Hello all, and welcome to another edition of my insanely-long blog updates, which is more than likely going to be incredibly long, on the basis that my blog updates always highlight my boring life, as well contain rants about today's society, or as Peter Poorman describes it, "the world according to Huy."
Anyway, before I start rambling about my boring student life, I am going to change things to make them seem more interesting. Usually, I talk about my boring life before I complain about society's illiteracy and flaws.
Now, first of all, as you all know, I really enjoy watching Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide, even if it has been cancelled. And on that show, one of my favourite characters is Simon "Cookie" Nelson-Cook, who is a total nerd that doesn't think about the consequences to his actions about 99% of the time, and is played by an actor named Daniel Curtis Lee. But, recently, my cousin Ky showed me the actor's YouTube channel... and now, I don't think I like that guy anymore. If you would like to see why, you can click here. Yeah, he's annoying, isn't he?! And believe it or not, Devon Werkheiser (Ned Bigby) is an apparent musician. To check out his YouTube channel, click here. Crazy, isn't it?
Another crazy thing is Tony Merchant, who is an old guy that launches lawsuits against companies for what seems like the most absurd reasons. For instance, as you know, he recently launched a lawsuit against Toyota, which is related to the company's most recent global recall of 8.5 million vehicles. Now, he's launching yet another class-action lawsuit against the company. But this time, it's for the 2009-2010 Pontiac Vibe models, which is manufactured in part with Toyota at its joint-venture plant in Fremont, California, known as New United Motor Manufacturing Inc., or NUMMI. Anyway, Merchant claims that the Pontiac Vibe from those model years is a "veritable twin" of the Toyota Matrix. Yeah, that guy is pretty greedy, and I think I'll stop talking about that guy. Now, as much as I dislike Mr. Merchant, I will stop complaining about him now, as he is just doing his job, even if I disapprove of his actions and because my opinion is largely biased. As you can tell by now, I obviously love Toyota, and will continue to defend the company in all situations, even if I have to mention the sticky-accelerator-pedals (but I will do so with humour). Yes, I might be angry at him because he is suing Toyota, but I wouldn't be angry with him if we launched another class-action lawsuit against General Motors. It's just like hating a cop because he arrests you for committing a crime. For example, if you were driving down 8th Street East here in Saskatoon at 75 km/h when the posted speed limit is 50 km/h, you would dislike the peace officer that writes you a ticket. But, if it were happening to someone else, you would probably laugh, or lecture them if you knew the driver being ticketed. Again, this is just a police officer doing their job, because that's what they do to make a living, even if they take the fun out of entrapment by letting drivers know where they will be ahead of time by issuing news releases on their website.
I have always wondered what happened behind the scenes at construction sites or renovations. Well, recently, while I was in Lower Place Riel of the Place Riel Student Centre at the University of Saskatchewan, there was a hole on the hoarding that covers up the construction "site." So, I took a picture through the hole and now have photographic proof that all construction workers are lazy.
Recently, Reverend Nathan Dutnall and I wanted to nominate each other to be on Canada's Worst Driver. Well, we only wanted one person to nominate the other and decided on game of "rock, paper, scissors," and I won. As a result, I got to nominate the Reverend Dutnall. Now, the show did get back to me, but Reverend Dutnall gave it a second thought, and decided that the idea was stupid. Oh well. I didn't really want to be on the show in the first place, although some would agree that I should be on the show.
Now, how many of you live in the northeast segment of Saskatoon and bank with CIBC? Well, you'll find that in order to withdraw cash, your closest bank machine is at the University of Saskatchewan campus all the way in Lower Place Riel. And, what if you wanted to make a deposit? Your closest choices for a branch, or an ABM, are either on 8th Street East at their branch, or at the President's Choice Financial bank machine inside the Real Canadian Superstore, or at their branch on Circle Drive near Faithfull Avenue. Well, CIBC recently announced that they will be opening a new branch in the University Heights area in northeast in Saskatoon in the spring of 2011. For more details, you can click here. This is good news, because I have found myself in that area needing cash before and I didn't want to pay $1.50 to access my cash through another bank's ABM. The branch will be located on Attridge Drive just east of Heal Avenue and will be opening six days a week, including evenings and Saturdays. How convenient!
Now, recently, I received an interesting Facebook message from someone named Sally, who is supposedly one of my cousin Ky's friends. In this message, she said to "go fuck yourself." I wonder if she talks to her parents that way. Although I may have deleted the actual Facebook message, I never permanently delete my emails, and as a result, I still have the original email. The message that she sent to me contained many basic grammar errors and should not be taken seriously. To see the embarrassing email, click here. I like how she refers to me as "fucking immature college guy." Besides, I care about my cousin, and the fact that he spells words or uses them incorrectly makes him look retarded, which will eventually become reflective of his personality once he is in the real world. I am sure that Patrick Wong will enjoy that Facebook message because he too is just as crazy as I am in many cases. Oh yeah, by the way, for those of you who have something to say to me, you should probably use proper grammar when you send me threatening Facebook messages or emails as well. Otherwise, I will not take your message seriously either.
Recently, I was bored and decided to pay a visit to the Chinook Centre's (in Calgary) website at www.chinookcentre.com, and they were advertising a book titled Chinook Centre: A City Within a City, which chronicles the mall's history and its surroundings, as well as other things. Anyway, when I return to Calgary some day, I will stop by that mall, as it is my favourite mall in Calgary. In fact, I will also purchase a copy of that book.
Anyway, I recently did some thinking about my own life and went as far back as when I didn't really care about politics. When it comes to politics, I didn't start to pay any attention until the year 2000, when Jean Chrétien called a snap election and won a third majority government. At that point, I thought Joe Clark looked funny, and I had no idea that he was the Prime Minister of Canada at one point. Back then, I only liked Chrétien because of his accent. And, as mentioned, I thought Joe Clark looked funny. I also found it funny when someone threw chocolate milk at Stockwell Day... and I didn't really care about Alexa McDonough. Today, I realize that Jean Chrétien was indeed an important figure in recent Canadian history while Stockwell Day was since replaced by Stephen Harper, who would later become the Prime Minister of Canada. Eventually, Joe Clark would resign as leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada, which would ultimately be merged with the Canadian Alliance, thus forming the Conservative Party of Canada, which was denounced by Joe Clark. And as for Alexa McDonough, she was the first woman to lead a major federal political party. She, of course, has since been replaced by Jack Layton, who has an interesting-looking moustache.
Recently, my friend Phil shared a link with me that I found interesting. It was a website about Vermont becoming a part of Canada and seceding from the United States. I thought some of it was hilarious, since it had some outdated information. But then, as it turns out, the person(s) that created the website shelved the idea (or website) when Barack Obama became the 44th President of the United States. To visit the website, you can head on over to www.vermontcanada.org. There is also a Facebook group for those in the New England region that are in favour of secession from the United States. I encourage you to check out that group as well, as it is kind of funny.
Now, as you all know, the Government of Canada, led by the Conservative Party of Canada, recently tabled Budget 2010 in Parliament. And, not surprisingly, Gilles Duceppe, leader of the Bloc Québécois, stated that his party would "outright oppose" the budget. Well, that does not surprise me one bit. Jack Layton and the NDP are voting against the budget at this point, and Michael Ignatieff and the Liberal Party of Canada is voting against the budget. However, Ignatieff stated that enough of his MPs would abstain from voting against the government to avoid an election, considering the fact that the defeat of the budget is essentially the opposition voting "yes" on a motion of non-confidence. However, despite an election being avoided, this proves that Mr. Ignatieff is only interested in one thing: power. Now, we'll just have to wait until he loses an election for him to return to Cambridge, Massachusetts. Now, speaking of politics, I am currently watching the situation in Britain very closely. According to this article, the Conservative party over in Britain once had a lead of ten percentage points in opinion polls. As of recently, that gap has narrowed to 2%, and chances are, it will be a minority government in Britain, like our current minority government here in Canada. In Canada, Canadians elected our country's first minority government since 1979 in 2004. In Britain, the country last elected a minority government in 1974, and if this year's election results in a minority government, it would be the first for Britain in 36 years. That minority government in Britain lasted in 1974 lasted for six months, and the election following that resulted in a majority government. Eventually, the Conservatives over there were in power for 13 years, and the Labour party has been in power for 13 years at this point. Now, in Britain, there is no such thing as televised leaders' debates, yet. This year's televised debate, if there is one, will be the first televised debate in British history. Now, speaking of televised debates, you should read this article. It's hilarious! As for the election in Britain, since this year is the fifth year since the current Labour government was re-elected (with Tony Blair as the leader before Gordon Brown took over), a call for an election is due by May 5, 2010, and I can't wait! Personally, I'm hoping that it's David Cameron that will be coming to Canada this year for the G8 and G20 meetings, instead of... Gordon Brown.
With politics now aside, I was recently driving along Circle Drive sometime within the last month and noticed that the Office Depot store on Circle Drive has closed. A while ago, the store was bigger, and it looked like that the store downsized. But now, the store appears to have completely disappeared. Although it's sad to me, since that store was the store I went to when I was dissatisfied (although rarely) with the Staples store across the street, it's not surprising. But, it is still a damn shame.
Well, now that my absurd rants about society are finally over, it's time to talk about my boring life. And since it's been a month since my last blog update, you are once again in for one hell of a long blog update. In fact, it may so long that Noelle won't want to read this update, ever, or she may just skip to her name now.
Since my last update, it was a week of midterms. And on Friday, February 12, I wrote my last midterm, which was an open-book midterm. Eventually, I started to surf the Internet that week downtown with my laptop through the Government of Saskatchewan's free wireless access points in downtown Saskatoon. It is pretty fast, but mysteriously stops working once you board a Saskatoon Transit bus. Anyway, February 11, 2010 was my two-year anniversary with Marriott International. Yes, I have worked for Marriott for two straight years. And later that day, it was revealed that my computer science assignment and program, which were completed just an hour before the submission deadline, received a mark of 19 out of 20. Anyway, February 12, 2010 was a good day, because I did not have to work that evening. Now, later that day, I also received a free iced coffee from the Starbucks joint in the Murray Library. One of the baristas at the store said that I should try my usual drink "her way," although I don't remember the differences. But either way, it was excellent. But despite that, I dismissed it for some stupid reason. But on the bright side, in addition to my stupidity, I did receive two drinks, for the price of one! But also, the more important thing was that it was the start of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games in British Columbia. And, as for the opening ceremony, I must say that it was tremendously wonderful. But despite the cool day, some jerk did press all of the elevator buttons in an elevator I used at school before I entered the elevator. And on the way home, the transit operator of the bus I boarded was extremely nice for some reason. He greeted every single passenger that boarded the bus, and told every passenger to have a nice day. It was spooky because nobody is ever that nice, as it seems.
The next morning was an important day, as my cousin Jeannette and her husband David came to town. Well, the day started out with me going grocery shopping, driving my mom to work and then proceeding to a job interview. Then, I went home to drop off some groceries at home, and realized that their flight to Saskatoon from Calgary would be delayed. But at this point, it would have been nonsensical to pick up my cousins (Ky and Tho) and then go to the airport. So, instead, I just headed straight to the Saskatoon John G. Diefenbaker International Airport, which in reality is a pretty small airport that will soon be expanded. Anyway, that day would be the start of a fun long weekend, as it seemed. It could have been more fun, had my younger cousins decided that they didn't want to spend all day at home doing nothing. Anyway, that Saturday was interesting, but it would not be as fun as the remainder of the weekend. On the 14th, which was both Chinese New Year's Day and Valentine's Day, was another interesting day. For starters, everyone went to this Chinese restaurant joint called Yip Hong's Dim Sum Restaurant. Eventually, we went back to my home in separate cars, with me stopping at the Petro-Canada gas station across the street. I did buy a slush that was supposedly Coca-Cola. Instead, it tasted like... stuff that wasn't Coca-Cola, and the only person in the car that enjoyed the slush was my evil cousin Tony. Eventually, we all played an electronic edition of the MONOPOLY board game. And before the end of the night, my younger cousins (including Tony) would have to go to church, which would be my time to grill some meat on my hippie eco-gas grill that I bought at the Real Canadian Superstore during the summer of 2009. And by the end of the night, there was a new episode of The Simpsons that involved curling, as well as Homer and Marge visiting the beautiful city of Vancouver.
On February 15, 2010, or Family Day here in Saskatchewan, David and Jeannette went to the wedding of Jeannette's friend Amanda, which was their original reason for visiting Saskatoon in the first place. During that time, I did a lot of useless stuff at home, such as watching my cousins play some loser game called Flyff, before I found something to do: play Cooking Mama on the Wii. Eventually, it was time for the reception, and it was decided by Jeannette that David would not have to go to the reception, which was hosted at the Delta Bessborough, which turns 75 years old this year. Anyway, to tease my cousin Tho, Jeannette told him that in order for David to remain at home, he would have to wear Jeannette's sparkly shirt/jacket encrusted with beads and/or sequins. To see what my cousin Tho looked like wearing it, click here. Then, there's my cousin Ky, who may have enjoyed it a little too much. Anyway, after Jeannette had left, we decided to "go to church and pray" as David calls it. By that, he just means "to go out." So, we drove around Saskatoon for about half an hour, got bored and decided to drop by the Real Canadian Superstore, located at 2901 8th Street East to buy some junk food. While there, I was able to bug Sara. Immediately after that, we dropped by the BLOCKBUSTER store, located at 1505 8th Street East to rent a game and a movie. The game was named after a movie, and was titled Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian The Video Game. As for the movie we rented, it was Zombieland, which turned out to be hilarious, even though it was a little bit odd.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010 was the morning that Jeannette and David would return to Calgary from Saskatoon. They were to board their plane at 7:00 AM and would arrive in Calgary at 7:10 AM, local time. After dropping them off at the Saskatoon John G. Diefenbaker International Airport, I went home to sleep, before spending the day doing nothing, as I had no school to go to, since it was Reading Week. And later that night, I went to Fuddruckers with one of my evil partners in crime, Peter Poorman, where we both bought ourselves one-pound burgers. In fact, I have photos of him eating his burger right here. But before my night ended, some stupid female version of a busboy would "accidentally" spill beer on my jacket and would pretend nothing happened, which pissed me off. And by the time I had dropped Mr. Poorman off at his home, I was tired, and fell asleep by the time I got home. I also stopped at the Real Canadian Superstore (located at 2901 8th Street East) across the street, while Shelly was supposedly working. But when I visited the store, she was nowhere to be seen.
Now, during Reading Week (February 15 to 19), I did almost absolutely nothing. But during that week of doing nothing, I was planning on searching for a new job. With dismal results, I finally decided that I would apply to work at home with my current job for Marriott International. Yes, I would become a home agent at that point. And on February 18, 2010, I would make that official. I also remember mailing Taylor Martens a spiteful gift card, and a card that was also considered spiteful. First off, I know that he prefers Rogers Video over BLOCKBUSTER. To spite him, I purchased a BLOCKBUSTER gift card. I know how much he dislikes Disney movies, so... I bought him a birthday card with a Disney movie theme. And last, but not least, Taylor Martens seems to dislike the Real Canadian Superstore for some reason. So, to spite him on that front, I bought the gift card and the card itself at the Real Canadian Superstore. And later that week, I also watched The Jerry Springer Show for the first time in a long time. But last, but not least, that week, the University of Saskatchewan finally made T2202A forms available for printing for income tax purposes. At this point, the only thing I was waiting for was my T4 form. And by the end of the day, it would be time for me to return to work. As for the 20th of February, my cousins came over to stink up the place before I went to work.
The week of February 21 to 27 was boring. Anyway, on Sunday, I went shopping, and decided that I didn't like big-box store locations without self-checkout terminals. But earlier in the day, while shopping at the Real Canadian Superstore, I bought two cool items at only $3.99 each. I bought a cheesecake and a key lime pie for $3.99. On Monday, I went to my workplace to pick up my T4 slip, and completed my tax return the same day, which also resulted a in a kick-ass tax refund, although not as kick-ass as last year's tax return. This year, I was able to take advantage of two limited-time tax credits, even though they were non-refundable and had no effect on the amount of money that I would receive as a tax refund whatsoever. I also travelled at 35 km/h in a school zone with a speed limit of 30 km/h. Does that make me a menace to society? I also read something totally bizarre that involves British city councils taking themselves to court over parking tickets. Now, if I could totally do that with myself, I would be more than willing to take myself to court over any odd situation, such as giving myself the "dangerously silly move." In fact, I know someone within my own family that would love to take to me court. His name is Tho, and he says he'd like to sue me for damages because I have tormented him so many times over the past few years. At this point, he currently demands $20.00. And during that week, an interesting video that involved former TechTV host (Call for Help and The Screen Savers) Leo Laporte surfaced. Mr. Laporte hosts a radio show called The Tech Guy. And on his show, he took a call from a crazy woman who had been stealing an Internet connection from someone in her neighbourhood for 18 months. To see the video, you will need to click here. And by that time, the situation with Saskatoon Transit and its customers not knowing how a Go-Pass works, why they should get one or the fact that they still had paper bus tickets was getting pathetic. And one day, while I was catching a transit bus home, some guy was chasing after the bus, and coincidentally, the transit operator stopped in front of my home, and I got off. So, technically, I could say that the transit operator dropped me off in front of my own home. Also, during that week, I found credit card statements and someone's résumé in a trash bin in a men's washroom in the Edwards School of Business. I took the stuff and placed it in a recycling/shredding bin in the office wing of the building. Also, that week, I got my passport photo taken, and I am too embarrassed to reveal how I looked in that photo, so you're not going to see it, punk. And during that week, it was known to the general public that the Hummer brand now has a very high chance of disappearing at some unknown period of time. Also, during that same week, I was in my sociology class eavesdropping as two ladies sitting behind me discussed their love with one of their supposedly-loving-boyfriends. Anyway, as it turns out, the girl that is "dating" has never met her own boyfriend and that she was planning on flying out to Halifax from Saskatoon to see this guy for their "one-year anniversary," even though they had never met. Sound familiar? It sure does. In fact, Cory Standing dismissed it as stupid when I told him about someone I know. And coincidentally, the topic we discussed in class that day was polygamy. Continuing on with my unusual stories, I saw something totally bizarre during my bus ride home on the afternoon of February 25, 2010. At the intersection of 3rd Avenue North and 23rd Street East (southbound), I saw a guy get out of an SUV through the trunk, but entered through the passenger door. The SUV had one of those licence plates that were hanging from the trunk door (what you typically see when people test drive dealership cars). Then, he got out of the car, went into an empty Honda Accord in the left lane and then eventually started to 'fill' the gas tank with the container he got from the SUV. I am questioning the licence plate and the fact that he exited through the trunk door after entering through the passenger door. I have no way to describe what I saw and I wish I had video footage of what I saw. And immediately after getting off that bus, I stopped by the Shoppers Drug Mart store at the Westgate Plaza on 22nd Street West to pick up some mail at my postal office box. While I was there, someone driving a big car that looks intimidating (Chrysler 300 Touring) drove by and gave me a look that would be considered "dangerous" when consulted with my friend Nathan's standards. But despite the intimidating-looking car and the dirty look, the guy was playing country music (I wish I knew who the singer was because the song was kind of catchy). The fact that country music was playing in the car brought a huge smile to my face. Another thought that came to mind at that time was the sound of barcode scanners. When I worked at the Real Canadian Superstore, the barcode scanners on each cash register had buttons that allowed you to adjust the volume of the scanner to complement your own preferences. Well, in the past, I increased the volume of the sound to annoy Zheng. However, that guy actually enjoyed it and I ended up annoying everyone else in the process. On Saturday (February 27), I went to some place called A-1 Tire and Wheel to get two newer tires installed on my car, seeing as to how I cannot afford four new tires at this time. I felt weird being there. In the meantime, my cousins were of course at my house stinking up my room. And to top off that week, I spent that Saturday evening at work. Yeah, I had a "great" time at work.
The week of February 28 to March 6 was a more interesting week. During the wee hours of February 28, 2010, I was driving home and decided to drive by the Real Canadian Superstore on Confederation Drive to take a peek at the renovation process. But, when I arrived, something had just happened to my dismay. Now, for those of you who know me, you should know that I never really liked the automatic doors at that store due to the fact that they were from Stanley Access Technologies. Well, when I arrived, I was surprised to see that that Stanley automatic doors that I never really liked so much were gone. Now, I was in "shock," but not because I liked the doors; I just got used to the doors. And every time a set of automatic doors get replaced, even if I didn't really like them in the first place, a part of me dies. But on the bright side, the doors that replaced the Stanley doors were from my favourite automatic door manufacturer, Gyro Tech. But, that brought concerns to me as I am a huge fan of the Gyro Tech automatic doors that are currently installed at the store located at 2901 8th Street East. The doors have been at the store since the store's opening sometime in the early 1990s. The store has gone through two major renovations, and the automatic doors that are currently there have lived through those two major renovations. But, here is why I'm concerned: if automatic doors that were installed only seven years ago can suddenly be replaced, then what chance do automatic doors installed nearly 20 years ago have of not being replaced? That is the concern that I have at this point. But, despite the new automatic doors, something special happened in Canada that day. And on that day, Canada won a gold medal after winning a hockey game against the United States, and it's all thanks to a guy named Sidney Crosby. In fact, Sidney Crosby did so well that a Buffalo, New York-based radio station refused to play Canadian music for an entire day out of spite, which reminds me of the hilarity of Seinfeld and the basis of spite. And at some point in time, my foreign friend Darryl opened up about his potential homosexuality. To see the proof/screenshot, you may click here. And also, thanks to Canada's win against the United States, U.S. President Barack Obama now owes Prime Minister Stephen Harper a case of Molson Canadian. Now, had Canada lost, Mr. Harper would have owed Mr. Obama a case of Yuengling beer. And, Dimitri Soudas, the prime minister's spokesman also won a bet, which means that Robert Gibbs, Mr. Obama's press secretary had to wear a Team Canada jersey. On the afternoon of March 1, 2010, I was sitting on a transit bus at the downtown bus terminal and noticed that the bus in front of me made the most kick-ass departure, ever! The bus that was used in the incident was a 2008 New Flyer D40LFR (0807), and its driver just left really quickly, and it looked like the driver assumed the coast was clear. I don't know how to describe it, but I must say that it was the quickest transit bus departure I have ever seen. Later that night, my torrent of the only season of That '80s Show finally completed after four hours of downloading. After watching the first two out of thirteen episodes, it became clear why the show was cancelled only after thirteen episodes. Since that time, I have not bothered to watch the remainder of the show... because, let's face it, it's a terrible show. On March 2, 2010, I received a $10.00 cheque from TNS Canadian Facts for taking surveys at their mysurvey.ca website after redeeming some points. Before I received the cheque, I got an email informing me that my last name was spelt incorrectly and that I would not be able to deposit or cash the cheque and that a new one would be issued immediately. So, at the time, I thought that may have just misspelt my last name by a letter or two. But when I received the cheque, the error wasn't even anywhere close to being my last name. To see what I mean, click here. Now, to go back in time for a bit, I received an email with a special code from WestJet on February 24. In this email, they thanked me for participating in their contest that was held back in the fall of 2009. Well, I remembered playing that game and trying to enter the contest, but not completing the requirements because I thought it involved too much work and that I had no chance of winning. Well, I did win, in a small way. In the email, I received a one-time code that would take 25% off of any airfare through their website as long as I did my travelling between April 15 to June 23 and September 8 to October 31, as long as I made the booking by March 7, 2010, even if the fare was part of a sale. So, I kept the email for serious consideration. So, after going through numerous days of emails and advertised specials, a flight to Ottawa was at least $225, and was considered too expensive for me. However, that would change on March 2, 2010, when I received a special email that advertised "50% off everywhere we fly. Yes everywhere." In that email, the price to fly to Ottawa was $175. So, excited, I attempted to use my special code, and found that it was a kick-ass deal that had to be taken advantage of, since there was only one day to take advantage of the new pricing, and five more days to take advantage of the additional 25% off. I found that the flight there, at the lowest price, would be $146 while my return flight would be about $123, not including taxes, fees and other charges. So, in total, the airfare portion of my trip would cost around $365.00, including the taxes, fees and other weird charges that I am too lazy to verify or explain. And as of 3:00 PM on Wednesday, March 3, 2010, my trip to Ottawa was official. I will be heading to Ottawa on the morning of May 1, 2010 and will be returning to Saskatoon on the evening of May 5, 2010, which is also the same day that a call for a general election in Britain is due. But of course, the highlight of that week was the tabling of Budget 2010 in Parliament by Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, which has been called a "boring budget." And of course, I already talked about that. But, I will add one thing: it really was a boring budget. There were few (or none) new spending measures, and it essentially gave Canadians what we were expecting: a road map to a balanced budget at some point in time and spending cuts. March 4 was also the debut night for The Marriage Ref, which sucked, because Tom Papa is an annoying host. Now, if Jerry Seinfeld were the host, I wouldn't mind watching it at all because you know how much I loved his show about nothing, and him in general. In the same day, I also wrote my sociology midterm, before going to a meeting at work from 6:00 PM until 9:00 PM to meet my new manager, Danielle, and another manager, Jamie, who both work in Salt Lake City. Yeah, as of March 12, they are my new bosses. But, that Thursday was also payday for me. But, more importantly, my tax refund was deposited into my bank account. So overall, Thursday was not so bad. And before I got home, I made a stop at Petro-Canada gas station on the corner of 22nd Street West and Witney Avenue South to get some gasoline. Now, as I took the pump, I got a "call" from the clerk inside saying that they were out of regular gasoline (or "Regular Clean" as they call it) and were offering premium gasoline (or "Plus Clean" as they call it) for the price of Regular Clean. This made my day a happy day, and I decided to buy a lottery ticket, which didn't win any money at all, unfortunately. And as for that Friday, it was just another boring day before I went to work. And as for Saturday (March 6), it was my younger cousin Ky's fifteenth birthday (although I did not wish him a happy birthday), which means that (believe it or not) it is time for driver education, which means that he may be able to drive soon, if his dad is with him. I may decide to "teach" him to "drive" too, but so far, I don't have any immediate plans to do so in the near future. Now, speaking of him and kids his age, the Government of Saskatchewan will require kids his age who want to be employed in Saskatchewan to pass a test. For more details, click here. Anyway, despite being his birthday, Ky, and his brother Tho decided that they would like to spend the day at my home, effectively stinking it up simply by being there, because they don't always shower before coming over.
Anyway, as for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games, they were wonderful, and never in my life have I seen Canadians so patriotic. It was so beautiful. And, among others, Sidney Crosby, Joannie Rochette, Clara Hughes and many other Olympic athletes made me more proud to be Canadian than ever! As for the Olympic Games, I would love to see Canada host the Games once again! But this time, it should be the Summer Games!
In the wee hours of March 7, I drove home and decided that I was hungry. So, I stopped at the Burger King on Confederation Drive and ordered the "new" Smoky Steakhouse XT burger. They were out. I kind of wanted a Whopper at that point, but was kind of sick of the plain taste, and decided to order a Bourbon Whopper instead. And, I replaced my regular fries with a poutine, which ended up tasting terrible because the fries were hard. But on the bright side, I enjoyed my Sprite! Now, this past Monday, I was surfing the Internet, got bored and decided to visit Jim Pankiw's website at www.jimpankiw.ca, and saw a few interesting grammar errors. To see for yourself, click here. On Tuesday, Brian Topp was at the University of Saskatchewan. Now, as most of you probably don't know, or care about, Brian Topp was involved closely with the discussion regarding a failed coalition government that was about to be created in late 2008 and early 2009 in an attempt to take over power from the Conservative government. I was planning on attending his presentation or speech, but was too tired. In fact, I was so tired that I didn't even know Patrick Wong was in the same computer lab as me when I was using the computer lab located in Arts 277. And at this point, I overlooked something important to me when I booked my flights for my trip to Ottawa: my younger cousin Tony's sixth birthday. Yeah, that little man is important to me, and I will continue to love him as an older cousin, even if his older brothers Tho and Ky describe him as "Satan in a child's body" or "the devil boy." This past Thursday, Prime Minister Stephen Harper made his response to the Throne Speech in the House of Commons and in real-time on that evil YouTube website, which would be the first time any Canadian prime minister has done so, and I'm glad it was Mr. Harper. However, when I tried to access the live feed on Thursday, I was not able to do so from school. And later that day, I got my "revenge" against Patrick Wong in some way, when I saw him sitting at the front of the computer lab (Arts 277) and made a big deal about it on Facebook. On Thursday evening, I went to my workplace and picked up some stuff. For starters, I took my personal belongings home and placed them in my car. At that point, I felt like I just got laid off. Then, I came inside and brought out my computer, monitor, and other stuff, as I would start my current position in my new capacity as of Friday. After that little venture to work, I got my vehicle washed. And as for Friday, I started my first shift of work from the comfort of my own house. But technically, instead of working for six hours, I only worked four and a half hours as the installation of my equipment to get it running properly took about an hour and a half. As for yesterday, I went shopping at the Real Canadian Superstore located at 2901 8th Street East and saw a guy wearing a pink shirt and bright purple tie, who, as it would later turn out, worked at the pharmacy. And while I was there, I saw a stack of coupons that got you a free Gillette body wash product if you purchase a razor or a pack of razor blades. But, the odd thing is that the coupon has a security hologram, which is highly unusual for manufacturer coupons. It's a waste of money, and a waste of resources that could be used elsewhere. If you don't believe me, you can click here to see the coupon. If you'd like your own copy, you can head on over to www.brandsaver.ca. And after that, I went to my uncle's house to pick up my cousins before heading home to the comfort of my own house. But before I did that, I "etched" a bad message into the dirt on my uncle's 2007 Honda Odyssey. To see what bad message I "etched" into the dirt on his van, click here. And eventually, it was time to "go to work," in my room, where my home office is set up. So far, the adjustment from work to home has been good, except for one thing: the headset. The headset I received to work at home sucks, as it seems to pinch the ears and the microphone portion is too far from my mouth. But not surprisingly, Shelly suggested that it was because the headset was pink and purple.
And as for today, I woke up and watched America's Most Wanted on Hulu and eventually finished up this blog update. And at some point in time, my cousin's daughter came over but didn't really cause a whole lot of trouble, as she seemed to be afraid of people she has only met twice in her life.
At this point, I would be done talking about my boring life. Now, I'm going to talk about the things that are coming up, soon. For starters, Mount Royal Collegiate turns 50 years old this year and will be celebrating that fact this upcoming September. If you went to that school, I encourage you to attend their celebrations. For more information, you can visit www.mountroyal50.com and RSVP. I will be attending the event, as will Mr. Peter Poorman, whom I consider a minor celebrity.
As you may or may not have read, I will be visiting Ottawa on May 1 until May 5. This is exciting, as I have wanted to go to Ottawa for the past two years. Between now and then, I will need to do some research as to where I would like to go in Ottawa besides Parliament Hill. Now, the disappointing thing is that I will not be able to see question period with my own eyes, and thus will be limited to CPAC or the news, as tours of Parliament are cancelled, rescheduled or rerouted during question period. However, I may still be able to see the public proceedings, such as the introduction of bills or something. So far, the airfare has been paid for, and the hotel arrangements are complete. The only problem is that I am not staying at the Courtyard Ottawa anymore, which was cheaper, as I cancelled my reservation for that hotel about two weeks before I made the actual airline booking. And now, that hotel is no longer offering an associate discount rate. I did book at the associate discount rate at the Ottawa Marriott, but it is at a higher rate and the very last night was sold out. As a result, I plan to spend the last evening of my trip in Montréal, when I rent a car. In fact, I may even plan to pull over once I enter Québec just to say that I entered Québec, before moving on to Montréal. In order to get around Ottawa and Montréal, I plan to borrow my uncle Harley's GPS device, which he bought just to navigate around Edmonton and Calgary. Since returning to Saskatoon, I don't know if he has actually used the device. Now, the only stupid thing is that I will be flying to Calgary, which is the opposite direction, before boarding another plane that flies over Saskatoon (I'm presuming) to Ottawa, thus making my trip to Calgary a useless one. Then, on the way back, I will fly past Saskatoon into the Calgary International Airport once again, then board a flight to the Saskatoon John G. Diefenbaker International Airport. And since this is the second time I will be staying at a Marriott in Canada, I plan to take advantage of something else: a 20% discount on all food and gift purchases within the hotel. And since I'm staying at a hotel that has room service, I plan to pig out on room service food during one of my nights at the Marriott, which is something I have wanted to do since watching an episode of The Simpsons titled "The Last Temptation of Homer." To see a clip of that episode, click here. Among other places I would like to visit during my trip to Ottawa include the Royal Canadian Mint and the Canadian War Museum. And as for most of you that know me, this should not come as a surprise to you: I plan to visit a Real Canadian Superstore at some point. At this point, I am travelling with nobody, but anyone who is willing to come with me is more than welcome to (I highly doubt this). And, as for my hotel stay, it could potentially be free under some familiarization program my workplace has among its hotels. I'd also love to try some kick-ass restaurants in the Ottawa area, and will be researching the area based on reviews, and other stuff. This research will begin at some point in early April. And as for the Montréal aspect of my trip, that has not been planned yet, but I will begin planning at some point as well, or may decide to cancel that aspect altogether. At this point, the only confirmed events are my vacation time (which was recently approved), airline tickets and hotel. The next thing I will need is a car rental, as well as my uncle Harley's GPS device. Now, not only will this trip fulfill one of my recent dreams, it will also give me a break from the people that I love, and dread at the same time. For starters, it will be a weekend without my cousin Ky's smelly hair, my ugly cousin Tho's evil face, my cousin Tony's evil ways, the constant bickering of my aunt and... my mom's... yeah, I'm going to miss my mom, but that's not going to spoil my trip. But another benefit is that it will give me a break from Andrew Pang's phone calls (ha ha). You see, Mr. Pang has a tendency to call my cellular phone a lot, and would often meet me in person at school at some point in time. Now, when he calls during my trip, he won't be able to meet me in person, because I'll be all the way in Ottawa, even if it only lasts for four days. Besides, I could potentially say that I went to Ottawa to spite Mr. Pang, because, according to him, I am evil. Oh yeah, I just made a reservation at the Residence Inn Montréal Downtown.
At this point, I will also be checking up on election speculation in Britain, as a general election is due on May 5, 2010, and this year's general election in Britain will include the country's first televised leaders' debates, which have been the norm in Canada and the United States for decades.
May 12, 2010 is the official launch date of Microsoft Office 2010, which will be released to business and commercial customers, and should be available to the general public at some point in June.
As of yesterday, the Marriott reservations centre here in Saskatoon reduced its operating hours to 9:30 am to 9:30 pm and will be closing at 9:30 pm on March 26, 2010. Although I will no longer be working there and will continue my same job at home, I must say that over the two years that I have worked there, there were good and bad days, but what kept me at work was the good days, and the fact that I can stay at Marriott hotels at a rate that can be considered almost free. Once the centre closes, I am going to miss it, as I enjoyed the drive to work and the drive home from work even more. But yes, I will miss the place, believe it or not, and I will miss most of the people that I worked with for the past two years.
Now, in the news recently, I was really excited to learn that there will be an eighth instalment of the Police Academy movie series. Now, although there will be a new class of cadets and actors, I am still excited.
For those of you who shop at the Real Canadian Superstore located at 411 Confederation Drive in Saskatoon, the store has closed early as of today at 6pm and will not re-open until Tuesday morning at 7am, due to the renovations at the store.
Tonight on FOX, there will be a new show that will make its debut during the timeslot of American Dad called Sons of Tucson. Although I have yet to see it tonight, it looks stupid and I would not be surprised if it disappeared the same way That '80s Show did. Now, there is a FOX show that I really enjoy that's new and doesn't deserve to be cancelled, and that is 'Til Death, which features Brad Garrett, who starred as Robert on Everybody Loves Raymond. Now that show deserves not to be cancelled, just like That '70s Show. As for what is airing on television tonight... on the FOX network, there will be new episodes of 'Til Death, The Simpsons (for the first time in weeks) and Family Guy... and the pilot episode of Sons of Tucson, which looks stupid. As for the 'Til Death, there are two new episodes, and I have already watched one of them. And for those of you who live in Saskatchewan like I do, where we don't change our clocks when daylight savings time is in effect, everything on television is now one hour earlier.
Anyway, that's all for this edition of my ridiculously-long-and-immaculately-coded-blog-update. Thank you for reading and remember, DON'T GET RIPPED BY THE RIPTIDE!
Thank you for your concerns, and have a good night, or day!
