You know, just the juxtaposition of the banner of Santas versus the “Summertime” poster advocating grilled meats is enough for pause. It’s not like I’m in the southern hemisphere, you know?
Apparently they had some sense to be seasonal, but not fully. Confused? I know I am.
Well, if you’ve been following along lately, you’ll know about all of the car issues I’ve been having. I’ve been really patient with it because, really, I can manage. As long as I’ve been the only one affected, I’ve been cool with it. Lights go off? No worries: the daytime headlights usually come on in it’s place. The wipers stop working? I wouldn’t be driving out in a storm in the first place! So, driving around has been a bit of an adventure for the last few months.
I’ve taken it to three different mechanics–two of them being mechanics at the dealerships. None of them have been able to figure it out. With the last one, I’ve patiently brought it in multiple times to allow him to test out different theories. Still no luck. I still had hope that it would eventually a solution would be found, and that’s what’s kept me going. All of a sudden though, my patience was very quickly drained as something regrettable happened.
On Sunday morning, I woke up early to go with my parents to the novena mass at 5:30. We were beginning to get some snow at the beginning of a snow storm. The streets were covered because the plows still hadn’t gone through at such an early hour. My wipers were going, clearing snow and giving me clear vision. All of a sudden, the moment that I’d been absolutely dreading came to pass. The lights shut off, the wipers stopped working and the door unlocked. No one else in the car noticed, but I started freaking out on the inside. The first few moments were OK because the snow was just melting as soon as it hit the heated glass. Eventually though, the glare of the street lights were making it difficult to see. Mom started chiding me for not turning on the wipers. I didn’t want to cause a commotion so I just said, “I’m fine. I can see.” I figured it was best that I didn’t qualify that statement with the word “barely” (as much as I wanted to). She was really getting angry with me though for not clearing the windshield. In a moment of exasperation I just yelled, “I can’t!” At that point I had to explain my situation.
I wasn’t happy about that at all. I mean, I was putting my family in danger with this issue. Luckily, due to the hour there really wasn’t anyone else to compete with on the road. Let’s just say though that the situation could have been even worse. Anyway, that was my tipping point for this car. I am now officially at a point where I’m needing to search for another vehicle. I really wish it didn’t have to come to this, but I seriously don’t have a choice anymore. I cannot put myself and other people in danger with this problem anymore. There’s been a lot of heated discussion over what to do/what to buy. I’m very much glad that we can engage in this type of conversation. It really is quite interesting. I’ve sort of narrowed my choices down to a short list. Worst case scenario, the car I’m thinking about will set me back $26K after freight, taxes, etc. God, this all became interesting hasn’t it? I will elaborate on what I’m thinking about in a different entry. Meanwhile, I just want to say that I’m very much thankful that we all made it back home without incident. This is a type of problem that shouldn’t happen at all. The fact that I’m stressing about it is really disgusting.
I’m doing a shift from home tonight, from 4 p.m. to 11p.m. Really all that’s required of me is to be online and available to questions should the client have any. That means I need Internet access. So, imagine my problem when the house was suddenly plunged into darkness. Our first reaction was to look out onto the street, and indeed none of the houses in our area had their Christmas lights on. Well, I suppose it’s good to know that we weren’t the only ones. I hoped for the power to come back on after mere minutes, but 10 minutes came and went with no change. That’s when I started to get a little bit anxious.
So without access, I resorted to using my cell to tap in a quick email to my colleagues. I don’t know how much it costs to view a web page via my phone, but I have a feeling that all of this panic probably added about $5 to my monthly bill. Ridiculous! I needed to contact them to cover my ass. I didn’t want the client to pop online, find me offline, and subsequently throw a hissy fit. Sure, it’s unlikely, but you never know.
Anyway, I have one more hour left on my shift. After that, I’ll have had enough. Let the Christmas holidays begin!
Yesterday the talking heads on TV were really talking about today’s snow storm as a really big one. I kind of just scoffed at all of the direness of the predictions. I mean, come on, could the storm really be that bad? When I woke up the streets were still relatively clear. When I checked the headlines on The Star’s online site, they had weather forecasters recommending people stay home if possible. I turned on the TV to hear the people on Breakfast Television gently suggesting people call in sick. Well, after all of that I caved, but only somewhat.
I decided to leave the car at home and just take transit into the downtown core. It’s not the first time I’ve done that due to a snow storm. The stress from having to drive in the challenging conditions was something I felt I could do without. It wasn’t until about the second leg of the journey that the snow started coming down. When I got off the streetcar to walk to the office the wind was really blowing hard. Blowing snow was stinging me: each flake felt like an ice shard stabbing my cheek.
I ventured out during the lunch hour to pick up something to eat. I was squinting from the wind blowing snow into my eyes. I was stumbling through the snow with my inappropriate shoes, slipping and weaving through the unploughed sidewalks as if I was a drunken sot.
As much as I joke about this weather, I really do have a fondness for it. Having four distinct seasons is such a gift in my mind. Winter isn’t even upon us yet and we’ve already been hit with a big blast. The forecasts are indicating that there are two storms coming: one on Sunday and one on Tuesday. I will handle each one with a smile.
I came home to find a registered letter from the condo builder. I knew it was possible that the letter would contain good news, but I knew that it was even more likely to contain something more bittersweet. Seems my hunch was correct. For the longest time, talk of the possession date has been prefaced with the term “tentative.” With this letter the term has now changed to “confirmed.” Great! Right? That’s all well and good, but the actual quoted date has changed from April 8 to May 25.
Unlike the last time the date changed, I’m actually quite at peace with this change. This move means I’ll have another two pay cheques banked by this new date. I’ve mentioned this as well last time: it allows me more time to gather more resources. I’ll have enough to post a 20% down payment, but is that a good use of money when I need cash to pay for appliances and furniture as well? We’ll see.
Once again, I’ve reset the clock on the widget to the right. Right now it’s saying “Only 5 months and 7 days left.” All in all, that’s not that long from now. I’m still psyched–none of this will dampen my enthusiasm. 2009 will be an awesome year.
A little while ago I wrote about how I was getting into The Kills. Well, when I saw the video for Last Day of Magic, that pretty much cemented my feeling that this duo is just simply cool.
Not that I’m advocating domestic abuse, or beating up your best friend. In the context of the video though, the tension just makes the whole thing work. Yeah, I’m not making sense. Just go watch the video.
While I’m at my desk at work, more often than not I’ll have my ear buds planted deep in my ears. Sure, I like my music, and it allows me to get a firmer appreciation for some CDs that I’ve been on the fence about. Really, more than that though, it allows me to block out the rest of the environment. It’s not that I don’t appreciate everyone around me, but in some cases blocking the world out allows me to get more work done. I recognize that I can’t always be an island, so I sometimes compromise by having on ear bud in and one ear open to listen to all of the chat topics around me. Lately I’ve been hearing my name in conjunction with “he’s a machine!”
I guess that label started sticking after the work effort I put in during the last code launch. I worked like a madman to whip the queue into submission. And whip it, I did. I’m kind of proud of it, because otherwise the queue would have just looked overwhelming. At some point my project manager just started saying that I was a machine. Fair enough. It was in a good light, right? I remember one time I replied to a request with: “Acknowledged.” Some people picked up on that and imitated me in a robotic voice. Sure, sure: fine. Now that it’s been a while, I’m just tired of it. When I hear my name in conjunction with “machine” I have to roll my eyes. These days the usage morphed to something like “Oh, I’m sure Jason can do it in half the time because he’s the machine, you didn’t know?” Ugh. Whatever.
Yeah, I guess it’s in a sense of admiration. At the same time, when I think of the word “machine” I think of something that’s devoid of emotion or feelings. Sure, give me a repetitive task, and I can probably brute force my way through it to completion. It’s not magic–it just requires focus. Unlike some robot though, I feel fatigue. There’s a risk of me feeling bored and unmotivated if I’m lacking stimulating work. Prick me, I bleed. Call me a machine if you want, but I’m so much more.
*sigh*
It hurt my arms when it happened. It totally made the act of clearing the driveway a lot more difficult.
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