It lives!
I went out and got an audio cable. Plugged it into the Airport Express base station. Started up iTunes. I’m now in my living room listening to music from my laptop over my stereo system. Wirelessly! Let me prove it… Yup! Works in the kitchen too.
Cool.
I never listen to music on the stereo anymore. The radio never played what I want. Any CD I put in has maybe two good songs. So I’ve been listening to all my music on the laptop. With the iTunes store in Canada I can see it becoming more important to me, because I am finally purchasing music again.
Now I don’t have to be at my computer to listen. Just to start it up.
Music has entered my life again.

When I said the other day that I had a strong hint that I was getting an AirPort base station for Christmas, it was due to that I said I wanted one, and my parents asked me to buy one in the land of no-sales-tax Alberta. Of course I have to try it out to make sure it works.
It does.
I’m sitting in my living room, surfing the internet, watching TV, and apparently updating my journal.
I’d try this on my patio, but it is a little cold to do that.

This place has a hall cat.
The people who live at the end of the building have a cat, and they leave their door open, so it likes to wander the halls. Actually, no, let me correct myself. It likes to wander to my door and meow.
I’ve done nothing to make friends with this cat. I make no secret of my opinion of them. I was raised to hate cats. It’s one of those creepy looking short-haired ones. Very soft to pet, but with an unnatural look about it.
It doesn’t do this to anyone else. It only comes to my door and meows. I’ve opened it to try and convince it to move along, nothing here to see. Instead it tries to make a break inside. Do I have a secret stash of catnip I don’t know about?
Last night I let it come in while I was having people over for some board games. It made a beeline for my computer room and hid under my patio chair. (I really have to move that thing into storage.) I herded it out before it started setting up shop.
This morning it tried again.

Well, there was a dinner, and it was quite good, but I think they were using the term “theatre” too liberally.
The dinner was a buffet and the selection was good. I still feel quite stuffed from it. The “play” was called “Only in Canada, Eh?” It was basically a compilation of a whole bunch of Canadian songs. No plot or character development. Only songs. I recognized most of them, except the eight sung by one gentleman. In the second act this guy came out and acted like he was famous and sang four songs I had never heard of. He repeated this again in the third act. Talking to other people I found out he was famous, but apparently out of my circle. Has anyone reading this heard of Alfie Zappacosta?
Because this was the office Christmas party, we had an American from the head office tag along. During the first intermission a lot of people talked to him. I guess we wanted to see the American’s opinion of Canada. I think we just demonstrated an inferiority complex.
We talked about the stuff Canada has done to Americans. The show “Talking to Americans” was brought up. The Rick Mercer “Jean Poutine” question to George Bush. My boss pointed out that we’re 100 times worse with our own politicians. I seem to recall someone having our Prime Minster in a headlock threatening to give him noogies. We really don’t take our politicians too seriously.
Mind you, I also thing it is cool that our previous PM had no problem throttling protesters that got to close to him.

Yesterday the Running Room had their Candy Cane Lane run. We started in Government House Park, then ran through a completely dark ravine. It would have been a lot easier if the moon was full. Anyway, when we got to the end, we ran down Candy Cane Lane. Lots of lights. Very tacky. At the end, we turn around and run back.
It was a nice change of pace (no pun intended) from the usual runs. I couldn’t watch the lights much because I was always having to look down to check the footing. My biggest problem was that the wait for the run to start was in a cold park, instead of the usual warm store.

We got let out of work early because the Christmas party starts soon. I’ll try and add an update when I get back.

I got an AirPort card the other day, but I only installed it into my laptop just now. Fairly easy, it is a Mac after all. I don’t have a base station, but I have a strong hint I’m going to get one for Christmas.
So when I turned on my iBook, I saw a list of networks available. I guess some other people in the building have wireless networking too. The thing is, the person with the “linksys” domain doesn’t have password protection enabled on his network. All the others do. So, I can browse the internet on somebody else’s account, wirelessly. I don’t even need a base station, I can just pirate.
Arrr, matey!
Unfortunately ethics reared its ugly head. I plugged my iBook back into the landline network, and turned the AirPort off.

I haven’t been sleeping that well lately. I seem to always be waking up at around 5:00 – 5:30 in the morning. And I have never been good at getting back to sleep once I’ve woken up.
Yesterday I was convinced I would get a good night’s sleep. I was exhausted from the long run. I had had a nice hot chocolate. Surely this would let me sleep all night.
The phone rang at 5:30 this morning.

Clearly a conspiracy is afoot.

In the past, there was a traditional after run Sunday brunch at Ricky’s. Basically do a long run, then try and put back all the calories you burned off. With some socialization too.
For the past few months I haven’t been going. I couldn’t tell if they were still going on after my absence (due to injury) and I never saw any of the usual organizers. Two weeks ago I found they were still on. “We’re always there.” So I went again.
Today though, after an exhausting 29km run, I went and there was no one there. They had already left. Disappointing. So I had a lunch by myself.

Today I went and got my hair cut. I first went to Swizzlesticks several years ago when my old hair place was going out of business for a variety of reasons. See Magazine had voted Swizzlesticks the best place in Edmonton, so that seemed like a good recommendation. The person I was assigned was Melissa, and I’ve been using her to do my hair ever since.
I trust her completely. I have realized I have no sense of style so I insist she do whatever she thinks is appropriate. Which explains why I’m growing my hair out longer. It’s been looking shaggy, but it seems a lot more under control now. She occasionally tries to get an opinion out of me, but it really doesn’t work. I don’t have to look at myself.
While she was doing her work she noticed that my eyebrows were not looking that great. She recommended I get them waxed.
I’m whipped. I seem to do whatever any pretty women, who pays an iota of attention to me, wants.
In case you’re wondering, the brows still look masculine. The uni-brow part of it is gone, and some of the stray hairs have been excised. Painful? Not especially. I was expecting worse.

Yesterday I had a good drive to work. It all comes down to River Valley Road. For my purposes, that road is one lane, and there is enough traffic coming and going that there is no safe way to pass a car ahead of you. So once you’re in position, you stay there. If there is a clown car ahead of you, suck it up princess.
I turn left onto this road at the Walterdale bridge. However, to my right there are cars already on it. In fact, there are two lanes of them, entering into a merge where they are whittled down to one lane.
What this means for me is that when they have a green light, a whole pile of traffic fights its way into the one lane, creating a nice clogged artery. When my light turns green I’m stuck behind that clog, where invariably someone with no stress slows everything down. The 60km limit is a dream as someone decides that 50km is safer. Yesterday though, I hit a green light with some maturity, so the clog had already travelled far enough that it was an open expressway for me.
But the end result of all this is maybe saving one or two minutes of my drive. I go through a lot of hoops to try and hit that sweet spot that will make River Valley Road a stress-free commute.
The thing is, I hate driving. I see no joy in it. I find the experience frustrating. Since I want to get it over with as quickly as possible, I go faster than the speed limit. Almost always. And it annoys me no end when the person ahead of me sticks to that limit like glue. Is that safe driving on my part?No, but speeding is less stressful than being forced to go slow. But in my defense, I’ve never gotten a speeding ticket. I don’t excessively speed. But the point of being in a car is to move forward. Sometimes the other drivers seem to forget this.
Whyte avenue seems to be designed to slow traffic down. Every light is timed to be red when you hit it.
With this in mind, I’ve realized something recently. I’ve probably always known it, but it feels more real if I write it down. With the snow here, I’m much more likely to run a yellow light. I convince myself it is safer. If I try and stop quickly so I don’t run the light, I risk going into a skid. It would probably be safer to just get through on the yellow light. But is that always true, or am I just using the excuse as a way to not wait through a red?
Of course, will realizing this thought process change my driving?

It’s still cold here, but I forced myself to do a run this evening. I thought I still had lactic acid build-up to deal with. Then I realized that my calves were hurting because this is the first time in a year that I’ve run on snow. It strains those muscles a lot more.

No greater joy than sleeping in on a Sunday.
I should have run. I should have run 29km. But I was up late, and it’s cold out. I instead slept in, read the newspaper and finished “Dragon Venom”.
I highly recommend “The Obsidian Chronicles” series by Lawrence Watt-Evans. The first book is “Dragon Weather”, but when you read it, make sure you don’t read any reviews or information about the other books. It is incredibly easy to spoil the plot twists in the first book that become common knowledge in the later ones.

So Cybernaughtyka was a bust. The music was the standard goth industrial that doesn’t tickle my fancy. The fashion shows were poor compared to what I’ve seen in Jamaica. The venue was fairly cold. The live band could have literally phoned the performance in. They, Noisex (“In noise we trust”) spent the entire time looking at their computers, which as near as I can tell were their only instruments. And I don’t want to call it music, when it was, well… noise.
The high point was the beautiful bartender Colleen. I hanged around the bar most of the night (wallflower, er… barflower) and talked to her. I bought her a drink, and gave her my number. I think that’s the way I’ll do things now. If she isn’t interested, she doesn’t phone, instead of stringing me along. She didn’t give me her number, so I’m not expecting anything to happen.

I have got to get the lactic acid out of my legs. Best solution: take a walk.
I took that walk this morning to the Rowena store. I didn’t need to go, but it was a conveniently far distance away. I have a hard time taking trips with no purpose. I need a destination.
We’ll gloss over the 19km run I did on Sunday that took me back where I started.
There was nothing at the store that I wanted. I really am not in the market for celtic crafts. (Cute clerk though.) But I thought they might have something appropriate for the social gathering I’m going to tonight. It started twenty minutes ago, but I know that I shouldn’t be there right when it opens.
The temperature has dropped here. Yesterday it was a high of +9. Today I think our high was -11. There was a bit of snow this morning, but it didn’t feel like it wanted to be there. It’s friends are coming this evening with a heavy snowfall warning.
In other news I finally found the book “Dragon Venom”. Too late for my caribbean trip. I’ve already sucked down a large chunk of it.
But now I’m going to go off to the event.

It’s a matter of public record that I hate Christmas carols. I guess I’m too cynical, but around Christmas time they just sound like advertisements, and no one seems to play them in August when they feel much more appropriate.
The one carol I do like is Carol of the Bells. It doesn’t sound like it is trying to be cheerful. As I’ve said before, “Doom is coming… for Christmas!” I thought I was original when I spoke that attitude, but I bought the script to TJ Dawe’s “The Slipknot” and he voices a similar opinion.

Everybody knows the Carol of the Bells…
The version they play on the Shopper’s Radio Network is a choral
And it sounds like someone slipped the choir something–they are wild-eyed and intense
…
Scariest Christmas Carol in the World!
And it’s made even worse by the fact that I think it’s really similar to the theme music from The Exorcist

So then, yesterday I poked around the iTunes store looking for a good version. Most are sung by chipper pop stars. I found the irony of The Canadian Brass version amusing (Let’s do the Carol of the Bells without bells!) The best seems to be The Mormon Tabernacle Choir version. Still they don’t have the fear of god in their voice while singing it, which defeats the point.
My point is that I listened to it a lot yesterday and it is now stuck in my head. So I found myself whistling a christmas carol this morning.
Bitter irony.

Finally!
The iTunes music store has finally come to Canada. Apparently at the lowest prices in the entire world. $0.99 Canadian for each song. I just bought myself one.
I’m not particularly proud of my choice, but it is a song I want, from a group that I don’t want the entire album.
In my head I’m planning on allowing myself to buy one song a week. But I know I’ll run out of songs quickly. I don’t listen to that much music.

For the first time, the music I’m listening to is relevant to the journal entry.

I filled out a lot of free contests at the taboo show. I’m now on the phone with someone who says I have a free vacation. It sounds wonderful. Orlando, Daytona Beach, Ft. Lauderdale, then a cruise to Nassau. There are a few fees involved, but nothing major.
He wants my credit card expiration date.
None of your business.
He makes a nice spiel how this is totally safe, but I’m not about to let him put $698 US on my credit card for a two person vacation which I just have his word on.

But there is that small part of me that wonders if I’ve just passed on a fabulous vacation.

I’ve been planning on taking a vacation to Europe next summer. I’ve been thinking of it for over a year, but I fear it is about to fall through. I was planning on going with but he has gone on gotten himself engaged. So I doubt he is still going to do the Europe thing. And I really don’t want to go by myself.
I suppose that there is still a chance he will go, but it won’t be the exciting debauchery he has described happening in the past. (He’s clinically dead now.) I need more debauchery in my life. I can’t seem to find it on my own, so I was hoping to get direction from someone more experienced.
I better plan a different vacation.

I don’t like KFC. I know this. It’s been true for years. But it seems that every year or so I need to remind myself. There is a KFC right next door to the Running Room. And today, after the run, I got a good whiff of grease and started craving. Dinner was just supposed to be leftovers, so why not. In I went, and ordered a meal.
Yep. Stay the course. KFC is still bad. Anemic chicken. No special taste that I can remember. That’ll learn me.
The run itself: They keep making me the group leader for the “5 minutes per kilometer” group. Being a power made dictator I took a detour through the legislature. They had just put up some lights, so it looked very nice.
My legs were killing me. I apparently haven’t been properly recovering from my longer runs and have a build up of lactic acid to deal with. So I need to take a walk.
Speaking of pain, my back is hurting. At first I thought my posture was bad, but I think its because I’m trying to do some exercises first thing in the morning. Literally roll out of bed and strain the body. No warm up or anything. So I think I’ll hold back on it for awhile.
I haven’t been sleeping that well lately either. I seem to wake up at around 5:30 and then can’t get to sleep. I pretend, but it’s not the same. Hopefully tonight will be better.

I haven’t updated in awhile and I apologize. I don’t really have any excuse. I’ve been playing Halo 2, which means I don’t have anything interesting to write about.
On Friday I had a D&D game. I think I’m losing interest. We are starting to play so irregularly that it is hard to keep paying attention to it. But the last game was easy because the players had finally gotten to town and wanted to spend their money. I even gave them interesting NPCs to deal with.
My friend Jake, and his girlfriend run Nightshade Corsets. I’m not in the market for one, so I’ve never purchased from them. However, they were having an exhibit at the Taboo sex show that is happening this weekend. So, to show my support (yeah, that’s it) I went down to see them. (The irony of me going to the event is not lost on me.) The show itself wasn’t that great. There seemed to be some exhibits there that weren’t really in the spirit of the theme. Really, dear steaks?
This morning I ran 19km. We were supposed to go on the winter route, but I am so sick of that, that I convinced my small group to go someplace else. So we ran into a totally new place for me. It really helps keep your interest to see new sites. Afterwards I went to brunch.

Today there was the annual general meeting of the condo board. It’s the one where the peons get invited to have our say. Unfortunately, the condo board is bleeding and is looking for new blood to sustain it. Through no fault of my own, I got volunteered to join. I’m not especially happy about this because I seem to have enough time management problems as is.
Still, I should revel in the power.

I did my civic duty today and voted in the provincial election. There were a number of hurdles. Foremost is that everyone knows Ralph Klein is going to be elected premier. He’s been practically daring people not to vote for him. Second, I really don’t know any of the candidates in my new riding. None of them have done anything noteworthy for me. So I’m going to vote Green party. You get a nice feeling when you vote for them. That, and they appreciate your votes so much more. With Conservative you are a face in the crowd. With Green, they will probably celebrate every vote. Third, it took forever to vote. With the municipal and federal elections it was a five minute deal. For this provincial election, the voter lists didn’t have anyone in my building on it (I met two other groups of my neighbors at the polls) and there was a long line just to get into this place. The media kept predicting low voter turnout because the outcome was a foregone conclusion. Didn’t seem to happen.
In other news I finally got the last check for my stock sale a year and a half ago. When my old company got bought out, they kept 18% of the money to protect against unforeseen expenses. There were practically none, so I’ve finally gotten the remaining money. The bad news (considering the good news of a large influx of capital) is that it is all in U.S. currency. And those stupid Americans keep ruining their economy by electing dumb presidents, meaning my check is worth less and less. I love that the Canadian economy is firing on all cylinders, but I keep getting American money that is turning into monopoly money.
Still I have a nice chunk of change. I’m hoping that the Americans can get their act together so I can make a good deposit towards my mortgage.

I went to New City tonight. I really didn’t want to. I still feel tired. But I have this $50 tab that I feel I should use. So off I went. I bought drinks for all the people I know, but I stayed with the non-alcoholic beverages. My vacation taught me that alcohol has no benefits, so I see no reason to change my standard pattern.
The night was also disappointing in another respect. In Jamaica, everyone dressed up beautifully. Now New City isn’t my vacation, and the people really don’t dress up. It takes a bit of acclimating to lower my expectations.

I phoned my sister this morning. When I wished her happy birthday, it was a surprise. She had forgotten that it was today. On a similar note, my parents had forgotten my birthday yesterday. It was only through a third party that they realized it today.
Today has been a fairly good day. For the first time since working at Shana/FileNet I have gotten birthday cake. When I first started there, they ended the birthday celebrations in October. Last year they started it up again in December. I had to share the celebration with the other two people who have it in November.
Of course I brought the Erik method of thinking to the whole affair. The people are there for the cake, not the singing of the songs. I got approval from the other birthday celebrants, and as soon as I got to the kitchen with the cake, before everyone had arrived, I started the cutting. Let’s get this cake out to the people as soon as possible.
I noticed that the sign next to my office had had a modification. Previously I was just a “Developer”. But it had been modified, probably stolen from someone who had left, to say “Senior Developer”. I was hoping this meant some promotion I was unaware of, but neither my manager nor his boss had any idea. I took the modification down.
The run this evening was good. For some reason I was feeling exhilarated. It was only three degrees out, so it was good enough for shorts and a t-shirt. I always get a thrill when I’m dressed like that and I pass someone bundled up in a large coat for winter. Invariably they look oriental. You can draw your own conclusions.

So this was my birthday. Pretty pathetic. No one phoned me. I had to organize my own party. Well, it suits my mood. At least the people who joined me for dinner are saying that there will be cake for the Random Acts of Gaming we’re going to have this Friday.
In other news, I finally tried out Halo 2. It’s weird. I’m unused to the levels, so I’m exploring anew. I’m finding the weapon system slightly confusing, and I seem to just be sticking with plasma rifles. I did try out XBox live and I was very impressed with that. Previously, with MechAssault, it took forever to get a game going. You had to join someone’s game, hope they didn’t kick you out, wait for others to join, then hope the game doesn’t get cut out in the middle.
I just clicked XBox Live with Halo 2 just to see what my options were, and before I knew it, it had found several other players for me, set up a game, and away I went. Total time, less than thirty seconds. Cool.

All I did today was sleep, There was a brief interlude of browsing the web and eating breakfast at one o’clock in the afternoon, but really, I needed sleep. At around seven, I really started getting hungry. No food here, so I went out to Funky Pickle and got a slice of pizza.
It’s my birthday on Tuesday. The vacation was good, but not awesome. Technically I’m supposed to do something rash. To too tired to plan that though.

I just arrived home. Quite traumatic really. I left Jamaica at +30 degrees. Toronto was +3 degrees. Edmonton is -3 degrees.
I kept journal entries of my trip and I’ll see about putting them in here, backdated.
Feeling really tired now. I’ve noticed the occasional hallucination. The timezone change and the only sleeping three hours last night seems to be catching up to me.