Platform 327

Well, the holiday season is coming to a close in a few scant hours. Figured I’d just give the point-form edition of what I did through the 2007 holiday season.

- Went to visit the parents a couple of weeks ago. It’s much easier doing it that way, because getting a train close to Christmas is a pain in the butt. It was just a quiet affair with dinner, and the traditional driving around the neighbourhood to look at the lights people have put up.

- Champy was in town for the Christmas week, so we got together a couple of times for drinks and food at various establishments, including Metal’s annual holiday boozapalooza. There were many bottles of wine to be had, I tell ya what. Good thing we ordered some pizza to balance it out.

- Christmas Day and Boxing Day were spent with Wendi. She put on quite a spread, let me tell you. Turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and warm mugs of hot buttered rum made things about as Christmasy as you can get.

- Last Friday, my parents visited The Big Smoke. We spent the day hanging out, wandering around, and feeling glad that our Christmas was already out of the way and we didn’t have to deal with the lineups at the cash registers.

- This past weekend, Wendi and I were at a party put on by her neighbour. It started at 2:00pm, and we didn’t get to sleep until 3:30am the next day. It was fun. It started at the neighbours’ apartment, and then moved to The Moonshine Cafe for a night with some pretty smokin’ blues guitarist, whose name escapes me at the moment. And then back to the apartment for more booze. Oh, and the food. There was lots of it, including the best ribs I’ve ever tasted.

And that brings us to tonight, New Year’s Eve. My plans for the big night: nothing. I called Ravi to say hello earlier and got an invite to the party he’s holding at his place, but after this weekend, I think a couple of days of relaxation before heading to work would be in good order. I’ve got a little bit of wine, ordered some Chinese food, bought a single-serve bottle of champagne to open at midnight, and I’m just going to relax with a few DVDs and maybe a video game or two.

Tomorrow, it’s back on diet. I packed on about 10 pounds this month, and have that and more to lose by mid-February’s scheduled surgery. No big deal. I just decided early on that I was going to enjoy this holiday season; eat, drink and be merry, as they say. A few beers and an extra dessert or two catches up with you, but what the hell, eh? Good times were had.

It’s been a hell of a week. First, our union had a deal with the company. Then they didn’t, and we were going to have a strike vote. Then we had a deal. Then the government allowed our company to be taken over by a big media conglomerate. Then the union showed us “our” deal with the company, but the deal is shitty and I, for one, cannot vote for it. And I’m not the only one.

Fuck it.

On a good note, we got Christmas Eve off, so I don’t have to go to work until the Wednesday after next! I tell ya, I needed some time off, and the more the better. I’m gonna be doing a lot of relaxing, eating stuff I shouldn’t eat and, oh yeah, relaxing. And doing as little typing as possible.

According to Forbes Magazine, Donald Duck’s miserly uncle is this year’s richest fictional character, worth a fictional US$28.8 billion. Bruce Wayne, who squanders his fortune by making an arsenal of high-tech gadgets that he simply throws away came in way down the list at #8 with a lowly US$7 billion. I’m sure once the financial press gets wind of Mr. Wayne’s extracurricular activities, the price of WayneTech stock is going to plummet. I’m sure he’s got some offshore accounts hidden away somewhere.

And we all knew Gomez Addams had to be worth a pretty penny, right? No working stiff could afford to be that weird. Hell, if I was worth US$2 billion, I’m sure I’d be expressing my eccentricity through unorthodox home decor choices.

I’m in the wrong business. There’s just no money to be made in this reality racket. Thanks, Forbes, for showing me the error of my ways.

Why the hell not? I’m not driving, and there’s no place I have to be.

In fact, I’m elbows-deep in a little home-based project that I’ve been putting off for a long time. All the crap that has been packed in boxes for years is coming out, and being categorized according to it’s value, be it practical, monetary or sentimental. Anything practical is being kept. Items in the other 2 categories are getting digital photographs taken of them, and being thrown out, donated, or planned for sale as needed. I’ve already freed myself of a full giant Rubbermaid box of junk that served no purpose other than to break backs on moving day. A few hundred digital photos of stuff I never use or look at will be a lot easier to lug around than all that stuff.

Speaking of home-based projects, I’ve also just ordered all the stuff I’m going to need to do transcription work from home — the software, hardware and extra RAM for my computer. I’ve been thinking of doing some transcription work from home to make some extra money so as to kill that high-interest loan of mine. I was going to hold off, but we got word from the union on Friday that a strike vote will be happening soon due to the company’s douchebaggery during negotiations. Knowing people in HR, I can see why the people on the company side are doing what they’re doing. The company is being sold, they’ll likely be fired, and they’ll be looking for work soon. The last thing they want on a resume is, “Rolled over and gave new union everything they wanted.” Still, I’m getting real sick of the union and the company playing these stupid little games with my life. Time to get my own shit started.

I’m not doing the “journalism” stuff I used to do anymore (well, I’m taking a break from it), but I can still appreciate stuff like this. I really need to get me a copy of this book.

Last night, I went to check out Beowulf. Don’t worry, I won’t give the plot away in this blog entry.

What I will say is that while the film itself wasn’t spectacular, the visual effects were amazing. I usually don’t go on about effects, but Beowulf was in IMAX 3D and, unlike the pathetic “3D experience” of Stupidman Returns, this entire film was presented in 3D. There were moments in the action sequences where I was starting to get vertigo, but in a good way. Beowulf was a fun way to get through a bucket of popcorn.

If you’re not going to see Beowulf in full-on 3D though, don’t bother seeing it at all. Unless, of course, computer-generated monsters running around while people yell at each other is your idea of a cinematic tour de force.

… of people blaming others for their own stupidity.

“It’s the pirates! The pirates, I say!” But will they do anything that makes good business sense, like simplifying the product or lowering the price? Of course not. They’ll just make sure that those “DOWNLOADING IS STEALING” messages on every fucking DVD and video game you buy will just be more loud and abrasive. Not to mention the fact that the operating system will send more of your personal information to Microsoft’s servers in the name of “security.” It is so time to go Linux.

Hanlon’s Razon tells us, “Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity.” And damn, there’s a whole lot of stupidity in the world. That’s one reason I don’t buy into a whole lot of conspiracy theories: conspiracy theorists have way too much faith in human intelligence. I, on the other hand, think that most of the world’s ills are due to dumbfucks in high places whose only job qualifications consist of being able to do as little as possible whilst covering their collective asses well enough to keep their jobs. Submitted for your approval: an Canadian owned and operated automobile company that builds zero-emission vehicles… that are illegal to operate in Canada.

There is no conspiracy here. People are just a bunch of fuck-ups. Hopefully the intelligent people behind this car are persistent enough to stay in business long enough for the idiots to wake up.