Thar be Dragon ... Boats

There are places in this world where Mundane and Mystic Dragons can meet after a fashion. I was at one such event last weekend: The Dragon Boat Festival!

Real Dragons can weave tapestries of spells to affect emotion. Mundane Dragons have other tools like musicians. (And on occasion, alcohol; but we're talking spells, not potions.) Sure, a musician can't fireball an enemy into submission but they sure did a good job entertaining this Dragon for an afternoon. Ahh, sunny day, shady spot, rhythmic sounds and a festive atmosphere.

Then there are the races. 9 boats each with 20 paddlers, a cox and a drummer. That's 198 people per race. These boats are big and heavy. The 180 paddlers fight inertia and the other teams down 500 meters of water, wind and current to be first across the line. The most fun is cheering for someone you know in the race. I was and I did.

Oh my god, flying to Chicago is expensive right now. I can fly to London cheaper. Maybe it's time for a driving vacation. It's certainly not going to be any more expensive, just a bit more time. Hmmm, I have some time.

Gotta love the HDRC. Computer's down, can't do EI claims, come back tomorrow. Umm, anything I can do in the meantime. Oh, here's the forms. It was only a 10 block walk for me, I feel sorry for anyone who had to beg, borrow or pay a taxi in because of the transit strike.

A personal best in Tribes!!! *jiggy, jiggy, jiggy* I should qualify this by saying I popped onto a newbie server. Since I are one, this is no problem. I made the top 5: 19 points, 7 kills! Doing generator defense no less. *grin* The Professor will now demonstrate what happens when a lone light goes up against a heavy with a shield pack, if his spike turret doesn't get you first.

*sigh* Ultimate tonight. I'm so conflicted. It's fun, but it hurts the next day!

Boy, talk about a lazy few days. I feel like a kid on summer vacation!!! My days have consisted on Tribes2, eating, reading, movies, a bit of writing and visiting. Not quite bliss, but not a bad start. *grin*

I'll have to get some business done tomorrow. Time to schlep off to the HRDC office and try not to step in any bureaucracy. I'm not sure how much good applying for EI will really do. The system seems to be biased against anyone with a well paying career. Not quite what I expected for paying premiums since 1982.

Also time to check out some airfares! That means travel, yeah! Yes Ken, I will make it to Madison, damn it. And if I’m looking for a job, and document it, I can even collect EI while I’m there.

Currently Reading: Body of Secrets, by James Bamford
Last Movie Seen: Tomb Raider

First Monday of the lay off. Interesting, I feel just like I did during summer break when I was getting my tech degree. A very similar feeling to my first morning in Dublin the time I took a month off and hosteled through Ireland. Both of those times were filled with promise of wonderful discoveries but I felt a little overwhelmed on exactly where to start!

I'll start now as I started then . . . food.

My last day of work was yesterday. (Technically this is Sunday, but until I go to bed it's still Saturday!)

I am now officially unemployed for the first time since 1982. I feel like I just got off a hamster wheel! Ahhh, much better.

Things I'm going to miss from the job:

Rambling Madman
I'm going to miss his intensity, sense of purpose, and incredible loyalty to his staff. He created a wonderful esprit de corps for his team. I learned a great deal of things I needed to know working for him.

McCow
I'm going to miss Cow's incredible sense of timing and style in everything he does. He knows when to lighten things up, when to get serious, when to get to work and when it was time for a rest. His sense of comedic timing leaves everyone laughing. He also demonstrated to me how to focus on work you enjoy while getting the other stuff done and looking good at it to boot.

Crazy Horse
I'm going to miss her incredible depth of generosity and giving. She's absolutely comfortable with herself and always seems to be focused in the moment, and enjoying it. (I wish I more like her in this respect.) She radiates good will, and I loved basking in it. That, and she's queen of the desktop computer. No wonder the guys were lining up at her desk. Who am I kidding, if I were 10 years younger (or she was 10 years older) I'd be lined up too!

Kryder
I'm going to miss his incredible enthusiasm, where the hell does he get it from?! It never failed to amaze me how, in spite of getting crap dumped all over him, he always came back happy and enthusiastic to try it all over again.

There are other people and things from the old job I will miss, but these are big ones. These were my fellow team members, and if I've used "incredible" a lot it's because it was an amazing team. And everyone was smart, too. I've worked with individuals that were this good, but only once before did I have the good fortune to work in a team this good, and that was nearly twenty years ago. I hope it isn't another twenty before it happens again.

How can the weeks go by so fast when the days go so slow? Soon sweet release. Soon my time will be my own. If only I paid myself better so I wouldn't have to eventually resign from myself for more pay. So sad really, I get along with myself quite well most of the time.

This just in, Dragon gets scholastic. I only get a week off then I'm back to school!!! A couple of courses in the Forensic Science program at BCIT. Should be fun. Hmmmm, training. If only the damn bus strike were over.

Over ... over ... over and out!

Hello boys and girls. Today's lesson comes to us from "Big Trouble in Little China":

"You just listen to the old Pork Chop Express and take his advice on a dark and stormy night. Alright? When some wild eyed eight foot tall maniac grabs your neck; taps the back of your favorite head up against the bar room wall, and he looks you crooked in the eye and he asks you if you payed your dues. You just stare that big sucker right back in the eyes, and you remember what old Jack Burton always says in a time like that. Have you payed your dues, Jack? Yes, sir! The check is in the mail." - Jack Burton

Mundane Dragons have a purely ethereal cave to store things in not available to their magical brethren. It's called an Exchange mail box and it allows thought to be stored in the form of a magnetic field cast in oxide. Yes, yes, it's rumoured that some Magic Dragons can store souls in precious stones, but we digress.

In as much as one of my thought storage hiddie holes is gone on the 15th, I'm doing a little cleaning. I came across this and had to share. It was written by someone I know who was around 10 at the time.

If the World Was Crazy

If the world was crazy, you know what I'd eat?
A quart of pudding and a sandwich of feet.
A roast of egg nog and then I'll buy,
Some stomach pie and a clock from the sky.
A nice pizza desk and a post omelette.
A hamburger mat with past chocolate vomit.
A paper tasting cake with hands made of daises.
And that's what I'd eat if the world was crazy.

If the world was crazy, you know what I'd wear?
A pair of raisin shoes and a tie made of pears.
A pair of skittle glasses, A white chocolate shirt.
I'd smoke sausage cigars and wear a lemonade skirt.
I'd call the boys Mary and I'd call the girls Mike.
I'd drive a spaghetti car and ride a beef bike.
A piece of hair for when it got hazy.
To dry my umbrella if the world was crazy.

If the world was crazy know what I'd do?
I'd swim on the ground and walk on the poo.
I'd play with the flu and whine when I'm done.
I'd trash the school yard just for some fun.
I'd become a police officer and shoot everyone.
I'd become a fireman and use water scum.
And the greatest of women would be lazy
So I'd be queen if the world was crazy.

Damn, he'll be able to do some incredible Ultimate cheers when he get's older!

When will the suffering end?!

According to a survey done by Novatech, one in four computers has been physically attacked!!! Move over puppies, move over Robi, if you're pissed off just take it out on your PC.

People, unless you have a hardware problem it's not the computer, it's the programmers! Don't misdirect your anger, let's go on a road trip and kick the shit out of the authors of Windows, Word and the Paper Clip. I get the jerk off who coded Word's auto correct. Damn it, a tab is a tab, not a freaking left line indent/column change. If the buck stops at the top, then maybe we should just go for Bill Gates and skip the middle man. I wouldn't want to be keeping track of his karma. All the Bill Gates Foundation donations in the world won't even the score on the pain and agony bad MS code has caused the world, or the poor PCs and Macs that have taken the brunt of the frustration.

Please people, get a Bill voodoo doll, but save your computer.

Full article on Wired at: Battered Computers: An Epidemic

Woo-who!!! I found "Body of Secrets - Anatomy of the Ultra-Secret Nation Security Agency" by James Bamford in the book store today.

Magic Dragons have contact with the mystic spheres of the universe on a regular basis. Mundane Dragons have to rely on cheap thrills from exposes of people working for super secret no-girls-allowed clubs reading other peoples mail behind closed doors in the name of national security and the free world. It's all fun until people get killed, that's the difference between childhood games and adult games. That and they let girls play in the adult version.

Family reunions can be hell, or great. This one was great. We all hung out. Very low key, no expectations. Mundane Dragon gives two prehensile thumbs up. (Both Mundane and Magic Dragons have opposable thumbs.)

What is it with Kelona drivers on a Sunday morning? I've only driven through the town twice, once last year and once last weekend. Both times there was an intersection accident on Highway 97 through town. You guys party so hard on a Saturday night you haven't sobered up yet, or are you just that eager to get to the church on time?

A word of warning. If you stop in Merrit for coffee when south bound on highway 5, 'ware the bumps on the south side of town. I stopped at DQ for a pee break and a beverage for the road. The bumps are strategically situated at just the point where the town merges clear and you're thinking of your first highway sip. Coincidentally, this is also when the coffee is the hottest. (Well, if it really was coffee, it may have been hot water mixed with brown crayon.) I magnificently avoided any spillage ... on the bumps. After being lulled into complacency when the bumps disappeared I forgot the lid wasn't your fancy gourmet coffee type (read Starbucks/Blends/GrabaJava) and tipped the cup a little too far. *sigh*.

A new month, another rent cheque, and cable bill, and telephone bill. Real dragons have knights and mages trying to kill them. Mundane Dragons have bills, income tax and census representatives. Real dragons have it sweet.

Spent yesterday morning researching my future. Sounds very melodramic, n'est pas? Still. The jobs ends on June 15 and I'll be able to persue ... well ... anything. This would be really exciting if I actually knew what the hell I wanted to do. Since I'm not driven to do anything, I guess I'll do what I enjoy and people are willing to pay for. That last one is a kicker. Joy it would be to find someone to pay me for reading fiction, watching TV and playing Tribes. I'll have to settle for making money off my computer skills.

A mini family reunion this weekend. Hello family. I'm just leaving. Be there soon.

Best wishes to Baby Blade. Tests suck, hope the news is good.