May 2013 Monthly Entry
I hit another snag in completing Star Trek: TNG. This time it's the final 3 movies that I don't have. The disc that my former roomie Shane burned for me was completely blank and was supposed to contain Star Trek: First Contact all the way to Nemesis and even the 2009 Star Trek film though I already have that one on Blu-Ray. Likely was an accident on his part but to rectify this, I had to ask my brother-in-law again to torrent what I need to complete the series. I was planning on uploading the review on May 23 - which was the date that the final episode of TNG "All Good Things..." premiered 19 years ago. Sorry guys, it'll have to wait but will upload it as soon as my in-law gets it all downloaded and into my hot little hand. If you missed the Season 7 review, go here.
The weather has generally been nice and sunny though the last couple of weeks have brought in some clouds and rain. Wearing t-shirts has become standard now for me but I have my jacket if rain is possible or my light Atlanta Falcons jacket if the temperature drops a bit. The Lower Mainland is looking a lot more beautiful with the leaves on trees and flowers out. My older sister did my taxes last month and I got a return as usual. I'll repay her eventually and plan to combine her upcoming birthday gift with it.
I've been very busy at work even though having to program fobs for people has slowed down. A couple weeks previous was pretty good as my manager and his family (including his dad & mom, and sister & husband) took a family vacation to Mexico (something both he and his dad haven't done for many years together), leaving the supervisor all by himself to handle all the buildings the company has contracted! Poor guy... he was running all over the place, burning tons of gas in his car, and having to deal with phone calls and problems he hardly knew how to solve. He had to come to ME for solace a couple of times, which was kind of funny. I know he's trying hard to balance things and be organized. I revealed to him the reason why I didn't take the job as supervisor - because I knew I wouldn't be paid well and would have to put up with more shit and responsibility. I asked him if the company has ever given him a gas allowance for all the running around he does during his shift. He replied, no. I said that was the reason why I refused the promotion because if anything, the person taking it would be paid about the same as me or possibly, even less than me and the other janitors. I wasn't stupid, one former co-worker a couple years ago quit because he was paid the starting wage and was running around to clean his two buildings a day, burning gas and not getting some compensation or extra pay even though he has the use of a car. Total use and abuse. Anyways, the highlight of that week and even just last Monday was sneaking out before the end of my shift. I would get home half an hour earlier which felt nice. I hope my managers do that again soon in the future! LOL!
I got news on Tuesday when my manager returned that the building I act-managed at this time last year, wants me back for one Wednesday a week now. Turns out the manager, Dave, wants one day a week off and since it seems I likely did a sufficient job as acting-manager for over 3 months last year, they tapped my shoulder to do it again... or most likely because I wouldn't need much training and already have an understanding of the building. We'll see how it goes as this Wednesday it all starts. I wonder how Dave has changed the place since taking over - ruling with an iron fist...
I saw Weird Al Yankovic in concert on April 27! My older sister and brother-in-law got me a ticket as my Christmas gift from last year. It took place at the Red Robinson Show Theatre in Coquitlam, near the bus route where I pass to and from work each day. I sadly couldn't get any pictures with my camera as they wouldn't allow it so I had to put my camera back in my brother-in-law's car. The place was packed with fans and the concert itself was both entertaining and funny! He wore lots of costumes and during quick breaks in between songs to give him time to change, we would see media clips from various TV shows that reference him and even his hilarious "interviews" with celebrities. While there were some songs from Al that I recognized like: Amish Paradise, Fat (he was in his "Fat" costume), and Smells Like Nirvana (complete with a Kurt Cobain look and cheerleaders). Others I haven't heard were Canadian Idiot, White and Nerdy, Perform This Way, Party in the CIA, etc. For an encore he did The Saga Begins - dressed as Obi-Wan with Darth Vader, various storm troopers, and other Imperial soldiers surrounding around the band. His final song for the night was Yoda.
Last Tuesday we had the BC Provincial Election which was a disaster to say the least. Turnout was low again, in fact, it was lower than 4 years ago. The BC Liberals are once again in power after 12 years of scandals and debacles. For those who don't know, the BC Liberal Party is fiscally conservative and to their credit, have created jobs in this province. But they have also privatized, cut funds for services, tore up contracts, lied in the 2009 election about not considering the Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) but evidence surfaced that they did know about it so they kept their mouths shut until after they were re-elected to bring it in, the ethnic-vote scandal... the list goes on. Oh, and their leader - our Premier Christy Clark (or as everyone calls her "Chrispy Creme" or as I call her "Chrispy Cunt") recently put her young son at risk by running through a red light on her way to drop him off at school "on a dare" with a newspaper reporter in her car (derp!)! The campaign itself was dirty. The Liberals attacked the NDP for their lack of job growth in the 90s and also the illegal backdating of a memo that the current New Democratic Party Leader, Adrian Dix did many years ago. He acknowledged and apologized for it (yeah... that is so bad compared to putting another child's life at risk???). Dix's campaign had very little attacking as he preferred not to fall into that trap of attack ads. He concentrated on wanting to work with unions and making life easier for middle and lower class citizens. After the election, one letter writer to a local paper lamented that the NDP set a standard for decency in a campaign. It's sad, she said, that we as a society would overwhelmingly choose a party that chooses to attack versus the one who chooses not to but state their stances and bring in a more positive outlook if they were to win. Looking at the results of the ridings on a map, a lot of winnings came from the Interior and eastern sections of the province. I don't know why. The NDP was poised to win according to the statistics but they were dead wrong. In the end, the Liberals won 50 out of 85 seats in the Legislature, the NDP 33, 1 for the Green Party, and 1 for an Independent. But all was not too lost: the Premier lost in her riding to NDP candidate David Eby! It'll be interesting if she can win a riding because if no one wants her, she's in big trouble. The next 4 years here are going to be interesting... :(
Thursday, May 16 was the 12th Anniversary of the day David and I met. Unlike last year in which all the shit that was going on, turning into a horrible day (looking back at my May blog entry last year, I made no mention of it but the one thing I remember was David saying to me that I was "a terrible submissive" which hurt and held back my anger to say that he was a "terrible, cruel Dominant"), this one was all right but not much talking about our first meeting. I suggested we go to the local Mongolian Grill on Shaughnessy given it didn't cost much and it was a good meal. We didn't talk too much during dinner, just a couple of mentions of that day 12 years ago but not much detail. The bill was $33 with tax and tip which I had to pay for but added half to David's debt sheet. I then treated him to the Dairy Queen next door for dessert. I rarely have DQ given my lactose intolerance but given we weren't too far from home, I took the chance. David asked for a lemonade chiller and a peanut buster parfait. I called my two sisters for a recommendation as they eat there more often than I do but none of them answered. I decided on... I think it was called... "Oreo Brownie Earthquake" or something. Anyways, it was damn good. It left me with a small tummy ache and as expected, it wanted to set off my bowels as we were transiting and walking back home. Thankfully I got to the toilet as I only had about 5 minutes of holding it left.
On Friday I had my first optometry appointment in over 4 years. I was supposed to have done this in November/December like I traditionally have done for many years but money was a little tight and thought I'd wait for my tax rebate. It arrived earlier this month and found it fitting to use it for new glasses. I've worn glasses since, I think, I was about 5 years old because of astigmatism. My older sister works at an optometry clinic in Langley and she did my pre-test. She was surprised that when it came to the "air shot test", that I hardly flinched. She took a photo scan of my eyes too before I saw the optometrist. The test went by well and my eyes were considered quite healthy. There was a slight deterioration from the astigmatism but that is normal and happens all the time. The inside of me eyes looked good, including the blood vessels. I was given my prescription and during most of my visit my sister was on Clearly Contacts.ca looking at possible frames for me. Clearly Contacts is based in Vancouver and is growing in popularity up here given the good deals and customer satisfaction they've built. Later that night, I narrowed down and chose my frame with lenses and the total price came out to be around $240 with shipping. But given my sister knew the code for first-time customers such as myself, I got 50% off my order so my new glasses cost about $118! I was lucky too: given the strength of my glasses, they can only go so far on a prescription which meant that I couldn't buy from the company if my astigmatism was worse. The glasses will be sent to my folks place in less than two weeks. If I don't like them or they need adjusting, the company will try to make everything right and can be shipped back to them. My sister will try to help make sure they fit right and stuff. Oh yeah, my father paid for my optometry appointment! Thanks dad!
Last Sunday night I saw Disney's The Great Mouse Detective, another very underrated Disney film. I originally saw it on VHS sometime in the 90s and enjoyed it. Not much I can say about it either than it's an entertaining Disney flick that people should check out if they haven't. The characters are pretty good and like the egotistical but smart mind of Basil, the protagonist. Vincent Price is awesome doing the voice of the villain, Professor Ratigan! Underrated villain if you ask me. Of course, the movie is based on a novel with an obvious Sherlock Holmes nod. The final battle in the Big Ben clocktower is intense and the early use of computer animation on the gears is spectacular. But it's when Ratigan's "inner-rat" takes over that things get more intense as he foregos his intelligence for brute rat instinct, showing no mercy to Basil as he refuses to let his nemesis win. Definitely one of the best final battles in an animated film (in my opinion). For Doug Walker's positive review of the movie go here or below:
I just finished American Dad Volume 6 on DVD. Didn't take me long but it was pretty funny. I notice though that they concentrate a lot on Stan and Francine Smith's problems and rehash "lessons learned" from past episodes. For example, in a past episode (I think the "Spring Break" episode) Francine gets bored with Stan and his "jokes" and he is offended. In an episode in this Volume, Stan is worried that Francine will leave him because she will eventually get "bored" with him. Sort of similar don't you think? Ah well, can't wait for Volume 7 to come out. I'm starting my next big TV project: the entire Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles DVD collection that I got from my parents last Christmas. It'll take me a while but after it's done, I might be able to start Star Trek: Deep Space Nine provided nothing else is put in front of me. I haven't played much MadWorld but I may have it done before the end of the month. Dissidia: Final Fantasy is just about done and the review is forthcoming soon. I've obviously started my KJV Bible reading I'm over halfway through the Book of Genesis so I'm done the Creation, Noah Ark, Abraham, Sodom & Gomorrah, Issac's birth and offering, Jacob getting Esau's birthright and blessing, Jacob's 14-year labouring to marry Rachael, and now I'm on the story of Joseph.
Last Movie: Oz: The Great and Powerful (Theatrical), The Great Mouse Detective (Blu-Ray)
Last Book: Beyond Opinion
Last Game: Final Fantasy XIII-2 (PS3)
Current Book: KJV Holy Bible - Genesis
Current Games: MadWorld (Wii) & Dissidia: Final Fantasy (PSP)
The weather has generally been nice and sunny though the last couple of weeks have brought in some clouds and rain. Wearing t-shirts has become standard now for me but I have my jacket if rain is possible or my light Atlanta Falcons jacket if the temperature drops a bit. The Lower Mainland is looking a lot more beautiful with the leaves on trees and flowers out. My older sister did my taxes last month and I got a return as usual. I'll repay her eventually and plan to combine her upcoming birthday gift with it.
I've been very busy at work even though having to program fobs for people has slowed down. A couple weeks previous was pretty good as my manager and his family (including his dad & mom, and sister & husband) took a family vacation to Mexico (something both he and his dad haven't done for many years together), leaving the supervisor all by himself to handle all the buildings the company has contracted! Poor guy... he was running all over the place, burning tons of gas in his car, and having to deal with phone calls and problems he hardly knew how to solve. He had to come to ME for solace a couple of times, which was kind of funny. I know he's trying hard to balance things and be organized. I revealed to him the reason why I didn't take the job as supervisor - because I knew I wouldn't be paid well and would have to put up with more shit and responsibility. I asked him if the company has ever given him a gas allowance for all the running around he does during his shift. He replied, no. I said that was the reason why I refused the promotion because if anything, the person taking it would be paid about the same as me or possibly, even less than me and the other janitors. I wasn't stupid, one former co-worker a couple years ago quit because he was paid the starting wage and was running around to clean his two buildings a day, burning gas and not getting some compensation or extra pay even though he has the use of a car. Total use and abuse. Anyways, the highlight of that week and even just last Monday was sneaking out before the end of my shift. I would get home half an hour earlier which felt nice. I hope my managers do that again soon in the future! LOL!
I got news on Tuesday when my manager returned that the building I act-managed at this time last year, wants me back for one Wednesday a week now. Turns out the manager, Dave, wants one day a week off and since it seems I likely did a sufficient job as acting-manager for over 3 months last year, they tapped my shoulder to do it again... or most likely because I wouldn't need much training and already have an understanding of the building. We'll see how it goes as this Wednesday it all starts. I wonder how Dave has changed the place since taking over - ruling with an iron fist...
I saw Weird Al Yankovic in concert on April 27! My older sister and brother-in-law got me a ticket as my Christmas gift from last year. It took place at the Red Robinson Show Theatre in Coquitlam, near the bus route where I pass to and from work each day. I sadly couldn't get any pictures with my camera as they wouldn't allow it so I had to put my camera back in my brother-in-law's car. The place was packed with fans and the concert itself was both entertaining and funny! He wore lots of costumes and during quick breaks in between songs to give him time to change, we would see media clips from various TV shows that reference him and even his hilarious "interviews" with celebrities. While there were some songs from Al that I recognized like: Amish Paradise, Fat (he was in his "Fat" costume), and Smells Like Nirvana (complete with a Kurt Cobain look and cheerleaders). Others I haven't heard were Canadian Idiot, White and Nerdy, Perform This Way, Party in the CIA, etc. For an encore he did The Saga Begins - dressed as Obi-Wan with Darth Vader, various storm troopers, and other Imperial soldiers surrounding around the band. His final song for the night was Yoda.
Last Tuesday we had the BC Provincial Election which was a disaster to say the least. Turnout was low again, in fact, it was lower than 4 years ago. The BC Liberals are once again in power after 12 years of scandals and debacles. For those who don't know, the BC Liberal Party is fiscally conservative and to their credit, have created jobs in this province. But they have also privatized, cut funds for services, tore up contracts, lied in the 2009 election about not considering the Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) but evidence surfaced that they did know about it so they kept their mouths shut until after they were re-elected to bring it in, the ethnic-vote scandal... the list goes on. Oh, and their leader - our Premier Christy Clark (or as everyone calls her "Chrispy Creme" or as I call her "Chrispy Cunt") recently put her young son at risk by running through a red light on her way to drop him off at school "on a dare" with a newspaper reporter in her car (derp!)! The campaign itself was dirty. The Liberals attacked the NDP for their lack of job growth in the 90s and also the illegal backdating of a memo that the current New Democratic Party Leader, Adrian Dix did many years ago. He acknowledged and apologized for it (yeah... that is so bad compared to putting another child's life at risk???). Dix's campaign had very little attacking as he preferred not to fall into that trap of attack ads. He concentrated on wanting to work with unions and making life easier for middle and lower class citizens. After the election, one letter writer to a local paper lamented that the NDP set a standard for decency in a campaign. It's sad, she said, that we as a society would overwhelmingly choose a party that chooses to attack versus the one who chooses not to but state their stances and bring in a more positive outlook if they were to win. Looking at the results of the ridings on a map, a lot of winnings came from the Interior and eastern sections of the province. I don't know why. The NDP was poised to win according to the statistics but they were dead wrong. In the end, the Liberals won 50 out of 85 seats in the Legislature, the NDP 33, 1 for the Green Party, and 1 for an Independent. But all was not too lost: the Premier lost in her riding to NDP candidate David Eby! It'll be interesting if she can win a riding because if no one wants her, she's in big trouble. The next 4 years here are going to be interesting... :(
Thursday, May 16 was the 12th Anniversary of the day David and I met. Unlike last year in which all the shit that was going on, turning into a horrible day (looking back at my May blog entry last year, I made no mention of it but the one thing I remember was David saying to me that I was "a terrible submissive" which hurt and held back my anger to say that he was a "terrible, cruel Dominant"), this one was all right but not much talking about our first meeting. I suggested we go to the local Mongolian Grill on Shaughnessy given it didn't cost much and it was a good meal. We didn't talk too much during dinner, just a couple of mentions of that day 12 years ago but not much detail. The bill was $33 with tax and tip which I had to pay for but added half to David's debt sheet. I then treated him to the Dairy Queen next door for dessert. I rarely have DQ given my lactose intolerance but given we weren't too far from home, I took the chance. David asked for a lemonade chiller and a peanut buster parfait. I called my two sisters for a recommendation as they eat there more often than I do but none of them answered. I decided on... I think it was called... "Oreo Brownie Earthquake" or something. Anyways, it was damn good. It left me with a small tummy ache and as expected, it wanted to set off my bowels as we were transiting and walking back home. Thankfully I got to the toilet as I only had about 5 minutes of holding it left.
On Friday I had my first optometry appointment in over 4 years. I was supposed to have done this in November/December like I traditionally have done for many years but money was a little tight and thought I'd wait for my tax rebate. It arrived earlier this month and found it fitting to use it for new glasses. I've worn glasses since, I think, I was about 5 years old because of astigmatism. My older sister works at an optometry clinic in Langley and she did my pre-test. She was surprised that when it came to the "air shot test", that I hardly flinched. She took a photo scan of my eyes too before I saw the optometrist. The test went by well and my eyes were considered quite healthy. There was a slight deterioration from the astigmatism but that is normal and happens all the time. The inside of me eyes looked good, including the blood vessels. I was given my prescription and during most of my visit my sister was on Clearly Contacts.ca looking at possible frames for me. Clearly Contacts is based in Vancouver and is growing in popularity up here given the good deals and customer satisfaction they've built. Later that night, I narrowed down and chose my frame with lenses and the total price came out to be around $240 with shipping. But given my sister knew the code for first-time customers such as myself, I got 50% off my order so my new glasses cost about $118! I was lucky too: given the strength of my glasses, they can only go so far on a prescription which meant that I couldn't buy from the company if my astigmatism was worse. The glasses will be sent to my folks place in less than two weeks. If I don't like them or they need adjusting, the company will try to make everything right and can be shipped back to them. My sister will try to help make sure they fit right and stuff. Oh yeah, my father paid for my optometry appointment! Thanks dad!
Last Sunday night I saw Disney's The Great Mouse Detective, another very underrated Disney film. I originally saw it on VHS sometime in the 90s and enjoyed it. Not much I can say about it either than it's an entertaining Disney flick that people should check out if they haven't. The characters are pretty good and like the egotistical but smart mind of Basil, the protagonist. Vincent Price is awesome doing the voice of the villain, Professor Ratigan! Underrated villain if you ask me. Of course, the movie is based on a novel with an obvious Sherlock Holmes nod. The final battle in the Big Ben clocktower is intense and the early use of computer animation on the gears is spectacular. But it's when Ratigan's "inner-rat" takes over that things get more intense as he foregos his intelligence for brute rat instinct, showing no mercy to Basil as he refuses to let his nemesis win. Definitely one of the best final battles in an animated film (in my opinion). For Doug Walker's positive review of the movie go here or below:
Click to viewI just finished American Dad Volume 6 on DVD. Didn't take me long but it was pretty funny. I notice though that they concentrate a lot on Stan and Francine Smith's problems and rehash "lessons learned" from past episodes. For example, in a past episode (I think the "Spring Break" episode) Francine gets bored with Stan and his "jokes" and he is offended. In an episode in this Volume, Stan is worried that Francine will leave him because she will eventually get "bored" with him. Sort of similar don't you think? Ah well, can't wait for Volume 7 to come out. I'm starting my next big TV project: the entire Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles DVD collection that I got from my parents last Christmas. It'll take me a while but after it's done, I might be able to start Star Trek: Deep Space Nine provided nothing else is put in front of me. I haven't played much MadWorld but I may have it done before the end of the month. Dissidia: Final Fantasy is just about done and the review is forthcoming soon. I've obviously started my KJV Bible reading I'm over halfway through the Book of Genesis so I'm done the Creation, Noah Ark, Abraham, Sodom & Gomorrah, Issac's birth and offering, Jacob getting Esau's birthright and blessing, Jacob's 14-year labouring to marry Rachael, and now I'm on the story of Joseph.
Last Movie: Oz: The Great and Powerful (Theatrical), The Great Mouse Detective (Blu-Ray)
Last Book: Beyond Opinion
Last Game: Final Fantasy XIII-2 (PS3)
Current Book: KJV Holy Bible - Genesis
Current Games: MadWorld (Wii) & Dissidia: Final Fantasy (PSP)