Month: July 2017

So I spent the better part of my Sunday evening looking at hotels in Calgary. My grandmother lives in Calgary and she’s having a birthday celebration in her honour at the end of September. A large number of family are going to be there and I need to figure out where to stay. I’ll probably be sharing the room with my parents as well.

I’m only going to be there for three nights while my parents are going to be there for five. In the last few years when I look for hotels, it’s usually in very exciting cities because I’m going on a vacation but I gotta admit, looking for a hotel in Calgary was a pretty bland exercise. No offense to the fine people of Calgary and their wonderful city. It’s just that when my last couple of hotel stays were near oceans or one of the oldest cities in Europe, Calgary seems quaint in comparison. Well, at least the hotel rates in Calgary appear reasonable.

A few months ago there was an opening for a position on my team. Some dude did an internal transfer to work on a Star Wars game. I have a friend who I knew would be a great fit to the role. He had previously worked with me at EA years ago.

It took several long weeks but he finally got an interview. It apparently went well because they offered him the job and he accepted. He starts in about three weeks. The most important thing about this is that I will be receiving a referral bonus as my friend listed me as the person who told him about the job. The bonus isn’t a massive amount of money, especially after taxes but it’s better than nothing. Oh, I guess it’s also pretty cool that I get to work with my friend again.

YouTube recommended that I watch the above video where a gentleman named Steve opens up a ration that was distributed to members of the US Armed Forces during the Vietnam conflict.

Field rations, or in this particular case, an MRE (meal, ready to eat), were conveniently packaged so soldiers could have a nutritious meal that also increased morale. You’d often find things like coffee packets and cigarettes in them so that troops could have a bit of comfort even near the front lines.

In this video, Steve attempts to actually eat and drink what is still safe to consume from the MRE. Keep in mind, at the time of taping, most of foodstuffs were at least 45 years old. It’s a fascinating video.

Many financial pundits think the Bank of Canada will raise the key interest rate tomorrow. As I have a variable rate mortgage, such a change is of interest to me (get it?).

Since I bought my home, the key interest rate has changed just five times and the last increase was almost seven years ago. It’s been a good seven years from a debt perspective. I don’t know how much the BoC will raise the rate but I’m hoping it won’t be more than 0.25%. My mortgage will undoubtedly be more but how much more is the question.

Will such a move put me in dire straights? No, but there will be less money to go around and the bigger question is, when is the next rate hike? Does this signal more frequent and larger hikes? Let’s see what happens tomorrow.

I’d like to report a significant milestone last week. I ate an entire ice cream cone for the first time in years. In recent times I’ve stayed away from most dairy as I’ve become increasingly lactose intolerant. Things like whipped cream, heavy cream, ice cream, and just general things with cream in it do the most damage. In a way, this development has a silver lining in that dairy kinda makes you fat if you think about all the things it goes into.

For a while now, my brother-in-law has suggested taking pills which contain lactase, the enzyme that breaks down lactose and allows your body to process it. I finally took his suggestion last weekend when I knew I was going to be out and having ice cream with some friends. I bought some of these pills and downed two of them before eating an ice cream cone.

I was slightly apprehensive about it but even hours afterwards, there was no gas, bloating, nor diarrhea. Does this mean I’m going to now binge on milk shakes, ice cream, cream puffs, and anything with whipped cream? No, definitely not. These items should be consumed only in moderation and these magic pills won’t make them any less healthy. The good is news is now I won’t have to poop whenever I drink a frappuccino!

It’s been quite warm the last two days here in the local Vancouver area. Since I now own a fan, I’ve left it on while I sleep on the lowest and quietest settings. If you were to believe Korean superstition, I’d be tempting fate right now. Luckily, nothing has happened yet and there is no scientific proof this is harmful to my body.

My apologies to everyone for being away but I just concluded a four-day long weekend. I took an extra day off to really make this a wonderful weekend. The highlight was attending the 20th anniversary gala dinner at my beloved St. John’s College at UBC. If you’ve been with us from the beginning, you know this graduate residence has a special place in my heart. This institution is now 20 years old. I was there for the 10th anniversary celebrations and it makes me feel quite old (but also thankful) that I was there again for the 20th anniversary.

The gala dinner was on Sunday evening and it was well-attended by many former residents, many of whom warmed my heart with their presence. I also got to meet the current president of UBC, Dr. Santa Ono, who carries with him a bit of a rock star persona on the campus. I definitely enjoyed meeting him, even if it was briefly.

The dinner itself was fantastic. The meal consisted of two types of crab, mussels, clams, salmon, baron of beef, roast pig, BBQ duck, and a dessert assortment that could have rivaled the buffet at the Wynn. It was an incredible meal put on by executive chef Clarence Tay and his dedicated staff.

The best part of the evening was seeing old friend though. Two of my closest friends from that era saw each other for the first time in over a decade. I didn’t even realize it had been that long for them. Individually, I had the good fortune of meeting up with them about once a year separately but all three of us hadn’t been together until this weekend. We spoke fondly about our good times and it felt like we were still living at the College again.

Alas, the evening was over too quickly, years of friendship reminisced over the course of just a few hours. Some now were mothers and fathers, and had to tend to the demands of parenthood. Although too brief, the evening filled my heart with joy. I look forward to the 25th anniversary.