Reading Week

So Reading Break came and went, and guess what? I actually READ! Not for school, but for fun! I finished off "Foreskin's Lament - A Memoir" by Shalom Auslander and "What was she thinking? Notes on a Scandal" by Zoë Heller. Both were interesting reads, and my goodness, it was nice to be able to just relax for week.

On Thursday, Mom and Dad came up from Victoria, brought me my mail, my violin, and then we headed back down-island (I got to drive. Nanaimo had a freak foot of snow overnight on Wednesday, and Dad has had cataract surgery so Mom didn't want to drive both ways). We had a nice dinner on Thursday night, and a cranberry/apple/brie-stuffed phyloo pastry appetizer... yum.

Friday saw me getting up and going to UVic to see an advisor about possibly returning. The information wasn't good, it also wasn't bad. I am considering it still, but still not 100% settled. I went home, did a bunch of household work for the parents, including moving a cubic metre of pea gravel from the back of the minivan into Milton's paddock, and moving filing cabinets around.

And see, this is where the worry about Victoria comes into play... I am the good son. I am the one who DOES this kind of stuff. Matthew is around, but my Mom is constantly making excuses about why he isn't able to pitch in more. Frankly, it's because he puts his energies into other pursuits, and sleeps when he is at home. And I don't want to be the good son again - that is one of the reasons I left for Nanaimo. In any case, doing all that reminded me as to why I am up here.

Anyways, had beer with some of my old co-workers on Friday night, lunch with a friend on Saturday, and then off to Vancouver in the afternoon. I flew with Harbour Air (I had a free ticket). It was beautiful! I have never seen Victoria from the air like that before. Glad I was able to do it.

Sunday, I went to East Van for my Creating 2010 Volunteer Orientation. It was really interesting. We had our placement interviews, group activities, and a general orientation. I also got a 2" binder of take-home materials, and a DVD of e-Learning modules. The scope of the games is enormous - 25,000 volunteers, 5,500 athletes, etc. It is the equivalent of running the Stanley Cup, Super Bowl and Grey Cup every day for 15 days. I can't imagine the logistics.

We did have to put up with some claptrap, as evidenced by these two videos.







Not sure about the lyric choice on the torch relay, but that is just me...

Unfortunately, now, it is back into the thick of things. Although, the way my work schedule has landed this week, I have a good deal of free time to deal with things. I am also not getting as many hours as I need, and so things are, predictably, stressfully tight. However, I did win a $500 bursary from the school, which I can collect on Monday. That will provide some welcome relief and food!

Wow, talk about a lengthy and boring update!

I have spent this morning watching Star Trek and The Producers. Yep, I am that much of a nerd...

And I'm out...