ElectricTeaParty.net being social

1.Do you still talk to the first person you kissed?
I'm assuming this doesn't include relatives. No, not really. I stumbled across her on Facebook, but but we don't really keep in touch.

2. Have you ever seen your best friend(s) naked?
Some of them yes, some no. Sadly, more men fall into the yes category than women.

3. What did you do when you weren't in school in the 2nd grade?
SECOND grade?? I don't remember back that far... I think I spent a lot of time at my babysitter's place. I might have been in Beavers around that time as well, and might have started piano lessons by that point.

4. What is the best thing about your job?
That I get to sit on my freaking couch at home all day! Man, remote-working is sweet.

5. Pro choice or pro life?
Pro choice, my friend.

6. How many people have you kissed?
I haven't really kept count, but at a guess, the non-relative list probably tops out at less than ten. Frighteningly, Lee Baxendale is on that list. *shudder*

7. Did you vote for Bush?
I'm Canadian, but if I had a US vote I would have burned my ballot rather than vote for that turd.

8. Where are you going on your next vacation?
I will probably never go on vacation again. I'm too old to go on holiday with my parents, and going by myself is just sad and pathetic. I will never have another girlfriend, so no more vacations for me I guess. I may possibly go on a road trip at some point, if that counts.

10. Are most of your friends guys or girls?
Uh... total count? I think it might be about even, possibly leaning towards the "girls" end of the spectrum. I don't like a lot of guy things (i.e. sports, cars, retardation), so I don't get along well with most of them.

11. Do you own any furniture from IKEA?

Here's another one of those silly questionnaire things, this one copied from Lauren (who copied from someone else, etc. etc.).

12 random girls...

1. Jen Stinson
2. Natalie Rowena Abbott
3. Bonnie Amato
4. Kirsten Baddick
5. Erin Goldie
6. Alexandria Horton
7. Jillian Hussey
8. Erin Kowalski
9. Charmain Lovett
10. Juli Mosby
11. Leah Nicholls
12. Lauren McDowell

Would number 4 ever kiss the same sex?
I doubt it, but how well do you ever really know a person?

What's number 5's favorite show?
I'm gonna guess Firefly, though it could be Buffy or Venture Bros.

Who was the last person number 11 went out with?
Dear God... the last person I remember her going out with was Richard, but that was a long time ago...

Who does number 8 like?
She's got some boyfriend. Stumpy fellow. Can't remember his name. Seemed nice enough.

Did you ever like number 9 as more than a friend?
Not really, but then again most of the time I've known her I've been attached.

Is number 6 attractive?
Hell yes.

Do you have number 2's number?
You know, I think I do have her mobile number. Being in another country, though, it's been ages since I've sent her a text.

How did you meet number 5?
Via Keith/Phil.

Have you ever went out of town with number 10?
Nope, pretty-much just went to high school together.

Does number 9 hate anyone?
Hahaha more people than I can recall. Especially religious fanatics. ;)

What's the best thing about number 12?
The best thing? One thing? Gawd... Fun to talk to about common interests I guess tops the list.

Would you ever date number 6 or 8?
Yep, if they were single (8 is engaged, 6 is status unknown) and could get past my beastly appearance and abrasive personality.

Do you think number 1 will die a virgin?

So I'm a remote worker. I work from home, via a VPN into the office, and theoretically I could work from anywhere there's an internet connection. I've worked from my parents' place in Calgary before (I live in Edmonton, in case you're not paying attention), and from various friends' houses when I've been paged while on-call. Oh, on-call, you are a cruel mistress.

I have this vague I idea in the back of my mind that, theoretically, I could take a road trip and work while out there. Oh, it's just a theory. But I can work from wherever I have net access, my phone has an obscenely huge data plan, and as an iPhone owner I have unlimited access to Rogers' hotspots. Even if I can't get the VPN to work with my laptop tethered to the iPhone (I've gotten web browsing working on my Mac in the past, but not much else), I should at the very least be able to use wifi hotspots.

Well, I'm on call. Despite this, I thought I might take a chance and try to get my hair cut. Just pulling into the mall parking lot, I got a page. While rushing home, sans cut hair, I contacted a couple of my co-workers to address the page until I could get back to the comfort of my own wifi. As it happened, the page was dealt with altogether before I got home. But it got me thinking, "I shouldn't have to do this. There's wifi everywhere - practically every Starbucks or Second Cup has a Rogers hotspot, and basically every Safeway has free wifi." So after stopping off briefly at home, I headed out for some self-satisfactory proof-of-concept tests.

So today as I beavered away at my occupation, I heard tell of an Edmonton Twitter users' meetup, or "Tweetup." I asked @mastermaq when it was, and how he heard about it, and he said it was tonight and that he had organized it! After reading about it on the Edmonton Tweetup website, I resolved to attend.

It was good times. Great location (the Billiard Club), great food, great people. Met one individual in particular, by the Twitter name @kwirq,  who was VERY fun to talk to. We talked video games, VMs, OSes, sci-fi books, transhumanism, and others. Fascinating. I was glad I attended.

Alas, nature's call waits for no man. I  excused myself to pay my bill and visit the little boys' room.

Now, the bill was not extortionate by any stretch, and at any rate I had checked my accounts before leaving home and I was aware of the levels of my finances. "No problem," thought I, "well covered." Not so, said the money machines. "You haven't the funds, you great big loser!" said the text scrolling across the screen "WTF???" said I!

This glorious new iPhone contraption I have has internet access and a decent web browser wherever I go, which I took advantage of to once again consult my accounts. "$9" said they. 

OMGWTFBBQ????

As it turns out, my car insurance had come out of my account between me leaving home and paying my bill! On top of this, I had recently bought a pricey birthday present, and I had forgotten to submit my hours to the purse-holders last week. I went from little money to practically none during my brief absence from my home, putting me in quite a spot!

I went pee, as I couldn't face this malarkay on a full whatnot.

Once again, a thanks to Google, this time in combination with a quick perusal of my old blog entries and the recent entries of Erich. I have come to the shocking conclusion that I need to man-up and stop being such a whiny bitch.

 Thinking of my life before England, looking at my early blog posts, down the line to my more recent (hah) entries, and reflecting on my life today, I see a slow transition from optimistic loner to intrepid adventurer to popular interesting guy to cynical complacent guy to bitter self-loathing bitch. Sure I'm still a "character," but I'm someone people view as a novelty who they can quietly shake their head at, and think "this guy will end up bitter and alone, sitting on his porch and yelling at kids to get off his lawn." As noble an end as that may be, at the very least there should be a nobler path towards it than alienating people and feeling sorry for myself. God damn it, I may not like a lot of the world around me, but I still have my own life and I want to go back to being a person who people love and respect for his bold demeanour, adventurous spirit, and willingness to have a laugh with others. Or at least I want to have that impression, whether or not it is shared by others.

Step one: I have added the following reminder to my PDA, repeating daily in the early AM:

DON'T BE SUCH A WHINY BITCH. GROW SOME MAN-BALLS AND LIVE YOUR LIFE.

Step two: I am going to stop wasting time, set some goals, and live a life I can be proud of. I can't predict who will want to be a part of it, but like a D&D character with the Leadership feat (yes, even uber-geeks can man-up a little), I hope along the way to attract a cohort or two.

The most miraculous thing just happened. I was shopping for shoes, for as you know, mine had died. I generally hate shopping for anything, and shoes are my second-least-favourite thing to go out looking for (after pants, which I am also in need of, but am still putting off). After hitting a few stores with no luck - they were all too trendy or did not have my size - I began to get aggravated. "I just need shoes," I thought to myself. "I don't WANT shoes, but I do NEED shoes. They must be comfortable, and they must be inexpensive, but style is mostly irrelevant. I don't want to search all over Hell's half-acre for bloody shoes. What I REALLY want is just the same damn shoes I have on my feet right now, but in better repair. These shoes are sturdy, comfortable, decent-looking, and long-lasting. I just wish I knew where I bought them!"

Then I walked into Payless Shoe Source, and there they were. The exact same damn shoes, sitting on the shelf of men's 13s. Cheap, too. Go figure.

Now does anyone know where I can find a Santa hat that isn't a cheap piece of crap?

Let me begin by saying that I have a cold. As I was telling one of my co-workers earlier today, despite my frequent rants on any topic, there are very few things that will actually put me in a sustained and genuinely foul mood. This handful of things includes (but is not limited to):

• When electronics do not work properly, even though they should
• When I can not find something, even though I am positive I know where it should be
• Willful or unnecessary ignorance
• Colds

And like I said, I currently am afflicted with a cold. That means the day did not start out well.

Nonetheless, I resolved to soldier on. I woke up at a fairly reasonable time, I made myself a lunch, and even though I was unlikely to have time for breakfast, I nonetheless downed my vitamins and some juice. I was determined to make the best of it, being the cheery individual that I am. However, as the clock drew near to 8:40 and I frantically pulled on the last socks in my drawer (where in God's name do they always disappear to?), I realized something dire: I had forgotten to purchase bus tickets.

"Rhian," I called, for that is the name of my beloved, "I guess I'll be driving today."

"Why's that?" she replied.

I responded in kind, itemizing my response as I am as likely to do in speech as I am in writing. "(a) because I'm running a bit late, and (b) because I didn't remember to get bus tickets."

"Oh, bugger. All right then."

"Would you like a peanut butter banana milkshake?" Making the best of a bad situation, I decided to take advantage of the opportunity to have breakfast where I otherwise wouldn't have time.

"Are you making one? Sure."

At this very moment, I am sitting on an LRT platform listening to Will2k and tapping away awkwardly on my HTC S621 Smartphone through the restrictive but protective case. The case is annoying, but it (and about $15 on eBay) is a small price to pay in order to reduce the likelihood of dropping and destroying my little secondary brain for which I paid several hundred dollars. Rogers kindly subsidized the little bastard, and in return they only demanded the title to my soul for three freaking years.

Anyhoo, I am mulling over the myriad of things I want to - or must - do this evening. Once the generous folks of Edmonton Transit carry me to my humble abode, it will be near as makes no odds to 19:00 and I will have about five useful hours left to me. (Yes, I work late-ish shifts, and I have the good fortune of being able to sleep late in combination with the inability to reach any businesses within normal operating hours.) Within my five gilden hours I must:

- feed my sorry self. I'm getting hungry, dammit! Luckily this is mostly covered by the availability of some leftover Canadrian Deluxe Meal Replacement Drink. The flavour-du-jour is past-their-prime cranberries, a whole apple, a banana, yogourt, flax seed, almonds, soy powder, and a bunch of mango juice. It is both terrifying and tasty. More terrifying is the prospect of cleaning the blender afterwards.
- I have been tapped for the main course at this friday's D&D session (AKA "pwn hobgoblins or die trying"), and I have to figure out what the hell goes into Ole Squares. Then I have to go out and purchase said 'what the hell' and combine it in measured proportions with heat and time so as to form something edible. Taste would be an added bonus.
- break up the remainder of my university course work into easily manageable, digestible, and accessible chunks so I can actually one day leave this academic mayhem far behind me. I will be glad to see the bacl of the Four-Point System.

Ok, so I try not to drive to work too often anyway. There is no reason for one guy to be using all this gas to himself, I can still listen to music on the bus with headphones, and DAMN parking is expensive! It's just not a great idea from the get-go.

That said... sometimes it's a necessity. If I miss that 08:45 bus (which I take because the 08:15 one is "too early"), I'm boned. It's cab or car time, and the car is a lot cheaper - and more fun - than a cab.

And then winter arrived. Oh, it held off as long as it could, but in the end there was just no holding it back. Now it's 18 below and there's snow everywhere. And the car won't start. And even if I can get the car started, there is window scraping to do, snow to brush off, parking is more sparse, and the drive takes twice as long as Transit. Oh, and there is a hefty chance I will die during the journey.

So yeah, screw this driving business, at least for daily commutes, and at least until the Spring.

Meanwhile I need to find a narrow window of sunlight during which to install my new windshield wipers and figure out where to pour my -49 degree de-icing windshield fluid.

There is evidently a lot for me to learn before I start running my car for free on the waste vegetable oil from restaurant fryers. Sure, it sounds easy: collect free junk oil, filter it, put it in your car. But there are a lot of nuances to understand before I can barrel across the continent on nothing but refuse and a jaunty tune.

I mean, first of all... where the hell do I get a diesel vehicle? Which one is a good one? How much do they cost? What do I need to know to maintain one? Are they even available in automatic models, or am I finally going to have to break down and learn to drive a manual?

Next off, I need to get it converted. I mean I don't HAVE to, but it's prety dicey pouring cooking fat into your normal diesel tank. It gets cold, and gums up the lines. Then you're boned. With a 2-tank conversion, you heat up the oil before chucking it into the engine, and flush it out with regular diesel afterwards. I know of a place in small-town Alberta that does this, and they are certified by a major distributor of conversion kits.

So much yet to learn...