New

There's been a lot of new things happening lately, I suppose that's just the evolution process in action, really. Just last week, I had a chance to show off some of my video editing skillz at work and it seems like even though I've been talking about my filmmaking degree, nothing really sinks in until they see some footage for a project we were working on all last week. Then it's like, wow, didn't know you could do that. Didn't know you had the talent. Anyway, not quite sure where any of this might go, but it's nice that I got some kudos for my project. It's one of these things that go under the radar for so long and then suddenly it seems like a brand new surprise.

Haven't spent a lot of time on the new PC, although I am using it right now to type this. Have been, in fact, spending most of my time playing with the iPod Touch, it is virtually a mobile Wifi device that continues to surprise and fascinate me. Usually I get something and there are degrees of excitement followed by a humble letdown, like the browser on the PSP, the game resolution on the DS, or the Nikon's level of difficulty. But the iPod Touch for the most part has delivered in its surprises and thrills. I've nothing but praise for this piece of metal and glass and a big fat brain. Interestingly, I've spend most of the time playing with the apps and discovering little things about it, and not really using it for its primary function much, which is to play music and podcasts. The week long project I was in didn't factor too much podcasting in, so I just had to play with it at home. But man, I'm just wowed by this gadget. I even took it out today, and while we were waiting for our food in the restaurant, I played Scrabble with my wife.

The PC has been doing pretty great, except I'm having a bit of trouble registering for my Windows 7, and so far I haven't had any real problems with it. I've gone a little open source with the Open Office and the Gimp, but other than that the PC hasn't had much installed in it. Welcome to the age of Google, I suppose. Everything can live in the cloud, and is likely safer up there.

Well, got dishes to tend to. Maybe more Spaced after this.

The Big Sigh

Well, the big week has come and gone, I've gone through the whole career mode of Rock Band Beatles, and now have to wait for the rest of the DLC to make my experience feel complete. The iPod touch is in the mail, or should I say, shipping from China, and should be here by next Wednesday or so. But somehow I'm still feeling a little jilted in a way.

The touch has been broken down by other websites and it seems to have been designed for a camera in mind, there's even a spot reserved for a camera. But for whatever reason they just left the damn thing out. But I got one before the blogs and websites started their chatter, and since there's no ETA on the camera equipped Touches, I just got one anyway.

My honeymoon with Apple got worse when my Mac Mini flipped me the proverbial bird and now is lagging like a mofo in molasses. It even failed to boot last night so I'm looking to the dark side today, shopping for PCs. The Mac mini has lasted me 3 plus years but the idea of putting a new hard drive into a machine that isn't even fast enough to run hulu or youtube seems ass backwards. So I'll have to check to see what's available for me.

The kids have accustomed themselves to school rather easily, and having them share their adventures and lessons from school makes me smile. They seem to be getting along just fine at school, and doesn't seem like being in the same class is a problem for them. They play separately if they want to, stick together if they need to.

Self-Eval, apparently.

Had a relatively short week since I took Monday off for Zoe's birthday, but it still felt like a long week regardless. Work was slow and there were a lot of moments whereby I thought about an alternative career, like garbage collection. At least they have the satisfaction of staying busy.

Was listening to Stephen Fry's podcast about language and how it doesn't really matter what form of language you communicate with and how good your grammar is (mine infamously isn't) but the idea is just to use whatever language you're capable and accustomed to and just express yourself in whatever form you choose, which inspired me since I often discount myself as a mediocre writer, and a barely capable screenwriter. Even my blog entries are passably entertaining, otherwise nobody would bother with it at all. I remember a neutral party describing the blog as "simple, but effective." I should maybe write brochures or pamphlets.

Am really trying to be a good boy and not spent every paycheck I get on games, and it sure is tempting to do so especially when you can shop from home. Even at the store, they had "Saints Row 2" on sale and with all the discounts it would've been about 17 bucks, but I had to resist. September will soon be upon us and I will surrender a chunk of charge to both Harmonix and Apple, with their Beatles Rock Band and the Abbey Road DLC, and of course the 3rd gen iPod Touch. With Camera. That's the rumor anyway. And though it may not offer eternal happiness, it should suffice in giving me the illusion of fulfillment at least for a while.

I should probably address this emerging anti-social behavior that I'm developing. I don't really know why, but I've started weighing social interaction vs. personal enrichment, especially at work. I've been ignoring co-workers in favor of podcasts and portable gaming because I find that I gather more information and entertainment from the latter, and though my co-workers aren't boring per se, they're just less rewarding than the podcasts or the games. I know, it sounds like absolute snobbery and stuck-up butt face behavior, but there's such a premium for free time that I'm willing to face the stigma of being a stick in the mud. I guess it's no secret that often I find socializing to be a tedious affair, mostly because I know that most people find me utterly dull and difficult to talk to. I can be entertaining but robotic and impersonal in my conversation, lacking the attention or apathy to be involved in other people's lives. And often anything that comes out of my mouth is either a joke, a story about someone else, or strangely open and revealing, like an oral blog with no filters. That scares people, from what I understand.

Alex just punched Zoe in the gut to see how tough she was. Guess who's on a time-out?

Hiatus

I know, it has been an obscenely long time since I've posted anything, and I think Facebook has spoiled me rotten. The short posts, the instant feedback, the audience... it becomes way more gratifying to stick a thought into Facebook than to compose drivel on the blog and have absolutely no dribble of interest from anyone. But I have remedied that little problem by tying my blog to my Facebook! Unabridged Nicky!

I'm coming to accept that Diego Mcnamara might as well be my second name, since there's virtually no anonminity to that name anyhow. And when my personal blog, my flickr account, my youtube account uses that name while my face and name is plastered all over, its moot to keep it any secret at all. Ignoring the advice of many tech journalists, my online life is pretty much an open book. I don't know, I don't think people really care enough about me to do anything about it. I guess I'm apathetic about my privacy like that.

Did a little bit or reorganizing to my desk area, and finally gutted out the area of junk that has been accumlating in the entertainment center that hasn't been very entertaining in a long time. It became junk central, just a storage dump where all my electronic crap went. A bookshelf now sits there and I still need to sort out the particulars in the contents, but otherwise it looks a load better.

I continue into my musical awakening not by learning an actual instrument or diving into music history, but by buying Singstar for the PS3. We have been captivated by ABBA's collection of 70s pop and boy, they have some of the funnest songs to sing, even if I'm not completely sure what I'm singing about. My singing voice is a cross between a nasal croak and a 60 year old smoker with retracted genitals, but at least my pitch is pretty good. Good enough to fool the game that I can carry a tune! I see it as good practice for Beatles Rock Band, because I can tell you now I'm going to sing the feces out of that game for sure, probably while playing the guitar as well. I love me some Beatles.

Thinking about "Spaced", a 2 season comedy from the early 00s that had Simon Pegg and Nick Frost in roles, as well as Edgar Wright directing episodes. That's right, the guys that made "Shaun of the Dead" and "Hot Fuzz". It's now streaming on Hulu, and I highly recommend it to anyone who is into absurdist comedy like I am.

Well, we will see if this links to Facebook. I guess I do miss being droningly boring in long form after all.

I'm generally not one to listen to my own advice - my famous last words would probably be, "I thought it was the other pit that was filled with spikes and acid," or "told you that musket was loaded." So it served as no surprise that after I had warned my co-workers to never tell his spouse whether he would work overtime or not until he left the building, I broke the same rule and emailed my wife that I was, indeed, off work tomorrow. They mentioned we weren't needed, and there was no work. So I told my wife, no work. Within 20 minutes, while I'm still on lunch, my lead asks me to go to the warehouse in Bothell, and to do work there tomorrow as needed. Now this wasn't so much a punishment than a compliment, so I said, sure. I needed to pad my measley 32 hour week anyway.

I carpooled with Sergey, an Armenian guy that I work with quite frequently. He's a nice enough guy, although sometimes he's quick to frustration because of misunderstandings. But an okay guy. We drove in his car and although it was a short drive, we did get lost and I was about to hurl by the time we got there because I was getting carsick. It was right after lunch and Sergey kept turning around, making quick jolts with his wheel, and I was a shade of green by the time we got there.

While there, we just looked at some numbers over and over again, checking lot codes and making notations. Nothing exciting really.

But when it came time to go home, we got lost again, I don't really know how, and I was always late getting home for the changing of the guard with the kids.

So there you go. Lesson of the day, never ignore your own advice, and never be a passenger in a car. And stay away from pits reeking of acid.

After today's Fourth, I could apply to be the entertainment director of a cruise liner. This is the only slow moment of the day, just us sitting on a bench outside the mall watching the park traffic empty out slowly. The streets are still clogged, with cars trickling out of the mall.

We started out relatively early, left the house at around 3 and came for the mall. We took care of purchasing movie tickets first, then walked over to the California Pizza Kitchen, had a Thai Chicken and a Garlic Chicken pizza, then headed down to the park where the kids found some inflatable goodness to enjoy. After gawking at some juggling fools and getting some weird swag, we went to see Star Trek.

The movie was pretty good, and I was actually a little miffed at a few of the comments heard on Filmspotting, about how they thought the story was servicable and that the villian was a throwaway. I thought the story not only bridged the old and new fans relatively well, but also managed to pay tribute to the old Trek while ushering in the new. How all the crew members get promoted into their roles seemed a little goofy, with a lot of off-screen folks buying it, but overall it was a fun ride.

Right after the movie we hustled down to the park, even though we probably didn't have to. We found a spot and gambled on it, and worked out perfectly. People were extremely pushy and inconsiderate but we enjoyed ourselves. We waited for the traffic for about an hour before heading out.

Madeline

There was a kid at the playground playing with Zoe earlier, by the name of Madeline or Madison or Maddening... something to that effect. At first she seemed like a nice girl, older than Zoe or Alex but somehow patient enough to play with Zoe. Before things got weird.

At first, it was just Madeline hanging upside down on some bars, and my wife was being polite, saying that was pretty cool. Then she got talkative on us, telling us that she went to school at a circus, and then she could do a lot of tricks and magic. Which was fine for a while. I was blogging on the phone and watching the kids when I realized that after she finished an act or made a statement, she would look at us for confirmation and acknowledgment. We would smile politely and then focus on our kids, but Madeline was persistent. Like a kid vying for attention.

She disappeared for a while with her mom, and while I was pushing Zoe on the swing she reappeared. Zoe was done and wanted off, so Madeline climbed on and as Zoe and I walked away, she looked at us and yelled, "Push me!" I ignored her, telling Zoe that her mommy needed to push her, and grown ups don't handle other peoples children. When we went to the fountain, Madeline demanded at the top of her voice to know where we were going.

Although we got a hitch-type attachment for Alex, whereby its like a tandem type deal that he could ride behind me, Zoe is still in a bucket seat that attaches directly on the bike. Zoe is petite enough to fit in the seat, but ever since we got Elaine her fancy new bike, Zoe has less room than before, with the bucket seat closer to the rider's seat.

When it came time to leave, we set off on the bike and Madeline saw us.

"Are you leaving?"
"Bye!" says Alex.
"ARE YOU LEAVING?!"
"Yes! Bye!"

As we rode away, she must have noticed the proximity between my wife's behind and Zoe, because she offered this nugget as we rode away.

"YOU'RE SITTING ON HER!"

It's been a rather disturbing weekend, with 50 something year old celebrities dropping off the face of the earth. Kinda makes one think about their mortality, and if I punch the ticket at 50, would I have much of a legacy to leave behind? Well, that's a rather disturbing thought, on to something else.

Alex is a bit of a gentle giant. A couple weeks ago Alex was walking up to us to tell us something when a smaller kid who was running ran into him and bounced right off him. Alex just glanced at him, slight annoyed, then continued talking to us. Kids at the playground can pick on him or lean on his comfort zone and all he ever does is take it with a nervous smile. We have to intervene often, telling him to express himself instead of being mowed over.

The hardest part of being a parent for me is trying to preserve the children's innocence as long as I can. I do this to a certain extent, I do warn them of strangers and things that endanger them, I'm mostly worried about the other stuff, like their emotional well being. How children decide their heirarchy amongst themselves, and how it seems so unfair at times. Its probably the natural order of things but it doesn't mean I'm comfortable with it.

Feeling rather lazy today, either I'm suffering from the allergies or its just a Sunday thing to do. Don't feel like doing much of anything right now, save relaxing and thinking about not much. Have this overwhelming urge to snack, but I really shouldn't.

Randomness

So here are some rather random paragraphs that I was drafting for my "memoir", before I decided that my life after all, was decidely rather dull and uneventful. Interesting I suppose, to some people but largely stinking of being normal. So here it is, free of charge, on the blog. I better get working on my fictional story then.

-----
A co-worker who was breaking down boxes saw me passing by, and stopped me. "I have some feedback for you," she offered. As I placed my hand on my holster, she went on and expressed that the popular opinion, from what she gathered at least, was that I was a nice guy. I was always helpful, very considerate, genial. I thanked her, and as she walked away wondered what her name was.

I have a rather adaptive type of personality, which partially explains what I'm a Jack of most trades, Master of none whatsoever. Shifting the blame to that traumatic move to America, I realized quickly that it was either adapt and become communicable with the people around me, or jump off a bridge, which is considerably tougher since I didn't have a car to drive to a bridge and was too lazy to figure out bus routes. My accent was an awkward British-based, Chinese accented mish-mash that folks in my country dubbed Singlish, which stood for Singapore English. At best, the language sounded like a well-educated businessperson from China. At its worst, Singlish was nearly unbearable, with its Hokkien and Cantonese roots inflecting through the broken English to create a sing-songy, stringy tone that warranted the back of the someone's hand to whoever was emitting that sound.

It took a lot of over-the-air tv reruns of Bewitched, Hazel, and I Love Lucy episodes after school to soften my accent, although now that I think about it, I probably sounded a little old-timey to my school mates, saying things like, "Gosh" and "Fiddlesticks." Ridding the accent also required quite a bit of listening to what I needed to emulate, the language that circulated at lockers, classrooms, and the local Jack in the Box.

The accent got better through time, and even though my family members still have that discernable accent of a Singaporean TV reporter, I've morphed my accent well enough to fool friends who are unaware of my country of origin. When I was still doing weddings, I often wondered when they booked me if they thought a peppy blonde girl might be doing their videography, but instead this Chinese guy shows up.

Not entirely sure why I'm still blogging, seems like everyone I knew who blogged just stopped, either out of boredom, out of time, or just gave up due to a lack of audience. For me, Facebook has replaced it slightly, but of course that's not really a forum to air out everything. In a way, Facebook is a great social tool for keeping in touch, but also a soapbox for trivial information about people. Everything you never cared to know about someone, now on Facebook!

Finished reading "Manhunt", which chronicles the manhunt for John Wilkes Booth after the assassination for Lincoln, and it was just a fascinating read. This isn't some stodgy retelling or a fictionalization, but rather a painstaking account gathered from thousands of sources before that paints a detailed procedural of the 12 day pursuit. It is actually quite amazing really, that Lincoln was so easily accessible, that Booth was so ill prepared after his deed, and how his leap onto the stage ultimately played such a hugh part of his demise. And I also didn't know that assassinations were also in play the same day for the Vice president and a semi-failed one for Seward. It was just a really good read, and I hadn't read a book since Alex was born. Next book on the list is "When you are engulfed in flames" by David Sedaris. Yup, after all my gadgets I'm going to the paperback. What a weird turn of events. Perhaps the best thing about this reading business is that its inspired me to think about writing again. Certainly not at the level I've been reading but anywhere is a start for me. Maybe I can self publish and get enough people to take pity on me and purchase a few copies.