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.