I've been working all week...it's quite cool. Helping out these wiring guys, I'm learning a lot about how to keep the wiring tidy...it's good to know. Some cool shit going into the station too, I love it!

My roommates are so cool. Choy has driven me in as far as he can in the mornings and I catch the bus the rest of the way...and today he had to go right to town so he drove me right in, and then home again at the end of the day! But Tree, on tuesday, when she realised I was working late, she drove all the way into town just to pick me up and drive me home. If I had caught the bus I wouldn't have got home till midnight, but Tree got me home around 10:45. They're the best!

Victoria Independent Film and Video Festival starts tomorrow. Looking forward to seeing some of the films...they sound quite good. Hope to get hold of a VIP pass from work some nights. Gotta love the benefits of working for a sponsoring company.

Amanda Walsh on MuchMusic is so damn cute.

What is the big whoop about these Mars rovers? I mean, yes, it's kinda cool. But didn't they send one of these rover things a few years ago, and it broke? And it's not like they haven't been to Mars before. In the 70's they sent those Viking orbiters and landers, which worked and sent back pictures. They didn't move, but they were there. I realize these most recent rovers are the next step in Mars exploration and people are excited, but they're excited like it's the first time anything has ever been on the planet. Weirdos.

Why are they even devoting so much money to space exploration? I find it interesting, but it's quite a waste when there's problems here on Earth to deal with first. Maybe it's because this planet is gonna be fucked in the next century or so, and they're looking for a habitable place to move to for a clean start. What do I know?

Work was good this weekend...ran manual with Dono most of Saturday...we had a good rhythm going and got to see some of the changes to Master Control as they made 'em. Looking forward to this week as I get to help install some of the new equipment and do some wiring. My job is fun.

People who go on the Price is Right and become a contestant can be so mean. I watched these guys today, they bid one dollar above someone elses bid...which means unless the first person's bid is bang on, they won't win for sure. I know it's perfectly legal in the game, and it's a good way to get up on stage, but it's just underhanded and mean...c'mon, give 'em a bit of a buffer and a chance. 25 bucks or something, don't cut them off.

Funny thing was, years ago I was watching the show and some guy didn't quite understand the concept of that bid, so the woman before hit bid $700, then he bid $699, cutting himself off unless the price was exactly $699. What a dummy.

I've been watching the Price is Right for over 20 years (like many people I know) and I can remember when I was young, thinking I'd like to go on it someday and win big...but I always thought that by the time I was old enough to go on it, Bob Barker would be long retired and maybe dead and I wouldn't get that chance. Now I'm plenty old enough to go on (still haven't) and Bob is still doing it like he always has. Amazing! Keep goin' Bob, I may make it yet.

Barker's Beauties have changed over the years...the best one was there back when I was in my early teens. Dianne Parkinson....damn she was nice. Holly was cute too, but Dianne had it going on. I have yet to see her spread in Playboy though.

Big Fish is an excellent movie. I saw it last night with Q and it was very good. Funny, witty, charming and just plain enjoyable. Wonderfully acted and directed by all involved. Go see it.

Set out on a walk today, but it started to sprinkle rain and I had my camera with me, so I turned back. It never rained much, but I didn't want my camera to get wet. I got a good half hour or so though. Kinda chilly out these days...it's been colder though.

Yogurt in Canada sucks compared to yogurt in New Zealand. I'm generalizing here, but the stuff I bought the other day is awful compared to any of the kinds I tried when I was in NZ. Generally, most dairy products were quite good in New Zealand. It's a big dairy nation...lots of cows. They didn't dye their cheese orange either...and cheddar wasn't the common cheese for the masses. There was Colby and Edam which were quite popular, and Tasty which was cheddar (and was not all that tasty). Of course there were all the other kinds of cheese like we get here, but those 3 were the mainstays it seemed. Mmmm, Colby...so creamy, so yummy...I miss it so.

Saw Return of the King for the 2nd time last night...$4 at the Caprice, who can argue with that? I don't know what it is about those films, but I'm just not blown away by them like most people seem to be. I respect them and they effort that went into making them, and I recognize them as being well done, but I just don't think they're my kind of story. Ah well, to each his own.

In the middle of the movie though, for some reason, I got a hankering for a turkish kebab like I used to enjoy in Auckland. I don't know why...maybe I was thinking Lord of the Rings = New Zealand = Kebab. Anyways, tonight I made my attempt at kebabs. They weren't quite like a good old Sultan Kebab, but they were damn tasty. Chicken, mixed up with salad greens, cucumber, carrot, celery, onion, tzatziki, and satay sauce, wrapped up in a whole wheat tortilla shell. Mmmmm.

Hands up...are you like me or am I just a wacko? When you're expecting a call, do you get all worried that you're gonna miss it so you don't do anything but sit around and wait? I tend to. Sometimes I take the cordless phone to the bathroom...just in case. I hum and haw over whether I should have a shower. I check the phone for messages once I get out of the shower...but the I wonder...what if the person called while I was checking for messages? In that short time when I listened for beeps, the person could have called and been sent straight to voice mail rather than ringing the phone. So then I check again a short time later...but then what if it happened during that message check? It turns into a vicous circle. Then, once it's gone past the time when you think they should have called by, you start wondering if you should call them...but you don't want to bother them. Are you like that? or is it just me?

Anyway, I was sorta that way today, waiting for a call from work. But ultimately I decided to live life around the call and I did stuff. I went for a walk around the neighbourhood which was good. Lots of houses being built.

It was a good work weekend...I got a couple gold stars! I thought I wasn't going to have any work till next weekend, but it looks like I may get to help out with the wiring and setup of the equipment for the master control expansion. Waiting for a call to find out more about it, but it sounded pretty good when Cindy told me about it yesterday.

I'm watching the Sharon Osbourne show...laugh all you want. It not bad actually...better than some of them. Ali Landry is on...she's pretty damn hot.

I ate some real food today! Had some oranges and orange juice, then some toast! It was lovely.

My roommates can't believe I make my bed every day. It's just habit I guess...and it really doesn't take that long. It makes my room look neat and plus I think it makes the sheets feel slightly warmer when I go to bed cause the blanket has been on top of them all day.

I work tonight...I think I remember how to do everything. It's been a week since I been to work. There was a meeting there yesterday though...about the new Master Control project. It's gonna be exciting times for the next while. Looking forward to it!

Screw this fast...I deem my insides to be clean. I'm off it after tomorrow. I can't wait to eat again. The sweetener for my lemonade is maple syrup...and I just can't take only drinking...I want it on pancakes! Soon, I will.

Watched Ghost World last night. Ok flick...kinda funny. Check it out if you're into non-mainstream film.

I gotta get into the habit of writing stuff on here when I think about it. I know I had something more insightful to write today, but I kept putting it off and now I've completely forgotten. Argh!

What is the fascination with Paris Hilton? Sure, her sex tape made it out into the public sector, but trust me, it ain't that exciting. Sure she had a hit "reality" show on Fox, but I can't figure out why it was a hit. I watched about 5 minutes of one episode and it was soooooo stupid. She's not that good looking either. I just don't get it.

Anyway, what's on my mind today is this "bling-bling" phrase (how can you tell I've been watching Much Music for 10 minutes?). Since when did gold and diamonds and shiny jewelry become known as "bling-bling"? And why? I guess it's slang like anything else, but I just don't know how it came about. I haven't conformed to it yet...not that I really refer to it in day to day conversation anyways.

Day 3 of my master cleanse. I still haven't had a good, clean it all out, shit...I'm wondering if I will. I can't believe how not hungry I am...it's weird. I mean, I miss eating, and I hate seeing food and knowing I can't have it...but I'm doing fine on this fast and I'm thinking I may go longer than 5 days. What I've read about it recommends doing it for at least 10 days...so maybe I'll push for that. Once I'm off this thing, I'm going to change my eating habits...smaller portions, healthier foods, smarter meal planning. We'll see how it goes.

Second day drinkin lemonade...I'm not feelin' hungry...it's amazing! Maybe I can go longer on this thing than I thought. I drank a glass of salt water this morning...yuck. It took a while to cause anything, then I went to the bathroom...but it was...disappointing. I drank some laxative tea tonight...we'll see if this does anything. Maybe I don't have anything to clean out?

I didn't do much today. It was raining. Plus I didn't want to stray too far from the toilet...just in case. I'm getting a little bored...I need more to do. I should start on Choy's website...I sorta did today...I built some of the database construct. Maybe more tomorrow. I do get to go into town tomorrow though...so that be fun.

All I had to eat or drink today was "lemonade". It's going all right. I felt a little woozy earlier, but it passed. I haven't had a massive cleansing shit yet...apparently that comes tomorrow after I wake up to a yummy glass of salt water! An oral enema it's known as.

I know in past posts I've written a fair bit about how I feel on poverty and homeless people and I've just sorta thrown out some out there ideas on what could or should be done about it. I'm personally torn on the subject and I don't really know what I feel. I'm not gonna go into details right now...and I'm not necessarily going back on what I have written in the past. I may be posting more thoughts on this in the future.

I heard 21 Grams is good...and I thought it looked good from the ads and trailers. I wanna see it.

I've only eaten fruit today...preparations for the master cleanse starting tomorrow. I'm sorta hungry, but I'm good.

Hung out with the gang last night...went to Thai Siam for dinner...I love Thai food and I hadn't been there before...it was damn good. Played some Scattergories at Q & S's place...Tree and I won as a team. And even though we won, I still think they should have accepted "Palm Trees" as our answer for "Tropical Locations" - it's all about associating a word or phrase with the given topic...not taking it completely literally. Oh well, it was still fun...and there were lots of controversial answers.

I swept and mopped the floor today...oh, and helped Tree take the decorations off her Christmas Tree. Otherwise it's been a pretty lazy day. I'm gonna need to find something to do for the week.

Since I am not scheduled for any work next week, I have decided I will try this cleansing diet/fast that I've been told about. It involves drinking a concoction of fresh lemon juice, water, maple syrup, and cayenne pepper. I can drink as much of it as I want, but I can't eat anything. They recommend doing it for 10 days, and say it's safe for up to 40. I will do it for 5. On the second day, I'm suppose to drink a glass of salt water that will induce a big bowel movement and clean out my insides. They also say you'll lose weight on this diet/fast. So, I'm willing to try it and see how goes. Monday I start.

Snow 4 days ago, now it's warm enough to be comfy in a t-shirt outside. Vancouver Island rocks.

So, gross story of the week...no, month...ok, maybe year...
Choy and I are setting up his office last night and we move the futon that's in the room. This is the room his former roommate slept in and the futon Choy let him sleep on. Anyways, the futon is moved and we're setting up his desk and Choy notices on the floor...a condom. It ain't in it's wrapper, it's just lying there scrunched up on the floor. Ewwww!! I don't look closely, so I dunno if it was used, I 'm guessing maybe it was used but not "fully". I dunno. Anyways, very sick. The carpet in that room definitely needs a shampoo...ugh.

I got new CDs today! 2 Bifs, a Noise Therapy, and a Wide Mouth Mason. Very happy with all of them. I need some CD racks...the cardboard box their in right now just isn't easy enough to search through.

I come up with these brilliant flukes every once in a while.

This morning I'm doing studio duty on New Day and I have to come up with a bumper shot to take us to break following the first news update. We have this bust of Elvis in the studio, and it's sitting right beside a monitor. So I frame up Elvis and plan to pan over to the monitor with our logo on it. So I ask if the audio op has any Elvis music he can play for the bumper. He does, and he plays that new remix one which is cool. Then, the sound guy (Scott) realizes it's some Elvis anniversary today. I check it out on the net and it turns out it's his birthday! How weird and wacky is that? Total fluke on my part. I love it when shit like that happens.

It's amazing how many people you can reach with a website and it's always interesting to find out how they've found you. This guy at Antique Appliances that my brother has been dealing with, sent Gord an email commenting on my website and my expressions and opinions. Just kinda cool to get feedback on the site...any feedback no matter if it's praise or criticism. So, if you wanna feed me back, just click on my phone link to contact me. Tell me how you found my site, if you visit it regularly, what you think of it, or anything else you wanna.

I have net access again!

Ok, so I haven't exactly been deprived of net access, but it's been a little while since I've had it in a comfortable environment. I've been meaning to do an update or two or five here for a bit, so let's start way back with what I wanted to do before 2004 came around.

2003 - the Planman Perspective
- Quit the best paying, most confusing/irritating job I ever had
- Welcomed my parents to my home in Auckland
- Toured the South Island of New Zealand in a camper van with my parents
- Toured Australia's east coast for 6 weeks
- Learned I'm a lousy solo traveller
- Let myself and my family down when I became a bum living with my parents and pissing my money away
- Saw AC/DC for the second time at SarsStock in Toronto
- Re-connected with some of my mom's cousins
- Saw Toronto
- Hung out at Tie Lake once again
- Learned how to get up on a wakeboard
- Had good times tubing on Elk Lake
- Scored a job with a great company, working with great people, for much less than I previously made, but for much more peace of mind
- Started planman.net
- Tried online dating, even had a date with one chick, but it hasn't worked yet
- Reconnected with many old friends

There's more that happened in the past year, but that's the stuff that's at the top of my mind.

Resolutions for 2004
- walk more
- eat healthier
- get some investments going
- work on my womanizing
- be happier