who's soonger??

Thursday, May 2.

Oops -- I fell off the wagon for a couple weeks there. Oh well -- I'm making things up by adding new content to this webpage. Finally took pics of my car with the window tints. I have to say, my friend Gurinder was right -- the tints make the car look good. Not only do you have the added privacy, but you also keep the car a little cooler when the sun is out. A disadvantage to the tints is during poor lighting situations (eg at night). If you're in a really dark neighbourhood (no street lights), you may want to double-check there's nothing behind you before you back up! Luckily, I haven't learned the hard way yet...

Dorothy got a letter from UPS about the fog lights. She got a huge bill about paying GST, etc for my b'day present. I don't think we can avoid this one ... I will contact the guy I bought the stuff from -- don't think he'll help much but at least he can give some advice.

Also need to look into a place to stay in Chicago -- going to be there in a couple of weekends from now. Got an e-mail from my friend Del -- he's gonna be there the night before I gotta go! So I better coordinate things with my boys... also gotta contact my pal, Vinny, to figure out where my bro and I are gonna stay. Won't want to inconvenience him by crashing at his place.

Back from Chicago!

Friday, May 17.

Last weekend, I went to Chicago for a few days o' fun. I left on Mother's Day, Sunday. It was kinda fun -- going to some place I haven't really gone on my own before (actually went with my bro, so I should say I haven't been to far away place without my folks) in a while. It was an adventure trying to find the hotel that we booked over the Internet. A cabbie was going to charge us US$15 each (I was like, FORGET IT!) so I called up my friend, Vince, who lives there and he told me to take the CTA (Chicago Transit Authority) for US$1.50 each way. A normal 30-45 min trip took us a little over an hour ('cause of the reduced service on Sunday). It was quite a culture shock compared to the cooshy Toronto TTC. There was a gangsta chick who was practically shouting out to the whole world about how badly she was being treated by her boyfriend. Is it really that necessary to use the f-word every other word? Also along the way, there was this homeless woman asking us to buy an earring her daughter makes at the shelter. She promises the money will be used towards food & caring for her child. Quite novel but I don't know if there would be a detour to the liquor store or the crack dealer on the corner...

We eventually found the place (after trying to figure out how to get out of the Merchandise Mart mall!) It was really nice -- it was a Holiday Inn so they had standards (and I had certain expectations...) I called up Vince and the three of us had a late supper. We wanted to check out the 'Hooters' for wings but they were closed. We walked around but everything was closed. We did find the "rock 'n roll" McDonald's on N Wells street (24 hr open) and I tried the McPhilly sandwich -- it was really dry and I would NOT recommend anyone to eat it! (Stick to what they do best -- fries and other things fried!) After supper, we went to check out the blues scene -- went to this place called the Kingston Mines. They played some good blues! We were out pretty late (at least for my standards!)

On Monday, we got up pretty late. Got cleaned up and then started our day walking. Visited the Magnificent Mile -- a stretch of N Michigan Ave with all the posh stores. You got money? This is your stop! They have the latest and greatest out there. I was tempted to pick up a Sony Clie (their version of a Palm Pilot) that's not available here. It was beautiful and very functional. Too bad it cost US$500 before tax! I was *that* close to buying it but my bro was giving me a hard time (whatever). And to think... I was about to drop C$750 + tax for a Handspring Treo (Palm + cell phone combo) I think I'll wait for Sony's combo cell phone / Palm Pilot. They have some COOL stuff! Why can't they sell it here in Canada? I am quite disappointed by the lack of selection here...

Did a lot of museum hopping on Monday. First stop was the Museum of Contemporary Art. Contemporary indeed! There was some very strange and unusual 'art' on display. It was a waste of my hard-earned US$10 admission. The things I do to be cultured... In the afternoon, we spent the whole time at the Art Institute of Chicago. That is a world-class place, baby! They had in their permanent collection works from Monet, Renoir, Picasso, Chagall, and other notables like "the Scream" (Munk), the pointilism from Serat (beauty!) and American Gothic (man with pitchfork & wife). Classics!

After the museums, we walked back towards the hotel. This time, Pat and I could not resist -- we went to Hooters for a late lunch. I had a burger while Pat had the wings. He concluded there is cheese in the Buffalo wing batter. I never question food composition with my bro! That evening, we were really tired, so we stayed in. Vince joined a beach volleyball league and it was the playoff round -- he was gonna go out with us afterwards (10pm) but we were way too pooped from all that walking earlier in the day. Instead, we watched a little NHL action -- dumb San Jose!

Tuesday was another relatively late start (9:30). We went to this greasy spoon place by the McDonald's from the other night. For Chicago standards, it was very reasonable and it tasted good! I tried to find internet access 'cause I wanted to see if my friends, Del & Mike would be around for me to see them. (They were the deciding factor in me coming to Chicago -- I had to visit Vince at least once in Chicago; promised that a couple years ago!) Pat and I went to the south side of Chicago (the rumours are true -- it's rough out there!) to check out the University of Chicago and the Museum of Industry & Technology. I was intrigued by a poster I saw on the subway -- they added a genomics section to their permanent collection. It was cool and very informative. The other stuff was very good, accurate. I kinda wonder how much a grade school kid (let alone a high school student) would get out of this place. It wasn't hardcore, but quite in detail (good for us technophiles!) We took the Metra (not Metro) back from the university. It's very similar to the GO in Toronto. Very convenient and much faster than the CTA.

We did do a little more window shopping along the Magnificent Mile. Too bad I didn't convince myself to pick up that very cool Sony Clie that isn't available in Canada. For our late lunch, I got some Subway whereas my bro wanted McD's. (Don't ask me why!) When we returned back to the room, I was glad to see I had a couple of phone messages -- one from Mike, the other from Del. Mike was at work so I called him back (actually, he called me back again 'cause he was on the phone when I called) and Del was in Vegas -- he was there to celebrate his bro's grad from university. He thought while he was on the mainland (he's from Hawaii), he thought he'd swing by Chicago to meet up with his boys. That's awesome that he did 'cause then we all could meet up. Mike, his GF, my bro and I -- we went out for supper. Del's plane didn't come in until 9pm, so we went out to Chinatown to eat, instead. It was cool to hear what Mike is up to. He's doing quite well in finance. His GF is a medical resident. Sounds like they'll be in Chicago for another 3 years before they decide on what they'll be doing / going afterwards.

Mike and Nancy had an early morning, so they retired early. Del finally made it down (he rented a car) to the hotel. I went up to Vince's place by Wrigley Field via taxi -- had a very good conversation with the driver, who visits Windsor quite frequently. I met up with Vince's friend, Darren, there. Those guys work for a video gaming company -- both are Waterloo grads. Anyway, we went back downtown to check out this place called Dragonfly. Got Del from the hotel (he stayed at the same place as Pat & I did!) and went to the lounge. Can say that I never heard of drums & bass music. Pretty mellow but has a good beat. Stayed out until 3 -- too bad I had to get up at 5:30!

The flight back was good -- no problems and it was smooth sailing. I like the whole ticketless thing that Southwest Airlines has. I highly recommend it! Had to work 1-9 at the hospital the day I was back. Yes, I am crazy! It wasn't that bad -- they renovated the dispensary area. It looks a heckuva lot better but on a functionality basis, it's not that great. Still things to tweak out.

On Thursday, I had a 1-9 shift again. I tried to make the most of the morning. Let's see what I did... The same thing for Thursday.

Monday, May 20.

Why don't people tell me some of my links don't work? Well, the link to the May photos on the 'More about Soonger' page is corrected. I hope people aren't too bored with car photos -- 'cause I certain am NOT! Sorry that I didn't complete my Chicago travails. Will have photos up very shortly -- I have them uploaded to the computer, but my OTHER computer. Will transfer them to this computer (where my DSL line is) in the near future (today would be a good day, don't you think?)

Not much else planned for today. Imran is back in town (Mike, Imran and i watched Spy Game last night. It's no wonder Mike doesn't like seeing a movie with us together... (we make too many comments on the side for anyone to appreciate the dialogue) Anyway, I'll do something with Imran today -- don't know what, exactly. My folks are gone for a week in Vegas, leaving me to fend for myself!!! What to do?! (Just teasin' ... I should be fine (that's what take-out is all about!)

Tuesday, May 21.

I'm fixing up some pages, one at a time, to speed up appearing on the screen. I used to have a bunch of individual thumbnails right next to a description but now I'm under a new train of thought. I will do a large batch thumbnail at the top of the page and then have a brief description underneath. What do you think? This way, I only need to have 1 image and then type away. You benefit by having only 1 image to download (it's a pain when you're using a 56K (or less) modem, trust me!) thus having a 'faster' download.

Yesterday wasn't too bad a day -- got up around 9, ate the leftovers from a HUGE meal the night before. Then went out with Imran and checked out the mall. I had this huge "discussion" with my brother on why is it always me that has to fix this computer? The DVD-ROM went kaput and he expected me to figure it out -- call Dell -- wait on the line -- while he just goes out to remove the rust off his car (he's trading it in very soon) It's not as if he never has free time -- the drive was down last week and I worked nights and the weekend after coming back from Chicago, so he didn't even think about calling Dell? It's still under warranty yet he never thought about doing it? (I think he was too lazy to do it and that's what bothers me...) I don't blame him -- why would I want to do anything if I can get someone to do it for free? I'm around (at his convenience) so he doesn't have to do any extra effort -- the only effort he has to just nag me and I'll be dumb enough to do it.

Catch this: his excuse for not calling -- "oh ... I don't know that much about computers and I won't understand what they're talking about." Excuse me? Didn't we go to university for 10 years for a medical degree and you think my brother can't understand someone from a help desk?! I know for a fact that there are some really dense people who call a helpline and they still find a solution. I can't comprehend a person with such intelligence to be such a technophobe. Gimme a break! (As John Stossl (sp?) would say on 20/20.)

Chicago pics up

Monday, May 27.

Quite the week that passed -- how many hours did I work? In any case, it was quite a blur, really. Went in at 1 and stayed there until 9 (or so). Man, I better find myself a better day job! (hint, hint) Well, I think life is a bunch of pros and cons -- just have to find a place where it's the least of all evils (for now). Can't quite pin-point what my niche is in this world...

This weekend, I had to work in retail -- if it was just as busy as it was over the weekend -- on a daily basis -- then I would do that job, no problem. However, I don't think it is reasonable to expect to do about 10 scripts / hr in Windsor for the salary I am aiming for (undisclosed, but a heckuva lot!)

One last thing: my Chicago pictures are up! Still have one more to upload (need a little manipulation -- like rotate it 90 degrees so it's facing up!) Hope you like! Feedback is greatly appreciated. =)