my little corner...

Switch Linux - you've seen the Apple ads, now enjoy the linux alternative (you probably need to be a computer geek to find this amusing).

Another long spell with no blogging. Kerry is really putting me to shame. This week sees me finally start to feel settled here. I'm putting away odds and ends now, not big stuff. The cupboards are looking half-stocked. I've done several loads of laundry and cleaned the toilet. Yay.

Noteworthy items:

• Last Saturday Kerry and I went on an outing with Genesis, the young adult group from Faith Tabernacle. We had a sleigh ride out to a cabin on a farm, followed by games and hot chocolate. Then we went back to the church and played blitz and four on the couch. A full, fun day.
• Kerry came with me to see Star Trek Nemesis last week. Enjoyable, but I can certainly see the point of those who might critisize it. We also watched an old Robin Williams movie together on Friday night: Awakenings. It was very different and enjoyable.
• Watched the SuperBowl after church on Sunday. The staff at Faith Tabernacle set up a video projector upstairs in their little balcony area and we saw the game on the "big screen". What's with those American's insistence on referring to the SuperBowl as the world championship?! I wasn't aware of any non-US teams eligible to compete...
• Yesterday I took the day to go in to school with Kerry. I didn't do a whole lot of actual research work, but it felt good to be out of the house for a day. I investigated the library, and I found out what services I have available to me as a visiting student from Memorial.

I'm sure there were other significant events in the last week, but they escape me now. Another brief update to the wishlist today.

Posted by Christopher at 11:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Just quickly updated the wishlist today to reflect a few new wants and a few items received over the holidays. We now return you to your regular programming...

Posted by Christopher at 06:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I haven't posted much in the last week and I'll leave it up to you to decide if my life here is boring or busy. All I know is that Kerry is putting me to shame. Her blog is much more interesting than mine lately.

More trivia: I have finally got the auto insurance straightened out, now it's on to more mundane things like AES and APEGN membership renewals, Columbia house CD orders, and allergy medication for the spring.

I am getting down to schoolwork, just slowly. Last week felt like a very worthwhile investment in terms of getting to know people in the local production industry.

Posted by Christopher at 02:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Every year around this time Tour Tech East has a trade show and party. It's partially a schmooze-fest, and partially and AIDS fundraiser, and local techs volunteer for the setup at the Tour Tech studios. That works out great for me, since I get to volunteer and meet many of the local production folks. I also spent most of Monday at the Christie Lites shop chatting with Alfred and brushing up on the GrandMA Lite. Along more mundane lines, I'm also finalizing my auto insurance, cancelling my Newfoundland driver's license, plates, and doing a little housecleaning.

In other news, I finally posted the blog entries for Dec 21-24, that I wrote on my laptop over Christmas:

Posted by Christopher at 01:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

September 11 Redux by the Guerilla News Network. "Either we will learn to bury the animosities of our ethnocentric, militant traditions ... or we will sustain this cycle of violence and revenge until humanity is returned to the status of primitivity." (hi-res quicktime movie, lo-res version available)

Posted by Christopher at 03:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I think the person or family living above me in 202E is obsessive-compulsive. I'm sure I've heard the vacuum 4 out of the 6 days that I've been here. I don't even have a vacuum yet, for crying out loud.

Just for kicks I thought I'd write a little about my new home. The initial disappointment is wearing off (it was mostly related to the lumpy mattress I bought second-hand from the super anyway). The place really is kindof nice, in an economy class sort of way. I'm already appreciating the dishwasher, even if it is a basic model. The walls will be sparse for a while until Kerry helps me put up some of my posters and maps. When I earn some money I may even indulge in a bookself. Being on the ground floor has disadvantages, such as having to keep the patio curtain closed most of the time, but I won't have to worry about neighbors below me complaining when I finally get my bass amp and stereo back from Kerry's place.

Posted by Christopher at 01:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Guess when this was written:

The virus, which generally arrives as an email attachment, can infect any PC running Microsoft's Windows operating system. Moreover, computers that haven't been updated in the last two years with the patch for an old Windows problem could be infected automatically, without the user doing anything but viewing the email message. Computers running the Macintosh operating system and Linux are not affected.

In other news, this morning I had my car inspected, so now my trusty Honda Civic is fully Nova Scotian, new plates, registration and all.

Posted by Christopher at 10:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Enron-Cheney-Taliban Connection - I always like to see alternate viewpoints. Not like I needed much more reason to dislike the current US Administration.

Posted by Christopher at 03:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Thanks to Pastor Dean and Kelly for putting us up for the night on our way here. The last week or two have been predictably interesting. Pastor Gary had a few nice sentences to say when I was given the usual parting gift from Bethesda. Thanks as well to Jon Anderson and everybody who signed the card that he gave me on New Year's Eve. I'll miss you all.

Kerry and I left St. John's on New Year's Day and drove to Norris Arm South. The highway was snow-covered for at least the first half, so average speeds were around 70 km/h. Leaving Norris Arm is always sad for Kerry's grandparents. We considered getting up early on Thursday the 2nd and trying to catch a half day of skiing at Marble but I decided that it would be too tiring. We stopped in Springdale and visiting my grandmother, which was really nice. When we arrived in Corner Brook, Kerry and I passed the evening with dinner at Jungle Jim's and a movie (Two Weeks Notice was entertaining at the time, but in hindsight it's fairly fluffy).

Getting up early on the morning of the 3rd we tried our best not to wake up the four girls (sorry Dean and Kelly!). The ferry ride wasn't too bad, but I did get a little motion sick, and my travel medicine was buried in my car. We arrived in North Sydney earlier than I expected though, and the roads to Halifax were in good condition, so we made great time. We arrived at 9:30 PM and I went straight to my apartment. The landlords told us there was a snow storm in the forecast, so Kerry helped me unload the car right away. Saturday turned out to be not too bad, but I was still glad to have it done.

We got groceries on Friday night, and went to Wal-Mart on Saturday afternoon. We had a nice visit with Mark, Pauline, Glen and their parents Saturday evening. Sunday morning we went to the City Church. It was ok, but we still have a lot of church shopping to do (kinda sounds bad when I put it that way, doesn't it?). Sunday evening Kerry and I watched the World Junior Hockey championship on TV here at my place.

Kerry worked on her take-home exam for the last three days, which usually meant I was up late to take her home. Consequently, I haven't yet gotten into the morning routine that I'd like to start, but at least I'm staying rested. The apartment is starting to get sorted, slowly. I have to take care of my car registration, permit, and insurance soon.

I think that's all for now. Friends, family, feel free to call from whenever you like. To recap, my new address is: 2E Veronica Dr, Apt 102, Halifax, B3N 3A3, (902)444-2647. I'll get around to updating some of the other pages on the site soon (the resume should be first, I imagine).

Posted by Christopher at 03:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It's not much, but it's mine. I've arrived in Halifax and now I have to start trying to make this place into a home. The one bedroom apartment is spacious with lots of storage and a dishwasher, but it's very plain looking right now.

I have some blog entries on my laptop and I'll probably want to write a little about the trip. For now, though, I'll just mentioned my new phone number for friends and family that are listening: (902)444-2647

Posted by Christopher at 10:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)