Thursday, November 30, 2006
Class
I actually went to all my classes this week! Well, only had 3 days of classes because no classes on Friday, and both classes on Monday were cancelled. Either way, I went to all my classes in one week! First time that has happened since the first week.
Hermit-ing
I think I've officially become a hermit, mainly when I'm in Waterloo. I've stopped going to various things that I used to go to (example: badminton club, DEX/DECA, etc etc), and currently only attends CCF on a regular basis. I've found myself at home working, playing the Wii, playing Eastside Hockey Manager, among other things, rather then seek social interaction. I often use excuses such as: I live too far from campus, or I have work to do, but it has gotten to a point where I know I'm purposely avoiding interaction outside of what is necessary. Things are alot better whenever I'm back in Toronto, but I think changes needs to be made in Waterloo. Maybe next term.
Other news:
Crazy week coming up. 2 essays and 2 speeches over the span of 5 days. Econ final tomorrow yet I'm blogging. I'm getting sick of hearing and reading about upstream monopolists and quantity/price leadership in a oligopoly market.
There are some things that was said which resulted in things being in this current state. Its disappointing, and depressing, to see how things were and how things are. Regret is too strong of a word, as it was something that needs to be said and set straight. Maybe a different timing or a different method would've changed the result, but it looks like there is really no turning back now. Some things just takes two willing parties, but when theres only one, it just won't work out. Best wishes...and God bless. Maybe I was being a fool...again. I guess I can only hope that you change your mind.
With everything going on, especially in the past month, I feel like just going away, or just take some time off to clear my head, but can't. I guess maybe following one of the stories in "Every Men's Battle" could be beneficial. (will have to find my book and quote it when I get home)
I've been catching myself slipping the past little while. I don't know if its because of other external factors, but regardless, I need to refocus my spiritual walk.
I guess Clark said it best, "sometimes these problems will forces you to focus on your studies because you want to take your mind off these trouble...it might be God's plan for it to happen so you will understand that it is not the right time for you to pursue it any further" - how stubborn am I? I need to learn these lessons about timing not once, not twice, but who know how many times.
I think enough time has been wasted. Back to two-part tariffs and who knows whats next.
TTOW!
Other news:
Crazy week coming up. 2 essays and 2 speeches over the span of 5 days. Econ final tomorrow yet I'm blogging. I'm getting sick of hearing and reading about upstream monopolists and quantity/price leadership in a oligopoly market.
There are some things that was said which resulted in things being in this current state. Its disappointing, and depressing, to see how things were and how things are. Regret is too strong of a word, as it was something that needs to be said and set straight. Maybe a different timing or a different method would've changed the result, but it looks like there is really no turning back now. Some things just takes two willing parties, but when theres only one, it just won't work out. Best wishes...and God bless. Maybe I was being a fool...again. I guess I can only hope that you change your mind.
With everything going on, especially in the past month, I feel like just going away, or just take some time off to clear my head, but can't. I guess maybe following one of the stories in "Every Men's Battle" could be beneficial. (will have to find my book and quote it when I get home)
I've been catching myself slipping the past little while. I don't know if its because of other external factors, but regardless, I need to refocus my spiritual walk.
I guess Clark said it best, "sometimes these problems will forces you to focus on your studies because you want to take your mind off these trouble...it might be God's plan for it to happen so you will understand that it is not the right time for you to pursue it any further" - how stubborn am I? I need to learn these lessons about timing not once, not twice, but who know how many times.
I think enough time has been wasted. Back to two-part tariffs and who knows whats next.
TTOW!
Sunday, November 19, 2006
Wii-tards
It was definitely an unforgettable experience. If you don't want to read the whole thing, skip to the last paragraph...
Lets rewind, stories of PS3 camping was definitely interesting to say the least. Good thing a pre-order ensured a console which has already changed hands at a decent profit. The Wii line was definitely shorter, and the waiting conditions were definitely better.
The night started with a call from Mark, hearing panic in his voice "yo wes! theres already 46 people in line at Best Buy, you guys better come soon, i'm running over to futureshop to see what the situation is there and i'll call you back *click*" - time of call: 10:15
Going back down memory lane - a week ago: "hey..i think 5am would be fine.."
5 days ago: "lets go at 4 just to make sure we each get one"
2 days ago: "alright, i think we should go with 1am"
eventual result: 10:30pm, the night before!
The packing list consisted of:
1. wallet
2. cell phone
3. sweaters..alot of sweaters
4. sleeping bags
5. blankets
6. camping chairs
7. pillow
8. reading material
After scrambling for 15 minutes, phone goes off again "hey wes..its mark..thers only 6 people in line here...but i think you better come now...people from best buy might start coming over". I think I havne't mention this yet, Best Buy was getging 55 units, Future Shop was getting 30.
Out the door at 10:30, arrive at 10:50. #9, 10, 11 in line. Time to get settled in for a long night. The first hour and a half consisted of:
1. talking about how excited we were for the Wii
2. talking about what games we will get
3. talking about reviews about the games we've read
4. talking about games that could be good
5. talking about zelda...and zelda...and zelda
6. talking about accessories that we will get along with the console
7. looking through a wii launch day flyer from EBGames
The line did not get significantly longer from our arrival until around 2am. The line reached 20 at around 2:30/3:00 am. At around 1:30am, a cop came by just to see the line, and jokes were made about him kicking us out for trespassing. He said he would come by again at around 4 or 5 but never did. We all figured he had to stay at the Best Buy because the line reached 85 at max. The entertainment department manager came by at 2am on his way home from somewhere to say hi and chatted for a little while, so that was interesting.
Midnight - 4am consisted of:
1. Attempting to read the book but it was too difficult to flip pages with gloves, and hands got cold too easy without gloves, so I gave up
2. Being wrapped in 2 hoodies and a sleeping bag and trying to fall asleep but failing
4am - 7am - aka the longest hours of the wait. After being in line for 5 hours, the line finally reached 30 people at around 5am. So we would've been able to get a system if we stuck to the plan we made 1 week ago! Dang it! At least we get first choice of games and accessories! People keep coming in, and we alternate between being very nice to them about them not getting a console, or mildly sarcastic regarding the line situation. Some stubborn people stayed despite being told they are in the 40s in the line up and they will not get a system, while some were smart and drove home and probably got in their comfy beds and went back to sleep. Those 3 hours consisted of:
1. 3-4 different Timmys/McD's run
2. Actually falling asleep for an hour and a half, but being woken up by a mildly disturbing joke.
7am - 8am - Finally! The last hour before they hand out tickets! Yes, this Futureshop opened at 10am, NOT 8am because of their store rating (hmm..can't really disclose this info..so thats all I'll say). No wonder our line was shorter! We had to wait an extra 2 hours! Oh..and we were also the store thats the most out of the way for people. This hour consisted of one thing - ticket is being given out soon, oh..and throwing donus at seagals...well...not at them, but for them.
8am - 10am - So tickets are given, people are turned away, some people try to sell their tickets (myself included) as a half joke half serious proposition. Some moms bring their kids there at 8-9am expecting to get a system...we laughed among ourselves about how naive some people are. Tickets given out, we were told we can go for some breakfast and return by 930. We decided to go to Best Buy, the one with 55 consoles, to see if there were any games/accessories remaining. Sweet! They still had Zelda in stock! AND at $49.99! A whole $10 cheaper than FutureShop. A copy each, back to FutureShop we go. Stood around for another 15 minutes, had to listen through a whole whopping 5 minute sales pitch of why we should buy the extended warranty. Each person in line were asked what items they wanted along with their console, and each package were prepared by staff so we can go in and come out within a span of 5 minutes.
As each person comes out of the store with a Wii in hand, we get a loud ovation from those still waiting. The term Wii-tards, refer to those who stands in line for hours for the Wii!
That was a long recap...Will I do it again? Probably not...unless the release is in the summer months. Did I regret doing it? Not at all. It was a wonderful experience, and why not experience this while my body can still take some punishment. All in all, it was an unforgetable experience.
Weeeeeee!/Wii!
Lets rewind, stories of PS3 camping was definitely interesting to say the least. Good thing a pre-order ensured a console which has already changed hands at a decent profit. The Wii line was definitely shorter, and the waiting conditions were definitely better.
The night started with a call from Mark, hearing panic in his voice "yo wes! theres already 46 people in line at Best Buy, you guys better come soon, i'm running over to futureshop to see what the situation is there and i'll call you back *click*" - time of call: 10:15
Going back down memory lane - a week ago: "hey..i think 5am would be fine.."
5 days ago: "lets go at 4 just to make sure we each get one"
2 days ago: "alright, i think we should go with 1am"
eventual result: 10:30pm, the night before!
The packing list consisted of:
1. wallet
2. cell phone
3. sweaters..alot of sweaters
4. sleeping bags
5. blankets
6. camping chairs
7. pillow
8. reading material
After scrambling for 15 minutes, phone goes off again "hey wes..its mark..thers only 6 people in line here...but i think you better come now...people from best buy might start coming over". I think I havne't mention this yet, Best Buy was getging 55 units, Future Shop was getting 30.
Out the door at 10:30, arrive at 10:50. #9, 10, 11 in line. Time to get settled in for a long night. The first hour and a half consisted of:
1. talking about how excited we were for the Wii
2. talking about what games we will get
3. talking about reviews about the games we've read
4. talking about games that could be good
5. talking about zelda...and zelda...and zelda
6. talking about accessories that we will get along with the console
7. looking through a wii launch day flyer from EBGames
The line did not get significantly longer from our arrival until around 2am. The line reached 20 at around 2:30/3:00 am. At around 1:30am, a cop came by just to see the line, and jokes were made about him kicking us out for trespassing. He said he would come by again at around 4 or 5 but never did. We all figured he had to stay at the Best Buy because the line reached 85 at max. The entertainment department manager came by at 2am on his way home from somewhere to say hi and chatted for a little while, so that was interesting.
Midnight - 4am consisted of:
1. Attempting to read the book but it was too difficult to flip pages with gloves, and hands got cold too easy without gloves, so I gave up
2. Being wrapped in 2 hoodies and a sleeping bag and trying to fall asleep but failing
4am - 7am - aka the longest hours of the wait. After being in line for 5 hours, the line finally reached 30 people at around 5am. So we would've been able to get a system if we stuck to the plan we made 1 week ago! Dang it! At least we get first choice of games and accessories! People keep coming in, and we alternate between being very nice to them about them not getting a console, or mildly sarcastic regarding the line situation. Some stubborn people stayed despite being told they are in the 40s in the line up and they will not get a system, while some were smart and drove home and probably got in their comfy beds and went back to sleep. Those 3 hours consisted of:
1. 3-4 different Timmys/McD's run
2. Actually falling asleep for an hour and a half, but being woken up by a mildly disturbing joke.
7am - 8am - Finally! The last hour before they hand out tickets! Yes, this Futureshop opened at 10am, NOT 8am because of their store rating (hmm..can't really disclose this info..so thats all I'll say). No wonder our line was shorter! We had to wait an extra 2 hours! Oh..and we were also the store thats the most out of the way for people. This hour consisted of one thing - ticket is being given out soon, oh..and throwing donus at seagals...well...not at them, but for them.
8am - 10am - So tickets are given, people are turned away, some people try to sell their tickets (myself included) as a half joke half serious proposition. Some moms bring their kids there at 8-9am expecting to get a system...we laughed among ourselves about how naive some people are. Tickets given out, we were told we can go for some breakfast and return by 930. We decided to go to Best Buy, the one with 55 consoles, to see if there were any games/accessories remaining. Sweet! They still had Zelda in stock! AND at $49.99! A whole $10 cheaper than FutureShop. A copy each, back to FutureShop we go. Stood around for another 15 minutes, had to listen through a whole whopping 5 minute sales pitch of why we should buy the extended warranty. Each person in line were asked what items they wanted along with their console, and each package were prepared by staff so we can go in and come out within a span of 5 minutes.
As each person comes out of the store with a Wii in hand, we get a loud ovation from those still waiting. The term Wii-tards, refer to those who stands in line for hours for the Wii!
That was a long recap...Will I do it again? Probably not...unless the release is in the summer months. Did I regret doing it? Not at all. It was a wonderful experience, and why not experience this while my body can still take some punishment. All in all, it was an unforgetable experience.
Weeeeeee!/Wii!
Thursday, November 16, 2006
Done for a bit
So while I sit in front of the TV watching the Leafs vs. Bruins, I had the urge to blog. Not really about anything in particular, but more like nothing in particular. Its going to be one of those random thoughts blog.
After a pretty busy week, I'm going to have a pretty relaxing week or so before everything kicks in again. This is probably going to be the only weekend where I won't have to worry about studying or doing any reading. There is still a bit more BS-ing to do in terms of my speech com's class' evaluation, but other than that its going to be pretty relaxing. My schedule will look like this:
1. ECON201 Final - 25% Nov 30
2. SPCOM223 Speech - 15% Nov 27
3. HIST254 Take home final essay - 30% Gets topic Nov 29, Due Dec 3
4. HRM200 Final Exam - 50% Dec 19
Thats pretty much how everything will look like from now until the end of the year, so I'm not complaining at all.
Still waiting to hear from a travel agency regarding my trip that I was planning on going, but its been a week and a half and haven't heard from them yet, so a little worried about that. Hopefully I'll be hearing from them soon.
*Side note: I think I just witness the longest continous play in the NHL this season, at least from memory. The Leafs and Bruins almost played 8 minutes non-stop. For sure it is not the longest in history, but its a pretty long time.
I'm ready for baseball season again! All the rumours going around for next season is getting me excited. How about the Big Hurt in Toronto? Quite a risky signing in my opinion. Frank Thomas have had a history of ankle problem, and turf is not the most forgiving playing surface available. Hopefully if it does happen, he can have the type of year he had this past season.
The sports fan in me has me wondering how it would look with Eric Gagne setting up for B. J. Ryan? With his history of injury, I'm sure Gagne could be had for a bargain, and its a semi-high risk, high reward gamble that I wouldn't mind seeing.
I'm newly addicted to the game Eastside Hockey Manager. In my opinion, one of the most realistic simulation game available. Its a game where you become a General Manager of a hockey team. You can start out as a GM for an NHL team, or you can even start from any of the CHL/AHL, or even Russian hockey team. The amount of depth this game has is simply amazing. It has details an almost every hockey player currently playing in a professional league on earth. Another awesome managerial game is "Worldwide Football Manager". I haven't had a chance to play the newest version yet, but from reading the reviews, it seems like it'll be a good one also.
A big weekend for Sony this week. Not only is there much anticipated PlayStation 3 coming out, but Casino Royale is coming out also. Quite interesting to see people lining up 2-3 days in advance for the PS3. I was going to camp out tonight, but seeing how there is around 10-15 people in front of the FutureShop in my area, I decided against it. Will be interesting to see what kind of price PS3 will be able to draw this weekend when eBay will be flooded with PlayStation 3s. I'm sure the price will still be ridiculusly high, but I don't think it'll attract the legit $2000+ bids like it has been from the pre-orders.
It will be interesting to see if the BestBuy/FutureShop server will be able to handle all the "online campers", all of them pressing "refresh" (or F5) every other second leading up to 8am.
I can't wait to play the Wii, hopefully my roommate will be able to pick one up. I do expect some bugs from the controller, just because it is an innovative design, and like every other new system released, there will always be some bugs and tweaks that needs to be patched.
The 3am Fight Club crew has lost one of its members for a bit. I don't know how you guys do it, but I'm not staying up unless I have work to finish, and please, no comments about how I shouldn't procrastinate until the night before.
Still have to figure out plans for Seussical. And hopefully I can score the ticktes for Wicked. Chicago seems to be sold out, but it doesn't mater anyways since I spent my money on Phantom. Also in the middle of making plans for the Hacken concert.
*Side note 2: Crap, the Bruins just scored
Thats pretty much everything I have on my mind for the time being. I probably have more but the Leafs game is taking up most of my concentration.
TTOW!
After a pretty busy week, I'm going to have a pretty relaxing week or so before everything kicks in again. This is probably going to be the only weekend where I won't have to worry about studying or doing any reading. There is still a bit more BS-ing to do in terms of my speech com's class' evaluation, but other than that its going to be pretty relaxing. My schedule will look like this:
1. ECON201 Final - 25% Nov 30
2. SPCOM223 Speech - 15% Nov 27
3. HIST254 Take home final essay - 30% Gets topic Nov 29, Due Dec 3
4. HRM200 Final Exam - 50% Dec 19
Thats pretty much how everything will look like from now until the end of the year, so I'm not complaining at all.
Still waiting to hear from a travel agency regarding my trip that I was planning on going, but its been a week and a half and haven't heard from them yet, so a little worried about that. Hopefully I'll be hearing from them soon.
*Side note: I think I just witness the longest continous play in the NHL this season, at least from memory. The Leafs and Bruins almost played 8 minutes non-stop. For sure it is not the longest in history, but its a pretty long time.
I'm ready for baseball season again! All the rumours going around for next season is getting me excited. How about the Big Hurt in Toronto? Quite a risky signing in my opinion. Frank Thomas have had a history of ankle problem, and turf is not the most forgiving playing surface available. Hopefully if it does happen, he can have the type of year he had this past season.
The sports fan in me has me wondering how it would look with Eric Gagne setting up for B. J. Ryan? With his history of injury, I'm sure Gagne could be had for a bargain, and its a semi-high risk, high reward gamble that I wouldn't mind seeing.
I'm newly addicted to the game Eastside Hockey Manager. In my opinion, one of the most realistic simulation game available. Its a game where you become a General Manager of a hockey team. You can start out as a GM for an NHL team, or you can even start from any of the CHL/AHL, or even Russian hockey team. The amount of depth this game has is simply amazing. It has details an almost every hockey player currently playing in a professional league on earth. Another awesome managerial game is "Worldwide Football Manager". I haven't had a chance to play the newest version yet, but from reading the reviews, it seems like it'll be a good one also.
A big weekend for Sony this week. Not only is there much anticipated PlayStation 3 coming out, but Casino Royale is coming out also. Quite interesting to see people lining up 2-3 days in advance for the PS3. I was going to camp out tonight, but seeing how there is around 10-15 people in front of the FutureShop in my area, I decided against it. Will be interesting to see what kind of price PS3 will be able to draw this weekend when eBay will be flooded with PlayStation 3s. I'm sure the price will still be ridiculusly high, but I don't think it'll attract the legit $2000+ bids like it has been from the pre-orders.
It will be interesting to see if the BestBuy/FutureShop server will be able to handle all the "online campers", all of them pressing "refresh" (or F5) every other second leading up to 8am.
I can't wait to play the Wii, hopefully my roommate will be able to pick one up. I do expect some bugs from the controller, just because it is an innovative design, and like every other new system released, there will always be some bugs and tweaks that needs to be patched.
The 3am Fight Club crew has lost one of its members for a bit. I don't know how you guys do it, but I'm not staying up unless I have work to finish, and please, no comments about how I shouldn't procrastinate until the night before.
Still have to figure out plans for Seussical. And hopefully I can score the ticktes for Wicked. Chicago seems to be sold out, but it doesn't mater anyways since I spent my money on Phantom. Also in the middle of making plans for the Hacken concert.
*Side note 2: Crap, the Bruins just scored
Thats pretty much everything I have on my mind for the time being. I probably have more but the Leafs game is taking up most of my concentration.
TTOW!
Saturday, November 11, 2006
5488
Thats the magic number. Waiting list #5488. At this rate, it probably won't get to me until my grandchildren is in university (with the assumption I get married and have kids..and...etc etc)
Thursday, November 09, 2006
46 Hours and counting
I shall continue my daily entry to my blog, albeit a short one.
So I've been up for...46 hours straight and counting now. Been up since waking up Tuesday morning at 8:30am. The past 46 hours consist of, working on essay, going to class, working on speech, going to library to work on essay, going home and sit in the living room to work on essay, blogged to procrastinate from working on essay, go back to the library to work on essay, go to class, come home and relaxed a bit, and work on essay again.
2 essays, 40 pages later, I am done...for the week. I am just planning to stay up until my 10am class, and just have a good night sleep tomorrow night. Since I'll be going home this weekend, I'll probably get a couple of hours sleep on the bus, so that should keep me alert until the evening.
So I've been up for...46 hours straight and counting now. Been up since waking up Tuesday morning at 8:30am. The past 46 hours consist of, working on essay, going to class, working on speech, going to library to work on essay, going home and sit in the living room to work on essay, blogged to procrastinate from working on essay, go back to the library to work on essay, go to class, come home and relaxed a bit, and work on essay again.
2 essays, 40 pages later, I am done...for the week. I am just planning to stay up until my 10am class, and just have a good night sleep tomorrow night. Since I'll be going home this weekend, I'll probably get a couple of hours sleep on the bus, so that should keep me alert until the evening.
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
Reflections
So here I am, spent 8 hours at the library today, and 3 hours in class, and what have I accomplished thus far? Nothing really. I got 20% done on an essay, when I was hoping to have it completely finished by now. I guess its going to be another long night...sweet.
I noticed lately that my blogs has gone from a long one every week or two, to a really short one every other day or so. I don't know whats better, but it feels like now I can just write whenever I have something on my mind.
All this time spent in the library today, so why did I only get so little done? Well, for some reason thoughts just started rushing into my head. I had really good talk with someone from CCF a few days ago about stretching yourself over too many ministries. This isn't what this blog is really about, but its more like what came up after that conversation. What happened after...there were a few people who were younger (this year frosh) who went to TC in the past. So they overheard me and this other guy talking about us serving at TC, and they said "How come I don't recognize you guys?". So I pulled up some pictures and they were still "I think I have an idea of who you are...". After they said that, I felt a sense of relieve, a sense of joy. Normally people would be like "ouch..." (or various forms of 1 liners with similiar meaning), but I was glad I wasn't recognized. In the end, the whole ministry, everyone serving, isn't, and shouldn't be there to glorify themselves, but everyone's focus should be on God. Don't get me wrong, I'm not accusing anyone, nor am I in the position to judge, I'm merely going through my own experience, where at various times, I felt my heart wasn't right. Through it all, I've found myself at various times relying on myself rather then relying through God's strength. I've found myself wanting to show off myself, rather then having people see more of God through me. In the end, I firmly believe there was a purpose in everything, it was a lesson that I learned, and a maturing process for myself to draw closer to Him. I'm no where close to where I need to be, but I believe that everything that happens have its purpose.
Ok...that was another 20 minutes "wasted"...so I should get back to work.
TTOW!
I noticed lately that my blogs has gone from a long one every week or two, to a really short one every other day or so. I don't know whats better, but it feels like now I can just write whenever I have something on my mind.
All this time spent in the library today, so why did I only get so little done? Well, for some reason thoughts just started rushing into my head. I had really good talk with someone from CCF a few days ago about stretching yourself over too many ministries. This isn't what this blog is really about, but its more like what came up after that conversation. What happened after...there were a few people who were younger (this year frosh) who went to TC in the past. So they overheard me and this other guy talking about us serving at TC, and they said "How come I don't recognize you guys?". So I pulled up some pictures and they were still "I think I have an idea of who you are...". After they said that, I felt a sense of relieve, a sense of joy. Normally people would be like "ouch..." (or various forms of 1 liners with similiar meaning), but I was glad I wasn't recognized. In the end, the whole ministry, everyone serving, isn't, and shouldn't be there to glorify themselves, but everyone's focus should be on God. Don't get me wrong, I'm not accusing anyone, nor am I in the position to judge, I'm merely going through my own experience, where at various times, I felt my heart wasn't right. Through it all, I've found myself at various times relying on myself rather then relying through God's strength. I've found myself wanting to show off myself, rather then having people see more of God through me. In the end, I firmly believe there was a purpose in everything, it was a lesson that I learned, and a maturing process for myself to draw closer to Him. I'm no where close to where I need to be, but I believe that everything that happens have its purpose.
Ok...that was another 20 minutes "wasted"...so I should get back to work.
TTOW!
Urbana
This question has been coming up alot lately...well...not alot, but nevertheless, I will not be going to Urbana this year. Why? I just didn't feel God's calling for me to attend this conference. Been praying about it for awhile, even had some people pray for me, and I really wanted this decision to be made based on what God wants, not what I want. So there you have it, I'll be staying in T.Dot between Christmas and New Year!
Saturday, November 04, 2006
Sunrise
I never fully appreciated how lovely sunrise is. Too bad this weather only allows me to admire from inside my room. I need to sleep more...
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
Word of Caution
For anyone that meets the following description, theres just a bit of advice for you: If you ask how someone is doing, for the purpose of digging up dirt with the intention of spreading it to others, plus do yourself and the person a favour and don't waste yoru time.
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