Week 7 wrap up

Still trying to remember to wear that rubber band in the morning. And failing.

This week is exam week and projects-due week. I'm not sure what this means for the week 8 project. I'll try to figure something out. There's an undergrad reunion at UTM on Saturday that I might attend, does that count?

Week 7 - Dear rubber band, you're playing my tune out of tune

This week is quite heavy for me with school deliverables and preparing for exams, but I managed to squeeze in an extra-light project.

As those who know me IRL may have noticed, I walk a bit funny. I don't fully step on my heels so I'm always leaning forward a bit when I walk. Dunno if there's something weird going on with my feet but I've been doing this pretty much my whole life, and it hasn't always been pleasant when people pointed it out (especially in school where kids can be mean). Though I've tried correcting it over the years by telling myself I'd try to walk properly, I'd keep forgetting to do so - it had become a natural thing for me.

So for this week I decided I'll take one more stab at it, by trying a method I'd heard about but always thought was silly: the old "snap yourself with a rubber band around the wrist whenever you catch yourself doing the bad thing" trick. I've been wearing this rubber band all week and it still bother me, which tends to be a good reminder for walking properly.

Anyways, I'll report back on how things are going later. Been doing it since Tuesday and will likely continue for longer than a week.

Week 1's video posted: The 404s RPG

Here are the fruits of my and Mike's labour. Reasons it got delayed:

1. We needed some kind of soundtrack and asked for another 404 (Mike Storey of Maitre Music, who makes kickin' eurobeat songs) to create it.
2. I was lazy and busy, kept forgetting to ask him for it (he got it ready in a couple of days), then kept delaying actually finishing the video.

But, here is the clip in all its lame glory. I found iMovie to be pretty limiting (even moreso than Pinnacle Studio that I have on PC) - I definitely want to learn how to use a more comprehensive editing program in the future. Is Final Cut Express my best bet?

Week 6: Fear Conquered - Shrooms Vanquished

If you know me at all, you know that I hate, abhor, loathe, despise mushrooms. Cannot stand them and actively avoid eating them. So on Monday when I noticed the Tre Funghi (or as I (mis?)translated it, Triple Mushroom) pasta on the menu at Daddyo's near Rotman, I knew I was going to have to come back and have this be my week 6 'thing'.

I headed over to DaddyOs on Friday. They have good, if a bit "overpriced for everyday lunching" pasta.

Ordered my pasta and some liquid courage (when beer selection is shitty, the answer is always Coors Light).

And here's the "delicious" looking pasta.

And here's a video of the beginning of my experience.



I finished it, I swear! No digital trickery was employed in the creation of the following image.

Rob has a brilliant idea - a post-interview. Here it is.



Later that day, in the middle of a meeting with my project team, I had a very upset stomach and spent about half an hour in the washroom. I guess I'm not used to digesting funghi. Sorry, but I did not take pictures of that experience.

And with that, Week 6 was a success! I already have some ideas of options for next week, even though it's getting dangerously close to exam week and is actually 'papers-due' week. I'll try to make sure to have time to devote to this, though.

This week I will CONQUER ONE OF MY FEARS + I finally have a follower!

In an attempt to make this blog a bit more exciting (and to make up for last week's lack of action) I have decided that this week stakes will be high. In an attempt to improve my life, I will be CONQUERING ONE OF MY FEARS.

What fear, exactly? For that you will have to wait a bit longer.

Also, I would like to congratulate Steffa for being my first follower. As a reward for being an early adopter, she wins a coupon that grants her and her family my help with moving furniture and other belongings from one house to another, redeemable only on Saturday April 17th, 2010.

Follow my blog and you could also win fantastical prizes!

Week 5: Write-off, but a bunch of neat things.

Gah. Way too busy this week with schoolwork and job interviews to even think about the project, so nothing project-worthy happened. But a bunch of other interesting things did, which as a sum could be seen as worthy of being mentioned.

- On Tuesday I had two interviews, plus a repeat of my Improv workshop! I had messed up my scheduling and ended having an interview in the morning, then the workshop at lunch, and another interview at 4PM. The afternoon interview was more intense and I was tired. But as of Friday, I have a job offer from them, which I'm really happy about! I'll be assisting with the marketing of a non-profit company. I'm 99% likely to accept unless I get offered the other Marketing position at the video game development company I interviewed with in the morning, though I'm a bit less confident about that one (to be fair, I didn't think the afternoon interview went particularly well either). Next week should be interesting when I try to find out, then make my decision.

- Saw Wolf Parade in concert at The Phoenix on Wednesday. Wolf Parade is a pretty good band that I wish I had followed more. The songs I did recognize were particularly epic when played live, and their other stuff makes me want to listen to their new album when that comes out. If you were to listen I would recommend checking out I'll Believe in Anything (their biggest hit to date - music video linked), You Are a Runner and I am my Father's Son (which they opened with, live video linked), and California Dreamer (which is long and epic). A particularly amusing bit was when the lead singer called up his mother and we all sang her Happy Birthday over the phone. Hey, looks like someone filmed it!



- I went to karaoke with Ramy, Vanessa, and Dave on Friday night, for the first time in quite a while. We each got to sing 4 songs, which is pretty good for a packed bar! Some particularly good performers, and then just some strange people (some in a good way, some not so much). Here is one of the not so good ones:



Yes, that IS an old guy singing 'I've Got a Feeling'. No, he didn't do a good job.

There was a short lady in sunglasses who totally rocked some Stone Temple Pilots songs. One of her arms was about half as long as the other. I did NOT take a photo of that.

I sang Superman's Dead by Our Lady Peace, You Don't Know What Love Is...You Just Do As You're Told by The White Stripes, and The Most Beautiful Girl in the Room by Flight of the Conchords. Oh, and the crew backed me up for some Bad Romance (and it was good!). In fact, every single person in our group gave some of their best performances that night (that I can remember, anyway). Everyone's become a better singer than when they started doing karaoke, which is a pretty cool thing to watch people progress.

As for the venue, the place we visited had a ginormous selection...almost everything conceivable, even Enormous Penis by Da Vinci's Notebook! No Raconteurs though, sadly enough). I suspect the host pirates her karaoke, because buying all of those songs would have been really expensive. But whatever, it's all good for us.

Night ended well. I leave you with a video of Enormous Penis, which I will sing one day. These guys do amazing harmonies. Too bad they disbanded, but two of them went on to form Paul & Storm, another great group in their own right.

Wood for Sheep aka random thoughts

I just want to say that April Fool's Day was very disappointing with no good pranks other than some neat internet ones (Ecco the Dolphin Wars, anyone?). I tried to trick Liz into thinking I'd sold the JoCo ticks for profit, and I think I may have gotten her for a little while, but that was the extent of my pranking.

10 word review of Hot Tub Time Machine: Craig Robinson was funniest. Boobs! Could have had less puke.
Seriously, first movie I've watched in theatres since Star Trek. So sad. Can't wait for Kick Ass.

Had lunch at the Mandarin yesterday for my Grandma's birthday - had to nap afterwards and my stomach still hates me for all that food. Ugh. Never again...is what I say everytime.

I haven't yet decided what next week's big project will be. School is keeping me busy, I'm running the improv workshop again, and have two interviews scheduled, so it's going to be a big week. I'll figure something out by the end of it though, definitely.

I've been singing a lot lately. Like, more than usual - which is a lot to begin with. Damn, I wish my voice were good enough to do it professionally. I love to sing. I think I have 'Superman's Dead' by Our Lady Peace down pat now.