Who do you wanna Jott? Twitter
Sunday, November 09, 2008 8:43:57 PM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
So I recently started twittering... or tweeting. I'm not sure what the correct lingo is, so hook me up if you know. It all started a while back when James announced that he was the newest Twit. He mentioned a WPF client called Witty, and I wanted to see what it was all about. So I setup a Twitter account to play with the app. After I had my fun, I never deleted my account. Or at least I never looked into how to delete my account.
About a week ago I received and email that a couple of people were following me on Twitter. Man that's flattering to read:
Hi, mo_khan.
Kyle Baley (kbaley) is now following your updates on Twitter.
Check out Kyle Baley's profile here:
http://twitter.com/kbaley
You may follow Kyle Baley as well by clicking on the "follow" button.
Best,
Twitter
Whaa... a celeb is interested in what I'm up to? *blush* So I jumped in, and so far it's been pretty fun. I found another service called "Jott". Jott's pretty cool, because I can call in to a number and I get an automated message that says:
"Who do you want to jott?"
I say ... "Twitter". Then I record my voice message.
Jott then takes that message transcribes it in to text, pushes it up to my twitter page, and drops a tinyurl to the actual audio. Sweet... that saves me a few pennies worth of text messages. But there's more...
I'm one of the poor saps who pay to much for mobile service up here in Canada, eh! I subscribe to Rogers Wireless, and the plan called "My5". I get to make unlimited phones calls to the 5 numbers that are in My5? So I put Jott on My5, and now I can shoot off messages to everyone for....
Free Ninety Nine.... well almost! If you're young, fabulous and ghetto broke (it aint funny) like myself then you ought to give Jott a try!
Glamma's and Friends
Wednesday, September 03, 2008 7:59:08 PM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
My wife is running in this years CIBC Run for the cure, on Sunday October. 5th 2008. This is an annual fund raiser to raise money for breast cancer research. This is a cause that is near and dear to us since she has lost loved ones in her family to breast cancer.
The donations are tax deductible, here in Canada, and receipts are sent out electronically. There is no minimum donation, so anything and everything counts. Please don't be shy!
If you would like to support my wife and daughter before their 5 KM walk please make a donation here.
Allison Khan's Message:
"I am excited to be joining team Glamma's and friends this year to walk for breast cancer. My Mom and friends will be walking their 4th year and Adia and I are thrilled to be the newest members. As breast cancer has touched my life on both maternal and paternal sides of my family, it's time to be proactive in finding a cure for this disease. I deeply appreciate your support; by donation, cheers on the sidelines or joining our team!"
Disconnected - Channels Of Communication
Monday, August 04, 2008 10:04:57 PM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
A few weeks ago I started feeling a little over whelmed by the volume of interest in what I was up to. After reading a chapter from Tim Ferris' book, I decided to disconnect. It was the most effective advice I could have ever received. I went cold turkey. I turned off my phone and put it in a drawer. I completely stopped checking my email, and wouldn't allow myself to "surf" the net.
The result after a couple of weeks, I feel liberated... and refreshed!
The first couple of days were hard, I had the itch. I kept wondering... "what if an emergency happens and someone needs to get a hold of me?" There was no emergency, and the best part no shackles. When I finally checked my email, I spent 5 minutes scanning the email that seemed to contain "information" that was important to me. It was amazing how much "noise" I was able to filter out. This is something that Tim describes as a "Low Information Diet."
I'm toying with the idea of completely disconnecting my phone and I'm currently checking my email once a week (Mondays).
I looked back at a post that made remarkable difference to me when I first read it last year. It was JP's tips on becoming a more effective developer. In it he told us to limit the amount of instant messaging that we do during the day. Today I feel that instant messaging has been replaced by mailing lists, twitter, texting and RSS feeds. All of this can consume a good portion of your day, and for me causes me to lose focus, quickly. It's important to be selective about what information is important to keep you focused and to filter out what can wait.
I'm not saying this is for everyone, but the Low Information Diet is working for me, and my daughter is loving the extra focused attention she gets from her daddy (likewise for her daddy).
Tag mO's IT!
Saturday, July 12, 2008 1:15:44 PM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
So JP had to tag me... then the Los Techies crew had to invite me to join Los Techies. This sucks for someone who "claims" to be quite a private person. Thanks JP for putting me in the spotlight, and thanks to all the techies who thought I was fit to join. So here goes...
How old were you when you first started in programming?
I was in grade 11, so I guess that would have made me 15.
How did you get started in programming?
Hmm... Kind of by accident. I took a C++ course in high school as an option and I found that I actually liked it. I didn't actually think I was capable of becoming a software developer, but I knew I liked it.
What was your first programming language?
C++
What was the first real program you wrote?
In college I signed up for a curriculum that focused more on electrical engineering than software development. However we got a little bit of exposure with different programming languages like assembler and C.
The first actual program that I finished was in my second year of college. We wrote a piece of voice recognition software using MatLab. It was actually a tonne of fun, because it required us to utilize what we had learned about digital signal processing as well as how to pick up a brand new language and learn how to get something compiling with it in a short bit of time. This was probably when I realized I liked staring at code more than I liked staring at circuit diagrams.
What languages have you used since you started programming?
Assembler, C, C++, C#, T-SQL, VB, VB.NET, MatLab. The languages I would say I'm ok in are C and C#.
What was your first professional programming gig?
Right after college I got scooped up by a company called DataShapers, where I got to work on a project called Incentus. It was a Gift Card, and Loyalty Management system. I was hired to build embedded gift card applications for different point of sale terminals.
I was quite fortunate that I got to work on such a sweet project right out of school. I was exposed to things like chip cards, 3DES encryption, SSL/TLS at a raw sockets level written in C. I was fortunate enough to be mentored by one of the best while I was there. Thanks Mr. Mark!
If you knew then what you know now, would you have started programming?
Oh... yes!
If there is one thing you learned along the way that you would tell new developers, what would it be?
Actually listen to your elders, and follow through with what they tell you. At the same time, question everything they tell you, and decide what's right for you.
"Listen to your elders, but question everything they tell you."
What's the most fun you've ever had programming?
The Nothin' But .NET boot camp (times 2)... seriously, it blows my mind!
Who am I calling out?
Luu Duong
Mark Chen
Owen Rogers
Adam Alinauskas (whenever he gets his blog back up)
David Morgantini
He's only 17
Saturday, June 28, 2008 6:39:04 PM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
I just came across the blog of Mr. Yuvi, the 17 year wanna be geek from India. The kids got mad skills, I found his blog through this post.
You can read more about Yuvi here...
Just 4 Hours?
Wednesday, June 18, 2008 12:21:26 PM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
I just watched an video by the author Timothy Ferriss and thought wow! Maybe you will too...
Leaving a Dent...
Wednesday, June 11, 2008 12:22:01 PM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Oh man... oh man! JP's puttin' on a contest and givin' away free stuff... Lot's of it! *drool*
It's kind of a cool idea... The gist of it is to describe how YOU are contributing to the community, and how YOU are leaving an impact on those around you. It's all about YOU!
I can think of a few people that I have definitely left an impact on my life. If anyone's left an impact on you, why not nominate them!
The first place winner of the contest...
wins a seat at the Nothin' But .NET Boot Camp, held in Las Vegas! That's about $3000 bucks for that seat alone! Plus... they get a copy of Visual Studio 2008 Team Suite... Plus a full years subscription to an MSDN Premium subscription.
I have no idea what an MSDN Premium subscription is... so I Googled it, here's what I found:
"MSDN Subscriptions are the ultimate resource for professional Developers, teams and organizations..." - http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/subscriptions/aa718661.aspx
Oh man, oh man... not only do you get a first class ticket to one of the most fulfilling courses you'll ever take, but.... you also get the ultimate resource for professional developers. If that doesn't get you all the fame and glory you've ever wanted... I'm not sure what will!
The second place winner...
wins a stack of books, and tools and another copy of Visual Studio 2008 Team Suite with another fully year subscription to MSDN.
The books are wicked too, not to mention expensive! You get...
- The Pragmatic Programmer
- Code Complete
- Refactoring
- Head First Design Patterns
- Design Patterns
- Test Driven Development
- CLR via C#
- Working Effectively with Legacy Code
- Domain Driven Design
- Agile, Principles, Patterns and Practices in C#.
I've read everyone of these books except for the last one. I can honestly say, I would read them over and over again. In fact, I am... and the tools.... oh man the tools... once you go ReSharper you'll never go back to naked studio, you just can't physically do it. It makes you physically ill... I puked once trying to do it... it was messy!
The third place winner...
wins a gift card from Amazon worth $140 bucks... That's quite a few books for a starving reader.
For more information go read up on the contest here...
Skeletons In The Closet
Tuesday, June 03, 2008 7:44:12 PM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
I was recently listening to an episode of the ALT.NET podcast with guests Jeremy Miller, David Laribee, and Chad Myers. I remember Chad saying something to the effect of being slightly embarrassed of the code that Jeremy was about to step in to. I realized that I felt the same way...
I remember last year when I was just jumping into this .NET game. I had nothing to hide, I wanted people to review my work. I wanted feedback, I wanted guidance and I really worked hard to get feedback from people that I respected.
Today, I feel more like Chad! I feel a little more defensive about the stuff that I've written. I'm more nervous about having to explain design decisions made months ago, that I don't agree with today. I'm apologetic for making choices and writing some of the code that I've written. *sigh* (The overuse of the word I, probably hides the fact that yes I am part of an agile team and a lot of the decisions were made as a team or at least in pairs.)
Kshitij reminded me of a quote from Robin Sharma. I don't remember the exact quote but to paraphrase its along the lines of...
"If the cup is full, it will spill if you try to fill it. You must empty the cup in order to re-fill it!"
The reason that I think this quote applies is because I now realize that if I we choose to be to proud to accept criticism now, then I'm we're likely to be stuck in my our ways. The work that I've we've done, was a reflection of my our abilities at the time I was we were doing it, and not a reflection of who I am we are today.
Have you ever experienced that feeling of when you bring someone new in to a team, and you subconsciously wonder how they're going to upset the balance of the team. Are they going to find the dirty skeletons in your code closet and expose you. Or are they going to go with the flow, and just accept the way things are and keep on keepin' on!?
I think that I'm trying to form a post from all these random ideas, but the point I'm trying so hard to make is don't be embarrassed of your skill set. If we were all super heroes, then we wouldn't have any!
"The ghetto, let go. It's not a novelty, you can love your neighborhood, without loving poverty." - KRS ONE
You can keep that love for software, using alternative methods...
How do you know?
Tuesday, June 03, 2008 7:14:39 PM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
How do you know if you really know someone?
I remember asking myself this question a lot as a kid. As I grew up and developed relationships with people, and cut relationships with people I've found that I never really got to know someone until I've seen them express different emotions.
In order to get to know someone, in my humble opinion, you've got to see them upset. You have got to see them mad, glad, sad and every color of the rainbow. You don't truly get to know someone until you have seen them shout, cry, and laugh till it hurts.
It's in how you react, that truly defines who you are! (or want to be..)
Eliminate Waste Daily
Monday, May 26, 2008 6:05:09 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Tim Ferriss writes:
"Brain activation for listening is cut in half if the person is trying to process visual input at the same time. A recent study at The British Institute of Psychiatry showed that checking your email while performing another creative task decreases your IQ in the moment 10 points."
This post is definitely worth reading!
A: Depends On The Site
Wednesday, May 21, 2008 11:46:05 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Q: Should I be worried if my username and password are sent back and forth to a server in clear text, in a cookie, upon each request????
To Many Fast Kids
Thursday, May 08, 2008 4:57:14 PM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Wow... I don't know what it is, but right after the ALT. NET conference I was pretty pumped up and excited, but these days I'm feeling a little low. It's amazing how many young, talented people there are out in the industry. It's more amazing to see how fast people are moving and growing.
The guys on my team, and I, try hard to stay up on what's new... and what the cool kids are doing. But these days' it's just making me dizzy... we've got the Eleutian Guys slingin' code like crazy. This PolyGlot programming thing has got me feeling like I need to go add more languages to my vocab. I'm getting sick of checking my gmail, because each time i do it looks like the ALT.NET mailing list has just puked all over my monitor.
There's new frameworks flying out like ASP.NET MVC, Moq, Prism, Silverlight, WPF... then debates about how to write tests, what's bdd, is the auto mocking container a smell. Then there's the hype around ruby and rails, and the comparisons between dynamic and statically typed languages.
It's got me a little dizzy, but now that I think about... it's kind of cool how fast the industry seems to be evolving!
The Big Book Giveaway
Thursday, May 08, 2008 4:42:33 PM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
If you haven't heard, JP's giving away a $70.00 book credit to Amazon. For more details check out his most recent post.
I really enjoy reading books, but if you're low on funds. Books can be quite pricey, especially tech books. This is a great offer, and anyone interested should definitely take the man up on his offer. Even if YOU don't need the books, or the credit, I'm sure you can think of someone who could. Let them know...
Why do I even care?
Because I know how hard it was to purchase books and support a family. I'm in much better shape now, and would love for someone else who needs a leg up to win an opportunity to be successful. Do you know someone that could use a little help?
Mentoring vs Molding
Monday, April 21, 2008 9:36:15 PM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
One of the underlying themes I noticed at ALT.NET was that there were a lot of people their, like myself, who were yearning for good mentoring. They wanted to be part of teams that had "senior" developers that could lead them, and push them to grow.
We all seek guidance, some of use are privileged to be guided by others and learn from the shared experience and some of us pave our own paths.
There is a very fine line between mentoring and molding, one that I think is important to distinguish. To be truly mentored by someone, means that your mentor will be able to offer you challenges that push you outside of comfort zone without telling you how. Your mentor should challenge you to be great, not tell you how it's done! A good mentor will empower you, and teach you how to think, not what to think. A good mentor knows how to learn just as much from you, as he knows how to teach you.
When you're being molded, you're shown how you're expected to do things. A blind mentor may do this to gain a sense of control, but in the process fails to trigger new ideas in those around them. This benefits no one. Not only is the mentor not gaining from allowing the protege from being creative and allowing new ideas to trigger greater ones, but the blind mentor locks his/herself down to only their own ideas and does not allow themselves to open up to change and trigger new ideas.
I'm sure mentoring is a tough thing, no one wants to wear the "Hi I'm your mentor" name tag. But perhaps there are mentors all around us. If we were to look at those around us more closely, and tried to understand what it is that each person can teach us, then you're surrounded by mentors. Everyone has something that they can teach you, the toughest part is trying to find out what that is.
"In any journey it is helpful to have a guide, someone who can help us in times of difficulty. Often, we do not venture forth due to fear. A good guide, a teacher, quells our fear and gives us confidence during our journey. An old Indian adage says: "When the student is ready, the teacher appears." Sri Chinmoy has a beautiful poem that talks about this journey."
You have a multitude of questions,
But there is only one answer:
The road is right in front of you,
And the guide is waiting for you.
- wisdomofyoga.org/teachers
Cool Kids Club Card
Tuesday, April 15, 2008 12:16:07 PM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
So at lunch I decided to check my email, and I got one from Justice with a subject that read....
"Did you get one of these? Fwd: ALT.NET Seattle!"
It was a forward from David Laribee, one of the organizers of ALT.NET, that was sent out to all registered attendees. As I continued to read it said:
"We are *FULL* and there are, I'm sorry to say, no "plus ones" at this point."
My reaction was... GULP, my wife is going to kick my ***!
Then a magical thing happened... I saw another email in my inbox... the subject read "ALT.NET Seattle!" and it was from Mr. David Laribee himself!
I'm in, I'll see you cool kids this weekend in Seattle! If you're thinking about crashing the party, I would suggest that you get in touch with one of the organizers instead of pulling a mO... *sigh*
The email in it's entirety, for all the curious!
Hi all,
We're just about ready to launch into ALT.NET Open Spaces, Seattle. A few housekeeping notes:
- The space opens on Friday, 4/18 from 6pm to 8pm. Saturday we'll meet for sessions between 10am and 6pm. We'll wrap up on Sunday from 10am to 2pm.
- There is no shuttle service between the hotel (Marriott Town Center) and DigiPen (event location). Please arrange or offer rides if you can. It's Bring Your Own Ride, so be aware.
- Event details (location, maps, times) are always available at http://altdotnet.org/events/seattle/
- We are *FULL* and there are, I'm sorry to say, no "plus ones" at this point. We'll be doing a loose registration at the door and you have to be registered (you are if you're getting this message) to participate.
If you have any questions, please send me email. I'll do my best to answer promptly.
Looking forward to an exciting and productive meet-up!
/ Dave
Crashing The Party
Tuesday, April 15, 2008 7:52:13 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
So last night my wife and I booked our tickets to Seattle, Washington. I'm heading down this weekend in hopes that I'll be able to attend the ALT.NET conference. I'm currently sitting on the wait list to get in, but hopefully it all works out.
When the registration went up for the ALT.NET conference it was hard to predict what I would be doing and whether or not I would be able to attend. Now that it's a little closer to the date, it's a little easier to gage. Regardless of what happens we're super excited about visiting Seattle, and Redmond, Washington.
Cross your fingers for me!
Nothin But .NET Retrospective - Austin Texas Style
Sunday, April 13, 2008 8:23:35 PM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
What a week!! Well as I expected it was awesome, intense, and career altering. My wife, daughter and I traveled to Austin, TX to take part in the Nothin But .NET boot camp. We love Austin! It's an amazing city, and the people are fantastic. We often hear about how friendly Canadians are, but honestly it was unbelievable how kind people are in Austin. Every where you go people seem to be having fun and loving life. We spoke with bus drivers, cab drivers, people sitting at the bus stop, people at restaurants, people downtown.
My wife and daughter traveled the city using transit while I was in class all week. Everyday my wife would tell me stories about how nice people were to her. She dislikes taking transit here in Calgary but really found it fun and a pleasant experience in Austin. The buses are pretty cool. For $1 USD you get a ticket that lasts for 24 hours. When you get on the bus you swipe it at the front and get on. Bus drivers were so friendly and told stories and jokes during the ride. They really made an extra effort to help people in wheel chairs get on the bus. I'd never seen it before, but seems to be common. Awesome!
A lot of people we met in Austin, aren't originally from Austin. It seems that there are a lot of people currently migrating there. We were fortunate to meet a pretty cool cab driver named Ed. He moved to the states from Brazil and told us a lot about the city of Austin.
The course itself was awesome. There were students there from Austin, Winnipeg, Houston, Denver, Calgary, Louisiana, and even as far as Brazil. It's amazing how close you seem to get over such a short time. The same thing seemed to happen in the Calgary course. The collaborative environment really gets people to drop their defenses, open up and be comfortable with their current skill set knowing that it's only where they are today, but not where they'll be tomorrow.
There were so many great conversations about so many different topics. Everyone seemed to have great opinions and ideas to further and push the .NET community. Everyone in the room was definitely passionate about developing better software.
It was pretty cool to meet Scott Bellware, and here some of his ideas about .NET and software development in general. At first I didn't really get it, but by the last night it clicked in. I remember saying in my head... "He's right!" Scott is a super passionate person, and questions everything. I remember making it a motto to "question everything" and he truly does that well. The .NET community definitely needs a voice like Scott, to keep us all on our toes to make sure we pay attention to what we're doing, to expose more effective ways of doing things.
I realize that as a young dev that I'm part of the next generation, and it's important to me to learn from the trail blazers and continue pave new paths when they've finished.
One of the key things that Scott talked about was the concept of Solubility. "It's so easy to read that it melts into your brain." The new style of writing unit tests that target specific contexts make it so much easier to jump in to a specific context and continue to write in new chapters of the novel. I really enjoy reading code and tests that read like chapters from a novel. It's a higher level abstraction that allows me to focus on the problem domain rather then the technical details. Let the compiler do the interpreting...
It was so much fun being a teaching assistant. I love answering questions and helping out, at first I was pretty nervous but after being able to fix a few small issues I felt better. One of the things I learned this week was that when I didn't know the answer or wasn't sure it was important to make sure I made that known. The last thing I want to do is pass along incorrect information or pretend to know more than I do. I found that by just communicating that I didn't know the answer to a problem, that chances were that someone else in the room did. This is one of the reasons why the open, collaborative work space is so important. You can save so much time by just asking for help.
When we left Austin to go home, we were pretty sad to leave. The further we got away from Austin, the more we talked about how we could totally move to Austin... I can't wait to go back and help out at the next boot camp!
Get Listed
Tuesday, April 01, 2008 7:44:50 PM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
The month of March was definitely a busy one. The month of April will be another busy one. Yesterday I started my first day at eCompliance. I left ThoughtWorks to pursue the world of the start-up. So far it's been a lot of fun. Day one on the job I was hitting things that most developers are sheltered from. Although, a bit scary at times... it's been a super fun ride so far.
I managed to knock off a few goals from my list, I finished the second exam to earn an MCTS designation, I finished reading xUnit Test Patterns, and my family and I booked tickets to fly down to Austin, Texas for a week.
Last year it was a huge dream for me to be able to attend the Nothin' But .NET boot camp, and this year I'm proud to say that I will have the opportunity to help TA at the upcoming boot camp in Austin. I'm super nervous, and humbled that this opportunity is available to me. The best part is when my wife and I sit down, and cross things off our list of goals, together!
Since my wife and I sat down and wrote out our list of goals, things started happening almost immediately. We slapped ours on the side of the fridge so that we can take a peek at it as we walk by. It's been invaluable to us, and has helped us with making tough decisions.
One of the things I've learned is that my lists tend to change, but our list is pretty much the same since it started. I would go full force trying to accomplish things off my list, even if they were no longer important to me. I've started to adjust my lists, and I don't feel as bad as I thought I would when I don't knock things off my old lists. Hopefully, it's a sign of adapting to changes rather then settling for less.
A wise man once suggested that I get listed, and now I suggest you do the same!
Expired Knowledge
Sunday, March 16, 2008 2:03:21 PM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
I had an interesting conversation the other day about expired knowledge. On the current project I'm working on I'm realizing that there are a lot of gaps in my knowledge of WebForms. The other day, I told the person that I was pairing with that this chaotic abstraction of the web is confusing to me. My lack of knowledge of WebForms is not because I haven't learned it yet, it's because I didn't really want to.
I remember the first time I heard the term "complex page life cycle". It had no meaning to me so I googled it to find out what it mean. oh man.. oh man... i remember reading through some MSDN docs about the sequence of events that fire as a page is constructed, and thought to myself. I'm not going to memorize this. This is crazy....
What is an advanced knowledge of webforms going to mean to you in 5 years? how about 10 years? how about 20?
I have no idea what the future holds for me, but I do know that I want to be in software for quite a while, so I do my best to focus on knowledge of software development that wont expire quickly. I would much rather spend my time studying, the intricacies of new programming paradigms rather than learning the intricacies of some new framework.
It sucks when you're doing a demo of your work to a person from business, and they're more impressed by shiny things in the UI, rather than how well tested and loosely coupled your design is.
It's like an owner teaching it's dog that it will be rewarded for certain types of behavior. If I'm rewarded by spending my time learning about how to use the cool new AJAX controls, and shunned for spending my time trying to understand what the Liskov Substitution Principal means, then what am I more likely to do?
What's the moral to this story... don't feel bad, like I do, that you don't know the intricacies of some specific technology. Strive to understand what it is you're doing, and why you're doing it like that.
My focus for this year is to study:
- object oriented programming
- test driven development
- design patterns
What about you?
Interviews
Saturday, February 23, 2008 9:18:47 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
So this week I got to participate in 2 interviews for potential ThoughtWorks candidates. The first was a "cultural fit" interview. A group of ThoughtWorkers including myself took the candidate out for lunch where we just talked about things from our feelings and perceptions of what it means to be Agile to the different distinct accents within North America.
It was cool to do the interview as a group. I'm sure we all came away with different ideas and noticed different things about the candidate. But really it was just to see if we felt that the candidate would fit in within a team. Would I want to work with this person?
The second interview was a pairing interview. Eric and myself met with the prospect and locked ourselves up in the boardroom to work through a problem statement. Really it was whatever we could come up with as we were walking to the office. The way the interview is interpreted is based on the experience of the candidate coming in. In this case we wanted to see if the prospect was receptive to ideas, how familiar was he with OO, could he actually jock a keyboard. The interview went well, I thought!
After now having been on both sides of the TW interview process, I started to reflect on my own previous interview experiences...
In high school my buddy Jeremy and I applied for a position at McDonalds in our neighborhood. (Banff Trail what's up!?) We both got a call back for an interview, one after another so we went to the interview together. The hiring manager at the location sat us down together since we knew each other and interviewed us as a pair. It was fun, maybe to much fun... neither of us got hired.
After that I applied at Domino's Pizza, (right on Crowchild Trail, right across from ... "Banff Trail, what's up?") I got a call back for interview, and I showed up straight from school with my back pack and my blue fitted LA Dodgers hat tilted and tossed to the back. I was less interested in impressing the person hiring, and more interested in finding a job that would be fun. I somehow got the job...
In June of 2004, I had just finished my college diploma and still working at Domino's Pizza. I was sleeping in one morning, after working a closing shift at Domino's when I got a phone call.
Person on the phone: "Hi this is... Alex Smith, an instructor at SAIT. I spoke with Gary Funk, and he suggested you to me as a candidate for a C programming position. Would you be interested?"
Mo: "ahhh... yeah of course!"
Person on the phone: "Would you mind emailing me your resume so I can pass it along?"
Mo: "ahhh... yeah of course!"
....
So I jumped out of bed, spruced up my resume (hmm... should I put Domino's Pizza on or not?) in about 20 minutes and fired it off to Mr. Alex, and went back to sleep.
Around noon I got a phone call from a Mr. Sergio...
Sergio: "Hey Mo, my name is Sergio. I just got your resume from Alex and would like to meet with you. Are you interested?"
Mo: "ahhh... yeah of course!"
Sergio: "Can you be down here in about an hour?"
Mo: "ahhh... yeah of course! Down where??"
...
Lucky for me I was a delivery driver at the time, and my car was still operating (somewhat... I miss you Honda!) I slapped on some jeans, and collared shirt and got my butt down to his office. After about an hour, Sergio was showing me the point of sale terminals he was working on and the current code base. He was walking me through parts of the code base that he thought I would need to know about. It turned out that Sergio had a family emergency and had to leave the company...
So I got my first job as a programmer... it was literally that fast!
I once interviewed at Cambrian House, by a friendly gentleman named JR. He took me to a room with a table in the middle and a couple of people working on laptops. He pulled up an exercise ball sat on it, and offered me a chair to sit on. I don't remember the questions he asked me or what the position was even for... I didn't pursue the job, because I was starting a family at the time and was afraid to take the risk. (no benefits, long hours... startup y'know). On a side note, I later found out one of the people working in the room was a man by the name of Richard Hurst, who's been described as "One of Western Canada's top software developers." Opportunity missed!
I had 2 interviews with IDC. First a phone screen, then an in office meeting with the <something> Manager. I was in awe of his intelligence that I was afraid to ask questions. I was hired then left after a few months. (It wasn't the right cultural, or technical fit for me! Boo... VB6!)
When I had my in office interview at MediaLogic, I showed up in a suit. Man did I feel silly afterwards... I figured everyone downtown wore suits... I didn't know! When I walked in to the office I saw a pool table, with a bar style kitchen, a big flat screen TV, a dart board, with colored walls that can be moved around to change the shape of "cubes". (we later created the super cube for some of the dev team... long live the super cube!)
My in office interview was awesome, it was with the dev manager, Mr. Luu, and the team lead, Mr. Adam. I remember getting fired up when Adam started to grill me on questions about OO, and design patterns. I realized that I had a lot to learn but was infected by his passion. I had a second interview where I was given a problem that tested my knowledge of ASP.NET and ADO.NET and I bombed. My saving grace was that I went and talked to Adam about what I was trying to do, and basically walked him through my thinking. I got the job!
I interviewed at ATCO iTek. It started off with a phone screen, then they emailed me a technical assignment to solve, then I had an in house interview. At my in house I asked if I could meet the team, and the answer was a No. I accepted and then later turned down the job.
I should have learned from my first interview at Domino's Pizza. The moral of the story is... don't just try to impress the person hiring you. Make sure they impress you! Know what you want, ask lots of questions to find out if the place is what you want. If you don't know what you want, it's worth taking the time to figure it out before firing off resumes. I don't mean to sound like I'm a pro at interviewing, I'm not. Based on my experience, this is just how I see it so far...
Heroes
Wednesday, February 20, 2008 6:26:53 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
So there we were... my wife and I were sitting on the couch watching "Evan Almighty". Afterwards, we turned off the movie and I decided to check my email before going to bed and I noticed that I had received a comment from a... Mr. Chad Myers
I got so excited, of course I recognized the name. I started reading Los Techies a few months ago and have enjoyed reading several of Mr. Myers' posts. Most recently his post on the first 2 hours of TDD. It was last week when I read it, after reading it I read "Getting Over The TDD Hump" by Jimmy Bogard. After reading that I emailed my old manager and said:
Ahhh... the good ol' days. This post reminded me of last year...
Back to where I was going... I got so excited that an author whom I read regularly took enough interest in what I was doing to drop a few lines. (Yes geeky I know, my wife just looks at me with a raised eye brow when I go into my geek speak schhpiel about the blogosphere.)
What I'm trying to say is that there's so many hard working people out there who work hard to share good material. Who work hard to share their experiences... Although, I think of so many people on my blogroll as heroes, they're all just good people in the end. Many of whom would rather not be titled hero and would rather just a thank you.
So Thank You too all the great authors, who take the time to drop a post here and there to share their experience, the lessons they've learned and for keeping me company when I can't seem to articulate what I'm trying to say. Chances are there's a post some where out there than can convey the feeling that I'm trying to get across, so when I can't communicate the message effectively on the team I can point them to a post that can.
Maybe it's just me, but it seems like we all want to have someone to look up to. We're constantly putting people up on a pedestal then dropping them and moving on to the next hero.So how do you properly show appreciation to those, whom you feel you've learned a great deal from.
How do you say... Thank you so much <insert name here>, you've re-ignited my passion for <insert passion here> and you've shown me that it is possible to love what I do and be excited about getting up in the morning.
Thank you all!
Sleep Walking
Sunday, February 17, 2008 1:33:21 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Today I read...
A friend recommended this book, and I'm glad I listened to him. I found that when I started reading, I had trouble putting it down so I read the whole thing. The book starts off...
"A Nobody named Ordinary who lived in the land of Familiar."
After that, I realized a lot of this book was speaking about me. It explained the different people in my life and why they behave the way they do. I'm having trouble explaining why I enjoyed this book so much, maybe it's because right now I feel "stuck".
I feel like I've got something in me that's screaming to get out, but I just can't figure out what it is. Some day's I think it's my inner creativity burning to get out, and if I don't feel like I'm able to think creatively and try different things then I'm a sleep or that I might lose that "potential".
I know you can't see it yet, but I will become what I am.
One of the things that keeps me pumped up throughout my day is the opportunity to solve problems creatively. When the opportunity isn't there I feel like I can barely stay awake. Lately I've been struggling to stay awake. My passion for software development is low right now. My motivation to learn new things, and code is still there... but starting to dwindle away.
I'm working on a good project right now. The architecture is laid out, and big changes are a no no. The client is happy, so any suggested changes are kind of looked at with raised eye brows. I feel like a spec developer who gets handed a 7 page document for a story card that I have to implement. It's mostly just creating new screens and updating stored proc's (so far). (I very much dislike having to spend my time in the land of SQL, I am an object bigot.) So for a new dev, it's a pretty cozy job. For me it's not quite my "sweet spot". (I should tell you that it's only been about a month so far.)
Zzzz... I'm finding it difficult to find new and interesting things to blog about, and it almost seems forced these days. It seems like if I want to keep any sort of artistic creativity alive, I've got to do it on my own time. Not on work time!
I'm not complaining about my job, I'm just yearning for the past. Last year was a tonne of fun, at my old job. There was no one to blame but ourselves when things didn't work out. There was no pointing fingers at the people in another department on another floor. We were the team and there was no other floor. We were a tiny team that got to work on some big problems and in the process we got to flex our creative muscles.
Like any muscle if you don't exercise it regularly, it becomes weak. Right now my creative muscles feel rather weak. Today I sat my butt down to write some code, I had plans on demonstrating some ideas I thought of while riding the bus. But once I got started I found myself getting upset, and frustrated with myself. I can't explain it, I was just mad that I wasn't moving as fast as i wanted to be. My ideas were a tangled mess, and I just couldn't sort it out. I was just annoyed and disappointed with myself. (mO, mO, mO... breathe buddy... breathe!)
One of the reasons I was drawn to software development was because...
I suck at drawing!
I've always enjoyed art, music, and literature. When I found something that allowed me to be creative, and something that I thought I was pretty good at, I held on to it. But lately everything seems so familiar, so comfortable, so boring... Zzzz...
I can only imagine what my team members might think if they read this post. I only wish they could see how we developed software during the last few months of my last job. I remember during my phone interview with ThoughtWorks saying that
"If it's not ThoughtWorks, then I'm not leaving my job. I like the guys I work with and I'm having a lot of fun."
If I liked the guys I worked with and I was having fun, then why did I leave? Let's face it... I tell myself it was for the opportunity to grow and face new challenges. Well, I was growing and facing challenges where I was. In the end I realize it was for the money. I was not in a comfortable place, and instead of pushing through, I returned to the land of familiar. So there's the decision... comfort and familiarity or the "dream".
I admit that there were times when I was discouraged about the progress of my old team, but after now job hopping for a few years I see that it had been one of the greatest and most accelerated learning experiences of my life. I couldn't wait to get out of the Waste Land, and not have to worry about money. Now that I'm out, I see how the time in the waste land was actually a season of preparation, but I don't think I stayed long enough to appreciate it.
I've always wondered how much other people make, financially. Not so much because I'm greedy, but more because I don't want to look foolish when I'm asked "What's your expecting salary range?"
Here it is... the big secret most people seem to hold on to.
DataShapers Inc
- June. 15, 2004 - December. 15, 2006
- Starting Salary: $30, 000.00 CAD/Year
- Ending Salary: $45, 000.00 CAD/Year
Imaging Dynamics Corporation
- December. 18, 2006 - February. 04, 2007
- Starting Salary: $43, 000.00 CAD/Year
- Ending Salary: $43, 000.00 CAD/Year
MediaLogic Inc.
- February. 12, 2007 - January. 11, 2008
- Starting Salary: $40, 000.00 CAD/Year
- Ending Salary: $43, 000.00 CAD/Year
ThoughtWorks Inc.
January. 16, 2008 - Present
- Starting Salary: $55, 000.00 CAD/Year
If anything this should satisfy the person who's been googling "How much money does a software developer make?"
In The Trenches With 3.5
Sunday, February 10, 2008 11:34:02 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
I seriously can't get enough of school. It's only been about a month since I haven't been in some sort of course and I've already got an itch for the next one. I was just sitting here reading through the course abstract for Mr. Donald Belchams Nothin' But .NET Course, and it sounds awesome.
In fact I learned something from just reading the abstract. There's a new collection to toy with, HashSet<T>. It's a generic collection that contains unique elements.
Read here for more info....
Back to what I was saying... Donalds course on C# 3.0 and the .NET 3.5 sounds awesome. If I didn't just start a new course I would definitely be attending... I would so love to attend this course.
So if you're in the Edmonton area or feel like getting down with a lil' 3-5 action you should check it out.
Gettin' jiggy with .NET 3.5 between March. 31, 2008 - April. 04, 2008
I keep reading all this stuff about courses being to expensive. It does sucks that school can cost so much, but there's no greater investment then in your own growth. If you're passionate about what you do, you need to be a student of your profession, and you need to get in touch with others who are also passionate.
School isn't necessarily for everyone, but the classroom is a great way to foster new ideas and ways of thinking. Getting away from the hard deadlines and added pressures of a work environment and focusing on the "fun" is what school should be about. I'm excited to read all the posts about the course afterwards, it sounds like it'll be a lot of fun. If anything, Mr. Donald should be able to put you in touch with some of the great community up in Edmonton.
In my humble opinion, you can't afford NOT to go!
Lonely, so very lonely
Friday, February 01, 2008 4:00:16 PM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
So it's been a lonely 2 weeks at home with no wife and daughter. Allison and Adia went to go visit grandpa for a couple of week while I was supposed to be at ThoughtWorks immersion in India. Not only that but we still don't have internet/phone/cable hooked up at our place yet. I'm not missing the cable or phone as much. But life without internet is...
"No cable, no phone, no internet makes mo go <something, something>..."
So not only did I not go to immersion, but I also sat my butt at home alone reading poetry.
In the Depths of Solitude
I exist in the depths of solitude pondering my true goal.
Trying 2 find peace of mind and still preserve my soul.
Constantly yearning 2 be accepted and from all receive respect.
Never comprising but sometimes risky and that is my only regret.
A young love with an old soul.
How can there be peace?
How can I be in the depths of solitude when there are 2 inside of me.
This duo within me causes the perfect opportunity.
2 learn and live twice as fast as those who accept simplicity.
- Tupac Shakur
To read more check out....
Poor mO!
Nervously Excited
Monday, January 07, 2008 10:04:17 PM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
So where the heck have I been? Well it's a brand new year and it's been busy. Right now Alli, Adia and I are living in a spare bedroom at Alli's mom's. It's been kind of hectic moving out of our old place and shoving everything we own into a garage but also fun at the same time. (define fun for us, mO!)
This is my final week of work at MediaLogic and it's a little sad to think that I wont be walking in to the ML studio next Monday morning, but it's been fun. I received a lot of kind feedback from my last post. Thank you to everyone who took the time to write and leave comments, it's nice to know that the universe cares and that there are kind people out there. I hope I didn't paint a grim picture of being underpaid and up against all odds. In fact I've had a pretty good life and really the financial pit falls from last year are from my own doing. In fairness to ML, I receive a decent entry level salary!
School and ambition can be expensive, warn your spouse!
In other news, I stopped by the Calgary ThoughtWorks office today to drop off 2 passport photos and a copy of my driver's license. I was all set to go to the 2 week immersion course in India, but I found out today that wont be happening. I'm a little disappointed, but at the same time flattered because they're tossing me on to a project ASAP. Which means the ThoughtWorkers who were part of my interview process have faith that I'm ready to leap on to a project. There's still lots of time for travel. *sigh*
I did find out which project that I'll be jumping onto and who I'll be working with. I'm so nervously, excited that I can't wait to jump in and meet the team, but I also feel like I could vomit all over myself at the same time. (hopefully it doesn't happen at the same time!)
I walked out of the office with a copy of "Pragmatic Version Control" by Mr. Mike Mason. My stack of books is increasing. I've now got "Extreme Programming Explained", "Hackers and Painters", "Introduction to Algorithms" and "Pragmatic Version Control using Subversion" waiting for me.
So I'm filled with many emotions these days. The transition between jobs is definitely a weird place to be in, especially when you're leaving a place you enjoy working at. It's definitely important to me to keep in touch with the guys at ML because I feel like I've done a lot of growing with them, and it also makes me want to reconnect with some of the people I used to work with.
I can imagine what it might feel like to be a young rookie entering the big leagues. If I get some ice time, I might even score a couple!
Some thoughts that go through my mind are?
"Did I over sell myself? I don't think I did. I tried to be honest about my skill sets. I guess if I did, they'll be exposed pretty quick. So I will have to ramp up quickly."
"I hope I don't disappoint the new team. I'm not sure what they're expectations of me are, but I better work my butt off to exceed them."
"Will I make it past the probationary period? Will the team even like me?"
I know these are just thoughts and most of them I shouldn't even worry about. Just show up, work hard and be respectful. I still can't help but think the above thoughts.
I imagine I'll be the youngest on the team, I'm kind of used to it now. I was the youngest person to graduate from high school in my graduating class. I was always the youngest person in my class all through grade school. The benefit has always been that I got to hang out with the older kids. The disadvantage is that I got to hand out with the older kids. Sometimes it feels like I might have grown up to quickly, and sometimes it feels like I haven't grown up quick enough.
I suppose my age is my advantage, and that doesn't last for long. There's always going to be someone faster, younger, and smarter then me. Hopefully, that doesn't deter me from attempting to reach my potential but also doesn't allow me to grow an inflated ego.
So what does all this ranting really mean? I guess inside I'm still just a 23 year old kid.
2007 Retrospective
Monday, December 31, 2007 9:04:44 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
It's been an amazing year of ups and downs. Our family is fortunate that we've had many more high's then lows and sometimes I lose sight of that. The new year is a great time to reflect on the past year and to look forward to the new year. I've been forming this post in my mind for a while now. Thinking back to everything our family was able to accomplish. And if you're interested I'd like to walk you down our journey of 2007.
In January I was working at a place that I didn't feel comfortable in. It was stressful because I just wasn't happy with where I was, and where I was going. I was a below average software dev and didn't know which direction I wanted to go or whether I wanted to seriously take on software as my craft. I eventually decided that I was unhappy because I didn't feel that my skill sets were up to par and that I really wanted to jump into this exciting world we call .NET development. The world of C and VB6 quickly lost it's charm and a dispute with a co-worker about use of racial slurs was the end for me. I developed the fire in my belly to get better.
I began the first of 5 courses at SAIT to work towards a C# programming certificate. I started heavily reading blogs, in particular JP's. I have to say that his passion for development was so contagious that I felt I truly could excel at software development and I was having fun while doing it. As I finished off course textbooks one after another I came across a post by Justice Gray where he planned to read several books in a span of several weeks. I looked up JP's book list and made it a goal to devour every book on that list. I haven't finished them all but I have read quite a few of them now.
In February I started work at MediaLogic as a full fledged C# developer. I'm fortunate that they saw potential in me and took me on as a junior to help me grow. The environment here at MediaLogic allowed me to flourish in ways that I never imagined possible. I also started to listen to more and more podcasts at this time. It became a ritual to either listen to pod casts or read books while riding the bus to and from downtown every day.
In April, I attended that Calgary Code Camp. I was looking through my notebook the other day and found a slip of paper that had a schedule for presentations that I wanted to attend at the Calgary Code Camp in April. The slip had presentations by Terry Thibodeau, James Kovacs, Jean-Paul S. Boodhoo, Steven Rockarts, and Donald Belcham. As I read over the slip I realized that at the time I wrote on the piece of paper and at the time I sat through they're presentations I never thought I would be able to actually get to know some of these people or even be able to fully understand some of the content they delivered. I've now had the privilege of shaking hands with many of the above mentioned names and I think (I think...) some of them may even know me by name.
In August, I stared at what I thought would be a record low bank balance. I remember feeling quite scared, feeling like I had no control and was quite worried about how I would be able to keep our family a float. I remember a lot of sleepless nights, which I now realized helped me excel even faster. Failure was not an option.
In September, I read a couple of books by Robin Sharma and attended a live presentation by him. I remember thinking that I thought he would be taller. But it seems some of the greatest minds make up in thought for what they lack in height.
I also remember staring that the ThoughtWorks web site for weeks reading through everything that I could, contemplating about whether I was ready or whether I would make the cut. I read about Martin Fowler and about a company who's values were inline with my own and offered opportunities that I could only dream of. I eventually decided to take the plunge and apply, I figured if I didn't have what it takes at least I want to find out what I need to focus on.
In October, I spent the month heavily studying towards my first MCTS exam. I travelled up to Edmonton and shook hands and had lunch with the legendary Justice Gray, where he introduced me to several other passionate developers up in the Edmonton community.
In November, we celebrated my daughters first birth day. I completed the first exam towards an MCTS designation, I attended the infamous week long Nothin' But .NET Boot Camp, had my in office interview at ThoughtWorks, began my fifth and final course at SAIT, and caught the very last presentation at the Alberta Tech Festival by Gerard Meszaros.
In December, we celebrated a wonderful Christmas filled with family and joy. We hit a new record low bank balance but realized that it might be the last for a while when I received an offer for full time employment at ThoughtWorks. The new year will no doubt be one of the most challenging ones so far. Bring it on 2008!
¿I Guess I'm Famous?
Sunday, December 30, 2007 11:21:51 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Well you know you're famous when your caricature is painted up on the side of a wall, but when a bar is named after your high school nickname it takes it to a whole new level of celebrity.
Yup, my father in law finally realized his dream of owning a bar in Mexico. If you're interested "YoYo Mo's" can be found in Bucerias, Nayarit, Mexico.
My buddy Lanky, drew the cartoon character of me while we were in high school. Like so many other drawings he sketched I hung on to them like gold.
The originals:
Santa's Little Helper
Saturday, December 29, 2007 8:24:16 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Show me a picture of a cuter girl. I dare ya!
Free School
Friday, December 21, 2007 10:20:13 PM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
So it's Friday night and what could be more fun then reading through the MIT Open Course Ware?
One of the first PDF's I cracked open was on getting set up. It started off with a discussion on getting to know your IDE, then your version control and finally your unit testing framework. Did you hear me? This is what you learn at the start of the course, it's almost dumb silly but I unfortunately this isn't the norm in school today. At my first programming job, I remember asking "what's source safe?" I was fresh out of school and had no concept of what source control was. I can now appreciate how important it is to get to know your IDE, your version control (subversion yay, source safe boo!), and of course unit testing frameworks. By the way this MIT course was from 2 years ago... Those MIT grads must be so far ahead of the average grad.
As I was reading through some of the material I gathered some notes and quotes that I found uber helpful. Some of it is listed below:
"I concluded that there are two ways of constructing a software design: One way is to make it so simple there are obviously no deficiencies and the other way is to make is so complicated that there are no obvious deficiencies."
How to 'Keep is simple, stupid' (KISS)
- avoid clever hacks, complex algorithms & data structures
- don't use most obscure programming language features
- don't optimize until proven necessary
- be skeptical of complexity
- don't be overambitious: spot 'creeping featurism' and the 'second system effect'.
"...it's easy to make something complicated, but hard to make something truly simple."
So my SAIT courses are almost wrapped of for the year, and I've been thinking about what kind of schooling I want to do next year. MIT Open Course Ware here I come!
P.S. If you're into jungle, I just found a pretty fresh collection of jungle beats!
Believe The Hype
Thursday, December 20, 2007 4:50:40 PM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
I'm so spoiled, spoiled, spoiled! Since our Nothin' But .NET experience last month, 3 lucky contestants including myself were issued our... "Cool Kids Club Card" from Mr. JP himself!
What I'm trying to say is that JP's taken an interest in our work and has been meeting with us as often as he can to discuss what we're currently working on. Sean calls it our "Agile Therapy".
If you're not already doing it, start your own "Agile Group Therapy" with your team where you can just discuss the up's and downs of the project (some people call it the sprint retrospective, but I think "Agile Group Therapy" is a cooler name.) I've found it super helpful to just get in touch and talk. (Why am I so touchy, feely today?)
Back to what I was saying. With our weekly discussions we get a preview of some of the events coming up in the life of JP. Without saying to much... Next year is going to be awesome! (Some might even say awesome, blossom!)
Time for a scolding...
Shame on you kids out in College Station, Texas. It's only a few weeks away and I can't believe the January boot camp hasn't sold out yet. Sure, sure it's a "fundamentals" course, but how many of us actually know the core "fundamentals" of .NET. Do you really know events, delegates, generics, app domains, threading... Do you really know it?
I surely don't... I've only started to skim the surface. This is definitely a course that I would love to attend. I'm telling you, that it's probably going to be a lot more "fundamental" then what you might think a typical .NET "fundamentals" course is all about. Shame on you, go Register!
Nothin But .NET Fundamentals Course Abstract
Nothin But .NET is expanding, and next year sounds like it's going to be an awesome year for new courses... and... *drumroll* ...new instructors!
No... no... not me... I've got a lot of growing up to do still! They're people you probably already know...
One last lesson from today's session is all about VIM.
Software Sucks
Wednesday, December 19, 2007 2:51:15 PM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Next month my family and I are moving to a new place. So today I made a list of people & companies that I needed to contact to update my address. I really only expected to take about an hour to update my address at 15 different places.
It turns out that this simple task of changing my address is taking me close to an entire work day. Why? Because "Software sucks!"
It's literally unbelievable how many hoops a customer service representative has to jump through in order to make this simple change. I just spent 20:04 minutes speaking with a customer service rep from SAIT to change my address. During that 20+ minutes I heard him say things like:
"It's not allowing me to save."
"It's saying you have a bunch of primary phone numbers."
"It's saying it's locked."
"I have to get a hold of a technical person."
What? I'm sure the first thing most people are thinking is that this person didn't know how to use a computer. Even if that was the case, which I don't think it was, why would he be made to use one then!? Would software actually be the correct solution to help him be more productive? I felt like this guy knew what was going on and was working towards my best interest.
I had the same issue while speaking with a representative from SHAW. I spent 11:05 minutes on the phone with this gentleman. He told me that because the address wasn't in the system he couldn't change my address. He had to send an email to a "technical" person so that they could add the address to the system, so that he could change my address. Does this sound crazy to you? Why is there this dependence on the "technical" people to get things done. IMHO, because "technical" people never gathered the necessary feedback while they were building the system. Software should empower it's users, not inhibit them!
The gentleman at SAIT noticed that there were a few mistakes in regards to my account so he took it upon himself to fix those errors. But in the process of doing so, he was stopped by several "technical" hurdles. Which I assume is the reason why previous customer service rep's didn't take action earlier. Because they saw "the technical hurdles" and knew that it would just slow them down.
As I was on the phone with this person I asked him questions like...
"Did anyone ask you for your feedback when they were building this software?".
His response ... "No! Why would they do that!?"
My response, "because you're the one using the software... maybe!???".
He proceeded to tell me about software and how it's built. He said they get these different consultants to come in and build different parts of a system. He said it was like getting 2 different groups to build each side of a bridge. And when they try to put the bridge together, it doesn't fit so they duct tape it together to make it "work".
He is so right, why is this the norm for software development? Why is it that we think it's ok to have to rely on our "technical" people to solve problems that shouldn't be there in the first place. If this gentleman's feedback was asked for during the construction of the software, most of these hurdles probably would have been addressed then. Maybe then... he could actually be the productive employee that he wants to be, and I can get a long with my day!
Who thought changing and address could be so hard!
Hosting DasBlog on GoDaddy for the young, fabulous and broke
Thursday, November 22, 2007 8:52:07 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
When I moved my DasBlog on to GoDaddy I found that my captcha controls (comment view and email view) were no longer showing. In the event log I was reading the following exception...
I'm paying for the cheapest possible plan i could find on GoDaddy which was the Economy Plan, I'm not sure if this following step is necessary if you're paying for a virtual dedicated host.
"System.TypeInitializationException: The type initializer for 'Gdip' threw an exception. ---> System.DllNotFoundException: Unable to load DLL 'gdiplus.dll':"
DasBlog doesn't ship with "Gdiplus.dll" so you'll have to download it and drop it into the bin directory.
Thanks for your help, Mr. Justice!
While I'm at it, I should drop a plug for...
It's catered to an American audience, but I really enjoyed it. It was a fresh and funky take on finances.
A Week Of New Beginnings
Wednesday, November 21, 2007 7:13:55 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
It's been an emotional roller coaster this week. On Monday, my daughter Adia turned 1 years old. I can't believe she's already one, and she's growing so fast. This year she's taught me lessons about growth and laughter among many other things.
Last night my night class was canceled so I was able to attend a farewell dinner. My wife sister, Lisa, and her boyfriend are starting a new journey today. In about half an hour they will be starting a drive down to Mexico where they're planning to start their new life together.
I really didn't know how I was going to take it all, but I think I cracked this morning when my wife was in the fetal position under the covers on our bed telling me about how she just said good bye to her sister on the phone. I shed a couple of tears! (please don't tell her)
It's hard to come by good friends, and as you get older it seems at times that it's even more difficult. I know Allison and her sister were very close. They spent a lot of time together, and now seeing my wife lose a friend that she see's on a daily basis hurts a little.
My daughter, Adia, is sure going to miss her auntie Lisa and uncle Tony. Have a safe trip guys and don't forget to write. Take care!
Speechless
Friday, November 16, 2007 1:34:08 PM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Yesterday I was completely speechless when I found out about the kind gesture performed by a kind friend. But right now I'm speechless again!
"If you guys are going to lead the way and are going to get some time in the spotlight you need to look independent, innovative and “business savvy” not just computer “geeks”; and I say this with the utmost respect. I want to, and am marketing you guys on a daily basis and you will see some stuff slowly coming in now but there is no reason why you guys can not promote yourselves and work on your image, as vain as it may seem."
The above statement was a comment I received in my inbox due to JP's post on Multiplying Leadership. I read this email over and over again, and in it I found some hurtful words. I'm not sure if the intent of the author was to shake me up and set me straight or what.
Honestly, I would prefer to let the business people take care of looking "business savvy", it doesn't interest me. My web site, and my blog is not a marketing ploy to help me sell a package product. It allows me to do the same thing that my journal and sketchbook due..
It allows me to express myself!
I always thought that people who sought after positions of authority usually weren't the type of people who should be in positions of authority. I shy away from such positions, because it's a huge responsibility when you think about potentially impacting other lives.
I am a geek, and I'm proud!
The Root Of All Ignorance
Friday, November 16, 2007 9:01:16 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
When I was younger, I had a good friend who would invite me over to his place almost every evening. It awesome, we hung out and had a lot of good times at his place. After a few years his mom started dating some new guy, and things started to change. I would come over and when it was time for dinner I was told to wait downstairs, I wasn't allowed to come up during dinner. Weird... but ok!
It turned out that his mom's new boy friend didn't want me to sit with them at the dinner table. After dinner, my friend was usually quite angry about something the new boyfriend said at the dinner table.
At that time I formed the opinion that the root of all ignorance starts at the dinner table.
It's so subtle, but it does. When you're heads down buried in your meal and your parents are making back hand comments about other people and races you subconsciously pick up these ignorant ideas. I think many people don't realize the effect that a few slight of hand comments have on their young ones. It could be as subtle as criticizing a co-worker and bringing up their race, which really had no place in the conversation in the first place. Who care's if so and so is of color X, or is from county Y. Is it really relevant to the conversation at hand.
Last night, I continued to extend this thought when I realized that things are worse then I thought when I was younger. Many families now tend to eat in front of the TV. When you're staring at a TV show you're almost in a trance like state. It's almost like your subconscious is open to any form of suggestion, good or bad. While watching the news last night, I overheard one of our family members making some comments that immediately struck a nerve in me. But I realized that no one else had picked up on it. Or if they did, nothing was said.
I too said nothing, but started to think about what kind of impact this comment would have had if my daughter were just a few years older and also sitting in the room. Would she develop negative feelings towards a certain group of people without truly understanding why? Could it have been caused by an ignorant comment made a family member that she loves, at a time when her defenses are completely down.
It bothers me when I hear some drop comments like that, and I recognize that I am hyper sensitive. I'm still having trouble forming an idea on how to effectively deal with situations like that. I'm not confrontational by nature, but I really just want to ask "What makes you think like that?", "Do you really believe that?".
It seems that by doing so puts people in a defensive posture, it doesn't usually change the way they think. They end up putting a filter on when you're around.
Still Buzzing
Tuesday, November 13, 2007 7:11:03 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Yesterday, I had my first trip out to the back country to go quading. This was my first experience out in the forest and on an ATV. It was a lot of fun, and a I'm feeling a little sore this morning from it. While we were out there I saw lots of wildlife. I don't know why but I felt like a little kid, I just couldn't stop staring at all the animals, the hills, the trees, the mountains and the forest. It was so very calming.
I thought I was going to spend the day contemplating how to deal with different events currently taking place in my life, but in the end the exact opposite happened. When you're out traversing the rough terrain you've got to put all your focus on over coming the land. I found the day to be just what I needed. I didn't need a day to think, I needed a day to not think and I feel like I have a clearer mind for it.
Within the first 10 minutes of traversing the terrain we came across a hunter gutting a dear on the back of his pickup. I had not seen a sight like this before, and it struck me deeply. To stare at the lifeless dear in the eyes as the hunter held a thick blade with blood dripping from his hands. It seemed barbaric, but in hindsight it's probably not as barbaric as how our meat gets processed in large factories. Either way I felt weird and fuzzy inside.
I'm still buzzing from the Nothin But .NET boot camp last week. My dreams last night can prove that I am. I'm not sure how many times I woke up in the night trying to recite the many different patterns we covered last week. I'm so looking forward to reviewing the countless hours of video from the week.
I think one of the aspects that made the week so enjoyable was the people. I've been to a couple of week long courses before where you show up at 9am and leave at 5pm. You don't feel like you really got to know anyone and you don't feel like like you've gained a lot from the experience. Besides touring a new city of course.
Because of the atmosphere that was put in the place it felt like we were all on a level playing field. It felt like we forgot about our fears of looking good or bad to our peers. It felt like a culture for learning. We all quickly shed our thick skins to really open ourselves up and be vulnerable, I think this made the week long event so much more fulfilling. I feel like I really got to know some really kind people, and hopefully some relationship from the event will blossom and continue to grow. I think I went into the event wanting to be the weakest link, so that I could grow to become the strongest one. In the end I don't really remember caring about which link in the chain I actually was.
So today is the first day back in the real world. Today is the day that I decide to either start practicing the gospel from last week, or I go back to the way things were. Today is a pivotal day!
When I reflect on this year, I think back to January when I remember feeling like I had no options. I felt like I had no idea what direction to take my career and where I would end up. I felt like I had few options. After less than a year of dedicated hard work, and extreme focus I feel like I'm starting to develop a few new options that seem to be gateways to long lasting career paths. I'm looking forward to reflecting 5 years from now after 5 solid years of dedicated hard work and extreme focus. I can only imagine good things.
Is it just me or am I really "touchy", "feely" today?
Photo's From The Nothin But .NET Boot Camp
Monday, November 12, 2007 9:39:33 PM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Along with the collection of photos, (Thank you Mr. Clement), I suggest you check out Sean and Adams' notes on the week long boot camp. Follow the links below:
Adam:
Sean:
To find out more about the intense week long boot camp check out JP's site.
A Truly Humbling Experience
Monday, November 12, 2007 12:39:03 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
I know that I'm a junior developer. (Really I do!) I'm always going to be a junior developer, because of one thing. I don't care how good others are or how I rank up next to them. I'm always going to judge myself as junior compared to how good I can be. Dude, I couldn't care less how "good" I'm supposed to be at my age. There's always going to be someone faster, smarter, and better looking then me, and I'm cool with that.
Last week's experience at the "Nothin But .NET Boot Camp" was humbling. Why? Because I realized that my life is pretty darn good.
There are people who have faced so much more adversity then I will probably ever face, and wake up every morning enjoying life. This year I've been allowing myself to play the role of "please feel sorry for me, my life is so hard and I'm not sure I can make it." Last week, I realized that I need to smarten the heck up. My life is pretty good! The day to day battle with money, are trivial in the long run. I have a beautiful wife and daughter who love me dearly. How hard could my life possibly be?
"Success it not to be measured by one's status in society, but rather by the obstacles one over comes." - Booker T. Washington
Software development has taken over my life. It really has, I live, breathe, eat, and sleep thinking about patterns and curly braces. I hold my daughter in my arms as I'm rocking her to sleep thinking about code, and I feel guilty about doing it. Why is it that when my wife is talking to me about things that happened to her during the day, I'm drifting off thinking about how I need to be on the computer hammering out an idea for a block of code? Dude, I suck!
When I picture success...
- I picture myself sitting on pillows next to a warm fire with my wife staring me lovingly in the eyes. With our two healthy kids upstairs sleeping. Knowing that at that very moment, we had the freedom to do anything we wanted to do. That doesn't mean that we would, it's just the feeling of knowing that you could.
- I picture myself sitting on a rocking chair on our porch out on a hot summers day reading biographies of great people. Knowing that if at any moment my wife, children or grand children needed me, that I could be there for them in less than a second.
So if this is my picture of success, why am I not fully present when I'm with my family. Why am I consumed by code?
Software development was a means to an end. But it's becoming an end to what was meaningful. Coming home on Saturday to my wife and daughter brought me a lot of joy. After not having seen them for most of the week, it helped me realized how much I love and care for them and helped me remember why it is that I'm buried deep in books, and why I care so much about my craft of software development.
Loose Ends
Sunday, November 04, 2007 10:04:21 PM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Wow! Today has been a day of trying to tie up loose ends for me. There have been so many items that I have just been putting off so that I can tackle other things. My goal for this weekend was to complete as many unfinished things so that I can forget about them before boot camp starts tomorrow.
It just seems like the more I was able to finish, the more stuff I needed to finish. I really wanted to go into class tomorrow feeling completely refreshed without any things nagging me in the back of my mind. However, I have a feeling throughout the week I'm going to keep thinking of things I haven't finished.
For instance one item just popped into my head right now as I write this... I'm off to pay off our Alberta Health Care, as soon as I figure out why our daughter is crying.
Needless to say, I will be completely unavailable this week. I'm so excited that tomorrow is finally around the corner. I have been wanting to attend JP's "Nothin' But .NET Boot Camp" for some time now. I still can't believe that I was able to get my act together, as well as the funds to take part in what should be a super fun week.
It was a little stressful, getting funds together then getting a hold of a laptop but so many people helped in making this possible. Thank you for lending me a laptop. Thank you for purchasing books for me so that I could have the confidence to walk into the course. Thank you for encouraging me to pursue what seems impossible. Thank you for your patience.
Thanks to everyone who's helped in trying to get me to boot camp, I think you know who you are!
Encouraging Conversation
Friday, November 02, 2007 12:29:49 PM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Here's a conversation I had with my manager, Luu, before going to write exam 70-536
11/2/2007 10:24:58 AM
Luu: good skills on your test Mo, relax and do some light reading for a bit....don't worry about studying last minute it never helps
11/2/2007 10:25:12 AM
mO: really?
11/2/2007 10:25:17 AM
mO: Thanks so much Mr. Luu!
11/2/2007 10:25:31 AM
mO: i'm so anxious right now, i cant stop tapping my feet.
11/2/2007 10:25:49 AM
Luu: yeah last minute things only confuse and make you stress
11/2/2007 10:26:16 AM
Luu: like for 1 hour before the test don't look at anything having to do with the test
11/2/2007 10:26:24 AM
mO: what should i do?
11/2/2007 10:27:06 AM
Luu: listen to some of joels music and read some blogs... not having to do with programming
11/2/2007 10:27:49 AM
mO: music actually might get me to relax.
11/2/2007 10:27:59 AM
Luu: that's fine but i would stop working at 11 and relax
11/2/2007 10:28:18 AM
mO: i think you're right, thank you for being a great manager Mr. Luu!
11/2/2007 10:28:56 AM
Luu: just suggestions... your welcome
11/2/2007 10:29:10 AM
Luu: you'll do fine... actually probably great
11/2/2007 10:29:23 AM
mO: thanks Luu, i feel like I've done what i can do.
11/2/2007 10:29:35 AM
mO: so i'm pretty happy about that.
11/2/2007 10:31:20 AM
Luu: yep... let fate do the rest
I passed! Thanks Luu...
Developing a Culture For Learning
Wednesday, October 31, 2007 7:41:04 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
So yesterday at work we completed our sprint retrospective for the previous sprint, and as I was reading through the list I thought that this was pretty amazing stuff. So I thought I would share some of what we discussed. First off here's the unfiltered lists from our white board (sorry no images):
Things to keep doing:
- Pairing on problems that are complex.
- More testing = more confidence
- sharing knowledge
- retrospective.
Things to change or remove:
- On certain tasks use pairing
- Dedicate time to acceptance testing
- Need product owner here & communication to users we are building it for.
- using Crystal or not.
- listen to community
- sprint plan changes.
- trying to do before approval.
- disruptions on task at hand
- get better at estimating
- flexible for meetings. (they push our sprint timelines.)
Our list for things to keep doing was short, but the discussion was quite "tall". I felt like we all felt like we had accomplished a lot and felt that we were making some drastic improvements in our development.
The discussion on pairing came up, and I suggested that I really enjoyed pairing with some of the other guys and that it had helped me immensely with dealing with limitations with Crystal reports. It was my first time using it, so i really wanted to get into the guts of it to understand how it all comes together. I found that by pairing we were able to fire off new ideas, on "workarounds" to get what we wanted from Crystal. Who thought that building a table of contents without using a database, data sets, or data tables could be so hard!
More testing equals more confidence. I totally back this statement up! I really feel that getting in to a test first mind set has definitely helped me ramp up my skills as a developer. It's helped me to understand .NET in general at a much faster rate then I think I would have without it. I'm more confident about the code that I write, and I feel like I'm getting closer and closer to understanding and recognizing "separation of concerns".
Sharing knowledge, isn't that what teams are all about. It's difficult for us as individuals to go spike the world and learn about every single topic, but it's more achievable when you do it as a team. I find that when learning a new topic, there's always some friction when getting going. Like where do i get good info? where do i start? where do i get what i need? By distributing the "friction" you can ramp up faster and focus on what's important.
Retrospective. I've really enjoyed our sprint retrospectives, it's become a time for us as a group to reflect on small milestones and to help identify things that helped us and hindered us in our work. I always seem to learn something new or in the back of my mind say ... "He's so right, I didn't notice that." It's a great way to expose blind spots "quickly".
Our list of things to remove or change is a little bigger, in our last sprint I think we recognized more things that hindered us from delivering more value to our customer(s). If it were up to me, I would like to pair more! I really think it's a great way to cross train, and learn more of a code base. You lose that feeling of "that's mO's code". None of it is my code, in the end it all belongs to either my employer or the client. (Intellectual Property) It also helps with getting longer more focused sessions of development. In an 8 hour work day, I would love to say that I spend 4 hours pairing with another, 2 hours working on things on my own, and 2 hours for personal development.
Testing, right now we're having some difficulties with our client. We're trying to get rid of the "surprise", by that I'm referring to when they see features in demo that they didn't expect, or things that were missing that they did expect. I think we were thinking talking about testing, we were talking about getting more feedback, earlier! Sometimes it seems like the client has an expectation of how a piece of functionality should work, but that thought isn't captured properly.
We would love to have more access to our clients, especially a product owner. By trying to get more involvement from the PO, we believe we'll have less surprises, and will deliver more value. Value that can be defined daily if possible!
Crystal reports is a terrible product, we need to spike some alternatives to enable us to build reports how we want to. A tool should allow us to use it in a way we want it too work, not demand expectations of us before we can use it. For example, if I call a method such as "GetLastPageNumber()" I expect it to give me the correct value, not throw an exception when it's a sub report and sometimes work when it's a parent report. I would also like more options then data sets and data tables, like custom collections.
Listen to the community, this was a point made in regards to Crystal. On the advice of JP, and several posts out on the net. We found a consensus that Crystal Reports was a deprecated product, not worthy of current industry demands. Some alternatives that were suggested were "Active Reports.NET" and "Reporting Services".
Sprint plan changes, referred to major changes in priority during the sprint. We've all heard that "Change Is The Only Constant" especially in software development, but if we can reduce the chances of major changes by getting feed back early, it would help to keep our dev's focused and better able to deliver value. Faster!
We need to slow down sometimes, it sucks but it's true. Sometimes we itch at the opportunity to jump in, when really it would save us all a lot of hurt if we just waited for client feedback before getting started. I'm not sure how to best deal with this, but sometimes the wait just sucks, so if we can use down time to learning and improving might be more productive!
Disruptions are disruptive. In code complete, Steve McConnell eluded to disruptions being equivalent to juggling, while holding something in the air. I don't remember the exact line, but I remember reading it and thinking "This is so true." I equate to being like riding your bike and picking up moment, when all of a sudden you are hit by a bus.
Get better at estimating, we were completely off with one task in our last sprint. I think we need more practice at breaking up stories and offering estimates. Perhaps we need to also look at how we choose stories, are they epic?
Death by meetings, ugh... Although often necessary, some seem to drag on more then they should. We need to get better at time boxing and say no to invitations. Sometimes we just may not want to attend every meeting invitation, although turning them down can be hard.
Alright, Now I'm Up In The Cloud
Tuesday, October 30, 2007 9:59:43 PM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Today I decided enough was enough. For the last 3 or so years, I have hosted my personal web site from a server that I ran from home. Using a combination of DynDns.org and a 2nd IP from from my ISP, I've routed people to my home server each time they punched in http://mokhan.ca Given that I was never paying for a business line and I was using my residential Internet service to host a web site, my upload rate was slow and up time was horrific. Until today, that was more then enough for me to host my site because I never really had much traffic, until recently.
If you've ever visited my site before, you've probably agonized over trying to load a single page. I apologize for taking so long to do this, but today I moved my site to a dedicated web host. Hopefully, you'll be able to count on better uptime for mokhan.ca.
It really was way over due... good bye my Mr. mO's home server, and thank you for your tireless service.
P.S. for anyone interested in hosting their dasBlog on GoDaddy, I found it super easy to set up so I would recommend it!
Set Short Term Goals
Tuesday, October 30, 2007 5:47:52 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
So at work last week, our leader asked us to come up with a set of goals, and incentives to meet those goals. Here is a list of goals that I came up with to help push our team to the next level. Hopefully this might help yours...
My first suggestion for a team goal, is to become more active readers. This may not mean directly reading a book a week, but could be something as simple as reading a blog entry focused on software development/management to elicit conversation and thinking. Then sharing that knowledge with one another.
My second suggestion for a team goal, is to become active presenters. I think challenging one another to spike a topic and share it with the rest of the group will not only broaden our exposure to what's out there, but will also make us better coaches. This does not have be focused simple on code, but could be on any topic that might help shape us to become better leaders in our industry.
My third suggestion for a team goal, is to sharpen our swords. (This is a concept I'm borrowing from JP on building a solid core) There are exercises known as Code Kata, that we can use to "practice" our craft of software development. If we give ourselves a weekly Kata assignment to complete and share our solutions with one another to see how each one of us solves the problem, this will help us to develop our skills as well to identify our own strengths and weaknesses.
My last suggestion is open ended. I would very much like to improve my focus, but I am just not sure how to go about doing that. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
Be Less Touchy, Feely
Monday, October 29, 2007 1:56:43 PM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
I was sent this link this morning that helps you to identify what side of the brain you use more.
Right Brain vs Left Brain
It doesn't matter how long I stare at the image but I continue to see it going clockwise. I might have to try to take a look at this at different point throughout the day, to see if it changes. I'm not sure why, but I feel slightly in-adequate. For some reason I think i should be using more of the left side of my brain... oh well!
Why does this bug me?
Gearing Up For Boot Camp
Saturday, October 27, 2007 1:22:29 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
One last post before I head to bed...
In less than a couple of weeks my friend and I will embark on a journey that will likely alter our careers, as it has for so many others. We will be taking part in the legendary... "Nothin' But .NET Bootcamp" presented by Jean-Paul Boodhoo. Now I just wanted to remind everyone that this is the "Help The Homeless" edition of the bootcamp, so if life has treated you well, why not donate to those who need a helping hand!
I will finally be able to fulfil my dream of graduating from the boot camp!
Before signing up I did a little homework on the course and found some blog entries by previous graduates and this is what they had to say:
Bil Simser:
Donald Belcham:
Steven Rockarts:
Kyle Baley:
JoeyDotNet
I've been thinking of a better way to fully absorb the week full of goodness. The common theme among most of the entries are that the week is intense and a flood of knowledge. So if I can find a way to record that flood so that I can play it back, that would be useful. But how... ?
A Lesson Learned
Friday, October 26, 2007 9:44:37 PM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
It's been an exhausting day! I have a lot more respect for single parents out there...
Today my wife wife went in to get her wisdom teeth removed. This was no regular operation because of how long she waited before getting them removed. If the price tag has any reflection on the seriousness of the procedure, it came to a whopping $1700.00 plus medication. This was way overdue and I only regret not being able to get her in to get this procedure done earlier.
So off we went to take Allison to the doctor. The whole operation went much quicker then i thought and we were out the door in about 2 hours. When we got home, I followed the doctors instructions and loaded Allison up with pain killers and put her to bed. So that meant my daughter, Adia, was stuck with her dad , me, for the day. ("Yay" for me! "What's going on?" for her!)
For the last few weeks I have been poking fun at my wife Allison about what it is that she does during the day. I've been jokingly saying that she spends the day going for walks, drinking coffee with her family and watching the O.C. (It's all rainbows and skittles) Well... I found out today that it's really not like that at all. Chasing after Adia all day, finding a way to make it out the door to fire off faxes at Staples, and making sure that Allison gets her ice packs changed and pain killers when she's supposed to, has my head spinning. It's amazing how little I feel like I've accomplished today, but how exhausted I feel from it.
Needless to say, my poking fun at my wife about watching "The O.C" all day will stop. Being a caregiver requires a lot of detailed attention and can be quite exhausting. I'm feeling good about how the day went and is ending, and I'm looking forward to spending another full day with my daughter while my wife gets some well deserved rest. (Even if that means I won't be able to check out the Calgary Open Source Festival... *sigh*)
A Moment To Reflect
Thursday, October 25, 2007 6:25:14 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
This post is a little over due, but it's been on my mind. I realize these days that I'm spending more time trying to think of good posts rather then just writing out posts. I'm not sure which style I favor. I find it actually helpful to flush out ideas from my head on a daily basis so that I can clear my mind and move on.
To the point... last weekend at the Edmonton Code Camp was awesome! I'm not sure how else to describe it... Up in Edmonton I got the sense that the members of the Edmonton .NET User Group truly understand the concept of "community". It truly felt like a "community." I met so many passionate software dev's that really cared about helping the community grow and get better. It seemed like everyone had the same goal and was working towards that.
I had the great privilege of meeting Mr. Justice Gray in person, who not only bought me lunch but introduced me to several of his peers. He gave me some very helpful advice to guide me in my career. The great knowledge learned from his shared experience is invaluable. Thank you for making me feel at home Mr. Justice!
Earlier in the week I had been spiking how to automate a click once deployment using NAnt and came across this post by Mr. Neil Bourgeois. Coincidentally Mr. Neil just so happened to be at the Edmonton Code Camp, and also gave a presentation. I was taken back by how kind and humble he acted. When I found out he was an ex-thought worker, I was immediately froze up in fear. Why? I don't know... He was just very genuinely caring and seemed to want to help further if he could. I surely hope that I can be as humble as he, when I'm that talented!
Mr. Anand, was very quiet much like myself. He seemed very thoughtful and it was interesting to see the relationship between him and Justice. They seem to genuinely care about each others as peers. I sure hope to get to know you better in the future good sir!
It was kind of cool when I bumped in to Steven Rockarts and he knew my name. Kind of weird, but I imagine he must feel the same way. It's great how you can get a feel for people by reading their writing, and blogging tends to make it much easier to connect with people.
I feel like I'm name dropping here a bit, so I will wrap this up. I really enjoyed my day at the Edmonton Code Camp, I found the presentations very informative and found the hallway chats even more amusing. It's great to see that a .NET community can come together the way the Edmug one has. Hopefully as a group we can start to shift the way that software is built here in Alberta.
The World Around Us
Thursday, October 04, 2007 7:41:30 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
"Gage Hunny, I Love you & Miss you" - anonymous
I read the above statement written on the bus this morning. It kind of stopped me... I immediately recognized the name "Gage" as the 17 year old who was pushed in front of a train and killed a few months back here in Calgary.
As I scanned, the other writing on the bus I realized that the bus was a journal for people who were in pain. There was a lot of emotional writing... whether in graffiti or just random thought scattered. I realized that sitting in the same seat before me was someone who were in different emotional states, that just wanted to be heard...
I realized I was very much like them, I too want to be heard.
Yesterday, as I stepped of the bus to walk home, it began to rain. Then followed hail... why does this happen as I'm walking home. Then as I was half way home, a van pulled over, and the driver rolled down the window. I looked over and recognized the person who had been sitting next to me on the bus. He asked me "Would you like a ride?".
I hopped in, the kind gentleman's name was Mr. Mohammad. Thank you Mr. Mohammad!
Imagine For Just A Moment
Thursday, October 04, 2007 5:30:37 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Imagine...
Your parents sit you down to tell you that they have some shocking news to share with you. They slowly begin to tell you that you were adopted, and that your birthday is not your actual birthday. They tell you that they recently found out that you are actually born 5 years before your birthday and that you are actually 5 years older then you thought you were.
You are 5 years older then you think you are!
- Have you accomplished what you feel you should have?
- Are you happy with where you are in your personal life?
- Are you happy with where you are in your professional life?
If you're not, then write down what's missing... then go get it, starting TODAY!
Don't wait until tomorrow, to start things that can be done today.
The Spotlight Theory
Thursday, October 04, 2007 5:23:34 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
When I was 16, and in grade 12 I spent a lot of time sitting on a picnic bench at night staring at the sky thinking... One of the thoughts that came to me was the spotlight theory, and I'd like to share that with you...
In the darkness, when light shines it attracts bugs. When standing in the light, the moths and flies fly to you. Blinded by the light you can only see the bugs. When that light shatters, you're left alone in the darkness as the swarm of bugs move on to the next light.
During moments of your life you will feel as though you are under the spotlight of attention, don't allow yourself to be consumed by the light and the people that come to you at this time. Because many of them will ultimately leave you when your time in the limelight is up. Putting people who care about you most aside, before the light, to put people who will be temporarily in your life is not a good strategy. I have found that some of the people that come with the light, can leave a negative impact on your life. Be critical of those who come to you when things are good, but be thankful to those who come to you when times are tough.
Great Obstacles
Wednesday, September 26, 2007 8:23:04 PM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
I just put my daughter to sleep, and then pulled up to the computer to start reading the first chapter of Roy Osherove's new book "The Art Of Unit Testing".
"The first few months of the project were great; things were looking up, and we had tests that proved that our code worked. As time went by, requirements changed, and we were forced to change our code to fit those new requirements. Whenever we changed the code, tests broke and we had to fix them - the code was still working, but the tests we wrote were so brittle that any little change in our code broke them, even though the code was working just fine. It became a daunting task to change our code in a class or a method for fear of changing all the unit tests involved with that unit being tested." Roy Osherove, The Art of Unit Testing
After reading this opening paragraph, I slumped in my chair and realized that I was guilty of this on our current project. I've written such brittle "unit tests" that I was afraid to make changes to the code base in fear of breaking the units tests and having to update the unit tests. I was on a bit of a high with the TDD kick but now I'm feeling a little low.
After reading the first free chapter from Mr. Roy Osherove's book I decided to check my inbox. Here's what I found:
Dear Mr. Mo
I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for being so helpful during our school year together. I have experienced new classmates and they are umm the only way to put it is not YOU. I don't know I guess I just learned better when you were around lol. You would always help me when I was in a pinch...
I guess I'm righting this cuz I'm kinda bored for one and my lab partner just dropped the course and I miss you MO, come back!!!
I'm re-energized, I feel great! It's amazing how kind words, at just the right time, can make a remarkable impact on someone's life. Although, the note was thanking me, I feel like the thankful one. Thank you so much Mr. Jae!
This reminded me of a great quote:
"With each great obstacle, comes an opportunity to improve our condition." - Booker T. Washington
The Rose That Grew From Concrete
Monday, September 24, 2007 7:54:17 PM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Today I had an excellent conversation with someone whom I admire, and all I could think about was this poem...
Did you hear about the rose that grew
from a crack in the concrete?
Proving nature's law is wrong it
learned to walk without having feet.
Funny it seems, but by keeping it's dreams,
it learned to breathe fresh air.
Long live the rose that grew from concrete
when no one else ever cared.
- The Rose That Grew From Concrete, by Tupac Shakur
Public Class JollyJumper
Thursday, September 13, 2007 8:42:53 PM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
I thought this was pretty cute... as I was digging through some of my logs for my site I noticed I got a referral from Google.
The search term was "Public Class JollyJumper"
So I thought I might quickly define said class...
public class JollyJumper : IJollyJumper {
public void Jump( ) {
++_happiness;
}
public override string ToString( ) {
return _happiness.ToString( );
}
private int _happiness;
}
If you don't know what a Jolly Jumper is hopefully the image helps...
Exuding Confidence
Wednesday, September 12, 2007 11:57:26 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
So I'm sure some of you are a little sick of my Robin Sharma kick these days, so I will wrap this up with one last post on the subject, for now!
I just arrived back to the office after sitting in on Robin Sharma's presentation on... I'm not sure what the subject is. I guess it's on living a world class life! He's definitely an inspiring individual. He used the power of laughter and sadness to move you, at least me. If I've learned one thing today it's that I need to work on being a funnier person. He definitely seems to be getting the best out of life.
He talked about a lot of the lessons from his books "the greatness guide" and "the monk who sold his Ferrari". The ideas that he shares are very simple and really common sense, if you think about it. The difference is that very few of us, including me, actually take the time to think about it.
As he was speaking and sharing some very simple yet enlightening quotes from some of the worlds greatest, in my mind I kept saying, "that's so true isn't it".
A lot of the 500+ people who attended today will probably go out and attempt to apply some of these lessons to their own lives today, but how many will be consistent in their application of these simple techniques.
I think one of most resounding ideas that he shared was on consistency. To me absolute consistency, is perfection!
Think about it like this... If you're sad at the same level of sadness at all time, are you perfectly sad? If you're happy at the same level of happiness, are you perfectly happy?
Perfection is probably a silly goal to reach for. It's perceived to be unattainable but consistency seems like it's reachable. Think about becoming perfect by becoming more consistent.
A few things that I want to reconnect with...
- Nature: When I was in high school and I met up with some friends, I always wanted to go to the park. (Huh?) When I think about some of the most fun moments for me in high school, it's sitting on a bench underneath a huge tree with a bunch of close friends and talking about life...
- Art: I used to greatly enjoy watching the construction of great art. I once described having a friend who was an incredible artist. I would watch him place lines on a blank sheet of paper. At first it made no sense to me, but over time his image started to become clear. I now find that I enjoy watching the art of programming... watching master artists craft their art right in front of you is quite exhilarating. (Thank you DNRTV)
- Peace: When did I become so high strung? Did it happen over night? When I think of my youth I picture a laid back cat who wouldn't get phased by much. I recognized that obstacles were a part of life, so when they came I didn't get to worked up about it. These days I tend to make it seem like the end of the world. When I think about a problem today, I want think about if this will be a problem a year from now. If it wont be, then that is an obstacle, not a problem.
- Body: I played hockey for 5 years, and practiced Muay Thai for a year. I was never a superstar athlete but I used to take pride in my image and body. I had fun doing it too... I should re-connect with that.
- Laughter: Life wasn't always so serious. I once knew how to have fun, I realize that I need to spend some time to think about what it was that brought me great laughter. (I'll get back to this one.)
One of my favorite questions from today was this:
"How do you find a mentor?"
Find someone who's living a life you would like to live. Connect with them, and find time to go for coffee. If you can't find this person, connect to people through books. I believe you can connect with that person(s), sometimes the search takes a little longer but eventually
"the teacher appears when the student is ready." - Robin Sharma
Meeting The Monk
Wednesday, September 12, 2007 5:29:45 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Today's the big day! My wife and I are heading down to see Robin Sharma present live. Here are the details...
Registration: 8:30am
Seminar: 9:00am - 11:00am
Palomino Room
The Roundup Center
Calgary Exhibition and Stampede
We'll see you there!
Last night I finished listening to "The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari" audio book.
This was the first audio book I had ever listened to but I enjoyed it. I liked it even more because of the fact that it was read by Robin Sharma himself. There's nothing better then hearing the words read by the author themselves, the way they had intended them to be read. I'm not much into fictional books, but this was a great story. A lot of the thoughts that were brought out by this book has helped me to focus on my life and different aspects of it that may not get as much attention.
If you get the opportunity, read this book!
Things My Daughter Has Taught Me About Growth
Friday, September 07, 2007 6:29:06 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
My daughter has taught me so many great things about how to grow this year.
- When you get knocked off your feet, it's ok to stick your thumb in your mouth or even cry a little bit. As long as you think about what just happened and try again.
- When things seem impossible, keep trying! If you continue to try your best everyday, you'll eventually roll over.
- Sometimes when you just cant seem to stand up on your own two feet, it's ok to ask for help!
- Be consistent, and demand that from those around you! So if you want your bottle at the same time every night, make sure you get it.
- Be heard! If you aren't getting what you want out of life, ask for exactly what you want.
- Laugh! Sometimes making faces is funny... Learn to find things that bring you happiness, rather then simple pleasure.
- Talk while you eat! Dinner time is a great opportunity to have conversations with those you care about. Find out what happened in their day, daily!
- Talk to your teddy bear! Learn to take time each day to reflect and think...
- Talk to strangers! I don't suggest you make baby sounds or grab at peoples faces, but you have no idea what you might have in common with the person sitting next to you on the bus.
- Smile! You have no idea how much happiness a smile can bring to someone else's heart!
Help The Homeless
Wednesday, September 05, 2007 5:49:34 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Today I want you start thinking about how you can help your community. After reading JP's post yesterday about donating all proceeds to his upcoming Nothin' But .NET boot camp to homeless shelters in and around Calgary. I realized that it was time for me to start thinking about how I can contribute to my community.
So for starters I would like to help JP by spreading the word about his noble cause and I encourage you to do so as well.
"This email is not to solicit help looking for potential students, rather it is a request to see if any of you (or you yourself) would be willing to donate money towards the cause. My plan is to approach companies who may be interested in working on a pledge based system. For example, a company who is interested in supporting the effort might say I'll give you 10cents per dollar raised." - JP Boodhoo
If you can contribute, I encourage you to contact JP or check out his post for more details!
True Diversity
Monday, September 03, 2007 3:39:10 PM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
One of the main reasons I want to become a ThoughtWorker is to be able to work with a diverse range of people from all walks of life. Where there is no norm, only exceptional. I want to also be able to openly share my successes and failures with a team and not feel terribly good or bad about it. So as a team we fail, but also succeed, quickly.
In order to be successful, you must surround yourself with successful people. For me it's not only about becoming a world class developer, but also a world class father, a world class husband, and a world class person.
"When you were born, you cried while the world rejoiced. Live your life so that when you die, you rejoice while the world cries." - Robin Sharma
I've thrived on trying to be the type of person who breaks stereotypes. Although, I found that when I was younger I was molded in to the type of person that people expected me to be. Not the person I wanted to be. This was totally disadvantageous and did no good for myself or others like me. I was fitting the mold that others had shaped for me.
I soon found that I enjoyed defeating peoples expectations of me. When I felt that subtle feeling that my instructor didn't think I would last or that I fit in, I had to prove that not only could I last, but that I could do it better.
Here's another reason why I want to become a ThoughtWorker:
"I like to think of myself as without a prejudicial bone in my body, but when I do I remember this story. I was visiting a branch of a large multinational in South Carolina. A black man, somewhat shabbily dressed, slouched into the meeting room. My mind immediately classified him as a cleaner. Within a few seconds he introduced himself as the Vice President of technology. Although nobody knew of my pre-conscious blunder, I've often pondered since why I made it. Was it his way of walking - more of a slouch than a confident stride? Was it because I was aware of being in the South? I can't escape a sure feeling that wouldn't have made this classification if he was white. Now I could excuse myself by saying that this occurred ten years ago, but frankly I have little confidence that I wouldn't repeat this error today." - Martin Fowler, Chief Scientist ThoughtWorks
I really encourage you to read the rest of this post at Mr. Martin Fowler's bliki.
I think it takes a lot of confidence to admit to failure or lapses in judgement, but by doing so you allow yourself to learn from it. I've done a lot of silly things in my life, in fact writing this blog is probably one of them. But it's who I was, it's who I am and it's helping to shape who I become.
Volunteering at the Calgary .NET User Group
Monday, September 03, 2007 1:06:18 PM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
So it's been a pretty laid back weekend at our house. So far Alli and I have watched quite a few movies, a few more then I really care to admit. It's definitely been worth it though, the calculated down time was just what I needed.
On Friday, I put in my first couple of hours volunteering at the Calgary .NET User Group. At the last presentation I offered to volunteer for the upcoming Alberta Tech Fest and I received an email from Daniel about meeting at 5:00pm Friday evening. So I made my way to the EUB and met the Calgary .NET User Group Executive committee. Apparently, there's been quite a bit of turnover lately and it's been difficult finding volunteers. I was one of 5 people that evening who offered to volunteer, but was the only one to show up for the meeting. I can't say that I blame any of the others, we only received an email the morning of the meeting and it was at 5:00pm on a Friday evening before the start of the long weekend.
So a few things were covered in the 2 hour meeting, A few dates were changed for upcoming events but here's what I learned:
It looks like October should be a busy month!
Calgary .NET User Group Silverlight Presentation
Thursday, August 30, 2007 5:41:01 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good morning! Last nights presentation on Silverlight at the Calgary .NET User Group was pretty darn good. There are still quite a few things that need to get worked out in the beta for Visual Studio 2008, but it was cool to see it in use. The experience in it doesn't seem all that different then Visual Studio 2005 except that you can target different versions of the .NET Framework. You can create Silverlight projects and some other goodness.
I realized last night that I had made a bit of a mistake, when filling out the evaluation I marked 5's for most of the items assuming that 5 was a good thing. Just before handing in my evaluation I re-read it to see that...
1 = Strongly Agree 5 = Strongly Disagree
Ahhh.... Who made 5 Strongly Agree? I think I've been giving presenters really bad marks without even knowing it. I must come across as a jerk! So to all the presenters who received a bad mark from me at one of the Calgary .NET user group meetings, my bad! The marks are backwards!
Oh boy... that means this year I probably accidentally gave bad marks too James Kovacs, Richard Cambell, John Bristowe and a bunch of presenters at the Calgary code camp. Sorry guys, but honestly... who makes 5 a bad mark and 1 a good mark. Doesn't it make more sense to have it the other way around?
Last night Daniel also announced that on September 29th, 2007 we will be having the Alberta Tech Fest 2007 which will be a day of presentations for developers, architects and IT pro. Sounds interesting hopefully it happens...
The New Layout
Wednesday, August 29, 2007 2:42:27 PM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
So today we decided to switch things up a bit at work... we spent hours drafting up the plan. Take a look below!
Silverlight Presentation
Wednesday, August 29, 2007 5:10:08 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! It has now been a week since my last course has ended and I think life is just starting to go back to normal (whatever that means!) I've been working full time and going to school part time from January till now. And although I've had days where I felt sluggish, none have been like that last few. I don't know why it is, but it wasn't until after school end did it hit me how fast this year has gone by. Anyway's I have one more course to go, but that doesn't start until October.
Tonight I'm off to go check out John Bristowe's presentation on Microsoft Silverlight at the Calgary .NET User Group. The presentation will be an introduction to Silverlight and a demonstration on building an ASP.NET application using Silverlight. Should be interesting, if you're interested go check out the Calgary .NET User Group. Or just show up at...
Wednesday, August. 29, 2007
5:00pm - 8:00pm
Nexen Conference Center Theatre
801 7th Ave SW
Calgary, AB, Canada
That's all for today. GET BACK TO WORK!
ADO.NET On the Brain
Tuesday, August 21, 2007 11:33:39 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Well I'm feeling a little sluggish this morning. It's always tough going straight to sleep on school nights. You just feel a little cheated when you get home, because I want to squeeze a little bit of time out of the evening for myself. Not to mention my brain was just buzzing in bed, and it took a little longer to wind down then usual.
In the last couple of days I have been reading through Jeremy Miller's articles on how to build your own CAB. It's definitely worth a read, I've learned a lot so far.
On Sunday, I just about wrapped up an assignment for class. It's focus is on ADO.NET and data access... I'm hoping I'll be able to publish my work after the due date but in the mean time here's a sample...
To select data I build a SelectQueryBuilder object that can be used like this...
public IEnumerable< IDropDownListItem > GetAllVendorNames( ) {
SelectQueryBuilder builder = new SelectQueryBuilder( Tables.Vendors.TableName );
builder.AddColumn( Tables.Vendors.VendorID );
builder.AddColumn( Tables.Vendors.Name );
return CreateItemsFrom( _gateway.GetTableFrom( builder ) );
}
To update a row in the database you would use my home brewed UpdateQueryBuilder.
public void UpdateInvoice( UpdateInvoiceDto dto ) {
UpdateQueryBuilder builder = new UpdateQueryBuilder( Tables.Invoices.InvoiceID, dto.InvoiceId );
builder.Add( Tables.Invoices.CreditTotal, dto.CreditTotal );
builder.Add( Tables.Invoices.DueDate, dto.DueDate );
builder.Add( Tables.Invoices.InvoiceDate, dto.InvoiceDate );
builder.Add( Tables.Invoices.InvoiceNumber, dto.InvoiceNumber );
builder.Add( Tables.Invoices.InvoiceTotal, dto.InvoiceTotal );
builder.Add( Tables.Invoices.PaymentDate, dto.PaymentDate );
builder.Add( Tables.Invoices.PaymentTotal, dto.PaymentTotal );
builder.Add( Tables.Invoices.TermsID, dto.TermsId );
_gateway.UpdateRowUsing( builder );
}
One of the coolest things I Found in ADO.NET 2.0 was DbProviderFactories. There's so much good stuff that was introduced in 2.0 that I know I wasn't taking advantage of.
Just Catching Up
Monday, August 20, 2007 11:15:07 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Well it's Monday morning again, which means another weekend has come to an end. I had a busy weekend and I'm really looking forward to the next long weekend coming up.
On Friday, I went to the Stamps vs. Lions game, courtesy of my work. It was a pretty darn good game, the final score was 45-45 after 2 rounds of overtime. I spent most of Saturday working on my final assignment for class or watching previous episodes of "Big Brother 8" with the fam. America's player Eric, doesn't seem to really be doing what America wants him to do.
It's been a crazy few months in my life. Lot's of things have been going on, but things look like they may be slowing down for a while. Late last week I found out that my next and final course for school wont be offered until the end of October. So now I get a little break in between courses. I wasn't all that happy at first, but now I'm going to embrace the break. It's kind of nice to know that I'll be able to come home from work 5 days a week for a while. Hopefully I'll be able to catch up with a few things, like what's happening with everyone I haven't spoken too in months. Sorry guys!
And in other news, I received a really nice comment from Mr. Justice Gray last week that read:
"Hey, Mo, I tried to E-mail you directly but your form appears to be somewhat broken. Just wanted to say I spent some time today going through your back entries and your blog rocks!! Keep writing."
That really gave me a bit of a warm fuzzy when I read that. It's always a good feeling to get a compliment but it's even better when it's from people you admire. Thanks Justice!
Does anyone know when the Edmonton code camp is taking place this year? One entry on Steven Rockarts blog said September 1st, then the Edmonton Code Camp site says "October 20, 2007" and "October 20, 2006".
Anyway's, I think that's all for today... GET BACK TO WORK!
What Does Pragmatic Mean?
Friday, July 27, 2007 1:27:14 PM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! So this week during my dead time on the bus I have been reading...
This book is great! It's a short one, but I seem to be taking my time with this one. It speaks at a much higher level, not so specific to a certain technology or language. However, the code samples in this book are mostly in C, Java and Perl. It's pretty cool to get some exposure to other languages, especially Perl!
Things I really like most about this book are the quotes and analogies. The analogies and stories seem to make it so much easier to understand and relate to different concepts. Stone soup and boiled frogs are great examples!
The bus ride was nice today, I managed to scoop a seat in the far back next to the window which offers me a little more privacy and great lighting for reading.
Did I mention that it's Friday?
GET BACK TO WORK!
Gulp!
Friday, July 27, 2007 8:36:36 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
I hope this isn't a sign for what's to come today?
Her Eyes Rolled Back
Thursday, July 26, 2007 1:29:10 PM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Well a bit of a shocking situation occurred on the bus this morning. Mid way through our ride, someone shouted "Bus driver, stop the bus. This lady fainted back here!".
The bus was packed to the max and it was hot and sweaty, I managed to get a seat close to the front so I couldn't see what happened. Nobody seemed to know what to do, except for one man. He piled his way from the front of the bus right through to the back to see if she was ok. I couldn't see what he did, but I could hear him. "Miss what is your name? Miss... can you tell me your name." He helper her off the bus!
Meanwhile.. the bus driver radio'd in for an ambulance and people started whispering... "I saw her eyes roll to the back of her head.", "She didn't look to good when she was at the bus stop." Overall though, it felt that as a group everyone on the bus was genuinely concerned about the poor lady.
The ambulance arrived, the bus closed it's door and pulled away from the curb. The bus was eerily quiet! I know what went through my head... "I wonder what happened? I sure hope she's alright..."
Getting close to something like was a reminder to me, that we're only here for a short time so make the best use of your time. Let your fam' know you love 'em!
Top 9 Podcasts
Friday, July 13, 2007 8:24:28 PM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
So in the past few months I have become a podcast junkie. I thought I would take a few minutes to share some of the podcasts that I'm currently subscribed too.
1. .NET Rocks
This one is excellent for .NET developers. It's hosted by Carl Franklin and Richard Campbell and talks about what's currently hot in .NET!
2. Developer Night in Canada (DNIC)
This one is hosted by John Bristowe, a local Calgarian! It's also on .NET, but focuses more on interviews with the top industry guys. So far I've only heard 2 episodes.
3. Hanselminutes
Dude, if you do not know who Scott Hanselman is... I just don't know what to say. Go check out his blog at hanselman.com. Mr Hanselman is so very informative, and posts regularly. It's called Hanselminutes because he wastes no time, and gets straight to the point!
4. net@nite
I don't really know why I listen to this one, I think i just enjoy listening to Amber MacArthur and Leo Laporte pretend they're not flirting!
5. Plumbers at Work
This one's another local Calgary podcast. It's definitely worth subscribing too, if you're a local Calgary .NET developer. The hosts are John Bristowe, James Kovacs, Bill SImser, and I'm told there was a missing episode with JP Boodhoo.
6. Polymorphic Podcast
I just started listening to this one, and I'm liking it. It hosted by Craig Shoemaker, and focuses on Object Oriented programming, design patterns and interviews with some of the industry's best!
7. RunAs Radio
I recently tuned into this podcast. It's hosted by Richard Campbell and Greg Hughes, and focuses on IT topics.
8. Security Now!
Hosted by Leo Laporte and Steve Gibson. This is a must subscribe to podcast. Even if you just started listening I highly recommend going back and digging through the archives, there is so much good content.
9. Windows Weekly with Paul Thurrott
I must admit, I don't really listen to this podcast anymore. I still subscribe to it, but I find Security Now so much more informative.
The Good Times
Sunday, July 08, 2007 7:45:45 PM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
So a few weeks back, a bunch of us at work were shipped off to Radium for a weekend of sunshine, golfing and BBQ. It was lots of fun, the collage of photo's captures some of the fun times. Thanks MediaLogic!
Two Many Excuses!
Sunday, July 08, 2007 7:41:42 PM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
If you were wondering why I haven't returned your phones calls lately, or why I haven't been posting as often, or wondering what the heck I've been doing.
I have 2 answers for you!
What's on your night stand?
Passion is Contagious
Monday, July 02, 2007 5:04:26 PM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Last week was yet another busy week for mista mO! I wont bore you with the details, but needless to say.. I have enjoyed the long weekend.
Last Wednesday I went and checked out Richard Campbell's presentation on SQL Querying Tips & Tricks at the Calgary .NET user group. Mr. Campbell is the man! He's the co-host of .NET rocks with Carl Franklin and the host of Runas Radio with Gregg Hughes.
The presentation was awesome, not only is Mr. Campbell funny, but he's a great presenter. He knows how to keep his audience involved, and the stories are great! SQL is definitely not one of my strongest points, so some of the discussion was slightly over my head, but overall I'm glad I attended!
One of the coolest things that happened that night was I got to speak to Mr. Jean-Paul Boodhoo, the man, the myth, the legend! It was really cool, he actually remembered my name, and asked me how I was doing with "The Introduction to the Theory of Computation." He handed me his card, which read:
Jean-Paul S. Boodhoo
Software Artist
And a "Software Artist" he truly is... watching him write code on the fly, and react to questions whether on DNRTV or at live presentations is awesome. Very little is scripted which makes his presentations more believable. At least to me... he's not only telling you that you can actually apply these concepts in real business applications, but he shows you just how!
I must admit, that his passion for development, teaching, and hard work is definitely contagious. I'm sure my co-workers are sick of me talking about JP, but he's definitely one of the hardest working, and friendliest people in software development!
Thanks JP!
(I can only imagine what Justice Gray would say, if he read this post!)
The Legend Continues
Wednesday, June 20, 2007 11:57:48 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Here's a bedtime story I will be reading to my kids for years to come... The Legend of Kyle Soze.
With a portfolio of successful projects (as in projects deployed to production), Kyle Söze was not an easy man to discredit. Many young, brave developers tried and failed, losing significant amounts (if not all) of their own credibility along the way. How could anyone rebuff, “I’ve been doing this for twenty years and only have a few hundred success stories, but what do I know? Yes, your way must be right”
The legend continues...
Learning to golf
Friday, June 15, 2007 5:59:51 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
I am off to a company retreat in Radium for a weekend of golf and sunshine. Re-treaaaaaaaaaat!
This should be fun, this afternoon we're getting golf lessons, then tomorrow we hit the course for 18 holes. We'll see how this goes.. Have a great weekend everyone!
A little appreciation goes a long way
Tuesday, June 12, 2007 9:04:02 PM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
After coming home from a long day of work and school, it's nice to get a note like this in the mail:
"Thanks for your help on this one Mo! I appreciate it!
Looking forward to working with you on the Playa site 8)
Kristine
P.S.
Please say hi to your beautiful girls for me & Micah 8)"
You are most welcome Kristine!
Lot's to do...
Tuesday, June 12, 2007 11:15:52 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! It just so happens to be Tuesday, which means I've got a long day of work and school. My favorite!
Right now I am trying to read "Introduction to the theory of Computation", and it is hard. I can honestly say that as I'm reading it I am not absorbing everything, or that much at all. Probably having a background in discrete mathematics would come in handy. Either way, in between all the math are little gems of information that make it worth trying to push on through the book. It is regarded highly so I ought to push through!
I ordered "Head First Design Patterns" from Amazon, in early May. I'm still waiting for it to arrive, and I can't wait to read that. After that I want to gobble up "CLR via C#", "Domain Driven Design" and "Test Driven Development: By Example".
Lot's to read, so little time!
A couple of weeks ago I had my first performance review with my manager. He asked me if I was going to burn out? With a full time job, a wife and young daughter, school, and projects on the side.
Nahhh... I'll be fine, tired is for the weak! In fact... maybe I'll add more! hehe
Jump Up, Jump Up and Get Down
Monday, June 11, 2007 7:19:45 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! It was another busy weekend at our house, I caught up on some school work and things that I've had on the back log for a while. We also bought our daughter a Jolly Jumper this weekend. And she's lovin' it! It's funny to see her hopping around... hoppity hop, hoppity hop.
For those of you who don't know what a Jolly Jumper is, check out the link to this site below! ( I didn't know what it was before we got it!)
Well... my brain is a little slow this morning, so forgive me for the shortness of this post! Have a great day, and...
GET BACK TO WORK!
The Suburban Ghetto Cowboy
Friday, June 08, 2007 7:24:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Well yesterday was a super loooong day for myself! I walked out the door at 7am and walked back in at 10:31pm. Beat that!
After work i went and checked out John Bristowe's presentation on Windows Workflow at the .NET User Group. We even got an extra presentation on ASP.NET Futures, Visual Studio 2008 , Dynamic data controls and a brief discussion on the DLR. Pretty cool stuff!
So I learned that a completely different crowd rides my bus late at night. It was weird... I walked to my regular stop and caught my regular bus at 9:30ish last night. The first thing I noticed when i step on, was the overwhelming smell of urine. Ugh... so i start looking down and at all the seats... where is it? I don't want to step in it, or sit in it, where is it coming from. I never found it.
Also, it was battle of the bands on the bus. I was trying to read a book, but I just couldn't. There were so many people with mp3 players all playing different types of music, and each one trying to play their music louder then everyone else. Where was I? Where did you guys come from? How come I never see you guys during the day? ... ahh... livin' in the suburban ghetto!
Have a good weekend!
Being Human
Thursday, June 07, 2007 7:14:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
It's the way of the future... It's the way of the future!
So there's nothing more refreshing then to have a butt stuck into your face on the bus to wake you up. Ahh express buses!
So i just listened to an old episode of .NET Rocks, with guess Jeff Atwood of CodingHorror.com, where he talks about the human side of software development. The lesson I learned from the episode was that I need to stop talking like a compiler.
This won't work... you should have written it like this... this is bad... what were you thinking...
error... warning... error... warning...
Another lesson I learned this week is that, people feel uncomfortable around people with who are always complaining about something. It depresses them, so continually bringing up conversation about what you don't have or need more of, just sucks the life out of the conversation.
Wet Dog
Wednesday, June 06, 2007 7:30:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Well I have a feeling that a lot of people are going to be soaking wet at work this morning, here in Calgary!
It started raining hard last night, and hasn't stopped yet. I sure hope I don't smell like a wet dog all day! Oh well...
So this Thursday, John Bristowe will be presenting at the .NET User Group meeting on Windows Workflow Foundation. I'll be there, will you?
So Mr. JP Boodhoo, just posted an entry that wraps up some of the topics covered at his latest Nothin' but .NET boot camp. I sooooooooooo... want to attend his boot camp one day. I just can't afford it, I think he said it costs about $2000.00 per person. I think it's probably worth every single penny, but maybe some day I'll be a graduate of the boot camp. Until then... I'll keep reading!
And in other news... there is no other news, I'm just wet. Have a good day... and get BACK TO WORK!
Iterative Development
Tuesday, June 05, 2007 7:18:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! It's another beautiful day here in Calgary. It's so hard to get to sleep these days, because of the heat in our place. Man... we have to open up the windows in our place because it's so hot. So when our neighbors decide to pack a full sized trailer at midnight we can hear all about it. Grrr... who decided to move in the middle of the night?
So over the weekend I finished reading "Agile & Iterative Development. A Manager's Guide", and thought it was fantastic. It got me really excited about the XP Process, so much that I want to continue to learn more about it. The concepts of pair programming, test driven development and working in a common area surrounded by white boards seems heavenly! (Could such a place actually exist? In Calgary?)
To follow up I know want to read:
- Test-Driven Development: By Example, by Kent Beck.
- Refactoring: Improving the Design of Existing Code, by Martin Fowler
- The Deming Management Method, by W. Edwards Deming
Best wishes to Neils, his son and his family!
Monday, June 04, 2007 7:29:00 PM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Last week I was doing some research on an open source content management system named Umbraco, today I just read a post on the authors blog that really shook me up a bit...
Sometimes when you're so caught up in work and life you forget about the things that are most important to you... Thank you for the reminder Mr. Neils, and I hope your son is ok!
Read more...
Melting...
Monday, June 04, 2007 7:18:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Well there is nothing more exhilarating than moving air conditioners up 2 flights of stairs to start off a week at the office. It's nice to be able to get some exercise while working at a desk job, and we get lots of that here!
Well the weekend was good, to short if you ask me, but good! I managed to knock off a few more things from the to do list, which is always a good feeling!
My little baby girl is growing up so fast, it's amazing to see what new things she is doing each time I see her. It seems from when I see her Monday night till when I see her again on Wednesday evening she's learned something new, or cooing a slightly different way.
And nothing makes you feel better about working hard, then when you walk through the door after a long day of work and there's a cute little face staring at you upside down as she's spinning in circles on her activity mat. It's nice to know that she remembers who her daddy is!
Have a good day, now GET TO WORK!
Tattered Rags
Saturday, June 02, 2007 7:32:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! So here i am at the office on a Saturday, I thought I would pop in to catch up on a few things... and maybe get some studying done.
So... when I pulled up to the front door today, I noticed a wheel chair sitting in front of the door next to our office. Next to the wheel chair was a man laying on the ground sleeping, covered in an old tattered sheet that he was using for a blanket.
This kind of got to me, everyone has there own stories about how they got to where they are in their lives. It always bugs me when people say that homeless people should just get a job, as if they're all in the same boat. We all have our own stories and reasons for being whom and where we are in our lives.
I wonder what his story was, but I hope it ends peacefully!
The first day of june started 8 hours ago
Friday, June 01, 2007 7:11:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! So where in the world has mO been... long story short, I've been busy!
So i was so relieved to hear that the transit strike was called off yesterday. Of course I didn't hear it first hand, because I'm cable less. Which implicitly means that I have no idea what's happening in this city.
I had an interesting ride on the bus this morning, I managed to sneak a seat in the back which is always nice. I don't know if anyone else goes through this, but every morning when I wait for the bus I wonder .... "hmm.... mO who do you think is going to be driving the bus today?"
Today it was little-loud-shout-a-lot-lady! Yay... she's one of my favorite, she yelled all through the 45 minute bus ride. "Move to the back...", "Double up in the lanes... pretend it's speed dating!" are some of my favorite quotes. (Thank you Natalie for filling me in on some of the other words that I couldn't hear from the back!)
But... I am not complaining, I'm just glad to see the that bus showed up, and didn't break down half way to work, and pull over to the side of the road, and kick everyone off and make them wait and watch all the other express buses, which are already full, drive by! (a story for another day... I really should have posted that day!)
Today, is Friday! Friday is a good day...
What's Open about Open ID?
Saturday, May 05, 2007 8:47:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Open ID is definitely an interesting concept. The basic premise is that you maintain a single Identity that you can use to verify who you are to different sites that support Open ID.
You identify yourself with a unique URI. To log in to a Open ID site you enter your Uri. The website should then re-direct you to your Open ID provider, where you provide your log in credentials to verify that it's actually you trying to claim to use this Open ID.
Here's a good screen cast on the topic Open ID screen cast.
There are several libraries written in different languages available to developers for use on their Open ID affiliate sites. Found here...
The one I tinkered with was Nerdbanks Open ID web control, which references JanRains Open ID library. The control was very simple to use and start using... the full source is available and released under a LGPL license.
I ran the Nerdbanks assembly against FxCop and found several things that could be improved on. Personally, I would want to fix a lot of these issues before using this myself, but it's nice to have a starting point to begin working with. The Nerdbanks assembly also contains a lot of extra code all bundled into a single assembly, again my personal preference would be to probably break out the "tools" from the "web controls" into separate assembly's.
Open ID seems like a pretty cool concept and it's nice to have libraries available to start with... anyways this just skims the surface of what Open ID is... but hopefully it's a good primer!
Cool casts!
Monday, April 02, 2007 7:21:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Over the weekend I found a couple of cool sites...
The first one is Plumbers at Work... which is a podcast and all things .NET. It's hosted by John Bristoe who's a self proclaimed Calgarian. You've probably seen him present at the different .NET event around Calgary, the most recent being the 2007 Technet tour. He's a pretty funny guy, and 2 of the 10 podcasts i've listened to so far have been pretty good.
I also discovered the Calgary Code camp. There is one scheduled for later this month, which happens to also be my birthday. Saturday, April 28th.
If you don't already listen to it, you should check out the Security Now pod cast. I've learned so much from listening to Steve Gibson and Leo Laporte. (So now i can pretend to know what I'm talking about around the office, a little bit of knowledge can be dangerous!)
C# Strings
Saturday, March 24, 2007 6:55:00 PM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
C# strings are an interesting topic. In C# strings are immutable, that means once you construct an instance of a string it can no longer be altered.
A statement like the following actually constructs 3 different instances of strings.
string myString = "Hello" + "Mo";
Strings seem to be smarter in C#, because of the intern table. The string intern table manages references to all strings. If an instance of "Mo" has already been created, when using the same literal the same instance is referenced from the intern table. If either variable referencing the instance of "Mo" is changed then a copy is made and only the changed string is effected.
Coming from a C background you would think that if two pointers are referencing the same area in memory, that when one one pointer alters the value at the location in memory then the value is changed for both pointers because they are both referencing the same area in memory. C# seems to manage this quite nicely!
String.Empty vs ""
"" actually constructs an instance of a string object. String.Empty does not, although the overhead is probably quite small it's something to be aware of. I prefer String.Empty, just because the sight of quotation marks kind of makes me weary. (Move it to a const or #Define is what the C in my says!)
A static method that i think is under used is String.IsNullOrEmpty(). Instead of checking to see if an instance of a string is equal to "" use the static method I just mentioned.
Kind of sloppy code...
if( myString != "" ){...
Better code...
if( null != myString && myString.Length > 0 ){...
My preferred version...
if( !String.IsNullOrEmpty( myString ) ){ ...
Carriage return, new lines like the following... "\r\n" should be replaced by Environment.Newline; This allows you to write environment agnostic code. In Unix environments, I believe the new line character is "\n", however on Non-Unix it seems to be "\r\n". As the .NET platform moves to Linux and Mac, this can come in quite handy. (Maybe some day... got Mono!?)
Our good friend String literals... FxCop always screams at the sight of string literals in code. A great tool for re factoring literals into a resource file is the "Resource Refactoring Tool" which can be found on CodePlex... check it out!
But I am still unsure as to when string literals should be re factored to a resource file and when it is OK to keep them. One thing I can say is this... please be aware that if you have hard coded string literals, this is also hard coded in the MSIL. So hard coded user names and passwords are definitely a bad idea.... (Especially since anyone with access to your assembly, can disassemble it back to IL.)
All I really know about strings is that they are tricky, some people say use StringBuilder versus concatenating strings. Some say StringBuilder is more efficient when concatenating strings in loops, other say it's only more efficient if a certain number of concatenations are performed. Some say string literals are more efficient then string constants because of the string intern table. FxCop says that string literals should be re factored to resource files, which makes sense for localization and strings that appear on UI.
But all this kind of makes my head spin... It seems there is no one concrete answer to all solutions when it comes to strings. Being aware of how strings work is probably the most efficient way to use strings! My 2 cents...
Something different
Friday, March 23, 2007 7:20:00 PM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Dude is that really you?
Yes, I've been MIA (that's a little acronym I like to use that stands for Missing In Action, yes using acronyms is fun!) for a little while, but I got an itch and decided to post, after a co-worker re-sparked an interest... I recently started a new job at ThirdAngle, and one of my co-workers, Mr. Adam, began reading posts from my blog. (kinda creepy, but trust me, he's pretty normal. I think!) He learned quite a bit about me, and it's kind of funny that someone could know so much about me without me actually having to tell my life story.
I just spent a little time sifting through some old posts that kind of made me laugh, and I decided I had to get back at it... although this time around I'm going to try and change the focus of my blog.
Lately, I've invested a lot of time in learning .NET, more specifically C# (Otherwise known as C++++ or C += 2). My goal is to use this blog as a way to share the things I'm learning and get feedback on newer and better constructs of doing things... I'm sure I will make mistakes, and from time to time someone smarter then me will probably come along and correct the mistakes in my entries. (Developers are so mean... *sniff*)
I believe that making mistakes in a public forum will only make me a better developer. So I'm going to use this site as my public code review... where we are constantly reviewing my code. (By the way I like putting curly braces on the end or the line not on a new one. Deal with it!)
Let's get started. I have come to become a big fan of the ternary operator... It's quite useful for replacing simple if-else statements.
Ternary operator template:
( true/false expression to evaluate ) ? (true evaluation) : (false evaluation) ;
E.g.
Boolean IsMoCool = false;
String s = (IsMoCool) ? "Mo is cool" : "Mo is not cool";
Console.WriteLine(s);
Can you predict the result? This should print "Mo is not cool" to the console window. This happens for 2 reasons, the first is the "IsMoCool" value is initialized as false. So when the statement ( IsMoCool ) evaluated it yeilds a false value and executes the false condition. The 2nd reason this works is because mO is not cool!
Here is maybe a better usage of the ternary operator...
Let's say I have the following code...
public class TernaryDemo{ private object _myObject;
public object MyObject { get { if( null == _myObject ) { _myObject = new object();
}
return _myObject;
}
}
}
This could be re-written as....
public class TernaryDemo{ private object _myObject;
public object MyObject { // if _myObject hasn't been constructed yet then create an instance,
// otherwise return the constructed instance.
get{ return ( null == _myObject ) ? _myObject = new object() : _myObject; } }
}
Recently I was reading an article from an MSDN blog... (I'm sorry I didn't save the link... I will have to look it up later.) And I came across the ?? operator added in C# 2.0. Whoa!
Here's how (I think) it works...
private string _s;
public void MyMethod() { string s = (null == _s) ? "Some Clever Text Here" : _s;
}
The above code can be re-written using ?? like this...
private string _s;
public void MyMethod() { string s = _s ?? "Some Clever Text Here";
}
The ?? operator implicitly does the same operation as the ternary operator but looks much cleaner. I'm not sure if I'm a fan yet, but I'd love to hear what you think!
Hello 2007
Wednesday, January 03, 2007 7:58:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Well it's the beginning of a new year, hopefully this year will be just as event full as last year. The 3 day weekend was great, I managed to go play some hockey and I even saw the Flames beat the Oilers on New Years Eve. All in all, life is good....
Have a great day!
Goodbye 2006
Friday, December 29, 2006 7:58:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Well, it's Friday once again. I'm sure looking forward to the hockey game on Sunday and the long weekend. I think I'm just starting to get my bearings here at the new job!
Last night we tried to get Adia to sleep in her crib. We let her cry for sometime and eventually I think she slept in their for a little while. It was worth it. Hopefully, we can get her on a routine, but she is still very young. 6 weeks this Sunday!
Hopefully, everyone has a happy New Years. See ya next year! Take Care...
Snow shoes
Thursday, December 28, 2006 7:50:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Well it snowed for most of yesterday here in Calgary. Snow is OK, just when it's not in your shoe. Because when it gets in your shoe your socks get wet. And if your socks are wet for to long, you could catch a cold. I did not catch a cold, yet!
Well, I'm really getting used to the short drive to and from work. How sweet it is, not to mention I don't even have to touch deerfoot, which is awesome. I wouldn't want to be on deerfoot this morning.
Adia sure is growing up fast, but she refused to sleep last night. So she'll probably sleep in today! I'm looking forward to getting back on the ice, hopefully sometime this weekend. Lucky for me I get to go to the Flames vs. Oilers game on New Years eve. Sweet!
That's all for today, have a good one!
Merry mit-mit!
Wednesday, December 27, 2006 7:48:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Well it's back to work for me! The 4 day Christmas weekend was great. Adia got lots of great gifts, she's so spoiled already! She's getting bigger and bigger so quickly...
Yesterday, I got to try one my new skates. I'm a little rusty but it was fun getting back on the ice. I got some hockey gloves and a rubber puck for Christmas so I'll have to test those out while the weather is still nice.
I had entirely to much chocolate, I'm still hyper. Have a great day everyone!
Happy Holidays!
Friday, December 22, 2006 8:11:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good morning! Well its the last day of work before Christmas. It is also my last day of work before completing my first full week at my new job. Woo Hoo.... I haven't been fired yet!
Not much to say today so I'll keep it short. Have a merry Christmas! Take care...
Day 4
Thursday, December 21, 2006 7:56:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Well Adia didn't have a very good night... around midnight she vomited all over the bed. (Yes, she is still sleeping in our bed with us... ) Poor thing, she was covered in white milky chunks... but after she got that out of her system she finally got to sleep.
Only a couple of days away until Christmas begins, and only a few days away until my first full week is finished. It's definitely been different, although it's closer to home I feel like I'm seeing Allison and Adia less. Perhaps it's just from wanting to impress the boss and putting in a full day plus a little extra... We'll see... I think by next week I'm going to switch back to my regular 8 am start time... hopefully that's OK!
That's about all from the world of mO, it's nice to be able to start blogging regularly again. And it's also nice to know that people are still reading what nonsense seems to come out of my head. Have a good everyone! GET BACK TO WORK!
Day 3
Wednesday, December 20, 2006 8:03:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Today is day 3... it's getting tough waking up at 7am to leave for work at 8:30 am. I'm not sure if I meant that sarcastically... hehe...
Well yesterday was Adia's 1 month birthday. How could I have forgotten to talk about that. She weighed in at about 9lbs and 21 inches. She's growing...
As I mentioned the other day I did a little karaoke at the internal Christmas party at my last day of work at DS. I guess some of the finer moments of that production were captured in the above picture. *sigh* Never again...
It's almost Christmas, and lucky for me I get a 4 day weekend. I'm actually pretty darn excited this year. Only a few more days and I can start eating lots and lots of Christmas goodies. Mmm...
That's all for today, have a great day!
Nerves...
Tuesday, December 19, 2006 7:58:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Well today is day 2 at my new job. Yesterday, was ok. I think I'm still a never + anxious. Hopefully, after a week or so my nerves will start to calm down. In the morning I did a lot of admin stuff, filled out paper work got some homework to study etc etc...
The hours are super flexible at this new place. I have mixed feelings about it, I like to get up early and get home early so I can have dinner with my wife! But it's also nice to know that right now with a wee one in the house if I don't get much sleep I don't have to be in at 8am sharp. So it's got it's perks.
Yesterday it took me 15 minutes to get home from work. Yes sir! I left at 6pm and arrived at home at 6:16 pm. ok so it was 16 minutes... Our manager bought us all lunch yesterday which was cool, I got to talk with some of the other members of the team which made me feel good. It's a pretty friendly and open team. Now hopefully I can do the job well!
That's it for today, have a good one!
Good Morning! I'm ve
Monday, December 18, 2006 7:23:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! I'm very nervous today, because today is my first day at my new job. I can't tell you how many silly nervous dreams I had last night. *sigh* So much change has occurred in my life lately, so far I believe it's been a lot of good change.
Hopefully, in the years to come I will be able to see how these changes have helped me grow and move forward. Time will tell!
So it's almost Christmas, sweet! That means I'm about 1 week away from stuffing my face with spinach dip, chocolates, cheese, crackers while having a snooze during "It's a wonderful life!" I'm pretty excited!
So Thursday was my final day at my old job. We had an internal Christmas potluck in the afternoon that stretched into the evening. It was a nice way to go out, after the gift exchange and the kind gifts I received for our baby Adia, they had me sing "Elvira", good ol' karaoke. It was weird walking out the door knowing that I wasn't going to return on Monday... life goes on!
And in other news... Adia turned 4 weeks old yesterday. Hey she's young enough that counting down every single week is still fun, and manageable. It's kind of like when you first start dating someone, and you count down every week together. You celebrate every month together. After a few years, it's not as easy to do and your wife thanks you if you can just manage to remember and anniversaries.... *whew* so far I have!
Well that's about all from today... hopefully later this evening I will be able to post some more pictures of Adia in the web album. Have a great day!
Sound a sleep...
Friday, December 08, 2006 7:32:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Well the drive in to work was nice today... got in at a pretty good time, so I didn't have to struggle to find a place to park. I'm definitely anxious to start my new job... I think anytime you're leaving an old one, it's hard... but hopefully the a good new beginning is awaiting to make up for a sour ending.
Adia slept pretty darn good last night. I was pretty tired and had an evening nap with her in my arms. Then I ended up heading to bed at around 8:30pm. It's really hard when I'm tired and Adia is crying, but it's all good. I feel pretty relaxed today. Although the new neighbors that moved in next door are quite noisy. I think they have a tv upstairs on the other side of the wall from where our bed sits. So that was a little annoying, but I was so tired that I fell asleep anyways. Allison, thinks that they might be in a band because it sounded like someone was playing guitar and drums all day. This brought up a conversation between Allison and I that we didn't think we would have for a few years.
Originally, when moving into the condo we had set goals about when we want to have the mortgage paid off and when we would start looking to move. It seems that the condo has warn us down and we're thinking we might start looking earlier then expected. Not today or tomorrow, but just sooner then what we had originally thought. We'll see what happens next...
So, next Tuesday is the Microsoft Vista launch event at the movie theatre at Chinook center. I'm looking forward to going to that. That's about all from me for today. Have a great day, don't forget Christmas is around the corner so get out early and finish that shopping. Uh oh... that reminds I should probably put some thought into gift ideas. *sigh*
Weekly Update!
Wednesday, December 06, 2006 7:31:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Well it has been a while since I last posted, and I'm definitely not posting as regular as I once was. Life keeps changing and I'm slowly adapting to the changes... so bare with me for a little while!
So things have been pretty good lately. I've had a few more longer then i wanted days, but it's all good. Builds character, right! It's been ages since I've watched any hockey, I think I'm going through a little withdrawal.
We gave Adia her first bath in her little baby tub last night. Up until then we had been sponge bathing her. She didn't cry or fuss, I even think she may have enjoyed the bath. It's getting out of the tub that was tough, as soon as that cold air hits her skin she starts to wail! Poor thing...
Seems like the gas is also causing baby Adia some grief! One of my co-workers yesterday suggested that Allison try taking things like chocolate or milk out of her diet to see if it helps with Adia's gas, since she's being breast fed right now. Hopefully, that helps because dad's funny faces sure aren't!
Our poor bunny rabbit, I've officially changed his name from "hiphop" to "chop liver". Since Adia came in to our lives, I think he feels neglected. I can't blame him, he used to be our baby and got all our attention. Now we have to find a same time to let him out of his cage, which is hard to do when you're alone nursing a baby. Is this a glimpse into the future when we plan our second child? Uh oh...
That's about all from me... Thanks to Jenn and Darryl for stopping by on the weekend and bringing more gifts for lil' Adia. She's our spoiled little stinky, gassy, princess! (hehe)
Oh, one last thing... I heard a rumor that Mikka Kiprusoff and Jamie McClennan were partying it up at Molly Malones last Saturday. Mikka was pretty drunk and wearing a candy necklace. Can anyone else verify this... ? Oh Mr. Mikka! Have a great day!
Stinky Faces...
Thursday, November 30, 2006 7:41:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Well I sent out a difficult email to my co-workers yesterday, informing them of my decision to leave the company. It's definitely a weird feeling, sitting at my desk right after i clicked on "send". I almost felt naked, what are peoples reactions going to be? Will they be angry? Will they be happy?
The feedback I received from my co-workers was very kind, and I really appreciate that. Any sort of big changes always has a transition period and hopefully I can be as helpful as possible during this time.
In other news... Alli and I got some sleep last night! Woo Hoo... the previous night was pretty rough, Adia get waking up and cried for most of the night. Alli fed her as much as she could until she was running on empty and Adia wanted more breast milk. When I got home last night I started cracking the whip.... whipishhhh.....
I sent Alli to bed, "Right now young lady!". I took baby Adia and kept her attention for as long as I could. She cried a little but for the most part she was wide eyed until about 9pm. I don't know if she wore me out first or if I wore her out first. But at around 9:30 Alli gave her one good long feeding, and we all slept until 2am. Another good long feeding and we all slept till 6am when Adia was ready for another good long feeding. *sigh* Man it felt good to get 4 hours of uninterrupted sleep. Thanks Adia!
Yesterday, my co-worker Kristine, who went on Mat leave in March, stopped by with her son Micah to deliver me a present to pass along to baby Adia. It was a stuffed Elmo from Sesame street. That was truly kind, Adia will definitely appreciate it when she's interested in more then just pooping and eating. Thank you Kristine, Mark and Micah!
So... our daughter is quite gassy. Let me paint a picture for you... I wear contacts, I'm pretty much blind without them. So when I change Adia at night I basically have to shove my face right down to her bare little bottom so that I can see everything and make sure that I've wiped up every little morsel of poop from every little crevice around her butt. In the last little while I have started applying penaten cream to deal with a little diaper rash, and each time I do, she burst a little whole in the cream to spray some stinky gas right in my face. Ewww... Thanks Adia!
Well... I think that's it for today. Hopefully, the weather is treating everyone nicely, I know driving kind of sucks these days especially on deerfoot. Have a great day!
Baby Adia!
Wednesday, November 22, 2006 9:46:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Well I feel much more rested today. Allison and Adia are still sleeping which is good news as well. Wow, now it's time to reflect. The last week has gone by so fast, and with the lack of sleep it all seems like a haze.
I am so proud of my wife Allison, I cannot believe how strong she is. Dealing with contractions for nearly 3 days and fighting through every single one of them was unbelievable. Even after the labour when I was concerned about when she could finally get some sleep, she was concerned about me. Huh?!
Labour was beautiful, I was as involved as I could be. I watched our child come out head first and worked with Allison through her breathing. I was able to cut the umbilical cord and help my wife through one of the most grueling marathons any person can go through. I have so much more respect for all moms out there!
No matter how many times I've heard about labour, it was nothing like what I had expected. Just imagine someone pricking you with a pin every 5 minutes for days. Each time you're pricked with the pin it gets more and more painful. You no longer sleep, you become a zombie knowing that in a few minutes it will happen again. Now I have no idea how painful it really is but I know it's a heck of a lot more painful then a pin prick.
As a partner I wanted to "fix" it. I wanted to take Allison's pain away, I couldn't. I sat staring at her as she passed out in a deep REM sleep in between contractions, and as another one was just starting I could see her brow begin to cringe up. Suddenly she is awakened in excruciating pain. I teared up several times...
I think getting through labour brought Alli and I closer together. I wanted to make sure that I was there for every step of the way, so she knew she was not going through this alone. (Although admittedly I dozed off a few times... I'm sorry Alli!) I could not imagine what it would be like to go through that whole experience alone.
After delivery of Adia, we spent about an hour in the private room. Alli showered, I went and grabbed the mom and baby bag from the car and made a couple of phone calls. We were then moved to Unit 52 at the foothills hospital. There I changed my first diaper, learned how to put Adia to sleep and how to help stop her crying. I didn't want to put her down. Around 2 am I was sent home to sleep. Dad's aren't allowed to stay over night. I woke up at 7am and returned as soon as I could in the morning. We were discharged Monday morning around noon.
When we got home I ordered bed rest for mom, called the inlaws and notified them that visiting hours would not start until 8pm. My wife needed some well deserved sleep. I cradled little Adia for as long as I could.
After a couple of long, grueling days at home I feel rested. I sure hope Alli does too when she wakes up. Adia didn't cry as much last night, so I think we all slept a little better.
Thank you, to everyone that has helped support us along our long journey. All the helpful advice, words and encouragement and funny stories have all made this so much more fulfilling. Your words have not fallen on deaf ears, and although I am terrible at responding to comments, emails and phone calls. We heard every single one, so thank you all!
Baby Adia Imani Khan was born on November. 19, 2006 at 4:13pm at the Foothills hospital in Calgary, Ab, Canada. She weighed in at 6lbs 8oz. Her due date was November 25th, but she decided to come out on Grey Cup Sunday.
It is a girl!
Monday, November 20, 2006 12:27:00 PM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Afternoon! Well... it happened! On Thursday night Allison started feeling cramps, she called them bad menstrual cramps. Friday, she was having "cramps" regularly all day. Saturday at 6 am, I wake to find my wife in a lot of pain. We get up go downstairs and starting timing them, she is having contractions.
We were so confused, and tired. We didn't know if she was having braxton hicks or the real thing. By around 2pm her contractions are 5 minutes apart lasting for about 30-40 seconds and had been going on for about an hour. I call the foothills medical clinic maternity ward triage to see what we should do. They tell us to come in but take our time, if she needs to shower she can.
We head down to the triage and arrive there around 3pm. She gets checked out and is 1 cm dilated, it's the real thing. 4 hours later while working through contractions she has made it to 2cm. We decide it's best for us to go home and labour, the doctor agrees. We arrive home around 8pm, Allison's contractions are getting stronger and stronger. She finds sitting in the tub helps, I find that laying makes me fall asleep. I suck!
Sunday at 9am we head to the hospital, we're quite sure that we've laboured enough at home. Allison get's checked out, she is 3-4 cm dilated. It's game time! While we wait for a private room, Allison sits in the shower. It helps her through the contractions!
Around 2 or 3 pm we get to a private room. The doctor checks to see how far along we are. Allison is 4-5 cm dilated, doctor suggests we break her water. We agree!
Around 330pm Allison gets the urge to start pushing, she pushes and pushes! The nurse calls the doctor in, "I think Allison has moved along much quicker, she is pushing!"
4:13pm, Sunday, November 19, 2006 Allison pushes out our first born child. She picks her up and places her on her chest. The Dr. O'Kelly asks me "What is it?" while passing me a surgical device to cut the umbilical cord, I'm confused by the question. I cut the cord, the nurse Pat says it's a girl!
We just got home from the hospital just a little while ago and we're all very tired! I will post again with more details, but for now we all need some sleep! Take care....
Cramps
Friday, November 17, 2006 7:53:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! So I'm a little excited this morning... Allison woke up at 4 am and couldn't get back to sleep. She has been experiencing "cramping". And it's very regular, before I left the house she was getting what she described as minor cramps every 8 minutes lasting for about a minute.
I can see that it causes her discomfort and that the "cramping" is only going to get stronger and longer. I have a lot of commitments at work I need to get wrapped up so that I can be there for my wife, I really don't like seeing her in discomfort. Especially when it feels like there is nothing I can do. I just want to be there for her and be supportive.
I'm waiting on a phone call now... Can anyone explain how you can tell the difference between a cramp and a contraction? Is she experiencing braxton hicks contractions? Does this mean the baby's head is about to drop soon?
I will try to have some pictures of Allison posted soon, I know I've been slacking! Have a great weekend, and if you don't hear from me on Monday ...
Late Nights!
Thursday, November 16, 2006 8:01:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
*Yawn*.. Good Morning! These late nights at work are really starting to wear on me, it feels like I haven't left my desk. It's all been a great learning experience but I'm starting to miss my wife! *sigh* Not to mention the dreams are getting weirder and weirder, last night something about SQL compare was causing me a lot of grief in my sleep. I just woke up feeling anxious. Yuck!
As usual things will eventually start to calm down, but while you're in the thick of the storm... it's hard to picture the sunlight!
Have a great day!
Pickled Cowboy's
Wednesday, November 15, 2006 8:00:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Same ol', same ol! The feeling of anxiousness is growing at our house... each day brings us a little closer to the 25th.
The Flames won again! 3 - 0 against St. Louis. I can hear the shouts right now "I LOVE YOU JIM PLAYFAIR"! (Fickle fans...)
Just so you all know, I changed my mind I like popcorn! And I got to have some last night, with a little ranch shake and a little dill pickle shake. We call it the "Pickled Cowboy"! Mmmm...
Now go ... give 'er a try! Have a great day!
Good looking drywall
Tuesday, November 14, 2006 7:56:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Well it's nice to know that I'm not the only one having these crazy dreams. The drywalling went well yesterday. Thank you Mr. Marvin!
So we're less than 2 weeks away from the due date, I have to keep reminding myself that it probably means very little because most women are late for their first pregnancy and about 2% of people actually give birth on their due date.
It's almost Christmas which is another exciting time of the year, and then comes new years! Have a great day!
Kind of nutty
Monday, November 13, 2006 7:44:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Well the drive to work this morning was amazing... I suppose a lot of people were given today off for Remembrance Day. You lucky folks!
I had a good weekend, Saturday marked week 38 of Allison's pregnancy. We're less than 2 weeks away! We're all ready to go at the house, we just need a baby now.
Today, we've got a guy from Elktone Drywall coming to fix the nail pops in our house. I had a scary dream last night where the gentleman that came to fix the nail pops attacked my wife. I was a little nervous leaving the house this morning. I just had to whisper in my wifes ear, if anything funny happens just walk out at the first sign for trouble and call me from the Mac's down the street. Oh boy!
And in other news, Allison tells me that on Saturday night while I was sleeping I got up on my elbows and said with a very stressed look on my face, "The code is only half finished!" She patted me on the back and told me it would be ok. I have been talking more and more lately in my sleep. Am I going crazy?
Well, time to start another week on the grind. Have a great day!
Think!
Friday, November 10, 2006 7:41:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! It's been another interesting week at work... All week I had it in the back of my mind "well, at least it's a long weekend!" I found out yesterday that in fact it is not a long weekend. We don't get Remembrance Day as a holiday at my company because it falls on the Saturday. That sucks!
Allison's been doing really well, we're nearing a couple weeks away from the due date. I had a dream last night that after I went to sleep Allison went to the hospital and delivered our baby then took the bus home before I woke up. (huh?) Yeah, so I woke up to go to work and there was our little baby. He was up and walking around... Did I say "He"? Oh boy, that makes me the third person I know of that dreamed of our child as a "he"! Coincidence?
In other news my book from Amazon arrived earlier this week. It's an MCTS self paced training kit for exam 70-536 (Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 - Application Development Foundation). I've finished 3 lessons so far. Yup!
Do you ever have those days where you say something that you knew you shouldn't have said? Where you lose control for just a moment and blurt out something that was just not nice to say? Or you blurt out something that was just ridiculous and you have no idea why you said it? Anyone know any good books on how to find your inner peace... or even a pill would be great too!
That's all from mO today, have a great weekend and drive safe!
Back in the day
Tuesday, November 07, 2006 7:49:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Well things sure warmed up last night, almost all the snow melted and it was quite warm outside this morning.
It's always cool thing to bump into people from high school, especially if it's people you actually liked in high school. It's even better to see that they're just as friendly now as they were then.
A lot of things are going to happen in the next few weeks. As soon as I'm done work I want to race home and be near my wife. I want to make sure I'm close when she needs me and is starting to go through labor. This whole dad thing hasn't completely hit me yet, but it will!
Until then... We're just taking it one day at a time! Have a great day...
Feeling Better
Friday, November 03, 2006 6:53:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Well I am feeling better. The sickness seems to be leaving my body! Woo Hooo....
Last night was a relaxing evening at home I jumped in bed a little earlier then usual to get some extra bed rest my body deserves. Allison has been feeling great so far, it's amazing how well her pregnancy has gone so far. Absolutely no complaining, no cravings and no tears. I love you hunny!
(Not that that's a bad thing, I was just kind of expecting it!)
In other news... I received to 19" flat panel monitors at work yesterday. I'm not sure what triggered that... ? Hmmm... Some strange things have been happening at work lately, very strange!
It's Friday and I'm excited, because as of tomorrow Allison will be 37 weeks pregnant. Which means she's considered full term. She could pop at any time... Have a great weekend!
100.3 aint bad, right?
Thursday, November 02, 2006 6:51:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Well I took the afternoon off yesterday from work. It wasn't easy to do since we are at the end of our iteration and are about to promote soon. But it was a good thing I did...
I slept for about 14-15 hours straight, I ran a fever of about 100.3 degrees Fahrenheit and no matter how many blankets I was covered in I couldn't stop shivering. Oh don't forget the cold sweats, non stop nose dripping, coughing and swollen shut throat. Yuck! Don't come near mO!
Today I'm feeling a little better but I would love to get more bed rest, only a couple of days away from the weekend and I will be hibernating underneath our huge douvet covers. Oh yeah!
I don't think I have ever been this sick since working here at Data Shapers. I've been here since June. 15, 2004, so I believe I'm entitled to get the flu every few years or so. Needless to say Alli and I had a discussion about flu shots. She gets hers next week at her next pre-natal checkup. At yesterdays pre-natal check up all was good. I stayed out in the lobby this time because I was sick and the doc did some "internal" examination. Ouch!
Well that's all for today. Make sure you bundle up so you're not sick and miserable like myself. Have a good day!
Ducks are pretty sick you know. What?!
Wednesday, November 01, 2006 6:55:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! *cough, cough, sniffle... groan* Well I'm feeling a little under the weather. I'm surprised how quickly I got sick. It started off with a little tickle in my throat Monday afternoon. By Monday evening my throat was so swollen I could barely swallow, and my mouth kept salivating. Yuck!
Yesterday, it moved up to my head. My nose turned into a faucet, which made sitting through our last pre-natal class a little difficult. Last night it was all about breast feeding. Man that looks tough to do. I can't imagine what it must feel like to have your child feeding off of you.
Today, I feel like Christmas crap! I'm thinking since I have to drive Alli to the doctor this afternoon that I may take half a personal day to rest and get better. It's just to bad that we have a major promotion scheduled this week. Sucks to be sick!
Have a great day people! *sneeze* Sorry, I hope I didn't soak you!
Firefox 2.0
Friday, October 27, 2006 6:48:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! What's with Firefox 2.0, it's driving me nuts! I downloaded it last night and I've had issues with it. Every time I open up a new tab and try to enter a URL I want to go to it sends my previous tab to that URL. Also, in Firefox 1.5 there was a setting that allowed you to disable 3rd party cookies, and that's gone in Firefox 2.0. Uuuurgh!
So I spent some time trying to install VMWare tools on Ubuntu last night. I finally figured out how to switch to the command window. Press Ctrl+Alt+F1, then I found out I had to use a utility called "Sudo" in order to install VMWare tools. So I got that far then you have to configure VMWare tools but it need a C compiler or Make utility to do so. So I downloaded GMake from GNU and attempted to unpack and run that... and that's about as far as I got so far. We'll see what happens this weekend. Oh and it's Ctrl+Alt+F7 to switch back to the OS GUI.
It's finally Friday woo hoo! Have a great weekend peoples!
2 tea spoons!
Thursday, October 26, 2006 6:40:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! 2 tea spoons of buckleys cough medicine before bed and 2 in the morning. All I could say was "I kind of want to puke a little", and that was enough to make my wife laugh hysterically for a little while. Made me feel good!
But really, Buckleys cough medicine is pretty gross but it seems to work pretty well.
Last night when I got home I installed Ubunto on to a virtual machine in VMWare Server. It's pretty sweet! I have never really played much with Linux before, but I was an instant fan. I got the disc from Rob at ISI, one of the guys at our office network team. Thanks Rob! I still have a lot of learning and playing to do with it, but man I felt like newbie. I didn't know my way around the filesystem, I didn't know any of the keyboard shortcuts to get around. It should be fun!
Well the daily grind begins, so that's all for today. Have a great day!
It's a girl!
Wednesday, October 25, 2006 6:49:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Morning! I'm a tired little duckling today... the baby class was fun last night. We got to pick dolls and bath them and learn how to put on a diaper. The doll I happened to pick was a girl, is that a sign! oooooh.....
After the class our instructor Karen took us up to the 5th floor of the foothills hospital to give us a quick tour of where we need to go during labour. It was quite helpful and made me feel much better to know exactly what we're supposed to do. Sweet!
I think on the radio they mentioned that the Flames won last night, sweet! Have a great day!
Happy, happy, joy, joy!
Tuesday, October 24, 2006 6:55:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Am I nervous? I guess I should be, but the answer is No! Our child is due in less than 5 weeks and all I really feel is excitement, I am a little concerned about whether or not I will be a good partner to help my wife through labour. And I'm a little upset with myself for not having installed the baby seat in our car yet. But am I nervous, No!
It's kind of funny how quickly life hits you, how stuck in the moment we become. I remember being in Jr. High worrying about high school, would I fit in, would I get beat up. That sort of thing, I was stuck in the moment. I remember worrying like crazy about finals at SAIT and whether or not I would find a good job. I was stuck in that moment, and it all worked out. I'm constantly worrying about whether I am at a dead end job, and whether my time would be spent more useful else where. I'm stuck in this moment!
Change is a scary thing, I've always tried not to be afraid of it, probably because I didn't want people to be afraid of me, because I'm "different". But if you know me, you probably know by now that there have been a lot of changes at my current job. And there continues to be more. As more and more people leave, I tend to get more of a feeling that I was left behind. That's crazy, I wasn't left behind all these people are doing what's best for them. I need to do that same, what exactly is best for me? and my family? 2 more people put in their notice of resignation yesterday!
I'm a bit of a stressball these days, so I completely understand it if you would rather not ask me how I'm doing. I think we both know that's a loaded question! Have a great day!
Week 35
Monday, October 23, 2006 6:51:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Well another exciting weekend has come to an end! I can't believe it's already almost November. A couple days plus one week and its that start of November. Whoa!
This weekend I started listening to a new podcast, or netcast whatever you prefer to call it. It's another TWIT show but this one is on Windows and it's called Windows weekly. So far the first 3 shows have been pretty good. I must say that I compare every new netcast to Security Now and Steve Gibson. So far Windows weekly hasn't been as informative and in depth as Security Now but I'm sure over time that will change.
I also played with VMWare server this weekend, that's a neat application and the best part is that it's free to download.
Tomorrow night is week 5 of pre-natal class. We get to play with dolls, I'm so excited! This is week 35 for Alli in the pregnancy so we're almost there!
Have a great day!
Long time no talk
Friday, October 20, 2006 6:48:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Well it's been a while since I have posted. It's been a busy week, and it seems to get busier and busier. But life is good!
The weekend should be short, it looks like I will most likely be in on the weekend working. But the pre-natal classes are fun but are slowly coming to an end. This Saturday marks 5 weeks until the due date. We still have no idea if we're having a baby girl or boy!
Anyways, this is probably a tired excuse for a blog entry, but I thought I should post just to let the few dedicated readers know, that I'm still alive, I will still continue to blog. Things are just a little hectic in my world right now. But Thank you for caring!
Learning to cope
Wednesday, October 11, 2006 11:55:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
What's with the traffic... Traffic moved nice and slow again this morning because of a couple of accidents. Dang!
Our pre-natal class was kind of fun last night. We practiced different coping positions at 6 different stations. Allison like 4 of the 6 coping positions. Man this sounds kind of kinky... We just practiced different ways to help mommy cope with a contraction. Use your imagination...
Have a great day!
Turkey Hangover
Tuesday, October 10, 2006 11:15:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good afternoon! 2 turkeys, 2 hockey games and a partridge and a pear tree.... well maybe not a partridge and pear tree, but we did get a plant from the golden acres garden center. We potted it on the floor of our kitchen, and it looks good.
This morning sucked driving to work. The off ramp from Beddington trail to deerfoot was completely closed off, and there were a couple of bottlenecks from country hills to deerfoot. I spent about 1 1/2 on the road for a 30 km drive to work. I guess that works out to about 1km every 3 minutes. That sucks!
The weekend was good! I got my turkey on, twice. I went to a hockey game on Saturday with Mr. Dirk and again on Monday with the papa in law. The Saturday game was good, but last nights wasn't so great.
We're down to less than 7 weeks away from the arrival of our baby. We stocked up on a few more items this weekend including diapers, pjs, baby wash etc. Tonight we've got our 3rd baby class. We're going to be working at different stations tonight. It should be interesting!
I've learned a lot of great things in the class like...
1. Don't go to Emergency, go the fifth floor on the foothills.
2. Signs of labor.
3. Spend most of early labor at home then head down the hospital when contractions are 5 minutes apart, lasting for 30 seconds for a total duration of one hour.
4. Don't bring a picture of the cat for a focal point. I don't really remember the reasoning for that one.
5. I get to eat, but she doesn't!
6. Feed her ice chips, whether she wants them or not. Don't ask just do it...!
Yeah... That's about the extent of my knowledge so far. We'll see what ends up happening in the next few weeks ahead.
That's all for today! Have a great day!
Flames not so good looking
Friday, October 06, 2006 6:34:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! It's finally Friday, I was beginning to think this day would never come. Well it was another late evening at work for me last night. But I made it home in time to scoop up Alli and get over to her dads house to watch the Flames lose to the Edmonton Oilers. Meh...
I guess I'll keep this short and sweet. Have a good long Thanksgiving weekend!
I Love Security NOW!
Thursday, October 05, 2006 11:17:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
I thought I would share with you some of the great things that I've learned from listening to Security Now with Leo Laporte and Steve Gibson.
1. If you don't have a NAT router, you're screwed!
2. Use TrueCrypt to encrypt and store files on your machine.
3. Cryptography is to cool for me to understand!
4. Disable 3rd party cookies in your web browser.
5. Use Firefox! If you must use IE then lock it down!
6. If you use Firefox, get the No Script extension.
7. Hamachi is cool!
8. Skype uses 256-bit AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) encryption.
9. What's wrong with me putting a pad-lock on a lock box and sending it to you, you putting your pad-lock on the same box and returning it to me. I take my lock off and send it to you!?
10. You must bookmark GRC.com!
11. ARP Poison Routing was a term made up by the guys who wrote CAIN & ABEL. ()
That's all I can think of for now... Enjoy!
Where's my paycheck!?
Thursday, October 05, 2006 11:09:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Happy Noon! Yes this is an unusual lunch posting by myself, but what the heck!
So there was a 4 car pileup on Beddington Trail this morning. Lucky for me I always leave early enough that in the event something like this happens, I can still stroll in to the office at 8am. Oh yeah... but this meant that I didn't have time to post this morning!
I received a comment on my blog from yet another fellow neighbor. Wholy cow! I've met more people in my neighborhood online then in real life. So what are you saying mO?! I'm saying, you meet more people in your neighborhood by locking yourself indoors and blogging day and night! Yup... that's right!
I also realized that I should probably take down the pictures of my neighbors car and the park job. It's just not nice, and well since then our neighbors on both sides have parked great... It's so easy to focus on the negatives! Our neighbors are pretty darn good, it could have been a lot worse and it just takes time for everyone to settle in. After all we were all brand new to the neighborhood when we first moved in. It had just been my first move in a looooooooong time so I wasn't used to the habits of different neighbors. But so far everyone's pretty cool!
Our condo meeting?!! What happened to the September condo meeting, were we left out? Were we not invited? Awww... why? I really wanted to go!!!
That's enough out of this guys head for today! And nope... I didn't drink any pop today! Just feeling a little better. Have a great day!
Regular Season Begins
Wednesday, October 04, 2006 6:47:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Well it is the first day of regular season hockey in the NHL. Tomorrow night is the kick off for hockey night in Canada. There will be a bunch of Canadian teams playing tomorrow night... Including Calgary vs. Edmonton. Then this Saturday, again, on Hockey Night in Canada it will be Calgary vs. Edmonton. Sweet...
So my posts lately have been short and sweet, hopefully I haven't sounded to cranky or anything. It's definitely not my intention! I feel like I'm falling behind on so many things right now and I'm scrambling every day to keep up. So if it seems like I'm brushing you off, please don't take it personal. It's just a busy time right now, things will settle down!
Last night we had baby class #2. I enjoy it, there are lots of dads there with corny jokes but its all good. The classes are very informative but at times it seems like the instructors are trying to scare the heck out of you. Everyone's pregnancy experience is unique. Some good stuff, some bad stuff but hopefully the end of the story is a happy one. We watched another prego video where we actually got to see the child be delivered this time. A little bit of blood was shown, but if you can get past that it's amazing to see. I remember having a big grin on my face that I just could not wipe off my face as we watched little Douglas, in the movie, being delivered!
We're half way through the week! Only a few more days to go until the Thanksgiving long weekend! Have a great day!
Its only Tuesday!
Tuesday, October 03, 2006 6:36:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Well I had an awfully hard time getting out of bed this morning! So I moved very slowly this morning but made it to work quite early. Geeez....
Sometimes when you get in to work in the morning you just want some room to breathe instead of having someone come to you with questions before even settling in....
*grumble, grumble*
Need sunshine! Have a great day!
Turkey on the brain
Monday, October 02, 2006 6:58:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Well it's another cold & wet start here in Calgary. Slow, depressing, dark drive to work.... *sigh* I think I have a case of the Monday's. At least this week weekend is a long weekend for Thanksgiving. Mmm... turkey, and stuffing and gravy....
Now I feel better! Have a great day!
Too tired!
Friday, September 29, 2006 6:43:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Well it was a late night at work but we were able to go through a pretty significant promotion. I'm a little tired this morning but at least the drive was excellent...
It's almost hockey time... woo hooo! Have a great weekend people!
Baby Class
Wednesday, September 27, 2006 7:00:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
It was a bit of a longer drive to work this morning so I'll make this one short and sweet!
Last night we attended our 1st of 6 weeks in the baby class. It was kind of fun, I got to present the list of questions the husbands and boyfriends had about pregnancy. The questions were pretty good, they ranged from "How do you hold a baby?" to "What do we do?" It was a lot of fun!
So the countdown is now at 8 1/2 weeks. Have a great day!
Trick or treat
Tuesday, September 26, 2006 6:49:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! It's a little rainy this morning here in Calgary. I believe the forecast predicted more rain later today. *sigh*
Yesterday morning on the Calgary Eye opener on CBC Radio one they had a discussion on racism here in Calgary. I thought it was a quite interesting topic but sometimes hard to discuss.
After listening to it, I realized that racism is more common here in Calgary then even I thought. The saddest story was when a 4 year old girl addressed a man with a racial slur when he offered her candy on Halloween. "No daddy, he's a * I can't take candy from him!"
Alli and I have had numerous discussion on the topic of racism and we're fully aware of the challenges to come with an inter-racial child. All that we can ask is that our family and friends be supportive, and to do that sometimes it takes dialogue to actually discuss issues that are important to us. It's not easy sometimes to just start the conversation...
Last night we went to the Welcome Wagon baby show at the Red & White club at McMahon stadium. It was pretty neat, I think I got a little dizzy from all the pregnant women. There were lots of tiny new born babies and lots of freebies. Alli signed up for lots of things and I'm sure we'll receive a lot of phone calls from this promotion or that promotion, but it was neat to participate in anyways.
Tonight we start day 1 of baby classes. We're pretty excited... What more can I say! Have a great day!
Chili Club
Monday, September 25, 2006 6:49:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! I had an excellent weekend. Alli and I celebrated our 1 year anniversary as a married couple by pigging out a little bit at the Chili Club Thai House. Mmm... That place is so good, you must try the pad Thai!
On Friday we ran a lot of errands, went down to the Harry Hays building to drop off Allison's record of employment then went home and applied for maternity leave. We didn't know you could apply online. We went down to another Service Canada office to see if she could get the name on her social insurance card changed. We visited her doctor for a checkup.
Saturday marked week 31 Alli's pregnancy. That means we are into single digit # of weeks remaining before the due date. Sweet!
This week should be another busy one, tonight we're going down to the red & white club for a baby expo thingy put on by the welcome wagon. Tomorrow night we start our baby classes. Yup yup...
Another week of work begins, have a great day!
Laid him out
Wednesday, September 20, 2006 6:34:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Well guess who went to the Flames game last night? This guy! Good ol' Mr. Dirk invited me to watch the Calgary Flames take on the Vancouver Canucks in a little pre-season action. In Dionne Phaneuf's first shift of the game he laid someone out flat. I think that ankle has healed up just fine!
Calgary won by a score of 3-1, there were lots of fights and lots of great scoring chances. I'm glad it's hockey season again.
In other news... It seems to be darker and darker each morning that I get up. *sigh* Have a great day!
Save me some light!
Tuesday, September 19, 2006 6:54:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Well it appears that I forgot to give yesterday's post a title! Interesting...
It's a very foggy, dark, cold morning here in Calgary. It is rather depressing if you ask me, and to top it all I had nightmares last night. Not just any nightmares but work related nightmares.... Ahhhhh.. the scariest kind! I'll live...
So our one year anniversary is coming up this week as husband and wife. Pretty exciting stuff.... We have now been together for 5 years. In celebration of our one year I have booked off this Friday from work with some banked overtime hours. Sweet!
That's all for today, I'm anxiously awaiting the start of daylight savings, or is it the end?
Good Morning! It is
Monday, September 18, 2006 6:49:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! It is yet another Monday morning in the life of mO! This particular one started off with a little frost on the windshield. *sigh* Winter is coming, I believe the official start of fall is later this week which I believe is also when the clocks roll back an hour. I always like that part of September!
The Flames won their pre-season opener against the Florida Panthers last night! Woo Hooo... And Sunday night dinner was super duper as usual!
I also put the final touches on a new web site. Check it out http://parkplacecanada.com.
That's all for this Monday morning, have a great day!
Still Pouring
Friday, September 15, 2006 6:46:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Well it's been a couple of days since I last posted. With all the rain we've had here in Calgary in the last few days traffic has moved very slow. At times it's been a little frightening to drive, especially on deerfoot. Yesterday, I was run off the road because someone attempted to change lanes right into me. I have no idea how they didn't see me, but it's a darn good thing I had room on the left to swerve out of his/her way. Very scary moment!
Allison, signed us up for a Baby show at the Red & White club. I'm not sure exactly what it is, but I'm sure it will be fun. It's presented by the welcome wagon. I have no idea what a welcome wagon is either, but apparently we have one in our new neighborhood. Kind of strange if you ask me, they showed up with a bunch of flyers and advertisements, and we gladly accepted. When most of the time I have to stop by the dumpster after getting the mail to toss out all the flyers and real estate ads. blah, blah, blah... To much advertising!
And in other news... Did I mention that it's Friday? Enjoy!
Big Brother Finale
Tuesday, September 12, 2006 6:49:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Alli's friends went home to Edmonton last night. They brought lots of goodies for the baby, including soothers, baby clothes, calgary flames bib and lots of other stuff. Thanks Aisha and Megan!
In other news, as I approached the car this morning I noticed a big mound of what appeared to be spit on the windshield of our car. Who would do that? I've been telling myself that it's just bird poo, but I'm quite sure someone horked up a big one on our car. That dampened my spirit a little!
We didn't have dinner at papa in-laws house this Sunday so we didn't get to watch Big Brother. But I just quickly checked the Big Brother site and found that Janelle got knocked off. The final two is Mike Boogie and Erica! I vote for Boogie!
Poor Janelle, final 4 last year, final 3 this year! Maybe next year... Have a great day!
I passed!
Monday, September 11, 2006 6:47:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Well another good weekend has come to an end. Saturday I wrote the hardware exam for CompTIA A+ certification. I passed! Wooo Hooo!
Before writing, or i should say clicking, the exam you have to read this contracty thingy that says you cannot advertise your score without approval from CompTIA. Why that is, I don't know! The scale used for grades is 100 - 900. The passing grade is 515. I did pretty good if I can so!
There were 100 questions with 90 minutes to complete them all, I finished in 25 minutes then spent the next 15 reviewing all the questions. Easy breezy... ! (Now I sound like I'm showing off!)
The next exam is the OS exam. After completing that, you're looking at an A+ certified technician. Woo Hooo!
Yesterday, a couple of Allison's friends came to visit from Edmonton. It's been great because while Alli has been entertaining them, I have had a chance to spend some time with my girlfriend, my computer that is. Allison, enjoys calling my computer my girlfriend!
Anyways, that's all for today! Have a good one!
Boogie Down Productions
Friday, September 08, 2006 6:43:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Who do I think is going to win Big Brother? My last update was that Will had been kicked off. Believe it or not, he actually grew on me and I was a little upset when I heard that. With that said, I'm not sure I'm really rooting for any one particular person. I would be happy if either Janelle or Boogie wins. How Erica made it this far, I have no idea! She was a so called "floater" from the start and never got knocked off.
Will won it before, maybe Boogie will win it this time.
I got some sleep last night, and I managed to complete my first full week of going for my 20 minute morning run. I feel good!
Have a great day!
Officially quit FISH
Thursday, September 07, 2006 6:51:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Well I have a rough night... I spent most of it in the bathroom due to an allergic reaction to fish. We went to Joey Tomatoes for fish tacos. They were really good, but very bad for mO. I vomitted a few times when I got home, even when there was nothing left to vomit my stomach really didn't like it.
I made several trips to the washroom in the middle of the night. I feel better now but very tired. The moral of the this story.... I of"fish"ially quit FISH!
Have a good day!
Canadian Tire
Wednesday, September 06, 2006 6:46:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Allison picked up our car from Canadian Tire yesterday with our brand spankin' new Motomaster SE 13" tires yesterday. Oh yeah, and it was a pretty sweet ride this morning. It's funny how new tires suddenly made the car so much more fun to drive. Our tiny little Accent accelerates on command.... So next time you see me whizzing around in our accent with a big grin on my face, you will know why! P.S $52.00/tire!
Danger, Will Robinson!!! This Saturday I am writing the first of the 2 A+ exams. I am studying nightly but now I need to crank it up a notch...
It's cool being able to go straight home after work and see my wife cooking up a feast for dinner. Ahhh... it stretches out the rest of our evening nicely. Thank goodness for Maternity leave...!
That's about all thats happening right now in the life of mO! Have a good day!
No white after labour day!
Tuesday, September 05, 2006 6:44:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Well it sure has been a while since I last posted, my apologies to those anxiously waiting. Since coming back from Ontario it has just been so hard getting up before 7am. It is September now, the kiddly-winks are back to school and traffic is back to terrible. All is normal!
The long weekend was excelled! Friday night Alli and I went grocery shopping. Saturday we went to Canadian Tire to check out the tire sale then headed to Mr. Darryls, my manager, birthday party. There were lots of kiddly-winkers there and we got a lot of great pregnancy/parenting advice. Cornmeal for diaper rashes, hey?! Blue poo after eating blue berries... I wont go into details!
I even got to hang out with Mr. Lucas a little bit. He's a little over a year old now and definitely has a personality of his own. We both have something in common too.... "Bugs Ewwww... get 'em away from me!"
Sunday, we had the usual feast at Alli's pops house followed up by "Ramsey's Kitchen Nightmare" and "Big Brother". Graham Ramsey, you crack me up!
Monday, was Allison's last day of work. As of today she is unemployed, and as soon as her former employer gets the necessary paper work put together, she will be on her way to the Harry Hayes building to file for Maternity leave. Thank goodness, she is finally out of that smokey bar! In Alberta, you can go on Maternity no earlier then 12 weeks from your due date, at least it's not 17 like in New Foundland.
Alli is well into week 28 with baby. Less than 12 weeks until baby is due, and we are still having trouble picturing baby. What will baby look like?
That's all for today, have a great 4 day work week!
Clean Shave!
Friday, August 04, 2006 5:48:00 PM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
I've decided to share a few photos with you all before I leave on holidays.... please enjoy! What do you prefer...
Before? After?
View Clean Shave Album!
Pinnacle SUCKS!
Friday, August 04, 2006 6:34:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Today is my last day of work before going on holidays for a week. I'm very excited! Tomorrow we will be boarding our plane to head to Toronto. We spent some time cleaning up the house last night, and doing some laundry.
I tried porting my 80mm tape of our wedding to my hard drive using Dazzle DVC80. I can't find my install cd so i tried downloading the driver directly from the manufacturer's site. Pinnacle, the makers of dazzle, sucks big time. I eventually managed to find a driver from a 3rd party site. When trying to capture the video using Windows Movie Maker there was no audio. Stupid, stupid, stupid Dazzle! Where's my installation cd?
The install cd had some video editing software that worked nicely with the Dazzle DVC 80 device driver. So I tried to find a download for Pinnacle Studio 8 on the manufacturers web site. Unfortunately, you can only download updates for the software, so if you lost your disk you SOL!
What does this all mean? Pinnacle SUCKS and I'm going on holidays! Have a great long weekend, see yah in a week!
Dan for Prez
Thursday, August 03, 2006 6:38:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! So when Alli and I pulled up to our parking stall yesterday we saw the 2 lady's from the condo board and our neighbor Dan standing out in front of our place.
Our neighbor Dan is the vice president on the condo board. Wow... did I feel like a dummy as soon as he said that. Now I'm really glad I talked to Dennis, his roommate, first rather then calling the condo board. Because he's 1/5 of the condo board. Geeez...! I'm glad things are getting better and maybe I should start being nicer to the neighbors. Sorry guys!
Yesterday, I read a story on DIGG about MSN Spaces getting converted to Windows Live Spaces. So I logged in to my space account, which was collecting dust. You can now incorporate your Amazon ID and a new pay per click service. Interesting... I like the new "feeds" component. Have a look for yourself!
In other news, I am almost on vacation. Are you happy for me? This concludes my rant for the day!
ding dong... knock knock... hello?
Wednesday, August 02, 2006 6:34:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! It's in beta... my RSS 2.0 generator is ready to try. RSS 2.0 Generator Beta! I'm still having some issues installing from FireFox so you may have to use Internet Explorer. (While on the subject of IE, do you know the difference between Windows Explorer and Internet Explorer? You should!)
Last night was a lazy night for us, we went for a walk down to pond in our neighborhood and I had a chat with our neighbor Dennis about the music. It's not so much the level of music that bugs as much as the bass. But he was pretty cool about it, I'm glad I talked him rather then going to the condo board first. He gave me his # and told me to give him a call if it ever gets to loud. Thanks Mr. Dennis!
The walk around the neighborhood was nice. It was actually more like walking through construction/farm land. We walked a path that was basically dividing the two scenes. I can't imagine what it will look like in a few years. Maybe by then it will feel more like home. It still just feels like I'm living somewhere for a while before returning back home. I do miss my old neighborhood, I grew up there, everyone I know is there and it's really only 20 minutes away.
I'm sure I will grow up.
The baby is kicking more often now, it's pretty cool. It's almost the same feeling as putting your hand over your heart after a work out and feeling your heart beat. Only it's not consistent, you lay your hand down on the tummy and wait... and all of a sudden *kick*.
That's all for today, I'm getting excited about our trip to Georgian Bay, Ontario. Maybe I'll see a rattle snake ... oooooh, ahhhh..! Have a great day!
Dead man walking
Tuesday, August 01, 2006 6:34:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Well it is August 1st, and kind of cold so far. I had some really bad dreams last night, i just kept waking up in the middle of the night from these terrible dreams. The one that bugged me the most was the one where Allison died during the pregnancy of our child. Oh man... i don't even want to talk about. All my dreams involved people dieing around me... geez what did I eat last night?
So after work yesterday, Alli and I stopped by her dads house to configure his new wireless router. Oh yeah... I really "want" a laptop, now. But I really don't "need" one. We had Chinese food for dinner, Mmmm... Ginger chicken, chicken fried rice, mixed veggies in black bean sauce, noodles. I'm forming drool at my mouth!
We spent quite a bit of time in the baby's room last night. Imagining, talking, laughing... We've got the crib, change table, stroller, car seat set up in the room. And a bassinet in our room. We've got some clothes, and sheets. Pretty excited...
Have a great day!
Jus' kickin' it
Monday, July 31, 2006 6:29:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Another weekend has come to an end. Tomorrow will be the first day of August, so you school kiddos only have one more month of freedom before going back to school.
I had a pretty good weekend, although I think I'm addicted to MTV2. There's nothing but garbage on that channel but I can't stop watching it. "Sweet 16", "Cheyanne", "Kept", "The Hills", "Pimp my Ride", the list goes on. I'm surprised that it's a free channel.
Saturday night we watched "Natural Born Killers." Allison had never seen it before, I think she had the same reaction I did when I first saw it. "Huh? That was weird!?" Sunday I put together the change table, damn drawers. I find that no matter what I put together I always find one extra piece at the end that requires me to disassemble the project and start over. Ay yay yay....
I also felt our baby kicking for the first time on Saturday night. What a cool thing! Alli's now in to week 23, the books say baby is about 1 lbs and 20 cm crown to rump. Baby's growing...! It's such a crazy thing to describe, placing my hand on Alli's belly and feeling something from inside give my hand a little kick. "Would you guys be quiet out there I'm trying to sleep!? Geez" - baby!
I wrote a little utility in C to generate an RSS 2.0 file for me. It's pretty cool... I also started playing with Windows FTP DOS program and started building an interface for it in c#. Pretty cool... This Saturday we leave for Ontario for a week. We'll be out at Allison's grandfathers cottage surrounded by mother nature. So no computers for this guy, I'm going through withdrawal already, unfortunately.
That's it for today.. Have a good one!
Cool cool web!
Thursday, July 27, 2006 6:32:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! It's almost August, which means summers almost half over. September is usually a frustrating month, traffic gets bad, bills get big and i get pissy. Oh boy oh boy...
well I learned about an interesting bug in notepad not to long ago. Try this:
1. click on start -> run
2. type notepad
3. type in this exact phrase without the quotes --> "this app can break"
4. click on "File" -> "Save As"
5. In the file name textbox save as whatever you want.
6. In the "Save as type:" drop down list, select "Text Documents (*.txt)
7. close the document.
8. Re-open the document in notepad and see what happens....
I found a new search engine not to long ago, I think it's pretty cool. You can find it at http://www.snap.com The interface i think looks really good, but the search results aren't that great. Give it a try!
Another cool web application is Ta-da list. You can find this guy at "tadalist.com"
Enjoy! Have a great day!
Sweet Dreams
Wednesday, July 26, 2006 6:31:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Well I got another good night of rest, but I did have some weird work related dreams. Ugh... My arch nemesis from jr. high school started working at my office and he took over my cubicle. Damn him... and our office was transformed into more of a library than office. Each row of shelves divided the cube farm. It was pretty cool because I had a stack of books on my desk that I wanted to read.
Anyways, it seems that I've been really tired lately. I had a nap after dinner then went to bed early. I think I'm almost caught up with my lack of sleep. It's been nice being able to come home after work and plop on the couch. Ahhh... yes freedom!
That's all for today! Who only has 8 days of work before leaving on vacation and has two thumbs? This guy!
Who turned off the lights?
Tuesday, July 25, 2006 6:33:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Well I don't have school tonight... woo hooo... that means I get to go straight home after work. I went to sleep mighty early last night, 9:30pm. I needed it!
Yesterday at the end of my day at work our office had a power outage. It knocked off power to our entire building, later I found out this was a city wide problem. Apparently Alberta's power consumption was just to high, so someone had to pull the plug. This caused a lot of traffic problems with blinking lights but I made it home pretty quickly.
So day one of study boot camp didn't go so well. I spent most of the evening trying to stay awake. At least dinner was really good, and for dessert we had apple crisp. Mmm.... oh so crispy!
Have a great day!
Busy Bees
Monday, July 24, 2006 6:31:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! As usual we had another busy weekend at our place. Friday I scored a couple of tickets to the Stampeders vs. Lions game from my manager, Mr. Darryl. I had studying to do that evening so I got Alli to go with her dad. It worked out great I had the house to myself with no distractions and I managed to get a lot of studying done. It's to bad the Stamps lost though.
Saturday, I got up nice and early to do some more review before writing the final for my Comptia A+ course. I ended up getting 111/133 = 83% on the test and a 90% in the course. When I got home from class I started making ethernet cables using the cable my manager, Mr. Darryl gave me. I managed to get that all wrapped up this weekend including the wire in my master panel in the basement. Suhweet! Making cables is fun...
Saturday night Alli and I picked up some pizza from Papa Johns and watched Office Space and 16 Blocks. Both were good movies. I've seen Office Space before and it makes me laugh every time I see it. 16 Blocks was a new release we found at Blockbuster starring Bruce Willis and Mos Def. We were surprised we never heard about it before, but it was really good. Mos Def is a pretty good actor.
Sunday we got up bright and early and did a lot of work around the house. I finished the cabling in the basement, Allison cleared out the former guest room which we are turning into the baby room. We ciphened the water out of the water bed which took a lot of work. We took apart the rest of the water bed and tossed it in the dumpster, and we spent an hour and a half at the grocery store. We didn't get to the change table done, hopefully sometime this week.
Allison says she can feel the baby moving around a lot more now. I haven't been able to feel the little guy/gal yet. Hopefully soon! We are now in week 22 of 40. Almost there...
Have a great day!
Coffee on our table
Friday, July 21, 2006 6:53:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Well class is over, all that is left is a final exam on Saturday. Wooo Hoooo.... Also we picked up our new coffee table from Sears home yesterday. We ordered it last Friday. I managed to put it together last night and now our living room seems complete. We could just use one great big plant in the corner and we're good.
And in other news... It's Friday! Have a great weekend!
Not much to say
Thursday, July 20, 2006 6:28:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! I had a good night of sleep, and today I feel refreshed. Tonight is my 2nd last class in the Comptia A+ course, and man am I ever looking forward to getting my evenings back. ... Geez I have very little to say this morning. I spent my evening mostly in front of the computer last night when it should have been in books. But I did get some issues resolved on my site.
This weekend I'm planning on finishing the wiring in our home, putting together the change table and maybe going to a move. The new "Pirates of the Caribbean" I think... yup yup.
I think that's all folks. Have a great day!
If there were more hours in a day, I would use them to sleep
Wednesday, July 19, 2006 6:27:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Only 2 more classes left. After class last night I bumped into an old instructor of mine from when I was enrolled in CCT at SAIT. We had a good chat about the future of the CCT program, or lack there of. It's getting shut down, and now he's looking else where to move on. We talked about embedded systems, and life. It was kind of cool talking to a former instructor outside of the classroom.
It seems as though my server has been knocked offline today, all the clocks in the house were flashing which tells me we had a power outage last night. With all the moving and juggling of my network at home I didn't plug my server into any sort of surge protector, I sure hope it's not dead. *sigh* Right now I have it re-directing to a backup site. Dang....
Well, it's Wednesday. I've got a couple of weeks before going away for a week, which also means I've got a couple of weeks to book an appointment to write the Comptia A+ exams. I better get crackin'...
Have a good day!
Same old
Tuesday, July 18, 2006 6:55:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning... it is my last week of school. I have 8 chapters to read from here till Saturday before writing the final exam. So far i've read 3 of the 8, then I need to get my butt in gear and do some review if I plan on taking the A+ exam anytime soon. Mo so tired, he might drink coffee. My goodness he spelled mO with a capital 'M'. mO go crazy....
Back to reality, I got to thinking last night and I realized that I almost have enough spare parts to build a new PC. I just need a motherboard. I've got a p4 chip, stick of 256MB ram, case, 300 W power supply, monitor, cd rom drive. Hmmm... perhaps!
The Dr's appointment was pretty quick. Alli's regular doc was on holidays so she saw another one. He just checked some vital signs told her about the results of the ultra sound and we were on our way. Funny how a 20 minute appointment took up 2 hours out of my afternoon at work. But I like being there for all the appointments.
Anyways... that's all i got for today. Tonight's a school night so I dont think I'll have very much exciting news tomorrow.
It's all good, in the hood!
Monday, July 17, 2006 6:31:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Another year of stampede is over, global fest is just around the corner. Or as I like to refer to it as "global feast". Mmm... I've only gone one year but the food was really good.
Our weekend was pretty good, we watched a couple of movies including "Last Holiday" with Queen Latifah and LL Cool J, and Dave Chappelle's Block party. I managed to install face plates with rj45 connectors just where I wanted them. I moved my server to the basement, and 2 routers and a switch. I had to contact shaw to receive a second IP address. It seems as though there's quite the lengthy manual process to get a 2nd IP, even if it says you should be receiving 2 IP's when you log into http://members.shaw.ca you still have to call and have them manually assign you a second one. Hmm...
Now I have to networks at home each with it's own public WAN IP address. One network dedicated to VOIP traffic and the other to xbox, and my other machines. I installed a 2nd nic in my server so I can load balance it between the two networks. I also managed to Low Level Format a failed Maxtor Drive I had. It's back to a usable state so i popped that sucker in my server. I swapped our modem for one of the newer Motorola ones at Shaw. What else.... oh yes I put together the crib! I think I still need to pamper wifey though....
Last night we went for ice cream at "My favorite Ice Cream Shop". Yeah, that's the name it's in Marda Loop. I had a tiny cone with a lot of ice cream. In fact so much ice cream that the cone broke in my hands leaving 2 handfuls of ice cream for me to munch down quickly. Damn cones...!
If you're at all a fan of Picasa by Google I found a cool plugin that allows you to create an album using AJAX or Flash. You can find it at Agile Gallery! It's also free!
Today I'm taking Allison to the doctor, I expect that she'll be scheduled in for an ultra sound in the next week or so. Which means we may be able to find out the gender of our baby soon. Lately kiddo's been moving around a lot lately, I can't feel it yet but Alli sure can. Baby's about the size of a banana right now according to the baby books. So baby's name is "Chikita" this week. hehe...
That's all from mo-town! Oh Big Brother's baby with season 7 All Stars. Damn you chill town! Have a great day!
The state of the union
Friday, July 14, 2006 6:48:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Boy am I glad that it's Friday. I have had a hard time getting up right away in the mornings. I've actually been sleeping in for an extra 5, 10, sometimes 20 minutes. This weekend, must retrain myself to fall asleep at 10pm instead of 11:30pm. Eeep...
So last night in class my buddy Jason asked me... "so what do you think about what's going on?" I replied "what do you mean? What's going on?" Oh boy... Since cutting off cable I have no idea about what's going on in the world. Apparently, there's an unofficial war going on the world and I had no idea. That is a scary thought... I read some news articles online, and all I can say is .... *shake my head*! The UN is useless...
In other news CHUM has taken over a bunch of TV stations and have been cleaning house apparently. One of the girls at Alli's work lost her full time job at City TV. I'll have to do some more reading on that one... Until Monday. Have a good weekend!
Stampede BBQ
Thursday, July 13, 2006 6:28:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Well it's already +15 degrees Celsius here in Calgary. Looks like its going to be another hot one. Its kind of weird how nice traffic is during the stampede. The thousands of people coming to the city for the 10 day even I would think that there would be more people on the roads. But for the last week traffic has been great.
Last night we decided to re-arrange our living room. Why?! Well we needed a little change and Alli found a coffee table that she likes so we're trying to find different ways we can lay our the room so that it's not as congested.
The day before yesterday Alli made some banana bread. Mmmm.... It's so good. If I could just have some right now. Speaking of food today is our Data Shapers stampede BBQ at lunch. BBQ is good!
Alli got a bit of helpful advice the other day. It makes sense, if people ask you what you're going to name the baby, don't tell them. Everyone has some sort of comment and you're really not going to want to hear it. So true...
As for me, that's all I got today! Have a good one...
P.S. Thanks for the reading material Jen. Allison really enjoyed The girlfriends guide and she's liking what to expect when you're expecting. A little tidbit for you the author of the girlfriends guide is the wife of Jimmy Iovine, the producer of the "Get Rich or Die Trying" movie. And a hot shot in the rap industry. Ask Dr. Dre! hehe...
20 weeks 3 days
Tuesday, July 11, 2006 6:26:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! So we're now passed the half way mark of Alli's pregnancy. Within the next couple of weeks she needs to go back for her next ultra sound, and hopefully then we will be able to tell gender.
We spent some time working on names earlier in her pregnancy but i think we've decided to put it on hold until we know if its a boy or girl. We have a general list of names and we're prepared for whomever shows up in late November.
According to the Chinese calendar our baby will be born in the year of the dog. Uh huh... Loyal and quick to learn, that's right!
Ok so last night was a study night for myself, another test today in class after work. I'm really glad this class is ending soon and even better we're going on vacation in less than 4 weeks. This time we're off to Georgian Bay, Ontario, Canada. To visit Alli's grampa at his cottage. Should be fun.
Some things I need to do this weekend are:
- study
- install rj45 outlets and face plates throughout house.
- put together crib
- put together change table
- finish website
- pamper wife
- sleep...
Have a good day!
20 of 40 weeks
Monday, July 10, 2006 6:27:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! It's another sunny Monday morning! I had a pretty good weekend. On Friday we stayed home and watched a movie. Saturday I went to class and Alli dropped the car off to get serviced, then I took the bus to go pick it up. Everything went smooth there.
I rebuilt my machine Saturday night, then while playing with the TV we found that we had about 10 or so free channels. Weird... we picked up a station from Red Deer, MTV2, Much More Music, CTV News Net and a couple of other ones. Wow we were pretty excited when we found out.
Also on Saturday I contacted Shaw to find out why our internet connection had been so slow lately. The guy that helped me out from Shaw was named Jay. He was really, really helpful and with his help we were able to bump my download speed from 2.1 Mbps to 4-5 Mbps. I even asked him a few questions about 3Web and he said it was a good service. The main difference is that Shaw offers 24/7 technical service whereas they only offer monday to friday 9 - 5 type service. Another thing I liked is how Shaw is offering a QOS service for VOIP customers. I don't know how much it could really boost your VOIP performance but I like that Shaw is trying to work with VOIP rather then block it.
Sunday, I walked to the store and picked up a few things. It was nice to get out and get some air. But I spent most of my day reading and studying for class. Next Saturday is my last class, woo hooo. Which means I better finish up the book and begin review if I want to take the Comptia A+ certification test right away.
Anyways, life is good! And in other good news, Allison can feel baby in her tummy, we go to the doctor next Monday and I found dead end Cat5 cables wired to each of the coaxial cable outlets. That's where they wired it to... dang why didn't I look there earlier! Have a good day!
Sneak a peek
Thursday, July 06, 2006 6:31:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Today is sneak a peek night at the Calgary Stampede. For the next 10 days you will find lots of horses, hay and cowboy hats in the city of Calgary. Oh did I mention pancake breakfasts? Joy!
Well I'm feeling a little sniffly this morning. I had the toughest time getting to sleep again last night. After dinner Alli and I hopped on the couch and read. I finished about 2 pages then I fell asleep with the book standing up on my chest. Allison laughed! I woke up about 40 minutes later and decided it was time for me to go to bed. When I got to bed, I could not go back to sleep. I think I fell asleep around 11:30pm. Yes I like to talk about my sleeping habits...
Tonight is another school night for this guy. Only 3 weeks left in this class, which means I've got lots of review to do if I'm going to take the Comptia A+ exam. Lots and lots of review!
My tummy hurts... have a good day!
World Cup
Wednesday, July 05, 2006 6:28:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Driving in to work these past 2 days has been pretty good. Light traffic, sunshine, pleasant courteous drivers. It's been good!
Our neighbors were tormenting us again last night. They had their music up nice and load up until shortly after 11pm. Needless to say we didn't get to sleep before 11. Damn those neighbors! That's ok because in less than 5 months we'll torment them with the loud cries of a child. *buah hahah i'm so evil!*
When I came home from class last night I walked in to our living room which has now become a storage closet for all our baby stuff. Auntie Lisa bought a bassinet for kiddo. Thanks auntie Lisa! Our inventory for baby now includes...
- Crib with mattress
- Matching change table
- 4 in 1 stroller/carrier/car seat
- bassinet with stand
- linens
- cap
- diaper dispenser
- bath tub
I think we're in pretty good shape so far. Now we just need baby! Allison's next doctors appointment is booked for July. 17 at 2:00pm. These mid morning, mid afternoon appointments are a little tough to work around. Lucky for me my job has been pretty accommodating so far.
So I have not mentioned world cup, at all so far. Hmm... odd don't you think how it's a huge thing to the rest of the world but not here. Italy is moving on to the final this Sunday and even though I have not seen a single game I predict France defeating Portugal today to advance to the final to face Italy. Have a great day!
That's baby talk
Tuesday, July 04, 2006 6:28:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Well another long weekend has come to an end. At least it's only a 4 day work week. Why can't all work weeks be 4 days. *sigh*
There was no school this Saturday for myself so I got a lot of studying done this weekend. Tonight we write another test. Yesterday we picked up some goodies from Kac'z Kids at deerfoot mall. A brand spanking new crib and mattress courtesy of Alli's dad. Then we picked up the matching change table and a quattro 4 in 1 stroller/car seat. Alli put the stroller together yesterday and it looks rugged man. It's weird how we're starting to notice things we never noticed before like different kids stores and what types of strollers and equipment other people are using. I can't wait to test out our rugged manly SUV tough stroller. *Insert manly Tim the toolman Taylor grown here*
On Sunday we had dinner at Alli's dads then we watched "Silent Hill." This was a movie made based on the video game. I remember playing the game in high school and thought it was to scary to continue playing. It was so darn scary I tell ya. The movie wasn't as scary, and the ending kind of left more questions then answers. I don't get it.
On Saturday Alli, her mom and I went and saw "The Devil Wears Prada." I was totally dragged to this movie really, it wasn't my idea to go. Really!! Fine it was! It was pretty good. Merryl Streep did an awesome job and I did a good job of guessing Anne Hathaway's name. Yup, we couldn't figure out what that actresses name was so I decided to give her a made up name. "Anne Hathaway." Turns out that is her name, so I must have heard it somewhere and stored the info subconsciously. I am strange...
Alli's really liking this book we borrowed from my managers wife Jen. It's called the girlfriends guide to pregnancy, or something like that. Anyways, I heard Allison giggling a lot this weekend. Then I heard a lot of "That's totally us... Isn't is mO?!!". Oh boy... oh boy!
Well we're only 5 weeks away from going to Alli's grampa's cottage in Ontario. She's wanted me to see his cottage for quite some time now. I must say I am getting a little excited. We'll be able to sit back and reflect and look forward to what's to come. Ahh yes... I can picture it now... there I am sitting in a beach chair out on the dock, staring out at the water in the hot, hot, hot sun.
That's enough ranting for today. Thanks for all the great advice by the way.
Here comes Canada Day
Friday, June 30, 2006 6:51:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Well I managed to sleep in an extra 20 minutes, but lucky for me its the start of a long weekend so there was no traffic coming in to work. I managed to leave the house at 7:30 and end up at work by quarter too. Sweet!
Yesterday was another busy day with school and work. I plan to take advantage of the long weekend by catching up on school work and getting some rest.
According the Vibe morning show survey says question of the day... 56% of women go out and pick up men on long weekends. Hide your children boys... they're on the prowl!
So Alli and I are having a bit of trouble trying to figure out what baby furniture goes in the "Must have" column and what goes in the "Nice to have" column. Where do things like a change table, and dresser fit in to. What items did you find important that most new parents don't think about?
So far we need a...
- crib
- car seat
- stroller
- change table
- dresser
All suggestions are greatly appreciated! Have a great weekend!
Happy Birthday Captain!
Thursday, June 29, 2006 6:33:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Yesterday was Allison's dads birthday, so directly after work I picked up Alli from work then went straight home to change. Then we went to Santorini's for a little Greek birthday dinner.
We had all sorts of appetizers to try. For dinner I had a lamb souvlakia, it was pretty darn good. Alli's dad was telling us about how a major in the army who helped him discover the restaurant. Just a few minutes after telling the story in walks Major Mike. I think Alli's dad was quite happy to see him. We heard a lot of bratty army stories after that.
Alli's grandmother came down for dinner as well so she got to hear the big news. Alli handed her the images from the ultrasound and they both started to cry. Ahhhh... geez!
After dinner went back to Alli's dads place for a little homemade birthday carrot cake. It was really, really good. It's to bad I was to full to enjoy more. But I could really go for more right about now...
Tonight I have class so I expect to be pretty tired when I get home tonight. Only about 4 or 5 weeks left to go. That's all for now... have a great day!
200 grams
Wednesday, June 28, 2006 6:33:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! I was super tired yesterday! It was good to get some rest, although I did wake up a couple times in the middle of the night for a glass of water. I've never had a bedroom on a top floor of a house before and i never realized just how hot it gets up there.
My basement bedrooms were always nice and cool in the summer making it easy to get to sleep. As soon as I walk up the stairs I break a sweat, but it's all good!
So yesterday we went for an ultra sound. We got to see "baby" moving around and hiccuping. We saw 4 fingers, the thumb wasnt visible. We saw it's little skull and feet. We saw the heart, and brain. Man it was cool. The heart rate was at 154 BPM. The nurse said for them any where in between 120 and 180 is a good heart rate, but Alli's doctor said 120 and 160. Either way we seem to be ok. Right now "baby" is 200 grams so we couldn't tell the gender as of yet. But we did find out that Allison is actually further along then we expected.
She is not 11 weeks but rather 18 weeks 3 days. *Well today its 4 days I guess!* Which means that "baby" has been to Barbados!
We get to go back for another ultra sound in 2 to 3 weeks where we might then get to find out the gender. Until then we have got some shopping to do!
I think its one of those days
Tuesday, June 27, 2006 6:32:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Ow... my back is really sore. I think I must have slept on it funny. It seems lately that I have been averaging about 6 - 7 hours of sleep. So it was no surprise to me when I woke up at 4 am and couldn't get back to sleep. I actually managed to fall asleep right at 10 pm, and 6 hours later I was up and playing with our bunny.
I guess that's one of the perks of having a pet, he woke up when he saw that I woke up. In fact I wonder if he sleeps at night or during the day. Anyways it was nice to have a little company at 4 am.
At 5am I went back to bed and laid there for about 40 minutes. I finally fell asleep just in time to have my alarm wake me up 20 minutes later. *sigh* I think I could be borderline grumpy today. Beware!
I am really looking forward to the long weekend. I could use the break to just get back in to my regular routine. Catch up on some reading for school and have some down time to reflect.
At 10:30am Alli and I are going for the ultra sound. I know she's really excited, I'm not sure how I feel. I think I should be more excited but I'm not sure if it's all completely sunk in for me yet. I think it has. Hearing the heart beat definitely put things into perspective.
Anyways, I can't wait for the ultra sound. Should I have packed a video camera? What am I forgetting? Ahhh ... geez have a good day!
I cant wait
Monday, June 26, 2006 6:26:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Another exciting weekend has come to an end.
Yesterday, I went to Theatre Calgary with Mr. Cal to watch his daughters dance recital thingy-ma-bob! It was pretty cool... there were all sorts of little kids there ranging from 3 - 20. All together there were about 10 - 12, 5 minute dance performances. There were different types of dances like tap, ballet, musical theatre, jazz and hip hop.
It was fun to watch the kids all dolled up in makeup with huge grins on their faces as they bumped into each other on stage. I just hoping no one stepped on another kids feet but they were all very good... Miss Brittany especially!
Saturday, another regular day of classes. Except that I stayed up the night before until 1:30am studying. *sigh*
Friday, was pretty fun we went to RCGA for our company golf tournament. It was my first time golfing and I enjoyed it. I accidentally hit a goose with my first swing, I felt kind of bad. Until they started hissing at me... They're scary creatures. I even managed to do my best Happy Gilmore impersonation by stepping into the ball as I swung. Yup.. yup.. .Good times!
Allison picked up a few things for the baby on the way. She got a Winnie the Poo crib set, which could work for either a boy or girl, and a baby cap with some ducks on it. Pretty cute stuff...
I think we both can't wait until tomorrow for the ultrasound. We were up late talking last night as usual... Lots and lots of thoughts running through our heads. My main concern right now is getting Allison to stop working at the bar as soon as possible. She spent a little bit of time looking at labor laws and trying to understand the regulations of maternity leave. But I don't want her to continue to work there just long enough to get mat leave. I would much rather have a healthy child and have to struggle for money then risk the chance of having an unhealthy kid. Not to mention its a lot of work carrying a kid in your tummy while serving drinks.
The drive in to work was super quick this morning so maybe I'll get an early start. Have a great day peoples!
150 BPM
Friday, June 23, 2006 6:36:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Yesterday, at lunch I went home and quickly whipped up a quick sandwich. Allison and I then headed to Superstore and picked up a few things before going to her doctors office. She had an appointment at 1:40pm. Around 1:30ish she got called in by a nurse and went to a room. I sat in the waiting room patiently tapping my right toe.
The waiting room was full of mom's and expecting moms. There were lots of kids playing with toys crying, crawling. I was a little nervous being around so many kids. Usually, when I'm in the waiting room at my Dr's office it's very quiet. Most of his patients seem to be the elderly...
One of the little girls in the waiting room kept crawling towards me and smiling. I couldn't NOT smile she was pretty cute. I think her name was Shyan. After waiting for about 20 - 30 mins a nurse came to the waiting room and said "MO!?". I replied "yeah!?". She asked "Do you want to hear your baby's heartbeat?"
I jumped up and followed her to the room Allison was in. She was laying on her back with a white sheet over her lower body and a green gown. On her tummy was shiny goo spread evenly. The nurse was talking, but I don't remember a word she said. All I remember was when she took this little device and started rubbing it across Alli's abdomen I heart... "thump thump... thump thump..." My jaw dropped. 154... 155... 154 BPM was what the device read. I could hear our baby's heart beat. *I'm still grinning!*
Next Dr. Spence came in and examined Allison. She and the nurse hmmm and hawed back and forth ... saying something about 18" inches. Next she asked how sure are we about the date of your last period? Huh?
She said that 1 of 3 things is happening...
1. Allison has a growth on her uterus which she said is not harmful and is common.
2. Allison is carrying twins.... *ahhhh...*
3. Allison is not 11 weeks pregnant and maybe closer to 18-22 weeks.
Either way she says we need to do an ultra sound right away to find out. She had her staff contact different clinics in Calgary to see which could get us in for an ultra sound as soon as possible. Our 11 week old lime may actually be an 18 week grapefruit.
10:30 am Tuesday, June 27. 2006. I may get to find out if it's a boy or girl... We're having a baby! *You can all stop wondering now... hehe!*
1 sheep, 2 sheep, 3 sheep... Zzzz...
Thursday, June 22, 2006 6:31:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! They started paving our parking lot yesterday. It looked pretty darn good when we got home. Until it started raining, then it was like the Nile river. Hopefully, the rain doesn't set them back to much. I'm sure it will turn out great.
Last night I had some studying to do. We've got another test this Saturday, and on Friday I get to go for my first golf experience with my company. So I wont have much time left to study. So I got about 3/4 of the way through the first chapter I wanted to study when... I fell asleep! Yup!
You see, I like to study on the floor. I always have, I lay down in front of the TV with my book in front of me, a pen in my hand and my notebook. I guess I was super tired because I laid my head down for a minute and slept for a good 3 hours. When I did wake up I didn't want to get up, I had to peel myself off the floor. Oh boy, did I need the nap.
Of course, when I did end up going to bed I couldn't fall asleep. Sheesh, but that's ok I think the nap made up for the time I lost and now I'm feeling pretty good.
Tonight is the NHL awards. I would like to see it, but to bad I have school tonight. *sigh* But I'm sure Kipper and Phaneuf will win in their respective categories. If you can, you should watch it. That Ron Maclean cracks me up! Have a great day!
Im the controller of my domain!
Wednesday, June 21, 2006 6:27:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Well we have another Eastern conference champion. The Miami Heat defeated the Dallas Mavericks last night to win the finals in the NBA. This win I was a little happier about.
Last night was a school night for me. It was a pretty cool class too, I now have a better understanding of domain controllers. Now if I can find some time to play at home that would be great.
On the radio this morning they said that today is the longest day of the year. Which is good because I don't have work or school tonight. Yay! Although, that also means that after today all the days will start to get shorter. As long as we get sunshine I'll be happy!
It's the middle of the week, and only a few weeks away from the long weekend. Which reminds me I need to book off a week from work in August. We're going to Allison's grandfathers cottage in Ontario, on Georgian bay.
Until tomorrow, have a great day!
The Cup Stays in the East
Tuesday, June 20, 2006 6:36:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! It's a rainy morning here in Calgary. I sure hope the rain ends soon. I think rain is a good thing, but so is sunshine.
Well, Carolina won the Stanley cup last night. It was a good game but Carolina definitely wanted to win. Man it's hot in the office today... I wonder if the air conditioning is broken. Back to what I was saying, Edmonton played great and did an awesome job to force the finals to game 7. Great job guys... but I guess Calgary and Edmonton now have something in common. I guess winning of losing the cup had nothing to do with touching the western conference trophy. Jarome Iginla touched it but Jason Smith did not. In the end the eastern conference won it again. *sigh*
As for me, now I can focus on school and other projects I'm working on. So I guess it's a good thing. Oh... and hopefully the Heat win tonight. To bad I'll be in class... *Zzzz...*
Have a great day!
Game Day
Monday, June 19, 2006 6:30:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! It's another Monday morning. So far it seems nice and sunny outside. It's to bad that it rained for most of the weekend, but that's ok. Starting this morning they're applying another layer of cement of asphalt to our parking lot at the condo. It looks like several of our neighbors didn't follow the request to not park their cars in the parking lot. tsk tsk...
Tonight is game 7 of the Stanley cup finals. Edmonton vs. Carolina. I can't believe that Edmonton was down 2 - 0 then 3 -1, then 3-2 and are still in this. I hope I'm wrong. I would like to see the Oilers win.
On Saturday we had another test at school. I managed to pull out an 86% after studying late the night before. I later found out that 3 of the people in the class had all the questions with answer with them. They were memorizing all the answers. Damn them... but now they hooked me up!
I'm hoping this Monday goes smooth...
Go spOILERS gO!
Thursday, June 15, 2006 6:38:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Wowzers is it ever raining hard. Rain, rain go away... C'mon back another day! Yesterday they moved the dumpster from being our stall and moved it on over behind the neighbors stalls. Sweet... The forklifts and trees are still behind ours but it's not so bad. The lake of water was more like an outdoor pool this morning. Hopefully, but September 1st all construction and landscaping will be complete in our complex.
As for the hockey game... I watched it and boy am I glad that I did. What a game... Edmonton won in overtime while on a penalty kill. I sure hope this is the momentum shift that Edmonton needs. Oh boy oh boy...
As for me... I'm a little tired. I think tomorrow I will get up at 7am instead of 6am. Last time I did that I left the house at 8am and made it in to work at 8:15am. I wonder Deerfoot will be dead at that time again. Either way I had a hard time getting out of bed this morning...
Have a great day!
To Much TV!
Monday, June 12, 2006 6:29:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! I had a pretty good weekend. I managed to catch up sleep and I got a few things done around the house.
On Saturday night we watched the hockey game. Edmonton beat Carolina by a score of 2 -1 and the series is now at 2 games to 1. Tonight is game 4 in Edmonton.
Sunday, we had brunch at Ricky's. I tried the new BBQ breakkie bowl, it was ok but sure doesn't compare to the Sunshine breakkie bowl. Please bring back the Sunshine breakkie bowl!
Then we watched the original 1976 version of "The Omen." What a freaky movie... After that we watched "Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle." Mmmm...
I've only got 6 more weeks of school left then things can go back to normal. Yay! Have a good day!
Give me a break, give me a break, break me off a piece of that...
Friday, June 09, 2006 6:24:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! I had school again last night, and boy was I tired. Last night we installed Windows NT on a PC. I had never seen NT before and I found out that I wasn't missing much. IE2 was ancient and had problems with every site it went to. Either way it was pretty fun...
As for tonight, I hope to have a relaxing evening at home. There's still lots to do this weekend, but for tonight I would like to have a nap on the couch and maybe go for a walk. I think I'm finally starting to get used to our new neighborhood. Although, I'm not really excited about the placement of the dumpster behind our parking stall. But with our little car it's not a big deal maneuvering around it.
It's a rainy Friday, so pick up a movie and just relax! Have a good weekend!
Golden opportunity
Thursday, June 08, 2006 6:24:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! It's raining right now in Calgary, but the drive in to work was pretty good. Those poor Edmonton Oilers.
Well the Oilers got smoked last night, by a score of 5 to 0. I don't think goaltending was the problem for Edmonton last night. Markkanen played decent. Edmonton was just not able to capitalize on several golden opportunities. We'll see what happens on Saturday in Edmonton.
So lately I'm finding that I'm having a lot of trouble getting to sleep before 11pm. Although, I feel like I could just fall asleep at different points throughout the day. So when I hit the hay at 9:30 or 10pm why can't I fall asleep?
There are a few movies that I would like to go see right now. First is the remake of "The Omen", second is "The Davinci Code." third.... oh shoot what was third?
Well that's all for today, have a good one!
Movin' UP!
Wednesday, June 07, 2006 6:31:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning.... wholy moly blogger is being slow today! Well last night was another busy school night so not much happened in the world of mO. Tonight is game 2 of the Stanley Cup finals and Edmonton will be playing without goalie Dwayne Roloson.
Yesterday I got a raise at work. Sweeeet! That is effective April 1st. So I got a few extra bucks tossed into the bank account. When I came home school last night I found another letter from Condominium First, our condo management company. They say we owe money. I'm getting tired of this nonsense, ML Fitzgerald doesn't return my calls and we signed up for pre-authorized payments which have been coming out of our account. I don't know what's going on over there but I'm truly not impressed!
And in other news... I had a good day on 666 day. Does that mean that I'm evil?Have a good day!
Triple six
Tuesday, June 06, 2006 6:26:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! So today is 06/06/06 or 666, the mark of the devil. *buah ha ha ha ha...* Yes people this is no laughing matter. Beware, be very ware! *sure bud*
So I heard an interesting statistic on the radio yesterday. Apparently, Calgary is about the same size of New York City but with 1/10 the population. Wow... Could you imagine 10 million people jammed into Calgary? Imagine driving on deerfoot with 10 million people. Yuck!
Last night was a sad night for Edmonton Oilers fans. It was an exciting game to watch but the ending was painful to see. Goalie Dwayne Roloson is apparently out for the rest of the playoffs. I guess that leaves things to Ty Conklin and Markkanen. Oh boy... Carolina came back to beat the oilers by a score of 5 - 4 after being down 3 - 0.
And in other news... I'm tired! Have a good day!
Farewell...
Monday, June 05, 2006 6:40:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! It's Monday morning and I feel a little tired.
Yesterday was a long day for myself. After yesterday's post I couldn't get back to sleep. So at 5am I went and ran on the elliptical machine for a while. At around 6am I cooked up some hashbrowns for breakfast and had a shower. At 7 I played with our bunny for quite a while. I think he was pretty excited to see me up so early. From about 8am to 10ish I played "The Godfather" video game on xbox and beat the game. By around 10am I was so wiped out I passed out on the couch. Then... the phone started ringing... over and over and over.
Allison didn't get home from work until about 3am the night before so she didn't get much sleep either with the 10:30 am phone calls. I have never met such a clingy boyfriend before but this Mr. Paul guy started to annoy me and I had never met him before.
At around 12:30am Allison, Lisa, Shawna, Jenna and I went to Ricky's for breakfast. Had I known I was going to be the only guy I probably wouldn't have gone. I thought Allison's dad was going. Well the meal was good, and the service was good as usual. I had my regular "Chorizo Breakky Bowl".
Jenna and Lisa went to Banff, Allison and I went for a walk around the neighborhood. At 4:30am we left to drop Allison off at work then I went to visit my friend Kevin.
Kevin and I went and saw the movie "X-men III" which was pretty good. I had not seen any of the other x-men movies but this one was pretty good. Wolverine's my hero!
Afterwards, I dropped Kevin off at his place and I went home. I got home around 9:15 and called Allison at work. She told me that Jenna and Lisa were coming to get changed so they could go out. *Not again?!*
I waited for Jenna, and she arrived shortly after 10pm. She came in and said she had 6 minutes to go get changed and ran upstairs. *Well it's nice to see you too!* I waited downstairs so I lock the door after her. She came down and I said "If you're going to be out past midnight, do not come back here." She got upset, and said she did not want to make us upset. "I replied I'm not upset, have a good night!" I think she might have begun to cry as she walked out the door. Oh boy... now I feel like a jerk although I don't know what I did.
I didn't expect her to start crying. I just needed some sleep, so I laid down the law. She's more then welcome to stay at our home, but I can't allow it to be used as a motel. We are both working people and don't have the time and energy to deal with 4am commotion.
Needless to say I got little sleep. I was up for a few hours thinking back about everything. Am I doing the wrong thing? Did I over react? Was I mean? The answer to all my questions were no (except writing the last 2 blog entries is probably not a good thing!). I was fair and more than reasonable. Finally I slept... Parenting must be exhausting! Respect!
What do you mean they grow into teenagers?
Sunday, June 04, 2006 3:41:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
I can't get back to sleep. It's definitely been an insightful weekend so far. Having Allison's 18 year old cousin stay with us has opened my eyes as to what it might be like to be a parent of a teenager. *shoot me now!*
Allison's cousin Jenna, seems to be a super smart girl. She was accepted into several universities and had enough options to be able to choose what she wanted to do with her life. She seems to be making those decisions very well at home. That same decision making power may not be exercised here however.
I remember being a "bad" teenager. I never followed a curfew, I had little respect for parents and authority. My mother always told me that I would get it 10 times worse then I give it. Which makes me fear ever having a child.
About 45 minutes ago, my home woke up to a bunch of commotion. Allison's sister Lisa, pulled up to our house at 4am with her boyfriend and a very drunk cousin. It probably wouldn't be very nice of me to into details but it was kind of funny. She seemed to have lost a shoe, and needed some help getting to the door. I imagine I'm going to be a little afraid to use the bathroom in the morning.
In the history of Mo, I can think of only one time where I came home that drunk. It was more then enough to teach me about my limits with alcohol. It's a bit of a funny story now, I woke up on my front lawn... I'm just glad it didn't rain.
Respect is fundamental if you're going to get a long with me. If you don't show you, you don't get it.
It's only been a couple nights with a house guest, and so far I've been awakened in the middle of the night twice because of it. I realize that I sound like a bit of a prude, but this is not my lifestyle any more. I have no problems with people drinking, partying and staying out late. But don't bring me into the party, I'm not interested.
I would like to thank Lisa for driving Jenna's boyfriend to his hotel late night, two nights in a row. I would not like to think about what kind of fury I might unleash if I found a strange man in my house using it as a hotel.
Respect is earned, granted! But if you're a guest in our home, I have 3 simple rules. Respect me, Respect my home and respect my family!
With that said I'm going to try to get some more sleep. Hopefully, I will be a little more pleasant in the morning. And for some positive news, I got 84% on my A+ quizk earlier today. I can do better, but it was a good start. I'm out...
Jenna if you happen to read this... you're a cool cat. You're friendly, you seem to have a good head on your shoulders, but uhhh... maybe next time you should stay in a motel. Not "mO-tel"!
Note to self, get sterilized!
It's already June!
Thursday, June 01, 2006 6:33:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! It's a sunny Thursday morning. Last night after work we did a lot of grocery shopping. We needed it, because our cupboards were almost bare. *sigh*
Afterwards, we had a quick dinner then I spent some more time on the DS site to make some more changes. It's to bad I can't connect to home right now, so I can't get the latest until I can do so. *awww shucks!*
At around 8:30pm we went over to help Allison's mom, move into their new place. They only had a few items left to move but that took a couple of hours. A mattress, a desk, an entertainment center, some clothes and boxes. Managed to jump in bed at 11pm.
My resolution for this weekend is go get more sleep. Hopefully, I wont be as cranky next week. Until then... have a good day!
School is for suckers!
Wednesday, May 31, 2006 6:28:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! So school was ok last night. It turns out most of our graduating class from SAIT has gone back to school. The program we graduated from is now cancelled for the fall semester. Who knows why, but that pisses me off a little. So this diploma I have on my resume will mean almost nothing in a couple years when CCT no longer exists. Damn you SAIT!
Which know leads me back to my previous comment of wanting to go back to school. This soon to be non-existent 2 year technical diploma probably wont take me where I want to go in the future. And it definitely is not going to get easier to go back to school. So what should I do?
Yesterday, Allison informed me that our flights were booked for Toronto in August. Allison sister, her mom and her mom's boyfriend, Allison and I are going to her grampa's cottage for a week in August. I just don't remember exactly what week it is, but its supposed to be around the long weekend. I guess I should book the time off from work... hmm.. I'll have to get on that!
That's about it for today. Have a great day!
Tuesday Morning
Tuesday, May 30, 2006 6:28:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! It's Tuesday morning, and so far it looks like a sunny one. Last night there was a burst of hail that left just as quick as it came.
It was nice to have a relaxing evening at home. I spent some time finishing up the DS site but I still get a little down time. Which felt really good!
Tonight is another school night. This Saturday we've got our first quiz, and Allison's cousin is supposed to be coming to stay with us for the weekend. Hopefully, we will hear from her so that she can let us know her flight #. Otherwise she said she would be in Calgary at 11:30am on Friday.
I've been thinking about going back to school lately. Not sure just how feasible that is right now, but I think I would enjoy it.
Anyways, have a good day!
It's June this week?
Monday, May 29, 2006 6:30:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! It was a good weekend and I managed to get a lot of work done with a little down time. After work Friday I dedicated my evening to working on the DS Site project. I'm ooooh so close to completion. Only a few touch ups left.
Saturday, I had class from 9am to 4 pm. Then we went to Allison's dad's place to watch the Edmonton Oilers beat the Anaheim Mighty Ducks to advance to the Stanley Cup finals.
Sunday, I drove Alli to work, and worked on a friends flyer for an event he's throwing at the distillary downtown. Sunday night, more hockey at Allison's dad's place.
I had trouble getting to sleep last night, so I'm feeling kind of sluggish today. But I'm sure I'll perk up. Have a good day!
It's raining it's pouring, mo dropped his head on his desk and now he's snoring
Friday, May 26, 2006 6:26:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Well it's a rainy morning here in Calgary, but the drive in to work was great. Everyone must be sleeping in because there was very little traffic on the road.
I'm really looking forward to 4:30pm today. First thing I'm going to do when i get home is have a nap. Then I've got work to do. (Don't you worry Mr. Jeremy I will have your DS site completed by Monday, and Mr. Masih I will have your flyer done by tomorrow!)
Although this was a short work week it's felt like a long one. Tuesday as usual came in to work then went to class after work which makes it an 8am to 9pm work day. Wednesday went to the doctor's office in the morning then worked late to make up the time for showing up late. Then headed home and worked on the DS site for 2 hours. Yesterday went to school went to work 8am-pm day. All in all I hope it's all worth it but I'm sorry if I'm a little grumpy these days. I just feel behind. Tonight I've got some extra work to do then a 7 hour class tomorrow. Woo hoo...
Have a good weekend!
Getting Sleepy...
Thursday, May 25, 2006 6:48:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Well I managed to over sleep this morning but surprisingly got to work early. Hmmm... Maybe I don't really need to get up at 6 am every morning. Anyways, yesterday was a long day. And today will be another long one with school. The weekend seems so far away...
Break's over, back to work!
Tuesday, May 23, 2006 6:42:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Another long weekend has come to an end, but it came just in time. It was good to get some down time to relax.
I got to help out with some of the reno's on Allison's mom's new place which is hard work. I talked to Allison's cousin Jenna, who will be staying with us for a couple days while she attends a wedding next weekend. And I spent some quality time with our bunny "hiphop". We talked about all sorts of things like life, politics, religion, work... you know the regular things people talk about with their pets.
It's a 4 day work week which is nice especially when you've got some long days because of school. Today is one of them.
The Oilers are up 2 games to 0 against the Anaheim Mighty Ducks and life is pretty good. Have a good day!
2, 4, 6, 8...
Thursday, May 18, 2006 6:30:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Congratulations to the Edmonton Oilers. They successfully defeated the San Jose Sharks to move on to the Western Conference finals. It seems to be the year of the even numbers. In the west the 6th place team is facing the 8th place team and in the east the 2nd place team is facing the 4th place team. 2, 4, 6, 8!
Tonight I have class once again which makes for another long day. Just 2 more days of work and I can relax. Besides that not much else is going on in the world of mO.
Have a good day!
Hot & Noisy
Wednesday, May 17, 2006 6:35:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Well it was a long drive in to work this morning due to the accident occupying 2 of the 3 southbound lanes on deerfoot this morning. Lucky for me I woke up at 5:30 and couldn't get back to sleep. So I left the house about 20 minutes earlier then usual. What a coinky-dink!
It's been hard getting to sleep the last couple of nights because of the heat. It seems that the top level of our home is soooo very hot. The main level mild and the basement is cool. Perhaps I will have to grab a sleeping bag and park my keester in the basement at night. Ahhh coool!
Our neighbors are at it again with the music. One one side we heard loud bass thumping through the walls and the other side is a baby crying. I think we're hearing it much more now because we must all have our windows open... Might be a looooong summer!
Class was pretty good last night. Our instructor is a little strange but I think there's a method to his madness. He's starting to grow on me. Looks like it might be a darn good course after all.
Only 3 more days until the long weekend. Have a good day!
Headaches
Tuesday, May 16, 2006 6:24:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Wow the weather has been great here in Calgary. I think on the radio this morning I heard the expected high was +30 degrees Celsius. I think this weekend is also a long weekend so hopefully it will be sunny and hot. It's tough working indoors when it's so nice outside.
Last night was a quiet evening at home. Made some dinner and did some reading from my A+ book. I started to feel a little ill and had to go to bed right away. I got all hot and clammy, and had the weirdest dreams. I'm not sure what it was but I feel better now. I've been suffering from headaches lately which is strange for me. But it's happened a few days in a row now, maybe it's a tumor. "it's not a tuma!"
There have been a lot of Oilers flags going up lately here in Calgary. It seems as though playoff fever has caught on for many Edmonton Oilers fans living here in Calgary. It's good to see... I wonder if you can purchase Oilers flags here in Calgary.
Tonight I have school right after work, so it should be a long day. I'm sure it will be worth it. Until tomorrow, have a great day!
There's no place like home...
Monday, May 15, 2006 6:26:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! I'm back from my trip to Dallas. That week kind of flew by. Dallas was an interesting city to visit. I'll have to go into more details as to what I did and saw in a later posting. I just wont be able to cover it all this morning. I'm just really glad to be back in Calgary, and glad to be a Canadian. 'nuff said!
So I've been out of the loop in the hockey world for the past week. Looks like Ottawa, Colorado have been knocked out. And last night Carolina knocked out New Jersey. Edmonton is up 3 games to 2.
I managed to get to class Saturday morning after arriving late Friday night. So far class has been interesting. Kind of a nutty instructor but I'll get used to him I think.
I've got some catching up to do here. So I'll keep this post short. Have a good day!
Did I mention that it's Friday!
Friday, May 05, 2006 6:23:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Well... I'm feeling like I've got my "mojo" back. I managed to get quite a few things accomplished yesterday, not to mention get some quality rest.
So I didn't really get to go over Game 7 with you that much. It started off great. The atmosphere and fans in the dome at the start was just an awesome experience. It was just got worse as the night progressed. I would not recommend taking your kid to a hockey game unless you want to expose them to angry, profaine rude fans. The seats we had were awesome, and now I can say I've enjoyed my first playoff game. It's just unfortunate that some fans are poor sports and could not take the Calgary Flames loss all that well. I guess I'm not the only "Fickle Flames Fan"
The weather is getting warmer which is always good. I think that wraps things up for today. Just a quick reminder but this will probably be my last post for at least a week or so until I'm back in town.
I will see you all when I get back. Have a great weekend!
The Better Team Won
Thursday, May 04, 2006 5:50:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Well it's 6:48am right now, and usually at this time I a head out the door to go to work. Today, I got up, showered, got dressed and headed downstairs for breakfast. As I sat on the couch eating my banana with my runny nose, and big bags under my eyes I realized how exhausted I feel. A hockey hangover... I've stayed up far to late this week watching hockey and it has now caught up to me.
Staring out the window for 5 minutes I contemplated what to do. I feel like I could be a cranky, tired mess at work today. Do I risk bringing my runny nose, exhaustion and bad attitude to work. Should I just suck it up and go. I chose to stay home.
I have a lot of items to catch up on before leaving for Dallas this weekend.
1. Contact instructor for a+ course starting next week to inform him/her that I will not be attending the first 2 classes because my company is sending me to Dallas for training.
2. Pick up course text to read in Dallas.
3. Complete company website that I have been working on in my personal time.
4. Get Sleep to remove the bags under my eyes and hopefully get rid of my runny nose, which I believe stems from lack of quality rest.
5. Do laundry and set a side suit to wear to "Tony & Tina's Wedding" this Saturday.
6. Pack for trip to Dallas.
7. Do research on Dallas and surrounding area to make sure I have the information I require to get around.
8. Be Happy!
I am not a drinking man so I am not experiencing an alcohol related hang over as I'm sure some of my colleague's at work might be wondering today. I just needed a day off!
Last night in the Pengrowth Saddledome the better team won. Calgary was defeated in game 7 of the first round by a score of 3 to 0. There were approximately 19,000 sad fans and 1 happy Anaheim fan. It was hard to watch, but in many ways I'm glad it's over.
I will be a much happier camper tomorrow. Until then I hope that you have a good day!
Game 7: Round 1
Wednesday, May 03, 2006 6:29:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! So my father inlaw walks in the door last night and says "Hey mO, do you have a Flames jersey?". I reply "ummmm... no, sorry!". He says "Well... you should probably get one." "Why...?" I say. "Because you're going to GAME 7, with ME!" he retorts!
Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy, oh boy... i could go on! I'm going to my first ever playoff game, and it just so happens to be game 7. *dummm... dummm... dummm...* So to all of you who will be watching the game from home, i have two things to say to you. First look for me in the brown flash t-shirt sitting about 18 rows back from center ice. And second... neener, neener, neener...!
So life is getting expectedly busy! Class starts next Tuesday, I'm leaving for Dallas this Sunday, I have a project that I've been working at home for work to complete, and a project on the side for a friend. Busy, busy, busy... right in the middle of playoff season. I'm glad to see 2 Canadian teams in the final 8 and after tonight possibly 3.
For dinner last night we had "Totally Tubular Pasta". Mmmm... it's tube-u-lar! Well, i surely do hope that the Flames win tonight. There could be few things worse then being in a stadium of 20,000 sad fans. *whimper* Go Flames Go!
Series Tied: 3 - 3
Tuesday, May 02, 2006 6:26:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! I'm awfully tired, so let's hope this day flies by. Last night the Flames lost game 6 to Anaheim so game 7 goes on Wednesday. Surprisingly, we still managed to score the game winning goal. It just happened to be on our own net, it was a pure accident but it still sucks.
At least we got to see Edmonton the 8th place team knock out the # 1 team in the NHL. The presidents trophy winning, Detroit Red Wings. That makes 2 Canadian teams in the final 8. Suhweet... Besides hockey, not much else is going on. I seem to have more things to do then time to do it in. But things will start to slow down again, hopefully.
I'm going to keep this post short and sweet. Have a great day!
Game 6: Round 1
Monday, May 01, 2006 6:33:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Calgary and Edmonton could end up playing each other in the next round if both teams win tonight. Both teams lead their series 3 games to 2. This weekend Ottawa knocked out Tampa Bay, Colorado knocked out Dallas, San Jose knocked out Nashville, and New Jersey knocked out New York.
Ok, ok... I know what you're thinking. "Gosh mO, can you talk about anything else but hockey... Boring!" No, no I cannot!
So on Friday, after work Mr. Jeremy, a co-worker of mine at the office, took me out for dinner to Limericks. I had my usual, "Bangers and Mash." Mmmm... Afterwards we went to Frank Sissons Silver Dollar Casino for our company bowling night. Wooo hooo... It was my first time to a Casino and well it was a run down little joint. I have images of Vegas and the casinos there and this place was dark, smokey and was located in an industrial park. It was sad to see the senior who sat at the slot machine's just pouring money into them. They were so focused on these machines yet it required no concentration at all. You sit there and hit a button, how much focus do you need. They looked like Zombies!
Bowling was a lot of fun, it was my first time 10 pin bowling and I had the lowest score. But at least that won me the "DS BEST SPORT 2006" award. I got a little trophy and cool little t-shirt. It's to bad I don't fit into regular sized t-shirts though, but it felt good to be the center of attention for a little while.
Afterwards, I went home and tried to log into "Second Life". It's like the matrix, it's an online world that you walk around and meet people from all over the world. You create your own character, you can go to the casino, buy property, sell stuff. It's sooo addictive. If you're interested check it out at www.secondlife.com, you can look me up... "BrothamO Takakura".
Saturday, I spent some time working on the project for work while Alli was off get her birthday pedicure from her evil step mother. (inside joke!) Then we watched the hockey game at her pop's.
Sunday, was more of the same. Alli went to work, I stayed home and worked on the project for work. Played with the bunny for a little bit, then started playing this game I got from Alli's evil step mother. It's the "Godfather" game on XBOX. Oh man... I only got to play for about 20 minutes but I was instantly addicted. Ahhh... So many addictions, so little time. Then we had dinner at Alli's pops and watched more hockey. Can't get enough hockey, it's hard when you don't have any TV to watch hockey.
So my A+, course starts next Tuesday but I will be missing the first to classes unfortunately. I'm off to Dallas next Sunday for a week of training on the VeriFone point of sale terminal. I'm not sure if I'm excited or not about it, I'm just worried about falling behind in the class before it even starts. Dang... Well I'm sure I'll figure it out.
It's the first Monday in May, which means I'm a couple of Mondays away from a long weekend, I think. Anyways, that's it for today. Have a great day!
Series Tied: 2 - 2
Friday, April 28, 2006 6:24:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Well it was tough getting up this morning. Last night was a late game because of Calgary's overtime loss to Anaheim. My throat is feeling a little sore, and it's Friday. Wooo Hoooo , its Friday!
So I'm a fickle flames fan, 'F' cubed if you prefer. (F-cube for short). Google helped me define "Fickle: as marked by erratic changeableness in affections or attachments;" Yes, last nights loss was tough to watch. Anaheim was the better team for pretty much the entire game. A side from the 4 minutes when Jarome Iginla scored two goals. Besides that we sucked...
Game 5 is at home in Calgary, so hopefully that will give our players the motivation they need to play hard.
Tonight is bowling night at my work and we're going to "Frank Sisson Silver Dollar Casino" for a little 10 pin bowling action. My first time...
Im looking forward to a little down time this weekend. The weather is expected to be pretty good so I'll have to make sure I take advantage of it.
That's all for today. Have a great weekend!
Game 4: Round 1
Thursday, April 27, 2006 6:29:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! The Flames play again tonight... which makes mO just a little bit excited. Oh yes it does... can you see mO and his excitement?
Anyways, wifey was up coughing all night. It's a good thing too because I forgot to set my alarm before going to bed. I noticed at around 5 am when I rolled over to look at the time. But she's so sick, and she wont call in sick and she wont take any cough medicine. I left the bottle of "Buckley's" on the counter in the kitchen in case she changes her mind.
So now that its getting warmer in Calgary, more and more people are starting to hit the streets. Women are wearing less clothing, more basketball nets are getting moved out to the driveway, and I'm finding that I have to dodge more and more dog poop. Hmmm... Yay for summer! (Boo for mosquitos!)
Yesterday, both Alli and I found a bunch of birthday cards in the mail. And the usual bill's, bill's, and more bill's. Allison's birthday was last week and mine is tomorrow. I will be 22! (Man I'm getting old!)
That wraps things up for today, have a good one! Go Flames GO!
Flames lead series 2 - 1!
Wednesday, April 26, 2006 6:23:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Well... Calgary beat Anaheim by a score of 5 - 2. Oh yeah, Calgary was playing much better in the third. I'm so happy... and wow... congrats to Edmonton. They're up 2 games to 1 against Detroit in a double overtime win. The city must be buzzing up there right now. I'd suggest looking for the next red mile up in Edmonton. Here comes the "Blue Mile".
So yesterday I picked up an "RCA Amplified Indoor Antenna" for our tv. It sucks! For $70.00 at Future Shop it's just not worth it. When I plugged the baby in when I got home I was able to get 3 of the free 5 channels offered in Calgary. And only 1 of them was actually viewable. I followed the instructions on the side of the box and fiddled with the thing for a little bit but I was not happy. So back to Future Shop I'm taking it! I guess no TV for us, woo hooo!
Allison is still super sick! Which kind of sucks because I want to help her get better but I dont want to get sick at the same time. She's been trying to get a lot of rest and trying not to take any cold medicine. She just doesn't want to consume and chemicals if she just doesn't need to.
As for today, it is Wednesday which means we're half way to the weekend. So enjoy and have a good day!
Game 3: Round 1
Tuesday, April 25, 2006 6:25:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Another bright, sunny morning here in Calgary. Woo Hooo... Tonight is game 3 between the Calgary Flames and the Anaheim Mightyt Ducks. Go Flames GO!
My poor wife is so sick right now! She was snuffing and sneazing all night long! I however feel much better.
I spent most of my evening working on a project for work. I'm looking forward to finishing it off. It seems like I've got a couple of busy months ahead of me here. I've got to put in an estimated 25 hours to complete this project I'm working on right now at home. Then I'm off to Dallas for training for a week. Then I start my A+ course... and the list goes on. At least I won't have to complain about being bored. Ohhh.. and I can't forget, I have to watch as much playoff hockey as I possibly can. Speaking of which I have no idea what happened last night in hockey so I'm going to go check on the scores.
Have a great day! (do IT!)
Banff was fun!
Monday, April 24, 2006 6:41:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Stupid Blogger lost my post again... good thing I saved it this time...
Good Morning! Well it was a good weekend. Friday night after work I met a couple of friends at Melrose on 17th to watch the hockey game. We didnt end up staying there for the whole game but it was good to see the Flames win one at home.
Saturday, Alli and I got up bright and early... well actually we rolled out of bed around 11 am. We quickly packed, stopped by her mom's then by here dad's and headed to Banff for her birthday weekend getaway.
We arrived in Banff at 3:45pm and made our way over to the trail riders shop to catch our Carriage ride that Allison got from her mom for her birthday. The ride was pretty fun... the drivers name was Dave and the horses' was "Sundance." *clip, clop, clip, clop*
We had dinner at the Sukiyaki house where we ordered some assorted tempura, sushi and sashimi. I had another allergic reaction to the sushi, and quickly stopped eating. I think I've developed an allergy to fish.
After dinner we did some site seeing, and ate ice cream walking down the main strip. We stayed in the Buffalo Mountain lodge. It was a pretty nice room with it's own fireplace. We spent an hour trying to get a fire going, but the only thing that seem to light was the newspaper we used in the fireplace.
Sunday morning we had brunch at the lodge, and checked out. We then spent and hour in the Hot Springs, and we ventured up on top of one of the mountains with a great big cleaing on the top. We managed to get some pictures of Mountain sheep and step in a little poop.
Afterwards, we walked around town. Picked up some treats from Welch's candy shop and headed back to Calgary.
We made it back at 4pm and went straight to Allison's dads house to watch the hockey game.
We both woke up with sore throat's Sunday morning and for me it's carried over to today. It was a really fun weekend, but now I could use a weekend to recover from our weekend. hehe...
Too bad the Flames lost, sigh! But we'll get them back on Tuesday. Have a great day!
Go Flames GO!
Friday, April 21, 2006 6:27:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! It's game day and the city is buzzing! I can feel it... the anticipation is killing us! Game 1: Calgary Flames vs. Anaheim Mighty Ducks! If the Flames don't make it passed the first round the city is going to be so dissapointed. We have much higher expectations now because of the last playoff run. Which will probably end up in greater dissapointment. So we'll just have to learn to enjoy it while the ride's still here...
On the Vibe morning show they're waking up the Anaheim Mighty ducks by dancing out in front of their hotel. Haha.... it's great!
Last night we watched the movie "Jarhead". Which does not look very appealing to me.
Well, tomorrow is Allison's birthday and we're heading to the Buffalo Mountain Lodge for the night. I think that's about it for me... Have a great weekend!
It's pretty sunny!
Thursday, April 20, 2006 6:28:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
It's Thursday, it's Thursday! Good Morning Calgary! Today's forecasted high is a whopping +21 degrees Celsius. You heard me, and tomorrow its supposed to be +22. Ooohh baby... perfect playoff hockey weather. Anyone for BBQ'ing some duck tomorrow?
So the Red Mile is back! It's a great place to party, but not such a great place to watch the hockey game. So what's more important, get down there early to see the playoff atmosphere or actually see the entire game? What am i getting at? Nothing! Please continue to next paragraph...
It's almost the weekend and I'm looking forward to it. My birthday is also coming up and it just happens to be on the same night as our office bowling night. Yay! 10 pin bowling on my 22nd birthday!
Now that the regular season of hockey is over, our office hockey pool is also done. I finished off at a measly 6th place. Meh! At least there's next year, and the playoff pool!
I'm done ranting for today... Have a good day!
State of the union!
Wednesday, April 19, 2006 6:24:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Yup, it's morning again! Good morning! So yesterday at lunch I stumbled across a service called... "Stumble". It basically installs a toolbar into your web browser and allows you to add comments about pages that you're visiting. You can click on "I like it!" or "Not for me". I think Google has a similar service like this one, but the cool thing about this one is the "Stumble!" button. You can select a category of sites you would like to see then press the "Stumble!" button and it will send you to a random site that's been rated high by users. It's really cool... You can learn more at www.stumbleupon.com
I found a site yesterday that focused on web design and I've been hooked since. It's called Web Design from Scratch. I'm super glued to all the articles posted on the site. It's definitely worth checking out.
Googles offering some cool new services as well. Like the Google Page Creator which helps you create and publish a site in minutes, and Google Calendar to help you with all your scheduling.
This morning on Vibe98.5 they played the 'new' Calgary Flames playoff anthem. It sucks... It's a cheesy spin off of last seasons anthem. The reason it worked so well during the last playoff run was because it was original, fresh, and sampled the sound of a popular song at that time ("In da club" by 50 cent) This year they took last seasons recording, added a female voice and changed the verses. There were only 3 names dropped this year, Jarome Iginla, Kristian Huselius and Daymond Lankow. WTF? That's it... there's more guys then that on the team that do a heck of a good job and deserve as much recognition as those guys. Especially... Kiprusoff! (By the way Kipper for Hart and Vezina!) They really should have re-done the anthem with a different sound, and with a little more passion. Rather then publishing something that seems slapped together over the weekend. They used the hooks "going, going back back to Calgary" from the Biggiy song "Going, going, back back... to Cali, Cali". That would have been a sweet song to re-do for the anthem. Meh... that's just my opinion!
Next, survey says question of the day was in regards to men purchasing cosmetics. It was Kelsey's opinion that men should not wear makeup. It's just wrong according to her... I don't know about you, but really I dont think she has any right to say what is right or wrong? You definitely wont catch me wearing makeup, but I don't think it's "wrong". It's a personal choice and as long as it doesn't harm me or those that I care about... go nuts!
I guess what I'm getting at is I'm tired of advertising, radio, tv and mainstream media in general. They seem to toss these messages into our minds that we don't really think about but just accept as the 'norm'! Damn you tv, why must you cause me so much pain.
I don't really get the hype about "Brokeback Mountain". When a movie comes out that you don't like, you don't go see it. Period! You vote with your dollars! If there's people out there who do want to see... so be it! I don't get the mentality that it shouldn't be shown or they should stop making movies like this or that... why? If there's people who want to see why should you or I care?
I got a phone call last night from a mutual friend named Mr. Hurley! It's cool how you can meet someone a couple times and leave a good enough impression on them to help you out. Thanks for your help Mr. Nathan Hurley, and it was nice meeting you Mr. & Mrs. Mason!
That's my state of the union as I see it. Now GET TO WORK!
who me?
Tuesday, April 18, 2006 6:25:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! It's nice and sunny today and the drive in to work was pretty good as well. Last night was pretty fun. We went over to mama-in-laws house to celebrate Mr. Cal's birthday. Mmmm... he cooked up some of the juiciest steaks this young man has ever had. And there was shrimp and blueberry pie with ice cream. I feel so naughty...
After Mr. Cal's daughter went home they all started bugging me about how she has a crush on me. She's 6 years old and pretty darn smart and super hyper. We did "tweety" voices and read through a neighborhood paper and ate chocolate. And then I got her in trouble for being too giggly. (Sorry Miss. Britney!) Well you know what... screw you guys because I have a crush on her... so there! That's right i said it...
And in other news... The Calgary Flames lost to the Anaheim Mighty Ducks.... Wooo Hooo.. That's right I'm actually glad the Flames lost for once because now they play the ducks in the first round of the playoffs. Good bye my fine feathered friends....
I've decided to start working on my evil grin. It's just not what it once was, and is really quite shame. Any suggestions on how I can better improve my evil grin? I was thinking that I'm just not using enough eye brow.
Stop being silly, put away the easter chocolate and get back to work!
Back to work!
Monday, April 17, 2006 6:22:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! It's usually tough getting back into the swing of things after a long weekend. But it seems that a lot of Calgarians also have today off, because the drive in to work was quite nice.
I've been starting to get sick since last week but so far I've gotten as far as a sore throat, so I wonder if it's actually something to do with allergy season.
The weekend was good as usual. Thursday night we watched a pay per view flames game at Alli's dad's place. Friday we relaxed around the house. Allison had to work in the evening so I went and had a steak sandwich with a friend at "F.A.T.S" (Fifth Ave, Tenth Street) down in Kensington. It was really good. I hadn't been in Kensington in a while so it was nice to walk around for a bit too...
Saturday we picked up groceries, a snack pack and bonus from chicken on the way, and some movies from blockbuster. "King Kong", "Jarhead", "Harry Potter"! We only watched one.
Sunday I dropped Alli off to work then got invited over to her mom's for some easter surprise. Mmmm... bernie calebaut chocolates. Picked up Al at 5pm and had dinner at her pops.
And back to work I am! It's Allison's birthday this weekend so that should be fun. Not to mention the playoffs start on Friday. Wooo Hoooo....!
Perfection sucks!
Thursday, April 13, 2006 6:24:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! My neck is sore... why?! because I slept on the couch... how cliche for a newly wed! I wont get into it, but needless to say... I didn't sleep very well.
So I have been slacking this week with my posts... I didnt even bother to post yesterday because of the length of time I spent stuck in traffic in the morning. The day before I lost my post because of a bad connection... and tomorrow is a holiday so I most likely will not post...
Last night I signed up for an A+ course at SAIT. I'm looking forward to it, I like school. School is actually fun, why can't I just become a full time student. Oh yeah... i remember the pay is kind of lousy!
I would like to tell you about the fellow in the red jeep who parks in front of me every morning. He usually get's there around the same time as me, and has to have the exact same spot on the street each morning. Kind of like me i guess... He sometimes sits in his jeep for who knows how long doing who knows what. Occasionally he gets out to walk around his vehicle and make sure he is exactly the same distance from the curb as every other morning. Talk about consistency. This might be kind of strange behaviour to some, but I think it's 'perfect'!
My definition of 'perfection' is 'absolute consistency'. In my opinion to be perfect one must be absolutely consistent in what they do. For example, it is possible to be perfectly stupid as long as you are the same level of stupidity at all times. No variation, but absolute consistency. Now nothing is actually absolutely consistent, is it? Is it possible?
Can you consistently get to your desk at the very same time every morning? Can you wake up at the very same time every morning... can you take in the same amount of calories every day? Whoa... what a boring life... nothing changes... Who would want to be perfect anyways?
Today, I have got to fax off our 2 month warranty request for our home. There's already a lengthy list of items that need to be addressed, and hopefully they all get taken care of.
This is the end of the week for me. Have a good weekend and see you back on Monday!
Grrr...
Tuesday, April 11, 2006 6:46:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Well I lost my stupid post this morning... Grrr... maybe I'll try re-writing it at lunch!
Is it hot in here?!
Monday, April 10, 2006 6:21:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Another relaxing weekend has come to an end. This week is going to be good! It's only a 4 day work week because of Good Friday and Easter Monday. Woo hooo... 3 day weekend!
I managed to go to another hockey game on Friday night. Thanks Mr. Dirk! It's been a good year for me and hockey. I've seen quite a few games this season. On Saturday night the Flames clinched a playoff position. So hopefully Mikka Kiprusoff will get some rest before the playoffs begin.
On Saturday, Allison and I grabbed some Peter's drive in and sat up on the Crescent Hill. I always like eating Peters up there. We also picked up our dvd player from future shop. They fixed it... aww shucks and i was hoping they would just replace it. We also stopped at Sharky's pawn shop on 16th ave and picked up a vcr for $35.00. Now we can watch some of our old VHS tapes.
It seems like the air conditioning is not working today in the office. It's feeling a little hot in here.
There's a 3 day weekend coming up. So cheer up, have a good day! (do iT!)
Oooops... I did it again!
Friday, April 07, 2006 6:26:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! So I may have been a tad bit grumpy at work yesterday. Hmmm... perhaps a tad is an understatement. I was grumpy yesterday! Don't worry folks I had a full 8 hours of sleep last night. No excuses today!
I had a strange dream last night, it kind of left me feeling awkward this morning. In my dream I had quit or lost my job. I'm not sure exactly how it happened, but I was looking for a new one in the neighborhood I grew up in. I have no idea where that's coming from, but it felt strange because I think I was fired. I've never been fired or laid off before, so I'm not sure how it feels. But I think it felt something like that...
Dinner was awesome last night. Allison cooked up some quesadilla's with the canned "Rotel" tomatoes we brought back from Barbados. Mmmm... it's so good! We've looked in Superstore, Sobeys, and Safeway and can't find these "Rotel" canned tomatoes. Does anyone out there no where I can get some? Please... please tell me you do!?
I forgot to mention yesterday that at the hockey game, Nikki Mah, the Much Music VJ search contestant was there. They showed her on the Jumbo Screen and she asked everyone to text Much to vote for her. Everyone started boooing her. I couldn't believe it, I actually felt kind of bad for her. I actually hope she wins the VJ search. Go Nikki Mah!
That pretty much wraps up my rant for this Friday, April 7th 2006. Have a great weekend!
haha... i win, i win!
Thursday, April 06, 2006 6:27:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
mO's a tired puppy this morning! The hockey game was a lot of fun last night. It's to bad it was another late start, the game didn't start until 8pm. Calgary beat Phoenix by a score of 5 to 2. Phoenix even played Phillipe Sauve, the former flame. Game ended around 10:30pm and I was in bed just after midnight.
(Insert big yawn here --->)
Oh I'm looking forward to going home after work today... I'm going to hop on our couch and have a nap. It feels like it's been a long week. It would be nice if it felt like it was a long weekend. Next weekend I suppose it will...
My birthday is coming up at the end of the month... I'm almost 22! It's strange how much faster life has become since high school... The years just keep flying by! I'm half way there to our 10 year high school reunion.
That's all for me this morning... Send some good thoughts my way to keep me awake today, I'm running really low on gas! Have a good day!
Surprise...
Wednesday, April 05, 2006 6:35:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! It's raining here in Calgary. Last night at around 1:30 am my wife nudged me and said "what's that sound?" I woke up from a deep sleep to hear... "what the heck is that?" I got up opened up our bedroom door and found the tv in the office was on? Oh boy the ghost from my old house is following me...
Actually, when I returned to my room I found that the clocks were flashing, I went downstairs to get a drink and the clock on the stove, and microwave were also flashing. We had another power outage, the 2nd one since Friday. Luck for me, the Tv woke us up otherwise I would have slept in not knowing that my clock's time was reset. (which wouldn't have been such a bad thing, now that I think about it) Damn you ghost, why did you have to wake me up!
The volume on the tv was up pretty loud, and the clock's read 12:55am so it must have been on for at least 55 minutes. I wonder if it kept the neighbors up, I'm sure they could here it, because we can clearly hear their music from our side of the office wall. Sorry guys, it wasn't intentional!
When we got home from work yesterday we found our neighborino was already home. And he was parked right on the line again. So we squeezed into our stall and took pictures. I'll have to post them tonight or tomorrow just so you can get a taste of the madness. The neighbors seem really cool, they just have a couple of habits that kind of annoy me. Mr. Dennis actually returned my cell phone to me when he found it in the parking lot one day, which was really nice. So him and Mr. Dan are definitely on my good list.
The day before yesterday I received a phone call from a 416 area code. I listened to the message when I got home to find out who it was. It was Mr. Jermaine from Barbados, he was up in Toronto and wanted to give me a call. Cool... we chatted on the phone for a bit and sent me a couple of killer photo's of one Mr. Andre "Murph Man" Murphy from Barbados. I just had to share this photo with you all...
Tonight I'm off to the hockey game... thanks to Mr. Jeremy! The Calgary Flames vs. Phoenix Coyotes... that's all for today... Have a good one!
Gimme some space...
Tuesday, April 04, 2006 7:00:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Well it's just been one of those mornings so far... 2 accidents on deerfoot southbound. So it felt like driving through a parking lot, except that there's more room to maneuver in a parking lot. I sure would hate to be claustrophobic on a morning like this.
At least i made it to work just in time...
Have a good day!
Where's the snooze button?!
Monday, April 03, 2006 6:22:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! As I look to my right, the time on the clock here in my cubicle is 6:21am. *yaaawn* Looks like the time needs to be bumped up an hour. Yes, this weekend we all got to roll our clocks ahead by an hour. So everyone will be a little tired this morning. I managed to get to sleep at around 11:30pm last night, and up at 6am. It's technically 7:22am right now, but to me and our bunny it's still to damn early to be awake.
When I came down for breakfast this morning, my bunny got up and stared at me as if saying "mO, what the heck are you doing up so damn early man?! Bunny's are trying to sleep!"
*Big Yaawn* I think I remember hearing somewhere that this is one of the most dangerous mornings to commute to work. The Monday morning after clocks change. So be careful!
This weekend was a good weekend for hockey. Flames are now on a 3 game winning streak. We got our Voip router from vonage this weekend and set that up. So far I haven't noticed any deterioration in sound quality. So far so good...
Well... this is going to be another long week. At least there's a long weekend coming up next week. *I hope!*
Have a great Monday!
Still chirpin'
Friday, March 31, 2006 6:18:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Did I mention that it's Friday? Oh yeah... tonight I'm cookin' up a steak! Oooh yeah... I seasoned it last night, and let it marinade over night. Mmmm.... a little Club House Montreal Steak rub, and minced garlic should do the trick.
It was another relaxing evening at our place last night. Alli and I played NHL 2005 on xbox. (She beat me twice!) I got to test out our new blue s-controller. Then we watched "Supernaturals", I don't know why but we got right into it. The ending was pretty cheesey, but it was a pretty good show.
Tonight there's a Flames game on TV, and then another one tomorrow. We're only a few weeks away from the playoffs. Oh yeah...!
I think that wraps things up for this Friday. Have a good weekend!
Thank goodness, I'm a country boy!
Thursday, March 30, 2006 6:20:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! It is Thursday morning, in mildly cold Calgary, Alberta. The current temperature is 0 degrees celsius (freezing point of water). Yup...
Last night was another lazy night at our house. We watched the hockey game, Flames beat the Kings by a score of 2 to 1. Wooo hooo... then we had a couple of bowls of cereal for dinner. Mmmm... Vector!
I'm looking forward to the summer... hopefully by then construction should be wrapping up at our condo's, we can start walking around the neighborhood to get to know it more intimately. We can also find all the little small mom and pop shop joints in the area, if any. It seems as the weather starts to get better the drive to and from work is also quicker. I like maximizing the amount of time spent at home with wifey and the bunny.
Oh yes... how could i forget, it's also BBQ season.
Have a good day!
We switched...
Wednesday, March 29, 2006 6:22:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! In case you didn't know it's Wednesday!
Last night we decided it was time to put an end to one of our bloated bills. Our Shaw Cable bill had grown to a whopping $143.33, since moving into our new place back in November. It started off small with all these bonus's and freebies we got at first but now it's simply to much. For $143.33 we got Hi-speed Internet, Full Cable Package, and Shaw's Digital Phone service.
Last night we switched to Vonage. There smallest package was $19.99/month for 500 anytime minutes to the US or Canada. Which is just perfect for us since we probably dont even use up to 100 minutes. Not only that, there's so many other cool things you can do with Vonage.
Like... you can download all your voicemail message by logging in to the Vonage site. You can receive and email notification when you recieve a phone call or new voice mail message. You can even have that new voice mail message emailed directly to you as an attachment. You can create Virtual phone #'s, that allows you to have more then one phone number all linking to the same phone line. You can create a phone number with whatever area code you wanted. So if you live in Alberta and have relatives in Toronto, you could create a virtual phone number with a Toronto area code so that when your relatives call you they wont get charged for long distance. (not that it's a big deal anymore because a lot of phone providers these days are allowing for calls across Canada and the US for no additional cost.) Isn't that cool... I could have my own 1-800 number. ("1-800-dial-a-mO you got mO, what's yo beef!")
Geez... i'm excited! We've had excellent service from Shaw, there's no doubt about it. But the phone plan is just much more than what we need right now. I'm sorry Shaw!
And in other news... our bunny wont stop pooping on the floor! So if you're having a bad day, just think at least you don't have to clean up poop and vacuum every single day of your life! Have a good day!
Why can't I be a Much Music VJ?
Tuesday, March 28, 2006 6:16:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Tuesday morning you say? Yep, it was another quick drive in to work. I really enjoy waking up when there's sunshine blaring through the windows. It's a good feeling!
For dinner last night we BBQ'd some spolumbo sausages. Mmmm... Spolumbo's! I'm starting to get the hang of this BBQ thing. I guess there's something manly about cooking meat on a fire. *where's Tim the tool man Taylor and his grunting when I need him?*
After dinner, we hung out and played with our bunny for a little bit. Then lounged on the couch watching a little tv for a bit. I've been following the Much Music VJ search for quite a while now. Last night we got to find out that one of the 6 contestants that were booted out will have a chance at trying out for the vj search again. But it's up to the voters to vote. I'm guessing Tim, Casey Joe or Rebecca will be one of the people coming back. Yup and I think the winner of the Vj search will be... Nikki, from Calgary!
Ok... that wraps things up for this Tuesday morning! Have a great day!
Here's the scoop...
Monday, March 27, 2006 6:19:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Another weekend ends, and a new week begins. So far it's been pretty sunny start to the morning. The drive in to work was quick, which tells me everyone is sleeping in today. Next week, should be even better since it's the end of day light savings and we have to roll our clocks forward. Which means it would be 8:19am right now next week instead of 7:19am. Hmmm... maybe I should start training myself to get up earlier? Nah....
After work on Friday, I drove up to the Future Shop at Northland Village mall. I walked into the car install bay where I was greeted by Mr. Shawn. He took my keys and with the help of Frank and Justin they tried to figure out what was wrong with the starter in my car. After about an hour and 2 different starters, they were able to get it going. They're not sure why the first 2 didn't work, but they said if anything happens to give them a call right away. And you know I will! Thanks guys!
Afterwards, I went home and worked on a little dinner. After that I went down to Coyote's nite club to check out a friend of mine's band open on stage for another band. It was pretty cool to see him on stage even if it was a small venue. I helped hand out some cd's then I went home. The name of their group is "Victim's of Poverty" starring, Ty, Courtney, Dre and a couple of other guys I'm not so familiar with.
Saturday, I got up and took our car down to the Hyundai dealership to get it serviced. I managed to finish our taxes, then file them. I'm glad that's out of the way! In the evening Allison, her mom and her sister went to go see the "Alice in Wonderland" ballet at the Jubiliee auditorium. So Mr. Cal and I hung out for the evening watching movies. When they got home they were buzzing about the show and how much fun they had. Maybe I'll tag along to a ballet one day! *keyword: maybe!*
Sunday, was grocery & relaxation day! I watched parts of 3 different hockey games and did a whole lot of nothing.
Monday, I woke up at 6am, rolled out of bed. Jumped in the shower, had a bowl of Mini-wheat's, kissed my wife goodbye then drove in to work. Have a great day peoples!
Same old!
Friday, March 24, 2006 6:26:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! It is indeed Friday morning! My throat feels a little itchy and my sinus' are a tad sore. I feel a cold about to start, so I had better take care. Let's see... what can I report to you today.
After work I'm planning on making my "drop by" at Future Shop to take a look at the car. I'm really hoping they can figure out what the problem is with the car starter. It's starting to become a bit of a headache. Tomorrow morning I've got to drop the car off at the dealership to get it serviced. ... ...
Yesterday I was trying to figure out who to implement SMS via c#. If any one can recommend any articles, please let mO know!
Ok it doesn't sound like I have a whole of ranting to do this morning. Maybe I need a little more sugar in my breakfast. Have a good weekend!
I'm not crazy, really! It's the sugar, man...
Thursday, March 23, 2006 6:29:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! When I woke up this morning I could see the sun.... ohh what a glorious day. I saw the sun! Just as soon as I start getting used to seeing the sun in the morning, day light savings ends and I have change the time to an hour forward, right? "Spring forward, fall back"!
Anyways, I should have mentioned yesterday that I took our car in to Future Shop to get the car starter repaired on Tuesday. Well when leaving the shop it all worked hunky dory (that means good), in fact the car actually started driving better. Yes, I could feel the power, it began to actually respond when I hit the gas. Isn't that amazing? But by the time we got it home, we couldn't put the darn thing back in to ready mode. So now we have to go back to Northland Future Shop to get it looked at again. At least it's all still under warranty. I like Future Shop's warranty! Hopefully the combo of Sean and Frank can figure out what's going on!
On to more important things, for breakfast this morning I had a bowl of Mini-Wheats and a cinnamon bun from Sobeys. Mmmm... it felt so good that it had to be bad. *drool* I refrained from eating one for desert last night, but when I came down the stairs this morning and saw them just sitting on the counter, staring at me. Oozing... with icy, and doing everything within it's powers to seduce me, well it worked. I gulped down one of the softest, sweetest, cinnamon buns in my life. It was a moment worth treasuring. Mmmm...
Today is Thursday, this tells me that it is one day before Friday! I can't believe I let the day of the week dictate what kind of mood I'm in, but it does. (Damn you Monday's!)
That is all for today... I will continue my rant tomorrow... stay tuned! Do iT!
I'm to young to be old!
Tuesday, March 21, 2006 6:19:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! I feel invigorated.... is that a word? Yeah yeah, what I'm trying to say is I feel well rested. So rested that I just want curl back up under our big douvet covers and go back to sleep... Mmmm... Zzzzzz...
Tonight after work I'll be headed directly up to Future Shop at Northland Village mall to get our car starter looked at. Hopefully, Mr. Frankie will be able to determine what the problem is and fix it today. It doesnt look like we will need it for much longer since it's already spring and the weather is forecasted to get better by the weekend. Yipeee.... sunshine!
This weekend I spent some time working on our taxes. I'm filing using an online service offered by Ufile.ca. I filed with them last year and found the process to be quite easy so I decided to go with them again. I managed to complete all of our taxes except for one bloody line. This line requires a field entered in my 2004 tax return. Unfortunatly, the only copy i had of that was a pdf stored on my hard drive that crashed several months back. So I'm unable to retrieve that line. Next I tried to log into the Canadian Revunue agency site with my epass i created last year. Unfortunatly I don't remember my password, and my password hints suck! So I'm stuck... Is there any way that I can get a copy of my 2004 return? Does anyone out there know? How about you... you over there with the glasses you look smart do you know? Ma'am... how about you?
The repair guy came to fix our washer yesterday. Turns out it was the first time he had seen this problem in 5 years. Here's what happened... a sock, you know like the ones you put on your feet every morning *i hope* got sucked up inside and got stuck. This blocked the pump from pumping out the water. Uh huh... he said, as I'm told 3rd hand, that it was not our fault. We did not overload the washer it was just one of those freak things. Well I'm just glad that's taken care of.
Yesterday we checked the mail to find yet another bill. This time it's for a community association fee in the amount of $200 something. Eeep... So we have monthly condo fees, annual community association fees, gas, water, electricity, phone, cable. Ugh.... growing up sucks!
Did I mention I got new jeans this weekend...? Oh yeah! Feelin' good, lookin' good!
Make sure you have a good day, JUST DO IT!
The First Day of Spring... at 11:26am MST!
Monday, March 20, 2006 6:35:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! It's yet another monday morning in the life of mO, which means another weekend has passed. Yup yup.... *stretch... yaaawn* Oh yeah...
Friday I spent my evening at home, watching a little tv, and working on a little ado.net. It's not to bad, the toughest part I found about the whole ordeal is just setting up SQL server. Once you've got a database created and running it's kind of easy from there. Well maybe not easy... but ... uhh... hmmm not as hard as I once thought!
Saturday, I slept in with wifey. We got up made some breakfast, and went to Future Shop at Northland mall to get our car starter looked at. Lucky for us the guy who originally did the install was working, Mr. Frank! We left the car with him for about an hour, but he couldn't figure out what was wrong. So we booked it in for Tuesday at 5:30pm to get it looked at. While waiting for the car we cruised around Northland mall.
After leaving Future Shop we went to Market Mall. That's one busy mall! After our day at the mall we went home and had something for supper. Yup... we had something... i just don't remember what it was.
Sunday was more of the same. A lot of lounging at home, some cleaning, and a lot of playing with our bunny.
Today we should have a repair guy come to the house to take a look at our washer. Hopefully he/she will be able to fix that today so we can get some laundry done. Besides that the week is looking good!
Have a good one...
St. Patty's Day!
Friday, March 17, 2006 6:24:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Did I mention that it's Friday? It's also Saint Patricks Day! And guess who forgot to wear his green John Deere hat? Yes yes.. this is just a reminder to all to make sure you pinch mr. mO today!
Last night Alli and I had dinner at her mom's place. We shared photo's from our trip to Barbados, and photos or their trip to Playa del Carmen and Isla Mujeres. Ahhh... I like pictures. I have yet to download our pictures to our computer to share with the world but I'm pretty sure I'll be able to get around to that sometime this weekend.
We also got to meet a little wiener dog by the name of Shadow. She's staying at Alli's moms place for a little bit while her owners are away. She's quite the friendly little guy or I should say gal.
As for today, I'm not sure how I'm going to celebrate St. Patty's. I just know Alli's working tonight so I'll be doing it without her. *sigh*
Have a great Saint Patrick's Day weekend!
Nothin' Special!
Thursday, March 16, 2006 6:17:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Well I think I'm finally getting back into the swing of things back here. You know what I mean, wake up like a robot in the morning, munch on a bowl of Cheerios then go to work. You can call me mO-bot!
Last night was an evening to myself, Alli had to work an evening shift. So for dinner I whipped up some left overs, spent some time on the computer then ran on the elliptical for a bit. Allison managed to get a hold of the vendor that our washer was purchased from so they will be arriving sometime on Monday to take a look at our washer.
As for the car starter I'm going to have to take a trip to Future Shop to get that fixed. I went through the owners manual to see if I could uncover and secrets but found nothing. This weekend is going to be all about the taxes. *sigh* I can't wait...
Enjoy your Thursday, because as of tomorrow it's Saint Patty's day. Have a good day!
Electronic combustion
Wednesday, March 15, 2006 6:15:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! So yesterday we ran into a couple of mechanical failures. First our car starter no longer seems to go into ready mode. Second our washing machine broke down while washing a load of whites. At the end of the spin cycle when the water is supposed to get pumped out a little water flooded the floor then the washer omitted a burning smell which shut the washer down. Hmmm... it's a brand new washer, so it's still under warranty lucky for us. The car starter installation was under warranty as well, so now we need to get a hold of an authorized Frigidaire washing machine servicer to service our washer and we need to book our car back into future shop to get the car starter looked at.
Besides those two blips in the radar yesterday was pretty good. We got to bed nice and early so I've got lots of sleep, but i feel groggy for some odd reason.
That's it for today... have a good one!
Severe case of withdrawal...
Tuesday, March 14, 2006 6:16:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
I'm back...
I woke up this morning and realized that I would not be sleeping in today, I would not be having a toasted bagel with salmon cream cheese for breakfast, I would not be going to the beach! *sigh* I realized I was going back to work, a little bit of depression and withdrawal kicked in. *must refrain from running away to the Caribbean... Ugh!*
Our trip to Barbados was excellent. Made a couple of friends, ate some food, listened to some live reggae bands, and was reminded to not take life so seriously all the time. We did so much on the last few days on the island from checking out the wild life reserve and having a green monkey grab my finger, to chillin' out at Basheba beach on the east coast, too joining the weekly Friday night party in Oistens. You really have to see it in person to appreciate it, everyone comes down to oistens to eat BBQ listen to music and dance dance dance.
The toughest part of vacationing in Barbados is getting to and from the island. We left Barbados Sunday afternoon and made it home after about 12 hours of flying. YUCK! Lucky for us we got picked up at the Calgary airport, but by the time we got home it was around 3am. Needless to say I didn't make it to work in the morning.
Monday afternoon we did some badly needed grocery shopping and we picked up our bunny from Alli's dad's place. It seems that he likes pooping and peeing on their floors as much as he does ours. But I was excited to have him back home, and it feels good to be home.
When I got up at 6 this morning I noticed how bright it was outside. It's a great feeling when you can get a little sun before having to hide out in the office for the day. It actually made coming to work a little bit easier... now lets see if i can ease my way back into the working mode.
Thanks for letting us stay with you in Barbados Alli's gramma, and thanks for teaching me to boogie board and making me a couple of mix CD's Mr. Jermaine, thanks for making me laugh and chillin' out with me on the beach Mr. Murph man (Andre Murphy from Barbados... there now you're on the internet). Have a great day people, it's good to be home...
Welcome to Barbados Street!
Wednesday, March 08, 2006 2:09:00 PM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good afternoon... Here I am in the heat of Barbados. This post is a few days late... sorry peoples, but yes mO is still alive and kicking.
Today was yet another beach day on Miami Beach in Christ Church, Barbados. Today I met a fellow by the name of "Murph Man". He was sharing some of his creative business ventures him and his friend have been thinking about. I suggested a few things and I'm looking forward to see what comes of it.
Our trip in to Barbados was a long one. We left last Saturday night from Calgary at 12:20 am. I guess technically it was Sunday. We arrived in Toronto around 7 am. Then we hung around the interim terminal 1 for our connector flight to Barbados.
After speaking with a bathroom attendant at the airport I found out that Toronoto's international airport has 3 main terminals. and we were actually in an 'interim' terminal that was being used while the re-construction of terminal one was taking place. Yup yup...
we arrived in Barbados, Sunday afternoon around 3 or 4 pm. I dont remember. we waited in a long, hot lineup to get a stamp in our passports. Then off to grammy's apartment we went.
The first thing I noticed, after landing was that everyone drove on the opposite side of the road and the drivers seat was on the opposite side of the car. Man... i've got a lot to spit out and not a whole lot of time to do it.
Sunday evening we went to dinner at a place called "Carib". I had 2 fruit punches and a grilled piece of dolphin. I later vomitted it all up that evening. Not sure why but my stomach always seems to get sick at the start of each vacation. at least we got that out of the way early on...
Monday was our first beach day. Allison and I laid in the sun and fried like eggs. Of course we didn't know it until that evening. I got it mostly around my neck and face. Allison, well she got it every where else. poor muffin...
For dinner we stayed at the apartment and had a home cooked meal prepared by grams. It was quesadilla if i remember correctly.
Tuesday on the beach I sat in the shade. I jumped in the water once and that was enough for me. That evening we had dinner at the apartment, Mmm soup!
After dinner, one of grams 100's of friends stepped by. You would not believe how popular Allison's grandmother is around here. You can't get down the street without her bumping into someone she know's.
Anyways... her friend Jermain stopped by. *shame, shame double shame now i know your boyfriends name.. just kidding* We chatted up a storm till the late hours of the evening until eventually, taking off to get a midnight lunch at a place called "Cheffette". It like Mickey's D's back home. We got 3 chicken sandwiches and a pasta salad.
One thing I have to mention about Barbados is just how expensive everything is around here. Whew... nothing like living like a king in Mexico. One American dollar is worth two Barbados dollars, but everything is much more expensive. For a bag of chips we ended up paying 9 something Barbados dollars, or $4.50 USD which is just nuts since it was the cheapest bag. You would think you would be able to find cheap food somewhere, things that aren't common to home but more common here. Well we just haven't found that yet.
So far I've had a good time, the people are super nice. Everyone speaks English, the Barbados version. But it's super cool to be around mellow laid back people. The stress fee nature of the country is starting to finally have some effect on me. I'm hoping I can take of this easy natured, stress free mO back home. Uh huh....
The beach has been pretty quiet, it's nice to have some privacy on the beach. I've been able to read 2/3 of my book so far. "The game penetrating the secrect society of pickup artists." Yes... why am i readin this i don't know... ok well my posse has taken off on me so i'm going to wrap this post up and check to see how i'm doing in the hockey pool...
Burn burn burn... my sun burns are still burning... easy!
Gone Fishin'...
Friday, March 03, 2006 7:21:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
It's always great when your morning commute to work is a breeze! Ahhh... Today is going to be a good day. Why you ask?
1. It's Friday! (the last day of the work week for myself!)
2. It's the last day of work for me before taking a week off for vacation.
3. It's the day before we leave for a warm week in Barbados. (Did I say warm? I meant to say HOTT! With the double 'T'!)
4. Tonight is our staff poker tournament. (So I'm going to learn to play, and the beginners luck thing should kick in which means I'm going home with everyone's money! You better believe it!)
5. Today will be the last evening that I have to clean up rabbit poop for a week. (I'll miss our bunny, but not the poop and constant vacuuming!)
There... now if you hear me complaining at all at anytime today, you have the right to give me a slap up side the head and say "You selfish pig!"
Last night's hockey game was awesome! The Flames kicked some St. Lous Blues butt! Our captain, Jarome Iginla, scored two goals, with 7 penalty minutes and a darn good fight! (You're going down Tkachuk!)
Tonight, I've got to start packing, finish building the elliptical machine and spend lots and lots of time with our computer so that I don't experience withdrawal when away on vacation.
Otherwise, have a great week people. I will try to post a blog entry here and there while in Barbados, but I wouldnt count on a daily entry!
It's only Thursday?!
Thursday, March 02, 2006 7:26:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Yesterday after work I met Alli at her work and we went to Sears together to pick up our new elliptical machine. We managed to lug the thing home by borrowing one of her dad's trucks.
The guy working in the Sears shipping dock at North Hill was super helpful. I didn't catch his name but thank you very much for your help Mister!
When we got home we lugged the beast of a machine downstairs and started assembling the puppy. Ummm.. after dinner that is. We finished up some left overs and got to step 6 in the user manual. When it came time to grease up some rods we looked at each other and decided neither of us wanted to get greased up before bed. So off to bed we went. We read for a little bit then I passed out... as usual!
I had some strange dreams last night. I don't completely remember then all but the one I do remember is me laying on the ground while someone is hacking me to bits with a machete or axe. I could feel him chopping into my back and I kept fighting back. But I couldnt stand for some reason. I think I may have actually been flopping around like a dead fish in bed after each swing of the axe/machete. Ouch... I dont know what prompted it but I don't think I'm a fan of getting hacked to pieces. Actually I'm pretty sure I'm not... I had some other strange dreams but not quite as memorable.
Tonight, I get to go to the Flames game. Yahooo! Then tomorrow after work is the Poker tournament here at work. Then maybe around late Friday night or early Saturday I'll be able to get some packing done before we leave to visit a distant island in the caribean. *If you don't know you betta aks somebody!*
Only 2 more days of work and then I can switch into vacation mode. Have a great day peoples! And if you can try to... GET SOME WORK DONE FOR ONCE!
Half way there...
Wednesday, March 01, 2006 7:36:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Well i had a rather pleasant evening with my wife. She cooked me up a delicious meal. Mmmmm... then we watched the hockey game. The Flames lost to the Canucks but it was nice to just see a game again.
Yesterday I picked up a couple of tickets to this Thursday nights game against the St. Louis Blues, from one of my co-workers! (Thanks Mr. Jeremy!) I'm hoping wifey is able to get the night off so that she can go with me, otherwise I may have to find someone else to come.
Tonight after work, Alli and I are heading to Sears to pick up our elliptical machine that her mom bought us as a wedding gift. I'm pretty excited, now I just have 3 days to burn off all the fat on my body before we head to Barbados. hehe... Do you think I can do it?
Our bunny is going to stay with Alli's dad for a week. Hopefully, he takes to that ok. Allison keeps asking "I wonder if he's going to miss us?" Me too!
That's all for today, have a good one peoples! NOW GET BACK TO WORK!
Less than 4...
Tuesday, February 28, 2006 7:21:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Well the snow falls as of late has put me out of synch with my daily posts. Today's drive into work was much better then yesterdays. I have no reason to complain because in less than 4 days we're off to Barbados. Ohhh... hot sunny, sandy, beaches of Barbados. Oh yes... perhaps I will have to share some research we've done on Barbados. Maybe later...
The weekend was great. I managed to implement my first AJAX demo, and now I've been readnig up and playing with Microsofts implementation of AJAX, called "Atlas". You can download the Visual Studio 2005 plug in from http://asp.net I haven't played with it a whole lot yet, but the tutorials are pretty good.
So today's the first day the NHL resume's after the Olympic break. Thank goodness, because I'm starving for a little hockey action. Calgary vs. Vancouver! Should be a good one...
This weekend a friend of mine showed me this book he was reading. It's called "The Game: The secret society of pickup artists." or something like that. It's a book about this internet society thats dedicated to the art of picking up girls. Yes... The book looks like a bible. Black cover, gold pages with the red ribbon book mark. Seems to be a good read on just basic human interaction. I could sure use some of that, I'm nervous as heck when meeting new people. I'm just not able to form sentences as smooth as I would like and I ended up stuttering out something that sounds half English.
Anyways... that's about all that's going on in mO's world! Take it easy and have a great day...
NOW GET BACK TO WORK!
Condominium First!
Friday, February 24, 2006 6:05:00 PM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
I've got beef with Condominium First Management Services Ltd....
Why you ask? Here's why... last week we received this letter in the mail.
Dear Owner:
Welcome to _______________. We are pleased to be your Community Managers
and we appreciate the opportunity to serve your needs as a condominium
owner.
Working together we can ensure a well administered, properly maintained
community, a community in which it is a pleasure to live and which enjoys stable
property values.
Based on the unit factor assigned to your unit your monthly condominium
contribution is $122.04 due and payable on the first day of each month beginning
December 1, 2005.
As you are just starting on our Pre-Authorized Payment Plan, please fill
out the attached P.A.P. form and return to us with your personalized cheque
marked "void", together with a cheque in payment of December, January &
February's contribution made payable to and identified
with your unit number. Please ensure we receive your completed form and cheques
by February 10, 2006. The bank will then have sufficient time to process your
Pre-Authorized Payment form and begin automatic withdrawals March 1,
2006.
We are please to have this opportunity to serve you and look forward to a
long and happy relationship.
Yours Truly,
FOR THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
CONDOMINIUM FIRST MANAGEMENT SERVICES LTD.
M.L. Fitzsimonds
Community Manager
ML/tm
cc: Board of Directors
Ok... now my beef can be re-iterated by the email that I sent to Condominium First.
To: ml@condominiumfirst.com
Date: Feb 20, 2006 2:39 PM
To whom it may concern,
My wife and I recently moved into the community and have just received a form to complete the preauthorized payment program. According to the letter we received, our monthly condominium contribution is $122.04, due payable on the first day of each month beginning on December 1, 2005.
To my understanding the condominium fees are collected in order to maintain our community by providing services such as snow removal, parkade sweeping/scrubbing, management of parking stalls properly posted signage indicating that our stalls are private property etc. Since moving here, we have not been provided with such services. On a daily basis we come home to find someone else's vehicle occupying our parking stall.
We understand the community is still under development, and that services cannot be provided without a communal pool of funds. However, we are not pleased that we are being billed for services we have not received.
I would appreciate some feedback as to how you can assure me that by paying the fees dating back to December that we will indeed one day see these services. Do we currently have the right to protect our parking stalls, and if so what is the proper course of action when doing so? What services should we have already seen performed? Who or what is the proper channel to contact for our concerns?
Thank you for your
time,
Mo & Allison Khan
I Have yet to hear back from Condominium First, and I'm losing my patience with the rude people occupying our parking stall each day. I don't appreciate the constructions workers hooting and hollering early Saturday mornings, playing their loud music, leaving garbage in front of our house. I'm looking forward to the day that we actually have regularly scheduled garbage pickup and snow removal. I refuse to pay for services that we have no received.
What should I do? Do I have to pay the condo fees? Is there anyone I can voice my concerns too?
I'm glad it's Friday!
Friday, February 24, 2006 7:51:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Well I'll have to make this a short and sweet post! The drive in to work was a little longer then usual, but at least i made it in one piece. It's finally Friday which means I can spend my evening implementing all the great AJAX stuff I've been reading up on all week. I'm so excited....
Hopefully by Monday I will have completed my first AJAX project. Besides that... HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!
The big talk in Canada right now...
Thursday, February 23, 2006 7:33:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! So the big talk in Canada right now is about how our Canadian Men's Hockey team lost to team Russia in the quarter finals yesterday, by a score of 2 to nothing. That's their 3rd loss of the tournament, all by a score of ... (you guessed it!) 2 to nothing! *sigh*
Everyone's got their own reason as to why the team did so poorly. "They were'nt ready, they should have added this guy instead of that guy to the lineup. " This and that... but the fact is we lost, we're out, and now we've got 4 years before we can redeem ourselves. I think it's actually good that Men's hockey isn't completely dominated by Canada and USA. It was good to see Sweden instead of USA play Canada in the womens final. It just means the level of competition is rising and we should expect to see better hockey. My reason for our loss is that we just didn't prepare like we should have. I didn't take it on as serious as I should have. I really thought Canada was just going to walk right through the tournament and crush all teams in the way. Boy was i wrong, and surprised after the first loss, then second, and finally third. *sigh*
Because I arrived at work late yesterday, I ended up staying a little long to make up the time. I also had to pick up wifey from work at 5pm. On my way to picking up wifey I managed to lose control of the car and do a complete 180 degree turn while turning off from 32 ave to 4th st nw. Boy that was scary, good thing no body slammed right into me. Everything worked out ok, but my nerves were a little shot afterwards. It's probably time for a good set of tires on the car. Ask Allison, she know's just how upset I was by the time I picked her up. Eeep!
At least I had a splendid evening. We stopped at the grocery store and picked up some dinner. Dinner was great, conversation wicked, and dishes a breeze. Afterwards we spent some time on the computer paying off bills and setting up an RRSP. Oh yeah... that was a good feeling! We then spent the rest of the evening talking about the future... yada yada yada...
And now here I am back to work, it feels like I haven't left my cubicle all week. At least more then half the work week is over, and the weekend is almost here. That's all for today...
GET BACK TO WORK!
It snowed... a lot!
Wednesday, February 22, 2006 11:57:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
So this morning I set a new record. Longest commute to work in my life! 1 1/2 hours of driving. start, stop, start, stop. Eeek.... it snowed rather heavily last night which set the city of Calgary into a state of "can't drive straight". At least I made it to work... *dang!*
I'm glad that half the week is already gone. It's nice to know there's only 2 1/2 days until the weekend. *sigh* and then an additional week until Barbados. Ahhh... jelous?! you're jelous!! hehe
I got a good night of rest so I'm feeling a little more alert today. It was nice to have a working radio in the car this morning. So all in all... I'm a happy camper, or farmer. Cubicle farmer that is!
Enjoy the rest of your day... and if you can... GET SOME WORK DONE!
Back to school!
Tuesday, February 21, 2006 7:21:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Another long weekend has come and gone *sigh*! As usual it feels like it just started, and before you know it, it's over. At least we got a long weekend, lucky Albertan's!
I managed to miss out on my Friday post simply because of traffic and accidents on good old Deerfoot Trail. Yuck!
Saturday I got up nice and early and took our car in to future shop to get our car starter installed and stereo fixed. Thank you Mr. Sean and Mr. Frank at the Northland Futureshop for taking care of our car. It's working suuuuperb! The car starter is a lot of fun to play with... hehe...
The Canadian Womens hockey team beat team Sweden to win gold at the Olympics. Yipeee... and the guys lost 2 in a row. 2 to nothing and 2 to nothing to the hands of Switzerland and Finland.
Our bunny chewed through the wire of my xbox controller so i ended up getting a new one. I finally picked up a new battery for our cordless phone. I sent our condo management company an email describing my displeasure for receiving a bill for condo fees when we have not received any services yet. No snow removal, no garbage pickup, no posted signage protecting our parking stalls. Nothing! I don't understand why we would pay them condo fees for nothing.
Let's see what else did i get done... a little laundry. A little prep for our trip to Barbados coming up in less than 2 weeks. Got some groceries. Went and caught a movie. "Date Movie" that is... it was kind of a weird laugh. I would suggest you wait to see it when it comes out on dvd, if you must.
I think that wraps up my weekend. Have a great 4 day work week... NOW GET TO WORK!
Bobbin' my head!
Friday, February 17, 2006 1:11:35 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
So it just happens to be Friday night and it's freezing cold outside... yes yes it's been quite a while since I last posted on here... but I thought i would stop by to say hello...
man driving sucked today! This morning on my way to work it seemed like i was going to be there in record time, until I hit the calf robe bridge on deerfoot.... UUUURRRRGH... I got to work on time... but it's just aggravating sitting in a traffic jam. Especially driving stick.... gear up, gear down, gear up, gear down.... grrrrr
and in other news the canadian womens team beat finland by a score of 6 to nothing.... damn it's friday night and i'm chillin at home... just me and the bunny, "hiphop".
Bobbin' my head to a little Crunk Juice... i can't get enough. Tomorrow we finally get our system and starter hooked up in the Hyundai... yaaa yay!
Tonight I watched the movie on Mike Tyson. That's one scary dude, rough life, but one scary dude. Damn... I'm just pretending to be Terrence Howard in the move "Hustle and Flow" right now...
k... well i'm bout to hustle and flow my buttocks to the washroom to brush my teeth and catch some Zzzzz's...
Eazy...
Brrrr... do i have to go to school!?
Thursday, February 16, 2006 7:45:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
ACK!... Damn blogger timeout! At least I saved my post to a text file.. I've learned not to rely on blogger a whole lot... but here goes!
Brrrr... boy is it ever cold! It was a slower drive to work this morning, but at least i made it in one piece. Deerfoot can sure be crazy on mornings like this. When the roads aren't bad, but they aren't great. You've got to be aware of the drivers that like to drive a little above regular speeds and you've also got to be aware of the drivers that drive a little below regular speeds. But I guess that's a day to day battle on the QE2.
My evening was pleasant. I managed to soak in an episode of the Diggnation podcast, while I revamped my existing site. Hopefully I will be able to publish the changes this weekend, if all goes well. I also got to hook up my new 19" monitor care of one Mr. Daniel! Thank you Mr. Dan! (Dual Monitor baby, can ya dig it?!)
This morning I got to polish off the rest of the Mini wheats... so you know what that means. Lot's and lots of frosting mixed with the milk this morning! Mmmm.... frosting!
I'm really looking forward to having our car starter installed this Saturday. It's way overdue but hopefully the good people at Future Shop will be able to take of it. Besides that... all is normal in mO's world! Thanks for tuning in... NOW GET BACK TO WORK!
Mmmmm... Bernard Calebaut!
Wednesday, February 15, 2006 7:28:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Well it finally snowed, and I was hoping that winter would just skip us this year. *sigh* the morning drive to work wasn't as bad as i had expected, and Valentines dinner at the Chili Club Thai House was awesome. We had coconut rice, yellow curry chicken, pad thai, and one other dish that i just cant seem to remember at the moment. It'll come back to me...
We made it down there just in time for our 6pm reservation. I ended up wasting 2 bucks on a parking meter that was free. *good job mO!* Uh huh but besides that Valentines day was great... I also found out that I actually have 12 full working days before we leave for vacation, not the 7 that I thought yesterday. I guess I forgot about a week. *Dang!* So 2 weeks from this Saturday we're on a plane to Toronto, then to Barbados (you've got to pronounce it my way, Bar-Baaaa-dose, c'mon try it its fun!)
Hmm... not much else to report here! I'm very much looking forward to the 3 day weekend coming up. I plan to use it to catch up on a lot of things around the house, including... revamping my website, doing some laundry, making a stop to future shop to pick up a new ink cartridge for our printer, and maybe whip myself up a juicy steak, or chicken caesar salad. Which ever I happen to fancy first...
Hey you, with tuque on your head... GET BACK TO WORK!
Happy Valentines Day!
Tuesday, February 14, 2006 7:23:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Happy Valentines Day! *Oh yeah... it's on the 14th this year!* So I awoke this morning to a little surprise on the kitchen counter. A great big chocolate heart from bernie calebaut and a card. Ahhh... I honestly wasn't expecting anything which made the surprise even better.
I don't know why i wasn't expecting it, Allison always gives me something on Valentines day. I guess in my head I had the idea that on this day, Men are to treat their wives and girlfriends. Not vice versa! Thanks hunny!
After work yesterday I made my way to Superstore where I checked out the huge displays of Valentines stuff! Eeep... so I put in my share of money into the big marketing strategy pot. I don't really know much about Valentines day, or how it started. But man these merchants have a good thing. For some unknown reason people are expected to show their love and devotion to their loved ones on this particular day of the year. Meh... I'll play along, and I kind of enjoy it actually! *shhhh....*
Tonight we have reservations at the Chili Club Thai House (long name, small cozy restaurant.) I went to this restaurant for the first time back in December and I really enjoyed it. The food was fabulous, but what I liked even more was the atmosphere, and the artwork. The entire place looked so nice. I'm looking forward to going back there...
I guess it's time to get to work... at least I've got the 3 day weekend to look forward too. Oh, and Barbados!
Monday Morning Blues...
Monday, February 13, 2006 7:30:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning... well it's been another exicting drive to work. There was a wee bit of an accident on deerfoot which back things up quite badly. Good thing it was in the opposite direction of the way i was travelling. Eeep! I actually caught myself slowing down to stare at the accident this morning, i can't believe i did that. *sigh*
Weekend was pretty relaxing as usual. But it seems to blow by before i can finish everything i had planned on doing on the weekend. Looks like i'm just going to have to stop putting things off until the weekend. *isn't that a strange word... "weekend"!*
I drove by my old Domino's this weekend to find that it was closed. *gasp* I couldn't believe, my heart actually sank. I didn't realize i had such an attachment to the old place. I immediately called their direct #, 289-3030, to see what had happened... It just kept ringing and ringing, i didn't even get a voicemail message. Y'know your standard, hours of operation message. It was even my first thought this morning. "maybe their just renovating, well then why didn't they answer their phones? And if they moved locations, im sure they wouldnt have changed the number, so why didnt anyone answer. oh no what happened." I must know, after all i spent a good 5 years of my life in that place.
As for the rest of my weekend, I didn't really leave the house. I popped into the grocery store to get some things, but besides that it was me and bunny for most of the weekend. Hopefully this week flies by, because i'm looking forward to the 3 day weekend. Oh yeaaah...
GET BACK TO WORK!
hmmmm... tricky!
Friday, February 10, 2006 7:31:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
So it's Friday again! what do you know? Well... hmmm... i'm feeling rather speechless this morning. *that's a first!*
Last night mommy inlay and Mr. Cal stopped by with a few left overs from the new dinner they tried. I haven't had a chance to give it a try yet, but I'll make sure to try it out for supper. They also reminded me of what my gift for Allison was going to be. "Tony n Tina's wedding" tickets. Geez... I've spent the last few nights trying to remember what my awesome idea was, and suddenly out of the blue my mother inlaw reminds me. Thanks BTW!
So i checked out the "tony n tinas wedding" site to see how i could get tickets. (www.tonyandtinaswedding.com) The first show in Calgary started last night, so after work tonight I will be stopping by ticket master to pick up some tickets. I totally forgot to mama-inlaw if her and Cal wanted to join. I'm assuming yes, of course but I just want to make sure it's all hunky dory! Hopefully we'll be able to go to the Saturday show, starting at 6pm. I've never been to one before but it's supposed to be pretty fun.
Here's what I know.. basically the show is a wedding. You buy tickets to go to this wedding reception. They serve dinner and there are actors sitting at each table. Each actor plays a part in the wedding, this person is related to the bride or groom or whatever. And you basically play along, and stumble into strange conversations. meh.. i donno sounds interesting! As long as I don't have to get up on stage and dance. AGAIN! ( Batman and Boy Blunder at the dinner theatre next to westbrook mall.)
Next on the list... I got a happy birthday comment! Thanks! ... I think I know who you are, Annonymous. And no my birthday hasn't passed, but you're covered for this year! hehe...
I wonder what I'll be doing this sunday, February the 12th?! hmm... any suggestions!?
Ok i'm done ranting for the week. See ya next week! GET BACK TO WORK, SLEEP, NINTENDO or whatever is it you're supposed to be doing!
what's the big hub bub, bub?
Thursday, February 09, 2006 7:27:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! On my way to work today I was just thinking, isn't there a 3 day weekend coming up soon? Alberta Family Day? Good... because I would like one!
My evening was pretty simple, eat left overs, play with bunny, listen to pod cast on BtSharp and channel surf for a good hour. Yup... pretty lame! I think I may be starting to get sick. I feel awfully tired when I really shouldn't be and my throat is feeling a little swollen. Yuck! I'll beat it, you just watch me!
So the hockey world is a little upset right now with the "scandal" behind the bench of the Phoenix Coyotes. Assisstant or associate coach Rick Tochet is facing aligations of a gambling ring. *i think or something like that!* Correct me if i'm wrong, but did they say that they were betting on sports not including hockey? Anyways, what got me thinking is are we as strict on gambling up here in Canada? I'm not sure how strict it is in the states or what constitues legal vs. illegal gambling but I'm just confused as to what the big hub bub is. Looks like I should do a little more research to get the full story... not to mention I need to do some research on Barbados, and RSS, and Torrents, and pod casts and... hmmm... I better get to it!
As for the rest of you... well... GET BACK TO WORK!
It is Wednesday, isn't it!
Wednesday, February 08, 2006 7:25:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Well it sure doesn't' feel like winter here in Calgary. No no.. I'm not complaining! The lack of snow the above zero degree temperatures, it's great! Watching the news this morning I saw that it was -20ish in Winnipeg and -10 in Toronto. Man it's been a great winter. I sure hope we don't get a skimpy summer because of it, but either way it's all good.
So last night when I got home from work I found that my wonderful wife had dinner prepared for us. I was a little late getting home because I for some reason thought I had to pick up Allison from work. *silly mO* Dinner was great!
After dinner we watched the movie "Mr & Mrs. Smith" starring Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt. Well this movie was ok. Not quite what I had expected, but I guess it was ok. The gun play in this movie was kind of hokey. And well all the shooting and banging and crashing was just to unreal for me. I've got to get a sense of reality in those types of movies. I mean if I heard the sound of shot gun blasts next door I would pick up the phone and call the police right away. Where were the police? They weren't in this movie, so how do they remain to covert with these secret lives with all the bang bang shoot em up. Eeep.... This movie gets a heads down from mO!
Anyways... This Saturday will be 3 weeks until the day we leave for Barbados. I'm excited! But for know... GET BACK TO WORK!
Terrific Tuesday!
Tuesday, February 07, 2006 7:30:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
There's nothing like cracking your neck to wake you up in the morning! Here I am sitting in the cube farm in my new Gap golf tee... *oooh ahhh look at me!* I think this is actually the first shirt I bought from the Gap and so far I'm pretty impressed.
Ok so about my evening... Well i came home after work. I had a bowl of chunky for dinner. I played with the bunny. I spent a little time on the computer researching AJAX (asynchronous javascript and XML.) Ohhh ahhhhh... it's one of the latest crazes in the web development world and I want to figure it out. So far it doesn't look to hard to implement, except for my lack of knowledge of the document object model and javascript. But I'm determined to learn...
Afterwards I spent more time with the bunny. I'm trying to be as strict as possible so when he does something bad, like poop on the carpet or hop on the couch, I immediately put him in his cage. I think he's starting to understand, i hope *gulp!*. Sometimes I think he's actually training me. When he wants water he will start gnawing on his cage. He has a little water bottle that he can drink from when ever he wants, but when he starts gnawing he wants me to squeeze the bottle so that the water come out quicker.
After a couple loads of laundry, and some time watching the hockey game I was off to bed. Lucky for me Allison's off tonight! Well that's all for now... GET BACK TO WORK!
Madness I tell you...
Monday, February 06, 2006 7:34:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Well another weekend has passed, and another Monday has just shown up out of no where. I woke up a half hour late this morning, because I set my alarm for 6pm instead of 6am yesterday. Good thing my internal clock woke me up otherwise I just might still be sleeping!
Saturday I had my alarm set for 8am so that I could make it to the appointment at Visions electronics on time to get our car starter installed. I got there on time and met with Sean, the fellow I booked the appointment with. He told me I wasn't in his scheduling book. I explained that I called 3 times, 3 weeks ago to make the appointment and that I had specifically spoken to him. After I made the appointment I wrote down everything he had mentioned to me on a pad of paper and stuck the sheet in my wallet. So I whipped the sheet out and starting reading off everything he told me. Like...
"Talk to Sean - he's in sales now. Mark - sound engineer and dj downtown. Alex - he's the newbie in the shop from Future shop sales. Feb. 04, 2006. 10am-6pm all day."
Sean couldn't do anything for me except for ask if his technician would have time to do the install today. His technician looked me in the eye and said "I'll do it when I can do it". Feeling like the technician didn't take me seriously I asked for a full refund. If Visions Electronics does not want to take me on as a serious customer, then I will take my money else where. Lucky for me I did...
Later that afternoon, Allison and I headed down to the new Best Buy at Northland Village. We quickly found out that they did not have remote car starters for standard transmission vehicles, so we walked across the mall to Future Shop. Where we saw a banner stating... "Car Starter's installed for $149.00" or something like that. Patrick, one of the most helpful sales reps', took us to the back where they do the installs. He made sure to get the info we needed for our car and we booked an appointment. On Saturday, February 18th we're finally getting a car starter installed into our car, for less and from a pro. A gift we recieved from Christmas! I spoke with one of the guys working there whom I knew from my high school days and he said "Sean" the guy who does the installs' is awesome. He's supposed to be one of the best in western Canada. Finally, finally... someone who actually believes in their technician. I've been waiting for this day, to finally find a reliable technician. So that I don't have to worry about having to replace my battery and alternator again (Thanks Soundsurround!)
Sunday... blah! GET TO WORK!
TGIF
Friday, February 03, 2006 7:21:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning World! I would like to begin todays post with this... "Did I mention that it's Friday!?" Yes... yes... please hold the applause, I knew that you would need the reminder. Ok... so let's get started here.
Yesterday I worked, as usual. Then I picked up my wife after work, as usual. Then we went home had dinner, played with our bunny and watched a movie, as usual! hehe... Last night we watched a movie called "At the enemy's gate." It was about the battle of Stallingrad in WWII, and a heroic sniper in the Russian army. Yup, pretty good stuff!
Then we went to bed! Before going to bed I realized that I was supposed to get my 2nd Hep A & B shot yesterday. Looks like I will have to do that after work today. Tomorrow I've got to drop the car off at Visions to get our remote car starter installed and our stereo fixed. Which means that at some point today I will have to find out what bus to catch to get me home from Crowfoot. *Awww shucks!* As for tonight, I plan on doing nothing. I'm going to go home, play with our bunny, watch some A&E and go to sleep. That's all I want to do. Maybe I will eat peanut butter on toast for dinner. Mmm... melted peanut butter.
I should also mention that my contact lenses showed up yesterday from Vision Direct. I assume it got held up at customs. So a quick note to Vision Direct customers here in Calgary, expect to recieve your order in no less than 3 weeks. But it's worth it, in my opinion. The prices are pretty darn good from what I can tell. Anyways mO K out...
GET BACK TO WORK!
Where are my eyes?
Thursday, February 02, 2006 7:42:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Yuck! Yet another bad start to my morning... today i had the pleasure of losing a contact lens while driving! So i had to swing back home and pop in a new one. I use the term "new" loosely. It's been over 3 weeks since I ordered my new supply of contacts and they still have not arrived. VisionDirect.com claims 5-10 business days for international shipping! So I actually popped in an old pair... because yes I keep all my old pairs. And it comes in handy on days like this.
So I got little sleep last night, I'm not complaining. It's my own fault! I went to the Flames game with a co-worker that invited me. It was a lot of fun. Calgary lost by a score of 2 to 1 to the Columbus Blue Jackets in a shoot out loss. And the game didn't start until 8pm. I managed to pass out in the comfort of our bed at around 11:30pm. Tonight I will head to bed early, or catch a nap right after work!
Well that's all for now in the world of mO... have a good day and GET BACK TO WORK!
Going Downtown...
Wednesday, February 01, 2006 7:23:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! My eyes are burning a little bit this morning, and I'm sure I look sleepy/grouchy. The drive in to work was nice and quick this morning, it feels colder and colder each morning. wow i feel like i'm still sleeping... ok let's shake the sleep off and get this here brain moving.
So... Monday morning I headed out the door to jump in our car. When I opened the door it seemed a little sticky. I sat down and shut the door... shut the door. Did I stutter? No the door wouldn't shut. Being the pessimist/paranoid freak that i am, my first reaction was that someone hit the car and dented the door, second i thought that someone had tried to pry the door open. The lack of streetlight outside the house didn't help either. So I got out of the car picked up my cell phone and called in to work to say that I would be late (I very much dislike being late!). Next I ran back in and turned on our porch light. I came back to the car and felt all around the driver side door, there was no visible sign of damage. The door shut just fine, but the latch which clamps the door shut wouldn't catch. Damnit... don't get a car wash late in the evening near the end of January, even if it is nice out.
So back i hopped in the house to go wake up my wife. "Pssst... hunny did you have any trouble getting in the car last night? Are you sure? Because the car door won't close. That's what I said, the door wont close." So my hunny wrapped herself up in a house coat and trotted downstairs half awake to perch on our doorstep as I demonstrated our car's new trick.
Next she called a cab for me so that I could get to work. The operator told her it would be about 10 minutes. After that she called AMA. Thank goodness for an AMA membership. 30 minutes later there was no sign of a cab or the AMA guy. Lucky for me lights came on at mother inlaw's house so I quickly gave Mr. Cal a call to see if I could get a ride in to work with him. He just happens to work in the same area so I jumped in the truck with him and scooted to work. Allison cancelled the cab.
As we were pulling out of our complex we drove by the AMA guy. He was parked on the side of the road looking at what I assume to be a map. Allison called me while driving down to work to tell me the AMA guy had trouble finding our place because the latest city maps had our street name incorrect. Which could be why the cab never showed up. Anyways, Mr. AMA said the latch got stuck and that he was surprised that it had happened to such a new model vehicle. He takes care of the same problem quite often but with much older model vehicles. He suggested that we take it to the dealership to make sure its not a defect. I guess we could do that... but I'm just hoping it happened because of the car wash.
Ok... so at the end of my work day I trotted down to the c-train station where I caught the train downtown. I was catching my first bus ride home from downtown in our new place. As I was looking for my bus stop a couple of kids asked me where the "City Tv" building was. I pointed it out to them and they ran off happily. Next a lady approached me and started walking with me, she asked me if I could help her find a building. I said sure, she seemed distraught. She couldn't remember the name of the building except that it was a meeting place for people to meet for a little while and it started with a G or C. In my head I thought, is she a hooker looking for the Cecil Hotel? Meeting place for people to meet for a little while? No not the Cecil as I suggested. She began to cry, oh man... I continued walking looking for my bus stop and she walked with me rambling and crying. I felt bad but I wasn't sure what was really going on. She stopped walking with me and i found my stop.
As I sat on the but I couldn't stop thinking about that lady, did she really need help? Oh man maybe she meant the Devonian Gardens in TD. I guess I could have asked her if she could call someone to ask for an address. I had a cell phone on me. I wonder if she will be ok, she didn't seem like a hooker or crack head. Just a nervous lady lost in a big city. Oh mO you dummy why didn't you help her! You know downtown fairly well, I'm sure if you had just stopped and helped her you could have made her day and then she wouldn't have to cry. Damnit, the guilt is still eating me up.
It strange how things in life just come at you out of the blue. The little things, and then what's strange is the way you deal with them. Before this I would have thought of myself as a helpful person, but after this I'm not sure I really am. I feel like a jerk! I remember being in situations where I would ask a stranger for a little help. I would choose someone who looked like they new the area well. For instance if you're downtown someone in a suit and tie, I would assume would now downtown fairly well. Anyways, I remember just being ignored! Completely and utterly ignored. I'm standing next to this person, right next to this person at the train station and he is just pretending like I don't exist. Grrr... I don't feel like I treated that lady with the same disrespect but I do feel like I could have done more for her.
Sigh... GET TO WORK!
A loss for words...
Tuesday, January 31, 2006 7:47:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Let it snow... let it snow! Well it's always a long drive the morning after the first snow fall. Needless to say I probably don't have enough time to form a complete post. So why post at all you ask?
Hmmm... well because I just wanted to inform you that I had a post ready in my mind, i've been stewing on it for most of my evening and during my drive to work this morning.
Perhaps, just perhaps I may be bold enough to post during lunch. I doubt it, but we'll see!
GET TO WORK!
Programming
Friday, January 27, 2006 7:27:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
I enjoy programming because I suck at drawing, singing, and dancing. To me programming is a form of art and seems to be one of the few forms that I might actually have a chance to excel at. I enjoy being able to think outside of the box, and to find solutions to difficult problems. Most people don't get to see the code that it takes to put together applications or website, nor would they care.
But to me looking at code and understanding code is like looking at graffiti "art". Most people probably wouldn't give the time of day to decipher a good piece of graffiti, now would they be able to tell what "good" graffiti looks like. When I was younger I liked walking down alleys, and down by the train tracks downtown just to look at the graffiti. I was terrible at it, but I enjoyed looking at it. I was fortunate enough to get to know a couple of well known artists in the city and I sometimes got to see this art come to life before my eyes. I never understood how then new that this line was supposed to be drawn right here and this color was supposed to be used right there but the end product always seemed to come together effortlessly.
Programming is my form of graffiti! It's when I get to put together pieces of art that eventually come together to form a polished product (hopefully!). Not having to conform or doing things a certain way.
I remember one night when I was painting lines in a parking lot downtown when a person whom I presumed to be a crack head put it best "that's what's wrong with this society, they're always painting lines around us." I don't know why, but it stuck to me! I like adventuring outside the box, but I take comfort being in the box.
It's Friday, so take a stretch, sip on some coffee or juice if you prefer and GET BACK TO WORK!
... if you're at all interested in checking out some graff that i consider great look up the writer "Afex" at www.visualorgasm.com
Pet Peeves
Thursday, January 26, 2006 7:37:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
A few items that I've been wrestling in my head as of late about things that bug me:
1. When you pull up to a stall in a public washroom and look down to find that the stall you have chosen just happens to have a pubic hair just barely hanging off the edge. And i wonder not about just how it got there but rather if it will end up on my shoe?
2. Entering a public bathroom that has a foul odor omitted from one or more of the stalls. I pull up to a stall to do my business and this person leaves the washroom. I go wash up and upon exiting someone else enters the washroom. Now I wonder and I going to get credit for the foul smell. What am I supposed to do, look at this person and say "it wasn't me man". Now I'm not going to tell that my sh*t don't stink, but who wants to be credited for someone else's distinct foul odor's. Yuck!
3. Motorists! I never understood why people are so fascinated by the sight of automobile accidents. Yesterday, after work I was stuck in a traffic jam on deerfoot. It turns out there was an accident just south of 17th Ave northbound. The accident was moved off to the side with a few cars. Nothing major, but as you pull by you can see heads turning to look at what's going on. But as soon as you get passed the accident it was free sailing. I went from 1st gear to 5th in a matter of seconds. So the traffic jam was probably originally started by the accident but to me it seemed to continue because people slowed down to take a look at the accident. Mind your own business people, if police is on the scene it's most likely ok. And if you're actually looking over because you're concerned and think that you might be able to help then I applaud you. But if you're just staring because you want to see... Grrrr!
4. Neighbors! If my neighbors could just learn to park in between the lines everything would be ok. So someone please tell me, how do you train your neighbors to park within the confines of one parking stall (preferably their own!)?
That's all folks! Vacations over, GET TO WORK!
Humility and Respect
Sunday, January 08, 2006 10:44:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
9 hrs of sleep!
I lack discretion and maturity. I wrote my last entry out of frustration and anger. I'm not sure whom my anger was directed at, but I decided to take it out on those that care about us.
The crystal glasses are actually pretty cool. They will come in handy to celebrate special occasions and to help us consume all the bottles of champagne currently sitting in our house.
The crystal vase will always be a great reminder to me to bring home flowers for my special wife. Let's see if I can actually put it to use.
Airing out my grievances in a public forum about family members was not fair. I would not like to read negative comments made about me online. Until I learn to deal with people head on, instead of running to my computer so that I can share my differences with the world, I've decided to end this web log.
I apologize to everyone that has been hurt by my thoughts. I'm not asking for forgiveness, especially from those of you whom I barely know. I showed a lack of respect and dignity. Hopefully, I will be able to use this event to grow in a positive manner.
Thank you to the handful of people who read my thoughts almost religiously. Thank you for all the great comments and feedback. And thank you for helping me grow!
GET BACK TO BED, its Sunday!
Bite your lip!
Friday, January 06, 2006 7:29:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
6.5 hrs of sleep!
Yes, so I've decided that I'm going to start recording how much I sleep. I think in the last 3 months my hours per week have drastically declined. I was getting a good 8 hours consistently every night before marriage. Oh the married life... hectic aint it! I'm not complaining, I wouldn't change anything except I do want to get back onto more consistent hours of sleep. It's difficult, at least for me to get to sleep unless I feel like I've had some personal time for myself each day. If I feel like I've been at "work" all day, from either sitting in a cubicle or entertaining the inlaws I just feel drained when I get home at 10:30 pm. Then for me to just crash without time for me is tough. *waaaa waaaa waaaaa keep crying mo*
So after work I rushed to pick up Allison from work. We were supposed to go straight to Future shop to pick up our tv. then race it home to watch the canadian jr hockey final. When I got to Alli's work I had to sit and wait for half an hour. The girl who was supposed to take over the bar for Alli was late. *grrrr #1*
So we hopped in the car and raced home to pick up the receipt for the tv. On our way home I got pulled over and I received a $150.00 speeding ticket. I was doing 75 km/hr in a 50 km/hr zone. My excuse: I thought it was a 60 zone, really I did. I'm going back tonight to see if there actually is any posted signage indicating that it's a 50 k zone. Anyways... I screwed up and now I have to go downtown, wait in line for an hour, show up late for work by 2 hours just so I can see if I can negate the demerit points. *Grrr... # 2"
We made it to future shop, the one that doesnt answer it's phones. We stood in line at the customer service desk. Before I continue I would like to mention the way that "line's" are supposed to work in my opinion. Well everyone lines up in a single line, then the person at the front of the line get's helped first. After he/she is finished receiving help, the NEXT person in line is to receive help. Apparently, I may be the only one that operates like this. Because while we were second in line the person behind us was grabbing clerk at the counter to help her, and the clerk was helping her. I stood there mumbling swears under my breathe, Allison told me to calm down, and the lady standing at the FRONT of the line was mumbling "Typical, this is just typical." *Grrr... #3* Oh and another note who goes on break from the customer service desk when there's a full line. *just bite your lip mO*
So we got the tv home and the stand, thanks to my father in law who happens to own a few trucks. When we got it home we set up the stand. When we got to the final step in the tv stand installation guide we found out that the rubber nubbies that the glass is supposed to sit on were missing. Yup... not in the box... *Grrr... #.. oh what number am i on 4.*
When we finally turned the tv on it was like a light from the heavens. Finally, it all made sense. The tv is fantastic, canada won gold by a score of 5 to nothing. Oh tv if it weren't for you I don't know what I would do.
8pm we went for dinner at Ricky's, papa inlaw decided to park in a stall clearly marked for Panago pizza customers only. Not sure why, and when the girl at the front desk came out and said "Excuse me, could you please move your car." he decided to say "No!". She retorded "Do you want a $40.00 ticket?", he replied "Go ahead!"
During dinner we found out he's got a friend at the Calgary parking authority which is why he's not worried about getting a ticket. So he can get it tossed out with the snap of a finger. *bravo, applause people! Show the big man some respect! He sure showed that teenie bopper. * I've been on the other side of that counter, I don't understand jerks like that! That is correct I just said that my father inlaw acted like a jerk, in my opinion.
Dinner was good, I had a Chorizo breakie bowl. Then we got dropped off. I walked over to my mother inlaw's house because her boyfriend emailed me that morning. This is what his email said:
"hey you need to phone me something really bad has happened to my home computer.
Ever hear of WIN Hound ?
I'm in deep sh*t call me at the office ###-#### or cell ###-####
Thanks Mr. Mo
Cal"
Ok... i have no problem helping anyone. I like to think of myself as a helpful person. But when I arrive at work and I receive and email that starts off as "You need to phone me", to me I read it as "YOU NEED TO FIX MY F'n COMPUTER". I don't know about you, but I try to be very polite when I need help. I don't like asking for help, no i dont, but I would have said something like this: "Hey, could you please give me a call!"
So i marched over to mama-inlaws house to take a look at her hubby's laptop. It's pretty bad, but I'm pretty sure I can take care of her. I just didn't want to start working on a laptop at 9:30pm. But I did anyways, I eventually left with Alli at 10:30 and said that I would come back on Saturday to finish up. No biggie!
Oh and we got some crystal glasses and a crystal vase from Alli's aunt, uncle and grandfather as our wedding gifts. That was really nice of them, except I obviously don't know the value of crystal because to me it looked like a couple of glasses. Goes to show how I was brought up. Poor, and I wouldn't change a thing!
Ok so the tone of today's entry has changed drastically, I started off rather calm I thought then I sort of just unloaded and started taking shots at everyone. Unfortuneatly, I've distanced myself from most of my friends so I don't really have anyone else to vent too. So.. what do I do.. I vent to the world so that it can all come back to me. Yes I like to add more stress to my life, it's something I think I'm pretty good at.
Well hopefully I've pissed off everyone an equal amount, I don't want anyone more pissed off at me then anyone else. But I'm off to work now! This should be an interesting weekend! GET TO WORK!
Go Canada Go, eh!
Thursday, January 05, 2006 7:22:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Wow... I'm feeling a wee bit sluggish today. I just haven't been hitting my 10pm bedtime lately. *sigh* I'll have to ship up next week i guess. Or I guess I could just start coming in later, but change is so hard.
So I picked up Alli from work for the 2nd night in a row. We headed home and cooked up a little stir fry for dinner. Sliced up some chicken, and onions. Tossed it in the wok. added a little thai curry sauce. whipped up a little rice and voila, dinner is served.
Afterwards we headed to Alli's pop's place and watched "Christmas with the Cranks." Ummm... i'm not quite sure what to say. I didn't really like it. The only thing that made the movie funny was the fact it was soooo bad. But I guess I did get a couple of good laughs from it. Personally if my daughter were to come home on christmas eve and i was leaving the next morning on a cruise I would still go. See ya!
Todays the big day for our Canadian Jr. Team. We play Russia for the gold medal. Go Canada go, eh!
I finally got our car booked into Visions to get our remote starter installed. It took a few days and a few calls but it's done. Our tv was supposed to arrive at future shop yesterday so I called as instructed by the salesperson. I called 4 time and let it ring for 10 minutes each call and no one picked up the dang phone. I remember when we were purchasing the tv, the phone was rining and no one was answering it. Why would you bother having a phone if you're not going to answer it, doesn't that defeat the purpose of having a phone? Oh well life goes on right... *breathe mO*
I think that wraps things up for this addition of "In the world of mO!" Have a good day, and make sure you GET TO WORK!
Life's good
Wednesday, January 04, 2006 7:30:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Well so far we've been quite fortunate here in Calgary. The weather has been great considering the time of year it is. Hopefully I don't jinx it for us. When I left the house this morning it was a whopping 0 degrees celsius outside with no snow. I don't remember the last time it snowed here, it's been a while. Which means the worst is probably yet to come. *sigh*
After work yesterday I stopped by Stavros and picked up Allison from work. We went home where I had some left over pasta for dinner and Allison had a bowl of cereal. She played with her bunny for most of the evening while I had a nap as I watched the Canadian Jr team beat time finland 4-0. Apparently the US team lost 4-1 to team Russia. So it looks like it will be Canada vs. Russia for the gold medal.
Around 9pm I jumped in bed and read for a good hour. I'm still reading Allison's baby book. "The mother of all baby books." or something like that. I've learned some pretty good things so far. Mothers should take folic acid 3 months prior to conception and for the first few months of pregnancy to decrease the chances of neural tube disorders. Fertility clinics in Canada suck and aren't as heavily government regulated as they are in the states. # of obstetricians in Canada is declining and rural obstetricians are harder and harder to find. You best chance of conception is to try to conceive the 5 days prior to the start of ovulation. 2 days prior is the jackpot at a 33% chance of conception. Areas of the world that are warmer tend to produce more male babies. A whole lot of tiny facts and thing to think about. Pretty interesting book, give it a read if you can! I'm still working through it.
Ok... so my highlights of 2005. Well... in september I got married in Mexico. Which was one of the best memories of my life. In march we bought our first place, in November we moved in. Lets see... there's lots more. I'll have to spend some more time thinking about all the great things that happened in the year 2005. It's definitely a milestone year in my life and 2006 should be more of the same. But for now...
GET TO WORK!
I came back
Tuesday, January 03, 2006 7:23:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! It's my first day back to work after a good 5 day weekend. That sure was refreshing, oh yes! Lets see if I can remember all that transpired this weekend.
Yesterday I finally went to go see the doctor about my ring finger. He prescribed a cortizone cream. My finger still hasnt fully healed from my wedding band. After applying the cream a couple of times there is already significant improvement. I suppose I should have gone to see him sooner.
The doctors office was a bit of a nightmare, when I got to the Brentwood walk-in clinic at 11 am there was a 2 hour wait time. So I left my name and went back home.
At home I called "Elections Canada" as they wanted me to in the letter they sent me. The number I called wasn't helpful at all. The lady that answered didn't know why I had to call, except that my address didn't come up in her system. So she gave me another number to call. I called that number and the lady didnt have me as a registered voter in her system. *huh? Then how did I vote in the last federal election?* She asked me to come down to her office with my drivers license so that she could add me to the list. I never made it down... but maybe later this week.
My next phone call was to Visions in crowfoot. The remote car starter we got for christmas was purchased there. The installation was already paid for so all we had to do was book in the car. I called and a lady answered. I asked if I could book my car in for an install. She put me on hold. I waited about 5 minutes or so, a gentleman finally came on and asked whom I was waiting for. I said I was hoping to book my car in for an install, he put me on hold. Time goes by and someone finally picks up.. he says "you have to call back on Wednesday our book is full." oK!~? I said thanks and hung up. WTF? Their book is full, what does that mean? I managed to accomplish nothing after a good 30-40 minutes of phone calls. Goodie!
I went back to the doc's office at 12:30pm and waited about 45 minutes before getting in to see the doc. He gave me the prescription I needed, I decided to get the first of 3 Hep a & b shots and then we were gone. Reminder: I have to come back on February 2nd for my 2nd Hep a&b shot. Then I have to return after 6 months for my booster.
Afterwards Alli and I headed to North Hill mall, I dropped off my prescription at the pharmacy and we went to check out shoppers optical and one other place in the mall. It's time for me to get some glasses I guess. Alli found a pair she really liked on me but we still want to do some more shopping before we commit.
After the mall we headed up to her pop's place to watch the end of the flames vs blackhawks game. Then we ordered up some KFC for dinner. We watched Casino and I was in bed by 10pm.
Sunday we both slept in until 2pm. Allison had a late night at work being that it was new years. As for me, I have no excuse. I didn't drink I just stayed up to late I guess. Sunday was a write off, I don't think we ever left the house. I like days like that.
Alli works the dayshift for the next few days so I guess to see her every night this week. We pick up our new tv on thursday.
I guess it's good to be back to work, but I think I'm already counting down the number of days until the weekend. Next long weekend will probably Alberta Family Day. Good ol' family day! Then we're off to Barbados for the first week of March, I suppose I should book that time off pretty soon.
Take your time, then slowly get yourself BACK TO WORK!
Goodbye 2005! Lookin' good 2006!
Sunday, January 01, 2006 1:45:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Happy New Year! *yada yada and all that good stuff!* After reading Mr. Manager-wifes' blog entries I was inspired to write an entry of my own. Yes, thats right... it's not even a work day! *yes this means you Miss Jenn, and I know what you mean with the Tiger Butter, it's sooo rich! Mmm... *
As you all know the year 2005 is now over, and 2006 is just beginning. Wholy exciting batman! So to start off today I woke up around 10am. I rolly my butt out of bed and cleaned up. For breakkie Allison and I cooked up some scrambled eggs, toast, fruit salad and some sausages for myself. Mmmm... I added a little salsa to the eggs and fried it up to give it that extra kick. Wow do I ever enjoy tonnes of flavour. Yummy...
Allison preceeded to play with "hiphop". He's not learned how to hop up stairs, which is scary. Yesterday we caught him at the top of the stairs, we both got excited which must have scared him because he pee'd on the carpet. "Noooooooooooo.... why... oh why?!" yes this is my reaction to a bunny, imagine what I would be like with a small child. Let's not go there right now!
I played a little xbox while Allison showered. Her pop's came by to drop off some mail for Alli, apparently her mail is still going to her old address. No biggie...
Oh.. before I forget I thought it would be important for me to mention that I'm currently listening to my "Cartel de Santa" cd that I picked up in Mexico. It is the shiznit, if I should say so myself! Although, I don't understand most of it!
Ok where was I... I spent my new years eve at papa inlaws house where we watched the canadian jr. team beat the U.S. jr team in IIHF hockey. wooo hooo... then we munched on some chineese food while we watched and exciting game between the flames and oilers. flames won!
Just before midnight I drove up to stavros to give Allison a kiss at midnight. She had to work tonight but it seemed like she was having fun when I got there. I sat down did the countdown thing, gave Alli a hug and kiss and went home.
It was weird... the streets were dead quiet during my drive home. I stopped at a red light at the intersection of beddington blvd. and uhh... what's that street called. Anyways... across the street I saw the checkstop bus and a couple of police cars. Inside the bus the lights were on and I could see the 4 officers inside just sort of "shootin' the sh*t", pardon my french. It was kind of cool to see, new years eve 12:14am and a couple of officers just punching each other in the shoulders just having fun. It's a good thing, I'm not really sure why that stuck out in my mind but I liked the site.
So I drove home, trailed a couple of cars that were sort of wobbling inbetween lanes. Hmm... I'm glad I'm staying home tonight. As of today no liquor for mO in the near future. I lost a lot of weight from just cutting out beer from my diet before going to mexico and hopefully I can do the same before the barbados trip. we'll see... and i guess that wraps up my new years.
Now I'm just waiting for my wife to come home to me... Oh yeah we finally got a tv. Wooo hooo, now we just have to wait until thursday before we can pick it up. Yay... mO's pretty excitied! Ok, enought ranting I think I'll crawl into bed!
Happy New Years!
I'll be back on Tuesday!
Wednesday, December 28, 2005 7:25:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Alright... it's almost the weekend! I'm 9 hours away from freedom for 5 whole days... And I'm going to use a good portion of that time resting so that I can be healthy as a bull. I was feeling better when i got up this morning, but I would much rather be in bed right now.
Yesterday after work I went and scooped up my wife from her work. We then went home, I started some laundry, she cleaned our the bathrooms, I vacuumed the house, she played with the bunny and heated up some leftovers for dinner. Mmmm... steak, rice and salad. Breaded chicken for Allison. Our bunny was scared of the sound of the vacuum at first but then after a while he didn't mind it to much, I think he was pretty happy. He's always running around and sliding into things, one ear up and one ear down.
After dinner Allison's mom stopped by to drop off some leftovers from her fridge and gave Allison her keys. Her and Cal left this morning for Ontario so we'll be watching their place for them while they're gone. Which is great because now Allison gets to drive her moms brand new Toyota Celica around. Man that's a pretty looking car. I haven't had the privelage of riding in it yet, but it looks fast and pretty furious.
Afterwards, I caught the 2nd and 3rd period of the flames game. The flames were up 2 to nothing and lost by a score of 4 to 3. *sigh* you can't win them all I guess.
Tomorrow I'm going to spend some time assembling our new desk. It's going to be great. Just you watch and see, it will be amazing. Maybe I'll post some pictures of our bunny too.
I left the house way to early again, I was planning on leaving just a little bit later so that I got here at about 20 to 8. But now it's 7:34 and I've still got a wack of time to kill. *I complain a lot, don't i?*
Our former co-worker Dirk might stop by for lunch today, I'm looking forward to seeing him all done up in the suit and tie. haha... just kidding!
Ok well I guess I'll go read the news for a bit... have a great and safe new years everyone!
Hi ho, hi ho, it's back to work i go
Tuesday, December 27, 2005 7:16:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Alli and I are sick as ducks this morning! *yuck*
Before I forget here's the recipe for Tiger Butter.
Tiger Butter.
1 lb (500 g) white chocolate (bernard calebaut bulk @ superstore)
3/4 peanut butter
Melt in microwave til smooth, don't scorch. Pour onto a cookie sheet lined with waxed paper. Drizzle melted chocolate chips over & knife through. (use approx 1/3 pkg.)
Cool in fridge, cut into desired size. Makes alot. 1/2 cookie sheet.
Ok finally that took me long enough. Well, I left the house this morning at the same time i always do to go to work and to my surprise there was no one on the streets. I actually thought for a moment that may I had screwed up and left the house to early or that maybe my clock reset in the middle of the night or something. But nope everyone must be either on holidays or experiencing the christmas hang over. I know I am...
Allison and I were rolling around coughing and sneazing all night. At least I only have to work for 2 days and then I get a 5 day weekend. Poor Alli has to work all week.
Well Sunday we went and did the usual christmas dinner thing. opened up a lot of presents and ate way to much food. Just about everyone at the table was sick. So there was a lot of couging, sneazing, and hacking sounds all around. *lovely*
Yesterday we had dinner at Alli's mom's house. We went over to her place at about 1pm and unwrapped presents. I hung out with Cal's daughter Brittney. She's really smart for a 5 year old. She showed me how to play the Brattz video game, and then we played a game with silly putty. Then she sprinkled a little fairy dust on me to cure me of my cold. I think it worked pretty good, either that or the contact c. But who knows...
For dinner we had, steak, lobster, breaded chicken, broccoli, sweet potatoes and for dessert we had tiger butter and spider cookies. Mmmm... Alli's mom and Cal gave us a remote car starter, which got me really excited. I can't wait to get it installed, it will be great for those cold winter days.
Ugh... back to how sick I'm feeling. Even when I'm a mess and I can't stop coughing and sneezing our bunny still wants to play with me. I think he likes me, but I still can't tell. hehe.. we got him some timothy hay, shavings and a salt lick yesterday. I think he really likes the salt lick. He's such a well behaved bunny.
I wonder just how many people will be in office today, hopefully I don't get everyone else sick. This is one of those chest colds, which sucks because at times I can hardly breathe. ok ok... stop thinking about being sick. I'm not sick... I'm just fine.
Let's see I should have a lot more to tell ya. Allison was pretty happy with the givenchy perfume pack thining, and the make up box. We got some cool coasters from Alli's grandma, with some of our wedding photo's on them. Allison bought me the desk I wanted from staples. I couldn' t believe it. I still haven't put it together yet, but this weekend I will. I also got some new slippers and pyjama pants. A whole bunch of stuff for the desk. *hopefully I can tidy things up a bit in the office this weekend* I also got a bunch of chocolates, beef jerky and other little goodies. I got a cool skully cap, like the ones they used to wear in the '70s. I also got some tools, and some goodies for our BBQ. A scarf and leather gloves to match. The new 50 cent video game for the xbox.
Yup I think it was a pretty good christmas all in all. Looking forward to next year!
Jingle bells, Santa smells...
Sunday, December 25, 2005 9:50:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Merry Christmas! It's finally here, and I still have to wait before I can open my present. Daaang.... the first thing I asked Allison when I woke up was
"Can I open my present now?"
Her reply... "No su su, we have to go to my dad's first!"
My reply "Ahhh but please... it's Christmas and I waited so patiently!"
I can wait... *i guess* haha... So I just finished having a shower, I ran downstairs and let "hiphop" out of his cage. We're getting along pretty well. When I'm in the kitchen cooking he likes to nest in between my feet. I have to be careful because sometimes I don't even know he's there. He sure likes to lick my hands a lot, and he seems to have found a corner in his cage that he likes to pee in. He hasn't pee'd or poop'd on the floor for a few days now, he's pretty good about hopping back up in his cage.
I can't believe he was the last one to get picked at the pet store, he's such a good bunny!
What day is this, hmmm... Sunday. Oh boy I'm so behind, so where was I when I last posted. Oh yeah Thursday morning. So Thursday was kind of a long day, I think everyone was anxious to get the internal staff party started, I could hear people talking all day. Everyone was in a good mood. At 4 pm I we headed down to the tech center to start our pot-luck feast. It was great, there were 3 different types of meatballs, rolls, lasagna, fried rice, carrot caserole and a whole bunch of other goodies. I can't forget to mention the 2 boxes of Krispy Kreme donuts. That's right you heard me 2 boxes of fat pills. Mmmm....
Our gift exchange was pretty fun. It starts off with someones name getting drawn from a hat. That person when up and picked out a present from the table and unwrapped it in front of everyone. Jeremy drew the first name, he just happened to draw his own. *haha* so he picked up some Bernie Calebaut chocolates. Now the next name in the hat has the option to steal one of the presents opened before or he/she can pick another one off the table. This was a lot of fun, certain items were passed along so many times. I brought a box of bernie calebaut as my gift and left with a baggie of bernie's as my gift. So it worked out great for me... lots of chocolates.
After the internal staff party, I mosied on up to co-op to pick up tickets to zoo lights. *shhh... don't tell Allison she hasn't opened her presents yet* Then I popped into pier 1 imports to see if I could find great big cappacino sized mugs. I couldn't find any so I hurried home. I let "hiphop" out of his cage and we hung out for most of the night till I went to bed at around midnight.
Friday, I didn't leave the house. Allison's dad helped me find out that our humidifier hooked up to our furnace wasn't turned on. *which I assume has a great deal to do with my extremely dry skin as of late* We also found out the the hot air vent connected from the furnace was also connected directly to the cold air return. All the hot air getting blown out of the furnace was just going right back through the cold air return and back into the furnace. *which explains why we've had our thermostat up to 23+ just to stay relatively warm* Grrr... so we patched that hole up and turned it down to 19 degrees celsius. It's much warmer in the house now. Grrr....
Our bunny had a lot of visitors on Saturday. Allison's sister Lisa and her friend Breanne came by to say hello, and Alli's poppa came by, and in the evening Alli's mom came by with her step daughter Brittney to say hello. * it's not really her step daughter but it's easier to say then "Allison's mom' boyfriends, daughter!" *
Then I watched an exciting hockey game. Calgary Flames vs. Vancouver Canucks. Calgary won 6-5 with a shootout. Oh man it was a pretty exciting finish. It was cool to see how many flames jersey's were worn over in Vancouver. haha.. flames fans are every where now. I started to get a sore throught, which is pretty sore today!
I can hear my wife crying downstairs... it sounds like she wants me to play with "hiphop" so that she can go have a shower. So I better wrap this up pretty quick.
Saturday, I dropped Alli off at to work at 2pm then picked her up at 5pm and we went to her dad's. We ate spinach dip, oysters, crackers, shrimp and crab pate, blocks of cheese, little oven pastries and we watched "It's a wonderful life!" I fell asleep.
We got home just before 1 am.
uh oh the phone's ringing! BRB
It rang once and didn't even show up on the caller id, that's weird! Maybe I'm hearing things. Ok where was i... yeah so we got home at 1 and played with "hiphop" for a little bit. I felt bad for leaving him home alone all night. He's going to hate christmas if we keep this up. But he was pretty happy when we got home I think. But who knows maybe he doesnt even like us.
Now I just have to finish getting dressed, do my hair and we can go open presents. Finally, I can't wait to try on my new slippers!
Merry mit, mit *that means merry christmas over here, I'm not sure where that got started from but yeah..*
Ho-Ho-Ho Look ma it's Santa Khan!
Thursday, December 22, 2005 7:28:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! It is my last day of work before the long weekend! Yep it's Christmas this weekend. I just tossed my sausage and cheese platter in the fridge here, it's for our internal Christmas party we're having after work. Wooo hooo... partay!
For the $10.00 gift I picked up a little something something from Bernie Callebaut. I figure it's a gift everyone can enjoy. I've also still got to make a pitstop at Mickey D's for some hockey cards. Yup... there should be lot's of cheer at the party after work. But I don't think I'll be sipping on any cheer, but I'm willing to drive people home if they trust my driving skills! hehe... *Ps. you must sign a waiver to enter my vehicle, enter at your own risk!*
So last night after work, I skidaddled straight home. I dropped off more goodies that I picked up yesterday for Allison *In my secret office closet, of course* then I drove on up to Allison's pop's house where she was patiently waiting for me. I can tell that's she getting really excited about Christmas, it's a really big deal to her no matter what she says. She get's this big ol' grin on her face that just doesn't go away. And she'll start making cute little gestures like a 7 year old girl. Awwww.... *cute shmooot* Just kidding, it's great!
As for me, Christmas isn't as big a deal. But's its important that Allison enjoy's it, so if I have too I'm willing to go to the mall. Again, and again.. and yet again!
For dinner we went to the sushi boat. I haven't been there in sooo long. None of the old cooks were there. A lot of new faces, less rice and not as much variety. Hmm... but I can't complain, it's always good to me. After dinner we went back to Allison's pop's place.
Then we headed to superstore. *yuck* It was packed full of cranky people, just the way I like it. I quickly picked up my party platter, and Allison picked up a few other odd's and sod's and we were on our way.
Before going home we made a stop to the pet store. *deep breathe* Where the bunny that Allison saw a few weeks back was still there waiting for her. She picked him up and he snuggled right up in her arms. It was a good fit! *how can i deny a good fit*
I went over and grabbed Mileah, our friendly neighborhood Petland employee and asked her "can we take that bunny home?" She asked if we had a starter kit, I said "We've got nothing, hook a brotha up!"
$250 later we walked out the door of petland with our new baby bunny. His name is "hiphop". *well according to me it, I think it might be "c-c" to Allison.
It's an interesting process to purchase a bunny, you have to fill out a lot of forms that ask questions like "What's the main reason for taking a pet to the vet?" These are good questions mind you, it's important to give thses living, breathing creatures a good home. They're not just a toy that toss away. It's a living being and deserves respect. Now I just wish our little living being could respect our floors and not poop and pee all over it. *yuck*
One of our high school classmates was working behind the till at Petland. Miss Miranda, my friends half cousin. She's married has a 2 year old and lives in Bowness. (say it with me now... "Boooooownesss...") Her and Brian, another one of our classmates, got married right after high school. It's good to see their doing well.
Ok, ok... so you want to know more about the bunny. Im stalling obviously. We got "hiphop" home and I set up his cage. Allison took him out and let him hop all around our kitchen. He seemed to be really happy. He was doing a little bunny dance. Allison tells me that's a sign that he's happy. I'm just glad that Allison is happy, I can't tell you how many times I heard "awwwww...", "ohhhh..", "look mO, look mO!".
Ok I even got to like the little guy, I laid on the floor and he came right up to my face and started licking me. He's pretty darn soft, and friendly. He likes being held, and he likes running into the legs of our dining room chairs. I hope he slept well, he seemed kind of scared this morning when I was leaving for work. He stayed in his little log house. I'm not sure if he was scared or cranky that I woke him up so darn early. Ahhh well... I think I'll play with him when I get home. But no more pooping! *yuck*
Merry Christmas Allison! And Merry Christmas to everyone else, hopefully you'll get to spend some time with the ones you care about and hopefully you'll get just what you wanted for Christmas. But please remember, there are a lot of people who are not so fortunate and may not get the picture perfect Christmas that I'm expecting to have. Please be generous!
Hey you, are you being generous yet? Because if you are, I might let you take a 4 day weekend... what do you think of that?
See ya on Tuesday!
I'm to pretty to be giddy!
Wednesday, December 21, 2005 7:24:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Wow... today marks the first day of winter and it was +5 degrees celsius when I left the house. Man oh man... after a quick stress free drive to work i parked my keester in my cube so that I can begin my day farming in the cube farm.
Allison kept rolling around all night, moaning and groaning! It probably had something to do with the realization that she's been married to a guy like me for 3 months as of today. Poor baby, I'd be moaning and groaning too if I realized that. Don't worry maybe I'll get hansomer in my old age.. *sigh* but probably not hunny! Happy 3 month-iversary!
Last night was great, I drove to Stavros and dropped off the car for Allison. I got a ride home from her sister. I got home at 5:30pm. Oh yeah.... I made myself a sandwich and a bowl of chili for dinner then I watched the hockey game. Nashville Predators vs. Colorado Avalanche. I fell asleep, that's right I had an evening nap. I didn't wrap any presents like I had planned, but I had an enjoyable evening at home. No school, no commitments, no stress, just at home on my own doing whatever I wanted. There's no greater feeling!
I made it to bed by 10pm and quickly passed out, I was surprised at just how hard it was for me to get out of bed this morning. You would think after a good nights rest and with an evening nap the night before that I would bounce right out of bed. Instead I woke up, turned off the radio-alarm, laid on my side and stared at the clock. After staring for 2 minutes I mustered up the strength to peel myself out of bed. After tomorrow I get a 4 day weekend. Wooo hoooo... Forget the 6 am alarm, I'm sleeping in!
So I managed to catch up on the news yesterday, I can't believe the NY city transit works are on strike. Wholy moly, on the news they said that approximately 7 million people ride the transit everyday in a city of 8.1 million. Man that's nuts! How they heck do you get around now? There's no room to breathe. The coach of a Moncton hockey team was battered with racial slurs during a hockey game against chicootamee. (I know I spelled that wrong!) But what's up with that... racial slurs at a hockey game, c'mon maybe at a soccer game over in Europe but not hockey here in Canada. Please people... Carson Tucker made more comments about Canadians, somehow relating us to a retarded cousin that you pat on the head. Smooth... Carson, very smooth. I saw him on "The Hour" hosted by George Strombolopolous last night and he seems to be quite the obnoxious fellow, but he makes me laugh.
Let's see what else happened in the news... There was an emergency landing at the Boston airport. CNN was hyping it up making it to be a big story, I bet they were upset when the plane landed safely. "Sorry boys, no story here lets pack it up!"
Yesterday Allison found out that they're closing up Stavros for boxing day as well, so she get's 2 days off in a row. Wholy smokes, can you believe it! She works to damn hard to be married to a lazy fart like me.
My manager at work, told me yesterday that his wife started up a blog of her own. Sweet, everyone should have a blog, it's great! Really it is... Even if you make it private and never share an entry from it ever I still think it's worth it.
I think that covers most of my random thoughts... so uhhh... pass me some more of those pecan tarts, maybe a little tiger butter, oh yeah more of those cookies... and then uhh... yeah GET BACK TO WORK!
Ebeneezer mO!
Tuesday, December 20, 2005 7:22:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! It seems like everyone's on vacation this week. It was a quick drive to work as usual, no major hangups and I didn't even have to come to a complete stop on deerfoot today.
So yesterday morning while at my desk I wasn't feeling so hot. I came down with a bit of a headache and I began to dry heave a little bit. I'm not really sure what brang it on, but I wasn't being very productive. Thank goodness my manager sent me home. I really needed it, when I got home I stretched out on my back and sucked down a lot of water. I passed out and slept from about 11am to 4pm. I didn't think I was that tired but obviously my body wanted the rest. My tummy still wasn't feeling great when I got up and my headache was 10 times worse. I usually don't get headaches which was strange because I had one all day, and it just got worse and worse.
I am pretty fortunate to have a good manager, I'm not sure where else you would find someone who cared enough to say "mO, just go home!" as if to say.. "you stubborn bastard, you're sick. Take a personal day! No one wants to clean up your puke." Thanks Mr. Darryl!
At 5pm I went and picked up Allison from work, we stopped at the hallmark store on the way home, then I mosied on up into shoppers, where I picked up some tylenol, gold bond dry skin lotion, and a lindor chocolate. The tylenol worked almost instantly, my headache was gone. But I still hadn't regained my appetite.
At home, I finished up my assignment for class tomorrow and I emailed it to my instructor. Then I sat and watched the Flames game while munching on some grapes. The Flames lost to the Oiliers by a score of 5-4. It was quite sad, Kipper was really the only reason the Flames were still in the game. I think he stopped 27 shots while edmonton's goalie stopped 11? Is that true?
Before bed, I sucked down some pepto and passed out. 5 days till Christmas, I better get this weak tummy issue worked out because I've got a lot of eating to do this weekend. Mmmm... I can see it now, oyster stuffing, spinach dip, gravy, fruit salad (my wife makes the best fruit salad, right hunny?), squash, potatoes, and who could forget.. the stuffing, I mean turkey!
For someone who enjoys food as much as I do, I must have one of the weakest stomach's around. It's a curse really, but not enough to stop me.
Hey you, what day is it? "It's 5 days before Christmas Ebeneezer mO!" Well, GET TO WORK! *bah-hum-bug!*
Christmas Cheer!
Monday, December 19, 2005 7:23:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Well it was a quick drive to work once again this morning, which tells me that everyone was out chrismas partying last night... *slackers, just kidding!*
This weekend was pretty good I spent more time in the mall then I care too but it wasn't to bad. Friday night I delivered pizza's after work. I was really tired by the time I got home that I just crashed and went to sleep. Saturday morning I got out of bed at around 10:30 am. That afternoon I went to chinook mall to buy presents. I got a few things for Allison, but I guess I can't say in case she actually reads this. While I was at Chinook, Allison called me to see if I wanted 2 tickets to the Flames game. *Heck yes I did...* She got a call from Mike the owner of Stavros to see if we wanted them.
So I went and picked them up from Stavros and took my friend Ryan to the game. The Calgary Flames vs. the Boston Bruins. It was an awesome game, Calgary won 3 - 0. Oh yeah. After the game I came and scooped up Allison from her Dad's house. Her and her pop's went to go see "The Chronicles of Narnia". She really enjoyed reading the books when she was younger so she really liked the movie.
Saturday night, went home and crashed. I can't stop rubbing my eyes right now. Why do I get the feeling this is going to be a long day.
Sunday, Allison got up at 8:30 and I got up right after her. After getting ready, I dropped her off at work and went to Bernard Calebuet. *Oh man I can't spell* I picked up a couple of Bernie-bars and some more chocolates and then I was off to Market mall. I made a few rounds around the mall and didn't find anything interesting. I then went and picked up my server from Allison's pop's house and went home. At home I got my server back up and running, then I did a couple loads of laundry, vacuumed, scrubbed the toilets had some lunch. *Not necessarily in that order* Played a good hour of "Need 4 Speed Most Wanted" and then picked up Allison from work. We then stopped off at the Ginger Beef express on 64th ave and center street north for some take out chinese food. MMMmmm.... sweet and sour chicken, ginger chicken, chicken fried rice, and mixed veggies in black bean sauce. *yummy!*
After dinner we watched "Forest Gump" which was playing on TBS. We then got ready and went to Allison's staff christmas party. We arrived at "Stolo's" on center street at 9pm. I wasn't planning on going but I figured it would be nice if I made an appearance and at least thanked Mike for the tickets to the hockey game. 2 beers later I was in bed by 11pm. And I feel sleepy. I'm sure looking forward to the long weekend coming up. I could use the rest.
As for tonight I've got to work on my assignment that's due tomorrow. Dang!
It's less than a week until Christmas and I still haven't gotten the present to topple the baby bunny for Allison. Do I gotta get her a bunny?! *sigh*
Hey you with the tie, you're late... GET TO WORK!
Ma-ma-ma-mooo cow!
Friday, December 16, 2005 7:22:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! I'm going to take a wild guess and say that a good chunk of this city is taking today off. Deerfoot Trail or the QE2 wasn't quite as busy as usual. Hmmm... where could they be?
At lunch yesterday I went and picked up my wedding band from Spence Diamonds. They had just got it back from getting "Rodium Plating". This is to protect me from breaking out in blisters. So I put the little feller on and wore it all night. I took it off before I went to bed, and when I woke up this morning *pop* the blisters were back. I'm currently sitting here in my cubicle with my ring finger wrapped up in a band aid. I'm starting to think that my band aid is my new wedding band. $28.00 to get my ring "Rodium Plated" and all for nothing! I'll give my finger a few weeks to fully heal and then maybe we'll try again, but this is getting painful. There's nothing like popping blisters on your ring finger to start your morning. *Hey mA look what I can do... @pop@ look it's ooozing!*
After work yesterday I picked up Allison from work, then we headed home so that she could quickly change for the ballet. We went over to her mom's where we had a little birthday dinner. Her mom unwrapper her presents, we took some pictures and the girls were off to the ballet.
After they left, Mr. Cal taught me how to cook up a steak on the BBQ. We had a couple of the juiciest most suculent pieces of meat that this guy has had in a long time. Mmmm... T-bone steaks! Mr. Cal whipped up a care package for me to take home that included, Lea & Perrins worchestershire sauce, a little Bullseye BBQ sauce, some minced garlic, and some steak garnish. I think it was Club House Montreal Steak, if I remember correctly. Wow... mO's going to be cooking up steaks in no time.
Afterwards I crossed the street, and went to bed. End of story! Tonight's all about delivering pizza's, the roads are really good, and I imagine it should be rather busy since most people will probably be shopping all night and then to busy to cook themselves dinner. Either way it should be a good night, I'm looking forward to next weekend though. After work Thursday we're having an internal potluck christmas party. That should be fun, then we get Friday off, which is good because I can pretend to get some shopping done that day. I'm really not going to stress myself over buying gifts, I'm going to take a more relaxed approach to it. *uh huh, lets see what i have to say next week when I have nothing done... haha... i can't wait!*
And that pretty much wraps up my pre-christmas ramble. This will be my first year of blogging through Christmas, so I'll have to make sure to offer all the sweet details.
I suppose you can also have the rest of the day off... !
!Sandi it's your birthday, Happy Birthday Sandi!
Thursday, December 15, 2005 7:25:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! It's a little colder today. It was -10 degree Celsius when I left the house. Brrrr... It's also 10 days until Christmas.
After I finished work yesterday I picked up Allison from her work then we were on our way to superstore. We just happened to stop at Petland to look at the puppies and bunnies. Allison really really reallly... *I can't stress the word "really" enough* wanted a baby bunny. She kept petting it and holding it and say... "awwww... don't you think she's cute mO!" Oh boy, of course I think she's cute I would be a monster if I didn't. But just because it's cute doesn't mean we have to take it home. I don't get it, you don't see me taking home every cute girl at the mall just because they're cute. Why... oh why... so nothing less then a baby bunny will do for Allison's christmas present, let's face it! She can say she doesn't really need one and it's ok if I don't get her one for christmas, but deep down we both know that's what she's looking for. I would have to find something just short of spectacular to give to her for her to forget about the baby bunny. *eeep...!*
Another thing, I'm probably better off if she picks out the bunny hey? I don't know how well I would do with bringing a caged living being home. I have never had a pet before, well besides a goldfish. But like a wise man once said... "mO it'll teach you alot of patience!" Ok ok... I heard ya already! Sheeesh.... Christmas, shishmash!
Ok, and now I have a confession to make. Allison picked up a book called "the mother of all baby books." And I've been reading it every chance I get! There I said it, it's done, it's off my chest now I can move on!
After hitting up the petstore yesterday we spent some time in superstore picking up groceries. When we got home, we whipped up some pan-fried perogies for dinner. *Mmmm... they're panny*
And to conclude today's rant I would like to "wish" you a happy birthday Sandi! *Yes I said wish!" I hope you and girls enjoy the ballet tonight, Allison's been humming the tune to the nutcracker all week. It's great... i can humm it now for you if you like. *Tooo dooo do looot doot do do doooo...* Happy Birthday!
As for the rest of you... that's right... GET BACK TO WORK!
It's our day... in the middle of the week!
Wednesday, December 14, 2005 7:29:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Well it's the middle of the week so you know what that means! It's almost the weekend.... wooo hoooo!
There's really something strange about waking up and seeing a full moon. Right in the middle of the sky, there's no glimmer of sunshine. It's almost as if I'm working the graveyard shift. It's strange you would think those who work graveyard shifts actually see less sunshine. But I beg to differ, I work a 9 to 5 and at this time of the year, I wouldn't believe you if you told me the sun came up today! *sigh* At least if you work evenings, when you wake up it's nice and bright outside. But who want's to deal with all the crazies of the early morning hours. *"Not I" said the cat!*
And in other news... I showed up for my 6pm night class last night at about 5:15pm. When we got to class we were given our final assignment, and told that we would be given the remainder of the last class to complete the assignment. The last class is next week. We were also told that if we wanted to we could take the assignment home and email it to the instructor if we like. So we didn't have to attend the last class. The lesson for last nights class was templates. The instructor finished the lecture after 30 minutes, at which point he began to answer *silly* questions from the students. I raised my hand and asked "if we wanted to take off to work on the assignment at home, would you hold it against us?" Murray, our instructor, replied "this is an adult learning class, there is no discipline!" I see... so I packed up my bag and left at 6:30pm.
Let's see after 6 classes, what have I learned? ... hold on let me think ... just wait it'll come to me.... well there was the thing on.... no no I already knew that. The lesson on ... no wait I also already knew that. Well it seems as though I have not retained any new knowledge. I'm not suggesting that the instructor was bad, I just made a bad choice when selecting this class. *slap mO on the back of the neck!*
At least I made it home in time to flip back and forth between to hockey games. Alright.... I get my Tuesday nights back!
As for the rest of you slackers... GET TO WORK!
That's all folks...
Tuesday, December 13, 2005 7:23:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Well it's getting closer and closer to Christmas, and yesterday I found out just what my holiday schedule is going to look like. *Suhweeet* My day's off are as follows:
December. 23,24,25,26,29,30,31
January. 1,2
Ohhh baby! It's going to be great, I can't wait to be at home laying on the couch in my pJ's playing xbox, with dirty dishes on the floor next to me. Maybe I wont shower and shave for a week straight? Huh... what do you think? I guess I might have to for the two days in between where I actually have to work. *sigh* But I'm not complaining! Life is good.
After work yesterday I scooped Allison up from Stavros then we headed home. Allison ran upstairs and changed out of her work clothes then we headed to her pop's for Spolumbo sausages on a bun. *Mmmm... they're spol-o-yummy!* Then we watched a little football. Actually I had a nap on Allison's lap for a good two hours. Oh boy I needed that... life is tough hey?
Tonight is my Dreamweaver class. *Joy!* Our final test is supposed to be next week, but the test has kind of turned into an assignment now. He's handing them out today so we can work on them at home if we want. Then we can turn it in next class, or we have the entire next class to work on it. Uh huh... sounds like fun! I have a sneaking suspician that this will be my last class, and that I will be completing the assignment at home, and that I will be emailing it to the instructor.
And life goes on... besides that not much else is going on my world. I dropped off my ring at Spence Diamonds to get "Rodium" plating. Apparently it's supposed to help those of us who are allergic to everything including our wedding bands. Now I just have to wait 10 business days before I can go pick it up.
Yesterday, a gentleman was to come fix some items in our home. He called me when he needed to get in the house, and I said it was ok, just grab the master key from the construction office. But when we got home we found that no work had been done. It really would be nice if there was a more formal process for passing along any outstanding issues with our house. So I've decided that I'm going to take pictures of all the issues in our home, and build a site dedicated to getting these items fixed. Yes because I'm that geeky!
That's all folks... Holiday's in less than 2 weeks.. then Barbados in March. Which reminds me I should probably book that time off... Hmmm... my manager is going to hate me! But c'mon its Barbados man!
Hey you with the colored eyes.... GET TO WORK!
I had a good weekend...
Monday, December 12, 2005 7:22:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! There really is nothing like waking up on Monday morning.
6am: alarm goes off! mO suddenly wakes up and realizes its the radio announcers who are speaking. He reaches over to turn off the alarm. Suddenly, he's overwhelmed with the realization that... *dum dum dummm...* It's Monday morning! mO peels himself off the bed and staggers to the washroom.
6:10am: mO wakes up from his nap he just had while sitting on the throne, he washes up, splashes some water on his face, pops in his contacts then turns on the hot water to have a shower.
6:30am: mO slides the shower curtain aside as he steps out of the tub, the sudden gush of cold air freezes mO where he stands. He grabs a bath towel and tries to warm himself up. After applying some deodorant he quietly slips into the walk-in closet without waking up his wife. He picks out some clothes to wear for the day then he heads downstairs.
6:40am: mO sits in front of the tv with a bowl of cereal and the remote, he quietly watches the news to see what the temperature and to find out what's going on in the world today.
6:50am: mO goes back upstairs to brush his teeth and say goodbye to his wife!
7:00am: mO leaves for his journey to work!
And *tada* here I am! This was a pretty good weekend after all. Friday after work i whipped over to Stavros to work for a few hours. I finished up around 11:30 then went home for a quick 20 minute nap. I woke back up in time to come pick up my wife from work at 2:30am. She drove home, I slept.
Saturday, I woke up at 9:30 am to the sounds of someone's car alarm going off. I tried to go back to sleep but the sound of the construction happening outside our window kept me up. I got up had some cereal, and wandered around the house. The car alarm and the construction didn't bother Allison, she didn't even hear it!
After Allison got up and showered we went to the shaw building on barlow to drop off the digital terminal we were given for a month. When we got there we were told that Video On Demand didn't work because we were given an old terminal. We were offered a new terminal but we politely declined.
We then headed to Sears Homes, Linens 'N Things, and Pier 1 Imports all located in Brentwood. We picked up a few things then went home. We made a curry stir fry for dinner and watched Hockey. Yaaay... my kind of Saturday night!
Sunday I slept until 11:30 and boy did that feel good. Allison was already off at work when I woke up, so I spent my afternoon doing laundry and reading. It was quite enjoyable.
And now it's monday and I'm sitting in the cube. It's almost christmas which means long weekend coming up. Wooo Hooo...
But for now... GET TO WORK!
Fill in the blanks
Friday, December 09, 2005 7:26:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! The temperature is even higher today, *wooo hooo...* when I left the house for work this morning it was already +7 degrees celsius! That's just great, I managed to fly right down Deerfoot and now here I am, at the cube farm!
Last night was the first evening this week that I got to drive straight home after work, *alright...!* As soon as I walked through the door the phone rang. I quickly dropped my bag, kicked off my shoes and grabbed the phone. It was Allison's mom inviting me over for dinner! *sweet* After flopping around the house for a bit I walked over. We had "Shepardopolis pie!" for dinner, then Cal's parents came over for a little while and told story after story. They were actually quite funny!
I left at about 8:30pm walked back home, caught a few highlights from TSN. Then plopped into bed and passed out! I don't know how time flew by so quickly, but I'm back at work again, *day-ja-voo* At least it's friday, and the weather is looking good for the weekend!
Christmas is almost here and I'm doing my darndest to get some time off for the holidays, we'll see what happens!
Have a great weekend!
They call me Forest Grump!
Thursday, December 08, 2005 7:24:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Wow the weather is great today it was zero degrees when I left the house. I didn't even need a toque!
After work yesterday I whipped over and picked up Allison from work, we then headed to her pop's house and sang "Lisa it's your birthday, Happy Birthday Lisa!" We all jumped into Papa Glennsy's truck and drove on down to the club, "Chili Club Thai House" that is!
It was my first time there and it was great, the color's the lighting, everything about the cozy little place was great! And the food.... ooooh... the food is sooo good! *I'll have seconds please, and thirds, and fourths...*
After dinner we went back to pop's house where we took pictures, ate cake and Lisa opened her presents! *None were for me, because I didn't go pick it up at lunch as I had planned yesterday!* Allison got her a gift and stuck my name on there with hers, thanks hunny! But I still owe Lisa a birthday gift, it's just going to be a little late!
Then we got to go home and I fell asleep instantaneousl. The last thing I remember was Allison was in the bathroom getting ready for bed, I jumped in bed and everything faded to black...
I don't know why this is happening, but lately I've been waking up in a cold sweat. It seems to be happening regularly now, and I don't know why! I just wake up suddenly and I'm freezing, I jump out of bed and I'm covered in sweat! *Yuck!* What's wrong with me... ahhhhh! I do however enjoy sleeping on our couch, when I get the chance!
I'm looking forward to tonight, I get to go home and plop on the couch and maybe have a little nap action! The weather is supposed to be pretty good this weekend so delivering pizza's shouldn't be to bad! And my class is almost over, so things should get back to normal soon, and then hopefully I can stop being so damn grumpy soon! Ahhh... I'm feeling the stress of Christmas, now I remember why I don't like to participate! *There's mO being grumpy again!*
Happy 20th Birthday Lisa!
Wednesday, December 07, 2005 7:21:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Goooood Morning! Another cold morning here in Calgary, but the drive to work was fantastic. Before I go any further I need to say this....
Lisa, it's your birthday.
God bless you this day.
You gave me the gift of a little sister,
And I'm proud of you today.
Lisa, it's your birthday.
Happy birthday, Lisa.
Lisa, it's your birthday.
Happy birthday, Lisa.
I wish you love and good will.
I wish you peace and joy.
I wish you better than your heart desires.
And your first kiss from a boy.
Lisa, it's your birthday.
Happy birthday, Lisa.
Lisa, it's your birthday.
Happy birthday, Lisa.
Yeah!
I can't believe you're 20 Lisa, Happy Birthday! And now back to our regularly scheduled program... so today is Allison's sisters birthday or I guess my little sister's birthday, and I have not bought her a gift yet! *hang my head* I know what I want to get her... I just haven't got it yet! This is so like me isn't it? Meh... In the words of Martin Lawrence in the movie "Bad Boys"... "wooooo saaaa...."
So I'm pretty sluggish today, after work yesterday I went straight to my night class. I got out of class at 8pm which is an hour early, then I went to go drop off the car at Allison's work. I waited for Lisa to get off work so that she could drive me home. While I waited I had 4 slices of "San Andreas" pizza. Mmmm... man that's good, "Chef's special" you've got some competition now!
I managed to get home at 11pm, and off to bed I went! I'm really looking forward to the end of the day. Allison's shift changed so she's working the day today, so I will be picking her up from work. Then we're heading to "Chili Club Thai House" for Lisa's birthday dinner. *Yay... we're going clubbin'* Then maybe I can find a couch to plop onto and watch the Flames game. It feels like such a long time since I've since the Flames play. *sigh* It's a good thing I have nothing planned for this weekend, and the Flames game is on Hockey Night in Canada. Alriiight...
It's almost Christmas and I'm getting excited.... Mmmm stuffing, spinach dip, and we all get to crowd around the 47 incher and watch "It's a wonderful life!"
That's all folks... since it is christmas time and all take a 5 minute breather then... GET TO WORK!
Its cold, its cold, you know I know... what's cold?
Tuesday, December 06, 2005 7:27:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Well today is starting off pretty cold. - 22 degree celsius, but at least the drive was pretty good. The little Hyundai spins it's tires like crazy ini the neighborhood but as soon as I hit the highway I'm good.
It's only 19 days until Christmas and I'm kind of excited. So far I have bought zero gifts. Zero, zilch, nada, not one. And I only have one gift idea so far. It looks like I may have to dedicate my lunch to making a list. Maybe I'll check it twice!
After work yesterday I picked up wifey from work and we headed to Superstore. We managed to pick up about $100.00 worth of groceries when we only planned to pick up a few things for dinner. Anyways, it was worth the trip. It wasn't nearly as busy as I had imagined it to be, it was great! For dinner we picked up a BBQ chicken, some potatoe salad, and some french bread. Mmmm....
It was nice to have dinner at home, we actually got to catch up with each other! Whew! Allison told me she had a great gift idea for me, which kind of made me feel bad because I've got no ideas for her. I guess I could just get her something that she needs? But that's boring... I want to get her something that she wants, like maybe a.... puppy!?
Yesterday at work my manager showed me a site for the Alberta Animal Rescue Foundation. There were pictures and bio on several different pets available for adoption. Which almost made me want to get a puppy! Keyword "ALMOST"! We were told that having a dog would be a great way to learn patience. Which is something I think I need to improve on, especially if we want to have a child in the near future. But it is a big commitment, I wouldn't want to leave a dog locked up in a cage all day. I don't know I just feel bad about doing it, but I'm probably a geek for thinking so. If either of us were home all day and... oh this thought needs to end right now!
So after dinner Allison and I parked our caboose on the couch with a couple of cinnamon buns from Superstore, and we ordered up a pay per view movie. We got one free from Shaw to try out. We ordered the movie "Batman Begins", oh baby! I've seend this one before in theatre but man it's good! It's a long movie though, we started watching it at 8pm and it didn't finish until about 10:30pm. So I got to sleep at around 11-11:30pm and up at 6am.
Todays going to be another long day since I've got the night class in the evening. Hopefully it goes by quickly, I still think I signed up for the wrong class though. The instruction is great, the material is good but its targeted more towards people who can barely get around a computer. I can't believe someone asked "how do I save?" The first place I always look is under the file menu, and I don't even use that.... "Ctrl + S" is all I need!
Speaking of keyboard shortcuts, when I picked up my new keyboard the other day it came with a list of windows shortcuts that I never knew about. I knew two so far and they were:
"windows key" (button next to "Ctrl") + e = windows explorer
"windows key" + d = show desktop
The new ones I learned were:
"windows" + r = open the run window. (its excellent if you want to enter the prog you looking for like "iexplorer.exe" or "Calc")
"windows" + m = minimize all windows (works like show desktop)
"windows + shift + m = maximize all the windows you minimized using the above command.
Thats all I can remember for now... but it's time to get to work! GET TO WORK!
Sudden shock of reality
Monday, December 05, 2005 7:31:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning Calgary! Well the number of days until christmas is less and less everyday. This weekend was pretty good, but as usual it's never long enough! *sigh*
Friday, after work I went straight to Stavros to deliver pizza. It was a slow night but I made it home around 11 pm and went straight to bed. Allison came home when she got off work later that night and she was sick as a duck. Poor duckling!
Saturday, I got up at 9am and headed downstairs to play "Need For Speed Most Wanted" for several hours. Oh yeah... ! Allison's pops and Shawna stopped by with some soup for lil' Alli! Around 4 Allison and I started to get ready for my office Christmas party. 5:30pm we were out the door. The office party was more fun then what I had expected, Allison and I won a box of Belgium chocolates and a tea light. We even did the chicken dance. We left the christmas party at around 10pm and stopped by Papa Glennsy's place to catch the end of Hockey Night in Canada. Apparently I missed an exciting game between the Calgary Flames and the Pittsburgh Penguins. *sigh* Oh well... I fell asleep on the couch before it hit midnight and thats when we knew it was time to go home...
Sunday I woke up at around 11:30 am laying on the couch downstairs. I was having hot flashes in the middle of the night, and I woke up several times in a cold sweat so I went downstairs to sleep on the leather couch. Man I slept great, but as soon as I woke up I could tell I was starting to get sick. I had some soup, then I spent most of my day doing load after load of laundry. I set up the new stereo we got from Cal. Sweet... Then I picked up Allison from work at 5pm. We headed over to her pop's for some chineese food, watched a little football then we were back at home getting ready for bed. Poor Alli was so sick last night, she was coughing and sneezing all night! Awww... so I doped her up on cold medicine!
There's nothing like waking up 5 minutes before you alarm is to go off and suddenly realize that its.... *dum dumm dummmm* Monday morning! *yuck*
Hey you with the dreads... GET TO WORK!
Slow starter...
Friday, December 02, 2005 12:05:00 PM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Afternoon! So today's entry is a little later then usual! I managed to get to work 10 minutes to 8am so I didn't have time to write. I'm just glad I got here on time, deerfoot was a nightmare this morning! A lady thought it would be a good idea to stop all traffic to cross deerfoot on a cold, icy morning! Good idea, me thinks noT!
Yesterday evening while driving home from work I got into my first fender bender on deerfoot. I rear ended a sporty little red Toyota Celica. *Hot DOG!* The lady in the celica and I pulled over, she got out of the car took a quick glance at her car and said... awww it was nothing and off we went. There was no visible damage on our Hyundai either, well I'm glad thats out of the way! It could have been worse, traffic was moving incredibly slow... then it speeds up quickly... then SLAM! To a hault again, wow there's a lot to be said about the ripple effect on Deerfoot. *mO no likey!*
When I got home i gladly plopped on the couch and turned on the TV. Yay... hockey! On TSN last night they had the hockey flip going on, where they flip from game to game... Man that get's incredibly annoying!
I forgot to mention... when I pulled up into the drive way of our place, the neighbor I yelled at the night before was waiting for me. He quickly jumped outside with a case of beer and apologized for the noise. I felt even worse for yelling, and much better that we settled things. He seems like a really nice guy, he said that I'm welcome to come by at any time to play video games if i want, which really touched this guys heart! *awwww... * The case of Rickards Red helped too... man he could of got some cheap beer but he got just what I wanted, how did he know I'm a Richards Red kind of guy. Thank's Mr. Dan, and hopefully I can be a nicer neighbor!
So I'm flip flopping... let's go back to this morning... Allison came home laste last night from work and she was coughing all night. She had a hard time breathing and was just sick as a duck this morning. I felt really bad for her, hopefully she'll start to feel a little better. To bad she has to work!
Back to last night, so where was I? Oh yeah, so there I was sitting on the couch with a beer in one hand and the remote on the other when I got a phone call. "Does Mosey want some pizza?" He sure did, he headed on over to neighborino, Cal's place and muched on some greasy pizza from Little Caesars. *just the way mO likes it*
Tonight will be night number 2 of delivering pizzas. *sigh* I really don't want to drive when it's snowing and icy like this. But I guess it'll give me great practice, *sniff* hehe!
And now.... EAT YOUR LUNCH!
Holiday Cheer!
Thursday, December 01, 2005 7:32:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Well the drive to work was pretty good this morning! It appears that sanding trucks were out last night so the neighborhood wasn't as icy. And on Deerfoot there was no snow! Except for a little slow moving traffic, all was good!
Last night I managed to split my knuckles open last night! How you ask? Well it all started when I went to bed at 9:30pm and i could hear music pounding through the walls. No big deal right, I'm so tired that it's not even an issue and I managed to fall asleep. At around midnight Allison came home and I woke up just have a quick chat with her. And the bass from the music their playing next door was even louder.
Let me paint a more vivid picture, it's been a long week. I haven't been getting the sleep I so desire and it's midnight and the neighbors are blasting music like no one cares. *snap* off goes mO... toss on a pair of sweat pants and a black hoodie. Jump out the front door and *BANG, BANG BANG* I started pounding on the neighbors door like I was the police. The door swings open I glare at the person holding the door open while in an aggressive posture and I tell him to turn the music down. He quickly apologizes before I can even finish speaking as if already knowing exactly why I'm there. "I'm really sorry I didn't realize the music was that loud, my name is Dan." He reaches out to shake my hand, I replay "I'm Mo!" I shake his hand and head back inside. My blood is pumping, I jump back into bed and find that my knuckles are bloody. I banged on the door a little to hard!
Oh boy, I instantly felt like the biggest jerk on the face of the planet! I realized that I must have scared the sh*t out of Dan and his roommate! So now I've met both neighbors on both sides. *hang my head* I suppose I could have been a little kinder... perhaps I could have said something like... "Excuse good sir, but would you mind turning the volume down ever so much?! Please!" The two roomates were just playing video games and had their music up! The funny thing is.. I didn't have my contacts in so I was blind as a bat! I don't even know the expressions on their faces when my dark figure stood with an aggressive stance luring in their doorway with a very angry look on my face. I'm feeling pretty dumb this morning!
I'll go offer them some salad tonight! Maybe I can make some friends with salad!
On a more positive note, our conference call to China yesterday at work went well and for dinner I met Allison's dad and sister at Dutchies Caribean grill for dinner. Mmmm.... Brown Stew Chicken! "But it's brown!"
As for the rest of you, since it is December 1st, I suppose you can start putting up your christmas decorations! GET TO WORK!
Deerfoot was fun!
Wednesday, November 30, 2005 7:44:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Well as you know the first decent size snow falls are never fun. Which is why I'm writing this so very late. But I'm not to worried since I've got to stay a little later at work today for a conference call to China. DId you hear that? Jelous?
Ok well class last night was pretty boring as usual... Tonight I've got to drop off some seat covers for John at the Cardel Design center then I can finally get home for an evening to myself!
Is is the weekend yet? No? How about now?
Is it Saturday yet?
Tuesday, November 29, 2005 7:21:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! It's snowing this morning here in Calgary. It's a good thing I left early enough to get to work before deerfoot becomes an ice rink. Wooo hooo...
Tonight will be my 4th dreamweaver class and so far I have learned nothing new! Hopefully we'll get into some more advanced stuff, but I highly doubt it. Only a few more classes to go and then I can have my Tuesday's back and my week wont be so long.
This winter I just want to hibernate. Can't I? Really I'll just sleep through the entire winter, wake me up when it's spring.
I was so tired last night, when Alli and I went to her dad's place for dinner I crashed on the couch right after. I slept like a baby last night. It's to bad I forgot to set my alarm! I woke up at 6:21 am, looked at the clock and instantly knew what happened. *Ahhh I forgot to set the alarm* But no sweat, I managed to get ready in about half an hour and out the door. I just had to skip breakfast and my 10 minutues watching the news.
Tonight as soon as I get home from class I'm going to crash... sleep good... make mo happy boy!
GET TO WORK!
Really! That's what happened
Monday, November 28, 2005 7:17:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Monday Morning to you all! Well it's beginning to look like christmas, it snowed over the weekend and christmas lights are popping up everywhere. This year has gone by fast... too fast!
Friday was my first shift as the pizza guy! After leaving the desk job at 4:30 pm I managed to get to the bar at 5:30pm. (Which is amazing considering I was in 1st & 2nd gears the entire time I was on deerfoot.) I grabbed 2 orders right off the bat and got moving. The first order was just up the hill and around the corner. Easy... the 2nd order was up by my new neighborhood. Waaay the hell up by Airdrie. Eeep! Lucky for me it was a slow night for pizza delivery so I got to spend some time studying the area, getting to know the bar and trying to find a way to just keep the heck out of the way. After a 5 hours I was off to bed. Allison's friend Megan from Edmonton spent the night sitting at the bar while Allison worked, so I got to hand around with her when I had no orders. Getting used to the cigarrette smoke is going to take some time. *mO no likey smoke!* By 11pm I was fast asleep.
Saturday, I got up bright and early and took care of a little laundry and xbox action. Megan eventually came down and read her book as I played xbox. Allison got up and ready then we headed out for brunch. Mmmm.. Memphis breaky bowl at Ricki's!
When we came back home we found a car packed out on the street just by the entrance to our condo's with a big sign taped wot the windshield that read... "BALTROS PARTY". Oh my goodness, somebody brough bowness to the suburbs! Boooowness! Baltros just happens to be the last name of our neighbor, Ethan Baltros. Oh boy, I'm sure you can picture mO shaking his head. *what am I going to do* The good news is that they finally got blinds installed. Thank goodness!
Megan took off back to Edmonton shortly after that and Allison and I got ready to go out to dinner. We were invited out by a one of my former co-workers. It was at "The Green Olive" located at 2220 68th St NE. It was a lot of fun and I'm glad we went. The food was pretty good, and the guests were pretty funny. *Mmmm... pasta!* We ducked out early to try to catch my brothers play over at Dancer's studio west but didn't quite make it there in time. *sigh* Maybe next time...
The Baltros party didn't turn out to be as bad as I expected, so I have no reason to complain. But the big cardboard sign announcing the party to all patrons who happened to drive by didn't really please me to much. But on the other hand, we're in such a new area that our neighborhood doesn't even show up on most street maps. So it makes sense, I suppose! *quit your complaining mO!*
Sunday, I slept in and man did it ever feel good. Allison took off to work and I headed over to a buddy's place to watch the Grey Cup Final between the Edmonton Eskimos and the Montreal Alouhettes ( <--I totally spelled that wrong!*). Edmonton won 38-35 in a double overtime victory, it was a really good game. After that I came home and found a message on my site from one Mr. Brad Logel! He sold us our new home, apparently he googled his name and came across my site. Hmmm... how did that happen! Well hello Mr. Logel, thanks for stopping by!
As soon as I read his message I was a little worried, I know I was a little upset when we found out our posession date had been moved back, so hopefully I didn't say anything to mean. But overall Allison and I were very happy with the purchase of our new home. Go see Mr. Logel if you're looking to buy a new home! Dooo it, NOW!
And for the rest of you slackers... well... it's time to get GET TO WORK!
I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts...
Friday, November 25, 2005 7:25:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning... according to the news today is the last day we will be enjoying this great spring weather. *sigh* This weekend, it's supposed to snow! I guess it's better that it happens on the weekend then on Monday morning. Eeep... I almost witnessed 2 accidents this morning while driving on deerfoot. Wow... people are just not awake at this time in the morning apparently. I don't want to witness an accident on deerfoot, because if I'm close enough to see it, I'll probably end up in it. eeep!
Tonight I begin my first shift as a pizza delivery driver. Back to the good ol' days hey... only now I'm doing it in a standard transmission. Suuuuperb... I'll be an efficient driver in no time... *gulp* I hope!
I managed to get home from work just a few minutes after 5pm and found an empty house. The furniture had been re-arranged again, and it's looking pretty good I guess. There' doesn't look like there will be enough room for athe 51 incher... but after a little thought last night I realized that we don't need a monster sized tv. I don't want to grow to be a family that spends all there time in front of the TV. Neither Allison or I watches much tv nowadays anyways... why would we want to promote more TV. Forget the tv, lets get a French Bulldog! *haha*
About 10 minutes after I got home I heard a knock on the door . It was Megan, Allison's friend from Edmonton. She had just dropped off Allison at work. I quickly changed then we headed over to mama-in-law's house for dinner. *whew!* We had roast beef, with baby potatoes, red cabbage *mO thinks* and green beans! Mmmm... food goes here!
I spent a little time playing with their router then before I knew it, it was passed my bed time. Off to bed I went at 10pm. Tonight I have a feeling that Megan will probably chill out at the bar while Allison and I work. I'm not sure how long I'll be working for, but I can't wait to get home, plop on our couch and just relax. I think I've only had one evening at home this week. Dang! I'm not leaving the house this weekend.
Did I mention that it's Friday? Oh, on one final note to wrap up today's entry! Dirk it's been a pleasure to work with you my man, congratulations on the new position and hopefully i'll see you around. Best of luck Mr. Dirk-o-rino!
Since it is Friday, and I'm in a pretty good mood.... I suppose I'll give you 5 minutes to get it together but after that... GET TO WORK! P.s. Nice socks...!
Snow... Informer! *Make the connection*
Thursday, November 24, 2005 7:23:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning... wow still no snow... *informer, y'snow-me-don-play-dat. I licky boom boom down..* there how about a little singing to start of our morning! Well I finally got to spend a little time around the house. I really needed it too!
As soon as I got home from work yesterday, I walked upstairs and put on a pair of pyjamas. Then I spent the next 4 hours in front of our computer. I managed to recover some of the data from my secondary drive, but I picked up a nasty little trojan. So I decided, for my own piece of mind, to rebuild the machine. I re-installed windows, and some of my apps. Which took several hours, since half my attention was on leafs vs bruins hockey game and the other half was on the computer. I still haven't had a chance to play Need 4 Speed Most Wanted. Dang!
Tonight Allison's friend from Edmonton comes to stay with us and Allison has to work. Lucky for me Alli's mom invited us over for dinner. *whew!* saved by the mom! I suppose tomorrow night Megan will hang around the bar while allison works and I deliver pizza's. We need to do alot of grocery shopping and a lot of cleaning. Hopefully we'll have time this weekend. I was far to happy to spend my evening in front of the tv and computer to do a thing last night. *shame on mO*
Saturday night Allison and I were invited out to dinner by a former co-worker of mine. It's a post-wedding, friends only dinner. This should be good! Now if I could only remember where it was supposed to be. hmmmm...
Flames beat the San Jose Sharks last night, to bad it wasn't televised. The game on Friday will be televised though, wooo hooo! Is it the weekend yet?
Hey you, with the fingers on the keyboard... GET TO WORK!
Rollin', rollin'... got my wheels rollin'
Wednesday, November 23, 2005 7:31:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning... wow I haven't commented on the weather lately. It has been absolutely awesome here in Calgary. Yesterdays high was around +20 I believe. Man... no sight of snow for a while. Well until this weekend when the chinook is over. Thank you California warms winds. (I think that's who I should be thanking)
Well class was ok yesterday, I set low expectations and got what I expected. I learned nothing new, I already know how to create rollover images and flash buttons. Ooooh... big deal! Adult learning sucks... I'd rather take a high school version of this course, I'm sure they actually accomplish something, rather then baby us through this "interactive" learning. Booo... Just watch I'll probably sign up for the next class and start complaining about that one too... Am I that much of a pessimist, do I involve myself in situations just so that i can complain? Ay yay yay...
So I managed to get a hold of "Need For Speed Underground: Most Wanted" yesterday, from I wont say where, and I didn't even get to play it. After class I drove straight home, watched highlights and scores from the hockey games, had a bowl of chili, plugged in my brand spanking new keyboard, began to restore the lost files from my hard drive then I crashed and went to sleep.
I find that Allison and I are having conversations that only one of us remembers. She get's home in the middle of the night and starts talking to me, and I don't remember having that conversation. I will get up in the morning and say goodbye and she doesnt remember saying goodbye to me. I wonder just how much information is lost in those one sided conversations. This Friday I get to come to work with her and deliver pizza's. I will actually get to put a face to all the names at the bar. There's a list of regulars that she's always talking about, and now I can watch them in their natural habitat, the pub!
I can finally watch adults act like children, the same adults who are respected members of the community who come to the neighborhood pub just to loose sight of reality and make complete asses of themselves. I can also meet the kind folks who look after my wife and make sure that harm doesnt come her way. I can study humans in their most primitive form, when they are the most vulnerable, when they are drunk!
Allison's friend from Edmonton is coming in tomorrow night, so I guess I should whip out a recipe from the cook book to see if I can put together an edible meal. It might be nice to have a little company around the house, but I guess this means I can't drop my pants and grab the remote control as soon as I walk in the door. *sigh* It's a hard knock life...
One other thing, I'm a newbie when it comes to driving standard. I still believe that you should not drive on the #2 highway unless you know a few basic things:
1. How to safely merge
2. How to safely change lines
3. How to drive at a safe speed on the highway. (This does not mean 60 k on a 100 click highway!)
4. The most important rule, DO NOT CUT ME OFF! If you happen to see a tiny little silver hyundai barrelling down the highway, DO NOT cut right in front of him.
If we can all follow these very easy to follow rules I'm sure my drive to and from work will be more enjoyable. As for the rest of yous... well!
Hey it's Wednesday and I'm looking forward to the weekend. Are we there yet? Are we there yet?
Hey you, with the shirt on... GET TO WORK!
Toonie Tuesday... (2 times the work.)
Tuesday, November 22, 2005 7:24:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning... It's terrible Tuesday, my longest day of the week! *sigh* Because todays the day I get to trek directly from work straight to school. Dang...
Last night I whipped home to find an empty house with a new chaise lounge. Our furniture was moved around the room was a mess. But no wifey... where could she be? She was at her dad's place, her and her dad picked up the lounge earlier that day and dropped it off. So I headed over there.
Cardel seems to be fast forwarding construction, yesterday when I left for work the construction site was a mess. We had a dumpster directly behind our parkig stall which made backing out a tough job. Good thing there was no one packed next to me. But when I got home, the dumpster was gone, it looked like they had swept some of the parking lot and they dug up a new whole to pour concrete in. I imagine when I get home tonight at 9:30pm that I will find that cement has filled that whole. Construction had even begun before I left for work this morning, good job boys!
We had chicken fajitas for dinner. Mmmm... They were really good. I can taste them right now. Allison also informed me that she had talked to her friend Megan from Edmonton and that she was coming to stay with us for a few days. *That's cool.... right!?* Then she told me she was coming to stay with us for a few days later this week. *Oh boy!* She's coming Thursday, Friday and leaving on Saturday. Allison works on Thursday and Friday in the evening. And I work Thursday and Friday during the day and Friday evening. Hmmm... looks like Megan will be taking care of herself. Dang... we also need to get a bed set up in the guest room. Oh well, at least she'll be our first house guest. It will all work out... *breathe mO... breathe*
I still have not been able to recover the data from my secondary drive. Don't you worry, I'll get it though... I'm looking forward to Friday, when I get to start my first shift as a delivery driver. Alriiight... mO the pizza guy! Look out, because I could be delivering your pizza... Bua hahaha...
Hey you... with the hair... GET TO WORK!
I do the backups... they prevent disaster
Monday, November 21, 2005 7:21:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! It's the start of another work week and less than 5 weeks away from Christmas. *woo hooo*
Friday night after work I headed down to Allison's work to pick her up, we then headed to her pop's place to pick him up. We stopped by our place to pick up my PC and dropped it off at memory express. We then had dinner at "Dutichies" again. I had the jerk chicken, again! Mmmm... !
Afterwards, we caught the rest of the flames game, watched "Madagascar" and called it a wrap. Flames winning streak ended at 8 games, losing to the Chicago Blackhawks.
Saturday, we headed down to Northland shopping center, where we picked up some stuff from WalMart, I got my eyes checked and we looked at Tv's in future shop. I found a 51" tv that I grew quite fond of. *haha.. keep dreaming mO!* I picked up my PC at memory express, free of charge. They swapped out a stick of ram which was under warranty and wham-o, problem solved.
Allison had to work that evening and I was invited to mommy-in-law's house for dinner. For dinner we had steaks on the BBQ, squash, steamed veggies and salad. They had some guests from out of town visiting, it turned out to be a pretty fun night. I got sleepy and a weeee bit cranky around 10:30 or 11 pm and I was off to bed. Man I'm a sucky baby I can't stay up passed 11.
Sunday, Allison worked again. So I napped, and watched football. Both #1 teams in the CFL lost, so now Edmonton and Montreal will meet at the Grey Cup Final. I spent most of the afternoon trying to recover data from my secondary hard drive. Apparently, the partition was deleted. I swear I didn't do it. I didn't manage to recover any data yet. But with one app I found at download.com called "Stellar Phoenix" i was able to run a scan that did in fact find all my data. The catch is, if I want to restore that data I have to pay for the full version of the application which costs about 150 USD. Eeep, for something I will probably only use once. From now on, I'm running backups! Geeez!
For dinner we had a little pasta and salad then we watched "Friday Night Lights." and caught some shut eye. That's my weekend and I'm sticking to it... GET TO WORK!
That's all folks...
Friday, November 18, 2005 7:23:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! The weather is just terrific today, it's already 9 degrees celsius outside. Wholy moly, I sure this carries over to the rest of the weekend. I'm also glad that the weekend is just about here, it feels like this week was longer then usual.
I picked up my new serial ata drive yesterday from memory express at lunch. I also grabbed another stick of 512 to fill my 4th and final slot on my mother board. When I went home and installed the 2 I found my pc to be unresponsive. *sigh* It will boot up but it wont boot off the drive, it wont boot off either of my dvd drives, it wont boot off a floppy. It wont display anything to screen. Hmmm... the LED's on the back of my tower signalled that it was running a memory test (I checked the mother boards owners manual.). After about an hour of this memory test, I shut her down, removed the stick of ram and booted her back up. Still no response. There's doesnt seem to be any sign of damage, or that anything was fried. My gut feeling is that it's a ram issue. Not sure what to do, so I'm taking it to the experts. Hopefully, today I'll be able to drop it off at memory express. I'll stick to writing code and I'll let the hardware guys stick to assembling hardware. *sigh*
So this digital cable box we got from shaw is pretty nifty, it's got a menu guide and a few more channels. Except with more channels comes more garbage on tv. I seem to stcik to a small group of channels and that's all I need. To bad I couldn't just pick my channels, hand the cable box back and be done with that. Shaw's Digital phone service cost's $55.00/month. That's quite a hefty bill, expecially since Allison and I both already have cell phones. I have a feeling we'll be switching to Telus when the free month is up.
It's almost Saturday morning, suhweet! It sounds like starting next Friday I will be deliverying pizza's once again. Oh yeah baby! That should fine tune my driving skills, I hope! It's now only 5 weekends away from Christmas. I can't wait... I sure could use some beach time right about now.
Have a great weekend folks!
8 game winning streak...
Thursday, November 17, 2005 7:26:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning Calgary! I feel refreshed, I managed to get into bed at 9:30pm for a fresh 6am start. Ohhhh yeah!
Yesterday, the cable guy from shaw came to the house during the day. I was at work and Alli was at home. He got our cable, digital and internet hooked up. I played with all the new toys last night except for the internet. *sigh* My hard drive died. I knew this was coming and I knew I had to swap it out pretty soon but did it have to happen on the day we got internet? "Primary Hard Disk Failure." At least that means today I get to pick up a new hard drive then spend a little time installing it. SATA here I come. Lets hope I don't break anything else.
After work yesterday I stopped by the house quickly and had a chat with the neighbor that left a note on sis-in-law's car. I caught him as I was just pulling out of the parking lot, and I'm glad I did. I apologized to him for the inconvenience, introduced myself to himself to him and told him I didn't want to get off on the wrong foot. He became very apologetic and almost frightened in a way. It was kind of weird, almost like he thought I was going to pull a gun on him or something. I have no idea what aura I was presenting but I just wanted to stomp out and fire that might have started between us. I felt much better for doing so, I actually found them to not be very hill billyish at all. In fact they were just a young couple, who just seem to be trying to do the best that they can. His wife or girlfriend looked really pregnant so I can imagine that he just wanted to make sure she had more then enough room to get in and out of her car in case of an emergency. No biggie, beef squashed and I can sleep!
After chatting it up with the neighbor, *Mr. Ethan was his name by the way!* I headed to Alli's work to drop off the car for her. Papa-in-law and sis-in-law met me there to scoop me up. We headed to Stavros in ranchlands, munched on some pizza, watched the first period of the flames game and caught up on the local gossip. I am so not into gossip, but when you're sitting with a man like Alli's dad it's hard to keep everyone away. People seem to be drawn to his presence and just like to pull up a chair and then start blabbing. *blah blah blah* Last night was a lady by the name of "Freddy". I don't know if that's her nick name or what, but she pulled right up as we were eating and sat her pint of beer down then started talking about her search for a job. Then she started talking about her husband out drinking for the evening and that she didn't expect him to be home until later. And that she was meeting another gentleman in there who had a "Job" for her. uh huh... i bet he does!
During the 1st intermission, I got dropped off at home and I continued to watch the hockey game. The Calgary Flames beat the Detroit Red Wings by a score of 3-1. Calgary is now on an 8 game winning streak. Oh man... I'm actually giddy! Really I am! Chicago you're next!
Did I mention that I'm looking forward to Saturday morning? Cartoons, Pj's, Mini Wheats, blankie and the remote to our new shaw digital cable box. (Free 1 month trial)
Oh and in other news, my company just released a website for one of their latest products. I just thought I would offer a shameless plug! www.incentus.ca
100 miles and runnin'
Wednesday, November 16, 2005 7:20:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Wow... the weather forecasters were right, this morning was nice and warm! *well... warm-ER emphasis on the "er"* So I'm pretty tired today, I don't feel like I've had any downtime. Yuck...
After work yesterday I drove straight to SAIT. I got there just after 5pm, so I was one hour early for my 6pm Dreamweaver class. This class was a little better then the first, but it went at such a slow.... slow... ohhh agonizingly slow pace. At no fault of the instructor but people just dont seem to listen to directions very well. Not to mention, some of the questions that were asked almost gave me a heart attack. "How do you save?", "How do I add pictures to a folder without having to add it to a page?".
Oh my goodness, I realized this class was for more of an introductory audience but I expected people to have at least touched a computer before. Some of the most insane questions came from a buddy who claimed to have his MCAD. I don't know what year it's in, but man some of his questions were annoying. I really just wanted to cover as much material as possible, but we seemed to go over the same stuff over and over and over again, because people just couldnt keep up.
After about 45 minutes of this nonsense I tuned out and found a couple of tutorials on the macromedia site. I spent the rest of the evening going through those and I covered quite a bit. I gotta admit that if I hadn't taken this class I probably wouldn't have gone and found a tutorial on Dreamweaver. Not that you really need one, it's pretty self explanatory if you understand HTML.
The class ended at 9pm and I raced over to Allison's work to drop off the car for her. I got a ride home from her sister and made it home just after 10 pm. Her sister told me that she had stopped by the house yesterday to give Alli a ride to work. She parked in the stall next to ours, that had not been used since we moved in. (I assume it's visitor parking if it's not used.) When they left she found a note on her car from our neighbors. He asked her not to park in that spot. He said he owned 2 spaces, which is fine, except both of his cars are in their 2 spaces. The spot Lisa was parked in was the empty, unused space. I highly doubt our neighbor owns 3 spaces, I really think he was just upset because he didnt have the room he wanted for his mammoth of a truck.
These same neighbors also don't have blinds yet. I sure hope they get some, because the one gentleman has been walking around his house with no shirt on. It seems that in the last couple of days he's put up a bed sheet as his blinds. Last last week I came home to find all his clothes were laid out on the front porch. Over the weekend I went downstairs to do some laundry and standing right next to the washing machine I could hear the neighbors screaming and swearing at each other. I couldn't make out what they were arguing about, but I heard the F-bomb quite a few times. Not to mention I watched deliverance over the weekend and I have a new found fear of hillbilly's. (I'm not suggesting our neighbors are hill billy's but I think you would agree the resemblance is shocking!)
I really don't want to feud with my neighbors, but I need to settle this before it escalates. So what are my options:
1. Grab the plans for the lot and see if I can make out which stall belongs to whom, if it doesn't say I could go visit our buddy Brad Logel at Cardel Homes to find out.
2. I could stop by their place tonight and introduce myself, apologize for the inconvenience and try to find out which stalls are his and what his real beef is. (Because he's obviously got a problem with something else, Lisa was only there for a short time to pick up Allison.)
3. I think I'm out of options... I sure hope he doesn't drape a great big confederate flag in his window, otherwise I think the "For Sale!" sign might be going up!
So far the car juggling is working out, and I'm gaining more and more confidence each day that I drive. I still need some work shifting gears cleanly, but at least I can get from point A to B without a scratch. Now if I could just get the guys at Hyundai to take ownership of the faulty stereo they installed.
The headache's keep piling on... In the last couple of months we've noticed the stereo cutting out in the car. It seems to be mostly triggered by turning on a turn signal. Allison got it booked into the dealership a couple weeks ago to get it looked at. Their response was that it was an after market stereo, that was hooked up very badly. hahaha... No kidding! Guess who installed it? Allison bought that car brand new with the stereo! So the buddy at the dealership just admitted that they had an after market deck badly installed and now they wont fix it. Grrrr... Now we have to go deal with that. I'm telling you though, by the time we get to Barbados, none of this will matter!
Life's to short, SO GET BACK TO WORK!
Ba Dum Dum Ching!
Tuesday, November 15, 2005 7:21:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning... dang it's cold! I even had to scrape off the frost from the windsheild this morning. I really hope the weather guys are right and that the rest of the week will warm up. I'm already looking forward to waking up saturday morning in my pyjamas, heading downstairs, grabbing a bowl of cereal, and flopping on the couch to watch Saturday morning cartoons. Oh yeah!
The Calgary Flames won again, oh baby! Last night they beat the Minnesota Wild by a score of 3-2. Man the first 2 periods were terrible to watch. Calgary was down 2 to nothing at the start of the third. In the 3rd they scored 3 goals and won the game, oh baaaby! 7 game winning streak, Detroit you're next!
And in other news, tonight I have my 2nd dreamweaver class. Hopefully, this one will be a little more exciting then the first. I almost lost it last week when someone couldn't find the "Save" button. What am I doing in this class, I say to myself! Im bound to learn something good, if anything it's another step towards the *drumroll* "MASTER WEB DESIGN CERTIFICATE" Oh yeah!
The next couple of days are going to be a little difficult for Allison and I, our work schedules are starting to conflict and sharing one car is becoming more and more difficult. This week will be a true test of our co-operation!
Is it cheaper to buy lunch meats from the deli or the pre-packaged stuff? What's healthier? What do you prefer?
So next month will mark 1 1/2 years at this job. Wooo Hooo, I wasn't sure I would be able to get through the first 3 months, look at me now! hehe...
I've decided to go back to my pizza delivery days once again, hopefully by next weekend you might see me knocking on your door with piping hot pizza in my arms! Wouldn't that be a pretty sight?
Well I think I'm out of random thoughts for the day, so GET BACK TO WORK! Or for some of you, GET BACK TO NURSING YOUR CHILDREN! (hehe just kidding!)
The weekend after...
Monday, November 14, 2005 7:19:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Monday Morning to you! It's a chilly one that's for sure, but according to the forecast the rest of the week should warm up. That's good news.
Yesterday the Calgary Stampeders blew a 23-9 lead to lose to the Edmonton Eskimos. How it happened, I'm not sure! Well thanks for the great season Stamps! Thanks for having me on the team *even if it was only for 3 hourse*, thanks for the exciting games and thanks for taking us to the playoffs.
In other news, the Calgary Flames are on a win streak. They've won they're last 6 games, alright!
Allison and I still have no internet, and I just realized last night that the day we have the cable guy scheduled to show up neither of us will be home. Dang! That's tomorrow by the way, I guess I'm going to have to re-schedule.
The long weekend was excellent, it was just what we needed to break in the new house! Thursday night Alli and I stopped by her mom's to have a drink. Then we were off to the grocery store. $250 later, we had enough to stock our shelves. We finished off our evening by catching the end of the Flames game. Calgary beat Phoenix, wooo hooo. Friday morning Allison had to work, so I dropped her off then went down to the Cardel Design centre to pick up our seat cushions. John greeted me there then took me around to the back. He handed me the seat cushions and told me to get rid of the old ones however I wanted. Woo hooo... 12 seat cushions for the price of 6. Thanks John!
I went home and did a little vacuuming and a lot of laundry. Then I played a little XBOX, Fable The Lost Chapters. Suhweeet! I picked up Allison when she was done work and we headed home to assemble our dining room chairs. Alli's dad came over with a drill to help us put everything together. After screwing in all the legs with tiny little allen wrenches we were ready for dinner. Mmmm... Dutchy's caribean restaurant. I had the Jerk chicken which caused me to break an ity bity sweat. hehe.. Allison had the chicken curry, and her pop's had the chicken roti. Mmmm... jerk chicken! *drool* It's so hot but it's addictive! We picked up a dozen Jamaican patties before leaving to take home. *Guess what I snacked on for most of the weekend?*
After dinner we watched "The Devil's Rejects", I can't believe Siskel and Roeper gave this movie two thumbs up. Are they crazy, it was terrible! *In my opinion of course* There was potential for a good movie based on the plot, but everything was done in excess. I guess that's just how Rob Zombie likes to get things done. Yuck!
Saturday, we lounged around the house for most of the afternoon until Allison had to go to work. I dropped her off then had a buddy over to watch the Flames game. Sunday was a little more of the same, got up played some XBOX. Said bye to Allison as she left for work then I watched the football game. And now it's back to work. *sigh* At least we have Christmas and Barbados to look forward to. And what am I complaining about I lounged around the house all weekend while Allison had to work. Dang!
Hey you, GET BACK TO WORK!
I like to move it, move it...
Thursday, November 10, 2005 7:26:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning... I'm going to pat myself on the back because I made it to work 2 days in a row! Wooo Hooo... *Look mom, Look what I can do!* I was nervous as hell yesterday but I got through a trip to work and from work without stalling the car once. Man... i'm good! I left the house at 7am today and just rolled in for a sweet 7:30am sharp, just enough time to write this blog entry.
So when I got home yesterday it looked like the plumber didn't show up to fix the dishwasher, but earlier that afternoon I got a call back from John at Cardell Design Center who game me some good news. Apparently, the reason we got a puke green cover on our dining room chairs was because the supplier changed colors over night. They stopped making the white and black covered seats and went only with the puke green. Why, i don't know why they would do that. But the supplier is sending out the correct chairs right away. We should have them within the next couple days he said. We'll just have to drop off the old ones! Gooodie!
More good news, it looks like our flights to Barbados have been booked. Thanks for the email Grammy-O!
Ok now where was i... oh yeah.. so gi got home from work and found that Allison spent a lot of time organizing and cleaning the house. I continued by sorting out my clothes then running a couple of loads of laundry. For dinner I whipped up a can of Stag chili... Mmmm staggy! Then I spent some time in the basement assembling our new gull wing dryer, our new ironing board, and our new drying rack/pole thingy! Yup, yup all in a days work. To finish off my evening I played hockey in the basement with my old hockey stick! Lucky for me the basement is unfinished!
So far I realy like our new place, our mattresses are super comfy, the shower is great, the walk in closet comes in handy when I want to get dressed in the morning without waking up Alli. I haven't heard any noise through the wall, and I sure hope my neighbors can't hear any of my loud music through the walls either. *C'mon everyone needs a little cleaning music to get some energy from*. Do my little dance, shake a lil' bum... get down tonight!
Thank goodness it's a long weekend here in Alberta! I'll be back on Monday, then Tuesday we get internet, phone, cable hooked up! Suhweet...!
To legit, to legit to quit...
Wednesday, November 09, 2005 7:12:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Well I arrived at the office at 7:15am, that's 45 minutes before I start. Today was my first day commuting on deerfoot, and yes I drove! I left the house at 6:45am and whipped right down deerfoot. I didn't stall once, and the only nerve racking portion of the drive was merging from harvest hills onto beddington trail. *sigh* I'm glad that's over with!
Today I'm dealing with a bad stomach bug, I was up all night in the bathroom just terribly ill. Hopefully I'll start to feel better today or I might have to head home early from work. Let's hope it doesnt come to that.
On Monday night I came back to the apartment after work to pack. After packing and cleaning I watched the Calgary Flames beat the Vancouver Canucks for the second game in a row. Oh yeah, Calgary's on a 4 game win streak.
Tuesday morning I got up bright and early and started hauling all our stuff to the car. I woke up Allison at 7:30 and told her to get a move on. It was moving day and I was excited. At 8:30 am we left the apartment for the last time and dropped off the keys at the main office. So long Execsuite!
We then headed up to Allison's dad's place where all of our stuff was stored. Alli's dad had already picked up a u-haul truck for us and we started loading her up. At 9:40am Alli and I left to go do our possession walk through. Everything went well, except for a few minor things that needed to be touched up. Then we started moving in! Both Alli's mom and dad, her sister and Shawna all chipped in and we were finished in no time. We recieved 2 bottles of champagne, a cool clock from a place called Twisted and wine glasses. After snacking on some Tim Horton's donuts and champagne we started assembling all our stuff. Unfortuneatly we found out that the color of the seat covers on the dining room chairs were wrong. They were a olive green, puke color. We wanted white and we purchased our dining room set back in June or July. We didn't bother to open up the boxes when we picked them up, just tossed them into storage thinking it was all good. I called John from Cardel Homes Design center to let him know. He told me he would call the supplier then call me back when he hears from them. I'm hoping he hears from them today.
While running all of our dishes through the dishwasher we found a slow leak and called Mark, the site super who did the walk through with us. He said he would get a plumber in right away. Hopefully they'll show up today.
After getting the bed and dining table set up we went to Ricky's for a little late afternoon breakfast. Mmm... memphis breakkie bowl. I got dropped off at the house so that I could drive myself to my first night class. I'm taking a course on Dreamweaver. Man, that was a snore last night. I don't think I picked up any new knowledge at all. Hopefully the class picks up. I stalled a few times driving to and from SAIT but I made it without a scratch. I'm hope that I enjoy driving stick soon.
*uh oh my stomach is starting to act up again... I may have to take off for a little while! Pain... owww.. pain!*
I got home from class at around 9:30pm and we headed over to Alli's mom place for a little late night dinner. After all she know lives right across the street from us. She cooked up two different kinds of breaded fish, a little salad and some steamed carrots. Mmmm... topped off with a coffee cake and scoop of ice cream. I began to have an allergic reaction to something I ate. My lips started to bubble up and my throat started to slowly close up. So I gobbled down some allergy medicine. I was ready for bed!
Around 1 or 2am I started to feel really bad cramps in my stomach. I had to run to the bathroom 4 or 5 times altogether during the night. And I'm not feeling so hot right now... Need more pepto! I sure hope this bug passes through quickly...
And now here I am back to work, I hope the drive home is as good as the drive here! Have a great day y'all!
The day before moving day...
Monday, November 07, 2005 7:47:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning... Well I arrived at work today to find that once againour internet connection was down. This is probably the third of fourthmorning in a row... So I'm writing this entry in notepad.
So another exciting weekend has passed, and our last one in the apartment.Tomorrow is moving day and everything is falling into place. I spent myFriday night packing and cleaning. Saturday afternoon, Allison and Iheaded over to her dad's place where we had Stavro's pizza for lunch.
Allison went off to work and I stuck around to watch hockey, the UltimateFighting Championship marathon and a little Law & Order. Calgary beatVancouver in an exciting 1 to nothing victory. Rashad Evans and JoeStevenson won their fights to win a 3 year 6 figure contract to the UFC.Yay... 6 figure's... so that could be $100,000 for 3 years or $33,000 a year? I guess we'll never know the magical 6 figure...
Sunday morning Allison went off to work *again!* and I stayed home and cleanthe apartment some more. Then Allison's dad came and picked me uparound 2pm and we were off to the football game. The Calgary Stampeders vs.the Edmonton Eskimo's in the final game of the regular season. Calgarywhooped Edmonton in a 43 to 23 victory. Oh man, it was an awesome gameto watch, especially from where we were sitting. Row 16! Calgary's victory puts them in 2nd place and means they'll face the EdmontonEskimo's again next Sunday for the first playoff game. BC get's the byfor being in first place and Calgary get's home field advantage forbeing in second. Alriiight...
After the game we ordered up some chinese food and watched the movie"Snatch" while Allison and I did laundry. And that folks wraps upmy final weekend in the apartment...
Oh yeah I attempted to drive home last night and stalled so many timesthat I gave up and got Allison to drive. I couldn't even make it downthe hill, which makes me rather nervous about driving to work on Wednesday. I'm seriously, SERIOUSLY, considering transit! (UnlessI happen to come across an automobile with and automatic transmissionwithin the next couple of days, but not bloody likely! So I guess I'llstick to reading my online tutorials on how to drive standard.)
GET TO WORK, SLACKER!
That's all folks...
Friday, November 04, 2005 6:42:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Booo... again I arrive this morning to the office to no internet connection. It finally just kicked back in... so let's make this quick shall we.
Yesterday one of my co-workers stopped by our section of the cube farm to ask if anyone would be interested to go to the hockey game with him. So after work we stopped by "Kinjo" for some sushi and headed to the game. The Calgary Flames vs. the Columbus Blue Jackets. Man, hockey is so much better when it's live. Calgary won 2-1 which made it even sweeter. There were 2 fights but Calgary's power play sucks!
It's friday which means we've got lots of packing to do this weekend. We won't have any internet for a good week or so, until then I'll be relying on my connection here at the office!
Have a good weekend folks! Thanks for the invite Mr. Sheldon!
*crrrr...* Disconnected...
Thursday, November 03, 2005 6:33:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning... winter's just around the corner. The morning's are chilly now, and ther are people scarping the frost off their windshields every morning. *sigh*
We've just got a handful of days left in the apartment now, and more milk then we can handle. *4 litres is just to much!* It will be so very nice to finally get into our new home and know that we're not moving anywhere for a while. It will be nice to finally sleep in OUR bed, and not have to worry about what took place on the mattresses before us. It will be nice to have our own parking stall and not have to worry about finding somewhere to park on the street. It will be nice to be able to get up Saturday mornings and watch cartoons in my pj's without having to worry about spilling the milk from my mini wheats on the carpet. *hehe just kidding!* I am obviously excited.
We move in Tuesday, and that same night I start my new course at SAIT. It's on using Dreamweaver. I'm hoping to come out with some good skills to help me design better websites.
Most of all I'm just hoping I learn to drive standard in the snow and ice. Dang! It's definitely going to be a long drive to work every morning. I've never really wanted to rely on deerfoot to get to work, but it looks like I'm just like everyone else nnow. *sigh* I've thought about bussing it to work, but I'm sure how long that will take. *ay yi yiiii*
Allison's grandma has invited us down to Barbados March. 5th for a week. I'm looking forward to that. We get to leave Calgary at 00:20am on Sunday March. 5th and arrive in Toronto at 6:07 am then connect to a flight to Barbados at 8:45 am and arrive in Barbados at 2:50 pm that day. *Ewww.. that's a lot of plane* I don't mind the plane, I'm just not a fan of sitting in the same uncomfortable position for hours at a time. But it will be worth it, we get to see Barbados.
It's kind of strange for me, I've grown up never really going away an... *Crrrr...*
12:01Pm
So we lost our internet connection at work, hence my blog entry was cut off! Damnit... I think what I meant to say was it's weird for me since I grew up never going on vacation and now i seem to be going on trip after trip... it's kind of nice. I enjoy travelling!
Happy, happy, joy, joy!
Wednesday, November 02, 2005 6:29:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Brrrr.... it's a chilly start today! It started snowing last night and it just wouldn't stop. This morning the streets and sidewalks were extremely icy. I can't tell you how many times I almost wiped out, I don't even want to imagine what it's like to drive on deerfoot right now. I too will feel your pain in one weeks time.
So yesterday we showed up at our new house at 9:45 am for our 10am pre-possession walk through. After waiting for a few minutes we were greeted by Mark, a site supervisor to begin the walkthrough. Both Allison and I were very impressed, there were quite a few places that need paint touch ups but nothing major. On the main floor the towel rack was installed right behind the door, so when you open the bathroom door it smacks the towel rack before it can hit the door stopper. No worries, we're told it will be taken care of. Our washer and dryer are sitting on the wrong side *you know... dryer on the right and washer on the left!* haha.. but no biggie! They forgot to install a hand rail at the top of the stairs. *tsk, tsk* but no biggie!
I found out that the house is wired with category 5 cable so if I wanted to change the face plates for anyone of the phone jacks to an rj45 connector, I can. That way I can hook up my router to the smart panel downstairs and have an internet connection run through the house. Suhweet! Our upstairs bathroom is nice and big, the office looks good, the spare room looks good. I'm excited!
The walkthrough took about and hour and 15 minutes. Mark recorded everything then told us he would meet us again the following Tuesday at 10 am for our possession walkthrough to make sure that everything is taken care of.
Afterwards we met up with Alli's fam and went to ricky's for a bowl. A brekkie bowl that is! They couldn't serve me my favorite bowl, the sunshine breakky bowl. So I went with a Memphis... Mmmm... bowly!
Off to work I went... after work I went for coffee with a friend I havent seen for a few years, he just happened to call out of the blue. He's been working for waste management for the past 3 years and seems to be doing very well. He just bought a new 2006 Chevy Cobalt SS. It's a pretty car, but kind of scary when he drives.
I finished off my evening by watching the Calgary Flames beat the Minnesota Wild by a score of 3 to nothing!
The weekend's almost here, now GET TO WORK!
Twick o' Tweet, did ya smell my feet?!
Tuesday, November 01, 2005 6:45:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! I don't even feel like blogging today! I'm kinda sleepy.
Well at 10 am today Allison and I get to attend our very first pre-possession walk through. Last night we had the run through of all the things to look for, I even got a little advice at work. Man, if you don't know much about building a home, a good way to learn is to build a home. I'm sure today we'll miss a few things, we're not experts in the field of building homes. But I hope to get all the major items that could potentially become costly and unsightful in the future. We're both so excited that things are finally coming together. In one week we will be moving into our new home. Hoooray!
Yesterday, our meeting with the lawyer went awesome. we got to the lawyers office about 10-15 minutes early, just the way i like it. I taught Allison how to ride the train downtown. Haha... she's so cute! We sat with the lawyer right at 9am and 20 minutes later after signing document after document we were finished. Thank you Mr. Scott Pritchard for being the most reliable part of our entire home buying ordeal.
When we got back to the apartment, we phoned Enmax yesterday to make sure we had water and electricity when we moved in. We'll have to do a little more research to see where we can get the best deal with utilities and to just see what else is out there. But for now, I'm happy if we have hot water when we move in.
As I look to my right... they are about to reveal details from the Gommery report. *I'm watching tv if you haven't realized.* I just realized that I was no longer watching Global Calgary's morning show and instead it's Global National with what's her name. Tara something? Isn't is strange how Kevin Newman is never around when these big stories break? Where was he during Hurricane Katrina? On vacation... I assume!
Can someone fill me in, is Remembrance Day a statuatory holiday? Wow, the House of Commons looks like a boring place to work!
Have a great day peoples! Oh did I mention how much candy I got from Halloween? Twick o' Tweet!
Going.. going.... back back to Caly, Caly!
Monday, October 31, 2005 5:55:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! This morning we meet with the lawyer to finalize the sale of our new home. Scott Pritchard of McCafrey, Goss, Mudry is the gentleman we're to speak with. 9am is our appointment, and I'm just feeling the last minute jitters. I know I really have no reason to be nervous, but I keep going through my head all the items we're to bring. I made a list:
Meeting w/ Lawyer checklist:
o $9838.66 bankdraft
o 2 pieces of ID
o Marriage certificate
o Proof of insurance
McCaffery, Goss, Mudry. #2200 - 736 6 ave SW, Calgary, AB Ph#: 260-1400
Ok I think we're good to go! Now I can just sit and relax.
Well it was another crazy weekend. Friday after work, both Allison and I raced home after work. We quickly packed a bag for the night, ate a plate of pasta then hit the road to Edmonton. *Or as I like to call it, the big SUCK!* We arrived in Edmonton at around 9:30pm, and headed directly to Megan's aunts house as instructed. Megan is Allison's friend from her jr. high days, we came up to celebrate her birthday. I thought we were taking her out for dinner, but when we arrived at her aunts house she was no where to be found. So after calling around for Miss. Megan's cell phone number Allison got a hole of her. She was at a restaurant called Koutouki with a couple of her girlfriends. We drove up to meet them.
Oh boy... mO and a bunch of partially b*tchy girls. Hey that's what they told me, "You better be careful, you're surrounded by a bunch of bitches." <-- end quote. I remained silent as a lamb, because lambs are pretty silent y'know! Not all the girls were mean, mainly just one. But I should shut my mouth before this comes back to haunt me.
So Megan forgot that we were coming up to stay at her aunts house. *uh huh, i bet you can imagine what was going through my head... lower your backhand mO!* She had already made other plans, but said she would adjust.
After listening to these girls go on giggling about how the owner of the restaurant is so cute and blah blah... *yuck* we finally left. Our next stop was to Megans house to drop off one of the girls cars. When we arrived, Megan's sister was throwing a party and cars lined the street. *Man I'm getting to old for this.*
Finally the ladies were ready and we headed down to "White Ave.", I know what you're thinking, this sounds like somewhere a person of my skin tone wants to hang out on a friday night. It turned out to be ok. We went to a pub/club called "The Thirsty Turtle." Nor Alli and I have a valid picture ID, just our temporary licenses we were given when we went to get our addresses changed. But the ladies managed to schmooze the bouncer to let us in. The bouncer was surprisingly friendly, I wonder if that's because I was with the ladies, because I don't ever recall meeting a bouncer that friendly or close to friendly in my life.
So the thirsty turtle was full of drunken 20 year olds. I dressed way to nice for Edmonton, I should have tossed on a pair of jeans with holes in them, and a hoodie. Seriously, all I could think of is if someone steps on my shoe I'm going to lose it. I stood in my corner while Allison served me up a Gin 'n Juice. *laid back with my mind on my... * I started to simmer down a wee bit!
Megan bumped into her X-boyfriend as soon as we walked in and pretty much jumped his bone as soon as we were there. I don't get it, doesn't the 'X' mean anything? Like... oh I don't know, you're no longer supposed to shove your tongue down his throught? Maybe it's just me, call me crazy mO!
Megans friends left the bar to go to the liquor store, they snuck liquor into the bar then proceeded to the bathroom to get pissed. Holy f*ckin' high school Batman... *someone get me my ol' ye english and a brown bag.* My patience was starting to wear and Allison was having about as much fun as I was. She had no idea what had happened to her friend Megan. Allison, being the understanding wife that she is kept me calm. *breath mO, woooo SAAAAA!*
A strange guy approached me and pointed his finger in my face, he then asked me in his drunken slurr... "Hey were you at the football game? The Eskie's game man!" I blindly stared at him then smiled and calmly said "No!" I think he got the message that I wasn't interested in having a convo with a drunken fool and said "Oh man I should quit drinking!" *go ON! I dare ya!* Megans' x-boyfriends, friend came up to me and muttered "Oh man, I'm sooo drunk!"... uh huh *I'm losin' it!*
The ladies were getting bored, they wanted to move onto another bar! *As if they forgot that we didn't have ID.* Why should they have to give up a good night of partying for us ol' folks anyways. How about they stay and club it up and we drive back to Calgary, is what I suggested to Allison. Nope, Alli wouldn't budge, she was content to stick this out. She's a good friend, unlike me, I would be gone like the flash! *see ya homeboys!*
Strolling through white ave was interesting, I thought the red mile was crazy well this street was lined up with bars and drunken people. Wholy moly! After strolling down the drunken ave we ended up at the doors of "The Iron Horse." Again the bouncer was friendly and let us in without proper ID. Megan paid the cover for us, and I was told to give up my jacket to the coat check. "what?! but dude just walked in with his jacket on, why do i have to give up mine?" So i conceeded, I paid the 2 bucks for coat check, I DID NOT TIP! Then I entered the bar, I stood and watched how the coat check works and decided to go reclaim my jacket. There was one window to drop off the jacket, and another to pick them up. So i picked mine up and walked back into the bar. *what a crock of BS!* Big beefy bouncers tryin to be somebody! *break me off a piece of that kit kat bar*
The rest of the night was actually fun, Allison and I picked up a table and sat and chatted all night. Her friends did their thing, and we were happy where we were. As the Gin 'n Juice started to catch up with my head I started to get more and more relaxed. My guard was slowly coming back down... until I got hosed!
That's right my brand spankin new tommy jacket go hosed! Ahhhhh.... I walked out the door! After watching Megan flash the boys in the bar, then make us sit there till 3 am watchin all these drunken kids act... well like kids, the hosing just made me overflow! Allison got the key from megan and we were off to her aunts place.
When we arrived at her aunts house, we found out the hard way that the key didn't fit. She gave us the wrong key. We called her back and she didn't answer. *Later we found out that she tried to call us back but ended up calling Allison's dad's house at 3:30 am* We eventually got a hold of her and she was barely making sense... she was piss drunk. She said she would get there as soon as possible.
After laying in the car for about 30-45 minutes, our host arrived. A red civic pulled up next to us, the door swung open and about 7 people were piled into this 2 seater. Megan popped out with another guy she met at the bar. *Not her X-boyfriend* We walked in, Megan told us where were sleeping and Megan and her new boy-toy from the bar went their separate ways. I locked the door, brushed my teeth, got changed and jumped in bed. I think it was about 4:30 am!
The next morning Allison had to get up at 9:30 am and Megan and her went to her mom's house when they were ready. She was having her "special" birthday party. I got up around 11:30am, had a bowl of cereal then watched "the 70's show, and the simpsons all after noon." It's surprising how little is on, even when you have a satellite.
Megan and Allison got back at around 3:30 pm then we sat and chatted for a while... finally I convinced Allison it was time to go back to Calgary. We made it back to Calgary around 6:30 pm, *not soon enough if you ask me*
Well it was nice to spend a weekend with Allison, but call me a "square" but I'd rather not step into another club for a while. mO out...
At least I got a new 19" LCD monitor for $330.00 bucks on Sunday. We just happened to stop by Compu Smart, and bumped into my old class mate Jason Kwok from sait. He was a manager now and they were having their re-location sale. So I got a pretty darn good deal. Thank Mr. Jason!
Oh oh oh.. also I tried a new breakie bowl at the Ricky's across from Chinook. The Memphis breakky bowl. This one had shredde pork... Mmmm.... ok well I'm finished ranting. Allison's out of the shower and we've got to get going pretty soon.
Have a great day, and you over there... GET TO WORK!
The home stretch...
Friday, October 28, 2005 6:35:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! So I just finished faxing off our marriage certificate to Michelle, again! I guess she didn't receive it the first time. I got a call yesterday morning from Judy at the lawyers office to inform me that she had indeed received the details on the mortgage and we could book an appointment. We're booked in for Monday morning at 9:oo am. Woo Hooo... Unfortuneatly all the documents still had Allison listed with her maiden name rather then her new last name. *the one i gave her!* So things seem to be coming together, I've still got a few more phone calls to make, utilities, cancelling internet at the apartment. And we should be good to go.
It just so happens to be friday, and today right after work Allison and I are off to Edmonton to visit her friend for her birthday. Should be fun!
This morning on the news there was a story of an accident that occured at 11pm last night. Just down the hill from my old neighborhood. There were 5 people in an SUV that lost control and slammed into a cement barrier. It happened at the intersection of 19thst, and memorial drive. They should some of the people getting carted into the ambulance and I think I recognized two of them. It was hard to tell but I immediately thought, that better not be Filmon, Derek and Ryan. I know last night was 1 cent highballs at NYLA and they never miss it. From the direction of the car it looked like they might have been on their way to the club, and 11:30 pm sound about right. Uh oh... the ages of the 5 victims were 21-23. Damn...
Well this weekend should be fun, and hopefully everything will go well next week with our meeting with the lawyer and our pre-possession walk through in our new home. Wooo Hooo...
I came last night to a note informing me of the purchase of a $700.00 chais' lounge. Oh Allison, then at 3 am I was informed of how our living room was going to look. Uh huh, "would you pipe down over there, some of us are trying to sleep." haha... have a good weekend!
I lost my post... screw you blogger.com!
Thursday, October 27, 2005 6:59:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
I lost my post... screw you blogger.com!
Gettin' down like James Brown...
Wednesday, October 26, 2005 6:32:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
It's already Wednesday! This week seems to be going by quite quickly. Only a few days until the weekend, and we're off to Edmonton. Yaaay?! *Questionable yay!*
Last night or I should say early this morning at 4am, Allison and I and probably the rest of the apartment block woke up to the screams of a woman. I jumped out of bed and looked out the window to see what was going on. A woman walking up the alley as a car was driving away was screaming "RAPIST, Mother F*****G RAPIST!" Whoa... She got to the street and continued walking down the sidewalk toward Macleod trail. She stopped yelling by the time she got to the straight and the car had sped away. The car looked like a big boat from the 70's or 80's. It was beight or light brown. I didn't have my contacts in so I couldn't see clearly, but the lady was short and a little chubby. Should I have called the police? I don't know... I went back to bed. I watched the news this morning to see if it had made the news at all. Didn't hear anything about it. And I guess life moves on... but I will never know what happened. So many different scenario's take place in my head, but I have no idea.
I forgot to mention, but after work monday I picked up the tix to the Calgary Stampeders vs. Edmonton Eskimos game on Sunday, November the 6th. Oh yeaah... go Stamps GO!
Tonight I'm off to the .net Calgary user group meeting at the University of Calgary. Tonights topic, test driven development by Jean-Paul Boodhoo. Oh yeah... should be a good one.
Wilma Flintstone
Tuesday, October 25, 2005 6:34:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
As most of you already know hurricane Wilma has already ravaged most of the east coast of Mexico, near Cancun. Last friday I decided to email our wedding planner, Maria, who lives in Playa del Carmen to see if she was ok... Here's the email I sent:
"
Hi Maria,
I've been watching the news and following the coverage on hurricane Wilma. I certainly hope you and your family are ok! Best wishes from Calgary, please let us know if you are ok!
- Mo Khan
"
Today she replied with this message:
"
dear m
we are ok but part of my house is destroyed
It was scary... but we were lucky
HUgs
M
"
That's terrible! Since we were just in Isla Mujeres and Playa del Caremen just over a month ago it's easy for us to picture all the great restaurants and shops destroyed from the hurricane. There's so much of Mexico we didn't see, mainly where the locals actually live. Although it's terrible that there are so many tourist stranded in Mexico right now, at least they have a home to look forward too. Mexico is resiliant and will re-build quickly! It's just to bad how things like this happen even in Paradise! Dang!
In other news... I heard from Michelle at Home loans Canada yesterday. She still hasn't faxed the necessary documents to the lawyer. *sigh* Michelle, you're killing me over here! Yesterday she called and gave me the details on our mortgage. She also requested me to fax something else to her. She needs more documents now apparently. If she needed more doc's why didn't she call me 2 weeks ago to tell me. Nooo.. she called me 2 weeks ago to tell me that the documents will be sent to the lawyer by the following monday. And here we are, we haven't moved. *sigh* Banks are fun!
Besides that life is pretty good! Hey you! What are you looking at?! Get to work!
La Di dA!
Monday, October 24, 2005 6:33:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Another great weekend is now over *sigh*! Friday night I stayed home and just relaxed. *home being a relative term of course.* Saturday Allison and I got up and cooked up our own version of a breaky bowl. And man it turned out good. So good I can taste it now. To bad we gobbled it down so darn quickly. Our bowl, which we served on a plate, included tater tot's, scrambled eggs, strips of chicken, jalepenos, and a holandais sauce. Mmmm....
We spent most of Saturday just lounging around the apartment. Then we went to "Puspa" for dinner with Papa Glennsy. Sunday was more of the same, just more maxin' and relaxin'.
Tomorrow we'll be 2 weeks away from our possession date. It's getting closer and closer and it looks like everything is on schedule. Woo Hooo... As for me and learning to drive standard, well... it looks like I'm just going to have to learn the hard way. Just toss me out in the ocean and force me to swim. Damnit... Why do i have to do everything the hard way?
Anyways.... ummm... mO out!
Gone Fishing!
Friday, October 21, 2005 6:33:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
TGIF! Finally! I'm sure glad I'm not in Playa del Carmen or Cozumel, Mexico right now! Hurrican Wilma just slammed into Cozumel! Oh man! Cozumel is an island just southeast of Playa del Carmen. I guess we had our wedding just in time! Let's hope it doesn't get to bad out there!
Hmmm... well at least the Calgary Flames won last night! You know what kind of bugs me about watching the news! One minute an anchor will talk about a devastating story where thousands of people are killed, and then with the snap of a finger the next story up is sports! It bugs me! It's like this... say someone was telling you the story of how their daughter was brutally raped and murdered, and then after telling you this brutal story they pipe up "Well, at least the flames won last night!" and then moves on. It just doesn't make sense. So what do I do... I pull the same shananagan!
What does mO have planned for the weekend: For his friday he was thinking he might put that Dirt Devil to use... oh yeah baby! Perhaps afterwards he'll venture off to the nearest grocery store to purchase some milk. *I'm telling you these are the things I look forward to all week!* If he can squeeze it in before his 9:30pm bedtime he'll play NHL 2005 on his XBOX. *Oh baby!*
Tomorrow morning is where the story gets exciting! Alli and I are going to try to make a brekkie bowl, just like the ones I like so much at Ricky's! *mmmm grilly!* If all hell should break loose and we can't seem to get it together, plan b is to walk to Ricky's just down the street and get the real thing. *Sunshine breakkie bowl* I still can't find a picture of the net of my beloved bowl so if I remember I'll have to make sure to take a picture of it one of these days!
Besides that it's all good in the hood... see ya on Monday!
I'm still talking
Thursday, October 20, 2005 6:35:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Well to my surprise I'm not alone in the cube farm this morning. Mr Dirk-o-rino beat me in to work today. Congrat's Mr. Dirk, you can wear the crown for earliest Incentus team member to arrive to work today. (Oh my sucking up by the way has no connection to the flames vs. oilers tickets you've got by the way! *hint hint nudge nudge*
Last night was business as usual, hockey, computer, can of chili and a sandwich. Mmm.. nothing like the bachelor lifestyle while wifey's off at work. Oh yeaaah!
When Alli came home last night I got up and we talked for a while, she showed me her wedding scrap book, which looks awesome by the way. Her friend Megan's birthday is next weekend so we're planning on driving up to Edmonton to visit her. Yaaaay, I get to hang with the ladies of Edmonton! *boom chicka wow wow* For Megans wedding party she's throwing a "Special" party at 11am till 1pm Saturday afternoon. I think it's one of those adult toy parties. Hmmm... women are kind of strange don't you think? These girls who seem so nice and innocent and then going off and throwing a tupperware party for the kinky cougar type. It's all in good fun! I've said to much... next thought!
So I was talking to Alli about the football game her dad and I went to last Friday. And there's still something lingering in my mind about that game. It really bugs me and I need to know the answer, here's my question when you're charged $6.25 for a 355ml "CAN" of beer are you expected to tip the vendor? You heard me a CAN of beer at the football game was $6.25. That's unbelievable people, we're not talking bottles here. Which wouldn't be much better, we're talking about a CAN. Sure you can say... "Awww c'mon mO, but for how often you go to football games it's ok, isn't it?" I say to you... "NO WAY JOSE!" You gotta be kidding, I'm sneaking in a six pack next time forget that I'll harness a 40 oz of your finest malt liquor to the inside of one of my oversized pant leg. You got that right buster!
*breathe mO, breathe... *
Yesterday morning I received a phone call from Judy at Scott Pritchards office. Scott Pritchard is our lawyer we're using to purchase our home. She was wondering why Michelle at Home Loans Canada had not faxed her our details for our mortgage yet. I told her I had no idea and she's driving me crazy. Judy calmed me down and told me as soon as she got it she would try to get me in right away and not to worry. What?! me worry?
At least it's getting awfully close to the weekend. Thank goodness I have at least that to look forward too, oh and Saturday morning breakfast with my lovely wife!
Get to work SLACKER!
yes i am a cry baby
Wednesday, October 19, 2005 6:35:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning Calgary! It's mid way through the week and the prospect of almost reaching the weekend has got me excited. As of yesterday we were 3 weeks away from taking posession of our new home. Woo Hoo... I called Michelle (our mortgage broker) last night to get an update as to where things are. Her voicemail said that she was on holidays until this Friday so I didn't leave a message. 5 minutes later I decided that I did want to leave a message so I called back. As I was rehearsing what I was going to say on the message she answered. Man I felt like an idiot I'm mid way through my speil and she answers "Hello?" As if to say, "who are you talking too?" Anyways she picked up the phone because she thought it might have been her mother, who happens to be taking care of her kid in Calgary while she's off on vacation. Lucky for me I finally got to talk to her. I got all my concerns across to her and she was quite helpful. I'm looking forward to hearing from her when she's back in town. *whew* sweat off my brow.
This morning I receieved an email from Google. It read as follows...
"Hello Mo Khan,
Your AdSense account was found to be related to an account previouslydisabled for invalid click activity and we have therefore disabled youraccount. Publishers disabled for invalid click activity are not allowedfurther participation in AdSense and do not receive any furtherpayment. The earnings on your account will be properly returned to theaffected advertisers.As outlined in our program Terms and Conditions, Google reserves theright to terminate any publisher's participation at any time.Sincerely,The Google AdSense Team"
Damnit... Let me explain! Back in December when I first heard about Google Adsense I decided to "test" it. Little did I know, now that I actually want to take advantage of it I'm blacklisted for life. Ooooh Google please take me back! I've always just been a curious child, I've always just test my boundaries to see how far it will stretch. Please oh please don't stay angry at me. Please Google I miss you buddy ol' pal. VMP.com sucks Yahoo's pay per click advertising sucks you're the only one I want on my site. Please don't end what could end up being a beautiful relationship...
Don't worry people I will eventually move on. *Somewhere over the rainbow... *
- Hey what are you looking at?
- Nothing much! haha
- Very funny, GET BACK TO WORK!
2 pieces of chicken and fries for 2 bucks!
Tuesday, October 18, 2005 6:32:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! On my usual cold, dark, quiet walk to work in the morning I noticed a homeless person sleeping under a tree the past couple of days. Our shop is located about 60 blocks south of the downtown core. I don't know why, but it seems so odd to me that this one person sleeps alone so far away from the downtown core. It makes me wonder, what happened to him. What's his story? How did he get to where he is today? Is is possible that he had a life like me at one point and lost it all? I always keep my eyes open as I walk by his territory in the morning. I don't know why but sometimes I get the feeling that someone is going to jump out from a tree and grab me. *I'm such a girl!*
On my walk this morning I was almost the cuase of an accident. As I walked south on Macleod Trail I crossed the intersection of Glenmore and Macleod. I cross the street when the walk signal was lit and a lady almost didn't see me. She stopped quickly to avoid hitting me and the van behind her almost rear ended her. Ahhh... This happened on the right turning lane from northbound macleod onto glenmore trail east. It's ok people I made it to work safely!
So good ol' Wayne Gretzky and his Phoenix Coyotes won their first game of the season last night. Guess who they beat? Just take a wild guess. Yup, the Calgary Flames. 2 to nothin'!
Alli picked up the mail key for our new home a couple of days ago so yessterday we went to go check to see if we had any mail. We recieved a letter in regards to our mortgage insurance. We were accepted back on APril. 05, 2005. And our first payment was to come out October. 1st, 2005. Well we still haven't even moved in yet! (August 1st, to September 15th, to November 8th. Damn you Cardel Homes!)
I'm not impressed with Execsuite as of late. Yesterday we received a bill from shaw cable for $60.00. When we first moved into the suite we were told that internet was $45.00. I was expecting to get billed by execsuite not shaw. So far they've charged us $500.00 for a deposit. $1295.00 for a month in the apartment. $35.00 for a parking stall that we specifically said we didn't want. And now we've got a bill for $60.00 for internet. $30 for the internet and $30 for the hookup. 10 days without a stove. No vacuum cleaner as we were told we would get. Not impressed! Not impressed!
TIME TO GET BACK TO WORK!
Monday morning blues...
Monday, October 17, 2005 6:32:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! It's the beginning of a new work week, and as usual I'm already looking forward to Friday! *sigh* This weekend was pretty good. Friday night I went to the football game with Papa Glennsy! The Calgary Stampeders beat the Hamilton Tiger Cats in an exciting game. Oh yeah! After the game Alli here pops and I went to Tony Roma's where I munched on a rib sampler. Mmmm... meaty!
Saturday Alli and I went to Chinook centre to do a little shopping then I drove her to work. I got a little more practice driving stick. I managed to stall a few times which is kind of nerve racking but overall I think I'm getting better. I think I'm my own worst enemy when driving, I just get myself so worked up that i panic then stall. As soon as I can master the take off from stop to start I think I'll be good.
Saturday evening I watched the Calgary Flames beat the Edmonton Oilers 3 to nothing. Wooo Hoo, Mikka Kiprusof played an excellent game. It seems as soon as I jumped ship and became a an Oilers fan, Calgary started winning. So I'm thinking that I'll remain an Oilers fan and secretly root for Calgary and Calgary will keep winning. It makes sense doesn't it, Calgary's winning has a direct correlation to whom I cheer for. Right!? Doesn't it?
I spent the rest of my Saturday night watching TV and working on our wedding site. Then I drove up north to pick up Alli from work. Yay, I got more practice driving a standard transmission automobile.
I slept in Sunday, and didn't get to see Alli for long before she went to work. I spent most of the day lounging in front of the TV and working on our wedding site. I managed to get a little cleaning done.
And that's my weekend... Time to get to work!
Moment of silence
Saturday, October 15, 2005 2:44:00 PM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
I just heard the news... Mike Kahsai is dead! The cousin of a my friend Filmon and the cousin of Samson, Michael Kahsai was found dead in his underwear laying next to a duffle bag in Casey Sluys basement.
My condolences go out to you Filmon and to your entire family. I just tried to call you and I heard your sad tone on your voicemail. I know that you and Mike are very close and you must be in a lot of pain right now. Samson, I can't imagine what it would feel like to find your cousin naked and dead. Stay strong!
The story as I know it so far... Casey's mother phoned his friend Brock. She tells him that if he is truly one of Casey's friends that she should immediately get to their house. Brock had no idea whats going on but is worried. On his drive to Casey's house he spots, friend, Samson (Mike's cousin) and picks him up. They drive to Casey's house... This is the gap in the story that I didn't fully get, but Mike goes downstairs and finds his cousin dead in the basement.
Casey claimed that Mike broke into his house while he was out and waited until he arrived home. When he got home Mike allegedly attacked him with a knife, when Casey overpowered him and fought back and eventually murdered him.
I don't believe it... why would Mike jump on the bus to go all the way to the NE to hopefully break into Casey's house when he's not home. It's just not like him. I never saw an ounce of violence from Mike. Whenever I saw him his first questions was "Yo mO, where's the ladies?"
Over a month ago Henry Adai was murdered here in Calgary. I didn't know him that well. Mike I felt I knew better. I remember driving him and his friends home when they were younger. And Filmon I have known you for so many years. I am so sorry to hear the bad news man! I truly feel... shocked!
Filmon, this to shall pass!
- mO (Your big brother!)
Gumped our way through that meal
Friday, October 14, 2005 6:36:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! It seems like it's taken forever but it's finally here, Friday! *Oh what a joyous occasion!* Tonight I'm off to the McMahon Stadium to watch the Calgary Stampeders take on the Hamilton Tiger Cats with Papa Glennsy * papa inlaw * Maybe the Stamps wont dissapoint me like our local NHL hockey. *Yeah you know who I'm talking about * The * glorious haha * Calgary Flames.
Last night the flames lost 3-2 in overtime to the Dallas Stars. *sigh* It's so sad to watch them come so close to winning then lose. I guess that's the emotional highs and lows of watching professional sports. I am dissapointed that the flames are losing * and that Kiprusof seems to damn SOFT * but I'm sure they'll get into better form. There are quite a few new faces on the squad and it'll probably take some time to get comfortable with each other. So until then... I'm converting... I'm jumping off the bandwagon... that's right I'M AN OILERS FAN!
Last night Alli and I managed to gump our way through our first meal together as a married couple. We've been married for over 3 weeks and have not had the oppurtunity to cook dinner together. Oh man what a fiasco that turned out to be. *yes, i am a little over dramatic sometimes..* So for dinner we decided to prepare spaghetti with chicken smothered in a veggie pasta sauce. Mmmm... we quickly found that we didnt have a frying pan in the furnished apartment so we had to use a pot to cook the chiken. Oh man... I have to admit, I'm definitely not a seasoned veteran in the kitchen so I was greatly relying on Alli's skills, in hopes that I might learn a thing to do. The first lesson I learned is to make sure you have the proper equipment. Using a cooking pot to fry chicken is not a good substitue for a frying pan. The good news we did in fact manage to get it together and dinner was an overall success. Next we're going to learn how to season a chicken!
Preparing dinner really wasnt as bad as I made it sound and Alli really is good in the kitchen, I think it was me who seemed to just get in the way! Lesson learned: get a bigger kitchen! I think I did ok on cleanup!
Well it's close enough to the weekend that I suppose you can take the rest of the day off. Have a good weekend ducklings!
Good times
Thursday, October 13, 2005 6:32:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! It's a bit of a chilly morning here in Calgary. Good thing I'm bald, don't need all that hair to keep my hair warm as i walk to work. *uh huh, sure mO!* Well I got the phone call from Spence Diamonds late yesterday afternoon. My ring was finally in! I dropped it off last monday to get it re-sized from a size 10 to a size 8 1/2. *Does that sound like a whimpy size for a ring finger or what?* So i strolled in to Spence after work, and who do i see. My man Jessie, the guy who sold me Allison's engagement ring. *Remember the guy who ended up charging me an extra $800.00 bucks because he screwed up on the diamond selection?* Well to my surprise he remembered my name. "Hey Mo!". My reply a low, monotone, sarchastic sounding "Hey, Jessie." At least I have my wedding ring back. *now i can get back to growing my hives underneath my ring* So after almost less than a day my allergic reaction to the ring has begun. It's worth it in my opinion, but it's white gold. How can i be allergic to white gold! *sigh* I'm just not a jewellry man!
More good news, yesterday a technician came to fix our stove. We now have a working stove. According to Allison the technician said the stove was hooked up wrong. To celebrate the fixing of the stove, I decided to nuke some left over turkey, gravy and stuffing for dinner. *dejavu* Mmmm... oyster stuffing! Maybe tonight we'll put the stove to use.
Oh and I have even more good news! *It's your lucky day people* Yesterday during my lunch hour I picked up a wireless router from Memory Express Calgary South location. Oh yeah, the D-link 524 baby! So it turned out that i did get a worm. all it seemed to do was pop up error messages. After hooking up the router, un-installing then re-installing my virus scanner and running a complete virus scan, I was back in business baby! Take it from a hack job professional, never leave your home PC defenceless without a router or some sort of firewall. Win XP firewall just didn't cut it for me.
To finish off my wonderful day I watched the Minesota Wild beat the Vancouver Canucks 6 to nothing. That's right people. In your face Bertuzzi, Nasland, Linden, Crawford, Cloutier! Hopefully, the Calgary Flames can pull out a win for there home opener tonight.
My eyes are kind of sleepy...
Tuesday, October 11, 2005 6:34:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
*Yawn* Back to work! Good morning everyone... there goes another great long weekend. I managed to get more stuffing and turkey in me then I ever thought I could. I amaze myself every holiday dinner. The weather was great this weekend, and I had a lot of down time to relax.
Yesterday we had a little afternoon turkey at the inlaws to accomodate those who had to work this weekend. hehe.. suckers! Hockey night in Canada returned with Don Cherry and Ron Maclean. WOoo Hooo... there really is no hockey broadcast like hockey night in Canada. Thank you CBC. Poor Calgary Flames only won one of their first 4 games. *sigh* Now there's the Calgary Flames that I remember. I knew the trip to the Stanley Cup Finals was just a dream.
Well, you would think that after a relaxing long weekend that I would be refreshed and ready to tackle another work week. Wouldn't you? Nope... this morning I felt like crying "Mommy.. do I have to go to school?" To bad mommy not around to call in sick for me. Oh the good ol' days!
Sunday night when Alli got home from work I jumped in the little Hyundai Accent and practice driving standard all by myself. (I'm a big boy now!) It was good, I don't know why but I prefer to drive at night. The blanket of the dark gets rid of all the eyes I guess. So when I stall, nobody can point and laugh and shout and scream. *Stop screaming at mE!* Driving stick is actually kind of fun after you get the hang of it. Monday I drove up to Papa Glennsy's in the Accent. *Oh boy, gold star for mO! Put it next to my star for keeping dry through the night*
Alli's gramma is renting an apartment in Barbados for 3 months starting in January. So we've been thinking about visiting her for a week in March. Oh *drool* the prospect of returning to the heat makes my mouth water. No work and lots of sunshine. Perfect!
Well I suppose I should get ready to start working now... only 4 more days until the weekend! 3 weeks until our pre-possession walk through. 4 weeks until we take possession of our new home, that's way overdue. (Original Possession date: August. 1, 2005. 2nd possession date: September. 15, 2005 3rd Possession date: November. 8th, 2005. Hopefully, there wont be a 4th!)
Hey you, GET TO WORK!
Dust in the wind...
Friday, October 07, 2005 6:00:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning Calgary! So we finally have internet here at the apartment, it's about time. I've been diein' over here with no net. Yes, I'm that addicted! Now I can add my blog entry from the apartment before going to work. That also means I don't have to show up at the office at 7:30am. Now I can stroll in 5 minutes to 8. Giddidy, gigiddy... alright!
After spending some time getting the internet functional on our PC, I began to add whatever wedding photo's I had to my site. So hopefully within a week or so the rest of the photos and perhaps even the videos will be available. Also, sorry if I posted any unflattering pictures of anyone attending the wedding. If you'd like me to remove any please let me know via the feedback link on my site.
Things have been great at the apartment here except that Alli has had the most difficult time working with the appliances. The dishwasher just wouldnt cooperate with her a few days ago, and yesterday she couldn't get the stove to heat up. I managed to get the dishwasher running last night, so no problems there. But our stove doesn't work. I turned on all the burners and none of them heated up. I checked to make sure the stove was plugged in the back. I checked the breaker switches and they're all ON. The funny thing is the oven light works. I assume the power for the bulb comes from the wall socket and not an internal battery. Anyways, I made a phone call to the Resident Manager and he said that he'll send out a technician today to take a look at it. *Sigh* No soup for mO!
I feel like I've come pretty close to conquering my cold. But at the office yesterday I heard a lot more sneazing and coughing. Ooops... I think I may have contaminated our recycled air. Sorry co-workers! Maybe echinacea will work for you guys! I really should have just taken a sick day, but I felt guilty since I just returned from a 2 week holiday.
Halloween is coming up, and I'm wondering whether or not we'll get any trick-or-treaters at the apartment. You're supposed to buzz to get in the building, so I don't think there will be to many kids coming in off the street. But do kids within the building tend to walk from door to door screaming "Twick o' tweet"? I guess it doesn't hurt to get a whole bunch of candy. I'm sure they'll eventually get put to good use. *evil grin*
This weekend I've got to practice driving standard. If Alli and I are going to share one car, then I've got to learn. So I've got to pull out "Tough a** mO", so I can whip myself into shape. "Shift up, Shift down... shift up, shift down... breathe in... "
It's Friday, and the beginning of a long weekend. Make sure to spend some time with the loved ones and relax, because life aint that bad!
but for now... GET BACK TO WORK!
I feel good... and she knew that I would!
Thursday, October 06, 2005 6:35:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning... I'm feeling much better today! I've got a little sinus headache but besides that I'm good to go. Hooray, I'm conquering my cold with a lot of daytime and nighttime cold medicine. Last night was the first night I didnt take any medicine before going to sleep and I had trouble falling asleep.
Last night was the first day of regular season play for the 2005/2006 NHL season. All 30 teams played and 11 of the 15 games were sold out. That's pretty darn good. Our Calgary Flames played in Minesota last night and lost to the "Wild" 5-3. Man the Flames sucked last night. They started playing better in the 3rd, but they're looking pretty rusty. But it's still pretty darn early in the season. I sure hope Mr. Brent Sutter whips them boys into shape.
So Alli had the night off yesterday, YAAAAY. We went to papa Glennsy's house to watch the game and munch on some Chineese food. Mmmm... chicken fried rice! I don't know if the fact that Allison and I are now married has quite settled in yet. It doesn't feel like a whole lot has changed. Except I get to hear Allison breathing while she sleeps and I get ready for work. *It really makes going to work a whole lot easier, when the number one reason you go is right in front of you to motivate you* I dropped my wedding ring off at Spence Diamonds on Monday to get it sized so I haven't been wearing it for the past couple of days. It actually feels weird not having it on now. I still dream about our wedding, it was so great! And I'm excited about our future. "Hey look everybody, mO has a positive outlook on the future for once!"
3-day weekend is coming up, and I'm excited! It's Thanksgiving weekend which means we get to get our "Turk" (Turkey Dinner) on. Mmmm... stuffing! Allison's got Monday off so we can finally have a whole day to spend together, Yaaay!
Hey you, GET BACK TO WORK!
mO head hurt!
Wednesday, October 05, 2005 6:34:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
*Choke, cough, puke* Uhhh... my head is spinning this morning. I really thought I would be ok by today, but the 25 minute walk in the cold sure didnt help. Now I have a sinus headache. This big welt on the side of my face hasn't gone away yet either. One of my co-workers suggested that it might have been from a bed bug bite. Yup, bed bugs really do exist, and they're nasty looking things. Check this site out for more information. http://www.uky.edu/Agriculture/Entomology/entfacts/struct/ef636.htm
Another suggestion made was that I might be having an allergic reaction to the fabric softner used in the sheets. After all we are staying in a furnished apartment. Ughhh... I sure do like to complain, don't I?
Well after work I boogey'd straight home to check the mattresses for signs of beg bugs. The mattresses looked brand spankin' new. So *whew* I'm really glad it wasnt that! The cable guy must have shown up yesterday because there was a cable modem sitting on the desk. Now all i need to do is fish out my power cords for my pc and monitor and I'll be back on the net, at home anyone. Or I should say at "temp"-home.
After settling in for a little bit I received a phone call from a friend and we agreed to meet at the chinook centre food court to grab something to eat. After a few hours of good conversation he left and I got ready for bed. Mmmm jambalya rice, bourbon chicken and corn for dinner.
I'm really glad Alli's got tonight off from work, so I can finally spend some time with her, *whisper* while we watch the hockey game. *ahem*
5 weeks yesterday and we're in our new place.
Empty Apartment Blues...
Tuesday, October 04, 2005 6:32:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning... well I still feel sick. When I woke up this morning and looked in the mirror I realized something didn't look right. A portion of my right cheek went numb and was drooping. Yup, I've been trying to move it all around and I've been poking it all morning to get some life back, but so far nothing. The right portion of my lip just droops, it looks really silly. I have no idea what it's from or if I should see a doc. Oh man, my body is just a mess right now. Yuck!
So work went ok yesterday, no major catastrophe's. Well not any until I showed up. Good timing mO! After work I mosied on home to an empty apartment. It was the first night I had not spent with Allison in over 2 weeks. It was kind of sad *sniff*! Lucky for me Alli did a lot of grocery shopping, so the cupboards were full, the fridge was stocked and I was well fed. For dinner I had a bowl of Ichi Bahn soup and a salad. Mmmm... salada menjei... Who says you don't make friends with salad.
Afterwards I made some phone calls, just to let people that I'm back in Calgary and to let everyone know how the wedding and the trip to Mexico was. Uh huh, then I watched football, read a little and went to sleep.
Allison got home from work at around 2 am! I woke up but fell back asleep quite quickly, then up at 6 am. I fixed the alarm clock by the way, the time was off by 12 hours. So am was pm and visa versa. Now I'm ready to take on another day of work... *yuck*
Hey, at least hockey starts tomorrow night!
P.S. here's proof that I played for the Calgary Stampeders... http://68.144.26.178/cftc/cftc.html
Hunny I'm home...
Monday, October 03, 2005 6:30:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
*cough cough* yuck snow! Well it's good to finally be back home in dear ol' Calgary. But did it have to start snowing on my first day back to work. Not to mention I got sick almost as soon as I got back. Sore throat, dry cough, watery eyes. *waaa waaaa...*
So Alli and I arrived back in Calgary at about 8:45pm. Her dad picked us up from the airport then we spent a night at her dad's place since it was to late to pick up the keys for our furnished apartment. That evening we did a lot of laundry, sifted through a bunch of pictures, went through mail that was waiting for us and watched some of the amateur video yours truly shot while in Mexico. I guzzled 1.6 Litres of Sunny Delight then passed out.
Sunday morning we got ready quickly then packed what boxes we needed to and headed down to our furnished apartment. Colleen, the resident manager, got us to fill out some paper work then she handed us the keys to our apartment. It's awesome, leather couches, big stereo, dishwasher, microwave, fridge, stove. Sweet! I think we would still have preferred it if we could have moved in to our new condo when we got back but we'll have to wait until Nov. 8th for that!
After dropping off items at the apartment we headed to Ricky's All Day Grill so that I could munch on my beloved Sunshine Brekkie bowl. Mmm... bowly! Next we headed back to Alli's pops place to do more laundry and watch football. I had a nap on the couch since I'm sick as a duck, ducks are pretty sick y'know!
We managed to get back to our apartment at around 9:30 pm and we unpacked and got settled in. It was a cold night but the bed was really comfy and warm. I dragged my behind out of bed at 6:10 am after realizing the alarm didn't go off then I got showered, dressed and went off to work. The walk to work was about 25 mins, I walk slow!
I'm not sure how well my body's taking to the dramatic climate changes, but after about a week I think things will be back to normal. Hold on, did somebody say 3 day weekend? Yay for Thanksgiving day!
Im ready to go home...
Friday, September 30, 2005 6:26:00 PM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Ok fine, I´m ready to come home. So Allison and I just had a cool conversation with a 47 year old lady by the name of "Lynne". We stopped by her shop so that Alli could do some shopping, I noticed that the shop keeps skin colour was a little fairer then the rest of the locals here and her English was near perfect. So I had to ask, "Do you mind if I ask where you´re originally from?" Turns out that shes from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. No way jose, well she moved to Isla Mujeres about 6 years ago. She has a young daughter, and the father is from Isla. When her daughter was in Grade 1 she wanted to spend more time with her father. So she travelled back and forth from Isla Mujeres to Montreal. Her daughter really liked it here on the island so Lynne decided to pack up and move to the island. Shes now a shop keep at a little place on the main strip downtown. She sells clothes and other little parafanelia. She says that she misses Canada and would love to go home, but she really has no career options at home. It would be to hard for her to return home and start a new career. She also said that she wished her daughter could have the same oppurtunities here that she would have at home. Right now she´s attending a private school in Cancun. Which means she has to catch the ferry to Cancun everyday, she´s up at 5 am, catches the ferry at 6am and then starts class at 7am. So by Friday she is just exhausted. She´s not sure what shes going to do for post secondary education if any at all. The private school is already very expensive and making money on the island isnt easy. It sounds like Lynne loves the lifestyle here of how laid back and family oriented it is here but misses the oppurtunities available for her family back home in Canada. So you get some and loose some I guess. To me, secondary education and more oppurtunity is very important in my life, I truly could no appreciate the simple life without first living through the not so simple life. And the not so simple hasnt even begun for me yet.
Another think Lynne mentioned that we had in common was our asthma, and allergies. She said since living here she´s not allergic to cats like she is back home, she can wear silver and jewlerry that she cant wear at home and she can breathe so much better. I´ve noticed that here as well, I can wear my watch without developing hives, I dont feel so irritated by cats (not that Ive come in close contact with any) and breathing on the island is so much easier. I can go for long walks withouth shortness of breathe.
For our last dinner here on the island Alli and I enjoyed a meal at Rolandi´s. The 4 cheese pizza at Angelos a couple of nights ago was great. Last night we ate at a place called "Miramar" (Mermaid) right on the beach. it was awesome, I cant believe how empty the restaurant was though, the food was so good and in great big healthy portions for an awesome price. There was just so much shrimp in our shrimp ceviche. Alli and I over ate and enjoyed it thoroughly. For our last night i´ll probably finish off my 2 bottles of Sol in our fridge and Alli will probably guzzle her remaining cooler.
Alli grows impatient so off to the cabana room we go... have a great weekend everyone!
No, I dont wanna...
Wednesday, September 28, 2005 4:51:00 PM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Aloha amigos, well its yet another beautiful day in paradizzle (paradise). Today Alli and I went to "Chiles Locos" for breakfast where I got to meet Ziggy. Ziggy and Donno own shares in the restaurant "Chiles Locos", Allison and her family have been talking about them for quite some time now and now I finally got a chance to put a face to a name. Yipee... so heres the scoop on Ziggy.
Ziggy apparently is a Mexican and his wife Donna is and American. Donna has a couple of other kids with some American shmuck. Donno moved out here to Isla Mujeres and married Ziggy, and since has had a few babies with him. They are now partial owners of a cool lil´ restaurant on the island and happily lived ever after. THE END!
Another one of the locals that I got to meet is Joel (HOE - EL.) That´s right I called him an H O E while attempting to spell his name phenometically (Fen-o-meti-cali.) Hes definitely not what I expected, from hearing the stories of a young guy in Mexico who had been pursuing Alli´s younger sister when she was sixteen I pictured a younger guy. Dude had a 5 oclock shadow and looked like he was in his 30s. Ewww... come on. Creepy! Well he hasnt taken much of an interest in Alli and I and I can think of a couple of good reasons. I guess Mr. H-O-E-L emmidiately made it to my naughty list when I found out just how old he is. But I guess I shouldnt hold it against him for preying on young tourist girls, should i? Hell yeah I can. With the risk of saying something about a guy that I barely know I will leave it there. Now as for that Sergio fellow, he seemed like a more suitable candidate.. I mean if i was a young 16 year old girl that is... (princess laugh) hee heee...
Before venturing into this internet place we walked by the scuba and internet shop that Joel works at. I was hoping to rub him out a little more to get a better taste for the guy. When we had passed him earlier he was entertaining a nice young lady. When we walked back to pop in, the lights had shut off, the store had closed and there was no Joel to find. Hmm... I invite you to come up with your own conclusion. Yes I probably am stereo typing an I´m probably jumping to conclusions, so what shoot me! I dont like predators, never liked them in high school and I dont like them today.
Now onto more important news... Food. For dinner last night Alli, or I guess I can say my wife, and I ate at a place called "Bamboo." Mmm... i ordered a shrimp dish with peanut sauce and Alli had a chicken dish also with peanut sauce. Mmmm... cheap thai food in Mexico. (mO drowns in his own drool)
Tonight we´re off to a restaurant called "Angelos" for some thin crust pizza. I´ll make sure to give you the heads up on that and tell you more about our friend "Victor".
Before I go tonight I had a thought I wanted to jot down in yesterdays entry that I forgot about so I better do it now. Today, I spent a little time in the water by myself, and during that time I was doing a little eavesdropping. I overheard some rather rude comments. A group of young guys were using racial slurs towards asians. They were saying that there were to many yada yada. I didnt know what to do or if i should do anything. All it did was make me mad. Last week in Playa del Carmen there was a young girl who kept dropping the N-bomb which greatly bothered Allison grandmother. I was in the water at the time and didnt hear it. As soon as Alli´s dad heard what type of language the princess was using he marched right over and had a conversation about her language. I dont think he got his message but he didnt let that nonsense slide. So what kind of approach should I take? Should I confront it? Or walk away? My gut reaction is to start tossing elbows, but in most cases that will probably end up in my getting my ass kicked. Hmmm.... with so many different languages spoken on the beach with so many different types of people from so many different countries it can be either beautiful or disgusting. I guess all cultures are probably biased against one culture or another. And hey I´m probably no saint myself. I know I´ve said things that I emmediately regretted saying right away. Ok now I´m ranting and I can see that Alli´s patience is running dry... so we´re off to dinner. Adios suckers! Jelous!? Youre so jelous!
Back to life, back to reality...
Tuesday, September 27, 2005 3:35:00 PM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
wow this must be the hottest internet place in mexico. (wipe the sweat off my brow). It´s another beautiful day in paradise and very uneventful just the way I like it. So I´ll tell you about my encounters with the wildlife here in Isla Mujeres.
Day one in Isla, Saturday September. 24th, I find a huge dead beatle sitting on a pillow on our bed after ripping off the bed cover. YUCK... Day 2, a giant spider about an inch and half long hides out in our room. After about an hour of jumping on beds and searching high and low, we can no longer find our 8 legged friend. I sure hope we don´t find him in our sleep. Day 3, while walking out in the ocean water I come across something black scurrying along the bottom of the ocean after taking a painful bit out of my pinky toe on my right foot. Ouch... I think it was a crab and the bite was it´s.. umm what are they called... lets call them pliers, cause they hurt like a BEEP! Evening of day 3, Monday night, I spot a huge crab crawling down the street. It has a black back much like the black thing I spotted in the water after pinching my pinky toe. Tricky lil´guy scurrys down the street, in the opposite direction of the ocean. I don´t blame him, there´s only so much beach one person can take, NOT! As for today, so far I havent had any run in´s with the wildlife, oh wait there was a big iguana that scurried passed us this morning after breakfast and the lil´crab i saw scurrying passed me on the beach while reading my book. It took off into a big whole in the sand, I know where you sleep at night crab, it´s not over between us! dum dum duuuuummmmmm....
Well vacationing sure isn´t easy, it´s a lot of work trying to figure out what not to wear to work and what not to pack in my lunch. (sigh)
The passed few days Ive started a new afternoon activity. at around 3 pm I leave the beach, head back to our room, crack open a bottle of Sol and sit on a lawn chair on the huge balcony outside of our room while muching on a bag of Doritos Enchilada Diablo... Mmmm... Doritos!
For breakfast this morning Alli and I headed to a small restaurant called "Poc Chuc" (Pork Chop), where we both ordered a plate of Chile Quiles Rojo... Mmmm... very good! Now if I can only figure out how to make them at home and how to create a Paloma and I´ll be happy.
For dinner last night we went to a place called "La Momita", which looked like it was some familys home that they turn into a restaurant during the day. They have tables set up with a tv and a family sits there watching tv while you come in order and eat. Pretty neat! We both had Enchiladas... Droool.... I eat to live. There I said it.
On Sunday we had Church Lady Tacos for dinner and on Saturday we ate at "Rolandi´s." We ate pasta at Rolandi, pretty typical stuff except with exotic seafood and well its in Mexico.
The passed few nights we´ve been shopping at the local grocery store, where we load up on snacks, water, and pastries. Mmm... food! Ok im trying really hard to think of something non food related to tell you about this place, but its just so darn hard. Besides the beach there isn´t much else.
Today a couple of guys rolled up in a golf cart and asked me if i wanted a free golf cart for day, I said no then they asked me if i was over 30. Again, I said no, and the young fellow replied "cause if you´re over 30, i can help you make a quick 200 bucks." I shook my head and continued walking. Its really strange how I´m treated here when I walk on my own and when I walk with Allison. When I´m on my own no body asks me if i want to go on a tour or rent a golf cart or try to sell me anything. But when I´m strolling with Allison its non stop, gimme gimme gimme...
The last couple nights theres been a young kid walking around with a pole full of cotton candy, he cant be more then 9 years old and every night he works hard trying to sell this candy. Everyone just stops and stares at him, almost as if saying "how can they make someone that young work like that?" I completely agree with them but as a kid you dont want people staring at you, its weird watching him target families with children his own age to see if they want to buy. Hes as old as those kids vacationing but probably has many more years of life experience then they will ever have. It must suck to have to miss out on your childhood like that. But I dont think anyone here wants my pity. If anything they should pity me, a lot of the people here have very little but are so amazingly happy. I have everything and I still complain. I have a lot to learn about life and taking pleasure in the simple things.
The stray dogs and cats here are scary, but after a few nights here I realize the animals here are more scared of me then I am of them. When I see a dog down the street I begin to cross the street and they do the same. Allison tells me that a lot of these animals are abused and have became fearful of humans. Thats sucks! I dont understand how there can even be stray cats and dogs on and island? I dont think they breed here naturally in the wild. Obviously they were brought to the island have become homeless. Cruelty to animals sucks, so cut it out! NOW!
Well Allisons probably finished showering and applying her makeup, man, one of the first things Ive learned about marriage is that I have to spend a lot of time waiting, and waiting. Ugh, how long does it really take to get ready... sheesh! Its a good thing we´ve got a fridge full of beer and a lawn chair outside the room. We have no tv so I have no idea whats going on in the rest of the world. I remember hearing a little bit about hurricane Rita before leaving Playa del Carmen, but now I´m completely disconnected. Ok, enough ranting... back to life, back to reality... in about 4 days!
Priceless...
Sunday, September 25, 2005 6:51:00 PM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Well its been almost 4 days since I last wrote. So it´s probably about time that I update everyone in Calgary. Whats up yáll? Well, I´m a married man and I´m on my honeymoon with my wife Allison Khan. hehe.. that sure sounds strange. Saturday we said our final goodbye´s to family and caught a cab to porto juarez, where we caught a ferry to Isla Mujeres. It´s a small island just north of Cancun. So far it´s been a lot of fun.
The night we arrived there was a production at the main square in the center of town. September. 16th was the independence day of Mexico, I believe. I´ve been told it was 15 and 16 so i´m not 100% sure. Well we watched a play on the history of Quintana Roo, Mexico. Quintana Roo is a province here in Mexico. Alli and I got lots of video and pictures so we´ll make sure to share those when we get home.
Today we munched on Enchiladas Diablo Doritos corn chips. Mmmm... flavours of Doritos here that you just can´t get at home. They´re so good. Then we bought a mexi blanket for 180 pesos from a tiny little shop. Afterwards we headed to the beach and napped, and swam a little bit. The water here is sooooo shallow. You really have to walk out far just to get water up to your waist. It can be sooo exhausting just trying to get wet. Ohhh.. the hardships of honeymooning.
It´s very strange to hear all the different languages spoken here by tourists and locals. Italian, German, English, Spanish and lots of other languages that I don´t recognize.
For dinner Alli and I wondered down the main square downtown where we had ¨Church Lady¨tacos. Mmmm... just outside the church there are a few tables set up and a few ladys cook and make tacos right on the street. I ate 5 tacos and 3 sopa´s, Allison had 2 tacos and 2 sopas all for a grand total of 120 pesos or 12 USD. Mmmm... it just doesnt get better then that.
Right now I´m sitting at a little internet place just across from where the church ladys are set up. If i look to my left I can see all the church goers lining up for street tacos. They really are very good. Its interesting to see how they really care about not handling money if ´when preparing food. Of course its probably not the most sanitary of places to eat, its still really good. I recommend hopping on a ferry from Porto Juarez, just outside of Cancun, to Isla Mujeres just to eat some church lady tacos.
Ok... so I should talk a little bit about the wedding day. After my last early morning entry on wedding day I walked back to our hotel, ¨The Moongate¨in Playa del Carmen. When I got back no one was there, I guess everyone was a little impatient and left for breakfast. So I hopped on my bed and popped on CNN. Lil´Lisa my new sister inlaw came back to see if I had returned to the room. Then she walked me to the little restaurant where Allison and Grammy were sitting eating Chile Quiles Rojo. I hopped on the band wagon and ordered a plate as well. Mmmm... that afternoon we spent a little time at the pool just talking about getting ready and I waited with Lisa while Allison and her grandma went and picked up flowers for her bouquet.
Then the countdown began, I went back to my room while the ladys went back to dress up Allison in her dress that I wasnt allowed to see until the wedding. I shaved, and showered then got dressed in my linen suit. Then I had about and hour and a half to kill so I had a nap. Yup! The wedding was scheduled for 5 pm at the beach. Cal, Allison´s moms boyfriend came and stopped by my room. He woke me up with a surprise. He and Allis mom had brought candles and pink rose petals from home. So he helped my place all the candles and spread rose petals all through the room. It was so thoughtful, it really was a very nice surprise. Thanks guys, after all we know how much of a Lance romance I am, hehe!
When it was time to leave Lisa, Shawna, Sandi, Cal, Gram and I all met outside and marched down the street to hail a taxi. Thank goodness Lisa took charge and steered us all, I think we were all just to excited to focus. So Cal, Sandi and I hopped into one taxi and Lisa, Shawa, and Gram hopped into another. We all made it on time to Casa de Luna Maya. The Justice of Peace showed up, our wedding planner Maria made it and our photographer made it. Everyone pulled out there digital cameras and began clicking... click click click... vogue mO!
Then Allison and her Dad came in a taxi, and I stood and looked out at the ocean. As Allison walked up from behind me I caught a glimpse of her dress from the corner of my eye. It was beautiful. We faced each other and began the ceremony. The JOP performed the ceremony in Spanish and Maria translated for us. By surprise the JOP asked us to say something to one another and I managed to Forrest Gump my way through that. I honestly don´t really remember what I said and I sure hope no one else does. Allison said... ¨My dream came true...¨
Bridal Sandals: $18.00
Bridal Bouquet: $9.00
Wedding Dress: $800.00
Walking down Avenida Cinco while people cheered and and through rice out of the blue... Priceless!
Paradise is very nice...
Wednesday, September 21, 2005 8:13:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning, well it´s finally here. its wedding day! the weather is great and I´m excited. Last night we went back out for dinner at Babe´s (bay-bay-s). Then for a coffee at the chocolate bar Ah Cacao! Mmmm... the night before we went out to ¨Ajua!¨ This was a very fun and entertaining restaurant. Of course it came with a huge price tag as well. but all the staff there was very entertaining. The entire night was great. Allison and I shared a platter for two with chile rellanos, quesadillas, guacamole and a whole lot of other goodies. Cal and I sucked down Paloma´s all night. Lisa and mom (in law) shared another very meaty and temping platter. But you´ll have to ask them more about it. Mr Cal had lobster, steak.... Mmm... drool. Then Mr. Cal took care of a $300.00 USD la cuenta. Arriba Mehico!
Yesterday at 5pm we met with Maria our wedding planner again at the ¨Coffee Press¨. We found out that she actually owns the ¨Coffee press.¨The coffee was so good even I liked it and if you know me, you know that I don´t drink coffee. but it was almost good enough to get me started.
After a quick drink Maria escorted us to 2 different sections of beach that we could perform the wedding ceremony on. We picked a very remote location, close to some mayan ruins. It´s a great spot in a very ritzy neighborhood. While traveling through the area we could see the damage caused by the hurricane from months back. Huge trees that were pulled right out of the ground from it´s roots. It was quite a site. Also the thick dark green brush with some very pretty colorful flowers. Did I really say ¨Pretty?
Allison´s grandma kind of took me aside and talked to me a bit, which i thought was very nice. She also said that she was gaining a grandson from the wedding which made me feel... well, it made me feel like Family! She explained to me how a traditional wedding is supposed to be and then told me about some of the newer age weddings, which really helped calm me down. Because she could obviously tell that I was worried about the smallest details from where I´m supposed to stand, to what time I should be there and well making sure everything goes according to plan. I´m really more anal then i should be for a laid back beach wedding. Go with the flow for F-bomb sakes mO!
I thought about putting together a speach or something for the wedding, but I´m really not sure what to say in it. ¨Thank you for allowing me to be a part of your families. At no point did I ever feel like an outsider right from the very beginning. From the first day when you opened your doors to me and allowed me to sit at your dinner table. To showing me what pieces of cutlery are used for what. And helping me purchase contacts when money was a little low. Also for giving me the confidence to actually believe that I´m an intelligent person.¨I could probably sit here for quite a while reciting off a list comparable to santa clauses gift list for the number of reasons why i would like to thank the families who were kind to me and made this day possible. But I´m not so good with the mushy, emotional stuff, come on... but ... thank you very much for letting me know what it feels like to fit in, to be normal, to be a part of a family. thank you for providing me with a template of how a happy family could work.
Although my family isn´t here, I don´t feel as alone as I thought I would.
Ok and now to some more important topics.. hehe... Dr. Taco´s taco eating record! Should I or should I not attempt to break it? Can you imagine how happy Allison would be to say that I´m her husband after guzzling down 25 tacos, 2 corona familiars, 2 shots of tequila, and 2 bottles of water. Sorry but I just can´t handle the pop. Hmm... do I dare?
The next few hours of my life are the very last of a former life. Tonight a brand new and exciting life begins. I hope to use all the lessons from my previous life, to guide me through the new life to come. I realize I have many weaknesses to still overcome, but at the same time I´ve learned more about many of my strengths. (Weakness, I don´t think I can live withouth a keyboard my trusty pc. I´m sorry but I´m that addicted. )
Well I´ve probably babbled enough for one day, to all the friends in Calgary who wished me a happy and succesful marriage, Thank you!
Hey every body, I´M GETTING MARRIED IN PARADIZZLE (paradise)!
Hola mi amigos...
Monday, September 19, 2005 4:24:00 PM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
what´s up Calgary? well day 3 in mexico was much better then day 2. allison her dad and i got up bright and early to call the wedding planner. yesterday afternoon we tracked down her home address so if there was any funny business we knew where to find her. well ms. maria picked up the phone and continued to rant for a good 20 minutes. she explained to allison that she did not have her phone for the weekend. or something like that.. then she said that she had called the hotel and left a message. Hmmm... message that never arrived. how strange? Anyways we met up with ms. Marie at 945am at the coffee press where she took us to a small internet place to fill out some documents. oh man... 2 hours of watching her click with one finger at a time drove me nuts. all she was doing was filling in our names into some legal mexican documents to submit to the city for approval. geeez.... anyways after that ordeal was complete we headed back to the ¨Coffee Press¨. Oh by the way ¨Coffee press¨is the name of a coffee shop just off the main strip here in Playa del Carmen. it´s pretty cool. so when we returned we got our 4 witnesses to sign the documents we had just finished printing out. then we were off to give blood. apparently having a blood analysis is required in mexico to verify that couples that wish to get married aren´t related to one another. Hmm... I´m not to worried about them thinking that alli and i are related. Ugh.. these Mexican keyboards are a little hard to work with. the keyboard layouts are different and i find i have to actually look down at the keyboard to find certain characters. anyways, back to our day. after we sorted things out with Maria the wedding planner. oh yeah, apparently ms. Maria is 62 years old with a 7 year old kid. I swear she doesn´t look a day over 30.
As i was ranting, afterwards we headed to the beach and had a fantastic beach day. I´ve done quite well with not burning myself but unfortunatly allison is a lil´ lobster. You probably wouldnt be surprised to see just how many topless women there are on the beach. Wholy moly... but i was surprised. couples with children and the mom just pops off her tops and lays down. Yikes...
Afterwards, I got a little hungry for some tacos so off to Dr. Taco we went. this was a cool little place off the main tourist strip, it really was a little shack with a cool gimic. a cartoon rastafarian taco doctor lined the walls. I munched on 2 chicken tacos and was hungry for more. but dinner is still to come. On a chalk board at doctor taco was a record for 21 tacos, 1 water, 1 shot of tequila, 3 pops and 2 beers in 44 minutes. I´m planning on beating that record this Friday. Oh you got that right, I´m going to make Allison so proud to be married to me.
So I´ve noticed that when traveling to mexico for the first time there are a lot of things I wasn´t told. Although this is my 2nd time I´m still learning more and more. Yesterday I learned about ¨dancing¨on the toilent. Apparently its common to come to Mexico, eat and not be able to *ahem* perform! On the toilet I mean, get your mind out of the gutter. hehe... end of that thought.
Tonight, I´m not sure what we´ll do but dinner has been great so far. Last night we ate at Babe´s (Bay-bay-s) Oh boy that was fantastic. I had a yellow curry, chicken teriyaki dish. Yeah thats right a lil thai food in mexico never hurt anyone, right?
The night before we ate a cool Mexican restaurant called ¨La Parilla¨. It was awesome, but also expensive. I fell in love with a drink called ¨Paloma¨. I´m still not sure what all the ingredients in it is, but I think it´s tequila and lime juice. Mmm... give ér a try. It wasnt on the menu but when i asked for it they knew what i was talking about, which is always a good thing.
All in all, the trip has been great so far. I haven´t brough out my camera as much as i wanted to, but i will try to get more footage while I´m here. It´s tough lugging around a camera all day when it´s so darn hot. (I´m not complaining... the heat is great) Best of all it´s nice not having a sense of time or urgency. I´m so far away from work and I really don´t want to think about anything that involves hmmm the word ¨Work¨!
I think that wraps things up for today, I´m out yáll and if you´re interested theres an HSBC and scotia bank here. Canada WHAAAT!
See ya in Calgary, now get back to work!
Damn you Marie!
Sunday, September 18, 2005 8:37:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Oh man I´m a sweaty beast. Ok so day one was great, Allison and I ate at La Parilla where we were entertained by a mariachi band and very friendly servers. My drink of choice for the evening was Paloma which I think is a mix of Tequila and lime juice. Well we´re having a very tough time getting a hold of the wedding planner which is a big head ache right now. Apparently in order to get married in Mexico you have to get blood work done and you have to be here for at least 3 business days. Mari, our wedding planner, had us booked to give blood first thing Monday morning. She instructed us to call her as soon as we got to Play del Carmen and she didn´t answer her phone. The message on her voice mail is strange and we still can´t get a hold of her. So we´ve got to some how get this sorted out. Allison is pissed and I´m out of here... peace!
Day one of Journey to the other realm....
Saturday, September 17, 2005 4:45:00 PM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
hola amigos, well it´s mr mO here in Playa del Carmen typing adding this entry in some internet joint I just happened to stop at it. So far so good people! the weather is great the corona tastes good and this spanish keyboard is treating me nicely. So we left on our flight to Mexico this morning at 845am. Hooray,... after 5 hours we arrived in Cancun airport. We made our way through and hopped into a van that escorted us to Playa del Carmen. We checked into our rooms and after a little room juggling we settled in just fine. Now we´re just waiting on the rest of our party to arrive and we can begin the week of festivities. I must say that so far the overall experience of Mexico has been fantastic. I really enjoy the laid back attitude here, it´s just what I needed. At this very moment I have no sense of time, nor do I want to. I have no idea what... sorry i was just interrupted by my beautiful fiance who´s having a hard time logging on to hotmail. anyways, the night awaits and i´ll make sure to post again tomorrow. Don´t you folks worry mr mO has got lots of videos and photos for his return back to Calgary. Ok so Allison is sitting over my shoulder reading every word I type and she´s impatient... so it´s time to get back to the party. hehe.. i´m just kidding I really shouldn´t be on here anyways... by the way... I´m not checking my email! So don´t bother emailing me... hehe!
Ah, ah, ah ahhh... stayin' alive!
Friday, September 16, 2005 6:16:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning... so it's finally here, the end of the week. This will most likely be my last post before leaving for Mexico. So toodle loo suckers.. hehe! I spent last night finishing up on the packing, I am officially packed and ready to leave. It's going to be difficult getting through the work day, but I'm looking forward to 4:30 pm. Woo Hooo... where I unload and flip on the switch to "Vacation mO."
Now you might be thinking to yourself "Hmmm... what does Vacation mO consist of?" or you might be thinking "Boring... change the channel." But if you're wondering what vacation mO consists of, let me, mO, tell you! Well first it starts off with a little loosening of the belt. Just one notch, don't want to get carried away of course. Second it means turning off my cell phone and emptying my pockets. Don't want to my baggage on my person, you know what i mean? Next, I find a comfy portion of a couch to nest in for at least 2 hours. Followed by a little NHL 2005 on XBOX. Then the important part, the food! Mmmm.. mmm... mmmm... Food! Ok ok... i should rewind a bit I'm getting a little carried away. There's no way I'm going to make it through work today if all I'm thinking about is to loosen my belt by one notch. Whoa there nelly!
So Michelle never called me back to let me know what she meant by promisary note. So I faxed her a copy of the final summary of sale. I was later informed that what she was probably looking for was a financial statement that proved the money was in the account that we would be using for our payments. (thank you Mr. Cal!) Oh mO, sometimes you can be a bright guy, but sometimes you can be quite a fool. Well duh, what else could a promisary note imply! Geez... "promisary note" come on, as if, who doesn't know what "Promisary note" means. Geez, didn't you learn that in college or something? Do you really expect that the lady from the bank who's helping you to pay for your new home would explain that to you? Of course not, what were you thinking mO? You can be so dissappointing at times.
So being that today is the last day in Calgary that I will be a single man, what am I supposed to do? Should I celebrate somehow? Am I supposed to have some sort of bachelor's party? You know what I will have a bachelor party, me and all the players in NHL 2005. All of us will get together and play a little hockey, maybe a little more hockey, then watch a little big brother later tonight if we can. Oh i'm such a geek... there's gotta be a pill or something to cure my geekness syndrome. I hope it's not contagious.
So I was kind of hoping to get a phone call from maybe 1 or 2 friends to wish me good luck with the wedding or what not. But this morning I received a very thoughtful from a friend in high school. Thanks Alexis, that was very nice of you to remember me in Toronto when my own friends here in Calgary have a hard time remembering my birthday. Grrr... hehe I'm not mad, I'm just pretending!
I will do my best to keep all you up to date on our trip to Mexico. By all I mean the 3 people who actually read my entries. You know who you are! See you in a couple of weeks people!
You know what?! Take the day off! I'm feeling generous today!
Don't be mutt, wash your b*tt...
Thursday, September 15, 2005 6:29:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Another wet morning here in the big C. 2 more days of work until I hit vacation mode. In the words of Quagmire "Alriiiight.... giggidy giggidy." Or something like that. Last night was quite tame for myself, I finished up one of my last loads of laundry before leaving. Tonight will be another small load then I should be good to go.
Now that I have no cable I am stuck with 1 local channel otherwise known as "Peasant Vision." My one local channel happened to be CTV. And when I was expecting to see the local news at 6pm, instead I got to watch Canadian Idol. "Yay", sarchasm intended! Anyways, this was the first episode of the season that I watched and it just happened to be the finale. Mellissa from Calgary vs. dang what's his name from the the east coast. Well Melissa won, yay for Calgary. That's pretty much all I have to say for that, good luck Canadian Idol.
Now yesterday I called Miss. Michelle of Home Loans Canada. and she needed me to fax to her a copy of a "promisary note that the funds have been received." Can anyone clue me in to what she's talking about? I'm assuming she's talking about the "Final Summary of Sale" that we recieved from Brad Logel at Cardel Homes. Also now we contact the city to find out how we can pay our taxes. That seems strange to me, I have to chase the city to find out how I can pay the city taxes. Hmmm... Next on the to do list is fax off whatever Miss. Michelle is talking about, I sure I figure it out before the end of the day, then I need to make an appointment with the lawyer, then find out how we are supposed to hook up utilities. Yada, yada, yada... I'm looking forward to vacation mode. At the least of my worries have been addressed and everythings lining up nicely for saturdays early morning flight to Mexico.
Now to the rest of you slackers, GET BACK TO WORK~!
Red Eyes...
Wednesday, September 14, 2005 6:14:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning... well it certainly is turning into a busy week. Man adulthood sucks... for any teens or kids out there, first of all don't grow up and second, what are you doing reading my blog. *grumble, grumble, grumble*
I must say there is potential for me to be grumpy this morning, it will probably take very little to tick me off. I'm tired and whiny. But I have no reason to be really.
Yesterday both Alli and I recieved a call to let us know that we now have a suite at Execsuite for the month of October. Thank you so much Miss. Colleen you were so very, very, very helpful. If you're looking for a temporary home in Calgary make sure you stop by Execsuite on 57 ave SW and speak with Colleen or any other resident manager.
Alrighty, so exactly one week from today when I wake up I'll be saying to myself. "Oh crap, I actually agreed to get married today, didn't I?" After receiving a coconut punch from... well I guess myself, the mental preparation will begin. I think there's got to be a lot of mental preparation when committing to something like marriage. Marriage has almost become a "fad" in today's society. Alli was telling me that she watched or read something that said that nowadays people are re-writing traditional wedding vows from "Till death do us part" to "For as long as we love each other." My reaction... "Booooooo". If you honestly believe that a vow like "For as long as we love each other" does marriage justice, and that homo-sexual marriages make a mockery of the traditional union of a man and woman, then I call you a hypocrite. I'm not saying I'm yay or nay to homo-sexual marriages but I think if marriages are the latest "fad" among hetero-sexual couples then why can't homo-sexuals take part in that "fad" as well.
Well in my mind a the union of two people is not a "fad", and I have no intentions of re-marrying. *I bet you've heard that one before, but you have no idea just how stubborn I am.* It's almost more of a business deal with me. It's a contractual agreement that no matter what happens between you and I, that we will sort through it, stay as patient as we can together and get through it together. By agreeing to this contract I've already agreed ahead of time that I think you're a trustworthy, kind, carying, compassionate partner and that we can both enrich ourselves by staying committed to each other. So where do I sign?
So at the young rype age of 21 I've already agreed to a life long contract with one partner. Next wednesday is when the ink dries!
It's almost over *sigh*... and it's almost begun! *yay*
Tuesday, September 13, 2005 6:15:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning... well it's another early morning start for mr. mO! I stuck around at work until just before 6pm yesterday and then I took off to Execsuite located at 530 57 ave SW, Calgary, Alberta, Canada. I was greeted by a nice lady by the name of Colleen. She walked me up to suite 202 and 201 and let me take a look around. 202 is already booked for October 1st but 201 is available as soon as the renovations are completed. and from what I saw it looked like there wasn't much left to do. Yay... so Miss Colleen took my contact information and forwarded it downtown so I should expect to hear from Miss. Pam today to book the room. Yipee... I sure hope it all works out!
Last week I called to cut off my cable and internet, I just wanted to make sure I tied up all loose ends before leaving and I chose yesterday as the cut off date. Yes the middle of the month, I didn't realize how much I would miss TV. It finally clicked in my head yesterday that we were moving when i came home and found that I had no cable or internet. It just clicked in people... we're out of here this Saturday. Geez mO! So I finally had a reason to pack up my remaining PC and clean off my desk.
So now on the to do list we've just got to call the lawyer, mortage lady and get ourselves some contents insurance. And we're good to go, I've already over paid my credit card so I wont have to worry about any pre-authorized payments coming out. My passport and other ID's are set aside and ready to grab when I need. All I need now is to get through the rest of the work week with success... Damn work always getting in the way... haha...
Alrighty folks this Saturday will be my first alcoholic beverage since April. 29th the day after my birthday. I've been told that I've lost a little weight... hopefully that will work out for me on the beach. Eeep... now to come up with an excuse to not have to take my shirt off in front of Alli's family. Hmmm... just kidding!
5 days and counting...
Monday, September 12, 2005 6:10:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning... so it's the final week before we leave for Mexico. And boy what a busy week this is going to be. So it's about 7:10 am and I'm sitting here in the empty cube farm. My kind to be father in law has provided me with one of his trucks for the week. Man, I think I'm glad I havent been driving for the past couple of weeks. $25.00 only filled up half a tank on the little dakota. Dang... but I can't say that I miss taking the train in the morning. hehe...
Yesterday Alli and I picked up our possession letter from Brad Logel of Cardel Homes. He went through a brief checklist of items we now need to cover prior to our possession date.
1. see lawyer
2. see mortgage lady
3. get contents insurance.
4. contact shaw "again" to get free month of services.
Not to bad, but we've still got to find a place to rent for the month of October. Friday after work Alli picked me up from the Banff trail c-train station. From there we went to 3 different motels in motel village. First the Hampton Inn and Suites. There rates worked out to about $2600/month. Yikes.... forget that. Next we went to the Econolodge which charged $45.00/day. Which worked out to something like $1400.00, which is better. Last we checked out Comfort Inn and Suites. For a month there rate was in the neighborhood of $1600.00, if I remember correctly. Then we've still got to hear back from execsuite which went for about $1300.00/month. Hopefully we'll get the suite at Execsuite, which just happens to be located fairly close to my work.
Afterwards, we had Lasagna with poppa Newell and we watched the Calgary Stampeders beat the Edmonton Eskimos. Saturday I had to work all day, then I went and caught a movie with a buddy downtown. We saw "The exorcism of Emily Rose." It's nothing like what I had expected. In my opinion it sucked! But it did spark my interest in Emily Rose. Most of the movie took place in the court room where the preist who performed the exorcism was on trial for negligence causing deat. Or something like that! There were a couple of jumpy moments but I wouldnt classify the movie as a Horror. This one should be tossed in the "bad"-Drama section.
Sunday was a day of football and packing. NFL, NFL, NFL. I've never been so into NFL before. I don't know why I spent most of the day watching football. It's exciting and I actually got into the games. Can you believe that there were over 70,000 fans at the Baltimore game? I wouldn't call myself a football buff, but I don't think baltimore is a very good team, but they still managed to draw over 70,000 fans!
Now to begin the dredded work week. Oh well 5 more working days to go until we're flying to Mexico. Hahah suckers!
soggy brain
Friday, September 09, 2005 6:27:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning... well it's a rainy start to the second friday of September. My poor head is all soggy. I'm looking forward to 4:30pm today, there's still so much I need to pack.
So last night on Big Brother, Howie got the boot and Jedi Janelle won HOH. Yaaaay... I hope she wins this! April, Evette, and Maggie better beware~!
I've enjoyed taking the train to work this week, but it's not something I want to do permanently. Sooner rather then later, I would like to be back behind the wheel of a car. Enter music "Soooomewhere over the rainbow..."
Anyways our situation with finding a temporary home for the month of October isn't going very well. Most of the 1 bedroom furnished suites I've called about start at $2100.00/month. Yikes, which is a little out of our price range. The cheapest one we found started at $1200.00/month. I'm really hoping we can get a suite there.
Anyways, it's Friday so if you're not working this weekend like me, make sure you have a great weekend. Because September is always a long and expensive month! 6 more working days + 1 overtime day until we're off to Mexico!
Get back to work!
As I was searching for a picture of Janelle to include in this post I came across this page that appears to be a weBlog. There's something about Janelle cussing out Beau, haven't had a chance to look at it, but here's the URL is you're interested. I must warn you however the page does look a little explicit. Towleroads weBlog
7 more working days...
Thursday, September 08, 2005 6:28:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning, so far the mornings are starting to get cooler and cooler. You really can tell that it's the end of summer. Winter's just around the corner.
Did I ever mention just how much I like ice cream? Last night we all headed out to market mall to try out the "Marble Slab Creamery". Mmmm... Peanut butter crunch. It was soo good. A plastic bowl with chocolate ice cream, reese pieces and nestle crunch all mixed together. *drool* It's probably not the type of thing I should be eating a week before heading to the beaches of Mexico.
It's less than 2 weeks away from our wedding and I'm not sure how I'm supposed to feel. Am I supposed to be nervous, anxious, excited or what!? I'm just looking forward to it all, I think it's going to be a fun trip! Allison and I really need to be tested as partners to see how well we can work together. So far I think we've done quite well, but we seem to try to take things on by ourselves sometimes. I think it's important that we start to tackle issues together. We'll see what happens.
On the train this morning, there seemed to be a lot of newbies. What I mean is, it looked like there were a lot of people riding the train who just looked lost. They had no idea how the morning routine on the train works and how to be aggressive if you want a seat. You've really got to be stern and leave the polite shy person at home if you want to commute to work on the c-train in the morning. Who's perky and friendly first thing in the morning? Save the smiles for the work day, right? If you've ever wanted to photo graph a group strangers who are collectively grumpy at the same time, I invite you to check out the c-train first thing in the morning.
Today this 12 year old kid, i'm assuming he was 12, came and sat next to me on the train. I don't know why but I thought that was cool, I actually cry a little inside when people pass up a perfectly good seat next to me to go sit somewhere else. I'm not a monster people. So this kid had one of those school uniform pants on and a hoody, probably to conceal the collered shirt and tie. He had long wet hair that came down to his eyes and he sat next to me reading the paper. Well "Dose", which is a newspaper for the teenage crowd. Pretty cool stuff kid! And while sitting next to me, in my mind I'm thinking, if anyone attempts to bug this kid I'm going to stick up for the little guy. I don't know why I was thinking that, it's not like there was anything threatening enough on the train to want to pick on a 12 year old kid.
My site is going to be up and down for the next 2 months, so don't be surprised if you can't hit my site (www.mokhan.ca). Anyways it's time to get to work people... actually I've still got about 15 minutes left. Hmm... what to do, what to do?
Our home... in the middle of the street!
Wednesday, September 07, 2005 6:30:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Oh glorious morning... last night at 9:45pm my phone rang and woke me up. Yes I was asleep at 9:30pm. On the other end of the phone line was the voice of Brad Logel, the person who sold us our new home. He was calling to inform me that he finally had a possession date for us. Yaaaaay... ! So from August 1st, to September 15th and now to... *drumroll* Tuesday, November. 8th at 10:00 am! Our pre-possession walk through will be one week earlier at 10 am. Hooray, so my estimate of November 15th was off by a week. Sweet, I'm so happy. Unfortunately Allison was at work last night so I couldnt share the good news with her yet. So I will have to inform her later today.
There are so many little things to remember when moving, last night I called to cut off the cable/internet. And I logged on to a government of Canada site to change my address. I received a GST check in the mail quite some time back and on the back it stated that you needed to update your address 3 weeks prior to moving. So I attempted to do that online. Wholy moly the registration process is tough. But I guess that's a good thing. I have to wait 5 working days for a confirmation code to arrive in the mail so that I can change my address online. Eeep...
Which reminds me, one thing I need to ask Mr. Logel about is when the mailbox will be going up. I would love to start forwarding mail to the new address, rather then to our temporary address and then again to the permanent address. Speaking of temporary address, we still don't have one. *sigh*
Later this week I've got to get a whole of the kidney foundation so that I can donate my car. Poor honda, I'll miss you, thank you for your dedicated service.
For the next 8 weeks my primary phone line will be my cell phone. Maybe it's time I got voicemail back. Dang...
8 more working days, including today, until we're off to Mexico.
Don't wear white after labour day
Tuesday, September 06, 2005 6:34:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! I just had a wonderful long weekend. I spent most of Friday night packing and ripping out my stereo from my dead car. Saturday I worked from 9am-12pm then hung out with Allison for the afternoon before she had to go work. Saturday night I went and saw "Transporter 2" with a buddy down at Eau Claire market. I don't think they could have made a cheesier action movie. Oh man it was terrible, do not go see this movie. I've never seen such a diverse gang before. Terrible plot, cheesy action and overall a waste of time.
On sunday I went to McMahon stadium to be a Calgary Stampeder for a day. We got a tour of the office and then we sat down in Tom Higgins office and signed an official contract. My starting wage with the Calgary Stampeders was $37,000/year CAD. Coach Higgins said that annual salaries ranged between $37,000 - $90,000. They worked for 4 hours a day and then many players went to other jobs after. So 8:30 am- 1:30 pm they practice and work for the Stampeders then afterwards many would go work else where. Whoa, I didn't know that! The salary cap for each CFL team is $2 or $3 million. Yikes, that's less than what most NFL players make in a year. There are players in the NFL that make more then the total salary payouts for all the teams in the CFL.
After signing our contracts with Coach Higgins, we went to our locker room where we changed into our official Stampeders track suits. Oooh la la! Then we headed out to the field where we worked out with the team strength and conditioning trainer. I'm still sore today, oh boy I'm so sore! I'm still having trouble walking up and down stairs. It's a good kind of sore though. Then we did some passing plays with Jeremaine Copeland and Tom Higgins.
After practice we attended a real press conference. I saw Doug Vaesson from Global Sports, Deb Matijca.. I know I spelled her name wrong. Sorry! There was a guy from TSN, I forget his name. And lots and lots of other people. The press conference went on for at least and hour and on the evening news I think they only showed about 10 seconds of it. After the press conference we had our team photo's taken then we got fired and signed our notice of termination. *sigh* So that was my day as a Calgary Stampeder. Well more like 3 hours!
Monday Allison, her dad and I had a mini Labour Day Classic party. Oh yeah, we didn't get tickets to the labour day game like Cardel had promised. That was rather upsetting! The reason I signed up after all was for the Labour Day Classic tickets. Damn... So instead we watched the game on CBC with no announcers on Poppa Newell's big screen TV. Edmonton dominated pretty much the entire game so that sucked.
Overall I had a lot of fun this weekend. Hanging out with the Stampeders was a lot of fun. Jeremaine Copeland is a really down to earth, friendly and funny guy! Thanks for allowing me, mO, to hang out with you guys on the Calgary Stampeders! And thanks to Cardel Homes for making this all possible. Now if you don't mind can you finish building our home already. You're about 3 months behind! DAMN!
Good Luck mO!
Sunday, September 04, 2005 6:48:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning... Well I'm about an hour away before I'm signed to the Calgary Stampeders for the day. This should be a fun day. I'm not sure exactly what's going to happen but from what I know I get to sign, then practice with the stamps then attend a press conference where I'm officially released from the team. hehe...
In case you're wondering what I'm talking about I won a contest sponsored by Cardel Homes.
I like to move it, move it.
Friday, September 02, 2005 6:30:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Today marks day two of riding the c-train, and so far so good! I've been hopping on the 6:45 am c-train from Banff trail to Chinook and I've found a seat both days so far. Not to mention I'm getting about a 20 minute walk in every morning and evening. Go team mO!
So last night I went out to Ranchlands Stavros with Alli and her pops. Mmm... chef's special! I bumped into a couple of guys from my high school days. Payam, I always liked, he was kind of geeky but always a friendly guy. I don't know why people didn't pay him more attention in high school. He could always make me laugh. Anyways, Payam just got back from serving in the army, he's one big dude now. Talk about geek to... ummm something cool that rhyme with geek! He's become one big puppy! One of the first things he said to me was, "You look the exact same as you did in high school!" Hmmm... is that a good thing? But it's true, I grew pretty fast in high school and since then I haven't grown much or changed. I'm still a well rounded bald kid with a big head!
The second guy I bumped into was... well I don't remember his real name. I just remember calling him "Tiny". He had himself a nice shiner on his eye so things probably havent changed much since high school.
Last night James got voted off Big Brother and Howie won HOH. YAAAAY! Evette and Beau were both thrown up on the chopping block. Let's hope Janelle wins the next HOH. Nerd Herd's going doown!
10 working days and counting until Mexico, I can't wait!
Get TO WORK~!
For better, or for worse! Right, hunny!?
Thursday, September 01, 2005 6:28:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning... well today was the first day I took the train to work and well I made it in earlier then I usually do when I drive. It is exactly 7:30 am on my clock here at work right now. I've already had the oppurtunity to stretch settle in, remote home and log in to blogger. Whoa... the train wasn't as packed as I thought it would be and the walk was refreshing. I'm actually sweating a little right now, but that's probably because I'm wearing to many layers. meh!
So my car is definitely finito, I know I've said that a few times already. Well at least once every 6 months since I've owned the guy! But it's time to say good bye I think. RIP 1990 honda civic dx. Perhaps it was a blessing in disguise, after all mexico is only 11 working days away and the walk to and from work couldnt hurt. The worst that could happen is I might shed a pound or two. I just hope the weather stays nice and that it doesn't rain anymore.
To me this week has gone by sooo slowly... that last few weeks have sort of flown by and here we are, it's September 1st. Alberta's centenial, I wonder if there will be celebrations going on downtown when I go home from work tonight. Maybe I should ask uncle Alberta for a new car!? Well not a new one, all i want is a 1995 honda civic si coupe! A black one, with no more then 190,000 Km's on it. Am I picky? you're damn right I am! Until then hi ho, hi ho it's off to work on foot i go!
Moving to the suburbs, geez... i'm really going to feel disconnected without an automobile. The trainsit sucks out in the far reaches of the city and to get to work would take forever. I really liked living inner city, everything I needed was withing walking distance. For instance, today I had the choice of 2 different train stations I could walk to. both within reasonable walking distance. It's a good thing I live so close otherwise I'm not sure how I would have got to work today. Speaking of work, maybe it's time I start doing some!
Have a great day peoples~!
Somebody please hold me!
Wednesday, August 31, 2005 4:51:00 PM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
I think I'm going to cry... so what does mO do when he feels like bashing his head into a wall? Let me tell you what mO does, he adds an entry to his weBlog!
So at work there's a pretty big deadline coming up pretty quick and I'm having trouble staying on top. *sigh*... that I can manage! Alli and I found out that we probably wont be in our new house until mid Novemeber, so for the month of October and November we're homeless! What a way to start off a marriage, but it could be worse... Now as I was just heading off to the dot Net Calgary User Group meeting at the U of C. My car starts blowing out massive amounts of blue smoke... I made it down the street and I managed to pollute the entire neighborhood. You would not believe how much blue smoke came out of my tail pipe. I emmediately turned around and parked it. Oh I just topped up my motor oil before leaving by the way. I found a big gaping whole in my muffler and saw the remnant of blue smoke exiting my tail pipe after already shutting off the car.
So who do I call? My car guy... Allison's dad! After leaving a message on his phone I find this online...
"Question: 1989 Dodge Grand Caravan 3.0, 225,586 miles. My 1989 Dodge Grand Caravan is blowing blue smoke out of the tail pipe. I put new sparkplugs in it then I ran it for a minute and checked one sparkplug for oil on it. There was oil on it. Please tell me what is going on with it.
Answer: Blue smoke is from oil burning. Your engine has internal problems such as piston blow by, valve stem seal problems, broken/worn piston rings, etc. It may be time for an engine overhaul."
It may be time for an engine overhaul people! I guess I'll be riding transit to work tomorrow! Oh man, only 11 days until I escape this madness to go to Mexico! Since January I've been prepping myself... "September is going to be an expensive month!" I hate being right!
Just a couple of weekends ago Poppa Alli helped me fix the front end of my car. It's looking so much better, now Kaput! I guess I should cancel my appointment with T&T Honda. And I was worried about getting my brake pads replaced! My head hurts... to much smoke...
On a positive note my insurance expires on September. 28th and if all goes well the Calgary Stampeders are going to have the oppurtunity to toss me around before the labour day game on Monday!
The world is sinking...
Wednesday, August 31, 2005 6:34:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning... I'm looking forward to the long weekend, it's only wednesday and I feel drained. It's the last day of August which in my mind marks the end of summer. Goodbye summer!
I managed to catch the first 20 minutes of Big Brother last night before going to sleep. Looks like Howie and Janelle were nominated. Dang... well I guess I'm looking forward to the friendship alliance to rip themselves apart. I smell burning...
Hurricane Katrina sure has caused a lot of damage. New Orleans is 80% under water, that's just nuts! All the images and videos on the news last night were shocking. On the radio this morning they mentioned that the New Orleans Saints NFL football team are now looking for a new temporary home to play in. Eeek... I wonder who's going to cheer for them? Seeing as the people of New Orleans have a few other things to deal with.
I received an email from Heather at Cardel Homes last night informing me of what's happening with us Fantasy Training Camp winners on Labour Day. So if you're in Calgary and interested in checking out a group of 20 guys get tossed around by the Calgary Stampeders, including myself, come on down!
"Please meet at McMahon Stadium on Sunday September 4, 2005 at 9:15am sharp. You will be there until approx 1:30pm... All spectators are welcome to come and sit in the stands."
Now... GET TO WORK~! Or School...
Cardel, football and the CBC!
Tuesday, August 30, 2005 6:34:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning... before I get started today I would like to clear up something. Here in Alberta playground zones begin at 8:30am and run until 1 hour after sunset. Whew... that felt good. I really needed to get that off my chest.
So the countdown is on, on 13 more working days until you'll find mO in Mexico. So tell me, who wants to hear more about mO's Mexican adventure? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?
The labour day classic game between the Calgary Stampeders and the Edmonton Eskimos is coming up, and I'm just waiting to hear from Cardel homes about what's going on that day. If you didn't know, I took part in a fantasy training camp with the Calgary Stampeders sponsored by Cardel Homes and our team won. As the winning team we recieve 2 tickets each to the game as well as a track suit and a one day contract to the CFL. Apparently contracts to the CFL are just handed out, but you wont hear any complaints from me. I'm just excited that I can put that on my resume. hehe...
When is the CBC going to work things out with it's employee's or whomever their beef is with? Actually, to be honest I think the programs on the CBC have been much better without it's news anchors and sports casters. Lots and lots of documentary's... less filler, more guts! Keep up the good work CBC, put those hard earned tax dollars to work.
The storm is about to strike..
Monday, August 29, 2005 6:36:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning... I woke up this morning and for the first 15 seconds I was awake I was hoping it was Sunday! Welcome to Monday morning mO. The traffic is starting to get thicker which means it's back to school time, and close to the end of summer. *sigh* At least it was a hot and sunny weekend.
On Saturday night I attended a BBQ at shouldice park. It was the birthday of my friends grandma. That was a lot of fun. A great big family sitting around telling stories, laughing, eating giant sized steaks. Mmmm... it was great! Afterwards, we checked "The 40 year old virgin." It was hilarious, it really was. No wonder it was the #1 movie in Canada for the second weekend in a row.
So all weekend long the big news was about Hurricane Katrina. Poor folks in New Orleans were given a mandatory evacuation order from the mayor. The city is supposedly below sea level, which is causing a lot of concern. Hmm... that's got to be slightly scary to be a coastal city that's below sea level. "mO no like water, mO like land."
I'm now less than 3 weeks away from Mexico. Aloha Mehico!
Can't it all be so simple?
Friday, August 26, 2005 6:33:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning... well unfortunatly yesterday I lost my post yesterday! So let's try it again shall we?
Yay, the sunshine is back! It's friday, and... yeah! Well on Big Brother last night, poor Rachel got voted off. Then April won HOH, damnit! Every year the opposite team of whom I'm rooting for always wins! Maybe that's something to keep in mind next year, I'll just root for the team I would rather see lose! Yup!
And in other news... check out my office Pal, Mr. Jeremy and the Stanley Cup! Jelous!? You're Jelous!
Is anyone else still re-living the 2003-04 Stanley Cup Finals in their head? I know I am.
Ahhh yes, it was a spectacular time to live in Calgary, the good ol' days! To bad I was in Mexico for the last 2 games of the Stanley Cup finals. hehe... yes yes... poor mO, stuck in Mexico, laying in the sand under a palm tree. Yeah, well we left for Mexico that Saturday of Game 6. If the Calgary Flames had won that night, it would have been over! Dang... well while in Puerto Vallarta, I was 
walking down the Malecon, when I saw on a big screen Dave Andrechuck hoisting up the Stanley Cup. I thought to myself there was no way that was from this year. But wait, Tampa Bay has never won the cup before! Noooo.... anyways, this year should be good. I'm sorry to see Mr. Lydman go though. Take it easy! GET TO WORK AND ENJOY YOUR WEEKEND!
Grrr... damn you Blo
Thursday, August 25, 2005 6:49:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Grrr... damn you Blogger! I just lost my post! I'll have to re-write this at lunch!
I'd sure like to get down and boogie...
Wednesday, August 24, 2005 6:36:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
It's raining, it's pouring, i feel like snoring...
Well it's another rainy day here in Calgary! At least after today it's only a couple of days until the weekend. Well, this city sure is growing quickly, and the years are adding up since high school! Man, I'm getting old! Damn you rain, come on out sunshine!
Get To Work!
*grumble, grumble, grumble*
Oh my tummy...
Tuesday, August 23, 2005 6:36:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
My goodness... I've been poisoned! Ugh... my poor tummy! *it's all in your head mO!* Last night Alli, her sis, her daddy and I went to "Sushi Yamato." Mmm... sushi! We've been there before and really liked it. Last night the sushi and sashimi was great, as usual! Except my lip began to swell up mid way through the meal. It started to bubble, it really did! Ahhh... no big deal! After the meal I really wasn't feeling well. I don't know what it was but I just had to lay down. So I went home and then I laid down for a little bit and my lip was back to normal. I was just hunky dorry.
Until about 3 am when I woke up in pain, my poor tummy! I jumped up and ran to the kitchen for some water. Oh man, I must have sucked down about a litre of water. Back to bed I went. Zzzz... then I woke up at 6am as usual. And my tummy still wasn't feeling well. So I went and kissed the porcelain throne. My poor tummy still hurts. Waaaa... I wanted to stay home and lay in bed this morning. But I decided to make the trek to work. I'm sure I'll start to feel better.
I don't know what it was, please don't hurt me sushi, I only care for you so much!
That's my story and I'm sticking to it...
GET TO WORK~!
Hot Diggity Dog
Monday, August 22, 2005 6:33:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Hot Dog! What a great weekend, I had! Friday night Alli and I went for dinner and a movie. Mmm... breakkie bowl at Ricky's and "4 Brothers". I don't think Allison was very impressed that I took her to Ricky's for dinner. Hmmm... and to top it off we watched an action movie afterwards. Ok I think I'm probably going to have to get Allison flowers or something pink at least. Anyways, "4 Brothers" was pretty good. It's just like you would expect it to be, a little vigilante justice and a lot of action. Afterwards, we went back to Alli's to find that her dad got himself a tattoo. Yup, out of the blue. I guess he woke up that day and decided, "Hey, I think I'm going to get a tattoo today." Haha... That same night I got a phone call from a buddy from the past. Mr. Alex Godinez! Apparently he's now renting a basement sweet not one block away from my house. So I stopped by on my way home to talk about old times.
Saturday, I came over to Alli's and found out the whole family is going to get a tattoo now. A symbolic celtic symbol drawn by Alli's lil' sister. So off we went to Joker's tattoo parlour on center street and 16th ave NW. We were greeted by lil' Leroy, a lil' guy who can be quite grumpy. But I don't blame him, I'd be just as grumpy if I had to deal with all those teeny boppers who show up and ask him how much is that, how much is this and that. Blah blah blah... c'mon seriously, how many of you actually walk into a tattoo parlour and pick a tattoo of the wall? That just seems nuts to me, you're not shopping for a t-shirt people, a tattoo is for life! Man, kids these days! Well after a few hours Lisa and Glenn bob got their tatty's but lil' Alli couldn't get hers done. It's was to small and you're not allowed to tattoo below your ankle apparently.
After spending the afternoon at the tattoo parlour we were off to Ricky's for my 2nd brekkie bowl of the weekend. Hehe... Sunshine brekkie bowl with tabasco and ketchup people! Then Alli was off to work and I was on my way home to babysit my computer.
Sunday was great! I met Alli at her house then we went to her dad's shop. Her dad picked up a used 1988 Honda Civic for $50.00. So we took what parts we could from it and installed it on my roughed up 1990 Honda Civic. Man, what an improvement. I swear this morning I felt like I was driving a benz. Oh yeah!
And that's my weekend peoples,
GET TO WORK!
Baaa... Baaa.. black sheep... have you any wool!?
Friday, August 19, 2005 6:34:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Go Stamps GO! Yay... the Calgary Stampeders finally beat the Montreal Alouettes. The last 7 times they played each other Montreal won. Well it was an exciting finish and a fun game to watch. Yep... Did I mention that I play for the Stampeders? hehe...
Well in other news, Kaysar screwed up last week by letting Jen win the HOH. He got sent home last night. I'm really liking Howing and Janelle's new attitude in the house. I like their aggressive, rude, vulgar, personal attacks. Why play fair when you're stuck in a tank filled with snakes. Go for the eyes... go for the eyes!
For dinner last night I had my first "cabbage roll". Man that's a misleading name for that dish, it's full of meat and rice. Oh, and i think there's a little cabbage tossed in there somewhere. Mmmm... Cabbage roll.
One of my favorite commercials right now has to be the new Wendy's one. "Ranch, Raaaanch, Raaanch". "Tell your stupid ranch tooth to... " haha.. I want my own ranch tooth. Wouldn't that be great!?
Well it's Friday, and I'm thinking that I want to check out the movie "4 Brothers" tonight. That or the "Skeleton Key". The only reason the "Skeleton Key" caught my eye was because of the radio ad's I've been hearing. It's not your traditional movie ad with the scary voice telling you about the scariness of the movie. But this ad has move of a monotone voice simply stating that this movie is considered to be another great psychological thriller with and ending that will leave you speachless. Getting straight to the point, just the way I like it!
Go frolic young lambs... haha... lambs...
GET TO WORK~!
It's the boogie man...
Thursday, August 18, 2005 6:33:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning... well so far it's a lot sunnier today then it was yesterday. Let's see if it warms up today. What's with the gang violence in Toronto? What's with the city councilor suggesting that the police stop and question young black males without cause? It almost seems like our big Canadian cities are following the path of other big cities in the US. It's kind of sad, that what's happened before seems to re-occur. What's that saying..? "History repeats itself"?
In Calgary there's even been an increase in shootings. The media is continuously suggesting that the shootings are gang related. But they seem to occur all over the city, unlike in Toronto. From what I understand most of Toronto's shootings lately have been largely concentrated in one area of Toronto. Whereas in Calgary, drug bust's and shootings seem to happen all over Calgary.
Yesterday the Calgary police released news of a major drug bust back in July. They seized, I think, over 200,000 extacy tablets. Whoa... not only that but they found traces of methanphatmines in the tabs. Your average raver or X popper, might have been injesting small doses of meth. Does that scare anyone else? I can honestly say that the only drug mO's ever tried was... let's call it herbal medicine! But I remember a lot of kids in high school he took E. Especially at my hippie, tree hugging high school. (I had fun at Aberhart, really I did...)
Well the moral of this story is... "drugs are bad.. Mmmm Kay.."
Vote for mO to appear on the next episode of Fix mO's Ride!
Wednesday, August 17, 2005 6:36:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Brrrr... it's cold and rainy today~! I guess I shouldn't have worn a golf shirt today... What's with the gas prices? I know there's been a lot of coverage of this in the news lately, but I still don't get it. Here in Calgary we're shelling out a $1.03/litre today. And up in Edmonton prices range from $0.93-$0.97/litre according to Tish from the Global Morning Show. What's up with that? Edmonton and Calgary are in the same oil rich province, why is it that gas prices are lower in Edmonton? Are they behind the times and just don't feel the effects of oil shortages like we do? Geeebus, don't ya think it's time that the automotive industry take a turn towards other fuel sources. 
Didn't anyone learn a thing from the fuel shortages in the 70's. Remember when the so called jap-crap cars were invading, now they rule. I don't know about you but I'm Jap-crap for life. (Please excuse my use of slang.) The more efficient cars out did the big American muscle cars. But is anyone thinking ahead? How feasable are the new hybrid cars? I know that honda is just releasing a new hybrid Accord. Is that going to be the next generation of cars?
Man oh man oh man, is anyone else as afraid of their insurance company as me? Man, what a gig they got~! Extortion at it's best, in mO's opinion!
Ok so I managed to squeeze out a good ramble today, but what am I going to do about my car?
Bang, bang, you're dead!
Tuesday, August 16, 2005 6:37:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning... so last night the movie of choice was... "Bang, bang you're dead". It was a pretty good movie, that focused on bullying and anger in high school. Pushed the boundaries on what's acceptable as art and what is considered threatening. Showed the effects of panicing, and stereo typing. It was a pretty damn good movie, but probably directed more towards a high school audience. I mean... I can tell I'm out of it, because I have no idea what a "Trog" is.
Apparently the film is based of a play that was created after several school shootings. I'm interested in checking it out. Supposedly, you can download the videos off the internet. I'll have to look them up a little later.
I was fortunate enough to attend a high school that didn't have distinct clicks like jocks, hippies, skaters, hip hop heads etc. Everyone seemed to be friends at my school. Which I think made for some well rounded people. The cafeteria was more like different stations, and at each station was a different group of people. There was nothing stopping you from making your rounds to each station and sayin' "what's up?" to everyone. Anyways, thanks Aberhart!
And in other news... 4 weeks 4 days and still counting...
Lock, stock and my remote is on fire...
Monday, August 15, 2005 6:33:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Monday Morning to you... Well I had myself a fantastic weekend. Our team won at the Calgary Stampeders Fantasy Training Camp, I had a great meal at a greek restaurant on Saturday and I finished off the weekend with a great Pizza from Stavro's in Ranchlands. Mmmm... Chef's special. Last night Alli, her dad and I watched "Lock, stock and two smoking barrels." One word can be used to describe this movie, "SweeeeeeT."! If you're a fan of the movie "Snatch" or "Boondock Saints" you'll probably enjoy this one. It's another Guy Ritchie movie.
On Saturday night we watched "The Big Lebowski". *Note to mO: check spelling on Lebowski. I 
laughed my lil' butt off all through that movie. I'm not sure why, there was no real conclusion to the film, but it was great~!
On Big Brother 6, Saturday night, Jen nominated Janelle and Rachelle. Damn you Jen~! I have a feeling that James won't be going home, and either Kaysar or Howie will. I was kind of hoping to see James and Kaysar work something out, but Kaysar had to give up on the HOH challenge. Why!?
I just realized now, that my life revolves around TV. *sigh*
I play for the Calgary Stampeders~!
Sunday, August 14, 2005 9:10:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Well Hullo Thurr... Man, yesterday was a lot of fun~! I'm talking about the Calgary Stampeders Fantasy Training camp sponsored by Cardel Homes. There were 100 participants divided into 5 different teams. Then the entire Calgary Stampeders team showed up and was also divided into each team. 5 training circuits were set up. The team with the best times and most points win~! Each team had a local charity that they were trying to win money for. The first place team is given $15,000 to award to their charity. The last place team gets $1000.00. All donated by Cardel Homes.....
Ok now let's get to the good stuff, the media showed up and I was placed into the white team. "Whiiiiiiiite siiiiiiida baby~!" This is probably one of the few moments in my life where you would have caught me chanting "WHITE, WHITE, WHITE"... haha... oh man. Our team captain was Jermaine Copeland from the stamps. And he was so much fun, what a funny guy~! The charity we were playing for puts together school supplies for under-privelaged kids. I should just get to the point...
"WE WON, WE WON... WE WON"... not only did we help win $15,000.00 for our charity but we get to attend the stampeders practice before the Labour Day Classic, against the Edmonton Eskimo's. We get a stampeders track suit and a one - day contract with the stampeders. haha... do you know what the means? It means, I can add that to my resume... haha~!
Wow... thank you very much for putting this all together Cardel Homes, see you on Labour Day team WHITE~!
"When you see mO K, throw up the 'W'... Whitesiiiiiide"
Damn these nerves...
Saturday, August 13, 2005 8:54:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Wooo Hoooo.... Saturday Morning~! And I'm a little nervous... why!? Well I'm attending the Stampeders Fantasy Training Camp. Dang... I have no idea what's in store. But I guess I'll find out... Unfortunately the stamps lost last night to the BC Lions... DAMN YOU BUONO... AND DICKENSON~! TRAITORS... Why did you guys ever leave... *sigh*... Anyways... If I were a stampeder I wouldnt want to get my ass out of bed the night after a game to go entertain punks like me.... Dang... I wonder if they'll even show~!
Ahhh well... I just hope I don't embarass myself. And if I do... let's hope someone get's a good laugh from it... haha... Send some good vibes my way... I'm out..~!
Thanks Cardel Homes....
Friday, August 12, 2005 5:17:00 PM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
My 3rd post of the day... and it's a friday~! Alright... so I just had to share some good news with you fellow Calgarians.... I won ... well You can read the e-mail I received. Thanks Cardell Homes... Now can you just finish building our house already... geeez~!
CONGRATULATIONS!!!
You have been selected to attend the Stampeders Fantasy Football Training Camp, with the hopes you will win a spot at the Fantasy Football Experience.
Please meet at Cardel Place on Saturday Aug 13, 2005 at 12:15pm. Cardel Place is located at 11950 Country Village Link NE, (behind Silver City Theatre) Phone: 532-1013.
All participants have been divided into 5 teams. The entire Stampeder team will be in attendance and each team will be lead by Stampeder players and Stampeder Outriders. Teams will be run through a series of drills, be sure to wear comfortable clothing and running shoes.
The Team Captains are Jeremaine Copeland, Jamie Crysdale, Sheldon Napastuk, Henry Burris, and George White.
Twenty of the 100 participants in the Fantasy Training Camp will win a day at the Fantasy Football Experience at McMahon Stadium on September 4, 2005. There you will spend a training day with the Stampeders. Participants will receive a Stampeder Track Suit, a one day CFL contract and press release, and two tickets to the Stampeders Labor Day Classic game.
Good Luck! If you have any questions please call Daylan or Heather at Cardel Homes at 258-1511.
All spectators are welcome.
Please meet at Cardel Place on Saturday Aug 13, 2005 at 12:15pm. Cardel Place is located at 11950 Country Village Link NE, (behind Silver City Theatre) Phone: 532-1013.
Good Luck! If you have any questions please call Daylan or Heather at Cardel Homes at 258-1511.
Google's Taking Over the Earth....
Friday, August 12, 2005 11:00:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Tra... la.. lala... laaaaa.... so it's lunch now here in the cube farm, and I decided to post 'again' for today. After all it is Friday and I'm feeling half awake.
So last night on "Big Brother 6"... Sarah got voted out and Kaysar got voted back in... Ohhh glorious day. I couldn't believe he was voted back in, I seriously though that America would vote for the Firefighter over the "Iraqi". I'm certainly glad that out of 5 million voters, 82% of them voted for Kaysar. Hot daaamn homie, now let's see if he can certainly stir the pot.
It was kind of sad to see Sarah go, I don't think Howie should have nominated Sarah and James. (not yet anyways). Dang... well the HOH challenge looked pretty damn cool too... Oh man... what would I do without you big brother. One thing that really p's me off about the show is... *drumroll* the website! In order to watch the video's you have to install "Real Player". F* that idea...
While I sit here... I'm eavesdropping on a conversation in the cube farm... dude's talking about Google Earth... Check it out.. it's so cool~! But if you happen to be part of the "insurgance" look away. On the 'local' news last night, they said that the "insurgence" in Iraq is using Google Earth to check out where the US is stationing their troops and then planning their attacks. *Dang*... Can't we all just get along...
I can't emphasize just how cool Google Earth is... you must get it~! Get it... nooow~!
Damnit Lisa~!
Friday, August 12, 2005 6:34:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Holla at yo' homeboy... well it's finally friday, and I got no friggin' sleep last night. Ugh... I've been thinking and thinking... Last night at around 2:45am I received a phone call. My call display said it was the younger sister of my girlfriend. So I answered the phone right away thinking she needed help. When I answered the voice on the other end was a guy. I was barely awake so my memory of the conversation is a little vague, at best. He asked me if I remembered him, "Guess who this is? C'mon mO, Guess~!?". "Hurtchuck?!" I muttered... yup it was him. I haven't talked to him in a couple of years. He was one of the guys I knew from high school, kind of a bad a*. Well actually... he 'was' a real bad a**. 
He asked me if I was marrying his friends sister. By his friend I assumed he meant "Lisa". "Yeah" I replied. He asked me how life was and I said it was ok. He said "Just Ok, Sounds pretty damn good to me." There's a bit of an underlying tone there that most probably wouldnt pick up. The details of which I don't really want to go into, but it left negative feelings when we ended our 2 minute conversation. Lisa, for f*ck sakes, what the hell are you doing hanging out with hurtchuck? Smarten, the hell up~! And delete my name and number from your phone book and mouth. I just hope you read this before you get your butt in more trouble. I told Allison right away, but I still couldn't sleep. I was up rolling around in bed for the next 3 hours until my alarm clock went off. And I still don't know what to do... or if I should do anything at all!
Damnit Lisa, this only drives me crazy because I actually care~!
mO's Thursday night Thunder... yeah~!
Thursday, August 11, 2005 6:38:00 PM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Well... it's been a good day~! For dinner I had a medium pepperoni pizza from lil' caesars for 5 bucks... Mmmm... i'm such a glutton. Well I've decided that I'm officially on the hunt for a new 19+" monitor... I've had it with this 17".... it's to damn small... and well.... I'm blind without my contacts... let's face it... it would suck to be my kid. who would want to inherit these genes.... eeep~!
Sunshine
Thursday, August 11, 2005 5:39:51 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning... Well this week seems to be flying by nice and quick. My evening was rather tame so there isn't much to tell ya from mO's part of the world. I just want summer back, dang damp, dark rainy mornings~! Yeah... *pause*... I've really got nothing to say... 5 weeks 2 days to go until I'm soaking up some sunshine in Mehico...
GET TO WORK...~!
What up Kaysar?
Wednesday, August 10, 2005 5:47:31 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning... well it's a nice wet morning here in Calgary! For some reason it feels like winter here in the office. Not because it's cold, but more because it's so dang dark out. It's a little depressing... oh well~!
So now that my PC is home from the hospital with a new NB fan I noticed that the NB fan isn't even working~! Grrrrr... so replacing it, did nothing!
Well my evening was spent packing and at Second Cup will Allison when she got off work. It was a pleasant and relaxing evening... yes it was! I ended my evening by watching "Big Brother 6". Oh yeaaah, it's getting interesting. So James and Sarah are up on the chopping block and guess who won the power of veto. Mr. James... he was right when he said he didn't win the Veto based on strategy but more on stupid decisions of the other house guests. Anyways, I'm hoping Evette goes home. I think things could get interesting with James and Sarah still in the house. I sure hope Kaysar get's voted back into the house. "What up Kaysar?"....
Anyways, i'm out... now get yo butt to work~! NOW!
She's Home...
Tuesday, August 09, 2005 5:44:54 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Ohhh glorious morning.... I heard back from my maaaaan, Raymond from memory express. Ok... so... I'm not sure I should admit this to the world... I inserted the stick of ram backwards. There I said it, I didn't know you could do that... If it snaps into the 2 notches on the bottom and clips in on the sides it's gravy to me... but no... so apparently I was imagining the burning smell, because nothing was fried, not even the ram! yeah... weird... thanks Raymond from Memory Express. so for 2 hours of labour and 1 North Bridge fan.... *drumroll* a bill of $110.00 + tax. Meh... not bad... after picking up my pC I didnt' even plug her back in yet. Yeah, that's what I said... she's still sitting on my desk waiting for me. Don't worry hun, I'll be home a little later tonight to play.
Uh huh... so what else can I tell ya... well there's isn't much else. So... let's count down the number of days until the weekend and... oh yeah... did I mention that when we wrote the deal for our home our original possession date was August 1st. And now it looks like we'll be lucky to move in before October. *sigh*... How dissappointing, but life goes on I guess.
What are you still doing here... GET TO WORK~!
Good Morning...
Monday, August 08, 2005 5:50:33 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Yaaaaaaaaawwn..... well that concludes another good weekend~! Absolutely no PC action for me this weekend... I still havent heard from those guys over at memory express... Grrr.... I poked my head in on Saturday morning to see if they had even cracked my PC open yet... They hadn't... I dropped it off Wednesday night and they hadn't cracked her open by Saturday morning... well I guess that's not that bad... but since I stopped in Saturday I havent heard back from them... It's monday now... hopefully they call. All I need to know is what components I need to replace... so that I can buy the parts and replace them. Geebers...
Well it was good not having any access to a PC this weekend... I kept busy by doing other things... Saturday Allison and I went and bought me some sandals for Mexico.. yaaay... then we took her mom and her mom's boyfriend out to "Jubilations" dinner theatre. They were playing "Batman and the boy-blunder"... hehe... it was pretty good. As usual I got picked on, and they made Cal and I come up on to the stage to dance... yup.. picture my shiny bald head trying to do a bat dance in front of dozens of strangers... Greeeat~! *sarchasm intended* The only parts that really bugged me was when the "Dancing guy" dressed as a jester came and grabbed my head and the slightly rude server. But I think she was playing her role.. I'm not really sure what that is... I think she was supposed to be a snotty uptight guest of Bruce Dwayne. Note to those out there... DO NOT EVER... and I mean EVER. DO NO EVER TOUCH MY HEAD~! I don't want your greasy hands palming my scalp. Got it?! Good!
Sunday... after Allison got off work we had dinner at Tony Roma's, you know that place that's famous for ribs, courtesy of Alli's pops! Mmmm... my first time eating ribs was pretty darn good... but man the prices are steep~!
Alright... well it's Monday and time to get to work... so as the saying goes....
GET TO WORK~!@
what a big baby~!
Friday, August 05, 2005 5:45:49 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
It's FRIDAAAAAY~! Well last night was my first night in quite a while with no computer~! I felt naked... it's strange to not hear the humming of the little guy~!... So instead I wrote a letter to a friend... yes i said "Wrote" as in hand written. I didn't know I could still write with my hands, but it turns out it's just like riding a bike. Then I hung out with my homeboy "Stevie the TV". Together we watched the news, then the Simpsons, then that 70's show, followed by seinfeld and the last half hour of an ABC primetime special on kids in some strange prison. Then... 9pm .... *drumroll* BIG BROTHER~! Well Kaysar got voted off... dangit! But then big brother announced a new twist. Either Kaysar, Eric of Michael will be re-entering the Big Brother House. All you have to do is vote at
www.CBS.com ... I haven't done it yet, but make sure you do... yes YOU~!
And in other news... I'm hoping to hear from Memory express about my pC today~! Hopefully I get good news, but I'm expecting to hear the worst. Well we'll see what happens... could end up being a lonely friday night with no pC.... *sigh* hehe...
I'm such a gEEk... Have a great weekend~!
Oh alright... take the rest of the day off... you can tell 'em that mO said it was ok....
- Chili K
I broke her...
Thursday, August 04, 2005 5:44:53 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Well... last night I attempted to install my new stick of 512 mb ram into one of my pc's. *sigh*.... Long story short.... Either my motherboard, cpu or video card is fried.... in the words of Napoleon Dynamite... "Dang..." Yeah... i'm said! My poor baby.... *sniff*... I can't believe I'm so attached to my PC. But I am....
As soon as it happened I took it to the hospital... *memory express that is...* and like other hospitals I had to wait in line... *Damn Service desk... I mean you guys... goood... very Much... so... Mo Happy service guy with!* Ok so I had to leave my poor baby for observation for a couple of days. *sigh*... the service guy really caught me offguard when he asked me for my windows password... *waaaaA?* I'm having a hardware issue, why do you need access to my windows account. mO personal journal there... don't touch! Reluctantly I gave it up, I didn't want to argue with one of the doctors who was going to take care of my baby...
Just to clarify.. doctors refers to the service technicians... my baby is my computer... the hospital is
www.memoryexpress.com and... yeah that about covers it!
I sure hope it's just my mother board. My video card was about 300 bucks, my p4 2.8ghZ with hyperthreading was close to 300 when i bought it 2 years ago. I guess it might be time for an upgrade... Now's probably a good time to start shopping for a part time job... unless anyone wants to donate money! anyone? anyone..? how about you over there... oh fine...
GET TO WORK!
I lost my connection...
Wednesday, August 03, 2005 12:08:53 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning!... uuuughh... mO's so sleepy.... "don't make me go to school... no maaaa... i don't wannaaa". Oh fine, but just for today.... ok so today is going to be a good day~! And why? because I've got a good job and life is pretty damn good... ok ok... that's pretty cheesey... here's the real reason... This morning I checked my email and found out that.... *drumroll*.... I WON 2 TICKETS TO THE LABOUR DAY CLASSIC. Oh yeaaah, Calgary Stampeders Vs. the Edmonton Eskimo's. That's right, I entered at the Cardell Design Center and won. Apparently there's more, but I havent read all the nitty gritty details yet. Something about a fantasy training camp with some of the players... Ohhhh... and I think I may even get to sit on the sidelines at the game... oh boy oh boy.. .I'm getting giddy~! Yeah I sure am... Hee Heee *giGGle* September is going to be a great month~!
So as I was driving home last night I received a phone call from Alli's mom's boyfriend. Apparently he was having some issue's with his laptop and decided to call... *drumroll* "That friggin' computer guy"... I guess that's me mO. So I spent a couple hours at his place doing some cleanup on his laptop. Nothing special nothing that I would call "Work" but I guess people are willing to pay for someone else to clean up their computers. That's when he proposed that I should start up my own lil' business. Cleaning up computers. Hmmm... tempting, but I really have no formal education in PC maintenance or anything hardware related really. Anyways, one more month until the wedding....
Thank you Ca....
Ok so my remote desktop connection this morning died on me.. and I couldnt re-connect. So here I am re-moting home so that I can finish my blog entry! Now what was I saying... ahhh
GET BACK TO WORK~!
It's over now... Hi Ho Hi Ho it's off to ...
Tuesday, August 02, 2005 5:52:30 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Well it's over now... and here I am... back to the working life! *sigh* well the day at the beach went pretty good. It's really not my cup of tea, but it made Allison happy. So it was worth putting up with the bugs, screaming kids, loud bass from cars, overcrowded beach, traffice, 1 1/2 hr drive, loud and obnoxious people. Yup... it was worth it! The picnic basket Allison packed was great, Sandwiches, carrots and broccolli and dip, Berries, and crackers! Mmmm...
We made it back to Calgary around 5pm. Oh in case I forgot to mention we spent the day in Sylvan Lake. So we got cleaned up then had dinner with Glenn. Mmmm... pasta...
After dinner Allison's sister and her friend Brandon stopped at the house. Brandon was talking about how he just realized after 2 years of university how much it was costing his mother. Uh huh.. so he’s dropping out and coming home to go to sait. Ok so he didnt say he was dropping out, but he did say that he was staying in Calgary to go to sait. So he's leaving his degree to work towards a diploma. Let's face it, he's dropping out!
Next he was talking about how he works as a bouncer at paul Vickers clubs’. The owner of the club tells the staff not to let certain colors of people enter the bar when they have thei'r staff meeting each night before opening up. Brandon was admittingly working for a racist but it didn’t effect him at all. It was like he had not seen himself in the mirror. He doesn’t know he’s black. Well he’s mixed but he speaks and acts like a person with no background in any other cultures. It’s horrific to watch. It’s like the jerry springer episode with the black guy who supports the KKK. Imagine how much joy it gives the owner of these clubs, he has people of color on staff keeping out people of color. Anyways, that really bugged me! I'm not upset because I can't get into these bars but rather because of Brandon's lack of self respect. This may be a little extreme but to me, he's aiding the parent of the child that calls my child a racial slur. (when and if I should have a kid.) Ok... well that's enough thinking for a Monday... err Tuesday!
How many times do I have to say this... GET TO WORK!
It's almost over...
Monday, August 01, 2005 7:33:45 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Well it's been a great weekend, but it's almost over. *sigh* It's all good though, why?! Because it's only a 4 day work week, that's why!
Today Alli and I are driving up to Sylvan Lake to soak up some sunshine. *yay* Can you sense the sarchasm? hehe... oh well...
Friday Alli actually had the night off so I got to see her, we had dinner with her pops. He made this really good BBQ Porchetta sandwich... Mmm... it had porchetta, parmasan, sun dried tomatoes, roasted red peppers and one other kind of cheese. Then it was BBQ for a few minutes and Mmmm... I'm getting "hungy"! Then we watched "True Romance"... a Quentin Tarantino movie that I had never heard of before. It was awesome, I can't believe the cast they had in it too. James Gandolfini, Brad Pitt, Val Kilmer and the list goes on. And I had never heard of it before. Make sure you check it out....
Saturday, we did more shopping before Alli had to go to work! Picked up a garbage can and drying rack from Wal-Mart and a Sunshine Brekkie bowl from Ricky's. Mmmm... also very tasty! It's to bad I can't find a picture of the internet.... damnit GooGle!
Sunday, we did a whole lot of nothing! And it was about time, I watched CNN with a bowl of ice cream while Alli had herself a nap. Yup... which now brings us to today... Yay we get to go so Sylvan Lake, thanks for the great idea GLENN... hehe... I'm just kidding! It'll be fun!
Have a great day, and if this isn't a holiday for you then... GET TO WORK~!
Bueller... Anyone? Anyone? Anyone?
Thursday, July 28, 2005 5:47:21 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Well well well… one more day to go. Ok so last night after work I went home for about 15 mins then I left to go to the .net user group meeting at the UofC. When I got there the pizza 73 guy was just leaving. They ordered 10 pizzas. Mmmm… pizza. So I munched and waited for my other co-workers to show up.
The presenter was John Bristoe a Microsoft Regional Director. And the topic was web services. The first 2 hours were on 10 tips on using web services and the 2nd 2 hours were on changes to web services in visual studio 2005.
whoa… Mr. John sure knew his stuff, but I had no idea what he was talking about. He used every acronym in the book, and I really had no idea what they stood for. I think the highlight of the 4 hours was the pizza, oh and I got another Microsoft pen to add to the collection. If I had some sort of experience working with web services then I’m sure the presentation would have been helpful, but for my background, it was waaaaay to deep for this guy.
I’m looking forward to the next presentation with Dan Sellers. I enjoyed his presentation on master pages and I found him easier to follow. Power point slides really, really, really bore me. However Mr. John was a little more animated in the way he presented overall. He is a little hard to approach although, just because… well I guess it goes back to the fear of asking a stupid question. The way he would almost be sarchastic in his response to some of the questions. Like an underlying tone, “are you kidding me? How you could you not know? What are you talking about? That’s what I said buddy!”
Anyways I’ve probably critiqued the presentation enough, but that’s my point of view. Now I just have one day to go and I’m on my way to a 4 day weekend… woo hooo… so have a great weekend and I’ll see you on Tuesday!
C'mon GET TO WORK!
two pieces of chicken and fries please...
Wednesday, July 27, 2005 5:43:27 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning... well my work week is already half over. yipeee... only 2 days to go. then 4 day weekend... woo hooo.....
Last night was a laundry and vacumming evening for myself. So my evening seemed to slip away quite fast. Yep... yep... a little bit of news... a little bit of reading and a whole lot of nothing...
tonight I'm heading to the UofC to attend another .NET User Group meeting. tonights topic is... web services, i think! I'm hoping to learn more and more from these meetings. The last meeting was really good, I put Master pages to use as soon as I got home. Now I'm excited to see what I can do with web services...
alright, that's my spat of the day... take 'er eazy.... hey who's that behind you... GET TO WORK~!
Tony Blair is pissed...
Tuesday, July 26, 2005 5:36:00 PM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Alriiight... my 2nd entry... Well I just finished off an order of "Toonie Tuesday" from KFC, and I'm feeling mighty sleepy~! Oh why oh why must you turn to fast food Mista mO... why?! Dont you know that you'll be laying on a beach in less than 8 weeks. C'mon... for the sake of others, lose some weight.... *sigh*.... "Somewheeeeeeere over the rainbow...." Ok... now I'm going to go see what I can do with this blog... any suggestions?
Goood Morning Calgary....
Tuesday, July 26, 2005 5:46:48 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Mmmmm... Sushi~! Did I mention.... Mmmmmm Sashimi~! Isn't that a bit of a tongue twister. Try saying "Sashimi"
10 times to get your mouth warmed up in the morning. Oh yeaaaah.... So last night was dinner with Alli and her pop's. AKA Papa Newell... for dinner we had... *you guessed it* SUSHI~! We checked out this little joint across from Sir Winston Churchill High School. And it was fantaaastic. Mmmm... Sashimi... Sashimi... shashimi... shahaamisha... yeah you know what what I'm trying to say... Dinner took up most of the evening so nothing else to really report to you.... Have a great day.... Mmmmmm.... Sashimi.... (Is it pronounced Sa-Shi-Mi or Sha-Shi-Mi?)
Anyways... it's probably a good time to.... GET TO WORK~!
It's monday... it's monday...
Monday, July 25, 2005 5:49:30 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
What an exciting weekend... Well as usual on Friday I did very little. Re-built my PC again... don't really know why. Just thought I would I guess. Yup... then saturday Alli and I went to the Cardell Design Center where we found the dining room table thats at the panatella park showhome. Oh yeah.. so we ordered for a pretty damn good deal. We were reallly expecting to pay a lot more then we did. Now we just have to wait 6-8 weeks for it to arrive. I can't wait.... afterwards we stopped by the show home just because... Alli had to work Saturday night, so it was another boring evening for myself. Yep.. yep... weekends just aren't what they used to be.
Sunday, Alli and I picked up an electric frying pan from SuperStore and a Dirt Devil vacuum from Future Shop. They were both great deals. The vacuum at Future shop was less than what we had seen at wal-mart. Same model, but about 50 bucks less. Meh... At staples I found the desk of my dreams... *awwwww...* <--that's my halo sound... yeah... "somewhere over the raaaainbow..." anyways.. it's monday morning and time to get to work... Did I mention that it's only a 4 day work week for myself... Yup followed by a 4 day weekend
I think he's gone a little... *coo Cooo*
Friday, July 22, 2005 5:47:48 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
It's finally Friday... Yipee.... 8 weeks from tomorrow we'll be leaving for Mexico. Oh yeaaaaaaah... next week will be a 4 day work week for me, followed by a 4 day weekend, followed by another 4 day work week. How sweeeet it is... I'm so excited... and I just cant fight it... oh no oh no oh no...
Alrighty then... last night was a pretty tame evening for me... I munched on some subway... *Mmmm.. fooD goEs HeRe--->(0:)* then i watched a lot of news... wow... scary world hey! uh huh... yup! San Andreas Nudity Scene... really?! Where?!
And in other news... so at work this week I got to work on a little side project. I get to build a site for one of our main products... wooo hooo... it's been a lot of fun so far~! I was really nervous at first and I'm still kind of unsure how I'm going to handle some of the future requests, but one step at a time right? Did I mention I'm building it all in TextPad. Talk about really getting intimate with code. TEXTPAD peoples... i'm used to getting spoiled with fancy shmancy IDE's. Visual Studio 6, 2003, 2005 beta b. Dreamweaver, or even Frontpage... hehe.. anyways, it's really good practice actually, I really think I'm picking up quite a bit. And I'm learning a few things from co-workers as well. I'll make sure to share the site's URL when it's finally published. until then here's our current site...
www.DATASHAPERS.com
Have a great day everyone!
And take advantage of your weekend... Get some sunshine while you still can... it's almost winter peoples... it's almost WINTER~!
GET TO WORK~!
Hello Jello
Thursday, July 21, 2005 5:39:49 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Well it ended up being another late night at the office *sigh*. Now I know how Morty Seinfeld felt when Elaine scheduled the late meetings and Mr. Peterman went on and on telling stories... Poor Morty. haha....
Besides that I'm looking forward to the weekend, and especially the idea of perhaps getting myself a sunshine brekkie bowl from ricky's. Mmmm.... brekkie bowl. Yup... Yup... Hmmm.. I don't have much else to say today!
Have a great day!
GET TO WORK!
Mmmm... chicken~!
Wednesday, July 20, 2005 5:50:10 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Well it was a late evening at the office last night, which meant a short evening at home for me. Needless to
say I'm feeling a little hmmm... what's a good way to phrase this.... mO need's some more time to play. haha... yes i think that's a good way to phrase it. I had enough time to get a load of laundry done last night and then sit on my computer and know that i wont be able to really get anything accomplished because i'll have to hit the hay soon. Off to bed i went at 9:30pm. Tonight is a different story however. Tonight is mine... and no one is taking it from me.
Y'know I've come to realize that this blog has become quite boring.... exhaustingly boring... so boring that I dont event want to read it. And part of that is because I've shared my blog with my co-workers. Now I feel like when I write I have to be careful of what I say, and that restriction is actually inhibiting me from acting like mO. Y'know that quirky kid with the lack of hair-dizzle.
I'm not sure I like that, I've always thought of myself as the type who speaks my mind. Of course at the same time, I think I know how to sell myself. I think I'm quite open minded, which means that speaking my mind usually doesnt step on any toes, i think. *but what do I know about what people really think of me*... ok it's really to early to be ranting like this.... I sure could use some sunshine and a corona~!
Have a great day...
GET BACK TO WORK~!
Toonie Tuesday...
Tuesday, July 19, 2005 5:51:26 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning... Well I had one of the most delicious steaks I have ever had in my life last night. Oh man... I'm just thinking about it now and I'm getting all hot and bothered. *meow*. The steak and potatoes, and onions and tiny little carrots were courtesy of Alli's pop's. Did I mention I got some ice cream afterwards? Oh yes, yes I did. Not just any ice cream but that peanut butter flavour you can get from M&M meat shops. Ohhh... if I could just relive that dinner forever, I'd be the happiest man alive. *droool*....
Ok so enough about food, let's talk about photoshop. Now that I've finished the HTML course and I'm well on my way to teaching myself Javascript the next item on my list of TODO::'s is PhotoShop. I really want to learn to improve the layout and design of websites. So I'm signing up for a photoshop class, as soon as I can remember to do it when i get home. Speaking of which I should send myself and email. *I swear if it weren't for email, I wouldnt remember anything.*
Well it's only tuesday but I'm already pondering about what I'm going to do with my 4 day weekend next week. Yup you heard me, 4 days. 4 consecutive days, you know where one day follows the next? Oh yeah, that's right! You're jelous.... *ahhh the simple pleasures in life*
Ok so that's about all the ranting I've got in me today... stay tuned.... Now...
GET TO WORK!!!
Oh yeah... is it true that at the kilkenny and limericks that if you buy a meal at lunch you can get a second meal for a toonie? Because that would be nifty... and hey did anyone see the news about the girls wearing flip flops at the white house. Maybe it's just me, *and in most cases it is just me* but who cares... so what if they wore flip flops to the white house. Whooop di dooo... I hope that I never have to go anywhere that I can't wear jeans.
Hi Ho... Hi Ho... it's off to work i AM
Monday, July 18, 2005 6:47:05 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Yahooo.... Well I had a good weekend. Most of my friday night was spent sitting in front of the computer. but saturday Alli and I spent the afternoon checking out the showhome for the condo we're waiting on. The show homes finally opened just last week. Now we're on the hunt for a certain dining room table we found in one of the suites. Yipeee....
Saturday night I went and watched the Bernard Hopkins vs. Jermaine Taylor fight. Oh man... I can't believe Hopkins lost. I honestly thought Taylor did win the fight, no doubt about that. But Maaan... Mr. Hopkins, what happened? *sigh*....
Sunday Alli and I had brunch at Ricky's. Mmmmm... brekkie bowls. Now I've tried them all. The Blackstone brekkie bowl, the Chorizo brekkie bowl and the Sunshine brekkie bowl. Mmmm..... mO Hungy now~! I think the Sunshine is my favorite for now.... Give 'er a try!
And to end my weekend I spent sunday night at the Calgary Stampede. I wasn't there for long, not much has changed. Did the usual walk around the grounds, said hello to some people then went home. Oh yeeeeah, and now ... Hi Ho Hi Ho... it's back to work i AM!
Have a great week everyone, oh and just remember, for us Canadian, it's a long weekend next week!
Friday Toot-Tooot-TOOOOOOOOOOOOT....
Friday, July 15, 2005 5:49:58 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Happy Friday World... I'm glad the work week is finally coming to a close. Things have been kind of slow for me at work which has just made the week drag on and on and on.... i prefer haven't a lot to do so that i'm continuously munching away at work and the time flies. yup yup...
so as i mentioned earlier i was having some difficulites with my server. so i'm trying a couple of new things... last night i swapped hard drives between my 2 machines. I removed a stick of 256 from the server and i re-loaded an OS onto both machines. As expected, I've noticed a huuuuge increase in system response time. Yipeee... Like brand new maaa... now I just have to spend some time this weekend re-installing software, getting the latest drivers for hardware and all that funn jazz....
So big Brother.... Well Ashlea got knocked of, and Kayzar or is it Kaycer... uh OH I should look that up. Anyways he gets to move on. At this point I think I'm rooting for team Kayzar and Mike. Lets just call him Mr. K until i figure out how to properly spell his name. Ok so Mr. K really shouldnt have lied to Eric, what's the harm in telling him "Ok, I went and talked to Mike about his relationship with the other girl." So what, i'm sure Mr. Eric would have respected that more then thinking of him as a RAT. Nobody likes a snitch, nope. You know I was thinking strategy, and at this point its quite evident that everyone knows about the partners in the house. so why not just make it public, toss it out. "So we all have partners here!", but before doing that, approach someone who isn't your partner and make them an offer. Ask them if they would like to pretend to be your partner, so you and your real partner are not on speaking terms. No connection makes it easier to penetrate other groups and so on. As well, by partnering up with another person you know have a strong alliance of 4 and no more information needs to be shared then what is required. keep information at a minimal. Ok here i go... blah blah blah... Like I really know what I'm talking about, but I'm sure I'm not the only one who thinks up these strategies... i know you sit at home and watch the show and think this is how i would do it...... so tell me, how would you do it, smarty pants?~
And I think this concludes my Friday Morning Rant-a-thon... Have a great weekend peoples... *mO hungy, mO need food.*
P.S. So I'm thinking of going back to Pizza delivery as a part time job, it was fun, i made friends, people were nice and well, quite frankly it paid better then this job... butt shhh... you didnt hear it from mO~!
Hmmm... is someone a little cranky today?
Thursday, July 14, 2005 5:51:42 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning, Well todays the big pancake breakfast hosted by our company's landlord. Mmmm... I can't wait until the rest of my team gets here so we can get started on some Pancake munching. It looks like someone has changed the clocks here at work. Because the clock on my phone read 7:30am when i walked in this morning... thats about 10 or so minutes earlier then usual. Hmm... which gives me a little more time to work on this entry...
Or maybe traffic was so good that well... I got here earlier then usual. Anyways... not much else to tell ya about my world. My damn server crashed again yesterday, I don't know why... It's in this infinite loop of starting up then restarting , something about dumping memory flashes on the screen. then it restarts and does it all over again. I didnt install anything new, no drivers, no software, nothing. it was running greeeaat, then all of sudden it crashes. Hmmm... I'm thinking I should just take a baseball bat to it and get a new machine. Grrr.... mO sick of computers... Need BEEER~!
And NO I'm not cranky, so don't ask me if i am... I'm just venting a little... hehe... ok maybe I'm a little cranky... No beer and No sleep make mo go something something....
GET TO WORK, or enjoy the sun if you can~!
yup, he's still talking about...
Wednesday, July 13, 2005 5:48:06 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
*YAAAAWN*... Hello EVERYBODY~! Man, I sure could use a little more excitement in my life. I feel like I've got nothing to tell ya. I have really spent as little time as possible with my computer at home. It's strange really, and I haven't done very much reading lately. Oh man, I'm slackin'. Oh well...
I missed "Big Brother" last night... *sigh* I made it to 9:30pm then i fell asleep, I just couldnt stay up. Maybe someone out there in TV land has it recorded.... *booooooooooooo*
Well it's only 3 more working days until the weekend. And almost 9 weeks until Mexico.... Mexico, Mexico, Mexico... that's all I ever talk about....If you don't like it..... THEN GET TO WORK~!
Nothing Special...
Tuesday, July 12, 2005 5:48:28 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning... Well it looks like its going to be another sunny day~! Yay... My evening was short and
sweet... did some more laundry, played some fantastic 4 and watched "The Scholar". ooooh... ahhhh... tonight is "Big Brother" night. SweeeeTT~! Man my evenings are boring. It sure is tempting to have beer out in the sun in the evenings. I still haven't had a sip of alcohol since april 29th.
I don't know why I'm still doing it... I guess I just like to exercise self control. I'm not doing being I have a drinking problem... I think at the time I felt I needed a challenge... let me tell ya, with all this great sunshine and the stampede I sure could go for a Corona~! Meh... I guess it will taste even better on the beaches of Mehico.... Aloha Mexico....
It's monday...
Monday, July 11, 2005 6:07:20 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Well I feel refreshed. It was another good weekend. We picked up some leather couches from IKEA... checked out the progress on the new home and got lots of sun. Yeaaaah... Now I'm ready to go on vacation, hehe!
Monday's are always tough, especially when you come to work thinking "I have 44 years of Monday's to get through, before retirement." *ugh*... oh well...
Well I got a lot of cleaning and house work accomplished this weekend. But I did a whole lot of nothing which works...
Have a great Monday everyone~!
The beginning of the Calgary Stampede... the so called greatest outdoor show in the world!
Friday, July 08, 2005 5:42:30 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Alright, it's friday~! And the kick off to the Calgary Stampede. Yipeee... the parade starts at 8:55am. No wonder I made it to work so quickly. There was nooo traffic. It's to bad morning traffic can't be more like that every day of the year. Yup...
So last night was fun, I spent most of it playing XBOX. You heard me. I really don't play very many video games, but i just got a copy of NHL 2005 and San Andreas and well I was emmediately hooked on both games. It's going to be a good weekend. hehe...
Then to finish my evening off, I watched the season premiere of "Big Brother 6". Oh yeaaaah, I'm hooked, again! Go Kayzar, and Mr. Firefighter~! I'm not sure I heard what the twist was but did they say that they secretly told everyone in the house that they had a secret partner in the game? Coool.... head games, head games and more head games. That's my kind of torture~! I wonder how well I would do on the show... Hmmm.... *dream cloud appears*
It's almost the weekend... NOW GET TO WORK~!
Lay off, eh~!
Thursday, July 07, 2005 5:51:35 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning... Today is thursday. It's looking like its going to be another great day. lots of sunshine and all the warm fuzzy stuff. oh yeaaah...
ok so on a sadder note, yesterday at work everyone received an email about how a certain product will no longer be actively marketed by us and therefore members of our company had to be laid off. their last days are this friday. Man... i'm new to this office world, but that sucks. I really feel bad for them. I know they will be fine with whatever they move on too. and they don't seem at all upset. I'm not really sure what or if I should do anything. Should I give my condolences or offer my best wishes for them tomorrow. or should i leave it alone and move on. I understand that's the nature of working in the business world and that i too could one day be laid off, but i wonder if others are as prepared for it. Well to those of you who have been laid off... In the long run was it a good or bad experience? would you have appreciated it if people said a final goodbye to you or just left you alone?
Although this job helps me pay the bills. I don't feel dependent on it. I feel like getting fired or laid off isn't the end of the world and that no matter what happens, i'm resourceful enough to find a way to move on. and perhaps it could be one of the best things to happen to me. But for the time being... I'm going to continue to work hard and hope for the best.
Me, me, mee.. have you ever noticed how i manage to turn every single discussion into something about ME. y'know... mE mO~!
One of the best parts of summer I've noticed so far, is the lack of morning traffic. It seems like half the city has stopped working. Driving to work in the morning is now a breeze. traffic shmaaafic. Anyways... I still summer vacation. You really don't know what you've got until it's gone. Man, to be a kid again~!
Have a great day everyone~!
- Chili K.
It's almost over..
Wednesday, July 06, 2005 5:45:54 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Ok somone out there working with asp.net 2.0 must know what this error means. Pleaaaaaaase...
[ArgumentNullException: Value cannot be null.
Parameter name: basepath]
System.Web.Util.UrlPath.Combine(String appPath, String basepath, String relative) +747419
Visual Studio 2005 beta 2 is great... except that I can't seem to promote anything~! Ahhh... Ok now that I'm finished pulling out my hair... let's continue~!
It's already looking like it's going to be another great day... it was +18 degrees celsius when i left my house this morning. Wooo hooo... Now if i can just get through the annoying thing called 'work' then i might be able to enjoy some of that sunshine.
Last night was more or less un-eventful. I wrote a letter to my pen pal who happens to be staying at a correctional center... poor guy! It sounds like he's really into changing his life and making sure he never ends up back there again. I sure hope he does. He's been in since the end of December. Man, that's a long time. I don't think I could last that long.
Well, have a great day y'all. Now GET TO WORK~!
Life is good.
Tuesday, July 05, 2005 5:43:37 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning... Well only 4 more weeks until my next statuatory holiday. haha... yup, thats me, just thinking ahead~! Well it sounds like the show homes for the condo we bought will finally soon be open. It's about time, I can't wait to go check them out.
Last night we continued with the soprano's marathon. Yahoo... On episode 9 or 10 of season 5. Pretty cool stuff. Man the weather has been nice and life is good.
Have a great day everyone~!
Monday Morning
Monday, July 04, 2005 5:48:26 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning... Nooo I don't wanna go to work... Waaaa... Don't make me~@ haha... Yeah that's how I felt this morning getting out of bed. Ugh... it was a good weekend. I can't wait until the next one. I spent most of it watching season 5 of the sopranos. I found an XBOX in a pawn shop for 130 bucks. and I watched 'Open Waters'. Eeep... that movie freaks me out. It's a good movie, really good. It just creeps me the hell out. I don't like deep water. Oh... I had to push myself to finish watching it. I'm getting creeped out right now just thinking about it. I'm such a baby.
So this Friday is the beginning of the Calgary Stampede. Yahooo... Let's see if I decide to go this year. It's pretty much the same thing every single year. I'm just a fan of the food. Mmm... foood~!
Have a great Monday, and if you're off today, I envy you~!
A whole lot of ranting, with very little substance.
Thursday, June 30, 2005 5:51:21 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning... mO so tired~! ... so I was at work until about 5:30 pm last night, it's an hour later then the time i usually leave. meh... no biggie. except the .net user group meeting started at 6:15pm. Eeep... Needless to say I'm a weeee bit sluggish this morning. The UG meeting was really good. I really enjoyed the presentation on using Master Pages, Themes and Navigation. Suuuupeeerb, I can't wait to use all of these items. Hopefully, I will find some free time tonight to give 'er a try. Thanks Mr. Dan Sellers for the Presentation!
Well, it's looking like it's going to be a beautiful day. I find it interesting just how empty the office is when I get in to work in the morning. I get to see who's actually showing up on time, and who's leaving when they're supposed to be. I technically don't start until 8am, but I usually make it in around 7:40ish... enough time for me to post a single blog entry. It's interesting to see what time the 7:30 starters actually get to work, then see them leave a half hour before me. I really need to let loose and not be just a hardass. I'm sorry, a little anal retentive like that. Time is a big part of my life.
Anyways, I feel like I haven't had any personal time for a while now. I guess this is what it feels like to be an
'adult' hey? Although I'm 21, I feel like I havent really hit adulthood until recently. Man, high school sure is looking much better these day. All that free time, and I spent most of it doing a whole lot of nothing. Time well wasted in my opinion. Geeebus, my thought's are all over the place today.
You know, I've heard a little talk around the office about starting your own business and risks in doing so. And how a lot prefer to work for someone else. Let someone else take the risk. Hmmm... I honestly don't feel the same way. The other day when I was talking to myself, *you heard me*, I said "I've never done anything right in my life, without doing it wrong first." And I think that's kind of my personal philosofphy, I'm not afraid to to take chances, I've made a lot of mistakes but, hey, I've rebounded. I've learned to pick my sorry butt off the ground. What the hell am I getting at here? I guess what I'm trying to say is... well.. I'm a terrible employee, I'm opinionated, I think out of the box, and I want to be my own boss. But I realize in order for me to become a good boss, even if my only employee is me, I have a lot of skill to learn. And until then, I guess I'll be sitting here in my cubicle feeding the corporate monster. I just hope he's hungry, because I've got a lot to learn!
Have a great day, and enjoy the long weekend~! (That goes for both sides of the border)
Peace,
- Chili K.
My testimonial
Wednesday, June 29, 2005 5:52:49 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Okie dokie... class is over~! so my html class wrapped up last night. Yipee, i got 100% on the final exam and a 95% overall in the class. Woo hooo... Lucky mE. We spent most of the class presenting our final sites that we submitted. oh man, i couldnt believe how much of a nervous freak i was. after i finished presenting and sat down, i realized my words were all choppy, i was talking my ass off, and i really just looked like a nervous mess. I couldnt believe it. It's been a long time since I've had to present anything to a group of strangers. In school I think i was a better public speaker. I thought I usually came off as calm and collected, and in school most of the time i had no idea what i was talking about, but i still managed to bs my way through presentations. This time, I actually knew what the hell I was talking about. In fact I went into more detail then I was supposed to. This was an introductory course to HTML and web design. I converted my site to ASPX, included c#.net development, google site maps, robot.txt files and more. When I should the class my sitemap.xml file, I forgot that most of the class probably had no idea what the heck XML was. Eeeep... I'm one stuttering baaasted'. *hang my head* I'm so embarassed.
Something about working in a cubicle and an office has really changed the way that I interact with people. I'm sheltered, almost afraid of people. Eeep... I once thought of myself as the type that could strike up a conversation with some at a bus stop if i wanted too. and on many occasions i did. But I couldn't even give a simple presentation on something I knew well, in front of a class of peers that I had been working with for about 7 weeks now. Shame on mE. I've got to get back out in the real world.
One thing I've learned about web development is that I like it. It's something I want to pursue further, it helps me get one step closer to my eventual goal of working from home. I'm surprised at the numbers of web developers out there getting paid to build sits but really have a limited knowledge and experience in any sort of development. One thing I've got over the rest of you is this.... my youth~! I'm 21 baby, I'm 21 and I feel young, I'm not afraid to let you know when I don't understand something, or when I don't know something. The last thing I'm going to do is pretend to know what i don't. I've got nothing to prove, I'm young , under-experienced, and under-educated.
Ok so this really has turned into quite the rant today... but I've got to wrap this up and get to work. If you happen to have a suggestion or tip on anything at all. Holla at yo homeboy....
Oh yes yes... I realize my name probably hasnt appeared in your blog stat's for quite some time, I apologize for that... things are starting to slow down for me. And I'm starting to see a little more free time in the near future... I"ll be back. thanks to all ye-faithful~!
Have a great Wednesday. Peace~!
It's still raining...
Tuesday, June 28, 2005 5:53:02 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning... whoa it looks like MSN Spaces did a little upgrading. They've built the "<HTML>" button right in now. So I guess I won't have to use the 'edit it' button anymore. Sweeet...
Well, it's raining again. Is it true? Has it really rained 23 of the 28 days this month so far? say it aint so... summer shmummer...
Tonight is my last Web Design/HTML class. Yipee... We get to present out sites to the class... <*Eeeep...*> I'm not sure I want to do that... But the good news is that Google has indexed me... yipeee... in the short week and a half that it's been up, it's made it to google. thaaaaat's riiight~!
So... NBA draft tonight.... Toronto better get something good together this year.... Only 3 more work days until the weekend.
Tomorrow night I'll be attending a
.Net Calgary User Group meeting. It sounds pretty cool, it's on building web apps with themes, site nav in asp.net 2.0. I'm pysched.... Have a great day~!
Now get to work!
Also... Happy Birthday Mr. Glenn~!
Its Monday
Monday, June 27, 2005 5:46:28 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning. Well I've had the hardest time getting to sleep lately. I've really got to do something about that. I'm glad its a short work week and a long weekend. that will really help.
So this weekend Alli and I picked out wedding bands. I went for the simple white gold ring, no designs, no frills just your basic straight forward ring. that's right. Allison's looks really pretty. all sparkly and shiny.
Does anyone else have a weakness for ice cream? I'm on this peanut butter cup ice cream kick right now. It's not good. I think it's called 'Moose Tracks'. Ahhh...
We checked out the progress on the house this weekend and it looks very behind. Damn you Cardell HOMES. August 1st my a**....
Well have a good monday everyone~!
Is he still talking?
Friday, June 24, 2005 5:48:01 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
So the spurs won, hey? well its friday, and you know what that means. only one more week until the long weekend. for both sides of the border woo hooo... up here in Canada we get the Friday off, and down there in the states i believe you guys get the monday off. Hooray for long weekends. I think this year I would like to celebrate the nations birthday for both the US and Canada. What do you say peoples? In the words of Homer "WoooHooo, 4 day weekend."
Ok so.. what else is going on in the life of mO? Well I'm getting more and more excited about going to Mexico in September. Wooo Hooo...
So some of my co-workers found a place in Calgary that does XBOX and PS2 mods. I let my 
brother know last night, and he said "No thanks, that's stealing." Hmmm... so what do you guys think about using mod chips to be able to play burned games. The thing that I really liked about it was being able to use the XBOX as an ftp server. Which I guess could also be used to ftp games and movies over to be played on the xbox. Hmm.... ok but really? Do you think getting a mod chip would violate your own personal morals?
Nevermind, it's Friday... save the thinking for Monday, right?
GET TO WORK~!!!
- Chili K.
Is it really Thursday?
Thursday, June 23, 2005 5:44:51 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning. Well I'm feeling cranky. I can feel it in my veins... don't know what it is. but it seems like the never ending week for myself. ahhh... only 44 years until retirement. now i'm going to cry.
so last night i went and checked out 4 houses up in the hamptons with my bro. My mom really wants to move out to some 370,000 dollar house. All I can say is... where the hell did she get that kind of coin. Maaan...
ok so tonight is game 7 of the NBA finals... Woo hooo... <*I'm hungry*>
Have a good day peoples~!
P.s. The picture the left is a visual representation of how I feel on the inside.
Mid-Week Update
Wednesday, June 22, 2005 5:54:31 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning... Well I'm certainly looking forward to the long weekend next week. I think I may even book the Monday after off at work. I sure could use a 4 day weekend. Woo hooo... But we'll see what happens.
So last night I wrote my final for the night class I've been taking. I think I did pretty good, but I guess I won't really know until next week. I also handed in my final assignment for the class. Oh this was an HTML/Web Design class. It was pretty good, I probably could have picked up most of it from a book. but having the class is motivating. I'm thinking that I might want to move on to photoshop then flash. JavaScript should be something I can teach myself. After all I am a 'C' developer. (I wonder if I sound conceeded!? hmm...)
I've learned a few cool things about optimizing a site for search engines. I'll have to post some of my research. But if you're interested lookup googles information on 'sitemap.xml' and 'robots.txt' Pretty cool stuff. Also, google offers lots of services to improve traffic to your site. At the moment I've got phase one of my site complete. It still needs a lot of fine tuning and the flash animations kind of LICK buttocks.. but hey I'm trying. I'm just a 21 year old kid, give me a break. Here once again is another shameless plug for my site --> CLICK HERE <--
Tonight I get to escort a realtor to help find my mom a new house. Apparently, she's tired of the city and wants to move to the 'burb's'. I'm not sure why, but I can see some appeal to living in the suburbs. But then there's the morning commute... ugh~! I can't wait till the day that I work from home. Just wait and see I'll get there...
To wrap things up on a Wednesday morning, I'm on the final chapter of "Developming Windows App's in c#". Man that last few chapters have been really tough, and it hasnt really completely sunk in yet. I really want to build app's using everything i've learned in the book. I find that I dont really understand something until i use it or experience it. So cross your fingers for me, but I'm going to work hard to attempting to take the MCP exam before September. I'm a little behind my original schedule but I will get there. Ok peoples... thanks for checkin' out the brotha!
NOW GET TO WORK~!!!
Good Morning
Tuesday, June 21, 2005 5:46:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning... Well I had a great weekend. I was a little behind with my entry yesterday. When I got to the office in the morning my manager was in. so he wanted to see how i was and chatted up a storm with me.
Anyways.. I'm a little tired this morning. I've had a couple of late nights. My HTML assignment is due tonight at my night class and our exam is tonight as well. If you're interested and would like to see what it looks like feel free to give it a good critique. www.mokhan.ca
Sorry to the rest of you, I've sort of dissappeared off the face of spaces. But I will be back, I'll eventually find some time. Thanks for stopping by to check up on me~!
Ooopsie...
Monday, June 20, 2005 12:01:10 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Well I'm a little late with my entry today. No no don't worry. I was on time for work.... I'll have to make my entry tomorrow extra special. but for now I've got some reading to do... take 'er easy and have a great day! Check out the site so far...
It came back...
Friday, June 17, 2005 5:47:41 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Hello Everybody... "the rain came back the very next day... " dang namit... just in time for the weekend. First off, I'd like to mention that yesterday I forgot my phone at home and I felt naked all day at work. Is it just me? I have no phone etiquette, I rarely answer my phone, yet I still felt naked. Hmm... interesting.
Ok so not much is going on in the world of mo. I spent last night trying to upgrade some of
my web applications built in visual studio 2003 to visual studio 2005. and it's driving me KERAAAAZY.... I don't get it. I can run the projects from VS 2005 but they wont run from the internet. I've set all the necessary permissions, what else do you want from me... Excuse me while i pull out my hair. Don't you guys worry, I'll get it~! Sooner or later.
Ok so Friday, Friday, Friday. Only 1 work day to go, and then I'm free. Hooopla! Now GET TO WORK~
- Chili K.
P.S. Yeah, yeah... i'll eventually get around to finally making my rounds around the boulevard.... Geez.. I'm so fired~!
Batman has begun...
Thursday, June 16, 2005 5:48:38 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning... Well I went and watched 'Batman Begins' last night... ohhhh man... it's sooo 
cool. It's sooo coool. I can't wait until the next one. I think it's even better then 'Spider Man' and that's hard to beat.... haha..
Well my headache is now gone and I forgot to mention that yesterday was my one year anniversary here at my job. Yaaay... I think I can officially say that I'm an IT pro now... I'm just a 21 year old kid with 1 year experience in IT. whooopty dooo...
When did life get so repetitive? I'm living for the weekend everyday of my life now... Eeep... always counting down the number of days until the weekend. Whatever makes you tick right?
Hey and if you're out there Goebel family from Capitol hill crescent in Calgary, I'd like to thank you for taking me camping when I was a kid. so Thanks~! Anyways... i'm out... now go check out batman... (which i'm sure you're all going to do... yeah right~!) and have a great day~!
- Chili K.
Brain Ache
Wednesday, June 15, 2005 5:47:27 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Ugh... head aching.... brain not want to function... mo server crash.. hardware problem... mo go cry now~!
Ugh.. I feel like hell today... I dont get headaches very often but i seem to have one this morning. There's this great big sinus pressure coming from behind my eyes. ugh.....
Ok so enough complaining... I missed out on say something nice day. My bad... Thank you all for the very nice comments... they really made me smile. I'll have to catch up this evening and return the kind gestures. Anyways I'm off to try to get some work done. Have yourself a great day and enjoy the sunshine if you have any~!
Sunshine, lollipops'... lalala
Tuesday, June 14, 2005 5:54:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good morning peoples... I feel great~! The sun is shining, my headache is gone and I feel like week long PMS is over. hooray, the sunshine has come back. Summer has come out to play... well come on over Mr. or Mrs. Sunshine~!
Ok now that we've got the perky, happy go-lucky-cr@p out of the way lets move on. haha.... anyways... today's a work/school day for me, so this is going to be another exhasting day. However, the make over of my site is coming together nicely. It really puts my old site to shame... at least i hope. Hmmm... hey my site even managed to find it's way into Google's index. Yahoo.... why am i so damn chirpy this morning? I don't know...
Well my bro quit his night job at Tim Hortons, he was sounding pretty stressed out from it 
so we had a little talk. He's an 18 year old kid, he doesnt need the weight of the world on his shoulder. go get a job at burger king and flip burgers. That's all he really needs for the summer. Mommy's helping him pay for school, so he's got nothing to worry about. at this point he's got options and shouldnt feel like he has to work from 11pm-7am at a job that's demanding more from him then he wants to give. He's only got a few summers left until they're all gone... unless he becomes a teacher (you lucky basssted's....) haha...
Oh hey did I mention that I managed to crawl onto a space that belongs to a "Program Manager" at Microsoft... and you know what the best part is? He listen's to Cruuunk... bigga baaaby... Here's my plug... --->
Monday Morning Blues...
Monday, June 13, 2005 5:47:55 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good morning... well it's another suck a** Monday... aint that the truth. actually i have no reason to complain, i'm just sleepy. I was tossing and turning all night and i don't feel well rested. Grrr... ok so Alli and I managed to scoop up a King size mattress and boxspring, with the pillow top, no disturb blah blah blah... for a whopping $1225 this weekend. Wooo hooo... thank you Bedroom Shoppe. Apparently the brand that we purchased, King Coil, is made right here in Calgary.
After that we went and picked out a little get up for me to wear to our wedding. I got myself a casual, tan coloured sport jacket and matching pants. which i plan to wear with a t-shirt, sandals, kangol hat and pimpin' shades. oh yeaaaah... groovy baby~!
So I had a good weekend, I've been plugging away at re-building my site. which needs it... because it's suck a** (thats going to be my phrase for the day "suck a**"). Yeah, keepin' myself busy. I'm ready for Mehico... Aloha~!
Have a good monday, peoples...
I'm a Jacka**
Saturday, June 11, 2005 11:47:25 PM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
So my girlfriends dad was telling me yesterday that he checked out my space. and went through all my entries and read the comments from all the 'LADIES'... haha... and he said. "y'know on the internet you seem like such a nice, friendly and approachable guy. But little do they know how much of a jack a** you are... " haha.... oh man he cracks me up.
But he's right... I'm a terrible friend. I never call, I answer my phone when I feel like it. I never leave voicemails. I make no attempts to see friends. I'm a jacka** when it comes to maintaining relationships with people. But with spaces, I can show up, drop my 2 cents and peaaaace.
I just thought I would mention that, but honestly I really do like checking out my comments and seeing that there are new comments and that there are regulars who can appreciate the nonsense that i say. And I enjoy reading entertaining, insightful and funny entries that so many of you put out there. If I just had more time.... (excuses, excuses) so thank you blog-homies...~!
Now go do some laundry.... yes I mean YOU~!
- Chili K.
Have a good weekend~!
Friday, June 10, 2005 5:39:28 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
It's Friday... Good morning universe. Anybody catch the spurs vs. pistons game last night? Because I fell asleep. I'm glad it's friday... I've got so many things I want to work on this weekend. Geez Louise... ok so my brain is on <blank> right now... so maybe I'll got read some news... Enjoy your friday and your weekend peoples~!
Plop on the couch
Thursday, June 09, 2005 5:45:53 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! 2 more working days until the weekend. I finally got a bit of down time last 
night, which was great~! Oh man, there's nothing like being able to plop on a couch after working all day and knowing that you don't have to do anything. It's a great feeling, you should really give it a try. I think you'll like it...
My weekend itch just kicked in, I have no big plans for the weekend but I just ... hmmm how should i finish this sentence? I'll finish it later...
Tonight is game one of the NBA finals. San Antonio vs. Detriot. but in my fantasy finals it's Phoenix vs. Miami. Grrr... ok well I'm rooting for the damn pistons... <muffled voice>"basted's" ... Go Pistons Grrr... GO~!
That's all folks...
- mO K.
What a great week~!
Wednesday, June 08, 2005 5:53:14 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good morning... well the rain seems to have stopped. but every single little town around Calgary seems to be under a evacuation alert. there's flooding going on all over i guess. not on my block though... hehe suckers~! but really that must suck... how do you deal with your home getting flooded. I wouldnt be able to take it... I would want to move. meh~! To all of you affected by the flooding... good luck~!
Well, yesterday afternoon I took off to an MSDN/Technet presentation with some co-workers. It was pretty damn sweet~! It was a fast track seminar on Visual Studio 2005 Team 
Suite. Hot damn homie... and we all got a copy of the beta addition to take home. As well as SQL Server 2005 with a 365 day license and bunch of other goodies. This was my first Microsoft seminar of any sort and man it was fun. The presentation was 'FUN'... yes you heard me... less powerpoint more presentation. There were a couple of presenters and I would refer to them as Fred Flintstone and Barny Rubble. They worked so well together, it made the presentation funny and interesting. Not to mention the free XBOX lottery and Hacky Sacks... and Hats etc. Thanks Microsoft, Barnaby, Derek... and uh oh I don't remember the other presenters name. I'll look them up and make sure to throw you some links to their blog. Greaaaat stuff~!
So in my night class last night I learned a new way of designing a page layout in Photoshop. It was more of a sneak peak then a lesson but I think I got the jist of it... now if I can just adopt this new found language in my assignment. WHICH SUCKS A**~! Ok so what's the use of being the greatest developer in the planet if your site looks like crap. (I'm not referring to myself as the best developer, I'm far from it. I'm just trying to make a point.) My hat goes off to all of you crazy web designers. It takes a lot of creativity to put out some of the great sites that you do. So why don't you toss me a trick or two... maybe even refer me to some where I might be able to get some ideas for page designs. Hook a brotha up...
And it's wednesday, oh did i mention the trip to mexico in september is booked? Saturday, September. 17. 8:45am... woo hooo... "
i'm so excited, and i just cant fight..."
Spoooky... Oooohh <-- Ghost SOunds.. trust~!
Tuesday, June 07, 2005 5:57:18 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning... well believe it or not. It's still raining... but I think it's like this all over the 
country. Yesterday flood warnings were issued for most of southern alberta. The emergency radio message scared the beegeebers out of me. one second i'm bobbing my head to the radio... next second... *BEEEP, BEEEEP, BEEEEP* Ahhh aliens are invading. run for the hill's Ma~!
Over the weekend I watched the movie "White Noise". It's based on EVP, Electronic Voice Phenomenon. Kind of strange, I consider myself a skeptic. I can take any sound and twist it into what you want to hear. meh.... I do remember having a few 'issues' with an older TV I had in my room at one time. In the middle of the night when I would be sleeping, this TV would turn on to a static, or 'white noise' channel and the volume would increase on it's own. It would scare the F'n sh*t out of me. Just picture it... there I am... lil' mo sleeping in his lil' bed all tucked in and cozy in the middle of night dreaming about unicorns and lolipops. When all of sudden... "Crrrrrr... " <-- white noise sound. My TV would turn on and the volume would increase soo quickly. It happened about 3 or 4 times. I would jump out of bed and grab the plug and yank 'er. Eeep... I ended up 'donating' the TV to my lil' brother. hehe... he hasnt had any problems with it. Take that story as you like.. but I think it was an electrical issue. But wouldn't it be cool if dead people were trying to contact me. oh my goodness, how great would that be? Knowing that life doesnt end... ahhhhh get me out of here. I don't want to know that after I die there's still more drama to deal with.
Yeah that's my story, and I'm stickin' with it~! If you're interested I'll have to arrange for a photo of said 'TV'.
Peaace Y'all enjoy your Tuesday, it could be your last... *spoooky* booo... Oh yeah, It was a good season Miami and Phoenix. Good job guys, *sigh*~! I just can't believe it's over, I won't accept it. *sniff*
- mO K.
Monday morning BLAH~!
Monday, June 06, 2005 5:50:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good morning... well it's another monday. We had no sunshine this weekend.... There's only so much rain i can take before i go craaaazy. haha ok well i spent a great portion of my weekend in front of the computer, coding and designing and all the great jazz...
if you're still interested here's what i got so far for the HTML assignment....
>>>Click Here<<< Feel free to offer any constructive criticism.
So Alli and I went shopping for a King Size mattress and boxspring this weekend. Damn they sure are expensive. Ok well I should get to work... have a great monday~!
Hot Damn Homie... I got a raise...
Friday, June 03, 2005 7:48:45 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Well I'm pretty damn excited... except I have no one to share my great news with. Miss. Alli' is at work and I'm chillin' out with "Stevie the TV".... but today... my manager pulled me aside to let me know... *drumroll* That I got a raise... an extra $2000.00 bucks a year... And the pay increase goes back to January. 1st. So I get re-imbursed for the hours I've already worked.... Sweet~!
I spent most of my friday night working on my HTML assignment. I've decided to write the site completely by hand. No Dreamweaver, No Frontpage... Just Google, Notepad and a bottle of water. Man I need to get out more...
Feel free to take a peak at what I've got so far... It looks very amature... but gimme a break... awww nevermind... I've got some javascript errors to fix... so i'll post a link later....
Well now I'm going to go see if I can make something of my Friday night.... Take Care Ya'll~!
Raindrops keep falling on my head...
Friday, June 03, 2005 5:54:40 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Yay Miami... Well it's still raining over here in Calgary. And the left wiper blade on my car which was held together by hockey tape has come undone. *sigh* i almost lost it while driving to work. *whew* I made it... i guess i'll have to replace when i get home tonight.
Well we made it. It's friday~! Joy to the world... Not much going on over here. Just the same old, same old. I guess I kind of missed out on 'guestbook signing' day. Since I don't have one~! Which prompted me to create my own with .NET~! Joy... it gives me a chance to work with a SQL server database. JOY~! I have absolutely no experience when it comes to working with a database so this should be fun. so far I have 2 lines of code...
"DataSet myDataSet = new DataSet();
this.sqlDataAdapter.Fill(myDataSet);"
And already my first error. *sigh* haha... looks like I've got some work to do. Anyone got any ideas on what this error refer's to..
"System.Data.SqlClient.SqlException: Login failed for user '<Machine Name>\ASPNET'"
Yeah, well don't listen to my code jargon. Go work and enjoy your weekend~!
Hello Everybody...
Thursday, June 02, 2005 5:55:04 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning... well as i sit here and rub my face I realized that I did a terrible job of shaving this morning. Man shaving sucks... what's the secret... ? haha... well it's raining like crazy this morning. Which is really good, because it's been really dry here for a while. Anybody hear about the landslide in Laguna beach? Poor guys...
Also the Phoenix Suns got knocked out of the playoffs last night by the San Antonio Suns.... Boooooo~! Go HEAT GO~!
So yesterday I had planned on making my rounds around spaces to catch up... we all know how behind I am. *tsk tsk*.... I ended up helping my buddy move into his 
new place. After work I went to drop off some letters from him that I got from a buddy who just happens to be spending 18 months at the Calgary Correctional Center. <That's another story> When I got to his place I saw a big white van parked out in front. He was moving... so of course, I stayed to help~!
This weekend is going to be sooo good. I'm not going to move. Nope... I'll sit in the sun and read but that's about it~!
So I'm starting to slowly put this site together for the web design class that I'm taking and I'm on chapter 6 (Data Access Using ADO.Net) of "Developing Windows-Based Applications with Microsoft Visual C#.Net" I've learned so much in the past month. Man... I just hope I can use all my new found knowledge before I forget it all. I was up late last night working a web application that creates an html page with a stringbuilder class. the page has a windows media played embedded into it that plays the video file passed to it through session or querystring. It's not complete but it's getting there. I also re-vamped the Dynamic photo pages on my site. So hopefully that's working a little better now. Feel free to test the photo upload... let me know if it's working. <keep in mind I've got a lot of revamping to do so i'm expecting it to bomb right now>
Ok well that's enough rambling for one morning. Have a great thursday~!
Still Complainin'?
Wednesday, June 01, 2005 5:53:43 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning. It's the mid week hump and also the start of a brand new month. Hoooray! Oh man I'm drained. I need some downtime. I spent about 20 minutes at home on my couch yesterday after work, before having to leave for the night class. so far the class is pretty good. And I've got a couple of ideas for the site i have to build. I found a couple sweet javascript menus. I'm thinking that I'm going to develop the assignment completely by hand. Although the teacher keeps pushing dreamweaver. I'm sure dreamweaver is great, but i took the class to learn HTML not how to point and click. That I can already do. Anyways.. I think I may be a little cranky this morning but it's hard to tell.
I also found out that Miami lost last night. *sigh* Let's see if Phoenix can win another one tonight. I never realized how many people in this city don't like basketball. Not only do they not like but they insult it with every oppurtunity they can get. At the bar that Alli works at all the regulars hate it and never want it played on the screens. The fight to "get that sh*t off the tv." Man there are several big screens, look away you bassssted's. You won't hear me yelling to ban curling for television... ye ol'... Grrr... then we were over at Alli's mom's house for dinner on sunday. And her boyfriend was making fun of basketball. He didnt want to watch, which is fine with me... look away if you don't like it. He said... "aww c'mon you know the team with the ball in the last minute is going to win. what kind of sport is that?" Hey don't get me wrong I'm a hockey fan... I played for a few years as a kid. But DONT CUSS ON 
BBALL you bassssted's... ok so this has been a great week for pet peeves hey.
I'm finding through this blog that there a few quirks about me. Strange things that bug me. Do I over analyze things that people say? Do I continuously sense and underlying tone to everything? I think I do. Man,.... I'm a basssted. Ok go to work and lets get through today. It's all down hill from here. Eaaaaaaaazy... breeeezy beautfiul....
- mO K. aka Chili K.
Feelin' Alive
Tuesday, May 31, 2005 5:58:19 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Well it's a beautiful sunny day here in Calgary. Yipeee... today they reduced glenmore trail to two lanes for the big glenmore interchange project. On the radio and the news they're expecting huge delays and lots of traffic. But I found that not as many people were on glenmore then usual. It seems like everyone's either getting up late or taking another route to work. The getting up late part is believable since the office is much quieter then it's supposed to be right now... *ahem*
Ok so last night Alli, her dad and I went out for Pizza. Mmm... Pizza~! Alli got a phone call from Barb from Cardell Homes. Our possession date has been moved back to September 15th now. Originally it was August 1st. *sigh*. We leave for Mexico on the 17th. It will all work out. Finally co-workers are starting to arrive, and I can hear the excuses begin.
Here's a bit of a pet peeve of mine. People who are late... always late. And then when they show up late, instead of getting right to work, they talk about why they are late. This huge production of a story of why they are late. I can hear the production now... it's a doozie... something about a 3 car pile up. ok ok... no more complaining.
Can you believe that tomorrow will be the first day of June? Time flies... are there any 3 day weekends in June? Because I'll have to arrange for one if there isn't. hehe... Hey I'm entitled to it, I've got overtime hours banked.
So I was talking with Alli's dad about ways in which I can work from home. I'm really a
homebody, I don't like leaving the house for anything, except sunshine. One day I would like to work from home. Until then I've for the morning and evening commute to deal with. Geeebus, I envy you people who get to work in your PJ's. Well, I'm open to suggestions from those of you who do work from home. And what's worked for you! I realize I'm probably years away from working at home, but I'll find a way. I've got too... ~! *sigh* <"Sooooomewhere Over the Raaaainbow....">
Get to work slacker, hehe... Have a great Day~! And I'm dedicating tomorrow evening to catching up with every single one of your blogs...
- mO Out~! <Yay for phoenix...>
It's Monday Morning...
Monday, May 30, 2005 5:50:33 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Well I had a great weekend. Friday night I went and watched "The Longest Yard." It was pretty damn funny. Then Saturday I spent most of the day at Hoop it up. Then Allison and I had some BBQ for dinner. Then Alli and watched "The Aviator". That was a pretty cool movie as well. I really had no idea who Howard Hughes was before that movie.
Sunday, Alli and I went to the Lilac Festival then to her mom's for more BBQ. <oh and Ice Cream.. Mmmm...>
Lots of sunshine, lots of walking! Yay for weekends... boooo for mondays~! Yay for 
Miami Heat.... Booo San Antonio~!
Have a great Day~!
Finally Friday
Friday, May 27, 2005 5:46:07 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
TGIF... It's finally friday. that means lots of relaxation. right?
So yesterday I picked up a couple of books; "HTML 4 Dummies", and "Javascript 4 Dummies."
Yup... ok I've got nothing.
Have a great Friday~!
Mo MUST BLOG...
Thursday, May 26, 2005 5:56:07 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! It's thursday... and the weekend couldnt come and sooner. 
<whatever that means> Man... life sure has been boring lately. Reading and NBA finals. Ok so for this web design class I've got to come up with a web site. 5-10 pages. And I need an idea for a site. Any ideas? I've got nothing.
I have officially spent ZERO time cruising spaces this week. ZIP, ZILCH, NADA, NONE~!
I really have no exciting news... ummm... I changed my phone plan yesterday to save myself an extra 30 bucks a month. I watched the Miami Heat beat the Pistons. WOot! I'm healthy, the weather is great and I'm 2 working days away from the weekend. And I haven't had a drop of alcohol since April. 29th. I'm feelin' good baby~! Did I mention that Hoop it Up is in Calgary this weekend. Hot Dog~!
One thing that I've noticed about web design is that there are a lot of girls into it. Hmmm... hehe~! No but seriously... this HTML class is packed with girls. There's maybe 3 guys including myself. Whoa... there was never more than 1 girl in my programming courses. I haven't been around so many women since high school.
oK and this concludes my Thursday Morning blog~! Now go be productive... and help mISTa mO come up with an idea for a site, puuurrdi please~!
I just found a picture with me and some work buddies published on the "NET"... check it out! >>>CLICK HERE<<<
He shook his hand.... *whoa*
Wednesday, May 25, 2005 5:49:06 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Oh yeah... in my entry yesterday I said 4 weeks. I meant to say 4 months... my bad~!
Yahoo... at lunch yesterday, Allison's dad called me twice from Vegas. He wanted to know if i wanted to place a bet on the fight between sergio mora and peter manfredo. I told him to put $50 on Sergio, because he put $50 on Manfredo. Yaaay... Sergio beat Manfredo's azz... I had class last night so I missed the Alfonso vs. Jessie fight. I heard that Alfonso won. After the fight... Allison's dad called me to tell me what I had won and that he shook hands with Alfonso Gomez. He shook his hand. Ohhh man.. and James Kohn almost ran him over. Mr. Kohn wife was nagging at him. He saw Sly, and Sugar Ray... oh man. I tell ya... what a lucky basssted~!
Anyways, class is going well, work is keeping me busy. And I really havent had anytime to blog. Except for my daily morning entry that's pretty much all the blog action I've had for a while. I'll have to find some time to make my rounds, but it's tough. Have a great day!
Somebody fill me as to what's been going on in basketball please. All I know is that both the Suns and heat lost their first game. I haven't caught any action since. <DAMN YOU BASIC CABLE>
Cube Wars: Return to the desk...
Tuesday, May 24, 2005 5:49:31 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! Well I'm back at work. The weekend was great. I'm looking forward to the next long weekend. Allison and I managed to watch all 6 episodes of star wars. Yes, I convinced her to watch star wars with me. Well, let's hope this week goes by quickly. I'm already looking forward to next weekend. Oh and I've been sober for over 3 weeks now. And I feel Greeeeeat~!
Tonight is the finale of Contender. Sergio "The Latin Snake" Mora vs. Peter "Already lossed" Manfredo. Sergio's right... he's the only one that hasn't lost on the show. Go Sergio... I'm so surprised that he beat Jessie Brinkley. He's so scrowny... I really doubt we'll hear much about him after tonight. But GOOO SERGIO~! Oh and another note... my girlfriends dad just happens to be in Vegas tonight. And yes the fight is tonight... lucky baaasted~! He couldn't get tickets though. Anyways, I'm pretty much finished ranting for now. I hope everyone else had a great weekend~!
Oh and thanks for the input on the Politic's entry. I really didnt expect much feedback on it!
Only 4 more months until the wedding in Mexico. Yahooo...
Socrates...
Friday, May 20, 2005 5:50:01 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning! So it's finally Friday. The long weekend is almost here... Hooray! So 
the major topic in the news this week has been politics. I know nothing of politics. Just what i hear from TV, which means nothing to me. It's strange just how biased TV channels can be. It seems that Global TV is pro-conservative. And CBC is pro-liberal.
So I'd like to ask you... to please educate me. What's the difference between a conservative and a liberal. What's the difference between a Democrat and a Republican?
How do I know which side of the Political spectrum I belong too... What side of the political spectrum do you sit on...
Besides that... Have a great weekend~! <oh yay.. the Queen is visiting the western provinces>
Politic's SUCKS... ~!
Celebrate...
Thursday, May 19, 2005 5:57:43 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning... I am so behind with my blogging. I just have not spent anytime on 
the boulevard. I don't deserve your daily visits... *sniff*... but thank you~! Ok so i've been reading and reading like a mad man. I've got 4 chapters to read in "HTML for Dummies 4" and 2 chapters to read in "Developing Windows Application with C#.nET"... Jeepers.. it's all good reading.. but it's sucking up a lot of my free time. Hence.. my lack of blogging. I am really really reallly looking forward to the 3 day weekend.
I caught the end of a program last night on CBC, just before going to sleep. It was about happiness. The effects of Dopamine, ceratonin and other chemicals the body produces. I found it interesting. Something I didn't really realize was that our rational or "executive" portion of our brain has the ability to govern what we do. <Hmmm.. no kidding> I guess one of the first portions of the brain to be developed was the emotional center. Could you imagine living without the executive portion of the brain... I know I'd be an emotional 
rollercoaster. I'm happiest when I'm with Allison, I'm furthest from happy when... hmmm... Another interesting thing they did on the show was send out palm pilots to people all over the world. From the ghetto's of India to the suburbs of New York. Each palm pilot had questions to be answered. Questions such as "are you happy right now? Are you proud right now? Are you at work? Are you with family or friends?" these questions were asked at different times. It was interesting to see that people living in very poor conditions with very little were actually quite happy. When it came to people who were starving or were barely living that changed drastically. ok... what am i talking about exactly? hmmm... I guess I found it interesting because I have no reason to be unhappy... so then why do I get down? 
Today I'm going to be happy... <PERIOD> Oh man you should check out the "Laughter clubs" they had in India. That was funny... It was just groups of people that got together and just laughed.... that's right they just laughed and laughed... I think at some point today in my cubicle i might just start laughing out loud for no given reason. yeah... i think i will!
Have a great day! Laugh, smile and be happy~!
Bank Rolled...
Wednesday, May 18, 2005 5:51:43 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning... well i had quite the scare yesterday. While at good ol' Tim Hortons. I tried to pay for a turkey sandwich with my debit card. I card was declined. <WHAAAt?> When I got back to the office I tried to log into my account online to see what the heck was going on. I couldnt log in... my password was not recognized. <Ahhhh....> so i contacted my bank and found out that my card had been used at an ABM that had been "compromised". So all cards used at that machine were cancelled emmediately. Now I have to go get myself a new card and create a new account. and transfer my funds over. It doesnt sound like any money was skimmed from my account. Thank goodness... boy was i scared. 
Good thing it's all sorted out. My advice to you if you live in Calgary... is don't bank at the CIBC in Crowfoot. I just happened to be up at Schanks to watch the "Trinidad" vs. "Wright" fight when i stopped in there to get some cash.
Besides that... I started my web design class. *yaaawn*. So far so good... I'm looking forward to getting my hands on photoshop. Anyways... I'm off to read the news... Have a great day!
- mO K.
Talking about Reflections on the Past: A look Back 25 Years Ago
Tuesday, May 17, 2005 6:08:18 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Yo here's an entry I think everyone should read.... Please check it out... Hope you don't mind Mr. Paul....
Quote
"This is were I learned that skin color and language did not define a person, but the goodness of their heart. Those people were not going to let anything or anyone hurt my grandmother and her property, why because as an old guy that lived across the street said “She is good people”."
<<<CLICK HERE<>>
Oh and Make sure you check out Miss. Linette's Idear~! <that's right I said Idear>
It's raining, It's pouring, The old man is snoring...
Tuesday, May 17, 2005 5:47:46 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Yay... it's raining~! So it's been a long week already and it's only Tuesday. *Sigh*. I am looking forward to the long weekend coming up. Oh boy oh boy oh boy...
whoa... i actually paused there for a minute, because I really have nothing to say.
I start my Web Design class tonight. *yawn*... and I'm steadily making my way through the first of the MCSD books. So it's going to be a busy couple of months for me. I found out on Sunday that Allison's dad is going to be in Vegas the week that the final two contestants fight at Caesars palace for "The Contender". Man I hope he gets tickets... lucky guy! ok well that's all for now... have a great day~!
Weekend Update
Monday, May 16, 2005 5:53:42 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good morning. Well traffic was a little bad this morning so I'm a little behind. So I'll have to make this short...
Friday night was great. Allison and I went out for sushi then rented a couple of movies.
On Saturday, I watched Canada Lose 3-0 to the Czech Republic. *sigh* Then that 
evening I watched Winky Wright destroy Felix "Tito" Trinidad. Take that Trinidad... I knew Mayorga could beat ya if he had trained. Buahahah...
ok and Sunday... *sigh* My favorite contender got beat by Peter Manfredo. *sigh* It was fun while it lasted Alfonso Gomez.
Have yourself a great Monday!
Twinky!
Friday, May 13, 2005 5:54:25 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Felix_Trinidad_Photo.jpg)
My goodness look what day of the week it is! Geez... it just doesnt seem like a Friday. Man I'm in a singin' mood today. I've been singin' all morning, or at least pretending too. <I'm a loud singer. And I like to make up my own songs as I go along> Ok so it's Friday, It's beautiful and I'm happy. Life is pretty good...
Are you as excited about the Felix Trinidad vs. Winky Wright fight, as I am? Because I'm pretty excited, don't ya know! So here's the plan... tonight I entertain wifey... tomorrow, wifey works, so I can go watch myself a good ol', darn tootin', hell of a fight! <Now I think I'm just making up my own words.>
So today is a big day for me at work. I get my new machine. That's right... dual 
monitor baby~! How 'bout dem apples? <-- what does that really mean? I've been wondering that since that movie with matt damon and ben affleck. The one where Matt's a genious and is working as a janitor. C'mon remember the scene where he puts the phone number to the glass to impress those guys. <I think we've lost mo *sigh*> All the hype about the new Star Wars movie even has me buzzing. I'm not a huge Star Wars fan but "I wanna see, I wanna see... " !
When something is labeled as expired, do you eat it anyway? I mean milk, probably not. But how about bread or a bag of chips. Does it depend on how expired it is?
Monkey Business...
Thursday, May 12, 2005 5:55:27 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning~! So why do you like to read my blog? My guess is the same reason 
that little children like to point and stare at me... "Mommy, he's different!". hAhA...
Children really used to frighten me. It would upset me when i'm walking by and a small child will just stop and stare at me as i walk by, or point, or even cry. *sniff*... <keep in mind I live in cowtown. So when i say little children I'm really referring to little white babies.> I guess this means, I may have been the first person of colour some of these kids have ever seen, up close. I wonder... And man what's with dogs who like to bark at me... geez~! Is it true that dogs act out their master's subconcious thoughts? Anyways... I like kids now. I think it's because we have a lot in common. I'm very curious about the world, I walk like frankenstein, I fall on my butt more then I'd like to admit and I have very little hair. So the next time your kid stares at me... I'm going to stare right back.. with the same curious look on my face. Until they start to cry.. <hopefully that wont happen, but if it does, please dont look at me differently if i start to cry too.>
And in other news... Please don't make me vote again~! *sigh*
So I was searching for a 'Curious George' image. And I found the above image... I just thought I would share. Hey did you hear about the Homosexual Republican Mayor of ... damnit i think it was Spokane. Well it's in the state of Washington. Yup full fledged republican... was against gay rights for years. And now he's busted... hehe~!
April Showers, May Flowers?
Wednesday, May 11, 2005 5:53:12 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
.jpg)
yup.. it snowed here yesterday. it started off raining in the morning during my drive to work. then it snowed all morning... by the afternoon the sunshine had come out. by the time i got off work, you couldnt even tell that it had been snowing all morning. the sun was out and it was nice and warm. yay for Calgary weather.
So it's already mid-week. wow.. these weeks seem to be flying by. It seems like just yesterday I was in high school. *sigh*... the good ol' days! So was it just me, or was there absolutely nothing happening in the news yesterday? The only big headline yesterday was the 'Rolling Stones' tour. That's it... That's all we got? In the entire world the only important 
news was the 'Rolling Stones' world tour? (I think I heard they're combined age was 242.. whoa) Don't get me wrong, I'm not basing the stones... but when i watch the news.. I like to be.. hmm... entertained! <whoa that's kind of devilish> I donno.. Canadian News.. is very blah... American news though.. man that's where the action is! I'm really tired of hearing about Paul Martin vs. Stephen Harper. Booooo politics!
P.S. Sorry for not being able to make my rounds lately on the boulevard... keep the comments coming, I read every single one...~!
Monday Morning Update...
Monday, May 09, 2005 5:52:43 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Monday Morning too ya... no i'm really cranky.. there's nothing perky about this morning. *ugh*... well it's the start of another work week. Let's hope this one flies by just as fast as the last one.
I did no drinking this weekend. woo hoo.. and i got the first book for the first exam towards MCSD. woo hooo... Developing window's app's in c#.net. Oh yeaah... i'm a good way through the first chapter and so far so good. I'm taking my time and taking lots of notes. I'm so giddy... i like learning. Next I'm going to learn to drywall. Oh, next Tuesday i start a course on introductory HTML. i'm not really sure why i signed up for it. I think i was just bored, I really could just teach myself HTML. It's not that tough... but meh.. what the heck, I like classrooms! ok so I obviously have nothing of interest to talk about...
Saturday was a bad day for basketball. well at least for me. My rockets got 
slaughtered and the celtics didn't do that much better either. It looks like the Heat are going to walk through the Wizards. My first round picks or at least hopes were to see philly beat the pistons.. yeah right mo. celtics beat the pacers, suns beat whoever the hell they were playing.. heat embarass the nets... rockets beat the mavs.... i guess i'm down to the heat and the suns. i'd like to see the suns and heat in the finals. ok that's all for now i guess...
Tiresome Ramble...
Friday, May 06, 2005 5:45:40 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
It's finally friday... I'm just starting to get into this 9-5 routine. Working for the weekend. This is my first desk job and i've been here for almost a year. And just now, I'm getting used to it. Man it would be great to find a job where i could start at 10am and finish at 6pm.
I didnt do a whole lot last night. I stuck around work and played a little Halo 2 for our team xbox night. Man I suck.. but at least everyone else gets a kick out of blasting me. Then i went home and cooked a little dinner, did a little laundry and chatted for a little while. There's no real outstanding issues on my brain. I'm just looking forward to the end of the work day. Yeah that's all folks... have a great weekend!
In my opinion...
Thursday, May 05, 2005 5:57:32 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
It's all downhill from here.. only 2 more days and its the weekend. woo hoo... As you can see the title of this entry is "In my opinion".. This could get dangerous... brace yourself.
So I watched the ABC primetime special "Fallen Idol" last night. After watching it I think I'm more upset with Cory Clark then Paula Abdul. I mean what happened to the phrase "Don't kiss and tell"... So what if Paula got herself a little boy toy then dumped his ass when she was finished with him. Suck it up princess... I'm sure it happens to women more then it does men. You poor thing Cory, you were Paula's playtoy. You poor unfortunate soul... What do you mean you have an album coming out soon... what a coincidence. To be honest, I don't really care and my opinion of either won't really change. We're all human, and... (brace yourself but i'm about to offend some people here) who really takes American Idol as a serious competition? You vote via text messaging... in my opinion that's seriously flawed. meh... !
Well I'm finished... Just thought I would get that off my chest. One more thing, I had sushi on Tuesday, and Indian food on Wednesday. hAhA... Mmm... food~!
Concessions.. err... Confessions...
Wednesday, May 04, 2005 5:48:48 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Man I have been sleeping great lately. I don't know what it is, but it's great. I 
have a confession to make. I like the new "green Day" song. "boulevard of broken dreams". yes yes i do damnit. The new Calgary Stampeder's uniforms don't really look 'NEW' to me. They're just made by reebok now? Is this "NEW" uniform just a marketing ploy? hmm... did anyone else hear about the recent video tape of big foot? apparently eXtra bought it for 6 figures... whoa... that's a lot of money for a story. The person who took the picture of Brad Pitt and Angela Jolie apparently got 1 mill for the photo from US magazine. Daaamn... maybe I should become part of the paparazzi. It seems to pay big when it does. ok so it just 
happens to be the middle of the week, so everything's downhill from here. Here's a question, if you've got a teenage daughter, would you let her boyfriend come over? would you let him come over when you're not at home? I'm afraid to have a daughter.. ahhh...
Mmm... chilaquiles
Tuesday, May 03, 2005 5:55:26 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
so I woke up this morning with one thing on my mind.... well two. Mexico and 
"Mmmm... chilaquiles." So I was wondering if anyone out there happens to have a good recipe for "Mmmm... chilaquiles." I sure would like to try making it.
And on to other news... I am addicted. Yes.. to a video game. It's been a long time since I've been addicted. But I can't get enough of 'Jade Empire'. I think it's becoming an issue... it's cutting into my blog time.
Have you ever wondered why they warn you about the traffic on the 5 o'clock news? Shouldnt you be stuck in the traffic when it's on? well i guess there are folks that head to work in the evenings too... ok so it all makes sense now. Well the new girl they have on 
global morning's doing the news is hmmm... a little confusing. I always thought that northbound meant you were heading north and southbound meant you were heading south and not visa versa. correct me if i'm wrong...
"Mmm... chilaquiles" Oh and do not forget about Mother's Day. Perhaps you could whip her up some... "Mmm... chilaquiles"?
Yay for work?
Monday, May 02, 2005 5:56:39 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
awww shucks... another weekend gone! well it was a good one, as usual it's monday morning and for some reason it feels like the weekend was to short. There i go complaining again. Well aren't we all looking forward to the Queen's visit here in Calgary. I know I am... <sarchasm intended> Man it's quiet in the office this morning. Have you ever noticed that traffic isn't as bad Monday mornings if you leave at the same time you usually do? ok so this is really a lot of non-sense and filler.
On to other news... so a lot of time was spent at IKEA, EQ3, Pier One Imports, Wal-
Mart, Superstore, and other home related shops. Ay yay yay... no wonder i feel like the weekend went by to fast, I spent it shopping with Allison. Ahhh... I gotta tell ya, EQ3 has got to be my favorite of all the stores so far, with IKEA coming in a close second. We checked out the progress on our home and found that the showsuites are finished getting framed. Wooo hooo... and we know have a basement.
I'm on this new resolution now to not drink until the wedding now. I think it's really important to Allison for me to look my best for our wedding photo's and just so she doesn't feel like she's laying next to a beached whale. I'm not really sure how long the no drinking is going to last for. But if anything it's sure to cut it down significantly. So with my birthday out of the way, and only 4 1/2 months to go. Let's see how I hold up. I guess I'll be seeing more movies and spending less time at the pub.
And in other news... as of June 15th, I will have been at my current job for a whole year. Yaaaay... I think I meant to say Yaay... Yay for work?
Disclaimer: The images above are in no way connected to mO and mO except's no responsibility for possible assumptions made.
Here's an interesting article... Fed's Offer $1 million for the capture of Tupacs...
So I was thinkin'...
Saturday, April 30, 2005 12:05:04 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
So tell me.... If you're married or in a long term relationship.... What, if anything, did you sacrifice to be with your partner? What, if anything, did they sacrifice? Does it matter?
I was just thinking... i guess in my eyes, relationships require sacrifices. But is it always a 2 way street. Or do sacrifices not need to be thought of as a 'sacrifice'? I guess it's not about what you're giving up, but what you're getting? Right? So enlighten me... tell me more about your healthy relationships and what you think it takes to maintain a healthy one.
Oh and how do you deal with your significant other's parents? do you get along with them? do you dispise them? C'mon... enlighten me... im curious to know how you guys do it.
Oh and my lil' bro bought me 'Jade Empire' for XBOX. Sweet... it turned out to be a great birthday. Sorry about my ranting last night. And thanks for the kind comments!
P.S. If you're in Calgary, check out Yuk Yuk's comedy club. Oh man i laughed my teeny lil' butt off tonight.
I'm too old to be 21...
Friday, April 29, 2005 1:48:15 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Ok so here's my cliche birthday blog. it starts off like this...
I'm too old to be 21... that's right. I don't get it. Most of my friends are into clubbing and forgetting about their problems. (So what if 'my friends' refers to 3 people. Filmon, Ryan and Lanky.) I know, and they know, that we are all at completely different stages in our lives. And that's cool.. But do i have to go to the club to celebrate my 21st birthday. I really just wanted to stay home and watch a movie. I don't have patience to watch 18 year olds puff up their chests and act like 'gangsters'. Oh man.. i'm to old to be 21. This was my first birthday that i advertised. and by advertised i mean told my friends that it was my birthday. I usually try to get through today and see who actually remembers it was my birthday. So far my mom, dad and bro have not phoned. hmmm... not that it's unusual. In our house it was just common to celebrate 'NOTHING'. in fact we didnt even celebrate that. Everyday was just like the next. Ok i'm getting off topic... i was venting about Calgary clubs. or at least the ones i go to. I'm into the hip hop and r&b type sound. So I would probably would never be seen 
at 'Cowboys'. Especially with all the news reports about how 'racist' the bouncers are at Paul vickers clubs. Basted's.... why would i want to go somewhere where i'm not welcome. you sick basted's... Ok so i live in conservative country... probably the least multicultural areas in Canada. I believe in 2001, Census reported that less than 15% of Calgarians were visible minorities. Go figure... so what's it like out East, or out West. From what I've read it seems to be a completely different story out there. Now i don't mean to bash Alberta, I mean I've received oppurtunities here that I may or may not have been able to get else where. I understand gangsterism or at least 
hood culture in low income environments. but it's hard to take any of that hood mentality seriously here in Calgary. When it's blatently clear that those acting 'ghetto' really have rich daddy's to go home to. Which is why they can afford to look hood rich at the bar every week. I guess ultimately what i'm looking for is someone else in Calgary, whom can understand the plight that i speak of. Tell me I'm not crazy and that i'm not the only one who see's the fake ass hood's. "The rich get richer, because they work to enrich. The poor get poorer because their minds can't switch, from the ghetto, let go, its not a novelty, you can love your neighborhood, without loving poverty..." - KRS ONE. ok so i've vented and i feel better now. Calgary is a 
great place to live. And i'm sure what i feel a lot of you across the country also feel. Damn teenagers... do we really need them? Man... smarten the hell up... ye' basteds. If i could just teach you to appreciate the value of a hard earned dollar. oh you, "can i have some money daddy" basteds. Haha... oh i'm not really mad. I'm glad that I've had my ups and downs in my life. Everything that i have done and experienced has helped to develop me into the person i am today. I just can't believe that when i was younger i used to look up to you phony, no hardship, havin' lots of money basteds'. Get a job... A couple more "Red Formans" might do the trick... i'm off to bed... so i can enjoy my day off with Allison. While we shop for towels, and cutlery and shower curtains, and all that fun stuff. Goodie...
To wrap this up... I guess what i am really trying to say is... "I'm Too Old To be 21".
It's been a great day...
Thursday, April 28, 2005 1:21:18 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Wow... I'm so giddy right now. I never expected so many great co
mpliments from so many different people. Thank you all so much, this really made my government birthday even better. I guess i could have added that to my 101. Yeah i have 2 birthday's... my real one and the government one... Thank you all so much~! This cakes for you...
This is just how happy I am 
All praise is due to Miss. Laura.. what a great idea! (Bloggers 101)
Got Cake?
Wednesday, April 27, 2005 5:53:27 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
awww shucks. ok so the picture of the stair case in my last post is not from our 
house. haha... i just got it from google images again. yeah yeah... ok so maybe i should mention that. i just like adding pictures to my entries... i mean come on... most of my entries is just filler. at least you've got some nice pictures to look at. haha... yeah so last night my gf's dad bought me a cake. Mmmm... mocha cake for mo. Mmmm... thanks pop's. He was also telling me about how he joined the army at the age of 20 with a pregnant girlfriend. he had to find a way to support his family and he did. by the age of 24 he made captain. wholy smokes... in a NATO competition he commanded 2 different troops 2 years in a row and won the competition. No other Canadian troops have been able to do so back to back. he was 21 and 22 when he commanded those troops too. Yikes... then while in the army full time, with a wife and 2 kids he earned his degree in 3 years. talk about super dad. oh by the way he was a tank captain.
Oh and as for the options we chose on our house: 7lb underlay to carpet, all black applicances, self cleaning stove. And now our expected possesion date is looking like its going to be closer to september instead of August 1st. *sigh* but did i mention that i got CAKE? got CAKE? cause i did!
Disclaimer: Pictures may not be factual representations of the above blog entry. Don't believe the hype.
today is Tuesday...
Tuesday, April 26, 2005 5:47:22 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
ok so i've got nothin' to tell ya today. my night was quite boring. i came home and cooked some pasta then had a nap for about 2 hours. woke up, watched a little bit of tv then went back to sleep. wow... what a productive evening. I remember watching one show... 'The Hour' hosted by George strombolopolous. <oh man... i'm sure i spelled that wrong.> Georgy porgy is pretty cool. When did he leave much music? I'm going to make
more of an effort to watch his show now. Most of this weekend i spent in front of the tv watching basketball. I imagine i'll be doing a lot more of that this weekend. Oh yeah and hockey... I think there's a Canada game this saturday morning at 8am MST. yeah... and on to other news.... Today we have an appointment with Mr. Brad Logel, the builder rep who's selling us our home. We're going to pick out our options today. Yaaay... so far, we're going with black appliances, upgrading to the self cleaning stove and adding the underlay to the carpets. Is there anything else we may want to consider? hmmm... yeah... so i also checked out the new crib on the weekend. They poured cement. wooo hoooo the cement is poured. It's cool to see how much then can accomplish each week. ok i'm off to read the news... have a good one!
Monday...
Monday, April 25, 2005 5:50:58 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good morning. lets get started.... 'THE CONTENDER' ... i'm so hooked. this is about the only show i watch religiously now. Last night there was 2 episodes. Ishay fought and lost to Sergio 'the latin snake' Mora. Then in the second episode. Ahmed Kaddour lost to Alfonso Gomez. Awww.. man, 2 great hours. I had boxing dreams last night... i think i got my ass beat, but it was a good dream none the less. ok so it's monday, it's a new week. It's bright and sunny out. And only a 4 day work week for me... hahah suckers. I booked off friday, it's nice to have one long weekend each month. Ok... well my weekend was great, and i hope yours was too... so let me know, how was your weekend? oh and i got started on my blog 101 list this weekend. so make sure you do too. if you have no idea what i'm talking about, then you need to go ask Laura. ok, well lets do our best to get through this monday together, goooo team boulevard~!
"c'mon do IT for mO"
Friday, April 22, 2005 5:54:36 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
okie dokie... the day we've all been waiting for has arrived. well at least the day i've been waiting for has arrived. ok so im finding that i seem to be enjoying the sunshine 
by sitting on a patio at jupitor (pub in kensington) for the last 2 nights. *tsk tsk* this beer sure isnt helping out my morning jog. geeebus. i definitely like the patio and the sunshine and even the conversations. but i've got to find myself and non-alcoholic drink to sip on. uh huh... ok so let's get to business people. spring is here and it's time for some spring cleaning. that's right "CLEANING"... i've got to start with my car. yeah yeah.. i'm a little behind on the whole spring cleaning things, i'm sure a lot of you started weeks ago. my car is one of the most easily identifiable cars on the 
road. I've been driving it since i was 17. and it has been through a lot. My buddies like telling me that my car saw 'the ring' and survived. <y'know in the movie the ring when they see the tape their faces get all mangled and messed up> I drive a 1990 honda that looks like it started smoking cigarettes at a very young age. haha... but i like him. i've been tellin' myself for the past 2 years "there's no way he's going to make it through this winter, this is it for him"... and year after year... he pulls through for me. <yes i'm still talking about my car>... i've really got to take some pictures of him for ya guys... i'm sure if you live in calgary you'll recognize him. haha.. aww man. ok well its friday and get some sunshine in a good way... and get some exercise... do 'IT' a few times this weekend... c'mon do 'IT' for mo... how's that for a new SEX slogan... "c'mon do IT for mO"...
Late Night Drive Thru
Friday, April 22, 2005 12:41:39 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
ok here's something a little out of the ordinary.... 2 posts in one day by mR.mO... 
and on a friDay... tooo... man... ok well here it is... it's 10:45 pm local time.... It was quite a boring evening... but i'm glad i can sleep in tomorrow. It was Allison's birthday today but i did not see her... *sigh*.... and i got her a $150 gift card to Angles's Hair and Spa. I was going to get her a package ... but i'm not going to pretend to know what 'Ear Candling' or an 'Aromatherapy Massage' or a 'Body Exfoliating treatement' is. so i did find out there was a make your own teddy bear place down at 'Chinook center' <calgary big ass mall>.... but i didnt get one. Geez... this is kind of one sad, pathetic attempt for a birthday present. But i tried.. I must admit i'm a terrible shopper when it comes to buying presents. This might sound kind of strange, but I never had christmas at my house. No tree, no lights, no presents and no Santa. I'm kind of glad it was like that at my house, it was kind of hard as a kid when i'd be asked what i got for christmas. Then i'd have to make something up and pretend I had a christmas. mEh... at least i always knew there was no santa. now my parents are monsters, things were just tough growing up. Not a lot of money and my parents kind of had shitty jobs. But they did the best they could do. And I'm fortunate to have what I do. I remember at a young age I didnt ever want to have kids because I never wanted them to worry about money. Yeah, that's right. I remember worrying about things i shouldnt have. C'mon you know when your parents were stressed. They couldn't hide it from ya. Anyways.... i'm turning this into a "ohhh please feel sorry for mo" session. geeebus... what was i talking about? oh yeah... buying presents. Yeah i suck at buying presents, but i'm going to practice really hard, and i'm going to bug you guys for great ideas. Oh and thank you all for the great advice. Give yourself a lil' pat on the back, and if you like... a little spank on the bum. Just a little tap.
ok so what else can i rant about? I've got some energy and i'm not ready to go to 
bed yet. I dont really consider myself a fan of TV really, so I dont really ever feel like veggin' out in front of the tv. However, i am very addicted to my PC's... <plural> oh i was going to take a video of my car. Yes yes... i should do that in the morning, while i'm vacuuming it out. Is it just me or do you prefer to wash your car on saturday nights when you can take your time and there's no line up at the car wash. I really don't like to be hurried when i'm vacuuming out my ish... especially with such a delicate automobile.
Well i'm finished ranting... thanks for participating in my conversation with myself. G~yeaaaa~! <c'mon... you know how MC eight said it>
Just a quick note for all y'all.... i have no idea who the girl in the pic is... i just found it on google images.
Made you think on Thursday... naaah not really~!
Thursday, April 21, 2005 5:49:54 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Morning... so today's forecasted high is a whopping... <whoop whooop> +20 degrees celsius. Oh yeaaah... so i had an interesting chat last night about 'planned sex'. does it really work? does it really keep a relationship together? what are your thoughts? i like the spontanaety of sex, i dislike being pressured into a time frame or 
other constraints... i'll do it whenever the hell i feel like it. <like i really get that choice> boooo.... ok now on to some more pressing issues. Today is thursday, tomorrow is friday. tomorrow also happens to be the 22nd anniversary of allison's birth. I have some serious gift buying to do tonight. Unfortuneatly i wont be able to really see allison until saturday morning. She closes at work tonight, then i work during the day tomorrow and she closes at work tomorrow night. Boooooo... today i'm feeling good. Today is going to be a good day. So i went out for a couple of beers with my buddy filmon last night. He got's himself a job. Wooo hooo.. congrats~! yeah. i had something i was going to say but my memory does not seem to be working today. Get some sunshine and say no to drugs... drugs are bad ... Mmmm kay~!
Toonie Tuesday... Mmm... chicken~!
Tuesday, April 19, 2005 5:45:57 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Do you get that warm fuzzy feeling when you get invited to a party... ohhh yay... i know i do~! *giggle*... so the block party huh... at the epicenter of Canada, eh? what a cool idea.... i could only imagine.... i'm a quiet, shy type in person but i have a feeling i wont have to much trouble warming up to the rest of ya. it'll be like walking the strip in hollywood.... "pssst.. hey allison... look look... it's the MAPLE LEAF KIDEH... look over there.... that's Miss Pridi, omg.. .and over there... that's like the blog queen... <whisper> that's justLaura... she's like a blog god.... " It would be fun... I will have to discuss this with Alli-sizzle and see if we can make it. Our possession date for our new house is August 1st. But i'm sure we can work something out... Yaaay.. Party... just what i need to look forward to. so for more information about the block party check this out...~!
ok now in other news... in less than 3 1/2 months... i'll be livin in the new place. Yaay... well today's forecasted high is +13, so it's lookin like it might be a good night to sit out in the sun. can't get enough sunshine. yeah, once again i've been slackin' when it comes to making my rounds on the boulevard... oh and Da Kid, gave me a unit number for my space on the bouelvard... yay yay... welcome to 66 Spaces Boulevard NW... Have a great tuesday, and make sure you let me know you're having a good Tuesday~! <it's important that i get to know these things>
Monday Mornin' Blues...
Monday, April 18, 2005 5:44:21 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
well it's monday and overcast. again the weekend was to short. but at least i've got next friday booked off. so i'm looking forward to my 3 day weekend. until then... ay yay yay.. another 5 days until the weekend. *sigh*... have a good monday~! <yes i know this was filler, i've just got nothing to talk about>
Friday's Five Alive... Mmm.. juicy~!
Friday, April 15, 2005 5:51:50 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
go hitmen go. so if the hitmen win tonight then they're off to the next round. G~yea~! <anybody remember Mc eiht?> so it's friday and it's going to be nice and warm today. ohhh yeah.. so my plan is to sit in the sun with a beer, maybe two. oh yeah... so on the news this morning, someone in 'BOWNESS' got shot by the 
police late last night. Apparently, he pulled out a sword. A fricken sword... in BOOOWNESS. <you gotta say it like you say weeestsiiidee.... > yeah whoa... i'm sure i'll be able to find a news article on the net in the next few hours here. anyways... it's friday so this is sort of my wrap it up for the weekend blog. yeah i know it and you know it.. the likelihood of my actually posting an entry on the weekend is slim to none.
man everyone is sleeping in this morning. the office is sooo damn quiet... all the 7:30 regulars dont seem to be here. did i miss a memo or something? uh oh...
oh and in other news... my lil' brother told me some good news this morning. he got a job acting for the summer. *whoa* ... you see.. he's a brilliant kid, was in all the top classes and took classes he didnt even have to in high school. i think he finished with something like 130 credits. then he goes to uni and got accepted into computer science. let me rewind a bit, he also took drama all through high 
school. anyways, after completed his first semester of uni he decided he didnt like computer science. he wanted to get into drama... <ay yay yay, you have no idea what that did to my mom> it's not that he couldnt handle computer science, he still finished all this courses from his first semester and did pretty damn well from what i remember. so he managed to get himself into whatever drama classes he could get in second semester. which worked out to 3 classes i believe. i'm still not sure what he's doing is a good idea, but if he's as passionate as he is about drama then by all means go for it man. if i was that passionate about something, i'd like to think my bro would support me. and now he got himself a role in a play that runs for four weeks in the summer. the pay isnt great, but at least he's getting paid. that's more than i thought he'd ever get, to be honest. the fact that he's even going to make a dollar from acting is pretty good, i guess. and he's only really in drama part time right now. it kinda sucks that he's not taking any comp science courses anymore though. but hey, at least he doesnt have to worry about looking forward to a cubicle every morning. so yeah.. that's my friday blog entry. no go say hi to baby girl, she was a little down yesterday and i'm sure she could use a little cheering up. so do iT...~! oh and one last thing.. .can anyone tell me what 'Skeet, skeet' means?
hang my head
Thursday, April 14, 2005 5:09:30 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
i'm such a 'Ho-Mo'.... so i was experiencing network connectivity issues yesterday... sure i have access to the net at work. but i choose not to blog in my cube... well not directly from my workstation. I remote desktop to my home machine then blog from my home machine. Damn big brother, i don't trust 'em and the last thing i need is for someone at the office to find my blog and read my entries... how can i safely b*tch about work, if i'm not sure if people from the office are reading this. uh oh... maybe they're reading this right now... 
... uh 
oh... they're on to me... ok back to the main reason why i'm a 'Ho-mO' <hopefully that doesn't offend anyone, if you didnt catch it my name is 'mO'> ok so yesterday... Mr. Kid... <when you're that big they call you MR.> created some pretty darn sweet tootie sig's and he made one for MO. guess who didnt even see it until this morning.... that's right MO... I'm so sorry Mr. Kid, but thank you sooo much. Your hard work did not go in vein and I know creating those sigs is not an easy job. You're one of the most creative guys i know, so don't get down when you can't seem to find a way to entertain everyone on MSN spaces. If you haven't already, shout a holla at my daaaawg... Mr. Kid. Thanks again Mr. Lance~! 
Oh and in other news... it's snowing here in calgary. Damn you mother nature... but i still ran, dont you guys worry... i'm workin my lil' bootie off... Last night i went and checked out a Calgary Hitmen game. And man it was good... Go Hitmen Go.... ohh Ryan Getzlaf, he's so dreaaaamy~!
this land is our land, this land is your land...
Tuesday, April 12, 2005 5:50:51 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
<yaaaaawn>... that was one monster of a manly yawn for ya. well i'm bored, same routine every day. all together about 10 hours of my day revolves around work. getting to work, leaving work and being at work. damn that word 'work'. wouldn't it be nice if i could spend 10 hours a day at 'play'? is that to much to ask for? haha ok... so tomorrow is the 10th day and last day that we get. before the deal is finalized and we can't walk away from the purchase of the new home. goodie... i'm movin' to the burb's baby.... yesterday after work, i was coming around to the back of my place to enter the back door. as i turned the corner, there was some dude walking up to my door. it tripped me the 'F' out.. obviously the cat had been drinkin' (i know how i smell after a night of drinking) and must of seen my bike chillin' out back (i assume). Well, i tripped on his ass and started yellin' at him. "what the hell do ya think you're doing?" he gave me some lame excuses about a cat, and he was at a buddies place over by banff trail. uh huh... let's just say i excused him from my property. uuurgh... I live by motel village. which happens to be right next to banff trail c-train station. It's common 
to find drunk's in my neighborhood, and it doesnt really bother me until it get's close to home. Grrr... I'm movin' to the 'burb's. It's really sad, and the thing is if he had asked me for a little help had he approached me on the street, i may have been kind to his cause. I'm really a sucker for polite people. but dude had to come creep up in to my backyard where no one could see and who know's what he was up to. Have a great tuesday~!
enter something witty
Monday, April 11, 2005 5:47:26 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Goood Morning boulevard~! well it's monday morning and i had one hell of time getting out of bed this morning. Ugh... i'm looking forward to a nice nap after work. Well I got to experience my first hoity toity art show this weekend. One of my buddies work's at the Kilkenny (an Irish pub here in calgary) and one of his co-workers is an art student. His co-worker, Marcus Beil, had his art show cased at the 'Art Gallery of Calgary' on friday night. so we went to check it out. It was 
pretty cool, they had orderves... (did i spell that right?) and lots of chatty art folk. i obviously don't know much about art. one of the artist had covered the walls of one floor with copies of emails that he had been writing to the prime minister over the course of a year or so. It was like a journal. All i could think of was, "why don't you just start a blog?"... but all in all it was good fun~! Saturday and Sunday was all about miSS Alii-sizzle and sunshine... Mmmm sunshine.. *drooool* ok well the countdown until friday begins. I'm so ready for a vacation, haha... thanks for stoppin' by! <p.s. the inserted image was not at the art show, i just found it in google images and thought it was pretty sweet, for more graf check out www.artcrimes.com, or www.visualorgasm.com >
The roof.. The roof.. The roof is on fire...
Friday, April 08, 2005 5:53:55 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
good morning. so guess what day it is... buah hahah it's friday.. and i'm lovin' it~! so yesterday was a record day for me. did you see how many comments i received? wow... you guys really do care~! I really like spaces in the last few month's i've been on the boulevard, i've met so many interesting people. * when i say meet, you know what i mean, right?* anyways... on the radio this morning the 'pog house' made note of a study just published that stated that calgary was the 6th fattest city in canada. Out of 10 cities that were in the survey, that's not bad i guess. Vancouver came in as the least fattest and saskatoon was the most fattest. now there was no mention as to who performed the study or where they found this study. But i thought that was kind of interesting, so all you pretty people are hiding out in van city, hey? hmmm...
well last night i just about burned my house down... *geez mO* so here's the story. I came home from work, and i was starvin' marvin'. so i put on a pot of pasta. i walked away... *damnit mo, never walk away from the stove*... i put on a movie... i borrowed the movie 'American Pimp' from a buddy the day before and wanted to see what the hoopla about the movie was all about. well a little while into the movie.. and i started to smell smoke. Yup.. *ding ding ding* as soon as i 
smelled smoke i remembered the pot. Eeek... so i ran and found my pasta was cooked to a black crisp. No more water remained in the pot, and the pot wasn't doing so well either. I managed to fill the house with smoke and i set off the smoke alarm. Eeek... time to vent and bust out the Febreeze... *hang my head* the house still smelled like smoke when i got up this morning. yeah.. so there's my blonde moment. Well, i shouldnt say that.. my gf was at work, she happens to be blonde and would never have let me step away from a boiling pot of water.
ok well that's it.. that's all i got for today... have a great weekend everyone, make sure you check out the BLOGO number and thanks again Miss. Pridi for the sig... I'm outtie... and for those who care.. I ran I ran... geez... oh and uhh yeah damn you 'fud-puckers'.... <new word usage suggested by Miss. Milf> In no way am i trying to replace 'fu*ktard'
You had me at 'hello'~!
Thursday, April 07, 2005 4:44:11 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Ohhh man.... look what miSS pridi did for me... it really puts a tear in my eye~! Go look you monster.... who say's i have no friends...? huh... who? *sniff* awww crap i told myself i wouldnt cry... Thank you miSS Pridi... that really was very nice of you~!
Ok so now here i am at work... what's up with spaces.. .i'm having alot of trouble just logging into my space. anyways... i was checking out Miss Cat's photo album this morning, and i really liked the photo's of her family. I think her children are just beautiful. And it got me thinking, in september I'm getting married to a partner who happens to be of another race. To me not an issue, but our children will be of mixed race. Again not an issue to me, i think they'll be beautiful. But how will they be treated in school. I know what the effects of racism feel like as a child, but what do you do as the parent? when your child comes home and is obviously hurt, how do you console your child if you've never directly been the target of racism. i'm thinking of allison on this one, she hasnt directly been the target of racism, but she's seen the effects. I don't really know what i'm looking for here or what i'm trying to say. I guess i'm just worried for my future non-existant children. but 
getting through the years as a youngster and being slightly different actually made me a better person, at least i feel it has. I guess what bother's me, are the memories of people who just wanted to hurt me, for no reason at all but the colour of my skin. I generally want to be excepted and i really do try to get people to like me, so it hurts when you offend people because of something you have absolutely no control over. I guess what i'm trying to say is... Miss Cat... you have one beautiful family, and i hope to one day have one just as beautiful. hugs and kisses for all... Can you feel the love in the room? CAN YA? oh and uhh... in Calgary, we're supposed to hit a high of +24 celsius today.. yeah that's right... you SUUUUCKAAAA's... haha.. have a good thursday. and if you haven't check out Da Kid for your first BLOGO number... oh yeah.. and i got up and ran this morning... 5:30 baby... i worked my puuurdy lil' butt off this morning... last night was all about the push up's.. but no running. *tsk tsk mo* <pssst.. Miss Cat.. i hope you don't mind me inserting a pic of your fam', let me know if you'd like it removed>
Aint no sunshine...
Wednesday, April 06, 2005 5:52:50 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good morning to ya. Well, there doesnt seem to be any sunshine this morning. It's dark and overcast *sigh*... kind of depressing. ahh well today's high here in calgary is forecasted to be +18... woo hoo.. it's a damn good thing i have these cubicle walls here to shelter me from the sunshine. goodie.. <sarchasm>... well my lazy butt woke up at 5:35am and emmediately hit the snooze button, and managed to get out of bed at 6am. It looks like it's going to be an evening jog today, then an early mornnig one again tomorrow. Wooo hooo... so i finally got to spend a lil' time with miss Alli-baby last night. she's been working a lot of nights as of late. which leaves me with a lot of time to myself. You'd think with so much free time i'd be a little more up to date with everyone else's blog entries. I'm going to blame my vision today... i just can't see the tiny little writing... change the default text size you say... nawww... that's for cry babies... wait a minute.. <mo thinking>... so i've noticed a few new bloghomies have come to visit me and left me some positive comments. Thanks guys~! I'm not sure how you found me but I assume it has something to do with the more popular bloggers. Damn you cool people... you know who you are. hAhA... no but thanks for linking me to your 'cool' blog's, without that i wouldnt have been heard by some many 'cool' people. so this was really a filler blog i guess. But thanks for taking the time to read it. I've noticed that 
something about the phrase 'neked mO' makes people giggle. or maybe it just makes me giggle.. heehee... hey /justlaura i've got it... an idea for a sig... a pillsbury doughboy version or mr.mO~! is that possible? yay... i finally got an idea for a sig, by the way the rest of your sig's look dopalicious baby. Have yourself a good wednesday, and get some fresh air~! T minus 2 day's until the weekend.
mirror mirror on the wall..
Tuesday, April 05, 2005 5:56:16 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good morning... so today was day 2 of getting up at 5:35 am for my morning jog. I'm really enjoying it, aside from a little asthma acting up it feels good. I'm starting to feel the effect's with aches and pain my my legs, butt and lower back. The good pain... Mmmm... I'm thinking after a couple of weeks of cardio i can hit the weight's next. I'm sitting at about 208 lbs with a 5' 10" frame, and i'd like to shift some of that weight around... *hee heee* I really haven't been this big in my life, i don't think i'm really fat but i'm not fit that's for sure. I donno what happened, I grew up playing hockey, and ball, then started maui thai at 14. In high school I was all about the push up's, crunches and weights. Then came college.... ay yay yay.. and it all stopped. tsk tsk mo... well i'm getting married in september on a beach in mexico and i'd like to return to a fairly fit lookin' body, more just to not embarass my gf when i lay naked on the beach.. *giggle* haha... not that she really care's... but if someone should 
happen to mistake me for good ol' donald faison on the beach, i don't want the tabloids telling the world the good ol' donnie just let him self go.. .geez.. we can't have that happen. ok well enough of me ranting... go have yourself a damn good day... do IT...~!
Good Monday Mornin' to ya...
Monday, April 04, 2005 5:50:44 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Monday Morning to ya... well it was another pretty good weekend. Friday night i went out with lanky, as mentioned in my entry before this. Saturday Allison and I went and wrote the deal for our new crib. Woo Hooo... we now have 10 days, starting yesterday, to decide if we want to walk away from the deal. It's looking pretty good so far. Sunday, ryan and i went and snuck into "Sin City", yes i'm still sneaking into movies. it was a pretty damn good movie, scattered azz all through the film. Yahoo... yeah so as most of you know we all had to roll our clock's ahead an hour this weekend. So all 7:30 regulars here at the office seem to be missing. Haha... suckers. I got up at 5:35 am today and went for my first early morning jog. It was nice to have my neighborhood to myself, it was quiet and nice out. So i noticed the clock on my phone here in my cube said 6:30 am when i got in and so does my entry right now. although technically it is 7:50 am now... ok i'm all over the place now, my thought's are making a whole lot of sense. if you've made it this far, cheers. my brain seems to be a little numb. and good news i fought off my cold and i'm feeling well... until next time... do do do looop dooop... *pause*...
T.G.I.F
Friday, April 01, 2005 6:53:40 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
*ooOoh..* that was a major sucky baby groan.... it's finally friday and i can't believe i came in to work today. i'm probably a germ factory right now. i sure hope you're wrong reo, and it's not strep throat. geez i've got a meeting with some of big boy's here at work this afternoon so it's probably best that i'm in.... well i'm glad everyone's getting a good laugh at my pics from my post last night. i know i am... geez i'm one wacky duck. i think i had a little to much cold medicine.. * yes yes i know... excuses excuses *
ugh... if i only had a web cam in my cubicle... 
wouldnt that be interesting. oh geez... Anyways, i'll be spending my friday evening in bed. so no drum and bass show for me tonight. Have a great weekend you healthy cats and get some sunshine for me...
Thursday thursday... yes it's thursday... *i'm the wind beneath your wings*
Thursday, March 31, 2005 5:46:55 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Well I slept well... did i mention that Michelle from home loans Canada called and left a message on my phone last night. Yeah that's right... she called to inform me that we have been approved for a mortgage. whooptie whoooop... *whew* I was thinking i might have to live in the Super 8... haha sweeet... well my throat is still damn sore. what do i do? i can't swallow.... i don't feel sick... i just cant breathe or swallow... ugh~!
Well yesterday was a good day... my manager called me "team lead" wooo hooo. Then i found out we were approved for our mortgage, also the day before i applied for increase in my credit card limit and found out yesterday that i was approved. you all know what this means right? haha... something very very bad is going to happen. can you believe that it's already thursday? yikes... take it eazy y'all.
Prance... do iTTT~!
Thursday, March 31, 2005 1:55:25 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
This is me sick as a duck... please feel sorry for me.... *cough cough* ohhh my body
ache's when i cough...
ay yaaay yay yay yay... who dat? who dat? who dat? who....?
Wednesday, March 30, 2005 7:57:57 PM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
ugh... i'm broken. krav maga 1... mo 0.... bring it on... ~! ok so tonight was night one of krav maga... yes my throat is still damn sore and i can't swallow very well.. * yeah yeah suck it up princess* ok it was perrrty damn good. it knocked that damn wind out of me thats for sure. ugh i can't type right now.... mo go sleep. thanks for stopping by. oh and i made a new Venezuelan friend today... her name is miss Andreina. Stop by and say hi
*cough cough gulp*
Wednesday, March 30, 2005 5:53:51 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Oh nooo... so i went to bed with a little cough last night... and now i can't swallow. my sinus' 
are a congested. Today is going to be day one for Krav Maga with papa inlaw.... i'm just looking forward to coming home in pain tonight. ugh... at least it's spring. when's daylight savings time switchback thingy again? i've got to go drink some juice... and ohh man i missed computer space day... i didnt even know when it was. i'm so not a real blogger... ay yay yay... does anyone else miss speedy gonzales?
Ahh I just checked out Mizz Moxie's spaces and here's what happened...
Space not available
The space you are trying to view may not exist or access to it may be restricted.
Say it isn't sooo....
------------------------------------
12:11Pm Major update y'all.. my manager has dubbed me "Project Lead". Yikes... i'm the youngest one here. *gulp* can't show any fear. Advice? help me... ~! More responsibility... nooooo... haha~!
The tuesday morning holla.... boiiii...
Tuesday, March 29, 2005 6:56:57 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning to ya on the boulevard. wow... i feel like i've been MIA for quite some time now. man.. what's up with that... is it just me or did the default font just change on these blog entries. meh~! ok so i got to finally filing my taxes last night. look's like i'm coming out with a $2,800.00 return. Wooo hooo... I sure hope i didnt screw up somewhere. but i did go to school for the first 4 months of last year then i worked the last 6. maaan... i miss those 2 months in between... sleepin' in... not getting dressed till the afternoon. watching Passions then Y&R everyday. Awww... can it all be so simple. well my buddy filmon is looking for work. his parents have decided to move to atlanta and that mean's he's on his own. haha.. he's 20 years old, healthy and has a great smile. so if you know of anyone hiring in calgary please let me know. Let's see what else can i tell ya... I've been slackin' quite a bit lately, haven't had much time to read my regular rss feeds or check out any of the other crib's on the boulevard. (translation: unable to read the other blog entries on msn spaces). I really don't show you guys enough respect. There are regulars who stop by everyday just to say hi. I'm so not going to make your christmas card lists. but i'll try... and can you blame me the weather's been so nice, and i spend 8 1/2 hrs a day, 5 days a week in front of a monitor just plugging away. most of the time the last thing i want to do is be near a computer when i get home... *pause* awww.. heck who am i kidding i just can't get enough. ok well to the regular's.. cheer's this bud's for you~! and the slacker's like myself... cheer's this bud is also for you my friend! ha... y'know... in other news. I'm getting bored of my job in the cubicle. don't get me wrong... it's a great job, the pay is ok, the people could be worse. but i miss the outdoors and the sunshine and interacting with people my age, with similar interests. perhaps, you intelligent people's out there can offer me some career advice of alternative career choices that i might be interested in looking into. After all, i'm only 20 years old and i've only been at this job for 9 months. so i dont really consider myself tied down to it. well not until i get a raise at least. that brings something else up... how often should someone in my position get a raise, and what constitutes a good raise. i haven't had one stankin' raise yet, nor a raise review. this is my first desk job and i've still got a lot to learn. anything you guys can offer would be grzzzzeat... happy tuesday y'all. ... oonly 4 more working day's until the weekend, including today.
it was a good weekend...
Monday, March 28, 2005 6:56:08 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
ok... it was a damn good weekend. yeah my last entry was a lil'... ummm funny. can we all just forget that never happened. hA... ok so back to my fun weekend. thursday night I was at NYLA.. whoooptie whoop. friday night i went out for a steak. saturday morning i got a call out of the blue from someone i haven't talked to since high school. good ol' jon miller. it was his damn birthday and he looked me up to invite me to his birthday bash at loco lou's. for those of you not familiar with calgary, it's a bar across from Sait( the college). that afternoon allison and i put a hold on a townhouse condo we want to purchase. that night 
allison, her sister, lanky, ryan, darcy, tyler and i went to loco lou's. ohhh man. it was great. it was like a high school reunion. it's been 4 years since i graduated. (man time flies) and it was great to see what everyone was up to. hA.. not much has changed since high school. a lot of the same people are still chillin' with each other still doin' the same things. a couple of prego's and a few very sucessful cats. it was just great to go out and have a good time. i think i just might go to the 10 year reunion now. ha i'm surprised people even remembered my damn mug... thank mr. miller for the invite and again, happy birfdaaaay....
1 cent highballs, homie~!
Thursday, March 24, 2005 6:46:17 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
The day we've all been waiting for is upon us... Yes... it's thursday~! I'm only an 8 hr shift away from ... *dum dum dummmmmmm* THE WEEKEND>>>!@ Ok so... my plans include... "NYLA"... yes i'm going to hit up a club. I could use a damn jin 'n juice. maybe 2... We'll see... So if you're from calgary, and heading down to NYLA tonight... hook a brotha up with a Gin 'n Juiiiiiice... and that's right... "you're a silly .... " *BEEEEEP*
Hi Ho it's off to work i GO.... eazy~!
ok so here i am in my cubicle... Brrr.. it's cold out. let's see... i guess i'm probably the only one on the boulevard who didnt watch 'American Idol' last night... (booooo mo). yeah yeah... geeez... i'm going to be staring at the clock all day. i sure hope this day goes by fast. then it 
would be nice if the weekend went super slooooooow... i'm feelin' a lil' randy today. so i'm thinkin' i might go get myself into a lil' trouble tonight. not to much... jus' enough to satisfy my need to be a bad boy... "bad boy, bad boy.. what ya gonna do... what ya gonna do... when mo comes for you"... ahhh heck we all know what's going to happen. *NOTHING* i'll just try not to do something stupid like drink my face off then fall face first in the snow. hmmm... maybe i should carry a camera tonight... could be interesting. "if you or your friend know's of a way mo can get his need to do something bad out of his system... please leave a message at the tone... *pause* how do you turn this thing off... *BEEEP*"
Hoootie Hoooo... "the bridge is ova"
Wednesday, March 23, 2005 5:31:02 PM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Ok here it is... i was gonna come home and B-I- ITCH... about bad and annoying drivers.. but miss pridi beat me too it... so make sure you check her out... it's a mutha itchin' doooozey... next... i thought i would try to do something nice for /justlaura... she made everyone all these cool sig's and i thought that instead of asking her to make me one that i would make something for her.... here's how it works... during my 2 week vacation at christmas i down'd a copy of macromedia flash.. i messed around with it a lil and i thought i'd put a lil' animation together for /justlaura... using one of the sig's she made for herself... it didnt quite come out the way i wanted... here's what i got so far... sorry miss laura... i suck at this... ~!
and uhhh.. what's... *shoot* i just forgot what i was bout to blog~!
"gangsta's don't dance they boogie, .... gangsta's don't dance they boogie..." one more day of work.. then i'm going get my boogie... "get yo boogie on..."
Oh yeah.. and i came up a crazy idea today... i donno why... i was gonna record a bunch of silly audio of me makin some duuuuumb azz audio's... y'know like.. my version of "what ya talkin' bout willis"... then post em.... hahah... i donno, just thought i'd share in case someone else was feelin' bold enough to post their sillyness... *giggle*
Wednesday Mornin'... hoopla~!
Wednesday, March 23, 2005 6:48:45 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning... wow another cold one. well only today and tomorrow then it's the weekend. Hoooray.. anybody watch "American Chopper"? They might as well call it "OCC" or "OCC: American Chopper". Damn that mikey's got quite the life. he's so laid back, and alway's goofin' off. He's just a big kid. Wouldn't it be nice to be a kid again... anyways... off that nonsense... so yesterday my gf's dad checked out this new gym here in calgary. they teach "Krav Maga". and he wanted to know if i'd be interested in going with him. I said hell ya, hell ya. I'm gonna be Krav Maga'n yo azz purty soon, so back up... ok a little boring in my part of the world. let me know what you guys are up to.
Y'know there's really nothing better in the middle of the day, when i'm a little stressed and i need a quick get away. i just check out spaces, i really enjoy the comments. keep me going, helps me get my mind off 
this job as a farmer. (a cube farmer) alright... well i'm gonna go cruise the boulevard a bit... i'll holla... haha...
How do you feel about hip hop yoga?
Thanks to miss ohsococo for another sweet quiz... "hey ma, look at me, i'm a ..." hell ye, hell ye
Take the
What High School Stereotype Are You? quiz.
it's tuesday morning.... WAKE UP!
Tuesday, March 22, 2005 6:49:52 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
i just read that there have been 17 gang related shootings here in calgary, in the past 3 months. that's crazy... i dont remember ever having that many 'gang' related shootings in a year. of course the word 'gang' is used loosely. i guess what i'm surprised about it the amount of gun violence. i remember being in high school and hearing about peoples with guns.. but only 'hearing'. i dont think i've ever seen a real pistol. well besides my gf's dad's of course... *he was an army captain, that sure set me straight really quick* now it seems like guns are so much more accessible. i can only imagine what it's like to be in high school these days. is it that easy to get a gun, or is the influx of violence coming from outside of calgary? i donno... all i know is that i have a headache... it's cold.. and i'm looking forward to the long weekend. and thanks miss ohsococo for fillin' me in with the stat holiday info. have a good tuesday y'all.
Eeeek... it's Sunday
Sunday, March 20, 2005 6:06:31 PM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
It's sunday... and the weekend is just wrapping up. I had a pretty lazy saturday and sunday so far. I spent the day watching movies yesterday... (Damn non-stop snow action)... and today's been a laundry day. I went and saw "The ring 2" today... i heard it was supposed to be scary. Except for a couple parts, i thought it was kind of cheesey. Meh... yeah.. that's pretty much all i have to say ... *pause*... well i can't wait till the 3 day weekend coming up... *sigh*
P.S. Thanks Miss Pridi... Quizzes' are so much fun...
Ooooh... so Tastieeee...
Wednesday, March 16, 2005 6:37:45 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Add Entry... Ooops... well I'm a little behind today. Haven't had enough time today to make my usual MSN spaces rounds... it's important that i soak up all those good blogs out there. And if you haven't seen it yet, make sure you do... because Laura's put together some totally dope sig's... *i think that stands for signature* man she's got talent.. she got me so motivated that i went out and attempted to down a copy of adobe photoshop my damn self... still waiting... anyways... check her space out..
Oh OH.... Miss Mo... (Alli) say's what's up y'all... and yeah it aint easy puttin up with all my thuggin' and buggin'... haha... peace y'all... oh and check out the movie "Redemption" with Jamie Fox....
Before i go... say it with me now... its so much fun... ASPARAGAS.... ASSSSS-PARA-GASSSSSS.... c'mon.. give 'er a try... ASSSSS...*pause* PARAGASSSSS....
Oh and miss Ebunz... you're so in, gangsta~! .... West Upper Hill Side Crusaders... Whooopty Whooop.... and damn you lucky ladie's with the sig's.... *jelous lip*
West Upper Hill Side Crusader, whooopty whoop.
Tuesday, March 15, 2005 5:49:19 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Ok meng.... so it just happens to be tuesday, ok!~ *tony montana accent goin' on there, could you feel it?* yeah so work is going well, wifey and i are doing well. I'm eating well, exercising and all that jazz... so what's up with all these downers i'm plagued wit'. I'll tell ya what it is... I BLAME MOTHER NATURE~! that's right i'm pointing fingers... i'm blamin' my troubles on her. last week it was all sunshine and lollipops, this week it snow and Brrrrr.... what's up with that, moms?
Ok so do you know that it's tax time, meng? Maaan... so i'm feelin' like filing on the net this year. I'm gonna do my own taxes this year, forget H&R block. With so much tax software availible these days, how hard could it be, right? In case you haven't filed yet, and you're thinking about filing through the net this years, Check this out... ~! (GOVERNMENT OF CANADA, WHAT!?)
So just recently, I downed Yahoo messenger. I just wanted to give it a try. I had ICQ then i jumped to msn, and i've been on that since. But it was just time for a change. I hit up some chat rooms to add some peoples to my list, and whoa... american chat rooms, are a little to gangsta for me. I mean, I just checked out a couple hip hop rooms and everyone's claimin' their set in a damn chat room. "West Upper Hill Side Crusader Crips , WHAT WHAT"... i dont get it, how did street gang wanna be thug mentality make it's way in to chat rooms? Did I have something to do with it? (hAha making myself feel like a big shot) Well i spit blogs like a bit of a wanna be thug, i guess. (exhibit A "spit blogs like... ") But even claimin' what set you're from in a chat room is a kinda funny to me. So in the spirit of funny things...
Welcome to the West Upper Hill Side Crusader, whooptie whooop, gang initiation. Only way to get in, is to tag the wall's of spaces. Anyone, who can tag up 15 spaces or more is in... (and if you don't know what a tag is, you betta aks somebody... here's a hint)
Ok... ummm on another note. Thanks for leaving the nice comments *sniff* even when i got nothin interesting to blog about...
Monday Night Snore... Zzzz.....
Monday, March 14, 2005 5:40:39 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
What can i say... I've been feelin' really... 
*blah* as of late... I think i've hit a slump... i dont know what it is... but hopefully i smarten the hell up and quit whinin' ok... so let's see... Here's some news that I find interesting...
C-Murder Denied Retrial
FBI End's Invesitagation into Biggie's murder
Has anyone checked out Google Maps lately...? it kicks ass... give it a try... enter your full address including city, province and country....
Well i tossed up some new pics in the album... feel free to take a peek...
Pan handling...
Sunday, March 13, 2005 1:05:26 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
There's been an increase in pan-handlers in my neighborhood. More and more pan handlers are appearing on the center meridians with signs asking for spare change. which can make for an uncomfortable left hand turn. I've given change several time just because i think it's important to give a hand to those who need it, and i felt bad just sitting there waiting for the light to turn green reading this poor fellows sign. But today, i noticed the dude standing on the meridian had nicer shoes than mine... daaamn what's up with that? is that allowed? i know nothing about the guy standing on the corner or how things turned out the way they did for him. but i now wonder how many people i've given money too that didnt really need it as much as i thought. I don't know.. i'm sure i'll still give, but still. nicer shoes then mine... daaamn... maybe i'm just that damn ghetto. *pfffshhh... *
Saturday Morning...
Saturday, March 12, 2005 9:49:28 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Saturday Mornin' y'all *big yawn* well I was in bed by 1am and home at midnight. Had a night of chineese food, then I Took alli-fallison to "Meet the Fockers"... is it just me? or did anyone else find it not very funny? I'm gonna shower, I'll holla lata...
Ok, so i woke up abruptly this morning at 9am. i was in a cold sweat, i had the craziest dream, it really phased. so "I was cruisin' down the street in my '64" hA.. anyone recognize that... ok so i was cruising in my ghetto contraption of a honda that i like to call Jamal. and i got pulled over by a cop. I don't remember all the vivid details, but i got my ass beat by several cops, and i just had the same helpless feeling that i did on this day! the beating didnt hurt, the idea of being helpless and being beaten by those who are sworn to protect is what really got me... some time passed in my dream and i'm with a couple of buddies of mine just walkin' through a mall. when a gang of security guards grab my friend and start searching him... so i piped up and told him he had no right to search him, only and officer of the law can do that, unless he gives you his consent.. then wham.. i'm thrown up against the wall and they start searching me. they find a hand cuff in my pocket, i forgot to mention the cops who beat me handcuffed, then later stuffed the handcuff used in my pocket so that i wouldnt forget that day. so the toy cops consider the handcuff a dangerous weapon, and i trip, by then i had already been beaten by the cops now i was getting hassled by a gang of security guards and people are walking by lookin' at me like i deserve it. like i'm some hood, that they puttin away... *BAM*... so i broke out of the behind the arm bar, and pulled the gun from his holster.(yes these toy cops had guns) and i grabbed him holding the gun to head... and popped. i dont consider myself violent in any nature. but in my dream state it was a matter of thinking at that point, it was simply reactionary. i was frustrated, fed up. i had a few run in's with the law when i was younger, so i took action by learning what my rights were and what is ok and not ok for a cop. (ever have a cop handcuff you and toss you in the back of a police van, then tell you how he's gonna break your legs and make you walk home at the age of 15?) so at this point, one security guard dead and i'm running out the mall, i dont know what happened to my friends, but i'm alone, again as usual. and while im running i got *popped* in the shoulder by a female security guard with a wicked shot. and i continue running... after running for some time... the guards catch up with me in a car. and i stop... and i try to explain, "i got my ass beat up by the F'n cops that day, the handcuffs aint mine." as soon as i said that they looked at each other and started grinning... i fell to the ground in the fetal position and started getting beat again... *pooof* dreams over.. i'm awake.. i'm cold.. i'm sweaty... and i'm shook. i dont know what to think of it, do i have a subconscious hatred for the law?
i dont get it, i respect the concept of the law. and the concept of police officers, but that concept does not really translate to reality. i think being a police officer is just as important a position in society as a doctor or politician. you have great responsibility. but in order to become a doctor, you've got years of schooling to prepare you. to become a cop it's a matter of a few weeks of training. (ok so i might be down playing it a bit) but the fact is that the training you receive to become an officer is no where near the training required to become a doctor.
on the news as of late it's been non-stop coverage of the 4 mounties who were killed. and a 2 minute spot on the calgary police officer that was charged for assaulting his neighbor. he's been suspended with pay. they're saying things like "they died serving, their country". and who know's, maybe they did become a mountie to serve their country and for the greater good. or maybe they did it for the money. i dont know... i doubt there would be as many people signing up to be a police officer if it required 4 years of education, minimum.
I was talking to my gf's dad last night about this. he was in the army for 10 years, and left as a captain. he agreed that a majority of the people enlisted, treated it as a job first, then for their country.
I still agree that it's a tragedy that 4 Mountie's were killed, and I feel for their families. They're just as much human as i am. but being human you're capable of making mistakes, having biases, and falling victim to your stereotypes of the world. Ok.. so i'm ranting and i'm sure alot of you have already stopped reading....
I don't know what the point of this blog entry is today. but while you sit at home and watch the news or walk down the street and feel threatened or have nightmares of criminals coming to harm you or your family, Im having nightmares of the police kicking my ass.
-mo K.
even having the dream that i just had this guy scares me too...
Who are you more afraid of?
"it's friday, you aint got no job, you aint got ish to do"
Friday, March 11, 2005 7:51:58 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Gooood Moorning... it's Friday~! and wow today's forcasted high, here in calgary, is +19 degrees celsius. wooo hooooooo... of course there's supposed to be showers or thunder showers then flurries starting tonight or tomorrow morning. Meh.. it's good to be in calgary. so i've been slacking a little bit lately with my half a** blog entries.. and well here's another one.... lets begin.
so i'm thinking i should take my gf out for dinner tonight... i'm undecided between sushi and 9cent wings and beer... any ideas? so our schedules as of late have kind of sucked.. i work during the day and she works at night... *gggrrr...* which leaves me with a lot of time to read and of course catch up on my bloghomies... (what up y'all?). on the news this morning there were 2 guys and 1 girl in a green van trying to lure kids into their van. it happened twice in the same neighborhood, Abeydale. They were described as been in their late twenties... can someone explain to me how 3 people in their late twenties would want to do something like this... like why? it doesnt make sense... i can't see a rational reason for wanting to do that. i remember back in elementary i used to walk home for lunch every day. and i really wasnt scared about someone tring to pull up and get me in their van. what would anyone want from me, i'm just a kid. man, adults are demented.
on other news... i'm still on the search for some new tunes... i really like those break beats you hooked me up with miss Ebunzz... but i'm thirsty for more.. gimme gimme gimme... ok well it's friday and i hope everyone has a great weekend.. and if you have a kid.. give him or her an extra good squeeeze before you send them to school today.
Tuesday's Over, 3 day's left...
Tuesday, March 08, 2005 12:19:25 PM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
"whew"... I'm gonna have to wipe the sweat off my brow... this whole blogging thing aint easy... but it sure is fun. I've just spent the past hour trying to catch up on other people's blogs... i've just got MizzMoxie left... she's got a juicy one tonight... I'd just like to take a moment to thank all off those dedicated bloggers who... *sniff*.. take the time out of their busy azz lives... *oh i said i wasn't goin' cry
* to stay up to date.... *ohhh mama* with their, (in the illustrious words of /JustLaura) BLOGHOMIES~! Thank you... Thank you sooo much~! Take a bow... you know who you are... 
cause you work hard for your money... so hard... ohh and before i leave tonight, I'd like to thank miss ohsococolicious for informing me that, yes, it is indeed International Women's Day... so c'mon now... say it with me... "I am WOMAN, hear me RoAr"... and make sure you show yo' mama, sister, neice, woman, teacher some damn respect... Anyone else remember that scene in "How High" when redman finds out he failed women's studies... ??? anyways... I'm gonna go catch up on some Zzzz's...
Monday Night Whine...
Monday, March 07, 2005 8:59:40 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Ok so Monday's almost over... and I'm already counting down the days till friday... *sigh* I like to tell you that i have some interesting ish for ya today... but it's monday. And I'm moody... that's right, the day of the week governs my mood. Y'feel me~! "when i grow up i'm a be a mutha Flippin' hustla, 
you betta aks somebody~!" That's it for today. Oh did i mention I went and saw "Be Cool" yesterday... hot damn... and you know what.. during the movie someone had to tell met that Ciara's a hermaphrodite... Hell no... no way... i dont belive that ish... where do they come up with this ish?
Saturday Morning Kartoons...
Saturday, March 05, 2005 12:55:02 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Good Morning Y'all. We hit a high of +15 yesterday, whoopty whoooooop. Allison came home and i saw Legally Blonde 2, ohhh yay! ok so a couple of you cat's schooled me to some good music. check out Kid Kenobe and Krafty Kuts... yeah pretty boring friday night for mista mo, but we'll see if things will change tonight. that's it for today. Is it just me or is anyone else excited about the sequel to "Get Shorty"? my gf dad's got me to watch it, and i really liked it... Chili's a damn piiiiiemp. And uhh yeah... i searched google images for "be cool" and found the above image, meh... close enough!
My Thursday Night Rant...
Thursday, March 03, 2005 8:17:21 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Man bloggin' sure aint as easy at it looks... Coming up with interesting thoughts to share with the world... "I work hard... Sometimes even on Saturday's" anybody catch that off SNL? yeah so back to what i know, ummm... *blank*. Hey anybody know any good hiphop, news or just plain interesting rss feeds? I'm a little tired of reading "50 cent said this, and Fat Joe said that, then game said this" awww man. what happened? it's like i missed a step between high school and today, i just can't seem to find any good music anymore. Maybe I'm just not looking in the right places. Somebody school me to some good tunes. (Oh yeah Thanks Sneaker and ebunzz.) Beside's that does anyone know of any good free custom DNS services? I'm trying to teach myself a little C# and I thought a good Asp.Net project would be fun, but i don't want to pay $30 some bucks/month for an asp.net webhost, get my drift? One last thing, is it so wrong for me to enjoy drinking 40's? True can't really compare a cold corona to a 40 oz of Ol' English, but every once in a while I gotta have a cold 40 in the park. Maybe the sunshine's just getting to my brain... That's it for today, thanks for checkin' me out!
Wednesday...
Wednesday, March 02, 2005 2:02:37 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
i don't know what to tell ya today. y'know i've been sitting here for a few minutes just staring at my screen, thinking to myself "hmm... what do i want to share with the world today?" and i've got nothing. NOOOTHING! so i checked out some other blog's for ideas, something that might trigger and emotion or a thought of some sort. and again noooothing. after reading /JustLaura's blog about a sales-person/witch i clicked on comment and was about to post. but then an incredible thing happened.... 'NOTHING" ok so it's wednesday and i'm probably just a weee bit stressed out from work. There's 3 'C' developers including myself working on a 'loyalty' application for an Ingenico series terminal. well one of the developer's hasn't been to work for the month of february due to mono. that's tough, what can you do? and the other developer is relatively new, so he's still learning and documenting old code, i dont mean to sell him short, he's a wicked developer and i've already learned quite a bit from him, but he's new. and then there's me. bare with me for a moment because i'm about to start whining... if you're not into the whining may i suggest the Snoop blog? anyways so this month, it was my duty to complete a "sales demo" appication for the sales guys, create a brand new sweepstakes application from scratch which is to be showcased at the ETA something something in Las Vegas next week, migrate current code to function on a new 32 bit terminal which will also be showcased in vegas, and i have to stay on top of issue's that the tester's are throwing at me, did i mention that i have to load the terminal's, and answer questions the testers may have. the testers are great, and i'm sure life isnt easy on that side of the office either. but if they could only try to answer some of their own questions sometimes rather then call me up for every single little tiny.... eek i'm just bitchy (Kristine, Stephanie you guys are great!). yay... so needless to say i've put in quite a few extra hours this month. lucky for my girl friend, she's been in mexico for the past 2 weeks, so i dont have to explain to her why i'm still at work every night. prop's to me because i've been on top of everything so far... then today... *dum dum dum* new design notes. for the sales demo app and the sweepstakes app. both of which have been tested and finalized for the demo in vegas. now i've got 2 days to add new functionality, test it and hope that nothing breaks... but y'know what? I like my job and i think i thrive on stress. Hit me with your best shot March! y'know what... Rob good ol' rob.. .shit i got shiver's down my spine.. on the news they just showed a picture.. f*ck the shivers down my spine. they just showed a picture of the guy who killed his girlfriend on feb. 12th here in calgary. his gf was pregnant with his first son. and he killed her, nobody seems to know why. well good ol' rob scribner used to live a few blocks from me. we used to hang out at his place, we used to try to break dance together when we were younger, we had lanky's 16th birthday party at his house. and now they just showed his picture on the news. i havent seen him in a few years and when i first heard the story of him killing his gf i knew it was him when i saw his lil' bro getting interviewed. but just seeing his picture on the news, man what f*ck happened to you rob? it just doesnt make sense... what's with this city... more drive by gun shot's this morning.
Gangsta Gangsta...
Monday, February 28, 2005 9:26:40 PM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
If you're from around calgary, you're probably hip to some of the crazy local news. like the execution style killing over the weekend. which the police are suggesting as gang related. Now the police commision, jack beaton i believe is his name, came out and said that he's going to put a stop to this. but is it really that easy. he mentioned that it's a matter of time before these people are caught and that they may as well turn themselves in. in no way do i advocate gang violence, but, that sounds silly to me. Most likely because i've got this hollywood imagery of asian gangsters, partly due to the book i'm reading right now (Paper Fan: the hunt for triad gangster steven wong). But in the book there are a few details as to how some gang style assassinations take place and how drugs are moved. the example off the top of my head is when out of town associates come in for a day or two, put in work and are on the plane home before the police investigation even takes place. Now calgary's not notorious for gang violence nor would i consider it a large nesting ground for gangs. but in the last few years there have been several gang style killings. but no arrests (correct me if i'm wrong, i just havent seen any headlines for arrests so i assume they havent happened), is the latest killing going to be different?
The dreaded Sunday evening...
Sunday, February 27, 2005 7:22:01 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Hmmm another exciting day in the life of mo. hooked up with my buddy ryan and went and grabbed a rice bowl and some sushi rolls. Mmmm... nothing as exciting as a snort of wasabi and eating with chop sticks. (no sarchasm intended, i really like it) yeah it was ryans first experience with chop sticks. it's cool when you get to be the person to introduce someone to something. yeaaaah... then we headed downtown to eau claire market. to kill some time we had a drink at the peelers. i dont know how we came up with the idea but we had some time before the movie we wanted to sneak into started. (yes i'm 20 and i still sneak into movies.) you've gotta add some excitement to your life. yeah so gin 'n juice and and one show at the peelers was waaaay more then enough for me. i really didnt find it fascinating at all. to me it's kinda like watching children working in a sweat shop. i just don't get it. and a room full of old guys who can't take their eyes away from the stage. and you know alot of these guys have wives and families to go home too. i guess every now and then you've got to remind yourself why you don't go... i remember when my company sent me to phoenix for a seminar on the release of the new hypercom 32 bit terminal. well it was my manager, the president of my company and myself. one night we went to this function with rep's from all these different companies at a sports bar. well this was my first business trip and it wasn't really pretty. it was weird watching all these rich fat cats with families acting like drunk fools. man i hope no one from my company reads this. i donno about you, but i would much rather be at home with my wife and kids or in my hotel room talking to them then getting hammered. ok back to my point... i had one drink that night so i ended up driving. my manager was pretty cool, he's a family guy to so we spent most of our time just talking. but the pres.... whoaaaa.... he changed. just like that. at work he's an in your face give me results kind of guy. but that night he got tanked and he was just plain rude. there was another buddy there from new york. a 24 yr who just graduated with a masters in computer science. his english however wasn't so great. and well let's say that pres' just exploited that. he spoke to him with no respect at all. i really didnt like being associated with the company i was with. it was embarrassing. anyways during the ride home, Pres, really really wanted to go to the peelers. he was begging. i thought he was joking at first, but he just kept at it. it was disgusting. i know that he has a wife and 2 daughters around my age. did i mention that legal drinking age in the states is 21, and yes i'm still 20. now that i think of it, i'm only 2 1/2 hours away from 21. Wooot! while at the peelers i got a text message from someone i used to see. she wanted to wish me a happy birthday. i dont know... it was nice to have someone remember, but at the same time i dont really want to hear from ex's. it just brought back bad feelings i guess. i think that there's "no life after death" with relationships, and for me im not so good with the friendship thing after breaking up. after that we snuck into "million dollar baby". whoa... clint's the man. it was a good movie. i even got a little glossy eyed, no tears though, just glossy. but it was a close call. and now i have to come the realization that it's sunday night. which means. dum dum dummmmm.... The dreaded work week begins again. *sigh* i'm already dreading the drive to work...
Saturday Night woooo hooo....
Sunday, February 27, 2005 1:40:08 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
*yawn* well just another boring saturday night for me.
about 4 episodes of law and order, a lilttle channel flipping between saving private ryan forest gump. and now here i am just chillin' out with good ol' arnie as conan the barbarian. How else would i get through a saturday night. man going out is sooo over rated. i've been lounging around the house all day. Only another week and my allison's finally home. yay. then i can stop being such a bum. ok well that's all i can handle i'm off to bed. thanks for stopping by!
"/JustLaura"s Friday 5
Saturday, February 26, 2005 5:19:21 PM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00)
Friday's 5
1. Think about if for a second - When you do up your pants, do you button or zip first?
- zip first, button second
2. When you have a plate of different foods, do you usually keep your foods separate, or do you mix them together?
- Definitely Mix, I'm crazy for flavour. I put condiments on everything. I once made a blueberry waffle, chicken burger.
With Mayo. That's right, 2 blueberry eggo waffles with a chicken burger in between. Does that boost my Hood IQ at all? it was damn good too.
3. Have you ever snooped in your significant others things? If so, would you do it again?
- Hmm... naw not really.
4. Describe your morning ritual.
- I'm programmed to get up at 5:50am. then i lay and watch my clock until the time hits 6am. I turn off my alarm, boot up my PC and go straight to the bathroom. Then i sit my butt on the couch for about 20 minutes while i watch the morning news. check out the traffic situation and how the drive to work is going to be. i walk out the door at 7:10 am. if it happens to be a cold day, say -25 celsius then i'll start my car at 6:55am or 7am. then it takes on average 30-40 minutes to drive to work. *uuurgh* in straight traffic. (i know you can feel my pain). I get to my cubicle around 7:30-7:45am. First thing i do is remote home and write in my journal until 8am. then my day begin's... *sigh*
5. If you could hire one of the following, what would it be? Driver, Maid, Chef, or Stylist?
- Do i have to pick one, i really could use them all. I really don't like driving, my room really need's a 24 hr maid, if it wasn't for my girlfriend i'd probably starve. and well the more time i spend in my cubicle the less time i spend thinking about 'style'. who's gonna see me?