Hello my foreign friends, and welcome to my blog...
It has almost been four weeks since my last blog update, which means that this blog update will be incredibly long, just like my previous blog entries, which you have come to know and enjoy, right?
After my last blog update, I found myself not wanting to work. Then, one mysterious morning, which was July 30, I received a mysterious box from Synovate Research. Inside, there was a box of cereal that simply said "'honey and oats' cereal" with a letter thanking me for agreeing to participate in a cereal study for one of their clients, who turned out to be Kellogg's. And as it turns out, the mysterious cereal I tasted is another flavour to their 'Special K' line of cereals, which should be in stores at some point after the study is complete. However, the biggest event of that day was when my cousin Ky decided that he would get a haircut, or was either forced by David or Jeannette. But no matter what, it finally happened, and I couldn't be happier, even though it did take two tries in order for the Reverend Huy Dang to be satisfied. And by the end of the night, I got sick... well, not really. But after work, I checked my work email, and it turns out, my company kind of fails at grammar too. To see what I mean, click here.
July 31, the last day of the month, was mostly spent at work. Then, while watching Global National, I saw a report about honey mangoes, which makes it an apparent reason to visit Toronto now. However, I do not have an interest in visiting that city at this point, and it will most likely not happen anytime soon.
On August 1, 2010, I saw a picture of what Saskatoon Transit's new articulated buses look like, and they were longer than I had expected. However, they were ugly. Eventually, I did see one while driving around downtown Saskatoon during the week of the Saskatoon Exhibition.
Meanwhile, I had Tuesday and Wednesday of that week off. Then, on August 4, 2010, I learned a very important lesson from Levi Johnston, the guy who knocked up Sarah Palin's daughter Bristol: if you plan on travelling to Hollywood and plan on covering up what you plan to do, you really should be saying that you are attending some sort of hunting show, even though you are in Los Angeles, and it makes no sense. And later that Wednesday, I started planning my next trip next year, if I can afford it.
So, about my trip next year... where should I go? I have received suggestions from many people, and most signs point to Montréal. Some cities I had considered included Toronto, Montréal, Halifax and Ottawa (again). If I visit Toronto, I could visit "The Cashman." If I visit Montréal, which was highly suggested by my friend Jennifer, I could visit a lot of historical sites, which doesn't sound bad at all. Halifax just seemed a nice place to visit in general, while there are a lot of places I could visit in Ottawa that I haven't been to, and some places I'd like to revisit. So far, the decision is Montréal, but nothing has been finalized, yet...
Usually, I would spend my days off with my cousins, but things didn't work out, because my stupid cousins were in Calgary and wouldn't return until Wednesday evening. Thursday was pretty boring, as I worked. But after work, I had some weird thoughts and ideas, including the idea of naming a street after the actor Charles Bronson.
One Friday morning, on August 6, I woke up after having one really bizarre dream/nightmare. In this dream, there were two girls who I had previously dated, that were arguing with each other, but later came to some of agreement, and started documenting the reasons they did not like me. Then, after that, as things would get interesting, the dream ends. At this point, I still have issues interpreting the meaning of that dream, if there is any meaning at all. But in the same day, I was pleased to learn that the Honourable John Baird was promoted to the awesome position of Leader of the Government in the House of Commons. Now how awesome is that? I honestly believe that Prime Minister Stephen Harper made an excellent choice, as Mr. Baird has often taken his place (especially during question period) while he was too busy to be in the House of Commons for a variety of reasons, such as business trips.
On Saturday morning (August 7), I learned that a 51-year-old woman, along with 800 others, is suing the Toronto Police Service because she got arrested and released without charge while apparently being left out in the rain. Well, for one person I know, she should not be suing the Toronto Police Service. In fact, my friend believes that she should be grateful that she got arrested and left in the rain, as she got a free shower courtesy of the City of Toronto. Later that day, my uncle installed new tires on my awesome 2001 Toyota Camry LE. And later in the day, after watching an episode of The Simpsons, when Homer Simpson drove through a golf course, I made a point about that on Facebook. Eventually, Clint, someone I used to work with before the reservations centre I worked at closed, told me about a golf course that is 90 kilometres east of Saskatoon near Bruno, Saskatchewan that he would like to see wrecked up.
August 9 was Monday, which was a day I did not want to go to work... but on the bright side, I would have the next day off, right? August 10, which was a Tuesday, was excellent, weather-wise, as it was not hot or sunny out. But best of all, it was a day off. However, it did rain. Eventually, I took my cousins Tony, Ky and Tho to see the Saskatoon Exhibition parade. While there, Lisa saw me. Other than that, the parade was longer than I had expected, but it was a good one. Among the people there I saw were the mayor, city council, local MPs including Brad Trost and provincial MLAs like Rob Norris. After that, I took the three evil boys to Fuddruckers, mainly because my aunt gave me $50.00 to take myself and the three evil little boys to lunch.
On August 11, 2010, which was a Wednesday, I found myself heading back to school for something nonsensical: to go to Student Central to get my student loan documents signed. However, I assumed that it was still that period of time when it was a first-come, first-serve basis. However, I was wrong. When I arrived at Student Central, I was told to visit a website to book an appointment, which I did. When I arrived, it was 10:43 am, and I made an appointment for 10:50 am, and got my student loan documents signed. By 11:00 am, I had left campus, and went to some other places around town to perform some odd errands. Before leaving Student Central, I was told that with my current balance for Term 1 of school, and how much of a loan I would be receiving, I would have to pay whole $0.31 out of my money. And later that same day, I made a cool $29.00 by selling two old books at the University of Saskatchewan Bookstore that they didn't want two years ago.
On August 12, 2010, I was sad to learn that Mario Laguë, who is Michael Ignatieff's director of communications, was killed in a motorcycle crash in Ottawa. August 13, however, was an interesting day because it was "Friday the 13th," but was important to me because it ends something: a period of time where I work five days a week. Up until August 13, I had been working 40 hours a week since May 22, 2010. August 13 was the last day of doing so for me, and as of August 14, 2010, I reduced my number of hours a week at work to 24. And later that night, I watched an entertaining movie called Date Night.
August 14, 2010 was another day of work...
On August 15, which was a Sunday, I worked for four hours, and eventually headed over to my friend Nathan's house, who requested that I bring Beavis and Butt-head Do U as we thought it would be fun to play. However, the game is only compatible with a Windows-based operating system that supports 16-bit games. That did not work, as the only version of Windows that the Reverend Dutnall had was a 64-bit version of Windows Vista. The game works perfectly fine for me, as I use a 32-bit version of Windows 7 Professional. So, being unhappy, we decided to watch recorded episodes of COPS. The great thing was that there was an episode featuring police forces in Britain during the 90s. The weird thing was criminals in that country at the time seem to not resist arrest at all, and most criminals aren't even handcuffed, even though cops over there do have handcuffs. However, the strangest thing I saw while watching that episode was that, in one scene, one suspect who was arrested even climbed into a police van by himself, unsupervised, and without handcuffs. Now that, my foreign friends, is highly unusual and strange, and would never be seen here in Canada or the United States. Therefore, I am going to assume that it must have been fun to be a police officer back then in Britain.
August 16 was the first day off of my new part-time schedule. So, with my new schedule, I work from 3:00 pm until 7:00 pm on Thursdays and Sundays, and 3:00 pm until 11:30 pm and Fridays and Saturdays. So, that leaves me with Monday through Wednesday off. So, being that it was Monday, I sent a text message to my friend Jennifer. Later, I just called her, and talked to her for about 45 minutes, according to my cell phone bill's records. She had thanked me for sending her a birthday card, and informed me that she worked two jobs over the summer months, and had recently quit one of them. Her now remaining workplace allows her to essentially work on her own schedule, which makes me incredibly jealous at this point. However, the bigger news is that she will be moving out of her parents' home in Fairhaven as of August 31, 2010. After talking to Jennifer, I watched some television in my room, and heard the sound of a bus outside my window, which was open. I then looked outside, and saw a 2002 New Flyer D40LF parked in front of my neighbour's house. After a long day of doing almost nothing, I decided to go for a walk to my local Shoppers Drug Mart store to check my postal office box. I then found a package from the Royal Canadian Mint in Ottawa. Inside, there were five new one-dollar coins that were meant for circulation but commemorated the 100th anniversary of the Navy, which was unveiled by Queen Elizabeth II. Anyway, on the televised commercial, it stated that I should look for the commemorative coin in my change, or go online and purchase them online at mint.ca. So, instead of waiting for it in my change, I decided to order five coins in online at their website, which stated that there was free shipping with the coins. That's all well and good, right? Well, maybe not for them. When I made the order, they charged me a total of $5.00, for the coins, and I assumed that it would only cost them $5.50 at the most to ship me the fancy items. However, they sent me the coins, which were all wrapped in plastic protective packaging in a bubble-wrap envelope, which already adds almost a dollar to what they're losing. Then, the postage to mail the package cost them $1.22. Obviously, the Royal Canadian Mint is losing money. To mail out five dollars, they are spending an additional $2.00 for every shipment. I don't know about you, but I kind of think that's funny. Reverend Nathan also finds this hilarious. However, Chelsea Breher, who I have threatened to push down the stairs for at least a year, does not find anything wrong with that, as it seems.
August 17, 2010 was supposedly a "Happy Huy Day" at the Real Canadian Superstore, thanks to the coupons I recently received in the mail. However, it was Gail's idea for me to make a point of it on Facebook. Eventually, I walked around the downtown area, before going to see a doctor. During that time, I went around, and made a stop at the Frances Morrison Branch of the Saskatoon Public Library and got a brand new library card, including a new card that acts like a keychain. So, next time, when I borrow something from the library, I can let them see my keys, which includes a key to a 2001 Toyota Camry LE, rather than taking my card out of my wallet. After lunch, I went on a quest to purchase grapples, as I promised the Director of Sales Operations at my workplace that I would bring her grapples at the work "party" on August 21. Sadly, I learned that we could no longer get them, according to an assistant produce supervisor at the Sobeys store at Varsity Common. I also learned that same day that Tammy Poorman was half-Vietnamese and that her dad knew my dad back in the day. As it turns out, they used to play poker and pool together.
On Wednesday morning (which was August 18, 2010), after fantasizing about purchasing a Toyota Highlander Hybrid someday, I decided to actually test drive one, instead of just fantasizing. So, I started my day out by going shopping with my mom. Later, she forced me to drive her to the Giant Tiger store on Circle Drive, which is conveniently located near Ens Lexus Toyota. So, I went across the street and test drove a 2009 Toyota Highlander Hybrid because they didn't have the 2010 model in the showroom. Driving that Highlander Hybrid around like a jerk was fun. I felt big, and the vehicle was quiet... and incredibly comfortable. However, what attracted me to the car originally was the exterior. Eventually, I spent the rest of the day doing nothing, but somehow found myself incredibly tired by the end of the night. After test driving the Highlander Hybrid, I picked up my cousin Ky from school, who was taking driver education classes. Eventually, my uncle Harley made steaks. Although good, I was forced to force-feed myself another steak because there was one left and I was apparently the only one "qualified" to finish it. But right after dinner, Tony, who is evil, learned how to ride a bike without training wheels.
On Thursday, I had to work for four hours... but in actuality, I only worked 2.25 hours. After work, I checked my email and received an email for a survey opportunity that would reward me with 200 points (worth $2.00) if I qualified and completed the survey. So, I started to take the survey about travel. The first question was my gender. When I indicated that I was a male, I was instantly rejected. Apparently, this is funny to some people. Unhappy, I decided to "walk it off" by heading to the local Shoppers Drug Mart store to check my postal office box. On the way there, I saw Shelly, who was driving a red minivan, which was not a Toyota, therefore making it uncool. Later, while walking home, I saw that crazy bastard Rory, whom I went to high school with. And later that night, I learned that my foreign friend, Reverend Nathan Dutnall, made the switch from Rogers to SaskTel, which highly disappointed me.
On Friday, August 20, 2010, I spent most of the day at work, but took some advanced downtime to catch the last episode of Global National featuring Kevin Newman. It was a sad newscast, and I'm glad that not much news was reported. However, watching Kevin's final thoughts to his viewers almost made my cry. In fact, you should click here to watch his final thoughts. Eventually, it was time to return to work.
On Saturday, it was Family Fun Day at my "workplace," which was hosted at Eastview Bowl on Louise Street in the general Eastview area. There, we had cake, pizza and free stuff that kids usually get when they travel with their parents. It's called the "Nickelodeon Your Stay" program being offered by Marriott at its hotels, which include activity kits for your kids, while additional kits are $10.00 each. To book your package, visit the company's website and use the corporate/promotional code NK6, or click here. Sadly, I brought my cousins, who were evil and bowled like jerks. Throughout the entire bowling games, all I did was goof off, and all strikes were unintentional. I did have fun bugging people I used to work with, including Mat, Mike, and my arch nemesis... Aaron Arnault... along with his wife Angela. Overall, it was a fun day. But after driving my evil cousins back to their home, it was time to go home and get my rear to work. Also, I had fun "making fun" of the Director of Sales Operations. Before she headed to Saskatoon, I emailed her and told her that I hoped it would rain. Sadly, it didn't, but the skies were filled with smoke that came to Saskatchewan all the way from British Columbia. When asked whether or not I set the province on fire, I blamed it on my cousin Tho.
Sunday was another day, which involved working, but only for a whole hour, as I took some advanced downtime.
On Monday, the Sony DVD±RW drive I have installed with my computer "exploded," or stopped working. So, I decided to head to Best Buy to buy a new one. While there, I was helped by a very helpful employee, and I made a decision to purchase an HP dvd1270i DVD±RW drive, which is a 24X drive and has a SATA connection. But as it turned out, buying a returned item costs more than buying one that has not been opened, as evidenced via this photo.
On Tuesday, I picked up my cousins and brought them to my house. However, because of Ky, their visit to my house was cut short, as he had to drive a real car for the first time, ever (as far as I know). But after some crazy wrangling, I finally figured something out: how to make the left-turn arrow appear at the intersection of Arlington Avenue and Preston Avenue South. For the last couple of years, I have been "racking my brains" trying to figure out where it was. I tried stopping in various positions within the left lane, but gave up. And by "numerous," I tried twice. It appears that my third try was a charm. On Tuesday, I noticed a "discoloured" square-like spot on the roadway, and did nothing. But after dropping off Ky at Holy Cross High School, I stopped on that "discoloured square-like spot" when the light was red and waited for the traffic signal for southbound traffic to change. Not only did it change to green, but the left-turn arrow appeared, flashed, and disappeared in what seemed like an instant. To see what the spot looks like, take a look at this Google Street View image:
As you can see in the picture above, the sensor at this specific location is worn out. The "cut-outs" in the roadway are still somewhat visible, but are worn out for the most part. But if you look carefully, at the actual intersection in real life, you will see the metal detector/sensor and parts of what form a "square" big enough to fit a vehicle with the purpose of activating left-turn arrows in left lanes or left-turn lanes. For more information regarding left turns in Saskatoon, and what purpose these sensors serve, please read my out-dated explanation that I wrote up back in 2008 but have been too lazy to update. In fact, if you live in Saskatoon and you use my guide, you may start doing what I do at intersections with left-turn arrows when I need to make a left turn and do not want to wait for oncoming traffic. Actually, who does? Later that day, I let Ky drive my 2001 Toyota Camry LE, and it was scary. First, he kept braking closer to the intersection that he needed to, and blamed my brakes. I scolded him and later, he drove too close to parked cars. He then blamed his younger brother Tho for "bugging" him. This is one of the reasons I find teenagers annoying, as they seem to refuse to accept that it's their own fault that they make mistakes. And by the end of the day, I had a strange one. For every misfortune that there was, there seemed to be something awesome that happened that "balanced out the universe." And by the end of the day, I spent a whole $390.31 on textbooks for next month, in addition to the $94 I spent last month on a French lab workbook, which turned out to be part of a package for only $127.00, therefore ticking me off because I thought the price I paid for the workbook was a good deal. Eventually, I slept... after waking up at 6:00 am on Tuesday because I couldn't sleep. Also, by the end of Tuesday, my cousin Tho got his first cell phone, and I believe that his first order of business was to send me a text message that said, "im huy and im stuuuuuupid." And as it turns out, my uncle Harley got him the phone, and subscribed to a plan that included unlimited text messaging through Koodo Mobile. As for the phone itself, the little jerk got the LG Banter.
On Wednesday morning, I sat around the house doing nothing (and no, not literally) and eventually went shopping. I stopped at places like Market Mall... and eventually went home. Later, I got bored, and headed over to my uncle Harley's house to visit my evil cousins. It was there and then that I decided that would test drive another Toyota in addition to the Highlander Hybrid I test drove last week. Although the Venza was nice, I did not like it as much as the Highlander Hybrid. However, I did appreciate the fact that a USB audio player and Bluetooth came standard with the Venza, as it seems. But on Wednesday, two people were arrested on terror-related charges in Ottawa with the intention of attacking Canadian targets. At this point, I have learned that the number has risen to eight. Eventually, my cousins went to Calgary that same day. There are other family members in Calgary at this point that include my cousin who can't seem to make up her mind on what her name is (so it remains a mystery), who now lives in Alabama. Today, her name is currently Jenny. Previously, it was Jade. Before that, it was... I don't remember anymore. But no matter what, my cousin Tho likes to make cheesy impersonations of her, the same way he does with me. But when he impersonates her, it is less offensive.
Yesterday, I watched the news conference that law enforcement officials held in Ottawa regarding the recent arrests of people suspected of financing terrorism and conspiring to blow up targets within Canada. However, no targets were revealed, and we were told that we would hear about the targets when they are presented in court. However, one security expert has revealed that Parliament Hill and Montréal's transit system were potential targets. At this point, I find myself afraid... afraid to visit Canada's capital region again and I really don't know what I could say to describe my current fear. Anyway, I eventually spent four hours working, before getting off of work at 7:00 pm, to watch a rerun of The Office. Then, I went for a walk to the local Shoppers Drug Mart to check my postal office box, and then returned home to watch more television until the night ended, when I went to bed just after midnight.
Yesterday (Friday), I found myself doing almost nothing. I did work on this blog update, and then I watched The Back-up Plan on DVD, which was a lame movie. Eventually, I had lunch, worked on this blog update some more, and then started working until about 11:30 pm or so.
Today, I went shopping at the Real Canadian Superstore located at 2901 8th Street East this morning. Then, I went for some dim sum with my mom at that Yip Hong restaurant on 8th Street East at the Cumberland Square shopping centre. After that, I drove home and then went for a walk to the local Shoppers Drug Mart store to check my postal office box. On the way home, after crossing through the intersection of 22nd Street West and Witney Avenue, I almost got hit by two cars. In one of those cars was Jennifer Reaume, who didn't realize it was me. And according to Larry Chen, I wouldn't mind being hit by a car, if the car were a Toyota of some sort. However, I am pretty sure that he is wrong about that, since I am not entirely sure I agree with him. So, after crossing Witney Avenue, I almost got hit by a minivan that was making a left turn from 22nd Street. Once the green light appeared for traffic crossing 22nd Street, I almost got hit by a minivan making a right turn from Witney Avenue onto 22nd Street. As you can see, being a pedestrian in this city isn't safe.
Anyway, since my last blog update, we have learned that Cheech and Chong will appear on The Simpsons, and the City of Saskatoon has given Station 20 West yet another year to start their project... wait, it's another three years, which is unbelievable, since I am against the project entirely. In politics, Australia elected its first minority government in almost 70 years. At this point, I still don't know who will form the government, but I hope it's not Julia Gillard. But on Monday, Governor General Michaëlle Jean was in Saskatoon, and that was pretty cool. Now, onto something stupid... another teen in Québec has been injured because he went car-surfing. How stupid is that? However, the best part was when Jerry Stiller, or Frank Costanza as some have known him because of Seinfeld, paid a visit to the actual house whose exterior is often seen every time George Costanza or somebody visits his parents. Next, the City of Saskatoon has closed the Traffic Bridge, which links Victoria Avenue to the downtown area, indefinitely after inspectors could not certify parts of the bridge "safe." The future of the bridge at this point is unknown, but I remember the city having this exact same problem about five years ago. Back then, I was kind of sentimental and wanted the bridge to stay, as I enjoyed driving through it. But now, today's drivers in Saskatoon are stupid, and I'm afraid to drive on that bridge, and would love to see something wider replace the current bridge. If they did it in St. Louis, why not do it here? As a result, traffic routinely backs up along other major arteries, which would make this guide come in handy, as in most cases, traffic only goes straight so there should not be a reason as to why the left-turn arrow should not appear. But despite all of that, people in Saskatoon who are angry because they have to take the Broadway Bridge or use the Idylwyld Freeway, which is down to one lane each side, should be glad that they aren't in China. Now, last, but not least, is the fact that Prime Minister Stephen Harper kind of stole the show while performing a dance in Inuvik, NT. Now that is incredibly awesome, as it was spontaneous and nonsensical, and it makes me reaffirm my support for the Conservative Party of Canada for some reason. By the way, he looks pretty good with glasses in the video footage. And, I forgot to mention... an old creepy guy from Regina named Gerald Klein, who has been stalking a woman since 1974, was recently banished from the city. He tried to appeal the ruling, but it has been upheld, and the old creepy guy must leave town by midnight on Monday... for one year.
Anyway, summer is almost over, and school will start soon. On Monday, all elementary and high school students in Saskatoon will return to school, and I could not be happier. But on September 7, 2010, I will return to school at the University of Saskatchewan, and I could not be more excited, as I will officially start school with a new major: political studies. However, there was one class that I was extremely excited about, until I found out that someone I knew in high school will be in that class. I am also taking a French class, but the Reverend Nathan Dutnall will not be in it. However, he has promised that he will try to drop his current French class and switch over to the section that I'm in so we can take the class together... like that time we took that chemistry class together in grade 11 in high school and I became obnoxious and really annoyed the teacher, who was Mr. Holmes. And at this point, I spent most of my summer working at home, which was fine. The first part of my four-month summer vacation was the best part, as I visited Ottawa and Montréal, which is a trip I won't forget for a while. At this point, I have started researching which other cities in this great country I should be visiting! After that, I was fine with working for my job, but I was not fine with doing useless yard-work and "renovations" to my house. Why? Well, I was kind of forced to do so, as it seems. Sure, it benefits me too, as I do not have to share the bathroom I use with others, but it is work that I'm not happy to do. But aside from the useless yard-work, it has been a pretty good summer, overall, since I spent enough time with my cousins, who are currently in Calgary. However, despite the decent summer, the weather didn't match that, and I'm totally fine with that since hot weather sucks anyway.
In other news, there is a small possibility of another federal election this year, since there is a vote on the long-gun registry that rests with the NDP soon. But among other things, the Conservative government has done things that the Liberals and NDP can't seem to agree with, which could result in a motion of non-confidence, especially since Michael Ignatieff is still on his "Just Visiting Express" tour and is attempting to get to know "the Canadians." I probably wouldn't mind if an election were triggered because of Mr. Ignatieff, mostly because the Conservative Party of Canada is in the lead right now on the opinion polls by a whole 5%. But, overall, I would rather not have an election, as it usually costs about $300 million to have one, apparently. The only time I'd absolutely want an election is if we were guaranteed to have a majority Conservative government.
Recently, after talking to one of my old friends from high school, I learned she recently graduated with a degree in mathematics and is moving on to attend classes from within the College of Education at the University of Saskatchewan. After talking to her, I felt like everyone (except for one person who recently got engaged) I know was moving on. David Couchman has graduated and bought his own home... but after talking to some other people who had "planned" on graduating this year and getting their degrees, I learned that a majority of them will not be graduating for at least another year or two, which made me feel better about myself.
During the last few months, after I decided to change my major to political studies, I have been debating whether or not I would like to apply for admission to the University of Ottawa. As part of my studies, I am going to attempt taking French classes too. Hopefully, I will perform fairly well in these French classes. At this point, I haven't made up my mind, but if I do decide to apply for admission there, it would be done in January. However, if I apply for school there, that means it would be one hell of a big move, if I were accepted... and eventually decided that I would love to go there. At this point, I am not entirely serious on going there. Now, if living expenses and tuition were somehow free, I would instantly move to Ottawa if I were accepted, since I like the idea of living there. In fact, recently, whenever I have free time and feel like doing absolutely nothing, I start to think about what life would be like if I were to live there. Of course, in all of my "fantasies," everything would go very well and I would be highly successful. Sadly, life isn't like that. Also, in my "fantasies," the Government of Canada would have amended the Criminal Code of Canada to allow judges to sentence individuals to become other people's butlers, just like the plot of Jerry's pilot television show written by George Costanza on the two-part episode of Seinfeld titled "The Pilot." What? You don't remember the show? It was called Jerry.
Anyway, this blog update is now complete. If you read the entire update, then you must lead no life, just like me. Anyway, things I look forward to in the coming weeks include the Labour Day long weekend, and the start of school, as well as the season premieres of my favourite television shows, including The Simpsons, Family Guy, Two and a Half Men and The Big Bang Theory.
Thank you for reading my blog update, and remember... DON'T GET RIPPED BY THE RIPTIDE!
Hello my foreign friends! It has been a while since I last updated my blog, and I'm sure you've all been sad, right? I didn't think so.
I have not updated this immaculately-coded blog since July 2, and that is certainly almost an entire month.
So, how have you all been? I hope you've enjoyed the summer, so far, especially if you live in Saskatoon, where it seems to rain once every couple of days, or sometimes... once a day. Before I talk about my boring life, there are a few things to discuss.
The first thing I would love to discuss is the fact that Michael Ignatieff's Liberal Express bus broke down just hours after the tour starting in Ottawa. As he left, the tour bus broke down just hours after the tour started, and the bus was fixed by a man named Stephen Harper... and no, it wasn't the prime minister that fixed it. But when I first read the news, I thought it was, and I started thinking, "Whoa, Mr. Harper does like to help out his political opponents." But when I read the news carefully, it turned out to be a man whose name was also Stephen Harper. Well, even if the prime minister didn't help fix the bus, I am sure that he would, if he had the opportunity to do so, as politicians are also humans, despite their bad reputations. As for Mr. Harper, I still have not met or seen him in person (except for that time I saw him from a distance at the Calgary Stampede in 2006 the first summer after he became prime minister). Reverend Nathan Dutnall saw him while he was visiting his daddy in Moncton, New Brunswick.
The next thing I would like to discuss is the old age pension payments that serial killer Clifford Olson has been receiving. The Conservative government has promised to introduce legislation that will eventually strip Mr. Olson of receiving those payments, and he has threatened to sue the government over it, claiming that he uses the payments to pay for his boarding or something like that, despite already getting free boarding and meals via the expense of taxpayers, such as myself. I find it an absolute disgrace (a term coined by the Honourable John Baird, Minister of Transport for the Government of Canada) that Mr. Olson is receiving free money in addition to the free room and boarding he is receiving at the expense of taxpayers, and I also find it an absolute disgrace that Mr. Olson plans on suing the government because he will lose all future payments.
The last thing I would like to talk about before going into great detail about my boring life is the fact that Saskatchewan now has Saskatchewan Roughriders licence plates, which look kind of lame. Of course, I probably shouldn't complain because I am too lazy to even think about my own design. Also, I don't have an interest in football in the first place, so there is no point in me even complaining, therefore making this whole rant totally useless.
Well, since my last update, Americans celebrated the independence of their country on July 4, and I worked from 7:30 am until 4:00 pm on that day while Americans celebrated their independence from Britain. Eventually, the Reverend Nathan Dutnall came over and we watched The Stupids, which is a classic movie that will always remain "awesome" to both of us. And in the name of the Lloyd, that movie will always remain kick-ass. If you don't know what "in the name of the Lloyd" means, perhaps you need to watch the movie, as it stars Tom Arnold.
Later that week, I received my GST credit, and the Reverend Nathan Dutnall would head to Moncton to visit his daddy. But on the bright side, I didn't have to work for two days on Monday and Tuesday, with most of the time being spent with my evil cousins, who live in Stonebridge. I also received a box of free samples from P&G that I requested through brandsamplerformen.ca, including the new Gillette Fusion ProGlide razor.
On July 7, 2010, I took my car to Ens Lexus Toyota because my car had been displaying the engine malfunction light for a week, and was told it was safe to drive. Well, when it did happen, immediately took the car to the dealer, and the service manager hooked up a diagnostic tool to the car, and said it was the gas cap problem, but I brought the car in anyway. So, after spending $133.10 for a diagnosis that found nothing, I was happy, right? Wrong. Two days later, the engine light appeared again, and I was tempted to take electrical tape to cover it up, like Homer Simpson. I then called them again, and made a service appointment for July 27, 2010.
On July 9, 2010, I learned that Senator Richard Neufeld decided that having an appointed Senate or upper chamber in Canada was a better idea. At first, I was upset that he said that, but now, after seeing that the Conservatives almost have a majority in the Senate, I don't know if the elected Senate idea sticks to me anymore... and yes, I know this makes me a major hypocrite.
On July 10, 2010, you already know what happened with my car. But other than that, I spent almost two hours waiting at the SARCAN plant on 103rd Street in order to exchange my bottles and cans for "cold, hard cash." Eventually, it was time to come home and work.
July 11, 2010 was a Sunday, but more importantly, it was 7-Eleven Day. Every year on July 11, the company gives free Slurpees (although small) at all of its stores, and I got one. And while sleeping after a long day of work, I started "thinking" about what it would be like to live in Ottawa, which I have been doing a lot of recently. I also thought of how much more politics could be interesting if I lived in the riding of Ottawa West-Nepean, which is currently represented by the Honourable John Baird, who happens to be the Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities.
On the 12th, Reverend Nathan Dutnall told me that he caught a glimpse of Regis Philbin, who was hosting his talk show in Prince Edward Island that week with Kelly Ripa. Obviously, I'm somewhat jealous. Later that day, I bought some instant coffee from Starbucks Coffee that was already sweetened and designed to dissolve in cold water. However, the stuff just wasn't the same, and I still think it's better to buy the actual Iced Coffee with Milk from their stores, which I hope they make a permanent part of their menu, rather than seasonal. Eventually, my evil cousins came over, and stunk up my house. And by my cousins, I mean Ky, Tho and their evil brother Tony.
On July 13, 2010, I was sitting at home, minding my own business, and mostly watching television, when someone rang the doorbell at my house. So, when I answered the door, I was greeted by a beautiful woman with long hair. She then asked me if I was the homeowner. Since my name was on the registration as a property owner, I said that I was. She then asked me about the security system in the home and asked me how long I have had it in my home, and whether it was on a contract. When I informed her that it was under a contract for another three years, she simply said, "Thanks." Then, she turned around like a snotty person, and walked away. This encounter reminded me of a time when I asked a girl if she would like to go out with me a number of years ago, but got rejected. But in this situation, it was a lot less dramatic and not as funny.
On the 15th, I woke up with something I fear every time I go to sleep: a sore throat! After several days of gargling salt water, and taking medications to stop it, as well as the cough, I gave up, and visited a doctor.
By the 16th, I was going crazy. However, it would be the last day I work a night shift for at least four weeks, and it kept me going. But about an hour into my shift, I just couldn't handle things, and I called off the rest of my shift. I also lost my voice, which should bring joy to the ears of some people, including Larry and David.
July 17, 2010 was the big day for my friend Francis, who was marrying Shelley. The wedding, overall, was fun, and Daniel Kwok was the bartender. Later, in the front of the restaurant, he asked for a pen and paper, which he wrote "tips (for my wife)" on and taped to a glass at the bar. At this wedding, I realized something: Asians (at least the Vietnamese) in this city seem to think that the only good city to visit in Canada is Edmonton, or their home countries. Apparently, Vancouver is considered unaffordable but an ideal city, Calgary is considered lame, and other cities just aren't worth visiting because they are "too far." When my mom told people that I visited Ottawa, most people asked why, and one even went as far as to say, "There's absolutely nothing to do in Ottawa. It's a big and boring government city."
Once the wedding reception was over (it was held at the Mandarin Restaurant located at 245 20th Street West), I went outside and snapped random pictures of the traffic signals at the intersection of 20th Street West and Avenue C South. One of the pictures turned out to be insanely awesome. July 17, 2010 was also the first day of a four-week-period where I work from 9:30 am until 6:00 pm with Tuesdays and Wednesdays off.
On the 18th, I started to wonder how hilarious it would be if the Government of Saskatchewan decided to combine a bunch of cities into a mega-city. The provincial government in Ontario (I wonder if it was the government of Mike Harris) did that with Sudbury and a few surrounding cities and towns, which made no sense though because there was a lot of space in between the cities. However, the amalgamation of Ottawa with suburbs and towns including Nepean, Orléans and Kanata makes more sense to me and was done in 2001. But just think of this in Saskatchewan. What if they combined Martensville, Prince Albert and Saskatoon and the entire swath of cities and towns in-between and made Saskatoon one heck of a bigger city? It would then only take two hours to drive across town, right? And knowing how much I like to drive, I like that idea. Now, if Saskatoon actually were that big in the first place, it would probably take a lot longer than two hours. Of course, it would take many, many years for Saskatoon to become that big of a city in the first place. The only person who might think this idea is "sane" is the Reverend Nathan Dutnall.
Later that day, I went to check the good old postal office box at the Shoppers Drug Mart store on 22nd Street West, and found in the mail that I received what I thought was a credit card. But instead, it was a $20.00 MasterCard rebate payment for the video card that I bought back in April. What was funny was that the issuing bank (Citi) took the time to imprint the card with my name and "20 Dollars" as the company name, or where it would usually go. For a $20.00 gift card that would most likely be used on junk, does it really need the ability to be imprinted onto carbon paper in the event the card cannot be swiped? Well, it does protect the businesses that accept them, but it's still a waste of money and resources. Of course, when I first opened it, I thought, "Oh no! I'm an apparent victim of identity theft/fraud."
Earlier, I was watching an old episode of Home Improvement, when Tim "The Tool Man" Taylor gets audited by the Internal Revenue Service, or IRS. He then says that he would claim "all seven dependants," in which he referred to his three kids and four cars. Now, I totally agree with him on that aspect, and I think that all taxpayers in Canada should be allowed to claim their car(s) as dependants. After all, car owners do take care of their cars, don't they? We have to feed them (gasoline) and we have to take care of them (maintenance). And occasionally, since we love our cars so much, we occasionally buy them things. On another note, I qualify for some student loan funding, although not as much as last year.
At one point, I also started to wonder why other men around my age like to sit in their garage(s) and drink beer. Ben Mayes suggested that it was because they imagine it was their secret base, while John Pilon said that it was like your own personal bar. So, last week, I got a lawn chair, opened up the garage, sat down and had a can of Coca-Cola instead of a beer. I sat down, and felt relaxed. As I drank my Coca-Cola, and looked out to the alley, I felt relaxed, and it gave me time to reflect on my life, including the cool stuff, the bad stuff and the future, and I felt good about myself. So, now I might understand why other men like to drink beer in their garages, and I'm hoping it's almost the same reasons as mine. Of course, I don't like to drink beer (or anything alcoholic for that matter).
Last week, the Best Buy store in Saskatoon at The Centre Mall finally opened, with its grand opening occurring on July 23-25, 2010. So, I went there, and found that tri-color ink for my printer was only $19.99. I also found that black ink was only $24.99, which I thought was cheap. But when I got home and did more research, I found that it was cheaper at Future Shop and STAPLES. However, the tri-color ink at their stores were $31.99 or so, and it was still cheaper to buy the tri-color ink at Best Buy and the black ink at Staples than buy a combo back of both cartridges.
Also last week, the Reverend Nathan Dutnall returned to Saskatoon. He also saw Prime Minister Stephen Harper at a sporting event, which he was dragged to by his father.
On July 21, 2010, Global TV aired a documentary series with an episode titled "Missing the Target," which was about the danger of guns on Canadian streets, and was presented by Kevin Newman, who, unfortunately, is leaving his Global National newscast on August 20, 2010. The show revealed that although gun crimes in Canada among adults are dropping, the number of kids with guns on the streets in Canada is steadily rising, and it poses a major risk to Canadians and especially those who are children. For more information, and to see the entire episode, please click here.
The other highlights of this week include me buying a gift card for someone that could not be used in Saskatoon. And on Friday night, I did a little bit of shopping and bugged the hell out of Peter Poorman at Randy River in the Midtown Plaza. I was also on the lookout for Jenn, who now apparently works two jobs, but she was nowhere to be seen in the mall (at the two stores she apparently works at).
On Friday night, I was at home (yes, this makes me a loser) and started looking for the textbooks I would require for the first term of school this upcoming year (2010 to 2011). After looking at the list, I found that the total I would spend before tax would be $531.95. With tax, that comes to a whopping $558.55, as I don't believe the University of Saskatchewan Bookstore charges PST with the books... or do they?
On Saturday, I spent a good part of the day working. But after work, I went for a walk and happened to stroll into the Shoppers Drug Mart on 22nd Street West, where my postal office box happens to be. While I was there, I checked my postal office box to see if anyone had sent me threatening letters. After going through the mail, I realized that I had received an interesting looking envelope with a tagline that said something about Michael Ignatieff's not-so-hidden coalition agenda. Inside, there was a letter asking me for money, and it was hilarious. Of course, I believed it, and made a small donation. I'm hoping that my donation is being used strictly for television ads about Michael Ignatieff's coalition agenda, and nothing else.
On Sunday, I spent most of the day working. And after a long day of work, my mom's friends came over for dinner, and the dinner was brought to the house by them. As for the food, it wasn't all that great. And after some surfing the Internet and getting frustrated by the problems with my car, I decided to purchase an OBD2-to-USB diagnostic cable that I will use in the future, should the "check engine" light appear again. And where did I buy it? Well, I bought it on a website none other than eBay.
Monday was spent at home, working like a working man. Then, I called up my cousin Tho to make a cheesy impersonation of him by saying "I'm Tho and I'm stupid." He then informed me that he would be going to Calgary on Wednesday and then mocked me. At this point, I started to draft plans to see what I would do with the three evil kids on Tuesday. However, my uncle decided to leave one day early, and nobody would be home at their house. Later that day, I started thinking about my future, and what the future holds. Some questions I asked myself were "Will I move?" and "Will the Conservative government ever adopt a butler sentence?" Of course, this seems to be questioned only by Larry Chen.
Yesterday, I woke up at 6:00 am and eventually left my home at 7:10 am. I then headed north on Circle Drive from 22nd Street West and proceeded north. Once I arrived near Idylwyld Drive North near Circle Drive, there was a huge semi blocking three lanes of traffic, leaving the right lane accessible. At this point, traffic wasn't crazy, yet. Then, there was another odd traffic detour by Faithfull Avenue and Circle Drive, which caused everyone to use the median lane. With ten minutes to kill before having to be anywhere, I decided to give Tim Hortons another try. When I pulled up to the drive-thru at the newly-opened Tim Hortons at the River City Centre, there was only one car going through the drive-thru, and I ordered myself a large French vanilla cappuccino. Eventually, I dropped my car off at Ens Lexus Toyota for a diagnosis, which was free this time. After dropping my car off, I got a ride from the customer shuttle, and as usual, I was the only to live on the west side of town. There were six people on the van, including myself. The first stop the driver made was at a place called Custom Countertops. Naturally, I thought he would drop me off next. Instead, he drove downtown and dropped off a guy at his fancy home near the Broadway Bridge. After that, he dropped someone off at the Royal University Hospital, then someone near the Market Mall on Preston Avenue, someone in Willowgrove before dropping me off at my house, somewhere on the west side of town.
So, I spent hours watching television and movies, as the dealer told me that it would take approximately an hour. I then called at 10:30 am, only to be told that the car wasn't even in the shop yet. I then waited even longer. There were two things I wanted to do, including mowing the lawn, which I didn't do, because I was afraid they would call right away. So, I waited until 1:50 pm and called again, and got picked up and dropped off at the dealership by 2:15 pm. The diagnosis was free, and to repair the issue, it will cost me $350--an amount that I must think about for a while. After picking up my car, I went to one of my managers' houses to pick up a new phone amplifier for work, and then I went to the University of Saskatchewan Bookstore and made a cool $98 by selling two old textbooks they didn't want a year ago. I then dropped by BLOCKBUSTER located at 1505 8th Street East, then the Real Canadian Superstore located at 2901 8th Street East. Eventually, I headed home and found that more textbooks were worth about $47, and most of them were from an English 110.6 class I took during the 2008-to-2009 school year. Eventually, I cleaned the inside of my car and got it washed. But where I got my car washed is an interesting topic. Why? Well, a jerk named Justin sold me a car wash ticket, and he was very rude. In fact, I know that guy, and I am pretty sure I went to high school with him. In fact, he called me, the customer, a jerk... numerous times!
Eventually, I went home and was about to relax, when my mom got into a bizarre argument with my aunt, and I was required to drive across town to Willowgrove to pick up a bag of food. As a person that enjoys driving, I gladly went across town, as I was bored. Eventually, I decided to drop by Esther's house, which was lame. First of all, there was no cable television, or any television service for that matter. And since there was no television, there was no PVR, making it virtually impossible to record and store hundreds of episodes of Cops without a computer or any other magical device. Secondly, there was no connection to the Internet, which makes me come to a conclusion that she is insane, as she has been living without it for four or five months, apparently. Apparently, she now has television and Internet services from an evil company they call SaskTel. The company may not be a bad company, but it is overpriced, and their customer service sucks. In addition to that, part of my reason for not choosing that company is purely political. Besides, their "Max" television service absolutely stinks up the joint. So, when I complained last night that her house was "lame," Tammy Poorman suggested that I start a section on this website where I review the living quarters of people I know... or at least I think that's what she suggested. I also met Esther's fiancée Steven (or Sten, as he previously called himself), for the first time, and found that he was pretty funny, despite being quiet for the most part.
I also got back in touch via email with Zheng Wang, who mysteriously disappeared for two months and refuses to explain where he has been.
Today, I did some shopping in the morning, and came home, and mowed my lawn. While at the Real Canadian Superstore, I found something interesting. After mowing the lawn, I watched more television. And when Global National was on television, I saw an interesting report about a website called rentafriend.com.
After that, I had dinner, and while I was eating, the Reverend Nathan Dutnall, who was walking his dog Charlie, happened to be in my neighbourhood, and dropped by. I then told him about rentafriend.com, but his dog Charlie was more active than usual, and the reverend was forced to leave. Eventually, I came back into the house and watched The Bounty Hunter, which wasn't a very good movie in the first place. In fact, most of the movies that were released on Blu-Ray or DVD this month weren't that great in the first place. After watching that movie, I came back to the computer to finish up this blog update at some point.
Well, I am now done talking about my boring life.
But before I left, there are a few more things that have come to my mind. First off, Phillip Wu told me about a burger joint called Five Guys Burgers and Fries, and that their Canadian website says that they will be opening a location here in Saskatoon. The only questions I have right now are... where and when?! It looks good to me, and I would like to try their burgers and fries. And as of now, as it seems, they no longer have a Canadian website, which was previously located at www.fiveguys.ca. In addition to the food looking good, U.S. President Barack Obama and his staff members eat there too!
Now, the big thing I'm wondering is... where did the summer go (not that I'm complaining)? Anyway, there is at least one month of summer left and I hope it rains throughout the rest of the summer, as I hate the heat and/or hot weather.
Anyway, as July comes to an end in a matter of days, there are things I am looking forward to next month, including a long weekend. In addition to that, I will no longer be working full-time as of August 14, 2010. And before I know it, it will be time to buy textbooks again... and then it'll be September and it will be time to return to school. Another thing I look forward to is a work gathering on August 21, 2010, with my manager and director from Salt Lake City, as well as many other Marriott employees. But ultimately, I look forward to my cousins returning to school. My younger cousin Tho will be in the eighth grade and will be a "senior" in elementary school, which seems to be the year that most students goof off and do nothing. In fact, my favourite school year (as well as Reverend Nathan Dutnall's) was the 2001-2002 school year. At that point, I had just returned to Saskatoon from Calgary in October of 2001 (just weeks after the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington), and was attending W.P. Bate Community School. My teacher was Mr. Ganes, who was oblivious to a lot of things that Nathan and I did throughout the school year. I later told him in 2006 about most of the things we did, but there are some things he will never know about... because I can't remember anything else at this point. Should new things come to light, I will let him know right away. Anyway, both Nathan and I believe that eighth grade was the best school year of our educational careers and we find it even easier than kindergarten. Anyway, as Tho embarks on an interesting venture, his older brother Ky will no longer be annoying grade nine student... he will now be a grade ten student. But if he does not get his act together, he will remain unemployed (and annoying). Being a tenth grade student is also important because this is the point where the provincial government records your grades for your high school transcript, which eventually determines your future after high school. Anyway, I wish both evil boys the best of luck in their future endeavours. And as for their evil brother Tony, he will be in the first grade this year. Man, kids grow up so fast these days that it's not even funny. In fact, I remember when Tony was still considered "adorable" or "cute."
Anyway, thank you for reading, and don't get ripped by the riptide!
Hello foreign friends. I'm back, after a few weeks of not updating this immaculately-coded blog.
Anyway, since my last update, I started to wonder... is there a soundboard for Transport Minister John Baird? If not, well, it's an absolute disgrace. I started to wonder, after his angry outburst at a committee hearing for the Jaffer-Guergis scandal because he couldn't get the floor to speak.
On a brighter note, the City of Saskatoon finally patched up the "crater" they left near my house in January.
During the same week, I learned that this website cannot be accessed in China, thanks to Anthony Khow, who was in China that week. I also learned from Phillip Wu that there would be a Five Guys Burgers and Fries location somewhere in Saskatoon, eventually. However, where it will be is unknown at this time.
At some point, my arch nemesis Aaron Arnault told me to call him because it was about serious business. So, I did, and Angela Arnault said that I have some sort of accent. As you can tell, they are both evil. As for the "business proposition," I don't remember what it was, because it made no sense to me at all.
During that week, I also received a $25.00 cheque from TNS Canadian Facts, as part of my reward points that I redeemed through their website, mysurvey.ca. In addition to the cheque, I also received a letter from the Honourable Steven Fletcher, the Minister of State for Democratic Reform. To see the awesome letter, please click here.
Later in the week, I started to think about what a Liberal MP said in the House of Commons. According to a Liberal MP, Dimitri Soudas, who is Prime Minister Stephen Harper's spokesperson, gets paid a whole lot of money to "bully the Parliamentary press gallery."
On Saturday evening, June 12, 2010, I paid a visit to the Real Canadian Superstore located at 2901 8th Street East, and was shocked to see that my favourite paintings had been painted over. Later that day, I started to wonder what Prime Minister Stephen Harper would look like with an afro, and Tammy Poorman provided a picture of that:
During the week of June 13 to 19, I did something important: I decided what my major at the University of Saskatchewan would be. The result should not be surprising to many, except Andrew Pang: political studies. Now, what kind of political studies degree I would like is still up in the air. Also, later that week, I lost my Internet connection on June 16 for almost two hours, and did not get paid for that time. Also, the week before, the bridal store my worked at (Jessica Bridal) shut its doors down, and I was given permission to "rob" the store, meaning I would bring home any remaining wedding gowns in the store to my mom's house. But when I arrived, everything was gone, like it was "pre-robbed."
Friday of that week was my day off, and I spent that day doing nothing, before getting a new wig, picking up my cousins from school and taking them to my house for a small barbeque gathering of some sort, where I cooked burgers. I also watched Youth in Revolt, which sucked. However, that movie When in Rome was kind of funny. And at one point, Cory Standing biked near my house and told me, "I know where you live now." What a bastard.
June 19 was the start of a new four-work "period" at work, which also meant a new schedule for the Reverend Huy Dang. At this point, I was starting to work 3:30 pm until midnight with Mondays and Tuesdays off. The schedule sucked, as I wanted to work in the day.
On the afternoon of June 20, 2010, I was thinking of places I slept while I was in Ottawa. Here in Saskatoon, I live in a Conservative federal riding, as all Saskatoon-area ridings are represented in the House of Commons by the Conservative Party of Canada. But in Ottawa, they aren't as fortunate. So, when I started to do some research, I realized that Ottawa Marriott was in the federal riding of Ottawa Centre, which is represented by Paul Dewar from the New Democratic Party of Canada. Then, in Montréal, the hotel I slept at, which was the Residence Inn Montréal Downtown, the riding was represented by former astronaut Marc Garneau (Westmount-Ville-Marie). Now I feel dirty...
June 21, 2010 was a good day, as I did not have to work at all for two straight days.
On the evening of June 22, 2010, I was checking the old PO box at that Shoppers Drug Mart store on 22nd Street West, and found that I had received a letter from 10 Downing Street, the home and/or office of the British prime minister. Essentially, it was a response to the letter I wrote to David Cameron, and I really thought it was the prime minister. However, it was just one of his staffers. To view the letter, click here.
During that week, I also watched She's Out of My League, which was hilarious. However, the best part was when I saw a bunch of losers watching that television network I used to obsess about (and still do), G4. Later that day, on June 23, 2010, I learned that Ottawa and surrounding areas experienced an earthquake with a magnitude of 5.5, which was later downgraded to 5.0. And by this point, I was excited about the arrival of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi for the G8 meeting in Muskoka that would be hosted on June 25, 2010.
June 24, 2010 was important, as I received a reply to an email I sent from Dr. Jason Zorbas about the constitutionality of deporting natural-born Canadian citizens. I had an argument with someone about The Constitution Act, 1982, and the notwithstanding clause within it. So, I said that I believed that the Government of Canada could eventually deport natural-born Canadian citizens by invoking the notwithstanding clause. However, the other person argued that it could not be done. So, I decided to email Jason, who could not give me a complete answer, as he was not a constitutional expert. To see his reply, click here.
June 25, 2010 was an evil day, as I had to work. However, that wasn't why the day was evil, as I was already used to working full-time for the summer months. What made it evil was that most elementary and high school students in Saskatoon would finish school for the summer months, which means that Tho and Tony are going to be home every day, all day for two straight months. Then, there's Ky, who wrote his last final exam of the school year on Friday. However, June 25, 2010 was the start of another thing, which was start of the G8 meetings in Muskoka in Huntsville, Ontario. But, something that overshadowed that was the anniversary of the death of Michael Jackson. And, as I learned that day, Shelly had made her way with her family over to Calgary for a few days, and with my suggestion, paid a visit to the Real Canadian Superstore located at Deerfoot Meadows. The store is huge, and what I have liked about the stores that were built since late 2004 was that they all contained double entrances. However, Shelly seems to think that is stupid, because it means "double the theft." Well, although I agree with her on that aspect, I do think that having double entrances could "double the fun" for loss prevention officers, who are otherwise probably bored because nothing funny seems to happen while working at that store.
For the most part on Friday, I drove around two numerous places, and waited for a computer to become available. Basically, I was kept in suspense.
But on Thursday, my computer stopped working and I didn't have to work, but got paid anyway. So, I picked up a temporary computer that I could use, which kept crashing.
On Saturday morning, I woke up, expecting rain. For the most part, it did not rain, and I was upset. Therefore, The Weather Network isn't all that great, is it? Saturday, however, was the end of the G8 summit in Muskoka, and world leaders would move onto the G20 leaders' summit in Toronto, which was met by a bunch of "protesters," which Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair eventually labelled as terrorists. At this point, I have yet to understand what the protesters were trying to prove by damaging property. But what I do find entertaining is the fact that hundreds (about 800 or more) were all stuffed into detention centres without water, and other fluids. Why should those who are arrested enjoy luxuries such as a comfy seat or space?
I woke up Sunday, wondering why the Toronto Police Service didn't use tear gas until Sunday morning, as it could have been more effective on Saturday, and wildly entertaining to me. I also had a whacky idea for the Government of Canada to save money when it comes to its tough-on-crime agenda. Instead of spending more money to build additional prison spaces, or new buildings for prisons, they should just more offenders into one jail cell, and categorize areas of prisons into different crimes. For instance, those who are in prison for raping young kids should be put together. That way, when someone in prison gets raped, they will know remotely how their victims feel.
On Monday, while driving around Saskatoon, I noticed something important was installed on the traffic signal post for eastbound traffic at the intersection of 20th Street and Idylwyld Drive South: a sign that states "no left turns," meaning more fun for me when I drive through that area. Back in 2008, the City of Saskatoon reversed the signs in the area to accommodate reconstruction of the 1st Avenue on-ramp to the Idylwyld Freeway into a signalized intersection as part of the River Landing development. The restrictions were finally reversed in 2009. But this year, they have reappeared. However, the signs are not as obvious, and idiotic drivers still make left turns, despite my wild honking.
Monday was also when I started to register for classes at the University of Saskatchewan for the 2010-to-2011 school year. I registered in all of the classes I wanted, except for one, which was English 288: Introduction to Film. By the time I was able to register, the class was full, and there was no space for the Reverend Huy Dang. That's a shame, as I've wanted to take that class since the 2008-to-2009 school year. At this point, I have yet to contact the instructor of that class to potentially convince him to sign an override form that would allow me to take his class.
Tuesday was a bizarre day, as I found myself driving around town for no apparent reason. For starters, I woke up and the Internet wasn't working. So, as I "configured" things myself, it started to work again. Then, I went out to the Walmart Supercentre on Betts Avenue because my mom wanted to go there, and the "check engine" light began to appear on the dashboard. Of course, I'm not Homer Simpson, so I didn't cover it with electrical tape. I read the owner's manual on my 2001 Toyota Camry and the manual stated that possible malfunctions include: gas cap not closed properly, spark plugs wearing out or other mechanical issues. So, I replaced the spark plugs, with no luck. Eventually, I left, and went to the University of Saskatchewan campus, to do some nonsensical stuff. Then, I headed to Ens Lexus Toyota, only to be told that nobody was available to look at my car, unless I came back after lunch. So, I headed home... but made a stop at KFC on the way home, to the disgust of Chelsea Breher. After having an excellent lunch, I returned to Ens Lexus Toyota, where the service manager did a diagnosis on a fancy yellow device that provided him with a code, but he said that the only problem he could find was the gas cap not being closed tight. Then, he removed the device, and I left, and the malfunction light was gone. However, I decided to keep my service appointment for next week as a precaution, as there may be other mechanical problems that I don't know about, which could cost me more money that I would rather keep.
After an interesting turn of events, I decided to drive around and drove through the University of Saskatchewan campus like a "maniac," before deciding to take a detour along Cumberland Avenue North, where I saw Andrew Mareschal at a bus stop, carrying a funny-looking package. I then offered him a ride, and eventually dropped him off near The Centre Mall, before heading to my evil cousins' house.
Eventually, my evil cousins came over, and we went back across town to the Lakewood Civic Centre to go swimming, before deciding to head home. At this point, I found myself driving across town in two different directions, before finally heading home. Then, at some point before the night ended, I went across town once again, to drop those jerks off at their fancy home in Stonebridge.
And before the night ended, there would be one hell of a thunderstorm that included chunks of hail. And while I was in the comfort of my own home, I heard chunks of hail, and started to think, "I wonder who is throwing stuff at my house."
Wednesday was lame, as I stayed home, did nothing, did a little shopping, picked up a new computer and started my usual work routine, again.
As for Canada Day, I watched television (the Canada Day celebrations in Ottawa), slept, and returned to working mode. Yeah, while everyone was out having fun on Canada Day, I was at home, working, like a loser. On the bright side, my aunt and uncle came over with my cousin's daughter.
And, as for today, I will soon have to work, again. On the bright side, I get tomorrow off, then return to work on Sunday, and then get two more days off of work, before returning to my usual work schedule on July 7, 2010.
Hello my possibly-non-partisan friends, it is the Reverend Huy Dang, and I'm back to talk about my boring life, as you know it, for the first time in about an entire month Sure, I talked about my trip, and yes, it was amazing, but I haven't talked about my boring life since I returned to Saskatoon.
But before I talk about my boring life, and the things I like to complain about, I would like to draw your attention to an awesome email that I received a while ago. As a Seinfeld fan, I think you would appreciate the email. However, the email is a sad reminder of what Canada and Canadians do not have access to. To see the awesome email, click here.
Although it has been a good month since I've last updated this blog, I am glad that I still update my blog as much as possible, as it makes my blog something interesting to read as I get older, and how my views may have changed between now and ten years down the road. For instance, only six years ago, I preferred having a Liberal prime minister in Canada than having a prime minister from the Conservative Party of Canada. However, for some reason, in 2005, I got annoyed with the current governments that were in power where I lived, and my political views began to shift to the right (although I am still liberal in a sense, as I support the right for same-sex marriages, even if I am against it myself). If you were to ask me why my political views started to shift to the right in 2005, I have two parties to mention: the Liberal Party of Canada under the leadership of Paul Martin and the Saskatchewan New Democrats under the leadership of Lorne Calvert. I disliked both of them very much. And as you may or may not know, former Prime Minister Jean Chretien was recently "hung" on the walls of Parliament Hill. Well, when I was there during my visit to Ottawa, the latest prime minister that was "hung" was the Right Honourable Kim Campbell. So, it appears that I had missed the hanging of Mr. Chretien's portrait by a number of weeks, but I am still glad that I got to visit Parliament Hill, as it was a beautiful place and I will never forget it, unless I go again. And yes, I miss Ottawa very much. It was a nice city, and the folks there were friendly, as it seems, and I would not have any objections to living there. However, the only thing missing is a reason to move there.
Recently, I requested to be friends with someone I knew from my days of attending Mount Royal Collegiate on that social networking website everyone likes to call... Facebook, who originally requested to be friends with me on the social networking website two years ago? For some reason between then and now, he decided that he didn't like me. So, a few weeks ago, when I added him as a friend on Facebook, after assuming that it was a mistake, or some sort of misunderstanding, as it seemed like I had nothing against him. So, I added him as a friend on Facebook. Two days after I made the request, I received a private message from a gentleman named Aaron Reynolds. The subject was "Friend Request?" As for body of the message, it only contained one word: "Ha!" So, it was already obvious that Mr. Reynolds decided to ignore my friend request, as he obviously didn't like me all that much. Then, in addition to that, he decided to act like he was better than me. Well, if he doesn't like me, that's fine... but the fact that he sent me that message makes him a douche, and is an absolute disgrace (the same way Yasmin Ratansi refused to allow John Baird to speak).
Speaking of John Baird, who is the honourable minister of transport for the Government of Canada, Mr. Baird recently got angry because he was not allowed to speak, even though it was procedure for him to be heard because Liberal MP Yasmin Ratansi thought she was above the procedures. For more information, click here. To see the entire committee hearing, click here. Mr. Baird's outburst, although hilarious, is something I do not blame him for. In fact, I don't think he got angry enough. Had he been angrier, he probably would not have been required to ask for the floor fifty times.
Speaking of shouting, question period in the House of Commons is my favourite period of time every weekday when Parliament is sitting, and I especially love the period when John Baird rises to answer questions, as he often shouts. However, a Conservative MP named Michael Chong (Wellington-Halton Hills) has introduced a motion to reform question period, and would require the ministers responsible to actually answer the questions, instead of giving off smart-mouth remarks. That, in my books, is wrong, and should not be adopted. As a result, I have written a letter to the honourable member telling him about my disappointment towards the idea of reforming question period. However, I doubt that the letter will make a difference.
Since my last update, a lot of things have happened.
Shortly after I returned from my trip to Ottawa, David Cameron became Britain's newest prime minister and the youngest prime minister in almost 200 years. But by the time I had arrived in Saskatoon, things were already looking to go down... and within 24 hours, I was already having anger issues, thanks to specific people and others that are beyond my control.
On May 7, 2010, I saw the first of seven new transit buses (four of which are from New Flyer) that were delivered this year to Saskatoon Transit. The bus I did see was 1004, which was a 2010 New Flyer D40LFR. To date, I have only seen three of the seven buses delivered this year, which in all three instances, were a 2010 New Flyer D40LFR.
The weekend at that time was lame, because I had to work, again. But while working, I had a cool idea, after watching an old episode of That '70s Show. The bright idea was to throw a party, invite your friends, get them drunk, have their cars towed, and then watch these newly-drunk people look for their cars after their cars have been towed.
And on May 13, 2010, I started thinking that the fall is the greatest season, ever, as I dislike the summer. Sure, summer is fine, sometimes, because there is no school, but work makes up the painful burden of summer. Another reason that I dislike the summer is because of the heat. And at this point, I was starting to consider taking a French class during the 2010-to-2011 academic school year.
On the evening of May 14, 2010, I was travelling from downtown to Stonebridge via the Idylwyld Freeway, and noticed that traffic was backed up. As it turns out, there was an accident that took up one lane, but police officers thought it would be bright to take up two lanes as they pulled over. That's a big deal, considering that the specific portion of the freeway between the 1st Avenue on-ramp and the Lorne Avenue exit is only three lanes.
On the morning of May 15, 2010, I made a "power reservation." I made up that term. However, on the phone, the guest wanted to make a reservation at a Marriott hotel in Boston that he often stays at, and did not care how much it costs per night. As for the rest of that weekend, it was great, as I did almost absolutely nothing.
As for the week of May 16 to May 22, 2010, aside from working from 6:00 am until noon on Sunday, Monday, Thursday and Friday mornings, I spent most of my days sleeping in, napping or watching television, and it was great! I felt like a kid again, and I felt like I had lots of energy, which, of course, would be wasted. But other than that, it felt great! However, there was one exception: I did spend an hour and a half at the Hilton Garden Inn on the evening of May 19, 2010. Why? Well, as a member of the SaskWatch research panel operated by Insightrix Research, I was invited to a focus group that was held at the hotel about cellular phones. For my participation, I was paid $75.00 in "cold, hard cash." Speaking of that, I highly suggest that you join as well. However, you should use this link so that I get $3.00 for the referral.
May 22, 2010 was the day I returned to working full-time. Although I didn't like the idea, I didn't actually have to work until May 23, 2010, when I worked from 11:00 am to 7:30 pm. I then got Victoria Day off, but felt sick on the day after that. On Wednesday (May 26), I went back to work. But on May 22, 2010, my cousins that I usually hang out with (Ky and Tho) went to Regina for the day, but the trip didn't make sense to me (they were part of a church event, and everyone else planned to leave Saskatoon on Sunday morning and return Sunday evening). So, I spent a good part of that day performing work on the yard, and hauling gravel to the dump from my uncle's house. After a long day of doing so, I had to feed and walk my uncle's new dog, Jack. Thankfully, it was raining, and he refused to go for a walk. However, he did his business, which I didn't bother to clean up, because it was my uncle's house, and is ultimately his responsibility. And by business, I meant that he urinated on dirt. Eventually, I came home, showered and watched an episode of America's Most Wanted. And at that time, my mom invited her friends over for dinner.
May 23, 2010 wasn't very different. In the morning, before coming home to work a full-time shift for the first time in months, I went across town to feed and walk an annoying dog. After doing so, I returned home, showered, had lunch and was set to work at 11:00 am. By the time my shift was over, my mom's friends were over, again, and it was time for dinner. Then, I had to drive across town again, just to feed that annoying dog, again. If my uncle wants me to take care of his dog again in the future, well... he's screwed, because I dislike his dog greatly.
May 24 was Victoria Day. Early in the morning at around 10:00 am, I received an interesting phone call from my cousin Tho asking me if he could come over to my house and whether or not I would pick him up. So, when asked why I should pick him up, he simply said, "You have to." Because he sounded a lot like his younger brother Tony, I decided to pick him up. And yes, I picked them up, later.
Now, at some point back in May, I had an idea that didn't make any sense, but was funny to me, nonetheless. My idea was for a television show, but based in Canada, spoofing The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. During my visit to Ottawa, while listening to 1053 KISS FM, I kept hearing radio ads for a local Toyota and Lexus dealer called Bel-Air Lexus Toyota. However, back then, I didn't give it much thought. But upon my return to Saskatoon, I started to have a crazy idea. I thought about the show having its own Canadian version. In this Canadian version, the main character would be Peter Poorman, rather than Will Smith. And instead of Philadelphia, the character's hometown would be Saskatoon. And instead of Bel-Air, California, the show would take place in the Ottawa area, in a neighbourhood called Bel-Air. The show works out too, as Peter has relatives in Ottawa! So, all he needs to do now is get into a fight to the extent that his mother gets scared and sends him to Ottawa to live with his aunty and uncle. In fact, Tammy Poorman, who liked the idea, used her remarkable talent with Adobe Photoshop and created this:
That is awesome! However, I doubt that Mr. Poorman's uncle is an angry judge. From what Mr. Poorman has told me, his uncle in Ottawa works with technology and that he kicks some major ass.
Anyway, May 24, was of course, Victoria Day, and I didn't work, as you already know. But best of all, it rained all weekend, and that delayed any yard-work I needed to perform. Eventually, I took my annoying cousins to Dairy Queen on College Drive, where I saw a bunch of Marriott pens. It was like the employees of that Dairy Queen location were staying at Marriott hotels too! Why? Well, in Ottawa, I took home a few Marriott-branded pens. Then, at the Dairy Queen, I saw five of those exact same pens!
Later that evening, I dropped by the Real Canadian Superstore located at 2901 8th Street East and saw Shelly, who told me a hilarious story about Andrew Pang's dad performing some sort of odd exercise in the parking lot of the Real Canadian Superstore. Yeah, it's funny that everyone seems to have at least one funny story about his dad. Then, on the way home, I stopped at the Starbucks Coffee location on 8th Street East near Campbell Avenue. After getting that coffee, I finally headed home. At the intersection of Clarence Avenue South and 8th Street East, however, I saw two girls "rocking out" to their probably-hippie-like music. When they saw me, they started making "kissy" faces at me. I then decided to act like I was too cool for them, and drove away. But as I drove away, they sped up in order behave the same way, again. While at the store, however, I saw three people that I knew. Before the night ended, I also bought donuts from Tim Hortons. And as for those donuts, I didn't eat them all on Monday night.
On Tuesday (May 25), I ate some donuts with a knife and fork. Now, that leaves me with one question? How do you eat your donut... with your hand? By that time, I was developing an annoying sore throat, and eventually felt sick enough to not work. Luckily, tons of advanced downtime was available, and I didn't have to take an unpaid sick day. Later that day, Jean Chrétien had his official portrait hung on Parliament Hill. When I was there, the most recent prime minister to have their picture hung was the Right Honourable Kim Campbell. However, someday, Paul Martin and Stephen Harper will have their portraits hung too!
On Friday (May 28), the iPad was launched by Apple, which is a useless device that is shiny so that the masses would enjoy it. So, as a curious bastard, I went to Future Shop to play with one. While I was there, my cousin Ky did something that he thought was funny, and insisted that I take a picture of it. If you look at it, you'll probably think, "What the hell is wrong with this kid?" In fact, here it is:
Yeah, it is retarded, isn't it?
However, despite my cousin's odd behaviour, something else overshadowed it: the death of Gary Coleman. Mr. Coleman, sadly, really did pass away, and I am going to miss him as much as I miss Michael Jackson. At some point, I did visit that Randy River store at the Midtown Plaza so that my cousin could buy that "sweater" that he is wearing in the picture above. Anyway, before ending my evening, I decided to drop by Westgate Books located in the Cumberland Square shopping centre (located on 8th Street East near Cumberland Avenue) to give the Reverend Nathan Dutnall the "dangerously silly move." While I was there, I performed two awesome transactions, which cost the store $1.00 in total, according to the minister's step-daddy. For the record, I must say that after I said that I would charge $0.01 to my Visa and debit cards respectively, the minister simply said, "Go for it."
On Saturday (May 29), it rained outside, hard. So, doing what I usually do, I went grocery shopping, and eventually picked up my cousins from their home and drove them to my house, where they stunk up my house, like they usually do. Eventually, I went out, and returned with a game rental from BLOCKBUSTER. The game that I rented was The Price is Right. I also tried some awesome "sliders," or small burgers, which were awesome.
May 30, 2010 was an interesting day, as I started working at 11:00 am, and had nothing to look forward to on television at the end of the day. At this point, I started considering another trip to the Ottawa/Montréal areas. This time, I would visit Montréal most of the time, and visit Ottawa for at least one day, in an attempt to visit the museums that I failed to visit during my original trip. Also, the drive around the Ottawa area was pleasant. And thanks to David Lee, I am now using a fully-licenced version of Microsoft Office 2010.
May 31, 2010, which was a major holiday in the U.S., was also my day off from work, until I picked up some extra hours in attempt to offset the amount of hours lost from my previous "sick day." I lost eight hours, but picked up five hours. But before working, I paid a visit to the Real Canadian Superstore and made a purchase, which had a total of $6.66. But later in the day, I also published a nonsensical article about the advantages of being a Member of Parliament in an Ottawa-area federal riding. And now that I think about Ottawa, I really wish that Air Canada were cheaper, because it seems like their planes have more leg-room, they offer direct flights to Ottawa from Saskatoon, and they also offer Wi-Fi services (for a fee), unlike WestJet. And before I knew it, the month of May as I knew it, was over.
May was a decent month overall. Although I disliked most of it, what will stick with me is my visit to Ottawa and Montréal, as it was my first time visiting those cities, and I will never forget the trip, unless I visit those cities again.
This past Tuesday, I got a new muffler installed at Midas on Circle Drive, where I saw a sign that "fails at life." Since they were backed up, I got a ride home from that lady at the front, "receptionist." She drove like a crazy bitch. But when they were finished, I was working, so my mom ended up picking up the car. But on the bright side, she paid for it, and if I say anything, I'll probably have to pay her back... so I'm just going to keep my mouth shut.
On Thursday, June 3, 2010, I watched a news conference in England on CPAC with Prime Minister Stephen Harper and David Cameron, Britain's newest prime minister. However, I thought it was odd that Mr. Harper was speaking French in England. But then again, I forgot that Canada is multi-lingual and that Mr. Harper was simply showing Brits that Canada is unique (based on my assumptions).
Friday evening was interesting. Instead of staying at home, I went to my uncle's house, and eventually went to the Real Canadian Superstore located at 2901 8th Street East... and to my dismay, they installed new automatic doors. But while there, I did see something interesting. Yeah, I'm going to miss the automatic sliding doors that were there until last week.
Here is what one of the new sets of doors look like:
Aside from visiting the Real Canadian Superstore, I drove around town, and eventually headed out of town for a brief minute, stopping at Peter Poorman's former workplace:
On Saturday, I went shopping at the Real Canadian Superstore located at 2901 8th Street East. And as I paid for my groceries, I saw a couple of morons with construction materials enter the store through an exit door, hitting it as they came through, and knocking one of the doors off the track. The doors, managed to close, but failed to open. Here's a picture. Anyway, after a long day of my cousins stinking up my house, as well as yard-work, I eventually returned to the store to buy some Febreze, in an attempt to eliminate the odours that were left behind by the two fat kids. Oh yeah, I did visit the Burger King on Confederation Drive at one point, and found an extra-wide parking spot. So, naturally, I parked in it. Here's a picture of the spot, with my car parked in it:
And eventually, I purchased gasoline at the Petro-Canada gas station on 8th Street East at the corner of Cumberland Avenue South, where I purchased regular gas at 91.9¢ per litre, thanks to my Preferred Price card, which saves me 10¢ per litre for up to 250 litres, to the dismay of Tyler Koch, who is Wayne's cousin, who is a crazy bastard, and apparently a rebel as well.
Now, recently, I purchased a TomTom ONE 125 GPS device, which supposedly only comes loaded with maps of the USA. However, I found a way to load North American maps to the device without charge. But when I opened the packaging and turned it on, I was pleased to find that maps of Canada were already on the device, thus saving me a bunch of time that would have been spent loading maps of Canada to the device. However, what I have done since purchasing the device is load Homer Simpson's voice to the device.
And at some point on Sunday evening, I decided that I must visit Oliver Jewellery on Eglinton Avenue West if I ever visit the city of Toronto. Why? Well, you should check out the YouTube page for his business, which contains many awesome commercials. In fact, here's my favourite commercial:
That's hilarious, isn't it?!
Anyway, today is Monday, and I spent most of the day, working like a crazy bastard.
Now, as I finish up this nonsensical and long blog update, there are a few things I would like to discuss before officially coming to a conclusion.
First off, Justin Bieber is the kid that slightly entertains me with two of his songs, but also annoys me. Other than that, I don't really have anything against the kid. However, the fact that he will be in Saskatoon annoys me. Why? Well, I don't care how many young girls like him. What annoys me is that my cousin Ky previously stated that "Justin Bieber is gay," but wants to attend the concert in September at Credit Union Centre. So, it appears that my cousin Ky holds a double standard of some sort. But then again, I probably have some sort of double standard too. Actually, I'm pretty sure that I do.
Aside from Justin Bieber and his minor annoyances to the reverend, Noelle, and Peter Poorman, may be surprised that this note is a little shorter than usual, as I have used pictures in this post.
Now, recently, my uncle told me about some cheesy Toyota commercials that the company had on Canadian television when the company first started selling cars in Canada. Although I didn't find those commercials on YouTube, I did find others, including this one, which is pretty cheesy:
Anyway, that is all for this edition of my insanely-awesome blog update!
But before I come to an official conclusion, things to look forward to this month include the summer break for my cousins, and Canada Day next month! Now, remember... don't get ripped by the riptide!
