Waiting Game

Okay so I haven't heard anything yet. Call me paranoid (knew I could count on you Capa) but I'll feel much more comfortable next weekend.

I'll keep you posted. In the meantime, I'll be considering what game to buy next. Maybe Sins of a Solar Empire. Heard it's good...

Why Are We Waiting?

Still no news yet. Still waiting. You know if this process hadn't taken about a month to get to this point, I'd say that's a good thing. But with the incredibly laconic response time of the medical profession I've experienced in this province, I'll start to be cautiously optimistic next Monday.

And since I'm re-scheduled to take my scuba course this weekend, I'm catching a cold. Of course.

On the good news side, our new office space is quite amazing. Had a tour of the fitness center today and it doesn't suck. And considering some of the women on the tour, it certainly bodes well for the gym experience days of yore (remember Red Sonja?). Provided I don't get something removed, which means I won't be interested in the gym or the patrons. I know, positive thinking.

But ya gotta admit it would prey on your mind as well.

So I've been distracting myself with gaming. Specifically, Defence Grid: The Awakening. I've never been a huge fan of tower defense games, but the presentation and 3D-ness, not to mention the pure logical thinking, is a lot of fun. I'm starting to see why Capa made such a fuss about Steam. And for $20, it certainly is in the "impulse buy" price-range.

And I gave LOTRO another go (I had three weeks left) but ended up uninstalling again. It really was just a World of Warcraft wanna be and frankly WoW wither bores me (repetitive) or annoys the hell out of me (the other players). All I can really say is that they took a very, very respected and rich milieu and white-washed it with mediocrity. 'Nuff Said.

Except I'm kinda miffed at the way the downloadable content for Fallout 3 was presented. You have to be a member of Live for Windows. You have to purchase "points" for the content (and of course you have to buy more points than the content is worth) and from what I've been reading you need to do some serious computer configuration to get to the point where you can even download it. Seriously: I want to give them money in exchange for a product. They (Live) seemed to forget that a basic exchange of legal tender for the goods and services desired for purchase has been going on for centuries. You name a price, if I agree to said price I give you legal tender and in exchange you give me what I am buying.

Can't quite seem to do that in this situation. They have made it too complicated (well, okay annoying) and the price is significantly higher than stated in real world terms (ie money). Ergo, I give them no cash, they give me no product and I go spend it on something else offered by an entity that understands these simple, well accepted principles of consumerism.

And no, I'm not going to go download it. At some point, they will be releasing a couple more of these expansions (hopefully they will have figured out how to provide them) and eventually wrapping them into a single bundle on a physical medium which I will purchase from a retailer. Maybe.

Scanned

Well, I had the ultrasound on the giblets today. I'm proud to say that I was calm, cool and collected. Well, except when driving to the clinic. I'm never calm cool, nor collected when I'm behind the wheel. Anyways, not a painful experience by any means.

However I have come to the conclusion that I will never, ever date someone in the health care industry for the simple reason that I could not handle that the person I'm with handles ... bits ... all day so nonchalantly. There's gotta be some mystery you know?

Speaking of which, the results go to my doctor in two to three business days. The Doc said they would call me if something shows up, so I'm going to jump out of my skin every time the phone rings. Which means once or twice in the next week. Of course it may be worse that they don't call if it's good news. I'll still be paranoid if I get a call a month from now.

It all kind of sucks though: I have the scuba lessons the weekend after next and I really want to use the training to go swimmin' with bow-legged wimmin somewhere down south. But it's the kind of situation where you can't really make any kind of long term plans. Cuz you never know. I've been reading up (gods bless the Internet) and if they find something, there a whole of laundry list of what that "something" could be. Most involve surgery. Which scares the hell out of me. Not because of the surgery itself, but I've been watching too much Scrubs lately and, well, I worry about mistakes. Like waking up and finding they took out my kidney .Although it wouldn't be as bad as the poor bastard who was supposed to get the kidney operation.

So I'm taking my usual "if it's the worst thing that can happen, it's already happened so there's nothing you can do about it" attitude with the occasional panic attack.

You know, the everyday routine mind-set of Moby.

And in Other News....

A bit of follow-up on Spike:

She did eventually email me back. Apparently, giving her Fallout 3 for the X-Box 360 freaked her out a bit but me wanting to kiss her (and we had kissed before) freaked her out a lot. We're exchanging the occasional email, but that's as far as it goes. Didn't work out like I had wanted it to, but few things do.

And now, back to gaming:

World of Goo has me hooked. Available on Steam for $20, it's a physics puzzler with some amazing gameplay. A great source of fun! Proof positive that taking a simple concept, wrapping in some creativity in the presentation and viola! you have a great game! Or a musical instrument, I can never remember which.

Speaking of Fallout 3, I'm waiting anxiously for the new downloadable content on Jan 27th. I may get sidetracked by other things (see last post) but if nothing else, I'm easily distracted.

So much so that I went and got Lord of the Rings Online. Yeah, yeah, another MMO after I said I swore off them but I was bored. Okay so far but I can see myself canceling after the free month is done. It's really just more of the same.

Oh! And this looks cool.

And that's about it really. A lame update, but just so everyone knows my so-called life still goes on.

Update: Wow, that didn't take long. Just uninstalled LOTRO after about 6 hours play. That's beats the record set by EVE Online...

How Can I Put This?

Er, okay, so. Well. Ummmm....

Okay, I'll come right out with it: I found a lump. On the left one.

This happened last weekend I while I was trying to figure out why I had a recurring ache in ... that area. I had thought that since this happens when I run a lot, and when I stopped running it went away, it had something to do with running. So I did the ol' Internet search.

So when I discovered that this could be a symptom of testicular cancer, I learned very quickly how to do a self-exam. And sure enough....

So I went to my local drop-in medical clinic and waited. And waited. And waited. And was told to go home as they were closing soon. Come back the next day.

So I went the next evening. And waited. And waited some more. And told to go home again.

So the next morning, I called in sick, went to the clinic and waited, but not as much. The doctor did her thing (yes, her, which was actually not a problem) and said that it should be checked out.

So I have an ultrasound in two weeks. Two weeks was the soonest I could get one. Trust me, I shopped around.

And so, I'm waiting and worrying. It's probably nothing, statistically speaking. But of course you tend to worry that it could be the worst: it's going to kill you; or the second worst: the cure is so bad you might as well be dead.

Regardless, if there is something there that shouldn't be, it's knifey-knifey slicey-slicey time. And since the doctor will be "in the area" anyways, I'm going to ask to get my tubes tied: Two stones with one bird.

See? I can even make bad jokes when I'm terrified!

Update on Lack of Updates

I know, I know. But something ... significant ... may be brewing. No not that. No, not that either.

This is new.

And scary.

You'll know when I do.

Habits & Cravings

But first, I got rear-ended today. I was attempting to turn left on my way to the gym, but two factors made me stop:

1. The idiot in the pickup truck coming on my right was doing about 60 in a 30 (playground) zone and swerved into the lane I was turning into and
2. the slurry of snow and dirt made my tires spin without even hitting the accelerator

Which of course meant I had to stop.

The guy in the pick-up truck behind me was also going way too fast for road conditions, slid on the previously mentioned mush and wham!. Actually more like thunk. Got out, assessed the damage (none, not even scratched paint), told the guy "No harm, no foul". He seemed quite relieved. He was pretty apologetic too, which just goes to show, sometimes accidents just happen regardless of how cautious/incautious a driver is. I was a bit shaken but not stirred. Besides, the adrenaline rush made for a good work-out.

But back to the title: Now that my six weeks of working part-time (due to being forced to take my remaining vacation before year end) is finally at an end so I need to get used to working five days a week again. May be tough: I'm nat'r'lly a slacker. Obviously. Of course it's starting with a month/quarter/year end with added complications due to good if short-sighted business decisions over the holiday season. So I better get used to it again real damn quick. Gonna have fun next week.

This weekend though was punctuated by two odd "cravings". I had the sudden urge to flop on the couch, turn on the tube and watch TV. I don't have cable and peasant-vision (ie broadcast television) is non-existent in my building. Weird. I tossed the cable over a year ago and didn't miss it until now. "Miss" may also be too-strong a word, but sometimes you just want to veg out watching the boob-tube. I'd consider going for basic cable except that it's still too expensive and the fact that any time the cable company tries to do anything I lose my Internet for a week.

The second craving hit me last night: very abruptly and with no warning, I wanted a Coca-Cola. I actually wanted it so bad I could, quite literally, taste it. So I went to the local Mac's (and on this one rare occasion, was not accosted by homeless looking for handouts) and got myself a litre. Came home, filled a glass with ice, poured my self a tall one and man it tasted good. The rest of it is sitting in the fridge now, probably until it looses all its fizz.

I'm not a pop (soda, soft drink, whatever) person. Very odd considering my ravenous sweet-tooth. If I do drink it, it's at a restaurant and it's ginger ale. Mostly because you get charged the same amount for a thimble of rancid orange juice at a restaurant as you do for a full litre at the grocery store. So for me, that was a bit weird.

As for habits, like the work-thing, I need to get back into going to the gym at least four times a week. Christmas is always bad for that due to time constraints, lousy weather and in my case, being a member of a gym located in a mall. I could say that I reduced my frequency due to spending time with Spike, but since we only saw each other five times over two months, that would be a bald-faced lie.

Oh yeah, that's pretty much over with by the way. Not sure why, but she wants me to go away. She didn't actually say anything because she hasn't returned my calls. She did mention when we started out that she prefers to just ignore a guy when it isn't working for her as she "doesn't like conflict". So I went away (that's what I told her answering machine at any rate). I said that if this was the case, not to call me back. Easy for her, and closure for me.

Too bad really: I do like her, but I'm getting that the timing is lousy and that she's not really ready for dating yet. At all. Of course I'm also sure that it's something I did/said/didn't say/didn't do but trying to figure out what is a good way to make your brain asplode. This is one of the principle reasons why I'm out of it, the whole dating thing. But you knew that (as I've mentioned it on numerous occasions here).

The other habit is of course, nicotine! I've re-signed-up for SCUBA courses again and there's the same concern that my lung capacity is exceeded by the volume of a Kinder Surprise egg. We'll see I guess, but right now I'll just consider cutting down a bit. This will be assisted by the recently enacted law whereby establishments that have a pharmacy on-site cannot sell tobacco products. Kind of makes sense (in a were-going-to-ban-it-without-banning-it kind of way). On the other hand, if there's such a health concern, why not outlaw selling things like pop, chips, candy, bacon etc from these same stores? I guess they'll do that the day they have a picture of a dead fat bastard with his shirt off on a pack of Ding-Dongs.

Well, the end-effect is that I can't get my carton of smokes from the usual places (the grocery stores) that I go to as part of the routine. Which means that the only places I can get cigarettes now are gas stations and convenience stores, which all charge about a buck a pack more than the grocers did. But since gas is now at about half the price it was six months ago, I'm good.

And now, back into the routine/habit that I haven't had a change in: computer games! Maybe next time, I'll do a 2008 wrap up on my view of the state of gaming. Which reminds me, the habit of blogging more than the inane details of my unremarkable existence? Ain't gonna happen....

Vote "NO" on Resolution 2009!

Happy New Year one and sundry!

As I sit here and digest the MSG-laden Dim Sum meal I grazed at for the past two hours, I ruminate over the year that was known only as "2008". So what happened?

• I only moved once! That beats last year and the year before! Hopefully I'll bring that down to 0 in 2009.
  
• The new job! And for the first time in a decade, I'm actually enjoying it. The benefits are amazing and hey, the bonuses aren't too shabby either. Here's hoping I don't get fired in 2009!
  
• Waist shrinkage! The running program I've tried has reduced the 36 inch waist down to a svelt 34 incher. Hitting forty means I gotta work to stop what weight I do gain pooling in the middle bits of me. In 2009, I feel confident enough to go scuba diving without being mistaken for a miniature whale.
  
• Romance! Well, kinda. I'm thinking Spike isn't as interested in me as I was in her, as she hasn't returned my phone calls since Xmas. In 2009, I'll be resuming my "I don't date" policy. And to think I passed up a tumble with a flight attendant at the Xmas party cuz I'm a "nice guy"...
  
• Travel! The Hawaii trip was just the beginning of the Mid-Life Crisis Tour. '09 will a see trips to the Dominican and Cancun for the express purposes of scuba diving and looking at young women in bikinis.
  
• Education! I didn't take any classes last year, but this summer I'll be taking one of a) motorcycle operation b) gun safety course or c) sky diving. Depends on my mood. Naturellment this is merely an extension of the Mid-Life Crisis activities.

So over all, 2008 wasn't a fantastic year but over all I'd say it was better than the previous. 2009 looks to be "more of the same" as I'll be saving up for the big event in 2010: real estate.

My resolution for 2009? Nada. they never work anyways.

Falalala--la-la-la-laffle!

'Tis the night before Xmas
And Moby's on call.
He bought all his presents
and forgot to mail them all.

He's trying to find clothes
That show little wear
Cuz a movie date with Spike
Puts his hopes in the air.

But first: to his Auntie's!
That crazy old biddy
Whole be drunk and disorderly
And prob'ly quite giddy.

An evening of socializing
In the Yuletide season
And what's more surprising
Is the untold reason.

His holiday spirit,
a poor sickly creature,
has at this Yuletide
become quite a feature.

Good will towards man?
A smile on his face?
To all that do know him
That seems out of place.

But it's been a good year:
Job, home and (maybe) girl.
Cash in the clear!
His head's quite a whirl.

Not bad, all considered,
The twelve months past.
And who knows? Next year
May be just a blast!

So he wishes all well
This cold Christmas time
And if my date goes well,
well,
The season's best is mine.

Winter Solstice

Okay, I may be suffering from that seasonal disorder thing. Although it happens at the height of summer as well, at least I can blame something else this time.

But it has been a depressing couple of weeks. Maybe "depressing" isn't the right word. Listless? Humdrum? Nuanced angst over an unremarkable existence? Yeah, that one. I'm all emo, apparently. Being stuck indoors (and yes, I'm not exactly Grizzly Adams but I do get outside once in a while) may have something to do with it. And as previously, viciously stated my view of Christmas is less than Republican.

I haven't been to the gym more than twice over the past three weeks. I'm not sure if it's this niggling cold that just won't let go or just "I don't wanna go to the gym today" syndrome. And that I've been busy doing, well, not much but all these little things add up. Yes, I know, cheer the fuck up, get back to the gym, smile and bull through the holidays.

Then there's Spike. We managed to do the movies-at-her-place thing on Friday and there wasn't the same back-and-forth we've had. Not sure if it was due to depleted energy reserves (I had worked 70 hours in the previous seven days due to on-call), the weather, being nervous a bit etc. There just wasn't that same effervescent interaction. But her dogs are great!

Well, they can't all be zingers.

So this week: L'il Bro B is crashing on my couch for a few days as he makes his way to and from Lethbridge, three days of (I'm thinking slack) work, Christmas Eve at the Crazy Cat Aunt's place, dinner-and-a-movie with Spike on the actual day, UFC night at Big M's on the weekend. That's pretty active for me. Now if I can just cheer the fuck up I might enjoy.

But now, I'm going to try and hit the gym again. Yesterday I got as far as the car.

Spirit of the Season

This pretty much sums up the feelings that get stirred up for me during the Yuletide season.

Dropped $700 on presents, and I'll still get passive-aggressive grief because I only got so-and-so a card. Packed malls, insane drivers, lousy weather, annoying carols that have been permanently etched into my synapses. Hours, even days lost: not to make the holidays bright, but just to get them bloody well over with.

The unending obligations to relatives you only see once a year. The forced merriment of corporate head-office mandated Holiday Enjoyment Events. Guilt, anxiousness, self- and other-loathing. Stress. My gods, the stress.

"Bah, humbug!" doesn't even enter into it. The Grinch was just mildly miffed. I'll face down the Holiday Spirits with an untested, backpack-mounted atomic-powered proton-colliding device and think very hard about crossing the streams.

Followed, of course, by the driving need to have forced fun one week later. Thinking you're a miserable loser if you don't get a peck on the cheek. And then, and then promising yourself that it'll be better next year.

Not the most wonderful time of the year.

Frozen

Yes, Capa, I know I haven't updated in a while. I'm trying though.

So first off, me and Spike. Things are going. Slowly. Glacial. She did manage to buy a house last week and so now she has some free-ish time. We had planned to watch The Dark Knight at her place on Friday. It was going to be the big test. Meeting her dogs and seeing if they approve is a huge "moment". For those of you who have never dated a woman with pets, they have to like you or it's over. Secondly it would have been our first night in, which is another "moment" that shows levels of trust etc.

But, of course, we got the first serious arctic cold front on Friday afternoon. We called it off for safety's sake (albeit reluctantly on my part) but I knew it was the right thing to do after it took me more that two hours to drive home. And apparently I was on the good roads.

The other good thing about breaking the date is because I'm on call this weekend and the damn phone hasn't stopped chiming. In addition to the plethora of "hit a button, something broke" automated messages, something odd with passwords happened last night and I'm still trying to get someone to have a look to see what the hell is going on. Having to deal with work issues would not have impressed Spike I'm sure and I certainly would have been ... grumpy. I still am of course, but for different reasons.

With the thermometer hovering around -30 with wind chill, it's not like I would have gone for long, brisk walks this weekend but it's always nice to have a choice. Despite the biting cold, it's still a balmy 25 centigrade in my apartment, so at least I'm working in shorts and not much else. And adding insult to injury, half of my team went on a spontaneous trip to Hawaii.

So besides all that, things are basically at a stand-still weekend-wise. I'm hoping for thaws on several levels over the next week, but according to the weather and my bachelor's intuition, that may be a long time coming.

Right

Well quickie update. Two, no, three things:

1) Yup, I was right. I got the "I need to sort out my life right now" shtick from Spike. It was quickly followed up by the classic "Let's just be friends". Oi. Well, it was for "right now and see how it goes". I'm okay with that but of course, any length of time spent in the Friendzone means languishing there for eternity. Yeah, yeah, I know. She does have quite a bit going on on so, yes, I totally understand. Doesn't mean I need to be thrilled. We'll see how it goes. Besides, I still like her like her and I think she feels the same way but just can't cope with starting a new relationship right now. And the winner of the "Wishful Thinking" award goes to ...

2) We got our bonus cheques last night so I ran out and got myself an iPhone! And it stopped working after only three hours! I got it back into shape: apparently the touch screen, well, doesn't respond to touch sometimes. Ah well, having fun so far.

3) I woke up yesterday with a mondo head-cold. That meant I had to cancel my SCUBA training for the weekend. Looks like I'll have to do it next year. Poopies.

Actually, points 1 and 2 bear a striking similarity...

Maybe I Didn't Jinx it ...

But it ain't looking too good. She's really busy with a bunch of stuff: house hunting, visiting relatives, classes, work etc. I know exactly how that feels. Still, I have a feeling that I'm going to get the "it's not you, it's me" chat in the next little while.

I really hope not. This is a woman who has all this stuff going on and she's not looking for anyone to rescue her. That, to me, is attractive. As well as the big brown eyes.

My point of view: life happens everyday and yes, it can be a bit overwhelming. But finding someone with which you have a good rapport, feel a connection and they feel the same way about you is a very rare event. When that happens you should go for it. When it works out, all that other "life" stuff gets easier.

Mind you, I also know that timing is everything and this may not be a good time to start something for her. I'm not putting any kind of pressure on her for her time: she needs her own time to deal. But she's also considerate, so she may think that she can't give me the kind of time she thinks I need. I may have to dissuade her from that notion if that is indeed the case. One good thing about 40 is you get a good supply of patience and a generous helping of empathy. At least I did. I think it came with the killer sunburn.

In other news: studying for my SCUBA boot camp (flipper camp) progresses. There's a lot of stuff to know, but knowing Archimedes' Principle got me right through the first two chapters. One worry: sharks. And that's for going to see Jaws when I was nine. Thanks Dad!

I Jinxed it. I Think.

Crap. Maybe not quite yet, but the signs are there. But maybe I'm just being paranoid 'cuz I'm sick. I truly hate the beginning bit of a proto-relationship. Which is one of the main reasons I swore off dating: the angst, the doubt, the anxiety, the second, third and twelfth guessing of yourself. That style of thing.

And probably everything is actually okay, just my constant low-level anxiety spiking, again, due to sinus medication.

But still, crap.

Don't Want to Jinx It...

... but I had a date! And on top of that, I have a second date!

We were actually set up by Holmer. He was watching some video I shot in Maui and was laughing his ass off. He wondered out loud why I was single and was overheard by a woman he works with. She asked hm why he hadn't set her up yet.

So he did. Oh wait, I reported on that a while back. So she finally contacted me last week. We spent about four hours on the phone and went for coffee yesterday. Which turned into supper.

The funny thing is I broke one of the cardinal rules: I never got a picture before we met. And to my surprise, I was very pleasantly surprised. She's tall too,so that's just a bonus.

But it certainly ain't all physical: she's smart, and she makes me laugh which is novel and bloody fantastic as well. Oh and she has two big floppy dogs (which I have yet to meet). And, and, and.

And we're heading out for dinner Wednesday. Go me!

Deluge-ional

Since last weeks post was entering the "droning on" phase, I thought I'd report the other side of my reclusive hermit life this week.

Anyone who is dyed in the video-card PC gamer knows that the past couple of years has been less than exceptional for the industry (barring the whole MMO thing). Sure, there's been a few titles, but many of them were the leavings of X-Box or Playstation games. Lamenting this trend is dealt with on other posts so I won't bore you (again) with them here.

The past month though, there's been a bit of a sea-change.

It started off with Lighthouse Interactive releasing yet another expansion for Sword of the Stars, one of my fave-rave all time stays-on-the-hard-drive games. The expansion introduces a new race (totaling 6 now), revamps the whole administration of planets and technology and in my opinion takes the game to "finis". They really can't do much more without a whole rewrite. I'm hoping they do.

Then a couple of weeks ago, I found Good Old Games. At first, I thought it was just another attempt to sell abandon-ware nobody wanted in the first place. Then I saw the titles: Fallout, Sacrifice, Descent, Freespace, Messiah. And others which sent me reeling into nostalgic, pixelated glory. Full games, fully patched, modded to run on XP, no DRM. And all for less than $10 a game. So I picked a couple of them up (Freespace 2 and Sacrifice). Ah, gaming comfort food.

But this week, I fell hard. Capa showed me the collectors edition Fallout 3 complete with bobble head and lunch box. I liked the first two, so I checked out the game-play and promo videos. An after work trip to Best Buy on Friday to check out cheap DVDs saw me pick this up instead (as well as Bioshock: it was $25).

I've been lost in the Wasteland ever since. Capa did warn me this could happen (from experience). So now, I have five games I'm currently playing (although Fallout 3 has taken the lion's share of my time).

And as soon as I hit the "Publish Post" button, there's some slavers that need to have things ... explained to the them. Looks like my social calender will be lost and forgotten.

Back to Back to Back

First off, I'd like to wish Capa good look with the re-thinking of Stray Lemming. While it didn't become what he had hoped/wanted it to be, his unusual and humorous viewpoint has always been a highlight of my Tube-surfing. If it turns out that you're retiring to take on other projects (and I know who have a lot of them) Ghu's speed to you and it has been a pleasure.

Now, back to what is, essentially, my diary. I have no qualms with that. Wit: maybe. Wisdom: long-shot. Whiny self-indulgence: you betcha! That's what blogs are for.

Last Saturday saw me with the busiest social calender I've seen in quite a while. It started off with attempting to have lunch with a couple of former co-workers (okay, friends, but I don't see them that often and we usually talk about work). My choice of venues left something to be desired as this city's restaurateurs think opening for lunch on a weekend is a major taboo or something. We finally wound up a surprising decent Vietnamese place. Good times, good food and and great catch-up on all events.

Now, I had intended to spend the late-afternoon/evening taking a nap. The reason for this will become obvious a bit later. However, Big M called me up to remind me that we had tickets to Theatre Calgary that evening. I had, naturally, totally forgot.

So we went to the play. Not bad over all. I'd say the actual script was a bit lacking (way too many eighties jokes followed by a "now let's get serious" ending) but the stage production values were amazing. There were only two on-stage characters, and both spent the single act ninety minute production suspended from large beams, manipulated by a crew in black (who actually did get some stage time, with hilarity ensuing). This allowed the actors to move in 3-dimensional space rather than just the 2D plane of the stage. Made for some very interesting mis-en-scene. One of the actors is actually a para pelagic and considering it was his first acting experience, he did a great job.

But afterwards I had to rush home for a ten minute costume change myself: I had tickets for a midnight showing of "Rocky Horror Picture Show". Mind you, I didn't go full costume for this one, just something more casual than my "theatre-patron" outfit.

Now this was my first post-work social gathering with the office crowd. While the showing was poor (about eighty bums in seats) for the movie (it takes a pack of drunken, horny lunatics to pull off a good Rocky Horror) I did have a good time seeing the folks I work with five days a week in a more relaxed setting. Well, you know what I mean.

And of course, I made a total ass of myself. I danced on-stage, whooped it up (when I could remember the lines) and acted like I was 22 again.

Let me say this: I am not 22 no more. Ow. Ah well, I still had fun.

I think, though, that the dancing (strong word. Let's say, spastic contortions) actually did something to my back. That came to the fore as I was doing flies at the gym last night. Something went "twang", everything went red and it suddenly felt like I had a crowbar shoved under my right shoulder blade.

Which is why I took the day off today. It started with me emailing work that there was no way I could make it into the office this morning. I iced, heated and Robaxicet-ed myself all morning but to no avail. So I took the rest of the day off, stayed off the computer (with mixed success) and now feel like I have a small screwdriver instead of crowbar under my spine.

Now, where's the vodka? The pills have worn off. Daddy needs his medicine.

Underwater, Underwhelmed

Le sigh!

Looks like I won't be going to a beach until next year: my scuba lessons got postponed due to leakage in a pool. I originally booked for the beginning of November for a trip at the end of November, but now the lessons are at the end. December is always nuts for travel (well, cheap travel anyways) so it looks like I'll have to go in February. Which ain't bad after all: it will be in the middle of the deep freeze around here plus I'll have some more cash on hand.

Going to go see Sukiyaki Western Django this afternoon with Big M, should be a blast (as in over the top over-use of western, kung-fu and samurai tropes). And I'm in the mood for some cheese and popcorn.

Review forthcoming.

Review Here

So last week Big M and I had lunch together a couple of times, and he mentioned Sukiyaki Western Django as something he really wanted to see but couldn't find anyone to go with. Knowing that my tastes in movies tend to be... eclectic, he asked me. After checking out the site and the trailers, I had to see this. But unfortunately we didn't arrange a specific date and didn't realize it was leaving the local theaters that night.

But then, they extended the engagement. So we just took in the matinée.

Let me put it like this: Sukiyaki distills the pure tropes of sixty years of film-making started by Sergio Leone and Akira Kurasawa. The result is a cocktail of surprising potency that bypasses any internal critic and infuses the hind-brain. That's a good thing. There were so many references to both Sergio's and Akira's films I'm very sure I missed half of them. The film doesn't pound you with them, rather they are woven into the standard, almost boilerplate plot of both genres.

Pure, concentrated cliche. But, like most of our comfort foods, it's a 90+ minute cliche that never gets old, always tastes as good as the first time, and leaves you wanting more. Hell, I went grocery shopping after the movie and something must have triggered the latent samurai/gunslinger in me. I had that rolling gait that drew coy looks from the womenfolk and deadly glances from the men.

Any movie that can do that is going straight to my DVD collection.

Capa: you gotta see this!

'Kay...

Well, Happy Turkey Day to one and all! I know I'm stuffed, much like the carcass I stripped for protein. M'boy, them's good eatin'!

So: odd week.

It started off with Holmer contacting me out of the blue. We hadn't really kept in touch for the past year so I was pleasantly surprised when I got a message on Facebook to give him a shout. I figured he would be wanting to find a database guy for a position at his office, and even though I am in no way looking, courtesy costs nothing (unless you're doing it for a little brother).

Turns out, he was discussing some pix and vids I had posted on Facebook to one of his co-workers. He mentioned I was single and she asked "So why haven't you set us up yet?" Well, I gave him permission to give her my digits. I mean, what the heck, I'm not looking cause the looking itself is what is frustrating: having them come to me is another matter.

Now that in and of itself would not make for a remarkable week. If she actually calls, that would be bucking the odds. However on Friday night I got a late night text message from Kiki G. She and I had some catching up earlier in the week and commiserated about being single and tired of looking. And no, we wouldn't work-out as a romantic relationship: friends great, couple not-so-much. While at the bar, Kiki met someone who said she was single and didn't want to have kids. So natch, Kiki figured she would set us up. Kiki asked if she got her number would I phone her. I said sure (see above). Thing is, she wanted me to call Mystery Girl right now which was a bit odd. However there being no answer was not odd at all. I'm pretty sure Kiki was three-sheets at the time (along with Mystery Girl). I'll find out this week. And have some evil fun with it!

So two female-related stories. Now were into "okay, that's just a coincidence Moby, geez" territory. Except, guess who I ran into at a gas-station in the middle of bald-ass prairie? L'il Bro' G and I were headed to Mom's place for turkey and pulled over half-way to fill the tank and empty the bladder. I was looking for snackage when I heard someone call my name.

Laroo.

It was good to see her. It sounded like she had set some of her life in order (and got a new puppy). I was pretty dumbfounded at the random convergence so I'm pretty sure I sounded like a turkey being led to the block. We exchanged news, caught up a bit then went our separate ways.

And nope, nothing left except a fond-affection of a short but good time. I think a little closure on my part happened. I was kinda worried about me taking myself off the market (as it were) could have been motivated by having residual feelings for Laroo. That five minutes pretty much put that to rest. It's great she's doing so well, but as stated, we went our separate ways. Cool.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to find room for about twenty pounds of leftovers in my freezer.