Persistent Illumination

"I'm calling to tell you the results of the first round of interviews, and I'm sorry to say that you weren't selected to move on to the second round."

"Hmmm. Well, thanks for letting me know. Any tips for next time, things I should know to have done better?"

"No, you interviewed very well. You have good project management experience, but we were looking for somebody with a bit more of a background in international governance."

(traffic disrupts the cell phone conversation)

"I'm sorry, what was that last bit?"

"we were looking for somebody with a bit more of a background in international governance..."

"Oh, OK. Well, thanks for the interview, Yaacov, and for letting me know..."

ed: the above comments are paraphrased from a conversation I had with a representative from CIGI earlier tonight. Now I can start my real job on Monday morning, thank goodness. I never did find out which job pays more, though I suspect it's the one I stayed with...

There was a time when I challenged myself to see how many part-time jobs I could pick up while I was a student. I was moderately successful at this - it got to be a bit of a fun challenge - but that all ended for me recently, thankfully.

So, I quit a job today, a one-day gig, the kind where you go in to be vastly underpaid for your time but hey why not it's there anyways. It's time to move on from this sort of lifestyle. That, as they say, was enough of that.

This boot camp is going to fry my brain....

It's been over 48 hours since the camp started, and I have barely moved in all that time. A lot has been learned, some good networking has been done, with only very little slipping completely by me. Still, sitting in one spot for so long has an effect on me brain - I find myself becoming incoherent, if you can believe it.

Again, a fuller update comes later, but here's the gist of it:
- useful topics covered so far: branding, strategy, marketing, early revenue, funding sources, angel investors
- not-so-useful topics covered so far: R&D tax credits (not my business sector), team building (just like my good old friend Mr. Bindar Dundat ... say it slowly ...)
- it's nice that not everyone here is from the tech sector, students, or from UW. It's heavily attended in those areas, but overall it's a nice blend.
- I have come up with another large-scale idea that I may want to explore
- I have received one phonecall this week - asking me in for an interview for a position at CIGI...

Today they had 'success stories' from past UW Innovate camps (this is the fourth year for the camp), with some of the kids sitting in on a panel answering our questions. Interestingly, the Honourable Sinclair Stevens (industry minister in the Mulroney cabinet) also sat on the panel, as he had just finished his keynote address for the camp. There will be more on that later, but for now suffice to say that I hope to be on the success story trip someday.

Until then, the CIGI interview's tomorrow at 4:00pm, with Yaacov Iland. I would say wish me luck, but I'm really just interested now to learn more about what the position entails.

Thanks to my internet still being down at home, I haven't gotten a chance to update in awhile. Suffice to say, the Bond Party was a blast, I had a great weekend, and there will be some back-dated posts soon. I'll try to fit it all in, as this week I'll be at the UW Innovate Start-Up Advantage camp, a.k.a. entrepreneurship boot camp.

Earlier today, as it was nearing the 5:00pm hour, I almost told someone to "have a great weekend!" Then, I realized that it was extenda-weekend for me, and just another manic Monday for everyone else. Whoops.

A glance at what this week holds for me:

1. Lunch tomorrow with Shelley Nixon at the Lotus Buddha Teahouse
   
2. Dinner tomorrow with Sonya Konzak at Barleyworks, where she will celebrate being done done done done!!!!
   
3. Business ethics final Wednesday afternoon, followed by
   
4. one last Imprint board meeting, and then
   
5. thank-you dinner for the Office of Persons with Disabilities at the University Club
   
6. Thursday is Jeff Anstett's Beer-B-Q/pool party/3am-3pm bash
   
7. Friday is the Imprint board transition dinner
   
8. Friday night: Bond party, my place. OVer two dozen confirmed so far!
   
9. There's also a pub crawl that will run some kind of crazy tangent with my party on Friday night...

It's going to be a great week! If I can fit it in, I'm also going to work on the "How to Change the World" book that John Cullen of UW Enterprise Coop lent me.

Who's going to be the new pope? Want to bet?

From the current Globe and Mail:

"The Irish betting agency Paddy Power ... takes bets on the future of the papacy (even though bets on papal transitions are forbidden by the Roman Catholic Church under a 17th-century papal bull)...

"The agency's favourite papal candidates are Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger of Germany, at 7 to 2, followed by Jean-Marie Lustiger of France at 4 to 1 and Carlo Maria Martini of Italy at 9 to 2..."

Three Canadian Cardinals are on the list: Ouelett (Quebec City, 80:1, "roughly in the middle of the pack"), Turcotte (Montreal, 100:1) and Ambrozic (Toronto, 100:1).

I like to call it, "Everything you've ever wanted to know about titles in Canada, but have been afraid to ask"...

At points in life, one is obliged to come up with answers to some very important questions. As an undergraduate, the questions are often simple:

• "What program are you in?"
  
• "Where do you live?"
  
• "Where do you work?"
  
• "Are you seeing anyone right now?"

Sometimes, the answers to these questions are obvious, simple or otherwise easy to come by:

• "I've wanted to be a nurse since I was seven years old."
  
• "East C, baby!"
  
• "My next co-op job is at RIM..."
  
• "Yes, I've had a boyfriend since I was in OAC..."

Other times, however, the answers do not come so easily:

• "Engineering wasn't what I thought it would be. I'm thinking of switching into science, but I'm not so sure..."
• "I had a house with some friends for the fall term, but we had a big fight this summer and I don't want to live with them anymore..."
• "I really, really need a part-time job this term. Do you know of anywhere?"
• "Well, I'm kind of seeing a couple of people right now..."

Yes, I have heard all these responses in my time, and no, none of them are mine. I bring this up because there is one question that has repeatedly been asked of me lately, and I find that I have frustrated a great deal of people with my answers. The question, of course, is:

• "What are you going to do next year?"

The answer, of course, is "I don't know." Now, I've since upgraded my answer to "Well, I have something that I'm working on, but I don't want to talk about it just yet ... but otherwise, I don't know."

Friends and peers have responded with downturned eyes, perhaps hiding disappointment and perhaps not wanting to have to give me the "Andrew you need to get on with your life" lecture that my parents are so fond of giving me.

Some have acted a bit surprised, not hearing the expected, "Well, since I'm so political it's off to Ottawa now to try and become the next Prime Minister of Canada..." Note to you all: I'm an American citizen. I'll never, ever be the next Prime Minister of Canada. (But then, a few years ago I would have said that Arnold Schwarzenegger would never, ever become the next President of the United States of America, but now we're not so sure ... but, I digress...)

With this long introduction, here are the two main reasons why I'm not joining the job market just yet:

1. Dad. When I enrolled in University, he offered the advice of "Do whatever you would do if you had all the money in the world." Now, this is no excuse to be lazy. No, if I were lazy, I would be off in Tahiti sipping on Mai Tais or some such nonsense, not sweating out the end of a long degree here in the 'loo.

No, if I had all the money in the world, I would still have wanted to teach kids about technology, which I am grateful to have the chance to do this summer with Engineering Science Quest. Plus, I'll never get paid this kind of money to play with kids ever again. JobMine, Monster.ca, Workopolis.com - these are not going anywhere. They can wait.

If I had all the money in the world, I would also have spent a summer or two challenging myself up in the wilderness of Northern Ontario, planting trees. This body has seen bliss unexperienced by many in Western society, and these two hands have planted over 100,000 trees in about three months (over the course of two seasons). No small feat, that. If I left this earth tonight, it would still be a great contribution.

If I had all the money in the world, I would also have dedicated a healthy portion of my maturing life to politics and civil service. Here in the microcosm of life at UW, I have dedicated more than my fair share of service to my community, collecting a nod of recognition or two along the way, and having enjoyed the privilege of interacting with some absolutely fantastic leaders.

2. The thing is, I don't have all the money in the world. True, I have learned to enjoy the smaller things in life, so I can get by for a great time on a great little. Yet one of the greatest luxuries we are afforded as human beings, especially in Western society, is the luxury of choice. Instead of dedicating my life to eking out an existence in the maze of post-grad life, I'm going to take a shot at something a bit different first. A life more of my own making, a life lived more on my own terms. I've seen too many people disillusioned with the realities of their choices, and I'm going to try a new path now.

There was a moment today, as I sat on a hilltop on my last day ever of part-time UW work, where the skies were ripped open for me and I really just wondered if it was going to be possible to bring this all into reality.

Will it work? I have much of the knowledge, and I am humble and resourceful enough look for help when needed. I almost completely lack the financial resources, but I am weekly discovering new venues to bring this into reality. I do have the drive, the vision, the idea. Equally as important, I am beginning to receive support from peers and others who are helping to shape this vision into something so much more than it ever could have been on my own.

So, no, I'm not going to work as the second assistant marketing coordinator to some company that I've never heard of before. Not just yet. I'm not going to jump headlong into a mater's degree, just because "that's what you do next." That will come soon enough, when I have taken a bit of time to really decide what I want to do with that new part of my education. No, next comes something a bit more fun, though I fully recognize that it may remain little more than a dream by the time I am done with it.

But then, what's life if not for the living? If I completely fail, I will still know that I have done my best. And world, be warned: never underestimate the drive of a seasoned tree planter. If anybody knows how to overcome an obstacle along an independent path, it's a treeplanter.

So, stop asking. I'll be fine. I'm graduating with a degree in psychology, for goodness sake. If anybody should be exempt from answering the automatic questions that we human beings ask of each other, it's we psych majors. (And the Buddhists, but again, I digress...)

No, I'm still Andrew - I still enjoy learning, living, loving and laughing, working hard and playing hard, taking time for the smaller things along the way while striving towards bigger and bigger goals. Yes, there's still going to be a wicked party at my house this Friday, and I'm still going to hang out with the bigwigs the following week, and with genius children the week after. Just don't expect to sum me up by the answer to that one little question quite yet. At least, not until I give you an answer. And if it works, what an answer it will be...

Oh my lappy
I am so happy
You have come back to me.

Oh my lappy
I am so happy
This song is so sappy
But now I have you on my knee.

YEAH! My lappy is back! Hooray for lappys everywhere!!!!

Aaaaaaaaaand....

... back to studying. My next final is my only legitimately hard one: personnel psychology, which ironically has involved neither personnel nor psychology (discuss amongst yourselves!)

Business Communication went OK last night. The class average is too high, so the teacher has been doing everything she can to cut the marks down. I may have a word with the English chair about that - I'm a big fan of people (students included) being given credit for the work that they do.

Can you imagine showing up for work and having your boss say, "Yeah, we've been paying too many people lately. Instead of cutting back on scheduled shifts, we're going to keep you all here doing the most work that you can ... but not pay you for all your work. Just 80-90% of it."

Not great for morale.

I had a nice long hour-and-a-half chat yesterday with John Cullen of UW'sEnterprise Coop. Yes, it's still 'the project.' I already was familiar with most of what he threw at me - mostly entrepreneurship and business concepts - but there was still some really useful information. Matching funding for awards - wOOt! - and some really nice information about business plans.

He also lent me a book: "How to Change the World: Social Entrepreneurs and the Power of New Ideas." Cover statement of support from Nelson Mandela. I have yet to crack the cover, but it's going to provide some nice post-exam reading. My first pleasure book in quite a while.

It's an interesting title, that. Social entrepreneur. If I look back on some of my activities of late, I acknowledge that I too can bear that label. It's one I first heard used by co-founders extraordinaire George and Parker (EWB) and it's just kind of stuck with me. I like the phrase.

Still, it is another label. Not sure how much I like a new label. I have to admit liking not having the label, and just having it be "well, kind of ... what I do, I guess..."

The project's paperwork for incorporation as a not-for-profit charitable organization should be filed tomorrow. Exciting! They should be ready by the time the Innovate Start-Up Camp is over.

The James Bond party's a go.

Friday, April 22, 2005, doors at 8pm, cover is $5 and a bottle of booze. Semi-formal attire or Bond theme required.

Open bar, light refreshments, cards dealt - service brought to you by either the lovely Theis twins or the hopefully-tuxedo-wearing me.

Invite only. But, if you know me and you want to come, you should drop me a line and I'll invite you.

Lats night, as I was plugging the cable from my speakers into my laptop, I accidentally brushed the metallic points of a USB port near the 'headphone' jack with the male end of the speaker cord. A short 'buzz' went through my speakers, there was a spark, and my laptop went stone cold. The speakers were plugged in to an AC connection at the time - they had power running through them. I think my laptop has died. Along with all the work on it.

It's an IBM Thinkpad R31, used (about 2 yrs old). Does anybody know what my problem might be? I've tried rebooting, removing and replacing the battery, plugging and unplugging it from AC - nothing seems to work.

Can you help bring my lappy back to life? Please? I miss it!

----

Update: lappy has been brought to the CHIP at UW. They're going to look at it (him? her?) for about $11, and let me know what else I need.

I have been thinking much lately of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I have a dream" speech. Looking back, I can easily see why it is remembered as one of the most famous speeches of our time. Its most famous parts is reproduced below, full text of the speech can be found here.

....

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal." I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slaveowners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood. I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state, sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today.

Thanks to a special student rate, I'll be staying at in the Sweeney Residence at St. Jerome's University from April 25-28. It's part of the 2005 Innovate Start-Up camp, what I have been referring to as "entrepreneurship boot camp." Indeed, it is a tough program - 7:30am start time, and the conversations run until the wee hours of the evening. You stay overnight in the residence, and meals are provided.

The ratio of presenters to participants is about 1-to-1 right now (or so I have been told), with about 20 of each listed in attendance. It's going to be extremely educational, though I'm hoping that they have a better grasp on the camp then they do on the HTML on their site. :P

You're supposed to have a project that you want to develop as part of this camp. It's not required, but recommended. I do have a project, but I'm not going to talk about it here. If you know me, ask me about it and we can talk in person sometime.

On an aside, supposedly one of the people at Innovate who is running the camp used to babysit me when I was a kid. That should be interesting...

I have to note the most interesting thing. Apparently, both Carla and I need to do laundry. However, she dresses up in her nicest clothes (because she's got class) and I choose to wear my rattiest, hole-worn clothes (because I don't). It's an interesting contrast.

I just got $10 for surfing the UW website for 20 minutes. Apparently, it's part of a "usability study" that UW is currently undergoing.

The tasks were simple - find grad studies, find info on residences, no using the Google search feature - but more interesting was the reason for the study. Apparently there is a large cross-functional UW committee that has been discussing changes to the UW website. Mentions of changing the site on a weekly basis - taking perhaps precedent from the homepage of another prestigious technical school - had led those on the committee to commission this study. Research, apparently, was necessary to settle the "unanswered questions" from the committee.

The odd inner workings of the UW bureaucracy. Especially considering the recent move of many parts of the UW web to go to the reported "Gold Standard / common look and feel" of the site.

It was also interesting to note that the hardest thing to find from the UW frontpage was the Feds' website.

And yes, I also told them that their keyword search function wasn't anywhere near as effective as the Google search.

I heard earlier today that Leo Dominguez had had a bit of a shake-up recently, including a hospital visit. The story I was told has him driving back from Toronto and hitting a patch of black ice, skidding out of control into the concrete median. Another car, coming up behind him, also hits the patch of black ice and goes out of control. Leo jumps over the median to avoid the car hitting him. Leo apparently ended up with a few scrapes, and his company (one female) was shaken but fine.

Not sure of the validity of any of this, but if you know Leo you should probably go and wish him well.

In injury-related news, Neal Moogk-Soulis now has his cast off. Be sure to congratulate him.

Many things happened this weekend, some great and some sad. They will all find their space here, but one thing should be said right away.

Last night I won a Federation of Students Leadership Award. "For outstanding contribution to student life at the University of Waterloo:" the Fed Hall-housed awards ceremony was nice, there were some creatively arranged eats,it was a quietish yet pleasant gathering of people who mostly knew each other. The UW community is a great one.

Still, what really got my attention happened after all the awards were handed out. Those eight of us who were present - John Fishbein, Matt Strickland, Enam Rabanni, Cora Dupuis, Archna Gupta, Amy Vu and Sonya Konzak - got up on stage to pose for a picture. At one point I looked around me and realized that these are some of the greatest leaders on the University of Waterlo campus during my time. I was both humbled and proud to be in their presence - it is a deep privilege to be able to say that I look forward to what we all will do with our lives. It was a great night.

When I went up for my Feds Leadership award, Becky Wroe noted that "it could almost be said that Andrew bleeds Imprint..."

To which some member of the audience wittily replied, "Let's test that theory!"

Alas, nobody rose to the challenge. Wroe also noted my involvement with the ASU, EWB "despite the fact that he's not even an engineer" and of course my involvement with OEA. At first I thought is strange that she should mention my joke involvement over some of my more 'real' volunteerism - Feds board, UW Human Resource Management Club founder, UWSP - but then she handed me a cheque and that was that.

The evening was a great one, despite the fact that the invite said banquet and banquet means dinner (seriously, look it up). So my guests, who had been brought on the assumption of dinner, were in for as much of a surprise as I was. One of my guests and I eventually just did go out for dinner afterwards, which was nice.

Last night, Bianca Tong and her housemate threw one swanky cocktail party. Semi-formal dress was required - quite a different theme from the "BOT/MOT/EOT" parties that are thrown just a few doors down from her house. Likely about 40-50 people put in an appearance throughout the night.

I was worried that it would be quite pretentious - sometimes putting on a tie can change a person. However, the "open bar" concept helped change the mood of the night - everyone brings one bottle to contribute, while the hostesses staff an open bar. A fantastic idea, that - people become less territorial about their drinks, resulting in great times yet somehow a surplus of alcohol at the end of the night.

Yes, there are some good stories from the night, but I'm just going to leave those for now. Suffice to say that it was a great night - Bianca, you throw great parties.

That's the only words to describe it. I feel so very satiated. So very full .. of life, of action, of memory.

Last night's Arts Grad Ball contributed greatly to this. Drinks and dancing - and brie and strawberries - at the Waterloo Inn unti l 1:30am. I have to admit that I am really quite impressed with the ASU - they did a great job. Over 100 people came out, the atmosphere was perfect, both Dean Kerton and Professor Ken Westhues (sociology, 1st annual ASU professor award recipient) gave great addresses. They also had something they call "The Book" - a massive blank tome for Arts Grads to sign, soon to be our equivalent of the engineer's Tool or the mathies' Pink Tie. The ASU should be applauded for successfully starting so many new traditions.

Ah yes, that is traditions, plural. The Book, the Grad Ball - and the student society awards. Not only did I bring a date, but she won an award for being incredibly active in the Psychology Society. Not all the societies awarded their outstanding students, but enough did to start a good tradition for next year. Go ASU, go!

Ah yes, I had a date. She looked stunning and we had some great conversations that night. Plus, she's a fantastic dancer.

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Prior to the Grad Ball came the Imprint end-of-term staff lunch. Courtest of the Ali Baba '05 campaign, we ate at one fine dining establishment on King St. in Waterloo. I've never had a WHOLE calamari served a an appetizer before, but the food was all delicious. I'd rank Ali Baba's as my second favourite classy restaurant in town, finishing a distant second to Janet Lynn's Bistro a block away. Still, I don't shake a stick at feww scotch...

Most memorable, though, was the song by Jeff and Darren. I have to duck out to Bianca's party now, but I'll make sure to write more later. Usually I just want to let my satiated-ness allow for real proceedings, but I'm keeping this blog so that I'll remember everything that happened in, like, 10 years...