veni vidi vici

and this

2009-07-02T07:59:00.000-07:00

If you have five dollars and Chuck Norris has five dollars, Chuck Norris has more money than you.

they're fun

2009-05-14T12:31:00.001-07:00

I like these things.

WHAT WAS YOUR:
1. last beverage = nice dry vodka martini
2. last phone call = work crap
3. last text message = obscene humour to my cousin Tino
4. last song you listened to = Crazy by Seal. Stupid office radio occasionally doesn’t suck.
5. last time you cried = a while ago

HAVE YOU EVER:
6. dated someone twice = yes
7. been cheated on = yes
8. kissed someone & regretted it = yes
9. lost someone special = yes
10. been depressed = yes
11. been drunk and threw up = yes

LIST THREE FAVORITE COLORS:
12. purple
13. blue
14. yellow

THIS YEAR HAVE YOU: (2009)
15. Made a new friend = yes
16. Fallen out of love = no
17. Laughed until you cried = Yes
18. Met someone who changed you = yes
19. Found out who your true friends were = yes
20. Found out someone was talking about you = nope
21. Kissed anyone on your friends list = no
22. How many people on your friends list do you know in real life = all of them, to some degree or another
23. How many kids do you want to have = 2
24. Do you have any pets = no
25. Do you want to change your name = I've no
26. What did you do for your last birthday = basically threw myself a party.
27. What time did you wake up today = 8 am
28. What were you doing at midnight last night = asleep
29. Name something you CANNOT wait for = clarity of mind.
30. Last time you saw your Mother = today
31. What is one thing you wish you could change about your life? Maybe a little more awareness of time when I was a little younger. Oh, and to have chosen better confidants/sources of advice once upon a time.
32. What are you listening to right now = Fucking Evil Garbage being spouted by Michael Buble. For the love of God.
33. Have you ever talked to a person named Tom = I may have, if you count speaking to Tom Selleck on tv while he rocked out as Magnum. I’m very grateful for DejaVu tv…
34. What's getting on your nerves right now = the submerging of my daily existence in a stinking seething morass of stupidity and ignorance.
35. Most visited webpage =no clue.
36. Real name = Carlo Luigi
37. Nicknames = depends on who’s the source.
38. Relationship Status = committed.

39. Zodiac sign = Cancer
40. Male or female? = male
41. Elementary? = George Etienne Cartier (RIP), General Vanier
42. Middle School = what?
43. High school/College = John Paul I, Laurier MacDonald, Vanier
44. Hair colour = brown
45. Long or short = short-ish, wishing I could let it grow.
46. Height = 5'10”
47. Do you have a crush on someone? Sort of. Maureen O’Hara from my favourite John Wayne movie.
48: What do you like about yourself? = that’s a great question
49. Piercings = no longer
50. Tattoos = yes
51. Righty or lefty = righty.

FIRSTS IN YOUR LIFE TIME:
52. First surgery = hernia
53. First piercing = ear
54. First best friend = my cousin
55. First sport you joined = hockey
56. First vacation = Italy
58. First pair of trainers = Reebok

RIGHT NOW
59. Eating = no
60. Drinking = water
61. I'm about to = think about heading home early.
62. Listening to = Oh my God…I think a Gwen Stefani song is on the radio. HOW is this better than listening to classical music? Fucking wankers.
63. Waiting on = five o’clock, actually.

YOUR FUTURE :
64. Want kids? = yes
65. Get Married/Civil Partnered? = already partnered
66. Career? = ne’er do well. Actually, I’d like it to be student of the world, if I’m being real.

WHICH IS BETTER :
67. Lips or eyes =eyes
68. Hugs or kisses = hugs
69. Shorter or taller = taller
70. Older or Younger = older
71. Romantic or spontaneous = romantic
72. Nice stomach or nice arms = stomach
73. Sensitive or loud = sensitive
74. Hook-up or relationship = depends
75. Trouble maker or hesitant = trouble maker

HAVE YOU EVER :
76. Kissed a stranger = Yes.
77. Drank hard liquor = Yes
78. Lost glasses/contacts = yes
79. Sex on first date = yes
80. Broken someone's heart = yes
81. Had your own heart broken = yes
82. Been arrested = sort of. They let me go right after handcuffing me. I wish it was because I pulled a “Do you know who you’re fucking with?” line, but I think it’s because they had made their point.
83. Turned someone down = yes
84. Cried when someone died = yes
85. Fallen for a friend? = yes

DO YOU BELIEVE IN:
86. Yourself = no
87. Miracles= yes
88. Love at first sight = yes
89. Heaven = yes
90. Santa Clause = no
91. Kiss on the first date = yes
92. Angels = Yes.

ANSWER TRUTHFULLY:
94. Had more than 1 girlfriend/boyfriend at a time = yes
95. Did you sing today? = yes
96. Ever cheated on somebody? = no. They always knew about the others, when there were others.
97. If you could go back in time, how far would you go? = 11 or so years
98. If you could pick a day from last year and relive it, what would it be? = perhaps one of the skiing trips. Last year was mighty slim pickings, though.
99. Are you afraid of falling in love? = no
100. Posting this as 100 truths? = what?

wowies

2009-05-04T08:11:00.000-07:00

i'm back, and boy howdy do i regret it!

these people truly are imbeciles, of the smallest minds, full of sound and fury, and yet remain convinced of both their viability and importance. if i could simply disregard them or bypass them altogether i would be a very happy camper indeed. very.

unfortunately, i step in piles of their excrement daily. the consequences of this are large, and i do not desire to travel down this road, as the unpleasantness of the journey outweighs the destination's potential. i would much rather explore alternatives if i can. on this, i must ponder.

so entertaining

2009-04-23T08:42:00.000-07:00

we went to see Monsters vs Aliens last night (in 3D-o-vision!!!) and it was really really cool. quite a departure from the old red/blue glasses that just made me a little queasy...

i really like going to the movies, i gotta say. it would be awesome if they didn't spread out the three annual good ones amongst so much poop. and not subjective, opinionated carlo type poop, but actual regurgitated dramatic devices/characters/plot type poop with no redeeming points. mind you, who the fuck am i to criticize? i would go see dawn of the dead remakes (as long as they're up to zach snyder's incredible version a couple of years ago) every week and never get bored. give me post (or currently occuring) apocalyptic craziness of any kind (though preferably involving a horde of some kind rather than just a natural disaster), guns, some cool characters, and dwindling resources and i'm happy as most scruffy-faced intellectual "writers" are with anything whedon or smith release.

there! got one last jab in.

i wonder

2009-04-13T07:05:00.000-07:00

went to www.genderanalyzer.com to check out my blog, as inspired by my morning readings, and lo! the results:

We guess http://gimmesomelove.blogspot.com is written by a woman (57%), however it's quite gender neutral.

impressive

2009-03-23T06:10:00.000-07:00

we spent the weekend on the ski hills, and what a weekend it was. spring has sprung, birds are chirping, sun is shining, SWMBA is bombing down black diamond runs and pulling me along...

holy crap.

i can barely keep up.

Thanks be to Sam Raimi

2009-03-12T06:08:00.000-07:00

and I'm really glad there's this whole renaissance of horror movies right now. well, there are some quality choices mixed in with all the torture-porn, at least.

http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1810029193/video

awwww yeah.

on and on it goes, the circle of mirth...

2009-03-10T11:12:00.001-07:00

http://www.cracked.com/article_14982_9-manliest-names-in-world.html

Staff Seargent Max Fightmaster. Seriously.

last night's nostalgia-laden pint-fest was sweet. hope to do it again soon.

HOLY SHIT RUN FROM THE BLOOD MONKEY!

2009-03-05T08:43:00.000-08:00

So absolutely and completely funny...

http://www.cracked.com/blog/the-true-stories-behind-5-famous-wtf-images/

wow! see if you remember this stuff.

2009-02-26T06:53:00.000-08:00

the one that really took me back was Gauntlet, oh and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.

"We walk from here!"

http://www.coinopvideogames.com

inspirational

2009-02-12T06:41:00.001-08:00

i just watched the trailor (trailer?) for Inglorious Bastards. highly impressive stuff.

y'know, every once in a while some of us get to experience/witness/live through stuff that changes our path, or makes us aware of a fork in the road.

it's unfortunate when that something occurs at a very difficult point in one's life. it's akin to speeding down the highway, and only noticing an exit to a desired destination when nearly upon it.

it's entirely possible to make the exit ramp, but there is a great degree of risk involved as well as a much more carefully applied touch at the wheel, accompanied by a heaping spoonful of luck and skill...

had i looked carefully at the map about 12 or so years ago and realistically charted its information, i could have already been on that road, rather than careening down the one i find myself on, scanning the side for a shoulder wide enough to pull over on to...

seriously fun

2009-01-30T06:11:00.001-08:00

francis...francis...bill...bill...bill...francis...

i laughed with such intensity the likes of which i haven't experienced in quite a while...

Je veut te dire que je t'aime, voila.

2009-01-27T08:32:00.000-08:00

Ah, Jean Leloup, how i admire your irreverence.

in other news:

Musical songwriter/performer muse:

(Those that are capable of coming up with words so poignant that they seem to be written specifically for someone else, and then matching them to their exact equivalent in the language of music as well, they are the true geniuses.

Those of us that scribble together clever turns of phrase and are able to approximate the creation of a voice, image, or emotion within the mind of a willing reader are just hacks by comparison. Let’s face it, really.)

Result of emotions generated in me by said talented songwriter/performer:

Oddly, the inexorable progress away from what once was does not make the disappointment or occasional bout of pain any less palpable.

I really like this song, and the last “But-“ as posted below, with the ever so slight pause before the next line…I wish I had the wherewithal to put together the next verse myself, because I've got quite a whopper. In fact, that "But-" is what it's all about, far as my ARGH! is concerned, at any rate.

Unfortunately for me, I tend to live in the “But-“ too often. It is a damned sight more than unfortunate that choices are often made in the fires of emotion without true awareness or consideration for their consequences. I wonder at those that are both fully aware and able to slam the brakes, whip out a u-turn, and chase down that Cadillac. Yeah, I know the Caddy’s driver is living in the past and shouldn’t, but fuck, man! That’s romanticism and shouldn’t be denied!

Out on the road today I saw a deadhead sticker
On a cadillac
A little voice inside my head said, dont
Look back. you can never look back.
I thought I knew what love was,
What did I know?
Those days are gone forever
I should just let them go but-

le sigh

2009-01-22T10:21:00.001-08:00

http://i.gizmodo.com/5136970/hacking-road-signs-is-frightningly-easy-and-funny-and-illegal

makes me very very happy.

thanks for the link, Ffej.

nice concert

2009-01-16T06:52:00.000-08:00

Laima Vaikule last night.

the amazing latvian singer, seen live by SWMBA and I from the 5th row.

nope

2009-01-05T08:13:00.000-08:00

no such luck.

happy holidays

2008-12-24T06:33:00.000-08:00

every-one

i hope santa brings me some serenity and the ability to accept that which i cannot change.

thank you.

far more clever than i

2008-12-18T07:32:00.001-08:00

"I feel sorry for people who don't drink. They wake up in the morning and that's the best they're going to feel all day."
- Dean Martin

ohboyohboyohboy!

2008-12-18T06:10:00.000-08:00

http://www.dailygalaxy.com/my_weblog/2007/12/nasa-image-reve.html

SWMBA has often cautioned against "defrosting Mars" and all that, having too much imagination. i find it extremely adorable that every time they announce a mission to mars or discover something she wags her finger at them.

hehe. now i can show her a picture of this underground headquarters of the giant martian iguanoids and the recently discovered entrance to their sub-mountain lair. next step, train them to be my shock troopers and then usher in the earth's next golden age.

i vow to be strict yet benevolent, and while my judgements shall be beyond reproach and my justice swift and terrible, so shall my affection for the common folk be ever present.

i said ever present.

now if only my chief scoundrel would submit draft one of my, ahem, inaugural speech, to be broadcasted as an interruption of your regularly scheduled program and displayed on big screens in football stadiums and Times Square. Glorious, it shall be! Glorious!

that is all.

i lied: more skiiiiing ahead this weekend.

hey hey

2008-12-15T06:54:00.000-08:00

i'm back.
the death-defying and nerve-destroying drive down to toronto with a mischevious car is done done done.

yesterday ali and ai skiiiiid Vallee Bleu, a wee little family mountain thang up in Val David, and while this would normally be a very inconsequential yet funfunfun outing for us, yesterday we kicked most of the ass that the hill offered for the kicking.

i got some much needed confidence right square in the face and off we went on the blue squares, eying the black diamonds in the eye and promising to trod upon their tender bits next time around.

we had sun, we had snow, we had the mountain effectively to ourselves, and it was awesome.

till next weekend!

i'm off again

2008-12-08T07:44:00.000-08:00

bound for distant shores.

well, two or three days in toronto, at any rate.

i am actually looking forward to the drive. it's four to five hours of peace; just me and my radio, at my own pace and my own choice, stopping when i choose.

of coursse, i'd trade that in a second to have SWMBA sitting next to me. what an awesome specimen of the female gender!

yes please!

2008-12-05T06:10:00.000-08:00

i want to see this movie right now. nownownownownow.

http://www.aintitcool.com/node/39336

O_o

another wonderful surprise for her

2008-12-04T06:26:00.000-08:00

and sure-to-be awesome weekend in store for us both.

I'll give it to her as a nice little stocking stuffer for xmas.

on a different note, i've had major hankerins for some creative stuff as of late. maybe i need to schedule it in, like everything else these days.

*sigh* is that what it has come to? PING! My blackberry calendar pops up with a reminder that i'm scheduled to be creative for one hour on saturday afternoon...

ayup. well, for the time being at least.

hope this note finds the twos and twos of you who read this well.

that was awesome

2008-12-01T07:03:00.000-08:00

yesterday we began the ski season in earnest. perfect conditions, a pretty little mountain, some entertaining seat-of-the-pants moments with some grateful and confused "how did i just get through that?" moments. more to the point, a wonderful day spent outside with SWMBA and a great friend of ours.

my new (old) skiiiiiis are fantastic.

news

2008-11-21T07:20:00.000-08:00

we watched Quantum of Solace last night. i liked it as much as i needed to.
dinner afterwards was fun.

the other day i felt a cold coming on, and asked SWMBA if she could pick up some lipton chicken soup. "Ewww!" she said. "I don't want a cup of sodium!" she said.
well, when i got home, there was a fresh chicken soup a-boilin' on the stove, don'cha know...
she is quite awesome. and i've no cold.

last week, i picked up that watch i've been obsessing over (oh, the power of small things to distract and amuse), and now i can pretend to be james bond a bit. of course, it would seem that neither the laser nor grappling hook/garot features work on mine, but such is my luck. i'll have them fixed shortly.

in other news, could it be that the moon landings never really took place? i am saddened by this possibility.

tonight, we've in store for us a traditional good time, in the nature of pints, dinner, drinks, videogames, and most importantly, me bestest buddo Ffej! oh, and if the stars all line up, a morning road trip to experience six kinds of SUH-RUHP down in Barakland on the morrow.

:)

amazing!

2008-11-05T06:50:00.000-08:00

i want to commemorate this day with the surprisingly vigourous sense of hope that i and a couple hundred million people south of the border feel right now, and not just with my disgust at the pettiness of the media.

please please manage to do everything you said you were going to do, barak.

that fool who preceded you really managed to screw the pooch.

wow. history was made for the trivialists yesterday, and a wonderful era can begin today for the realists. i hope.

are you kidding me?

2008-11-05T06:00:00.000-08:00

why, on such a day of promise, hope, and change, do the "experts" have to find another thing to predict doom and gloom about?

now i'm hearing that obama is anti free-trade, and we're going to suffer for it starting immediately.

as per the advice i gave to my brother the other day, nobody, NOBODY likes that negative dude in the room who predicts apocalypse, and even less-so should he prove to be right.

when are the great stinking teeming unwashed going to realize that this world we live in in the west is merely The Emperor's New Clothes redux? if they all just shut the fuck up, continue to buy their venti half-double mochas and latest latest latest ipods everything will be just fine. if they continue to stay at home and talk about the coming economic armageddon (is it here yet? how about now? how about now? oooh, for sure it'll be here...now?) with the four multi-syllabic words taught to them by CNN, then we do not progress.

fucking idiots. they should shut the fuck up, bask in the fact that for once, it looks like John Lennon was elected president of the most powerful empire in earth's history, and hope that the worms don't eat into his brain before he can make the world a better place.

mountains of poop!

2008-11-03T08:33:00.000-08:00

giant, ever-growing mountains of poop!

aaaaaaaaaah!
*flees*

yep. jes' peachy

2008-10-24T06:24:00.001-07:00

swimmingly, ev-en.

do you remember when...

2008-10-22T07:45:00.000-07:00

we used to sing.

ugh.

it's amazing that i can even see that far back from where i'm standing at the moment. 'Tis a tale for the fairies, indeed. and i'm sorely disappointed.

lack of interest?

2008-10-20T06:42:00.000-07:00

or motivation? either way, i'm not feeling much interest in bookmarking or milestoning my happenings as of late, for the most part in any case.

last week's conference/pow-wow in san diego went swimmingly. i even accosted their global vice-president in the elevator and acquitted my organiation well (or so my ego leads me to believe). many interesting conversations/handshakes/shared anecdotes occured over the week, with possible business to come.

my brother and i toured the uss midway, an old diesel aircraft carrier commissioned right after the end of ww2. most cool.

upon my return, the cloud of stupidity descended around my head again and immediately began sapping enthusiasm and optimism. hhhhurrrrgh...

oh, and what with tomorrow being the day that it is, 15 years down the road, i feel a twang or two. or five.

i sure could use some right about now.

2008-10-02T04:44:00.000-07:00

chapter synopsis:
1-watch deal doesn't look like it'll happen in the short term. bugger, as i'm real eager to possess one like it.
2-Speedy (our new home pc) is finally running in something like her usual state after much confusion, including tigerdirect shipping it to me without the specified RAM included.
3-very poor sleep over the past couple of days finds me here at the office at seven thirty AM waiting for the folk to get here so we can start the inventory. anticipation of well-justified lateness by the usual suspects is doing my nerves no good.
4-saturday is a long-awaited (and mostly in my honour as a conciliatory prize for having been away on business during the last one) netfest, wherein we shall spend the day kicking around in warhammer online.
5-i've got a lovely bunch of coconuts.

R.I.P.

2008-09-29T06:53:00.000-07:00

Butch, i'm pretty sure you had a good ride.
your passing on friday just reminds me how i feel like i was born about 50 years too late...

per Al's instructions

2008-09-19T06:35:00.000-07:00

here's me as of two minutes ago.

oh, dear

2008-09-16T10:56:00.000-07:00

this is SOOOOOOOOOOOOO funny.

any don't forget to mouse over the "play again" button for added funny.

dear god.

http://www.angryalien.com/aa/officespbuns.asp

man, i so need to get more with the "doing" and less with the "talking"

2008-09-16T10:19:00.000-07:00

http://www.angryalien.com/

see? folk out there are indeed cleverererer than i, and are actually implementing.

in other news, blackberries are neat, useful, and only slightly larger than normal.

Oh. My. God.

2008-09-11T07:35:00.000-07:00

http://www.bizarremag.com/weird_world/body_world/7173/zombie-boy.html

very very interesting

2008-09-10T06:39:00.000-07:00

i'm reading Wired, and there's this wonderful article on some dude named Agassi. his charmed life has led him to try and save the planet from its inhabitants. he's started a company called Better Place, and it's apparently picking up quite a bit of steam.

i, for one, am highly hopeful.

Thanks Ffej!

2008-09-04T10:27:00.000-07:00

watch and be amused:

http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=lQT4fdzFDcE

how do i back up

2008-09-02T05:59:00.000-07:00

all these blog entries?

i'd like to plunk 'em all down somewhere offline.

anybody?

alas

2008-08-25T06:08:00.000-07:00

i'm back. it's kinda nice to be back from such a long (for me, at any rate) voyage zipping around europe, and i'm eager to partake of some fun activities and catch up with some folk, though overall i'd rather be kicking around Paris a while longer.

who's up for a drink?

WOOOOOOOHOOOOOOO!

2008-08-04T11:25:00.000-07:00

i did it again! planted the Carloville flag right in the ass of yet another fear...
now all i have to do is occupy myself with the pleasantries of getting ready to leave for EUROPE!
mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm <-- that's me basking in the warmth of awesomeness.

anyone can/wants to see me before i leave, it'll have to be tonight over dinner in little italy. we'll be at the pizza parlor on the corner of jean-talon and casgrain (where the market begins).
those that can't/won't will be pleased to see me/bothered by me upon my return in three weeks.

nice photos

2008-08-01T06:23:00.000-07:00

of us chez toi, Al.

last night we enjoyed a bottle of Cardinal Zin. i think it was haunted.
if you haven't seen the label, do so.
dreading monday morning, i am... base-level phobia stuff. ugh. mind you, if all goes well i should be experiencing my usual wonderful sense of adventure-anticipation by noon on monday.
we fly out tuesday evening. paris, then riga and surrounding stuff, then back to paris for a couple of days.
ah, paris.
it ain't venice, harrison, but at least it's europe, and an ancient roman city to boot.

easy now, tummy, take it easy

2008-07-28T05:54:00.000-07:00

whoah.
maybe i am getting somewhat older...
the bottle of '06 Ravenswood Vintner's Blend Zifandel was fantastic, and the four double bourbons after it were also excellent, after i discovered that one little icecube really really opens up the flavour. unfortunately, i'm not in the best of condition this morning.
mrph. blrghgr.

so worth it!

2008-07-25T06:05:00.000-07:00

http://www.zombieharmony.com/

see? i'm not alone after all. *sigh*

in other other news

2008-07-18T09:07:00.000-07:00

i swear to God, an original 60's hippie offered to sell me acid while i was walking at the corner of HAIGHT AND FUCKING ASHBURY!!!!

yessuh, i love SF.

maybe

2008-07-18T07:39:00.000-07:00

not sure if i'll actually succeed in relocating, but i can at least take solace in the fact that i should be down there fairly regularly starting in the near future. in other more amusinig news,

What Kind of a Western Bad-Ass are You?
created with QuizFarm.com

You scored as Clint Eastwood

Names aren't important as you dish out steaming bowls of piping hot brutality to your enemies. You also enjoy a good spaghetti dinner once in a while.

Clint Eastwood

100%

Charles Bronson

100%

Lee Marvin

88%

Lee Van Cleef

88%

John Wayne

50%

wtf? jet lag?

2008-07-18T07:31:00.000-07:00

seriously?
that has never happened to me before. very strange...

in other news, the meeting went as well as can be expected, the LA meeting was no better than "ok", but the personal side? what a wonderful time!
Al and the Elf were wonderful hosts, and we had a most excellent time. SF is a good city. LA is fucking spectacular, Oakland is a place i could live in, and United Airlines is added to my boycott list.

also, i made a wicked cool personal observation, replete with the self-improvement stuff and personal growth possibilities.
it involves pride, fulfillment, and joy.

i'd move to California tomorrow if the opportunity presented itself. therefore, ergo, hence, and thus, i'm going to see what can be done about coaxing that shy little opportunity out from under the bed.

my own little bash.org

2008-07-10T13:18:00.000-07:00

i just wanted to remember the lunacy of this conversation. i'm leaving for San Fransisco and LA tomorrow, and this is the conversation between me and my buddo:

me: sigh
brb
Alan: yeah
Sent at 3:21 PM on Thursday
me: so, where are we eating tomorrow night? any of your friends joining us? will we get to meet the governor? that would be just awesome.
Sent at 3:30 PM on Thursday
me: make it so.
ooh! and i'd like to hang out with Robin Williams a little bit. then maybe we can go eat at Bob Saget's house with those annoying twins. you better tell John Stamos to stay the fuck away from Ali.
Sent at 3:33 PM on Thursday
Alan: I think I can get Robin Williams home address, but he might be in rehab. I can show you the row of houses they used for the Bob Saget house
Sent at 3:35 PM on Thursday
me: Ooh, rehab for what?
i wonder how much the Bob Saget houses are worth...if memory serves, they are beautiful townhouses located in front of a big park.
Sent at 3:46 PM on Thursday
Alan: It's called postcard row.
If one became available, it would be in the two to three million dollar range
and williams says he started drinking again last year.
me: good for him!
he should get back on the blow too, maybe do some funny standup again...
Sent at 3:52 PM on Thursday
Alan: I'd say let's go to alcatraz, but that involves the wharf
me: ooh! Alcatraz! I get to be the birdman!
wanna go wanna go wanna go
unless it's retardedly expensive like the CN tower elevator
Alan: it's not so much the expense, it's that it sells out
me: they sell out a prison?
Alan: oh, and while it's supposed to be warm this weekend, bring sweaters just in case.
me: sure.
how much is it to visit the prison?
OHMYGOD!
never mind all of that!
we HAVE to go visit starfleet. for the love of all things holy!
Alan: earliest available tickets Tuesday
k
me: awesome!
Alan: you come get me, we'll head out to the presidio, you can walk around and say "new-clear wessels" and we'll get dinner out there
me: PERFECT
and then we can visit starfleet
and hopefully a probe will visit earth at the same moment
and we can go eat pizza with shatner
and he'll take us to the future with him in a bird of prey
which he'll then let me keep
this trip is so gonna ROCK!
Alan: lol
me: i call Captain!
you, dear Al, can choose to either be the helmsman or cantankerous engineer.
i'd suggest engineering, what with your scottish upbringing and all...
Sent at 3:59 PM on Thursday
Alan: too much math
me: it's a klingon ship, man. there's no math. there's only hitting the cranky piece of hardware with a spanner.
Alan: well... you have poing.
er point
me: you too, dear sir, have poing
where do you want to go eat tomorrow night? will your friend the interior decorator from Beetlejuice be there?
Alan: I could gather some of the troops.
anything you're not eating?
me: shellfish, y'know, crab, shrimp, lobster, scampi, Cthulhu, Deep Ones, etc...
Alan: I remember that
me: excellent.
rice-a-roni. mmmmmm.
Alan: never had it
me: don't even know what it is meself...
ooh! we could eat an old hippie!
Alan: flavoured rice with vermicelli noodles.
me: rice with noodles?
agh!
Sent at 4:11 PM on Thursday
Alan: yeah
me: you suppose that cool looking dude is still the president of starfleet? he seems nice.
Alan: you're insane.
me: Agh! sorry, i meant UFP.
my mistake.
Alan: he's retired
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0254006/
OH!
me: Hello! Ve arrre lookink forrr de nucle-a-rrr wessels located at alameda. Ah-La-Meee-Dah.
Alan: When I was in New York, I watched a documentary called "How William Shatner Changed the World"
Alameda is the Laval to Oakland.
Alameda scares me.
me: And Sirrr, Eets de Enterprise!
Sent at 4:17 PM on Thursday
me: We gotta go around saying "Double dumb-ass on you!" all weekend.
and use many "colorful metaphors".

gosh, i love this little robot

2008-07-08T11:26:00.000-07:00

and in that outfit, i'm guessing so do a lot of other folk.

http://www.jephdraw.com/random/alternativerobot.png

grateful

2008-07-07T06:15:00.000-07:00

for this past weekend. well, 90% of it in any case. friday afternoon i had one of the most agreeable rounds of golf ever. i tried my best to rise to a challenge and for the most part succeeded. there were two holes where my score kind of exploded, but on a hole for hole/shot for shot basis i acquitted myself well. more to the point, i had an absolute blast. i played with a relatively new friend of mine who's a member at the club i'm aiming to join next year and my accountant who is an absolute riot on the course. we were paired up with an older solitary dude who also turned out to be quite fun. granted, our casual repartee tends to be infectious and doesn't lend itself well to a somber quiet round of golf. however, the two-beer-in-one-hand-while-guiding-my-pullcart trick tends to bring levity to the most serious of rounds. my friend was hi-larious, and we played as well as can be expected. afterwards, our lovely blonds came to meet us for dinner, where we talked away the evening.
i ran into my father and mother separately on the course as well, thus completing the busted alibis all around.
saturday morning we went to view a property and i think, thus far at least, that it was very positive. saturday late afternoon was a bbq in my honour as i will be on the left coast during my actual birthday next weekend...
sunday was, well, mostly nice.

oh boy!

2008-07-02T06:12:00.000-07:00

http://www.thomasjane.com/mutantChronicles/

neat-o. can it be that cool semi-original and aesthetically pleasing films are actually still getting made? although maintaining the heavy sci-fi tradition of ridiculous elitist/unapprochable titles.

i'm eager, and very pleased that Ron Perlman appears to be a mega-geek of the functional sort, not the twitchy-laugh, furtive glance, timid as a mole type that i encounter so very very often.

crap

2008-07-01T06:15:00.000-07:00

i should know today whether or not my record "two weeks without boarding an airplane" record of 2008 comes to an end...

i'll let you know the second i do, chief. i'd love to come down to hang so very much, but the looming retarded meeting on monday kind of poopulates (poop-u-lates: to fill with excrement) the trip a little bit. i'll know today or tomorrow if i have to chair this meeting or not.

WOWOWOWOW!

2008-06-26T12:03:00.000-07:00

no small feat for this humble person (who? who?). yesterday at about this time (3:08pm) i achieved a first.

about eight holes into a round of golf at St-Raphael yesterday, my swing finally gelled. on a 480 yard par five i hit my second booming drive in a row, which put me in a long-odds position to actually go for the green in two. a 220 yard three iron proved to be too much, however, and in overforcing it i managed to roll the fucker thirty yards instead. ok, lesson learned. too much too quick. well, seven holes later i had been gradually increasing both my confidence, consistency, and power to this fateful point:

it was a short par five (465 yards) that had a generous fairway that arced to the right (which is not always the best thing for my draw) slightly, and an elevated green that was well guarded by bunkers and irritatingly thick rough. the wind was blowing into my face slightly from left to right, which i felt would eliminate the power draw that would result from me really leaning into the drive while (hopefully) not robbing me of too much badly needed distance. i managed to (for me, anyway) crank one out there in the left side of the fairway, leaving a perfect angle towards the green. 200 to 205 yards left to go, which meant i could give it a try. out came my wonderful hybrid strong lofted three iron, and off went the ball in that wonderful (yet uncharacteristic for me) high fading flight, depositing it on the right side of the green. the ball trickled over to settle finally in the right fringe. due to the elevated green, i couldn't see if i had succeeded, and was afraid that i may have overshot or kicked too far right, as the feedback in my hands was pointing to a very strongly hit ball. when i reached the top of the mound, there it was, sitting in the right fringe all cosy-like, just about pin-high.

i walked away with a par. and i couldn't care less.

happy happy day.

in other news, can't wait to start a-choppin' and a-slicin' with my new knife.

almost done

2008-06-23T05:54:00.001-07:00

with my 33rd year, at long last. i long for a nice stable boring year to pass, with no dramatic upheavals or massive changes, and i'm pinning my hopes on number 34.

the last two days in florida were relatively fantastic. i swam in the gulf of mexico on wednesday afternoon. verdict: very very WARM sea, calm water, and completely economically devastated property market along the coast itself. seemingly everything on the beach is for sale, and the towns (such as they are) are basically deserted.
thursday was spent in jacksonville in advance of our friday flight out. verdict: slightly cooler sea than the gulf, energetic waves, UBER beautiful weather, and a fantastic four hours was spent in the sea without respite.

i was actually laughing out loud from relief/happiness when i dove in. i should have chosen a career path involving the ocean. you know when you're nineteen and you think that there's enough time to do everything you ever wanted, from climbing Everest (or at least hangin' out at base camp) to getting your pilot's license, to volunteering with the Red Cross in africa for two years to teaching english for a ocuple of years in some remote japanese fishing village? yeah, well, there's not enough time, folks. it's unlikely that i'll be a marine biologist regardless of how at home i am in hawaiian shirts and topless Jeeps, with perpetually salty wind-dried hair...

here i am, then

2008-06-18T05:35:00.000-07:00

in tallahassee floriday (the state capital, folks.) i wonder if Jebediah is home...

Georgia and Alabama are spooky places, much as i like barbeque and sweet tea.
it's good to be back in FLA, gotta say.
tryin' to set up some meetings today, as the one set up by my illustrious sales manager didn't go through. you know why it didn't? because he didn't realize that it was IN A DIFFERENT STATE and would have required about 16 extra hours of driving.
:)

my work life is...interesting...

the stress/panic/night-terror insomnia of two nights ago and all day yesterday was mercifully gone last night. i actually slept! i'm actually rested! let the peasants rejoice! or at least give them a fifteen second respite from the lash, Gunther

gonna vom!

2008-06-16T06:06:00.000-07:00

i really really found that scene from one of the austin powers movies funny. y'know the one where he gets the planet earth ball in the nuts and hunches over, drooling and spitting softly, muttering "Gonna vom..."
he he.

in other news, i overdid it again at the gym this morning and now my arms feel like they're filled with lead. also, my overexertion has given birth to many butterflies fluttering around in my tummy, riding rollercoasters, tilt-a-whirls, and eating too much cotton candy.

oh, and i have to leave for the airport in 30 minutes. i'm off to banjo-country for the week, on some dynamic sales missions. wheee! not so much.

hey hey hey

2008-06-13T06:09:00.000-07:00

it's a beautiful day.

awesome, y'know...
i got home last night with my stomach in typical Carlo stress-knots, but this time i had a solution of the non-bourbon variety. what? you ask. i said NON-bourbon.
ali and i decided to head over to the gym for a workout, which removed all stress and also restored some appetite.
the salad we had for dinner:
lamb's lettuce.
baby spinach
Rio Mare tonno in olio d'oliva
pickled beets
chick peas
extra virgin olive oil, a dab of mayo, and some balsamic vinegar.
salt & pepper.

oh, holy crap, that was tasty.

then, we went for a nice walk through the parc to the pharmacy.

i tried to outlast ali on the cardio machines. as my legion of friends know, i LOVE to run, but even that love of running couldn't put me past her on the odd eliptical machine she prefers...granted, i set a 6kp/h pace and didn't slack it, while she went slower, but regardless...

don't wanna! don't wanna!

2008-06-12T11:17:00.000-07:00

crap. i have to go back to the good ol' southern U.S. of A. on monday. i'll be on another magical mystery tour. i wouldn't mind it so much, if i wasn't going to be accompanied by one of the most annoying and least appealing people i know.

oooh, i'm not looking forward to this. i hope that he doesn't do anything to make me leave him by the side of the road down there somewhere...

that was HOT!

2008-06-09T06:00:00.000-07:00

walkin' around the neighborhood on saturday was scorching. it did not compare to the game of golf yesterday, however. dear me! that was warm.
and awesome. well, the first three holes were awesome, at least, and then the wheels came off until the 17th when i started scraping together some decent shots.

ah, Toronto

2008-06-04T07:24:00.000-07:00

how i love being here on business. my days are full beyond full, my evenings are more of same, and i feel productive.

perhaps, due to my skewed perspective, i'm confusing productivity with a palpable lack of micro-management and more to the point, supervision.

don't wanna leave here, because the alternative puts me back in the looney bin.

honestly

2008-05-30T12:32:00.000-07:00

i seek neither recognition, nor adulation, nor affirmation, nor fame for my pursuits. the things i do i do because they feel good. i am a hedonist in essence, and self-centered (why in God's name would anybody be anything else? are you alive in someone else's body or accountable for someone else's actions or experiencing someone else's pleasure?) in practice, which is a fairly accurate way to pigeonhole myself.

i do not need validation or sympathetic agreement for my choices, and really could live without the little bit that i do manage to accumulate through the affections and warm feelings of my friends or their assumption of my purpose, however appreciated their intentions may be. my professional life is a well-known and oft-trodden path whose sole and strict purpose is to ensure that i am never mired in the everyday or, God forbid, find myself at the mercy of the society in which i live. at any time, i can leave this armpit of socialist paradise if they finally do succeed in separating and send the last vestigial remains of our economy down the 401. at any time, i can uproot from this continent and re-establish myself in europe ahead of schedule, should the legislature in canada finally pass laws decreeing that all working business-owners must directly purchase 3 houses and a car for each politician. my father always said i should live on an island, due to my constant raging against what i perceive as societal garbage, the misdirected stupidity of western society and capitalism in general, among other reasons, and the best island i can think of is one made of money. i'm being as honest as i can with myself here by stating that the only way i can conceivably or comfortably co-exist in a village containing millions of adversaries-to-each-other is by sheltering myself as much as humanly possible from the notions and whims of that wonderful capitalist paradise i was born into.

rambling on, my work life doesn't define me in the slightest. i could take it or leave it and never look back. i don't need to accumulate more products, build more whatsits, or drive a bigger car to my office in order to feel fulfilled. i was born for a life of leisure; of that i'm certain.

the pursuits i find myself involved with in my leisure time are mine and mine alone. i enjoy them for what they are, and have often had trouble making my friends understand that, for example, i truly don't need to have my writings published in order to enjoy them more. i don't care about the associated fame, and only care a little about the financial gain (see "island" above), though i'm concerned that if any of my pleasures become financially viable they will lose some of their endorphin granting ability to me.

my physical fitness kick as of late has nothing to do with how i will look, as do my fashion choices. unless i lapse, which is only human when inundated with marketing as we are, i choose things i like and generally shun ostentatious anythings. this can actually be a negative, as some products i would otherwise enjoy i turn from sometimes without realizing it, if that product is represented by a particularly ubiquitous or aggressive marketing campaign or overly-presigious image.

i appreciate spending time with friends, and even overindulging our mutual desires to be heard and to be Important to Others, and thus far have managed to maintain a few (friends, that is) even though i tend to exhibit massively self-centered tendencies.

dunno. this kinder gentler america pseudo-motif is lost on me, i guess, or my folks didn't instill enough family values in me when they had the chance.

give me a piazza in Firenze, and a cafe whose outdoor table at which i am sitting is shaded, with no vespa parking permitted nearby (the fumes, man) and a comfy seat. give me enough money to sit there most days to my heart's content, and a decent espresso, a book of my choice, and like-minded company to share the occasional overwhelming sense of happiness with, and i'm content. when my eyes stray from the pages of the book, they should be caressed by buildings constructed during the Rennaissance, and a certain blonde/blue eyed princess sitting next to me should meet my gaze. my nostrils should be rewarded by perpetually brewing espresso, and pancetta or soffritto frying in olive oil promising an incredible meal to come. my ears should never, EVER, encounter a language whose roots weren't nurtured during, or at the very least encountered by, the Empire, unless it is spoken by a friend who happens to be sitting with me at that moment. The sounds of Dante's dialect should be prevalent, snippets of my family's sing-song Neapolitan brogue sneaking in from time to time from neighboring tables, along with waves of distant ristornelli or favourite melodies from operas i adore drifting occasionally at the edge of hearing like the sounds of waves on the beach in south florida as heard from a high building. upon achieving cultural saturation, i retire to a very small (500 or 600 square feet) flat on whose six hundred year old windowsill i can sit and see Il Duomo, and whose gas-stove-equipped kitchen provides me with a culinary canvas. fresh basil, rosemary, and thyme grow from my windowsill planter, my fridge always contains a piece of Grana Padano and slightly soft local tomatoes, and from time to time i come home with two beautiful Tuscan beefsteaks. i have no television, but i do have a computer on which i watch the occasional television show at my own time and with no commercials, enduring no unresolved cliffhangers or season finales should i choose not to. my bedroom window is never fully closed, and my sheets are always white linen. the old Alfa Spider we use when cars are required is kept in a garage on the outskirts of town, as our little electric golf cart serves well day to day.

This is what i want. This is why I am working right now, with the painful hope that one day I'll be there. Not a "best of all worlds" compromised look-at-the-brighter-side version. Now that it's clearly (subjective observation, i know) put down here in my online mental bookmark, I should find it easier to keep my eye on the prize.

even more cooler

2008-05-28T07:24:00.000-07:00

were last night's netherworld romps. the first one began with me on a plane just about to land in Rome. the feeling i had when i was standing just outside the terminal staring at some of the typical renaissance buildings of the city was unbelievable.
it suddenly flashed over to me in a highrise hotel room with my folks and ali, and we're in NYC. i took her to the window and we marveled at the population density and the cool buildings. again, awesome feeling.

but the sensation of realizing i was in ROME and not coming back was as pleasurable as the realization that it was just a dream is sad.

in hilarious news, i came across this quote. absolutely incredibly undoubtedly exactly my sense of humour:

"SCORPION DOES NOT APPRECIATE BEING IN MATTRESS. SCORPION WILL ENVENOMATE SLEEPY HUMANS."

how very interesting

2008-05-26T06:31:00.000-07:00

my subconscious can be. dreams last night were vivid and waaaay existential (i really enjoyed Clueless).

it's tough to shake the aftertaste from that romp into old-wound territory, as We don't smoke cigarettes anymore. for some reason, a post Peter-Gabriel-In-Your-Eyes type moment cigarette tended to re-center me, and i haven't found its substitute yet.

tonight, we go to the McGill music building (Greetings, Queen Victoria!) to listen to the season ending concert, this year a Beethoven performance. of course, this is the only reason we're going. in this "cultural" city (*SIGH*) you'd be surprised how hard-pressed one can be for legitimate art performance. i ain't talking about the francofolies version of Stomp or some St-Denis UQAM funded theatre's rendition of Blue Man Group.

more to the point, i'd like more Deutsche Grammophone worthy performances of the meat-and-potatoes classics, be they one of the Tschaikovsky ballet thingies, Prokofiev crazies, or Beethoven masterpieces, and less with the Mahler Symphony He Wrote While Pooping at Rachmaninoff's House. The molecular gastronomy of theatre and music that seems to get the "cultured quebecers" so hot and bothered has started a little rage fire in my head.

in other news, you think i'll have success campaigning for a lakefront cottage in Saint-Adolphe-d'Howard? the one we have up at La Minerve, while very amazingly awesomeful in the summertime and non-skiing winter, is not conducive to weekly use due to its equidistant status with re: montreal and the ski hills...

oh what beatings i would administer.

2008-05-22T04:07:00.000-07:00

last night i found out i had to be in the office by 7am to babysit an embarassment of an employee as he tries to de-fuck-up what was once a very important and lucrative project but has since become a God-damned comedy of errors and a masterful exhibition of incompetency and stupidity.

no problem, says i. i'm the noble leader, after all, and it's my duty to etc etc...

well, at about midnight the fucking neighbor's 18 year old future benefactor of my tax dollars and about 12 of his mensa club-mates were out on the balcony whooping it up.

i rose from my Tempur-pedic (BUY ONE! BUY ONE! YOU HAVE NO IDEA!!!) mattress and put on my bathrobe, with Ali (FINALLY!!!) saying to me: Oh, just let them have it.
y'know, usually she is cautioning me to avoid confrontation, not to get into trouble, to be careful, that i'll regret it later.

so i go out on my balcony, blinking stupidly, and look over at the posse of fucktards next door. i figure i can make the jump, as it's only about six feet away. as i am figuring this out and moving a chair to the railing to be able to get up onto it, they notice me and all turn. i say to them: Enough is enough. How else shall i explain the importance of you all shutting the FUCK up?
sorry! sorry! they all say.

when i came back in, ali was laughing in bed. i asked why, and she replied that she heard their inane chatter and laughter, our balcony door opening, a chair being dragged to the railing, and then silence. she assumed i frightened them inside without speaking. hehe. cute.

highly satisfying though the experience was, it did nothing to curb the insomnia i was saddled with, which kept me more or less awake for the following 4 hours.

i've had 2 hours sleep, and i'm not some poor overcaffeinated med student intern. i'm a delicate flower business person type. not pleased. oh, and at 2:30 i've got to babysit another one of our "executives" to make sure we don't screw the pooch on another important meeting.

ZZZZzzzzzzzZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzz

i stand, or rather sit, corrected

2008-05-15T12:37:00.000-07:00

yeah, i guess Dylan is correct. however, i do love the show. not knowing the name's spelling has saddened me a little, but i'll make it up to dylan somehow.

oh, Al, when do you want me to ship you the box? you know which one.

it pleases us

2008-05-12T05:59:00.000-07:00

so i'm waiting for my colleague to pick me up here at my hotel in Toronto, and i heard on Global that Jennie Garth (Kelly Taylor) will actually be in the 90210 spinoff thingie!
I didn't know there was going to be a 90210 spinoff thingie!
I can't wait to tell SWMBA about this, as we're nostaligically reliving our (well, "my") youth while re-watching that iconic show. Ali was like 12 or so when Dillon and Brandon were rockin' the old-school sideburns and furled brow that served me so well in my formative years.

i REALLY like being in Toronto on business.
wow. that may be the only time that sentence has ever been put together.

Oh, Alan, I've some advice for you relating to your last post on your journal. with the freedom folks still possess while i perfect my mind-control spray, they can turn away or stop paying attention to stuff that bothers them. this is particularly true of stuff that requires a positive action on their part in order to even gain access it. don't fret the whiners. everyone at some point or other feels that theirs are the Most Important Sufferings and therefore merit all possible indulgence.

go get golf lessons, you scottish bastard! you live in a state where you can play 12 fucking months a year.

frackin' spellcheck

2008-05-07T06:03:00.000-07:00

you have diminished me. i misspell werdz now and don't even notice anymore, because when i type in microsoft word, it bloody autocorrects. i have lost the step of proofreading for spelling errors, which i think has carved out a small piece of civilization from my soul.

you know, it was bad enough when computers replaced typewriters. with typewriters, i would pull out the page and have a satisfying read while checking for mistakes and whatnot. that's an experience that is long gone for all but the most ardent and determined of traditionalists. and maybe argyle-wearing pipe-smoking writers who insist on living by themselves in old decrepit apartments while the shoeboxes full of money threaten to topple over and crush them where they sit.

oh, my friend's new car is fantastic, and i'm enjoying his old one far too much.

congrats!

2008-05-06T06:45:00.000-07:00

my good friend is picking up his dream car today. ja, ja, i know, consumerism, blah blah.
in this case, though, it ain't a status symbol thang at all, but in fact is a lifestyle thang, which i approve of.

if you're buying visible things for the impression they'll make or the supposed status they confir, then you are in my humble opinion horribly misguided.

if, on the other hand, you buy things for the actual and real pleasure they'll bring you independant of outside opinion then huzzah! you're eating the creamy filling of capitalism without getting the stomache ache of llemming-land one-upmanship.

yay!

2008-04-29T11:52:00.000-07:00

um, i bought Grand Theft Auto IV today.
*bows head*
i'm nerdy.
sorry to disappoint/confirm suspicions/shock and alarm all y'all.

erm, ali's nearly as excited as i am about it, and that's just awesome.

oh! on another similar note, i bought 3 more TP's (that's trade paperbacks to you un-geekified types) of that zombie holocaust comic book. ali was with me on sunday when we were trotting around town. we ended up downtown after a brief session at Tam Tam's on the mountain and decided to walk into a comic book store or two in search of my beloved zombie comic. you should have seen the looks on the faces of the folk in the stores when they got a load of SWMBA. it was great for my ego. and then at the last store (Comico on Pierce) we walk in and i ask the Kevin Smith wannabe (when he finally got off the phone, anyway) where The Walking Dead tp's are. ali was searching the stacks for it and he says, "She's hot." (he meant it as in "You're getting warm...warmer...colder...etc), but of course I replied "Yes. Yes she is." without missing a beat. he turned bright red beneath his hoodie, beard, and sunglasses. i walked out feeling like a champ.

it doesn't take much to please me, really.

:)

2008-04-25T11:57:00.000-07:00

hrm.
i've had the Conversation and everything is instantly resolved. well, the changes will be coming in over the next sorta little while, but the fact that it's happening has incredibly changed my outlook and mood for the better.

the canadiens gutted one out yesterday. i brought SWMBA a giant bouquet and took her to a very fansheh (connery-esque pronounciation of "fancy") italian restaurant for dinner. awesome night, all in all, and i'm well on the road to making-up-to-SWMBA-due-to-my-longstanding-funky-mood land.

happy weekend everybody.

oh, and next thursday at 1:31 pm I've my first tee time of the year.

i'm happy.

:(

2008-04-24T07:28:00.000-07:00

it's unfortunate. i know i'm right and virtuous and should champion my cause, because the injustice and general massive "NOT FAIR!"-ness of the whole situation has rendered it completely untenable. however, i appear to have lost my spine, not regarding actually facing the issue, but regarding my confidence in controlling the rage sharks.
yesterday, i chaired a meeting/audit/touchy-feely meeting with our biggest customer. i was told i'd chair this meeting at 4:00pm the day before, and while it was filled with words and acronyms like "TCO" (Total Cost of Ownership), LCC (Low Cost Countries), partners, "Run Items" (similar to "Action Items") and so forth, I think i acquitted our company and myself well enough that the Global Procurement Manager made a point of personally thanking me a few times, and the beers with the two other managers afterwards reinforced the excellent impression we left. I've got the outward courage to do things of many natures. it's the internal kind that's sorely lacking.
i already had an excellent opportunity this morning to have the necessary conversation, but it went poorly, because at the first arrogant dismissal i began to fume, and at the first clear sign of a complete lack of understanding the scope of things i lost the ability to speak. i started "Mmmm-hmmm"'ing instead, because i realized that the person i was speaking with was neither willing to see my side of things nor capable of understanding just how deep the problem ran...

i'm sad.

Dagnabbit to Heck!

2008-04-22T06:03:00.000-07:00

why'd you have to tell me *now* that you're having a birthday party friday night, you rapscallion, you?

erm, i can't make it. sorry.

on a brighter note, the montreal canadiens have advanced to the next round of the playoffs. the post series riots have begun. gotta love this fucking hick town sometimes.

it paws at culture and affects at being all european and elegant but when it comes down to it we're a bunch of drunk Coureurs Des Bois.

in other news, work work work.

in other other news, my dad's old friend is back in town. this brilliant dude is like harrison from mosquito coast. i really like him.

happy happy joy joy

2008-04-14T07:15:00.000-07:00

hey folks,
guess who's back at the office? guess who suggested that i man the upcoming tradeshow (tomorrow) by myself? when I mentioned that perhaps I should have someone with me in case I have to take a fucking leak or if more than one person comes to the fucking booth at the same time, guess who suggested that the others in my office have 'real work to do'?
ayup, you figured it out. my boss is back.

now what? well, with many recent revelations which may or may not have something to do with my quitting smoking, i've got a decision to make. i've already asked some necessary questions, whose answers will determine my next move. one thing i know for certain beyond a shadow of a doubt is that i shan't continue in this direction for much longer. which is most relieving.

um, token apologies if while reading my online memory/reminiscing tool you get confused, etc etc.

strange

2008-04-09T06:14:00.000-07:00

i was awoken at 5am by a crying baby. i can honestly say that's the first time i've had that happen to me. i've been awakened by stomping two year olds hurling bolts of lightning and firing trebuchets about in the room next door or over my head, but never before has a wee little (well, she's scandinavian, so not so wee) baby's scared crying woken me up before.

it wasn't entirely unpleasant. that is a fantastic little creature, and i'm glad to have it around for a couple of weeks. i know for a fact that SWMBA is over the moon, considering she hasn't seen her sister in person for a few months now...

now i've just got to get used to baby seats and diapers strewn about my very grown-up oriented flat.

Dear William Shatner,

2008-04-07T10:41:00.000-07:00

Much as I love you, and lord knows you just keep on giving and giving (thank you for Boston Legal, by the by), I think we've grown together to the point where maybe you can accept my growing love for Gary Busey. Think of the fun we'll have at poker night, assuming Gary Oldman, Al Pacino and Christopher Walken show up.

Sincerely,

Carlo

All must watch:
http://xbox360.ign.com/dor/objects/882586/saints-row-2/videos/saintsrow2_garybusylesson_040308.html

i am going to outlast them

2008-04-07T06:10:00.000-07:00

as i am quite the stubborn fellow. for example, i have finally had enough of the Neverending Co-oooold (Ah ah Ahhhhhh...) so i've made the Healthy Choice(tm) and won't look back from it.

the problem i'm trying to...

oh Awesome! Freedom '90 by George Michael is playing on the radio. Sweet. Oh yeah.

Anyhow, what i was saying is that i have to coordinate a drive back to st-leonard, the technician coming chez nous at noon, the picking up of the Ffej at 5pm, and the vestigial cold i'm stomping down on.

Sometimes the clothes do not make the man.

am i regressing?

2008-04-02T06:00:00.000-07:00

i'm thoroughly enjoying reading the Walking Dead comic book, i'm super excited about Grand Theft Auto IV coming out on the 29th of April, and these days i'm primarily preoccupied with the sillier pursuits...

hrm. i don't seem to be growing up much, and tend to spend most of my time wrapped up in or stimulating my imagination.

i guess reality, the mundane, and society/culture-dictated norms of what i should be doing with my time don't do much to captivate me...

guy night

2008-04-01T06:21:00.000-07:00

wow. so many folk would disapprove if they found out the specifics of my evening last night. well, maybe the bible-thumpy types, and certainly the jackboot-wearing politically correct militia would freak out.

suffice it to say that my shoulder is a little sore, i'm more tired this morning than i like to be, and i have a slight headache.

looking very much forward to hangin' with my cousin and folk on friday.

You, sir, were correct

2008-03-31T06:12:00.000-07:00

in recommending The Walking Dead comic book to me. I've already devoured the first and 1/2 of the second compilations and i'm enjoying it immensely.

in other news, my suspicions around here (here being the fucking office) were not entirely unfounded. well, we shall see what good i'm able to achieve with the limited pwers and capabilities at my disposal.

down, tummy! easy, boy!

2008-03-28T06:07:00.000-07:00

whew. woke up feeling funky, and it still hasn't settled. ugh.
well, my folks and brother+wife+kid have just left for 2 weeks to sunny sunny florida, so i'm here alone (at least as far as the "management" of the company).
i anticipate much 'too many chiefs' crap while they're gone, with plenty of disregarding and assuming and a plethora of expert perspectives.
*sigh*

dear all,

2008-03-27T11:51:00.000-07:00

it's ali's birthday today. send some warm thoughts her way. she's big into that karma/cosmic unicorn-giggle juice type stuff...

Nyet, dear friend

2008-03-26T06:15:00.000-07:00

you are incorrect. when it comes to Music of Consequence, she is more likely to find me sitting in a chair, cigarette forgotten in the ashtray, eyes closed, pseudo-conducting the orchestra with my hands, fiercely and ferociously and mercilessly gouging the throat from anyone who disturbs me.

y'know, basically serene, as far as i go. honestly, the snippets of Real Music i get doled out to me by CBC Radio 2 in the car, or the occasion when i remember to bring a CD of one of my preferred performances with me is NOT enough, particularly as I can't really listen properly in the car.

Lizst's 2nd Hungarian Rhapsody

2008-03-24T12:33:00.000-07:00

very nice. i just heard an orchestral version that was most satisfying. for once, it didn't evoke images of bugs bunny running around, as Il Barbiero Di Siviglia will forever do to me. i'm sorry, Mr. Rossini...

and now Pour Some Sugar on Me is playing on the radio at the office. *sigh*

i really must acquire a pure sound system at home...i haven't really listened to music in a very very long time, and i'm kinda starved for it.

wow!

2008-03-19T05:58:00.000-07:00

we finished Mass Effect last night, and boy howdee! wonderfully done. bravo. it's nice to live in this golden age of video games, where i no longer have to hope that somebody like joss whedon will decide to produce another cool sci-fi-ish show, while dealing with what he considers clever dialogue. i can just play games like Gears of War and Mass Effect.

oh, al, you should definitely go out and get this if you haven't yet. and get lego star wars while you're at it.

i wanna be tiger woods

2008-03-17T06:03:00.000-07:00

tiger woods...tiger woods.

wow, that guy is amazing.

in other news, our weekend went not at all as planned, but still very amusing. friday night we spent at my cousin's place and had a great time, as per usual. saturday was supposed to be spent on the slopes up north, but the unpredictable weather kept us home. damn! well, we made the best of it, etc etc.
sunday there was supposed to have been a gathering of like-minded (read: alcoholic) folk around the xbox/rock band combo, but instead found ali and i on mount royal doing (well, she was doing and I was crudely imitating) a bit of cross-country skiing. this was followed by a walk to the jean-talon market, where incredible stuffed olives, wonderful smoked pork products, and a delicious chicken were purchased. said chicken was stuffed, roasted, and savoured.

oh, and mass effect (video game, y'all) is building to an incredible finish. rare, very very rare, is the time when as i'm playing a video game, the story actually makes me go WOW! HOLY CRAP!

thanks Butch!

2008-03-12T06:35:00.000-07:00

you're welcome whenever you like, as always, to come by, claim the guest couch (as is your way...) and rock out with us.

you just lemme know when and the rest will be sorted out, including a first thing in the morning lift.

hellooooo weather

2008-03-11T06:01:00.000-07:00

a little brisk out today. yeah, Al, Cali sounds awesome. lemme see what's in store for us in re: days off. y'know, you're just that little bit too far by plane to hop in on a friday night and hop out on a sunday, at least not without feeling all blorchy afterwards...

mind you, winter is pretty fucking fantastic when it wants to be. skiing in the laurentians is absolutely incredible, at least since the advent of awesome winter clothing technologies. was a time when we'd waddle around the mountain looking like the michelin tire man and still feeling cold, whereas now we're all sleek and tight and monochromatic and fucking WARM.

makes all the difference.

grrrrrr.

2008-03-10T09:24:00.000-07:00

nice snowstorm on saturday precluded our skiing day up north, although we did end up cross-country skiing on mount royal for a bit. not nearly as entertaining as alipine skiing, but what can you do?
saturday night's drive was filled with terror and thrills. i'm very grateful for the all-wheel-drive nature of my car, though it has rendered me a bit skittish of the bad weather. was a time when i'd have tackled that drive with a rear-drive muscle car, y'know...

ali really really enjoyed Rock Band, and we had a blast on the level of what was to be expected over at my cousin's place. we always seem to have an excellent time with them. it's beyond a shadow of a doubt the favourite part of my family, and i only wish my more immediate kin would be like that.

apart from that, today i seem to have something of a cold, my week has already set the frustrating tone of things to come, and of course therefore all is crisis on the home-front.

wonderful. just peachy. i'd give anything to just hide out for a couple of days and let the storm of poo sort itself out without me.

Cannibal Holocaust

2008-03-07T08:47:00.000-08:00

Aaaaagh! My eyes! My eeeeeeeyyyyyyyeeeeeeesssss!

not scary in the slightest. veeeeery cool artistic slant to stuff, and considering the era in which it was first released (1980), then a big ooooooooooooooo is in order.

um, i'll never be able to eat another turtle, muskrat, snake, or ebola monkey (whatever their official name is, they're the ones that seem to spread disease and plague in movies) ever again.

full frontal nudity has very very seldom ever filled me with dread as to what's coming next as it did in this film.

be warned, you'll never be able to "unwatch" it, and there are, depending on your sensibilities, at least a couple of things in this film that will tick all the offended/shocked/grossed out/horrified boxes your morals may contain.

tonight, we're off to my cousin's house/playstation with a little Rock Band. tomorrow, SWMBA and I are gonna rock our skiis some more. tomorrow night, dinner.

a little perturbed

2008-03-05T06:01:00.000-08:00

woke up with these odd bites (?) on my hands and arms. hrm...

it's snowing today! ski season isn't over yet, though we'll be hard-pressed to get on the slopes this weekend, what with the busy evenings and all.

the boss should be back in the office today after an incredibly refreshing 2 week absence.

ali and i are looking into the real-estate thang again, and it's slightly frustrating, what with us being in a chain and all.

How y'all doin?

2008-02-29T07:02:00.000-08:00

just got back from 4 days in the good ol' southern US of A. i enjoyed it quite a bit, apart from the hung-over flights back home yesterday.

they'd never heard of mint juleps at the hotel bar in Georgia! that, dear reader, is inexcusable.

skiid last weekend, hurt my thumb, had my old trusty rear-entry boots explode on me, bought new mega-massive +10 to Ski Skill boots yesterday, and we're headed back up this weekend.

wow, i shudder to think what my credit card bills are going to do to my bank accounts when they come in...

RAWK!

2008-02-18T05:47:00.000-08:00

fun fun fun.
friday night we headed up to St. Adolphe, checked in to my friend's cottage, and had a very pleasant evening.
saturday, we hit the slopes, Ali for the first time and me for the first time in 12 years or so. well, turns out that after a morning of private lessons from my awesome friend V she's a natural.
we had an absolute blast, and are planning to head back up next week, and the week after that, and the week after...

my calves are very sore, as are my bulls and cows.

ugh.

2008-02-14T06:01:00.000-08:00

seriously evil subconsious i've got there, pal...
kept waking me up every hour or so last night.
and now i'm exhausted. i'd love to do a complete system wipe and reinstallation up in the old attic...

ah, weekend.

2008-02-04T06:08:00.001-08:00

Very nice weekend. friday night i felt like a europeen rallye driver, barelling down the snow-covered highway.

saturday we went to watch Rambo, which we both thoroughly enjoyed for what it was. sunday we shopped for skiis, went skating, and watched the superbowl.

i've only a couple of concerns these days, though they be large and offensive. the first is one dream i've had for a while, whose fulfillment i anticipated shortly, has taken a severe detour and will require some fortune of the awesome kind to get back on track.

the second involves another of my more pleasurable hobbies, and the difficulty getting my schedule to mesh with my desire to get 'stuck in', as it were.

the third (okay, so there are more than a couple), is the stalling of my writing project. i haven't hacked at it in a while. i swear, sometimes i think there are folk out there who wish me much ill and misfortune...

interviews all day. i desperately need to find 5 people for our production floor.

oh, and deeeeeeelicious roast prime-rib of beef toniiiiight. mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

fucking euphoric

2008-01-29T06:05:00.000-08:00

Imagine, it's about 1901 or so. Guiseppe Verdi has died (he was oddly born a french citizen, due to the fact that he was from a town in northern italy that happened to belong to Napoleon's New Empire at the time). Being proudly nationalistic, he helped greatly and supported extensively the great national movement to repatriate all of Italy led by Garibaldi) His body is being moved from its original cemetary to the one located on the grounds of the beatiful home for retired musicians that he founded with all his money. As his coffin was being transported, thousands upon thousands of people came to watch him be placed next to his beloved at this cemetary.

They spontaneously began to sing the March of the Hebrew Slaves from Verdi's Nabucco. When I've finally achieved my dream and am living in Firenze (Florence, y'all), this choral masterpiece will be my alarm clock. I want it to be the first thing I hear every day.

All must listen.

holy crap!

2008-01-24T06:06:00.000-08:00

http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30200-1301940,00.html?f=rss

c'mon, seriously? that is so cool. and don't rain on my parade, man! (pee in my cornflakes, harsh my buzz, etc)

for now, it's really really cool.

update

2008-01-23T06:31:00.000-08:00

so i've been a good bachelor, apart from a ridiculous past weekend. friday i had some beer for dinner, watched Cloverfield (whee! lots of fun, but i failed to grow as a person), drank more beer and tasty tasty whiskey, retired to the Deeg and continued to drink myself stupid. i woke up at 1pm (!!!) and stumbled home. a slice of toast and 2 hour nap later, and off i went to my cousin's place in RDP for more of same. by the time ali saw my face on skype sunday afternoon, i apparently looked like "i'd gone back to my old ways (for those of you who know me...)".

she comes back this saturday at 3pm. i may not stop hugging her until sunday evening or so.

here ya go!

2008-01-17T07:58:00.000-08:00

Hi all,
Frightened as I was of Canadian rye whiskey (and rightly so, considering my deep deep bond with mellowed southern bourbon), I stumbled upon a massively tasty cocktail last night. The choices were Labatt blue (dear God in heaven), unknown wine, rye whiskey, or amaretto. I had brought over some ginger ale, at the request of mein dear friend, but was unnerved by the whiskey. It just sat there on the table, vibrating slightly as if about to scream SHAZAM! and fly off, ricocheting destructively off anything breakable in the room.

The ginger ale I combined with 3 fingers of amaretto in a highball glass with two icecubes. The result was, as Ffej put it, something that tasted like really good melted icecream.

Be warned. It’s freaking sweet, probably could use a splash of bitters and a fruit wedge to make it a full-fledged cocktail, and while the colour is akin to a nice scotch amber, it is very “gin and tonic” looking, at least image-wise. (y’know, there’s the hot martini-sipping mini-skirt, the rugged Harrison ford scotch drinker, the Oi! Oi! Oi! vodka shooter, and the used-car-salesman-in-a-rumpled-suit g&t nervous stir-er). However, if you’re looking for something tasty every once in a while, consider this the liquid version of a piece of Dunn’s cheesecake: Something you seldom have but find really tasty when you do, and be sure to stop at 2 servings or you WILL be sick.

*hic*

Thanks. Carry on.

Oh, and the excitement at how soon I will be seeing Cloverfield knows no bounds. This is the second time something this cool has happened to me. The first was when I found out about Romero’s Land of The Dead about 2 weeks before it opened (Holy Crap! I can’t WAIT to see that movie!!! When is it coming out, like next year? Oh! Next week! YAY!). The second was yesterday. I was reading that Diary of the Dead was going to come out shortly (yay! Yay! Yay!) and happened on a few commentors mentioning “Cloverfield”. Having no idea what it was, on to google I went. Imagine my joy at discovering this treasure and finding out that it opens tomorrow!

*happy feet*

:(

2008-01-15T05:54:00.000-08:00

with ali in europe over the next couple of weeks, i'm kind-a bummed.

on a totally unrelated note, let's all try this and see how much it improves our commutes and lives in general. when you're stuck in traffic and you see some poor soul trying to shift lanes next to you, turn signal blinking impotently, LET HIM IN. do it graciously, with a hand gesture. oh, and if someone in this fucking rat-hole socialist paradise pit of a province lets you in instead of flooring his car to block you, thank him with your four-way flashers (it's how truckers say thanks, by blinking them three or so times).
you'll find yourself less hostile when you get wherever you're going. also, it may eventually show the Plebes that courtesy is a better default setting when living together in a village of millions than me-first-ism.
one other thing. keep in mind, when deciding to block someone (weak minded fools thinking that maintaining a 6 foot lead will somehow empower them, make their lives a little less useless, and so on), that I am not alone in having enough cash to repair both my car and pay lawyer fees. i probably won't do it, cuz between my frequent travelling and gun permit i don't need the legal aftereffects, but someone will someday just try to climb his car over yours and place his fist in your brain stem.
hey, it's two for one! while i'm at it, it would be a better place if folk kept in mind that the purpose of their car horn is to caution or warn others who may not see them (rather than to "yell" at the car in front of them for some random "offense"), the middle finger is for wearing gaudy silver rings when you're in your early twenties, and cell phones numb the already sluggish brain (making it even more difficult to do the walk/chew gum thing that rush hour driving is all about).

that is all.