Haiku #8 - Work

Work is exhausting,
Work is troubling and stressful,
Work is for the dough.

Manual Learning

Dave is always so patient when we go on Photo walks anywhere and helps me out a lot too by holding my equipment and carrying it around for me most of the time. Lately though he has shown an interest in actually learning how to take manual shot with the dSLR which makes me really happy. I love teaching people how to use manual settings as I feel it is the only way to use a dSLR.A while back we went on a photo walk near Prince of Wales and he played around with the settings for a while. I showed him how to read the internal light metre to try and get a starting point for his photos and he got it pretty quickly (not that I expected anything else from a guy as smart as he is). He seems to be enjoying taking photos more now that he can control the settings a bit. I am looking forward to showing him more about it all and trying to answer his questions to the best of my ability (there are some things that I just know, but have a hard time explaining).

Quotable Thursday #19

"Put yourself on view. This brings your talents to light." - Baltasar Gracian.

One Minute Writer #51

Describe your life in six words.

Not as expected, but still wonderful.

Priority Upgrade

The other day I drove to Lindsay to complete a BOMA BESt survey for work. I then drove to Peterborough and spent the night in a hotel before driving to Belleville for a Designated Substance Survey (DSS) and then driving back to Ottawa.
While in Peterborough, I stayed at the Holiday Inn there that I had reserved with my personal information in order to get points on my holiday inn card. Because I had done that, I was registered under my priority points number and upon arrival was upgraded to a river-view room that should have been almost double the price of the room I had actually reserved. It was very nice and once I got a minute to check out the view, I was a little sad that I hadn't brought any of my personal photography equipment. I only had the crappy little cameras we use for work. They are incredibly beat up and don't take the nicest photos, but hopefully you will still get the point of the great view I had, even though it was late January.Please ignore the reflection of my hand and camera and the terrible glare from the sun - like I said, the work cameras are far from the standards of my normal equipment plus I was running behind schedule. Either way, it was a very nice room and I was rather impressed that I got bumped up so easily - go Holiday Inn Priority Club!!

Haiku #7 - Sweaters

Sweaters weren't for me,
Time passed and tastes have evolved,
Sweaters are now daily.

Renovated Home

For the last few years, home has been Ottawa. But at the same time, home will always be Prescott. Recently though, my parents have renovated the house and upgraded many features that they have been talking about for years.
My dad is taking advantage of the home renovation tax and environmentally upgrading the house. He has increased the insulation in several parts of the house, installed a tank-less water heater and new windows throughout.
One of the biggest things they have done to the house is the installation of a downstairs bathroom/powder room. My dad has been talking about this and planning it for the last twenty years and for many of the past years, this room was used storage for the Proctor and Gamble products. It has a black and white theme with slight hints of mauve and purple and looks so great.
Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of it when I was home, so you will have to take my word on this.

One Minute Writer #50

Do you have a weekly day of rest? Write a bit about this concept

At first glance, I figured my weekly day of rest is likely Saturday as this is the day where I do the least in terms of work (either engineering work, photographic work or housework). I mope about the house with Dave playing video games and watching movies. Every once in a while I will start a load of laundry, but it normally sits in the washer for a few hours before I realize that it is time to switch it over to the dryer.
It could also be Sunday, where we do something similar but a great deal more housework gets done. Sunday is also normally the day where we end up running any errands that take us out of the house, provided there are any of course. The intention is always to do them on Saturday, but almost every weekend Dave and I decided that we will stay inside and then do them the next day.
I guess I have a day and a half where I attempt to rest from the work week. To be honest though, I fail the majority of the time as lately I find it very hard to stop thinking about work long enough to actually relax.

Hoops

While in London, Chris and I made our lunches almost every day. In those lunches we had salami sandwiches, juice boxes, some sort of fruit and hoops. Hoops are similar to the Humpty Dumpty chips offered here in North America, but they are unflavoured (just plain chip). They were very yummy and something I continue to remember about that trip to this day.
As part of my Christmas gift this year, Chris got me (and Dave) a pack of Hoops that she found in a British shop near her hometown. I was delighted. I saved them for my dessert (or after dinner snack as they aren't really a dessert) and enjoy every second of them. They reminded me of London from the moment I opened the tiny package. Thanks Chris!

Quotable Thursday #18

"It is not bigotry to be certain we are rightl but it is bigotry to be unable to imagine how we might possibly have gone wrong." - G. K. Chesterton (1874-1936)

Way Back Whenesday: Hocus Pocus

Hocus Pocus was one of my favourite Halloween based movies when I was growing up. I thought the song Sarah Jessica Parker sang to lure into the children was really pretty and I always wanted to be her character when I was watching it.
If memory serves, it is also where Chris' cat Binx got her name - though they thought she was a he when they first got her and her name was therefore Zachary Binx after the boy/cat in the movie.

One Minute Writer # 49

In what area of your life are you the most disciplined?

I thought this would be an easy question to answer, but now I just don't know. I know how to answer the least disciplined question (weight loss: eating healthy and exercising), but now I am questioning my most disciplined areas as well. I suppose financially I am quite responsible, though lately Dave and I have been spending far too much money on take-out and restaurants. This increase in spending is still tracked in my budget spreadsheet though, which has been active and completed in full for the last 3-4 years. I suppose that budget spreadsheet alone proves which area I am most disciplined in.

Reformatting

Dave reformatted my laptop about a week ago and I am still dealing with the complications. Don't get me wrong, the reformat was exactly what this thing needed and I am very appreciative for the time and effort he put towards fixing my poor little laptop, but boy is it ever annoying to have to start from scratch on a machine I had set up just how I liked it. Reinstalling programs and downloading patches for games and software is very time consuming when I am already low on time. But, the reformat enabled me to get Photoshop CS3 reinstalled on my laptop and even got rid of all the viruses that were plaguing this thing. My laptop no longer asks me an invisible question every time I turn it on, and it of course turns on so much faster than it used to. I am thinking a regular reformat isn't necessarily a bad idea, once you get used to having to set it all back up that is - perhaps doing it in a less busy time of the year would be a better idea next time.

Frazzled

The work is piling up and vacation is coming up for which I am not ready and I am really starting to get frazzled. I am frayed around the edges one might say. I am doing my best to stay on top of everything, but as soon as I feel like I have gotten a handle of things, I get another project at work, or need to get another thing accomplished at home.

Take the other day for example, I had a last minute site visit for a designated substance survey (DSS). It was to freshen up my skills with respect to DSSs as I haven't done a proper one in many months and am likely going to be doing one solo next week. After finishing that, I helped out Dave with a HazMat survey in the same building and didn't return to the office until nearly 3:30. I then answered many emails and phone messages, dealt with some invoices that were on my desk and prepped some field teams for some work they are doing for me the next day. 5pm rolled around and I was still in the office with tons of stuff to get around to doing.
The thing that is really getting me frustrated and frazzled right now is the fact that it is looking like I will be out of the office and out of town the last three days I am at work (before my vacation). This worries me because I am afraid I won't have time to get my projects in a state where I can leave them with others (or on their own) for two weeks. I spent most of Friday trying to once again catch up, and did a pretty good job of it, but will still have a lot of work ahead of me this week in order to be truly prepared for vacation.
Who knew taking time off could be so much work?!

Ty's Birthday

Today is my older brother's birthday. He turns a whopping 29 today!
The photo is from when the four of us (Tyler, Lynn, Dave and I) went to the Super Ex last summer. We walked around, went on some of the weaker rides as three of us can't handle the less tame ones, and fed the animals - good times were had by all.
Happy Birthday Tyler!!

Quotable Thursday #17

"You don't get anything clean without getting something else dirty." - Cecil Baxter.

Techno Jeep

Dave sent me a link to this one day at work. I think it is really awesome. It is called Techno Jeep and more stuff from the creator can be found at Julian Smith TV.

How-To Tuesday: Make a Kisame Costume

Every Halloween Dave and I make him a rather intensive costume. This past year the costume we made for him was Kisame from Naruto. The character is generally a man-shark with blue skin and pointy teeth. He has a large sword called sharkskin and wears blue clothing under an Akatsuki (a black cloak with red lining and red clouds on it - part of the coalition he is in) cloak. Below is an image from Google (as usual) of the animated character.Despite my disdane for sharks, I agreed to make Dave this costume - from scratch. The focus of the How-To Tuesday will be How to Make a Kisame Costume. Below is an image from the anime series to let you know what the costume is supposed to look like.First, the sword. Dave made this from scratch using styrofoam (the pink board kind). He shape it and then put a rake handle up it with about 2 feet sticking out for the sword hilt and handle. He then cut metal triangle (shark scales) out from a dollar store serving tray, fixed them to the end and spray painted them light blue. Bubble wrap was then wrapped around the non-pointy parts of the sword to make it the right thickness to let people think there were scales throughout the entire sword. He wrapped a white bedsheet around the bubble wrap, glueing it in place. This is not the final wrapping of the sword, merely a way to ensure no pink foam shows through the final product. Next came the tedious task of cutting/ripping strips from the remaining white bedsheet and wrapping and glueing them onto the sword - leaving the pointy bits uncovered. A few remnant pieces were placed on the edge of the pointy bits so it looked like they just ripped through. Wrap the handle with faux suede and place a skull on the end of the handle and you are good to do.

Second, the Akatsuki cloak.

This one was my doing and I therefore have a better understanding of how it was done. First, I used Simplicity Pattern 5840 as a starting point. I cut out all the pieces for Robe B in both black and red broadcloth - except for the hood. I then sewed all the matching red and black pieces together. Following the pattern directions I then sewed the now two coloured pieces together using the black as the 'right side' (outside) and the red as the 'wrong side' (inside/lining). Once this was done, I cleaned it up by trimming down the seams and hemming it to Dave's height and arm length.

Now, that hood I had you not make. Essentially Dave and I took the hood pattern that came with the package and made it two separate rectangles instead of the one pointy quadilateral. This essentially makes a very high collar. Same as before, cut the rectangle shapes in both red and black but this time do not sew them together completely - Leave the tops open. Sew the two rectangles together and then to the neck of the robe according to the pattern instructions, including the pleats.
Next add the red trim detail to the front of the cloak by cut two long strips of red fabric about 2 inches wide and the length of the cloak from the top of the collar to the bottom. Fold these in half and sew them to secure the straight edge. Now sew them to the openings of the cloak using black thread so that they stick out about half an inch.
To get the hood to stand up you will need to cut some boxboard to shape (and size) and then slip them inside the top opening. Fold the black fabric down over the boxboard and the red down to match (this leaves a nice finished edge on the top) and run it through the sewing machine - make sure not to sew the boxboard but rather just the fabric itself.

Cut out four red cloud shapes from felt. Take white broadcloth and cut strips, fold them in half. Line the clouds with these either by placing them behind the clouds and sewing with red thread or by folding them over the cloud edges and sewing with white thread. Attach these to the cloak.
After you put on some velcro to the cloak you will have an Akatsuki cloak.

Third, the head piece and shoes.
Dave made the shoes by taking a very old pair of runners, cutting out the toes until they showed all but his pinky toe, and then sewing blue broadcloth around the shoes. He then took a white sock and cut it to fit under the shoe and up his shin.The head peice was made by taking a properly shaped winter headband and covering it in the same blue broadcloth making sure to sew it while the headband was stretched (if you don't, it won't fit over your head anymore). Dave then took a dollar store serving tray and etched in the markings for the head plate. Cut it out and then glued it onto the headband.

Fourth, the sash
The sash could have been made differently than it was by taking the faux suede fabric we bought and fashioning the sash from scratch. Instead, since we didn't think we would be able to find the right fabric, we bought a black sash and covered it in the faux suede fabric.

Fifth, the hair and makeup
Dave bought a blue wig and him and our friend Yan spray painted it with blue paint while hanging it upside down. This makes the hair stand on end. Dave then affixed it to the inside of the headband to enable the two to be put on easily - more like a tight hat then a headband.
The makeup was bought at Malabar hear in Ottawa. We applied it to Dave's face, feet and at the last minute, hands. We used black eyeliner for the gills and eye-wells (see image for headband for makeup and hair).This is the finished product. I think it came out really well. Dave's skill with the sword (and shoes) and mine on the clothing came together to make a really awesome (yet nerdy) costume.

All I Got for Christmas...

...was a lot of great stuff actually! The title of this post makes me seem a little greedy, but I am really just using it in a similar way to the All I Want for Christmas post, as Dave and I made out like bandits this year. We got some really great stuff and I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone - we really appreciate our gifts this year.

Another Photographic Creature

In similar fashion to the echidna with the Canon, these little creatures are true photography lovers. (image found by Dave on ActingLikeAnimals.com)

DJ Earworm

A couple days ago Jerrica posted a link on her Facebook wall:

Turns out it is a mash-up of the top 25 (most popular) songs from 2009 (as determined by Billboard Magazine) done by DJ Earworm. Since Dave loves music I sent the link to him and he in turn starting looking for more from him and found his website with tons of mash-ups on it including his annual top 25 mash-up from the past few years. The mixes are absolutely amazes and as another friend put it further proves that American pop songs are so similar that they can be made into one song - I add to that, if you are good enough at mixing.

Way Back Whenesday: He Man

This was one of Tyler's shows that we watched while playing in the basement. He also had various toys based on the show that he would play with. The reason I am posting this is not because I remember watching the show or him playing with the toys, but rather because I would steal his purple cat, which was the bad guys (Skeltor) battle cat named Panthor, and use it as a toy for my Barbies. I don't know exactly why I thought a giant cat would be a good house pet for Barbie, but the purple colour likely had something to do with it. Anyway, what respectable evil villain has a giant purple cat as a pet - really now?!

More than all the Rest

I posted 286 blog posts here on The Great Abyss in 2009, which is more than all the previous years combined! I like to think that my more regular posting has created more loyal readers and also like to think that my posts have gotten more interesting as I have progressed in my blogging. Though I am not doing this blog for professional reasons (ie. I am not a writer), I hope that I am not boring the world with my e-space. Either way, I have no intention of stopping (or slowing down) in 2010 and see another year of regular posts and features. Thanks to all my readers in 2009 and hope you stick around through 2010 (and maybe even bring some friends with you).

Blog of Note (January): EpiCute

Dave found me this site the other day while he was traversing his regular sites and I can't get enough of it. EpiCute is a collection of epicly cute images of cakes, cupcakes, lollies, and other treats. It often has images of faux-treats as well, like soap in the shape of a cookie.

I think the above image is my favourite one so far. It was can be found on EpiCute as well as when it was originally posted by sugarbloom.

Mission Goal

I am not a fan of New Year's Resolutions, in fact, I am pretty much against them all together. New Year's Resolutions are tacky and predictable and very, very few people obtain these goals, or even continue working on them once February rolls around.
I am however, a fan of determining what you want out of the next year (I am calling this my Mission Goal). I know it sounds like the same thing, but if I look at it as more of plan for the next year (an incredibly general plan of course), then it is something I can get on board with. There are no 'I will stop...' statements, or anything like that. Just some sort of idea of what you think the next year will bring you and what you want at the end of it.
I want to be happy, healthy and comfortable in 2010. For me, these things are most likely to occur if I lose some weight, get a decent amount of money in my savings account, travel more and get a puppy.

Happy New Year

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

(image found through Google)