Kev

It’s been a really long time since I’ve taken any vacation which didn’t involve Ottawa as a destination or the place I spent the majority of said vacation. The primary reasons for this have been school and work. When I was in school, I was broke, so didn’t go anywhere other than a car camping trip on the weekend. When I was working, I was either too involved in the work to come up for air, spent so much time travelling that the last thing I wanted to do for vacances was go anywhere, or spent vacation time coming home to visit friends and family.

I have been taking time off a little more over the past couple years, and I guess it’s as good as time as any to take a trip somewhere that doesn’t involve work or visiting family at home. To that end, I’m taking my first “real” vacation since I went to the Magic Kingdom in grade eight. (no, I am not going to calculate or state how many years that’s been) I’ve already bought my tickets, so if there are any pools on whether I’m actually going to make it, bear that in mind.

I’m going to Scotland for a week and a bit to visit with McK, tour some distilleries, see some castles and museums, run on the wrong side of the road and attempt to avoid being killed while crossing the street, get the hell out of Ottawa for a bit, and see some places I haven’t seen before. I’ll be going at the end of March, which some folks have mentioned is perhaps not the best time of year to visit that part of the world, but it’s more about seeing people, places, and things. Besides – how many people have you heard of going to the UK to sunbathe?

I’m really looking forward to it. Eight weeks seems pretty far away, but I’m sure it’ll fly by with the new job and everything else that’s going on.

Note to Stevo: Monkeys are not indigenous to Scotland.

So I have tickets purchased and everything. A real vacation that doesn’t involve work somewhere along the way. I’m psyched. Even though I’m flying Mapleflot, I’m still psyched. 🙂

I read this, and all I could think was “wtf?”

The suicidal man who authorities say caused the chain-reaction train derailment that killed at least 11 people has been charged with multiple counts of murder and could face the death penalty, the district attorney said yesterday.

It just strikes me as odd that you’d want to kill a guy who supposedly wanted to off himself. Why not just go for the quick life imprisonment without parole trial for the murders (granted, it’s not that cut and dry) instead of considering the death penalty. With the costs of all the appeals, legal shenanigans, and everything else, why not get the guy convicted and throw him in general pop. Isn’t that a lot more effective?

So for those that don’t know, I resigned my position at my current employer late yesterday. I’m going back to working for a hw/sw company, and am really looking forward to it. I’ll be spending two and a half weeks tying everything up, then will be starting the new job. It’s public knowledge at my company now, so I guess it’s ok to put it up here 🙂

Today is Robbie Burns day, and I’m currently in Toronto. McK had pointed this out earlier, and when I called shaver to see if he was around, he pointed it out as well, and mentioned that they were celebrating.

Being the celebrating sort, I joined them at the Duke of York for dinner. We all had the haggis, which was excellent and came with a “wee dram” as an added bonus. We got to witness the haggis being piped in, the ode to said haggis, and we were assured said haggis was duly knifed, as per tradition. I may even have snuck in a pint or two (hey, we were celebrating) amidst the blue and white.

A super dinner with shaver, Tyla, and a couple of their friends. Conversation centred on, of all things, comparing economic models to democracies and the stock market. I was a little bagged to say anything intelligent – not that I would have – but it was fun to watch some animated discussion and try and derail it once in a while by poking fun.

Every time I come to Toronto, I like it a little more. Funny how supping with nice folks will do that.

Happy Birthday to the Bard! Be sure to raise your glass towards Scotland this eve.

So it’s done. If you don’t know what “it” is, check back in a few days. I’m feeling strangely fine, and considerably less stressed than I was. One of my vendors told me today “you sound happy”. She’s right, I am.

Today I proved that I can wake up at 05:20, pack, drive to the airport, shave (while driving to the airport), grab a coffee, and make a 06:15 flight. I also think I set a personal best this morning for number of times using the word “fuck” before 06:00. That said, I made it to Toronto on-time and in one piece, just a little more disheveled than normal (which is kinda scary, but that’s life).

Note to self: Setting the alarm is step one. Turning the alarm on is step two, and is at least as important as step one.

Today is the day I start training for the National Capital Marathon. It’s not until the end of May, but between now and then I have to get to the point where I can run 60-70km/week (before the taper), so I have a bit of work to do.

Kjell is going to come out for the run as well, which means I’ve got some motivation – I can’t let him show me up too badly, and that we’re going to go out and hurt our selves/livers after the run. I’m looking forward to it, and today starts with a leisurely 10km run.

So, we’re off! Although right now it’s time for sleep. Way too much to do tomorrow. Where’d today go again?

Eif. I think I know what I’m doing with a significant portion of my life for the next little while. Burnout3 is the most entertaining game I’ve played in a long while. Remember when you were little, and you got the Hot Wheels out and play-crashed huge wrecks? That’s the name of the game. Race and wreck; finish first, but take out the competition as often as possible.

Impact Time is awesome. Every time you take out an opponent, you’re treated to a slow-mo replay of your competitor’s demise. It doesn’t take a thing away from the race you’re in, which is pretty impressive since you’re going at a ridiculous speed and can pick right back up where you left off. Amazing.

I have never, ever played a racing game where you feel like you’re going Warp 9 (including the Wipeout, Pod Racer, F-Zero, Ridge Racer, and any other racing genre game). It’s sucking me in, and I’ll post a more substantive review a little later.

This game has been out since September of last year, and pretty much everyone has given it high rankings. I suppose I should pay more attention, as it’s a great way to spend a -30 day.

Lawyers are making life a little difficult right now. That’s not fair, they’re not making things difficult, they’re doing their job. I can’t be bothered with them, but they’re a necessary evil.

It’s not bad, and I understand their position completely, but I’ve done it before and know how to deal with things. It’s all about positioning, and that’s something I can do better than anyone I know (not to be full of myself, but professionally, I can deal with anyone). The problem is they’re paid to worry about shit, and make sure everything is “just so”before they push the button. I’m a little more “push it, let’s see what happens”, so we’ve got a wee difference of philosophies. Because of that, I just have to wait, and wait, and wait.

I know it’ll all work out in the end, it’s just really frustrating. Tomorrow marks week 2 in playing the waiting game. I’m not saying I’m going to explode, but it’d be really nice to have a little piece (sic) of mind (any mind will do, ’cause I seem to have misplaced mine).

I can’t complain, life is still great, and this is just one of those little bumps in the road that you weather through.

Hey, did I mention I’m taking a real vacation for the first time since grade 8? I can’t tell you how excited I am. It’s even in a place more than 50 miles away! Here’s hoping the end of March hurries up and gets here.