Windy

The wind is blowing so hard outside that I can feel the building swaying now and then. I am NOT kidding. Needless to say this is a perfect evening to stay home, do a bit of reading for school, and go to bed early.

Classes started again last week, my very last course of the program. I'm having a hard time getting back into the beat of things. Fortunately, the teacher seems interesting and not too dry. Hard to make Project Management really exciting, but at least he might make it helpful and somewhat practical, not all about theories. Since reading the PMBOK (Project Management Body of Knowledge, from the Project Management Institute) is required for the course, I thought I'd kill two birds with one stone and prepare myself for the PMP certification. Are you tired of reading acronyms yet? I haven't even started!!

I went shopping with Sarah on Saturday and bought myself a brand new pair of ski boots. They are very shiny. I'll have the entire weekend to try them out, as both Sarah and I are heading out to Big White for a few days on the slopes. We booked ourselves on an organized trip, leaving Friday afternoon from Vancouver and returning Sunday night. All inclusive, you bring energy and food (not necessarily in that order). Woot.

2008 is going to be the year of getting back into skiing, I can feel it. Marc might visit at the end of the month, to test his skiing legs in Whistler. Mount Seymour has free skiing on Monday nights for girls, you only need to pick up a voucher at a local store and make a donation to the BC Cancer Foundation.

Must focus

I'm finding it hard these days to focus on whatever it is that I'm supposed to do. My brain seems to enjoy wandering between thoughts and ideas. A little bit like a four-year old. I think. But less Elmo, more UI design and interest groups.

So, here's a bit of a brain dump. I'm sharing a few recent discoveries with you, maybe if I write about them, they will stop interrupting my assignment-writing.

• Net Impact: I joined this organization last week. This is a network of leaders who are changing the world through business. Members are students and recent graduates from MBA or other Masters programs who want to have an impact. Net Impact has several interesting programs, such a board fellowships (where you sit on the board of a non-profit organization) and pro-bono work, also with non-profit.
• SustainableBusiness.com: Sustainable investments, company profiles, related news... I found this to be an interesting portal and signed up for their newsletter.
• PMI: I also joined this organization last week. This is the institute that manages the Project Management Professional (PMP) certification. I'm interested in pursuing this certification, maybe right after I finish the MBA and while I'm waiting for Annie to complete hers. Notice how failure is not an option ;)
• Springwise: You know the term "out-of-the-box" (Ok, you do, and it's overuse, but let me use this as a parallel). Well, Springwise showcases new business ideas that are not only out-of-the-box, but out the window, down the street, and halfway across town. People have some imagination! My favorite: Ello Mobile, which is giving 100% of its profits to charity, Ecoinsurance, a policy that tracks your CO2 emissions and gives rebates to low emitters, and a sustainable dance club. Who says you can't save the environment and have fun. Actually, I always wondered why gyms did not reuse the energy generated by cardio workouts. I'm sure you could plug some of the machines back into the club's power source and reduce energy consumption when the club is busy.

OK, I feel better.

BTW, water is still cloudy, more yellow than brown, but still undrinkable. It's been a week now.

Extra mile

Today, I received an extra mile from my big boss (I have two bosses, the one to which I report directly and his boss, or the big boss, and I work with both regularly). An extra mile is an internal recognition for employees who have worked beyond their expected duties, who have "gone the extra mile." The big boss was recognizing my work as a project manager for the release we successfully shipped today (on target). I'm really happy about this, it means a lot to me. I hope to move to project management in the future, and getting some real-life experience is worth gold.

The extra mile also comes with a US$50 certificate that I am free to use as I wish. Cool.