. Yes, there's some stuff that happens in my life, thoughts, actions and rich internal life that simply doesn't make it here.
Some stuff is just plain boring (yes, even more so that the little nuggets o' wisdom that makes these virtual pages) and I don't think anyone would be truly interested.
An example: I started shopping at Co-op instead of Safeway because the quality of their products is much higher. Oh wait, did I talk about that here? That and the Co-op I go to has alot more cute women. Yes that's my prime motivating factor in any life-shaking decision.
Other stuff is just way too personal for public consumption. There's stuff that I can joke about, but there are some topics and situations where I'm not comfortable in broadcasting them to the general public (okay the three people who read this site anyway). Some things are just private.
No, no examples forthcoming.
I realize of course that the last verboten topical genre is probably ,the most interesting, the meat on this digital bone if you will.
Maybe someday.
In other news, I have been taking on the long and arduous task of burning all my CDs. It's been a surprising enterprise. On one hand, I'm finding disks that I swore that I had and cherished missing from the collection, some others I never knew I had ever acquired and even a couple I had thought lost forever.
Another pleasant surprise is how much I am enjoying this little device. There was a time where music was the center of my life and existence: when I was a DJ and concert promoter. There was music everywhere, and everything was music.
Somewhere along the line, I lost that. Not just when the business fell over (although that is certainly related) but I think at some point I decided music just isn't important.
What a fool I was.
Certainly now there is the danger that I will spend far too much trying to recapture that time and the associated feeling. Not there is nothing inherently wrong with the exercise itself, it's just that I tend to hyper-focus on these sorts of things. Examples are my $3000 worth of Lego, about half as much on original comic-book sketch art on eBay, and an unknown amount on games (not video games, honest to goodness miniature and paper RPGs).
So I will continue to burn what I have before I even consider purchasing any more. However I am compiling a list of must haves for later.
Saturday, May 20, 2006
Project: Stop Smoking
Yes, yes, cryin' wolf and all that. But the plan for this week is to stop smoking. The morning cough is getting a bit worrisome, not to mention I need to save money to cover my rent hikes.....
I did manage to cut down to just over half-a-pack a day. So Monday, I'm going to go smoke free. For those who have not quit smoking (or never started) this is tough. There's actually three addictions to quit.
Nicotine
This is the bio-chemical addition, and is actually the easiest to take care of (although it has the most obvious effects). For that, I have nicotine gum, 4mg of niccy goodness per piece. Take as needed.
I still also have the patches from new-years, although that will be a last resort. I get nasty reactions to then, not to mention the aches and pains. Mind you, the dreams you have on these things rock!
Oral and Digital Fixation
No, not speaking too much and playing video games. It's the habit of something to put in your month and fiddle with. Okay, this subject is leaving me vulnerable to many, many single-entendres.
Regardless, it's still an issue. So for that, I have licorice root and will be buying many, many lolipops. Besides, with the new 'do, I can be all Kojak. Who loves ya, baby? Only problem with the licorice root is the slivers in the lips. On the bright side, it is a mild stimulant.
Time-Based Habit
One of the keys to breaking the habit is to deal with the 'regular times' you smoke. For me, that's when I'm stressed, after I have a meal, play video games and driving.
So with the week off, my stress factor will be greatly reduced (although the boredom thing escalates a tad). Meals actually are easy: constant eating. So I'm getting plenty of snacks. And steak. And beef jerky, peanuts, carrots, crystallized ginger. Oh, and beer.
Video games will be difficult. But as long as I have all the other stuff around I should be okay. Driving on the other hand will be tough. Not sure how I'll handle that.
So I am going smoke-free on Monday. Looking forward to it. Really. If I can stay clean through to Wednesday, I should be good.
I did manage to cut down to just over half-a-pack a day. So Monday, I'm going to go smoke free. For those who have not quit smoking (or never started) this is tough. There's actually three addictions to quit.
Nicotine
This is the bio-chemical addition, and is actually the easiest to take care of (although it has the most obvious effects). For that, I have nicotine gum, 4mg of niccy goodness per piece. Take as needed.
I still also have the patches from new-years, although that will be a last resort. I get nasty reactions to then, not to mention the aches and pains. Mind you, the dreams you have on these things rock!
Oral and Digital Fixation
No, not speaking too much and playing video games. It's the habit of something to put in your month and fiddle with. Okay, this subject is leaving me vulnerable to many, many single-entendres.
Regardless, it's still an issue. So for that, I have licorice root and will be buying many, many lolipops. Besides, with the new 'do, I can be all Kojak. Who loves ya, baby? Only problem with the licorice root is the slivers in the lips. On the bright side, it is a mild stimulant.
Time-Based Habit
One of the keys to breaking the habit is to deal with the 'regular times' you smoke. For me, that's when I'm stressed, after I have a meal, play video games and driving.
So with the week off, my stress factor will be greatly reduced (although the boredom thing escalates a tad). Meals actually are easy: constant eating. So I'm getting plenty of snacks. And steak. And beef jerky, peanuts, carrots, crystallized ginger. Oh, and beer.
Video games will be difficult. But as long as I have all the other stuff around I should be okay. Driving on the other hand will be tough. Not sure how I'll handle that.
So I am going smoke-free on Monday. Looking forward to it. Really. If I can stay clean through to Wednesday, I should be good.
Friday, May 19, 2006
No Beach For You!
Nope, all full.
Kinda amazin' really. I called a couple of travel agents and they said there's more poeple in the waiting list to go to Mexico for next week than there are going.
So, looks like a week of doing chores. Slowly. That, and the writing thing, should at least get one chapter drafted.
Maybe a day or two in Banff when the weather is good.
In short a slow, meandering 9 days of slack.
Slide.
Kinda amazin' really. I called a couple of travel agents and they said there's more poeple in the waiting list to go to Mexico for next week than there are going.
So, looks like a week of doing chores. Slowly. That, and the writing thing, should at least get one chapter drafted.
Maybe a day or two in Banff when the weather is good.
In short a slow, meandering 9 days of slack.
Slide.
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
Undue Care and Attention
Uhhhhhh. Wow.
So because I'm bored and it's far too hot to consider sleeping, I started to go back to the beginning of this blog and review my life so far.
Now the actual events portrayed here were no surprise, however my elocution of those events seems to have suffered with time. If this trend progresses, I might as well be publishing this on MySpace.
And of course one of the purposes of this endeavor was to hone my writing skills. Instead, it seems to have been blunted.
And the bitterness... oh, the bitterness.
I really do need a vacation.
And yeah, Project:Rocket Surgeon has been shelved. Once again, my apathy wins the day! Or would, if it could be bothered. That's not to say that it won't be revived in some shape or form, but don't bet on it. I'm assembling various theories on why I was so gung-ho: most of them revolving about being single and focusing my energies on "other matters". Or that I go to the gym on a very regular basis and have no energy. Or just disillusioned with gaming in general.
So since it seems I will be beachless next week, maybe I'll give that fiction thing a shot. No promises.
So because I'm bored and it's far too hot to consider sleeping, I started to go back to the beginning of this blog and review my life so far.
Now the actual events portrayed here were no surprise, however my elocution of those events seems to have suffered with time. If this trend progresses, I might as well be publishing this on MySpace.
And of course one of the purposes of this endeavor was to hone my writing skills. Instead, it seems to have been blunted.
And the bitterness... oh, the bitterness.
I really do need a vacation.
And yeah, Project:Rocket Surgeon has been shelved. Once again, my apathy wins the day! Or would, if it could be bothered. That's not to say that it won't be revived in some shape or form, but don't bet on it. I'm assembling various theories on why I was so gung-ho: most of them revolving about being single and focusing my energies on "other matters". Or that I go to the gym on a very regular basis and have no energy. Or just disillusioned with gaming in general.
So since it seems I will be beachless next week, maybe I'll give that fiction thing a shot. No promises.
Need a Beach
Gah.
I think the office saves all the emergencies for when I'm on call. Have been called every day since I got the damn thing.
Still can't find any last minutes deals. Except the one where I spend 28 hours on a plane/in an airport. And costs over $3000.
Still I do so love the heat. Summer rocks. So maybe I'll spend the week on the bike path. Or drunk. Maybe both?
Although knowing my luck my appendix will explode at 5:01 PM on Friday. Then the on call phone will ring becuase someone got a hang-nail.
I think the office saves all the emergencies for when I'm on call. Have been called every day since I got the damn thing.
Still can't find any last minutes deals. Except the one where I spend 28 hours on a plane/in an airport. And costs over $3000.
Still I do so love the heat. Summer rocks. So maybe I'll spend the week on the bike path. Or drunk. Maybe both?
Although knowing my luck my appendix will explode at 5:01 PM on Friday. Then the on call phone will ring becuase someone got a hang-nail.
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
Rent and Blood Pressure
So I got a notification that my rent is going up andother $50 starting in september. Add that to the raise in rent of $30 3 months ago, and Im looking at $960 more a year on rent.
Of course they mention the increase in the cost of housing in our fair city. And everyone else is as well: groceries in particular.
Add to that the huge increase in gas prices and everything is going up in price. Along with my blood pressure.
And work, well, let's just say that they don't take anything like "cost of living" into consideration for their salary increases.
One of the reasons I'm going to Toronto in July is to check out the town and the work situation. Now I'll also look at rent.
Come September, I may have absolutely no reason to stick around. Which is too bad, I like this town, and of course the friendships I have here.
But no girlfriend, a losing salary proposition, higher cost of living etc. means I have a very tenuous link here.
Not to mention I can't stand the drivers and roads in this burg....
Of course they mention the increase in the cost of housing in our fair city. And everyone else is as well: groceries in particular.
Add to that the huge increase in gas prices and everything is going up in price. Along with my blood pressure.
And work, well, let's just say that they don't take anything like "cost of living" into consideration for their salary increases.
One of the reasons I'm going to Toronto in July is to check out the town and the work situation. Now I'll also look at rent.
Come September, I may have absolutely no reason to stick around. Which is too bad, I like this town, and of course the friendships I have here.
But no girlfriend, a losing salary proposition, higher cost of living etc. means I have a very tenuous link here.
Not to mention I can't stand the drivers and roads in this burg....
Sunday, May 14, 2006
"One of Us"
Yep, I am officially a Pod Person now. 4GB worth on a nano.
So I'm in the process of ripping some of my fave-rave CDs. I'm actually quite surprised how compact they are on the Nano. I'm not nearly done but what I have ripped only takes up about a quarter of the little slab o' tunes.
So I'm still playing with it, still trying to find music I would actually purchase on iTunes, and generally trying to get my $300+ worth in the space of 48 hours.
In other news, I have a question. Fratricide is still illegal right?
Thursday after midnight, my little brother calls me from a "gentlemen's club". He wanted to get my cousin's (so his cousin as well) email address. She's a travel agent type person, and he needed to book a flight to Moscow, because one of his Russian clients apparently couldn't enter Canada due to him being in the Russian mob. Go figure. My brother sells lasers BTW. Fricken' Lasers.
Anyway, that was the start. He called back after I went to bed, saying he couldn't send anything from his Blackberry. Could I send the request? So I did.
Then he called again to get me to forward the email I sent our cousin back to him so he could have a record of it.
Now all the while, there's music blaring in the background, girls squealing at him (he's one of those guys who can actually date exotic dancers, bastard) to get off the phone, not to mention he was a bit drunk. Meanwhile I had to go to work the next day.
Bastard. Oh wait, it's mother's day, I shouldn't say that.
Oh, crap it's Mother's Day! Gotta go!
So I'm in the process of ripping some of my fave-rave CDs. I'm actually quite surprised how compact they are on the Nano. I'm not nearly done but what I have ripped only takes up about a quarter of the little slab o' tunes.
So I'm still playing with it, still trying to find music I would actually purchase on iTunes, and generally trying to get my $300+ worth in the space of 48 hours.
In other news, I have a question. Fratricide is still illegal right?
Thursday after midnight, my little brother calls me from a "gentlemen's club". He wanted to get my cousin's (so his cousin as well) email address. She's a travel agent type person, and he needed to book a flight to Moscow, because one of his Russian clients apparently couldn't enter Canada due to him being in the Russian mob. Go figure. My brother sells lasers BTW. Fricken' Lasers.
Anyway, that was the start. He called back after I went to bed, saying he couldn't send anything from his Blackberry. Could I send the request? So I did.
Then he called again to get me to forward the email I sent our cousin back to him so he could have a record of it.
Now all the while, there's music blaring in the background, girls squealing at him (he's one of those guys who can actually date exotic dancers, bastard) to get off the phone, not to mention he was a bit drunk. Meanwhile I had to go to work the next day.
Bastard. Oh wait, it's mother's day, I shouldn't say that.
Oh, crap it's Mother's Day! Gotta go!
Monday, May 08, 2006
eybard
That's it, I'm buying a new keyboard tomorrow!
I spent a good chunk of my day at work doing documentation, and rarely had a misspelled word or typo.
I've been sending emails and posting on boards all night and can't type a single word without hitting the fraggin' delete key.
For the world at large, the ViewSonic Viewmate keyboard sucks. Even though it's a shallow keyboard, you have to lean on the keys to get them to register, nail the shift key down if you want upper-case, and the keys are set too close together (and I have narrow fingers).
Rant Over.
I spent a good chunk of my day at work doing documentation, and rarely had a misspelled word or typo.
I've been sending emails and posting on boards all night and can't type a single word without hitting the fraggin' delete key.
For the world at large, the ViewSonic Viewmate keyboard sucks. Even though it's a shallow keyboard, you have to lean on the keys to get them to register, nail the shift key down if you want upper-case, and the keys are set too close together (and I have narrow fingers).
Rant Over.
Sunday, May 07, 2006
Sunny Sunday
Another day another bike ride. I love spring and all the, uh, blooms it brings on the bike path.
So I also went to the local geek fest today. I always find those shows a tad boring. Kinda neat, but really it's just a bunch of booths hocking geek toys. Which is good but I have enough.
Some of the artists on hand were pretty good, especially some of the stuff by the guy who does The Oblongs. Stuff was pretty expensive though..
Man I wish I could draw.
So on to the movie review! Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. Didn't like it too much. The animation and models were, of course, fantastic. However the character models looked like the came from deep within the Uncanny Valley. Big anime-style eyes, spikey hair etc.
No real "plot" to speak of, just incredibly complex, over-the-type fight scenes. Alot of them. Most of the movie actually.
So when I thought about it, it's exactly like the FF games. Technically (as in game code) brilliant, rich, lush graphics but combat after combat after combat. To the point of annoyance.
But still, technically absorbing, but not something that will make it to the "comfort movie" list.
Bored again, maybe I should go get an iPod after all...
So I also went to the local geek fest today. I always find those shows a tad boring. Kinda neat, but really it's just a bunch of booths hocking geek toys. Which is good but I have enough.
Some of the artists on hand were pretty good, especially some of the stuff by the guy who does The Oblongs. Stuff was pretty expensive though..
Man I wish I could draw.
So on to the movie review! Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. Didn't like it too much. The animation and models were, of course, fantastic. However the character models looked like the came from deep within the Uncanny Valley. Big anime-style eyes, spikey hair etc.
No real "plot" to speak of, just incredibly complex, over-the-type fight scenes. Alot of them. Most of the movie actually.
So when I thought about it, it's exactly like the FF games. Technically (as in game code) brilliant, rich, lush graphics but combat after combat after combat. To the point of annoyance.
But still, technically absorbing, but not something that will make it to the "comfort movie" list.
Bored again, maybe I should go get an iPod after all...
Saturday, May 06, 2006
Eeeeeeeee!
I squeeled like a little girl when I saw the link to this new Spore video.
You don't wanna know what I did when I actually watched it.
You don't wanna know what I did when I actually watched it.
Pod People
First thing. While driving downtown today, I saw a group of about a dozen people or so, all carrying signs and banners calling for the legalization of marijuana. They crossed against a light and almost got plastered by a bus.
Says it all really.
Secondly, I almost became a pod person. But once again I balked. The price tag for a 4gig nano is not exactly outrageous (a might steep perhaps) but it's not the cost that put me off exactly. When I listen to music, it's in tha car (stereo), at home (computer or piped in through the cable box) or at work (again, on the computer). The only time I need something portable is at the gym. So it's not really worth it.
What I will do is start buying music online. Alot of the stuff I listen to tends to be expensive on CD (Odd Electronica for a start. So a buck a song is reasonable.....
The third thing I'll save for tomorrow. I picked up Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children yesterday and watched it last night. I have mixed feelings on this film....
In the meantime, it's a gorgeous day. I've already been to the gym today, but I think a ride is in order anyway. Besides, I need to work up some appetite for BBQ-ing!
'Tis the season for charred flesh chunks! With sauce!
Says it all really.
Secondly, I almost became a pod person. But once again I balked. The price tag for a 4gig nano is not exactly outrageous (a might steep perhaps) but it's not the cost that put me off exactly. When I listen to music, it's in tha car (stereo), at home (computer or piped in through the cable box) or at work (again, on the computer). The only time I need something portable is at the gym. So it's not really worth it.
What I will do is start buying music online. Alot of the stuff I listen to tends to be expensive on CD (Odd Electronica for a start. So a buck a song is reasonable.....
The third thing I'll save for tomorrow. I picked up Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children yesterday and watched it last night. I have mixed feelings on this film....
In the meantime, it's a gorgeous day. I've already been to the gym today, but I think a ride is in order anyway. Besides, I need to work up some appetite for BBQ-ing!
'Tis the season for charred flesh chunks! With sauce!
Friday, May 05, 2006
Rent Rant
Yeah, still bored.
So I thought I would illuminate an going battle for me: my rent. Or rather, the method of payment of my rent.
Now when I first moved into my current place, we had a different management company running it. Granted, the maintenance of the building was less than adequate, but they were pleasant people to deal with, and had no problem if I dropped of my rent cheque the last day of the month with the super.
About 2 years ago, the owner decided to go with a bigger management company. They've been better with the maintenance (outside of the apartments anyway). New carpet in the hallways, better locks on the doors etc.
But when they took over, they insisted on either giving them 6 months worth of post-dated checks or allow them to do automatic withdrawals from the bank. So I gave them the cheques (I've had issues with various organizations continuing to make withdrawals even though I had quit, left or otherwise stopped doing what I was doing).
This was in October.
December rolled around and lo-and-behold, they somehow managed to deposit both December and January cheques. Since this was near Christmas, it put a serious cramp on my travel and gift-buying budget. After I talked to them, they refused to refund the money (despite it was both their and the bank's error) but said they would carry it over until January. Not great, but not worth the hassle of trying to convince the bank that their error cost me money.
The 10th of January, I get a notice that, since I had not paid my rent, they were levying a $100 penalty and if I didn't pay my rent by the 15th (plus the penalty) they would boot me out.
Another round of phone-calls and trips to the head office with the deposited checks, bank statements etc.
And, because I am a moron, I gave them 6 months' worth of cheques in April. September, it happened again. This time, just before I was about to pay for my trip to Italy.
Since then, I have been dropping of my cheque, month by month, at their office. On the last day of the month.
A month ago, we got a new building manager. I haven't actually met her, but have been getting a steady stream of notices under the door. They were polite at first of course: for my convenience could I give them my bank info for direct deposit? Or howzabout 6 months of cheques?
And of course they have become progressively more stern, telling me the only "alternative" they can offer is for me to drop off my cheque at the head office. Which I have no problems doing. Except they want it by the fifteenth of the previous month.
Eventually I may actually met a real live human. Should be an interesting conversation, especially when I tell them about the paint falling (not peeling) off the walls in my bathroom, the leaking faucets, and the non-functional air-conditioning.
I've talked about these with the last three supers. Maybe it's their way of getting me on cheque-free payment.
So I thought I would illuminate an going battle for me: my rent. Or rather, the method of payment of my rent.
Now when I first moved into my current place, we had a different management company running it. Granted, the maintenance of the building was less than adequate, but they were pleasant people to deal with, and had no problem if I dropped of my rent cheque the last day of the month with the super.
About 2 years ago, the owner decided to go with a bigger management company. They've been better with the maintenance (outside of the apartments anyway). New carpet in the hallways, better locks on the doors etc.
But when they took over, they insisted on either giving them 6 months worth of post-dated checks or allow them to do automatic withdrawals from the bank. So I gave them the cheques (I've had issues with various organizations continuing to make withdrawals even though I had quit, left or otherwise stopped doing what I was doing).
This was in October.
December rolled around and lo-and-behold, they somehow managed to deposit both December and January cheques. Since this was near Christmas, it put a serious cramp on my travel and gift-buying budget. After I talked to them, they refused to refund the money (despite it was both their and the bank's error) but said they would carry it over until January. Not great, but not worth the hassle of trying to convince the bank that their error cost me money.
The 10th of January, I get a notice that, since I had not paid my rent, they were levying a $100 penalty and if I didn't pay my rent by the 15th (plus the penalty) they would boot me out.
Another round of phone-calls and trips to the head office with the deposited checks, bank statements etc.
And, because I am a moron, I gave them 6 months' worth of cheques in April. September, it happened again. This time, just before I was about to pay for my trip to Italy.
Since then, I have been dropping of my cheque, month by month, at their office. On the last day of the month.
A month ago, we got a new building manager. I haven't actually met her, but have been getting a steady stream of notices under the door. They were polite at first of course: for my convenience could I give them my bank info for direct deposit? Or howzabout 6 months of cheques?
And of course they have become progressively more stern, telling me the only "alternative" they can offer is for me to drop off my cheque at the head office. Which I have no problems doing. Except they want it by the fifteenth of the previous month.
Eventually I may actually met a real live human. Should be an interesting conversation, especially when I tell them about the paint falling (not peeling) off the walls in my bathroom, the leaking faucets, and the non-functional air-conditioning.
I've talked about these with the last three supers. Maybe it's their way of getting me on cheque-free payment.
Tuesday, May 02, 2006
Bored
Yep that about sums it up.
Bored, bored, bored, bored, smoked too many cigarrettes, bored, bored, bored.
Blech.
Need a beach.
Don't wanna go to bed. I should but I'd just toss and turn.
Nothing on TV. Why was I considering a digital cable box with a PVR (TiVo like thing) again?
Game. No then I will stay up too late.
Nothing to eat. At least that doesn't require pots and pans.
Lalalalala.
La.
Hmmm, have that Triops kit. But i need filtered water. Nope.
Too burned out to read. I already surfed and found nothing of interest.
Maybe I could kick-start my mid-life crisis? Never too early...
Nah, all sports cars drive stick and I don't know how.
The apartment is clean. Too late to vacuum.
This is a long and boring post. Obviously.
Well since I'm this bored, it means I will live in interesting times tomorrow. Chinese curse interesting.
Maybe I should get 40 winks to deal with it.
G'night all. And if you are reading this tomorrow, hope you rested well.
Bored, bored, bored, bored, smoked too many cigarrettes, bored, bored, bored.
Blech.
Need a beach.
Don't wanna go to bed. I should but I'd just toss and turn.
Nothing on TV. Why was I considering a digital cable box with a PVR (TiVo like thing) again?
Game. No then I will stay up too late.
Nothing to eat. At least that doesn't require pots and pans.
Lalalalala.
La.
Hmmm, have that Triops kit. But i need filtered water. Nope.
Too burned out to read. I already surfed and found nothing of interest.
Maybe I could kick-start my mid-life crisis? Never too early...
Nah, all sports cars drive stick and I don't know how.
The apartment is clean. Too late to vacuum.
This is a long and boring post. Obviously.
Well since I'm this bored, it means I will live in interesting times tomorrow. Chinese curse interesting.
Maybe I should get 40 winks to deal with it.
G'night all. And if you are reading this tomorrow, hope you rested well.
So Much for Karma
I know I said I would not use this forum to complain about work. I know, I know, I know. But gods what a day.
It actually began thirty minutes past midnight. I'm carrying the on-call phone this week and at 12:30 AM this morning it went off. Now understand that I've been doing this for 2 years and the ring-tone on the phone has been the same all this time. So when I hear it, it sets off a Pavlovian reaction of pure fear.
Wrong Number. Calling from California. Didn't get back to sleep until 3 AM.
Now we've had problems with an application at work that reports sales-staff commissions. Last week it busted because of a change in our payroll system that I wasn't notified about. I have a fix ready, but I needed to get a tape-restore done on the database to start from clean data. So they say my request for a restore was completed. I look at the data and nothing has changed. I look at the ticket system again and my request was closed on a completely unrelated issue. It took me the rest of the morning to convince people that it still hadn't been restored, and to get the ticket re-opened so I don't have 1000 phone reps calling me to find out when they can get their commissions.
And because of all this, I didn't have time to prepare the presentation I was to give to the directors and CIO on our new intranet site. After numerous laptop issues (MS Auto update and reboot, never could get it back and running again), the directors unanimously decided that the site provided too much information. So what it was pared down to I could put in a fortune cookie.
As for the quitting smoking thing, I think I would have burned through a whole pack at work but it's very cold, extremely windy and frankly between one thing and the next, I couldn't get 10 minutes to take a break. But I still have managed to smoke 11 of my allotted 13 cigarettes today. I may go over the limit tonight. Or the next hour.
Mmmm, vodka coolers......
It actually began thirty minutes past midnight. I'm carrying the on-call phone this week and at 12:30 AM this morning it went off. Now understand that I've been doing this for 2 years and the ring-tone on the phone has been the same all this time. So when I hear it, it sets off a Pavlovian reaction of pure fear.
Wrong Number. Calling from California. Didn't get back to sleep until 3 AM.
Now we've had problems with an application at work that reports sales-staff commissions. Last week it busted because of a change in our payroll system that I wasn't notified about. I have a fix ready, but I needed to get a tape-restore done on the database to start from clean data. So they say my request for a restore was completed. I look at the data and nothing has changed. I look at the ticket system again and my request was closed on a completely unrelated issue. It took me the rest of the morning to convince people that it still hadn't been restored, and to get the ticket re-opened so I don't have 1000 phone reps calling me to find out when they can get their commissions.
And because of all this, I didn't have time to prepare the presentation I was to give to the directors and CIO on our new intranet site. After numerous laptop issues (MS Auto update and reboot, never could get it back and running again), the directors unanimously decided that the site provided too much information. So what it was pared down to I could put in a fortune cookie.
As for the quitting smoking thing, I think I would have burned through a whole pack at work but it's very cold, extremely windy and frankly between one thing and the next, I couldn't get 10 minutes to take a break. But I still have managed to smoke 11 of my allotted 13 cigarettes today. I may go over the limit tonight. Or the next hour.
Mmmm, vodka coolers......
Monday, May 01, 2006
Lag!
Eeesh, what a day. Not exactly stressful, not exactly busy, but a series of small tasks and "can you do me a favour" stuff. Add to that my internal clock was out by half an hour: it felt like 2:30, but it was actually 2:00. That sort of thing. So I left half an hour early.
Smoke count (by end of the day anyway) will be 19. So that's down six on day 1. Not much I know, but in 4 days at that rate, I will have quit smoking and strangled my first executive! Bonus!
Planetside is still fun. There's a statistic that shows your kill/death ration (how many enemies you killed, and how many times they killed you). I finally breached the 1/1 ratio!
Er, look, I'm not a homicidal maniac. Really.
Quitting sucks!
Smoke count (by end of the day anyway) will be 19. So that's down six on day 1. Not much I know, but in 4 days at that rate, I will have quit smoking and strangled my first executive! Bonus!
Planetside is still fun. There's a statistic that shows your kill/death ration (how many enemies you killed, and how many times they killed you). I finally breached the 1/1 ratio!
Er, look, I'm not a homicidal maniac. Really.
Quitting sucks!
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