1.51 - The One with the oompa loompa

My friend Emily moved to Halifax at the beginning of August to do her Masters Degree at Dalhousie University. Settling into a new city, new life takes a little time...but it has been a good ride so I'm told...she's full of stories but this one is by far the best one. Now before you read this there a few things you need to know about Emily...

#1. She's a very go get'em type of girl
#2. she's stands a mamoth 5'1"
#3. she can be very very very cynical...
#4. sarcasm is her best friend

This is how she told it to me....and yes I asked for permission to blog about it...

After a night out with some new people I met...I get up to leave and a guy I haven't talked to all night or even met introduces himself..."uh...my name is Tom, I didn't get to meet you." (except I thought he said Dave to begin with...)

So I'm walking out and we chat a bit...then he gets held up so I just keep going...cuz its getting later and I don't know the neighbourhood. I start down the stairs and he's life "Hey!" (as in 'hi', 'hello'...not the stuff that horses eat) "Are you walking home?" Of course I am, so we walk together and we talk...blah, blah, blah. Anyway the guy walks me home, which for the first time in my life I really appreciate because I was a little nervous about the neighbourhood.

The best part of the night is when I think he tried to compliment me...oiy. We were walking along and he asked me how tall I was (*sigh* when will it ever NOT matter?). Then he said he thought that it was great that I was 5'1"...then he said he liked little people...and THEN...this is the best part...he said little people are like oompa loompas.

Wow...this guy is a winner... I personally can't wait till they get married so we can sing the oompa loompa song when she walks down the aisle. I've always wondered what oompa loompas did when they weren't working for Willy Wonka...now we know

1.50 - The One with the man from UNCLE

My uncle Wil flew back rom HK last night and I went to the airport to pick him up with my other uncle Andy. Now prior to this...I told U-Wil that I couldn't pick him up cuz I had to work the graveyard shift and time would be a problem. But I decided to go anywayz...and U-Wil had no idea I was coming. He was just expecting U-And...so patenitly waiting with U-And...U-Wil finally emerges from the large double doors from baggage claim and U-And waves him down...U-Wil sees him and moes towards him. Now I come out from the crowd and walk in front of U-And so that U-Wil could see me. BUT...U-Wil walks right by me...right to U-And. I turn and watch U-Wil start talking a mile a minute while U-And is watching me laughing. U-Wil wonders what U-And is laughing at and he points me out. The look on U-Wil's face was priceless...I guess a person changes after four years...well U-Wil looks the same...but apparently I changed alot...wait till he sees my brother.

Oh and a side note...I've been to the airport aout 6+ times this year...either to drop off or pick up...NEVER to go somewhere...next year...Bermuda...here I come...

1.49 - The One with the book of wishes

Every year Sears puts out its annual Wish Book Catalog full of Christmas ideas for people to decide what to spend their money on. The first 100 pages usually contain gift ideas for prices under $100 - $10. This is put into little sections depending on the price range...some of the stuff in there is utterly ridunkulous...others...well I suppose if its in the catalog...someone will buy it. The rest of the Wish Book, like many other catalogs it split up into the different sections for your reading pleasure.

Now I used to be excited when the Wish Book arrived at my doorstep...even the year I delivered them in the blistering cold. But it seems that it arrives earlier and earlier each year. It used to be on the doorstep on November 1st...right after Halloween...so you get your candy out and sit infront of the Wish Book memorizing the item numbers so you can tell your parents/grandparents what you wanted. Then one fateful day...it showed up in early October. That's ok I thought...only a month early. The following year it showed up just after school started again in the fall. This year it arrived today...that's right...August the 24th, 2005. Instead of it being +5 celcius and winter fast approaching...its a sunny 25 degrees celcius...no snow in sight...and don't want to be reminded of winter just yet. But Sears has decided that they need to kick start the Holiday Season 4 1/2 months in advance...

oh...btw: page #1011, item # O61538271...just incase you were wondering

1.48 - The one with the Encounter

It's been awhile since I've been to Ontario Place...I couldn't remember what there was to do there...all I remembered was that there was a pretty cool mini putt course, and boats that you could race around a large Navy Ship that was on display. To my dismay...the Navy Ship was no longer there...so no boats to race around...BUT the mini putt was there. I shot 4 over par...mainly cuz every hole was a par 2. Usually there are par 3's...oh well. I quickly discovered that what I remembered about Ontario Place was better in my mind than what was actually there. Kind of like those old TV shows we used to watch...like Transformers, GI Joe, Astro Boy, Full House (yes I know you watched it...if I can admit it...you can to0)...always better as a memory...if you watch them now...you realize how cheesy they were.

The other reason we were there was for Encounter 2005...basically Christian day at the park...which was awesome. There were bands that played on 3 different stages all day...headlined by 2 of my favourite bands: Starfield and Casting Crowns. The last concert with those two bands was just incredible...Casting Crowns played their new single Lifesong...I can't wait to learn it and play it. The new CD drops on August 30th...

1.47 - The one with the interviews

I'm an avid sports fan...so I like watching SportsCenter and the like to see highlights of the night or what happened the day before. One thing that strikes me is the lack of vocabulary with most athletes. Now of course there are exceptions to that rule...you have people like Shaq, Terrel Owens & Jeremy Roenick who like to speak their mind and aren't afraid to say anything. But going back to the not so articulate ones...the words most often heard are 'ummm', 'uhhh', 'like', 'ya'. Then there are the ever popular sports cliches: 'it was a team effort', 'we gave it our 110%', 'coach told us during the timeout...'.

My personal favourite is when they combine a cliche with one of their vocabulary words...'When its all said and done...uhhhh...'

1.46 - The one with the backup

There's a Liquidation place in town where there is a huge lineup every Thursday morning. People start arriving 45 minutes to an hour before the place opens at 10. Now this store only opens Thursdays through to Saturday...but they get so much buiness those days that they are pretty much out of stock by the time closing time arrives on Saturday. You know you live in a small town when everybody knows someone that is in the line faithfully every Thursday just before openning....waiting to see what new stock has come in so that they can spend their hard earned money on stuff that has been liquidated from someplace. Now I'm not saying that the stuff is neccesarily bad quality...I go in there to puruse every so often...but I'm one of those people that would rather buy it new than liquidated. Everytime I go in there I usually see something that I'd like to get...but to get it brand spankin' new...it's usually $5-10 more.

The pump on the toilet in the washroom downstairs at work decided to stop working the other day...so it flooded and backed up...the smell was just great...all of a sudden cleaning out the eavestroughs outside didn't seem like such a painstaking task anymore...

1.45 - The One with the bad habits

For the last couple days at work I've been training the 'new guy' on the ins and outs of work...it's a good thing that he catches on quick and understands the nature of the job. Cuz I'm not really sure how well I'm really training the poor guy. Once you've settled into a job you tend to develop habits good or bad and stick with them to get the job done. I'm hoping that I haven't been teaching my habits that waiver a little off how the protocols are. The same goes with me coaching at a basketball camp this week...but at least with basketball...there are less rules and regulations...and it won't give you a brain cramp when you think about those things.

The street outside where I work is under construction so traffic on it has been very limited...today I saw about 4 seniors take full advantage of this by going up and down the street on their old people scooters...ya know...the red ones that have 3-4 wheels, goes about 5 mph [thats 8.06 km/h, 440 ft/m, 2.24 meters/sec., 4.35 knots, and mach .01] and have that sweet basket in front with their orange bicycle flag waving in the wind? I need to get my hands on one of those and race them.

One last though of the day...before my brain cramps up...ever try fighting to stay awake at school or work when someone is trying to talk to you?












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1.44 - The One with the Return of the AJ

After travelling most of the day with Rebecca...to Oshawa...then to Barrie and back to C-Dot...we came back with AJ...who just got back from his year long missions trip to Morroco. It was aweeome to see him again...and to hang out again. It's been soo long...there's a little culture shock for him coming back to Western Civilization. He's not used to the business of people yet...but it still is good to have him home.

At church tonight he basically had a hero's welcome...everyone wanted a piece of him...but I think they did it slowly not to totally bombard him...eventually he made it back to the ranch where all the youth came over for an after church party. What a day...driving all day...seeing an old friend...then a party at my place...time to sleep....

oh ya...stopped by HMV in The O.C. and picked up Kill Bill Volumes 1 & 2 for $30 and tax...sweet deal

1.43 - The One with the Backstroke of the West

Bootlegging movies in China and Hong Kong is not uncommon...you can usually just go and find them for sale on a table or blanket outside on the sidewalk. This is also true for most of the world. My brother brought this site to my attention today...and because we are chinese...its even funnier. They have taken screenshots of the bootleg version of Episode III that is a direct english translation of the chinese interpretation...