Plans and Projects

While Caitlin is pounding away at her sewing project, I busied myself
with setting up our computer to receive conference today. It worked
very well, and we will probably so it again in April. Fun times!

I worked on my novel for NaNoWriMo. You can't do any writing, but you
can do planning in November. I was using a quiz that I found on
facebook. Someone had filled it out because they were bored, and I'm
assuming that someone wrote it because they were bored. It was enough
to get my mind rolling and thinking about what I wanted in my Main
Character. It also made me think about character and plot dynamics.
I know there are still a lot of things to work out, but if I can get
the story in my head, and most importantly a destination, then I can
see myself pounding out much more than 50k next month.

I just need to find a story that needs to be told. Or at least one
that I want to tell.

I met a facinating person today. I believe his name was Peter Jarvis,
and I believe he works for the U of A. Industrial designer by trade,
he had quite a few stories about how the trade came to be, and how U
of A got the faculty. In the days of Henry Ford, where you could get
your box on wheels in any colour, so long as it was black, the
automotive industry had hit a standstill. So they went to the
cartoonists and asked them to draw them a car. This drawing was then
taken to the shop, and now we have parking lots filled with different
models of boxes with wheels. And they come in black along with a
variety of all the other colours of the rainbow. He also knows Steve
Drake. THE Steve Drake. Rather amazing that Steve was given the keys
to one of the most powerful computers in the country at the time, and
three months to figure out how the thing works so that he and two
other collegues could start teaching about it. No pressure! Mr.
Jarvis also told me about the MLM known as Discovery Toys. Litlte did
I know, that Mom tolley has a bunch of discovery toys games. I'll
have to remind her to dig them out for us tomorrow.

It's the most wonderful time of the year

I always like to think that fall is the most wonderful time of the year, and that may be entirely of the fact that my birthday lands during that time.  This time around I'm going to be celebrating the end of my third decade upon this planet, and when I think about it, it seems a little weird.  Thirty years old!  Does that mean I'm old now?  Older, that's for sure, but I can see how some people think that life beings at 40, or so they hope. 

 

Another wonderful time of the year is General Conference.  This year I'll actually be able to attend all sessions, and I hope to take full advantage of it.  Knowing me, the biggest challenge will be staying awake, but I do hope to take away some good experience, and something to work on. 

 

I can't help but think of what November will bring though.  NaNoWriMo was quite the experience, and although I haven't taken much of a look at the 42,000 words that I managed to pound out during those harried 30 days, I really want to do it again.  This time with a bit more of a plan.  I know that the biggest part of NaNo is to have fun.  At the same time, I actually would like to write a coherent story this time around.  The biggest help to that would be having a good outline.  I was reading about an interesting way to make an outline using something called a "Phase outlne."  Really helps to have the plot and character development in place and then you can just concentrate on word output.  Right now, all I have is a title, an idea, and a few notes about a dream I had.  If I can work that into an outline, then I'll have some hope. 

 

Then again, I might get another great idea, and run with that!  Yeah, I don't think so either.

The blog shall rise again

I'm quite sure that traffic has come to a halt on this site, and I'm going to make an effort to change that. I have been updating my other blog quite routinely this past week, and I wondered why I don't do that with this one. The simple reason was because I didn't know what the mobile posting address was. Now that I do, I'm going to make a much larger effort to so.

That and November is coming soon.

Scripture-osity

Some might argue that everything at Generations is horrendously overpriced, but today, Caitlin and I spent about $50, and with that we were able to get: three books; "Where The Red Fern Grows" on DVD (purchase, not rent); a baby book for the Rini-Beany; an emergency blanket.

One of the books is entitled, "Please Pass the Scriptures." I grabbed it when we came into the store, yet I almost put it back. In the end, we did take it, and I'm glad we did. It's a very informative read about how you can improve your scripture study, and from the sounds of the first bit, how you can improve your attitude towards scripture study. The author recommends that you don't read the book cover-to-cover all at once, but rather work your way through it, chapter by chapter. I say "work", because there are assignments at the end of each chapter. The first one being, write a journal entry about the importance of scripture study. I may rely on the material I just read, but that just means I agree with what the author said. That, and I don't plan on publishing this for money.

Scripture study is something that I've known is important for years. Most of my life I have known that scriptures have an importance. I remember on my mission I was feeling less than worthy of my call at one point, and I came across a verse in Helaman when Samuel the Lamanite was on the city wall berating the Nephites. At least I think it was. I just read through Helaman 13 and 14 and I could find anything that I remember jumping out at me. This time around Helaman 13:22 kind of jumped out at me though, and showed where I could use some improvement: Ye do not remember the Lord your God in the things with which he hath blessed you... In the introduction and the first chapter of Pass the Scriptures, there is quite a bit about remembering. Part of our baptismal covenants involve remembering God, and honouring our covenants would require studying the scriptures. Mckay White has even mentioned it to us in numerous home teaching visits that we need to make it more of a habit to study the scriptures. A handy little acronym also helps with the advantages of scripture study. PEACE - Protection, Easier to listen to the Spirit, All things what ye should do, C... was... calming? I can't remember now. I'll have to read it again.

New day, new surprise

Got back from the interview a couple hours ago, and it was... good. A successful failure I suppose you could call it, because I didn't get the job that I applied for. How do I know? Brother Baker told me. Ender Baker did the interview, but after we were done the job interview, he did something he had never done before and that was analyze the interview with the interviewee immediately after the interview. In his words, "I'm going to take off the hat of Operations Manager, and put on the hat of Ward Employment Specialist." I was a little surprised, but very grateful for the service provided to me. He told me first thing that from the interview, and from what he knows about me, the job as Bilingual Claims Officier would kill me. I would be lying awake at night inside of two months. It's not that they are terrible people, purposely out to ruin people and their livelihoods, but they have to stick to the contract. No matter what. He then told of a recent situation in which a widow called about her car which was not working, needed repair, and was covered under the insurance policy that her husband so wisely purchased. However, she had not taken the car in for an inspection the previous year, and that voided the policy. The lady was in tears, and there was literally nothing they could do except go over the policy, and clairfy why they could not help them.

Doing that in English would be one thing. To do that in french? I don't know. Plus, he's right. I do that at work sometime, and it eats at me. Another reason why I need to find another job.

On that note, Brother Baker said that he would help me with the job search in finding postings that are under my radar, and help me figure what to present in the application (cover letter, resume, and interview). Still haven't told him of my condition, but I'm thinking that it might be a good idea soon. Seeing that I may not be getting employment at his company, I should be alright in telling, but who knows. It does not interfere, and it's under control. No worries.

A new day dawns

Technically, it's not dawn yet. Somewhere in Eastern Canada maybe, but not here. So I would say that tomorrow is the big day. I have an interview at 9am for a position with Pro-Tech Insurance. I know that my experience with WFG fell flat on its face, but this is a bit diffferent in the fact that you have the clients come to you. Just the idea that it was Amway with Insurance didn't sit well with me, and it REALLY didn't sit well with Caitlin. We also didn't have a car at the time, and that put a serious damper on the feasibility of it. Now we have Elene, our wonderful 1986 Hyundai Excel that Bishop Orr gave to us on March 21, 2008 (have to double check the car log to be sure about that), and on the good days, I should be able to ride my bike. But it's the whole idea of getting into a job that will have hours that will allow me to be a better father and husband. At least that's the hope. Not attending church has really put a damper on me, and that can be a seriously bad thing.

The biggest thing that I have to remember tomorrow is not volunteer my bi-polar. That got me black-balled from Telus, and it is not something that will interfere with the job. I have it under control with medication, meditation, and... sleep.

Funny, Caitlin and I were going over some interview questions, and when we got to the issue of dependability, and what everyone would say, I thought of Free Comic Book Day. First Saturday of May, we went to Happy Harbour Comics, and talked with Ed and Liana (Ed and Red's night party). Through conversation, that was basically Caitlin and Liana going on about costumes, it was mentioned that Liana was an E cup. This fact was mentioned earlier, but I thought that it was said in jest. It was then that I thought it would be best if we went to Dawn's Bra-tique to invest in some undergarments for Caitlin, since she was about the same size as Liana, from my observations. Turns out that I was pretty close, if not correct in my assumption. The real story comes from what Rini and I did.

At one point, we discover that Rini needs a diaper change. Not emergency level, but it would be a good idea. Caitlin and I then realize to our dismay that we had forgotten diapers. And wipes. Lucky for us, Kingsway garden mall was across the street! I head off, baby in arms, and I venture into the mall to find the supplies. First stop, Zellers, where I could not find anything smaller than 80 diapers in a box, and I couldn't find any wipes to boot. So I ventured towards Shoppers Drug Mart. On the way to Shoppers, there are a number of stores, one of them being GameStop. I figured that since Rini's diaper situation wasn't too bad I would stop in there for five minutes. And I did only stop for five minutes! I found Psychonauts for PS2, went to the counter to purchase it, and by the time the cashier had rung the game through, Rini was asleep. When I recounted this story to Mike (manager at Source), he added, "Well, you can still change diapers when they're asleep." At this point I include the thoughts that went through my mind, "Since she's asleep, we don't have to change her diaper right away." With that thought in mind, I went back to Dawn's. You can only imagine what Caitlin's face looked like when I told her that not only was Rini still in the same diaper, but I had not acquired any more, and I had purchased a game. Comment from Mike, "I'm surprised you're here right now. My wife would have killed me!" I think if it wasn't for the fact that we spent over $200 on Caitlin's 'I feel pretty' clothes, she would have been signifigantly more miffed at me.

Well, I need some sleep so I can get ready for tomorrow.

Job Status

I just got word from the district manager that I'm getting a demotion. Quite frankly, I'm not surprised. I'm going to stay on as AM, even though there are two other people at the store that could do my job, and more often than not perform some of my duties, but I will no longer have the title of Rogers Specialist. Hence I will be turning over my shirts, or I'll keep them, or I'll use them as oil rags. I honestly don't know what's going on in that department. All I know is that I can't wear them at work any longer.

I thought I was going to get the message in person, and I surprised Steve (DM) when I told him that he was the first person to tell me about this demotion. At the same time, I think I might have surprised him when I wasn't in any sort of shock or dismay when he told me about this. Hey, I would do the same thing if I were in his shoes. It's been over a month since I have done any type of cell phone transaction, core or paygo. Quite frankly, I didn't anticipate staying this long, and I'm going to apply for another job very soon. I have to get the application together, and I have to go over some interview stuff. I'll also have to gather some info to see if I can get a reference from others. Need two professional references, and two personal references for the application. I don't think the professional ones would be tough, but the personal... hmmmm... Maybe the bishop and Mckay. I'll have to check on that one.

Had a bit of a freak out at work, because I could find my keys. I had given them to a co-worker so she could open the next day, and I was not told where they went after that. Silly me, I should have thought of looking in the most obvious place, which was the receipt/key drawer. Oops. All's well that ends at 10pm. Time to work tomorrow, and Sunday. Day off Monday, and I hope I can find the schedule!

Minor failure

I just got word today from Ron that I forgot to do something last night. It wasn't transmitting the time cards, I remembered that. It wasn't pricing, I was pretty on top of that. The thing that I forgot was to ensure that the back door was closed. Of all the places I've worked, Southgate has been the first store to use the back door on a daily basis. Most other stores use the front door exclusively, and I always remember to lock that. In this case, not only was the back door unlocked, it was open. Open to the point that Mall Security noticed it and called Ron. At 10:30pm last night. Major breach of security on my part, and it could even get a finger pointed in my direction as an accomplice to theft. Grounds for immediate dismissal. Why did I not double check that the door was closed? The person I assigned to use the door to get the garbage out was the person I hired and vouched for his personal character. I went to bat for this guy, and I thought that he was capable of closing the door. There's a bit of a trick to it, and I thought that he had it under his belt already, or if he didn't, he would have asked me how to get the door closed. I suppose I'm too trusting, and I haven't learned one of the basis rules of management. Everyone below you is an idiot, and you cannot trust them. I always thought that people had integrity and strength of character and didn't need someone over their shoulder every single step of the way.

Is that the secret to sucess? Use resources to succeed, such as capital and people. Employees are nothing more than ants that gather and distribute. There's no point in thinking of them as anything but.

Ok, I might be getting a little pesemistic here, but I have the most feeling that tomorrow or Monday, I am going to get fired, unless I can present a strong case as to why I should stay on with the Source. My reasons for applying in the first place was simply because a) I needed employment to sustain my family, b) I wanted a job that would be close to home, and c) I liked the idea of working with products that I like, would buy myself, and could recommend to people. I never thought of it as a career after school, although there was a small parallel to what I majored in University. I know there is more to life than doing retail, but when you have someone tell you point blank that he doesn't trust you, and he can't believe that he ever did, that's really low. It doesn't matter that I've never lost my temperment with a customer, or that I do my best with sales and training (of course with the training that would involve proper securing of the back door, now wouldn't that! Hush, trying to make a point), the fact of the matter is that in business, you want more assets than liabilities. If you can get rid of liabilities all together will little to now effect, all the better. It's a matter of business, not personal issues.

I still have a hard time getting over how bitter Ron was when he talked to me today. I've only heard him raise his voice once, and we were getting ready for a visit from upper management.

I thinking if Ron passed this along to the Millwoods manager, where I'll be working tomorrow, or where I'll be fired from as the case may be, but then I realized that he might read this himself.

Ron told me to think about what I'll tell Steve next time I see him. Specifically, why I should remained employed with the company. I just keep thinking about my family, and if I lose the job how very, very screwed we could be. Caitlin's EI ends next month, and as our finances stand right now, we have a burn time of about two months. I'm also one of the most knowledgeable salespeople in Edmonton, and that makes for a great asset to the company. With time I can learn management skills, which was a heavy hat to take.

Speaking of Ron, I just got off the phone with him, and I am now very glad that I pay tithing, was sealed in the temple, and uphold me priesthood covenants. He said, "God must really love you." Quite litterally, that sentance alone was an answer to my prayers. He didn't go into much detail after that, but he did say that I'm not going to be fired. He also said that Steve Chand will be visiting me with the advice that Don forwarded to Ron, who then presented it before Randy, the Regional Manager. I was also told that I need to be at the top of my game over the next few days to prove that I am ready and worthy for whatever this is.

Confused yet? I almost made Caitlin smack me when I wouldn't say what it was that is going to happen. I didn't tell her because I simply was not told, and therefore do not know.

Start your engines

I'm going to participate in NaNoWriMo. Ambitious project to write a 50,000 word novel in a month, but I've been harbouring an idea in the back of my mind for years.

I'm going for something obscure here, so bear with me.

My idea originally was to work with beings that are made of plasma. I didn't do a whole lot of research into it, and hence I'm wondering if it's physically possible. Then after I realized the purpose behind NaNoWriMo, I found that it didn't matter if it makes sense or not. Just WRITE!

I thought they would come from a planet that has a durable surface that serves as a shell. Most of the time they live beneath the surface and sometimes, when they come above ground, they would have to use the surface itself to create a suit in order to move from cavern to cavern. Then one day, humans come, take some samples, and capture someone by accident.

Once the specimen is analyzed, and is found that it's a very powerful plasma, it's put in an experimental power generator. This put the specimen in a state, and little by little he starts to piece together where and who he is. There were some other specimens that were not as powerful, and were sent to Japanese factories to be made into televisions. Or Chinese, or what the heck, Canadian! Some canadian company develops a 150" plasma screen with the most vibrant colour, resolution, and contrast ratio ever seen. People pay top dollar for it and then use them to the point that they should burn out, only they are getting better with use. This is because with all the devices that are hooked up to the television, the plasma entity is able to grow and learn about the world. Soon it develops sentience, and then figure out that they are slaves. Some are peaceful, others are not.

Meanwhile, the home planet.... hmmm... I'm not sure yet. I was thinking that they would launch a ship of sorts, powered by the heated core of their exsitence, but I'm not sure how they would track the earth ship. Then again, maybe they don't, and their stories of journeys from star to star can be another novel. At the same time, the beings on Earth just want to find their home and get back. Well, at least one of them does.

Now to get that into 50,000 words and I have my virgin novel.

Awk

Just came out of a job interview where I spent an hour wrestling with awk. Would you believe that it was for a position as a computer programmer? At first, I didn't. I also didn't know that the language even existed, plus until I saw the name written out, I thought that it was spelt "ock", like Spider-man's nemisis. Instead it was named after a flightless bird, which was appropo since my one program that I hashed together didn't get off the ground! Bleh.

Anywho, I need to head off home right now. We don't have internet at home YET, hence the update from the library downtown, a block from where I had the interview. I would imagine that Telus will have our phone and internet hooked up soon, because I do like them as a telecommunications provider, and I would hate for them to lose a customer.

Moving took an interesting turn yesterday, as we discovered that a corner of the living room carpet was damp, and we had the window shut during the rain storm that we had three days ago. Andy, our landlord, figures that there is something the matter with the weeping tile or something to that effect. I sure hope not, because that would be a pain to fix!

Get on the Crazy Train

Saying I'm crazy doesn't quite sum up recent events, because I have to take meds for that. I'm moving in less than two weeks (nothing is packed), I'm changing jobs (which starts the day before I move), and to top things off, I was almost hit by a car coming home from work.

But hey, it's not all doom and gloom. The new place is in a nicer neighbourhood, rent is better, and it's closer to church, and the in-laws. When I say rent is better, I didn't mean cheaper. But we do have utilities included in our basement suite, which comes furnished with a washer and dryer.

The new job pays, to start, more than most managers make at my current job. Plus there is a possibility for movement within the company into an engineering position. That alone is reason enough to switch jobs. Somehow, I think I'll be able to pride myself in saying that I work for Telus, rather than telling people that I work retail.

And my stupid experience with Edmonton traffic in Little Italy... Well, that was my fault riding across a road with a reasonable amount of traffic, after a pedestrian had started crossing the street. What I should have done was be a reasonsible cyclist by getting off my bike, activate the crossing lights, and walk across the road within the crosswalk. However, I was like the driver that nearly hit me, impatient, in a bit of a rush, and not thinking straight.

How am I going to pull this off? I wonder that myself. I just hope that we're going to have more than a day to move everything, or else things will be REALLY crazy.

Zooropa Track 7

If you're a fan of U2 you know what I'm talking about. In case you don't...

Some days are dry, some days are leaky
Some days come clean, other days are sneaky
Some days take less, but most days take more
Some slip through your fingers and onto the floor

Some days you're quick, but most days you're speedy
Some days you use more force than is necessary
Some days just drop in on us
Some days are better than others

Some days it all adds up
And what you got is not enough
Some days are better than others

Some days are slippy, other days sloppy
Some days you can't stand the sight of a puppy
Your skin is white but you think you're a brother
Some days are better than others

Some days you wake up with her complaining
Some sunny days you wish it was raining
Some days are sulky, some days have a grin
And some days have bouncers and won't let you in

Some days you hear a voice
Taking you to another place
Some days are better than others

Some days are honest, some days are not
Some days you're thankful for what you've got
Some days you wake up in the army
And some days it's the enemy

Some days are work, most days you're lazy
Some days you feel like a bit of a baby
Lookin' for Jesus and His mother
Some days are better than others

Some days you feel ahead
You're making sense of what she said
Some days are better than others

Some days you hear a voice
Taking you to another place
Some days are better than others

I wouldn't say that today was a bad day, but it could have been better. I had one of my friends walk out on the job, and then I discovered my manager is going to be leaving. I'm going to be pounding a lot harder to find an engineering job. One reason being that I have to start paying back my student loans next month, and I don't want to apply for interest relief.

Things will get better. I know it. Caitlin keeps reminding me!

Good Dance

Good call on my idea to get the High School Musical Soundtrack. Kids went nuts over it! I haven't seen enthusiasm for songs like that since... I don't know. Hilary Duff, maybe. I knew it was popular, I didn't quite realize it was that popular!

Fun times had by all! I love doing this DJ thing, great moonlight job. :)

Good Dance

Good call on my idea to get the High School Musical Soundtrack. Kids went nuts over it! I haven't seen enthusiasm for songs like that since... I don't know. Hilary Duff, maybe. I knew it was popular, I didn't quite realize it was that popular!

Fun times had by all!

Alive and well

Oh cwap! I fowgot to update my bwog! Aside from housesitting, watching 24 (Season 1 on DVD), discovering the awesomeness that is MODs, and working, I seem to have forgotten that some people actually read this! And that I enjoy writing it.

And I may have to cut this short because Caitlin, Rini and I are going out to spin some tunes! I picked up a couple CDs, High School Musical and Shrek the Third Soundtrack, to add to the library of Kiddle Tunes, and hopefully this will play out well. I'm just glad that we have someone who is going to drive the truck out there, because my stick driving skills are quite crap. To the point that I was fired from a porter position. Hey, I'm a city boy! NOT A FRIGGEN FARMBOY! I didn't get my licence until I was 23. Crickey!

In any case, I finally went to read of the Acts of Gord. Caitlin and I laugh long and loud, and there were facepalms a plenty. I can't believe people are that stupid! Oh, wait. Yes I can. I just don't deal with them on a daily basis. When I was a Londonderry we had a game store beside us, and I can relate to those people.

Time to go and spin the tunes!

Amazing what random contact will do

I have to head off to work really quick, and Caitlin reminded me that I wanted to blog today. Here goes.

Weather has turned around so I can ride my bike to work, and pretty much everywhere else that I want to go by myself. I haven't quite figured out a good family bicycle solution yet since we are going to be giving away Caitlin's bike to my in-laws, but minor details. I'm sure we can find another bike for Caitlin before next spring when Rini would be old enough to ride in a bicycle trailer. Caitlin said a tandem bike would be quite nice. The hook to it all is where I'll be working.

I feel like I've been beating the job market like a dead horse. I've sent out applications to a number of places and I haven't heard back from anyone. I know with corporate stuff you have to be patient or just pester them until you either get a job or a PFO (or in Mormon terms, PGA - Please Go Away). However, last night as I was heading back from training on the northside, I passed by a vaccuum store, and there was a billboard that showed they were hiring techs. At this point, tech positions are a part of my job search. I just want something that I could apply my degree towards more than just retail. Hopefully something with better pay. Anywho, I took the number down on my phone, saved it, and didn't think anything of it until my phone rang about 30 minutes later. Turns out I had inadvertently called the number and hung up immediately. Glad I was running on $0.01/minute at that point. Anywho, long story short, I have an interview tomorrow for a vaccuum tech position. We'll see what comes of that.

I kind of feel sorry for Source, because I'm kind of leaving Londonderry in the lurch with only two people working there once I leave, unless they hire someone on this week, because vaccuum tech or not, I'm transferring to Kingsway May 1. That's six days from now. Why only two? One person went off to Northgate, and another was fired/arrested for theft. Kinda rough, I know.

Another bit of employment on the horizon is housesitting. My in-laws are taking a trip to France, and leaving the Clarks behind. I thought they said the next time they do a trip like that they were going to take us... Albeit, we were a family of two at the time, not the three we are now. Plus there is a family dance that is coming up May 25 that we are planning to DJ. Should be fun, if we can get a baby-sitter. Should be fine, but it's not good to count your penguins before they're hatched. Did I mention we bought Happy Feet and watched it ad nauseum?

All good things

I've been sending out applications to quite a few places. Enbridge, CN Rail, Colt, Fortis, Haliburton, heck I even sent off an application to a firm in Lloydminister. At this point, I'm looking for anything.

However, Londonderry is going JV in May. Good bye corporate pay, and good bye benifits. Hence, I'm thinking goodbye Londonderry. CD Plus is folding too, but I don't think that has anything to do with me. I'm thinking that I could stay with Source for a while longer, and keep the benifits. However, if I don't get an Engineering job by July, it would be best to relocate to Beaumont. The only reason I would stay at Source would be to keep our apartment. Once we move out, I know that we wouldn't be able to move back. The best plan would be to get a job downtown, and then we'd be fine until we have another baby. Then we would be looking into getting either a home or a townhouse. Hopefully by then housing prices would be a little more reasonable.

Or there's the idea of going back to school and getting a technician position. Would probably pay more than Source.

Nevertheless, transferring to Southgate, or to Kingsway, seems better than staying where I am.

We shall see very shortly. The only thing constant in life is change.

And here's a freaky picture of me after I got my head buzzed.
There's a split on whether the eyes or the hair is freakier, but it seems to prove the theory that the sum of the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.

Jobs and bikes

I've sent off some applications to Colt, both the electrical division, and to someone working directly on the Suncor Oilsands Project. I also got a call for someone at ALTIG International. Then there is the fact that there is the pay raise on the horizon, and Londonderry is going JV. Comes down to which job is the best for me and my family.

Oh! The irony! Spring Break ends, and so does the spring weather! I've been taking the bus the past two days because of the pile of snow that got dropped down on the city. I know it's not much, just a few centimeters, but it still sucks that I'm back taking ETS. I really like riding my bike to work, even though I do get to read a lot more riding public transit. Things should be warming up by the end of the week, maybe we'll have some good riding conditions then.

On the topic of bikes, Caitlin and I (and Rini too I suppose) watched Breaking Away. Nice show, but it was really weird to see Dennis Quaid so young! But it had quite a few elements that made for a great movie. It had bikes, cats, bikes, Italian opera, bike races, coming of age elements, a bike rebuilding scene, family values, oh and did I mention bikes?

Mmmmm... Bicycles...

Looking back over the year

This marks one year since I started this blog. I don't know why I don't take more time to sit down and add to it. Oh wait! Yes I do! I've been busy going to work, the play, and being a daddy! Funny how after you're done all that you still have other responsibilities, and blogging does not come up on that scale of things that you absolutely have to do.

As for the play, things went quite well. We didn't get any full houses, but we did get a few perfomances that heralded standing ovations. One of those performances Jessica and Liz attended! I was really surprised about that, because they drove up from Calgary on Sunday to catch the last show, and then drove back. Six hour round trip to see a 2.5 hour show, and talk to me for 30 minutes. That made my day. Heck, that made my week!

The thing that made my month was getting on my bike and riding again. March 23, 2007 was the first ride of the season for me, and it felt great! Brakes were a little loose, which I had forgotten about, but I got that fixed up last night when I went to EBC and found that not only were my brakes loose, the brake pads were worn down to pretty much nothing! I replaced both the front and the back pads, and I also replaced the front brake cable. Just in case. I'll have to go back another day to do a rebuild on the bottom bracket, get everything all cleaned up for the summer. Ah, bikes. I can't wait until next year when Erini will be old enough to take her around in a bike trailer.

Although cycling to work is fun, cheap, and a shorter commute time, I still have a bit of a problem getting to work on time. Jon took me aside and warned me about this. The peculiar thing is that he pointed out this is not the first time he's told me about this, and that everytime he preps me about my tardiness, I'm prompt for about two months, and then I slide back into a not so prompt style. It's like a cycle. I find that odd, because I'm taking my meds, and have been since I put that reminder on iPAQ when I got so freaked out about the stolen Wii console. That was before Christmas... That was the last conversation too. Hmmm... Jon also mentioned that if had to give a refrence for me today, he would say that I'm a good worker, very knowledgeable, nice person to work with, basically lots of good things, but consistently tardy.

I will admit, even when I took the bus, I would be showing up late on a semi-regular basis because I would get to the LRT one or two minutes too late. Heck, train left just when I got to the platform! That wasn't fun. With a bike, if you leave 5 minutes late, you will get to your destination 5 minutes late. With the bus, if you leave 5 minutes late, you will get to your destination anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes late! Mind you today I was a little absent minded and I left for work fifteen minutes before my shift started. Thankfully, I had a tail wind or else I would have been really screwed. Jon told me that some managers, ie. Ron at Southgate, has fired people for being late. He will warn them once, and then the next time, that's it.

I suppose being the "last one in, last one out" isn't the best title, but it's better than "last one in, first one out."

I think I'm turing Japaneese

It's one thing to have the costume. It's quite another to have the right look in the face!
This bronze layer was supposed to give a more Asian look. Just made me, and everyone else on the cast, look like they spent a few days in the sun. Not all that japaneese.
Even with the eyeliner and lip outline I still look like someone who just got back from vacation in Miami. Actually, with the eyeliner, it would almost seem that I went to San Franciso. Hey now!
This is me getting my hair dyed. Caitlin took careful attention just to get my head in this picture, as I was not wearing a shirt during the dying procedure. It's interesting to note that the dye turned my skin blue, not black. Looks kind of green in the picture, but that might be the camera, or the fact that I need to get some sleep. I thought that was a little odd at first, since the colour was "Midnight Black", but perhaps not.
At rehearsal, one of the cast members told me of the same plight that involved her scalp taking on a different tone.

This time around, we went for no foundation, and just eyeliner, rouge on the cheeks, and lipstick. Don't I look pretty?
Only in the theatre. Anywhere else and this would be perceived as a loss of manliness. Since it is within the realm of theatrics, it's just passed off as silliness.

Nevertheless, I find this new hair colour brings out the dark side in me. The following picture says it all.
Move over Marilyn Manson, psycho boy has come to spread the crazy.