• Home
• Person
• Career
• School
• Fun
• Site

BT Files

» The random sampling of the mind of Brian Tang, on a semi-regular basis. New and improved since 2003!

Welcome to my blog, powered by Blogger. Although I've had a blog for nearly 3 years, I really didn't know what to say.

Nowadays, things have more busy, hectic, exciting, funny, happy, satifsying, sexy, and maybe just may be the most important time in my life. School's winding down, my career is shaping up, and the winds are blowing in my favour. However, that isn't to say that I don't feel the world's pressure on my shoulders; it just means that I'll be complaining less about it, and might just have something worth sharing with the world.

So look around if you dare, thanks for stopping by, and try not to feed the trolls. :)

This blog has moved

» Thursday, April 29, 2010 | 11:14 PM | by Intricated

This blog is now located at http://blog.briantang.com/. You will be automatically redirected in 30 seconds, or you may click here. For feed subscribers, please update your feed subscriptions to http://blog.briantang.com/feeds/posts/default.

Monster chocolate "cup"cake

» Thursday, October 22, 2009 | 3:01 PM | by Intricated

Just finished a meeting-filled day, started with me presenting Excel training on PivotTables at an "intermediate" level (and a rather large chocolate "cupcake"; more like a mini-cake really). A lot of team/unit meetings as well, and I'm pretty drained. I might share some tibits of the training session (for kicks and giggles), assuming it's not breaking some sort confidentiality agreement. :p

And we're back (sorta)

» Wednesday, October 21, 2009 | 12:57 AM | by Intricated

So I am not dead, nor sometimes do I feel like I'm alive. A lot has been going on, but one thing that brings me back is the sudden loss of my hosting account a couple days ago for uncertain reasons. In any case, I'm back now, and I took the opportunity to update some things around here (see the home page for some details as part of the site progress report). I've been Twittering, but I leave it to you, my loyal viewer(s), to figure out my handle there. Cheers!

Pack up your troubles in your old kit bag...

» Sunday, August 06, 2006 | 6:16 PM | by Intricated

I knew it, I knew all of these things were going to happen. I just knew that good things cannot last, and I was a sucker to think that any of it would be forever:

• I scratched up my iPod Nano - Stupid me, just couldn't wait to play with my brand new toy (that I got for free via TD Canada Trust's iPod promotion) and the protective aluminum case I ordered, and I somehow have 3 major scratches on the back.
• Blue Jays cannot get over the hump - Oh boy, now I know why I was able to get 35:1 odds on the Jays to wind the World Series this year. The past 2 weeks was crunch time, and they just fell even further back in the race. Game after game, it seems that one facet of the team (offence, starting pitching, or the relief corps) just fails miserably. I actually went to 2 games this past 3 weeks (the Saturday games against the Yankees and the White Sox), and the Jays are now 1-2 when I go to the ballpark. Maybe I'll just stay at home; they won today to finally break out of their 7-game loser (yes, loser) streak.
• Blogging grinds to a screeching halt- Man, if I had a chance to to bet this, I would be marginally richer. But just maybe I'll post more often.

But there's no use on dwelling on the past. What's done is done, and there's so much on the horizon to look forward to.

• My work term at IBM is going very well and I have inklings that I just may have an "on-call student" position waiting for me in January, not to mention a full-time position after graduation. I just have to start working my interview mojo and get some 1-on-1's with managers looking for headcount in 2007.
• Speaking of my education, I start part-time studies in September taking an evening course (and going to work full-time). Then I'm scheduled to take 4 course in the Winter session to complete my degree and be dazzled by that flimsy piece of paper I would have ended up dishing out over $50,000 for. And that ain't no Monopoly money.
• Despite my exuberant spending on education, new gadgets, groceries (yes I buy food for others too now), and other slurges, I am saving up a good amount that I think will go towards a 4 month trip: plane to Vancouver, cruise to Alaska (and back to Vancouver), plane to China, plane to Sweden, water/ground to Germany, France, and England, cruise/air back home.
• Next year is the Year of the Pig, which will mean I'll turn 24. It should be a very good year.

So I think I'll just Pack up my troubles in my old kit bag, and smile, smile, smile.

National "I don't remember this song about flags" day

» Saturday, May 20, 2006 | 1:58 AM | by Intricated

So here I am, wasting away another Friday night, when I somehow find myself browsing the Canada article on Wikipedia, and suddenly was overcome with the phrase "Flag of Canada" in a musical manner.

A few seconds later, I was humming the tune to a song that learned back in my elementary school days at Rouge Valley P.S. most likely sung for choir. But I can't put together more than a few words together from it:

• "Flag of Canada" (duh)
• "Beautiful and strong"
• "All day long"
• "Long live liberty"

Wikipedia didn't help, nor did Google. Anyone know the song I think I remember?

Too many blue birds, not enough imaginary ones

» Friday, May 19, 2006 | 10:18 PM | by Intricated

The last few nights, the Roger's Blue Jays of Toronto were playing on the west coast against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, meaning 10 PM ET starts. Despite having work in the morning, I couldn't help but stay up and watch the Jays take 2 of 3 from the Halos. Three rather interesting games that I'm glad I watched, although my co-workers couldn't tell at 9am the next day (I get kinda cynical when I'm half-asleep). I placed a $20 bet at the Imperial Palace back on my Vegas trip for the Jays to win the World Series, at 35-to-1 odds. And that's US dollars too! Factor in the recent exchange rate, my payout of $700 is probably down to around $660, but hell, I'll strongly consider paying that much for the Jays to go all the way. Then again, my cell phone, internet, and cable all are provided by Ted, so the way I see it, I already contribute to the Jays' success... yes, that's how I will justify spending the $99 on my new RAZR. :)

Throwing up isn't as fun as I remembered

» Sunday, May 07, 2006 | 9:03 PM | by Intricated

There I was, enjoying a nice Sunday dinner with the extended family, when all of a sudden I feel a sharp jab in the back of my throat. No, it wasn't some geeky cousin goofing around with his Transformer, turns out I just semi-swallowed a small bone from the steamed fish. I tried to swallow it right away; bad idea.

Had to excuse myself from table and went upstairs. The jabs just kept coming with every contraction in my throat. They weren't that painful, but like water torture, every drip had more of a pyshological impact on me. I just had to get it out of there. Tried to cough it out, then tried to swallow it, then cough, then swallow... basically didn't get anywhere fast. I briefly imagined how it would be going through the rest of my life with the bone stuck in my throat, and it caused my stomach to grumble; I was going to hurle.

A funny sensation it is, food and bodily acids going the wrong way on a usually one-way street that is my esophagus. Chunks of partially chewed and digested food staring back at me from the bathroom sink. Ugh. AND THE BONE STILL WAS LODGED IN MY THROAT.

Well after cleaning up that mess, I hit the internet, looking for some home remedy. Not surprisingly, drinking tons of water came up as the most suggested action, along with swallowing unchewed rice, and sucking on a lemon. Nothing worked.

So I went to bed, hoping that my heavy snoring would somehow have an effect. Fortunately, it did; the jabs happened less frequently. I gather that the bone was working it's way down. A day or two later, it's completely gone, except for 1-2 jabs if I swallow a lot of air at once. Probably just the scar left from the bone piercing my throat tissue, although I still fear that the damn fishbone is still there, just biding it's time, waiting for the perfect moment to strike...

I'll still eat fish; cannot deny myself the goodness of salmon, tuna, and even store-bought frozen fish sticks. But I won't be touching steamed fish for a while, at least until I need to feel awkward again.