Thoughts and Musings

New Year, New Stuff

2006-12-28T18:39:04Z

First, a tangent: I still love my day shifts. I would've never gotten to eat a slice of chocolate raspberry cake on midnights but I had a couple of slices yesterday because it was brought in by someone available in the afternoon. Woot.

Okay. So with the upcoming new year, I've been doing a lot of thinking. I don't really do resolutions, because I suck at them, and can never seem to keep them.

No, this year, no resolutions. Instead, some big changes. I don't know what I'll be doing with this journal, honestly. I haven't been keeping up with it much because there's just not a lot of super-awesomely cool stuff going on in my life, short of daily conversations with marchreaver which are always a lift in my spirits and super-awesomely cool.

Eventually, I'm going to phaze this journal out. I won't remove myself from Livejournal, because I find it to be rather theraputic and I've met far too many nice people through this medium that I'd have never met anywhere else. It's been invaluable. Merely, the journal raphbearish will slowly fade into non-existence and I'll delete it. Part of it is the name is something I feel I've grown out of. The other part is a need to really clean out the friends list. I've got numerous people who I've no idea where they came from, never commented once in my journal to say where they came from and in exploring their profiles, I can make out NO connection.

I also realize that I haven't commented a whole lot in other people's journals lately, though I do find many of you an interesting read and am genuinely interested in reading your entries.

So here's the big change. Right now, if you know/feel like you've been uninterested in my journal, don't read my entries, generally find me a huge bore and waste of online bytes, now's your chance to unfriend me with no backlash, no hate, no hard feelings. You don't need to leave a comment why, either, though feel free to do so if you think you must. I won't hound/stalk you down and be all "OMG, you motherfucker! You defriended me!" and go psycho on your ass. I won't be emo about it and post a journal with a big picture of a black trail of mascara on my face as my tears smugde my make-up. Though that'd be HIGHLY amusing.

At the same time, if you do read my entries, that's great, and I thank you for all the comments in the past and look forward to seeing more in the future - though they'll be on a new journal.

Now I'm hungry, and I go in search of food. Precious food.

Scissor Sisters

2006-12-21T20:58:36Z

So a post from writerbear81 about Scissor Sister tickets had me thinking...

Ever since they cancelled some shows back in October, when was the new scheduled date? Well, it looks like that date is March 7th, 2007 - where the show is already SOLD OUT.

So will they honour the tickets that people bought back for their previous show or is it too late? I mean, it sounds like a stupid question but you still have to wonder...

I'd Like to Thank my Co-worker

2006-12-07T20:54:23Z

For this site. Don't click if you're one of those people who loves Christmastime and spends $1K annually on new Christmas ornaments and lights.

12.5 Explained

2006-12-05T18:17:26Z

Honestly, how many of you immediately thought that the 12.5 reference from yesterday was about cock length?

In truth, it's my ring size. I've never been one to wear jewelry much until now. I have a sudden desire to wear a ring. I never bought the one that most schools try to push on graduating high school students. Please. My school was ghetto - I have no pride for it.

I've been looking at a site with sterling silver custom-made rings that appeal to me. One of those with a moonstone (my birthstone) attracts me in particular.

For those who are frequent ring-wearers, do you normally take them off when you go to sleep or shower? Wear them only for special outings and occasions?

12.5... and Greg Grunberg's Ass

2006-12-05T01:02:28Z

So yeah. 12.5... I guess that's big?

Thanks ottawacub for the screencaps.

Recent Events

2006-12-02T10:31:18Z

All done with Christmas shopping for the family. My sister and I went out for several hours together - probably the first time we've done that in a long time. She and I have never really "bonded" like that much. Since neither of us is much for surprises, we knew exactly what we were getting each other. And the inevitable happened: while in one of the stores, we heard that awful song...

The apartment recently flooded. Well, the bathroom, kitchen and outside the front door area did. The main drain was clogged with one of those super-absorbant quilted paper towels. Reminds you of a Simpsons episode, doesn't it?

Adjusting to the now permanent sleep schedule of going to bed around 11-midnight and waking up for 7ish. I've woken up every night so far around 4-5AM for no apparent reason. It's never been a problem before because I'd do this on my days off, but I think it's because I've got a cold or something. I blame the rain. Stupid rain. Other cities in the south have snow and we get RAIN. This isn't Vancouver, y'know!

Greg Grunberg

2006-11-28T04:36:29Z

This man.

ottawacub, I know you know which episode of Felicity he's in that has him going to a Hallowe'en party in a pair of chaps and he turns around and you see his naked ass.

And if you can provide a video link or a picture, that would be much appreciated.

Oh yeah, this isn't for me. It's for velnich. Seriously.

Recent Stuff

2006-11-25T13:08:46Z

Just finished Day 1 of 5 in this latest stretch of work nights. After the 5th night, I will no longer be on evenings. I'm much more excited than the last sentence makes me out to sound.

There was a little giveaway of 2 VIP passes at work for this weekends Mr. Leatherman competition in town. Thinking of velnich and his recent acquisition of a leather harness, I put my name in, and won them. Sadly, he's working that evening, so he won't be able to attend. Anyone who was interested in going to this event at the last minute, I've got 2 passes for you. They're good for tonight's competition and victory ball, including priority shuttlebus service, free coat check and access to a VIP area. Kind of short notice, I know. If interested, my IM/e-mail is in my userinfo...

Cryptic sentence of the day: I'm so excited for January! Can I squee here? *squee*

Most Important Meal

2006-11-19T13:02:38Z

Breakfast: french toast and turkey bacon again (I'm trying to finish up the challah before it goes stale, and the bacon before it goes bad)

OR

fried egg croissantwich, a bagel with jam and cereal?

Does breakfast really matter for it's energy purposes when I'm going to go to bed like, an hour after I've eaten it?

I can't wait to get off these night shifts. December 4th is my first shift in the full-time day position. Yay!

Mouth-Watering

2006-11-15T14:26:53Z

Breakfast today will consist of french toast and turkey bacon.

I have to admit, I'm pretty proud of my french toast, but I always have a hard time topping it. As in, what to add when it's done. Syrup and cinnamon are usually what I use, but I'd love to try a banana compote sometime. I just need to know the basics to making one. Recently at my favourite diner, Robin the head chef topped it with a chocolate hazelnut sauce. YUM! Didn't even NEED to add syrup to it.

Stuff Lately

2006-11-12T12:27:31Z

Final Fantasy XII: Wow. What can I say about this game? So far - I like it. I'm especially in love with the art and music. The background designs, the characters... all of it reminds me of Vagrant Story (truly one of Square's most underrated and undiscovered gems). That makes sense, since it's the same person who worked on both games! The music also sounds like an improved Vagrant Story score. The combat system took a bit of getting used to, but I've grown to like it. I'm looking very forward to getting further into the game (I've only just gotten Basch, so really like, 5% in?)

WoW stuff: The guild I'm in just ran Blackwing Lair for the first time as a guild on Friday. I've been once before with some other guildmates, filling in some spots on another guild's raid. We did a whole lot better than expected, dropping Razorgore on the third try! Very impressive for what's considered a "Guild breaker" fight and that we're not even ultra-hardcore raiders is all the better. Hopefully it wasn't a one-off and we'll manage it again next time. I've recorded some video on Fraps and will be compiling it when I get home to post on YouTube or something.

In other news, mom's finally home since her broken leg accident back in mid-July. She's still got the cast on, though. It comes off next month. In the meantime, she can walk with the help of crutches, though she prefers the walker. My sister has once again gone off on vacation leaving mom in the care of her boyfriend (he's moved in since I left) and dad. I've taken it upon myself to see mom during this time because she's technically alone during the day and needs a hand still. A woman comes by from the nearby hospital to give her a bath, but she's only around for an hour and then takes off. She doesn't cook or clean. So hard to find good help these days.

It's Early, I Know...

2006-11-07T17:51:34Z

...but for the record: I don't loathe Christmas music in general. Only when it's sung by 7 to 12 year old children and Bing Crosby.

And that horrendous Paul McCartney song.

WHOA! YEAH!

2006-11-01T15:24:23Z

Kickstart my heart,
hope it never drops!
WHOA! YEAH!
BABAAAAY!

From Saturday Night...

2006-10-30T17:17:27Z

nomorescience, his partner comsoc_cub, lostjane and myself went to Canada's Wonderland for FearFest - a late night Hallowe'en event where they have several rides open and some haunted houses set up. We rode on a lot of old favourites and did a couple of the newer rides since most of us hadn't been in several years. Wandering the haunted houses (mazes, really) was kind of a hoot. Janeé kept making herself a target because she kept veering away from anyone with make-up, but they'd run up behind us seconds later to freak her out. The only time I got "scared" was in navigating one of the mazes and being unable to see because the rain had clouded my glasses (and they had me leading us through!)

You can get some other versions of the night from Nick's and Janeé's entries. They have other pictures, too.

Nick, me and Janeé. We had glowsticks so we could see each other easily in the dark. Just being silly.

Rob, Nick and me. Nick's expression is priceless. I think he was channeling TTOW from Amazing Race 9.

Heroes

2006-10-25T08:02:45Z

Was it just me, or did it seem a little lackluster?

So Future Ninja Hiro knows that if Peter interferes and takes action in the present, his existence will cease being. I guess he came to terms with that when he contacted him and told him "what he needed to hear", but seriously, he couldn't have just said "You've seen Isaac's floor mural. New York go buck-yoo*! There's other people with special powers just like you. They're so and so. The most important one is this cheerleader. Get to Odessa, TX now and save her!"

Whatever. Time is such a fickle thing to mess with.

So, Claire's dad has this very weird job that lets him travel around the country daily to places like Las Vegas, Los Angeles and New York to find these heroes to analyze. Wife doesn't know. Kids don't know. Or maybe his bald buddy can teleport him around. It's the only way one can explain how he can be in Vegas in the morning to pick up Nathan and back home in the afternoon to check on Claire post-vehicular manslaughter/accident. If the show could only include timestamps with each new scene... like 24.

Hiro and Ando get dumped in the desert after being caught cheating in Vegas. The show makes it look convenient that the thugs dropped them off next to a restuarant. Umm, bad idea on the thugs part? Then again, I bet it happens all the time that no one bats an eyelash. And Nathan lands right next to the restaurant, but only Hiro saw him. Nooo one else in that place noticed a man soaring in from the sky? Suuurrre...

In several scenes, the protagonists are talking about hero ability and other things at a level far above whispering in crowded places. Peter and Mohandir in the subway. Ando and Hiro in the restaurant. Smartly, Hiro and Nathan were fine...

Finally, Ando arriving at Niki's place. Cops didn't stop him at all? They had several cars outside to make sure D.L. didn't come near the house, but they didn't bother to stop a japanese man from approaching and hold him for questioning? He also just opens the door to her house like he owned the place. Not very smart.

I definitely enjoy the show, but I'm catching some faulty bits in the writing. I should just enjoy it and stop analyzing things.

* I believe it's common in Japan to use this for explosions and *bang* sound effects

Bear Video

2006-10-23T11:52:41Z

Funny what you find on YouTube. I came across this little mini-collection of almost-porn, put together in video format to Nelly Furtado's Maneater. I recognize a few faces, like scottybear, mathan, nfotxn and velnich to name a few. I can pick out at least 3 sections that were borrowed from various Toronto events.

Battlestar Galactica

2006-10-19T17:07:05Z

So there's one major writer flaw I'm dealing with about this show. The cylons see murder as a sin in the eyes of their God, which is why they forced Gaius to sign the execution form at gunpoint. I'm pretty sure this was covered in an episode before and if so, then I've forgotten the reasoning.

But if they haven't... how could they reason the attack that started it all? Why put a gun to Gaius' head to make him sign the execution form? Had they pulled the trigger, that would've been murder, no? And the pastel-suit cylon (the one who looks like Kevin Spacey) can suggest nuking New Caprica like it's no big deal. Murder?

Toronto After Dark

2006-10-17T13:29:29Z

I contacted one of my old D&D boys last night and in the short conversation we had reminiscing, he suggested that we get together again sometime soon - possibly for a movie at the Toronto After Dark film festival.

Until he mentioned it, I hadn't heard anything about it. I'm interested in a couple of movies. Shinobi and Mad Cowgirl in particular, but it's unfortunate I won't be able to see Mad Cowgirl (watch the video behind the cut below, it's sounds like a camp version of Kill Bill with more sex. And listen to the music! Roxette! In another language!) because I work that Sunday night. But as I'm not doing anything Saturday night, Shinobi is on my must watch list. Hopefully my friend will be into seeing that.

Stuff

2006-10-17T12:04:28Z

Starting December 1st, I'm no longer working midnights at my current job. Mon-Fri, 8-4. This IS an improvement as it means full-time employment. Guaranteed 40 hours versus my current 24-32 a week schedule. That equates to more dinero. And dispute it all you want, but it's totally true: Cancerians love the ka-ching. Financial security makes us happy with a :D

I think I'll bake something new and different (for me) tomorrow, but I'm undecided on what. Orange pound cake with a citrus glaze, cupcakes with cream cheese icing, or molten lava cakes? For the lava cakes, I need to pick up some ramekins, which can be bought at any dollar store. For the pound cake, I just need some orange zest and juice, which means buying a big, plump orange or two. For the cupcakes, I just need some cream cheese. I guess it depends on which one I feel less lazy about buying.

Must watch new Heroes when I get home (and still need to watch last Friday's BSG)...

Disturbingly Funny

2006-10-14T06:48:16Z

I swear, I did not find the picture behind the cut. I swear it. Someone else did, and I was like "That's too twisted NOT to post!" So I did.

It's not really work safe, mainly because of the F-bomb.

Snow? What Snow?

2006-10-12T21:55:11Z

Apparently, parts of the US and even Toronto had:

Nooo, not that kind. The other kind. But when I looked outside, all I saw was

Yeah, I can be a right bastard sometimes.

Warning, if you're on a slow ass dial-up connection, don't look behind the cut.

Heroes

2006-10-11T16:42:23Z

I didn't want to like it at first. Thinking "Oh yeah, here's a cheesy spin off of X-Men or whatever." I think I've just slowly managed to avoid TV shows growing up. That, or computer gaming is a full-attention thing. It's not easy to play a game where other people need you to focus AND watch whatever's on the TV without missing details on either end.

So, bless the internet gods for torrents. I've downloaded the three episodes so far, watched about one and a half of it, and I'm liking it. Most interesting character? Final Destination Girl. Now if this actress isn't being typecast for "weird and horrific" roles, then I don't know what you call it. I'm still trying to fathom out whatever her ability is exactly.

And oh yeah. I caught the name of the cheerleader in the opening credits and I knew I recognized it.

Where'd The Time Go?

2006-10-07T12:26:39Z

So, I was all like, "I'm gonna go to bear night, even though my roommate who I'd normally go with is at work, and most people I'd expect to see there are elsewhere in the world!" at 10:30. I thought I'd be alone and have a craptastic time and be home by 11:30, 12:00 at the latest. Wrooong.

I get there by 11 and see some people I know (acquaintances, really) so we chat for a bit. One of my co-workers who I actually like comes by and says she's off to see her girlfriend bartending at a place down the street but just came by to say hello. We chat for a bit. By 12, silentmarc shows up and it's been ages since I've seen him, so we chat about tabletop gaming and work and old friends. Some very good news may have come out of that discussion...

Shortly after he leaves, I stick around with some friends nearby who I've only really seen briefly. So for the majority of the night, I hang out with pensivegargoyle, his awesome friends scarletxkitten and equus_albus and someone I briefly met in Montreal when I went back in March but who's moved to Toronto, notofthisworld along with a few others who don't have livejournals (as far as I know). We close down O'Grady's and we grab some slices from Express Pizza. Before we know it, it's 4:30AM. pensivegargoyle has to go home, and equus_albus has a bus to catch at 6:15, so we decide to grab coffee at Fran's. By then, the subway would be running again so we stick it out and play some tunes on the digital jukebox in the diner. By 7, we're done, and I get home by 7:30.

It was really nice just meeting some new friends and hanging out unexpectedly MUCH later than I had planned to. I don't even feel the least bit tired, but I know I should grab some sleep because I have to work tonight. *sigh*

Must remember - Battlestar Galactica 3.1 tonight. I know it's already aired in the States. Damn you bitches.

Make Love, Not Warcraft

2006-10-05T18:22:17Z

So, yeah. If you got to see last night's new South Park episode (as I've just seen it this afternoon - yay for the internet) um, keep in mind that not all of us geeks end up like the boys do at the end of the show because of World of Warcraft.

Directions

2006-10-03T16:08:11Z

Well, as I mostly suspected, I did not get the promotion. I did explain that I want off midnights soon though, but the options presented are not ideal. I'd much rather have midnight hours, finish at 8AM and have the whole rest of the day to do whatever I need rather than go in at 4PM or 6PM and finish after most things are closed. I don't even like staying downtown on the weekends lately anymore so I wouldn't bother with a bar if I worked 4-12. If a full time morning position opens, I'll put my name in for that, but that's not likely to come up anytime soon.

As for school and going out of country, umm, yeah. That's been shot down. I think I can see myself moving out of country *after* school, but for now, to keep things reasonably sane it all has to be done in Canada. I think I'm still going to pursue the video game design path, despite my lack of any pure coding or artistic background. I'll just have to use my head and excel at everything they teach me. With my heavy MUD background (and some building for them) I'm not completely clueless. I thoroughly enjoyed creating areas and trying to inspire the imagination of other players. To get back into the swing of it, I ordered this and am looking forward to giving it a read. This would be my ideal placement in the industry. There's still a ton of research to do before I apply for school, though. I'm just glad I've actually got some sense of direction...