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Wednesday, January 5th, 2005
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4:20 pm - 1st Date Of 2005
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So I had a date last night that went pretty well. It was with that woman I mentioned a few entries back that I met while Christmas shopping. It's nice when your expectations aren't horribly disappointed. We met around ten, closed down the Tequila Bookworm & went from there over to the Queenshead afterwards. Here are a few highlights.
Random 3 fun things that happened:
1. When I walked in, there she was reading American Gods (one of my favorite books by my favorite author) which was a pretty good sign.
2. Being an actress, it turns out that she knows a couple of friends of mine at Shaw. Weird.
3. While traveling from place to place, a random strange old lady with a face like a crushed orange declared that we were both going to hell for living in such a God forsaken city & another gentleman sporting a charming urine based musk tried to give us directions to someplace that we didn't ask to go to.
Random 3 fun facts I discovered:
1. It turns out that the mall work is just a part-time sort of gig to supplement her income since her main thing is running the drama program for a school just outside the city.
2. While not a musician, she is pretty hard core into music & for the most part has pretty good taste (i.e The Scientist by Coldplay came on & before I could even say anything, she was saying all the things that I would have about how great the tune was). Plus she's heard of & enjoys Modest Mouse. Major points.
3. Her great story about how her mother actually climbed Mount Everest & how she has a picture of her on the mountain top giving the finger. That's just cool.
Not much else to say really. We're going to try to get together in the next few days to see if it was just a one time lucky occurrence or if we actually do get along well. I hope things go smoothly, but either way, it was just nice to go out with someone that I felt a comfortable connection with where there were no awkward holes in our conversation. That really hasn't been the case for any other dates I've been on for the last while. I guess we'll see what happens.
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| Sunday, January 2nd, 2005
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4:20 pm - Happy New Years You Goofy Bastards!
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So it's 2005 & it looks like the holidays are sadly drawing to an end. I go back to work tomorrow, Bryan moved in & Watson heads back to Fort Erie. It really feels like a new year with all these changes going on...
New Years eve was a good time. Exhausting, but fun. We didn't get through barely any of the things we planned to do since the night before was ended when the sun came up, but what came through was a pretty good time. We did the breakfast thing, went on something of a hike, did a few other random things & headed over to Miki's. We wanted to hit Bryant's too, but with the lack of time & the fact that he lives on the other side of the city from where I live & where we were going later, it just didn't make sense.
Miki's was a good time. He invited just a select group of people who were fun & since they were having another party downstairs, it was pretty easy to flow between the two parties as it fit your mood. Going to a bigger party can be fun, but it's nice to be able to escape the random "WOOOO!" when you feel like it.
So we went kept things going till about seven & then stumbled back through the city to bed. Not a bad New Years overall.
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| Thursday, December 30th, 2004
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4:20 pm - My Last Entry You'll Read This Year
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So tomorrow is new years & I'm not sure if I'll make it. The last few days have been fun, but pretty exhausting.
An explanation? Well, as you might have heard (from me), my room mate Greg is moving back home at the end of the month. Our reaction (I & some other of his friends)? We figured it a shame that he should miss all the fun times we'll experience during January so we decided to cram it all into the last few days that he's still around. Also, we're doing a lot of "So long to Toronto" stuff so I've just been running around a lot more than usual. Oh well, I'm sure it won't kill me (If I never post again, you'll know that I was clearly wrong).
Tomorrow the plans seem to be get up, go out for breakfast, do a little hiking road trip, hit Bryant's for some New Years festivities & end up over at Miki's to bring in 2005. It sounds fun & I'm looking forward to it, but it also really makes my bed seem like a great final destination.
See you all in the next year (well, some of you).
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| Monday, December 27th, 2004
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4:20 pm - Holiday Fallout
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So I'm back in the city & glad for it. Christmas was decent actually. Christmas eve the family watched Dodgeball & The Royal Tanenbaums which was fun. I'd already seen both movies of course (being that they were my DVDs), but it was fun to be able to play them for my family & see their reactions. My sister & her husband (Christine & Robin) loved them both, my mother just sort of stared at the screen & made no comment either way & my father (who is now so ridiculously skinny that he actually looks old) who loved people getting nailed with wrenches during Dodgeball sort of lost interest in the Tanenbaums style & retired to his room to listen to Christmas music about halfway through. Fun times.
Christmas was decent. Everyone liked the gifts I bought them which is nice & I got the new special edition of Return Of The King which looks great. It always surprises me when my family actually get me something I wanted. It's so unlike them.
So we woke up, had breakfast, opened gifts, I took a nap, we had the big Christmas feast, I took a nap, hung out with the family for a bit longer & then caught a ride back Toronto. I know, it may sound like I'm not the best of sons, but, well, I'm probably not. At least there were no real arguments this year which is a nice change.
Boxing day was interesting. Well, by interesting I sort of mean to say that I went a little crazy. I spent a pretty decent chunk of cash & got loads of good gear. DVDs, DVD player, etc... Good stuff. I guess it was sort of a waste of money to grab so much stuff at one time, but since it was boxing day, I saved a few hundred dollars which is nice.
So now & for the next day or so, I'll just be relaxing in my apartment trying to figure out how to wire up & build things. Not a bad holiday overall.
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| Friday, December 24th, 2004
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4:20 pm - Quick Christmas Note
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So I'm heading back to visit the folks soon. I have to do the whole Christmas thing after all. I don't think I'll be down there too long since, well, some in my family sort of drives me nuts on occasion (A.K.A. most always), but it should be good to see them again (if briefly).
I'm getting a ride back with my friend Miki & his girlfriend Rea which should be fun. Not that driving down to St. Catharines is the most interesting of road trips, but Miki & Rea are always good for a laugh & usually have interesting stories to pass on.
Anyway, not much to say & not much time to say it so I'd best be off. I just thought I'd wish a Merry Christmas to anyone who happens to stumble by this useless, useless entry.
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| Tuesday, December 21st, 2004
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4:20 pm - Random Christmassy Bits (Sort Of...)
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As a brief summation, Mandarin went quite well. The food was good as you might expect, but what really brought it together was just seeing everybody again. It's not always the easiest to get that many of us together, but when it actually does pan out, it's always a fun time.
So I finished the last of my Christmas shopping today. Finally. It's frustrating to go out to the mall at this time of year, but at least today wasn't so bad. Actually, it worked out quite well in the end. In the last shop I was in, I struck up a conversation with one of the women working there as I asked her for her advice on something. She helped me out & we sort of chatted a bit more which was quite enjoyable.
When I left the store I felt sort of odd since things had been clicking nicely with her & I thought that it would be foolish not to look into it further. So I went back in, bought something I didn't really need & got her phone number. Cheesy? Yes. Most likely useless? In all probability. Something I needed to do? Absolutely. I haven't met anyone in a while who has sparked my interest. Maybe picking up at the mall is the next logical step. It's doubtful, but possible.
So what's up for the holidays? Well... Head home Christmas eve, smile a bit, open some gifts, give some gifts, eat some turkey & scurry back to my protective shell of Toronto. I can only handle so much family time & usually my limit ends right about the time I get there. It will be nice to see my brother-in-law Robin though. He's always good for a laugh.
As for tonight, well I was invited to check out this winter equinox celebration light show thing which sounded pretty interesting, but unfortunately my schedule won't allow it so I'm heading out to watch Blade 3 instead. Which is almost the same thing really when you think about it hard enough.
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| Saturday, December 18th, 2004
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4:20 pm - Another Year Of Mandarin
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So it's feast night tonight. Every year myself & a couple of friends from "the group" get together & go out to Mandarin for a ridiculously over the top night of dining/gorging on their wide variety of foods. It's the sort of night that always sounds like a great idea beforehand but which your stomach always makes you regret just a little bit afterward. Oh well, it's still worth it when alls said & done.
I think there should be about 14 or 15 of us tonight. I reserved a spot for 16 just in case. Either way, it always works out to be a damn fine time since after all the intensive eating, we will inevitably end up back at my place where we'll have a few drinks, listen to some good tunes & just relax in good company for a while.
It's strangely impressive to me that this Christmas event has managed to hang on for what? 6 years now? I guess that's not really that impressive, but I'm always a little blown away when my friends & I manage to do anything that might be mistaken as adult-like. Usually most of our plans involve what sort of things should be knocked over while in a drunken stupor or discussing great ideas for creative things that never actually take place. It's rare that something nice like this becomes concrete reality.
Anyway, I have to stop babbling for the moment. Both the apartment & myself still need to undergo a little more preparation before tonight so I'd best be off. Have a good weekend you lovely bastards.
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| Wednesday, December 15th, 2004
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4:20 pm - The Strange Good News
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Well the whole room mate issue has been solved. I've found someone who I not only know, but someone I've also lived with in the past to move into my place & save me from further wintry headaches. It will be a surprise to some, but I don't really care too much. There is a time to let go of old grudges & allow for the fact that people change & now is as good of a time as any. Ladies & gentlemen, meet my former & soon to be room mate. Mr. Brian Taylor.
For those who don't know the back-story, I'm sure it will pop up here in the future. For those who do know the back-story & still think I'm nuts, well, deal with it. I've thought about all of this & this is the most logical decision available.
Anyway, that's all for today's post. I just thought that this mental unburdening was worth noting.
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| Sunday, December 12th, 2004
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4:20 pm - A Depressing Sort Of Road Trip
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I saw my grandfather today in the hospital in the form of a frail old man. It was disconcerting. We've never exactly been close, but this wasn't the easiest thing to see...
Yesterday I received a call from my mother to let me know that my granddad, my fathers father, was in the hospital. She let me know that apparently he had had some sort of bowel problems which led the doctors to find that he had a knot in his bowels. Not a good thing I'm told. While they were taking care of him for this, they also found fluid in his lungs & that he might die within 48 hours. Fun times.
When my mother told me this, it was strange for me since I've never really been close to the guy (at all), but it's still a little screwy since he is family & even though we've never seen eye to eye, I see in him some of the traits that I carry even if not so proudly (i.e. my occasionally stubborn nature).
When I heard about this happening, I decided that I needed to see him at least once more. I mean, even if this doesn't finish him off, he's almost 93 & I'm positive that nature will soon remember that he's still around & take him out. It made sense to see him before the worst.
Originally this girl Heather said that she'd drive me down to see him, but that didn't feel right. I've gone out with her once or twice & while she can be interesting to chat with, I didn't think this sort of trip would be a good idea since that would then basically make us a couple & I don't want that at all. Luckily, my friend GM was free & being the remarkable fellow he is offered me a ride down.
The road trip part of things was actually fun. We listened to this great Phantom Planet album a few times in a row & had some good catch up time since we've not been able to hang out a lot recently. The circumstances weren't the best, but I'm glad the trip was taken even for the ride part alone.
When I got to the hospital it was a little weird since I actually worked in this hospital as the cable guy when I was young. They'd changed one of the pictures, but beyond that it still looked almost the exact same. It had that same feel too. That small-town hospital sensation that fills the halls with the sound of the rattled breathing of the elderly, the faint acrid odor of urine & the strangely sterile smell in the air that makes the place feel even more unhealthy than you'd expect. A lovely place really.
My cousin was in visiting with him when I arrived. It was nice to see that she could still sport her superior attitude even at times like these. We played nice for a bit & then she took off. My grandfather looked horrible. Much smaller than he should be & carefully laced up with tubing. We chatted a bit about what a "little bugger" I was as a kid & he spent about five minutes trying to understand what I did for work & why I would choose to live in a city where people are apparently shot every few minutes.
I only spent about fifteen minutes with him since, well, from where we both are in life there really isn't a lot to speak about beyond the pointless sort of conversation you might have with anyone who has nothing in common with you (beyond DNA of course). In the end I told him I'd try to drop by again at his place near Christmas so we could have a drink or something & told him that he was cared for. It was kind of a cheesy moment, but I could tell it meant a lot to him. Actually, I think it meant a lot to both of us.
After this, GM & I grabbed a bite to eat & motored back up to the city. I think I was a touch more somber, but at the same time, not as depressed. If nothing else, at least we were able to leave things in much better shape than they were before. There are no hard feelings left in me at this point towards him which is good.
Since my visit, I've received the update that he has since had a mild heart attack, it was clarified that he also has pneumonia & his liver is apparently on it's last wobbly legs. The doctors say that he can't live alone anymore & that the old folks home is the only real option left for the kind of constant care that he needs if he does manage to pull through. Man he's going to lose it when he here's that. It wouldn't surprise me if he tried to do a runner right when they tell him. Oh well. Looks like the old bugger still has quite the uphill battle on his hands. Man I hope I get taken out by a shark riding a lion when I'm about sixty. I'd rather have a goofy death than to linger painfully for years or to be imprisoned with other old people.
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| Thursday, December 9th, 2004
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4:20 pm - A Twist & The End
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So the book I'm reading has just taken a definite turn for the better. It's one of these stories that is a matching of two story lines that is supposed to be quite dynamic & all, but like most of these stories, only one of the story lines was interesting to me while the other just felt chalked full of typical characters, obvious plotting & just didn't seem to synce up with me. Well, that's all changed now. They've weaved the stories together in one of the wierdest ways possible & the big secret twist? The entire cast from the storyline that bored me turned out to be a rangy group of talking animals! God I love literature...
Work is still a touch maddening. Apparently other departments have been complaining that we have it too light so to appease others, they've shifted a bit of the workload from another department over onto our plate. Grand. It's handleable, but still annoying since it's not really our work. Oh well. I'll grin & bear it for the moment. Keeping a smile on my face & plowing the work through should help move me on faster. I mean, I wasn't the most effective of workers in my last position & it still got me tossed up the ladder. Maybe if I put in an extra bit of effort, that may hurtle me forwards a bit. But I'm sure my work musings aren't the most interesting things to read.
Lastly, tonight is it. The last night for the Screamin Demons to light it up at the Yellow Griffen. I think it should be a good time, but it's still rather unfortunate. I mean, I know that they'll most likely be right back up on their feet by next week in another pub anyway so it's not all too tragic, but it's just too bad that things are stopping at the Griffen. I have a lot of fun memories (& some very fun hazy black spots) which took place at the Griffen & it just seems strange that they won't be playing there anymore. I know people say that change is good in the long run, but sometimes it can be a touch annoying.
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| Monday, December 6th, 2004
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4:20 pm - News & Not The Good Kind
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So I found out that I'll soon be without a room mate. Watson let me know the other day before heading back to Fort Erie for the weekend that he will be heading back to Fort Erie for quite a while at the end of the month. It's a long story which really isn't mine to tell so I don't think I will. At least not to the faceless world of the internet.
As you can imagine, this has made my last few days quite interesting. Not good, but interesting. Scrambling to find someone to move into your place for the beginning of next month is not an easy thing, but dear god have I been scrambling. The alternate option of course being that I am hard core screwed & need to pay a lot more over the next little while even if I leave at the soonest time possible. My landlord is a good guy who may help out, but he seems to be the sort that is only helpful after your rent check for the next month has already cleared.
Yet even if I get things straightened out somewhat & I'm able to slide out of my place with relative ease, I still have the headache of finding a new place which isn't all too easy since I have a lot of stuff (furniture & things) that I'm not willing to part with yet & I'm not sure if I can afford a big place. It's quite frustrating really.
In other news... Ah forget it. I have no other room for news at the moment since this has me pretty stressed out. I think I'll go try to relax a bit by getting back to work (well, it's not really relaxing but it is decent form of distraction). So anyone looking for a room for the first of January?
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| Friday, December 3rd, 2004
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4:20 pm - The Best & Worst Of The Beast
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So I was almost in a riot on Wednesday. Not a fun place to be really, but quite an interesting one. Some explanation: Andy Creegan (of former Barenaked Ladies fame & currently a generating some great work) was in town with a fellow keyboardist named Mike Evin. They're doing a very small tour so they were playing a very small show down at the Camden house which started at nine. I said that I'd meet up with my friend Autumn to check it out with her since we're both fans.
The first part of my trip went very smoothly. I was out the door at work by 9:01 just as the bus pulled up. The driver was both good & a little crazy so we got to Eglinton station rather quickly & I caught a waiting subway car instantly. The trouble began when I got to Spadina station. Again, my timing seemed perfect since when I came to the streetcar platform, there were a number of people waiting which meant that another streetcar would be along shortly. This was nowhere near the case.
15 minutes later: The landing had swelled in numbers. I didn't notice too much since I was reading at the time, but you can only ignore a frustrated mob for so long. I put the book away.
Beside me stood a kindly old man who looked very much like Mr. Miyagi. I don't know why that's important, but it made things even more surreal.
15 minutes later: Things had become rapidly much worse. A short fat man with the look of a rat wearing a blue jays t-shirt had decided to be proactive (a.k.a. decided to shout curses through the intercom at the guy working the booth upstairs). In response, the TTC worker decided to respond in kind by cursing back at the rat-man through the speaker. It's a strange thing to hear that sort of language blaring across the streetcar platform.
This of course only put people in a worse mood & new "freedom fighters/ruffians" began to emerge. There was a group of about 10 - 15 now out of the hundred or so people waiting who were seriously considering beating the daylights out of the next streetcar driver they saw. "All we need is one man with one fist & I'll stand by him. Go ahead & arrest me. See if I care. I'll bring everyone here to court with me & then we'll see what happens..." That was an actually quote from one of our liberators. The surrounded mob bubbled & gurgled their support of this & Mr. Miyagi & I rolled our eyes at one another. Thing were getting interesting.
15 minutes later: Two streetcars finally came trundling down the tracks into the station groaning from being loaded more than either should ever have been. After minute or so of unloading people, they pulled up & we all swarmed up onto them. Luckily no streetcar drivers were attacked, but the mood was still a little insane.
So we started to move & I returned too my book thinking all was well when I heard shouting from the back of the streetcar. People were still frothing a little bit with frustration & this one lady had had enough of it. She politely stated that since we were now on the streetcar that we just let the whole thing drop. Bad move. One of the irritants started shouting that the truth could not be silenced just because she found it to be uncomfortable. He was the truth & truth could not be silenced! "They tried to silence Martin Luther King too!". That's right. He actually said this. He compared himself to Martin Luther King since he was brave enough to state that waiting for a streetcar sucks. Well done sir.
I laughed at this & a few around me laughed too. The guy across from me leaned over creepily with a smile saying "You know what the problem is? There used to be only three races since there were three ribs taken from Adam. Now there are five races & no one knows where the other two came from. No one knows where the other races came from so..." Another actual quote. I smiled awkwardly saying that was a puzzle & got off at the next stop which was luckily the stop I'd been aiming for.
I met Autumn at the show just as they finished the last song of their first set. We talked a bit, laughed at what animals people could be & ordered a few beers. Then came their second set. It was incredible. Well, not the incredible that you might expect the word incredible to mean, but it was quite good. They had a small upright piano on one side & a 60's style keyboard on the other side. They would rotate as they needed & would play a few songs each as they felt the urge. They played songs they hadn't finished & goofy but really interesting covers (i.e. Sade). There were rotations which brought out the guitar & this percussion devise called a "cohone". The show was soothing & beautiful & great.
As the show ended, I chatted with each player a little. Andy Creegan remembered me from when we played together before & told us how he was going to be a father in February (he had his beeper all set up). Mike Evin was a real nice guy too & I picked up one of his CDs that proved to be a worthy investment. We left the place feeling great.
Anyway, that was my Wednesday. It was just interesting the see that range of humanity crammed into one evening. Hopefully I'll see more of the later in the future.
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| Tuesday, November 30th, 2004
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4:20 pm - Dinner & Dialing
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So the party at Autumn & Barnhardts went quite nicely. We had scalloped potatoes & ham. Good stuff. It's funny actually. When I was a kid I used to hate scalloped potatoes & a few years ago when I had them again & realized that I liked them, I went home & had more & realized that it was not my senses which had drastically altered but the sad fact that my mother just doesn't make very good best scalloped potatoes (& yes I do realize that statement doesn't make me the nicest of sons, but then again, I never really have been.).
Anyway, we had a nice meal, listened to some strange music remixes on the radio, had some nice conversations (although some might not think them to be the nicest) & ended up watching the first season of 'The Office'. A great show by the way. If you've ever worked in sales or with any sort of shady type wanker of a boss, this is something you should profoundly enjoy. At the same point, if you know anyone who has to ask you "What did he say?" every time they hear an english accent every few lines, do not let them watch it with you. In fact, trip this person into some mud & never speak with them person again. It's time we crack down on this sort of thing.
Even the ride home was fun. It was raining heavily & soaking us soundly, but we were full of enough food & booze to protect us against such elements.
Work is still good. It's a little more busy now though since some other departments were sort of complaining that we just got to sit about for a decent chunk of the time so now we've been saddles with some of the control centers work. This means that we have to make some call outs & let people know that "Yeah, you know how we said that we could have an installer out by the fourth? Well, it seems our computer is a liar so that won't be happening. How's the ninth work out for you?" & then we get to wrestle out the details. Nice.
Speaking of annoying call outs, my break is just ending so I'd best make some. So in summation, Go Scalloped Potatoes!
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| Saturday, November 27th, 2004
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4:20 pm - Running On Fumes
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I'd love to write a nice long journal here for you. I really would, but unfortunately today just feels like one of those Saturdays that just won't allow any work to be done properly. Maybe I'll just watch some cartoons, listen to some music & call a few people over. Breakfast with Jana & Watson was as tasty as usual & tonight we all head over to Autumn & Barnhardts place for dinner. It will be nice since I've never seen their place & well, they're a fun duo. By the way, Autumn just started up a livejournal of her own. she goes by the handle autmonster & it's a much more interesting read than my blathering about what sort of corn pops I had this morning. Check it out (as Serpentor might say: This I command!). Anyway, be well & I'll make sure to write a little more when my brain decides to start working correctly again.
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| Wednesday, November 24th, 2004
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4:20 pm - Oprah's Mutant Son & The Wrestler
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I don't understand why people love Oprah so much. This woman who works in my office turns one of the TVs up & over to that show everyday & it just seems odd to me. The crowd is usually composed of about two hundred women who all look a little bit drugged out since they're so ecstatic to be in her presence. It's almost like a Beatles concert or something. Oprah seems to give out a free washer/dryer set to everyone in the audience with the letter 'e' in there name & then goes back to the softest sort of interviewing possible. So soft in fact that you almost begin to feel a little bad for her (until of course she starts basking in her own 'awesomeness').
I can understand the fans to some degree since the possibility of a free (insert something cheesy or ridiculous or occasionally useful here) is always fun. Plus, for some reason, she seems to have that weird cult status where people take her word as gospel. Kind of like what Tyler Durden would have been like if he was a black woman who agreed with the most obvious of popular opinion & was extravagant in gift giving. What confuses me here is the caliber of the guests that go on her show (on purpose!). Yesterday Robert Downey Jr. came by to talk about his fun times in the big house. Today it's Jim Carrey who is seemingly reverting to his In Living Colour days since he spent pretty much the whole time mugging for the camera (which makes sense since the interview was pretty much a waste of his time anyway). Next Monday? A one time only reunion show with the cast of Seinfeld! What's going on here?
I have a theory: Remember that whole mind control thing in X-men 2 (If you haven't watched the movie yet, go watch within the next twenty-four hours or never read this journal again. You make me sad.)? I think she may have the same sort of thing set up. Somewhere backstage on the set is the gangly, drool-covered, psychic son of Oprah who has been lobotomized to further her evil designs. Poor guy (having Oprah is his mom & all).
Wow. That was quite the deluge of Oprah anger. I really need to move my seat away from that TV. What else...? Oh yeah, so I'm just heading to my locker this afternoon to get my gear to start my shift & who do I see? The wrestler Trish Stratus is sitting about twenty feet from my locker signing autographs & blinking as prettily as she can (in a tough sort of way). Weird. I think work is just trying to drive me crazy by introducing very odd things into a regular day & acting like nothing happened. It's a theory anyway.
In other random work news: We had this executive guy drop by for an impromptu meeting today. He spent the first fifteen minutes recapping his adventures in climbing the corporate ladder & telling us all about the staggering feats he had accomplished since he came into power. Great. I could barely stay conscious for that bit. Then he turned things around to us. Apparently we are greater than he could ever have imagined. He praised us for about ten minutes & gave us each a $15 worth of coupons for famous players. I liked him better at that point. He then said pizza was on its way as an additional thank you for us later on. You know, I think I like this new job. If I could only figure out some way to eliminate the Oprah contamination...
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| Sunday, November 21st, 2004
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4:20 pm - Night Club
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Last night we attempted to be adults. I mean, we are technically speaking real adults already, but last night we did the whole dinner party/pleasant conversation/quiet music in the background/sitting about the fire type adult thing. It was fun.
Jana's parents were out of town for some sort of convention her father needed to go to out in California (California? Hmm. Maybe it was San Francisco. It doesn't matter really. Although writing nonsense in parenthesis is always a fun time I guess.). It was just a few of us, but it was a good time. Damn fine food too.
So we ate, talked, built a fire & then, in true adult form, we decided to go adventuring. It was quite late & dark out, but who doesn't enjoy the blindish wanderings through the pseudo-woods of Toronto? We walked for quite a while & there were one or two points where the path sort of vanished & you could almost fall right into the adjacent little creek, but fortunately (or sadly depending on your point of view) no one fell in the water & everyone got back very tired, but properly relaxed & happy.
Thus begins Night Club. It's ridiculous & stupid & not altogether safe, but I think it could be fun. The concept: Once a month (First Saturday maybe?) we get together at someone's place for some dinner & maybe a few drinks. When it gets dark out, we travel any number of the multiple paths that crisscross this little metropolis of ours. I think it could be fun. Well, either that, or we'll be devoured by a pack of enraged gophers on our second outing. It's possible...
The first rule of Night Club? There is a Night Club. The second rule of Night Club? Er... It has yet to be etched in the tablets. I'll get back to you on that.
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| Thursday, November 18th, 2004
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4:20 pm - Floodgates Reopened
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Today I finally released the last five or six journal entries that I wrote & forgot to post. Sorry to those now flooded with far too much Steve. No, wait a minute. I'm not actually sorry at all. Mua-ha-ha. That's more like it.
So I heard back from the band yesterday. The singer gave me a call & was extremely apologetic. It turns out that the guy who used to be the bassist & was going to slide over to the guitar just didn't feel confident in his ability to play all the lead lines & therefore wanted to stay on bass effectively knocking me out of the picture. Great. I was decent to him about it & just said that if things change to let me know. He said that if he heard of anyone needing a bassist that he'd give them my information so at least it wasn't a total waste of time. In fact, I'm surprisingly not too torn up about it. I mean, at least it was a chance to play with some good musicians & the fact that they enjoyed playing with me is infinitely comforting. At least it shows me that there are still opportunities out there. In fact, I might be heading out to another audition in about a week or so for this band that seems decent. The guitarist used to play for Rusty when they had that gold record out a while back so he probably has a few connections. We shall see...
The job is going really well. The greatest challenge really is dodging the boredom since the call volume is so low. It's a much better challenge than the old "trying to ignore annoying customers" challenge though. That one was wearing me out. Plus the people are just a lot better. I didn't bother to cultivate that many friendships downstairs since it just didn't seem worth it, but here I'm already getting the warm smile of recognition as I stroll in. It's good.
In other, conflicted sort of news: I got an e-mail from my friend Dan Potyok the other day. The good news? He & his wife & two kids are doing well. In fact, they're about to have another child soon & he seems very happy. The bad news? Well, Dan is in the American army & just found out that he has to head back to the middle east. I'm not sure how to write back to him really. I just hope things work out O.K. for him. Like many, I think what Bush is doing in the middle east right now is a mistake. He's just throwing his weight around & the whole thing is retarded. What throws me though is that I know Dan pretty decently & it's weird for me to think of what sort of situation he might be walking into. He's a great guy & I'm guessing he makes a great soldier since he's the type that'll stick by you every time. It's just awful to think of a friend of mine in a war zone. I know that sounds selfish since every soldier is someone's friend or relative, but I don't care. It just angers me that one of my friend is in danger because the American president wants to look like a touch guy... I could go on, but it doesn't seem to make much sense really.
Anyway, here's to Dan & others in his shoes (insert air-cheers here). Good luck brother. Get home safe.
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| Monday, November 15th, 2004
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4:20 pm - A Weekend Of Parties
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So it's Monday & I'm back at work in my cubicle. Even though I've now been fully thrust onto the phones, I find it quiet here & that's exactly what I need. This weekend was a busy one.
Jana's party went off pretty much perfectly. I was running like a madman even after Bryant & Jenna arrived, but it came together nicely in the end. It was just great to be able to see such a large group of my friends again really. A bunch of us hung out at my place for about an hour or two & since we planned to head off to the club for 10, we of course started leaving for the club at around 10:30. It just always works out that way for some reason.
So as we were leaving, there were about a dozen of us out front of my place when this couple who's walking down the street suddenly turned into our walkway & walked into our house. Confused, we all took a look in the doorway to the foyer to see that they'd made a right turn into my apartment where my roommate Watson & a few of the stragglers were still putting on their jackets. A second later the guy comes out mumbling something about no big deal & starts wandering out & back down the sidewalk. I decided an investigation was needed. So I head inside where I'm told that apparently this woman wasn't feeling too well & wanted to use our bathroom to throw up in. Odd. The only thing is, she won't throw up or even go into the bathroom if her boyfriend isn't there & her boyfriend is not only not in the room, but as I've mentioned, he had already left the building entirely. I let her know this & with a dejected & slightly intoxicated look, she left too. Heading out side we see her catch up to her boyfriend & they both vanish amongst the apartment buildings across the street. Weird.
Anyway, we all shook off the oddness of it & proceeded to have a really fun time. Unfortunately, Bryant & Jenna couldn't stick around & my friend Miki got there around midnight but never found us, but beyond those two wobbles, the night worked out perfectly.
In the end, some headed home, Barnhardt & Autumn pulled a Houdini (which has now become Barnhardt's MO apparently) & the rest of us went back to my place where we had a few more drinks & some cake. Ahh the dinner of kings...
Next came Saturday night. The daytime was spent doing pretty much nothing. Jana, Watson & I grabbed some breakfast & went for a walk, but beyond that, it was a time of vegetation. That night however, we hit it again. An old friend of mine Brian threw a party as his & his room mates place. It's weird hanging out with him from time to time now. We have a long history & near the end of when we used to be room mates, the story takes a dark turn that wasn't too enjoyable. I know that some would think that Watson & I are crazy for still seeing him from time to time, but it's hard to break old bonds. The patterns of conversation are too familiar & comforting for me to ever think of him as an enemy... It's a long story that I'll go into some other time.
Anyway, we got there about 11:30 & it was a really fun time. The music was good & among the many cool people we met that night I met this cool old guy who had just written a play about George Bush that he's looking to put on somewhere. It sounds pretty good actually. His next project is going to be a hip-hop musical portraying the story of Jesus as a regular person. Again, I'm interested.
So we hung out there & as usual closed the place down. We headed home around six in the morning & after a time on the Queen car we grabbed a taxi the rest of the way home. The driver was crazy & awesomely funny for that time in the morning.
Sunday I woke up late, watched Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind & just relaxed. Quite a fine weekend overall. You?
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| Friday, November 12th, 2004
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4:20 pm - A Pause In Preparation
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Welcome astropals. This is just a quick note since I'm ridiculously busy. Tonight we're throwing a party for Jana's birthday at my place & I have several thousand things to do in just a few hours. Good times.
Yesterday Jana turned 25 so tonight a bunch of us are meeting at my place for a bite to eat & then to head off to the Phoenix for some dancing. The place still needs to be cleaned more & I need to go pick up some things, but it looks to be a good time. Everyone who I invited out responded with a resounding yes so attendance shouldn't be an issue. I hope people actually bother to make it. I hate it when people just don't show. If you're not going to make it, just bloody tell me. As you can tell, I'm a little wired up at the moment.
Anyway, not much time for an extended log today. Work is still decent, family is theoretically O.K., & as for friends, well I'll find out the answer to that for most of them later tonight. Since I haven't heard of any decapitations or anything, I'll assume the ones I won't see tonight are all good also. Just thought I'd hammer out an update in the midst of the madness. & I'm off...!
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| Tuesday, November 9th, 2004
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4:20 pm - Watch & Learn
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So I was at work yesterday when my manager passed by & in what has become a running joke, we asked each other if either of us had heard anything more about my promotion details yet. Then we each shrugged out the usual "not yet", tagged the moment with the "what can you do" chuckle & resumed our regularly scheduled programming. I was almost starting to wonder if I had imagined the whole promotion really when later the same day I heard "Steve. Get off the phone. You're moving upstairs." & my manager came over to introduced me to my new manager: Brent. He seems a little abrupt & not the quickest, but decent overall. what you might expect from someone named Brent.
Welcome to the fifth floor of Bell. On this level you will find quiet, larger areas. Your constantly shifting seating becomes your own cubicle of solitude decked out with shelves & drawers for your convenience. People are friendlier here & the kitchen area is nicer. Even the bathroom taps are better! Seriously. Good deal for me.
I was walked through the floor & shown generally what was where & why. From there, I assumed that my training would be a relatively intensive few days of one-on-one work with one of the trainers since I had never worked with any of their vast programs. Apparently I'd momentarily forgotten which company I work for. My training was this: "Just sit down by one of the other reps & watch what they do. You'll pick it up." & with that, my manager vanished. Not literally of course. Although that would be cool...
Anyway, that's what I've been doing for the last day & a half. Asking questions about systems that I've never heard of & trying to catch some of the lightning fast screen changes for some programs that I've never met before. It's a little annoying, but luckily I'm quick enough that I'm actually getting a pretty solid grasp of things. We'll see how I feel in a few days. Well, back to work (sort of).
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