And Another Year Rolls By.....

So I would like to start by wishing a Happy New Year to all of my friends out there. I have made quite a few new friends this year and reestablished friendships with old ones and for this I am grateful.

This year has been bittersweet. The early part of the year wasn't very exciting but I went on a great trip in May '04. It was my first cruise experience and I loved every moment. Great food, great friends, great sites ....so much so that I am going on a second cruise in May '05. WOOT! This great trip was unfortunately followed by my heart being broken. Summer was great....I didn't get a chance to do as much mountain biking as I would have liked but I substituted it with a new sport....Beach Volleyball! Lots of fun and a great workout. Plus I get to work on my tan while playing...Sigh...I'm too white. Another great event this summer was the purchase of my first home, a condo to be exact. I will soon be living on the 19th floor of a great building with the best gym I have ever seen. The best part of it is that my two best friends are going to be my neighbours. WOOT! I will finally move out of my parent's home and I have finally spent money on something that will actually appreciate in value WOOT AGAIN! The holidays were a fun time but ended with the earthquake and subsequant tsunamis in Asia. My friend Tasha is living in Thailand right now and I have yet to hear from her. I can only hope that she and her mother are safe. I encourage those who can to donate something to the relief effort. This year has had its ups and downs.

This begs the question of what's in store for 2005.

Resolutions/Goals for 2005 in no particular order:

- Graduate
- Quit current sucky job and get a big person job
- Travel where possible
- Pay off some debt
- Take the time to enjoy my youth
- More Biking and Volleyball
- Go back to eating healthy again
- Begin going to the gym reguarly again
- Finish my CSC, Complete FSU 101,
- Have more success in the relationship department
- Read more books
- Continue doing well in karate
- Pay off some debt
- Most of all....Enjoy Life!

Happy New Year All!

Song of the Post:
"New Year's Day" by U2

Sitting Down and Reading a Good Book....

Okay, Okay, I'll take this opportunity to apologize in advance for the boring post to follow but I feel the need to be a nerd on this one so if you too are a nerd you can read on otherwise you might want to wait until my next post.

With being so busy with school and work, I haven't dad the opportunity to read anything for pleasure in a long time. I recently purchased a copy of the "Da Vinci Code" by Dan Brown because I wanted to see what the hype was about. Well....the hype is for real. This book was a real page turner and kept me entertained the entire way. I definitely reccomend it.

Having finished "Da Vinci Code", I have moved onto "The Unbearable Likeness of Being" by Milan Kundera. I've just started reading it today and so far its quite good as well. Kundera's novel is a lot more philisophical in comparison to Brown's and I like it. I didn't have the opportunity to take any philosophy courses this year so to read something like this novel is stimulating....yeah that's right stimulating...LOL.

On a totally different subject....All I have to say is that the Toronto Raptor's need to get a new commentator for their games because Chuck Swirsky is the worst commentator ever! Just look at him! I'll leave you with some quotes.


Chuck Sucks

"He's got an NBA body!"
"This game is so perfect....all I need is a little of his sweat to splash on me"
"I think the Raptor's should honour Vince Carter by retiring his jersey"
"Kaboom!"


Song of the Post: "Tired of You" by the Foo Fighters

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Well ok it's a little late but whatever....

So... Merry Christmas to all and a Happy New Year. This year went by extremely quickly for me. One difference this year worth noting is how much I enjoyed GIVING this year. My friends and family had set budgets for how much to spend on each other and I totally smashed through them. It felt good. I bought some things that they either really wanted or needed and it was all about seeing their happy faces. This unfortunately also happened to be a year where I didn't make much money at work for the Christmas season so I am BROKE! Oh well...C'est la vie!

I went to see the movie Alfie with a friend and to my surprise it was actually quite the "Guy" movie. I really thought it was a good movie filled with morals that can be applied to my own life. I definitely do not have Jude Law's looks and don't get as many women....Sigh.....but nonetheless I can relate. The film was filled with cryptic messages like "desire, wish, search", etc. all suggesting the protagonist's search for his lifelong companion. There is a line in the movie where Alfie says that nobody should be alone during the holidays and I have to agree. The holiday season is not a great time to be single. granted, I do have plenty of great friends to hang out with but its not the same as having that special someone to share the season with. I definitely reccomend watching "Alfie" ...it illustrates how eventually guys have to grow out of the "date as many women as possible" phase and settle down with the right person.

So that's all for now...

Song of the Post:
"Long December" by Counting Crows

I Love Christmas Break!

Alright...I have been waiting for very long for this time to come. I can finally take it easy and enjoy being stress free for a bit. I also love Christmas so everything is all good and I have begun by staying at home and playing video games in my pyjamas.

On another note, yesterday I had my karate exam and I am now a blue belt. This is an important step because this is where I feel I have to step it up a bit and really concentrate on the deeper side of my training. The guess you can say that this is where the real study of the art is going to begin.

I'm fairly sore from the karate test so I think I am once again getting old. I have sore knees and a sore lower back to which I usually attribute to my flat feet. Yesterday I was presently surprised that one of the black belts with the best form in the class was also completely flat footed. I always felt this to be a disadvantage but it seems that it really doesn't matter and in the opinion of one of my senseis, it actually gives us an advantage. Anyway, I guess what I'm trying to say is that it provides me with inspiration and drive to be as good as my sensei, even with my flat feet.

That's all for now...back to vegging out...

Song of the Post: "Pain" by Jimmy Eat World

Suffering From Fatigue!

Oh man...school is becoming quite the chore these days. I remember I could go on studying for hours on end and not feel tired at all. Not anymore! I had an exam today and although I felt I was well prepared I dont believe I did too well. After looking at previous years' exams I feel a little ripped off. The old exams were a breeze compared to the one I wrote today. I can only hope that the prof takes this into consideration. On the bright side....I no longer have to think about complex econometrics.

I now have only one more exam to go and its time to begin studying for that. This one I'm not too worried about since its my elective and i dont care what i get in it as long as i pass it. Its on natural disasters so the fact that the material is interesting is also a plus.

I also have a karate exam on the night of my last final so after being all tired from studying I have to go and do all this sparring and hopefully not get my ass wooped.

That's all for now, back to the grind.

Song of the Post: "Set me Free" By Velvet Revolver

What a Man Wants...

I went out for dinner with a friend and over some drinks we began to discuss what we want in life. He and I are in similar situations, we are about the same age, we aren't satisfied with our jobs and we both ended long-term relationships at the same time.

The conclusion that we both reached is that we would like a job that pays the bills, and by that I don't mean a job that pays six figures but something that allows us not to live from paycheque to paycheque, a family to share in our happiness, but most of all we want to fall in love with a woman who loves us as much as we love them. A woman who won't take us for granted and who is there for us in our times of need just as we would be there for them.

For me I think that finding the love of my life is the key to the puzzle. I, thankfully, already have a great family who love me very much and the job will hopefully come in time.

I had another conversation this week with some other friends and was troubled to hear what their outlook on finding a soulmate was. They believed that in order to achieve maximum happiness you will have to marry the woman who loves you and not neccessarily the woman whom you love the most. I can't grasp this concept and they were being totally serious. Maybe my outlook is somewhat fairytale-ish but is it that farfetched? I would think that the woman I marry is the love of my life just as I am hers but the question remains ....Is that realistic? I should hope so, otherwise all hope is lost. Could this be the reason behind the high rates of divorce? That people don't marry those whom they truly love but do it because of fear of not finding anyone else who loves them?

What about the question of how do you know when you have found the person you were looking for? I thought I had but now I'm back on my search ...the thing is I'm not getting younger and it could take awhile to find out that two people are just not meant to be together.

Well bottom line is that I'm not going to be pesimistic and my search for the love my life goes on.

....
Song of the Post: "When You Really Love Someone" by Alicia Keys