|
| Well, after having spent four intensely cold months in Mississauga, Ontario at XRCC, I returned last Saturday to Vancouver. I should talk about the stuff leading up to the my departure.
I did a presentation at Xerox on my project (Erasable Paper) and did really well. I spent the last week synthesizing more molecules and on the last day of work, I just took a long lunch break and played Big 2 for most of the afternoon with the other Co-op students. Before lunch, though, Kent and I (he's a Guelph Physics student who plays bass/guitar) had a very brief lab "jam" session with an empty toner tube and a dry ice tub. (It sounded pretty sweet...like some sort of Xerox "Stomp.") I got a little Xerox gift bag with a travel mug and a folder. Oooooooooh!
My parents came over for a little vacation the last week of work and we went to Niagara Falls (which has some nice looking form formations at the bottom). With my parents in town, it was nice to drive to restaurants with good food. This one restaurant we went to--Mandarin, an Oriental/Western buffet place--was awesome. There was a wide selection of food AND dessert (much better than any buffet place here!).
I came home and the BNL guitar sheet music book that I ordered came in. I went out with Jordan, Justin, Andrew and Evelyn that night and had some bubble tea and some good laughs...especially since it took Jordan and Justin a LONG time to beat Andrew and me at Smash Bros ;)
Well, it was a fun four months at Mississauga, but it's good to be home.
| | |
| Well, I haven't written anything on this page since my trip back home. So, what's happened in that time? Let's recall:
My progress with the bass is increasing. Granted, I've only learned a few choice songs fully, but it's quality I go for, not quantity! It's convinced me to buy a bass and amp when I get back home. (There goes my first two weeks of pay.)
Work? You'd like to know about work. Hmm...what I CAN tell you is that due to some absentmindedness (partly on my part...well...mostly) I ended up clearing the entire 3rd floor because someone detected a smell that they THOUGHT was a gas leak. They were partially correct. The thing that they were smelling was Lawesson's reagent (stinky stuff!) and I guess it was also some sulfur residues that were left on some gloves and pipettes that were not properly cleaned with bleach. (Believe me, I learned.) Worst part of it was that I wasn't even on the floor when it was cleared. They were looking for me. (I was running some NMR because NMR time is worth more than gold.) So, other than that little "fiasco" my work has been pretty fun. (I've actually been getting reasonable yields.)
Oh, I was playing hockey today with my co-workers at lunch today. It wasn't that cold, but BOY! Was it windy! The wind could stop the ball in mid-air while we were trying to clear it. Anyway, I finally scored a goal today. (Yay!) Just thought I'd put that little piece in there.
Well, I bet you're wondering why I named this piece "Magic Number 43." Well, as of tonight, I have about 43 days till I get back to Vancouver. (It's actually 44 days, but I didn't want to write that number...obviously!) See you all when I get back!
P.S. There's no need to tell anyone about my little gas incident. Seriously, no need......please!
| | |
| Well, I decided about 12 days ago to buy a ticket home to visit my family and...for other reasons, which you will find out about if you read on. Here's the general timeline of what happened:
Friday
4:00 PM--Left work early and headed to the airport (for an 8:30 PM flight). I got to the airport so early that I pulled out my laptop and started playing Final Fantasy II.
6:30 PM--Left my FFII game and went to check-in, stupidly later than I had intended. I got put on standby because I hadn't checked in too early. (Nooooooo!)
8:25 PM--Got called to the gate and got a seat! (Yes! Thank you, Lord!)
9:30 PM--Leave Toronto an hour late because two people loaded their check-in baggage onto the plane, but decided not to fly. (Take that anyway you want to...)
11:45 PM (PST)--Arrive at YVR. We then went looking for places open to eat.
Saturday
2:00 AM--This is when I went to bed, technically 5:00 AM at Miss.
8:15 AM--I woke up and took a shower in the soft water. (Yeah, you'd be surprised as to how many hard ions like Ca2+ and Mg2+ are floating around in the non-Vancouver water. Makes lathering soap hell!)
10:00 AM--Arrived at CHQ Arcade in Metrotown, where I joyfully spent $4 at the Guitar Freaks station. I actually met my uncle, aunt, and baby cousin while walking back from the bank in Metro.
1:00 PM--Had lunch with my other aunt, uncle, and cousin on Hastings (El Pulgarcito). The soup was pretty good!
7:30 PM--Attended the Barenaked Ladies concert, "Barenaked Ladies Are Me" tour. It was AWESOME! I can't describe it in words, really. They're both great musicians and public entertainers. Their little adlib parts were great!
Sunday
8:00 AM--Went to Mass. Too early in the morning, if you ask me.
3:00 PM--Leave home for Mississauga.
10:00 PM (EST)--Land in Toronto.
10:01 PM--Felt the -15 (-28 with wind chill) weather and ran for the taxi. I started missing home as soon as I got to my basement. :(
Well, I'm back to work now. I just wish I could've stayed at Vancouver longer. I miss home so much. (Well, maybe it's more the food and arcade that I miss! Naw. I miss everything about my nicely played-out life.) I guess I'll have to see everyone in April! Oh, well. Only 3 months to go.
| | |
| Hi, readers. To those of you that actually read what I write, thanks!
Here's a recap of everything that's happened since I last updated this
page.
I haven't been working under the supervisor that hired me, Naveen. I've
been working on my project with another Ph.D researcher, Tyler. I've
been running lots of TLC's (thin-layer chromatographs, not tender
loving care, OK?) and "flash" columns. I've also been trained to use
the NMR machine. Whoo! That's a cool machine, even though I don't fully
know why my samples look awful! I have my own computer at work (which
is nice) but my lab is on another floor (which isn't so nice). So far,
I've been carrying out my reactions well, yet my yields have not been
too high. This is because I'm doing exploratory research (meaning
anything that can go wrong WILL go wrong).
I've been doing practically nothing but eating at home and doing grocery shopping. I went to the Playdium by Square One. I was sorely disappointed. It was NOTHING like the arcade in Metrotown. (Where have all the imported, supposedly illegal Japanese games gone???) I miss my games! Anyway, being on the computer all the time (I know you've noticed that) I've had a chance to start watching anime again. Of course, I don't get to watch it every night because once in a while, the modem upstairs gives up and turns off for no apparent reason. It's given me a total of 7 hours missed online! I'll never get them back!
Today, I played hockey with my supervisor(s) and a couple of other co-workers......in the XRCC parking lot......in the windy -14 (wind chill of -23)!!! My legs were freezing, along with other various body parts. Naveen is from BC and he gave me an old school Canuck's jersey to wear (the orange skate). It was pretty fun, despite having to run back and forth because it was a 3 on 4 game. I didn't score any goals, but I had an assist. One other worker, Paul, has a moustache and he was sweating quite a lot. He had icicles form on his moustache! It looked cool!
To fnish off this incredibly long piece of writing, I'll be coming home in another week to catch my long-awaited Barenaked Ladies concert at GM Place (you know, the place that STILL has a roof...not funny, huh)--and visit family, of course! (I will be making a one hour trip to the arcade, just to tide me over until I return again!)
| | |
| Hi reader! I guess I haven't updated since last year, so I thought I'd write a little something.
Let's start with the obvious: my work at Xerox. My direct supervisor is Naveen, a really nice guy who actually went to UBC for his Ph.D in Chemistry. He says he knows Dr. Tanner and that he's a nice guy. (Is he talking about the SAME Tanner? Yes, he is...) As of today, I've put to use a LOT of dormant chemistry skills that I learned in CHEM 211 (Analytical Chem) such as preparation of a silica gel column for "flash" column chromatography. I've been trained to use the NMR machine on-site. It's a Bruker, though. (I think UBC uses a Varian, but who cares?) I have my own little desk and a very nice computer. Too bad the lab I work in isn't on the same floor as my computer! Are you wondering what I'm doing in the lab specifically? Well, I'll tell you. I'm working on [DATA DELETED BY XRCC SECURITY]. Oh, sorry about that! Security's pretty tight around here. I can't slip out a word about my project. Too bad, it's so cool! What I can tell you about my job is that I work with photochromic molecules, i.e. molecules that become coloured or become bleached due to irradiation by certain wavelengths of light. Other than that, what I do is very hush-hush so shhhhhhhhh!
Where I live? As sad as it is to say this, the room I'm living in right now gives me more space than my actual room at home! The desk is fine. My only long table is full of junk that I don't want to put away. There's only one thing I don't like about my room: the chair I'm sitting in right now. It squeaks SO much! It's really annoying! The kitchen facilities are fine. There are two little hot plate machines, but unfortunately no ventilation system. As such, the smoke detector has gone off on us twice. (Who is us, you're wondering? I live with two other Co-op students form XRCC: Nathan and Sandy. They're both from the University of Waterloo. Actually, almost all the students at XRCC are from Waterloo. I'm the only guy from out of province!) My housing location isn't bad. It's situated in a choice spot. It's a maximum of 15 minute walk to the Erin Mills Town Centre, the closest church (Church of the Merciful Redeemer), the Bank of Montreal, and a couple of restaurants. There's even a bus that actually runs along my street! It's amazing! But that's where the amazement stops. The transit here sucks! I'll be blunt. I thought I had it bad in Vancouver, but boy! Was I wrong! Buses (irregardless of the time of day and day of the week) run 25 minutes apart! That's a real pain when you're waiting outside in the blistering cold. Seriously, lucky I had my phone/mp3 player to keep me sane.
Well, I think I've taken up enough of your time. I'll let you go now. Ooops! One last thing: I bought a set of nunchaku from Chinatown two weeks ago. They're plastic. Hopefully, by the end of my term, I'll be able to use them without hitting my butt every so often. (My face has not gotten hit yet, so I'm not wearing the goggles when I use them!)
| | |
|
