It's that time of the week

So on Tuesday this week I moved to my company's main office in the Chinook area. I feel so much better there. It is much nicer not to be in a single room office. When I need a break there are more places to go rather than just the bathroom. There are more people around too and it makes it feel like an actual business atmosphere.
This weekend Kris is on a retreat with her department (Spiritual Theology for anyone not in the know) in Montana. They get to meet Eugene Peterson. She was very excited about the trip. I expect she is on her way back home now.
So that meant I had to entertain myself this weekend. I managed to work my way into a "Guaranteed Fun Night" with some friends from Mentor, or at least a partial one. I had heard about these nights but never seemed to be invited to them while I was working there. It consisted of eating ice cream and watching videos of a trip to France, but it lived up to the name. I think it is the hilarious conversation that is so fun.
On saturday Corey and Dale (visiting from Chiliwack) came over and we played Civilization: The Boardgame for six hours. Games of this type and length usually aren't appreciated by our wives so it was a good opportunity to play. I am now hoping for some time over Christmas when we can have a long game with lots of people.

Guilt

Every time I post something new I feel guilty that I don't post often enough.
I've added some photos to the post below so check them out. Last weekend Kris and I were back in Duchess for some birthday parties and such. I even had a little time to help Corey, Damon and Dad build a catapult for launching pumpkins. It was able to launch, but not very far. You really need a lot of spring to do a large launch. Unfortunately no pictures, but if you are in Duchess, head to the Ramer farm on Saturday for the Pumpkin Festival and you can probably see it. yay!
And in the spirit of pictures, here is my beautiful wife.

Goings on

So a lot has been happening lately and I will attempt to give full details here. I know I promised pictures but our camera is currently missing so you will have to wait. So as I briefly mentioned earlier two weeks ago Kristin and I moved to a new apartment.
Before the move:It is in downtown Calgary in a newer condo building. We are on the 14th floor, though it is technically the 13th...but they won't number it that.
It has a nice kitchen and a second bedroom so people can stay at our place; though not yet because we need a second bed. The view is also tremendous (though it is a little smoggy in this pic).
We are quite happy here. We have our own washer and dryer, hooray!
It's pretty cool living in a high-rise apartment. I feel like I am in a big city like New York when I look out the window and can see other people in their apartments. I've decided to start naming people. Like the guy next door a floor down who paces back and forth when he smokes on his balconey. He is, of course, The Pacer.
Then, this past week I officially became an uncle. Kristin's sister Larissa and her husband Alex had a baby girl, Selah. She is very cute. Now I'm not totally sure what my new responsiblilities will be as an uncle but I believe it will involve giant pancakes and back-firing automobiles.
This time was surrounded with studying for my Professional Engineer exam which I wrote on Monday. It was an exam on engineering ethics and law that is a requirement for getting my Professional Engineer status. I was pretty stressed out for the whole studying time. The exam went all right, but now I have to wait 6-8 weeks for the results. I also have to make an extensive application and show that I have been doing engineering work for the past 3 years.
Also over the weekend my computer died. I am writing this on an old pentium 1 laptop. Soooo slow.

Happiness is a popular blog

So I have been happy to see that more people have been reading my blog. I know there's not much to it and I don't update enough but I really appreciate the feedback. Anyone should be able to post a comment anonymously so go to it! It's been a little crazy around here lately as we found a new place to live and moved that very weekend. I have a few pics from the move that I shall post. More soon....

Talking Books

I just finished reading State of Fear by Michael Crichton. I used to read his books when I was a teenager and for some reason I am currently interested in reading stuff that I used to read when I was younger. I'm not sure why, maybe it has something to do with being a quarter of a century old and trying to recover my "lost youth". Anyway, some of the book is the typical Crichton stuff where people go on crazy adventures and barely survive. I guess I used to enjoy that style, but now it just seems like pulp fiction. However, the rest of the book is a discussion of environmentalism and the effects of media hype. It is really interesting. He uses a lot of scientific studies to show that global warming may not be happening but it is hyped in the media to ensure people are kept in fear. It is basically talking about the culture of fear that exists in western society. It is quite thought-provoking.
I still think it is important to be environmentally conscious, but we need to take media reports with a grain of salt.

The cat came back, the very next week

Good news. Marigold came back. At 6:00 this morning she climbed through the window. Except for meowing a lot (which she does when she hasn't seen us in a while) she seemed absolutely fine. I have no idea where she was for the past 4 days. I often wish cats could talk. I assume she was strung out on catnip and now she finally got hungry enough to come home.

Renting

So our landlord sold our apartment and we have to move out. Looking for a new place to live is one of the most frustrating things. So many crappy places. On the plus side we can look for a place that doesn't have some of the drawbacks of our current place, i.e. ensuite Laundry, a room for guests to stay. At least we have until November to find it.

Stupendacular

My posting seems to wax and wane a lot. Most of the time when I think about looking at my blog I feel my creative juices dry up and I quickly do something else.
So this last weekend I went to Duchess by myself. Kristin went to Banff with her mom and her sisters so I went home to help with pumpkin picking and hang out with my family. I wish I had pumpkin pictures to post, but I failed there. This was the first time since I was married that I had been home without Kristin. It was kind of nice to spend the whole long weekend with just my family. Not that I don't enjoy Kristin's family because I really do, but it was nice all the same.
I got to play pool on Nate's new pool table and even got to stay at his house. It was very different to get a look at what living in Duchess as an adult is like. For me it was only growing up and coming back on weekends for "mini-vacations". Anyway there was some good times around the campfire and playing Sega and much family stuff. I quite enjoyed it.
Some sadder news, our cat Marigold has gone missing for over a day now. I think it is because I am a bad parent. If cat ownership is anything like being a parent then I would be a negligent father. I feel bad. Growing up on a farm I am used to cats disappearing all the time, but this is quite a bit different. It's bothering me more than I would have thought. Gotta keep optomistic though...

Recent Reflections

When I first started seriously writing in my blog I thought this could be a good way to let people know what I am up to. After about a month it appears that this is a good way to let Lindsay and Nate know what I am up to. Ah well.
So Steve and Jessica's wedding was very nice. I think outdoor weddings are the best, and the weather was perfect. Nate did a good summation of the event, so check his blog for details.
It is interesting the swing I've been on. A few weeks ago when I left Mentor I was incredibly blessed and felt like I was important to people and they actually liked having me around. Since then I have gone totally the opposite way and have felt disconnected and sad. Part of it is working in a new place where I don't know anyone and I can't really talk to people much. But the other part is the continual struggle I have in myself. The thing I dislike most about myself is that I often feel I can't talk to people. It's not that I don't want to talk, I just feel like I have a mental block and I don't know what to say. I have in me this desire to be well liked by people and want people to enjoy talking to me. But when it comes to actually talking I just don't know what to say. This usually comes off with other people thinking I am shy or snobby. The latter is the worst part because it makes it even more difficult to talk to people.
I know I keep a shell around myself and don't let people in. I have been trying to get past that and have had some success, but it is still a difficulty. And I don't know why it is there. I look around at other people and envy the closeness they have with friends. It is difficult for me to have that closeness even with family.
Well I'm not sure why I am saying all this on the internet. I guess I just need to get it out. Hey look it's Corey and Wendy! Bunz is showing his true feelings for weddings.


*Have you ever used blogger's spellcheck? Apparently Nate should be NATO and Jessica should be cheesecake. Done and done.

Wedding Question

It appears the August wedding season is upon us and I just have one question:
Where's the kilts? I was told there would be kilts. I am gravely disappointed.

*Not disappointed that I don't get to see men in kilts because that doesn't do anything for me but just that it seems like a unique wedding idea.

Failure of the Library

I am a great fan of Libraries. I love books and love places where I am surrounded by them. In bookstores I feel like I could never afford all those books so I can't enjoy it. But in libraries it's just books and I can take any one I want. However, I have had an experience to shake my faith. I was looking for the 4th book in the current series of books I am reading, "The Death Gate Cycle." However, in the entire Calgary Public Library system not a single copy of this book was available. I spent almost the entire weekend looking through used bookstores with no luck. Finally on Monday evening when I had almost totally despaired of any hope I found a copy at "Fair's Fair" used bookstore. It was the happiest day of my life.* Hopefully the library will not fail me again.

*May not have been the happiest day of my life.

Reflections

Marigold Spinoza is pretty cool. So yesterday was my last day at Mentor Engineering. I worked there for three years and I must say that I enjoyed it. I am actually pretty sad to go. I really like the people I work with. I have become friends with many of them and will miss being able to see them daily. One of my failings is that when it takes some effort to keep in touch with people I usually don't put in the effort and so I lose touch. I must try more.
I wonder many times whether I am doing the right thing in leaving Mentor and going to Headplay. I am excited about it and think it is a great opportunity, but what if I don't find the things there that I enjoy at Mentor? Like being able to wear flip-flops to work and really liking the people I work with. *sigh* Well if I didn't go I'd never find out. At least I am leaving on really good terms. I could probably even go back if things didn't work out at all.
Quitting my job was one of the most interesting episodes of my life (not interesting as in exciting but in analyzing emotions and seeing peoples reactions). It seems a bit immodest but I know I was pretty important at Mentor. I had 3.5 weeks to complete or transition all of the projects I was working on. In the end I couldn't get it all finished. I feel bad for my manager who has to take over much of what I was working on. I know he will get through it but it won't be a fun time.
The most interesting part was all the feedback I got from people. I was extremely blessed by all the comments and notes on goodbye cards. It was somewhat of a shock to realize that people think highly of me. I often don't know what to do with that as I usually just see my weaknesses. I also got the impression that people would genuinely miss me. Part of my self-image is that I often think people wouldn't notice if I wasn't there. It seemed pretty clear that I would be missed.
So I have the long weekend and then I start on Tuesday. I'm feeling pretty nervous about starting. I feel confident that I will do well, but I think it will be a tough few months learning new things and trying to contribute to a hard-working company.
Well this is a fairly long post. If you made it all the way through I congratulate you! Here is your reward. It follows the Ramer theme of pictures with cute kids.

Yikes

So I've been crazy busy lately trying to finish up at my current job, before starting my new one next week. The stress is building. My problem is that I just can't not care about the all my projects and making sure that the correct information is passed on properly.
Once things settle down a little I will do some updates including pictures and possibly some new sidebar items.

Movies Worth Watching

Kristin and I went to the new M. Night Shyamalan movie, Lady in the Water. I wasn't expecting too much. None of his later movies had been as good as The Sixth Sense (though Signs came close) so I didn't think this one would be. Well, we have a new winner. This was one of the best movies I have seen in a long time.
Now I'm not sure you will agree with me. As I was leaving thinking what a great movie it was, the people behind starting saying how it was the worst movie they had ever seen. I'm guessing that it is a movie you will either love or hate. I loved it, so I recommend you go see it.

Updates

Inspired by other Blogs I am adding a section on the current books I am reading. I will often be in the middle of one book and start reading other, depending on how interesting the book is.
Right now I am re-reading some books I enjoyed a lot as a teenager. I am mildly surprised that I still enjoy them, though I think for different reasons than before.

Competition!

This morning I woke up with a song in my head.

Com-fort to sleep, my baby-kin
My peaches and cream, my baby-kin
If you don't sleep, my baby-kin
I poke out for you, your eyes, like this!

10 points to the first person to guess where it's from.
If you're a brother of mine you are automatically disqualified. Unfair advantage.

A note about comments

So I had set up to moderate comments but then forgot to moderate them so peoples comments didn't come through. I apologize profusely. I have decided not to moderate. If I get weirdos with scary comments maybe I will again....
Thanks for the comments though! I feel fulfilled!

New Job

So I have officially accepted a new job with a company called Headplay. I'm not sure if I'm allowed to talk about what they do publicly like this so you'll have to talk to me to get the details. The job involves embedded software development, like I do now, but it will be on a different product. I start there on August 7th.
In the meantime I am going crazy trying to finish off everything I am currently working on. I'm gonna be fairly stressed out for the next few months...but hopefully it will be worth it.

Godzilla!

CBC has been playing old Japanese Godzilla movies. They are pretty funny. Some great lines like "Even if you are half human half robot, I still love you Katsuma!"

Canada Day!

Another tradition this past weekend. Canada in Rosemary, AB. Rosemary is a small village of about 360 people, but on Canada Day the population triples. It's always a good time. Also they put on a pretty amazing fireworks display. It seems they must spend their entire budget on the fireworks. If you want a good Canada Day, I recommend Rosemary.