there are three things i'd like to mention before i probably drop off the face of the earth for the next several days:
- i got 96% on my final exam which means i got 94% in the course. yippee!
- secretary is a very, very interesting film.
- i forget what the third one was going to be, so i'll just say "rabbit, white rabbit" instead.
p.s. happy canada day!
June 2003 Archives
as you may have noticed, i don't make a lot of commentary on current events or technology news. it's mostly due to my having a pretty serious case of social apathy and a lack of ability to thoughtfully present my take on issues. if there's something going which matters enough to me that i need to discuss it, i'm usually too upset about it to discuss it all rationally. i usually just flip it over inside my head a few times and then make a few overly simplistic comments on it while refusing to elaborate for fear of getting too worked up.
that being said, i really did want to mention that this scares me in a lot of ways. i thought biometrics (retina scanning and fingerprint recognition) were going to be the next big privacy risk. boy, was i wrong. the idea that everything i buy could be electronically tagged which, with a network of well-placed transceivers, would enable whomever to track every move i make... ugh.
yeah, okay, it'd be great to be able to find the car which was stolen or the cat which ran away during that big thunderstorm or the kid who was abducted from her bedroom; but, do you honestly think such uses would be the stopping point for this technology? do you trust your neighbours or governments to truly have your best interests at heart when they slowly increase the use of such monitoring?
if you do, you're not very smart.
fine, call me paranoid if you want, but it's bad enough i provide safeway with a detailed list of everything i buy each week when i use their savings card to obtain their special prices or let my bank keep records of every transaction i make with my debit card. i don't want my shoes or the tires on my car telling whichever entity cares to track it about where i'm going or how i'm getting there. it's none of their fucking business.
okay, i'm getting all worked up. read the articles, make up your own mind. just remember, that if you don't agree you have every right, and even an obligation, to speak up about it. in situations such as these, silence is the same as consent.
how many of you would be interested in receiving an email notification when i post new entries to this site? if you would, please leave a comment (with an email address) and if/when i decide to implement it, i will use that address to send them to.
you know, we've gone over this before. there are just certain things you do not do at the company coffee corner. this isn't even about leaving the cream on the counter to spoil so that i get a nice batch of cottage cheese-like moo juice floating in my otherwise perfect cup of coffee. this is about those wretches, you know who they are, who don't make another pot.
not one, but both, coffee pots were empty when i just went over to fetch my required second cup of joe. whoever left them that way wasn't even repentant enough to put them back in place to pretent like there was something in them. no! they were sitting on the counter, lids perched atop the carafes, screaming "i just drank the last cup of coffed you have to make more you big LOSER!" grr.
i mean, really. is it really that very difficult to scoop some grounds, fill a resevoir and press an "on" button? no, i don't think so. this obviously means i work with the lowest form of humans. i'm really quite disappointed in them. especially from that particular coffee centre. they're known for being the most anal and precise bunch on this floor.
what really gets me is that, when i finally remember to go back and get some of that coffee i just made, i will probably miss my window of opportunity and only have the dregs after their gang swarms upon the fresh java during their regularly-scheduled ten a.m. coffee break. bastards.
yippee! it's done! my school year is finally finished! no homework for almost three months! yahoo!
steve & i received a lovely 100% on our assignment. i cannot tell you what a relief that is to me. it's huge. huge, i tell you! i'll give colleen a couple of days to mark the exam before i bug her about what i got on that, but i feel pretty good about it (which is usually a bad sign). it was really hard and it seriously taxed my brain. we all walked out of class with fierce eyes and a slight shuffle to our steps. despite the difficulty, i think i caught most of her notorious tricks and even managed to do a half-decent job of the program we had to write. you can ask me next week if my impressions were correct.
then we went to the cactus club and had a round of shooters followed my many fancy drinks in conical glasses. our waiter congratulated us on a final exam well written. we laughed a lot, told some bad jokes, played the "how old are you?" game (yay! i still look 25!), confessed first impressions and then i raced shane home accross the bridge all the while convinced i was going to get pulled over and breathalyzed.
stop looking at me like that. i wasn't drunk, but i may not have been legal. oops.
it's one a.m. and i'm wired for sound. i don't know if i just stay up now or go to bed and be a miserable cow all day tomorrow. "moooo." yeah, that's what i think too.
goodnight, everyone! happy dreams! *kisskiss*
eek! here i go... wish me lots of final exam luck!
so close now!
i was up until just after midnight formatting, commenting and bug-checking our code (and chatting with the still-yummy jim and prevailing upon my saviour, dor, for logic help). i've now handed it over to steve for him to document a couple of his procedures i didn't want to get wrong, then it will come back to me for final proofreading and printing. shit. i should get working on the structure chart now and hope that steve doesn't change too much.
my boy is in the possession of a ticket which will bring him to me in less than one week's time. if i wasn't so stressed about school, i'd be really excited. all emotion, save scholastic determination, is on hold until ten p.m. tonight. that's when the margeritas start to flow and this heather gets to finally relax. of course, once that's over i have to turn my work ethic on cleaning my apartment to "comany's coming" standards. ugh. that just might kill me.
mom phoned last night and she's sending me the money to buy myself the new harry potter book for my birthday. yay! i'm going to pick that up tomorrow on my way home from work. i also told her i want cake when i finally get over to the island. "cake. with my name on it. and candles." i said. she laughed. i repeated my request. "okay," she replied, "you'll get your cake! with a candle for every year. just don't blame me for the inferno." har-har. thanks, mom.
speaking of birthdays, go wish scoot a great one.
1. If you're too open-minded, your brains will fall out.
2. Don't worry about what people think, they don't do it very often.
3. Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.
4. Artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity.
5. If you must choose between two evils, pick the one you've never tried before.
6. My idea of housework is to sweep the room with a glance.
7. Not one shred of evidence supports the notion that life is serious.
8. It is easier to get forgiveness than permission.
9. For every action, there is an equal and opposite government program.
10. If you look like your passport picture, you probably need the trip.
11. Bills travel through the mail at twice the speed of checks.
12. A conscience is what hurts when all of your other parts feel so good.
13. Eat well, stay fit, die anyway.
14. Men are from Earth. Women are from Earth. Deal with it!
15. No man has ever been shot while doing the dishes.
16. A balanced diet is a cookie in each hand.
17. Middle age is when broadness of the mind and narrowness of the waist change places.
18. Opportunities always look bigger going than coming.
19. Junk is something you've kept for years and throw away three weeks before you need it.
20. There is always one more imbecile than you counted on.
21. Experience is a wonderful thing. It enables you to recognize a mistake when you make it again.
22. By the time you can make ends meet, they move the ends.
23. Thou shall not weigh more than thy refrigerator.
24. Someone who thinks logically provides a nice contrast to the real world.
25. It ain't the jeans that make your butt look fat.
i accomplished two of three major tasks for our assignment last night. i was really quite pleased with myself. i'm also doing very well at taking a deep, calming breath when my inner control freak starts to worry about what what steve might do to fuck things up. i have to just let it happen and deal with what comes. *deep calming breath*
we're also planning major drinkage after the exam tuesday night. i think i'll forsake booking time off monday or tuesday for studying and come in at noon wednesday with my hangover instead. that will be much fun. the drinking part, not the coming to work overhung part.
i had a nice cup of Relaxing Tea before i went to bed last night. among other things, it contains: catnip, skullcap and valerian root. i can't believe i drank catnip. although, if it produces as consistently sound and restful sleep as i experienced last night, walter may be fighting me for his nip when i go visit. i totally crashed. of course, i was brain-tired so it could just have been that which knocked me out as soon as my head hit the pillow. plus, i've been running a sleep deficit of approximately one hour per night. at this rate i'm going to have to spend my entire week off asleep just to catch up.
p.s. you big whiners. the plan was my plan of attack for this assignment. sheesh.
i wrote the plan last night.
the plan shall be implemented. the plan shall be followed without deviation. the plan is foolproof and ingenius. the plan shall be our salvation.
hm, i think i need to go pee.
aww, they got me flowers!
going straight to school after work yesterday was great for my mood but horrible for my system. i can't express how glad i am to have made such great acquaintances during this term. steve and shane are awesome fun and they've been a life-saver for me during this course. i'm almost sad next week is the exam which marks the end of my association with pascal.
just a warning, i'm going to be pascal-girl for the next week. we still have our huge project due and now that half our group is gone, steve and i have a lot to get accomplished in the next six days. in addition, i've got to study my ass off for the final. regardless of your grades on assignments and quizzes, if you fail the exam you fail the course. gah. on top of that pressure, i only got 80% on assignment #4 and i'm totally stressed out that i acheive my baseline of 93% for the course. i'll be so upset with myself if i fall below that.
welcome to my week of no life.
well, that starts after lunch today. because one of my birthday buddies is going away for two weeks starting friday and i'm going away the week of my birthday, we're having a birthday lunch today for the two of us. so i dressed up a little (my shoes have a heel and my shirt needed to be ironed) and now everyone is all up on my appearance again. i just don't get it. these people need more things to talk about, obviously.
and just like that i hate everything.
the oakenfold remix of the dave matthews band's "when the world ends" from the matrix: reloaded soundtrack is five minutes and twenty-six seconds of pure, raw, sex.
get it. now.
*pant*
having recently been enlightened that great big sea is coming to play soon, i got all excited and went to their site to find out when and where (june 29th, malkin bowl, stanley park). "ooh!" i thought, "stanley park! that'd kick ass!" so i proceeded to ticketmaster to a) see if there were tickets left (seems to be, yes) and, b) find out how much they were ($37.50 + $11 service charges). "yay!" i thought, "i can go see them again! i had so much fun last year!"
then i got to thinking some more. $100 for two tickets to see a band i've already seen in an outdoor venue with general seating and leaving myself victim to the notoriously unpredictable vancouver weather...
excepting the fact that i don't have a hundred bucks to spare this summer, i don't think i want to go see them again. i've seen them and i had a fantabulous time, but it's been done. i don't feel a real compulsion to do it again.
now if the dave mathews band wasn't playing at gm place and rem at thunderbird stadium... why can't all the the bands i want to see play at nice, intimate venues just the way i like it?
i totally forgot what i was going to type here.
i love coffee. sweet and creamy coffee. hot or cold, doesn't matter. coffee is all that is right with the world.
today is über-cute day. if i thought i was cute yesterday, i'm freaking hot today. of course, if you know me, that's not really saying much, but it does wonders for my attitude. too bad the boy's not around for me to inflict this killer cuteness upon. i'll just have to try and save it up for when he gets here.
i managed to get the entire union executive concerned about me last night which resulted in a phone call from the secretary-treasurer to assess and allay my concerns. during that conversation i realized that i wield power. i've never had that sensation before. i'm powerful in the context of my position within the union. *flex* i like it.
the elevator here at work talks. "ground floor. ground floor. have a nice day." it was cute at first, but you know, it's getting freaking annoying now. i understand that they're testing the system for use in other places in the operation, but we have no visually impaired people here, turn the damn thing off, it's driving us insane. plus, it only wishes you a nice day on the way down. don't you think we need a little well-wishing on our way to work instead of on our way home? we're already excited to leave, why not boost our sagging spirits as we trudge into this big beige box in the morning?
one day i'll actually take my camera out of my bag and use it to make a photo or two. i don't know when that day will be, but i will do it. i swear it shall happen. *sigh*
i'm still tired as fuck and i'm sick of bitching about it, but when you're exhausted it's really all you can think about. tonight's my union meeting, so the best i can hope for is a quick resolution to this month's business so i can collapse before nine. i had really good intentions about getting to bed early last night, but then i started talking to the boy. and, well, you know how that goes. it's just a good thing he's been leaving early to go to work or i'd never get any sleep.
i feel pretty cute today. too bad i'm wasting it on my co-workers.
why is it my car seems to run better after i've washed it? is this a universal phenomenon or is it peculiar to my little p.o.s. car?
i've been having wicked weird dreams lately. a couple nights ago, meghan left mark and was dating three different tall, blonde men i tried really hard not to like, but couldn't help myself because they reminded me of her brother. i couldn't help it, but i wondered if mark would consider me as his consolation prize. last night, a couple coworkers came to look at the an apartment i was thinking of moving to. it was horrible-ugly, but i kept telling them how much bigger it was than my old one. then we were out to dinner at some fancy restaurant with famous people all around and when it came time to pay the bill everything got all fubared and i was afraid we would get arrested for not having enough money to pay.
yeah, i know. i'm weird. it's a good thing i have so many other redeeming qualities! *snarf*
ooh, another question/answer meme to get hooked on. well, since i've missed a few, you get more than one for my first time:
if you could have witnessed one event in history, what would you want to have seen?
the big bang.
if you could suddenly possess an extraordinary talent in one of the arts, what would you like it to be?
i wish i could write gooder.
if you were elected to be the leader of the united states tomorrow, what would be your first act?
i would immediately forbid any and all lobbying by any and all special interest groups. this would include cash donations to political campaigns. i think it's a sick game and i'm tired of big money buying candidates and legislation.
if you could say one sentence to the current pope, what would it be?
thank you for your dedication and devotion; don't you think it's time to rest now?
if could could posess one supernatural ability, what would it be?
teleportation.
[what if...]
i'm freaking exhausted today. the ugly-bad lack of sleep from the weekend, monday night's code-a-thon and class last night have all caught up with me to create an über-tired girl who can't drink enough coffee to keep her head from drooping. guess who's going to bed at eight o'clock tonight.
friday afternoon at work, after going to the farmer's market at lunch, i had three big bags of amazing fresh produce sitting on my desk (as opposed to leaving them in my car to cook). sandy came up and was peeking through the plastic at the watermelon and green beans. she looked at me a little funny and said "i'm so proud of you for eating so well." i must have made a funny face because she got a little embarrassed and continued, "it sounds weird, but so many single people just don't seem to eat very well."
for some reason, i've been thinking about that ever since. god knows i'm not health food girl by any stretch of the imagination, but i guess i do eat a lot of good-quality, home-made food. it is really hard for me to imagine living on boxed meals or eating out every day. *twitch* there have been times when my schedule hasn't permitted me to eat normally and i actually get really, really antsy for homemade food. usually something green. mm, broccoli.
i don't understand how people can not like vegetables. god, they're so yummy! fresh and crisp and sweet and flavourful. lightly steamed or stirfried or blanched then sauted with some garlic and pepper... yum!
i love this layout and i don't care what any of you think. that squirrel was a stroke of fucking genius. *chitter* i also think i love moveable type even though i feel like i'm cheating on noah for saying so.
i'm going to win the lottery tonight. just you wait and see!
grand total time spent on assignment: 8 hours
amount of caffeine injested: 1500 mg
hours sleep lost: 3.5
pages of formatted source code: 12
expletives uttered: countless
feeling of satisfaction of getting it all done and working despite horrible procrastination and apathy: priceless
1. "The Munsters" or "The Addams Family"? munsters
2. "The Sopranos" or the "Godfather" movies? neither
3. "The Jetsons" or "Lost in Space"? jetsons
4. "Superman" or "Batman" (either the TV shows or the movies)? superman movies, batman tv show
5. "Sex & The City" or "Friends"? friends
6. "The Wizard of Oz" or the "Harry Potter" movies? again with the mean. ugh, wizard of oz
7. "The Simpsons" or "King of the Hill"? futurama
8. "Grease" or "Saturday Night Fever"? grease lignting!
9. Old prime-time soaps: "Dallas" or "Dynasty"? falcon crest
10. Not very thought-provoking this week...do you prefer TV shows or movies?
i prefer tv shows only because of the ability to have longer story arcs and many more sub-plots. 22 hours a year vs. 2 hours wins every time.
[this-or-that]
LAYER ONE:
Name: heather shannon
Birth date: july 3, 1972
Birthplace: north vancouver, british columbia, canada
Current Location: north vancouver, british columbia, canada
Eye Color: blue & brown
Hair Color: brown
Height: 5'4"
Righty or Lefty: righty
Zodiac Sign: cancer
LAYER TWO:
Your heritage: scottish/polish
The shoes you wore today: white sneakers
Your fears: spiders, dying alone and loveless
Your perfect pizza: mushrooms, onions, green peppers, pineapple, extra sauce, thin crust
Goal you'd like to achieve: sveltness
LAYER THREE:
Your most overused phrase in an online messenger: heh
Your thoughts first waking up: MORE SLEEP!
Your best physical feature: um. probably my eyes.
Your bedtime: 10pm
Your most missed memory: i forget
Continue reading damn you, moody.
okay. here's the deal... assignment number four is due in exactly 24 hours and 30 minutes. i haven't started it yet. i still can't bring myself to give a shit if i get it done or not, but i'm going to at least give it the old college try.
wish me luck. send me encouraging email. and caffeine! oh, and an algorithm guru. thanks!
it's monday, boys & girls! rejoice! three weeks (give or take) until my birthday, my vacation and my boy. things are looking up in hessieland.
i'm wearing a dress at work and i'm leaving a wake of stunned coworkers as i pass. "a dress! heather's wearing a dress! what's the occasion? is she getting married? did someone die?" it's funny yet embarrassing. why is what i wear such a huge deal?
oh, yeah. i'm now using moveable type to manage the blog and i have a new layout courtesy of some not-so-subtle design theft from paul. thanks, man. the squirrel thinks you rock.
p.s. yes, i know the drop-downs don't work in opera. sorry!
i'm frustrated and procrastinating again.
frustrated because i can't, for the life of me, seem to get an export file from greymatter that isn't somewhow fucked up. why do i need an export file? i'm migrating to moveable type, that's why. i've been working on that for a week, trying to figure it all out and such. now, i'm *this* close and i keep fucking up one thing that's making it all go apeshit. ARGH!
i have another assignment due for class on tuesday. think i've started it? yeah, right. what with being grumpy, overtired and sloth-like from the heat and spending half of yesterday at dad's doing laundry, i've barely been home to even consider starting. now that i have the time, i'm obsessed with this cms migration and can't seem to concentrate on stupid pascal stuff. bleh.
at least the pot of turkey chili i'm making is looking to be the best i've ever made.
oh, and i seriously need to get laid.
it's the grand return of the THERMO-CAM! enjoy my torment.
first, and most importantly, go wish the gloriful, wonderous jodi chromey a fantabulous 31st birthday!
so, it's been no secret around these parts that i've been in a ridiculously foul humour the last month or so. as more than a few of you have figured out, i thought i might have gotten myself pregnant through my own idiocy. being the kind of "out of sight, out of mind" person i am, i didn't want to talk about my worries for fear of making them real, as if voicing my concern alone would make a sperm meet an egg and start dividing with a vengence. i don't know if talking about it would have helped me feel less stressed about it, but i do know that clearblue easy sure as hell helped allay my worries. don't you dare think i'm ever playing unsafe again.
use birth control, boys and girls. every time. no glove, no love!
the weather here has taken a turn for the FUCKING HOT and i'm none too happy about it. it's pretty disgusting for the first week of june. it's as hot as the middle of august the last couple days. sleeping last night was a futile effort. i was up every other hour and the dreams were crazy. all things considered, i'm in a pretty good state today. i think it's the fact i've been eating really well this week (thanks in part to starting my food journal again to keep me honest) and it's helping my insides feel lighter which makes me feel better as a whole. funny how that works, huh? feed your body good quality fuel and it performs better. who knew?
i've been feeling the need to take control of my environment the last few days. the fixing my eating habits is a symptom, i'm sure. doing all my filing the other night is another. as is calculating and swearing over my budget for the next three months. next, i think i need to go through my bookshelf again and put all the recipes i've collected this year in my cooking binder. it shouldn't, but it still does amaze me just how much better i feel when my demesnes are in order. sometimes i wonder if that's a symptom of ocd or somesuch. if so, i think i can deal with it.
1. Cats or dogs? cats
2. Butterflies or birds? birds
3. Horses or cows? cows
4. Turtles or snakes? turtles
5. Frogs or grasshoppers? frogs
6. Lions or tigers? that's mean. tigers. no, lions. dammit, both!
7. Elephants or mice? mice
8. Porcupines or aardvarks? porcupines
9. Unicorns or dragons? dragons
10. Thought-provoking question of the week: You live in a rather dumpy apartment. A friend offers you a chance to be a roommate at a new place s/he is moving into, but they don't allow pets. You have a pet. Do you find your pet a new home and take the new place, or do you keep your pet and stay put?
gee, this sounds semi-familiar. well, besides the fact i'd make an awful roommate, i'd have to stay where i am to be with my pet. *sigh* i miss my cat.
yay! my animatrix dvd arrived today! yay!
shit. there goes my plan to do homework and clean the kitchen tonight...
not quite dead yet. got 105% on assignment i was bitching about. hate my work. keep thinking of things to say, but forget them when i have the time or inclination. broke. registered for my next course (in september). need a haircut. feeling restless. washed the car. sudden urge to go geocaching. spending too much. craving chocolate. watching the cotton fluff float. futzing with mt. not interesting, but still funny, dammit.
