Yesteryear

Gecko-man?

Well, spiderman sounds better, but I think I'd rather have these climbing mechanisms of a gecko than a spider.

Of course I'd hate to be doing that Toad thing from Xmen and swinging around by my tongue, so spiderman has that one beat.
And I don't know about the suaveness or sophistication or heck, existence even, of a gecko-sense!

:)

Oh Booger!

Move over the weekend, lots of stress during previous week and wouldn't you know it to top matters off, I've managed to catch me a cold too. Silliness, just plain silliness. The only plus to side is that I can no longer taste the Echinacea that Hugin insist on pouring down my throat and when I sneeze and bonk my head into the boxes they are of a somewhat cushy softness, better then a sink any day. [achoo]

Ow

So, the move went well, more thank you's to everyone who helped; it was wonderful of you all.
But I must say, I am a little sore still... or maybe just stiff muscles.
Doesn't help that the place can be very cold at night, to the point that in the middle of summer I'd probably be wanting to walk around in a sweater. Can probably turn the bathroom floor into a ice rink/cold storage pantry.

But it is nice and spacious. The entry vestebule is as large as the room that we used to use as an office and the bedroom is twice as large as our old one.
It's very hard to hear someone from a room away... so much for holding conversations from one side of the apartment to the other; would need a lot of string and empty cans for that. Although it does seem that if the window to the kitchen is open you could yell to the office window pretty easily, of course you'd be yelling so everyone else could hear where the sugar is kept also...

Munin ~ A very, very BIG THANK YOU to all that helped us move. Without you we'd still be lugging boxes to and fro. Your help was immensely, and muchly appreciated. [mwah~ blows kisses to all that were involved] Now, if y'all excuse me I am going to slather tiger balm on me aching muscles.

BTW, where do we keep the sugar love?

[Hugin: Sugar? Sugar?! We don't need no stinking sugar!... Actually, I have no idea. Um... shoebox? Light fixture? Um... my computer case?]

It is good

It is a good place.
We shall keep it.
Although it will be nicer once everything is done of course.
But it is pretty wonderful indeed to have a place that is just for us to roost. Hugin and Munin with their very own bough on Yggdrasil.

Hee Hee!

It seems that our connection has followed us. WOOT! Well it shall be here for a little while, well until I cancel the service and switch providers. [girlish giggle] It feels good to be back on even for a short while. Though if I truly want to get anything unpacked I should really disconnect this service soon.

The move went ok; we only had a few minor mishaps. One of the vans died out after the second trip, though luckily at this point we had moved most of the stuff. We were also surprised to find our landlord here with three construction workers at our new place putting up the tiles in the kitchen, the backsplash and installing new light fixtures. They still have to come back on Monday to finish the grouting, capping of electrical outlet and on Tuesday to install the fridge but there is a vast improvement over what the place looked like the previous night. All in all am very impressed with what they have done to this place.

We shall hopefully be posting up pictures, either tonight or tomorrow morning [before I disconnect this service] and then will throw some more pictures up at later point when we have unpacked and placed things. A very big thank you to our old flatemate for loaning us his camera [mwah]
Arighty back to the boxes I go. Tootles!!! [munin skips off]

Pre-move Post

So the new place still isn't finished the renovations... kitchen isn't done, no fridge or stove installed, light fixture not installed. None of the light fixtures are installed in any of the rooms yet, bathroom needs to have the tiles rinsed on the walls and bathtub rinsed. Windows need to be secured, electrical outlets need to be updated and capped.

So it will be interesting living there while this is completed. Have to live around a renovations schedule, try to make sure stuff isn't in the way or getting schmutz all over them. Can't really unpack kitchen because it is still being fixed up... not to mention what use are pots, pans, dishes, cups when there is no stove or fridge...

But that's the way it has to be. Pain in the ass and all, but when it's done, it will be all fine and dandy :)

See you all on the flip side

Well we are pretty much packed up; all that is needed now is to through the odds and ends that are floating around into a box, clean out the fish tank, move the fish to a temporary aquarium type box and then voila we are ready to go! I am about ready to pass out [wry tired smile] We'll be losing our internet connection for the next week or so, though I am hoping that it will be less then a week. So until then hope you all have an incredible, fun filled week. Tootles.
[waves energetically, walks back to bedroom, collapses on disassembled bed]

Hugin should be posting sporadically from work. [[Maybe... -Hugin]]

Nervous, Twitchy Butterflies

My tummy is a haven for butterflies. Nervous, twitchy and flighty they flutter about throwing my tummy into an unhappy topsy turvey state. Would anyone be so kind as to take these butterflies of my hands?

Helplessness

I hate the feeling of helplessness that comes when you don't know exactly what is going to happen. Having recently incurred debts as a student, and being unemployed I now have to take out a loan to pay some of those debts off, the people are antsy and want their money now, not willing to listen to any logical reasoning nor follow a logical course of action. So we are in the processes of 'asking', begging if you ask me, banks for money so we can pay off said debts and incur more debts. Ah what a vicious cycle this is. As of yet no answer has been forthcoming and the creditors are constantly hounding. I feel stuck and afraid not knowing what is going to happen, not knowing what I can do if this fails or what is going to happen if the request does not go through.

Free Will

I have once again been reminded of the argument that seeing/reading something portraying violence/sex will promote violent/sexual actions of a negative kind. That reading a violent book will make a person more inclined to commit a violent act.

I hate this argument as it denies any personal thought to the actions and places complete blame on the media rather than the individual.

By this reasoning the world should have a lot more Ginsu Knives sitting around in kitchens, and everyone should smell like a perfume factory, etc, etc...
What I am getting at is that advertising is a media which tries to convince us of something, that we want item X, and sure it is successful sometimes. But we have a conscious decision to follow that advertising to its conclusion and go out and pick up that thing we `need' or pick up the phone and order that `turnip twaddler' (apologies to Berke Breathed) or not to follow that advertisement.

In the same way, we have a conscious choice as to whether or not to emulate other media that is put before us. Do we want to join the army because we watched Navy SEALS, or GI Jane depending upon your preferences...?

Do we want to become a musketeer because we read the book (or waited for the movie, but the one with the great lines):
Porthos: Champagne?
Athos: We're in the middle of a chase, Porthos.
Porthos: You're right - something red.
(I love that quote).

Do we want to do serious damage to ourselves because we happened to glance through a copy of the Kama Sutra? .... ok, bad example.

Are computers bad because some people use them to create malicious virii?
Are magnifying glasses bad because some people use them to burn ants?

I remember the big controversy that arose from role-playing games, specifically D&D (which I happen to loathe because I find it too narrow in terms of character creation and atmosphere) which promoted witchcraft and satanism. Or even Harry Potter which promotes witchcraft... all I found they promoted was my imagination and enjoyment of a creative environment. In fact they expanded my horizons because RPGs involved history and that got me reading more of various historical periods.

My point is that everything we experience influences us, but it doesn't take control. To cut out those influences is to eliminate freedom of experience, freedom of choice, freedom of will.

All when the problem is not with the experience, but with the way the experience has been internalized.

"The media is the message" -Marshall McLuhan
Maybe some of us just don't understand the messages correctly.
Is that the fault of the media?

Four more days!!

Just four more days to go and there is still a bunch of stuff to pack and sort. [eeep!]

@!*%

I am truly beginning to dislike creditors, not so much the 'grunt' type people who work there though some of them do tend to be of an aggravating fist clenching calibre, but the money-grabbing penny pinching managers who employ below the belt pressure tactics and who could not manage a flock of sheep.

We had the pleasure of waking up to the following message this morning, "Good morning my name is [insert idiots name here], could you please call me back, I cannot divulge the full details of why I am calling save to say that it is a matter of utmost urgency"

This completely freaked me out as I thought that something had happened to a member of my family. I rushed to call the number only to find out that it was a collection agency, and that the person who left the message was not available to answer my call. Finally managed to get in touch with him five hours later. When I told him that they should have left the name of the company that he were calling from due to previously mentioned reason, he stated by way of apology that he was legally bound not to do so.

EXCUSE ME? WTF? Legally bound or not, one does not leave a message of 'the utmost urgency' without some form of reasoning or explanation. Especially not when there are wars raging in some countries and terrorism and corruption are rampant in others.

Yes, yes I know I may be overreacting, but what you have to understand is that a large part of my family resides in areas that are not considered to be the safest parts in the world. [Namely the Middle East and Central/Southern Africa] I was so shaken up and worried by his message that I have not been able to concentrate all morning. This git, who returns to his desk five hours after leaving the message, offers that paltry reason in lieu of an apology! I am going to go and crush his wittle ickle ego now and maybe deflate some of his pompous attitude.

Called you on the telephone:

Ever have one of those moments when you just can't remember your home phone number? When it finally comes to you it just doesn't seem right, so you pick up the phone and call it just to make sure, only to be confronted by an angry elderly lady who you just woke up. Just another one of those days.

Nightmares.

After almost a year and a half of absence, my nightmares are back. Dreams of death and twisted metal, and me desperately trying to control everything so that the crash wont happen, sitting by a window seat, trying to ensure by will power the everything thing will be ok, that we will all make it to the ground safely. This sequence repeats itself over and over again, and though I am conscious to the fact that I am sleeping I can't break away from the dream. I can't break away from the sights that I see, and in my mind I pray that this dream will never ever come to be.

Worshipping the Bean

I think I am drinking way too much coffee of late, which considering how addicted I am to the bean is an odd thing to state. Lately though the more cups I drink the foggier my brain seems to become. I am not quite sure if this is due to the quality of bean found at work or if my body is experiencing an overt reaction to the caffeine. Just all very strange, perhaps it is time to give my second vice a chance; a good cup of tea will hopefully right all.
penned @ 3:30 pm after the third cup of joe.

No change, my head is still a groggy thing. I have come to the conclusion that the company must be pumping some form of sleeping gas in through the ventilation system in order to keep all their employees calm and pliable. Or perhaps they are adding something in with the water.

penned a little while later, cup of tea at hand.

Old Joke

Going through older email today, was reminded of this joke:

Q: How many Christians does it take to change a lightbulb?
A: Three, but they are really one.

Heh... and here's one for a friend who is studying to be a vet:

Q: How many veterinarians does it take to change a light bulb?
A: Three. One to change the bulb and two more to complain that an MD makes
ten times as much for the same procedure!!

Thank you PVP

Just a random picture of a Panda Attack from PVP.

Sadness

I just read that an aquaintance, through past work and then the kind of casual run ins you have when living in a large city, went missing last month in Whistler and not having been found is presumed dead.

I can't say I know too much about him, I worked with him for a while and he was a very nice guy. He was open, friendly, and a very up person on all occasions that I encountered him.

Walking down the streets I would occasionally think about having met him `in this area' a while back and wonder, as with many past acquaintances, what he was doing and what he was up to.

As whenever this kind of thing happens, it is a tragedy.
I can say no more, other than that the world is a beautiful place, but it can be cruel.
And some places in this city will serve as further reminder of that now.

10 Days

I feel silly counting down the days to our move, but I just can't help myself. I am just too excited about the prospect of moving into a place that will solely be shared with the person I love.

The fact that we are moving into a place with a newly renovated kitchen and bathroom is but the icing on the cake. Granted it means that there won't be many hours spent scraping gunk or shelves and kitchen counters, no sink or bathtub scouring and no long hour bent over chipping away at the greasy grime and burnt foodstuff that seems to inhabit many an oven.

Selfishly, just the notion of knowing that I get to spend as much time with Hugin as I want with out the interruptions of flatmates, makes me all a twitter. [yes, yes I now, I am a sappy spoilt thing]

Twelve Days

It's confirmed we are moving in 12 days. [happy, happy dance] Twelve days until we move into a lovely new flat! Twelve days left to a completely renovated kitchen and bathroom. Twelve days until we can walk on newly sanded and varnished floors and hang artwork on freshly painted walls. Twelve days till we have no more flatmates, though I shall miss them dearly. Twelve days till... [EEEEEP!] Only twelve days left to pack! [munin madly scurries about the house, a chicken without a head]

Bone tired.

I've got that bone tired feeling, the one where you find your body is no longer has the strength to support itself. Your lower back and shoulders tense up to keep your head from hitting the desk, your limbs are no longer fully under your control and little convulsions wrack your body. All you truly ant to do is to curl up into a ball and fall into a comatosed sleep. Yep, the nights have become hot and humid again, not much sleep to be had, just the constant twisting and turning as the body vainly attempts to finds a cool spot.

penned @ 10:30 am

Had To

I never liked D&D, but I saw the test and had to try it...

I Am A: Chaotic Good Elf Ranger Druid


Alignment:
Chaotic Good characters are independent types with a strong belief in the value of goodness. They have little use for governments and other forces of order, and will generally do their own things, without heed to such groups.


Race:
Elves are the eldest of all races, although they are generally a bit smaller than humans. They are generally well-cultured, artistic, easy-going, and because of their long lives, unconcerned with day-to-day activities that other races frequently concern themselves with. Elves are, effectively, immortal, although they can be killed. After a thousand years or so, they simply pass on to the next plane of existance.


Primary Class:
Rangers are the defenders of nature and the elements. They are in tune with the Earth, and work to keep it safe and healthy.


Secondary Class:
Druids are a special variety of Cleric who serves the Earth, and can call upon the power in the earth to accomplish their goals. They tend to be somewhat fanatical about defending natural settings.

Find out What D&D Character Are You?

Munin: Silliness, what silliness![warm teasing smile] Well if I must, I must. So here goes:

I Am A: Neutral Good Elf Ranger Druid


Alignment:
Neutral Good characters believe in the power of good above all else. They will work to make the world a better place, and will do whatever is necessary to bring that about, whether it goes for or against whatever is considered 'normal'.


Race:
Elves are the eldest of all races, although they are generally a bit smaller than humans. They are generally well-cultured, artistic, easy-going, and because of their long lives, unconcerned with day-to-day activities that other races frequently concern themselves with. Elves are, effectively, immortal, although they can be killed. After a thousand years or so, they simply pass on to the next plane of existance.


Primary Class:
Rangers are the defenders of nature and the elements. They are in tune with the Earth, and work to keep it safe and healthy.


Secondary Class:
Druids are a special variety of Cleric who serves the Earth, and can call upon the power in the earth to accomplish their goals. They tend to be somewhat fanatical about defending natural settings.


Deity:
Mielikki is the Neutral Good goddess of the forest and autumn. She is also known as the Lady of the Forest, and is the Patron of Rangers. Her followers are devoted to nature, and believe in the positive and outreaching elements of it. They use light armor, and a variety of weapons suitable for hunting, which they are quite skilled at. Mielikki's symbol is a unicorn head.


Find out What D&D Character Are You?

We seem to be experiencing technical difficulties. Our web provider seems to have picked up and left, without informing their patrons that they will not be providing them with any of their usual services. [grumble] Hopefully all will be restored soon; otherwise I fear that I may have to Kick Some Arse!!!

45 Minutes of Work.

Sung to the tune of '99 bottles of beer'

45 minutes of work to go,
45 minutes of work!
One just passed raise a glass.
Cheers to 44 minutes of work to go.

44 minutes of work to go,
44 minutes of work!
God do they ever drone on.
44 minutes of work to go!

43 minutes of work to go,
43 minutes of work!
Oh dear lord just shoot me now,
'cause I've got 43 minutes of work to go!

penned @ 4:02 pm in a desperate attempt to gain some semblance of sanity.

Coffee. Need coffee. Must stay awake, Must .... [thunk ... zzz]
We're sorry but Munin can not answer your question right now, please come back later, bearing coffee. Thank you.

penned 20 minutes into workday.

Penned @

Due to the lack of Internet access at work, I have taken to jotting down thoughts during the day and then blogging them later on in the eve. In order to give some semblance of a timeline I am going to try adding a 'Penned @ ' tag to those entries. Hopefully this won't drive myself or anyone else to distraction.

Anal Retentiveness at its Best Worst!

It would seem that my anal retentiveness knows no bounds. During those truly boring hours at work, that always sneak up unannounced, I comprised a list of all the things that need to be packed and all the furniture that has to be moved. Luckily we do not own a PDA or the list would be on it, the boxes numbered, their contents tabulated, and the new locations of al the furniture marked and diagrammed. Now if only I could get the exact dimensions of the new flat!

This Little Piggy went wee, Owie!

I have recently managed to acquire 3 blisters on my littlest of toes. They are all stacked up and butting in on each other. [pout] I am not sure how they came to be, but they sure as hell are making me walk funny!

penned at 1:36pm while waiting for more work to come my way.

Computer

So, I am constantly thinking about a new computer; watching as new components come out making my system more and more and more outdated than it already was when I bought it.

Watching as my video card gets progressively more gray hair.
My cdrw just doesn't turn as fast as these newer generation cdrws.

Heck, the only thing that can really cut the mustard on my system is the floppy... you know, that thing on the front with the slot... yeah... umm, you put floppy disks in it... no no, not micro-cds... um... never mind... sigh.

Anyways, I keep delaying getting a new one because as soon as you do, poof, it's out of date too.
I see the new 48x cd writer, the 200Gb hard drives, the nice 22" monitors...
I drool over the thought of deafening myself with THX certified 5 piece speaker sets.
And video cards powerful enough to not just display at greater than 1024x768 resolution, but to enable software (games) to display at speed in 1600x1200 resolution... re: drooling.

And then I remember, soon to come out are the next generation video cards from the major companies. And new processors, new hard drives with bigger and faster whatsits... I get dejected.

That's when I saw this!
It fills me with joy and happiness.
Enjoy.

Dear Mister Army, an Addendum.

As it would seem that you have not taken into consideration anything that was mentioned in the past memo, maybe you'll be kind enough and refrain from doing the following in the near future.

I know that you and your wife are currently trying for another child, and I am truly happy for you, but I honestly do not need to hear the sordid details nor do I want to know that you were 'at it' all weekend long. In the future it would greatly be appreciated if you did not feel the need to share those details with the public at large.

Do not assume that just because I have come upon my thirtieth birthday, as you put it, that I am some wildly ticking time bomb who desperately needs to have a child and thus am desperately looking to get knocked up. Furthermore, women who have reached this age are not aggressive dominatrixes who strap their husbands to the bed so that they may fulfill their biological function.

Please do not make assumptions as to what I may be like way from the office, at home or what I do with my significant other. It is really none of your business what I do outside of the office, and I don't need some loud-mouthed git making grand statements on what he assumes I am like at home, especially a loud mouthed git who has only recently made my acquaintance.

Lastly, do not slap me on my lower back as you are making the above assumptions. We have not reached that level of comfort, you are not one of my buddies and I doubt that I will ever feel comfortable with you.
Thank you.

Geekhood

Thanks to being seen on Fox's site. I present my geek level and a complaint that it is so low. I think I should get bonus marks for complaining and posting about it...

You are 50% geek

Take the Polygeek Quiz at Thudfactor.com

Munin ~ Not wanting to be out geeked by Hugin [blows kisses in Hugin's general direction], I just had to follow suite,

You are 53% geek

Bottom Dweller

Thought I'd try a humourous title for this post.

Found a place that has an Eames armchair and ottoman.
Those who watched Frasier may recognize this as the chair that sat unused in Frasier's apartment, near to the balcony.

It's a wonderful chair, and today I sat in it. And it was wonderful, subtle comfortableness. Just so pleasing, my back was floating on cloud 9.
Yes, yum.

I want 2.

Another Day Another Special Day

Happy Birthday Sis.
May your years be grand and happy making and bring you all the best.
Wish I was there to say it in person.

Sign

There is a sign on the door next to where I live. It says, `pas de colporteur' and whenever I see this I cannot help but think that I should not sing "Let's Do It, Let's Fall In Love" while on the porch.

Maybe I'll just hum a little.

Just One Thing

I must say that as annoying as it can be for someone to talk about something they do not know, there is a possible contender for the throne. People who repeat the one thing they do know about something.

They interject this piece of information while you are trying to find something else out. You acknowledge what they say and try to continue. When a break comes in the flow of information, say about 10 seconds later, they repeat the bit of information. Slightly less enthusiastically you again acknowledge what they say as being true, and continue to confer with another person. After restraining themself and finding the intervening conversation rather confusing, say about 20 seconds later... yes, they interject with their one piece of information again.

"... yes. Thank you..."

Hmm

If it rains in the forest and nobody is there does anybody get wet?

...
Three cheers for a break in the weather.

Pathetic Looking Thing

A laser mouse on it's back is a terrible thing to see.
Wobbling back and forth, the little red laser trying to detect a surface, any surface...
Unable to right itself.

It's just nature's way.
We musn't interfere.

... where's that damn windows key?

Oh nuts to it [Turns mouse over]
There... as nature intended.

Bear Meme:

Describe the following in two words.
[As seen on Vaspider, Link courtesy of Blogatelle]

Your home = messy whirlwind
Your car = non existent
Your job = mostly productive
Your S.O = my heart
Your Family = another country
Your Friends = adopted family
The Internet = a need
Television = square thingy
Books = dear friends
Today = hot 'nsleepy