Last minute shopping

Hooked on those half price coupons at Michael's again. Actually got some stuff that I need. Picked up aunt Y's Boost at LD and replenished some of the candies that's been given away. Timmy's for dinner at A's. Watched the owl movie. The lighting and rendering is superb. Their list of lighters are 3-4 times longer than animators. No wonder. However, no matter how nice the visuals are, the story isn't too memorable. I've already forgotten the names of the main characters. Nevertheless, I'd say, still worth the money.

Photobucket & Telus

AAAAAARGH !!!!!
This message from Telus online virus scan shows up around 4 times a day. I counted. It took me 355 clicks to get rid of it this time. According to knowledgeable friends, this is a false alarm. I tried, but cannot get to the file to delete it. Help!! I can't deal with it anymore! I'm going crazy!!! (T_T) (T_T) (T_T)

This "ad" appears on Photobucket recently. At first I thought it must be something I clicked accidentally. Instead of having you click on an ad link, they seem to have figured out a way to activate the ad even if you change folder. But no! This time, the only thing I touched was the scroll bar! So is it random? Or is it set to open once you enter Photobucket? It used to go away after you click the close box. Now, no matter what you click, it hijacks your browser and takes your page to that site, plus, blows it up to full screen. This is super invasive!!! I reeeally get turn-off, and close the tab. Which forces me to open Photobucket again in a new tab. So annoying!!! This ad is E V I L !!!!!!!! My rating of Photobucket dropped from "really good" to "below average" just because of this ad. Are you listening, Photobucket?

Cake & card

Finally! Someone else's turn to buy me cake today. (Usually I'm the one who buys cake.) Hmm... we used to do the big round birthday cake thing in my family. Since when did it stop? Not that I mind, though. I actually prefer smaller ones which give more variety. I dreamed of eating a whole birthday cake when I was a kid. Never happened, of course. (Thank God, haha...) And then there was the "eating the whole tub of ice-cream" wish, which actually came true when I had braces and couldn't eat solid food. It...... wasn't that great. (^_^;)
My nieces drew me a birthday card! Judging from the height, I must be the character on the far right. Looks more like their birthday than mine. Haha...

Sun

I think I have serious sunlight deficiency. Today was a great day. Got more energy. Finally opened the rotary tool kit I bought over 6 months ago. Worked on the Pinkys a little. It's definitely faster than doing it by hand. Kind of additive too. Unfortunately I've got computer cables running along the back of my desk and can't clamp the tool stand at it's most logical location. Ended up clamping it at where my right elbow is. Will have to take it down after each use. Extremely inconvenient.
Gardening season started. Took my mom to get some supply. Rona is more expensive than Canadian Tire in general. Home Depot beats Canadian Tire on some stuff.

Extra day?

Wow, Feb 29! An extra day! Or is it? For those who work for a regular salary, it's an extra day working for free. Hmm... this is like the "half-full" or "half-empty" glass thing.

Again, the photo has nothing to do with the subject. These shoes are part of a doll house diorama which is now in a museum somewhere in the States.

Harper's lucky money

A representative of Steven Harper gave out "lucky money" at my parent's church today. Of course it's only a chocolate coin.

Chinese new year (2)

As if making up for the lack of eating out yesterday, we did it for both lunch and dinner today. The fried tofu was the best I've ever had. (Those round things in lower left foreground.) I think the key is in the batter.

Somehow my mood took a significant dip. Need a lift so I picked up some toys. Didn't work as well as I hope but at least kept me going. I think what I truly want is a huge cleanup of my room. Which is too big a task and I kept procrastinating... Perhaps it's my brain that needs a cleanup. Hmm... doesn't look good either way...

Maybe it was the news of my oldest aunt in California passing away. I'm not close to her. I don't even know her face. But it's like, all of a sudden people are dying around me. My North Van aunt was diagnosed with lung cancer last May. And another uncle was gone last June. Well, my mom is the 9th child of her family, so I have many aunts and uncles and cousins. They're scattered around the world, so most of them I don't know.

Actually there was a 10th aunt who was born with cleft lip and was given up for adoption soon after birth. The doctor who delivered her adopted her, repaired her palate, and she herself later became a doctor. The 2 families lost contact early on. Sounds incredible but that's how the story goes.

Flu shot

Got a flu shot and it bruised. Makes my arm quite sore. I've been getting one every year for 11 years. It only made me sick once. Let's hope this time won't be one of those.

11 years

Wow... time really fies. Can't believe it's been 11 years since half of my brain was gone. And this rod has been sitting on my book case for almost 10 years. It's like a bad dream that won't wake up... because it's not a dream.

A person is defined by his/her memory.

Tonight at the hot tub at YMCA, a lady called me by my name. We started chatting. Apparently I should know her. We even ate out together, but I can't remember a bit of that. I don't even remember her face. It was super awkward and uncomfortable. I just wanted to get out of there ASAP.

Actually, the other day when I dropped off a book to my ex-colleague, similar situation happened. A few other ex-colleagues walked by and said hi. They were people who I worked with for years. Some were on my team. But I can't remember their names. (Well, at least I remember their faces, but that's not good enough.) They called me by my name, but I can't return that. It was beyond awkward. It was scary. That probably is what keeping me from returning to the field. (T_T)

Accident on highway #1

It finally happened. An accident on highway #1. Not mine, no worries. I entered from Boundary Road (exit 28A) and it was crawling all the way to exit 23A in North Van at the accident site. The grid lock was so bad, I had to come to a full stop quite a few times on the Second Narrows Bridge. Aaaw man! The bridge was shaking! Never realize that when you're going at 80km/h! Actually quite scary!

No need to say, I was 20 minutes late. (Would have been on time.) Luckily the nature of my job is very flexible, and my employer is very understanding. Guess I've been lucky so far not to encounter an accident on that rote.

Strangely, on my way home, there was yet another accident on highway #1! It wasn't as bad as the one in the morning, though. Apparently it was way out in Surrey or something. (Sorry I wasn't paying attention to the news.) It's amazing how one accident can hold up traffic that far away.

And I just couldn't resist taking pictures of what would have been blurred going at 80km/h. Just a souvenir. (^_^)

Maybe not a break-in?

As I took a walk to the bank in the afternoon, I was paying attention to broken glass. And sure it was, less than one block away, around where I though the noise came from, there were broken glass on the floor. Didn't look like car window, though. What a relieve...

Car break-in?!

Aaaaargh!!!!!!! 5 minutes ago, I heard a bang, and then glass breaking. So I got my camera ready and went to the living room window. Couldn't see anything, though. Sound travels in a weird way... I just hope that wasn't my car. (>_<;)

Farewell

My uncle passed away at around 3 pm today.
Parkinson's is definitely not a nice way to go.

The old folk's home he's been staying at has no refrigerated room (argh, not sure what you call that...). Apparently they're leaving the body in bed until tomorrow. Lucky the weather is cool now. If it was like last week, it's gonna be nasty...

Indian wedding?(2)

They're doing it again, 3 nights in a roll. Last night, there were still some noise around 4 a.m. Right now the loud music just went down. (Probably got complains form the neighbours.) However, the loud talking, cheering, and laughing are just as bad. I wonder what time they'll stop tonight.

Indian wedding?

4 houses away (2 each way across the intersection) has been having a party for 2 nights in a roll. A tent has been set up in the front yard (looks like it extends from the garage). East Indian music all night long. Before midnight it was quite loud. After midnight, it was mainly people talking and laughing (loud too). And that went past 3:30 a.m. Hmm...

Ross, Target etc

Cross-border shopping today again. I was just hitching a ride again. Bought unnecessary stuff again (but better than last time). A back pack $6.99, 2 fleeze throws $3.99 each, chewing gums, and ice-cream.

Andre Rieu!

Aaaaaargh! Andre Rieu is coming to Vancouver on Oct 11!!!!!! Oh boy oh boy oh boy!!!!!!!!!

Chinese new year eve dinner

Yikes! It's Chinese new year's eve already ! Another year has passed. (2007= year of the pig.) Used to be a bigger family event. More like a big cook-out at home. Recently years we eat out instead. No complains from me because I'm usually the one who have to wash the dishes afterwards.

Congrats, Tonee!

Happy Wedding, Lina and Tonee~! (^_^) Best wishes for all the days to come!

Wow! This is the first time I've ever seen lion dance (2 of them!) in a wedding banquet!

And thanks for wacky gift! I got race cars~!

Baton!

Got a baton from my Japanese blog friend @syo a while ago. It's until recently that I get enough people to pass it onto. (Still one short, though.) But this has been dragging on for too long. Sorry for being so late. Here it is. (Hmm... I hope I translated it right...)

"1" seems to be missing...
2. What's your name?
Black Label = alias... MC is the initial of my real name.
3. How old are you?
Old enough to have a kid or two, but inside, I'm always 16. (^_^)
5. What's your occupation?
Right now, unemployed. (Sob sob sob... ) Before, CG related.
5. What's your hobby?
Web surfing, artsy stuff, crafty stuff.
Figurines, drawing, manga, anime... Argh! I admit... I'm an otaku...
6. Preferred type of the opposite sex?
Someone not boring, easy to communicate with, has a good sense of humour, reliable and faithful (as to won't cheat).
7. Any special skills?
Forgetting. Especially limits. Other than that, giving people goose bums by making noise with my back and shoulder.
8. Any certifications?
Driver's license and Canadian passport.
9. Anything troubling you?
Waaay too many. I'm quite lost in life right now.
10. Food that you like, food that you hate.
Like = tofu, vegi, Pocky, junk food.
Hate = hot and spicy.
11. A word for the one you love.
Thanks, and sorry, I can't be your friend anymore. (Sob sob sob...)
12. With a brief introduction, name the next 5 people you'd like to pass the baton onto.
OK... in the order of agreeing to take the baton...

1. Andrew: A big fan of Gundam Seed and Destiny, who loves all anime and manga regardless of genre.
2. MJ: An ex-colleague with a delicate artistic sense. A diligent American who wishes to immigrate to Canada.
3. etruscan: An ex-classmate and ex-colleague... sorry I don't know much about him. Well, this is a chance to, isn't it? (^_^)
4. JC: An ex-colleague who is a big car fan. He likes angels, and Ghost in the Shell, and has a high potential of becoming the next Da Vincci.
5. Since I couldn't get a 5th person to say yes, this one is open. Please feel free to grab this baton if you like it. Give me a shout and I'll come visit your blog. (^_^)