Ren In Wonderland

2010-04-17T19:38:00.000-07:00

Things I like:

Putting a letter in the mail.
A towel that just came from the dryer.
Christmas carols.
Stapling together a finished project.
Super Mario 3.
Movies with car chases.
Concession popcorn.
Gavin & Stacey.
The sound of rain on the roof.
Tiny cute animals.

Things I do not like:

THAT STUPID VOLCANO, WHICH HAD BETTER STOP ITS SILLY BUSINESS AND BEHAVE, LIKE RIGHT NOW, I'M SERIOUS. That volcano is getting a time-out.

2010-04-15T15:47:00.001-07:00

2010-04-12T21:15:00.000-07:00

I guess I should start vaguely thinking about my EPL roundup post for this season. I looked at my two past ones just yesterday and some of my opinions have radically changed, while others remain totally the same.

For instance, I have been mostly indifferent to Portsmouth for the last 2 years, but this year I would rank them higher. I tend to get hopelessly enchanted with fairytale cup runs. Pity I don't actually think they can beat Chelsea, but Alex is putting some money on Pompey to win it. That reminds me, I meant to check the odds, wonder what they're like!

Will also have to figure out who's gonna be in what away colours so I can do the cupcakes right!

2010-04-11T12:54:00.001-07:00

Pub lunch on my last Friday at work.
Some of my coworkers: Virginia, Cassandra, Guillermo & Julia.

2010-04-10T22:32:00.000-07:00

Do I need a Tumblr?
-probably not
-what the heck for?
-no

Will I eventually create a Tumblr?
-what do you think

2010-04-09T21:47:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I was 4 for 4 on the roll-up rims, a truly astonishing run. 3 coffees and a donut, as if that will ever happen again in this lifetime. Since then I have won nothing, nothing, nothing!

I have one on my desk right now, and I refuse to roll it because until I observe it, I haven't lost yet. It's Schroedinger's Toyota RAV 4 under there at the moment.

. . . . .

I think I will go to the GT tomorrow for the FA Cup semi after all. I haven't watched a game as a neutral in a good long while. And as to why I am a neutral in any game that involves Chelsea, it's only because I'd love to see them face Spurs in the final. (And lose, of course.) The Chelsea/Spurs League Cup final in 2008 was quite fantastic, I must say.

Additionally, I think the Villa colours might be a little challenging for icing on the FA Cupcakes, which - as we all know - are iced in the colours of the 2 teams in the final.

2010-04-08T19:37:00.000-07:00

MY LUGGAGE TAG, LET ME SHOW YOU IT

14 days...

2010-04-07T15:56:00.000-07:00

Brooklyn accents confuse my brain.

First of all, they are just flat-out annoying. For whatever reason, they just bug me. However, they also inevitably belong to the hottest guy in just about any movie. So I also find them strangely attractive.

The mind, it boggles. What to do? Be annoyed! Be attracted! It's sexy! It's really freakin' annoying! It's hot! DOES NOT COMPUTE.

Some days I am pretty sure my entire life can be summed up like this:

2010-04-06T23:00:00.000-07:00

WUT. I checked when I left work (81st minute) and thought it was a wrap. Apparently he had one more left to go! I like Barca, and goodness knows I love Messi, but I was secretly hoping for an Arsenal comeback cause it'd make an easier route to the final for Inter :P

Dear Messi,

Please stop being quite SO good, or Mourinho will never be able to sign you for Liverpool. #totallyrealisticfutures

2010-04-05T22:35:00.000-07:00

This sketch (found online a million years ago) is still very very close to the image in my head for my next tattoo. Very close to "actual size" as well.

My friend Ken is working on drawing a similar concept for me and changing the angle slightly. It will be the first one actually drawn by somebody I know, which is neat.

As soon as I get it back, I will photoshop it as a transparent layer onto an actual photo of me and start to play with placement. So far, consensus seems to be that it will make the most sense up high on my right shoulder.

2010-03-28T09:41:00.000-07:00

Working on the 2009 Annual Report at work for the last few weeks: what activities took place, what was earned and spent, what was accomplished. On the last day of March, we'll present this huge report at the AGM. A snapshot of 2009.

How cool would it be to have something like that for me, for all the years that have already passed? I mean, what did I accomplish in 1996? What did I spend money on in 2000? What were the Big Plans for 2005? I haven't even properly kept a diary in years. Those "Year in Review" quizzes I did for a few years are about the best I've got.

I think the Annual Report was still playing on my mind when I started messing around with this yearbook-style collage. Here are the faces of my gorgeous mates who made 2009 what it was, through good and bad.

ROW 1

Manda. Her positive energy and shining spirit has cheered me up on so many occasions. One of the few people I can always really talk to, no matter how much time has passed. We had some epic hangouts in Hamilton this year, and as many trips to the Whistling Walrus as time would permit.

Brigitte. In every way the perfect co-worker, whose presence at work made the last 6 months of the year so much more fun, and whose life is always so eventful that she could write a movie script just by ripping a page out of her journal.

Alison. The Man U Supporter (but we forgive her), who I haven't seen nearly enough since she moved back to Ottawa. A great girl to have on a night out. Remains one of the only people who'd take a day off midweek to see a football final with me!

Marina. My stunning London homegirl. Possibly the only Canadian person who loves London as much as I do. Shares with me a great love for Colin Firth, martinis, kilts and British boys. She really, really likes maple-flavoured things, which might be the only major issue we disagree on.

ROW 2

Felix. Despite his geographical distance, remains forever and always one of my best mates. The year would not have been the same without our regularly-scheduled 4:00 am chats about silly dramas and life and love.

Paul. A brilliant mate, an amazing writer, a great laugh and a total sweetheart. And a superfox! Is pure genius and can figure out when to 'go' on a roundabout even when it's far too complicated for the average mind. Has more funny t-shirts than anyone else I know.

Katharine & Malcolm. The true power couple, smart and sexy and focused and starting-their-own-business-like. A total inspiration and living proof that it's never really too late to start doing what you want to do. Katharine gets overexcited about ideas just like I do. Malcolm makes the best chicken cordon bleu I have ever had in my life.

ROW 3

Me. This girl is kind of a pain the arse. But she follows me everywhere I go!

Jim, valedictorian. I could not have made it through the year if it wasn't for this Viking right here. Shares with me a propensity for overcomplicating things, a love of dramatic epiphanies in pubs, and a view of the world that's just a little bit strange. Makes his own mead and is willing to get shot with an arrow to prove that his homemade armour works.

ROW 4

Marie-Josée. Beauty and talent personified. Her music has provided the backdrop for many a long drive, and I can anchor major events from the year around when we saw her concerts. She's given me so much inspiration, encouragement and commiseration, and for that I'm ever so lucky.

Jesse. The best friend and flatmate that a girl could ask for. An amazing photographer and a brilliant inventor. Has the funniest sarcastic comments to apply to just about everything. Can explain the plot points in gangster movies over and over again without losing patience. Can make both tea and toast perfectly - a delicate art.

Gab. From long weekends at home to pub nights in Ottawa, this girl just gets more interesting the older she gets. And has now travelled to more places than me despite seven less years in which to do it, which really needs to be remedied ASAP :P Loves ranting hilariously and sleeping, which is pretty much the same things I love. It's wonderful when sisters have things in common!

Chris. A charming boy, a great laugh, and the conqueror of my sister's heart. Is British, an excellent quality in boys. Has impeccable musical taste (cheesy eurodance music, yes please!) This does not extend to movies, where by contrast he has hilariously terrible taste (he loves "The Notebook," and he's actually not just saying that for the chicks!)

ROW 5

Mike. Single-handedly kept my sanity (mostly) intact at work for the first few months of the year. Endured with me the 2-hour Carpool of Doom during the Ottawa bus strike, morning after morning after morning. Has an extraordinary skill for explaining complicated things very simply. Also has great taste in music and has a worm farm in his flat.

Kevin. This was the 22nd year of our friendship, which is epic in and of itself. And yet our friendship continues year after year not just "because," but because we are so damn awesome. As has been the case in most years since I moved east, we didn't see each other nearly enough, but when we did it was chock full of music discussions, hysterical laughter, and Tim Hortons coffee.

Emma. "Bezzie mate" and flatmate to my sister Gab. Beautiful and funny and even more disgustingly well-travelled. An honourary member of our family on more than one occasion and a party to a good many silly jokes. Partial to naughty text messages and a fountain of knowledge about British celeb gossip.

FJ. The mysterious man who lives upstairs, the most steadfast of friends. Often hilarious, often unintentionally. Is sometimes too reasonable for his own good. Loves fashionable clothes, good movies and well-written literature. Collects books. Dislikes getting up too early. Charms every lady he meets.

ROW 6

Sinclair. My fluffaluffaloo. The best cat in the history of cats. Loves tuna. Dislikes pigeons.

Julian. Without him, weekends at the GT would feature at least 50% fewer expletives (and equally fewer laughs). Hates Lucas and Kuyt only slightly less than he hates Man United. Agreed to a long-running bet which he will eventually lose, in which he must run around the pub naked if Kuyt scores a hat-trick.

Robin. Once re-enacted a scene from Metalocalypse on video, causing me to get an instant nerd-crush on him. Writes one the most pointless yet hilarious blogs I have ever read. Frequently leaves comments on my Facebook posts, which is more than enough to endear him to me because I clearly live for attention.

Alex. Met him at Carleton during my short-lived foray into EURUS, but our friendship was rekindled this past year over football discussions and parallel plans to move to London. He's a Newcastle supporter, and that alone proves that he's a friend whose affections will withstand adversity. Soon to be my flatmate.

And with that, we can close the book on the year, I think...

2010-03-14T16:24:00.001-07:00

2010-03-13T17:08:00.000-08:00

Nana nana nana nana, nana nana nana nana, HOT DAWGS!

(Yeah, I dunno.)

I didn't get to sleep till nearly 4 am after the Electric Six show last night, and I got up almost the same time as usual, so I am a little loopy and sleepy today in my special way. (There is probably a good reason I often get asked "are you drunk?" if I show up somewhere a little too tired.)

I had a nap this afternoon like a kindergartner, so I should be good for Mad Max.

. . . . .

Read an article today about the possibility of Carragher becoming manager NOW (aka 2010-11) with Dalglish as advisor, and it's kind of breaking my mind.

. . . . .

I answered a bunch more questions over at Formspring. Yay :)

2010-03-12T16:17:00.001-08:00

I just imported the archive of old letters from SBN. It was actually incredibly simple and I don't rightly know why I didn't just do that before. Next project will be to tag everything. Task projected for completion by the end of the decade.

(LUCKY FOR ME, IT'S A BRAND NEW DECADE!)

My plans for this weekend include playing Super Monkeyball, eating pancakes and sleeping. Oh, and and a midnight showing of Mad Max on Saturday night with FJ.

Tonight is the Electric Six concert (yes, FIRE IN THE DISCO!) I suspect I will need to purchase a can or two of Red Bull at the club, because I am damn near exhaustion at the moment and it's only 7:30 pm.

2010-03-11T19:58:00.000-08:00

On repeat at the moment: "The Beat That My Heart Skipped." I had completely forgotten about this track until someone posted the video on Twitter a few minutes ago. Ahh, I love the internet :)

2010-03-10T18:57:00.000-08:00

La la, look what I got! Three sport shops of hunting - and only found a kids size, LOL. Luckily, I am a midget.

Fun fact: Next Tuesday will mark the very first time I will ever set foot in the GT wearing blue ;P

FORZA INTER!

2010-03-09T19:27:00.000-08:00

Today, quite characteristically for a Tuesday, was pretty boring. HOWEVER, this morning I was surprised to win a download of the new Burning Hell album.

S O A W E S O M E ! :)

It's fair to say that the day only went downhill from there.

(Then slightly up again around 8:30 pm when I ate a bowl of Lucky Charms.)

(Lucky Charms are freakin' delicious. And it's perfectly acceptable to eat a bowl of sugar when you're already a highly caffeinated grownup.)

2010-03-08T19:25:00.000-08:00

Things learned about the Action Sampler:

1) It is very difficult to get the exact right amount of light, not too much or too little, since you cannot adjust anything. Outside in partial sunlight is best, no pictures of sky or clouds if the sun is out!

2) No pictures indoors, no matter how bright it is - they will turn out rubbish. Even the picture of a plant on the windowsill didn't turn out!

3) To get much effect from the four lenses, something actually has to be moving quite a bit (thus: "action" sampler). When standing still and taking pictures of a still object, there is not a significant difference between the frames - you get "four slightly different, yet somehow arty and 70's-reminiscient, pictures of the same thing."

All taken around noontime, in bright sunlight, in the 1-block radius around work.

2010-03-07T19:30:00.000-08:00

Today I ordered gifts for 2 summer birthdays & Father's Day. Uh huh. Sometimes I am actually that organized. (Whether I will actually know where these things are come summer remains to be seen.)

But you know what I still have not bought?
That's right: WINTER BOOTS.

The weather this weekend was ridiculously mild again. It is way, way too good to be true. I hung out on the balcony for a good 20 minutes on Friday night in just a hoodie. I have also eaten my lunch outside twice this week, once with no coat (!!!)

Right now I am thinking about eating my lunch outside again tomorrow, and that very thought is probably shaking loose any snowflakes that might be lurking up there. Ooops.

2010-03-06T15:07:00.000-08:00

Guess who turned 21 today?!

She's the freakin' cutest thing ever, I tell you.
And probably having the most amazing party in Brussels!

2010-03-05T20:38:00.001-08:00

Sometimes I really miss the 90's.

Not only did they have the most sublimely cheesy pop/dance music, but it was considered perfectly acceptable to tile your webpage background with this:

2010-03-04T19:00:00.000-08:00

Today I got the most ultra-grouchy and rude checkout cashier ever. Because I was so annoyed, I forgot to break my $20 (which I really needed to do) and accidentally used my debit card to pay instead. As a result, I had to go break my $20 at the lotto counter because I still needed to get some change.

If I win the Max Millions tomorrow with this ticket, it will be a direct result of terrible customer service! Thanks, crabby cashier lady!

2010-03-03T19:13:00.000-08:00

Dear Mourinho,

I heard that you would really like to have Gerrard in your squad. You can find him at Anfield whenever you're ready!

At the end of the storm is a golden sky and a grey overcoat.

New desktop wallpaper:

(Sorry, Rafa.)

(OK, no, I'm actually not that sorry.)

(If that's Stamford Bridge in the background, which it totally is, it's only because it is set in the future when LFC are playing an away game there next season :P )

(PS. LFC win it 4-1.)

2010-03-02T19:52:00.000-08:00

2010-03-01T20:13:00.000-08:00

First day of March, first day of RRRoll up the Rim at Timmy's!
2010's first roll-up cup:

Result = 2010's first PLEASE PLAY AGAIN.

2010-02-28T19:51:00.000-08:00

TA-DAAAH!!
And it doesn't even break in IE ;)

2010-02-27T20:49:00.000-08:00

New website SO CLOSE TO DONE. I think I might actually be able to put it up by tomorrow. OMG!

In other news, I now have a Formspring account, so anyone can ask me a question about ANYTHING. Isn't that wonderful? IT IS TOTALLY BADASS.

It's over here, though it seems to only work half the time because I think it's getting overloaded with new users. There is also a neat little thingy over in the right-hand sidebar, which may or may not work. It's right under the Twitter feed -->

There are way too many capital letters in this. OH WELL.

2010-02-26T20:47:00.000-08:00

New Facebook profile pic:

The snow melted completely after last night's mini-blizzard and it was +5 degrees today. So much for winter... This is CANADA, right?

2010-02-25T21:00:00.000-08:00

Tonight: Giant Hand show at Raw Sugar & a snowstorm (pictures to follow).

Well, I suppose it can be called a "snowstorm" for the 2009-10 winter anyway. It's pretty much just your average day by, you know, Normal Canadian Winter standards. More accurately, it's the first significant snowfall of 2010, if it keeps up during the night.

Right now it's just 2 inches of crappy, cold, wet slush that soaks right through your shoes. Blehhh. Only tomorrow will tell if I should go buy some cheap winter boots after all... that is, if there are any left. I'm pretty sure it's nearly sandal season in retail-land.

2010-02-24T20:57:00.000-08:00

As a silly little project, I've been trying to make a list of my 10 favourite things ever. This can include activities, foods, things that happen, feelings, anything at all. It's called "The 10 Best Things About Being Alive."

It's surprisingly difficult. There are 5-6 things that are definitely on the list, but I can't narrow down others without feeling like I'm missing something major. Also, I'm not sure how specific to be. Some of my items are ridiculously specific!

I expect to be done sometime before the end of the year.

2010-02-23T20:50:00.000-08:00

The same day that something very cool flew in from Belgium...

...something in an ultra-awesome package flew away to Belgium!

I have MAD wrapping/cool-mail-making skillz, yo.

2010-02-22T20:04:00.001-08:00

Who knew there were paparazzi at Dollarama? Apparently there are, and they prefer ancient Leicas with black & white film.

2010-02-21T20:36:00.000-08:00

While every other Canadian on earth was watching the hockey, I was watching 28 Days Later. I thought it would be icky and scary, but it was actually mostly boring. And (surprise!) rather unrealistic.

From the reaction to the hockey result on FB and Twitter, it appears that most people would prefer a zombie apocalypse to Canada not qualifying automatically for the quarterfinal.

2010-02-20T18:21:00.000-08:00

Today: Inter pull out a 0-0 draw in Serie A with just NINE men (both sendings-off in the FIRST HALF).

March 2010: Inter knock Chelsea out of the CL (not that there was much hope for Chelsea after their 3-0 defeat at the San Siro in February, but the 0-1 scoreline at the Bridge seals it)

May 2010: Inter and the Special One are crowned European Champions in Madrid

May 2011: LFC win 6th Champions League trophy; Mourinho becomes first manager ever to win the CL in consecutive seasons with different clubs.

2010-02-19T19:02:00.000-08:00

Sample of another new EGH header.

(a) DEAR GOD, yellow on black again? Seriously?
(b) Is this a website or the opening credits of Star Wars?
(c) This is made of epic awesomeness
(d) AAAAHHH MY EYES
(e) All of the above

2010-02-18T21:13:00.000-08:00

Still working on a new look for the EGH website, but by the time I got through the second round of revisions on the new template, it looked almost exactly like the old one. Geeeez. That's 2 hours I'll never get back.

Okay, so I may have kept the same colour scheme since time immemorial... BUT THERE WILL BE TOP NAV IN THIS ONE, by golly.

I am indecision personified.

2010-02-17T19:30:00.000-08:00

Awesome YouTube video of the week: The LOST opening credits, reimagined as though the series was made in 1967 as a campy sci-fi action series.

2010-02-16T19:48:00.000-08:00

I know I am a little late to the party, being that the Oscar nominees were announced ages ago, but let it be said that I think Inglourious Basterds should win Best Picture.

Also, it's a bit stupid to have 10 nominees.

Also, HOW on earth did Avatar even get nominated in that category? Last I checked, "Ooooh, it looks pretty!" did not a Best Picture make. District 9 is a bit of a strange choice to me as well, but Avatar? Seriously?

2010-02-15T20:17:00.000-08:00

Deliciousness in pictures: French onion soup and kettle chips at John Terry's (aka Don Cherry's Grill, which I accidentally called "John Terry's" once like 2 years ago and which is now forever renamed).

2010-02-14T19:31:00.000-08:00

Today:

Breakfast downtown at Nate's diner
Checking the used bookstore for some new Bernard Cornwell; finding bookstore closed till noon on Sundays
Walking through freeeeezing wind for 2 blocks before deciding it was way too cold for Winterlude
Coffee and kettle chips
Afternoon showing of The Wolfman
Watching pairs figure skating and part of a Sens game
Dinner: spiciest butter chicken of all time (of ALL TIME!)

Happy Valentine's Day! ♥

2010-02-13T13:15:00.000-08:00

My football valentines, let me show you them! :)

(Yes, I made them myself. But who wouldn't buy a pack of these! :P)

2010-02-12T17:54:00.000-08:00

I have a sore throat, and I am very cross about this fact. Actually, I was cross about pretty much everything today. After work I got home, checked mail (nothing exciting), went upstairs, slammed the door, sat down on the couch and moped for like 15 minutes.

Then I said: "I am only going to be cross for 1 more minute and then I'm DONE! Because this is beyond silly." After exactly one minute I (sort of) stopped moping and started to eat my dinner.

Moping is a difficult thing to wrangle. "Like herding cats," one might say.

Now I'm just bored and I have a sore throat, and I'm wondering if it would be super lame to go to bed at 9:00 on a Friday night. I am just ready for today to be done and for the most excellent long weekend to begin.

2010-02-11T16:02:00.000-08:00

A looong time ago when I worked at the travel agency, I'd sometimes do this silly thing where I would write down the random thoughts I had all day long onto post-it notes. At the end of the day, I would compile all the thoughts and paste the day's collection into my diary. Those are still some of my favourite pages from old journals: the hilarity, miscellany and sheer mundanity of the stuff that I thought about on one particular day in the distant past.

I know for a fact that over the course of an average workday, I usually waste seconds or even whole minutes thinking about stuff that is really, really stupid - like how much I hate the new toilet paper dispensers that were just installed in the washrooms. Or how, if I had to think of a superpower I wanted really quickly off the top of my head, I might do something idiotic like wish to be able to manifest a cup of coffee at will whenever I want.

Today at about 3 pm, I was working on transferring some text into a huge InDesign document for a publication. I was just sitting there, copy-pasting away, drinking my instant soup, bopping to cheesy 90's pop on my iPhone... and I suddenly wondered if anyone in the world had ever done this EXACT thing before.

Has anyone else ever worked on an InDesign document while listening to "Girl You Know It's True" on an iPhone, drinking instant soup and wearing a black t-shirt? Maybe not! It's actually possible that, despite the mundanity of the task at hand, I am the only person who has ever done those things all at the same time.

And that's when I regretted that I no longer keep notes about random thoughts I have during the day, because that one would definitely make it into the end-of-the-day report.

2010-02-10T17:14:00.000-08:00

So, the last thing on that long list of fun things I was planning to do in January (most of which I did, I must add!) was to "make a list of 28 fun things to do in February."

But being as it's typically butt-cold and dark by 5:30pm, coming up with lots of interesting fun things to do after work (that don't cost too much money) was a little challenging. What I decided to do instead is to try to watch 20 movies that I haven't seen before in the month of February.

Going for 28 seemed beyond ridiculous, since after all, 4 nights of the month are already going to be taken up with watching LOST! Getting to 20 is still a pretty ambitious goal, I think.

20 movies = 1 film every 1.4 days.

So far, I've watched 6 movies, which means I'm only slightly behind schedule. Look at me, accomplishin' goals!

Enemy at the Gates
The Order
Paranormal Activity
500 Days of Summer
Taking Lives
The Road (at cinema)

Hah. I am probably the only person on earth who has to make it a goal to watch movies or else it just won't get done.

2010-02-09T20:27:00.000-08:00

LOST NIGHT, YAY!

I think I actually had a better idea what was happening during the Superbowl than I did during tonight's episode. What on earth is going on?! Also, this episode was seriously lacking in Locke.

2010-02-08T18:44:00.000-08:00

Tonight I went grocery shopping to replenish the various pieces I need to make my weekday lunches. These essential building blocks are assembled with machine-like precision (aka chucked into my bag with 45 seconds to spare) each morning just before I leave for work.

Luckily for my below-average lunch-assembling skillz, ever since the age of about 5, I have done this thing called "Eat The Same Food For Lunch Every Day For Weeks On End." This is pretty normal for kids, but I don't know about 28-year-olds. I switch it up every now and again, but it takes a while.

Just about every weekday this year, I have put the same things in my bag for lunch/snacks:

-a yogurt (or maybe yop)
-some kind of crackers
-a juice box
-a cheesestring or cheese slice
-a fruit cup or a fresh piece of fruit
-a little bit of milk in a flask (for tea!)
-lipton's instant soup

I actually make my lunch by just counting the number of things I have grabbed, as I know I have to collect one of each kind of thing. The soup packets and crackers I just leave in my cubby at work (along with a box of earl grey tea) and replenish as needed; the rest goes in my bag in the morning. Sometimes I forget the milk, but the rest is always the same.

Maybe next month I'll think about getting up early enough to make a sandwich.

Maybe.

2010-02-07T20:29:00.000-08:00

Things I did this weekend that I have never done before:

Watched the Superbowl (GO SAINTS! WHO DAT!)
Actually enjoyed a Prince song that isn't "1999"

Totally random thread of connection between these two things: Apparently, Prince is a big fan of the Vikings (who were knocked out by the Saints in the semi-final).

2010-02-06T21:00:00.000-08:00

Signs that I am extremely tired: I just spent several minutes looking for a Newcastle player among my EPL (2009-10 season) trading cards and wondering where in the heck they all were.

Oops, that reminds me, I've totally forgotten to do those football fortune cookie things for the last two Mondays. I ripped them all open already, so I guess that game is over :P

2010-02-05T18:41:00.000-08:00

I just googled "LOL John Terry" to see if anyone's made any funny icons or anything about his Captaincy Fail. This gem was still the first result. Even though it's a little dated (post-Moscow 2008) I don't know if this has been topped for hilarity :P

2010-02-04T20:31:00.000-08:00

I've been vaguely looking at free Wordpress themes again to see if I can find a new look I like for EGH. The current site has no back end whatsoever, and is literally just a mangled pile of code that I've cobbled together over time. But although it would be nice to have a content management system in place, it also seems a bit ridiculous for a site that has no point or, you know, actual content. The effort involved in making changes to it - however minimal - is wasted without any clear plans or purpose.

Although I'm sure it's destined for greatness in some glorious imaginary future, it's basically been sitting there for almost 6 years in various phases of uselessness. And yet people definitely stop by to check it out, and some people even like it. (Okay, admittedly, that's mostly people who think that the very act of making a website yourself is akin to making manna fall from the sky...)

I'm at least going to update the latest news thingy at some point this weekend. And I did make a new banner about a week ago, yellow and black again and very simple:

2010-02-03T18:38:00.000-08:00

I'm just about to finally watch the season premiere of Lost. OMG. This had better be good! I don't even care what happens at this point as long as Juliet actually stays dead... But that's probably too much to hope for, because the annoying ones always get away somehow.

. . . . .

It's snowing again at the moment. Just lightly, but as we still haven't had The Epic Snowfall, it's just enough to keep us wondering if this will be The One. Poddington says it will stop by tomorrow, though. The weather app is all-knowing.

. . . . .

PS. Can I just say that my article in the Winter issue of Dinner Jacket is the cutest? 'Cause it totally is.

2010-02-02T18:57:00.001-08:00

I haven't taken a picture of my office in a while. It was looking particularly festive the last few days with its colourful crown of post-it notes (just check out that big stack still waiting to be used!) so it seemed like an opportune time to immortalize it.

Hmm. That blank corkboard behind my monitor is bugging me now. Tomorrow, I shall have to resolve to put something on it.

2010-02-01T16:44:00.000-08:00

Batch #1 of 2010's Valentines, en route to the mailbox tomorrow :)

2010-01-31T16:01:00.001-08:00

It was a balmy -5 degrees today, a fantastic day to walk around in the Market. I finally got my beavertail. It was cinnamony and delicious.

(Yes, I have the candy pink nail polish of a 5-year-old.)

2010-01-30T18:09:00.000-08:00

Film photos from Jim's visit. Featuring Ren & Jim, Jim's GIANT MITTS, the sidewalk on Bank Street, and the inside of a Tim Hortons (also on Bank Street).

2010-01-29T20:40:00.001-08:00

I ♥ fonts. If I was to make a list of the 10 best things in life, I am pretty sure "fonts" would be on it. I could play with fonts for days on end.

I once had over 1000 fonts installed. I had one of those font catalogue CDs and I installed them all...and I could not understand why Windows was taking forever to load! :P

2010-01-28T18:28:00.000-08:00

As if in response to what I wrote yesterday, a big snow flurry showed up today. Again the snow didn't stay on the ground much, though the wind that came along with it was so strong it almost ripped my canvas tote bag out of my hands. In the late afternoon it sort of thawed. Then it froze, very suddenly.

The roads were an ice rink on the way home from work and there were fender benders everywhere. While I was stopped at a red light, the car behind me slid forward very slowly and tapped my back bumper. I just acted like I didn't notice and drove on when the light turned... it was way too gentle of a tap to even leave a mark. (Not to mention that I never fixed the bumper when I was hit last year, so it's pretty irrelevant at this point!)

Way back in first year uni, I slid on ice with the Civic once and I rear ended someone, a gentle tap just like this one. It was right at the exit to the parking lot at Brock. I had never hit anything before, and even though it was plainly nothing and wouldn't have even scratched him, I was SOOO horrified. But he just good naturedly waved at me out the window and kept driving. And now I'm happy to have karmically paid it forward. (Also, it was butt cold today and I really did NOT feel like getting out on the icy road to look at nothing. LOL.)

2010-01-27T20:04:00.000-08:00

It was snowy today, though only slightly. Big flakes falling during the afternoon. We still haven't had an OMG!MAJOR!SNOW this year, although now that I've said that it will probably dump two feet overnight.

Tonight: Typing, drinking tea, licking a big plastic spoon of Nutella and listening to Nick Cave. Going to bed early(ish), if humanly possible.

2010-01-26T18:33:00.001-08:00

HOLY CRAP moment of the day: Realization that Star Wars Episode I came out in theatres more than 10 years ago. In fact, it came 0ut 11 years ago this summer. Seriously?

That dorky little kid that played Anakin now looks like this:

Is 11 years long enough to get over the travesty that was the whole "midichlorians" thing? Definitively NOT. If this was a forum post, it would be adorned with this icon:

2010-01-25T19:00:00.000-08:00

How did I not know about this until now?!
Behold, Tay Zonday covers "You're A Mean One, Mr. Grinch."

I just ordered a hilarious official Tay t-shirt for the bargain price of 8 bucks + shipping. ;)

2010-01-24T17:44:00.000-08:00

I got an Action Sampler for Christmas, and I've only just got film in it for the first time. Tomorrow (or perhaps tomorrow and Tuesday if the weather is bad) I plan to shoot all 36 frames of random things and then take it to the 1-hour developing to see how it turned out. No sense in photographing anything serious when I don't even know if I'm doing it right!

Y'know, cause you're totally supposed to take pictures of serious things with something that looks like an Action Sampler. :P

2010-01-23T20:46:00.000-08:00

Jim is awesome. That's all :)

2010-01-22T19:23:00.001-08:00

2 random things that are bookmarked in my 'wish list' folder:

2010-01-21T16:20:00.000-08:00

Today I felt like CRAP. I was so tired and I had a headache so brutal that I could barely open my eyes by midday. My inbox was chock-full of annoying stuff. At Bridgehead, a guy at the adjoining table continually knocked into mine without apology, very nearly spilling tea into my netbook as well as all over me.

After lunch I was actually thinking about calling a cab to go home at the end of the day instead of walking to/waiting for the bus. Then I thought about how the cab would cost $20, and my cheapness took over. And then I said to myself, "If someone offered to pay you $20 to take the bus home, you would totally do it even if you were going to puke."

To come to think of it, I would take the bus especially if I was going to puke, because the cabs all have those signs that say if you puke you have to pay a $50 surcharge! Thus, I decided to take the bus home.

Of course, we got the WORST DRIVER of all time, the one that does this route about one in every three times and slams on the brakes, lurches around corners as if driving a bus was a totally foreign skill, and continually shouts at everyone. Oh yeah, and the bus right before it had broken down, so it was double-full and standing room only. My iPod battery went into the red and an old man standing next to me would not stop talking. Let me tell you, about 2 stops in, I would have paid $20 to get OFF that bus. Good grief.

Evidently, I made it home (sans puking) and am now drinking a cup of tea. Right now there is a veggie lasagne in the oven that I thought would take 15 minutes but actually takes 50.

So it goes.

I have the day off tomorrow.

. . . . .

Awesome BBC headline of the day: "Carlos Tevez calls Gary Neville a moron."

2010-01-20T19:59:00.000-08:00

I was just randomly thinking about what movie I've seen the most times. For sheer number of times it might have to be The Little Mermaid, covering several years between the ages of about 10 and 14. The Burning Hell played a cover of "Kiss the Girl" at their show a couple weekends ago, and I realized that I still know every single word. (And if they actually do cover the entire soundtrack like he joked they were going to, I think I might die of the awesome.)

I've seen Dumb & Dumber upwards of 30 times for sure. In the 15-20 times range would be Stargate, Merlin, Casino Royale (okay, that's got to be edging toward 30)... There was also a point in early high school where I watched The Empire Strikes Back and/or Hercules every single day for god knows how long. I was really really bored in high school.

I posted the question "Which movie have you seen the most times" in a poll on FB and like 1/4 of the people listed The Empire Strikes Back, which I think proves conclusively that it IS the best of the Star Wars trilogy. If anyone still disputes that.

2010-01-19T19:29:00.000-08:00

Sad:
Gab gone to Belgium today :(

Happy:
Jim coming to Ottawa on Saturday!
. . . . .

PS. OMG, look! How cute is this? I need a pet fox!!

2010-01-18T20:05:00.000-08:00

FOOTBALL FORECAST WEEK FOUR!

Blahhh. I'm so bored of doing these. I am bored of Mondays.

First off, I haven't gotten ANY Liverpool players yet, what's up with that? This is bollocks. And there's, like, some kind of SUPER foil card in this one - a "Man of the Match" - and it's bloody ESSIEN!

Yeah, I think this week is going to be balls :P

2010-01-17T20:38:00.000-08:00

New Facebook profile pic :)

2010-01-16T19:30:00.000-08:00

"Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has expressed his belief that an overall accumulation of 78 to 83 points will be all that is required to land a coveted Premier League crown this season. Should the Frenchman be correct in his assertion, it will be the lowest point haul since the 2002-03 season when Sir Alex Ferguson and Manchester United sat atop of England's top flight with a total of 83."

If my calculations are correct and Liverpool win EVERY SINGLE remaining fixture, we would finish on 85 points. 17 games left to play x 3 points = 51 points, and we already have a grand total of 34.

These are the remaining fixtures:

Liverpool v Tottenham
Wolverhampton v Liverpool
Liverpool v Bolton
Liverpool v Everton
Arsenal v Liverpool
Man City v Liverpool
Liverpool v Blackburn
Wigan v Liverpool
Liverpool v Portsmouth
Man Utd v Liverpool
Liverpool v Sunderland
Birmingham v Liverpool
Liverpool v Fulham
Liverpool v West Ham
Burnley v Liverpool
Liverpool v Chelsea
Hull v Liverpool

Oh, right. And Chelsea, United and Arsenal need to drop 14 or 15 points each too. That's not crazy at all, now is it! Not crazy at all.

ETA: Paddypower says the odds on Liverpool to win the title are currently 66 to 1 - the same chance as Spurs and less chance than Man City. Still, that's a significantly better chance than what I would have guessed.

Duuuude. Really? 66 to 1?

. . . . .

I am SO CLOSE to caught up on Lost. Soon I can trawl the internet for spoilers and theories and secrets all I want without risking seeing an accidental spoiler ;P

I spent most of the last 2 seasons hating Ben, but I suppose I must admit he turns out pretty interesting.

I still hate Jack and Juliet. ESPECIALLY Jack. Ugh!

2010-01-15T20:37:00.000-08:00

Things to look forward to this weekend:

Baking cookies
Upgrading Squeee's RAM
Outdoor temperatures that are actually not in the minus!
New Dinner Jacket issue (maybe)
SLEEP

Things probably not to look forward to:

Away fixture against Stoke

"Exactly one year ago Liverpool were top of the Premier League, two points ahead of Manchester United. The Reds have already dropped 27 points this season, compared to 28 in the whole of last season."

Thanks, BBC. Yup, we remember that.

*rolleyes*

2010-01-14T20:39:00.000-08:00

I finally got a new pair of mini headphones. They're red and they match Poddington's case. They also don't leak sound, which is essential because people on the bus must never know that I'm listening to Milli Vanilli. And Christmas carols.

. . . . .

2010-01-13T20:04:00.000-08:00

*FACEPALM*

Seriously? SERIOUSLY? Guess we'd better win the Europa League now, huh? :(

Yes, Rafa needs to go. But people, let's stop and actually think about this for half a second - if Rafa does get the sack, who the hell is going to take his place? Who?!

Why don't we just go ahead and get relegated, wouldn't that take the cake.
It seems to have done wonders for Newcastle.

2010-01-12T19:31:00.000-08:00

I think mail might be one of my favourite things in the whole wide world. Sending, getting, sorting, opening, LOOKING at mail...it's awesome. Okay, maybe there's just something wrong with me :P

Compared to the mailouts I used to do in the past (which, might I add, was insane) I barely send any mail any more. Partly because it costs a fortune. Good grief, Canadian postage is now beyond expensive. I didn't send Christmas cards this year, I think for the first time ever - though I've pledged to do valentines to make up for it :)

The very best kind of mail is random surprise awesomeness...
Like what I found in my box today! Look! A mix CD from the very awesome JIM!

I can only listen to it in the car, because Squeee doesn't have a CD drive. Since I think I've had the same two CDs in there since I got the car, it's probably high time for something new.

True, the album art is minimalist, but it's what's on the inside that counts ;)

2010-01-11T16:06:00.000-08:00

Here and now...

I am drinking a (somewhat cold) cup of tea out of my red cat mug.
I just finished eating noodles and cottage cheese for dinner (ding! goal accomplished!)
Someone a floor down has been playing a bongo drum continually for about 40 minutes and it's driving me insane!

Oops - I forgot to do my Monday football-card forecast till just now.
Week #3 looked like this:

I stared at it for a while but I still haven't got much to say about it... I've been writing all afternoon so I think I might be all tapped out of witty commentary today.

Midfielders everywhere again. I've been hoping to see a handful of forwards in one of these, but nope, still stuck in midfield. Notably, Gareth Barry is in here (in his Man City kit - bleh). From a Liverpool point of view, depending on who you ask, he's either the one that got away or the one that we are damn lucky not to have bought. So let's say he's representing an issue on which opinions are divided. :P

Also, dude, I didn't even know there were managers in this game. Go figure. No idea what that would mean, besides maybe taking control of a situation? And in Mick McCarthy's case, maybe getting promoted (but then having to hang on for dear life! ;P)

OK, that's about it for this one. I'm tired and I'm going to watch some more Lost.

2010-01-10T18:23:00.000-08:00

This morning I woke up to a link about how Torres and Gerrard will be sold if LFC don't finish top four. Needless to say I was extremely grouchy for the next several hours. I also had tons of work to do, which was annoying (but my own fault for leaving it till Sunday). I've noticed that pushing back deadlines makes time go faster - an excellent effect - but it comes at the price of working on a Sunday morning. Argh!

I finished almost everything in time to go to the afternoon show in Wakefield, where a stripped-down version of The Burning Hell played a set at 4:00. Four in the afternoon is an odd time for a music show, especially in the winter, because when it started it was still light out but by the end of their set it was dark. He did play "It Happens in Florida," which was fabulous, and some new stuff which is equally fantastic. I think they are one of my favourite bands of all time.

. . . . .

My hopes for the swiftness of mail sent to England are currently at an all-time low. I expect it's the shock of all that snow that has caused epic delays in the post. Even equipped with the Wings of Ren's Love, my parcels are doomed to be moving at a snail's pace... Marina still hasn't got my Christmas parcel, which was sent weeks ago. This tells me I should really get a move on mailing Paul's birthday present, as it needs to be there in two weeks and is pretty much guaranteed to be late already.

NO MORE SNOW, ENGLAND!

2010-01-09T17:11:00.000-08:00

This morning we brought Gab and Chris to the airport. *sniffle*

Gab leaves in 11 days for Brussels, where she'll be on international exchange for the next 5 months. Despite the fact that Brussels was apparently voted the most boring city in Europe (LOL) I think she's going to have a wicked awesome time.

Later on today, I saw Daybreakers and it sucked. I guess expecting that it would have any sort of a plot was too much? I'm glad I finished my nachos early on, because what it lacked in character development it made up in totally pointless and over-the-top guts and blood. What a waste of a potentially brilliant premise for a movie. Sigh, alas.

In the end I think the most interesting thing I did all day was download about 50 new fonts. Which, one has to admit, is super exciting. New fonts are like delicious candy.

2010-01-08T18:49:00.001-08:00

The song from this Lost scene has been stuck in my head for like a week now:

I really, really need the "hatch button beeping" sound effect in my phone to use for an alarm. It surely must be available as an mp3, or maybe as part of some Lost iPhone app. I'm just a little wary of googling anything Lost-related at the moment in case I accidentally see spoilers! I haven't got anything against spoilers, mind you, and I'm all for extracting them from my mates by force when I want to know about something that happens. I just hate seeing spoilers BY ACCIDENT :P

Speaking of alarms... My iPhone (aka Poddington McPhone) prefers to keep his clock on UK time, which has been a bit of a problem since I'm rubbish at doing the math to set my alarm for the morning. Singing my alarm is about all Poddington is good for at the moment, being as he's locked to O2 - well, that and playing with apps and checking the weather over wifi.

However, I've devised a genius work-around to the alarm problem: instead of using the alarm function and setting it for the time I want to wake up, I instead set a timer for the length of time I want to sleep. Brilliant, I tell you. Before I go to bed I set the timer for x hours and voila! Just like baking a lasagne. It makes so much more sense than changing the time zone :P

. . . . .

In other news, looks like we finally sold Dossena today. Meh.

2010-01-07T19:32:00.000-08:00

This evening's entertainment featured a group trip to the bowling alley down the road, graced by the adorableness that is Gab+Chris. Highlights of the night included Chris falling down completely randomly (which was ALMOST caught on video) and the Rock'n'Bowl kicking off with the most hilariously profane rap song imaginable while some little kids were totally on the lanes.

This is only the second time I've gone bowling since I first moved to Ottawa in '07, despite the fact that the alley is like two minutes away. Bowling is one of those odd things to me that's either utterly boring or else it's freakin' ridiculous when you have the right group, the right night and the right mood...kind of like Monopoly. Or Mario Party.

I wonder if I've actually broken even on my shoes yet. I bought my own (very spiffy) bowling shoes from the Simcoe alley back in 2000 for about $75 or $80, so I might be getting close to even by now. In another ten years I'll definitely have saved a FORTUNE by having my own shoes instead of borrowing them. LOL.

Well, at least they don't smell like feet. :P

2010-01-06T19:11:00.000-08:00

For a few weeks now I've had a recurring (though variously themed) dream that I'm a teenager again. I'm always in locations or situations that place me at the age of about 17 -20, doing something or being somewhere I have not been since then.

For instance, several times I have dreamt that I'm walking around in the woods at the villa, only it's dark and I can't find the road. I can't find my way back to the campfire site, and I'm just somehow going in circles with increasing panic. I am pretty sure the "lost in the scary woods" theme has everything to do with watching too much Lost. It's just a tad ridiculous because the forest at the villa is like 5 metres deep in most places... even *I* couldn't actually get lost in there!

Last night in my dream, I was walking in a crowd of students down a hallway at PDCS. I caught my reflection in someone's locker mirror and recognized that I was younger, and it suddenly made perfect sense that I had gone back in time to 2000/2001. I was in Port Dover, I was in my final half-year of high school, and I was walking from one class to the next.

I was carrying an armful of binders and books, and I knew I was heading toward Mr. Murray's history class - a class that, in fact, I absolutely aced. But I suddenly remembered that today there was a midterm. And I actually thought to myself, "Oh my GOD, I doubt I know any of this material! Even though I aced this class, how the hell am I supposed to remember what was on this test from TEN YEARS AGO!?"

Yup, cause that makes so much sense. LOL. I've never really had those cliché "didn't study for an exam" dreams that people seem to have, but I guess I did now! I woke up in a hysterical panic and found that I was curled into the fetal position so tightly that my arms and legs were numb. Oh-kayyy.

Deep breaths, baby, it's all right - you passed that history test last decade :P

2010-01-05T19:04:00.000-08:00

Sinclair models the wee Liverpool towel that Marina bought me for Christmas. I'm shocked he let me do this, being as everyone knows he actually supports Spurs. ;)

2010-01-04T10:32:00.000-08:00

Time for week two of the Football Forecast :)
Here's what was in this Monday's packet!

Midfielders seem to be the position of the day, so there's been some movement up the pitch since last week when defense was key. Some really good Fulham players there, including Danny Murphy who likes to score in big games. Nani is extremely annoying, so something irritating will probably happen this week that will need to be dealt with. He's also a bit theatrical so there might be a bit of drama involved. There are two Big Four cards in here unlike last week, so things in general are ramping up...

The foil card this week is Nicolas Anelka. This dude has got to symbolize indecision. Bouncing from club to club, unable to settle or make up his fool mind. What he's doing in this spread depends on whether we believe he's actually made up his mind this time or not...but either way I'd say that indecision is a theme for this week. The ball is stuck in midfield and it's going to take time for things to start moving.

2010-01-03T19:02:00.000-08:00

Leeds, huh? Can't say I saw that one coming :)

Yesterday at the pub, Old Man United came in just as our game was wrapping up and everyone was all "GO LEEDS!" at him. Of course nobody was remotely serious. Go figure, man. Wow.
. . . . .

Last night I was guestlisted for an indie show and I spent a couple of hours in the front row of a crowded room, standing with my eyes closed, trying to clear my mind and just let it all flow in with the music. As I was standing there thinking about everything, things suddenly started to make so much sense and I felt like I knew what I was doing, like I had a real idea. It was weird and comforting.

Of course, the minute I got out of there and was walking in the snow through -20 degree windchill back to the bus stop, it all evaporated and seemed just as damn crazy as it was before. LOL.

Just let it play out, Ren. C'mon now.
Breathe in, breathe out.

2010-01-02T13:45:00.000-08:00

I woke up to the following email in my inbox this morning:

we are reorganising our alliance atm and we
would like to invite u to return to play with Vengeance again.
This round should be realy great couse we are doing invites for all
the oldies to return and have a great round with lots a fun and
smashing battlereports.

The new game starts on Friday - round #35 - and apparently VGN want me in.
To play PA again.
Yeeeah.

Y'know, I'm looking over at the 2010 calendar and getting this strange feeling that the one and the zero might be switched the next time I look back... :P

I said I would think about it.

2010-01-01T14:13:00.000-08:00

New year, new plan.
Full court press. Let's rock'n'roll.

2009-12-31T19:49:00.001-08:00

Ah, 2009, what can I say about you as you take your final bow? I think you were taking the mick there at the end. Well played. (You can't be serious, right?)

*amused smile*

It occurred to me yesterday that it's not just the year that's over tonight, it's the freakin' decade. Let's think about that for a second: ten years ago, people were losing their minds about Y2K. Ten years ago, I was 17 years old and I knew nothing, absolutely nothing about anything. (I'm not sure I'm that much smarter right now, but let's pretend, yeah?)

Ten years ago, I didn't party like it was 1999. I was at a boring house party talking to some boring guy, and at about 10:45 pm I stood up without saying anything, walked to the phone and called my dad to come get me. When midnight struck I was in the park in Simcoe watching the fireworks go off with my family. I don't remember much about what I was thinking, except that it all seemed so epic, like something enormous was about to happen.

Did it? I don't know. Probably not.
What would I say to that girl? I don't know.
(For once I actually don't know.)

But 2010?
Yup, this is going to be epic.

2009-12-30T15:22:00.000-08:00

Best of 2009.

Best movie of the year:

Best video of the year:

Best live music show of the year:

Best TV show:

DVD watched the most times:

Transfer that should have happened that didn't:

2009-12-29T14:00:00.000-08:00

I've dutifully started catching up on Lost so I'm not all "HUH...WHUH...WHAT?!" when it comes back on in February. For some reason, I just do not retain the key plot information from TV/movies at all; unless I have literally seen something dozens of times, I won't remember how it ended or how a certain episode unfolds. That's basically why I stopped watching Lost until it was going into the final season, because I'd just forget everything during every single season hiatus anyway.

I also finally watched the fall finale of Flashforward that I missed. The villain, Simon, is pretty much one of my favourite villains ever, and so it's really weird to me now that he's the same actor who plays bumbling nice-guy Charlie on Lost. (And was also a hobbit. Seriously weird.)

Here he is as Simon, stone-cold evil awesomeness.
HOW IS THIS GUY ALSO A HOBBIT?!
It just makes no sense.

Also, apparently another thing I have totally forgotten is how to play Magic with any sort of actual skillz. I made the dumbest mistakes of all time today. Funny for all, but tragic for my life count :P

Also, I have zero rare cards now until I get the box back from Terry, so my deck was utterly bollocks. Sigh, good times.

2009-12-28T11:24:00.000-08:00

On my last day in Bushey, I bought six of these packs of football trading cards. I thought I might give them out to some of the guys at the pub.

Upon thinking about this later, I came to the conclusion that their appreciation of this treasure might not be what I had hoped for, and these poor players might in fact end up in the trash within minutes of leaving the pub.

Thus did I come up with the most brilliant idea EVER, which is to instead open one pack every Monday for the next six Mondays and use them as a fortune cookie to forecast the week ahead. Sheer brilliance. Here's what came out of pack #1, and my (astonishingly awesome and definitely 100% accurate!) interpretation below.

Welcome to Week 1 of Ren's Goofy Football Forecast.

Matt Taylor - Midfielder - Bolton
Maynor Figueroa - Defender - Wigan
Brede Hangeland - Defender - Fulham
Frazier Campbell - Forward - Sunderland
John Utaka - Forward - Portsmouth
Matthew Upson - Defender - West Ham

First of all, the fact that none of the Big Four are represented here (nor, in fact, any club ranked higher than 9th) probably indicates that the week ahead won't have much in the way of fanfare or drama. On the other hand, the presence of Figueroa (who scored an amazing goal from his own half just a couple weeks ago) is a reminder that major events sometimes come out of nowhere, and that something significant might happen unexpectedly.

There are three defenders in this set, and more defenders appear than any other position. It looks like this week I will not be the one asking the questions; rather, I will be the one tested or challenged and I will be the one who must answer the questions. However, the presence of two forwards suggests that I will hold my own.

The foil card, and thus the most important one, is Brede Hangeland. Again, a defender, which underlines the fact that I will not be moving forward this week, but rather I will be digging my heels in. However, Hangeland's club is Fulham, which could be significant. After scraping very near relegation, they are actually currently the highest placed club of all the ones shown in this set. This is probably a good omen - it suggests fighting back after being on the back foot, and coming back from a trying situation very positively in the next season (the upcoming year about to start this week).

There, how's that? Man, I should charge people for this. ;)

2009-12-27T15:39:00.000-08:00

Is it too early to start a wishlist for next Christmas?
Or my birthday?
I get gifts for St Patrick's Day, right?

I NEED THIS :P

2009-12-26T15:53:00.001-08:00

Is it New Years yet? Almost time to get rid of Robbie Keane...

He was December in the official Liverpool Calendar, which is pretty much the funniest thing ever. Or at least the funniest thing today.

Not much happened today that was funny... except maybe that with their shiny new point, Birmingham are now within 1 point of Liverpool. Cause y'know, there's that thing where you either have to laugh or cry... oh god :P

2009-12-25T20:29:00.001-08:00

Look what I got for Christmas!

These are truly epic slippers. I have not had a pair so lush in a long time. They are pure, silly, fluffy joy and I love them. I'm wearing them right now. Alas, I am sleepy so I'll probably have to take them off in a minute to go to bed, but the fact of their existence compels me to stay awake a little bit longer. :)

Happy Christmas! xx

2009-12-24T13:54:00.000-08:00

The ~~12 days of Christmas~~ 12 attempted self-portraits with a Merry Christmas sign in the mirror that turned out to be backwards ;)

Merry Christmas! <3

2009-12-23T09:18:00.000-08:00

There are now 242 Facebook fans of YWU, and last night the topic of YWU merch was raised again. A bunch of people expressed their interest in ordering merch, so a new project for January will now include creating a couple of shirt designs and, apparently, a mug. I'll probably just use CafePress so it's print on demand and I won't have to pay for anything - I just get money when an item sells.
. . . . .

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve!!

2009-12-22T09:58:00.000-08:00

To make time pass faster, I thought it might be a cute idea to parcel the time ahead into little pieces. Forget about the rest of the year for a second and let's just look at January, how about that?

I have written these 31 mini goals for the 31 days of January. They are stupid and fun and I will try to accomplish all of them with glee :)

Eat a beavertail in the market.
Do a game night.
Go bowling.
Read Murakami's Hardboiled Wonderland and the End of the World.
Teach myself something new about football.
Get out the glue gun and make myself some new hair accessories.
Write 31 letters here.
Write one real letter, on a piece of paper, with a pen, for realz.
Make one cute little silly creative thing like I used to make, even if it's embarrassing and even if I copied the idea from Soren (who is a total god for coming up with it).
Cook a curry from Paul's recipe.
Take photos outside of what a decent snow looks like.
Make cookies.
Put at least $300 in my savings account.
Catch up on Lost before it comes back in February.
Watch Dexter.
Go to the Mayfair.
Write random postcards to 5 people.
Read the new issue of Ottawa Magazine.
Do something cool for Jim, who has been an absolute hero for me even though he doesn't have a bloody clue what's going on :)
Make pancakes.
Write a guestpost for Katharine.
Write an article for February's Dinner Jacket.
Write [some free writing contribution].
Draw two new YWU comics.
Eat noodles with warm cottage cheese for dinner.
Make a new banner for my website.
Hang out with FJ and teach him how to flatiron his hair.
Go to the library.
Make a little package to send to Gab in Belgium.
Make a new video.
Make a list of 28 things to do in February :)

2009-12-21T13:13:00.000-08:00

I decided I'm not doing a Year in Review this year. I'm tired of 2009 right now. Instead, let's imagine the upcoming year and all the wonderful things that are going to happen. Because they are going to happen.

I only have two goals for 2010:

Have as much fun as possible
Be the happiest Ren I can be

2009-12-20T14:33:00.000-08:00

Ren: Why is time going SO SLOWLY?!
Jim: Because waiting for things is the worst part, and the universe likes to torture people.
Ren: Mostly column B, I must say :P
. . . . .

Today is... slow. In fact, I'm pretty sure it has already been today for at least a week. Gab and Chris are watching movies downstairs and Dad tried to bake chestnuts in the microwave, but first some exploded and then one almost caught fire. Now everything smells like burning chestnuts. Do not bake chestnuts in the microwave.
. . . . .

I feel happy and ill at the same time. I wish something would happen. I know that the answers will eventually be crystal clear but... at the moment it's just all SO. FAR. AWAY that it's f-ing painful.

If it felt like nothing happened this year, well, enough happened in the last 1/12 of it to fill up three years. I am so ready to kick 2009 into the past and I just wanna see - now now now! - what 2010 is hiding. I want to crawl out of my own skin right now. I want to sleep for decades and I want to run until I can't breathe. But instead I lie in my bed and type nonsense.

ARGHHH. SHOW ME NOW!!

2009-12-19T08:44:00.000-08:00

Stryky found $15 trees for sale at TSC (neatly bound up with rope so you couldn't quite see what they were like) ... and here's the result of that foray into the unknown. Presenting the most uneven Christmas tree ever. Hah! We'll just...um... hang lots more tinsel on the left? ;)

It smells gorgeous though. :)

. . . . .

PS. THANK YOU FULHAM for putting some extra Christmas cheer into this day. (WTF?!?)

This 606 comment got an actual LOL from me:

All we need now is the appearance of the tooth fairy and the Easter bunny, and for Scholes to reveal that he is, in fact, Ron Weasley.

. . . . .

Also, OMG I NEED this:

2009-12-18T14:27:00.001-08:00

2009-11-27T21:38:00.000-08:00

My netbook is driving me nuts at the moment. It won't sync up properly with my external monitor and it also seems to hate all my USB keys and my external drive. Also, my patience is pretty thin today. LOL. Not a good combo!

Yesterday mum and I got a pedicure and then went shopping. The shopping mall in Brantford is minuscule, and it's kind of hilarious that it used to be THE place to shop in high school. There are like 3 decent stores in there.

Hmm, yup. As I suspected, I have nothing interesting to say. Nooooothing. Today was pretty much the most boring day ever.

Tomorrow, we're going to some holiday bazaars in the morning. Then I have to catch up on some boring web work (BLEHHH) and at suppertime I'm meeting up with a few friends at the Walrus in Hamilton for dinner.

good night.

2009-11-24T21:08:00.000-08:00

Apparently, the odds are now on Mourinho to succeed Rafa as Liverpool manager. Seriously?! What are people smoking?

I would think the odds would be pretty low that anyone would succeed him at all. Does it even count if it's just Sammy Lee? Geez, I don't know whether to laugh or cry. Champions League gone, league title gone (yes, we've got to face it, it's gone), 2/3 of our squad out injured... good grief. This is NOT the season we were looking forward to, and it just keeps on getting worse.

Spurs to win the league now. It's just about the only outcome that I could still accept. And Arsenal to win the CL, that ought to shut them up so they don't moan too long about losing the league to Spurs. Naturally, we've got to keep reppin' for English domination in the CL, and those other two can piss off.