Cardigans And Coke

Friendly Neighbourhood Darbs

2011-10-23T20:08:00.004-04:00

Dear Neighbour Who Lives Almost Directly Across From Me:

I never liked you. Ever. When I was 9, you stopped me when I was riding my bike up and down the street and began lecturing me in broken English, for riding my bike too fast. Broken English isn't even the right way to describe it. Maybe more like shattered-into-a-million-pieces. Not that there's anything wrong with being foreign, but if you're gonna lecture someone who only speaks English, you should take into consideration that they probably won't understand anything you're saying. Your incredibly thick accent didn't help either. Frankly, I can't even be certain you were yelling at me for riding my bike too fast. For all I know, you could have been complimenting me on what a nice BMX bike I had (it was pretty bitchin', I know), but your tone indicated otherwise.
Oh, and more importantly, I don't know where you got off thinking you could just start yelling at a kid for riding his bike too fast, especially if he's not your kid and he wasn't riding anywhere near you. It was very cunty of you.

You also yelled at my friends and I from the window of your bedroom for skateboarding on the street when I was 15. Because you were trying to take a nap. I understand it can be a little loud, but it was 3 in the afternoon and I've heard lawnmowers louder than the noise we were making. The garbage truck that comes every Wednesday morning is 5 times louder than we were, but I don't see you yelling at the garbage men. And we weren't yelling or causing a ruckus either. We were just trying to ollie over a manhole. And frankly, you could have just come down and asked us nicely instead of yelling at us from your window. But we politely obliged.

Today, while I was having a smoke on the edge of my driveway, you rushed out and began calling me over. It would have been nice if you had waved me over and said "Excuse me" instead of simply "Hey!" but I'll let it slide and chalk it up to your broken English, although I've met plenty of other foreign immigrants with manners. You called me over to simply point out that there were leaves on my lawn and began ordering me around. I couldn't believe my ears; you were ordering me or my dad or just us in general to rake our lawn. Our lawn. There are so many things wrong with that, that I can't even begin to explain it all to you. Quite simply, you're out of your fucking mind. I don't even live at my parents' place anymore, so while I could have easily told you to go fuck yourself (not that you would have understood), I didn't. I raked it, something my dad was going to shortly do. I did it myself because my dad had literally been bitching about another one of our neighbours less than 5 minutes ago and if I had told him what you just did, he would have gone postal. I don't even live with my parents anymore, but I don't want them to have beef with anyone on the street, because it's awkward as hell if you have to see them every day. Since you were watching me the entire time I raked the lawn, I'm sure you saw that I only did a half-assed job.

Anyway, the good news for me is that while I didn't tell my dad about it, I did talk to my mom about it. She's given me her blessing to tell you to go fuck yourself (again, not that you would understand); she's ready to throw down and if you had seen how badly she beat me as a kid, you'll know she doesn't fuck around. So go ahead, stick your nose into our business one more time. I dare you.

Your hateful neighbour,
Darren

P.S. Stop standing at your door all the fucking time. Do you realize how fucking creepy it is for me to go out for a smoke and find you standing there staring at me every single time?

Shooting myself in the foot

2011-10-20T23:05:00.003-04:00

During my second year in the program, I would randomly insert words like "penis" while writing my class notes to mess with a classmate who would sometimes look over my shoulder to copy off me.

And now I have to study my own notes. Damn it.

Last day until...

2011-10-20T14:32:00.003-04:00

My big exam is tomorrow; I feel like a deathrow convict whose execution is tomorrow. I can try and remain as stoic as I want, but really, I could shit my pants any second. I'm far from what I would call prepared. I'm usually good with tests and exams, but this one's a little different from others in the sense that:

-for certain parts of the exam, there'll be someone with a clipboard scrutinizing every move I make and every word that comes out of my mouth (note to self: stop saying "Fuck" or "Shit" under my breath). Like that's gonna help with my nerves.

-there's a very high passing rate for this exam. I really don't want to be one of those idiots who didn't pass.

-like I mentioned before, this exam is costing me $1300 that I don't even have. I'd hate to pay that again if I fail and have to re-do it (I'll have to pay even more next time; the fee goes up in 2012).

Thanks to everyone who volunteered to help me out or even gave me encouragement. Let's hope I don't shit my pants tomorrow.

Correction

2011-09-30T21:02:00.003-04:00

Okay, so if you're reading this and you haven't read the entry below...read that first. Go ahead. I'll wait.

Done? No? Jeez, what are you, illiterate? I said I'd wait, but I don't have all day.

Done? Good.

So this is an addenum to the previous entry; the contact-lens-fitting-party is now also a housewarming party. Mixing business with pleasure is what I do best. I feel kind of lame having a housewarming party nearly two months after I've moved in, but at the insistence of certain friends and to make the contact lens fitting less lame, I've caved.
If you really think about it, nothing's actually changed. Friends will be over and I'll still stick contact lenses in their eyes. Really, it's just the addition of certain vices and libations that make it a housewarming party. And to be honest, I was gonna indulge in those afterward anyway. Alcohol makes everything better, right?

Have courage, will practice

2011-09-29T22:52:00.002-04:00

So studying's been going pretty shitty. Thankfully, that's okay! It turns out I was over studying, despite the fact that I've maybe only studied a total of 2.5 hours. I got a hold of the exam outline earlier this week and discovered, it's 99% skill-based. Meaning no theory. Which is what I've been sort-of studying. Meaning I wasted 2.5 hours of my life, when it could have been better used to...do other stuff. No, I don't know what other stuff. What are you, the time management police or something?

But just because I don't have to study anymore doesn't mean I don't need to practice. I'm pretty well covered for most of the exam, but there's one little part that I'm having trouble with: insertion and removal of hard contact lenses on a patient. They're not like soft contacts in that you can just stick `em in and pluck them out at will. Well, the sticking in part is the same, but taking them out is a whole other thing in itself. It involves a particular method you have to use. It's not difficult, but it is tricky. And it gets even trickier with certain types of people (ASIANS!). I used to be pretty decent at it, but for some reason, I became increasingly nervous. By the end of it, on my final exam, I choked and the examiner had to end up doing it for me. And since then, I haven't touched them. So my skills on that section are rusty to the say the least.

Which is where you, my favoritest person in the world, come in. I need to brush up on my hard contact skills and I can't do it without people to practice on. I've been asking all my friends to come over next Sunday (October 9th) so that I can practice on everyone; I need as many people as I can so I can get used to any type of person and any type of eye (including ASIANS!).

But I don't want to feel like I've conned anyone, so I should warn you the shit ain't comfortable. It doesn't hurt, though. Ever have something fly right into your eye? Like a tiny speck of dirt or dust? It feels like that, only it feels like that all the time. Again, it doesn't hurt, but chances are the first words coming out of your mouth will be "Okay, get it out. Now. Getitoutgetitoutgetitout etc." I'm not trying to scare anyone; it's just so you know what to expect. It won't be comfortable, but it's not like I'm gonna leave it in your eye for a few hours. As soon as it's in, I'm gonna take it out. But make sure you stay calm; the more you squirm and whine, the harder it is for me to take out the lens and the longer it'll stay in your eye.

Obviously, I wouldn't ask for help from my friends without doing something in return. So, after my exam, I'll take everyone out for dinner. I don't know if it'll be everyone all at once or if it'll be in small groups or if I'll have to end up taking each person out one by one, but we can figure that out later. The point is, you're getting free food. At the place of your choice, with no budget restraints. So if you're feeling brave and have my contact info, let me know if you're in (I don't know why I'm doing this; just about everyone I wanted to ask has already been asked). I promise I won't completely blind you.

The Scarborough Computer

2011-09-23T14:58:00.010-04:00

Back in 2007, my PC died. It died a slow death; it got slower and slower, then kept crashing and eventually, it couldn't even boot up. I had a reputation in my household for killing every single computer I touched, so I didn't bother to tell my parents. I simply moved on to using my Macbook all the time. I'd occasionally use my mom's computer if I needed to write essays or assignments (my Macbook doesn't have a decent word processor and I was too cheap to buy a copy of Word for it), which would always result in my dad asking me why I didn't use my own computer. I'd never have an answer for him. Surprisingly, he was never able to put two and two together, but I preferred it that way.

Shortly after I moved out, my dad took it upon himself to clean out my room. It's a huge task to take on; I've been trying to clean my room for years, but I'd always give up halfway through because there was simply too much shit. Plus, I'm a pack rat, so I couldn't bring myself to throw out a lot of stuff. But since my shit has no sentimental value to my dad, he was able to plow through everything. My dad's hella proud of the job he did, and frankly, so am I. My room actually has an echo now; there used to be so much shit in my room, everything absorbed the sound. It was like being in a vacuum.
I guess the whole "fresh start" thing made me decide to give my PC another go. No dice; I was met with a blank screen. But I couldn't turn it off, because the power button apparently only turns on the computer, not off. So I hit the reset button. And for some reason, it worked!
Or rather, it works as well as a computer that hasn't been used in 4 years can possibly work. It's slow as shit, but what I'm happy about is the fact that I managed to retrieve files I thought were lost forever. It's funny to see the weird shit I saved or screen captured...

A screen capture from a video chat I had with Owen. He was wearing his parents' coat and hat and pretended to be a pimp.

Owen ain't down with misery (misery ain't pimp enough).

I laughed at this 4+ years ago and I still find it funny.

Jeff pieced together a panoramic shot (with me in every frame) of Kennedy Park. You gotta click on it to see the thing in full size, though.

SB.

FAT COCK.

And apparently, I like fat cocks.

And that's the note I'm gonna leave off on. Fat cocks.

New Experiences at Work!

2011-09-21T22:31:00.002-04:00

I got hit on the other day. By a dude (not that there's anything wrong with that). An old dude (still nothing wrong with that). Normally, I'd be flattered if anyone hits on me, regardless of sex. Problem is all the staff already know who he is and he's garnered quite a reputation for being a creepy old pervert (he's already hit on two other guys, but more on that later).
He purchased a pair of glasses and while I was sitting down with him to go over his lens options and the price breakdown, he asked me if I was single. Then he began talking to me about the "Gotcha!" prank, which apparently nothing more than walking up to a guy, grabbing his nuts and saying "Gotcha!". Yeah, I have no idea how that's funny either. To make sure I got the picture, he began grabbing his own nuts. Repeatedly. You know, in case I happened to miss it the first 5 times he did it. Then he moved in real close and put his hand on mine and asked if I'd be grossed out or if I'd find it funny if it was done to me. I told him I'd find it funny*, just so I wouldn't alienate him. It's too bad he kept his hand on top of mine for an uncomfortably long time. Right as I was about to pull away, he finally took his hand back. If you've ever wondered "What could I do to creep Darren out so bad that he'll cry in the shower in the fetal position with his clothes on?", there's your answer.
I later related the story to Chris, my coworker. Turns out I got lucky; while I only got a visual demonstration, he and another guy that used to work with us both had a hands on demonstration with the whole nut-grabbing thing. I think from now on, I'll just let the ladies of the store handle him.

Self-Imposed Exile

2011-09-16T23:16:00.002-04:00

I've recently decided to try to isolate myself and buckle down in order to prepare for my opticianry license exam. It's lame and I'm definitely going to catch some shit from certain people for behavior that probably seems a bit excessive. And trust me, it's not like I enjoy it either; I fucking hate studying. But consider this:

1) The license exam cost $1300. That's $1300 that I don't even have. I had to borrow it from my mom and coupled with the money I owe my dad, it'll take months to pay it off. I can't afford to fail and redo it. And when I say I can't afford it, I mean in more terms than just money: time, energy, sanity, etc.

2) I'm pretty rusty with my opticianry stuff. More than rusty, really; my opticianry knowledge is eroding. Unlike when I was still in school, I need to do more than just skim through my notes at the last minute. True, I've been working all this time, but the majority of the stuff I've been taught isn't even really used on a day-to-day basis at work. I have more use for hairstyling tips at my job than I do opticianry (you gotta see my bedhead on a bad day. It's horrible).

That's it, really. Just those two reasons. It doesn't mean you won't see me from time to time; there are way too many birthdays in October for me to miss. Besides, I can only be isolated for so long before I start to go crazy (or go even more crazy). You guys will see more of me after October 23. Until then, try not to miss me too much (LOL).

Master chef

2011-08-30T23:47:00.002-04:00

So as far as cooking goes, this is what I've managed to make myself:
-eggs (fried and scrambled!)
-pasta
-toast
That's it. I may as well get used to eating just those 3 things anyway because I also found out yesterday that I'm in debt. My second step into adulthood. So if I look thinner than usual next time you see me, it's probably because I've only been eating toast and eggs (fried and scrambled!) for a month.

In equally uninteresting news, I've been digging these Lakai commercials. They're always fun and more creative than most commercials nowadays. I guess it helps that Spike Jonze is one of the owners of the company.

Oh, and there's a podcast coming...eventually. Whenever I get around to actually editing the thing. Which could take a while. Excited? Shut up. I know you're not, you jerk. Why would you even pretend to be? Man, you really piss me off sometimes. They were right about you.

5 days later

2011-08-17T18:15:00.003-04:00

First, I wanna thank everyone that wished me a happy birthday last week. Honestly, I figured I would be able to count the number of people that remembered on one hand, with a few fingers left to spare. But even people that I rarely see/speak to (some who I didn't even think knew my birthday) were texting me. So I'm really moved that I got as many birthday wishes as I did.

I moved in on Friday, as planned. Aside from a few hiccups, it went really smoothly and now I'm all settled in.

Post-move in notes:
-it's really noisy on Friday and Saturday nights. No shit, right? But even from 11 floors up, it's a lot louder than I expected. Like, if I opened the balcony door on either of those nights and started talking to you, you wouldn't be able to hear me above the noise from outside.

-from all the people that I've bumped into in the building thus far, I feel like I really don't belong. They look like they belong downtown. I dress and act like someone transplanted a teenagers brain into a 28 year old's body.

-I am not used to using those coffee makers with the heating pad to keep the pot warm. I used mine for the first time on Saturday...only to get to work and panic, thinking I had left it on. I ended up pleading my boss for a one hour break and spending $100 on a round trip cab ride back to my place just to check if I really had left it on. I didn't. Better safe than sorry, right? I'd be more embarrassed if I had set the place on fire after only having moved in the previous day.

-I have like a billion channels! And I still barely watch television!

Lastly, I've resolved to learn how to cook. So this goes to all my friends: send me a recipe for something you've made before that you really like. Seriously. I'm kind of excited to try my hand at cooking. Real cooking, I mean. Hamburger Helper will always have a place in my heart, but on top of learning to cook, I've also resolved to not eat like a slob (unless I'm really tired or pressed for time).
Anyway. RECIPES! SEND! NOW!

Thinner

2011-08-14T22:20:00.002-04:00

About two weeks ago at work, a couple came in looking for glasses. They were regular customers, although it was the first time I had met them. Although someone else was helping them, the husband walked up to me and said with a slight Yiddish accent "Do you know what my grandmother would say if she saw you?"
My first thought was "I hate chinks", although I just cluelessly shrugged. He smiled and said "'Ya gotta eat!' My boy, if I turned you sideways, you'd disappear!". I've had my weight commented on before, but never by a stranger. Still, I couldn't help but laugh because he was such a nice guy and I knew he didn't mean anything by it.

During my lunch break today, I went to the cafe I always go to. I ordered my lunch, when suddenly, the guy in front of me turned around. It was same gentleman, with his wife. "YOU'RE EATING!" he exclaimed with a smile. Again, I couldn't help but laugh.

60 million Wongs make a right

2011-08-03T17:43:00.004-04:00

As I walked into work today, my coworker Chris said "Congratulations man!" before I even broke my stride. I gave him a puzzled look.
"Uhhh...thanks. Congratulations on what?"
"Your coat of arms, man! Your crest!"
"...Huh?"
He kept mum, all the while sporting a goofy grin. As there was a customer in the store, he couldn't show me right away. As soon as the customer left, we ran to the computer.
Then he showed me this article. But if you're too lazy to read, here:

This here is the family crest for all Wongs in Canada. I think it's awesome that we get a crest, although if you ask me what I think of the crest itself...I'm really not digging it. My biggest point of contention with it is the damn panda bear, for reasons you can probably imagine.
What blows my mind is that there's even a Wong Association of Ontario and a Wong's National Convention of Ontario. What goes on at these conventions? Do people stand around with drinks in their hands, pat each other on the back and talk about how great it is to be a Wong? Because if so, I've been missing out.

Wing wang wong.

That is all.

The Big Take Over

2011-08-01T22:43:00.005-04:00

I got to see the condo for the first time today. Due to a bit of luck (caused by really shitty circumstances), Lenny had a rental van and what was supposed to be moving in a few things became moving in the majority of big stuff that I have for my place.
I haven't done a photo post in a while, so I thought it'd be a good idea to bring my camera (with the broken LCD screen) to document the day.

This was 8:30 in the morning. I'm not used to being up and outside at this hour. Lenny seemed to have no problem with it though.

The deceivingly large van.

Pops had to ride in the back the whole time. I felt really bad for him.

The ride down consisted of a lot of bumpin' to Rihanna and Drake. Drake must have been on the radio like 6 times to and from the place.

Managed to cram all my shit into the freight elevator with no problems.

...and then my camera crapped out on me. Honest. So there aren't any pics of my place. That's what happens when you use a camera that's been destroyed. This is the part where you probably stop caring about this entry.
Anyway, I dig the place. It's more or less as sweet as I thought it would be. I still have a lot of work I need to put into it, so I don't plan on staying there overnight any time soon.

I wanna thank Len a ton, because not only did he help move my shit, he even stayed to help me put together my furniture (which was surprisingly fun/funny). All I did to show my gratitude was pay for his pho.
Thanks to Serge a lot as well, for helping me move additional stuff later on in the evening.
I'm tired as hell. Good night.

2011-07-30T12:45:00.002-04:00

Memorable Quotes:
"Your place is gonna look all Hong Kong"
-Sergio's cynical prediction on how my place will be furnished, despite never having seen the unit or the furniture I have. So really, he just wanted to remind me that I'm Chinese.

Making it official

2011-07-26T12:35:00.003-04:00

I'm pretty certain everyone knows by now but I figured I'd officially announce it (on a blog that no one visits anymore). I'm moving out. I'll be transplanting myself downtown. Officially, I'll have possession of the unit on August 1, but I probably won't move in until August 12. I originally wasn't expecting to move out until September or so, but the date kept getting bumped up. By the time it was finalized, my work schedule had been set in stone, so I gotta work around it.
Frankly, I'm not nearly as excited as I should be. I'm mainly just filled with anxieties, because it feels like I'm diving into the world of "being an adult" headfirst. I'm sure everyone else at my age has a grip on their lives, but I'm a few years behind as far as maturity and life experience goes. And that's even before I get into things like worrying about my budgeting, because that's a whole other world of pain.
Anyway, I'll probably have a small housewarming party once I'm settled in, but for now, I've got too much on my plate to worry about anything else.

What is this I don't even

2011-07-11T23:51:00.007-04:00

I got an invite to join Google+ today. While I was messing around with it, I discovered in the photo albums that Google had taken the liberty of automatically gathering all the info associated with my account. That means all the photos from any blogs associated with my Google account automatically showed up.
There were a bunch of Mac photobooth pics that I don't remember at all. And these were kept on a blog that I don't remember keeping. The name of the blog rings a bell, but it doesn't exist anymore and if you asked me what I wrote about in that blog or when I had it, I wouldn't be able to tell you.

These were taken on the same night as the drunken podcast that Sergio, Matt and I did. You know, the one where Sergio pissed in a wine bottle then tried to convince us to hold it to feel how warm it was.

They're back

2011-07-08T21:21:00.003-04:00

My family's been gone on a roadtrip for the past two weeks and finally came back today. I've become comfortable enough to the point where I didn't even bother lying about having people over for a barbecue, which is saying a lot because if you think I'm uptight about the house, think of me as Uptight Lite compared to them. Still, I'm not so comfortable that I'd tell them I'd been hot-boxing the bathroom for over a week. Thank God the smell's gone.

One of the many things they brought back for me was a sticker. It reads 'The Ass Family' and has a drawing of a stick-figure family...

It's uncanny; the older brother is Lazy Ass. It's almost like they made that sticker for me.

BBQ

2011-07-04T11:15:00.002-04:00

The checklist:

-people showed up. Check. More people showed up than I expected, so I get bonus points on that.
-risk life and limb to bring down patio chairs from the little storage space in my garage. Check.
-homemade burgers, courtesy of Mark. Check.
-awesome mustard for wieners and burgers. Check.
-flowers from Owen? Sure. Check.
-annoying my neighbors with my music. Check.
-one obligatory Sapporo for Serge. Check.
-broken BBQ grill, to double the amount of time it would take to cook everything. Check.
-roasted corn. Fuck yeah. Check!
-watermelon. Double fuck yeah. Check.
-sacrificial altar to cut the watermelon. Check.
-makeshift ashtray for the smokers. Check.
-enough cigarettes for myself. Nope.
-enough alcohol for everyone. Check.
-fancy-pants ice cream. Check.
-used up nearly every plate in my house. Check.
-no parents. Check.

Yes, I'd say the BBQ was a success. Thanks to everyone that showed up!

Flexibility

2011-06-29T00:20:00.002-04:00

Right next to the store I work in, there's a hair salon. I don't know about the rest of the mall, but all of us guys that work/have worked in the store have taken a lot of notice of the girls that work in the salon. They're pretty hot.
About two weeks ago, one of them came in and I ended up helping her. She was incredibly cute and even more importantly, really nice. She wanted to get lenses put in a pair of frames that were of very dubious quality and very likely to break if we tried to replace the lenses (she bought the glasses for $10). It was quite a bit of trouble and I even got a lot of flack for it from my boss. In the end, it turned out well and she was so grateful that she stopped in the next day to personally thank me.

None of that has anything to do with anything aside from the fact that my coworker Karen mentioned to me that the girl also happened to be on 'So You Think You Can Dance?' this past week. I had no idea Aleksandra was so...flexible.

Good ass job

2011-06-13T22:03:00.003-04:00

So it's been 6 months since the 2010 project ended and I still haven't been able to retrieve all the rolls of film that I took. It looks like I genuinely misplaced/lost some of them, as opposed to recreating what it's like to lose it. I hope I find them before they expire.

IOU a punch in the face

2011-06-05T12:50:00.007-04:00

Last night, Owen and I went to see X-Men: First Class. As we were walking up to the theater, I told Owen that he would probably enjoy the opening sequence, because it used the theme song from the 90's cartoon (which if you don't think is epic, means you're dead on the inside), based on what I thought was a leaked clip that I had seen. I told him I couldn't remember if it was a legit one or if it was a fan-made one, but he was pumped nonetheless.
Right before the movie began, Owen leaned over and whispered "If they don't play the theme song, I'm gonna punch you in the face".

They did not play the opening sequence I had seen.

I went home and found the clip again and realized it is a fan-made intro. You know, because it clearly states so at the end, which I somehow conveniently forgot about.

So yeah, Owen owes me a face punch. Looks like my two years of wearing braces are about to go to waste.

Also, Kevin Bacon speaking German cracked me up.

2011-06-04T21:09:00.002-04:00

Memorable Quotes:
"What about anys'more? Is anys'more a word? As in, 'You can have anys'more you want!'"
-Sergio, right after asking me if "anymore" was a word.

Mommy

2011-06-01T23:13:00.003-04:00

Dear Amie,

Thank you for the following:

-for not doing that thing dad used to do. You know, when he'd stop, stare at me, let out a big sigh and then shake his head.
-for doing most of the cooking, because as much as I love dad, his cooking is horrible.
-for calling me at night when I'm out at night just to make sure I'm alive and that I'll get home okay. Certain friends rag on you for that, but fuck 'em.
-for putting up with all the weird phases I went though as a kid (I forgive you if you're the reason why my Marilyn Manson shirt went missing).
-for never complaining when I dump my dishes in the sink and walk off without washing them.
-for putting me through math school, Chinese school, Taekwondo lessons, piano lessons and swimming lessons, even though I hated nearly all of it.
-for nagging at me to take care of important stuff like looking for a job, making sure I graduate, taking care of bursaries and loans and getting my license. I fucking hate being nagged at, but the only reason why I ever did any of those things was just to shut you up, and if I didn't have that, I'd have never done any of it on my own.
-for not saying anything when I dated that one girl, even though you thought she was completely wrong for me.
-for teaching me to be self-sufficient. You know, even though you still cook my meals and wash my dishes.
-for pretending not to favor Gene over me (even though I know you and dad totally do).
-for picking up my dry cleaning.

Happy Birthday.

Love,
Your Greatest Son

2011-05-30T00:39:00.003-04:00

Memorable Quotes
"Oh dude, I got a great story for you. You'll like it; it'll make you feel less bad about being alone"
-Sergio

Ain't nuthin' but a G1 thang

2011-05-28T11:43:00.002-04:00

So I got a G1 again. Just writing/saying that, I feel silly; how many people in Canada will ever say that they got their G1 license a second time?

The process was much smoother than our attempt on Thursday, in that both Mark and I had our shit together this time, although the wait was substantially longer (2 fuckin' hours!). All those jokes Americans make about the DMV apply to the DriveTest centers here. Mark killed time by criticizing people aloud, even if they were sitting two feet away from us. I, in turn, killed time by squirming uncomfortably at Mark criticizing people aloud and responding to him in what can only be described as half-whispering and half-mumbling. I like to call it "whumbling".

The vision test process was pretty questionable. For everyone else that remembers taking their G1, there's a part where after you stick your face in the little box, and after you've read lines of numbers, they flash some lights and you have to say which side it's flashing from: right or left. I know I have my stupid days, but I know which side is right and which side is left. There were a few instances where I could clearly see it only from one side, but was told that I was wrong. Instead of just marking it down that I got it wrong and moving on with the test, the girl made me try it repeatedly.
"No, really, I swear, I only see the blinking light from the left"
"Try it again"
"I am. It's not any different"
"You're not supposed to tell me which side you see it from, you're only supposed to tell me which eye you see it with"
"Well, I'm closing my left eye now and keeping just my right eye open. I don't see any blinking lights"
"Try again"
So I lied, because if I had kept insisting what I really saw, the girl wasn't going to proceed with the rest of the test. For some reason, the girl made me try the entire test all over again, this time without glasses. I scored worse, and at some points, I was clearly guessing. In the end, the girl decided wearing glasses was not a mandatory condition for my license, despite having scored worse on my vision test without them.

I'm not going to lie, I was somewhat proud that I passed, because even though anyone that isn't a complete moron can pass it easily, I seem to have bad luck with tests when it comes to DriveTest. Also, I spent my time studying on the shitter, which isn't a whole lot of time. Mark had boldly decided to write the test without studying anything. He was only one correct answer away from passing, which is unfortunate, but very impressive by my standards.

Anyway, that's one less major hurdle to get through for the summer. I just gotta worry about graduating now.

Silly ass shit

2011-05-26T20:02:00.003-04:00

Mark and I went together to write our G1 exam. Yeah, we even held hands all the way there (not really). It was Mark who was worried about bringing the right pieces of ID to even make it in but I was the one who was ultimately turned away because I'm an idiot. I wished him good luck while I wandered around a Toys R Us, a dollar store and a thrift store.
When he came out, he looked bummed. I had assumed he had failed. He didn't. As he was waiting to write his test, his mom (who had driven the both of us there), came in and he gave his IDs to her to take home. Turns out you still need it even once you get in. And since she had already left the place, he couldn't write his exam either. So neither one of us even came close to writing the damn thing. If that isn't some silly ass shit, I don't know what is.

We try again tomorrow.

Inspiration

2011-05-25T13:15:00.002-04:00

A few weeks ago, Eugenie told Mark and I about a documentary she had seen about photographer Bill Cunningham and how great it was. Eugenie has great taste in music and films, so I definitely didn't doubt her. She sent us a video of the trailer shortly after and I was sold.
I finally got to see it yesterday with Mark and some of his friends and I'm happy to say I wasn't disappointed. It was inspiring to see an 80 year old man so devoted to something, and as devoted to it as he was 4 decades ago. Living a frugal lifestyle, because (I assume) his job is all that matters to him. I can only hope I'll be as likable, sharp, lively, well-respected and talented when I become his age. But most likely not. If you're into photography and/or fashion, I highly recommend this movie.

Scarborough Sauce

2011-05-23T23:14:00.005-04:00

When the man comes around...at 9 pm eastern time.

2011-05-21T10:41:00.003-04:00

In case it actually happens by some miraculous chance, it was nice knowing you*.

*except you, you, you, you, you and especially you. Fucker.

Edit: Looks like I'm still here. Boy, I sure didn't see that coming.

My Michelle

2011-05-19T22:28:00.003-04:00

Happy birthday to the most adorable, creative, inspiring and blackest-non-black girl I know. Congrats, Michelle; you've passed the thresh-old (I totally stole that from Owen).

2011-05-16T11:48:00.003-04:00

Memorable Quotes:
"I didn't think I'd make it (over to your place) tonight...because my testicles hurt"
-Sergio, leading me to assume he was going to say "because of the rain" and instead saying a random reason instead.

This or That

2011-05-15T21:15:00.002-04:00

I don't watch that much television, so I have no idea if this is an old commercial or a new one. Either way, I fucking love this commercial.

Rambling

2011-05-14T11:29:00.003-04:00

One of the more fun* perks I get to experience at work is when sales reps come to visit our store. They always come in with several of those suitcases with wheels and handles to drag them along by. They open up tray after tray of sample frames and try to peddle their stuff. It's a fun sneak peek at all the new collections before they come out.

Most of the time, it's a disaster. I rarely stick around when a sales rep comes in just because I know the boss is going to shoot them down. But on the odd occasion where a rep for a really good line comes in, they have our full attention.

Not to turn this into a fashion blog, but one of my favorite eyewear lines these days is Barton Perreira. It's okay, I hadn't heard of them either until a few months ago. Oliver Peoples has Elijah Wood and Shirley Manson, Chanel has Lily Allen and Barton Perreira has...Giovanni Ribisi. It's something, I guess. But the glasses are really nice. Despite the sales rep having known my boss for years and that we loved the line, he seemed really nervous to be there. It was like he was baby sitting us; we were grabbing frames left and right, trying them on and inspecting them. He could barely keep up.

The whole point of all this rambling?
I ended up getting new glasses. The end.

*depending on your idea of "fun" at a job.

The Quarterly (or so) Cell Phone Pic Post

2011-05-13T17:56:00.018-04:00

Shit I saw the past few weeks or so.

Zombie shaped elastic band. Despite the zombie overkill in just about everything, I still find it awesome.

Scarborough Jenga.

Mark pointed this out to me. Yes, a cigarette butt magically stuck to a metal beam is enough to amaze us.

A whole mound of clothes next to the train tracks. Makes me wonder how all that got there. It's a lot more littered than pictured.

The handiwork of the man who will go unnamed.

Mark makes for a pretty hot babe.

What I do when I'm bored at work: I personalize the scissors.

Michelle with a tissue box on her head, duh.

I like seeing what other people drew/carved on the tables every time I go to Sneaky Dee's. Best steak salads ever (thanks for getting us into it, Jocelyn).

What I tell myself when I strike out with girls.

Really tempted to go and white out the 'N' in Bing.

Mittens gets more and more cute the more he/she (I still haven't bothered to remember which) gets fatter.

Hella nice.

Oreo

2011-05-07T23:31:00.002-04:00

My parents have been loving this commercial lately. According to them, the kid with the sippy cup reminds them of me when I was his age. I guess I could do worse.

Song challenges 4, 5 and 6

2011-05-02T12:34:00.003-04:00

Song Challenge #4: A Song That Makes You Sad
I don't think I know of any song that makes me sad, but if there were to be any song that could do it, this would be the most likely one. Or the first half of the song, anyway, which is all that this video really covers.

Song Challenge #5: A Song That Reminds You of Someone
I probably have a song for each person I know, but my friend Stephanie has a knack for introducing me to music that I end up listening to on repeat, even years afterward. For instance, she sent this song to me almost two years ago.

Song Challenge #6: A Song That Reminds You of Somewhere
When I went to the Dominican Republic with friends, a few of us got sick, despite taking efforts not to drink the local water. I got it the worst, so for a good portion of the trip, I was in my room watching BET on television. And this was a big hit at the time. I ended up loving it and learning some of the lyrics. Then I attempted to sing it at karaoke. I sucked.

List of shit

2011-04-29T23:17:00.004-04:00

As per Michelle's advice, I've started my list of shit that I wanna do during the summer.

-photography projects. I've got some ideas brewing and if all goes well, I'm gonna get Lunar Piano Tuner (both members!) to be my guinea pigs. If it works out, I'm gonna be calling a lot more of my friends to help me out.

-skate. I gotta get my exercise in somewhere and honestly, I really miss skating (even though I suck at it).

-stencils. It's been a long time since I made any stencils. The last one I did was on a school binder two years ago. I've already started to try and warm up a bit before I undertake any bigger projects...

Some of the details are hella blurred, but it's not easy spraying griptape. I'm planning on spraying the underside too, but don't know of what yet. So if you have any suggestions, send `em. And no, I haven't heard the new Panda Bear album yet; I just really like the graphic.

-birthday party. I've had pretty low key birthdays for the past couple of years and for once, I'd like to celebrate. I just gotta figure out what I wanna do. Mark your calendars, bitches.

That's it as far as my list of shit goes, but I'm certain those things will be more than enough to keep me going. I know it's a pretty vague list, but it's no fun if I show all my cards right away.

Song Challenge #3

2011-04-29T11:27:00.003-04:00

Song Challenge #3: A Song That Makes You Happy

If Summer were to take on corporeal form and start a band, it would sound like Washed Out. Listening to Washed Out makes me want to start a giant list of shit I wanna do during the summer so I can have as much fun as the people in the video are having.

Song Challenge #2

2011-04-28T18:42:00.002-04:00

Third entry in the third consecutive day? With the frequency of these updates, it's like I never left Blogger to begin with.

I'm officially sick. Despite never having coughed or sneezed in my presence or ever having exchanged bodily fluids with her, I'm certain my boss got me sick. It can't be coincidence that she tells me she's sick on Tuesday, then I wake up on Wednesday sick. Hey, no problem. It just means next time I get sick, I get to pay back the favor by sneezing into her food when she's not looking. Or maybe even when she is.

Song Challenge #2: Your Favorite Cover

Not my all time favorite, but it's definitely up there. I'm not even that big of an Antony fan, but he does a great job here.

Antony Hegarty - If It Be Your Will from Logic Will Break Your Heart on Vimeo.

The 30 Day Blogger Song Challenge

2011-04-28T00:11:00.004-04:00

This is supposed to be for Facebook, but fuck Facebook*. It's been going around Facebook and I haven't shoved my taste in music down people's throats in a while, so why not.

Song Challenge #1: Your favorite song

What the fuck, it's the first one and it's already bullshit. I don't have one. There's too many to choose from. I'll post one of my favorite songs, though.

What, was that too obvious?

*yes, fuck Facebook, despite the fact that I joined back on it a week ago. No, I didn't miss it; it's the only way I can get in touch with certain people.

Mystery frames

2011-04-26T20:37:00.006-04:00

So for the last 6 weeks or so, we've had this giant Chanel poster hanging out in the front of our store. Nothing special. It's not the first giant Chanel poster we've had hanging there and it sure as hell won't be the last. And as far as posters for optical collections go, it's really formulaic; it's a head shot of a pretty girl wearing frames in black and white.
And yet, for some reason, I've never seen such a high level of demand for any pair of frames in the entire time I've worked in this store. It's insane, the number of women that have walked into the store, asking "Can I see those frames that she's wearing?". I just don't get it. The frames are nice, but it's not exactly reinventing the wheel. No other pair of frames has garnered so much attention and desire from passerby. Today alone, we took down the names and phone numbers of 6 different women who demanded we call them ASAP the minute we got the frames in. Six isn't a big number, but I'm not counting all the people that asked about it without leaving a name/number.
And the kicker? We don't have the frames. We ordered them, but the distributor (who happen to be the largest corporation in the optical industry) doesn't even have the frames on hand. I've yet to figure out how they could ship us a big ass poster advertising frames that they don't even have.

So here it is. If anyone can provide some insight as to what makes these frames so amazing, let me know.

The Anatomy of Melancholy

2011-04-24T02:50:00.006-04:00

I went to see Godspeed You! Black Emperor with Owen last night. Let's just cut to the chase: they were fuckin' good. Even Seth Rogen would change his mind about them. I'll admit I was apprehensive at first; I figured I'd stand there for 3 hours and listen to a total of 4 songs while they dinked around on stage. I'm happy to report there was no dinking around and the whole thing was pretty fuckin' intense from beginning to end*. I caught myself with my mouth agape a few times. It was worth every cent of Owen's money, har har.
I'm not really sure what else to say; for the most part, I'm still kind of speechless.

Other highlights from last night:
-French Canadian dude trying to talk to us while we were waiting in line. I hate it when all people can talk about is music. Well, I hate it when all people can talk about is any one thing. He gave up on talking to us and began talking to the couple behind him, starting off his convo the exact same way he did with us. It almost sounded rehearsed.
-the people stamped my wrist with a stamp that reads "WEINER".
-"$20 for a poster?!?! ...okay, I'll take one"
-the Sadies were surprisingly good, even though I'm usually very dismissive of opening bands and I really don't like country-rock bands. They also did this sort of *ahem* guitar reach-around thing that's a lot more awesome than it sounds.

-despite having been at Lee's Palace numerous times before, I told Owen "Lee's Palace looks a lot bigger in Scott Pilgrim vs. The World".
-instead of standing throughout the whole show, which I dreaded, we managed to snag seats on the wooden benches. Have you ever sat on those things for more than 15 minutes? It fucking hurts your legs. After 15 minutes, you get pins and needles. I know I'm not the only one that was in pain, because I saw both Owen and the girl next to him frequently bring their legs up and hug their knees against them. So sit or stand, you lose either way.
-asking the cab driver if he could get me home on a flat rate of $22 (it's all the cash I had on me). He grudgingly agreed, only for me to realize you could pay by debit, which I didn't bother telling him until we got to my destination. Then he grumbled about having to start up the debit machine, which takes 2 minutes. Yeah, I'm a dick.

*by end, I mean the time I left. I'll admit I didn't stay for the whole set because it was already late and I had to get home.

I'm back, y'all, and I'm back, y'all and I'm backity back...

2011-04-22T23:46:00.003-04:00

The last real post I made was on May 6, 2010. I think I'm finally ready to come back. Because there was so much demand.

2011-02-19T21:41:00.002-05:00

Memorable Quotes:
"You have rapist handwriting"
-Chris, my coworker.

I argued that I only have molester handwriting.

MMX

2011-02-15T23:50:00.002-05:00

I really like this blog and maybe one day I'll come back, but for now, I'm here.

Cut and paste

2011-02-04T21:10:00.001-05:00

The conversation during dinner was pretty lulz-worthy. There were several lulz crammed into one conversation. It was priceless. How it more or less went, almost verbatim:

Mom: Owen looks much better with his hair cut. He looks less Filipino and more Chinese.
Me: Oh that's good, because we make fun of him a lot for looking Filipino. Or Mexican. Or Native American.
Mom: Oh yeah. That too! Is he still dating that girl?
Me: May?
Mom: Yeah, the one that was supposed to pick up that stuff from you.
Dad: No, they broke up ages ago (I was surprised he actually remembered this. I couldn't even remember ever telling him)
Me: Oh, that reminds me. Christine got engaged.
Mom: To who?
Me: You don't know him.
Mom: Who's the other person getting married again?
Me: Lenny.
Mom: Oh right. And when is my son going to bring home a girl?
Me: When I find one.
Mom: When you find one? When do you ever even go look for one?
Me: You didn't go out and look for Dad. You were introduced to him from his sister.
Mom: No, it was my sister that introduced us. And when I met him, I had to put in a ton of effort to woo him! If I hadn't chased after him, he'd still be dating white girls!
Me: (Realizing that she missed my point completely, I just decided to start trolling) Oh, by the way, I told all my friends about you, Dad. About how you dated white girls. They think you're awesome.
Dad: (Smiling) I had two white girlfriends!
Mom: Yeah, but they were ugly.
Dad: Were not! One of them was French Canadian!
Mom: She was fat.
Dad: Fat my ass! She was so pretty.
Mom: She was homely.
Dad: I have pictures of her still!
Me: (Whispering to my dad) Show me later.

So there you have it. Both my dad and I both had/have a crush on French Canadian girls. Guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

What's new

2010-05-06T23:41:00.002-04:00

My memory's really starting to go. I'm one of the few keyholders at my workplace, which probably isn't a good thing, because I find it increasingly difficult to remember if I locked the doors at night. I've already forgotten twice already to lock the doors; I've been warned that if I forget one more time, I'm fired. The other night, I couldn't even remember 2 minutes after I left if I locked the doors. It's one thing if I tried hard to remember and it slowly came back to me, but for me, it's like amnesia. I just draw a blank. I can't tell you how many times I've been so paranoid about it that I've walked back from the subway station to work just to double check.

Ever wake up from a dream that was so convincing that when you woke up, you actually questioned whether or not it happened in real life? This morning, I woke up convinced that I had killed two people, disposed of their bodies in some gruesome fashion and that I had blocked those memories out of my mind. Who knows? With my shoddy memory, maybe I have.

I was gonna write about how awful work's been this week, but instead, I'll focus on the positive aspect of it. Work now is almost exactly like how work was a year ago; I still bust my ass 6 days a week at my job, only I know what I'm doing and I'm a lot better at my job than I was a year ago. Working that often really makes me appreciate the one day I have off and as much as I want to veg out at home and do nothing, I force myself to go out and make the most of my free time. So I'm happy to say the past two Thursdays have been great. It'd be nice if I could get one more day off, but I guess this will suffice. It's too bad school starts again next week, which will throw off my schedule once more, but I'm hoping I'll find the motivation to go out and do something the way I've been doing the past two weeks. Here's hoping.

Report cards

2010-04-28T17:33:00.008-04:00

Being a pack rat saved me a ton of trouble today. Who knew annoying habits could one day prove useful?
I needed a transcript and a course syllabus for a course I took at York, in order to get deferred standing on one of the courses I need to graduate. I had both at one point, but I had a feeling I threw out the syllabus, as it was completely useless and it seems like something I'd throw out. I was pretty bummed about it, considering I couldn't remember the course code, or the professor's name, so even if I did need to request a copy of the syllabus from York, I wouldn't know where to begin. I gave up hope on it, only to discover it when I was trying to look for a copy of my university transcript. I was overjoyed.
The problem is now I can't find my transcript. Life's a bitch like that.

While attempting to look for my transcript, though, I came across some old report cards. Here's an excerpt from my kindergarten report card:

New experiences are not the threat to him that they were earlier in the year. Sometimes Darren's mind does not seem to be on what he is doing and he can be quite forgetful when it comes to tidying up and taking things home.

My Grade 2 teacher wrote:

Attempts at establishing good, consistent work habits have proven inconsistent...Darren continues to have difficulties attending to the task at hand...I would like to see Darren develop more self pride in his work...Darren is a capable student who does not always work to his full potential because he spends too much time socializing with his peers.

My favorite, though, is my grade 1 report card:

Darren has displayed a keen interest in drawing ninja turtles this term. His pictures have been very detailed.

Sounds like I was more awesome as a kid than I am now.

Fuck what you heard; it's what you're hearing

2010-04-26T13:53:00.004-04:00

I was going to write about how school's over and my thoughts on that, but I realized I don't really have any thoughts on it. Sergio requested I post this for everyone to hear, so that should be more interesting.

The Hood Internet - The XX Gon' Give It To Ya (DMX x The XX)byhoodinternet

And this is my contribution for a song.

I call them April Babies because they fools.

2010-04-20T21:31:00.003-04:00

For the past two Sundays, as I'm walking to work, this rather chunky and disheveled looking guy in sunglasses has come up to me with well wishes. I think the first time, he said "Have a good year man!" and continued to walk. This past Sunday, he said "Have a good day, man!". I said "Thanks, you too!". I can't tell if he's secretly taking the piss or if he's slightly wacked out or maybe he's just a happy guy in general. I wonder if I'll see him this Sunday. Maybe I'll beat him to the punch and wish him a good day.

One of my classmates showed up to the exam today and for some reason, announced that he was going to "sit next to my good friend Darren". He has it in his head that I know my shit for some reason and I guess he wanted to cheat off me. Thankfully, he revealed that he wasn't going to cheat off me, but he was just going to sneak his notes in with his exam paper and use that to cheat (so I still have no idea why he wanted to sit right next to me, because I'm sure as hell not his "good friend"). It hardly comes as a surprise that he ended up getting caught halfway through the exam. What kills me is that he didn't get slapped with a zero; all the teacher did was take his paper and tell him "I should be asking you to leave right now". He was allowed to continue writing the exam.
So the moral of the story is: cheat all you fucking want, because apparently the teachers at Seneca are too spineless to enforce anything, let alone a supposed zero tolerance policy.

My dad bought a few bikes a few weeks ago and one night, Sergio and I decided to take them out for a spin around the block. We forgot just how much fun it could be to just go cruising around on a bike. So we decided that we should get our own bikes, since neither of us had one. So we each got a bike yesterday.
We both went riding around for a total of maybe 90 minutes yesterday; I haven't had that much exercise in almost a year. I'm hoping I put it to good use, considering the money I spent on it.
Oh, and the kicker? Sergio and I got identical bikes. No, we did not get matching outfits too and no, we didn't hold hands when we rode together. Also, in other non-gay news, my ass hurts. I was warned that riding lowrider bikes isn't too comfortable since it doesn't leave too much leg room to pedal, but that doesn't even bother me. The part that kills me is that the banana seat my bike comes with has zero cushioning, so I feel. Every. Bump. My conversation with Sergio today went something like:
"How's your ass?"
"It hurts!"
"Mine too"
Like there aren't enough gay jokes about Sergio and I, right?

I thought I heard every good song from the 80's, but I was wrong. No one told me about Chalk Circle.

Lights out

2010-04-14T00:16:00.003-04:00

Memorable Quotes:
"Hey, is it degrading if I call someone 'my Chinese lamb'?"
-Sergio, who meant "someone" as in his wife, who isn't Chinese.

"I think if I had a dark skinned friend, I'd call him Lights Out"
-Sergio, after I told him giving people nicknames based on their ethnicity or skin color might not be wise.

"You're not gonna put that in your blog, are you?"
-Sergio, referring to his previous statements.

Stop laughing!

2010-04-12T00:29:00.003-04:00

Okay, so enough people have been told about this, so I may as well let everyone else in on it.

When I was a kid (like, maybe 9 years old), my dad bought me a Wolverine action figure and from then on, I got into superheroes and comics. Upon seeing Magneto's name for the first time, I completely misread it. It's not like I was some illiterate dumbass, but for some reason, Magneto's name completely threw me off.
So how did I read it if I didn't read it as Magneto?

Mantango.

As embarrassed as I am about it, it seems to have brought a lot of people joy and laughter. Yeah, really. And in case anyone missed it on my Facebook, here's a sweet drawing Owen made.

Kinda like a big deal

2010-04-09T14:51:00.004-04:00

I was busy trying to nap in the school cafeteria while my classmates were busy killing time or studying. One of them woke me up just to ask me what my GPA was. I duly told her what it was and asked why she was so interested.
"You're famous"
Unable to put together what my GPA and my apparent fame had anything to do with one another, I asked her to explain. Supposedly one of my teachers mentioned my name to the class of students, telling them that I'm smart. So one of the students asked the girl if she knew a Darren. I had to laugh; I'm certain there's a good number of people in my program that are doing far better than me. I'm not sure what it is about me that sticks out to my teachers.
Possibly my terrible posture and laughable facial hair.

My mom found a box in a drawer containing her old TTC student Metropasses and showed them to me. It was cute, seeing my mom as a teenager. She had pretty good style back then. I was going to ask what happened to that style, but didn't feel like getting smacked upside the head by her. My dad, on the other hand, wasn't so smart and made fun of her relatively large Chicken Little glasses. He got smacked upside the head.
So I guess the question of who I inherited my lack of smoothness with the opposite sex from is now answered.

Thanks to Pineapple Express, I feel sheepish for admitting I like Godspeed You! Black Emperor. I found out today that they're back to play a few shows, though, so fuck it; I'm excited again. I hope there's a Toronto date somewhere in there.

They told me the classics never go out of style...

2010-04-08T20:36:00.003-04:00

I never got to own a copy physical copy of the album; even now, the album I have on my iPod is what I downloaded maybe 7 or 8 years ago. Sergio has a vinyl copy, but he refuses (pun not intended) to sell it to me. I only get to own his vinyl if he dies before I do (and vice versa with my records). So I'm pretty stoked that Epitaph is issuing a deluxe version of the album. It's one of the few albums I still listen to on a pretty regular basis and I still haven't gotten sick of it.

My Friday? It was Good.

2010-04-03T01:19:00.002-04:00

It was great to see everyone today (you too, Sebastien Grainger); I've been too busy the past few months to really go out. It feels like it's been forever since I've actually been able to hang out with friends, take photos and just relax. I think I really needed it before the final push this month.

Hope your Good Friday was enjoyable too.

The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

2010-03-29T17:05:00.004-04:00

Once again, the last 3 days, Lenny style.

The Good:
-I tried a shawarma for the first time in my life. It may have been because I hadn't eaten for 10 hours, but it was really delicious. I've been missing out.
-drinks with Sergio, Len, Michelle, Owen and Karloong & co.
-watching the Office with Mike, Haleigh, Ramy, Matt, JP, Owen and Sergio.
-trying to get through that one stage in a video game and failing miserably.
-talking openly about Sergio's wife's tits right in front of Sergio's wife.
-the assignment I thought was due yesterday was postponed a week.
-work was mostly smooth.
-the Spoon/Deerhunter show was a lot of fun. Great tunes and great company.
-remembering I have no school or work on Good Friday, and then finding out the weather's gonna be awesome on Friday.

The Bad:
-I only caught the last 3 songs in the Deerhunter set because of work. Thankfully, 2 out of the 3 songs were some of the ones I really wanted to hear.
-apparently, the Tall People Association of Toronto were holding a meeting at Sound Academy last night as well, because it felt like every tall person in the city showed up for the show and decided to block my view.
-work was mostly smooth, but I still got in shit.
-I went from going broke to going broke-er.
-trying to get through that one stage in a video game and failing miserably.

The Ugly:
-Sergio taking public urination to new heights (or lows, depending on how you want to look at it).

Can't get the stink off

2010-03-27T13:08:00.003-04:00

Unlike most people, my hair starts to smell funky after a mere two days. I know some people who go without washing their hair for weeks and not only does it not stink, it actually still smells decent.
I haven't washed my hair in three days. I could occasionally smell my own hair, which isn't a good sign. So I went to the bathroom and sprayed Febreze at head level up into the air and let the mist fall into my hair. Now all I smell are berries.

No, you're gross. YOU. You're gross.

I've made a huge mistake

2010-03-25T00:23:00.001-04:00

Ive made a huge mistake

Lenny Styles

2010-03-22T16:53:00.005-04:00

My weekend, Lenny style:

Good:
-drinks with Owen, Matt, Michelle, Haleigh and Sergio.
-trying to figure out who sang which 90's rock songs with aforementioned people.
-hanging around the Harbourfront area with Sergio and Len on some official SOS business.
-sushi with Sergio and Len.
-winning a free coffee from Coffee Time's own roll-up-the-rim thing on the first coffee I bought from them, as opposed to not having won a single thing yet from Tim Horton's for a few weeks now.
-having made the most sales at work yesterday.
-got my original copy of 'Still Life With Woodpecker' back from Sergio. He kept it for so long, I ended up buying another copy (which I also let someone borrow and haven't seen since).

Bad:
-Caesars at Ballroom. They were so bad I only drank one.
-"Mantango"
-the sushi made me go to the bathroom thrice in a row.
-my dinner the night before also made me go to the bathroom thrice in a row. It's been an awesome weekend for my ass.
-I've been really really tired.
-kind of going broke.

I was going to bus it down to Sound Academy in a rush after work tonight to catch what was left of the Spoon/Deerhunter concert. Then I realized it's next Monday. Close call.

2010-03-15T00:44:00.002-04:00

Memorable Quotes:
"Chicks are crazy. Even after you put a ring on it"
-Sergio, who's probably gonna regret this if his wife ever finds this blog.

Gay

2010-03-14T12:29:00.003-04:00

When I came home last night, my mom informed me that my dad had taken the liberty to set all the clocks one hour ahead for Daylight Savings. Including the ones in my room.
"He saw the poster in your room"
"Which poster?"
"The one on your closet door"
I already knew where the conversation was heading (hint: it was heading for hilarity). This is the poster hanging on my closet door.

Because my closet door is always open and my parents never venture into my room anymore, it was the first time my dad had seen the poster, despite it having been there for at least two years. He found the photo so strange that he even called my mom into my room to look at it. A lot gets lost in translation, but the basic conversation between my mom and dad went something like:
Dad: That's pretty scandalous/perverted.
Mom: Yeah, but we have nothing to worry about. I'm pretty sure he's straight.
Thanks mom!

Abby Normal

2010-03-11T20:51:00.003-05:00

I went back to the doctor's to get the results from my x-ray. I liked how when I sat down in front of the doc, he just sat there and said "Yes?", despite the x-ray results being on his desk directly in front of him.
"Um. You sent me for an x-ray last week? You wanted to go over the results with me?"
He just blankly looked down and began reading from the report. So it turns out I have some sort of "abnormality" in the region where I have the pain. He didn't say what. He ventured a guess that it might be a dilated blood vessel somewhere in there. He suggested I take another x-ray in the summer to follow-up on it. I felt like I wasted a lot of time. Rather than make separate trips to see him and take an x-ray, he could have simply just texted me on my cell phone saying "i dunno lol".
He also informed me that I'm anemic; something about thalassemia. Something I was already aware of. So basically, nothing has been accomplished and I'm no closer to finding out what's wrong with me.

I'm getting a second opinion.

License To Drive

2010-03-10T22:56:00.002-05:00

I wasn't going to say anything about Corey Haim's death, because frankly, I don't care. Then I realized he was in 'License To Drive' which was one of the first movies I ever saw (that I can remember). Maybe even the first. It was either that or 'Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade'.

So yeah, thanks for the childhood memories, Corey.

Moar like XXX-ray

2010-03-03T10:52:00.004-05:00

So I went to the doctor yesterday to get my weird organ pain checked out. I'm not really a big fan of my doctor; he seems really antsy to get his patients out of his office in record time. I once asked him if there was anything he could give me to reduce my humungously swollen elbow and he simply gave me Advil. Yesterday was no different. He didn't even ask to check me. I explained everything to him and he immediately wrote me up a form to get an x-ray. He asked a total of 3 questions and that was about it.

I went to get my x-rays done today. The lady took me to a cramped stall with a curtain drawn, the size of my bedroom closet. She handed me a gown. The kind where you tie it in the back and shows off your ass.
"Okay take off all your clothes and put this on" she instructed me in Chinese.
My eyes widened.
"All of my clothes?"
She smiled and gave me this face that said this wasn't the first time a patient incredulously asked her that question. She seemed to take enjoyment in my shock.
"All of your clothes"
No one told me I had to get naked. I purposely even dressed down for the occasion; just a t-shirt and jeans. I assumed I'd just have to hike up my t-shirt and maybe pull my jeans down a bit just to expose the area she'd need to take the x-ray. And frankly, if I'd known, I'd probably have done them the courtesy of taking a shower before going. Thankfully, the gown she gave me was about 5 sizes too big, so I didn't have to worry about my non-existent ass being exposed.
The office was cold.
For most of the positions I had to lie in, it usually involved lying on my stomach. I kept worrying that the gown would open up and give her a nice view of my bony butt. For all I know, maybe it did, but I'm pretty sure I didn't. The best part was the last position, where I simply laid on my back. She took a metal plate and laid it on my crotch.
"This is just protection for your penis" she informed me.
I get the test results in a week.

Umm

2010-02-24T00:25:00.005-05:00

When trying to sell glasses and the customer picks up a pair of rimless glasses, I usually try to discourage them from buying them. I tell them it makes them look old. Unless they enjoy looking old or they actually are old.
As of today, I can no longer say it.

Glasses courtesy of my workplace. I didn't choose these, my coworker and boss did. I wanted the typical nerdy plastic frames I usually wear, but they wanted me to go with something I could wear to work. So this is what I got.
The worst part of all this is that I have to pay for them. $255, which if you consider how much it would have normally cost me at retail price (something close to $800), is pretty good. But I practically got forced to buy something I didn't want.
I'm still undecided if I'm gonna wear these outside of work.

And no, I don't know why I keep making faces when I take pictures of myself either.

For Giostra

2010-02-18T19:36:00.003-05:00

Happy Birthday to my friend Stephanie, a huge source of inspiration. I owe a lot more to Asian Avenue than I really care to admit.

Tinfoil

2010-02-17T22:37:00.004-05:00

I've had this pain in my side since last summer. It's not a muscle pain; it's internal, so I'm sure it's one of my organs. It used to hurt every time I bent over, but being the inactive and lazy person I am, I rarely needed to bend over (get your mind out of the gutter), so I rarely noticed it. But it's been with me all this time. Yesterday, the pain became constant. I'm pretty worried about what it actually is. I gotta book a doctor's appointment soon. I'm hoping it's either something really cool (congenital twin?) or something minor (kidney stone?) and nothing something serious (cancer?). I have to admit my imagination is running pretty wild; it's hard not to think about it since the pain is always there.

In other news, I finally bought the first Limblifter album off iTunes. 13 years late, but better than never. Laugh at me all you want for buying music online, but I couldn't find it anywhere online and the torrent for it downloaded literally 99.1% of the album and then died.
Man, I miss Canadian rock.

Paul Young Fuck Yeah

2010-02-14T23:27:00.003-05:00

I nearly started singing in the middle of the mall today. And not just softly singing either. I mean karaoke-style belting out. I don't sing aloud often, but when I do, it's usually for a song I love.
Today, they were playing Paul Young's 'Every Time You Go Away'.

I kind of wish I had sung now. How can you not feel this song?*

*I'm not being ironic. I genuinely love this song. Along with Sade's 'Smooth Operator', Wham's 'Careless Whisper', Dan Fogelberg's 'Longer', Michael Jackson's 'Billie Jean' and Simon and Garfunkel's greatest hits, I was pretty much raised on this song. Oh and a shitload of Bee Gees too.

G2

2010-02-10T12:01:00.004-05:00

Got a nice little reminder in the mail today from the Ministry of Transportation; my G2 expires in July. So it looks like I gotta get my G. I thought I had something like 2 more years left.
I hate driving. I find it very stressful. I'm not sure if it's because it really is stressful or I happen to just be a very stressed out person. I haven't driven in something like 2 years and even though the TTC can be a real bitch sometimes, overall, I'm pretty happy that I haven't driven.
I'm gonna have to start practicing ASAP again, which won't be so fun. The road conditions aren't exactly ideal for getting back into the swing of things, but that's what I get for leaving this stuff until the very last minute.

Let's hope I don't book the wrong driving test online again.

Cool beans

2010-02-07T11:39:00.002-05:00

Congrats to Schemes for putting on an awesome fun show last night. The music was great and it was nice to see people that I barely see anymore. Getting my ass groped by girls definitely helped too.

On an unrelated note, next to Machotaildrop, this is another movie I wanna check out in 2010.

2010-01-30T00:41:00.002-05:00

Memorable Quotes:
"Make sure you cream yourself tonight"
-Ani, with her own unique way of reminding me to apply lotion due to my chronic dry skin

2010-01-26T23:48:00.002-05:00

Memorable Quotes:
"It's like you're losing your face to your neck"
-Mrs. Sergio Attardo's way of telling Mr. Sergio Attardo that he's turning into a fatty

"C'mon! It's the closest you'll ever get to my mouth"
-Ani's way of persuading me to let her steal a drag off my cigarette

Sneakerhoe

2010-01-23T14:32:00.003-05:00

My friend Julie is getting married. It's strange; not because she's getting married, but because I've hung out with her a total of 2 or 3 times in my entire life and we don't even keep in touch online that often and yet, I've never been so happy for someone I barely know.
Anyway, she asked me to be the wedding photographer. It's a scary gig. I've done photography gigs as a party photographer and even then, I could barely hold up. Sergio's wedding doesn't count. It was just a loophole to get a non-Witness into the wedding. The photos I took that day were absolute shit.

I don't even know what wedding photos are supposed to look like. I'm gonna have some studying up to do. Thankfully, it won't happen for another year, so I have plenty of time.

And even though she won't read this: congratulations again, Julie!

Lame

2010-01-22T17:48:00.002-05:00

I'm taking a communications course. It's a mandatory course; can't graduate without it. The first class last week was sort of a standard class. Icebreaker activities and what not, so I couldn't really gauge what the course was going to be like yet.
And now that I've had my second class, I think I can say it's the corniest class I've ever been in. At one point, Ani leaned over and whispered "I feel like we're in an anger management class". And she's right. The lectures are about how we communicate and how we can be better at communicating with one another. We had to fill in these sheets that forced us to try and look deep into ourselves, because you can't communicate if you don't know yourself. One girl told the class that she was trying to be a human being. WTF.

So yeah, it looks like I'll be skipping this class often.

Who's your daddy?

2010-01-21T23:46:00.003-05:00

The other day, I discovered there's an optical store in Toronto called Siht Optical. My coworker and I hypothesized that perhaps there was a 'g' missing and that it was a typo. But no. It's Siht Optical. It's more than likely the owner's last name. I guess he/she's never been to elementary school or high school in North America. Because otherwise, they would have been taunted relentlessly and would know better than to name an optical store with their last name.

My coworker also discovered porn on my boss's laptop. She discovered a movie file titled 'Kerri Sable - Who's Your Daddy?' in the download folder. She had to Google Kerri Sable to figure out who she was. Luckily (and unfortunately), it's not my boss's. It's mine.
Kidding.
It's the boss's son's. I actually wish it was my boss's, just so I could occasionally say the phrase "Who's your daddy?" in front of him and see what his reaction would be. And in what context would I ever say that to my boss? I have no idea.

Nothing Ever Happened

2010-01-18T22:26:00.005-05:00

It looks like I'm going to see Spoon and Deerhunter in March. I'm pretty stoked. I like Deerhunter the same way I like Joy Division; there's a good chunk of their material that I can't stand (and that's saying a lot, considering how often they put out new stuff), but the songs I do like, I fucking love. Hope to see you there.

Wow

2010-01-16T19:28:00.002-05:00

Machotaildrop

2010-01-14T23:30:00.003-05:00

It tries a bit too hard with the "quirky" factor and using skateboarding as a plot device seems contrived (they could have done this with any other sport), but I still kind of want to watch this.

But having Steve Olson and Rick McCrank in the movie is pretty cool, though.

More Cushin' for the pushin'? No? Okay.

2010-01-11T22:23:00.002-05:00

If you know me well, you'll know that I don't watch a lot (or any) television. So it's not a big surprise that I ended up dispensing glasses to Christine Cushing (or rather, her mother) without realizing who she was. I know her name, but I had no idea what she did until Ani told me (she was originally Ani's customer). And I definitely had no idea what she looks like. If you told me to pick her out of a line-up, I'd probably pick the fat, balding dude in the group. For what it's worth, she's incredibly nice.
So yeah. That's two local celebrity sightings in a week. Who knows, maybe I'll get to meet Mark Dailey next. That guy is fucking awesome.

Romeo

2010-01-11T07:13:00.002-05:00

Sergio and I saw Mark Taylor at Walmart last night. You might not know who Mark Taylor is, but I assure you, you know who he is. He's better known as "That guy. You know, on that one show. He also plays some other dude in some other show". He's also known as Romeo in Student Bodies. What astounds me is that I can never remember if I locked the door to the house when I go out, but I can somehow remember a character's name in a Canadian pre-teen sitcom that I never even watched.

He bought toilet paper.

2010-01-10T00:20:00.001-05:00

Memorable Quotes:
"Any way you need it,
That's the way you need it,
Chocolate chips are good to eat!"
-Sergio, singing Journey's 'Any Way You Want It'

Help me, Tyra

2010-01-06T23:34:00.001-05:00

You're fucking right I do.

Turrible

2010-01-06T10:12:00.002-05:00

What do you call a woman with one arm and one leg?

Eileen.

But what do you call a Chinese woman with one arm and one leg?

Irene.

The small things

2010-01-05T00:01:00.003-05:00

The little things I find enjoyment in:
-a Coke with my meals, which I don't drink until the end
-when my photos turn out
-when I intentionally make a joke and people actually laugh. Hard.
-when I spend a whole day cleaning my room and it actually shows
-when they play a song on the radio or in a store that I really like, even if it's a song I've heard a million times before
-not having to set my alarm clock because I don't have to wake up early the next day
-coffee and shooting the shit with friends
-finding money in a pair of pants that I forgot about (it happens pretty often)
-coming across a song I really liked but completely forgot about
-when I'm the only one up in the mornings and I can enjoy my coffee quietly
-having one of those trips home where I catch the subway and the bus right as they arrive
-"Wow, I have more money in the bank than I remembered" (rarely happens)

That's all I can think of at this hour.

2010-01-01T10:47:00.001-05:00

What a way to start a year.

2009-12-31T12:46:00.001-05:00

What a way to end a year.

Das Racist

2009-12-30T15:30:00.001-05:00

Memorable Quotes:
"I don't like this. It reminds me of Indians"
-Michelle, looking at jewellery at H&M

From Lenny

2009-12-28T23:44:00.003-05:00

So it's pretty much offical: I'll never have a boring life* again.

My best Vince impression. Also, what the fuck is up with my jawbone? It looks like I have some weird growth.

*tuna

Geek humor

2009-12-26T22:11:00.002-05:00

I haven't seen Avatar, but I know there's something called "unobtainium" in it that the humans are fighting with the oversized Smurfs over. It's a little ridiculous, but calling it unobtainium kinda makes sense.

So why did they name adamantium after this guy?

xmas

2009-12-25T18:35:00.000-05:00

RAWR, MERRY CHRISTMAS MOTHERFUCKERS! *rips shirt off*

The most ridiculous conversation ever

2009-12-23T23:31:00.002-05:00

So I was eating dinner with my parents. I was facing the patio door. My mom was talking about...I don't remember. She could tell I wasn't listening because I was busy staring at something outside.
"[Blah blah blah blah or that noise the adults make in Charlie Brown cartoons]...what are you looking at?"
"A cat"
My mom looked, but the cat had already gone.
"Are you sure it wasn't a raccoon?"
"No. It was orange"
"...You saw an orange outside?"
"*sigh* No, I saw a cat. A cat that was orange"
I was met with a blank stare.
"You know...an ORANGE CAT?"
"An...orange...cat?"
"YES!"
"Are you playing with me?"
"What?"
"There's no such thing as an orange cat"
"Are you kidding me?!?!? Of course there's such thing as an orange cat!"
"I've never seen one ever before and I'm over 50"
"They totally exist...Garfield is orange!"
"He's a cartoon"
"Okay, bad example. But they exist! I can understand if you've never seen one when you were young and in China, but you've been in Canada for over 30 years! How have you never seen an orange cat?"
She shrugged. Then my dad chirped in.
"Maybe one day you'll show us a green dog too"

Frustration

2009-12-22T23:19:00.002-05:00

I figured out on Sunday how much 20 minutes of my time is worth, apparently. It's worth exactly $452. The value may change in the future, but on Sunday, it was worth $452 dollars.

I had to cater to two air-headed women, trying to suppress my urge to yell at them to get the hell out of the store while we were closing. You either have to be either incredibly oblivious or have a lot of nerve to walk into a store when they're clearly closing. It's okay if you don't know what time the mall closes, but the fact that the staff are vacuuming the store might be a hint. And when you ask what time the store closes and the staff more or less answer with "Now", the considerate thing is to say "Oh sorry" and leave. Not continue looking at whatever the hell the store is selling. At first, I was trying to subtly discourage them from buying, by telling them most of what they tried on looked ugly on them. I'd have just told them they were too ugly for anything, but that's pushing it a little too much.
Then one of them found a pair of sunglasses she really liked. So I figured it'd be easier to just convince her to buy them instead of discouraging her. Ani helped too. I dunno about her, but I've never tried so hard to sell overpriced ($400) sunglasses to someone in my life. I once sold a pair of $1200 sunglasses and had an easier time. It was ridiculous how much I was holding back. She took forever to decide.
Skipping forward, she finally decided to buy it. She handed me her debit card. I had it in my hand. I was in the middle of punching the amount into the machine when I told her the total amount.
"That's $452 total"
She didn't take into account the tax. Paying $400 was okay for sunglasses, but not $452. So she had to call her mom for advice. She must have been my age. Maybe older. If you're 26 and you need to call your mom on whether or not you should spend your own money, you're not ready to be on your own. The mother said no. Although, the girl pointed out something didn't make sense: "That was advice from a woman who spends $3000 on sunglasses". SO THEN WHY ARE YOU TAKING HER ADVICE? Ani and I both had to smile like it was all gravy as she and her friend walked out. The reason spoiled people are spoiled is because no one's taken the time to kick their asses. I work in a mall that caters to people who have never had their asses kicked.
We weren't near done closing the store and this daffy bitch held us up for 20 minutes for nothing. If she had bought it, it would at least have been worth my while. And that's how I've deduced that 20 minutes of my time is worth $452. Meaning an hour of my time is worth $1356.

Damn, I cost about as much as a high class hooker. That is how much a high class hooker costs, right? That seems expensive enough.

2011

2009-12-20T15:08:00.002-05:00

School's over. I should be feeling a little happier, but I just mostly want to sleep. I can't wait to see what my grades look like.

Mark and I are undertaking a new project in 2010. I'm genuinely excited about it. I wanna say more about it, and I know I got a big mouth, but this time keeping my mouth shut will probably be more beneficial.

Lies

2009-12-16T23:56:00.003-05:00

"Yeah, so tonight, I told Kathy that Gene ran away from home so I could come over"
"Jesus! That's horrible!"
"Yeah, I know. A few months back, I also told her Gene got hit by a car and that I had to go visit him at the hospital"
"Holy shit, dude. You didn't even tell me this! What if I bumped into Kathy and she started asking me about Gene?"
"Yeah, I didn't really start thinking about that until just now"

WTF

2009-12-15T22:44:00.002-05:00

I should be studying for tomorrow's exam, but this couldn't wait. Normally, this wouldn't warrant a blog post, but the Back To The Future trilogy, along with Robocop, was a huge part of my childhood. So imagine how much of a mindfuck this was when I came across this:

Seriously. There isn't even any room for ambiguity here. You can't even argue that this kid maybe was implying something else. He's just fucked up.

I'm kind of like a big deal

2009-12-10T20:12:00.004-05:00

I never wrote good essays. I barely grasped the concept of an essay in high school and in university, I was more concerned about how I was supposed to fill up 15 pages worth of bullshit. The majority of them were given C grades. So I was happy my prof commended me last week on my Smiths paper; it was my first bonafide essay I've had to write since graduating university.
When he first assigned it, the prof mentioned that whoever wrote the best paper would be rewarded. Guess who got rewarded?

I'm not really all that fascinated by the Beatles, but it sure felt good to know I beat out everyone else in the class. Funny thing is my mark wasn't that high.

But who am I kidding. This is a college class about rock and roll. If you want real academia, talk to S.C. about that shit.

Merry Christmas, mon

2009-12-09T15:40:00.003-05:00

One of the things I secretly like is the Christmas music they play in stores/malls during Christmas. I know it annoys a lot of people, especially those who have to work in those stores/malls, since it's non-stop and they usually start playing the music as early as November. I think I just like it because I've sort of lost that whole holiday cheer over the years and hearing it brings back what little Christmas spirit I have left.

Except last week. I heard the worst rendition of Jingle Bells ever. I was killing time at Chapters before work, when it came on. I didn't notice it at first; it just sounded like any other bad version of Jingle Bells. They put a country spin on it. What made me start paying attention to it was the fact that I could have sworn they said something about Rastas, reggae and jerk chicken. I shit you not. I looked up from the magazine I was reading and strained to listen to the words. At the end of the song, the singer talked a bit as the band kept playing. He was talking in a pisstake of a Patois accent. If I could remember what he was saying, I'd write it.
Again, it was a cover of Jingle Bells, played in the style of country music, but with words switched up so it was some Rasta version of the lyrics. The guy still sang with a country twang though. It was as if a bunch of racist hillbillies played it to mock Rastas. I couldn't believe they were playing this at Chapters. I was really tempted to go to the front desk and ask them who that band was, just for curiosity's sake.

gloating and dinner

2009-12-06T12:50:00.004-05:00

Apparently, my prof enjoyed my paper on The Smiths. Enough to single me out in class. I have to admit it's pretty awesome to have a teacher tell everyone how good your shit is, since he didn't do it for anyone else. I never had that in elementary school or high school. Frankly, I would have been happy enough if he just told me privately, but it felt great to rub it in the faces of all the kiss-asses in the class. They'd probably be less subtle about sucking the prof's dick (proverbially) if they just sucked his dick (literally).
The point of this is that I'm awesome. Oh, and I ended up giving my paper the title 'These Charming Men: The Smiths and their Ordinary Revolution'. Pretentious, huh?

Staff dinner last night. Still not sure what to think of it. It was nice to see everyone out of work mode, but there was still this lingering feeling of restraint. We couldn't be ourselves because the bosses were still there. Aside from a corny joke that I told to the entire table, I barely said anything. I can't make small talk to anyone, and the only thing I have in common with my coworkers is mostly work. And I can't talk about work in front of my bosses, because it'd mostly be me bitching about work. So yeah, it left me with very little to say.
On the bright side, I got a nice bottle of cologne and a nice surprise in my card, which I've yet to thank my bosses for. I hope I don't forget to thank them today.

Aside from that and the fact that I'm still busy as hell, not much else is going on. As if you asked.

Potent Quotables

2009-12-02T20:45:00.004-05:00

I have absolutely no idea what's going on these days. I'm completely lost at school and I just sort of float by, half-awake at work. I hope I can collect myself during the Christmas break and snap out of it.

In completely unrelated news, I was recently threatened by Sergio, who said "I'll Ghostface Kill-your-ass!". Quotable win.

Prayer

2009-11-27T03:59:00.000-05:00

These past 2 weeks nearly killed me. Please let tomorrow go smoothly.