It was exactly one year ago tomorrow that I took possession of my apartment. I could not have guessed that back then that in twelve months my apartment would covered in a layer of fine drywall dust. Time sure does fly.

0 Comments

As I type this, I'm sitting at my desk which is currently crammed in between my two closets in my bedroom. The builders of my apartment building sent in contractors today to start repairs as part of their obligations to the new home warranty.

While the builders have to fix certain items, you can understand they don't want to do anything more than the bare minimum that's required. They already said they wouldn't fix a small section of my flooring that's uneven and they don't care about my blinds not blocking out all the light. What they do seem to care about are problems with my drywall which manifested itself as either cracks or uneven lines where the joints are located.

I had move a lot of furniture so that the contractors could get their work done. The living room had the most items to move, including my couch, coffee table, lamps, speakers, side table, and various pieces of plastic musical instruments. In my bedroom, I had to move my desk, my computer and all the wires that come with it.

Drywall repairs are never a small job, no matter how small the problem appears to be. I have nine individual drywall areas that they started repairs on. They'll be back tomorrow and then again on Friday. To top if off, they won't paint the walls when they're done. Apparently, the "industry standard" is to just leave warranty repairs in a "paint ready" condition, which is just another way of saying, "you gotta paint it yourself". It's good to know Degelder construction is ok with providing just the bare minimum level of service in the construction industry. After all, going above and beyond what's required might actually distinguish themselves from the rest of the builders in the city but they wouldn't want that to happen. I bet this is just a ploy to make people think twice about wanting repairs.

0 Comments

Monday was an interesting day at work. First, I found out what game I'm supposed to be working on next. Of course, I was sworn to secrecy about what I was told. It'll probably be quite a while before I can reveal that info. Second, I was told about some Olympic-related events at work. Again, I was told not to tell anyone else outside the company. The good news is, in about a week and a half, I can say what that is.

Now you're probably thinking, if these things are all supposed to be hush-hush, why the hell am I writing about them now? The answer is that I have nothing else to write about tonight.

0 Comments

Loyal readers, I wrote this post for all those females out there who are over thirty years of age and still single. Ladies, listen up. You and I aren't so different. Since our twenties, we've been looking for that perfect partner. The one person we were destined to be with. The one person you could spend the rest of your life with and be happy.

Let's be honest now. You (and I) aren't getting any younger. You're over thirty now and your prince hasn't shown up on your doorstep yet. While you were once in your 20s, those nubile and young ladies are now your competition. Do you have a checklist for your perfect man? Probably. Now every woman is different, so you could be looking for any combination of sexy, handsome, dependable, intelligent, funny, manly, large penis, good cook, rich, handy around house, thoughtful, eats cheese, has orange tan, and so on. I'm here to tell you, it's probably time to be a little more realistic. The odds of you finding a man that fits everyone of your storybook desires is getting smaller and smaller. I'm not saying that to be mean or anything. Are you wondering where I'm getting such crazy ideas? That's a great question.

I present to you one Lori Gottleib, author of Marry Him: The Case for Settling for Mr. Good Enough. Gottlieb's book basically is a warning to women that are quickly approaching forty should take a serious and long look at how realistic their expectations are for a husband. She suggests that women settle for a relatively decent guy than holding out for an unrealistic expectation. Gottlieb cautions that the longer women wait before settling, the lower their odds are for finding anyone.

If you don't believe me, read her book or this article about her. I'll try to extract some highlights for you.

Gottlieb wrote of her "deep regret at having passed on all the nice guys in her thirties in the search for allconsuming love." Sound familiar? Let me continue.

"many single women get to a state of desperation in searching for a husband because they don't make wise decisions early on, such as dating dependable men rather than handsome cads" Oh dear, you mean bad boys aren't marriage material? Groundbreaking.

"Based on my observations, settling will probably make you happier in the long run, since many of those who marry with great expectations become more disillusioned with each passing year." That quote would make a great CafePress t-shirt.

"Feminism gave women this sense of entitlement that we deserve someone who's perfect. And then we meet the so-called perfect guy and he's out of our league and has no interest in us and we tell our girlfriends, 'He must be secretly gay' when in fact he's just really not that into us." Read that once more just so you understand that clearly.

Ok, I could quote more but then the whole article would be here. So ladies, I know a guy like me may not be perfect but you're running out of options! It's either me or start buying cats now. Hey, I'm not so bad. I may not look like Brad Pitt but we can watch his movies together. I also may not be rich like Bill Gates but I'd super-size your order, my treat, anytime we go for fast food (and that would be often). You can guarantee I would never cheat on you like that Tiger Woods dude did. Chances are you'd be out of my league in any previous situation so I'd feel like I'd won the lottery with you!

So how about it ladies? That baby-maker of yours has an expiry date and it ain't that far away. The sooner we have little Obi-wan and Jenny, the sooner we can think about our retirement cruise. Let me know if I can buy you dinner at Uncle Willy's!

9 Comments

I know any discussion about taxes is inherently boring but I'm appealing to my Canadian readers to see if they can answer a question I have. I wondering if anyone has used a tax-free savings account and transferred common shares in that account. I know it's possible but I'd like to know the exact process in getting that done.

Specifically, I'd like to transfer some of my EA stock into a TFSA. It's my understanding that any money that comes from selling my shares is not taxable. I think. The thing that might complicate this is that EA stock is not Canadian. It's traded on Nasdaq which is an American market. I don't know what the rules are for foreign contributions to a TFSA. Also, I wonder if E*Trade, being an American company would even care if I wanted to transfer some of the shares over to a Canadian account. Can they even do that?

If anyone can answer even just a few of my questions, I'd appreciate it. I promise tomorrow I'll find a way to bore you without resorting to financial talk.

2 Comments