Tuesday, December 30, 2014

Pointless Post #99 - Happy New Year edition

While defogging the car this evening, I saw weird lines on my windshield.  It looked like someone was drawing large letters perpendicular to a normal viewpoint AND I was reading it backwards......oh wait now I could see it. Some dumb kid wrote the F-word across the glass when it was frosty earlier in the day.

Classless brat.

I think I used about 10 squirts of wiper fluid and there was still oily residue from his fingers left behind on the windshield causing reflective glare from oncoming headlights.  I washed it off with a squeegee at a gas station.  Happy new year to me.

2015 is right around the corner. Just bring it suckah. God is on my side, right?

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Gas still going down....I've seen it as low as 103.9 a few weeks ago. I filled up at 108.9 today, but I saw 105.9¢/litre.Awww yea.

Tuesday, December 02, 2014

Pointless Post #98 - Priorities Edition

I bought myself a bag of chips on Saturday, fully intending to eat it during the weekend, but then I was hit with food poisoning on Sunday (the last thing I remembered was eating half a sub and a cookie) and since then it's been miniscule smatterings of "meals," water, and uncontrollable and excessive visits to the washroom.  Yesterday's 4am wakeup call was rough. Ugh.

For the most part, my thoughts have been predominated by making sure I'm not behind at work, recovering, staying warm (so many chills!), and whether or not I'll be able to keep food/liquids inside of me, but a good chunk of my thoughts of me wanting my body to return to 100% is so that I'll be healthy enough to eat that bag of chips. That crunch, that texture, that crisp, burst of salty goodness once it hits the tongue and delicious aroma of fried potato that envelopes my senses. Mmmmm.

Oh man, I love chips.  I miss you so much...

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OPEC hates Russia so gas prices are going down and now it's at 117.9¢/litre. Wooo!

Sunday, October 26, 2014

"Celebrating" Halloween as a Christ-loving Christian

For a topic such as this and growing up in a fairly conservative, Christian, immigrant household, I feel the need that I should write a ton about this subject in order to be able to defend my position, but being that these are my opinions and I'm feeling incredibly lazy and tired, I don't want to.  Also, I think this "article" is more of an opinion piece anyways.  I will babble away though.

I personally think it is safe and reasonable for Bible-believing Christians and especially children today to "celebrate" Halloween as long as they have responsible, God-fearing adults who can teach them what's right and what's wrong.  This is such a generic framework, but yet it applies to everything too, not just Halloween.

As a kid and up until a few years ago, I never liked the month of October. I actually found it annoying.  I hated the emphasis on playing on other people's fears and scaring one another.  I found that black and orange are not aesthetically pleasing as colour schemes.  I was afraid of the "demonic" and the dark aspect of traditions or folklore because I had a very active imagination that would end up scaring me.  I hated the spooky decorations and frightening characters that were on display in public places like shopping malls.  And I hated how fireworks are sold during this time, mostly ending up in the hands of very stupid teenagers who will endanger themselves and other people's lives (FULL DISCLOSURE: I was once a very stupid teen who played with fireworks with friends.  I was an idiot.  Fireworks should not be made readily available in BC).

So what's changed since then?

I think a large part of my mindset before can be attributed to my conservative upbringing, which was heavily influenced by Christian media (eg. radio programs such as Focus on the Family), teachers at the Christian schools I attended, and especially at church, where the leaders in charged of the kids program wanted to distance themselves from all things "halloweeny" because that's a "non-Christians" thing on October 31st.  We're different.  Which means we'll just have a "Fall Fun Day" or some other costume-themed event on October 31st, which will also be filled and centered around sweets and lots of candy.  And if anyone asks, well then no, we are not celebrating Halloween at the church/school/whatever.  It's completely different.  It's a fall party!  No one has scary costumes.  We're playing wholesome games and everyone is going home with the same amount of conveniently portioned Halloween candy because that's what's fair.

When I look back at my experiences as a kid around Halloween, I feel like what I did at church at our non-Halloween party is kind of similar to what non-Christians do now at Christmas time.  Both "celebrations" are just watered down versions of what the other thinks the real day is all about.

And what do I currently think Halloween is all about now? Honestly, its about a lot of candy and dressing up in a costume because it's fun and even that sometimes its ok to act like an idiot because it can be hilarious.  Fear is stupid and irrational and I don't want any part in that. Some people love scaring themselves.  I don't.  Oh yeah, and none of this stupid, slutty version of costumes nonsense.

So what's the point of my opinion piece?  I'm voicing my opinion for the poor kid who's overzealous religious parent(s) is trying to stifle out of the fun of being a kid because you only get to be a kid once.  When I was young, I happily attended the non-Halloween, church-based "Halloween" parties and I loved it. It was great for me.  Nothing to be scared of.  Good clean, wholesome fun. And candy.

As I got older, I wondered what a "normal" Halloween was like and my parents very willingly and happily took me and some friend's out trick-or-treaing and it was fun (although very, very time consuming going house to house).  The last time I went trick-or-treating was in Grade 7 and I went with a few classmates with our friend's parents who chaperoned us. Her dad was a Lutheran pastor.  We dressed up in Wizard of Oz themed inspired costumes, got a lot of candy, and I was happy.

And what do I do now that I'm an adult?  (hahaha that sounds hilarious)

Two years ago I strapped a sword to my back, splattered some reddish/brown paint on a shirt, drew eyeblack lines on my face, wore my steel toed boots, tied my hair back and went to a party as a zombie killer (and ALSO attended Bible study right before that, muahaha).  Last year I bought a banana costume because let's face it, bananas are hilarious.  I went to a going away party as a banana on Oct 30th (I was the only one who dressed up, how strange...) and went to work as a banana, happily typing away at my workstation all day, pretending that nothing was different. And surprise, I'm going to be a banana again this year. If they weren't so expensive, I might consider going as a hotdog.  Food as a costume is hilarious.

Ok so my takeaway message is: Christian parents, guardians, chaperones, adults in charge of your kid's program at church/private school/whatever. If you're reading this, it's ok for your children to "celebrate" Halloween. Just make sure they know what's right and what's wrong and that love conquers fear and that people are inherently evil and stupid, yadda yadda yadda, Christ is the reason why we can be a light in the darkness and to be in the world, but not of the world.

And let me stress that even though I think my opinion is correct, PLEASE don't take my opinion as fact (remember, I'm the guy who dressed up and went to work as a banana last year (and will be again this year) and that is not completely sane). Search the Scriptures yourself, pray, get godly counsel, and then make a properly informed and biblical decision on what's right for your kids regarding Halloween.
  
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:2, NIV, emphasis added) 

Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.  (Matthew 10:16, NKJV, emphasis added)
The packaging that sold me on buying the costume.

November 2, 2013 - Me as a banana at my friends' daughter's birthday. Good times.

Saturday, October 11, 2014

Mini Life Update

It's neat to be able to look back and reflect on changes in my life.  Things that I used to consider important and a fairly significant part of my life that really aren't important anymore and also things I wouldn't have imagined myself doing a couple years ago.  Also, changes in general because that's always new and exciting.

It was pretty much last fall where I stopped caring about the Canucks and hockey.  It makes me a little sad to say that, but not that sad since the team sucks (eg. missing the 2013-2014 Playoffs ).  And the team isn't the same team as the one I knew and loved.  So many guys have gone in and out that I don't know who plays on what line anymore. LOOOUUUUU!

Soccer, however, or football, the beautiful game...... aaah nothing beats that.  Whitecaps FC, Chelsea FC, Barclays Premiere League, EUFA Champion's League, etc etc etc.  It's much more satisfying in my opinion.  I definitively couldn't have said that 2 - 3 years ago.

Oh and wearing colourful socks.  I know I've mentioned this before, but it's just so fun!  I've always tried to wear clothing that's very muted and "blah," usually dark coloured clothing, but I LOVE wearing crazy socks.  I like looking at other people's socks too.  I was at a "random" Bible study this week and I met a girl who was wearing the same colour mismatch as me, ON THE SAME FEET. Sock besties! 8^D

I can't even remember her name or what she looks like, but she has great taste in feetwear!

I care less about what other people think (to a degree) and I have another new job.  That reminds me, I had to have my photo taken for the security pass card for building access and I wanted to smile ridiculously because in my mind that's hilarious, but the lady who was taking my picture took way too long to press the shutter and my jaw fatigued and so I ended up look stupidly overjoyed instead.  It's still kinda funny though.

My schnozz looks huge
 I also have a bit more of a desire to eat healthily and exercise regularly, but whether I actually follow through on that......hmmm. Let's just say that on Labour Day this year, despite beautiful sunny weather, I stayed inside all day after making a whole pack of bacon, and then I cooked the eggs and toast in the bacon grease.  Thank you God :-)

Just looking at this picture makes me happy
EDIT: and cereal! I used to be a long time eater of (G)Oatmeal Crisp (+ 10 years) by General Mills, but now I almost only eat Honey Nut Bunches of Oats.... by POST! What is going on in my life?!!????!

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Gas was in the 137 range for the longest time and now its at 126.9¢/litre. WHAT.

Saturday, September 20, 2014

Somewhere in the Middle Life Crisis

While carpooling with my neighbour one afternoon last month, she had to to make a detour to pick up her five year old son from daycare and I tagged along.  He was super reluctant to leave because the daycare was right next to a school playground AND a park.  It was a beautifully warm and sunny start to the evening and since no one was in a hurry to go anywhere, my neighbour allowed her son to play on the playground for a a few minutes before returning to the car  And since I had all this pent up energy from sitting at a desk all day at work, I too took the opportunity to swing on the swing, climb the monkey bars, and zip down the slides.  I'd do it again in a heartbeat.  Upon returning to the car, the little boy proceeded to beg his mom over and over again to invite me for dinner so that I would play with him after.  After seeing me act like a giant kid on the playground, I think he didn't view me as an adult anymore.

It was funny.

A few weeks later I was again in the presence of some cool kids lesser my age.  It was during a meal at my church leading up to the evening's Youth Alpha series we were running and somehow the discussion centered around cool apps on smartphones.  Some of the teens tried to explain Instagram and elaborate on other apps that I'd never heard of and so when I responded, I started going off on this amazing biking app, Cyclometer, which I had just discovered during the week and was using to track my commute.

"All of the details of your ride are there.  It doesn't just trace your route on a map, but it tracks your average speed, max speed, distance traveled, and even shows this cool little graph of the hills and elevation that you've cycled!" I exclaimed.

"....wow, you sound just like my dad when he first got his smartphone," one of the kids noted.  I think he was about nineteen or twenty.  He was not impressed.

Overall, I suppose it was funny.

But, seriously though, how cool is that bike app?!  8^D

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Gas has still been in the low to mid 140s for a while, but I saw it for 135.9¢/litre today.  GasBuddy is another one of my favourite apps. 8^D

Tuesday, August 05, 2014

Monday, August 04, 2014

Pointless Post #96 - Que Saran, Saran (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)

I can't find a roll of saran wrap that I cut in half that I use to wrap and tie things up with and it's really bumming me out.

o_o

EDIT: February 26, 2015 - Found it! It was hiding standing up on its end, disguised amidst a group of bottles underneath a sink.  Yay 8^D

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Gas has been in the low to mid 140s for a while (143.9¢/litre yesterday). 

Saturday, July 26, 2014

Pointless Post #95 - Because Jesus Didn't Tap Edition

My friend asked me if I knew how to interpret the meaning of dreams and proceeded to regale a dream that he had about the two of us recently.  We were wrestling/fighting each other and he got leg hooks in and was starting to choke me out, but he was trying to warn me that I should give in so that I wouldn't lose consciousness.  Apparently I was being incredibly stubborn and in the end, he choked me out.  He was upset that he had to submit me, but more upset that I didn't tap. 

After telling me this dream, my friend told me that he hoped his dream didn't mean anything in regards to our real life friendship.  I thought it was amusing.

In other Tim-news, why do I have a pimple on my knee and on my leg? WHY?!??

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Pointless Post #94 - Tim's World Cup 2014 Anthem

For the next month, this is what's going through my head:


There are too many games I want to watch, aaaaagh!  Especially Belgium! Man, I've been rooting for them for over two years now.  It's so footballing exciting.

Sigh.

EDIT: April 14, 2016 - I realize that the YouTube video initially posted doesn't work so here's another:


Wednesday, June 04, 2014

Changing My Pants in Public (Underwear, Under There!)

Last summer, I biked to a job interview. It was a beautiful, sunny day and I didn't want to take the bus because 1) I hate Translink's inefficiency 2) I didn't want to spend money 3) It was sunny and 4) I was specifically told not to dress up for the interview.  The job in question was for a local company that organizes sports recreational leagues for adults and it was supposed to be very informal.

Anyways, I biked to the general neighborhood about an hour before hand so that I could get an ice coffee, prepare some of my answers to potential questions, work on some questions that I wanted to ask them about, as well as cool down and stop sweating.  I sweat just from walking up a flight of stairs so a 45 minute bike ride in the summer sun does wonders for my sweat glands and appearance.

When I was ready to head over to the office as my interview time approached, I soon found out that the washrooms of the fast food place were not only disgusting, but also too tiny for me to change in.  This would have been an appropriate time to panic as I was wearing a sweaty tshirt and shorts, but instead I decided to wander around outside to see if there were any other places nearby I could change.

There were not.

However, the parking lot adjacent to the fast food restaurant had some parked vehicles scattered here and there and with a wooden fence on one side, I just gave up and sat down on the curb in between two very tall trucks, and changed into a clean pair of dress pants and put on a collared shirt, tucking it in and everything.  Across the street about two blocks away was a tall office building and if anyone was by the windows, they would have had a clear view of my absurdity, but hey, I got changed, looked decently business casual and made it to the interview on time.

The interview went really well, the two interviewers both said that I was overly dressed, and I got called back for a second interview, where I shared a pint with one of the owners of the company.  I didn't get the job, but at least I have a reasonably amusing story about it.

Worst case scenario, someone wandering by would have seen me in my underwear in the middle of a Vancouver parking lot in a nice summer day, but with the way Vancouver is now, I'm sure it wouldn't have been the weirdest thing they've seen.

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Gas has been in the high 140s and low 150s since April (147.9 - 151.9¢/litre). Gasoline companies, you suck.

Saturday, March 15, 2014

Sometimes, WIND Mobile really, really sucks



I followed through with my obtaining a new smartphone intentions and upgraded to a Nokia Lumia 521.  A budget smartphone that does everything I need plus more (and it cost me under $80).  I'm a simple guy; extravagance is overrated.  There's no need to dump my money into an object that can get lost or stolen in seconds (although if a thief did take my phone, I would assume they would bring it back to me out of disappointment).  I would be grateful for that.

Cell phones I've owned in my lifetime.  That's it.

So with a new phone,  I decided to dump SpeakOut for a new wireless telephone plan and after much research and cost-benefit analysis, I decided on a $30/month plan from WIND Mobile (unlimited local text, talk, data, blah blah alskdjfalksdjf).  Compared with what other companies offer and what you could get with WIND, this is a fantastic, or I daresay of the HIGHEST excellence of plans regarding the service and features offered with price paid.

BUT (...think huge, of the Sir Mix-a-Lot variety) there is a good reason.  Their wireless coverage is of the MEDIOCRE averageness (or depending on your experience, really SUCKY, like the Sir James Dyson variety).  When I'm out in the open, I can usually get full bars no problem, but as soon as I go into a building, depending on what room or level I'm on, I can easily get one bar or no reception at all.  At my current place of work, I'm near the top of a twenty-one story building and until I calling tech support numerous times to inquire about it, I would get no reception at all.  I visited several WIND retail stores and each time, sales reps told me that the more I complained about a location of poor reception to the corporate tech support number, the more focus it would get from network management so in the end I did that.  For now, my reception is stable at one crappy bar, but if I move a few feet (and sometimes if I just pick up my phone) I'll lose all reception for a few minutes.  It's dumb.

WIND's customer service is pretty lame too.  I don't think it will improve until the company grows more and then they'll be able to get better resources, but that's just me trying to be optimistic.  Every time I called, the agents answering the phone would always politely take information and details regarding my "issue," but always failed to tell me what the problem was and when it would be resolved, apologizing non-stop the whole time (I'll bet they were trained in that). My issue was always in a queue.  I actually took the time to hand write a two-page letter detailing my reception problems, but no one replied me.  NO ONE.  Amateurs.   

The TL;DR version of this story is that WIND sucks, but I'm willing to pay for their service because it's cheaper than the others.

The End.  8^(  <== sad face

Addendum EDIT,  June 4, 2014:  Before my contract ended at that work building, I discovered another co-worker who was also on WIND and she had the exact same problem as I did.  We determined that there was just a dead zone on that side of the building because if we walked to the opposite side of the building, we both got reception.  However, there are still times when I have absolutely no reception for no good reason.

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I update a new album on Flickr almost everyday, called "Chalkboard Mug."  I dressed up in tights as an elf at a Christmas party last December and I won a chalkboard mug for best costume.  I try to draw something stupid everyday and this album is the result:


https://secure.flickr.com/photos/72937995@N00/sets/72157640451301713/
Album contains 53 photos as of today.


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I found a pond where ducks frequent and some of them are really mean:



And yet they're still so cute.

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Gas was in the 130s about a month ago, but in the past two weeks has jumped up to the 140s and I've seen it as high as 142.9¢/litre.

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Pointless Post #93 - Oatmeal Musings

I eat instant oatmeal really, really often now. It looks like and reminds me of cat vomit.

Here's a video of Lance eating celery:




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Gas has been in the 129 - 131.9¢/litre for the past week and a bit.

Monday, January 06, 2014

Pointless Post #92 - New Calendar Edition

I don't have a 2014 calendar yet to put on my wall (I NEVER buy calendars and don't intend to start now), and I've found this past week having to squint a lot at the tiny "January 2014" preview portion of my old  December 2013 page just because.

So tonight I decided to remedy that by doing this:
Problem solved!


In other Tim-news, my Twitter feed is up and going strong for the past five days.  As promised, it is completely useless and of little value to.......the entire freaking universe.  But as this is the internet, I see fit to add my garbage into the mix, again, just because.  The thing that amazes me the most so far is that I'm actually gaining followers and haven't lost any yet.  What's wrong with you people!?

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EDIT: January 17, 2014
A few days after posting this, a super nice lady I know bought a calendar, but only wanted the pictures and gave me the numbered month sheets. WIN