roasted seaweed

Stumbled upon this gem at Costco. Yum... 

Train Bridge to Ile Bigras

Two wolves

Why bother having more then 1 employee?

I'm not sure what's up with the internship programs at the Universities, but none of them seem to understand that companies are not run by 1 person and that they have HR departments. For some reason the minute they cannot reach a person in HR, they call me. Like I work for HR?

I work in software quality assurance. Perhaps next time they call I will discuss about them the bugs I'm currently working on. I mean they call me to discuss stuff that is not part of my job description and then they are surprised that I don't want to talk to them. 

I get interns. I interview them, train them, work with them. I am not responsible for the hiring process or answering anything that is the perview of a HR department. I cannot even decide how many interns I am getting. That is all chosen by other people. 

So next time you can't reach someone in a company are you going to call the entire company and talk to everyone? It seems like the people who work at internships programs in Universities do. 

If I have to deal with the 10 universities that I might hire students from and take all their phone calls  and emails that would take up to 50% of my time. And it's not part of my job description. I'm not sure why they don't understand that. 

Next time one of them calls I will discuss in great depth whatever problem I'm having in QA at that point. When they tell me that's not part of their job, I'll tell them "Well I thought you called to discuss my QA issues, why else would someone call someone in QA? "

New Canadian

As of Wednesday this past week my Lebanese husband is now a Canadian. Hurray!

Also I haven't written it specifically but we have parted ways in 2012.  We did not make it to our 5th anniversary and there was a lot of pain at the end. However we're now in 2013 moving on and at least I know that we will go back to being good friends.  And I know I've done everything I can to help him find his way :)  I think what I miss the most since he left me is getting updates on how his mom is doing. But I'm a big girl I can contact her myself :) 

I feel all boxed up

Taken with the 30mm f2.8 Sony lens.

She has such beautiful eyesI

 My little Ziva the Diva!

Taken with the Minolta 50mm f1.4 lens.

You know you're getting older when....

You sit down to relieve yourself first thing in the morning and you throw out your back. I'm not kidding. That act of sitting down just seized my back. I've been lying in bed since and pretty pissed. I had all sorts of things planned and well, I had to lie in bed.  UGH. So I'm been taking ibuprofen and rubbing tiger balm on my lower back.

I just realized

One of the long black sweaters I bought at Old Navy years ago, is made of 5% Camel hair. 

Useless fact no one needs to know but I thought I'd share anyways.

It's coming on 2 years and no resolution in Syria

It's almost the 2nd anniversary of the Syria uprising and no resolution seems likely anytime soon. It's really pitiful to realize that almost 2 years of government pounding on the people has not changed a thing. I knew when it started that it would go to it's logical end, I didn't expect it to last this long. I didn't think the Syrian Regime would rather die in power then do what's good for it's people. 

Nearly 2 years into the conflict, and there seems to be little good guys left. Article this morning on Al Jazeera suggests that atrocities have been committed both by the regime and now by the rebels.

I pray that soon all the Syrians will be free.... but it doesn't look good :(

Jethro can be incredibly Goofy

 Taken with my  Minolta 50mm f1.4 lens.

Idle No More

She attacks my undergarnments!

I am an allly! I am Canadian!

Sneak preview at my drive by shootings

Some project, taking random photos on the way to work... and eventually on the way home, when I come home in daylight. 

I enjoy taking photos of snowstorms too. 

Ansleme Lavigne Street in DDO

Arragon street in Pierrefonds

St Regis blvd in Dorval

I have such lens envy it's not even funny

Despite the fact that I now own  5 alpha mount lenses, 3 Sony and 2 Minolta's I still have lens envy.  I LOVE my newest new lens, the Sony SAL1650 f2.8. It takes amazing photos in dim lighting. The downside is that it's heavy. I actually spend time typing on my laptop wearing weights to strengthen my wrists, so that when I spend time outside taking photos I don't tire too fast!

One of the lenses I want is a Tamron 10-24mm f3.5-4.5, real nice wide-angle lens, for taking northern light photos.  I also want a fish-eye lens for northern lights as well. Then I want a paparazzi lens, the Tamron 200-500mm  f5. -6.3. Weighs  1.2kg, like close to 3 lbs.  It needs it's own tripod, and best used when you don't have to lug it for 3 hours. However, I'm sure it would be awesome for taking photos of birds and other wild life.

Oh ThinkPad Edge, how I have missed you!

I'm finally back on my laptop after almost 4 weeks. 

The replacement drive for the DOA drive took 2 weeks to arrive. I was wondering at that point if the drive was being walked from Toronto! I picked it up after work during a snow storm Friday. I don't think I've been to Canada Computers when it wasn't a massive snow storm.  I think by now the woman at the cash probably remembers me by name, I've been there so often, 4 times alone just for the hard disk, at least 3 or 4 other times for other things.

I missed my laptop. It helps me sleep!

All fans going happily

My old clunky desktop is happily purring now that it has a new PSU and new fans.  On the photo you can see the PSU on the top left. Underneath you can see the fan on the CPU, and you can see the chassis fan.

My desktop  PC. 

It looks really nice in the dark!

Is it a scam? Sure feels like it.

So was perusing the web to look to see if there was any Maine Coon kittens to adopt in Montreal.  Maine Coons are generally hard to find in Montreal and last time it took me weeks to find one. 

So I landed on this site : http://ca.catsadoptions.com/ and saw all sorts of Maine coon kittens for adoption for FREE. Right there, that's something fishy. Pure breeds unless found at a shelter are never free. Even at a shelter they are rarely free. Generally they ask for donations so they can keep taking care of animals.

So I emailed one person to ask about Maine coons, and they message back with an email off the site. That's fine. People do that on Kijiji all the time. The woman sends me photos of the Maine Coons and somewhere in the email I read she's in the YUKON. At first I thought it was me who was clueless, I go back and check the ad, no the add clearly says that she's in "Greater Montreal".  I respond back I was expecting her to be in Montreal, she has this long SOB story about why she's in Yukon, and she's willing to ship me a cat for $180. So the kitten if free, it's the shipping. Uhuh.

I figured she was a scammer, so I respond to a 2nd ad. This time checking to make sure it's also in Montreal.  Again I get a response to with an email to contact off the site. I do that. This one is in Calgary, and will ship me free kitten for $120.  Again I enquire, saying I responded to a MONTREAL ad and she has a story as well. 

Meanwhile I get email from first lady saying that if I want 2 kittens it's special price $300.  At that point it felt like I was going to be taken for a ride. Especially since both seemed really EAGER to have all my personal data "To register the cat". RIGHT....

So I responded nicely to both ladies, saying that I never buy cats without seeing them first.  I can see it now. I send the money and suddenly their email address doesn't work anymore. And if I called the cops they would laugh at why I would send a cheque to a total stranger!!!!

My android can haz fishies :)

My android with fishies background :)

Minolta lenses

Minolta 50mm f1.4 lens

Minolta 18-200mm f3.5-6.3 lens

These are the lenses I bought 2nd hand. So far I like them. I used each lens to take picture of the other.

Minolta lenses for my Sony Alpha

Today I picked up 2 new lenses to use with my dSLR's. the first is a Minolta AF DT Zoom 18-200mm F3.5-6.3 and the second is a Minolta AF 50mm F 1.4.  He warned me not to be too disappointed with the 50mm @ 1.4, that there's not much depth of field at 1.4. So far I like it. It's a good portrait lens for low lighting. The other one is a practical lens for drive by shootings :)  That's when someone else drives and I just take photos.

I spent all of January on Kijji drooling over those lenses. I figured by the time I had the spare cash the lenses would no longer be available but this time it worked out. 

It sucks that my sewing machine was for sale on some website and I missed it. I hope someone finds my ad and I get a new old machine.  If you live in the Montreal area and have a Pfaff Calanda 3000 sewing machine leave me a message. 

It was DOA

Yes my new hard disk was dead on arrival. I picked it up on Friday from Canada Computers at their West Island store. If you work or live in the area and you're a geek check it out. 

So I was all happy to have gotten this Samsung 1 TB 2.5" laptop drive. I take apart my Thinkpad Edge E40 to insert the new hard disk. I power on laptop and it hangs at the Lenovo Splash screen. I put back the old defective seagate and it finds a bootable device and attempts to boot.

So I try the Samsung in my monoprice docking station and it just makes clicking sounds. So back to Canada Computers I went. They took it back and ordered me another one. Crossing fingers and toes that this will be a good drive.

I miss my Thinkpad Edge E40. It's such a nice laptop. And I was on the Lenovo site just now, and I see they are going to support Windows 8 on the laptop. I noticed they had a new BIOS and new drivers for Windows 8. I'm not likely to ever install it, but I love the fact they provide the support.  I can't wait to get hrd disk and be up and running again.

I'm still not a big fan of Wind8ws

Doesn't Metro look "nice" on a stretched desktop?

Months after it's been out there I'm still not a big fan. Especially not in a stretched desktop, as illustrated. It wouldn't be so bad if you could turn this look off but you cannot. All other versions of windows you could choose to go to a classic or previous look, but not Wind8ws. Microsoft thought they would re-educate us on Windows. Just because someone had a vision doesn't mean we're all going to adopt it like sheep. I never used Windows Me or Vista on a home system. I suspect Wind8ws will also be such OS.

Marché Kim Hoa

It's not particularly spicy but it has a touch of bite.

Yesterday I went to Marché Kim Hoa  for the first time. I found two Miso Soups that had no MSG and no sugar that I could eat at work. This is one of them, the other is the red Miso soup. They are yummy. They are different then the ones I usually buy. 

I've been eating this Miso Soup for easily 10 years now. Love it.

My favourite Miso-Cup is the savoury soup with seaweed. Everyone always says when I make it that it makes the lab smell like French Fries!

I find Miso soup is delicious healthy soup I can have in a cup for lunch daily. It's warm, gluten free and veggie and tasty!

Pizza Veggie Stix

They are incredibly YUMMY!!!

Hardware Woes

I've been far less verbose in 2013. It doesn't help it's been at least a week or two since my laptop's hard disk has been giving me issues. It figures that the drive that came with my Lenovo ThinkPad Edge 15 was a SEAGATE. I tend to find them really flaky.  Usually when I have dead drives they are almost always SEAGATES at work. 

I've got a Samsung 1TB drive on order from Canada Computers. I found the price was right and it had a 3yr warranty

Then my desktop decided to act up. Suddenly it started just shutting down after 15 minutes. Sunday morning, not only did I wake up to the storm from hell but also to no electricity. So we went for breakfast then to Canada Computers. I bought a 750W Antec Power-supply and a cooling fan for the CPU. I knew one of the two was the cause of the problem. The power-supply was close to 4 years old and seem to be on it's last legs. The CPU fan had seized in the past couple of weeks. Before it had spent the past year making obnoxious noises that even WD-40 and other methods did not quiet.

So I changed both parts and I'm still having the same problem. It was because I was too delicate in screwing in the heatsync onto the bracket, hence the paste was not making contact with CPU and it was still overheating. After a bit of tightening screws now system is stable and very quiet. I should never underestimate my skills as a PC technician. I can generally figure out most issues.  It did take me most of the day Sunday but I figured it out!

Then I noticed that the fan on the Case cover is also dead. They don't have it in stock for pick up at the store but they have one 80x80x25mm with blue leds like my old one on the Canada Computer's website. I just have to order it.

Not just a Native thing, Idle no More!

Winter intern Saga finally finished?

I was desperate to find to find 2 more interns back in November, and through the help of a previous intern, I found 2 more candidates. Well come January 7th, the first day for my interns, one of them  showed up at 10am, because the cab he took got lost!?!?!! [still means he left home too late].

One of them didn't have a work permit or a Social Insurance Number. This is something that that cannot be by-passed. When the student was hired in early December he was clearly told he needed both.  He called HR in early January to ask if it was needed. So his contract was voided.

Late in December I got a call from a stage coordinator asking if I still had opened positions. At that point I didn't. However I called her back January 7th, to ask if she still had candidates, she had one. Then I realized his GPA was lower then what I was allowed to hire, so I asked if I could get an exception. That took several days to get approval. Then I was told, that I had to make sure I liked the guy and not just hire him because I was desperate.  In the end we interviewed the candidate on Thursday and it turns out he has skills that the HQA guy can use since we're supposed to share an intern.

The intern who showed up late, also seems to require an inordinate amount of hand holding, and has less skills then we thought he did. So his position as an intern is changing and the guy we just hired Friday to start on Monday will be shared between HQA and my team.

Hopefully things will settle down. The HR girl is complaining this is the rudest most self-entitled bunch we've had so far. I don't know, so far the other 4 we hired are doing ok. They seem nice enough and focused enough.

Happy New Year or is it?

I started the new year sick as a dog. I was bedridden from the 1st to the 5th, and then wasn't so hot until I had to go to work on the 7th. Gotta love how I often spend half of my Christmas vacations sick.

I really hope that having started 2013 sick isn't a sign of what's to come.  I've been pretty upset with the rape in India and the stupid comments to come out of it. The lawyer representing some of the 5 men who gang raped and killed a woman, says she was responsible for her rape.

It amazes me that in 2013, women are still considered like furniture with no rights. I mean it seems in India they treat cows better then they treat female humans. And what woman asks to be raped to the point where her intestines get ripped to shreds with a metal bar? I mean seriously? Rape her with a metal object and that's ok because she's sub human  It blows the mind!!!!  I'd like someone to shove a metal bar up the ass of all those men, and then ask them how it felt?

I support Idle no More!

Me and my girls

Snow filled trees

Ice covered trees

The calm after the storm.

Winter Storm of December 27th, 2012

Pointe-Claire Village

Marche de l"Ouest

Petro-Canada on the corner of des Sources and Anselme Lavigne

View up des Sources from Petro-Canada

Driveway snow removal on Fredmir blvd.

I'm going to kill her as soon as she takes this off...

It's been a long time...

So for no particular reason, I'm posting this photo of Caruso, with tacky sunglasses, and you have to imagine The Who signing it:

Moose Sex Project

I kid you not:  "Our hope for this narrow section of land ... is we keep it open for large animals so the moose in New Brunswick can go over and make friends with the moose in Nova Scotia"

Seasons Greetings.

I also feel like saying "Bah Humbug". I don't like Christmas, haven't' since being a small child. I still have memories of stalking the Christmas tree at age 3 and telling my mom the next morning there was no Santa, and no Christmas miracles. It was her, that I'd seen her. 

My mom would put the presents under the tree in the wee hours of the morning while I slept and she'd also add the baby Jesus in the crib.  She'd say the angels brought him in the middle of the night. Well not after I was 3. Then he was added Christmas day in the Manger scene!

Today won't be much different then any other day, but I won't leave the house. 

I can't remember when I started hating this time of the year, was it as a teen or was it when my kids were little and the whole pressure to go to in-laws and have gifts ready for a certain time. But I certainly hate it. 

I like the idea of celebrating yule this way I don't look like I don't like to party :)  I don't like to party much but.... well I do like it from time to time. 

My best gifts this year are that those people close to me are well. Those who have had surgery are still here and healing. :) 

My wish for the new year, may all the little Syrian children get to see a life without Civil War. Let Assad leave already before he kills half the country. The longer he stays the worst off the Syrian people will be.

Me and mah kitteh!

I'm both cat lady and actual cat.

View from my porch at dawn.

I'm all in awe.....

I generally feel like crap. I always feel like I could have done better or tried harder. I often feel I was not enough of a good daughter, good mother, good child, good parent,  good friend, good spouse, good employee, good boss/team leader, good resource for interns,  good whatever. In general.  Instead of seeing that I do try hard to be a good person and to be good to others, I just see my failures. Even if I get 99% right, I just see the 1% that's wrong.

And the past couple of  days, past my blow up/meltdown day, Wednesday, it's an odd feeling [and sometimes I even feel like an imposter], that I'm actually appreciated.  Some people do actually like me. Moodiness and all.

There's this young woman at work that I mentored, like I do to any new girl because working in the almost all male environment takes getting used to. And it helps to have someone to escape to from time to time. My Sailor daughter appreciates the company of other women with whom she might have little in common with,  since being in the Navy sometimes as the one of the few women.  So this girl baked me a birthday cake, it was gluten free, casein free and refined sugar free.   And the note she gave me moved me. Something about when she has a bad day, what helps her cheer up is to come to hang out with me. 

My girlfriend has been staying with me after her surgery and well it was nice to have her around on my birthday and she got me  neat balls to help me with my number fingers and a beautiful Poinsettia. I hope we don't kill this one too. The one I got myself is mostly dead and it didn't make it to Christmas.

One daughter got me a Dragonfly windchime, with a really high pitched chime. Very unique. The other got me a glass coaster/decoration that says "The beauty of a mother's love never fades". and well it's very touching.

It stunned me too that over 65 people wished me a happy birthday on my facebook timeline alone, never mind those who sent me private messages and my buddy in the ADHD group who wished me happy birthday in the group so another dozen or two people there.  Not random strangers, but people I've chatted with.

Something else, in this Private Adult ADHD group on facebook, I've found incredible amounts of love and support.  Where I feel appreciated at least some of the time. Other times I still feel like foot in mouth syndrome. But then that's part of having ADHD.   I've made friends in that group, friends who struggles I can relate to. 

It's rare but at the moment I feel incredibly loved and appreciated and it's from my daughters, and my friends.  It's funny I'm struggling with the emotions. I just feel very special. and I should just go with it.

I had elves in my studio on my Birthday!

Hanging out with my homie!

Spock the jester elf!

Pixie the mischievous elf. 

 

 

 

 

Jethro, trying to be festive.

FUCKING ASSHOLE EX CALLS AGAIN

I haven't been pissed off enough that my asshole Mohawk ex had to call me at work today. Like I needed to hear his fucking voice .

I have fucking nothing to say to him except FUCK YOU.

Must you decorate the cat?

Emergency rooms suck

Yesterday we spent 5 hours in the Heart Institute emergency room, waiting for my friend to be seen by a doctor. The site in her right arm where they had put the catheter for the ablation was sore, and had woken her up several times in her sleep the night before. The arm was swollen and bruised. She was worried she might have a blood clot. We figured the best place she could go to be seen was at the emergency room of the Heart Institute in Montreal since this is where she had the procedure last Tuesday. The staff would be familiar with possible complications post-surgery. 

The good points of having been at that emergency is that it's only for heart patients. So that also means that the majority of the patients there have non-contagious problems.  The downside is that patients were taken in order of severity. Her arm wasn't considered that severe, so it took about 5 hours to be seen. Thankfully the doctor spoke perfect English so she could speak to my friend directly.  

The other good point, is that I got to spend 6 hours with my friend. And although the circumstances were not the best, we had some great laughs, we talked, we giggled, it was like old times. And you have to cherish those little moments in life. Sure it's not a fun place to be, and she would have preferred not to be bra-less in a hospital gown for 5 hours in a waiting room with a really sore arm, that reminded her of this fact each time she moved it a hair, but I had a good time in her company. 

She's going back to the hospital on Monday where they will do an ultra-sound of her arm and hand to see if there is a blot clot. Thankfully since this is in an artery, it is less dangerous, and even if there was a blood clot, they would not need to do surgery to remove it. They just need to give medications and monitor it's progress.  

Personally I'm more comfortable the later she goes back home. I'm concerned about her driving back home if she's not recovered enough or if there are post-surgery complications. She's best followed at the Heart Institute. After all they developed the procedure she had and have only been using for a year on patients.

Canadian women - built tough!!!!

Heart institute of Montreal

My friend had her ablation at the Montreal Heart Institute. It's located in the eastern part of the Montreal Island, at Viau and Belanger, which is not an area fraught with homeless people or the like.  And yet the first time we used the bathroom on the main floor next to the Emergency, we found 2 empty bottles of Black bull hiding being a toilet.

Two days later when I came to pick up my friend, I made a pit stop at the same bathroom on my way to pick up a wheelchair to take her home. Well that time, this bathroom smelled like 20 people had just had cigarettes in there.  That really got my goat. It's a HOSPITAL for HEART PATIENTS. Must you fucking smoke?  Especially when you are 10 feet from outside and you can go smoke outside?  I don't care if it was a patient. You might be fucking with your heart but what about other people?

And the last bitch I have is, yes you're in Quebec, but do you have to be rude and unwelcoming to someone who doesn't speak French?  If you have a patient refereed to your hospital from another province a little courtesy goes a long way. Saying "Speak French, we're in Quebec" is rather insensitive.   It's a fucking hospital, how about treating the patient properly. If the patient has no French, then how are you providing good care if you don't even try to help them in their language.

Other then that the procedure went well. She's all black and blue from the various catheters and tubes that were put inside her, and disoriented due to the sedation, it's giving her LSD like dreams. Other then that my friend is in good spirits and we're all keeping our fingers and toes crossed that this intervention will permit her to have a more normal life, without heart medications.

Good deal on a HDHC card

Went shopping with my friend before her surgery. One place she wanted to go was Best Buy.  I was looking for a new mouse, since the 2 cordless mice I have downstairs on one of my old PC's didn't work anymore.  I also looked around for other deals. I was looking at the camera equipment and I noticed they were selling a Sandisk Class 10 32Gb SDHC for $29.99. This sale ends on December 6th.

 I remembered them being more expensive then that. I checked on my Android and elsewhere it's around $75. So I picked that up. When I bought the new Sony A65, I had only found a 16Gb Class 10 card for a good price, in that case it was $15 at Staples.

As for the mouse, I found a $10 Logitech cordless mouse at a discount store on Begin street in Ville St Laurent.  I could care less that it's a model from 2 or 3 years ago. So long as it works and it worked.  I'd rather buy a brand name mouse from several years ago, then a new no-name. Call me fussy.

More surgery

From her wall post on Facebook, it seems my daughter's surgery went well and she is home, recovering with pain killers. Apparently they put screws in her knee and I made a stupid comment on her wall because I couldn't help myself.  [That and laughter is the best medicine]

Last night I drove my friend all the way to the Montreal Heart Institute where she is having her ablation done this morning.  She was happy I accompanied her into the Hospital for the check-in process as the person at the information desk didn't speak anything but French. The woman who checked her in didn't seem to speak much English either. She was friendly and pleasant enough despite feeling a little under pressure, because it was the first time she was filling out admission papers for an "out of province" patient. However they knew she was coming because when we arrived at the admissions desk, she asked if she was the patient from New Brunswick. I found that highly re-assuring. It meant in my mind they were expecting her and ready for her.

We stayed with my friends during the first 2 hours while they poked and prodded her. There were pre-surgery blood tests. They also put a heart monitor on, one that permits the patient to walk around on her own. We left at 8:30 because I was exhausted and I still had to drive home. I felt bad leaving her there alone, I'm sure she would have liked if her husband, son and I stayed until  they kicked us out, but I was afraid I wouldn't be able to drive home, I felt I was crashing.

As I understood it, she's not the first patient they are operating on this morning, but the second patient. So they will take her sometime between 9 and 10 this morning. Thankfully I was so tired I actually slept last night, for the first time in close to a week.

My baby is having surgery.

So my youngest daughter went into the Hospital at 7am this morning. They will be fixing her ACL. She's hoping that she gets an epidural so she can be awake during the procedure. It's going to take 1 and a half hours, personally for a surgery that long, I'd want to be asleep. But I get it. When my kids were born, I had told their dad, that if they needed to do a C-section on me I did not want to be asleep and miss my babies being born.

Here's hoping that everything goes the best possible for her today. And her leg is the best it can be after this surgery heals!

Some days I feel all upsidedown!

Huskies and Malamutes party together?

I wish I could sleep!!!

To say that I spent 3 months of my pregnancy with my eldest sleeping 16 hours a day.  And now if I sleep 4 hours a night I'm lucky.  I'm feeling sick, and I'm feeling like I need rest, but I have not been able to catch a wink of sleep since I got home around 1pm Friday. I've tried. I've been lying on my couch and in bed on and off and no joy.

Sleep, I want sleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep.