Well sometimes it turns out that just working hard at school is enough to get a scholarship. After attending the RIM Career Fair at the start of this month I came back to Conestoga and decided that I wasn't going to my Wellness class because, ironically, I was pooped out and not feeling well.
As I was lounging in my home room, my course coordinator walks in and asks me why I wasn't in class. I don't really give him an answer and then he said that he needs to speak with me and says he'll be back in a second. I start grumbling to myself that I'm about to get lectured about attending classes and whatnot.
When he gets back he hands me an envelop. Confused, I open it and find out that I'm awarded with a $1500 scholarship and it will be given to me on my birthday of all days on February 25th. I asked my coordinator how I got this scholarship and from what I gathered, when you enter the program I'm in, they look at your high school transcript and award the top 2 or 3 students with scholarships. Our class was awarded with 3 scholarships and I received the largest one which makes me believe that I had the best marks going into that program.
Now, if they considered the students coming from other Universities the results probably would've changed but why argue when I'm getting $1500? Now all I need to do is confirm a summer co-op job for myself and I'll feel justified in buying a nice gift for myself!
As for birthday plans, I mentioned to my one friend that I thought it would be cool to check out the Laser Quest in Cambridge since I believe the one in Kitchener was moved to there. We'll probably also go out to grab some food as well and make a full day out of it. It's most likely going to happen on Saturday the 27th so make your schedules free folks!
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Monday, January 18, 2010
A Possible Return?
Greetings folks! Long time no see eh?
I doubt there's anyone still following this since it's basically been 1 and a half years since I posted anything. I guess blogging isn't my calling. I must say though that much has happened in that time.
Basically a month after my last post (so, November 2008) I became extremely sick. I lost a significant amount of weight and was dealing with terrible bowel pain. I didn't see my doctor as often as I wanted to because he was situated back in my hometown and I needed to work to pay rent. This led to nearly three months of dealing with these terrible symptoms until I finally decided to take a leave of absence from my job to figure out what was wrong with me.
Turned out what was wrong with me was something serious. Around the second week of January '09 I was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease, a disease that currently can only be treated for and not cured. Treatment for the disease caused me to make some changes about the direction I was going.
I decided to abandon my decision to return to the RCC that September and instead move back home to Kitchener and apply to Conestoga College for a program similar (and perhaps more interesting) to what I was previously studying for. What I had anticipated as a year to get rid of the restlessness that made me decide to take a year off from school turned into one spent in doctors' offices, blood work, and medications that merely made things bearable. I honestly did not believe I would be ready to return to college in late August based on the way I was feeling.
I have managed to get through my first semester in my new program without too much difficulty but due to some complications caused by the Crohn's, it was decided that surgery during the holiday break was needed. The Crohn's infected bowel was removed and a fistula on my bladder was fixed. Because of this surgery I've missed 2 weeks of class up to this point. Surgery is a very draining experience and I certainly hope it was worth it. If all goes well I'll hopefully have a few years without dealing with the Crohn's symptoms. I'm hoping for several years.
Right now though I'm still kinda bummed out that I'm not feeling 100% yet and kinda worried about the workload I'll be experiencing once I get back to classes. The professors know my situation and I believe I can handle the material but I just don't know if I'll have the energy to do it. It's a frustrating feeling.
One thing I am very appreciative of is all the support my friends and family have been giving me. To be honest, there are still some people that don't know about my situation. My mother didn't want me to broadcast to the world about it but I just feel like this is a good outlet for me.
Damnit! Sneezing and coughing hurt like a bitch right now...
In the end, I know I gotta keep looking at the positive things and I don't believe I'm truly worried. Venting like this certainly helps.
So, while I'm unsure when I'll be posting again I at least remember that this thing actually exists and I might put some use to it once again.
I doubt there's anyone still following this since it's basically been 1 and a half years since I posted anything. I guess blogging isn't my calling. I must say though that much has happened in that time.
Basically a month after my last post (so, November 2008) I became extremely sick. I lost a significant amount of weight and was dealing with terrible bowel pain. I didn't see my doctor as often as I wanted to because he was situated back in my hometown and I needed to work to pay rent. This led to nearly three months of dealing with these terrible symptoms until I finally decided to take a leave of absence from my job to figure out what was wrong with me.
Turned out what was wrong with me was something serious. Around the second week of January '09 I was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease, a disease that currently can only be treated for and not cured. Treatment for the disease caused me to make some changes about the direction I was going.
I decided to abandon my decision to return to the RCC that September and instead move back home to Kitchener and apply to Conestoga College for a program similar (and perhaps more interesting) to what I was previously studying for. What I had anticipated as a year to get rid of the restlessness that made me decide to take a year off from school turned into one spent in doctors' offices, blood work, and medications that merely made things bearable. I honestly did not believe I would be ready to return to college in late August based on the way I was feeling.
I have managed to get through my first semester in my new program without too much difficulty but due to some complications caused by the Crohn's, it was decided that surgery during the holiday break was needed. The Crohn's infected bowel was removed and a fistula on my bladder was fixed. Because of this surgery I've missed 2 weeks of class up to this point. Surgery is a very draining experience and I certainly hope it was worth it. If all goes well I'll hopefully have a few years without dealing with the Crohn's symptoms. I'm hoping for several years.
Right now though I'm still kinda bummed out that I'm not feeling 100% yet and kinda worried about the workload I'll be experiencing once I get back to classes. The professors know my situation and I believe I can handle the material but I just don't know if I'll have the energy to do it. It's a frustrating feeling.
One thing I am very appreciative of is all the support my friends and family have been giving me. To be honest, there are still some people that don't know about my situation. My mother didn't want me to broadcast to the world about it but I just feel like this is a good outlet for me.
Damnit! Sneezing and coughing hurt like a bitch right now...
In the end, I know I gotta keep looking at the positive things and I don't believe I'm truly worried. Venting like this certainly helps.
So, while I'm unsure when I'll be posting again I at least remember that this thing actually exists and I might put some use to it once again.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Monday Night Boredom
I can't believe how freakin' bored I am tonight. Normally I take advantage of an evening where I don't have to work yet tonight wasn't the case. My attempts to get rid of this boredom were met with frustration as well.
A few weeks ago I finished re-reading the entire "Sword of Truth" series by Terry Goodkind (I wanted to get an overall impression of the series since the first time through I had to read other books while waiting for the next book to get released) so I figured that I'd go to the nearby mall and get some new reading material. I had attempted to do this about a week ago at a different mall but it turns out that the Chapters had re-located or something and the actual mall itself had this poorly organized bookstore where I couldn't find anything.
Now the mall I was going to tonight is considered a better one since it's one of those multiple level malls. To tell you the truth this was my first time going to this mall (I'm reasonably new to the area, and most of my shopping is done online anyways) so I merely figured that since the mall was bigger than the one I previously went to it had to have a bookstore. Well after a 45 minute walk to get there I find out that they don't. Joy.
I then decide I'm not leaving empty-handed so I decide to visit the HMV to see if they had any CDs that tickled my fancy. Now I must admit something, I like listening to metal music and not necessarily the easy to find metal music. I've also learned that ordering CDs online through American distributors is actually cheaper than buying them at HMV (most of the time, sometimes new releases are reasonably priced but when I want to buy something that's been out a wile, I find myself spending $30 on one CD, that's ridiculous!). Basically, I wasn't holding my breath until I found that obscure European band that I've been itching to buy one of their releases.
Well, I enter the store, browse the CDs they have on sale. I almost felt compelled to buy a bunch of Iron Maiden CDs because they were 10 dollars and my collection is definitely in need of some Maiden but I moved on. I then noticed something about this store that I never seen in any other HMV before, the CDs were sorted into only two categories: "Music" and "Classical". Are you kidding me!? Two categories!?
Now some of you might be wondering why that's a big deal. The answer to that is that I would like my shopping experience to be convenient. Sorting CDs by genre is a convenient marketing approach because if a customer is looking for a certain style of music it is very simple to get pointed in the right direction. Not everyone who goes to a store knows the exact band they're looking for, they might be looking for punk CD, or a rap CD, or a metal CD. I can at least vouch for the metalheads in how we sometimes make impulsive purchases simply because a band has a sweet name or an epic album cover. Without this genre separation (even the typical "Rock/Pop", "Punk", "Rap/Hip Hop", "Country", "Classical", and "Metal" would've been fine) it makes finding a specific sound harder to find. It forces the customer to sift through bullshit they don't care about in order to see if any band names strike a chord with the customer.
I believe the main reason why the CD section was so poorly organized was simply because the entire section itself was pretty small. I'd say only a third of the store was for CDs. As a CD enthusiast (hell, a hard copy of music in general I endorse) I find this saddening. Another reason for the limited selection could be because no one is interested in that hard to find music. I did notice a few surprises during my brief browsing of the store (Kalmah, Neuraxis, and Obituary for example). Still the fact that I have to spent a longer time trying to find something annoys when I could've had one or two small sections to look like and then promptly end my shopping.
In the end I picked up the newest 10 Years album (another surprise) and I'm currently listening to it right now. Like I said, I didn't want to leave that place empty handed and essentially waste 2 hours of my night.
To conclude this rant portion, I actually found this mall to be more useless than the one I visited previously. While I did leave the place with a CD, I wasn't there to get a CD, I wanted a book. I thought the point of a mall was to provide a variety of stores that sold different things in order to appease the various demands of customers. Not a hundred female clothing stores. So far, there doesn't appear to be any bookstores in my immediate area. Does anybody that lives in this area enjoy reading? I can't be the only one! I've digress... Like I said, I find this recent mall more useless than the other one because the size of it means it takes longer before I realize that there's nothing that interests me in it.
Well on my next day off, I might attempt a third mall. Hopefully the saying "third time's a charm" will be correct in this case. I think it will, since this one in particular is one of those "super malls" that have parking garages and shit like that. Definitely massive. Wish me luck.
A few weeks ago I finished re-reading the entire "Sword of Truth" series by Terry Goodkind (I wanted to get an overall impression of the series since the first time through I had to read other books while waiting for the next book to get released) so I figured that I'd go to the nearby mall and get some new reading material. I had attempted to do this about a week ago at a different mall but it turns out that the Chapters had re-located or something and the actual mall itself had this poorly organized bookstore where I couldn't find anything.
Now the mall I was going to tonight is considered a better one since it's one of those multiple level malls. To tell you the truth this was my first time going to this mall (I'm reasonably new to the area, and most of my shopping is done online anyways) so I merely figured that since the mall was bigger than the one I previously went to it had to have a bookstore. Well after a 45 minute walk to get there I find out that they don't. Joy.
I then decide I'm not leaving empty-handed so I decide to visit the HMV to see if they had any CDs that tickled my fancy. Now I must admit something, I like listening to metal music and not necessarily the easy to find metal music. I've also learned that ordering CDs online through American distributors is actually cheaper than buying them at HMV (most of the time, sometimes new releases are reasonably priced but when I want to buy something that's been out a wile, I find myself spending $30 on one CD, that's ridiculous!). Basically, I wasn't holding my breath until I found that obscure European band that I've been itching to buy one of their releases.
Well, I enter the store, browse the CDs they have on sale. I almost felt compelled to buy a bunch of Iron Maiden CDs because they were 10 dollars and my collection is definitely in need of some Maiden but I moved on. I then noticed something about this store that I never seen in any other HMV before, the CDs were sorted into only two categories: "Music" and "Classical". Are you kidding me!? Two categories!?
Now some of you might be wondering why that's a big deal. The answer to that is that I would like my shopping experience to be convenient. Sorting CDs by genre is a convenient marketing approach because if a customer is looking for a certain style of music it is very simple to get pointed in the right direction. Not everyone who goes to a store knows the exact band they're looking for, they might be looking for punk CD, or a rap CD, or a metal CD. I can at least vouch for the metalheads in how we sometimes make impulsive purchases simply because a band has a sweet name or an epic album cover. Without this genre separation (even the typical "Rock/Pop", "Punk", "Rap/Hip Hop", "Country", "Classical", and "Metal" would've been fine) it makes finding a specific sound harder to find. It forces the customer to sift through bullshit they don't care about in order to see if any band names strike a chord with the customer.
I believe the main reason why the CD section was so poorly organized was simply because the entire section itself was pretty small. I'd say only a third of the store was for CDs. As a CD enthusiast (hell, a hard copy of music in general I endorse) I find this saddening. Another reason for the limited selection could be because no one is interested in that hard to find music. I did notice a few surprises during my brief browsing of the store (Kalmah, Neuraxis, and Obituary for example). Still the fact that I have to spent a longer time trying to find something annoys when I could've had one or two small sections to look like and then promptly end my shopping.
In the end I picked up the newest 10 Years album (another surprise) and I'm currently listening to it right now. Like I said, I didn't want to leave that place empty handed and essentially waste 2 hours of my night.
To conclude this rant portion, I actually found this mall to be more useless than the one I visited previously. While I did leave the place with a CD, I wasn't there to get a CD, I wanted a book. I thought the point of a mall was to provide a variety of stores that sold different things in order to appease the various demands of customers. Not a hundred female clothing stores. So far, there doesn't appear to be any bookstores in my immediate area. Does anybody that lives in this area enjoy reading? I can't be the only one! I've digress... Like I said, I find this recent mall more useless than the other one because the size of it means it takes longer before I realize that there's nothing that interests me in it.
Well on my next day off, I might attempt a third mall. Hopefully the saying "third time's a charm" will be correct in this case. I think it will, since this one in particular is one of those "super malls" that have parking garages and shit like that. Definitely massive. Wish me luck.
Monday, March 17, 2008
April and May: Concerts Galore!
I guess with the coming of spring the bands start showing up for performances once more. Excluding the recent All That Remains and Clutch concerts I went to in February (both of which were excellent might I add), there was a period that was about 2 months long that didn't have any compelling concerts. Now with April and May soon approaching I find that there's so many good concerts coming up that I'm not sure if I can afford to go to them all or if my work would let me book off that many days in order to see them!
But, despite that slight inconvenience I have decided on four concerts that I MUST go to and I went ahead and bought the tickets for said events. Here's a summary of the four:
April 11th: Symphony X with Epica and Into Eternity @ The Opera House
Symphony X is a band that I didn't listen to until the summertime of 2007 with the release of their latest album, "Paradise Lost". I must say that I was quite impressed with the material. The band (at least for this album) plays a really aggressive and scathing form of progressive metal. They have that Dream Theater vibe with the guitars and some of the keyboards but they avoid the annoying wankery that Dream Theater favours so much. I expect an energetic performance by them.
Epica will be the interesting band to see live since I don't really have any experience with them. From what I understand is that the band is basically a heavier version of Nightwish in that they have a female singer with a fairly operatic singing style and their secondary vocalist actually growls which should provide an interesting mix.
Into Eternity is a band that I could've seen live a few times all ready but I've just never had to time to get off work to go see them play. I will finally change that on the 11th. The band itself mixes progressive metal, death metal, and thrash metal for a melodic, heavy, and technical sound. I'm personally a fan of their 2004 album "Buried in Oblivion" but their recent album is still quite good and their vocalist has even more range than the previous one. I just found the songs to be less engaging as the ones found on "Buried In Oblivion". Despite that fact, I have a strong feeling that these guys are going to bring it that night and play their asses off. The guitars for this band are definitely something to hear.
April 25th: Paganfest @ The Opera House
This tour features a bunch of "Folk Metal" bands from Europe. I'm not really familiar with any of the bands but I plan to get the newest CD by one of the bands playing on this tour, Eluveitie, a band that mixes Celtic folk with Melodic Death Metal that invokes comparison to Dark Tranquility. That is definitely not a bad mix if ya ask me!
If there's one thing that's for sure is that this will be a fun night full with drinking. Hoo rah!
April 30th: Gigantour featuring Megadeth, In Flames, Children of Bodom, Job For a Cowboy, and High On Fire @ The International Centre
I'm going to this concert with 3 or 4 co-workers and my friend from high school so all ready I know this will be an amazing night. Personally I'm a huge fan of both Megadeth and High On Fire. I also expect entertaining performances by Children of Bodom and In Flames but I expect that the material they'll play will be from their more recent (and lackluster) albums unfortunately. In Flames ruled until Reroute to Remain and have since then been a bit safe and uninteresting in the songwriting department. Children of Bodom have only recently started doing what In Flames did a few albums ago. I don't have much experience with the band but I will at least expect them to be entertaining and I figure they'll have a significant fan presence that night which will definitely help out.
As for Job For a Cowboy... Hopefully I can stomach them. This band sticks out like a sore thumb with this lineup to be completely honest. Something like... Mercenary would've rounded up the lineup much better.
May 16th: Arch Enemy, Dark Tranquility, Divine Heresy, and Firewind @ The Opera House
This one I am PUMPED for! The main reason for that would be Dark Tranquility, a legendary Melodic Death Metal band. From what I've heard, they are absolutely stunning live and I can't wait to hear them play. My high school friend will also be there for this because she is a huge Arch Enemy fan. I haven't listened to much Arch Enemy to be honest, but I know with a guitarist like Mike Amott, you'll definitely have a good sound. And supposedly their latest album is a step up from previous work with Angela singing so hopefully that will make for an excellent performance.
Divine Heresy is a band I saw when All That Remains played and I was definitely impressed by the energy they created. They were also pretty humourous as they threw out beach balls to the crowd to bounce around while they performed. I expect another intense performance by them. Hopefully this time I won't have to step outside during their set to wait for someone to arrive.
Firewind is a band I haven't heard yet. But from what I understand, they possess a sound that fits with these bands quite well so I expect it will be good. We shall see.
But, despite that slight inconvenience I have decided on four concerts that I MUST go to and I went ahead and bought the tickets for said events. Here's a summary of the four:
April 11th: Symphony X with Epica and Into Eternity @ The Opera House
Symphony X is a band that I didn't listen to until the summertime of 2007 with the release of their latest album, "Paradise Lost". I must say that I was quite impressed with the material. The band (at least for this album) plays a really aggressive and scathing form of progressive metal. They have that Dream Theater vibe with the guitars and some of the keyboards but they avoid the annoying wankery that Dream Theater favours so much. I expect an energetic performance by them.
Epica will be the interesting band to see live since I don't really have any experience with them. From what I understand is that the band is basically a heavier version of Nightwish in that they have a female singer with a fairly operatic singing style and their secondary vocalist actually growls which should provide an interesting mix.
Into Eternity is a band that I could've seen live a few times all ready but I've just never had to time to get off work to go see them play. I will finally change that on the 11th. The band itself mixes progressive metal, death metal, and thrash metal for a melodic, heavy, and technical sound. I'm personally a fan of their 2004 album "Buried in Oblivion" but their recent album is still quite good and their vocalist has even more range than the previous one. I just found the songs to be less engaging as the ones found on "Buried In Oblivion". Despite that fact, I have a strong feeling that these guys are going to bring it that night and play their asses off. The guitars for this band are definitely something to hear.
April 25th: Paganfest @ The Opera House
This tour features a bunch of "Folk Metal" bands from Europe. I'm not really familiar with any of the bands but I plan to get the newest CD by one of the bands playing on this tour, Eluveitie, a band that mixes Celtic folk with Melodic Death Metal that invokes comparison to Dark Tranquility. That is definitely not a bad mix if ya ask me!
If there's one thing that's for sure is that this will be a fun night full with drinking. Hoo rah!
April 30th: Gigantour featuring Megadeth, In Flames, Children of Bodom, Job For a Cowboy, and High On Fire @ The International Centre
I'm going to this concert with 3 or 4 co-workers and my friend from high school so all ready I know this will be an amazing night. Personally I'm a huge fan of both Megadeth and High On Fire. I also expect entertaining performances by Children of Bodom and In Flames but I expect that the material they'll play will be from their more recent (and lackluster) albums unfortunately. In Flames ruled until Reroute to Remain and have since then been a bit safe and uninteresting in the songwriting department. Children of Bodom have only recently started doing what In Flames did a few albums ago. I don't have much experience with the band but I will at least expect them to be entertaining and I figure they'll have a significant fan presence that night which will definitely help out.
As for Job For a Cowboy... Hopefully I can stomach them. This band sticks out like a sore thumb with this lineup to be completely honest. Something like... Mercenary would've rounded up the lineup much better.
May 16th: Arch Enemy, Dark Tranquility, Divine Heresy, and Firewind @ The Opera House
This one I am PUMPED for! The main reason for that would be Dark Tranquility, a legendary Melodic Death Metal band. From what I've heard, they are absolutely stunning live and I can't wait to hear them play. My high school friend will also be there for this because she is a huge Arch Enemy fan. I haven't listened to much Arch Enemy to be honest, but I know with a guitarist like Mike Amott, you'll definitely have a good sound. And supposedly their latest album is a step up from previous work with Angela singing so hopefully that will make for an excellent performance.
Divine Heresy is a band I saw when All That Remains played and I was definitely impressed by the energy they created. They were also pretty humourous as they threw out beach balls to the crowd to bounce around while they performed. I expect another intense performance by them. Hopefully this time I won't have to step outside during their set to wait for someone to arrive.
Firewind is a band I haven't heard yet. But from what I understand, they possess a sound that fits with these bands quite well so I expect it will be good. We shall see.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Turning 20: An Adventure
Well, it's official, I have probably lived a quarter of my life now. Of course, living to be 80 could be wishful thinking but I'd like to think I'm going to make it that far. I do find it amusing how in the first quarter of your life, nearly 4 years of it is forgotten during your infancy. Any thoughts or events not recalled by your parents or an older sibling is completely lost. Funny ain't it?
Anyways, I must inform you on how ridiculous these last few days have been. I'll start with Saturday the 23rd. Since my birthday fell on a Monday, I decided that I was going to celebrate my birthday early. On Saturday I decided that I'd party it up with just the people I live with. The highlight was that they were going to get me high for the first time. The method of choice: "special" brownies. That is when many bad decisions were made.
Bad decision number one: "Aren't we supposed to eat the whole batch of brownies?" - provided by yours truly. The bad answer was "yes" and thats what we did. We figured out later that each of us probably consumed about 3 grams worth of weed each. We made a potent batch.
Bad decision number two: "Let's go to Korean Grill House!" - provided by my roommate Cal, who is the official stoner of our house. The main problem with this choice was that the place is in downtown Toronto, which means we have an hour bus and subway trip to get there.
Bad decision number three: Smoking a cigar after eating the brownies in a room where pot was being smoked. I'm sure the tobacco-weed combo proved to be a factor later on in the night.
Bad decision number four: Actually trying to get downtown. Once we started walking was when the brownies started to kick in. And what the stoners say is true, brownies definitely give you a body high. I'd say it was somewhat similar to being drunk, only your head feels quite messed up as well. It felt like half the stuff I did that night was a dream. Also the disorienting feeling the drugs had on me where definitely making me queasy.
It turned out that Cal was the first one to crumble when he got sick on the subway. I somehow managed to hold my stomach until the subway stopped at Bloor station before puking. Hopefully I didn't hit the lady standing in front of the subway doors as I hurled right into the opening.
It was then that we decided we weren't going to go downtown so we turned around and Cal ended up getting sick again on the subway and then the group had to split up as Cal was going to get sick on the bus, leaving Kevin and I on the bus. We were both still sorta out of it so we missed our stop, so we had a longer walk home. The rest of the night was spent sleeping fitfully as there seemed to be several instances throughout the night where I felt I was going to be sick again.
I am definitely not doing that again.
Sunday the big plan was the Clutch concert and unfortunately the turnout wasn't as large as I hoped it would be. Many of the people I invited backed out once they noticed that they couldn't afford it but fortunately a buddy from my college and my good friend and his girlfriend who lived like 5 minutes away from the venue turned up.
First thing I have to say is that the opening band sucked. They had a sound that was just made to damage the ears with their excessive use of feedback. Maylene and the Sons of Disaster were quite good and entertaining. Murder By Death were a highlight as they had an electric cello player, and it definitely gave the band a unique sound. I'd say if Johnny Cash played rock music, he'd sound like this band. The final song they played was fantastic! It definitely had that post-rock feel to it as they had an extended instrumental section with a bitchin' climax.
Clutch were just flat old solid. Lots of additional jams to their tunes from what I could tell. And it seems that what I've heard about the band is true. They change their setlist every night and just play what they want to play. Hearing some of their older stuff was also quite cool too. Neil Fallon is also a riot on the stage. He kinda reminded me of a drunk preacher only he was dressed very plainly.
And now that brings us to Monday. My actual birthday. To celebrate I decided to skip class that day and sleep in. I didn't get out of bed until 4pm. I then went to work. You may wonder why I would do such a thing as work on my birthday but the thing is that I work at a restaurant. I was expecting free food (and I got a free sundae). What was really nice was that we weren't terribly busy at all. Of course I got the custom whipped cream in the face, but I knew they were going to catch me with that. I actually managed to go on my break an hour earlier than usual as well.
Then, during closing, I was just about wrapping things up. Sweeping the floors is one of the last things I do and while doing this I noticed a steak knife lying on the floor. So I decided to pick it up, and as I stood up I smacked my head on the fire extinguisher that was above me. I had forgotten it was there. Odd, since it is huge, round, and red, but that's what I did. It also has a nasty rim around the bottom of it.
So I was standing there rubbing my head in pain and my manager comes into the dish pit and asks me what beer do I want since he was going to buy me one for my birthday. He then noticed me rubbing my head and laughs because he's done the same. While I'm struggling to make a decision on what I drink I continue to rub my head and then I look at my hands and find them covered in blood. I show this to my manager and we both have an "oh shit!" moment. I then found a sink where I didn't have any cleaned stuff in and started rising the blood out of my hair so that our kitchen manager could look at the cut. From what I heard, it was a long cut but they weren't sure if I needed stitches. But, to be on the safe side, we decided to go anyways.
So, one of my co-workers took me right away as my manager had to finish the rest of my work as well as his. He'd meet us at the ER.
We then get to the ER and see that we have to sit in the front row of triage in order to be seen. So far it appears there's a decent sized crowd waiting when it's 12am. Of course it doesn't help that as soon as we get there, two ambulances come in with patients that the triage nurse deals with first. Then many of the waiting people keep running up to the triage nurse to complain. So the waiting continues. After about an hour I get fed up and stand by the door that everyone else has been doing.
The nurse finally shows up (she tended to disappear often) and is surprised to see me standing there. She thought that I was all ready looked after! I thought the point of sitting in the front row was to see the triage nurse, I wasn't sitting there for no reason! So I do the triage, and my registration without a hitch.
About 5 minutes after that a nurse calls me to bring me to my room. Great! Finally things seem to be going my way. It then turns out that I'm being put basically in another waiting room for those who need minor treatment. It is here that I spent most of my waiting and here's why.
After 1 am, there's only one doctor, ONE doctor who looks after the entire ER of the hospital until the morning. And since I'm in minor treatment, I'm at the bottom of the priority list. Of course, perhaps an hour of my 7 hour waiting trip could've been cut off if there wasn't a Code Blue called. A Code Blue means that someone, somewhere is about to die and pretty much any doctor in the building is supposed to get there and help. That means that single ER doctor disappears for a wile.
So, once 6am rolls around, I'm finally looked at and it turns out that I do need stitches. So I end up getting nine of them. So yea, it was a large cut indeed. Of course, when I'm finished I hear news that the second ER doctor has arrived. Just my luck...
And that was basically my weekend. My head is still wrapped up in bandages (though I could take em off if I wanted to). I figure tomorrow's shower is going to suck, but we'll see.
Anyways, I must inform you on how ridiculous these last few days have been. I'll start with Saturday the 23rd. Since my birthday fell on a Monday, I decided that I was going to celebrate my birthday early. On Saturday I decided that I'd party it up with just the people I live with. The highlight was that they were going to get me high for the first time. The method of choice: "special" brownies. That is when many bad decisions were made.
Bad decision number one: "Aren't we supposed to eat the whole batch of brownies?" - provided by yours truly. The bad answer was "yes" and thats what we did. We figured out later that each of us probably consumed about 3 grams worth of weed each. We made a potent batch.
Bad decision number two: "Let's go to Korean Grill House!" - provided by my roommate Cal, who is the official stoner of our house. The main problem with this choice was that the place is in downtown Toronto, which means we have an hour bus and subway trip to get there.
Bad decision number three: Smoking a cigar after eating the brownies in a room where pot was being smoked. I'm sure the tobacco-weed combo proved to be a factor later on in the night.
Bad decision number four: Actually trying to get downtown. Once we started walking was when the brownies started to kick in. And what the stoners say is true, brownies definitely give you a body high. I'd say it was somewhat similar to being drunk, only your head feels quite messed up as well. It felt like half the stuff I did that night was a dream. Also the disorienting feeling the drugs had on me where definitely making me queasy.
It turned out that Cal was the first one to crumble when he got sick on the subway. I somehow managed to hold my stomach until the subway stopped at Bloor station before puking. Hopefully I didn't hit the lady standing in front of the subway doors as I hurled right into the opening.
It was then that we decided we weren't going to go downtown so we turned around and Cal ended up getting sick again on the subway and then the group had to split up as Cal was going to get sick on the bus, leaving Kevin and I on the bus. We were both still sorta out of it so we missed our stop, so we had a longer walk home. The rest of the night was spent sleeping fitfully as there seemed to be several instances throughout the night where I felt I was going to be sick again.
I am definitely not doing that again.
Sunday the big plan was the Clutch concert and unfortunately the turnout wasn't as large as I hoped it would be. Many of the people I invited backed out once they noticed that they couldn't afford it but fortunately a buddy from my college and my good friend and his girlfriend who lived like 5 minutes away from the venue turned up.
First thing I have to say is that the opening band sucked. They had a sound that was just made to damage the ears with their excessive use of feedback. Maylene and the Sons of Disaster were quite good and entertaining. Murder By Death were a highlight as they had an electric cello player, and it definitely gave the band a unique sound. I'd say if Johnny Cash played rock music, he'd sound like this band. The final song they played was fantastic! It definitely had that post-rock feel to it as they had an extended instrumental section with a bitchin' climax.
Clutch were just flat old solid. Lots of additional jams to their tunes from what I could tell. And it seems that what I've heard about the band is true. They change their setlist every night and just play what they want to play. Hearing some of their older stuff was also quite cool too. Neil Fallon is also a riot on the stage. He kinda reminded me of a drunk preacher only he was dressed very plainly.
And now that brings us to Monday. My actual birthday. To celebrate I decided to skip class that day and sleep in. I didn't get out of bed until 4pm. I then went to work. You may wonder why I would do such a thing as work on my birthday but the thing is that I work at a restaurant. I was expecting free food (and I got a free sundae). What was really nice was that we weren't terribly busy at all. Of course I got the custom whipped cream in the face, but I knew they were going to catch me with that. I actually managed to go on my break an hour earlier than usual as well.
Then, during closing, I was just about wrapping things up. Sweeping the floors is one of the last things I do and while doing this I noticed a steak knife lying on the floor. So I decided to pick it up, and as I stood up I smacked my head on the fire extinguisher that was above me. I had forgotten it was there. Odd, since it is huge, round, and red, but that's what I did. It also has a nasty rim around the bottom of it.
So I was standing there rubbing my head in pain and my manager comes into the dish pit and asks me what beer do I want since he was going to buy me one for my birthday. He then noticed me rubbing my head and laughs because he's done the same. While I'm struggling to make a decision on what I drink I continue to rub my head and then I look at my hands and find them covered in blood. I show this to my manager and we both have an "oh shit!" moment. I then found a sink where I didn't have any cleaned stuff in and started rising the blood out of my hair so that our kitchen manager could look at the cut. From what I heard, it was a long cut but they weren't sure if I needed stitches. But, to be on the safe side, we decided to go anyways.
So, one of my co-workers took me right away as my manager had to finish the rest of my work as well as his. He'd meet us at the ER.
We then get to the ER and see that we have to sit in the front row of triage in order to be seen. So far it appears there's a decent sized crowd waiting when it's 12am. Of course it doesn't help that as soon as we get there, two ambulances come in with patients that the triage nurse deals with first. Then many of the waiting people keep running up to the triage nurse to complain. So the waiting continues. After about an hour I get fed up and stand by the door that everyone else has been doing.
The nurse finally shows up (she tended to disappear often) and is surprised to see me standing there. She thought that I was all ready looked after! I thought the point of sitting in the front row was to see the triage nurse, I wasn't sitting there for no reason! So I do the triage, and my registration without a hitch.
About 5 minutes after that a nurse calls me to bring me to my room. Great! Finally things seem to be going my way. It then turns out that I'm being put basically in another waiting room for those who need minor treatment. It is here that I spent most of my waiting and here's why.
After 1 am, there's only one doctor, ONE doctor who looks after the entire ER of the hospital until the morning. And since I'm in minor treatment, I'm at the bottom of the priority list. Of course, perhaps an hour of my 7 hour waiting trip could've been cut off if there wasn't a Code Blue called. A Code Blue means that someone, somewhere is about to die and pretty much any doctor in the building is supposed to get there and help. That means that single ER doctor disappears for a wile.
So, once 6am rolls around, I'm finally looked at and it turns out that I do need stitches. So I end up getting nine of them. So yea, it was a large cut indeed. Of course, when I'm finished I hear news that the second ER doctor has arrived. Just my luck...
And that was basically my weekend. My head is still wrapped up in bandages (though I could take em off if I wanted to). I figure tomorrow's shower is going to suck, but we'll see.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
My Writing Projects.
Like I mentioned earlier, I was going to do some shameless self-promotion of my creative writing. This is something I do in my spare time (I used to have a lot more... I miss my Culligan job...). Currently I have one completely piece entitled "Bloodlust". Now first off, it is considered a fan fiction piece of writing due to the fact that it is based in a world created by a video game (in this case, Bethesdas' "The Elder Scrolls" series). Please don't let that discourage you from reading it though as the story itself only utilizes the pre-existing world as a tool rather than a crutch. Other than a few examples of unique terminology, the story itself stands alone.
The overall plot of the story is a murder-mystery at heart as an assassin seeks revenge and goes on a killing spree within the town of Kvatch. Despite this simplicity, everything isn't as cut and dry as it appears though. Here's a small excerpt:
The story in it's entirity can be found using this link: http://chorrol.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=3204&st=0
Or you can find it being steadily updated in larger portions here:
http://www.tesfiction.proboards102.com/index.cgi?board=implib&action=display&thread=1201537987
The overall plot of the story is a murder-mystery at heart as an assassin seeks revenge and goes on a killing spree within the town of Kvatch. Despite this simplicity, everything isn't as cut and dry as it appears though. Here's a small excerpt:
The sensation was building up again… “Blood!” it screamed, “Give me blood!”
The pounding of the sensation was beginning to give the killer a headache. This was the worse this sensation had gotten for him so far. Never before had the feeling of reckless… violence been so strong within him. He desired to release his fury upon his enemy immediately. To bathe in his blood, to inhale the wonderful fumes of his life force. He wanted to witness the spark and cackle in his enemy’s eyes fade away to nothingness.
But in order to do that successfully, he needed to wait. He needed to make sure he was ready. He needed to be calm…
“Blood!”
Remember your training…, he told himself, void your mind…
“Blood! It calls! Don’t you hear it!?”
A flash of anguish crossed the killer’s face. Patience! He thought, the time for blood will present itself shortly. Hopefully then this pounding will leave…
The killer strolled casually along the streets of Kvatch, eyes always searching yet not appearing so to the passer-by. Something seemed… different tonight, as if the atmosphere of the town had morphed into something more uncomfortable for him. A hint of reluctance was beginning to creep into his mind. But the raging pulse taking up the core of his mind fended it off into the dark recesses of his mind. There should be no reluctance at all. He was a trained killer. What he ran into, he should be able to deal with. Tonight he would further his conquest.
I can hear the blood spilling all ready, he thought as a smile broke across his face.
Patience is a necessity if a killer expects to work on their craft for a long time. Any fool could just approach their target and behead them before they realize what’s going on. Unless the victim isn’t a fool, and guards are naturally suspicious, so the direct approach would definitely cause problems. Even if the target was a fool, the direct approach still can lower the lifetime of a killer just because there are the chances for witnesses. Witnesses tend to tell guards what a killer looks like, therefore the length of a killer’s career is substantially lowered.
The killer knew all about this. That was why he took his time to find his target for the night. He needed to be as inconspicuous as possible, and keep his eyes open for the right opportunity to rise. He was constantly peering into the alleyways, his amulet resting underneath his shirt allowed him to see in the darkness. It seemed the guards were smartening up their act; not a single guard was lurking around in the alleys this evening.
Looks like tonight is going to be more of a challenge, he thought as he thumbed at the scar above his right brow, I hoped it was so. Preparation is key for what I need to do…
As the killer progressed down the streets of Kvatch, he quickly noticed that the guards were no longer alone, they always had a partner with them. Some even had parties of three or four. He quickly decided to focus on a party of two. Given the right situation, he could take both out before they realized what was going on. Hopefully the sensation pulsating in his head didn’t drive him into anything too hasty.
“Blood! I demand it! Can’t you feel it? It’s calling…answer it!”
I will, I hear it too. I just have to maintain my control, one mistake and I could ruin everything.
“Yes… his blood calls the loudest. I want to see it sooo much! The sound of it spilling will sound better than any symphony ever created. I can picture it so vividly… the sound of ripping flesh… the geyser of crimson… the fear in their eyes before the life fades away from them… beautiful, picturesque isn’t it?”
It is… I want it now… No! I mustn’t be tempted right now! I have work to do, the blood of two men will satisfy for now. All I need is to figure out which two…
Raucous laughter suddenly erupted from around the corner ahead of the killer. Instantly, the killer made his way in the direction of the laughter, intent on who was behind this boisterous laughter. A rush of excitement began pulsating in union with the odd sensation that had been traveling with him.
Peeking around the corner, the killer witnessed two men stumbling around with their arms over each other, laughing hysterically. They were obviously drunk and it looked like they were moving on to the next pub. The swords strapped around their waists told the killer that indeed, they were Kvatch guards, supposedly off-duty this evening. The killer smirked, a guard was a guard, and these two men were going to be his targets this evening. The real hunt had just begun.
Trailing at a safe distance away, the killer observed the two men carefully. The one was a young Redguard, who seemed to be more inebriated than his partner. It was likely that this was his first time hitting the pubs, as the alcohol was making his stumble quite often. The other was a tall Imperial, drunk, but he was able to move straight, despite having to drag his feet along to do so. The killer decided he should still be cautious with this one as with age, a man could still be dangerous while drunk. As they entered the next pub, ‘The Flying Bosmer’, the killer knew exactly what he was going to do. The maddening pulse quickened as he crept into the alley, prepared for what was to come. It would only take patience to get away with his plan. Hopefully the urges wouldn’t ruin his frame of mind…
As expected, it took roughly an hour to hear the slamming washroom door in the upper story of the pub, followed by the young Redguard vomiting into the washbasin. A sudden rush flooded the killer’s mind. “Now! Now! Bleed him now!”
Suppressing the rush took effort and the killer began to perspire. Why was this happening? Never before had this been a problem. He was so close to what he wanted accomplished and yet this madness within his mind could ruin it all. He must suppress it!
Fortunately the Redguard was taking his time emptying his stomach, his loud retching was reaching the killer’s ear from outside on the roof quite easily. It took only a few moments to flood the urges within the calm void that his training had long since created. He then waited patiently for the retching to stop. Once it did, he leaned over the roof’s edge, and tapped on the washroom window. A shift in the light emanating from the window told the killer that the Redguard was investigating.
As quickly as he could, he slammed his fist through the window, causing a loud shattering, then grabbed the body by the shirt, and yanked the body out the window. A cry of shock escaped the drunken Redguard’s lips before plummeting from the heights of the pub. A sharp, wet crack accented the ending of the fall.
The killer then slipped into the pub from the broken window, and placed himself behind the door leading out into the hallway, knife at ready. Stumbling steps approached the door and a slurred voice called out, “Hey rookie! Ya okays in there? I tolds ya, you shouldn’t drink ‘o much!”
A few moments later the door creaked open and the Imperial walked in. Noticing the window, he stumbled closer to investigate.
“Now! Do it now!”
Almost instantly the killer reacted, viciously wrapping his arm around the forehead of the Imperial and slashing his throat open in one deft movement. He held the body up for a moment, the proceeded to toss him out the window as well. This time, a faint, wet splat told the killer the body had reached the end of its fall.
Quickly he exited via the window back onto the roof of the building. There he stood, eyes fixated on the two bodies sprawled on the ground before him. It was visionary, artwork at its finest. The blood spilled across the rivulets of the cobblestone like many small creeks, but were soon flooded into a lake of blood. He finally released the void of his training and let the rapture take over. The smell of the blood became stronger in his nostrils, the crimson more vivid, he could nearly taste it. Satisfaction protruded from ever pore of his soul. It had been too long to do this.
His thumb then brushed the scar above his brow and his feelings of rapture subsided. How could he be satisfied with this? Killing a couple of drunks was no challenge at all. Sure, there was two of them, but there did not seem to be any apparent danger at all. Maybe he was ready… maybe the fear was instilled high enough to act upon his true target. To finally achieve his revenge.
No, my tasks have been too easy so far, I need something more challenging. If I don’t I WILL get caught if I try to get my revenge at the moment. Preparation will have to continue, he thought as he began to head to the drainpipe leading back down to ground level. His moment’s bliss was ruined because of a scar, a scar left by the man he sought revenge for.
It wasn’t the mark above his right brow that drove him. No, the scars ran deeper than that. They went to his very soul, the very essence within him. Those scars had changed him, they drove him away from Kvatch, his home, for a long period of time. Since then, many changes had happened, but one thing didn’t change. The one who had scarred him still lived. He intended to change that. But first, he intended to scare him half to death. Let the paranoia sink in to torment him. The killer almost hoped that he would beg him to kill him once he got his chance, almost. Begging for his life would sound sweeter to his ears as he would ignore them. Then he would reach completion as he would spill the blood of the one who tormented his thoughts for so long…
Yet again, the killer paid homage to the homeless man with the fire barrel by giving away a few coins and relieving himself of his gloves as he engaged in a short conversation with the man. The man didn’t notice the smell of burning leather at all, his own filth would’ve easily overwhelmed most other scents. The killer didn’t mind the man’s stench though, he understood what it was like to down on his luck. He had been forced to live in similar fashion for a time. Before a significant change turned things around for him. He did not dwell on that memory though, his past provided the skills he needed for the future. That was all he needed from the past. That, and absolution.
As he continued back to his home, he noticed something. The pulsating sensation was all ready returning. A frown crossed his face. So soon…
The story in it's entirity can be found using this link: http://chorrol.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=3204&st=0
Or you can find it being steadily updated in larger portions here:
http://www.tesfiction.proboards102.com/index.cgi?board=implib&action=display&thread=1201537987
Sunday, January 27, 2008
"The Beginning Of The End"
I do believe the title says it all. This begins the end of all humanity as my thoughts and possible rants shall be unleashed upon the public. Morality will decay and virtue will crumble! Beware readers, beware!
But in all honesty, I don't quite think that will happen. I'm just the type of person who believes that being grandiose when kidding around is a fun thing to do. I hope above all else that my sense of (horrible) humour will be noticed, much to the dismay of anyone who happens to cross this little insignificant spot on the internet. Yet, I don't believe being pessimist is the route to take here. For all I know, this little thing could bloom into something that I might not comprehend. Fingers crossed I guess.
At the moment, I'm not entirely sure what will be posted here. I have a pretty good feeling that much of it will be music related as I am a music fiend! I try to absorb the stuff like a plant would water. Actually, I do think that music might be that life sustaining substance in my life. I try to constantly surround myself with it. The amusing thing is that I can't play a note for the life of me, though I 'm sure if I was motivated to take lessons of some sort I could eventually learn an instrument. It's just that my life is busy enough as it is that fitting something like that would just bog me down or push something else I truly love out of the picture.
That something else would be writing. I have a feeling I'll do some shameless self-promotion of my written work I have posted elsewhere on the internets. There was some time a little while ago where I didn't feel like writing (possibly because of my annoying english class) but I've gotten that itch again and I actually have a couple of ideas I want to work with. One has just begun while the other is being held on the back burner for now. I'll get more in depth with my "projects" later on.
For right now, just hang steady folks. As long as school and work don't drain me too much I'll keep this thing going on a relatively smooth basis.
But in all honesty, I don't quite think that will happen. I'm just the type of person who believes that being grandiose when kidding around is a fun thing to do. I hope above all else that my sense of (horrible) humour will be noticed, much to the dismay of anyone who happens to cross this little insignificant spot on the internet. Yet, I don't believe being pessimist is the route to take here. For all I know, this little thing could bloom into something that I might not comprehend. Fingers crossed I guess.
At the moment, I'm not entirely sure what will be posted here. I have a pretty good feeling that much of it will be music related as I am a music fiend! I try to absorb the stuff like a plant would water. Actually, I do think that music might be that life sustaining substance in my life. I try to constantly surround myself with it. The amusing thing is that I can't play a note for the life of me, though I 'm sure if I was motivated to take lessons of some sort I could eventually learn an instrument. It's just that my life is busy enough as it is that fitting something like that would just bog me down or push something else I truly love out of the picture.
That something else would be writing. I have a feeling I'll do some shameless self-promotion of my written work I have posted elsewhere on the internets. There was some time a little while ago where I didn't feel like writing (possibly because of my annoying english class) but I've gotten that itch again and I actually have a couple of ideas I want to work with. One has just begun while the other is being held on the back burner for now. I'll get more in depth with my "projects" later on.
For right now, just hang steady folks. As long as school and work don't drain me too much I'll keep this thing going on a relatively smooth basis.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
