Counting Down
22 December 2005 - 13:18.
Yep... the excitement is building. Amy's been joking around lately about wanting to open presents early, and to be quite honest I've been hard pressed to say no to her. The temptation to give in is huge, and of course being the over-sized kid that I am, I'm all over the idea of presents. Make no mistake... I adore giving presents to my loved ones any time of the year, and especially at Christmas. But who among us doesn't feel even the slightest thrill at seeing a big box with your name on it? C'mon... put up your hand if you don't get excited.
But wait! There's more!
Christmas Confusion
14 December 2005 - 11:10.
Something I've seen on a few of the blogs I read kinda confuses me. And before I go further, I'd like to emphasize here that what follows is genuine, honest-to-goodness confusion. This isn't meant to be a slam, a flame, or to otherwise denigrate or belittle any person's individual habits, tendancies, or preferences.
What's the deal with asking someone to send you a Christmas card?
There are a couple of blogs where the author has stated something to the effect of 'if you want to receive a Christmas card from me, then please send me an email with your mailing address'. So basically, I can have some limited control over the number of cards I receive. But what if I, as the sender of the card (as opposed to the requestor of the card) don't like the requestor? What if I had some sort of stalking tendancies (I don't) and a fondness for the card sender? Beyond that, doesn't this practice defeat the whole purpose of sending Christmas cards?
I've always figured that Christmas was about the giving, not the receiving. And if I'm giving someone something, I want it to be because I want that person to be happy, not because they asked it of me. And yet I've sighted the above on more than one blog. I honestly don't understand this. Can someone please explain it to me? Please?
Minutiae and Such
08 December 2005 - 17:16.
I get to pick up my new motorbike tonight. It's a 1975 Honda CB 400 Supersport. This bike is widely considered to be one of the most important bikes of the last 40 years or so, since it was the first to offer a stock 6-speed transmission. It was one of the first bikes designed for true speed, and is also therefore considered to be one of the bikes that helped define the sport-bike class of motorbike. And I've got one now.
Amy and I had what she refers to as our first fight the other night. I don't know if I'd call it a fight, but rather a disagreement, or a disconnect. But we weren't really fighting, if you ask me. I got snarly, then she got snarly, then we both got quiet. Hardly a fight in my books. But it was all over and done with inside of about 90 minutes or so, and then everything was peachy-keen. If that's the type of fights that I'll be dealing with, then we're laughing. In a past relationship, we fought far too often, almost every other day. It's such a treat to not do that. Yet another reason (as if there aren't enough already) why I love Amy so much.
The Corporation
06 December 2005 - 15:43.
As some of the three of you may know, I work for a manufacturing company in Richmond. And as much as I prefer the private business world to the public sector, there are serious issues with it sometimes.
The biggest problem I see is that the company executive have this habit of acting first, and thinking later. Now, a lot of what we do is controlled or affected by technological factors - computers control much of the machinery that's used in the manufacturing process. And 3 guesses who fixes those computers when something goes awry... and believe me, they do.
So it consistently amazes me when the powers that be with my firm fail to take technology into consideration when making business decisions. And then when I'm unable to snap my fingers and make things all better, they get pissed, and bemoan the fact that it's taking me so long to get their beloved systems up and running. Maybe if the they actually cared, they'd ask the IT group first whether a thing is possible, rather than finding out that it isn't and paying through the nose to try to get things working after the fact.
Thank you. I feel better now for having vented.
Let The Sleigh Bells Ring
05 December 2005 - 20:01.
For the first time in a long time, I'm actually excited about Christmas.
The last several holiday seasons, I've been single. This year I'm not. My relationsip with Amy is going fantastically, my job is going well (despite the occasional bitching here to the contrary), and things are generally good for me. This hasn't been the case for me the past few years.
But wait! There's more!
Return From The Hinterland
02 December 2005 - 21:29.
I spent the past week working in the company office located just a hair north of Tacoma, Washington. Ummm... ya. Not so much fun.
For those of you familiar with the Greater Vancouver area, let me paint a picture for you. Imagine working in Tilbury business park (which in itself is not too shabby at all) and staying at a hotel in Ladner. Where you know no one, are only barely familiar with the general area, and are surrounded by a culture that you don't really enjoy.
Now, I spent many years as a young adult in Ladner. And if you're raising a family, it's a great place to live. When I last lived there some 6 years ago, people were still in the habit of leaving their front doors unlocked. There's practically no violent crime - a street fight will make the front page of the local newspaper. It's a bit removed from downtown, enough so that a trip to downtown takes a healthy length of time, and so people who live there tend to stay there most nights. There's not much to do in Ladner.
That's the situation I find myself in when work takes me south. I work in a heavily industrialized area, and I stay in a suburb with nothing to do except eat, drink, or go to the mall. And the mall ain't that great (I'd rather go to Metrotown, any day, thanks very much). It's long. It's tedious. And it's finally over.
Now that I'm home, I can look forward to a weekend much better than my week. And so I will.