[Well it’s raining right now. I can hear thunder every five minutes or so.]
Just finished watching The Wonder Boys. Very funny, very clever movie. Bet it would be better stoned.
[It’s raining harder now. There’s 22 seconds between the flash and the boom. I’ve got some stuff out on the porch (including what was my dinner/computer table last week); I hope it’s okay.]
The weekend’s honestly been a bit of a blur. I organized Simon’s going-away outing on Friday; indeed we went to The Paddy Wagon.
[It’s raining yet harder still.]
Ron, Cam, Gary, Charlene, Simon and I showed up to the outing. It was a little awkward at first; the tables at the pub are really only designed to hold about three people max, so the conversation was split; but eventually the Guiness had us all yelling at each other, so that problem was quickly overcome.
[15 seconds between booms now. 13. This “nature thing” seems to be demanding my attention. Well, I guess I could indulge, just for a moment.]
It’s close to midnight. I just went out onto the porch to take some photos. Rain is falling in vertical rivers from the rooftops.
through my bedroom window, five second exposure.
And poof! Just like that, while I was resizing a few of the images, the rain stopped. No more flashes. No more booms, barely even a tiny pitter-patter. God I love Sarasota for that. The weather is exciting here. It’s starting to feel like summer again.
Well, I started this entry wanting to write a little more, but I’m afraid my tired body is getting the better of me. More tomorrow hopefully.
Month: March 2003
TGIF
Had a great day today at work; I felt like I actually got something done. And the weekly meeting this morning felt more useful than usual. Either that or I’m losing it (your pick).
Now I’m off to do very important things, heh heh heh…
Like Duh
Ahahah.. Cam just figured out I like cheese. Took long enough!
Too Tired to Think
So, after a long hiatus, I am back!
The last few days have been super busy; last night Cam and I hung out at the pad and watched 10 things I hate about you (a teen comedy remake of Shakespeare’s “Taming of the Shrew”). It was surprisingly funny, even the second time around. Definitely check it out if you’re looking for something fun to watch.
In other news, at work Alex finally got his cube built today!! He’s only been waiting three weeks, ha. I had to wait five to get a fourth wall put on mine, so it’s not that bad.
Tomorrow is Simon’s last day; packing, schmacking — there’s a corporate directive to get him smashed after work.
In the last couple of days at work I’ve been on the tangent of philosophical design discussions. I would have loved to have been full-on involved in them, but alas other tasks of higher priority reared their ugly heads so I was only able to justify being fully distracted by the conversations. These things can get really tiring, though, so perhaps it’s for the best. Good thing folks around my office brew that black caffeinated stuff all the way up to three pm. Heh.
Went to play my favorite sport after work tonight! Cam didn’t come with me, as he had a few things to take care of at home. Tonight was particularly cool because we had a group of about five 13-year-olds join us by surprise. Each of us took turns explaining bits and pieces of philosophy and technical expertise with the kids, including teaching the flick and the “running to a space” talk. They had totally mad skillz for kids of their age — certainly almost the equal of some of the regulars. One kid was talking smack the whole time, too! Quite possibly one of the funniest moments tonight was when one of the players on my team loudly announced that his electrolytes were way out of balance. The kid said, and I quote: “Why don’t you drink some of your dumb juice?”
Afterwards Eric G and I headed down to the Paddywagon, a tiny little local Irish brewpub where one of the Ultimate players work. First thing I notice? Two separate hockey games playing on TV! Guess where the owner of the bar, Johnny, is from? You guessed it, Fernie! Pretty nuts. A few moments later, and I notice the hockey pucks on the shelves behind the bar, the Maple Leafs poster on the ceiling, Labatt’s on tap and a Telus ad on the tube. Heh. Suddenly I felt pretty at home. So at home that I bought a t-shirt from the place. It’s totally one-of-a-kind. They’re doing this big-ol bash on Monday (St. Patty’s), and they got these shirts made up just for the occassion. Maybe if you’re lucky I’ll take a picture of me in it tomorrow. 😉 I’m hoping to convince folks from work to go there for Simon’s going-away debauchery.
The Plan Stan
Well I’m a little scared and a little excited all at the same time. Just found out what I’ll be working on for at least part of this year. It’s stuff I know I can do, just that I’ve currently got no idea how to do. Vague enough for you?
Weekend Update
Thanks for the tip
Had a good weekend, mostly relaxing. Drove Cam around a bunch on Saturday to look for housing, watched a couple of movies (Reefer Madness, The Bourne Identity, and The Count of Monte Cristo), played a little ultimate and listened to Paul Oakenfold’s album “Bunkka”.
Blooming palms by Kay’s BBQ off the 301
But I’m Fat on the Inside; Simon
I must be doing something right. Three hours of running around on Wednesday and three again on Thursday, and barely sore on Friday. 😀
L-R: Ilsa, Eric, Sidney, Sam. This shot and the one below was taken on Wednesday at St. Pete. In this one, Eric’s waiting for the other team to signal that they’re ready for the pull (sort of like the kick-off in football).
L-R: Cam, Sidney, Leonard. Here Sidney’s about to throw a hammer (one of those upside down throws). Cam’s about to receive the pass.
Thursday night at Bee Ridge Park. I’m the one in the red shirt. I’m running hard (“cutting”) to the left to get away from my defender.
That’s me with the disc. My defender is trying to block me from throwing to my left side (“forcing” me to throw to the right). See how the other folks are blurred? Ultimate’s interesting like that. In a typical scenario, there’s usually two people stopped on the field (the person with the disc and his defender), while the other 12 are moving. If a team executes a well, the disc will appear to bounce up the field, moving from just-stopped person to just-stopped person. It’s pretty cool.
That’s Rob on the left. Guess which of us is on offense!
Me and Rob again. We’ve switched offensive and defensive roles in this shot.
Much thanks to Cam for taking these shots, by the way. He’s just put up a blog — go check it out. Mind you, it was the least he could do, considering he was yapping on the sideline all night. 🙂
It was heads-down at work yesterday. For a few people, it was Simon’s last day, so a bunch of us went out for drinks at the Old Salty Dog on Longboat Key.
Arrived there just before sunset.
Sarasota has some incredible wildlife! This guy is looking for fish.
The earth about to turn past the sun.
Notice the drawn bridge in the background. Taken using a 1-second exposure.
L-R: Ron, Nigel, Kemp.
L-R: Cam, Carlos, Alex, Moi.
That’s Jeff to my left, Simon in the foreground on the right. To his right is Mark.
Nigel has a brilliant plan: more beer
Kemp is the most hilarious guy I’ve ever met. He hardly ever says anything — but when he does, it’s completely, way-over-the-top fcuking stupidly funny.
Simon explains how Atari got him his job.
Ron strongly disagrees.
Crazy Ivan!
Ron.
Nigel.
Simon in natural light.
Ron does his Hugo impression.
Ron and Simon.
Four peel-and-eat-shrimp baskets and nine pitchers later, just when I was expecting to split the bill with everyone at the table, Ron whipped out his card and paid for all of us. 😀
I’m gonna miss Simon. He’s a very smart guy; he’s been my mentor for the past eight months. He’s got high standards for excellence and he pulls no punches. It’s inspirational. I have no doubt he’ll walk straight through his MBA without breaking a sweat.
Click
Action Packed Adventure
Just a quick note and then I’m off! Ultimate was super fun last night — played my arse off for three hours and then ate free food!
Work was uber-busy today; I got retasked to something that was much higher-priority this morning. But it’s okay! Roll with the punches, right?
Off to play ulti again in a little under 5 minutes.
How did your day go?
I Just Can’t Get Enough
Today, another multi-format digital camera memory card-reader came out.
This is the third such device to come out in as many weeks. See also here and here. What’s the deal? Is it digicam accessory month or something?
In just a few minutes, Eric G is going to be picking up Cam and I and we’ll be making the 45 minute trip up to St. Pete!
Click on the picture to visit gaiaultimate.com. They’re really cool, and they’re based out of Vancouver, no less!