So here I am in my second Monday back in the land of the working.

I had a pretty good weekend and tried to make the best of it. Friday night was fun because it was my friend T.'s Birthday party. There was a big bar-B-Q there, and so I brought tofu wieners and buns. I love tofu wieners. T. got lots of nice gifts (I got her a nice top from GAP) and I think she had a fun time.

Earlier that day I bought a car from my friend E. from work. He's a mechanic and he just got a new car, so I bought his old one. It's a 1986 Oldsmobile Cutlass Sierra. It's a big boat, but it runs nicely and gets me around in comfort. I could sleep in that car (it's very comfortable). Here's a picture I shot of it at T.'s Birthday party:

Here's a nice photo of T and I just before I left for home from the party:

Isn't she a cutie?!

Here's some more from the party:

On Saturday I was supposed to take some baby pictures for a client, but it turned out that her baby wasn't feeling too well that day, so it didn't happen.

On Sunday I had a nice and relaxing dinner with my best friend L. It's really bloody hot in my place these days, so I cooked dinner at her place this time where it's a little cooler. I don't know why my apartment is so hot. It doesn't get very good air cirlulation even with the windows and balcony door open.

Well, I gotta go for my bike ride now. I've missed a few rides last week, so I need to get caught up again.

See ya later.

Today (Monday) was my first day back to work in 1 year. It' so strange because virtually nothing at work has changed. The same people doing the same old things. I looked at the whole picture today from a different perspective. It's not like I haven't noticed it before, but I realize that this kind of job sucks the life out of people. Before they realize it, they're trapped there and can't find a way out. I don't want to be trapped there anymore. Over the past year I experienced a sense of freedom I haven't felt since I was in my teens. For the past year I've been free to do what I want and to go where I want. I accomplished more things last year than I have in nearly all the years I've spent in that job. I don't want that to change. I still want to be free.

Today they had me pulling weeds all day in the back field where the tree nursery is. It's a huge area and it was raining all morning. I got soaked and I was bored out of my freakin mind. Total percentage of brainpower used: 0.0%. I didn't say a word to my boss today other than "hi" this morning. He knows I shouldn't be there, yet he insisted on bringing me back there.

I'm really a night person, as you all probably know, and so it was really hard getting up at 5:30am this morning to get ready for work. Now I'm really tired. I think it's going to take a while to adapt to the new sleeping schedule. I fell asleep in front of the TV this evening right after I ate dinner. That never happens to me. I woke up on the floor about 2 hours later and ate a piece of apple pie from the fridge. It was yummy, but I'm out of green tea. I absolutely love green tea and I have about 2 cups a day or more. I especially love it with a snack like cookies or pie. I must remember to pick up some more green tea tomorrow after work.

Well, I'd better get bed now. Tomorrow is another day. Please wish me good fortune. Thanks.

-Mark

Ah crap. I just found out that I have to return to my old full time job on Monday. It's hard to believe it's been a year since I left there. Life has been rather good without it. I don't think it's really hit me yet though--or I'm not letting the realization that I'm returning to that place hit me yet--it's the weekend, so I'll probably be thinking more about it on Sunday evening.

I guess the biggest problem I have with my job in forestry is the fact that it's a huge waste of brainpower. Because of all the bureaucratic BS that goes on there, they simply won't put me in a position in which I can use my other skills. Frankly, I'm getting too old to do the He-man extra strength jobs. I am strong, but I know it causes too much wear and tear on my 34-year-old body. That job is the reason why I could barely walk one year ago.

I'm a little worried about my lovely friend J.S. in Ontario. I haven't heard from her in a long time.

J.S. If you're reading this, I hope you're doing well. L. and I miss hearing from you. I hope you make it out here this summer.

Ciao!

What an interesting week it's been for me! On Wednesday I purchased a really
nice professional studio camera. It's a Mamiya C-330 Twin
Lens Reflex, medium format camera. These things have a great reputation behind
them. They yield incredibly nice results because of the huge negative size or
6cm x 6cm, ergo great image quality. I shot my first pictures with it tonight
with my pretty friend T. as the subject.



There will likely be a certain level of trial and error; hit and miss with this
new camera as I'm not at all used to using a TLR. But I know I'm going to enjoy
it thoroughly.

It came with 2 sets of lenses, an 80mm normal lens and a 180mm short
telephoto range lens. I'm going to take the camera out tomorrow afternoon and do
some scenery shots I hope, and perhaps some more shots of T. if she isn't busy.

In other news, I'm in the process of registering for a computer course coming
up in mid July. It's a 4 week course and it's full time, 5 days a week. It's
quite intensive. I'm really looking forward to it though, because if I do well I
will come out of it with my computer systems technician certificate. It's
something I'd really enjoy as a second job.

I've taken a whole lot of interesting infrared images over the past week as
well. There is this really old heritage building in Burnaby near Deer Lake
called Ceperly House. It's an art gallery now, but it has quite a history. It's
been a home, a school, a mental hospital, and many other things. The most
interesting thing is that it's reputed to be haunted--at least it was
haunted until the City had some exorcist come in and shoo the ghosts away.
Spoiled all the fun.

Anyway, lots of tourists used to come just to see if they could spot a ghost
or two. The place does have a certain spookiness to it.

I decided to shoot some infrared images around the building just to see If
anything weird showed up in the images. Here's some of the resulting images for
you to examine:

Select a thumbnail from the left to zoom. Image #1 Image #2 Image #3 Image #4 Image #5 Image #6 Image #7 Image #8 Image #9 Image #10 Image #11 Image #12 Image #13 Image hosting and Zoom Gallery by VillagePhotos.com

Guess what?

It has just been announced that the 2010 Olympic games with be held here in Vancouver British Columbia Canada! Isn't that cool?!

My only concern is how our current, completely crazy provincial Liberal government will handle this. It has the potential to spell disaster. But lets hope not. I hope it will be the long needed prosperous break for this province's economy.

Here's the story:

2010 Olympic vote