RAMBLE ON

On the weekend, I went to Ikea and bought a dish rack to dry my dishes. Of course, when I went to put it together last night, the damn thing didn’t fit. “Put together a dish rack?” you must be saying. Yeah, don’t ask. Anyways, I borrowed a pair of pliers from Rhonda tonight. After five minutes of bending of metal, the dish rack finally came together.

To test the thing out, I washed a few plates, a pan, and some small bowls I had in the sink. I gotta say, I was impressed. Everything I washed will be dry well before I go to bed. I used to just stack my stuff on a dish towel and it would take like a day for things to dry.

Holy crap, did I just write about me washing dishes and letting them dry? I’m glad I didn’t get any paint over the weekend.

It’s going to be a busy week for me. Yesterday, my sister came for dinner. Tomorrow, my old friend Ray from undergrad is coming to visit me. He lives in the Bay Area now and he’s up for his sister’s wedding. We’re going to meet up with some other old undergrad buddies. I haven’t seen them for years. Should be interesting. On Thursday night, I’m hosting two of my friends for dinner at SJC. On Friday, I’m going on another stag.

I’m looking forward to spending a quiet evening alone on Saturday.

FIREWORKS FOLLIES

Sorry for the lack of posts lately. I was back at my parents’ place for a bit of the weekend.

So, after an absence of three years, I went and saw the fireworks on Saturday. Last year, I was just too tired of fighting the crowds to go. The other two years? I was working for EA at the time, and in late July / early August, I was just pulling out of the employee lot at 10pm on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

This year, I decided to go because we knew someone who lived right near English Bay. On Saturday, Rhonda, Bryan, Sarah, and myself trekked down to the West End, and met up with Jenny. Jenny is Rhonda’s friend who has an apartment right near Denman and Davie. We arrived at the beach directly in front of the barge at around 8:30pm or so. There were already a lot of people there. All of us made our way along the crowd for a few minutes and then we found a perfect spot right at the front, directly in front of the water. From where the seaweed had accumulated, it looked like that we were right before where high tide was.

Spreading out mats, we made ourselves comfortable. Jenny had bought cupcakes from the cupcake store on Denman. I had heard about this place from Rhonda, but this was the first time I had a chance to try their wares. I had a chocolate walnut cupcake. It was good, but probably contained 150% more sugar than I really needed. After our feast of sugar was completed, Rhonda broke out the deck of the cards. I was then taught how to play Hearts and Asshole. We played a game of each. I will say that I prefer the game of Hearts.

After we played cards, Jenny went back to her place to put some jeans on. It was getting pretty dark by then. About ten minutes to ten, these three adults and one kid came out of nowhere and plopped down right in front of us. Rhonda and I looked at each other with this look of annoyance.

“Should we tell them that the tide will be coming up right where they’re sitting?” she said to me.

“Nah, I believe in self-learning,” I replied.

Sure enough, less than two minutes later, the tide came rushing up and covered their shoes with water. They all scrambled out of the way, and more importantly, out of our way, leaving us with an unobstructed view again. The kid, though, stuck with it, and started building this sand dam with his bare hands. He kept digging and packing sand in front of him to hold back the unrelenting tide.

By this time, Jenny had come back and the show was just about to begin. The kid kept on digging though. The fireworks finally started and everyone looked skyward, everyone except the kid. He continued to build his sand wall for 25 minutes, only infrequently looking at the show.

When the show was over, there was nothing for us to do but wait for the people behind us to clear out first. This was when the urination started. We watched as a whole line of guys made their way right in front of us and just whizzed directly into the ocean. Meanwhile, a helicopter started patrolling the shoreline, and beamed this huge spotlight on the beach. It highlighted several the urinators for all to see.

The real kicker when this teenaged girl came down to the water with her boyfriend. I wouldn’t have even noticed her except for the fact she announced to everyone within earshot, “I’m sorry, but I have to go to the bathroom soooooo bad!”

We all turned to look at her and without any hesitation, she whipped down her hip-hugger jeans and panties, did this half-squat, and started peeing into the ocean. Now ya might be thinking it’d be better to watch a girl take a leak than a whole line of guys, but you’d be wrong. I was just embarassed for her. With the guys, they’re just standing with their backs to you, whizzing into the wind. With the girl, no one looks good in a half-squat, with their pants and panties halfway down their legs. Anyways, while this is happening, her boyfriend is standing by idly. “That’s my girl!” he was probably thinking.

After that was all over, it took us about five minutes to get back to Jenny’s. We made tea, talked, and flipped through the new Ikea catalogue. Meanwhile, through the open windows in the living window, we heard the sirens, cops, and throngs of people walking up the street.

We waited a while before leaving, grabbed a bus on Granville, and got back around 12:30am. Overall, I didn’t have to fight any crowds and it was a pleasant evening.

That’s the way to see fireworks.

BAD HAIR WEEK

I’ve had bad hair all week. Anyone experience this? One day your hair is fine, the next, it looks like a sparrow’s nest. My haircut is barely three weeks old, if that. I can’t believe I have to get another haircut to rectify this.


TIME UNYIELDING

As I write this, the month of August is not an hour old. My clichéd question of course is…. Where did all the time go?

Though officially August is still part of the summer months, in my mind, it is purely a transitional month. August is when panic sets in. I usually take stock of what I haven’t done in the summer and then realize I only have precious few weeks left to do what I need to do. Invariably, my attempts to cram everthing in before August disappears is met with failure. I also then look nervously to September, when classes begin and the weather begins to turn cooler. The combination of frenzied last second activity and apprehension of the future usually makes for not-so-pleasant month.

Back to my original question though. Yeah, where did the time go? My summer actually began on April 26, the day after my last exam ended. Holy crap, on paper that seemed a long time ago, but it’s still fresh in my mind. I had my dental surgery at the end of April. I can remember that day as clear as the sky was today.

May, June, and July, they all went so fast. As will August, perhaps even faster, since I’ll anticipating the fall.

Wow, this post had no direction. 🙂

THIS IS GOING TO FEEL A LITTLE WEIRD

This post is going to be all over the place.

First, I’d like to publicly apologize to Arash for forgetting to pick up his dinner tonight. One of the most sacred bonds between two SJC residents is the “dinner pick-up”. I broke that bond tonight. I hope that Country Style sandwich is tasty buddy!

Second, I am now the owner of a Kodak EasyShare CX4230 digital camera. I bought one from Ebay today. Final price? $140… Canadian. And get this, it’s just not a used camera, it’s a factory refurbished model, so it’s up to original specs and there’s a one year warranty from Kodak. If you’re curious as to how much this camera retails new, I found this store in Delta that sells cameras on-line. Their price? $314.95 Canadian and that’s before taxes. Even if you factor in shipping and possibly duties (which I hope there will be none), I think I’ll have saved myself $200, which is more than the price of the camera itself.

I’m hoping to get the camera sometime next week. You can bet I’ll be having fun trying it out.

The third item of this post is that I did accupuncture for the first time tonight. Someone at the College here had her friend come over for dinner. I heard them talking over dinner about her training in the ancient art. I was really interested in what she had to say about accupuncture treatments. Well, before dinner ended, she mentioned how she had all her stuff here and that if I wanted, she could give me a simple treatment. I happily agreed.

So, after dinner the accupuncturist had me sit on a bed with my legs over the side and my hands on a pillow on my lap. Next, she brought out two needles sheathed in thin, plastic tubes. She placed the tube over my hand, in a spot where my thumb and index finger meet. Then she took off the top part of the tube and asked me if I was ready. I said yes. Then she took a finger and tapped the needle firmly but gently into my hand. It barely registered. Off slid the tube and there was this super thin needle poking up from my hand. She took the needle and then gently worked it deeper into my hand. I felt this more, but it was nowhere near painful. She remarked I was doing really well.

She repeated this again for my right hand. Only this time, I immediately felt a warmth along my right arm when the needle went in. With two needles sticking out of me, she asked me if I was sore or stiff anywhere before we started. I said my neck was a bit tight. She said she’d leave the needles in for 20 minutes.

For the duration of the 20 minutes, I didn’t really feel all that weird. I didn’t even feel them anymore. It was then time to take out the needles. Out they came and I checked my neck. It was definitely less tight than it was before. Not as good as a real massage, but there was improvement. She then warned me that where she put the needles in would probably feel sore or achy. She was right. About five minutes after the needles came out, it felt really sore where they were put in, like I had touched my index fingers to my thumb a million times in a row.

I was also warned I might feel a bit tired or light-headed, but that two needles most likely would not be enough to cause that.

After tonight, I have to say I’m a fan of accupuncture. It is a most interesting method of treatment.

TUESDAY’S TALES

I was very tired throughout the day at work. When it finally ended, I had to go my last softball game of the season. We lost. It left a bitter taste behind.

Then I went out to dinner with the four friends I still hang out with from high school. One of them, Roney is heading off to Manhattan for five months. This was our goodbye for him.

I came home, had a nice conversation with Rhonda and then played Max Payne for a little while. Geez, I’m tempted to play it again now. Nah, I gotta get to bed.

VIDEO GAMES… TOO BUSY

I’d really like to write a super long post right now, but I got Max Payne in the mail today. Bullet time! Woooommmm!!!

WHO IS THIS GUY?

A few weeks ago, I made the realization that I know a lot more people at St. John’s now than I ever did in first term. By “know” I mean I feel comfortable talking to these people, I can ask them relevant questions about their lives, and go beyond random smalltalk.

What really surprised me is how few people I really knew in first term. From September to December, I basically hung around five people. Out of a residence of nearly 200 people, I really only knew five. I remember one Friday night around October or so, I was going to the Village with Lindsay for dinner. On the way, I got her to tell me about some of the people in the College.

“So, do you know who so and so is?”

“Sorta.”

“Do you know what she looks like, where she’s from, what’s she studying, and where in the College she lives?”

“No.”

“How about so and so?”

“Well, I think I’ve heard his name before, but I don’t any know anything about him.”

She continued with a list of names, but I gave her similar answers. At dinner, she went on to describe some of the people in the College. It wasn’t even gossip just basic stuff like what they looked like and what they were studying.

It was crazy how few people I knew then compared to now. Rhonda is a really good friend of mine here at the College. We talk everyday, but I can’t remember if we had a single conversation in first term. The first time I really remember talking to her was in late December when we both attended a going-away brunch for someone. On the way home, I sat next to her on the bus, and I was thinking, “So, this is Rhonda, at least I think that’s her name…” So we just started talking.

I have similar stories about how I met other people here. The funniest thing is finding out what people thought of me in first term! I’ve been asking people lately and some of their answers are interesting.

“You were a bit of a mystery to people, no one knew what you were about”

“Someone mentioned you casually, and from that, I thought you were really mean guy”

“Someone once asked me about you and all I could say was, he has a message board on his door”

“All I knew was that you had a picture of Obi-Wan Kenobi on your door and that made you dangerous… you had skills”

“I thought you were gay… still do”

Well, in second term I had way more work than in first term, but I managed to be much more social. This resulted in me getting to know a lot more people. It certainly helped by playing on the ball hockey team. Even though we lost eight straight games, the losing led to some bonding.

I knew I had reached a milestone one day when I was going for dinner. Early on in the year, I always went to dinner with my friends Nic and Marcia. If they weren’t there, I wouldn’t feel as comfortable sitting with others. On that particular day though, I realized it didn’t matter who I was going to sit with, I would feel comfortable with anyone at my table.

I am glad that I feel more connected with the community here at the College now. It would have been a shame to miss out on all the great people that live here.

AND STRAIGHT ON TILL MORNING

It’s about 3:30am and most of the people here at the College are asleep. It’s quiet. The air is cool. It’s peaceful.

Thanks to a can of Coke consumed around midnight, I am wide awake, yet not hyperactive. Given the circumstances, I am somewhat relaxed.

Earlier in the evening, a large group of us from the College went down to Wreck to see the sun set. We brought wood for a fire, some tiki torches, and marshmallows to roast. The sunset was beautiful. The lingering clouds allowed the sun to paint the sky with pastel pinks. A few people started playing cards, but I didn’t want to join, I know like two card games, maybe three and they weren’t playing those.

Instead I sat with the others and roasted marshmallows with a coat hanger. It took me a dry run to get it right, but I got the hang of it. I will tell you one thing though, melted marshmallows, sticky hands, and sand don’t really mix. As I did the roasting, I got to sit next to Miriam. We had a short but really good conversation. We were in the same reflective, quiet mood. We discussed our troubles, we looked at the flickering flames of the fire, and I think we both knew what type of week we had just finished. We didn’t say much after that, there was no need.

As the light of the day yielded to the night, the fire turned a mezmorizing orange. I had an interesting conversation around the fire with Arash, Bruno, and Carly. We talked about everything from The Price Is Right to how fun it is to watch marshmallows burn and expand.

We came back up around midnight. After I got back, I played Arash a game of MSN Messenger checkers. We were about even down to 5 pieces each, but then I did a dumb move and it was all over. Strangely enough, I played Tic-Tac-Toe with him after and got two games on him. Isn’t it like impossible to lose in Tic-Tac-Toe?

Some TV and more video games and here we are at 4am. I think I’ll download some music, do some more web stuff, and see where I’ll be. I am looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow.

THE ARAMARK CORPORATION REVISITED

In November, in a series of posts, I chronicled my dealings with the vending machine company Aramark. Their response to my complaint was quite speedy and acceptable. Today, I had reason again to contact them.

Around 3pm I was feeling a bit peckish, having had only a light lunch. Not wanting to go far, I decided to visit the vending machine just down the hall. As I got there, I decided I wanted a bag of Miss Vickie’s Sweet Chili and Sour Cream chips. I put in my twoonie for the $1.10 bag of chips and pressed A6.

Beep!

I looked at LCD display on the machine. It said, “Make another selection”. Weird. I pressed A6 again.

Beep!

I looked at the completely filled row of chips. It sure as hell wasn’t empty. A friend of mine always says the third time’s the charm.

Beep!

Nope. Begrudgingly, I take the bag of plain chips next to my intended target and collect my change. I note the number on the machine and I go back to my office. I call them up and explain the situation to them.

A nice woman takes down all the details and tells me she’ll definitely dispatch someone to the machine on Monday. Next, she wants to know where she can mail me the $1.10 to re-imburse me for the chips I didn’t want in the first place. I tell her it’s alright and it wasn’t worth her trouble. She insists. I acquiesce.

She tells me to expect the money in the mail soon. That’s pretty cool of them. It’s not like I didn’t get anything at all, but they wanted to re-imburse me anyways. Too bad you can’t buy cars from a vending machine.