Home Stretch

Maybe I have been burning the proverbial candle at both ends. This week seems to be rather evident of that. Okay, so I didn't have class on tuesday, but still I didn't get to sleep until late that evening (went to a movie instead). But all these late evenings and trying to keep up with class work is starting to take a toll on me. It also didn't help that I did some work over the weekend as well. This week, I started to do some testing. I feel a bit brain-fried. Tonight I have the Mandarin class.

I find that when I get really tired like this my mind starts to go off in different directions. When it starts to do that I tend to think too much about certain things. And when I do that it tends to be somewhat on the negative side. This is usually not very good. :-p I end up feeling a bit bummed out as a result.

Anyway, I don't know how Tuesday's classes will be made up. After this week, there are 2 weeks left of that class. There are 4 weeks left of the camera class. Tonight is class #3 for Mandarin. After this, I think I will need a break!

But despite all the thinking I have been doing, it has come to my attention to question just what state things are between me and him. I am still unclear if we are just still hanging out, or if we have sort of started down the road of dating. I am a bit puzzled and perplexed about this. Where do we stand? Is it something that is still in progress? A friend said that perhaps I am trying too hard to find a new relationship. To some degree, he may be right. Subconsciously, I might be. On the surface, I am trying to go with the flow and see where the currents take me. Is this the right thing to do? I am by no means in any big rush. I don't have any set timeline or goals in my life. In fact, I don't think I've ever really set any real goals in my life. I just exist and live. Is there anything wrong with that?

Anyway, I am still struggling with a few test cases. I've asked for help, but even the experts are having problems. (O_o)

*sigh*

There are days when you feel exactly like this:

Mondays...

...suck. But I guess that goes without saying....

He emailed me this morning to say he was home sick. I guess the movie will have to be postponed for another time. *sigh* Just as well, I suppose. I'm still pretty knackered from this weekend. I managed to get to bed last night towards 11, after someone called me on my cell about work. :-p I really did not want to get up this morning.

Anyway, I did manage to get some stuff done today at work. Miracle of miracles. tonight I hope to work a bit on my C++ assignment. Yes, the one that has been languishing for weeks now. :-p I really feel quite discouraged about it. Maybe I should look at the 2nd one he gave. Bleah! :-p

I'm doing something I didn't think I'd do and that was have a beer with dinner, alone. I suppose it's akin to having a glass of water or something with dinner. So, it really can't be that bad, could it? Tonight I am having a bottle of Leffe with some leftover pasta. Oof! I forgot just how strong this stuff is!

Anyway... must stare at some C++. I'll probably throw my hands up in the air in a few hours. :-p

Sunday soon becomes Monday

I don't know why I do it. For some reason, I have this innate sense of responsibility towards the work that I do. Again, this morning, I spent some time on the problem that I had tackled last night. I thought that if I approached it with another strategy that it might work. Unfortunately, I was wrong. I only worked on it long enough this morning to know that I was going to get the same results. After that, I went out for some groceries.

After lunch, I had the intention of reading up on some C++. However, I didn't get very far with that. I knew that I wanted to get out and take some photos as part of my camera class assignment. Towards 3:00PM I headed out.

I wanted to swing by the nearby park to take a few picks. I figure there should be something going on there. As I neared the park, I noticed some movement by one of the recreation buildings. It looks like they've installed an outdoor rink. Hooray! So I made my way over there and found a small group of guys playing pick-up hockey. There were also a couple of smaller kids skating around too.

One thing I learned: Do not wear glasses that darken outdoors. It made it difficult for me to see the readings in my camera. I had also forgotten that I had the white balance set to incandescent light. As a result, the first dozen or so shots had a blue tinge to them. It did make for an interesting affect! Anyway, after hanging around by the rink, I decided to get moving as my hands were getting cold (mental note: invest in fingerless gloves). I headed over to the DVD rental place to see if they had Farscape. They didn't. :-p But I did leave it as a recommendation to the clerk there. Let's see if they come up with something.

Once I got home, I noticed that a colleague from work who is currently in Mexico had IM'd me/ I sort of forgot that he said he would try to look into one of the problems I had yesterday. So this distracted me from doing anything else. I did manage to prepare dinner (chicken madras (courtesy of Patak's curry paste) with basmati rice). Colleague was not able to fix problem but sort of had an idea of what the problem is. I guess I will have to submit a trouble ticket in the morning for it.

Otherwise, it's been a semi-productive weekend. I just hope I can charge the hours!!

Monday: What to wear? Hmmm..

A Working Saturday :-p

First, I stayed a bit late at work last night. When I got home it was nearly 9PM. I was tired and a bit fed up. I was trying to upgrade a node, but kept encountering some problems (which were not major, but still..). I nuked some leftovers and had a Harp. I don't usually drink alone, but I felt I needed it. Of course, it took me an hour to drink it.

Today, I am still continuing some work. The upgrade worked this time after I deleted a few files (space issue). But the traffic being generated was having some issues. Something was not stable and I just could not figure out what the problem was. In any case, I just left it as it was.

Now I am trying to execute a few commands on a customer dump but I can't because the commands are restricted. Gee, what else will go wrong? I don't think I want to know the answer to that.

Aside from all this work crap, I did find the courage to zip off a quick email to him. It was a very brief one-liner, but it was to the point: Wanna catch a flick? To which he responded positively. How about Monday? Okay! So, does this constitute a date?

End of Week 8, 2007

Yeah, I know. I haven't posted much this week. I guess I am starting to really feel the affects of juggling one too many things. I am currently taking 3 nights of classes a week. I have 3 more weeks of C++ and XML to endure. There are 5 more weeks of the camera class. And we just had our 2nd Mandarin class last night.

I think I have re-affirmed the fact that I am not much of a programmer. I can handle the easy stuff. But with the first assignment in C++, I have been totally frustrated. I can think about how I might be able to do small parts of the assignment, but I am having a heck of a time trying to get enough of these bits and pieces together. I think when it comes to actual code, I have only managed to draw out the game board (in ascii). I technically have almost 5 weeks to complete all my C++ assignments. The teacher has given us until 2 weeks after the last class to hand in our assignments. In a way it's a relief, but I have really got to make some progress.

In other areas... I've been pretty good about not shopping, except for food. I really need to curb my spending for a while. I've got my municiple tax bill to pay by the end of this month. I've also got my auto registration due at the end of the month as well. There's also the other usual bills that are nearing due. Again, it's not that I don't have the money, but I'd like to maintain some padding. My bi-weekly mortgage payments are only slightly higher than what they were before since I've renewed my mortgage term, so that shouldn't be a huge issue. I think the only other thing of real expense is if I decide to entertain either myself or friends.

Last weekend was Chinese New Year. Since I wasn't planning on visiting family this year, I spent it more or less alone at home. I did prepare for myself a nice Panko-breaded chicken breast for dinner on Saturday. On Sunday, I invited a couple I know over for dinner. I prepared the 3-cheese pasta bake from a Cooking Light recipe. To compensate the "healthy" pasta dish, I made the two-nuts chocolate torte for dessert. Everything turned out pretty good. My friends enjoyed the food. And I was a happy cook.

I had also invited another person to the Sunday dinner, but he couldn't make it. He was tied up with something else. On Monday, I had lunch with him and another person. He mentioned something about having to babysit. I guess it must have been for his sister. In any case, he apologized for not being able to make it.

This past week has been somewhat uneventful. The days just seem to run into each other. I've been operating on roughly 4-6 hrs of sleep each night. Six hours is actually pretty generous. I think I got about 6 hours Sunday night. I think my body has adjusted somewhat to the amount of sleep I have been getting. I am going to try to sleep in a little bit this weekend.

And what's on tap for the weekend? I really don't know. I'd like to tackle the C++ assignment. I also should get a start on the XML project assignment. Maybe, if things work out, I might go to the Hash on Sunday. I need to take some action shots for the camera class. Maybe I'll come across some photo-ops on the Hash. Other than that, eh.

Next social event? I was thinking of a little wonton making party. I haven't quite decided on when to have this. I might try to do this after the last C++ and XML class. At least that way I don't have to worry about too many things on a weekend.

And speaking of social, no, I don't think there's been that much progress in my social life. It seems that the person of interest is turning out to be a bit of a slow burn. Maybe I'm trying too hard to look for signs and becoming a little frustrated as a result. Maybe this is a sort of evaluation period where he's still checking things out. I don't know. Maybe I should just sort of nudge things along without making it too obvious. I was thinking of perhaps asking if he would be interested in catching a movie or something this weekend. Ahh! But that requires a bit of courage... :-p

Another week come and gone

My! Just where does the time fly? It's already Friday.

Last night I went to my Mandarin course. I kinda figured that Mandarin was not going to be easy to learn. Speaking my mangled Cantonese is easier than trying to get the different tones right in Mandarin. The teacher drilled us incessantly with the pronunciation of the 4 main tones. I think I was starting to get a little tongue tied towards the end of it all!

This Sunday will be Chinese New Year. I won't be doing anything very special for it. I might do a little bit of cleaning tomorrow to welcome the new year with a clean home. I should have chicken for my new year's eve dinner. I might make my panko chicken on rice for that. On Sunday, New Year's day, I think the meal is suppose to be vegetarian, so I might make this 3 cheese pasta bake. It was quite tasty when I last made it.

Aside from that, tonight I'm going out for sushi with a couple of people. This weekly jaunt for all-you-can-eat sushi is starting to become a bit of a habit. Not that I'm complaining.. :-) And yes, he will be there.

Day of little significance

Somehow, today has lost all meaning for me. Perhaps it's because any special significance of it has been down-played by those I've been with. And why is that? One excuse would be that today is nothing more than a money-grab for merchants selling their wares designed specifically for today. Whatever the case may be, I used to feel that today is a special day to further reinforce/display/reaffirm your feelings for that one special person. That special person who, in the end, turns out not to be so special.

I guess you could say that after having been burned in the past, that today has very little special meaning for me. I can't even recall anything very special happening in recent years. It's rather sad, but it's the truth. If your other half downplays the original significance of this date, then you might have to ask yourself why. What is the justification in not celebrating the spirit of this date?

I suppose I could go on, but I might come off as being bitter. To some degree I am, but not entirely so.

In catching up on some regular blog reading, this seems to express quite a bit on the subject of love... I wish I could better express such things.

In the meantime, today is like any other day. It's starting to snow heavily this morning. At first I was hoping to work from home but realized I left the power adaptor for my laptop at work. Drats! Oh well. I suspect those who can will work from home. It will probably be rather quiet here at work today. I will probably skip the camera class tonight as I don't want to attempt to drive home late in the evening if it's still snowing. :-p

Happy Wednesday.

Happy, freakin' Valentine's Day.

Sluggishness

I just haven't had a whole lot of energy as of late. This could be due to a number of things. There's been some escalations at work where extra attention is required in getting some things done. There's the classwork that needs to be done. Then there's everything in between that seems to be taking up a fair amount of time as well. It really makes me wonder how anyone can juggle all of this.

I suppose I really need to better organize my time. I think that I have always been pretty bad about it. Or, it could just be that I don't put enough effort into it. Oh, did I mention that I registered for another class that starts this Thursday? Maybe I am a sucker for such punishment.

Last night, I tried to study for tonight's mid-term. I was just not motivated. I tried to go over the class notes and look at examples. It's a multiple-choice, on-line exam. I wonder just how difficult could that be? I suppose I should try to go over some notes later today before I head off to class.

My programming class is another kettle of fish. The instructor is suppose to hand out the 2nd assignment and I haven't even finished the first one. :-p I've barely made a dent in it! Okay, so I did manage to print out the game board. Big whoop. I hope I can find some time this weekend to really look into it.

Hmm.. And it's only Tuesday...

Where have the days gone?

It looks like another weekend has come and gone. But it's not that it's been a terribly bad weekend. It's had it's moments. :) I am a little disappointed that I was not able to accomplish as much as I had hoped. This might be due to the fact that I am a bit tired and could use some more sleep. When you're tired, you just don't have the motivation or drive to do much.

I had some people over last night for pizza and movies. We watched Gross Pointe Blank and the Bourne Identity. Both are pretty good movies. I had never seen The Bourne Identity in its entirety. I liked it.

After the second movie, just about everyone left except for him. He hung back again. We had another piece of a fruit pie one of the folks brought. We talked for a while. I think it was nearly 5AM when he finally left.

Hmm.. I wonder how things will go after this?

A very long week

I am so exhausted. To some degree I am partly responsible for being tired. I think pretty much every night this week I had been going to bed pretty late but getting up early. I was probably averaging about 4-5 hours of sleep.

This evening I am still at work. Call me stubborn, call me persistent, but I really wanted to get some stuff done. There's been some escalations this week, so I figure it might be a good idea to ensure that some stuff is prepared so we can get a good jump on it come Monday morning. One of the guys who has been working with me on this is planning to work a little bit over the weekend. I have to remember to SMS him when this stuff is ready.

Reasons for going to bed late this week? Well, Tuesday and Wednesday are obvious because I've got classes those evenings. Last night, on the other hand, I had gone out to dinner. Without going into details, it was with a guy and we talked quite a bit. Before we knew it, it was getting pretty late. Originally, it wasn't going to be just the two of us, but a mutual friend had decided to leave work early, so he missed out on a sushi dinner. :)

Anyway, enough for now. I've got to continue monitoring the progress of this script that's running. I hope to be out of here in about an hour, or less. :-/

Another weekend come and gone

Oh where does the time fly?

Saturday, I was pretty busy running a few errands and prepping the place for the evening's dinner. I made sure I had enough for a party of eight. I even picked up some non-alcoholic beverages just in case.

At some point in the afternoon, one couple had to cancel because she was just not feeling good. Without going into details, I can understand. There are some things you just do not have control over.

One of the guys came over early to give me a hand with a few things. We chatted a bit. Then a little after 6, I get a phone call from one of the other invitees. Apparently, she's not feeling very well either after doing a fair amount of running around during the day. Oh well. :-(

So in the end it was just the five of us. This was just fine as there was plenty of food to go around. And as it was 4 guys, they managed to pack away quite a bit. I still had plenty of leftovers though. I'll just have to do some stir-fry with it tomorrow.

After eating, we had dessert which one of the guys brought. We had some ice wine with it. Afterwards, I popped open a bottle of muscat. All told, we polished off 5 bottles of wine.

Around 11, 2 of the guys had to leave. The rest of us watched Shaun of the Dead. After the movie, A started his car remotely then soon left. I almost expected M to leave when A did but he didn't. He hung around a bit longer. We chatted about different things. Then around 3AM, M hit the road as well. I really didn't expect M to hang around like he did. But I really didn't mind. ;-)

So I was off to bed soon after M left. I think I slept pretty soundly. I might have woken up a couple of times, but managed to fall back asleep. I think I finally got up at about 11AM this morning. I wasn't in the mood to go buy groceries and I was up a bit too late for the Hash. So I did some cleaning up, started on some laundry and dove into my XML assignment. I think I managed to put a good dent into the XML assignment. I'm not looking forward to the C++ assignment which has yet to take off. :-p

Anyway, another Monday is coming...

Friday!!

Finally!

Well, even if the weekend is coming up, I have a crapload of stuff to get done. But even before I make it home to start the weekend, I have a class tonight. It's a class to make up for one of two classes that got cancelled when the instructor broke his arm. The second make up class is next Friday. :-p

Tomorrow morning, I have so much that needs to get done. I've still got to pick up a few things for the dinner. I've still got some last minute cleaning up to do. About an hour or two before everyone arrives, I will have to start laying stuff out and prepare the simmering broths. I think I might be able to get a small break at some point during the afternoon if I don't slack off.

Sunday, I think I will have to pass on the hash again. :-p Last night I tried to tackle the C++ assignment. First, the program that the instructor gave us to help with drawing out stuff in ascii is not gcc friendly. It seems to be written to be executed in a windows console environment. :-p So I tried to download Visual C++ from Micros*ck. Then, when I tried to download the SDK, MS squawked at me for the copy of XP I had installed was not quite legit. So this morning, as a result of last night's frustration, I went ahead and dished out the money to make Bill Gates even richer. Tonight I will try to finish the installation. *sigh*

Aside from that, I made an impulse buy, again. This time, I had gone out to lunch witha friend. After lunch, he wanted to go by EB Games to see if they had the Nintendo Wii. They didn't have any in stock, so we poked around a bit. I was over by the PSP side of the store checking out the PSP. I had contemplated getting one before, but could never justify it. Yet, yesterday, somehow, my friend managed to convince me to get it. So I went ahead and got the PSP plus 3 games to go with it.

Anyway, one of the games I got, LocoRoco, is kinda neat. I guess I will play with it for a while. :-)

Slacker

I've been something of a slacker the past few days. I'm not sure if it has anything to do with lack of sleep due to a certain cat meowing away in the middle of the night. Of course, going to bed towards midnight does not help either. I need to good solid night's sleep. I've got a small dinner party to get ready for this Saturday!

Tonight I have two classes that I will need to stay awake for. By the time I get home it will be about 11PM. I will go straight to bed when I get home. I will see if I can sedate BS with some catnip. I really hope he stops that soon.

I am trying REALLY hard not to make any more unnecessary purchases. I came close again when I put things into the shopping cart. But, I managed to navigate away from the sites. I did purchase one thing last night. It was some software to perform PAL to NTSC coversion. Well, it does more than just that, but I haven't had a chance to see what else it does. :-)

Again, maybe because it's winter and the days are still short, but I find it hard to get motivated to do much. I really hope things change. Who knows? There might be something out in the horizon? I hope?

Am I a Dreamer?

Sometimes I wonder if I am just a dreamer. At times I think I am a realist. Other times, I'm not sure what I am.

Why do I ask? I guess it's because I think I will watch Amelie again for the umpteenth time tonight. It's a movie I don't think I will ever get tired of. Sometimes I wish I could be like Amelie. A bit of a dreamer. She's got her routines and habits. Then something happens by chance and it throws her world into another direction. I think it's a nice movie. :-)

Weekend Recovery

Well, I really did not intend on it. Sort of. But, I went to MEC yesterday and bought some stuff. What did I buy? I bought: a Swiss Army knife (sport), a pair of gloves, some merino wool socks ($7.50/pair!), a Timex watch, a pink Nalgene bottle, and some Clif bars. I was hoping to find one of those high-tech, super-warm fleeces, but they didn't have what I wanted. I saw a pair of winter mocs (Merrell Cold Front), but they didn't have my size. :-p Just as well.

I had wanted to start disseminating my C++ assignment, but realized that the Library folder that the instructor referred to in class was not in any of the zipfiles that he had sent me. I emailed him last night about it. No reply yet. :-/ I guess I'll try to see how I can break down the problem for coding.

Today was not overly productive either. :-p I had wanted to do some picking up around the place, but not too much got picked up. I've still got a bit to do before next weekend's soiree.

Bluesh*t has really been vocalizing a lot lately. I really can't quite figure out other than perhaps he's trying to call out to Finster to come out. Of course, this is not going to happen. There are moments when I almost expect to see Finster curled up in a particular spot. Sometimes I almost think I see a dark blob somewhere. I can almost picture him lounging somewhere nearby. That's the thing about Finster. He's almost always in the same room as I am. Even when the other two have decided to go nap in the pet bed upstairs, Finster is still here or nearby. I'll miss his presence.

Meanwhile, I have been trying to beat back a possible cold. It's just a little bit of sniffling, but you know how sniffles can easily bloom into a full-blown cold! :-p So I have been taking some Cold FX and Emergen-C. So far, so good. Now I just need to get some extra sleep. I think I managed to sleep a bit more this weekend, but I still feel a bit tired...

Moving On

Last night I came home to a less than full household. Even though he was just one cat, he just seemed to fill the void that is now there. He was never really a rabble-rouser, but yet, now that he is gone, I can sense that something is missing.

Blue Sh*t was acting funny last night as well. He was wanting more attention and affection from me. I just could not get him off my lap. He was more clingy than usual. I really wonder if he's disturbed by the recent change. I know that he has acted funny in the past when there has been some major changes in the household. If that is the case, then he is a rather insecure kitty. Whatever it is, I'll give him what he wants. I don't mind. I like the sound of a cat purring happily away.

I'm starting to feel better now. I can reminisce about the things that Finster has done without getting too choked up about it. However, when I see notes of sympathy or condolences, they still get me a bit teary-eyed. Only time will heal these wounds. The scars will still be there. If not, then we would not remember these times.

----

I think all of the stress and lack of sleep this week has taken a slight toll on me. I might have opened myself up to a slight cold. I thought it was just from the crying that I was a little bit congested. However, today, with some sneezing and sniffling I'm pretty sure it's the start of a cold. So now it's time to dose myself with a lot of Emergen-c and ColdFX. I have a small dinner party planned for next weekend! This weekend I think I will just try to relax a bit. I hope I can motivate myself to work on the C++ assignment and perhaps take some shots for the camera course. I guess I will still managed to keep myself busy even if I don't go out.

Cost of Death

It cost $85.46 to send a cherished friend away. $85.46 was all it took to send him down that path. The proverbial light at the end of the tunnel. It took $85.46 to put Finster to sleep.

Yesterday morning was very hard for me. I don't think I've ever felt this way before. It's amazing and incredible just how emotionally attached one can become to a long time pet. I suppose after 15 years it's to be expected.

I find difficult right now to find much more to say. For those who have or have had pets, I'm sure you understand everything that has happened. If you haven't experienced it yet, I wish you much strength in getting through this eventuality.

I'll probably still get a little choked up every now and then. But for the most part I think I'm doing better now than I did 24 hours ago. I think work and last night's photography class helped to distract me and focus on other things.

I did manage to sleep through the night, although I didn't really go to sleep until half past midnight. I should try to go to sleep earlier tonight. I'm still a bit tired, but even 4.5 hrs of straight sleep is better than the restless night I had.

Now a new era begins without Finster. I still have some insulin and needles. I could see if there's any pet owners who could use them...

Decisions

Well, I really had a hard time trying to sleep last night. Again, I got very emotional last night. I can also see that Finster is not feeling very well. He seems to be looking at me in askance. He also seems to struggle to meow a little bit at me. I know he's very tired.

I guess what made it very hard to sleep last night was that I have come to the decision to not wait any longer. This morning I will be taking Finster to the vet one last time. I think it's best for the both of us. As hertbreaking as it is, I don't want to see him like this any longer than necessary. Last night, he would not even touch the bit of canned food I put out for him. To me that is a clear sign.

The vet only opens at 9. It's just after 8 right now. It's also a bit ironic that Finster is in his carrier resting/napping. I really need to keep my mind focused on other things and not dwell on this too much otherwise I will never make it to the vet. I have to steel myself. It will be a long day.

The Next Day

Well, I think I feel asleep right away last night. However, I woke up around 4:30AM this morning. I tried to sleep a bit more until the alarm went off at 5:00AM. Yeah, I get up at an insane hour.

I've been trying to keep myself distracted at work. For the most part, it's been working. The only time when it's been difficult is when I talk about or mention Finster to someone. I emailed a friend about it. He had gone through a similar scenario with the family dog. I think that anyone who has ever had a beloved pet would know what I and many others are going through.

I had lunch today with another friend. I had told her about Finster. I'm hoping that she'll have some time Saturday morning to give me some moral support when the deed is done. Worse case is I make sure that I have a box of Kleenex in the car. Thankfully, the vet's office is not that far from home.

I guess the next step is to actually call the vet to make the appointment. I am not looking forward to that. I might do it tomorrow.

It's times like this that make you wish you can suppress your emotions like a Vulcan. But, I guess this is what makes us all human.

Life and Death Decisions...

As a pet owner, there comes a time when one needs to make one of the most difficult decisions in their life. When a beloved pet becomes very ill the decision needs to be made as to how soon or later the beloved pet will depart from this world.

This evening, I brought my Finster to the vet to have him checked out because he was losing his appetite. It seems that he has lost yet another 2 pounds. The vet was able to get a urine sample from him. It seems that his kidneys are failing. Given that Finster is also diabetic, it does not help matters. His blood sugar has been fluctating. He's also got a heart murmur.

So, in a nutshell, if I decide to have him treated, it's only going to prolong the inevitable. According to the vet, we would only be patching things. I also think that to prolong his life like this is selfish of me and unfair for the both of us.

Finster has had a good 15 year run. He was diagnosed with diabetes when he was 8. I knew the day would come when the decision had to be made. I just kept it way, way back in the back of my mind. Now it's been pushed out into the front. I have to face this reality soon. I know it won't be pleasant. I know I will need some moral support. When I have this done, it would have to be this weekend first thing in the morning. Then I have the rest of the weekend to try to recuperate.

It just sucks knowing that this needs to be done. :(

*Some* money spent..

Okay.. So I did end up buying something this weekend. However, it was something that was needed. I bought and downloaded Parallels Desktop for the Mac. I really needed to have a Windows environment for some stuff I am doing. It kinda sucks, but I had no choice. And I did not want to use my work laptop for some of this stuff either.

Anyway...

Weekend almost over...

So I went out and bought groceries. I think that came out to about $80 worth. I plan on making some ma-po tofu for dinner tonight. That should provide me with leftovers for a couple of lunchs. Tomorrow I plan to prepare chili in the slow cooker. That should take care of the balance of the week. I know it might seem a bit boring, but since I will be in class two evenings a week, I need all the time savings I can. As well, it's nice to have something ready for lunch or dinner as needed.

Otherwise, I think I am really starting to dread the winter blues. This past week has been pretty rough in that department. All I want to do is sleep. I don't feel too motivated to get much else done. It's really bad! I think when I continue my reading this afternoon, it will have to be away from this desk. The computer is just too much of a temptation and distraction. An easy way to procrastinate. When they start to give out the assignments, I want to be ready to tackle them. I don't want to be caught with my proverbial pants down. :-p

I am trying hard to ensure that my personal life and moods do not impact life at work. I think it's important to make that distinction. But the tiredness from the winter blues is really not helping any. I know that this coming week will be very busy for me at work. I know there are things I need to accomplish. My team leader will also be on vacation. Oooh! It might actually be a stressful week! I haven't had one of those in ages!

That's another thing. I seem to perform better under stress than not. I suppose that the pressure to get something done triggers something in me. It gets my thought processes going. I think my mind needs to be going a hundred miles a minute. I find that when I am not stimulated in this way, I am not as alert. It's kind of strange but true. But hey, what can I say? I guess this is how I operate.

Weekend half over...

.. and I did not spend a penny today. I managed to avoid perusing sites that sold anything. Earlier I did sort of thought about buying an album off of iTunes, but I decided to hold off on it for now.

So what have I done all day? Well, for most of the afternoon, I have tried to read some C++. Dry reading as it was, I did do a little websurfing every now and again. I think I managed a couple chapters. Tomorrow I will continue.

I did start to put together a grocery list for tomorrow. I find that if I at least make this extra effort it helps tremendously in meal planning for this week. Especially since I will classes 2 nights a week now. So I will need to plan on having something to eat before I head off to class. I think I will make a pot of chili in the slow cooker or something. No, the slow cooker is still at I&J's place. I suppose to could swing by and get it before they go to the Hash...

One more day to get through without shopping... But oh! All of the temptations out there!!

Ooooh, so close!

So, as I was writing the previous post I was also perusing the MEC site. I started to add stuff to the shopping cart. Then I had to make myself stop and think about what I was doing. I have to stop this! Must stop...

Bad Habits

Well, not really *that* bad, but for a weekend I think it's bad. And the bad habit is getting up early when you don't really have to.

As part of what I told myself and a few witnesses, I will avoid unncessary shopping. A few days ago, I had thought about going over to MEC. For what exactly? I think I was looking at some of their pants and stuff. I could use a couple more pairs of their merino wool socks (oh they are comfy!), but aside from that I really did not need anything else. And is it really worth it to shlep all the way over there by car (about a 10 min drive) for socks? Hmm...

I think this weekend I need to devote my time to studying for the classes I'm taking. I think I will still go to the movie this afternoon. Maybe. I think I will pass on the hash tomorrow in favor of some reading. I think I've been keeping myself busy the past few weekends with things to do. I think this weekend might be a good weekend to stay in and catch up on other things.

Yeah, reading up on C++ and XML will be a lot of fun! (O_o)

Things said...

Sometimes you come across something and say "Hey! I totally understand what you're saying!" Being that I frequent Matthew Good's website, his most recent post kinda hit home. It's something I can relate to:

"You work hard, you make sure that things are taken care of, that the people you love are taken care of, and a lot of the time you don’t really take the time to stop and think if you’re being taken care of – did the person who’s no longer on the other side of that bed take care of you?"

Food for thought...

Someone stop me!

I now realize that I have been shopping ALOT lately. I think I might have mentioned in an earlier post about things I have bought. It doesn't stop there. I have been making smaller purchases as well. It just adds up. I really need to stop.

If I'm not shopping, I am baking. This is almost as bad. It's gotten to a point where everyone at work almost expects me to bring something in every week if not every day. But when you're home alone and don't feel like studying or something then you look for distractions (aka trouble). I think that's what I have been doing.

So, I just got another Crumpler bag for my camera. I also just ordered a Sumo Omni as well.

Someone STOP ME!!!

Update: I am shopping to compensate for what's missing in my life at the moment. I think that is the actual realization...

F-f-f-COLD!

Yes. We have our first official winter deep-freeze of the season. I believe that last night the windchill got down to about -33C. That's pretty darn cold. :-p

I only had one class last night as the other was cancelled. I think the instructor might have been sick or something. In any case, it was a welcome respite as I have not been sleeping very well the past week. I hope I'm not coming down with something because I have a slight headache at the moment. Sometimes this is a precursor to the dreaded cold. I did take some emergen-C tonight. I had some this morning as well. I really would not be surprised if I had caught some bug while riding the metro last night.

Otherwise, things have been about the same. I'm still fed up with the dating sites, so I have not been frequenting them much these days. I might login to one just to look around, but I'm usually out of there in a few minutes. It just seems like it's such a huge waste of time.

I've really got to hunker down and start reading for the classes I'm taking. At least try to be ready for the first assignments. I should call it an early evening tonight and maybe organize my notes and shite...

Winter wonderland...

Not!

It goes without saying that with significant snowfall (anything above a few cm) that everything gets thrown into some level of chaos.

Take for example my trek from work to the vet. I figure I should leave somewhat early and I did. I left the office at around 15:40. I arrived at the vet's office around 16:30. With no traffic and no snow I should get there in about 10-15 minutes.

There were no traffic issues on the way home. However, when I got to my driveway, that was another story. The contractor had come by at some point to clear the driveway. That was okay. Then, it seems that the city plows might have come by to do the street. well, it seems that a small snow bank formed in front of the driveway. I miscalculated the height of the mound. I tried to drive through it and got stuck. :-p Thankfully, a passerby was kind enough to help dig me out of that situation! So, in the end I finally got home at about 17:00.

Today is another story. It's downright frigid!! I wonder if we are getting the January deep freeze now. It's suppose to get down to about -22C tonight. Of course that's not factoring in any windchill. And I have class tonight on top of it all. However, my second class was cancelled tonight. Whew! That means I can go home after the first class ends at 20:00. Yay!

I have really got to get some reading done. I tried last night but I guess I just let myself get distracted. Tonight I really should try to read a bit. I tuess that means trying not to read in front of the computer. :-D

I guess I am a closet procrastinator. I know I should get something done, but I am letting myself get distracted. I've really got to stop that...

Old Man Winter has arisen!

Well, it seemed that the mild winter weather we have been experiencing has ended. At least for now.

We're experiencing blustery winds and blowing snow. Expected accumulation about 15cm.

Want to see what Downtown Montreal is like right now?

Anyway, I hope I can go home early. I need to pick up some catfood for the little monsters. Hopefully I can get some reading done tonight as well. I've got class tomorrow and I would like to at least get some reading done beforehand.

Gee, I can't WAIT to see what the commute will be like later this afternoon.. :-p

Late evening thoughts

Not that there's a whole lot of them...

So I decided to delete a couple of profiles from a few of the dating sites. I was just getting fed up and I really did not want to throw money at these sites just so I can obtain more info. Nope. Not going to have any more of that.

What next? I don't know. I'll just go with the flow and see what happens.

There's a reference made about people sometimes. It's the one where people are sometimes referred to as damaged goods. Just what does that mean exactly? When it comes to relationships and stuff, it seems that when one half is dumped, then that person is referred to as damaged goods. Or am I getting this totally wrong? In any case, I would think that it makes some people feel like castoffs. Well, sometimes castoffs still have some redeeming value. It's all a question of someone finding that castoff. Maybe another person will not see the other as a castoff. Anyway, that was a stray thought that just ran through my mind.

Bursting a bubble

How does one go about bursting the bubble that encapsulates a person's little world?

There is a friend, whom I'll call Kitty, who needs to go beyond the confines of her little world. Another friend and I agree that she's become too dependent upon those that are part of her little world. At the same time, it seems that her circle of friends are all of a similar background culturally. As a result, we feel that she will never become an independent person.

I cannot think of any time when she hasn't already got plans to do things with this small circle of friends. Whenever we want her to join us for something, she's always got some friend's birthday dinner or some sort of practice that she has to attend. In fact, just because there is a person's birthday around a certain weekend a month away, she's already pretty sure there'd be some sort of event for it.

Oh, did I mention that she still lives at home? Yes, she is over 30 and still lives at home with her parents. I don't think that it's because she can't afford to move out. I don't think she's ever really developed a sense of independence. Sure she's gone away on trips for work, but that's not quite the same as living on your own for more than a couple of months.

Another thing about her is that it seems that she's always checking to see who's going to be at certain events before she decides if she's going to go. I get the feeling that she doesn't do too well around total strangers. This brings me to another subject: her social skills and tact could stand some improvement. On occasion she will say things that seem to be blurted out without giving any real thought as to the impact of her statement on people.

In any case, she still seems to have a certain naivity about her. At times she seems to display ignorance about some things. It could be her way to avoid certain subjects? Who knows. My friend and I want to break her bubble. We'll think of something... ;-)

It's a bake-a-thon!!!

With your hostess... ME!

Yup! I'm at it again. I am baking this evening. I have got to stop this baking. But how?

It's one way to eat some of my evenings. It's something for me to concentrate on. It's a good thing I don't eat everything I make!

So what did I end up baking tonight? Apple Cake v2.3 (improved implementation of apple slices). Almond biscotti. White chocolate chip chocolate cookies.

And yes, I will bringing the bulk of these to work in the morning. A bit lazy about pictures tonight. I'll post them on Flickr probably tomorrow.

Uhmmm...

There are some days when you get this brilliant flash of imagination or insight. Then as soon as it appears, it disappears. Then you wish you had taken the opportunity to make note of the moment of brilliance. How often has that happened to you?

I sometimes do regret not taking that brief moment or two to note some things that go on in my head. Thinking about it now, maybe it's a good idea to keep a small notebook handy for such occasions. Actually, I do have this little orange notebook that my ex left behind. He had only written a couple pages of Japanese notes. I don't think he'll be needing them any more.

Sometimes these moments occur at work. I might have a notepad or something nearby but I never took the time to jot things down.

I think it's about time I started to do this.

Then, what would I do with these notes?

Music for my sanity...

It's funny but true.

I think that to a certain extent if it weren't for music, I would probably just go nuts. I really need to have something to listen too.

In the past 6 months I have been listening to a variety of things. I have also noticed that I would listen to one particular artist or type of music repeatedly for a period of time before I switch to something else. I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing. I think it's just the way the music happens to reflect my overall mood of that time.

Some stuff I've listened to a lot these past few months:

- Pixies
- Alanis Morissette
- Tragically Hip
- Death Cab for Cutie
- Matthew Good (most recently)
- various electronica (this actually hasn't changed much)

Lately, I have really been enjoying listening to the acoustic tracks on Matthew Good's In A Coma album. There's something to be said about acoustic guitar. Aside from that I seem to have developed a liking for his Avalanche album. There are some good tracks on that one.

Monday, Monday

Yes, folks! It's that time of the week again. It's that day that most of us dread when we wake up in the morning. Why? Why must we drag ourselves out of the cozy comforts of sleep for this?

I dunno.

I guess most of us have some sort of job that we must go to. Most of us have bills that will need to be paid. Most of us would like to have some food on the table too. Geez, that's a lot of stuff that needs to paid for! I guess that's life.

For the most part, the weekend had been okay. I ended spending some money on new glasses (will only get them either at the end of the week or next Monday). I ordered a new lens to go with the D80.

The Hash yesterday was pretty good. The walking trail was pretty lengthy. It was a good solid hour of walking. The weather wasn't bad as it was nice and sunny.

There's a few things going through my mind, but I don't think I will mention them here. They're not bad things, but you never know who reads this blog. :-) Sure, there's the stats counter, but by then it's too late, right? Anyway, the innocent will remain innocent.

I wonder where you can find a small garden gnome at this time of year? Hmmm...

Doting Aunt that I am

Well, I made a few of the family xmas pics public on flickr. I think my little niece is just adorable. I like when her bangs are pinned back. :-)

For your amusement. ;-)

Untitled

Okay... Another rip-roaring exciting Saturday. ;-)

Wanting to save some money and energy, I decided that it would be a good idea to replace what incandescent bulbs I have with the energy saving ones. So I had earlier bought some that were equivalent to 60 watts. I changed what light fixtures that used 60 watts with the energy-saving ones. The floor lamp in the livingroom, however, used 100watt. I had to go out today to look for and buy ones for 100watt.

The problem arose when I wanted to change the ones in the bedroom. It seems that both light fixtures (ceiling mount) are on dimmers. According to the package, these energy-saving bulbs cannot be used with dimmers. Darn!

So now, if I want to use the energy-saving bulbs, I will have to change the dimmers to regular switches.



Thankfully, it looks like it should be an easy task since the 2 dimmers are seperately connected. It looks like this might be a small weekend project in the near future.

In the meantime, my blah-ness from yesterday seems to have subsided somewhat. I don't know why I feel like this at times. I wonder if it isn't a mild case of depression or something. I've noticed that on occasion that what goes on during the day has an impact on the overall mood. I don't think I am experiencing any extreme mood swings either. I will have to try to keep an eye on myself. I'm sure others around me would notice if something is amiss.

First Hash of the year for me tomorrow! Officially, it's the 2nd one of the year as there was one this past Monday that I did not go to. Oh well. I had mentioned the hash to someone at work. I hope he goes since it's not very far from where he lives.

Next week, I might be haring the hash with someone. I think. Never hared a hash before so this would be my first. I hope the weather is good for next weekend as well!

C'est le weekend, tabarnac! ;-)

Yay! First work week of the year DONE with!

I wish I could say that this week has been exciting, but I can't. Why? Because it just wasn't that exciting. I guess the only high point to the week was when I went out for sushi with some friends. That was the high point. And no, since I did not go out for New Year's Eve, that was not a high point.

What's on tap for the weekend? Well, I'm not really sure, but I think I will be going to LensCrafters tomorrow with a friend who wants to take advantage of my CAA membership and get a discount on glasses. I also need to look for a new pair as well. I just had my eyes examined just before Christmas. At least I'll get something out of it. Other than that, there were plans to go catch a movie in the afternoon with a meetup group. But that might get canned if I am just not in the mood to socialize. That and the fact I hadn't gotten confirmation back from another friend who expressed an interest in going as well.

If the movie is canned, then I might just work on installing Windows on my Mac Pro. I downloaded Bootcamp last night. I just acquired XP. Cross your fingers, boys and girls! This could be a bumpy ride! I am such a f*cking geek sometimes. Anyways, whatcha gonna do?

Aside from that, not much else that's terribly exciting.

General mood: "Eh"

Weeknight Frolicking

Well, okay, maybe not really frolicking, but I did go out with a few friends last night. One of them needed a sushi fix before he had to go to Indonesia for a couple of weeks for work. Afterwards, we went over to a nearby pub for a pint and some Bailey's cheesecake. We hung out there for a while until it was nearly 11.

Thankfully it was a slow week since quite a few people were still off on holiday this week. Otherwise, I don't think I would have gone out like that on a weeknight. Perhaps just the sushi part... But then again, the last time we went for sushi it was a Thursday night and we had also gone over to Hurley's afterwards. But we didn't stay as late.

Soooo, I am a bit pooped right now... I really should go to sleep earlier tonight..

New Blog Template

Because a certain individual did not like the black background, I've gone ahead and updated the template used for this blog. I hope it meets his approval. ;-)

You know who you are!

Generation X

It's funny. I was just having a conversation with a couple of friends on MSN. It seems that number of us in their 30's are feeling a bit "lost". One of my friends stated the he needed to find himself. As a result, he may be taking an assignment that would have him working on the other side of the globe.

I guess I saw it with my brother earlier on when he got laid off from his job and had a hard time deciding what to do next. For some reason, many of us in their 30's seem a bit disillusioned and lost as far as what to do with their lives. Why is that?

Then I remembered the book that Douglas Coupland wrote entitled Generation X. The lowdown on Gen-X can be found in Wikipedia. I first read it some time ago. I think it might be interesting to read it now. It might give a different impression as my friend mentioned.

Sad Sack

Okay, I will admit that too much idle time is not doing me a world of good at the moment. I find that when I am not busy with something that I am tryin to find something to occupy my time. Sometimes, there's not a whole lot to do. When that happens then my mind starts to wander. And when the mind starts to wander then that's not always good.

I think the last time I was on my own during the holidays was soon after I moved into this place. I guess I managed to pass the time in trying to settle in. Of course there was that little *ahem* distraction one evening, but I won't say any more about that.

This year, my distractions were: a trip see my folks, small shopping-spree at IKEA, a holiday party at a friend's and some baking. Sad to say but I spent New Year's Eve at home in front of the computer. Well, I did have some company. I was IM'ing my brother who was also in the same predicament. Yeah, we were both sad cases...

Anyway, I'm in a less than chipper mood the past couple of days...

But wait! It's a work day tomorrow! Oh joy...

Here's a thought...

I've been in two long-term relationships. I guess you could consider them to be common-law unions. Now, if I had been married, then that means I would have been twice divorced.

For some reason, it just doesn't sound as nice to say that you're twice divorced versus saying that you've been in a couple of long-term relationships. Which would look or sound better to you?

Either way, I start off 2007 as a single person.

Saying Goodbye to 2006

And hello to 2007...

So, I'm one of these sad souls not our partying it up in welcoming the new year. Why is that? Maybe because 2006 has been a rather crappy year. Okay, maybe only the last 6 months were. In any case, one way to look at things is that with the new year come new beginnings. Maybe.

If I'm not out partying it up, then what am I doing? Well, this evening I made myself a nice dinner of roast chicken. I popped in a couple of DVDs to watch. Now I am in bed listening to some Matthew Good (In a Coma, disc 2) as the clock slowly ticks towards midnight.

What do I want to see in 2007? I really don't know. However, I certainly want to be happier in 2007 than I have been in 2006. I'm not sure how that might happen, but you never know. Life is supposed to be full of surprises, I guess. All a matter of circumstances. How the stars are aligned with your Zoadiac. Blah, blah, blah.

Okay, enough of the sourpuss act here. I guess I am to some extent slightly bummed, bitter and perhaps annoyed at the whole holiday thing this year. Sure there were days when everything seems alright, but on the whole, it's been "Eh".

Five more minutes. Happy new year, dear readers.

Sweet Lenore

I know this might be more appropriate for Halloween, but depending on what your sense of humur is like, this is great any time of the year.

Lenore

Enjoy!

Holiday Blahs

I wanted to avoid it. I didn't want to see it. I certainly didn't want to experience. However much I tried there was no denying it. The holiday blues are trying to invade.

I've been trying to keep myself busy for the most part during this holiday perdiod. However, there will be times when that black funk just seems to descend upon you. Thankfully, it's not to the point of downright depression, but more of the heavy sighing type of blah.

I've noticed that in the past six months that I have been spending a lot of money on stuff. More than I would normally. I've discussed this with my brother. It seems that both of us tend to buy things when we're down. So far, I've bought the Mac Pro, bike parts and accessories, bags (of course), some clothes, new camera and IKEA furnishings. Oh, and there was that trip to Japan. I guess that could count. It could be worse. I could have gone out and gotten myself a large LCD television. Then I would not have had the room to place it, which meant having to buy a new entertainment unit to place it and all the other electronics. And it would have meant contacting the ex to haul away his television.

I haven't broke the bank yet, but I do need to start keeping an eye on my expenditures. :-p Mustn't get totally out of control.

I need some distraction. My classes at Concordia will start on the 9th. The camera class at Dawson only starts on the 24th. I guess I just need to survive until then. Afterwards, the classes should keep me busy for a while...

Evening in the 80's

So I just finished watching Say Anything. It was one of the John Cusack movies I got for Christmas. All I can say is: "Why can't more men be like Lloyd Dobler?"

I think John Cusack played the role very well. Okay, that might be a somewhat baised opinion since I do happen to like him and his movies quite a bit. :-p

Supermarket Rant

Usually, I don't mind going to the supermarket. I try to make a list of what I need to buy. I think the issue I had today was going to one of these "big box" supermarkets that carries lots of the common items but not enough or none at all of other stuff.

Take for example herbs. I'm planning on making a roast chicken tomorrow. It will be seasoned with an herbed butter. I wanted to find some fresh thyme and sage. What did I find at this store? Lots of parsley, dill and coriander. Oh, and some mint. Aside from that, not much else. *sigh* I guess I will have no choice but to make another trip tomorrow morning to another supermarket. But this is soooo annoying! Why should I have to trek to more than one place to do my grocery shopping? Why are some of these large supermarkets selling FURNITURE??? Isn't some of this space better used to sell grocery items?? I just don't understand it sometimes. If it weren't for the snowy weather we have today, I probably would have trekked over to the other store. But then, being Saturday, it would have been very busy. I hate crowded supermarkets.

So for dinner tonight, I think I will make chicken tikka masala. I bought a jar of Patak's cooking sauce. Probably throw in some carrots and potatoes into the mix.

Tomorrow, as mentioned, a nice roast chicken and maybe some roasted potatoes to go with it. I found a yummy looking recipe for a pasta bake, which I will probably make on Monday. Then, Tuesday, I will prepare a slow cooker recipe for beef and barley stew. Yes, there will be leftovers, but that's where lunch will be coming from! And some will end up in the freezer.

I'd like to try to free up some of the evening time for other things. Since I'm just cooking for one, do I really need to cook every night?

Global Warming?

Ice Shelf Collapses

The weather this year has been somewhat disturbing. We seemed to have experienced prolonged autumn weather. It was still above freezing when I left for my folks for the holidays. This week, it seems that Winter realized that it needed to make an appearance. However, the temps might pop back above 0C again sometime this week.

It's almost January...

Audibles

Earlier this evening, I finally made time to pop in Loudquietloud - A Film About the Pixies. It's pretty good. It documents the bands 2004 reunion tour. The liner notes included in the small booklet gave some explanation to the creation of this documentary. It's interesting to see how each band member is so independent of each other until they hit the stage. In any case, it's a good DVD to watch. :-)

IKEA Disciple

I can't remember anymore, but I might have mentioned that I was perusing the IKEA website to see what I can get. I've been in the mood for a little redecorating/freshening up of my place. There's an old, black IKEA dresser that could be retired (or sold at work) and be replaced with something nicer. Since I got rid of the stationary bike, I needed something to warm up the bedroom area. Anyway, to sum it all up, I went to IKEA first thing in Thursday morning.

However, I needed to go to the SAQ first. The party is BYOB. Mark has also mentioned last night that he forgot to get something and that if I could get something for him since I was planning to go there anyway. Not a problem.

I had checked Wednesday night and the SAQ opened at 9:30AM. IKEA opened at 10:00AM. PERFECT! So I got up and headed off to the SAQ first. I found what looked to be a decent Spanish red wine. For Mark (he wanted to pick up a sherry), I found a bottle of Spanish sherry. Then, I went straight to IKEA just as they were opening.

Being the anal person on occasion, I actually put together a list of items I wanted to get at IKEA. I meandered through their maze and made note of where the items could be picked up. The only thing they didn't have in stock were the adjustable legs for the table top I was getting. They did, however, have adjustable folding legs. It was a little more expensive, but the folding aspect of it was an added convenience.

When it came time to pick up the items, the one box that was incredibly heavy was the one for the chest of drawers. Somehow, I managed to convince it onto the cart. After checking out, the tricky part was getting eveyrthing into the car! The cashier said I should be able to find an IKEA person out in the lot to give me a hand. I saw one woman walking back and forth patrolling the lot. I managed to get her attention and asked if she could help find someone to give me a hand. She did find someone. Apparently, they're only suppose to assist when you're by the docking area. Oh well. But he was friendly enough to help load everything into the car.

Once I got home I shlepped almost everything up myself. This required multiple trips. I live on the 3rd floor. There is no elevator. I think you get the picture. So for most of the day, I was putting together the table. That was a bitch and a half because there were no pre-drilled holes for the legs I got. There were pre-drilled holes for the other types of legs, but not these. :-p This meant I had to get out the power drill. Oooooh! It's cordless and the batteries had to be charged. Phooey. Oh well, there was enough juice after about an hour of charging to get the work done.

I had earlier asked Mark to give me a hand with the heavier item. So when he came by to pick me up for the party, we both managed to lug the bloody thing all the way up and up to the mezzanine. F* it was heavy!!

The party was pretty good. I had a good time. It was a tapas party so there were all sorts of nibbles there. There were some people there who were from work, but from different departments. Got to see someone I hadn't seen in a long time. Got to know the name of this one guy who frequented the espresso machine at work. A good time was had by all. I think we finally left at about 3:30AM. By then, I was having a good buzz from some mixed drinks someone was making. However, I will say that I find tequila pretty nasty stuff. Even when it's mixed with other stuff! Wooof!

I think I managed to sleep only a few hours until the cats started to bother me and it was just getting too bright. :-p So I eventually got up, showered, had an espresso and some cereal. Then the challenge to put together the heavy chest of drawers.

I think it took me a good 2.5 hours to put the thing together. Then it took me another hour to find good spot for it. Since the top was a fold up mirror, it needed clearance. Part of the room has a slope from the roof, so the mirror would hit it. I finally found a spot. I emptied out the smaller black chest of drawers and set that aside. I'll have to post some stuff for sale at work.

I guess I should get some stuff taken care of tomorrow. I'm not sure if I will be doing anything for NYE. Maybe get some sleep? :)

Home again

Well, I made it home in one piece. The flight was rather uneventful. However, the plane did have to sit in front of the gate until some ground crew were able to come and guide it the remaining 100 feet in. :-p

I sat next to a woman who has been commuting back and forth between Montreal and Boston for some sort of infusion treatment for her MS. Apparently, it's a treatment that has not yet been approved in Canada but has already been approved for use in the US and other countries. According to her, the treatment has improved her condition quite a bit. She still needs a cane to assist her in walking, but before she had to rely on a wheelchair. That's quite an improvement.

I got home around 9ish. The cats were okay. No mishaps while I was gone. Around 9:30, Mark called to ask about the party the next evening. I said I was still planning on going. Abe might go as well. So I guess we'd meet at my place and then head down.

Anyway, I am pooped...

Canadian Federal Elections

I guess this was done just before the last federal election. I don't even remember when that was (beginning of the year?). Anyway, rather interesting and amusing. :-)

Yeah, I've got nothing better to do than to sit in front of my brother's computer, slowly digesting the ginormous meal served this evening. That was almost 2 hours ago. I think I might be ready for that pie now, Mom!

Bad Fish... again?

Ooog! I did not feel so good after dinner tonight. Mom had bought some fresh fish today to make for dinner. Not even half an hour after dinner I started to get that slight burning sensation in the tummy. Uh-oh. I started to drink some water to try to flush the badness out. Next thing you know I started to get into a cold sweat. Not good. After some minor purging, I just laid down to rest. :-p I don't know if I've developed a sensitivity to fish or what the fish had been swimming in but it seems odd. At least this time, it wasn't as bad as when I had the tilapia fillets over the summer. Boy! Was that bad.

Then again, if it wasn't the fish, it could have been the brownies my sister made. ;-)

Aside from that, it's been a relatively uneventful day. I just took it easy. I played with the twins a bit. I really don't know if I could ever have kids. I'm still very much undecided if I want kids. My niece is quite the suck once she got used to me. Today after dinner (before I started to feel ill), I played with her for a little while. She didn't want me to go. Oh well.

In the meantime, I had been perusing the Ikea web site. Since I opened up the space in the mezzanine/bedroom area, it looks a bit cold. I think a rug in the middle of the space would help warm things up. Considering the cats, I don't want to spend the bucks on a wool rug. The synthetic Ikea rug I have in the livingroom seems to be holding up pretty well to all the abuses of 3 cats (hairballs, barf, etc.). I figure similar rug will work well in the bedroom. I guess I might swing by Ikea either Thursday or Friday. Since I'm not even 5 minutes away I can easily get there when they open and before the hoards arrive. I still need to look into finding a mirror for the front hall closet and maybe one upstairs.

My brother and I had a little chat earlier in the basement. We both seem to think on the same wavelength. That's probably why we get along so well. It's too bad he's still single, because he's a great guy. He seems to be resigned to a life as a bachelor for now. He doesn't seem to worried. I'm hoping that one day the right girl will come along. :-)

Christmas Eve Day

Well, it's not quite 9AM here. The whole house is pretty quiet. I guess I like the fact that things are relatively low-key here during the holidays. I personally don't usually like to make a big deal about the holidays. Keep things simple, I say.

Of course, with the events of this past year, one tends to do some reflection. I'm no different.

Today marks 6 months since he left. How do I feel? Well, a hell of a whole lot better than I did 6 months ago! Really, I don't think I feel the pain as much. I won't deny that I don't think about it from time to time, but I don't dwell on it. I think my actions to get and keep myself from getting into a deep, dark funk has helped tremendously. I know that I have a few good friends I can trust. I know that there is still life after personal upheavals.

Without trying to sound too corny, it's lke a small plant that was accidentally stepped on. But with some strength and nurturing, it's able to spring back. It might still have some signs of the steppage, but it will survive.

I think in general, this year has been rough for a number of people. I know for a fact that at work, a few of the guys have gone through their own personal crises. They seem to be handling it pretty good for the most part. I guess being able to keep work seperate from your personal life helps to maintain some focus and semblance if sanity.

That aside... I think my Mom wanted to go to the mall or something with me later. I'm like, "What? Go to the mall on Christmas Eve? Are you f*cking nuts?" Well, I didn't say that to Mom, but my brother told me and I sort of said that to him. :-)

Well, I've already exercised my rights as a consumer yesterday. I think the next time I venture out shopping it might be Wednesday...

Bah-ston

Well, I made here in one piece. It was a bit of a bumpy ride down due to the weather system that was in the area. Finally landed and got to the baggage carousel around 11AM.

My bro and I went down to the Copley/Prudential area of town after lunch to hang out and do some shopping. I came away with yet another bag (small classic Timbuk2 messenger bag) and 2 gargoyles. The gargoyle place on Newbury Street was still open! I've been going by there off and on for over 10 years now. After I get home and find a place for these two new additions, I'll take a couple pics of them.

Almost all packed and ready to go

I've more or less threw what I need for 5 days into a suitcase. I've put the DV cam and camera into my backpack. I've written a short note for my friend who will keep an eye on the felines while I am gone. What have I got left to do?

There are some days when I feel less than inspired. Today seems to be one of those days. I don't know if it's because my mind has already decided to go on holiday before me or what.

Maybe it's the holiday blues or something. Other than seeing family the next few days, there's really not much else that's terribly exciting. Well, I guess it should be fun to see my sister's twins running around. When I saw them last Christmas they were just 6 months old. They'll wonder who this stranger is. I suppose I'll become their doting auntie.

Hmmm, I wonder how things will be at the airport tomorrow morning. I guess I just need to make sure I don't have any gelatinous products with my carry-on. :-p The flight is only about an hour from here to Boston. It's getting to the airport and checking in that will be the pain the proverbial arse. I guess I could look into their online check-in system. Should save me some grief and time.

What goes on in my head...

(I can only imagine what Shawn might comment based on just the title of this entry!)

Just some of us are able to multi-task, I think that sometimes I my mind/thoughts are also multi-tasking in some way. This could explain how during the course of a conversation I might do a total 180 and start talking about a totally different subject. However, for me, my mind had already come up with the logical path from discussion A to discussion B. So it made some sense to me, but not to everyone else. And this tends to drive some people crazy. Don't get me wrong! I don't do this all the time! Just enough for a few people to notice. :D

Sometimes I wonder about my communication skills. I sometimes come across websites where the individual goes on (usually quite passionately) about a subject that is close to the heart. This makes me wonder about my own ability to convey such thoughts and feelings. Or for that matter, it makes me wonder what there is that I am passionate about. I wonder what I might be passionate about. There are so many things that I think about, but I don't think there's really any one thing that jumps out as something that I am absolutely passionate about.

I guess I just like to try to keep things simple. I don't like too many complications. With complications come worries. And I don't like to worry. :-p

One more day...

...Before I am off for a week!! Woohoo!

I've still got some real work to do this morning when I get into the office. After that, it's just some clean up! Tomorrow morning, I fly down to Boston to visit the folks for a few days. I had better rememeber to pack up everything tonight. :-p

Yesterday was somewhat productive and not-so-productive. Amazingly, there was enough food for everyone (and then some) at the office potluck. Most of the cheese I brought did get consumed, but for some reason, the brie was not touched. The cookies... Well, they're gone, of course.

I managed to bake off the rest of the gingerbread last night. This was on top of some laundry I wanted to get done before packing tonight.

Bleah. Not sure what I will be doing the rest of next week when I get back. There's a party Thursday night that I will probably go to. Most of the people there will be from work, so it won't be a total crowd of strangers. BYOB...

Anyway, gotta get the day under way...

Wheeeeeeee!

The Wonders of Roomba

I like my Roomba. It vacuums for me when I don't have the time for it. It will even vacuum for me more often than I would! But I just hate it when something gets caught in it. :-p

I guess I am a geek for gadgets. But practical gadgets mind you. They need to serve a practical purpose before I decide to plunk some money down on it. Some people hire a cleaning person to come by once a week to clean their homes. I don't think my place is big enough to warrant that. Plus, I don't think I could afford it. My one-time investment on the Roomba is doing just fine. All I have left to do is clean the bathrooms and mop the floors.

I finally got rid of the stationary bike. Since I've been using my road bike on a trainer instead, the stationary is redundant. So one of the guys at work bought it and picked it up today. This freed up a nice chunk of space for me. I ended up re-arranging some stuff around. I find that I still need to de-clutter. I've also got these two bedside lamps I'd like to get rid of. They're black with black lampshades. My previous ex had decided on the black. :-p I've posted them for sale at work. No takers yet. I'll have to freshen up that post to stir up some interest. I just want to get rid of them! I managed to get rid of the papasan chair frame. I've just got the cushion to dispose of. *sigh*

Bags Redux

Interestingly enough Matthew Good posted an entry about LV bags. I guess it was somewhat of a rant on the beaucoup bucks spent on the darn things. Personally, I do find LV overpriced for what they are. I guess I am just not an LV type of gal.

However, when it does come to bags in general, I am weak. I cannot tell you how many bags I have acquired in the past 12 months. At least they're not costing me a few hundred dollars apiece! My current weakness is for Crumpler and Kipling bags. I like Crumpler because they're cool looking and practical. I like Kipling because they're also practical and each bag comes with a monkey attached to it. :-)

I guess Crumpler and Kipling are more my style than LV is. Okay, I do have a Coach bag. But it's a classic Coach bag that'll last for years! I don't like the current trendy ones with the ginormous buckles and such. :-p A bit too gaudy.

My 2 cents on the bag subject.

Take the engineers curling!

So this is where we spent a few hours today. I've never curled before so this is the first time trying it out. Since we're playing on ice, the one thing I had on my mind was whether or not I was going to fall flat on my ass! Well, thanfully, I hadn't. However, I got the nod for being the worst player! Well, I guess it was all in good humour. :-)

At about 2:00PM, it was time for lunch. So off we went to Fuji's and their teppanyaki grill. It was your typical japanese teppanyaki place. The food was good and the show entertaining.

Tomorrow: Coffee and Cannoli. I think I will have to skip breakfast...

My buddy Abe just got back from China. Will probably meet up with him tomorrow and shoot the sh*t. He's not sure if he's going to take the offer in China or stay here. He needs to know exactly what his options are before he makes his decision. It doesn't look like it will be easy unless he has something clearly defined.

In a few weeks, I will be back in the classroom. I can't remember if I had mentioned it already in an earlier entry, but I've registered for a couple courses at Concordia's ContEd. As well, I've gone ahead and registered for a Camera Basics course at Dawson. I'm looking forward to the classes. :-) (Yeah, some of you might think I'm somewhat masochistic by doing this.)

The Hash today wasn't so bad. It was a bit long though. Essentially, the walking trail was also the running trail. :-p Sinnerbad and I decided to cut it short and head back to meet up with the runners. The other walkers eventually showed up.

While out on the trail, we went by the Lachine Canal. Saw a couple of photo-ops along the way. Cityscapes I suppose...





I should be a bit more liberal in taking some pics when I'm out on these hashes. You never know what you might come across! :-)

After I left the hash, I went and did a little shopping. I stopped by HMV and picked up a couple of CDs. Then I went over to Indigo and got a couple of books. One of them is an Amy Tam book I hadn't read yet. I think it was her last one.

By now it was about 5PM. I was starving! Since the down-downs were at the pub, there really wasn't much in the way of food. I had alread planned to make a lentil stew when I got home, so I was reeeeeally looking forward to preparing it.

It's a really simple recipe and it's quite good! :-)

This looks cool..

I'll have to keep this one in mind...

Tripping...

I need to go away somewhere...

I guess for the last few vacations, I've managed to go away somewhere. This may have been due to the influence my ex had on where we ended up going. It wasn't that he had all the money in the world to travel with. If we decided that we would go somewhere then we would make it a goal to work towards. In someway, I have him to thank for in waking up the travel bug in me.

I few issues I have in trying to plan my next vacation is that a) I registered for classes at Concordia; b) do I go it alone or look for a small tour; and c) where do I want to go?

The classes I'm taking at Concordia end in March. Then there is a 1 or 2 week break before the next term starts. If I decide on taking a holiday it would have to be during this time. Otherwise, I might have to wait until the summer. It will also depend on where I want to go. Late March might not be the ideal time, weather-wise, for some destinations.

Solo or tour? I'm really not sure about this. Going independent, you have more freedom to decide where you want to go, what you want to see, and for how long. With a small group tour, you have some sort of comraderie there and support. Again, this might depend on where I want to go.

And just where do I want to go? I still haven't quite decided on this. Of course, I do want to work within a budget of sorts. The sky is not the limit here, but I do have some room to manouevre. Where ever I do end up going, I will try to hunt down the cheapest airfares and best deals on accomodations.

There is one tour that seems appealing and that is the Bike/Hike in Provence. It's organized through GAP Adventures. Their prices seem reasonable and the group size is what I would look for. I really don't think I can handle travelling with a coach bus full of people. A friend at work did a Kontiki tour to Spain this Fall and enjoyed it. But everyone has their preferences.

Well, I guess for a holiday I should start doing some homework...

Holiday Gorging

Well, the potluck was fun. There was just way too much food, of course. I really tried to pace myself. I tried not to overeat. I think I did alright. At least I didn't feel like I was about to explode. There were some dips. There were 2 types of lasagne and a couple of salads. The desserts were good (one was my lemon poppyseed cake!). There was a little gift exchange (I got a cute little holiday potpurri sachet).

Okay, so it was pretty much your standard holiday potluck with a bunch of women. Most of them were well in the 50's or well into their 40's. But they were very nice people and we had a very nice time. I guess I felt like the odd-man-out when the started to talk about their kids. It seems that their kids range in age from 14 to 30. Ouch! I think I was the youngest there as well.

The other interesting thing to note is that all (except for one, I think) are divorced. Hmmm...

Anyway...

It's Sunday. The usual morning routine I suppose. Enjoying having an espresso now since I have proper espresso cups. Mmmmm.. good java in the morning. I had 3 yesterday. I better go easy on the caffeine today.

The Hash is downtown again. Hopefully the pub *will* be open this time. I wonder if anyone "new" will show up for this week's run. Eh, we'll see...

Yeah, nothing too exciting to report.

On heavy rotation these days: "Avalanche" by Matthew Good.

Who says I'm Old??

I guess I should make it a habit to record any noteworthy thoughts as they come along. However, it's a bit diffciult to do when you're at work trying to do work and not updating your blog.

The thought that just came to mind is about age. I was just reading an entry in Matthew Good's blog (No, Shawn! I am NOT stalking him! Sheesh! I read your blog, does that mean I'm stalking you? ;-) ). I sometimes laugh to myself when he refers to himself "in his old age". He's only a few years younger than I, but he's probably experienced more than I have. I suppose how old you are or how you feel could depend on how much you've experienced in your lifetime to date. On the other hand, I also believe that you're only as old as you feel or act. Most of the time I don't think I act like a 38-year old. Or for that matter, how is a 38-year old suppose to act?

It's funny to note that whenever I do end up discussing age with people, most of the time they think I'm much younger than I am. Must be the being asian thing. :-p But with my re-emerging grays, I think I will be found out soon!

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