[ritchie's weblog, just read the blog]: syntax error line:10
aside from my regular day-work duties. i will be trying to cram another 8 hours into my daily work day. blogging will be scarce this week as i attempt to work an 80 hour week day. it's always the blogging that goes first isn't it?
i'm not even talking about eating it. i'm talking about in general. most people have a phobia of rats, enclosed spaces, heights... mine is fish! my relationship with the fish species is actually a combination of hate and fear. let me explain.
i remember when i was 8 years old and it was back in the philippines. my grandmother owned a fish farm where they bred and sold fish to the local market. i was with my aunt when she decided that it would be fun to row the boat to the middle of one of the fish ponds. i agreed and off we went. we rowed to the middle of the fish pond and out of nowhere, she gets up, jumps off and starts swimming to shore. i had a classic wtf expression on my face (i remember it clearly). no less than 10 seconds later, fish started jumping from all over the place. some landed in the boat, some right over my head. i've blocked off the rest of this from my memory.
my parents fishtank sits behind the couch in their house. i remember sitting on the couch and reading a book when a goldfish on a kamikazi mission decided to jump from the fishtank, over my head and onto my book. yes, i did scream like a girl and yes, it was just this year. i think fish can smell fear similar to the way dogs do only worse.
i also hate the way that fish normally don't have eyelids and they sleep with their eyes open. that's just plain wrong.
the big giant head!
remember way back in august where i had a photo shoot for a big giant head poster? well, there it is in all it's glory. how could i not blog this? for a few months, every person in the corporation gets to see my profile everytime they walk into the main entrance.
i'm not even going to comment on this one. i'll just let my regular peanut gallery do all the talking.
it's been a while since i've posted something visually embarassing here on my website. i used to post pictures quite frequently but the picture quantity have gone down due to a few circumstances. one is that i don't have my digital camera with me. my parents are going on a trip and they've been familiarizing themselves with my camera. there really isn't a second reason besides i just haven't had the time.
this is also my weak attempt to be rocker-ish. notice the matching belt and bracelt and rocker pants and ensemble. all i need is longer hair and incubus pumping in the background.
of course, it's hard to look hard-core-rocker-ish when you have pink bathroom walls.
andrea: hey! what are you doing?
me: i'm at my parents place doing my laundry cause...
andrea: ... yea, your washer and dryer are toasted right?
me: yea! how'd you know?
andrea: dood, i read your blog man!
me: hey man, what you up to?
archie: oh nutting just heading off to a meeting. what are you doing?
me: i'm at my parents place doing my laundry cause...
archie: ... oh yea, your washer and dryer aren't working huh?
me: yea, thats right. how'd you know?
archie: man! your blog!
colene: so ... did you kill the rat yet?
me: huh? what rat?
colene: you know, the rat in your house. was it a big rat?
me: uumm no, i layed out some rat traps under the sink.
colene: oh that's crazy.
me: yea i know. so how'd you know about the rat?
colene: dood, your blog!
it's scary. really it is.
well, for starters. how about getting rid of that rat that managed to infiltrate the trash under my sink. which is, incidentally, also the place where my mom placed the grass seeds to replant the lawn. i'm not particular into killing furry disease infested animals with metal traps that disconnects the head from the body because i will most likely be the one to clean it up. i'm partial to the simple idea of asking them to leave and them walking out the backdoor. apologies exchanged and that is that.
but it doesn't quite work that way.
so tonight, i will attempt to remove the tiny rat into my premises. there are a few ways i'm planning on approaching this. one is to clean out the trash and hope to god that his furry little ass has moved itself on to bigger and better things. particularly, the other houses in the neighborhood. two is to use my discarded lighters and make a makeshift blowtorch and it'll be death from above. well, maybe the first option rather than the second. any suggestions?
the second an a-lister blogs your webapplication, your hits manage to skyrocket right through the roof. not that i'm not used to the hits, afterall, i am an a-lister (in my head).
my washer and dryer are both broken. the ghetto fabulousness of east vancouver has silently crept up on me. my washer seems too leak water when faced with a full load. so it's only half loads until i fix the problem. my dryer seems to function like a normal dryer except for the super-extra loud whirrrring and the simple fact that it doesn't dry clothes.
so what are my options? well, i only have one: hanging my laundry out to dry. something i haven't done since 1990 back in the motherland. i'm sure my neighbors got a laugh from my simpsons boxer shorts and my blogger t-shirt hanging out in the patio to dry.
have you ever spent a day working on a house? how about a weekend? i'm sure most, if not all of you, have done it at least once. i used to do it with my family all the time, working in the old house. it was fun, but a lot of work. last weekend (and today) was my turn.
i'd say more about the subject but my body is about to collapse from all the painting and funiture moving. i need another weekend just to recover from this weekend.
school starts this weekend. work is always ongoing. i've put a lot of books on hold because i have a thick-ass administrative manual to read. hopefully, this weekend the pink walls will be gone. plus, its back to the tennis workout regiment. where is the time going?
friday the 13th? really? it is? wow!
i'm supposed to be working. supposed to be. as always, this website is usually first to get neglected.
we tend to take many things for granted sometimes. when i lived with my parents, they had the usual: cable tv, high-speed internet and a network connection in virtually every room. when a person (ie me) moves to a new house, there is no cable tv, telephone line or internet. it felt like living in the dark ages of bbs and dial-up. little things that you took for granted become tedious chores. checking email took me at least 15 minutes with a 56k modem because of the usual attachments that accompany business e-mails.
last night, through the magic of friends, i finally had cable installed. i even had my wireless network set up in no time. first things that i did: sit on my couch, watch tv and surf the net on my laptop. cable overload in one night? you better believe it.
it's already been a year. a year since i was in my shower listening to the radio when the first plane hit. a year, when i spent my drive to work listening to the radio's news. it's been a year since footage of planes crashing into buildings and people fleeing into the streets. it has only been a year.
i'm not surprised that every weblog that i read has written something about it. it 's not even surprising that the media is oversaturating the mainstream with footage of firemen paying homage and people parading in the street. it's not good to forget things. it's not good to forget things that are important to you. it is very important: some pray, some read, others write while others just stay quiet. i admit, i'm more of the latter. i don't like talking about it. i don't find solace in talking.
i believe that the memory of the people who perished lives on in the living. i believe that if you treat people with basic human respect then you pay homage to the people who died. there is no point in reliving the day again. it was too hard the first time.
i used to own a lot of he-man toys. i had the whole kit and kaboodle. the tiger that would stay in one position all the time, the castle with the incredibly unproportioned snake for a tower and the figurines with the head too big for the body. i had them all. i even had a vhs tape of the he-man, she-ra movie.
they're coming out with new toys, apparently inline with the new cartoon series on saturday mornings. the toys look like they're in a forever abdominal flexed position which also makes them seem like they're some sort of hunchback. so much for teaching our kids good postures huh? i do admit that the toys look good, they even gave the new orco a cool pose, definitely better than the old one. in the hopes that tv networks are reviving old shows like this, i'd like to officially cast my vote for voltes v.
where every weapon is prefixed with "ultra electro magnetic." nuff said.
to the readers that follow this website for the last month, you would know that i've been keeping some very juicy secrets. today i come clean and make known to the world the sole-reason why my life has been the uninteresting drab it's been lately.
i moved out. i moved out into my own house to be exact. in all truth, i'm a bit nervous with the whole home ownership deal. the idea of being a homeowner is more appealing than actually being one. 20+ year mortgage is quite overwhelming when you think about it. it's actually more of a prestige thing. kinda similar to being a doctor with out the designation. sometimes i wish it did have a designation, well, maybe not. ritchie macapinlac, h.o.
its been a non-stop rollercoaster ride this past week. appointments, jobs and friends have kept me so busy. plans go all the way to monday. this whole weekend, i have no rest. it'll be: do this, do that, carry this, drive there and hopefully it'll be fun. i sure hope that everything will be fun. i can't really talk until after this weekend, but i should have pictures up. (to the people who know, don't say/comment anything. remember its a secret!)
i can't wait.
heather: man, you just need to learn how to say no.
me: yea, but i dunno. it's soo hard sometimes.
heather: ok, say it with me now...
heather: no!
me: n....n....yes! uugh damn it!
heather: NO!
me: n....nn...nuuuu....nn..yes! uugh damn it!
heather: NO!!
me: nnnnnnn...nnnnnuuuuu.....nnnnuuu...MAYBE?!
heather: its official, you're pathetic!
yea, its sad really.
everything is so out of place today but not in a bad way. which makes it a bit freakish. last night i got more than my usual 4 hours of sleep and i wanted more. i woke up in an un-naturally good mood. i picked some preppy clothes to wear for work because i have to look presentable. this is very different from my usual collared shirt and slacks. dave stopped by tim hortons and bought donuts. frank baked cookies. i'm actually organized in my affairs.
i'm expecting some slime-ridden monster to come up from under my desk and swoop me down in some ironic fate twisting fashion anytime now.
it was almost predictable that they would come out with a toy broomstick. it was almost inevitable that they would market it to children. but what sick, sick individual said "hey, lets make a witch broom for the little boys and girls but do you think we could sneak in that vibe function?" the great part about this is that i don't even have to come up with snarky commentary. the amazon review does it all for me:
... Enhancing the excitement are the vibrating effects and magical swooping and whooshing sounds the broom makes when on....great! harry potter is selling vibrators to kids.
where did the time go? it felt as if i was just making my annual goals list last week. i have to admit that i've been a little bit slack but i'm determined to completly check off everything. goals for me are important. they layout the groundwork for many of the things that i do and they keep me on track as the hours, days, weeks and months go by.
now excuse me while i tend to number 4 on the list and slaughter a wild animal with my bare hands or maybe i'll just do number 3 and read a book this month.
