Holy shit today sucks.
I'm 27 today. I'm slowly approaching the inevitable state of mind that is Getting Old. I wake up at 6:30 to go to work after being asleep for a meager 5 hours. I hate that shit. I was watching TV last night and without even realizing it, it was already 11:30 and I had to put my bedding back together. I got new bedding from my parents for Christmas and after spending some time getting it ready, I was finally able to put it on my bed.
New pillows, too. They were about a cock-hair too big for the pillow slips that came with the rest of the bedding, so this made the pillows friggin' huge. Needless to say, after staring at the ceiling for almost an hour and a half, I got up and got my old pillow. After that, I was asleep in about 5 seconds flat.
So I get to work and find that there's next to nothing to do. It's still Christmas holidays and hardly anybody's in. I have two users and they're both doing fine. With that in mind, I decided to start building a sandbox environment for one of our applications. Halfway through the install, I ran into problems and had to open a ticket with the vendor to get their help. Right away, they called me back and we started going through it. At one point he said he was going to speak to one of the developers and get back to me in five minutes. That was two hours ago.
So now I'm sitting here with nothing to do, thinking about how I'm going to celebrate this "momentous" day in the history of Dave. One of my roommates is working tonight and the other one is a no-show after saying he was going to be home last night from Saskatchewan. Looks like I'm going to be spending the night in front of the TV again. Maybe I'll get a pizza...
I ordered Star Trek: The Next Generation from Amazon the other day. All seven seasons on DVD in one box set. Cost me $650. I looked around other online retailers and found this to be the cheapest by far. Chapters Indigo has it on for $825 and Future Shop has it for $900. I even posted this fact on Future Shop's comment section, although they preview all of their comment submissions before posting them. Something tells me this one isn't going to make it. Suckers.
It should either come tomorrow or next week, depending on how fast Canada Post is this week. I hope it comes tomorrow. I have a four-day weekend over New Years and that would be a perfect time to lose myself. At the very least, it's a great excuse to not put on pants for more than half a week.
Hold on, lemme check Canada Post...nope. Still in Mississauga. Oh well, doesn't look like it's going to happen in time for the weekend.
Story of my life.
Thursday, December 29, 2005
Monday, December 26, 2005
Sunday, December 04, 2005
Random thought of the day
Every time this guy at work sees this chick who works on our floor, he always looks at me and says "That chick has huge nuts!" Of course, we all know what he's really talking about, but that is NOT the mental picture I want in my head when I see this chick.
Fuckin' newfies, man, I tell ya...
Fuckin' newfies, man, I tell ya...
Saturday, December 03, 2005
Thursday, November 24, 2005
Operational Performance
I hate review time at work. Since this is my first one at this particular company, I got to see whether or not the past six months have been worth my while. I guess it went ok.
The shit-kicker is, my boss has left the company. Today was actually his last day, and one of the things he wanted to get out of the way before he left was the reviews for the whole team. He wasn't really doing the whole review though, he was just prepping the person who was going to take over for him. Kind of like a mid-year review, even though it's the end of November. So I go into this meeting with him, flush from running back and forth from the printer for the last half-hour (all first thing in the morning, mind you), carrying an armload of paper 3/4 of an inch thick thinking I have to prove to him, with hard copies, that I'm a good hard-working employee and he shouldn't have any reason to doubt that.
So after all that, after sweating bullets all night and all morning, after the months of agonizing self-doubt thinking that I'm nothing more than a hack and I'm not going to prove anything to him and he should just fire me and get it over with - AFTER ALL THAT - he only looks at one document. Not only that, but we spend more than half-an-hour talking about all the things I have to get done before the end of the year to properly meet my performance objectives. Because in another three weeks, I'm going to have to do this all over again before my reputation will be finalized.
See, I didn't get this job the old fashion way - well, maybe I did in this day and age - but I didn't just apply and rely on my natural charm and expertise to beat out hundreds of other applicants and wow the shit out of my boss. No, my dad set this interview up for me. At the time, he was VP of Operations at this company, so I was a bit of a shoe-in.
So all the time that I've been here, there's been this nagging thought running through the back of my mind: "Do I really belong here? Would I have been able to get this job without my dad's assistance? Or are they all just humoring him by letting me play IT monkey for a little while? I should just get out of this industry altogether." Well, today I was going to find out, one way or another. I wanted to ask them for some real feedback - not just a cursory pat on the back and a thumbs up with fingers crossed behind their back. I guess I really didn't have to, because as I was listening to my boss discuss with me how I was doing on some of the more obscurely-worded points of my OPR, I realized that maybe I'm not doing so bad after all. At one point, my boss even said he was "pleasantly surprised" at how I just kind of hit the ground running.
Understand, when I talk about the people at the company humoring dad by letting me play IT monkey for a little while, I wasn't serious. Nor do I really think that's what's going on; rather I've just been so wracked with self-doubt over the last few months that I've almost convinced myself it's the truth.
Maybe that means it's time to strike out on my own. Hmm...
The shit-kicker is, my boss has left the company. Today was actually his last day, and one of the things he wanted to get out of the way before he left was the reviews for the whole team. He wasn't really doing the whole review though, he was just prepping the person who was going to take over for him. Kind of like a mid-year review, even though it's the end of November. So I go into this meeting with him, flush from running back and forth from the printer for the last half-hour (all first thing in the morning, mind you), carrying an armload of paper 3/4 of an inch thick thinking I have to prove to him, with hard copies, that I'm a good hard-working employee and he shouldn't have any reason to doubt that.
So after all that, after sweating bullets all night and all morning, after the months of agonizing self-doubt thinking that I'm nothing more than a hack and I'm not going to prove anything to him and he should just fire me and get it over with - AFTER ALL THAT - he only looks at one document. Not only that, but we spend more than half-an-hour talking about all the things I have to get done before the end of the year to properly meet my performance objectives. Because in another three weeks, I'm going to have to do this all over again before my reputation will be finalized.
See, I didn't get this job the old fashion way - well, maybe I did in this day and age - but I didn't just apply and rely on my natural charm and expertise to beat out hundreds of other applicants and wow the shit out of my boss. No, my dad set this interview up for me. At the time, he was VP of Operations at this company, so I was a bit of a shoe-in.
So all the time that I've been here, there's been this nagging thought running through the back of my mind: "Do I really belong here? Would I have been able to get this job without my dad's assistance? Or are they all just humoring him by letting me play IT monkey for a little while? I should just get out of this industry altogether." Well, today I was going to find out, one way or another. I wanted to ask them for some real feedback - not just a cursory pat on the back and a thumbs up with fingers crossed behind their back. I guess I really didn't have to, because as I was listening to my boss discuss with me how I was doing on some of the more obscurely-worded points of my OPR, I realized that maybe I'm not doing so bad after all. At one point, my boss even said he was "pleasantly surprised" at how I just kind of hit the ground running.
Understand, when I talk about the people at the company humoring dad by letting me play IT monkey for a little while, I wasn't serious. Nor do I really think that's what's going on; rather I've just been so wracked with self-doubt over the last few months that I've almost convinced myself it's the truth.
Maybe that means it's time to strike out on my own. Hmm...
Monday, November 21, 2005
More on the radmobile
So Tyler got word back from the cops that the CSI-ification of his car is done. Now he has to wait for the insurance company to assess the damage and cut him a cheque. He gets a courtesy car in the interim, and because the car was stolen, he doesn't have to pay the deductable. I'm glad that everything is working out.
Saturday, November 19, 2005
Ok, maybe I should explain
I got into work yesterday morning and was just starting my day when I got a call. It was my roommate.
"Did you see my car this morning?!?"
"No."
"For fuck's sake. Somebody stole my car."
Now, you gotta understand the history this car has. When my roommate turned 16, his dad promised to restore him a car. Nine and a half years later, he finally delivers. A month later, I get the above phone call. And all this time, this car has had the crap hyped out of it. I mean, there's been so much publicity on this car that you'd think it was the second coming of Christ. Well, if Christ were a '78 Monte Carlo at least...
Anyway, I told him to call the impound lot before freaking out, just in case it got towed for whatever reason. Turns out it actually was stolen and he had to call the cops. So I promised I'd buy a bottle of something on the way home and then got on with my day.
After I got home and we got into the bottle (hence my grammatical difficulties below), we watched some more episodes of Scrubs and toasted the radmobile. A little while later when we were good and toasted and Tyler had gone upstairs to pass out, we got a call from the police.
It seems the radmobile was involved in a high-speed chase with the cops. They didn't say what the people in the car were on their way to do, but what they did find in their possessions were four bellaclavas and a handgun.
Apparently there wasn't a whole lot of damage to the car, but the police wanted to keep it for a bit while they CSI-ify it. After that, the insurance company wants to get their grubby little mitts on it while they assess the damage before cutting Tyler a check.
Stay tuned...
"Did you see my car this morning?!?"
"No."
"For fuck's sake. Somebody stole my car."
Now, you gotta understand the history this car has. When my roommate turned 16, his dad promised to restore him a car. Nine and a half years later, he finally delivers. A month later, I get the above phone call. And all this time, this car has had the crap hyped out of it. I mean, there's been so much publicity on this car that you'd think it was the second coming of Christ. Well, if Christ were a '78 Monte Carlo at least...
Anyway, I told him to call the impound lot before freaking out, just in case it got towed for whatever reason. Turns out it actually was stolen and he had to call the cops. So I promised I'd buy a bottle of something on the way home and then got on with my day.
After I got home and we got into the bottle (hence my grammatical difficulties below), we watched some more episodes of Scrubs and toasted the radmobile. A little while later when we were good and toasted and Tyler had gone upstairs to pass out, we got a call from the police.
It seems the radmobile was involved in a high-speed chase with the cops. They didn't say what the people in the car were on their way to do, but what they did find in their possessions were four bellaclavas and a handgun.
Apparently there wasn't a whole lot of damage to the car, but the police wanted to keep it for a bit while they CSI-ify it. After that, the insurance company wants to get their grubby little mitts on it while they assess the damage before cutting Tyler a check.
Stay tuned...
Friday, November 18, 2005
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
I'm a friggin' uncle!!!
My sister gave birth to my first nephew this morning. He weighed in at a healthy 7lbs., 9oz. After an intense 36-hour ordeal, both mother and baby are doing fine. I'll post pictures as they come.
Sunday, November 13, 2005
Bored and musing...
Today marks another one of my self-centered feeling-sorry-for-myself rants that ultimately serves no purpose other than letting me bitch about things that are probably quite easy to fix. Ready?
I saw an old family friend at my dad's birthday part last week. I'm not entirely sure what he does, but he works for the Pentacostal Assemblies of Canada and I was telling him and his wife about the difficulties I recently had with my previous church. I told them that I would like to get back to into the whole swing of things, and he told me to email him and he'd give me some details about a good church in town I can get in with. Still haven't done it yet. I'm still in one of my regular slumps where I do nothing but pine about things that are really not that big of a deal.
There are rumors of layoffs at my job this coming week. Not sure what it'll mean for me. On the one hand, I have a certain amount of protection because my dad's the COO. On the other hand, sometimes managers like to lay off certain people that they want to get rid of but can't justify firing. I really don't know if that'll happen. I hope not, but I sometimes get the feeling that when I was hired, it was implicitly understood that I would be swept under the rug and left alone. Some may think that's not too bad, but what the hell's the point of me being there?
Walking away with a lay-off package would be kind of nice though. I'd kind of like to travel around a bit, maybe get a new car and take a drive for a few months. Or fly to England and visit my sister and her husband. I know Jon's going to take some time off and travel around Asia, which I think is great. Who says you have to conform to everyone else's idea of how to live life?
Oh who am I kidding? I want to play drums. I want to be sitting in a crowded bar (which is kind of strange because I hate crowds) and have all the cute girls looking at me as I do my thing. How do I do that?
Well, I guess with my experience, I would go back to church and back in the saddle. Playing music is the only time in my life when I felt good about myself, like I was doing something that I could be proud of. Oh, I've been to University, I have my degree, I'm right now working towards getting my CCNA (oh shit, I have to study...), but all that has paled in comparison to how I felt about myself when I was on stage banging on the skins.
Damnit, I'm going to email John about that church.
There. Hope something comes of it.
I saw an old family friend at my dad's birthday part last week. I'm not entirely sure what he does, but he works for the Pentacostal Assemblies of Canada and I was telling him and his wife about the difficulties I recently had with my previous church. I told them that I would like to get back to into the whole swing of things, and he told me to email him and he'd give me some details about a good church in town I can get in with. Still haven't done it yet. I'm still in one of my regular slumps where I do nothing but pine about things that are really not that big of a deal.
There are rumors of layoffs at my job this coming week. Not sure what it'll mean for me. On the one hand, I have a certain amount of protection because my dad's the COO. On the other hand, sometimes managers like to lay off certain people that they want to get rid of but can't justify firing. I really don't know if that'll happen. I hope not, but I sometimes get the feeling that when I was hired, it was implicitly understood that I would be swept under the rug and left alone. Some may think that's not too bad, but what the hell's the point of me being there?
Walking away with a lay-off package would be kind of nice though. I'd kind of like to travel around a bit, maybe get a new car and take a drive for a few months. Or fly to England and visit my sister and her husband. I know Jon's going to take some time off and travel around Asia, which I think is great. Who says you have to conform to everyone else's idea of how to live life?
Oh who am I kidding? I want to play drums. I want to be sitting in a crowded bar (which is kind of strange because I hate crowds) and have all the cute girls looking at me as I do my thing. How do I do that?
Well, I guess with my experience, I would go back to church and back in the saddle. Playing music is the only time in my life when I felt good about myself, like I was doing something that I could be proud of. Oh, I've been to University, I have my degree, I'm right now working towards getting my CCNA (oh shit, I have to study...), but all that has paled in comparison to how I felt about myself when I was on stage banging on the skins.
Damnit, I'm going to email John about that church.
There. Hope something comes of it.
Sunday, November 06, 2005
At my parents house
Highlights of the party at my mom and dad's house last night:
- One of my dad's work friends getting so drunk that he first hugged my grandfather goodbye, whom he'd never met and wasn't leaving anyway.
- That same guy coming outside to have a smoke with my cousin and I and talking about university and how it's good for nothing more than fucking ("You in University, you have a prick dis long..."). It's was hilarious. Aww, what can ya do? He was french. He must have been having a lot to drink that night, because he next started telling us that his two daughters are in University this year back in Montreal. The younger one is hot too. She worked in Calgary for the summer for the same company I did and the way she was running around makes me think she's going to get a lot out of University this year.
- The Vice President of Finance at my company showing everyone outside her "CFM Boots", which, for the uneducated among us, she graciously translated into "Come Fuck Me" boots.
- My mother and her four brothers dancing to The Animal's "House of the Rising Sun" at 3:30 in the morning. Damn kids and their rock music...
- My dad's good friend and right-hand man at work giving him birthday presents fit for a newly-minted 50 year old in front of 45 people. Things like a home prostate exam (complete with rubber finger), a book entitled "Sex After 50" that was completely blank between the covers, and a pill box split into seven compartments labeled for each day of the week. The funniest part of that is my uncle pulling out the very same type of box at breakfast that morning and downing a mouthful of pills. I don't think he was too impressed with that.
That's about it, that I can remember. I fell asleep at about 1:00am, and was woken up unceremoniously at 3:30 by item three up there.
Damn kids...
- One of my dad's work friends getting so drunk that he first hugged my grandfather goodbye, whom he'd never met and wasn't leaving anyway.
- That same guy coming outside to have a smoke with my cousin and I and talking about university and how it's good for nothing more than fucking ("You in University, you have a prick dis long..."). It's was hilarious. Aww, what can ya do? He was french. He must have been having a lot to drink that night, because he next started telling us that his two daughters are in University this year back in Montreal. The younger one is hot too. She worked in Calgary for the summer for the same company I did and the way she was running around makes me think she's going to get a lot out of University this year.
- The Vice President of Finance at my company showing everyone outside her "CFM Boots", which, for the uneducated among us, she graciously translated into "Come Fuck Me" boots.
- My mother and her four brothers dancing to The Animal's "House of the Rising Sun" at 3:30 in the morning. Damn kids and their rock music...
- My dad's good friend and right-hand man at work giving him birthday presents fit for a newly-minted 50 year old in front of 45 people. Things like a home prostate exam (complete with rubber finger), a book entitled "Sex After 50" that was completely blank between the covers, and a pill box split into seven compartments labeled for each day of the week. The funniest part of that is my uncle pulling out the very same type of box at breakfast that morning and downing a mouthful of pills. I don't think he was too impressed with that.
That's about it, that I can remember. I fell asleep at about 1:00am, and was woken up unceremoniously at 3:30 by item three up there.
Damn kids...
Wednesday, November 02, 2005
Quickie
Just a quick note to catch up on a few things.
I'm heading to Vancouver tomorrow evening for six days. I'll try to update, if I can think of something during that time, but I'm going to be pretty busy with Dad's birthday party.
Congratulations to Jon for finally quitting his job! He's been bitching and moaning about it for months (for good reason, let me tell you), and now he's said "screw you all!" Good job bud.
I'm heading to Vancouver tomorrow evening for six days. I'll try to update, if I can think of something during that time, but I'm going to be pretty busy with Dad's birthday party.
Congratulations to Jon for finally quitting his job! He's been bitching and moaning about it for months (for good reason, let me tell you), and now he's said "screw you all!" Good job bud.
Monday, October 31, 2005
Generic Blog Update #23954
blog blog blog blog blog blog blog blog blog blog blog blog blog blog blog blog blog blog blog blog blog blogger blog blog blog blog blog blog blog blog blog blogger blog blog blog blog blog blog blog blog blog
BLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11
Happy Jon?
BLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11
Happy Jon?
Monday, October 24, 2005
I'm an effing moron...
So, for the last week I've been gearing up to head to Vancouver for my dad's 50th birthday party, although his actual birthday was this past weekend. I've been trying to get some vacation time from work so that I can spend a few extra days there as well so that I don't have to spend almost $400 for a plane ticket for only two days of visiting time. I was so geared up for this visit that you'd think I'd remember to actually call him on his birthday, wouldn't you? Well, you'd be wrong.
Damn, I suck...
Damn, I suck...
Sunday, October 23, 2005
First Post in a While
I know it's been a bit since I've posted, so I thought I'd turn something in.
Ever wonder how much of an inheritance you'd get if your parents kicked it? I'll admit, the thought came to me this weekend. What would you do with it? I'm not going to speculate because, honestly I have no idea, much less want to think about the situation that would have to arise in order to fulfill this little train of thought.
I've been real depressed lately. A couple of years ago, I was "on top." I was working for a small ISP, and doing well. I was poised to elevate to second level and would gain the respect of my peers, subordinates, and superiors. I mean, the job really did suck, but I was good at it and the people there loved me.
I was also quite involved in music at my church. I had respect there too, and I LOVED playing drums. It was the coolest feeling in the world to be able to be on stage playing arguably the most critical instument in the band, all in front of hundreds of people. And I was good too. Playing drums with this band even took me to Greece to play live music in the streets of Athens and Thesoloniki. It was the highest point in my life.
Ever see those bumper stickers that say, and I'm paraphrasing here, "I have no problem with Jesus, it's his followers I don't like?" Well, I'm living proof of that. Let me explain. There was a change in focus at the church I was attending, and that change was carried over to the music department. You see, up until then, there were no formal teams of musicians that were dedicated to play together, but the team I was playing with just always ended up playing together all the time anyway, because we always played the service no one else wanted. Well, the leadership at the church wanted to assign teams to pastors, because certain pastors were responsible for certain services and they wanted to carry over that same kind of consistancy to the music that was played. All well and good, right? No.
The young person's service on Monday nights was a group that I never really got in with, even though I'm just in that age bracket. I don't even know why; it's probably because I wasn't cool enough for them. That church has a bad history of being more clique-ey than any other group of people you have ever known, and I just came in at the wrong time. I never fit in. For the longest time, the band leader I was with was in a bit of the same place as I was, but he somehow wormed his way in and came under the leaders good graces. That made him one of their own, and this pastor wanted him to play with him. He didn't want me to play though, because he didn't like me (he was an arrogant prick) and he wanted his little buddy to fill my position. I was forced out.
Well, see that's not entirely true. I wasn't told that I couldn't play at all, and asked to leave. If I were, that would be easier to take. No, I was ignored and pushed to the wayside until I...just wasn't playing anymore. How bad does that suck? After all the time I spent securing a place in that church, this is how I'm treated?
I fucking HATE politics! Being a victim of it in a church hurts more than anything.
Anyway, lately I've been thinking a lot about how much I miss playing drums. I haven't played in over a year. I'm very hesitant to go back to play at another church because I have no reason to think the same shit won't happen again. I don't have any friends left who can play music. Besides that, playing in a church is all I've known, so I don't know how to go out and get together with other musicians. Is this it for my drumming career? After playing for ten years, is this how it comes to an end? Writing about it in a friggin' blog?
There's a definate void in my life where participating in church activities like that used to be. Recently it's been filled with watching TV and collecting DVD's, which is about all I do when I'm not working. When all that went down, I felt (and still feel) like the best parts of me were told "sorry, you're not good enough for us. All of the work you've done for the last decade (!!!)? We just don't give a shit about that. Go home loser."
Well, not too long after, I was talking with the band leader and told me that the drummer that was put in my place wasn't doing too hot. Not to mention that his little wifey, who got to sing because of more political wheelings-and-dealings, sucked nuts something fierce and was bringing the rest of the band down with her. Also, you remember that change of focus I told you about? Well, not too many people liked it, so about a year ago, enough people left the church over it that the senior pastor resigned and the church almost fell apart. Kind of poetic justice if you ask me, but not enough. It could never be enough to erase that kind of damage.
Ever wonder how much of an inheritance you'd get if your parents kicked it? I'll admit, the thought came to me this weekend. What would you do with it? I'm not going to speculate because, honestly I have no idea, much less want to think about the situation that would have to arise in order to fulfill this little train of thought.
I've been real depressed lately. A couple of years ago, I was "on top." I was working for a small ISP, and doing well. I was poised to elevate to second level and would gain the respect of my peers, subordinates, and superiors. I mean, the job really did suck, but I was good at it and the people there loved me.
I was also quite involved in music at my church. I had respect there too, and I LOVED playing drums. It was the coolest feeling in the world to be able to be on stage playing arguably the most critical instument in the band, all in front of hundreds of people. And I was good too. Playing drums with this band even took me to Greece to play live music in the streets of Athens and Thesoloniki. It was the highest point in my life.
Ever see those bumper stickers that say, and I'm paraphrasing here, "I have no problem with Jesus, it's his followers I don't like?" Well, I'm living proof of that. Let me explain. There was a change in focus at the church I was attending, and that change was carried over to the music department. You see, up until then, there were no formal teams of musicians that were dedicated to play together, but the team I was playing with just always ended up playing together all the time anyway, because we always played the service no one else wanted. Well, the leadership at the church wanted to assign teams to pastors, because certain pastors were responsible for certain services and they wanted to carry over that same kind of consistancy to the music that was played. All well and good, right? No.
The young person's service on Monday nights was a group that I never really got in with, even though I'm just in that age bracket. I don't even know why; it's probably because I wasn't cool enough for them. That church has a bad history of being more clique-ey than any other group of people you have ever known, and I just came in at the wrong time. I never fit in. For the longest time, the band leader I was with was in a bit of the same place as I was, but he somehow wormed his way in and came under the leaders good graces. That made him one of their own, and this pastor wanted him to play with him. He didn't want me to play though, because he didn't like me (he was an arrogant prick) and he wanted his little buddy to fill my position. I was forced out.
Well, see that's not entirely true. I wasn't told that I couldn't play at all, and asked to leave. If I were, that would be easier to take. No, I was ignored and pushed to the wayside until I...just wasn't playing anymore. How bad does that suck? After all the time I spent securing a place in that church, this is how I'm treated?
I fucking HATE politics! Being a victim of it in a church hurts more than anything.
Anyway, lately I've been thinking a lot about how much I miss playing drums. I haven't played in over a year. I'm very hesitant to go back to play at another church because I have no reason to think the same shit won't happen again. I don't have any friends left who can play music. Besides that, playing in a church is all I've known, so I don't know how to go out and get together with other musicians. Is this it for my drumming career? After playing for ten years, is this how it comes to an end? Writing about it in a friggin' blog?
There's a definate void in my life where participating in church activities like that used to be. Recently it's been filled with watching TV and collecting DVD's, which is about all I do when I'm not working. When all that went down, I felt (and still feel) like the best parts of me were told "sorry, you're not good enough for us. All of the work you've done for the last decade (!!!)? We just don't give a shit about that. Go home loser."
Well, not too long after, I was talking with the band leader and told me that the drummer that was put in my place wasn't doing too hot. Not to mention that his little wifey, who got to sing because of more political wheelings-and-dealings, sucked nuts something fierce and was bringing the rest of the band down with her. Also, you remember that change of focus I told you about? Well, not too many people liked it, so about a year ago, enough people left the church over it that the senior pastor resigned and the church almost fell apart. Kind of poetic justice if you ask me, but not enough. It could never be enough to erase that kind of damage.
Sunday, October 16, 2005
Kevin Smith, pt. 2
What is it about Kevin Smith movies? They're so bi-polar when put up against each other that they could easily all be made by other directors. The only thing that links them together is the sometimes-obvious, but mostly subtle references to each other. Let's start at the top.
1) Clerks: His first effort was the little movie that could. A little black-and-white movie that showcased a day in the life of two convenience-store jockeys. Sometimes funny, sometimes heart-breaking, it's a true-to-life look at twenty-somethings in the '90's.
2) Mallrats: This was a total departure from Clerks. It's a flat-out comedy that has no dramatic undertone whatsoever. People loved Clerks. They didn't love Mallrats. Watching is it a good way to waste an hour and a half but when it's over, you walk away with nothing to show for it.
3) Chasing Amy: Back to Clerks territory. It's a movie about real relationships in the '90's. Like Clerks, sometimes funny but often dramatic, it's a film that takes a look at how relationships work, and how they can often be ruined by one person's petty insecurities.
4) Dogma: Now this is a weird one. Something so totally different from the other three that it almost doesn't count. Angels and demons, a race to save the world. Funny, but also a fantasical look at crisis' of faith.
5) Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back: Another comedy that gives you nothing to walk away with. You laugh, and then wonder what's for dinner. Nothing more than that.
Now, a lot of directors make different kinds of movies, but Kevin Smith writes his own scripts taken from his own life. Other directors just take scripts to direct as a job, but Kevin's are more personal. I'm watching Chasing Amy right now and it the dichotomy of his films just made me think.
On a lighter note, Batman Begins, Land of the Dead and The Big Lebowski come out on DVD in a couple of days. Can't wait.
1) Clerks: His first effort was the little movie that could. A little black-and-white movie that showcased a day in the life of two convenience-store jockeys. Sometimes funny, sometimes heart-breaking, it's a true-to-life look at twenty-somethings in the '90's.
2) Mallrats: This was a total departure from Clerks. It's a flat-out comedy that has no dramatic undertone whatsoever. People loved Clerks. They didn't love Mallrats. Watching is it a good way to waste an hour and a half but when it's over, you walk away with nothing to show for it.
3) Chasing Amy: Back to Clerks territory. It's a movie about real relationships in the '90's. Like Clerks, sometimes funny but often dramatic, it's a film that takes a look at how relationships work, and how they can often be ruined by one person's petty insecurities.
4) Dogma: Now this is a weird one. Something so totally different from the other three that it almost doesn't count. Angels and demons, a race to save the world. Funny, but also a fantasical look at crisis' of faith.
5) Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back: Another comedy that gives you nothing to walk away with. You laugh, and then wonder what's for dinner. Nothing more than that.
Now, a lot of directors make different kinds of movies, but Kevin Smith writes his own scripts taken from his own life. Other directors just take scripts to direct as a job, but Kevin's are more personal. I'm watching Chasing Amy right now and it the dichotomy of his films just made me think.
On a lighter note, Batman Begins, Land of the Dead and The Big Lebowski come out on DVD in a couple of days. Can't wait.
Thursday, October 13, 2005
I am so SMRT!
As mentioned in previous posts, I'm studying for my Cisco Certified Network Associate certification. Tonight we had our weekly lab class and it was interesting. We were practicing backing up configuration files, which is important because if you ever have a router crash or it has to be rebooted, having the config file easy to load again will save hours or data entry and/or troubleshooting. There are racks of routers in the lab, and each rack has three of the routers that we're using for this semester. Upon coming into the lab tonight, I found that the Operating System on two of the routers in the rack I was using had been wiped clean, so as a little aside to my regular labs, I had to perform disaster-recovery on the two broken machines. It was really cool.
Since there was one router with a valid operating system, I had to back it up and then load it onto the two others. This is how I did it:
And I'm done geeking out for the day.
Since there was one router with a valid operating system, I had to back it up and then load it onto the two others. This is how I did it:
- Set up a TFTP server on my workstation.
- Use the built-in functions on the working router to back up the good operating system.
- Connect to the first of the bad routers. Normally on a router, if there is no operating system, the router automatically loads a very basic command prompt.
- Use the basic TFTP functions on the broken router to grab the backed-up operating system.
- Restart the router. BOOM!!! One peoperly working router.
And I'm done geeking out for the day.
Tuesday, October 11, 2005
Kevin Smith
Kevin Smith is coming to Calgary in February to put on one of his famous Q&A sessions and I have tickets. It's going to kick ass. Five hours of nothing but Kevin talking shit.
Can't wait!!!
Can't wait!!!
Monday, October 10, 2005
Turkey...is...so...good...
Oh. My. God. I love turkey. And, of course, my eyes are bigger than my stomach. I ate too much.
bbbaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.............
bbbaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.............
One more thing...
As per my below post, I'm watching the first Star Trek movie, and it's friggin' boring.
Just thought you should know that.
Just thought you should know that.
Daily Thoughts
Thanksgiving
It's turkey day tomorrow. My roommate and I are cooking for either a few people or just us. Either way, we bought a 19-lb turkey for the day. That's a friggin' huge bird. Oh well, at least we'll be able to make lots of soup.
Tyler's not allowed to cook it though. He always puts to many spices in his cooking. He seems to think that spices in those quantities are the best things that ever happened to his cooking. He doesn't realize that things like pepper belong on the table, not in the kitchen. If I want pepper, I'l put as much or as little as I damn well please.
More Star Trek Babble...
I bought the entire movie set on DVD this weekend. All of the special edition two-disc sets of the movies are included. It's pretty cool because they've all been mastered for the medium. The soundtracks on each of the movies are fantastic and the visual quality is better than I've ever seen before. Watching them on a 51-inch widescreen TV with a premium home theatre sound system is a real treat.
It's turkey day tomorrow. My roommate and I are cooking for either a few people or just us. Either way, we bought a 19-lb turkey for the day. That's a friggin' huge bird. Oh well, at least we'll be able to make lots of soup.
Tyler's not allowed to cook it though. He always puts to many spices in his cooking. He seems to think that spices in those quantities are the best things that ever happened to his cooking. He doesn't realize that things like pepper belong on the table, not in the kitchen. If I want pepper, I'l put as much or as little as I damn well please.
More Star Trek Babble...
I bought the entire movie set on DVD this weekend. All of the special edition two-disc sets of the movies are included. It's pretty cool because they've all been mastered for the medium. The soundtracks on each of the movies are fantastic and the visual quality is better than I've ever seen before. Watching them on a 51-inch widescreen TV with a premium home theatre sound system is a real treat.
Sunday, October 09, 2005
Heroes
There are two types of heroes in your life - personal and professional. One person can encompass both roles, but in my case, there are two.
My professional hero is my dad. All through his work life, he's been recognized for his achievements and rewarded. When I was very young, he started working for a cable company in small-town BC as a technician. He climbed poles and fixed people's cable when it went out, performed maintainance and generally was the go-to guy for all of the grunt work that needed to be done. Gradually he moved up in rank and stature. Today, after years of hard work (not that it's over, mind you), he's become the Chief Operating Officer of the western division of the biggest telecommunications company in the country. He's always been someone that I can look to as a source of inspiration and guidance in my career. He's among the last generation that earns their glory the old fashion, "American Dream" way.
My personal hero is a guy I've worked with for a few years in a small Internet Service Provider. He was the Helpdesk Trainer and I was working on the phones with customers. His hero status has nothing to do with the work, however, as that's just the place I know him from. What makes him a hero is his wife and daughter.
When he met his wife-to-be, he was young (about 21) and just starting out his life, all full of piss and vinegar, ready to take on the world. He was the youngest of all his siblings, but it would soon become clear that he was the most grown-up. He met this girl, went out on some dates and liked her very much. He wanted more. The catch is, all this time she was pregnant, but that didn't stop him. See, not only did he like the girl, he loved her. When she had the baby, he fell in love a second time and adopted the child as his own. Today they got married and at the ceremony, he wept for joy.
This man is the most selfless man I have ever known. He sacrificed so much for this girl and his new daughter. In this day and age where a man is measured by the size of his bank account, he has shamed us men by putting all that aside and giving his all for the sake of love, honor and nobility. When I look at them, I see two people who are going to beat the odds and be together for the rest of their lives. Nothing is going to stand in their way.
Andy and Amanda, I salute you.
My professional hero is my dad. All through his work life, he's been recognized for his achievements and rewarded. When I was very young, he started working for a cable company in small-town BC as a technician. He climbed poles and fixed people's cable when it went out, performed maintainance and generally was the go-to guy for all of the grunt work that needed to be done. Gradually he moved up in rank and stature. Today, after years of hard work (not that it's over, mind you), he's become the Chief Operating Officer of the western division of the biggest telecommunications company in the country. He's always been someone that I can look to as a source of inspiration and guidance in my career. He's among the last generation that earns their glory the old fashion, "American Dream" way.
My personal hero is a guy I've worked with for a few years in a small Internet Service Provider. He was the Helpdesk Trainer and I was working on the phones with customers. His hero status has nothing to do with the work, however, as that's just the place I know him from. What makes him a hero is his wife and daughter.
When he met his wife-to-be, he was young (about 21) and just starting out his life, all full of piss and vinegar, ready to take on the world. He was the youngest of all his siblings, but it would soon become clear that he was the most grown-up. He met this girl, went out on some dates and liked her very much. He wanted more. The catch is, all this time she was pregnant, but that didn't stop him. See, not only did he like the girl, he loved her. When she had the baby, he fell in love a second time and adopted the child as his own. Today they got married and at the ceremony, he wept for joy.
This man is the most selfless man I have ever known. He sacrificed so much for this girl and his new daughter. In this day and age where a man is measured by the size of his bank account, he has shamed us men by putting all that aside and giving his all for the sake of love, honor and nobility. When I look at them, I see two people who are going to beat the odds and be together for the rest of their lives. Nothing is going to stand in their way.
Andy and Amanda, I salute you.
Friday, October 07, 2005
Midday thoughts
LONG WEEKEND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
I love long weekends. Doing absolutly nothing for two days is awesome enough, but three is absolute heaven.
I had a good day at work today too. Got a lot done. Makes me feel good when I get home.
And the icing on the cake? GST CHECK CAME TODAY!!!!!
I love long weekends. Doing absolutly nothing for two days is awesome enough, but three is absolute heaven.
I had a good day at work today too. Got a lot done. Makes me feel good when I get home.
And the icing on the cake? GST CHECK CAME TODAY!!!!!
Thursday, October 06, 2005
I dress this way for the United Way
We had a donation drive for the United Way come around the office yesterday. They were selling casual day tickets. Basically you donate a certain amount to the United Way and we get a sticker that entitles you to one day (other than casual Friday) of casual dress. I got to wear my jeans today and I was happy. I hatehateHATE wearing my regular work week clothes. The catch is that you have to wear a sticker telling people you donated.
Ya, I wore the sticker on my forehead until 2:00 this afternoon.
I got some really weird looks, let me tell you, especially when we got in line at the Tim Horton's for coffee and waited for half-an-hour. Well, it wasn't all bad because the director of my department saw me and got a real kick out of it.
Ya, I wore the sticker on my forehead until 2:00 this afternoon.
I got some really weird looks, let me tell you, especially when we got in line at the Tim Horton's for coffee and waited for half-an-hour. Well, it wasn't all bad because the director of my department saw me and got a real kick out of it.
Wednesday, October 05, 2005
Evening musings
On the subject of Star Trek:
I miss Star Trek. This is the first time in almost twenty years that a new episode of Star Trek isn't on TV at some point during the week. It's been something that I've looked forward to throughout my week, admitedly some incarnations more than others. The latest series, Enterprise, was good for the first two seasons but really started to shine in the third and fourth. And then they cancelled it.
Blame it on whatever you want - bad writing, bad acting, franchise fatigue, whatever - but you and I would have words if you tried to say that it was time for it to go. I just really don't think that was the case.
To combat this feeling of loss, I've been shelling out for the DVD sets of Enterprise when they come out. I know, they're priced way too high, but that's ok. This way, I can watch whichever one, whenever I want without having to slog through the ones that sucked during it's syndication run. On the 1st of November, the fourth (and best) season comes out on DVD, so I guess I should prepare for that same feeling I got when the final episode aired during it's first run.
Damnit, it's over. Now what am I going to watch?
Computer geek stuff:
I'm currently enrolled in the Cisco Certified Networking Associate program at SAIT. There are four semesters and I'm in the second one. Right now, it's all about router configuration, which is a lot more hands-on than the first semester. CCNA 1 was good in that it provided a good base with which future courses would be built on. There was a lot of networking fundamentals taught in that course, and while it's good to know, it made for some friggin' boring lectures. Especially when I already knew most of the stuff anyway.
In CCNA 2, the focus is on lab work more than anything. We spend about 45 minutes a week in the class and the rest is spent in the lab putting what we learned to good use.
There's a real dichotomy where I'm concerned about computer networking. On the one hand, I have a really good grasp of the fundamentals because I both have my degree in computer science, which included a bit of networking, but I also have a lot of personal and professional experience with the application side of things. What I don't know too well, and the reason I'm going for my certification in the first place, is how it all comes together. I find it kind of frusterating when I can tell you why it works, and how to make it work in a user-level environment, but making it work and understanding what I did to make it work from the other side of the coin. That's just me though. I hate not knowing stuff. I always get frusterated when I don't know a lot about something that interests me.
About friends:
What the hell is wrong with me when I can't go out with friends to watch the hockey game? I know I had to do some shopping tonight for the upcoming thanksgiving feast, but after that I had a chance to go out and shoot the shit with a good buddy of mine and I didn't. I told myself that I was out too late shopping and I hadn't eaten dinner yet when I got home, but the truth is, I didn't really feel like being social. I'm too much of a homebody. And while I enjoy sitting at home and being alone, not having to worry about crowds and other shit that generally conspire to ruin my evening, I also am fully aware that doing this isn't going to be good for my social life. Especially when it comes to women.
Wow, where do I begin with that? I know - I don't. Suffice it to say, like any mild-mannered guy who doesn't see a lot of action, I have a lot to offer a woman (that's not meant to be a cliche - guys like me usually have a LOT more to offer a woman than is generally thought), but my social akwardness prevents me from doing anything about it.
DAMNIT!!! I NEED A WOMAN!!!
A pretty one. With big boobs. Screw you, I'm making a wishlist.
I miss Star Trek. This is the first time in almost twenty years that a new episode of Star Trek isn't on TV at some point during the week. It's been something that I've looked forward to throughout my week, admitedly some incarnations more than others. The latest series, Enterprise, was good for the first two seasons but really started to shine in the third and fourth. And then they cancelled it.
Blame it on whatever you want - bad writing, bad acting, franchise fatigue, whatever - but you and I would have words if you tried to say that it was time for it to go. I just really don't think that was the case.
To combat this feeling of loss, I've been shelling out for the DVD sets of Enterprise when they come out. I know, they're priced way too high, but that's ok. This way, I can watch whichever one, whenever I want without having to slog through the ones that sucked during it's syndication run. On the 1st of November, the fourth (and best) season comes out on DVD, so I guess I should prepare for that same feeling I got when the final episode aired during it's first run.
Damnit, it's over. Now what am I going to watch?
Computer geek stuff:
I'm currently enrolled in the Cisco Certified Networking Associate program at SAIT. There are four semesters and I'm in the second one. Right now, it's all about router configuration, which is a lot more hands-on than the first semester. CCNA 1 was good in that it provided a good base with which future courses would be built on. There was a lot of networking fundamentals taught in that course, and while it's good to know, it made for some friggin' boring lectures. Especially when I already knew most of the stuff anyway.
In CCNA 2, the focus is on lab work more than anything. We spend about 45 minutes a week in the class and the rest is spent in the lab putting what we learned to good use.
There's a real dichotomy where I'm concerned about computer networking. On the one hand, I have a really good grasp of the fundamentals because I both have my degree in computer science, which included a bit of networking, but I also have a lot of personal and professional experience with the application side of things. What I don't know too well, and the reason I'm going for my certification in the first place, is how it all comes together. I find it kind of frusterating when I can tell you why it works, and how to make it work in a user-level environment, but making it work and understanding what I did to make it work from the other side of the coin. That's just me though. I hate not knowing stuff. I always get frusterated when I don't know a lot about something that interests me.
About friends:
What the hell is wrong with me when I can't go out with friends to watch the hockey game? I know I had to do some shopping tonight for the upcoming thanksgiving feast, but after that I had a chance to go out and shoot the shit with a good buddy of mine and I didn't. I told myself that I was out too late shopping and I hadn't eaten dinner yet when I got home, but the truth is, I didn't really feel like being social. I'm too much of a homebody. And while I enjoy sitting at home and being alone, not having to worry about crowds and other shit that generally conspire to ruin my evening, I also am fully aware that doing this isn't going to be good for my social life. Especially when it comes to women.
Wow, where do I begin with that? I know - I don't. Suffice it to say, like any mild-mannered guy who doesn't see a lot of action, I have a lot to offer a woman (that's not meant to be a cliche - guys like me usually have a LOT more to offer a woman than is generally thought), but my social akwardness prevents me from doing anything about it.
DAMNIT!!! I NEED A WOMAN!!!
A pretty one. With big boobs. Screw you, I'm making a wishlist.
The wheels on the bus
I hate transit. I have to take the bus to and from work every day and it sucks. I have a car sitting at home that's used so infrequently that last night was the first time I filled it up with gas in two months.
Mornings aren't so bad because the bus is almost empty, but afternoons are the worst. Packed to the nuts with idiots and assholes.
Fuckin' transit.
Mornings aren't so bad because the bus is almost empty, but afternoons are the worst. Packed to the nuts with idiots and assholes.
Fuckin' transit.
Tuesday, October 04, 2005
Great minds...
It wasn't until after I posted what's below that I discovered my buddy has apparently thought the same thing. I love it when like minds come together like that.
Check it out...
Check it out...
Monday, October 03, 2005
Retail Therapy
A buddy of mine (flyliceyouplick - check it out, funny shit) coined the term "Retail Therapy." Basically just buying a whole lot of useless shit to make yourself feel better. I've been doing that for the last few months and it's been a lot of fun.
See, I started at a job a few months back for a rather large telecommunications company (I'm an IT monkey) and for once in my life, I'm making a bit of money. Living with two other guys means my expenses are quite minimal and it leave a lot of disposable income. So I've been shopping.
Here's the list, so far.
- iPod Color Photo 30GB
- Headphones to go with the iPod
- Sony-Ericsson T610 cell phone
- Toshiba 51-inch TV
- Toshiba 15.4-inch laptop
- Shitloads of DVD's
And to date, I've lost the iPod and the headphones. Ya, just my luck, just when I start to get nice things, my house gets broken into and the iPod is stolen. Fuckin' ass-clowns.
But that's my life. I spent the first 25 years being afraid to spend money. There are a lot of reasons for this, but mostly it's for two reasons: 1) My mother likes to think that if you have money, you shoudn't be allowed to spend it, and doesn't hesitate to tell me so in so many words, and 2) Up until now, I haven't really had any money to spend. This is my first big paying job and I'm having fun doing it.
Let me be clear though - I'm having fun SPENDING THE MONEY. The new job, on the other hand, is something else entirely.
But that's for next time.
See, I started at a job a few months back for a rather large telecommunications company (I'm an IT monkey) and for once in my life, I'm making a bit of money. Living with two other guys means my expenses are quite minimal and it leave a lot of disposable income. So I've been shopping.
Here's the list, so far.
- iPod Color Photo 30GB
- Headphones to go with the iPod
- Sony-Ericsson T610 cell phone
- Toshiba 51-inch TV
- Toshiba 15.4-inch laptop
- Shitloads of DVD's
And to date, I've lost the iPod and the headphones. Ya, just my luck, just when I start to get nice things, my house gets broken into and the iPod is stolen. Fuckin' ass-clowns.
But that's my life. I spent the first 25 years being afraid to spend money. There are a lot of reasons for this, but mostly it's for two reasons: 1) My mother likes to think that if you have money, you shoudn't be allowed to spend it, and doesn't hesitate to tell me so in so many words, and 2) Up until now, I haven't really had any money to spend. This is my first big paying job and I'm having fun doing it.
Let me be clear though - I'm having fun SPENDING THE MONEY. The new job, on the other hand, is something else entirely.
But that's for next time.
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