Posted 12:59 AM by Tim
Ok, not that having a really convoluted thought on the blog has ever bothered me before, but I wanted to leave a small break between this and the previous thoughts. Several of my friends from high school and unversity are getting married this year. In the next few months actually. They've been on my mind lately. See, I don't have the cash to attend all of their weddings. They're all east of me a ways, so the travel costs just aren't in the budget. I've already told one friend that I wouldn't be able to make it out that way, and it's rather upset me that I can't go. I was really hoping that I'd be in a much better financial place by now than I am.

What burns me even more is that I don't even have the cash to get any sort of present for the wedding or anything. The best I can do is wish them happiness and luck in their life, and well, hope to see them when I can. I suppose I can pretend that I'm there when the ceremony is on, and attend in spirit. That's probably the most that I can do.

For the others, well, I'm putting funds away now so that I can hopefully afford to live like a street person while I'm attending the wedding. I'll be the one stuffing food into my jacket for the walk home later. :)

Posted 12:52 AM by Tim
I've never claimed to be the easiest person to understand, but I did think that I was at least a little bit understandable. This week, I've been confused for an Australian, and an American. Ok. The American thing was just a misunderstanding, I was talking about my work in the USA, and they assumed that I was born there. As for the Australian bit, apparently I have a bit of an accent, and they couldn't place it. Now, in a new place I tend to speak very properly, so that I'm clearly understood. After all, I'm just getting used to their accents, and they're getting used to mine. Apparently, that makes me sound somewhat British, but more Australian. Ok then.

Now, on to other things. Is it bad, when in one of the few conversations all week, you use the words: "spongiform encephalopathy," "prion," and "neurotubules?" I thought so. Anyway, FYI, spongiform encepalopathy is the human equivalent of mad cow disease, prions, are the cause of that disease, and neurotubules is probably a made up word, but it sounds good, doesn't it?

Posted 1:23 AM by Tim
At work, I've got about 8 hours of time to think to myself. My job is starting to reach the point where I'm able to do it without too much conscious thought now. That's a good thing for me. It means that I get time to work out the plot of the stories that I've got in my head. Of course, it also leads to a lot of random thinking.

Tonight, I wondered, again, about the nature of the universe and God and all of those things. I've been meaning to have a chat with a couple of my friends about the whole subject, just to see what their viewpoints are. In a related vein, I wondered how difficult it would be to become a reverend. I've heard of people doing that before. For me, it wouldn't be a faith thing, I just think it would be cool to be Reverend Tim. That'd be kinda neat. The power to actually perform weddings and last rites and all that would be kinda cool too. I can't see any practical purpose for it though.

It's sort of like every time I consider becoming a bartender (usually in the periods where I've got no work). I don't drink, so I imagine that I'd need to have some sort of "designated drinker" with me, to help me pass the course. The way I see it, I can't be descriminated against based on religion. Well, in my religion (the Salvation Army), we have very strict no drinking rules. It would probably look a little odd that I'd be taking a course about drinking while refusing to drink on the grounds of religion, but that's not my problem. That's the way anti-descrimination laws work. You can't be excluded from doing something, even if it doesn't make any sense to do it. Or something like that. The main trouble with being a bartender is that I wouldn't know whether I was doing a good job or not. Other people would have to tell me. That, and the huge discussion it would bring up with my parents.

Anyway, like I said, a lot of time to think of crazy things. No time to write about them though. At least, not until I get home.

Posted 11:51 AM by Tim
This has been a quiet week. Literally. I'm at home alone during the day, and at work I'm really not talking very much. I could probably have gotten away with a vow of silence this week and not even have had to really test it. I've never had a problem with being silent. In a lot of cases, I'm happier to listen than to talk. It does make the week very lonely though.

This isn't the first time that I've been loney from sheer silence. I'm sure everyone has experienced it at some point in their lives. Me, I've had long stretches of very little talking before. Usually from when I go off somewhere to work. When I was in Cleveland, there were days that I really didn't speak to anyone. Especially weekends. Before I found a few friends in the area, I could go from Friday afternoon to Monday morning without uttering a single word to anyone. In a way, I liked that. It was interesting to sometimes see how much I could accomplish without words. Made me wonder what it would be like if I were mute.

Even in the Toronto job, there would be days were I didn't need to speak to anyone. I could go about my day and barely speak a word. Again, sometimes this was just to see how little I could say and still be functional. You should try it sometime. It's a different way of looking at the world. But remember to talk to someone sometime. Life is much easier that way.

Posted 1:40 PM by Tim
Well, I meant to post this last night, but just didn't get around to it before going to bed. So, here's some thinking from yesterday.

The girls and Bren are on vacation this week. I would have went, but I've got my job now, and I really can't ask for time off already. So, I'm home, and they're not.

Wayne is working the morning shift at his work, and I've got the afternoon shift. He's gone by 7, and back at 3:30 or something, and I'm not awake till after he's left. I leave before he gets back, and I'm home after he's asleep. So, we're both here, but never at the same time. It's like I'm living in a house of ghosts. Stuff moves around while I'm away (or asleep).

I bought myself a set of anime this weekend from a little second hand store downtown. They have decent prices on movies usually, and their selection tends to be pretty good. A little odd, but good. Anyway, I bought vids 1-3 of BattleSkipper. The cover suggests a fun little cheesecake mecha/schoolgirl anime, and the three vids were only $21. A good deal really. They're released in English via Manga, which usually means a quality anime.

I watched the first one last night, and I'll probably limit myself to one at a time. It wasn't bad, but I've got a few complaints. First, it was only 30 minutes. That's a lot of wasted tape putting out the other 2 vids. Second, I don't like the Mecha design. They're really blocky. Not very active looking. Of course, they had to be made into toys, after all, the anime is sponsored by Tomy. There's even a pair of advertisements for the toy versions just before the main anime gets started.

Working the afternoon shift is a little different than working the day shift. Not just because I get out of work in the dead of night, but because of the way people work. There's more conversation, and it seems a little more relaxed. I'll have to give all of the shifts a try, see what I like.

Posted 6:04 PM by Tim
So, I'm a part of the regular working world again. It's going pretty well so far. I have noticed a few differences between working where I am now, and what I've been doing the rest of the time.

First: The Internet. Every other job before (aside from those where I worked outside), has had the internet available to anyone as needed. So, it was pretty common for me to search out things I needed, to browse my comics, and still manage to blog and get email done in the day. Now, there's nothing but a very bland corporate intranet, which leaves very little browsing for me. I don't even get a good cell phone signal, so there's not really any way to get real news either.

Past that, there's the difference in pay. I expected a difference, and knew full well that I was going into a job with a massive cutback in my take home pay. For a good example of the difference, I will be making as much in 2 weeks of work as I had been making in 2 days. Yep, that's a big pay cut. Today, I was talking with one of my co-workers about lunches. I'm bringing them, but I was used to just going out to a fast food joint for lunches. She wondered how someone could afford such luxury. I had to somewhat sheepishly tell her that it was possible if you were paid enough.

Lastly, working conditions. Don't get me wrong, the place that I work in is great. Very nice place, and very new. Everywhere else, there was some feeling of a drive for community. People felt that they had to try to interact with each other as much as possible during the day. And they could. The work was such that you really needed to get together to coordinate. At the new job, there isn't as much of a forced feeling to the community. There's more of a natural community setting. There's still some pressures to get together and be friendly, but it's a lot less than I felt at other places of work.

There's enough difference to be noticable, but it's still work.

Posted 7:05 PM by Tim
Second day of work is the first full day. Still doing training on the system. Seems pretty straightforward. I just have to get accurate with it. That's the big thing. Accuracy.

I think it might take me another day or two to get to the point where I know what I'm doing for sure. The application itself isn't the problem, it's the many points where a decision has to be made about whether or not something counts or not. I'd explain more, but I don't think I'm allowed.

In other news, it looks like we'll be getting another car to give me a way to get out to work on a consistent basis. Something so that I can just drive there without worrying about how Brenda is going to get around. We've got a good possible car, but it's a standard. That's not really great because I don't drive a stick very well. Neither does Brenda. We'll have to learn though.

A bit of good news, I've got some ideas about stuff to write about. I'd let you all know about it, but there's not a lot to tell yet.

Posted 1:56 PM by Tim
Started the job today. Training day. Seems pretty straightforward. I'm going to have to update my CD collection.

I'm borrowing my brother-in-law's truck for the week so that I can get to and from work. I've affectionately named it "the Tank." It handles like a rocket-powered brick in all respects. Starting and stopping are more like take-off and landing. Braking hauls the truck to one side or the other, depending on which way the wheels are pointed. It seems pretty good for gas so far, so that's alright. If I can keep from killing myself in the truck, I should be alright for getting to work this week.

Posted 2:03 PM by Tim
Well, the job front has changed a little. I've got a job. I'm not sure what their policy on web stuff is, so I'll leve their name off for now. Suffice it to say that I'll be working. That's a good thing. With any luck I'll be able to finally make up the difference between what we need to make and what we've been making. If I can keep up with the after-hours stuff (tournaments and so on), then I should be able to really start to cover the difference.

Posted 2:35 PM by Tim
Ok. Here's the scoop. I've got a short term job. All this week. Starting at 6PM, and running till the wee hours. It's not a bad job. I could think of much, much worse. But it's also not an exciting job. I'm a document scanner. I feed documents into an industrial scanner, and name them with a three letter code and numerical sequence. Straightforward, easy work. Surprisingly, there really is a full time position for this job. It's one of those tasks that just has to be done, and there isn't a good way to automate it.

This morning I slept in till about 10ish. Don't remember exactly. All I know is that I'm still sleepy. I might get a nap after I get something together for dinner.

In other news, this throws off my writing time, and my exercise time. I just don't have the energy to do anything creative. I've still got the drive for both though, so I'm sure I'll get back into it soon.

Posted 12:58 PM by Tim
Job News: I'm employed for the next week. Not the Atlanta thing, but a local job. Just something temporary while the regular person is on vacation.

Posted 9:26 PM by Tim
Right. Tomorrow is looking like it will be busy. I've got to do some testing for a staffing agency, and I've got an interview with some people from Atlanta. Not sure what I'd do if I got the job down there. First, I'd have to get across the border, then it's on to the jobsite I suppose.

I know that doesn't seem like a lot, but I've also got quite a bit of writing and cleaning to do. Hopefully there will be good news on the job front soon.

Posted 11:05 AM by Tim
Well. I'm still looking for a job. Even after several reasonably good interviews. So, what's this mean to me? Well, I've got to do something. And soon.

My wife is becoming more and more willing to let me go just about anywhere as long as it involves getting paid. She sent me this link: Nova Groups. Nova Groups is one of those places that sends people into Japan to teach English as a second language. Of course, I've always loved the idea of just going to Japan. The thoght of being able to work there is practically orgasmic. Trouble is, there's a few things that she probably didn't realize when she sent this to me.

First, the minimum contract time is 1 year. Yep, 12 whole months away. And in that time (according to their site's info), you get 10 holiday days, plus 8 days at the start of new year. Those holiday days don't start until you're in your 6th month. I can't see me taking all my holiday days at once, but if I did, that'd be about 8 days home for the year. If I were a bachelor, that'd be fine. But married, and with children, it's just not good.

Second, the rate of pay is 304,000 JPY a month. Or, according to the cash conversion site I found, about $3500 a month. That's with a 35 hour work week. That works out to $25 per hour, which is a great rate. Of course, things are supposed to be more expensive in Japan, so that's a strike against it. You do have to pay rent (but you share with at least 1 other person). At least you don't have to go house hunting.

Trying to save some cash could be difficult though. I'm under the impression that live in Japan is more expensive than life in Canada. Of course, I don't smoke or drink, and probably wouldn't have a car, so I'm not going to be charged more for my beer, cigarettes or gas than in Canada.

If I were a bachelor, I'd take this opportunity without much question. I've got no job here and the prospects are looking bad. Best plan is just to pack and try somewhere else. Why not, eh? I've got a friend who did that. Went to Ecuador becuse the job market where he was living was terrible. Spent a while down there (6 months? or a year? I can never remember). Came back to Canada after it was all done with some cash and went right back into the job search. He felt good about the whole thing. Hmm. Maybe Bren and the girls could all come with me? That'd be an experience, eh? Dunno how Bren would handle it. She kinda likes being close to home. And I don't know if she'd want to teach English.

Posted 12:21 AM by Tim
Sometimes necessity is the mother of invention. Other times, it's just the catalyst for desperation. And desperation is a great motivator. The finanacial situation here has moved from bad to worse. I'm trying to think of anything to make some cash. I'm looking at turning the tournament organizer thing into a full time job. If I can make a few bucks a week, we'd be all set. I think I've said before that I only really need to make about $500 a month to manage to cover expenses. I don't know if I'll manage to get there or not, but I'm going to give it a try.

On a happier note, I've started to exercise again. I always liked it when I was doing the weights before, so I've started on them again. Going slow at first. A low number of reps, and a smallish set of exercises. Just trying to build up the arms and shoulders. I'm doing a few leg lifts and crunches too so that I can shrink this gut a little. I'll probably need more for the gut, but it's my worst spot. I can barely do 10 crunches without siezing up and dying. That'll get better as it goes though. Past experience tells me that it'll take a week or two before 10 feels like nothing, and I can start adding more reps.

Honestly, I haven't been as good at getting the exercise in as I thought I'd be. This is a little late, but it's better to start late than not at all.

Posted 12:16 AM by Tim
I'm a sucker for the kitschy, 70's style Batman. I love the way that they did the whole thing. Very cool. Teletoon has been playing some of the old Spiderman cartoons. Same era, same kind of kitsch. All the great old lingo, "Groovy!" and such. Besides, at midnight, it's kinda fun to watch the psychadelic backgrounds.

I have to admit that I like the way that the spiderman cartoons were put together. All of the scenes were put at odd angles. Tilted 45 degrees, then straight, then tilted the other way. Or having things not line up very well. Feet in the wrong spot, mouths that move when they shouldn't, or be closed when they should be open. You can really see the junior art in there too. And the reused backgrounds. A classic.

One of the things that the Spiderman cartoons were lacking was continuity. (As a bit of a disclaimer, I think I've got the numbers right, but I could be wrong). The episode I watched tonight (which involved Peter Parker wanting to be a Football star, and the villian "Skymaster," and an invisibility formula) had a "big game" scene. The scoreboard was very interesting to watch. The first time it's shown, it shows 4th quarter, with 54 seconds to go. The Vistors have just scored a touchdown, making the score 0-6. The next time it shows up, the board shows that there's only 21 seconds to go, but the score is 6-6 for a second before the Visitors side flips over to 13. Interesting. I don't know much about football, but this suggests that in 33 seconds, the home team has been passed the ball,scored a touchdown, missed the extra point, passed the ball back, and the visitors have scored and gotten the point. Wow. That is some seriously exciting football.

Of course, at this time, Spiderman shows up on the scene with the star Quaterback (didn't I mention that Skymaster had kidnapped him so that his father would reveal the invisibility formula? No matter). We show the scoreboard again. Only 14 seconds now, but the score is 12-14. Again, the home team has scored, and again, the visitors have managed a point. In only 7 seconds this time. Spiderman helps the quarterback cheat, and the home team wins it 18-12. Yeah. The visitors apparently lost points there somewhere, and they don't mind that the home team cheated to get the win. That's some seriously strange football. Now, I didn't check to see how many seconds were left on the clock, but if there were any, they should definately have played it out. You never know what might happen, right?