Category: my ramblings

It’s the 4th of July. I don’t care, because I’m not from the USA. I’m more interested in the 14th of July, not because it’s Bastille Day, but because it’s my birthday, and I’ve been so busy recently that I just remembered.

Notice anything different?

Yesterday I was suddenly reminded what a horribly wasteful society I’m in the midst of. I was getting onto the subway, and there were two people standing in front of the station, each handing out a competing “subway” newspaper. (For anyone not in Toronto: these are newspapers that are totally free and are meant to be read by commuters-in-a-hurry so that they can get the days news fast. They’re usually 32 pages or under and are meant to be read in 20 minutes or so.) Continuing my policy of giving the cold shoulder to any form of mainstream (North American) media, I walk by without taking one. Inside the station now there’s another person handing out a third paper. Suddenly I think to myself “Gebus! Where is all of this paper going?”

I get off at my subway stop and I find my answer. Every single garbage can I see in the station is overflowing with these newspapers; in some cases, they’re piled two feet high on top of the garbage cans.

Later in the evening I was at a movie at that constant reminder of everything that’s wrong with society, the Famous Players Paramount. Outside of the theatre there was a sprinkler set up raining water down onto a section of the sidewalk. Its sole purpose was to promote the film The Perfect Storm, which opened that night. I felt the extreme need to find some employee and ask how much of the city’s water they had wasted today. (The apparatus was hooked up to a nearby fire hydrant.) If I hadn’t been with a friend I probably would have.

Bought an Air album yesterday. Loving it.

I hate the stupid Palm commercials on TV now. Especially because every Palm model except for the IIIc is backordered for three months (not that I’m buying one – it’s just ironic that you can’t buy the model featured in the ad – the Palm V)

Oh, and my CD-ROM drive at work is back in business – more MP3s for me.

The work atmosphere has been getting lighter as of late. Last night was a company drink / dinner night, which apparently there will be more of. (It used to be a regular thing, but got lost in the shuffle while the company was preparing to launch the site officially.)

The “Front Street Market” (glorifieid Dominion grocery store) has cheap candy-filled water guns in the bulk food section, for $2.99. I just bought one. It was pretty touch to get it out of the bin with the supplieed plastic scoop, but I eventually prevailed. When I got to the checkout the cashier tried to give me a bag for my water gun and chocolate bar – after a brief struggle, I gave the bag back and ran for my life.

I finally got confirmation from SimplyGames that they are shipping my Puzzle Bobble Mini cartridge out today! The Metal Slug: 1st Mission cart is delayed, though.

At the company dinner thing last night there was a live jazz band playing. The keyboardist looked exactly like my friend Cait from Guelph. Exactly. But then I got home and Cait was online, so it couldn’t have been her. I just told her that I found her long-lost twin.

Song: Amon Tobin – Stoney Street
What can I say, other than my sister has impeccable taste in music: this is a Ninja Tune CD.

Somehow ran out of time last night. Was relaxing etc, suddenly looked at the time and it was 9:35. Tonight have to write 3c589C documentation and put together a driver disk.

Got my marks from last semester finally. … Well, they’re not throwing me out, and I don’t think I’m on probation, so it’s still all good. I don’t think I can keep on living the myth of coasting through all of my classes anymore though. My electives are keeping me afloat.

Song: :Air – Casanova 70
I randomly found this CD in my sister’s collection, and it’s very very cool. Only 33 minutes long though. Looks like I might actually be buying CDs soon.

I think I would buy CDs if they had music videos on them as well. Until then, I’ll just go to sites like this for music. Yum.

Hopefully the cats won’t keep me awake tonight. Last night they only woke me up once (around 3:30am). The night before (my first night) they kept me awake ALL NIGHT. How, you may ask? They wrestle. And fight. Not serious fighting, just playing but they’re constantly running around and throwing each other to the ground. And occasionally they meow to me as if yo say “C’mon, get up and join the fun!” Grr. The whole problem is that they’re nocturnal. They sleep all fucking day, the bastards. I wish I was a cat.

Song: Radiohead – No Suprises (Live Frejus June 17 2000)
such a pretty house and
such a pretty garden
no alarms and no suprises
no alarms and no suprises
no alarms and no suprises, please

Well, I’m moved in to my sister’s place. The cats are cute (although they wrestled all night and kept me awake), my computer is in a very precarious position, but whatever.

Earlier this afternoon I was in the area of bpNichol Lane and I TOTALLY FORGOT to take a picture of the no parking sign. Oh. Maybe some explanation is in order.

Near my old high school is a street / alleyway called bpNichol Lane. It’s named after a Canadian poet. One of his poems is carved into the concrete of the lane. Anyways. Last wednesday I was walkign up the lane and happened to notice a no parking sign that someone had placed a “b” infront of the big “P” with a line through it, magicially transforming the sign from a piece of monotonous urban landscape to a part of the lane’s story. Which I guess is itself a part of the urban landscape. But it’s not monotonous. Yeah.

Song: Big Sugar – 100 Cigarettes
while I’m countin’ my regrets
I’m gonna smoke 100 cigarettes

Is is possible for me to drink too much coffee? No. Well, maybe: there was that time last year I was waiting in the Second Cup and drank four? extra-large Continental Darks, black. That hurt. Heh, I only did that because I was waiting to say hello to Mere before I went back home.