The word of the week is obviate. Check it if you feel it necessary.
March 21 - Expenditure Looming
Pressure to turn the 'old' car into a 'new' car is mounting quickly, so much so that I think we'll have it before another month is past. I do NOT like being under that sort of timeline when it comes to something that is the second-largest purchase people make on average( first being a home )so that's creating some tension. On the bright side, I've been using sites like CarQuotes.ca and CanadianBlackBook.ca to arm myself with dealer costs and get good advice, on top of what I already know. It's a damn shame that it's still a game when it comes to buying a car, as it's buyer beware - it's shocking how little people prepare on average before going in to sign a car deal or a mortgage. Just hand your money over to the bank in either case with a smile... sheesh.
March 22 - Religion
Here's something that surprised me: a report that says religion may become extinct in nine countries soon.. and Canada's on the list. Now, I grew up Catholic, went to a high school of the same faith and attended church up into my teens... but it never stuck. Blame what you will, but religion has never figured large in my life and I greatly respect those who have found it to be a cornerstone of theirs. Some people are better able to integrate it into their lives, some aren't... at least I haven't put my religious affiliation down as 'Jedi' as more than a few people have been doing in the last decade. Very odd.
March 23 - Foxy Upgrades
FireFox 4: I upgraded today( as did over ten million people, and counting! )as I've used FireFox fairly consistently over the last ten years as my web browser of choice. I spend a fair deal of my internet time on the web, so having a solid and customizable browser really helps make the daily experience more efficient. C|net( who have also been around forever, in a good way )has a great intro to FireFox4, which showcases some of the new features to make browsing better. I have dozens of tabs open at once usually( up to a hundred some weeks )so I can follow along my interests as I zoom along and refer back to sites / articles of note later on. So far, FireFox4 has been more than helpful in keeping things grouped properly, so much so that I've been referring less and less to my saved bookmarks. Which is something, as I have about 5,000 or so that I go through once in a while to see if any sites have vanished - which they do... the 'net is always changing, which is its strength and source of frustration for many browsers.
March 24 - Fridge!
Time for something fun: how about a fridge magnet? Not an ordinary magnet, mind you, but one that turns your fridge from Awfully Boring to Awesome. I actually have an awesome fridge where I am right now; it dispenses ice and filtered water at the push of a button! Except that we took out the ice maker because it made WAY too much noise at night, ALL the time, and took up too much freezer room. The filtered water was nice - for about a month, then the 'change filter' light came on and it stopped working. A lengthy search of the internet found that the cheapest place to buy said specialized filters from charges around $100.00 for two; even eBay doesn't have the things available for much less.
So we've been drinking tap water. Delicious, tested dozens of times a day, and quite cold. So much for the features of the 'high end' fridge ...
March 25 - Nanosuit!
After a non-eventful( thankfully )day at work, I picked up a copy of Crysis2 on the way home and gave it a whirl. For the most part, I liked the game due to its different pacing: you have to think about your actions in terms of the moment - go armour? Go stealth? Back off or attack? You only have limited power from your 'nanosuit' so managing its abilities is crucial... or you get fragged. A lot. Kind of like the other FPS( First Person Shooter )games I've played... the only ones I've kept are Halo2 and BattleField: Bad Company2. So perhaps the'2' in this title means I'll keep it as well? We shall see; I need to get more practice in so I can stop hitting the wrong buttons at the right time - that's worthy of a few screams of anguished frustration and a desire to armour my TV in plexiglass to avoid any controller-hurling fits.
March 26 - On Hammocks
I gave myself this weekend off, to prepare for next week when I'm short a CSR as they're on vacation - which they need, just like the rest of us. It's a lovely day here: sun's out, around 10 degrees C, and no sign of snow anywhere for almost 2 weeks now - s'why I love Victoria! I sat inside at the Bean today and baked myself next to their fireplace; the thing pumps out enough heat to keep my tea HOT just sitting on the stone ledge over a foot away from the gas flames. You want to bet that it won't be on in the summer due to the A/C costs, despite how lovely the flames look. No, today was all about relaxing and recovering my mental equilibrium; I could feel the knots in my back loosen as all I had to think about was what the next relaxing activity I could do was - not including naps. I did experience a moment's twinge when I thought about my old hammock, but I never DID have a quiet enough place to hang it before; it would be perfect here, and I have my folding one now, which isn't quite as cool in the summer as the rope one was:
March 27 - Treasure Island
I spent part of my second day off today attending a local performance of Treasure Island, as one of my co-workers was playing the part of Ben Gunn, the crazed man marooned on Skeleton Island. I was accompanied by someone that I've been growing more interested in as well these last few months, though I wouldn't put today down in any way as a date - I have NO true idea of her level of interest in me at this point. The play was put on by Four Seasons Musical Theatre( have a look for a brief video clip of the show! )which did a bang-up job on the whole production. The music was excellent( live piano! )the costumes were varied, the sets were robust and different enough to convey location and the acting was mostly solid. The exceptions were the young lead of Jim, whose inexperience showed on stage but not to the point of sinking the ship, so to speak. Also, some cast members didn't have the voice to 'punch through' the music or over other cast members, but all in all it was a lively, lovely performance that swept you along for the ride. It reminded me of my grade school years when we have The Carousel Players visit the school a few times a year, whose performances always included the audience - indeed, some shows had ALL of the audience in them! I'm hard-pressed to remember details, but I DO remember lots of colour, lots of laughs and the tiny spark of interest in live theatre it lit that has remained with me to this day, even if I'm not a stage-actor myself.
Another week gone, rolling along towards spring, when I'll soon be able to websurf from the comfort of my balcony. Not the hammock though; that's just silly.
