'Tis the season

When everyone in the office is sick. When I returned to work this morning, I couldn't believe the number of people who were also sneezing, coughing... Quite the healthy environment, I tell you. We had a meeting this morning, two people brought their boxes of Kleenex, others had their lemon tea and cough drops. And employers worry about the flu!

Then I read an article online that said that there are something like 200 different active cold viruses being shared around during the cold season. If your cold lasts more than five days, you probably caught a new one. Great!

Well, I'm done wondering why I'm sick this time ;)

It's sunny in Vancouver and I'm indoors

Mostly because my goal for the weekend is to get over this nasty cold I have. I'm usually not sick very often, maybe once a year, at the beginning of the winter. But this year... this is already my second cold and it's a real bugger. I know it's not the flu, I have no fever and no achy joints, but I have everything else + a bit of a headache.

I didn't run at all since the Fall Classic, not because I didn't want to but because I was feeling progressively worse through the week. Thursday night was the worst, and I stayed at home on Friday. I don't know what's going on, just generally feeling tired and maybe a bit stressed. I know I won't be able to go out tomorrow morning, but hopefully, by mid-week, I can go out for another run. I don't want to fall too much behind the training schedule, otherwise, ramping up to 21km will be too hard.

Our accounting teacher posted a message about hanging in there, I think she's sensing that many students have had enough of this course. Apparently, according to some current MBA students, this is the hardest course of the entire program (even if, technically, it's not part of the program, but of the requirements). I'm happy to hear that, because if this was the average pace of a single MBA course, I cannot imagine how I would do two per semester AND work full-time. Honestly, I average over 15 hours of work per week to keep up with the assignments, the readings, the online discussions...

Lend your PC to research

You can help science progress in the fight against AIDS and decipher the human proteome by allowing the World Community Grid project to "borrow" your idle computer time:
http://www.worldcommunitygrid.org/index.jsp

It's an interesting idea, but I wonder about any side-effects of running this software. I also always turn my computer off before going to bed, so I don't know how much idle time they would get from me.

I remember, years ago, Kevin used to run a similar application as a screen saver, except it was analyzing signals received from space in an effort to intercept alien communication... Dear Kevin!

Project Management 101

Getting started with Microsoft Project... Lesson 1: nothing works really like it should. Lesson 2: there must be a reason for this.

I was offered an interesting opportunity at work where I get to maintain the Gantt chart for one of our releases (track resources, update deadlines, and so on). My boss knows that I am interested in project management and assigned me small PM tasks so I could get acquainted with some of the duties within a project. This is very exciting, but at the same time, quite frustrating. I'm learning Microsoft Project which, in itself, is not complicated. It's just complicated when you want it to do something it was not designed to do. Knowing your tools is all about understanding their limitations. I learned that early on for Word.

Also cool is the exercise of writing a business case that my coworker and I are going through to request funds for a pilot content management project. Effective business writing is not necessarily a given, and again our boss is coaching us through the process. This is an amazing way to gain experience. It's also good for my MBA courses, as I am discovering that teachers are interesting in having us develop convincing answers, supported by data. It's easy to push a conclusion without backing it up.

Best time so far

for a 10k race, that is... Based on my watch, I'm clocking 1:04:something in the Fall Classic, which is 2 minutes faster than last year. I'm hoping that by the Sun Run and after running the 1/2 marathon, I'm actually running 10k under an hour. The official times will be published by tomorrow...

I however ran really low on energy for the rest of the day. I hadn't slept well (I blame the disgusting rice pasta) and crashed on the sofa for a nap after lunch. I barely had enough juice to get some grocery shopping done. Fortunately, the basic need for food is a strong motivator.

We did not see the sun in Vancouver, it was really foggy again. Oh well, I'm sure the sun will come out tomorrow, when we're back at work ;)

I'm not looking forward to the next few weeks. In addition to all the studying I have to do to prepare for my final exam, I also have to work with the Strata Council to find another property manager. Our manager is quitting the company, and we also learned that the property management company was bought by another company in Calgary. Just the best time of the year to interview someone to take care of our building... If we wait too long, it will be Christmas and then we'll have to wait for January. During the rainy season, it's not a good thing to be without a property manager, there are always little things that pop up here and there and require attention. Blast!

Best useless kitchen accessory...

What is this bunny for?

Toothpicks! 

Pea soup

You know that expression, the fog is rolling in? If you were in Vancouver today, you would know exactly what it is all about. It will clear by tomorrow afternoon... not in time for the Fall Classic. At least, it's not raining. 94% humidity is also good for your lungs, no?

Today was an uneventful day. I returned a new pair of running shoes I bought last week, after testing them in the gym. Not a good fit. I dropped by Future Shop to buy some CDs, the new Madonna (how can a girl resist?), Hot Fuss by The Killers, and an album from Arcade Fire. Good music all around.

Then, I voted for the new mayor of Vancouver (and councilors, park board members, and school trustees), I should check who won... I also picked up my race package (timing chip and bib numbers) and some extra carbs for dinner tonight (banana loaf and a peach/almond tart). I then watched a few episodes of the O.C., did some cleaning... Basically, a pretty boring way to spend a Saturday.

For my pre-race meal, I cooked some pasta, but tried rice pasta for the very first time and highly recommend... AGAINST it. Yuk, the noodles feel slimy and chewy, not a good combination, even when covered with sauce and parmesan. Thank goodness for the tart.

I miss reading!

For pleasure, that is... I've been reading plenty about accounting and financial statements and cost management, but I miss reading a good story. Cases don't count as stories.

I had started reading Out of Africa by Isak Dinesen, a gift from Gail for my birthday, but I've been going through the book so slowly (because I never get time to actually read) that every time I return to the book, I'm confused about the story. I also have a nice hardcover edition of The Love of a Good Woman by Alice Munro, picked up at the Book Warehouse for $10 and it's driving me nuts not to be able to start it!

Patience, my precious, patience :-) After December 7, date of my final accounting exam, I'll have plenty of time to read (hopefully...).

Nothing to report on the weekend front. The entire long weekend (because we have November 11 off in B.C.) was a mixture of drizzle, downpour, showers, and lots and lots of clouds. I saw the sun for 20 minutes this morning, while I was running with the clinic. I can imagine that all this rain means lots of snow. I'm hoping to find a couple of buddies who would be interested in some snowshoeing. I don't think I'll be going back on the snowboard afterall. Last time I was out, I ended up with a concussion, I'm pretty sure (even if I had a helmet). It's not for me, I prefer to keep body parts intact and functional. I had dinner with Lara and Charles this weekend and we talked about renting a condo in Whistler with a big group, maybe sometime in the Spring. I guess I could go back to skiing, I wasn't so bad...

Hands tied and heart broken

I've been listening to Ideas on CBC this week. The show is broadcasting the 2005 Massey Lectures with speaker Stephen Lewis, the the UN Secretary-General’s special envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa. Mr. Lewis speaks of his experience in Africa over the past 40 years and shares many personal stories to drive a poignant message: Africa is dying and the Western World is not doing anything about it. Worse, we are preventing the situation from ever improving.

The broadcasts are very sobering. They make me wonder how anything can ever be done to help. The resources needed to help Africa (and I'm guilty here of using a single word to describe many different countries and situations) seem unattainable. Objectives are put forth by governments who do not follow on their commitments or "give" money that is tied to many conditions and rules. It truly breaks my heart to hear stories of young 10-year-old girls stuck raising their brothers and sisters because both parents dies of HIV/AIDS. The tragedy is not only because of the loss of millions of lives, but also because of the loss of tradition's children will never learn from their parents or learn too late from their aging grandparents.

Maybe there's one thing I can do... Keep reminding myself that I am fortunate, and live a rich and rewarding life.

Told you it was sunny today... just ignore the black clouds in the background... 

Mine! Mine! They were staring at me the entire time I was having tea outside Granville Island. 

See the hole in the clouds?  

Is that... sun?

There's a bright light in the sky and you can actually see some blue... It's been raining a lot, can you tell?

My weekend started with a night out on Friday, with Charles, Lara, Gerri and Joe. It was Joe's birthday and we were celebrating at Lucy Mae Brown, a cute little lounge downtown. It was fun, but by midnight, I was pooped. After a busy week and not feeling well, I was not up for a late evening out. Oh well.

Saturday started with some gardening, or at least pulling stuff out of the garden. We have this floor cover that keeps on overtaking the two front gardens and we decided to organize a little fall cleanup. Unfortunately, it didn't last long, as it started to rain. We cleared about 1/3 of what needed clearing, it looks a bit better. Then, some homework and studying, a short nap (was feeling really tired), more homework, and some TV before going to bed (rented the fourth season of Alias).

Sunday, I was up bright and early to meet other runners for a 7 km slow run. Getting up was not hard, as I could see that it was sunny outside. The running conditions were great and I found a pace group that was perfect for my running speed. Then, back home for breakfast, a couple more episodes of Alias, some cooking for the week, laundry, grocery shopping, dishes, more cooking, and some accounting.

This week is a short one, as we have Friday off for Remembrance Day. My cold is completely gone, I can go back do running on a regular basis, and... yes... it's still sunny outside. Gotta go and take advantage of this superb weather!

Insane

Registration for the half marathon in February is almost closed (90% of available spots are already filled). It started on Monday. In previous years, the event sold out in six weeks. This year, I don't give it more than six days... Fortunately, our clinic instructor sent e-mails this week warning people to not delay in registering. I'm in and so is my colleague Stephen. He's also running a half marathon for the first time.

Not much running this week, I had a bad cold and busy days at work, which meant evenings were about spending an hour on homework and then off to bed early. It paid off, I feel much better now. The weather's been terrible, so I don't feel bad about not being out there getting drenched.