Mental Breaks

I'm working on one computer and taking mental breaks on this one. I think I mentioned before that I'd gotten a new system for my "birthday" (which is actually this week) a few months ago. I'm working on various 3D models and such on it and on this one, answering a multitude of emails and MSN chats.

I also have an online game running at the same time. It's an online RPG which has been around for a very, very long time and has some unique aspects to it: like building/designing your own home.

My character has a very nice house on the beach of an island. It's fairly quiet and kind of remote from the busier areas of the "world." I like it. I wish I could keep more stuff in it, but I'm usually hitting the maximum limit for the home. I have a second account too, with I think I bigger home. It's in a bad location, though. Not for other players, but monsters that 'spawn' right outside the door. Think of it like a log cabin in the woods, but grizzly bears enjoy sunning on your front proch.

Anyway, I've often heard of "player run" events when a house collapses due to age. Essentially, it means the owner has either moved to a new location ~or~ they've stopped playing altogether and their account is now cancelled and the house is decrepit. Whatever the case, when these houses collapse, it becomes an event because there's usually something valuable inside that people can try and grab when the house finally goes down. Traditionally, there are a huge number of player-killers waiting to murder anyone trying to grab something so the entire area turns into a gigantic battle zone. Every once in a while, though, a house collapses in a safe zone. And I'm watching one of those right now.

The way a house collapse works is that the house sign states that the house is "like new" for an hour, then it progressively gets worse. It's not an instant thing, though. It can take up to ten days as it goes slightly worn, somewhat worn, fairly worn, and greatly worn. Each stage takes 1-2 days to occur. It's usually 24-36 hours for each stage. 10:30 yesterday morning it went from 'Fairly' to 'Greatly' and less than 45 minutes ago, it finally went to the final stage: "In Danger of Collapse."

So, one of my mental breaks is watching/waiting for the house to fall. I have a characterwho's hiding just outside the house and I'll activate another character on a different account who will move in with a couple of pack horses to try and grab as much as humanly possible!

So far, there's only one other person waiting. But this final stage can be anywhere from 12-24 hours to finally collapse. Obviously, I"m "busy" tomorrow morning, but I hope it happens tonight instead.... Gonna be a long night, but it could pay off if I get something good!

My other mental break/distraction these days is the daily Sudoku in our morning paper. From Monday through Sunday, the puzzles get progressively more difficult and I'll admit I didn't like doing them when I first tried them a few months ago. 2 weeks ago, I sat down to really try and managed to finish every one through every level of difficulty. It's a good break as I can concentrate on something that's entirely different than anything else I'm working on at the moment.

And there was this lengthy useless post --yet another break! :)

Where I R

I'm losing track of days at the moment. I've been busy, very busy, with school and it eats into a lot of my time. I'm not forsaking my family at the moment either, though, as I usually take care of the kids all afternoon and evening on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. This means if I'm working on my homework (which essentially is 6 hours' worth a day), I'm doing it until 2am or so. It works fine on Monday nights, but Tuesday nights are nasty because I have to get up to commute to school Wednesday morning at 5. So, if I'm lucky I'm getting 3 hours' sleep between 2am and 5am Wednesday morning. Yeah.... not good. Needless to say, I'm not getting much work done as I'm pretty tired these days by 1am.

The heat's not helping with sleep either. I didn't sleep at all Sunday night/Monday morning and then spent 2 extra hours at school in a meeting. It was a one-time-only meeting, so I couldn't miss it. It was with a producer from THE big company in the area and I didn't want to pass it up. WE had a good talk and I felt better afterward, but couldn't wait to get home and grab some sleep.

And, as if with traffice in the area, even leaving just after 2pm, it took 2 hours to get home. I have to write my rant on traffic very, very soon.

School's going fairly well, but I feel like I'm falling behind schedule now. Apparently, I'm supposed to have my first "item" complete for my demo reel by Monday. It was supposed to be the following Monday, but the instructor forgot when the holiday was so she moved everything up a week. Nurtz.

Technically I have 75% of my portfolio demo reel stuff done. But whether or not I have one 'complete' item.... I'm not so sure. Time will tell, I guess.

I am having difficulty with the one instructor from the class I've switched sections on twice. He has a tendency, after showing us how to do something in class, to say "give it a try." What he should say is "Do it. And I'll come around and see how you're doing with it." He doesn't, so if we feel it's not helping us with our portfolio items, we ignore it. Then he gets mad at us for not having it ready next class. And that comes with a lengthy lecture about our attitude toward work and how we're not going to make it in the industry if we don't do what we're told. Now we're getitng much more defensive about it, though. We've argued with him that he's showing us something that isn't compatible for a majority of the class and we're not seeing how it could be useful to what we're doing. If he just switched a few things around, everyone would listen to him and do what's asked of us, but for now... it doesn't fit. So it ain't happening.

Still thinking about my driving rant.

Schedule Changes

So, when I started my final semester, I had a class Monday morning, Tuesday morning, Wednesday morning, Thursday morning and Friday afternoon.

It sucked.

After successfully challenging the latest fluff course (yay!), I got to knock off the Tuesday morning slot. Nothing wrong with having Tuesdays off, eh?

My Thursday morning class was risky. We'd heard on our first day that 'Loser Boy' had passed yet another course because the instructor didn't want to teach him again. Ugh. There are only 2 sections for this course and they both occur on Thursdays. So, I had a 50-50 chance of having Loser Boy in a class yet again this semester. Is it too much to ask for a semester free from him??

With class starting at 8:30, I was well early and set up to start my day by 7:30. At 8am, Loser Boy walked into the computer lab and I knew my day was ruined. The registration office opened at 9 and I was standing there when the windows opened, with a completed section transfer request form in-hand. My "reason" for switching sections? The traffic --in the mornings it's horrible (which I'll discuss later). So, no problem. I got my section switched (the Dean was standing there too when the office opened. As I discovered over the rest of class that day, 5 others also switched. And it was all because of Loser Boy.

So, into week #2 we go and I'm now scheduled for the Thursday afternoon class. I leave at 11 to get to a 1pm class (yep, gave myself 2 hours to get the 60km to class) and arrived a few minutes late thanks to bad traffic and skirting around an accident only to be caught by a train. Needless to say, I was incredibly p.o.'d by the time I arrived in class and some of my classmates saw how mad I was. "Yeah," said one, "I'd be mad too." This confused me because I hadn't explained to anyone why I was running so late.... then I looked across the lab and there sat Loser Boy.

He'd switched from the mornings as well.

That could be the end of the story, miserable as it is.... But, it's not. The instructor was incredibly confused as there was barely anyone left in the morning and nearly standing room only in the afternoon. He muttered that he hoped some people would switch back... and I was quick to volunteer. And 3 others followed suit.

So, there's the end. I'm in on Thursday mornings again and hopefully Loser Boy hasn't done the same. The Dean, upon receiving my request to switch back, had a good laugh --I'm sure he knows why.

Helmet.... Anywhere a helmet?

Once again, my grad project has taken on babysitting proportions once again. Although I'm the #1 guy on the team, I have 3 subordinates working more directly with departmental leaders. 2 of these leads quit over our 2-week break (and I was happy to see them go as they were both incredibly disorganized)... one of them was responsible for all the art in our project, but kept losing work that people had done. So, when we needed to refer to things, it was nowhere to be found. So, then a whole new piece would need to be done, taking precious time away from other work....

We can't find those either.

The other guy was responsible for writing up a 30-or-so-page document explaining the design process behind our project and to add a "story" to give some credence/logic to what we were doing. He failed miserably and 4 people trying to help had their suggestions set aside and never "sussed out" enough for anyone's taste. It got so bad, that when we asked him to describe some characteristics about a specific person in the design, he couldn't do it. So, he was gone too.

So, now we have 2 new people and I really wonder how much futher along we'd be if they'd been in control of their areas from the start. They're both incredibly organized and totally dedicated (but not to a fault, they're both willing to step away whenever necessary, which is good: we can't have an emotional connection or people fall apart when basic pieces are cut).

The problem now is: the 2 guys who are out are causing nothing but trouble. They're spreading rumours about things changing and generally freaking out a number of people on the project. No one likes hearing about change, but they don't seem to understand how little time we have left until mid-September. Hell, this is supposed to be done in August!

So, once again I'm dealing with children in their 20s.... I really hate it.

Through to the next round

It was late yesterday, with the course challenge deadline looming, that I finally got confirmation that my challenge was accepted.

Mine was the only one accepted. 6 others were denied. The Dean refused to review the challenge requests himself mainly in part because most students in the program complained about the class, seeing it as a waste of time & money.

As long as I'm out, that's all I care about. Mean? Yes, but there are some who really need the course... and I just proved that the squeaky wheel doesn't always get the grease.

Welcome to the real world, kids. Wear a helmet.

Waiting Game

My course challenge request is in and now I play the waiting game to see what's up. The Dean said he wouldn't look at it --even though he's been talking to me for over a month about expecting me to challenge. He's passed it off to a career counsellor to see if I have enough to challenge.

If he doesn't act as an advocate for me, I go above his head.

The class was actually scheduled for this afternoon, but I didn't bother going. Even if after fighting for the course challenge, I still probably won't go. If I don't officially graduate because I wouldn't take a course that has no meaning to my program --so be it. It's just another lame-ass excuse of a class this school has forced us to take.

If I'd known a year ago about course challenges, I would've skipped a couple other horrible Tuesday classes too.

Grr. More on this (get it? moron?) later...

Forum for all

I'll admit I regularly check a number of forums for sites of interest. I check a couple of hockey forums (although I tend to stray if there's too many Go Leafs! posts) and I check a great deal of comic book forums. Those ones surprise me the most. I remember when I was a kid one of the reasons I was told I had excellent spelling skills was because I actively read. I read comics and some books, but mainly comics. But reading those forums.... ooh me head!

I have to say, though, that there's been some mighty fine quotes of late:

From a comics forum, on a thread regarding 'Da Vinci Code and the Holy Bible:

"I read the Bible. But I'm a comic reader. When Jesus died, I said to myself 'No way is he staying dead.'"

And from a hockey forum, regarding free agency signings:

"Anyone who uses the phrase 'most stupidest' must have a point."

Sorry, I just had to share because they've had me giggling for hours.

A Pox..... Now

My daughter's best friend came down with chicken pox a couple days before my last semester ended the second week of June. So, one of my "plans" over the break was to take care of my little girl with yet another illness. Sure enough, just before my break, she got sick.

It wasn't chicken pox, though. She had an ear/throat infection, which she gets at least twice a year. So, we just waited for the spots to appear.

On Saturday, I made the traditional pancakes and strawberries for our Canada Day breakfast (been doing it for about 7 years now). My daughter cam out of her room.... covered in spots. She's got the familial timing down, proving once again it's hereditary. Yep, 2 days before I return to the mega workload and stress of my graduating semester, I have a very spotty little girl.

If anyone saw "There's Something About Mary" and Woogie got those nasty boils around his eyes, including one right on the edge of his eyelid.... picture that and you have my baby girl. And, of course, one that close to her eye can't have any calomine lotion on it. So she has to suffer with that one.

So, now according to plan, my son should have the pox around mid-July, just in time (there's that timing thing again) for his birthday. And he's going to be one miserable S.O.B. when he gets them.

My in-laws said he'd be miserable and I simply replied he'll be exactly the same, but with spots.

I Thought Monday was a holiday...

In Canada, our big holiday is July 1, not July 4 like it is in the US. Most places --every place, but my school-- close down on the Monday when July 1 is on a weekend. But, yeah, I'm at school. They shut down on June 30th "for the sake of the students."

Nice.

It's 7:20 and I'm having a bad day.

I got maybe 3 hours' sleep last night (more about that in a later post) and left for school at 6 this morning. My carpool partner moved an hour closer to the school, so he hops the bus to get to class. No more HOV lane for this hoser. Leaving at 6 means I have 2 and a half hours before class starts, which should be just enough time. Forgetting we're the only place open today, it took me about 45 minutes to get here.

So, now that I'm here I can print off my course challenge request. Oh, but wait! Apparently I have no more print credit left. It's day 1 of a new semester and I can't print anything! Then, I figure I'll just put the information on my memory stick and submit that to the Dean. No can do. My memory stick is no longer attached to the lanyard. I've lost it and the homework that was due this morning. Yeah, homework due at 8:30 on day 1. And it's all gone.

I check around campus (I'm one of only 2 people here right now) and it's nowhere where I've walked. I check the car, but seeing as how I only sat in my car, it should be obvious it isn't on the drivers' seat. So, I call home and my wife searches around. No such luck. She checks the garage, but there's nothing there either.

I'm swearing.

I go
back to the car and start rummaging through the trash under the seat (oops --gotta clean that soon) and when I move a gas receipt, something heavy falls from the side of the seat. Sure enough, it's my memory stick somehow caught between receipts from last week's road trip (more on that later too).

So, now I have my memory stick, but no print credits "left" with which to print.

Argh.

And I'm still not looking forward to this semester.

Peace out

At some point in 1997, I joined a mailing list with other students in a distance education university program. It was an opportunity for everyone to 'connect' in a time before classes actually became online. We'd sit alone and listen to tapes of lectures and if enough of us were taking the same course, it was like we were all in the same class.

I had a number of strikes against me in joining the group:

1. I'm a man. There's only been a few males join (and all have disappeared, I think) in the 9 years I've been around.
2. I was one of the only people on the Pacific coast. Almost everyone else was in Ontario, with a few exceptions.
3. I was a history major. I recall there being one other.

Dreama, or whatever you're calling yourself these days, was also in the group. She's been around the longest. We've gotten along well... :)

Dreama left the group today. Can't say I blame her. The easiest excuse is that she graduated like a century ago. She could've left when most people did. When they were done.

A majority of the group has gone onto a new group: a diet group. I don't need that. Well, a diet, yes, but not a diet group.

so, I'm thinking I'm really done now. Dreama said her goodbye and I think it's time for mine as well.

From the group, not my blog.

Hehe. Scared ya!

11 Weeks

Effectively, as of Monday, I have 11 weeks of school left before I graduate. Usually about 8 weeks into a semester I'm totally annoyed and sick to death of the classes and just continue by looking forward to the next semester.

This coming semester: 2 days away and I'm already sick of it.

On Mondays, I have my portfolio review class. This class consists of the B.S. we were handed 6 months ago about how our work isn't good enough and how we're going to improve upon it in order to get permission from the instructor to put it on our demo reel DVD. We've already been given homework for our first class (nice). It consists of a number of questions:
1. Please identify three preferred employers that you are targeting with your portfolio. Describe how the content in your demo reel and printed material will directly interest these employers.
Welp, the 3 companies I'm looking at all do fairly realistic productions, so I'm steering away from fantasy, cartoony, and simplistic art styles and looking more toward realistic or photo-realistic. How I'll convey "photo-realistic" in printed material....
2. Please expand on how the content of your portfolio will demonstrate a personal brand that will distinguish your work from all others?
Why is there a question mark for a sentence beginning with please? My personal brand at school is having things done on time, so chances are my personal brand is that I'll be finished before the rest of these little.... blighters.
3. Explain how you will conduct research on technical and creative aspects for your portfolio work, including what resources you intend to use and how you will present this to the instructor for review.
... What? Well, research is usually done by looking things up, so I imagine I'll use the Internet. Also, I have these neat things called "textbooks" that I picked up so I actually knew what was going on in some of my classes. My technical aspects will come from the textbooks and online tutorials. And, websites have addresses. I'll write them down for you. How will I present these to the instructor? I'm thinking of throwing them at her.
4. What else do you think you need in order to help achieve your goals and complete your portfolio show readiness?
See, that one should have ended with a question mark. What do I need? Clarity. I need to know what you're actually asking me. "Complete your portfolio show readiness" makes no sense to me. Also, the next instructor or Dean who looks at me and says "You're fine" is going to pay dearly. I'm serious. So, some quality feedback would be great, for once. No "You're fine's" and no "that looks like ass." Neither comment actually helps me improve my work.

I don't have class on Tuesday. I've submitted a course challenge. It's a resume-prep class and I have years of experience with that and seeing as how this course isn't even industry-specific for our program --f@#! it. Oh, and the instructor is one of the guys we hated because he was so high on himself. Apparently, there's a 4-hour session where he does nothing but shake your hand. I don't want to touch him, so I'm out.

On Wednesday morning is the first half of my grad project class. WE have 8 hours of lab time a week to complete our project. Although I'm leading the group, I have 3 people working directly under me. One, for sure, has stepped down as he doesn't understand documentation at all (yeah, don't worry --no one documents anything in the real world). Another may have stepped down. He can't seem to make up his mind. He's told some he's done, but he's asked me what his status is.... putz. The third one is staying on, fortunately. So, I've stepped up and asked 2 of the more "with it" people to fill the seemingly empty roles. One punk, who's never seen the real world before, has bitched and whined for weeks about things and now is bitching about me selecting people for positions. As far as he's concerned, it should be a team decision. Ah yes, just like it is with any company. I always loved picking my boss. The second part of this project falls on Friday afternoons. By next Friday, I may be responsible for the execution of one team member. Maybe two.

On Thursdays, I have another 3D modeling course, unfortunately with the guy we had 2 semesters ago and barely taught us anything because he was too busy taunting the ESL students and ridiculing 'Loser-boy' because he just doesn't get it. The instructor still passed him, of course, so there's a 50-50 chance he'll be in my class again. If that's the case, I'll be switching blocks post-haste. The instructor is an annoying pain in the ass and I don't see me actually getting anything out of that class.

On Friday mornings, we've been promised a drop-in workshop to help us get our 3D work up to a proper level. Depending on who's there to "help" us, these may or may not be helpful.

So, there you go. Absolutely nothing to look forward to over the next 11 weeks.

Except leaving the damn place... in eleven weeks.

The Sounds of Silence...

Oh bitch, bitch, bitch --ya bitch.

Yeah, you Dreama ;)

Not posting anything? Well, once I figure out WTF happened to my last 3 posts, I'll post 'em again. Damn blogger... this close to moving elsewhere!!

Don't Talk to Me - Part 2

So, for an hour-plus yesterday I got to argue with one of the people on my production team. A few people had posted files in public forums for something still in the early stages of production.

That's bad.

And, sadly, it appears I had to tell people that that's bad. One of them... for over an hour.

His "justification" for posting it was that it's his work. I wouldn't have a problem if it's his, and not from our production... and not based on my written description and the original drawings of two others. His work. Good lord.

So, for an hour or so, I tell him that we'll be meeting as a group in early July (really can't wait for my two weeks off now!) and we'll discuss 'policy' behind posting in-production items on public forums. Y'know, let everyone know the "do's" and "don't's" behind leaking confidential information... yeah, I know: Any sensible adult should understand this already.

Well, "Mr. Numbnutz" decided that even though I'd managed to stave off the #1 guy from coming down hard on the people who posted their stuff. "I'll take care of it" and stop him from removing people from the project. Lesson learned for all of us. So, the plan was to discuss this as a team and see what is and what isn't hamrful to "release" about our production.

Mr. Numbnutz made that decision a whole lot easier when he questioned my memo saying "DON'T"...

No one gets to play anymore.

Between he & most of the other people on the team hounding me on MSN Messenger yesterday, I've set up a new MSN account just so I can talk to intelligent people. So, if you get added to my VIP list, feel fortunate ;)

One for the Money, Two for the Show

Yeah, that's 2 down and only one to go. A single project between me and 2 weeks of freedom.

And the project's basically done. This is the first time I've glided into finals, really. It's also the first time I haven't missed a class in a semester.

coincidentally... no Tuesday class this semester either. Hmmm.

I was pretty stressed about tonight's presentation. Apparently, the presenter this morning had 10+ extra guests, but they could handle a 9am presentation, but balked at a 6:30pm one. No biggie :)

hehe

My Monday presentation coincides with my Saturday afternoon one, so I basically had everything done Sunday night --a week in advance. I have a few touch-ups to do, but basically it's ready and pretty.

I also forgot about my test Saturday morning, but I jsut need to watch a few tutorial videos to remind myself how to use the programs. Not an issue, really. 'course, the instructor'll probably try distracting me with more Angelina Jolie movies.... It worked last time!

One and Two...

As, one project completed and two to go! Then, I'm finished for another semester! Whoo!

I have an exam too, but I'm basically discounting that class --yet another fine example of why we need electives instead of having fluff forced on us...

I got my revenge on 'Loser Boy' tonight as the instructor encouraged us to critique each other's work. To summarize, his work was crap and I let him know it in a verbal barrage that'll keep him in cold sweats tonight.

Hehe.

I have a presentation to do on Wednesday night, the fluff exam on Saturday morning and my other project (which coincided with the one due tonight) due on Saturday afternoon.

And that's it. Rightly earned 2 weeks off before the FINAL 11-week push to graduation.

It's hard to believe it's coming so quickly. Freakin' scary too.

Don't Talk To Me

One of the things really stressed into us at school is "look around." Look and see what your peers are doing right now. See what they're working on. If can make a helpful suggestion to make it look better: do it. They'll do the same for you.

And we do it. Well, a lot of us do it. We'll review each other's work and let each other know if it looks like 'ass' (which is the common term around here if it looks bad). I've had people suggest changes to some of my 3D work and they've made it better: fresh eyes. It's all about fresh eyes.

But there's always a 'but.'

One classmate, not working on the same team project as a lot of us, asked my opinion on some environment work he's doing. I liked it overall, but thought for "ancient jungle ruins" the rock looked to bright (and therefore too clean). As I was making suggestions, his friend (the BrainAge wunderkind) started yelling at me:
What gives me the right to look at other people's work?
How high and mighty am I to make suggestions and corrections?

Someone with the intelligence of salt water taffy should avoid arguments. At all costs. Especially after the lame-ass replies to my forum posts (mentioned in the previous blog entry). I lashed out.

See, when we were taught the importance of doing this (the industry as a whole can be blunt and if you can't take criticism, you're in the wrong business), because it helps us understand the critical eye and how others perceive our work (which is the whole point in doing the work in the first place). 'Loser-boy' failed that class (a class that consisted of 2 quizzes and a weekly progress report on our other classes to give us a cumulative grade) and is convinced he failed because the instructor has a crush on him.

Seems like a good time for a mental pause, yes?

I highly recommended to him, that he ask those same questions to her. I mean, if anyone will give it to him straight, it's her. She'll also probably fail him again as he still doesn't get it.

Just a few more months and I never have to see him again.

So, after this, I'm being much more selective with my 'observations.' I mean, this guy asked for my help and I helped him --just because his loser friend doesn't get it... So, the people on my team are going to get any help theyask for. They want suggestions, I'll give them suggestions (if they need it). If I want help, they'll be the first ones I'm going to. Anyone else comes up: don't talk to me. I'm not there for you.

Itemizing

There's been a few changes and things around here in the past week. I still look at this blog and think there's more to say, but...

Writing in this blog = time... I have no time.

With 'no time' also comes increasing frustration. And I mean a lot of it. People everywhere are pissing me off at the moment...

But I digress... Sometimes writing out frustrations doesn't help. So, anyhoo, here's a list of things on my mind at the moment:

1. An instructor asked me to get active on a local website for artists. Start posting my work and help critique other people's stuff. While I don't have time for it (hmmm, a theme!), I thought it might give me at least a minor break from the frustrations I'm having with my courses at the moment. But that didn't work. One of the guys working on our big group project posted some work and got pissy little comments back. All it proved was there's a supreme lack of intelligence on the boards when most of the people are from the same school. Then the moderator, who is an industry professional, ripped the artwork apart on the forum, stating that it's majorly flawed and poorly planned. No one --not one post-- had the ability to acknowledge that it was a work in progress. Idiots.
2. I decided to add some helpful hints to one post for a game idea. First off: I hate the word 'will.' If anyone recalls posts about 'Fluffy' (my old office roommate), he hated the word 'that.' 'That,' in his opinion, is just a filler word. "Players that receive a reward" is just a really bad sentence. "Players will receive a reward," to me, is just as bad. "Players receive a reward..." just sounds better. So, here I am stating that adding "will" anywhere lends itself towards passive voice. Someone replies that there's only one sentence that's actually in passive voice (I didn't say they were passive sentences, I said 'will' lends itself to passive voice). They back up their response by pointing out their experiences at Future Shop as a sales associate... Yeah, fine. Your Future Shop employment history beats my college education. Yep. Mmm-hm. Screw helping out, I have enough idiots to deal with.
3. My parents apologized on Friday. They dropped by and we had a discussion. They relented and apologized. I refused to accept their apology at first and made them apologize to my kids. I wasn't the one who was hurt, after all, I've dealt with them for years.
4. My parents sold their house and their offer on a condo (about 25 minutes from both my sister & I) was accepted while they were apologizing. They'll be local again by August.
5. I'm going into week 10 of 11 in my current semester. I still haven't figured out my schedule. I've had 2 Monday classes cancelled because of holidays and one of those clases was rescheduled to a Sunday morning. I've also gone in for an extra day on a Friday. So, yeah, still haven't figured out my schedule.
6. Next semester, my final one, is looking like weekday classes only. Nothing at night and nothing on weekends. SWEET. It means my commute is by train, not car. It also means I'll be there Monday-to-Friday, 8-5.
7. Actually, I'll be there 4 days a week. We have another 'fluff' course next semester and I won't be taking it. My life experiences negate the class.
8. No one else wants to take the class, either. It's called 'professional development,' but it's basically 44 hours of preparing your resume and working on interview skills. 44 hours I can spend doing something else, thanks. Most people seem intent to skip the course altogether. Good luck graduating.
9. My carpool buddy is doing 2 annoying things right now. First, he's moving back into Vancouver this summer. That means no more HOV lane commute for me. :( Also, he's skipped one of our classes 3 times which most likely means he receives an automatic fail. Going into our final semester is not the time I'd want to have 6 classes. Sucks to be him.
10. My meeting on Friday was awesome!! I got to hear all about the company that's #1 on my list of dream jobs from the guy who runs the place. I was introduced by my instructor as: "One of the most organized and responsible producers I've ever seen." Seriously, coming from someone with over 25 years' experience, that means so much!
11. One of my classmates paid me a rather large compliment the other day. He said whenever he gets frustrated with his work progress he just thinks of me and everything I have to deal with and that gets him motivated again. If I can do it, so can he. He asked me how I cope and I said: "I work hard, I make sure my kids now I exist, I talk with my wife and share my work with her, I cry alot and then I poo a little."
12. OK, I didn't really say that. I could imagine the look on his face, though!!
13. Latina Lady IM's me daily and we 'chat' for a few hours while I work. We've both complained recently about the lack of time to go work out. She said she needs a new workout buddy and I jokingly said I could never be her "w.b." because I'd be distracted all the time. Somehow that convinced her I'd be a good "w.b."
14. Uh oh.
15. Fortunately, nothing will happen exercise/health-wise until I"m done this semester. I don't have time to exercise!!
16. One of my 3D models is giving me a major headache. It's so simple too. I've made a roadway for my environment piece. Part of it is cobblestone, part of it is road with a sidewalk on both sides. The rest is just country road. I've made 3 textures out of 4 (there's some t-intersections where the cobblestone meets the pavement), but the model's all screwed up now. I'm not impressed. :( I've spent 5 hours on it today.
17. I'm convinced 'Alberta' was on 'Battle of the Jaywalk All-Stars 2.' But everytime I try and download the video from the NBC site, the computer crashes. Or the site. I've tried from 7 different computers with no luck.

OK, I think that's enough. I'm sure there's more I've forgotten.

Bouncy Bouncy

Never have I dreaded the walk to campus more than on Wednesdays of this semester. It's a time-consuming class with a growly insctructor. He yells at a lot of people, he patronizes students when they just don't get it. If they try and tell a joke, he usually lashes out at them. He's told 3 students that they won't make it in the profession without getting fired in their first month. It keeps me inside of 2 classrooms from Noon until after 10pm.

Yeah, I only said 'me' in that last sentence. He actually likes me. He doesn't yell at me. He laughs at my jokes. He talks to me like I'm his best friend and confidante.

And he's invited me to have lunch with the CEO of the company for which I want to work after I graduate.

So, as usual, coming home around Midnight (or 2am this week), I was bouncing off the walls for a few hours before finally falling asleep. I never thought I'd be in a position like this. A position where I can start networking. A position where my networking starts at the top.
A position where, no matter what happens, I come up smelling like roses.

Then, this morning, my inbox has a message from one of the members on the team. He's been in touch with friends working for a (not naming them) Major Japanese Company. MJC has a North American division and their interest is piqued because they've never heard of a small group doing such an ambitious project in 6 months. We have 19 people working for 6 months, they usually have 75+ people work for 2 years. Yep, it's ambitious. His email:

"Just wanted to make sure it was okay with you that I'm talking about our project to [MJC]? If so, good because if they like what they see, they'll probably just hire our entire team and move us down to California."

Wha?

Man, time for more bouncing!

Little Bit of Good

I've had 2 bags sitting in my basement for a few years. One for about 3 or 4 years and the other one for nearly 2 years. They were both duffle bags from work. Both were used for a change of clothes after working out in the fitness room.

I didn't want them anymore. They're just taking up space.

I wasn't sure what to do with them. Should I toss them in the trash? Should I put them on the curb for 'Spring Cleanup' and let someone pick them up? It was then I thought about taking them down to one of the thrift stores and donating them. Have some money go to a good cause.

About a week later, though, I had a better idea.

A friend of mine is going to Guatemala this summer as part of a church missions trip. He's one of 25 people going and they're taking part in ministry towards people living in a shanty-town on top of a city dump. The kids go out daily and collect items from the dump to sell.

Imagine how handy a duffle bag would be to carry things? Something that would sell in a thrift store for a couple dollars is worth a fortune down there. One of the bags is quite large. If one of the kids tried filling it with items, they probably wouldn't be able to carry it!

So, the bags are carrying much-needed supplies and toys for the kids. The bags will stay in Guatemala afterward. And they're being used the bast way possible as far as I'm concerned.

I won't deny I struggle with my faith. I wouldn't say 'daily,' but it's close. Sometimes all I need is a little sign telling me I'm doing the right thing.

So, today, as I got the bags ready to go to my friend, I picked up the smaller one and saw something reflecting light inside. Here in the corner of the bag, partially hidden under the seam, was a gold tie-clip my wife gave me for our first anniversary. I thought it long lost all these years. It was sitting in my basement for 4 years. And to think I probably wouldn't have seen it if I hadn't finally decided to use those bags for something good.

Feeling much better now.

Yer a Loser

I'm sure you all recall 'Loser-boy' from school.

A week ago (I just found out today), one of the guys decided it was time to see just how big a loser this guy is. After laughable moments where he couldn't spell 'HUGE' and 'COLOUR' (that's the Canadian spelling, Mad ;) ), it was time for Loser-boy to test his skills with Nintendo's BrainAge.

I've played some of the levels of BrainAge and enjoy the quick math tests. 20 questions, 20 correct answers: 14 seconds and change. I felt pretty good.

Loser-boy gave it a try. 20 questions, 14 correct answers: 5 and a half minutes.

He thought 4x4 equaled 0. The game was waiting for a second digit that it kind of froze before it realized he'd written down his answer. 4x4.....

Wow.
[this post was originally written on May 16th --why it didn't publish.... I don't know]

Endpoint

My parents packed up their stuff and left this morning. They most likely won't be back. We had a final blow-up and the relationship is definitely severed now. Don't expect me to look to mend fences anytime soon. Not in the mood.

As if the "ignoring your kids" on Mother's Day wasn't enough, my parents started an entirely new "bad idea" late yesterday.

When they got home late last night (late being just before my daughter's bedtime), they started talking about all the dolls and Barbie stuff they plan on bringing down "now that [they] have a granddaughter."

In front of my daughter. They said it in front of my daughter.

So, while cradling her and wiping tears away, I explained to her that it's important to remember who's special little girl she is. And who's special little granddaughter she is. If someone doesn't see her for who she is, they don't deserve to get to know just how special she is. There's people who love her to bits and will always be there for her.

Just not my parents.

I'm used to the crap my parents throw around. I've been around long enough that it doesn't even stick anymore (and anything they say to me just passes by as unimportant). They can attack me and I'll shrug it off. They can attack my wife and I'll stand up to them. They attack my children... and they're not allowed in the same house. Ever.

Quippy

On fire this morning.

Loyal readers may recall the tales of 'Hottie' who gave me a ride to the wedding last spring... She's hurt her back (I said she was too rough on her boyfriend, but she strained it on the rowing machine...) and is seeing a chiropractor. The following is quoted from a conversation between Hottie, J. (a classmate) & I over coffee in the cafeteria this morning:

Hottie - "Going to the chiropractor again."
Me - "Yeah?"
Hottie - "Yeah. Ever had your leg strapped up and then pulled to straighten your spine?"
Me - "No. Actually, if it involves latex and feathers, then yes."

J. sprayed coffee out his nose. Seriously, he does it once a month. I should watch what I say in front of him.

Mother F--- Day!

I mentioned in a previous post that my parents are down right now. My sister had her little girl on Friday and my parents are down (& sticking around) until Wednesday.

With tomorrow being Mother's Day, we all know what should be happening, right?

My Mom's either spending the day with her son (me) or her daughter and brand new grand-daughter. It's obvious.

Well, actually, she's spending it with my sister's mother-in-law.

What the Hell? Her kids aren't good enough for her?

Fine. You don't think we're good enough --just wait.

Bacon!

So, while waiting for news on my impending neice or nephew, I watched Jumanji this morning with my kids.

I'd forgotten about this, but my mother pointed it out at the end of the film... my babysitter played the pianist (the party at the end of the movie).

Small world, eh?

Well, then I got thinking about the 6 degrees of Kevin Bacon and I guess technically, that means I'm a 4.

1. There's me.
2. My babysitter in 'Jumanji' with Robin Williams.
3. Robin Williams starred in 'Awakenings' with Robert De Niro.
4. Robert De Niro starred in 'Sleepers' with... Kevin Bacon!

Yay!

In case I haven't mentioned it before: I'm in dire need of sleep these days. I'm taking care of the kids during the day and going to school at night. That means homework gets done between midnight and 4 am...

Family ties...

usually a knot... perfect for a noose.

Yeah, it's super-fun happy family time again. *sigh*

I could start out with whining about my sister's husband "forgetting" to call today. Normally, I wouldn't care, but I kinda wanted to know if my sister was having a boy or girl.

Y'know, no biggie. We knew she was having the baby today, because it took use about a month to convince my parents that they may actually want to be around for the birth of one of their grandchildren. They weren't around for my 2 kids and they weren't around for my (4 going on 70 --remind me about "the comb-over kid" later) nephew's birth. Make one out of the 4, already, will you?

They've been getting antsy all day waiting for word. Personally, I'd have just driven to the hospital to get the news. She had a C-section, after all.

It's a girl. I'll be going in later today to see her.

My brother-in-law forgot to call the house, so my parents finally gave up and drove in. They called (it took me an hour to convince them to call me when they had news) me about an hour ago to let me know I'm an uncle again.

Now we just have to pray this kid turns out normal. My nephew had major heart problems which --I was scolded by a social worker about-- had nothing to do with my sister's 3-pack-a-day smoking habit.

Anyone want a family, by the way?

Well Worn Shoes

I tossed a pair of shoes into the garbage yesterday. They were 12 years old, quite worn out, and well-traveled.

Those shoes saw many nature trails, several miles of English road, helped me climb a church spire, and carried me home in a drunken stupor on more than one occasion.

They turned into lawn-mowing shoes since we moved into the house and were replaced as my everyday sneakers twoce-over since then.

The air cushion had completely fallen out of one of the shoes, so I walked with a slight limp whenever I wore them. There was no tread left on the bottom, so walking on grass that was even slightly wet became hazardous.

And with my record of outdoor injuries, I felt it best to avoid that.

So the shoes are gone. Shoes that have been a part of my life for the birth of 2 children. A part of my life when I broke up with a longtime girlfriend, and the courting of my eventual wife. They've been through the troubles, the happy times, and a whole mess of other things that have happened in between.

In some ways, the shoes are like me. Falling apart a little, feeling --and looking-- worn out. More than a few dings, scrapes and stains along the way.

But they still provided me some support.

On My Mind....

I have about a half-dozen drafts going right now. Different thoughts/rants about various subjects. I start working on one, but get called away or other 'busy' stuff.

That's the nice thing about writing online. Even if my thoughts stray, I can just save it and come back to it later.

ONE DAY, I'll manage to finish those drafts and hopefully they'll make sense.

One day...

Taxed 2 Death

Sunday's the last day to file income tax in Canada. My wife's been stressing out because I hadn't yet filed our taxes. I wasn't too worried about filing because we're both getting refunds. And no government is going to come after me if they're owing me money!

But, to appease my wife, I filed our taxes today. Thanks to Dreama for pointing out the free software available online! It went by pretty easily, but I always have a sense of forboding whenever I file our taxes. I always figure I'll get bitten one of these years, no matter how carefully I go over everything to ensure that everything is filed correctly!

We'll see what this year holds, yes?

All the Little Things....

• My wife has been talking to one of the people who was in the meeting room on my last day at work. This person's the union rep. and my wife is asking questions about her status in the office. She's following a familiar path... been there for years, but doesn't seem to be any further ahead. The union rep. has asked about me, but I'm not exactly sure what all to say to her. I mean, besides what I'm up to these days. I'd rather wait until I'm done with school, though.
• One of my oldest friends from the office was asking my wife about me the other day too. I haven't talked to her since I left as she was working in the same department where Drama Queen transferred to (before moving back, then getting fired). I was never sure just what all rumours Drama Queen spread about me after I'd left, but I'd heard enough to know people will believe anything. Needless to say, I haven't talked to her yet. Maybe one day.
• That being said, I've emailed pictures of the kids to those I still talk to on a semi-regular basis. How to read this: I sent the email on Tuesday and haven't heard a peep from any of them. Is it just that they're too busy to reply, or do they just not care anymore?
• Yes, Sex Caffeine was among the email recipients. It's been 4 months since we last shared an email conversation and almost a year since we last saw each other in person. So, uh, there.
• For a starving student, I'm sounding pretty damned successful these days. Producing a video game. Typing this on one computer while the brand new computer hums politely beside me (with some 3D rendering going on). If everything works out, the brand new digital camera (a Fujifilm 5.2 megapixel) arrives tomorrow.
• The reality is this: 1 - the new computer cost me $272. My parents threw in the rest. The new digital camera is an eBay deal. The LCD's damaged. So, instead of being a $400 camera, it was a $23 camera.
• But I am producing that video game.
• The big lazy ass, mentioned in the previous post, got his comeuppance on Wednesday night. The instructor who's mentoring us through the game production wigged out on him and shrunk the poor boy down to a few inches in height. Then, when he was done, he discovered that I'd already 'yelled' at the poor bastard. Well, the yelling started again at the poor guy and he was asked if he'd prefer me yelling at him or the mentor. I don't think I've ever really been the good guy before.
• A little p.o.'d about 'Lost' last night (although I watched it at Midnight when I got home). I swear they've had the same cliffhanger ending for about 3 weeks or more. Yeah, it was another 'retro' episode (much like Desperate Housewives & Grey's Anatomy this week). It makes me think that the CSI & Cold Cade shows have the right idea. The story is the focus and the characterization is almost a footnote in the episode. For some reason it works, we get the slightest hint into their personal lives and we want more. We don't get much, but enough to keep us going.
• I think I've run into another person from my past. My best friend for the majority of my teenage years had a major crush on this girl back in the late 80s. Don't get me wrong, she was cute, but we never totally got along. Our parents never liked each other, so the feud continued to the next generation. I think she has a kid in my daughter's class. There was a lady with familiar eyes (it's always the eyes for me) waiting outside for her kid. We kept staring at each other, but my son was keeping me duly distracted that I never had a chance to approach her. It's probably been 16 year since I last saw her, so it could very well be her. After all, when I ran into my old best friend one night, I thought he was some drunken lout looking for a fight...
  
• I'm sorry I haven't written more this year. Slow blogging year, but freakin' busy everywhere else.
  

Handing Out Reality Checks

I've mentioned before that I'm the "fearless" leader of our program as we being work on our 6-month-long graduating project...

I'm amazed, nearly 1/6 of the way through this project, how many people in the group just don't get it.

This is one of two things we do in our final 6 months to get a job in the industry. It's a tough industry to get into and it's in a bit of a lull right now. So much so, that when we graduate, we're competing with the previous 2 (or 3) graduating classes... AND the recently-laid off professionals... AND anyone else who has the talent (without the education) OR is coming from another school! And I've got a number of people who are just acting lazy about the whole thing.

One guy, I consider him a friend, has completely vanished off MSN since he promised to have some work to me by Wednesday night. Hmmm. 12:50am on Monday and still nothing. Am I pissed? YES. It's a key document for our project and everyone on the team relies on it know what we're working on. And he just doesn't seem to be able to get it done on time. Then there's another list a different guy needs to come up with... Oh, he's sent it to me... But he only did about a third of the work. He listed things out, but instead of listing 5 of one thing, he only said there was a specific thing with a "5" written beside it. And no descriptions. We need descriptions!! And his response? "Well, that's a lot more work than I want to do."

Rrrggg. Lazy ass.

Then I hear from one guy tonight that the 3 people he was relying on to submit some work to him today... well, 1 handed in a third of his work, the other 2 did nothing. Nothing.

What are they thinking? We graduate and some company is going to pay them in excess of $50k to submit things late, wrong, or not-at-all? I mean, come on!!!

Usually around the 8th week of a semester, I get sick and tired of it and just want it to end already.... tomorrow, week 4 begins.

On Wednesday night, when we get together to work on our project again, reality sets in. With all the work that needs to get done and doesn't get done, then people pay for it. How? There's 20 people in our group. There's one leader. And he grades them on a weekly basis... failures mean getting kicked out of the program --with less than 6 months to go.

Reality sets in Wednesday... I've already decided on grades for 7 people.

Dreaming Details

I've always enjoyed friends telling me about their weird dreams. A story I've been mulling about for years involves a guy who has in-depth dreams as he copes with his extraordinary life. And I gotta be thankful for friends who are able to dream.

I don't dream much.

I think I'm so exhausted and tired that when I sleep my brain says, "Nope. I'm going into complete shutdown!" Don't know how medically true that is, but it's a workable theory for me.

My best friend told me of a dream he had one night about 17 years ago. He was walking alone in a field of tall, dry grass. On the horizon, past a long-abandoned cabin, he could see a red light. It was a small red light, but no matter which way he moved, the light followed him. To the left, to the right, the light followed him. Then, he looked down tothe white shirt he was wearing. And he saw for the first time that it wasn't a light on the horizon. It was a beam of light and it was attached to him. As he stared at his shirt, the beam grew in size until the red enveloped him. And suddenly, he exploded into a dragon. Then he woke up, of course.

Tonight, a friend told me of his dream where everyone he talked kept pleading with him not to go. They wanted him to stay with them. No matter where he went, all he heard was "Please stay with us. You don't have to go." Eventually, he did leave, but the only way he could go was by loading himself onto a catapult and launching himself into the sky. And then he woke up.

I'm going to use these somehow.

TV Times

Grey's Anatomy has quickly become a favorite show and is now the only reason I still watch Desperate Housewives.

That sounded weird.

Regardless, I'm sick of 'DH' and I'm finding the characters incredibly predictable to the point that I find the show more boring than entertaining. Grey's Anatomy, on the other hand, I'm thoroughly enjoying! They've done a great job with their ensemble cast.

But it wasn't on Sunday night. Instead, they showed the pilot to 'What About Brian?' which... sadly... I also thoroughly enjoyed. Naturally, it looks like it's regular timeslot is Mondays at 8 (kind of weird as it has a lot of adult content) while I'm in class. I'm not sure what all is so interesting about the show, but I definitely related to it. When a beautiful woman tells a guy "You're a total catch," well, yeah, the guy will tune out everything else said. Who's the right girl for me? Well, you called me a total catch!!

I'm tired and I have no idea why I'm writing about this. Just compelled to write and not much else to talk about.

Oh, and before I forget again.... I realized just the other day that it's been 3 years since the whole Sex Caffeine incident. I feel weird.

Donwload and Update. Upgrade, Download and Update...

I feeling a bit like an Ouroboros snake today...

I'm supposed to be working my ass off getting reports done for tonight and tomorrow, but the latest Windows Update has totally frigged my MSOffice products. Everytime I try and save, the program freezes up and crashes.

So, I'm updating and downloading my Windows software to see if anything catches the problem and fixes it.

First up is 'Windows Update'
Next up is 'Microsoft Update'
Followed by 'Office Update'
Each one needs a little program downloaded and installed. Then, it scans my system to find updates that need to be... downloaded and installed.

It just keeps going and going and going....

Moving Daze

My parents have invaded.

On Saturday, whilst I was mired in classes, my parents moved a bedroom suite into my old office. As I type this, they're sleeping less than 15 feet away behind a closed door. As for outstaying their welcome... they'll be attempting that this time as they're staying 'til at least Tuesday or Wednesday. As annoying as my parents can be (loud talking after the kids have gone to bed, 'taking over' for meals, etc, etc....), somehow I've found myself looking at their annoying habits and found the positives.

They eat... constantly. They both had a couple of hot cross buns just before going to bed. Mom had a full can of Diet Coke and Dad a glass of milk (a big glass) to wash their dessert down. This is after they polished off a pizza for dinner (where they each had a large Pepsi to drink), had a HUGE Easter lunch and at least 2 pieces of pie each.... I had 2 pieces of pizza and a slice of pie and that's all I could handle after the big lunch. And I really don't feel like eating for quite some time.

This is nothing but a good thing. I know I've gained weight since starting class (and that's on top of the weight I gained after leaving my last job), so seeing my parents eating habits really inspire to not eat for a very long time. Nothing. I want nothing to eat.

Of course, I'd like them to leave too, but boy I really don't feel like eating!!

Don't Mess with Surly!

Grr.

So, today I reply to a joke email I got and somehow I've started a mini flame war.

I'm having a bad day already dealing with this computer and flame wars never help!

I'm mere seconds away from blocking the link from my Inbox. I've only been a part of it since 1997, so why hold onto it any longer, yes?

Putz IV - The Final Chapter

OK, it took me a week to get back to this --my computer's been acting all pissy since I had to move it and has become a focal point of frustration over the past 5 days....

The final submission to Putz turned out to be 91 pages with several references and 7 pages of photos (finally found an album with pictures!!).

It took almost 10 minutes before Putz walked over to the registration office to sign off on me not taking this course.

As it turned out, the class is a mix of the boys in my program and a bunch of girls from the modelling program.... So, my reaction to the boys: "You're welcome."

I'll try and get out of another class next semester to see if they get the girls again.

Boys, I tell ya...

Putz III - The Revenge

Putz wants documentation of 20 years' experience?

Putz GETS documentation of 20 years' experience.

87 pages of documentation of 20 years' experience.

Putz asks..... Putz receives.

I'll let you know about 'Putz IV' by the end of the week.

Putz II - The Putz Returns

I finally cornered Putz on Monday and asked why he hadn't made the requested scheduling move. His only defense was he thought he had.... Putz.

Then, yesterday, he emails me to see if it worked out and everyone ended up in the same class.... Putz, we weren't all in the same class on Monday when I talked to you and you said it was too late.

Besides, everyone took care of their own schedules, so it's all good now anyway (no thanks to the Putz).

I also emailed Putz a few weeks back about challenging a course. It's a course I've had practice (and prior training) over the past 20 years, so I don't want to pay $1000 and waste a Friday afternoon for 11 weeks doing something I'm totally comfortable doing.

Putz's only reply: "Come see me." Which I did. THREE TIMES.

Finally, on Monday, Putz let me know I need tons of documentation in order to challenge the class. He shows me one of my classmates "cases" as an example. While I defend my 20 years' experience, he keeps getting interrupted by phone calls and people dropping by.

Talking to Putz is like having a conversation with a 2-year old (something I also have experience with): You can't finish a sentence before their attention has turned to something else. It's why I brought my flashlight --I know they're always drawn to bright objects.

Putz

I got my schedule today for my next (and second-last!!) semester. While all the classes are scheduled where I expected them (and saw on my online student account), the instructor we were told we were getting for one of the major, major classes is not teaching us.

And I'm more than a little pissed off about that!

Apparently, the guy we have is a horrible, horrible instructor. In fact, he's so horrible, we heard from other instructors last semester that he was probably gone before we ever had a chance to suffer through a semester with him.

Seems that's not true. Dammit.

What's a month between friends?

Anything like a month between posts?

Hmmm..... must've been busy, yes?

YES.

I'm now 2/3 through the diploma program and only have 6 months to go until I'm finally done. It's a little freaky to think of where I need to be (mentally and physically) in half a year. Yeek! But I'm working on it.

I just re-read my last couple of posts and noticed I never updated what happened with my presentation in February.

Well, I hated it, but apparently the faculty were impressed with what they saw. I did this really cool powerpoint presentation and when I got to the room, I discovered I was loading it up on a single computer and everyone would crowd around the monitor to 'watch' the presentation. It was a "when spoken to" type of presentation and I was expected only to answer questions and react to critiques. So, yeah, I wasn't impressed.

But, as I said, they saw something they liked and encouraged me to change part of my plan and head in a new-ish direction. The direction still leads to the same outcome (in an eventual promotion at a job --which was always part of the plan), but the new direction just makes it easier. Fine by me!

There won't be a "have" class and a "have not" class as our group will apparently be much smaller next semester. I know of 2 people dropping back to part-time (and won't be part of our graduating project work) and one person (whom I've mentioned previously as dragging down the rest of the class) is 65% sure he's quitting completely. (Yay!)

There should be 25-28 of us in one class and a majority of those people are pushing me to be the lead. They're joined by the 3 faculty that 'supervise' our work, ensuring that we're meeting our goals. All 3 have looked to me over the past month as the "go-to guy" for the entire program, which will definitely help with getting a kick-ass job once I finish school. All I have to do is continue to work my butt off. (although one instructor let it slip that within 5 years I could be making over $120K --I could handle that!)

It's good to put up new wallpaper every once in a while....

Seriously, best Halle Berry pic ever!

Man, I'm looking forward to the pick me up I get every day when I sit down to work at my computer.

Pick me up? Sorry 'bout that...

Presenting

I kinda-sorta-kinda have my schedule now for next semester, which doesn't start until early April. Most likely, of course, the schedule we get just prior to the beginning of the semester in April will be completely different than the one I saw on Tuesday. I don't have my official schedule yet because of an issue with my student loans for April.

I haven't applied for it yet.

I figure I still have 6-7 weeks and they only take a few days to process, but these guys at the school tend to panic about it and they make you do it in advance so they know they're getting their money ASAP.

Making me wait in line for 45 minutes to give me that information is not a good thing either. Wasn't my only bad news of the week, though. I also found out on Monday that the big presentation I'd been told a week earlier was "at the end of the semester" is actually on Tuesday, February 21. That's a whole month before the semester ends...

Oh, and out of everyone in my program... I'm going first. Yep, #1 of 25 people. I get to present to a couple Deans, a number of faculty and a few representatives in the industry and prove that I have enough potential to continue in the program and show promise towards graduating in September.

If only I had another month...

I've set up a shortish powerpoint presentation where I go into details about me, my work and what my plans are after graduating. I don't feel like I have much, but then I think about my "classmates" and realize I'm much better off than most of them. Most don't even have all their previous projects anymore. Not only do I have those, but I have some extras kicking around as well. I made some corrections based on the critiques I got from the instructors.

The other information tidbit I discovered this past week was what happens after we do our presentations. The Deans and faculty sit down and discuss each of us and where they see us fitting in to a specific course that starts next semester and finishes when we graduate in September. We'll all be in the same class together for the 6-month spread. Essentially, they split us into 2 groups: the "have's" and "have-not's," ensuring that all the "have's" look extremely good and build off one another and the "have-not's" may not cope so well. Basically, it's a 6-month group project. And right now I'm scared silly that one of the people in the meeting will look at my work and say "NOT" and them I'm screwed.

Being in the "have-not's" means that my idea will be 99% likely to be accepted and I'll essentially lead the class for 6 months. I'll lead 10-15 losers who don't want to do anything and will slack off at every opportunity, leaving me to either do the work myself or just get stressed beyond reason because no one else is interested in graduating and getting a career out of what we're doing.

But these people (the Deans and faculty) aren't used to someone with a college education and an ability to argue a point home. You want me in the have-nots? Well, get ready for an absolute shit-kicking because it won't happen. I'm in the Have's because I have the experience to pull their asses out of the fire when (not if) they get into the thick of it.

It's just like what people hated about me at my last job. No, I wasn't trying to make people look bad because I could anticipate where people would fail. I was just planning in advance so if someone dropped the ball, we could move on without too much interruption. Having 10-15 people who could potentially drop the ball and lose it along the way is not going to mesh well with my personality. Put me with 10-15 people who could lose the ball and see others be prepared to pick it up and run with it.... that's where I want to be.

And dammit, I'll be fighting for that on Tuesday afternoon.

Desperately needing that digital camera...

Okay, dammit. Enough's enough.

I need a damn digital camera ASAP. There are way too many things happening that become "photo moments" that I've now friggin' missed!

1. The murder of 2000+ crows that flies over the campus every Wednesday at 5 --except last Wednesday when I had borrowed a friggin' camera!
2. The men at work... lying down on the grass rubbing a dog's belly.
3. The old lady with the big ass red feathered hat.
4. My carpool buddy hitting his head --again.
5. My sign saying "I want sausage on my pizza!"
6. THIS on my regular commute. Yeah, Great Big Sea's (Mad, you don't know 'em most likely, but I think you'd like 'em) tour bus crashed on my regular commute route.

And I STILL don't have that friggin' camera!!!

Sports Shorts

I'm keeping this post short because I'm... not in a thinking mood at the moment.

Perfect time for blogging, eh?

Anyway, as is tradition, the Olympics are on and taking up a good chunk of my time. No evening news. I even skipped 2 Canucks hockey games. All in order to cheer for my country. But I have a few problems:

1. I don't care if the Canadian women's hockey team has out-scored their opponents 28-0. They have standings based on a goal differential (goal for vs. goals against), so they need to obliterate their competition before facing their biggest opponent: Team USA. After 2 games, I'm already looking forward to next Sunday's gold medal final.
2. And from there, let's talk gold medals. 2 years ago, 4 years ago, 6 years ago, even 8 years ago, you would've heard me talk all about how important it is for Canadian athletes to just "show up." Y'know, show up and have fun and represent their country to the best of their abilities. Well, with the winter olympics being a better Canadian showing than the summer games ever are, AND couple with the 2010 games right here in Vancouver, I've changed my tune a bit with the current winter games in Turin/Torino.
I want to see Canadians win and defend those titles in 2010.
But I'm not seeing it happen so far. A gold medal favorite in speed skating wins a bronze. A gold medal favorite in cross country skiing makes the "top 10." The best a Canadian snowboarder can do in the half-pipe is 11th. Snowboarding! Half the frickin' country snowboards!! (the other half skis, but we haven't gotten to those sports yet). Otherwise, Canadians are placing in the top 40 or 50 and sometimes top 20. I don't want to see that this time around. Nagano in '98? Fine. Salt Lake City in '02? Alright, I guess. Torino in '06? No way. Vancouver in 2010? How big a failure will these games be if Canadians can't even place in some events?

Seriously. Look at the Australians in 2000 in Sydney. They rocked! Look at Los Angeles in 1984. Hello? Did another country besides the U.S. even win a medal that year?

OK, that's my rants.

Yes, I'm well aware that we're maybe 30 minutes from Day #3.

BUT.

Canada has 2 medals out of 36 handed out so far. Not. Good. Enough. Not this time around.

Blocked!

OK, some of the people on my MSN are really getting annoying. Within 30 seconds of logging in tonight (the first time all weekend, I might add), I had 2 classmates hounding me for information.

Shaddup already!

Seriously, am I the only guy who knows how to keep a schedule?

What's worse is they're asking for info on the homework for the class I missed due to illness last week. Which means: They're of no help to me.

It's difficult to go through a hefty list of people and start blocking them all. So, I do the next best thing:

I log off.

Sorry for not continuing to talk there, Dreama ;)

Revenge Part II - (um) Son of Revenge

So, I had my deposition on Friday last week. Spent 90 minutes telling a few people about how incompetent Drama Queen was when we worked in the same department. And I did make a list beforehand of the various "effed-up" things she had done when we did work together.

So much fun bringing up those memories.

Anyways, it's done and I've done my bit. I was asked if I felt hostile towards her because she had me fired. My answer was 'NO,' because I've never thought of it that way. she had nothing to do with my leaving and I'd brought along a letter from the VP in human resources accepting my resignation. And, I stated, if she had claimed to be the reason behind my so-called 'firing,' then she'd have a lot to answer for with other people in the office who knew I submitted a resignation! kind of... incompetent, wouldn't you say?

Hostile. Like I think anything of her at all.

To top off the week, my old boss (from Hell!) had his name in the newspaper the other day. After an event had occurred at work, his name was being dragged through the mud (LOL) and someone wrote a letter to the editor claiming maybe it was time for him to leave his job.

Not too many people get to see their ex-boss' name written in a newspaper unless something bad has happened. Well, this is bad, but not bad enough for him to be fired.

But glad someone out there thinks it!

Hehe.

Just Call Me "Gentle Love Master"

Oh yeah, baby...

The Gentleman Deliberate Gentle Love Master (DGLMm) Steady & mature. You are The Gentleman. For anyone looking for an even-keeled, considerate lover, you're their man. You're sophisticated. You know what you want both in a relationship and outside of it. You have a substantial romantic side, and you're experienced enough sexually to handle yourself in that arena, too. Your future relationships will be long-lasting; you're classic "marrying material," a prize in the eyes of many. It's possible that behind it all, you're a bit of a male slut. Your best friends know that in relationships you're fundamentally sex-driven. You're a safe, reliable guy, who does get laid. In a lot of ways, you're like a well-worn, comfortable pair of socks. Did you ever jack off into one of those? All the time. Your exact opposite: The Last Man on Earth Random Brutal Sex Dreamer Your ideal mate is NOT a nut-job. She is giving and loving, like you, but also experienced. Avoid the The Battleaxe at all fucking costs. CONSIDER: The Maid of Honor, someone just like you. Link: The 32-Type Dating Test by OkCupid - Free Online Dating

Caution Ahead: BARF..

Seriously, that's what was on the road warning sign coming home today.

It was supposed to say 'BARE' (although only in the town we were passing through would anyone need caution for BARE roads), but a couple of the bulbs were out in the bottom of the 'E' and it looked like an 'F' instead.

BARF ahead.

Well, damn, if it didn't turn out to be true. My son & daughter are both sick and throwing up left and right. They're both sleeping off another round of vomit as I type this, but the barf caution on the highway actually prepared me for the plethora of puke that has turned my "restful evening" in queasy quality time with my kids.

I hate the smell of vomit. And I'm getting a double-dose of it tonight!

I warned you in the title there'd be barf ahead.

The Handyman Can

I once nearly broke my nose while splitting firewood.

I know, it sounds stupid, but it was even more stupid to:
a) be there.
b) be on the receiving end of the blow.

I didn't break my nose, though, but it bled profusely and I'm pretty sure I dinged up the cartilage a bit. What happened was I was using a splitter on a piece of wood. The splitter gets whacked by a a sledge hammer and wedges down and through the piece of wood, splitting it into smaller, more manageable pieces for my woodstove. Only this time the splitter got stuck part way down. Now I can't remember (duh. got hit in the face by a flying log) exactly what happened next, but I think I leaned the wood against another log and whacked the splitter from the side. Only when I did that, the piece literally exploded and a rather large piece flew up and hit me in the face.

Fortunately, my neighbours missed this little incident, but they've been witness to enough of my accidents that I'm sure when they see me walk outside they pull out their lawnchairs and sit for a spell for cheap entertainment.

Wanna know what I mean?

*I once broke the sideview mirror on my car... with my forehead.

It was the day of my high school reunion and I was preoccupied with the event and was quickly cleaning the lines down the side of my car when... WHAMMO! I ran straight into the mirror. I cracked the mirror, but only scratched up my forehead, making it look like I should still be using Oxyclean to clear up the skin.

*I lost the wheel to my lawnmower... while mowing the lawn.

Sure, it was an old lawnmower, so it's only logical that the wheel would fall off eventually. It was just too bad it happened as I was pushing the mower. Because I kept pushing after the wheel fell off and the dirt started spraying in a 10-foot-high arc across my yard.

*I've accidently set my lawnmower on fire... on 3 seperate occasions.

Let this be a lesson to you. Just because the gas is in the tank, if you flip the lawnmower on its' side to clean out clumped, wet grass, then it's going to leak and get into the engine. And the next time you start it up... yeah, it catches on fire.

*I nearly cut the tip of my right index finger off... while putting together a bathroom cabinet.

Yep, you know the most important tool to use when making a cabinet is a knife. The rubbery-plastic trim was difficult to cut because it moved under the pressure of the knife. So, me being the smart one, I put my finger on the other side of the trim. That knife went through the trim like butter! And my poor finger on the other side? Let's just say the blade was in so deep I actually had to force it back out of my finger.

OK, I'm pretty sure that's everything. There's probably a few more that I've forgotten about, but I think this sums up my skills as a handyman.

Stop laughing.

Almost Weepy

I've never been a big fan of 'a capella' music, but The Blanks performed 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow' Tuesday on one of the episodes of Scrubs. It was based on the rendition of Israel Kamakawiwo'ole who did an amazingly beautiful job of singing the song before he died.

Yeah, I might've heard his music once before he died 10 years ago, but something about the way he sang this one, to me, felt like he knew the afterlife would treat him very well indeed.If you get a chance to hear it, I'm sure you'll agree --and it may pull you out of a funk if you're in it.

I like getting out of funks. And, yeah, it choked me up.

"When I was a fetus, I loved dill pickle ice cream"

[the post below is transcribed from an article that appeared in the Vancouver Province newspaper on January 22, 2006, written by Dr. Dave Hepburn. I appreciate his approach to the whole abortion issue and thought I'd share it here. Please note: I am not sharing my personal opinion on abortion, nor do I want to hear anyone else's. It's your opinion and matters to you. I DON'T CARE.]

"I recently attended a conference of the Canadian Physicians for Life because... well I'm Canadian, I enjoy Life and I play a Physician on Thursdays between 9 and 11.

I was impressed with the dignity, concern and thoughtfulness that was evident at the conference, at least prior to my arrival.

For some doctors, the issue of abortion is simple. Their response to this ethical dilemma is to send every girl who believes she wants an abortion to the local abortionist and let them work it out. Easy case. Others wrestle with each case individually and set up a counselling process. Others still are uncomfortable being involved in the abortion process for any reason other than the most dire. It is in that latter pool that I have come to swim and possibly drown.

Given the back and forth form assorted lobby groups, it may be difficult to develop an informed opinion on this sensitive issue but, given the unexpectedness with which your opinion may be required, it is important that you form your own opinion, and that it be exactly the same as mine.

Q: Shouldn't, as Morgenthaler says, every child be a wanted child?
A: Every child is wanted. Every pregnancy is not. Thousands of couples spend thousands of dollars to adopt thousands of children from East Yaopingyanski. Doctors constantly receive requests from those who would love the opportunity to raise a child. Every child is wanted... by someone.

Q: What about a woman's right to do with her body as she pleases?
A: It is against the law for a woman to sell her body or do certain things to or with it. But a growing fetus is, in fact, not her body. It has its own distinct DNA, it has its own genomic character. An appendix or a toenail is part of our body but a fetus is a distinct society. My mother like rutabaga and tofu but as a young fetus (don't we all miss those halcyon days) I rejected that stuff being rammed through my belly button and made it known I needed dill pickle ice cream and peanut buster parfaits with ketchup. We were and are different, genomically and gastronomically speaking.

Q: But a fetus is not a fully developed human being.
A: Fetus is from the Latin for "young child." After 12 weeks, nothing new develops in a fetus. It has everything in place; from there it simply matures. Two-year-olds are no less human than the more developed five-year-olds. They are just meaner.

Q: But being pregnant can be an inconvenience that causes stretch marks, and personally I just spent thousand for implants so it isn't a good time for me to...
A: Listen, Q, I remember you before implants, when you were just a little q. You were OK, er... ok. But yes, this is among the many reasons we hear why a woman wants an abortion.

Q: What is a partial birth abortion?
A: I would suggest that if you want to know how you really feel about abortion, go to any website that describes partial birth abortion. If that doesn't put goosebumps on your goosebumps, then nothing in this column will make any difference to you.

As many doctors wrestle with our stewardship to the expectant mother, I can't help but be concerned with the lack of concern for the unborn child that has too often turned an ethical decision into a mere gynecological inconvenience. What's the answer? I don't know --but I suspect it must involve dill pickle ice cream."

99-Minute email message

Got an email from Sex Caffeine today. The first one since September. She wanted an update on how things are going.

And I unloaded with a 99-minute email message.

Serves her right for not sending me a message in 4 months.

Y'know, I'd love to get together with her for coffee and I know that I'd probably just set myself up for a whole new heap o' trouble. But I really miss her. I miss other people from work too, but save for a few days, my time working with SC was my happiest time there.

Think about it. For an entire year, we palled around, talked, and had a whole ton of fun. Then, for a few days, she got really defensive because she was leaving. And once she finally returned, things remained a roller coaster (even when we started working out together). It was high stress for both of us and I was going through Hell at home too.

she was good for me back then. But I have to remember to leave it in the past. That was the whole point when I went to her wedding was to let her know that we've both moved on and for both of us it's for the better.

But it still took me 99 minutes to write that email.

Teacher Rant

So, our school has thing about doing teacher evaluations just a few weeks after class starts.

Sounds a little stupid, right?

I thought as much until last semester when we had an absolutely horrible Tuesday instructor and we got him fired at an early stage so there was still hope for us to learn something in the class.

I still hate Tuesday classes.

This semester, our Tuesday class is kinda slow. No, not kinda. It's really slow. And I don't necessarily think it's the teacher's fault. The problem is that he has to teach at the pace for the slowest one amongst us.

Still, people complained that class was going too slow on the evaluations. This morning, we got the teacher seeking revenge for all the "wrongs" we put down on those sheets.

Well, I got a little pissed.

Yes, fine. We're complaining about class going slow. Our first project (not a group project!!) has been delayed 3 weeks (in an 11-week semester) because of the slower learners.

Yes, fine. You, Mr. Teacher, can't figure out how they passed their prerequisite class and not know the basics needed for this one (kind of explains why things are going slow, yes?).

Yes, fine. There's people there that should've been kicked from the program a long, long time ago.

But don't bitch at us about it. Talk to the Deans and figure out why they're letting people pass and continue on in the program when basic skills are lacking and/or missing. We're complaining, but we only pay the tuition and take the courses, so our opinion doesn't matter.

There's still a dozen of us in the classroom that feel things are progressing too slowly. There are 3 or 4 who just don't get it.

Let them fall behind.

Let them fail.

We'll all be better off for it.

My doctor told me a while back that this is exactly like going to med school. We're working long, hard hours to achieve our best and it will only be the best people who make it.

If we make mistakes, however, no one dies. But couldn't they bloody well fail and drop out?

Please?

Go Team... (Just Go)

I realize it's considered an important part of school, but I'm a so sick of group projects!

Way back when I started this blog, I mentioned that there must be some natural law that says there HAS to be some annoying pain-in-the-ass neighbor on every block.

Well, let me add that with every work group, there's gotta be at least one person who sees everyone else working and thinks 'Hey, why do I have to do anything on this?' Or, the even worse person: 'Psssshhh! Good enough. I don't need to see what everyone else is working on right now!"

3 groups going at the moment.

THREE.

In one group, one guy lost all the flow charts and diagrams we'd spent 3 hours putting together. So, when [ahem] the rest of us sat down to put together the good copy, we had to start from scratch.

Then, in my major project group, we had this guy who was begging we change our minds and refocus. Since we're still getting most things organized, we felt it was an okay time to refocus. We did. And 2 days later he drops out of our group. Idiot.

In my third group, we needed to write out a number of "job postings." 5 of us in the group, 2 focused on our 'vision' and 'benefits' and the other 3 tackled the 12 postings. Well, apparently only 2 of us have ever looked at a job description before. This guy writes out the job requirements for a manager:
"must have manager skills."

Seriously.

OK, I've been trying to hold a resolution in 2006 to cut down on the swearing. I don't do that much as it is, but these groups....

These groups....

There are some really fucking stupid people getting in my way!!

27 Days Later

28 days of rain. That's the record. Today is day #28.

But to start, here's a good quote I heard today:

"After this much rain, people should be complaining, but we're so close to tying and breaking the record, sunny weather now just makes it all seem like a waste of time."

Good quote, eh? It's true that the weather was the talk just about everywhere you went. Hey, rain! SO close to the record!! A record from 1953.

Frig. 27 days of rain. And today? Nothing. The official rainfall check was at 10pm.

Nothing.

But the rain just started again, so January 16th is day #1 of another attempt at the record.

This really would've sucked if it were snow.

2 down...

...2 to go.

I have 2 more meetings to go and all my church responsibilities are at an end. Phew! Tuesday night was a finance meeting (I'm head of the board of finance) and last night was a different board meeting where I report on the latest finance things. Some are a little peeved that we've had to make cuts for 2006, but we don't have a choice. In fact, for a non-profit group, we should probably cut like crazy to try and balance our budget instead of continuously trying to meet a budget which has proven to be above the amount of donations coming in.

So, last night when they started complaining about the budget cuts, I asked them if I should balance our budget --and cut another $50,000. It got quiet fast.

I have one more meeting on Monday, with the executive board (where I have a letter of complaint about overspending in 2 areas) and finally a meeting on February 4 where the budget is ratified.

And then all my responsibilities go out the window --around the same time someoneelse is giving a speech on the crisis of leadership amongst the congregation. :D

Thirteen

I love Friday the 13th!

I can't say it's always been a great day for me, but even Friday the 13th's where nothing happens are okay by me. Why? Because when things happen for me, they're usually bad.

I know I've been hired for jobs on the 13th, I've also started dating girls on the 13th and more than likely had sex on more than one Friday the 13th.

Today's pretty much a 'nothing' day as I'm back into childcare mode. I even have very little homework as my Wednesday night overnighter took care of most of it already.

And it's Noon and I haven't argued with my kids about anything yet. Sweet!

I'd say I wish there were more Friday the 13ths, but I'm sure they'd start to go to poop on me.

Some things...

...never change.

Whilst taking a break from work this... morning... (yeah, like an hour ago), I came across a name from my past. Nope, not mentioning his name here, but I'd come across his blog which is a play on his name.

He's currently attending university in Scotland, taking economic history.

If you'd asked me 'lo those many years ago when we were in high school if I could see him getting his Master's in economic history in Scotland, the answer is YES.

Oh good Lord, yes.

Hell, I could've predicted that in elementary school and we only had 1 year together there! It's so him.

But ask him all those years ago if he could see me working in a university athletics department. Ask him if he could see me, today, writing a "journal" in a computer lab at 2 in the morning while 2 guys beside me (seriously) play a hockey game on the computer. While 2 others play a 5th consecutive hour of Unreal Tournament.

And one other guy studies --sort of.

Y'know, with only 8 and-a-half months to go, I'm starting to look at these people and question whether I ever want to work with them in the future. The near future.

One guy? Yes. The others? Never. Never ever ever.

Stupid kids.

This Guy....

...which is the answer to: "Who has 2 thumbs and is pooped beyond belief?"

It's pretty sad to think that I leave for school tomorrow morning and don't come home until 3 the next afternoon. LONG DAY pretty much sums it up. I have my sleeping bag ready for the car and this time I must also remember:
1 - a change of clothes
2 - a pillow (as my jacket did not make a good substitute)

If last Wednesday's "overnighter" was any indication, I should expect a maximum of 4 hours' sleep tomorrow night. Which means aside from tonight's sleep will give me 5 hours' sleep this week.

Yeah, last night was a bad night. It took me 'til 1 to fall asleep and then my son started crying again and my wife just brought him into our room to sleep. That means in less than an hour, I was out to the living room to sleep on the couch and finally fell asleep just prior to the alarm clock going off at 4:45am.

It's a little early to get going for school, but I got up anyway, headed out the door before 6am. It still took me over 90 minutes to get there....

Oh, and 3 hours to get home this afternoon (I should've had a bite to eat before I left --I had a sandwich for breakfast at 5am and a chicken dinner at 6:30pm), which seriously sucked.

Although the temperature's been quite mild, it's been raining for 23 days in a row. Sure, there's been breaks from the rain, but the breaks consist of showers and your usual downpour....

I'm procrastinating already and it's only week #2...