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!
