A Few Quick Notes 411

-Today, while not as nice as the past few days, was pretty OK until some time this evening. Unfortunately, things are expected to get even worse tomorrow (meaning rainier), though I am still holding out a little hope that the forecast is as inaccurate as usual.

-I am now 2/9 with my Roll Up the Rim to Win cup. I am starting to feel a little like Chuck Knoblauch, in that that I am just not doing what doing what needs to be done. I keep missing my mark.

-I have recently been so busy tipping back diet passionfruit pop that I completely forgot how refreshing a nice glass of ice water can be. In case you too have forgotten how nice a glass of ice water can be and are curious the answer is great and refreshing. Glasses ice water are so good it is no wonder that they are my favourite drink and the one drink I would take with me to a desert island (assuming I am ever given such a choice).

-In class today we were talking about international development NGOs and their relationship to missionary work when the professor asked the class "Have NGOs assumed a missionary position?" After I broke the silence and laughed a few of my classmates joined in before the professor caught on and shamefacedly rephrased the question. Though I know my father might spend years crafting such a line, I am pretty sure that this one was spur of the moment and considered a misstep by the professor.

-I harvested some of my tobacco seeds today. I still have to separate some of the seed pods from the seed, but it is already clear that I have thousands and thousands of seeds. I have no idea what I might do with thousands and thousands of tobacco seeds.

-There is an awesome butter sale at the grocery store this week. I am hoping to head by tomorrow and pick up a few pounds.

-A few weeks ago I decided to "soften my image" by growing a beard. I was hoping that a beard would draw attention away from my super-short haircut and allow me not to look so intense. Generally I think that this worked, though it is kind of hard to say. Anyway, my beard was getting kind of long and my hair had grown out enough that I decided that I could go back to being beardless and would likely not look to intense so I got rid of my beard this morning. I generally think it was a good move.

A Few Quick Notes 65

-Another winter’s day in Montreal. While it was only about -8 today it seemed a bit cooler than that at time. The forecast suggested that we might be in for some flurries though these did not arrive.

-In the distance I can hear what I presume to be fireworks. On several occasions I have heard distant explosions, reminding me of an aerial bombardment, only to find out that it is a fireworks display.

-Tomorrow night is another work night. I am not really sure what to expect, as it is the last night of reading week. Hopefully tomorrow night will be pretty busy, at least significantly busier than Monday and Tuesday.

-Yesterday Neil returned to Halifax. It seems that his trip was without incident and that he is safely back in Halifax.

-On Tuesday evening my cousin Julia drove up from Providence, Rhode Island. I was really pleased that she as able to make the trip. Aside from a wedding this summer I hadn’t seen her since about 1998. She departed this afternoon and should be arriving just about now.

-Reading week is winding down and I certainly did not accomplish as much as I had hoped. Though in some ways I accomplished about as much as I expected.

-An election was called in Quebec yesterday. It seems that the vote will be on March 26. Hopefully I will be able to take some time to go to Thomson House to watch the count.

-My beard is definitely getting longer. I had been thinking about ditching it a few weeks ago but I now realize that I don’t have the energy for such a project at the moment. Something else that has come to mind is that if I shave my beard I will also then have to shave on a regular basis, something that has never been my forte.

A Few Quick Notes 62

-Another winter’s day, though this one is supposed to be marked by a snowstorm. As of yet there have only been a few snowflakes and not much sign of a storm. On the other hand, when I looked at some RADAR and satellite imagery a few minutes ago it appeared that there was a storm just to the west of Montreal. I am really hoping for a snow day, but I am running out of time (all kinds of flights are already cancelled).

-Tonight is the 25th anniversary of the loss of the Ocean Ranger. CBC just had a segment about this tragedy. One of the participants is the son of one of the lost men, though his father died before he was born (making him about a month older than me). They finished off the segment by playing the Ron Hynes’ song Atlantic Blue.

-A few days ago I learned that there is a Lutheran church in my neighborhood that offers a weekly service in German. While I am not normally a churchgoer, this does seem somewhat tempting.

-I keep waffling on whether or not I keep my beard. It was originally to be just a Christmas addition, to be removed immediately upon my return to Montreal. As it turned out, that did not happen and it is still in place. A few days ago my mind was set on its removal, but now I am not so sure. I know that it is not the world’s nicest beard, but I have always wanted a substantial beard and this is as near as I have ever come to that goal.

-A project on ‘leadership’ has been taking up a fair bit of my time these past few days. I have to come up with a few examples of ‘good leaders’ as well as a few examples of times that I have acted as a ‘leader.’ It has been taking me a huge amount of time to come up with these examples. The use of the word ‘good’ was particularly problematic as it implies some kind of value judgment. One is likely more willing to say that wider ranges of people are ‘effective leaders’ than are ‘good leaders.’

On top of that, I had a very hard time coming up with a few examples in which I have acted as a leader. I can think of a few times I have tried, but they usually end in failure.

-Neil will be arriving tomorrow, a few hours after Nithum departs.