Sudoku

This sudoku puzzle that suddenly finds itself all over the daily newspapers is quite the addicting puzzle (for those of you who are unfamiliar, you have a 9 x 9 grid that is subdivided into 3 x 3 grids - the object is to put the numbers 1 - 9 such that each 3x3 grid has each number once and each row and column has each number once).

I tried it for the first time on Sunday and it took me quite a long time before I realized I had made a mistake and had to start over. :(

However, last night before bed, everything fell into place and I finished one. It made me feel quite good until I realized it was 1130 and I should have been in bed an hour ago. Puzzles sharpen the mind. I hope. :)

Monday Yuck

So it's Monday again, and for some reason I got nauseous on the bus this morning. I thought I would barf, but I made it to work fine. I have a feeling it was motion sickness, since I haven't felt a twinge since the bus dumped me outside of work.

Happy birthday to Hugh (yesterday) a.k.a. Shea's dad. We sat at her Auntie Colleen's watching football for most of the day and had a delicious meal. Her family is fantastic. :)

Eskimos win the Grey Cup in overtime. The CFL has a shootout style of overtime where each team gets the ball once and tries to score. After each such opportunity, if a team is ahead, they win. Nice.

Also, the NY Giants field goal kicker had a bad day yesterday (he choked), missing THREE (3) field goals to win the game. I wonder if he will still have a job this week.

That is all. I'll try to keep my stomach in check. Though all I want to do right now is sleep. Mmmmmm sleep.

The first REAL snowfall...

Ahhhh, winter is finally here! (at least until Monday when it is going to rain and be 13C).

The first really significant snowfall - the one that makes me feel like a kid again when I walk out into the evening darkness, flakes blowing all around. The snow muffles the sound, and I like that a lot.

As a university student, I often found myself walking home in that snowfall, so I became immersed in the peacefulness of it. However, in Toronto I don't have that luxury - at least my walk to the bus stop reminded me a bit of what I am missing.

Credit Card Fraud

So I get this phone call the other day and my credit card company is on the other end. They say "yeah, somebody tried to buy 1200 worth of clothes in Italy, but we told them STFU."

I was stunned.

My credit card is now cancelled, and I sifted through my memory to where I have used it recently - only gas stations and renting cars. And I think the gas stations come out as the more questionable of the two. There has been a suspicious moment or two - the pump telling me to come inside and pay there. Wierd stuff.

So now I'm hyper-sensitive to this sorta thing now - I even called my other company to ask if I was still OK. And keeping an eye on my bank accounts, etc.

I am DEFINITELY going to pay cash more often.... and I will keep track of everywhere I use a credit card from now on.

BEWARE!!!

First sign of winter

So today was officially the first sign of winter - it snowed for a good part of the day, and then all the idiots on the road started getting into accidents. I was on toll hwy 407 for 2 hours - for a 36km trip. At a normal speed of 120kph, thats usually a trip that's under 20 minutes. But get a little bit of snow going, it seems, and EVERY YEAR, without fail, people forget how to drive in winter and BOOM BANG POW SPLAT FART accidents galore. The radio noted over 70 accidents by the time I got where I was going.

Good thing work was paying for the 407 fees today.

ARGH

I hate writing reports!!!

I am getting to that "physical pain" stage today where it hurts just to write and I get angrier and angrier and angrier and who cares about the potential impacts of dewatering on the ecosystem!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!


Sorry about that.

I beg your pardon???

I think my landlord is a little crazy.

A couple months ago, I came home and turned on the oven (efficient German design) so I could cook dinner.

I went back out a few minutes later and found the broil element glowing and spitting sparks all over the place. I turned the oven off and found that it had melted and broke in two.

Today I come home and there is a notice on the fridge. It read:

"As you know, I had the AEG stove repaired. (The repairman) told me that it seemed that the Grill was used for HEATING.

Please, never use the Grill to warm the kitchen. The appliances are top-of-the-line and the repair is very expensive. I have not passed the repair costs on to you, but I would do the next time."

Two points.

1 - Yes, the grill was used for heating - FOOD. Who the hell heats a kitchen with a stove in summer? We have A/C, but it was not on for most of the summer...

2 - Pass the costs on to us? I have a better idea. Get the damn "top-of-the-line" crap outta here and get us a normal stove that won't crap out because it is being used for heating things... like food.

Just a day in the life here in this household.

Snow!

Today is also the day that I saw my first snowfall. This is a day when you look out and say, "Hey look, it's snowing", and not "Is that snow??" (The latter happened in October).

No accumulations are expected.

And yes, I know they had a whole pile of snow up north near Timmins. But I didn't see it, so it doesn't count. I can hardly wait for the first big snowfall. That's always exciting.

A moment

The thing I like most about mornings is the single moment that you sometimes get, looking off to a horizon, or just in any direction in particular, and getting caught up in the majestic beauty of the world. Today it was the newly risen sun, hiding behind some dark grey clouds, but pouring its rays down through a break to the earth below.

That sight gave me pause and made me realize just what I love about being up early.

Update for Nov 9

I mean really, holy crap, it's Nov. 9!!!! Where is this year going?

Today was cool. As in temperature. Was outside this morning meeting the drillers for work in the pouring rain, lightning, wind, and cool temps. Things will get rolling tomorrow.

I have had a sniffle today. Looks like I'm finally getting around to getting that cold my body was threatening me with for the past month. A couple of shots of nasonex should take care of the runny nose.

Mr. Sub is cool. It's especially nice when they know exactly what you want to order before you get there. Just call me turkey man.

I like the gang at Enterprise. I swear I have a smile on my face when I leave there. Great service.

And now my home computer is once again fixed after something happened to the boot sector or some such thing. Probably a hacker. Damn hackers. I wish somebody would beat up those hackers. Oh wait, they probably have been all their lives. Geeks. Piss off.

THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP

Our office is under construction. During the day. I can hear a power saw grinding and a hammer banging not thirty feet away from me. It is annoying even through my music.

Thank god we are moving downstairs at the end of the week, so this can finally come to an end!!!! OMG.

In other news, zabba.

That is all.

Sadness

The feeling of not being there when somebody needs you weighs heavily on me. Keeping the phone on buzz instead of ring so I can catch a little extra sleep. It seems like such a stupid thing right about now. I got my sleep, but I am still tired, drained this morning. When you tell someone they can call you any time if they need to, shouldn't you provide them that opportunity?

Damn Virii

So we've had this virus problem here at work recently, and it is getting annoying. The FUrootkit.D virus, as it is called by my antivirus software, is doing something (though I don't know what) and keeps coming back after I delete it. Also, the scvhost.exe is on my computer, which is a little more sinister, apparently. Our IT guy will be here to fix things up shortly. Apparently it got in through the network somehow. From what I understand, it happened Monday while I was in the field. So hopefully this will get fixed so I won't have this window up all the time telling me I have a virus.

One of those days

Today just seems to be one of those days. I fell down the last couple stairs leaving Shea's place this morning and got a bit wet and turned my ankle a touch. The wet has dried and the ankle is fine. Then I whacked my head on the trunk and cursed a blue streak! Then traffic was horrid coming into work. Then there was a virus problem at work, and reinstalling the new software didnt work, and then the six grand worth of equipment I bought was missing a couple of important components.

Fortunately, most of these issues are moot now, except for the missing components, though that is being researched. Hopefully things are taking a turn for the better.

I bought my first nalgene bottle over the weekend. Hopefully this will increase the odds of me drinking more water, since that is probably why I get afternoon headaches....