Persistent Illumination

Taught my first full yoga class in awhile, last night at the Atlas Yoga Studio. Anastasia Nelson's out at a yoga teacher training in Calgary, so I was a substitute teacher for her class. It was good to be teaching students with a relative degree of experience.

After class, Paul and I went out to talk about the thing. You know, the thing. More on that later.

One newspaper columnist asked today, "are there any nicer words in the english language than 'Three Day Weekend'?"

Of course, my answer would be yes. I could suggest, for example, "I'm not going back to the job that I needed the three day weekend to get away from..."

This weekend, though, the menu is as follows:

- trip to Cambridge architecture school Friday morning
- meeting with UW's Dean of Arts on Friday morning
- meeting with Dr. Bulman-Fleming of the "Academic Integrity" committee on Friday afternoon
- volunteering for Canada Day at Columbia Lake on Saturday
- likely the fireworks tomorrow night
- who knows what else

Bored? Drop me a line...

So it was announced recently that Warren Buffett, the world's second-richest man and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, has decided to give eighty-five percent of his money to charity (predominantly, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation).

That's eighty-five percent of his forty-four BILLION dollars in worth. He's seventy-five years old and has spent his lifetime amassing his fortune ... and now he's going to give the bulk of it away to charity. A charity that doesn't even have his name on it - talk about bucking the trend of the egotistical wealthy person.

I (heart) America.

Hacking cough, it's been more than a week now. You can go home already. I'm tired of losing sleep over you.

Otherwise, the weekend blurred by like this...

Friday after work, grabbed Jeff Henry from the Feds office and had a few pints at the Heuther. Sunshine, beer, patio and Friday afternoon - great combination.

Then headed over to Michelle's birthday party at the Maharajah Palace, joining about 25 other guests for an Indian-food dinner. It was one of those "zero degrees of separation" events - I sat down at a table where I already knew everyone relatively well, common connection being psych at Waterloo, and I knew quite a few others in the crowd from such venues as work, Michelle and Imprint. It was a great meal and the company was good. Even ventured out to the Starlight for a bit afterwards for some dancing - Ines is insane! - but my cough sent me home to bed at a relatively early hour.

Saturday was canoeing on the Grand River, very relaxing and good to be outside. BBQ at Kristina's - what a beautiful house! Big beautiful patio, hot tub, sauna, horseshoe pits, river bordering the property - not what I expect of a traditional Kitchener home. A pleasant surprise.

Swung by the K-W Multicultural Festival for a bit with Michelle, soaking in the diverse cultural and culinary offerings, not to mention watching 10-year-olds breaking boards in half with their bare hands (a presentation by a local Shaolin Kung Fu studio). Then it was back to the party, which raged from 2pm to the wee hours in the morning, Jell-O shooters had by all. I had only a few drinks and again, my cough had me tap out early in the evening.

Sunday was much more low key, some yoga in the park and various household things, followed by a very special trip to London.

1. IF YOU COULD BUILD A HOUSE ANYWHERE WHERE WOULD IT BE?
Overlooking the beach in southern California.

2. WHAT'S YOUR FAVOURITE ARTICLE OF CLOTHING?
Comfy sweaters. That or sandals.

3. IF YOU COULD HAVE CHOSEN YOUR NAME WHAT WOULD IT HAVE BEEN?
Thor. So it's a good thing that kids can't choose their own names.

4. WHERE IS YOUR FAVOURITE PLACE TO BE?
Sitting outside (patio / beach / park) on a gorgeous summer day with good company.

5. WHERE IS YOUR LEAST FAVOURITE PLACE TO BE?
Stuck in my less-benevolent memories.

6. WHAT TIME DO YOU WAKE IN THE MORNING?
Around 6:30am. No alarm set, that's just when I wake up.

7. WHAT'S YOUR FAVOURITE KITCHEN APPLIANCE?
The fridge. It's so cool. (ba-bing! yes folks I'll be here all night...)

8. WHAT MAKES YOU REALLY ANGRY?
Girlfriends who cheat on you and lie about it for a long, long time.

9. IF YOU COULD PLAY ANY INSTRUMENT, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
Violin. I'd play like a madman. It must be my Celtic roots.

10. FAVOURITE COLOURS?
Purple. White.

11. DO YOU BELIEVE IN AFTER LIFE?
Yes, though I think it's radically different than anything most people can imagine.

12. FAVOURITE CHILDREN'S BOOK?
"Are you my mother?" by Dr. Seuss. First because it reminds me of my mom, and second because it's a great tale about coming home at last.

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE SEASON?
Spring. Or, San Francisco, where it is eternally springtime.

14. IF YOU HAD ONE SUPERPOWER WHAT WOULD IT BE?
I'd be a healer. Or I would regenerate like X-Men's Wolverine, because then I'd never get sick and I'd live forever.

15. IF YOU HAVE A TATTOO, WHAT IS IT?
No tattoos, but I once thought about getting a sizeable dancing Shiva on my right side.

16. DO YOU JUGGLE?
Only my hectic schedule.

17. THE ONE PERSON FROM THE PAST YOU WISH YOU COULD GO BACK AND TALK TO?
From MY past: I'd prevent something terrible that has happened. You know, the thing. From THE past: Jesus.

18. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE DAY?
Friday. I've always liked Friday.

19. WHATIS IN THE TRUNK OF YOUR CAR?
A yoga mat. Tent. Treeplanting shovel. Someone's red coat. Clean socks. A style book by Carson Cressley. Shad Valley pens. Tupperware. A spare tire and jack.

20. WHICH DO YOU PREFER, SUSHI OR HAMBURGER?
Mmmm, sushi. California rolls, please!

21. FROM THE PEOPLE YOU WILL EMAIL THIS TO WHO IS MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND FIRST?
I don't do the spam e-mail thing. I just stole this from Michelle's blog.

22. WHO IS LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND?
If anyone responds to this, I'll be impressed.

23. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE PROGRAMME?
Despite its complete break from reality, I'm a big fan of House. Otherwise, CSI is a good choice.

24. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE MEAL?
Anything made with love, especially if it's pasta, pad thai, involves mushrooms, or is served at the Jane Bond.

25.WHO IS YOUR IDEAL MAN/WOMAN?
Dr. Cameron, on House. She's brilliant, compassionate and makes a living saving people's lives. And she's totally a hottie.

26. HAVE YOU EVER SPOKEN TO ANYONE FAMOUS?
I *am* famous.

Spent the weekend in Collingwood. Midnight walk on Wasaga Beach, water was bath warm. Yoga by the shore the next day, followed by a three hour hike down Blue Mountain. Great food was had by all.

Every day since then has been a bit of a write-off. Lots of excitement but nothing seems to be happening. It's a paradoxical world.

Yeah, I was out of touch
But it wasn't because I didn't know enough
I just knew too much

Does that make me crazy?
Does that make me crazy?
Does that make me crazy?

Probably.

(This, of course, being from Gnarls Barkley's Crazy. Caught their act at the MTV movie awards while I was up planting. The duo and the whole band standing stoically throughout the whole presentation, dressed in "New Hope" Star Wars gear. Weird, but attention-getting. And let's face it, what musical act hasn't wanted to have Rebellion fighters on backup?)

It's been surprisingly easy to get back into the swing of things here at work.

Caught up last night with Steph Beach, who had been on a whirlwind world-tour for the last few weeks. We had dinner, talked about the pros and cons of travelling with family, and looked at a great number of beautiful pictures. She had seen the Venus de Milo (at the Louvre, I believe), which is one of my favourite statues in existence. Some very inspirational travels.

Afterwards we ended up watching Steven Spielberg's movie Munich, which will stick in my mind as one of the longest movies I've ever seen that was completely unappealing to me. Perhaps if I was Jewish I'd understand it better?

Also saw Jill Kreiger last night, as well as Ben and their kids. Those girls are growing up so quickly.

This one's courtesy of Jeff Henry, back from the James Bond party:

[BlackBerry's] slogan should be "Nobody really takes you seriously unless you've got one"

I've just been accepted to graduate studies through the University of Waterloo's Department of Management Sciences. w00t!

I'd be accepted into their Masters of Management Sciences program, from where I could later apply for a Masters of Applied Sciences program. If accepted to MASc, I would write a thesis, which is my preference. Current idea: management of technology in the health services sector, with a specific focus on entrepreneurial ventures. Or at least that's what I proposed in my application.

I would have to take three courses as part of my "conditional" acceptance: first year calculus, first year algebra and third year stats. Back in first year. Wicked. :P

I could possibly be offered a TA position for $3,340 per term (they don't offer TAships until you arrive at UW and take the training course). At ten hours per week ... twelve weeks in a term, that's ... about 28 bucks an hour. Not too bad, really. It would cover the $1,980 per term tuition at least. Which is good, because there is no financial assistance in the form of research assistantships, scholarships (!) or student awards.

I have thirty days to decide whether or not I'd like to accept. Currently leaning towards ... sitting squarely on the fence. There are pros and cons for the program, and I'm going to take my time deciding.

Pictures