More

More! More!

Good News:

I got an A in the first course of my Masters.  Yay!  I'm a permanerd.

Yesterday I met a wiener dog named Milo. 

I slept in until 10:40 am this morning without waking up.  I did not think this was possible for me anymore.

Daniel and I had our first wellness check-in of 2008. 

I saw a good movie called Sunshine.  I love science fiction.  My favourite movies involve viruses or the sun dying or something hitting it or whatever.  I'm obsessed with impending doomsday when the SHTF (Shit hits the fan)

Bad News:

I ate a Chef Boyardee product today - mini ravioli (CB = Fatbody)

My next course is 'Innovative Models for Community Development".  While I was doing the readings this afternoon my monkeybrain seriously formulated this thought (and several variations): "Why I am reading this?  I don't give a shit about developing the community.  I need to take care of myself!"  You go monkeybrain!!!  That's the spirit of survival talking! (Or maybe it was the mini ravioli talking.)

I have coughed 12 times since I started writing this.  Make that 15 times.

I have a bad feeling about everybody.

I'm not tired yet and I need need need to get up early and go into work.  That never works.

Bllllllehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. 

i effing finished it

Yay i finished it and went climbin'!

Woo hoo! Good times to come everybody!

Climbing was exciting.  I jumped for one tonight - called a dyno.  Harry called it a dynah - the female version.  I called it a dynette because my jump was so small normal humans would not have detected it.  

It is time to step it up.  Get ready.  Seriously.  This is gonna be good.

d

Up and coming

1. Bon Jovi - tomorrow night!
2. Northwater Holiday Partay at the Carlu - tomorrow night!
3. Afterpartay - Rob's place - tomorrow night!
3. Daniel and Terri's Hanukkah partay on Sunday. Maybe I'll meet a cute Jewish boy with lovely brown curls under his kippah.
4. Finishing my paper - this weekend! I freakin' hope I do finish it. Due on Thursday but enough is enough.

Today was my last class for Organizational Democracy. Loved it. Our group did really well on the presentation tonight too. Very satisfying to have payoff for marginally trying group work.

Wow. This masters thing is going to take some serious blood, sweat and tears. I am 1/10 of the way finished!

bye xoxo

d

Warm inside on a snowy winter day

I feel like a scholar today. After over 20 hours of research and academic adventuring online this weekend I feel like I have grown my perspective. I am writing a research paper on the extent to which online collaboration tools (wikis, blogs, discussion groups etc.) facilitate organizational democracy and impact organizational power structures. These are the things I am learning about:

- Communities of Practice
- Computer Supported Collaboration
- Computer Supported Cooperative Work
- Discussion Groups
- Enterprise 2.0
- Knowledge Management
- Knowledge Workers
- KPIs (Key Performance Indicators)
- Masturbation (just checking if you're paying attention!)
- Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007
- Power
- Virtual Communities of Practice
- Web 2.0
- Weblogs
- Wikis
- Workflows

Anyway if you're wondering what I'm up to, this is life after October.

D

Running to Run Faster

Today I figured out one way that actually works for uploading pictures using my new Mac. Things are different than I am used to. I randomly chose a picture and it turned out to be the Prosecco that kicked off my awesome visit to New York where I cheered on Gillian in the NYC Marathon at the beginning of November. I decided to leave the Processo because it makes me happy.

Just got back from the U of T Athletic Centre where I am exercising when not climbing. I like to run around their track and look silly. I found this fun assisted chin up machine there today which will help me get strong for climbing. I love to do chin-ups and pull-ups and even though not recommended, I still can't resist the ol' push-ups now and again! (Don't tell Audrey!)

Work is really busy but good. The honeymoon is still not over and it has been almost a year and a half. My longest relationship in a while!

Our princess pad on Markham is great. Avital, Andrea and I get along famously and we really enjoy the space. We'll need to plan a game night or partay for the new year.

School is busy - two assignments due - one on Dec 6th and one on Dec 13th. This is my first Masters course so I want to nail it. I haven't written an academic paper in 10 yrs or more so it is not coming so easy. I loved the course and teacher. Very stoked about the M.Ed. program on the whole.

Bracing myself for winter and refusing to be cold or timid with the outdoors this year. The post-Hallowe'en melancholy seems to be lifting but I feel like I'm entering a quiet period of focus. Study. Work. Run. Climb. Peck about it on the computer once in a while.

:)

D

@work

I work at Northwater - a privately owned Canadian investment management firm of about 100 people. We are located on the top (47th Floor) of the Bay-Wellington tower of Brookfield Place (formerly BCE Place).

It gets quiet up here at 8:59 pm on a Friday night. In fact, with the exception of the cleaner who just mopped in, I'm all alone. There is a stunning 360 degree view of Toronto and the lake. I know Toronto is a-buzz but from here it seems peaceful and still. Tonight I got into the zone with something I'm working on - don't you love that feeling? Actual unfettered (well minimally fettered I suppose) productivity.

Thoughts:

• This week someone said 'Thanks you really lifted me up!' and someone else said 'Thanks for the feedback! You've made my day!'. I've decided that given the whole monkeybrain, meat suit random arbitrarity (arbitrocity?) of it all, being a good person day to day and making the whole mill-about better for everybody milling about in your space is a big deal. What else is there at the end of the day? (Some love that expression, some hate it, I know)
• It got dark really early and it was a bit rainy too. Garth and I were saying how it feels like summer has left us. Yes, September and October are my favourites with so much excitement, but there is some sadness that tags along. I'm feeling it now. I am going to some artist party with Andrea, her sister and friends... but I really feel like being cozy and staying in. Must not! Must adventure like crazy art pirate...
• Jenny's baby. It's a boy! She told me this week that the ultrasound person said 'Your son is holding his penis right now.' Nice. Isn't it funny that while still in the mom's belly, the tiny human is fiddling with THAT part of the meat suit? It's fun! If I had one I'd be fiddling with it right now too.
• I had my orientation at OISE this week. Right. Well I'm going to suspend judgement and let it unfold. I will say that the program chair, Marilyn Laiken seems amazing. Her kindness, warmth, wisdom and general wonderful energy are encouraging and inspiring.
• Went climbing with Neil and his friend from university. She can already do a one-armed push-up (actually four with each arm!)!!! Sidebar: I made a bet that I will be able to do this by Aug 1st 2008. If I do this AND shave my head like GI Jane, I will receive quite a bit of cash from coworkers. If you would like to witness this event, I'll forward you the sign-up sheet. ;) (If you're wondering - no, I'm not kidding! There is a signup sheet.)

Well now it is 9:30 pm and I ate bran buds for dinner while blogging. Big weekend coming up... Last film of the festival, climbing, brunch, shopping engagement... hope you have a good one too!

D

Meet Jack Quarter

I was recently accepted to OISE U of T's M.Ed. in Adult Education and Community Development. Yaaaay! Lemme tell ya, when I look at some of the courses I get to take, my heart speeds up like too much coffay. This did not happen with Business. Bleh.

My excitement at being accepted (I love validation!) had only one small grey cloud, the faculty advisor I was assigned was not the one I had my academic heart set upon. I soul-searched a bit, thinking - Is this an example of the universe unfolding? Do I need to just let go and trust that I have the right advisor for some purpose that I have not yet identified? (See Reason, Season, Unicorn blog...)

Well yesterday I emailed Jack Quarter, the advisor I fancied, and within twenty minutes he replied back YES and requested the change himself! Woo hoo! This is an example of the universe needing a slight tweak or nudge once in a while!

Fun links: (Yes, my idea of fun is off...)

• My Master of Education program.
• Courses offered through this program.
• A page on my faculty advisor, Jack Quarter.
• The Social Economy Centre.
• Some stuff I have to get set up to become a real live U of T student. (This link is really just for me since I lost the piece of paper...)

Stay Tuned...