Are we there yet?

Well, I am happy to say that I actually managed to accomplish a few things at work today. One of the guys who has been helping with some testing is leaving for vacation tomorrow. I got the test plant back today because they had some technical issues and the one guy who could help was not in today. So, Ruben and I managed to finish the testing we started on Tuesday.

I would also like to say that Ruben is one of the few people who has the patience to explain to me how some of this stuff works (or at least supposed to). As I might have mentioned, I've been in this group for over a year now and I am still struggling to get a solid grasp of the stuff we're supporting. The problem is that most of the experts in the group are almost always either on the road somewhere or working on an emergency. So when someone like Ruben is around for any length of time, I try to take advantage of that and have him show me stuff. Now I just hope it sticks!

I guess all I need to do tomorrow is go through the logfiles and write up a report. Oh yay, that ought to be so much fun! This should be my last productive act for the week. Next week will almost be a total write-off. There is a team outing on Monday. We're suppose to go curling! I have never curled before. I have seen it on TV, but I have never gone curling before. Apparently, one of the teams did this last year. Hmm...

Tuesday is the annual holiday coffee and cannoli morning break. I better remember not to have breakfast that day. Notary for the mortgage is Wednesday afternoon. Trip to the dentist Thursday morning. Then Friday? I think someone might open the bar in his desk.. That is, if he gets back from Chile...

Uh, yeah..

And this weekend? Well, I have been invited to a holiday potluck on Saturday. I will probably make the lemon-poppyseed cake. I might also try to make the gingerbread cookies on Saturday as well. I better take an inventory on baking supplies tomorrow evening. On Sunday, I will probably go do the hash. It's downtown again, so that should be okay.

*yawn*

I really should try to go to bed earlier. I've been pretty bad about that all this week for some reason. Since my alarm is set to go off at 5:00, it doesn't help if I go to sleep after 11:00PM. :-p Technically, I might already be in bed, but I might still be doing stuff on the iBook.

Speaking of my iBook, I wonder if I should trade it in for a MacBook. They seem rather nice and more powerful. If the performance of my MacPro is any indication then the MacBook would definitely blow the doors off of the iBook. I really should talk to Jonas about selling my Mac Mini (powerPC). Any takers? $400CAD and it's yours! I'll even throw in a Mac keyboard.

Trying to be an Adult

I was watching an episode from the first season of Grey's Anatomy. (There's been so much hype about the show that I figure I'd check it out. So far the series has been entertaining.) In any case, in this particular episode, the title character was bemoaning and comparing the responsibilities an adult has versus when she was a kid. I think I can relate with that. It seems that as we get older and become more involved in certain aspects of daily living, that it's inevitable that we accumulate responsibilities for various things.

We need to make sure our bills are paid on time. We need to ensure that our rent or mortgages are paid. We need to make sure our pets (or kids) are fed and cared for. We need to keep in mind of so many things! I don't remember having so many responsibilities as a kid. All I remember was that I had to make sure I got my homework done and bring home good grades. That was pretty much it.

Tonight I have a condo association meeting. Next week I have to see the notary about my mortgage. When did I grow up?

The Cat Carol

While chatting with some Geek Culture Forum people, the subject about Christmas and music came up. As it turns out, one of the GC administrators wrote this little ditty. I figure, what the heck and bought the song. At first it sounded like any other Christmas song. However, the kicker in the song is when Santa comes along. Hoo boy! I nearly bawled my eyes out! Usually, I am not a huge sentimental ball of goo, but lately, stuff like this just sets off the water works. Am I turning to mush as I get older?

Anyway, it's a cute little song. If you can spare the few bucks, buy it and give it a listen. It seems to set the mood for giving this holiday season.

Apple Cake v2.1 - Success?

Well, I left work early enough to get home, have an early dinner and get started on this evening's baking. And here's the resulting Apple Cake v2.1:

It's still not quite perfect, but I think it came out better than v2. I haven't tried it yet. I'm contemplating whether or not to bring it to work or to save it for tomorrow evening's condo meeting. Since I had some time, I went ahead and made some brownies. It's just the recipe from the container for Fry's Cocoa. Still, what can you say about brownies made with 2 sticks of butter and 2 cups of sugar?? Oh, did I mention that I threw in a spoonful of ground espresso? :D

I don't know if the amount of espresso I put it is significant enough to notice, but I guess we'll find out when I bring it in to work! There is a team meeting in the morning and the guy who's turn it is to bring in the treats has been out sick most of the week. I think the brownies will be backup in case he doesn't come in.

The almond biscotti I made last night were a hit. My team leader preferred the harder hazelnut ones, but these were still good. I think during the holidays I will make a batch of both kinds and ship some off to my Marine friend. And anyone else who likes homemade baked goods. :-)

I still haven't gotten around to making the gingerbread cookies! Hmph! Those definitely take more time since the dough needs to firm up in the fridge before you can roll and cut them. The fun part is decorating the cookies afterwards... Gingerbread people for adults... Okay, nuff said.

To some extent, I am amazed at times that I am able to do much at all in my kitchen. The layout of the counter space is very inefficient. Nevertheless, I made do with what I have. :-)

Alright, time to put away the baked goods before they get molested by roaming cats! :-p

A Few Random Thoughts

There's always some commentary on the war on Iraq. And as I've mentioned, everyone is entitled to their opinion on such things.

I guess the one thing I could say is that I have made the acquaintance (on-line) of a young Marine. He's due to be shipped off to Iraq again in January. He seems like a very personably fellow. We usually chat about different things. The one thing I have not asked is about his thoughts on the whole situation in Iraq. I suppose that I am afraid, to some extent, to hear some chest-thumping, "I am proud to be an American" speech. I'm sure many of the enlisted soldiers have their own personal reasons for being in the military. It's their duty to serve their country. Now, whether or not they really wanted to get involved in Iraq, that's another issue. I'm not sure how it works, but I would imagine that it would be close to treason or some sort of insubordination if a soldier were to express his/her dissent in how things are going. But what do I know?

*****************
I've been living outside the US for the past 15 some odd years now. Since then, I've started to get an outsider's perspective on the US. Perhaps I was more ignorant of the politics when I was still living down there. In any case, I don't think I am too keen on moving back to the US just yet. Maybe when Dubya's term is over. There are other factors, of course, to consider before deciding whether to head back south.

Saint Lucia Day

Today is Saint Lucia Day. Since I do work for a Swedish company, there will be a small procession this morning to celebrate Sankta Lucia. There will be some glögg and lussekatt served after the procession. There will also be some singing. The procession is actually quite pretty with the one girl wearing the crown of candles. They usually try to get the dripless kind.

Viewpoints

I suppose a lot of people like to voice their opinion on different things via their blogs these days. It seems to be quite the thing to do. I have nothing against that. I think it's well within everyone's right to make their beliefs known. The one thing I do have an issue with is when people try to force their opinions/beliefs onto you. I would like to think that I choose to believe what I do without any forceful influences.
People can say what they want, what they believe in. Just don't try to shove those beliefs down my throat.

That aside, you will notice that I do not post much about politics and the like. To some degree I feel that what my political beliefs are are my own. If, however, something comes up that really irks me, I might comment about it, but I won't write a huge political commentary about it. That's just not me. I do appreciate those who intelligently comment about things. I don't like those who rant and rave with no real logic to back up those rants.

*****************************


This evening, I continued my baking binge. I made almond biscotti. I had a small end piece and it was rather tasty. These biscotti will go well with tomorrow's coffee! I think the guys at work will really like these.

Tomorrow, I will make Apple Cake v2.1. What's v2.1? Well, I'm going to try something different in how the apples are laid out. The problem I had with v2 was that I was afraid of the batter overflowing. I figure if I arranged the apple slices in a certain way then maybe the batter will settle in better. Anyway, we shall see!!

A Nation of Scrooges?

There was an article in the Saturday paper bemoaning the fact that when it comes to charity, we are cheap. Especially here in Quebec. Why is that?

Coincidentally, I won an auction for an indoor parking spot at work for the winter. The proceeds will go to the Montreal Children's Hospital Foundation. The amount is in the 3 figures and they probably didn't think it would get that high. I'll have to ask them how much they thought they would get for the spot when I bring them the check tomorrow. :-)

As well, there was a campaign recently to raise funds for Centraide. Essentially, the goal was the raise $90,000. The company would match whatever the employees gave. The good news is that we reached the monetary goal. The bad news is that only about a quarter of the employees contributed. This seems to give some credence to the article about people here being cheap.

I sometimes think that some people do not know how good they have it until it gets taken away. So why wait until something bad happens to realize what you had? I suppose on the positive, you can get tax credit for donations above a certain amount. But that really should not be the only incentive to give! I think that this past year alone I have given quite a bit to various charities. I gave a pledge to a colleague who did the Walk to End Breast Cancer this summer. I've given to smaller community -driven charities.

After I won the parking spot today, a friend emailed me saying that being single with a disposable income, I was able to win the spot for that amount. I suspect that the other guy vying for the spot is also in the same position. Either way, the money is going to a good cause (in memory of, too).

It's funny, but I don't usually get up on a soapbox on my blog. However, today, I just felt like I had to say something about this subject. So until things change in my life, I think I will continue to give. Even if things change down the road, I still think it's worth the effort to give.

Ugh! Take that away, please!!!

Well, the dessert party went pretty well. I might have gone slightly overboard in the drinks department. Oh well. It'll be an excuse for another gathering. :-)

The two-nut chocolate torte came out pretty good despite the fact that I didn't have enough walnuts. I just made up the difference with more almonds. It went quite well with some whipped cream. :) I also put out a cheese and cracker board. Everyone seemed to enjoy a respite from the sugar with the cheeses.

Other desserts? There was pecan pie, tiramisu, Queen Elizabeth cake, muffins, marzipan treats, canolis, assorted pastries... Ugh! Sugar overload! I wish I had taken a pic of all the goodies. Oh well. :-)

Today, I took it easy in the morning. Did some light grocery shopping. I tried to take a short nap before heading off to the hash. I only got to bed last night around 1:45AM. :-p

The hash took place downtown. The hare set a trail for runners but did not for the walkers. So I got volunteered to lead the walkers. The trail for the walk was somewhat lame, but we still covered some distance. The hare f*ed up in that the pub we were suppose to meet and end at was not open until 4PM. Next week's hash is suppose to also take place downtown. Same pub, too. I wonder how that one will go.

We were lucky that we were able to finish up at Pog's apartment. A run to the nearby supermarket to pick up some food items and beer and the post-hash noshing was in the works. Pog whipped up some curries and rice.

Right now, I am pooped. Fresh air and brisk walks seem to be doing that to me. I guess I should go to sleep soon. :)

I have an illness...

I seem to have a tendency to acquire certain things in quantity...

Watches are just one thing I seem to sort of acquire more than one of. The above is just a few that I have. I have a few others that need to either have the battery replaced or repaired.

Another item that I seem to collect a lot of are bags. No, not leather handbags or anything too girly. I currently own 5 Crumpler bags. Don't ask me why. I've also got as many Kipling bags, too. I suppose there are worse things I could be collecting. At least what I do collect serves a purpose!

So, I had earlier mentioned the lights I bought at IKEA. Now, I know I'm no design genius, but I just wanted something festive. Well, here's a pic that better illustrates how I managed to hang the lights:

It's a little blurry, but I think you get the idea. And here's the end result...

Yes. That one plant on the tray does not look very well. It's not mine anyway. Well, actually, I have not been very attentive to my own plants lately either. :-(

Weekend

Well, I think I have a pretty full day tomorrow. I did some cleaning up this evening so that should save me *some* time tomorrow. I need to swing by the supermarket for a few things. Then I plan to make at least the Two-Nut Chocolate Torte. If I have time, I might make the Lemon-Poppy Seed cake. I've already picked up some stuff at the SAQ today after work. I've still got a couple bottles of wine left from the last gathering. Maybe we'll open up one of those. I'd rather have a bit too much than not enough. I suppose I could swing by the SAQ again tomorrow. There's one near the supermarket.

I guess I just like to entertain friends. I want to see everyone enjoying themselves and having a good time. I guess that's why I don't mind bringing in the baked goods to work. The Apple Cake v2, for example, was a hit at work. The recipe I used is a keeper. Although, I think I would like to try the other one again, but using the self-rising flour as indicated. I really want to find out if that was the problem I was having...

Anyway... It's Friday night. So what the H* am I doing here?

Procrastination and Apple Cake

I find that I subconsciously procrastinate in getting certain things done. Usually these things are tasks that I know would/should benefit me somehow. I don't normally procrastinate getting some of the more mundane things, such as housework, done.

What have I been putting off lately? Getting some reading done. I had promised a friend that I would follow a course of action that he had outlined for me almost 2 months ago. One of the things I was suppose to do was read a book. Mind you, it is a technical piece I have to read. In the past two months, I have only managed to finish reading 2 chapters. This is rather pathetic. Why has it taken me so long to finish 2 chapters? It wasn't for lack of time. I think I just subconsciously found other things to do to distract myself from the reading.

So just what exactly have I been doing to distract myself? Chatting. Visiting certain websites on a regular basis. Puttering around the house. A variety of different things depending on the mood and such. This week, I have been baking. My excuse for the baking is that it's the holiday season. I have this need to bake around the holidays. At least, that's my excuse.

I guess I really need to resolve myself to get this "homework" done. I've got to stop procrastinating and finding excuse to put this off any longer. I really need to dedicate at least an hour or two each day to this. I guess another factor in this is motivation. I seem to be lacking some motivation to get this done. I know it's all in my head. I will need to mentally give myself a quick swift kick in the pants to get going again. The intention is there.

Elsewhere...

As mentioned, I have been baking this week. One goal I had was to make an appel cake. On Wednesday, I tried a recipe from the Silver Spoon cookbook. It did not come out too well. :-p

It came out a bit too dense and dry. Yesterday, after doing a quick search, I found another recipe to try. This time, it came out a little better.

This one came out lighter and more moist. The assembly for this one was different in the the apple slices were placed in the bottom of the pan and the batter poured over it. In the first one, the chopped apples were mixed in with the batter. Another problem with the first one was that the mixture became very thick. I'm not sure what the cause for that was. The recipe asked for self-rising flour. I didn't have that on hand so I substituted regular flour with baking powder. Oh well.

Why?

Why? I think this is a sad state of affairs when someone has decided to try to make a profit so that others can try to look popular. First of all, I am not a huge fan of myspace.com. I know that some people use it to promote themselves (such as artists and musicians). Other people seem to use it to keep in touch with friends. But then, this means people "add" other people to they "space" as "friends". And some people seem to have hundreds of "friends". And just how many of these friends are really friends at all? It just seems like a huge popularity contest. So what if you have hundreds of "friends". What does that mean? And some of these people on myspace. You look at their suggestive photos and you wonder just what kind of friends are they looking for in mspace. Then there's the issue of safety for minors who use myspace...

Anyway, that's just my rant...

I have a little shindig planned for Saturday evening. I will need to clean up the place a bit starting tonight. It's not that the place is a huge mess, but there's some clutter that needs to be sorted out and such. *sigh* Plus, I think the Roomba needs to be cleaned too. I might just have a simple supper tonight.

I'm still a bit frustrated and exasperated with those sites. My visits to them are still very brief. I don't think I will login to them at all tonight. It's just not worth the time and energy anymore. :-p

So this is Wednesday...

:-p

I guess I just seem to be in one of those moods today. I don't know why. Work today was okay. While the knowledgable ones were working on a problem, I felt a little helpless and tried to find other things to work on. Miraculously I managed to kill 8 hours today. Just don't ask me what I did exactly.

I've decided that I would like to take a photography course. Someone recommended Dawson College (yes, the same one where the shooting took place). They have a pretty good reputation for the artsy stuff. Their Cont Ed department does offer some courses in the area of photography. The course Camera Basics sounds like it's right up my alley. There is also the Digital Photography I, but that is on the same night as my other courses at Concordia. I haven't registered yet as registration doesn't start until next week. This should give me a chance to think about it and maybe ask around.

In the meantime, I spent a few bucks at IKEA today. I was getting tired of the 2 black bedside lamps I have. They're the type that turn on/off at the base. I found this one, which I thought was cute and about the right size. Also picked up some more candles, vanilla-scented tea lights, and christmas lights.

Kiwi. This one brought a tear to my eye. I think it was very well done. It's awfully darn cute. And I just don't want to know what happens in the end. Kiwi was happy...

Being in such a mood, I am just finding it frustrating to visit any of *those* sites this evening. Maybe I am a little frustrated by the whole process. I don't know. In any case, I just did not bother to spend much time on those sites tonight. Instead, I worked at devising a way to hang up the xmas lights by the window. They're a drape-style type of xmas lights. I don't have curtain rods on my windows (all blinds). But, I found that using extra long twist-ties (the ones that come with the large garbage bags) did the trick! How? I basically wrapped the twist tie around the top thingy of the blinds. With that, I can hang the lights from it. :-) I'll see if I can take a photo to better illustrate what I did. I guess that was the engineer in me trying to find a solution to a problem.

Finally...

I've finally changed some of the CDs in the CD changer in the car. For the longest time I had the same 6 CDs in there. Recently, I've swapped 3 of them and soon a 4th will be coming out.

What's in there now?

1) Pixies
2) Death Cab for Cutie
3) Bedouin Soundclash/Hot Hot Heat
4) The Deers
5) Bad Brains
6) Dire Straits

I will probably swap the Bad Brains CD for a Matthew Good (Avalanche) one.

Brrrr!

It's cold today. It was also very windy. I hate when it's so windy. It's rattles everything.

Snow has been forecast for tomorrow. Yay! Some real white stuff, I guess!

I sometimes wonder just how much online time is spent perusing some of the dating sites. There are days when I ask myself just why the heck I'm spending so much time logged into some of these sites. It is such a huge waste of time to log in so frequently. When I remind myself of this I instantly logoff and look for something else to do.

Something that I do try to do more often is to update this blog. There might not always be something interesting, but it's just my way to convey my thoughts and feelings for the day. I guess I'm just not very good at relating the details of the day's events. I'm probably better at discussing what was going on in my head as a result of something that's happened. Which leads me to this...

Chemistry. Based on Wikipedia's definition, I wonder just how or when you would know if there is some sort of chemistry between two people. How instantaneous is this chemistry? I find that it's a bit of a puzzle sometimes. Or maybe I'm just a bit thick when it comes to this sort of thing. I suppose that interpersonal chemistry could also be equated to this "clicking" between two people.

Elsewhere....


Finster made a trip to the vet today to have his sudden weightloss looked into. About a month ago he weight in at around 12 pounds. today he was down to about 9. The vet took some blood and x-rays. It seems that he's a bit constipated which could explain a few things. As well, he might be experiencing some pain in the mouth due to the condition of his teeth. So the poor fella had to endure an enema. He did get some fluids to help with some dehydration. The vet gave me a bag of solution for me to help with his hydration at home. On top of all that his heart murmur seems to be be a bit more pronounced. Because of that, he might be at risk if he were to be put under for a teeth cleaning. But there's still one set of blood tests to be done. We will only know on Tuesday what the results are for that. Overall, this was not a cheap trip to the vet. Finster had better have a few lives left! ;-)

Winter? Is that you?

It seems that a cold front is pushing its way into the region. I wonder if we will be getting the -20C temps that the mid-west has been experiencing as of late. In any case, the weather today has been rather icky. This morning started with some ice pellets. Some of this accumulated. There was also a layer of of ice on the cars.

We had our department holiday lunch today. Of course, there were 10 of us who stayed until the bitter end (around 5PM). By then, it was windy and piss-pouring rain. Since the temps were hovering around 0, ice still formed on the parked cars by the restaurant. At least, I managed to get a lift home. The sidewalks, I found, were somewhat icy in patches.

With the weather being rather icky, I decided to pass on the pub crawl tonight. Not only is the weather a factor, but I also got only 3 hours of sleep last night. For whatever reason, I had a heck of a time trying to fall asleep last night. At one point I logged in and found a buddy, currently working in China, online. So we chatted for a bit. By 2AM, I think I fell asleep. Then the alarm went off at 5. :-p

I hope I can get some rest tonight. There's stuff I'd like to get done this weekend. :-)

Newly Acquired...

In A Coma
White Light Rock & Roll Review

So yeah, lately I'v been on a Matthew Good kick. I already had two other albums: Beautiful Midnight and Underdogs.

Support Canadian rockers! :-)

In other things...

Well, not really a whole lot I guess. Maybe I have a coffee date Saturday. maybe I don't. I guess after the last one, I'm taking some cautious steps. I'm also trying not to let myself get too anxious about these things. It's not good for the ol' ego to work yourself up over something in case things come crashing down. :-) I need to remember to take deep breaths and move forward. Yes, sometimes it's easier to say these things than to actually practice it.

In any case... Going to have a listen to these albums. Also picked up his book "At last there is nothing left to say".

Also got a new toy in the mail today. I might go play with it. :-)

Mundane Mumblings

I don't think I really have much that's very exciting to talk about sometimes. However, since I do like to write you could say that this is my outlet of sorts.

I remember when I was in high school, I had aspirations of maybe becoming a writer. Of course, when I was in high school, I had also dreamed of being in a rock band. By the time I was a senior, I realized that I had to do what most good Chinese children do, go to university and study either accounting or a reputable major in the area of science. I opted for engineering. Was it the right major? Who knows? All I know is that I managed to make it through.

Lately, I've been wanting to find my creative side. So I've been sifting through some photos I've taken on some trips and uploading them to Flickr. I also joined a photography meetup group in hopes of maybe getting some inspiration, encouragement and pointers. I like photography. I like how it is possible to capture a moment or a scene. I'm hoping to find some photo-ops as I go along. I think I will try to bring my camera with me whenever I go out. You never know what you might come across that's worth capturing.

Monday...Again!

This past weekend was rather nice weather-wise. I also got to do pretty much everything I had planned.

The hike on Saturday was not bad. The weather was quite agreeable with the sun actually being out. For the most part, the group on this hike were all nice people. I had brought my camera with me, but I was not able to take as many pictures as I would have liked. It seemed that the group was constantly having to move. Whatever happened to "stop and smell the roses"? Despite the lack of leaves on the climb up the hill, just being in a wooded area was nice. Needless to say, combine fresh air and some sort of physical activity and I was pretty pooped when I got home.

What few pictures I did take, you can view them here.

On Sunday, I did the Hash. It was a bit more physical this week because we traipsed near Mount Royal. This meant there was a bit of hill climbing from time to time. It was a good workout anyway. It wasn't as sunny as Saturday, but at least it didn't rain! The hares for this Hash prepared both a vegetarian type of stew and a barley and lamb stew. They were both rather tasty. Since the theme was Tacky Tartan in honor of St. Andrew, there was some whiskey cake to be had. That was actually pretty good! After the hash, food and a couple of beers, I was pretty much done for the day. Oh, I also happened to get my Hash name. :-p And I won't say what it is!

Somehow, I was able to miraculously bake a batch of cookies last night as well. I guess the incentive was the fact that I had taken the butter out in the morning for it to soften. So I did end up making a btch of cookies as planned.



So I guess that was about as exciting as it got for my weekend.

C'est le Weekend!

I think I have an action-packed weekend ahead. Okay, maybe not so much action, but at least it will be somewhat busy. :-)

Started off the weekend by heading down to Brutopia with a few buddies from work. Throw back a couple of pints. Sit back and have a good time. After the brews and some munchies, we thought we'd have some Bailey's cheesecake at Hurley's downstairs. However, they were enforcing a coatcheck policy. Uhh, whatever, buh-bye! So we ended up going to a Starbucks for some java and carrot cake.

Today, I plan on going on a hiking trip with a group I found. There is a site called meetup.com. You can find different groups of all sorts of interests. Meetups are organized/scheduled fairly regularly. At least for the ones with enough interest. So this is where I found the hiking group. Today's hike will be at Oka Park. It's about a 45 minute drive from here. The weather is suppose to be pretty decent for once, so it should be a nice hike. Hopefully, I'll get to meet some nice people. :-)

Tomorrow, I also plan to do the Hash. There is a Tacky Tartan theme. I don't think I own anything remotely tartan, so I suspect I will have to do a down-down. :-p Oh well. But the weather tomorrow should not be too bad either. :-)

Now when to find time to do the laundry?

Humpty Day

No, not Humpty Dumpty. It's Wednesday. Instead of sayin Hump Day, I figure I'd call it Humpty Day instead.

Nothing too strenuous today. Some things were going on in the background at work such that all I really had to do was sort of wait. I did head down to the test plant with one of the guys to check out a test position that was set up for us. It seems that not all the ports were working properly. Oh well.

Other than that, not a heckuva whole lot was happening. It was a rather mundane day. Ooh! I did swing by Rona for a 4ft step ladder to keep in the home. Light bulbs do need to get changed on occasion. Also got a tape measure. Ooh! How exciting...

I did decide to partake in this year's 12 Pubs of Christmas. It's next Friday. I don't intend on drinking at every stop, but I hope to have some fun at least! :-)

I think I will swing by MEC this weekend. There's a couple of things I want to look for. I'm thinking about trying to squeeze in a few commutes by bike before the winter really sets in. I will have to double-check the lights I have on the bike. I might get another red one for the pack. I think the front headlight should be enough. I hope?

*THUD*

That is the sound of my head hitting the desk. Yes, it does hurt sometimes. I hope that with the sun making a long awaited appearance this week that my energy levels will perk up. Since it was somewhat sunny, I went out for a walk during lunch hour. Needless to say, it was a bit chilly out there.

In the meantime, I am actually somewhat busy at work. When I am busy at work, then I am distracted from looking for other distractions to keep me from being bored. When I look for distractions to keep me from being bored, it could potentially lead to bad things. I don't know what kind of bad things because usually I get pulled back into doing some actual work before I actually find something bad. :-)

Yes, I think my head has been screwed back on properly again! Woohoo!

Lately, I have been listening to a lot of the following: Tragically Hip, The Dears, Death Cab for Cutie. I try to shuffle my music whenever I can. However, I find that I keep coming back to these few groups. I don't know why. There just seems to be an appeal to them at the moment. I did, earlier in the summer, go through my Alanis/angry-bitch-music phase, but that has passed. :-) I have also been listening to more Canadian stuff like Hot Hot Heat, Matthew Good Band, and Bedouin Soundclash. I guess you could say that I am trying to discover some new stuff out there while revisiting some old stuff at the same time.

:-)

What a Difference a Day Makes...

I think that was a line in a song that's been used in some movie. Of course, I cannot for the life of me remember what movie it was. For some reason, I think it might have been some violent movie. Then again, I could be wrong. If someone can pinpoint where this song has been used, please enlighten me? :-)

In other news, as the title of this entry says, what a difference a day makes. I feel more like my old self today as opposed to the hormonal putz that I was on Saturday. Yesterday, I went out to Hudson for the weekly Hash. Got to meet up with a few folks and chat a bit. After the "run", I indulged in a bottle of brew and some pretty darn good chili.

The afternoon of fresh air and some exercise (mostly walking) just tuckered me out! By the time I got home, I was just about ready for bed! I tried to stay up. But I pigged out on the remaining chocolate chip cookies I had. Then I indulged in a 2 hr nap. Ahhhh!!!

Today, another work week begins. :-p I think I might make some chicken tikka masala (a la Patak's simmering sauce) with some basmati. Yumm! Now, if only I can get out of the office...

Risks and Life

I've been doing some thinking today. Alright, you can stop snickering. I do think on occasion!

I've been thinking a bit about life and how we get to where we are today. It's obvious that somewhere along the way we have to make a choice that would define the direction that we take. One option might be considered safe and predictable. The other is more likely to be one with a certain amount of risk.

So how often do we choose the path with some amount of risk? Do we ever regret making the risky decision? Or have there been any thoughts about "What if" after having taken the safer path?

I guess it's somewhat a philosophical and self-reflecting thing to think about. How have the decisions you made shaped you as a person? If you were always making the safe choice, what does that say about you as a person? The same if you were always taking the risky road. I am sure there are those of you who have made both safe and risky decisions.

There are some websites that offer some sort of personality tests. I don't know how accurate they are in evaluating the type of risk taker you are. But even if you were know what sort of person you are when it comes to taking risks, would that change how you would make your decisions?

I guess another thing to think about is what exactly influences the way you make your decisions? Some safe choices may be due to some past experience (lessons learned). Some risky choices could be because there is a sense of excitement or adventure behind it. Our curious nature could be the driving force behind some of the riskier decisions. In other cases, perhaps the risk is taken as a means to escape from what is deemed safe.

Whatever the case may be, I find it interesting to reflect back upon decisions made. I try not to look upon them with any regret since the past cannot be changed. However, I look back at my decisions to see how I might move forward. :-)

Yes, I am an enginerd...

Hormonal Putz

Sometimes I wonder why thing happen the way they do. Or for that matter what the causes are for such things to happen.

I feel that I may have scared off someone. I might have come off as a bit aggressive or too eager or too needy. Perhaps it's because of my relatively open personality that may have put this person off. Who knows. In any case, if there is still some interest there, I will step back to allow some breathing space. If the interest is lost, then I guess it's too bad. You can't please everyone.

In the meantime, I think today is a good day just to putter around. Maybe I'll take care of some clutter. Then again, maybe not.

Bah! It's the weekend...

Lurve?

Well, I guess I've been somewhat contemplating the L word. How do I know when it is or when it isn't? How does anyone know? Does it have something to do with the proverbial "butterflies" that one feels upon meeting a person? It seems like an interesting physical reaction to a psychological reaction to something that can't seem to be explained.

I suppose it's been a while since I felt like that for anyone. I also suppose that in the beginning when such feelings occur that the "butterflies" are more intense. That this feeling could wane over time, but hopefully never disappear. Will I ever find these butterflies again? I don't know.

If anyone ever comes across my body covered in butterflies, then you know I've been hit hard. :)

Only time will tell...

Come out , Sun. Please?

The Sun made a very brief guest appearance around noon today. I had to wonder what this bright light was that was shining through the window. Then all too quickly, the Sun hid behind the clouds again. It's been like this pretty much all week, when it wasn't raining.

I really feel a need to see or be exposed to some sunshine. I suspect that the lack of it affects my mood. I feel extra tired when it's been overcast, dark and dreary. Go figure.

In other news, I have been in contact with another fellow. He seems quite nice. We might actually meet up this weekend over a coffee or something. So far it's primarily been some IM'ing and a couple of phone calls. Very nice fellow. :-) I guess I'll have to wait and see.

Yummm!

So yesterday, I decided to get warmed up for the holiday baking season. I felt like making some chocolate chip cookies. This time, instead of using the standard recipe on the package of Chipits, I used a recipe based on the Tollhouse Cookies. Someone thought they were a bit too sweet. Others liked them just fine. :-) Either way, they came out pretty good! I wonder if I should bake something else next weekend...

Time to Chill

The weather has been downright miserable this weekend. It's been raining most of the time. For me, this is a big demotivator in wanting to do anything at all.

My Saturday consisted of sleeping in, watching Serenity and taking an afternoon nap with the TV on. Actually, it's been a long while since I took an afternoon nap. It actually helped to refresh myself after a bit of a rough week (sleepwise).

Today, another dreary, rainy day. I guess it will be pretty much a routine Sunday: groceries, laundry, general mucking about. I did tell myself this morning that I should make more of an effort to be productive. I suppose to could crack open that TCP/IP book. I really should. Other than that, I think I will make a batch of chocolate chip cookies! :)

Yumm!

Friday!!

So, the guy did finally call me Wednesday evening. As I mentioned, since I hadn't heard from him, I had time to think things over. He said it wasn't going to work and I agreed. I told him that I know he has his reasons and I had mine. We would just leave it at that. He seemed pretty cool about the whole thing. Although, I suspect that he might have been mildly surprised at me agreeing that it wouldn't work out either. Whatever. Suivant! :-)

The Tragically Hip show last night was pretty good. I think the sound might have been a tad too loud for a small venue. In any case, they put on a pretty good show. The crowd was pretty good. I suffered from cotton-in-the-ears syndrome for part of the ride home on the Metro. I think by the time I got home, my ears were recovering. This morning, things seem to be back to normal. I didn't get a whole lot of sleep. I only got to bed around one and got up this morning at around 6. %-) I really should try to sleep at a more reasonable hour tonight. Uhm, yeah, right. ;-) There were a few rowdy Leafs fans in the crowd, but they got drowned out by everybody else.

The weather seems okay this morning. I think the forecast for the weekend should be decent. I probably should take the opportunity to clean up my deck of the planters and such. Maybe I will head over to Ikea early tomorrow morning to check out the Poang chair. I think I would really like to have that leather Poang chair. And perhaps the matching foot rest. Hmmm.... :-)

Happy Friday!

Mid-Week

So a friend of mine will be going to the Hip show with me. That's alright. :-)

The fellow still hasn't called since Saturday. I think he's a write-off. Besides, I caught him logged onto LL last night. Whatever. I think it's better that way. There were a few things about him that sort of bothered me. I guess it's back to the drawing board again!

Work has been very slow and quiet for me. I get to odd request now and then, but those get dispatched quickly. I have been trying to work on some web-based learning modules. At some point, you really need to take a break from those. %-)

Yeah. Wednesday...

Extra Ticket

So, like, I've got this extra ticket for the sold-out Tragically Hip show Thursday night. Who'd like to go with me?

:-)

Another Monday

Bleah. It's overcast and dreary. I think the sun did try to make an appearance at some point this afternoon. Not a heck of a whole lot was happening at work. All I did was work on one of these online training courses. I am almost done with it.

Definitely nothing too exciting today.

I took stock of what's happening (or not) in my life. I decided to register for a couple of courses at Concordia's ContEd for the winter term. I will be taking "Data Structures and STL in C++" and "Extended Markup Language - XML". The courses will both be on Tuesday evenings, back-to-back, from 6PM to 10:15PM. I know I will be pretty tired when I get home from these classes. In any case, I feel I should try to finish up that certificate and maybe take other courses as time permits.

So, how soon after the last date should a guy call ya? We went to see "Prestige" Saturday evening. I haven't heard from him since. He was mentioning something about a possible overdue bill on his mobile. Would the carrier cut him off? I dunno. Anyway, I'll give him another day or so to get in touch. The scary part is that he is doing a program at a trade school not far from work. I could very easily take a walk at lunch and possibly bump into him. However, if I start doing that then he'd probably start to think I was a stalker or something! ;-) In any case, I'm in no big rush. But if he's no longer interested for whatever reason, I think the polite thing to do is to let me know.

Today, I thought about going to Ikea to look at getting a leather Poang chair. I don't know why, but sometimes I feel that it would be nice to have something to lounge in in the bedroom. There is a papasan chair there now that has seen better days. The cats sometimes sleep in it. The cushion has a floral pattern which I think is good for camoflaging any kitty barf and hair. :-p Yeah, I think it's about time to retire that papasan chair. I should also think about getting rid of the stationary bike. I'm not using it if I am using my road bike on the trainer. I think I get a better workout on the trainer than the stationary. I'll have to remember to post it on the forsale site at work.

Usagi on Scooter

DSC02133.JPG
Originally uploaded by bunster10.

I finally got around to taking at least a picture of the mug I got in Kyoto. The set of bowls I bought also has a similar motif. :-)

Another Lazy Sunday...

I am a bit pooped. Why? Well, without going into too many details I went out Friday evening after work and came home Saturday morning. No, get your mind out of the gutter. I did have a nice time, but nothing of the sort happened. It just got a bit late. That's all. That's my story and I'm sticking with it! :-)

As a result, I was quite tired. I tried to get bit of sleep when I got home, but that didn't work out very well. So I had 2 cups of coffee and a non-drowsy Sudafed (the congestion was acting up). Later that evening, I went out to see Prestige with him. I think he was still pretty tired, too.

When I got home, I pretty much went straight to bed. I don't think it took me long to fall asleep. I slept straight through until about 6:30. I snoozed until about 8:30. Yeah, I guess I was pretty tired.

Today: Groceries, laundry, some catching up. A typical Sunday, I guess. Maybe a nap later.

TGIF!

Halloween has come on gone. The remnants of the holidays excesses have been brought into the office by various colleagues and left in the kitchen to be devoured by the sweet tooth hounds.

Wednesday evening I went to see Death Cab for Cutie with a friend. It had been a while since I had gone to a concert. I think the last concert I had gone to was for the Dave Matthews Band. My ex had gotten the tickets from someone who couldn't go. I wasn't a huge Dave Matthews Band, but what the heck, the tickets were free. The DCFC show was pretty good. Most of the crowd seemed to be in their 20s. There was a smattering of "older" folk. It was a high energy show. I quite enjoyed it.

Last evening, I had a marathon phone call. I think it lasted a bit over 7 hours. There are butterflies. :-)

I can breathe again!

Okay, so I took my brother's suggestion and got some Afrin. Once I got home I gave it a few squirts. A few minutes later, I was able to breathe again! Woohoo!!!

I also re-stocked on some Sudafed and Halls. I am still taking the Cold FX and emergen-C. I think I'm pretty well doped up to fight off this cold. I hate taking cough syrup because it seems that I have this mild reaction to whatever it is they put into cough syrup. It's something I finally figured out when I was a teenager.

I left work early because I just could not concentrate with the congestion. Plus, I figure I could use some extra rest to get this cold to go away soon. So after stopping by the pharmacy for the goods, I got home, got a bite to eat, then lounged/dozed a bit on the chair. I don't think I really napped for too long. On top of that, I was also trying to read my TCP/IP Protocol book. I think I managed to get through a few pages. :-D

Anyway, I'm just sort of relaxing this evening. I should probably try to read some more, but I know I should try to hit the hay earlier tonight. I've got a phone interview tomorrow evening, so I should try to get some rest tonight. I hope the cough goes away somewhat.

In the meantime, I am just listening to some random tracks from my iTunes... Currently playing, Goodbye Girl by Squeeze. :-)

*sniffle* *coughcough*

Well, it seems that I had caught a cold. :-p

Thursday after work, I started to sneeze a lot. Uh-oh. My officemate had been sneezing a lot as well. But then again, a bug has been going around work . However, I caught it, I was determined to get rid of it! I was planning a small party Saturday! So I took a dose of emergen-C.

Friday, I started to sniffle more. Noooo!!! Bad cold! Go away, cold! Begone! I took at least 3 packets of emergen-C during the course of the day. When I got home, I was really starting to feel congested. I took a Sudafed for the congestion and some Tylenol for the accompanying headache. Later in the evening I made a mug of Ho Yan Hor (some sort of Chinese herbal tea). And more emergen-C!

Depending on what shape I was in when I woke up on Saturday that would determine if the party was on or not. I woke up feeling fine but still sniffly. The party was one! So I did some shopping in the morning to buy food and stuff for the party. I picked up a bottle of Cold FX that someone told me about. I head heard about this stuff, but wasn't sure. Again, I was dosing myself with the emergen-C, Sudafed and Tylenol. Now, I was taking some Cold FX. I was throwing everything but the kitchen sink at this cold.

The party went pretty well. I did my best to wash my hands frequently before handling stuff. I really did not want my guests to catch my cold! One guest did sort of start to sniffle before he left. I hope I didn't give it to him! :-o

This morning, I woke up with a bit of a cough. But eventually, the gunkiness of the cough went away, but I still had a slight cough. Today I continue the dosing of the Cold FX, emergen-C and Sudafed. Uh-oh... I'm down to my last Sudafed. I better check the cupboards in case there's another package lying around. :-o

In other news, Finster decided to go hypoglycemic. :-p Well, it might have partially been my fault as well. I didn't give him any insulin at all yesterday because of all the running around I did. This morning, around 9AM, I gave him his 5 units. At about 3:30PM, while he was curled up in the butterfly chair, he started to pee!! Omygosh! When he stopped I picked him up and brought him to the bathroom to clean him up. He was not responding in the way of standing. he just laid there. I brought out the glucometer and checked his blood sugar level. He was down to 1.1!! Not very good. I quickly made a sugar water solution and started to dab that around his mouth and gums. After a few minutes of this, he started to respond better. He still couldn't quite stand up (a bit wobbly), but he was coming around. About an hour later he was able to stand up and walk over to the water dish. Whew! I think I will need to monitor his blood sugar levels for a while in case he's on another honeymoon. I'm also wondering if it isn't because he's lost a bit of weight. When he was at the vet last week, he weighed in at 12.75 pounds. This may be having an impact on his diabetes. We'll see.

So I guess that was pretty much the excitement for today, other than the crappy weather outside...

(O_o)

Ooog! It's been a sort of rough week.

Monday was relatively slow. That was OK.

Tuesday was a bit more busy. I had to take care of so many little things that it added up to a full day. On top ot that, I had planned to meet up with my cousin who was in town for for work. Just as I was about to leave the office, I get a call. Some software didn't transfer properly. It was corrupted. I said I was heading out for an appointment. They said they would try a few other things. If that didn't work, then they would give me a buzz. Sure enough, I got a call from them. I said to give me about an hour and then I'd head back to the office. After having a beer and a light supper with my cousin, I made my way back to the office. I started a file transfer that turned out to be very painstakingly slow! Ugh! The transfer started a little after 9PM. It took almost 2 hours to transfer 124Mb! After it was confirmed the file was okay, I went straight home and was in bed by midnight.

This morning, I felt quite tired. I took my time getting into the office this morning. I think I was operating on auto-pilot most of the day. :-p Now I am finally home. I did take a short nap. Now some supper.

Another fun day awaits tomorrow...

When no one is around...

Do you:

• Drink milk straight from the container
• Burp as loudly as you can
• Say out loud your thoughts
• Dance or sing very badly to your favorite songs
• Use up all the hot water
• Walk around in your PJs all weekend
• Eat very sloppily (unless you already do this)
  

Okay, so I don't necessarily do all the above (and I won't say which of them I do either!). But what do you do at home when no one is around?

Of rain, cats and other things

Rain, rain go away, come again another day! That was the theme for Thursday.

So Thursday evening I went out with a couple of friends for sushi. We went to Kanda Sushi bar close to Concordia. For $20, it's pretty much all you can eat sushi. All I can say is that we got our money's worth. After that sushi binge fest, we went over to Hurley's for a pint. V mentioned it was her birthday Monday so we ordered her a Bailey's cheesecake to celebrate! I had a pint and a half and we all listened to the trio performing on stage. They did some Pogue covers. Not bad and very entertaining. :)

Got home around 11:30PM to find a small disaster. Someone had left a mess in the bathroom and the kitchen. After cleaning all of that up, I found that Finster was not behaving normally. After checking him out and observing him, it seems that he wasn't seeing very well. This was not good. :(

Friday morning, I see that Finster had not moved from his spot over night. As a result, he pee'd where he lay. :-p But since I was up and had the lights on, he was able to get up and go about his business. I looked more closely at his eyes. They seem to react to the bright light. I suspect that he was having problems with seeing in the dark. In any case, I called the vet that morning for an appointment.

Of course, it decided that it was going to piss rain that afternoon. I took Finster to the vet after work. The vet pretty much confirmed what I had observed. He thinks that there might be some damage to the retina. This could have been as a result of a hypo episode or something. He said there is the option of having an opthomalogist check him out, but he and I agree that at Finster's advanced age (~15 yrs), it's not worth plunking down that kind of coin just to have tests done. So, hopeing for the bext, he thinks that if it's temporary, then things will heal itself in a couple of weeks.

Later that evening, I noticed that Finster was actually starting to see better in low light. I checked out his pupils and they seem to be opening up more in low light than they were before. This is a very good sign. Today, he seems to be back to his normal self. :-)

However, it seems that Bluesh*t may have gotten a cold or something. Just as Finster was getting better, BS starts to cough a rather nasty sounding cough. It sounds like a phlegmy type of hacking cough, but nothing comes up. I'm going to have to keep an eye on him to see if it improves or gets worse. :-p *sigh* Life with cats.

Yesterday, went out and caught a movie with some friends. We saw Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles starring Ken Takakura. It was a somewhat emotional movie. I enjoyed it. After the movie we went to Bombay Palace for dinner. We went for a la carte instead of the buffet. The food was a bit slow to arrive but when it did it was quite good. :)

Today, a Sunday to catch up on somethings. I'm planning a small party next week, so I figure I should get a head start on the cleaning up. I can't believe how much clutter had accumulated over the past week since I got back! Oh well...

The Saga Continues...

Sleep is still somewhat erratic. I might fall asleep right away, I might not. I guess it's the luck of the draw that evening. Today, I had a brief half hour nap. It probably would have gone on if some d*mn telemarketers hadn't called. I guess that was a good thing in itself, waking me up before I slept the rest of the evening away and then be screwed the rest of the night.

I didn't have anything too heavy for supper tonight. The tummy seems slightly unsettled today. I hope I haven't caught a bug or something! That would ruin the weekend for any real rest and relaxation. :-p

it's about 9:30PM right now. I'm starting to nod off. In fact, I have been nodding off since this afternoon. It's requiring a lot of effort now to stay awake. I think it's late enough now that it's okay for me to go to sleep. I think I will abide by my eyelids demand to be closed.

|-)

Jet Lag - Part II

Yesterday was a bit of a disaster in that I hit the proverbial wall yesterday after lunch. Boy did I feel really out of it. I had to struggle to stay awake long enough to leave work around 3PM (got in around 6:30AM). I bumped into a few people on the way out, so in reality I only got out around 3:20. When I got home, I really had to work hard to stay awake. I chatted with people. I tried listening to some music. I tried to read up on TCP/IP protocols. I did my best to keep myself distracted.

Around 5:00, the couch was calling to me. A small nap couldn't hurt! So down I went. Because I was so afraid of really falling asleep, I only manage to nap for about half an hour, which is what I was hoping for anyway. This was just enough to keep me going the rest of the evening.

I managed to cook myself a decent dinner of beef with broccoli and rice. Afterwards, I stayed up until about 11. It took me a while to fall asleep, but I think I managed to by about 1AM. I think I was pretty much out cold until about 5:15AM. I don't even remember turning off the alarm at 5:00, but I must have. It was one of those dreamless sleeps. I think the body just wanted to recover somehow.

Considering that I am trying to adjust from the 13 hour time difference, it will take a few days to come back to this time zone. Ugh! :-p I guess I just need to bolster myself for the day with a few hits of espresso in the morning.

Jet Lag

Oog! I really hate jetlag. I tried to be good and not nap during the day Sunday. Okay, so I did only wake up around 10:30AM...

So here I am at about 4:22AM wide awake! I might as well sort of "get up" at this point. The big challenge for today? Staying awake at work. I hope they're not going to be too demanding of me for a few days. :-p

Hmm.. Bowl of cereal...

Back Home

Well, after getting awoken by an earthquake and staying up for over 24 hours, I am finally home. I got back around 9:45PM. Not bad at all!

Today is sort of a clean-up/recovery day. I picked up a few things from the supermarket. A few loads of laundry is getting done. Rather mundane, but it gives a sense of normalcy to my first day back home.

The cats are none the worse for wear. There's the usual "where have you been" meowing when I got home. I think BS was just happy there was a warm body he could curl up next to/on top of. Yes, it's a bit cooler here since I left. Brrr! It seems that the cooler weather has arrived a bit earlier than expected. :-p

On Hiatus

Thishttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif blog is put on hold while I am in Japan. For more information, please check this page.

Thank you for stopping by. :)

The Hip - follow-up

Uhmm, I sort of forgot to mention that I have no idea who will go to the show with me. This could open the door to various scenarios. The show is over a month away. I've got time to find someone. :-)

The Hip

So, while checking my emails, I see one from one of the radio stations. It's an offer to purchase tickets for the Tragically Hip show at the Metropolis before they go on sale to the public this Friday. So what do I do? I went ahead and bought a pair of tickets...

Countdown

So I've got 3 more days of work before I am on that plane to Tokyo! I'm looking forward to a much needed vacation! It has been one long summer this year. This will be my first real break since the trip to London in March.

I'll be staying for the most part with a friend in Tokyo. We'll both head off to Kyoto for a weekend to check out the sights there. And before you start thinking it, my friend is just a friend. He's a really cool guy who's given me a lot of help lately. I owe him a lot. :-) Thanks, bud!

I just need to focus on getting a few things done this week. I have to make sure that some things are covered in case something pops up while I am away. I will leave an email address to my team leader in the event they need a question answered that no one else has the answer for. I don't really think that will happen, but you never know. I think I will have a mobile while I am in Japan, but I don't think I will make it available to the folks at work. I will probably give it to my bro in case of emergency.

So that's about it for now. I won't say much else for the time being until I know what else is happening. :-)

Fall is Here!

Yes, it seems that what summer we had this year is now gone. The weather started out a bit warm and muggy and breezy. As the day wore on, the winds picked up and the skies started to clear. Now the clouds are moving back in and the temps are starting to fall. The geese know that it's time to go.

While I was waiting for the rice for dinner to finish cooking, I took a peek outside. And what did I spy? I spied me a rainbow! I quickly grabbed my camera and took this shot. You can see what I mean about the bad weather clouds moving in...





For dinner, I made fried rice. I hadn't made some in a while and this was a good way to start cleaning out the fridge of some perishables before I left on Friday. This fried rice is made with rice (of course), chinese sausage, half a red pepper, one small onion, 2 scallions, one carrot and 2 eggs scrambled. I season it simply with some ground black pepper, oyster sauce and sriracha chili sauce for an extra kick. :-) Yummmm!

"Hola, IT Helpdesk. May I help you?"

There has got to be limits with how outsourced services are being handled. Where I work, they have outsourced IS/IT services. This means that what support we use to rely on local personnel for is now handled by a third party. For any on-site problems, there are some people on-site to handle such cases. However, if we want to report a problem, we have to call this one number that takes us to a central "help desk".

Now, originally, the help desk was located somewhere in Ottawa. If we called outside their normal operating hours, then we would get routed to the help desk in Europe somewhere. Recently, they've announced that the call center will be Costa Rica! What the f*??

Anyway, either way, if we have a problem with the printer here, we call Costa Rica, who in turns calls a technician here on-site. Go figure...

Catch Up

Okay, so there hasn't really been anything earth shattering to write about since last week's tragic events. There's still stuff in the paper about the aftermath. Essentially, it's having to pick up the pieces and moving on. It will be difficult for some. Lessons will need to be learned from all this. The federal government will really need to think long and hard about their idea to scrap the gun registry.

Anyway...

The weekend was not bad. The weather cooperated. I went to Hudson in the morning. It was quite foggy but it burned off during the course of the morning. I got my keys back. I hung out. I bought some treats. In the afternoon, I took a nap. Rather boring and unexciting.

Sunday was not so bad. Some errands in the morning. The Hash out in Rigaud in the afternoon. The sun came out. I think I got more color. Came home pretty tired. Shoulda went to bed earlier. :-p

Today being Monday? Well, what can I say?

In other news, my buddy W is really doing a lot for me! I can use his place as a base of operations for when I get to Tokyo. He might even have a spare keitai for while I am there. What a Bear! I will probably owe him my right arm when all of this is said and done. We'll see how things go. I really hope something good comes of all this!

Aftermath

The gunman was been "neutralized" by police. A first year student was killed. Two other shooting victims fighting for the lives in hospital. These things make you wonder what exactly is going on in the gunman's mind. What warped sense of logic or emotions was going around and around in his mind. Why was no one close to him able to see that something might be wrong? Some questions may never be answered.

***

Today has been a somewhat "blah" day. Maybe it was the weather. Maybe it was yesterday's events. In any case, I need some relief from this. I need happy music! I need cheerful banter!

I think I will go buy some cannolis tomorrow. It will be a treat! I haven't been by the pastry shop in a long while. Good stuff there! Yummm..

A Sad, Sad Day

Well, in case you haven't already heard, there has been a shooting at Dawson College. This is the 3rd time that such a a violent incident has occurred in the city of Montreal.

1989 - 14 women were killed by Marc Lepine at Ecole Polytechnique
1992 - Valery Fabrikant shot and killed 4 members of the faculty at Concordia University
2006 - At least one fatality in the shooting at Dawson College

Just what is this world coming to?

Mystery Package Solved

It's the replacement battery for the 12" iBook. Now, to actually get it. DHL made another attempt to delivery Friday. Looks like they will try again Monday even though I had called to say I would go try to pick it up. Whatever...

Looks like a really nice day today. A bit on the cool side, but not too nippy. I've got a coffee date later. Hmmm, wonder how that will go...

Mystery Package

Hmmm.. Came home a bit late today and found a doorknocker from DHL. I really don't remember ordering anything recenty. The Mac Pro had already arrived via a different courrier. What could it be?

Minor correction: I did not bruise my ass-cheek. It was more like my upper thigh that was slightly bruised by my fall. :-p

Clutz Redux

Ok, it seems that I might have bruised my left bum cheek from that fall Monday. :-p How embarassing. I only noticed the other night when I turned to lie on that side. Maybe not so much bruised as it is a sore muscled.

The past couple of days seem to go by pretty quickly at work. I don't know if it's a good thing or not. I don't feel like I accomplished as much as I hoped. Conference call in the morning...

Possibly an outing to Brutopia either tomorrow or Friday after work! Woo hoo!!! I can use a pint of good brew. I make a general rule to never drink alone. It's more fun to drink and be merry with friends! :)

I ended up getting the Apple AV kit for the iPod. I was feeling a bit bummed today so I decided to spend some money. I hope I don't get bummed too often. That would not be very healthy for my bank account. And no, the Mac Pro purchase was not due to be bummed. ;-)

SPD Clutz

I took my MTB for a spin around the neighborhood with the new pedals which are one side SPD clips and one side regular platform. I nearly took a spill at a stop sign. But I was a total clod at the end of the short spin in the driveway. I totally fell on the left side. I scraped my hand a little. It feels slightly bruised.

I think I will use the platform side when commuting until I get better at unclipping. :-p

In other areas... Why do some men post pictures of themselves in shades. Do they have something to hide? Then there are the "mugshots" with the "deer caught in the headlights" look. And when a profile does say that they are "mysterious", just what the h*ll is that suppose to mean? Sometimes I wonder why I even bother. :-p I guess it's just too darn addictive to just login to see who's there, to see if there's any "fresh meat". Yeah, it can be sad at times. What the heck. I've got nothing to lose. Okay, *maybe* my dignity if I totally flub it. %-p

Happy Labor Day!

Well, I managed to survive this weekend with the parents. I saw them off early this morning. Now I just want to crawl back into bed and sleep some more. However, I don't think I can now because I just did 20 minutes of hard pedalling on the bike. Now I'm wide awake.. At least for the time being.

I think that sometimes I am just one big f*ing goof of a person. I don't understand why I do the things I do. Sometimes I wonder about the situations I get into. Sometimes I feel like I am getting cold feet for now particular reason. Sometimes I feel like I have a bit of a self-esteem issue. Sometimes I feel unsure about myself. Sometimes I feel like I am out to go out of my mind!

In any case, I need to shake some of this off. I need to be myself. If someone does happen to find that somewhat attractive, then more power to them. They're going to need it in dealing with me!

Gaaah!

I think I will go back to sleep now. %-)

Long Weekend!

Well, it's the start of the long weekend. it's been a long while since the last holiday (July 1st). However, it won't be all relaxation I'm afraid. The parental units are coming up for a visit with my bro. This means I need to clean up the joint and make sure it passes Mother inspection! :-p

This might turn out to be a long weekend. But we shall see...

Decommissioned!!

The PC, she's been taken out of service. No longer will I hear her noisy fans. I hope to find her a new home. Somewhere where she can still be of service.

More power than I know what to do with!

It has finally arrived....
The Box... It was HUGE and HEAVY!
Frontal view.
Side view. Nice little Apple logo.

Sorry.. Didn't take any interior shots. Maybe later.

The PC will soon be history. The Mac Mini will soon be obsolete....

[Fill in the blank]-sexual

Which came first? Metrosexual or Retrosexual? And with which would you identify with?

Guys? Which are you?

Gals? Which do you prefer?

Am I Sad or What?

Okay, so since the event, I have watched the following movies more than once:

- High Fidelity
- Under the Tuscan Sun
- Must Love Dogs

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know they all have something to do with breakups and stuff, but hey, I can dream, can't I? I know they're just movies, but it's nice to see happy endings.

I just borrowed a colleague's collection of Fellini movies. I might try to watch La Dolce Vita this weekend.

*sniffle*

It's been a rather miserable week, healthwise. All this week, I have been battling this cold that I must have caught last Friday (scratchy throat). From there, the congestion started on Monday/Tuesday. I feel better now but the congestion and some of the coughing will take some time to get rid of.

On Tuesday, after I picked up my car from the garage (brake work), I stopped by the supermarket to pick up a few things. I had wanted to buy some fish (usually frozen filets) but didn't see anything I liked. There were, however, some "fresh" tilapia filets. Against my better judgement, I picked up a package of the fish. At home, I dusted the filets with some blackening spice to pan fry them. It was tasty, but within half an hour of consuming the fish, I started to feel a bit ill. My tummy felt like it was on fire and I was just not feeling very good.

I continued to make some banana bread while trying to fight this ill feeling. I tried to quell the fire by having some yogurt and then afterwards some milk. I had also drank some water to perhaps help dilute things. In the end, I tried to manually purge the bad fish. I crawled into bed in a cold sweat. Then I was out for maybe 2 hrs. When I woke up, I felt much better, but my tummy still felt a bit heavy from the meal.

I must remember never to buy "fresh" fish that has been packaged in those styrofoam trays. Evil, evil things...

In other news, my Mac Pro finally showed up on the tracking radar! It looks like it should be delivered on Monday! Woohoo!!!

Crescent Moon and Venus

Woke up early and took a peek outside. I wish I had a tripod. But these are the 2 best shots I got.

Weekend Wrap-Up/Monday Bleargh

This weekend was not bad. Saturday, I went out to see Snakes On a Plane with some friends. Afterwards, we grabbed a bite to eat at Les Trois Brasseurs.

The movie was okay, but I don't know if I would want to see it again. I guess I am just not a huge fan of most "horror" movies, if this was suppose to be one. However, Samuel L. Jackson really made the movie. I think he really saved the movie.

At the resto, I only had a pint of amber with dinner. However, I think I might have knocked it back a bit too fast for my system. I was a bit tipsy %-) Once I got home, I really wasn't feeling too good. I thought it might have been the beer. So I nearly zonked out immediately on the bed.

On Sunday, I woke up really not feeling too well. I thought it was allergies since it's ragweed season. So around 6AM I took a Benedryl Allergy tablet. That sucker knocked me out until around 10:30! :-p When I woke up, I figure it was about time I got up. I was feeling slightly better but not by much. I later called up "Organ Grinder" to let him know that I was going to go to the Hash. It was fun and I got to meet some nice people. :-) The weather was less than ideal, but we all had a grand ol time. I'll prob do another hash.

Today, I woke up with a hint of congestion. My throat was not much better. It seems to have hit that dry hacking cough phase. Most annoying. I had day 1 of a 2-day First Aid course at work. Throughout the class, I was sucking on Halls and drinking water to stave off the dry hacking cough. By the afternoon, the congestion was starting to rear its ugly head. I think I have a cold.

By the time I got home, the congestion was really going. After having some supper, I popped a Sudafed. I can't sleep when I'm congested. :-p

Well, it looks like i have to sink more money into my car. On Saturday, on the way back from Hudson that morning, my brakes gave me a scare. On the exit off the highway on the way home, I tried to brake but the brake pedal went all the way to the floor! I was like WTF? The car did manage to stop at the stop light. Whew! My heart was pounding a millions beats per second! From that point on, I just wanted to get home in one piece! :-o Which I did. This morning I called the garage about it. They found the part and I dropped my car off after work (I cautiously made the drive in this morning). Not sure just how bad the $$$ damage will be, but heck, ya needs brakes on a car!!

Well, there you have it: a somewhat exciting weekend. Now back to nursing my cold with some lemon-honey drink to chase down that Sudafed. ;-)

%-)

What the F* am I doing up at 4:30AM? I dunno. Do you? For some reason I have been having a hard time sleeping this week. Maybe it's due to allergies? I think it's ragweed season. From what my brother said, it's suppose to be pretty bad this year. Right now, my mouth and throat feel pretty dry. I rode my bike home yesterday and it was pretty warm.

In other news.. They've shipped my Mac Pro! Woohoo!!! Hopefully, I can actually track it on Monday. It's being shipped by Sameday Right o Way. I have no idea what kind of shipper they are. Hopefully they don't bang stuff around.. :-o

How Fast Are YOU?

Wednesday is HUMP Day

I have NO idea who came up with that...

In any case, I'm feeling crappy because I haven't been able to sleep very well the past couple of nights. I think it may be allergies since it's about ragweed season. On top of that I did bike to work Monday and today. :-p

In the meantime, I took a couple of shots with the digi-cam recently.

View from my room towards UdeM a few nights ago. Not bad shooting through a double-glazed window.

Same evening but of the moon peeking in and out of the clouds. You can see the effect the window has here.

Sunrise this morning. The sun was just below the Bombardier building.

This might have been slightly over-exposed but this is a shot of UdeM a sunset. It should have had a more golden tone to it. Oh well.

So that's it for now. I think I will ride to work again tomorrow. I might drive on Friday. We'll see how much energy I've got left. ;-)

I DID IT!

So, I went ahead and did it. I ordered a Mac Pro. Screw a new LCD HDTV! I'll take the Mac Pro instead!

Am I crazy?

Don't answer that.

So what configuration did I opt for? I downgraded the CPU to 2Ghz. I upped the RAM to 2Gb. And I went for the Apple Protection plan. That's what I gone ahead and done...

The expected ship date is August 21st. *wait*

I will need to unload the Mac Mini after I transfer some data. I was talking to someone at work who knows someone who might be interested in it. Cool!

Afterwards, upgrade the 14" G4 iBook to a MacBook (prob just the 13"). Again, same person knows someone who might be interested in it. Yay! Makes my life easier!

Just Another Monday

It's the start of another work week. Yay.

Weekend wrap up:
Bought an inexpensive set of SPD pedals for the Bianchi on Saturday. Also bought 2 pairs of shoes. One pair of Clarks from Globo and a pair of Merrell's at Sports Expert. Did I really need more shoes? Don't answer that.


Then in the afternoon, went to catch Bon Cop, Bad Cop. It was quite funny! Then had supper at Baton Rouge and an ice cream at the Orange Julep.

Sunday was as mentioned fairly routine. I did go out and rent two movies: In Good Company and Saving Face. Both were pretty good.

In other news, I think my PC is about to go sometime in the near future. I need to back up all the data to DVD from the external drive that's connected to it (it was formatted for the PC and not Mac). After that I think I will seriously assess the feasibility of purchasing the Mac Pro. At least I know someone who's interested in the Mac Mini.

Cake and Chicken

Ok, this is one reason to make a grocery list: I forgot to buy more poppy seeds. I made do with what I had left which was probably a very scant 1/4 cup. :-p I haven't had a slice yet, but I'll probably bring some with me to work.

The supermarket did not have any acceptable rib material so I bought a package of chicken breasts instead. They turned out pretty good with the blackening spice! Had that with some salad.

Menu for the rest of the week? Well, I decided to pick up a package of spinach with paneer. That would go well with some rice. Some italian sausage for the ol' pasta standby. Got some chicken thighs to make chicken madras with.

Here's a quick recipe for my standard pasta sauce. Perfect for bachelors (and bachelorettes) and people short on time!

1 pkg italian sausage, about 6 links (I prefer the spicy over sweet)
1 teaspoon of minced garlic (I use the small jars of the stuff for convenience)
1 red pepper, diced
1 8oz pgk of white button mushrooms, sliced
1 19oz can of diced tomatoes
1 small can of tomato sauce
Italian seasoning
Balsamic vinegar (optional)

Start by heating some olive oil (about a tablespoon) in a non-stick saucepan. Take the sausage meat out of its casing and break them up into the heated pan. As the sausage browns you can add the garlic and seasoning (about a tablespoon). When most of the sausage is cooked, add the mushrooms and saute for a few minutes. Add the can of diced tomatos and tomato sauce. Mix well. Add a splash of balsamic vinegar for extra flavor. Add the red peppers. Stir well. Lower heat and let simmer for about 20 minutes.

While the sauce is simmering, you can prepare your pasta. This type of chunky sauce is better with pasta like rotini or penne, but it's still good with regular spaghetti. :-)

Enjoy!

Sundays

Sundays are usually fairly routine. Get up, maybe exercise, if not, watch a little TV. Shower, have some breakfast, go buy groceries. Laundry, veg or watch a movie. Maybe some cleaning depending on how bad it is.

Yup, pretty routine and at times boring. But it's days like this that helps you refocus and stay grounded, I think.

Today, it probably won't be much different. However, I think I might make that lemon poppyseed cake. I better make sure I have the poppyseeds! :-)

I still have some dry rub left. Maybe I'll see if I can find a small rack of ribs at the supermarket. That could be supper for tonight! :-)

I'll try to post pics of the results of these culinary delights. :)

Friday Night

It's Friday night. I'm home. I'm watching a DVD. What are you doing?

It's interesting to note the number of men, both attractive and not so, who are logged into sites like LavaLife at this hour. If they're so hot, why are they not out? Another interesting observation I've made is the number of men logged in on Monday and Tuesday nights. There seems to be over 250 of them logged on on those evenings.

Just an observation...

I guess I'm a bit of a flake at times. One moment, I think I know what I want. The next, I haven't a clue what to do. I guess that goes with the territory. In any case, as I have already mentioned before in previous posts, I really need to focus on things and understand what's important.

Etc. Etc. Etc.

Plum Upside Down Cake

I had bought some plums on Sunday. I wanted to make some sort of crumble or fruit thing with them. So I dug around and found this recipe on the Cooking Light web site. It's quite yummy. :-)

Small Projects

Well, after stuff got moved out, I was left without a place to store the linens and things. I wonder to myself, "How did I manage before?" I guess the answer is that I didn't not have as much stuff as I did before.

So, I was on a quest for a replacement box/trunk/storage thing.

I had been to Finnegan's a few times but hadn't consciously looked for something until recently. On the last trip I found it. Luckily it had a cedar boards lining the bottom of the main compartment of the trunk. The bottom drawer was a bit sticky but I used a tip from a friend to apply candle wax to the sides of the drawer that come in contact with the trunk. It should make things slide more easily. This drawer does not have runners.

Next step is to clean up the outside a bit. Maybe with some Pledge or Endust. I don't think I really want to apply a coat of furniture wax to it.

Dis 'n Dat

I've sort of taken my profile off of LL for now. I've essentially hidden it. I've also been pretty good about not login in to the sites from work. At times I find that it's almost addictive to login to these sites to see who's seen me or if there are any messages. Unfortunately, I think I might end up blowing off this one guy I had been exchanging some mails with. In any case, I think I still need to get my head on straight.

Well, that's pretty much it. I've come to the realization (again) that I really need to focus on other things.

Anyway....

I've been trying to ride to work most of this week. Unfortunately, if it does shower tomorrow I won't be riding to work. I guess I'll have to use the trainer instead. Friday's forecast doesn't look too bad, so I will probably try to ride then as well.

It's not a terribly long commute, but it's better than getting no exercise at all. :-)

Belated Birthday Outing

Yesterday a couple of guys at work decided to take me out for my birthday. I know it was a week late, but last week was impossible to coordinate.

We ended up going to Les 3 Brasseurs on the corner of Ste-Catherine and Cresent. It's the newest of that chain to open. They brew their own beers.

I had a pint of amber to start with then ordered a Neopolitan flamm. In total, I had only 2 pints of amber. At least I know my limits! ;-)

I think by the time I started on the 2nd pint, I was quite happy. :-)

All in all it was a good evening. Thanks guys!

Come to Mama!!

Oh yeah!

Okay, the geek inside is a little excited over this one. However, not to the point where I'm ready to plunk down that kind of coin for one! I do have some sanity left in me! Nevertheless, I am going to keep an eye out on user reviews of this new beast.

If it comes to fruition, I might decide to get it just to replace the 2 machines I currently have as desktop machines. I will keep the iBook for now. I think ultimately, I will want to replace the desktops with the one machine and maybe upgrade the iBook to either a MacBook or MacBook Pro. That's a lot of coin there, so I will have to really think about this.

In other things... Is classy casual akin to business casual? Since I am not exactly one for fashion (I have not bought or perused any fashion mag in YEARS). As a result, I haven't a clue. In any case, I think I will need to do some shopping in the near future. Apparently, fall fashions are hitting the stores.. Eeeek! Goes to show you how often I go shopping!

Things to work on...

Well, I think that starting this week I will need to work on a few things:

1) Brush up on Perl and other stuff.
2) Clean out my closet of stuff I don't wear any more.
3) Work on filling any gaps left by the closet cleaning.
4) Cycle more, whether it be indoors or out.

It sounds easy enough. However, I find that I am easily distracted by things such as this thing as well as the temptation to login to the dating sites. Incidentally, I still need to respond to one individual for a time and place to meet for a coffee/drink/dinner. I've GOT to STOP initiating some of these things... At times, it almost seems like an addiction.

Anyway, it's getting late and I need my sleep. I don't think I will be able to cycle in to work tomorrow.. bleah!

Social Gatherings

To keep my sanity and to avoid going into complete isolation I planned a bbq today. The guests are mainly friends from both work and non-work. I did a lot of cleaning and preparation yesterday and today. I think everything is set. Even if there is too much food, it's better than not having enough. :-)

What am I preparing? Chicken satay, a variety of sausages, chicken and beef brochettes from the butcher, and some burgers, in case someone would prefer burgers. :-)

I picked up a babka yesterday as well as some organic veggies for grilling. Today, I got some grapes, cheese and crackers as well. I guess it's a lot since some folks will be bringing some stuff as well. But I'd rather see people go home with their tummies filled and happy.