News - personal and otherwise

Let's start with the impersonal stuff. Just had a meeting with the other 'high' fizz exec about event and budget planning. As far as events go, it seems that we're going to have roughly the same events as last year. The main ones will be the end of 253 BBQ, 2nd yr welcome BBQ, alumni pub-crawl, swing night, fizz tutoring, Christmas potluck, 1st yr promotion BBQ, beer garden, social night, pre-ACF/year end BBQ. I might be forgetting some.

Two tech news related items I read of interest (courteously of slashdot) were of a wireless plane and a CMOS 8-megapixel chip to compete with current CCD. The wireless plane sounds like a pretty cool idea but I'd be most worried about interference... now you might really worry about using your laptop during take-off. The CMOS chip seems pretty cool as well as far as making higher res cameras more ubiquitous. Sadly, CMOS tech doesn't have as good dynamic range as CCD so they're still going to be preferred for professionals.

Now some personal crap...
Classes started a week ago: EECE 360 and 359. The former is control theory and the latter is signals. Both seem more interesting than at least the 2nd year elec stuff.

Last weekend was pretty crazy. Paul and his roomies had a housewarming party. It started off a bit slow but it really picked up. I ended up dancing till around 3:30. Met a bunch of new people and hit the floor with a few girls but it just reminded me of fun with one who couldn't make it. There was one... executive I met who seems to do a lot of travelling for a stone/ceramic material firm. He apparently makes a lot of trips to China and really went off about how he loves it there. He was talking about Kunming and the stone forest and we both went on about it since I'd been there as well. I have to say I was jealous that he tried and was mildly successful at climbing out of the tourist area. He also mentioned this crazy citywide water fight that happens in like the first few weeks of May so I definitely have to go back sometime during it.

Through a friend of Paul's, a bunch of Canadian Olympians showed up. I ended up mostly talking to one though: Alana Krauss, two-time Olympic speed skater. She seemed a tad sensitive about her age being 29 and maybe the average of the party was like 22-24. Pretty cute for a 29 yr old and I would've guessed 24 otherwise.

Went camping the following day. Dan tried to get myself, Adamir and Ashley to this site near Whistler... Lake Callaghan. Well, we get to the off road and it turns out they're making it into a nordic combined track. Paul was laughing his ass off. Anyway, Dan's stubbornness prevails and we don't stop until we're tearing along at like 70-80 clicks, almost hitting a black bear, weaving through potholes, dodging boulders and forcing our way through *snow*... until we actually get into solid snow (think snowmobile terrain) and lose another road in a quarry. We eventually settle into a random campsite by a river after coming down off the mountain.

Dan and Ashley start pulling out half the house they brought with them, getting ready to make dinner. Adamir and I just look at each other, shake our heads and chuckle as they bicker about not having olive oil and having to resort to butter. We brought fresh sour cream, ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, etc... roughing it indeed. Despite bringing a grocery store with us, we still didn't pack enough warm clothes/sleeping bags so I and I guess Ashley didn't sleep well. I couldn't imagine what we'd be like in the snow. We did eat like kings though and I got what I was looking for... being outside, by water, in the sun with my guitar.

I'm really loving it right now. I think I've improved quite a lot in the past few months and I think the calluses on my fingers are finally starting to become more permanent... and/or nerves dying. I'm also becoming much more open to music as my former love relies on far too many power chords or even simple transitions... that or hammering is too hard to do on an acoustic at the moment. I made a deal with Adam that I'd learn to play Breakfast at Tiffany's if he hit on some fraulines. I'm sure he would've gotten around to it eventually but I like to feel I gave him that extra push since now he and Mark are going to a party Friday with some girls they met earlier in the week. And, I've lived up to my end of the bargain to my current ability and it's actually kind of a fun song to play - though the lyrics still blow.

Anyway, an hour of on and off writing is enough for now. Peace.