Archive for August, 2007


Kim

Filed Under: No Hate In This Entry - Sorry by Sharkboy — 2 Comments
August 8, 2007

I once had an employee working for me, her name was Kim.

Kim was probably what any employer wanted, she was punctual, she worked hard, she could work well in a team or on solo projects, she remembered what she was taught, she was motivated… but she was also very socially awkward. Almost like a kid who wants to take part in adult conversations but doesn’t quite fit in…

I took Kim with me on a sales trip once and she excelled. But trying to get to know her was very difficult.

Kim once asked me if it was a come-on if a guy asked her to sit on his face or if he was just laughing at her.

Kim once told me that things with her boyfriend were really going well, they were having tons of intellectual conversations like, you know, how are you, how’s the weather, etc.

Kim kept telling me about going out on Saturday night in Barrie (where she lived with her parents) and getting all made-up with “the amazing hair”. I had never seen the amazing hair, just the regular working hair. Another employee who spent the night at her house one weekend witnessed “the amazing hair” which was described to me a wall of back-combed bangs a foot high in the hair… Amazing indeed.

Kim often stayed behind to cover the phones instead of partaking in our little social events at the office, she definitely had the seniority to participate, and was always invited, I would have gladly volunteered someone else to stay behind, but she wasn’t comfortable in a group when it didn’t have to do with work.

Kim was easy to make fun of, especially with her “grand-ma” clothes and permed hair.

Kim left after 5 yrs of working for me, she was offered a job much closer to home with more money for the same duties and I couldn’t match it.

Kim was missed very much after she left.

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Books

Filed Under: Books, Yup - I hate it by Sharkboy — 6 Comments
August 6, 2007

I moved to Toronto in 1993 and for some reason immediately stopped reading novels. Don’t know why, I just did. I read mostly magazines, especially Entertainment Weekly from cover to cover, but no novels per say. I read one here and there when I’d go on vacation but that was about it. I just got bored reading the same things from different authors I guess.

2 years ago, as I was reading Entertainment Weekly, the first 4 pages of the new Stephen King book: Cell, were printed as an excerpt. I was hooked right away. Unlike other books that took more than 100 pages to get going, Cell was all action from the get-go… I wasn’t bored anymore.

So here are, in reading order, the books I’ve read in the last 2 years:
Cell by Stephen King
Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris
The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
Angels and Demons by Dan Brown
Wicked by Gregory Maguire (didn’t finish, got bored, but liked the musical)
Deception Point by Dan Brown
Digital Fortress by Dan Brown
White Shark by Peter Benchley (oh my… he was definitely drunk on that one)
The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger
Dress Your Family In Corduroy And Denim by David Sedaris
Cat and Mouse by James Patterson
The Ruins by Scott Smith
The Night Listener by Armistead Maupin
Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin
More Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin
Further Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin
Babycakes by Armistead Maupin
Significant Others by Armistead Maupin
Sure Of You by Armistead Maupin
The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time by Mark Haddon
Naked by David Sedaris
The Bitch Posse by Martha O’Connor
Holiday On Ice by David Sedaris
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by JK Rowling
Harry Potter and the Chamber Of Secrets by JK Rowling
Harry Potter and the Prisoner Of Azkaban by JK Rowling
Harry Potter and the Goblet Of Fire by JK Rowling
Harry Potter and the Order Of The Phoenix by JK Rowling
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by JK Rowling
The Nanny Diaries by Emma Mclaughlin and Nicola Kraus
The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon by Stephen King
Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella
A Simple Plan by Scott Smitt
Shopaholic Takes Manhattan by Sophie Kinsella
Battle Royale by Koushun Takami (didn’t finish the book, badly translated, but loved the movie)
Shopaholic Ties The Knot by Sophie Kinsella
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
Shopaholic and Sister by Sophie Kinsella
Shopaholic and Baby by Sophie Kinsella
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling
Shark Trouble by Peter Benchley (spare time reading, interesting shark stories)
I’ve tried and given up on The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova but I’ll get back to this one again though, it does have a great premise.

And in between these novels, I also felt like reading the entire collection of Tintin by Hergé:
Tintin au Congo
Tintin en Amérique
Tintin et Les Cigars du Pharaon
Tintin et Le Lotus Bleu
Tintin et L’Oreille Cassée
Tintin et L’Ile Noire
Tintin et Le Sceptre d’Ottokar
Tintin et Le Crabe Aux Pinces D’Or
Tintin et L’Etoile Mystérieuse
Tintin et Le Secret De La Licorne
Tintin et Le Trésor De Rackham Le Rouge
Tintin et Les Sept Boules De Cristal
Tintin et Le Temple du Soleil
Tintin au Pays De L’Or Noir
Tintin et L’Objectif Lune
Tintin et On A Marché Sur La Lune
Tintin et L’Affaire Tournesol
Tintin et Coke En Stock
Tintin Au Tibet
Tintin et Les Bijoux De La Castaphiore
Tintin et le Vol 714 Pour Sydney
Tintin et Les Picaros
(I will attack the Asterix serie next)

I know, nothing too intellectual, a tad of chicklit thrown in for good measure as well, but these books have kept my interest, some were scary, some were sad, some were funny as hell, all I needed to make the lunch hour go fast at work. As you can notice, if I like a novel, I usually try to go through the author’s library. Also, I usually read new freshly bought books, I don’t like used copies, but will subject myself to them if it’s a title that’s out of print. There’s something good about being the only person to have turned the pages of a particular book, like the secrets are safe.

Tomorrow I will start The Golden Compass by Phillip Pullman, first in a serie of 3 novels. I’m not too sure about that one, it’s been “aggressively” recommended #20 by someone who said the serie was better than Harry Potter’s, but I’m afraid it might be too childish… I’ll let you know if it ends in the “not finished” pile.

Anything you guys can suggest or recommend?

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Feed the birds, $1.65 a muffin!

Filed Under: No Hate In This Entry - Sorry by Sharkboy — 1 Comment
August 6, 2007

birds.jpg

This morning, DR and I found ourselves in the deserted village, seems like everyone went to Montreal for Divers Cite, or some other location to escape Caribanna. So for the first time since it opened, we actually sat at the front of Starbucks to enjoy hot drinks and muffin.

It wasn’t long before we were accosted by some little hungry birds, first they went for the crumbs, but before we knew it, we were under attack… One flew away with my muffin paper cup while others ravaged the table and sidewalk for all the muffins pieces around us… What started as cute became somewhat annoying, we both didn’t want a reprise of the bird poop in the face from a few weeks back, so we took our drinks and left before finding ourselves in the middle of an Hitchock movie.

Dr/Sharkboy = 0
Birds = 2

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Smokers, really, WTF???

Filed Under: Yup - I hate it by Sharkboy — 4 Comments
August 2, 2007

Has anyone seen the facade of George’s Play lately? Could a public place look more disgusting?
It’s like a giant ashtray had been dumped on top of the bar, and sidewalk, and street #27.

The sad part is that it’s not the only bar guilty of not cleaning up after its partrons, there are others just down the street guilty of the same… If it’s an infraction to the city bylaws to not clear up the snow or ice on the sidewalks where you live or own a business, why isn’t it one for those who don’t clean up trash during the summer months?

Bar owners, please invests on some permanent ashtrays outside your doors instead of insisting your guests throw their cigarette butts all over the place. It’s a sad day when even homeless people are so revolted they won’t pick-up the unsmoked butts.

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