Tralhalha

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I just guaranteed this post here so that I could have my traditional retrospective blog entry before the year ends. As it turns out, this post will be short and direct, just like the year was for the subject being.

Starting with a really bad decision, caused by boredom and weird curiosity, I'd say [57] was a big fat mistake. It didn't get much better as I explored my fantasy for strangers with [58], but at least that gave an opportunity to write [59] off from my list. I was kind of content for finding [60], which was not only a very convenient choice, but also a satisfiable subject in bed - too bad the jerk was cheating on someone that I would actually like to meet someday. While still in this interesting game, I felt for the begging calls of [61], which was so deeply interested that I felt I was doing a pity date. Luckily I got away from that and continued my adventure with the previous number. I ended the secret encounters with the latter just because something much greater came to my life, which is the amazing and current [62]. I have no intentions on growing the list any longer, specially because the bird I have in my hand right now is probably one of those legendary creatures you can only catch with a Master Ball. Let's see how it goes in 2011, then.

SeeYa,
Feliploko, who's bold

Mergulhe nessa protecao

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I'd better write this retrospective post soon, otherwise I won't be able to do it this year.

I finally completed some kind of post-secondary education, and although it makes me happy that I got past that milestone (despite the fortune I spent on it), I feel weird when I think about my peers who are graduating from a slightly higher rank of education. Of course I plan to go back to school, but somehow I feel like for once I lagged behind. In 2009 I managed to work at least a little bit at Seneca, but in 2010 I almost became a full-time employee (which was against their policies). I managed shifts at the bookstore and FCET during my crazy 6-subject last semester, and if it weren't for that modafoca and his e-hack-penis, I would've gotten a perfect grade (GPA 4) and graduated with high distinction. I settled for a standard distinction though, since that was enough to make my mom and sis proud. Speaking of which, this year they came to visit me for the first time, and although it would've been better if I were in a better living situation, it was good to have them here experiencing what made me stay. As soon as they left, my life got incredibly better, but that remains for them to see when they come again.

It took me quite a while to find a decent job after graduating. I was deeply sad while working at Ontario Place for a ridiculously minimum wage, while my few job interviews were quite weird. My first failure was with Accenture, which screened me out over the phone for my lack of ability in asking relevant questions. After that, I met these two guys with this interesting idea for a web application. I actually got quite far in that interview process, but I gave up after getting a task that I had no idea how I would complete in the given time. Luckily that was about the time when I heard from my third and last interview. Over the phone, this lady from HeadStart Solutions really appreciated my academic and volunteer experience, and that's how I got a personal interview at a company whose field of work I didn't really understand. On my personal interview, I dared to walk in wearing snickers to contrast my poor-looking interview clothes, but luckily the recruiter saw the potential in me past my inability to dress well. For the last interview with the real bosses of the company, I managed to dress normally, and given that the recruiter was strongly recommending me, I got the job.

While welcoming the QA Analyst in me, I felt bad for settling for something outside of the programming field just to get through with this damn immigration process in Canada. I ended up ignoring this feeling, given that every experience matters when it's time to move on with your life. It's been 6 months that I am officially a full-time employee in a company with standard offices and everything, and I don't quite know when I stopped feeling weird about that. Managing budgets at the end of the month and buying office clothes once in a while became habits without any resistance. To better accommodate my schedule, I moved to a suburb, away from my friends. That caused the rupture of some ties, and the weakening of others. Hopefully I'll be able to get back to my normal social life again one day.

Now for the last and most important change in my year, I don't even have the words to log. All I know is that after several attempts with people that didn't quite fit in my life, I found someone who gets a checkmark in pretty much everything on my wanted list. We've been through some really bad stuff, but unlike most other relationships, I keep feeling like trying again every time we fall apart. I hope the new year brings even more joy to our lives together, and that our little misunderstandings will all crack like a silly boy's jokes.

For the songs, powered by last.fm, we have 7th: Tegan and Sara - Call It Off (Zulema, the concert, and her girlfriend); 6th: Vampire Weekend - White Sky (freedom in my old apartment); 5th: Arcade Fire - Ready to Start (my new place); 4th: Voxtrot - Raised by Wolves (nostalgia and letters to Brazil); 3rd: Kings of Convenience - Mrs. Cold (Mareks); 2nd: Prata Vetra - Rudens (new language, new culture); 1st: Metric - Help I'm Alive (The Wreck Room, and how I wish I could go there often).

SeeYa,
Feliploko, happy 2011.

Nothing ringing inside, no?

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It was not so long ago; I was in high school. I was the kind of person who would read a book during the break instead of socialize with others or play sports (except for when one of my few friends would come pay me a visit in my little corner at the science lab once in a while). During most of those years I was addicted to Ragnarok Online. My friends kept telling me that, and I don't know if they really understood that I was aware of that fact. There was not much I could (or wanted) to do, since RO was one of the very few things that I enjoyed doing at that time. As Leonard from The Big Bang Theory once said, people with little sense of achievement in real life are easily susceptible to virtual world additions. And that was it: besides being loved on the online world for my website and my childish flame wars, the only thing I was proud of was my academic standing (which very few people used to truly appreciate). I remember being enormously joyful when Hanna Morris was praised, and disgracefully depressed when she was condemned. But I still refuse to call that phase a waste, since it nested the birth many of the good characteristics I have today.

One cold morning, just like any other in the short Brazilian winter, I decided once again not to go to school, so that I could stay home playing RO. I knew that could bring me trouble, since the day before I did the same thing and my mom didn't really appreciate it. I ignored my alarm and stayed in bed without making any plan to escape my mother's disapproval. Only when hearing her footsteps coming down the wooden stairs that I remembered I should do something. Without a better idea, I simply hid my backpack in my drawer and myself into the closet. Obviously, my mom sensed something was wrong and came to my bedroom to verify. For some reason she was having loud thoughts, and I could follow her logic. She noticed the washroom unusually dry (and I never go to school without showering); then, she found my keys on top of the computer table (and she knows I never forget them at home). Finally, she opened my drawer and found my backpack there, concluding her theory that I hadn't gone to school. Maybe she thought I had run away from home or something, because she didn't expect to find me inside the closet when she opened the doors to check if my clothes were there. She was surprised for just about 5 seconds, before she got angry and started requesting answers I didn't have. She took me to school that day, and told my father what I had done (which led to an uncomfortable talk with the man I rarely got in touch with). After that, I started elaborating much better plans to skip classes (and finally never got caught again).

That story has nothing to do with the fact that I bought myself a Nintendo Game Cube when I came to Canada in 2004 with my high school, but for some reason both these thoughts were tormenting my mind just minutes ago. I thought about coming to post them, just so I make sure they will never go away. I really do miss having inspiration to log more events of my life in here.

SeeYa,
Feliploko, who's addicted to RO again.

Sorry for interrupting you

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It's December already, and I haven't gotten back to posting here. I definitely want to log my traditional end-of-year summaries, so I hope I'll come back for those. As for today, I can write a quick entry about the latest news.

I found out there are a few things that are not ok with my health, so I'll start treating them soon. Nothing to worry about, just some things my body used to be ok with, but is starting to reject now. Perhaps my company's benefit plan could help cover some of the costs for the treatments, but if not I'll just have to manage the budget (which I've been doing a lot lately).

I can't wait to be free from some of my debts, so that I can finally use most of my salary on my future instead of my past. The numbers still scare me when I compare them to what I used to have in Brazil, but I guess that's natural when you move somewhere with a stronger economy. I'm still not sure about some pretty important things about my future, such as where I will live (both city-wise and type of accommodation-wise), how I will get around (and if it will change according to the season), and which career/education path I should follow.

Not much more to talk about for now, so let's finish here.

SeeYa,
Feliploko; what's going on?