Where we last left off
So it's been over four months since posting anything of substance on here. We have two options: I could go into the day-by-day excruciating detail that I am so famous for, or I could give a bird's eye view of my life.
My attention span is short, so let's go with the latter.
Work: It's going really well. I won't go into much detail on here for NDA reasons, but I really enjoy what I do. I have a great team that I work with, and there are so many people who are making me a sharper software developer. I'm still learning new things everyday, and I can say with all honesty that this is the best job that I've ever held (excluding volunteer work, which is a labour of love). And we're still turning a profit in this economy, which is pretty awesome.
Christmas: I made a two-week trip back to Ontario over the Christmas break. Due to record snowfall out here, my departure was delayed for two days and I almost didn't make it home in time for Christmas. However, God was good and I managed to get home on Christmas Eve. I spent some quality time with family, including some extended family whom I hadn't seen for a few years. I met up with some SPUC friends (ext_1181, stangerous, Cris, lloyd_c, and Amanda). I went on the counsellor retreat for the camp that I've been volunteering with for many years (with about twenty other staff in attendance). And, of course, I watched TV, ate lots of food, and relaxed. Only nine months until the next Christmas break...
Friends: I've developed a few circles of friends out here. One group is made up mostly of UW alumni (and their SO's) whom I used to work with on my final co-op term. We meet at theenforcer's periodically for food, drinks, and, depending on the evening, Rock Band or The Word Game.
A second group of friends also consists mostly of UW alumni, but most of them I had never met previous to moving here. Their events focus around pot-lucks or making food together. I'm not particularly close with this group, but I'm close with Aaron and James, who attend most of the events. Virtually everyone in this group works at Microsoft, which means that I hear the phrase "Don't say that - Rodney is here!" is thrown around at least once at each event when someone starts talking about work.
A third circle would be the ones that I've met through Bible study at church. (See next section.) I also have some friends up in Vancouver, though I haven't been up there since November. Time for a trip, I suppose.
Church: I have been attending a great church out here for about 14 months now. The church has several campuses across the region, and we all watch the same sermon broadcast live on a big screen via satellite feed from the main campus. (At first, it was weird to watch the pastor preaching via video, but I got used to it pretty quickly.) I serve coffee on alternate Sundays mornings, which is odd, considering that I have yet to drink coffee since moving out here. No one complains about the coffee, so I assume that I'm brewing it correctly.
I joined a Bible study in early February 2008. The main reason I picked it was for proximity - it was only a five-minute walk from my apartment. I didn't like the leaders at first, but I gave it a second chance and ended up staying there and making quite a few friends. I became an "apprentice" in September, meaning that I would take turns leading our Bible study every few weeks, a form of training until they felt I was able to lead a group on my own. 'Twas a great group of friends, and we had fun both at study and elsewhere (such as camping, dinner nights, watching "Arrested Development"...).
Last month, our group decided to split in two ("replicate" is the term they like to use), since we were getting too big to fit in one condo. I have since been co-leading a new Bible study on Thursday nights with a good friend, Matthew, and it's going well so far.
Romance: I was going out with a girl for a few weeks back in the fall, but we decided to end it because we had very different hopes and plans for the future. We weren't dating - just "testing the waters", as she put it. We're still friends.
Lent: I gave up Wikipedia for Lent. Yes, I'm a weird person.
Vacation: I went on a Caribbean cruise with my family during Reading Week in February. Yes, the food was great, the islands we visited (Haiti, Jamaica, Cayman Islands, and Cozumel) were interesting, and we all had a great time wintering away from the rain and snow. However, the best part of the trip was spending time with my family, who, due to living three time zones away, I don't get to see very often. My youngest sister's boyfriend also came along with us, and since the two of us were roomed together on the ship, I got to know him a bit.
I guess that's a whirlwind tour of what's been up for the past few months. There will be another post coming this week, so you won't have to wait another four months for the next one. Hopefully I'll get back into a routine of posting regularly; I'm finding it hard to put words together after not having updated for so long. Cheers!
My attention span is short, so let's go with the latter.
Work: It's going really well. I won't go into much detail on here for NDA reasons, but I really enjoy what I do. I have a great team that I work with, and there are so many people who are making me a sharper software developer. I'm still learning new things everyday, and I can say with all honesty that this is the best job that I've ever held (excluding volunteer work, which is a labour of love). And we're still turning a profit in this economy, which is pretty awesome.
Christmas: I made a two-week trip back to Ontario over the Christmas break. Due to record snowfall out here, my departure was delayed for two days and I almost didn't make it home in time for Christmas. However, God was good and I managed to get home on Christmas Eve. I spent some quality time with family, including some extended family whom I hadn't seen for a few years. I met up with some SPUC friends (ext_1181, stangerous, Cris, lloyd_c, and Amanda). I went on the counsellor retreat for the camp that I've been volunteering with for many years (with about twenty other staff in attendance). And, of course, I watched TV, ate lots of food, and relaxed. Only nine months until the next Christmas break...
Friends: I've developed a few circles of friends out here. One group is made up mostly of UW alumni (and their SO's) whom I used to work with on my final co-op term. We meet at theenforcer's periodically for food, drinks, and, depending on the evening, Rock Band or The Word Game.
A second group of friends also consists mostly of UW alumni, but most of them I had never met previous to moving here. Their events focus around pot-lucks or making food together. I'm not particularly close with this group, but I'm close with Aaron and James, who attend most of the events. Virtually everyone in this group works at Microsoft, which means that I hear the phrase "Don't say that - Rodney is here!" is thrown around at least once at each event when someone starts talking about work.
A third circle would be the ones that I've met through Bible study at church. (See next section.) I also have some friends up in Vancouver, though I haven't been up there since November. Time for a trip, I suppose.
Church: I have been attending a great church out here for about 14 months now. The church has several campuses across the region, and we all watch the same sermon broadcast live on a big screen via satellite feed from the main campus. (At first, it was weird to watch the pastor preaching via video, but I got used to it pretty quickly.) I serve coffee on alternate Sundays mornings, which is odd, considering that I have yet to drink coffee since moving out here. No one complains about the coffee, so I assume that I'm brewing it correctly.
I joined a Bible study in early February 2008. The main reason I picked it was for proximity - it was only a five-minute walk from my apartment. I didn't like the leaders at first, but I gave it a second chance and ended up staying there and making quite a few friends. I became an "apprentice" in September, meaning that I would take turns leading our Bible study every few weeks, a form of training until they felt I was able to lead a group on my own. 'Twas a great group of friends, and we had fun both at study and elsewhere (such as camping, dinner nights, watching "Arrested Development"...).
Last month, our group decided to split in two ("replicate" is the term they like to use), since we were getting too big to fit in one condo. I have since been co-leading a new Bible study on Thursday nights with a good friend, Matthew, and it's going well so far.
Romance: I was going out with a girl for a few weeks back in the fall, but we decided to end it because we had very different hopes and plans for the future. We weren't dating - just "testing the waters", as she put it. We're still friends.
Lent: I gave up Wikipedia for Lent. Yes, I'm a weird person.
Vacation: I went on a Caribbean cruise with my family during Reading Week in February. Yes, the food was great, the islands we visited (Haiti, Jamaica, Cayman Islands, and Cozumel) were interesting, and we all had a great time wintering away from the rain and snow. However, the best part of the trip was spending time with my family, who, due to living three time zones away, I don't get to see very often. My youngest sister's boyfriend also came along with us, and since the two of us were roomed together on the ship, I got to know him a bit.
I guess that's a whirlwind tour of what's been up for the past few months. There will be another post coming this week, so you won't have to wait another four months for the next one. Hopefully I'll get back into a routine of posting regularly; I'm finding it hard to put words together after not having updated for so long. Cheers!