I had a dream.....

Not as famous or poignant as Martin Luther King's dream but a dream nonetheless.

Last night I dreamt that we had paid off so much of our mortgage that we were down to owing just $14,200. In my dream Vince & I were discussing what to do with all of our extra money once the mortgage was completely paid off.

Then I woke up and realized that, in fact, we still owe many hundreds of thousands of dollars on our mortgage and we are a couple of decades away from my dream becoming a reality... sigh!

Oh well, that's why we have dreams I suppose. To have something to look forward to.

Update on Yesterday's Post

I thought it strange that the local theater hadn't brought in the movie "Traitor". Maybe it was an oversight? Maybe they didn't think it would do well? Who knows? But given its success the first week out I thought they might bring it in for the second week of its release.

Well they didn't! Not only did they not bring in a potentially big money-maker, they actually brought BACK (yes, it left and is now back) "You Don't Mess With The Zohan" for a few showings. That film has been out for 3 months and has been trashed by critics and audiences. Why oh why oh why would they bring it back.... especially when there are way better movies out there that people would be happy to pay to see?????? I'll even pay for the overpriced popcorn and Diet Coke and Milk Duds (which, for the price they charge, should come in an actual gold box instead of a dark yellow cardboard one) if that'll help my cause.

I guess I'll have to wait for "Traitor" to come out on DVD. I have no problem giving my money to Blockbuster instead. And at the private showing in my living room I'll be able to pause for potty breaks and watch special features after the movie. Oh yeah, and my popcorn/beverage/candy prices will be determined by Safeway, not the movie theater. I'm fairly certain I'll come out on top :)

Movies in Lethbridge

I get that one of the things I had to give up when I moved to Lethbridge from Calgary is the convenience of seeing any currently playing movie I wanted, no matter how obscure, because someone in Calgary is going to be playing it. There have been a few movies I wanted to see that never came to the big screen in Lethbridge (ie. September Dawn) but as they weren't expected to be blockbusters I can understand not bringing them to Lethbridge.

However, the latest Don Cheadle film "Traitor" looks awesome and debuted at number 5 on its opening weekend. It has received good reviews from both critics and movie-goers. So why isn't it being shown in Lethbridge?

The first-run theater in town has 10 screens and is currently playing, among others, Mamma Mia (been out 7 weeks), Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants (4 weeks), and Pineapple Express (4 weeks). I can understand hanging on to Dark Knight (also 7 weeks) as it is consistently bringing in the money but the other 3 were ranked 8, 19, and 9 respectively in last week's earnings. All were surpassed by Traitor.

So please, if anyone has any pull with the decision makers at the Park Place theaters in Lethbridge, get them to bring in Traitor. I really really really want to see it :)

People that work in almost every office I've ever been in....

The loud talker/laugher - usually a woman. Talks loud enough in an open office area that people 10 cubicles over have to hold their hand over their other ear when talking on the phone just to be able to hear their own conversation. She also is usually the one you can hear from the other side of the building when she is laughing.

The quiet talker - also usually a woman. Usually size 2 or less and seldom wears make up. These women are very polite and friendly but will seldom initiate a conversation.

The sleazy politician - always a man. He walks the line on appropriateness of conversation... never bad enough to get fired but his HR file probably has a pile of complaints about him. He's outgoing and good at schmoozing customers but most people in the office see through his charm.

The crazy cat/dog/kid/grandchild lady - this woman has so many pictures of her cat/dog/kid/grandchild on her walls that you can't see what colour the paint is behind them. When a new employee is introduced to her she makes a point of introducing them to her cat/dog/kid/grandchild via the pictures on the wall. There is a lot of employee turnover in this lady's department.

The international guy - this person (or group) speaks English as a second language. Usually, but not always, their education was taken in their homeland where they also learned English. Their technical skills are excellent but their communication skills are lacking. They speak their mother tongue at home and although they will socialize with the English speakers at work, they don't say much as they aren't comfortable enough with the language.

The party planner - this is always a woman. The unofficial social co-ordinator of the group. She will organize all team lunches, signing of cards, and flowers purchasing for condolences for the loss of a loved one. This is never in the job description but someone will take on the responsibility anyways.

The technical guy - almost always a man. Even if everyone is doing the same job and has the same qualifications there will be one stand-out geek, Mr 4.0 GPA, that everyone goes to if they are having technical/programming issues. In all of my IT jobs there has been this guy but I'm not sure if this happens in other industries/jobs too.

Some less common office folks that are sometimes seen.....

The joker - should have been a stand up comedian
The suck-up - so obvious even the boss makes fun of him
The princess - keeps a mirror and full make-up kit at her desk
The coffee drinker - drinks 3 pots a day without anyone's help
The new kid - fresh out of university and just thankful to have a job

Did I miss anyone?

Too funny/bizarre/creepy not to share

http://www.frakincool.com/pictures/ginos-love-spray-tan/

Enjoy :)

Lunch anyone?

No one told me when I started working at the U of L that the entire Students Union food court (where I get my lunch every day) would be shut down for the last 2 weeks of August. There aren't that many places to buy food there anyways (a Subway, a taco place, a smoothie & pita place, and a chinese place with various deep fried offerings) but at least I had choices!

So for this week and next I either have to hike to the fitness center and join the line up (of all staff members who regularly eat elsewhere) at the Tim Horton's or I have to hike even further to my car and drive somewhere to get lunch. Of course there is the secret third option of bringing my lunch to work but, for a bunch of reasons I won't get into here, that's not a good option for me.

Ok, so I know this is a fairly small issue and one probably not worth ranting about (especially since everything will be back to normal on September 1st) but I had to come up with something to blog about. It was either this or Facebook profile pics and what I think they say about a person.

NBC vs CBC Medal Count

This is how NBC ranks the countries competing in the olympics with regards to their medal count.... (see their actual list here)

1. Ordered by total number of medals
2. If there is a tie in the total then the tie breaker goes to the country with the most golds
3. If there is still a tie then the tie breaker goes to the country with the most silvers
4. As you would expect, then it is the number of bronzes
5. If there is still a tie after that then they rank them in alphabetical order

I'm cool with that system. It's simple, it makes sense, and at the end of the day, I think the total medal count means more than which medals they are (ie. a country with 10 silvers should rank higher than a country with just one gold).

This is how CBC ranks the countries competing in the Olympics with regards to their medal count.... (see their actual list here)

1. Ordered by the country with the most golds
2. If there is a tie then the the tie breaker goes to the country with the highest total number of medals
3. steps 3-5 are the same as above.

I find this to be a very confusing system. It means, as of the time of writing, that Thailand with 1 gold medal total is ranked #27 of the countries and that Hungary, with 4 silvers and 1 bronze, is ranked #47. This seems so wrong to me.

The irony is that Canada, at least in the 2008 summer Olympics, is not a real gold medal nation. Our athletes have reached the podium a respectable number of times but seldom is Oh Canada played while they are standing there.

So, as of 1:36pm MDT, on Canada's own CBC website, Canada is currently ranked as the 17th country due to only 2 gold medals. However, our neighbours to the south have ranked Canada as 13th due to our total haul of 13 medals. I'm all for humility but CBC is taking TOO humble of an approach with respect to our Canadian athletes. I say change the ranking system to reflect what the US does and go by total number of medals. WE'RE NUMBER 13! WE'RE NUMBER 13!!!!! YAY!!!!!!

Of course I reserve the right to retract this post and change my allegiance to the CBC system if Canada gets a flurry of gold medals which ranks us higher with that system. ;)