.e  10:55  1 comments [ leave comments ]

I checked my bank account online today and found $4300 was debited from my line of credit. A quick call to the bank rectified the problem. I might've been sleepwalking coz they said a possible reason that could've happened was that I make a post-dated payment a few months back and forgot about it. I could've really done it or I could've engineered that memory while I was given the explanation. Right now I'm believing that explanation.

On an unrelated note, I had to call up my investment broker (E-trade) about my account and was being put on hold for more than half an hour. On many occasions I avoided leaving the phone. but when the 45th minute rolled around, I told roy that if I left the phone for a short moment the operator would pick up while I would be away. we left for a coffee-to-go and came back just over 3 minutes later. sure enough, when we got back to the cubicle the phone was no longer playing familiar 90's tunes, and worse I believe I heard a click.

murphy's law is strong on my side.

.e  00:23  1 comments [ leave comments ]

My body was itching so much from the mosquito bites last night and all day today I could hardly work. so, like any normal person, I went to the pharmacy for some rat poison to kill myself. (:
But instead I got some external analgesic gel, as recommended by the pharmacist who happened to walk by the household chemicals aisle. The one suggested to me was Cortate, but it costs six times more than the Band-aid one. I got the cheaper one and put it on half an hour ago. So far... no good. If anyone reading this needs an anti-itch gel, I'd recommend you try Cortate. Not that I know it'd work, I just know the Band-aid one isn't helping me. .e  22:05  5 comments [ leave comments ]

a.k.a. camping in the woods in mid July.

I arrived at the campsite around 7pm Friday evening. Most people had already arrived and set up their tents. The moment I got out of the car, I was greeted by around a few thousand mosquitoes. Roy helped me quickly set up my tent and introduced me to his friends there (roy was the only person I knew there at the time). I got many of the names mixed up (some 15 of them) at first. By saturday I got most of them right (no guarantee on the spelling tho). I only forgot the name of the guy who I see at work all the time... (:

That night, Aine and Madhu offered me a hotdog (tasty!) and I roasted some corn and veggies for supper. We sat around the camp fire and listened to Mike's blond jokes. Linh and Edmond (<-- another Edmond) joined us after nightfall. The park rangers came to check on us twice that night. Once for asking us to turn off the music, and once for asking us to keep our voices down. Their second visit sorta killed the party and we soon went to bed. Most people got up before 9am the next morning. I had some toasts with bananas (Bee-a-n-a-n-a-s!), and then we were off to the beach. Most of the pictures were taken there.



Around noon we tried to setup Ideen(?) and Tsz' tents. The first tent ended up looking something like a prehistoric monster. We gave that one up and put up another tent instead. For some fun under the sun, we played volleyball and soccer (Andrew, Ayana and Brennan were there). I think I'm starting to like playing volleyball (too bad I can't say the same about swimming). My soccer ball was declared dead at the scene so we kicked around roy's volleyball instead. The mosquitoes started to come out around 5pm, and it started to rain really hard. We tried to get a poker game going under a leaky tent. It was pretty difficult without a table and having water constantly dripping from the ceiling. Mud kept laughing and saying "this is ghetto". That night we set up a tarp under a tree because of the rain, where we did a bit of chatting, drinking, spilling wine on roy's shorts, making animal noises, smoking cigars and getting high on bug repellent. It rained throughout the night to the time we left sunday morning.

Despite the mosquitoes and the weather, I really enjoyed the camping trip and especially the company of everyone there. looking forward to doing it again soon... once my body stops itching like crazy.


.e  16:01  0 comments [ leave comments ]

I put a curb rash on the passenger side front wheel. I'm not going to elabroate on how it happened.

stupid rain, stupid hotel, stupid me.

.e  10:35  1 comments [ leave comments ]

A New Renaissance was playing at le Bop last night and I was going to check it out. I invited Roy at the last minute. He hopped on a train to join me in downtown so we would go together in my car. The train got delayed so he decided to take the bus. Surely, the train took off a minute after he got out of it.

We got there around 9:45. There was a $6 cover so we wanted to first find out whether Mike had already played. We saw Mike and Sab thru the window so we waved like two maniac groupies trying to get their attention. Turned out we were right on time, they were just getting ready to go on.

The temperature was 40C with the humidex, but the heat was quickly forgotten after the show started (and after a couple of sips of beer). After they finished, we chilled with Sab and Mike for a bit. Then I dragged Roy away from that place 'coz I had to leave at 11:30.

I dropped off roy and picked maggy up from work. She didn't want to go home just yet so we parked the car and walked to the Black Bear (a nearby pub). We smoked a couple of cigaritos over a pint of beer each. We chatted until closing and headed back home.

That night I felt feverish and didn't sleep well. I ended up missing work the next day (and apparently I missed a hell of a team meeting).

.e  12:47  7 comments [ leave comments ]

Edward invited maggy and me over for dinner tonite. Quite elaborated for a dinner I might say. He made appetizers, salmon, pasta, vegetable tomato sauce and homemade salad dressing, then finished off with a creme brulée. The fun part was using the mini blow torch on the dessert. I brought over a bottle of Yellow Tail chardonnay. It was pretty good, considering I'm not a white wine person.
I got home a bit late. John and I had talked about getting together tonite but finally decided not to, since it was kinda late (I know I know, we're that old). We settled for sunday morning brunch instead. John got two extra weeks of sick leave! lucky bastard. Hope he feels better. .e  21:59  1 comments [ leave comments ]

This morning London (UK) received 4 bomb attacks. Some 50 people died and hundreds were wounded. In the evening, I got a speeding ticket while I was driving Maggy to her French class.

What a day, the tragedy left me a bit depressed, and the bombings didn't help my mood either.

When you get stopped for speeding, the worst thing you could do is denying it. coz you know and the cop knows that you are lying, and no good will ever come out of that. I'm no expert in negotiation or bargaining, but I do know that when I try to talk my way out of a ticket, I'm actually asking the cop for a favour. Knowing that will immediately change your tone of voice and the way you phrase your sentences. I can bet that no cops will give in to your arguments, but some will sympathize with your pleas. Here's my experience:

First speeding incident - 89km/h in a 50 zone
I tried to bring the ticket down by:
- arguing (politely) with the cop that I wasn't going that fast;
- suggesting there could be a margin of error with the speed gun;
- saying that it would be my first offence.
Result: a no-mercy ticket, 39Km over, 3 demerit points, full fines.

Second speeding incident - ~135km/h on the highway
I admitted that I was in a hurry and apologized for not paying attention to what speed I was going at. I explained I had no intention to drive dangerously and promised to slow down.
Result: the cop let me off with a warning

Third speeding incident - today 75km/h in a 50 zone
I pretty much employed the same strategy as last time (just being honest). The cop was nice enough to bring the penalty down from 25km/h to 15km/h, no demerit points and half the fine.

I guess it all comes down to how much your pride is worth to you. Mine is worth a lot to me, but I'm willing to swallow a little bit of my pride to avoid fines and higher insurance.

hey! I started a new blog!!!
.e  19:07  0 comments [ leave comments ]