My Life

Small Update

Anyone notice anything interesting on the Child’s Play Charity website lately? ^_~

This week I will write my final exam for the online Pathology course from UBC that I’ve been taking, and officially end my academic career. Yay!

What is up with so many people I know moving to Ottawa? I just found out my good friends and former housemates just moved there. For a real job, though, so it’s all good.

It’s a busy season for SKS too. This is also a good thing, since it’s keeping Mr. Visa from trying to break my knees. It just means I have no spare time for a while.
I’m also doing a craft fair in Toronto on the 16th. Come see me, if you’re interested!

Work is still good. Getting loads done, and getting more responsibility. That is good. Working my way up to where I’m supposed to be in this position. ^_^

The holidays are getting booked solid. We have a lot of family. We’ll probably be in Kincardine the 23/24/25, if anyone else is (though, like us, you’re probably busy with family).

Anyone interested in getting together for New Year’s?

PVR?

Anyone here use a PVR?

Do you use a service (eg TiVO, Rogers, etc) or did you just buy a PVR for your computer?

I was originally just going to buy a PVR for my old unused computer, and use it just like a good ol’ VCR, only with better image quality and no stupid VHS tapes to buy. Plus, there’s no monthly subscription fees. Unfortunately, my old computer is too Old and Busted. It doesn’t meet min spec for the PVR drive I found at Futureshop. So in order to even get a PVR drive, I’d need to buy a New Hotness. While I’m certainly not opposed to a New Hotness, it’s a rather large expense just to be able to record TV. Even if I got a stripped-down little nothing, and used it as the PVR system (instead of buying a while nice system to actually use in my office, and making my current 2-year old computer be the PVR bitch), it’s still more expensive than just buying a TiVO system and subscription. You can buy a TiVO box for $400 or less ($70USD from the TiVO site, but I’m not sure how those deals work for Canadian customers), plus $200/year for the serivice, which is still less than a new computer with a PVR drive would cost. At least as far as I can tell. If I’m wrong, please let me know, ’cause that would be great. I won’t even consider the Rogers one, because it’s way more expensive, plus it’s Rogers.
Now, obviously buying a computer with a PVR drive i cheaper in the long run. Subscription fees add up, and it’s one less monthly expense to worry about. It just seems like an awful lot of initial monetary output just to record the odd TV show.

It’s not like I need one to record every episode of the Simpson’s ever or something. I just liked the ease and freedom of being able to record shows at a whim, so I can do other things while they air if I want. I like my shows and want to watch them, but I like other things too.

Worst Hallowe’en Ever

Last night was such a bust.

We didn’t even get home until after 6. This is even after I left work early (by coming in early) at 4:30 to slightly beat the rush hour traffic. It took me over an hour to make a 1/2 hour trip to Waterloo. At least coming home only takes a half hour like it’s supposed to. That drive infuriates me every day because it’s so useless and frustratingly slooooow. And there’s usually at least 1 or 2 people who seem to have absolutely no clue how to drive a motor vehicle. I’ve got an allergy to stupid that causes my road rage to flare up. I don’t usually drive more agressively, but I get super steamed and hate everyone.
Anyway.
Since we have been so busy lately, and my parents visited this weekend, we hadn’t carved our pumpkins yet. We started as soon as we got home. I just made the same Devil Flanders one from last year, only it looked shittier because I was in such a rush. Josh had been going to do one of the VGCats ones, but didn’t want to spend the time printing it out, so he just made a scary face type one.
Sucky pumpkins suck.

This is all, of course, on top of the fact that my costume wasn’t 100% complete either. I wore it to work with the legs held together with safety pins. Even though my co-workers all thought it ws as really cool, it felt really lame.

This was the first year since leaving home that I’ve had real Hallowe’en decorations. I went out and got a little string of LED pumpkin lights and a handing ghost with plastic hands and face that lit up for the porch, and a cheap plastic skeleton to hang on the front door.

And we got about 10 kids. All night. After rushing costumes and pumpkins and getting decorations and candy ready, our doorbell only rang 3 times. Blah.

When we finally decided that no more kids were coming (9:30), we turned out the light and went to bed. We had been planning on wandering over to Paul & Robyn’s place because they are within walking distance, but we were both too tired and frustated so we just went to sleep. Yay sleep.

If my costume hadn’t sucked, it would have been awesome, though. It’s a faun. ^_^
I’ve even got digitigrade legs (that’s where the stripper boots and insultion foam came in), which looked good despite the quality. The legs are missing the fethering around the hooves, which would hide the bright white boot heels, but I didn’t have time to add that.
At least the boots themselves are reusable (for this costume) even though the pants need to be re-made and I still have to make the “real” top – the toga top in the photos is mainly a concession to the fact that I wore it to work. Here’s some photos:

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I blame Josh for the quality of the photos, and the fact that I was cranky and tired when they were taken. They will be replaced when I get it completed “for real”. ^_^

Top Secret

I had a much better idea!
And hopefully, with 3 weeks left to go before Hallowe’en, I can pull it off in time! ^_^
It’ll be cool if I can make it work. Cool enough to take to Dragon*Con next year (with a few modifications to take it from Safe For Work for this year, to Not Quite Safe For Work for D*C, of course ^_~)

I’m not saying what it is just yet, in case I can’t manage it in 3 weeks, because I know all my adoring fans *cough* would be distraught. I will say, however, that it involves these:
Fancy Boots
White ones, actually. But you’d never know it once I’m through modifying them! ^_^ Whee!

Costume Conundrum

I’m not sure what to do about Hallowe’en this year. With the new job, the move, and the wedding, I’ve run out of time to pull together a costume that I’d actually like once I was done making it.
In which case, I’ve decided to just buy a costume this year. Because I have a job and can.

I’m stuck, however, on what I should actually be. I’ve browsed the costumes sites, ebay, etc, and have come up with few ideas.
My options seem to be:
a) get a costume that I like the look of and think would be fun to wear, like Saber but that no one around me (coworkers, most friends) exept Josh who suggested it a while back, would really know who/what it’s supposed to be (I could very well be surprised, however…) .
b) get a “traditional” costume, or at least an easily recognisable costume, and at the moment I’m thinking that would be a Star Trek costume (DS9 Science Officer, if anyone cares), because at least it would be easy to move around in.

Most costumes marketed for Hallowe’en wear are low-quality and they look it, so I’d rather not be one of those.

Either of those sound good? I’m also open to new suggestions! ^_^
I’m just sick of my default costume being a cat, because I still have the ears/tail I picked up years ago when I had no costume, and every year that I don’t have time to come up with something good (aka every year for about the past 5) I’ve just done that. It’s boring, and for once I have time to get a good costume (if not actually make one this year).

Also, is anyone having a Hallowe’en party or anything this year? Josh and I had wanted to host one, and do a dual housewarming/Hallowe’en party with all your local(ish) peoples, but at the moment we don’t think we’ll have the house in order by that time (not getting home from work until 7pm and taking a distance ed course means things get unpacked and sorted very slowly) so we probably won’t be able to. We will host one next year, and it’ll be a costume party (don’t worry, there’ll be alcohol) so consider yourselves warned. ^_~

Edit: the subsequent dumping of $1000 into my car today (brakes + steering rods that ruined the brakes) probably means I now must scale down my plans of buying a costume, and will probably end up in a cheap Trek jumpsuit. Go me. *sigh*