Pursuit of Challenge

I love the thrill of a challenge. I always have. If something comes too easy I usually get bored with it and I'm off to the next thing. I chose clarinet over trumpet, 48 keys over 3, I learned to snowboard instead of ski. Skiing you strap on your skis and away you go, snowboarding takes precision,fitness and balance to get down a hill without wiping out. At work I take the hard projects, then get more big projects assigned to me. My personal life, I choose difficult relationships instead of the cut and dry and enjoyable. Is it the thrill or the competition? Why am I drawn to this? Why can't I just take the easy way for once? Is it all worth it? At the end of the day I can say "I did that", but really, is that such an accomplishment? Is it worth such ego feeding competitive behaviour?

Tai Chi!

I signed up for a Tai Chi class this fall. Why Tai Chi? It didn't seem too strenuous and it looked interesting, something where I can work on my flexibility. I'm not flexible at all. It does however seem to be graceful, I'm also not very graceful, but Toni is signing up with me, I sure hope she's not graceful either....that would be nice so I don't have to look like a dork by myself, although I'm sure used of it. Here's a little exerpt on Tai Chi shamelessly stolen from wikipedia.org



As the name T'ai Chi Ch'üan is held to be derived from the T'ai Chi symbol, the taijitu or t'ai chi t'u (太極圖, pinyin tàijítú), commonly known in the West as the "yin-yang" diagram, T'ai Chi Ch'üan techniques are said therefore to physically and energetically balance yin (receptive) and yang (active) principles: "From ultimate softness comes ultimate hardness."

The core training involves two primary features: the first being the solo form or ch'üan, a slow sequence of movements which emphasize a straight spine, relaxed breathing and a natural range of motion; the second being different styles of pushing hands or t'ui shou (推手) for training "stickiness" and sensitivity in the reflexes through various motions from the forms in concert with a training partner in order to learn leverage, timing, coordination and positioning when interacting with another. Pushing hands is seen as necessary not only for training the self-defense skills of a soft style such as T'ai Chi by demonstrating the forms' movement principles experientially, but also it is said to improve upon the level of conditioning provided by practice of the solo forms by increasing the workload on students while they practice those movement principles.

Do what I say and you live!

Went to see Snakes on a Plane on the weekend. It was every bit of awesomeness as I had expected. It didn't even try to take itself seriously! It's two thumbs up for the best B movie of the year! There were so many lines and so many things wrong with it, that it just made it great. I mean really, who can sneak that 12 ft Boa Constrictor in the ventilation system? And snakes don't hover to find the perfect spot to bite you. There was a good movie crowd there too, they cheered when Sam said a hilarious line and clapped for the sheer antics of the movie. I suggest you get Sam to phone a friend of yours and go see it!

Warmed up my credit card for this weekend. I'm going to Calgary for long weekend! Yay! New clothes for me! New clothes that fit! I bought a couple new things on the weekend, an urban cowgirl shirt, which I absolutely love, and a new blouse for work. I shall have to take a pic in the urban cowgirl shirt, it's so chic.

I replied to a work email in haiku this morning. My boss thought it was hilarious and responded in haiku. I got congratulated in the meeting for my creativity. Really, I didn't mean to reply in haiku, I wrote a response and noticed it had a rhythm to it, then I counded the syllables and realised it was a haiku, then formatted and cut out a couple "the"s and sent. It was pretty funny. People are starting to realise what a geek I am so that's a good thing. They are getting less afraid to come see me.

I've officially planned my housewarming party. I don't think I missed anyone but if I did, email me and come! I think I have all the Saskatonians on my list but let me know. It should be awesome.

Full o'beans

We went to EE Burritos for lunch today. That is the best Mexican food I have ever tasted. They also had a wide variety of hot sauces! So spicy, so good! It wasn't really greasy either, so that was nice. I'll definitely go back. Their beans are soooooo good. I'm sooooo gasy right now it's not even funny. It's a good thing I don't sit with the rest of the guys I went with, I'm pretty sure that's a smelly corner right now.

Cooler than you

It's Friday! Time to celebrate with some Ben Folds....



Smile
Like you've got nothing to prove
No matter what you might do
There's always someone out there cooler than you

I know that's hard to believe
But there are people you meet
They're into something that is too big to be

Expressed
Through their clothes
And they'll put up with all the poses you'll throw
And you won't

Even know
that they're not sizing you up
They know your mom fucked you up
Or maybe let you watch too much TV

But they'll still look in your eyes
To find the human inside
You know there's always something in there to see

Beneath
The veneer
Not everybody made the list this year
Have a beer

Make me feel tiny if it makes you feel tall
But there's always someone cooler than you

Yeah, you're the shit but you won't be here for long
Oh, there's always someone cooler than you
Yeah, there's always someone cooler than you

Now that I've got the disease
In a way I'm relieved
'Cause I don't have to stress about it like you do

I might just get up and dance
Or buy some acid-wash pants
When you don't care then you got nothing to lose

And I won't
Hesitate
'Cause every moment life is slipping away
It's ok

Make me feel tiny if it makes you feel tall
But there's always someone cooler than you

Yeah, you're the shit but you won't be it for long
Oh, there's always someone cooler than you
Yeah, there's always someone cooler than you
Oh, there's always someone cooler than...

Life is wonderful
Life is beautiful
We're all children of
One big universe
So you don't have to be a chump

And you know (you know)
That I won't (I won't)
Hesitate (hesitate)
'Cause every moment life is slipping away (away)
It's ok (it's ok)

Make me feel tiny if it makes you feel tall
Oh, 'cause there's always someone cooler than you

Yeah, you're the shit but you won't be it for long
But there's always someone cooler than you
Oh yeah, there's always someone cooler than you
Because there's always someone cooler than you

Cooler than you (boy)
Cooler than you (girl)
Cooler than you (sir)
Cooler than you (my lady)

Oh
Nerds go wild
Yeah Yeah

Watchout for the pickles?

Had a good conversation at coffee time about why Intellivision was the best system ever made. In what other gaming system could you play tennis, crush martians, destroy asteroids, get chased by man eating pickles, and have various monsters beep meanly at you in a maze, all of this in 2D! Yes, the side controller buttons hurt after a while and maybe a disc wasn't the best way to control your game, but it was some of the most addictive gaming fun. I think because it took alot more imagination to get into the games. That was half the fun. I remember turning a corner in Dungeons and Dragons and having a Stick Man with a sheild scare the begeeses out of me. Now I turn the corner in games on my PS2 and a flesh eating realistic looking zombie doesn't even phase me. Oh a zombie, how about that? And down he goes.

Ashamed

I am so totally ashamed of myself. I have been mixing up Samuel L Jackson and Wesley Snipes for weeks, and no one has called me on it! Why have you people been listening to my rants and not pointing out that Blade is Wesley Snipes! Shame on you and shame on me!

Non-sensicle is unpossible

Been a while since I blogged something non sensicle here. Let's try it.

Everyone is going on and on here about Snakes on a Plane. Samuel L Jackson did phone me personally to go and see it, he did that last week. James had something to do with that one... The problem I have with Snakes on a Plane is that it only encourages this "tell it like it is" naming convention. Badgers on a Hovercraft anyone? Annoyingly Lonely Girl Meets Lost but Good Headed Boy. I cannot encourage these movie titles. But on the other hand it's Sam fighting snakes. I've watched him fight vampires and watched him fight terrorists, but never snakes, this is a whole new experience that I can't miss out on! And the one liners! How I love them! The key to any Sam movie. I'll cave and see it.

My table came and my place is feeling like it has some sort of order to it now. I enjoy it. I'm going to throw some housewarming parties soon. One for friends and another for family. Sadly I think the family guests out number the friends guests, we'll have to take care of that.

Went camping this weekend and had a blast. Lounged on the beach, ate some good food, babbled some senseless drunk talk, yes it was a full camping experience. We buried Brant in the sand on the beach and turned him into a transgendered mermaid/merman. I wish I had my camera for that one. The boys had an ax throwing competition. I somehow don't this was safe but they both claim it was.

This week I'm indulging in the girly stuff, we're going to see the Devil Wears Prada on Wed. I want to see it, but I know it will turn out like every other chick flick and I will feel dumber having seen it and probably give myself heck for seeing such mindless predictable drivel, but I'll do it anyways and then in 6 months, I'll probably do it again.

Taking Back Sunday

"Divine Intervention"

Despondent, distracted,
You're vicious and romantic;
These are a few of my favorite things.
All of those flavors and
This is what you choose:
Past the blues, past the blues,
And on to something new,

Something real, make it timeless,
An act of God and nothing less will be accepted.
So if you're calling me out,
Then count me out.

Yeah, we're stubborn and melodramatic,
A real class act.
You see, I know a few of your favorite things.
Five in the morning and all comes out pouring,
Love, out the same way in.

Something real, make it timeless,
An act of God and nothing less will be accepted.
Now if you're calling me out,
Then count me out.

You're in Saskatchewan when...

You get to work and there's a cow in your parking spot, no word of a lie, there was an actual cow in my parking spot, it had buddies throughout the parking lot.

There's a farmer's field next door, I suspect that had something to do with it.....

Hiding porn the more effective way

Okay guys, really! Do not hide your porn in any cd case that might sound remotely interesting. The first cd on the desk here is labelled Rock Spring 2003. After getting speakers set up here in the computer room, I thought perfect, a rock cd to test them out with, and I was also thinking about what would be popular in 2003, it was kind of exciting. Once again I got a rude surprise, fellatio on my screen pops up without asking on Window's Media Player.

Now, I don't really care that it's here, it's just I really wasn't in the mood for that, and the sound! Does it always have to be volume 10? Please label your porn effectively so that I don't get a rude awakening.

Thanks.

Time Waster, Heartbreaker

Well I'm at a standstill while I download these software packages....so here I go.


[ The Basics ]



:: Name? Candice

:: Any nicknames? Candy, the token female

:: Date of birth? July 5th, 1982

:: Age? 24 (Almost quarter century old, shudder)

:: Gender? female



[ More In-Depth ]



:: Height? 5'9 1/2"

:: Shoe-size?6 1/2

:: Eye color/any contacts or glasses?green/both

:: Hair color/natural or dyed?light brown and it's natural and dyed. I've got some highlights

:: Describe yourself with 4 words: This one is hard! Easy-going, sensible, quirky and clumsy

:: How do people often describe you? I've heard "the responisble one" kicked around a bunch

:: Best qualities? I don't really know

:: Any worst qualities? I'm sometimes impervious to social situations. I just finished reading JPod by Douglas Coupland, in that book they explore the idea that all programmers have some form of Autism, after really thinking about it, I concurr.

:: Hobbies? Running, computers, ping pong?



[ School Spirit ]



:: Do you like school? I liked it for a while

:: Part of any certain cliques? In high school I was part of a couple. Oh girl world, one clique would get mad and oust you, so there were many back ups.

:: Describe your school with 5 words: nah

:: Describe your teachers with 5 words: nope

:: Favorite subject[s]? Sciences

:: Favorite teachers/classes? I loved the teachers who were enthusiastic and actually cared, Hamilton, Yang.



[ Your Family ]



:: Do you like your family? Yeah, there's not much choice in the matter is there?

:: Any siblings/names? Just my sister Kristen

:: If so, describe with 4 words: not going to touch that one, "emotional timebomb"

:: Any divorces with parents? Nope

:: Strict family, or just carefree? They weren't strict nor were they carefree. My Dad always knows what's going on in the all the social circles so he didn't worry about us because he knew where we were. The only advice that stuck was to "leave before the cops come"

:: Family member you seem closest to? My Dad



[ Love Life ]


:: Any crushes on actors/actresses? If so, who? Ewan McGregor for now...

:: What do you like about them; their acting or their looks? I really don't know what it is. I think it's because he's in 2 of my favorite most emotional movies, Moulin Rouge and Big Fish

:: Musicians? If so, who? None at the moment. Perhaps Gavin Rossdale pre-Bush experimental remix days.

:: What do you like about them; their music or their looks? I think that was a looks thing.



:: Do you like taking the lead in a relationship? It's usually just thrust upon me, but sometimes I like to be lead too! Just doesn't happen though

:: Be the first to kiss someone? yep

:: Ask them out/tell them you like them first? not generally

:: Do you usually 'break the ice' during akward silences? yeah, if it's really awkward it will always be with a story that makes absolutely no sense and then I end up feeling like a bigger moron.



[ Love Life - Female Section ]



:: What kind of physical features do you find appealing:

:: Long/short hair? Short, can't do the long thing, if it's longer than mine, that's freaky

:: Freckles? Doesn't matter

:: Dimples? Also doesn't matter

:: A good smile or a good laugh? Smile

:: Tanned or fair skin? tanned usually suggests outdoorsy, but I've been fooled before

:: Athletic or lanky? athletic

:: Classy or casual clothes? classy

:: How important are looks to you? not very, that's not usually the first thing I'm drawn to.



:: What kind of personality[ies] do you find appealing:

:: Naughty or nice? nice

:: Mysterious or just fun to be with? fun to be with

:: Brains or brawl type of guy? brains, oh dear god, brains.

:: How would you feel about a guy crying in front of you? It's been done, it's fine, they are human

:: Sensitive or tough guy?sensitive but not overly sensitive, he can't be a wimp.

:: Innocent, deep, or macho? Between innocent and deep, but they must be able to fix stuff which is more in the macho category.

:: How important are personalities to you? Very



[ Love Life - Male Section ]



:: What kind of physical features do you find appealing:

:: Long/short hair?

:: Freckles?

:: Dimples?

:: A nice smile or a sexy smirk?

:: Tanned or fair skin?

:: Athletic or just curvy?

:: Showy or casual clothes?

:: How important are looks to you?



:: What kind of personality[ies] do you find appealing:

:: Naughty or nice?

:: Mysterious or just fun to be with?

:: Smart, athletic, or just a looker?

:: How would you feel about them crying in front of you?

:: Does a good sense of style matter to you?

:: Innocent, deep, or wild?

:: How important are personalities to you?



[ Your Favorites ]



:: Movie[s]? Moulin Rouge, Holy Grail, When Harry met Sally, Old School

:: TV Show[s]?Gilmore Girls, South Park

:: CD/song[s]? Ben Fold's Rocking the Suburbs

:: Band[s]?Ben Folds, The Used, Blink 182, Arcade Fire, New Pornographers, Foo Fighters

:: Singer[s]?uh, see above

:: Musician[s]? Isn't this the same damn question?

:: Color[s]? purple, orange

:: The most favorite random thing on your computer desk? awww, my little tux penguin, reminds me of simplier times at SaskTel

:: Any favorite friend? No I don't pick favorites, I enjoy them all for different reasons

:: Type of beverage/alcoholic or non? oooh Caesar. I'm going to try making my first vodka martini tomorrow.

:: Candy or snacks? snacks, I'm assuming the distinction is that snacks are salty. Because Candy can very well be a snack...

:: Number? 22

:: Brand of tissues? Kleenex. I'm going to include my favorite brand of toilet paper too, it's Charmin, it's like wiping your ass with a pillow. You have to go buy this toilet paper!



[ This or That ]



:: Strawberries or cherries? no you can't make me choose!

:: Coke or Pepsi? Coke

:: Music or Television? Music

:: Mails or e-mails? email! Mail implies bills implies no fun

:: Online Messengers or the phone? I do both

:: In person or online? Person

:: Love or lust? a little of both is good

:: Pencils or pens? pens, purple or pink please

:: Cake or pie? mmmmm cake pie

:: Cosmetics or clothes? clothes

:: Roses or Tulips? Tulips

:: Metal or Techno? I like both, you can't make me choose

:: Paper clips or duct tape? I also can't choose between these. Both are held in high regard.



[ Your Friends ]



:: Do you have friends? yes

:: Do you like your friends? well obviously

:: Who's the nicest? hmmmm,

:: Cleanest? Barbara

:: Funniest? the Brett and Dave Duo is pretty funny

:: Kindest/most caring? Heather

:: Wild/bubbly one? Toni

:: Rebel? no one really

:: Oldest? [how long they've been your friend, not age] I think that's Heather, yep it is

:: The greatest person in the world? they are all great

:: Just plain weird one? most of my cs friends

:: Narrow your friends down to your closet, and give each of them a word that'd sum them up: I'm assuming they mean closest. And I'm not doing that. Although if sed friends would like to see my new walk in closet, I'd be happy to show them. (I think I'm so funny)

:: Are they really your most trusted friends, or just people you wave and smile at? The wavers and smilers are gone

:: The friend you probably hang out/talk with the most: Right now that would be Barbara



[ The Last Person/Thing You ]



:: Ate? Taco Salad from the cafeteria, I feel like grease now

:: Drank? Raspberry Orange fruit and veggie juice.

:: Read? Book-wise it was jPod by Douglas Coupland, I read all the time non-bookwise

:: Listened to? Dixie Chicks new cd, waiting for the rotten tomatoes to hit me.......now

:: Talked with? I think it was Matt after lunch

:: Laughed with? I think we were laughing at someone as we were talking

:: Smiled at? People walking by my cube

:: Blush at? hmmmm, I don't know

:: Missed? ho hum can't really say

:: Poked? oh man I haven't poked anyone for a long time. I used to be the poking queen. I think Brett has the scars from university to prove that. If I do that here I think people would just think I'm weird, not that they don't already...

:: Annoyed? Last person I annoyed......I don't really know......couldn't of been that long ago.....

:: Got mad at? My stupid software programs!!!!!!

:: Said sorry to? I think to Doug even though the hardware I broke wasn't my fault, honestly

More Cowbell!

Tomorrow it looks like I'll finally be seeing Talladega Night's. I've been looking forward to it so much that I will leave the room if a commercial for it comes on, I don't want to ruin it.

I think I've broken everything that I can here at work, it's insane. I broke an entire piece of hardware yesterday, well I didn't break it, per se, it just stopped working in my care. Apparently flash memory doesn't erase itself but honestly I didn't touch it. Then I broke some software programs this morning. I'm cursed. So I'm downloading a bunch of packages to install that will fix it, but downloads are taking forever...not fun!

Sears has officially lost my dining room set. I wasn't too happy with them. Now they are doing goofy things to my credit card, maybe next week I'll have a table? I guess that's what I get by trying to save $300 ordering online than in the store. I just want to eat on a table not the couch, that's apparently too much to ask.

Going to the exhibition this weekend too. I'm looking forward to that. Give me an elephant ear and I'll be quite content for the next little while. It's amazing that a deep fried piece of dough has that much power over me.

My computer room is almost all set up, that's exciting, it came together pretty quickly. I have a stuffed animal problem though. I took a couple with me from home, but it's still too many. I thought it's nice to have a couple around. Even with 1 around it still looks like a 10 year old lives there or something. I don't know what to do. Maybe I'll get a nice feminine bedspread for the spare bed and they can live there? That's still crazy 40 year old spinster vibe-y though.

Last night I was getting ready for bed, I heard a rumbling outside. Just as I was cursing a "thunderstorm", I happened to look out the bedroom patio doors. It wasn't a thunderstorm at all, in fact, I could see the exhibition fireworks perfectly from the doors and on the balcony. I couldn't see the really low ones but there were a ton of high ones. That was pretty cool. So I sat outside in my pjs for a while and watched the rest of the fireworks. If I had known they were going on, I would have personally gone and saw them, but this was pretty good too.

I'm also noticing I'm becoming a clean freak. If anyone had ever seen my bedroom in my parents house, you know that that is hard to believe. I'm becoming one of those obsessive, everything has a spot and it better be there person too. It's really annoying, I have to try to lighten up on these issues but it's tough! I never saw this one coming. When I was little, we always had a room that no one could go into, the living room, in order to keep it clean. Even the cats weren't allowed in there. Although they would sit at the edge of the room and gaze longingly into it. Then you would catch them putting a paw in if they thought you weren't looking, but one word to them and they were out again. I always said that there wouldn't be this type of room in my house ever. But now I'm starting to see the upside of it. One space all to you that you can keep clean, because no one uses it. Okay it still makes no logical sense, but it appeals to the organizational nature of my personality. Wow, I'm messed up.

Incessant Chatter

It's almost the long weekend! Yay! I'm going to take off to the lake this weekend. No my condo isn't in any sort of order, but I need a break. My feet and knees are still sore from last weekend. But they'll get better hopefully. I also still don't have my dining room table. If it's not here by after work today, they are hearing from me. I know I said that everyday this week.

I finally got a much needed haircut yesterday. It looks okay. It at least looks healthy. I found a good hair dresser first try, which is odd for me. We replaced Dan's surround sound system the other night. We noticed before we moved that the old one wasn't playing DVDs or CDs properly. It wasn't even a year old. So London Drugs gave us our full money back, which was nice. We then bought a really really good 1000 Watt Pioneer Receiver and DVD/DVR player. It's sweet, although I don't want to turn it up too loud and piss off the neighbors our first week there.

I've met a couple of our neighbors. They are both ladies in their 40's. They said everyone in the building pretty much keeps to themselves, they don't really know anyone in the building, in fact I don't even think they've met each other. So far you can't hear anything in our condo, it's really solid concrete. In fact every time I try to hang a picture I usually end up buying a wall anchor because I hit concrete right after the gyprock. It's a good thing, now I can play my Dance Dance Revolution and not have to worry about the people downstairs being angry. I've also been to the hot tub many a time and haven't run into a single soul. I brought my racquet ball raquets but I forgot the balls. I'll have to take a look for those this weekend. We also bought some ping pong paddles. Still haven't tried them out yet. At least I know I won't go stir crazy in the winter because I won't drive anywhere, I've got everything in one building.

Having the tall girl store close is going to be a challenge. There's a really nice pair of parasuco jeans there that fit me perfect that I want. But I don't really need them right now, and I'm trying to focus on condo needs, but they still taunt me everytime I go by. We'll have to see if I can hold out, I'll keep you updated.

I was walking through Sears yesterday and they had a bunch of board games on sale for 50% off. I stocked up since I had to leave a bunch at home in Regina. Once we get some furniture, I'm pretty sure setting up a biweekly game night with friends here wouldn't be too hard of a problem. I'll also have to meander to Toys R Us one day. James keeps on telling me about these mythical Saskatoon board game sales, which I still need to see for myself.

My knees!

Happy to be back at work. No longer crawling around and organizing or moving things. So nice! My knees, back and feet needed the break of my office chair. There's so much to do here at work. It's still shutdown week, so there's no bosses, it's kinda a gong show. Today I was consulted on some Cisco Switch Networking problems, and actually came up with a good solution! I rock! It's nice that CCNA stuff comes in handy. I also solved a tonne of issues in my everyday coding, I should take a break away from work more often. Even though I was physically exhausted all weekend, I'm still mentally prepared for work, I don't know how that works.

The move went as smoothly as we could hope for. I got stuck in an elevator for 40 mins during the move with my Mom and my future mother-in-law, who are both claustraphobic. Not exactly the best situation. When the maintenance people got us out, my mom decided to give them what for for another 20 mins. Also not a good situation. They can't replace the elevator and they fix the building, not exactly the people you want to be arguing with. Luckily the main maintenance guy didn't seem too upset about it yesterday (phew!). Don't piss off your maintenance guy, bad idea.

The condo is coming together pretty good. A few minor things need to be fixed, but we're working on them. I'm in prime organization mode. In another week I'll have everything where I want it.

There's the furniture fiasco but I'll leave that for another blog, that still perturbs and confuses me.

This weekend my parents are having a family reunion of sorts, so we'll be off to the lake. My Dad has this big plan to float our backyard trampoline in the lake. I want to see this. Should be funny.

Toni sent me this pic from Barbara's b-day party. It was so funny to see everyone look so smashed.