Wow, Trista and Ryan (from The Bachelorette) made their first appearance in Canada in the Be My Valentine Show this weekend. I kinda wanted to go :P except nobody can go with me, and it's on the weekend (don't want to commute really)

GOD, I'm SO SICK by this Mike Rowe now -> the book is at $24,100 US now on eBay (starting $500 bid) with 6 days left. I guess it'll go over $50,000 at the end. The thing is, I don't admire the act anymore, not because I'm jealous, but because I think he took it too far, after all the support from the public. You can post your opinion on his forum here

How do you count the hours you've worked in the day? I used fingers (only for counting hours though), you?
(but I'm not the only one, Vivian uses fingers too. Funny though, Scottie asked me "Are you in CS?" when he saw me counting hours by fingers)
It turns out Scottie uses fingers to count hours too @_@ Anybody else?

Finally bought the 2-can-dine McDonald deal (Big Mac + 6-pc McNuggets, btw, I don't feel the "change").

Oh, did I mention that the Greyhound agent store got robbed last night? I saw it this morning, they came in through the roof, smashed the security system.
And I felt that Canada is safe? I am getting worried ...

Mike Rowe is selling his MS document, starting at $500 US bid. What is he gonna do with the money? Take it himself, he doesn't have enough? I wish that he'll give the money to charity

Ha ha, work is just getting funnier, thanks to Vivian (hope she doesn't see this though). Today's newest story:
Newest added fear brought by the digital camera
She's afraid of strangers running away with the digital camera, so she picks types of persons that couldn't run away fast (i.e. elder, person with children, etc.). Isn't that just funny? That thought has never crossed my mind, even if I'm not sure I'm able to chase the "thief" if that happens. However, from now on, I'll keep that in mind and be picky about the person I ask to take picture for me (i.e make sure I can outrun him/her)

Don't miss out American Idol, from Monday to Wednesday, next week, as 2nd round begins (32 out of 117 contestants will survive)
and preview is interesting -> this one girl, quote "then the rumor must be true, you must be gay" to Simon!!!!! Ooh hoo hoo..
Today's Take: "I desperately need a girlfriend, and this is a way to do it"

Traffic wasn't that bad today, because not much traffic (i.e. lots of people didn't go to work). 5:30 returning trip arrives at 7:15, and went to buy Subway for my food supply (3 foot-long ones for $15.99, so I picked the 6.99 ones, ha ha)

Oh my god, American Idol heads to San Francisco, it was BAD. They had this Chinese UC Berkeley Civicl Enginner, William, about 160cm tall, singing "She bangs She bangs...", it was so horrible that it made me laugh so hard. Anyway, they're going to Hawaii tomorrow, preview shows one person dressing in bear cloth. Ha ha

As usual, our 5:00 bus is stuck in highway, so new bus + new driver substituted and left around 5:20. Arrived at Cambridge at 8, but at least I planned better this time, spent 1 hour reading BusinessWeek, then fell asleep the rest of the way, not bad ^^.
Toronto WatPubs is organizing a Bowling Night, what is with bowling? Maggie has it, now Toronto plans one, I am not interested at all, Sigh...

10-8 had its season finale last night, it was average and not particularly "finale-alike". But that means one less show to watch now, good or bad?
So the MikeRoweSoft has finally come to an end. The kid for sure gets some $$, free XBOX+MSDN+trip to Seattle. I am jealous and wish I have a different name? hee hee

Bad news, it looks like there's gonna be 25cm of snow over the next 3 days, starting to get bad tonight. How cheerful for my commuting?

Happy Birthday to my co-op colleague, Vivian!! surprised her with a black forest cake (however, she'll get another black forest from her parents tonight :p)

I was shocked, when I saw the line-up at bus terminal for Kitchener/Cambridge bus. I counted, I am quite sure there's at least 100 people in total. The 5:00 bus was late and we left around 5:25, the 5:30 bus left soon after us (both buses FULL), arriving at Cambridge about 5 mins after us. This is insane, how do we get so many people to come to "boring" Kitchener, even if it's Friday???

Just learned that Jake 2.0 is cancelled, and Enterprise "may" get cancelled too. However, Andromeda heads into Season 5, how does this work?
by the way, Mama Mia or not, that is the question

Friday Friday, planning to go back to Mississauga this weekend, at least feels more like New Year back there.
No new ER/Friends last night, which is okay since it gives me 1.5 hr spare time, but I was watching Basketball anyway.

I pity those who don't have internet at home, I have "2" for now, all I have to do is switch username/password in my router, then I am either with Sympatico or MyCyberNet.

Guess what? I am back on Bell Sympatico, because I get 3 months free (charges still after May 11) b/c I bought the $40 M$ wireless router at Future Shop. What a bargain! free internet until next school midterm~ Not sure what to do with the original MyCyberNet ISP though (3-month special ends on March 12)

Sigh, my Accord indicator lamp light went off this morning, meaning I have to visit Honda again, for the same problem in December (engine emission control), this sucks! Can't they FIX the problem?

It's snowing again... starting to hate winter more and more.

Do you know how many continents we have on Earth? 5,6,7?

Ha ha, the following is referring to American Idol 3
9. When the judges laugh at you - they are laughing at you, not with you.
10. No matter how badly you want to be on the show, if the judges give you the ax, lose with dignity. Begging, even in the kneeling position, just doesn't work.

Just noticed this news, for AGO (Art Gallery of Ontario), WOW
Police are investigating tips from several art world sources about people who have expressed interest in five sculptures worth $1.5- million that
were stolen from the Art Gallery of Ontario.

Bad weather on the way back, got home at 8 at last. Highway 8 was BAD... I saw 4 cars in the ditches between both sides of highways, gotta be careful in snowy weather. Didn't bother with American Idol, did catch Enterprise (last half) though, it's okay.

Anyway, HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR! even though we get nothing, no red envelope, no 6-day vacation, nothing, still wish everybody happiness!

Noticed interesting things on the bus today
How to say thank you on large vehicles? On Greyhound, you use temporary warning light (the red triangle button, don't know what it's called)
On tractor-trailer, apparently they use 3-short-burst brake lights to thank the vehicles behind them. I find them clever and amazed at Canadian's politeness :) (Not for young drivers though, I so want to teach them proper manner)
However, it is awfully dangerous, when the driver was one-hand-driving while talking on the phone, couple hard brakes!!

Another interesting thing is, Greyhound's driver seat "floats" as the bus drives over bumpy roads. It's so funny that I just see the driver bumping up and downs with the roads. Is it possible for him to "bump out" of the seat, given a LARGE hole on the road?

New development: Mikerosoft.ca magnifies Microsoft's PR nightmare

Guess what, it turns out American Idol is 3-part series, so it's part 2 tonight at 8, part 3 tomorrow. Let's try not to miss one then!

I cannot believe how some people are so "brave" that, believing that they have "talent", and totally embarass themselves on national tv. Worst thing is, they blame the judges for not recognizing their talents instead of considering the "facts" or their "tunes", if they even exist.

Slept in and woke up at 6:30 today instead of 5:30, caught the 7:15 bus and arrived at my desk at 9 am.
Let's see what's new.
1. I forgot about American Idol last night, tsk tsk... apparently people loved it
2. The $20 million winning ticket was purchased in Belleville, taken by 28 old college student. So much for hope in Belleville, eh
3. By the way, more on the Microsoft vs. MikeRoweSoft case -> MikeRoweSoft to fight back against software giant
Microsoft is gonna get busy, b/c all possible MikeRoweSoft.??? domains are all gone, mikerowesoft.tv is on sale at eBay

I really don't understand what people are thinking or watching "Average Joe: Hawaii", "My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiancé", "The Bachelorette","Survivor: All Stars"...
Do people actually enjoy watching those embarrasing people show? or did they produce them because they bring in money
Tonight I was watching Couple Fear Factor with lots of gross stuff (maggot+rotten fish+pig stomach blended juice for an example), then there's NBA ball game.
partially saw Average Joe during the commercials. I cannot stand watch those "average" people (worse than average in my opinion), then at the end there's a surprise -> 8 new handsome, strong-body guys came in to add new competition. Man, those average Joes don't stand a chance, and previews show the 2 groups against each other in next episode. The girl wasn't even pretty w/o make-up, I wonder how she became a beauty peagant.
Do they just love to humuliate people on tv, in front of the public? I am certain they are getting paid good for doing the show

My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiancé
- Playing a practical joke, a young woman introduces her boorish fiance to horrified family and friends, then unveils equally shocking wedding plans; host Claudia DiFolco.
Average Joe: Hawaii
- The Joes compete for a parasailing adventure date with Larissa; eight new competitors enter the contest.

Note To Myself: I should stop watching them at all, even on commercials (I did stop watching Survivor, Bachelorette, etc.)

New week begins, another week of commuting. Weekend was relaxing, cooked and watched tv, enjoyed some spare freedom at last
New stuff to learn at work (Oracle optimization), which should be interesting. Got home at 7 pm instead of at Cambridge, yeah! more spare time for me to enjoy
Wow: I believed I saw a Acura TL or TSX Toronto Police car at City Hall!! Japanese police car??

Too lazy to do the Thursday entry, so I'll combine them. IT IS FRIDAY, yeah!! I can wake up whenever I want tomorrow, that feels amazing.
Still pissed about the $20 deposit lost to UW Parking b/c I couldn't return it in time, why couldn't they tell me that I could leave the permit with UW Police and get it over with. Instead, they said I should mail them or ask someone to drop it off for me, and snow messes up everything.

Thursday's 5:00 bus arrived Cambridge at 7:00pm (Wednesday 5:00~8:00), the traffic just doesn't like me, does it? I so hope tonight it'll be better, still want to get a hair cut somewhere.
Last night's Friends was okay, but I loved the ER episode 'NICU' (or Abby). In addition, Raptors won a hard-faught game in OT 78-74 w/o Vince Carter

Now I admire the people in States, they don't have to face the weather condition as much as we do.
Today I left earlier and took the 5:00 bus, don't know I should be glad or not, b/c the bus arrived at Cambridge at 8:00 pm (3 hr drive, we're still on 407 around 7:30). Never realized Toronto is so "BIG" that we need 2.5 hrs to drive across it (1 hr on QEW, 1 hr on 427 & 401, 0.5 hr on 407)
Sigh, just kept sleeping on the bus (what else can I do?) So hungry right now and feel my time being ripped-off by the snow

However, there's one beautiful thing about snow. Walking while snow falls from the sky feels like walking in heaven, so poetic and beautiful
And FCP is almost invisible because it's white, compared to other dark-color buildings in downtown.

Wow: In 30 seconds, FCP elevator can take me to 29F, Taiwan home elevator -> 8F, Waterlo home -> 5F

I'm lazy, so I just copied the e-mail content to Maggie here, in case I forgot to mention what I wanted to mention

Busy selling and buying stuff on newsgroup (just sold my 341 last night), gonna pick up RAMS and Video Cards
(256 DDR RAMs for $30!!!! ), someone even wanted to buy my used ECON102 notes for $8 @_@

Tomorrow will be cold, once again, given that I wake up early enough, I can try out the new jacket (need to spray it before I wear it)

Sigh, the 6:30 bus arrived near 8:30 today b/c 407 had an accident. So the driver took Mavis thru Brampton onto 401, near Maggie's home

WOW: Wal-Mart has self-serve check-out machines like Zehr's. So cool!

Saturday is cold as Friday, but I've accomplished many things in those 2 cold days. Shopped for leather jacket, leather gloves, business shoes in Mississauga for total less than $300, which is not too bad. Got home around 2 am. It's so warm with leather gloves when holding the wheel ^^

COLD COLD COLD COLD COLD

Today is freaking freaking COLD!!!!!!!!!!!!

The worst part = I left early at 3pm, stood in the freezing wind for 20 mins waiting for 3:00 bus. It came and picked up nobody because it's full to the last seat. So stood another 20 min to catch the 3:30 bus (3 came, 1 per Guelph/Kitchener/Cambridge). Where in the hell did those people come from?

So I ended up in Cambridge at 5pm, hence couldn't at school to return my parking permit/sell my books. But guess what? Many people finally sent e-mails inquiring the 341/370 books, yeah!! AND I started shopping at Cambridge Mall until 6:10, it's quite large. First Old Navy, Joggers, The Shoe Company, Wal-Mart, Future Shop, and finally Winners at Conestoga Mall -> I'm very proud of myself, though I'm crazy to shop on this coldest day.
Going back to Mississauga tomorrow, continues the shopping for gloves/leather jackets/shoes

Wow: Wal-Mart has $5 shirts, of course I took the risks
Yeah: I have ER to watch, thanks to BT

Decided to take the 6:30 bus, and I'm in office at 8 am, not too bad as I'm getting the hang of it in attempt to wake up later than 5
Wow, look at this NEW Apple iPod Mini. I want to get one too, it looks so cute~

My manager is reviewing my package code tomorrow with me, so nervous.

Surprise Surprise, I took the 6:15 bus and arrived downtown at 7:25. Typing this in the office now, trying to find something to read and finish HR documents. This is not as bad as I expected, does it mean I can wake up later than 5? @@ The return bus took around 1 hr 10 min as well, they're certainly fast now. Not sure I should adjust to match their unstable durations.
Anyway, today is very cold, really felt like Winter when I drove, hands freezing and car engine roughing.
At work, nothing much new, started work on the 2nd day (hence we're senior co-ops instead of rookies), learning PL/SQL and writing my first Oracle package. Interesting thing is, downtown is really small, we (co-ops) met another co-op groups in FCP (Kenneth and other Chinese familiar faces), wonder who else we may see

Annoy: My work keyboard doesn't have Windows key, so inconvenient and they won't allow me to switch with other "spare" computers
Cool: my Nokia 8260 has Chinese language/menus!! What a bonus, consider that it's an old Rogers AT&T phone

So, today has been very interesting indeed, be patient and hear my summaries
Painfully woke up at 5 am, drove down to Cambridge to catch the 6:10 bus, guess what, it's 90% full (same as my return bus, so there are many crazy people out there). Must be the first snowy day of real winter, because when I arrived at Royal York, it's 8:48 already, almost late for the work (got confused in the FCP elevators too).
2 other first-term co-ops (Markham, Mississauga) both commuted on GO Trains, saying I'm crazy ^_^ btw, they're same year as me, except they did an extra study so they've just finished 4A terms.
Slowly the first day ends, I hope I'll get used to such schedules soon because it's really not that normal. Walked thru downton in the night, it's quite pretty.
Reached bus terminal and noticed a Greyhound bus with "Yellow"-hound on the sides, that's funny since that one should be called "Yellowhound" bus
Again, the bus was completely full and I felt asleep very soon after driving onto 427, woke up and got home at 7:30 pm (left Toronto at 6 pm), faster than I expected.

Wonder: do people really sleep on the streets? Aren't they cold? Because I just see them every time I walk past the city hall
Annoy: Commuting changes personalities? Because on the buses, there are many people who sits on the isle and put their "tiny" bags on the window seat so others can't sit beside them. I thought Canadian people are kind and nice, or is it because commuting drives people crazy and become disrespectful?

Crossed the New Year's Eve with staring at the computer, how sad. Went to Mississauga to "social" and get free dinner, ha. Drove back crusing all the way at 120~125 (first time ever) and still managed to reach here about 40 minutes -> this is intended to develop my patience and not pissed at other fast cars ^^
Safe flights to those who are flying away, you sure don't look like terriosts. Maggie sings? that's hard to imagine~