all in a day ...

someone just told me today, "if you have to live with it, you might as well find ways to enjoy it" this is obviously referring to winter in Ottawa. now i am thinking of all places in Canada Ottawa is the one to be in in the winter. i mean, there is the canal, there is the canal, and there is the canal. and beaver tails. now, it is already almost february (eek!) and i still have not purchased skates, and despite a non-growing economy, and strict budgeting on my part, i should get some skates, at least i have to try find some second-hand ones. and i should get some people together to go tobogganing ...

now, today has been a long one! currently i am listening to some dutch music via youtube, studying macroeconomic models, and waiting for a movie to load, and carrying on a conversation via MSN, while also keeping an eye on the score of the senators - blues game. the score is 0-0 at this point. what also has been long is the time between my latest blog post and this one ... assuming that i remember to publish my post, or assuming that it is publish-worthy. or not for that matter. but i have been busy. busy procrastinating on life, ie. i have been doing some schoolwork, and i have been paying a lot of attention to the news, and to the latest budget news. definitely some interesting stuff.

today i opted to attend an optional, but recommended, class about DSGE modelling and Matlab. equally interesting stuff. kind of. not really. then i surprised myself by going to study at the library, which was precisely what needed to happen today.

i was about to update the score to 1-0 for Ottawa, but since I am so preoccupied with many things by the time i got around to typing this it is already 1-1. allright, so after the library i went home around 2 to beat rush hour traffic which starts at 2.30 in Ottawa (since the strike, which is finally over i just read on the news). i cleaned out my parking spot with a small shovel and did some groceries. i also picked up some socks for the LOVE Ottawa, a program initiated by our church here in Ottawa. this coming sunday we will be handing out soup and socks in the downtown area, and since my soup does not turn out here like it would back home, so socks it is! i also managed to spend some 70 dollars at the grocery store, and i even bought veggie burgers rather than real ones because for one, they are cheaper, and two, they are significantly more nutritious. no protein speech will make me change my mind about that.

i also watched two documentaries. one about teachers in thailand, and one about migrants from africa coming into yemen. i guess sometimes i am more interesting about learning anything other than economic theory. funny that.

anyways, since a lot of my friends have been completing 30 things about me lists, i am going to see if i can finish one over the weekend. after i complete a labour asssignment that is. still 1-1.

till later!

Virtual Greeting

Happy 23rd Anniversary Mom & Dad!

It is not the curse of Ottawa ...

Although this is not a hockey blog, since hockey is one of my favourite sports I am bound to feel like writing a blog post about it ...

Tonight I actually went to see the other Ottawa hockey team at the Civic Centre, where the Ottawa 67's played the Niagara Ice Dogs. Since I had only ever seen an OHL game in Owen Sound, I was not sure what to expect ... but I like what I saw! Certainly Owen Sound will always be my number one OHL team, but Ottawa will be a close second, and not only because I think their jerseys are awesome. Since the 67's record has not been too bad this season, and they managed a 6-2 win over Pietrangelo's team, I think that means we cannot blame the Senators' lack of a good season on the city, or the weather.

Our seats were also pretty good, right behind the opposing players bench, although it must be said those seats have two drawbacks. One, the stench. Two, the players always stand up when something exciting happens. Also, after seeing the Dance Team at Ricoh Coliseum, for the Toronto Marlies, I thought there couldn't be a worse dance team in sports, well yes there is. The choreography here in Ottawa consists of exactly two moves.

Anyways, the Civic Centre is a rather huge facility for an OHL team, and with more than 8,000 fans in attendance, that is already 4 times as much as Owen Sound has on a good day. And the fans are great. Really great. So I hate to say this, but now that the World Junior Hockey Championships are over, it is best to head over to the Civic Centre for some quality hockey rather than Scotiabank Place, until you know the problems there are sorted ....

Anyways, I think I am going to rank this as worth repeating.

I also learned that Second Cup carries a number of secret beverages, and that London Fog should not be confused with English fog. Although I am sure the waitress/barrista/coffee lady at Second Cup on Bank will remember for evermore my order ...

U2 - Kite

ps. Go Sens Go!

Lesson of the Day

When there is not a lot of snow at the beginning of the winter, and you are at Wal-Mart store, and you see a snow shovel, and you say to your roommate, "Hmmm .... maybe we should get a snow shovel, might be handy" and they say "Nah, we won't need it" then stand still for a second, and buy it!

Because trust me, you will need it, and you will wish you bought it.

Seriously, after Christmas, snow isn't so cute anymore. And neither is the strike.

Back to School Blues

I am back in the City! Back to school tomorrow morning at 8. There still are no buses running, but the canal is OPEN! And Canada still has a chance of winning the World Junior Championship (although I have decided that it might not be so bad, if Canada did not win).

Anyways, the holidays were as eventful as uneventful. But more about that to come!

Happy New Year Everyone!