Cue Trumpets.

Today has been a good day. It started of with a trip downtown for a third interview with one of the Big 4 accounting firms. I have previously met with a recruiter and the Group Manager that the position is with. This morning I met with the Partner in charge of the Tax practice here in Calgary. He likes to meet all the candidates and I had been told that this was basically just a formality so I wasn't too nervous. He was really nice and very easy to talk to. He came across as someone who would make a very good mentor. After I left I hopped on the CTrain for the ride home. There were some drunk natives that stayed on all the way to my stop that took away from the enjoyment of the trip. I can't be sure but I think they were passing around a flask (this is before 11:00 in the morning). Their conversation went something like this: "STOP STARING AT MY F*ING CROTCH!" "WHAT ARE YOU A F*ING QUEER!" To which the other guy replied "I'M NOT STARING AT YOUR F*ING CROTCH YOU F*ING ASSHOLE!!" I felt like saying "Trust me, your crotch is nothing to be staring at." I decided not to though because there were three of them and I didn't want to get my suit dirty. Anyways... Back to the interview. When I got home there was a message on my phone. The recruiter had already called not even an hour after I had left the interview saying they wanted to offer me the position. I called her back and she asked me when I was available etc... and said I would have an offer in writing by end of day tomorrow. Yeehaw! Oops, I mean Yay (according to Jeff I can only say Yeehaw during stampede). I will be working as a tax technician doing Canadian and US personal tax returns for overseas workers. It might not sound exciting but there is a certain amount of job security. How does that saying go ? Something about death and taxes.
The day finished off good too. As most of you are aware today was Halloween. I got to sit at home all evening while my Uncle took my cousins around trick or treating in the frickin' cold. It's -11 C out (12 F for any American readers that might stumble across my blog). It's supposed to go back up above freezing by the end of the week and the snow will probably be melted. My cousins brought in quite a haul including a bunch of Coffee Crisps and Reese Peanut Butter cups which they don't like. What is wrong with kids these days? Not that I'm complaining. It just means I get free candy without expending any effort.
I guess I need to enjoy my last days of unemployed bliss. I also need to get some errands out of the way now that I won't have much free time during the day.

Happy Halloween Everybody.

Gaydar

I saw this on an episode of The Office. It cracked me up at the time and I mentioned it when the topic came up at Reid and Joe's place this past weekend. I don't remember what the conversation was but Jeff might have been complaining about his being broken. I could be wrong about that. It was late and the boys had just finished a prayer meeting. Reid commented on my post about TR Knight that he was disturbed by my apparent foreknowledge. I've always felt the Force strong with me but as of yet have been unable to levitate solid objects. I guess I'll have to find a Jedi Master willing to take on an apprentice. But I digress. I replied to him that maybe my gaydar only worked long range. Sometime later, while playing on You Tube, I decided to see what came up for gaydar and lo and behold I found the segment from The Office. So now I will share it with you. Enjoy.

Gaydar

What is our world coming to?

Is it just me or have Saturday morning cartoons gotten really shitty? Maybe it's like this with every age group growing up, but when I was younger, I remembered cartoons being funny. What happened to Looney Tunes, Darkwing Duck, Chip and Dale's Rescue Rangers, and Talespin. Now it seems like they're all just poorly animated copies of Pokemon or some other video game marketing tool. Does anybody else remember Bonkers? (I still crack up when I think of Fall-Apart Rabbit) And there was Animaniacs. The Warner Bros. and the Warner sister Dot. Pinky and the Brain ("Are you pondering what I'm pondering Pinky?" "I think so Brain, but burlap chafes me so." LOL) I love You Tube for bringing back fond memories.

Animaniacs

Maybe dreams really can come true

I wrote this post a couple of months ago thinking it was pure fantasy. That was until I read Dan's post today. If he can put his career on the line then surely I can put up with a bit of tension with family members. So what colour tie should I wear to the Emmys?

Art and stuff

I was killing some time on You Tube and came across this video of a mural while it was being painted. I guess the medium ends up being the video but I couldn't help being shocked when it got painted over. It seemed like all that work was for nothing but then a new mural was started overtop.

1week of art works


This one is by the same artist. It's neat how when the peices are rearranged it still looks like it was painted that way.

puzzle


And lastly I came across these guys. I've seen some of their stuff before and it's pretty good. They have the cute boy next door look going on too. I might have to try some of their lines.

So Smooth

Lemons and Candy

Nothing much to report as evidenced by the lack of posting. I had a couple more interviews this week but I'm still waiting to hear back from them. My university transcript is coming back to haunt me. I'm not very competitive by nature so I never strove to have the highest marks. I enjoy learning new things and if I got it then I got a good mark if not then my mark was just so so. I also vehemently despise writing essays. I can't seem to pick up the skill of bullshitting. I can see how in the arts there might be some room to express an opinion and contribute something new in an essay. In accounting this isn't the case so most of my essays were pretty much just collecting several acedemic works on a particular topic, putting their thoughts into my words, and avoiding plagerism. I viewed this exercise as a complete waste of my time and as a result there were several term papers that didn't get passed in. So now I'm suffering the consequences of my apathetic approach to my studies. If my potential employers would just call my past employers they would know that I really am a hard worker. If I'm working on a file for a client then I'm going to give 100%. If I'm writing a paper for school that only affects me then 70-80% is good enough. Anyways that's enough self pity and ranting for now. I can't really complain about having to make lemonade out of lemons when I caused the lemons in the first place.
I went to my cousin's diving lesson again. It gets me out of the house and I find the pool relaxing. Now that Fall is well underway the various programs at the pool are also in full swing. There was a swim meet today and there were more advanced divers practicing as well. This means lots of eye candy of course.

The other week when I was out with the boys someone asked me what my type was while we were watching all the eyeliner and purses walk by. I don't really know if I have a specific type. I just know it when I see it. I think at the time though I said jocky. I think I could probably narrow that down to swimmer's build. Muscle is all well and good but when you see a guy with huge arms and super cut abs don't you usually think even just a little bit that he's full of himself? Swimmers just look healthy. Divers have the swimmers build plus they're flexible.

I'm seriously thinking of taking up diving. They have adult classes for beginners at the pool where my cousin goes. I've always wanted to do something acrobatic like gymnastics, trampoline, or diving. It would also be good exercise. I get too bored just working out so I never do. This would be a way for me to get some physical activity. I'm always telling myself that it's too late to start something but I think for once in my life I need to forget about the excuses and just go for it. If I don't do it soon then it really will be too late.

Happy Thanksgiving

Depending on where you live or how globally educated you are, you may be aware that today was Thanksgiving Day in Canada. I'm not sure how accurate Kelly's expalnation of Canadian Thanksgiving is but it did get me wondering. I decided to pay a quick visit to wikipedia and was pleasantly surprised. Apparently Thanksgiving in Canada predates the traditional first Thanksgiving at Plymouth Rock (1621). "Thanksgiving is related to harvest festivals that had long been a traditional holiday in much of Europe. The first North American celebration of these traditional festivals by Europeans was held in Newfoundland by Martin Frobisher and the Frobisher Expedition to find the Northwest Passage in 1578, and Canadians trace their Thanksgiving to that festival." (wikipedia). Thanksgiving has only been on the second Monday in October since 1957. Before that it varied from year to year even occuring in April one year after the Prince of Wales recoverd from a serious illness. (The Prince of Wales is the title of the one who is next in line to the British throne). The reason the government decided to go with the second Monday in October propably does have to do with the earlier harvest in Canada like Kelly said on his blog. So there you go. Now you can't say you didn't learn something new today. Unless of course you already knew this.
I kicked off my Thanksgiving weekend with an introduction to the gay scene on Friday night. I met Jeff and Doug at Darren's place. After they finished their pregame prayers and preparations we headed out to Twisted. We walked in the door and met Calvin (I hope that's his name. I'm really bad with names.) They were all very apologetic for the atmosphere in the bar. Trust me guys. I was fine. I can probably count the number of bars I've been in on one hand so from where I sit something is better than nothing. I might not always show it but I was having a good time. Granted the eyeliner and purses might get old after a while.
Saturday I dropped by Jeff's for a while and met Debbie and Sandy (? Did I mention I'm really bad with names) They were having a fondue party. I'd tell you about it but what happens at fondue stays at fondue. I will say that Jeff was apologizing again. He may have had a bit to drink and was rather enjoying himself. He had no reaons to be sorry. He was still Jeff just more so. There are pictures but you'll have to bug Jeff about that.
Sunday was a quiet day and then Today we had our turkey dinner with family. Friends of my Aunt and Uncle came over as well as my cousins and my brother and his wife drove down from Edmonton. There were thirteen of us all together.
Well time for me to turn the lights out. I have to get up and head downtown for another interview. Wish me luck.

Entering Society

So I met Jeff for coffee this afternoon before I had an interview in the neighboring office tower. Doug joined us as well (You may have met him if you were in SF for Pride). He had a job posting for me from his company and Jeff had one for him (Jeff's trying to supplement his income by collecting referral bonuses). As a result of meeting Doug, I now have to come up with a Halloween costume so I decided to see what google could come up with. Here's a sampling of what I found.

• Well Hung - This is obviously for the man who has a large ego and hates to dress up. Wear normal clothing and hang a noose around your neck.
• Freudian Slip - Wear a slip, preferably black, with a sign around your neck that says "Freud."
• Pink Floyd - Wear pink clothes. Add a name tag that says "Floyd."
• Hat Rack - Wear a hat on your head and say you're a hat rack.
• Sugar Daddy - Attach candy all over yourself.
• First Class Male - Buy some stamps and paste them on your face or glue some onto an old shirt.
• Nudist on Strike - Dress in normal clothes and carry a sign that says "Nudist on Strike."

This one wouldn't be hard. I have a t-shirt about schizophrenia and I could pick up some name tags.

• Identity Crisis / Multiple Personality - Put "Hello my name is..." tags with random names all over your body.

I think I'm leaning towards one of these two.

• Mastercard Ad - Wear whatever clothing you choose. Attach a sign to your back that says "Shirt: $30...Jeans: $50...Shoes: $70......Halloween costume that took minimal effort: Priceless.
• Got Milk? - Wear a sign that says "Got Milk?". Paint a milk mustache over your lip with make-up or other non-toxic white substance.

In other news, it appears like there may be a considerable contingent of Canadians making the trek to San Francisco for Pride next summer. Now you know so you can't say you weren't warned.

Why are we attracted to what we are attracted to?

I was flipping channels and paused briefly on the Food Network.



Ricardo Larrivée(on the left) was doing a show. He's not bad but his accent is what made me pause. He is French Canadian (Québecois). That got me wondering why we find accents so attractive. More specifically european sounding accents. Hmm? I guess the culture that it is associated with is thought to be more sensual. How we talk does have an impact on how people view us so I guess a sexy accent implies a sexy person. Anyways that reminded me of a comedian I saw on a Canada Day special. So enjoy a sampling of French Canadian Accent.


Get this video and more at MySpace.com

Little Tidbits

Not a lot to report except that I didn't get the job that I interviewed for last week and I just told you so I figured I'd post something else. A friend emailed this to me a while ago and I came across it while going back through my inbox.

1. FIRST NAME? Matthew
2. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? Not to my knowledge
3. WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY? I’m sure there was a tv show on sometime in the last week that got me a little teary
4. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? No. It looks like a second grader’s printing
5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? Salami
6. KIDS? Maybe someday
7. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? Well I don’t think I have an extreme personality one way or the other so I don’t see why not.
8. DO YOU HAVE A JOURNAL? Does a blog count?
9. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? None of the forms list it as a mother tongue so I usually just put English
10. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Yes
11. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? Most likely probably not
12. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Alphabits but they’re not “healthy” so I usually have Honey Nut Cheerios
13. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? No
14. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? I don’t think I’m weak. Is that avoiding the question?
15. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM? Haagen Dazs Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough (except for that one year when the ice cream stands had Grape Nerd. It was grape bubblegum flavoured with nerds in it. Mmm)
16. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? Overall impression and face
17. RED OR PINK? Red
18. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOU? I’m too reserved (oh and my nose and hair)
19. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? My nephew but he’s not dead just on the other side of the country.
20. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? I’m not really sending it to anyone.
21. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES YOU ARE WEARING? Navy pajama pants and bare feet
22. THE LAST THING YOU ATE? Sloppy Joes, fries, and carrots
23. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? My computer fan. Now that you mention it it’s kind of quiet in here.
24. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Orange
25. FAVORITE SMELL? Clean man
26. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? Girl from [accounting firm name] telling me I didn’t get the job
27. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? Sure, why not?
28. FAVORITE DRINK? Frutopia Tangerine Wavelength (Don’t consume that much alcohol so I don’t really have a favourite in that category)
29. FAVORITE SPORT TO WATCH? Men’s diving
30. HAIR COLOR? Blonde
31. EYE COLOR? Blue (Hmm? Does that make me part of the master race? Oh wait! I'm gay, oh well)
32. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? Not yet (stuck with my glasses until I get benefits)
34. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDING? Happy Endings
35. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? The Last Kiss
36. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? Grey billabong tshirt
38. HUGS OR KISSES? Hugs
39. FAVORITE DESSERT? Coconut cream pie
40.WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING? Boudica: Dreaming the Serpent Spear by Manda Scott
43. WHAT'S ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? I have a laptop
44. WHAT DID YOU WATCH LAST ON TV? ER
45. FAVORITE SOUNDS? When you wake up in the country with the window open and everything is still except for the birds singing and a gentle breeze rustling the leaves
46. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? Beatles
47. THE FURTHEST YOU BEEN FROM HOME? My new home, Calgary (see 50)
48. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? Not really. I’m quite average.
49. WHEN WERE YOU BORN? April 5, 1980 (same as my Mom only 27 years later)
50. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Saint John, NB