Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in ddr_pickles' LiveJournal:

[ << Previous 20 ]

Monday, February 6th, 2012
4:40 am	Experience People love to watch me experience things. Some of my friends can't wait to tell me stories in person because they want to see my reaction. Some people want to see if tasting their favourite dessert will give me an orgasm face. Personally I've always taken it as a compliment. But what's surprising is how uncommon by comparison it is that people want to share the kinds of experiences that create those kinds of reactions in them. Maybe they want to but they don't know how to ask, or maybe they're afraid to open themselves up. Maybe they get so caught up in the pace of life and growing up that they feel they don't have time for anything that doesn't seem productive. Or maybe I'm just a freak with a superhuman capacity for emotion. I've been noticing lately at clubs that the crowds are getting drunker. By midnight people are so wasted that dancing gradually turns into colliding with strangers. It's interesting to watch people who look like they would normally get very angry at you for no reason be so happy that they don't notice an elbow jamming into their side. For almost a decade people have been asking me why I don't do drugs when I go out to dance to electronic music. The moral implications have evolved over the years, but the answer remains the same: I don't need drugs to experience such exquisite music that way, to feel the pure bliss it has to offer. Most people don't believe me, they insist that drugs are different, that I can never know until I try. While I cannot deny that I cannot claim to know something I haven't experienced, I also can't help but observe the fact that everything anyone has told me they've felt from listening to music while on drugs, I have felt from just listening to music. I love sharing music with people, but it's more difficult when they're under an influence; it has a tendency to take them out of this world to some extent, and when they tell me they love what they're hearing I tend to wonder if they're going to remember any of it the next day. These two paragraphs together bring me to the one experience I can think of right now that people do want to share: drugs. People want me to try drugs with them (and to see my reaction to drugs as well, naturally). They want to be there the first time I take something, and watch me, perhaps for hours. There's a surprisingly large number of people actually. I've always told them I have no intention of taking drugs any time soon, and they've always asked why, especially given the evolution of my moral perception. I guess somewhere around 3 a.m. an answer clicked: if you want to share a mind-blowing experience with me, why not start with something that doesn't require a chemical? If I can think of a number of ways to do that with someone, surely they can too. But I'm starting to think I'm not articulating all of this properly after 4 in the morning, so I'll stop trying for now. I guarantee you I will remember exactly what I meant in the morning, and as I said in my previous entry, that's what's important. Bonnie, I basically haven't been on Facebook or Livejournal since I got back to Canada. But despite less frequent online appearances than most people, I want you to know that I definitely want to keep in touch with you, and I always read your entries with interest. Also, I'll be back in Winnipeg in June and there are about a billion things I want to talk to you about in person. I'm going to miss PHC and a bunch of other things, but I will still be back in Winnipeg fairly frequently. As for Hawaii, there are pictures you can see in June. I don't think they can really capture the essence of the place, but they should give you a fair idea. I hope you had a blast in Mexico, and I'll see you soon. Also, I posted this years ago, and it's still true: Livejournal's automatic spell check doesn't recognize "Livejournal" as a word. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Friday, December 23rd, 2011
3:02 pm	Journal I haven't made a Livejournal entry in a year and a half. I had almost forgotten about it, but when I came to Hawaii 9 days ago I decided to write a journal entry for each day. It reminded me of this place, so I logged in a few days ago and read through some of my old entries. It turns out that some of my most precious memories are contained here, and I'm just so grateful that I was constantly able to be so honest and open with my friends. Facebook isn't the place for that, so I thought I'd give Livejournal another chance. I realize that very few people still use it, but if I'm able to preserve memories and capture moments the way I used to, that's all that matters. Hawaii is a magical place. Most people have a utopian view of tropical vacations, but I never dreamed it would fit my own personal utopia. We're staying on Kauai, the northernmost of the islands. The people are all friendly and helpful, and they all do their part to keep the island clean and beautiful. The grass is perfect everywhere, the trees and the leaves they grow are enormous, and the foliage is often densely packed together. It's always between 20 and 27 degrees, and it never rains for more than 5 minutes. The main highway goes around about 3/4 of the outside of the island, and there is no road access to the centre. There are plenty of areas along the road where one side drops down to a spectacular view of a ravine full of beautiful trees and mountains and ocean, while the other side rises straight up from the very edge of the pavement, an impossible wall of dirt with intricate root structures visible throughout. Everywhere I go there is something unique worth seeing. Kauai is one of the least "Americanized" islands; there are no billboards, no tall buildings, and virtually no streetlights; just a new world of endless exploration. The island is what you make of it. Just like life. Last week I drove along the north shore until I saw a beach on the side of the highway. Those of you who have taken the ferry from Vancouver to Victoria are probably familiar with what I'm talking about. Except that this was the most beautiful beach I had ever seen. The sand is softer, darker like mocha, and when you walk along the shorline your feet can sink 3 inches in with every step. The waves streamed 10 metres over the sand. The view across the bay was spectacular. It's hard to describe it all at once. Since then I've been to every inch of the ocean I can get to. It's amazing that no matter how much I see, there's always another place with something unique to offer. My family loves it here, and my dad certainly deserves as long a vacation as he can squeeze in before life gets busy again in January. It's worth mentioning that we're right next to a little village called Hanalei, a pure embodiment of the Hawaiian spirit. It's rumoured that this is the place described in Puff The Magic Dragon. I couldn't find any definite evidence that this was true, but they say the cliffs and shorelines resemble a dragon, and that's definitely true. Either way, the locals have adopted the idea and it's easy to find Puff The Magic Dragon toys and books. I could go on and on, but I doubt words do sufficient justice. I think the above and what I've already written in my other journal will be enough to help recall everything I need to about this special place. It's been an amazing week and a half. On Christmas we fly to California to see my nieces. Dahlia just turned 3 yesterday, and Arielle was born last month. My parents are thrilled to finally have grandchildren, and I'm thrilled to have more girls in the family. It's been amazing watching Dahlia grow up so fast, and I'm sure the two of them will be like the sisters I never had. Then on New Years I fly to Calgary. The weather is incredible there for the next week (for Canada anyway); it's possible that all the snow will have melted by the time I get there. But I couldn't ask for anything more from the weather after this. I guess I'll stop here for now. Since it's unlikely many people will be reading this I guess my brief details will serve their purpose down the road when I look back again. Until next time! (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, June 24th, 2010
4:24 pm	A question for everybody Livejournal seems to be pretty dead right now, so I thought I'd ask everyone a question I've actually been curious about for a long time. If you had a friend who won the lottery and started paying for you and your friends wherever you went (dinners, movie tickets, drinks, whatever) purely out of the kindness of his/her heart and a desire to make life easier for everyone, would you welcome it, or would it bother you or make you feel uncomfortable? Please be as specific as you feel is relevant: would it make a difference if they were male or female? If they were a close friend or someone you see once a week? If they did it every once in a while or all the time? If it were just limited to social activities or you suddenly started receiving appliances and ponies? Be as detailed as you like; everyone's input is greatly appreciated. (9 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, January 3rd, 2010
12:58 pm	Do people still use Livejournal? I just realized today that I had forgotten about Livejournal for a while. There seems to be a lack of posts from my friends recently, and I'm wondering how many of you still keep up with Livejournal (I'm pretty sure Bonnie, Marika, Steph, Bob, Juju and Liz do, but I'm not too sure about anyone else). I used to enjoy updating here (by "used to" I just mean that I haven't actually posted in 11 months), but if no one uses Livejournal anymore I might just use something else instead. So, who still keeps up with Livejournal? (15 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, December 23rd, 2008
3:28 am	Tis the season I came home to hear the news I had been expecting for a few days. My brother Benj's wife gave birth to a baby girl a few hours ago. I may not get to see her until the summer, but they sent a picture. She arrived a few days later than expected, so we've been waiting for the news for a while. I remember telling my friends in the summer around a bonfire at night. Now the time has finally arrived. I'm an uncle! =D (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, December 1st, 2008
3:42 am	Phil Hellmuth That's why I'm the 11 time world champion. P.S. Spotty yawned. (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, October 31st, 2008
5:23 am	Another little story. Today at the casino, I lost a total of $39 playing poker. I also found 73 cents in slot machines, and I won a hi-tech thermos and $60 in gift certificates for Superstore. So, I guess I came out ahead. =D But that's not the story. There's this guy who plays poker extremely well, he came in after a night of drunken debauchery at Academy Bowling Lanes, he did a lot of funny things while telling hilarious stories, he put $100 on the table, and only bought in for $50 (the table minimum), saying "I need 2 bullets." Sure enough, he was all in on the first hand and won the pot uncontested. Within a half hour he had turned $50 into over $400. During this time he also "suffered" some "bad beats" that were beyond hilarious. I'll save those for people who actually care about poker. Anyway, none of that is the story either. I don't know when the ITG machine is coming back to Academy, so I don't know when anyone will be there, but I figured I'd share this with you all anyway. While he was there, he apparently threw one of the balls past the pins and shattered five of the light fixtures. So... you know... if you find yourself deeply desiring a game of bowling in lane 9 or 10 at Academy tomorrow, don't count on it! Whee! I'm not going to be asleep for a long time. Shout out to my homie Jenna, who is finally back on the internet. I'll see you Saturday, J. Also, I got gas on the way home for less than 96 cents a litre. Sweet. :) Hooray for unrelated thoughts in the same paragraph! (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, October 30th, 2008
4:32 am	Here's a story for you. Did you know that there is an American loonie? When I cashed out at the casino tonight, one of the loonies they gave me had the statue of liberty on one side and George Washington on the other. I went and showed it to the dealers, inspectors... none of them had ever seen or heard of it. It's the same size as the Canadian loonie, and its year is actually embedded in the edge of the coin, not on either side. The only one who had heard of it was the guy who gave it to me, and he assured me that not only could I use it at the casino, but they'd also exchange it at the current rate, which is $1.23 Canadian. I did a little research when I got home, and apparently these things have been around since 2000, but Americans rejected them so they're rarely ever used in regular transactions. Huh. (You were right, Sami, I should TOTALLY write for Global! =D ) (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, October 2nd, 2008
1:51 am	Business As many of you know, I decided to take time off from working a formal job this summer and play poker as a source of income instead. I thought I'd give one more update on how it's been going since my first update was during a time when my skill was still in its infancy. First off, let me say that I love poker because I love numbers. Poker is exactly the same as any other casino game at its core: an exercise in probability theory with a visual representation (in this case, cards and chips) to make it entertaining for the less mathematically inclined. The difference, of course, is that you're playing against people who frequently make mistakes, rather than a fixed set of rules that mathematically guarantees a net loss in the long run. I always wanted to find a way to make money using one of my strongest attributes, and now I know that if I wanted to I could do so for the rest of my life. So, how well is it going? Don't think that I'm making some vast fortune or something. But I am pulling in more than I have in any job I've ever worked. I will say that I've already made five figures, and that I intend to aim for six by the end of this decade. For now though, I'm making a comfortable living doing something I really enjoy. In September, I played poker at the casino 20 times, and came out ahead each time. Considering my initial estimate that I'd come out ahead on about 75% of my visits, I consider that to be a monumental achievement. That streak came to an end this evening when I made a really bad mistake, the likes of which I haven't made a single time since July (and only on the third hand of the night!). It reminded me how important it is to stick to what works. I'm just glad that I didn't start to feel invincible. I'm glad I can still take a loss without feeling like I've lost something. You have to be able to take the good with the bad. The casino offers 1/2 no limit every day for 13 hours, and on some days they get higher limit games going. Eventually I'm going to test the waters with those and see what happens. I'm also going to try out a couple tournaments soon, especially after what some of the dealers told me today. And on certain days when nothing's going on and everyone's busy, I'm going to try extending my own hours rather than leaving once I reach a certain margin. The only other thing worth mentioning is that online play is not suited to my style at all. People play very differently there, and I would have to adopt a new strategy to make that work. So aside from the occasional silly tournament I probably won't play much online anymore. And that's the story! In other news, Marika and I went to see the final performance of Rent a few days ago. I had almost forgotten how good it feels to cry. (5 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, August 13th, 2008
5:05 pm	DJing this Saturday! This Saturday is a big day! Anyone in Winnipeg is welcome to join us for any or all of the festivities! We're heading to the beach in the morning (I think we have 2 full cars already!) and heading back into the city in the evening. Then I'm DJing at Sonar Nightclub from 9:30 to 11:00. Sami is playing for an hour after me, and then at 1:30 at AM Afterhours. It's going to be an action-packed day of beautiful weather and awesome music! As for life in general, I'm due for another update, so I'll give a quick summary for now, and details later. -Went to Alberta for 2 weeks, was awesome. -DJing again with an awesome arsenal of new music. -Brother visited from San Fransisco, he is also awesome. -Darren is the man for revitalizing Tuesdays. -Will be starting online poker play on Sunday. -Still going to the beach every weekend, and any other excuse to be outside is welcome. (6 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, July 14th, 2008
7:54 am	Hello Summer In a few minutes, I'll be driving to Alberta, where I'll be staying for 2 weeks. I've been looking forward to this trip for about 2 months now. This weekend has represented the biggest turning point in my life, and I just want to thank everyone for showing their support. It means the world to me that all my friends approve of my decision. If you don't know what I'm talking about, ask me in person or on Facebook, because I probably shouldn't discuss it here. (Don't worry though, nothing dangerous, bad or illegal!) I hope you are all having a wonderful summer. I will still have full internet access in Calgary, so I'll be able to keep in touch. Talk to you soon! Oh, P.S. I recommend everyone go on Youtube and search for the song I'm listening to. It is summer. (Comment on this)
Tuesday, June 17th, 2008
5:20 pm	Because I'm loving posting so much... It's Random Useless Fact time!!! =D The King of Hearts is the only king in the deck without a moustache. DUN DUN DUNNN! Also, I love tea. That's a random fact, but not so useless if you want to push my buttons. ;) Isn't it beautiful outside? You should all come to the beach on Saturday! I wouldn't be surprised if it were 30 degrees! Oh, and today someone randomly told me something that caused me to devise a life plan. I think I know how the next 4 years or so are going to go, and hopefully retirement shall follow soon after. Then I can romp and frolic in a field every day when it's like this. I can't wait to be outside tonight. "Recall it as often as you wish, a happy memory never runs out." I like that. :) (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Monday, June 16th, 2008
5:03 pm	The beach! Take 6! On Saturday, June 21st, the sixth beach trip of the year shall take place. As usual, it's 7 dollars for gas, we shall be departing Sami's house around 1 pm, and we'll stop at Superstore along the way for supplies. There are 5 spots in my car, including myself, so please post here to reserve a seat! If we end up with more than 5 people we'll look into bringing another car. Come on out! It's going to be hot! =D ... Wow, I've made a lot of Livejournal posts recently. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Sunday, June 15th, 2008
2:38 pm	Awakening I'd like to extend a special thank you to Jenna, Liz, Braeden, Nicole, Tish, Andrew, and everyone else who came to see Sami and me spin on Friday night. It's a very special thing to be able to share music with friends. The past two months have been a little weird for me. The snow was melting and everything was just about to burst into full bloom when something happened. I felt like time wasn't right, like something was holding me back. Summer has been around the corner for weeks and weeks and weeks but I just wasn't ready to let it in. At first I thought it was my job, having to wake up so early and stay in that building all day, but that wasn't it. On Friday I figured everything out, and I had a marvellous weekend. I've been happy most of the time, but it's been months since I've been _this_ happy. Now I'm in alignment, and I'm ready to let it all in. Watch how sunny, warm and beautiful it will be this week. :) I'm very excited for the coming week, because it will be filled with creativity. Shaping music and writing my book, which I'm excited to start sharing with people. It might not be everyone's cup of tea, but that is quite alright because I will accomplish the goal I have in mind, which is to provide a beacon of truth. And that's what I'm all about. Truth. If you want to be happy, be around me. If you are happy, I want to be around you. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Monday, June 9th, 2008
1:37 am	A quick update Hi everyone. It's late, and I have to wake up very early for work, but I had a wonderful weekend, and I wanted to post a quick update before getting into another work week. Firstly, Sami and I are spinning at the IshGirls website launch party on Friday at Sonar Nightclub from 9 to 10:30. It's going to be a very magical exploration of new music from multiple genres, and because the party is based around something stylistic I can see us shaping our sound to the atmosphere around us, what the models are wearing and how people are dancing. That kind of artistic control is more exciting than anything. I urge you all to come out and join us! Apparently drinks are $2.50 before 10, which may make for some early-night debauchery. Secondly, Sami and I finished the foundation of our website, www.binaryreflections.com which will keep everyone up to date on our performance schedules and radio shows, as well as set downloads, pictures of us with world famous DJs, tracklists and charts, and a few surprises. This is something we've wanted to complete all year, and now was the right time to get everything together. Web design seems to come naturally to Sami, and I want to thank her for creating the logo and visual layout. I wrote a lot of the content, but it wouldn't have looked as awesome without her talent. Thank you, Sami. Thirdly, the gorgeous summer weather is finally here. They said it was going to rain all weekend and through till Wednesday, but it was sunny all weekend, so I made it out to the beach Saturday evening. This is the time of year that I thrive. I love to get out and bask in the warmth and sunlight all day. I love to enjoy the smells of plant life in Winnipeg and the lake up north. I love to be surrounded by people who share an appreciation for life's simple and most important pleasures. I love travelling. And I love treating this season as a time of reward for all my hard work over the past few months at my random temp jobs and my social hobby that makes money. Finally, yesterday I became inspired to do something most people imagine doing at some point or another, but I thought I would never do. I'm going to write a book. More on that later. I think that after this Friday I'm going to have a lot more free time. So, if anyone ever wants to hang out with someone outside, take a spur-of-the-moment trip outside of the city, get involved in daring adventures, have dinner out on the town, lie cuddling in a field under the sun, or just sit somewhere and talk, send me a message on Facebook and we'll make it happen. This is the time of year when I get to focus more of my energy on my friends. I want to hear everything about what's been going on in your lives, and really dwell deep into the meaning of things. I'm also eager to discuss my method of planning for my future, as I'm very curious about other people's perspectives on this. It's getting pretty late now, so I should probably stop there for now. I really, really hope you all have a wonderful summer. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Thursday, May 15th, 2008
9:34 pm	The beach on Saturday! The long weekend is approaching, and the beach is opening on schedule. It's going to be 20 degrees on Saturday, and we plan to make the most of it! For anyone interested in joining us, we plan to leave some time around noon and stop for food at Superstore as usual, and if you could bring $7 for gas that would be most appreciated. Please comment if you'd like to come! I'll probably be heading out there just about every weekend this season. =D Real update soon! (5 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, February 27th, 2008
5:16 pm	How was my day? I'll tell you how my day was! There is a man at my work named Roland Bueno. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Tuesday, February 26th, 2008
10:47 am	Life update I've been promising one of these for a while now, and my busy factor is about to hit a new plateau, so now is probably the best time. After the summer of 2006 I experienced the greatest pain I could imagine. Over time I lost my sense of purpose and my identity... I didn't know what to do. For the rest of the year I sort of hid away and went into hibernation mode. I saved up a bunch of money and for the most part I kept to myself. It wasn't until my birthday, January 12th 2007 (the fact that it was my birthday was pure coincidence... or you can call it fate if you want to), that I rediscovered the beauty of my life and the world around me. I began to enjoy the little things the way I always used to. Most importantly, though, I rediscovered my potential. 2007 became the year of exploring my full potential, determining what I'm capable of and what I really want. DJing, my major passion, burst into full swing when Sami and I began cohosting our own worldwide online radio show every second week and guest mixing on another every other second week. In the summer I played live at Energy Lounge a few times, and the feeling it sparked inside me was indescribable. My radio shows began evolving to a new level in the late summer, and by the end of the year I finally spun at Pharaoh's, Winnipeg's hub for electronic music. I discovered that despite the major hype over the world's most popular DJs, there are very few people in this city who actually spin the music they play. I feel like I'm doing a really good thing, providing that source to the city whenever I can. And it's as amazing for me as it is to the people who dance until they're lost in the music. When I'm up there, nothing else matters. 2008 is the year of exerting my full potential. Now that I know what I'm capable of and what I really want, this is the year in which I'm going to make it happen. Sami and I are going to be doing special things with our show and everything related to it, and the journey starts today. I start a new job tomorrow, which is going to restructure my days and my sleep schedule. Aside from DJing, I've become involved in a lot of music-related activities that I missed. I'm accompanying Mandi and her friends on the piano for a production they're learning, which is wonderful because I haven't been playing piano at all for years. And I joined another choir, which seems to be very vocally solid so far. One of the things I'm most proud of is finally turning my love of mathematics and my mastery of elementary probability theory into a sustainable source of income. The casino offers no-limit Texas Hold'em, and I spent most of January learning the dynamic of the game and a lot of poker theory. I got rid of a variety of misconceptions and taught myself a much higher level of patience. Here are some stats to give you an idea of how well it's working out (and so that you don't think I'm crazy). In my past 17 visits to the tables, I've had 14 winning sessions, and the amount of time I've put in has been the equivalent of just over 2 full work weeks, at a cumulative rate of return of over 30 dollars per hour. The beauty of it is that I learn new things every time I play, and I still feel like there's room to improve my game even more. Oh, and I cut my hair. As the most astute of you might be able to guess, this has great metaphorical significance. When I was younger I used to fear change, and that fear held me back from a lot of things in my life. This year I am embracing all kinds of changes so that my life can evolve and surprise me. The funny thing is that Sami, Mandi, Matt and Lisa were the only ones who actually noticed. Seriously, even my family didn't notice until the day after. I've seen friends who I've known since high school who still probably don't even know that I did it. It doesn't offend me or anything, I just find it somewhat amusing. I'm going to get it cut shorter soon, but for now I'm just loving the fact that my hair never gets tangled anymore. I think that's everything for now. I have a lot of major goals for the summer, most of which involve DJing, and I'm excited because 4 hours from now my life schedule is going to become jam-packed and won't let up for quite a while. This is how I want to spend every year of my life: being fully productive in the winter, saving money and creating new opportunities, and then having fun every second of the summer, making the most of the beautiful weather while it lasts, and of course, spreading love through music. (6 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, January 24th, 2008
9:39 pm	Cardinality 002 So I just got asked today to spin at Pharaoh's again tomorrow night at 10 pm. I know it's short notice, but I hope some of you can make it! Once again, it shall be quite massive. :) There's a ton going on right now... I'll post about everything when I have time. (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, November 27th, 2007
2:35 pm	Cardinality Alright, many of you have been asking me to let you know when you can hear me spin next, and I didn't want to talk about the possibilities until I had something nailed down. So here it is. This Friday (November 30th), I will be spinning at Pharaoh's (corner of Lagimodiere and Elizabeth) from 10 pm to 11 pm. I hope you all can make it; I'll be holding nothing back during that hour, and it's going to be huge. Hope to see you there! This past month has felt like the busiest month of my life. I've fully immersed myself in music, and the rewards have been indescribable. But I'll have to save the details for a time when I don't have to run out the door! I'll talk to you all later! (2 Comments |Comment on this)