" /> Z o r bl o g: August 2002 Archives

« July 2002 | Main | September 2002 »

August 30, 2002

You might be a pianist if...

- you expect a singer to pick up a part on the first try sight-reading, because after all, it's only one note at a time.
- you inform your fiancé that he'll have to share you - you're in love with a Steinway Grand.
- you can sense if a piano is in the building.
- the first thing you look for when visiting someone's home is a piano.
- you can stretch you hand so that your little finger nearly forms a 90-degree angle in relation to your fourth finger. (note: I can do that!)
- you hear any random song on the radio and find yourself pondering whether it is in the key of G major or F major and go home to find out once and for all.
- you wince when you walk into a house that contains a piano as "furniture."
- you hear a child pounding on a piano and think, "Hey, cool! Twelve-tone!" (note: actually I CRINGE when I hear a child pounding on a piano)
- you even know what twelve-tone is.

:piano

Weekly Wrap-up - Back To School

The Weekly Wrap-Up

I enjoy the questions on Weekly Wrap-up far more than Friday Five - they are a lot more intelligent. Thanks Mariann!

So run
Right
Right back to school
Check it
Look back I sift through all the cliques
Roaming' the halls all year, making me sick
While everyone's out tryin to make the cut
What?
And when you think you know me right I switch it up
Behind the walls smokin' cigarettes and sippin' vodka
hop a fence and catch a cab, aint no one can stop us
Give me a break about some other mess
What were you?
Act like it's everything you got
Push back the square
Now that you need her but you don't
So there you go
Cause back in school
We are the leaders of it all
Stop that, quit! - All that, quit!
Who ruined it? You did! Now grab a notebook and a pen
Start taking notes, I'm being everyone who's on the top
You think we're on the same page - but, oh we're not!
I'll be the man, watch your backpacks, pens and pencils
Just like he now flippin it, why you just keep it simple? You just can't go wrong rocking' the clothes
Coppin' the stance
'Cause really is everything that you got!
Push back the square
Now that you need her but you don't
So there you go!
Cause back in school
We are the leaders of it all
So
Transpose
Or stop your lies
It's what you do
Transpose
Or stop your lies
So run
So why don't you run, so why don't you run
So why don't you run back to school
So why don't you run, so why don't you run
All you are - Now I'm on the next page
All you are - It's time to close the book up
All you are - I'm on the next page
All you are - Close the book up now


1. What is your earliest memory of going back to school? Describe the feelings you experienced and, if you can remember, something that happened that day.
I remember my first day of Montessori when I was 3 years old and screaming for my mom.

2. Who was your first teacher? What do you remember about him/her?
I got my finger slammed in the classroom door in grade 1, and the class was making candy that day and I clearly remember Mrs. Bell telling me that I wouldn't get candy unless I stopped crying. But then I remember her dressing up as a witch on Halloween and getting one of her witch claws caught in the film projector, followed by her making a mad dash for the aloe plant. :mischievious

3. Did you enjoy the first day of school as a child? Why or why not? Did you enjoy the first day of school as a teenager? Why or why not? If these feelings changed from childhood to teenage years, what happened to change them?
I enjoyed the fresh start of the first day of school. Later on, I enjoyed seeing my friends again, but I never liked school - not then, and not now. That's why I'm not in grad school. There were some rituals though - Mom took a picture of me standing on the driveway every year. Here's the one from my final year of high school. Please try to ignore my pipe cleaner legs.

4. What was the most exciting thing about starting school again? What was the most frustrating? Why?
I hated the thought of being back in the school grind for the next 10 months, and having homework and assignments of course.

5. If you have children in school now, how do you mark the occasion of the first day of school? If you don't have children, how did your family deal with the first day of school? What was the best part of the first day?
See the bit about the photo. The best part of the first day was definitely no homework, so those "getting to know me" assignments were always annoying, no matter how easy they were!

August 28, 2002

Zorbie's got a claque

Look! I got my first fansign!

Thank you very muchly. :happycry

The Last To Know

I must be the last person not to have visited this site before:

Oh, FARK that.

August 27, 2002

Listen up!

stonesour.jpg

:headbang

My rear end is feeling rather warm

Ouch.

"Well, you THINK you are being honest and honestly, you are not. You are the embarrassed lying type--the type that lies because you can't come to terms with your actions. Get over it. Don't sit there on the fence--either shoot for sainthood or give it up and join the rest of us who are destined for hell."

[link from Sandee]

August 26, 2002

No Monday Mission

I had answered the Monday Mission but then I accidentally closed the window. Fuckety fuck fuck.

Freedom from playlist tyranny

Remember when I had my current Winamp playlist displayed in the sidebar? Well, it's been gone for a few weeks and I am glad, since I no longer have to worry about anyone thinking I'm messed for listening to a particular song 5x in a row, or "ewwww! You like _______?!?!?"

Here's some really cool songs that have been in heavy rotation lately:
One Minute Silence - Available in All Colors
One Minute Silence - Norfuckingmality
Otep - Sacrilege (GOD IS A FRAUD)
3rd Strike - No Light
Trust Company - Downfall
Trust Company - Falling Apart

on a different note, I've had to block a few people from my tagboard, this blog, various chat progs over the past few days. All I have to say is, I love you too, ASSHOLES! :love

August 25, 2002

Babyspotting

baby.gif
Can you see the baby?

[picture filched from b.endtask.net]

August 24, 2002

Weekly Wrap-up - Computer Tools

A new meme - Weekly Wrap-up! [link from glory-box.com]

1. What kind of computer do you use? What operating system? If you've made a conscious choice to use a particular OS, what prompted the decision? And are you rabidly loyal to a particular OS -- if so, why?
PII 400, 256 RAM, 2 hard drives: 20 gig and 6.4 gig running Windows XP Professional. Windows has its issues (:computer) but overall I am happy with it.

2. What software do you use the most often? What do you use it/them for? What software do you covet? Why?
Tons! ICQ, ICQ Plus, Windowblinds, Adobe Photoshop, Trillian...with all these software plugs, I can't be bothered to link every one of them...post in comments if you wanna know more about anything. :smile

3. What freeware or shareware products do you use? What products have you purchased after using for a short period of time? Have you ever sold someone else on a particular freeware or shareware product? What happened?
I actually do own some shareware: Tweak XP, Icon Packager, a few graphics suites from Pixtudio, and I've donated to MT. I just love browsing through Tucows and download.com and finding new stuff to try. I'm always happy to recommend software as well.

4. Have you ever used pirated software? Describe the circumstance in which you obtained and decided to use the pirated software? Would you do it again? Why or why not?
I use lots of pirated software, I get 'important' software like Photoshop and Windows from reliable sources, (ie: burned off an original copy) whose identities will remain anonymous.

5. What icons do you have on your desktop? In your system tray? On your taskbar? Or, if you're using OSX, on your dock? Why do you have these particular icons and programs where they are?
<--- see my desktop screenshot for the answer. I collect TONS of icons and I try to have them match the program, sometimes the icon is used just because it's damn cute!

Bonus Question: Describe your dream computer, even if it doesn't exist yet!
In Califonia, Amanda and I browsed in a Mac store at a mall, and I was very impressed by the slick design of the iMac, running OSX. It's a far cry from the first generation iMacs that crashed within 5 seconds of booting up. :drool

August 23, 2002

Friday Five - 8/23/2002

Friday Five:

1. What is your current occupation? Is this what you chose to be doing at this point in your life? Why or why not?
Currently I teach piano. It is not a bad job in the grand scheme of things and quite emotionally rewarding, but it is the only thing I've done, and quite possibly the only thing I CAN do, considering my (lack of) work experience and education.
I also occasionally get jobs accompanying, playing at weddings and funerals. Funerals are my fave.

2. If time/talent/money were no object, what would your dream occupation be?
RMT, piercer, rock star.

3. What did/do your parents do for a living? Has this had any influence on your career choices?
Let's just say there's no chance in hell of me following in the career footsteps of either of the parents.

4. Have you ever had to choose between having a career and having a family?
Nope.

5. In your opinion, what is the easiest job in the world? What is the hardest? Why?
I wouldn't mind being an RMT. Where I get my massages, the room is so small that you get an appointment by leaving a message on the machine and the therapist plays phone tag with you. So there's no 'supervisor', the clients are generally docile, and you work in a quiet, tranquil environment. That sounds like heaven to me. BTW, my massage therapist tells me that my impression of her job is quite accurate, sign me up!
I don't know what's the hardest job, but from personal experience, the worst job has to be a telemarketer.

I hear people saying that they barely made it through an hour of telemarketing...well let me tell you, I suffered through six weeks of minimum wage telemarketer torture one summer! The scam was that we had to book clients in for a free trial ballroom dancing lesson, and if they didn't show up for their appointment, you got in big :shit. I figured it was worse than flipping burgers, because at least while flipping burgers you wouldn't be hung up on and bitched at over 200 times a night. To make things worse, we had no high-tech dialling system, just an ancient phone and torn-out pages from the phone book in the basement (read: DUNGEON) of the dance studio. The receptionist would listen over the phone or have her ear to the door to make sure we were actually working. I finally quit after they threatened to put me on probation because the clients I booked weren't showing up. As if that was my fault...I told them to fuck off and never went back.

August 22, 2002

To-do list

Should I start on a new blog layout for Amanda, or the seasonal complete domain overhaul for mats-sundin.com?

August 21, 2002

Name That Blog!

Here's a cool game I found over at kadyellebee - the object is to identify the blog from which the quote is from.

August 20, 2002

Taste Sensations

This goes in the TMI category:

Ever blown a guy whose spooge tasted worse than the norm? Well, now there's Semenex, which supposedly makes cum taste sweet.

Personally, I think cum swallowing is sexy so I'll always do it. And in case you were wondering, some guys DO taste better than others.

Now I'm going to bed.

August 19, 2002

Break some windows

Would you come to a karaoke bar with me? It's one stupid thing I've never done before.

August 18, 2002

Channel Surfing, the ugly

Last night we were channel surfing and came across "Meet My Folks". I don't know what is more disturbing, the daughter allowing her parents to choose her date, or the parents being up to it as well.

As for the lie detector test, the answer to "If I send you to Hawaii for a week with my daughter, will you try to sleep with her?" is, "Unlike the other guys, I'll be honest and say yes." Everyone said no. Every guy lied.

Figures.

Goodbye, letdown, cleanup

Just got back from taking Vin to the airport. Admittedly, I complain a bit when he's here, but really, I had a great time with him. I mean it. Hope you agree.

Now I'm off to nap for a bit and then tomorrow I clean up this dump and attempt to begin an economic recovery.

I'm really surprised no one commented on the entry about power metal. Vin and I thought it was funny as shit, or was it one of those "you had to be there" moments?

August 16, 2002

Soul's Definition of Power Metal

oasis100374: i hate power metal
zorbslovessporks: me too
oasis100374: you listen to one power metal album, you've listened to like 99% of the catalogue
zorbslovessporks: hahaha
oasis100374: no, i swear to god
oasis100374: tehy all start the same
zorbslovessporks: i believe you!
oasis100374: some cheesy-ass intro about wizards and shit, then the guitar goes chun chun chun chun, the drums break in and the vocalist have his nuts squeezed and goes "aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!"
:laugh :rotflmao

Sizing things up

I'll just wait till Vin wakes up so I can use measuring tape to test the accuracy of this toy.

update: It doesn't work. Move along.

August 15, 2002

Vin's new friend


Lost Incentive

Ahhhhh!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :cry

"That was very mean."

So Vin enjoyed himself on Top Gun even though he said he was scared to death of roller coasters.

However, the real adventures didn't start until after we left the park.

Don't you hate when the person behind you tries to beat you into the left turn lane? Well, some tow truck driver who thought himself very bad ass due to the 5 antennae on his big bad tow truck was doing that just as I was getting off the highway. It's not like I was going slow or anything (about 70 km/h) but he was waving his arm in disgust for some reason before going into the other left turn lane - and having to stop at a red light side by side with my car. Naturally, I gave him the finger, he fingered back, and Vin pointed to his "death" wrist tat and made a throat slash gesture. Mr. Tow Truck was actually pointing to a nearby parking lot with "bring it on dude!" gestures!!! I had the ghetto spork in my bag so that probably wouldn't have been a good thing for him. The last I saw of him, he made a right turn from the centre lane, cutting off a Mack truck, so I guess it definitely wasn't ME with a driving problem. :angryrazz

We're at Gretzky's with a hideous 45 minute wait for a table, so of course we had to play some table hockey. If you've been to Gretzky's you'll know that there's always kids playing with the knobs even when there isn't an actual game going on. There's a little girl (2-3 years old) standing there, so Vin gently shooed her away so we could play. Her (big fat oogly) mom comes over and says, "This little girl was saving the table for her dad. That was Very Mean!" We're in the middle of a game, so we ignore her, but as we were finishing dinner, we saw Oogly Mom and the little girl leaving, with no dad in sight. It was so tempting not to go over to her and say, "Where's her father? Are you a fucking hermaphrodite or something?"

All I have to say is...whatever, people. Whatever, Tow Truck Dude. What-fuckin-EVER, Hermaphrodite Bitch Mom!

And there was this whacko family sitting at the table behind us at dinner last night. First, the son didn't want to eat the branded '99' hamburger bun, so he cut the meat in half and stuck it all in the bottom bun, Dad helped put the burger back together by squishing it flat with his palm. When they're done eating, they pile the plates up in a massive stack in front of Dad. To top things off, My Way by Limp Bizkit was playing and the entire family, Mom, Dad, geeky sister (about 13-14) and son (10-ish) were all headbanging in unison and mouthing the lyrics. Is this some kind of new family bonding thing?

Today we're going down to Queen West because Silver Cross and some other stores are NEVER open...it's my mission to find them open someday!


August 14, 2002

Decisions, decisions

The weather is on the crappy side today. However, it's certainly warm and it isn't actually raining, so I'm thinking Wonderland is still a good idea, maybe the lineups won't be too long and we won't get fried in the sun.

Speaking of fried in the sun, we DID make it through Ozzfest without a burn or being drenched. It was a miracle!

...side rant - if you own a convertible, when it's 25C out and sunny, for the love of Jeebus put the top down! If you're concerned about messing up your hair buy a fucking Dodge Caravan instead!

August 13, 2002

This or That Tuesday - 8/13/2002

Time for This or That Tuesday:

1. Dr. Seuss characters: the Cat in the Hat or the Grinch?
Grinchy boy!

2. "Anne of Green Gables" or "Little Women"?
Anne. I prefer the later books in the series though.

3. Nancy Drew or the Hardy Boys?
Nancy and her blue convertible, thanks.

4. Winnie the Pooh characters: Tigger or Eeyore?
Eeyore. He doesn't bounce.

5. Which author: Judy Blume or Beverly Cleary?
Beverly Cleary, because I can relate to Ramona a lot better.

6. Roald Dahl books: "Charlie & the Chocolate Factory" (Willy Wonka) or "James & the Giant Peach"?
Charlie was great, but I loved The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar And Six More.

7. "Harry Potter" or "The Wizard of Oz"?
Neither.

8. Curious George or Madeline?
Madeline!

9. "A Wrinkle in Time" or "Little House on the Prairie"?
Oh gawd, I can't choose, I own both and have read them both about a zillion times.

10. Dr. Seuss again: "Horton Hears a Who" or "The Lorax"?
Horton, because he is SO cute!

If you were wondering about the frog I was talking about last night, Vin and I went mini golfing, and there were these little frogs everywhere, right in the line of putting. How annoying. What was more annoying though, was when the parentals refused to let me out of the house unless I was wearing long pants because of their paranoid fear of West Nile virus. So I figured, I may as well go all the way and dressed in a thick hoody and jeans. In 30C+ weather. I was hoping to sweat off 10 pounds but it actually wasn't all that hot, so it was a total lose-lose situation.

August 12, 2002

Ribbit

Ever wonder what would happen if you hit a frog with a mini golf putter? I have.

Monday Mission - 8/12/2002

Monday Mission:

1. If I could guarantee that the Fashion Police would not lay the smackdown on you, which favorite out-of-style article of clothing do you wish you could wear right now? (and if you have photos of you wearing it, post 'em)
This circa 1991 babydoll dress. It's black with big pink, peach, and lavender flowers. It was very Me at the time, but I'm sure the colours still suit very well.

2. In your opinion, who is famous but shouldn't be?
Fred Durst, Britney Spears, Kittie, the New York Yankees

3. Are there any new movies or TV shows that you are forward to this fall?
Star Trek: Nemesis

4. If you had a time machine that you could use only one time (there and back), where would you go and what would you do?
Either Rome at the height of the Empire, or be as rich as the Vanderbilts during the early 20th century Gilded Age.

5. What cologne of perfume do you like to wear? Which brand do you prefer that your partner wear?
H2O+ Green Tea, Body Shop Tea Rose, Body Shop Satsuma, Demeter Dirt. I like it when guys smell like clean laundry, that's better than any cologne.

6. Do you recall your first "French kiss?" Tell me about how that felt, and how it came about. Do you like them?
My first was when I was about 15, and it scared me how good it felt.

7. Excluding your partner...If you had the opportunity, who would you most like to French kiss?
ahhhh, Mats.

August 10, 2002

Part III - London

So the hotel we stayed at in London was pretty good. It was a suite with a kitchen, and the room was definitely clean. The only thing wrong was that the phone wasn't working quite right but hey, for $70 CDN a night that's not too shabby.

A trip to London isn't complete without visiting Paul, so I walked over to a neighbouring hotel, and called him up to inform him that I'd be heading over to his house immediately to pick him up whether he liked it or not.

Drove home. Went to the mall for a bit. Oooh, how exciting.

Something I forgot to mention was that Kelly Osbourne was standing next to me on the side of the stage during one of the Ozzfest sets.

August 09, 2002

The Return

I've posted a couple of entries about our trip.

Part I
Part II

Public service announcement

Michigan fucking sucks!!!

But Ozzfest was awesome! :headbang

More later.

August 08, 2002

Part II - Ozzfest adventures

Woke up bright and early (yes, Vin got up at 6:30 am) and drove to the venue. Because of a few lucky breaks the previous night, we got to bypass the masses with passes to the 2nd stage that he scored for us.

Here's my thoughts on some of the bands we saw.

Andrew W.K. - bad 80's hair metal, singer did some strange arm movements combined with moshing punctuated with can-can kicks. Weirdos.

Flaw - I liked them, their tour manager gave us the backstage passes.

3rd Strike - Gabe Hammersmith, a bassist with a scary stage look, met him by the tour buses in the parking lot and had a nice conversation.

Ill Nino - too many groupie hos hanging around.

Pulse Ultra - Vin liked them, I thought the singer lacked stage presence and his somewhat quiet singing didn't help much.

Otep - GOOD singing by a chick. Morgan Lander could learn a thing or two (or five). I wanted to talk to her after the show, but she disappeared, saw her as we were leaving, stoned/drunk/fucked out of her mind so I decided not to talk to her after all.

Meshuggah - AMAZING drumming!!! Talked to Mĺrten, one of the guitarists, when Vin introduced me to him, the only thing I could say was, "I have a thing for :sweden guys!" So we started talking about hockey and stuff, turns out he's from the same town as Fishface and ended up wearing a MoDo jersey during their set. Met Tomas, the drummer, who's one of Vin's drumming idols, shall we say, and he was very down to earth, "Hi, my name is Tomas..."

Hatebreed - they've never done anything for me. Sat in the shade and power napped during their set.

Adema - :disgust :puke :dead

Left after a couple songs into the Adema set.

Drove into Detroit to gawk at the freaky abandoned buildings. We had brought Avs/Team Canada jerseys thinking to piss off the locals, and had yelled "WINGS SUCK!" when passing by fans at the venue. We're driving along in what's probably the only decent Detroit neighbourhood and pass Comerica Park, then see a restaurant called the Hockeytown Café, covered with Wings flags and memorabilia. Can't resist the devilish temptation to waltz in, dressed in Avs gear. The staff there were good sports, and just teased us a bit, I can't say the same for the customers, and we had to keep an eye out for possible snipers lurking in the broken windows of the abandoned buildings.

We spent the night in London. (ahhh, safe :canada) Ended up at TJ's for a blue lagoon the mourn the closing of our favourite metal club/watering hole. :cry


August 07, 2002

Part I - travel across the border

Had a relatively uneventful drive down to the Windsor/Detroit border. Things got ugly very quickly when the customs people made us pull over for a more thorough search, because Vin was missing a document in his passport and because of our looks. Let me make it clear that I do not have a problem with searches, random or not, because I have absolutely nothing to hide. The customs people are trying to do their jobs of keeping out terrorists and whatnot, BUT!!!! I think it is a very common courtesy to leave a person's belongings in the state that one finds it.

I did not appreciate having my wallet left open and dangling out of my purse. When I told her to please close it properly, the woman got all snippy at me.
Her: Do you want to go into the :usa or not?!
Me (thinking): Fuck you, I'm going back to :canada
She holds my bag and looks at me, asking, "You have never been in possession of illegal drugs?"
Of course, those who know me know that I have never and will never touch drugs, so I answered "Never, ma'am."
Her (bitchy): I was talking to your friend! (referring to Vin)
Ummmm...then why in hell was she looking at me while asking?

In the San Francisco airport, the security guy actually tested my bag for bomb chemicals, but was very careful to put everything back neatly.

We got to Clarkston and Vin went out for a bit while I looked up Cos in the phone book and called him up. He didn't recognize me until I said "sporks, sporks! Snuffy bears and sporks!!"
- woken up from a sound sleep around 3am by the unmistakable sound of a screaming female orgasm coming from the hotel room next door. It was pretty funny until she started screaming every 2 minutes or so...what a faker! She shut up after I yelled "You sound like you're having too much fun over there!" but I really wanted to yell "You're having that much fun and you didn't invite us?"


Road trip

Tomorrow, umm...today we're travelling to Michigan for Ozzfest.

Amanda...keep your fingers crossed that there isn't a repeat of last week, I don't think I could take it.

August 05, 2002

Monday Mission - 8/5/2002

Monday Mission:

1. Ever considered just deleting your Blog and not doing it anymore? What prompted that and what stopped you?
No, I think that is really pathetic. Same with frequent hiatuses. Quit the drama, please!

2. How about a quick review of the last movie you saw?
Don't remember the last movie I saw.

3. What's your favorite gadget? Are you lusting for any new ones? Will you ever be satisified???
I would like a Sony VAIO laptop. With wireless internet.

4. Saturday night I played "UNO" for the first time in years, I mean it has been over 10 years since I played it. It was great fun, but it really made me want to learn how to play Backgammon again. What "table game" do you enjoy playing most with other people? Have you played it lately?
Monopoly is fun but you have to play it with people you know really well, or else it tends to get pretty ugly.

5. About a year ago I was obsessed with losing weight, and I dropped pretty low before I got a handle on things (I've actually gained about 8 pounds of it back, and it is still a struggle sometimes to not try to lose it). Thankfully, I like fattening sweets and buttery popcorn too much to live like that for too long. Have you ever been obsessed with something so much that it was close to causing you physical or mental harm? If not, have you known anyone else who has?
Yeah, but trying to recall and write about them would bring me more mental harm.

6. Did you grow up in a family or community that displayed racist or prejudice attitudes? Did it influence you in any way, either toward or away from those views? How did you manage to avoid it, or did you?
All the places where I lived that had a high potential for racism, I was too young to pay much attention to that kind of shit, thankfully.

7. Good grief, I am starving! You got anything to eat around here?
Nope, I ate it all already.

BONUS: What did you tell them?
Nothing.

August 04, 2002

Visitor from another planet

Vin gets here this afternoon. :drool I suppose there will only be a few people who understand what the subject of this post is all about.

August 03, 2002

Here ya go

By Da Wei Zhang in Santa Clara, California.
It's my Chinese name, the top character is Bau (last name) and then Manyee. No inaccurate cheesy translations for me!

August 02, 2002

I left my <3 in San Francisco

Hi. I'm back. Here's some pictures.

I am not feeling very mentally stable right now. No, I'm not OK. Will try to explain later.

August 01, 2002

Almost finished

Horoscope (by astrocenter.com)
Today, dear Gemini, you may find yourself feeling more aggressive than normal.

Yeah, I'll say. As it always seems to be with me and vacations, I am glad to be going home. I've had a great time, but home is best. :pleased

We are going to a concert tonight, I am so not in a concert mood. I'm such a party pooper.