Heavens, the rain

Was forced to get up today at 6:00 because of the rain -- its intensity, coupled with a fierce wind pounding it against my bedroom windows, makes it rather like trying to sleep while going through a carwash. The good thing is that it's kicking the crap out of the surplus snow. Nice mild temperatures -- now there's the global warming we all know and love.

Trivia last week was good -- we flattened the opposition (the host played right into our hands). The weekend was pretty tame, which is good every now and then. Ginny had a crew in for some awesome chili on Saturday night. And I got a few things done in and around the workshop during the daytime. Just a few more edges to stain and I'll have a sidetable for my fireside chair. But I'll wait till next week before I launch into a resolution recap...

One month into winter...

So it's been a fairly eventful week. I gave a presentation at work last Wednesday which seemed to go well (at least, there were a lot of questions of interest at the end). I then found out that my workload is going to be increasing soon. Which is good, I guess, since stuff was starting to wind down.

We had our third scotch tasting on Thursday night. And once again, very good times. We have a good idea of what the next two bottles will be, so the tradition should continue. I think that in October, after we've accrued close to a dozen bottles, we should have Scotchtoberfest.

Friday night started off innocuously enough at the Guv'nor for a meal and a couple of pints. Then we got back to my place where we tucked into that surplus liquor I have. Stupid Triple Sec. And Disaronno. We wound up at Kelly's where we belted out some standards. I was on the verge of passing out when I got called to the stage again. Got my fourth wind, and was belting out Steppenwolf when some Good Samaritan informed me that my mic was off... that kind of night.

And then on Saturday, Paul was in town, so we headed to Hefford's (which was a big time blast from the past... hadn't been there in years.) We played Rock Band, which is like Guitar Hero but with more instruments, and as such, more amenable to many players.

Oh, and finally, fuck Queen. I'm sick of hearing bloody Bohemian Rhapsody. It wouldn't be so bad if it were a short ditty. But no... it's the musical equivalent of five-hours-in-the-dentist's-chair. Seems like some yuckler is always requesting it on the radio when I'm in the lab. It's enough to make me want to solder my ears shut.

New Year's Resolutions

Maybe. We'll see how it unfolds. I found that doing my "todo list" on this blog helped me get shit done, so I'm going to try a resolution + regular followups, a la House.

(Note: I realize I haven't crossed items off on my "list" in ages. Stuff is still getting done, just nothing really major to report. And I don't think you all need to know that I scrubbed my toilets one night.)

(Actually, somewhat of a lie: Finish console table. Looks pretty sharp.)

These are my intentions:

Cook more/Pack real lunches

This has been one of my shames. I have a repertoire of about three or four recipes. And I don't even prepare those very often. Mostly it's frozen food or some kind of soup and sandwich thing at suppertime, or very frequently a trip to A&W (I walk by it every day). And lunches all too often wind up at the food court. It's hard on the wallet, and can't be good for the health.

So, whether I'm using the crockpot, pasta maker, or regular ol' stove, I'm going to try to cook and bake more. And to attach some numbers: Limit lunch takeout to once or twice a week; cook "real supper meals" three times a week; and takeout outside of work hours to three or fewer times a week.

BTW, so far so good: Lunch was packed three times this week, and only a couple of restaurant visits.

Devote a half-hour each night for general housework

I found that once I get started, I don't mind housework. Problem is, if it piles up it's hard to get started. If it's regular, then it shouldn't pile up. Sounds good in theory, eh? So whether it's scrubbing, dishes, laundry, tidying, painting, sweeping, etc. I'll try to do a half-hour each night.

Get the electronics lab under way

I meant to get this going last fall/winter, but I'm not ashamed of the way it turned out. It all started by getting some stuff (parts cabinet, soldering iron, multimeter, "third hand", etc.) Then I went and built a workbench and found that I really like woodworking. So my electronics lab turned into a general workshop -- not a bad thing, but I'd like to resurrect the electronics part again...

One woodworking project every two months

... but not at the expense of carpentry. I've got a bunch of ideas in mind now, and the goal is to churn out one of them every two months. I got four done last year, so this shouldn't be terribly lofty.

Keep it up with the piano

I learned a bunch of short pieces (2 minutes each) last year, and some of which I've committed to memory. I want to get more into improvisation -- and this is going to be a big pain in the ass to start with. I need to brush up on the theory more, and put it into practice. So I'm going to try improvising over a simple chord progression for fifteen minutes a day, and see how that goes. Hell, if I come up with some decent passages I'll write them down. I've tried improvising before, and it's an aggravatingly slow process.

Not an overwhelming list, but enough to stay mindful of. Time will tell how well it goes.

Well, this fell by the wayside...

No post for December. Probably because there was a lot afoot. Now you all get to enjoy an omnipost.

Work
Work was pretty busy in December. I had to undo a bunch of fuck-ups on one project. I was also trying to get the engineering model for another project working before Christmas, and I'm happy to say that it was mostly functional before I left for the holidays. And now it's all functional. Just need to pack it up and throw it in the ocean (this is in fact part of the device's mandate -- not a sign of frustration).

Christmas shindig
We decided to have a big ol' Christmas do, rather than do a secret Santa. Started at India Gate, came back to the house to fit what liquor we could around the meal, and then off to the GTP. Awesome times.

Scotch tasting (pt. 2)
On December 13th, we had our second installment of scotch tasting. And it was also good. Got a few new recruits, and it's looking like it'll be a monthly thing. Next one is a week from tomorrow.

Family
My brother and his family came back for the holidays on December 14th, for a whoppin' two week visit. It was great to see them, especially my two adorable nephews. On the downside, I caught some kind of stomach flu off them. That Sunday was a "stay-in-bed-because-it's-shooting-out-of-both-ends" type day.

My sister came back the day before Christmas Eve in a very dramatic fashion -- very close to missing her connecting flight to NL. But she made it, and all of us were back for the holidays for the first time in years.

Christmas
This was a blur, but I'll try to do a day-by-day recap:

December 21 - Left work and had a small gathering of CFA's at my place. Were going to head to the Duke, but didn't want to derail the conversation.
December 22 - Headed to J&J's place for some vino.
December 23 - Finished off Christmas shopping & wrapped stuff. Sister arrives.
December 24 - Went to the Pageant at the Cathedral, starring my nephews: Timothy was a cow and Douglas was an angel. Had a bunch of drinks and a nice long natter with the family in the evening, as is tradition.
December 25 - Christmas Day. Bagged me a digital camera (THAT'S RIGHT -- I'm part of the digital age now) and a breadmaker.
December 26 - Boxing Day. Mudder had a big extended family drop-in, and then I shuffled off to April's party. Saw a bunch more CFA's.
December 27 - Sister leaves, former roomie Joe arrives. Went out to dinner with Brother & Co.
December 28 - Drove Brother & Co. out to airport in a brutal blizzard, because God love 'em, Air Canada managed to fly out in it. Spent the morning snowbound, then met up with Joe in the afternoon and started drinking. Got Craig & Ginny on the go and kept it up. Pretty blurry night.
December 29 - Picked up Jenn at the airport. James, Paul & Stephanie were in town, so we got our drink on and headed to the GTP again. The place simply never disappoints.
December 30 - Drawin' a blank here.
December 31 - Brunch with the high school boys and Mr. Green (former French teacher), which was awesome. Then a fantastic NYE party Chez Jenn which went on till 4:30 or so. It was a good turnout; and I finally used my digital camera in a social setting! I'll post pics later.
January 1 - Hazy afternoon, and then a turkey dinner at my aunt's house. Wound up at Steve's new place in the east end (Better proximity -- might see him more often now). His child is one year old now, and frickin' big (in a nice way, of course).
January 2 - Learned from last year, and took the day after New Year's off as well. Met up with a couple of old engineering buds at the Duke and tied on a few more and stayed a little longer than was reasonable. But no regrets (now).
January 3 - Back to grind. But I'm happy to have structure once again.

Good Lord, I'm tired of recapping. I'll post again soon....