B.C. Beginnings

Pandas, Parties and a new (smart)Phone!

2012-01-30T00:56:00.000-08:00

The word of the week is finality.

Jan 23 - So close, so close...

Okay, I'll admit it: I'm scared of the next few months. Just like I was scared when I had to move on with life after my parent's bankruptcy, and I was especially when I packed up my family and moved across the country to BC in late 2007.

Now I've purposefully made myself jobless, to remove myself from the soul-and-body killing stress of MMart. I wish I could have already had a new job to segue nicely into, but that just didn't happen despite my looking.

Yet I'm fine with that; I've planned accordingly to ensure that my finances can support me for a few months, or hopefully the best case scenario of EI kicking in for a few months will work out. Either way, I will have TIME OFF to get my head clear, my health stabilized and my creativity given the freedom it needs to get working on my writing again, at long last. My family is taken care of and I can finally focus just on ME this year - to find the path I WANT to walk, instead of letting NEED steer me into the darker places I've feared for so long. No more; now I will make my own light and begin to shine again.

Jan 24 - Quote Me!

Do you misuse quotes or worse, just misquote in general? I try to avoid using quotes, as I tend to feel that I'm trying to make myself seem smarter by quoting someone else. Being quietly proud of my own ability to spout wisdom when needed, I'd rather not have to depend on others to make myself seem intelligent. BUT, that doesn't mean you should ignore the wisdom of a good quote; far from it! The whole REASON people use quotes is because quotes ARE wisdom distilled; similar to truisms, quotes get a point across in as minimal a space as possible, with the source lending great weight to the point. Have a look at QuotationsBook.com as a starting place to find worthy quotes; the internet is FULL of sites that offer quotes, so you can spend as much time as you like adding to your wisdom with only a mouse-click.

Jan 25 - NEW SMARTPHONE ARRIVES!

Yes, I finally did it: I bought a new phone. Well, a new USED phone, but a lot newer than the one I've had since late 2007. It's the HTC Desire HD and I love it! I just couldn't wait for the price to drop on a new one from Telus and I did NOT want to sign a 2-year contract to get one for $0.00, so I sourced one on eBay that had ALL the trimmings and put in a bid. Which I WON for $200!! Considering that NEW HTC Desire HD's are going for $499.99 and even the used ones on eBay were averaging around $350 final sale prices, I did VERY well! More about the phone in a future blog entry, as I've been busy just installing apps( shared between my TF101 tablet! )and getting used to having a touchscreen smartphone again( since my pokey iPhone 3G died last year ). Check out the pic below for the size comparison, with a pen tossed in for reference:

If you're wondering how BIG all these smartphones are, there's a website that can compare them for you called Phone-Size.com - go have a look. I have to say that though the HTC Desire HD has a HUGE screen, it doesn't feel so large in the hand as to be awkward. I like the sizable real-estate, as I don't have to hold it too close to my face to see what I need to. It's just perfect!

Jan 26 - Anxiety Chest Pains, Explained

Back in November 1st 2011, I went to the hospital with chest pains. Thankfully, the doctors ruled out any cardiac issues, so I've been researching ever since as to what other causes there might be for my symptoms. I have now found it: ACP, which stands for Anxiety Chest Pains. Seems that these are related to stress / panic attacks, where the heart is worked too hard due to the release of adrenalin and it results in painful muscle spasms. Which can be VERY frightening to someone like myself who has never had chest pains prior to this.

Thankfully I've found that the research suggests if you reduce your stress, the chest pains will not reoccur - they are symptoms that manifest only during periods of extreme stress. So my decision to leave MMart has definitely helped, as has my conscious decisions NOT to stress at ALL over ANY work-related items in the last two months. I'm going to move onwards and get some solid exercise routines in, as well as exploring other stress-reducers such as meditation and related disciplines. Just writing my morning haiku has proven to be very effective in helping me focus for the day, to rid myself of thoughts that won't go away. I'll see how well I can focus these energies into creative projects in the next year too!

Jan 27 - The Last Busy Friday EVER

It was my LAST busy / insane / idiotically crazy day at work today. No more shall I have to run around at breakneck speed for over seven hours with a five minute break for lunch as people poured into the lobby with only one other new staff member to assist me... after two hours alone. No more will I juggle the phone that never stopped ringing or eyed the people sitting at the Tim Horton's twenty feet away with envy as they enjoyed their day( soon! ). Never again will I leave hours after I was supposed to, pushing through a lobby full of far too many customers for just two CSR's to serve in a 'fully staffed' branch - NO MORE.

For the next few months at least, my Fridays will be spent as I WANT them to be: relaxing, exercising, socializing, entertaining or anything else OTHER than working at a speed that would leave most ANYONE else shaking their heads. I'll probably spend at least ONE end of month Friday sitting in that SAME Tim Horton's window for a few hours, watching during the busiest time of the day and smiling as -I- sip a coffee, relaxing and enjoying MY day as I want it to be.

Jan 28 - Wastelander Panda

It's not often that I laugh while watching post-apocalyptic films that are serious, but I did for this one - once, at the beginning. Then it got good; check this article:

Wastelander Panda Gleefully Blends Pandas And Post-Apocalypse Action

Mike Thompson | 27 January 2012 2:50 pm

You know you're in for a good time when you've got a panda bear wandering the wasteland, swinging a machete.

Let's be honest about something: Pandas probably don't sit too high up on your list of who's going to survive the apocalypse. That may change after you watch this trailer for Wastelander Panda, which seems to be channelling Mad Max, Kung Fu Panda and The Book of Eli.

The trailer was created by Epic Films, an independent film group out of Australia. According to the company's description, this is the prologue for a TV series it's currently in the process of developing, but further details are pretty hard to find at the moment.

If this video featured a regular dude making his way through the wasteland, I'm not sure I'd be quite so entertained by it. Sure, the photography is lovely anyway, and the voice-over is nice, but the presence of an anthropomorphic panda bear is what really crafts the mystery that you want to investigate.

Source: Epic Films via Geeks Are Sexy

Wastelander Panda Prologue from Epic Films on Vimeo.

Jan 29 - (non-)Work Party II !!

Most of my morning today on my day off was spent finishing up my Departure Document, which is my 'sendoff' to MMart that's a dozen pages long. I've written it mainly for myself, so I can set down MOST of the things that have bothered me over the years into a single, cohesive document and so rid my mind of them - healthy, I think. I've been fairly objective about it, as there's no point in being bitter; all of the people who have caused me grief over the years have already left the company, so there's nobody left to spite.

The REAL highlight today was in the evening, when I went out to the Station House here in Langford for a PARTY. Seems everyone from work was VERY disappointed with the lackluster atmosphere of the company party last week and wanted to give me a REAL sendoff, so they organized everyone to meet tonight for some true celebrating - it really touched my heart to hear that!!!

The Station House was quiet tonight; I arrived around 7pm and waited a few minutes before the first people arrived. About an hour later everyone was there, less than a dozen all told but all there to have a good time among friends. Food was ordered, beer and Pink Pussycats were delivered and great conversation battled with odd reminiscences as we all sought to outdo each other in tales both gross and genuinely funny. People had to leave until at the last it was Sam, Courtney and myself closing down the place, along with the bar staff and the bar dog named Rutger. It was emotional for me, as these were people that really cared about me, enough so to spend a Sunday evening buying me drinks - thanks to my divorced Work Wife and my Beer Coach for a perfect, wonderful evening!!!

I thought about mentioning the Lego Man space triumph that happened this week, but everyone's probably heard about it by now. Very cool still; today was probably the latest blog update I've had that wasn't an early-AM Monday posting. Whew!

Two more days to go - as of 4:30pm PST on Jan 31st 2012, I will no longer work for MMart.

My future awaits.

Snow Queens, Staff Parties and Sadness

2012-01-22T23:05:00.000-08:00

The word of the week is indifference.

Jan 16 - Lama Life Instructions

When it comes to religion, I am a very easy-going person - live and let live and let's not waste our lives discussing it or beating each other up over it. Some religions appeal to me more than others, like Buddhism or Taoists; anyone who thinks getting along with other humans is top priority is tops in my books. Being a fence-sitter between atheism and agnosticism, I don't have much to add to the topic, as I'm too busy with things in THIS world to worry about the next one - I live a decent life, decently, and leave it at that.

One should, however, take good advice when you hear it. Like from the Dali Lama, who recently spoke of his 20 Instructions For Life that are VERY worth a read. Number 1 has especially been on my mind for years and moreso of late; now that I am 'job free' I can decide the next steps I want to take - should they be safe, or something else? Freedom, as I may discover, can be a terribly wondrous thing... but it's exactly that unknown that I've striven for in my leaving MMart.

Jan 17 - Snow Day!

It seems Mama Nature conspired to keep me home today with my cold: the roads were slick and snowy making it very dangerous to attempt to drive down the mountain for 4km until well after noon. Even then, the sun made only brief appearances between long stretches of cloud, which kept the temperatures around zero and the ice still slicking the roads. Given that I was still recovering today from my cold, it was a no-brainer that I stayed home. My family and I enjoyed each others company for the remainder of the day( when I wasn't dozing fitfully )and managed to get a good game of Scrabble in there too.

I almost, almost sat down to start watching Babylon 5 again, but I am saving such marathons for AFTER I am unemployed in a few weeks time. If you've never heard of Babylon 5, or just want to see WHY I keep mentioning this amazing show( yes, there are a ton of good reasons... )then check out the recent Everything You Needed To Know About Babylon 5 at io9.com - it's the perfect primer to start off the show with, along with The Lurker's Guide to Babylon 5, the one and only source for all things Babylonian. Trust me!

Jan 18 - Snow Day Two!

The snow kept on comin' down; the Victoria Times Colonist summarized the various silly things that too much snow caused in the area today. Also, all of the MMart stores closed early( some never managed to open )as I spent some hours of my morning at home coordinating the 'close safely effort' for the day( which I billed them for! ). It meant that I could stay home again and spend time with my family; I even had enough energy to venture out for a walk in the snowbound quiet for a few minutes with my sister, which was delightful if somewhat cool( but any wind was absent ). It was definitely a day I needed to relax in addition to yesterday, so I was glad for the snow.

Bonus - One resourceful Victoria filmmaker made a GREAT video of what the city looked like ON THESE LAST TWO DAYS - have a look:

Jan 19 - The Snow Queen

Back to work today, nothing special about that. However, I DID come up with something VERY special yesterday, when the falling snow kicked my muse into gear again and my typing fingers tumbled out a new poem, PLUS searched out and found the perfect picture to accompany it. I give you The Snow Queen; enjoy. It gave me shivers when I finished it... ( click on the image for the full size picture )

Jan 20 - Big Cookie Friday!

The big thing about today was telling my co-workers that I was leaving, that ended up NOT being a big thing. My DM kept insisting that I put it off until the party this Sunday, which I WAS NOT going to do - no WAY I was going to be a bucket of cold water on our once-yearly party! So I went ahead and told everyone late today that I was leaving, thumbing my nose at my DM for the first and only time - sorry. It actually felt good, and as it turns out didn't have much effect on people; I don't think anyone was surprised, really. Some of my staff already knew or had figured it out, as they're very smart cookies and I'm going to miss working with them daily very much.

Speaking of cookies: I love 'em. Peanut butter or chocolate chip, fudge or frosty, they're a single weakness of mine in the food area. Over the years I've managed NOT to become a butterball due to cookies alone, but instead I've made them into a running joke with myself to keep on top of the things. Which is where Ormie The Pig comes in( below ); I can relate to him some days...

Jan 21 - Lazy Day? Oops.

I am hopeful that days like today are NOT the norm when I am between jobs in a few weeks, as I'll be sad if I accomplish so little in a day. Not that I mind having a day off, I just don't want to laze around EVERY day as much as I did today. Not to say that today didn't accomplish much: I got out of the house, drove around a bit with the windows cracked a touch for fresh air and had lunch in the company of other people - briefly. I even found a bargain at FShop( a $30 phone screen protector for my new HTC phone for 97 cents!! )and dropped off some surprise teas for the ladies at work.

No, I just want to get some things DONE while I am off work, as well as relax.

It's been so LONG since I've had free time in the form of consecutive days that I am wary of falling into the 'lazybones' trap of putting things off, watching TV and just entertaining myself, day after day. Sure, I can do what I want while looking for work, that's understood. But I ALSO want to get other things done, like writing a novel, getting some of my computer projects solidified, going through my things to prepare for my upcoming move, looking for a place to move TO in the spring... all that and more. I'll have to find a balance between having a sense of accomplishment at each day's end and being able to say I didn't overextend myself, to avoid stressing out again. Yet somehow the thought of NOT working for MMart will make me smile - daily.

Jan 22 - My Last Staff Party, With Friends!!

Alright, so much of today WAS a Lazy Day, gaming on the Xbox with friends after watching some late-morning cartoons - it's to be expected on Sunday. In all truth, I was whiling away the hours until my MMart Staff Party in the evening, held at Boston Pizza in Saanich - food's paid for but not the drinks, fairly SOP.

Which turned out to be a fun, but not crazy, affair. As things turned out seating-wise, most of the older( ne: former MMart staff )crowd gathered at one table, surrounded by the younger( ie. nobody knew everybody )groups. I enjoyed sitting flanked by friends( past co-workers )and simply enjoying their company, as I haven't done since they left - life's odd that way, in that you miss someone but somehow neither of you come up with the effort to meet up again. Weird; you don't want to 'spoil' the fun memories with new ones? In any case, a couple of hours passed fairly quickly as we reminisced and ate and laughed, and it was too early when I saw that everyone else wanted to get going - it was a company party, after all, and not a night at the peelers.

Still, it was something special, sitting there with friends; something I hope to do MORE of MORE often as I make the time in the coming years. It's one thing to sit at a restaurant and go over old memories, and quite another to DO things with friends to MAKE those memories. That distinction is what keeps friendships strong: don't spend more time reliving the past than you do in making new things to remember and share a laugh over. That's the key, and with that thought I shoved aside quite a few sad things that were also hovering in my brain, as they have been of late, and went to bed, smiling as the rain beat at the windows...

The power flickered quite a few times today( Sunday )as high winds drove rain into the area. Yet thanks to my UPS, my TV / PC / Xbox never hiccupped the whole time; totally worth the purchase, which I recommend everyone have. Even my parent's DVR has a little one, to keep their shows going in the event of a brownout. Hmmm; I could really have used a mental UPS this past year... :-)