Last day of 2004, can't pass up the chance to make a last posting for 2004.

Work has been pretty good all week...Monday I had a bit of a fuck up, but no one seemed to care (except for me). Tuesday I was on fire...I discovered that a program I was about to air was not the right one...so within 4 minutes I was able to track down where the correct one was, get it, load it, and get it automated to air (this shouldn't have been as big an accomplishment as I make it out to be...I shouldn't have left it until 4 minutes before air before finding out it was wrong...I should have check it much earlier). Also caught a timing error on Tuesday and managed to save things before they went to air wrong. I was working alone to boot...so all in all Tuesday was a good day.

Tuesday was also good cause I hung out with Mel before work. We're not defining any sort of relationship at this point and that's good with me. She's coming out to our family New Year's dinner tomorrow night, so she's gonna meet the whole family. Big step...but don't read too much into it. It is what it is. I'm content with things where they're at right now.

What a beautiful day...Bruce said it was gonna rain (and it still could...we're coastal ya know), but right now there's nothing but sun.

Gonna go climbing with Melinda this afternoon. Haven't been on the wall in a few weeks...we'll see how much strength I've lost.

Well, good-bye 2004! It's been fun! 'twas a good year for Planman.

Christmas is over! New Years is closing in. Hopefully once all this holiday stuff is over, things will get back to normal...whatever normal is these days.

Had a good Christmas. Grandparents were over, all at Mom and Dad's place. I spent 3 nights out there...on the couch. Comfy couch, but still not the best for sleeping on. We did "assigned gifting" this year, so each person only needed to get one person a present...something nice...rather than getting everyone something ok, but maybe not extremely thoughtful. It worked well and I think we'll do it again.

I went to church on Christmas Eve. I don't like church. I get tired when I'm in church. I do it to appease my mom and grandparents. It's the least I can do. They sang a lot of songs in church. I don't like singing in church (not that I sing much anywhere). Oh well, I don't have to go for another year.

Turkey dinner was good. Gord's almost inlaws came down and joined us. I think they had a good time. We played Scattergories as usual...it's always fun after a big dinner. Grandpa and played this King's Cribbage game a few times over the weekend...it's a different take on cribbage and it's quite good. I always beat him, but I lost by 3 points to my mom last night. I let my guard down and I got burned!

Went for a drive yesterday, everyone piled into Mom and Dad's Dodge...I love driving that truck! So much torque! So throaty a diesel growl! It's great fun!

I've got to get into a better habit of posting things when I think of them, rather than waiting...cause I forget some good things (or what I think were good things).

I went and saw Timmy while he was in Vancouver for a couple hours last Thursday. Good to see him, but a long day of travelling just to see him for a short time. He brought me back a boomerang...what a nice guy!

VI Christmas party was on Saturday. Fun times were had by all I believe. Myself and another guy were the DJs, we kept the floor a rockin'. I built up my credibility and popularity with a double shot of AC/DC - Shook me followed tightly by Thunderstruck. Played a lot of requests and it worked out well...except that my songs kept skipping slightly (double beats, slight jumps ahead in time). I was playing off my computer, using Rol's hard drive for music and a couple of winamps for playback. I think the computer was maxing out the CPU, especially when searching for music, and that's what caused the interuptions. People noticed, and sighed their complaints, but luckily they kept on dancing and I wasn't booed off the platform.

After a brief recovery period on Sunday (open bar, but I didn't get hammered), I hung out with Mel for the evening...dinner, then we saw National Treasure. Typical Bruckheimer flick, but for what it was, it was ok. Had a good night with her.

My back hurts. It's hurt since Sunday. I think it's cause I was leaning over my computer on Saturday night. It seems a little better today, but I should go to a chiropractor.

Hmmm, this is turning out to be something of a boring post, but I just don't have anything else to say.

Have I ever mentioned how much I hate when I suck up at work? Well, guess what? I still do!! Arghhh!!!

I bought these Holland Toast things at the grocery store today. They're like dried bread crackers (sorta like Melba Toast). They're good, I just had a couple, but man they're crumbly. Very light and sorta sweet, but I got crumbs everywhere now. Messy!

I should go to bed.

I got a flat tire on my bike yesterday. It went completely flat while I was at work, but I decided not to replace the tube while at work. Intead I pumped up the tire with the hole in it, with the hope that I could make it home without losing all the air. Ya, no. I got maybe 1km before I had to pump it up again, then I only made it another .5km before I realised this wasn't going to work. So, under the shelter of the entrance to a cafe, I removed my rear wheel and replaced the tube. It's really not that difficult, and it didn't take too long (maybe half an hour...probably less, I wasn't timing). So ya, that was fun last night.

Just got back from a little road trip with Tree to go visit Court & Chris in Westbank. Left on friday, missed the 11am ferry and had to wait for 2 hours for the next one. Ugh. Got to the mainland and it seemed to take forever to get out onto the Trans Canada...traffic, road work, etc. Filled up gas at the Whatcom Rd PetroCan just outside of Abbotsford...always the cheapest gas there. Drove on darkness to Westbank, we made it in 5 hours (from the ferry). The roads were pretty good, except for a bit of compact snow/slush on 97C, and some VERY dense fog on the east side of the Pennask summit...we couldn't see more than 10 feet in front of the vehicle. I passed some cars that were going too slow for me and managed the fog at about 80km/h. I scared Tree and in hindsight maybe it wasn't the smartest thing to do, but I'm not known for my brilliance. Either way, we made it without incident, and I led the pack of vehicles behind us (they all seemed comfortable following me) to safety. It was the densest fog I'd ever been in (I think...maybe just cause I didn't know the road).

So we arrived at Court & Chris'. The fact that Tree was coming was a surprise, and she surprised Court good. We went to a Christmas party for the ESL school Court will be teaching at in the new year. Played some good games, participated in the gift exchange (Court had thoughfully brought gifts for Tree and I...what a girl!) and I ended up with five bucks! There were a couple cuties at the party, this one chick, Alitta, was quite cute. Young though...not that that matters. I got to talk to her a bit during one of the games we were playing.

Spent the rest of the night chatting with Court back at their place. Saturday turned out to be a lovely day. We went for a walk by the lake with their dog, Sitka (a beautiful Siberian Husky). vegged most of the rest of the day, just chatting/visiting. Went to this Living Nativity thing at one of the churches. It was well done, well produced, but a little preachy religious (even Court & Chris, who are devout Christians, were a little annoyed with it from that aspect). Had some dinner at a good Thai restaurant, then went to see Ocean's 12. The movie was good, I think I preferred #11 though. Some of the characters didn't seem quite the same...like the actors were acting them differently. Maybe it was on purpose. Overall it was enjoyable.

Sunday we had to leave a decent time to catch the 5pm ferry. Tree took forever to get ready, but it didn't matter cause we made the ferry in 4 hours (instead of the 5 it took us to get there). The weather was great and I was able to travel the highways at full speed the whole way. Filled up again at Whatcom Rd (had a little top up in Westbank to ensure we got there).

And that was the little weekend excursion. Fun times and good to see Court & Chris (and Court's family...although I never did get to have a beer with the Rev like I was supposed to).

Time to come home...here's what I did on Friday, the last day of my trip down south.

Got up at a decent hour, had to catch a train down to Anaheim at 9:20. Sara drove me to the station and I got my ticket, then there was still some time, so I took her out for breakfast. Had a bagel with cream cheese, smoked salmon, onion, and capers...I love that combination. Caught the train and picked me a seat on the upper level. It was a fairly comfy, easy going ride. Took almost 4 hours from Santa Barbara to Anaheim...but part of that was about a 40 minute stop at the LA Union Station where they re-stocked the cafe car. The guy running the cafeteria seemed pretty funny...he'd come on the PA system every once in a while to let people know what he had available...throwing in little descriptions here and there. He also came on a couple times saying he was running out of change and was pleading with us for our quarters, dimes and nickels...he'd gladly buy them off us. I didn't have much change, so I didn't bother, but apparently a lot of people did and he came on later to thank them.

Hopped off the train in Anaheim (at Angels Stadium), sort of knowing where I was, but not exactly knowing how to get to the airport. I had plenty of time to figure it out, so I went into the train station and grabbed a Bus Book for thr Orange County Transit Authority. Looking over the maps and routes, I determined that I would need to take 2 buses to get to my destination. Being in at the edge of the stadium parking lot, but not near a road, I just started walking to one of the roads I could see...hoping to get my bearings. Turns out the road I walked to was the one I needed to catch the 57 bus on...perfect! The bus came along a few minutes later and I hopped on, it cost $1. It took quite a while to get to where I had to catch the second bus...it's just huge down there. I got off at the right intersection (some of the buses, including the one I was on, have an LED display as well as a recored voice, stating which stop the bus is approaching, and what connections can be made from that stop...quite a good system, and something I wasn't expecting). So I had about 20 minutes until the 76 bus came along, and there was an In & Out Burger on the opposite corner. How could I pass this up? In & Out Burger...The Dude and Walter go to one in The Big Lebowski...I had to go. I walk in and the menu is amazing (in this day and age)...here are the choices: Double Double (double patty, double cheese burger), Cheeseburger, Hamburger, French Fries. That's it...plus drinks. There's combo's available for each of the burgers, so I got a Double Double combo. I had to wolf it down pretty quick, and I didn't finish my fries, but it was good. Not overly greasy...but it is fast food. I like it!

Headed out and saw the 76 bus waiting at the stop kitty corner to where I was. I waited for the lights before crossing the streets (8 lanes of road in a not so familiar city...I wasn't gonna risk anything) and I managed to make it to the bus before he left. Got going down the road and started questioning whether I was on the right bus. Pulled out my Bus Book and had a look...realized that, yes I did want to be on the 76, but going in the opposite direction! I got off at the next stop and crossed the street to wait for an eastbound 76...which wasn't too long. They don't print their route maps with north always up...they print them so that the bulk of the route is a straight line up and down the page...hence the source of my mistake and confusion. So I got on the eastbound 76 and eventually passed by the In & Out Burger again...damn, I could have had a more relaxing meal and finished it all...oh well. This bus took a while too, but it did get me right to the airport, so it's all good.

Once at the airport I still had a few hours to kill before my flight...but I had hoped to possibly catch an earlier flight so I went to the check in desk. Well, turns out there is an earlier flight, but it was leaving very soon and was full. To top it off, my flight was cancelled (remember Monday?) and they had put me on the next flight, an hour and a half later. Ugh. So now I had about 4+ hours to kill. The airport was exactly near anything exciting, and I didn't feel like taking a bus any further. So I walked...I walked out into this business area that was full of large buildings, a few fancy restaurants, but no shops or activites. I was sort of looking for a book store so I could pick up some reading material, but nothing...I was going to have to settle for the newstand at the airport.

I got back to the airport, still had a couple hours to kill. Bought a book, a stupid psychology book, at the newstand...why I bought this book I can't really explain. There was plenty of other decent looking books...but no, I buy the one book that goes right over my head...I'm fuckin weird. Anyways, I try to read the book. Watch some kids running around. Buy a McFlurry. Plane is late...big surprise. Finally board the plane 2 hours after I was supposed to leave originally. Caught some zzzzzz's on the flight cause I knew I'd have a good drive ahead of me. Got into SeaTac around 11pm, caught the shuttle back to the parking lot and got my car...good system they have at SeaTac Park. Got on the road and headed north up I5. Passed by Seattle...lovely city at night...I didn't realize I5 went right beside the city. Kept an eye open for a Jack in the Box...I couldn't go to the States and not eat at Jack in the Box! Finally found a 24 hour one in Everett...so got off the Interstate, got me a Sourdough Chicken Club combo (supposed to get a reindeer Jack ball, but they didn't put it in the bag...damnit!) and got back on the freeway. The interstate was an easy, nice drive. It's rough around the city, but north of Seattle it's in nice shape and can be travelled at a good clip. Got to the border around 2am, no trouble passing back into the homeland. Arrived at Grandparent's home in Burnaby at 2:30...all was good. Bed.

Spent Saturday with the Grandparents...went to the mall and then out to dinner at The Boathouse...very nice steak, crab, and prawn dinner. Came home to the island on Sunday.

So a few weeks ago, Q had a Grey Cup party and a few friends came over. Polly, who is now a project manager at her work, was talking about how they needed to hire a programmer or two. When Q, and Rol asked what the pay would be, and Polly replied with $40K, they scoffed at it. Scoffed at $40K!? Now, I knew they were making more money than I...they have degrees in Computer Science and are skilled at what they do...in an industry that is in fairly high demand (I think). I am but a lowly Master Control Operator in a medium market TV station, but I do ok on my salary (which is less than $40K). There's a lot of money out there...it'd be nice to be able to scoff @ a job worth $40K. One day I will find my calling and be able to demand a handsome sum for it.

Back to SoCal.

Thursday was spent in Santa Barbara. It was American Thanksgiving. Sara drove me down to the water and we walked along the coast for a bit. You could see the oil rigs out on the horizon...I didn't know they had off-shore oil drilling there. We were going to be going to this aquaintance of Sara's for Thanksgiving dinner...some other travel nurses were going to be there, and it was just gonna be a casual afternoon dinner before they all had to work. So we stopped at the grocery store to get some stuff to bring (I offered to chip in for it, but Sara wouldn't take my money). We headed south for a bit on 101 until we got to Carpinteria...sort of an outlying town, about 15 minutes away. We couldn't find the right house. We had gotten bad directions...right street, wrong address. Sara doesn't have a cell phone, so she got on the pay phone at the end of the street...except she only knew one person's number...and she doesn't answer if she doesn't recognize the number. Finally Sara got through and we found out where to go. The dinner was nice...the hosts, Christine & Seth, were a young (as in my age or younger) couple and Seth barbecued up some Salmon very nicely. Sara's friend, Yolanda, was making quesadillas which were awesome. There was salad and bread and cheese, it was all good. One person brought their dog...a big guy who liked to dig through the garbage and chew on shoes. The weather was nice, and I was warm enough, but they had the heater on in the apartment, which I thought was weird...but then those Californians (or even just temporary Californians) seem to get colder than I.

We left around 4:30 cause Sara had to work. She was getting ready to go to work and I was just planning on staying in at her place for the evening, but then she got called off work and we got to hang out for my last night there. So the wine came out, we watched The Sweetest Thing (I love Christina Applegate), ate some more bread and cheese, then watched Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (which was very good...that Charlie Kauffman is a great writer). Bed.

Is it just me, or is DVD marketing getting way out of hand? They seem to be releasing everything on DVD these days...old crappy TV shows, new crappy TV shows, concert performances from bands no one has heard of, video anthologies, and of course every movie ever made. The different editions too...wtf? I hate when I buy a DVD, only to find out that there was a Special Edition (or a Collector's Edition, Ultimate Edition, Super Extra Special Happy Bonus Life History of the Director Edition) available (or coming out later). You know when you see Golden Girls on the DVD shelf at A&B Sound, that the money grubbers have gone too far.

Regardless, let's recap Wednesday on my trip last week:

Got up at a decent hour again so we could hit the park first thing. After our complimentary doughnuts and coffee/hot chocolate from the motel, we mosied over to the main entrance only to stand in line. See, today we planned on going to California Adventure for the majority, but the gates for this park don't open until 9:30 (as opposed to 8:30 for Disneyland). We thought it was 9 that they opened, so when we realized it was 9:30, it didn't seem worth it to go over to Disneyland for a short bit, so we waited. Once they let you in at 9:30, the only thing open was Soaring over California (my favourite ride...) as the rest of the park was closed off until 10am. So we soared again...slightly better seats this time, but still not overly impressed.

After soaring, the rest of the park was open. We played the Fast Pass game right and rode the Sun Wheel, swings, Mulholland Drive mini coaster, and Maliboomer (which Sara did not like at all...it shoots you upwards very quickly) while waiting for our time on the California Screamin' roller coaster. Once it was our time, we hopped in the front of the line and screamed our way around the track. It's a fairly fast coaster and is pretty good...better than any over in the Disneyland park. We Fast Passed the coaster again and while we waited we went over to the Grizzly River Run (as well as some walk around Trail Challenge thing which was somewhat dull). Grizzly River was good...Sara bought a poncho cause she didn't want to get wet...I didn't care if I got wet, it was nice day out (I did put my camera in a plastic bag though). Back to California Screamin', this time I held my camera in front of me and recorded myself throughout the ride...it turned out pretty good (although I looked into the lens too many times).

We went and Fast Passed the Tower of Terror and while waiting we did Grizzly River again. Stood in line for some food, but got annoyed and left. There was this fat family in front of us...the mom was in a "medi-chair" type scooter (probably cause she was too fat to walk around), she was shouting at her kid who was entering their order into the touch screen system that they had setup (which was pretty stupid cause here's this touch screen for people to place their order, yet beside each screen is someone from the restaurant making sure people use it right...why not just take our order?) The kid spent more money than mom had expected him to, but don't worry cause Grandma was there to kick in the extra dough for her share...it was just stoopid and taking way too long and it was somewhat disgusting how fat this family was, so we left. We did the Tower of Terror (no Kelly this time, boo hoo...but the guys we did get were quite good), got our picture with Sleeping Beauty, and then it was getting time to leave. Went back over to Disneyland hoping to get one more ride in, but all the good ones had long lines and Fast Pass times were no good. We ate at the Hungry Bear Cafe...nothing special, then got a couple pictures in front of the Mickey/Walt statue and the castle, then we headed out (after I ducked back into California Adventure to buy a picture frame (and another one as a gift for Sara) from this one shop we'd been in (my only souvenir). Got back to the motel where they'd kindly let us park the vehicle after checking out, got in and started on our drive to Hollywood, 40 miles away. We were on our way to see Jimmy Kimmel Live!

Well, we got on I5 and after a couple miles traffic slowed down. It was about 3:30. It took us over an hour and a half to get 8 miles! The point where traffic cleared up was about 10 feet past the point where 5 cops (3 bikes, 1 car, 1 suburban) had some guy pulled over and were presumably arresting him. Amazing! as best I could tell the traffic had only been slow because people were looky looing at this. We didn't roll into Hollywood until 6:05, almost 3 hours after we left Anaheim. Got to the Kimmel doors at 6:20 and were denied entry by Ms. Security. The doors for Kimmel open at 6, we were 20 minutes after that (with confirmed tickets), so we weren't sure what was going on. Ms Security was no help, she just said they'd already started. Sara felt bad, thought it was her fault. It wasn't, I blamed the traffic. So we looked at a few stars on the Hollywood walk, had some (presumably) homeless guy tell me how insensitive and stupid I was, then we left Hollywood and headed up to Santa Barbara.

In Santa Barbara, Sara called some of her friends and we ended up going out with them to a pub an then a club. While waiting to go out, I checked my email and discovered that the Kimmel people had sent me an email on Tuesday stating that they had moved the record time up to 7PM and the call time for audience members up to 4:15...but as I hadn't been checkin my email I didn't get it and we didn't know to get there early. So it wasn't our fault for being 20 minutes late...Sara felt much better. I wasn't devastated...Kimmel is funny, but he's no Letterman. I am a Letterman fan tried and true...and if I had missed that show, I would have been more upset.

The pub was good, club not really my thing. Then one of her friends got kicked out of the club, for reasons none of us are quite sure of. So we left and went home. Bed.

Before I get to my trip, installment #2, let me just state a few other things that are on my mind.

I watched The Girl Next Door last night. Of course Elisha Cuthbert is a hottie and it was a pleasure watching the movie just for her, but it actually turned out to be a decent movie with a somewhat plausible story...better than many out there anyways. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Timothy Olyphant is great...I love that guy.

Also, I raised the whole gift exchange idea with the family, and they're all on board. Christmas will be different this year...and I think it will be good.

Ok, so Tuesday we got up early (I did, Sara slept right through me getting up and getting ready...I had to jump on her to wake her up) and hit Disneyland soon after the gates opened. We went to the original Disneyland (Magic Kingdom) park first and headed into Tomorrowland. There was no line for Star Tours, so we started there and had a good ride. From there I think we went all the way to the back end and Mickey's ToonTown, rode a couple of lame kiddie rides, then headed back and got in line for the Matterhorn. It was lamer than I remember it as an 11 year old, but still fun. We continued to work our way through the park, hitting some other fairly tame/lame rides in Fantasyland before heading over to Frontierland. Whilst waiting in line for the Snow White ride, I was doing the Tyler Durden laugh (you know, from when Lou pays Tyler and the rest of Fight Club a visit) and this mother standing in line turns to me and says her daughter wants to hang out with me all day cause I was funny. It was cute...but the little girl stayed with her mom.

The rest of the daylight was spent in this park...the best rides seem to be located in the vicinity of New Orleans Square, with Indiana Jones being close by in Adventureland, Splash Mountain being on the other side in Critter Country, and Pirates of the Caribbean plus the Haunted Mansion (all done up for Christmas with the characters from The Nightmare Before Christmas...very cool) right in the square. We only stopped to eat once...I had a Chimichanga, Sara had McD's fries. I declared early on that we would not be eating any Churros...they're very good, but very overpriced. Ok, everything is overpriced there, but I had to set my foot down on something.

Before we left we had to check out the parade. It was the Christmas version of the parade and featured all the usual Disney characters in winter/Christmas type situations. It was cute.

Nearing dusk we wandered into the California Adventure Park. We got in line for Soaring over California, which some guy in the line for Splash Mountain had told us was very good. Whilst waiting in line, this kid in front of us was fairly talkative and nice. He started out by just turning to me and saying, "I don't even know what I'm in line for". Later he offered me the remainder of his cotton candy, which I gladly took and thanked him for. He seemed like a good kid and he put a smile on my face (and I think Sara as well).

Soaring over CA was ok, but they could have done a better job on the transitions...I won't get into it, but if you've riden it or do in the future, I think you'll see what I mean. We did a Fast Pass for Tower of Terror and while we had time to wait we saw Muppet Vision 3D, which was quite entertaining. Then the Tower of Terror...the hotel usher, Kelly, was very attractive, and a good actress to boot. The ride was good, but she was the cherry on top (so to speak). We then saw It's Tough to Be a Bug over in Bug's Land, which was very entertaining again and similar, if not the same, to the attraction (most likely of the same name) in Animal Kingdom at Disney World.

We left, got some stuff at the motel (it was getting cold enough to need pants and a jacket) and then went for dinner in Downtown Disney. Sara said it was her treat, and we went to the Rainforest Cafe. Got seated, ordered some drinks, and then realized it was only 10 minutes until the fireworks started. So when the server brought our drinks we told him we weren't ordering and had to go, guzzled the drinks, paid, and ran outta there to try to get down to Disneyland to see the blasting in the sky. We didn't make it too far before they started, so we ended up watching from a distance (with a few obstructions in the way). For the most part we could see them and it was a good display. Then we returned to the Rainforest Cafe and had dinner properly...lettuce wraps followed by a pizza...very good. Bed.

I was away, now I'm back.

So I took a trip to Southern California last week...met up with Sara and went to Disneyland, then checked out her diggs in Santa Barbara, then came home. Here's my recap:

Left on Monday, didn't eat breakfast at home cause I didn't have much in the way of food left in the house, plus I knew I'd be waiting at the Coho terminal for over an hour, so I could go get something downtown. Well, you wait at the Coho, but an hour and a half before the boat leaves, customs comes around and checks you out and once they've done that, you're not allowed to leave the place...so I waited. Had a cinnamon bun on the boat. The ride was nice...very smooth ferry. Got to Port Angeles a little later than I expected...turns out there is customs on that side too, and they saw something that the other guy didn't see, so they had me park the car and get out so they could go through it. I had nothing in it and I wasn't worried, I just wondered why they picked me. After about 20 minutes they let me go and I booted it down to SeaTac. The roads were nice and I owned the road and got there a little later than I expected, but still with plenty of time to catch my flight. SeaTac park worked out well...I parked, the shuttle was there to take me to the airport and the driver, Jim, was nice. Really had to pee. Checked in for my flight, found out it had been cancelled and I had been put on the next one, an hour later. Lovely. Found a washroom...ahhhhhhh! Played the waiting game...had some food (a chicken salad bagel sandwich which was pretty tasty). Flight was 15 minutes late, but it happened and I got to John Wayne in Orange County around 8:30. Sara was there waiting for me. We drove to the motel (the stately Anaheim Super 8) and checked it...then walked down to Downtown Disney (open to the public and full of restaurants and shops)...I sorta led us the wrong way, but we eventually found it...I am decent with navigation, we just didn't have a good map. Could barely find a place open for dinner (it was 10pm) as they were closing up early saying it had been a slow Monday. Finally found the House of Blues was open, so we had a snack and a drink and then headed back to the motel. Sleep.

That was Monday, travel day #1. More to come on the rest of the week in future posts.

Why haven't I updated for over a week? Good question...sorry I don't have a good answer for it. Basically not much to update. Let's see...work was good, I ran on Monday and Wednesday, not much else to report. Coming up though...oh, gonna be a good week. Going down to SoCal to visit Sara and go to Disneyland! Plus gonna go see Jimmy Kimmel Live on Wednesday...so watch for me & Sara in the audience. Should be a fun week.

I just got all domestic and made rice krispie squares...except they're not squares, I shaped them like little footballs in honour of the Grey Cup...which I will be watching upstairs in a few short hours. Go Lions! Last week's game was a gooder...I only saw the last quarter, but that was the best part and it sparked a bit more interest in football than I usually have. The Grey Cup seems to have a lot more fuel this year...most likely because there's no NHL, but probably also because BC is in it so I'm hearing more hype cause I'm in BC.

Been busy for the last month or so working on databasising MetalMike's MidnightMetal website. It's coming together nicely...sorry, can't show you any progress just yet.

Happy Birthday to Gord last week! We had a nice dinner out at Sauce...good food, nice servers, bit pricey though, but Mom and Dad picked up the bill and for that I thank them.

Been seeing this girl Mel for the last while. It's going well...we pretty much only get to see each other on weekends, but we both seem ok with that. She made me dinner last night, it was good. Then we watched Stepford Wives...ok movie.

I should clean or pack or something.

I'm not a huge fan of November and December. I went to buy something today, traffic and parking were a mess. The whole holiday season is a buncha bullshit...it just gets on my nerves. I feel no joy...or very little. Why has the whole "buying presents"thing gotten out of hand? I want to tell my family that I don't want to partake in the presents aspect of this season anymore, but I think they'd disown me. I think I've left it too late in the season for me to bring up the topic as they may have gotten me presents already, and then I'd feel like a bastard because I'd be asking to not partake when they have already partaken with me in mind. It's not that I don't want to get them presents...I just think that finding them something meaningful and useful at this specific time of year (when the marketers are bombarding our senses with tonnes of useless products) is lame. I'd rather pick up a present for someone I care about when I find the right thing...whatever time of year it happens to be. And also, to have to buy everyone in my family a present is taxing on the ole bank account...and I know I don't have to buy them a present, but if they go and buy me a present then I'll feel like a shit if I didn't get them something in return. What we did in the Sookies group last year was ideal...we pulled one name of each person in the group to get a present for. It worked well...you can focus on that one present and make it something worthwhile. It would be good if my family could do something like that. But I never know how to bring it up as it strays from the way we've done it for the last...well, since I've been around at least.

I think my love affair with NYPD Blue is purely based on the production. The acting isn't really that great when I watch it closely...although what do I know about acting? Everything just seems too easy in that show...the faulty acting could well be a result of bad writing, and I'm sure it is. The stories, while they do draw me in, are seemingly unrealistic when I really start to analyze it. Again, I don't know much about detective work (or the lives surrounding detectives), but everything just seems to work out too easily for the detectives in the 15th squad. They almost always get the perp within a day...I just don't think they really work that fast in the real world. And why do the murders almost always happen at the beginning of the day? Just seems to convenient. But these unrealisms aside, I am in love with the production and that is why I watch it. The music, the way it starts with no vis, then the vis comes up and we get an idea where we are, then the story begins or continues. The camera work...I like how the camera moves, almost like it's an entity sitting in the middle of the situation. And despite my previous comments about the acting and writing, there are some good one liners that surface every now and then. Hey, who said TV was supposed to be real? It's fun to escape reality for a while and watch these detectives get their perps and live their lives. And, while Charlotte Ross is a major factor for my enjoyment of these last few seasons, I must admit that, although I am not gay, Mark-Paul Gosselaar is a good looking guy. He's got good attitude, chiseled looks, and a good on-screen presence.

Isn't it amazing how far a piece of food bounces away from you when you drop it on the carpet? You always expect to just reach down in the general vicinity of where it dropped and pick it up...the 5 second rule applies and it's all good. But no, it always bounces somewhere...under the coffe table, under the couch, wherever, and you spend 5 minutes...a tad more than 5 seconds...looking for it. Sometimes you never do find it.

I dropped a piece of a cracker.

Had a fun night last...saw The Incredibles. Good flick...on par with all the other Pixar/Disney collaborations. Then went to the casino. Managed to come out $0.25 up...it was good cause I managed to play (slots, blackjack, and royal ascot) for over 2 hours. Usually I lose my money within half an hour and that's it. Very fun, and the company was good too.

Went climbing today...I'm gettin back into it and am pretty much still at the skill level I was at back in August. I'm good for 2 or 3 climbs, and then my arms and hands start to get sore and weak. I volunteered on Thursday, so I got a couple days passes out of that. If I can volunteer a couple times a month, then I should be set for free climbing. It was good volunteering, there was a grade 9 class from Spencer school...they were good kids with lots of energy.

I've heard Blast by Pure a couple times on The Zone in the past week. Nothing wrong with that, it's just weird...Pure never really hit it big, and Blast is going all the way back to 1992. I'm glad they're playing 'em though...I love the Pure! I need to get Jordy Birch's solo album...it came out before I left for NZ. I don't know what has become of any of the members now.

Went to the corn maze on Blenkinsop Rd the other day. Pretty disappointing. It's not much of a maze...there's a big path right through the middle of it that leads to the payoff in the centre (this scale replica of the Sphynx and a pyramid). It didn't help that all the corn was dead and you could see through it all to where the paths were, but even if the corn were tall and thick I can't see it being a challenge. The "maze" has several exits, so it's hardly like you can get lost or stuck. It's basically something to wander through with no goal. It think it must have started as a good idea, but somewhere along the way they lost track of what they were doing. Not worth the $10 in my opinion. The sushi after the maze was quite excellent though.

So I'm signed up for NaNoWriMo...haven't started writing yet. Probably get started on the weekend. I need to write at least 50,000 words. I don't even think I have a good concept of how many that is, but when I think about it, that's like 10% of the amount of people that were at SarsStock with me. Strange comparing amounts of people with words.

Denis Leary, George Carlin, these guys are frickin' hilarious. But it's not just about the comedy, it's almost a philosophy. Philosophical comedians...they are the most brilliant. They make you laugh, and they make you think. I love it!

This Lazyboy guy with that "song" Underwear goes inside the pants. He sounds a little like Denis Leary, and here I am listening to Lock 'N Load and he has a bit about the kid at the 7-11 with his underwear outside his pants. Yet I looked up Lazyboy and it ain't Leary...it's some guy named Greg Giraldo...and he's just the vocal puppet, cause the brains of the entity that is Lazyboy are a couple of producers (Johnny Douglas and Soren Rasted). Weird.

I like that "song" by Lazyboy. It's intriguing. There's a lot of truths in it. I am not a pot smoker, and I'm generally oppposed to it, but I'm leaning towards the "legalise it" side of the argument surrounding it because, as Lazyboy says, it's a "natural plant that grows in the dirt". If people want to use it, it's their choice. And it's here to stay, so we may as well not fight it.

One more about Denis Leary...his new show, Rescue Me, it's quite good. I'm enjoying it.

Nature/Wildife documentaries can sometimes be just friggin amazing. I was watching this one on the animals of the alps last week...amazing imagery. I have no idea how they get the shots they do. It's one thing to be able to get close enough to the animal to capture the moments that they do, but to do that and then make the images stunningly beautiful with excellent exposure and framing. I'm sure it must take forever to get the shots they get, but good on 'em for doing it. The end result is gorgeous! I don't know about audio...it could be foley'd in afterwards for many of the shots, but sometimes it seems like it was recorded alongside the images, crystal clear of course, and that is amazing as well.

I just found out about this novel writing "competition" that is happening in November. The challenge is to write a minimum 50,000 word novel in 1 month. They expect a lot of crap (and it's not like they're reading all the entries...it's just a word count at the end to see if you completed the task). It would be a good way to kickstart me into writing the novel I keep saying I'm going to write. I think I'm going to take part. Click the link on the main page of the site to check out the National Novel Writing Month website.

Fresh bread (or buns...you know, baked dough) is so great. Problem is, it just doesn't stay fresh. I find myself either eating as much of it as I can to get it while it's fresh, or I have to refrigerate it to keep it from going stale. Course refrigeration is almost as bad as it going stale, but it can stay somewhat fresh for a bit longer. When you've got fresh bread, you wanna keep it like that and part of the secret is how you get the air out of the bag so when you re-seal it, there's no air to go to work on staling it. Of course you can't squeeze all the air out, because air is what makes the bread all fluffy and yummy. So it's a careful balance of squeezing enough, but not too much, air out of the bread bag to have the bread stay freshest, longest.

Think that was weird? Yes, I'd say so too...but hey, I was thinking about it as I made a sandwich, and I said, "what the hell", and decided to post it.

You know what else I did that's weird? When I filled my car with gas tonight, I hit $42.someoddcents when the nozzle gave the first full stop. Of course you know when you hit that first nozzle stop that the tank can take some more...so I eased the trigger on for a bit more and managed to get it up to $45, however I overshot and hit $45.01. Well, that wouldn't do, I had to get it on a somewhat even number, so I settled for $45.50. Course then I go inside and pay with my credit card...so does it really matter how many cents I put in? Does Master Card care? Why do I do that? I'm fuckin weird, that's all there is to it.

I didn't use to like mustard, but whilst in New Zealand I acquired a taste for it. Now I love it...but good mustard. Basic old French's prepared yellow mustard is ok, but doesn't do much for me. I love the Grey Poupon style Dijons, as well as grainy mustards...mmm. Classy mustard, that's what it's all about.

It's funny when I accomplish something with regards to this website (usually in the php/programming/dynamic realm). I feel like I am the ultimate genius for figuring out whatever it was I wanted. Ya, me, the ultimate genius. All I did was use google effectively and find the code I needed on someone else's site. Searching other people's problems to solve my own...that's what it's all about. Still it's a good feeling when you get it done.

Have I mentioned how much I enjoy NYPD Blue? The music is awesome, the way it's shot is great. I don't care that the content isn't realistic (not that I'd know what realistic police content is like), but I think the acting is decent. Dennis Franz plays Sippowicz so well. It's just plain enjoyable and I'm sad that it's in it's last season. I'm really liking the latest years here with Mark-Paul Gosselar and Charlotte Ross. I have a feeling I've written all this before.

Ahhh, I'm back. Sorry for the delay, but I transferred planman.net to new servers this week and didn't want to post anything new in case it got lost in the shuffle. Everything went smooth and now here I am.

I started running this week. Yes, running. I get up and I go for a run before I shower. It works quite well, because I'm never in a rush when I get up and it's not like I have to get up early so I'm able to run before I go to work. When I get up I still have 3 or 4 hours before I have to be at work. Plenty of time to have a run around the neighbourhood. Maybe I should call it a jog...it's more of a jog than a run. I definitely don't sprint. I haven't measured out the distance I've been going, but I think it's got to be around 2K or so. Not much, but I'm just starting out...need to build up. Actually my aim is to downsize, not build up...but you get what I mean. It feels good after going for a run...it's a great way to start the day (once you actually get going...that's the tough part). My blood gets flowing, I have more energy, and I just feel better all round. I'm going to keep it up.

It's time for me to stop spending money. I've been just going crazy the last while...I don't know why, but it seems everywhere I turn there's a deal I have to have or something I need to buy. I've got the new toys, everything is working, I've got to stop buying shit and start just enjoying what I have. Need to build up some savings. So from now on, it's just food and rent and car payments for me.

Speaking of food, I need to get groceries.

Don't you hate it when you shit, wipe, flush, and then after you've taken about 5 steps away from the bathroom, you realize you weren't done? It happens more often when you're sick, but it does happen from time to time when you're not. What's worse? Getting hit with that "I gotta shit" sensation when you're in the shower (or the tub, or the pool, etc). Usually it means you've gotta go quite soon, but you may be covered in soap. So you rush to wash off the soap, but it really doesn't rinse off any faster when you try. Then you gotta get out and dry yourself off. Now the big problem is the ass. You need to have it dry, not so much for the actual business, but for the wipe (wiping with a wet ass does not work, toilet paper is made to degrade in water). But you can't dry your ass well enough because by this stage you've probably got a turtle head poking out and if you wipe, then the towel will be soiled. It's a tricky situation. There is one worse though, and it's pretty obvious. Shitting your pants has got to be pretty bad. Thankfully it hasn't happened to me since I was in diapers (as far as I know). Of course in diapers it's expected, but really, if babies knew what they were doing, do you think they'd do it?

Ok, now I gotta shit.

Ralph Nader was on Letterman last night. If I was American, I would vote for him.

I'm liking my new speaker setup...I got the new receiver and 6.1 channel sound system and I hung the speakers from the ceiling. They're spaced apart well and it sounds pretty good. Movies with Dolby Digital or DTS are so much better now that I am engulfed in sound, and even 2 channel sources sound pretty good when they're processed and sent to all the speakers. I am truly surrounded in sound.

You know, I often thing of good things to write about here...but by the time I finally get on, I've forgotten what they were. It annoys me, and I'm sure it annoys you too.

First time since April that I put gel in my hair. I'm not shaving it again (this season at least). It still pretty much does whatever it wants, but I guess with the gel I have a tad more control.

Thanksgiving dinner at the parent's house was good...just a small one this year, only 4 of us. Dad and I picked up some firewood from a friend's house, plus I put a new hard drive in his 'puter. It was a bit scary when I put it back together and the monitor didn't light up...fixed that and then the computer wouldn't boot into Windows. Finally got it all sorted out and now Dad has about 15 times as much storage as he had before.

Some guy crashed his bike in the same spot I did a few weeks ago. Those railroad tracks are treacherous! I could feel his pain. I maneuvered the tracks successfully and asked him if he was ok. He nodded "yes", but still had the shocked look that I must have had after my fall...you can't believe you were stupid enough to have slipped and fallen. He was wearing pants...I don't think he got any serious road rash.

Happy 75th to my Grandma this weekend! Just had a nice lunch at Kiplings in the basement of the Empress Hotel. Nice buffet. Caught up with My great uncle Sam as well as other family members and friends.

Also, congratulations are in order for Gord & Brandy-Lee. Gord popped the question last week and they are now engaged! No date is set yet (to the dismay of many family members, but it doesn't really bother me). They've been together for over 7 years...maybe even 8 now...so it was looking pretty inevitable. Good on ya Gord!

I keep getting in shit when I don't update. Sorry to my faithful readers. I haven't updated cause there hasn't been much, plus I got new toys so I been playing with them.

Let's see...soccer, I scored a goal (and missed several great opportunities cause my kick sucks) and had a couple good passes and assists. I didn't have to wear a pinney this week cause I wore one of my yellow shirts. Smart eh?

I'm thinking of re-arranging my furniture. It's a little tough to organise what I got in this bachelor suite, but it's possible.

See? There wasn't much. But I will post more soon.

So I'm in the grocery store, walkin' around, looking at potential goodies, and they've got the music going in the background and it's all good, but then Bye, Bye, Bye by N'Sync comes on and I START HUMMING ALONG TO THE SONG as I wander around. It's bad enough that I know the name of the song, or even that the song I heard is an N'Sync song, but that I know it well enough to hum along...holy poop chute! How lame am I? It's that damn radio job I had...I played too much lame music and it's stuck with me. Ugh.

On the way home I managed to eject it and insert Jet Set Satellite - Baby Cool Your Jets. Much, much, MUCH better!

I need a new book to read. Sabulsky said he was gonna send me a couple, but who knows when that will happen. He's told me he's gonna send me lots of things, but I have yet to see a package arrive. Chucky has a couple books I need to get...maybe I should go pick those up. Course there's always the Corporate Finance text books Choy loaned to me...they're sitting on my bookcase, taking up about a quarter of the space. I could learn some new things about money and the management of it, but, just looking at those books, I'm not very motivated. I need to get me some more Vonnegut. Maybe I do need to make a trip to the book store. Or maybe I should just start reading the paper? Maybe if the paper delivery person didn't put the paper on my door mat, which is always soaking wet because it never dries out after a rain, and get the bottom half of the paper all wet, I might be inclined to. As it stands I have to dry the paper out for a day or two, and by then I figure it's old news and I don't bother with it.

I need a hobby. I need to go outside more. I need to do something with my life besides work, eat, and sleep. Maybe I'll write that book and/or screenplay I've been thinking/talking about for the last couple years. I just need to organise my thoughts better. Maybe I should do drugs...it seemed to work for those writers in the 70s I read about in Easy Riders, Raging Bulls.

I gotta go to work.

I am becoming a venerable force in tuesday night soccer. I scored 2 goals this week, plus hada nice assist and a few other good passes. I still suck for the most part, but I'm having fun and I seem to be building a bit of credibility with those who which I play.

I don't think I'm cut out to own a somewhat new car. I'm terrible at the whole car care thing. I washed it the other day, then yesterday I went out and polished it (not wax, I use that Nu Finish stuff which it says is not wax). As I polished it I noticed all the dirt that was still on it after just having washed it the day before. Did I not scrub hard enough? I don't want to scratch it. It's like it's impossible to keep it clean...or get it clean. It's so much easier when you have an older vehicle and it doesn't matter how often you wash it or when you do this or that. It's almost like I'm a slave to my car...or at least I could be if I took it all seriously enough. But I will not let it get to that point. Having now had my first little mishap with it, the dynamic has changed.

Watched Chinatown last night. Well acted, beautifully shot, good story. It's good in that not everything wraps up in a little happy ending...some of the story comes to an end, but other parts are left open and up to the imagination or a sequel (which is The Two Jakes, although the story lines in Chinatown don't follow into The Two Jakes I believe).

I spend too much money.

I wrote a post and then it didn't publish and I lost it. I can't be bothered to write it out again..here's the jist of it:

- I fixed my car, somewhat. It's not perfect but it'll have to do
- read Easy Riders, Raging Bulls if you're looking for a good book. Got me interested in many films from the 70s and opened my eyes to one side of Hollywood (at least in the 70s)

No one wants to admit they are a bad driver. But I think I'm going to have to suck it up and lower my head on this one. I am not proud. I caught the corner of my bumper/front facia on a concrete barricade/edging as I backed out of a parking space and pulled the piece away from the sheet metal it was attached to. The loops through which the bolts attach it were ripped (plastic). I think I can make it look respectable again, but it's going to eat away at me because I'll know that underneath the exterior, things are not right.

I should not be allowed to buy nice, newish things.

I could start with the excuses to justify how it happened, but I'm not going to. I could blame others for it, but I can't do that. Ultimately, it's my car, I was driving, I fucked up and now I have to deal with it. Aarrrggh!

I scored a couple goals at soccer last night. It feels good. I didn't pull my shirt up over my head and run around all crazy like...I thought about it though. You kinda gotta do that right after the goal, otherwise the moment is gone.

I haven't quite figured this life thing out yet...I need more money, more activity, and more love. I'm 27, by this time I should have 2 of those 3 sorted out...but really, none of them are sorted out. What have I been doing all this time? It's aggravating. I may as well be 20 again.

I need to find a Salvation Army drop off bin..I got some things sittin' here that can be donated rather than junked. They must be worth something to somebody I'm sure.

Here's a bit of advice:

When you purchase new rain pants to wear whilst biking to and from work in adverse weather, wear them. Even if it isn't raining on your way to work, but it's possible that it could rain on the way home.

That said, today I will not be wearing them, as it is sunny and decent outside. If it does rain by nightfall, I get wet.

Way to go Plan! I had my mom trim my bungy pictures with her straight-edge picture razor so that they would fit in a frame I had. Then I go and bust the frame. Ah well, it was a lame frame anyways, and I was gonna get a better one someday.

My calves are sore. It's cause I hiked this weekend. Me and the vulgar brothers hiked a couple sections of the Juan de Fuca trail. We went from Botanical Beach to Sombrio beach, with a camp stop at Payzant Creek. It was a good hike. Day 1 was pretty easy, Day 2 was a bit more difficult and I didn't have as much energy. We ended it off approaching Sombrio by walking along the beach (rather than taking the high tide trail through the bush) through stank ass seaweed and kelp and then having to walk through 2-3 feet of water (with waves coming in) to get around a point...that was, uh, fun. Q and I went through with our boots on, Rol and Choy took their boots off and went in sandals. I don't think it really mattered...basically you just didn't want to fall and get your pack (and yourself) wet. Q did a number on his knee, but otherwise we made it fine. All in all, it was good trip. It didn't rain too much and it was good to hang with the boys and get some exercise. Thanks to Michelle for driving us out there, and to my mom for picking us up!

I rarely sleep well when camping. I can get up in the morning and think that I didn't sleep for a minute all night, but then thinking about it more, I realize I must have slept some, but certainly not a lot. It must be that I fall asleep and wake up in the exact same position and think that nothing has happened. Then I toss and turn for a while, and maybe it happens again. However much sleep I didn't get on the weekend though, I think I caught up on it all last night. What is sleep anyways? Is it the same as passing out? Do you just purposely fall out of consciousness? Why is sleep better rest than just "resting"...is it because your senses shut down (or get close to shut down)? It's kinda weird when you start to think about it (and when you think about sleep, that's when it doesn't happen).

I'm gettin into this Trailer Park Boys show...it's pretty funny. I watched a couple episodes last night. Catchin' "Jonovision" J-Roc masturbating was quite funny. Gotta love Showcase. 2 great shows in Showcase...Curb Your Enthusiasm and Trailer Park Boys...check 'em out. I'm also gonna check out this new show Paradise Falls...looks like it could be good.

I was gonna get a Donair or Gyro from The Donair Shop (yes, they're that creative with the name) today, but they only take cash and I didn't have any on me and didn't feel like using a different bank's ATM to get some. I know a donair isn't a kebab, but it's sorta close and I'm trying to find something close to a kebab in Victoria because I do miss them from NZ. There aren't any Turkish restaurants in Victoria...just a little Turkish/Middle Eastern deli/grocery type place (which I haven't been into yet).

Man, did I ever suck it up at soccer last night. I took lots of shots, but none of 'em went in. I even had a couple chances on a basically empty net, but I just couldn't get a good kick on the ball...it always went off to the side. Then I played goal for a while. I didn't have to save much because the shots either weren't on goal, or my teammates defended well and the ball didn't get to me. But when the ball did come at me, I wasn't able to save it. Oh well...it's all for fun anyways.

SawKBv2 on the weekend...very good. I think I preferred v1, but as a whole, I liked it all. Waitin' for them to come out as a special edition set before I purchase. Also saw this great little movie called The Station Agent. It was a very simple movie..not special effects shots or big budgets. No big names either...just good old fashioned, character driven, film making. Quite funny too...not slapstick funny...more real life/witty funny. I highly recommend it.

It's raining today...should I ride to work? Last time I rode in the rain I bailed on the tracks. Now that I know how slippery they can be, I won't be doing that again. The question is, do I want to have to change into different clothes at work, and then have to get back into wet clothes for the ride home? hmmmmm. I notice, now, that there is a sign before you get to the tracks that says "tracks slippery when wet" - had I noticed that sign earlier, perhaps I would have been more cautious. Ah well.

I don't watch much Reality TV, but I have gotten into the Amazing Race...it's a pretty good show. It was cool cause last night they raced to New Zealand...Auckland, Rotorua. It was neat to see places I've been on a big show like TAR. They were in NZ once before and I actually saw that show whilst in NZ...it was pretty cool to see them driving down the motorway, passing the sign for Market Rd exit and heading to One Tree Hill. The stuff they did in Rotorua (area) in last night's show, I never did do while I was there. I never did get to the Rotorua museum, nor did I White Water Sledge or roll down the hill in the Zorb...but I wanted to (it's expensive though).

Good times.

I gave in. I bought a Swiffer. I didn't really want to succumb to the simple cleaning device that seems to be taking the world by storm, but I needed something to clean my floors with and decided that at $11 it wasn't that bad. Sure I could have wrapped a paper towel around my broom head, but it just wouldn't have given me the same satisfaction that has been brought to my life now because I own a Swiffer. It's dual purpose too...not only do you slap a plain old paper towel on the end to dry dust the floor, but I can stick a thicker, wet paper towel on the end to actually provide some cleaning chemicals to the floor and make it super clean. It's amazing!

I'm quite getting into this show "Curb Your Enthusiam" lately. It's friggin' milaria. Larry David, the co-creator of Seinfeld (I think the George character was based on him) stars as himself and is always getting himself into trouble. It's mostly over the top, although I'm sure a portion of it has to be drawn from real life situations that can and have happened. It's an HBO show, so anything goes too...which I like. I recommend you check it out...it's on Showcase here in Canada...late night usually.

I just went to Saxe Point Park. I can't believe I've never been there. Since birth I have lived in the Greater Victoria area (ok, less 3 and a half years) and I didn't even know it existed until a couple months ago...and only now have I finally been there. It's nice...good views, a network of trails, lots of benches and areas to relax. I didn't take any pictures, but next time I go I will.

Q and I went to the casino on friday night. It is apparent that I don't know what I'm doing when it comes to Black Jack. So I didn't know you were supposed to factor in the dealer's card when deciding what to do with your own cards. So I lost $20. So I may have split 4's with the dealer showing an ace...big deal. I now know, and I have some online Black Jack tutors to help.

Does it count that I broke even before I started BlackJack? I blew away $5 (high roller = me) on the slots, but then I gained it back at the horse races (Sega style).

It has also become apparent that I am cheap and indecisive when it comes to home improvements. I visited 4 hardware/lumber stores yesterday looking for some good shelving materials and still came away with nothing. It's not that I didn't find worthy items, but I was always wondering if I was getting the best deal or if there was something else available somewhere else. I need some organisational tools like shelves in my place here...and then it will be tidy and spiffy. I will buy them, I will build them, I will be done with it...soon I hope.

Fucking railroad tracks! I had my first decent "riding to work bail" today going over some wet tracks. They aren't perpendicular to the road and my tire just slid and got locked in the groove between the pavement and track. My momentum, of course, was all forward, so as my tire slid off to the side, my body went straight ahead...and down I went. My new jacket managed to survive, but my shorts took some damage, as did my leg. Ah well...shit happens. At least I didn't get run over.

There's a spider in my suite every day. I catch it and put it outside everyday, and then the next day I see another spider. Sometimes it's on the floor, sometimes it's on the wall, sometimes it's in the sink. I don't know if it's the same one and he keeps getting in after I put it out, but they're all about the same size (big). So there he is on the wall again...I'm gonna go catch him and put him outside. I should tag him to see if it's the same one...wonder how I'd do that...

It's a cool feeling when you're participating in a sport and you suddenly realize that you are in a position to make significant advances or score. The feeling is especially strong in those of use that don't play sports a whole lot, or weren't brought up in a heavily sport oriented home. I've been in this situation a few times in my life...like soccer tonight, where I got the ball and I was in front of the net, and there weren't a lot of other players around me. I had time to line it up and kick it well and I got the goal! It's a good feeling.

One of the better ones I remember, was years ago playing paintball with friends out at Victoria Paintball Adventures. Me and a couple others had made our way close to the enemy base in a capture the flag match. We held our ground at an outpost close to the base and it came upon me that there weren't many people guarding the flag in the base. I figured I could make a go for it as I didn't think anyone in the base knew we were there, plus even if they shot, they'd have to hit me and I had a chance cause I had the element of surprise. Without consulting with my teammates I just ran out and grabbed the flag. It's a great sensation you feel when you realize you've made a good move (because usually those moves are just left up to other people). I huffed it back to our base, with the help of covering fire from my comrades (one of whom was hit), and I made it...tired as I'd ever been, but proud and admired for my own few moments.

It's a good feeling...I think it's that feeling that keeps a lot of people involved in sports.

I've been watching a lot of "In Living Color" lately. I used to love that show, and I still do enjoy it. It launched quite a few big careers when you think about it. Start with the Wayans clan...the show basically revolved around many of them as Keenan Ivory was executive producer. There's Damon, Shawn (who was the DJ SW1 for the first season or two), Kim, and Keenan Ivory who does a bit of everything. There's many other Wayans' too I believe, including Marlon, who I don't think was involved with In Living Color, but is quite possibly the most talented of the family, being able to act well in both crazy comedies and dramas. Then of course you've got Jim Carey. Jamie Foxx is getting some big roles these days, both comedic and dramatic. Oh, and you can't forget everyone's favourite...Jennifer Lopez. She got her start as a Fly Girl on the show. Now I realize shows like Saturday Night Live, which are of the same style, have launched a ton of careers as well, but I'm just saying In Living Color did pretty well to launch those careers from only having a weekly half hour time slot on Fox...and it was only on the air for what? like 4 seasons? Pretty good.

Have I mentioned how annoying tourists are? I'm glad I don't work in the tourist industry, but I do live in a tourist town. The tourists, they love Victoria, but they fail to realize that it is a real, live, working city. I know they bring in a lot of economy money, but I just wish they'd use their brains a little more. They love to just walk out onto the street without looking for traffic. They love to jaywalk. I dunno what it is...they see a store on the other side of the street that they just have to check out, and they just header straight for it. I don't have to say how dangerous this is, both for them, and for traffic. Argh!

That's my only rant for today..it's been building up through the week. Not much else going on. I need to wash my car. I need to wash my dishes. I need to finish tidying and organising my place.

I so glad I came home from New Zealand when I did. It's really been good to be back. I'm also glad I decided to stay in Victoria and not take off to some other part of the country. I've been able to get re-acquainted with all my good friends that live here that I've known for so long. Family too...it's good to be close to them. I've been able to help out with and take part in two of my best friends' weddings this summer. I'm very happy for them. I just think the timing worked well for my return and I'm really enjoying being here. Of course I have friends in other places that I love and miss...but these guys here...these are my core..."the group"...we'll just always be friends and that's just the way it works.

Q's stag last night...I joined the crew after work and tried to catch up on the drinkin'. It seemed like they had a good time...I did once I joined 'em. Choy, Q & I walked home after...took a little longer than I thought it would.

There's been a few stories on CityPulse News lately about black bears in areas of Vancouver (North Van I think) interfering with humans. Firstly, it's the human's that are interfering with the bears...when you encroach on territory that bears live in, expect to see some bears. Secondly, there's talk of having to destroy the bears if they don't learn to stay away from the people's property. Why the fuck do humans feel like they rule the world? What gives us the power to say what lives and what dies? Why don't people change their lifestyle instead of taking the life of an animal? And if it's ok to destroy a bear for a simple reason like, "it's shitting in my yard", then why is abortion such a big issue?

Sometimes I hate being a human...we think we're so smart and so great. Bullshit!

I like being able to ride my bike to work. It feels good knowing that I am getting some exercise, am not polluting, and don't have to worry about parking (and birds). It's a nice ride from where I live to work. There isn't a bike lane, which is a bit of a pain, but the road is generally wide enough that it doesn't matter too much. It was a little tight today and I had to stop a few times for traffic to clear a bit. Generally it's good. I'll need to get some fenders and proper rain clothing for the fall and winter...it's been nice with this dry weather in the summer, but I'm not sure about how winter will be yet. Other people at work do it, so I'm determined too.

I need to get my head shaved again...Q & S's wedding is on Saturday and I can't have my hair in this mid-growth stage for it...I'm in the wedding party! I'm not sure if I can do it myself...I think I'm gonna try to rope my mom to do it. Could be tough...she's not too keen on my shaven head look.

Yellow cars may look cool and sporty, but they're not all that practical. Maybe practical isn't the right word here...cause mine is quite useful...I've hauled quite a bit of stuff in it since I got it: a dresser, lamp, several boxes when I moved. I'm talkin' practical as in it doesn't stay yellow for too terribly long after you wash it. Dirt shows pretty good on it...but that's a minor nuisance compared to the big one. Birds. Birds fucking love my car. They love to drop big turds right down on it. They get me good on a daily basis pretty much, but they got me especially good a couple days ago. I had my car parked downtown while I was at work, and I was parked right under a utility pole (my bad...I was rushing to get to work and just parked in the first space I saw). Upon returning to the car at 1am, I discovered 5 or 6 of the biggest bird turds I'd ever seen...all on my hood! I couldn't believe how bad it was...I don't think I'd ever seen a car hit that bad in one parking spot (save for the BMW lot in Fight Club). I wiped it off with my bird shit towel when I got home...I don't know if the towel is going to make it...it's on life support right now and it's not looking good. They did wipe off fairly easily as it was cool and wet and they hadn't had a chance to dry and harden. I looked at the hood the next day and it looked terrible...I'd gotten the big chunks of crap off, but there was still more...on the windshield, under the wipers, in the grill, on the side panels, etc. So yesterday night when I got home, the car was all moist with condensation and of course it was nice and cool out...so I decided to wash the hood properly. Night is the best time to wash your car...at least in the summer it is. It looks much better today, although there are still traces of the stuff..and I noticed one actually got down the gap at the edge of the hood and is sitting there under the hood stinkin' up the joint.

Fuckin' birds.

Don't ya just hate when the bar of soap gets too small to be useful, yet it's too bug still to really think about replacing it with a new bar? I was at that stage the last few days, the little bar was breaking and getting lost (you know where) and being a general nuisance...yet I didn't replace it with a new one until today because I'm determined to get my money's worth out of it. And I did...almost. There's some of it left..I'll incorporate it into the new bar of soap one day soon.

I've been building and setting up this new computer of mine for the past couple weeks and it's consuming a lot of my time. I've gotten close now to the state at which I want it. I'll tell you about it in depth in a future post...it's pretty cool. Basically, I'd get it all working nicely, but I'd want some different functionality so I'd fuck with it and break it somehow...so then I'd have to wrack my brain and the internet to find a solution other than re-installing everything. I'll be an expert on the whole thing when I'm done though. It's a good experience.

My place is shaping up nicely. Thanks to Gord for the table and for helping me with the futon (thanks to Auntie Margo for that!). I spent half a day with Gord on tuesday and it was good. Helped him add another layer of chicken wire around his chicken coop as it was discovered earlier that day that the chickens can indeed fly over the 5 foot high stuff. He loaded me up with some goodies too...as he seems to buy a lot more stuff (or come across it anyways) than he has use for. So thanks to him for that, and it was fun to hang out with him outside of the time we spend together when we're in the company of our parents.

Ok, so I'm guilty of something that I bitch about other people doing. I'm a hypocrite. Probably in more ways than one...actually not probably, I'm pretty sure I know for sure that it's in more ways than one. Still, it's tough when you discover that yourself does something that you despise. Maybe not tough, but disappointing. But you also realize why other people do it. Because I can justify doing it, it must be a similar reason they justify doing it. Although there are different circumstances, I realize.

I'm referring to me running the red light on my bike coming home tonight. I got to the intersection, it was dead (it's like 1am) and I felt kinda lame just standing there waiting for the light to change (and it's one of those unintelligent lights too...that always lets one direction of traffic go before the other...despite there being no one waiting in that particular direction...it's 2004 people!), so I rode through. Now I'd probably not have done that had I been driving...it's just not right and plus you don't quite feel as foolish when you're in your vehicle. I'd definitely have done it had I been walking..I jay walk all the time. Biking is right in between walking and driving...it depends on the traffic situation. I don't ride through red lights in the middle of the day downtown...but I have been known to do it at 1am. Basically as long as I'm not disrupting traffic, it shouldn't matter. Know what I mean?

I take on this philosophy a lot in driving. No U-Turns...hey, if it's not disrupting traffic, why not? (not that I U-Turn a lot anyway). No left turn...hey, if there's no median (or a small one) and the regular flow of traffic isn't being held up by my decision to turn left, then why the hell not?

It does bother me when people don't take other traffic into consideration...even sometimes if it's a perfectly legal move. It's just common courtesy sometimes to take one for the team rather than hold up five cars behind you as you wait and wait and wait for an opening. Or if it's an illegal move (as in a sign saying "no left turn") and you're holding up traffic to make the turn. Some guy (full up with passengers) was trying to turn left onto Yates from Douglas last week. You can't do that...there's a sign saying no turns. At least he was turning the right way onto Yates (it's a one way). The guy behind him (who was being held up) was honking, but to no avail...this guy was determined to turn left onto Yates, and he did eventually. Tourists most likely.

I'm guilty of being a tourist driver too though. I remember I turned the wrong way onto a one way street in Auckland once...didn't last too long...I quickly realized and turned the other way. It was marked very well I don't think. That's how I justify that one. Ah, good times, good times.

I really need to clean up my place...it's quite the mess since I moved in. My attention has been focused on my new computer lately. I built a PC that will be my entire media/entertainment centre. Using a wicked program called MythTV and components I purchased from various places across the country, I put the thing together in a couple days and have spent the last week configuring and tweaking the settings...there's still a lot to do. I'm learning as I go as well...because it uses Linux as it's operating system. It's gonna be a prety slick setup once I get it all tweaked. Very cool.

But yeah, my living space is quite the junk heap...so I think I need to take some time from the PC and focus on some tidying and organizing. It can't be that hard.

I'm off for 3 days thanks to an offset long weekend.

I hope my brother is feeling ok...he wasn't the last time I talked to him. I should spend more time with him...we get along fine these days and there's no excuse for us not hanging out more (aside from the fact that he lives a little ways outta the way).

My ass has been talking a lot of shit lately. On monday, I think I visited the latrine about 6 times. I'm not sick..it's just one of those things where, well I won't get into it...I'm sure you don't wanna hear about my bowel movements.

As you can see on my main page, the daily Planman pictures are back...I finally got around to hooking up the ole webcam again. Haven't found the ideal spot for taking the daily pic in my new pad, so bear with me as I try a few different locations out.

With regard to locations in this pad, I'm gonna have to do some re-arranging in a bit once I get my home theatre setup. Need to find the ideal placing for speakers and such, while still keeping the room useable. I think I've got it figured out...but need to talk to the landlords to see how they feel about some possible modifications to the ceiling panels for wiring purposes.

I'm lovin' this place though...nice and cool through these hot summer days. It's a nice refuge.

Holy cow! It's been too long since I posted anything. I apologise to my loyal readers. Let's see what my excuses are this time:

1) Some things changed at work. People got laid off and schedules got modified. I am now one of the Prime Time operators in the CHUM West Presentation Centre. It's good, I've got a regular shift and will be able to plan a life around my days and time off. It's still a little rough around the edges as we get through vacations and schedule conflicts for the next few weeks. One thing though, is that I tell people my new regular hours and they respond, "oh, and you like that?" to which I say "sure". So I work Prime Time. So I don't get evenings off. This is the career I chose and the one I like. I may not be doing my most ideal job in this business right now, but I'm happy where I am, and I'm good at what I do. Being a Prime Time operator means the company puts a lot of trust in me...this is Prime Time...the most important viewing time for any television station. Besides, I get weekends off.

2) I moved. I am now much closer to work and activities that I take part in. Q & S bought a house and I have become their tenant in the basement suite. It's a nice place, lots of space for a bachelor pad, new appliances (I got a bigger fridge than they do upstairs!), and I got it all to myself. I will miss living with Choy, but I am a bit of a recluse sometimes and I think I will enjoy living on my own once again.

3) Rol & Katie got married. Congratulations to them on finally tying the knot. It's been 8 years they've been together. The wedding was very nice...ceremony and reception all held at Rol's parent's place in Sooke. Beautiful setting, lots of people, nice weather (a little too hot, but better than rain), and a good time was had by all. I helped out by videotaping the ceremony...I'm hoping like hell that it turned out ok. I had 2 cameras...1 locked off shot on Katie and they other handheld by me and panning between Rol, the chaplain ( I think that's what her title was...the minister type person), and the other party members. I think the camera shots will be ok...I'm hoping the audio was picked up ok. The ceremony wasn't structured quite as I had thought it would be...I failed to ask enough questions about it I think. Anyways, after the ceremony I moved the PA system (thanks to Choy for the help) and setup the DJ booth and microphone. A bunch of us took turns DJing and the dance floor was generally rockin' through the evening. It was a good party.

Those are my excuses for not updating. Whenever I've sat down at the puter I just haven't thought much about posts...but I'm back and settled and will be posting regularly again.  I guess I'll cut this one off here...don't have much more to say tonight.

As mentioned in my previous post, I have a new car. It's a 2002 Mazda Protege5 ES, in Sunburst Yellow, with a 5 speed manual tranny, 2.0 L engine making 130HP, air conditioning, moonroof, cruise control, and CD player. I'm quite liking it. Still re-getting used to driving a standard transmission again. I haven't stalled it yet, but I've had some rough take-offs which I need to improve upon. I haven't driven a standard on a regular basis for 8 years...wow, it's been that long. Should be getting some decent fuel economy now, which is needed in these times of higher gas prices. It's nice having a sporty car with 4 doors and a usable trunk area. It's a hatchback, but it's more like a small station wagon. So it looks cool and it's versatile and usable. It's almost like these should be classified as sport utility vehicles.

All right, enough about my car. If you wanna see it, click here. I'll be adding more pictures as my life with this car progresses.

Last November there were layoffs at work. I was a new employee then and I managed to survive the cuts somehow. Yesterday, there were more layoffs in the building, and once again I managed to keep my job. Unfortunately, 29 others did not. Here's the write-up on it from the Times Colonist.

You ever notice how the Mac's/Wink's Froster is generally a better product than the 7-11 Slurpee, but 7-11 has done a much better job on marketing? Slurpee is one of those trademark names that's caught on in place of the actual type of product name (like Kleenex or Xerox). The Froster is definitely better than the Slurpee in my opinion. They generally have better flavours (the Mug rootbeer lately has been great) and I love the small gauge straws you can get with a Froster...spoon straws are lame.

Yesterday marked the end of an era (and possibly the beginning of a new one). The Planman family GMC Sierra SL 1/2 ton pickup truck was sold and replaced with a shiny, sporty, almost new 2002 Mazda Protege5 ES. Yes, Planman has a new car!

First, a recap of my experiences with the GMC:
This was the first vehicle my parents bought that was brand new. Dad bought it from Pacific GMC in the lower mainland and drove over to his in-laws (my grandparents) place where I was visiting to pick me up. I loved it from the get go, and somewhere in the stacks of photos in my parent's house is a shot of me draped over the hood of the truck showing my definite approval.
A year, maybe two later, it became the first vehicle I ever drove...and by drove I mean steer. At the tender age of about 12, whilst on family vacation somewhere in the middle of BC, all four of us squeezed in across the bench seat (Gord and I sharing a seatbelt as it was only meant for three), I leaned over and asked Dad if I could drive. Feeling quite sheepish about my request I smirked over towards my mom, not expecting dad to say yes. Next thing I know he's telling me I'd better take the wheel or we're going to end up in the ditch...he had let go of the wheel as the truck flew down the highway at close to 100Km/h. I reached over and put my hands on the wheel...not knowing what the hell I was doing and steering like they do on TV (always moving the wheel back and forth). Dad was right there, ready to take control the moment he didn't feel my driving was satisfactory...which came pretty soon. So that was my first driving experience...it lasted all of about 10 seconds, but the GMC was there.
A few years later, the GMC was involved in it's only collision while with the Planman family. Some guy ploughed into the front driver's side corner on a blind corner of East Sooke Rd as Dad was driving home from work one evening. Thankfully dad was all right, and the GMC survived, only requiring some new sheet metal and body work. The GMC was (and still is) tough.
Fast forward a few years until I was actually licenced and driving. The GMC came in handy as an interim pizza delivery vehicle when I sold my B2000 and missed out on the Monte Carlo I had intended to buy by only a few hours.
Forward a few more years to me moving out into my own pad. Dad and I weren't getting along over some issue that had come up earlier that day, but he still helped me load up my stuff in the GMC and drive it into town. The GMC didn't interfere with our personal problems...it just worked as well as it ever did and got me and my stuff where we needed to be.
August, 1999, I borrow the GMC to move my ass up to Chetwynd to take on my first full time media job after finishing college. After 3 weeks in Chetwynd, mom and dad visit with the plan being that they would take the truck back to the island. Instead they offer to sell it to me (at family prices) and let me have some wheels in my new surroundings. I agree and the GMC becomes mine.
Fall, 2001, after surviving major powerplant surgery and serving me well in Chetwynd and on trips to areas from Prince George to Edmonton in all kinds of weather, the GMC returned it's tires to Vancouver Island soil where I sold it back to the family (yes, I'm an asshole who sells something back to his family for more than he paid them in the first place) so that I could go gallavanting halfway around the world.
June, 2003, I return from New Zealand and the GMC is returned to me at no cost (yes, I'm still an asshole...but they assured me it was ok and they didn't want any money). It took one more trip up to Chetwynd, through Grande Prairie and down to Edmonton and Calgary before returning to the Tie Lake for the first time in years. Upon returning to the island, it became a daily driver commuting vehicle once again as Planman began his new career at the New VI.
July 5, 2004, the GMC is no longer a part of the Planman family. Sold to a salesman at Victoria Saturn, the money going towards the down payment on Planman's new vehicle. It was a sad day, yet happy. The GMC will be dearly missed, and perpetually remembered in the minds of all who knew it. From hauling, to towing, to light off-roading, to camping, and much more, the GMC was an important part of the Planman family for just slightly less than 16 years.

Wow, work was cool yesterday. Lotsa stuff happening, kept me busy (which I like to be). I was in command though...which is the way it should be in Master Control. I guess it wasn't that busy, but it was busier than your usual graveyard shift (probably because it was an afternoon shift, of which I haven't done one on my own in a while). No fuck-ups, which is always good in my book.

Actually, yesterday overall was a good day. Big news comin' on Monday...wait and see. I'm not givin' away anything yet.

I picked up the Toronto Rocks DVD the other day and watched it with Mom and Dad on Canada Day. It's quite good...very cool to be able to see the recording of a concert I was actually at. Hell, I'm even in some of the shots (ok, so it's the big faceless jib or helicopter shots of the mass of people of which I was a part, but I'm still in it). I wish they'd have put more AC/DC songs on it though. Back in Black and Thunderstruck were good, but they weren't the best songs AC/DC did at the show. If You Want Blood would have been nice...since that's the only live AC/DC show I've seen where they played it (with Brian Johnson). I'm sure it was a licencing thing why they couldn't put more AC/DC on it. Regardless, I'm still happy with it...even though it cost me more for the DVD than for my concert ticket.

Elk Lake is amazingly warm. It's gotta be fed by some hot springs or something.

Behind a boat sports was quite fun yesterday, although I didn't clock in much time behind the boat as there were a lot of people. But I got up for a wakeboard and it was my best wakeboard run yet. I bailed once, but managed to keep the board on my feet which is good (cause I'm hooped if I'm in the middle of the lake and the boots come off). I started practicing S-curves out on the side and I'm getting better at crossing over the wake and keeping my balance. Anton seemed fairly impressed and he thinks I'll be pretty good on the board by the end of the summer.

Rol and I had a good tube session behind his boat. Tree drove and she did a good job. The lake was pretty calm and smooth and it gave us a lot of opportunity to goof off and try and tip each other over (which we both succeeded in a couple times). The water was so warm, it felt great just hanging your hand over the side of the tube and letting it drag through.

Looking forward to next week's outing...I hope the weather is good.

A toilet is a wonderful invention, especially the seat part. I had to takes 3 shits in the woods this past weekend and since getting back to civilization, the toilet has been the highlight. Three cheers for Thomas Crapper! Hip Hip Hooray! Hip Hip Hooray! Hip Hip Hooray! (Ok, I found out Crapper didn't invent the toilet, but if I mentioned another name you probably wouldn't know who I was talking about).

So ya, camping this weekend up at Cowichan Lake. It was Rol's stag party and it was fun. About 10 of us went and took over Bald Beach at the base of Bald Mountain on the northern shore. Quite a cool spot, except it's on quite a slope and I didn't quite get my tent on the level. So I slid. Some of us played Murphy's Law to a tee and forced the good weather out by not bringing sunglasses, it was truly a hot, beautiful weekend. Got windy in the afternoons, but it's always windy at Cowichan. Mornings, the lake was like glass and wakeboarding was on. Evenings, the wind eventually died down and it was calm as for sleeping. Spent a lot of time being dragged behind the boat on the tubes...my body is getting broken in for the behind a boat sport season which has now officially started. It's all good...except the sunburn.

Election day in Canada today. The NDP will be getting my vote, cause the Conservatives suck and the Liberals have had their chance for long enough. What's with politicians waving at cars from the side of the road? You think that's going to make me vote for you? Because you waved at me? Ya, ok...I want someone like you representing me in Ottawa. Fuckin' idiots. Like I wrote before, there's no real good choice in politics, but I feel I should vote so I'm just going with gut feeling.

Some couples are weird.

There's this middle aged couple I see fairly regularly walking on the Goose. Twice I've seen them wearing exactly the same clothes...I'm talking hat to shoes, same colours and styles. Why would you want to dress exactly the same? You think it's cute? It looks so lame. Fuckin wackos.

Some of the issues in this election seem pretty clear cut to me.

Abortion: Pro-choice, no doubt about it. The population is getting out of hand. If a woman doesn't want to have a baby, she doesn't have to. I agree, it shouldn't be used as a method of birth control, but it should be available as a last resort and for victims of rape or accident.

Same Sex Marriage: Let 'em get married, why should the government care if a marriage is hetero or homo?

Those are the 2 issues I seem to keep hearing about. Of course I know there are many others.

So I thing I'm officially becoming a bike commuter...partially. I don't want to take the time (or the energy) to bike the entire 40km into work from home (including hills), but I can do the 12km from View Royal quite nicely. I'm enjoying it...I have more energy when I get to work, plus I'm getting much needed exercise on a regular basis. The Galloping Goose is a good trail for riding.

There's this little bunny that's always sitting on the side of the trail near the hospital in the early morning. He's there when I bike to work for the early shift, and he's there when I bike from work coming off the graveyard shift. He just sits there...doesn't get scared when I bike past. Only in the early morning. Not sure why or what he's doing, but he's cute.

My back feels better, still not perfect though. I think the bike riding and climbing has helped. I've been biking to work this week..it's been going good. I drive part way, then pull the bike outta the truck and bike the remainder. I still clock up 12 kilometres one way, which is further than most people at work. I hope we win some prizes for bike to work week. I stopped at the BBQ they were having yesterday afternoon. The information I had gotten said they were going to have a bike mechanics around to help fix bike problems...but I saw none. My front derailleur isn't adjusted right and the chain is ticking against it. I tried adjusting it with some success on tuesday, but it's tough, cause it has to be in the right place to avoid the ticking, but to still be able to get the chain in the right place to take gear...the chain has trouble getting into the top gear up front and it often grinds against the side of the cog a lot. I'll get it fixed up some day.

I test drove a Mazda3 on tuesday. It was pretty cool. I like those cars, the styling is quite nice and they're well made. One thing that concerns me is Mazda's relationship with Ford, but I don't think the 3 is influenced too much by Ford. It is built on the same platform as the Focus and Volvo S40, but I'm not sure who developed the platform. It's tough to get away from Ford these days, they own or partner with a bunch of international car companies. Regardless of the Ford thing though, I like the Mazda3 and would consider buying one. I don't know if I want to buy a brand new vehicle though...you lose so much money to depreciation and interest. It would be cool though. I haven't denied the thought yet.

Owly Fuck! I think there's a nerve pinched in my back. If I move my arms in a certain way it hurts. The pain is coming from under my right shoulder blade. I don't like it. I haven't been able to crack it out...usually I lean backwards over the couch back or the railing and a couple things pop into place and all is good. This one, I've moved in all sorts of directions and it just doesn't wanna go away. I might have to go to a chiropractor or something. I'm going climbing...I hope I'm able to climb. Maybe as I climb it'll work it's way out. I'll be stretching a lot, so that should be good. Climbing is fun...I'm likin' it.

Saw this movie, Love Actually, last night. It's one of those "everyone is linked to one another" kinda movies. It was mildly entertaining. It's about how different people deal with love in their lives. Some of the relationships were realistic enough, but some were pretty stupid. Then again, what do I know about relationships. Maybe shit like that does happen and I'm just blind to it, or missin' out big time. If so, I think I need to develop a British accent and head to Madison, Wisconsin...

Saw the Improv Comedy All-Stars last night (being most of the crew from Whose Line is it Anyway?, except the black guy and the rich guy)...very funny, good fun. The songs they created on the spot were brilliant, and overall the show was hilarious. Improv comedy is quite cool.

Now onto a more "serious" topic. The great Canadian election (or "a big bunch bullshit" if you ask me).

I'm not a political person. I don't pay much attention to what goes on with the people who "run" our country, province, or region. Why? Because it doesn't have much relevance to me...and there isn't much I can do about it. I know some people follow politics like a sports fan follows his local team...politics are like a real live soap opera for these people. You listen to them talk about it and they're all caught up in the goings on of the politicians and their parties and who said what and who's screwing who, etc ,etc. These people live for C-PAC coverage. I know people do it with celebrities too...so why not politics? Maybe it's even a step better that people follow politicians lives instead of celebrities'...I dunno, nor do I care.

So we've got an election in Canada coming up at the end of the month. Do I care? no. Why? Because whoever gets elected to lead our country will do some good stuff and some bad stuff during their term. There is no way any political party or politician can satisfy everyone...that's just not possible in anything. Furthermore, there's really only 2 parties competing for the leadership...despite the fact that we have several parties in the running. Now I realize a choice of 2 parties is better than a choice of 1, but it's still not much of a choice. Of these 2 parties, they'll keep some of their campaign promises, and not keep some of them. The problem is, we don't have any control of which promises they keep and which they don't. This is probably my biggest problem with the political world. Yes, we get to vote...once. Once that party is in power, we don't vote again to determine what they actually do.

People will argue that voting on the issues, even if it's just the more major ones, is not feasible. I can see why...Elections Canada is filled with a bunch of morons. No kidding, we received our "Voter Information Card" in the mail the other day. It's addressed to all of us in the house, but the actual piece of paper (incorrectly being called a card) only has my name on it. It also lists the polling station that I can use...but this polling station is not the closest one to my house...nor is the address correct even if I wanted to go to this polling station. But despite the fact that Elections Canada hires idiots, it's jobs. Jobs that come around only once every 5 years I believe. If we voted on issues on a regular basis, there would be reason to have more permanent jobs with Elections Canada. Jobs are good...it's always a political issue isn't it?

Why should we vote on issues the government is dealing with? Why not? I've been told that we, the people, actually run this country...we just elect a party to help us out. So why not have that party address and research the issues and come up with some possible solutions or work arounds or whatever...then have the people of the country vote on what should be done. As far as I know, right now, the government or the senate or the supreme court is the one making those decisions. Example: the same sex marriage issue. Why was this decided by the supreme court? Why couldn't Canadians have voted to determine if these marriages should be allowed? It seems to me that you would get a better feel for the true feelings of the people of the country if the issue was voted on by all.

I'm getting a little lost here...starting to ramble. But you get what I'm saying?

One other thing I have some trouble with. I don't know what the Prime Minister gets paid, but I'm pretty sure it isn't less that $100K per year. Now, I've been told that the last few Prime Minister's we've had, have been personally quite wealthy on their own (or from scandals and embezzlement possible, who knows?). What I would like to see, is a Prime Minister (and other politicians) reduce his/her salary to a more regular amount. Say $60K. That would take balls, and it would really show us, the people, that this politician is truly in it to make a difference and not for any other monetary or celebrity or status reason. I mean, the PM is provided a house to live in, and I'm pretty sure the majority of their travel is covered by government expense...so why the big salary? Especially of they've got a healthy bank account beforehand.

So in conclusion, you may think I'm not going to vote after this rant. Well, I've been asked this question by a few people recently...and when I reply "I dunno", they tend to get a tad annoyed with me. How can you not vote? It's your duty to vote. You have to vote. Well, I don't have to vote...my one little ballot isn't going to make any difference, especially out here in BC. But, I understand the reasoning behind "having" to vote, and I do plan to vote. I'm told that democracy is better than dictatorship, even though as I said before, we don't have all that much of a choice. And you know what?...a lot of people back in the 40's...they thought democracy was worth fighting and dieing for. So I vote because of them...I vote in their honour and memory.

Hmm, look at me with my opinions and shit.