the walking dead

you may have noticed that i disappeared suddenly. now while i would love to tell you that i had won a lottery and had been gallivanting across the countryside with my millions that simply was not the case. first and foremost i have never gallivanted a day in my life and anyone who said i have is a damn liar!

the reality is that i have been working on a couple of projects that had me burning the candles and both ends and a bit in the middle. since last friday i have been stumbling around as though i had wandered off the set of resident evil. as luck would have it both the writing challenge and pixel poker in were temporarily put on hiatus and not by me!

even thought i was finally able to finish everything late last night and i still resembled an umbrella corporation casualty for the better part of the day. i managed to dive into my bed for a bit this evening where i spent some quality time staring at the inside of my eyelids with such focus and attention that you would have thought i was watching an IMAX or an ultraAVX presentation.

i am hopeful that things will be back to normal from here on out.

my last complaint is that for two weeks i have had a new camera lens that i have not had the time nor the energy to go play with. here's hoping that is something else knocked off the to-do list this week.

there seems to be a strange trend of late around here separate families sharing a single dwelling.

to a point you are supposed to pay attention to your neighbours and your world around you. i don't pay attention as well as i should. at best i guess you could say that i might look up one day and notice something and think... hey?!

there is a black family living in one of the houses across the street. they had a couple of vehicles and it was not uncommon to see someone outside. recently i noticed a second row of vehicles in the driveway and some new people. to be honest i thought the black family had moved out but every now and then i would see one of the family members. then i thought maybe somebody was involved with a caucasianbut now it seems like there are a bunch of people in that house. it has to be the dwelling version of the clown car.

a couple doors down from that house there is yet another multi-family dwelling. the occupants of this house frustrate met. it would seem as though they have yet to divvy up the household tasks. well since i have never been inside the house i probably shouldn't have phrased it that way. but suffice it to say that i struggle daily not to go over there to ask when the goat is showing up. to suggest that the grass on the front lawn is a tad lengthy is an understatement. i believe at this point a small child or a purse dog could easily be lost in the hay they have out front.

the question remains will they cut the grass at any point this year or will they just wait till it dies off naturally in the fall?

210 words monday night and 126 words tuesday

you can run but you can't hide

this was the weekend of the toronto pro show and it might be a surprise to learn that i didn't attend. that i didn't follow the results or look at any pictures. to be honest i haven't attended a bodybuilding show in several years. have i lost interest in the sport? no. the problem is it is still too painful for me to go.

the first show year after my injury i went to a couple of shows, mostly because i had helped another competitor with his posing. being in the audience knowing that i could not compete was really difficult for me. it was salt in a wound difficult. not long after that realization i also ceased and desisted on the bodybuilding message boards.

i really thought it would have been a temporary measure but here we are 5 years later and i am still a ways from getting back on stage. the desire is still there, the dream is still there but alas the left quad is not there... yet

when i got to the gym today i learned that competitors had booked the gym for post-show photo shoots. so while the rest of us trained there were the tanned and oiled flexing and lifting among us. i caught the scent of protan in the air and frankly it all made me kind of sad. in fact i'd be lying if i didn't admit that thought seriously about leaving but i will be damned if i let anyone run me out of my gym.

in other news a very healthy 477 written words today.

lack of exposure

i was given some free tickets to henry's digital imaging show. the exposure show was an expo, presentations by guest lecturers, hands-on demos and tips shared by some renowned photographers and videographers.

i thought it might be interesting so i went to check it out. i was a little disappointed to be honest.

i am still at the point where i predominantly need more one-on-one sales assistance than was possible to get during this event. the sales counters all had a 4:1 customer to salesperson ratio and there was never a free salesperson.

i want to make another purchase but at this point i am not sure what it should be. lens? filter? flash?

there were lots of product on sale and on display but since i don't specifically want anything... suffice it to say that for me the show was an exercise in futility.

at least the tickets were free.

i am behind on my word count reports so let me take the time to catch up now.

125 words thursday
166 words friday
190 words today

if i only had a dollar...

...for every time some one came up to me in the gym and confided in me what they were taking, what they used to take or what they wanted to take i would be a very wealthy woman.

i am not entirely sure what it is about me that makes these people treat me like father confessor. am i supposed to absolve them of their sins and then tell them to go squat ass to ground? should i be impressed? should i feel somehow closer to these people who's names i don't even know because they told me?

and why do most of them say the weirdest things? like the guy who laments about how he took what he took and then he stopped and he got all small again. yeah? research much? or the ones who complain about expensive it is to buy protein, creatine and the like to supplement training. are they under the misconception that gear is somehow cheaper? do they believe that by taking gear they are no longer required to take protein and such? i suspect in fact they do because a lot of people who have spent a lot of money clearly do not have physiques to envy.

don't they realize that it makes no sense to put indy car fuel in the smart car you only drive on sundays to the supermarket? if your going to use the high octane gasoline at least make sure your putting it in a high performance vehicle.

but mostly if you do, if you did, if you want to... keep it to yourself. it really is none of my business. but mostly don't tell me because i don't know sh*t about it and i can't help you.

265 words today.

rampant foolishness abounds

from time to time i will get in here and bemoanthe stupid, useless training practices performed by some of the population at my gym. i am not sure what the hell happened this evening. it was like there was a mass of bodies warming up for their cirque du soleil audition.

guys hanging off of all the equipment. some were either inverted like bats. others were hanging in the pike position and shifting from the left to the right and my personal favourite the idiot who felt the need to do inverted pushups at the cable station.

seriously who in the hell left the gate open?

back when i first started training there it was a muscle-head gym. there were huge guys and gals lifting big ass weight. back when people were actually trying to build muscle. these days it is like the males and females of the population are scared to death to actually engage their muscle fibres.

i almost forget about the goober who demonstrated a new way to do cable crossovers. first he raised the tail of his shirt over his head to expose his chest. he then proceeded to perform a set that didn't even cause a single muscle to contract.

again i ask what is the point?

and now that i have that foolishness of my chest i will conclude today's rant with the news of 119 written words.

in brief

i'll keep this one brief.

169 words.

i know it wasn't worth the trip to acton. i'm sorry, i promise to do better in the future.

if at first you don't succeed?

i took the camera out again today. i went back to a sites i had been previously. i wanted to try to shoot some boats and i had really hoped to catch some reflections off the surface of the water. i got some reflection but not quite what i had in mind. it is likely that it was just the wrong time of the day to be shooting for that. but nevertheless i did get some shots that i am pretty proud of so the day was a win.

if you are keeping track back in early february i sent the game scene from my basketball story to a woman who had played collegiate ball, coached and refereed. she promised to take a look at my scene and provide feedback. she confirmed receipt of the scene but i never heard from her again.

in early march i sent the game scene to a woman who is the head coach of a collegiate women's team. she promised to take a look, provide feedback and answer any further questions i had. a month passed before i sent a follow-up email she apologized for not responding earlier and promised to reply by the end of that week. i never heard from her again.

today i sent the game scene to a journalist who covers collegiate women's basketball. my fingers are crossed that the third time is the charm.

much of what i wrote today was just re-working the game scene before i sent it off and that is why i am recording a mere 15 words.

and some pictures for your amusement... or maybe just mine.

the song remains the same

the bloke and i discussed my failing and we have decided to continue the challenge however the new end date is the 2nd of july. an extra 30 days tacked on for those who are counting.

i went to see the fast and furious sequel. fast and furious 6, again for those who are counting. the american muscle car is a beautiful thing and i for one believe you have to support a movie franchise that plays homage to some of the best that ever was. the '69 stang briefly starred in this sequel and that beauty had my inner car chick salivating like one of pavlov's dogs.

i had a discussion with a guy at work who could not believe that they had enough material to make six fast and furious movies. as long as they keep showing the classics i will happily be spending my money on fast and furious seven through to seventy!!

it was a pretty pathetic 31 word showing but the important thing is that i didn't blow it again.

hopefully tomorrow i can get out with the nikon, i itch to shoot.

doh!

well i done did it. i failed.

i run a dual monitor computer set up. when it comes to graphic applications i just prefer to have on screen dedicated to the file and the other monitor for the sub-menus. 'flash', the new machine has a video card that supports the dual monitor set up but unfortunately the second slot was for a hdmi connection.after work today i went back to the store to buy two new cables; a dvi-hdmi cable and a dvi-dvi cable.

back at home i was busy setting up the dual monitors. since the machine is new there are still frequent updates that have to be run. i lost a half an hour getting the update for all components of my CS6 software. the updates finished a scant five minutes before the start of the wnba pre-season. i intended to watch the 8:00 game and head to the gym at its conclusion.

i stepped onto the gym floor around 10:30 p.m. when i was back in the locker room after my workout i suddenly remembered that i had not yet written anything for the challenge. i quickly checked the time and to my horror it was 12:24 a.m. which meant that i had officially failed to write every day for 30 days. i immediately sent the bloke a congratulatory message and now i await the trash talking and the victory dance... although based on the way the bloke walks i am sure it would be more like a victory shuffle.

now i maybe a loser but i am not a quitter. so even though i lost i did write 207 words.

i'mmmmm baaaaack!!

well that did not take long at all. i guess there is a bit of a difference between how fast a machine with 2 MB's runs and one with 10 MB's. i had my files uploaded onto the new machine in no time at all. i have yet to re-installed all of my software as the first order of business was to get the poster completed. which i did.

part of my ability to get up and running quickly was aided by yet another sick day. i am really starting to wonder what the hell is going on. i never used to get headaches frequently and when i did get a headache it usually meant i was about to get sick. but even then the headaches weren't much to speak of. it feels like i am getting them more frequently although it is probably because they are more severe these days. i don't really want to use the m-word because i don't experience the haloing, the vomiting and any of the other gnarly symptoms that accompany a migraine.

hopefully my head will feel free from the vice grips tomorrow, perhaps my throat will not ache and if i am truly lucky perhaps there will be no nausea.

my fingers are crossed.

now to catch you up on the writing challenge. it was 185 words yesterday and i added 254 tonight.

my next challenge

over the next few days i will be backing up machine a and getting it ready to take it offline during that same time frame i will be loading information onto machine b and getting it ready to go online. i hope to have machine b up and running by sunday late afternoon so that i can finalize the poster art and deliver for monday.

does anybody have a delorean and a flux capacitor i can borrow for a few days?

although that might not be a good plan since hitting 88 m.p.h. would have me flirting with a street racing charge. i suppose i'd be ok if i went for it on one of our super highways at only 42 kms over the limit i might be just shy of the automatic impound street racing charge. i'd sure as hell hate to lose marty's delorean to impound.

f.y.i the writing will continue during the machine switch. it will just have to be done manually and there likely won't be any blog updates until it is complete. blogger and my cell don't work together too well.

be back soon!

a little research is a dangerous thing

well it is little wonder that i was experiencing such difficulties with my files yesterday. according to what i read today 8 MB of RAM is recommended for CS6 applications. it would appear that i am still working with 2 MB's.

TWO!!!

what the hell was i thinking? i might as well be just tryin' to chisel sh*t outta stone!!

so guess who is currently pricing new machines?

yeah you guessed it the woman who very clearly needs to join the rest of y'all in 2013!

and 205 words.

posters, pictures and pixels... oh my!!

i spent the balance of the day fighting with the poster design. but eventually i got something that i feel comfortable enough to submit for approval.

it has become apparent lately that it is time for a new machine. uploading, copying and or organizing my digital picture files are far too RAM intensive for the machine i have now. and that doesn't even begin to cover the challenge of working on a 3' x 4' poster. frankly all the calculations was giving my computer fits. which meant that i was having fits my damn self. it was one 'application not responding' error after another and trying to save the file was no picnic either. it is not uncommon when i am designing for me to have illustrator and photoshop running concurrently. trust me when i tell you there was no concurrent today.

my hand in digital poker has been played. interestingly enough it was one of the first shots i took. no wait it was the first shot i took on the first day i went out. i went out on three separate occasions and i just never got the shot i wanted.

sometimes you get an image in your head of the shot you want but try as you might it is just not there. and even though you have taken some shots that are esthetically pleasing and interesting in their own right, because you didn't get the shot you have in your head, you just aren't happy. it probably isn't a bad thing to go out with a target shot in mind as long as you are smart enough to shoot other things while you search for the elusive shot. you just can't let yourself get so focused on what isn't there that you overlook what is.

i also had a decent word count today 135 words. i will take it!!

you can't always get what you want

one of the hardest things to do, i find is to force creativity. it doesn't matter the medium. you can't force a good shot. you can't force yourself to write an engaging scene and you sure as hell can't force yourself to design something.

unfortunately for me i was trying to do everyone of those things today. if i had to grade my level of success using the standard 1-10 scale i think i would be generous if i gave myself a score of 3 or better.

i tried to used the ontario trails councils website to help me locate interesting sites along the trails systems for photo opportunities. today's excursion along the etobicoke creek turned out to be a bust. also i have to deliver a poster design monday and i am currently flying without a net. i don't have a concept, i don't really have an idea and so far it is an exercise in futility. as for my story i seem to be blocked again. for the third day in a row i have struggled to put together 80 words.

here's hoping tomorrow is a better day, creatively speaking.

i was a human miche-sicle

when you ride and live in the frozen north, you really can't afford to be too picky about the days you choose to ride. generally as long as it isn't teaming out, as long as the heavens are not awash with lightening you really should consider taking the bike. i am not going to mention snow and or hail as i trust you are all wise enough to make that distinction without my help.

today was one of those days when i opted to ride. suffice it to say that 7:30 a.m. was not the warmest time of the day. unfortunately that was the time i started out for work. i was maybe 15 minutes into the ride when i noticed that the tops of my thighs were cold. ten minutes after that i started to tuck my fingers under the fairing to keep them warm while i was spotted at the lights. i think my teeth were chattering by the time i hit the wide open farmland 15 minutes away from the office.

i am happy to report that i wasn't the only nutbar who opted to ride in today. the general manager came in on his sport bike as well. we agreed it was pretty effin' chilly out and spent most of the early morning in sweaters while the rest of the staff wandered about in t-shirts, shorts and sandals.

another slow writing day with only 80 words to my credit.

caution: severe zipper damage

i rode the bike to work today. when i ride i wear my draggin' jeans, bike jeans with kevlar padding as added protection. i carry pants for work with me and when i get to the office i change.

it was during the change process this morning when things went terribly, horribly wrong. somehow my zipper self-destructed and i was faced with a dilemma. i decided that i really had no option other than to put my draggin' jeans back on and sweat profusely for 1.5 hours until the stores opened.

it was one hell of a start to my work day i will not lie. i suppose the upside is that i got a good deal on a new pair of pants and i was really only out of the office for .5 hour on my shopping expedition.

in other news i simply could not concentrate today to save my life and i have only put in a lowly 80 words. i hang my head in shame.

maybe tomorrow

scotty we need more power!!

well i almost had to compose this blog post entirely on my cell phone. almost an hour ago we suddenly experienced a full brown out. even though the power loss was a momentary dip and everything came immediately back on my computer went a little nutso. i could not get the internet back up no matter how many times i rebooted my modem. but i am happy to report that i was finally successful.

as far as writing days go, today was one of the better ones that i have had in a while. i was able to add 320 words. that coupled with the fact that i am still very pleased how well the current scene is progressing. go me!

oh and stay tuned. my father was already complaining to me today about 'de dayamm skwirrel dem,' so i predict there will be more fun and frivolity as my father does battle with the neighbourhood rodents. and why am i suddenly thinking about the bill murray character in "caddy shack"?

the morning after the day before

the bruins fan did not disappoint. he went in to work early on a day he was not expected to be in the building. he went in, i suspect only to stir the proverbial pot.

he sprayed some sort of fixative onto the rubber welcome mat in front of the building. he used the fixative to 'paint' the bruins logo onto the mat. when you first you look at it, it looks wet, when you look closely you notice the logo.

between the outer and inner doors he had a flag sitting on the welcome mat. he tiled 15 sheets of 8" x 11" paper to create this masterpiece that he affixed to the carpet with clear packing tape. as soon as you walk through the inner door you are greeted by yet another 15 sheet tiled flag. the second one you could not miss as it was taped head-high on the cubicle wall.

i don't think he did anything else. although i can't imagine where he found the time to do all that he did.

i include, for your amusement a picture of the bruins floor mat.

only 140 words, i fear my 'clever' is broken.

tomorrow is going to be interesting

as the work day progressed there was a certain amount of trash talking that occurred between the two camps. the leaf fans vs. the bruins fan. the bruins fan really didn't say all that much today, he feared that his team was on the ropes.

the leaf fans wanted to put something on the outcome of the game. the suggestions i heard the bruins fan had to wash the leaf fans car. the bruins fan had to wear a leafs jersey and blue face make-up.

i say that tomorrow will be interesting because the bruins fan is the one with the better sense of humour and who seems to pull the better prank.

280 words. i still have a ways to go with the first draft, i am still quite a ways away from the end. i as starting to wonder exactly how long this thing is going to end up being.