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.

Home Away From Home

I am now in Calgary. I will be back in Guelph to defend but I am not sure when, I will update FB/Twitter when I know more.

My last few days in Toronto were really great. I saw almost everyone, had a lot of laughs, talks, and great meals.

I want to thank everyone again that helped me move during my last days in Guelph. I can’t wait to be back there to see everyone again.

I miss Dave the cat.

Now that I am in Calgary I have so many things I want to buy it’s kinda crazy.

It is gonna take a while to get used to living at home again. I am living the basement which is ok. I can see myself trying to find a new place pretty soon though.

I will keep on updating this blog over the coming month with details about what is happening here, happening with my thesis, and my travels back to Guelph.

Happy 2010 everyone.

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.