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| Rich Lafferty's Journal
Rich Lafferty's Journal - LiveJournal.com
So uh hi there everyone, long time no see?
So I've got this theory where I think it'd be good for me to just write about stuff that's going on here, not capital-B Blog capital-P Posts, not trying to write for a particular audience, just, you know... journaling. Sounds simple, but DAMNED IF I COULD EVER DO IT BEFORE EH SO WHO KNOWS
Anyhow, sorry I disappeared.
It feels like everything and nothing has happened since I was posting here last (which would've been around when we got the house). We lost Rasha in June -- even though he had failing kidneys, the poor guy must've had some brain or nervous system issues, because he had lost most of his control of his front legs, and when he lost control of his bladder we decided it was time.
I'm still at FreshBooks, I'm definitely a manager-type now, with three people on my team reporting to me. We're in the process of moving from our current 9,000 square feet into a new 21,000 sq ft office (!) and they've made me the project manager for the construction (it's an empty industrial shell right now) and the move which is totally paralyzing and crushing but also a pretty awesome challenge and responsibility too, but boy howdy will I be glad when the move is done.
I'm still practicing at the zen centre, more and more seriously by the day. I've done a couple more sesshins but the office move makes it hard to take a week off incommunicado right now. There's a seven-day working person's sesshin at the end of March, where you are allowed to leave the centre during the day for work, and we should be moved by then so I'm looking forward to that one.
The house is totally homey these days. nyxie has some recent pictures. I'm sitting in the office RIGHT NOW in fact.
And we're in the process of adopting more cats! These two, Stacey and Stella. Just working out the logistics of getting them from their foster home in Kitchener to here.
Also I'm totally obsessed with the new My Little Pony. This is the first time I've been deep into a fandom. Aren't I just the cutest?
Anyhow, nice to be back, sorry I went away!
(By the way, what's the state of the LJ/DW thing these days, anyhow? Have a bunch of people I used to read moved over there, or is everyone still here, or what's up?)
I should totally start using this again.
Silly me, I mentioned this on Facebook and Twitter but forgot about here!
As of June 15, nyxie and I will be owners of an actual HOUSE. Offer night was last Tuesday, and ours was the winning offer of three! Here it is:
It's on Maria Street in the Junction, the middle of three attached houses; the third one is set back a few metres on the left. It was built around 1915, I think. Our agent thought it was from about 1910, but I found maps showing it built by 1923 but not in 1912. So somewhere in there, anyhow, nearly but not quite a century home.
The current owners are architects and the interior is not only in great shape but it really suits our tastes, too -- we won't even have to do much painting to move in. Like the bright red accent wall:
And the kitchen, with a bottom-freezer fridge (not visible) and a GAS STOVE YAY:
There's three bedrooms upstairs, a big master up front, medium in the middle, and tiny in back. The medium will probably be our sleeping bedroom, the front an office and dressing room, and the back a zazen and yoga room.
The basement is unfinished except for a small rec room, and has an outside door, which means I'll be able to easily set up a little bike workshop down there. The backyard is small but has all the space we'd need, and a trellis with mature grapevines on it.
There's a bunch more photos in this flickr set.
Looks like moving date is going to be June 18. So excited!
So I have a new obsession and it is PONY. Specifically, it is the new generation of My Little Pony (no, really, read on), "Friendship Is Magic". I was going to write a big intro to it here but you can read Know Your Meme if you haven't heard.
Anyhow this post kept turning into too much text so let's get right to it -- remember when I was humming and hawing about learning to draw? Welp, I guess I just needed ponies.
I sketched Twilight Sparkle:
and I was pretty pleased with how that turned out -- note: not bragging, I am still in the "wait, I can draw?" stage here -- so I made a copy, inked it with a brush pen, scanned that, and colored it in Photoshop:
But I was really not happy with the inking job I did. I think I rushed it and ended up making the lines all too heavy. I'm not really used to using a brush pen yet and I haven't learned to work at 200%+ of the "target" size.
Anyhow, I realized one of the things that made it so heavy was that the linework was all black ink. But I didn't have anything else to use. So I scanned in the original sketch, found some tutorials on doing paths in Photoshop, and several hours and a couple dozen layers and paths later, the end result:
Okay, I'm hooked now.
Woo-hoo, we're house-hunting!
For the last little while, nyxie and I have been keeping an eye on the Toronto housing market on MLS, and a couple of weeks ago we met with a mortgage broker for pre-approval. We've been taking with a buyer's agent but scheduling has kept us from meeting her so far.
And then this weekend we checked out some open houses... and fell in love with the first house we looked at! Augh! That's not how this is supposed to work.
It's a semi-detached house in the top end of the Junction Triangle, on Osler north of Dupont. The current owners seem to have been renovating from the basement up -- the basement is done, the main floor has had a kitchen addition and reno at some point and has planning permission for another 300 feet off the back (!), and the upstairs is painted wood paneling and old but beautiful wood floors.
Here's the realtor's Youtube slideshow:
and here's the MLS listing. It's been on the market for a month, originally listed at $439,000 then $419 and now $399.
So we looked at a couple other places that day and didn't like either, which makes me feel a little bit better about loving this place -- it's not that we're just excited about house-hunting, it was this specific house.
It even has a weird little room upstairs, not shown in the slideshow, that's 7' x 4.5' -- both nyxie and I went in and immediately said "A zendo!". (A meditation mat is about 2'8" square.)
So we have one limit that's slowing down our "let's buy the first house we looked at" urge: the reason we haven't met our agent in person yet is that she's on vacation this week, and next week nyxie is on retreat at the zen centre. So we're leaving it up to fate for now; if it's still on the market a week this Friday we'll set up a showing, if not, oh well, on to the next cute house.
Fingers crossed!
[11:37] Owen Jacobson: ( is an unpaired paren
[11:37] Owen Jacobson: :( is not
[11:37] Owen Jacobson: weird
[11:38] Rich: )
[11:38] Owen Jacobson: (
[11:38] Rich:
This past weekend, while I was in retreat, our family dog Sam passed away at the age of 15.
15 is very old for a dog as big as Sam, the equivalent of about 93 human years, and as is typical for big dogs, his hips had deteriorated to the point where it was painful for him to walk. But the last time I saw him, at Christmas, he was the same happy mutt he'd always been since he was a tiny puppy who "wasn't going to get THAT big".
Those giant paws should've been a giveaway!
Before Sam I wasn't really a dog person. We'd always had cats growing up, But Sam was a Good Dog, friendly with everyone, gentle, affectionate, and completely devoted to my father. "He turned me into a dog person," I told Dad when he let me know. "Yeah, he turned a lot of people into dog people."
(And you were a good dog owner, Dad, Sam was lucky you adopted him. He was one happy and well-cared-for dog.)
I don't have much more to say. I know Sam's karma will protect him as he moves from this realm to the next, and I know that Sam left behind a lot of happy memories to fill the hole his passing created.
My stepmother Golda commissioned a painting of Sam shortly before he passed away from a local artist, Jesus Estevez:
Thanks, Sam, you were the best dog.
Candice and I held a brief memorial service for Sam.
O Buddhas and Bodhisattvas,
abiding in all directions,
endowed with great compassion,
endowed with fore-knowledge
endowed with the divine eye,
endowed with love,
affording protection to sentient beings,
consent through the power of your
great compassion to come forth.
Consent to accept these offerings concretely laid out and mentally created.
O Compassionate Ones,
you who possess the wisdom of understanding,
the love of compassion,
the power of doing divine deeds and of protecting in incomprehensible measure,
Sam is passing from this world to the next.
He is taking a great leap.
The light of this world has faded for him.
He has entered solitude with his karmic forces.
He has gone into a vast Silence.
He is borne away by the Great Ocean
of birth and death.
O Compassionate Ones,
protect Sam, who is defenseless.
Be to him like a father and a mother.
O Compassionate Ones,
let not the force of your compassion be weak,
but aid him.
Forget not your ancient vows.
an extremely what taste?, originally uploaded by mendel.
Yoinked from the lovely miz nyxie:
Here's the idea: make a voice post (or just record yourself and upload it somewhere) saying the following things and answering the following questions. Then compare your accent with your friends. Fun for all! :)
Questions:
Your name and/or username
Where you're from
The following words: Aunt, Roof, Route, Wash, Oil, Theater, Iron, Salmon, Caramel, Fire, Water, Sure, Data, Ruin, Crayon, Toilet, New Orleans, Pecan, Both, Again, Probably, Spitting Image, Alabama, Lawyer, Coupon, Mayonnaise, Syrup, Pajamas, Caught, Orange, Coffee, direction, naturally, aluminium and herbs
What is it called when you throw toilet paper on a house?
What is the bubbly carbonated drink called?
What do you call gym shoes?
What do you say to address a group of people?
What do you call the kind of spider that has an oval-shaped body and extremely long legs?
What do you call your grandparents?
What do you call the wheeled contraption in which you carry groceries at the supermarket?
What do you call it when rain falls while the sun is shining?
What is the thing you change the TV channel with?
And since we don't have a working phone post number for Canada, you can LOOK AT MY MUG WHILE I DOES IT.
Ganked from nyxie because it seemed like a good idea.
1.What did you do in 2010 that you'd never done before?
Managed direct reports. Closed a full year of budget. Went on sesshin. Became a formal student of Taigen sensei. Bought a banjo.
2. Did you keep your new year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I can't remember exactly what my resolutions during the New Year's Eve ceremony at the Zen Centre were last year, but I know that part of it was about intensifying my practice, and I guess I sure did that.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
I'll quote nyxie on this one: "Yes! The ever wonderful [info]llamech and his awesome wife Maysie had their third child on December 21st, not longer after the eclipse/full moon. What a cool day to be born, huh?"
But I find this question kind of odd. I suppose if you gained a close relative it'd be a year-defining thing, but there were lots of babies in 2010 and while I always wish the family the best it's not something that stays on my radar somehow.
4. Did anyone close to you die?
Nope!
5. What countries did you visit?
Would you believe I stayed in Canada all year?
6. What would you like to have in 2011 that you lacked in 2010?
Maybe these questions are aimed more at younger people... hm. I would like to have more to show for my time, and a bigger team at FreshBooks, and an even stronger Zen practice.
7. What date from 2010 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
Rob Ford getting elected mayor of Toronto. Because ow.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Sesshin, I think. Although moving FreshBooks from a few servers in Rackspace Managed Hosting to eighteen or so in HA clusters in their colo space ought to count too.
9. What was your biggest failure?
Tough question! I'd have to say some stupid cowboy stuff at FreshBooks that led to replication problems and a couple hours' stranded data, mostly because I should've known better.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Nothing remarkable.
11. What was the best thing you bought?
Cat medicine. Lots and lots of cat medicine. Because we still have a rashacat.
12. Whose behaviour merited celebration?
nyxie's, she knows why!
13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed?
People don't really appall and depress me.
14. Where did most of your money go?
Cat. We're also saving for a house, but that's not gone yet.
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Sesshin, becoming Sensei's student, banjo, Rasha being back to his usual self after he crashed and had to spend the night at the vet getting fluids.
16. What song will always remind you of 2010?
I don't know if there is one.
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder? happier, I think
ii. thinner or fatter? same
iii. richer or poorer? same
18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
More sitting. More serious practicing of some musical instrument. More quality time with nyxie.
19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Staring at a computer screen reading blogs.
20. How will you be spending Christmas?
Woops, too late! Christmas Day nyxie and I exchanged some small gifts and cooked lots of tasty food.
21. Any plans for New Year's Eve?
The ceremony at the Zen Centre.
22. What was your favourite restaurant of 2010?
Tough call. We're going out less now that nyxie is vegan and mostly gluten-free. I was really into Utopia this year but I'm kind of tired of the 3-4 things I always get there. I guess I don't really have one. Maybe Big Fat Burrito. YAMMITY YAM.
23. Did you get any awesome new cookbooks this year?
lol wut
24. How about your time online - how did you spend it?
I waste it, generally! Funny you should ask! There's so much I could've got done in the time spent looking at funny pictures on tmbo or reading blogs, it's turned into my "staring at the TV" equivalent. I've got some things to work on there.
25. What was your favourite TV show?
Is this something you'd have to own a TV to understand? I watched exactly zero TV this year.
26. What was the best book you read?
Tough call, tough call. I read so many! I should use GoodReads to keep track, because I can't remember what I was reading two months ago. Nothing really stood out, I guess.
27. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Another tough one. Believe it or not I'd have to say Eminem, because there's something about his flow (despite a general distaste for his subject matter) that got me listening to a lot more rap, which I've enjoyed getting into.
28. What did you want and get?
Lots of things. Rasha being relatively healthy. A banjo (which I hardly play, sigh). A Kindle, a new MacBook. I'm not much of a "want and get" person, though, I don't want much.
29. What did you want and not get?
We didn't move to straight bring-your-own-hardware colo at work, that was a "want but not get" for sure. Otherwise, I can't think of anything.
30. How about products - what product did you discover in 2010 that you have to tell everyone about?
lol wut.
31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I hate the pressure of Having A Good Time On Your Birthday. I can't even remember what I... oh, wait, yes I can. I took it off work at the last minute but didn't make any plans and ended up kind of bored and bummed out. I turned 35.
32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably satisfying?
Ahem:
In Zen practice a first crucial point is reached when we realize that no experience of any kind is going to give the kind of satisfaction that we crave so deeply.
33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009?
Somewhere between hipster and t-shirt-and-jeans.
34. What kept you sane?
Buddha, dharma, sangha, and lexapro.
35. What are your career plans for 2011?
Good question! Right now I'm straddling the sysadmin-manager line and I'm sort of letting myself find the natural balance there. I'd like to start taking on some side work, I've got a post about that percolating in my brain.
36. What political issue stirred you the most?
ROB FUCKING FORD. And the G20, although that was more O_O than >_<.
37. Who did you miss?
Aw. I miss coffeechica, this is the first year in a while that we haven't hung out together. And I realized that I want to spend more quality time with my father. And mouseycat.
38. Who was the best new person you met?
Well that's a tough one. WHO IS THE BEST PERSON is hard to answer even with qualifiers. Lots of people at the Zen Centre, lots of new people at FreshBooks, and a lot of the people who influenced me this year aren't people I met. If I had to choose one person who I didn't know about before 2010 who had an influence on me this year it'd have to be Lisa, but I didn't meet her, just back-and-forth on Twitter.
39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2010
"Get your ass on the cushion already."
40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
Wow, huh, I dunno, I don't really think in song lyrics like that. I don't think I could really sum up this year outside of song lyrics. It sort of slipped by, it seems, even though I had some milestones in it.
And there you have it. The strangest thing about 2010: how few of the details I can remember.
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