breakfast thoughts
can a pancake have too many M&M's?
I'm about to find out.
edit: I think it can, but I came nowhere near the threshold. I suspect there's a candy:batter ratio that one has to stay under, and only more testing will reveal it.
May 17, 2004
May 14, 2004
notes to self:
- shave more often bring up being 19 less, especially when talking to cute girls. get drunker and start more fistfights.
for all my hipster friends
enjoy.
even if you're not a hipster and just know a bunch of them, read the comic. it's funny stuff.
May 13, 2004
more words for life.
"...we are here to help each other get through this thing, whatever it is." -Dr. Mark Vonnegut
Kurt Vonnegut's Cold Turkey, courtesy of Matt Good.
pseudo-moblog photographic wankery.
really, that's all this is. I got to granville island well before I was supposed to meet people for the One Man Star Wars Trilogy (which was great), so I busted out the camera and took some photos. On the skytrain, I scored the "drivers seat" so I started fiddling with the camera modes and took some photos. I'm still not entirely used to the size of the camera, and I keep reaching for the focus/zoom ring. Old habits, I guess.
thumbnails don't seem to want to work, so here's a list:
- some rocks
- meters galore
- overhead lamp
- nanaimo st skytrain station
- building under construction
- edmonds (?) skytrain station
- a water fountain
- the skytrain bridge
- looking up as you walk down to granville island.
all images are 640x480px, and somewhere between 16 and 46 kilobytes.
May 11, 2004
weird dreams
I've been sitting on this post since this morning, because I still can't figure it out...
had a dream last night, involving me getting caught evading fares on the Skytrain station, and trying to make a run for it. Entirely normal, given how much fare evasion I commit in my newly UPassless life. Run out of the train, fake Skytrain cops hot on my tail, off the train platform, down a flight of stairs, past another platform, and then dow-- hold up, two platforms?!
in a half-asleep (but thoroughly bewildered) state, I replayed the dream as best I could, and tried to piece together where this imaginary station would've been, using the scenery and any other cues I was able to pick out of my dream, and came to the conclusion that Patterson station had had Royal Oak station put on top of it, and the whole damn thing was moved out to Boundary and Lougheed.
And there I was, evading fares.
fun times, redux
went to the beach with a pair of high school friends last night. Conversation topics ranged from the standard "what are you doing" to the unfortunate lack of green in sunsets to the origins of the Oxford English Dictionary, to Iain's Illustrated Oxford Dictionary and how awesome and useless it is at the same time. After the (spectacular) sunset, we headed to Koerner's*, where we started off with some Okanagan Springs Pale, which, of course, brought about discussion about the Fair. Patricia had enjoyed herself vastly (and still hasn't finished her synopsis), and Iain missed it due to a paper he had to write, which meant he had to stay in Victoria. Switched to Darkwoods Nut Brown afterwards, which was, well... educational. Very smokey, caramel/barbeque and no aftertaste. Like, none. It was weird, and we sipped cautiously at first and then gave up and started throwing it back before it got too warm. Somewhere in there, we switched from Big 2 to pool. I left there at about 20 to midnight, got on a B-Line, took some blurry shots from the Skytrain, and got home just before 1.
Fucking North Delta.
The long and short of it? I feel a lot better about most everything than I did yesterday, and there's a few jobs that look interesting that I'm going to go apply for now...
here's some photos:
- Sunset #1Sunset #2Sunset #3Iain being pensiveThe Fateful "Nut Brown Ale" decisionPatricia being caught a moment too lateaccidental but cool shot from the skytrain
May 10, 2004
ye gods
I don't know how much longer I can do this.
the constant stream of resumes and cover letters is tiresome and more than a little depressing.
no word back from anyone at all, not even the video store (yes, that video store).
I can't do this again; another jobless summer will drive me up the fucking wall.
...back to jobbank and newspapers and word, and maybe this time I'll find something, or something will find me.
May 09, 2004
slowly! learning! CSS!
yes, this is nothing more than a lightly customized template, but I'll make it different, I swear.
in the meantime, what do you think?
stopping to digest
I've given most of yesterday's binge a listen-through, and I've divided them into rough categories, all of which are fairly self-explanatory.
[Updated: Monday, May 10] listened to the other stuff, added a new category:
- Fuck, Why Wasn't I Listening to This When It Came Out?
Pavement - Terror Twilight
Pavement - Slanted and Enchanted
Love at First Listen:
The Walkmen - Bows and Arrows
Death Cab for Cutie - Transatlanticism
The Shins - Chutes Too Narrow
Metric - Old World Underground, Where Are You Now?
Affection:
Ted Leo and the Pharmacists - Hearts of Oak
British Sea Power - The Decline of British Sea Power
Modest Mouse - The Moon and Antarctica (not the rerelease)
Les Savy Fav - Inches
Will Probably Grow On Me:
The Walkmen - Everyone Who Pretended to Like Me is Gone
Modest Mouse - Good News For People Who Love Bad News
The Wrens - Meadowland
Probably Won't Grow On Me:
Muse - Absolution
Mars Volta - De-Loused in the Crematorium
Buck 65 - Talkin' Honky Blues
Erlend Oye - DJ Kicks (one amusing track, though)
May 08, 2004
binge!
every now and then, I go on a music downloading "acquiring" spree. I'm in the midst of one of them, gleaned from references on other blogs, ecstatic reviews (both media and personal), and things I should probably already have listened to, given the way other people talk about them.
so far, I've got:
- Modest Mouse - Good News For People Who Love Bad News
- Modest Mouse - The Moon and Antarctica (not the rerelease)
- Ted Leo and The Pharmacists - Hearts of Oak
- Pavement - Terror Twilight
- Pavement - Slanted and Enchanted
- The Walkmen - Everyone Who Pretended to Like Me is Gone
- The Walkmen - Bows and Arrows
- British Sea Power - The Decline of British Sea Power
- Muse - Absolution
- Mars Volta - De-Loused in the Crematorium
- Death Cab for Cutie - Transatlanticism
- The Wrens - Meadowland
- The Shins - Chutes Too Narrow
- Metric - Old World Underground, Where Are You Now?
- Buck 65 - Talkin' Honky Blues
- Batman - Arkham Asylum: Living Hell
recommendations?
May 07, 2004
five in heavy rotation
repeat on your own blog.
or not.
whatever.
5 songs you find yourself listening to a lot of, lately. I suppose the "all one's music + random play, then write down which ones come up" meme involves a larger sample, and thus is more reflective of your musical tastes as a whole, but I like this because it provides a little insight into whatever's happening with you right now.
Or maybe that's just me.
regardless:
1. The Decemberists - Grace Cathedral Hill
2. Young and Sexy - Life Through One Speaker
3. Interpol - Obstacle 1 (Arthur Baker Mix)
4. Squarepusher - Tetra-Sync
5. Matt Good - Bright End of Nowhere
what is this saying about me?
I tend to put on the Squarepusher (or any d'n'b, really) when I'm trying to get things done, and the rest of the stuff is pretty mopey.
thus, my life is currently 80% mope and 20% bouts of frenzied work (or, rather, trying to find work.)
...on second thought, the Obstacle 1 remix is pretty good for rocking out to, so make that 70% mope, 20% work, and 10% rocking out.
May 06, 2004
May 05, 2004
geek thoughts.
I spent three hours last night freeing my uncle's PC from spyware/malware/"HOT FREE GIRLS JUST 4 U" (it's funny because he's a priest), only to find that some of it decided to take bits of critical data with it, so that his video drivers didn't work.
Checked to make sure that there was nothing hugely important, and then performed a clean install of Windows XP.
Firstly, a 2.2GHz P4 with a fresh install of Windows is pretty hot (given I run a 700MHz Duron, and there's too much random shit on the HD to do fresh installs of Windows. Maybe I'll remember to partition next time.) Secondly, Windows Update is absurd. After setting up his DSL (for some reason, it's a whole lot slower in Surrey), I went to the Windows Update site to see what needed installing. IE crashed because there were so many updates required. Ridiculous.
I then went on to install a firewall, an anti-virus program, an alternative browser, and two anti-spyware programs.
The point?
I really shouldn't have had to. I realize that a large portion of Window's problems come from people searching for holes because it has the largest market share, and that I'm not enough of a geek to talk about how to fix the problems (Jay? Jordie? Matt#1?), but if you can release patches constantly, can't you predict areas of vulnerability and fix them beforehand?
...fuck, whatever. I'm saving up for a Mac.
May 04, 2004
another one falls, another one falls, another one starts a blog
a) I'm sorry. That was gratuitous and unnecessary.
b) Tara has a blog now, solely due to the peer pressure power of Neil and myself*.
*the peer pressure power of Neil and myself isn't very large, Tara wanted one from before.
May 03, 2004
remember all those windows games we'd play as kids?
like skifree and chip's challenge and tripeaks?
I found them.
I am not responsible for the loss of your time.
windows only, unfortunately.
April 30, 2004
things
- I'm going to miss my UPass. Stupid electorate.
- no call from futureshop.
- started physio, apparently my back is better than I thought, but other bits of me are fucked up pretty hard.
- being without a job is starting to worry me.
- got asked if I was interested in anyone at the moment, and realized I really didn't know.
- have fixed eating habits again; they'd gone wacky after production week.
April 29, 2004
quickie review post:
I'm still sort of stunned that it's over; that I've completed two years at university and that there's only three more. While I wait for the feeling to settle in, I'll throw down a quick rundown of the last few days:
Monday: Last exam - Psych 218. Afterwards, I hung out with the E7A crew, then drank with Tim and a bunch of other people.
Tuesday: Moped at home. My parents went shopping, so I cranked the volume, cued up a list of things I can't study to because I have to sing along to them, and belted out things ranging from Hawksley to Blur to Kylie and back to Young and Sexy. That was relieving.
Wednesday: CAPTURE THE FLAG. Scads of fun. Some crazy guy thought we should have weekly games. There was some serious shunning going on after that. In any case, I guarded the flag the first game, and then did a little spy work for the second, and didn't do any real running except for that one time I decoyed. After that, I killed a little time in the office, and then ran into Camille in the SUB. I intended to walk down to the village and buy alcohol (because I can now!!), but I ended up in Fairview, helping Tim and Adam move the last of their stuff out. Then Tim and I grabbed Meal #2 (neither of us had eaten lunch) and I found that the LDB in the village was closed, so I went on a mini-adventure to 4th and Alma, where everything went smoothly. Well, one almost-hiccup.
CLERK: ID, please.
(Gerald hands ID to clerk - licence and carecard)
CLERK: I don't know... this is a bit suspicious.
GERALD: I've got more if you need it. (smirk)
CLERK: I know. Just messing with you.
From there it was a bus ride to Spencer's, where I did a bit of cleaning and had a quick shower (having been gross from the capture the flag game) before the party started.
And did it ever start; Kent and Karl walked in with a cooler, and it was on. It was a party - not as epic as the RBF kegger, but one to be appreciated in its own right.
As per usual, awards and prizes were handed out; I received the "Graham's Keeper" award, along with a purple self-inflating whoopie cushion. I have no idea how they're connected, but cutting off Chris and Chris with fart noises was fun. Other awards of note included the "Barrington's Choice", given to Paige, and the "We Stared At You From Control Through Binoculars and We're Not Sorry" for Lianne - you had to be there for cleanup for it to make any sense.
stuff of note:
- the othering room.
- drinking out of jars.
- SoCo.
- regaining my ability to blow smoke rings.
- Erica feeding me strawberries.
- Karl's bottle of Jack.
- Colts.
- Ryan Corbett:
- and his Theory of Hard Alcohol.
- interrupting Spencer's stories to hug him.
- being confused at certain situations.
- giving Sarah Costa a headbutting lesson.
- and his Theory of Hard Alcohol.
passed out on the futon around 4, after a couple jars of water
Thursday
was up at about 8:30, along with Karl. we cleaned up a bit, and then he drove me to the office.
waited around in the office, at which point Naf came by, and then Christina showed up, and then Dick Davis strolled in.
went off to MoA for a viewbook shoot.
didn't know what to expect with the shoot, and about the last thing I expected to happen was for us to actually get taught things while we walked around and the photographer was unobtrusive as possible.
which is exactly what happened, which was pretty cool - learned a fair bit about some of the issues MoA faces when dealing with First Nations, and all the tiny things like the design of shelving that have to be dealt with.
went back to the office, killed some time, got a ride home.
redesigned the page (as you can see). that's been about it.
Jamie Oliver (famous chef, Naf's celebrity crush) also blogs.
also, his newest cookbook is pretty damn cool.
April 26, 2004
April 25, 2004
sanity = x, where x is defined as (interest + work ethic/energy level - hunger - good weather outside)
tired.
bored.
need to do decently on this exam, but all the greek symbols do nothing more than confuse me.
and fuel my desire for calamari.
bloody required-for-major stats courses.
April 24, 2004
awards!!
props to Everyone's Favourite Instituition for hosting the predrink shindig, and to E7A for an excellent year as well as a bitchin' party. Also, the pie was excellent, and the icecream cake was a nice touch, if a little bloody.
I won the "Most Enjoyable While Intoxicated" award for "One More Keg Stand for the Road", as well as the "The J K Rowling – Turning Our Kids Back onto Reading" award for promoting Transmetropolitan.
along those lines, here are some other things you should read if you haven't:
- Batgirl
- The Dark Knight Returns
- Spiderman vs Powdered Toast Man
- Superman vs Muhammad Ali
- Supreme Power
- Sin City
- as many "What If?" comics as you can get
April 23, 2004
April 21, 2004
should I stay or should I go now...
maintaining two blogs seems like a fruitless venture.
although I can't get LJ looking quite like I want it to, the comments, friend system, and community are sort of swaying me.
at the same time, I'm attached to the blogger because I've been using it for a year and a bit already, I enjoy making my own templates without having to pay, and using blogger just scored me a GMail account.
so, I leave this to the readers.
stay on blogger, move to LJ, or rock both?
(x-posted to the LJ)
[current tally: 5 "both", 2 "LJ", 2 "get your own domain", 1 blogger]
April 20, 2004
of course. how else would it happen?
just as I step out of the shower, I hear my phone beep.
it's a phone number I don't recognize, but appears to come from burnaby.
which means, in all likelihood, that it's for an interview.
sod.
I generally dislike awards ceremonies, but there's always an exception.
over on Alasdair's blog, I've been nominated for several Gage E7A Awards.
categories include:
Best Guest Appearance: given in recognition of the most memorable guest appearance by a non-Gage resident.
Most Enjoyable While Intoxicated Award: given in recognition of the individual whose debauchery brought the most joy to those present at the time
The J K Rowling – Turning Our Kids Back onto Reading Award: given to the individual that has done the most to promote literacy in Quad E7A
Best Blog Award: given in recognition of recipient’s devotion to presenting an up-to-date, insightful blog that is enjoyable to read and inspires comments from readers.
awards are friday.
until then, please cross your fingers and excitedly repeat "OMG GO GERALD GO."
It's not like you have anyone else to cheer for.
Unless you're Neil.
April 19, 2004
just wish that happiness could be pretended
I'd forgotten how much I hated this place.
For the last few weeks, it's been nothing more than periphery; sleep/food/clothes before I head back out to do things.
The Fair, the birthday, exams.
It's mostly over, now, and it's taken only two days to remind me why I can't stand what life becomes in Delta.
I want to live in Vancouver again, to not have to leave two hours before needing to be anywhere, to have spur-of-the-moment plans actually involve moments. I miss the kidnappings, the freedom from bus-related worry, the lack of not-so-subtle guilt trips on the ride home from the skytrain.
I'm tired of living life in shades of grey.
And my closet's still being occupied.
Tupping liberty.
April 18, 2004
"how much does that weigh?" "HAM."
post below this is about how my sister has decided to move back in with her husband.
I'm not a huge fan of him; reasons are myriad and can be found scattered throughout the archives.
also means I'm not going to game 7.
sigh.
linked comic refers to the ridiculousness of self-indulgence on public forums.
ugh.
fuck, why do I even bother?
on the upside, I get my closet back.
entirely not worth it, though.
April 16, 2004
April 15, 2004
birthday!!
wake up.
hugs from everyone, including stupid older brother who has literally just fallen out of bed.
doctor's appointment. even though my date of birth was on four separate places, she didn't say anything. go fig.
breakfast at IHOP. we go, we eat, my mom goes to bathroom. she comes back, and we finish eating. as we're leaving, the waitress brings out a piece of cheesecake (at 10 am, no less) and says. "I've been to red robins, and I figure you're pretty embarassed about now, so I'm not going to sing."
I have no problems with this.
The table of 14 or so people behind us does, and proceeds to belt it out.
sigh.
head to metro, pick up some pants and shirts, and 15 packets of cadbury mini eggs.
say hi to an aunt, drive home from burnaby, listening to the "parents mix" which is two songs each from a bunch of artists.
get home, change, pack a bag, drive to skytrain, start trek to UBC.
get to rob's, eat, go to office get earplugs, head to wolf & hound.
on bus, get text message, "best birthday party you never showed up to"
show up.
there's nothing quite like walking into a room full of people who have congregated specifically because of you.
drink exciting mixed-beer concoctions.
graham shows up, with a flask, a bar towel. flask has tequila in it.
for a short period of time, I doublefist tequila and a snakebite (3/4 lager, 1/4 strongbow).
more drinkality ensues.
waitress interlude: she lilted.
upon finding out that it was my birthday, I received an awesome chocolate brownie, which brought my cake count up to 3.
then we drank some more.
finished the night off with a black velvet, and then off to richard's.
I'd only been to one nightclub before, and that was ages ago, so I didn't know what to expect.
first thought I had was "it's a bit like the bronze, except darker."
ran into a bunch of people I met through Rob, as well as one Rachel Elton.
didn't see tony.
rob bought me a prairie fire. jesus.
I was pretty good through the night, then I had a pair of jack and cokes before heading back to gage to crash at robs, while he slept at lana's.
which is where I woke up, and am typing this.
now, I'm off to get ready, meet Shocker Bunny for breakfast, and then write an exam.
---
thanks for coming out, gang. and for everyone who didn't make it: I'm legal now, so we can do this more often!
April 14, 2004
April 13, 2004
not a music snob, so I can't talk about music...
so, just do me a favor and go listen to Air's "Talkie Walkie" if you haven't done so already.
you'll thank me later.
April 12, 2004
birthday plans!!
I'm not sure.
weather.com says there's a 70% chance of light showers, which means that the beach is definitely out.
the irish heather seems a bit weird to get to; I think I'll leave it for another day.
eaton suggested the wolf and hound, which sounds like a good call.
so, um, wolf and hound from about 6-9ish, at which point we head off to squarepusher. "we" being me rob and lana thus far, with the possibility of running into tony there. I figure most people will come out for the pub, and skip the squarepusher.
april 14. the wolf and hound is at 10th and Alma. come.
April 09, 2004
more thoughts.
what I lacked in weak-kneed romance and wide-eyed wonder, I made up for in experience.
--
the DJs were awesome, and had constructive comments. Also, Farshad had me dancing after 12 hours on my feet - what more can I say?
--
to everyone who dealt with the beer tent fiasco: fucking amazing work. staying up on plaza was frustrating as all hell; I came out onto the bleachers a couple of times just to look down and keep myself from worrying.
--
running somewhere automatically seems to give you authority; I ran down to will call to give corbett and jayme a hand with the multitudes of people who were demanding refunds (during beer 1 troubles, so Jon couldn't send a runner), and people simply conceded to me because I ran in and sounded all official.
go figure.
--
always nice to see people I haven't seen in ages; I ran into no less than 8 people I hadn't seen in at least two years. they were hammed and I wasn't, but it was still good to see them.
--
watched AWK from the roof. holy shit awesome.
--
when you tell corbett to bite you, he bites you. ask to see the bruise if you don't believe me.
--
to those of you that met my parents: they had a good time, and you're all good kids. apparently.
--
there's more to say; there always is. I can't do a timeline here, it's been a long week, and I'd like nothing more than to fall asleep in my own bed now, which is where I'm headed. see you at ten. or not.
first post-acf-post
i'm lying on spencer's floor, and listening to quinn and spencer chat.
i hurt.
spencer claims to want nothing more than an attractive woman to massage his calves.
this amuses me.
graham dropped a coldplay mix for me.
i almost went Kennedy* on him.
of course, this would have involved running across a stage, jumping a fence, making my way on to the circle thing, and then... hugging graham.
*to go Kennedy: to become temporarily effusively happy, and (wish to) hug everyone in sight.
more later. sleep now.
April 05, 2004
for Quinn
I didn't believe all the hype about Franz Ferdinand before.
I do now.
This is the next CD that goes into the alarm clock.
April 04, 2004
omg insight!!
so, spencer just asked how my parents took my outstanding inebriation of last night, and I figure it's a weird enough topic to merit an entry.
simply put: as long as I've arranged for a ride beforehand, and they know I'm drinking, it's a non-issue. I'll get some friendly harassment the next day about hangovers, but that's about it. I have been more drunk when being picked up before; the elections party in first year leaps to mind, as well as the MASS anniversary.
Why?
As far as I can tell, they know they can't stop me, so they might as well try and keep me safe.
I've also been informed that the "ride home, any time, no questions asked" policy applies to any of my friends; so if I'm around and you need a ride, just ask. they won't judge.
How'd they take it this time? They asked who spencer was (because I'd walked outside with him; iirc he was going to puke discreetly in a bush), how much I'd had to drink (I said 4 beer, which my mom said was too much. I honestly hadn't been counting.) and how the evening went. And that was it. We came home, I stumbled off to bed (and woke up in boxers and a t-shirt; I usually wear pajama pants) and we never spoke of it again.
RIP, Radical Beer Faction; 1988-2004
that was an excellent party.
thanks to Spencer for hosting, and the RBF for throwing.
one thing: keg stands "for the road" are never a good idea; I was pretty sure I was going to puke until we hit the Alex Fraser, at which point I found a bottle of water. And then passed out.
April 03, 2004
by the power of greyskull...
...I have the power!
there's more from my sword-wielding wednesday adventures. links up as I get them from rob.
Update
I'm down to physics and one short english paper.
However, today is far too nice to squander on work.
I'm making pancakes and going to read articles in the sun.
March 30, 2004
fuck, seal me in a cave with my books and don't let me out until friday.
no MSN.
no journal entries.
minimal time in the office.
maximum time in libraries.
if you see me, chances are high I will need a hug, regardless of gender.
if you see me on MSN, tell me to get off. of MSN.
I need to:
write a physics paper (ten pages)- do a physics assignment
do two one psych stats assignmentswrite an english paper (also ten pages)- write
twoone short english essay (500-750 words each) figure out what the hell just happened in my jaw.
preferably before saturday afternoon, so I have the weekend and the subsequent (production) week free.
so, yeah, gang, hold me to this. it's for everyone's good.
March 29, 2004
when i started blogging, we didn't have titles! and we were happy about it!
< /grahamcurmudgeon>
so, it's been a year.
humour me and leave a comment with who you are, when you started reading, and what piece of vernacular needs to (re)enter daily usage.
I'm a big fan of "you cretaceous bitch", personally.
March 28, 2004
March 27, 2004
note to self:
chances are high that dad won't like the crazy experimental japanese jazz you thought he would.
points for trying, though.
March 25, 2004
I don't want to think.
thrice exploded: peace out
gerald` - be'nI' bang Dogh petaQ, apparently.: [gets shot nine times, starts highly successful music career]
thrice exploded: damnit, I wish I'd thought of that first!
procrastinating
yeah, i shouldn't be posting this.
but, I found that by putting off one big thing, I'm motivated to do other, small things.
even though I'm not working on my ENGL 226 paper, I've managed to find a couple other jobs to apply for, started working on the short essay for my other english class, and cleaned up my room.
more so I can look back on this in a year and smile than because you need to know.
today (well, so far today):
It's always weird when the waking world intrudes into dreams. I had one in which Alisdair and I are walking around some bizarre hybrid of the SUB and Renfrew Community Centre, in search of the Delly. We get there, get lunch, and highly randomly, Interpol starts playing, just loud enough to have a conversation over. So we chat. Then, I (with handy zoomed-in eyes-widening effect) realize that I'm dreaming, and that's my alarm clock. So I wake up.
I have a big list of things to do, so if I'm online, chances are I won't be talking much.
yesterday:
sold a linguistics text for only $6 less than I bought it for. then I went on a nine-hour adventure with Rob (still blogless, but we'll get him soon enough), in which we:
- went to Zulu records, and picked up Squarepusher tickets.
- I found a copy of the CD that Elysha does guest vocals on
- I also found High Holy Days stickers.
- we went to The Candy Aisle, and disovered Ginger Altoids, which are sort of like very small gingersnaps.
- then to The Comix Shop, where we geeked out for a bit.
- and then we had a walk in the heavy rain. without waterproof stuff.
- headed to safeway for raspberry ginger ale and cookies, then back to gage.
from there, we played a game of jones in the fast lane, watched rob play mechwarrior 2, played team big 2 with some of the quadmates. after that, we watered the MASS plants and drew another vernacular time (watch for it this friday in the underground!) and then went for a walk, and then I met Joyce, in whom we drove to Movie Gallery on Broadway, where the movies are buy 2 get 2 free (used ones only). Joyce is Alisdair's blue Ford stationwagon, with a ziploc bag of cheerios and a "Baby on Board" sign in back. It's sort of creepy how the car... absorbed the personality so well.
in any case, it was fun times. Rob is always a pleasure to hang out with.
March 23, 2004
odd
blogger just ate my post, for the very first time.
good thing it wasn't anything overly meaningful.
in any case, here's a bunch of lyrics posts at once!
- Interpol - The Specialist
- The Notwist - One With the Freaks
- The Darkness - I Believe in a Thing Called Love
- Blur - No Distance Left to Run
- Travis - Indefinitely
- Matt Good - Bright End of Nowhere
March 20, 2004
thoughts and mild paranoia: on special this week.
lost an election.
ate fries with mayo the other day.
I really am turning into Spencer.
--
apparently, I am the happiest drunk ever on tequila.
I maintain it was the company.
--
should really do work; if I go to the gong show, then sunday is a total writeoff.
fuck.
--
I don't have my phone at the moment; my sister isn't speaking to the husband, so she took my phone. I don't get hers, though, which is ridiculous.
March 19, 2004
drunken ramblings.
so, I'm drunk.
and I love a lot of people.
let's start, hmm?
)____
Quinn: I honestly thought he was Irish before I met him. I mean, Quinn O'Morrey?
having horribly misjudged him as a Kate Woznow Hippie, I feel sort of bad now. He's awesome. and we will rule this campus in my fourth year.
Rob: I've been hanging out with him a lot more. and I love him. platonically. but I still love him. he's fed me, and plied me with tequila, and he's funny and geeky and awesome. lana, hold on to him because he's fucking special.
Lana: to know her is to love her. she's short and sweet and awesome and hot and I could go on.
Vanessa: she has been a pillar of support. always. and she's hot.
Collins: is hilarious. and capable. and I feel safe leaving her to VPI. but still a little guilty.
Graham: sometime in first year, I said he was a role model. I stand by that. He's awesome.
Gage E7A: for putting up with me. wow.
Aleks: from providing me with directions on my first day in Delta to trying to talk me into VPIdom, she's been nothing but ridiculous and wonderful.
Spencer: one of the best friends a guy could have. he's pushed me harder than anyone else. and I appreciate him for it. you'll go far, spencer. just take a deep breath and jump.
Jordie: for comics. and booze. and fun.
Naf: I may be the only person that is happy that you took 6 years to do a degree; I wouldn't have met you otherwise. You may take a little more time, but you'll go far.
If I didn't maention you specifically, don't take it personally. I <3 you.
)___
there's a lot more of you what need appreciatin', but I need to go back and drink.
March 18, 2004
I really should get around to making the cliché drunk post, but I always forget...
somewhere in my last drunk-sober cycle (I had three on Wednesday night - green beer, green beer, and vodka respectively), I decided that I should make a post here about how awesome my friends were. Especially Rob (alas, blogless), with whom I've been hanging out a lot lately.
this isn't it.
I remember having a lot of good things to say about a lot of people, so I might have to write one up tomorrow.
anyone want to remind me after I get indiscriminately affectionate but before I lose fine motor control?
March 17, 2004
March 16, 2004
so close...
March 13, 2004
March 12, 2004
you dizzy bitch...
I didn't need that.
It's ten-thirty, and I'm stepping off a skytrain after an hour of travelling, moved bodily away from fun times in Gage (and shortly thereafter in the SUB). There is no need to submit me to a guilt trip and then stony silence.
Oh no! You had to get in, and warm up, and drive the car.
Fuck, I'm insensitive! You had to walk from the house to the car.
I'm a horrible brother: I'll never attempt to have a social life again.
What part of Friday night do you not get? You were my age once, and I know you went out; there were many nights where I was so rudely interrupted by your arrival (front door locks were loud enough to wake anyone sleeping on the couch, ie me.) and I sucked it up.
So deal with it. I'm going to have a fucking life.
March 11, 2004
since I have an CD player alarm clock, I thought I'd make a "WAKE UP!!" mix CD, and post a tracklisting here, so you can all see what I'm listening to as of late.
- Blur - Country House
- Blur - Coffee and TV
- Blur - Parklife
- Four Tet - Spirit Fingers
- Ellen Allien - Push
- MGB - Going All The Way
- Matt Good - Double Life
- Matt Good - Bright End of Nowhere
- The Cansecos - Faster Than You Go
- Broken Social Scene - Stars and Sons
- Broken Social Scene - Cause = Time
- 187 - Pittsburgh
- Squarepusher - Windscale 2
- Squarepusher - Smedley's Melody
- Doves - Sea Song
- Doves - There Goes The Fear
now, for the fun bit - if you had a choice, what would you wake up to?
also first person that remembers which tags I just used gets a copy of this CD. or of the OMGWTFBBQ mix; their choice.
March 09, 2004
in lieu of actual content
Which "Saved By The Bell" Character Are You?
___
saw a poster from the competition today.
I'm actually excited about a real campaign.
whee!
March 08, 2004
ye gods
everything that's been written to me in the last year is gone.
fucking squawkbox.
(have switched, there should be no more "account expired!" page)
March 07, 2004
You're Geek Chic. Offbeat and with a thumbful of
calluses, you spend most of your time catching
Simpsons reruns and sucking down raspberry
Jell-O. However, you're still a hipster,
you've still got your own style, and you
probably dig the Velvet Underground's "Who
Loves the Sun?"
What Kind of Hipster Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla
March 05, 2004
it's weird how I can bitch and moan and complain all the way home about stuff and then find something to make me realize how insignificant all of this is.
This is the photo album (essay?) of a young woman who takes the odd motorcycle ride through Chernobyl.
yes, that Chernobyl.
it's weird and haunting and surreal - the broken english commentary only adds to the sense of dread, loss, and waste.
I have no more words.
"surprise race of the year."
four people.
three serious ones.
one senate spot.
I should've run for VPI.
tupping liberty.
March 04, 2004
offshoots of my walk to the library:
a) slurpee prices are up. They were 79 cents in grade 8, 89 in grade 10, and now they're up to 1.09 for a small one!! Mac's prices remain curiously the same. Looks like I have a new destination for my walks.
b) reading a comic book isn't the same as reading a scan. There's something about the smell of the paper, the heft in your hands (more if it's a trade paperback) and the excitement of actually flipping pages. There is no joy in hitting Page Down.
c) Diet Coke with Lime is growing on me.
March 02, 2004
but it's different now
On the skytrain this morning; watching the blurred landscapes go by and listening to Radiohead.
a woman embarks, pushing a stroller with two boys - I'd say one was 2 years old, and the other was 10-13 months.
the younger one stares with rapt fascination out the window.
the older one looks around, seeing people and textures and things, puzzled and amused by the newness of it all.
He looks at me. I smile wave, and play peekaboo. After a moment, I realize he's far more interested in the headphones than in me.
As I walk to the B-Line, I wonder when I started taking everything for granted, and when I stopped taking joy from the simple things.
I need a break from the world.
and it's not coming until May.
Fuck.
March 01, 2004
assorted thoughts, $2.99/100 grams
I bought a instant drink cooling ring thing at Safeway today. One simply pops it in the freezer and then places it around the room temperature beverage of choice. It works really well.
Also, there's penguins on it.
---
Fuck you, electric can openers!
---
I'm running for Senate... as soon as forms are available.
Best of luck to the other suckers candidates.
February 28, 2004
February 26, 2004
in which Gerald goes to his first and last AMS meeting.
about 2/3rds of the way through last night's AMS meeting, I wrote Chris Payne a note:
Dear Chris,
if I ever volunteer to proxy at an AMS meeting again, hit me with a 2x4*.
Gerald
*if a 2x4 is unavailable, a weapon may be chosen at your discretion.
I don't think he understood that I was serious.
February 25, 2004
February 24, 2004
February 21, 2004
words for life, #I-never-bothered-to-count
"You really don't put in words to keep anything real. I believe that it is real if it is real. I don't know how to keep anything real, because why keep it real if it has to be kept? Real is real. "
- Margaret Cho
what. the. fuck.
had a dream last night in which Naf and I had a vicious argument about some seriously dumb shit, swore never to speak to each other again, and then tearily made up (not out).
...on a jungle gym.
not as weird as other ones I've had, but a jungle gym?!
February 20, 2004
dear telus...
...it's great that you have policies in place which allow certain activities related to phones performed only by the person being billed. Ideally, though, you should not have clerks telling me that "I really shouldn't do this, so don't tell anyone" on some, and "I can't do that." on others, when I should be refused on all of them.
February 19, 2004
minor ramble because I'm in an awesome mood
a little backstory:
Iain was the guy who I had at least one class with every year, who I got along with immensely well, who was just always... there. We spent spare blocks together at the UBC arcade (including the one time we missed the bus, got to class late, and made up the awesomest lie ever about how the bus broke down. and pulled it off.), dissected frogs and got up to general silliness together. It was 5 thoroughly interesting years with him around.
Now, Iain's off at UVic, and I hadn't seen him since we graduated, which would be something like a year and 8 months at this point; and given that we're used to seeing each other pretty much daily, it's been sort of weird. There was MSN, but it's not at all the same.
We hung out today, me and him and Patricia. Played a couple games in the arcade, went on a micro-tour of campus (he didn't know about forestry, patricia didn't know what belkin was, I had no clue about the echoey thing at the end of koerner plaza) stopped at the rose garden for a moment, and then headed to koerner's.
now, stop for a moment. this is me, with a pair of friends who I've known since I was 12, with whom I have had more fun than I care to recount at this point - people who are basically everything I loved about the high school experience. And we're going to sit in Koerner's and drink beer and shoot pool, and talk about the past, the present, the future. Politics; federal, provincial and student. Music; he's getting back into house, she's discovering canadian indie rock, and I'm all over the place. People we know, others we've heard of, conversations we keep intending to have. We don't stop talking until she has to leave for a movie, he has a hair appointment, and I should really get back to that physics problem set.
some drinks, some pool, an afternoon of talk.
old friends.
new hangouts.
this was definitely more of a lift than I thought it would be.
February 18, 2004
an extremely typical post.
I'm all excited about tomorrow.
It'll be good to see people and do things and reminisce...
February 16, 2004
a request.
so, one of my old high school friends is in town from Victoria, and I haven't seen him in almost two years. We're going to go drinking at some point, but the only question is where.
basically, no cover, relaxed-ish atmosphere, and me being able to get in with minimum fuss are the three major requirements.
I'm thinking Koerner's, but if anyone has any other non-campus suggestions, that'd be hot.
February 15, 2004
physics extravaganza!!
Insultingly Stupid Movie Physics. Fun for a quick read, and then you realize you're learning stuff.
the only thing cooler than Physics of Music... Physics of Comic Books, which includes stuff like why Krypton HAD to explode.
everyone needs a fuzzy shirt for beer gardens.
honestly, it's great; had a couple conversations and some chest-rubbing (!!) started solely on the basis of my shirt.
---
friday was fun; started out with a posse heading to RBF; ran into a couple more people along the way, and then ended up jumping the line to grab a beer. only ended up drinking two, but hey, they were free and I spent no time in line for them. got ditched by AUS crew, so I walked with Jordie to Gage where he grabbed a mug, and then we went to buck-a-beaker. which was probably the worst policed beer garden I've ever been to. at least AUS ones let you get in and then make you show ID for tickets; the buck-a-beaker security guy ID'd Jordie WHILE I WALKED AROUND HIM. seriously, it was pretty bad. start drinking (beer wasn't that great) chat up some SUS types, hang out. Run into Graham, head to MASS with the intention of heading back to buck-a-beaker (he forgot a mug, and wasn't about to shell out for a beaker). End up staying at MASS for most of the rest of the night, then head out to buck-a-beaker, evade security once again, miss seeing Jill entirely, hang out there, and then walk Jo Krack to CanClub. Head downstairs to grab a slice of pizza, then run into Jordie again, at which point we go to hang out in Fairview.
time spent drinking: 4 hours.
money spent drinking: $2
drinks consumed: 6.
a solid evening, I'd say.
February 14, 2004
February 12, 2004
what's new?
- have been using "honestly" and "fuck" interchangeably -- as interjections, not as adjectives.
- more walks.
- less slurpees.
- buck a beaker tomorrow; at the last one, I dubbed Graham "sea-to-sky". can't help but wonder what'll happen this time.
- considering joining the debate society; between spencer's spiels (this was a while ago) and patricia's testimonials, it seems like a good idea.
- dunno what to run for in the AUSlections. sort of want to VPI, but senate seems fascinating, too.
- job hunt continues.
- plaza's going to be interesting. in the good way.
- have been reading slashdot - weird abbreviations pop up there, like IANAL(i am not a lawyer). makes me giggle.
February 09, 2004
definitely one of those consolation days...
...y'know, the kind where things go well enough to almost make up for the last two.
morning was unexciting. really. commute, office, class, etc.
well, we broke a glass in physics using only sound waves, which was pretty hot.
then we had the speediest meeting ever, with enough time left over at the end to discuss hats, and then draft a motion:
"whereas bad hats are a plague to all students, and the AUS is a pretty stylish bunch, be it resolved that this council ban the wearing of stupid Kangol hats by all and trucker caps by anyone who isn't a trucker. All students wearing such hats will be shunned. Note: requires 2/3rds."
Collins demanded a roll-call vote.
18 for.
11 against.
4 abstentions.
so, every arts student is now required to not wear trucker caps or stupid Kangol hats and also to shun those who do.
I wonder if SUS plans on following suit, especially since they've run off with a copy of Code.
next class consisted of me being bored, and watching the girl sitting in front of me play Solitaire. badly.
when it was over, me and the E7A crew were all going to head down to the Belkin gallery, because we'd never been, and were interested in seeing whatever was going on.
Alex went to class, so me, Jordie, and Rob head down to Belkin. Finding a "CLOSED" sign on the front revolving doors but not seeing a corresponding one on the back door, we walk around to the back entrance (across from the Freddy Wood Theatre). Open one door, and nothing happens. Open another, and we're in. There's someone in a back room blasting bad rock (I swear it was Billy Talent), and we don't bother checking to see.
so we spent some time walking around the Belkin art gallery, examining pottery from an exhibit called "Thrown", while it's absolutely silent. the gallery's TVs are off, there's no noise from other people, and we're sticking to the middle of the room, because there's laser sensors making sure your arms don't go vaguely close to the pottery.
then we remember that we ditched Alasdair, and that we should probably go outside to meet him.
and we do.
then we go back in, and Mysterious Bad Musical Taste Man (who did not see our previous exit or entry) gently reminds us that the gallery is currently closed, and that we should come back tomorrow.
much heckling later, we head back to gage (with a quick stop through MASS to grab my stuff, skim the PSSA career fair, and to garner a quick, "baby, why you gotta play me like that?" from Graham.)
and then Speculation begins. good gods, that's fun.
two hours later, I head out to Kerrisdale on the 43 to meet my mom for 5pm. Since she's working again, I have rides home. Get to the old high school at 4:50, realize that I have enough time for a Slurpee run, and grab one before driving home.
---
nothing exciting at home; just toying with CSS2 some more, and wondering if tracking down a crack of Dreamweaver MX is worth my time.
February 08, 2004
you're wearing thin.
[a note from the next day: this was a venting post; I haven't disowned my sister.]
no.
there is no goodnight from me.
rest your elbows on my crossed arms all you want; I will not change my mind.
I'm not 7 any more. you hold nothing over me now but bank fees and half-truths.
there is no attitude problem. I'm just tired.
see:
- the late, angry phone calls.
- the constant inconsideration.
- half my closet. gone.
- the imperative tense.
- the hour of sleep I scheduled for and don't get.
- how you leave everyone wound up.
there is no reason why I had to give up saturday night.
none but you.
so figure out your life, and stay away from mine until you do.
I'm not your friend any more. I'm just your brother.
February 07, 2004
doing random shit to keep my mind off things.
between excessive boredom and chats with Jon, this probably won't look the same for two days in a row for a good long time.
when I find something I'm satisfied with, you'll know.
February 06, 2004
February 05, 2004
February 02, 2004
an academic post.
dear Coriolanus,
fuck you.
I hate you for being so weird and inaccessible, for being based on two earlier, more esoteric works, and also for being fucking boring. You live in a world run by your mother, and despite constant words about valour and honour, you're loathe to show your experience to the citizens whose support you need. Your death sucked, your life was boring, and the play that carries your name is barely produced because nobody wants to see it.
ARGH.
February 01, 2004
question time
so, readers, what're you listening to... RIGHT NOW?
me? broken social scene - late nineties bedroom rock for the missionaries
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