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.

Dreams

Top Ten Things I Would Do if I Won the Lottery

10. Buy a really nice house.
9. Buy a place in Whistler - and none of that time-share crap. I'd get my own place.
8. Buy a few new cars.
7. Pay off the debts of my immediate family.
6. Go on a really nice vacation - like the vacations that hollywood stars go on.
5. Quit my job. Actually I might work once in a while just for something to do.
4. Start a business but hire other people to run it.
3. I'd have the most amazing computer you've ever seen. NASA would be jealous.
2. Finally get some nice clothes.
1. Make sure I had the most kick-ass entertainment system.

Happy Birthday Vanessa

I moved to BC in 1989 and that summer I met a handful of people. Some I haven't talked to or seen in years, but there are many that I'm still friends with now. Vanessa is one of those people. I've known her for 16 years now and I consider her one of my close friends. Happy Birthday, Vanessa!

If you don't already know, Vanessa travels a lot for her job. Once when we went shopping at Best Buy she pointed out a portable DVD player and said, "that would be great for those overnight trips when I don't want to leave my hotel room." So,this year for her birthday, we all pitched in and bought her one. Because I'm the tech geek, it was my responsibility to go pick one out that was in our budget and go buy it. So we collected names, counted heads, figured out a budget, and bought her the gift. The thing I hate about doing this that now I get stuck with collecting the money from people that I may only see once every other month. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy to be the one to go buy Bung's gift, but now I end up paying interest on my credit card because a handful of people won't pay me until I see them again in May. *sigh* Oh well. C'est la vie...

What if...?

I was talking to a friend of mine and she said that Finding Nemo was really sad at the beginning because in the first 10 minutes Marlon's wife dies as well as all the babies, except one (Nemo). So I asked her what she thought would be better: that the wife and children all die or that the wife arranged the whole thing and ran off with the bigger fish, taking all the babies with her except the one that was crippled (Nemo had one small fin). Hmm, considering this alternate story, I bet you're glad she died now.

Heart Attack

Today I went running. No, not away from anyone or anything. Last week a co-worker and I decided to start running to lose weight. We'd go after work twice/week and we'd only run a little at a time to start. Well today we ran a little more than 2km - or 5 laps of the track (in the outer lane). Since this is my first time doing any kind of sustained cardiovascular exercise, I do the run-for-a-minute-then-walk-for-a-minute style. This worked out pretty good for me.

Anyway, back to the title. Remember when you were a teenager and you heard all those warnings like "Consult a physician before engaging in any exercise regimen." I used to wonder why you would bother. Well, my little exercise in exercise just showed me that I'm an old, fat, out-of-shape man. I was seriously afraid that I'd have a heart attack while running. All I could think was that it was a good thing my co-worker that I was running with was a nurse. Well, luckily, I didn't have a heart attack. Now, if only this weird numbness in my left arm would go away...

Wonderful World Wide Web Bwowsing

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Finally!

I woke up this morning and WOW! its snowing!! I checked out the mountain reports and all the local mountains are opening up today. The crappy part is, I don't know when I'll be able to go. And in the meantime, I have to drive to New Westminster a couple of times this week, so traffic will suck if the snow sticks here.

This just keeps getting more and more difficult...

If it was simply a matter of choosing wether or not I stay in my current job or go back to my old job, I think the decision is getting clearer and clearer to me. Last week, though, something came up.

Here's the story:
My current job (Job B) is only a temporary position. It was only supposed to be one year. My old job (Job A) gave me a one year leave to take the position at Job B. This was difficult for my Job A manager because staffing is difficult enough without losing a full-timer for a year. So the leave was good for one year and one year only.
Now, just as I had hoped, Job B has the opportunity to become permanent. BUT, the position has to be approved for the new budget - which doesn't come through until (probably) the end of March. Then the position has to be posted for a certain period of time which I have to apply for and then, to follow protocol, most likely won't officially start until July. But I can't count on the permanent position until the posting is actually up.
Problem 1: I'm supposed to back to Job A on April 1st because that's when my year is up. If I want to stay in Job B until the permanent position starts, I'll need an extension on my leave from Job A. I already know my old boss doesn't want to do that.
Problem 2: I could just quit my position at Job A, stay in my temp position until the end of June, then start the permanent position in July. However, I'm pretty sure I lose out on something if I leave my permanent full-time position for 3 months.
Problem 3: I have to tell my boss from Job A whether I'm coming back or not before the posting of the permanent position at Job B. I can't take the chance that I'll be out of a permanent, full-time job no matter how small that chance is.

Is everything clear? I have to ask for an extension on my leave or go back to Job A for 3 months.
Problem 4: Going back to Job A from April to June is a very very bad time to be leaving Job B. A lot of the work that I've been doing the past 4 months has a great deal of impact on what's happening between April and June. Disappearing would not be good at this time.

I have to win the lottery soon...