Another exciting day in Lotus Land

I did it!! I visited all the furniture stores along South Granville in a further attempt to gather information, compare furniture pieces, and evaluate options. And then I went back to my new favourite place and spent way too much money made my purchase decisions. I'm near broke, but stoked.

I bought an arm chair, a desk, a desk chair, a dresser, a very cool bar/kitchen table, and two stools. It's not everything I need, but it's everything I really need. At least for now. Well, plus a few plates, some cutlery, and other assorted things. But perhaps my mission today will be to pick up some of that stuff!!

Now, back to the weather. My street was closed yesterday because it had become a skating rink. We're on a slight incline, so cars would come down the gradual hill towards the round-about and then all hell would break loose. Police eventually had to block off my block because of the danger. It was quite odd, in fact.

But all appears to be better now. I think they managed to clear the ice off the street late in the afternoon, cuz it looked clear when I got home last night. Still, however, the snow has continued to fall -- all afternoon, through the evening, and overnight. It could be another interesting day, but I think the worst has passed, as the temperature is supposed to rise above freezing and the things should start the melt.

Just another exciting day in Lotus Land!

Stay warm

This weather is more like Eastern Canada's, with bitter cold and plenty o' snow. Driving on sidestreets is treacherous, people are cranky, and it's a wee reminder that Mother Nature sometimes revels in throwing a curveball at ya.

I'm still here. Just busy getting ready to move this weekend, and visiting furniture stores to actually have something to put in my new place. Am I more of a French Provincial kind of guy, or is Mid-Century Retro more my style?

Stay warm, everyone!

Someone's drinking the kool-aid

So Luscious Lorna is in the cult. She's drinking the kool-aid. She's a convert. She's talking about her life as having new meaning now.

She's the newest fan of Three Olives cherry vodka. And we've been drinking it nonstop since my arrival in Atlanta on Wednesday evening. In fact, she's talked about segmenting her life into the period before cherry vodka, and the bright new horizon known as life after cherry vodka.

Thanksgiving dinner at The Mansion was great, and we left with beaucoup de leftovers. And after seeing Lorna off to work this morning, it's now the weekend. We're going out to cut a rug tonight, and have plenty of other plans for the next couple of days. After Phase I of my 40th Birthday Celebrations in Seattle last weekend, it's now Phase II. And I plan on celebrating the fact that I'm (nearly) 40 and not fat or mature by eating and drinking like a pig.

Cuz that's just what I do.

Atlanta

The weather looks good, the company will most assuredly be great, and the holiday means it should be fun all-around. Atlanta, here I come to celebrate American Thanksgiving with Luscious Lorna!

But in the meantime, I received word that I get occupancy of my apartment on December 1 (not December 4 or 5 as originally thought), and I had a pseudo phone interview this morning for one of the jobs I recently applied for. I'm not sure if it's right for me, but I'm certainly interested in learning more. It's always good to keep your options open!

Now performing:* synchro boo* triple boo* dueling boo* strut-and-boo

Suzie and I went to Seattle this weekend to visit Blossom, hit the bars, and check out our old stompin' grounds. It was great to do all that and see Blossom and enjoy the generosity of world famous Seattle-portioned cocktails.

No, really, it was. But the real reason I went was to import this back home to Canada.

Well, and to do peek-a-boos at The Cuff Sunday T-Dance. Boy, did we do plenty of those! Suzie and I perfected the synchronized peek-a-boo, the triple boo, the dueling boos, and the strut-and-boo versions. I even had some poor onlooker convinced I was a professional dancer. Like, for money. You know, of the dollar bill variety.

Ahhh, the allure of Seattle never fades. And neither does my love for the nectar of the gods.

secretive_conniving_party_planner

OK, OK. It's true. In a few short weeks I turn the big 4-0. Surprisingly, however, I don't have more than a few grey hairs, I actually have all my hair, and I'm only moderately out of shape for a middle-aged guy.

Suzie is planning some kind of extravaganza thingy. I don't know any details, so if you're interested in joining us for whatever the hell is going on, please feel free to contact Suzie at: secretive_conniving_party_planner@hotmail.com : )

Will somebody please give up some information? I'm gettin' more than a tad curious!

Every six to eight weeks

I've contact so many people the past couple of days, letting them know I'm home, that I'm here for good (well, at least for now), that I'm stoked to be here, and that I'd like to catch up with them.

And apologizing for my complete lack of correspondence over the past couple of years.

I feel I need to explain myself in more depth. As a circus nomad, you move to a new place every six to eight weeks or so. Inherent in such a move are all of the unknowns:

• will I have internet connectivity?
• if so, will it be reliable? there have been cities where I've basically gone the entire time without (and it nearly killed me!)
• will I have a good bed?
• will I be able to park my car?
• will the accommodation (please choose one): (a) smell like a frat house; (b) be decked out with plush 70's fixtures, like a disused Playboy Mansion; (c) be located in the absolute worst part of the city; (d) be located in complete isolation; or (e) all of the above?
• will we have a kitchen?
• will we have laundry?
• will I have a gym located next door to my bedroom that is used by residents from 5:47AM until after midnight (thank you St. Louis, because I can still hear the pounding of the gym stereo's bass!)?

A plethora of questions, no? Imagine going through this every six to eight weeks. And if the answers are not what you're hoping for, imagine living with the less-than-stellar consequences for that entire time. Throw in the fact that I still never adjusted to working evenings for the entire duration, and you can imagine that I was a little cranky out of my element.

I truly hope that you can understand that I wasn't making an all-out effort to keep in touch with everyone. It wasn't always practical; it wasn't always on the top of my to-do list. And I hope y'all can forgive and forget.

Luckily I'm off the road now. I'm back home and lovin' it. If I didn't know it before (although I really did), Vancouver is a great place to be.

Home sweet home. And ready to start re-establishing friendships!

No cocktails without me, please!

So Leona Lowenstein and Tower Girl are, as I write this, having cocktails and lunch at some joint in Toronto. I called, we chatted, we laughed, we reminisced, and it was all good. We discussed potential rendez-vous options for Christmas in Ottawa. It was all good. But I don't like the fact that they can have cocktails without me.

Extremely. Jealous.

Damn, I miss those gals.

All gussied up

I've been pretty darn busy updating my resume -- which was in serious need of some overhauling -- and gettin' my cover letters gussied up in anticipation of applying for a few more jobs. I was looking at a big job site on Friday and started getting downright depressed at the lack of suitable positions. I just wasn't interested in anything I saw, and was wondering if I should reconsider my career path and go into health care, sales, or (back into) IT.

Uh, no.

And then I came across a couple of postings that really appeal to me. Hence the need to get my house in order and get my resume up to snuff. And after consulting with HR queen Suzie, I had some direction.

So after a couple of days of fine-tuning, my resume is lookin' sharp, my cover letters are drafted, and I'm ready for my close-up, Mr. DeMille to invite these companies to re-start my career.

I know I've asked you all to do this a lot in the past few months, but if y'all could just keep your fingers crossed for me yet again......I'd really appreciate it.

Merci.

3 in 300,000,000and 1 in 30,000,000

Well, I'll be damned. Out of 300,000,000 people....

HowManyOfMe.com

There are: 3 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

But I'm pretty sure I'm the only person in Canada! Yup, I'm that unique : )

Room with a view

I got the call. You know....the call.

I was informed that I didn't get the job I interviewed for. The HR lady who called me told me that the Director said it was lovely to meet me, that I had a very interesting resume, blah blah blah, but that there were other, more qualified candidates that they were recommending to be short-listed.

Ya, no worries. If it's not meant to be, it's not meant to be. I am, however, wondering if I'm still in the running for the other position that the Director suggested I may be suitable for. I suppose I'll wait and see if I get a call for that job. And I'm still waiting to see if there are any developments on another opportunity for which someone is still working on my behalf.

I'm not all that concerned about rushing into something immediately, so I just have to get over the feeling that I need to get my entire life in order within a few days of returning home. Still, the most important piece has been inserted into the puzzle as of yesterday afternoon: I rented myself a cute 'n cozy little apartment in the sky!

It's on the 18th floor with plenty of windows and a balcony view of English Bay, North Shore Mountains, Stanley Park, and the community West of Denman. Can you just stand it?!

It's mine as of December, so now the countdown is on to be in my own place again. Now if only Tower Girl would come and visit so it could be just like old times with plenty of drunken, slurring cherry vodka moments!

Check out pics of the beach and the entire West End, plus approximate pics of my views here here and here. Heck, why not check out a whole freakin' page of great pics here. You can even see my new building -- the third from the right in this picture and second from the left in this one.

Ahhhh, I think I'm going to be happy there!