General update

I've been dividing my leisure time between playing a new computer game, reading, and working on literary projects. Well, it's a new game as far as I'm concerned. Warcraft III (not World of Warcraft, since I don't have enough time/interest to spend online), and so far, I'm enjoying it. I'm playing an undead hero who's out to bring destruction to the land of the living, and it's been quite a bit of fun. Except when my melee fighters keep getting turned into sheep by those pesky sorceresses. That reminds me of Hexen II; another game where sheep seem to play a large role. What is the fascination with sheep? With the minds behind Sims, it's llamas, but SHEEP? Strange at times. Meanwhile, I'm halfway through the undead phase of the game and I don't really have the hang of melee fighting. Another reason why I wouldn't enjoy World of Warcraft.
On the reading front, I just finished reading Cressida Cowell's 'How to be a pirate'. It might seem a little young compared to much of what I read, but her series wasn't around when I was younger. I have much catching up to do. Cowell has a good writing style and I like the illustrations. Very good, considering they are supposed to be hand-drawn by the 'true author' of the story. They lend the right amount of realism and make the reader believe that Cowell's main character really is telling the story. Soon I'll be starting upon Rand's 'Anthem'. Back to the serious stuff. Oh, and I finished reading the second installment of 'Naruto' recently as well. Is my choice of literature getting younger? Considering the clientele I work with, I think reading manga and the like is a good enough idea.
And then there's the literary project that I know I need to work on. The Muse comes when it will, and it comes intermittently for me, which is frustrating at times. However, I'm doing what a teachers advised I should do. I'm creating the world my characters live in. Much like playing Sims... only I'm describing the world so that others can see it in their mind's eye. That's what's been going on with me since my last post. BYE.

Closing it down

I'm movin' up in the world! The division accepted my request for a transfer to a middle school the week before last. That's not the real reason for my posting this evening, though. The local laminator is a little messed up, and now everyone's smelling the nastiness of burning plastic. That contraption and I do not co-exist well in the workplace, but changing it and maintaining it is one of my duties. I don't know when someone last cleared the gunk from the heat rollers on that thing, but I suspect all that gunk probably jammed up one of its sensors. This particular model usually takes 15 mins. to heat up, only it was over 25 mins. today and it continued to heat up. Then came the (ugggh) stench of burning plastic as smoke (or steam -- the jury is still out) started wafting up from the heat rollers. This happened the other day as well, but now the plastic is all messed up on the rollers. This laminator is offline!
I got in touch with the local service company, and man, is the price for the guy just walking through the door steep! I know laminators ain't cheap, but WOW! And then it's additional for the parts. Almost as nauseating as the stench of burning plastic. So that was my day today. After some conferring, it was decided that the service guy needed to come through the door and have a look at the mess. He'll be in next week. I'm relieved, to be sure. I did not want my parting act to have the flavour of 'burn in...' That phrase went through my head over the last couple of days whenever I thought about that miserable laminator. Things will be (hopefully) taken care of before I make my switch.
I am going to miss those kids (and the staff as well). But I've got a whole bunch of new kids to look forward to. I guess that's about all for now. I'm reading Hegel and trying to make sense of it. Now it's time for the weekend. BYE.

Strange feeling

One publishing house I've come to respect is Shambhala. If not for this group, so many great teachings and documents would have never reached the West. I have several books from this publishing house already, and know there are many more that I have yet to read. What I like about Shambhala is that they do not dumb down the material. They are trying to make the teachings available to everyone, but they do warn if this or that is too difficult for the beginner down this path. Reading books published by this group brings a smile to my face and a delight to my spirit, so when I come across something from them in the library, I eagerly seize upon it and get reading. My most recent discovery is the Diamond Heart series, and I've started with the 4th book in the series. I also have the 2nd book in the series in waiting, and will get to it as soon as possible.
This book, I'll admit, troubled me for a while. It screams 'California' and 'New Age' in my head, and I usually avoid 'New Age-y' stuff like the plague. The music works out all right, for the most part, but the books I have come across relating to 'New Age' usually annoy me after a while. They talk in enigmas and circles, and they give me a headache. Books on Buddhist teachings give me occasional headaches, but I come away eventually feeling good. Books I have branded as 'Californian' give me a headache and a feeling of 'get this book away from me'. This feeling came over me as I read 'Indestructible innocence' (4th book in the series), but I'm going to keep reading it. I'm not a glutton for punishment, and I do have a reason to get through to the end of this book.
It's turning out to be well-trod ground, which I do not have a problem with. What is well-trod for some is the road n'er travelled by others. Those who wish to start on the path but would rather avoid the Buddhist terms and use terms they can better understand would find this book (can't speak for the series yet) to be a good choice. I don't like New Age because it occasionally gets bogged down in convolution and the 'hippy-dippy', but this book is trying hard to avoid such detours. I'm going to see this journey through just in case I come across something yet undiscovered. Anyway, that's what's going on in my life. BYE.

I give you, the weekend

Very cold weather has hit Winnipeg over the past week. Snow seems to be falling on every big city in the world. England even got more than its fair share of Winter this year. It's times like these when perspective plays a huge role. Canadians (especially 'Peggers) shook their heads mockingly as the Brits lamented and bewailed their plight, while the kids had a snow day and lots of fun with the snow. Worst Winter in 30 years, the headlines said. We in Canada would call that December, or January, or February, or March... or May. It has happened before and it may happen again. I remember when Toronto called out the army when they got snowed under. 'Peggers again shook their heads and snorted derisively. To this day, 'Peggers still chuckle as they recall how pitiful Toronto was. Things are a little different for England, however. This is a nation more used to rain and fog as their winterscenes. Besides, shovelling is a real pain for anyone.
I forgot to plug my car in last night, so hopefully it will start when I head out into the world today. I'm listening to John Lennon this morning. #9 Dream, to be precise. I guess it's as good a title for a song as anything. Ah bawakawa pousse pousse, indeed! It will be thirty years this December since the man himself was ushered into his next life. He could be anyone or anything that walks this planet today. But enough meandering through reincarnation and rebirth. I'm reading about Tibetan Buddhism, so I may go off on such tangents. I've been duelling with doubts and worries this past week (quelle surprise!), and I'm hoping this will pass before long. I do this way too much, I think. Could it bring me a heart attack someday? Hope not, but so be it if it does.
I guess that's all I have to say. BYE.

Fresh paper!

Another diary filled, another diary in waiting. Makes me wonder if there's a record for longest time someone's kept a diary. Only the minds at Guinness would know for sure. I'm closing in on the 20 year mark, assuming I've done the math correctly. Let's see... I received my first diary for Xmas 1992 and really started writing in it in 1994... it's 2010 now.... Assuming I start with 1994, it has been 15 years since I got to scribbling. I was hoping to post a little something from that first journal into this post. Unfortunately, I cannot seem to find the flash drive that has all that memorial goodness. Also, my PC doesn't have Corel Word Perfect (my laptop does, but I don't have the Internet on my laptop). I'll find a way to put some ancient scribbles up on to this blog one day. I guess I could post from my parents' house... they've got Corel.
Oh well. In the meantime, I've started reading 'Indestructible truth' for the 3rd time. I've got a system (like many anal folks do) for books I like. I've got two lists going (books to reread in a year; books to reread in two years). I just don't have a third list started. Maybe I should. Call it 'books to purchase' so I'm not always going to the library. Of course, if I can't purchase the book, then maybe I could put it back on the Two Years list. Just me mumbling o'er meaningless matters. I'm also working through 'Classics of Philosophy', which has over 1000 pages. I'm close to halfway, and this time, I will not give up until I've come to the end of it. Then I have to decide whether it's worth keeping or giving to CD. Somebody's going to want this behemoth of a book.
I dug out my Mp3 player today. Busy charging it. I'm never sure when it's completely ready to go. I also have to fill it up with music again. And then there's my new diary. I like to wonder when I'll have it filled. It's fairly slim, so I'm going to guess that it will be full by the end of 2010. If it makes it to 2011, I'll be surprised.
That's it, that's all. There ain't no more. BYE.