Good for Me

Even though I can't carry on a normal conversation anymore, I'm quite proud that I've been able to blog so much this past month. It is, of course, complete garbage and not really all that interesting but it's not supposed to be an exercise in quality, but rather quantity. And seriously, when has this ever been interesting? I write in my blog for the sake of writing. It's not like I do it to pick up chicks or to prove that I'm cool.

I Dream of Going Back to Normal

Ever since the twins were born I haven't been able to carry on a decent conversation with another adult. I don't know if it's the lack of sleep over the past 18 months or if it's from watching too much Treehouse but whenever I find myself talking to another grown up I can't seem to concentrate on what we're talking about, my eyes can't focus, and I totally don't hear everything that the other person says. It's like I suddenly don't know how to talk to people anymore. I'm really really hoping that when I start getting regular sleep this will all correct itself.

I Want HD

A friend of mine from work said she was watching some movies on BluRay and she said the high definition really made the CGI stuff look really fake. Is this true? I imagine that new movies will correct this but if I watch Spiderman in 1080p will it look stupid? Anyway, I'm thinking about buying a BluRay player. I know, I know - get a PS3 because it's cheaper and you get a cool game console too. Even though I would love to have a PS3, I actually want to stay away from it because I don't need 2 consoles. I don't play that much. I haven't done any research on BluRay yet but what's the difference between a $500 machine and a $299 machine?

Information Age

I really like technology. It's not so much the whole geeky, computer nerd, staring-in-front-of-a-monitor kinda thing, its more about learning new ways to do something. Sure, carrying a little calendar around works just as well as a PDA and do you really need cell phone? Twenty years ago they were only for the elite. And come on, does your computer really save you any time? Anyway, I was reading this letter to the editor in my nursing magazine and someone made a comment about using computers in patient care scenarios and how they may not be improving patient care and all that jazz. Although it may not directly improve how well a nurse gives you an injection or inserts that foley, it does become an incredible source of information that was never available before. Let's say you're driving out to Kelowna and as you pass by Hope you need to stop off at the hospital because you suddenly feel dizzy and weak. Would you want the doctors and nurses to be treating based on what they know of you from that particular visit (ie, no info other than what you tell them or what they ask), or would you want them to have information on your medical record so that decisions on your treatment/care is based on your history? Maybe for you it doesn't make a huge difference but for anyone that arrives unable to speak or has a complicated medical history, this could be difference between life or death. Make your own decision but I know what I'd want.

Congrats

Congratulations to VJ and Michelle on the birth of their 3rd daughter!

Finally

Heroes is back.  *big sigh of relief*

One for the Married People

Three women: one engaged, one married and one a mistress, are chatting about their relationships and decided to amaze their men. That night all three will wear black leather bras, stiletto heels and a mask over their eyes. After a few days they meet up for lunch.
The engaged woman: The other night when my boyfriend came over he found me with a black leather bodice, tall stilettos and a mask. He saw me and said, 'You are the woman of my life. I love you.' Then we made love all night long.
The mistress: Me too! The other night I met my lover at his office and I was wearing the leather bodice, heels, mask over my eyes and a raincoat. When I opened the raincoat he didn`t say a word, but we had wild sex all night.
The married woman: I sent the kids to stay at my mother`s house for the night. When my husband came home I was wearing the leather bodice, black stockings, stilettos and a mask over my eyes. As soon as he came in the door and saw me he said, 'What`s for dinner, Batman?'

Weather Update

Don't get me wrong, I love the summer weather but I'm actually quite happy to have a bit of rain. It's just... refreshing.

4 Year Itch

I worked at the hospital for a little more than 4 years when I started to think about doing something different. Before I hit my 5 year mark, I had started a new job. Now that I've been in this job for a little more that 4 years, I'm starting to think about something different again. I don't want to change industries and I don't even want to change companies. I just to do something a little different. Making more money wouldn't hurt, but I'm not really that concerned about that. Well I am, but not enough to make me do a job that I didn't believe in. Anyway, there was this senior consultant position that has come up and I seriously considered applying for it. I'm in no way qualified for this position in education or experience but how hard can it be? I'm pretty sure I could fake it better than Jenna Jameson. After a lot of deep soul searching I decided that I wasn't going to apply because it wasn't something I wanted to do. My idea of a perfect position doesn't exist (even though it should. of course i would say that) but someday... someday.

Procrastination

I'm a huge procrastinator. I've gotten better since the twins were born. I had no choice on this, I was forced to change. It was either do it now or you're screwed. There are a few things I'll still put off until later though: work, research (personal stuff, nothing serious), paying bills, my laundry, cleaning the garage, etc etc. The big thing that I've put off for a very long time is my thank you notes for my wedding. Man, I just can't be bothered. Are we total a-holes for not sending them out?

Old Wives Tales - True or False?

Is it okay to put knives in the dishwasher? Does the dishwasher dull the blade?

Knife manufacturers generally recommend babying your expensive knives because the concern is that the dishwasher bumps the knives around, either in a basket or against the racks, dulling the blade. Are you serious? Is the knife that delicate? So if my dishwasher lays the knife flat or if it has a knife rack it should be okay, right?

Is it true that cold water boils faster?

No, that's just silly. Water boils at 100 degrees celsius so if it has a higher starting temperature, it will take less time to reach 100 degrees. Anything you may have heard or believed about using cold water is just a myth. That's just plain common sense. If you still don't believe me, do an experiment: same pot, same stove element, same volume of water - boil warm water from the tap and time it. Let the pot and element cool to room temp and boil cold water from the tap and time it. Then let me know what happens.

Top 5...

I always think of my first 2 months with the twins. Or maybe I should say my first 2 months without them. Fortunately for all the other parents I know, no one has had to deal with what we had to with the twins. Maybe I'm dwelling on it too much but here are my Top 5 Worst Memories of the kids' first 2 months of life:

1. getting a phone call at 2am telling me Lucas is having trouble breathing because he has an infection and they needed to put him on a ventilator
2. a call from Celia telling you your daughter might have a serious abdominal infection and has to be transported to the big children's hospital in case she needs surgery
3. watching them struggle to live after being born almost 3 months early
4. being forced to spend the majority of my time looking at them through a clear plastic incubator
5. worrying constantly that some statistics show that preterm babies could be at higher risk for having a learning disability

Seriously, I have to get over this. They're fine now and have been nothing but amazing. Maybe I should go to therapy.

And the Winner is...

iPhone:
Fun to use
Nice touchscreen
Built in iPod
Looks cool
Full web browser
Wi-Fi
Nice screen

Blackberry:
Keyboard
Email
Wireless sync
Indestructible
Long battery life

I realize that the iPhone can sync wirelessly but you have to subscribe to that. Also, I know that everyone's experience with either device may not be they same as mine but the verdict is... You should get both. I would hate to have to write email on my iPhone with its touch screen and my blackberry doesn't has wi-fi to surf the web. Granted, my bb is an older, clunkier model than the sleek Pearl or Bold but functionally, there is little difference.

Since most people aren't willing to pay for both (myself included) I say go with the iPhone and buy a Mac. Get a Blackberry for business and give one to your employees because they don't need an iPod for work.

Concert Review

Janet Jackson's Rock Witchu Tour

Good shit. This isn't a concert for some kid that only knows her last 2 CD's. She did everything from 1982 to the present. It was a concert for all those long-time Janet fans.

Y'know, I don't really like going to concerts. I've only been to a few but the funny thing is I've been to 3 Janet Jackson concerts. The Rhythm Nation one was still the best. The fight afterwards was the shit too.

Mac vs. PC

I have a new respect for Windows. I imagine that it has so many problems partly because it is trying to cater to too many people. There are so many different possible configurations for a PC (parts, manufacturers, brands, etc) and Windows is trying to accomodate them all. The Mac OS only has to worry about the configurations that Apple makes so it's just know to be a bajillion times more stable than Windows. Of course, I know nothing about programming and my understanding of the inner workings of any kind of computer is pretty basic so I could be totally wrong on this (very likely but who cares). Anyway, my only beef with Macs is that it treats me like a n00b. On my PC, I took great care in naming files in a very specific way, organizing these files the way I like, and maintaining this OCD structure regularly. The Mac does this stuff for you so you don't have to worry about it. Brilliant, huh? Except I like to do this stuff. I guess I could still do it on my mac but the point is that I don't have to and I'm trying very very hard to just let the damn mac do it's thing. Every once in a while I go to our Windows PC and rename and move files just to ease my jitters.

Justification

I haven't had a lot of time to play on my iMac much but today I had a few extra minutes and I learned how to create ringtones for my iPhone. I didn't even know it, but I had Garageband. The only reason I found out was because I was checking out my sister-in-law's macbook and saw that she had it. Anyway, you can use Garageband to create ringtones and its so fucking easy. Since all I ever do is surf the web and use iTunes on my Mac I was never really impressed with the OS or the applications. I mean, they're okay and all but nothing spectacular like they make it seem in the commercials. Then I learned how to create a ringtone in about 3 minutes and made my first one in about 10. I didn't even read a tutorial or anything, the application was just that easy to use. Now, after learning how to do just one thing on my extra expensive beautiful computer, I LOVE it. I love it because it's just so damn beautiful in it's simplicity.

Yearbook Pictures

You have to check out this site, it's so freakin hilarious.

Wish List

Top 5 Things I Want in the Next 6 Months:

1. finish painting the house
2. baseboards
3. kids that sleep through the night
4. a few days of snowboarding
5. a hobby

Productivity

So about 2 weeks ago we opened a brand new hospital out in the valley. Very fancy schmancy kind of place. The first brand new hospital (not just a new building) in 30 years in the province. I'm not even sure this is true but that's what I heard. Anyway, I was supposed to be out there on Thursday and Friday for support but since the project team felt everything was going so well, we all decided that we could stand down and end support a little early. w00t! For me, that meant that I didn't have to leave home at 6:30 in the fucking morning to get to work and I could instead just drag my ass out of bed at 7:45am and go to the office at 8:30. The problem though, was that I had planned on being out at the hospital for two days so I didn't have anything to work on and with this part of the project being done, there was really nothing for me to start. Don't tell anyone, but I was very unproductive the past couple of days. Don't you just love how I tell you to keep something a secret in my open-to-the-public blog? Anyway, let's just say I did a lot of nothing for 2 days.

Closure

Every once in a while I go back and read what I've previously posted. Maybe I'll read what was going on in 2005 or maybe what I was thinking 6 months ago. I mostly do this because I'm a pretty self-absorbed bastard but I also like to try and tie up any loose ends. The problem, however, is that I never actually tie up the loose ends I just leave them hanging like the tassles on those jackets from the 1960's, 70's, and 80's. Well this time will be different. This time I'm going to admit that I'm never going to tie up those loose ends and just remain a self-absorbed bastard. I bet you thought I was going to say I was going to clean it all up, huh? Sucker...

Pet Peeves

I really hate when I buy a coffee from Tim Horton's and the opening in the lid is right where the seam of the cup is.
I also hate when someone gives you money and they just lay it down on the counter instead of putting it in my hand.  Conversely, I hate seeing customers throw money on the counter.

Who Said That Level 8

"The human torch was denied a bank loan."

Long Weekend

Happy Labour Day. Up here in Canada it's Labour Day, not to be mistaken with the U.S. version known as "Labor Day".

My nanny called in sick today so I'm alone with the kids again. They're pretty easy nowadays but I would like a break. I don't need a whole day off or anything, but a day at the spa would be nice. Wait, no that's lame. I want to go golfing. No wait, I don't golf. Just a day to finish painting my kitchen is all I ask for.