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I went ahead and did it: I cancelled my cellphone's voicemail . It was actually a very quick and painless process, so kudos I suppose go to Rogers for that. I also got rid of my caller ID. Turns out I don't really need it. Why have I gotten rid of these services? BECAUSE THEY SHOULD BE FREE! And I refuse to pay for them anymore. Well, to be sure, I hardly use my phone, or its services, all that much anyway. I believe this is right. Oh, and I've started watching Life on Mars . So far pretty impressive!

Holy cow when did China get so good at curling? Has this always been the case? I'm watching the women's world championship and Canada is losing 7-2? Wha?? Am I really off-base here with that comment? Hmmm possibly.. I spent a few evenings playing Escape game [VISION] which I am finding to be exceptionally difficult. I was able to finish the first two but man this is really .. just too much. Ok, I'm blabbing here about everything I see. No, I am not drunk. Did I mention I'm drinking less these days? Laughable but true. So many things, so many details. Where was I? Oh right yes health. Really? No. Ok sorry this is not starting well. I wanted to originally say that I think I might be trying to do too many things these days. There's Korean, there's my websites, there's computer games, there's go, there's reading and movies and TV shows to catch up on. Hmmm, I'm really beginning to hate this entry and I'm not exactly sure why? Boring? Full of lie...

Last night I finished watching Goongnyeo  (2007), otherwise known as Shadows in the Palace although the name translates literally to "palace woman". Overall I did not much care for it. SPOILERS: My primary problem was that it tried to be two movies at once -- a serious mystery drama and a j-pop horror , and the later really detracted from the former, which I thought was doing just fine until about the half-way point of the film. If they had kept to slowly unraveling the details of the murder, I'd have been happy. Instead, they introduced the mystical and once that happens any detective work goes right out the door. It really bothered me! I was also upset by the brutal and grotesque violence that those women had to endure, portrayed in such detail. I mean it was just so vivid, so graphic, I was just turned right off. I suppose the director wanted to get the point across that we were once barbarians. They surely succeeded in that regard. Which is too bad because I was quit...

I wanted to mention that I got to try the drums with Rock Band this past Monday, which I guess was St. Patrick's Day. I enjoyed it but I'm pretty sure I prefer playing the guitar parts. The feedback on the drums is not nearly as rewarding. Frankly, I can't quite place what the real draw of "Guitar Hero"-type games are. I guess it's a very easy way to "play" an instrument and requires a lot less skill. Sure does seem to reward drunkeness. But no, it IS fun. I would like to play again but I think I would prefer doing so in the privacy of my own home. Oh, I also wanted to briefly describe the food I had Wednesday night at a Serbian restaurant, which is actually just down the street from my place. We started with a few apps: warm bread with an oily cream cheese, a salad that was similar to Greek salad only without olives, and a plate of cold cuts and cheeses. My entrée was this kind of chicken cordon bleu, only it was in a long log shape with lots of cr...

Day two of the Easter long weekend. I didn't have any concrete plans, other than my Korean lesson today. Have I mentioned that I am (slowly) learning Korean (again)? Well, I decided to under the pretense of wanting to talk to my grandma who was in physio for a few weeks. The going is pretty slow, but I should be getting a teach-yourself book soon. So, that takes up a bit of my time these days. I would ride my bicycle but it is still in the shop for a tune-up. I'm also getting some splash-guards installed, after how many years? Eighteen or something like that, during which I've been prey to skunk-back. I've avoided using them because I worried that a) they look dorky and b) they would slow me down. Both of these seem rather silly to me now. I hardly care about how I look anymore. Well, I try to look like I don't care about how I look. I haven't been playing a lot of games. Watched a few more episodes of the second season of Big Train . I'm not sure why but th...

Saw Be Kind Rewind and found it clever, cute and very amusing, with plenty of that signature Michel Gondry perspective skewing. I was however slightly disappointed that the film didn't have more depth to it. I guess comparing it to Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is a bit unfair, but I was definitely expecting more meat than was delivered. Still, I had a good time and that's enough. I played poker on Friday but in hindsight I don't really want to talk about it. Suffice to say I played against a bunch of strangers and did awful. I played late and was tired, which again gives credence to the theory that I suck at poker when fatigued. I've bitten my tongue twice very harshly within the last 24 hours. What does it mean? I mean, other than being aggravated every time I eat cereal and crackers.

Funny how I seem to now be in the habit of updating at night. Got a bunch of small banking chores done today, paying bills and moving money around. I've decided to get rid of my cellphone voicemail. I mean, I hardly use my phone as it is. A bit drastic perhaps but I simply cannot stand the thought of giving Rogers more money than I can minimally do. The weather appears to finally, quickly, be warming up. Nothing like a little sun to lighten the heart. Need to get my bike tuned, yessiree. Soon I will no longer be subject to the whims of the capricious 504 streetcar schedule. I spent the last half hour or so reading some really inspiring OLPC stories: First OLPC deployment: now it's real , Astounded in Arahuay , OLPC Mongolia/Ulaanbaatar , OLPC Peru/Arahuay , Khairat, India , Ban Samkha, Thailand , Galadima, Nigeria . Oh man these stories are just.. oh they are too much! I really wish I could be more involved....

At least the weather is warming up. Oh, and yes, my cold has much improved since yesterday. Well, that is to say, my misery has moved from my mind to my throat. But one's mind is one's self, so I am nearly back to normal. Went for drinks after work (I only had soup and salad), talked of birthdays, social defenses (and lack thereof), No Country for Old Men (I now plan to read the book, as I am not convinced that his other weapon was a silenced shotgun), the bottled water industry (may it rot in the discarded plastic hell it hath made for itself), Control (and Ian Curtis ' viewing of Stroszek the night before his suicide), emergency services (and good Samaritans), Facebook apps (and the imaginary crazy money involved with them). Also, the waitress brought two unrequested drinks during our debates! Unrequested, yet we paid for them. Alas the drunkard's dilemma.

Every year I find myself denying, nay, defying winter in March, and every year it knocks me over. A cold I suffer from presently, and with it memories of being bedridden and miserable. For I am miserable, quite upset. Not only is my body sore and tired and mostly uncooperative but my mind is also clouded and unable to think for enshrouded within a disagreeable fog it sits. After a day of sleep I find I cannot return to the land of slumber, so here I be, typing out vaguely coherent thoughts, wondering when I shall finally find rest? Saturday was the day I fought the law (of nature) and the law (of nature) won, me being both hatless and gloveless. The TTC, in its infinite wisdom, forced several delays and re-routings upon me. I suppose if I had any smarts I'd have taken a cab but pigheadedness won out, a pyrrhic victory. I'd actually welcome a nice warm fire right now. It's a wonder that a city could function after such a heavy dumping of snow.

Saw two movies over the weekend, Little Miss Sunshine and The Lives of Others. Both pretty good, The Lives of Others worth a second or third viewing. Little Miss Sunshine was cute and but still managed to deliver, despite the praise I heard about it, as such accolades tend to raise my expectations too far. Played some Eglinton poker Friday night, small $0.10/$0.20 games. I lost my initial $10 in the first couple of hours, but I gained much of it back with a Q9o and QJT flop. I went heads up against AA and was saved by a 9 on the river. I figured I had 13 outs (two Qs, three 9s, four Ks and four 8s) before the turn, so it was a fair all-in situation for me. I ended the night exactly $2 up. Unfortunately the taxi ride home, having finished playing around 4 am and nary a bus in sight, ate up much of my satisfaction. I spent the better part of an hour making a simple TTC fare savings calculator to see how much TTC Metropasses are really worth. A fun, if somewhat mundane, Sunday night proj...