Monthly Archive: December 2005

It’s just a little slush

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Thu. December 15, 2005

We’re being hit by major slow-moving snowstorm right now. The Environment Canada peeps predicted that the storm would hit at about 1 p.m. today. Earlier, at about noon, I read at The Star that someone predicted that the storm slowed down and that the drive home would be nice and clean. After reading that, I felt more comfortable knowing that everything would be fine.

Well, whoever said that the storm was slow-moving…that bitch was dead wrong!

At about 3 p.m., a colleague dropped by my desk telling me to look out the window. We headed out to another cubicle to see the roads covered in a thick layer of snow and slush. Well, so much for me being comfortable. At 4 p.m., another colleague passed by my desk. He said that he was surprised that I was still there; our boss had already left, and most everyone else had left early to get a head start. Well, OK then. So, I left early. The roads were dirty white. There was barely any spot where I could actually spot the asphalt. The roads would have been tough to handle. The thing is, traffic was moving so slowly that it really didn’t matter at all. Oh, but even if it was moving at a decent speed, I would have been confident on the road because of my awesome snow tires.

If this weather doesn’t scream, “Canadian, eh?” I don’t know what does.

Oh, speaking of Canadian-ness, the Leader Debates are taking place in French as we speak. I assume the English debate will take place tomorrow. I want to be an informed voter. Thus, I’m trying to watch the thing and absorb what I can from the leaders’ comments. Thing is…and I feel a bit silly admitting that I’m watching this…the finale for The Apprentice is on. So, I’m switching back and forth between the two, trying to get enlightened, and letting my mind go to mush wondering whether Randal or Rebecca will win. Oh, whatever. Tomorrow, I don’t have any must-see shows, so I’ll pay more attention to the debates.

If I remember.

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Amazing Race 8 in Toronto

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Tue. December 13, 2005

Amazing Race 8: Family Edition is about to come to an end. The remaining families are currently racing in Toronto. The previews show the Spadina tunnel…
So, I’m going to take a guess and say that the finish line will be at Casa Loma. A castle in Toronto? Likely setting, don’t you think? Well, we’ll see if I’m right in about…half an hour.

ETA: So much for that. :P Finish is in Lewiston N.Y. Nowhere near the Spadina tunnel.

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Over-toasty

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Tue. December 13, 2005

It’s been so long since frigid weather has been upon us, that I’ve forgotten how to strike a balance between the feeling cold and dressing too warmly. Today, I heard the temperature was going to hit -20° with the wind chill. So, considering the warm autumn we’ve had so far, I was a bit shocked. So, I dressed very warmly. I wore a t-shirt, a polo shirt, and a hoodie under my leather lacket. I wore pajama pants under my jeans. I felt nice and toasty.

Stupid me, I forgot the fact that I’m a naturally warm person. Not necessarily warm in the sense that I’m caring and nice (that’s debatable); I mean that I generate a lot of heat. That’s why I sweat a lot. So, despite the cold, cold outside, I was still sweating. Not fun at all! I think I’ve adjusted now. Luckily, it’s still early; it’s not even winter, yet. I’m ready for mother nature.

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Love live Aslan

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Sat. December 10, 2005

Headed downtown to meet Cindy and her friend Veejay. We were to meet at the Chapters beside the theatre at 3:30. So, I left at 2:15 to head to Don Mills station and take the subway down. Thing is, I didn’t anticipate how horrible traffic would be around the shopping centres. Also, I swear I hit red light after red light, making me scream and curse within the confines of my vehicle. In any case, I arrived at Chapters about 15 minutes late, but I was happy to Cindy waiting patiently there while browsing a book.

The three of us went to the Paramount next door to see The Chronicles of Narnia. Now, I remember reading this book about 14-15 years ago. That’s nuts. It was back in grade 4. Now, the whole class was divided into several groups, each with a different book to study. I think the skilled readers were given Harriet the Spy. Dunno. When I saw The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe as one of the options, I wanted to read that book instead. I think I recall that my reasoning was that I didn’t want to read about some spy. My teacher asked me several times, “are you sure?” Well, chee, of course I hadn’t read the other book before, so was there really any reason for me to choose one over the other? I had no clue. Couldn’t she have made some sort of executive decision? I wasn’t fond of my grade 4 teacher at all. I think there was a mutual hate thing there, but whatever. Anyway, I guess I’m content with what happened, because I enjoyed the book I read. In fact, I ended up reading the rest of the series.

Now, I don’t remember too many details from the book, but the movie did trigger a lot of memories. It also made me remember the BBC TV Series version of the books. I thought that was pretty good back then. This is just as good in my mind, although, I’m sure that if you were to compare the two shows, this movie would look so much more put together.

Anyway, when I look back, I don’t recall seeing so much of the relation between the story and religious metaphors. Although, after watching this movie, it’s now blatantly obvious. It’s no wonder some Christian groups are really pushing people to see this movie. I really wonder why I didn’t see the connection long ago. Maybe I just wasn’t in a position to pick up on the subtext. Hell. I was only 10 back then. Most of it just went over my head.

Anyway, go see the movie if you have a chance. I think it was well worth the money.

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Christmas jingle

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Fri. December 9, 2005

Nature dumped a heck of a lot of snow on us overnight and into this morning. This isn’t the first snowstorm we’ve had this time of year, but, it’s certainly the first where I’ve seen traffic snarled up pretty badly in the morning. It’s really becoming more and more apparent in my mind that the holiday season is upon us (as if all the commercials and crowded malls didn’t tip me off).

This morning, my mom was playing a Christmas karaoke VCD on the TV in her room. None of the songs were familiar at all. It almost seems like you can make any song Christmas-like just be adding liberal xylophones and, uh…jingle bells. Toss in some larger bells and hey, you’ve got a Christmas-fied track. Hell, just look at Brent Butt singing Christmas in Dog River. Oh, I kid. That one’s destined to become a classic, I’m sure.

Ah, but you can’t forget the lyrics. Toss in any of the following words or phrases:
- “Christmas time is here!”
- mistletoe
- “jing-a-ling”
- turkey
- “Corner Gas!”

Some people complain about how there are no new Christmas songs that have caught on. Well, no, because this seems to be a holiday that focuses on familiar comforts. As much as I don’t claim to be all too festive, when I hear Nat King Cole on the radio singing The Christmas Song, I feel at ease. I guess, for any new song to get to that level, it’ll have to have been around for a while. A song writer will know their Christmas song has made it when it has been covered by every artist under the sun. Will you hear Lindsay Lohan one day cover Barenaked Ladies‘ Elf’s Lament? Only time will tell.

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Retiring the old phone

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Wed. December 7, 2005

This past Friday, I placed an order for a new phone through the employee webstore. I was quite surprised to have it arrive just yesterday. Now that’s fast.

So, really, I had been planning to place an order for the longest time. Now that it’s December, and my term here is winding down fairly quickly, I decided to get off my duff to do it. Now, I’ve had my old phone since 2002. It was my first phone, and it served me really well. Back then, it made people ooh and ah over the cool design. More recently, whenever I pulled it out, people would ooh and ah over how old the thing was. It’s old, banged up, and scratched; however, it’s still in good working condition.

This new phone is a whole lot fancier than the old one. I’m not quite used to it yet. It had a camera though, so I do plan on making use of that feature. In fact, I should take a picture of my old phone and post it here. That should be a good way to test the damn thing. Now, I know there are fancier phones out there with other companies. The thing is, I’m not feeling up to giving up two things by purchasing a phone from a rival company: my phone number, and by-the-second billing. Phone number migration will be available soon in Canada. Don’t know when–though presumably in 2007. With regards to the plan, everyone charges by the minute now. I’m still with an older plan that goes by the second, so, things are a bit easier on me. It means less worries about having to go over. Then again, it’s not like I’ve got a very active social life at the moment. Still, it’s good to know I have that bit of a buffer.

Anyway, I’m going to spend some time getting acquainted with the new phone. Maybe it’ll attract the same oohs and ahs that the old phone once got back in the day.

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Sleepless

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Mon. December 5, 2005

I was awake all of last night. For the life of me, I could not get a bit of sleep. I think I had too much tea at a Chinese restaurant that I went to for dinner. The caffeine content must have kept me buzzed. Apparently, it didn’t occur to me that what I was drinking had the potential to wreak havoc on my circadian rhythm. Or perhaps I had drank such a large amount that even if the risk was normally small, it expanded to being a real threat.

I don’t know. All I know is that I was tossing and turning. My consciousness seemed heightened for short bursts. The LEDs from the computer were piercing my eyes. My legs were tired and sore. For a good period, I was wondering whether my quads were logged with lactic acid. I would wonder, “Why the hell are they feeling so heavy? I’d walk it off, but I’m trying to sleep!” Not like it would have mattered.

I tried every direction on the bed. I swear, I rotated 360° on the freaking mattress. It was all a futile attempt to get comfortable. Since my legs were sore, I’d try positioning myself sideways so my ankles were off the bed. I think my mind reasoned that such a position would give my calves a rest. It worked for a minute or two, which gave me a bit of relief, thinking that perhaps I had found my optimal position. It wouldn’t last though. Some other part of me would ache, and I’d feel the need to reposition.

My stomach felt empty, and I thought I was hungry. The heating was on a little too high for my liking. I’d lie awake, staring at the ceiling in the dark, thining, “My room is really messy; I think it’s about time I cleaned it.” Honestly, I found last night to be comparable to all those high stress cramming nights during exam time. So much was going through my head that I could not possibly find peace. I think I did manage to zone out though at 4-5 a.m. Unfortunately for me, my alarm goes off at 6. Oh, how very rotten.

So, here I am at work, on the verge of napping. Ironically, in order to stay awake, I may need more caffeine. God. No wonder it’s considered an addictive drug.

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Political Compass

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Sun. December 4, 2005

Economic Left/Right: -1.13
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -3.08

http://www.politicalcompass.org/

So, I guess that means that I’m socially liberal, but my economic views are more central. I suppose I believe what it says a little bit.

Considering that an election is coming up, this may be an interesting test to take.

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