Vacation!

I've been here for 2 days and all I have to say is this:

Its fucking hot. Not H.O.T. Not Hott. and not Hawt. Just fucking hot.

Tradeoffs

Today I was supposed to leave for the Philippines. When I got to the airport, my aunt tells me that someone from Cathay approached her and asked if she was willing to fly tomorrow instead of today. In return, she would receive either $400 or a free upgrade to business class. She said she was unable and turned it down. When I heard about this, I went to the Cathay booth and asked about it. The guy there said they were fully booked and this couldn't be done. Okay, fine. I go to check in with my family and my aunt asks the guy at the desk about it again. He says there's one more seat. "I'll take it!" "Do you want the money or the upgrade?" "Money, please." So now I'm home again and I'll be leaving tomorrow, same time but this time with an extra $400 in my pocket. I'm not missing anything in the Philippines by getting there a day late and this amount of cash was my spending money for the entire trip anyway. Yay me.

see you later

I’m leaving for the Philippines tomorrow. I feel like I have a million things to do today, but I can’t get my head straight.

Have a happy new year. Be safe, have fun, and I'll see you in '06.

It's That Time of Year

Every year I tell myself that I'm going to finish my Christmas shopping early. Well this year I did just that. No wait, I did just the opposite. I still have to do some Christmas shopping and there's only about 3 more days that I can actually shop. I only really need to buy one or two things, but going to the mall right now isn't very high on my list of fun things to do. Most of the gifts we needed to get were taken care of a month ago, so I kinda did my Christmas shopping early. I just have a couple more to get. Not too bad, huh?

Favourites

My 5 Favourites

1. Food: Italian
2. Dessert: chocolate mousse
3. Sitcom: Cheers
4. Drink: Coke (non-alcoholic), Vodka-Seven (alcoholic)
5. Soap: Dove

Birthday

I'm very happy to announce the birth of my neice, Elizabeth Ava. She'll be going by her second name (just like Allen and I) so please welcome Ava to the world. Isn't she cute?

I feel like the paparazzi posting a picture of a baby here. I heard Britney Spears sold the first baby pictures for publication to some rag for over a million dollars.

Dear Santa: Please Make it Snow

Dear Santa,

I've been very good this year. All I want is for some snow on the mountains. I went to Cypress thinking maybe I'd see your reigndeer practicing there. I used my snowboard so they wouldn't get away. I didn't see them though and I had a hard time snowboarding because the mountain was a little icy. If you could make it snow on the mountain, I could practice my snowboarding and your reigndeer could practice their takeoffs and landings. So if you could make it snow, I'd be very happy. Thank you.

Oliver

ps world peace!

Reality TV

I've already said that I'm not a big fan of reality TV. There are, however, a few shows that I liked. I just discovered another show that was great. It had drama, suspense, action, emotion, comedy, and best of all interesting characters. "What?" you ask? What kind of reality TV can have all these things? Well it's not quite as high-profile as Survivor or the Apprentice but it's also not stupid and pointless like My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiancee. It's Hell's Kitchen with Chef Ramsay. This show rocked! It rocked harder than Motley Crue with a bag of coke in 1985. It's over now and it doesn't sound like they're going to make a sequel so if you missed it, I'm sure it'll come out on DVD or something.

Missed it

On November 25th, I forgot to celebrate the second anniversary of my blog. I can't believe I've been writing about absolutely nothing for the past 2 years. Someday my blog will have meaning. Thank you to everyone that encouraged me to put my thoughts and feelings into a public, online diary. Now I have stalkers and people know too much about me. Thank you, thank you all.

Movie Review

Kung Fu Hustle with Stephen Chow, Wah Yuen, and Qiu Yuen

Action, comedy, wild kung fu shit. Everthing you want in a movie.

Movie Review

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory with Johnny Depp

I thought it was great.

Tribute

For anyone over the age of say, 27, we probably all remember the immortal words "Wax on, wax off." We don't just remember the words, but we remember the meaning behind them. The deep, spiritual meaning of these simple words. Also, we also learned that "walk left side: safe, walk right side: safe, walk down middle: sooner or later, get squished" and most importantly "Man who catch fly with chopstick accomplish anything." Ah, the wise teachings of Mr. Miyagi. Yesterday, Pat Morita died at 73 by natural causes. Let us all take a moment of silence for our teacher.

Let it Snow Let it Snow Let it Snow

Yesterday we went to Whistler for a little snowboarding. Like the bumper sticker says, "A bad day on the mountain is still better than a good day at the office." Well, this is still true. Down in the village it was raining, at the top of the Blackcomb gondola it was raining, and at the top of the Excelerator chair it was...not too bad. We tried to stay near the Jersey Cream Express cuz that area has some nice easy blue runs for beginners. It was snowing most of the time we were there and up where we were, the snow wasn't too bad. A little wet and sticky, but not bad. Even with a few falls Celia's getting better and I think I might be able to convince her to come up a few more times, even to the local mountains. When we got home, Celia was stiff and hurting bad. Every muscle was aching. She's not awake yet, but when she wakes up today I think she'll be in a world of hurt. Then tomorrow it'll be worse. My right shoulder is a little sore, but I think its because its the way I was carrying my board when we were walking to the car.

Long Weekend

No, it's not a long weekend here in Canada. Only the US has a long weekend this late in November. Well there's probably some other country with a long weekend but I don't know where. It's a long weekend for me because I took tomorrow off so I could go snowboarding. I don't know how much snow Whistler has but it'll be more than what I've got in my office so it's still better to be in Whistler than in Whalley.

More of the Same

Last year I ran a series called "101 Things About Me". Now, since I don't seem to have anything to say, and because my favourite topic is Me, I'm going to continue this series and call it "More Things You Wished You Didn't Know About Me." I'm not going to limit the list to 101 items, not even 1001. I'm just going to keep on going until you really really get sick of hearing me talk about me. Enjoy.

More Things You Wished You Didn't Know About Me

1. I've gained more weight in the past 2 years than I have in the past 15.
2. I only shave twice/week.
3. My favourite wine is Masi Valpolicella
4. I have 5 different phone numbers and 8 email addresses.
5. I have 4 computer monitors at home but I only use 1 (wanna buy a monitor?).

Geek Squad

There's nothing I like more than a new toy. Especially new toys for my computer. I just bought a new keyboard (Logitech G15 'Gaming' Keyboard) and here's my review:

Pros:

1. nice feel when you're typing
2. cool backlit keys
3. sweet LCD display
4. tonne of programmable macro keys
5. lots of user-made applets

Cons:

1. no scroll wheel
2. wired connection
3. lack of support and documentation

I know what you're thinking: "It's just a keyboard." Well screw that, when you use a good keyboard it's hard to go back to a plain-jane, beige, no-extras, clicky-key keyboard.

Nerd Tip #1:
To make your computer look better than it really is, buy cool peripherals. A hot mouse and keyboard and a sweet monitor make it look like you computer rocks harder than Kiss on crack.

I got Nothing

I still haven't gone up to the mountain. Anyone want to go?

New Digs

Today we move into our new office. We used to have an office right by Guildford mall but all of Information Management will now be in the new tower down by Central City. Its a really nice tower and the new equipment we get will be a million times better than what I've been working with the past year. The movers picked up all our stuff yesterday and today we get to unpack and organize our workspace (ie, cubicle).

In other news, congratulations to Neil and Kelly who had a boy at the beginning of November. Noah Robin, no wait, Noah Todd, oh hang on, Noah Drake, no no that's not right. Noah Grayson was 8 lbs and a few oz. and 20-something cm long. Don't expect me to know this stuff. Newborn babies all look alike to me.

I Hate Cleaning Windows

I hate it when your windows (and mirrors) have fingerprints and are all smudgy. I just hate cleaning them. I also hate when Windows seems to be running really really slow and I can't figure out why. I don't know how to fix this kind of crap so I just ignore it until it either goes away or until I am forced to start all over again (ie, reinstall). I could probably use a fresh reinstall anyway. My biggest pet peeve about Windows is when you are downloading something or transferring large files from one drive to another and you get that stupid, useless progress bar. "Oh look, only 5 minutes remaining. What the... now it says 30 minutes!?" Why does it bother to estimate how much time is remaining when it's highly dependent on what else the computer is doing at the same time? Show the bar, forget the time. Just let me know how much data is left to download/move and leave it at that.

Solitaire's the Only Game in Town

As I was walking through the Extended Care Unit, I looked into what looked like an Activity Room. There was a piano, a few tables, pictures hanging, easels leaning up against the walls, and a couple computers sitting in the corner. There were a few little old ladies sitting in their wheelchairs doing various things around the room, but what really caught my eye was this little old lady sitting in front of a table playing Solitaire. I mean the real game - with cards. But then what really caught my eye was another little old lady sitting at a computer playing Solitaire too! On the computer!! I thought this was hilarious.

Let it Snow!

There's snow on the mountains! Check out Mt. Baker and Whistler-Blackcomb! I can't wait...

Lucky...

So yesterday I finally decided to see what I could do about my broken harddrive. I figured I'd plug it in one more time to see if it'll work and guess what? It's working again. Maybe it just overheated? I know there's not a lot of airflow where that drive is, so maybe it just got too hot? Anyway, the side panel of my case is off and so far the temp has been pretty decent. I backed up my pictures and anything else that was irreplaceable. I decided that if I lost the music, I'd just recollect it all. I have most of it on CD anyway.

Almost There

One more night shift. Next week I'm on 24hr pager support. The week after that we move into the new office. That's the same week my schedule goes back to normal. I can't wait.

To Go Where 10% of All Men Have Gone Before

I just read somewhere on the internet that George Takei has come out of the closet. He was Captain Hikaru Sulu from the original Star Trek series and 6 Star Trek movies. So, he's gay. Hmm, I guess I could see that now. I think I was blinded by the fact that he was a Starfleet captain. Apparently he's been in a relationship with some dude for 18 years. You know, out of all the Star Trek cast I figured it would have been Spock.

Maybe I should have backed up...

The past week or so my computer has been acting funny. Super slow sometimes, running a little hot, and/or programs failing to load. Weird. I was going to run my computer nerd solution to all computer performance problems: I was going to reinstall Windows. I know its probably a little extreme, but I don't like trying to figure out which spyware is screwing up my system and I don't like having to perform a 23-step process to remove a virus. I'll just reinstall. So this morning I come home from work, check out uselessjunk.com for a second, then head to bed. I wake up around 2pm, look down the hall, and see my computer screen (yes, from 10meters away) with a message that says something like "primary slave failure". Oh crap, that doesn't sound good at all. My primary slave is that bitch in the garage closet, but my other primary slave is my second harddrive and it seems to have crapped out on me. So I disconnect it, reboot, and then think "I have some good news and some bad news. Good news: computer runs okay now, at least it'll boot up. Bad news: I don't know if I can get all the crap off this secondary harddrive, like my pictures, music, etc etc." Believe me, there was a lot of crap on that thing. There must be some super computer nerd out there reading this that can tell me if I'm screwed or if I can get my shit back. And don't tell me to take it to some shop that'll recover my data for $70/byte cuz it was an 80 fuckingGB drive. Man, computers really piss me off.

BTW, the job is going great, I really like it.

Here We Go Again

Tomorrow we go Live. Out of the 4 hospitals in this region, these last 2 hospitals are the smallest ones. They're also the last. After these 2, there will be no major implementations for a few years - just some small upgrades. These last 2 however, are my babies. I've put my blood, sweat, and tears into these last 2 sites and its almost over. Okay, maybe not my blood, sweat, and tears but definitely a lot of hours and a lot of Starbucks coffees. and Tim Horton's coffees. and Guildford Sushi. Anyway, for the rest of the week I'll be working night shifts as part of our 24/7 support. Tomorrow we turn it on and I'm just praying there are no major hiccups. Wish me luck.

Keeping Score

Due to a recent comment written by a sharp-eyed "Anonymous", I've decided on a new, ongoing game. I must admit that although I really can't stand poor grammar and stuff like that, I will undoubtedly make errors. So, for now on I would ask that anytime you find me making these aforementioned errors, please let me know. I will keep track of who notices the most errors and post the scores here in my blog. Once in a while, I will intentionally make an error just to see who picks it up. Keep in mind that the detailed-minded person with the most points will be called "nerd" and "anal-retentive loser" quite often. But please don't let that discourage you from joining in the game.

Rules:

1. typos don't count
2. if I mean to write a sentence fragment, that doesn't count
3. if I mean to write a run-on sentence, that doesn't count
4. all submissions will be judged solely by me and I can change my mind anytime
5. if I meant to do something, like not capitalize some words, that doesn't count
   

Current Score:
Anonymous = 1
everyone else = 0

Movie Review

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou with Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Cate Blanchett & Willem Dafoe

I thought it was brilliant. Kinda like The Royal Tenenbaums at sea.

Doun't Minde Me.

I had a friend from the Philippines (who was here visiting) ask me once why I spelled things differently. I told her it was the Canadian way of spelling. Like rumour, or neighbourhood, or colour. She asked why it was like that and I had no idea, that's just the way we spell it in Canada. Does anyone know where this comes from? Is it some french influence or some shit like that?

Arrr, Make 'im walk the plank.

I heard about BitTorrent last year from Rodney. He told me it was the way to download shit off the internet. For the past couple of years I've been using Limewire. Nothing illegal, mind you, just some independently recorded stuff that the artists openly share for exposure (*wink wink*). Anyhoo, I started using BitTorrent and so far it seems pretty good. I should have switched last year.

I Hope You Like My Music

When I bought my iPod last May I kinda wondered to myself what I really needed it for. I don't often listen to music with headphones, in fact I don't even like listening to music that way. I don't want to carry around another device (on weekdays I already carry a cellphone and a blackberry) that I can drop or lose. Then after a few weeks of using it regularly, I thought, "This is great! I can carry a tonne of music with me wherever I go and the headphones give me a good excuse to ignore people." It was especially great at work where I could pretend not to hear people trying to talk to me. I ended up switching the headphones for a pair of el-cheapo speakers just because the pretending-to-ignore-you thing actually became a nuisance when I really needed to hear someone. So now I have music playing quietly at my desk as I work. Is it too loud? Does it bother people? I don't care. I'll turn it down if you ask me to, but otherwise I hope you like my music.

Reality TV

I think I've mentioned it before, but I'll tell you again: I'm not a fan of reality tv. I've tried a few seasons of some of the shows, but I just can't follow it. One of the things I like about paid actors is that they are always on every season. You get to know the character, you learn their stories, and you grow attached to their struggles. In reality tv, you meet some people who's lives may not be that interesting and when the season ends or when they get kicked off the show they're gone. As in Gone. Like NSync's song. Gone. What happened to them? What happened to their problems? Where did they go? When the new season starts, there's a whole new batch of people who's lives I still don't care about and who's problems still aren't mine. There have been a few shows I've watched where I've like the people, but then they disappear and the new crowd sux.

My Favourite Seasons:

1. Survivor: Outback
2. America's Next Top Model Season 2
3. The Apprentice Season 1
4. American Idol Season 1 & 2

The Stupid Ones

1. Are You Hot?
2. Big Brother
3. The Swan
4. Trading Spouses

Blind as a Bat

The other day a co-worker of mine said she would prefer to have to wear glasses all the time rather than just when she's reading. She even went so far as to say, "I love wearing glasses, I wish I could just wear them all the time." It took everything I had in me to not throw something at her. I've been wearing glasses for over 20 years and believe me, it sucks. Ask anyone with poor eyesight and they'll probably say something like, "I wish I could wake up in the morning and see the clock and the first thing I do isn't reach for my glasses."

Maybe I'm Numenorean and didn't know it.

Apparently Middle Earth wasn't a fantasy.

Movie Review

Flightplan with Jodie Foster, Peter Sarsgaard, and Sean Bean

It was okay. Like Panic Room in a plane.

Brain Food

I enjoy reading. In fact, over the past 3 years, I've probably read more books/year than I have in my entire life, including the time I spent in school. Don't get me wrong, its not a lot of books, maybe 4 or 5 per year, but then again they generally tend to be books over 200 pages, they usually don't have pictures, and the character's dialogue isn't inside a floating bubble over their head. My favourite books are always fiction and usually introduce a different thought process or an alternate society that has subtle differences in morality and ethics. I also like fast-paced "junk food" fiction that pushes ideas on you so fast you can't help but to agree and consider the concept.

Top 5 Favourite Books I've read over the past 5 years (in no particular order):

1. 1984 by George Orwell
2. The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown
3. Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
4. Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
5. Catch 22 by Joseph Heller

Last Wedding Entry

I finally got the pictures from my parent's camera. This one is from Rodney and Jeanette's wedding last week. Do I have a picture of them, you ask? Yes, I do but its my blog. I'll post whatever damn picture I like.

Filipino Jokes

What do you call a filipino that finished med school?
A doctor, you fucking racist.

How do you use "sinigang" in a sentence?
(with a filipino accent)... my cousin, he's in a gang.

Batteries Not Included

I was talking to a friend of mine and she said she was frustrated. I asked her if it was because her batteries died. She wasn't worried though cuz she's an athlete.

Current Events

I was looking at the Cypress website and it looks like they got a dusting of snow on Saturday. See? Rodney and Jeanette's wedding was THAT special. We're already talking about where to go for a snowboarding trip. So far, we're considering Apex, Big White, Sunpeaks, and Silver Star. I need something cheap cuz I'll be just back from the Philippines. Oh, did I mention before that I'm going to the Philippines? Everyone: I'm going to the Philippines. It's my cousin's wedding on January 7 or 9 or something like that. I leave here December 27 and return January 16th. That's great, huh? I just advertised that I'll be out of my house for 3 weeks so people can rob me. Well don't plan on it cuz the house won't be empty. Jerks.

At work there's also the possibility that I can go to Boston for a few days for some software training in December. Nothing special, just a 4-day seminar. But Boston in December is not exactly a vacation spot. Its pretty fucking cold and I left Saskatchewan for a reason. I have a feeling I'm not going anyway. I looked at the seminar details and its nothing new or exciting.

One last thing: I bought new bindings. There was this sale at the local snowboard shop and I bought $379 bindings for $175. They're last year's model, but they're pretty damn sweet. Burton P1. I can't wait to try them out.

Sharp as a Tack

B-

Your senses are pretty sharp (okay, most of the time) And it takes something big to distract you!

How Observant Are You?

Another Wedding

This weekend was Rodney and Jeanette's wedding. Let me tell you something about each of them. Rodney's the kind of guy that tells it like it is. He's the guy you can count on when you need help and the kind of guy that's gets things done. Everything he tries he becomes good at (this makes me so fucking jealous) whether its music, snowboarding, or any kind of sport. Jeanette also tells you like it is and will support you through anything. She's classy, smart, loyal, and fun. It makes me cry tears of joy when I think how these two have grown up to be responsible adults. Okay, I don't really cry but I'm still pretty happy for them. I just want to take this opportunity to tell them both that I love them and I wish the best for them.

Funny Funny Funny

Tonight we went to see Russell Peters at the Orpheum. In case you don't know who he is, he's an indo-canadian comedian from Ontario. He's toured around the world with sold out shows all in China, Europe, the US, and Canada and he just signed a deal with the WB Network for a sitcom. He had a show that circulated around the internet that was pretty fucking hilarious, but to see him live was just amazing. My face and abs hurt from laughing so hard. Try downloading his old act and I promise you'll laugh your ass off.

Another Top 5 List

My Top 5 Favourite Magazines

1. Maxim
2. Entertainment Weekly
3. MaximumPC
4. that home decorating one
5. Victoria's Secret - not a magazine, but who cares.
   

True Heroes

Today I was off-site teaching at one of the local hospitals. I got there at 7am and didn't go out to my car again until lunchtime. When I opened the door to my car I noticed that the switch for my headlights was on. I tried starting the engine but alas, my battery was already dead. FUCK! I didn't have time to do anything about it at the time so I finished off my day and at 4:30 I came out again and tried to figure out how I would start my car. I asked a couple of people around the parking lot if they had jumper cables but no one did. Brian suggested I go ask security if they had some cables so I went inside and asked the woman at the admitting desk if she could call security for me to see if they had some. The woman says to me, "I don't know if they do, but I know I do." Great! "Here are my keys. Its a red and grey van and the cables are in the back." What the fuck? You're just going to give me, a complete stranger the keys to your car so I can borrow your jumper cables? Well I took her up on her offer, got my car started and went back in to return her keys. "Can I buy you a coffee or something to say thanks?" I know a coffee isn't much, but at the time it was the best I could offer. "No, just the fact that you offered that is thanks enough." It's so nice to meet people that are so helpful and trusting nowadays. I never would have done what she did but now I'm thinking I should be more helpful to my fellow man (or woman). Thank you lady-from-the-admitting-desk!

Friends from Work

You know your friends at work? The ones you actually like to work with (not that you don't like working with the other ones, but the ones that you would hang out with outside of work)? Last week the 2 people that I work with most (and I see outside of work too) were both off and everyone else was out of the office doing... whatever they do and I ended up being the office with the boss and a couple of other people that I don't really talk to that much. I mean, I like everyone I work with, but well, you know... Anyway, it was a good thing I was really busy last week because there was no one there to goof off with. No one to take long lunches with and no one to sneak off with to go to Starbucks. Maybe I'm just a snobby bastard.

Why?

You know when you're driving and you can't find the place you're going and you drive a little slower so you can see the house numbers? Why do you turn the volume on your radio down? Can you see better without the loud music? Is the music too distracting? Like, wtf?

The Essence of the Trip

I think Rodney is able to fully embrace the whole trip in this one picture.

What Happens on the Boat...

Okay, a lot of people have asked me how the weekend was. Randy has a good summary on his site so check it out. Without getting into too much detail, I'll make a top 5 list.

Top Five Best Parts of Rodney's Stag:
5. surprisingly being able to consume copious amounts of alcohol without puking
4. two words: Sea-Do (Nick is a fucking genius)
3. all you can eat gourmet buffet every meal (thanks VJ!)
2. & 1. beach party with 8 boatloads of really fun people.

Seriously, it was 240 beers and 4 large bottles of hard liquor. Who the fuck thought we'd run out halfway through the party? Maybe it was the caesar's for breakfast...

Weekend on the Shuswap

This weekend all the guys went out on a houseboat on Shuswap Lake (up by Salmon Arm - check a damn map if you still don't know). How did it go, you ask? What did we do, you're wondering? What happened, you're curious to know? None of your damn business.

The Dog

This weekend we have Shaughn. He's a good dog, but my place just isn't big enough for a dog his size. This morning I brought him outside in the backyard and he barely had enough room to move. If you've ever seen my backyard, its about the size of one side of a badminton court. Maybe not even that big. Usually I take him out for a walk but it was early and I was still sleepy. Now, if you've never heard of Shaughn, here's his story. He's made a pretty good recovery, but he still can't walk up or down stairs by himself, he walks all crooked like he's drunk, his balance isn't the best he stumbles a lot when he walks on uneven ground, and he gets tired pretty quick. I find it kind of sad when I see him falling over and stumbling because dogs are like people - they deserve a good quality of life. Seeing him trip over his own feet is like watching an elderly person struggle with a walker or a cane. I'm sure he gets frustrated when he can't lift his leg to pee because then he'll lose his balance and fall over. I'm sure he gets scared staring up or down the stairs knowing that he can't coordinate his feet well enough or that his legs aren't strong enough to take him past 1 or 2 of them at the most (we have to help him with a towel as a sling, or just carry him). Poor Shaughn. After all this though, he's still a great dog.

Google This!

Google is taking over the world. I don't mean they're going to make you start searching for your own crap on the internet, I mean they are expanding into everything! I just opened my GMail account (send me email) and I installed Google Talk, their beta version IM. Its nothing fancy, but neither is the Google home page - and look how that changed your eLife. Hmm, what a great new word. Has anyone used that before? "eLife"? I'm going to start using that.

My eLife exploded in 1999 when I first got cable internet. Sure my old 14.4 modem and then the 56k modem worked for primitive internet but once I got cable I was hooked. Then came internet gaming, ICQ, unlimited porn. My eLife just hit puberty. When I first moved and I didn't have internet access, I didn't even bother turning my computer on. What do you do on a computer without internet? Type a letter? Create a spreadsheet? Now, my MSN Messenger is online even when I'm not home. When did your eLife begin?

The Picture 2 Posts Ago...

Holy crap I'm looking kinda fat. Check out that gut...

Milestones

Don't be an idiot. Of course I'm not referring to the restaurant. Although I really like their steaks. Even better than the Keg. Anyway, the milestone I'm referring to is my first picture posted in my blog (actually my last post was the picture but I didn't want to take away from the wedding acknowledgement). I've had links to pics before but this is the first one that's right in the posting. Of all the things going on in my life, this is the milestone I choose to acknowledge. Why? Because I don't want all you nosey people to know everything about my life.

Congratulations

Last week was Dennis and Olivia's wedding. It was beautiful and Dennis' speech made me cry. Just kidding. It almost made me cry. Seriously, it was that good. Everyone had a good time. Congratulations to the both of them and best wishes for the future.

No, I don't have pictures of Dennis and Olivia to post. This is my blog, remember?

Coffee Addicts Unite!

As I sit here at work, sipping at my post-lunch Starbucks Caramel Macchiato, I stop to ponder the age-old question: Is Starbucks coffee better than Tim Horton’s? I’ve always believed that I like Timmy’s coffee better, but maybe its simply because they use a creamier cream than Starbucks. Well, it tastes creamier. Anyway, if I were to drink Starbucks coffee black with no cream and no sugar and then I drank Timmy’s coffee black with no cream and no sugar, which would be better? Actually, it doesn’t matter. Tim Horton’s has better food than Starbucks anyway. Chocolate danishes and honey cruller donuts. Mmmm…

Dance With Me

I can't dance. No, don't try to make me feel better. I already know this. I'm not coordinated enough and I just look silly. Oh, and I'm shy. All this = me = bad dancing. Yesterday we went to an engagement party where there were a lot of dance instructors. The sexy latin style of dancing, not the gay Patrick Swayze ballroom nobody-puts-baby-in-a-corner shit. Someday I'll take lessons and I'll show all of you. We're gonna put the "sizzle" in... uh, sizzling. Shut up, I couldn't think of a good line there. Anyway, this engagement party was straight out of a movie. If you've ever seen Dance With Me with Vanessa Williams and Chayanne (mini review: pretty good, fun to watch the dancing) well this party was just like the one in the movie. There was a little dance floor, tonnes of food, music, family, and beautiful garden lighting. Kinda made me wish I could dance without looking like an idiot or making my dance partner look stupid. This guy last night said, "The way you dance is the way you are as a lover." Well I only dance for a few minutes and I just sit to the side and watch. So no matter how true his statement was, I'm not going to believe it.

Falling off the Face of the Earth

No, I haven't fallen off. I've just been a little busy with "stuff". Okay, I'll be honest, I haven't been that busy, I've just been lazy. I find it hard to post now that I'm working at a computer all day long. When I come home from work I just want to relax and play games on my computer. I don't want to type anything, I don't want to compose a sentence, I don't want to be careful about politically correct statements, and I don't want to try and be entertaining to all you blog leeches. Oh crap, hang on, I just have to turn on my internal filter... Ok, just kidding. No one's a leech. Just maybe some fucking ticks though...


Anyhoo, on Friday we went Whitewater Rafting. The last time I went was for Steve's stag. The rafting was kinda slow with not a lot of big hits. I wanted life-threatening shit and all I got was a wake-up splash in the face. The camping afterwards was the memorable part. Especially for Steve and Randy. Then again, maybe they don't remember it... But anyway, on Friday the river was wild. We had a lot of big waves and some good rapids. Very fun. I'm pretty damn sore now but its that good "oh-yeah-I-just-worked-out" kind of sore. Next summer we want to do a 2-day trip so if anyone wants to come let me know and we'll go camping for a night or two as well.

Everybody Has a Story Part 6

I picked up a shift at the hospital earlier today. I had this one patient that was assaulted about a week ago. I don't know the details on that, but 4 days after getting beat up (by something like 5 guys), he called an ambulance and was taken to the hospital. He has 3 broken ribs and some damage to his lungs. He was a nice enough guy but with his history, I'm not sure I'd trust him any further than I could throw him. From his point of view, he's just down on his luck and he'll be back on his feet again in no time. Based on what he's told me about his life, though, I'm thinking it'll be a little longer than he expects to get a normal life again.

Environmental Update

My house is fucking hot.

New or Old?

My dad has a few different medical problems. He takes a few pills to manage most of them but for his arthritis, nothing seems to work well for him. Back in the late-nineties he started taking some herbal stuff that our relatives in the Philippines sent him. They get it from Chinatown in Manila. This stuff worked better than any of the regular drugs that have been prescribed to him over the years. The only problem I have with this is that none of us know what the stuff is or what it's supposed to be used for or even its real name. The box it comes in is all written in chinese (I guess I could get it translated - I know enough chinese people) without a word of english. The only reason I don't question it more is because I've seen the incredible difference it made with my dad's arthritis. However, the past couple days I've had to look at it a little more objectively. This "stuff" that he gets imported is made without any type of regulatory groups, it has no evidence-based research to quantify its effectiveness, there are no documented adverse effects, and no mention of drug interactions. But, I guess if it works... :

Wanted: Vacation

I don't know what it is. Lately I haven't been able to sleep, I haven't had much of an appetite, and I can't concentrate on anything. I need a vacation from everything.

You Know You're a Star Wars Geek When...

• You wave your hand purposefully and 'use the force' to open and close automatic doors or elevator doors.
• You've 'wielded' a flashlight and made humming sounds.
• You are POSITIVE you are force-sensitive and only lack the proper training.
• Your house robe is brown and extra large.
• You have a bad feeling about everything.
• Whenever you went anywhere outside with your friends, you always walked single file, to hide your numbers.
• You've been pulled over by a policeman, and when asked to see your driver's license you replied, "You don't need to see my identification."
• And when he asks about your two friends in the back "They're for sale, if you want them."
• You have held up an onion ring and said, "Look sir...droids!"

What Kind of Kisser Are You?

This is what I got:

Part Passionate/Part Expert Kisser

"For you, kissing is about all about following your urges
If someone's hot, you'll go in for the kiss - end of story
You can keep any relationship hot with your steamy kisses
A total spark plug - your kisses are bound to get you in trouble
You're a kissing pro, but it's all about quality and not quantity
You've perfected your kissing technique and can knock anyone's socks off
And you're adaptable, giving each partner what they crave
When it comes down to it, your kisses are truly unforgettable"

What a load of crap.

Its Been a While

Last night was Dennis and Olivia's wedding shower. They had a few (approx. 23,000) people over at their new home. Tonnes of food, lot's of friends, and alcohol pouring down like a waterfall. There were a handful of us that lasted until the end, about 1:30 or 2am. When I got home I downed a very large glass of water and passed out. This morning, I woke up to my blackberry beeping in the next room (I have the alarm set on it for 7:30am. I always forget to turn it off on weekends). I get up to turn it off, and *BAM!* I had to sit down again holding my head. I haven't had a hangover in a long time. I stumbled to the other room to turn off that damn blackberry and then stumble back to bed. I didn't take any Advil until 10-ish when I finally woke up again and had the courage to take the stairs down to the kitchen.

How Fun

These are the coolest invitations I've ever seen.

Frustrated

My Top Ten Worst Qualities (from my point of view):

1. I'm selfish.
2. I'm lazy.
3. I'm a snob.
4. I'm conceited.
5. I have a short attention span.
6. Nothing is good enough for me (but... see #2)
7. My effort is always good enough (but... see #2 and #4)
8. I'm irresponsible.
9. I'm not motivated.
10. I can be quite inconsiderate.

My Top Ten Best Qualities (from my point of view):

10. I'm the most humble person you'll ever meet. Oh crap, guess not.

Long Weekend

You're probably thinking, "It wasn't a long weekend." Well it was for me. When I changed jobs all my vacation time was paid out. That means any time I take off from work from now to new year's will be unpaid. Bummer. I was supposed to have 2 weeks off but I cut it down to just 3 days. So I've been off work for 5 days now (including the weekend). At my old job I'd have 5 days off between sets and in that time I'd usually have 2 or 3 days of doing nothing. I mean nothing. Sit in front of the tv all day, play video games, and not talk to anyone. It was great. I miss it now but this past weekend I had a couple of days of nothing. I know what you're thinking: "You're such a lazy slob. That's how you got fat." Well screw off. That's not how I got fat. Anyway, it usually helps me appreciate my job a little bit and when I go back to work, I'm usually more excited about it than if the weekend was full.

Wednesday:
Nothing day.

Thursday:
helped Jeff move some stuff to his new place.

Friday:
Fantastic Four and a little shopping.

Saturday:
helped Jeff move a little more stuff to his new place.

Sunday:
Nothing day.

Oh, did I tell you? Jeff got a new place down the street from me. Its really nice. Steve and I bug him about never actually moving in. I kinda like helping him move little by little. We usually move a few things and then sit around talking shit about everything and everyone. Don't worry though, we're not talking about you. ;)

Movie Review

Fantastic Four with Jessica Alba, Ioan Grufford, Michael Chiklis, & Chris Evans

All the movie reviews said it wasn't that good. I liked it. C'mon its based on a comic book! Don't expect Shakespeare or anything.

Big Brother

No, I don't mean the reality show on TV. I mean the Man. I'm talking about "them". I'm talking 1984. Just in case you haven't noticed, I've added a hit counter at the bottom of the page. It shows how many people have visited this blog since the end of June. It also collects stats like how many hits/day and which hours of the day were busiest. Seems like the evening is busy, 2100hrs being the busiest, and just after lunch, between 1300hrs and 1500hrs. The afternoon hits amused me. I figured out what this means: Get To Work!! I can just see it - you get back to your desk after lunch and you've forgotten what you were working on just before lunch or you just don't want to get started yet. "Hmm, let's read everyone's blogs..." Then you go through your list of regular blogs (you might even have them bookmarked) for about 15-20 minutes. You know, if you use Firefox instead of Internet Explorer, you can open all your bookmarked blogs in tabs all at once.

Flirting 201

Here's a few more tips from the pros (read: some website I saw a while back):

• Mimic her movements. I don't mean act like a 7 year-old, I mean when she sits, you sit. When she turns to face you, you turn your shoulders to face her.
• Make sure you keep an open posture. Don't sit with your arms crossed facing away from her.
• Face her. Conversations over someone's shoulder is annoying. Turn towards her and remember: lean in a bit.
• Everyone likes to be interesting so talk about her. Do Not start bragging about how much money you make or what kind of job you have. Talk about her family, her occupation, what she does for fun, and then work in how you can do these things with her.
• Take advantage of opportunities to make contact with her. "Hey, check this out." and then grab her hand and lead her towards whatever you were talking about. Don't grab her hand and pull, just take her hand like you're just trying to get her attention and then let go. You just met her, she's not your girlfriend - let go.
• Pay attention to her reactions. If you touch her arm and she reacts like someone spit on her arm, don't do it again. Better yet, step back. If you start talking about her family and she gives you one word answers, say "Hey, my friend is calling me, I'll catch you later." and then leave and don't talk to her again. If she volunteers info or leaves herself open to more innocent contact, stay and be charming.

Remember, nothing confrontational and no excessive use of touch. Otherwise, you'll just come off as creepy, or a jerk.

Small World

I'm always amazed at how small the world can be. Last week (or so), I was reading Vanessa's blog and I noticed a picture. I thought, "Gee, that looks a lot like Jane." So this past weekend I was talking to Jane and Joe and I find out that it was indeed Jane, and Joe is good friends with Vanessa. Now the funny thing about this is that the only way I know Vanessa is... well, I don't really know her other than what I've learned about her on her blog. See, she's Celia's sister's friend and I just ran into her blog when I was surfing through the link's on Eva's blogsite. I've never met her in real life. Maybe the world isn't so small and its the Force. I mean, what are the chances that Luke would kiss a princess that actually turns out to be his twin sister? The Force, man... makes the universe a very small place.

Flirting

Some people flirt naturally. They don't try - their personalities are just flirtatious. Then there's the people that have to try. Their flirting seems forced, their conversation seems fake, and their body language doesn't match their words. I figure that when it comes to flirting, the words don't really matter. You can have witty remarks, funny comments, and intelligent answers but if you sit there with your arms crossed staring at the ceiling, you're still a jerk. If your answers are simplistic and you barely know what the conversation is about but your body language is good, well then you're a sexy beast. Of course there's always the difference between just looking for someone to fool around with that night and looking to start something more serious. I'm not very good at either, but I have been lucky the past year with the latter. ;)

Top Ten Flirting Techniques:

1. Eye contact. Don't stare into her eyes - that's just creepy. Just make contact once in a while to show you're focussed on her.
2. Smile. No fake smiles. Smile like she is funny or smile like you're happy to be there.
3. If you talk about religion or politics keep it light and don't get angry. I don't care how passionate you are about something but if you start yelling at the person you're trying to flirt with you won't get far.
4. Touch. No, don't grope, don't try to cop a feel, and don't grab. I said touch - and nowhere inappropriate. As you're talking lean forward (see #5) and touch her arm lightly. If you're both sitting down, lean in and touch her knee. Not the thigh, the knee.
   
5. Leaning. Lean towards her when you talk like you're going to whisper something in her ear. Like you're telling her a secret. Creates intimacy.
6. Don't yell. If you're at a loud party and its hard to hear each other, it gives a good excuse for #5. Just lean in and speak normally closer to her ear.
7. Don't overdo it. Don't lean in with your hand on her arm whispering in her ear all the time. Use it with style.
8. Don't make shit up to make yourself sound better. Just tell the truth - you live with your mom and you have no idea how to run the washing machine.
9. Talk about something she is interested in. I don't care how much you like to watch wrestling, neither does she.
   
10. Basic Hygiene: brush your teeth, wear clean clothes, wash your hands. Try some mouthwash too.

I know advice from me is just a bad idea, but this is just what I heard from the pros. If it doesn't work for you, don't blame me.

*sigh*

This is a common occurence in any one of my classes:

"Oh, if you want to move back one field, you press and hold shift and then press tab. No, don't hold it, just once. Well, hang on, you just have to press tab until you're back where you started. Ok now, shift and tab. Oh it didn't work because you pressed the space bar. Okay, you're getting this error message because you've entered a space in that field. Backspace it out. No no no, backspace. It's over here. Near the enter key. That's right, both spaces. Okay good! Now, shift and tab..."

You get the idea.

Movie Review

Mr. and Mrs. Smith with Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie

Pure Entertainment. Don't expect any socially redeeming values or deep philosophical meaning. Its beautiful people blowing shit up. Very fun to watch.

Miss Saigon

To be honest, I've seen better. But, having said that, I would like to add that last night's performance of Miss Saigon at the Stanley theatre was pretty good. The helicopter scene was better than the one at the QE performance a couple years ago, the Engineer was excellent, and the small venue made for a more intimate feeling allowing you to see the facial expressions of the actors. We had crappy seats, but they were still good. y'know what i mean?

Good Guys and Bad Guys

After watching Batman Begins, we walked out to my car and I noticed that my lights were still on. Shit. Tried the engine - dead. Double shit. We were just about to go inside and call a tow truck to come and boost my car (my roadside plus covers this sort of stupidity) when we decided we'd try to push start it first. I probably would have been able to push it myself with Celia driving, but it would take a lot of time to get enough speed. I approached some young punks and asked them to help me push start my car. These young punks were more than willing and we got the car started in about 20 seconds. These guys were so helpful I should have given them money. But, of course, I'm poor so forget it. A hearty thanks and best wishes from me is all I can afford. As it turns out, these guys were the good guys and not the young punks I thought they would be. Thanks guys, I'm forever in your debt!

Movie Review

Batman Begins with Christian Bale, Michael Caine, and Katie Holmes

Better than Tim Burton's Batman. I liked it.

Crazy English Language

It's no wonder people have a hard time learning english. There are no rules to follow and words are made up every day (eg, ebonics).

What's the plural of octopus? Octopi
What's the plural of cactus? Cacti
What's the plural of status? ...
What's the plural of census? ...

Maybe there is a rule behind this but I don't know it. Any english majors out there that can explain it to me?

Recovery

Last week I did set of night shifts. 5 shifts to be exact. That works out to 6 days of screwed up sleeping patterns and another 4 days of recovery. Unlike my job on the ward though, I didn't get 5 days off to recover. I had 2 days to recover. That really screwed me up. Its Monday and I'm still not sleeping that well and I'm dead tired in the middle of the day. I figure I'll be all screwed up all week. The good news is that I've got a 4 day weekend coming up.

Politically Incorrect (but I still laughed)

Why is there no Disneyland in China?
No one is tall enough to go on the good rides.

Why do men find it difficult to make eye contact?
Because breasts don't have eyes.

Why does Mike Tyson cry during sex?
Mace will do that to you.

Why is it so hard for women to find men that are sensitive, caring, and good-looking?
Because those men already have boyfriends.

Why is air a lot like sex?
It's not a big deal until you're not getting any.

Night Shift

The nights are long and quiet. Only 2 more after tonight.

Thanks

Thank you to everyone for making my birthday such a a great day.

When More is Better

I like working at my desk. I mean at work. I prefer working in the office rather than some computer training room in the basement of a hospital. My desk, my computer, my space. But today, I had to leave my office to go work in the aforementioned basement training room. Alone. "Why?" do you ask? So I could work on 2 computers at once. One just isn't enough.

Its About Frickin Time

Miss Canada won the Miss Universe pageant. Are beauty pageants still politically correct? I mean, I personally don't care. If that's what they want to do, go right ahead and do it. But there's got to be some group out there that is protesting this whole beauty pageant thing. I heard the network wanted to turn Miss America into a reality show with the Big Show as the finale. I don't know... Unless there's an undercover FBI agent and some conspiracy to kill someone from the show, I just don't see it as interesting.

Current Thoughts

I've noticed that during the time I was back working on the ward (April 5-May13) I've had a few more blog entries than usual. My guess is that now that I'm back at my desk job the entries will start slowing down again.

Thanks to everyone on my old ward for the DVD rack and the going-away party. I couldn't actually make it to the party, but on my last day they bought me a cake and sang "For he's a jolly good fellow."

This hot weather makes me want to buy a portable air conditioner. I say this every year but one of these days I'm gonna really do it. Maybe this year...

I washed my car yesterday. This is the second time that I've washed my car (I've had it washed by other people 3 or 4 times) in 3 years. Thanks to everyone that's ever washed my car for me. Its a tough job. Y'know, it actually looks pretty decent when it's clean.

Is it better to put your iPod on a lanyard around your neck, in a belt-clip at your waist, in an armband on your bicep, or should it just go in your pocket? I haven't quite made up my mind on this one yet. I'm going with the pocket right now.

Why.

No, I'm not asking "why?" I'm telling you why. Why do I blog? Its been about 18 months now and I'm still writing my thoughts down to be published over the internet. The internet, for God's sake! The place where porn rules and the home of the anonymous community. Why do I express my thoughts here, you ask? Because. Because I'm an opinionated jerk that doesn't care what other people think. I blog because I'm vain and I want other people to see things my way. I blog because I just want everyone else to know what I'm thinking when I don't say it out loud. But most of all, I blog because... well, I don't know. I guess its kinda fun.

I'm like a Poor, Dumb Bill Gates

Last week I was sitting at a coffee shop listening to my iPod. I reached into my pocket and adjusted the volume and track when my Blackberry started buzzing. I pulled it out and started writing an email back to my co-worker. As I was writing this email, my cell phone rang. When I heard my phone ring, I thought, "Oh man, I'm a geek." iPod, Blackberry, cell phone - all I need is a notebook computer and a pocket protector.

Thank God its Not Over

I just read that George Lucas wants to make another Star Wars movie. The new movie will introduce a whole new cast, except for Yoda, and will take place 100 years before Episode 1. "Star Wars 0" will have Yoda as the hero of the movie. I personally think he should go back a little further so he can tell more stories about the Sith Lords.

Back to Work

Last Tuesday I went back to my job with the IS dept. Since I've been gone, the department has gone through a bit of a re-org. My group is now called Health Informatics rather than E-Health. I'm still trying to catch up on things, but Brian hasn't been shy about giving me more and more work to do. Seems as though I'll be pretty busy over the next few weeks. We have another hospital going Live on my birthday weekend so between now and about mid-June I'll be drowning in work.

Stuff Brian and I do at work to stop us from going crazy:

1. arrange meetings with people we don't like on Tuesdays. This way, when we get off the phone with them we can say "C U Next Tuesday!"
2. make comments under our breath about dumbasses that will guarantee a very warm spot in hell.
3. teach classes together so that we can have contests for who can freestyle the training script the best.
4. create new standards on a daily basis without consulting anyone but each other.

Movie Review

Star Wars Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith with Natalie Portman, Hayden Christiansen, Ewan McGregor, and Yoda

Good shit, man. Good shit.

Top 5 Least Popular Superheroes

5. Constipation Man
4. Womanman
3. Usedcar SalesMan
2. Immigration Boy
1. The Blind Cripple

thanks to The Keeper of Lists for this one

Funnies

Q: Which sexual position produces the ugliest children?
A: Ask your mom.

Q: How do you know you're leading a sad life?
A: When a nymphomaniac tells you, "Let's just be friends."

Q: Are birth control pills deductible?
A: Only if they don't work.

Q: What did one saggy boob say to the other saggy boob?
A: If we don't get some support soon, people are going to think we're nuts.

Q: Mom's have Mother's Day, Father's have Father's Day. What do single guys have?
A: Palm Sunday

Q. What's the difference between a bitch and a whore?
A. A whore sleeps with everybody at the party, and a bitch sleeps with everybody at the party except you.

Q. What is the biggest problem for an atheist?
A. No one to talk to during orgasm.

Q. How can you tell which is the head nurse?
A. The one with the dirty knees.

Q. A brunette, a blonde, and a redhead are all in third grade: Who has the biggest breasts? A. The blonde, because she's 18.

Preliminary Movie Review

Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith with Hayden Christiansen, Natalie Portman, and Yoda

Okay, I haven't seen it yet, but even if it sucks it'll be good. Only a Star Wars fan would understand what I mean by that.

Movie Review

Spanglish with Adam Sandler, Paz Vega, and Tea Leoni.

It made me laugh, it made me cry... oh wait, that was my last review. I liked this movie too.

The End

Yesterday was my last day on the ward. It was quite sad for me actually. They bought me an ice cream cake and next thursday, there's a bigger gathering for all the people leaving the ward. Even though I don't want to work there anymore, I'll miss it because I work with some great people there and there's always something interesting going on. But, in the interest of personal development and advancement of my career, I've moved on to bigger and better things.

Top Ten Gross Things in the Hospital

1. Cellulitis - when the skin is all maroon-coloured and bubbly-looking. ugh.
2. Unknown Fluids - sometimes, when you're standing at the bedside and you realize the floor is wet or the handrail is wet, you just don't want to know. I run off and wash my hands.
3. The Sound of coughers and hackers - y'know those people that start coughing and do their best to bring up a collection of alveoli? and they go at it for like, 10 minutes.
4. The Stuff coughers and hackers bring up - sputum is my weakness. Superman has green kryptonite, I have that disgusting yellowish, mucousy, gunk that makes me want to puke. usually I have to leave the room.
5. Body Fluids - I've lumped all body fluids together because it doesn't matter where it comes out of the body, its usually gross. A little bit of sweat is okay, but diaphoresis with bad B.O. is not. Stool, urine, and various forms of 'discharge' are all things I won't get within 10 feet of without gloves on my hands, a spare set of gloves in my pocket, a protective gown nearby (sometimes), and a sink with a lot of soap nearby.
6. Smells - that aroma you catch as you walk down the hallway and you know that the patient in one of the nearby rooms has C.diff.
7. Food - no offence to the kitchen staff, but there is absolutely no way to prepare meals for 600 people 3 times/day and make it look appetizing. If I'm ever hospitalized, I'm going to force my family to bring food in for me.
8. Bedsores - see, what happens is the skin breaks down because of the pressure from a bone or something. Bedsores are more common on the tailbone or the hipbone. They are not a pretty site and you don't ever, and I mean ever, want to have one. I've seen sores so deep you can see all the layers of tissue including the bone. And don't tell me it might be infected and smells. I'll have to go home sick.
9. Poor Hygiene - for some reason, people seem to think that being the hospital makes them exempt from the need for good personal hygiene. Hygiene is not simply to smell good, its for good health. Don't tell me you can't wash your hands because you broke your ankle, and don't try to tell me you don't need to wipe your ass because you can't reach it.
10. Vomit - this is the all-time worst. Everything about it, the sound people make when they're puking, the way they heave as they puke, the look on their face when they are puking, smell of the puke, the consistency of the puke - EVERYTHING. When my patients puke, I go get them gravol, or a wet towel to clean up with, or a new gown, or something. I'll say anything to get out of that damn room. It takes everything I've got to not get sick at times like this.

Movie Review

Finding Neverland with Johnny Depp, Kate Winslet, Dustin Hoffman, and introducing Freddie Highmore

It made me laugh, it made me cry. Good stuff.

Everybody Has a Story Part 5

Last week I was working a night shift. In the morning, I had to stay an extra hour to help out the day staff because they were short staffed. All I really did was hand out some meds and help get patients ready for the day. But, there was this one patient that just didn't seem right. The week before he was a patient of mine and he was doing great after his surgery. That morning, he just seemed a little... off. Anyway, I went home, got some sleep and came back to work for another night shift. I found out that this man had died during the day. Apparently, after about 3pm he just got worse and worse and ended up dying at about 7pm. He was such a nice man too. Easy-going, jovial, good-natured. I don't know if he has children or grandchildren, but I know he was survived by his wife. I hope she is doing okay.

Special Day

For all the mother's out there: Happy Mother's Day.

Me - sort of

I know I mentioned googling yourself before, but I did it again:

http://www.siu.edu/~siupress/titles/s01_titles/delapaz_houses.htm

http://pugnaciouspinoy.blogspot.com

Code Orange!

Last night when I got to work, the alarms were going off throughout the hospital. I took the stairs up and when I got the ward, I hear the overhead announcement: "Your attention please, Code Orange. Your attention please, Code Orange. All day staff are to remain on the premises." Let's see, what the hell is a code orange? Oh crap, its a disaster! Seems as though a water main burst and flooded the emergency dept, the medical imaging dept, and Central Processing. All the patients in emerg were either sent home or transferred to another hospital. Emerg was under a foot of water, with some parts of the floor up to 3 feet! I even heard the elevator shaft had 15 of water in it! Well, all surgeries were cancelled for the night and for today and emerg was closed all night and probably for most of today. The clean-up is going to suck for all those involved. I heard emerg got pretty messed up.

Sometimes its Good, Sometimes... not so much

I know that I've really been saying that I hate working on the ward and that I can't wait to get back to my desk job, but there are times when the ward has its nice moments. On Tuesday I got to work and there was a gift bag sitting there for me. I opened it up and there was a card and a little angel ornament from a patient I had last week. "For service above and beyond the call of duty--Thanks." She was a very nice woman that had a hard time after her surgery. This is my favourite part of nursing. You may not be able to change the world, but you might be able to change one person's world. Even though I was busy that day, I still had a good day.

The next day, however, wasn't so good. I was running non-stop from the moment I got there until 3 in the afternoon. The last 4 hours settle down, but I was so far behind at that point I was still pretty busy. I couldn't wait to go home. Days like that make me pray the next week and a half go by fast.

Movie Review

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy with Martin Freeman, Mos Def, Sam Rockwell, and Zooey Deschanel

If you've ever read the book, the movie does it justice. I thought it was pretty good. If you don't get the jokes, you have to read the book.

Late Night

Remember how I said I joined a summer volleyball league? Well last night my team all decided that we would go play at Bonsor to "practice". Well our team isn't very good, in fact, we suck. We did, however, have a great time. After playing, we went to a pub for a drink. My plan was to grab something to eat, have a drink, and then go home. Here's what actually happened: grabbed some food, had a drink, talked and laughed, had a drink, heard some stories of past outings, had a drink, prepared to leave but instead had a drink. I don't even like beer that much. I had this idea that I'd be home by 1am at the latest, but at 2am when the pub closed, the 5 of us that were still there realized that we had to walk a couple of blocks to Tim Horton's to try and sober up. We sat there, had a coffee and at 3:30am, we called it a night.

We figure we should "practice" at least once/week.

The Time Between

You know what I hate? When you're busy, but at the same not really busy. For example, I've been working since Sunday and my schedule is 2 days, 2 nights (12 hr shifts). So I've been busy since Sunday, right? Well, yes and no. I come home from work and I eat and then sit around for a few hours before going to bed. Today, I don't work until 7:30pm so I have all day to kill (as long as I get a 2hr nap later). So I've been busy since Sunday with all this time between that I can't fill. I guess I could do laundry or something.

Revenge

Have you ever gotten revenge on someone just cuz you wanted to be a prick? Couldn't take the high road and forget about it? Had to get someone back no matter what? I've never done it but I hear some great stories. One guy told me that when a doc pisses him off he'll page him and leave random numbers from the phone book. Sometimes it doesn't work though. Just like in Seinfeld when you buy something at an expensive store just to prove to the stuck-up jerks that work there that you can afford their shit but then when you get home you realize you didn't even want it. Anyway, my point is: take the high road. When you die, people will have better things to say about you.

Then again, if you take the low road you'll have better stories to tell.

Its Official

Last week I gave my official notice of resignation to the ward and formally accepted the position in the IS department. So, in 3 weeks, I'll be back to my desk and my regular schedule. I'm gonna miss the 5 days off though...

Today, I went to talk to my new (old) manager to determine a start date and to go over some administrative stuff. When I start, I get a new colour Blackberry! For free! I guess I won't have to buy a PDA after all.

Book Review

The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown

I totally forgot to do a review on this book after reading it! So, here it is:

Hard to put down. I really liked this one.

Seriously though, I've read reviews saying that Dan Brown is anti-Catholic but I disagree. Someone studying evolution and the history of mankind can still be Catholic, I mean come on, do people honestly believe that the world was created in a week and the entire population of the earth started with Adam and Eve? That's just unreasonable - and don't even try to say something like "you just have to have Faith." But with Brown's book, just because he offers a different take on the life of Jesus and the history of the Catholic church doesn't mean he's anti-Catholic. There's nothing wrong with a little creative thinking and questioning established beliefs. In the book, I don't know where the fact ends and the fiction begins and that's what makes it so damn intriguing. And just because I find the ideas in the book interesting doesn't mean I'm a satan-loving heretic. Besides, you'll find the book in the Fiction section at Chapters, not the History section. Just read it and make up your own mind about whether Brown is just spinning a good yarn or trying to bring down the Catholic church.

Recreation Time

I joined an outdoor volleyball league this summer and I figured that before it starts, I should do a little practicing. I don't want to embarrass myself too much, you know. So tonight I went to drop-in volleyball with a co-worker and her friends. If you've ever played drop-in, you'll know that the skill level can vary quite a bit. I wasn't very good, but at least I wasn't the worst either. I haven't played volleyball in over a year so it was a lot of fun. I have to lose a little bit of weight because I got pretty damn tired trying jump around. I'm sure I'm going to pay for it tomorrow. I think I'm going to be pretty sore. Oh well, at least its the good kind of sore.

Blockbuster Late Fees

Its over.

Sick?

Last night was actually a pretty good night at work. Except I felt like crap the whole night. I had a stomachache and a headache and one annoying patient. So today when I woke up (way too early) I called in sick. I think the stress from the job is getting to me. I can't wait to get out.

101 Things You Shouldn't Do at the Opening of Star Wars 3

8. ask if there's in any Qidich in this one
9. say, "Who's the little green guy?"
10. talk to Triumph the dog
11. ask the 3 girls in line if they want to go on a date.
12. when they say no, ask if you can watch them make out with their girlfriends
13. ask where the Ewoks are

Gross

This patient I had today had the nastiest foot I've ever seen. He was missing some toes and the other ones were all black and dead. Fuckin gross.

Cypress

Yesterday Rodney and I went to Cypress Mountain. We were going to go back to Whistler, but decided that since Cypress got a bunch of snow, we'd just stay local.

Highlights:

• mountain to ourselves. there were only a handful of people there
• we built a jump. the jump was good, the location wasn't
• warm weather and a little bit of sun now and then
• I finally did some jumps again!
• I did a grab
• Rodney's backside 180 with a grab
• good, cheap sushi after with a large Sapporo

Ahh... good times. :)

Oh Thank God...

My old new boss came by today and offered me the job back in IS. Thank God, now I can leave the ward. This is like a "Get of hell, free." card. I wrote my letter of resignation and left it with my current boss, but I haven't talked to her yet. I guess I'll have to talk to her on Monday.

Hooray! Oliver is now finished with wiping ass and bodybagging.

101 Things you Shouldn't Do at the Opening of Star Wars 3

1. dress up like Gandalf and block the entrance to the theatre and yell, "You shall not pass!"
2. during the whole movie say, "who's that guy?" and "What did he say when I asked 'who's that guy?'"
3. read the opening text out loud
4. go dressed up as Spock
5. say things like, "I heard George Lucas was making 3 movies after this about Anakin's children."
6. at the end, ask out loud, "So you mean Anakin is Darth Vader?"
7. stand in line for the midnight show and make comments about how only losers watch Star Wars in the middle of the night.


Feel free to add on.

Movie Review

Sin City with Jessica Alba, Bruce Willis, Mickey Rourke, and Clive Owen

A little violent.

Another Good Day

I went to Whistler yesterday. Beautiful! There was almost a foot of new snow so I found a lot of untouched powder. I didn't go crazy this time, just took it easy and had fun. Let's see, highlights:

• almost went off a cliff
• knee-deep powder everywhere
• freshly groomed packed powder
• soft landings on all the little jumps
• empty mountain, only a handfull of people were there
• no line-ups at the lifts
• nice warm day with the sun shining

Back on the Block

So I started my shifts on the ward on Wednesday. Its been a while since I've worked on the ward so needless to say I was pretty rusty. The whole day I was disorganized, running around, and completely lost. My first night shift was a little better but I'm so tired right now I'm falling asleep at my keyboard. I've made my decision: I can't be a bedside nurse for long. Its not that its too hard or too tiring, I just don't have the patience for it anymore. I end up babysitting adults and catering to the needs of my patients. "My water is too warm, I need ice in it." "Can you straighten out my sheets?" "My linens need changing, they're 2 days old." You don't need a degree in anything to do these tasks. I didn't spend 4 years and thousands of dollars to make a bed or get someone water. My education can go to bigger and better things. Sure being a bedside nurse is a "noble" profession, but I'm finding it more and more demeaning. I'm not your waiter, I'm not your housekeeper, and I'm not your babysitter. If all you want me to do is carry you to the washroom and not listen to a word I have to say about your health and the fastest way to recovery, well then you've just lost another nurse to something better. If everything I've learned has been reduced to babysitting duty, thank you, but I'll find something else to do.

Movie Review

Closer with Natalie Portman, Julia Roberts, Clive Owen, and Jude Law

Holy Crap Natalie Portman is hot.

The movie was pretty good too.

Inspirational Quotes

He who knows all the answers has not yet been asked all the questions.
- unknown

I'd rather be right than President.
- Henry Clay

Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.
- Leo Buscaglia

If you want to feel rich, just count all of the things you have that money can't buy.
- unknown

Most people seek after what they do not possess and are thus enslaved by the very things they want to acquire.
- Anwar El-Sadat

Last Day

*sniff sniff* Today was my last day in my HIS position. On Monday I go back to my old job on the ward. Oh well. I've already applied for a permanent job with HIS so I expect to be back before my birthday.

Movie Review

Under the Tuscan Sun with Diane Lane and Sandra Oh

Okay, I'm not ashamed to say that I really liked this movie. It has the main character that you love, the eccentric friend she meets, the super-nice-guy (like in Pretty Woman), the best friend, and the exotic locale. Its a good movie to just sit down and watch with a glass of wine. If you haven't seen this, just go watch it. Thank you.

BTW, I'm not gay.

One Last Time

This year was such a bad snowboarding season. It started good way back in December but by the time Christmas came, the snow was pretty weak. The whole season I think I only went about 5 or 6 times. Well, yesterday, I went One Last Time! Whistler had received a big dump of snow last week and yesterday was great! The bottom half of the mountain was crap, but the top half had powder and packed powder. Terrain park, tree runs, fast blues, and new friends made for an awesome day on the mountain.

The Old Job

I haven't written here in a while. In two weeks I'll be going back to my old job in the hospital.

5 Good Things About it:
1. neat stories
2. easier to pick up overtime
3. more days off
4. don't have to think about what to wear
5. I get to work with patients again

5 Bad Things About it:
1. annoying patients/families
2. body fluids... ew
3. 12 hr shifts
4. night shifts
5. less politics

Pictures

If you've ever noticed, I never post pictures in my blog. Sure, I'll have links to pictures, but there's never pictures as part of the blog. Now, don't think I'm going to start this now, because I'm not. In fact, I'm doing something better. I've set up a picture blog with textamerica.com (ya, there's no canadian one that I know of). Now, all the pictures I take with my phone will automatically get posted there. I put a link over on the column to the right too -->

Check it out if you get a chance.

Lethargic

I don't know what it is, but lately I've been having trouble sleeping. I'd go to bed around 10pm, fall asleep for about 30 minutes or so and then wake up and not be able to fall asleep again. Then I'd end up being awake until 2am and my alarm goes off at 6am. Because of this I've been feeling really lethargic and worn out. Maybe I'm just getting sick. I need some time off work. I haven't had more than 3 or 4 days off in a row since summer.

Can't Sleep

Do you think you know 80's music? Check this out and test yourself!

Reading is Fun

As I said, in an earlier post, I've been reading to try to make myself more cultured. Don't get me wrong, I don't force myself to read just so I can sit with a pipe and talk about how some author is trying to make a statement about bob loblaw. I read for entertainment too. Its like a movie in your head.

Top 5 List of Books That I Thought Were Fun to Read:
1. The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown
2. How to be a Canadian by Will & Ian Ferguson
3. Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
4. A Short History of Everything by Bill Bryson
5. Catch 22 by Joseph Heller

Another Quiet Night

You can stop reading. The title says it all.

Toothpaste

You know how Aquafresh toothpaste has those 3 stripes? If you were to squish the tube for a while in all directions, would the stripes mix together for make a gross-coloured paste? Or would the stripes stay? I'd like to try it, but then I wouldn't want to use the toothpaste anymore. Who wants to brush their teeth with a greyish goop?

Also, Aquafresh is my favourite toothpaste, but one thing I hate about it is when you get to end of the tube and one of the stripes run out. Usually, when I'm down the last little bit of toothpaste I only get white and green stripes. The red stripe is gone! I feel like I'm getting ripped off.

Game Reviews

I know I've never had game reviews before, but here goes:

Doom3 (PC) - fun if you liked the original Doom. Nothing new, but scary as hell.

Half-Life2 (PC) - I don't know what all the fuss was about. Sure I enjoyed the game, but the first one was way better.

Champions of Norrath (PS2) - this is a great game if you like this sort of thing. I found single-player a little dull, but a 2 player game is addicting.

Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic2: The Sith Lords (PC) - so far so good.

Not a Book Review

In the attempt to make myself more cultured, I took up reading "classics". I don't mean things like War and Peace or Crime and Punishment or anything so... difficult, but rather the stuff that was written a long time ago and has lately become the basis of Hollywood Box Office exploitation. It started after I watched League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. If you haven't seen or heard of it, its an action/adventure movie with Sean Connery about a group of classic literary characters brought together to fight the bad guy. Tom Sawyer, Allan Quartermain, The Invisible Man, Dorian Gray, Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde, Captain Nemo, and the wife of the guy from Dracula. Anyway, I realized that there are a lot of times in movies and on TV when a reference is made to some old book or story. Even Stewie on The Family Guy makes reference to The Picture of Dorian Gray. I decided that if I read these old books, I would have a deeper understanding of the reference and either get a better understanding of the character and plot or a better understanding of the joke (depending on what I'm watching). I've read a few of the books with the above characters and here's what I thought: they're actually pretty good. Also, hollywood changes the stories a lot to make them a little flashier and exciting.

Ultimate goal: Read Dante's Inferno. I started, but stopped. I honestly tried. Its harder to read than Hemingway.

Book Review

The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom

Short book. I read it in about a day which is pretty good for me cuz it usually takes me a week to read anything. I enjoyed this one. Its about a guy that dies and before he can get to heaven he has to find meaning in his life. The five people he meets all help him see what his existence was all about. Its interesting how the author shows the interconnectedness of our lives with the people around us, whether we know it or not. What we do affects those around us and what they do affects us. There were parts that were a little cheesy, but nothing lame. I'd recommend this book for anyone that likes sappy meaning-of-life crap.

Now What?

About a year and a half ago I used to stay home and find things to do on my own. I used to go grocery shopping on my own, go to Blockbuster to look at their previously viewed movies, find myself something to eat, and just generally keep myself busy. Now I find I have so much time on my hands I don't know what to do with it. I only have multiplayer games on my PS2 and my computer bores me. Maybe my heart is telling my mind something it won't admit to.

Just one of those days...

You know what really sucks? When you're not looking forward to work the next day. I know there are a lot of people out there that don't like their job and they hate the idea of going to work in the morning. Well, I still like my job, but I don't want to go because I just want to sit in front of my tv all day and eat junk food and play video games and smoke and not shower. But personal hygiene, usually prevails and I'll take a shower. Then I'll realize I'm out of smokes so I won't smoke. Then I'll get bored of my video games so I stop playing. And nothing's on tv so I turn it off. But I'll still go out and get junk food. Hmm, maybe I'll get Subway instead...

That's My Final Decision

For the past year, and especially in the past few months, I've been debating whether or not I want to go back to my old job as a bedside nurse or continue on in my current job as an informatics nurse. Well, I've finally made my decision. I'm going back. My contract has ended (it was only for one year) and I've got no obligation to stay. I do, however, have an obligation to my old ward. My old boss gave me a one year leave for this job with the unwritten agreement that I'd come back at the end of the contract. There will be a permanent position coming up soon, but probably not until June or July. I don't really want to go back, but I feel I need to. Here's why:

1. I think if I asked for an extension on my leave just so I wouldn't have to go back to my ward would be rude. I want to honour my agreement with my old boss. I said I'd be back and finding ways to avoid it, I think, lacks character. Besides, I don't want to burn any bridges.
2. My plan for my career was to work for 5 years and then move on. This opportunity came to me after only 4 years. I feel like I haven't met my own goals. Even by going back for a few months will ease my mind.
3. I'll be able to find out whether or not bedside nursing is what I really want to do. Maybe I'll go back and find that is something that I really want to do. Maybe I'll go back and realize I hate it. Who knows.