Hurray! We're going to have an election! This makes me happy. Not so much that I think the result will be much different this time around than last time, but just because I love elections. It's kinda the statistics geek in me coming out. I love watching the poll numbers come out every few days and seeing the trends, etc. I also love listening to how ridiculous these grown men and women sound as they try to put a spin on everything, thinking we're gullible little children who'll believe anything they say. Ok, so I don't love that last part so much... I wish that they could do away with things like, "The opposition wanted an election during the holidays instead of improving health care." Maybe I'll keep track of things said that I find stupid and insulting during this election... that might be fun. First of all, I find this talk of a "holiday election" really dumb, as by the time January 23rd rolls around, we'll be so far away from the holidays that it voids this argument completely. The only thing that will happen during Christmas is maybe a couple election ads during "Rudolf, the Red-Nosed Reindeer."
But I think the best part of an election is election night itself. It makes for awesome tv. Seeing the result come in, riding by riding, and watching the numbers change for the parties at the bottom of the screen... I love it!
Anyway, my advise to people is to make sure that you're informed. Don't be ignorant. Cut through the crap and look at the facts. There's going to be a lot of baseless things said over the next 8 weeks like, "The Conservatives have a hidden agenda..." or "All Liberals are in the mob..." or "The NDP will force you to marry a tree..."... Don't believe any of it. Policies and platforms... that's where it's at.
I don't care who you're going to vote for... just vote... and make it an informed vote.
I say important things of importance
Tuesday, November 29, 2005
Sunday, November 27, 2005
Gather 'Round, Kids. It's Story Time!
This being Grey Cup Sunday, I'm reminded of a story...
'Twas back in my second year of university here in Waterloo... it was December of 1999. It was exam time, and as is the custom at exam time, I felt the need to study. So, two of my housemates from 211 Erb Street (Matt Carter and Jen Jeffrey) and I made the trek to campus in search of an empty classroom where we could study without distraction or play games of hangman on the chalkboard. Anyhoo, after a couple hours of studying, Jen decides she had to go back to the house, leaving Matt and I there. We stayed a bit before we decided we needed a beer before studying any longer.
Next to the University of Waterloo campus is a plaza with a couple bars and restaurants, so we decided to hit up McGuiness Front Row for our refreshment. Alas, it was quite busy, so as a backup, we went across the parking lot to East Side Marios, which was relatively not busy. So, we walk in... But first you have to understand the layout of this East Side's... The bar is immediately on your right as you walk in the door, and the restaurant area is to your left. To get from the bar to the restaurant (if you had been waiting for a table) you walk right past the front door... which brings us back to the story.
So, we walk in, planning to just sit at the bar for a bit an enjoy an overpriced beverage before going back to hitting the books. But what happened as soon as we walk in the door? Four fairly large guys were walking past the door from the bar area to get seated in the restaurant section.... carrying none other than... The Grey Cup! Stupified, we had no other choice to sit at the bar and talk about how cool that is. It seems as though some of the Hamilton Tiger Cats (who won the Grey Cup that year) had roots in Waterloo (either they were from here or went to school here, I don't know) and were back in town celebrating with their trophy. Well, soon the discussion turned to whether or not we should go over there and see if they'd let us drink our beers from the Grey Cup. Matt was all for it and wanted to go right away... However, I was a bit hesitant. I mean, what do you say to some guys who you don't know and know nothing about (because I wasn't the biggest CFL buff)? So we argued about it for a couple minutes until the bartender said, "Just go over there". So we drank our beer until a bit was left at the bottom, and headed over.
We walk up to these four guys in their booth, interrupted their conversation and said, "Hey guys... uh... Can we drink out of the Grey Cup?" To which they replied, "Sure!" So, we dumped the rest of our beers in the cup and chugged the last of them down. I'm not sure what else we said to them... but it might have been along the lines of, "So... You guys are Tiger-Cats?" and "What're you doing here?" Anyway, the cup was much lighter than I expected... The thing is obviously hollow. But that doesn't matter... It was so cool! The things got a bunch of dents and everything.
Anyway, we head back to where our books were and sat there for about two minutes pretending to read, and finally said to each other, "I can't study anymore. We gotta tell people this story." So, we packed up and trekked back to 211 Erb Street and wowed our friends with our amazing story. And now I'm wowing you... that is if you're still reading. I understand... it was a lengthy post.
'Twas back in my second year of university here in Waterloo... it was December of 1999. It was exam time, and as is the custom at exam time, I felt the need to study. So, two of my housemates from 211 Erb Street (Matt Carter and Jen Jeffrey) and I made the trek to campus in search of an empty classroom where we could study without distraction or play games of hangman on the chalkboard. Anyhoo, after a couple hours of studying, Jen decides she had to go back to the house, leaving Matt and I there. We stayed a bit before we decided we needed a beer before studying any longer.
Next to the University of Waterloo campus is a plaza with a couple bars and restaurants, so we decided to hit up McGuiness Front Row for our refreshment. Alas, it was quite busy, so as a backup, we went across the parking lot to East Side Marios, which was relatively not busy. So, we walk in... But first you have to understand the layout of this East Side's... The bar is immediately on your right as you walk in the door, and the restaurant area is to your left. To get from the bar to the restaurant (if you had been waiting for a table) you walk right past the front door... which brings us back to the story.
So, we walk in, planning to just sit at the bar for a bit an enjoy an overpriced beverage before going back to hitting the books. But what happened as soon as we walk in the door? Four fairly large guys were walking past the door from the bar area to get seated in the restaurant section.... carrying none other than... The Grey Cup! Stupified, we had no other choice to sit at the bar and talk about how cool that is. It seems as though some of the Hamilton Tiger Cats (who won the Grey Cup that year) had roots in Waterloo (either they were from here or went to school here, I don't know) and were back in town celebrating with their trophy. Well, soon the discussion turned to whether or not we should go over there and see if they'd let us drink our beers from the Grey Cup. Matt was all for it and wanted to go right away... However, I was a bit hesitant. I mean, what do you say to some guys who you don't know and know nothing about (because I wasn't the biggest CFL buff)? So we argued about it for a couple minutes until the bartender said, "Just go over there". So we drank our beer until a bit was left at the bottom, and headed over.
We walk up to these four guys in their booth, interrupted their conversation and said, "Hey guys... uh... Can we drink out of the Grey Cup?" To which they replied, "Sure!" So, we dumped the rest of our beers in the cup and chugged the last of them down. I'm not sure what else we said to them... but it might have been along the lines of, "So... You guys are Tiger-Cats?" and "What're you doing here?" Anyway, the cup was much lighter than I expected... The thing is obviously hollow. But that doesn't matter... It was so cool! The things got a bunch of dents and everything.
Anyway, we head back to where our books were and sat there for about two minutes pretending to read, and finally said to each other, "I can't study anymore. We gotta tell people this story." So, we packed up and trekked back to 211 Erb Street and wowed our friends with our amazing story. And now I'm wowing you... that is if you're still reading. I understand... it was a lengthy post.
Friday, November 25, 2005
Look At Me, I'm Shaking!
This week was my first off-week from Curling. I'm pretty sure I'm suffering from withdrawl.
What do you mean, you didn't know I was curling again? That's right, I'm back at it. After a seven year hiatus, I'm playing second on a team with my boss, Jim, his brother Mark, and his buddy Brad. We're doing better than we expected. Currently we have a win-loss record of 2-3, but we've managed to never be blown out of any game. We're competing, which is good since the number of years of experience for most of the curlers there averages out to about 150 years per curler. There's only maybe one or two other guys there in their 20's. But that's ok, this isn't a competitive league anyway. The most important rule is that the winners buy the first round after the game.
So, I'm happy to be back at it. I hadn't played regularly since highschool, where I skipped our team to be not last place three years in a row. Curling is a whole lotta fun, and surprisingly it's a great sport for television, as you can sit around arguing what shots should be played next. It's great for those who like strategy.
What do you mean, you didn't know I was curling again? That's right, I'm back at it. After a seven year hiatus, I'm playing second on a team with my boss, Jim, his brother Mark, and his buddy Brad. We're doing better than we expected. Currently we have a win-loss record of 2-3, but we've managed to never be blown out of any game. We're competing, which is good since the number of years of experience for most of the curlers there averages out to about 150 years per curler. There's only maybe one or two other guys there in their 20's. But that's ok, this isn't a competitive league anyway. The most important rule is that the winners buy the first round after the game.
So, I'm happy to be back at it. I hadn't played regularly since highschool, where I skipped our team to be not last place three years in a row. Curling is a whole lotta fun, and surprisingly it's a great sport for television, as you can sit around arguing what shots should be played next. It's great for those who like strategy.
Thursday, November 17, 2005
What Is This Powdery White Substance Falling From The Sky?
Today was the first real snow of the season here in Waterloo. The annual event where everyone drives like they've never seen the stuff before. This year's event was extra special for me as it was the first time I drove out in the snow with my Jeep. Yeah, that's right a Jeep... A tough sturdy vehicle like that should be great in the snowy weather. Well, I soon discovered that, crap! Rear-wheel drive does not handle all that well. Stupid rear-wheel drive vehicle...
waitaminute...
This thing's got 4-wheel-drive, baby! Boo-yeah!
Well, that's one problem solved.
A sidenote: 4-Wheel-Drive does not help with braking. That realization was followed by the words, "ohcrapohcrapohcrapstopstopstopstop.... whew".
waitaminute...
This thing's got 4-wheel-drive, baby! Boo-yeah!
Well, that's one problem solved.
A sidenote: 4-Wheel-Drive does not help with braking. That realization was followed by the words, "ohcrapohcrapohcrapstopstopstopstop.... whew".
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
Can't Someone Just Sit At Home In This Country Without Being Offered A Job?
It's one thing to get telemarketers calling during the day, but lately my phone has offered up a new twist. During the past two weeks, I've received two calls from employment recruiters (or headhunters, as they refer to themselves as) asking me if I was satisfied where I was working, and if "something came up" would I like for them to call me. Of course, the jobs would be in the same field (transportation engineering, for those not paying attention to my life), and most likely the job would probably be in the GTA. Not that they had actual jobs available... they just wanted me for their files. I just replied that I'm quite happy where I am (which I am) and they shouldn't bother. The thing I'd like to know (and probably should have asked) is where they got my name and number? No matter. Besides, if I was to change jobs, it'd be something really different... and cool.
Wednesday, November 09, 2005
Helpful Tip #001
People say you learn from your mistakes... However, I think it's better to learn from other people's screwups. So, for the benefit of all my faithful blogees out there, I offer these words of wisdom. If you cook scrambled eggs in a pot, it'd be best to not let the pot sit out for 5 days before attempting to clean it. That's 30 minutes I'll never get back.
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