I've been busy looking for work the last few days. When you're at work, you look forward to holidays and long weekends. When you don't have a job, your days tend to drag.. a lot. If I had some money, then I could do some things like paint the house, or renovate.
I hadn't thought that losing my job would bother me too much. I wasn't happy there, and was trying to find a way out for the last few months. Seems my sub-conscious won't let it go. I keep having dreams that I'm back there. Last night's was almost a lucid dream, as I knew it wasn't real. I guess I'm still trying to come to grips with being unemployed. Any suggestions to help with the dreams are welcome. Waking up tired is not my idea of a good night's rest.
I've been thinking about trying to write something. Short stories to start with, and work my way up to something longer. If I can get going, I'll need someone to proof it, and comment on the writing. I can always use constructive criticism.
Now.. just to flesh out some of those ideas I've had.
Monday 30 July 2007
Friday 27 July 2007
Postage due!
I truly feel the cost of sending something through the post office is overly expensive. Let me relate a story to you.
Two weeks ago I sent a money order from where I live to an address in the States. I asked the person behind the counter which way should I send it to ensure it arrives in the next 5-7 days? They assured me that the Xpresspost Intl would be perfect.
Two weeks later, the money order has JUST arrived. The person I was sending it to was, to say the least, a little upset at the tardiness of the long waiting time. So was I.
When I put in a lost package claim a few days ago, I got back an email that it would take UP TO 15 DAYS to reply back to me. Yeah, that's a shining example of the service you can expect from a government postal operation.
Next time, I'm going to send it by UPS or FedEx. At least that way I know it will get there within a reasonable amount of time.
Two weeks ago I sent a money order from where I live to an address in the States. I asked the person behind the counter which way should I send it to ensure it arrives in the next 5-7 days? They assured me that the Xpresspost Intl would be perfect.
Two weeks later, the money order has JUST arrived. The person I was sending it to was, to say the least, a little upset at the tardiness of the long waiting time. So was I.
When I put in a lost package claim a few days ago, I got back an email that it would take UP TO 15 DAYS to reply back to me. Yeah, that's a shining example of the service you can expect from a government postal operation.
Next time, I'm going to send it by UPS or FedEx. At least that way I know it will get there within a reasonable amount of time.
Tuesday 24 July 2007
It's so hot my sweat glands have threatened a strike!
Bleah. It's been so hot the past two weeks. Today and yesterday we topped out at 50C (that's about 120F) with the humidity. Luckily, I have central AC, so the house is kept comfortable.
My grass is dying, and my power bill is going to be outrageous, but I'm comfortable. That's all that matters.
Other than that, nothing new to report.
My grass is dying, and my power bill is going to be outrageous, but I'm comfortable. That's all that matters.
Other than that, nothing new to report.
Friday 20 July 2007
A new beginning....?
I've been getting phone calls from a bunch of people at my old work place telling me how they don't understand why I was laid off. It's been a great rise to my spirits. Nice to know you were appreciated, even if it is after the fact.
On another positive note, I had a phone call from an associate in a nearby city. She called to give me some support, and extended a tentative offer for some consulting work. Very tentative right now, but could turn into a couple months of work. I'm not sure if I will pursue it or not just now. I'm more concerned with working through the feeling "at loose ends". I was at that last job for almost 9 years. It's hard to just let go.
Now's a good time to get the sleep I've been missing, yard work I've left, and work around the house I've procrastinated on done. Today is home office clean up. Out with the old!
On another positive note, I had a phone call from an associate in a nearby city. She called to give me some support, and extended a tentative offer for some consulting work. Very tentative right now, but could turn into a couple months of work. I'm not sure if I will pursue it or not just now. I'm more concerned with working through the feeling "at loose ends". I was at that last job for almost 9 years. It's hard to just let go.
Now's a good time to get the sleep I've been missing, yard work I've left, and work around the house I've procrastinated on done. Today is home office clean up. Out with the old!
Wednesday 18 July 2007
Movie Review: Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix
Wow. Almost the best movie so far. It can't rival the first of the Harry Potter series, but definitely an awesome show.
Effects are believable, not too flashy, and I think the set designers got the Ministry down pat. At least it's what I imagined it like.
Family movie, could be a little scary for little kids, but otherwise, a great flick. Go and see it in the theaters. Well worth the money.
Effects are believable, not too flashy, and I think the set designers got the Ministry down pat. At least it's what I imagined it like.
Family movie, could be a little scary for little kids, but otherwise, a great flick. Go and see it in the theaters. Well worth the money.
And.. BLAM! Unemployed!
Hmm.. Not that this was a surprise, but I was released yesterday due to restructuring.
This kind of sucks. I got a pay-out, and it's not like I was fired. The reality hasn't quite sunk in yet. What makes me wonder is how they will find someone to do the job now that I'm gone? I realize no one is irreplaceable, but the way that place ran, they'll definately have to hire someone to replace me.
Oh well.. I'm off to the labour board to see about squeezing some more money out of them!
This kind of sucks. I got a pay-out, and it's not like I was fired. The reality hasn't quite sunk in yet. What makes me wonder is how they will find someone to do the job now that I'm gone? I realize no one is irreplaceable, but the way that place ran, they'll definately have to hire someone to replace me.
Oh well.. I'm off to the labour board to see about squeezing some more money out of them!
Friday 13 July 2007
Illness, Bane of our existence
Bleah.
I'm sick. I seem to have gotten an intestinal infection from somewhere... probably work.
I won't go into the details, but needless to say, stomach cramps and nausea are not my ideal way of spending the last three days.
On the plus side, it's once again the weekend, and I WILL enjoy it, regardless of my abdominal crisis.
Oh yeah... I plan on going to see the new Harry Potter movie once all the screaming fanboys and girls are done with their freakish costuming and such. I go to a movie to enjoy it, not pretend I'm living someone else's life. That's reserved for when I'm at work.
I'm sick. I seem to have gotten an intestinal infection from somewhere... probably work.
I won't go into the details, but needless to say, stomach cramps and nausea are not my ideal way of spending the last three days.
On the plus side, it's once again the weekend, and I WILL enjoy it, regardless of my abdominal crisis.
Oh yeah... I plan on going to see the new Harry Potter movie once all the screaming fanboys and girls are done with their freakish costuming and such. I go to a movie to enjoy it, not pretend I'm living someone else's life. That's reserved for when I'm at work.
Monday 9 July 2007
Summer Marches on... UPDATE!
I knew it was bound to happen. I defy the universe to do something crappy... and it was nice enough to satisfy me.
I had to turn the power off to the back bedrooms of my house so I could safely install a cieling fan in my bedroom. When I powered up the office, which by the way contains all of my computers and stuff, the large network storage drive wouldn't start.
It was making very scary grinding noises, and the busy light wouldn't stop flashing. I powered it down, ,and scratched my head a bit, then turned it back on. Nothing. Not even a sickly red light indicating a failure of some kind.
The cooling fan had seized, then the controller board failed. Sooo... realizing it was a total loss, I removed it from the network, and scavenged the hard drive from the case. Now I'm down 120 Gb of storage, and all of that material isn't accessible.
All in all.. not life altering, just annoying.
On the brighter side of things, I'm reasonably sure the hard drive its self is still good. I guess I'll find out when I hook it up again...
I had to turn the power off to the back bedrooms of my house so I could safely install a cieling fan in my bedroom. When I powered up the office, which by the way contains all of my computers and stuff, the large network storage drive wouldn't start.
It was making very scary grinding noises, and the busy light wouldn't stop flashing. I powered it down, ,and scratched my head a bit, then turned it back on. Nothing. Not even a sickly red light indicating a failure of some kind.
The cooling fan had seized, then the controller board failed. Sooo... realizing it was a total loss, I removed it from the network, and scavenged the hard drive from the case. Now I'm down 120 Gb of storage, and all of that material isn't accessible.
All in all.. not life altering, just annoying.
On the brighter side of things, I'm reasonably sure the hard drive its self is still good. I guess I'll find out when I hook it up again...
Saturday 7 July 2007
Movie Review: Transformers
All in all, not bad.
I was fully expecting to be surprised by the computer graphics transformers. They were excellent. The camera angles for the action scenes sucked. Too close, and hard to follow. I found it best to just let my eyes lose focus and wait for the end of the scene to find out what happened.
Story line was good, but don't worry about going to the washroom in the dialog scenes, you won't miss anything important. My suggestion is to not waste money at the theatre right now, but wait for it come out in DVD.
I was fully expecting to be surprised by the computer graphics transformers. They were excellent. The camera angles for the action scenes sucked. Too close, and hard to follow. I found it best to just let my eyes lose focus and wait for the end of the scene to find out what happened.
Story line was good, but don't worry about going to the washroom in the dialog scenes, you won't miss anything important. My suggestion is to not waste money at the theatre right now, but wait for it come out in DVD.
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