Opinions Needed

I desperately need help selecting a logo/signature combination and would greatly appreciate it if everyone would leave comments as to which one they prefer (please visit this post ). Thank you so much (in advance).

Found

I found it!! My flash drive (USB key) has been located!! I had searched my purse and my laptop bag multiple times but had Dave search them when we got home this evening and after a little bit of effort on his part, my flash drive was found. I couldn't have been happier when he showed me it. Now I can update my budget and figure out how much money Dave owes me as well as determine how much damage I did by purchasing my iPod. I can also figure out a weight loss goal for my birthday (see this post on Road to a Better Me). I am so excited to have it back - yes I realize how much of a nerdy loser this makes me, but I don't care.

Lost

I have misplaced my flash drive (USB key) and therefore all the files on it. I am feeling terribly lost without it and don't really know what to do. There are so many places it could be and I haven't really had the time to look in any of them sufficiently. I may have lost it here at work or somewhere in our rather large (when compared to a flash drive) house. It went to Petawawa with me but I know I brought it back as I had to use it to return files to people around the office. Eek, I need my flash drive...I need the files that are on it...I don't know what to do without it.

Unhappy

I am currently unhappy with my work. I have been for quite some time now and am just starting to realize that there is little I can do about it for quite awhile longer. I need to get more experience in my field (aka this job) before I can go looking for other work. I don't know if it is this specific job that is upsetting me at the moment or just the fact that I have to work in general - or perhaps that I am not working in something I really love. I would love to go back to school full-time for photography but then I would have wasted the last 5 or 6 years getting where I am now, night courses will have to do for now. I do like being an engineer, don't get me wrong, and perhaps I just haven't found the right position in this field yet in which case I need to stick it out a little longer here to get enough experience to land a better job somewhere else. I know I am not the only junior here who feels this way as we are all underpaid and overworked - in a funny way, the fact that others are suffering here helps it be okay that I am too.

Apple

I joined the sensation that has been going on for years...the iPod. I had resisted buying one before now for several reasons - one of the largest reasons being the immense cost (they used to cost upwards of $500 for even a basic one). They have come down in price significantly, at least the more basic ones have as the iPod Touch and iPhone are still quite expensive. Another reason I had yet to buy one was the size problems. In my opinion, they had yet to get the combination of size of screen to size of machine right. The iPod I purchased was the pink iPod Nano 4th Generation, 16GB (the image to the right is the 8GB but it looks the same) - I am synching it up with the music on my laptop now and will probably do some more 'synching' when I get the portable drive connected sometime later in the week.

1/4 of the way

I looked at my post count today and noticed that I have already written 1/4 of the blogs I did in all of 2008 - meaning if I stay at the rate I will right significantly more blog entries this year than last. I do however tend to start out strong and struggle near the end as I get stressed, etc but mostly just because I get discouraged by the lack of comments (and in my mind readers). I try to make myself do it in an effort to entertain myself (as I am often bored at work, which is where the majority of my blogging is done) but sometimes I lack the commitment level necessary.

Cleaning House

This past weekend Dave's sister came for a visit and as a result we spent the majority of the night before (and weekends for the last two weeks) cleaning our house from top to bottom. It was so much work and there were multiple days were I hurt from all the cleaning. We tidied the basement and cleaned the bathroom and kitchen and of course did tons of laundry; we swept, swiffered and vacuumed (Dave even washed the floors); we did some filing and dealt with papers and receipts that have been piling up for some time now. After we had cleaned we decorated and we now finally have frames on the walls and pictures inside of them (with the exception of 4 since I forgot to get ones printed for those/lost the ones I initially wanted there). The house looks great and I am no longer completely stressed out while trying to enjoy myself.

Vagina Monologues

We went to see Chris in the Vagina Monologues last night and wow, the show was amazing. Chris' part was small but she did really well in it and definitely made it her own. Before now, I have not been able to see Chris in any of the performing arts events she had participated in, mostly because of school as they had tended to be the day before a big exam, etc. The most recent one I missed, a poetry reading, was due to work though. I was really excited to see her act finally and like I said, she did really well.
While watching the show I took several pictures of the evening which can be found on my Facebook account for all of you who have me on there. I am pretty happy with how the shots came out and will probably be using them on my photography blog in the time to come.

Newest Equipment

I went shopping yesterday at what is quickly becoming my favourite store - Henry's. I had ordered a tripod several weeks ago and was informed that it had arrived. I went looking for a quality dSLR tripod last month after getting a gift certificate to the store but couldn't find one with the right combination of features. One of the salespersons helped me out and selected this one for me (I later researched it online to ensure it was the best one considering how expensive it was). I ended up purchasing the Slik Pro 500 DX tripod (left) and am so far extremely happy with it.

I also spent a significant amount of time looking at the LowePro camera bags. I have quite a collection of these bags but have yet to find the perfect one - until yesterday.
I have a large reporter style bag from several years ago that was purchased to hold literally everything I owned at the time (and at the current time as well) but it is just too massive to use everyday.
I have an Apex 100 AW for my point and shoot camera. A good bag but not a great camera anymore so I really don't think of this one that much and at the current time can't pinpoint it's location in the house.
I later purchased the FastPack 250 which is good since it has a laptop slot as well as the ability to hold all of my digital equipment to date. It is also quite large though and I find that to safely swap lenses I have to put the bag on the ground (or other stable surface) and therefore lose precious time. It would be a very good bag for hiking or significantly log day trips where fast lens changes aren't needed as the extra pockets, etc would be good for snacks or other essentials.
I have a Terraclime 100 bag which I purchased at the most recent Henry's photo show here in Ottawa. This is an awesome bag not only for the reasons of its amazing look and great padding for the camera equipment inside, but also because the materials used are recycled and a portion of the profits goes toward polar bear international. So happy about that purchase. I use this bag when I am going to museums, etc and want a bag that really just looks like a purse, will hold my wallet, keys, phone and camera with no real accessories.
While we were looking through the bags we found the Classified AW series (size 160 to be precise). It is a great bag for what I was looking for - just the right size to hold my camera and additional lenses as well as anything else I may need when going out for a day or so (wallet, keys, etc). It is a shoulder bag and therefore has pretty easy access for switching lenses, etc but still has a great deal of protection in terms of padding. I sits close to the body and I am absolutely in love with this bag and encourage everyone to watch the product video on the LowePro website.
There are many reasons as to why I buy LowePro, one of the biggest factors is however the lifetime warranty on all of their products. If there is a tear or any of the buckles or fasteners break in some form, LowePro will replace my bag pretty much no questions asked. Another reason is all of the amazing features including but not limited to, the patented all weather cover, non-slip shoulder straps, heavy duty fabrics and fasteners and slick, modern designs. I am overall, a LowePro girl. Whenever someone tries to steer me in the direction of another company, even one with as great as name as National Geographic, I just can't do it - I need to stick with the tried and true LowePro.

A Good Purge

I spent a large portion of today backing up and purging my photos. Our near terabyte of external storage is home to my entire digital photo collection and as such I am able to delete photos from my actual computer. All in all I cleared over 10 GB of space from my computer primarily in the form of digital images. Feels good to be back at 50% free space on this thing.

Lajoie doesn't like Nicolas Cage

I'm not a huge fan of Jon Lajoie but I do enjoy several of the lines of his songs 'Everyday Normal Guy' and 'Everyday Normal Guy 2'.

Petawawa

This past week I have been working from Petawawa. I was sent here along with a few other people from DST to do designated substance surveys in 40 building on base here. My role was quality control - basically I take the samples that the field guys get and organize them and ensure nothing was missed. So this week has pretty much been me sitting in a hotel room on base going through samples for most of the day, doing as much other work as possible but not really getting anything accomplished there for lack of time and then at night hanging out with the other people here and going out for dinner somewhere in Petawawa or Pembroke. I was supposed to meet up with a friend from high school who is currently living in Petawawa but I ran out of time and he is unfortunately not going to be here next week when we have to come back - which really sucks.
I have realized that I don't mind this work - though I haven't been doing the sampling which is much more exhausting work than mine.

Muh Na Muh Na

I remember seeing this on the muppets when I was younger and later found it on the net and downloaded a version of it.



Many people have done versions of this since it was created and WoW users are no exception. The next image is two taurens and an undead character from World of Warcraft doing the same thing. I think it is one of my favourite imitations of the original.

Advanced

"I bought a new camera. It's so advanced you don't even need it." ~ Steven Wright, Comedian.

Colour to a Dog

"It is no more crazy than a dog finding a rainbow. Dogs are colourblind, Gretchen. They don't see colour. Just like we don't see time. We can feel it, we can feel it passing, but we can't see it. It's just like a blur. It's like we're riding in a supersonic train and the world is just blowing by, but imagine if we could stop that train, eh, Gretchen? Imagine if we could stop that train, get out, look around, and see time for what it really is? A universe, a world, a thing as unimaginable as colour to a dog, and as real, as tangible as that chair you're sitting in. Now if we could see it like that, really look at it, then maybe we could see the flaws as well as the form. And that's it; it's that simple. That's all I discovered. I'm just a... a guy who saw a crack in a chair that no one else could see. I'm that dog who saw a rainbow, only none of the other dogs believed me."
~said by Stuart from the movie Kate & Leopold.

The Bus Strike Song

The OC Transpo workers were on strike for 51 days. The strike is over now, the O-Train is on the tracks today and the priority buses will be back on the roads next week (mind you full service won't be back until possibly April). It no longer matters who was at fault, just that it happened and will soon be completely over.