And now a tale of stupid companies and the stupid people who work there...
Thursday I purchased a new phone and was told it would be here in two business days. They wouldn't deliver it to the the office, so I'd need to pick it up after they attempted to deliver it. I should have got it yesterday and when it didn't arrive, I decided to call Fido and see if they could tell me where it was.
I was going to wait and see if it came today but there was a crazy homeless person eyeing my smoke so I decided I would rather be on the phone should they approach me. I feel it's ok to be rude to people if I'm on the phone. Anyway, I place the call and they tell me it was shipped and that the address was bad. That's odd, given that my phone bill arrives ok...
They give me the tracking number and I call Purolator. The brain surgeons down there tell me they couldn't deliver it because they had no buzzer number and no phone number to contact me so they returned the phone to Fido. My phone company didn't include my phone number on the bill of lading! This after I tried everything possible to get them to deliver it to my office because I would, obviously, be at work.
I was expecting that there would be a delivery notice stuck to the door but Purolator claims that they don't leave a notice if the person isn't home. "Really?" I see them all them time from all the couriers including Purolator.
Once again, an enraged phone call is placed to Fido where I ask the the mouth-breather on the other end why my phone number wasn't on the bill of lading. No answer is forthcoming and much arguing ensues, ending with my demand that I have the phone in 24 hours or I bail on the phone and Fido.
Now they're shipping it to the office in the morning. Very nice. Why are there so many stupid people around? Jobs are hard to find, you'd think these places could at least hire some intelligent people.
I'll put an end to my ranting now. In any event, I don't think I'll be up much longer even though it's only 9 PM. I noticed a bit of a headache coming on but I accidently took a sleeping pill rather than an aspirin... Should be a good nights sleep if nothing else. Here's something for you to read before bed. Enjoy...
Holy heatwave batman! Summer is in full force and I love it. I was chatting with Biff today and I swear that he's still hurting from Saturday! I had no idea has was that fargone. Good for him!
So one of our developers annouced that he was leaving to take another job. He even mentioned that the long hours were the main reason that he accepted the new position. It's too bad as he's a good guy and a good developer but I don't blame him. In fact I know there were more than a few jealous people sitting around the table wishing it was them.
All the people in the office are great people but it's easier for some to be committed as they have a greater stake in the outcome. I'm committed to working hard and putting forth my best effort while I'm there. I don't even have a problem with some overtime, it's just part of the deal and not that big a thing but come 5 PM, I just want to go home.
I have family and friends and while some might argue the point, I do have a life of my own that I'd like to pursue and enjoy.
This annoucement comes as we are planning the third quarter projects and it's going to get busy again. Everyone is giving another deveoloper a 'friendly' hard time because he's taking a week off. And I'm sitting there thinking that I'd like a week off too, but I doubt I'll get it when I want it. "A week off in October? I guess that's better than nothing..."
The problem is that there is one person for every job; One ASP developer (well, not anymore...), one Flash developer, one DBA, one QA and therefore, if someone is away it's a problem. Hopefully this situation will change soon but I think it might be a while yet.
Whatever, I'm going to ask for the time off anyway. All they can do is say no...
Quite the weekend... I went golfing with Paul, Rachel and their friend Craig out at Gleneagles in West Vancouver. Seeing that this was my first time on a regulation course, my score shall remain a tightly guarded secret. I think it's enough to say that I lost three balls on the first hole...
Saturday evening was also Paul's stag, such as it was and the events of the evening, while mostly tame shall also remain tightly guarded and be taken to our respective graves. Judging by his blog entry, we accomplished our mission though sadly, we did not get to witness the goal of our quest.
Today marks the first anniversary of my move downtown *does dance of happiness* This time last year I was knee-high in boxes an excited beyond belief. Thanks again to Ardie, Brian, Paul and Rachel for their help with the move! It was also about this time that I was dreading starting my job at the Credit Union and those fears turned out to be well founded. UNIX knowledge my ass...
The summer of 2002 (also known as the summer of Mark) was the best. Nothing but rest, relaxation and basically living in some sort of fantasy land which involved a lot of golf and coffee. This was punctuated by the four days of hell at the Credit Union but that was quickly terminated. The fall and winter sucked while the spring/summer 2003 have been great. Everyone should live downtown at least once. Trust me...
Well, Biff is pissed off and so am I, though obviously we are pissed about different things. First off, I downloaded most of the songs from that Jane's Addiction CD that I just bought, so Capitol/EMI can kiss my ass. Secondly, my cell phone is dying so I've been lookng for a new one.
After looking for weeks I found a phone that I liked and decided to call Fido and see if I could get a break on the price. First, I try the automated menu which leaves me with no place to go. Call back, slightly irritated. Talk to a guy who asks me a buch of stupid questions and then we get down to it.
Basically I wanted to pay the same price as someone who is new to Fido which would save me $100 plus taxes. The thing is, to pay the discounted rate you need to get a new number and plan which I don't want to do. Mostly because I have a great plan that is so great, they don't offer it anymore and secondly it's a pain to contact everyone you've ever met and give them your new number. Paul is still calling my old number and I haven't used it in a 18 months...
Fido nearly went under this winter and while I do like them for the most part, they aren't perfect. It bugs the hell out of me that they have no coverage outside of Vancouver. If my car dies in Merritt, I'm screwed as the phone is no good (actually, if your car dies in Merritt you're screwed anyway...). As the cell is my only phone I don't really care if I have a contract or not. Given that I've been a loyal customer and always paid my bill,
I thought I might get some sort of modest break on this new phone.
Enraged, I call back to tell them that they can stick their service but end up talking to a nice lady. To my surprise, she tells me that I can have the phone at less than a new subscriber would to pay. Sweet. "You'll have it in 2 days and the shipping is free." Of course, when I ask to have it shipped the office as I won't be at home when it's delivered, she informs me that it has to be shipped to the billing address. *icy silence* "Would you like to have your phone bill sent to your office? That way I can ship the phone directly!"
I tried every move that I could think of but she wouldn't ship it to the office so now I need to wait to get a notice of a failed delivery and go who knows where to pick up my new phone. Not a big deal and I know it's for my own security but at the time I was less than thrilled.
Now that the bitching is out of my system, I'm happy to report that the barge has been in English Bay for a few days now! Nice, six days to go until the first fireworks of the year. Going to watch the first one at Neal and Ardie's and then accept stray friends over here for the rest of the shows. If we are friends, you are welcome to drop in.
I might actually go to the beach for one of the shows this year. When I mentioned the idea to MiHwa said she wouldn't be against the idea though I fear we might get shanked... I remember last year I said I was going to go to the beach, but it was always easier to just step out on the patio. The fireworks are always a good time.
Jane's Addiction ~ Strays is the coolest CD I've bought in years! Don't buy it though, I'll make you a copy.
Today was a remarkable day at work. It was slow; I think it was the first time since I've started there. We had a new guy start with no notice at all. "We've hired a contract dude" and there he was. No computer ready or anything.
The Tour De Gastown bicycle race is taking place around the office this evening. Very amusing to see the fences placed everywhere, confusing the tourists and trapping them on Water Street as drunken tour bus operators jostile for a position in front of the steam clock.
I ran out at lunch at bought the new Jane's Addiction CD. Great tunes. What pissed me off to no end, is that as I'm walking back to the office I notice that the CD is copy protected! DAMMIT!! YOU BASTARDS!! That's the last CD I'll ever buy from Capitol/EMI. EVER! Your piece of shit player pegs my processor, sounds like shit and I can't rip MP3s to listen to on my MP3 player.
I am so pissed off at this that I will find a crack and/or download every last song from that CD. How dare you limit what I can do with media that I purchased! I already pay a huge surcharge on blank CDs to make up for those who do trade. I haven't used a file trading service in a long time but I'm going to use one tonight.
[UPDATE] Added a new XXXXXXX page as a guy in Kelowna emailed me about it and so far this month, 21 people have Googled XXX XXX-XXXX.
I also took the opportunity to correct the date as today is indeed Tuesday... [/UPDATE]
I had the best Monday that I can remember in a long while! I wish every Monday was as fun and relaxing as yesterday was. Sun, sand, no schedule and some time in the park with a friend. I just love summer.
I got up early and did some housework and shopping. Funny how it doesn't bother me when I would otherwise be at work. I could hire a maid for a lot less than it costs me to take a day off and yet I refuse. Went to the beach for a while and even in the early morning it was swealtering.
I wanted to look into renting a kayak and then taking one out with MiHwa but you need to register and take a training course, so that was out. I guess it's a good idea rather than turning newbies free on the open ocean. I'm going to follow up on that one though.
Went for a walk downtown and then got together with MiHwa in the afternoon. We had a good tour through the park. It was so beautiful in there and we were just wandering the trails with no particular idea of where we were going.
Now, back to reality. Once again, I'm off to the mill...
I am finally recovered from Friday night. Yikes! I was more hung over yesterday than I have been in a long time. MiHwa and her roomie Shikaco came over for dinner and drinks. They made sushi and noodles; a fantastic and authentic Japanese meal indeed.
MiHwa likes Tequlia so I picked up a bottle and some beer for the after dinner drinks. Holy shit, that girl can drink Tequlia! We had a few shots and as the evening wore on we were all getting progressively more drunk. The three of us had a blast gathering in the kitchen for a shot and then out to the patio to laugh ourselves silly over something stupid. Good times...
Shikaco wasn't drinking too much and had fallen asleep so about midnight, MiHwa and I decided to start cooking again. When I had dinner at her place a couple of weeks ago there was one dish that I really liked and she wanted to show me how to make it. We were really far gone at this point but did manage to make the dish. I find it strange that I can remember the ingredients and how to prepare it.
We finally had to call it a night as they had to catch the train, so we went down to the bus stop. It was pretty late and going to be a little close to get the last train but they should have been ok. The bus pulls up and they get on. We drunkenly wave goodbye to each other and just then I look up and realize that they were on the wrong bus! The bus pulls away and the the proper one pulls up. Luckily, Shikaco hadn't been drinking too much and she realized that they were on the wrong bus so they were able to get out in time and make the train.
I woke up Saturday with a monster headache and the messiest kitchen you can imagine. Drunk people shouldn't cook though I've seen Brian do it a thousand times but he's a professional. Food scraps everywhere and how one of us didn't take off a finger while chopping ingredients is beyond me. For the most part I avoided the kitchen as the smells weren't agreeing with me but I did manage to go out and get my hair cut and then met up with Neal and Ardie in the evening for some ice cream.
Other than that, I spent the day at home vowing to never drink again. Of course that won't happen but I can always try...
Oh, one last thing... TSN can kiss my ass for showing seven hours of golf this morning and delaying the British GP until this evening. I know the results now which really takes away from watching it later. Thanks.
I really have nothing to say. I gave some thought to posting some more stats but I just did that. Then I considered blogging about how I have nothing to say. Seems tired. Must be the lazy days of summer or something. Instead I have decided to give This-or-That Tuesday a second try. Here we go...
Quick entry before I head off to work. Had dinner at Tropika on Robson last night. Kim set up the dinner as an early celebration for Janice's "30th" birthday. The food was great though I was a bit distracted by everything that is going on. I probably wasn't the best company but I did have a good time. Of the seven people there, four were from Hooterville which was funny or odd depending on your outlook.
When Carmen and I were there in January, the waiter asked us to leave as soon as the bill was paid. This time, they ignored us long after the table had been cleared. Then they didn't accept my debit card, so I had to charge my share whica always annoys me. Whatever, it was a good evening. Jenn dropped me off and we didn't have an accident on the way home, which was refreshing.
Well, I'm off to the mill... Perhaps an update later.
Andrea! Where the hell is my dunken, potty-mouth voice mail? I have so little to look forward to in my life apart from obscene messages from drunken girls. Maybe next weekend?
So I made it back safely from Hooterville this afternoon. Good to see everyone up there, particularly Gramps. The heat was great and it reminded me how much I miss it but not enough to actually move back. Plus it might wear thin given if I did live there as I most likely would not have AC in what I'm sure would be a plush, well-lit and tastefully decorated abode.
I drove almost 900 kilometers over the weekend and nothing even close to an incident. Until I go to return the car. Pulling into Canada Place a confused tourist (is that redundant?) decideds he's in the wrong lane and hops into mine at the last second. I hit the brakes and then follow him at 2.5 km/h into the parking lot. I then pull the car in to one of the rental companys spots and promptly drive into the van in the spot ahead of me. "This looks good here" *selects Park*
The observant reader might notice I've added a random blog thingy in the navigation panel (over there, on the left). Of course if I felt any of you were observant I wouldn't be taking the time to mention it now. It's a site called Blogsnob that gives you a bit of code to place on your page which displays a link to other bloggers. That means that people the world over will soon be experiencing the wonder of this site through other blogs. Wow, this whole computer thing might catch on yet...
I took this geek test and am 17.55424% geek. I was hoping to score higher which, in and of itself, should be worth a higher score...
Really good day at work today... I wish all days were as smooth and productive as this one was. Not to mention that it was sunny and hot which makes any day better, no matter what is happening at work. Oh, and I think Chris and I are going to be background persons on CityTV as they were doing some filming in Gastown and we were standing there. Does anyone watch CityTV? I think I used to...
Infowave was on a tear today, going up over 40% on no news. Did I sell? No. Should I have sold? Probably but at this point what possible difference could it have made? Very little.
Because I have little to say, I thought I would share my site stats for the first ten days of July. I find them very amusing...
Tonight, one of my most embarrassing character flaws will manifest itself, as it does every summer around this time. The new season of Big Brother 4 begins tonight. Save for Letterman I never watch network TV let alone 'reality' shows. For some reason Big Brother appeals to me. I don't know why, but I will watch.
So I got an email from Carmen last night, so it would seem that my initial impression that she had left the country was a little premature. Good to hear from her again and she's still doing the Dragonboat thing which explains a lot of her schedule crunch I guess. I still can't recall the last time we got together and I've been thinking about it since last night. Perhaps that is a reflection on me...
Andrea never fails to make me laugh with her blog. Paul popped up on MSN this afternoon and asked me if I had read her blog today. "Uh, no. I don't have time to daydream, update my blog and surf my friends blogs, given that I am indeed at work" I guess he thought that I might be pissed by it. Instead, I found myself having a good giggle which caused my co-workers to look at me. "What? Leave me alone..."
Andrea was shocked to find out that Mom reads her blog. Mom reads everyone's blog.
I don't know why but I guess she enjoys it. I've never seen that as a big deal; if she didn't find it enjoyable, she wouldn't do it. More people ask me about "... that friend of yours, Andrea... is she serious?" so I can understand why Mom would read her blog. Andrea's entertaining and that's why people read her blog. The thing is, you need to take blogs with a grain of salt. A blog reflects the author's personality but it also distorts and exaggerates that personality.
Take all blogs with a grain of salt. For example, I've applied for a QA job here...
Weekend update, and it was a busy one. Paul's threat to move me to the semi-dynamic category doesn't bother me... I'm thinking of creating a category for my friends who don't use a spell checker when blogging. *yeah I'm talking to you*
Friday evening I had my first authentic Korean dinner! MiHwa and her friend whipped up a fine meal and it was delicious! The names of the dishes escape me and I only know the phonetic spelling of her friends name so I won't butcher either of them here. Trust me when I say that it was a fantastic meal and evening. The plum liqueur was a nice touch that actually packed a bit of a kick. Only minor stumbling was detected on the way home.
Saturday I got together with the Jensen's who are here visiting from Denmark. We were neighbours way back in the Imperial Manor days and have had too many good times to relate here. We had some lunch and went to the beach for a bit. I really miss them as they are the nicest people you could ever meet but they felt they could make a better life by moving to Denmark. They visit their family every other year and never fail to give me a call. They also continue to encourage me to vist them and I definitely want to. Perhaps more on that later.
Off to the Shnewt's for dinner Saturday evening. It was Joyce's birthday and once again Rachel came up with a great meal. Paul and I stuck to the patio, drinking beer but we sorta forgot to check the chicken on the BBQ. Rachel came out to put the fish on, noticed the charcol chicken breasts and dryly advised us that we could feel free to check the BBQ. Paul and I ended up with the 'well done' chicken breasts, which I guess was only fair.
Biff and I retired to the SoHo after dinner to play some pool and I was kicking his ass all over the place in the first few games but he did come manage to come back later on. I'm not really sure what the final total was but we called it a night sometime after 1 AM.
I made my way home, this time with more pronouced staggering evident. Now the kicker.. I get home and notice there are no lights on in the lobby. Then I see the note on the door saying the power was out and to use the back door. That pissed me off as I 'had to go' but whatever. As soon as I was in the door it hit me: no elevators. Shit! Almost 2 AM, I'm pickled and now I have 16 flights of stairs to climb. I really need to start working out or something...
Today was nothing but errands. Mundane household chores and working on my review. I hate reviews because I find it hard to objectively rate myself. It's almost done but I still have a few questions to answer. I guess I'll wrap this up and go back to it.
It's so exciting to know that we have the games on their way! What a nail biter after Korea almost snuck in and took it away from us. I arrived at work just in time to catch the annoucement and luckily someone had the foresight to set up the projector in the boardroom.
I felt kinda bad for MiHwa who was the only Korean in the room but she was a good sport about it all. You could hear the cheers throught the building and on the street so you know everyone was watching and holding their breath.
I had a good day off yesterday, going to the beach for a while. The wind was brisk, so I didn't stay too long but it's important to take advantage of living so close. Lots of pastey white around, but it was enjoyable in spite of that.
I was able to hook up with Janice yesterday afternnon too. Nice to get caught up with her as it's been quite a while since we've gotten together. Now if I could just track down Carmen, I'd be rounding out my dance card nicely.
Strange to be in the office yesterday with so few people there. It was a good day though as fewer people means fewer demands on my time. I managed to get a quite a bit done which was kinda nice though I know that Wednesday will be a busy one. I even managed to slip out a bit early and that was great.
I went out to dinner with MiHwa and her friends at a greek place on Davie last night. The food was good but the reason there is always a huge line up outside is that the waiter only comes by your table every 25 minutes. I practically had to beg for the cheque so that we could leave. One of her Japanese friends from school is going back to Tokyo today after being here for 14 months. We went for a coffee after and talked for a bit before they went back home to prepare for an airport run this morning. It's always hard to say goodbye...
I'm not really sure of what I'll do today. Janice and I had talked about getting together as it's been a long time since we could hook up for a coffee but I know she's really busy these days. Pretty hard for her to find time for all the things that are pulling her in a thousand directions.
It's shaping up to be a nice day out so maybe I'll go to the beach for a while... I find I don't make it there nearly as much as I used to which is silly. That was one of the big reasons for moving the the West End. We'll see. I'm sure that I'll update later on.
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