J . M A I L

Letters, Condos, Grades, and other such Jon related events

Hi blog,

First off, about the letters, my bad. I have yet to write or send a single one. I got caught up in wasting time and just didn’t get to it. I will make an effort this week to get writing. Then again whats more fun… getting a letter in the mail or the anticipation of getting a letter in the mail?

I went to Vancouver last week to see my niece Maya on her first birthday. It was really nice to get away, feel some humidity again, and see my sister and her family. Maya is awesome!

Here she is enjoying the swing with Julia. :D

While there, I spent way too much money at the Lulu Lemon outlet. I now probably own more stuff from there than any guy I know (and most girls).

I got back to Calgary with two term assignments due. Both are now done and submitted.

I am not sure how one course went, I am assuming it was pretty good. The other course I got 100 % on my term project and presentation giving me a 90.44% overall in the course and thus an A :) Calgary gives out letter grades here which is weird so I am very happy to have that 0.44 % because it means the difference between an A- and an A. I hope it helps with scholarship applications this fall.

I am now into researchish mode. I have some brain storming to do this week. I am gonna start playing around with Processing (a cool language that works on top of Java) and try to make something for an InfoVis poster submission. I got some sweet new notebooks to keep my ideas and rando research stuff in (non-moleskine too).

This afternoon I saw a condo that is in an awesome area for me in relation to school (ie less than a 5 minute walk, actually its across the street, I can see from the window of my lab). It has a washer and dryer and dish washer! Most importantly, my parents really liked the building.

*note I just saw a red ferrari outside the window of this tea house, btw I am writing this from Oolong tea house which I am now also the mayor of on 4square*

However, my parents want to wait for a unit in the  building to come available that is not on the ground floor. That said it could be a few months before I have a new place to live. More time in the parents basement means less money for rent though so I guess it’s a good / ok thing.

I have been on an online buying spree lately.

This past week I ordered:

• a new laptop battery (hoping it gives me 9 hours of battery life)
• two yerba mate gourds and bombillas 
• a rearview monitor mirror

I think I official love dealextreme.com. They have lots of awesome things (where I ordered the mirror from, a head scratcher, and a ton of other electronic toys/accessories).

This week I also went to my first hot yoga class ever. It was interesting. I had fun. It was weird but I think I drank less water than I normally do when I practice. Every sip would make my mouth feel like I had just stepped into a sauna.  If I ever go back I will have to get some booty shorts to wear :p

I also started watching a documentary called Yoga Unveiled today. So far so good, its pretty detailed in explaining the roots of yoga. I also am still looking for an attractive & knowledge lululemon wearing instructor that also doesn’t believe the position of the third moon of Jupiter affects our energy level or other such sillyness.

For now I think I will stick with regular non-heated practice. Maybe something that stresses the more technical asanas while also leaving more time for non asana based work.

In other news, I will be going to Vancouver soonish to pick up the old volvo station wagon that my parents used to own and now my sister has. It will be my new set of wheels! soccer moms watch out. Anyone wanna hang out in Vancouver for a day or two while I am there?

Till the next time I get the urge to write… warm happy fuzzy thoughts for all.

This Post.

I took a cold shower a while ago to cool off from sitting in my hot and humid apartment.  I am listening to “This American Life”, writing this post in MS Word, and am really just getting started on my day.

My sleeping pattern is odd. I wake up in the evening and go to bed as the sun rises. It has been this way for over a week. I avoid the summer heat in this way and don’t really mind missing the sunny summer days.

Tonight I have to do some Access DB work. This work has long been put off and will not be finished tonight. I wish I had never agreed to do any of this access work at all.

Living with $5 dollars in the bank is interesting. I still have my credit cards to help pay for McDonalds and other cheap forms of calories but I dislike being a mooch which I find doing more and more.

Due to a fluctuation of people being in Guelph and my sleeping schedule Guelph is very quiet socially. I did hang out with Divya tonight. Hi Div! It was fun walking through the park with you.

I don’t feel like writing about school which makes updating more difficult. I am wondering why I am even writing without much to say. I guess that is why most of my friends don’t blog anymore either. Either not having something worth sharing or not having something that they care to or want to share. Hmmmmm…. Maybe I will write more some other time.

What should I write about?

Hi blog! ♥

What is happening in my life? Not that much. I have been programming this week for the first time in a long time. Who knew Java could be so picky about stuff…

I now have only one research advisor. I think my old arrangement had come to its productive end and this step forward is for the best for all those involved in the process of getting me out of Guelph and done my thesis.

I woke up the other day really wanting to roll over in bed and hug someone. I got lots of e-hugs over Facebook yesterday and one in real life that lasted about 2 seconds but I was still wanting more. I have gone a while now without any significant human contact. I routinely go days without touching another human in any sort of way. I went two years with no relationship before August and now at the five month point of having no relationship I see a long lonely road ahead. Some days I think it will be a year before I get a chance to feel connected to someone again, sometimes two years, and a lot of the time I think it might never happen. It is not for a lack of trying, I am just playing the hand that I was dealt. I truely miss those old feelings and feel empty in a lot of ways without them. Now I realize it could all happen for me tomorrow but I could also be hit in the head by a falling space rock tomorrow, both are unlikely.

A lot of stuff seems to be going on in some of friends lives these days. I get pretty self absorbed in myself a lot. I don’t know if I am being as good to my friends as I can be when they tell me about their problems. I can be dismissive, I can suggest things, and sometimes I think I can actually be helpful. I keep coming back to the idea that everyone is looking for happiness in their own way and that kinda centers me and reminds me of what is really going on with everyone. I want the best for everyone that is suffereing, struggling, and trying to find happiness in their life.

The coming week should be interesting. I have school, the gym, yoga, a friend coming to stay for a night, a couple of nights out, and some climbing routes to conquer (I want to get stronger for the first time in a long time). When am I gonna finish reading all my books? When am I gonna get to learning guitar and painting and handstands and drawing the pictures for my book? The weather is gonna be nice out this week and that will likely lead to bike rides. My winter bike is now pretty sweet. Also I just messaged someone on campus about potentially becoming a life model, could be kinda fun and naked ;)

I want to say I appreciate all the comments on my post about being awesome. Namasté

Funny how that works.

One of my favourite talks from the recent TED videos I posted was on the topic of choice. The speaker had a certain presence about him and an interesting quality to the way he spoke that made the talk really stand out from all the rest of the videos. He has had a pretty distinctive look as well.

Yesterday before leaving Toronto I went into Chapters and picked up the books Outliers and Blink. This morning looking at Outliers back jacket cover I saw a picture of the author, Malcolm Gladwell. I instantly recognized him as the man who had given the TED talk on pasta sauce and choice (Video). Funny how that works. I think I am going to really enjoy both of these books.

Books currently on the go: Atlas Shrugged, Happiness, How to Win Friends and Influence People, Blink, Outliers