Sims 3 Continued

I have had the Sims 3 for almost a month now and can say without a doubt that it was money well spent. I have enjoyed every minute of the game that Dave calls 'playing house for adults'. I have made Dave and myself and other random characters as well and of course made a bunch of houses all over the towns. The only part of the game that Dave enjoys is the building of houses so he has built a couple houses in the towns as well.
One of my only complaints about the game is that they have gotten rid of some of the skills I enjoyed the most from the previous game, like the basic music skill. It has been replaced by the guitar skill which means there are no pianos in the Sim world anymore. Also, you can no longer read a generic cooking book to advance that skill, rather you have to spend lots of resources (food) cooking food that will inevitably go to waste. Although, you can store leftover food in the fridge so it does last a little longer than it did in Sims 1 and 2.

On Site

I have spent the last three to four months in the office writing reports, setting up site visits and doing basic project management jobs. Though I enjoy being in the office and knowing what I am going to be doing the next day, it was getting pretty boring and I was getting pretty restless. The past few days I have been on site at CFB Rockcliffe doing designated substance surveys in the houses that are scheduled to be demolished. It has been nice to be out of the office, despite the fact that I haven't been able to work with Dave like I had initially planned. I am back in the office on Monday, but hopefully I will be able to get all my work done in one day and will be able to go back on site on Tuesday and for the later part of the week as well.

Court Date

Monday, June 6, 2009 was the court date for the accident - or rather, for my appeal of the ticket I got because of the car accident. I was very nervous about the whole thing and started freaking out about it at the end of last week as I couldn't get a hold of the man who was going to help me with the trial. Eventually we connected and I told him I wanted his assistance on the day of the trial, for a fee as expected. We discussed what was going to happen and I continued to wait.

This past weekend was a disaster in terms of my stress levels. Whenever I wasn't sleeping, making a meal or playing some kind of video game, I was worrying and fretting about the trial. I had never been a part of a trial and had no idea what to expect. I would dream of important meetings/events and either screwing them up or missing them all together. It was very unpleasant. I spent the morning worrying even more and deciding what I was going to say when it came time to speak. The trial was at 1:30 and I was there at almost exactly 1. Paul, the man who was helping me, showed up about 5 minutes after me and we discussed a few options I had such as taking a by-law fine rather than a Highway Traffic Act (HTA) charge. As we spoke, the man who hit me showed up and we eventually followed him into the actual courtroom.
It was like a combination of a tiny courtroom and a tiny church. I say church because the seats were like pews in a church and the atmosphere made me just as uncomfortable as a church.
The witness to the accident, who was behind me when I was hit, also showed up and of course the police officer was there. The whole thing was very unnerving and I was very glad I had decided to get Paul's help. He spoke with the prosecutor after which he and I made what I consider a very wise decision to take the by-law fine. Nothing is attached to my license and there is only a small monetary fine that I have no real problem with.
I am really happy with the outcome of the trial, that in total took about half an hour, two minutes of which were the actual trial. I can now put the whole thing behind me and get on with things.

One Minute Writer #29

Besides laughter, what is the best medicine?

Pepto-Bismol. It works wonders on more than just what is included in their jingle. I find it can sometimes get rid of nerves and headaches, whatever is making you sick. This may be because a great deal of the time I really only need a placebo. Mind over matter afterall.

One Minute Writer #28

If you have children (or plan to have children, or can imagine having children), what trait do you have that you want to make sure you don't pass on?

When I have children I really hope that they do not get a couple of my physical traits such as my wide legs. I hope that I do not pass on the traits that increase my weight problems so that they do not have to deal with them as I have. When it comes to non-physical traits, I hope that my children are more social than I am as I have had to jump a few hurdles because of that.

One Minute Writer # 27

Write about a business you would like to start.

So we all know what business I want to start and will eventually start - one day, but I am going to answer this One Minute Writer question from over a year ago (I have started going back in their posts as I am not finding the current ones very interesting), with a different idea of mine.

I would like to start my own food establishment. I am not sure what type exactly as it changes every once in a while, depending on my mood and current likes but something along the lines of either a delicatessen, bakery or gourmet chocolate store. Not only do I want to be the owner of an establishment like this, but I want to be the main cook/chef/chocolatier, which essentially means I want to learn one of these trades extensively. Perhaps in the future I will take a course or two in these fields for entertainment purposes, but I highly doubt I would ever start a business based on them as I would rather focus my entrepreneurial efforts elsewhere.

Google Analytics

I had signed up for Google Analytics quite some time ago and apparently never but the necessary code in my html for this (and my other) blog(s) - oops. So a couple days ago I finally realized this and put the code in the proper place. I can now track pretty much everything about my blogs: how many people come on the site, how long they tend to stay, which posts are being read, where the people are from etc. I won't be using it as I am sure some larger sites would, to collect data about their visitors and use it to their advantage, this is merely yet another way for me to amuse myself and even better - procrastinate from doing actual work while at work. I love gadgets that assist in slacking off at work.

New Stuff

In the Sims 3 the people enjoy it when they get new stuff and get a mood booster for a couple of Sim hours. It is a nice little booster because all you have to do is buy them something new and make sure they are around when you purchase it.
I bring this up because this past weekend Dave and I purchased new clothes and a shiny, new fan for the living room. Shortly after the fan was put together, I realized that I too get a mood booster of sorts just after I have purchased a new item. I love the actual act of purchasing things and then the later acts of assembling or arraning/organizing the new item and of course just the simple act of knowing I own something now that I didn't before. It is very materialistic of me, but I can be quite materialistic. But, unlike the Sims, it does not have to be the very best item for me to be pleased with my purchase - I tend to be just as delighted about an item from the dollar store as one from a more expensive name brand store. I just love new stuff.

One Minute Writer #26

Think about the games, rides, and attractions at a carnival. Which one best represents your life?

Right now my life is very much like a ferris wheel. A basic ride that goes nowhere in particular and has both ups and downs, both rather predictable in nature. It is enjoyable, but safe.

142nd Birthday

(image found through Google image search)
Canada is 142 years old today!
I am a very proud Canadian and feel this is a great nation in which to live. We have our faults and definitely lots of things for other nations to poke fun at, but it is beautiful and the place I happily call home.