Hello all! It has been awhile! And as I type up what could be a very long blog update, Festivus, Christmas, and New Year's Eve is almost upon us! And, before we know it, it will be 2010. Yeah, 2009 has been an interesting year full of odd memories and strange occurrences. But, that will be for another blog update that will occur before the end of the year. But thankfully, it has been only a little more than two weeks since I have last updated this blog update. As a result, this blog update will not be as long as those blog updates that cover periods of up to four weeks, thankfully. But either way, you're essentially in hell as of this moment.
When I last updated this almost immaculately-coded blog, I was in the midst of writing final exams and had taken a "study break" when I last updated this blog. At the present moment, finals are over and another term of school will be upon me starting January 4, 2010. But, in the meantime, I am currently bummed out, as I am disappointed that Parliament has gone for its Christmas break. And at the moment, I really miss watching Members of Parliament scream at each other during question period. And, in addition to the entertainment it provides me, it is also educationally beneficial to all Canadians. I remember when Prime Minister Stephen Harper called the NDP 'completely irrelevant to Canadians.' When Mr. Harper first said that, I was laughing because I dislike the NDP, and I still do. But, thinking about that moment right now, I did not completely agree with the Prime Minister's statement, although I understand that the NDP was indeed frustrating him, and I wonder how Jack Layton felt when he was called 'irrelevant.' Well, that's all the ranting I have for the moment, as more will be found later in this update. Apparently, I have anger problems!
Monday, December 7, 2009 was the day I started studying, apparently. Actually, that would be incorrect. I spent the day doing weird things that didn't really need to done in the first place, even though I was supposed to study. And before the end of the day, I caught a new episode of Two and a Half Men. As for the episode itself, it was pretty funny.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009 was when I finally got some real studying done! Why? Well, I didn't really have a choice because my political studies exam (also my first exam) would be the very next morning at 9:00 AM. Eventually, I wrote the exam and encountered a tougher exam than expected. But, based on my final grade, I have been led to assume that I received a mark of approximately 74% on the final exam. As for the final grade itself, I don't like to reveal marks to people unless they ask me. The final exam itself consisted of twenty multiple choice questions, a series of short answer questions (we were required to answer at least three) and one essay question. The essay question itself was ridiculous, but also hilarious. As you probably did not know, no government in Canada has been elected with a majority of votes since 1988. The last time that did happen was in 1984, when Brian Mulroney and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada won the largest majority government in Canadian history. So, the question basically said that I was a Nobel-prize-winning political scientist and I became an advisor to the Prime Minister in 2012. The question stated that it is 2012, and Canada finally elected a "true majority government" (where the party in power won a majority of seats and votes) after having eight elections between 2009 and 2012. The Prime Minister of Canada is Justin Trudeau, who is the son of Pierre Elliott Trudeau, who campaigned on reviewing the entire government body and electoral system, potentially making changes to the Constitution Act, 1982, which also brought in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. But, in order to change the constitution, eight out of ten provinces must agree to the changes. So, in the question, we were already told that the provinces are on board, and Mr. Trudeau has approached the person writing the exam on what to do. Well, I could not contain my laughter, because I seriously thought it was a funny question. Basically, the question explained the situation (I liked the part about having eight elections) and asked what I would change or keep the same... and that took me close to two hours to write. By the time I was finished, it was about 11:50 AM or so, leaving about ten minutes for the remaining students to write their exams. I don't remember much about what I wrote, but I do remember writing that I would keep the single member plurality system that we use in Canada to elect individuals because it would be in my own best interests if I were to someday potentially become a Member of Parliament. Now, that may not happen at all, as I am pretty lazy. But, if that were to happen, I would not blame you if you did not vote for me. After the final that day, I was home and eventually began to study for the next exam, hard, as it was going to occur the next day (Thursday). Later that day though, I received a card from Mark King. Thankfully, that guy did not send me a card full of insults, unlike some people in previous years (Daniel and Larry). I also received a cheque that day from SurveySpot for a whole dollar! Man, I felt rich that day...
Thursday, December 10, 2009 was payday, which excited me. I also mailed a couple of Christmas cards to American destinations. Well, I kind of forgot to do so... and then I mailed them the next day. Eventually, I wrote the exam at 9:00 AM and finished at approximately 11:10 AM. That exam was easier than I had expected, and I was able to write about the same stuff throughout most of the exam. And in the end, the final grade that I had received was higher than what I had hoped for by about 2%. However, before the exam, I was hoping that someone would create a loud disruption. Sadly, that never happened. It would have come in handy too, as I had a major stomach ache that day. And believe it or not, my own cousin (Tho) made fun of me... and so did David Couchman. I eventually spent the rest of the day doing nothing, as I would not have another exam for days. But, to relax, I watched a movie called My Life in Ruins. That movie was pretty funny, but also odd. What I did like about that movie was that there were two characters named Poupi Kakas and Doudi Kakas.
December 11, 2009 was a cold day, and would the beginning of an extremely-cold weekend. But, despite the cool weather, I went to school for a few things. But while I was there, I missed something interesting: PETA protesters stripping (almost) naked and holding signs that said "Only Animals Should Wear Fur" despite the -25°C weather. And later that day, I was reminded of a classic episode of Seinfeld, when Jerry lost some money he left in his pants pocket before taking his laundry to the laundry service. As a form of revenge, Kramer suggested that the pair go to the place and dump a bag of concrete into the washer. The great thing about that night was that I spent the night at home, despite the fact that it was a Friday evening, and it felt great! Meanwhile, Noelle was making up a 'cheat sheet' for her anthropology exam. That is considered wrong, and the University of Saskatchewan... ah, screw it, I'm pretty sure she wasn't "cheating." Or, was she? Actually, it is not uncommon for professors to allow cheat sheets during final exams. Some computer science classes allow them too! It was also the same day my cousin Jeannette and her husband David went to Barbados (at midnight). And while they wearing shorts and sandals in hot weather, we poor suckers here in Canada at the time, were suffering through terrible temperatures that weekend. Meanwhile, David Couchman was in Ontario, where it was above the zero mark for a few days.
December 12, 2009 was a day I spent mostly at my uncle's house in Stonebridge. Ky was spending the day with his annoying high school friends, while Tho was at home playing the computer games. My plan was to spend the day studying. Unfortunately, that did not work out very well. But, that day was pretty interesting, because it was a peaceful day... and overall, it was a pretty good day. I was planning on going to school to study, but my uncle wasn't home and Tho insisted that I could not leave him home alone, because his daddy wasn't home. As a result, I was forced to stay at his home. It ticked me off, because I had a few things I needed to do, and they had to wait until Monday. This is where I say one special phrase: "Stupid Tho!" Although the day ticked me off, it wasn't as bad as that day I taxied Ky (and his stupid-looking hair) and his friend(s) around because he was too lazy to take the bus home and because he apparently had no key to his own house. Yeah, by now, I'm pretty sure you now know all about that night (it occurred on December 5, 2009). To end the night, I watched a new episode of America's Most Wanted. Later in the day, I was watching the news about the Olympic torch travelling to Ottawa. I was doing my usual routine until I heard that Senator Roméo Dallaire was also a torchbearer. When I heard that, I got really angry for some reason. According to David Couchman, I only hate him because he is a Liberal senator. Well, at first, I denied that charge, but I eventually admitted to it, with one exception: that's only one reason I dislike him. The other reason is that I kept hearing his name in high school, when I had an English teacher that often talked about him and her meeting with that guy. I think that when you hear his name so many times, you tend to get sick of it. Speaking of appointed senators, Dallaire will not be required to retire until June 25, 2021. He was appointed under the advice of previous prime minister Paul Martin. But, among things that I did get to do, despite Tho's interference, taking a picture of a cool place was one of them. Now, people will have to believe me when I say that there is a place called Fresh Real Pizza located at 22nd Street and Avenue K South here in Saskatoon. I also drank some weird Eska Natural Spring Water that Chelsea Colborne got me while she was in Montreal. It was refreshing, and tasted like water. Their plant is located in St-Mathieu-d'Harricana, Québec.
December 13 was the start of a better day. The first thing that made me happy was that Senator Lorna Milne was required to retire at the end of the day, as she turned 75. Later that day, I reviewed some mail and decided to scan and share an interesting letter I recently received from Saskatoon Police Service Chief Clive Weighill. To see the letter, you must click here. I for one cannot wait until they install those silhouettes of kids walking down the street. But, I wonder... how many people will actually stop when they see school children? A lot of people in Saskatoon have a disregard for the safety of children when they drive through school zones. Later that day, I eventually developed a craving for some IHOP food. But when I went to their website to locate one close to Saskatoon, there was none. Instead, the closest location to Saskatoon was in Kelowna, British Columbia. And from what I know, according to Chelsea Colborne, it is an excellent establishment. Now, if only some rich entrepreneur or business owner would open up an IHOP franchise in Saskatoon... and I wouldn't mind seeing an Applebee's franchise in Saskatoon either. I eventually ended the day by watching new episodes of my favourite FOX shows. The episode of The Simpsons was hilarious, while The Cleveland Show was slightly funny. Family Guy, however, was hilarious. And, the shocker was that American Dad was actually enjoyable. Overnight, I slept like a baby (with the exception of that time I woke up at 3:00 AM to use the washroom). When I woke up on Monday (the 14th), I felt totally refreshed and energized! But, that still made me incredibly lazy. This was also the first day of a two-day closure of all Saskatoon Public Library branches. The library had closed all of their branches to make the switch to a new system, which will eventually be in sync with every other public library in Saskatchewan. So, in the future, once that happens, I could potentially travel to Regina to borrow something at a random branch of their library system and return it here in Saskatoon. And, knowing myself very well, that's not something I won't do. But anyway, while Jeannette and David were in Barbados enjoying the hot weather, people here in Saskatoon were suffering from temperatures that were as low as -36°C (not including the wind chill, which brought it down to -49°C). Meanwhile, in Edmonton, it was -46°C and with a wind chill, it was -58°C. Now, the funny thing is that although David and Jeannette were in Barbados, they still had something that a lot of North Americans eat: food from KFC. To see, click here.
December 14 was a day I was "planning" on spending at home studying. But, I ended up watching a whole lot of television for an hour or so. Eventually, I did get down to studying. Eventually, that day became a boring one and I just watched television for two hours or so before going to sleep. That eventually marked the end of the 14th.
Tuesday last week, however, was more interesting. While having lunch one day, I watched a little television, and saw an interesting show called Street Court, where a former Brooklyn district attorney sets up court at the "scene of the crime," and it was totally weird. But, Reverend Nathan Dutnall totally enjoyed it. Eventually, I went to the campus and wrote an exam. After that exam, I decided to drop by the Real Canadian Superstore located at 2901 8th Street East. While I was there, Shelly was there too! And while I was there, I just bought a bunch of stuff I didn't really need. I also mailed some dangerous Christmas cards to select people. Eventually, I shopped and as I left the store, I met a group of five inspirational young kids. I was waiting for the elevator because I was too lazy to walk down the ramp to the basement. Three kids were waiting with me and their two friends came by and said they were lazy. Well, in the end, all five kids took the elevator with me. Those kids are a true inspiration, and they obviously have a bright future ahead of them! Now, a product that I really enjoyed after buying it that night was the PC Mocktail Mojito Minty-Lime Mojito. I eventually headed home, after making a stop at Burger King for a WHOPPER. That meal would make it the third "meal" I had last week from the same fast-food joint. On the plus side, I got free cheese on my sandwiches. Well, that eventually wrapped up my Tuesday night.
Last Wednesday, I woke up late in the day, and the first matter of business involved some guy coming by to spray some stuff on the new sofa in my home. Eventually, I made my house look like it had been trashed. To see, click here. Eventually, I did nothing for a while. After endless hours of television, I finally "studied" a little bit. I wrote down things I didn't know very well, and it was almost three quarters of a page. Now, like the nights before my other morning exams, I tried to sleep early. Sadly, for the third time, I was not able to sleep until 2:00 AM. By the end of the night, a torrent that I had been trying to download for more than a month (almost two months) was at 99.8% and its "ETA," according to BitTorrent was an infinity symbol. The remaining 0.2% was finally downloaded by Friday afternoon, almost a full 48 hours later.
At 7:00 AM on Thursday morning, I woke up and dropped my vehicle off at Ens Lexus Toyota and got a ride to school. Less than two hours later, at 9:00 AM, I was writing an exam. And when the professor said the exam was 'short and sweet,' he really meant it. The exam itself was about two pages. The first page and a half was a variety of fill-in-the-blank, definition or multiple choice questions. The remaining half of the second page consisted of five essay questions, and we were required to choose one. Everyone finished the exam within the first hour. After writing the exam, I sold some textbooks and got about $75.00 in cash. After selling the textbooks, I dropped by an old high school: Mount Royal Collegiate. The school has changed drastically. From the cafeteria and the overall configuration of most parts of the school, things have really changed. According to Mr. Alexander, the school will eventually only occupy over half of the building, while SIAST occupies the remainder of the building, along with the Saskatoon Skills & Trades Centre. Immediately after visiting the high school, I paid a visit to the Reverend Nathan Dutnall, and introduced him to the whacky show that has since ended: Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide. Reverend Dutnall eventually dismissed the show as "stupid," but did compliment one character, calling him awesome: Vice Principal Harvey Crubbs. After visiting the Reverend Dutnall's home, he gave me a ride back to my house... but then I got a ride to the dealership to pick up my car, and to pay for the routine maintenance that I couldn't perform myself. Once I was home, I was once again out of the house to visit my evil cousins Ky, Tho... and Tony (and I installed Windows 7 on Ky's desktop computer)! I guess that was fun... but while I was there, I got some evidence of Tho harassing his younger brother Tony. Here's proof. And, to end the evening, I took pictures of the Real Canadian Superstore on Confederation Drive in the dark, with its new paint scheme. To see, click here.
This past Friday was a better day. I left the house to take some pictures of weird things, including a street corner, a place I stumbled upon after getting "lost" and a traffic signal setup that bugged me. Eventually, I headed to Aden Bowman Collegiate, where I visited/bugged teachers that once taught me. After that trip, I headed to Greystone Heights Community School, where I bugged Mr. Ganes, who was my eighth grade teacher during my days at the original W.P. Bate Community School. After visiting Mr. Ganes, I decided to head to the Real Canadian Superstore, and I bought myself some cheesecake and pop before heading home. Well, on the way home, I stopped at Burger King, making it the fourth time last week. Eventually, I headed home and ate... and spent the rest of Friday at home. But, the part that made me sad that day was that I learned that GM would end production of Saab vehicles. I thought it was a shame, because Jerry Seinfeld drove one on his show. Remember, Black Saab rules! If you have not seen that episode, I suggest you go watch the episode titled "The Puerto Rican Day." Later that day, the torrent I was download for weeks finally finished. In fact, I was so excited that I did a "happy dance." And, for your information, I was downloading the third season of Even Stevens. Man, I love that show, and the antics that Louis Stevens is always up to, and how those antics always blow up in his face! And yes, I spent Friday evening at home. Does that make me a loser? Apparently, it does. That now concludes my Friday evening.
Now, to interrupt my usual cycle of life, I am going to talk about Saskatoon's 'bulbed' street corners. If you are driving around Saskatoon, there are lot of 'bulbed' street corners in Saskatoon. Most notable "bulbed" corners are those ones along 20th Street West between Idylwyld Drive and Avenue D South. To see what I mean, click here. Now, they do look nice, but I love and hate them. Why do I love them? Well, they look nice, and they tend to spruce up the area, somewhat. Now, the thing I hate about them is how annoying they can be during rush hour traffic. For instance, when you're driving along that street and there are a lot of cars travelling as well, you must wait for the car in front of you to make their right turn in order to continue moving. It's also annoying if your car is parked along that street. For instance, let's just say that I was parked in front of that fancy pawn shop across the street from the Mandarin Restaurant at the corner of the 20th Street and Avenue C South. Well, I'm moving out... and in order to make a right turn in rush hour traffic, I have to wait for an opening for me to squeeze into traffic, then I can finally make that right turn. Yes, it's annoying! Well, that's all for my rant about "bulbed" corners. As you can see, I have no life.
Now, I shall continue on with my boring life. I started the day by visiting my cousins Ky and Tho at their home. Eventually, we left and went to Burger King again, making it my fifth visit to the joint in a week, which is sad. Eventually, I went to the Real Canadian Superstore, and bought stuff. And being the weird guy that I am, I decided to buy gift cards with PC points, and then used those gift cards to buy another gift card, eventually using that gift card to purchase a Future Shop gift card for $50. That, unfortunately, backfired, and I am too embarrassed to tell the entire story. But, I have learned a lesson: I shall never do it again. The computer systems at the store are to blame, but my own oddity is partially to blame too! At this point, I still haven't checked if that second gift card has worked yet, or if it ever will. I will find out tomorrow... and I may have lost $50.00 worth of PC points in the process, and there is nothing that can be done. At this point, I am still very much ticked off regarding the process, and at the time, I snapped at my cousin Tho, who usually bugs me for fun, and I regret that outburst. At the time, I said "Damn it, why are you so (profanity) annoying today?!" Eventually, I headed home, but shortly afterwards, I picked up my mom from work and we all went to the Walmart store in Stonebridge, which will become a Walmart Supercentre by March. After going there, I drove the two youngsters back to their home and I eventually headed home. And for a while, I did nothing, and then I slept, and woke up, and watched Cops and America's Most Wanted on FOX. Eventually, I was planning on visiting the Real Canadian Superstore at 2:00 AM to make fun of Shelly. But, I was getting tired, and my cousin Ky insisted on coming. By this time, I had convinced Peter Poorman to come with me. Cailin Fisher said that he may join me, but this changed because I tried to contact him, and he didn't reply to my text message. Now, because of my schedule change, I picked up Mr. Poorman at his home earlier than expected, before picking up my cousins at a restaurant called "Restaurant 224" located at... 224 3rd Avenue South. To see what it looks like in the day, click here. Anyway, I immediately headed across town to the green store. And while I was there, I got to see what happens overnight at the store after the store 'closes' at 11:00 PM. Now, I was there a lot earlier than expected. By the time I left the store, it was only 12:10 AM or so. Eventually, I decided to drive my cousins home to their 'big' house, but on the way there, Mr. Poorman suggested that we stop at Walmart so he could spend the money on his gift card like he was rich (who knows... he might be incredibly rich). Eventually, my cousins wanted to come too. That trip to Walmart however, was longer, and people actually bought stuff, unlike the bottle of Orangina I bought at the Real Canadian Superstore. Mr. Poorman bought a Green Day CD and an iTunes card of some sort. We also went to the McDonald's at the store, which didn't close after 11:00 PM, unlike the store at Preston Crossing, which also has no self-checkouts. During the odd 'adventure,' Mr. Poorman and I discussed interesting topics, which included feces, a haunted pharmacy, ghosts haunting traffic sensors (because I saw a left-turn arrow at the intersection of Clarence Avenue South and Brand Road, even though there were no vehicles in the left lane and it went on for a considerable amount of time). It was an interesting conversation, and I am glad that I got to hang out with Mr. Poorman. Occasionally, I see the man on the bus while heading to school. On the way back to his home, I demonstrated a "secret" to him. Now, as awesome as Mr. Poorman is, what strikes me as odd is the way he makes his decisions: the flip of a coin. When I asked if he would like to come with me, he made his decision based on a coin flip. The verdict: he was in. So, now I wonder: if he loved a woman so much down the road and considered asking her to marry him, would he make his decision of whether or not to propose to her based on a coin flip? Now that situation would be worthy of researching... or maybe Mr. Poorman himself can answer that question! Now, at this point it would be Sunday morning. And while I was at the McDonald's, I ordered two smore pies, which I did not know they offered. I guess it must have been very recent. And while I was at the Real Canadian Superstore, Shelly had offered to call someone about my gift card fiasco. I haven't made my decision yet, but I think I'll just give up on it at some point. It was her that suggested that I should change my weird ways when it comes to playing with the gift cards. This would be the first time that my own plan involving wasting gift cards has backfired. Anyway, that would conclude my overnight venture, and Saturday, for that matter. Obviously, I have no life.
Sunday morning, after waking up, was boring. And later in the day, I learned that Brittany Murphy had suddenly died, and I was surprised, and also shocked, but ultimately saddened, as I loved her character on that movie with Ashton Kutcher, called Just Married. Otherwise, I had spent most of the day doing nothing but watching television and movies, as well as more episodes of that show I recently downloaded, Even Stevens. But now, based on that show, I wonder if anyone has started a 'lumberjack club' at the University of Saskatchewan. Later that night, there were no new episodes of my favourite FOX shows. As a result, I had some free time, and I started working on the main page of this website, but then things backfired when I accidentally deleted the PHP file I was working on. As a result, I had to start from scratch. This time, it wasn't as much of a problem, because I remembered what to do, as I implemented some new features (no noticeable change) just months ago. I eventually got tired and called it a night. Yeah, I am a loser, aren't I?
Yesterday, after going through some old stuff, I found something that reminded me of Jeff Meville. In fact, I found something that he directly sold to me back in high school: fireworks. At the time of the transaction, I was 17 years old, and not enough to buy fireworks. But, I wasn't exactly looking for them. One day, Mr. Meville decided to say "Hello my friend from a foreign land!" I then approached his locker and he asked me if I had wanted to buy some fireworks. He then opened up his locker, revealing a whole stash of fireworks, and told me not to tell 'suspicious' people (teachers or other adults, etcetera). Well, more than three years later, I am now telling my 300 friends on Facebook, as well as the rest of the world through my blog, and I hope that Mr. Meville doesn't mind today. I will always miss him and the way he talked. Another one of my friends (who shall remain unnamed) once said that Mr. Meville was always a smooth-talker with the ladies, and the way he talked actually worked for my own friend. Now, although that sounds sexist, I will have to agree with this unnamed friend. I miss Jeff dearly and always will. As for the "friend from a foreign land" deal, other Asians may be offended by something like that. For me, I absolutely looked forward to it every single time I saw the man. As for the memorial that has been set up for the man at the signalized traffic intersection on Confederation Drive in front of the Confederation Mall entrance, the two traffic signal posts have not been updated in awhile. Now, I rarely travel through that area. But when I do, I always think of Mr. Meville.
Later in the day, Phillip Wu made it clear that he was still alive and that he hadn't been able to access Facebook in days. Well, things have changed, I guess, and he's alive! Eventually, I was reading stuff on the Internet, and was reminded of one important event: CES. Eventually, I spent the day doing some things around the house, and eventually began watching Inglourious Basterds. Now, Reverend Nathan Dutnall had already warned me that the movie was terrible, and I did not believe him. After watching the first 90 minutes so far, I must say that he was right. In total, the movie is more than two hours and thirty minutes. Now, I don't know if I'll ever finish the movie. And, eventually, last night, I did hang out with Larry Chen for a bit, and I had a little fun, despite my claim that it was horrible. Another great thing about yesterday was that my balance on SnapDollars was $128.42... so I claimed my payment. Eventually, I "hit the hay," whatever that means.
This morning, I was playing around on YouTube in search of a video of an engineering student at school dancing around campus. Under related videos, I found a video of Rick Mercer visiting the University of Saskatchewan on the Rick Mercer Report that also featured then-president of the USSU, James Pepler. Eventually, after finishing making some changes to this website and playing some videogames, I eventually decided that I didn't want to eat anything in the house... so I ordered a medium pizza from Domino's Pizza and a two-litre drink from the joint for $10.99 (plus a $3.50 delivery charge) because I was too lazy to leave the house. To take advantage of the offer, you can order a pizza online and then use the code SPC. Or, you can use this handy link. This offer came in a recent SPC Card email. Eventually, I spent the entire afternoon watching television, before coming back to the computer to finish up this incredibly-long blog update. And yes, I have no life, and I am totally aware of that. So, that concludes a story of my life up until tonight, December 22, 2009. And as of tonight, Andrew Pang should be finished with final exams already. Throughout the day, however, I did call a few people, but to no avail. Eventually, I got a hold of Zheng Wang, who was busy. I called Phillip Wu and talked for about an hour earlier this evening. I also talked to Reverend Nathan Dutnall for about 40 minutes. I also called Jennifer Rospad this morning, but I apparently called at a bad time, which is a shame, because I haven't really talked to her in awhile.
Now, before I actually conclude this blog update, I would like to discuss a few important matters. Well, technically, they are not very important. They are just more rants.
Recently, I read an article about how Windows 7's biggest competitor is Windows XP. And, I can see why someone would think like that. At the time, Windows Vista was supposed to be its successor, but it was considered one of the biggest tech disappointments, ever. As a result, a lot of people stuck to Windows XP, making Windows Vista "unpopular." Because of the Vista operating system, people may have become reluctant to deploy Windows 7. Another factor may be the fact that Microsoft had extended its support beyond the traditional five-year period after an operating system receives a successor. For example, when Windows Me was slowly becoming irrelevant in 2001 with the release of Windows XP, support for Windows Me ended sometime in 2006. With Windows XP, that support has been extended to 2014.
Also recently, I read an article about how hiring is predicted to slow down in Saskatoon. Although the article was boring, I am worried. As someone who will be permanently laid off as of March 26, 2010 (barring unforeseen circumstances), that prediction is specifically troubling, and I hope that doesn't affect my job search.
And last, but not least, I was recently reading a CNN.com article/feature about American companies or brands that disappeared in 2009. It was an interesting article, and I suggest that you check it out. It is actually pretty interesting.
Well, that concludes this blog update. At this point, Christmas is almost upon us, and I would like to wish everyone a Happy Festivus, or a Merry Christmas! I will be sure to return before the end of the year for a year-long reflection of interesting events and things to look forward to in 2010. But, things to look forward to in the coming days include tomorrow, when Future Shop and Best Buy release their Boxing Day flyers at 12:01 AM eastern time (that may have already passed by now, based on editing/proof-reading delays). Friday will be Christmas day and Saturday will be the day that Canadians across Canada will be shopping like crazy bastards. I for one, however, plan to shop at Future Shop from the comfort of my own home. Now, just to name a few things, in 2010, I look forward to quite a few things: 2010 International CES, the Olympic torch coming to Saskatoon, my 21st birthday (I will soon be able to rent a car, despite higher rates for "young" drivers) and the start of another term of school (yeah, I'm actually excited about school, believe it or not)! Well, those are only some of the things to look forward to! Obviously, there are lots of exciting things to look forward to!
That officially concludes my very long blog update. Now, remember: DON'T GET RIPPED BY THE RIPTIDE! And yes, I know that I am a crazy bastard.
