citizen of the planet

Yes, it’s late. I just spent the last one or two hours creating some new header images for the theme to randomly pick from. It’s been an interesting process because it allowed me a chance to scour through my hard drive of photos to find some candidates for header images. Some of the older pictures from years ago were pretty low-res. You can tell from the results. In other cases, the picture was actually taken with my cell phone creating for weird colouration. There were some photos that looked pretty cool on their own, but lost their impact when limited to a window of 226 pixels. I added descriptions to the pictures I chose. I’m not sure if I’m liking the pixel font I chose. The font is meant to be 7 pixels high, but that was far too small for my liking. As such, there’s some heavy duty anti-aliasing going on.

Right now there are 11 images:

• Niagara Falls, Ontario
• Seafort Square, Tokyo, JP
• Chinatown, Yokohama, JP
• Big Buddha, Kamakura, JP
• Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona
• Fairmont Royal York, Toronto, Ontario
• Old City Hall, Toronto, Ontario
• Wall Street, New York, New York
• Air Canada Centre, Toronto, Ontario
• Yonge St., Toronto, Ontario
• Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario

Let me know if there’s a particular one that’s pretty cool, or if there’s one that just doesn’t work. Any opinion would be helpful. Thanks!

I’m sitting here cleaning out my wallet. I regularly take out the contents of the coin pocket and leave the $1 and $2 coins in with a couple of quarters just in case I need them for some weird reason in this day and age of the cell phone. Hell, are pay phones still only 25¢?  I honestly don’t know.  That’s one thing about having a wallet with a coin pocket.  You really need to clean it out regularly or else the accumulation of pennies and nickels just makes it bulky and heavy.  Now and then my wallet weighs down my pants to the point where it becomes dangerous to walk around without a belt.  Having a possible wardrobe malfunction because I’m too lazy to clear out my coins?  No thanks.

Also over a period of time I find that my wallet accumulates a large number of business cards.  Every month that I’ve gone to the dentist to get an orthodontic adjustment, I’ve come out with a reminder/business card for my next appointment. I was surprised the other day to find 5 copies of the same card. No wonder my wallet’s got bulk. I’ve gotten some business recommendations for various things from various people. The most likely outcome from those recommendations is that I’d forget that the card even exists. Months later, when I finally clean out my wallet, I often find cards for people whom I haven’t had the slightest bit of contact with. Bulk bulk bulk!

This evening, I somehow managed to find a way to take three plastic cards out of there. Of all things in the wallet, the plastic cards are usually the least likely to get moved out, right? I mean, how often do you have to remove a credit card from there permanently, right? Well, since a new month just recently started I’ve just started using the July Metropass for transit. On the first day I swapped out the June card for the July one. I stashed the June one away with intentions of taking it out the next time I cleaned out my wallet. Well, I just pulled out the June one, and was surprised that I was somehow still holding onto the May one as well. Those millimetres add up. The third card is actually something that I’ve been holding onto since January. One of the promotions that came with the Corolla was a $450 gas card that Toyota gave to all buyers. No kidding, $450 lasted a very long time. Six months later, the sucker finally ran out. I’m really going to miss not having to worry about paying every time I filled up, but it’s back to reality for me, I guess.

After all of that tidying up, my wallet is still far from being lean. It’s just no longer at a point where I have to lean over when I sit down with it in my back pocket. Sitting upright is wholly underrated.

There was a moment today where I found myself in what I’d call a nerd hive. There are a couple of places that tend to attract the stereotypical nerd-types. Certainly, computer part stores are among those places. I wonder what it says about me being in such a place. Hmm. Well, I was actually there with a colleague who was actually going in for parts. The inside of the store was stuffy and poorly ventilated with so many machines pumping hot air into the room. That only accented the body odours of the people the room. There was an overweight guy in glasses and an ill-fitting tee sipping on a diet Coke while browsing the motherboards. There was a pair of guys obviously from the university with backpacks looking pretty shabby while discussing what kind of system to build. In came in this young guy who was entirely ripe smelling. When he passed by, I had to hold my breath. Whatever melange of unwashed body juices that I didn’t manage to stop actually reminded me of the fact that Toronto was in a strike situation and that garbage wasn’t being collected. Perhaps I’m just exaggerating his smell. Maybe I’m not. He managed to converse with a store minder about computer parts by listing off a mix of letters and numbers such that there seemed to be this understanding that I was not privy to.

OK, so certainly a computer parts place isn’t the most glamourous of places. I’ve had to go into my share of such stores to get parts. Still, why did that store at that time seem to cause people fitting the stereotypical nerd profile to congregate? I’m all for celebrating nerd-dom when it’s done positively, but if it continues to promote negative stereotypes among the general population, is it really that great? Have some self-respect, man! *sigh*

So, if you’ve come here before the first thing you’ll notice is that I’ve changed WordPress themes. This one is called Mandigo. It comes from the same author as my old theme, Royale. I must say, making a change like this is rather difficult. I’ve been using Royale for about 2 years. Over time I’ve come to associate that theme’s general aesthetic with my blog. I was pretty fond of its dark background with colour accents. I’ve actually hacked the code a little bit just to get its look more in line with what I wanted. So, as you can see, I have a good history with it.

Over time, I’ve started to wonder if the theme was something that I could continue to use in the long run. What do I mean by that? Well, as time goes on, WordPress just seems to get bigger and better with each release. There are always new features being added in. With each new feature, it’s really up to the theme author to update his or her themes to be able to make the most use out of the newly developed components. Unfortunately for me, the author of Royale seems to have stopped updating that theme altogether. There have been times where a change to WP meant that I had to hack the theme just to get it functioning properly again. Recently, there was a change made to the WP interface that somehow caused me to be unable to change the colour of the accents on the page. If I had time, I could probably hack the theme interface to get it to work, but honestly I just used it as a sign that it was probably time to move on to a different theme.

So, here I am with this new one. I actually came upon this theme from Björk’s Volta Blog. From there, I was led to Royale. Since it’s from the same author I figured that the structure would be similar enough to allow me to make the transition. For me, it’s going to take some getting used to. I have to spend some time tweaking bits here and there to make it more personal, but I think it’s a good starting point.

Yeah, so what was yesterday’s post all about? To be honest it was really a matter of just venting some frustration. There was a lot of talk going around on our team that our development schedules were really quite packed, leaving very little wiggle room. That would have been all well and good, but then a bombshell was dropped on us that one of our team members just got laid off. Yeah, I totally feel bad for the guy. Thing is, he took the news really well. You could say he looked at peace with the situation. By the end of the day yesterday, I wasn’t sure I processed all of what happened. That’s why the post was very much one of shock. Today though, I think it has all been straightened out in my mind. Really, all I can do is feel fortunate that I wasn’t the one cut. Who knows how all of that could have went, right?

As I was travelling back to my car yesterday, my head understandably felt heavy. There was just a lot going on. As soon as I got to my running class though, I felt all of my troubles fading away. Why? Well, after 2 months of training, they finally got to a point where they were running ten minute intervals comfortably. From the beginning that was one of the goals we’d set for them. Starting at 1 minute of running with 2 minutes of walking, week after week they built up their endurance. Before, every time I bumped the intervals up by a minute there was much worry about whether or not they’d be able to make it. By now though, everyone was just entirely confident in their abilities. As they reached the turn around point I hung back to cheer everyone on. The look of pride in everyone’s eyes was just amazing. By the end, yes, many were tired, but that didn’t dampen the light beaming from within, you know?

That’s one goal down. In less than two weeks it’ll be race day. For many of them, it’ll be the first 5K race they’ll ever run. I’ll be there. They will do a fantastic job.

So yeah, yesterday was a day of contrast, no? Emotions ranged from being a little distraught over loss, to feeling proud from watching other achieve their goals. Highs and low. Peaks and valleys. Some days that’s just the way life goes, no?

Oh my goodness.

We were just saying that we were having to deal with very tight development cycles with very little wiggle room.

Then this happens.

How the heck are any of us supposed to feel? Sure we can buckle down, but…

Maaaaaaaaaaan.

Just another lazy Sunday today.  Back on Thursday, at the end of the work day I emailed a document I was working on to myself in hopes that I’d work on it some point between Friday and today.  Well…at least I had good intentions.  Thing is, I know very well that I was unlikely to spend time at home working on it.  It would have been a different story if I was far from being finished, but no, the document has decent progress on it.  There are also some open questions against the project that need to be answered before I write about them, so I would have been stalled anyway

Funny how I seem to be attempting to justify it.

Anyway, since I’ve got nothing much I figure I’d pick a picture that showed up in the “Random from Viewport” widget on the right and give a few words on it.  I ended up choosing a picture from my trip to Japan in June 2006.  On one of my first days in Tokyo, me and a couple of travel companions headed over to the beautiful Meiji Shrine complex on the west side of the city.  If I recall, it’s pretty much adjacent to Harajuku station and a short walk to Takeshita-dōri which is that fashion forward place that Gwen was going on about in her pop albums. It’s accessible from the JR Yamanote line via Harajuku station, or the Tokyo Metro Chiyoda line from Meiji-Jingūmae station, which can be translated as “in front of Meiji Shrine.”  How descriptive.

Anyway, Meiji Shrine is a Shinto shrine.  This is where you would go to pay respects to Emperor Meiji and Empress Shōken.  What’s pictured here is a part of the complex where there are a huge number of these wooden plaques.  These are called ema.  You would buy these ema prayer boards and then write a prayer or a wish or some form of thanks on them.  You then hang these boards on a designated rack.  Now, what’s pictured here is just one rack, but at the Shrine there are many more racks right next to this one.  These are meant to communicate with the spirits.  Now, when you consider the fact that these boards hold what amount to the hopes, dreams, and wishes of thousands of people, it’s an extremely powerful symbol.

I’m not planning on heading back to Tokyo anytime soon.  However, if I somehow found myself there again at the big Meiji Shrine I would buy an ema.  What would I write on it?  I would pray for peace.  I would wish for someone to come into my life to change my life for the better.  Most of all, I would give thanks for all of the blessings I have in my life: family, a place of my own, a job, and nice things.  I wonder if that’d all fit.  Guess I’d just have to write smaller.

Hey, so what would you write on an ema prayer board?

My mind has just been overflowing with thoughts over the past day or two, and really there’s nothing to point to except for the whole deal about me moving out. Last night I was kept awake just thinking about the possibilities. I entirely blame the hyperactivity on all of the mortgage talk over Thursday and Friday. I suppose all of that just drilled the idea home (ha!) that in a little over a month I will be a home owner.  That’s just utterly insane.  Am I mentally ready for such a leap?  Can I survive under the new burdens that I’m going to put myself under?  Well, if I answer “no” to any of these questions then I better damn well figure out a way to get myself ready.  I’ve started this runaway process, and there’s no way to stop it short of doing a “kill -9″ or some equivalent.

Sorry, was that geeky?  Did anyone get that reference?  I can pretend to know Unix, but really, I know jack squat.

Anyway, that’s only part of why my mind was buzzing.  I was actually playing out scenarios of sorts, trying to figure out what to take with me and what to leave behind.  I’m somewhat fortunate in the sense that even if I leave something behind I will live close enough to my parents that any retrieving or returning will be somewhat simple.  Even so, having to move big items more than once would be tough.  Originally I was thinking that I wanted to leave most furniture items here and just get all new stuff for the place.  That’s all well and good.  I mean, it means that moving will actually be a light job and that I won’t require much help with things.  I guess the thing is: I’m not sure why it didn’t click for me just how expensive such a plan was.  Duh!  Will I have that much free cash to make such a decision to get all new stuff?  Even if I did, it wouldn’t be the wisest of decisions.

I eventually came around and decided that taking my mattress and box spring would be prudent.  The parents can just replace the bed if they need something to go in my room for guests.  I will also probably take the computer desk in the other room.  The one in my room–the one this laptop is currently resting on–is pretty beat up and ugly.  The other one is decent and won’t be a mess to move.  Do I want to take the extra dining table with me?  I don’t know because the light wood will probably clash with the dark flooring.  Can I afford to be picky?  I don’t know.  Long ago my mom offered to bring home boxes from the hospital for the sake of packing things.  I balked at the thought.  Why would I do that?  Well, in all likelihood the boxes she’d bring back would be from boxes of adult diapers.  See, in a hospital full of seniors those would be the most common.  I just thought it’d be weird to carry around boxes labelled with Depends on the outside.  After much thought last night I decided to just say “screw it” and get the free boxes if available.  A box is a box, right?

See, I indulged the idealistic free-spending part of the mind for a while.  It’s now time to suppress it for a bit and let the pragmatic saving side do it’s thing.

Of course, the move is still a month away.  I still need to get through my inspection.  OOOH, that will be damn exciting.  It’ll be my first chance to see the suite mostly put together.  Still.  The way things are rolling, July will fly by and then August will bring many many changes to my life.  I’ll be ready one way or another.

I think I have this mortgage thing settled without much effort. Really, it’s kind of like there are a couple of people out there that are doing the dirty work, leaving me to just decide what the best course of action for myself is. There’s one offer out there tied to the builder and a big bank that’s a rate that’s actually quite unbelievable at this point in time. I tried to take it to my bank this morning to see if they could match it, but alas no luck there. From the general consensus of colleagues and friends, it looks like the rate that I was presented with is indeed nothing to scoff at. I just need to get my documents in order, but it looks like I’m pretty much set.

Even though I didn’t really do much work in terms of scouting out a rate, I actually did spend a little bit time educating myself on the numbers behind rates and what banks might do in the future. People can make educated guesses but ultimately it’s hard to predict what the Bank of Canada is going to do. Consider the past few months. I know a few people that decided to go with a variable rate. That all made sense because the banks and what not were offering rates at the prime rate (currently 2.25% at many banks) minus some small percentage. I guess the banks were really trying to encourage people to get mortgages. All of a sudden though, the variable rate became prime plus a certain percentage. At this time the rate seems to be prime + 0.6%. Maybe the banks are reacting somehow and trying to cool things off. If I were to get a variable at this time, it wouldn’t seem like such a great deal once the prime rate starts heading back up when the banks recover.

So, all right, I think I’m going to settle on a fixed rate. Traditionally those rates are higher because you’re kind of paying a premium for that security. Historically, variable tends to save more, but in my case I think the timing is off. The whole prime plus scenario gives me pause. Given the fixed rate I was offered, all prime would need to do is go up by more than 0.5% for a prime + 0.6% rate to go above the fixed rate being held for me. I have to decide: should I bank on the fact that prime will go up within the mortgage term?

Yes, what about the mortgage term? When you talk fixed rates, most banks tend to give 5 year terms. Those seem the most common. Thing is, is that ideal for my situation? Five year rates tend to be higher than shorter terms. In general, the longer you go the higher the rate because of the uncertainty factor. Do I plan on living in that condo for all five years? If I decide to move and break the mortgage early, I’ll have to pay a penalty. The rate I was quoted is for a 3 year fixed term. In all honesty, that seems to work perfectly for me. If at the end of three years I still plan on living in that condo, maybe the variable rate will be back to a prime minus situation. Who knows?

See! It’s fascinating stuff! It’s a numbers game with a bit of luck and prognostication involved. There are some cases where a little bit of knowledge can be detrimental. In this case though I almost feel like having this bit of knowledge is like a bit of armour. It’s giving me a bit of confidence in knowing that I won’t be making this important decision blindly.

I wasn’t expecting to do so in the last running class, but I was sort of thrust into the spotlight as the guest speaker asked for a volunteer. Because I wanted the class to pay attention, I decided to just volunteer myself. It turns out he wanted me to be his foot/leg model. So, I shucked off the shoes and socks and stood on a bench as he point out common foot injuries. The class got a really good view of my shins, calves, ankles and ridiculously flat feet.

I think there was a time long ago when I would have been embarrassed to show off my feet. I mean, flat feet aren’t normal. Sure, they’re common, but they’re still they’re kind of an abnormality as well as a hindrance. For the longest time I’ve had so much trouble walking long distances. It wasn’t until I did something to address my flat feet that I finally got to a point where walking wasn’t so bad. A little arch support goes a long way. Well, I think all of this running that I’ve done as well as all of the talks that I’ve attended have made me realize that no matter what, I’m still more than capable of running with such feet. As such, I’ve grown to respect my feet for what they are. Hence, I’ve had less issue with showing them off.

Thing is, if I had known I’d be showing my feet off, I’d have cleaned them up a bit. I wish I’d clipped my toenails. I wish I had time to take a pumice stone to them to wear down calluses. Is that so bad? I’m quite sure that people have already made judgements about me long before this foot modelling stint. So what am I worrying about? Bah.