Lorithad

Thats right. Hair gone. I've cut off the long hair and replaced it with that of an androids.

That is to say, i've cut my hair to look like Data for my Halloween costume. It looks surprisingly good too. I'm very happy.

As some of you know, I started growing out my hair around June of 2008. So close to a year and a half. Had the hair down to about my shoulder blades.

It was an interesting experience. Not sure if i'll ever do it again. But if I do, i won't be doing it any time soon.


Oh, and an update on my paintball barrel:
So shortly after my last post, I caved and bought a non stainless back from paintballgear.ca.

It arrived, and I was happy. Until I tried to put the inserts in the barrel back. They didn't fit. The god damned back was defective. So had to RMA it to smart parts in pennsylvania. And then I got it back on monday. It works now. It took from May 17th to October 26th to get this barrel system. But I have it. It's done. I've yet to use it, but it damned well better work as well or better than the reviews i've read and been told bay various players.

Ok. So for the past five months, i've been waiting for a piece of paintball equipment.
Specifically, the back piece for a three part barrel system. I ordered it from canadianpaintball.com on may 14th. And due to various issues on their end, I'd still yet to receive it.

So I decided to email smart parts, who make and supply the part to canadianpaintball.
Their response was very quick, unlike that at the afore mentioned site. However, their response was not quite what I was expecting.
You see, the barrel back that i'd been waiting for, doesn't exist. At least, it doesn't exist for the marker that i'd ordered it for.

Canadianpaintball, in their infinite wisdom, apparently did not know this, and continues to insist that they do exist. Despite the manufacturer telling me directly that they have never offered the back with an A5/X7 thread.


So right now, my only option is to buy something else. But now I won't qualify for free shipping, as there's no other parts that i'm currently interested in at paintballgear.ca (The only other paintball site in Canada that offers a free shipping rate).
I refuse to do any more shopping at canadianpaintball for an indeterminate amount of time.

And thats the end of my random rant.

So I started school for year two electrical on may 25th.

I'm enjoying it much more than year 1 so far. I'm grasping concepts before a lot of people in my class, and things are just starting to click.

And while again, i'll likely never use the majority of what i'm learning in the field, it's still pretty cool to learn how things work.

I get out July 31st. So if I can't hang out because i'm too busy studying, sorry.


What else is new......Paintball. Yes.

I've recently started paintballing with the Wolverines. They're a pretty cool bunch. Though all of them are at least 10 years older than I am. I've only balled with them once, but it was a blast.

I'm still looking for new fields and people to play with. Just because I've found one group of cool people doesn't mean I'll stop looking. And on that note, I may have found another one today. Apparently one of the guys in my class plays with a group of people off prest road every Sunday. So I'll make sure to check them out soon as well.



AnimeEvolution is coming up. June 12,13,14 Shelly told me about it a while ago. Apparently the creator of Reboot is going to be there, doing some sort of panel.
I was a maybe at that point. But recently I found out that the guys from Loading Ready Run were also going. So yeah, I'm now going for sure.

I'll be going for Friday and Saturday, but I don't think i'll be able to attend Sunday, due to previous engagements. Still, it'll be awesome. I'm planning on bringing a side panel from one of my computers for the LLR guys to sign. Heh. Sign my computer!

So. Susan. I'm expecting to see you there, as you're the only person that might be reading my LJ that would be interested in going. I'll be dressed up as myself as I'm in school and too busy to make a costume. That, and I don't really have the skills to make a costume. Oh, and on top of not having time, I'm also lazy.

But yeah, you should totally go so we can hang out.

So I got home early Wednesday morning. Like 3:30am early. Saw people, got my car fixed. Stupid power steering pump died. 700 bucks for that.

I also bought a new pair of skis. Head, twin tip. Plus boots and poles. Which is good. I really like them. And I should be able to get to use them this coming Saturday.
The strange thing about me getting the new skis though, is that while transferring my new skis to my ski bag that held my old skis, I discovered that the bindings for the old skis had broken. At the exact same time. At the exact same place. On both skis.

I'd get the bindings replaced, if the skis themselves weren't in terrible condition. I mean, sure, I'd still have used them a few more times, but they're pretty banged up. I might just throw them away. Or give them away. If somebody wants them. Who knows, maybe you can get the bindings repaired.

After ordering the skis, and fixing the car, I found out that I'm getting laid off. Yay...
I go away for 7 months, and I get laid off as soon as I get back. "Great job Gordon, we're proud of you. Oh, and I was too much of a douche bag to find work for you when you got back. Sorry."

Other opportunities have presented themselves. But it would involve leaving again. And I really don't want to do that right now. Maybe in a few months, but not right now. Not after already being gone for so long.

So as it stands right now, i've got some free time to get caught up with people. Book your appointment today!

I should also mention that I've got a TV thats looking for a home. I think it was a 21" CRT. Toshiba. It may or may not have a remote, depending on whether or not I can find it. If you're interested, give me a shout. It still works great.

Stores done since last update:
I'm going to be honest. I've stopped caring about which stores I've done. That, and I wasn't provided the addresses of stores for December, January, and February. Just store numbers that don't mean anything to anyone but the crew I work with, and the stores we're renovating.
Pretty sure I've done 18 since the last update though. And for my own personal records, the last store done was #680.

So lets see...Lots of stuff happened since the last update.

So i got back late at night on december 9th, after a 18 hour drive from Edmonton. Road conditions sucked, and the rest stops were long. But it was good to surprise my mom, who expected me the next day.

The day after I got back, I re insured my car, and got my snow tires put on. While waiting for the tires, I surprised Shannon at work. Popped out from behind one of the shelves and started singing "Stand back everyone, nothing here to see! Just immanent danger, in the middle of it me! Yes, Captain Hammer's here, hair blowing in the breeze. The day needs my saving expertise!" I was wearing my brand new Captain Hammer T shirt. So the singing was relevant, and or necessary. Either way, best surprise "I'm back!" ever.

I worked for a week and a half or so after getting home. Various "local" stores. Mostly in the Vancouver area. At least I got to sleep in my own bed afterwards.
I made it to Anna's birthday party after work one day. That was amazing luck. Great party too.

My brother came back from nova Scotia for the holidays. It was good to see him again. I missed him. We didn't really hang out much. But time was spent together.

About a week after I got home, Shelly dumped me. That sucked. I was really warming up to her, and was excited to just be around her. She said she wanted to start over. That things had moved too fast. That she didn't want the title of being a girlfriend. Sadly, we haven't talked much since. And while I have seen her twice since the breakup, I can't help but alienate myself in front of her. I do wish we can be friends, but part of me will always want more I think. Dealing with that emotion sucks. And unfortunately, I have all too much experience with it.

Christmas came and went. I got my mom a kick ass multifunction colour laser printer. She was very happy with it. Other presents went to other people. Everybody liked their gifts, but I felt I copped out on my brothers gift. I got him a seat warmer for his car. As it gets cold in Nova Scotia. I have no doubt that he'll use it, and will enjoy the gift. But when I get a gift for somebody, I try to give a gift that when they look at it, they know who gave it to them. Or why it was picked for them.

On top of the snow tires that my mom got for me (seriously, holy crap by the way), she also got me a PS3. Well, the card said that everyone got it for me. But I know she's the one who shelled out the cash for it. Big thank you to her.
I now have to make an important decision when I get home; Which HDTV to buy. Lots of choices, and I'll probably make a post specific to that some time later.

After Christmas, I spent a little time with Amanda. She's been excited to date me for a long time. And while she's an amazing person, I just don't think I can go down that road. Especially after the thing with Shelly. A part of me regrets not jumping on that option. But in the end I feel it will be the right decision. For both of us.

New years SCA party was awesome. Got to see a lot of people that I hadn't seen in a while. Amanda came, but she mostly slumped in the corner. Despite the efforts of myself, and several of my friends. She did do a couple dances though. Surprised me. I hope she eventually takes more of an interest in the SCA. I think she'd enjoy herself a lot.

New years day, my brother, his friend Corbin and I all went skiing/snowboarding. Or that is, we made the attempt to go. We got all our shit together, and headed up to hemlock. Unfortunately, the mountain didn't want us there. The road up the mountain was terrible. And I didn't have chains. I'm pretty sure I would have made it up, had it not been for the cars falling off the road ahead of us. That forced us to stop, and give up any inertia we had. More force required to move a stopped object. And thus, tires spin in place.
It was a big disappointment to everyone. I had looked forward to spending some time with my brother.

Jan 2nd, I hung out with Cory for a while, and then gathered with everyone for a huge game of Munchkin. Stayed there until I had to leave, or fear not being able to get up the next day to head back out onto the road. And while it wasn't an official going away party, it seemed like one. A good deal of my friends were there. And I enjoyed it very much.

Jan 3rd, I headed back out to Edmonton. That is to say, we headed to Kelowna to pick up two other people in the crew. Spent a night in Kelowna, then continued the trip.
We made it to Edmonton late on the 4th. So back into the RV, only to discover it was not fixed. Fuck, I was pissed.

Did one store in Edmonton, then one store in Red deer. Then we headed to Calgary. We managed to find a house to rent for January, so that's been great. Internet here was going to be shitty, shared air card net. So I was forced to learn how to...test the network security of other people's wireless connections. Unfortunately for them, their security measures were not very effective.
I've made slight improvements to the networks I've tested. A gift if you will, to make sure the networks are running a little bit more efficiently.
On that note, WEP-64 bit is not effective at all. WEP is not effective at all. WPA isn't as secure as you might think. If you want to secure your network, have a static DHCP on your router. Use MAC filtering to limit the IPs distributed to MAC addresses you know, change your IP range to something non standard (Ex 192.168.173.XXX), change the user name/password of your router, don't broadcast your networks SSID, and use WPA2. All of those combined, will make it so you will pass my network test. You may not pass somebody who tests more rigorously than I do, but you will at least pass mine, and the vast majority of people out there.

So after rambling about that, I must say that the Internet here is quite nice. Not as nice as at home, but certainly the best net i've had yet on this trip.

While staying in this house, I've not done much. Finally got Fallout 3 working after installing their 1.1 patch, and doing a little bit of creative tinkering. So that's absorbed most of my attention as of late. Since reaching the level cap, I have been starting to get bored with it though. I did manage to get together with two of the members of my Team fortress 2 clan (DeJaVU - Alex, and Did-i-do-that). Both of them are incredible people. Hopefully this one encounter won't be our last.

That's pretty much covered everything up to date.
I've got two more stores in Calgary, then two on the road back to BC. After that, I'm home. For good. 3 stores to do "Locally", then this job is over. I'll be able to go back to normal work, dealing with a job that I can learn new things.


I'll be able to spend time with people I care about. And chances are, if you're reading this, you're one of those people. So don't be afraid to comment. Even if its just a "Holy crap, that was a long post. But I managed to read the whole thing!" type post.

Stores done since last update:
Redcliff, Sask
Brooks
Lethbridge
Innisfail
Rocky Mountain House
Leduc (Sparrow Cres)
Leduc (Discovery Way)
Edmonton (99 St)
Edmonton (Roper Rd)
Edmonton (28 Ave)
Edmonton (23 Ave)

I know it may appear like I haven't updated for a couple weeks, and that stuff should have happened, but not really.
It's been the same boring shit. Well..Except that on the way back to edmonton, my RV had a fight with a lamp post. We kicked it's ass...except that on it's way down, the lamp post caved in the front of the RV. We had it towed to the camp site we're at now, and it will be repaired during our Christmas break. I do have pictures of the damage. But they're only available upon request.

So, that being said, I'll be home December 9th. Probably late in the evening. December 10th, I have many errands to do. Like get snow tires! And re insure my car!
December 11th, I have a store to do in new west. Followed by some on the 16th, 18th, and 20th. Unless the word of mouth plan changes. Then who knows.

I may or may not try to plan a ski trip to manning. It depends on several factors. Shelly and I would be the ones going. But if other people want to try to make it up, the more the merrier.
Not sure on the dates yet. Schedule needs to be figured out.

Updates, Hurrah! WARNING: WALL OF TEXT AHEAD.
Stores done since I got back:
Prince Albert
Saskatoon
Moose Jaw
Estevan
Swift current

So, during my stay at home, much happened. I picked up my new paintball swag that I had ordered. Gear bags, various pads, neck protectors, squeegees, etc. Good stuff. I hope to use it next time I get back. Picked up a copy of Super Mario bros the movie. Haven't watched it yet.
Oh, and I found myself a wonderful new girlfriend. Her name's Shelly, and she lives in hope. She's pretty amazing, and very geeky. I spent as much time with her as I could when I was home. I'm sure I neglected other friends in the process, and for that I am sorry. But I think the time was well spent. So I hope you guys can forgive me.

I brought Shelly to dance practice. Introduced her to 80% of my friends. I know Sean, Lori, Haley, and Anna were absent. Much disappointment there was. Still, good times were had. Then we went to bozinnis, where I did not have a steak (as per my usual). See, Shelly and I had just gone for sushi before dance. So I was kind of full. Erica ordered me a side of bacon without me knowing. Erica, you rock.

So that was about it until the wedding rehearsal. Picked up my wedding clothes, met everyone at the golf course. We figured out where to stand, where to look, how to act. It felt weird being a groomsman. Especially when I barely know the groom. I was there for Cherie, and not Jason. I suppose they could have made me a brides maid...But I don't think the dresses were quite my style. At least with the outfit I got for the groomsman, I can wear again at SCA events. Yay garb.
After rehearsal, we went for dinner/lunch at Boston pizza. Discovered that Abby,a friend of Cherie's was flying out of Abbotsford after the wedding on the same flight as me. Cool.
We then went to Future shop, where I proceeded to buy Cherie and Jason the best wedding gift ever. A Samsung, 40" wide screen LCD TV. I also gave them the condition that in the event of a divorce, that TV is mine.

The wedding itself was pretty fun, though the ceremony was kind of awkward for me. I used to have some strong feelings for Cherie. Some of them, I don't think will ever go away. So, naturally seeing her get married would be a bit awkward. Still, I was there to support her, and celebrate her finding happiness. On top of that awkward, the ceremony had a lot of god-talk(as weddings often do). That alone makes me uncomfortable. If and when I get married, I'll have to make sure none of that gets in there.


The dinner was nice. I knew all the brides maids pretty well. So I had people to talk to, and laugh with. The groomsmen were all good guys. And I'm sure I'll get to know them better in the coming years. Still, I'd known them since the rehearsal. So I still had a bit of that shy guy syndrome going on. I stayed at the wedding as late as I thought I could, what with my flight being at 6:30AM the next morning. Got to dance with all of the brides maids, the bride, the brides mom, and various other guests. I'm very thankful for the SCA dances now. They've done wonders at helping me not be a nervous wreck on the dance floor. Though I'm pretty sure I've still got a long way to go.

My boss picked me up the next morning at 4:20am, and we headed to abbotsford. Checked in, got myself a windows seat, and waited for Abby to show up. And waited. And waited. I think she showed up at like 5:45am. And since you're supposed to check in to flights an hour and a half before the flight, I was a bit worried. But she made it, and all was well.

We then flew to Calgary together. I got off there, she stayed on. Her destination was Winnipeg, mine was Saskatoon.
When I arrived in Saskatoon, I picked up my rental car, and drove for two hours to Prince albert. That was not a fun drive. Me having 3-4 hours of sleep, plus flying, plus driving an unfamiliar, larger than I'm used to car. Not fun. But I made it. Traded the car off with Matt (The electrician sent to replace me for the two stores that I missed because of the wedding), and that was that...

Later that night:
We had a run in with a small native group of kids in Prince Albert. One of our trucks was unlocked in the RV park we were staying at, so they thought it would be a good idea to rummage around in it for things to steal. Unfortunately for them, the truck was parked right next to our 5th wheel. Two of our guys heard them, and beat the tar out of them.
I was asleep during that part, as I wasn't feeling all that well. But they woke me up after, cause they thought they would come back. So we loaded 3 of our paintball guns up, and just had them ready.
In the end, they did come back. About 6 or 7 of them. With baseball bats, golf clubs, sticks, etc. They yelled at us, we yelled at them, they ran at us, we shot at them. They ran off. We caught one, and handcuffed him to the fence. Called the police, and the guy was arrested.
Good times.
We then moved from that RV park to some other crappy one. We've been hopping from RV park to RV park since.

During a weekend stay in Moose Jaw, we hit the bars. Twice. I hate bars. I hate the people, the lighting, the music, the smell. I hate bars. But I go to make sure my co-workers get home safe. They can drink their asses off, and I'll drive them back. And as much as I hate bars, I'll gladly do it over and over again. I'd rather them get back safe.

That pretty much sums up the past two weeks or so. Other than that, I've just been playing a lot of Bioshock, which I highly recommend by the way. And talking with Shelly online. I miss her. Just like I miss all of my friends, family and pets. 6 weeks to go till I'm back for the next break.

So I got home on the 10th. Woot!
Cory picked me up at the airport in abbotsford. Paintball was supposed to happen on saturday..but that got canceled. So i'm sad. Oh well.

There is new news though. I've met a new girl. She lives in hope, and is quite awesome. I'm going to try to bring her around on tuesday. We'll see how that works out.

I find myself quite busy while at home. Lots to do, little time to do it. That being said, i'll recount my exploits again once i'm back on the road.

Everyone, I want to see all of you. I miss you all.

Stores completed since last update:
Prince George,BC
Dawson Creek,BC
Peace River,Alb
Hinton,Alb
Stony Plain, Alb

So as you can see, I've made the transition to Alberta. This province strange. And flat. I'm fairly certain that 85% of everybody in Alberta drives a truck. Its only since we've reached the Edmonton area that I've seen dealerships that didn't just have trucks. Take that global warming.

Up until now, the trip has been pretty uneventful in terms of me doing stuff.
When we were in Peace river, Alberta I went to a pool hall and then a bar (more of a club) with my co-workers. I was going to be the designated driver, but one of our co-workers decided to drive off with the truck shortly after arriving at the pool hall. So we had to take a taxi around. Fucker. He didn't even tell us he was leaving.
After we left the pool hall, I experienced my first bar scene. Loud music, lots of drunk people. I scored higher on the punching machine than the two co-workers of mine that tried it. I laughed. It was good. Though what was even better, was that I remembered the entire night. It was blotchy for them.

Today, we went to the west Edmonton mall. Went on the roller coaster, I bought a cool poster. And I fired two guns. I've never fired a gun before in my life. I've never even been near one that's been fired. It was interesting.
My first gun shot was a glock 9mm. Bigger than I thought it would be for some reason, though the weight was about what I'd expect. The most annoying part about it, was loading the clip. The clip holds 10 shots, and it gets difficult to load after about the 4th or 5th bullet. Too much tension on the spring inside.
The second gun I fired was much more amusing. A .45 magnum. This thing was HUGE, the bullets were huge, and the recoil was insane. Much easier to load, as it is a revolver style weapon.
Perhaps one day I'll do it again. But it was pretty expensive. 52.50 for 50 rounds on the glock. I traded a clip or two to one of my co-workers to get a chance at the magnum. It was worth it.

Also, my mom emailed me today and said that the terrace newspaper did in fact mail a few copies to her. That'll be cool to see.

I fly home on the 10th. I'm looking forward to it, though because I'm flying, I can't bring as much stuff. I want to go shopping for a duffel bag. Not even a good one. Just one that will survive the flight there, and the flight back. I'll check walmart I think.

The next stores are Edmonton, Fort Mcmurray, and Edmonton again. Then I fly home.

Stores done since last entry: vanderhoof and terrace.

So yeah. I just got back from terrace today. Its a 7 hour drive from prince George to terrace. I went to terrace yesterday, then did a 13 and a half hour shift at the Tim hortons there. Stayed in the sandman hotel for the...8 hours. If that. Then we did a few errands, had breakfast, and started the journey back here. Good times.

It wasn't all bad though. After we had finished the job in terrace, a reporter from the local paper just happened to show up. After we explained to him why he couldn't enter the building yet (employees need time to do some cleaning and prep for re-opening), he wanted to take our picture. So we all gathered around our big ass trailer (which we've been getting employees from all the various stores to sign), and had our picture taken. He got our names, and the cities that we all come from.
According to him, we should be in next week's paper there. Not sure where in said paper we will be. But it would still be cool to see myself in there. Their website was http://www.terracedaily.ca. I'll try to get a copy or two of the paper mailed home if we do actually get in there. It's a small town though. Having tim hortons renovated is kind of a big deal around there. I guess.

The next store is in prince George. Followed by Dawson creek.



Edit: It appears we're already on their website for the paper!
http://www.terracedaily.ca/show3051a/EXTREME_MAKEOVER_-_12_HOURS_-_NEW_TIMS