I got myself a realtor, yup. Looking at some properties, lofts and townhouses (Copy and paste the links and add a zero, "0", to make it work. They expire at the end of this week). I guess there's a medley of good and bad stuff out there, hope to get a closer glimpse of some this week before going to camp. I got pre-approved for a, in my opinion, redonkulous amount of money, which does broaden my options somewhat. Not that I'll use the full pre-approval amount, it being stretched to the absolute limit of what I can afford. Although already I find myself thinking about money, something I've wanted to avoid doing ever since finishing university, a time where I was constantly worried about having enough. It's just a big pain! And just the THOUGHT of having a mortgage has such an effect on me, yeesh. Tipping less, buying less, scrutinizing bills. Make it stop!

I was at camp this weekend, getting ready for my time there next week. I hear all these stories of how amazing the experience is but I'm so worried about keeping my end up and being prepared as a counsellor. The facility they have is excellent, it's like a resort for children. I have to admit, it does feel rather good to be a part of it, almost as if I wasn't really, like it still hasn't sunk in. I'm trying not to get excited but do hope the weather stays good. Oh right, and I need to find/make an alien costume. Hmmmmm....

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Camp went well, I think. I am hesitant to say that I had an awesome time because I'm still digesting the experience, as it were, having returned Friday evening. Also, the kids' enthusiasm dwindled as the days passed, homesickness becoming an ever constant knell. Not sure how typical that is, or whether I played a positive or negative role there. I am glad to have done it, sure, and I feel much more ready for next time. I mean, I learned so much about the experience that I could do it again, sure. Only, not so soon -- it was draining, requiring one to be "on" from 7am to 10pm every day. I will in any case definitely bring better sleeping supplies next time (ie. a pillow and a blanket).

Hopefully I'll see a property or two tomorrow. The real estate market in Toronto, so it seems to me, right now is very competitive -- not a lot of properties and the good ones get snatched up within a few days. Not an ideal situation for someone like myself, who is slow to move and steps cautiously. In any case, I do not see myself buying a place anytime soon. But who knows?

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A busy week it was. Firstly, big news from work -- they're outsourcing my job! But.... they are also "promoting" me into development. The quotes are there because no-one's mentioned anything regarding a pay raise. I might be getting one, I might not. A lot more work, a lot more responsibility. However it is yet to be seen. Moving from customer support to development is a major transition and I'm not sure I quite know how I feel about it. On the one hand I'll get a chance to fix all those bugs and issues I'm always having to log. On the other, meetings, schedules and projects, oh my! Also, my days of getting into work at 10 are pretty much over.

Tuesday was karate, not much to say there. Wednesday I saw Up and really enjoyed it. I've only seen a handful of Pixar films and they have all been rather excellent and Up continues that trend. I found it spoke especially to me, an old man in my own mind.

Thursday was a social with some of the Session 1 Ooch counsellors, followed by drinks with old co-workers and friends until late. Friday I took it easy so that I could get some chores and laundry done, Saturday was a dental appointment, more karate, drinks at Hemingway's, and more drinks at Charlotte Room, followed up with Swatow.

Oh, I have been keeping an eye on condos/lofts/townhouses but with this rather thin market the pickings are rather meagre and oftimes unattractive. I am patient and believe that a match will come along. It's a strange business, this waiting game. I have certainly gotten a much better idea of what's moving out there.

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Stressed, I'm seriously stressed. I mean, it's just money, right? Who knows what the morrow may bring? I am to be dropping a deposit on a place (766 King Street West) tomorrow evening. My agent gave me the impression that my bid will be low, but I based the amount on comfort level and conservative estimates of what I can really afford (as well, to a lesser extent, what the mortgage broker said). So I guess there's not that much to be worried about. But shifting large amounts of money around does have a kind of toll on me. Not having had dinner is of little help.

Positives of the place? Close to work. Great kitchen, lots of light (skylight, south-facing), high ceiling, balcony with a BBQ. Negatives: No parking spot, no indoor bicycle rack. No amenities. A separate entrance would've been nice. I am not convinced that I want to live close to my work. Sure, it's convenient being able to walk to the office, but there's something to be said about working in one neighbourhood and living in another, to feel like one is "at work" or "at home".

Ok, well, we'll see. It's not likely that I'll win with my bid anyway. I guess it's back to gathering rosebuds while we may.

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Well it's a fine how-do-you-do; my other memory stick died! For those keeping track, that's the second of two 1GB OCZ sticks dying. At least, I think it's the memory that's gone bad -- I suppose it's entirely possible that the motherboard sockets are gone, which would be quite the pain. On top of the cost of replacing the motherboard, there's the installation process. So yeah, I'm really hoping it's the sticks themselves that have gone. Strange, it's so quiet in my apartment when the computer is off. Is this how it must've been, back in the 19, uh, 1910s? I remember as a kid disappointed when in a house that didn't have a computer or TV.

The reason for rebooting my computer, for indeed it was otherwise working fine before I turned it off, was that I'd been fiddling with the webserver and needed to update my HOSTS file. Yes, fiddling with the webserver because I'm getting familiar with MVC and in particular, Symfony, a PHP MVC framework. Inspired, you might say, as I've been learning about MVC at work. That and jQuery, a nifty JavaScript library. Oh I am learning a lot, reminding me of my university days when faced with reading textbooks and scanning articles; mindnumbing stuff. Maybe my brain just gets full? Whatever it is, I get tired at work, head-droopingly tired. Thankfully I have started doing some real, productive work which keeps me awake through stress ie. concern that I didn't actually learn anything and just slept a lot.

Looking at real estate listings is a lot like on-line dating -- you flip through descriptions and pictures, musing what'd be like to live there/date them. After you've seen a few places (met a few faces), you get an idea of what to expect based on the profiles. And so you act less often, growing tired and not feeling the need to see what they would really be like. Oh sure, you believe that there's one out there for you, and so you keep looking but the day after day of mediocre or unsuitable (or simply totally out of my league) matches does drain one's will, leaving one to compare them with the ones that got away.

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Ok, yup, I bought a place. It still hasn't quite sunk in yet. I mean, I believe it to be true and am slowly (slowly) warming up to the idea but until I actually move in it's still a rather unreal thing for me. Certainly, it is nice to not have to flip through ugly, ugly housing listings. Now, paperwork and all the tedium that it brings are my daily plate. Oh, and financial strains, indeed and oh yes.

Speaking of strains, my freakin' harddrive died! And it would seem I lost everything -- old photos (more recent ones are on flickr and at work), shows, movies.. and all my saved games! My personal notes on stuff. Gone. Well, not GONE gone.. presumably they're in statis, comatose on a few drive platters, locked by a $1k key ie. a data retrieval service. It's a frakking nightmare I tells ya! Although to be truthful I am getting more reading done at home; nearly halfway through The Crossing.

Saw a couple movies recently, A Serious Man, the new Coen brothers film, and The Road. The first quietly delighted me, the second made my blood boil; it seemed like a flagrant slap to those that had read the book. Looking back I suppose it's made the story more palatable to those who've not read it, but I still think it unnecessary and an insult to viewers. But ah well.

Winter is here with a frosty backfist to the cheeks. Bicycling has become officially a painful thing to do, so I've been taking the streetcar for the past couple of days. Gives me a chance to catch up on "The Skeptic's Guide to the Universe" podcast. HOLY COW it's -9 outside? That's Mother Nature for ya: turn around and she's kicking you in the ballsack.

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2010/08/03 Hwan I won't say that all is well (for I don't believe it to be so), but I am better. Thanks to all for asking!
2010/07/20 QYV Expected range for Creatinine for guys is 60 - 110 umol/L
2010/07/20 llamariffic Hmm, macrocytosis here as well, but to be honest I've had it since before I truly embarked on drinking as a proper hobby. Similarly, stopped drinking entirely, and it didn't go away. Just one of those things, I think.
2010/07/19 girl ack!! It's weird to think that I am now a parental unit. It was nice to see you hwan!
2010/05/21 Hwan I recall trying earplugs well back in my undergrad years, to mixed results. My sleep was troubled by feelings of claustrophobia. I also have a, perhaps unfounded, fear of not hearing the essential alarm in the mornings. However, I may give these another go, thanks.
2010/05/21 llamatron Have you tried sleeping with earplugs? My flat faces out onto a main road, so I've started using the standard foam plugs. It took a few nights to get used to them, but they make a big difference.
2010/05/21 girl The original swedish title: "Men who hate women". I'm not sure if it's the fault of the translation, but I never liked the reporter dude.
2001/03/07 Hwan Damn.. it seems Unweb has since died. http://www.gamegrene.com/node/183
2001/03/07 TY SHARDEL YOU CAN TRADE WITH THE UNIVERSE AND ENABLE SOCIAL NEEDS, OR PERHAPS POST WISH LISTS, HUG THE GLOBE LIKE A BIG OCTOPUS... TY
2010/03/24 Hwan I am amused by the John Irving comparison. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Irving#Recurring_themes