July 2011 Monthly Entry
It seems to be a pretty cool summer here in the Lower Mainland. We've been getting some rain and a lot of cloudy days with peaks of sun. Not good for crops, especially strawberries, blueberries, and corn. On the plus side, the sunny days are not unbearably hot and just right.
Work has been pretty good this July but I seem to be working more slower than usual, likely due to the weather. My boss hasn't been on my nerves which is a good thing. The only complaint to mention was something that happened last Friday. It was a pretty decent day of work but some woman was supposed to have a move-in at 11:30am. I didn't clean the lobby of the building because I wanted to do it after the move so I went and cleaned the other building. 11:30 arrives and no moving truck was there, in fact, it doesn't come until 2pm! I let the new tenant know that I would have to unlock the elevator at 4pm as my shift ends and she agreed. I locked the elevator for the movers and went about my business. At 3:50pm I return and I let the movers make one last fill of the elevator and to go up and take some stuff to the suite. While emptying the elevator, the tenant notices me from across the hallway and says if I was going to unlock the elevator and I said yes but I was allowing the movers to empty it. She's replies in a reluctant way "okay" and goes into her suite. The movers finish their load and I unlock the elevator, allowing everyone else to use it, including the movers to continue their work (albeit slower). I leave my building and get back to my janitor closet in the other one to grab my stuff. I leave at 4pm on the dot. While halfway to the Skytrain by 4:03pm my manager calls my cell asking if I locked the elevator for the tenant. I reply that I just unlocked the elevator so that other people could use it (duh! it's the end of my shift) but he then says for me to go back and re-lock it because they still had more things to move and they were almost done. Pissed, I went all the way back, locked the elevator, and just sat in the lobby playing security. Well, they certainly were almost done because I didn't unlock the elevator in the end until 5:40pm! I was obviously still pissed off the entire time and I kept thinking that it was the stupid bitch of a tenant who called my manager and complained about my unlocking the elevator. I don't get paid extra for this! My half-the-time lazy manager would be the one responsible in this situation since it's past a worker's shift. So not only did my manager make me do his job, but he allowed the elevator to be locked beyond the end of our shift - forcing everyone else who are coming home from work/school to take the long way back up their suites. I don't know when I'll mention this to my manager - the fact I had to wait almost two hours after my shift before I could leave. When I walked back to the Skytrain, one tenant in the other building was going home and was surprised to see me emerge from the property that late. I told him the situation and he was appalled that I wasn't getting paid extra and my mistreatment. He says I work very hard and I keep the building quite clean and shouldn't be treated this way by management. I told him that people don't realize that this is common treatment for janitors all over the place but I thanked him for the vote of confidence and left as I was heading to Langley to visit my folks. Thankfully, I managed to get there quickly by 7pm to meet my brother-in-law and sister at the mall to get a ride back to my folks' home.
My Daddy David had his 63rd bearthday on Sunday so we went out to our favourite all-u-can-eat Japanese restaurant downtown an hour after the Knights monthly meeting I attended. I got him a gift card I picked up earlier from Chapters plus a card with a guy's ass exposed (his major fetish) from Little Sister's. We ate until we were stuffed though the bill came out to about $70 plus tip. I couldn't give him his card at the time so a few hours after we got home, I signed the card and put the gift card inside. He eventually went to bed before I could give it to him so I left it on his keyboard. This morning he noticed it and loved it. Happy Birthday Daddybear David! Love you!
A few major things will be happening in the next couple of weeks that I will be writing about:
July 25, Leather & Denim Cruise (docking at Denman Street). I will be with the Vice-President of the Knights as we got invited by the organizers and it was decided that both us were best suited to represent the club. If pictures are allowed, I'll try to get some and post here. I haven't been on a leather cruise for about 7 years. Don't know if they will be any cute leatherbears to cruise but hope there will be one to paw around.
July 27, Distant Worlds: Music from Final Fantasy. This is their second appearance in Vancouver but this time, series composer Nobuo Uematsu will make an appearance! I didn't get the expensive VIP pass which would afford me a chance to shake his hand and get a picture with him and includes premium seating but... maybe someday in a future. He is one of my favourite game composers and to hear classic songs from various games in the Final Fantasy series played by the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra is just wonderful! Arnie Roth is the main composer of the concert though I think Uematsu may do one or two songs. It takes place at the Orpheum Theatre at 8pm. The Orpheum doesn't allow picture taking during the concert but I'll try to get some discretely depending on my seating angle.
July 29, Vancouver Men in Leather Pride Social. Takes place at Numbers, upstairs in the Leather Loft at 9pm with Leather/rubber/denim/fetish wear required. Will be doing pictures that night.
July 31, Vancouver Pride Parade. Don't think I will be in the parade with the Knights of Malta (pending application) again this year. But for those watching the parade, please try to get some good pictures of the Knights (they are usually one of the first in the parade, carrying the Canadian provinces/territories flags) and any bears/leathermen. There is also the Thickset bear dance party which I could go to. Takes place at the Electric Owl (practically next to The Cobalt) on Main Street at 8pm.
A couple weeks ago I saw Kung Fu Panda 2 in 3D. It was pretty good, about as good as the original but it was a little more corny. The 3D effect was quite great to see and recommended if you can spare a few extra bucks. I also watched One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest on TV which was a great movie and you got to love Jack Nicholson's performance and the supporting cast. I'm almost halfway through Star Trek: TNG Season 2 but unlikely to review it until probably August. I'm almost done the book There is A God and will review it very soon, hopefully this week. Still very early in Assassin's Creed but hope I can find time to play it. As for Final Fantasy IV I'm trying to get one rare item before going to finish the game it keeps alluding me. Maybe next month, I'll finally review the game.
Last Movie: Kung-Fu Panda 2 (Theatrical), One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (TV)
Last Book: The Bible on the Big Screen
Last Game: Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (Wii)
Current Book: There Is A God
Current Game: Assassin's Creed (PS3) & Final Fantasy IV (DS)