( Dec 23... oldest email )
( Dec 24... wishes, cleaning, dinner )
( Dec 25... potluck, boxing day wait )
( Dec 26... big baby, chaos, big game )
( Dec 27... guess )
( Dec 28 - big game, TDK )
( Dec 29... hungry, work )
( Dec 30... hungry, work )
( Dec 31... hungry, pay day, big game, partay, mad durga )
( Jan 1... celebration, food, tears :( )

Closing thoughts

Loved this holiday. No time with my own family, but that's pretty much how we do it now anyway, living so far apart. We have our family time earlier in the year when the weather's better and it's less busy. So I now traditionally spend it with other close families and friends. I couldn't ask for anything more. :) srsly. I'm happy about the tv, but that's just a bonus. I think this year was one of the best, where I legitimately felt all-around happy, content. I spent time with people I love, no stress, no worries, just joy and fun.

A great way to end 2008. :)

It's been too long... yes, I'll be posting a bit in the next day or two :)

Also, Happy New Year!
(...for those who celebrate the Gregorian calendar new year ;)

Welcome to the now, 2009!

• ...the rest of the weekend happened...
• Decided to go for a sub, return movies, and do some banking
• Freezing, wind chill has got to be -30-35 celcius
• Waitin, and the bus is 10 minutes late
• Got banking done first - the only thing that went without a hitch
• Walked, face first to the wind, taking twice as long as usual, to the movie store (numb legs, face falling off)
• Decided to look around and warm up for a bit; picked up another movie (free w/earned points) but had to pay a $4 late fee
• Walked back to Subway for warm fresh food... to find it closed at 8:30pm (no signs or indications, just closed, WAY early)
• Went to Sobeys to grab some stir fry for later, had 15 minutes to the next bus
• Quickly stopped in at Twice the Deal for some pizza to go
• They were slow. Missed the bus by 30 seconds.
• Ate 4 slices and 2 pop while waiting 40 minutes for the next bus (not gonna walk in that again!)
• Just stepping out the door to the bus stop and it passes - 5 minutes early.
• Enfuriated, I decide to walk home anyway; thankfully, not facing the wind.

2 1/2 hours for a typically 30-40 minute trip. I am now going to curl up on the couch covered in warm blankets and watch a movie.

I can has summer now plz?

Well, the effects of the economy are reaching all the way up here to the great white mostly-north-of-the-northernmost-us-cities...

Amidst an influx of reports from American friends of layoffs and cut backs over the past few weeks, I'll add that my company just had a big 'state of the union' to address the effects on us, working in the trucking finances industry (can we say, effect of the 'big three'?). With automotive places shutting down for three weeks completely, many of our clients are obviously feeling the effect. While we're still doing well, we have to be prepared for the upcoming year, so a few changes are being implemented. Nothing drastic, no layoffs, just primarily staff regulations and whatnot, in an attempt to be more 'efficient'. Consider it a 'brace for impact' session.

We're on the outskirts of your hurricane. Sorry for all those who are in the middle, and wish you the best of luck in dealing with the situation.
Now if only there was a payphone to answer...

( So I guess I should probably update the state of things, eh... )

But, on a positive note...
* Laserquest was Awesome
* The conference busy-ness which overlapped my birthday was not for naught; it was an amazing and encouraging weekend.
* Spending limited random time with a few people including starbursidereus and melody2piano on my actual birthday, sitting and chatting and eating in a relatively new friend's living room, was awesome
* I got an enormous (by my standards) amount of birthday wishes via my facebook wall.
* Accepting that sometimes, things just don't work out
* The few very close personal friends I do have mean very much to me, and even though I'm not perfect, they'll still value our friendship, as I do theirs (but I certainly won't reduce the value of the other friendships I have in spite - they're all valuable)
* I have an absolutely amazing community of friends online who I adore, and always look forward to meeting and spending time with whenever the opportunity arises!
Also:
* I saw Bolt this weekend. It..was..awesome! (and I don't mind seeing movies alone, it's great!)
* Yesterday was TDK day, and we had a mini-TDK party at my place with the new PS3 Blu-Ray player. So. Win.
* My plans for a new TV on boxing day are still in motion. That day taunts me so.
* This Is My Milwaukee is mind-numbing.
* Ringorang is evil!

But just to close, finally - I'm good. I'm happy. There are people, even friends, in far worse states than I - I have much to be thankful for. I can't stress that enough.
(and I think I just knocked an item or two off my 30-by-30 list)

until further notice.

And now an update on my 30-by-30 list... which I didn't expect to complete, obviously, based on some of the items ;)

1. (just do it!) Update my LJ template to my site template (inconsistency bad!)
2. (just do it!) Get in touch with Geoff May (the bike racer; and this isn't me either)
3. (just finish it!) Play through Max Payne again before the movie (forget the movie thing, just finish the game!)
4. (set a date!) Pull another LOTR marathon (all 3, extended)
5. (1/2 done) Review my comic collection from the 90's and check values (goldmine?)
6. (1/2 done) Read my iron man comics again (said I'd do it before the movie; didn't)
7. (decide when) Learn Mediashout 3 to train people at church (about time we upgraded)
8. (decide when) Clean up the basement (boxes, boxes, kittehs, boxes, mess, boxes..)
9. (progressive) Continue documenting my old art series, Pier's Edge (a few more items to go)
10. (start over) Do 100 consecutive pushups (forget 6 weeks, just get it done!)
11. (start over) Do 100 consecutive crunches (burn away that kegger!)
12. (meditative) Make a list of "40 things to do before turning 40" :P (well, maybe just start it)
13. (meditative) Make a list of things I'm happy to have accomplished before turning 30 (need to reflect)
14. ...Count my blessings (dono't stop!)
15. ...Play another good game of laserquest with friends
16. ...POSTPONED: Eat at the 360 Restaurant (the CN Tower revolving restaurant)
17. ...FAIL: Start a jogging plan (been on my mind for a loooong time - wait until spring :P)
18. ...FAIL: Start a family (hahahahaha! well, other than my kittehs!)
19. ...Re-string my guitar (yay for last-minute stringing!)
20. ...FAIL: Complete NaNoWriMo (November!) successfully (failed last year, again this year)
21. ...Fix my kitchen cabinets (no excuse)
22. ...Call about my current outstanding loan amount (gotta do this occasionally)
23. ...Finish Pic-A-Day updates on blog/site
24. ...Buy a blacklight to read invisible text on shirts for an ARG
25. ...Play completely through Halo 1, 2 and 3 watching all cinematics
26. ...Buy Iron Man (on Blu-ray, to encourage #21)
27. ...Budget for a Blu-ray player and new TV (BR is it for HD movies now, and my TV is dying)
28. ...Spend quality time with Greg while he's in town for a week
29. ...Stay overnight in Hamilton for ATF this year
30. ...Watch the Canadian election debates this week (there's more than just US politics!)

A quickie because I told myself I'd start December being far more productive at work ;)

- Generations conference was swell :P it was great, and really everything started to hit and sink in after it was complete. All the speakers, what they said, the inspirations, etc. Didn't plan on doing much more than playing with the band, but ended up being there the entire time. Lots of stuff to digest. Inspiration began kicking in afterwards, during some last minute chatting with melody2piano.

- Away from the computer for most of the weekend (save a couple of quick checks for non-spam important email), so the LJ is backed up again, as is Twitter. Came hom last night to find the most wall comments on Facebook for the birthday that I've ever had :). Very encouraging, even if it is just a quick "happy birthday" on the wall. Still takes time and care for someone to do that. So just sent out a quick thanks to everyone who did.

- yesterday afternoon between rallies, hung out with a few friends (a couple of relatively new ones through melody2piano), and invited starbursidereus to join us. great time! just hung out, chilled, chatted, had wings and caesar as a birthday meal, played simple living room games that ended up being ridiculous and hilarious for no reason. very good times :)

- gotta re-visit my 30-by-30 list, evaluate how far I got... possibly shift some things to the new year :) (would be nice if there'd be 9 left - "9-by-09" ;)

- must attempt to get sleep this week. falling behind on tv shows, but that's ok. I can download'em later :)

- new icon for this entry isn't really relevent, but it's cool, and I nabbed it last night in the car playing with snow and light. teehee

go now! / unfiction / article

After some shuffling around, I managed to go and enjoy Madagascar 2 with melody2piano (who's also now, btw, joined twitter... teehee).
In short: not as good as the first movie, IMO. It had its moments.

So on the way home after, we hit a roadblock.
Literally.
Almost.
More like, a road-be-gone.
Construction workers had conveniently left a large 6-8inch square portion of the right lane lifted out and haphazardly filled with dirt and gravel. Being just where cars' wheels pass, the hole slowly eroded to leave a corner completely exposed, with a sharp 1/2 foot wall for tires to slam into as they drove over. Being in a section of road where cars were traveling at full legal speed, there'd be maybe 1 second, at night, of warning (seeing it visually) before hitting it.

We hit it.
Hard.
And while that's not what she said, I saw it, but didn't have to say anything other than clinching for a hit.

And yup. What a hit.
For the next block, we heard a whistle about in time with the front right tire's rotation. Pulilng in, we found the hub cap dented, the tire seemingly a little flatter (though it hadn't popped, its support was damaged), and a lugnut missing.

A few minutes later, another car pulled into the same parking lot, with a flat tire.
Then we heard of at least 5 or 6 others who had pulled over in the area with similar problems.

So while all this frustrated confusion took place, I walked up to photograph the cause. A guy was standing there now waving oncoming traffic around their impending doom. Others had already taken pics of it. Shortly, a city van came and parked in front of the hole.

Best part was there were traffic pylons just on the other side of the fence by the hole where the apartment complex was being constructed. One pylon would have made the difference.

some people...

In the end, a friend came to help. Tire was changed. Photos were taken (of cars, not of people, as bonding an experience as it was). And we went to Williams for a drink and chat before going our ways.
melody2piano is now driving her family van for a while :P

Happy birthday have a great one incyr! Also runawaysoldier!

and late wishes to rhyana and weephun (and others I'm sure I've missed)

And everyone else in the world celebrating today, or this week (late), this month (later), or this year (everyone! woooo! happy birthyear!)

It's been 8 months since I twisted my ankle playing volleyball. It was the last game of the round robin, thankfully, so there was a bit of time to recover. By the time the elim tournament started up though, it was still very hard to play... with a lot of action being stopping short, pivoting, and getting under the ball quickly and efficiently, most of that pressure had to be put to the left foot whenever possible, or I had to give it up. ..didn't work very nicely. :P (I remember almost using my right foot to get a ball, but gave up the point and stopped just in time *phew*)

Vball started up again a couple of weeks ago, and last night was my first game. Thankfully there was no residual ankle-twist effect... (except me being out of condition :P). For the first match of the season, I feel I did pretty well. We won 3 games to two (first match win for my team - people I've never played with before; my usual team is all playing hockey on thursdays now; boo) -- It felt like we were really gelling, which is also a Good Thing, especially when you're playing 4 on 6 for five games.

My good moment was when I managed to make a sweet block. Being in set position but off to the side, the spiker went up too far to the left, so I ran over and jumped on an angle, managing to stretch enough and getting the block :). Success feels good.

My bad moment was the series of four consecutive spikes I repeatedly hit into the net. Perfectly good sets. Nuttin' but Net. :( (the bad runner up would be my serving, then not getting back into position, leaving a huge hole back center - I'd say that's a weakness of mine; gotta remember!)

So the end result of last night, other than a 3-2 win (and finally meeting these great people), is a deathly body with muscles weeping at being denied an extended morning rest.

Is it possible for being active to feel both great and terrible simultaneously? (that's a rhetorical question)
Volleyball is the best sport! (YMMV)

dear resky!

Happy birthday to you! Did a little research for you...

Mmm, bacon clock Maybe it'd be easier for you to wake up in the morning if your alarm clock smelled like bacon.  Wired magazine found the Wake 'N Bacon clock to help you "rise and shine with the delicious aroma of melting pig fat flowing through your nostrils."  Just drop some frozen bacon inside the clock when you go to bed and set the alarm.  Ten minutes before it's time to get out of bed, Wake 'N Bacon will start cooking up your morning treat.  It even looks like a little pig!

Bacon chocolate chip cookies w/cinnamon glaze! Info and Recipe!! These have GOT to be made.....

ETA: I built you a bacon-wrapped miropup, but I eated it. sowwy :(

Thu-Sat was busy. Thursday I'm waiting for something before posting in greater detail on Wikibruce. So here's a brief recap of the crazy weekend:

Thursday:
* Invited by Jade of Xbox Canada two days earlier, to exclusive Gears of War 2 launch event in Toronto Thu night
* Missed volleyball thusly
* "7pm sharp at Bay station" to be taken to "undisclosed location"
* 4:15 bus to arrive in TO at 6:25 arrived at 7:01
* 10+ minute cab ride to Bay/Bloor - was sure I wouldn't make it
* Had $10 cash. Cab was $10.75. Wouldn't take credit card. He graciously waved it off knowing my rush. Bless his soul, I'm endebted. Pay it forward?
* Event was in that Subway station - @7:15 I was a last straggler, but made it in time
* lower level of the station is abandoned - perfect setting for hours of multiplayer and GOW playing
* Managed to handed out a few cards
* Played with Lee Perry of Epic (and beat him down a couple of times to great entertainment)
* Kicked myself for not asking about Preston (weephun) but insisting that Justin (sixokay) worked at Epic (MS rep?); *smackself*
* Took a bunch of pics
* Compiled a brief video
* Took home a bag o swag (including a free copy of GOW2) :D
* slept at Jon's - 35th floor of a condo at the harbourfront - beautiful.
* Woke up 5:15 for the 6:15 bus. Then woke up at 6:10. Made it for the 7:15 bus. It was also late. Returned to work for 9:30 Friday.

Saturday:
* Surprise party for two friends
* Played Skip-Bo... fun, but not as fun as...
* Munchkin - great game! RPG for cards. And hilarious. Must buy set, and extension packs. Or add to wishlist ;) ;)

Also, last Monday:
* Decided last minute to go on a dead-drop hunt for a game, to pick up an item in Galt. Wrote about it here.
* In short: Always take a flashlight. And batteries. Especially a flashlight that makes spooky halloween sounds. Give yourself lots of time. Have fun. Be careful. Stay safe. Look both ways before you cross the street. Don't eat yellow snow.

did ye hear?

VOTE

With all the "vote"ing going on everywhere, I'm Canadian and I'm pretty sure somehow I've even voted.

oh yeah, and don't forget to vote!



PS. Vote!
/snark

* Saw Changeling on Friday with starbursidereus and mother (hers). Great movie. Even though for some reason it's around 50% on rottentomatoes. But I think that's still pretty good, since really only the cream rises to the top there. Generally. I think. Anyone know what RT's average/median scores are? :P (ETA: including Metacritic link based on popular demand :)
-- followup: went to starbucks afterwards, for the infamous SCHC. Charmed the princess-garb-clad girl at the register, and got a free cookie ;)

* Got a halloween pic coming soon. I came prepared to dress up at work on Friday, but no one else really did, so meh. Nothing original, and actually kind of easy and predictable :P However, I did get some good reactions from bystanders and other cars (people in the vehicles, not the vehicles themselves) while driving with starbursidereus. teehee

* Team Jersey's mother has taken up residence (well, retirement getaway?) on the muskoka chair on my porch. The one with the padding. :D

* Gotta send out some mass reminders/notifications/invites for some November stuff. One of which being a couple of my 30-by-30 birthday events :). Gotta find out who wants to join in, and the best days people are available.

* 30-by-30 is still going well... a couple of items I don't expect to get done (though perhaps progress?), and a bunch will be quick to get done (like changing guitar strings :)

This week (mostly from the 30):
* Keep working on that goal to complete Creepy
* Update LJ template
* Finish Halo 3 (almost done!)
* Keep on reading through more Iron Man comics
* Plan bday events (woot facebook events!)

"Even if she is fictional, it is still loving someone. I would like to have legal approval for [marriages with cartoon characters] at any cost,"

No plans saturday! time to catch up a bit!
* At some point, work on updating some out of date ARG wikis: Citizens of Virtue, Love Resurrected, Halo, Resistance, Fringe - all are a little behind on the events...
* NaNoWriMo begins Saturday...
* Clean the kitchen
* ARGN article on a potential upcoming game
* Volleyball starts tonight!


Nanowrimo-- I think what I'm going to do, because this has to get done, is dedicate myself to completing the Creepy writeup for Ilovebees. I haven't touched that in a couple years. =( Not sure if it'll make up 50,000 words, but it'll be just as much work, for me, to finish :P
*machiavelli and Siler Durden silently rejoice*

(only w/o tha interwebz)