Home Alone

The day has arrived. I will be sleeping in my own place startin tonight. I've been taking a few boxes at a time when I go over to clean or assemble furniture and tonight things are ready enough to move in. You're welcome to come over but I can't promise a good time. No tv, no internet, and no booze. I do have a couch to sit on though. Because I won't have internet for a little while I might not post for a bit and I won't be able to check email evenings and weekends. If you need to get in touch call my cell.
Time to go load some more stuff in the car. I need to make a stop at the grocery store and then I will be home. My very own home.

Personal Issues

This past weekend I watched the movie Dazed and Confused at Skybar's place. I'm not sure what I thought about it. It wasn't your typical plot based movie. It was more about the interactions between the various characters. The movie basically follows a group of students through an all-night-end-of-school party. There were definitely some funny moments but I think the seniors beating the freshmen bothered me a bit. I just can't see how someone finds it enjoyable to craft your own paddle and then use it to beat the living daylights out of some kid three years your junior. These guys were really getting into it to the point where they seemed aroused. I guess I'm not cut out for the S & M crowd. Although, I did have a somewhat erotic dream that night. In my dream there was beating going on but instead of senior students beating up on younger kids it was gay bashing. The guys had paddles like in the movie and when one came after me I grabbed him by the throat and slammed him up against a wall and continued to cut of his air supply. I then started kissing him really heavily and I didn't ease off on his wind pipe until he stopped resisting. I think the thought going through my head was that if I could show him that guy on guy kissing wasn't as gross as he thought it was then maybe he would stop the gay bashing. Anyways, I can't remember what happened after that. I either woke up or my brain switched channels. I'm hoping that this doesn't mean that I might have some aggression issues simmering beneath the surface. 99% of the time when I feel this way it's directed at some form of bully so if you treat others fairly and with respect you have nothing to fear but if you're in the habit of picking on those less fortunate than you, you've been warned.

How's it goin' eh?

I saw this on Darin's blog and being the curious person that I am, I decided to try it out for myself.

What American accent do you have? Your Result: North Central "North Central" is what professional linguists call the Minnesota accent. If you saw "Fargo" you probably didn't think the characters sounded very out of the ordinary. Outsiders probably mistake you for a Canadian a lot.
The West
The Midland
Boston
The Inland North
The South
Philadelphia
The Northeast
What American accent do you have? Take More Quizzes

Man! I hate it when people mistake me for a Canadian! Haha. I was a little skeptical at first when the quiz started out by asking my age and gender. What do those have to do with accent? But in the end it did come up with Canadian even though it was an American accent test so there must be some merit to it.

Political Reform?

MP Garth Turner wants to take on the whole party system
Tue Nov 14, 6:32 PM
By Alexander Panetta
OTTAWA (CP) - Garth Turner is not just tearing up his Conservative membership card, he also hopes to lead a national revolt against traditional party politics.
The Ontario MP, who was turfed from the Tory caucus last month, held a news conference Tuesday to declare that he is done with his old party - and with all old-style parties.
Turner said the political system has become noticeably less democratic since he last sat in Parliament in 1993, with MPs now banned from voicing any opinion that strays from the government line.
Turner was dismissed by Tory brass as a loose cannon and kicked out caucus last month - just months after being elected in his Halton riding and weeks after being nominated to run in the next election.
He complained Tuesday that despite requests to senior Conservatives from his constituency executive, no evidence has been provided to back up the claim that he breached caucus confidentiality.
Now he says he wants to travel the country, introduce a private member's bill, and promote the idea that MPs should be free to speak their minds more often.
"Canada's new government is suddenly looking a lot like the old ones," Turner lamented.
"(It's) controlling power in Ottawa while it makes both voters and members of Parliament less relevant. . . But this is not just about the Conservative party. Sadly, they all work the same way."
He said he will remain one of two Independent MPs, along with Quebec's Andre Arthur.
And he's trying to recruit other disgruntled MPs - not just Conservatives - to sit in the House of Commons without any party affiliation. He says two MPs appear warm to the idea.
Turner plans to introduce a private member's bill that would extend the rights of Independent MPs and allow them to offer tax receipts for political donations.
He has also started a website dedicated to democratic reform - promiseskept.ca - and he plans to rack up plenty of frequent-flyer miles in the coming months.
"I will travel anywhere that people want to talk about democratic renewal, parliamentary reform, the role of our MPs and how citizens can get more involved to reclaim the system from the unrepentant, arrogant party bosses and the unelected backroom boys.
"We have to break this tedious cycle of electing politicians who sell us on change and deliver same old, same old."
The 57-year-old, who was first elected as a Brian Mulroney Conservative in 1988 and served as a minister in Kim Campbell's short-lived cabinet in 1993, says parties have taken too much onto themselves, at the expense of the electorate.
He says it's inexcusable that he was pushed aside after getting elected, and after being nominated twice by members of the local Conservative riding association.
He also said he has now been told that he will not be allowed to seek the party nomination in the next election, despite the support of his constituency association.
"The pooh bahs of the parties of all colours have made themselves actually more important than the individual electors and voters," Turner said.
"The fight is not about getting me back into the Conservative caucus . . . The true fight is for democratic principle."
The Prime Minister's Office had no immediate comment, but government officials have defended Turner's turfing, noting that he repeatedly criticized government decisions, literally from the Tories' first day in office.
He blasted the appointment to cabinet of David Emerson, who was elected as a Liberal, and Sen. Michael Fortier, who wasn't elected at all. Then he ranted on his website against the government positions on same-sex marriage, the environment, tax policy, and gun control.
He published vague details about what went on at closed-door meetings with his colleagues, and hinted at unpleasant encounters with the prime minister's staff.
Turner denied that revenge is his motive.
"This is not about bashing Stephen Harper. This is not about bashing the Conservative party," he said.
"It's trying to be constructive and find a better way ahead. Maybe we need five, or 10, or 20 more Independents in the House of Commons."
But he stressed that he's against the idea of a House of Commons full of Independents because that would be too chaotic.
Turner didn't rule out eventually joining the Green party eventually, and said he will be campaigning Wednesday with party leader Elizabeth May to support her bid for a seat in a London, Ont., byelection.
After flirting with the party, Turner said he believes he could only have joined the Greens if he'd resigned his seat and run in a by-election. He said the voters need to have the last word on who sits in the Commons and under what banner - not prime ministerial aides.
Copyright © 2006 Canadian Press
Copyright © 2006 Yahoo! Canada Co.
The topic of politics came up at a prayer session a while back (Shocking I know!) and I was saying how I think the political system needs overhauling because it's all about party politics now and once a party gets in power there isn't much difference from the last party. So when I saw this article I thought I'd share it with you. I hope Garth Turner is able to create some change. I think some more independants in the House would be good.

Busy Busy Busy

Has it really been a week since I last posted? Eegads! I'm starting to understand why so many people complain about not having any time to do anything. I'm definitely going to have to get used to being on someone else's time during the day. Now that we're in November, it's dark when I leave for work and it's dark when I get home from work. With having to get up early to catch the express bus downtown, I can't really afford to stay up too late so there isn't much time to get stuff done in the evenings either. I managed to get half my laundry through tonight. I usually do it on the weekend but I was out all weekend. Saturday I had some employment testing for a government job (I wrote the test even though I had gotten a job already. I can use it as a backup plan.) first thing in the morning. After that I wandered around Chinook mall trying but failing to window shop (I got some business casual stuff at Gap for work). I went with my Uncle and family for supper at a steakhouse and then I met up with the gang at Curtis's. Sunday I hung out with my other cousins for most of the day.
My evenings have been filled with apartment hunting and babysitting (just Tuesday night). I was supposed to go look at a place tonight but we had a freak snow storm and I wasn't going anywhere. One guy that got on the bus literally had an inch of snow sitting on top of his head. If he had of been there much longer he probably would have looked like a snowman. I think I found an apartment though. There's not much to choose from right now. They say the vacancy rate is about 1%. I haven't been able to see the palce yet but there were quite a few pictures of the actual unit online. They're faxing me the lease agreement tomorrow and I will make arrangements to get the deposit to them. The apartment is near the Chinook Mall so it's close to the CTrain and major roads. From the pictures, the building looks well maintained. I'm going to try to arrange to meet at the apartment to deliver the deposit so that I can at least see it before handing over the cash.
My life is slowly coming together. I'm making new friends. I'm getting my own place. I started a new job. The job is going really good. My trainer is from Scotland so I'm trying hard not to acquire his accent but don't be surprised if I tell you to bugger off. There's about ten people in my group and they all seem to get along great. So far the company seems really good too. Great benefits and a relxed atmosphere without a lot of red tape. The people in my group all seem to want to work together to get the job done and the company seems to provide all the tools we need to do it.
My head is spinning from all the information that's been coming at me the last several days. I'm definitely looking forward to the weekend. I can't remeber if I have plans or not though. I think I'm going to have to invest in a dayplanner.

I dob wabba geb oudda beb

I think I might have to crawl out of my cave tomorrow and go in search of some drugs. I am currently suffering from a severe case of post nasal drip. Usually when I have a cold I get the typical sore throat, stuffed nose, and cough. This time though my nose isn't congested. Quite the opposite. It won't stop running. As a result I have a sore throat (due to the post nasal drip) and the inside of my nose feels like it is on fire. I've started stuffing wads of tissue up my nostrils to prevent the cold air from irritating them even more. Also, instead of the cough I've been have huge sneezing fits. Ok immune system, do your thing. I'm trying to drink lots of water and take my vitamins so that my body has everything it needs to recover. It had better be gone by the time I have to start work on Monday.
While lying here convalescing, I decided to google some of my family's names. The results were quite amusing. Someone with the same name as my mother before she was married wrote a book on hat making (millinery). One of my brothers shares the same name as a gay activist researching harassment and violence against gays. The last one was the most shocking. We all thought that my Dad was working overseas for the last several years but it appears he is actually a gay porn star. Not really. I don't care how much airbrushing you do. It wasn't him.
Well here it is only twenty to eight on a Thursday night and I don't know what to do. I know all the big shows are on tonight but my eyes are bugging me because of the sinuses so I don't feel like watching TV. It's too early to call it a night. I should try to hold out for at least another hour. I don't even feel like looking at porn (I told you I was sick). I guess I could always read some of your blogs. So hurry up and post stuff so you can entertain me during my time of illness.

It's Official!

That's right folks. It's official. I signed on the dotted line this afternoon. Thanks for all the congradualtions. Monday morning I will be joining all the other minions on the commute downtown. I was also honoured to receive an invitation to join the Lunch Bunch. Add me to the email list so I can join you next time you meet.


For all you none Calgarians this is a picture of the CTrain with the Calgary Tower in the background.