Brand New Colony
(Feist 1-2-3-4)
I am now part of the mortgage debt community. Life is moving so fast. Sorry I've neglected you Mr. Blog. I will be back soon...maybe. Til then, so long and thanks for all the fish.
Monday, May 07, 2007
Monday, December 18, 2006
Saturday, December 09, 2006
I don't think we're in Kansas anymore.
(The Fray - How To Save a Life)
Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life
...
Highlights from week 1 at the new job...
- It doesn't matter where I am, if I'm sitting idle in a moving vehicle, my super powers of sleep start to kick in. If someone is driving and I am the passenger, my eyes will be shut by the time the car is moving. During my commute this week, I overslept my subway stop twice. On Monday, I overslept by about 4 stops. Luckily I planned to get to work 30 minutes early to make a good impression. As it turns out, I got to work 5 minutes early. On Friday, I overslept my commute by about 8 stops. When I had woken up, the subway car was completely empty and the next stop read "Greenwood". I've lived in the Toronto area for the past 20 years and I've never even heard of Greenwood. I hope Santa gives me an alarm clock for Christmas so I can use it for my commute.
- I work in a sausage factory. Of the 30 or so employees at my new company, there are exactly 2 women. One is the company controller and the other one is the vp of marketing.
- I've decided that this 1.5 hr commute to work is good for me. I need to get more exercise. If my tummy gets any bigger, I might not be able to see my penis in the shower. Which makes it hard to wash. No one wants a dirty penis.
- The good thing about working for a company that has so many male workers is that the company Christmas party is at the Toronto Raptors basketball game. That would only fly with the coolest of women.
- There is no dress code at my office. The CEO walks around in jeans, sneakers and a t-shirt.
- The management group are all under 40 years old. My boss is 2 years younger than me.
- Here's something to scare you. For the 10 new business consultants they just hired including me, they had to interview 100 people. 9 out of 10 failed the technical interview. Which means that 9 out of 10 people are dumber than me.
(The Fray - How To Save a Life)
Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life
...
Highlights from week 1 at the new job...
- It doesn't matter where I am, if I'm sitting idle in a moving vehicle, my super powers of sleep start to kick in. If someone is driving and I am the passenger, my eyes will be shut by the time the car is moving. During my commute this week, I overslept my subway stop twice. On Monday, I overslept by about 4 stops. Luckily I planned to get to work 30 minutes early to make a good impression. As it turns out, I got to work 5 minutes early. On Friday, I overslept my commute by about 8 stops. When I had woken up, the subway car was completely empty and the next stop read "Greenwood". I've lived in the Toronto area for the past 20 years and I've never even heard of Greenwood. I hope Santa gives me an alarm clock for Christmas so I can use it for my commute.
- I work in a sausage factory. Of the 30 or so employees at my new company, there are exactly 2 women. One is the company controller and the other one is the vp of marketing.
- I've decided that this 1.5 hr commute to work is good for me. I need to get more exercise. If my tummy gets any bigger, I might not be able to see my penis in the shower. Which makes it hard to wash. No one wants a dirty penis.
- The good thing about working for a company that has so many male workers is that the company Christmas party is at the Toronto Raptors basketball game. That would only fly with the coolest of women.
- There is no dress code at my office. The CEO walks around in jeans, sneakers and a t-shirt.
- The management group are all under 40 years old. My boss is 2 years younger than me.
- Here's something to scare you. For the 10 new business consultants they just hired including me, they had to interview 100 people. 9 out of 10 failed the technical interview. Which means that 9 out of 10 people are dumber than me.
Sunday, December 03, 2006
I'm so hard for the rich girl...
(Stars - Elevator Love Letter)
Her heels are high and my hope's so low
'cause I don't know how to love
...
So I read somewhere that you can tell a lot about a person through their handshake. I don't know exactly what you could tell or how you would tell it but I think it'd be a great leap over the communication gap of our society. You could bypass all the small talk you do when you first meet someone through a simple handshake. Determine instantly if that person would even be worth conversing with or whether it'd be a waste of your breath. I think too much of our time is wasted on figuring people out and trying to understand them. Let me rephrase that. I think too many people waste our time by hiding behind personality curtains because their real personalities scare people away. People like this should be looking for help. Seeking out some personality therapy. Do personality therapists even exists? I think I'd be the first one in the line to see the personalapist.
I'm rambling.
So the big news in my world lately is that I resigned from my old job 2 weeks ago. About 4-5 months back, I had told my new boss that I needed them to hire some help to offload some of the IT functions that they had me doing that wasn't related to my career objectives. It's not that I was too important or too cool to do them, they were just taking up too much of my time and I was losing focus on my own personal development within the company. My boss replied that we didn't have the budget to add another head in my department and that they would revisit the issue in 2007. A few months later, they hired 2 new executive assistants. One executive assistant for my boss and one for the general manager. After a few other annoying incidents, I came to the conclusion that the new management team there was full of shit, so I got a new job. It's a new adventure for me. I'll be working in the heart of downtown Toronto for the first time. I'll be one of those people sleeping on the subway in the mornings; sliding in and out of the crowds on the street as I make my morning commute. Being a suburbs boy, I'm not sure if I'm ready for this but it was definitely time for a change, a welcomed change.
Watch out big city, here I come.
(Stars - Elevator Love Letter)
Her heels are high and my hope's so low
'cause I don't know how to love
...
So I read somewhere that you can tell a lot about a person through their handshake. I don't know exactly what you could tell or how you would tell it but I think it'd be a great leap over the communication gap of our society. You could bypass all the small talk you do when you first meet someone through a simple handshake. Determine instantly if that person would even be worth conversing with or whether it'd be a waste of your breath. I think too much of our time is wasted on figuring people out and trying to understand them. Let me rephrase that. I think too many people waste our time by hiding behind personality curtains because their real personalities scare people away. People like this should be looking for help. Seeking out some personality therapy. Do personality therapists even exists? I think I'd be the first one in the line to see the personalapist.
I'm rambling.
So the big news in my world lately is that I resigned from my old job 2 weeks ago. About 4-5 months back, I had told my new boss that I needed them to hire some help to offload some of the IT functions that they had me doing that wasn't related to my career objectives. It's not that I was too important or too cool to do them, they were just taking up too much of my time and I was losing focus on my own personal development within the company. My boss replied that we didn't have the budget to add another head in my department and that they would revisit the issue in 2007. A few months later, they hired 2 new executive assistants. One executive assistant for my boss and one for the general manager. After a few other annoying incidents, I came to the conclusion that the new management team there was full of shit, so I got a new job. It's a new adventure for me. I'll be working in the heart of downtown Toronto for the first time. I'll be one of those people sleeping on the subway in the mornings; sliding in and out of the crowds on the street as I make my morning commute. Being a suburbs boy, I'm not sure if I'm ready for this but it was definitely time for a change, a welcomed change.
Watch out big city, here I come.
Sunday, November 05, 2006
Offside
(Anything Box - Carmen)
As a kid, I grew up loving comics. My favourites were X-Men, X-Factor, Spiderman and Wolverine. I used to spend my lunches at the comic store, buying the latest comics for $1.50. In fact, I still have some of those comics lying around my room. They're still in good condition as I kept them in plastic covers with cardboard backs.
I remember reading the comics carefully, making sure not to crease any pages. Occasionally I would try and draw some of the characters in the comics and pretend I was Stan Lee, Todd McFarlane or Rob Liefeld. To be honest though, I was more like Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the South Park artists.
I eventually grew out of the comic collecting fad but I still love comics. I don't think that will ever change.
As you know, I've been working with a few friends on a fantasy sports website (www.fantasymoneyball.com) over the past year. It's been a pretty tough and busy year but we've been doing things that we enjoy. We finally launched our website back in September and we've been continuing to improve the site by fixing bugs and adding more content to it.
About a month ago Spooner and I came up with an idea of adding a comic to our site similar to the one you see on Penny Arcade. As luck would have it, Sonia's sister's bf, Garvey, was an animator and sports fan. We asked him to join our team and we started writing out some cartoon scripts that were sports related. Here are the fruits of our loins...err...labour.
Offside
Who would've thought that one day I'd have a hand in producing a comic?
So far we've been really happy with the work. As with most comics, there's going to be a period of growth as Garvey starts to understand the personalities of our characters and our humour.
As for the content, we've had a bit of butting of heads with some of our group in terms of what they think our audience wants to see. We've stayed on the PC/conservative side to appease everyone but look for us to push the envelope a little and get edgier with our material. After all, we're not PC and I would think that we are a prime example of our own target audience.
If you've got some time, take a look at the comic and let me know what you think. I'd loved to hear some input.
(Anything Box - Carmen)
As a kid, I grew up loving comics. My favourites were X-Men, X-Factor, Spiderman and Wolverine. I used to spend my lunches at the comic store, buying the latest comics for $1.50. In fact, I still have some of those comics lying around my room. They're still in good condition as I kept them in plastic covers with cardboard backs.
I remember reading the comics carefully, making sure not to crease any pages. Occasionally I would try and draw some of the characters in the comics and pretend I was Stan Lee, Todd McFarlane or Rob Liefeld. To be honest though, I was more like Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the South Park artists.
I eventually grew out of the comic collecting fad but I still love comics. I don't think that will ever change.
As you know, I've been working with a few friends on a fantasy sports website (www.fantasymoneyball.com) over the past year. It's been a pretty tough and busy year but we've been doing things that we enjoy. We finally launched our website back in September and we've been continuing to improve the site by fixing bugs and adding more content to it.
About a month ago Spooner and I came up with an idea of adding a comic to our site similar to the one you see on Penny Arcade. As luck would have it, Sonia's sister's bf, Garvey, was an animator and sports fan. We asked him to join our team and we started writing out some cartoon scripts that were sports related. Here are the fruits of our loins...err...labour.
Offside
Who would've thought that one day I'd have a hand in producing a comic?
So far we've been really happy with the work. As with most comics, there's going to be a period of growth as Garvey starts to understand the personalities of our characters and our humour.
As for the content, we've had a bit of butting of heads with some of our group in terms of what they think our audience wants to see. We've stayed on the PC/conservative side to appease everyone but look for us to push the envelope a little and get edgier with our material. After all, we're not PC and I would think that we are a prime example of our own target audience.
If you've got some time, take a look at the comic and let me know what you think. I'd loved to hear some input.
Seniorita and the Care Bear stare.
Medusa looking for a little fried chicken lovin.
Ignore the whoopee, Scott actually wanted to go as a giant foreskin.
Jo-jo and Sarah stopping by the party after their work shift on Jarvis & Church.
The rest of the pictures can be seen here...
http://flickr.com/photos/28362622@N00/sets/72157594362895854/
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Blondes Have All the Fun
(The Killers - When We Were Young)
Ok...haven't posted awhile because I've been doing too much work on my FMB project but I ran across this website today and it was too good not to pass on.
Keiko
This is about the only time in my life I've ever wanted to be wh...European.
...
FMB is looking for some content writers. We're looking for funny, sports enthusiasts who like to express their opinions! If this is you, please contact me. What do we have to offer? Well...to be honest, it would most likely be all pro-bono but if you're really good and you're of European descent, we may be able to send you to Tokyo to meet Keiko.
(The Killers - When We Were Young)
Ok...haven't posted awhile because I've been doing too much work on my FMB project but I ran across this website today and it was too good not to pass on.
Keiko
This is about the only time in my life I've ever wanted to be wh...European.
...
FMB is looking for some content writers. We're looking for funny, sports enthusiasts who like to express their opinions! If this is you, please contact me. What do we have to offer? Well...to be honest, it would most likely be all pro-bono but if you're really good and you're of European descent, we may be able to send you to Tokyo to meet Keiko.
Monday, September 11, 2006
Farewell Andre
(Greenday - Time of Your Life)
If you're a sports fan, the one thing you hope to see in your lifetime is an athlete that pushes the sport to another level; an athlete that transcends his own sport and inspires all those that watch. I've been watching sports for 20+ years and I've been blessed to see the likes of Michael Jordan, Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Tiger Woods and Pete Sampras. Some of these athletes are still playing but most of them have retired and moved onto the next phase of their lives. Last week another one of these great athletes retired. Andre Agassi played his last tennis match on Sept 3rd at the US Open.
He came into the tennis tour in 1986 as a rebel. He pushed the boundaries of tennis’ strict sartorial boundaries with his colourful outfits, long rocker hair and an earring. Paving the way for the unique outfits you see on the tennis tour today. After winning several grand slams in the 90’s, he had a serious wrist injury in 1997 and had to rededicate his life to tennis. Working harder than he ever did before and becoming a role model for all the younger tennis players, he became the #1 ranked player in the world and won several more grand slam titles for a total of 8 in his career. This was his speech after his final match at the US Open this year.
The scoreboard said I lost today, but what the scoreboard doesn't say is what it is I have found.
And over the last 21 years, I have found loyalty. You have pulled for me on the court and also in life.
I've found inspiration. You have willed me to succeed sometimes even in my lowest moments.
And I've found generosity. You have given me your shoulders to stand on to reach for my dreams, dreams I could have never reached without you.
Over the last 21 years, I have found you. And I will take you and the memory of you with me for the rest of my life.
One of the most humble and genuine speeches I’ve ever heard from an athlete and Andre’s presence in the sport will be dearly missed.
And as one tennis great retires, another one is making his mark in tennis history. Arguably the best player ever, Roger Federer beat Andy Roddick yesterday to win his 9th grand slam tournament. He needs 5 more to tie Pete Sampras’ record of 14. Roger beat Andy decisively in 4 sets, 6-2, 4-6, 7-5, 6-1. The match statistics showed that Roger hit 69 quadrillion winners to Andy’s 33. And although, Andy is known to have the bigger serve, Roger out aced him 17 bazillion to 7. And fittingly, Roger had another dominant athlete in his guest box.
Some guy by the name of Tiger Woods.
If you’re not a sports fan yet, this is a great time to start watching. Tiger and Roger are rewriting the record books as we speak and when they’re done, they will have left an unquestionable mark in their respective sports.
(Greenday - Time of Your Life)
If you're a sports fan, the one thing you hope to see in your lifetime is an athlete that pushes the sport to another level; an athlete that transcends his own sport and inspires all those that watch. I've been watching sports for 20+ years and I've been blessed to see the likes of Michael Jordan, Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Tiger Woods and Pete Sampras. Some of these athletes are still playing but most of them have retired and moved onto the next phase of their lives. Last week another one of these great athletes retired. Andre Agassi played his last tennis match on Sept 3rd at the US Open.
He came into the tennis tour in 1986 as a rebel. He pushed the boundaries of tennis’ strict sartorial boundaries with his colourful outfits, long rocker hair and an earring. Paving the way for the unique outfits you see on the tennis tour today. After winning several grand slams in the 90’s, he had a serious wrist injury in 1997 and had to rededicate his life to tennis. Working harder than he ever did before and becoming a role model for all the younger tennis players, he became the #1 ranked player in the world and won several more grand slam titles for a total of 8 in his career. This was his speech after his final match at the US Open this year.
The scoreboard said I lost today, but what the scoreboard doesn't say is what it is I have found.
And over the last 21 years, I have found loyalty. You have pulled for me on the court and also in life.
I've found inspiration. You have willed me to succeed sometimes even in my lowest moments.
And I've found generosity. You have given me your shoulders to stand on to reach for my dreams, dreams I could have never reached without you.
Over the last 21 years, I have found you. And I will take you and the memory of you with me for the rest of my life.
One of the most humble and genuine speeches I’ve ever heard from an athlete and Andre’s presence in the sport will be dearly missed.
And as one tennis great retires, another one is making his mark in tennis history. Arguably the best player ever, Roger Federer beat Andy Roddick yesterday to win his 9th grand slam tournament. He needs 5 more to tie Pete Sampras’ record of 14. Roger beat Andy decisively in 4 sets, 6-2, 4-6, 7-5, 6-1. The match statistics showed that Roger hit 69 quadrillion winners to Andy’s 33. And although, Andy is known to have the bigger serve, Roger out aced him 17 bazillion to 7. And fittingly, Roger had another dominant athlete in his guest box.
Some guy by the name of Tiger Woods.
If you’re not a sports fan yet, this is a great time to start watching. Tiger and Roger are rewriting the record books as we speak and when they’re done, they will have left an unquestionable mark in their respective sports.
Thursday, September 07, 2006
Unsuspecting Circumstances
(Lifehouse – Blind)
So Douglas Coupland has a screenplay showing at the Toronto Film Festival this year. The one year I have chosen not to get tickets. Total bummer. Hopefully I can catch it when it comes out on video. Here’s a little synopsis of his movie.
I’ve been a Coupland fan ever since Spooner introduced him to me back in university. I guess the thing that attracts me to Coupland’s writing is his understanding of the current times (or the zeitgeist for you romantics). He takes an individual or a group of individuals that represent a generation and he leads them from the dazed and confused to some grandeur revelation. And the characters all seem so hopeless and insignificant initially. Sort of how most of us feel as we transition from one phase of our lives to the next. It’s something I think all of us can relate to. And somehow through a series of unsuspecting events, they find their way and become aware of their purpose in life. I’d like to think that I’m one of these Coupland’s characters somewhere in the middle of the book, still searching for my reason for being -- walking around filled with self-doubt; engaging in clever dialogue and insightful conversations with the other characters in my life and waiting for that series of circumstances that will guide me to the end of this book.
(Lifehouse – Blind)
So Douglas Coupland has a screenplay showing at the Toronto Film Festival this year. The one year I have chosen not to get tickets. Total bummer. Hopefully I can catch it when it comes out on video. Here’s a little synopsis of his movie.
Pyramid schemes, monster grow-ops and lucrative white lies: you're either in the game or getting played. Set in a Vancouver overtaken by film crews, where costumed aliens wander aimlessly between craft services and the set, Everything's Gone Green comically illustrates how hard it is to know what's real in a world filled with fakery and hidden agendas. Oddly touching and permeated with a sense of fun, this debut original screenplay from iconic author Douglas Coupland affectionately asks not what, but who you want to be when you grow up.
Ryan (Paulo Costanzo) believes in small, manageable dreams. Dumped by his yuppie girlfriend, he gets a dispiriting job with a lottery magazine, photographing winners and writing their stories. In a Mandarin language class he's taking for work, he meets the lovely Ming (Steph Song) and is immediately smitten. However, Ming has a slick boyfriend, Bryce (JR Bourne), who designs golf courses for private clubs whose members never show up.
The weirdly abandoned courses are a small piece in a large and dubious puzzle and, spotting an angle, Bryce tries to involve Ryan. As he watches friends and family achieve greater materialistic fulfillment, Ryan wonders why he shouldn't play the game, trade in two wheels for four and maybe, finally, get the girl. When Ming and Bryce break up, all Ryan needs to do is convince her he's different from Bryce - but suddenly that's harder than he ever expected.
Director Paul Fox and his note-perfect cast achieve a lighthearted tone delicately poised between comic exaggeration and recognizable reality. Costanzo is effortlessly charming as Ryan, and the supporting players are clearly having a blast. Coupland's influence can be felt throughout, as the insouciant visual world is often reminiscent of his own art.
Everything's Gone Green good-naturedly reminds us that the line between getting by and becoming corrupt is sometimes very thin, and that the most convincing lies are the ones we tell ourselves.
I’ve been a Coupland fan ever since Spooner introduced him to me back in university. I guess the thing that attracts me to Coupland’s writing is his understanding of the current times (or the zeitgeist for you romantics). He takes an individual or a group of individuals that represent a generation and he leads them from the dazed and confused to some grandeur revelation. And the characters all seem so hopeless and insignificant initially. Sort of how most of us feel as we transition from one phase of our lives to the next. It’s something I think all of us can relate to. And somehow through a series of unsuspecting events, they find their way and become aware of their purpose in life. I’d like to think that I’m one of these Coupland’s characters somewhere in the middle of the book, still searching for my reason for being -- walking around filled with self-doubt; engaging in clever dialogue and insightful conversations with the other characters in my life and waiting for that series of circumstances that will guide me to the end of this book.
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
FMB - Do Your Research
www.fantasymoneyball.com
For all you fantasy sports enthusiasts, we've finally released the beta version of our website. Sign-up, look around, DO YOUR RESEARCH, and let us know how we can improve this site for you.
Maybe now, I'll have some time to catch up on blogging!
www.fantasymoneyball.com
For all you fantasy sports enthusiasts, we've finally released the beta version of our website. Sign-up, look around, DO YOUR RESEARCH, and let us know how we can improve this site for you.
Maybe now, I'll have some time to catch up on blogging!
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