"Bullshit!" I said, "Bullshit". Walmart is running a TV ad right now that promotes their DVD selection and one of the specific DVDs they advertise is "AC/DC Live at Donington". When I saw the ad I said bullshit, that performance is only available on on VHS, as it has been since 1992. Since they hadn't done a DVD of it until now I figured it was destined to stay VHS forever. I mean they have DVDs of their last two big tours, and they're good, but I was always hoping for a DVD release of the 1991 Donington Castle show...and now they have! I have the "No Bull" DVD and it is good, and I saw the "Stiff Upper Lip" tour in Edmonton which was my first "in the flesh" AC/DC experience and was well worth it. I saw them again at SarsStock in Toronto this past summer...they alone were my biggest reason for going. But there's something about that Donington performance that just juts it out in front of the others. Maybe because it was the first live AC/DC performance I ever saw (my friend lent me his VHS back in high school). I haven't seen it in years, so I'm anxious to get my hands on the new DVD and check it out once again. Maybe it won't compare much to the "in the flesh" experiences I've had...and maybe I'll even think the "No Bull" DVD is a better performance, but it doesn't matter because I still want "AC/DC Live at Donington" in my collection. I've heard rumours that it has some overdubs on certain songs, but I've also read reviews that say it is the full performance.

I think I'm going to cut out the presents aspect of Christmas next year. It's too late to do it this year. It's just so stupid. You're buying people presents because you know they're buying you a present. But what you're buying them is probably not something they need. Sometimes it is, but often I find I'm getting people stuff they don't need or won't use...but it was a nice present and a nice thought. The pressure of Christmas gift buying is just not necessary. Now, I'd feel bad if someone bought me a present and I didn't get them anything, so to make it all easy, I'll just let my family and friends know that I'm not expecting to get anything from them next year and I will not be getting them anything. If I happen upon something when I'm not being pressured to a buy a gift, but I know it's something that a specific person needs or wants, then I'd be inclined to get it for them...without Christmas as a reason. I may do this...haven't decided yet. It's a big change. My family and friends will think I've gone crazy probably...maybe not. I think I'm a bit crazy anyways, but I try not to let it show. Not hyper crazy. I just have some ideas that don't follow everyday society. They're not even my ideas, I'm sure other people do these things, but not the majority of the population. For some reason I feel like I'm always trying to fit in, yet I don't want to. Weird.

Enough.

Saw the premier of Lord of the Rings: Return of the King tonight. Got free passes through work (gotta love those perks). Quite good. Very digital but that's pretty much how they had to do it...and it's decent digital. Gollum is excellent. Storytelling is excellent. Had to sit in the front row...head cranked for over 3 hours...not too comfy. Tree cried, it's an emotional ending.

Got home and found that the lovely Liv Tyler was on Letterman, so watched that. She's looking very good, but sadly (for me), she is officially off the market. I knew it was coming. She had been engaged to him for a long time, but finally Royston from Spacehog is the lucky husband to Liv. Like I had a chance anyways...but there's always that hope.

On a related note (and this is a spoiler for LOTR, so skip it if you don't wanna spoil it), Sam Gamgee says at one point that he'd like to marry Rose back in Hobbiton. When he does get back to Hobbiton, he ends up marrying her. Now I know movies have happy endings more often than not, but I hate it when some guy says "that's the girl I want to marry" and ends up doing it. Yes, I realise it does happen in real life from time to time, but it doesn't happen in most cases. If only it were....

So anyways, I've decided I gotta shape up. Both physically and mentally. On the weekend my dad fixed a few things on my truck that I've been neglecting. Why do I neglect? Cause I'm lazy. That needs to change. I don't want my parents to feel they need to do things for me because I'm lazy. That's not right. Here I am, 26, living with them (although for only half a month more), leaching off them cause I didn't bother to find work when I came home from NZ and I spent beyond my means for what reason I don't know. This will be my New Years resolution. I can start now, but officially in 2004. It will help big time that I have plans to move into Choy's at that time. So, new Planman, here I come!

I am not an efficient user of time. For myself. At work, I use time very wisely and get a lot done. When I'm not at work, I'm lazy and unproductive. I have a lot of ideas and ambition, but no motivation or determination to follow through.

Right now.

I'm in a slump.
Something needs to change.
I need to change.
I will change.
I'm just procrastinating when to make the change.

I lived nocturnally this week. Kinda fun for a second, but not the best of ideas.

I want to be LushBoy..I'm like him in some ways.

Everytime I flip past MuchMoreMusic there's something about Wacko Jacko on there. It's fuckin' sad. Not that Jacko is a molester, but that humans are interested in shit like that.

Speaking of humans and our stupid interests...I can't believe the things we waste money on. I'm not talkin' about menial little things that we buy and don't need...although that does factor into the big picture. I heard on the news tonight that they're trying to re-stage the 100m run from the '88 Seoul Olympics (where Ben Johnson won, then lost). All 8 original runners have agreed to do it....in Seoul. Of course they'd agree. Rumour has it first prize will be $2 million USD. You know how many people $2 million could help? These runner, I'm sure they don't need that kind of money. I'm sure all of them aren't loaded, but I'm sure they're not piss poor either. But $2 mil, that's nothing really. There's so much more money out there that goes to waste. Some people: actors, lawyers, business executives - you know who I'm talking about. People that make much more than they really deserve to earn. I mean, I agree that there's scales of pay, and some people make more than others. But once you hit a certain level, it's ridiculous to make any more money, cause you don't need it. Now I realize that there are people that make a lot of money, and they do use a fair chunk of it to help out others. But I think there's a lot that gets used to help make rich people richer, or it just gets wasted on useless projects that benefit no one.

Now, by help I don't mean just giving people money. I don't think it's right that working people work and should be expected to just give their money to those who don't work. You gotta earn your keep. So by help, I mean that these vast sums of cash that some people have, they need to be put to use in a form that gets people to help themselves. Create menial jobs for these people so that they're doing something and earning a living. Then, they will get themselves straightened out and out of the poor house. It shouldn't matter if these jobs that are created don't turn a financial profit...the profit is in the societal changes.

Now, I don't know how people get to the poor house or to be living on the street. These people must not have anyone in their life that cares about them. I mean if one of my friends ever lost his or her job and couldn't find anything else and ran flat broke, I would be there to help them out in any way I could. It's what friends do. I probably wouldn't even get the chance because my friends have good families that I'm sure would take care of them. So it seems to me that homeless people have no one that cares about them...except maybe for other homeless people (but they probably didn't meet them until they themselves became homeless). I don't quite understand the point of living if you have no one that cares about you...but that's another story. For some reason, these people are still around and they must need help. It cannot be enjoyable to be sleeping in a doorway in the middle of december.

So, to the people with excess money out there - give these people something to do and pay them for it. Have them pick up litter or clean gutters or weed gardens. If they refuse the work or don't do a good job then they obviously don't want the help and should be...well, I won't say what I think should be done with the people that don't want help cause I'll probably be stoned.

I know I can sit here and pound out my thoughts about what should be done to help the homeless and poor, yet here I am doing nothing about it. Well, I don't have a lot of excess money for starters. If I ever do, I'm making it one of my goals to help out more. I don't think help should be done just around Christmas either.

Ok, I don't know if any of the above makes sense. I just spilled it out cause I've been thinking about it lately. There's probably a ton of holes in my ideas to get homeless people on their feet, but it's a start. My ultimate idea is to hire the homeless to build their own housing (with help from skilled trades people when necessary). Pay them while they work on them, and then have super cheap rent so they can live in them. It takes fuckin money to do anything these days, and as I said I got next to none. But, there's a lot of people that have a lot, and if they pooled together (or some even on their own) there could really be some big changes. As it stands, I think there's too much greed and pride...and I admit, I fall prey to it those deadly sins as do many people.

I got an email on monday. Once again I have fallen into the friend zone and not the boyfriend zone. I'm not heartbroken...I mean I didn't know her all that much. It's not the end of the world...I was just hoping it would have turned out differently. Ah well. I'll stay friends with her...it's good to have friends. She smelled like smoke anyways.

This woman got stuck in our driveway this morning. That's what ya get for driving a Ford. It was an SUV, but only a 2-wheel drive...what up with that? Anyways, her rear passenger side tire was way up in the air and her front driver side tire was in the ditch. Believe it or not, I wasn't heavy enough to force the back tire to the ground, but then Ben from next door happened to be coming out and offered to pull her out. That was my next move, but I just didn't know where a good tow rope would be. Luckily Ben had one and we got her out quite easily. Many people used to get stuck in the ditch beside the driveway, but not in years has it happened. I think it's all been women drivers too...not that that means anything....

What a waste of a week...I need to get my ass in gear. I have no motivation right now. I'm just fuckin lazy I think. It'll pass.

It's weird...however much my schedule gets outta whack (working night shifts, living in the dark hours) I still maintain my regular eating schedule. Like, breakfast type foods in the AM hours, and lunch and dinner type foods in the PM hours. Maybe it's partly cause that's how restaurants serve it up. I don't eat out that much...but I did stop at McD's this morning on my way home from work. I went through the drive-thru. What ever happened to the menu on the drive-thru? Maybe it's only this one I went through, but there wasn't a menu, just the little McDeal's menu with the combo's and what days they're on sale. No full menu telling me everything available. Not that I don't pretty much have it memorized, but still. I don't always know the price and maybe I want to branch out from my usual and try something new. I didn't...I had a couple sausage McMuffins and a couple hashbrowns (which were cold) and an orange juice.

The cold, or whatever the hell I had, is lingering on, but mostly gone. I feel much better.

No work this week, but it wasn't all that lazy. Didn't get much accomplished though. Wednesday Q and I planned to see Elephant...turned out we saw Elephants and we were quite...uh, disappointed. Fuckin' Telus! Telus is not in the good books with anyone right now I think. They've been making Choy and his housemates wait for weeks to hook up the phone service in their house. They were supposed to do it yesterday, but guess what? They didn't show. Then, the Telus website told Q and I that the movie we wanted to see was playing at the IMAX theatre (which I thought a bit weird, but went along with)...that turned out to be wrong. I tells ya...Hydro I got no problem with, Shaw I got no problem with, Telus I got big problems with.

Thursday Tree and I went to Vancouver to check out a 4Runner for her. It was a '99 and looked pretty good. Price was good if it hadn't been in an accident and had other claims on it. The guys and Midas put it up on a hoist for us to have a look underneath and it looked a bit rusty for only being 4 years old. I dunno that much about vehicles, but it didn't seem quite right and plus it was just on the edge of her price range. It was a fun trip anyways. Q and Sarah were on the ferry for the ride home.

It's kinda fun checkin' out vehicles when you're not the one doing the buying. You get to learn about them and be a little more critical cause it's not your decision. Plus it's cool to go with Tree cause she lets me test drive them too...cause she wants that second opinion.

Gotta go to work...just call me the Weekend Warrior!

Mmmm, chinese food...ginger beef, sweet & sour chicken balls, hot & spicy chow mein, wor wonton soup...mmmm.

Either I've gotten a lot bigger since I last had 'em, or Tim Horton's apple fritters have gotten a lot smaller. They're still a decent size, but I seem to remember them being huge. Now it's like 5 bites and it's gone. It used to be more like 10 bites...maybe even 12. They still taste pretty good though. I've stopped in there on my last 2 mornings. I don't think I'm gonna make a habit of it though. It's fun once in a while.

I feel much better today. No more aches, no more headache, just a slight sore throat and a bit of phlegm (yummy eh?). I think I'll be back to 100% by tuesday.

Ugh, I got a flu shot the other day. Now I feel sick. It's supposed to make it so you don't get the flu, right? Maybe it's just the initial effects...I mean it is a weak strain of the flu, right? I was a little sick before I got the shot anyways...so maybe it's a combo thingy. Anyways, I feel like poop...headache, slight sore throat, achy. Hope I can sleep it off. Why do people hate getting shots? I can't even feel the needle going into my arm. The doc could do the whole shot and walk away and I'd be like, "you gonna give me the shot, or what?". That needle is so thin.

My hours got cut back at work a bit...I'm mostly a weekend shifter for the next while. I'll take what I can get, but I may need to get a 2nd job...we'll see how it goes. In a funny reversal of roles, Monday I get to train Mike on switching New Day. He's done it before...it's just been a while. Should be fun.

Fuck, Elisabeth Shue is hot! Karate Kid was on YTV tonight...I watched some of it. The parts with her are well worth it. I think she's always been a babe.

The Heritage Hockey game was today. CBC broadcast it in High Definition over Bell ExpressVu. I never seen HD before, but my boss set up his HD projector at work so we could have a look and also to ask questions of him about HD. Man, it is so much more crisp and clear. Beautiful 16:9 picture. It was awesome. I gotta get me an HDTV...and I hope stations in Canada start broadcasting it in the somewhat near future. The game was cool...good to see all the old timers out there.

16 more ways to die!

Arrgh...what happened?

Ah, lazy days. I haven't done much since my last post. Finished reading 1984...pretty good book. Slow in parts, but other parts really get goin'. Watched some TV...yeah I do it for a living, and I do it at home for personal entertainment as well. Played Kings Cribbage with mom last night...I kicked butt. Made a couple changes to the website (check out the Daily Planman image...you can now click on it and see the archive of Daily Planmans). It's raining, I'm hangin' out inside. Doin' a lot of thinking. When I get to thinking, I get to worrying. I hate worrying...I'm gonna get an ulcer. Things get blown out of proportion when I think and worry (I hope they're only blown out of proportion in my mind). I gotta keep myself occupied. Startin' to think more about starting on that book I keep sayin' I'm gonna write.

Only 31 more ways to die!

Mom made a pillow for Lemieux...he loves it.

The Canucks are playing the Canadiens tonight...wearing their vintage jerseys...you know, the ones with the horizontal hockey stick with blue and green background. Classic. I should check out the game.

I haven't had a true hang-over in years. Today I do. I've felt groggy and tired after a night out drinkin'...but today I actually have a headache (it's lessened in intensity, but still lingering) and some bloodshot eyes. I'm not exactly glad that I have a hang-over...but I guess it does mean that I partied it up well last night...so that's good. I slept most of the day and I feel better now.

I has been confirmed...my brother and I, although there's 3 years between us and he's a little blonder than I, are identical. Someone told me that in high school and I shrugged it off. But last night, at Hugo's, Gord's landlady (who also happens to be a co-worker of mom's, so she knows us all) saw me at the bar and said hi. Then she asked if Brandy was there...Brandy being Gord's girlfriend. I realised she thought I was Gord. He's only been living in their garage suite for 3 years and paying rent every month, yet she thought I was him. Wacky.

Sunday has become no-hair-product day. Well, actually any day where I don't plan on going anywhere is a no-hair-product day. My hair needs a rest from the wax...a good cleansing. It feels softer, but it's poofier.

I am now officially trained and ready to fly solo in Master Control at the New VI! Friday night I actually handled the entire shift, what was supposed to be my last training shift, on my own as Pauly was sick and didn't come in. I feel confident with the work I've been doing there and I'm glad my supervisors and co-workers feel that way too.

So I go to London Drugs yesterday cause I got time to kill before work. Yes, I am a glutton for London Drugs...I dunno why, it's just easy. Anyways, I needed toothpaste and shaving cream. I browsed around cause I had nothing better to do, then I wandered into the toothpaste and shaving cream aisle (after wandering down the "feminine products" aisle by mistake). Wow, Crest toothpaste is on sale...4 tubes for $4.99! That's a deal if I ever heard of one. So of course I have to get it. I chose the Tatar Control Crest in the 130ml tubes. So I got 4 boxes of toothpaste in my hands and I turn around to check out the shaving cream. Wow, Gillete Shaving Gel is on sale...2 cans for $5.79! That's a deal if I ever heard of one. So of course I have to get it. I chose the "skin renewal" type of gel...I have no idea if it's really any different than the others..I mean, c'mon, it's just gel that turns into foam. So now I have 4 boxes of toothpaste and 2 cans of shave gel and it's little awkward. But I'm a guy and because of that I will not resort to the little carry basket because it's not macho enough...I guess. I'll use it at the grocery store when I'm getting a lot of stuff...and believe me, I can fill one of those baskets. So I wander around the store some more cause I still got time. I dropped a couple toothpaste boxes a few times...but they can withstand the impact. I dunno why I make things tough for myself...it's just the way I do business. I don't even know where I'm goin' with this, but I think I'm done. I'm set for the next year for toothpaste.

Happy Birthday to Elaine today!

It's my brother's birthday today...Happy 23rd Gord!

Ok, one more driving topic then I'm off that for a bit. I have issues with driving and here is one of them. Turn signals. They are so overused. I know, the don't hurt anyone, but they annoy me. There's really only a few instances where a turn signal is required...and by required I mean it's nice to use for the other driver's around you...it's not a requirement to use a turn signal when you want to turn your car (as some driver's seem to think).

Situation 1: You're driving along the road with other traffic and you want to turn off. Left or right...if someone is following you, it's nice to use your turn signal so that they know why you are slowing down. It is not necessary to use the turn signal when no one is following you, nor do you need to use it when there is a left or right turning lane from which you can turn.

Situation 2: When changing lanes in heavy traffic it is nice to indicate where you are going so that the drivers around you know what's happening. If traffic is light it is not necessary to indicate...no one cares if it doesn't directly affect them. Aside - Changing lanes often results in the the indicator being left on as you carry down the highway (most often in vehicles driven by grey hairs). Use caution when indicating for a lane change and only move the lever enough to signal so that when you let go it will spring back to the neutral position. There is no need to fully engage the indicator lock.

Situation 3: If you are at a stop light and plan to turn left, but there is no left turn lane, then you should indicate your intentions so that other drivers know why you aren't moving when the light turns green...or so that they can go around you if possible.

That's it! There shouldn't be any need to indicate in any other driving situation...it's just a waste of time and tungsten. For example:

- If you are in a left or right turning lane, YOU DO NOT NEED TO INDICATE...IT'S THE ONLY WAY TO CAN LEGALLY TURN
- If you are at a stop sign and plan to turn either way, it should be pretty obvious from the way the front end of your vehicle is angled and the way your tires are turned as to your intentions

There may be some special cases where an indicator would be nice to use...use your judgement. I've tried to cover the basics here.

I can be such as asshole on the road. I forced the pull on two cars today. It hasn't happened in a while and I wasn't even expecting it too...but I guess I was riding them a little too close and they didn't like that. True, it is a rainy day and it probably wasn't the best idea...not that it's ever wise to tailgate I guess. When I do like to tailgate is when the guy in front is an asshole himself...for whatever reason...maybe he tailgated you before...or passed you in a bad spot...or he cut you or someone else off. Whatever. I should probably stop driving so close. Why is it though that traffic just bungs right up when the weather is wet? People seem to suddenly get all scared and start doing stupid things. Outside of town it seems better...us rural folk, we know how to drive. It's the townies that screw it all up.

Man, what a mess at work today. New positioning on the morning news anchor...turns out no one liked it (Wasn't my shot...I just did what I was told). So we're changing it again...tomorrow should be better. Then the News Flash was a bit messy. I ran the CG and aside from leaving one key up a little too long, my part was smooth. Phew. I think it was just a Monday thing.

I'm on TV this week! Amanda did a What's Up hit in Master Control to promote some World Music thing. I got to "turn her on". It runs at various times throughout this week.

Ok, so I dunno about you, but I had an excellent weekend. I met Jen up in Nanaimo and it went very well. We walked around the mall for a bit and did a little shopping. Then we walked the seawalk (or whatever they call it in Nanaimo) by the harbour and then looped up into downtown to go past the New VI Bureau there (so I can say I was there). Then we hung out at her friends' house with a bunch of her other friends for the rest of the night. Had some beers, ate spaghetti, and played some games...guys vs girls - Guys won Guesstures, Girls won Taboo. I like her...I wanna see her more.

I am pretty lucky with my driving. So far in over 10 years of driving I've only had 2 speeding tickets (one being a photo radar in Auckland in which I was going 62 in a 50 zone). All the speed traps on my Nanaimo trip happened to be on the other side of the highway from me. Yes, I was speeding. Not super fast, but I was over the speed limit by 20km/h at times. I know I just wrote a few days ago about how I gotta slow down cause it's really not worth speedin'. I do, I will, I'm trying. I'm conscious of it and I'm going to make an effort to slow down. Speed is just so fun though. Me and Pauly at work were talking about the fact that cars go so fast but they really don't have to. Why do the car makers put so much power into them? I mean, I love the power of a BFE...but it's most fun when you're taking off and accelerating. What we thought they should do, was to put speed limiters on cars...there's really no reason a vehicle needs to travel faster than say 130km/h anywhere in North America...as far as I know. Keep all the power for acceleration, put just put on a limiter on the speedo so that once the vehicle hits 130 it shuts down the fuel supply to the engine (they do this in some sports cars so that the car doesn't exceed the speed rating on it's tires...so just put the same limiter on the engine computer for a lower speed). It was Pauly's idea first to say that limiters should be put on cars driven by young drivers (I don't know what the cut-off should be...3 years driving experience?) and it should be the responsibility of the parent to ensure the vehicle is fitted with one and if they're caught without it they are fined. Ok, I'm gettin a little carried away her...but these are some ideas.

The last few Sunday's I've noticed a lot of motorcycles on the roads...I guess Sundays is bikin' days. Didn't see so many today. I wanna get my bike licence. Tree and Choy said they wanna too...so maybe next spring...although I dunno if I'll be able to afford it. See, if you get your bike licence, you should get a bike...otherwise it's kinda pointless. We'll see...I hope I keep getting lots of hours at work. Moving out needs to be the first money struggle focus.

Letterman is a dad! Congratulations Dave! He was talkin about his son on the show last night...the top ten list was pretty funny.

I don't think I'd want to be 56 and having my first child. I think if I get to 35 and it hasn't happened, then it probably won't happen. I don't want to be an old dad. I don't want to come to my kid's graduation with a cane. I don't even know if I should have kids...it's a big responsibility. Sure I'd be up to the task, but I just can't help thinking...what if I screw up? What if the kid turns out to be a murderer or something? What if I don't give the right messages? I think I'm thinking too negative about this. I'd probably make a good dad. I hope. Anyways, I can't really think of having kids, cause I don't have a wife. I can't even think about having a wife cause I don't have a girlfriend. But one day I could...so then things will change.

3 shifts left and then it's the weekend! I think it's gonna be a good weekend. I get to meet her this weekend.

3 teenagers died last night cause they crashed their car, most likely because they were speeding. They actually hit the median on highway 1 and flipped and bounced in to the ditch on the other side of the road. No one knows for sure, but they expect that they were travelling at upwards of 180km/h. Now, I'm a speeder...granted I don't go that fast, but on highways in the interior of BC and Alberta I've been known to hit speeds of 160km/h. Usually I don't even realize I'm going that fast...I mean the roads are straight, there's no other traffic and I just get into a zone where I'm king of the road. I know it's bad...but I can't help it. I'm addicted to speed. Ok, maybe not addicted...but I just hate going the speed limit...they always seem so slow. I consider myself a good driver...but I know that I'm nothing special and that I'm not invincible and that a crash could be waiting around any corner. I'm lucky I haven't hit a deer yet. Will this incident on the Trans Canada slow me down? Possibly...but probably not forever. Old habits die hard and while I may not go that fast on that stretch of road, I'll probably find myself on a straight stretch of highway, somewhere near Bumfuck, Saskatchewan, going well over the speed limit. If I take myself out that's one thing...if I take someone else out that's a completely different thing. Maybe I should slow down...I don't know why I'm in a rush all the time...I always give myself plenty of time to get anywhere. I should start racing cars...on a race track...that way I'll get my speed fix and drive safer on the public roads.

NYPD Blue has the best theme music...I love it...the percussion is awesome! The best bumpers and stingers too. Mike Post is wicked.

I'm looking forward to this weekend!

I handed out candies to the kiddies on Halloween. I never know what to say to them when they come to the door. They all say Trick or Treat and I go, "oooo, look at you guys. Wow, good costumes, what are you supposed to be?" and after they answer I'll ask 'em what kinda candy they want and I show them the bowl and they get whatever kinda chocolate bar they want. The I usually look in their candy bags and ask them how much loot they got already and if it's going good...cause I figure our meeting hasn't lasted long enough so I try to stretch it out. Then I say good bye and they go on their ghoulish way. I dunno...what else do you say?

I think I insulted this one kid...he was with a bunch of other kids and I was trying to guess what he was. He didn't have his mask on, just the rest of the costume which was purple and a dinosaur. Plus the kid was young...like 5 or so. So I asked if he was Barney. He said no, he was just a dinosaur. So I said, but Barney is a dinosaur, then he said, I'm not Barney. Whoops...sorry kid. I didn't mean anything, I just thought maybe you were. I wouldn't wanna be called Barney either. Is Barney still popular with the kiddies anyways?

I bought a poppy this afternoon on my way home from work. I'll lose it well before Remembrance Day. Why is it I can never put those things on right so they'll stay? I put the pin facing down, I weave it through my shirt or jacket...I can't figure it out. I don't think I've ever kept one longer than 3 or 4 days. It always falls out and I don't realize it. They must plan it like that so that you'll go back and make another donation and get another poppy. I wonder what the price difference is in making them if they were to put one of those clip pins that lock in place on them instead of the ones they have now. In the numbers they make 'em it can't be that much. I'd pay extra at donation time if they had those ones...cause then I'd know I wouldn't be coming back for another, and another, and another.

I work Remembrance Day, dead silence for two minutes...it's a dreaded thing in the industry...except on this one day. We run this promo for America's Most Wanted this week that has no audio whatsoever on it...also one for promoting the 2 minutes of silence (that is silence itself). Man, when those as come on, they get attention from us (cause we're monitoring constantly and when you don't hear something, that's bad...usually).

I ran the station full manual mode for half an hour this morning. I'm talkin' lining up the deck manually, rolling it manually, switching manually, ads off compile reel (no server), timing to the clock not timecode. Dono says I did an excellent job...and I think I did pretty good too (course I couldn't have done it without Dono).

Life's goin' pretty good.

Holy crap it's cold today! I mean I lived in Chetywnd and this feels cold. I've been inside the house for a few hours now...the fire is on, the furnace is going, and my balls still haven't fallen back to their normal position. It's true what they say about the humidity, not the actual temperature. This kinda cold chills ya to the bone, whereas the dry cold of the interior just gets ya on the outside...at least for short periods of time. It felt like -10 this morning, although on our newscasts, Astrid was saying it was a balmy +9. I couldn't believe it. I don't think the wind chill factor or the moisture index (is there such a thing? it sounds good anyways) was taken into account.

Work was good today. I started out up in the studio, pretty easy stuff. Then Pete remembered he wanted to train me more downstairs, so I swapped out with Dono to go and switch the remainder of the show...I've got New Day pretty much down pat...it's pretty simple. Then Pete had me running shows manually...the automation system wouldn't start the tape machines so I had to, then watch the timing to go in and out of commercial breaks. It was a good introduction and practice for a situation where automation or one part of it fails. Tomorrow will be even more manual running...I'm guessing I won't have any automation and will be running full manual. Yikes! Watch the New VI tomorrow...if you see a screw up, that'll probably be me.

I talked to Jen last night. It was very cool to hear her voice...it's kinda sexy.

Apparently it's lame that I haven't posted here in 4 days...this is according to this girl I've been chatting with who I met through Lava Life. Where's the cut-off for calling someone a girl? and when do you start using woman? Woman sounds too old and mature, but girl is often thought of as very young. Lady just doesn't work I don't think. I could say chick...this chick I been chatting with online (or how about smokin' hot chick? that's even better). Yeah, that works, and it's become fairly accepted in recent times by boy sexes as a general reference name for women/girls. Anyway, I've taken her advice and am posting something here before I get even lamer. She's quite a cool chick though and I hope I get to meet her before too long. She lives in Nanaimo, so there's a slight distance between us, but I'm pretty damn sure she's worth the effort.

So I lost at Settlers of Catan last night. Graham bought the Seafarers expansion for it and we've been playing it a few times now. I had no chance last night...cause Graham made up his own rules pretty much and then he got the lucky dice roll in the beginning and that was it. It's always fun, win or lose...and I have won a few times so I can't really complain. It's a cool game and I'm glad that Tree, Choy, Graham, and I are into it so much that we play a few times a week.

The phone rang at like 8 o'clock this morning...which is why I'm bangin' out this post at 8:30 (well, there's another reason too...). But who the hell calls at 8am unless it's like life or death or pre-arranged? I didn't really hear it until the last ring. Don't ya love that how sometimes noises in the real world affect what's happening in your dreams? A phone ringing could be a siren on a cop car, or a fire alarm or something. Years ago I used to have one of those alarm clocks with the very annoying buzzer...but I slept well into it on more than a few occasions cause the buzzer worked it's way into my dream somehow. Don't ask me what the dreams were about though...I rarely remember my dreams...and when I do, they're pretty fucked up.

Swiffer - why the hell wasn't I smart enough to put a paper towel on the end of a stick and sell it for, what? $14.95? Oh, it's electrostatically charged? Well tape a battery to the stick and run some wires from the poles to the paper towel...voila! Swiffer Wet? Use those heavy duty paper towels that can hold a roll of twonies (that doesn't look right) while they're wet. Man, some people have made a lot of money on very simple inventions.

Money, I shouldn't really complain about it. I'm better off than a lot of people out there. I'm lucky. Sure I have debt, but it's pretty measly and it's to my parents...and we all know the Bank of Mom and Dad is pretty forgiving and has damn low interest rates.

What concerns me about the current world is that the money is totally being mismanaged. We got people living on the streets (yes I know many of them bring it on themselves and/or want to be there and/or aren't legitimate, but there are some real cases where people have been shit on and/or have fallen through the cracks and just need some help) everywhere and not a whole lot is being done about it. Governments keep wracking up their debt, overspending on stupid shit. There is money in this world, and it's a shame that money has come to be the ruler of everything, but since it has, I think the money out there needs to be dealt with. There are some enormously wealthy people out there who don't seem to be spreading the wealth. And I don't want it...I don't want a single fucking red cent from any of those people of companies...I want to see it go to people and places that need the money. Not to make them rich, but to help them get to a state of being self sufficient. People can be so greedy with their millions and billions (I realize it's not all liquid). Hey I wanna be rich too...but I don't think I could bare to be rich and still have poverty all around me. I'd rather keep enough for myself to live comfortably and use the rest for the benefit of others.

And what's with the lottery? $30 million? Come one...give away a nice prize to a few people, but the bulk of that money is just gonna go to waste, so why not distribute it to those who could truly use it. I realize the lottery prize gets up to $30 million because people buy tickets to win it...so it's some sort of vicious circle I guess.

Ok enough, I'm just blasting off here. I know that writing it down here isn't gonna do anything. No one with millions of dollars is reading this. I just felt like spilling my brain onto the web for 15 minutes on something I've been thinking about for a while. If I ever do find myself in a situation where I have some expendable cash though, I will make sure I help out those less fortunate than myself. I have a few ideas.

NYPD Blue is an excellent TV show. The way it's shot, the editing, the soundtrack/score, the acting. I love it. I rarely watch it though. A couple years ago I caught pretty much the whole season...then I moved to New Zealand and didn't get it (it was on one channel, but not at a convenient time). I watched an episode tonight and my interest has been re-kindled. It's too bad Kim Delaney is not on it anymore, but Charlotte Ross is a very cool replacement.

Speaking of awesome, I just watched The Usual Suspects. A beautifully crafted film with an excellent mind fuck ending.

I've been thinking a lot lately about money and how it is so misused and mismanaged in this world that has come to live on it. I think I'll be writing some of my thoughts on money soon...not now, but soon. I have some ideas, and I know they're just ideas and in practice they probably wouldn't work, but I'm gonna slam 'em down anyways. I'd like to do something to change the world sometime in my life...even if it's just a little bit. And sure, not the whole world, but maybe Canada, or even just the world around me.

I hate it when ads for movies say "own it today on video and dvd". Video is not a physical thing you can own...it's the signal. The video signal can be recorded, in composite analogue on a VHS tape, or in digital format on a DVD. The 2 main consumer formats for distributing films is VHS and DVD. So the ads should say, "own it today on VHS and DVD". Some do, I'm happy with those ones. Just a Planman Pet Peeve.

Firm Hold
Super Hold
Mega Hold
Super Mega Hold
Ultra Hold
Super Ultra Mega Hold
Super Firm Mega Ultra Hold

These are the types of hair styling gel that are available from the different manufacturers on the shelves at London Drugs. Got my hair cut today, then stopped to pick up some hair product. How the hell are you supposed to tell which of those gels holds better than the other? Is Mega a more powerful word than Super? Is Ultra the end all be all of holding power in a gel? Firm Hold and Ultra Hold could be exactly the same thing coming from 2 different manufacturers. Where's the standard?

I bought wax instead.

I saw Juan the other day...she was in town for Thanksgiving with her family. I went for a visit and Tami (from high school) was there with her 6 month old girl, Jaden. It was cool to see them all...I hadn't seen Tami in like 5 or 6 years probably. Jaden has her ears pierced...crazy! But, Juan got her nipples pierced...a present for her boyfriend apparently. I didn't get a chance to have a looksee. Her parents don't know...I hope they're not reading this.......

I'm unimpressed with music that just keeps repeating the same line or lines over and over and over. This song (and it's a Canadian band, I hate to hack 'em, but it's gotta be said) by 3 Days Grace called I Hate Everything About You has a decent tune to it...but when you actually pay attention to the lyrics (something I seldom do, but this one is so obvious) it's just one verse. The second verse is the first verse, then the title of the song is repeated until the end. What up wit dat? That's not songwriting, it's lazy. It's all about marketing in that industry too...it doesn't matter if the song is good, if the producers and record label execs and the DJs who are in their pocket are saying it's good, then a good majority of us Peons listening to it will think it's good too.

New(ish) songs I'm hearing on the radio that I do like...musically and lyrically:

Hands Down - Dashboard Confessional
Try Honesty - Billy Talent
Still Frame - Trapt

That's just off the top of my head. There's more. I'm not saying that bands that repeat lyrics aren't talented...hell, I can't play guitar, I'm just saying I'm unimpressed with writing one verse and repeating it. Maybe the idea behind the song only warranted one verse worth of lyrics, maybe I'm way off base with this. It's what I think though. My website, my opinion.

I'm such a wuss sometimes. I get worked up over stupid things like movies. Last night, for some reason, I started thinking about that movie "Signs". A very good movie, I thought it was well crafted and accomplished it's goal. Very suspenseful. I got to thinking about it, and the aliens in it, and it just started to spook me out. I was in bed, covers up to my head (cause we all know our covers protect us from aliens and ghosts...) and my heart racing as I was too nervous to open my eyes for fear of seeing a "Signs" alien in my room. Similar things have happened with movies like "The Ring" and going way back to when I was 8 years old, the "Thriller" music video by Michael Jackson.

Speaking of movies, they're making one outside my work. They closed off Broad St for a week and have built a replica stage of the one from the Much Music Video Awards for scenes to be used in the "Much Music Movie". I stood on the stage today, as they were filming other scenes beyond it. I was also in the presence of Jason Priestly, the star of the movie. I'm not a big Priestly fan, never watched 90210 much, but hey, it's still cool to be in the presence of someone famous. George Strombolombolous from Much Music was also there, which was cool. Movie comes out in August sometime.

You gotta love it when you make a pick in a hockey pool draft and the other guys in the room go, "fuck", "shit", or "you asshole" - it means you've made a stellar choice. It meant a lot last night as Planman and 19 others from the New VI took part in the 3rd annual New VI season hockey pool draft. 10 players each, only points count, and one trade possible during the all star break. Since I've been out of the hockey scene for a bit, I wasn't too sure who the major players or prospects were, but I had last years points list, plus a hockey mag on loan from Q which gave me some projections. I managed to draft a team without any injuries or unsigned players...so it's looking better than some.

Planman's 2003/04 New VI Season Pool Hockey Players:
Todd Bertuzzi (Canucks)
Alexei Kovalev (Rangers)
Nicklas Lidstrom (Red Wings)
Petr Nedved (Rangers)
Sergei Zubov (Red Wings)
Jason Blake (Islanders)
Kip Miller (Capitals)
Mathieu Schneider (Red Wings)
Robert Reichel (Leafs)
Mark Messier (Rangers)

I'm ok happy with these picks. With 20 people in the pool, it was tough to get the players I was sure of. It'll be fun though.

I switched New Day yesterday which was pretty cool. I was a bit nervous, but my supervisor was always there to watch over me and answer my questions. By the end I had the idea pretty good and had sorted out the format of the show (which I mostly already knew). Man we've got some sweet ass equipment at the station.

I woke up 15 minutes after I usually leave for work this morning! Actually, I got up then. See, I woke up around 3am and checked my watch (yes, I waking up to a Timex watch alarm - I can't even check the time without grabbing the watch and hitting the Indiglo button) and realised I had an hour left to sleep (I'm on early shift this week). So I attempted to get a bit more rest. Later I was laying there wondering when my alarm was gonna go off. I kept putting off checking my watch, until when I finally did, it was 5:15. I think my exact words to myself were "Fuckin Hell!" I jumped up, changed my ginch, threw on some pants, shirt and socks, ran into the bathroom and spread on a good dose of deodorant and gave my face a quick splash of water, got my shoes on, grabbed a mint from the candy dish and headed out the door. I made it to town in 30 minutes flat...a trip that usually take 40-45 minutes. I wasn't late, I had 5 minutes to spare.

So I bought a radio alarm clock on the way home...hopefully we won't be doing that again!

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Riding the bus home last night, some kids (yes, I'm at an age now where I call teens or anyone more than 5 years younger than me a kid) got on the bus smelling of pot. I could see them passing a joint around one last time before they boarded the bus. Sometimes I feel like I'm in a minority, here in BC - and the world, of people who don't smoke pot nor approve of it. I don't like drugs period - I try to not even take aspirin. I don't really know why I have this stance on drugs...I'm not a total goody goody law abiding citizen, and I don't really treat my body like a temple...I eat wrong and thrash on it with behind a boat sports and stuff. Sometimes I think I should just do drugs...just try them anyways, see what all the hype is about. But then I say 'no', just cause I don't wanna. And I think that's ok. I don't do drugs by choice - it's cheaper, I can remember stuff, and I don't have an addiction. I don't know where I'm going with this...I guess I just wanted to state my stance on drugs in case one day I do drugs and forget the way I used to be. Oh, and these whiny fucks who want their medicinal use dope...I think that's just a buncha bullshit. I really can't say for sure, cause I don't know if I've felt pain like these people say they experience, nor have I smoked a doobie to realize the effects, but in my mind I just think it's a ploy to get the stuff legalised. There are alternatives to relieve pain, and I'm not talking about drugs. Most of the time, I just live with the pain and it goes away eventually. I dunno, I guess I'm torn on the whole subject.

Anyways, these kids got on the bus and it made me think of a neat idea for an anti-drug PSA for TV (although I doubt it would work in steering kids away from drugs, it would be something to do). Have some kids hangin' out somewhere, talking, goofing off. Then a couple other kids come by a try to hang out too. Soon after the first group grabs their things and leaves...waving their hands in the air like something stinks. The 2nd group of kids give the shrug and "what?" kinda look. Then the screen changes to a picture of a bottle of cologne with a pot leaf on it and the text on screen and announcer say "Cannabis Cologne - your friends will love it".

Just a thought.

What a great place to work I've got. Yesterday was my first shift, and I could get used to 1400 - 2200 (although I know it's not always gonna be that). Missed the bus on my way there, so had to drive in further, get ahead of the bus, then catch it...shit happens. Many people that I met during my observation shifts last week came down to Master Control to congratulate me on getting the job...it was very nice. They genuinely seemed happy to have me aboard and working with them. Even people outside the Tech Ops dept congratulated me. I'm very happy to be working, and very happy to be working with such fine folk.

I ingested commercials and promos and also barcoded shows for air play.

Got my Apex AD-600A DVD player back from Gord on the weekend. That player is pretty wicked. Not only can I over-ride the region settings and macrovision, but it will convert, on-the-fly, my Zone 4 PAL discs into NTSC so they can display on an NTSC TV without trouble. I thought I was gonna have to get a Multi-System TV...it turns out not. The only drawback with the player is it's age - It doesn't play some discs properly because they use features developed for DVDs that came out after the AD-600A. Oh well, it usually works and if I can play my Zone 4s on it on my NTSC TV, I'm happy. Still got my Sony and my DVD-ROM for all the rest! Now I just need a kick ass sound system...

Last night, I'm in downtown Victoria after having watched Thirteen with the gang, and I'm driving home along Douglas street. This dude in front of me, in a little Tracker or some sort of Jeep wannabe with Washington State plates, puts on his indicator and attempts to turn left onto Yates street. Now, yes, Yates street is one way in the direction of this dork's intended travel, but on Douglas street there is a sign with an arrow pointing straight ahead meaning no turning. There's traffic coming the other direction, and people crossing the street, so of course this guy can't turn...but he's holding up traffic (read 'me') as he waits for it to clear so he can turn. Now, I am a big advocate of breaking stupid traffic laws such as "no turning here" or "no U-Turn", but only at times when it's not an inconvenience to someone else. I mean, come on, that's really why those signs are there anyways....because at busy times, if someone is trying to turn left, it holds up traffic. But at 1am, or another time when no other traffic is around, it shouldn't be a problem to turn left because it's not holding anyone up. But this dude was holding it up, which pisses me off. Sure I didn't have to be anywhere in a hurry...it was just the fact that he would hold up traffic like that...what an inconsiderate prick! I know, he's a tourist (or it could have been a she, I dunno) and may not have known about sign, or that if he drove a few more streets he could have legally turned left without a hassle from the guy behind him...but that's no excuse. When I'm in a city I don't know, I usually end up driving out of my way cause I missed a turn off or realised I couldn't turn where I wanted to...it happens.

Anyway, I honked at the guy, he didn't change his stance, so I changed lanes and sped around him. I didn't flip the bird or honk again...I don't do that, it's not my style.

I'm terrible at shaving. I look in the mirror afterwards and there's little patches I've missed, or only skimmed - it's just plain bad. I dunno why...I have a Gillette Mach 3 razor. With the price of the blades for that thing you'd think it'd be a perfect shave every time. I've tried electric razors too...but not the newest ones that 'constantly adapt to the contours of your face'. Sometimes I actually have to go back and re-shave parts of my face. Maybe I have some weird contours on my face.

The call came in yesterday just after 16:00...

Planman: Hello?
Cindy: Hi, is this Mark?
Planman: Yes
Cindy: Hi Mark, it's Cindy calling from the New VI.
Mark: Oh, hello
Cindy: Mark I'm calling to...well, would you like to work here?
Mark: Yes, of course I would!
Cindy: Well great...

and so it went. So you are now reading the words of the newest employee at The New VI, the CHUM "New Network" TV station in downtown Victoria! I start Monday. Thanks to Mike and Pam for passing on the job posting to me.

I was in there Monday and Tuesday this week, just observing how things work and getting a feel for the work environment. I loved it. What a great bunch of people to work with...and the equipment is very cool. All brand new just 2 years ago, top notch automation system and news preparation system, monitors everywhere, patch hydrants everywhere...I'm very happy and excited.

It's been raining good for a few days now...I hope the interior is getting this much rain. I like rain...it makes me feel not so guilty for staying inside and bangin' away on the 'puter.

Watched Independence Day last night (on the Eye-Trek of course). You know, the movie starts out decent enough and as a whole isn't as terrible as some. But the whole idea of our computer systems (and a Mac no less) being able to interface with an alien computer system is just absurd..not to mention the graphics that come up on the screen during the interface. I know, I know...it's movie computers and they'll never represent the real world. Ah well, it's still fun to watch and the Special Edition DVD is pretty damn cool (which is why it's part of my collection).

Gonna join the Fantasy Hockey Pool...even though I have no idea who the good players are these days...I'm so outta touch.

Downtown Victoria lacks pay phones. There aren't even any outside the Telus building...what up with that? Yeah, they're there, but they're never nearby when you need to use one. I guess everyone has a cell phone these days...so I looked into them. Bell seems to have pretty good coverage and some of their plans look pretty good. Rogers plans seem to suck, as does their coverage I'm pretty sure.

Things went well at The New VI today...it's looking very good for Planman to get a job there. I go in for 2 days next week...unpaid, just to get a feel of what's involved, as well as for them to get to know me. One day in Master, one day in the studio. Looking forward to it!

Had a Sally Bun for lunch today with Dad...mmmmmmm, I haven't had one of those in years. So good. Lox, Dill, and Cream Cheese was mine...good, but I've had better.

My hair is finally growing into where it used to be before it was shaved. I didn't mind it shaved, but I think I prefer to have hair and I'm going to keep it this way for a while. Maybe I'll shave again, who knows. Maybe I'll just decide one day.
Be Spontaneous.
I'd like to be more spontaneous. I need to be more spontaneous. Just outta the blue (or red or green) take off, do something I haven't done before, or have done before and that I enjoy. With friends, without friends...whatever the activity deserves. I keep blaming my lack of spontanaeity on the fact I don't have money...but there are cheap things to do too...I'm just lazy I guess.
Need a job.
It was fun being a bum but now I really need to get some work. Funds are low, I'm living with my parents...which is ok, but I don't wanna be a burden on them - after all, they deserve to be free of the kids after raisin' us for so long. It sucks bein' a bum now anyways cause all my friends have jobs, so there's no one to play with during the day..and usually the night too. Used to be I could hang out with Tree, but now she works, and when she's off I never see her anymore. She's not even online to chat with. Rol is sort of available at times...he chats while at work and he takes off early for fun stuff sometimes...like yesterday we went sailin'. Rol is cool...he's sorta my hero right now (not that I don't think highly of all my friends) cause he seems to have his shit together - got a longtime girlfriend who is cool, got a house, got a good job, and seems to have a makeshift plan for the next portion of his life.
Girlfriend.
Once again I'm resorting to online dating. It's not bad I guess...it just seems like a bit of a cop out. But since I don't meet women the old fashioned way, and I am a computer kinda guy, maybe it's worth a shot. I've got a profile on Lavalife, and lemme tell you there are some great local women with profiles on that site. I haven't paid for "credits" yet, so I can't communicate with anyone...I think I'll have to pay up. It would be nice though if someone initiated contact with me. I tried this in New Zealand too...I got a couple responses and even one or two initiated messages...but nothing came of any of them - didn't even meet them.

So I'm drivin' along Gillespie Rd today and this biker comes up the hill behind me and I notice his right turn signal is on. Now I know I'd feel like a fool if I left my turn signal on, and I hate to see it when people change lanes on the highway and forget to turn the signal off (besides the fact that using a turn signal to change lanes is pretty much not necessary), so I usually try to help them out by letting them know they've left it on. While driving, pretty much the only way to do this is to turn your turn signal on (the same one) while you drive in front of them. As I was in front of this biker, I did just this. He noticed pretty much right away and turned it off and gave a wave and we went on our merry way (and I turned my signal off of course).

The wave is very important, and I haven't witnessed it a lot in recent days. When someone helps you out, either by letting you merge in busy traffic, or letting you (a pedestrian) cross, or letting you know your turn signal is on...the least thing you can do it give them a wave. Since you can't really say the words "thank you" the next best thing is the wave. I'm very big on the wave and try to remember to do it every time it's needed. It's a nice gesture, and it makes the person who did the good deed feel good about doing it. If you don't give a wave, the person may get discouraged and not be so nice in future instances...regarding you or someone else.

So give a wave and say thank you. Manners aren't restricted to the dinner table, eh?

Rain clouds have moved in and it already pissed a little bit today...it's looking good!

Yeah, those clouds? they faded away and it was sunny and hot...again.

I'm not scared of spiders, but I don't really like having them on my person either. They are everywhere right now. I don't remember there ever being this many, but apparently it's always like this around this time of year. Guess I've been gone long enough to remember. You walk through a doorway, or past a chair close to a wall, or between any two objects relatively close together, and you're covered in web and possibly spider. Don't you hate that when you're not sure if the spider got on you? It's bad enough having the web all over you...you keep finding it throughout the day, but you pat yourself down and brush off everywhere to make sure that spider ain't crawling around in places you don't want. Ugh...they are ugly little things too.

Fired up the old Eye-Trek tonight and watched Any Given Sunday. I'd say my favourite Oliver Stone flick. Excellent cinematography - really cool angles and hand-held work not to mention great lighting, cool soundtrack that just keeps pumping between rock and rap and other "in between" stuff. The DVD menu is cool...I love a good DVD menu, gets you in the right mood for the movie. And this movie is football...I don't play football and I don't know much about it...but this movie sure makes you feel like you're in the game, but not just the game, the whole politics of football...the larger game of football. All the acting is superb, Pacino, Foxx, LL, Quaid, Woods, Diaz (who is still a babe even when she plays a cranky business bitch), and McGinley...sure his part isn't very big in this, but he never really has huge parts...he's a great supporting or background actor and he can be just fucking hilarious too (check out Scrubs on NBC). I don't have many bad things to say about this movie, I just plain enjoy it.

I'm loving my desktop picture right now. It's a picture I took when I was in Australia, on the Pacific Star catamaran cruising through the Whitsunday Islands. If you want it, get it here. And no, it's not a screen saver, I hate when people call it a screen saver, it's your desktop. A screen saver comes on after a set amount of time and has motion to it to avoid burning a static image onto your screen (and monitors are pretty good these days so screen savers aren't even all that necessary). I suggest using it in "centered" mode, not stretched on 1024 resolution (it'll just crop the edges).

Clouds are finally rolling in...maybe we'll get some rain!

I'm having a problem with ambition and motivation. I don't have any passion for anything. I used to be into cars (Corvettes mostly) and computer games, and movies. I'm still interested in these things, but I don't have the passion I used to...I don't live for them anymore. I don't know what I live for right now. It's kind of discouraging. I know I'll find something...or maybe someone, but right now it's tough to feel excited about doing anything. Oh I like hangin out with my friends and doin' 'behind a boat' sports and watchin' movies and playin' games, but just getting myself personally motivated to do anything is getting to be a chore. I think I need a job, that would help. Having something regular, that I can count on to keep me busy would be good. I'm tryin'. I'm looking for one. I'm hoping they'll call from the New VI soon, but I'm perusing the papers too, cause I'm goin' broke quick. I'm so thankful my parents are letting me live with them for the time being...they are truly the world's best parents.

Lunch time, gonna go have me some buffalo chicken strips. Then I gotta wash the vinyl siding on the house.

Well I finally got off my fat ass and did some stuff around the house today. I cleaned the bird cage and took out the garbage, then I re-arranged my bedroom a bit to accomodate a desk for my laptop...much better now. I rode my bike to the store and bought the newspaper and an Eat-More (I wanted to buy hot dog buns too, but they didn't have them). I looked for jobs in the paper and online and got my resume printed off for one (don't know the company, they just said it was a warehouse/driver position). I made a pie crust using Dave's Mom's Cookbook then put the apples my mom had already prepared into it...it turned out quite good, I was very impressed with myself!

Setup the Eye-Trek on my laptop this evening and watched American Psycho. I love that movie, but I'm not sure why. The production values are quite good on it...it's beautifully shot - the lighting, the sets - and the DVD keeps it looking sharp. I've read the book too, and I just don't know what it is that attracts me to the movie. I think I can identify with Bateman on some level...I'm not a psycho, but sometimes I do feel that something's just different. He wants to feel accepted and fit in so he does things he doesn't really enjoy to be part of the crowd...I know I've done that and I think many others have too. It helps that Reese Witherspoon is in the movie too...shit she's cute. Fuck, I need a girlfriend.

You know, I'm almost getting sick of this hot, sunny weather. Since I got back from New Zealand at the beginning of June it has rained maybe 4 or 5 days. It's so dry it's crazy. East Sooke Park is closed because of high fire hazard...I've never seen it closed in 26 years. Luckily the Potholes are still open. Choy and I went there yesterday...rode our bikes along the Goose, then jumped in off a small cliff upstream of "teacup". It was chilly, but damn refreshing. My parents don't like it when I jump off the cliffs at the potholes (or probably anywhere for that matter). I realize their concern, but I still do it. It's fun, it's a rush, and at most holes it's the easiest way to get in the water. You always hear of people dieing at the Potholes every year because they were jumping off the cliffs. I think those people didn't take caution and were either careless as they walked over the rocks, or stupid in not making sure they were jumping into deep water with no rocks just under the surface. If you use your brain, then cliff jumping at the Potholes is safe and fun. I got my picture on the front page of the Sooke Mirror one year, jumping in at "wyler"...I'll try and dig it up and scan it.

Tree invited us over for dinner after swimmin'. Her parents are awesome cooks. We had homemade beef barley soup, fresh turnips and cucumber from their garden, salmon, BBQ chicken, fried potatoes, swiss chard (it was called Silverbeet in New Zealand), fresh herb bread, and basmati rice. Mmmm Mmm it was goood! Thanks Mr. & Mrs. C!

Mom and Dad went out fishin' today. I could have gone, but I find I just don't really enjoy fishing. I don't mind going out a couple times a year, but today I just didn't feel like it...even though it looks like a perfect day for it.

You always think of the answers you wanted to say about 10 minutes after a job interview wraps up. I think it went ok though, so in a couple weeks there's a possibility I may be working at The New VI.

Went to Elk Lake this evening for "behind a boat" sports. I kneeboarded twice, then dual tubed with Tim. I supermanned off the kneeboard when I tried to stand up on it. It was a wicked feeling as I flew through the air, arms stretched out front, board shorts flapping in the breeze, but it only lasted maybe 2 seconds. Surprisingly I didn't get much water up my nose, but my tonsils hurt afterwards...not sure why. I also did my first 360 on the kneeboard and got some decent air jumpin' over the wake! There's some pics on Tim's website.

Dinner at Red Robin...two thumbs up to the waiter who didn't charge us for drinks!

It's amazing how lazy a person can be. I get up, I shit, I shave, I shower, I eat, I mull around, I eat again, oh I did ride my bike, now I'm in front of the computer again. Listening to AC/DC. I've always loved them but even more so since SarsStock...they are the greatest rock band out there and one helluva live act. Favourite song? Tough to say, but I've always been partial to It's a Long Way to the Top (if you Wanna Rock & Roll) - bagpipes in a rock song! If you Want Blood (You've Got it!) was recently rekindled in my mind as one of the best.