Performance Managed out the door

*ahem* Yet another tirade of the ineptitude and discrimination abound at work. So this time, I get put on a CAP 2 for things that I was never coached on . Oh, sorry they coached me on it by counting stuff they told in general to the entire team, none of which actually pertained to the issues that I lost marks on. I tried to protest but really there was no point. Nothing I said would have actually changed their minds. (I suppose if I threatened suicide it would get it overturned, but really no one would believe me. But then I'd show them. Oh yes I would show them. And I didn't mention whose suicide....No actually that would do nothing. This is Conversucks after all.) Anyways, so it's another 60 days in the slammer. Which is really bullcrap. Considering there was apparently 1 or 2 other people on our team that actually got 0% on monitors (I only lost 40% b/c I didn't troubleshoot), I don't see our team being very large if they actually applied the rules fairly across the board.

And this was just before I was applying for another team, mostly to get away from the bullsh!t that kept being flung about how we're supposed to be the creme de la creme of the center, losing out on bonuses b/c they can't figure how to adjust the scores for our specialized work, having management's work dumped on us b/c they've pissed off so many managers that they don't have enough to cover the work that's required. Yes, so it's a bit difficult to update my resume with the mood I'm in.

So very tempted to walk out the door, well to really go home early actually. I have a lot of games I'd rather be spending time with. But I didn't. Decided to just spread my misery. And ended up being stuck on call after call while in Res. So that I ended up taking my lunch in last 45 min of shift, followed by my last break and then going home.

And I played Rune Factory: A Fantasy Harvest Moon for about 1 1/2 hrs. Finished only 1 day though, but that was mostly b/c I was reading FAQS b/c their manual didn't cover the stats or how much crops sold. Didn't know I had a cold b/c I was awake too long, just knew I had some status change and didn't recover all my RP when I woke up. Although that's good advice, should go to bed early. And it would probably help more if I didn't have sleep apena. Well it's not diagnosed, but could definitely explain my high blood pressure when I'm a bit overweight, but don't smoke, drink or do drugs, cut down on shellfish, eats lots of veggies.

To be enfranchised

Ahem, so it's election time where I live. Our premier, in effort to rig the election, only gave his opponents 29 days to campaign. Yeah, that's really fair. Not!

And b/c I still hadn't changed my address w/ the govt, I would need to vote in a different division, which would take me about 45 minutes to get there...at least. Or I could just walk up 3 blocks, show 2 pieces of ID and vote. Think I'll take the latter.

Yeah, so even if it wasn't my day off, I would still vote. It's my hard-won right (being female and a minority). However my roommate, is lazy and doesn't know anything about politics, says that he won't. Well, then he can't complain about the govt. He whines, "Oh but I pay taxes!" Well then why don't you pick who manages your money? Oh wait, that's right. He's always flat broke and doesn't know how to do that. Well then I guess for him, anyone is better than himself.

Videogames Live 2008

Well, I got tickets before it sold out, but I got them really late b/c I was trying to get a group together but no one replied. And that pissed me off. Anyways, my seat was in the middle of the row on the 2nd balcony so it was pretty hard to see a lot of stuff. And whoever's doing the light show was blinding a lot of us. And I also go there a lot later than I wanted, so I couldn't find where they had the programs. Didn't play any games, or do much watching. Really sucks when you don't have any of the next gen consoles.

There were some pieces that were the same as last year, like the MGS, Sonic, Mario, Halo, Jade Empire, and medley of classic games. But they also had the debut of Mass Effect, and Castlevania. The ESO and choir were much better this year. One Winged Angel was awesome, although I missed the Final Fantasy stuff. Having Martin Leung there was very fun, as well as the other composer doing the jazz version of his composition. But I didn't catch what he composed, but it did sound familiar.

Didn't get a shirt this year b/c it looked the same as last year. And I don't play Halo, and not interested in Donkey Kong, or Mario. Yeah, brought $50 and didn't use it. At least getting there was super easy w/ the LRT. Anyways, am I going next year? Well even though I went by myself, it was still very fun. My hands are tender from clapping, and voice a mite sour. It's awesome that videogame music is getting recognition, and I wanna keep supporting. I only hope they change it up bit more, a lot of stuff was the same from last year.

Yeah, hands not doing so well. Also cut them up a bit when I dropped a jar of aloe tea. And it was completely full too! And so tasty! And on sale this week! I need another day off to pick some more up! *sob* And it really is only good when you pour boiling water on it.

UPS sucks monkeys' balls!

So I stayed home b/c I think the copious amounts of pizza I ate yesterday made me sick. Yeah, the company finally decided to "honor" the Res team. And of course since everyone was using their hands, and there was a lack of handwipes, well, sanitation was dismal. So far I've managed 2 apples, 1 glass of milk and 1 slice of toast. And that was since 10:00am.

Anyways, the side effect of being home all day was that I could wait for the flippin' UPS person to show. And I waited. And waited. And then refreshed the UPS tracking site. Waited some more. Refreshed UPS site. Yeah, bullsh!t that they attempted delivery. So I call them up, flaming mad, and the rep said that he'd forward my issue to a supervisor at the depot site, and also take off the brokerage fees that UPS charged. Well that at least mollified me a bit. But still doesn't really compensate for the extra hours I woke up to wait for them, when they were supposed to deliver on the 11th, and the website didn't update on the status, saying it was sitting in Winnipeg since the 7th. So every day I got up 1 1/2 hrs early waiting and waiting. Then I called them on the 12th, and lo and behold they attempt delivery on the 13th. Yeah, I'm mightly angry with them.

Elusive sleep

So for about the last month, I've been ...wouldn't call it living, surviving would be kinda close but doesn't convey the futility...existing on about 4-5 hrs of sleep a night. I'm really not kidding. Even when it was my vacation, I didn't get any more sleep because I had to get up early for the Fedex/UPS guy, people would call me in the morning. And then there was the fire alarm in the morning too. And of course my roommate D, is deaf and likes to set his alarm really early because he "gets too much sleep." Yes, that was his response when I asked him why he sets his alarm 2-3 hrs before he has to go to work, and then doesn't do anything but going back to sleep. So I've been having migraines for the last month too b/c of this, and major bags under my eyes.

This weekend was the last straw. The idiot's alarm goes off at 10:30, waking me up. Yesterday I was kinda up but then StatsCan calls me for their annual survey which took 40 min. And I wasn't able to go back to bed. So since I had to call some places, I was up doing that. Was on hold for 30 min to PC Bank. Today idiot's alarm goes off again. So I go play Animal Crossing to get sleepy. And then the stupid snowballs keep falling in the water, so it takes me over an hour to finish the watering/talking/delivery session (usually it's about 1/2 hr). Just when I'm about to go back to sleep, my brother calls me to make last minute plans to go out to see the kids b/c she had her birthday recently. So I can't go back to sleep at all, I've got a huge headache, I'm starving and exhausted. And yeah, I had a "I'm sick of people interfering with my sleep!" tantrum. Tossed my phone at the bed a few times, smacked it around a bit. But gawd, I'm really sick of people. All I want is some peace and quiet.

And I spent the afternoon climbing around the giant jungle gym at WEM with the kids. Gawd, my knees hurt. They have bruises. And then b/c Melissa wanted to sit on me when we went down a fast (and small) tunnel slide, so I'd land on my hip or back. My arms are kinda sore too b/c I'd be pulling myself up the tunnels instead of crawling. Or lifting random little kids up b/c they couldn't get to the next part. And had waaaaay too many McD's fries. Then Melissa wet herself b/c she got too excited and didn't go to the washroom when she should've.

Anyways got a funny story about Pokemon Emerald. I'm using my Lv. 36 Lileep, who can't be switched out due to Suction Cups, but does have Ingrain (gains some life every turn). All I have for moves are Astonish, Acid and Constrict. Lileep has horribly low Attack and Special Attack stats. I'm going against a CPU trainer, and her earlier pokemon used Torment(can't use same move in a row) on my Lileep. I'm fighting a Mightyena and it keeps using Swagger(which causes my Pokemon's Attack to rise but also be confused). And I keep using Yellow Flute (cures confusion). We kept trading off on this until the Mightyena ran out of Swagger (yes it was a very long battle), and then I killed it w/ Constrict and Acid. Then it was on to her next Pokemon, killed the next 2 really quickly b/c of my boosted up Attack stats, and Ingrain gave me back all my HP. Yeah, that was very satisfying.

Geekfest on Colbert Report

Wow, major squeal fest watching the Jan 29 episode. First Joe Quesada w/ his Wrist Strong bracelet and announcing that Colbert is a presidential candidate in the Marvel U. Then Jon Stewart coming on w/ his tape about Conan O'Brien. It was just too cool. It's so nice with you get to watch them in a different element. It was so weird to see Jon Stewart at that younger age. He's definitely grown into his looks. Or he has a lot better stylists now. *grin*

So anyways at work, I got my 5th yr anniversary gift. I ordered a crystal bowl. It's a lot smaller than it seemed in the picture. It has a leaf pattern on the bottom. I ordered it b/c there really wasn't anything in there that I really wanted (well they had some Mikasa tumblers, the pattern was only ok), and I figured I could use it as a gift. It's worth a bit if I recall....b/c I searched for it on the web.

This morning I was woken up by the fire alarm. Yeah, it was at the audio warning stage (there's first flashing, then a steady beep, then it goes to a really fast beep...and beyond that I'm guess is when we have a real fire or something). So I got some clothes on (didn't really wanna have to face -32 degree Celsius weather in t-shirt and shorts), and was filling my hockey bag. I'm starting to run out of room, there's a few too many plush. But it stopped when I was in the middle, and so D decided to see what was going on. Apparently something in the parking arcade. Gawd, I'm so tired. I was tempted to call in absent, but I figured since it was so cold today and there were so many absent yesterday (about 50% of agents) they wouldn't believe me today. *groan* Yeah, I hauled my cold butt in. Had tights under my pants, mockneck longsleeve shirt, pullover, fleece hoodie, winter jacket, knit gloves under leather mitts and wool socks. My feet were warm even though I only had runners.

Review: Royal Rumble 2008

Went to see it at the movie theatre. I'm starting to think just for not having to listen to a bunch of hooligans, smell unwashed masses, or have crap tossed on me, I'll just spend 3x the cost to watch it at home. I was planning on going there alone, but D had the day off and he said he wanted to see it so I took him w/ me. As usual he was late & slow, keep hanging around me and was a general nuisance. Stupid teenagers behind us kept calling the wrestlers "faggots" and "homo", and I'm just thinking 1)you're guys watching sweaty men in skimpy tights grapple w/ each other 2)Professional wrestling descended from Roman-Greco wrestling which used to be done in the nude and has a homo-erotic history 3)if they are homosexual, they could kick your ass so bad you'll be tasting sh!t. Anyways, on to the matches.

Ric Flair vs MVP
Wow, MVP's such a rude jerk to come out in the middle of Flair's speech. *sarcastic* It wasn't too bad. Flair's getting to the age where it's mostly chops, punches, back body drops, and figure-fours. And yes, he survives another retirement match.

....actually I can't remember the next match, lemme check WWE.com. I think it was:
Chris Jericho vs JBL
Which ended in a DQ. Disappointing? Not really. It had a good story backing it up, and they were brawling as expected from a personal match. Seeing JBL strung up there was pretty satisfying. I wonder if this means a permanent return to wrestling?

Rey Mysterio vs Edge
Really good match. Also a personal match. When Vicki came to take the 619, that was cool. Which will make Edge's betrayal all the more painful. Yeah, I'm predicting by Wrestlemania, the storyline will have them breakup. What's interesting is the concept of the widow moving on after the death. I think they're starting to get people to agree that it's just we don't want Vicki w/ Edge b/c she'll be betrayed, not that it's bad for Vicki to see someone after Eddie's death.

Jeff Hardy vs Randy Orton
Really good match. When Jeff starting hitting most of his special moves, I knew he was going to lose. But it still left me, a Jeff fan, satisfied. And yes, the idiot behind me was calling Jeff "faggot" a lot. But really that idiot did for anyone he didn't like.

Royal Rumble
Yeah, it was totally cool that Undertaker and Shawn Michaels were 1 & 2. Although I miss when they used to show the guys drawing their spots. It was always a good bit of comedy. You know the ECW championship means nothing when the ECW former and present champion are competing for a spot to challenge a belt at Wrestlemania. Shelton Benjamin lasting for less than a minute is bullsh!t. If you're going to tout him as the "gold standard" (and bleach his hair that awful colour), call him the "best natural athlete", then let him have an appearance like that! Cody Rhodes did a good job, he's definitely going to be a good performer. As for Cena appearing...that totally ruined everything for me. It was a good show up until he appeared. And of course all the marks were screaming in there. Hornswoggle should've won b/c he was never thrown over the top rope.

Overall, was it worth the $13.73(ticket) + $9(food)? Sorta. The crowd, fighting for arm room, smelliness really killed it for me.

Another year ...lived?

So it was my birthday a few days ago. It's probably a little childish, but I don't think it's my job to create a birthday party, it's my friends who are supposed to do that and remember when it's my birthday. And now that I'm on Facebook and they have birthday apps on there, there's less excuse. And so I had no birthday party, a few people wished my happy birthday but not from people I thought I was closest to. And so, I spent my birthday being treated to dinner by my brother and his fiance b/c they were in the area. Yes, I'm kinda pissed....Okay make that plenty pissed.

And it didn't help that I barely got any sleep over the mini-vacation. Woken up too many times too early. Fedex woke me up but I got my Pokemon movies. And then RJS called me at flipping 10 am. I'm not sure why people think that if you're woken up, you'd actually wanted to be called later. Oh yeah, probably b/c some people can go back to sleep easily. And so I ended up w/ only 5 hrs of sleep, hunting around the apt for some DVDs that I'd borrowed. I'm at the point right now where I'm narcoleptic if I'm not actively doing something.

Oh, and I was reminded I was a woman on my birthday. Thank you body. *sarcastic* So I've loaded up on steak, beans, spinach, and eggs. Last night I had steak w/ spinach/greens/tomato/red pepper salad and baked beans. Yeah, and I still haven't finished reading all my comicbooks or manga. Or make room for my new figures...although I did manage to change the bedsheets...not b/c of any stains. And I think my Amazon order came in too. Heh, all my Amazon announcements now are about yaoi. Before it was Pokemon and yaoi. Pokemon bestiality is sick.

How to become a good Houseguest

Is to have a bad one stay w/ you. Gah, V had to emergency stay w/ us after T booted him out b/c his gf was coming up for Xmas. So that's fine, but then he kept staying and staying even though he was able to move into his apt on Jan 1. Yeah, so all your furniture's in storage b/c your dad didn't help you move like he was supposed to. But there's nothing wrong w/ sleeping on the floor and eating takeout. Today, V finally moved out. And he managed to vacuum twice and wash dishes about twice. Didn't give us any money, offer to buy groceries or buy us pizza. And that's even I pointed that out twice. Even just left the sheets and blanket in a pile, couldn't even fold them neatly. Anyways, T and V are planning on rooming together in Vancouver, and I was thinking of going. But I don't know if I could stand it. H is right, I'm totally anal-retentive. ...But I go every morning! :))

So tired, H had her crisis w/ her friend that she's known for 12 years. So she's going back to Quebec. Which sucks. B/c she's just going to drop back into her depressive self-abusive pit. Hopefully the older woman who also works there can help keep her straight. She really could do a lot more if she had her issues sorted out. I'm sorta the opposite, I'm pretty stable but I've got little ambition, get discouraged easily, and really have no plans.

Oh, but it's not H's crisis that got me tired. Well it did in the way that I was up to 3 talking to her about this and that. Mostly it's b/c stupid job made me come into work 4 hrs earlier for stupid training. And they don't even have anything straightened out b/c there's a whole bunch of systems that're diff.

So it's 2008

Yes, Happy New Year. According to the Gregorian calendar anyways. The city fireworks this year were 10x better than last year. I really liked the spinning ones that explode out of a shell. I suppose I should learn some fireworks speak to explain it better. But it’s kinda late.

So I have another figure to find a place for. This time I was able to find the Beast Marvel Legends Icon one. It's really big, about...30 cm...so 12". There were 2 of them at the store, but one of them had the hand broken off. So it was pretty easy to decide which one to get. And it was originally $69.99, but I got it for $29.99. I might've actually paid the original price though b/c it's my Hanky-poo. Box was somewhat damaged, and I really hate all the dang twist-ties. Anyways, he has a lab coat and glasses, but the glasses don't come off. They look like they would, but it seems that they were glued into the slots. Which is really too bad, he has such pretty blue eyes. :D. Anyways, he's has 30 points of articulation...unfortunately not all of them make sense, like having 2 hinge joints at the knees and elbows. His feet are quite articulated b/c his first metatarsal moves independent of his other toes. But on his hands, his thumb doesn't move. And with the way that they built him, it renders some of the articulation points near-useless. Like the shoulder, it has a ball joint and there's a hinge joint too, but you can't bend him at the hinge b/c his deltoid region just smacks into his chest b/c they're both very large. I'd say only about a 3 degree bend. I'm not sure if I can actually bring his arms to his side. It was a major pain to take off his lab coat. His hip joints, I'm still not sure what's with them. There's 2 ball joints from what I can tell, but I don't think there's a hinge. So if you try to get him to sit, he has to lie on his lower back (there's a hinge joint at his stomach). I can't get him to sit on his butt. He was and still is very stiff. Feel like a physiotherapist when I was playing with him. One of his knee joints still hasn't bent. It'll be a real pain to make clothes for him. Here's someone's review and pics.

Yeah, so I also have 2 Beast Mavel Legends 8" figures (one was a gift b/c she didn't know I already had him, but that's okay b/c one's Dark Beast but which one? *heh heh heh*), and in comparison, they have better articulation b/c you can do much more w/ them. They sit up proper, can almost cross their arms, and almost sit in lotus position. Right now, they're showing their Pokemon(Bulbasaur and Pikachu) to each other.

Yeah, it's gotten desperate w/the manga situation....Uh, not just the space issue. That's reached orange alert a while ago. I mean the out of print stuff. Well, mainly the yaoi. Yes, I've been searching for the 3rd Volume in the Finder Target Series, Vol 6 of Kizuna, and no one seems to have it. Amazon.ca sellers have priced them to over $100. Damn capitalists! H used to be able to get me them, but she didn't swing by that Montreal store this time, so I'm SOL. Yeah, so I've taken it upon myself to order them w/ all the sales going on. My poor poor credit card. Actually I think it's committing suicide. A big crack has developed thru the card above the strip.

So I'm sure I haven't blogged about my Xmas holiday. Mostly b/c as I'm typing this in Wordpad, I have my computers hooked up to each other but not to the Net. No, I still haven't connected my new computer to the Net. Haven't installed all the anti-virus, protection progs. Or backed all my data. In the process of doing that. Yeah, I have to find a decent burning program. Can't seem to overburn on the one that come w/ the computer even though I changed the settings. And then there's the issue that not all files seems to have transferred over. Was checking some of my files, and they're not all there, so I have to move them over again, and do a manual verification for each folder...oh crap, I've burnt a few discs already. $@#$%!!!

Anyways Xmas holiday. B/c it was 1 day. Got Boxing day off, spent the morning w/ H shopping. She was supposed to get my Xmas present, but still hasn't. Only spent about $100. Then I left her to meet up w/ T and his gf for lunch. Hope I made a decent enough impression w/ the gf that she'll still let T see me. *sad chuckle* After went to my brother's for dinner and played w/ the kids. The girls seemed to enjoy their presents. What surprised me was that they really like the Mickey Mouse parachuting figure. Got it from the ...uh...coin slot machines. P, my brother's fiance, got me a jewelry chest but it's like uhm... I don't really wear jewelry. I have to consciously think about putting anything on. Doesn't help that my ears always react to my earrings and start leaking pus. So she was nice and said she'd just return it and get me something else. My brother said she should've asked him what to get me, but she said she wanted it to be a surprise. Heh, my brothers know not to get me anything girly. Yeah, so I got "I am America (and So can You!)" and "America the Book: Teacher's Edition" from my big bro. Then my 2nd bro ordered something from my list online. My dad gave me money. And it wouldn't be a family gathering w/o a fight, so this time it was my Dad first b!tching at me b/c I didn't grab the plate to pass to my brother. Then when I told him to try on his present (turtlenecks size 10-12 youth) b/c last time he whined the jacket was too small, he b!tched at me for telling him what to do, how there wasn't time and my bro needed to drive me home. When at the time, he was trying on clothes that P bought during the sales. Does that make any sense?! Anyways, it turned out to be too small so I was completely logical as usual.

So V is staying w/ us right now, until he's able to move into his apt. It gives D someone else to bug, although it means I can't leave my knitting on the futon. Yup, only 14 more rows to go on the pattern, and then about 5 rows of black and I'm finito the Hellsing 5' scarf. Which is pretty fast I think for only starting it in mid-Nov.

After hours of study...

I've finally got my crossover cable to work and the 2 computers to talk to each other. Seriously I would be searching at work to see what I needed to do to get them to talk to each other. Unfortunately there was a lot more stuff for connecting XP and 98 together. Vista just doesn't seem to be very popular. *sarcastic* I was just changing features and settings willy-nilly for the last 2 days. It actually took a tutorial on setting up 2 Win 98 computers to finally pull everything I learned together.

Now I'm trying to burn the files that I moved over to see if I can get a good copy. The burner on my old computer wouldn't burn it properly. The burning program that come w/ the Acer computer is called NTI CD&DVD Maker. Never heard of them. And boy does it suck. I'm burning mp3s, and a bunch of them have long names. All my other progs will ask me if I want to shorten them and how to truncate it. Not this stupid thing. I had to manually go into my File Explorer and guess which ones were probably causing the prob.

Anyways, super tired. My nose is massively stuff, and my throat hurts.

Our team had meeting w/ SMO to air out some issues we've been having w/ managers. Quite amusing his reaction on who some of the worst offenders were. And they've "found out" that there was an issue w/ their scorecards, so they had to recalculate everything. But they said that there weren't that huge amount of changes, but they'd be talking to people who's cards have changed. Huhn, well I haven't been talked to yet, and quite frankly if I don't get my bonus, I might not be going in to work during their most busy days. Just go in to get my stat pay, but there's no way I'm working Boxing Day.

No time

To post. Or do anything actually. Sooo busy, and w/ my work schedule being what it is, I hardly have any time for Xmas shopping or putting together the presents I do have. And I got myself a new computer. Which I can't seem to hook up to my old one to transfer files. Why not just burn them on DVD? B/c my old computer can't seem to burn it properly. Gotta finish my emails now. And survey.

Slapped in the Face

Ah yes, another post about the injustice and crap at my job. So they had launched a "career path" program, supposedly giving us bonuses on top of our raises if we met a certain criteria. And it was not supposed to be bell curved or anything. Essentially it was their Performance Appraisal. Which is supposed to be confidential. How do they roll it out? We're go into the lunchroom on our breaks and they look up our names on a list which tells them which lanyard to give us. And the lanyard tells us which bonus if any we get. Oh and then we can get cake.

Are we in f*cking elementary?! This isn't some freaking ribbon that's handed out at a school-wide track meet! Their lanyards certainly cost the same as the ribbons that I got in elementary. No, they publically announce what our bonus is when before they always told us to keep the results on the Perfomance Appraisal secret. Not only that, but for those of us on specialized teams, if we didn't go up in their rankings, we get no bonus whatsoever. And those us of who are already making more than their recently capped wages, we get bumpkiss. Guess who fell into that category. I was so furious. Not only did I completely waste my break on this bullsh!t, but I get absolutely nothing. The more I thought about it, the more riled I became and still am. T was kinda getting freaked b/c he never saw me so mad. Unfortunately I have to unleash the anger physically so if I can't damage something, then I start to cry. So after a half hour calming back down, I go to tell someone I'm going home. And it was JVH which was good in the way that he knew why I was pissed. But of course he has to try and ask me to stay, which makes me mad again. Well at least I got a hug out of it. And he's smelling pretty good since he got his new position. But he said that everyone on our team got the same fisting except for 2 people, one who certainly didn't deserve it. So they think that there's something wrong w/ the scoring and are going to review it. We'll see if anything comes out of it.

Anyways, that time of the month did start for me. Which sucks. And I was late today for work b/c a freaking CN train, and the bus driver managed to get stuck on nothing. There was no snow or ice that we could see.

'Tis the season for charities to come a-begging

I'm not lying. I'm looking at a pile of letters/cards/calendars from charities that's 9 cm high. Last time I processed all the charities stuff was beginning of October. Ugh, and you have to be so careful too. There's a lot of groups out there that sound like well-known charities, until you read the fine print where they say they're "non-profit". Whatever that's supposed to mean. If I don't get a tax receipt, I don't care then.

Anyways, I booked all my remaining vacation for these next weeks. Have to send out xmas cards...oh yeah, have to ask my cuz her address. Have to work on my friend's scarf. It's hand-designed strand knitting pattern for part of the scarf 72 st by 38 rows. And I'm using 5 mm needles, so even though I've worked on it for about 7 hrs today, I only got maybe 5 inches on straight stockinette st part. The strand knitting was the worst. And then the dp needles I got are actually too short, so I've dropped a few stitches, and accidentally created a few b/c I thought they'd dropped. So tired.

Stupid roommate D left my TV on all night. Said he was in a daze b/c he was watching it at 5 in the morning. Useless piece of #!@$!!! I can't stand to talk or look at him anymore. Everything he does or says makes me wanna boot him in the head. And I'm so cursing renewing the lease. B/c T thought that V had gotten an apt so we wouldn't be rooming anymore. But that's not the case, so now T and V are looking for an apt, and I'm stuck w/ D. *looking at calendar* Well it also could be that time of the month too.

Anyways, I'm majorly behind on my manga. And it's all because of RG Veda. Only have to read Vol 10 and then I can pack it away and get onto my other books. But I'm just not digging it. When CLAMP does epics, it's all so....overblown. Everyone's so mysterious. The quieter moments are good, but there's not enough character development. Everyone dies...although they get resurrected in another CLAMP series. So until I finish RG Veda, I'm not touching my other series...and that's why I'm so behind. I just don't wanna read Vol 10 b/c I've spent too much of my time going "Yeah, sure okay, whatever."

No Vacancy

AAARGH!!! Stupid Revenue Canada website!!!!! I have it tabbed and trying for the upteenth time to register for their epass, and it forced Firefox to shut down. So I have to retype everything. And of course stupid blogger has their freakass delay so I can 't look at the screen while I'm typing.

Anyways!!! I woke up early today to do apt hunting. And called 4 places. 2 were full, including the place where T is staying. When I got to the first appointment, Carlton Towers, I called the manager to let me in, and he tells me that the suite just got rented. Then since there was an hour to the next appt, so I tried callng them to see if they could show it to me right now, but he never answered. I ended up calling another apt b/c they were right in the neighbourhood, but they were full too. So I ended up buying milk, finally using the $5 gift certficate that work gave me. Went back home and finally go to pay the flipping Shaw bill. Because I usually pay it at the same time as my Visa bill, but their stupid website is always down at night. So yeah, my customer feedback on that was negative.

Headed back out to my 2nd appt, at Secord House. Mgr seemed enthused when I first called, although his first question was where I worked. But then it seemed to die when he saw me even though I was dressed in beige turtleneck, black jeans, canvas sneakers, natural makeup, hair in clip. Didn't say anything to me in the elevator, and basically rushed me thru the room. I had a big checklist and didn't even get to ask him if they allowed pets. He was really patronizing when I asked if there was any fire extenguisher or sprinkler system, saying that apts don't have that, and then when I said I was in an apt that did, he changed it to no apt over 30 yrs. Well, that's not going to add a lot more to my tenant insurance! Anyways it was $875 for that place. At least the appliances looked kinda new, although the kitchen was tiny. And there were some serious cracks on the bathroom wall. I dunno if he thought the way that I was scrutinizing everything that I was actually a building inspector, or maybe I just wasn't white enough.

And so I went to pay my rent. We have occupany of this apt until end of Nov but have to give them a decision by Nov 1. And really, even w/ going month to month, it's only $615 after the split. Plus unl internet+cable which is about $47 split. If I went on my own, they don't offer unl internet anymore, so it'd be at least $30 for just 10GB. I have enough unwatched DVDs for a year. Then utilities is $30 estimate b/c I'm OC on turning off lights and appliances. So basically if I lived by myself, I'd be looking paying around $850-900 at the cheapest rent that I'd seen advertised. Right now, even month to month, it's only $750. Argh! Yeah, so I asked the building manager some questions about our rent, and then she seemed kinda puzzled at first, but then when I explained that I can't stand to live my roommate anymore, she totally understood.

Yeah, heh, no one wants to live w/ D. T will kill him the minute he ticks T off. B knows her son won't want to room w/ D. Yup, so this summer D got dumped by H, and now 2nd wife wants a divorce too. I pity myself for pitying him. Tried calling H, but she didn't answer. Should be home by now though.

Good thing I didn't press send

Yes, so I'd made an order on C&L for some DVDs and manga. and at the time they were offering 14% off all items. So I'm calculating it, and what I expect the total to be. And the discount didn't seem to be there when I submitted the order, but the rules seemed to indicate that it would be there once it was packed. So then it gets shipped out, and it doesn't seem like it's 14% off. And I'm like WTF?! and start composing a long, polite, pointed email about how there's a discrepancy. And as I'm writing it, and doing all the math, it turns out that most of the discount was eaten by GST and the s/h. Argh!!! So it's been that kind of day.

Yeah, so got my CAP. And they throw a curveball saying that not only is the CAP itself 30 days (which is standard) but I have to be on calls another 30 days after that "in case I regress" WTF?! What does my call quality have to do w/ my attendance?! If anything, I'm going to find more ways not to show up for work. And they they give this story about how that's standard for CAPs for Floor Support. Having never been on a CAP before, I was skeptical but didn't press further. Well, after talking to fellow teammates who've been on CAPs while on the team, that doesn't seem to be the case. So I want it in writing, and it better be applied to everyone.

Oh yes, and my stupid manager again chased me out of my friends' section. And then talked to their manager about something. So I'm seriously peeved that I have to sit in a section that no one else on my team actually sits in, nor get chased into sitting. So if she wants to apply that to me, then she needs to do it to everyone else. And I'm really going to call her on it. And if she doesn't enforce it with anyone else, then it's a double standard. If she's going to throw it into my face, then I'm going to throw it right back. It's a bad idea to piss off someone who was also in management before. I don't like getting treated like a peon.

Oh yes, and the stupid call went a bit late, the bus was early, and I tripped and slid a foot as I was running for it. No cuts or ripped jeans. I guess the unshaven legs helped w/ lessening the scraping. Although there might be some aching. Don't bruise much though. And I have a split flesh just on the tip of my finger so it hurts much to type.

How not to retain employees

So my current workplace should really write a book on how not to retain employees and encourage turnover. My manager's going to put me on a CAP which means I have to be on the phones for a month. Just b/c I was late a couple times for the last couple of weeks. And it's not like half an hour, it's just at most 10 mins b/c I keep missing my bus. It not a huge deal compared to other crap that we see happening. And really she could just ignore it. But whatever. But what really pissed me off is that she's telling me to change where I sit, that I have to sit in "team seating." Where no one else sits but reps from other teams. So I can't sit w/ my friends, where I can chill. And it's not like I change my spot where I sit, which I could understand that it might be a little hard to find me. I sit in the exact same section all the frigging time. The manager that has that section doesn't care b/c I don't bug her agents, and actually help them out all the time w/ things. I've even done some of their work for them. And at least I know that section is relatively clean b/c the same people sit there all the time. There are so many disgusting stations out there, it's revolting. There's no logical reason why I should move.

T asked his manager if she could do something for me since I'm going to be on the phones, and she said if I was good (totally putting the brakes on my immediate tendency to tell management to f-off and screw around) for 2 weeks, she'd put me on the list to help her team. And thus sit w/ her team again but on official capacity. She's a smart one.

And so I'm still looking for other places of residence. It comes down to money and sanity. Money b/c I don't wanna spend more than 1/3 my take home pay on rent. However I also need to keep my sanity, which won't happen w/ the current living arrangement. H dumped D on me, so I'm trying to be nice to D while H w/ f*cking around and doesn't have to deal w/ him.

And my dad's going in for surgery, hopefully to fix his pumping. But he's old, and my brother who was living w/ him is moving out b/c he bought another house on the other side of the city. So while I'm not close to my family, there's still that concern about him being all alone. Even though my eldest brother is only a block away, he's got 4 kids and a b!tchy wife.

I still have to scream at the life insurance people to give me policies that make sense. Need to look for another place b/c obviously that place is handbasket to hell. So all that, and plus my frigging "." coming in, is putting a lotta stress on me. Gawd, I wanna read some yaoi.

Control

So this will be the gross post. Had to do some tests that my doctor ordered up, I was okay w/ the blood tests. Just don't look when they poke it in, and I'm okay. Needle seemed a bit big, and left a visible mark. But even though I had a glass of water 1/2 before, and I hadn't gone for about an 2 hrs, I couldn't manage more than a trickle. Actually I think I just gave barely enough of a sample. And why do they only give you 2 towelettes? Guys have it so easy. >:( Yeah, but anyways, I still didn't really need to go after I got home. So weird. Lately, especially at work, I have to go about every 1 1/2 hrs. But anyways, I had to do the other thing too. Usually I do it when I get up b/c it's good to be regular (and your gas doesn't smell as bad b/c there's less fermentation), but b/c I didn't want any contamination, I waited until after. Well anyways, just mentioned it b/c my roommate has a medical condition so he can't control himself. And H has no medical condition but can't tell when she needs to go until she nearly craps/pisses herself. She used my bathroom several times b/c D was in the other one and she couldn't hold it. Thought she was toilet-trained, but apparently only enough to actually look for one. *ba da bing!*

After I went to lunch at Kyoto. Ate 2 bananas on the way there b/c I had to fast for 12 hrs. It was pretty darn good, as usual (the restaurant, not the bananas...well they were pretty good too). I had the sashimi & tempura bento. The squid tempura was just perfect. The shrimp tempura was a little over done. I'm so sad that they only gave me half a hotategai. The surf clam(hokkigai) was really sweet. The sake wasn't so good this time. And no, I didn't smother it in wasbi/soy sauce this time. It's been so long since I had sashimi. Now nigiri's kinda common for me b/c I buy it all the time from T&T, but sashimi's always been a favourite. I love chirashi. But the best is when you have the baked oyster or scallop, and you pour the saunce into your rice. It's soooo tasty.

So I went thru my piling of Xmas cards from charities. Yes, they've already started coming. Gawd, I have so many cards. I might just have to make one for everyone I know. And then the empty mooncake box was too small, so I had to alter it. Hope the glue sticks. I have so many envelopes for them too. I might need to alter another tissue box, just for the new set of envelopes.

Got my shipment for Play-Asia. I ordered a DS cartridge but it sticks on the top of the DS...with sticky tape. Which means I can either use it and probably never take it off. Of keep using my Dalkia cover. Argh!!!! Haven't watched my Pokemon movie yet. It's the one w/ Manaphy. It's called Pokemon Renzya to ? Umi no Ouji manafui. Yeah. And then they came out w/ a collection of all the Pokemon movies a week after I ordered it. Waaaah!!

Anyways yesterday, was my Dad/nephew/nieces b-day party. They liked my presents! Yaaaay! Well I dunno about my Dad, but whatever. It's hard to find plain drab boy's clothing b/c that's his size. So I had to go w/ a small women's jacket. It looked vaguely unisex. After we went to the Space Science Centre/ Odyssium /Telus World of Science b/c it was free admission day. We had a blast. Considering we all had science backgrounds, we were still running around looking at things and had to keep reminding ourselves to look out for the kids. What is it about chicken that's so tasty? Had KFC on Sunday, and 2 kinds of chicken today too. And I'm not sick of chicken! Mind you, their living environment was probably horrible, crammed 10 rows high in a warehouse, pecking from a conveyor belt. But they're so yummy. I must have no spiritual sensitivity, can't taste their misery.

Quiz: The Song of Ice and Fire House Test

Your Score: House Stark

27% Dominant, 27% Extroverted, 81% Trustworthy

Responsible. Respectable. Dour. That’s not shit coming out of your ass--it’s honor. You are clearly of House Stark.



You are a submissive personality, meaning that you are more than willing to relinquish control to someone more qualified; you will unflinchingly accept any responsibility that is thrust upon you, including servitude. Unfortunately for you, your unending patience and accommodating nature often make people look to you for a leader. In essence, you are the perfect leader: someone who has no desire to lead, yet is substantially well-qualified to do it.



You are also introverted, which means that people sometimes have difficulty understanding your thought process. Your dependable nature makes you predictable, but you’ve probably got all sorts of emotional dysfunctions when it comes to more intimate relationships. There are very few people whom you trust unwaveringly, and you’re not the type to confide in other people. So cold, so aloof--so Stark.



Finally, you are trustworthy--the very definition of the word. All secrets are safe with you. All of your vows are unbreakable. True to your name, you world is a stark place; there is black, and there is white. Your rigidity tends to undercut your overall value as a friend and ally. Honesty such as yours is hard to come by, which is easy to understand when you consider how easily manipulated you are by less decent individuals. Essentially, you’re the nice guy, and you’ll always finish last.



Representative characters include: Eddard Stark, Jon Snow, and Sansa Stark



Similar Houses: Frey, Lannister and Tully



Opposite House: Baratheon



When playing the game of thrones, you play it with one sword in your hand and another up your ass.

I really have no clue what this is referencing to, but since my friends did it, so did I. This was actually my 2nd result...after I more carefully considered what the questions were asking. Yes, this is what happens when you're tired and just clicking. My first result:

Your Score: House Frey

36% Dominant, 27% Extroverted, 45% Trustworthy

Violent. Self-important. Total fuckers. Universally despised, you are of House Frey.



You are a submissive personality. Piranha-like, you’ll viciously attack anyone weaker than yourself. However, you are content to bow and scrape and kiss-ass, as long as the owner of that ass remembers the favors you’ve done him. You’re slimy like that.



You are also introverted. You don’t enjoy broadcasting your devices and ambitions to the entire world; instead, you prefer to confide in a close-knit support system of friends and family. The people you keep around yourself are as vicious and proud and power-hungry as yourself, so you’ll always get the advice you want.



Finally, you are untrustworthy. In fact, you are the most untrustworthy of all houses. Do you have any idea how bad that is? Lannisters kill their kings and their fathers and fuck their siblings, but they are still far more trustworthy than you! Nobody likes you; nobody trusts you; nobody respects you. In the end, your blatant ambitions and ruthless executions thereof will alienate you from everyone. You’ll die alone. And you deserve it. (Asshole.)



Representative characters include: Walder Frey, Lothar Frey, and Cleos Frey



Similar Houses: Greyjoy, Stark, and Tyrell



Opposite House: Targaryen



When playing the game of thrones, you play it like a true villain.

Link: The Song of Ice and Fire House Test written by Geeky_Stripper on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test

Okay, I lied. I was quite awake when I did it the first time. So this is either an example of how wildly inaccurate online quizzes can be, or a hidden look at my true nature. :D

Angry...very angry...

They have the voting on the readers choice for the Shojo Beat girl, and mine was not in the top 10 runner up. Some of them were pretty good, granted. But at least my submission didn't have her arms do not go down to her knees. Argh! So unless they have top 3 editors choice or something or another, mine didn't make it. *gnashing of teeth* Which is why I am blogging right now, instead of taking a shower.

Anyways, today wasn't too bad of a work day. Had training for 3 hrs, team meeting for 2. Apparently I met some quality metric so I get a draw into a turkey dinner. The option was a frozen turkey or you could have a $50 restaurant dinner. Personally I think the best option is to go to restaurant b/c you don't have to clean anything up. B said she'd prefer the bird b/c she makes an elaborate Thanksgiving dinner. Of course, since I never win anything, I won't win this draw either.

Made doctor's appt for Thursday. My ears' been bugging me for 2 weeks now. And I'm very sniffly, coughing, sneezy, itchy eyes, get chilly easily, headaches, tired. I know, classic symptoms of allergies. But it's still very annoying, and doesn't seem to go away. At least my stomach hasn't hurt lately. And problem w/ getting cold easy is that I prefer cold weather. So when I have to bundle up b/c my body can't handle it, and then I start sweating...it really sucks.

Anyways, H dumped over D about how he's a loser. He's very emo, doesn't take criticism well, so he cried even when he was telling me about it. So I email her about it, since he is my roommate, which means I have to deal w/ him everyday, whereas she's a couple thousand km away. She was really insensitive w/ her reply, and actually quite crude. And seriously pissed me off, b/c she's not taking any responsibility for any of her actions, and then she acts all offended when we call her on it. As TA said, she acts like a selfish 17 yr old. No flipping thank you even for the armwarmers I'm knitting for her, which she's not paying me for, and I'm just making b/c I'm nice and she's my friend. No acknowledgement of all the work I'm putting into it. Just asking me when they're ready b/c it's getting cold in Quebec. Well at this point, they'll be ready when I flipping feel like it. I have Xmas stockings and Xmas presents to make.

Finished Fossil Collection!

For Animal Crossing! Yatta, finally completed it! Quite exciting to walk thru the room and see everything. Should show T since he was a dino-fan when he was younger. Still lots left in the insect, fish and painting collections. Still can't find a bloody ant, and I'm running out of time. Haven't caught scorpion yet, although I've been stung 3 times already.

Took a while but Playstation site finally came up so I could blog about finishing Devil May Cry 1. I'm always surprised when people make comments about my posts. Had one go to 102 replies b/c it was about American's ignorance. Now I'm just weighing in on expensive games.

Yeah, I succumbed

It is w/ grave regret and too little sleep...that I signed up for Google Ads. Mostly b/c I forgot how ugly they look. But well I'll maybe give it a whirl. And hopefully I'll be able to withdraw w/o starting a new blog. But I'll try to see if I can find any advertisers that actually match my interests.

Anyways, friends are pressuring me to get onto LiveJournal and Facebook. Really I don't have time for more projects. Hard enough trying to sort thru the insurance policies I have.

I requested copies of my policies, and they send me a single page. With no details on what it covers. And there's no info about their policies on their website. And you can't create an account to get more info. Like WTF? If that's the way they're going to treat their customers, I'll take my business elsewhere. Which is unfortunately harder b/c I'm older, and I've paid quite a bit into it already. Damn vultures.

Cooking is always a useful skill

Whether it be in RPG or RL.

Looking at Domino's flyer, and why the heck would I pay $6.99 for a 12" 1-topping pizza?!?! Geez, unless I was someone who had a restricted diet, that's stupid. Mind you a cheese pizza from them is $10.99, so I guess it's a deal. Should get that and order just Hot Banana Peppers. LOL. But pizza's not quite what it used to be. At least not when I used to make them. Dad would buy 2 premade pizza doughs, and I'd lay on a bag of cheese, can of pineapple and mushroom, kubasa, ham and tomatoes. Get about an inch thick layer of toppings. Yeah, that was awesome.

Anyways, my stupid roommate D is sick. So after whining that he couldn't go to sleep b/c he was hungry, but lacking the culinary skill and ingredients to actually make anything, I found his can of veggie alphabet soup, which he prepared a la microwave. Then he goes and opens a can of root beer from the fridge. Aside from the fact that combining those 2 flavours is really disgusting, he thinks that having them alternately will equalize the temperature in his mouth. Yuck. Everyone knows that you don't drink anything cold while your throat hurts. But whatever, it's his stupidity if he can't get better. Anyways, he misses his ex. Even though she dumped him.

Yeah, so bringing lunch everyday, and prepping from scratch is helping my cooking. Found out that while Korean soy bean sprouts, tofu, red peppers and BBQ sausage is good w/ noodles, not so good w/ rice. So I guess I'll be having noodles for the next while. Although I have bok choy that needs to be taken care of before it spoils. Had it made w/ roast pig for my bentos. Then had some last night w/ steak & rice. Hmmm, *goes to pull out the mackeral* guess I'm having it w/ mackeral for tonight. Mackeral's kinda big, so I'll probably have to chop it in half after I gut it. Yeah, D's totally squeamish about stuff like that. TA doesn't look at me like I'm a freak when talk about butchering, but he figures I'll be one of those people who'll actually be able to survive in the wild if hunting.

But sometimes I feel like I should splurge and buy lunch like everyone else. But then not everyone else has enough to go on a trip to Asia tomorrow just b/c they feel like it. Yeah, but there are those urges. So I tend to splurge on buying sushi at T&T...after it's been discounted twice b/c it's near the end of the night. Heh, gotta work out though. Now that I have to take the bus to work, I'm really losing out on my exercise. B/c I actually had about a 25 min walk a day. Now it's like 10-12. So sad. Trying to restrict portions, but it just looks so sad when you have a big bento box, and so little food. Hurm, well one of the boxes probably holds about 1L, so it's really not that I'm starving...it's just sad.

Misnomers for donations

Yah, so it's that season again. For all the charities to start sending out their Xmas cards, calendars and giftwrap. It's getting to the point that the only way that I can use up all the Xmas cards I've accumulated is to give one to every single person I know. Like everyone at work.

Anyways, the thing that's annoyed me is that I got a request from the Canadian SPCA. Which you would think would be maybe the central organizing committee for all the SPCAs in Canada. Okay, well that's what I thought. B/c there are SPCAs all across the world, so I thought it was like the Canadian branch. Well stupid me, I didn't actually go to their website, just checked that their Charity ID wasn't revoked by Revenue Canada. Turns out that they only really support work in Quebec. Quebec!! Why are they calling themselves Canadian when it's only 1 province?! And the province that wants to separate from Canada? The nerve!! Yeah, so I probably won't give them much.

Another thing that's irritating is that they don't always state what the minimal contribution that needs to be made to get a tax receipt. Yeah, yeah, I know. It's so that people will give more to ensure they get a tax receipt. But it's still annoying.

Finally getting something

So after completing all my monitors and more, I'm finally getting paid more than regular rep. Yeah, got extra $0.50/hr, which is same rate as when I'm floor support. Least better than nothing, which was before. Wow, that almost rhymed. Kowaii.

So today was first day back on the phones, after about a month. I also didn't have most of my systems, so it was a bit wierd. And considering I was coaching about everyone else's bad habits, I caught myself making a few mistakes. But I got a compliment from a customer. And then there was a guy who sounded like he wanted to flirt w/ me b/c his tone got all shy at the end. At least I got to sit w/ my friends, and we bugged each other the whole time. So it wasn't all bad. But it did cause my CTS to flare up more, even though I had a wrap on. Actually hurts a bit to type.

Cleaned the bloody stove, well just the top, and the covers and the little dishes under the coil. Took close to 1/2 to scrub everything off. Told D that he'd better be careful when he's cooking. He just grunted. Think he's still all depressed that H didn't beg him to forgive her. Not that she would, she did dump him after all.

Got screwed again and almost didn't know it

Yup, another work rant. So when I first started the monitoring thing, I learned from a TL that I had a target of 140 in 12 days. Met it on the 8th day. So I'd been helping other TLs w/ their monitors, either just listening or even entering them. They had to coach. Then today, another TL asks me what my target's supposed to be, so I'm like 140. And then they call me over, and the f*ckers raised it to 184. W/o telling me. So I go to the OM, and he blames me for helping other people and tells me to do 20 a day. With only 2 1/2 days left. WTF?! So I'm like freaking b/c no TL wants me to do monitors on their team under my name b/c they have their own monitors to catch up on. So now I'm doing monitors on my peers. Yeah, well desperate times call for desperate measures, eh? And if they happen to help my team, all the better. *snicker*

You Are A Gold Girl

You're dependable and hard working. You never miss a deadline - and you're never late. You have a clear sense of right and wrong. You're very detail oriented. You get frustrated when your friends are sloppy - or when they don't follow through. You're on top of things, and you wish that everyone else was!

What Color Girl Are You?

And this is what happens when I'm such a bloody workhorse. I did so bloody well that they raised expectations on me. And make me freaking miserable b/c my CTS is completely acting up after my drawing spree. Which incidentally appears to have made it just on time. Yeah, I think I'm coming down w/ something b/c I'm constantly sneezing, starting to cough lots, and really tired all the time.

Summerslam 2007

So went to see it with D at the theatre. No one else was avail to go with. He said that it was better to go to the theatre instead of watching it at home (just needed 1 more person to make it cost-effective to stay at home), b/c he liked the bigger experience. I have suspicions it's b/c he didn't want to do any housework. Which I asked him to do before I left for Warp. B/c he's been doing nothing but surfing or playing on his computer every day and night. Which of course he never did when I returned 4 hrs later.

I really wanted to know who was McMahon's son. Although the Mae Young skit was hilarious. Especially when Vince said it wasn't that bad. Fabulous Moolah looks really thin. During all the inbetween matches, I pulled out my DS Lite and played Pokemon LeafGreen. Levelled up about 4 pokemon. Someone next to me even asked what I was playing.

Anyways, for the matchs, liked the Findley v Kane one. I think Hornswoggle added a good dimension to Findley's character. I was cheering for Findley, and it was pretty good work from the both of them.

Umaga v Carlito v Kennedy was pretty good too. Everyone almost got all their spots in, although Carlito only got his flying elbow. It was quite entertaining when you have 2 talkers in the match who wrestle smart.

Mysterio v Chavo was good too. I'm not sure why Mysterio came out covered in silver paint. Maybe to say that he's a ghost from the past to haunt Chavo? Seemed to have gained some weight around the middle, and not the same intensity as before he left. But w/ his buddy Chavo against him, they pulled off a good match. I'm sure he'll be back to normal soon enough. The luchadore at the beginning was cool once they got it figured out.

Divas Battle Royale kinda sucked. I wish they didn't get rid of so many of the ECW ones like Ariel and Trinity. They looked like they could tussle. The stupid dancers were sad. Glad Beth won. Think I was the only one that cared. Ticked that it wasn't a final 4 of Victoria v Beth v Malina v Mickie James. That woulda been cool and more like the male battle royale finishes.

Liked the Austin entrance. Saw it a mile away. Had 2 marks sitting next to me, and even after the audience started chanting Austin and going "what?" they were still trying to figure it out.

CM Punk v John Morrison was bleh. They can do sooo much better. They've done better in the TV broadcasts. Very disappointing from them. Compared to the other matches, wasn't too bad.

Batista v Khali was bad. Too short and pointless. If Khali's not ready to do an extended match, they shouldn't make him champ.

Orton v Cena. Gawd I wanted Cena to lose, and so did half the crowd. Unfortunately the 2 marks were split btwn them so they were shrieking every other second. And there was an idiot Cena fan behind me. So I was plugging my ears half the time. When Orton started schooling Cena, I knew he'd lose. Just like HBK. But Orton did a really good job, so hopefully he'll have some more big matches.

HHH v Booker. HHH seems to have moved off the 'roids. Looks good still, but not at as big. I wonder if it's b/c they mentioned steroids being a factor in the Benoit tragedy. Didn't have some of the moves, but his intensity was good. Nothing too surprising from either of them except at the end w/ the reversals. But it's cool to see HHH really thank the fans.

And once again, no one cares about the tag team division. Or the cruiserweights. What happened to Jeff Hardy? Did he fall off the rehab again? As much as I hate to say it, I hope he's been MIA b/c he was injured.

An actual model guide please!

I'm doing an entry for Shojo Beat's Beatgirl contest, and I'm in the home stretch. Just need to add colour, photocopy and scan it for keepsake and send it off. It's been almost a week planning and about 2 weeks of madly drawing, redrawing and redrawing again. I actually have 4 test pictures, and 4 redraws of the final thing. Test pics were finding a pose in a fashion mag, doing the pose North American style, then same model in manga style(Crimson Hero), then close up on the face for facial expression, then putting everything together. The redraws were mostly due to rescaling so that everything fit on the page and were in proportion. And we're talking manual all the way. No computers. I used 3 inking pens, 1 brush w/ diluted black ink for tone, and white paint for touch-ups. My arm's really tired. And I need a better light to draw by. It's waaaaay too dim.

But my beef w/ the contest is that it says the hair has to be certain way, but the written directions are completely contradicted by their example which has the instructions written above it. Someone doesn't know left from right. And their examples from their features artists don't even follow the character guide. And why is the hair colour red? A colour that is only found in a small population in Northern Europe?? For a magazine featuring Asian characters and culture??! Really peeves me off. And of course I'd forgotten about the hair colour, so the colour choices I had were for someone w/ dark hair. Now I have to re-pick the colours. It totally sucks. And her eye colour switches from green to brown. Driving me nuts.

Freedom!!!...maybe?

So it's the start of my week-long vacation! A whole week away from my job, although it won't mean that I'll be loafing the entire 7 days. I still have a drawing to start on, and then I'm working the Animethon for C&L Yeah, so on my vacation, I'll probably do more work than my roommate who's been looking for a job since he's unemployed. Actually I got him and H a job working w/ me at Animethon. B/c they need money. B/c he's mooching off her and neither of them are very good at saving.

But for the last 2 days I've been listening to bad calls, working unpaid OT, swearing at the computers and been really super tired. Didn't help that I needed to get up 3 hrs earlier. I was supposed to take over a team for 2 days (why bother?) but then they wanted me to just monitor their calls. But do to 50 calls or 25/day. I told them they were crazy. But I ended up doing about 40 anyways. Which almost a week's worth in 2 days. And coached them too. And it's not like some of the reps will shut up when you bring them over to review their monitors. And you don't really wanna say, "shut the f*ck up, I've got another 15 monitors to do and enter, I don't have time to listen to you prattle. " So I had about 3 sessions that were about an hour long. I'm sooo tired. Since the computers and network there suck so much, you can't pull up multiple systems at a time or they'll crash. Actually this morning we didn't even have the Internet for a while. How pathetic is that? And the system I needed to enter the monitors went down so I couldn't enter them. And I write up my monitors as if I'm going to enter them, which means a lotta arrows, scribbles, and uncircled scoring that's not relevant to the rep but we need to enter. So I had to leave them on my OM's desk w/ a note that I couldn't enter them. Yargh!!!! If the systems weren't so stupid, I wouldn't have to do OT! Although for OT it was only about 1/2 each day, which is really good for me. When I was in Team Leader role, I would do about 1-3 hrs a day.

My stomach's been bugging me lately. Not sure if it's my ulcer-lite coming back. I call it lite b/c I haven't spat up blood, but it hurts bloody lots. I've spent hrs lying in bed rolling around.

Went to Heritage Festival. It wasn't too bad. Went w/ H, D, TT, and AB. Was hoping for a Pokemon mask, but they were sold by the time we got there. Picked up an Ocarina from Peru pavilion, and pencil drum from Afrika pavilion. The food tickets were overly expensive at $0.83 each. And Venezuela was a ripoff compared to the other places. Had a Quesillo and Mango juice from them. Had bannock from the Aboriginal site. Tandoori chicken from Afrika, Combo from Japanese. Finally got to have takoyaki, and it was pretty good. But the okonomiyaki had pickled ginger in it, and it totally overwhelmed the flavour from everything else. Even when I tried to pick it out. Really had to choke it down. Had my fortune told at the Taiwanese and Chinese sites. Both were the fortune sticks. So at Chinese it was just that it'd be good time for new project. My fortune cookie said that I'm a good influence on others. Taiwan said I had a Medium Ordinary Fortune. 1)Litigation would be solved in a hurry. 2)Ailment be prayed early. [??] 3)Information be reached soon 4)Wealth be as usual 5)Pregnancy to give birth to a son [think I'll name him Henry or Iori ^_^] 6)Pray God for health [well that might help my stomach] 7)Everything be managed under one's own opinion [??]. H got a super lucky one, but some of the stuff could mean trouble for her.

It's all about networking...

Okay, Blogger is starting to piss me off. It's so damn slow w/ it's spellchecking, and just loading in general. Anyways...

So I get another invite to Facebook. And well, yeah okay, like it's another thing that I have to spend updating. Frig, I'm not playing Nintendogs anymore b/c it's too much work taking care of my dog. It's at least 1/2 hr to walk him, plus contests and grooming. Getting a 2nd dog was a bad idea. I guess I'm not someone who likes to have something constantly nagging them, demanding attention all the time. Which is probably why I'm still okay w/ my betta fish Akao. Feed him twice a day, change water every so often and that's it. Although I've been lax on water changing at times. Good thing they're pretty tough fish.

So I still haven't joined Facebook. Not sure I like the thought of people keeping tabs on me. Even if they are my friends. Heh, sometimes I just can't stand to be around people in general.

How not to book...

I didn't bother buying "The Great American Bash" but since I was dusting my computer(which always takes a while since I have so much stuff on my desk), I decided to mosey over to the WWE site. And not a single title changed hands. How crappy is that? Oh, wait sorry. 1 title changed hands. The cruiserweight. Which is almost a joke title. The one that everyone remembers as an afterthought. You know that it means nothing when they have the champ forming tag teams with another cruiserweight just to beef up their tag team ranks. Not that Chavo is a joke champ. He's got a hell lot more talent than stupid Cena. But it's really sad that it's the only title that changed. Nothing against Hornswoggle, but geez, giving it to him?!? The matches were kinda crap anyways. Most were obvious on who would win. I'm sure their buy rate on this PPV reflected that too.

There's no point buying the monthly PPV when there's nothing to look forward to. And you know the tag titles are jokes too when there's no match for them. I honestly cannot remember who are the tag champs for either RAW or Smackdown. TNA may be small, but they book so much better. More professional rivalry instead of soap opera.

Random just posting because...

So I really got nothing. Just decided to post b/c I thought it was a while since I had posted. Although it turned out that it wasn't really that long ago. I mean, I've gone months w/o posting, so a week is really nothing.

But again, Blogger is super slow on showing what I'm typing, so I'm typing blind again. It's absolutely irritating. B/c sometimes I forget what word I'm typing and lose track of the spelling.

So today, when I was eating breakfast, I forgot how to chew. I was sorta gumming my food and just swallowing. So my stomach didn't feel so great, and I didn't eat all that much b/c I was eating slow. So I ran out of time to eat breakfast. And then nobody relieved me for lunch, so I ended up just turning it off and going at 8:00. And with the weather changes, my joints are aching, especially my wrists and knees. Yeah, my brain hasn't been working well lately. And I've been going to bed around 5am or so, so I'm getting about 5-6 hrs of sleep. Damn weather. It's probably not a good thing that I see the sunrise and sunset. I don't want to go to work. Well I suppose that's nothing unusual really. But I can't say that I look forward to anything there.

I don't like people. They annoy me.

Anyways, Ticketmaster is being annoyingly vague on the disappearance of the WWE Canadian live shows. Not saying anything about cancellation or postponement. Argh! Nothing on WWE site for any Canadian events either. All disappeared. And I'd collected most of the money for the tickets too!

Is it a bad thing that I've played Animal Crossing so much that it's starting to creep in my real life? Rocco wanted me to find a moth, so I'm waiting for the bus home at work, and I see the lights at the Rogers Video. And I'm thinking..."I bet there are moths there. But I don't have my net!" That would be fun, spend all day fishing or catching bugs. Shooting presents out of the sky. Shooting aliens out of the sky. Drinking coffee. Digging up fossils. Picking fruit. Getting chased by bees b/c you shook the wrong tree. LOL

Review: The Prestige & The Messengers

Well, I'm really not sure what's going on. Seem to be missing the option to select my font and also my colour. And of course with my patchy remembrance of HTML programming, it's going be loads of fun trying to figure out how to do that. Oh, and I did I mention how bloody slow the stupid words are appearng in the field, which completely dirves me crazy? I'm a touch typer and I actually sorta type somewhat subconsciously. So I actually have to see if what my fingers typed is correct. I can't look at them or else I loose track of my thoughts...sorta like right now. And yes, I type tons worse when I'm looking at my fingers. Actually even w/ my eyes closed, b/c I have to think about what I just typed, instead of seeing it on screen, I'm getting pretty bad.

Hmm, just published the darn thing, and the font is still Arial (Yahhh!!) but it's all in yellow. But the HTML isn't showing up in the Edit version. Whaaaa? Must admit, it is quite easier to see. And the typing seems to come up much quicker when I'm in Edit HTML mode. Okay, well whatever. And the mouse pointer isn't quite pointing to where it should. It's like where it's affecting doesn't seem to match w/ what's on the screen. Particularly on the title field. Blogger doing something again?

Onto the review. Actually saw Messengers first w/ H and D. The bad thing about watching anything with them is that H will loudly comment all the time. Whereas D will be surfing on his laptop and constantly pester you what's going on. Ending was quite disappointing. It seemed they changed the villain at the end, and decided to make John Corbett's char the baddy, b/c the events leading up to it didn't make much sense. What was w/ the Cigarette-smoking Man constantly wanting to buy the house? Why were there tons of crows even before the family got murdered? Why would a sepia-coloured photo be in the locket, when the murder took place 5 yrs ago? How did the pitchfork scratches appear behind the 2 kids when they were running, but also puncturing the walls from either side? Special effects, atmosphere-wise, it was pretty creepy. At least for me. I'm not a horror-veteran, so I get spooked easily. Yeah, I was holding onto Goleo throughout. I'm a wimp. So ending was very dissatisfying, but was good and freaky up until then.

The Prestige was pretty cool. Hugh Jackman looks lovely as an aristocratic magician. Christian Bale's pretty good-looking, but his eyes are too squinty. I think Cutter was working for the both of them the entire time. If Bale had given more of an apology and taken full responsibility, Jackman's char might've been more willing to forgive him. But I guess this is what happens when you're jealous, prideful, and vengeance-obsessed. Bowie was awesome as Tesla. H thinks there's still a Jackman running around somewhere, but I don't think so. I did want Jackman to win, b/c it seemed he lost more w/ his wife's death. Bale's wife killed herself b/c of his duplicity. So I think it's a good movie, and would be good to rewatch, just to see if you can spot all the tricks. I wonder if at the end, Cutter killed the bird when showing the trick to Bale's daughter. I'm not really sure how the cage was supposed to work w/ Jackman's trick. Yeah, I like magic tricks.

***P.S. Looks like Blogger fixed it b/c everything back to normal. ****

Whatta cutie!

I was looking up the lyrics to Siam Shade's "Get a Life", and found a live concert video. His English is pretty good. I wonder if more Japanese artists are just going to start performing in English to break into the USA. I wish they didn't have to, but that's the sad reality of American xenophobia. I was really just interested b/c I thought I heard him say "f*ck"when was listening to the mp3, so I had to make sure. Not that I have an issue w/ it, but just caught me by surprise. I'm one of those sad people that don't know much about the different music genres, and just listen to what sounds good.

Then I finally decided to see what was avail for Seki Toshihiko on YouTube. And they had clips from an old children's show that he used to do. It's pretty interesting to see him back then, his voice hasn't changed too much but he's dancing so it's very much a squeal moment. And he's singing one of my childhood favourite songs "Sing."




And I learned how to put YouTube videos on my blog. Yatta!!! *clap clap clap*

Lousy week

I really thought the worst thing that could have happened this week was the death of Chris Benoit and his family. The circumstances of their death is so bizarre, I really don't know how I feel. Of course I'm saddened that he's gone, but there's also the feeling of disgust by what he may have done. It's not a good feeling and I know a lot of people are feeling the same way. Most of us have tried to just focus on what a great wrestler he was. Certainly the tribute they had put together on RAW left me alternately crying and clapping @ his matches. We'll see what what the WWE does during their Smackdown and ECW shows.

And this week, probably due to the stress of Benoit's death, has left my immune system really weak, so I'm coming down w/ flu-like symptoms. My CTS is flaring up, my back's aching, throat's sore, and it's been non-stop headaches. Coupled with a GI tract that's been functioning in spurts, it's been cruddy. I really felt like going home early yesterday but then my TL threw a fit so I stayed. Gawd, was that a mistake. That's been why I haven't written earlier about Benoit.

Of course Sensational Sherri passed away the week before too. Yeah, it's been bad times. I got interested in theatrical makeup from her.

But the one that really is close to breaking the camel's back is that stupid fat c*ntla. B!tch has been on my case for months. She's always rude to everyone who's not her buddy. Anyways, today I was doing my chat support and trying not to throw up from being sick or dwell on the Benoit investigation, and playing Bejeweled 2. For those who might not know, the version I'm playing pauses whenever I'm not on the page, so in between chats, I just go back to it. Still trying to get past Lv 7. Anyways, the c*nt-sniffing sow comes up to me and tells me to move to the other side of the room (we'd always told the reps to move b/c there's not enough support for questions/escalations, but d@mmit, I am SUPPORT!), and since she's told me before not to be surfing on the web she's going to tell my TL and Ops Mgr about it and put a CAP in on me. (CAP is this punitive measure even though it supposedly stands for corrective action plan). I'd never been on a CAP before (written plenty though), and I was so furious, I was ready to start destroying the computer and desk. I was really debating between just walking out, sitting at my desk (it's even labelled!), or slowly moving my @ss over to there. After I calmed enough to not destroy furniture or march up to her overpainted @ss to tell her off, I moved over to where I thought some friends I know would sit. But they'd left already. And of course I had to clean up the desk, only to find that I could really hear the thrumming of the ventilation system which matched up lovely to the pounding headache. So after another 3 moves, I got another seat next to JO and stayed there. But the desk smelled and was really gross no matter how much I cleaned.

So I'm sure tomorrow I'll hear something from my TL. And depending on how they handle it, I might just walk out. Although w/ the July 1 and 2 coming up, the pay would be pretty good. Also I signed up for OT tomorrow, to support the launch of the next "it" device, the iPhone. Anyways, definitely time to dust off the resume. Heh, and D will be laid off tomorrow too. Wow, won't finances be great?

Review:Animal Crossing: Wild World

It's been a while since I've gotten Animal Crossing...and it's completely addictive. I've given up trying to take care of my Nintendogs b/c I can't afford the other hour I need to take care of them, and the amount of time I spend on ACWW. Finally shot down Gulliver, and as usual the conversation is hilarious and cute. Heh, maybe he shoulda spent more on his ship instead of his suit...oh wait, he just pointed that out. Yeah, I'm blogging as I'm playing. And I should probably only do one thing at a time though...did I mention ACWW is addictive? It's summer now, and raining. I dunno if you need to water the flowers when it's raining. The faqs says you don't but I've found that some of the flowers are still wilted the next day. And I have a excellent town environment, so I'm trying to keep it that way for a golden watering can. About 8:20am ACWW time, although obviously not in real life. I do change my DS lite's time a lot, b/c of when people visit, catching bugs/fish, meeting KK etc. I wish you could select your coffee flavour. Yup, I drink plenty of coffee in ACWW. Well only one of my residents anyways. I just created another one the other night, bringing it up to 3. Need the extra room to store all the gyroids, clothes, wallpaper, flooring and furniture. I'm trying to get the exotic, classic, cabana, green series. And yeah that's a lot as HRA tells me. Find it's better to give Gulliver the parts as you find them instead off all at once b/c he says what they're for. ...Inhibition Inhibitor? LOL Although I'm little disturbed that he thinks he considers our heads bulb and expects things to bloom from them. Don't want him to wanna see fountains of blood, heh heh.

I'm so annoyed w/ the spellchecker thing. It makes the typing so slow that I'm making more mistakes and losing my train of thought b/c I can see what I'm typing. Unless I'm typing w/ my eyes closed so it doesn't really matter. Yup, it's actually slowing me down b/c I'm watching what I'm typing so if I can't see what comes up, I'm lost.

Anyways, off to play. I think I'm also behind on my manga b/c of this game. *sigh* Just bought $200 of books today too.

Aren't managers supposed to inspire?

You know, I thought this week would be fun. Only had 1 shift on calls and 2 1/2 hrs would be spent in a potluck/team meeting. And I had a 1 1/2 hr training. And I was going to see my family for belated Father's Day thing.

Well, on the personal side it was fine. Had fun w/ the kids, my family didn't ask me annoying questions. Got my youngest niece to talk and interact w/ me. Melissa's quite the talker, and very interested in learning. When her big sisters do their homework, she gets some paper and sits right next to them and says she's doing her homework too. My nephew Justin was cranky and didn't get to play with him. He seemed to cry every time he got near my dad. LOL. But he's so big now, I can barely recognize him. Which makes sense. He's 21 mons now, but I've seen him maybe...4-5 times? My sister-in-law as usual barely spared us a glance or hello when she got home.

But work-wise? Gawd, I've never been so annoyed in a meeting that I've wanted to walk out. Being told that if we're late, swear on the floor or are rude to the customer that we'd get our position on the team evaluated? It's one thing if the definition of swearing and being rude would make a sailor blush, but their definition is anything that would offend the Pope. And even then the Pope would probably forgive a lot. If we don't kiss up to the customer, we're in trouble. If we're stern or point out the customer's stupidity, we're in trouble. We can't even say they're lying when they completely contradict themselves. They're telling us if what the customer says contradicts what the reps have notated (and notated very clearly and well), we're supposed to believe the customer. All b/c a bunch of stats are low, so they're trying to buy the stats by having us throw out the policies and procedures. She keeps harping on the "you're the creme de la creme", while throwing all this crap at us. Our previous managers were a lot better about it, they'd let us whine and bitch for a decent amount of time before telling us to move on. Now it's if we step out of line a bit, we're going to get canned from the team and its perks. It so sucks.

Anyways, a lot of managers are leaving too. There's another team that's hiring, and they have a fair bit of perks, but not the $0.50/hr bonus. But I dunno who their new manager would be so it's kinda annoying. Truly when you find a manager you can connect with, it's so much easier.

Anyways, T had surgery about 2 weeks ago. Been trying to take care of him w/o seeming smothery. I dunno, think I read too many manga and watched too many anime with episodes of characters taking care of other bed-ridden characters/love interests, and they're mostly romantic comedies or shonen-ai. Even volunteered to tidy up his apt! Anyways, also used up all my min checking up on him...and my bill cycle doesn't end until about end of month. *sob* Maybe I should call up my carrier to see if they got any bonus minutes or something.

Yeah, so work has really sucked. I've been thinking of just calling in absent, just so I can get an extra day off. I haven't had a cat day in ages. It's been grocery shopping, going away parties, cleaning, cooking or some other chore. So odd to be so popular. But what pisses me off is that D doesn't do anything that I can discern. All he does when he's home is nap, go on his laptop, play his games. Doesn't bother cooking or cleaning. I have to tell him to clean the stove or counter, take out the garbage, etc.

Since I'd had to write so many cards lately, and I haven't time to practice a new font for each card, I've been working on the Linoscript font from Linotype. I've added a few of my own touches, and it's looking pretty good. My characters are about the same size, same angle. Heh, who needs to buy fonts when you can just copy them?

This won't become a Den of Iniquity

Is basically what I told D if he let some person that he met thru the casual sex ads on some online dating site come to the apt.

I was wondering why he was being extra nice and washed his dishes(which'd been sitting in the sink for last couple of days) and cleaned the oven top, although I attributed it to the fact that I talked w/ H for close to 3 hrs yesterday, and she told him that he'd better start pulling his weight around the apt. But apparently some girl replied to him in one of those online dating sites he goes to (I thought so that he could mock the ads and/or play yo-yo w/ his self-esteem). So when he first started talking about the girl replying, I was like "huh, well whatever. That's nice you're going to get laid." Then when he said that the girl said that she had prudish roommates and thin walls, I'm like "So what?". Then he gave this look, and I'm like "Hell fuck no, you're not bringing her over!" And he's like "why not? I'll only bring her over when you're not here." Like dude, I have tons of expensive stuff, and I'm not letting someone steal it. Someone always has to be watching her. And he's saying "Oh I'll be with her all the time." Yeah whatever. Like he's going to follow her to the bathroom, after he came a couple times. (not that I actually said that. Neither did I point out that considering that he's had bad luck w/ attracting women, the fact that someone's paying attention to him will mean that he'll be too giddy to notice anything. And he's not observant in the first place.) So I told him that I'm letting the apt turn into a den of sin, and I'm the prudish roommate here. So he's all pouty and goes, "so you're not letting me have anyone over?" And I'm like, "I don't trust these people, I don't know these people. You could've had Z (mutual friend) over, and it'd be awkward in the morning but I know that she wouldn't touch anything. "

And really that's that. She could be some streetwalker, drug-addict, kleptomaniac, sociopath, who knows what. And I have lots of easily pocketed stuff around. Hell, I don't even like it when the building caretaker comes over, and the guy's in his 60s. I may be overprotective, protecting the nest, but dammit, there's a hotel on either side of our building. Frigging pick one.

Evil corporations

Of the day is... Marvel Comics. Yes, that lovable company that used to be fronted by the friendly octogenarian Stan Lee... until they fired him. I mean released him. Anyways, they've released some very questionable material. Found out about it on Sequential Tart's page, and it's pretty hilarious. The statue is a very much, "WTF, and why would anyone want to buy that?" Wow, MJ washing Petey's longjohns, how completely domestic and pointless. But the best is the cover for Heroes for Hire. I'm pretty sure I've seen that cover for a hentai or two. How the hell it ever got by an editor is beyond me. I wonder if tentacle porn turns on any females. Lesbian or otherwise.

Anyways, also got sidetracked by the chance to be surveyed by Google and paid. I already belong to 2 other survey companies. It's sometimes fun. Harris Polls is much better than Lightspeed, b/c Harris gives you a reminder and more time before closing the survey. I haven't used my HIpoints yet. I remember getting asked about the Duracell firefighter commercial. I'm not sure if my opinion helped, but I don't see the shot of the fireman listening to his music on the new commercials.