Locked myself out of my room

Yesterday held a terrible experience for me. The door to our basement is one that has a button on one knob that locks the knob on the other side, and can only be unlocked by turning the knob on the button side. Unfortunately, I was fiddling with the button, and unknowingly closed the door behind me. It is important to note that my room is in the basement.

So, at 1AM I figure I should get to sleep since I have early class the next morning. Unfortunately, I locked myself out. We tried everything from taking the pins out of the hinges, trying to get in through my miniscule window, jimmying the lock with a knife, and taking off the knob and fiddling with the innards. Nothing worked, so at about 2 AM I decided to get some sleep on the couch, sans blanket (though in this heat I didn't need or want one). This morning, I took a hammer to the innards of the knob. I beat enough shit out of it to do something to the button on the other side, and we were able to open it. Unfortunately, the knob doens't seem to work anymore, but I'd much rather have the knob left off the door at this point.

I was late to class, didn't brush my teeth, couldn't shower, and had only the clothes I was wearing. Well, it's over now, I suppose.

Listening to... Sum 41 - Still Waiting
Link of the moment... One nice thing about the heat...lots of pretty girls in skirts on campus

Update #2 - Niagara Falls

(I left more time between the two updates than I thought I would)

Saturday was an interesting day -- Andrew, John, Julie and I went to Niagara Falls for the day. The whole experience was a nice break from the ordinary, but I wouldn't say it was a life changing event.

We left around 10 AM, after checking my tires and filling up my tank. At first, John folowed me in his car, but apparently he found my driving incompetent and got in front of me, at which point he promptly made a wrong turn. Serves him right. A good few hours later, we finally got into Niagara Falls.

Our cars got separated when we hit the very, very busy main street, so I pulled off into a hotel and phoned him to figure out where he was. We parked our cars at the Falls and met up, and then my picture taking began.

We visited the Falls first, since we were there. Quite impressive, but like I said, it wasn't breathtaking. No one went over in a barrel that day, unfortunately. After that, we had lunch at a very busy Burger King, where I had a very delicious Bacon Cheeseburger.

The only real attraction we took in was Ripley's Believe it or Not. There really wasn't too much else on the strip of great interest, though I think I might have liked to see the wax museum of the stars. We looked around at smoe of the souvenier shops, but I'm pretty sure I'm the last one to see Niagara Falls in all of Canada, so I didn't bother buying anything (though I was keeping an eye out for something for Nathalie since she got me something from Las Vegas). We also headed into the casino to waste a few bills.

By then it was getting a bit late, so Andrew and I headed home, as John and Julie were staying the night to see Marine World and Niagara-on-the-Lake the next day. We got a bit lost on the way back; we headed too far into Toronto than we were supposed to, so it was still a 2-hour trip even after going 140km/h most of the way.

All in all, a good trip, and I'm looking forward to the next one. Maybe I'll head out to Toronto next and see the hustle and bustle of downtown.

Listening to... The Witness Protection Program - Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen
Link of the moment... Now off to do some clothes shopping

Update #1 - Birthday Hijinx

Well I guess I have a moment to recap some stuff.

Wednesday (my birthday) wasn't a particularly good day. Classes crawled along as usual, a handful of people sent me some e-cards, and we got to go out for Chinese food (which was probably the highlight...it was really good). I was feeling really tired all day. Just before bed I figured I'd have a game of chess with Hugh (who learned how to play only last week), and he beat me. I could have easily checkmated him too, but I didn't see the move until Andrew pointed it out after the game.

On Friday night, I went bowling with Nathalie, Steve, Laura, the roommies, Nicole, and Nicole's friend Sofia. I didn't do as well as I usually do in the first game. I have the uncanny ability to place the ball about a half an inch to the right of the head pin every time. Half an inch cost me about 6 or 7 strikes, I'm sure. John got the high score of something like 190 after getting five strikes in one game. Hugh got a turkey, but since we were paying by the hour, he didn't get to finish that game.

Afterwards, we headed back to my place and we waited around for the second car to get back. When they did, they waited around upstairs doing god knows what to my cake, and waiting for Julie and her friend Agnes to come. When they finally did (after me trying to keep Nathalie, Steve and Laura entertained), I blew out the 22 candles on my cake and we all had a slice with some ice cream.

We followed that up by playing an 11-player game of Cranium. We couldn't fit nearly that many people in the now-furnished living room, so we played in John's relatively massive room (which also worked out since we were in need of some A/C). My team fell behind early, but caught up late. We weren't in the dash for first place, but I blame that on being on the team of three. We did pretty well for ourselves though.

After that, it was past midnight, so I dropped off the UWP people and came back for a game of Mario Party 4 (notice, not MP6) with Nicole, John, and Hugh. That kept us up until 3, which was likely not in our best interests since we were going to Niagara Falls the next morning.

Overall, I give this birthday 8/10. The 24th wasn't a great occasion, but the fact that we got 11 people together for games at my place more than compensates for it. Plus, I can consider Niagara Falls a little birthday trip.

Listening to... Snapcase - Gates of Steel
Link of the moment... This looks like fun, I'll have to keep an eye out for it

Irony > tragedy

Well, one of my problems seems to have worked itself out...my bike got stolen last night. That is to say, the one I bought for $50, so there's a waste of money. It's rather ironic...I had it unchained beside the house for over a week without it getting stolen, and when I finally have a bike lock, I'm too stubborn to use it and my bike gets stolen. That's dead-on irony.

I went to Zellers and bought a new bike. They still had their sale (15% off), so I got one for $85 + tax. I really, really should have just done that to begin with. Now I've got Tunde's bike that is doing me no good. I'd have to buy a new wheel (or tire+tube) and fix it myself for it to be of any use to anyone, and I'm not sure if I want to sink the time or money into it now that I actually have my own bike.

I also went to a place called XSCargo. I saw a flyer with some deals I couldn't resist. Namely, a chair that swivels and tilts for $50, and a blender for $20. I was also considering picking up a 5.0MP camera for $80, but I rarely use my 2.0MP camera as is, and I'd have to sink even more money into it since I'd need to buy external memory.

Andrew's dad came today and helped Andrew pick up some furniture from his aunt's house, so now our living room is furnished. We fit in a sofa, loveseat, and tvstand, but just barely. It's really crowded in there now, but much more comfortable.

I'm currently downloading a torrent of Metal Gear Solid for PC. Our internet is painfully slow, but I'm not willing to pay anymore than we do now for access. I'll just have to live with it, I guess.

I can't think of much else to say. I don't know what to do. I'm not in the mood for work, I don't want to research for this case study, and I don't really have anything else to do.

Listening to... The Offspring - Nitro (Youth Energy)
Link of the moment... It really was a good game.

Need a touch of humanity

I've got that feeling that I'm going out of my mind because I haven't have any human contact for the last 6ish hours. I did some marking (and found my first set of cheaters!), and I'm not in the mental condition to get any work done. I think I'd like to fire up a game like Dragon Quest 8, but since it's burned I'd rather not put up with the possible frustration of trying to get it working.

Well, I got Tunde's bike. It's definitely a piece of work. The back tire is not on the wheel, the front tire is dead flat, the chain is off the gears, and the gears look pretty rusted. I'm really hoping that both bikes have the same size wheels so that I can take the good wheels off my other bike, put it on the newer bike, and then clean up and lube up the gears and chain on the newer bike. Hopefully by the end of the weekend, I'll have something that is workable. I realize now I should have just bought a new one to save myself the torment that I'm going through now. Let that be a lesson to me.

Well it looks as though my ENGL 119 class should be...interesting. Most people take it expecting it to be less work than a "real" course. Unfortunately, the term-long case study project works out to be quite a bit of work. Well, it subverts a final exam, so I guess I don't care one way or another. Me and Sivji were trying to recruit competent members ahead of time (that is, people who will be easy to communicate with and will do well in all oral aspects of the project). However, we still got stuck with two ESL girls, which may but a barrier of communication in the group. We'll still do well, it's just a matter of having to take more time to make sure everyone is on the same page. I've taken the responsibility of being the team project leader for the first week, meaning I have to have a formal status report ready for next Wednesday. I really don't know what they expect out of the people who are doing it the first week as we have no real progress to report on. All we'll have accomplished by next week is whatever brainstorming we get done on this Monday (we arranged an extra out-of-class meeting to get an early start). Not only that, but I have no idea what the layout of the report should look like.

Andrew and Hugh came back a while ago. We chatted, but as I expected we didn't really have anything to do. Andrew is tuckered out and has to get up early tomorrow. I could go to bed myself, but I never feel right going to bed before I feel like my day is over with.

I'm hoping tomorrow will be productive, though I say that every day. I hope to work on my bikes, go shopping, go to Value Village, and get either my marking or my CS338 done. Beyond that I have some lower priority things that I've been putting off for a while such as talking to people at the plaza about securing a parking space for John, doing my laundry, and recycling all these boxes stored in the basement.

Next Saturday (May 27), Julie and I are going to Niagara Falls. I don't know who else is coming, though I suspect John and Andrew are in the "maybe" pile. If you've ever been there and know of some good attractions, stores, or cafes to visit, then let me know.

It's sort of a shame, as there is a Warrior Weekend that weekend. I'd like to go to some of the events on both the Friday and Saturday, but I suppose my Niagara plans will interfere with that.

Well...I guess I'll get back to sitting on the computer wasting away my youth. Blah.

Listening to... Death From Above 1979 - Cold War
Link of the moment... I've been looking at recipes. Maybe one day I'll actually have the time and effort to make something.

Mario Party 6 must go

Andrew's home for the weekend, and Hugh, John, and Nicole went to some bar last night with John's sister and her friends. I took a stand and stayed home to get some work done (in lieu of being able to get a hold of Laura). I did some marking (which I actually find enjoyable), and got to bed at 1:30. They came back at 2 AM, and started playing Mario Party with what I am certain were not their late night inside voices. For lack of being able to sleep through it, and not being one for asking anything for myself, I went upstairs and watched them play it out until 3:30. So much for getting up early today to get some work done.

I feel like I have an awful lot of work considering I only have three classes, but I guess it's mostly just this one assignment for ENGL 119 due Wednesday worth 10% of my final mark. I can't believe they'd only give a week's notice for such an assignment.

I think I may have changed my mind from a Zen Vision:M to a Zen MicroPhoto. The differences include ~$100, 22GB, and the ability to play video. With 8GB I could store 1/3 of my music collection, which is likely all I'd really need. I doubt I'd watch much video on the go, but I suppose $100 is a small price to pay for staying on the cutting edge of technology. It all depends on if my parents are willing to shell out a nice gift for me. Hell, if it weren't near my birthday, I'd buy one myself (to hopefully make me seem like less of a spoiled white boy).

We're still waiting on furniture, but Andrew says his dad can drive down next weekend with a van, so hopefully that pans out. Until then, we continue to use cushions on the floor (generously donated by Julie).

I've been waking up at 11:30 consistently these days. I'm going to start setting my alarm for 8:30 every day, but of course I couldn't get up today since I was up late last night. Hopefully that will benefit my sleep schedule after a week or so. I seem to keep falling asleep in the evening.

So I guess the big news in my life these days is that I got a shoe rack. Yup, big news. No longer is our closet plagued with unorganized shoes.

Listening to... Winamp Radio
Link of the moment... $20 is a small price to pay for long term protection

From 249 Cedarbrae

It's been a long time since the last post, and so there's a lot to talk about. However, since there's so much new stuff that has happened, it's too daunting to talk about any of it.

I'm in the new house now with John, Andrew, and Hugh. I think we're mostly settled in now. We each have a bed (I bought a futon), I've got enough furniture to store all my crap, and now all we need is to find a way to get some furniture from Guelph to Waterloo in a relatively inexpensive manner (we can rent a UHaul for the day, but that would cost near $80). For the time being, we're playing games and watching TV on the floor.

We found a tv near the dumpster by our house, and it works well enough for us to use. It's about 27", and is fine aside from the fact that bright colours bleed a bit, and we have to use the RCA input rather than regular coaxial.

I've been spending a lot of money lately as well. I bought Mario Party 6 and WarioWare Inc for Gamecube from Blockbuster, as well as a third controller ($60+tx). I bought the PS2 Slimline kit that allows you to mod new PS2s to play burned games ($40). Soon I'll be spending another chunk of money for the new PS2 itself (~$130+tx). I also bought some nice headphones with a boom mic for my computer (for it for $50CAD on ebay, retails for $100USD!). I went to the UW bike auction which was a bust, but got a nearly-working bike at a garage sale ($50). All that crap, along with furnishings for the house and groceries make for a hefty Visa bill.

I also plan on getting myself a Creative Zen Vision:M for my birthday. (If anyone spots a good price for a new PS2 (less than $130) or a new Creative Zen Vision:M (less than $380) at any retailers, let me know will ya?)

Turns out Andrew is the marker for CS 234. Nifty, eh? I don't expect he'll need to mark me any nigher than needed, since it looks like the course will be easy (and I can always legitimately ask for his help before handing the assignment in). CS 338 looks boring as hell, and ENGL 119 looks like it'll be more or less easy, but stressful with all the group work and projects. It should be a good learning experience though, since I'm not well versed on technical writing, and my oral presentation could use some exercise as well.

So far I'm enjoying being completely bored all the time. I have enough stuff to keep me busy at the moment. I hope once things with the new house settle down a bit, I'll be bored enough to beat a few games. We've mostly been playing Mario Party since I got it.

Well, that's all I care to talk about for the moment. I seem to be spending much less time at my computer, since there's usually somene else dicking around the house that I can hang out with. We've had some good conversations around the dinner table.

Listening to... Gorillaz - Feel Good Inc (Have you heard of this song, Nathalie? I put it on just for you!)
Link of the moment... You *should* have heard of them!