Remember kids...

Responsible behavior this holiday season or this could happen to you!

Goodbye 2007, Hello 2008

I suppose I won't be the only one to write a blog entry on the last day of the year. I guess it's a question of what do people tend to write? I would think that a lot of people will create lists of what was good or bad for the year 2007. Some will probably write some retrospect of the year and what they look forward to in the new year. I guess it's really hard to come up with something more original for the last entry of the year.

I will say that again, this year, I will end it at home on my own. I don't think it's a huge deal. Sometimes it's better to spend some quiet time while others are whooping it up somewhere. I guess I just don't have the energy or motivation to whoop it up. That's not to say I'm depressed or anything. But I won't lie and say that I'm just all peaches and cream about the whole situation.

I have also become more aware about how selfish it is sometimes to think about yourself when there are others who are in worse situations than my own. Knowing this, I think it helps to lessen the impact of whatever I happen to be going through. I guess you could say it's a sort of philosophy I've slowly started to take up. That doesn't mean I will give up all my worldly possessions and go off to work in some third world country. I will, however, lend a hand or ear to those who need it most. I find that it's friends like this that are more valued than anything else. At least, this is what I believe.

Anyway, I think I will Wii my way into the New Year.

So to the handful of regular readers, I wish you all a Happy New Year. :-)

Holiday Blahs

I don't know what it is about this time of year. Is it because I'm spending it "alone" that I feel kinda "blah"? I just feel kind of bummed out today.

This past week seems to have gone by rather quickly...

Monday, I went into town (Boston) with my brother just to poke around. Incredibly we found on-street, metered parking. The traffic in was not bad at all.

I really didn't have anything I needed to buy. I did end up getting two CDs at Newbury Comics. I checked out a couple of clothing stores, but really didn't see anything that appealed to me. I guess I'm rather fussy about clothing. :p

Tuesday was Christmas. The carnage that was the opening of gifts started upstairs with all the gifts for the twins. I think they got way too many toys. I don't know how my sister deals with all of it. Then the carnage moved downstairs for the adults. My sister got the new iPod nano from me and bro. Bro got a USB turntable from sis and me. I got the Nintendo Wii from sis and bro. Parents got cash. Bro-in-law got some gift cards.

Wednesday was calmer. Bro and I went by the mall just to check out a couple of things plus find me a bag to carry the Wii back in. I didn't want to haul it back in its box. :p That would have been too obvious at Customs. Found one that I liked at the Best Buy. It was black with pink. Got home and chilled before it was time to head out to the airport.

I had MSN'd with a friend earlier and he mentioned that a bunch of them were going out for dinner that evening. He asked if I wanted to join. I figured, why not? While at the airport, he text the directions and tried to confirm attendance. I said I had a couple things to do once I got back. He offered to pick me up at the airport. I said, cool!

I got home, took care of a little "mess" that BS made on the bed and quickly freshened up before heading out to dinner. The restaurant is a Portuguese one out in the east end near St. Leonard. It was meat, meat and more meat, with some seafood thrown in for good measure.

After dinner, we went to Rockaberry for dessert. We had fun talking about some silly stuff. To cap it off, we went to Cafe Milano for a late evening latte. It was a pleasant evening spent with some friends.

Thursday, I didn't do too much. I had physio in the morning, so I had to get up for that. Did some quick grocery shopping afterwards. Threw a load of laundry in. Chilled the rest of the day before deciding to hook up the Wii. I think I played Wii Sports for about an hour that evening. It was fun. :-)

Yesterday, I wanted to head over to the mall. I was chatting with Abe when I mentioned it. He said he was stuck at home with no car. I offered to rescue him and go to the mall. I wanted to check out the Wii games at EB Games. I found a couple: Elebits and Super Mario Galaxy. Abe inquired into the price of the PS3. He called his brother to find out about some technical aspects of it. We walked around the mall some more. I picked up 2 DVDs at HMV. I found a baselayer at Sports Expert. Then Abe decided to go back to EB Games. He ended up buying the 40Gb PS3. Sucka!!! ;-)

Last night, there was a potluck dinner at a couple's place. They don't live too far from me. I decided to keep it simple and get some cheese and crackers. It ended up being 6 of us in all. Not bad. There was enough food for everyone. I told Yan I needed to give her some cooking lessons. After we had some food and talked for a bit, we all played some poker. I've never really played poker before so we played a couple of "dry runs". After that, the real game began. No money was involved, so it was all good. In the end, of the 6 of us, I finished 3rd, which really wasn't bad.

Today, I woke up after 4 hours of sleep. I feel a bit blah. :p I think I'm going out for some sushi tonight with Abe. Maybe a movie later. I dunno...

Bah-ston

No, I don't really have a Boston accent. Occasionally, I might slip and pronounce a few words in a certain way. My sister has more the accent than I do.

Yeah, so I am back in Boston for Christmas. I flew in yesterday. I think I spent more time on the tarmac or taxiing on the runway than I did in the air. The flight itself was about 45 minutes. Before we pulled away from the gate, they had to pretty much shut down the plane to reset the system because something was a bit wonky. Then it was taxiing, taxiing, taxiing around before we got to the runway we were to take off from. Once we landed at Logan it was more taxiing. :p Sooo.. Instead of getting to the gate by 8PM, we got there around 8:30.

Today, I didn't do tooooo much. The family plus my aunt and cousins went out for dimsum for lunch. It wasn't too bad. Of course, just having returned from Hong Kong not too long ago, my Mom was making comparisons. Oh well. I guess my Mom just has to have something to complain about. In general, the dim sum at this place in Saugus on Route 1 is not bad. I really can't remember the name of the place. It's where Weylu's used to be many years ago on top of a hill.

After dim sum, Mom, bro and I went over to Square One Shopping center. Ack! I braced myself with last minute shoppers. Actually, it wasn't as bad as I thought. There was a line up for the kids to have their picture taken with Santa. Otherwise, the crowds weren't that bad. I went to Filene's Basement and found myself a Kenneth Cole down jacket. It was on sale for 25% the ticketed price. So I paid a grand total of $59.99. That's not bad! Then we strolled around a bit. Mom had gone off on her own and called my brother to tell him that she walked over to the Kmart. We continued to walk around a little bit more before we headed out to pick up Mom by the Kmart.

This evening, we went out to Not Your Average Joe's for dinner. Mom's birthday was Thursday, so we went out tonight to celebrate. I had their Thai Chicken and Shrimp. It wasn't bad. I also tried their Peanut Butter Thing for dessert. Oof! I think in the end, I just ate too much! :p I don't think I will be having much breakfast tomorrow.
_________________________________

Catching up.... Since Tuesday....

Okay, so there was a Vegas Night party at work on Wednesday. It was held at the Science Center by the Old Port. They had blackjack tables, poker tables, Roulette, craps and roving magicians. There was also a live band playing in a room not far from where the casino was. The food was pretty good. They were serving some yummy canapes before the buffet opened. There were many gifts to be won. Alas, I didn't win anything. Yet, I didn't lose anything either. We were all given tickets to exchange for $1500 worth of chips. I played some blackjack before it was time to go home. I had a good time, so I guess it was a good thing I decided to go.

The viewing of the condo by the couple who cancelled Tuesday had to cancel again because the poor woman who is pregnant was bleeding. Oh well. and it seems that the couple who did come to view the place are going to put an offer on the other condo instead. :p

Thursday was not too exciting. I had my first appointment with a physical therapist about my elbow. She did a full evaluation to make sure that there wasn't something else amiss. In the end, she confirmed that it was tennis elbow. :p She showed me a few exercises and stretches that I should do. Next appointment is on the 27th in the morning.

Friday, well.. I managed to finish what I needed to get done at work not long after lunch. After that it was a bit of slacking off. I shot the shit with some coworkers. There was a bottle of good port open, but I didn't have any. Apparently, there was a bottle of wine opened somewhere else. Another person mentioned that a manager had a whole bar set up in his office. Yes, it's more or less the last real working day before the holidays. Technically, Monday is still a work day, but I don't think too many people will be in. I'm in Boston, so obviously, I won't be in. :D

Oh! Today I did receive an email from the real estate agent. There might be a viewing either Thursday or Friday. She'll confirm the date and time as soon as she gets the info. I hope I have a chance to tidy up the place some more and maybe declutter a bit more. *sigh* I might have to do something about the cats as well. I dunno what, but... I guess we'll see.

Tomorrow, my brother will only be working until noon. We're planing on heading into town for a bit. We'll probably get off by Back Bay Station. I like hanging out in the area by the Pru and Newbury St. Let's see what kind of trouble I will find there. :p

I'm Exhausted!

I've been working almost non-stop prepping my place for its first viewing. The agent just came by to pick up a set of keys for any weekday visits. Her client that was originally suppose to come by Sunday but was postponed to tonight due to the snow storm had to cancel tonight because she thinks she's about to have her baby. However! The second visit scheduled for tonight is still on and will probably be moved up to 8PM.

*GASP* *PANT* I'm tired! My shoulders and muscles are a bit sore from hauling stuff, carrying stuff, packing stuff most of the weekend.

I'm taking a bit of a breather right now before I do some more picking up. The potential buyer coming tonight is the niece of another agent. I think she just got married so they want a place of their own. My agent will try to convince and push the other agent into making a serious offer on my place. It's in their price range. So we shall see.

If I have any energy left I'll post an update later.

Meanwhile, the place I'm buying was inspected this afternoon. No major problems there. Just a few small things. The guy has inspected many similar townhouses in the area so he's familiar with the construction. Anyway...

*BREATHE*

Uhm..

I'm not sure what to say...

Do chocolate bunnies and disturbing mix?

Trip Photos

Oh! In case you haven't heard, the gazillion shots I took on the trip are up on my Flickr. I managed to edit it down to about 550 shots. :D

Monday Evening

I am very tired. I guess I am somewhat exhausted. The other night while I was having some late supper, my eyes started to close on me. I think my body just wanted to shut down.

I guess I've been tying to do so much this past weekend that I have not given myself sufficient downtime to recover. Since there was this snow storm on Sunday and the viewing postponed to Tuesday, I ended up napping all afternoon. I think I really needed it.

The place is just about ready for viewing. I think I've done all I can for the backroom at this time. I need to put away a few things before tomorrow evening. I've already taken out some of the garbage. I'll probably have to put away the boxes for packing in the garage. I managed to do some mopping tonight. I'll probably run the vacuum over the rugs tomorrow.

*SIGH* So much to do to show the place and impress people.

Okay, I'm pretty tired so I think I will go to bed now.

Friday - Update

I must apologize for not having written sooner. It's just been one rather busy week. Busy in the sense that I just didn't have a chance to sit down and write an entry here. So where to start?

I guess I will start where I left off, more or less.

Tuesday: I don't really remember much about Tuesday. I did send an email to a real estate agent about selling my place and making an offer on another. She emailed back and said that we'd meet Wednesday evening. In the afternoon, there was a beer and pizza thing for the department. That was dinner for the day!

Wednesday: Today, we had our group outing. We decided to go curling again this year. Since I had volunteered to be designated driver for 2 of the guys who live near me, we left directly from my place to the curling rink. We curled for 2 hours before making our way to Portovino for the department holiday lunch. As it's happened at past holiday lunches, there were the odd dozen of us who stick around to the bitter end. This year, I think we started to leave around 6:30PM. We all made sure that everything was able to get home one way or another. One of my charges was quite out of it, but we managed to get him into my car and safely home.

That evening, I had my meeting with the agent. We first did the paperwork to list my place for sale. As for the asking price, we agreed that if I wanted it to sell fairly quickly, I should price it close to what similar condos have sold recently. In essence, mine will be priced below most of the other mezzanine condos. Then we wrote up the offer on the townhouse. After doing some thinking, I had decided to go for my ex manager's townhouse instead of the one that required a lot of work. Do I really want the headache of renovation?? Anyway, we discussed price. The agent suggested a starting figure to which I agreed. So the offer was written up. Considering it was getting late in the evening, she'd present the offer the next day.

Thursday: The offer was made and countered. I came home to find the for sale sign on front of the building. Whoah. Things are moving along pretty quickly. The agent came by after work to go over the counter offer. We discussed it. I think it was a fair counter-offer. I toyed with the idea of countering it with something silly, but I decided against it. :) The agent had also mentioned in the email she sent in the afternoon that she's scheduled a viewing for Sunday at 1PM! Apparently a couple was interested in checking out one of her listings. She told them about my place. So now they will get to see my place before the other one! :-o They seem pretty serious about wanting to buy a condo. So I hope all the de-cluttering and stuff will help sway them to make an offer. :)

Right now, my place is a bit of a disaster. Today, I also had to call about the certificate of location. I need to make an appointment for a home inspection. I also needed to get mortgage approval for the house. *sigh* I'm feeling a bit wiped. :p

Save our environment!

I received this from Avaaz.org:

Right now, a major UN summit in Bali has just a few days left to hammer out an agreement on stopping catastrophic climate change. But instead of helping out, Canada is actually sabotaging the UN talks! On Saturday, experts gave us the global "fossil" award for being the worst country in the world on climate change.

There's still a few days left to save Canada's reputation -- and the climate -- but we need a massive democratic roar to remind our Prime Minister what Canada is all about, and stop him from blocking the world at Bali. Click below to sign the petition and we'll advertize the number of signatures we get in an ad campaign across Canada this week. Our goal is to get 25,000 people to sign in just 3 days before the ads run. Click below, then forward this email to all your friends and family right away:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/another_canadian_climate_crime/4.php

Enough is enough. Prime Minister Harper's short-sighted, undemocratic and big oil-driven policy on climate change is damaging the world and destroying our image as a good country. We're supposed to be the nice guys, who try to do the right thing in the world.

The vast majority of Canadians are hopping mad on this issue -- we can win this. We just need to show Harper how serious we are that he change course. Sign up now and forward this email to everyone you know - we've got just 3 days to hit 25,000 signatures!

Do your part and sign the petition!

Schmap

This is kinda neat. It seems that a shot I took of Spouting Horn in Kauai got shortlisted for the next edition of Schmap Kauai Guide.

Home Again

Well, I've been back from my trip a couple of days now. It almost feels like I never left home. I don't know why that is. It's not necessarily a bad thing. It just feels a bit weird. I mean, just last week, I was in Tokyo planning my day trip to Nikko. I guess it's back to some sense of normalcy.

Something about this

It just gives me the warm fuzzies. *sigh*

Now I'm depressed. :p

Gate C85

I am such a keener. Or maybe I'm just a bit anal about stuff like this.

I got up at 4AM this morning to get read to head off to the airport. My flight is at 8:22AM. I got to the airport a little after 6AM. There was hardly a line-up for United. There was almost no line going through US Customs. I got to my gate before 7AM. And this is after making a stop to get plug adapters. I'm miffed I couldn't find the missing plugs for the adapter set I already had. So I ended spending $40 plus tax for another set. Bleah.

It's a sunny morning. There's a bit of a strong wind. I suspect the take off might be a little bit rough as a result. It's an Embraer jet, so I'm sure it will be slightly rough getting out.

Anyway, from this point on I will be updating my trip blog. Hopefully, I will be able to upload a few pictures there along the way. :-)

Sometimes it's a matter of principle

Since I got the Nikon P5000, I would like to sell the ol' Sony DSC-W1. It's a pretty decent camera. It's performed rather well for me. So I posted it on the forsale bulletin board at work. This is what I got. Names removed to protect the stupid.

______________________________________________
From: E
Sent: Tuesday, November 13, 2007 4:11 PM
To: F
Subject: RE: Sony DSC-W1 5.1MP Digital Camera

I'll bring it in, but there is a huge difference in the quality of the product. If you haven't already done so, I'd suggest you go check out that Kodak and handle it. Kodak has yet to produce a standout product. So you really can't compare.

BTW, you might want to refresh that page. It says there are 0 left of that model.

There's very little room to negotiate on the price. Sorry. And I'm not in any hurry to sell either.

_____________________________________________
From: F
Sent: Tuesday, November 13, 2007 3:50 PM
To: E
Subject: RE: Sony DSC-W1 5.1MP Digital Camera

Hi E,

Well then if you ask Future Shop, they will align their price, and it's still available on line at Best Buy as far as I can tell.
But it's not the point. I'm not in a hurry, and this is for my step sister, who's still a student… I'll have to ask. Any negotiation margin would be a must here.

Still, I'd like to have a look tomorrow if don't mind.
Best regards,

F
_____________________________________________
From: E
Sent: Tuesday, November 13, 2007 3:33 PM
To: F
Subject: RE: Sony DSC-W1 5.1MP Digital Camera

The Sony also has more manual options. Another reason it's heavier is because it has a sturdier body, not plastic.

If you do further research, the Kodak you referenced is considered a "budget" digital camera with fewer features than the Sony.

Sorry to be blunt, but if you want to pay the same price as the Kodak, then why not buy that model instead? I checked and the Kodak is sold out at Best Buy at $79.97. The Kodak is sold at Future Shop for $179.99. And that's just for the camera and alkaline batteries. So I think $150 is a fair price.

_____________________________________________
From: F
Sent: Tuesday, November 13, 2007 2:57 PM
To: E
Subject: RE: Sony DSC-W1 5.1MP Digital Camera

Well it has a better LCD and focus range, but it's heavier and has less ISO choices, and it's probably out of warranty… for the rest it looks pretty similar.
I'll buy it for a 100$, maybe more but I'll have to discuss it at home.

How much are you comfortable to negotiate?

F

____________________________________________
From: E
Sent: Tuesday, November 13, 2007 2:44 PM
To: F
Subject: RE: Sony DSC-W1 5.1MP Digital Camera

The Sony DSC-W1 is a better camera overall.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/compare_post.asp?method=sidebyside&cameras=kodak_c533%2Csony_dscw1&show=all

What were you thinking of offering?

//E

_____________________________________________
From: F
Sent: Tuesday, November 13, 2007 1:45 PM
To: E
Subject: RE: Sony DSC-W1 5.1MP Digital Camera

Why not.

Is it negotiable?

This 5MP camera + bag + 2Gb + tax, is available at best buy for less than 150$:
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Kodak/kodak_c533.asp

F


_____________________________________________
From: E
Sent: Tuesday, November 13, 2007 12:19 PM
To: F
Subject: RE: Sony DSC-W1 5.1MP Digital Camera

Hi F,

Yes it is. Would you like me to bring it in tomorrow?

_____________________________________________
From: F
Sent: Tuesday, November 13, 2007 12:15 PM
To: E
Subject: RE: Sony DSC-W1 5.1MP Digital Camera

Hi,

I could be interested.

Is it still available?

_____________________________________________
Sent: Monday, November 12, 2007 2:14 PM
Posted To: For Sale
Subject: Sony DSC-W1 5.1MP Digital Camera

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Sony/sony_dscw1.asp (photo is of a black one, this one is silver)

Works perfectly fine. Comes with 2 rechargable AA batteries and charger, USB cable, software.

Will throw in 1Gb and 512Mb Memory Sticks and Lowepro carrying pouch.

All for $150.

Tuesday morning

I think my blog is boring. It tends to be full of mundane, everyday stuff. Very seldom is it really exciting or thought provoking. I guess this blog really is more of an outlet for my emotional being. In other words, it's a bit of a selfish outlet. This is, in a sense, my semi-public diary. I air my thoughts and concerns about my life. To avoid breaching other people's privacy, I avoid talking about people who are close to me. Besides, if friends have confided in me something, I'm not about to divulge it here.

Anyway...

I will be working from home today. I'm not 100% sure if this guy will be able to come by to clean the dryer ducts. I suspect one of those European sparrows that proliferate the area built a nest in there while I was away in May. So now the dryer duct is blocked which means my clothes won't dry. I've been air drying my clothes for a couple of months now. I think it's about time I get to use my dryer again.

I suppose I could take advantage of today to get a few things done around the place. Clean up a bit. Start to pack a few things. Get some papers in order. Run a few errands as well. Hopefully, I will be able to pick up the heater for the home office. It's one of these wall-mounted convection heaters. The thermostat went on it. The part itself costs about $38. Throw in labor and the total cost is $118. Ouch. If the dryer duct guy comes, I'm looking at potentially $250 minimum for that job. *sigh* Just can't win. :p

Oh, throw on top of that the amount I will be paying for pet sitting while I am away. Usually, a friend who lives down the street from me would be able to to it. However, he will also be on vacation during the same time I will. I've asked around to see who might be able to help out. There was one guy at work I asked who lives nearby. However, he's been wishy washy about giving me an answer. Screw that. I ended up asking at the vet clinic when I went to pick up some catfood for BS. They didn't (or won't) recommend any pet sitters but could recommend boarding facilities. However, considering BS's mental state when he's taken away from home, that was not an ideal option. But, the clinic did say they could provide the service of having a vet tech come by to take care of the cats. The cost they quoted me was about $49/day. Ouch! That was at least twice what some of the pet sitters were asking for. After I got home, I saw that there was a message from the vet clinic. It seems that after discussing this with the vet and considering that I have been a long time client, they wanted to offer the services for $650 (plus tax, of course). This comes out to about $30/day. Not cheap, but it is better. I suppose the one pro to this is that it would be a vet tech coming to take care of the cats instead of an animal lover. Not that I don't trust them, but it's just an added peace of mind. Bottom line, I don't have to take the cats away from the comforts of home.

That being said, money matters have been stressing me. It just seems that when it rains it pours. The unexpected expenses and such just drive me nuts at times. On top of all that, I have this trip coming up as well. I really have to keep an eye on any spending that I do while I am out there. :p If I plunk down any significant coin on anything, it had better be pretty damn special!

Meanwhile, I think I've managed to get most of my travel papers in order. I got my passport back last week with the tourist visa for China. That was another expense. They just had to have the one consulate in Ottawa. That's about 5 hrs of driving round trip. The visa would take a few days to process. Then another 5 hour round trip. Essentially, I would lose 2 days of work. :-p So I paid someone else to do it. Eh. Whatever.

Sunday

The weekend is nearly over. *sigh* Well, that kinda sucks.

Last night I had some friends over for hot pot. It was good. We had fun. Everyone left with their bellies full of hot pot goodness and desserts. Oh, some port made it into some of the bellies as well. I think it's a nice way to start off this cold-weather season. B brought a marbled cheesecake that was quite good and rich. S & M brought these yummy little cookies. S made little cheesecake sandwiches with the coconut wafer cookies and dipped them in the porto. It looked quite good. At the end of it all, there were only a few almond shortbread cookies and a quarter of the cheesecake left.

I think I had 2 glasses of port. The second one must have went straight to my head. By the time everyone was leaving, I could barely keep my eyes open! It would have been quite rude of me as the hostess of this soiree to fall asleep! :-) Anyway, I went to bed after I cleaned up the last bits. Everyone helped to pick up and clear the table. I love my friends for always giving a hand without being asked! :-)

I think I hit my head on the pillow around 11:30-12:00. I was awoken around 5AM by Blueshit who wanted to be fed. After I fed him I went back to bed. At some point my alarm went off at 7:30. I hit snooze and didn't wake up again until about 9:30. Crap. It's a bit late to go to the supermarket. I usually preferred to do my grocery shopping in the morning when it's less crowded. I try to avoid Saturdays if I can help it. However, at some point this afternoon, I felt that I needed to at least pick up a few things. So I went out around 3:30PM.

The trip to the supermarket reminded me why I rarely went for groceries in the afternoon on weekends. It was a true test of patience. People with their carts everywhere, often blocking aisles. You also get those who have no idea where they're going and just stop. The truly annoying people are the ones who see you are trying to pass by but just don't move. I think I need to practice my look of sheer evil for such occasions. *sigh*

I spent most of today working on my Flash. I think I may have finally resolved the snowfall issue of the project assignment. I started work on the 3rd assignment. I think I made some pretty good progress. (^o^)/

I'm taking a bit of a breather now. I just had some dinner. Wasn't much really, just some left over chicken curry. I bought some naan bread to go with it. I'm kinda full now. :-p

Yes, it's a bit slow this morning....

So I came across this site which I think is pretty cool! Some interesting ideas, that's for sure! :)

(O_O)

I thought I would be more of a capuccino, but anyway... :)

You Are an Espresso

At your best, you are: straight shooting, ambitious, and energetic At your worst, you are: anxious and high strung You drink coffee when: anytime you're not sleeping Your caffeine addiction level: high

What Kind of Coffee Are You?

Had a rough week? You could be Dwight.

Thursday Morning

It's cold. My feet are cold. I am without a heater in the back room. I'll probably only be able to take it to the service center Saturday. :p I guess I will have to run all my errands right after my workout on Saturday. I have guests over Saturday evening.

Nothing too exciting. Wake up. Feed meowing cat. Go to work. Curse about things not working. Go to class. Go home. Do some more work on assignments. Yeah. I don't have much of a life a the moment. But heck, I feel like I am accomplishing something! :-)

Other than that, I think the more I think about it the more I think I will go ahead and put in an offer on that house when I get back from vacation. After talking to a number of people, they all agree on going in low on the offer. I can't blame them. For sure, at least $20K is needed for some of the work to be done: the floors, the kitchen, the basement. I think what I would end up doing is add what I would need to the mortgage. At least this way it would be at an interest more reasonable than if I took out a personal loan or a line of credit. Anyway, this is about a month away.

Meanwhile, I need to go to my cardio workout tonight. I missed Tuesday's workout.

Eeeeek! Everything is falling apart!

Well, not really. It just seems that way.

After weeks of procrastinating, I finally called someone about getting the dryer vent unblocked. So I called this guy referred to me by this guy who repairs appliances who was referred by the guy who works with the ventilation systems here at work. (I know a guy who knows a guy...) Anyway, I told him what area I lived. When he asked what floor I was on and I said 3rd, he went, "TABAR-NOOSH!". Uh-oh. That did not sound good.

Long story short, he had a job in the neighborhood recently. Where the vent is located outside is very difficult to access. It would require at least a 60' ladder which he doesn't have but would have to rent. Bottom line, it would cost me minimum $250 for the job. *sigh* Well, it has to get done at some point. Also, the weather conditions would have to be such that it would be safe for him as well. Can't blame him there! Anyway, appointment has been set for next Tuesday. If the weather sucks then it will have to wait until after I get back from my trip.

Light bulbs. In the span of a few days, I've had 3 bulbs go out on me. Two of the bulbs were from the same socket. One of the guys at work suspects that Hydro maybe adjusting the power now that it's gotten cooler and people are starting to crank up the heat. :-p

Speaking of heat, I noticed that the digital readout on the convection heater in the back room is a bit funny. It reads FR instead of the temperature. I found a place and called about it. I'd have to remove the unit from the wall and bring it in for them to diagnose. Yay... Now I've got to move the bookcase that is in front of the breaker panel. I've been meaning to relocate this bookcase, but I just never got around to it. So I guess I will be doing that tonight!! :p

Meanwhile, I made the appointment to have my car readied for the winter. I need a new set of winters because the other set has already gone through 7 winters. This will set me back at least $400. *sigh* Thank goodness this week is payday.

Anyway... Still at work. I think I will go home now. :p

Nearly obsessed

Sometimes when I get it into my head that I want to do something, I almost alway go ahead and do it. This situation with the house seems to be one of those things. So here is an image of the object of my current near-obsession. This place is literally around the corner from my place.

Fall Back

I guess I forgot to mention that this weekend we had to adjust our clocks. "Fall back" as it were. Some people see it as gaining an extra hour of sleep, which I would tend to agree. I think the con to this would be that come 10:00PM you already want to go to bed.

Speaking of bed, I laundered the bed linen yesterday. I love how the front loader spins a lot of the excess water out of the laundry. I threw the sheets and stuff to wash in the morning. I hung them to dry (I still need to get my dryer issue resolved). By evening, the stuff is all dried. Since the weather has been getting cooler, I figure it was about time to double up the duvet. I had bought at Ikea a few years back this 4-season down duvet. It's essentially 2 duvets of different thickness. There are velcro attachments in six places. When you velcro them together, it becomes this one super warm, soft, fluffy duvet. Ahhhh! I was toasty warm last night! So where the cats. :p

Meanwhile, I'm wondering what to do next. I am seriously considering selling my condo and buying a townhouse that's for sale around the corner from me. The thing with it is that I think this will require some belt tightening. The thought had also crossed my mind about maybe asking the folks for a small loan to help give me the extra boost, but I won't cross that bridge until I have to. It's a huge deal for me, I think, to decide to sell one place to buy another. I know there will be some amount of stress involved. :-p

At the same time, I am wondering about what course I should take next and where. If I want to continue with on the creative side of things, then maybe I should take some other web design related courses at Dawson versus the ContEd courses at Concordia. The courses at Dawson are less expensive and are usually taught by very knowledgeable instructors. The web design program at Concordia is pretty new, so I don't know what the quality of the teaching is like. So I will have to think about that a little bit.

Well, enough musings for a Monday morning... Got some work to do.

Weekend Update

Well, weather-wise, it hasn't been all that bad here. I guess it was sunny for the most part. Saturday was a bit on the nippy side when I went out for my workout. I really need to look into finding better workout clothing. I think the stuff cross-country skiers wear would be appropriate. Need to have something that will wick away the sweat but also keeping you warm.

Anyway, after my workout yesterday, I had to swing by Rona to look for lightbulbs. I now had TWO burnt out lights: one in the kitchen and one by the dining room/stairs. Thankfully, they're both the same type of halogen bulb.

I think I've been a bit of a piggy and just eating way too much lately. I weighed myself the other day and could not believe how much I've gained! :p As a result, I need to keep an eye on my portions and cut down on some of the fatty bad stuff too. *sigh* And I was doing pretty well for a while there. I don't want to say that the weight gain might be due to some of the muscles I'm slowly building from the workouts.

Last night, I had some leftover 3-bean chicken chili over macaroni. It might have been a slightly large portion, but it was sooo good! For lunch I had made some rice porridge. It's a bit heavy, but warming on a cold day. Today, I was bad. I had a whole Dr. Oetker's thin crust mushroom pizza for lunch. To compensate, for dinner I had a salad of mixed greens, grape tomatoes, red peppers and blue cheese dressing. Somewhere along the way, I had some yogurt and a few Snack-aralli. I think I need to curb the snacking somewhat as well. :-p

Anyway, today I think I made some headway in my Flash project. I had some issues with making some leaves change color, but I think I managed. Next step is to add in some other seasonal details.

Friday

Okay.. I'll spare you any more Red Sox videos and other images. :)

It's finally Friday. I've actually got some work to do today. Later this evening, I have a real estate agent coming by to assess the value of my place. I'm thinking of "upgrading" from a condo to a small townhouse. Square-footage, it would be a bit bigger, but it won't be terribly huge. It would be nice to have a small backyard to do a little bit of gardening. Anyway, we'll see how it goes.

This weekend, I need to work on my Flash project. I need to start drawing some items that I will use in the project. I need to draw at least a tree, some flowers and maybe a shrub or two. I want to keep it relatively simple. I don't want to make it so complicated that I won't be able to finish it.

Hopefully one of the guys in the office can come over and help me test out the dryer before I call the vent guy to see about getting the exhaust vent for the dryer looked at and cleaned if necessary.

Yes, my life is just soooo exciting at times. :p

And MORE!!! (At least until it gets yanked)

This is my typical morning...

But wait! There's more!!!

If you can't get enough of Papelbon...

Rally highlights

In case you missed it: *CLICK*

Red Sox Rolling Rally

I'm spending most of my lunch hour watching the webcast on Fox25 of the victory rally for the World Series Champs, the Red Sox. They have a flatbed truck with the Dropkick Murphys and Jon Papelbon. What's the big deal? Check this out:

I wonder if other teams have such characters on their teams.

Meanwhile, I think I've finished my second Flash assignment. This should allow me to work on the project. What I will probably do is work on creating the graphics that will be used in this Flash project. I will need to draw some trees and flowers and other such things. If I can, i will try to use some images in this presentation. If I can find a decent image of a bare, leafless tree, then that would be great. Maybe find an image of a bunny rabbit to hop across the screen or something. Anyway, I have all these ideas in my head. I just need to get them out and onto the screen.

Tonight, I plan on going to my cardio workout. No excuse tonight. The weather is not too bad. It might be a bit on the cool side, but it's not unbearable. Just dress in layers and I should be fine. :-) Tomorrow is the Flash class. Workout again on Thursday. Home assessment on Friday.

Oh, man! I don't know how I manage sometimes...

Please Welcome the 2007 World Series Champions...

The Boston Red Sox!!!

The boys managed to do it this year! It was a tight game, but they held on and pulled through!

Things got iffy in the 8th. But the team pulled through!! :D

Eek!!!

Okay, so there were a couple of places that had an Open House today. I figure it wouldn't hurt to at least check them out. Besides, they were right around the corner from me.

The first place I went to wasn't bad. It was cozy. The kitchen cabinets could do with a bit of an update. The carpeting on the main floor would have to go and be replaced with hardwood floors. The bedrooms on the 2nd floor are not bad. There were a couple of Chinese guys there commenting on the small size of the rooms. I'm like "DUH!". If they had any clue about the homes in the area, they should already have a idea about the size of the rooms. Sheesh. The basement seems to be half finished. The asking price is $359,000. Considering the work I would want to have done on it, I'd probably knock about $15,000 from that price.

There were also a few young couples looking around as well. I don't know how serious some of them are. I might end up having to take out a line of credit if I were to buy this place and fix it up.

The other place I checked out was just a few doors down in the same row of townhouses. It's a corner unit. It's cute. The layout is different. It doesn't have a mezzanine level though. It's cozy, but it doesn't feel as big for some reason. Anyway, the asking price for this property is $439,000. It's a bit more than what I can afford.

Meanwhile, at the first home, I was talking to the agent there. I told her I lived around the corner. I don't have any fixed dates for moving. It was pretty much a situation where if things fall into place, then it could happen. She offered to do an assessment of my place. So we set up an appointment for Friday evening. :-o I guess we'll see. If something does happen, I don't want to have to move until at least the spring. Winter moves are a hug pain in the arse; especially if there's snow and shite. :-p

I guess we'll see.

Uhm, yeah, okay, whatever..

Yesterday

After I had a relatively early spper, I went out for a walk. I went mainly because I needed milk. As I was changing into someting more comfortable to walk in I noticed the rising moon. I immediately went to grab my camera and tripod. I shot of a bunch of shots in succession as the moon was rising above the Bombardier building. I was too lazy to upload them last night. I'll probably get around to it later today.

Also, I was in a bit of a mood yesterday evening before I went out for a walk. Later it wasn't so bad as I distracted myself with my Flash assignment. Not bad for an hour's work. Once I figure out how to post what I've been working on, I will. :-)

The Red Sox Nation

The point being made in this article is rather interesting. I think some of your true die-hard fans of the Sox would know not to look a gift horse in the mouth. The fans who have been around for a long time know how long-suffering the real fans are. The fans who had to endure the infamous 1986 World Series. Bucky F*cking Dent. All of it. Anyway... Let's see who remains in the Red Sox Nation if our team doesn't do well for a few seasons...

Friday

It's finally Friday. I've been pretty tired all week from staying up later than I should most evenings. Of course there were a few nights there when there was a Sox game on to watch. :D

Here's a little ditty I found on the Boston Dirt Dogs site:

Oh, the Places Tulowitzki and Torrealba Won't Go!

With apologies to Dr. Seuss...

Rox
Sox
Sox on Fox Rox on Fox
Sox on Fox
Rox vs. Sox on Fox
Sox vs. Rox on Fox
Sox vs. Rox in Coors Bandbox

Sox have Jocks
Rox have Jocks
Jocks in Field or Batter's Box
Jocks with Money Box of Stocks
Papi strong as Wild Ox

Fox ex-Jocks sit in Press Box
Listen to Tim McCarver's Vox!
The insanity he Talks and Squawks
Joe Buck oughtta clean his Clocks

Rox beat Sox
Sox beat Rox

No one claims the games are Locks
And on some wood a Nation Knocks
But if the Rox Outfox the Sox
Or Gagne Walks or Beckett Balks
It surely would cause Mocks and Shocks
Requiring Whiskey on the Rocks

... and then, as Manny says, there will always be next year ... -- Mark Stebbins, 10.24.07

Meanwhile, I got my copy of Leopard delivered today. I can't wait to get home to install it. I hope it goes smoothly! And on the subject of Leopard:


Meanwhile, I have a lot I need to and would like to get done this weekend. We were given our 2nd Flash assignment. This time there will be some animation involved. I also have an idea for the final project. I emailed the instructor to get his feedback on the subject.

Wed Ness Day

Tonight is Game 1 of the World Series. I think the game is suppose to start around 8:30 after all the opening ceremonies. I have class tonight. I think I should be home in time to catch some of the first inning.

My Flash class seems to be coming along. I didn't get a chance to play around with the Flash editor too much this weekend. Instead, I managed to clean up my deck of most of the planters. The only planters left on the deck are the 2 large ones I use for the tomato plants. I did at least cut down and remove the plants from the pots.

My first Flash assignment is to create a greeting card. The instructor wanted us to use the tools of the editor. I did my best with my feeble imagination. This is what I came up with:


What do you think?

The Red Sox Are Gunning For It Again!

Well, it looks like the Red Sox are heading to the World Series this year. It's been 3 years since that awesome 2004 World Series Championship. Of the winning team from 2004, I think 7 still remain for this year's World Series. Twice in a life time you think?

Sunday Morning

I know. It's been a few days since I posted anything interesting here.

Thursday, my group at work had an outing. The outing was a trip up north to bike ride and barbecue. I really didn't want to go all the way up there. I think some of the other women didn't feel like going up either. We told our team leader that we were on strike with regards to the outing. But X went. She was our sole representative up there. :-) In any case, we did have some work to do in the morning. Then three of us went out to lunch together. We gossiped a bit and compared notes with regards to work and all. We had fun. We don't always find the time to get together like that and talk. Even after we got back to the office we continued to talk and gossip for at least another hour. Since just about everyone else had gone on the outing it was pretty quiet.

I almost didn't want to go to my cardio workout that evening, but I made myself go. In the end, you do feel satisfied that you went. I was a little tired and sore, but I fel good that did go and managed to accomplish something.

Friday, not much was going on. I had some stuff to work on in the morning. Some software requests in the afternoon. Otherwise, it wasn't overly busy. After work, I needed to go to RONA to look for replacement halogen bulbs for my desk lamp. The small light bulb section at the supermarket didn't carry them. I found my halogen bulbs. Afterwards, I went over to Future Shop. Yes, I know. I was just looking for trouble there. For whatever reason, I was thinking about the Wii. A friend had mentioned the Wii Fit to me. I checked it out. It looks quite interesting. Unfortunately, it won't be released in North America until sometime in 2008. However, it will be released in Japan during the week that I am there. Hmm.. Well, in the end I did not get the Wii. However, I did end up getting the 8x6 Wacom Bamboo Fun tablet. I want to use it with my Flash app and most likely the other apps in the future as well.

Yesteday, after my cardio workout, I did some decluttering of my workspace. I cleared off enough space on my desk to place the Wacom. It's kinda neat. I can see why now how anything smaller just isn't very practical for doing anything significant. I had also checked out on the web the other sizes and models of the Wacom. They're not cheap, the more "pro" models of the tablet. :p

Anyway, I have a few things I would like to do today. So I should try and get that under way.

Midweek

So, it seems that I have been checking out Second Life a bit more. However, I am trying my best not to end up in an addictive situation where the minute I get home I login to SL. That would not be in my best interest. Instead, I am making a conscious effort to do what I need to get done (chores, homework, bills, etc.) before I think about logging in to SL. Things can easily go downhill if I don't.

Meanwhile, work has been busy. There has been technical problems that have been hindering the completion of some testing I've been doing. I should have been able to finish everything yesterday. However, because of one lingering issue, I might not be able to until sometime this morning. I hope.

There is a group outing tomorrow. The plan is to go up north to do some cycling and then enjoy a barbecue. I don't think I will participate. It seems that most of the women in the group do not want to go either for one reason or another. As my colleague S said, this department will be run by the women tomorrow. Haha!

I didn't go to my cardio workout last night. Why? I was operating on 4 hrs sleep yesterday. I somehow managed to stay up until 1:00AM Monday night/Tuesday morning. So you can imagine how much of a Zombie I was. :p Last night I did better. I went to bed a little after 11:00PM. Tonight, I hope to at least equal that or better it.

I have class tonight. I started to work on the assignment he gave last week over the weekend. We're suppose to create a greeting card using the tools we learned in the class. No animation yet. That might be for the next assignment. I hope he gives out the final Project soon. I'd like to try to get a head start on it since I will be leading on vacation in a month!

*yawn* I think I need my coffee now.

It always seem to end with Crisco

Upcoming Trip

Well, this year I had decided to make use of the vacation days I've accumulated. I currently get 4 weeks of vacation each year. For some reason, I still have some extra days accumulated from previous years. As a result, I had about 6.5 weeks of vacation before I decided on my trip to Italy. Italy only used up about 3 weeks. So what to do with the remaining days? Well, I've got another trip coming up. I'll be heading off to the Far East again. This time, I will be visiting, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Tokyo (yes, again).

I'll be taking off in about a month's time to Hong Kong where I will spend a week and a half with my brother and my parents. We're actually going to meet and take the same flight out of ORD to HKG. I have never flown with my folks, so this might prove to be an interesting adventure. In fact, it's been YEARS since I've gone on any trip with my folks. Oh boy.

After HKG, my bro and folks will be heading home. I, on the other hand, will continue on to Shanghai, where my friend A lives and works. I need to bitch slap him a few times. It seems that he's getting a little out of control there.

Next stop, Tokyo. My old buddy W is getting married. I happen to be there the week before he takes off to Hawaii with his lovely fiancee where they will marry. In fact they are flying the day after I leave. I should take them out to a nice place somewhere in Tokyo to toast and celebrate their impending nuptials.

I need to figure out what I need to do before I leave. For sure I will need to get a Visa for China. I'm not sure how much that will set me back, but I can't afford to take a day off just to go to Ottawa for this. I will probably call the visa person they use at work.

Anyway..

Memories of Italy

I recently received a CD with the above video from one of the fellow travellers from Australia. It's cute. :)

Long Awaited Update (continued)

So where was I? Ah!! Tuesday...

Tuesday:
Day of the Matthew Good show at Club Soda. I still have to go to work. G will be getting together with N during the day. The other night, I suggested that G go up Mount Royal. M chimed in that she wanted to do that to, but a friend she was going to go with couldn't. So the two of them arranged to go together. Along the way, they stopped at Schwartz's for some smoked meat sandwiches.

I decided to drive downtown. I figure that Matt will play at least a 2 hour set. If we wait for him to come out to sign stuff and have pics taken then that would take us beyond when the last metro would be. I didn't want to take that chance so I drove in and parked at Complexe Desjardins.

I met up with G and M. As we walked over to the venue to look for B, we bump into P. P wanted one of the extra tickets I had. I mentioned she should look for the red moose hat. M just happened to be wearing it when we were waiting at a corner for the light to change. P came up to her and asked if she were me. :) So our happy little group became 5 after we met up with B. :)

While we waited a bit in line, P mentioned the VIP card you can get from Club Soda. Apparently it was really easy to just go in and say you're there to pick up the card. They guy would just get a card and write your name on the back of it. Voila! It would allow us to get in about half hour before everyone else. This was a good thing because it let us scout out the place first. We also got to buy some swag before the crowds got there.

Anyway, the doors open. We go in. G and I head over to the side where there are tables and bar stools. We check out our gear. The security guy checks us out. He starts to wonder then gets this producer dude. Long story short, we can only take pics during the first 2 songs and no video. DAMN! In any case, I guess we were lucky because the security guys were stopping everyone else from taking pics. :p

Overall, I think it was a pretty good crowd. There wasn't much in the way of extraneous noise during the performance. Matt's banter between songs was quite humourous. He asked for a martini since there was a guy going around the crowd for drink orders. Eventually, he got something that resembled a martini. Don't think it was very good though.

After the show, we headed over to where the tour bus was. We all waited in line to get our pics taken and to have our stuff signed. I was the first one in our little group to go in. I asked Matt if he'd wear the moose hat. He said no but I had him sign it and the bag I got. G took a pic of me with Matt. G also took a pic of M and Matt. :-)

G didn't go meet Matt and have his pic taken with us. We convinced him that he should and we got back in line. M took a pic of G and Matt with her camera. :)

Finally, it was time to head back. M came back with us to the car because she left her jacket there. G and I headed back. I wasn't sure which on ramps were open at that hour so I took Sherbrooke all the way to Decarie. By the time I got home and hit my head on the pillow it was nearly 2AM.

Wednesday:
Work day. G flies back to Calgary.

Today:

Work. Workout. Chill... :-)

Long Awaited Update

Yes. I know that some of you have been wondering what's been happening over the long weekend. Some of you know that I went to the Matthew Good concert. Some of you know I entertained a guest over the long weekend. So let's start with where we left off, which was some time Friday.

I passed on the pub crawl Friday night because I wanted to do some last minute tidying up and hopefully, get to bed early as I had to go to the airport early to pick up my guest. Well, at least I accomplished one of the two. %-p A friend called me up around 8:30PM asking where I was. I told him. I also asked if he wanted to come over Monday night for ribs. He hesitated and mentioned something about class and labs. I reminded him that Monday was a holiday. "In that case, yeah, I think I should be able to make it!" Hehe!

Also, I was chatting with a couple of friends with whom I plan on having dim sum on Saturday. I told them about my guest. Then they bombarded me with 20 guestions! This is all due to the fact that I had not met G in person. We had only been chatting online for the past 6+ months on the Matthew Good Community IM. As with a few other people on the CIM, I've gotten to know him well enough that I think I can trust him. I reassured them that he was a nice guy and that he was coming over to visit because he's never been to Montreal and to catch the Matthew Good show.

Saturday:
I got up early, a bit bleary-eyed and tired, but I got up. Actually, I think BS woke me up. :p I checked on the progress of the flight. It looked like it might be late in arriving. I got myself ready and kept checking the status of the flight. The flight is suppose to land around 7:10AM but the flight tracker indicated it would land around 7:25AM. I think I headed out to the airport a little before 7AM.

I managed to get there a little after 7 and found a parking spot in the short-term lot. It took some manoeuvering but I managed. I went in to domestic arrivals. I scanned the crowd. A few minutes later, I see him standing there. The rainbow-colored luggage strap certainly helped to ID him. :D So off we go back to my place. Since it was a red-eye flight, G was pretty knackered. Since it was still pretty early and we didn't need to head into Chinatown just yet for dim sum, I let him rest a while. Meanwhile, I went over to the butcher shop to buy some baby back ribs. I wiped them out of the 4 racks of ribs they had in the case. :)

I think G napped for about an hour or so before I suggested we get moving. We met up with my friends at the restaurant. We waited a little while for a table. My friends got to know G a bit. We finally get our table, sat and ate. Afterwards, we all ended up heading towards downtown just to wander a bit. At some point my friends decided to head home. I suggested to G that maybe we could head over to Hurley's for a pint before heading back to my place. That evening we just took it easy and watched a movie.

Sunday:
The weather was a bit better today. G had mentioned he wanted to check out the Old Port and Vieux Montreal. So after we had something to eat we headed down there. We went to the archeological museum Point-A-Calliere. There was an exhibit on native American items. We also saw the ruins of what was there since the area was first settled. It was interesting. Afterwards, we headed off in the direction of Hurley's for their Sunday prime rib dinner special. Along the way, G snapped away at the interesting architecture. I suppose there's more interesting things to snap at in an older city than there are back in Calgary.

Monday:
In the morning, we went to the supermarket to pick up a few last minute items for the dinner that evening. M and her friend B along with my friend J were coming over for a dinner of ribs! Yumm!

M and B arrived a little before 5. We had some wine and cheese and some other nibbles. J arrived a little later. I was waiting for some chicken to be done before serving.

The ribs were really tasty. I brought out some hot sauces because someone asked. M found it just a tad too spicy! The dry-rub on the ribs were spicy enough. The extra sauce just made it that much more spicy! :)

The rest of the evening was quite fun. M had fun wearing a set of accessories I have. I think there's photographic evidence somewhere. I don't know if it will ever get posted somewhere. In any case, no one got hurt in the process!!! ;-)

Of course, this all ended fairly late. Sometime after 11PM %-) Of course, I have to work the next day! Ack!

(to be continued)

Friday

Okay, it's finally Friday. This week has been les than stellar. It was down-right boring. Workwise, there hasn't been much in the way of excitement. Well, unless you count that I am getting my laptop "refreshed" (i.e., upgrade to newer and faster machine). Otherwise, bleah.

I need to re-focus on what I've been doing (or not doing). Again, I find myself sitting in front of my computer at home most evenings and not being too productive. I really need to spend more time working on the on-line course. When I start getting assignments in my Flash course, I will need to focus on that as well. All this and to find time to play a little bit of Second Life.

Yes. I have been introduced to the wonderfule virtual world of Second Life. I'm not sure if this is a good thing, but I guess we shall see. As well, I will need to schedule time on this. But it will not take priority over my course work.

I'm still going to the cardio workout. The past couple of workouts I have concentrated on how I was breathing. I found that before, I was just not breathing properly to bring enough oxygen into my system. If I don't get enough oxygen then my heart would have to work harder to get the oxygen into the blood stream. I think it makes a difference in my heart rate. Using the Polar heart-rate monitor I have also helps me to keep better track of how I am doing during these workouts.

This weekend is a long weekend. Thanksgiving in Canada. I don't have a whole lot planned. There is one friend who's coming into town for the long weekend and the Matthew Good show Tuesday. I will have to go pick him up early tomorrow morning. I don't think I will stay up very late tonight. :p I do plan on having a ribs dinner Monday night with a few people. It should be good. :)

I know. I've been slacking off this week about updating this blog. I'll try to write something a bit more significant later. Right now I am getting ready to head out for my cardio workout. :)

Monday

I'm not a big believer of things such as Tarot readings, fortune telling, horoscopes and the like. However, I do read them for fun. Over the weekend, I used the Tarot Widget to do a reading. What came up was rather interesting. I think the card that was of most interest was the Hermit card. In the reading that was done, the interpretation was as such (according to my friend):

"It's a crossroads, time of decision and renewal. Sexually, you will probably experience a partnerless period, which you have the power to enjoy and profit from if you stay open to your body and its energies. Learn what you like and how you like to be loved and you will eventually know exactly what you want in a relationship. you will come to it whole, instead of needy; energized, instead of drained."

I found this rather interesting. I think to some extent I was already on this path. So I guess I'll just continue as I am doing my cardio workouts, taking the Flash course, doing things with friends etc. And eventually, if someone does come along, well then, I guess I'll just have to take it from there. :-)

It's all good.

Sunday Morning

The weekend is about half over. Nothing exciting has really happened. I managed to get a few things done yesterday that I wanted to get done. I got a battery for the cam corder. I got a few more mini-DV tapes. I managed to do some vacuuming. And I treated myself to a nice afternoon nap. Oh, the cardio workout went well. I think I just need to learn to breathe better so my body can get the O2 is needs to work more efficiently during the workouts.

Meanwhile, I guess I wonder about things. If I don't ask then I might never know and then lead myself to thinking of things that might not be. That said, I did ask for some clarification on something. The answer I got was not quite what I expected, but I don't think it's the end of the world. Life goes on. Things were not to the point where it should be a big deal. Anyway, not great news, but, hey, what can you do? If things were not suppose to that way at this point in time, then perhaps it's for a reason. Hm, I guess watching Serendipity last week has got me thinking about this whole fate and destiny thing. :-p

It's FRIDAY!

So we will start off today with the above cartoon. I found it rather amusing. :-D

Last night I went to cardio to make up for the workout I missed on Tuesday. Boy1 I really needed that. I'm a bit tired this morning, but I think that's mainly because silly me decided to stay up late chatting. Oh, this Internet thing will be the death of me some day. Or, maybe will be the source of all my sleep-deprived nights. Come to think of it, it would be sad if all my sleep deprived nights were due to the Internet. Think about that one, folks.

Tonight, I'm having a few friends over for movie and pizza. Nothing too big or over-organized. I'm saving that for an Oktoberfest type of gathering next month. One of the guys coming over has a John Cusack movie, "1408". I'm not usually a huge fan of horror, but this has got John Cusack in it. So maybe it will be funny and sophomoric in parts? :D Okay, maybe not.

I have cardio again tomorrow morning. The usual Saturday instructor won't be there but last night's instructor will be subbing for her. At least I have a taste for how she works. :) A few of the people who were there last night also take the Tuesday night class.

Sunday, I plan to co-hare the Hash. This weekend should be nice for getting out and about! :)

Self-Analysis

Once in a while when I feel like my mind has unmuddled itself, I get a glimpse of myself in a different light. To some extent, writing much of what goes on in my head and heart here is my way if figuring out how I work. I also get to see what some of my usual patterns of behavior are. Perhaps I am over-analyzing myself at time, but I think I would end up knowing more about myself.

I remember saying to myself and others that I always have a hard time describing myself. This may be due to the fact that I don't really observe myself as I would another person. The third-person viewpoint, if you will. However, using this medium, I see the blog as the "third-person" to some degree. I write down what I've done, how I feel and what I'm thinking. Afterwards, I read what I have written. Sometimes I realize that it's not the first time I behave in a certain way or felt in a certain way.

I was discussing with M the other day how we are all creatures of habit. Whether we want to admit it or not, I think this is for the majority true. No matter how unpredictable you think you might be, there is something about you that is done habitually. I suppose doing some things out of habit is out of comfort. For other things, it's only because that is what you are most familiar with.

Anyway, enough psychological musings at such an early hour of the day.

Is this really me?

Eva's personality type:

Enthusiastic, idealistic, and creative. Able to do almost anything that interests them. Great people skills. Need to live life in accordance with their inner values. Excited by new ideas, but bored with details. Open-minded and flexible, with a broad range of interests and abilities.

Careers that could fit Eva includes:

Actors, journalists, writers, musicians, painters, consultants, psychologists, psychiatrists, entrepreneurs, teachers, counselers, politicans, diplomats, television reporters, marketers, scientists, sales representatives, artists, clergy, public relations, social scientists, social workers.

http://www.41q.com/

Reflections at 5AM in the Morning

So I login to the site because some 52 year old sent me a message there yesterday. While I was there I find that he has signed on recently and changed his handle. *sigh* My heart sank for a moment. It's strange that I just watched Serendipity last night. I know it's just a movie, but sometimes you do wonder about fate and destiny. Was something meant to be or not. Maybe I did have some lingering doubts in the back of my mind. Perhaps I was starting to feel a little bit desperate to find somebody. However, in the end, if something just wasn't feeling quite right, or if there was something I was not ready to make a compromise for, well then...

In any case, at times like these, I'm glad I can rely on the wisdom of my friends to help unmuddle my oft-muddled head. I suppose there's not much to do but to go back to square one. Maybe I should just stay there. Or maybe I should consult the magic 8-ball? Ah yes! Put my life and future into the hands of a sphere filled with water and generic answers to all of life's questions. I think not.

Someone, I think, worded it rather well: "not knowing what you want makes it hard to know what to do." I think I need to know what I want. If I don't know what I want then I don't know what I'm looking for, am I? Sometimes I wonder if I'm just not a hopeless cause in these sort of things.

If I know me, I'll be pre-occupied with this whole episode until someone proverbially slaps me around and gets me to snap out of it. Meanwhile, I feel a little overwhelmed at times...

Wondering

Sometimes I wonder if I haven't been subconsciously been putting stress on myself for no real good reason. I'm pretty sure it happens. But how do you control it? I suppose meditation and the like is one way to deal with it. I don't know. I guess at times I go through a bit of self-doubt about things. Again, I think this goes back to thinking to much. Wondering too much about things I don't have any or absolute control over. As a friend commented, Just go with the flow. I guess it's easier said than done sometimes. I guess I'm just a tad neurotic. I know that the words I get from friends all make sense, but tell that to my psyche. At times it seems like a battle between logic and psyche.

Tonight, instead of going to my cardio class I ended up having a light supper and watched Serendipity. I had ripped it thinking that I might watch it later. However, I decided to watch the movie on the computer. But towards the end, the movie froze. I think one of the files was damaged. So I popped the DVD back in to try to finish watching the movie. It got a little further but then it crapped out again. Grrrr. So I took the DVD and went to the DVD player in the living room. I cued it to the chapter I wanted to finish watching. Well, whaddya know. The blood thing finished playing in the DVD player. I really wonder sometimes about these pieces of technology we use.


Anyway, I think I will go to sleep soon.

I don't know me sometimes...

For some reason by the end of today I just felt really drained. It seemed to require a bit more effort and concentration to drive home. When I did get home I felt quite tired. I'm not sure if it's the lack of sleep or maybe I am deficient in certain vitamins. Perhaps I caught something at work. My office mate has been having this on again/off again cold/allergy thing for a while now. In any case, I think I will pass on tonight's cardio class. I emailed the director to see if I could take her class Thursday night instead.

I suppose I should just take it easy tonight. I don't think today has been an especially stressful day although a whole whack of emails arrived pretty much at the same time. I tried to take care of a few of them before I left work. I will have to follow-up on the rest tomorrow after I go pick up my passport.

Sometimes I just wish I knew better what was going on with me.

"Every guy...."

".. should have a clap track for something.." - Matthew Good during his Vancouver show.

I think this quote was just tooooooo funny to pass up! You can watch it here.

Meanwhile, while everyone has seen or are watching the season premiere of Heroes tonight, I discovered that I had forgotten that I had downloaded season 1. So, tonight, I managed to watch episode 1 and 2.

Good night.

Sometimes...

I think I need to have my head examined. Why, you might ask? I think at times I get a little neurotic and anxious over things. I think I tend to over-think and over-analyze things to the point where it just drives me a bit batty. Depending on the subject matter it could very well take a hit on the ol' self-esteem.

That said, let's re-cap this weekend's activities.

So Sunday morning, I finally got up at some point and made the usual trip to get some groceries. When I got home he had signed on. So we chatted for a bit before he had to leave to run a few errands before we met up at 2. I had a little bit of lunch before heading out. I got to the movie theatre at just a little before 2PM. I waited for a bit. I eventually took a seat somewhere not knowing how long he might be. I figure if he had to run over to the other side of town it might take him a little while to get over here. He showed up at about 2:15PM. He sincerely apologized his tardiness. He didn't think it would take so long. I jokingly said I would have given him until 2:20PM. So we got tickets and went in for the 2PM showing. I think we only missed the first few minutes. In any case, the movie was good. We both enjoyed it. Outside the cinema, I made a comment about musicals. He commented back something about Buffy. I knew what he was talking about and said that I missed seeing the singing episode. He mentioned that he liked the episode "Hush". I said that I did as well even though it was one very creepy episode. With regards to the singing episode, he said he has the soundtrack on his iPod. I said I would rather see the whole episode. He said he might be able to track down that episode.

Anyway, after the movie, we went for some ice cream at Ben & Jerry's. Then we walked over to a park and just sat for a while talking. It was a really nice day. We observed the odd behavior of a squirrel. We weren't sure what was up with it. Was it mentally deficient or ill? In any case, we agreed that nature will take its course. Anyway, I guess at some point it was time to head home. We got on the metro. The guy sitting in front of us started to behave rather oddly so we changed our seats. We continued to talk. Then we were at his stop and he had to get off. For some reason, I felt like, "Aww. You have to go now?" After that, I can't explain it but I kinda felt a bit bummed. I really don't know why.

This is where the over-thinking kicks in. I start to think about what he has said and done. Then I wonder about what I've said and done. At any one point was something said or done that could have flushed the whole thing? I dunno. This is what's driving me mad. And I *KNOW* that I have been over-thinking. Oftentimes this sort of behavior is difficult to stop. I know I need to get a grip and just let things happen as they may. In any case, it's one of those times when you just want to pound your head against something hard because you feel like a total idiot. Maybe I did say something stupid, or maybe not. I'm not exactly one to carefully choose my words. Oftentimes, I just blurt things out. Then realize afterwards, OY! What did I just say???

Agh! I guess I will just have to just take a deep breath and continue. I feel like such a n00b at times. %-p

Saturday Evening...

Well, I guess I am overdue for an update here of sorts. What has happened since Wednesday? Well, I went to my class. It looks like it will be interesting to learn Flash. It does look like it will be a challenge of sorts. I need to check out CS3 in the meantime.

After class, I met up with him. We walked over to Hurley's. I had a half-pint of Harp and he had a pint of Tartan. Then we talked. We talked about all sorts of stuff. I found him to be quite funny at times. He made me laugh very hard at some point. I don't even remember what it was about. In any case, I had a very nice time just talking and laughing with him. Before we knew it it was nearing midnight! We walked over to the metro station. The metro is pretty deep and there were 3 sets of escalators going down. We took our time taking them (i.e., we just stood there and let the escalator take us down). He got off a few stops before I had to. I think I got home around half past midnight. I finally got to bed around 1AM. The next day I was pretty wiped.

The next day we chatted for a bit. He said he had a nice time and all. I did as well. He said he had Friday off and was planning to run/hike around the mountain. He has a game Saturday night. I told him I wasn't sure if I was going to go to the Hash on Sunday. Other than that I had my cardio class this morning.

This morning, we caught each other online. We chatted a bit before he asked a question. I thought it was rather interesting him not sure where I stood with regards to how I felt about him. I reciprocated the same sentiment back at him. I then asked if he wanted to go do something Sunday. Now we have a date to catch a movie tomorrow. :)

Meanwhile, I emailed Dale M. about video-recording the Montreal show. He pretty much gave us his blessing to record on his behalf. Yay! I think the others were pretty happy to hear this. I dug out my camcorder and checked it out. It's still practically new. The battery just needed to be recharged. I wonder if I should get a spare battery just in case. Maybe an extra mini-DV tape as well. This should be awesome. :)

Telemarketers...

.. the scourge of the Earth!

Midweek Ponderings

Well, maybe I don't have a whole lot to ponder. Uhm... But then again, maybe I do.

I start my "Intro to Flash" course tonight. I figure I should get myself into a classroom environment and learn something useful. I really don't know just how useful, but you never know. My current job does not have an immediate need for Flash. However, this does not mean that I can't build up my skills and such. Who knows, perhaps somewhere down the line there will be a need for some Flash!

My O'Reilly on-line course is somewhat stalled. It's mostly my fault as I have been allowing myself to get distracted by things and not focusing on completing the courses. Shame on me!

Last night's cardio workout was pretty good. This time I decided to wear my Polar heart-rate monitor to see how I'm doing. I think at some point the HR peaked at about 171!! Otherwise, it seemed to be averaging around 165-167. I wasn't totally sure if that was too high or not. This morning, I checked on the Polar website and it gave you 3 different zones depending on what the goal is. The range that I was working in last night puts me in the "Improve Athletic Ability" zone. I guess that's still ok. It's considered 80+% of the maximum heart rate. I think I would much rather be in the "Improve Aerobic Ability" zone. In any case, I would just need to pace myself. If I'm feeling good then I'll work harder to keep up with the group.

Well, it seems that I will be meeting up with someone after my class tonight. So far it looks good. However, being the cynical type that I am, I seem to have some self-doubts as to how this will go. Baaah! I'll just try to go with the flow!

Chuckle

Ahhh! Nice to start off a Monday with a little chuckle.

The weekend wasn't too bad. As mentioned, I subjected myself to more cardio workout on Saturday. Yesterday was the 600th Hash out in Hudson. It was fun. It was a very long trail, but I think it was worth it. No one noticed I wore relatively new runners, but that's okay. I think the trail helped me to break them in a little bit. ;-)

There was much fun and frivolity at the Hash, being that it was the 600th run. There was beer, sausages and other foodstuff. There was also a neat cake!

There was also a lot of strange head gear being worn.

But in the end, we all had a good time.

This for YOU, Shawn!!! ;-)

Oh! The Pain!

I went to my cardio class this morning. Even though this was just my second class, I could feel a few things loosening up. At the same time, I could also feel a few things have stiffened up as well! Needless to say, there were times when the front of my thighs were screaming, "No! No more! Stop that!". The good news about today's workout is that I did not find myself slowing down as much as the first class. I'm still sort of uncoordinated with some of the moves, but it's improving.

My arms are another story altogether. The first class we did some bicep and tricep curls. I didn't realize just how much effort was put into it until I woke up this morning. Perhaps it's because my left arm is the weaker arm that it felt the after-effects of that workout more than the right. Strangely enough, when we did the exercises today, they didn't really hurt too much.

I had the foresight to bring a banana with me to eat after the class was over. For breakfast I had a yogurt and a trail mix bar. That seemed sufficient for the morning's activities. After the class, I went over to MEC to have a look at their stuff. I didn't want to stop home first because I figure I would not leave once I got home.

At MEC, I picked up a Black Diamond headlamp, a short-sleeved shirt, a long-sleeved shirt, a bunch of Clif bars, and a waist-pack with bottle holder. The headlamp is for Tuesday's evening class. Sometimes the trails are a bit dark. It wasn't a terribly expensive one, but it does the job. Oh, I also bought a new tail light for the bike. The other one wasn't properly secured and fell off on the way home at some point. :-/

In other news, I haven't heard from a particular fellow since Wednesday. I'm wondering if I should drop him a quick note saying hi or something. *sigh* Technically, it's suppose to be his turn to write back. I hate dealing with these little nuances that are all part of the so-called mating rituals... :p

Post #461

Yes. Apparently I have made that many posts. It's probably not as many as other blogs, but I guess for me it's an awful lot of babbling.

It is the end of yet another work week. It's time to unwind and take advantage of the weekend to pursue other things. I don't think I have anything overly ambitious to take o n this weekend other than to attend my 2nd cardio class tomorrow morning. To some degree I am looking forward to it. I know I will be in some pain or agony. Not sure what shape the participants of this group will be in. I know that one woman who was in the Tuesday evening class will be there.

After the class, I'll probably head home for a quick shower before heading over to MEC for a few things. Maybe check out their packs. I was thinking of getting a pack for the trip in November. I would like to get a waist pack with water bottle holder. Maybe look at some pants for the workout. Cooler fall weather is on the way in. Also, maybe check out some shirts.

In the meantime, something else that has been happening that I have been hesitant to post here because I tend to be superstitious to some degree. Basically, I'm afraid of jinxing things. Since last Saturday, I had been corresponding with a fellow from one of the sites that has on occasion frustrated me to no end. I forget how many messages were exchanged last Saturday but I believe no less than 6 were sent by each of us. The flurry of activity continued on Sunday but on a slightly smaller scale because each of us has some sort of activity to attend to in the afternoon. Then with the beginning of the workweek, the messages were down to one each a day. Now it seems to come to a bit of a pause. His last message indicated that he seems to be unexpectedly very busy this week and Saturday. He said he can't guarantee he can make it to the Hash on Sunday. Mind you that I don't think I directly invited him to the Hash but alluded to the idea that maybe he could go if he had the chance. In any case, I didn't push the matter much. I left it as open as his "Not that I'm saying no.."

Maybe I'll do some baking tomorrow afternoon as well. I need to do something with the apples I got last weekend.

Hump Diddly Hump Day

So I really can't come up with anything more clever than that. :p Bite me.

I am really tired. Last night's cardio class was a real workout. I don't think I've exerted myself like that in a very long time. Despite some of the pain, it felt satisfying that I survived my first class. I was the only new person in the group who showed up last night. We were suppose to be about 17 people, but only 8 of us showed up on a drizzly Tuesday evening.

The cardio part was quite a challenge. It started off okay. Gradually, it became more challenging because we're maintaining a certain pace. After that, some muscle toning moves using the elastics for resistance were done. Some exercises for the abs were done as well. Then to finish it all off, we did some stretches and tai-chi-esque moves. All in all, it was pretty good. It was tough trying to keep up with everyone who's been doing this for a year or more. I hope Saturday will be a bit easier as there are suppose to be more new participants. Yay!

I think I will sleep now. My muscles are starting to ache now...

Mild Obsession.. Really!

So, my friend J sent me this link. Hehehe! It was a good read and analysis of his movies. Thanks, J!:)

Now, I don't think I will ever stalk the guy. I think I'm sane enought o not do such a thing. Besides, I'd rather use my free time for other pursuits (yeah, yeah, yeah, let your imagination run wild there. Sheesh!).

Meanwhile, I am trying to eat a bit more healthy this week. I've been kind of bad about what I've been putting in my mouth the past couple of weeks. On Sunday, I think I downed about 4 hot dogs! :p Ick! So yesterday, I packed a turkey and cheese sandwich for lunch, but I ended up getting a small package of sushi in the caf and had half the sandwich. The other half is still in the fridge. For dinner, I marinated 2 chicken breasts with some spicy sauce and broiled them. I had one with rice and a salad. The other one is today's lunch. :) Tonight, before I head out to my cardio workout, I guess I'll just have some yogurt. Yeah, I've been gaining then losing approx 5 pounds. :p I just want to try to lose it and keep it lost!

It's just another manic Monday...

Wish it were Sunday....

Sing it to me, Bangles chick whose name I can't remember.

Anyway, today's xkcd I could relate to to some degree.

So according to that formula, I should be able to date someone who is 26.5 yrs or older. This might explain why occasionally I get propositioned by guys who are about 27 or 28. Still, even that seems a bit young. But then, by that same formula, a 64 year old could try and ask me for a date!! O_o *SHUDDER*

Ow.. my head hurts now...

It's Saturday.. Screw the week number

It was starting to get boring...

Anyway, I thought this was amusing in an ironic way.

That said, I wonder what, if anything, will come of my love life, which is sorely lacking. That's not to say I'm desperate or anything. I just wonder if I will ever meet that special someone. I suppose I do have a criteria of sorts, but it's not absolute or written in stone. It's got room for exemptions.

So, today I went out to Hudson. It was a bit humid this morning but as the day progressed, the strong breeze brought in drier air. The temp started to cool off somewhat. The sun kept things warm though.

Tomorrow, I think I will go hashing.

Week 36, Thursday

Alright, I think I managed to survive the whole food blessing incident on Monday. I haven't been converted or recruited into some New Age/spiritual stuff involving hallucinogenic supplements, natural/organic foods and copious amounts of pizza. Nope, I don't think that's the life for me.

Anyway, I was perusing the paper this morning when I came to the entertainment section and the gossip column in there. It seems that Halle Berry is 3 months pregnant. The father is some 32 year old hunk. He's NINE YEARS her JUNIOR!! How do celebrities get away with this? How can us dull normals keep up with this trend? There's Demi and her boy toy. Now Halle and whatever-his-name-is. Okay, I don't quite have Halle's physique, but then again, if I had the bucks and the time for a personal trainer, maybe I could. I have a full-time job to juggle, ya know!

Aside from that, not much else is happening really. Get up, go to work, come home, repeat. Last night, I did go to the Stitch & Bitch. We made these hats to be worn at the 600th Hash. I will have to remember to bring my camera to the Hash. :)

Happy Labor Day

Okay.. so after seeing my folks of early this morning, I went straight back to bed and slept until about 9. Yeah, I really took it easy this morning. After finally getting up and showering, I found the courage to call this guy to see if he was up for some coffee. We chatted for maybe a half hour before settling on a time and place. We agreed on 3:30PM. So between then and when I had to leave, I managed to get a load of laundry done and make a quick bite to eat. Then I headed off.

So I met up with him at the designated spot. Hmm, not exactly quite what I expected, but let's see where this goes. We walked a bit before finding a place for a coffee. I ordered an iced cafe latte, he a black coffee. We sat down and before he drank his coffee he "blessed" it. He blessed as in to enhance the flavor and "life force" in it. Now this did cock an internal eyebrow with me, but being the sort of person that I am, I kinda went "okay...". He asked if it freaked me out. I said no, but that it was different. Honestly, it takes quite a bit to freak me out. However, even if something didn't freak me out it doesn't mean that it might not bother me somehow.

After we chatted for a while at the coffee place, we went for a bit of a walk and chatted some more. He said he felt a little hungry and thought that some ice cream would be nice. We found one place but the line up was long. I said I remembered that there was or should be another ice cream over yonder. We find an ice cream place and got some ice cream. When we sat down to eat, again he blessed his ice cream. Hrmmm...

Well, by the time we finished it was time to head back. He still needed to swing by this natural food store before it closed. He also needed to take care of feeding his cat too. I guess it's just as well, because I don't know what I would have done if he took the metro all the way up. I parked at work, but anyway...

Uhm... I don't really think this guy is for me honestly.. Nothing against people exploring spirituality and stuff, but that's not something that floats my boat if I were to date someone. That's one things that for sure I'd have issues with on that level. Anyway... back to the drawing board.