Co-op Student Pays Off!

This just in... it pays to have a co-op student at work. Today she earned her entire term's worth of pay in one day. Because today she informed me that there is now Karaoke on Rogers On Demand. Holy crap, that just made my day forever.

Baby, baby, it looks like it gonna hail...

Never Try Anything New

Last night was Monday night... and you know what that means! That's right, it's weekly grocery shopping night. This week, because I was already out, and it was closer, I went to Sobey's instead of my usual Zehrs. I thought it might be good to check out a different selection, etc, but what I found was that I couldn't find any of the things that I usually buy. So, I wandered around the store, looking lost and ended up with enough items that I could still go through the express line. So, today's lesson is to never try anything new and always stick to your routine.

Week (or so) In Review

I haven't been posting much lately, but things have been happening, so this'll basically be 3 posts for the price of 1!

I got back from my cruise last week. I was another great time. This year we were on the ms Westerdam. It was, for the most part, the same ship as we went on last year, as they're both of the same class, so I knew my way around right off the bat (a good thing). This year, our stops included Half Moon Cay (Little San Salvador Island), San Juan, St. Thomas/St. John, and Nassau. The highlight this year was the Bioluminescent Bay Kayak excursion, in which we kayaked into a bay at night and saw how when the water was disturbed, it glowed. Way cool. And by the end, I had only gained 1.6lbs despite eating whatever and whenever I wanted... but of course, I was much more active while on the trip.

My second mini-post is to say that I went to the Winter Classic game in Buffalo on New Year's Day. It was the bachelor party activity for Marty. We had tickets up in the third level, so the play was quite far away, but you could still see the action. We tailgated before the game, and made Marty do ridiculous things. He was a really good sport about it... in fact, I think he enjoyed it a little too much. The crowd was really awesome and everyone was into the game. Unfortunately, the snow created frequent stop in play as they had to clear and/or fix the ice. But in the end, Crosby won the game in a shootout, so it was everything the NHL could have wanted.

And following that, yesterday Marty got married to Felicity. I was fortunate enough to be asked to be a groomsman (which marks my fifth time being in a wedding party). It was a lot of fun, and I got to meet a few new people. Congratulations to them, if they read this.

I can't promise more frequent updates... I'll try, but no promises.

This Had Better Be The Best Internet Ever, Part 2

Yep, once again I got suckered into paying .75c per minute to use the hideously slow internet connection on the ms Westerdam. But anyway...

Merry Christmas from where it's sunny and warm and where Weight Watchers plans go to die. And I mean die with a vengeance. The food is riduculously plentiful aboard... and so, so good.

Yesterday we were on the island of Half Moon Cay (officially Little San Salvador Island). Tomorrow, we're in San Juan, where I'm taking a bioluminescent kayak trip at night, where there are fish or something that glow. I'll take some good pictures. Today is a whole day "at sea", which mean there's way to much to do here. Today, I took a mixology class to learn new types of martinis.

The sea is pretty rough today, which I kind of like. It slowly rocks back and forth. So you walk like you're drunk, even if you're not... if you are, you'll probably walk straight.

The temperature today was about 28 and sunny. I hope it got stupidly cold back home. Merry Christmas, everyone.

Video Blog?

Matt Brouwer, P.Eng.

Today I got notification that my application for Professional Engineer status has been approved! Now I can stamp your passport applications... oh wait, they got rid of that rule. Well, at least I can legally call myself an Engineer now, well... at least I can when my "first invoice is paid and processed".

Anyway, this is a pretty big deal for me. I have the P.Eng designation now, and I don't have to do anything more to keep it (except for paying the man)... no more exams or experience summaries, etc. I'm in the clear... unless I end up in the blue pages.

I'm Weight Watching (Again)

You may or may not have been aware that about 2 and a half years ago, I tried out Weight Watchers Online. For a few months it went really well and I lost 45 pounds. However, I lost the will power and over time I eventually gained it all back. There were a couple of false restarts in between there where I'd lose a couple pounds over a couple weeks, but I never stuck with it. This time, however, it's going to be different. Why will it be different? First of all, I'm actually going to the Weight Watchers meetings instead of just doing it online. Second, I'm going with a friend this time. That's two more layers of accountability that I didn't have last time. Also, last time I didn't make it "public" that I was doing the program... whether that was out of embarrassment or as a safety net in case it didn't work, I don't know... probably a little bit of both.

This time, I'm doing the exact opposite... I'm letting anyone know who'll listen. Why would I do that? It's not so much for your information, as it is me removing that "at least if I fail no one will know" safety net. This time, failure is not an option... I really can't keep on going like I had been.

So, I've been going now for 10 weeks. So far, so good... I've been keeping track of my progress... have a look....

Now, of course, December has just started, so the next month is going to be a real struggle for me to keep up the pace. What with all the Christmas parties and cruises I'll be attending. So, come January, if I'm the same weight as I am now, I'll consider that success and I'll get back on it hard then.

My Cult Membership Package Has Arrived

Hey Matt, you may ask... what's been going on with you for the last couple weeks? Well, let me tell you... Brand new iMac! I believe it's in the End User Licence Agreement that I now must act all smug and superior to you lowly PC users now. Allow me to show you all the light...

There it is, in all it's glory... just ignore the mess on the table.  I still need to get it a desk of it's own... all in due time.  So, why would I buy such a fancy-pants computer?  Well, this should be considered a purchase directly related to my video camera that I got this past summer.  I needed a place to put together the videos I took, and the Mac was the obvious option.  Check out the first video I put together:  The shaving of Dan and Faith's cat, Jooje.

Another project I've undertaken is to convert our old home movies to DVD.  There's years of stuff to go through... it'll give me something to do.

Happy now, Patrick?

Books Are Bad

A thought occurred to me yesterday as I decided to head out and browse at my local Chapters. Is there any good reason to shop at a bookstore in Canada these days? With the dollar now being worth more than the US dollar for a little while, and with it being worth over $0.90 for over a year now, we pretty much get screwed when it comes to pricing. Take a look at any book and there are two prices: one for the US and one for Canada. The Canadian one is usually about 20% higher. This was understandable when the dollar was low a few years ago, but now now. And the book stores won't give you a discount... they strictly follow that printed price. Even a newly released book, Stephen Colbert's "I Am America, And So Can You" has a Canadian price of about $4 more than the American. Contrast that to online book retailers, and the prices are quite more in line with what we should be paying. My guess is that they don't have to strictly follow that printed price and can list whatever they want (and of course, less overhead... but still).

Sometimes I just like to buy a new book for no apparent reason... but I just can't justify it anymore.

Always Good Advice

A friendly reminder to hold your applause until the end of the symphony, not at the end of each movement. Nothing horrible will happen if you clap at the inappropriate time, and usually the conductor will be nice and acknowledge the applause, but generally, it's best to enjoy the piece as a whole. Don't feel you must clap because there is silence.