To do list, March 8th, 2005.

• Summarize articles for in-class presentation for next week on incorporating graphics in technical writing
• Read chapters 1-2 and Appendix E of Mark My Words
• Revise second draft of empirical research draft
• Study for Wednesday midterm exam
• Prepare oral presentation on professional writing website
• Prepare portfolio and resume for two job applications for Thursday
• Tear out hair (oh, wait, I already did that)

Note that sleep isn't on the list.

Sphere: Related Content

Unfortunately, shaving my head doesn't necessarily
make me play guitar like the guy on the left.

It has yet to be determined if I inherit male pattern baldness from my father's side (+) or my mother's side (-). Still, I made the conscious decision to go cueball on my own accord. It took a lot of effort and I actually needed a lot of assistance. I first attempted to do it all myself and managed to get rid of the bulk of it, but I missed a lot of spots. Once my mom was able to nail the stray tufts, from there it was going from 1/8ths of an inch down to the scalp.

My observations are as follows:

• Most people who already know me reacted in shock. Reactions ranged from stunned silence to "Oh. My. God." In response to one reaction, I said, "Didja hear that? I got a 'woah,'" to which the person I talked to said, "And there's a good chance you'll get a 'wow' by the end of the day."
• I'm having noticeably less stress since doing the cueball treatment. While I can partly attribute this to the fact that I have a lot fewer assignments due this week, I'm also noticing a constant cool breeze going through my hair (read: stubble) even in a heated room.
• Showers take just as long, as the time that would normally be spent shampooing is now spent putting the electric razor to my scalp.
• Bald people can have dandruff too (who woulda thought?).
• Wool toques and hoodies are a lot harder to put on and removing them is almost like ripping velcro apart.
• People will not always rub a bald person's head for good luck.

I never had really great hair to begin with, which was part of my motivation for removing it. That, and I'm suspecting that it was coming out due to stress (although that was possibly due to me tearing it out more than anything else). On top of that, I was way overdue for a haircut. Besides, when the electric razor costs $30 and a haircut starts at around $15, after a few buzzes at the razor, it's already paid for itself.

I promised myself years ago that if I was going to take after my late father and develop MPB, I would shave it. Nothing is more sad than men suffering from MPB in denial and doing the comb-over. That's worse than surgical techniques and hair-pieces.

My only beef is that what I'm saving in shampoo I'll end up spending on moisturizer for my scalp.

Sphere: Related Content

That's Good / That's Bad: The Day in Review.

Still in the middle of crunch time at school, I've suspected that I've had attention deficit disorder (ADD) as I've had difficulty concentrating on school work. So, I go to the doctor, and he tells me I don't have ADD. That's good.

However, it's not so much that I don't have ADD (no test was administered, because my doctor "didn't have time"), but I don't have a doctor that doesn't dispense pills like candy (I think that's good). Therefore, he only dispenses prescriptions for Ritalin if a parent comes in with their kid and their kid isn't sitting still and destroying the office. According to him, I'm "functional." Therefore, no Ritalin for me. And, therefore, I find myself blogging, watching DVDs, and goofing off when I should be studying. That's bad.

But, being that I was in my doctor's office (and I didn't want him to think that I was just pill chasing), I decided to have a bunch of other things done while I was at it, so I got my tetatanus shot upgraded. Therefore, I don't have to worry if I happen to step on a rusty nail. That's good.

Three scars, left leg

Back in 1994, I underwent a surgical technique called Ilizarov surgery, which involves having crooked or deformed bones corrected by surgically breaking them (via cortiotomy) and then straightening them through a network of wires pins and screws (click the link to learn more). This process also involves pins that are drilled to the bone through the skin. Since the pins were removed, the bone reacted and not only healed up the hole, but generated scar tissue and excess bone growth. Excess bone growth manifests itself as lumps under the skin. If I'm wearing functionally tight fitting footwear like snowboard boots or rollerblades for more than six hours at a time, I will be left with blisters or abrasions over the pin sites. I asked my doctor if I can do anything about that (eg: surgeon goes in and sands them down or something like that), but my doctor says it'll likely come back and even worse than before. That's bad.

"Fell in Love with a Girl" by the White Stripes,
transcribed entirely with my right hand

One of my goals of the year is to become ambidextrous, so I've taken steps by doing the daily morning crossword with my right hand while I eat cereal with my left (I'm left handed). So far, the results are somewhat mixed. Today, I got bored in class, so I wrote out the lyrics to "Fell in Love with a Girl" by the White Stripes with my right hand. Surprisingly, it's actually legible. Barely. That's good.

While I was at the doctor's office, when asking about options about what to do about the excess bone growth in my legs, he pulled out a catalogue of braces, supports, and tapes from an athletic medicine company. I mentioned off hand that I wear a wrist brace (actually a wrist guard for inline skating) during my martial arts classes. I then go into the story about how I crunched my left wrist after messing up a backflip. He asks to examine at the wrist. I stress it in a certain way that isn't painful, but causes weird crunching sounds (the other wrist doesn't do that). I also explain that certain movements cause pain while others do not. He then goes on to say that it won't get better on its own and will need surgery to repair. It'll take at least six weeks to recover, plus rehabilitation. He issued me an appointment card to get my left wrist x-rayed. I need that hand to write and my right-handed penmanship is not that legible. That's bad.

I submitted my portfolio for a summer work experience session through my school program. I submitted lots of eye-catching colour images, which I think will help, because I already talked to the person doing hiring and she indicated that she'd be interested in seeing them. I think I have a really good shot at that position. That's good.

Unfortunately, the summer experience is spread out over the entire summer, which means booking time off to get my surgery done will be difficult. Plus, it'll make finding paying work during the summer pretty difficult too. That's bad.

The school week is finally over. That's good.

I barely have enough time to study and work at the same time. That's bad.

If I quit my job, I'll have more time to study. That'll be good.

If I quit my job, I'll be broke. That'll be bad.

Sphere: Related Content

To Do List, February Week 4.

Monday: 5-minute oral presentation on short story, theoretical research progress report draft.

Tuesday: 3 hours volunteer work for Adbusters magazine, copy editing assignment.

Wednesday: Oral presentation on job readiness website

Thursday: Final version of theoretical research progress report, technical manual planning guide, doctor's appointment, submit portfolio for potential summer work experience with Anvil Press (rewrite cover letter, revise resume, compile portfolio).

Non-dated, but must be completed by end of week:

-Query letters for Electronic Arts, Rethink Advertising, and Blast Radius Communications
-Clean room
-Review transcriptions for articles for Fangoria magazine

After all of this, it'll be nothing short of a miracle if I have all of my hair. I have a large stack of DVDs that are still in the shrink wrap while my XBox is beginning to rust due to lack of use. Tack on the fact that my deadlines are all skewed to hell due to rotating strikes from the BCGEU, it looks like I'll be well-occupied for the next two or three weeks.

Two weeks ago, my mom bought a case of a drink called "Red Rave", which is purported to be some sort of energy drink. My mom bought it thinking that it was supposed to help with my exercises. I had to explain to her the REAL use of it and pointed out the fact that it has a significant amount of caffeine in it. She was going to return it to the place she bought it, but I already cracked open a can. I will most likely mow through the entire case over the next two weeks.

Sphere: Related Content

Plug time! The latest issue of Fangoria magazine containing my article "Angels and Devils" hits stands today. For that, I got to hang out on the set of Blood Angels (formerly known as Thralls) and hang with the cast and crew to get a behind-the-scenes report. Pick it up if you can!

Sphere: Related Content

On yet another Valentine's Day that will likely spent by myself, I was seriously considering going into a rant into my frustrations on the dating and relationships, but it'd just come across as really bitter and depressing. So, instead, I'm digging up a previous gem and posting it for your pleasure.

The Top Ten Worst Valentine's Day Gifts Ever (revised)
(originally written for the Valentine's Day issue of Over the Edge in Feb. 1996)

10: A candle lit dinner for two...at McDonald's
9: A box of dead flowers from that guy you just broke up with
8: Personalized jewelry. That has someone else's name scratched off it
7: Red and white balloons filled with tear gas
6: A red and white teddy bear that says "I want to f*** you in the ass" when you squeeze its tummy
5: A Valentine's Day card that reads, "You will be my Valentine! You will! EVEN IF IT KILLS YOU!"
4: St. Valentine's dead rotted remains
3: A box of chocolates which are really chocolate covered laxatives reshaped into little heart shapes
2: Sexy underwear from some guy you don't really know, but he's been following you everywhere and leaving weird messages on your answering machine
1: A pair of handcuffs

Happy Valentine's Day to all of those who are fortunate to be with someone that they truly care for.

Sphere: Related Content

On sit-down with my cousin at Mount Seymour

Today was yet another reminder that I'm not nineteen anymore.

Lethargic, exhausted, feverish, and sicker than shit. This is after three days straight of taking my cousin with me, hitting the slopes of Mount Semour, taking martial arts classes, and working out at the gym (and going shopping too). There was a point in time when I could do all of those things without needing so much as a nap and a can of cola, but since I wanted to make sure my cousin Kate's visit was memorable, I made sure that every day there was something interesting to do. I shouldn't really complain too much, because I brought this on myself.

This was mostly due to the fact that three years ago, when she came to visit us, a lot of what we were doing was just hitting restaurants, staying at home, listening to music, and watching movies. Sure, Vancouver has the infamous no-fun zone reputation (killjoy citizens trying to get rid of the yearly fireworks festival and probably not shedding any tears for the loss of the Molson Indy), but can't you do those things just about anywhere? So, I made sure this time would be different. It's probably a good thing I decided not to take her clubbing on Saturday night.

I dunno what was the most memorable moment of Kate's last visit to Vancouver, although it was possibly when I drove her and my mom to Peace Arch Park and inadvertently gotten ourselves detained at the border. Post-9/11, those guys don't mess around. That was pretty embarassing.

A couple years ago, I made the promise that I would go visit her in Australia before I turn 30 (I got at least a couple of years to go). I'll make sure I plan how I spend my time well in advance so I can at least deal with the jet lag and weird food, not to mention whatever I'll be doing while I'm there.

One thing is for certain, though. I have got to start acting my age.

But why would I want to do a thing like that?

Sphere: Related Content

Artist Steve Skroce (The Amazing Spider-Man, The Matrix storyboards, Doc Frankenstein) at the Vancouver Comicon

Several weeks prior, I decided to indulge in the ultimate geek gathering, the Comic Book Convention. Harkening images of sweaty young to middle aged males that don't get enough exercise, debating as to who would win in a fight between Namor the Sub-Mariner and Aquaman, and the endless line-ups of people who want autographed comics, I went anways.

Things have certainly changed in the past twelve years.

The first comic book convention I ever went to was back in 1993, when Canadian alternative press artist Dave Sim (Cerebus) was doing signings at the Heritage Hall. I remember reading the comics years previous. While the serialized adventures of a talking aadrvark never got mainstream attention along the level of X-Men or Batman, the book enjoyed a fairly lengthy run (300 issues) and even managed to have some cross-over appeal, with his character making guest appearances in issues if Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Spawn.

It was the guest appearance in Spawn #10 that attracted all the fans, as the line-up to get his autographs and sketches was looooooong. This was all for a book that would almost never crack the top 100 selling comic books on a month-to-month basis.

Flash forward to 2005, where Vancouver-based artist Steve Skroce is doing signings. I go in and there is no lineup whatsoever. Remembering to bring my copy of The Art of the Matrix and my entire collection of Gambit comic books, I walk up to Mr. Skroce's booth, where he isn't doing much. Not really sure of who he is (I saw a photo of him published in an issue of Wizard, but that was years ago), I introduce myself and we chat. I get him to do a sketch of Trinity inside the Matrix art book, and then he signs all my comics, thanking me for buying all of those books.

The fact that a mainstream artist that has worked on many high profile projects is not nearly as a big a draw as an independent small-press comic book artist and writer tells me that the comic book industry is not nearly as profitable as it once was.

Ideas on how to save the comic book industry have been proposed by the handful. Put comic books in more locations apart from comic book specialty shops. More diversity in genres apart from superheroes. Make the books cheaper. Make them more accessible to younger readers.

Archie and Betty and Veronica repeatedly tell the same stories over and over again, with very few changes in the status quo, yet their circulation numbers are in the millions. In Japan, manga titles are accessible to audiences of all age groups and demographics, while you can get the latest issue of whatever hot title from a local vending machine. The top selling mainstream comic book, The Astonishing X-Men, moves less than 100,000 copies per month, despite the fact that Marvel Comics owns 37% of the market share, while Archie has a 0.38% market share.

Compare this to 1991, where X-Men #1 moves 8 million copies.

Whatever the industry needs to do to right itself, it must be done fast, as comic book stores are becoming an increasing rarity, as are comic book publishers (Dreamwave Productions, the Toronto based studio that produced the TransFormers comics, is the most recent casualty). At this rate, it will only be a matter of time until the heroes of the four colour world will only be seen in a theatre near you. And if the recent spate of comic book films is any indication (ie: Elektra, Catwoman), it won't be long until it's only seen at the video store.

Sphere: Related Content

"And I know there'll be no more tears in hea-- HEY! Get that camera out of my face!"

Only the second time I've played guitar for a crowd, I somehow still managed to suffer from performance anxiety and completely bungle the lyrics to "Be My Yoko Ono" by the Barenaked Ladies and "Fell In Love With a Girl" by the White Stripes. But, at least "Tears in Heaven" came out quite well (even got people waving cigarette lighters too). Although I must hand it to people who are performers. My mestre was getting extreme close-ups with his camera and I was starting to lose focus.

The night was a see-you-later party held for a member of my Capoeira class, Hiro (or, as he's known in the studio, Borracha), who's taking off to Japan. To commemorate the event, there was a talent show. The acts ranged from entertaining to hilariously bizarre.

Last time I played guitar for my Capoeira group, it was at a Christmas party. I completely bungled up the chords to "What Child Is This," immediately followed by a punk rock rendition of "White Christmas" (not that you could hear what I was singing). Any glory gotten from the act was completely wrecked when my classmate Fala Mansa borrowed my guitar and promptly played a note-perfect rendition of "What Child is This." Oh well, my fault for not practicing enough.

So, yeah, I had a good time, and luckily, I did practice a little more, so I didn't completely look bad in front of everyone. Well, at least I'm hoping.

Come back to us soon, Borracha.

Sphere: Related Content

This really stinks of urban legend to me, but it's an amusing anecdote nonetheless.

News headline: Man peed way out of avalanche

Sphere: Related Content

As I write this, BCGEU has resumed their rotating job action at local BC Campuses. I'm 100% sure that BCIT is under lockdown right now, but I'm not sure about the rest of the campuses because there hasn't been any notice about it on the BCGEU website, a news blurb in The Vancouver Sun indicated that ALL BCGEU-staffed campuses would be on strike, and the Douglas College website hasn't been updated yet.

However, if the person that maintains the labour news is actually on strike too, well, that'd explain a lot.

Sphere: Related Content

Hey, everybody. My first article for Fangoria Magazine has finally been published! The article, "Alone Time," is a report from the set of the Vancouver-shot video game-to-film adaptation, Alone in the Dark, directed by Uwe Boll, starring Christian Slater, Tara Reid, and Stephen Dorff. The magazine is on the racks now. Be sure to purchase your own copy before they all sell out!

Also, to mark the occasion, I have also launched an additional blog, "The Work of a Person Who Writes Things," as someone pointed out the fact that "Person That Writes Things" is not completely grammatically correct. That blog will be used mostly to promote my writing projects as they are released.

Sphere: Related Content

Last night was an interesting experience for me, having been invited to perform at an event called Brrrrrlesque at The Lick, an alternative club. Ya-Wen (aka Bala), a student of Capoeira Ache Brasil, invited me to help out with her act, "Testosterone for the Mind." Her act was a parody of self-help dating guides, using Capoeira as a metaphor for dating and relationships.

Of course, there was a stern lecture about ensuring the safety of the patrons (and threats towards turning me into a "punching booth" for $5 a shot if I accidentally hurt anyone), necessary given the fact that the roda that was set up was about 2/3rds the size of a standard Capoeira roda, which meant that I couldn't do the crazy moves (backflips, etc.).

The crowd was impressed, despite the fact I'm nowhere near the level of some of other students in the class. The moral of the story? It doesn't matter if you have no clue what you're doing...as long as it's something that the crowd doesn't know how to do and you have fun while doing it, the crowd will be pretty amused.

The other acts were ranged from titilating to downright bizarre. The highlight of the evening: two burlesque dancers clad in lingerie, one also wearing an American flag, the other distributing peace signs, getting into a fight to the tune of David Bowie's "I'm Afraid of Americans."

Photos of the evening to come!

Sphere: Related Content

As I write this, I really should be in school right now, but there is rotating job action among the unionized support staff of various Lower Mainland campuses. Among the affected institutions: Douglas College, Kwantlen College, BCIT, and North West College. There is a strong possibility that this will result in next week Tuesday's classes being cancelled as well.

I cringe as the radio news reports that 10 cm of snow just fell on Seymour while my snowboard sits unused in the coner as I have a 10:00 meeting for a school project. I could go now, but I then realize that I still have homework assignments to do.

Mental note: save it until reading week in February.

Sphere: Related Content

Walkin' 'round a winter wonderland.

Or NOT! As I write this, I have about an hour to get to Richmond for work, which typically takes about 30-something minutes. I am seriously contemplating taking in a snow day and heading up to Mount Seymour, as my snowboard sits in the corner, unused, idle, neglected, unloved.

And then I realize that my MasterCard bill is coming in the mail. Shower, shave, shampoo, dress, drive, depart, work, whine, whimper.

An extended middle finger to those who took in a snow day today and yesterday. Yesterday, I started my volunteer stint at Adbusters magazine and finished at 1:00PM, thinking I had sufficient time to get to my classes. Not realizing that buses move at a snail's pace, I end up being five minutes late.

Sphere: Related Content

It has begun.

After spending the better part of a weekend of cleaning up my area to make it more presentable for guests during Christmas and New Year's, it has all been shoved aside as now it is time to buckle down and concentrate on school. As it is, I decided that last semester was not nearly stressful enough, juggling regular school assignments with a part time job and attempting to maintain some level of a personal life (which hasn't gone as well as I've been hoping).

So, this semester, I'm taking an additional 3 credit course (total number of credits: 16, vs. 13 last semester), plus my editors out of New York assigned me two films to cover, The Exorcism of Emily Rose and Underworld 2. That, and I decided that I had too much spare time, so I'm now volunteering three hours a week for Adbusters magazine. My part-time job starts again this weekend.

Now what the hell am I doing blogging? I got an assignment due tomorrow!

Sphere: Related Content

Ache Brasil on stage

Okay, still hopped up on that can of Red Bull (R), so here's another photo from Ache Brasil's New Year's party while I got something else on my mind.

New Year's resolutions are something that are done up by many people. Or, at least as many people as those that actually make a point of NOT doing New Year's resolutions for the sake of avoiding disappointment (those people disappoint me). I can speculate on a lot of reasons, the main being that attempts at self-improvement are usually met with failure.

While others tend to give up on them because they are unrealistic, I tend to give up on mine because they're too broad and general. But, here's what I got in mind.

My brother-in-law and I had a discussion about action plans, the long-term goals I should be concentrating on and the steps I need to do in order to make them happen. Plus, I'm committing this to a semi-permanent medium that everyone will see, so I kinda have to follow these through.

1: Improve myself socially. Action plan: be more aware of the way I am perceived by others and work to change that; stand up for myself more often; take a lot less crap from people; learn to choose my battles much more carefully.

2: Improve myself culturally/intellectually. Action plan: set aside 15 minutes a day to read a book not related to school; indulge in less cultural junk food (video games, comic books, action movies); do something culturally/intellectually stimulating at least once a month (eg: go to museum, see a foreign film or a documentary).

3: Improve myself physically. Action plan: continue to exercise regularly and eat properly; bring along journal to keep track of progress of any gains; adjust exercise program at least once a month to avoid stagnation.

4: Improve myself professionally. Action plan: complete education; get out of the house and meet more people and network more often; practice and improve time management skills.

The main difference between these and traditional New Year's resolutions is that I at least know what I have to do in order to get these things done.

Okay, that can of Red Bull just wore off. G'night and Happy New Year, everybody.

Sphere: Related Content

All too cool for the room and off-duty
L-R: Stephen Nace, Brad Dent, and Yours Truly.

As I write this, I am still hopped up on a can of Red Bull (R) that I quickly slammed down in order to survive the drive home from Ache Brasil's New Year's Party. I don't know if I'm gonna get any amount of sleep. That stuff don't mess around!

Having suffered through a series of very unfulfilling New Year's Eve parties (not that I don't appreciate the time spent with friends, it's just that spending year after year watching DVDs gets old after a while), I decided I was actually going to WORK at a New Year's Party. Kinda have to, considering how much money I ended up spending this month (there's a good chance that my credit card company actually upped my limit so I wouldn't max out my card this month).

I barely managed to tear myself away from the coat check booth long enough to get upstairs where the party was so I could be there for the actual countdown. But all in all, I had fun. Sure, it was work (I took photos of the other people I was working with...I won't bore you with those), but it was an excuse to get out of the house on New Year's for a change.

The worst New Year's Eve I've ever had...making the dumb-ass mistake of driving my friends around to find a bar so we could be there at the stroke of midnight. Before I know it, drinks are being piled in front of them, but obviously I can't join in (designated). I go up to the bartender and give him the universal "designated driver" gesture. The best he can come up with is a glass of water. Way to support the "designated driver" program!

As I'm driving them back to the house, one of them attempts to hug me from the back seat. I almost cause a car accident.

Best wishes for the New Year to all my friends, family, and readers.

Sphere: Related Content

Having discovered a little store called Daiso in Aberdeen Centre in Richmond, this is the ultimate dollar store. Okay, so they charge $2 per item, but compare this to your average dollar store, you easily get much more than they offer. About two floors worth of merchandise contains just about everything imagineable, from housewares to clothing to skin care products. And then I found this.


If it doesn't do what it promises, do we get our money back?

My understanding of Japanese is minimal at best (I haven't quite gotten past baka gaijin), but it's safe to assume that this is hair gel (also based on the properly translated ingredients list). There are probably better hair styling products on the market, but it's something I didn't actually purchase for its original use (get your mind out of the gutter, you sicko! I collect odd stuff like this!).

This is an example of what's become known as Engrish, or English that has really been lost in translation from its original language, usually Japanese or Chinese (I have since submitted the photo to the Engrish.com and am waiting to see if they put it on the site or not).

As Canadians, we're all familiar with bilingual packaging. As a result, every Canadian knows the words for English/French translations for words such as "sans sucre" (sugar free), "gagner" (win), and "gratuit" (free). It's different when it comes to Asian/English writing, because you have instructions on a can of batter coated peanuts reading, "Refrigerate for better crunchy."

But, either way, I have discovered a place where I can easily maximize dollar limits when given the task of assembling a Kris Kringle gift on a budget. Although I can easily picture the shock of the hapless gift receiver as they open up the gift to discover a bottle of "Pocari Sweat" (that's supposed to be a refreshment beverage, by the way).

Sphere: Related Content

I got a few nice presents from my family this year. Which one was my favourite? Let's just say that I didn't take a photo of it because I'd have to be standing in front of a mirror in order to do so.

I really think my sister is trying to tell me something, though. Last year, it was a copy of The Worst Case Scenario Survival Guide Handbook: Sex and Dating.

Christmas was fairly uneventful as Christmases tend to be...visited my father's cemetary site, had lunch, opened presents (I got my brother in law a Popeye t-shirt that says "Well Blowz Me"), helped prepare dinner, watched a couple DVDs (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, and the first two Die Hard movies, FYI).

Hope everyone had a great Christmas.

ADDENDUM (December 26th, 2004): Okay, okay. After thumbing through the book, it has some fairly useful advice on culture, fashion, and grooming. While there is the risk that some of it may become dated within the next few months (as fashion trends tend to do), the fundamentals are still the same.

Sphere: Related Content