east coast swing

i didnt actually make it to the coast. but i went to winnipeg. most of you know how i feel about winnipeg, but i must admit i had a good time. i was attending the 90th annual Canadian Chemistry Conference and presenting my recent research work to a group of mostly chemists from all over the world. it was definitely a learning experience.
the highlight of the trip however was the sweet people i got to see. a shout out to the King's for a place to stay in winnipeg and erin in brandon. and thanks to tracy, charity, murray, scott, clay, mark, dean and hub for meeting me somewhere to hang out along the way. it was good to see all you guys. minus your dogs.

my university friends

jackson and tressia are the other two grad students that i am working with at the uni here in saskatoon. both of them are extremely smart and have helped me out a great deal over the past 5 months. so i thought id post a couple pictures so when i talk about them you know at least what they look like. jackson is from zambia and tressia is from south india. i just took the pictures on photobooth so the quality isnt excellent, but its all good.

footbag

in highschool a couple of buddies and i got into the sport of footbag quite a bit. we never got close to being as good as this guy, but after playing a bit this weekend, my interest has kind of been re-sparked. check this out. wow!

a month later...

inspired by brianne's late end of the semester update, i decided to do my own. although exams finished a month ago, things have not gotten any less busy. for a few weeks there i was quite worried that my average would not be high enough and i would be kicked out of school and looking for a job come the end of april. turns out that was not the case. however, i did learn more in these past four months that i had in my complete undergrad career. that is sweet.
-ive also still been rolling with the diving lessons. that game is so hard. so many technical aspects that i never even thought of before. but by the end i am going to be able to do some pretty looking stuff i hope. i might have to continue this in the fall too.
-melissa moved to yellowknife just in time to miss nic coming home from india. some sister she is.
-i got to see pete and chelsey and the kid. good times. pete only beat me by one stroke on the golf course so now we are even. i thought that was pretty good since he has been golfing since january and that was my first round of the summer.
-i wrote my learners exam for my motorcycle license. to pass, you have to write 3 parts, one about street signs, one about your motorcycle and the third is the same one that you would write to get your learners for a car. i failed part 3 after getting 100% on the first two sections. that was embarrasing. so i did some studying and only got 3 wrong the second time i wrote. if a decently priced HD came across my path, i would be hard pressed not to buy it.
also
-i have been reminded how much i do not like the following things/people: lindy ruff, daniel briere, the toronto maple leafs, shaving, dogs, prime minister harper, baseball, the nba, vince carter, winnipeg, the wedding part of weddings, and the vancouver canucks.

grid blog about moms

where to even start on this topic is beyond me. through the years (almost 26) my mom has dressed me, changed me, taken care of me, worried about me, fed me, fed my friends, put up with my bad attitude and poor choices, and loved me through it all. she listens to me whine, complain, and still gives me feedback and suggestions on things i could do to make the situation i am in better. she has definitely taught me a lesson or two in organization and being a true servant. a lot of the time without even saying a word. being able to see Jesus in people seems to be getting more rare all the time. mom, however, is an exception. of all the things she has done for me, the single greatest is showing me a glimpse of Jesus. thanks mom. happy mothers day!

more on climate change

i found THIS article on climate change and global warming on the good old cbc website (no, stephen harper has not cancelled the cbc...yet). its coming from a pretty different point of view than anything i have heard. some interesting points include: "climate change is not a global issue--that is the problem" along with other ideas about how we maybe need to look at the positive aspects of it as well. anyway, read it for a non-traditional view point on the debate. its interesting.