I used to be

so inspired to write about all kinds of different and interesting things in the old days, provoking discussions and arguments and such with my daily dose.

But now, it seems as though they are lacking, filled more with "OMG it's hot outside" and "work is busy" and less with "pass the cheese joey, he's going to try to cross the road again".

On the plus side, I have continued to read about various topics from the potential end of our civilization to germ warfare to anger to novels about the world of hacking.

There's plenty of stuff out there to talk about, to be sure. I suppose I can blame work for keeping me so busy - I didn't have that excuse the first time around. Those were the days when they hired three co-op students to do 1 job. Ah, government jobs.

Falling asleep

Wow, I can't believe that I fell asleep at my desk this morning. Mind you, it was 7am, I was the first person in the office and I generally work until at least 6pm, so if you tell my boss, he won't care. Anyway, it was weird. I got as much sleep as usual, but for some reason, I was a zombie. I nearely missed my bus stop this morning. It must have been HOW I woke up. Usually, when my alarm wakes me, I end up being more tired than if I wake up on my own. Peculiar. If I had've stayed awake at 430, things might have been different, but...

On a related note, I never realized how much a surprise phone call from a loved one can improve a drab seeming day. Thanks, Shea. :)

Stinkin Hot

Wow, summer is back with a vengeance!!!

34C and humid and smoggy. This is the new meaning of summer in the T. Dot.

I imagine that most folks would want to spend the day down at the beaches - that would be a nice idea. There isn't much to do on a day like today other than lounge around, because the weather makes it very difficult to do any strenuous work.

That reminds me... I'd better get the sun block out.

I have always wondered

why different emotions affect different people so differently. Some people get seized by their anger and woe be to those nearby to suffer the verbal or physical consequences. Others sink into emotional lows leading to tears and self-recrimination. However, those same people may not lose their temper and shrug off the lows. It is an interesting phenomenon, one that is difficult to see a solution for when you are in the midst of strong emotion.

Being able to recognize when you are so affected is the first step, I suppose. Being able to feel your emotions is supposed to be healthy... it's the unhealthy responses that get us into trouble.

And just a note - crying is NOT an unhealthy response to feeling down. Telling yourself you are no good IS an unhealthy response...

Feel free to discuss. I'll be around. ;)

Nearly Stank...

A story I forgot to tell...

Last night I was coming back in from buying bus tickets from the station next door. I put my hand on the back yard gate and heard a rustling down to my left. I looked down and not 5 feet away from me was that black and white animal that we fear only because of getting STANK. That's right, there was a skunk looking up at me, quivering. I froze, and slowly backed away before turning tail and running.

This marks the second time since living in this house that I have been surprised by a skunk. Luckily, I have avoided the stank both times, but they have scared the crap outta me both times. Who wants the aggravation of having to wash in tomato juice or whatever for hours on end and burning the clothes? Yeesh.

Why do I

go to bed so late on a weeknight when I know I have to be up at 530? Why?

Oh, wait, I know why... I'm too busy goofing around on the internet, playing games, chatting, reading, fielding the occasional phone call....

Forget that I asked.

Joseph Schneider Haus

So the gf and I went down for a tour of the almost 200 year old house in Kitchener and were thoroughly enthralled with the life these people lived. They were almost totally self sufficient, providing their own food, water and shelter, and most of all, family. We pondered what it might have been like to live in such times.

We also had the question answered as to why the streets in Kitchener-Waterloo go all over the place... because they always have. The roads through much of the area date back to settlement times, and since they weren't in a grid back then, they aren't now. Kind of helps explain why north-south streets are labelled as east-west and how parallel streets can cross three times. :)

Weird Dream

As I was sitting at my parents' kitchen table writing some test with my brother and mother, I could hear my nephew in the background (don't ask me how my brother had a kid) talking to my stepfather:

"Grandpa?"

"Yes?"

"Grandpa!"

"Yes?"

"GRANDPA!!!!"

"What!"

"SHUT UP!!!!"

I kind of did a double take at that point. I shook my head and went to get some ice cream. I had never had grape ice cream before....

Curse of the Derk

seems to have lifted.

Normally, thunderstorms avoid me and where I am. However, yesterday, we got hit by 2 pretty nasty ones, and another one the day before. What gives? Perhaps this is because I couldn't get to fully enjoy the lightning strikes and heavy rainfall (I have this nerdly tendency of taking pictures of various forms of flooding in creeks and on streets). The warm weather made the rain easily bearable.

It is kind of amazing how much rain we have had the last two days after about a month without. Now it'll probably be dry for another month....

I had something to write about, but...

I forgot what it was. I hate when that happens.

Other than that, it has been a normal day.

And the A/C is absolutely CRANKED in here today! :)

Downpour

We had a nice thunderstorm here as I was leaving work. Luckily, I was armed with my rain coat and rain pants, so aside from my shoes, I stayed relatively dry.

Other people were not so lucky. There were six people in the bus shelter in various degrees of drenched. One woman was in shorts and a t-shirt with her hair matted to her head because of the rain (no, it wasn't a white t-shirt).

I got wetter on the bus than outside. For some reason, even though it was almost 30C outside, the heat was on full blast inside. The windows were fogged, which may have been why... or maybe not, who knows. And all the windows were closed because the rain would have run inside. So I sat there in my own sweat for th 25 minute bus ride home. Finally some other folks opened their windows (mine was the only one open) so there was a bit of a breeze.

But now I'm home - and it is only 6:30!!! w00t!!!! Take away field work and I have more time to myself! The only drawback is that I don't get to see Shea. :(

Note that when I am in the field, it is much faster for me to go to KW than it is to try to come back across the city to my place. Twice as fast, in fact. I timed it (45 min vs. 1.5 hrs). Go figure.

Relax!

Nothing like sitting on a porch, pounding back a beer with your buddies and watching the world go by on a hazy, lazy Saturday afternoon. I mean, there really isn't much else that I wanted to do - it was simply too hot.

Then in the evening, a nice greasy bar meal on a patio, some beers, and a group of folks watching Tyson get his ass handed to him again, all in the name of money.

Today will be a different story, unfortunately - sitting in a hot car driving back to Toronto.

So hot

It is so hot out these days. 32C just isn't my kind of weather, especially with all this humidity. And driving to Windsor with no air conditioning was pretty difficult. I didn't realize how much I missed it.

Oh wait, yes I did. The gf's apt soaks up heat like a sponge, and only half of the bedroom cools down at night if you have the fan sucking air in from the outside.

On the plus side, the field work is pretty much done, except for one more day of supervision. Then it will be nothing but air conditioned comfort for the next four weeks.

And I will have time to blog more often, too.

Whine whine whine

"It is not my responsibility to take out your recycling, and your upstairs neighbours either. You should not leave it in the bins outside. You should take it out on the appropriate day."

That would be fine if I had been home once in the last six weeks to do it, you blathering idiot. And apparently my two roommates don't understand the concept of recycling, since stuff I had put on the counter the last weekend I had wine at home (about 6 weeks ago) was still on the counter.

But no, I get ragged out for putting the stuff outside in the bin. Maybe you could be considerate and do me a favour and move the stuff out to the road. You know, like I do for the upstairs neighbours once in a while.

Quit your damn whining and use your brain.

Long week...

It has been a very long two weeks for me.

I supervised a 72-hour pumping test last week into the weekend.

This week was more drilling and developing. However, my boss decided on Wed. nite that we should do a 24-hour test on our latest borehole, so I was out on site from 8am Thurs. to approximately 8pm Fri. It was a long couple of days, but we are nearly done except for a couple pump tests.

Other more important stuff...

Happy birthday to mom (June 1) and dad (June 2). You guys are the best (not that you'll ever read this, but you are).

And happy birthday to Charlie (June 3) wherever he may be these days.