Not Much

Unfortunately, the Internet came back up. I was having a good time getting away with just messing around and not doing anything without it being public knowledge, but that couldn't last forever.

Uh... Granddad came over yesterday.... I think I posted yesterday... but I didn't know he was going to make it, since our phone and Internet were down, and we hadn't been able to contact him. I emailed him at the library, but he didn't get it. Mom got a new phone card (we only have a cell phone, which we use like a landline), and called him while I mwas away.

Ah, there we go. I made some text appear.

I was planning on meeting an old teammember from W2W who moved away, but her cell phone wasn't working, and I had no other method of contacting her, given the circumstances.

I went three days with virtually no sleep. Really bad insomnia.

Mom and Louise plan to get a table in one of the main downtown malls for two weeks. Did I already say this...? Six hours a day, six days a week.

And because the Internet's working, I can copy/paste something from my email into a word processor... The prerequisites for the essay for International Youth Challenge, and work toward completing that tomorrow or the day after. The Internet's still really sketchy, so whatever I can get offline is good.

Did I already say that one of my letters of recommendation is ready for pick-up?

...I wasn't prepared to blog today...

Library Post

Alright, gotta do this speed-style. Our Internet is out, probably due to construction, and you guys are getting the dregs of my library time. Sorry. I forgot that I have a laptop, and can probably get unlimited free Internet access here. Gonna have to check into that. Can't do it today, though, at any rate, since I have something else I need to do.

Missed out on a good post yesterday. I didn't have anything to say, and I'd wasted my filler info, so I had to improvise. Really liked that post, but it'll never get posted now.

All the heat-reflectors were installed yesterday. I can't believe they actually managed it. I know I don't usually talk like this on this blog, but I must say, just because it was such a peculiar observation, that all the heat reflector installers were BEAUTIFUL! Our apartment was worked by three young women, and when I use the word beautiful, I'm not just using a gentleman's phrase for "sexy" or "cute" or "good-looking for a mechanic". I mean they all had an aura to knock a guy dead, the likes of which I've seen only a handful of times in my lifetime. I had to keep telling myself "The Large Hadron Collider is going to blow us all up any second, we all die, so everything is pointless, and the pain of decreptitude will take everything away from me before I die, if I survive the LHC" over and over in my head to retain sanity. I guess the requirements for becoming a heater-mechanic is the ability to make my heart fall into my stomach.

They unplugged my alarm clock, though, so I had to reset it. That was a drag.

I gotta get an avatar for this blog. I;ve been posting for a significant portion of a year and don't have a representative image.

Half a minute left, gotta go!

Eviction Evasion, Doctor, Keeping Score, Supplements

Well, yesterday was judgement day in terms of eviction. We're still living here. I don't know how much I want to talk about it. We were rescued, which I'm grateful for, but people get weird about financial stuff, and I'm never sure where the line is. Somebody might not want to take credit for coming through for us. Might feel taken advantage of. I hope not, but I'm never sure.

I'm disappointed in us. The extra five days didn't help us at all. We just didn't make it in time. If we didn't get the five days, it would have saved us five headaches, that's all.

It was hard to reach the Super that day, because our building is still under heavy construction. The entire first floor, where his apartment is, was blocked off entirely. I wound up having to call him and ask him how I could reach him. He said to just walk onto the first floor through the far stairwell. When I walked out that way, I saw that his apartment wasn't actually blocked off. Safety tape was put over the area that connects his apartment to the rest of the floor, but I hadn't realized that, because from the view from the stairwell, you can't see the tape, and because the elevator and front door both say that the first floor is blocked off, and because I'd seen that section used as a construction site twice before, I hadn't realized that it was still accessible. You have to walk onto that space to see that you're allowed to, essentially.

Oh, by the way, nobody's come to put in heat reflectors yet. They only have one day to do the entire building, since the notice said they'd be coming sometime this week, and they haven't even started.

I went to my family doctor yesterday, too, for my cough and for my secret agenda. You know how, last Thursday, they said to call Monday, and I'd probably get in on the spot, which I did, and was schedule this last Wednesday? And remember how I said that I'd shirked going to the after-hours clinic, despite the fact that I'd be seen the day I went in, because I wanted to see my family doctor?

Well, it turns out that, my getting in on the spot for calling early and with a cough took three times longer than expected, and it turns out my appointment was scheduled during the after-hours clinic.

So basically, it took six days to go to the after-hours clinic. At least it's better than the three weeks it'd take for a regular visit.

I got my medication, and also, she gave me some paperwork to get a chest X-ray. She says she doesn't think there's anything wrong, but it's just to be safe. I don't want to go through the hassle. Everytime I do anything, the person in charge wants me to do more things, in which those people want me to do more things. I'd say I wouldn't bother, but it was her thoroughness that caught Mom's Hep C... I gotta go in tomorrow and be checked for that, myself, and I guess I'll go ahead and get an X-ray...

At least I found out the score on my Katimavik papers. She hasn't completed them yet, but when she does, she'll call me up and it will be passed to the front desk, where I can pick it up.

And that reminds me that my third prospective Katimavik reference agreed. Now I just need to collect them, and I'll have that angle of this application done.

I want to have my essay for that other volunteer program completed by the end of the month, just as a personal goal. I'll do it over the weekend.

I haven't heard from my ex on my webcomic storyarcs request for return, even though I know she's read the request. I think that, if I sent her another message, she'd consider that me “losing”, and she would respond. I found out, also, that she has a tidy little pile of my stuff, including some fairly expensive items. But even if my second message was just to say that she should also send back those other things, she'd still consider it a loss on my part, so I don't think I will...

Of course, my caring about perception of myself, is, in and of itself, a loss...

But her neglect to answer my message is not an act she would go about for your average person, meaning that she still perceives me as a special case. So that's a loss on her end...

...But we've been broken up for ten months now, so I guess I'll just let this lie. If I let everything go, it's not too bad a loss...

So the Vitamin B12 and Vitamin D supplements haven't really helped as much as I thought they would for my specific complaint of dislocation. I have had an incredible amount of energy, as of late, though... I recently complained (not on this blog) that, with the exception of young children, nobody has an adequate amount of energy. Seniors blame their age, workers blame work, parents blame child-rearing, students blame school, and slothful people blame their laziness. Everyone thinks they're a special case, but in reality, everyone is tired, all the time, after they hit adolescence.

Except, right now, I'm simply coursing with more energy than I can handle! YAHOOOOOOO!!!!!

I don't know if it's the supplements or the exercise, and I know this euphoria can't last for long, so I'd better enjoy it while I can. It's part of a human's natural state of being to be tired, I think.

Hey, have you guys noticed that I'm a loser? A twenty-year-old male, single, unemployed, out of school and living with his Mom. Ugh... When I read over this blog, I can't easily tell that I'm a no-lifer. Not unless I purposely add the points together. I manage to come up with things worth saying (in my opinion), or I make things that aren't worth saying sound like they're worthy, but really, I'm a complete and total loser. And now that you realize that, you won't read this blog anymore *sob

Cleaning, Welfare, Letter, Review

Well, today sucked. You guys know that our eviction notice is this Wednesday, right? Yeah, well, last night I was up literally all night cleaning my room because people are going to be installing heat reflectors. I know I said I wouldn't, but I did. So when morning came, I was exhausted, and decided to just rest my eyes, which turned into a deep slumber that put me out for a whole day. This is going to throw my sleep schedule off. Anyway, Mom was supposed to go to Welfare with our eviction notice, but she forgot. If I'd managed to stay awake, I could've leaned on her about it and it would've been done, but it didn't. This could really have been the fatal mistake. And it seems pointless to clean a room to prepare for heat reflector installation when I won't be around long to enjoy the cleanness or the... heat reflection.

Otherwise, I sent out another message asking for a letter of recommendation...

Oh yeah, and last night, I wrote a review for New Super Mario Bros. Wii: http://gryphonsreviews.blogspot.com/2009/11/videogame-new-super-mario-brothers-wii.html

That probably doesn't interest any of you, but I did write an incredibly creepy analysis of Mario and Princess Peach's relationship, which might be entertaining just for the creep factor.

I might as well post it here, because if I post it in my reviews, nobody will read it (it's okay, I'm not mad).

...Okay, just read it over, and I'm not posting that on the main blog.

Candycane Reindeer, Construction, Missed Email

Turns out my Coca-Cola can candycane reindeer holder has Christmas decals on it. I forgot that it did, and I hadn't noticed until today. That's pretty cool, since the other jar I was given also has Christmas decals. I'm more than halfway through my reindeer now. I thought I was going to run out of noses first, but it look like I'll either run out of space in my container, or I'm going to run out of candycanes.

Didn't mention it yesterday, but Mom and crew didn't go to the Farmer's Market again. Third week. They were pulling in ascending profits for four weeks, and then they decide to stop as the Christmas season, and with it, it's economic boom, came rolling in. They need to get out there and sell some of my candycane reindeer before the LHC blows me up.

Today we got a notice that they're going to be modifying our heaters. Meaning, they're going to come all the way into our apartments. We're supposed to move everything four feet away from the heaters. That got me worried that I'd actually have to clean my room, but turns out, I don't keep much near my heater. I'm just going to have to move a bunch of books and papers scattered around my floor.

ARG! ARGARGARG! I got an email from a girl I took W2W with saying that she was going to be coming to Guelph this weekend, and that she'd like to get together, but it was moved into my spam filter for some reason, so I didn't see it until it was too late!!!

Our Internet's on the fritz again.

Candycane Reindeers, Can Collection, Futureshop, LHC

I don't feel like talking today... I tried writing up a review of New Super Mario Bros. Wii, but I'm so irritable right now, I decided partway through that I wasn't giving it a proper chance.

I made some candycane reindeer... The second batch of candycanes I got were a size larger than the original, so I couldn't put them in the jar I was given... so I decided to use an old piggybank-type-thing shaped like a Coca-Cola can that I got for Christmas back when I was collecting cans...

I used to collect cans... Like, soda pop and beer cans... I had over 300 different types... I thought I was getting somewhere, but then I Googled "can collection" and found a guy with over 10 000 different cans, and a series of web rings for people trading cans to broaden their collection... There was a guy who needed to use a warehouse to keep them all in... It disheartened me, and my will to collect was lost... Eventually I boxed them all, and then they didn't make the move to this apartment, over a year ago...

....
....

....Also, Futureshop called today to say they have some kind of options they'd like to talk to Mom about, but we missed them so they only left a message.

Did you know the Large Hadron Collider is up and working again? You know, the thing that can destroy the Earth in like, four different ways, and which they plan to keep up for three years, but which couldn't last three days last time they tried, and we all barely lived? Yeah, they've got it up and running. The only reason this is being allowed is because no one feels the reality of the consequence. Nobody understood the reality of the A-bomb until one was dropped. But this time, there will be no one to remember. There will be no one to learn.

Welfare, Writing Course

Well, the Welfare meeting could have gone worse, but not much worse. We got all our paperwork in, I think. They'll give us some money, but we have to find a way to get more. And we can't be positive that we'll get the money in time.

Eh... Well, turns out my W2W counselor's travel-volunteer program requires and application including either an essay, a video, or a series of photos. Can't upload videos or images, so... essay.

That writing program that I was getting a scholarship for but was postponed will be coming up around Katimavik. I could have done a month, gotten a certificate, then headed out before, but now the classes are longer, so I can't. Too bad, because it looks like it'll actually work out, now, since the classes have been opened up and advertised for the general public, and specific teachers have been assigned to these classes.

First it was a singular class that lasted six months. Then it was six classes that lasted a month each. Because of the change, I was offered all the classes. But now the individual classes have moved up in length, but the number is the same, so I don't know what a scholarship would entail.

So I'll have to check this out, and I might have to propose a postponement on my end...

I got my referrals for a sleep specialist and to be tested for learning disabilities today.

Eh... I don't feel like writing tonight... Well, not about this stuff. I have something ELSE that I would like to get off my chest, but... I don't think I'll be discussing it here, so I'm just going to stop writing and go make some candycane reindeer.

Construction, Medical Clinic, References, Shakespeare

Well, it was difficult getting outside today. There was a sign saying not to use the stairs in front of my apartment, then the first floor button in the elevator was disabled, and there was a sign asking to exit via the further stairwell and through the back door, and then when I got to the back door, there was a sign saying not to use that door, either. So I thought I was holed up. But then some workers came by and explained that the back door was usable.

I went to the medical clinic to make an appointment the old-fashioned way. Screw all those people who are worried about me!
...
...Okay, that felt really bad to say, but basically, that's the only logic I had going for that action. Anyway, the woman said to just call early, and they'd put me through that day. She said she was all full-up for today, and tomorrow she was off, and then it's the weekend, so that puts it off until Monday.

Interesting, usually it takes two weeks to get an appointment. I guess the less urgent the reason, the faster they'll see you. No, I get it. It's because a cough is so minor, it wouldn't take up much time. Still...

Anyway, I know how to manipulate the medical clinic, and I'll surely waste more time than they think, because of my alternate agenda.

My W2W counselor said he'd give me a letter of recommendation, and just wants to know who to address it to, and what they'd like to be informed about. So that's cool. I'm going to contact an old teacher from high school, the one who kind of got me into the most likely to change the world group, and who knows my full situation and, after a year out of high school, volunteered to be a reference for me, job-wise.

So... that would be three letters, and that would be everyone who offered to be a reference without me asking. Also, these are people who, in total, will have known me as an employee, student, and volunteer. This may counter the difficulties my doctor is putting me through, with my psychiatrist's notes, which say that I suffer from a "perpetual out-of-body condition".

I didn't get around to making the reindeer candycane crafts because I was wanting to make a joke referencing that Shakespeare play, The Taming of the Shrew. I wanted that quote where the two guys are making a wager on whether or not a peasant woman could become a lady.

Unfortunately, the play was a bunch of crazy jabber that I couldn't connect with what I thought the play was about, so I couldn't feel out if I was "hot or cold" in regard to what was going on.

Turns out, it's a play about, and I can't find the exact quote, but essentially, a guy who forces some woman to be obedient to him through a series of mental torments.

That's... really... kinky.

I had thought the play was about a woman of the serving class rising through the ranks and showing she had the stuff of a noble woman. Something about how finances don't mean much when it comes to what's inside a person, or something like that. Oh well, I was wrong. It's a comedy about male supremacy.

Anyway, when I eventually found the quote, it contained about a million people and was weird. So I had to make up my own joke from scratch, without Shakespeare's help.

Yeah, I don't really like Shakespeare. I don't know why everyone makes such a huge deal about him. In high school, they make a section of every English class devoted to him. He wasn't even an author! He was a playwrite! Shouldn't his teachings be geared more toward drama classes, or something?

I don't dislike Shakespeare or anything. I just think he's overrated. I've read Hamlet, Macbeth, Midsummer Night's Dream and Twelfth Night (four plays and four English classes), and I just don't really see the appeal.

I've got the Entire Works of Shakespeare, though. Hard back, and all old-style. Got it at Value Village with the Entire Works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Putting those on my shelf, next to the entire works of Aristotle and Plato, and Gandhi's memoirs. AKA, the stuff I'd like people to assume I've read on seeing, but which I'm never going to get around to.

Welfare, Construction, Karate

Did I tell you guys that a while ago, I found my old SIN card? Yeah, I did. It was with my cheques. I don't write too many cheques, for obvious reasons, so it took me a while to find it. This goes way back when I started this blog, if you can remember, and I posted about getting it replaced. It's a relief that it isn't floating around. As I said before, that's up there with my least-favourite things of mine I'd like to think are hanging around in public.

Anyway, Welfare and Mom finally connected, and we've got a meeting on Friday. That leaves us with five days before eviction to pick up some money and maybe find another source, in case it doesn't field the whole thing.

It's interesting talking to these various people over the phone, because they don't give their names, but you begin to distinguish them based on the sound of their voice, and then judge them as individuals, even though all you've got to identify them by is a voice.

I predicted it would take over a week before we could go through the application process, and that was the Monday before last, so I guess I was right. It actually took a bit longer than I expected...

They're ripping everything out in our building right now. Everything. The ceiling, the walls, people's doors. They're completely reconstructing the building. This has been going on for awhile now, but I never thought to blog about it. It's difficult to get in and out now, because everywhere is a construction site, and they don't seem comfortable around tenants. But there's no option, since I'm not going to stay holed up in the apartment for working hours every day. Today they painted and reconstructed our door. They had to come partway into the apartment, and our door had to be left open. It was okay, though, because they brought their socializing attitude today, and were actually very polite and courteous.

The walls used to be white, and the doors green, but now the doors will be black, and the walls brown. Really... dark.

And we just got a rent increase. I don't know if the two things are related.

Nobody talks about the recession anymore. People complain about the economy, but it seems people are finally resigning themselves to accepting that this is the norm. People will complain about it, but they aren't naming it after a specific anomaly now. Good. I'm sick of people trying to get my hopes up.

Hey, I don't know if this is stupid or not, but... shouldn't post-secondary education be free? I mean, we consider education a right, and medical care a right, and with Welfare and the Food Bank, we kind of consider food and shelter a right. But if the theory behind everyone being educated is that the leaders of the various facets of our society are judged by talent and effort, rather than birth right, that kind of gets stoppered when you have to pay for post-secondary.

Now, I'm probably being a moron. I don't know the full situation too well, but it was a passing, bitter thought, and I thought I might share it.

I'm going to work on some reindeer candycane crafts for Hooked on Beads (Mom's business) tonight. When I explained this assignment to one of my old W2W counselors, he said that that sounded like one of those sweatshop jobs, and when he asked me how much they paid me, I had to say nothing. Sooo... that's a bit of a negative look on it.

Oh, and today he sent me an email to another "youth" (quote-marks because their definition goes all the way to thirty) travel-volunteer program. They're giving out twenty scholarships to celebrate twenty successful years for the organization. It's interesting that he's found one, just like my old high school's Guidance counselor found me one. People really do give more if you can offer a direction.

At least he had a better understanding of my financial situation, though. My Guidance Counselor seemed to have forgotten the reason she specifically offered to pay for my university application. She also didn't remember I had learning disabilities. Well, maybe that means my shame has been forgotten.

Anyway, so since this W2W counselor contacted me, it makes it convenient for me to request a letter of recommendation, since he can sometimes be difficult to catch, and he's just opened the lines of communication.

In karate today, I accidentally socked someone in the face. Luckily for me, it was right after my sensei had finished giving a speech on forgiveness.

Turns out, if you get to a certain belt level, they'll teach you how to fight with a bo staff, and once you've mastered that, they'll teach you how to fight with... nunchucks, knives, short swords, katanas, glaves and battle axes!

Also, the small dojo is open to you for practice between weapon classes and regular classes after you get you become a bo student. Also, they teach kickboxing there. And I think there's a belt system for both weapons and kickboxing, so theoretically, I could wind out with three blackbelts.

Another interesting fact I recently learned is that, even though my dojo has many instructors, it only has two senseis. Apparently, no matter how tough you are, or even if you're a teacher, that title doesn't come automatically. People who teach but aren't sensei are called "sempei", so they still have status. I don't know how you achieve sensei status. I've been calling all the blackbelts "sensei" and nobody's corrected me. I admit, I was wondering if they all were full-fledged senseis, but I figured it was better to risk complimenting someone, calling them by a higher rank, then to risk insulting them, calling them by a lower.

If I might turn your attention to a certain hypocrisy in my blog posts, you'll notice that I've been speaking of being almost out of food and shelter, and then moving on to my experience for a paid service. This, indeed, is quite the hypocrisy, and I don't know if I've blogged about it yet. And I don't want to.

Writing For 2 Days Again

Missed another day yesterday. Tonight the Internet connection appears stable, so let's hope it stays that way. It's quality seems to stay consistent for long runs at a time.

Yesterday, Duncan saw an individual counselor and really hit it off. Today, he saw his old Big Brother. We finished that game I posted about two days ago. Took us two days to beat it. It was easy, and it was short.

I should watch what I say about it, though, because when I typed up my post in an OpenOffice document last night, and Duncan used it to check some kind of spelling, he saw my harsh criticism of the game. I remember thinking "This is the one thing I've ever blogged about that I wouldn't want Duncan to read" when I wrote it, and then it was one of the only things he did.

Remember that really bad cold I had a while back? Well, the hacking cough part of it never went away. I want to make an appointment with my family doctor about it, so that I can check on the status of my Katimavik forms. I don't know if she'll pass them to the desk or if she's waiting for our next appointment. But I don't want to make an appointment just to check something about the forms. But everyone's been on me recently to go to the after-hours clinic, because they'll treat you right then-and-there instead of making you wait two months.

But it turned out that we had a therapy appointment, and we didn't realize it until the last moment, so it got in the way of my going to the clinic.

I went to Louise's, and she's offered to write me a letter of recommendation for Katimavik, as an employer and volunteer coordinator and she said that I should seek out more. I'm thinking of trying for my old Ways2Work counselors, or maybe just one of them, since they've already offered to give me a reference, and they've known me as a student and employee.

I got my black stripe in karate. That was the stripe I thought I wouldn't get. My rival got his blue stripe last week, and me getting my black puts me up to the same level as him, not just in quantity of stripes, but also in what stripes we have.

Turns out nothing we do in class resembles actual combat. Even in sparring, we have to wear protective gear, there's a bunch of forbidden techniques, and we're supposed to use "medium force". Bummer.

Two new members. A white belt and a high brown. And two children became adults and advanced to our classes. Since the high brown has already shown dedication to the art, and the two new adults have shown dedication to the dojo itself, and the new white belt said, after taking the course, that he intends to come every day, I think these might actually be permanent additions. There's a lot of people who take the two weeks free offer and then don't decide to keep coming.

Post For Two Days

I wrote up this post yesterday, but the Internet shut down hard, so I couldn't publish it. I'm putting it up before today's entry. Timeskips between today and yesterday will be separated by groups of asterisks.

***

Granddad came over today. It was his birthday. We went to Futureshop to drop off the desktop. Alix, the guy who sold us the computer, and Mitch, the guy who's fixing it for the third time, were there, but they didn't seem to remember us.

Even though they've had plenty of opportunity to snoop, and if they have, they've apparently found us decidedly unmemorable, I'm always uncomfortable handing our computer, with all the stuff I've put on it, over to them.

It's good that it's getting done, though. It was one of the things that was always being put on the backburner, because without a car it's really inconvenient, and our past experiences with getting it fixed have been discouraging, and because it was always not the thing that needed doing the most. So it kept being put off.

After visiting with Granddad, I caught a movie with Brenda. Brenda is the female side of my old Big Brother Couple. It's always hard to come up with a succinct way of saying that, so I guess I'll just call her my friend. She's the person I play Scrabble with on Facebook (coming up on a predicted one victory and two losses right now).

We went to Wendy's for a bite to eat first. There I saw two people I used to go to high school with. Both of them I hadn't seen since around grade nine. I was surprised I recognized them, but they really don't seem to have changed much. I know one of them recognized me, because her eyes bugged out and she jumped backward on seeing me, but she was working kitchen and totally just turned her back and went about her work.

The guy in charge of ripping your ticket was someone I knew, too, and a surprise member of my Facebook fan group (made by ex girlfriend and member, not me. I'm not THAT narcissistic. Although I took over as admin after she left).

We watched the Michael Jackson tribute. I didn't recognize any of the other titles, and it was what Brenda wanted to watch. I was a bit worried that attending such a film might mark you "on his side" because of the controversy surrounding his life, but I don't worry about that type of thing too much anymore.

I don't know if I'm on his side or not, really. My mother and brother are. They don't think he's a pedophile, basically. I'm not too educated on the subjected. What I do know is, there's a lot of pedophiles in the world, and if he was one, he was the only one that was given that kind of attention. I was brought up in a society where he was recognized as the freakiest, most monstrous human being on the planet. But of course, I don't know how much opinions like that count.

I don't know if I'm going to write up a review for the movie. I feel like I'd have difficulty separating the content featured in the film with my opinions on his history at large.

I see Disney's coming out with a new movie, with a new princess. A black one. And it's not done in that creepy 3D cartoon animation that they've grown so fond of. I know what's happened. The princesses of the old Disney movies have become popular for modern-day merchandising, and they've all become grouped together. And when you put them all together like that, you notice a lack of ethnic diversity. So what did they decide to do? Create a new classic film, featuring a character with a skin tone convenient for expanding their merchandising angle.

But their effort is lost, because it looks like the princess turns into a frog for the majority of the movie, making her trademark look be that of a frog with no human skin tone.

***

Today Duncan got a new videogame. Don't criticize us for splurging in such desperate times (please), Duncan worked hard and long hours and all of the money gone toward this purchase came from his own effort. Even I get a cut of what I make, theoretically, and, theoretically, I could make a purchase with the money I make from that cut.

Anyway, the game is New Super Mario Bros Wii. It's the sequel to New Super Mario Bros, and it's for the Nintendo console, the Wii. Alright, before I move on to anything else, let me tell you why this is a crap name. First of all, putting “new” at the beginning of a series name is always a bad idea, because if it's successful, it won't stay new forever. Secondly, putting the name of the console to signify a title is a bad idea, too, because it's as good as saying “This title is unique from the other titles in this series because it's for the Wii, therefor, there can be no more titles for the Wii”.

Do you follow? Yeah, so even if it's true, it's still a bit of a downer, and you shouldn't be depressing your consumers.

Well, the game's supposed to be revolutionary, because it's the first simultaneous multiplayer game for the Mario series, the longest-standing videogame series, and the trademark of the most successful console.

But... it's not that good.

I don't like the Koopalings, which are the main villains, and I think that Yellow Toad and Blue Toad, who are character options, were horrendously thought up and unnecessary, and the level of attention that was put to them in-game is obnoxious. But my biggest complaint is simple gameplay. It feels more like a single-player game with multiplayer option. I'm willing to allow the Mario team some practice shots, since this is their first go at it and all, but it's weird that it got such rave reviews.

I guess this could go in my reviews blog, but I don't think that's something I want to do, since I've only played it a little, and I guess it's a little early for me to pass such judgement.

Friday the 13th

Well, today was Friday the 13th. There was one piece of big, bad luck but I'm gonna make sure it's alright for publication before I put it on this blog.

Otherwise, today went alright. I finally got my immunization records, my photocopied W2W certificate of completion, and my signature of consent, along with a cheque for my medical examination all sent in to my family doctor. We got a call from Welfare, and I finally got an extension for the lawyer in charge of our trust fund to contact directly. Dad came over for a visit, he played a videogame with Duncan and we went for a walk and visited where he used to live. He knows Guelph better than I do!

Pretty straightforward day, really, and, if anything, more productive than usual. Even the bad luck that happened, happened yesterday. My brother even lucked out once today.

I hate to admit it, but I have a superstitious side. Even if I don't intellectually believe them, I am impacted by them. And usually, I'm able to give some solid evidence behind my fear. But not today. Today I took a lot of risks and came out with a small victory on each one.

Oh, Google still registered my old post today. ARG! Well, I'll keep trying and I'll drown it out with quantity, so that I at least put odds in my favour.

Oh, I got an email from Katimavik today, saying they could tell I'd completed the first step in the application process and trying to sell me "Katimaswag" (Katimavik merchandise). Turns out processing my full application takes three to six weeks. I've got four and a half months since the program begins. I'd like to get this over and done with as soon as possible. I just need to get my thing back from the doctor... And to photocopy some ID.

I could still hit some bad luck with the doctor thing.

Ha, even if I do get in, I'll probably have spent more time working on these forms than in the program!

One of the instructors for W2W told me yesterday that they're not allowed to ask about your family's background and medical history, or whether you've had a learning disability in the past, or what accommodations were made. He actually seemed pretty annoyed when I explained that to him.

Alright, I just got permission to talk about that other bad luck I spoke of near the beginning of this post. See, Mom's had a suitable Friday the 13th. She found out they didn't get into the Farmer's Market, for one, and for two, she, uh, has Hepatitis C. Now, there's an over 50% chance of full recovery, and if not, there's medication for it. But me and Duncan have to both get tested for it, too, because apparently it can be sent through pregnancy, and it looks like she got it before we were born. She had to tell Dad, too, to get tested. Apparently a load of her old friends have it, too. Yikes.

Libray, Secondchance and Neighborhood Violence

I'm at the library right now, so I gotta move fast! I'm here mainly because I'm getting my immunization records printed out, and secondarily because our Internet's messed up and I can't get on long enough to blog. Obviously, this puts my possible future issue of playing that MMO for too long on the skids, because you need a really solid connection for it, and if my Internet's acting even a little finicky, then I can't manage it. And while I can play it at the library, there's no way I'm gonna be seen in public playing that stupid game. Sometimes I see an older fellow around here playing some contemporary, remixed Mario game, though. Anyway, interestingly enough, I just Googled my own name to get to this blog, and it no longer links to my undesired post. Instead, it's between my name-drop trap technique, and just the front page of my blog with my most recent post on top. So as long as I keep it under control, hopefully I'll be doing fine from here on out, btu still, this is something to keep monitored, as it's always changing. I think I'm okay, though, as Google seems to have some time-archiving system, where even if certain link has more hits, if it's older, it will eventually fade off. Since my undesired post is the oldest, this is to my advantage.

Anyway, yesterday I went to Secondchance to print off my immunization records because the library was closed for Remembrance Day. I ran into one of my old instructors. We had a rematch for an arm-wrestle he won back when I was in the program, and I lost again. He says that I've gotten a lot stronger, that he could really feel it, and that I should come back in a couple months. I will! I don't remember if I did any better this time than last. I held him at stalemate for a good while, but once I started losing ground, I never regained it. I don't think I was a total pushover the first time we went, so I'm not sure how much I've improved. Oh well! I'll remember how well I did this time, and we'll see how well I do the next time around.

I actually did some research into arm-wrestling techniques. British arm-wrestling techniques, funnily enough, as this guy is British. I tried to remember to push diagonally, but I forgot to twist his wrist and try to position my handcloser to his wrist. He also said I didn't keep my arm close to my body, which is a technique he uses, which gives him better leverage. I know there's something about foot positioning and some finisher technique when you get the advantage, which I've basically completely forgotten.

He called up my other old instructor, and we talked until the place closed for the day. I told them about financial difficulties, about Karate, about Katimavik, about Mom's business... If Duncan's interested, once he turns 18, they'll likely take him into a group. I would really enjoy seeing that.

I'm likely going to see Dad again tomorrow, for a bit longer this time.

No word from my ex on my old webcomic story-arcs, and ever since I sent the message, she's been updating her Facebook like crazy, as if to say "Yes, I see your message, but I'm not going to reply!" She'll probably wait a real long time, then respond really casually, to get me angry. Won't work this time!

This morning I saw an older guy throing stuff off his balcony, a younger guy tring to pick a fight with him, the older guy threatening to stab him with a butcher knife, the Super call the cops, and then both the yelling guy and the throwing guy get taken in by cops. Building next to mine, I saw it out my window. I see a lot of weird things outside my window. This was in broad daylight, though, which is a first. I wonder why my neighborhood is getting so violent. A few nights ago, a fight broke out which I didn't mention. I couldn't see them clearly, but it sounded like different people than the usual bunch.

Anyway, this older guy was kind of formally dressed, wearing a poppy even though it's the day after Remembrence Day, and was fervently looking for a fight, so I wondered if he was a war vet who had some memories come back yesterday.

Financial Stuff

Today I was contacted by two separate Welfare workers. One for the one that we thought had expired, and one for my more recent application. Doesn't mean I get two workers, but it's nice to see a little action on their end. Unfortunately, they want to know about Grandpa Stan's will, and they want to hear it from Mom. I know Mom doesn't know any more than I do, but for some reason, they just really want to talk to her about it. I don't see why. I'm an adult too, right? And the will is in mine and Duncan's names, right? The Food Bank is the same way, and I'm an active volunteer there!

They didn't give me any names or extensions, so this is going to be hard. Mom's going to call, not get anyone, we'll get a response, Mom and her will talk, they'll figure out they need the lawyer's papers, we'll get Aunt Nancy to contact the lawyer, who will contact Welfare, and then we'll be eligible to apply for Welfare. I estimate it will be at least two weeks before we start receiving aid.

Health Canada got back to me, too. Most straightforward thing to happen so far. Now I have what I need to give to my doctor.

You know what's interesting about being impoverished? Generally speaking, the quality of your food rises. When wealthy people give, they give wealthy products. This is seen mainly in the aid of friends, but it also happens through the Food Bank. And if we're not getting any aid, Mom feels honour-bound to provide a proper dinner in even our hardest of times. That means we can't afford any convenience food, which means she has to buy a lot of base products, which require more time and effort to turn into meals, but the quality and proportions are actually better.

I guess our usual level of poor-but-not-dying is the worst in this society for good food.

I guess I could learn to cook, but...

And what a screwy society we live in, where you can go to a court hearing, where people can't afford food or shelter, and yet, lots of them can be seen with cell phones and iPods. I guess the same could be said for us, with our video game collection. If you think about it, a purchase like that sticks with you, but food and shelter don't. And you can't sell your big, expensive things for anything that would allow you to afford anything. So people make purchases in brighter times that they can't afford in harder, and then when things hit the skids, their only major expense is base living, but they still have their high-tech entertainment.

I've been extremely exhausted today.

Court Hearing

Since today was so long and tiring, I don't feel much up to writing, but I want to, so I'll give it a shot.

We went to the court hearing today. What happens is, there's a lot of chairs, which the tenants and the board representatives sit at. Then there's two table, where whichever tenant and representative's turn it is to present their case. Then there's another, separate table in front of those two where the judge sits. So essentially, you've got to go over all this stuff in front of an audience.

The directions they gave to get there were wrong, too. The address was right, but they said it was the Remada, when it was the Best Western.

There were a few options that were given to us. One was free legal advice, and another was mediation. Mediation is where you talk to your representative privately and see if you can work something out. If you can't, you can still bring it before the judge. Basically, it gives you two chances instead of one, and it allows you to talk things over without and audience.

Mom took that offer, and she was the first person to do so.

Our representative didn't show up, but some other guy stepped up and took the role. Mediation didn't go too well... They don't really care how sympathetic your case is. They just want to know how likely it is that you can pay your bill. And we don't have much going on. Somehow, though, we got an extra five days. Normally, people get eleven days, but we've got sixteen. The other person that talked with him got an extra five days. I guess going through all that extra legal stuff gets you a bit of a reward.

When we were waiting in the lobby while our lawyer tried to find out why the person who was supposed to be our lawyer didn't show up (she was hospitalized!) some guy walked in and asked what was happening. When Mom told him, he wanted to know why people were falling behind on their rent. When Mom offered that people might lose their jobs, he said that you can always get a new job and that everyone needs to take responsibility for themselves.

U of G brat! He was wearing a U of G sweater, and the school is right next to this place. Well, I started broiling with an uncontainable rage, but before we could respond more than half a sentence, whoever it was he was waiting for showed up, and he whisked her straight out the door at a speed that seems difficult to believe, in retrospect.

GRRRR!!! GRRRR!!! You need a job to get money to go to school to get a job to get money. I know that's not my exact situation, but it's kind of an unjust system, am I right? I know I'm probably not shocking anyone here, but I'm burning mad to think the ones that get ahead are privileged brats that don't understand their advantage.

*Sigh*... But yeah, back in high school, I thought the world was a place where you only needed to find where you fit in. Now I understand that the foundation of our economy is based on broken dreams. I used to think that, if you did the right things, good things would happen to you. If you believe this, then obviously, people who have bad things happen to them must be doing the wrong things.

Otherwise, Melissa, who is a friend of Mom's, gave us a bunch of groceries. And Karen and Louise plan on giving us a bunch of groceries and a freezer. Louise always worries about us being offended by giving us help.

I kind of understand. In a World Issues class back in high school, when explaining why impoverished societies resent getting aid from other countries, my teacher said it was like, if somebody gave you a really nice Christmas present, who feels better, the person getting the nice gift, or the person giving it? The answer is, the person giving it. The person giving feels proud to have done a good deed, while the person receiving feels incompetent or selfish.

Sooo.... you have to understand that, when a person freely gives a gift, it's a gift to themselves as much as you, and the best thing you can do for them, and for yourself, is to enjoy it.

So yeah! I actually feel pretty good about receiving charity!

Me and Duncan worked at Louise's again, afterward. Duncan pitchforked open a trash bin, which I even failed at. Louise wanted holes to be formed in the bottom so that, when it rains, the water moves through. It's not really a trash bin, more of a storage bin, and before you ask, you can't put a lid on it. You'd understand if you saw it...

Didn't play my MMO today.

Granddad Visit, MMORPG

Today Granddad came over, and mostly, we rehearsed how we're going to handle the court hearing. I tried to contact our super, but while he was in, he was off-duty, and only meant to be contacted for emergency purposes. I didn't deem this an emergency, because frankly, this isn't the eviction, it's the hearing, and I know he most likely can't do anything about it, I just left him a note. He said that is an acceptable method of contact.

Otherwise... OH! Bad news. I've been playing this MMORPG. That means Massive Multiplayer Role Played Game. I'm not going to tell you which poison I picked, but the point is that, these things are CLASSIC for creating obsession and drawing people in until their lives revolves around them. And considering my history with the world of illusion, and the relatively few distractions in my life, I'm likely a part of the high risk factor. So I'm gonna clock my daily time in here, and if I get sucked in too much, host an intervention. Or at least, send me an angry email. Okay? Thanks!

I... don't feel much like talking today. I'll get back to you all tomorrow...

Farmer's Market, Karate, Counseling

It turns out Mom didn't get into the farmer's market for the first time this week. That means I couldn't peddle my karate tickets, and while Mom and Louise still seem determined to peddle them, on account that there's no time limit, which is logical, because it would rake in profit for me, my dojo, and the person signing up, regardless of the time it happens, the Halloween decals on the tickets make me kind of leery to hand them out over a week after Halloween. If I don't want this to happen, though, I'm wondering if I have to actively hide them, and I wonder if my pride is so much stronger than my sense of profit that I would go to that trouble... Well, gotta make that decision, before it makes it for me. Doubt I'll be around a week from now, though, what with all this financial stuff.

WOW! I was so messed yesterday, I didn't even title my entry! That's pretty messed.

Didn't do a ton today, and I hate to admit it, but at least now I can prove that my failure to update on several fairly recent occasions truly has been due to time management difficulties, and not because I would fail to update based on lack of content.

That being said, I'm going to have to focus a bit on reflection today, which I can do because I've neglected a few details as a result of my concentration on more important things over the past little while.

Firstly, the reason I got my blue stripe on both Friday and Thursday... Wait, did I say that? *Checks* No, I didn't. Darn. Oh well, point is, I forgot my belt on Thursday. I told my sensei about my testing before going into the changeroom, so I couldn't exactly sneak out again. He was cool with it, though. He even tested me and found me successful, but he couldn't give me the actual stripe. I went into open practice on Friday. I didn't know they could hand out stripes at open practice, but they can, and we even had a bowing-out ceremony for it. Two other people got stripes too. It was a little neat, because I got to bow out with the kids.

I'm afraid I'm spamming quips about me forgetting my belt a little too much since "I made a mistake tying my belt today, I guess it's been too long!"

We played a fun game where we lined up, and a person stood with his back turned while two people were selected. The person would walk down the aisle of people, not knowing who was selected, and then those people would attack him. I was selected as an attacker twice, and to be attacked once. It was a relief to see that, despite my already-significant ability in grappling and my undefeated hold in self defense practice didn't actually help me too much "on the field" so to speak. I tried for my unbeaten bear hug on a blackbelt, but he wouldn't let me under his arms, so I had to compensate by going over, and it wasn't enough. Another guy didn't even really let me touch him. Even though I was unsuccessful in my attack, I was happy to see the benefit of advanced technique. It was depressing to think I could thug my way through higher ranks.

As for counseling, I said it ended on a positive note, but I didn't say that I don't think that's a good thing. If they think you're too healthy, they'll try and toss you. I'd better make sure to go in with an especially bad attitude next time. It's just hard, with all the positivity and whatnot.

Well, today I spoke with a teacher from my old high school, and she said that you can get past the answering machine and to a receptionist at Welfare by pressing 0, which isn't listed as an available option in their voice directory. Well, I tried that, since we've got a court hearing coming up on Monday for our eviction, and even though they don't want us to bug them, this was kind of their last chance to stop this from going through court.

So... I pressed it, but I didn't get anything. I decided to carefully listen to their whole voice directory, and to my surprise, when they finish up, they randomly transfer your call to somebody in the know, although they don't tell you who they're transferring you to while it's happening.

Anyway, so she checked on the status of our two application... Turns out it didn't get through, so I had to reapply.

So... it looks like we're going to court.

Well... at least it looks like we're on the good side of our super. Really, I feel fairly confident in saying I did all that I could... Applying, reapplying, going in person, and eventually getting through, only to find this... Talking to our super, talking to the Rent Bank... It hasn't been easy for me, either.

But everything turned out to fall into a worst-case-scenario...

It's like I say... life is only a string of worst-case-scenarios, but there's usually a spot of good in them, and if you take the good and try to leave the bad... hopefully the good piles up and succeeds the bad.

BUT YOU'RE ON A TIME LIMIT!!!!!!

*Sigh*... Well, in other news, I've had a few dreams about flying in cars. Well, more specifically, sitting in the passenger seat while the driver navigates so recklessly that we're sent packing through the air, and I always think we're not going to land on the road, and that we're going to go careening off and crash, but then we hit pavement, and we go skidding, and it's a winding road... surrounded by dangerous gullies! But we don't quite go off, and the driver speeds up and flies off another hill, over and over, until I wake up.

Well, it's only happened twice, and both in one night, so... not enough to call it recurring. Not too difficult a dream to analyze, and I must say, if my subconscious is capable of fear, that is the best sign of a self-preservation instinct, and a self-preservation instinct is a positive sign for having a sense of self-worth.

Paths often represent life direction. Vehicles represent personal movement. That I'm sitting in the passenger seat represents my feeling that I'm not in control of my own actions, and the recklessness of the movements represents life's recent turbulence.

Pretty basic, really. Better than nothing, but I still expect something a little more intricate from me.

I sent my inquiry on the status of my webcomic storyarcs to my ex. Tried to be cautious about it.

Cat Stuff, Mainly

About three weeks ago, Mom brought home a stray cat. It didn't seem full-grown, it was missing a chunk of ear, had an ear infection, was starving, had diahrea, and would, in a matter of... if you can believe it, and no, I'm not exagerating... become obvious that she was pregnant. According to Mom, she followed her all the way from our building to the grocery store, and then when she purposely lost her, she was waiting for her at the location they'd first met.

She had to be separated from our cat, of course, for the first while, so she took lodging in my room. The first night, I woke up with her sleeping in the crook of my arm, and the next two nights, I woke up with her sleeping on my back.

It was obvious that she was accostumed to living with humans, which meant that she had had an owner, but after a week or so, I couldn't bring myself to keep trying to get rid of her.

But today, the Superintendant saw her staring out my window. Apparently a tenant had lost her. So he came over when I was at karate, apparently she let him pick her up... something she never would have let us do... and she was purring audibly on meeting him.

The guy lives right across from my window. That means that, all this time she was staring out my window at her home.

HOWEVER! That means she was right near her home when we took her in... What's she doing starving, pregnant, battle-scarred, and ear-and-stomach-infected when her home is right around the corner?

Awww... And I was having a good day. I visited Louise, which was pleasant, did some general labour and got paid for it, got my first assignment from the business, went to counseling, which ended on a good note, went to karate and got my blue stripe. I'm coming home, thinking about how this is the first day in many months that just felt good, front to back. The sun had set, and I had no plans for the rest of the night. Then I come home and this little saga had unfolded in the hour-and-a-half I'd been gone.

We're basically catnappers, I guess, since she... couldn't have been lost.

But seriously, keeping an unfixed female cat as an outdoor cat in a neighborhood full of strays? I dunno about that...

HealthCanada, Rent, Facebook, Karate

Well, I spoke with HealthCanada. They told me what they needed for them to find my records. I gave them the info, and I'm waiting on a response.

I spoke with my superintendant about getting behind on rent. He's willing to work out a payment plan, sounds like, as long as I get the name of a Welfare worker. That's still gonna be a challenge. We had to reapply for Welfare, because they only keep you on record for three months unless you're collecting money. We reapplied three or four days ago with no response. It's never taken more than a day before. Got two days to get a response, but it sounds like all we need is a response.

This is a bit of a gross topic. I made my own dry quips about it in my head, which I'd love to share, but right now, I'm a little too edgey to treat this any way other than with utter seriousness in regard to speaking publicly.

I sent friend requests to all the members of I Hate Toucans on Facebook, and was rejected by all but one, and that person unfriended me. While this sounds like rational behaviour, it's actually pretty uncommon on Facebook. Most people are friend-sponges, and will use any slight excuse to fire off a request, or to accept one, to buffer up their friend count and make them look more impressive. I've had a person initiate a friend request on Facebook, then dodge me on the bus when we were the only two people on there. And it's especially odd that someone accepted initially, and then later decided to unfriend me.

I won a game of Scrabble on Facebook recently. My win rate has come up to almost 40%! That sounds bad, but I'm only playing one person right now, and she's pretty pro. She really creamed me a lot when we started, so I've had to fight pretty hard to make a comeback.

I couldn't get my black stripe yesterday in karate, because I fell asleep... Urg... And my rival got his! And a red stripe! That puts him one ahead of me! And I didn't manage to get tested for my blue stripe this week! Well, I've got counseling at an awkward time tomorrow, but I think I can still get there... Get my blue stripe, then next Tuesday my black, then on Wednesday my green... Put me two ahead! You can only graduate to the next belt level on the last Thursday of every month, though, so I might not gain any permanent speed if we both graduate at the same time. Then we'd both start at yellow at the same time with the same number of stripes.

Got my B12. Cross your fingers that this works!

Work, Vitamin B12, Welfare

Today Duncan worked doing general labour at Louise's with me. I guess this was kind of a big things for him, but I can't really think of what else to say about it. He did a good job.

Afterward, Louise treated us to lunch at the Golden Griddle. The food was good but the service was really slow, and they got my order wrong. And they don't really have an excuse since the restaurant was nearly empty.

The other day, I posted around those Fall pics at some other locations, just for the fun of it.

Oh, and hey! Turns out I've got a Vitamin B12 deficiency. I think I already said that in a previous post, but I just looked it up, and one of the possible symptoms is feeling depressed, in a cloudy, detached way. Ideally, I wouldn't like to find the solution to this problem in medicine. It'd make me feel too dependent on this human society, but if this really is a solution, I'll swallow my pride faster than a... Okay, sorry, I don't know how to end that sentence in a non-filthy way.

No call from Welfare. Nobody else is acting like we're royally messed over here, but honestly, my faith in our coming out of this situation in a non-life-upheaving way is seriously waning.

Gallery Blog, Google, Visit, Financial Stuff

Well, I know I said I'd wait awhile, but when I get an idea in my head, I can't help but go forward. I opened a new blog specifically for photos. Right now it just has what I've already posted in this one. Here's the link: http://gryphonsgallery.blogspot.com/

Yesterday, it was a perfect full moon, with the perfect level of haze, perfectly backing and bordering it without obscuring it, but the batteries in our camera were run out. We tried putting dollar store batteries in, but there wasn't even enough for one shot.

I know life doesn't work like this, but it just seems so anticlimactic that the full moon would come the day after Halloween. Since this was a more eventful day for me, I am forced to assume that the world revolves around me.

As far as the Google thing is concerned, my name-dropping trap worked, but it just puts the two links together on the front page, with the unfortunate post indented beneath the new. This actually works better than it would otherwise, because Google doesn't keep indenting links. This means that, instead of having to drop my name enough times to get the undesired post off the front page, I only have to drop one more post, and the indented post will be replaced, and it will be not only off the front page, but off Google entirely.

There is an option provided by eBlogger to stop search engines from crawling your blog, but it must not work for Google. Ironic, since eBlogger is the Google brand for blogs. Their search engine anti-crawl measures don't work on their own search engine!

Maybe it only prevents crawling, but it can't un-archive what's already been crawled. That's why I'm still allowing it to crawl this blog, until I drop enough names to bury the unwanted content.

OH! You want to hear about the visit with my dad yesterday? It went fine. I don't publish specifics on personal encounters that includes the emotional involvement of others, without that person's consent. It's part of my privacy policy. I can speak a little about my perceptions on the general situation, however.

I felt it was a little more nerve-wracking this time, since it involved my mother and my brother, and since it involved him coming here, "on my turf", you know? The visit went off without a hitch. He dropped by and said hi to Mom and Duncan, then we went for a walk and I showed him around my neighborhood.

Aunt Nancy let me keep the bookbag she lent me to bring the loaner laptop to Guelph in, and she bought us a load of groceries! We certainly won't starve, at least, for a while longer.

Oh, and that reminds me... The Rent Bank won't do anything for us until we get on Welfare, and we've applied at Welfare, and every time we've been through this in the past, they've responded the next day, but they haven't yet today, and they've never called this late, either, even though it's only 2:30 and they can call any time up to 5:00. I've been sticking by the phone all day, too, so it's not like I could have missed them.