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Work.. it consumes us, surrounds-- no, that's not how I meant to start. I have been pouring myself into work, a mould I am familiar with: staying late, stressing about deadlines, focused in my coding and procrastination. So many lines have passed through my mind and fingers, but to what end they will achieve is yet to be seen. I am not (yet) proud. I am a little worn. Movies! Lessee... Where The Wild Things Are (2009). I liked it. Not for kids, I'd say, though sure they'll enjoy parts. The look of the film is wonderful; I couldn't imagine it done better. Paranormal Activity (2009). Awesome. Enjoyable. Made me laugh at how good it was. Even now I smile thinking of how masterfully they've managed to tap into fear, to draw it out and run with it. Dude, just go see it. Some Like It Hot (1959). Pretty funny! Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon. I did find that I get uncomfortable watching beautiful women climbing over each other. How very o...

This year's Nuit Blanche was marred by large crowds and mundane exhibits. Is it my old man syndrome speaking thus? It's how I feel and I am certain that there are some who feel the same as I do. Certainly the size of the throngs cannot be disputed; I believe this year attracted the largest numbers yet. It wasn't all bad, I guess, but my dislike of line-ups was taken to its limit Saturday night. Sunday I stayed in, having gone to bed near 6 AM and getting up around 4 PM, groggy with a broken Circadian rhythm. I watched the first season of Party Down , an excellent new comedy. The next following I woke up feeling awful and was plagued with a malaise I had not felt in ages: a decidedly colitis -like sensation, only without the sharp abdominal pain. I plan to retire by 11 so that my body can get some extra rest. I guess I've watched a few other films since I last wrote, including: Wet Hot American Summer (2001). It has quite the who's-who cast in comedy , ...

Stressed, I'm seriously stressed. I mean, it's just money, right? Who knows what the morrow may bring? I am to be dropping a deposit on a place (766 King Street West) tomorrow evening. My agent gave me the impression that my bid will be low, but I based the amount on comfort level and conservative estimates of what I can really afford (as well, to a lesser extent, what the mortgage broker said). So I guess there's not that much to be worried about. But shifting large amounts of money around does have a kind of toll on me. Not having had dinner is of little help. Positives of the place? Close to work. Great kitchen, lots of light (skylight, south-facing), high ceiling, balcony with a BBQ. Negatives: No parking spot, no indoor bicycle rack. No amenities. A separate entrance would've been nice. I am not convinced that I want to live close to my work. Sure, it's convenient being able to walk to the office, but there's something to be said about working in one neig...

Wall Street I didn't bring my hat, which perhaps is just as well: the weather in New York was cloudy and wet. Drinking at night, sleeping in the morning, walking around the city during the day, resting in front of the TV and getting ready for the next night. Throughout it all I got to know my cousins a lot better, we not having much contact for the past, oh, 17 years? That's really the thing I take away from this trip. Oh, sure, I took some  pictures . There are a bunch of that High Line walkway, a section of raised train tracks converted into a park around a mile and a half long. It reminded me of that Ray Bradbury story, the one where the man travels back in time to shoot dinosaurs and accidentally steps on a butterfly, changing the course of history. Anyway, it was nice to see the park before it is inevitably ruined for everyone. I have, somewhat against my will or inclination, been playing Civ3 again. I had decided to not drink for the rest of September, but I ...

I was in Windsor, of all places. A wretched hive of vice and ramshackle buildings: spotless white casinos next to tenement complexes and boarded-up houses. I went to visit a friend, an old acquaintance from my Canadian Space Agency days. He has not changed in the least. We talked of our days at the CSA, of the work, of our bosses, of the astronauts. I enjoyed meeting the other Asians in Windsor; apart from some tourists, I think I may have been the oldest Korean there, which was very novel. However I'm not inclined to go again anytime soon. And next time I shall stay at a hotel! A short work week, this one; I will be leaving for New York on Thursday to visit family. After this, I shall rest my liver I do so swear it. I do somewhat lament my accidentally booking for the 9/11 weekend, oh vey. I rather forgot that the date means something down there. On September 9th, 2001 I was in the living room watching TV and my mom kept saying, "Oh my God." Spent a frantic h...

So, like, what's the word, boyos? Tired of writing, that's the problem. No, gosh, what an awful start. I was thinking of putting down some thoughts on the recent Michael Bryant cycling incident , now that some more details have been leaked. The cyclist had left his girlfriend/ex-girlfriend's apartment less than an hour earlier, with police called in to handle the domestic disturbance. He was also possibly drunk, and may still have been drunk and upset at the time of the incident. Bryant or his wife, the passenger, made a 911 call during the incident. The cyclist likely died of injuries received while hanging on to the side of the car, although it's possible that he was also run over at some point. What I wanted to say is that the situation is not that black and white. People panic in high stress situations, especially if they're not used to it. Perhaps Bryant's flight instinct kicked in, wanting to protect his wife from a belligerent stranger. Maybe ...

Dear dear dear.. I've spent many an evening watching movies I've meant to see. Here's the latest batch that I've burned through: Alexander Nevsky . The haircut that endures time and space. An operatic track is used in The Simpsons episode G.I. (Annoyed Grunt) First Blood . Yup, that one, drawling Stallone and all. Why are small towns given such a bad rap? They Live . I think I got this one so that I could experience the source material for Duke Nukem. The bubblegum line was the best part. Gran Torino . I very much enjoyed Eastwood's laying down of slurs. The Hurt Locker . Excellent, one of the best of 2009. The ending's a bit long/forced, but doesn't detract much from the rest of the film. The Outsiders . I would've loved this as a teenager. I'd be a greaser, definitely. Up . Wonderful prelude. My eyes watered. Who Killed The Electric Car? I'd avoided this one but it's quite informative, if a little biased/heavy-hande...

A busy week it was. Firstly, big news from work -- they're outsourcing my job! But.... they are also "promoting" me into development. The quotes are there because no-one's mentioned anything regarding a pay raise. I might be getting one, I might not. A lot more work, a lot more responsibility. However it is yet to be seen. Moving from customer support to development is a major transition and I'm not sure I quite know how I feel about it. On the one hand I'll get a chance to fix all those bugs and issues I'm always having to log. On the other: meetings, schedules, and projects, oh my! Also, my days of getting into work at 10 are pretty much over. Tuesday was karate, not much to say there. Wednesday I saw Up and really enjoyed it. I've only seen a handful of Pixar films and they have all been rather excellent and Up continues that trend. I found it spoke especially to me, an old man in my own mind. Thursday was a social with some of the ...

Camp went well, I think. I am hesitant to say that I had an awesome time because I'm still digesting the experience, as it were, having returned Friday evening. Also, the kids' enthusiasm dwindled as the days passed, homesickness becoming an ever constant knell. Not sure how typical that is, or whether I played a positive or negative role there. I am glad to have done it, sure, and I feel much more ready for next time. I mean, I learned so much about the experience that I could do it again, sure. Only, not so soon -- it was draining, requiring one to be "on" from 7 AM to 10 PM every day. I will in any case definitely bring better sleeping supplies next time (ie. a pillow and a blanket). Hopefully I'll see a property or two tomorrow. The real estate market in Toronto, so it seems to me, right now is very competitive -- not a lot of properties and the good ones get snatched up within a few days. Not an ideal situation for someone like myself, who is slow ...

I got myself a realtor, yup. Looking at some properties, lofts and townhouses (Copy and paste the links and add a zero, "0", to make it work. They expire at the end of this week). I guess there's a medley of good and bad stuff out there, hope to get a closer glimpse of some this week before going to camp. I got pre-approved for a, in my opinion, redonkulous amount of money, which does broaden my options somewhat. Not that I'll use the full pre-approval amount, it being stretched to the absolute limit of what I can afford. Although already I find myself thinking about money, something I've wanted to avoid doing ever since finishing university, a time where I was constantly worried about having enough. It's just a big pain! And just the THOUGHT of having a mortgage has such an effect on me, yeesh. Tipping less, buying less, scrutinizing bills. Make it stop! I was at camp this weekend, getting ready for my time there next week. I hear all these st...

I don't have much to say about my grandmother. My memories are fairly fragmented, can't really picture her that well. I know that she used to carry me around a lot, wrapped tightly to her back. I remember her curly hair and her fondness for sweets. She never really had a good grip of English and I can't recall ever having a real conversation with her. We buried her Saturday morning, a grey overcast day with a light rain. I hadn't expected to cry but I did, when I heard my aunt praying for her through her sobs. It was nice to see all the family together, a rare occasion by any measure. I went and bought that Plants Vs Zombies game and it was a fun 10 hours or so. I enjoyed the demo and the full game did not disappoint. I guess it falls into that tower-defence genre of games, where you place units to prevent the enemy from reaching its goal. I pretty much like every aspect of the game except the clicking part --- there's so much of it! What is up with cas...