"Charmingly Self-Effacing"

So in a recent interview I was refered to as "charmingly self-effacing". Considering it was an English game journalist at an American game studio I'd like to think that he meant "Canadian"! :-)

To show that I'm not completely self-effacing, here's a couple of my recent online interviews:

They Are The Champions Online: Randy Mosiondz at Rock, Paper, Shotgun.

Champions Online Interview 1 at GameSpot.

Woot! Although the video interview makes me totally self-conscious. I should really get some sun and lose a few pounds...

Sunny Weather! Again...

One of the strange regional things I'm still getting used to is the sunny weather. Saskatchewan has definite seasons, with drastic shifts in weather conditions, and very few windows of really nice weather. Here... not so much. It's generally either sunny and warm, or overcast with light rain - all in all, pretty consistent!

The habit I now have to break is going, "It's nice outside! I should go outside!" It's ALWAYS nice outside, so I don't NEED to go outside and take advantage of the weather. I'm interested how I'm going to react in the fall when I start looking to the sky and waiting for the snow to fall...

It's the Real Thing... OR IS IT?!?

Another minor but interesting difference between Canada and the USA: the US Coke tastes different than the Canadian Coke. I first had it pointed out to me when my friend Cheyenne Wright offered to pay me good money to bring back Canadian Coke the next time I took a trip to Canada. So I tried it myself, and lo and behold, there IS a difference!

What is this difference? The syrup. Apparently US Coke is made with corn syrup, while Canadian Coke is make with sugar cane syrup. I'm not sure if it's by regulation or taste preference, but Canada and Mexico apparently use cane sugar syrup, which many soft drink enthusiasts (a weird concept) say, "...has a crisper taste, and doesn't leave a film in the mouth the way corn syrup does...".

So yes, for good ol' sugar cane syrup Coke, I'll have to come back to Canada. Or make a run for the border and get me some Mexican Coke! :)

Attack of the Killer Snails

Tharv vs. the Snails

"Slugs with good PR", Amy calls 'em. Yup, these suckers are everywhere. They mainly come out at night, leaving their little slime-trails across our walkway and drive-way. I discovered them rather by accident: I thought I stepped on a peanut or something, but alas, it was some poor snail who could not squip along fast enough to avoid death by shoe.

Now that we know they're there we try to avoid the little hard-shelled fellas, but it takes a bit of dodging and weaving down the walkway when we get home after dark.

There you have it folks; in Saskatchewan we have gophers everywhere, here we have... snails. How very Californian.

To Blog or Not to Blog

The main reason I decided to start a blog was because of the physical distance I have put between myself and the people I've known and loved for many years. When we do speak, I seem to be rehashing the details of my life over and over again. A better solution? A blog! So here I am, hoping that my verbal ramblings will help bridge the gap between me and my friends back in Canada.