Blog

First of all, everyone seems to be asking me "what bookmarks" whenever I refer to the delicious bookmarks. So, tell me, when you scroll down to the footer, can you see my latest delicious links? That's really all I'm referring to.

Anyway, on with the show.

I moved back into Montreal in August of last year (that would be 2009). I have briefly mentioned it before, but I still haven't gotten around to writing a post-moving entry.

The house in question is a nice, clean one. It's pretty large, being able to accommodate nine residents (all bedrooms are currently taken).

While living here isn't like living in your own apartment, it also is not at all like an asylum. We are free to come and go and we don't follow a strict schedule. There are however rules to follow, which were implemented for the good functioning of the house (and sometimes for the good of its special residents). For example, there is a curfew at midnight, after which we are expected to remain in our bedrooms. We can pee and things like that, of course, but no eating, listening to TV, etc. This can be a bit of a pain for someone like me, who's sleeping pattern is very unstable. On the other hand, that might help me keep a day schedule. Note the use of might, as it's nearing 2:00am right now.

On weekends, the curfew is extended to a lovely 1:00am. If you intend to go out and return home later, you must warn the counselor(s), so as not to find yourself sought for by the police.

We are allowed to rent movies for free on Fridays and Saturdays. Because we have different illnesses with different triggers, we are however limited to General movies (that's the rating for Everyone). Not even 13+, unless the counselor who is there at the time is kind enough to allow us to. No violence, no eroticism, not even sci-fi and fantasy (again, to be decided by the counselor). This is quite a bummer, as I personally get quickly tired of watching Disney movies.

I have a PlayStation 2 and a GameCube, but we are only allowed to play on the TV in the living room between 9 and 11am, and provided nobody wants to watch something. Fortunately for me, a fellow resident lets me use the TV in his bedroom. TV shows being watched are typically on Teletoon (a cartoon network), with no regards to the "erm, that's a profoundly stupid show aimed at mindless kids" factor.

That said, it's not actually such a pain to live here. It's true that sometimes some of us get a bit annoyed.I hate being woken up early (OK, I admit it, it was past noon, but I had gotten to bed past 7am) to "help develop my autonomy" by going to the fruit shop, when I have already lived in an apartment and never had problems buying food. Well, I had monetary problems, but those were from not having a big income, not from buying tons of popcorn.

As for the other residents, I generally have no problems with them. Some are extremely quiet, others more outgoing, but no one is violent or anything, and the very annoying one is gone.

Oh, and the biggest, most enormous downside, in my opinion, is the fact that I can't bring the furry one. That's horrible!

I've been reading Lamebook quite a lot lately and it has brought a few questions to my mind.

1. Why do people post on Facebook about abnormal things going on down there, like odd fluids, scratching and new smells?
2. People, give your kids some sex ed. Really, they'll be thankful for it in later life. It won't magically turn them into horned sluts under the command of the devil. It will however help them in their quest to NOT post what was referred in the above.
3. My God, can you spell at all? Could you at least attempt to spell phonetically? Do you really say "defiantly"?
4. Periods are your friends. Not the ones that come out of your vagina, but the ones that you put at the end of sentences. When you use them, what you say magically becomes much, much easier to understand, even if you can't spell and don't know a grammar book from a sandwich.
5. Why do you add as friends various relatives, like your parents, who don't know about certain aspects of your life, aspects which you wish to keep hidden from them, then promptly proceed to bragging about said aspects on your wall?
6. Why do you accept friend requests from various people you really don't know?
7. Ew.
8. Arguing for several posts with your ex or current partner over Facebook makes you sound like an immature little brat. Well, I guess that's what you are anyway.
9. Your insistence on bringing God into every detail of your life (and that's God and religion, not saying "goddamn") is both annoying and slightly creepy.
10. Why are there so many humans who think that "in America we speak English"?
11. Another example of racism. Oops, sorry, no, he says clearly once or twice that he is not a racist, so obviously he isn't one. If you close your eyes, believe it really hard and say out loud "I'm not a racist" three times in a row, the racism will magically disappear. Also note the fear of being in the minority. Perhaps it's because he sees how white people treat minorities and is afraid of being the target of such treatment in the future? I'd say "race preservation" is full of shit, but that would diverge from the topic of this post and it would be an insult to poop.
12. In addition to sex ed, people need to receive some education about society prior to the Bible. People like this guy, for example. Marriage existed in societies that had never heard of christianism before (some of which simply couldn't have heard about it because it didn't exist yet).
13. If you really don't care what other people think about you, then why do you mention it for several sentences? I don't care about chickpeas, you don't see me ramble about how it, do you?

I hope you had a merry time for this year's winter (or summer) solstice and wish you a happy new Gregorian year.

As you might have noticed, I finally put up a new layout. It does retain elements from the previous one (noticeably the platypus on the header), but sees a major improvement in color scheme. There might very well still be quirks here and there, but overall it should work fine.

One problem I have is with the header. It worked fine when I didn't see the Delicious bookmarks while working offline, but not I think it looks too huge. Perhaps I'll scrap the bookmarks altogether and replace them with something else. Or maybe try with only 3 bookmarks?

Anyway. If I haven't blogged in a while, it's simply because there isn't much interesting to say. I have quit my job. I received RPG Maker VX, Dexter season 2 on DVD and a PlayStation 2 (!, used, from my brother) for Christmas. The later was really unexpected, but I was very happy.

It has been brought to my attention that the platypus on the header image looks a lot like the Pokémon Psyduck. I assure you this was completely unintentional. Psyduck is, well, a duck, but with hands and whatnot that make him look like a platypus. My brother-in-law, who created this cute platypus, has no interest in Pokémon and merely followed my instructions (a goofy looking platypus). It even has claws and a flat tail!

I am here. And God, do I hate this layout. I have a new one ready, but I couldn't get it online before this weekend.

So, where have I been? Well, just here, turning my computer on once in a while and playing Hearts.

I have returned to Montreal in August. I live in a residence for people with mental health problems. There are eight of us (nine when the other girl comes back from the hospital).

Once I got a table to put my computer on, I called a company to get an internet connection. They required a prepayment, so I did that, and faxed a confirmation. Then I waited. And waited. In the past month, I spoke with three or four different people from the company, had my order canceled a couple of times, was given two different appointments that were both canceled for various reasons, etc.

Their system just can't accept that multiple people living at the same address could want separate internet connections.

I finally got a connection with a different company, activated today. The guy worked around the system, so that, while the bill will be sent to my home address, it is written that I live next door.

I was bloody relieved when I turned my computer on and was signed in to MSN. AT LAST! Needless to say I am pissed at the other company and will obviously ask to get my prepayment back.

In the meantime, I have a new boyfriend. He is one of the residents here. I don't feel very well, rather depressed. And the web has gone on without me. I have many things to catch up on.