Upon my return from the only part of Alberta that sucks this afternoon, I walk in to discover that I have a working Internet connection. But, there's still no working phone connection. I don't know what's happening, but it's really odd.
Sigh.
The conference was good, with lots of good networking and hearing from some very gifted speakers about various topics surrounding Student Development and all that it pertains.
29.5.09
27.5.09
they who should not be named...
I've decided that after many previous faulty experiences with bell, I would never use them again, so I've signed on with TekSavvy for my phone and Internets at the new apartment. These were supposed to be connected on Friday, but it didn't happen, so I called on Saturday and they said that they'd give it back to Bell to do the hookup on Monday. Monday passed and still no connection.
On Tuesday, I sent an e-mail to TekSavvy regarding all this, and on Wednesday, I received a phone call from Tech Support letting me know that my order is Blocked a previous tenant had a dry loop withBell that they didn't cancel and now my landlord needs to call Bell to get them to cut it off so I can get service on the line. Woo!
Thankfully I'll be credited to the date that my service actually starts, which will hopefully be sooner rather than later.
Sigh. Another reason to hateBell.
On Tuesday, I sent an e-mail to TekSavvy regarding all this, and on Wednesday, I received a phone call from Tech Support letting me know that my order is Blocked a previous tenant had a dry loop with
Thankfully I'll be credited to the date that my service actually starts, which will hopefully be sooner rather than later.
Sigh. Another reason to hate
26.5.09
recursion
I noticed that the river valleys in southern Saskatchewan and Alberta look a lot like Fractals.
25.5.09
but calgary does... cont'd
I'm in Calgary. And I can see snow-capped peaks from my window.
I want this view in Ontario. Anyone? Anyone?
Sigh. I'll enjoy it for the week and get lots of pictures.
I want this view in Ontario. Anyone? Anyone?
Sigh. I'll enjoy it for the week and get lots of pictures.
23.5.09
but calgary does...
I'm off to a Conference in Calgary for CACSD from Monday - Friday next week. It's going to be great. Because, according to the Arrogant Worms, Alberta doesn't suck. Part of the trip is going to include an excursion to Banff, so I'm hoping to get some good mountain shots. I haven't fully decided on whether or not I'm taking a nice camera or my point and shoot with me. Either way, pictures will happen in abundance.
In other news, I was supposed to have phone and Internet hooked up yesterday, butBell's taking their time. So hopefully I'll find out a bit more information about it on Monday (because Bell doesn't work on the weekends. Lazy buggers.)
And I'm off to Rockwood with students and co-workers today. It's going to be a great time. I should go get something for lunch now...
Out.
In other news, I was supposed to have phone and Internet hooked up yesterday, but
And I'm off to Rockwood with students and co-workers today. It's going to be a great time. I should go get something for lunch now...
Out.
20.5.09
photo blog'd: may 20-2009
This weekend I went hiking. Along many parts of the trail, there was an opportunity to take the stereotypical group walking in a line with your packs shot. So I tried a few times, but it only really worked out in one or two pictures. Here's one of my favourites from the last day within 2 km of the car. You can see the sun hitting the same leg on all three hikers ahead of me in this one as they all seem to walk in stride without realizing it.
18.5.09
the bruce meets long weekend: take two
A few years ago, Gord and I decided that we wanted to go hiking on the Bruce Trail on the May long weekend. So we did, however we didn't clue into the weather reports regarding the fun-ness that was cold weather coming our way. So it was a very cold weekend.
This weekend, I went hiking again. But I was ready for the cold, with lots of layers and an extra blanket for sleeping. But that's not the whole story.
A few weeks ago, I got this e-mail from a friend asking me if I wanted to go hiking over three days on the May long weekend with them and 4 of their friends. I said maybe, and then waited for more details. When the details came, it turned out that these people were thinking of doing up to 65 km. After thinking on it, I figured I'd probably be ok with doing that type of thing. As the days came closer, and the weather report turned worse, it was decided that we would cut off the first 8km, which was a really good idea, seeing as I didn't need to get up at 5:30 to get up to near Singhamptono for 9. (I still was up at 5:30, but that's only because my body hates me, but if you're a faithful reader of this blog, you'd probably know that already).
Saturday was wet and windy. And muddy. We did 14 km from near the Loree Forest outside of Craigleith, south to Petun Conservation Area. It was a pleasant walk, especially after the rain stopped, and we went along the top of a few ski hills, saw some nice views (albeit somewhat cloudy), through a forest with a couple streams to cross by bridge, or by making our own path, along some trails made by the Scenic Caves ski-area, and finally, we took a shortcut up a road to get to the trail into the campsite. It was a nice site, hidden from the trail a bit, and once the fire was up and going, we warmed (or burnt in some cases) our shoes. Sleep wasn't great, but it happened in there somewhere. About 1:30 start to a 6:00 stop.
Sunday was cold and windy, but the sky was clear. I was awake at 6, and after a glass of hot chocolate and some time to pack up our gear, we were off by 8:00 am on a somewhat ambitious agenda of 30 km. The first part of the day seemed to be going great until about 4 hours in when
we realized we were only averaging about 2.5 km/hr. Unfortunately for us, it was hard to break this speed in many places due to the 5 times down and then back up the escarpment for the day. We went through many different scenic areas and saw some nice streams (water was pumped and filtered from a tributary of the Pretty River, and then later in the day of the Mad River). Some highlights of the day included the Osler Bluff lookout, the disappearing trail due to heavy wind damage in Devil's Glen Provincial Park, muddy switchbacks galore in Devil's Glen, the deer that ran away, the porcupine that didn't notice us, and the couple that hiked just ahead of us and then offered us advice and supplies before we passed them while they were loading into their car. We made it into the campsite 28.5 km from our start point at around 7:30 pm, set up camp in Nottawasaga Bluffs Conservation Area, got the fire going, and then settled in for a nice long snooze. Sleep came, but wasn't great, again, especially with my frantic searching for the "mouse that wasn't" around midnight. Supposedly I was snoring, so I guess that says I slept some.
Monday morning, we got up around 8, warmed up and packed up by 10, and were on the trail. We took the Keyhole side trail which takes you through some awesome crevices in Nottawasa Bluffs to cut off about 2 km of walking for the day, filled up with more water at the first stream we found, and then started walking on our last road stretch. When the trail veered off the road, two people decided rather than follow the trail, they would just walk back via the roads to their car. So we said goodbye and continued down the trail. 2 minutes later, we met up with the couple from the day before walking the opposite direction, so we gave them some pointers on what was coming up for them (lots of mud and fallen trees), and then said bye and carried on to the car, to which we arrived around 12:30, after only 5.5 km of hiking for the day. The day was warm and sunny, like the rest of the days should have been, but oh well... it was nice to have a warm day to end off the trip, so we didn't head home feeling miserable at least.
It was a good trip and I'll probably end up doing something like it again. Not for a few weeks though at least.
You can click on the images to see close-up's of the trail we did. The blue track is my GPS track, and the purple is the Bruce Trail's route as a few years ago. You can see where we took a few shortcuts, or the trail's been re-routed since then. The pictures aren't the same scale, but you can see the entire trip in the first picture.
Pictures to come.
This weekend, I went hiking again. But I was ready for the cold, with lots of layers and an extra blanket for sleeping. But that's not the whole story.
A few weeks ago, I got this e-mail from a friend asking me if I wanted to go hiking over three days on the May long weekend with them and 4 of their friends. I said maybe, and then waited for more details. When the details came, it turned out that these people were thinking of doing up to 65 km. After thinking on it, I figured I'd probably be ok with doing that type of thing. As the days came closer, and the weather report turned worse, it was decided that we would cut off the first 8km, which was a really good idea, seeing as I didn't need to get up at 5:30 to get up to near Singhamptono for 9. (I still was up at 5:30, but that's only because my body hates me, but if you're a faithful reader of this 
Saturday was wet and windy. And muddy. We did 14 km from near the Loree Forest outside of Craigleith, south to Petun Conservation Area. It was a pleasant walk, especially after the rain stopped, and we went along the top of a few ski hills, saw some nice views (albeit somewhat cloudy), through a forest with a couple streams to cross by bridge, or by making our own path, along some trails made by the Scenic Caves ski-area, and finally, we took a shortcut up a road to get to the trail into the campsite. It was a nice site, hidden from the trail a bit, and once the fire was up and going, we warmed (or burnt in some cases) our shoes. Sleep wasn't great, but it happened in there somewhere. About 1:30 start to a 6:00 stop.Sunday was cold and windy, but the sky was clear. I was awake at 6, and after a glass of hot chocolate and some time to pack up our gear, we were off by 8:00 am on a somewhat ambitious agenda of 30 km. The first part of the day seemed to be going great until about 4 hours in when
we realized we were only averaging about 2.5 km/hr. Unfortunately for us, it was hard to break this speed in many places due to the 5 times down and then back up the escarpment for the day. We went through many different scenic areas and saw some nice streams (water was pumped and filtered from a tributary of the Pretty River, and then later in the day of the Mad River). Some highlights of the day included the Osler Bluff lookout, the disappearing trail due to heavy wind damage in Devil's Glen Provincial Park, muddy switchbacks galore in Devil's Glen, the deer that ran away, the porcupine that didn't notice us, and the couple that hiked just ahead of us and then offered us advice and supplies before we passed them while they were loading into their car. We made it into the campsite 28.5 km from our start point at around 7:30 pm, set up camp in Nottawasaga Bluffs Conservation Area, got the fire going, and then settled in for a nice long snooze. Sleep came, but wasn't great, again, especially with my frantic searching for the "mouse that wasn't" around midnight. Supposedly I was snoring, so I guess that says I slept some.
Monday morning, we got up around 8, warmed up and packed up by 10, and were on the trail. We took the Keyhole side trail which takes you through some awesome crevices in Nottawasa Bluffs to cut off about 2 km of walking for the day, filled up with more water at the first stream we found, and then started walking on our last road stretch. When the trail veered off the road, two people decided rather than follow the trail, they would just walk back via the roads to their car. So we said goodbye and continued down the trail. 2 minutes later, we met up with the couple from the day before walking the opposite direction, so we gave them some pointers on what was coming up for them (lots of mud and fallen trees), and then said bye and carried on to the car, to which we arrived around 12:30, after only 5.5 km of hiking for the day. The day was warm and sunny, like the rest of the days should have been, but oh well... it was nice to have a warm day to end off the trip, so we didn't head home feeling miserable at least.It was a good trip and I'll probably end up doing something like it again. Not for a few weeks though at least.
You can click on the images to see close-up's of the trail we did. The blue track is my GPS track, and the purple is the Bruce Trail's route as a few years ago. You can see where we took a few shortcuts, or the trail's been re-routed since then. The pictures aren't the same scale, but you can see the entire trip in the first picture.
Pictures to come.
12.5.09
photo blog'd: may 12-2009
If I could figure out how to make the sky turn out blue in these pictures without having to purchase any extra lenses or filters, that would be cool. I guess I have to do some more research.
Oh! And you can find the essay I wrote for the UW English Language Proficiency Exam here. It's entitled "The Danger in the Storefront"
10.5.09
sleep
So I've come to the conclusion that I sleep when I have nothing better to do. I had a 2 hour nap both days this weekend just because I was bored (and I got to test out my new pillow... not bad). And I've gone to bed by 10 a few nights this week just because. Sigh.
Oh well. There's some fun things happening though.
Like the phone call I received last night from an unknown number asking for me and then informing me that the newlyweds were home and I was invited over. I ended up helping move boxes around and we went to watch Star Trek. I'm not a "Trekkie" and never will be a hardcore fan, but as far as movies go, it wasn't too bad.
And the 60 KM of hiking on the Bruce Trail that I'll be attempting next weekend with a few people. Starting near Collingwood and marching south until not to far south of Singhampton.
And my apartment is completely unpacked and all that I need now is the futon to be delivered and a small coffee table and kitchen table so I don't have to eat at my desk anymore.
And I tried a new recipe for lunch today: Fucilli noodles with chicken, tomato, and asparagus all covered in ranch dressing. It was tasty.
And over the past few weeks, we've had church spread throughout the city at various homes because the facility was unable to be rented. So we watched the Nooma videos. The two weeks I was able to attend, our group watched Name, which was about labels attached to people, and Rhythm, which was about the presence of God through creation and beyond. Both interesting discussion starters to which good discussion abounded. It was also nice to meet a few people outside of my group of friends at church, so now I may recognize a few more faces when I'm at church.
So I don't lead a completely pathetic existence. It's just a new learning curve that will take a few weeks to get embedded into routine.
Oh well. There's some fun things happening though.
Like the phone call I received last night from an unknown number asking for me and then informing me that the newlyweds were home and I was invited over. I ended up helping move boxes around and we went to watch Star Trek. I'm not a "Trekkie" and never will be a hardcore fan, but as far as movies go, it wasn't too bad.
And the 60 KM of hiking on the Bruce Trail that I'll be attempting next weekend with a few people. Starting near Collingwood and marching south until not to far south of Singhampton.
And my apartment is completely unpacked and all that I need now is the futon to be delivered and a small coffee table and kitchen table so I don't have to eat at my desk anymore.
And I tried a new recipe for lunch today: Fucilli noodles with chicken, tomato, and asparagus all covered in ranch dressing. It was tasty.
And over the past few weeks, we've had church spread throughout the city at various homes because the facility was unable to be rented. So we watched the Nooma videos. The two weeks I was able to attend, our group watched Name, which was about labels attached to people, and Rhythm, which was about the presence of God through creation and beyond. Both interesting discussion starters to which good discussion abounded. It was also nice to meet a few people outside of my group of friends at church, so now I may recognize a few more faces when I'm at church.
So I don't lead a completely pathetic existence. It's just a new learning curve that will take a few weeks to get embedded into routine.
7.5.09
photo blog'd
I've recently had an opportunity to play with a nice SLR camera around work, and here's some pictures that I took yesterday with it. I was hoping to go out again today, but the clouds rolled in and it's nice and grey out there again.
5.5.09
downsizing
My week can be summarized in one word: chaotic. But it's over now and life is slowly returning to normal. My best friend and former roommate is married and off on his honeymoon, my stuff is out of storage and set up into my new apartment into a somewhat-organized fashion, phone and Internet service have been ordered, and should be connected within 10-15 days, and I feel like I finally have some room to breathe.
The wedding was wonderful, the weather was perfect, and everything went over well, except for the baby screaming when asked if anyone objected. They've sent the scream off for analysis and the marriage license is being held pending clarification on the meaning of "WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!"
I'm out of my old apartment and handed the keys in on Thursday morning, and was in limbo for the weekend as I couldn't get into my new place until Sunday afternoon. But now that I'm in, everything seems to have some semblance of order once again. I have a microwave! The space is smaller than what I had, but I'm making due. I think I've organized it to the best of my ability, and will have to see how things look when I get the futon in and finish the unpacking of all the leftover stuff.
But for now, it's time to leave my Internet-filled office and head on to my 12 minute walk home. It's good to live so close to work again.
The wedding was wonderful, the weather was perfect, and everything went over well, except for the baby screaming when asked if anyone objected. They've sent the scream off for analysis and the marriage license is being held pending clarification on the meaning of "WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!"
I'm out of my old apartment and handed the keys in on Thursday morning, and was in limbo for the weekend as I couldn't get into my new place until Sunday afternoon. But now that I'm in, everything seems to have some semblance of order once again. I have a microwave! The space is smaller than what I had, but I'm making due. I think I've organized it to the best of my ability, and will have to see how things look when I get the futon in and finish the unpacking of all the leftover stuff.
But for now, it's time to leave my Internet-filled office and head on to my 12 minute walk home. It's good to live so close to work again.
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