Onto Other Things....

OK, the B.S. with my car aside, this has been a fairly eventful week.

I do have a job, albeit an extremely temporary one. A company involved in the film industry in Vancouver was looking for a 'web guy' and I suited their criteria. So, it's temporary work, but it could lead to bigger and better things.

MEANWHILE, I've been contacted by the big-time company I talked about last week. I'm having a meeting with the 2 execs I met (at different times, but they've since talked) about my potential future with their company.

Oh yeah, baby! One job is a 'junior' position and is probably a finite one wrapping up in January. The other one is my 1-year goal of a job in production and could be a 2-3 year project!

We're meeting the week of November 5th. I'll post more after that!

Time and Time and Time Again

Well, there's not much to follow-up with the whole car accident thing. I called when they told me to call and they told me to call on October 28th.

So, on October 28th I called and they told me they'd call me.

They're doing a further investigation, which most likely means she's lied about something. How hard is it to have a map of the intersection, see damage on the passenger-side of the car with right-of-way and damage on the driver side of the vehicle failing to yield and not know the outcome?

THis has got to be the most frustrating thing I've dealt with in a long, long time!

Tense... Very Tense

I recall when my car was stolen in 2003 that the insurance company was ready to hold their version of the Spanish Inquisition and put me on the rack to discover what had happened to my car. In the insurance business, it seems the owner of a stolen car is guilty until proven innocent.

Lucky for me the police arrested 3 people in my car, yes? I recall the mound of paperwork the insurance adjustor had with her when I went to the appointed meeting. She did not have the police report yet, but when I told her there'd been 3 people arrested in my car, she put away all but one of the sheets. I filled out the basic information: I was at work, my car had been outside in the parking lot all day, and when I "left work" it was gone.

Guilty until proven innocent.

The car accident on October 9th should be finalized today. My car is back from the body shop with over $2100 in repairs, of which I was forced to pay $300 (which I don't really have). Why? Because the woman who drove into me just filed her claim yesterday and had to take her van in today. She's also claiming she wasn't at fault (she turned right into a lane I was already occupying), so now the insurance company has to "investigate."

What worries me most is that she waited 2 weeks to make her claim and her van had minor scratches on the front rubber area of her bumper. 2 weeks is plenty of time to replace that. What is she claims she never hit me?

Also, the insurance company said one of the witnesses couldn't be reached by phone (whom they finally got around to phoning this week), so what happens if the witnesses are unreliable?

I have no idea what's going to happen, but I know what should happen. I should be cleared of the accident, because she drove into me. Then, the insurance company will reimburse the $300, which most likely will take a couple of weeks to get back.

Whatever happens, I'm frustrated and will know more later on today. If I haven't heard anything by 3pm, then I'll be phoning to find out what's going on.

I really need to get my new cellphone --one with a camera installed. Next time this happens, (I'm betting it'll happen again as I've had 4 close calls in the past 2 weeks aside from the actual collision) I'm taking a memory card-full of pictures. I'm sick of this crap.

Finally Found

It's not a common thing for me to hear a song and cry. I can think of 2 occasions in my life where I've heard a song that's played at just the right time to swing my mood or let me release some emotion.

But nothing like today.

When I was young, I remember hearing a song in a trailer for a movie. It was 1986. The song struck a chord with me back then and I couldn't find any information on the song anywhere. Being an instrumental song, it was even more difficult because I couldn't recite words to the song to anyone to see if they knew it. About a year later, I saw the trailer again only this time on a video. I got the movie, bought it, played it and read through the credits to no avail.

I bought the soundtrack (still have it) and the song was nowhere to be heard on it either.

It's a fairly fast-paced song and has a tone to it that makes me think of how life can continually throw things at you and you have to be prepared --as best you can-- when things come your way and then everything shifts and you find it all coming at you from a different direction. It also makes me think of surviving the chaos of life as long as you have people around you who love you. Imagine a teenage boy who always figured he'd be alone for the rest of his life thinking that.

This morning, in the shower, I was humming the song that I loved the first time I heard it over 20 years ago.

These days, though, finding information can sometimes be easier than it was 20 years ago and sure enough inspiration hit and I began my search and within 15 minutes my 20-year old question was answered.

"Music for a Found Harmonium" by the Penguin Cafe Orchestra.

I have a copy of the song and am listening to it right now. I've also ordered the CD from Amazon. And, yes, there are tears in my eyes as I listen to it. It's been 20 years and I've finally found it.

No More Quiet

Didn't I just write how quiet everything's been on the job search?

Well, that came to an abrupt end!

I mentioned in 'Biding My Time' that I was going out last night. It was great! Found out about 4 potential job leads (yeah, not just one, but four!) and got invited to a meet-and-greet today at the biggest game company in North America. They have an awesome office building too:
Sweet, eh? And it's right at the end of the commuter train line! Woot!

So, going to that meet and greet simply because the guy who invited me is leaving that job at the end of the month and going to another company (coincidentally, the #2 company on my list of all-time "I wanna work there!" companies) in November. So, get me in to meet the team and have me fresh on their minds when they look for his replacement... :D

Oh, but that's not the end of it. No-no! Right after this meet and greet, and on the other side of Vancouver is yet another meet and greet with people from a few different companies! I've been invited out to it to meet more people, including one guy from Montreal who is currently looking to grab some peeps and get them to move (all expenses paid, of course) across the country as they try to become the biggest game company in North America! My ol' instructor mentioned me when she was talking to him earlier this week... nice.

Last night's thing was pretty sweet and one of the people there I'd met at the grad showcase back in September. He remembered my name (and these are people from companies who get hundreds of applications a day) and let me know they're reviewing my work and seeing if I fit their future plans.

What it all boils down ot is I'll be the first one from my grad class working in the field. There've been others with job offers, but nothing starting for them until January.

Anyone else smelling roses at the moment?

Six Oh Three

Don't remember coming up on this number, but according to Blogger, this is post #603 and I never noticed #600 fly by. Whoopsie!

So, to celebrate, albeit a little late. Here's a Top Ten List of things barely anyone knows about me:

1. When I was a kid, I used to shoplift toys from one store and carry them over to another and place them on the shelf just to confuse people.
2. A few weeks ago, I had a very vivid recollection of a girl I dated just after I graduated high school. I know we went to a community dance together (she lived/lives in Washington state) and she wanted to leave early. We went back to her parents' house and we were on the couch and she was massaging me when her family came home and she quickly got off of me. It hit me like a train when I remembered this because it seems to me we went a lot further than just a massage... Now if only I could remember her name...
3. I've seen LL (check the bottom of the post) twice this week after promising to get together with her at least a dozen times over the past year. No, it's not an affair. I'm helping her out with some business stuff as well as a potential job search. We had a meeting over coffee on Monday and yesterday she came with me to set up a USPS box just across the border (taking advantage of cheap shipping and an on-par dollar). She's still very touchy-feely.
4. I was tempted to rejoin the university link once again after I finished school. I had an email message arrive from one of them and I replied and somehow started a mini-flame war. So, I'm not going back.
5. I applied for a local job as a reporter for a weekend news magazine. Sadly, I was encouraged 10 years ago to look into journalism as a potential career. Good thing I just paid $27,000 for a different career path, eh?
6. One of my best friends in junior high has a daughter who just got her driver's licence. We graduated from high school in 1991, so he had a 1 year old girl back then and I knew nothing about it.
7. I've been the driver of my car in 3 accidents in 17 years of driving, none of the accidents my fault. The first one was a teenage kid running a red light (he did it after the lady beside him also slowed for the light then decided to go through... I was making a left and had been in the intersection when both vehicles accelerated through the red light). The second one was a woman pulling out of the mall parking lot and drove across 2 lanes and puched my car sideways onto the sidewalk. Broke both axels and wrote off my first car. The third one was last week when a lady in a van made a right into the lane I was in. The passenger door needs to be replaced now. My car(s) have been hit another 7 times and every one was a woman in either a truck or a van. Now, I don't want to come off sounding sexist, but... 9 out of 10 accidents?
8. I have a bookshelf that's nothing but Star Wars and Star Trek books. I haven't read one of them.
9. Despite being such an uber-geek, I've only read the Lord of the Rings trilogy once. I finished each book in the week the Peter Jackson movies debuted.
10. I actually listed a number of rules for a friend of mine. He's a pastor and I told him he's not allowed to have the "pastor" hat on when we're together as friends. He's a human being and needs to vent every once in a while and if he doesn't I know there are things he'd keep bottled up inside. And I don't want him thinking I'm judging him if he says something inappropriate.

OK, that's enough for now. This was harder than I thought!!

Biding my Time

Well, the job search activity definitely went up a notch or three over the past week. I've applied for over a dozen jobs now at various companies around the region. There were a few at one company in particular (rhymes with 'subsonic parts') that would probably pay the best. My portfolio instructor phoned today because she's got the inside edge on a number of potential leads.

We're getting together tomorrow night in Vancouver and she's trying to arrange a couple guys to come out and meet me. I love her more and more every day ;)

Of course, I'm also looking forward to getting out of the house for a bit as I'm getting a bad case of cabin fever!!

Expensive Hoodie!

So, last night we finally had our graduation ceremony. Only 1 month after finishing the semester! Actually, it was even worse for the grads who finished in the spring.... their's was last night too!

Only about 1/4 of my classmates showed up for it. Some didn't care, some forgot, and some probably never even knew it was happening. The people who finished in the Spring were at about 50%, so they care a little more --although, to be honest, they weren't as jaded when they finished.

Regardless of the lack of attendance by my classmates, it was a fairly good evening and to top it off I won an award in recognition of my leadership (who knew "bow down" would pay off, eh?). I received a certificate and the coveted hoodie.

Yep, $27,000 in tuition and I have a hoodie!!

Yay me.

Punk and pumpkin

I haven't followed up on the trip to the pumpkin patch. I'm in a bad mood, so this is going to be short and right to the point. Whenever I refer to my son (... my boy... my apple falling from the tree...), imagine a father with clenched fists, teeth and hair prompted to grey at the slightest hesitation.

Sucked big time. My son annoys me and he did a wonderful job of it at the patch.

When we went to leave in the morning (had to be there to meet with others at 9:30), my... boy... threw a rather large hissy fit because he wanted Mommy to take him --not Daddy. Mommy had to work, but that ws unacceptable to him... it took 20 minutes to convince him to get in the car and by that point I didn't want to go. Go we did, and eventually got there. About 20 minutes' late, of course. We paid the $6 for the hayride out to the pumpkin patch and saw there was plenty to choose from. The rules are: This is a ride for the kids, so it's up to the kid to pick a pumpkin and carry it to the tractor. My son picked up a pumpkin looking rather more like an orange than a pumpkin, so I encouraged him to pick out another one.

One we could preferrably stick a knife into without the blade immediately coming out the other side. So, he walked over and picked up a rather manageable one, but when he took a few steps he discovered that pumpkins have a natural flaw...

Please remember we're talking about a very rough boy here.

My son... (remember the gritting teeth) put the pumpkin. It turns out, to him, that pumpkins grow in a field... of dirt... and when they get wet, that dirt tends to stick to the bottom of the pumpkin waiting to rub off onto the unsuspecting palms of whomever picks up the hapless pumpkin. Upon discovering... dirt... on his hands, my son decided this was not the pumpkin for him. So, I told him we'd find another one (hoping he wouldn't pick another small one where any carving would look like some torturous massacre instead of a festive face). Nope, not going to do that. He'd had enough.

"I don't want a pumpkin." He says.

I guess I reacted a little louder than I'd expected becasue a couple parents asked if everything was okay. "Oh, he doesn't want a pumpkin," I replied. To which, most parents also winced at. Yeah, the really broke guy just $6 to take his son on a 5-foot hayride to look at pumpkins.. Why pick one up, eh?

So, eventually we made it home. No pumpkin for the family. And nothing but fond memories... if he remembers.

My daughter has a school field trip to the same patch next week. She'll probably outdo herself making up for our current lack of pumpkins. Such a sweetie.

Shifting Mood

[note: the previous post: 'phoot!' was written earlier today when I was in a fairly good mood... ah, the good ol' days]

Today is Thanksgiving in Canada. We get it out of the way early so as to enjoy the nice weather. I'm pretty sure my comprades in Ontario can relate to decent weather right now, but today was a gorgeous day. Plenty to be thankful for.

But if I could have late-this-afternoon back, I'd be plenty more thankful.

After our Thanksgiving meal at the in-laws, my wife was taking our son to get his picture taken. My daughter was going along to help encourage the boy and I... well, I was looking forward to some time away from the children I've been taking care of since I finished school. Not to be, as my wife was quite insistent I come along.

Just for the record, my son has not had a studio picture taken in over 18 months. He likes to cry whenever we try it, so most previous attempts have failed... miserably.

Today was no different. He was a great kid, staying awake the entire trip there and waiting quite patiently to go into the studio. Once we were ready for him to sit on the rug for his portrait, 'Mr. Hyde' arrived and the next 40 minutes was a gruelling attempt to get him to either sit or stand for one bleedin' picture. Nothing doing.

He cried and whined and crawled around to hide. He'd do anything except stay still long enough for the photographer to take his picture.

So, we decided to go... obviously he wanted nothing to do with getting his picture taken, right?

Wrong, apparently. His minor hissy fit in the studio turned into a full blown one as we tried to leave. Like, seriously, I was waiting for someone to call the police because we were attempting to abduct our own child. If not for the little girl next to us rolling her eyes at how annoying her brother was, we'd probably be in jail by now...

It got worse the closer to the car we walked. And, of course, the "closest" parking spot was about 6 from the end of the lot and 40+ spots away from the store. Every step we had to drag him kicking and screaming. Every step. Now picture a screaming child stretching his legs to stop anyone from putting him in a childseat. And he's still screaming, only now he's added "I'm scared! I'm scared!" to the screams. I really don't know how we didn't end up in jail. So, a 20-minute Hellish drive later and I drop the family off at home. I need 3 things: time alone, quiet space, and a tank of gas in my car.

So, was it really bad day? Yes.

And the lady who drove into my car right next to the gas station didn't help matters either.

My head's about to pop.

Phoot!

So, a few years back, I went to the doctor because I kept losing my voice. This was at a time when I needed to talk at work. Constantly. Losing my voice meant not going to work and as appealing as that was, I knew corrective measures in my health were necessary before corrective measures at work were taken instead.

What was discovered was instead of my known allergy to cut grass, I had a flurry of other allergies that really cut into my diet and such. It made sense, because I'd always known there were some foods that made me feel a little "off" even when I'd been feeling fine.

So, on doctor's orders, (and this was just as I was starting my health kick) I had to drop several types of food:

• whole wheat bread
• carrots
• corn
• apples
• peaches
• pears
• almonds
• celery
• anything with gluten

Cut out a lot of healthier things to eat and suddenly the healthier lifestyle takes a bit of a turn. Years of effort by my wife to get me to eat healthier suddenly vanished.

I went to see a nutritionist and if she's like any other nutritionist, I'll never bother again. For the record: My cholesterol is fine. LDL, HDL, triglycerides: all good. Everything is good. So, when I see the nutritionist, I'm armed with my cholesterol numbers and voice my concern about having to cut fruits and vegetables from my diet. I want suggestions for alternatives, not a suggestion on how to cut down on my... cholesterol. So, yep, she spent hours suggesting foods that will help me cut down my cholesterol.

I guess the only way to talk to a nutritionist is to have bad cholesterol.

A somewhat recent problem I've been having is with a little something no one really likes to discuss.... well, okay, no one except for boys and most men. Gas.

I've been getting bloaty more and more over the past few months and I'm almost always belching or... erupting down below. So, it's time to looke into it, yes?

Well, the advice is: cut down on carbohydrates. Not cutting them out completely, but enough to "ease" the pain. So, it's time to stop eating:

• dairy
• broccoli
• peas
• beans
• radishes
• cabbage
• cauliflower
• apples (done, allergic!)
• raisins
• prunes
• bananas.
• no fatty meats
• no fried foods
• no soda pop
• decrease fibre.

So, what does that leave?

Coffee. Black. And keep it coming!

Run

I joined my daughter at her school on Friday for the Terry Fox Run. I got there late thanks to my inability to lock my in-laws' front door. I had to run to the school just to take part in... the run.

But with 1,000+ kids running, I had no idea where to find my little girl. "She's the one in pink!" I kept telling myself (only to discover 30 minutes later she was wearing peach and blue --oops). She wasn't running with the majority of the kids, with whom I did 2 laps before discovering the "young'uns" run around the school's track. So, in I went and found here there eventually. By that point, I was huffing and puffing and my daughter asked me if I was ready to start.

Ready to collapse was more like it. It's been months since I've done any strenuous exercise!!

I did a few more laps with my little girl and was just happy to be there for her when I haven't had enough time for my kids over the past 18 months. The guilt's a good feeling, though, because I'm making up for it in some ways.

This week, my son & I are off the the pumpkin patch.