2001/01/29

Another great weekend, w/ a nostalgic high school twist! Friday was spent w/ Duff, Rich, Jen B, and friends, at the Durham Pub; it was like a high school dance! Celebrated Jeff S's birthday on Saturday night w/ the likes of Greg, Crocker, Steve D, Wayne, and even Sean G! Definately a walk back to CSS w/ that one!

Back at school for my LONG Monday class, and so begins my week; already I'm anxious for Friday to roll around . . .
18:58 |

2001/01/22

A pretty good weekend! Hung out w/ Duff and Rich on Friday night at Christie's Tavern ;) and the Drum; then back to Rich's on Saturday night. Spent my mornings sleeping, and my afternoons working on my thesis. I got my first Palm program up and running! I can't remember the last time I've felt such a feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment from an academic endeavour!

On Friday I got some new glasses! Gone are those big round frames that have invoked such interesting comments over the years. At once, it's a major change, yet a minor change. I was originally reluctant to join the legion of guys w/ their all-similar black rectangular specs, but unless you want wire-rims, that's about all there is to pick from, aside from something that looks dated back to the '80's. No thanks . . . I'm pretty satisfied, though, and the change will be reflected here shortly . . .
12:56 |

2001/01/19

Another school week bites the dust, and even though it's only the second of the new semester, I can't help but obsess that it's one more week closer to graduation! I simply can't wait to complete my program and put academia behind me!

Here's an interesting site about the current gridlock around the GTA. It's nice to see someone's actually setting up some means to elicit a solution from the gov't. Upon my return from Ottawa in September, it was immediately obvious that 401 traffic and GO Transit ridership had increased dramatically; resulting in -- to my great frustration -- longer (slower) roads and shrinking (packed) parking lots. I even see some of the same faces, the same regulars on the trains still, and people I went to school w/ have graduated to the world of commuting to work! My question is, what's the big draw about Toronto in the first place!? What's so special about this city that people are either a) willing to pay ENORMOUS amounts of money to live w/in the city limits, or b) live way out in the surrounding outskirts, having to commute anywhere between one or two hours each way in and out of the city? I have a great solution: find another city! That's what I plan to do. By moving to Ottawa, for instance, I'll be able to live close enough to work, AND downtown if I so chose, to cut my commute down to thirty minutes or less; and most likely my job prospects there will be just as good, if not better, than the GTA.
14:55 |

2001/01/15

Last week was pretty good -- my classes got reduced so much that by the weekend I felt like I was still on holiday. My schedule has been significantly reduced in the way of classroom hours with the exchange of independant project type work in lieu of in-class lab sessions.

Went out with the Ottawa clan -- Oleg, Joe, Sham, Andrew O, and Jesse -- for Thai food last week, and hung out w/ Duff and Rich, and Liz on the weekend. I'll have to take advantage of all this social time before I inevitably get bogged down once again w/ school.
12:58 |

2001/01/08

Wow, what a great holiday! It came and went in three phases:

PHASE ONE: This was the pre-Christmas week; really busy w/ running errands I didn't have time for during the semester, completing the necessary evil that is Christmas shopping, visiting w/ friends, and worrying about how I did on my exams.

Between phases one and two came Christmas, which was really nice, complete w/ presents and gifts for all, and a delicious turkey dinner!

PHASE TWO: This was my time in Calgary visiting dEb, and was by far the best part of my holiday. Despite my somewhat critical account of Calgary in my previous entry, I had a GREAT time and really enjoyed the city and my time there. The landscape was a refreshing change from the relatively flat, and ever-expanding GTA. Coming back was anti-climatic; see PHASE THREE.

PHASE THREE: Although only a few days in duration, the remainder of my holiday after returning from Calgary left me pretty glum. I haven't been anticipating coming back to school, b/c I've determined it to be a rather negative environment for me; and my time in Calgary reminded me just how much I miss my time in Ottawa.

And now I'm back at school. I'll have to try and enjoy myself before things pick up again. Regardless, it's my last semester, and I'm currently coasting on the excitement of being FINISHED in four short months :)
17:19 |

2001/01/05

So how did Calgary compare with Toronto? Well, they don't clear their sidewalks for starters >:| However, everyone -- customer service, to passersby, you name it -- is REALLY nice! Out there, the sun seems brighter: when it's out, the sky's just white, not a lot of colour other than white light; it just seemed dreary. The landscape is great, and perhaps I'll put some photos up. I had a great time, and coming back to this metropolis is pretty anti-climatic. Below is my itinerary:

(all times local)

00/12/28
12:47 - picked up by airport shuttle service.
13:48 - arrive YYZ.
14:25 - cleared check-in, waiting @ gate.
15:01 - board flight.
17:15 - arrive YYC; get groceries w/ dEb; hang out @ her place, make dinner and watch Iron Chef.

00/12/29 - make breakfast; goto 17th Ave; meet Jasmine, Jody, and Nikki for dinner @ The Cheesecake Cafe, meet Caleb & Racheal also; meet Jen @ some fancy grocer where she works; return to dEb's and just lounge.

00/12/30 - make breakfast and watch Iron Chef; shopping in Kensington; coffee @ Roasterie; dinner w/ Natalie and her friend Lisa @ The King & I thai restaurant; coffee @ The Vicous Circle; explored 17th Ave. and surrounding area by foot w/ dEb for the remainder of the evening.

00/12/31 - slept in; had breakfast w/ dEb and her dad, briefly met her mom and guests; spent a quiet NYE watching movies and chatting.

01/01/01 - ate last night's pizza left-overs for breakfast, finished watching last night's movie; hiked through dEb's parent's Water Valley property; mer her parents for dinner @ the Canyon Rose in Cochrane; started construction on a ginger bread house; chatted w/ dEb and her mom, learned the history of the WV property.

01/01/02 - slept in while dEb went to the dentist for a surprise root cannal; hung out w/ dEb's mom and "got to know one another," as she put it; went to Banff where we window shopped our way through the tourist strip, had a nice dinner at a fancy buffet w/ a snooty, plastic-smiling french waiter, and finally spent a 'romantic' hour in the Banff Hot Springs, which to my surprise was nothing more than a public hottub.

01/01/03 - enjoyed a birthday breakfast from dEb; packed for the trip home; finished the gingerbread house; said goodbye to dEb's parents and thanked them for their hospitality; went back to Kensington for a photo opp.; grabbed a quick lunch @ Rockin' Robin's diner; off to the airport.
16:00 - check in for 16h15 flight, delayed until 17h15.
16:45 - clear security, waiting in lounge, flight delayed until 17h40.
17:30 - board plane.
23:30 - arrive YYZ.
00:15 - get luggage, picked up by airport shuttle service.
01:36 - arrive home; excecpt for the lack of xmas decor, it's as if I never left.
19:23 |

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