thursday february 28

today i parked in an empty lot that had various messages surrounding it, written on signs or in graffiti, including (but not limited to): "NO PARKING," "PRIVATE PROPERTY DO NOT PARK," and "DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT PARKING HERE."

wednesday february 27

today i caught a little of my best friend's wedding on television. i hadn't seen the movie in years -- back in the nineties probably!! when one scene started, i excitedly pointed out that i remembered it being really hilarious, then proceeded to not laugh and mostly just feel uncomfortable as it unfolded. i'm still uncertain as to whether this was just a result of coming in halfway through and not understanding the characters well enough to appreciate the scene, or if it's a commentary on how bad my movie opinions were as a child.

tuesday february 26

today i felt like one of my t-shirts, which i'd normally consider 'good-fitting,' was a little tighter than normal. this prompted me to step on a scale for the first time in a while and i was surprised to find that i've gained eight pounds since then. i wasn't sure whether to feel distraught over this, since the extra weight seemed mostly situated in the belly area, or to be happy that i was getting closer to feeling like a real man.

monday february 25

today i was in the room while my brother was re-playing the legend of zelda: ocarina of time for the first time in years. when he got stuck at one particular point, i surreptitiously opened up an online walkthrough of the game, read what to do, then suggested it to him, pretending that i'd randomly remembered it myself.

sunday february 24

today i got more excited than i have in weeks when i threw down a game-winning 111-point bingo in an online scrabble game. because the word was 'rawhide,' i dedicated it to the memory of jessie. she loved rawhide!!!

saturday february 23

today i came home after a crystal castles show and turned on the television, looking for something good to watch. i was amazed to find two of my favourite movies of all time, boogie nights and eternal sunshine of the spotless mind, both on at the same time, leaving me torn over which one to focus on.

friday february 22

today i found a note i'd written in my cell phone that read as follows: "live as if you will die today, dream as if you will live forever (fuck you queer)." it took me most of the day to remember that this was a note i'd written to myself one night weeks ago at the alex p. keaton to remind myself of hilarious graffiti i'd seen written above the urinal in the men's bathroom (the parenthetical portion, of course, having been added by a second 'artist'). i intended, at the time, to use it as my 'one thing i did today' entry, but unfortunately forgot about it entirely, since i so rarely browse my cell phone's notes.

thursday february 21

today i went to the chiropractor for my usual appointment, only to find that there was a fill-in chiropractor in place of my usual one, for the first time ever. during her adjustment of me, she said, at various times, the following things: "wow, [the usual chiropractor] didn't warn me how tough you'd be"; "wow, you're the hardest person to adjust i've ever had"; "i'm going to stop there because anything else i do will just make it worse." i didn't walk out feeling very satisfied.

wednesday february 20

today i provided colour commentary for the oua women's basketball playoff quarterfinals at alumni hall. at the end of the game, while i interviewed a western player away from the media table, a windsor player used my headset for an interview with my play-by-play partner. upon completing this interview, she handed me the headset back and i was perturbed to see that it was now covered in sweat. i held it gingerly away from me, hoping i wouldn't have to use it again, but unfortunately i was signaled to get back on to conduct a post-game wrap-up. needless to say, it was a little gross.

tuesday february 19

today i added a picture of myself to the sidebar of this page and, much to my surprise, found that i liked it, and that it added a little character to the blog.

monday february 18

today i helped my grandmother sort out some problems on her computer. during one of these issues, relating to online streaming radio and podcasts, the suggestion arose that she should get an ipod, prompting her to exclaim, "i don't want anything in my ears. it doesn't turn me on."

sunday february 17

today i had to walk a few blocks upon waking up, to get to where my car was parked. the weather conditions, with everything having iced over overnight, were so precarious that i spent most of the walk in the middle of roads in an attempt to avoid the death-trap sidewalks, and still slipped a few times.

saturday february 16

today i got unnaturally excited when i made my first serious run at my personal record of 66 freecell wins in a row. when my streak eventually ended at 61, i was devastated.

friday february 15

today i bought a sweater from the gap. as i was checking out, the employee helping me was encouraging me to participate in an online survey. as an incentive to do so, she offered: "the next time you come in to buy a hoodie, 'cause you don't like that one that much, you'll get 10% off!" this was hardly incentive i wanted to hear and made me feel very unsure about my purchase.

thursday february 14

today i was walking from the ucc to weldon, exiting the ucc from the doors near the spoke. as i approached each set of double doors on my way out of the building, a girl walking behind me pressed the 'automatic open' buttons, leaving me grasping at air twice in a row just as i went to push open the door and it automatically opened. presumably this was an innocuous display of laziness on her part, or perhaps even a genial valentine's gesture, but it just left me feeling annoyed.

wednesday february 13

today i was walking down the sidewalk towards my bus stop when i saw someone in a wheelchair in the middle of the walkway, unmoving. i passed by them and stood in the bus shelter, but began to wonder if i should've paid closer attention to the person in the wheelchair; what if, for instance, he'd gotten stuck in the snow and was unable to move any further without assistance? at the height of my guilt, i noticed movement next to me, outside the shelter, and saw him pass by, pushing the now-empty wheelchair along, leaving me utterly confused.

tuesday february 12

today i was sitting near the back of the bus when i saw a girl sitting in the back row suddenly kick the guy standing in front of her, with some force. when he only glanced at her briefly, and both pretended that it hadn't happened, i realized that it hadn't been a kick out of malice or recognition, but rather an inadvertent one that happened as a result of her attempting to shift position in her seat.

monday february 11

today i went to work and, at one point, had to put a stack of cardboard in one of those big outdoor bins that's protected with a padlock. the cold weather had so frozen this padlock that i had to pour hot water on it both to get it unlocked and to lock it back up.

sunday february 10

today i went outside entirely unaware that the wind was blowing at 40 km/h and it felt like -30 degrees out, and pretty much felt like crying after being out for four seconds.

saturday february 9

today i was awoke by a cat crawling on my face. it had to crawl on my face to get to the spot on my blanket it wanted to sit on, which happened to also be on my chest. once i saw that i wasn't going to be able to get back to sleep in this position, i attempted to roll the cat off to get up, but he stubbornly refused to move until i'd lifted the blanket up to be almost entirely perpendicular to the floor.

friday february 8

today i went to the mall, intending to shop for clothes and buy at least one or two items. upon starting this shopping, i quickly realized that, having not shopped for clothes by myself in years, i was far more helpless and ill-equipped to get by without a second opinion than i imagined. i cut the shopping short and bought nothing.

thursday february 7

today i woke up in the morning from a dream in which my dog jessie was dying. her fur had turned inexplicably white, like some sort of siberian husky dipped in white paint. this was the sign of death, in the dream. it was disturbing, and i was glad to discover, upon waking, that it was only a dream.

12 hours later, she passed away. not part of the dream.

wednesday february 6

today i experienced one of the more harrowing and treacherous drives of my life, which included one moment where i was the only car within sight of the 401, driving down an undefined 'middle lane' with my window open, leaning out to attempt to scrape ice from my windshield while i drove.

tuesday february 5

today i witnessed my english professor attempting to play a video for our class and failing because he didn't have the proper divx codecs. these are the problems you don't expect to see in british lit classes.

monday february 4

today i found out that my dog has cancer and will likely die within the next few months.

sunday february 3

today i awoke at approximately 5:15 am from a particularly odd dream. i was fairly awake at this point, having napped the previous afternoon and then still having gone to bed at a reasonable hour, and considered getting up to jot down the dream for this very blog. i went over the pros and cons quickly, and eventually decided that i'd probably written a few too entries about my dreams lately, an easy fallback because i have bizarre ones every night. and besides, if i had to use this fallback, i'd probably remember it when i woke up in the morning anyway, since it was such a unique dream. as it turns out, i needed to fall back on it and have, of course, forgotten it. i think it involved a skunk spraying someone with a spray can rather than using his natural gift for it, which i thought was pretty funny.

saturday february 2

today i really needed to use the bathroom before i went to sleep. i was too slow to claim my place in line though, and ended up third behind two girls. knowing that i'd have to wait a few minutes, i lay down on the couch for a second, not anticipating falling asleep with such a pressing urge in my bladder. three and a half hours later i woke up with that urge still pressing and the bathroom line having cleared out, presumably having done so much, much earlier.

friday february 1

today i left my house at 9:50 am and arrived home at approximately 3:00 pm. the five-hour excursion involved a haircut that took about a half-hour, and a meeting a chrw that wrapped up in 10-15 minutes. the rest of the 4+ hours were spent either on the bus or waiting for a bus to come. london transit!

thursday january 31

today i dreamed that i was partially responsible for the recording of the classic bob dylan album, highway 61 revisited, and also that i was selected 9th overall in the most recent major league baseball draft, despite not having played in an organized league since i was in middle school. the whole experience made me feel pretty good about myself.