Overheard at Work pt.1

When talking about the lone female painter in the shop...

"That girl's so dirty, I bet she wipes back to front."

Things I've learned this Christmas Season

It is strange celebrating Christmas minus a younger brother, made all the weirder to think, while opening presents, that he is on the otherside of the world, is some sandy-garbage dump of a country, getting shot at. Life doesn't make sense sometimes.

Kwanzaa is retarded.

Putting Vicks under your nose and then eating supper is a bad idea.

barista brat is a fun blog to read. She works for Starbucks and always has a fun story or two.

Having Mama Bean home, for good this time, makes the world such a brighter place. Some days it doesn't feel like it's been 3 years.

Being sick just after Christmas sucks, but it isn't nearly as bad as being sick on Christmas.

A couple of Aspirin, a shot of Benylin all-in-one, and a double dose of extra-strength neo-citrin works great for getting rid of flu symptoms and knocking me out for a good long sleep.

My family and my soon-to-be inlaws get along well.

The gift giving part of Christmas doesn't have to be important, but if you are giving a gift, make sure there is some thought put into it, or don't give it at all.

Another Good One. :)

Sums things up nicely

Alice's Restraunt

EVERYONE should listen to Alice's Restraunt by Arlo Guthrie at least every couple of years. All 18 and a half minutes of it.

Because it is good for you.

When is the last time you listened to Alice's Restraunt?

E-mail Fun

I have started replying to these bogus e-mails that I receive. I am sure that I will not receive a response of any sort, but it amuses me, so I continue. They are especially amusing when they come in from one e-mail address, and my reply is sent to another address.

Here is todays:

----- Original Message -----
From: Donald Piaskowski
Date: Thursday, December 7, 2006 7:36 am
Subject: IMPORTANT MESSAGE

>
>
> Dear sir/Madam,
>
> I have the honour and confidence to introduce this business to you
> in view of the fact that you are trustworthy and reliable as my
> inquires reveals.
>
> I am Mr. Andrew Clark I work in the Foreign Payment Department of
> the National WestMinster Bank here in London Uk. There is an
> account opened in this bank in 1994 but since 1998 nobody has
> operated on this account again. After a private and intensive
> investigation, I discovered that the owner of this account (Mr.
> Chapman Mark J.) was an oil merchant - a foreigner, who died since
> 1998 without having a beneficiary to this account.
>
> http://cnnstudentnews.cnn.com/WORLD/9809/swissair.victims.list/
> http://cnnstudentnews.cnn.com/WORLD/americas/9809/08/swissair.02/
>
> My investigation proved to me he never informed any of his family
> members about this funds and he also did not have any next of kin
> to the said funds. The amount in this account is Fifty Five
> Million Five Hundred Thousand British Pound sterling. Since no one
> has come forth to claim these funds, the bank management is
> willing to welcome any foreigner who has correct information to
> this Account which I will give upon receipt of your positive
> response towards my proposal. I assure you a 100% that there is no
> risk to this business. After its conclusion I will retrieve all
> documents used in the transfer and destroy them in your presence,
> when I come over to your account base for sharin of funds and
> possible investment.
>
> Sharing will be 30% for you, 05% for any expenses incurred in this
> business and the remaining 65% for me. As soon as I hear from you
> I will put up an annual leave so I could be able to facilitate the
> transfer of this fund to any Account of your choice.
>
> Contact me urgently for the way forward.
>
> Thanks.
>
> Andrew Clark.
>


Mr Clark,

Thank you for contacting me, I am very interested in your proposal. I am questioning your identity though. The e-mail came in from a Donald Piaskowski, with the e-mail address dgtalaska@gci.net (to whom I have cc'd this e-mail. The return address on this e-mail is to a certain Andrew Clark, of andrewclark1900@yahoo.com.hk. Why would someone with the Foreign Payment Department of the National WestMinster Bank in London UK be using a Hong Kong yahoo account?

Do you see why there is a hesitation on my part?

If you could clarify this, we could then proceed with the transaction. Though I do find 2.8 million in expenses is a little over the top, and I don't see why you are entitled to 65%, while I only get 30%. I do believe we shall have to discuss this matter.

Also, what is with the broken English? Are you not an Englishman? I would expect this type of language from someone say from Hong Kong, but not a fellow working in a bank in London, England.

Please get back to me so that we can discuss this further,

Chris

Shitstorm begins

So my little brother got his first taste of combat last night it would seem. There was an attack last night leaving 60-70 taliban dead. No NATO soldiers were injured. And the tanks were out in full force, and since there are only 8 of them and he's a gunner in one of them, he would have been part of the action. It was a pretty vague article, so hopefully more comes out this week.

The tanks were moved to the front lines on Saturday.

This is the first time Canadian tanks have fired in battle since the Korean War.

This is some footage of the tanks over there.
I like to think the tank at 40 seconds is his, it looks the coolest. And i THINK thathe is the tall one behind the crate at 42 seconds.




These are some combat footage that some guy took over there over a period of a few days with this same group of guys from Edmonton. It's hard to believe that it is actually war over there. Not just peacekeeping. (I like the second one best)

right fucking pissed off

I'm pissed off. I don't know why. It started when I got in my car after work. I had a perfecly reasonable day. I enjoy my job. Had a pleasant lunch with Topher. Learned some new things about servers. Didn't have to deal with any dinks. It was good.

So I don't know what happened. Where the headache came from. Was it the bad traffic? Which was bad, but not horrible. It just seemed to piss me off a whole lot more today. My shitty car? Which really isn't THAT shitty, but it just pissed me off. I seemed to feel every bump just a little more acutely, and every off vibration from my shitty engine dug into me just a bit more. It was. Is. As though all the negative aspects of life after being magnified a million times. I don't know why. Stress? Anxiety? Missing Jo? It's just all rolling into a big ol fucking mess and pissing me right the fuck off.

I'm going to bed.

(title was pissed off. but when i got to the end of typing this, i added the "right fucking." it seems to fit better. that and i'm more pissed off now than...then...what the fuck, i can't even remember which one to use right now. FUCK right. before. that's the end of the sentence. FUCK)

New Job...again. :)

So I got a job! I"ve been here for 3 days now, started last Thursday. I work for a company that is an authorized reseller and training center for Autodesk products. Autodesk makes the whole line of AutoCAD stuff, and Autodesk Inventor, Mechanical, Civil 3D, etc...
I am their new IT guy. Their only IT guy. Right now they have a consultant in charge of it all. He used to work here, but now works for an IT consulting company and probably charges these guys copious amounts of money. So they hired me to take over from him. But I can't see him being very happy about having an internal guy taking over from him, and him losing the contract here. I met him yesterday, and he was a bit of a cocky asshole. I mean I'm sure he is a nice guy, but I'm taking over his job, and that factors in. He was making remarks about how since he was here pretty much from the beginning (Worked here for 6 years) that there isn't enough work to support an IT guy fulltime. Which I can see as being very true. There are only 10 employees, and a computer lab with 14 computers. There will be moments of panic getting something done, but I'm not sure how much. It was just so discouraging talking to him yesterday. Up until then I've been all excited about the things I'll get to do here. And he just shot it all down. I mentioned to him a couple of the things I had in mind for doing here, and he just shot them all down. I know I don't have shitloads of experience and everything, but still, don't be such an asshole. So yeah, he's the only person here who knows anything about thier setup, and he doesn't seem to keen about giving it up. That's going to make life frustrating. That and I am the only person here who knows anything about IT stuff. So there is noone to learn from. It's all going to be trial and error, and self-learning.
Fuck that guy pissed(s) me off! Up until he showed up yesterday I was all excited about being here. Now I'm all frustrated and depressed about this whole thing. And the guy I'm supposed to report to is out of town for the week, so I'm sitting around doing fuck all learning about this new program they want me to work on, and maybe eventually teach. Which will fill up my time when I'm not doing "IT stuff." And I can't see my boss hiring me if she didn't think there would be work to do. It's just that guy! I can't believe it got to me...
Anyways...the atmosphere here seems pretty cool. It is completely devoid of any structure, which will take some getting used to. Everyone just kinda does their own thing. The sales people sit in their offices on the phone, the tech folks, who are the instructors, aer either teaching, or they sit in their office playing around with their respective programs, providing tech support about the software to clients that call in, or just piss around on their computers, kinda like I'm doing right now. Though I've been working all morning, and could just consider this my coffee break. I work 8:30-4:30, 1 hour for lunch, paid, and am salaried. Salary kinda sucks, but we have profit sharing, and with that it makes it alright. But the profit sharing doesn't kick in for 3 months making this time a little rough, and I'm going to get a second job. So everyone here just kinda does their own thing, not a lot of employee interaction, but eveyone seems like nice enough people. There are a couple of young guys may ageish here.
On a side note, I've gotten 3 calls in the past 2 days from millwright places I applied to, just like I figured would happen. /sigh

Burger King Outsources

This is hilarious.

Lest We Forget

On November 11, 1999 Terry Kelly was in a Shoppers Drug Mart store in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. At 10:55 AM an announcement came over the store's PA asking customers who would still be on the premises at 11:00 AM to give two minutes of silence in respect to the veterans who have sacrificed so much for us.Terry was impressed with the store's leadership role in adopting the Legion's "two minutes of silence" initiative. He felt that the store's contribution of educating the public to the importance of remembering was commendable.When eleven o'clock arrived on that day, an announcement was again made asking for the "two minutes of silence" to commence. All customers, with the exception of a man who was accompanied by his young child, showed their respect.Terry's anger towards the father for trying to engage the store's clerk in conversation and for setting a bad example for his child was later channeled into a beautiful piece of work called, "A Pittance of Time". Terry later recorded "A Pittance of Time" and included it on his full-length music CD, "The Power of the Dream". ... (more)

MY LITTLE BROTHER!

That's my little brother!!! The dude with the gun on the left. That is his tank!
It's from this gallery from the Edmonton Sun.

Circle of Poo

He explains it so well. :)

employee of the month

Alright, so maybe Mama Bean is right and I am a professional job changer.

I quit my job yesterday. In a less than stellar fashion. My boss and I had a bit of a run in and it resulted in me leaving.

It started yesterday morning when I was doing a fairly decent job, something I’d never done before but was fairly easy and I was learning things as I was going. Earl (the owner of the company) comes out and asks me in his gruff-pissed off-semi-mad-totally not polite way, “What are you doing?”

To which I reply, “Installing this temperature sensor”

“Have you ever done it before?”

“Ummm…no.” (it’s not like it is a hard thing to do)

“ Well get out of there, I don’t want you doing that. Get over here and drill these holes” (yay a job any fucking monkey could do)
So I’m pissed off at getting shafted out of a decent job to do some bullshit. A few hours later I’m sweeping the floor, cleaning stuff up b/c I hate working in a pig sty, when Earl comes up and in his same assholish manner asks me what I’m doing.

“Ummmm…sweeping the floor?” (what the fuck does it look like, I’m pushing a broom)

“Don’t you have anything else to do?”
(pissed off and attitudy)“No. I’m not qualified to do anything else. Obvioiusly if I haven’t done something once before I can’t do it. So I may as well sweep the floor because I’ve done that before”

“What are you talking about?”

So I explain to him that he pulled me off a job that I was perfectly capable of doing, and had me do some menial task fit for monkeys. He looks at me hard and asks me if I have a problem. By this point I’m right fucking pissed and sick of all this bullshit and having to deal with his demeaning attitude day in and day out and with the way he treats everyone. So I tell him.

“Yeah, I do have a problem. I’m sick of you being a fucking asshole all day long”

He just looks at me. You can see the little gears turning in that thick skull of his. So he turns to my foreman and kinda chuckles “Can you believe this?” and tells Terry to get me to do something.

I just walked away and went back to work All the while this old mechanic named Jim is about 6 feet away behind a truck and starts clapping when I call Earl an asshole. A couple of the guys came over and shook my hand later, and voted me Employee of the Month.

So I worked until the end of the day b/c I need the money since I’m gonna be off for a few days looking for a new job.

And that’s what I am now doing. Looking for work. :) Hopefully this next one will work out a little better than the last 2.

Something Fun

I stole this from Tamara:
(it's amazing how well some of them work. some are rather amusing.)

PUT ALL MUSIC TO MEDIA PLAYER.
PLAY ON SHUFFLE.
CLICK 'SKIP' FOR EVERY QUESTION.
GO.

What does next year have in store for me?
You Give Love a Bad Name - Bon Jovi

What's my love life like?
There's Never Enough Time - The Postal Service

What do I say when life gets hard?
Du Hast - Rammstein

What do I think when I get up in the morning?
Takin' Care of Business - Bachman-Turner Overdrive

What song will I dance to at my wedding?
Song From An American Movie Pt. 1 - Everlast

What do you want as a career?
Choices - George Jones

Your favourite saying?
All I Want Is You - S Club 7

Your pets name?
Vovo Diva - The Watchman

Favourite place?
Your Star - The All-American Rejects

Describe your sexlife:
Trinity - Fleetwood Mac

What do you think of your parents?
Best Intentions - Travis Tritt

What's your superhero name?
Famous One - Chris Tomlin

Where would you go on a first date?
Make Love - Daft Punk

Drug of choice?
Swing Life Away - Rise Against the Machine

Describe yourself:
Beautiful One - Tim Hughes

What is the thing I like doing most?
Let's Love - Melanie C

What is my state of mind like at the moment?
Silent Movie - Natasha Bedingfield

How will I die?
Sailor to a Siren - Meatloaf

/sigh

I don't know about me. I'm leaving for Edmonton in half an hour here, and I have all the sound gear for church tomorrow morning sitting in my front entrance. Of course they forgot that I am gone for the weekend, so there it sits. I had totally forgotten about it until late last night. And so, instead of calling someone to come get it, and possibly inconvenienceing them, I'm going to drive to Edmonton (3 hrs), hang out, etc... and at 6am, I will drive back down here to grab the sound gear and have it at church for the 9 o'clock setup. I also doubt there is anyone around who would be able to pick up the sound gear, as there is a big church retreat this weekend, and most of them are out of town at that thing, including all the ppl that generally do anything with the church.
It's a good thing the clocks turn back an hour, I'm gonna need that extra sleep.

That hurt

So today I made a left turn that cost me $172. :(

I was looking for this pawn store on Whore Alley....errr 17th Ave. that apparently has a bunch of airtools on sale. I missed my turn, so I turned off, and was going to make a loop when I turned down this street, and Mr. Cop waves me to the side. Me and 4 others. Turns out that between 3:30 and 8, left turns onto that street are illegal. And there are 2 signs that were supposedly telling me so. Too bad in my flustered state I completely missed them. Apparently so did all these other people. So we all got served with this huge ass fucking ticket.

I guess I kinda have it coming, Karma style. See I speed all the time. Well not ALL the time. But 75% of the time. The remainder being the time I'm stuck in rush hour traffic and not able to. I haven't gotten a speeding ticket since last May, and that was just due to my lack of attention b/c it was photo radar. So I am kinda just getting my just desserts. But still...I could be going pretty fricking fast to get a 172 dollar ticket. This blows.

So anyway, that was the most expensive left turn of my life.

(oh, and i'm using blogger beta now, i hope it doesn't change anything)

angry

I am so very angry right now. My fucking condo board has sent me YET ANOTHER letter telling me not to park in the no parking zone. Except I haven't been. So now I'm mad. I want to call her up tomorrow and rip her a new asshole. Last time I was civil, does that not give me the right to be slightly less so this time? Instead, I will send her a letter. Registered mail. And I will politly ask her to send someone over here and show me EXACTLY where the fuck I can and cannot park. And if those dimensions infringe on what my condo documents say, we are going to have a big problem.
So here I sit. Angry. At her. At my boss. At my job. At my inability to just accept things, to settle. At life not going the way I wanted it to. I'm just angry.

sloth

the shitty thing about when you stay at home all day, don't go out, don't really do a whole heck of a lot, is when it comes time for bed, it doesn't feel right. there's no winding down. it's like the day just ends. it's weird.

oh, and yeah, ragheads is a lousy word to use to describe someone. not cool, i shouldn't have one that. and it does suck to be a civilian over there right now. heck, all the time. the wars don't end there. but if/when it comes down to it, i'm rooting for my brother.

he's left

I said good-bye to my little brother yesterday. I will not see him again until the end of February. Though in actuality, it could be never. That is the reality about it. He's going off to fucking war.... I might never see the kid again. Though that isn't likely to happen. Still, it looms over our heads.It's gonna be weird. He won't be around for Christmas, my mom's birthday, Valentines day with his girlfriend, so many missed events. Just because a bunch of fucking ragheads on the other side of the world are blowing each other up. Don't get me wrong, I'm not anti-war, but this is my little brother I'm talking about here. I get all conflicted when I think about him over there. Here he is, his life on the line, fighting for some unknown objective that I'm sure not even the politians know. Yeah, he signed up for it, but that is beside the point. I sit here and bitch about how shitty my job is and how my boss fucked me over, or any other complaint, all while there are guys over there getting shot at. Having to be wary of anyone not in the same uniform as them b/c they just might have 20 pounds of C4 strapped to their chest. My complaints just seem so minimal. In the grand scheme of things, they really don't matter. But they matter to me. Does that make me a selfish person? I need to learn how to keep this all in perspective. I need to figure how to sort out this shit. Either way, my prayers are with him. With all the guys over there.

Argh!

I'm am getting SERIOUSLY pissed right the fuck off because of this fucking bullshit! I go to Yahoo! to watch music videos. Except it won't let me, because they are not allowed to show them outside of the US because of copyright laws. So I try MTV.com, same thing. Copyright. Then I see that certain shows are now available on the internet. So if I miss an episode of Grey's Anatomy, I don't need to fret, I just have to go to the ABC site and I can watch it there. Or so I thought, but no. Same with a CBS show, The Unit. It has full episodes online. But can I watch them? No, because of these same FUCKING copyright laws. Seriously!?!??! WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH FUCKING AMERICA!! I can watch all the same shows on TV, but not on the internet. I thought the internet was all about freedom of information and all that shit? You never used to be able to limit content to ppl from only certain countries. That was one of the joys of the internet, you could surf whereever, see whatever, all from the comfort of your own home. There were no limitations. But then the fucking government has to put it's fucking nose in where it doesn't belong. So now, all those piracy ads on TV, and in theaters, they can lick my hairy nut sack. Them and all their fucking rules. I never really cared before, but sometimes I'd feel a twinge of guilt and buy it. Not anymore. FUCK YOU RIAA, FUCK YOU US Gov't, FUCK YOU ANYONE THAT SAYS ANYTHING TO THE CONTRARY!
Assholes!
(btw, if anyone knows a way to mask your ip, or knows of a browser within a browser so I can access this stuff, please let me know)

Why do I even bother?

Helping ppl that is. I get calls/requests from ppl on a regular basis to help them with ther computer woes. Technical problems? I can help. Need a computer built? I do that as well. Need a network setup, or a system spec'd out? I can do all that too.What irks me is when I put time and effort into heling someone, and they don't heed my advice, or make use of the work I have done for them. I've had ppl ask me to spec out a potential computer for them, gave me a big list of shit they wanted. I spent hours figuring it all out, pricing out different options, changing different variables to optimize everything, and laying it all out. What do they do? Go to a big box store and buy some piece of shit off the shelf which gave them less for their money than what I could have done. And to top it all off, they didn't even tell me until I asked about it weeks later. Or what about when someone comes to me with a doozy of a problem? I spend time figuring out how to fix the problem. Be it struggling with them over the phone trying to help them, or spend time researching it so I can either explain to them how to do it, or fix it for them. What happens to all that time spent helping them? It is thrown away b/c they don't have the patience and just take it into a computer store costing them LOTS of money, and wasting all my time. Or someone calls asking for help, explaining their problem, I tell them how to fix it, and they dont' even bother doing it. They call a whole bunch of other ppl, ask them the same question, get a million different answers (b/c company computer tech ppl are full of shit), and I get a phone call back being told all this shit that these other ppl are telling him!ARRRRRRGGGGGHHHH!Seriously! If you want my fucking help, I really don't mind helping you. In fact, I rather enjoy it. But don't waste my time. Don't ask for something unless you are going to actually consider it. And DON'T ask for technical support and then take it into a fucking shop!

Election Strangeness

Okay, so I am spending time in this wonderful country south of the 49th parallel. And I'm confused. I guess there is this big mid-term election coming up in November. So I am sitting here watching daytime TV (switching between The View and Maury) and these commercials keep coming on that intrigue me. They are election commercials. But instead of going on about all their election promises, and defining their platform, they have ads that just cut down their oppenent. It seems like an odd sort of tactic. I always thought you'd want to get your name out there so ppl would recognize it and vote for it. Rather they have gone the opposite way and have ppl associate names with DO NOT VOTE FOR. Seems like an ass backwards concept. So negative. I just saw this commercial going on about how this person has voted against raising minimum wage 10 times, he has made the largest cuts to student funding but has given billions to oil/gas companies. he votes the same as bush on EVERYTHING, even when it isn't good for Iowa. He is running. But he can't hide. Lame.

Election Strangeness

Okay, so I am spending time in this wonderful country south of the 49th parallel. And I'm confused. I guess there is this big mid-term election coming up in November. So I am sitting here watching daytime TV (switching between The View and Maury) and these commercials keep coming on that intrigue me. They are election commercials. But instead of going on about all their election promises, and defining their platform, they have ads that just cut down their oppenent. It seems like an odd sort of tactic. I always thought you'd want to get your name out there so ppl would recognize it and vote for it. Rather they have gone the opposite way and have ppl associate names with DO NOT VOTE FOR. Seems like an ass backwards concept. So negative. I just saw this commercial going on about how this person has voted against raising minimum wage 10 times, he has made the largest cuts to student funding but has given billions to oil/gas companies. he votes the same as bush on EVERYTHING, even when it isn't good for Iowa. He is running. But he can't hide. Lame.

A Must See

Everyone should watch Lucky Number Slevin. It is amazing. More of a one time watch as opposed to a buy, but amazing because of that.
So go rent it and watch it.

New Music Video From David "The Hoff" Hasselhoff - "Jump In My Car"

/le sigh

Makes me Happy

I'm so glad there is still music being made that is nice and poppy. :) Like the stuff I listened to in junior high and high school. Thank you Hilary Duff.

America

Welcome to the state of America today.


(click to enlarge)

Changes...again

So I took last Friday off to find a job. I actually took the day off b/c I was supposed to go see my little bro, but he isn't leaving until next monday now, so I'm going next weekend. Round about noon I sent out 7 resumes. At one o'clock the calls started to come in. 2 interviews at decent places. Then at 2:30 this guy calls and starts talking to me like he knows me. Doesn't introduce himself until halfway through the conversation. I knew where he was calling from from the caller ID but still... So it turns out he's the owner of a hydraulics company here in town and owns a powder coating (painting) company, and some other company. Calling to offer me a job. He's never met me. He's never seen me. A quick 3 min talk on the phone and he offers me a job. What caught his eye was my computer schooling. So this would be 2 millwright jobs that I've gotten b/c of that schooling. Hopefully unlike the first one I'll actually use it this time.So I walked into my old job on Sat morning, told my boss i quit, picked up my paycheque, loaded my toolbox into the back of the truck and left. All done.So I start on Monday. Tomorrow. And to top it all off I might be sent on a job up north somewhere working on a oil rig for 4 days tomorrow. I have no idea what I'm doing, what i need, etc... AND I left my cell phone at the school where our church meets, and couldn't get back in to get it. So I have to call the school in the morning and hope a staff member can pick it up for me before some student walks off with it. So yeah. New job tomorrow. Lots of butterflies in my stomach. But a 2 dollar an hour raise from the last place, and 2 or 3 more after 3 months. Yay for finally hitting the $20/hr mark!Now to pack in case i'm going up to that rig tomorrow...

Brilliant Idea!

I had a brilliant idea when I was in the shower today.
-Prelude-
Normally, when I need to shave, I do it right after I've had a shower as it seems to work best that way (with the skin all soft and whatnot). So I shower, get out, dry off, shave, rinse off, dry, and done.
-Idea-
Why don't I shave in the shower? Because I don't have a mirror in the shower. So why don't I get one? I will! I'm going to buy a fogproof mirror, and then I can shave in the shower. Except I won't keep the water running, b/c that's a waste. I'll get in the shower, wash, and then shut off the water, shave in my super cool new mirror, turn the water back on, rinse, and I'm done. Amazing!
I'm so clever.

9.11.2006

5 years later and they are still fighting stupid wars over there. Today I find out on which day my little brother is being shipped to Afganistan. He's part of the 300 troops and 8 tanks being sent over. Why are more Canadian troops being sent over? Because too many of our men are dying, and reinforcements are needed. So my little tank driving brother, who wasn't supposed to go until 2008, got his 2 week notice last week.
I'll find out more today.

Taekwon Do and boxers don't mix

So I went to my very first Taekwon Do class today. :) It was so awesome. I'm gonna be awesome. Though me and coordination don't really get along very well, which is why weightlifting and I do. The most coordinated thing weight lifting requires is alternating curls.But yeah, it was awesome. I know it will get frustrating as I'm a little out of shape, and the whole coordination thing. But I'm gonna stick with this and see how things go. So exciting! (though I do need to buy some new underwear, boxer briefs maybe) ;)
For the record, I LOVE Whose Line is in Anyway.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSFvlR1lOho&NR(i almost peed my pants laughing)

The Internet is for Porn

http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=5430343841227974645
(no sexual content)

Amazing Grace

This is the most amazing version of Amazing Grace ever done.
http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=-5448316556715787562
And for those of you who are unaware, Victor Wooten is probably the greatest technical bass player around today. Simply amazing.

Picking Fights

Yesterday I left work halfway through the day b/c I was sick and tired of the bullshit that is my company. Today a number of my co-workers told me to pick my battles. This company is a joke. We are supposed to put out 2 units per week. Right now it's about 3 or 4 a month. There is no direction, nobody tells us what to do, or what to work on. We have no parts, so we get a unit half finished and then end up having to switch over to another unit and maybe have enough parts for it. It's just so frustrating working here.I bring up ideas to my boss on how to improve the design, or how to make something work better, or look better and it's shot down. Today I told him how we could improve a certain part of the design, and he just said that we couldn't do anything b/c that's the way it has always been done, and we don't want to start changing things now. WTF? Blow me you fucking asshole. My boss is the same age as me, some dumb fucking hockey jock who only has this job b/c he's been there the longest. He goes on these stupid power trips, and sulks when things don't go right, or he gets reamed out over somethign or another. How can I work for someone who I have absoletly no respect for? Pick my battles...okay. I'll fight everything.

Today

Driving 120 in the fast lane in a 110 zone IS NOT acceptable. I don't care what you think in that puny little mind of yours. Now get the fuck out of my way, it's my birthday.

Quirk

Going pee in a bathroom that has those fuzzy seat covers on the toilet seat is most annoying. I put the seat and cover up and it keeps wanting to fall down. How am I supposed to pee? Growing up I never knew what to do, trying to stand there and pee while holding it up, or spend 5 minutes balancing it and then hoping the entire time that it didn't fall while I was peeing. As I grew up I just said "fuck it" and took the cover off and replaced it when I was done. But I never liked doing that. It felt like I was doing something wrong. And what if it didn't go back on (I don't know why it wouldn't but...) So yeah. Fuzzy toilet seat covers suck. :)

Absolute Sweetness!

WOO HOO!
New Meatloaf Album, 10/31/06!
Must pre-order today...

Why?

So why exactly are we on Israel's side?

This is (was) a civilian apartment building.

Gay Bashing is Unchristian

Thank you Smarmy Momma for the link to this article, Real Christians Fight Intolerance.

"It is time to say that gay bashing is not only wrong, it is unchristian. If Christianity is grace, then judgment is the ultimate apostasy. If Christianity is love, then cruelty is the ultimate heresy." - Rev. Jim Rigby, AlterNet.

Speeding as Dance

Speeding is an artform. You can't just go out there, step on the gas and expect to get somewhere fast. People will not just get out of your way. Some people will even try to impede your progess. You have to plan ahead, watch the road. It is constantly changing, new cars merging on, cars leaving, cars switching lanes,
The road is an ever evolving, ever changing, multi-faceted environment. It isn't a place where you can just hop on in your car, floor the accelerator and expect to get somewhere fast. You have to know what you are doing. You have to anticipate. You have to know the road. You have to be able to read other drivers. You have to know what your car is capable of. You have to be able to watch the road, read and predict the other drivers' reactions, make split-second decisions, all while being on the lookout for cops. And most improtantly, you have to realize, that some days, you just aren't gonna get anywhere fast, so just chill the fuck out, roll the windows down, crank up the tunes and just drive.I wasn't in any particular hurry today, I rarely am, and everyone was out ofr a Sunday afternoon drive, so I had the time to concentrate on the drivers around me. There was this one young girl in particular that I found rather fascinating. She was 17-18, high school girl, in a brand new eclipse, graduation present type. I'm not sure if she was trying to impress her passenger with her fancy car, but every five seconds she would be stomping on the brakes, switching lanes and flooring it, only to have to break again shortly after. She was expending a whole lot of energy, but not getting anywhere fast. See she wasn't reading the road. She had no idea what she was doing, and unknowingly making my drive much more eventful. Initially she had come flying up behind me, and I had moved out of her way. Traffic was slow, but I figured if she was in that much of a hurry, maybe riding the guys ass in front of me would make him move and she'd at least be one more car length ahead. So she flys up, breaking at the last moment on this guys ass, sits there for a couple of seconds, switches inot the far lane, cutting me off in the process, and speeds ahead a few car lengths before having to slam on her brakes again. She continued to do this. 25km later she is sitting in the lane beside me, not 50 miles ahead of me where I'm sure she wished she was. It was cute.See I love driving fast. I'm rarely in a hurry. I just love the rush. I love the feeling. I love flying around corners, scaring the shit out of myself going so fast sometimes. It's fun. I know there are limits, and I push them to some extent, but I also know my limitations. Sometimes traffic is not condusive to speeding. That's fine, I'll just chill and drive along wit everyone else. I don't understand people that don't drive fast. I don't know how they can relegate themselves to that position. I see a car in front of me and I want to catch up and pass it. Not for any particular reason other than to be in front of him. When I finally pass him there will inevitably be another, so I'll have to keep it up. A never ending circle. And when the road is empty, it's even more reason to fly. No one is around.

All good

So I had my eyes lasered, and I'm not blind. Hallelujah! I was pretty nervous going in, but in the end, it all seems to have turned out alright. I still don't ahve full 20/20 vision yet, but they said it will fluctuate for the first week or so. I havea follow-up checkup on Friday, so we'll see what they have to say then. Things are still al little blurry now as my eyes heal, but I can see well enough to drive, and to fuction, and do pretty much everything I did before. The slight blurryness is a little annoying, but we'll see how things go. I also start my new job tomorrow. I'm a little nervous about that as well, but I've done it before, and I'm sure I'll do it again, so it's fine. The money is better, and there are more hours, so hopefully I'll be able to start making ends meet. I will have to buy a new toolbox, which is almost $500, but hopefully I have pretty much all the other tools I need to do the job, they get epensive real quick.I'm still feeling a little sick from the effects of the surgery. Minor headaches, really dry eyes, etc... but I'm hoping that will clear up soon. So yay!

Scared

I'm scared. My mind is in turmoil. I'm nervous. I'm stressed.
Thursday I go for surgery. I'm getting laser eye surgery done at the Gimbel Eye Centre. For the first time since grade 1 I'll be able to see more than 6" in front of my face clearly. It's pretty scary. And it's also very exciting. It opens up a whole new world of oppurtunities and possibilities to me. Things like applying to join the police force. Oppurtunites that could throw a wrench into previously made plans. So many pluses and minuses. I can play sports without worry, wrestle with friends, not have to spend my entire life worrying if I'm gonna bend or lose my glasses. Not haveing to fork out $500 everytime I want a new pair of glasses. So exciting. So stressful. What if something goes wrong? What if it doesn't work and I go back to the way I am now. My doctor sounds pretty competent, she's done lots of these. This is costing me $3400 for the both of them. It's a gamble. 1.5% of cases have problems, so my odds are pretty good, but it's still a risk. As surgery always is. And this isn't even for the benefit of anyone but myself. Part of me feels like I'm being really selfish in getting it done. It is selfish.
I also start my new job on Monday. Another Millwright apprentice job. More money, more hours. The work will get boring, it's just production work, but I figure as long as I stay until they put me through school next year, I'll be fine. I'll then be a 3rd year, and that opens up alot of choices.
Surgery is thursday at 2pm. 2-4 day recovery time, which should mean I will be alright to start my new job on Monday. Prayer would be welcome and appreciated.

Scary

You know what is scary about living alone? Wondering what would happen if I were to choke on something? Or to fall and knock myself out? Or to seriously hurt myself and not be able to do anything about it. What if I died? How long would it take before someone came by? 24 hours? A couple of days?

Just something I was thinking about while showering today, wondering what would happen if I slipped and went unconcious and drowned.

Interviews

So I went for a job interview today. I had applied at this place about a month ago and never heard anything back. Yesterday they leave me a message to call them. I call back at 8:30 this morning, and have an interview at 10:30. Yay for efficiency.
So at 10:30 I'm normally working, well as close to working as I can be at this job. Since I'm on my own I decide to take my lunch at 10 and go to the interview.
I pull up in my company van and filthy coveralls and go into the shop. The interview consists of us standing around a filthy desk in the midst of everyone working. Parts of the coversation are inaudible b/c of the surrounding noise. The interview ends with him telling me he'll call me tomorrow and let me know what the starting wage is, if I find it acceptable I start in 2 weeks.
I love trade job interviews. None of this preppy bullshit, no dressing up, or dealing with bullshit, answering dumb questions like "what is something about you that you don't like" or "what would you bring to this organization."

It will be nice when I'm finally done with the trades though, all things considered.

Anniversary

Friday was our Fifth Anniversary. Only 10 months until we get to start counting over with actual anniversaries, but still. 5 years is a long time to be with someone in today's world where most marriages don't last that long. And the past two and a half years have been long distance.
So I think we must have something pretty awesome. Thanks my dear, for 5 wonderful years, and I look forward to the many more.

Yay for being happy! Yay for Mama Bean being back in town again, if only for 2 short weeks. 4 months until she is back for good.

Cute

I got this in a forward, and found it suitablly amusing. :)

FEMALE PRAYER

Before I lay me down to sleep,
I pray for a man, who's not a creep,

One who's handsome, smart and strong
One who loves to listen long,

One who thinks before he speaks,
One who'll call, not wait for weeks.

I pray he's gainfully employed,
When I spend his cash, won't be annoyed.

Pulls out my chair and opens my door,
Massages my back and begs to do more.

Oh! Send me a man who'll make love to my mind,
Knows what to answer to "how big is my behind?"

I pray that this man will love me to no end,
And always be my very best friend.

Amen.


MALE PRAYER

I pray for a deaf-mute nymphomaniac
with huge boobs who owns a liquor
store and a fishing boat. This doesn't
rhyme and I don't care!!

Amen.

?

I don't understand the media. They referred to those 2 American soldiers that were abducted and later found tortured and dead, as "abducted soldiers". They were prisoner's of war. Get it right. It's not like they were just in the wrong place at the wrong time, they were in a freakin war. People that are abducted in a war zone are called PRISONERS OF WAR. Fucking media.

New Shirt Design

Front: It's not gay if she wears a strap-on.
Back: ...Definitely not gay.

And then my brother tells me I'm too fucked up to become a pastor. :)

Bitch

Okay, so it is your boss' birthday, but you are busy and not able to make it to the celebration. Normally not a big deal right? But what about if your boss is the Queen of Freaking England? And your job is as her personal representative to Canada? And what if it is her 80th freaking birthday? Doesn't that take precedent over ANYTHING else that you could possibly be doing on that day? You can't just respond to an invitation to come to the Queen's birthday party with a "I'm sorry, I'm busy on that day."
Sickening. Absolutely disgusting. And most people already don't like her, mostly b/c she is "le french" (quebecois type, which is even worse), and an immigrant. So to decide to blow off the Queen's birthday, the first time a Canadian Govenor General has missed one in over 50 years, is a deplorable act, and she should be severely chastised. Hey, let's just fire her and put an actual CANADIAN in the job.

Knowing and Reading

I want to know Jesus with my heart, not just my head. There is something missing right now, and I think that's what it is. I'm not sure how to go about knowing Him with my heary, but I'm gonna try anyway.
I'm going to start reading the bible. I'm going to read it like a book, beginning to end. I think what has kept me from really reading it, is that I think that I'm supposed to get something from each and every passage. That every sentence, every verse has to teach me something. But it doesn't. Not the first time. It isn't as though I can't read it again. And again and again. If I read it through, the whole way through, I will learn lots. I'll also miss lots, but that is okay. It really is. Because can just read it again.
So since I was already in bed, and got up to type this, I'm going back to bed, and will commence with the reading tomorrow.

FYI

Interesting...you can't be in the Boy Scouts if you are homosexual or an athiest. Yet they are a publicly funded group. How does that work?

the n00b pwner

Chris: My cool new sweater came in today. It says "i pwn n00bs" on it. It's awesome

Jo: yeah, what does that mean?

Chris: pwn is own. it's geekspeak. and n00bs are guys that suck at games. i pwn them.

Jo: and where are you going to wear this shirt?

Chris: Everywhere

Jo: people are going to walk-by, and those that understand what it means are going to shake their head and feel sorry for me.

Chris: No they aren't, they are going to be like "wow, what a lucky girl to be with a guy that pwns n00bs! i wish i was her."

I know. I'm amazing. And I pwn n00bs. :D

666

Happy 666 Day. Since today is 06/06/06.

:(

And I thought James Blunt's "Beautiful" was sad, Goodbye my lover is absolutely heartwrenching. I was listening to his album last night, not really paying attention and about midway through this song I noticed a pain in my being. I stopped. Listened to the song. And it hurt. His voice. The music. The song. It is heartbreaking.
Just thought I'd share.

Camping

Here are the pictures we took when we went camping on the May long weekend. These are just Friday night. Pictures here. I'm not sure if there is a good way to browse through them. If you can't find one, go here but they are in reverse order. They have descriptions then though.

Hockey

Every sports radio station is talking about how hockey just isn't popular in the states. For example, Carolina, who is hosting game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals tonight isn't even sold out. How sad is that? Though not ALL american cities are hockey-free. Buffalo (who is playing Carolina tonight) sold out the entire series home games in 12 min.
But no matter what, hockey will always be #1 in Canada. And us and the Eastern US will keep hockey going forever. It may never have the publicity or scandals that football or basketball have. But it has the hearts of Canadians. (Canadians, also the #1 hockey team[the montreal ones, not the national ones])

Jenny Lewis

I saw this video (click on video) on Muchmusic the other day. She's pretty awesome. Such a wonderful voice. The kind of music that would sound excellent on a record player. You should check her out.

the old days

I miss the old days when Britney, Christina, and Jessica were cute and innocent. None of this dirty, sexy business. While it has it perks, I do miss the way they used to be. So cute. So innocent. So dreamy...

Definitely Ghey. Or is it?

Here’s a little insight to the types of discussions Neil and I have at work. Is a guy gay (homosexual), if he enjoys anal stimulation from his girlfriend, while having sex with her? (Sex being the entire situation, not necessarily just the intercourse part) What about if she puts on a strap-on and starts drilling him up the ass? Does that make him gay, even if he isn’t fantasizing about a guy, but is enjoying his girlfriend doing it? And remember, the guys equivalent of the g-spot is back there. I can see it being gay if he’s taking it up the ass from his girlfriend and is fantasizing about it being a guy. It’s the fact that he’s enjoying his girlfriend.
An interesting thought to ponder…

What a wonderful church I am a part of

I know I'm not the greatest bass player in the world or anything, but seriously...
I just got fucked over AGAIN for playing at church. I was scheduled to play this weekend, but I find out this other guy that I'm supposed to be rotating with is. I haven't played since Easter, since for some reason they skipped me a couple of weeks ago, and now I'm being bypassed again. So now I don't get to play until the end of June. Another 4 weeks from now. It's already been 4 weeks since I last played at Easter. Seriously, what the FUCK is going on?!?
It's just so frustrating. I practice and practice, and then find out I'm just getting screwed over again.
/sigh What a great way to treat a volunteer. And yet I stay. Why? Because I love playing live. Playing to a CD, or by myself gets old fast.

Lame Hippy Propoganda

Link to Video
A little documentary narrated by the most boring person ever. She just goes on and on comparing America to Nazi Germany. Showing how evil the cops are. How evil America is. Trying to make it out like they are the victims. Yes, protestors are always the victims. Yes, America is turning into/is a police state, and is going to start to send people to camps. Give me a fucking break. Protestors annoy me.
And when she goes on about how children were pepper sprayed? Don't bring your fucking kids to a protest.

The Wages of War, Is Pain

I am fighting a losing battle against a formidable foe. Every morning I enter the arena and don my battle gear. Coveralls. Safety Glasses. Leather Gloves. I am not ready to enter battle. My foe? Metal. Steel. Ferrous or non, I do not discriminate. Neither does it.
But try as I might, and fight as valiantly as I do, it is an uphill struggle. See metal is harder than skin. It always wins. When I think victory is in site, I raise my grinder above my head, and bring it down, cutting disc slashing the steel to ribbons, leaving naught but destruction in my wake, it lashes back. With flying steel shards, and razor sharp edges. I counter-attack with my grinding disc. I smooth off those rough edges, and my safety glasses and gloves protect me from the flying shards. I grin in victory. I am proud of my achievement. I have won! What a wonderful day. That is until I throw that piece of steel away and it slips from my grip and slams into my shin. Or I slide the newly cut piece into place and pinch my fingers. Or I tighten the nut too much and my wrench flys off smashing my knuckles. And that bitter-sweet taste of defeat enters my mouth, and I know that I have been beaten again. Another battle lost.
But I continue on. Valiantly striding forward, everyday losing just a bit more skin, getting a few more bruises. I carry on. Why, in the face of all this pain, against all odds, do I keep going?

Because I AM MAN!

Commercial

If you haven't seen the "I am Man" Commercial yet, here it is.

Yesterday's Joys

I love the new "I am Man" Burger King commercials. :) They are great.

I also love drinking/eating the juice out of the can before I add water. :) It's so good.

Only YOU can prevent forest fires!

No! Wrong! I am NOT the only one who can prevent forest fires. So can you, and you, and you, and you, EVERYONE! Even me! EVERYONE CAN PREVENT FOREST FIRES! This isn't some exclusive club that you have to belong to in order to prevent them. "Only you" is an exclusive statement.
Oh, so since only YOU, can prevent forest fires I guess that means I can't right? What about when the great Smokey the Bear says it to the next person. "Only YOU can prevent forest fires." Does that mean the last person can't anymore b/c only this person can?

What a stupid slogan.

Blah

I've been suffering from a severe lack of motivation lately. It is as though everyday is a week long, and I wake up the next morning wondering why it isn't the weekend yet. But alas, it is only Wednesday, not the weekend. Not even Friday.
I live my life always looking forward to the next thing. It gets me through my days. Always knowing there is something coming, something exciting, something to keep me going. Then it comes, I enjoy it, and I'm looking forward to the next thing. The problem right now is that there is no next "thing." I don't really have anything big to look forward too. House buying totally filled every aspect of my life for a couple of months, and then it was over. I'm here, I've been here for almost 2 months, and I still have nothing on the horizon. I've just drifted through these last 2 months.
I've been told this isn't a very good way to live my life, always looking forward to the next thing. Living for the next high. Mama Bean compared it to being a junkie. I don't know how to change it though. I just want something to look forward to so I can get out of this lull and get going again.
What to do, what to do...

90 cents!

The Canadian dollar finally reached the 90 cent mark! This is the first time since November 1977. Why can't I have a trip planned for around now. So much more affordable.

woo woo

Yay for Britney Spears! You are so sexy! And preggers again! Let us hope it isn't K-Fed's kid. :)

*sigh*

And now I have to stew about this until Fri. when the property manager gets back from vacation.

Mad

Some people make me so mad. Mostly nit-picky useless fucks who are only out to make other people's lives miserable on some power trip that serves only to make thm feel better about their own meaningless existence.
ARGH!
So my fucking condo corporation sends me a letter, which I received in the mail today. It is in regards to a parking issue. Below is an illustration that I drew to help me explain.

(or see it here, if it isn't clear or doesn't load)
My condo documents say, "No Owner, Tenant, or Occupier shall park his motor vehicle or automobile in any common area (except directly in front of his garage, sideways), unless the area is designated or alloted by the Board for his exclusive use..."
So I always park in my garage (purple). When Mama Bean was staying with me last week, I had her park in front of my place, sideways. (red) There is a no parking sign in the middle of the fence, beside where she parked, but there is no area of effect for it. This area is all common property.
And so, like the condo docs say, I'm allowed to park in the common area directly in front of my garage, if sideways. There was plenty of room left for the people opposite my house to exit and enter.
The letter I received states "Areas for Owner parking are clearly defined in the condominium By-Laws and Rules..." Uh huh, and I looked at them before having Mama Bean park there. And I am looking at them again, and I still say I'm in the right.
Unless they want me to pull the car back a metre and have it completly block my driveway. Is that what they want? To completely inconvenience me? To nitpick over minor details that are not inconveniencing anyone?
I'm not sure why they even have a "No parking" sign on that fence. It isn't as though there is enough room there for anyone to pull a U-turn anyway.
FUCKING USELESS PEOPLE!
So now I have to call them tomorrow, and act all civil, and explain myself.

Or am I mistaken here, and have I made an error and I am in the wrong? Because they are threatening me with "monetary sanctions" if this happens again. And I need that parking space b/c I want to get a roommate and it will not work having to use the driveway in front of my garage.

Who Owns What

Ever wonder who REALLY owns what?
Check this out:
Who Owns What

Mmmm...burning

I got my first sunburn of the year yesterday. It was so nice out, and I lucked out with an outside job yesterday. It was wonderful. Just a very minor reddening, no lobsterboy or anything.
I finally got a couch too. Cept it is the most uncomfortable thing in the world. That's okay though. It is definatly better than sitting on the floor.

Annoyance

I am playing at church on Sunday. Made all the cooler because it is Easter Sunday, but I still don't have the music. Rehearsal is tomorrow evening. It would be nice to know what I'm doing ahead of time. I don't know every song inside and out like most of these guys. I like to get in some hours practice so I don't feel like a complete knob when I'm playing. I used to stress when I used to only get them on Tues, and rehearsal wasn't until Saturday. Granted I'm a little better now. But with things like this I end up playing about as well as I used to. /blech
Ah well. I'll just keep practicing.

Springtime

It is amazing how it only takes a few days of rain and things start looking green. I looked out my front window as I was coming down the stairs this morning, and my little patch of grass has green patches. I love spring.

mad

you know, normally, i'm a mild mannered, laid back individual. I rarely get angry. Right now, I am angry. Stupid people piss me off. People that make my drive home take over an hour instead of 30 minutes because they don't know how to fucking drive. People that say they'll do something and don't follow through. Especially people that say they'll do something, and don't follow through and don't say anything. FUCK!
I am so mad right now. I hate being angry. It just drains me. I just.... ARGHHH!!!

On Wednesday of next week, at two minutes and three seconds after 1:00 in

the morning, the time and date will be 01:02:03 04/05/06.

That won't ever happen again.

Ask Mama Bean about this, and she'll totally confuse you with her scientific garble. It is completly lost on me. If you understand, please explain it to me. Acutally, don't. This is just supposed to be something fun. Not confusing. Oh, it might be fun Jo's way, if you are a scientist (nerd). I love you Jo.

To pass the time

These are amazing.
http://hof.povray.org/



http://youtube.com/watch?v=rC_VmGfCKuI

http://youtube.com/watch?v=h18XnSnnxbQ


Ouch. I keep watching the second one over and over...

sleep

How wonderful it would be if I could start sleeping again. Because for the past few weeks, since the purchase of my new house, I haven't been able to sleep properly. I wake up continuously all throughout the night. I haven't slept soundly, nor with any peace. I am so tired, but am being denied the peace and rest required to live properly, and in good health.
It's royally, fucking, pissing me off! I just want some fucking sleep. Some real rest and relaxation. Is that too much to ask?

Things to check out

Amazing Juggler
HUGE Centipede
And if you don't like Falloutboy, or even if you do, tell me, and I'll send you this awesome video for their Sugar going down video.
Edit: Here is the link. Sugar, We're going down

Dreaming

Okay, so I want a tattoo. A particular tattoo that hasn't received much positive feedback, but that I want all the same. A Mr.Clean looking fellow, standing there, non-descript face, fairly muscular, arms crossed over his chest, wearing blue jeans and a white t-shirt, black boots. With white angel wings coming out of his back over his shoulders. White feathery wings. Now I've been told by those whose advice I hold dear, that it would be a very "white power" type of tattoo. Now I don't know if this is b/c I used to be very much like that, or what, but I don't see it at all. I think it't be this really cool angel, kinda like Gabriel or Michael or something. Maybe I could have a sword strapped to his side. But to me, it's a symbol of God, an Angel, His angel. Either way, I think it would be a kick ass tattoo, and I'd love to have it.

Interrupted Posting

I did have a post, I was halfway through writing it, when I stopped to chat with my buddy Sean from SAIT. I hadn't talked to him in a couple of months, so I wanted to see what was up. His brother died last month in a car crash at night. Looks like he swerved to miss a deer. I can't really write anything else. I'll finish the post later.

I'm sorry dude.

Beautiful

My friend Stacey posted this. It's absolutely beautiful. It made me cry. I watched it over and over and over.

Mad Props

Hats off to these brave souls.

Worst Part of the Day

This is the worst part of the day. The final walk up the stairs for the night, leaving the quiet dark of the main floor, making sure all the doors are locked. Getting ready for bed, and turning off the light. Sliding into my big, empty bed. All alone. My brain a whirring, a million thoughts flowing through my head. The most prominent being lonliness.
It is nice that this place is becoming home. And the days are fine. It's the nights. That's when the lonliness hits me.

Home

So my house is beginning to look much more like a home. My parents, who are absolutly wonderful, came over again today and helped me out with some more cleaning. My mom finished organizing my kitchen, and my dad washed my kitchen floor and walls. My brother and I moved some furniture around, so things are starting to finally come together. It's nice having my carpets cleaned as well, they feel a million times nicer.
So yeah, I'm loving this place. I just need Mama Bean here to complete it.

Yummy

So this was growing in my bathtub. So after a long day, and a horrible evening, I go to have a shower and find it doesn't drain. So what do I do? I took out my plug and went exploring. This is what I found.

Woo Hoo!

This is so awesome!

Pots

Okay, so I have these pots that I got from a friend of my dad's. He commited suicide when I was in high school, and b/c my dad helped his wife with the funeral stuff, she gave him all his dishes. Which were given to me. The pots are these heavy ass cast iron things that annoy the fuck out of me. I like the fact that I can just put them in the oven, but they are so heavy, and take longer to cook than the thin steel ones.
So out of curiousity, I looked up the company name on the internet today. "Le Creuse" And find out that they are these high end fancy ass EXPENSIVE pots. Like my smallest pot is worth $99 US. How retarded is that? And I was just going to go and buy myself some new pots and give these away or something. Crazy... I still want new ones, but I like the fact that I have fancy french pots. :) Oh, and the plates and bowls and cups and shit? They are all this fine china stuff that I just use all the time. Hehehe. Now if only I could get some more tupperware instead of this cheap rubbermaid shit.

My House!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/54638996@N00/
These are pictures of my new house!

Doh!

I keep forgetting my camera at my parents place, so I haven't uploaded the pictures yet. Sorry, I'll do it from their place tonight.

Today is the day!

Since I woke up an hour ago I haven't been able to sit still. I'm just so excited. Today I take possession of my house! Shortly here I have to go to the insurance office and get that sorted out and then it's off to Airdrie to do my walk-through, and the place will be mine!
I feel like I should eat something, but I'm not hungry. I didn't sleep well last night. It's like Christmas morning, cept this is going to put me into so much more debt than I have ever been in. My plans are starting to fall together. In high school when I started my millwright apprenticeship I planned on buying a house in my early 20's. I also planned on being done my apprenticeship by now, but a few setbacks, and wonderful events (ie. Jo) life is starting to come together. Now I just have to keep it on track.
Yay for new houses! Pictures will be posted today. (H, where do you post your pictures in that little online gallery?)

In Response

In response to the comments in the previous post...
Of course you can come see it! I move in on Friday. Everyone is invited to come check it out anytime after Sunday. Okay, I take possession on Friday, Saturday will be cleaning, and Sunday will be move in day. So anytime after that. Unless you feel like helping me clean or move.
As for your list of things to say, Irish Wristwatch was our favorite. I think I've actually written a post about it before. About how we used to try and get other students doing presentations to try and say it. Or how we'd trick the prof's into saying it. So much fun...
I'm so excited about moving! I hope they haven't left it in too much of a mess. I got all my gas/electricity/water/sewer hooked up, and let me tell you what a hassle THAT was. I get my internet hooked up Friday night, and am going to get Vongage (VoIP) for my phone, so we'll see how that works.
So much fun!
Oh, and I'm about 95% done packing!

Chicago Bound

Woo Hoo! I'm off to Chicago for 4 days. A nice little holiday. See my Jo. Good stuff.
Oh, and I move into my new house next Friday!

Political Stance...I guess

You are a Social Moderate (56% permissive) and an... Economic Liberal (18% permissive) You are best described as a: Democrat Link: The Politics Test on Ok Cupid Also: The OkCupid Dating Persona Test

Fucking Pissed Off

Today blew fucking goats. I dropped my parents off at the airport at 3 am, went to bed for a few hours, got up to find that my fishtank filter had overflower spilling just over 2 gallons of water on the floor. This wouldn't be so bad cept that it is my parents hardwood floor. And it is now thoroughly soaked, and expanded, and uneven. So the floor is now lumpy, the glue has been pressed out, and what's worse? As I sit here in the basement writing this I look up to see a nice big stain on the fucking ceiling where the water has soaked the fuck through. Now see this is going to be a royal fucking pain in the fucking ass to fix. I don't know squat about hardwood floors, nor how wet it may be underneath. The ceiling down here needs to be fixed, or painted or something.
My mom is gonna lose it when they get back.
And life in general isn't treating me very well these days. Everything seems to be in the shitter.
Oh, and the computer I gave my little brother is fucked, I'm not sure if it is a virus or what, but it doesn't seem to want to let me fix it.
I did go see Rex Goudy and Melissa O'Neil tonight though with Miss AJ. The show was good, and we had a blast. More coming on that later when I'm less pissed the fuck off.

I'm Sick of This

Another young man wants to go to parties and other social events---indeed, he is very, very lonely---but he never goes anywhere because he's very nervous about meeting new people. Too many people will be there and crowds only make things worse for him. The thought of meeting new people scares him---will he know what to say? Will they stare at him and make him feel even more insignificant? Will they reject him outright? Even if they seem nice, they're sure to notice his frozen look and his inability to fully smile. They'll sense his discomfort and tenseness and they won't like him --- there's just no way to win --- "I'm always going to be an outcast," he predicts. And he spends the night alone, at home, watching television again. He feels comfortable at home. In fact, home is the only place he does feel completely comfortable. He hasn't gone anywhere else in twelve years.
-taken from http://www.socialphobia.org/whatis.htm

It is very weird reading something that describes yourself. The other day Mama Bean and I were reading a book about personality types, and how ours interact with that of each other. Weird because so much of it fits perfectly. I had this moment again today when reading a pamplet on depression and social anxiety. No, I'm not depressed, but the symptoms of one suffering* from social anxiety seem to suit me quite well.
I was always scared to read anything about it because it is so easy to take symptoms upon yourself and internalize them. Humans have this way about classifying themselves, and I hate doing that.

The symptoms don't all describe me. A number of them I've learned how to handle and have overcome the obstacles. But there are other times when it is just so strong... Like today. I was supposed to go over and fix a couple's computer. They are friends of my cousin, whose computer I fixed a couple of weeks back and she highly recommended me to some of her friends. This one couple e-mailed me and we made arrangements that I would go over and fix their computer today after I was done work. As things would have it, work was cancelled, so I should have called them and arranged a time to come over. But I didn't. What did I do? I called and left a message saying I was still at work and not able to make it over today. Why? Because the very thought of going there made me want to curl up in a little ball and hide. It made my stomach tighten up and my head swim. All the while I was thinking how dumb I was being and how I was over-reacting and it's never as bad as I make it out to be. And after I called, I sat there feeling so awful, but not being able to just call them back. I still feel awful. Before it was at a point where I'd make plans with friends or whatever and then bail at the last minute b/c I couldn't go through with them. Sometimes I'd specifically say I'd go do something in hopes that by making the plans myself I'd be forced to go, but oft times I'd still bail. Sometimes I'd dread it so much that I'd get physically ill. It is also affecting my professional life and I've had enough and need to fix it. I'm sick of living like this.

Lima beans and orange peels

I'm not doing so well in this getting over of Everquest. For some reason it has worked itself back into my system. I'm not even playing, but I long to play like I've never longed for anything before. For the past 2 days it is all I think about. I go through my day, fixing whatever it is that needs fixing, and swapping out gearboxes, and tracking conveyors, all while dreaming about that wonderful place that is Norrath.

I don't know what is wrong with me.

As I am in the midst of packing, I have a box on the floor beside my desk here, and I can see a corner of the Everquest box poking out, just begging me to reinstall it and start playing. All my info is still online, it's but a click of a button away.

I moved the box out of my sight, but it is still nagging at the back of my mind.

ARRRRGGGGHHHH!!!!

Peer Pressure

I think this is the cool thing to do these days, so I figured I'd snag it before someone else stole my name.

Find me on MySpace and be my friend!

Most Excellent Poem

My little brother, who is currently serving in the Canadian Military sent me this today...

Final Inspection

A dead soldier was facing God,
For lives will always pass;
He hoped his shoes were shining,
Just as brightly as his brass.

"Step forward, now
How shall I deal with you;
Have you always turned the other cheek,
To my bible always true?"

The soldier snapped to attention,
"No, Lord, I guess I aint;
It seems that we who carry guns,
Can't always be a saint."

"I've had to work most Sundays,
My work was always rough;
At times I have been violent,
Because the job was tough."

"But, I never took a penny,
That wasn't mine to keep;
Though I worked a lot of overitme,
When my bills became to steep."

"I never passed a cry for help,
But often shook with fears,
And sometimes, God, forgive me,
I have wept unmanly tears."

"I know I don't deserve a place,
Among these good folks here;
They never wanted me around,
Unless a war was near."

"But if you have room for me,
It need not be too grand;
I never had, or needed much,
Im sure you understand."

A silence fell around that throne,
Where saints had often trod;
The dead soldier, with baited breath,
Feared judgement from his God.

"Step forward now, soldier,
You've borne your burdens well;
Walk peacefully on Heaven's streets,
You've done you're time in hell."

I'm Peter Jackson

I'm Peter Jackson. I'm King of the World. I make movies that are a million times longer than they need to be. Why? Because I'm Peter Jackson. You will sit there and watch 3 hour plus movies. You will sit there and you will watch. You will watch it until the very end. You will sit there and endure the obscenly long landscape shots, and the extended long boring ass diologe that adds nothing to the story, and all the extra bullshit that movie company's shell out big bucks for, and you will pay through the nose for all of this. Why? Because I'm Peter Jackson.
(Sorry, I just finished watching King Kong, the 3 hour and 15 minute movie that could have been done in just over an hour. Fuck I hate that guy.)

delayed reaction

it didn't hit me how much that REALLY sucks until i said it out loud to someone else...

Sad News

This guy I knew from Yellowknife died today. His name was Andrew Lovatt. I was good friends with his older brother Matt, we went to high school and church together. Back when I was just starting high school, round about then, Andrew was in an accident or something, I can't quite remember what, but he went from being a super active, sports oriented teenager, to being wheelchair bound. The doctors said he's never walk again, but low and behold, I think it was less than a year later that he was walking again. He fought his way through it.
But I guess he had an anurism on Wednesday that he never recovered from. He died today. They sent his body to Edmonton this afternoon to donate his organs, and his body will be shipped back to Yellowknife for the funeral and burial.
Andrew was awesome. I can't believe he's gone...

How to bring a Christian concert to life

Sing Days of Elijah.
At the conference last weekend, there was some Christian artist whose been around since the 80's leading worship. She was alright, but kinda dull, and the crowd wasn't really getting into it, until they started playing Days of Elijah. It only took a couple of bars of the intro before the energy level in the place shot through the roof. See I like the song as well, but I didn't think it was THAT big of a deal. Apparently it was. And when she started singing, she had a couple of thousand backup singers singing right along with her. It was quite the amazing experience. At one point she tried to change it a little bit, just a subtle change in the cadence of the song, but it didn't work, the crowd was too over powering. It was a truly sight/sound to behold.

Change

Last weekend I went to this huge Christian conference in Edmonton. I had never been to a big Christian conference before, with workshops, and key speakers and such, it was quite the experience. And at the end of the weekend, I left with an altered view of life. I chose to walk away having realized, (and have been for a while, this was sort of a culmination of it) that life isn't about me. Life is about others. Life is about loving others, caring for others, giving to others, serving others. God did not give me this wonderfully deep pool of patience to improve the quality of my life. He gave it to me so that I may share it with others. Sure, I have my needs and wants, but they are second to those of other people. I have to trust that in the same way that I am reaching out to others, so to will people reach out to me. It is the circle that is community. That is love. That HAS to be love. We live in this society that is all about "me first".
It seems that in this "me first" psyche, we only give our excess. We want to establish a secure foundation for ourselves first, before helping others. We need to be willing to make sacrifices, to give not just of our excess. It is a place of extremes, of those that know suffering, and those that don't. There shouldn't be these extremes, there should be some sort of compromise, some sort of middle.
I'm not sure where this is going. But I do know that I am not living life properly. I am not putting others before me in the way that I need to be. Things need to change, and I am going to start with me.

Getting closer

Last night I signed all the morgage papers. $460 bi-weekly payments.
Last night I also signed and amendment saying the possession date has changed from May 1, to March 10.
Today I got myself a lawyer who is going to charge me just over $700 to be my realestate lawyer (as opposed to the $800+ that most other places charge)
Woo Hoo! T minus 37 days. And T minus 29 days until I see my Mama Bean in Chicago. :D

Happiest of Birthdays!

I would like to send out a very Happy Birthday wish to the most wonderful lady in my life. I love you.

Results

Okay, so I couldn't wait, I had to check the results.
A Conservative Minority Government. Meaning all wasn't a loss, and I won't lose my guns, and hopefully he won't follow through on any of his bullshit lack of social programming.
Here's hoping, and watching for the next 4 years...

Election Day

So...
The Liberals want to take my guns away.
The Conservatives think that if you are rich you should get excellent health care, if you are poor you may as well die and quit being a drain on society.
The NDP think we should fill up the government with immigrants.
And the Green Party is just a bunch of pot smoking hippies, who happen to get votes because people don't know any better and throw their votes away by voting green.
So what did I do? Confused the shit out of my grumpy neighbour who was manning my polling station. How? By handing him back the ballot and telling him I find all the candidates unsuitable. This caught him completly off guard, and at first he said I couldn't do that. I had to choose one. Or spoil it. Then he got all flustered and said I wasn't allowed to discuss this with him, and to go to the booth and vote.
So I went there, unfolded it, folded it back up and returned it. I don't think it counts as a spoiled ballot, at least there is no mention of that in the Elections Act, and I'm counted as showing up for voting. That's what I wanted.
So we'll see what happens. If the Liberals get in, they will have a minority government again, just like last time and this will all have been a giant waste of money. But if the Conservatives get in, it'll mean this wasn't a giant waste of money, well not technically, but I doubt much will change.
I guess we'll see in the morning. Or I will anyway as I don't want to follow the results as they come in.

Flames Game

I went to my first flames game since the third game of the Calgary-Vancouver Series in the 2004 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The attitude in the air was completly different. It was quite. The crowd was rather reserved. No obscene yelling and taunting. It was disheartening. The radio has been going on about how the crowd is always pakcing the 'dome and there's a Playoff-like atmosphere in the air. There really isn't. I was disapointed. Though there was a good hit that will be played on Sportsnet all week, and we got a fight in the final 20 seconds. All in all a good game, but I still enjoy lacrosse more.

Details

Here is a link (My House) to the realtor's listing of my place. It was just put on the market yesterday around 4 pm. I was the first (and only) person to look at it, at 6:30. I had put an offer in by 8, and by 10:30 I signed the papers and the house became mine. Conditionally of course. Pending a condo document review (which will run me about $300), and pending my morgage being officially approved.
It's a super cute little house. End unit, with a huge field on the other side of the fence. And across the road is a brand new Super Store. It faces south, with LOTS of windows. The entrance is tiled, with hardwood stairs going up to the top floor to the right, and a nice wide entrance hallway into the house. At the top of the stairs is the washer and dryer in a closet. Yes, the washer and dryer are upstairs, much to Jo's delight. There are 2 bedrooms and a master bedroom. All with windows and lots of light. A nice bathroom at the end of the hall, and an ensuite off the master bedroom with a HUGE bathtub.
The main floor has a nice size kitchen with dishwasher, and stovetop microwave. Oh, and an under the counter radio/cd player/clock. :) The living room is kinda small and just off the dining room, but nice, with lots of windows. The carpet is stained in a section, but hopefully it will come out. If not it's small enough to replace cheaply.
Oh, it has a single garage, that is insulated and drywalled. I just have to paint it.
The basement is finished, I love the way the ceiling is painted/stuccoed. There is a really nice wetbar. (see picture 7) I didn't get the bar stools, though I did try.
There is a partially finished 2 pc. bathroom in the basement as well. It is all plumbed and painted, and piped through the wall, I just have to buy and install a toilet and vanity and sink. Oh, and do the floor in there. But it is quite nice, and will be a nice little project for me.
So yeah. That is my house. As long as you aren't opening the link in Firefox the picture in the tope will have 1/8 in it. Click the box to cycle through the pictures.
And hopefully y'all can see it one day. :)

I BOUGHT A HOUSE!!!!!

I did! I did! It's absolutly beautiful. (It's actually a townhouse, but that is a minor detail)
It's gorgeous! 1300 sqft. 3 bedroom, 2 and a half bath. Oh, just so wonderful. I can't wait to move in.

More to follow.

Funny

I think this is one of the funniest sites I've seen in a very long time.
Chuck Norris Facts

All Done

I officially quit EVerquest 2 today. Said my good-byes, cancelled my account. It's all done. Saying goodbye was actually quite difficult, moreso than I thought it would be. I almost cried (almost). Laugh all you want, but I've made friends on there. You talk to, interact with, play with the same people everyday, be there in real life or in a game, and you develop a bond, a friendship. I'm going to miss it.
Already, in the 3 weeks or so that I haven't been playing, I've noticed a rather large hole in my life. I'm used to coming home everyday, firing up my computer, playing for an hour or so, eating supper, playing for another couple of hours, talking to jo and going to bed. And sometimes sneaking in a few extra minutes after I talk to Mama Bean before going to sleep. My weekends would be spent sitting in front of my computer. 6 to 10 hours, sometimes more each day.
Now that it is gone, I feel lost. I have other things to do. I've read more in the past 2 weeks than I have in the previous 8 months, but things still don't feel right. I miss it. I long for it. I think I'm going into withdrawl. As sad as that is. I gave it up once before, back in January, but I knew I was going to go back. I knew, as soon as school was done, it was inevitable. I was going to play again. This time I'm not. I can't. It was interfering with my relationship with the woman I love, it was getting in the way of any sort of social life. It was just getting in the way of my RL (real life). I don't regret the time I spent playing it, but it's time to move on. As weird as that is going to be...

maybe?

I'm going to try this on for size:

Maybe there isn't a hell. God is caring and compassionate, not vengeful and evil. The Old Testament describes the many times when humanity evoked the wrath of God. But it was never hateful, it was used to guide and mold us.

There is only one way to heaven, and that is to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. So that means that everyone who hasn't accepted Him into their heart, will not enter heaven. What if everyone, after they die, gets to see the truth? They have a chance to believe and enter heaven. Maybe hell is just a really lonely place, with only the Anti-Christ and his minions. Maybe there is nobody there because everyone is in heaven. Maybe?

note: this is very unrefined as i was coming to me as i wrote.

housing woes

So, after a day of house/condo shopping here are the results:

If I want an apartment condo in Evergreen or Bridlewood, expected date is Spring '07 (it isn't even spring '06)

If I want a semi-detached unit in Elgin/McKenzie Towne, I'm looking at a massive waiting list with 4 units being released in Feb, and the beginning of selling their next phase in March, by which point the unit's will have gone from 180 to over 200, once again putting them out of my price range. Even if they weren't, they won't be done for 10 months.

The apartment condos I looked at in Okotoks, with a fitness facility, lake privledges and right next to a golf course, has a entire wall falling off. I dont' know why, and why they don't try and hide it, but there are big cracks along the seams with an entire outer wall, in all those units.

I just don't get it. I couldn't get a house in May because I didn't have enough for a down payment. Now that I have a down payment the houses have all gone up 20 grand and I can't afford them. Why am I always 6 months behind?

I can't find a house in Calgary, in a decent area, listed for under 200, apartment condo's suck because their condo fees are over $300/mo, and even townhouse condos are going for over 200.

And I grimace everytime I put my name on a waiting list as all I'm doing is helping drive the economy higher...

leaving

letting go of that last imbrace
saying that last i love you
turning and walking out the door, resisting the urge to turn back
walking down the driveway and getting into my car
ignoring the tears running down my face
starting the engine, starting to pull away, still resisting
giving in just a little by stopping and blowing one last kiss, giving one last wave, almost turning back
turning my head and driving away, blinking the tears from my eyes as i drive down the road
ignoring the massive lump in my stomach
the pain in my throat growing as i keep myself from crying
knowing i won't see her for another couple of months
crying myself asleep missing her already