While I don't intend to stop writing, I have decided to move in a new direction. I won't be applying to a Master's program at Concordia this year, although not due to poor grades. I got an A in my Milton class and an A- in my South Asian Literature class. I won't be applying because I got a full time job. I'm still going to finish the classes I've already signed up for, including Video Game Theory, and I might still apply for the Master's program next year, but I think this job is going to be much more valuable in the long run. I also think that I can continue writing and be successful at it without the Master's.
I began thinking about not applying for the Master's when I realized I would be competing for entrance with people who are already published. I've also had great feed back on my writing, both creative and academic, which is a confidence boost. My goal for 2012 is to get something published, probably with a small press, but possibly with a magazine.
There is writing in my new job as well, which is with a software company called Telax. It's technical writing and web content, but writing nonetheless.
Till next time.
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Monday, November 28, 2011
One-percenters
I read an article in Forbes explaining how people don't understand all the hard work the one-percenters put in to getting where they are. What I have to say to that begins with this: phooey. First, here's the link to the article.
I don't completely agree with the Occupy movement, although I think it's an excellent step towards a movement that I, and probably many others, can really get behind at some point in the future. I also don't begrudge people working hard and getting rewarded for it, in fact that's what I think out society lacks.
The article mentions an artist who sells a quick sketch of a person. The customer then complains of the high price for a mere five minute's work. Yes that person isn't taking into consideration the 25 years experience the artist has. His five minutes of drawing is worth much more than my five minutes of drawing,it's true. Here's what I can do in five minutes:
I don't completely agree with the Occupy movement, although I think it's an excellent step towards a movement that I, and probably many others, can really get behind at some point in the future. I also don't begrudge people working hard and getting rewarded for it, in fact that's what I think out society lacks.
The article mentions an artist who sells a quick sketch of a person. The customer then complains of the high price for a mere five minute's work. Yes that person isn't taking into consideration the 25 years experience the artist has. His five minutes of drawing is worth much more than my five minutes of drawing,it's true. Here's what I can do in five minutes:
But what the author of this article, John Tamny, misses is that no one is saying the one-percenters don't work hard, but we are saying that they don't necessarily work harder than everyone else. Yes Arron Rodgers avoided 'partying' for study, a common theme in the article as if not partying makes you rich, or maybe that partying prevents you from being rich, oh wait I forgot about Paris Hilton, who is rich because she partys.
Does Mr. Tamny really think that some of the guys that worked in the Sudbury mine for thirty years are there because they didn't work hard enough? Because they wasted their youth partying? Or maybe he thinks they're all just stupid. In my opinion those guys work much harder than almost all the one-percent. They're the ones we should be thanking, not the one-percenters. And considering the job they do and the exploitation of Sudbury mine-workers over the decades, they don't get paid nearly enough.
It's this ridiculous idea that the one-percent are somehow above us that people don't like, and Mr. Tamny is only enforcing that fictitious concept. No one, believes that the one-percent should get paid minimum wages. Those of us who want change only want to see some more equality. It is simply not possible for anyone to work hard enough to deserve multiple billions of dollars, a few million, maybe, but not billions.
Mr. Tamny, many people work hard and avoid wasting time and struggle everyday. Should they be thanking the one-percent that own the companies they work for and refuse to pay them adequately for their efforts, or should they just accept that they screwed up somewhere along the line?
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Wow, a new post.
I knew it had been a long time since I had written a blog post here, but July 18th? It seems as though someone must have hacked in a changed the date for some sinister and bizarre reason. It's not that I haven't been writing, I've been doing much of that, although not as much as I should be. Isn't that always the case? It's like exercise that way, or not eating delicious non-healthy foods. So where to begin?
The writing I have been doing is for school and work. School has demanded more reading than writing so far, but the creative writing class has given me a chance to write a fair amount. I think some of what I've written is rather brilliant, but some could be bettered by a cat terd with a pencil stapled to it. In reality, my work is somewhere in between those two, which is where it belongs, for now. The important part is that I'm learning. And next semester we'll be doing a lot more workshopping so I expect that will help my writing enormously.
Work has been consistent, although not as plentiful as I would like, but it's building up. And in case you want to see where I've been spending my blogging time, you can read the Telax blog here.
We lost one of our cats a couple weeks ago. Jedi's owner came to take her back to Toronto, and Jedi has adjusted surprisingly well. I think she may have been thankful to get away from the other cats, and who could blame her?
Well my crap pad is telling me that I've got a whole list of things to do before Kate and I head out to see Contagion and settle in at Station Des Sports for the Leafs/Habs game tonight so I suppose I should wrap it up here. Hopefully I'll be able to post more frequently over the next couple months, but I make no promises. I've got a lot of crap to do.
The writing I have been doing is for school and work. School has demanded more reading than writing so far, but the creative writing class has given me a chance to write a fair amount. I think some of what I've written is rather brilliant, but some could be bettered by a cat terd with a pencil stapled to it. In reality, my work is somewhere in between those two, which is where it belongs, for now. The important part is that I'm learning. And next semester we'll be doing a lot more workshopping so I expect that will help my writing enormously.
Work has been consistent, although not as plentiful as I would like, but it's building up. And in case you want to see where I've been spending my blogging time, you can read the Telax blog here.
We lost one of our cats a couple weeks ago. Jedi's owner came to take her back to Toronto, and Jedi has adjusted surprisingly well. I think she may have been thankful to get away from the other cats, and who could blame her?
Well my crap pad is telling me that I've got a whole list of things to do before Kate and I head out to see Contagion and settle in at Station Des Sports for the Leafs/Habs game tonight so I suppose I should wrap it up here. Hopefully I'll be able to post more frequently over the next couple months, but I make no promises. I've got a lot of crap to do.
Monday, July 18, 2011
Creative Writing
I've decided to pursue a MA in creative writing and things have actually been progressing rather smoothly, partly because I'm not dealing with the University of Toronto anymore. Concordia has been extremely helpful in helping me find my path.
My BA is only a three-year degree, although after a couple conflicting reports I've been informed that a three-year is adequate. The problem is the marks I attained during those three years. Of course as it is in life, I am much more driven to attain the marks I need now. And so I must prove that to be the case.
I've earned As in two courses so far, a grammar course and a creative writing course, but it seems the judgement of acceptance is dependent on English Literature courses. So before I am accepted into any Master's program I must take a handful of English Lit courses. Today I had a meeting with the head of the department and determined which courses would be best suited for me.
I had already been accepted into a creative writing course for the fall, although that mark will not help me very much. I still intend to take it, but I've also added four other courses. Along with the creative writing course I'll be taking a Milton class, in which the only reading is Paradise Lost, and Southeast Asian Literature, both are fall classes. The idea is to show that I can earn As in a diverse range of genres. In the winter session I'll be taking Video Game Theory, looking forward to that one, and English Renaissance Drama. I'll also probably need to add a third winter class, but I have to wait for space to become available in either 17th Century Prose and Poetry or Contemporary Canadian Fiction.
I'll be applying to the Master's program in January. They'll look at my portfolio, which has already gained me entrance into that single creative writing class, and if it's good enough, they'll look at my marks. I'll need to add poetry to my portfolio, that will prove most challenging since my poetry tends to be horrible, and I might need to write a play as well, or at least part of one. If I can achieve As in the fall classes, I should be accepted on the grounds that I also earn As in the winter courses.
I've already purchased some of the books I'll need so I'll have read them by the time class begins, something I would have sneered at thirteen years ago.
Aside from the obvious challenges of course work, some of these classes are scheduled in the morning. That is going to interfere with the potential for work, but I am working a fair amount at home writing for a telecommunications company, and I'm hoping that my French will earn me a job in a bar or weekend work somewhere. I'm also going to try to get money from other sources, mainly research grants, or possibly TA work, although I'm doubtful that I'll earn a TA position, and these sources of income will only become available to me once I'm actually in a Master's program.
The Creative Writing Master's is a two year program, and if I fail to be accepted, I could be accepted into an academic program, also two years but without the writing workshops that accompany my first choice of Master's programs. The thesis for the Creative Writing Master's is a novel or collection of work, which is much preferable to a research paper, which is required for the academic program.
I expect it to be difficult, but if I can get the As I need, I'll be fully confident that I'll do well in the Master's program itself. I've also got to mention that without Kate's support I wouldn't have been able to even get this far.
Well the rain has stopped so I'm going to head outside and begin my preparation for the fall semester by reading Cracking India by Bapsi Sidhwa.
My BA is only a three-year degree, although after a couple conflicting reports I've been informed that a three-year is adequate. The problem is the marks I attained during those three years. Of course as it is in life, I am much more driven to attain the marks I need now. And so I must prove that to be the case.
I've earned As in two courses so far, a grammar course and a creative writing course, but it seems the judgement of acceptance is dependent on English Literature courses. So before I am accepted into any Master's program I must take a handful of English Lit courses. Today I had a meeting with the head of the department and determined which courses would be best suited for me.
I had already been accepted into a creative writing course for the fall, although that mark will not help me very much. I still intend to take it, but I've also added four other courses. Along with the creative writing course I'll be taking a Milton class, in which the only reading is Paradise Lost, and Southeast Asian Literature, both are fall classes. The idea is to show that I can earn As in a diverse range of genres. In the winter session I'll be taking Video Game Theory, looking forward to that one, and English Renaissance Drama. I'll also probably need to add a third winter class, but I have to wait for space to become available in either 17th Century Prose and Poetry or Contemporary Canadian Fiction.
I'll be applying to the Master's program in January. They'll look at my portfolio, which has already gained me entrance into that single creative writing class, and if it's good enough, they'll look at my marks. I'll need to add poetry to my portfolio, that will prove most challenging since my poetry tends to be horrible, and I might need to write a play as well, or at least part of one. If I can achieve As in the fall classes, I should be accepted on the grounds that I also earn As in the winter courses.
I've already purchased some of the books I'll need so I'll have read them by the time class begins, something I would have sneered at thirteen years ago.
Aside from the obvious challenges of course work, some of these classes are scheduled in the morning. That is going to interfere with the potential for work, but I am working a fair amount at home writing for a telecommunications company, and I'm hoping that my French will earn me a job in a bar or weekend work somewhere. I'm also going to try to get money from other sources, mainly research grants, or possibly TA work, although I'm doubtful that I'll earn a TA position, and these sources of income will only become available to me once I'm actually in a Master's program.
The Creative Writing Master's is a two year program, and if I fail to be accepted, I could be accepted into an academic program, also two years but without the writing workshops that accompany my first choice of Master's programs. The thesis for the Creative Writing Master's is a novel or collection of work, which is much preferable to a research paper, which is required for the academic program.
I expect it to be difficult, but if I can get the As I need, I'll be fully confident that I'll do well in the Master's program itself. I've also got to mention that without Kate's support I wouldn't have been able to even get this far.
Well the rain has stopped so I'm going to head outside and begin my preparation for the fall semester by reading Cracking India by Bapsi Sidhwa.
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Summer is hiding around the corner with a baseball bat, watch out!
Much has happened in the two months since I last added to this blog. My father and I rebuilt our rooftop terrace, I'm two months into full time French class, and the summer is in full swing. Oh yeah and the Boston Bruins won the Cup! I'll be sure to have a post up about that soon on my other blog, wheresthepuck.blogspot.com.
My French is coming along, Kate says it's improved significantly, and I can finally understand what people are saying, most of the time. I'm signed up until September, and I'll probably continue into the fall, depends on my employment situation. Speaking of which, my freelancing is coming along. I have steady writing work with a telecommunications company and photography work for a soccer league. It's not enough to give up on a full time job search, but it might be by the fall. If so, and if not as well, I intend continue my schooling at Concordia.
I'm only two courses away from a French certificate, and I am looking to get into a Master's program. Unfortunately I have a fair amount of work to do before applying for a Master's program. For one, I only have a three year degree plus a handful of courses. I would be very close to the four year degree if all the classes were taken at the same school, but they weren't so there could be much bureaucratic crap to deal with. I'm hoping that just having the equivalent will be enough. The other issue is my GPA from 13 years ago. I've already taken two English courses at Concordia and finished both of them with As, but they weren't English Lit classes, which it seems are the only classes counted when looking to get accepted into a Creative Writing Master's. So I could be looking at a year or two of English Lit classes before I apply for the Master's. Thankfully, I like English Lit classes, and now that I've got some grammar training under my belt (which was always my biggest downfall) I should be able to pull As.
The cats are doing well for the most part. Princess, who has quite a lot of fur, is very lethargic when the mercury rises, and I'm afraid we haven't even come close to the temperatures we're going to see this summer. Go Global Warming! Charbonne has a very unfortunate skin problem. She has a bunch of little scabs and she's missing hair! Good for the heat maybe, but not for the soul. --Do cats have souls? I think they deserve to have them.--The vet said it's probably an allergy, but I've changed everything I could except the condo itself and no luck. At least she doesn't seem bothered by them.
My gym membership ran out, but I got a membership to the local pool (which happens to be where I take French classes too!). It cost 15 bucks for a year, expensive I know but the place is very new and clean so I figure it's worth it. We're back at it in my flag football league as well. I've switched to centre, which means I'm snapping the ball, it's tough but I'm getting it down. We're 2-2 and improving every game. My softball team's record is not quite as good. We're 0-8 or something. I'm one of the two pitchers on the team. We pitch underhand balls and strikes to the other team, very fun. I've only got one strikeout so far, but I also got one strikeout! I was quite surprised, it was a ten-pitch at bat too. It would be better if we won, but still I really like pitching.
Well that's the update for now, I'm off to write a couple case studies for that telecom company I mentioned.
My French is coming along, Kate says it's improved significantly, and I can finally understand what people are saying, most of the time. I'm signed up until September, and I'll probably continue into the fall, depends on my employment situation. Speaking of which, my freelancing is coming along. I have steady writing work with a telecommunications company and photography work for a soccer league. It's not enough to give up on a full time job search, but it might be by the fall. If so, and if not as well, I intend continue my schooling at Concordia.
I'm only two courses away from a French certificate, and I am looking to get into a Master's program. Unfortunately I have a fair amount of work to do before applying for a Master's program. For one, I only have a three year degree plus a handful of courses. I would be very close to the four year degree if all the classes were taken at the same school, but they weren't so there could be much bureaucratic crap to deal with. I'm hoping that just having the equivalent will be enough. The other issue is my GPA from 13 years ago. I've already taken two English courses at Concordia and finished both of them with As, but they weren't English Lit classes, which it seems are the only classes counted when looking to get accepted into a Creative Writing Master's. So I could be looking at a year or two of English Lit classes before I apply for the Master's. Thankfully, I like English Lit classes, and now that I've got some grammar training under my belt (which was always my biggest downfall) I should be able to pull As.
The cats are doing well for the most part. Princess, who has quite a lot of fur, is very lethargic when the mercury rises, and I'm afraid we haven't even come close to the temperatures we're going to see this summer. Go Global Warming! Charbonne has a very unfortunate skin problem. She has a bunch of little scabs and she's missing hair! Good for the heat maybe, but not for the soul. --Do cats have souls? I think they deserve to have them.--The vet said it's probably an allergy, but I've changed everything I could except the condo itself and no luck. At least she doesn't seem bothered by them.
My gym membership ran out, but I got a membership to the local pool (which happens to be where I take French classes too!). It cost 15 bucks for a year, expensive I know but the place is very new and clean so I figure it's worth it. We're back at it in my flag football league as well. I've switched to centre, which means I'm snapping the ball, it's tough but I'm getting it down. We're 2-2 and improving every game. My softball team's record is not quite as good. We're 0-8 or something. I'm one of the two pitchers on the team. We pitch underhand balls and strikes to the other team, very fun. I've only got one strikeout so far, but I also got one strikeout! I was quite surprised, it was a ten-pitch at bat too. It would be better if we won, but still I really like pitching.
Well that's the update for now, I'm off to write a couple case studies for that telecom company I mentioned.
Friday, April 15, 2011
RIP Ee-Grek
Double-V's brother Ee-Grek died sometime early this morning. I knew it was going to happen last night or today because he wasn't moving much and wouldn't eat or drink on his own. I had him on the remaining pain-killer, so I don't think he felt very much. He had a couple of seizures that must have been strokes which hopefully numbed him that much more.
They were both good pets. The only real damage they caused was to Kate's mom's nightgown, which Kate left a little too close to their cage one night. We were in Sudbury for the weekend, staying at Mary's (Kate's mom) house, and Kate had borrowed one of Mary's nightgowns, a bright red one. She didn't actually sleep in it, but wore it in the evening and dropped it on the floor at bed time. In the morning she put the nightgown on and went cooking in the kitchen with Mary. Eventually, Mary noticed a sizeable hole in the nightgown and asked what had happened to it, suggesting that perhaps the rats had gotten a hold of it somehow. Kate insisted that our beloved rats would never do such a thing, and that Mary must have mice in the house, sneaking around at night chewing holes in clothes left on the floor. The matter was dropped until I woke up and checked in on the rats. The first thing I noticed was a bunch of red material tucked away in a corner of the cage. When I emerged from the bedroom and saw the giant hole in the red nightgown Kate was wearing I mentioned that the rats must have been chewing on it during the night, pointing to the red material in the cage as evidence. Kate apologized for both the destruction of the nightgown and the blaming of the damage on fictitious mice.
We got the pair from the SPCA, the humane society in Quebec basically. They were almost full grown when we got them, and over the two years we had them they fattened up quite a bit, especially Ee-grek, who was more inclined to stay in his cage than investigate the house. Dube was much more adventurous. He would often leave the cage and sneak his way to the cat food bowl on the far side of the kitchen and living room. I would see his running back and forth from the cat's food to behind the couch, where we was storing piles of cat kibble. Once I even found Dube on top of the coffee table. The legs of the table are well under the actual top, making the climb for Dube a treacherous one, but also one that he evidently made. I was quite impressed actually to see him on top of the table, and I spent ten minutes trying to figure out how the hell he got up there. I finally concluded that he must have muscled his way up.
I know some people don't like rats. Many guests have commented on it. The tails are long and scary, people are afraid they'll bite them, and the stigma with rats of course is that they carry disease, but they really are good pets. They train very easily, and while they do tend to pee wherever the please, they almost always poo in a litter if you provide one to them. They also never bite, some can of course if they're wild, but if you get a Fancy Rat (the domesticated breed) they don't bite. Sometimes I gave them soft food, like wet cat food, from the tip of my finger. At first they want to grab it and run, mainly so the other one can't get any of it, but they kind of test if out first and when they realize the only thing to grab is your finger, they stop and just lick off the food. They can cause some mischief, they can grab onto things, and they love to gather material and paper. If you leave an important document out where they can reach it, they will destroy it for you. I don't know if dogs will actually eat your homework, but rats most certainly will.
We're probably not going to get anymore, at least for a while. For one the rats at the SPCA tend to have viruses that lead to pneumonia. The rats are in close proximity, and the virus just spreads through them all. Ee-Grek didn't suffer from pneumonia, but Dube was very often on anti-biotics. Unlike human anti-biotics, rat anti-biotics are expensive and do little to cure the problem. He ended up being rather expensive. Many animals are put down in Montreal, hundreds of cats a month and who knows how many rats and other small creatures, but it's hard to justify the expense, at least right now.
We will miss the rats, but I think they both lived pretty good lives for rats, and both died fairly quickly and with a minimal amount of pain and discomfort, as far as I can tell anyway. I mostly sad that the little guys didn't even get to see one Leaf playoff game in their whole lives.
They were both good pets. The only real damage they caused was to Kate's mom's nightgown, which Kate left a little too close to their cage one night. We were in Sudbury for the weekend, staying at Mary's (Kate's mom) house, and Kate had borrowed one of Mary's nightgowns, a bright red one. She didn't actually sleep in it, but wore it in the evening and dropped it on the floor at bed time. In the morning she put the nightgown on and went cooking in the kitchen with Mary. Eventually, Mary noticed a sizeable hole in the nightgown and asked what had happened to it, suggesting that perhaps the rats had gotten a hold of it somehow. Kate insisted that our beloved rats would never do such a thing, and that Mary must have mice in the house, sneaking around at night chewing holes in clothes left on the floor. The matter was dropped until I woke up and checked in on the rats. The first thing I noticed was a bunch of red material tucked away in a corner of the cage. When I emerged from the bedroom and saw the giant hole in the red nightgown Kate was wearing I mentioned that the rats must have been chewing on it during the night, pointing to the red material in the cage as evidence. Kate apologized for both the destruction of the nightgown and the blaming of the damage on fictitious mice.
We got the pair from the SPCA, the humane society in Quebec basically. They were almost full grown when we got them, and over the two years we had them they fattened up quite a bit, especially Ee-grek, who was more inclined to stay in his cage than investigate the house. Dube was much more adventurous. He would often leave the cage and sneak his way to the cat food bowl on the far side of the kitchen and living room. I would see his running back and forth from the cat's food to behind the couch, where we was storing piles of cat kibble. Once I even found Dube on top of the coffee table. The legs of the table are well under the actual top, making the climb for Dube a treacherous one, but also one that he evidently made. I was quite impressed actually to see him on top of the table, and I spent ten minutes trying to figure out how the hell he got up there. I finally concluded that he must have muscled his way up.
I know some people don't like rats. Many guests have commented on it. The tails are long and scary, people are afraid they'll bite them, and the stigma with rats of course is that they carry disease, but they really are good pets. They train very easily, and while they do tend to pee wherever the please, they almost always poo in a litter if you provide one to them. They also never bite, some can of course if they're wild, but if you get a Fancy Rat (the domesticated breed) they don't bite. Sometimes I gave them soft food, like wet cat food, from the tip of my finger. At first they want to grab it and run, mainly so the other one can't get any of it, but they kind of test if out first and when they realize the only thing to grab is your finger, they stop and just lick off the food. They can cause some mischief, they can grab onto things, and they love to gather material and paper. If you leave an important document out where they can reach it, they will destroy it for you. I don't know if dogs will actually eat your homework, but rats most certainly will.
We're probably not going to get anymore, at least for a while. For one the rats at the SPCA tend to have viruses that lead to pneumonia. The rats are in close proximity, and the virus just spreads through them all. Ee-Grek didn't suffer from pneumonia, but Dube was very often on anti-biotics. Unlike human anti-biotics, rat anti-biotics are expensive and do little to cure the problem. He ended up being rather expensive. Many animals are put down in Montreal, hundreds of cats a month and who knows how many rats and other small creatures, but it's hard to justify the expense, at least right now.
We will miss the rats, but I think they both lived pretty good lives for rats, and both died fairly quickly and with a minimal amount of pain and discomfort, as far as I can tell anyway. I mostly sad that the little guys didn't even get to see one Leaf playoff game in their whole lives.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
RIP Double-V
Double-V, one of our rats, died last weekend. He wasn't moving on Saturday morning, and he didn't move much all day until he finally died around 10pm. I had some pain killers for the rats so he was pretty drugged up for the final few hours. He had been sick most of his life and often on anti-biotics, and two and a half years old for a rat is pretty old.
Ee-Grek is obviously old, but he's doing fairly well. It seems rats become paralyzed in their old age, and Eeg doesn't move very well due to paralyzation in his hind quarters. I also suspect he had a stroke the day after Dube died. He starter having seizures, and he keeled over to one side. I noticed that some of the Gatorade he was drinking was coming out of his mouth, which led me to think he was choking or something. I pumped his chest and he seemed to recover, but a few days later I noticed his right paw is always curled up. I think he had a stroke on his left side and has even less control of his body now. During my research of senior rats, I read that they often have strokes when they're older. I don't know how much time Eeg has left, but I'm making sure he's comfortable and dry. I have to change his bedding often since he just pees where he is and then sits in it.
On to more uplifting news though. I went into my final grammar exam with an 85% average. I expect to get an A- at least, hopefully I can score an A though. The exam was tougher than I expected it to be. I think I got the right answer, but it took me a long time to determine that "via" is a preposition. I got my Camera II mark back and it was an A, straight As in my camera classes with four to go; I've finished six classes so far.
Back to sad news, the Leafs once again missed the playoffs, but at least I can absorb the Habs' playoff run. I suspect they won't do as well as last year unless Price pulls a magic act out of his butt, but the first round Boston/Montreal series should be a greast one to watch.
I start full time French classes in May. I had an evaluation yesterday, and I'm in level three of six. I'm pleased with that, my knowledge of French grammar is what got me into the third level. Hopefully my coversation will quickly catch up. The classes are 20 hours a week so I expect to be quite busy once it starts. Each level is quite a few weeks so if I chose I can take these French classes for quite a long time.
Kate is finally home from her work trip so I must finish up here.
Ee-Grek is obviously old, but he's doing fairly well. It seems rats become paralyzed in their old age, and Eeg doesn't move very well due to paralyzation in his hind quarters. I also suspect he had a stroke the day after Dube died. He starter having seizures, and he keeled over to one side. I noticed that some of the Gatorade he was drinking was coming out of his mouth, which led me to think he was choking or something. I pumped his chest and he seemed to recover, but a few days later I noticed his right paw is always curled up. I think he had a stroke on his left side and has even less control of his body now. During my research of senior rats, I read that they often have strokes when they're older. I don't know how much time Eeg has left, but I'm making sure he's comfortable and dry. I have to change his bedding often since he just pees where he is and then sits in it.
On to more uplifting news though. I went into my final grammar exam with an 85% average. I expect to get an A- at least, hopefully I can score an A though. The exam was tougher than I expected it to be. I think I got the right answer, but it took me a long time to determine that "via" is a preposition. I got my Camera II mark back and it was an A, straight As in my camera classes with four to go; I've finished six classes so far.
Back to sad news, the Leafs once again missed the playoffs, but at least I can absorb the Habs' playoff run. I suspect they won't do as well as last year unless Price pulls a magic act out of his butt, but the first round Boston/Montreal series should be a greast one to watch.
I start full time French classes in May. I had an evaluation yesterday, and I'm in level three of six. I'm pleased with that, my knowledge of French grammar is what got me into the third level. Hopefully my coversation will quickly catch up. The classes are 20 hours a week so I expect to be quite busy once it starts. Each level is quite a few weeks so if I chose I can take these French classes for quite a long time.
Kate is finally home from her work trip so I must finish up here.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Grammar
I'm at the half way point of my grammar class, and I've noticed a significant improvement in my writing already. Or perhaps it's best to say that I'm been able to find numberous mistakes in my recent writing that have now been corrected.
It's amazing how easy it is to make minor mistakes. I thought I had a pretty good grasp on the English language, but looking back at my writing I've found verb tense errors, comma splices, and a host of other minor problems. Many of these mistakes aren't obvious, and readers, for the most part, would not even notice them, but sometimes of course the errors can cause confusion.
I think my favourite exercise is correcting adjective placements. One we looked at last night for example was this sentence: "When nine years old, my father took me on a camping trip." Most people are just going to make the logical connection and understand what was meant by this sentence, but it actually means that a nine year old person took their kid on a camping trip. Fun stuff indeed.
I know I still have much to learn, but the progress I'm making is surprising and welcome. I'm avergaing about 85% in the class, and I had the top mark on the last assignment. My current assignment consists of rewriting paragraphs to make them consistent and grammatical. It's much tougher than some of the other things we've been doing, but it's also exactly what I want to practice and learn.
I'm also volunteering for Habitant for Humainty as a writer. So far I've only written a press release, but there is talk about a website and a newsletter, which I will be responsible for. I look forward to the challenge and the responsibility.
I also have a new article coming out in the next issue of Pucklife magazine. I posted my first article on my other blog wheresthepuck.blogspot.com, and I will post my most recent article there once the new issue has been released.
So that's the crap I've been doing of late, and I should have another update soon.
It's amazing how easy it is to make minor mistakes. I thought I had a pretty good grasp on the English language, but looking back at my writing I've found verb tense errors, comma splices, and a host of other minor problems. Many of these mistakes aren't obvious, and readers, for the most part, would not even notice them, but sometimes of course the errors can cause confusion.
I think my favourite exercise is correcting adjective placements. One we looked at last night for example was this sentence: "When nine years old, my father took me on a camping trip." Most people are just going to make the logical connection and understand what was meant by this sentence, but it actually means that a nine year old person took their kid on a camping trip. Fun stuff indeed.
I know I still have much to learn, but the progress I'm making is surprising and welcome. I'm avergaing about 85% in the class, and I had the top mark on the last assignment. My current assignment consists of rewriting paragraphs to make them consistent and grammatical. It's much tougher than some of the other things we've been doing, but it's also exactly what I want to practice and learn.
I'm also volunteering for Habitant for Humainty as a writer. So far I've only written a press release, but there is talk about a website and a newsletter, which I will be responsible for. I look forward to the challenge and the responsibility.
I also have a new article coming out in the next issue of Pucklife magazine. I posted my first article on my other blog wheresthepuck.blogspot.com, and I will post my most recent article there once the new issue has been released.
So that's the crap I've been doing of late, and I should have another update soon.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
A Valentine's Day miracle
There is a moment in every relationship that sets the stage for either a breakup or the relationship's permanent solidification. This moment can happen at anytime, from a first date to many years into the union. That moment occurred for Kate and me on February 12, 2011.
We were at my friends Gord and Lisa's house when I looked down at my feet and saw that I was wearing socks that didn't match. I knew I was wearing them earlier in the day, but I had thought to change them before I left. I guess I forgot. I commented on my predicament.
"My socks don't match!" I exclaimed.
They were similar in design, but one was clearly black and the other dark blue. We all took a moment to absorb the tremendous shock of the moment. Then my eyes moved to the rest of the party's socks. Gord had matching socks, so did Lisa, Kate did not. Then it dawned on me why I was unable to find the match to either of the socks I was wearing. Kate was wearing both of them. That's right we each had one sock from two matching pairs of socks. The odds of this happening are akin to the odds of the moon suddenly turning a man into some kind of man-bear-pig. I have to assume it was a sign from whichever God you believe in that we are meant to be.
As it was Valentine's Day and Microsoft saw fit to award 7x experience in Gears of War 2, Kate and I saw little of each other during the weekend, although it is true that we did nothing of importance on the 14th itself. We did contemplate the purchase of ice skates, but Play It Again Sports was closed so Kate spent the night working on a school assignment, and I watched "Condemned To Live", a 1930s horror movie. Quite good actually.
To be clear, Kate and I feel that V-Day is a bit of a farce, and that school work is more important so we were both fine with not being over-charged by flower vendors and restaurants yesterday. FYI, the cost of roses drops significantly on the 15th; but, since my cats are likely to destroy them anyway (yes, I mean they'll find yours too and kill them), I tend to avoid their purchase all year round.
Interesting things that have happened in the news recently include a few Leaf trades that will allow the team to continue to be adequate enough to miss the playoffs, but also avoid high draft picks, ensuring that no Stanley Cup will touch any member of the organization with a ten-foot pole. Bautista's arbitration has been postponed in the hopes that he can sign a deal with the Blue Jays without he need of an arbitrator, let's hope they get a deal done. Coca-Cola's secret recipe has been revealed (I didn't know it was a secret). And something is happening in Egypt.
Oh yes and it also turns out there is bacteria on raw chicken, who could have guessed? I suppose I should stop feeding the cats raw chicken skin, but they like it so much.
Tonight in grammar class we learn about parenthesis, dashes, brackets, the proper writing of numbers, and capitals.
I have also made the executive decision to always use the serial --or Oxford-- comma. I do not know if that is the proper use of dashes as that class is still three hours away. Thankfully, I am already well versed in the ways of writing numbers from my many weeks of working as a sports writer so I should be able to concentrate on the difference between parenthesis and dashes.
That's the update. Talk to your later, family and friends, and whoever the person is that reads my blog from India.
We were at my friends Gord and Lisa's house when I looked down at my feet and saw that I was wearing socks that didn't match. I knew I was wearing them earlier in the day, but I had thought to change them before I left. I guess I forgot. I commented on my predicament.
"My socks don't match!" I exclaimed.
They were similar in design, but one was clearly black and the other dark blue. We all took a moment to absorb the tremendous shock of the moment. Then my eyes moved to the rest of the party's socks. Gord had matching socks, so did Lisa, Kate did not. Then it dawned on me why I was unable to find the match to either of the socks I was wearing. Kate was wearing both of them. That's right we each had one sock from two matching pairs of socks. The odds of this happening are akin to the odds of the moon suddenly turning a man into some kind of man-bear-pig. I have to assume it was a sign from whichever God you believe in that we are meant to be.
As it was Valentine's Day and Microsoft saw fit to award 7x experience in Gears of War 2, Kate and I saw little of each other during the weekend, although it is true that we did nothing of importance on the 14th itself. We did contemplate the purchase of ice skates, but Play It Again Sports was closed so Kate spent the night working on a school assignment, and I watched "Condemned To Live", a 1930s horror movie. Quite good actually.
To be clear, Kate and I feel that V-Day is a bit of a farce, and that school work is more important so we were both fine with not being over-charged by flower vendors and restaurants yesterday. FYI, the cost of roses drops significantly on the 15th; but, since my cats are likely to destroy them anyway (yes, I mean they'll find yours too and kill them), I tend to avoid their purchase all year round.
Interesting things that have happened in the news recently include a few Leaf trades that will allow the team to continue to be adequate enough to miss the playoffs, but also avoid high draft picks, ensuring that no Stanley Cup will touch any member of the organization with a ten-foot pole. Bautista's arbitration has been postponed in the hopes that he can sign a deal with the Blue Jays without he need of an arbitrator, let's hope they get a deal done. Coca-Cola's secret recipe has been revealed (I didn't know it was a secret). And something is happening in Egypt.
Oh yes and it also turns out there is bacteria on raw chicken, who could have guessed? I suppose I should stop feeding the cats raw chicken skin, but they like it so much.
Tonight in grammar class we learn about parenthesis, dashes, brackets, the proper writing of numbers, and capitals.
I have also made the executive decision to always use the serial --or Oxford-- comma. I do not know if that is the proper use of dashes as that class is still three hours away. Thankfully, I am already well versed in the ways of writing numbers from my many weeks of working as a sports writer so I should be able to concentrate on the difference between parenthesis and dashes.
That's the update. Talk to your later, family and friends, and whoever the person is that reads my blog from India.
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Tony Clement fail
The Federal Court overruled a decision made by Finance Minister, Tony Clement, on Friday. In 2009 Clement overruled a CRTC decision, allowing a new wireless carrier with significant foreign ownership to operate. The CTRC had defined clear rules about how much foreign investment a company can have and still operate in Canada before the wireless spectrum auction of 2008. When those rules were broken, the CRTC stepped in and told the offending company that they wouldn't be allowed to operate with their current ownership structure. In comes Clement to say we need the competition. The company can suddenly operate, and out goes the CRTC's foreign ownership rules.
Of course the battle will continue and who knows what the end result will actually be, but I for one am currently satisfied with the decision the Canadian government has settled upon.
The other new wireless carriers were of course upset by this decision. They had followed the rules and now one of them was getting away with breaking them. Not any more.
The Federal Courts overruled the minister's decision, something that rarely happens, and the CRTC's original decision is now being enforced. It turns out Mr. Clement wasn't allowed to make that ruling in the first place. He has a law degree, he went to law school anyway, but it seems his actual knowledge of the law, and what's right for Canadians is a bit off. Next he'll be limiting the amount of information that Statistics Canada is able to gather so that he and his cohorts can get away with who knows what. Wait didn't that already happen?
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| Clement in private? |
Monday, January 31, 2011
Been awhile I know
I know it's been a while since I've posted, and I intend to post more often once a month going forward, but like everyone, December is a busy month, and January wasn't much slower.
Christmas was good. We had visitors and we went to Toronto for a few days (mainly for New Year's eve and a hockey game, 2-1 Boston, figures). Upon my return I was greeted with a job at the Concordia bookstore for a couple weeks, that was great and one of the other employees even helped me by asking a prof to let me take a grammar test. I had missed the final day for the test to determine if I could take English 214. My only option was to wait till next term or take 212, but I did not believe that 212 would be very useful for me. So my friend at the bookstore pulled a string and I was allowed to take the placement test. I of course passed that and am currently taking 214, it's hard, but I'm oddly enjoying it. Adverbials, direct and indirect objects, noun phrases and clauses, this week we start on punctuation. I'm actually looking forward to learning all about commas and semi-colon. Hopefully we cover hyphens too. It's pretty weird to be excited about a grammar class I know, but I need an A so I'm glad I'm into it.
I'm also talking Camera II. So far that's been a pretty good class too.
The flag football team is doing well this season. We are 4-0 and one of only two undefeated teams out of 32. We have this weekend off because of the Super Bowl, but we should have little difficulty going 5-0 before four tough games in a row. The playoffs are almost assured which is exciting as we missed the playoffs last season.
I should be watching the Super Bowl on an American feed for the first time in my life, and I'm pretty excited about that.
So yes, a boring update to say the least, but at least it's something. I do intend to spend more time writing this month so hopefully I'll have something interesting to talk about, like how to avoid comma splices.
Christmas was good. We had visitors and we went to Toronto for a few days (mainly for New Year's eve and a hockey game, 2-1 Boston, figures). Upon my return I was greeted with a job at the Concordia bookstore for a couple weeks, that was great and one of the other employees even helped me by asking a prof to let me take a grammar test. I had missed the final day for the test to determine if I could take English 214. My only option was to wait till next term or take 212, but I did not believe that 212 would be very useful for me. So my friend at the bookstore pulled a string and I was allowed to take the placement test. I of course passed that and am currently taking 214, it's hard, but I'm oddly enjoying it. Adverbials, direct and indirect objects, noun phrases and clauses, this week we start on punctuation. I'm actually looking forward to learning all about commas and semi-colon. Hopefully we cover hyphens too. It's pretty weird to be excited about a grammar class I know, but I need an A so I'm glad I'm into it.
I'm also talking Camera II. So far that's been a pretty good class too.
The flag football team is doing well this season. We are 4-0 and one of only two undefeated teams out of 32. We have this weekend off because of the Super Bowl, but we should have little difficulty going 5-0 before four tough games in a row. The playoffs are almost assured which is exciting as we missed the playoffs last season.
I should be watching the Super Bowl on an American feed for the first time in my life, and I'm pretty excited about that.
So yes, a boring update to say the least, but at least it's something. I do intend to spend more time writing this month so hopefully I'll have something interesting to talk about, like how to avoid comma splices.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Another one bites the dust
At least this time it wasn't a greedy corporation letting me go due to philosophical differences in company and Canadian policy. This time it was a greedy corporation letting me go so they could outsource my job to Pakistan where they're willing to work for significantly less than I am. How people on the far side of the planet are going to accurately cover NFL football and NHL hockey is beyond me. Which would you prefer? A crappy article written in poor English that costs 50 cents, or a piece written in better English by someone who actually knows the rules of the game they're covering for ten times that? If you're looking at the bottom line, like too many people are today, you pick the 50 cents option. The guys reading the articles may not be very impressed, but as long as 1% of them accidentally click on an ad while desperately trying to escape the page they stumbled upon though a Google search, the company that used to employ me will be happy. Yes I lost my job, and yes I probably could have been more to the point about it, but what's the fun in that?
I am pleased with the opportunity I had. I learned much and am glad to have professional writer as something I can now put on my CV. I'm more annoyed at the ridiculousness of farming out North American sports writing to Pakistan. Cricket I would understand, but not hockey and football (American style).
Anyway so I'm back on the hunt. I've got some sports writing prospects, but I think I'm going to take a stab at some fiction writing this winter. There are a number of sties that buy stories, once I polish a couple up I'll try to get some published, we'll see how that goes.
I have some good news, for me anyway, and Kate I suppose, I found a cheap gym so I'm back at it. Once my old membership ran out I didn't renew, it was 800 a year. But I discovered that the Concordia gym is only 60 a semester for students, so I went today and signed up. I definitely felt like I hadn't been in a while, the cardio mainly. I was surprised at how well the weights went for me. That part felt like I was picking up where I left off in July.
The two foster cats were spayed last week. One acted as though nothing had happened, the other, aptly named Princess, was obviously irritated for a couple of days. The Animal Rescue Network (ARN) employee that took her to the vet for us was not Princess' favourite. As the cat was walking up the stairs and I was getting the run down on how the surgery went, we moved over to watch her slow progress towards the bedroom. Princess saw me and stopped, gave me a little hiss, then she saw the ARN worker and a volley of hisses erupted from her, it was actually pretty funny. A couple days later Princess was back to her normal self.
They still make noise all night, but now instead of meowing and moaning it's the sound of Christmas ornaments breaking.
Not much else is new, gonna turn 34 in a couple of days, and football season starts in January. I think I'll be playing defence this season, mostly anyway. I still have to memorize the offence. I think I'll prefer defence. I think I react well, and there are lots of guys on the team that can catch, so I might be of better use on defence. We also got two new offensive players from another team, two of the best players in the league so there's less room on offence anyway lol.
So that's the crap that happened in the last couple weeks. One good thing about being fired is I can stay home for these 72 hour snow storms. The snow on my back deck is literally two and a half feet high.
I am pleased with the opportunity I had. I learned much and am glad to have professional writer as something I can now put on my CV. I'm more annoyed at the ridiculousness of farming out North American sports writing to Pakistan. Cricket I would understand, but not hockey and football (American style).
Anyway so I'm back on the hunt. I've got some sports writing prospects, but I think I'm going to take a stab at some fiction writing this winter. There are a number of sties that buy stories, once I polish a couple up I'll try to get some published, we'll see how that goes.
I have some good news, for me anyway, and Kate I suppose, I found a cheap gym so I'm back at it. Once my old membership ran out I didn't renew, it was 800 a year. But I discovered that the Concordia gym is only 60 a semester for students, so I went today and signed up. I definitely felt like I hadn't been in a while, the cardio mainly. I was surprised at how well the weights went for me. That part felt like I was picking up where I left off in July.
The two foster cats were spayed last week. One acted as though nothing had happened, the other, aptly named Princess, was obviously irritated for a couple of days. The Animal Rescue Network (ARN) employee that took her to the vet for us was not Princess' favourite. As the cat was walking up the stairs and I was getting the run down on how the surgery went, we moved over to watch her slow progress towards the bedroom. Princess saw me and stopped, gave me a little hiss, then she saw the ARN worker and a volley of hisses erupted from her, it was actually pretty funny. A couple days later Princess was back to her normal self.
They still make noise all night, but now instead of meowing and moaning it's the sound of Christmas ornaments breaking.
Not much else is new, gonna turn 34 in a couple of days, and football season starts in January. I think I'll be playing defence this season, mostly anyway. I still have to memorize the offence. I think I'll prefer defence. I think I react well, and there are lots of guys on the team that can catch, so I might be of better use on defence. We also got two new offensive players from another team, two of the best players in the league so there's less room on offence anyway lol.
So that's the crap that happened in the last couple weeks. One good thing about being fired is I can stay home for these 72 hour snow storms. The snow on my back deck is literally two and a half feet high.
Friday, November 19, 2010
The cat is 10
My cat, Brewski, is turning 10 this spring. I know he has a lot of life left, my last two cats made it to 18 and 19, but still he's getting old. He's older than me in that cat year to human year ratio thingy. I'll have to start thinking of his retirement. I'll have to hire other cats to chase bugs for him and poo on the side of the kitty litter instead of right inside it. I would hire another cat to splash toilet water out of the toilet and onto the seat, but then I'd just have two cats doing that.
I didn't realize just how big he was until we started fostering young cats. They are much smaller than Brew is. I think he's just big boned, but Kate disagrees. Not that she is complaining, when we first got the rats she couldn't wait till they were big and fat. Now we have to keep cutting the holes in their boxes bigger and bigger so they can fit inside. They only live 2-3 years, why not give them as much food as they want. I couldn't imagine having a pet on a diet.
I recently found the original form that came with Brewski while looking for last year's tax stuff, I haven't done my 2009 taxes yet, but I'm working on it. The form, which also revealed Brew's true age of 10 (I thought he was seven), said the cat wasn't to have milk or fish. The milk I understand, if they drink too much of that they puke and then I've got to clean it up, but no fish? Did all those cartoons of yesteryear lie to us? It's especially funny that literally three days before I found the form we fed him six whole raw fish. He was the only one of four cats that showed any interest in them oddly enough.
Kate fried the fish whole in oil and we ate them with spicy mayo. They were pretty good for whole fish. I was skeptical at first, I've never eaten fish eyes and fish brain and whole fish skeletons before, but I barely tasted the grey matter at all so it worked out pretty well. Plus it was two bucks for 30 little fish or something. Much cheaper than the organic beef we buy. I guess anything fried in oil is pretty good.
I didn't realize just how big he was until we started fostering young cats. They are much smaller than Brew is. I think he's just big boned, but Kate disagrees. Not that she is complaining, when we first got the rats she couldn't wait till they were big and fat. Now we have to keep cutting the holes in their boxes bigger and bigger so they can fit inside. They only live 2-3 years, why not give them as much food as they want. I couldn't imagine having a pet on a diet.
I recently found the original form that came with Brewski while looking for last year's tax stuff, I haven't done my 2009 taxes yet, but I'm working on it. The form, which also revealed Brew's true age of 10 (I thought he was seven), said the cat wasn't to have milk or fish. The milk I understand, if they drink too much of that they puke and then I've got to clean it up, but no fish? Did all those cartoons of yesteryear lie to us? It's especially funny that literally three days before I found the form we fed him six whole raw fish. He was the only one of four cats that showed any interest in them oddly enough.
Kate fried the fish whole in oil and we ate them with spicy mayo. They were pretty good for whole fish. I was skeptical at first, I've never eaten fish eyes and fish brain and whole fish skeletons before, but I barely tasted the grey matter at all so it worked out pretty well. Plus it was two bucks for 30 little fish or something. Much cheaper than the organic beef we buy. I guess anything fried in oil is pretty good.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
CBC Fail
Am I the only one a little pissed off with all the William and Kate crap going on? I understand that following the Royal family is similar to following professional sports. The people involved provide very little service to the world while taking very large amounts of money in return. It's like selling your old beat up shoes for 5 million bucks, it's not considered stealing, but maybe it should be.
I'm not annoyed that people are interested in the marriage, people can decide to be entertained by whatever they want. What I'm annoyed about is that it's considered huge international news. The National opened with a 15 minute segment on the pair, and then went back to it later in the show. What piece of news took second billing to this farce of a marriage? The deaths of five Canadians in an explosion in Mexico.
People watch The National to be informed, but what they learn is that princesses who have no real political power are the most important people in the world. No wonder most people have this desire to horde as much money as possible while people across the world are starving and dying in wars, they grow up watching rich people get married, or play polo instead of learning about what's actually happening on this planet.
I don't care about the Royal family, I want to know what the hell North Korea is doing, or what shenanigans the conservative party is up to, not who may be invited to a wedding that will cost enough to feed half of Africa.
Is it just me that thinks we have our priorities totally back asswards?
The National went on last night to explain how a family is looking for a lost son in Vancouver. They had concerns that the police weren't investigating all the leads. Mansbridge says the police claim to be investigating every lead as they cut to a quote of a cop making a statement. The statement, I kid you not, was this:
"Six [count them, six] physics AND the police have been in contact with the family." End of statement. WTF
I have a very tough time believing that the police believe physics are useful tools, well they are tools, I think it's more likely that the CBC screwed up somehow. But what does that mean? It means they put way more effort into talking about a useless wedding than they did about the ineptitude of the police and/or a hunt for a missing person. Sorry Mr. and Mrs. [Johnson] we don't have time to properly expose a police force with their head up their ass that may be at fault for the death of your son, we have to cover a bunch of insanely rich people get married.
I love the CBC, but last night's National was National Enquirer worthy, and it was crap.
I'm not annoyed that people are interested in the marriage, people can decide to be entertained by whatever they want. What I'm annoyed about is that it's considered huge international news. The National opened with a 15 minute segment on the pair, and then went back to it later in the show. What piece of news took second billing to this farce of a marriage? The deaths of five Canadians in an explosion in Mexico.
People watch The National to be informed, but what they learn is that princesses who have no real political power are the most important people in the world. No wonder most people have this desire to horde as much money as possible while people across the world are starving and dying in wars, they grow up watching rich people get married, or play polo instead of learning about what's actually happening on this planet.
I don't care about the Royal family, I want to know what the hell North Korea is doing, or what shenanigans the conservative party is up to, not who may be invited to a wedding that will cost enough to feed half of Africa.
Is it just me that thinks we have our priorities totally back asswards?
The National went on last night to explain how a family is looking for a lost son in Vancouver. They had concerns that the police weren't investigating all the leads. Mansbridge says the police claim to be investigating every lead as they cut to a quote of a cop making a statement. The statement, I kid you not, was this:
"Six [count them, six] physics AND the police have been in contact with the family." End of statement. WTF
I had to watch if five times before I believed it. Now one of two things is going on here. One: the police actually use physics to investigate disappearances, and possibly rely heavily on them, or Two: it's a mistake on the CBC's part, the wrong clip or it's taken out of context. After the statement the CBC said nothing to clarify what the police meant, they went on to something completely different.
I love the CBC, but last night's National was National Enquirer worthy, and it was crap.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Michael Vick
I was assigned NFL football at work a couple weeks ago and so far I've noticed the same guy coming up favorably in the news section of NFL.com. Michael Vick has slowly worked his way back into the limelight of the NFL. I write quite a few articles everyday, but I find myself returning to Vick over and over. Today was no exception after one of the best quarterback performances of the past 10 years.
I didn't see much of the game as I was in my photoshop class learning how to recreate the X-men cover. Photoshop people love the sci-fi stuff. I went to NFL.com on the break and saw it was 7-0 only a few seconds into the game, so I watch the highlight and saw Vick launch an 88-yard pass for a touchdown. I checked again later in the class and it was 35-0. Wow.
Normally I wouldn't write about sports on my blog, unless it's the Maple Leafs, or the CFL maybe, but I have to note how impressed I am with Vick's comeback, and it's my job these days so how can I not write about it, oh wait...
Now I'm sure these guys have people telling them exactly how to behave if they want people to like them, but it seems many ignore that advice. Not Vick, either that or he's actually a good guy. If you've forgotten, he went to jail for running a dog fighting ring.
I don't disagree with the league and the state punishing him for his actions, but I do question why Vick was vilified while other NFLers that play with guns or drugs get a slap on the wrist.
He came back last year and patiently sat on the bench while McNabb played all the Eagles games. This year he was second string behind Kevin Kolb. Kolb got hurt and Vick became the starter and hasn't looked back. Vick is going to win MVP, mark my words.
Speaking of the CFL, Montreal plays Toronto on Sunday at Olympic Stadium in the Eastern Conference Finals. Can't wait.
Also congrats to Russia for winning the FIVB Women's Volleyball World Championship. Volleyball is a very boring sport to cover, but tournaments are long and drawn out so at least there's some math involved to determine pool winners in the complicated system they've developed. I'm series, the math is the best part.
I've got only two classes left in my Concordia classes for this semester, tonight we go take pictures for Wedding and Portrait in a church, and next week I have a final Photoshop class. I expect to take Camera II and Product photography in January, and then Photojournalism and Sports Photography in the spring.
Also Brewski will be ten this spring.
I didn't see much of the game as I was in my photoshop class learning how to recreate the X-men cover. Photoshop people love the sci-fi stuff. I went to NFL.com on the break and saw it was 7-0 only a few seconds into the game, so I watch the highlight and saw Vick launch an 88-yard pass for a touchdown. I checked again later in the class and it was 35-0. Wow.
Normally I wouldn't write about sports on my blog, unless it's the Maple Leafs, or the CFL maybe, but I have to note how impressed I am with Vick's comeback, and it's my job these days so how can I not write about it, oh wait...
Now I'm sure these guys have people telling them exactly how to behave if they want people to like them, but it seems many ignore that advice. Not Vick, either that or he's actually a good guy. If you've forgotten, he went to jail for running a dog fighting ring.
I don't disagree with the league and the state punishing him for his actions, but I do question why Vick was vilified while other NFLers that play with guns or drugs get a slap on the wrist.
He came back last year and patiently sat on the bench while McNabb played all the Eagles games. This year he was second string behind Kevin Kolb. Kolb got hurt and Vick became the starter and hasn't looked back. Vick is going to win MVP, mark my words.
Speaking of the CFL, Montreal plays Toronto on Sunday at Olympic Stadium in the Eastern Conference Finals. Can't wait.
Also congrats to Russia for winning the FIVB Women's Volleyball World Championship. Volleyball is a very boring sport to cover, but tournaments are long and drawn out so at least there's some math involved to determine pool winners in the complicated system they've developed. I'm series, the math is the best part.
I've got only two classes left in my Concordia classes for this semester, tonight we go take pictures for Wedding and Portrait in a church, and next week I have a final Photoshop class. I expect to take Camera II and Product photography in January, and then Photojournalism and Sports Photography in the spring.
Also Brewski will be ten this spring.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Sports writing continues and a www.joedeclara.com update
Same old at the office, although now that the baseball season has ended there is much less to write about. The FIVB Women's World Volleyball Championships did start last on October 29th Japan though. Canada has already been eliminated so don't get excited.
The good news on the writing front is that the article I wrote for Pucklife magazine was accepted, and it should be published in the November issue. I will give another update on that when it's actually published. I will also facebook it for facers.
I've not exactly quit on my coverage of the Alouettes, although I haven't written on them since the ninth game of the season, and now they're nearing the end of the regular season. I do intend to try and get to the Eastern Conference Semi-final, and I should have plenty of time to cover the final regular season game, as well as add a playoff opinion article before their first playoff game. I will also update that on http://www.joedeclara.com/.
You'll see new photography posts on joedeclara.com as well. I finished my fashion photography class so I've added some of the pictures I used in my assignments. For the instudio shoot, a classmate brought a friend, and I used Kate in my final assignment. My photoshop skills are coming along, although they can certainly use some practice. I removed a few trees from behind Kate's head in one of the pictures, thankfully it was a blurry part of the picture.
That's about all I've got, the animals are well, the house is abnormally clean, and I'm all alone this weekend with Kate hading down to visit her friend in Washington DC. That means there will be a poker game on Saturday night.
Update complete.
The good news on the writing front is that the article I wrote for Pucklife magazine was accepted, and it should be published in the November issue. I will give another update on that when it's actually published. I will also facebook it for facers.
I've not exactly quit on my coverage of the Alouettes, although I haven't written on them since the ninth game of the season, and now they're nearing the end of the regular season. I do intend to try and get to the Eastern Conference Semi-final, and I should have plenty of time to cover the final regular season game, as well as add a playoff opinion article before their first playoff game. I will also update that on http://www.joedeclara.com/.
You'll see new photography posts on joedeclara.com as well. I finished my fashion photography class so I've added some of the pictures I used in my assignments. For the instudio shoot, a classmate brought a friend, and I used Kate in my final assignment. My photoshop skills are coming along, although they can certainly use some practice. I removed a few trees from behind Kate's head in one of the pictures, thankfully it was a blurry part of the picture.
That's about all I've got, the animals are well, the house is abnormally clean, and I'm all alone this weekend with Kate hading down to visit her friend in Washington DC. That means there will be a poker game on Saturday night.
Update complete.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
October update
I've started two new photography classes, Photoshop II and Wedding and Portrait. Both classes are interesting so far, and once I'm done them I'll only have five more classes till I get my photography diploma.
I was also assigned baseball at work, which is a much better sport than greyhound racing, although the greyhound articles are pretty easy to write. With the playoffs on, and the Jays in the news lately it's been a lot of fun writing at work. I don't know what will happen when the World Series is over, hopefully I get hockey or football, but I'll probably get squash, or rowing.
After my post last time about Sudbury and my car being booted, I got an email from the CEO of Sudbury's Green Party, which was a nice surprise.
A couple weeks later we were in Ottawa for the Spoken Word festival and the poetry slam finals. Kate and I were both disappointed with the poetry, although the Montreal team was good. It seemed every poem was about God, or how bad wars or, or other horrific things. It was the end of the competition so much of the artist's best work had already been used, but still. I'm not a huge fan of the poetry that centres around violence, or the evil of man, I'd rather read an essay about those things than hear a three minute piece of art on it.
I am writing for an online magazine called Pucklife (at pucklife.ca), so far I haven't actually written anything, but I did interview Ben Maxwell, a second round draft pick from the Montreal Canadiens who is playing for the Hamilton Bulldogs (their AHL affiliate). The issue with my article is scheduled to come out sometime in November, and I still need to polish it and get it approved, although I don't really think it would be rejected.
I've only read one issue of the magazine so far, but I thought the writing was pretty good, the ideas and voice of the magazine specifically. It was relaxed, but not ridiculous like some sports magazines.
I'm rather shocked that Rob Ford got elected in Toronto. Here's a guy that was caught being physically aggressive with a high school football player when he was a coach, he got into a drunken argument with a couple at a Leaf game, and he was charged with refusing to give a breathalyzer test while driving. People usually do that when they're drunk. He's also insulted, the Chinese, the gay community, and he thinks bikes shouldn't be allowed in Toronto? What's next? No pedestrians? Anyway I'm sure Ford would fall over dead if he ever set foot in Montreal because of all the bike lanes and acceptance of other people, so I'm glad I'm here and he's there.
Our cat supply is down to four after the kitten was sent to another foster home. I would have rather returned an adult cat than the cute little kitten, but what can you do. One thing we can do is never sleep again as the mother of the kitten roams the house at night with incessant meowing and the other foster cat climbs on our bare skin with her claws out. Occasionally two cats will meet on the bed and a fight will ensue, or something will crash somewhere in the house. Generally it's pretty fun times at Cat Paradise.
Compounding the sleep issue is the coffee issue at work. I donated four bucks to the coffee fund, then I bought an 11 dollar tin, went to the bank to take that four out and whatever anyone else had put in only to find the money gone, except for a couple bucks in quarters and a boatload of nickles and pennies. It took two weeks for everyone to drink my coffee and not one looney has been put into the jar. Today I brought in my jar of instant coffee, that's my new coffee system, so far it's working pretty well.
So that's the crap I've done lately, most of it anyway. I had Thanksmas with my family, but since you are all 80% of this blog's readers I didn't think it pertinent to write about it since you were all there. I am enjoying my Montreal Canadiens set, it included a bucket, four glasses, a bottle opened, and some coasters. The bottle opener had a poor design that only Kate could use so we got rid of that. The bucket has become a tool used to clean up cat pee from the front hall, and one of the glasses helps me get the kitty litter from the bag to the litter. The other three glasses are among our best pint glasses now so it's a nice even split of how the pieces were used. The coasters will probably be broken out at the next poker game. Kate also loves her cooking pot.
That's all for now. Go Leafs Go.
I was also assigned baseball at work, which is a much better sport than greyhound racing, although the greyhound articles are pretty easy to write. With the playoffs on, and the Jays in the news lately it's been a lot of fun writing at work. I don't know what will happen when the World Series is over, hopefully I get hockey or football, but I'll probably get squash, or rowing.
After my post last time about Sudbury and my car being booted, I got an email from the CEO of Sudbury's Green Party, which was a nice surprise.
A couple weeks later we were in Ottawa for the Spoken Word festival and the poetry slam finals. Kate and I were both disappointed with the poetry, although the Montreal team was good. It seemed every poem was about God, or how bad wars or, or other horrific things. It was the end of the competition so much of the artist's best work had already been used, but still. I'm not a huge fan of the poetry that centres around violence, or the evil of man, I'd rather read an essay about those things than hear a three minute piece of art on it.
I am writing for an online magazine called Pucklife (at pucklife.ca), so far I haven't actually written anything, but I did interview Ben Maxwell, a second round draft pick from the Montreal Canadiens who is playing for the Hamilton Bulldogs (their AHL affiliate). The issue with my article is scheduled to come out sometime in November, and I still need to polish it and get it approved, although I don't really think it would be rejected.
I've only read one issue of the magazine so far, but I thought the writing was pretty good, the ideas and voice of the magazine specifically. It was relaxed, but not ridiculous like some sports magazines.
I'm rather shocked that Rob Ford got elected in Toronto. Here's a guy that was caught being physically aggressive with a high school football player when he was a coach, he got into a drunken argument with a couple at a Leaf game, and he was charged with refusing to give a breathalyzer test while driving. People usually do that when they're drunk. He's also insulted, the Chinese, the gay community, and he thinks bikes shouldn't be allowed in Toronto? What's next? No pedestrians? Anyway I'm sure Ford would fall over dead if he ever set foot in Montreal because of all the bike lanes and acceptance of other people, so I'm glad I'm here and he's there.
Our cat supply is down to four after the kitten was sent to another foster home. I would have rather returned an adult cat than the cute little kitten, but what can you do. One thing we can do is never sleep again as the mother of the kitten roams the house at night with incessant meowing and the other foster cat climbs on our bare skin with her claws out. Occasionally two cats will meet on the bed and a fight will ensue, or something will crash somewhere in the house. Generally it's pretty fun times at Cat Paradise.
Compounding the sleep issue is the coffee issue at work. I donated four bucks to the coffee fund, then I bought an 11 dollar tin, went to the bank to take that four out and whatever anyone else had put in only to find the money gone, except for a couple bucks in quarters and a boatload of nickles and pennies. It took two weeks for everyone to drink my coffee and not one looney has been put into the jar. Today I brought in my jar of instant coffee, that's my new coffee system, so far it's working pretty well.
So that's the crap I've done lately, most of it anyway. I had Thanksmas with my family, but since you are all 80% of this blog's readers I didn't think it pertinent to write about it since you were all there. I am enjoying my Montreal Canadiens set, it included a bucket, four glasses, a bottle opened, and some coasters. The bottle opener had a poor design that only Kate could use so we got rid of that. The bucket has become a tool used to clean up cat pee from the front hall, and one of the glasses helps me get the kitty litter from the bag to the litter. The other three glasses are among our best pint glasses now so it's a nice even split of how the pieces were used. The coasters will probably be broken out at the next poker game. Kate also loves her cooking pot.
That's all for now. Go Leafs Go.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Sudbury: yeah
We got back from Sudbury late Sunday night. We drove up Thursday night to prepare for a conference that Kate's dad was giving. Kate and I did the food prep and the prep for the hall that the dinner was in. We supplied lunch on Saturday and Sunday as well, bagged lunches.
It was quite busy for us. It's remarkable how much work goes into cooking for 35 people. I barely even dealt with food and I was busy all weekend. My tasks included picking up items, carving pumpkins, delivering goods, setting up tables and chairs, cutting vegetables, putting together bagged lunches, and of course a lot of barbecuing.
Unfortunately one of our two barbeque's refused to raise it's temperature above 200 degrees, which made the cooking of 80 pieces of chicken and four ceder plank salmons quite difficult. But we managed to get get through it and over all the food was considered a success, although there was much stress involved.
One achievement that I think is particularly notable was that despite the hard work, long days, short sleeps, and a great deal of pain on my part from cuts and burns to my hands, we were quite chipper for the entire weekend. Except for one atrocity, and I am not exaggerating with my use of the word atrocity. We arrived in Sudbury at 2:30 am, Friday morning we headed out to get coffee and pick up a couple items. We parked in a TD bank parking lot, didn't use the TD bank, spent 20 min doing out thing and came back to a boot on our rental car.
Now I know Sudbury isn't having the best of times, Brazilians own their mine and they live in perpetual snow and many of it's inhabitants have a very limited education, but there is no doubt in my mind that they targeted our Quebec plates with the hopes of taking advantage of us. It cost 100 dollars to have the boot removed. Yes we parked on private property, but I don't put anyone who comes onto my property in handcuffs and force them to pay me 100 dollars to release them. We had no choice but to pay the stupid money.
There is something to be said about common decency, and the attitude of both the people who put the boot on the car and the people who answered the number posted if you wish to dispute the charge did little to help me accept the extravagant charge. They act as though we're committing some heinous crime. First of all, charge us something reasonable like 20 dollars and I would have slapped my own wrist for them, but 100 dollars and a Fuck You attitude really annoyed me. The people who booted the car were extremely unhelpful in explaining what had happened, and they insisted that it had nothing to do with the bank itself. The police, yes we involved them after the fact, told us that had we complained to the bank we may have gotten off without paying. So the booters, lied to us about the bank, probably knowing that there was a chance we could not have to pay.
I see it everyday at work. I work beside telemarketers who become angry that the people they're cold calling don't want to buy the product. They call them stupid, or ignorant, not to their face, but after they get off the phone with them. They are so gung-ho to be on board with the company that they completely disregard what the company is doing. They're part of the team so who cares if they're selling crap, they have to pretend it's not crap otherwise what do they do for a living? That's right: they sell crap. These booters are doing the same thing, they act as though they're the ones getting rich off people like me, even though they probably make minimum wage.
I've worked in environments like that before. The employees are so desperate to not be working for a immoral company that they just refuse to accept that the company they work for can do anything wrong.
Kate called the number on the 'ticket' to see if we could get our money back. The guy who answered claimed to be the General Manager. Kate asked why they charge 100 dollars, his response was they charged less than any other company in Canada (like that's easy for us to confirm). She asked again where the number comes from, he said the supreme court of Canada said they could do what they do. Not exactly an appropriate answer to the question but fine. Kate asked which case it was, he said it wasn't the supreme court, it was the court of appeals. She asked again which case, he said we should so our own homework, by now he's very agitated even though it's been about a 2 min phone call. Of course we have no intention of looking through thousands of case files for a file that may or may not exist, and the cops had already said that despite numerous complaints the company was legitimate.
Go Capatalism, if I can take money from you without stealing, it's not only my right, but my duty to do so.
So that's my rant about Sudbury, oh yeah later that day someone did a classic parking spot steal, I waited as a car pulled out and another car pushed it's way in front at the last minute. Great town that Sudbury, can't wait to visit again!
At least Kate made the General Manager of whatever the hell that 'company' was called, yell at her for essentially no reason. That almost made up for the 100 dollars. And we did not let it damper our spirits. Oh yeah, the conference was on Globalization and the Work Force or something like that. We were there to cater a conference that supports the workers of Sudbury, they very same people that screwed us six hours after arriving, and again in the Costco parking lot.
So that's the crap we had to deal with this weekend, the parking thing was crap, not the conference, that was a pretty decent experience, although next time we'll need more staff. I'm still exhausted from the work and the long drives that bookended the trip.
It was quite busy for us. It's remarkable how much work goes into cooking for 35 people. I barely even dealt with food and I was busy all weekend. My tasks included picking up items, carving pumpkins, delivering goods, setting up tables and chairs, cutting vegetables, putting together bagged lunches, and of course a lot of barbecuing.
Unfortunately one of our two barbeque's refused to raise it's temperature above 200 degrees, which made the cooking of 80 pieces of chicken and four ceder plank salmons quite difficult. But we managed to get get through it and over all the food was considered a success, although there was much stress involved.
One achievement that I think is particularly notable was that despite the hard work, long days, short sleeps, and a great deal of pain on my part from cuts and burns to my hands, we were quite chipper for the entire weekend. Except for one atrocity, and I am not exaggerating with my use of the word atrocity. We arrived in Sudbury at 2:30 am, Friday morning we headed out to get coffee and pick up a couple items. We parked in a TD bank parking lot, didn't use the TD bank, spent 20 min doing out thing and came back to a boot on our rental car.
Now I know Sudbury isn't having the best of times, Brazilians own their mine and they live in perpetual snow and many of it's inhabitants have a very limited education, but there is no doubt in my mind that they targeted our Quebec plates with the hopes of taking advantage of us. It cost 100 dollars to have the boot removed. Yes we parked on private property, but I don't put anyone who comes onto my property in handcuffs and force them to pay me 100 dollars to release them. We had no choice but to pay the stupid money.
There is something to be said about common decency, and the attitude of both the people who put the boot on the car and the people who answered the number posted if you wish to dispute the charge did little to help me accept the extravagant charge. They act as though we're committing some heinous crime. First of all, charge us something reasonable like 20 dollars and I would have slapped my own wrist for them, but 100 dollars and a Fuck You attitude really annoyed me. The people who booted the car were extremely unhelpful in explaining what had happened, and they insisted that it had nothing to do with the bank itself. The police, yes we involved them after the fact, told us that had we complained to the bank we may have gotten off without paying. So the booters, lied to us about the bank, probably knowing that there was a chance we could not have to pay.
I see it everyday at work. I work beside telemarketers who become angry that the people they're cold calling don't want to buy the product. They call them stupid, or ignorant, not to their face, but after they get off the phone with them. They are so gung-ho to be on board with the company that they completely disregard what the company is doing. They're part of the team so who cares if they're selling crap, they have to pretend it's not crap otherwise what do they do for a living? That's right: they sell crap. These booters are doing the same thing, they act as though they're the ones getting rich off people like me, even though they probably make minimum wage.
I've worked in environments like that before. The employees are so desperate to not be working for a immoral company that they just refuse to accept that the company they work for can do anything wrong.
Kate called the number on the 'ticket' to see if we could get our money back. The guy who answered claimed to be the General Manager. Kate asked why they charge 100 dollars, his response was they charged less than any other company in Canada (like that's easy for us to confirm). She asked again where the number comes from, he said the supreme court of Canada said they could do what they do. Not exactly an appropriate answer to the question but fine. Kate asked which case it was, he said it wasn't the supreme court, it was the court of appeals. She asked again which case, he said we should so our own homework, by now he's very agitated even though it's been about a 2 min phone call. Of course we have no intention of looking through thousands of case files for a file that may or may not exist, and the cops had already said that despite numerous complaints the company was legitimate.
Go Capatalism, if I can take money from you without stealing, it's not only my right, but my duty to do so.
So that's my rant about Sudbury, oh yeah later that day someone did a classic parking spot steal, I waited as a car pulled out and another car pushed it's way in front at the last minute. Great town that Sudbury, can't wait to visit again!
At least Kate made the General Manager of whatever the hell that 'company' was called, yell at her for essentially no reason. That almost made up for the 100 dollars. And we did not let it damper our spirits. Oh yeah, the conference was on Globalization and the Work Force or something like that. We were there to cater a conference that supports the workers of Sudbury, they very same people that screwed us six hours after arriving, and again in the Costco parking lot.
So that's the crap we had to deal with this weekend, the parking thing was crap, not the conference, that was a pretty decent experience, although next time we'll need more staff. I'm still exhausted from the work and the long drives that bookended the trip.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Cats, cats, cats.
We have way too many cats. I still like playing with them, most of them, but we have too many. The spare room has become a cat condo, and I can't go anywhere in the house without one of them at my feet, or climbing up my leg, or rubbing thier head on my face. They're lucky they're cute.
The bathroom is no safe haven. Everytime I try to close the door to lock myself in, one of the cats is quck enough to slip in behind me. Even leaving the house is difficult with two of the cats literally putting thier bodies at risk to get out into the hallway. They try to squeeze out when the door is open two inches, I thought they had whiskers to know what they can and can't fit though. So we have to delicately open the door, let the cats out, then try to round them up in an organized fashion.
At least they're funny and provide significant amusement. Unlike Concordia who simply won't accept that I lived in Montreal from August '09 to October '09. A letter from my landlord saying I lived there wasn't enough because, aside from the fact that he's probably lying, he doesn't own the house anymore. Why does that even matter?
Of course it's my fault for not insisting upon a lease for that time I suppose. We were doing him a favour. He wanted to sell, the new owner would probably want to live in the place himself, so we stayed without a lease until a new owner was found. Serves us right says Concordia.
I shouldn't complain, I've proving I've lived in Montreal for the past two years so that I can get half off the cost of my classes, which is a cool concept, but man is it frustrating to deal with the buraucracy. It was easier to get my health card, which is enough proof for Concordia, but it won't come in the mail for another three weeks. Hopefully Concordia can wait till then.
Work is going well. With Delhi screwing up the Commonweath Games so badly I have much to write about. The Als are still going strong too. Maybe I can create a sport for the cats and kill to birds with one stone. I'll call it UFC (Ultimate Fighting Cats). Just like the real UFC it would be boring, boring, boring, then bam three seconds of excitment as the cats wake up and walk to the food bowl, then boring, boring, boring. At least that's the way it was the last time I watched an Ultimate Fighting Challenge fight, granted it was in 1993, and I do not intend to watch another one if I can help it.
Oh yeah and one of the new cats insists on using the bathtub as a kitty litter if we forget to close the door. So that's the crap I've been dealing with for the last couple weeks. Litterally.
The bathroom is no safe haven. Everytime I try to close the door to lock myself in, one of the cats is quck enough to slip in behind me. Even leaving the house is difficult with two of the cats literally putting thier bodies at risk to get out into the hallway. They try to squeeze out when the door is open two inches, I thought they had whiskers to know what they can and can't fit though. So we have to delicately open the door, let the cats out, then try to round them up in an organized fashion.
At least they're funny and provide significant amusement. Unlike Concordia who simply won't accept that I lived in Montreal from August '09 to October '09. A letter from my landlord saying I lived there wasn't enough because, aside from the fact that he's probably lying, he doesn't own the house anymore. Why does that even matter?
Of course it's my fault for not insisting upon a lease for that time I suppose. We were doing him a favour. He wanted to sell, the new owner would probably want to live in the place himself, so we stayed without a lease until a new owner was found. Serves us right says Concordia.
I shouldn't complain, I've proving I've lived in Montreal for the past two years so that I can get half off the cost of my classes, which is a cool concept, but man is it frustrating to deal with the buraucracy. It was easier to get my health card, which is enough proof for Concordia, but it won't come in the mail for another three weeks. Hopefully Concordia can wait till then.
Work is going well. With Delhi screwing up the Commonweath Games so badly I have much to write about. The Als are still going strong too. Maybe I can create a sport for the cats and kill to birds with one stone. I'll call it UFC (Ultimate Fighting Cats). Just like the real UFC it would be boring, boring, boring, then bam three seconds of excitment as the cats wake up and walk to the food bowl, then boring, boring, boring. At least that's the way it was the last time I watched an Ultimate Fighting Challenge fight, granted it was in 1993, and I do not intend to watch another one if I can help it.
Oh yeah and one of the new cats insists on using the bathtub as a kitty litter if we forget to close the door. So that's the crap I've been dealing with for the last couple weeks. Litterally.
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Foster Cats and Sports Coverage
The writing gig is going well. As I learn about greyhound racing and track and field meets and athletes it gets easier to write about them. The greyhound race recaps come quick, the track and field articles less so because of the fact checking and name spelling, but I know I am improving my writing. Hopefully in the coming weeks I'll be moving on to hockey too. The track and field season is over this weekend, other than the Commonwealth Games, and hockey season is just beginning.
I've also kept up my Alouettes coverage for digitaljournal.com although as the season progresses I find myself fighting for a spot on the sidelines. There are more and more photographers every game it seems, and they're reviewing my access. If I do get pulled from the sidelines I am still hoping to attend games as just a writer.
It's been fantastic practice getting shots from the sidelines. I can't wait for my sports photography class, but that won't be till next year. This year I'm taking fashion photography, wedding and portrait photography, and photoshop 2. Fashion starts next week and the other two in October. Then I'll be looking to take Camera 2 and Sports photography.
Our foster cat situation has become interesting. We briefly had a cat named Tom that somehow broke it's leg. Not only did he break his leg, but he broke it in two spots and needed serious surgery to fix it. I spent a week going from vet to vet trying to figure out the best solution, money being an issue as well. I was actually ready to adopt the cat since he's so incredibly friendly, but the woman who rescued the cat in the first place decide to adopt him instead.
While Tom was still with us we took in a kitten that had some issues from the various pounds she was in. Her fur was gone from half her back, she had mites in her ears and very smelly diarrhea. The mites are almost got, her poos are normal, but still smelly, and her fur is growing back after two weeks with us. She's also in heat and very loud, all night, every night.
We also took in a mother and her six week old kitten, the first was a few months old. This little kitten is tiny, and scared of humans. Hopefully in the next couple weeks she'll adjust and we can find her a home. I don't really want five cats in the house, but when the other option is to 'gas them' as the people we meet put it, well I guess I just have a soft spot for the creatures. Even though I've sustained multiple holes in my skin from them.
I'll try to put up some pictures of these kittens and cats on my website, www.joedeclara.com, but in the meantime you can enjoy my recent football snaps. All of my Alouettes articles are linked to there too and you can always find them on www.digitaljournal.com, but my greyhound articles are sold to other websites, and don't contain my name so it's harder to find them.
The fall will be busy but I'll try to post all the crap I get around to doing.
I've also kept up my Alouettes coverage for digitaljournal.com although as the season progresses I find myself fighting for a spot on the sidelines. There are more and more photographers every game it seems, and they're reviewing my access. If I do get pulled from the sidelines I am still hoping to attend games as just a writer.
It's been fantastic practice getting shots from the sidelines. I can't wait for my sports photography class, but that won't be till next year. This year I'm taking fashion photography, wedding and portrait photography, and photoshop 2. Fashion starts next week and the other two in October. Then I'll be looking to take Camera 2 and Sports photography.
Our foster cat situation has become interesting. We briefly had a cat named Tom that somehow broke it's leg. Not only did he break his leg, but he broke it in two spots and needed serious surgery to fix it. I spent a week going from vet to vet trying to figure out the best solution, money being an issue as well. I was actually ready to adopt the cat since he's so incredibly friendly, but the woman who rescued the cat in the first place decide to adopt him instead.
While Tom was still with us we took in a kitten that had some issues from the various pounds she was in. Her fur was gone from half her back, she had mites in her ears and very smelly diarrhea. The mites are almost got, her poos are normal, but still smelly, and her fur is growing back after two weeks with us. She's also in heat and very loud, all night, every night.
We also took in a mother and her six week old kitten, the first was a few months old. This little kitten is tiny, and scared of humans. Hopefully in the next couple weeks she'll adjust and we can find her a home. I don't really want five cats in the house, but when the other option is to 'gas them' as the people we meet put it, well I guess I just have a soft spot for the creatures. Even though I've sustained multiple holes in my skin from them.
I'll try to put up some pictures of these kittens and cats on my website, www.joedeclara.com, but in the meantime you can enjoy my recent football snaps. All of my Alouettes articles are linked to there too and you can always find them on www.digitaljournal.com, but my greyhound articles are sold to other websites, and don't contain my name so it's harder to find them.
The fall will be busy but I'll try to post all the crap I get around to doing.
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