Posted 2:09 PM by Tim
Here I am in my cube, with my computer running, VELMA hanging out on the sidelines waiting for me to put a CD in, and a Morphling (in a hard plastic top loader) sitting on the desk. For those of you unfamiliar with me, that's probably all cryptic nonsense. For the rest of you, I no own 4 Morphling, courtesy of one of Wayne's friends.

The commute thing is working out alright. Apparently, the train line that I take doesn't have the same maintenance people, because it falls out of district with the union that is striking. At least, the bit that's out of the district is working, as soon as you get into the city, it all falls apart.

The exercise program is going pretty well. The diet is a little harder. I like my nachos and chocolate a lot - they're hard to give up. Ice Cream is easy to give up, I just don't buy any. I've lost a little bit more weight, and I'm feeling really good about it. The exercises themselves are a little troubling at times because I get the odd muscle twinge, but overall they're good. I've just got to warm up more beforehand.

Big game this weekend. I'm going to shoot for Masters, but we'll see how I end up.

Posted 2:16 PM by Tim
Today is interesting. The company is sponsoring some "basketball for charity" thing today, and they've got a cover band playing downstairs. Of course, it's only six floors lower than I am, so I can hear it quite clearly. They're not very good. Fortunately, I'm not really listening to them.

The train people are striking. No train maintenance - which means, no fueling, no track switching and no hitching cars. Basically, if I got on a train this afternoon, it would be too long or too short, would run on the wrong tracks and probably run out of fuel before we got anywhere. So, I'm switching to a bus for the interim. This means leaving work early. Woo.

On other another note, I will not be attending this year's Origins. I do not have the free cash available to make the trip, etc. I am a little disappointed about all this, but I'm going to continue saving what little money I earmarked for the event - hopefully it'll help me get a new place or furniture or something.

Posted 12:58 PM by Tim
Ok. I've been thinking about the drawing thing again. I must be on an upswing, becuase I'm starting to get a lot of hobbies and things that I want to get done. Anyhow, drawing. I really wanna make something anime-style like Self Insert or Underpower. I think that I might be able to do that if I managed to practice drawing enough. The trouble comes from the amount of time that I have free in an evening. Very little. The weekend is only marginally better, because there's a lot that has to be crammed into those two days.

Hobbies that I've recently thought about (FYI): Magic, drawing, crochet, sewing, game design, role-playing, exercising (yes I think of this as a hobby), music, MP3 collecting, Warhammer, painting, modeling, and I'm sure I've forgotten something.

As you can see, my hobbies can make me very busy. Hmm... I've been over this before. Basically, I haven't got a lot of time, and I'm not likely to get much anytime soon.

I think the commute is finally wiping me out. Attrition is one of those things that build up slowly. I used to be able to stay awake for the train and bus rides. Then I mostly slept. Then I slept all the time - lightly. Recently I've been sleeping deeply on the train rides. This isn't great because the system has to shock me awake. Now, I've been dreaming while on the commute, another bad item. Lately, there's been sleep disorientation. I'll wake up in bed, and think that it's my stop, or, conversely, I'll wake up on the bus and think that I've got to go to work/home, when I was headed to home/work. Gwah. Not a good sign. I'm going to have to do something about that.

Posted 2:55 PM by Tim
My glasses arrived yesterday. They fit alright, and they're good for my eyes. It does take some time to get past the disorientation. After that comes the headache, which, thankfully, builds slowly. I'm not sure how much I'm supposed to wear these. They're meant for distance, so it's for when I drive, or when I want to read a book from across the room or something. I'm just not sure. I almost never drive, so every time I drive I'll be switching from my normal vision to the glasses vision, and I'll get the disorientation, changes in depth perception and headache that comes from not being used to the glasses. Hmm... I wish I could remember what the doctor had told me. I've got to start listening better.

Posted 10:46 AM by Tim
It's Monday again.

The weekend is over, and was pretty interesting. Wayne, Bren and I all went out to play pool at a little place called The Bar. It's a local dive, really. It's main feature is nekkid women who need lessons in dancing. Three-handed pool isn't easy to play. It comes down to teams, or making up some interesting rules. Bren beat both Wayne and myself soundly, as Wayne and I were slightly, ummm... distracted. Also, I suck at pool. Somehow, I can manage to make complicated long-shots, but can't manage to sink a straight shot. It's another quirk of mine (or maybe, just related to the whole me).

This weekend was pretty busy. I went in to get frames (and lenses) for glasses for me. This marks the end of my "only family member without glasses" era. I hereby pass the torch on to my brother-in-law. Let me fill you in on my visual woes. Apparently, one of my eyes has always been stronger than the other (this is not uncommon, but usually affects people very little). Because the one eye was stronger, my brain decided to depend on the information coming from that eye more, this made the other eye less used, which in turn, made it progressively weaker. This wasn't a problem though, since my vision in both eyes was 20/40 (or something, I forget which number comes first). Basically, I could see better than most people. That's cool. Over time, however, my eyes have managed to get less and less capable (I'm now somewhere around 20/20), and the weaker eye is giving my overall vision a little bit of distortion and fuzz. Several months ago I noticed it, and went to have the eyes checked. At that time, the doctor said that I could choose glasses or not (I had similar choices with my tonsils, FYI).

If the vision thing didn't bother me, I didn't really need them. If it did, I should get them. Having only recently noticed a problem, I opted against glasses. This gave me time to really notice the issue, which is why I'm opting for them now.

Picking frames is something I've only done a few times. Often, it was someone else picking frames, and me commenting. Choosing frames for other people is easier than choosing ones for yourself. I've never worn glasses, so I have no idea what looks good on me. I had thought to get titanium frames (to set up a theme of sorts - titanium hardware), but they're expensive, and apparently are very difficult to adjust. I went with a stainless steel of some kind. I hope they'll look alright.

Posted 8:46 PM by Tim
I went to see Star Wars: Episode 2 last night. I had read that some people didn't like it, and I had read that there were some who thought that it was great. Spoilers ahead, for those who haven't seen it.

I did like the movie. It had it's moments, like Yoda saying "Master Obi-Wan has lost a planet. Shameful." The love story between Anakin and Padme was overblown, but it's always nice to see cleveage. I was bothered by the number of outfit changes for Padme, though they were certainly less than those for her in Episode 1. Also, I don't think the ex-queen understands the idea of "refugee." Yoda's scene was very interesting, though heavily CG. In fact, there were a few scenes which were remarkably CG, even though they didn't need to be - such as the fruit-eating scene between Anakin and Padme. The bite that she takes seems to take itself.

Otherwise, the movie is reasonable. Not great, but reasonable. Parts that I really enjoyed were fairly subtle. Not the great chase scenes, or the huge end battle - though both were good. I liked the external jumpship that Obi-Wan used. I liked the way that everything was subtly arranged, and the nice way that Luke's Aunt and Uncle were introduced - including the way that they paid attention to the structure details.

It's not a terrible movie, but it's not one of the greats either.

Posted 12:38 PM by Tim
Friday, another end of the week. I haven't worked this few hours in a week in a long time. Of course, not being here a lot means that everyone wants to talk to me. Woohoo! Umm.. yeah.

So, despite not working nearly as much as people would like me to work, I'm happy with what I've been doing lately. That is, coming in to work and doing something meaningful during the time I'm here - and then going home. I'm still very limited in my comings and goings from the work area itself (commute, as mentioned in other posts), but I am free to wander the underground, up-lands, and so forth.

I have been working on becoming an up-lander. Seeing the sun (and not referring to it as the flaming-sky-orb of the sky people), breathing the smog and all that. Hmm... I suppose that should read "fresh air," but I just don't see any of that around here. Mostly, I'm lucky just to get a nice smell (and not, say, sewer stench) when I take a nice lungful. Still, being above ground lets me see a lot more of the people and their lives.

I'm still doing the evening crunches. I must say that it's been difficult to get started, but worth the effort so far. I'm not straining myself too much, but I can tell that it's helping just a little bit (which shows just how out of shape I really am). I have been thinking about the whole "put activity into your day" thing, and I'm not sure where push-ups and crunches enter the realm of "everyday." At least, outside of boot camps. Maybe I should treat my daily life as a weird boot camp?

Run everywhere. Whenever you mess up, do a set of pushups. Run some more. Have shiny shoes. Wear a hat when outdoors. Somehow, I don't see it. Which, in a way is strange and pleasant.

I once thought that a career in the army was the way to go. Talked to recruiters and everything. The main reason I didn't join? Not fit enough (which they said they'd fix pretty quick), and my loss of love for the military structured life. At one time it was a good thing, and now it just no longer gave me the same satisfaction. I did (and do) know a few people in the military. Some of them got out, others have stayed. I still feel like I did then. I don't want that much structure. Some structure is good, but too much is too much. I'm happy with the way things are now.

Posted 4:40 PM by Tim
Had lunch with Mr. Smith. It was nice to get a chance to talk to him a bit. Unfortunately, we didn't get started with lunch until about 1:30, and by 3:00 I had to be getting back to work. It's just easier not to miss out on the entire day, though I would have if I had a planned route home that didn't involve the train.

I finally met his S.O., who was very nice, though the meeting was all too brief. I wish that I had had more time to hang out with him.

Posted 10:51 AM by Tim
A quick note and a longer thought. The note first.

Wayne was by the place last weekend, and we had some fun. I keep introducing him to new games when i get a chance. He seemed to really enjoy Illuminati. It really can be a fun game, but you've got to be able to play without the cheating rules to get the full effect.

Now, the long note. A really good friend of mine is in the area this week. I was hoping to hear from him a little sooner, but I know that this is a work trip for him, and not just a pleasure vacation. Still, it's really good to hear from him. We're going to do lunch today. This is a very happy thing for me, and I'm actually excited at the idea! It's been a little while since I've been excited about anything, so it's a nice change of pace. Unfortunately, excitement brings with it impatience, but I can deal with that.

I'm not sure what our plan (beyond lunch somewhere) is, but that won't really matter, it'll be nice just to get away for a bit.

I want to take a moment to describe the person who I'll be sharing lunch with today. I'm going to use his name, Mr. Smith, and I'm sure he won't mind (unless he does, then I'll be all apologetic...). Anyhow, I first met Mr. Smith in or around the 3rd grade, it might well have been earlier, but my memory if fragmented, jaded and normally incorrect. We'll call it 3rd grade. At the time, I was, of course, 8 years old, and paranoid. I've always been paranoid, school just made it more obvious. Mr. Smith, was also around that age. I don't recall anything specific about that grade, except for my teacher's name, Mrs. Silver (I believe, I may be wrong, as I've said already). Anyhow, we've known each other since at least then. That puts us at, umm, 18 years of friendship. Yep, other than my sibs, he's my oldest friend.

It's nice to have that much history with a person. It gives you a real point of reference in life. Mr. Smith and I used to attend Boy Scouts (his dad was a leader of some sort) and Army Cadets (he joined for 1 session, I stayed for 6 years), and school together. We both joined band (he a drummer - excuse me, percussionist, I a saxophone player). We knew most of the same circle of friends, and his house was the one place I always felt welcome (even if he wasn't there, I'd just chat with his mom or dad). There's a lot of memories here.

I remember going over to his house, to his room (which he decorated and painted himself, and I envied), grabbing any scrap of paper I could find, and a pen/pencil, and scribbling down poetry, words, and whatever happened into my mind at the time (something like a paper version of Storylines). I have to wonder what he thought of my written ranting. My laments for love and life and death and acceptance and everything. Maybe I'll ask him sometime, maybe I won't.

Of all the people I've known as friends, I've known him the longest. I've lived through the dramas that are a part of high school, and I've come to him at times when my mind was ready to snap - when I knew nobody else would have the ability to sit and listen and still be objective with me. Looking back I can see that in one way or another, he's always been the person who I felt that I could rant to - whether that be in writing or words or just by sitting and listening to his expansive collection of music.

Maybe, you're asking yourself, if I know him so well, why do I call him "Mr. Smith," rather than his first name (which is Mike, BTW)? Well, it just got to be a habit I suppose, and it's as much a nickname as his proper surname to me. It probably has a lot to do with the number of Mikes I know also.

So, today, I'm going to have lunch with him, and it's been a while since I've been able to see him (as he now lives 3 provinces to the right). It should be fun.

Posted 4:20 PM by Tim
The weather is ever-so-slowly starting to get back to being like summer. I don't mind. Let it take it's time. I am looking forward to it being warm enough to go to the beach though. The main reason is that I want to start making sand castles. Late last year I got a video on how to make really nice ones, and I've been patiently waiting for summer to apply what I learned.

Maybe I'll have to get a digital camera to take a few pictures too.

Posted 12:10 PM by Tim
Yay! I managed to do the crunches I wanted. In fact, I followed the "feels good" rule and did 20. I threw on a few forearm curls, some stretches and shoulder shrugs to get everything active a little bit. 3 more evenings this week (or more), and we'll have the start of a habit.

Have you ever noticed how easy it is to get started on a bad habit (and thus, hard to break), and how easy it is to break a good habit (and thus, hard to start)? I have to say that it took me forever to stop biting my nails, but I'm glad I don't anymore. I just know that this exercise thing will be the same.

Posted 1:29 PM by Tim
I realize how few people really care about my weight - but I thought that I'd bring everyone up to speed on the current situation. Today I weighed in a 204. This is a big thing for me, since I had been sitting at the 209 spot for some time now. I am still working towards my goal of 180. Only 24 more pounds to go.

I'm pretty happy with 204. I started at 220, and really just wanted to not weigh that much. I'm 16 pounds lighter now 7% lighter than I was when I started. I'm not sure what is causing the weight loss, other than a reduction in food intake. I'm simply not eating as much as I used to. A good thing overall.

I've been thinking about getting into better shape. I've got an exercise area set aside already, so why shouldn't I take advantage of it? I've noticed that the leg muscles are much better defined, and all it took was weeks and weeks of doing stairs everyday. At the start, I found that the stairs left me winded (a worrying thing, since I didn't want to be that out of shape). Now, I can run up the stairs fully loaded an not get winded at all (fully loaded includes carting Velma and the regular backpack weight with me). I've also noticed that I have to run up the stairs to make the calves burn like they're supposed to if you're exercising.

One area that I've always been concerned with is my gut. Not "my stomach" or "my abdomen" or "my belly" - my gut. It used to be flat. It's now a real, honest-to-goodness gut, overhang and all. Sure, I could say it's a roof or fuel tank or whatever other kitschy, cute thing they say to downplay it, but I won't. I don't like the gut. I want it gone, and I'm serving an eviction notice. I'm going to start out by doing a few crunches, or situps, or whatever doesn't make my back hurt at least 4 nights a week. By a few, I mean 10. Why only 10? I've tried this before. After 3 of them, my stomach is cramping and by 5 I'm feeling winded and dizzy. If I make it to 10, I'll have to lie on the floor for a minute to catch my breath. I'm going to slowly increase the number of crunches by following an ad-hoc combination of the 10% and "feels good" rule.

The 10% rule goes like this: After you've reached the point where you're not feeling the exercise anymore, increase it by 10% (time or reps, or sets or such). The "feels good" rule goes like this: If you're comfortable with more - do more.

I don't wanna get into the whole "plan" - I want to focus on the action. If I call this a plan, then I might not do it. I tend to think of a plan as suggesting a promise, a hope of how things will go. If I keep the plan out of it, and just stick with the action, then I'm going to feel more obligated to do it. Obligation is a good way to get me started anyway. If this works out, I may start using the dumbells again, and might even start running!

Posted 10:55 AM by Tim
Just a few funny things about the office:

1. Even though the office is basically a squared-off doughnut shape, you can no longer get from one side to the other by going around, you have to cross the middle. Why this is? I have no idea.

2. Someone puts up a sign on the moveable file rack "Do not stack things on this platform." Stuff had been placed on the rack platform, and people couldn't access the files they needed. So, someone put up a sign, "Ok."

3. While they're having fun making "Ok" signs, they also make a few more, including "Our Fridge," on the fridge (the other side has one of their own), and "No Exit" on the door that leads to the other side.

Just more of the great perks of working here.

Posted 10:35 AM by Tim
We're back now!

Posted 10:34 AM by Tim
Hmm, we seem to have lost ourselves.

Posted 11:47 AM by Tim
I caught the tail-end of a late night "smut" movie last night. Basically it was a really watered down versoin of what you'd find on the Playboy channel. More of an indie film than anything else. A lot of dialogue, strange lighting, and a fascination with shadowy breasts. I was watching it simply because it was on.

Wayne was still up when I turned the TV on, and I remarked having read that the sex scenes in soap-operas, movie and all that were pretty tough to do. Sure, it sounds easy, get naked and climb into bed with your sexy naked co-star(s). But, that's where the fantasy ends. First, it's not going to be like you're at home, there's a lot of extras, the cameraman, the director, other actors, even the guy who drops off the danishes is probably sticking around to watch. Then there's the whole scene. If you've got dialogue, you've got to put that in there somewhere. And get a good camera angle, while looking realistic, but not showing (or showing enough) of the skin to fit what you're doing. Even with that, if you're not shooting porn, there's no entry allowed (at least I can't reasonably see actors getting that into the part). So, if you get an erection, well, you gotta watch were you put that thing, and if you don't, wouldn't that make the co-star feel just a little unattractive?

Overall, I can see the whole thing as being pretty stressful, even if you do get to write "had love scene with [insert celeb babe name here]" on your resume.

Posted 11:08 AM by Tim
So, I'm staying with Wayne for a few days. That's no trouble, we've done this before. He's working until the evenings, and I'm more or less hanging around his place until he gets home. Yesterday, he brought up the idea of not going to Origins this year. I have to admit, I'd already thought of it. We went last year and it was immensely fun - but it's also very expensive. Cash is not something that I have floating around in large quantities right now.

Our early estimates for costs are $250 USD just to attend the con and stay in the cheapest hotel we can find. Games, food, travel, and other purchases all extra (and all in USD). Simply by not going, I save that much money. Wayne suggested that we could then put that money towards purchasing Moxen, but I've got other plans for it if we decide not to go.

The trouble with not going is that we've said that we would go, right from the time of the last Origins. Changing out minds now means that we're abandoning almost a year of semi-planning and dreaming. Of course, we could find a few other tournaments instead, and still save a pile of money.

As it stands, I'm on the fence. I can see me going, and not going. I'll have to think about it a little longer.

Posted 3:17 PM by Tim
This weekend is busy, and starting early. I'm headed out to Wayne's place tonight to help him study for an exam he has coming up, and to relieve Bren of the hassles of driving me to work for a little bit. We've got a lot of playtesting planned as well, with a pre-release tournament and a Type 1 game coming up this week.

Also on the weekend plan is a old friend of mine headed this way, and the long weekend. As I said, it should be exceptionally busy. I'll try to keep the blogs coming.

Posted 10:23 AM by Tim
I had a nice chat with a mortgage broker yesterday. Apparently, I'm too poor to get a real mortgage. Or something. See, I've only got a little bit of avilable cash handy for a downpayment, which means that I'd have to get a high-rate mortgage (or something like that). But, in order to get that, you have to have a real, full-time job, or have worked at the same contract for 2 years. I haven't got either. Which means, in mortgage terms, that I have no money, and therefore, cannot get a mortgage. So, no home for us.

Instead, we've decided to take a look at apartments. It's not like we haven't lived in apartments before, so it shouldn't be too terrible to live in them again. It is disheartening to be told that you can't get any kind of real mortgage though.

Posted 2:33 PM by Tim
This weekend, I managed to go see Spider Man, the movie. I had missed out on an earlier chance to see it, so I was looking forward to watching it this weekend. I had seen the previews, and had expected the movie to be blindingly fast-paced, with nearly impossible to follow action. I was not disappointed - at least not in the action scenes.

The movie was great. I liked the dialogue, and the heinous villany of the Green Goblin (a long-time favourite Spider Man villian). I must say that Green Goblin was perfectly mad enough to be unpredictable, but also intelligent enough to still be a difficult villian to defeat. Bren and I somewhat discussed the way the movie set up a sequel, and I wondered about which villians would make it to Spider Man 2. Note that I say "villians," because the sequel has to have more villians than the first movie. I'm thinking maybe The Kingpin, Scorpion, or Doctor Octopus. All classic for Spidey.

One thing that I did like, was the switch from the "radioactive spider bite" to the "mutant spider bite" idea. The mutant spider makes more sense (well, somewhat anyway) even though the process they describe for the mutancy isn't quite correct. I also can't figure out what the big electron microscope has to do with spider science either - maybe they needed a really "science-y" background?

On the talk of movies, lets talk about a new video I picked up: Daria: Is it fall yet? I've always liked Daria. Most of the shows are very witty, and cynical and sardonic enough for me to enjoy them thoroughly. I noticed the video in the store for cheap, and had to get it. Of course, it was very enjoyable, even though it did require a little bit of knowledge of the preceeding backstory for the movie. But, that's the way a lot of animation works.

Tonight, if I get the opportunity, I will be watching Master of Mosquiton #1. In preparation for Master of Mosquiton #2 later this week.

Posted 4:54 PM by Tim
One of the things that I've gotten used to is the playing of practical jokes by co-workers. Well, none of them are played on me, so I'm not really affected by them. I know they happen though, and I try to stay out of the way when they happen. Sometimes the jokes are pretty ingenius, but usually they're pretty pedantic. Fortunately, nobody knows me well enough to know if I'll take a joke lightly or not. So, nobody plays anything on me. I'm fine with that.

Actually, the joke playing is fairly inconsistent with my idea of the kind of place where I'm supposed to be working. My last place of employ (a similar role and position in a similar company), more or less told me that mhy antics were not enjoyed. Of course, I didn't play any practical jokes, but the point was clearly made. Maybe I'll share those antics some day. Not today though.

I have started to bring out the "weird" cubicle decorations. In my last cube these were a sign that told people where I was, including items like "Out to lunch", "MIA", and "Elsewhere." This cube has a small puzzle toy I got for Christmas from the boss at the last job, and my set of juggling balls - which I juggle from time to time. Combined with my other small habits, its not too much wonder why nobody bothers me.

Posted 11:49 AM by Tim
I've been doing a lot of driving lately. Now, I love to drive. I just don't get to do it much lately because of the commute. But, the last three days, I've been doing the driving.

This morning, everyone else was too tired to take me to work. No problem, I know the way, and I've got to be awake anyway. Last night, Bren had been beaned with a speeding ticket, and didn't feel like driving anymore that evening if she could get away with it. Again, not an issue, becuase I feel the same way. The night before that, Bren was driving, but a rather large dog managed to find it's way under the wheels, and she didn't feel like driving anymore that evening either. I sympathize, since I felt the same way after squishing a cat. (Am I callous or what?)

Overall, I've been driving because others don't feel like it. Not that I mind, since I love driving.

This leads me on a tangent. You might wonder why anyone lets me drive at all in a moment. In my history of driving things I have done, or had happen the following: I mashed up the turning joint on a truck. I've crashed a tractor into a tree (requiring extensive repair to the steering system), driven a vehicle while it was on fire (without noticing), banged my car into the rear of another car (hefty repairs on ours), backed my car into the front of another (no damage), and run over a cat, a bird and a rabbit.

To my credit, however, I've avoided a number of collisions, including one with a lovely pair of deer. Yes, I've hit more than my share of stuff, but maybe I don't completely suck.

Maybe it's the fact that I'm the only other driver around at the time, but I'm starting to wonder why my driving is considered "comforting."

Posted 3:24 PM by Tim
It's raining a lot today, and I'm feeling depressed. This is never a good situation for me, because I also tend to be grumpy when I'm depressed.

Bren and I have been discussing jointly buying a house with Wayne. Something that will suit everyone. I've got my reservations, but a house might be nice.

Posted 1:31 PM by Tim
Have I mentioned how much I love the city? I really do. Toronto is the city of which I speak, and I love it. Sure its noisy, crowded and has a funny smell at times - but I love it. There's always something happening, and always something noteworthy.

Just today, on a short walk outside I saw: a bagpiper, in full dress, complete with handlebar moustache and ponytail. Very cool. A "bag lady," who was actually a very frumpy, and apparently confused, man in a dress (or series of dresses to be accurate). I also located an out of the way store that sells anime videos very cheaply. I feel that I am now doomed to start collecting again.

Another incident of note takes a bit of explaining. I'm walking along and I see a bicyclist in the road. No biggie here, since there's people biking all over the place. I'm distracted for a moment - possibly by an attractive woman or a bit of shiny lint or something when I hear squealing brakes and a crunching sound like plastic and metal rapidly changing shape on impact. I wish I could describe it a bit better. Well, seems that the biker decided to make a left hand turn through oncoming traffic and got mashed by a largish van. By the time I looked up, the bike (and rider) were both down. From where I was standing, the biker looked alright, just knocked down. I had a cell phone, but not the presence of mind to actually dial for help. Fortunatly for the biker, the vehicle directly behind him when he was in the street was an ambulance. It pulled up to the intersection, flashed the lights and the paramedics got out to help. As for me, knowing the people who could help were there, I just turned and walked on.

Of course, the first thing I wanted to do after that was call someone and tell them what happened. But I didn't. I decided to save it for the blog. Damn am I jaded or what?

Posted 10:36 AM by Tim
FYI, Storylines is back!

Posted 10:10 AM by Tim
The weather is a little rainy today. I'm feeling a little down. I think there's just been a lot of talk about the future at my house, and that just gets me down.

Bren and I have been discussing the housing situation lately, and she's wanting a house. It took me a while to realize what she meant by that. Let me explain. For nearly all of my life, I've lived in apartments. I don't remember living in a house - even though we did. I do remember the stories that my parents told me about how they went bankrupt trying to sell their dream home. So, I'm a bit put off by houses.

I do want to own a home. For me, it's a huge thing though. Part of it is the prestige of being a home-owner. It's a statement: "I can afford a house." It's also something that my parents can be proud of - if I can keep from going bankrupt with it, that is. It's also a huge commitment. To me, the idea of a house means that you're choosing to live somewhere. Forever. Strange, isn't it? That someone who's moved about so much (and doesn't see that trend stopping for a while), would think that anything meant staying in one place. I suppose it's the way I was raised. I spent about 14 or so years of my life in one apartment. My dad's parents lived in one place all their married lives, etc. It's just always seemed to me that once you had a house (a home anyway), that moving again became an impossibility.

Bren took some time to explain to me the idea she has for buying a house. It'd be temporary. A few years maybe. Fix it up. Put some time into it, and then sell it. I can see the logic. I can see how it all makes sense. I just need some time to understand.

Posted 11:46 AM by Tim
I always seem to miss out on the weekend updates? Could it be the rediculously slow internet connection from home? The sheer lack of time? I mean, it's a struggle enough just to get to read Narbonic every day. That's about the gist of my internet time each weekend.

Let's recap the weekend for everyone though. Wayne got bored of his life where he normally lives it, and headed out our way for a bit of fun. Too bad about him blanking on his exam this week, but he's got time to make up the difference. While he was out this way, we played a lot of games. Mostly Magic of course, but a few others here and there.

One game we had to play a few times was Kill Doctor Lucky, by Cheapass Games. They're surprisingly good. We managed to play 2 games, going through the deck a full time before anyone managed to bag the old codger. The first game saw the 4 of us develop killing strategies in a weird sort of way. I kept trying to stab, shoot, or otherwise poke holes in the bugger. Wayne worked on the subtle angle, trying for the Bad Cream, and Rat Poison, while the wife worked on strangulation techniques with all manner of ropes. The fourth player went for the "mojo" kill with the Tight Hat, Broomstick, Monkey Hand, and finally the Shoehorn. Of course, the Shoehorn did him in. I'm still not sure how.

The second game had 5 players, and was just as fun. Wayne managed to figure out a way to run half the mansion with the Dr. in tow, giving him a load of free turns. He came close to winning with the shoehorn ploy, but was foiled, and at the last minute, Bren managed to bring him down with the Pinking Shears.

I arranged for Wayne to bring me a few things from his place (where they've been waiting patiently). The big items were two Sharhazad cards, and the remainder of my anime collection. I've got 62 anime vids (that I can find), and Wayne toted down 40+. Yay! Now I can watch movies again. I'll have to start at the beginning and re-do all of the anime reviews. I'm thinking of doing this in a catalog style, with all the pertinent info, etc. That should take me a little bit of time to put together at least.

Posted 10:30 AM by Tim
I went appartment looking last night. Second night in a row actually. Basically, I'm looking to cut down the commute time. I figure that I can reduce the whole "day" by about 2 hours if I start the commute in Barrie, instead of where I am now.

The place that I looked at on Wednesday was nice. A 3 bedroom, 2 floor building, with reasonable rent and a fair size. It would be big enough for the family, but it's not in a very good place. We're still considering it for the short term though. Yesterday's views were of bachelor appartment. No bedroom, smallish places. I saw 2. The first was an underground place, 2 main rooms, a small storage closet, and a bathroom. The ceilings had exposed pipes, which I think is quiant, but unpractical. They were barely higher than my head, and the ceiling itself wasn't much higher than the pipes. Still, it was a nice place, and reasonably priced also.

The other place I looked at was a loft-style appartment, over a fashion boutique. A third floor walkup right downtown. I've always liked the idea of the phrase "a third floor walkup on the lower east side," which, conincidetially, is a fair description of this appartment's location. Happiness. The loft had some very nice flooring, and was a little smaller in room sizes than the basement place, but it had a larger bathroom and higher ceilings. Really high ceilings. I have to say, I really liked it. If I were on my own, with no family to think about supporting, I'd probably take it (it's available immediately). My major complaint with the place was this: How do you get furniture in it? The main door is a little skinnier than I like, and getting to the appartment means walking up 2 flights (tall flights too) of stairs, hanging a sharp right, down a short hall and turn right again to finish the hairpin turn. I can see only problems getting a futon frame to bend in the way necessary to fit into this place. Though, it'd be perfect for a few bar stools, small chairs, inflatable furniture, and beanbags. And I wouldn't want anything heavy.

I do like the place, but I think I'm going to have to pass.

Posted 3:26 PM by Tim
Today has been a good day. I had lunch with an old friend, Mike. A little backstory for the unenlightened: Mike and I met in Midland, Ontario one day several years ago, during the summer while I was living with my then-girlfriend-later-wife. We had a common interest in Magic, and I had no friends at the time, so - with some prodding from the then-girlfriend, I talked to Mike some and we later hung out.

Mike has been cool for as long as I've known him, and he's an artist (animator) which makes him even cooler. I've always wanted to draw like Mike - well, as long as I've known Mike anyway.

He's been living in the city for a while now, doing his animator thing, and I've been working in the city for a little bit - so lunch eventually was inevitable. Funny thing is, he's been here all this time and doesn't know anything about the underground tunnel system, and I've been here all this time and can't find a thing above ground. Strange, but true. He agreed to show me where stuff was above ground, and I agreed to show him how to get into the tunnels. Not an exciting trade, I suppose, but interesting enough for a boring person like me.

To carry the story along a bit, we met, walked about the city for a bit and had lunch. Nice place to eat too, but I can recall the name. Had "mugg" or something in it though. They make a good Chicken Ceasar. Which, if you've had a sit-down lunch with me, is all I ever seem to order. It's nearly healty!

Anyway, it was good to see him again, and we're going to have to do lunch again before it gets too far along. Besides, I said I'd mention lunch and stuff in the blog. So, there.

Posted 4:02 PM by Tim
I've been trying to save a bit of money for Origins this year. Actually, I've been saving since the start of the year for this event. I don't have much saved. It's probably my method. Every few days, I clear out the change in my pocket and put it in a jar. By "clearing out" I mean, I throw the whole pile on the bed, take anything worth a quarter or more and put it back in my pocket. The rest goes into the jar. I probably have almost $3 saved.

I'd heard about Origins for a long time before I actually managed to go. The first time I went (last year), I went only because I was living in Cleveland - a mere 2 hours from Columbus. Of the 4 days, I attended only 2 (Saturday and Sunday). I did take Friday off to prepare though. I somehow managed to rope Wayne into the deal. He'd never attended a convention before, where I had attended several (all small, insignificant ones by comparison). This was going to be an interesting experience for both of us.

Attending the convention was very interesting. We managed to pick out enough events to keep us busy for the entire time we would be there (less time for sleep, food and showers - all ultimately important items every con-goer should strive for). In fact, over 2 days, we probably play about 18 to 24 hours of games. All of them Magic related. Wayne traded like the trade-deamon he is, and managed to make money somehow - I think. I, however, engaged in a number of less-then-reputable trades, involving cards I had no legal right to trade away, and thusly, made out like a bandit on almost all my trades.

The low point of the event, for me anyway, was having one of the major tournaments cancel itself and leave before anyone noticed. They simply didn't tell anyone they were cancelling and left. Which is too bad, because it was a money prize. I suppose the low turnout for the previous tournament showed them how much money they would stand to lose.

Anyhow, the plan this year is to go all four days. Not only that, but this time I wanna see the whole con, not just the CCG room. I wanna waste the wee hours watching anime, and the not-so-wee hours attending lectures, seminars, and maybe even getting in on a few games I only get to play once every blue moon (or other, unusual celestial event).

In the next 2 months there's bound to be a lot of planning, sundry card purchases, and preparation. I hope I can earmark enough cash for the whole shebang. While I'm there, I'll try to take notes, or possibly even blog.