The term is well and truly done. In fact work is getting crazy busy as we ramp up towards the start of the school year in two weeks (depending on how you count). Most of that for me has been one albatross of a project that has suffered from all sorts of issues. At the moment, I'm slowly grinding through it. I feel enough pressure about it that I kind of want to be working on it now, but fuck you work, it's Saturday. Or at least, Saturday at a civilized hour.

I spent most of yesterday afternoon visiting the newly 50% larger eco-monkey clan. Yes, that's right, they're an honest to goodness clan now. It looks like by and large everything is doing well over there, though they had been relocated to the battle bridge until they can navigate back to calmer waters which is hopefully happening as I type.

The course is going well enough. There's a lot of work though. The format has changed a little from previous years. Every week there are three homework problems due on Tuesdays and three group work problems done in groups of four during the class time on Thursdays plus three longer assignments over the term. It seems like it would be a lot to handle for someone with a full course load, but it's not a bad class. I feel like if you don't get "the trick" to a given problem though, you waste a lot of time spinning your wheels and not getting anywhere.

It's mostly been really hot and humid out this summer so far. I've been trying to get out there and do more cycling. (Well, some cycling. Last year I don't think I went on any rides worth talking about at all until October.) But with the weather being so oppressive lately, I haven't done so well. The previous week I managed to do a little riding, mostly to test out this iPhone app for tracking where you go when you're out and about. It's a nice little toy, and a good substitute for my Garmin GPS that wore out years ago.

So I finished the Algorithms course doing very little work, and still pulling off an 80. I was still a little miffed at having to take it, and by the end of the Fall term, I was kind of needing a break from school. So I didn't take a course over the Winter term. The new term starts up in May though, and while I'm currently scrabbling to get a bunch of work ready before that, I'm hoping to take CO380 over the summer, so long as it doesn't conflict too much with work obligations.

Christmas was both awesome and crazy. Lots of everything, not enough sleep, which is probably why I'm sick now. Net gain on Jammie-jams was zero, for those that are keeping score.

Had the flu in the middle of November sometime. Don't know if it was The Flu, but I'm fairly certain it was some strain. Tangentially related, I've been playing a bit of Pandemic lately. I'm really liking its co-operative mechanic.

As per usual, Christmas is fast approaching, and I'm totally disorganized for it. I have yet to figure out what my family's schedule is going to be, and really should call my parents and get that straightened out. I pretty much have no idea what to get who for gifts. Haven't done cards.

The course is pretty much done. It was frustrating that I had to take it in order to get in to the 300 level CS courses. I'm a little tired of school for now, and probably won't take a course in the winter.

The constant need for affection can be a bit much. Especially at, say, four in the morning, but every once in a while she's the sweetest little thing. I can pick her up and sling her over my shoulder, and she settles right in there, purring loudly, her rear paws resting in the crook of my elbow while I sit at the computer or putter about the condo. It's quite comforting.

Except she drools like you wouldn't believe.

I'm pleased to report that my drumming doesn't appear to be abysmally bad. I picked up the Beatles Rock Band shortly before my XBox gave up the ghost with a red ring of death. Returning it to Microsoft for servicing was a surprisingly positive experience. They sent me a refurbished model for free even though mine was no longer under warranty, and it was relatively easy for me to drop off and pick up again sans car. Anyway, yes, I played some songs, drumming at expert level, and didn't completely suck, which was reassuring, and I also attempted drumming and singing at the same time (drumming only at medium difficulty though) and again was able to actually do okay.

The CS240 course is a little more basic than I really would have liked. I should have pressed harder to get an okay for CS341, but it's not the end of the world. I'll just get a really good mark this term, which won't hurt my ego at all. I still need to figure out jswat, to help debug my code for my assignment, but other than that, things are pretty straightforward.

Things are going to pretty much continue to be the same for the remainder of the calendar year. I haven't really given much thought to if I want to take another course in the Winter, or if I'd rather take a break.

The first week of September, I took the week off and L and I went to Nova Scotia to go hiking in Cape Chignecto Provincial Park. We planned on doing the entirety of the coastal trail, 51km over four days, but we got there shortly after Tropical Storm Danny blew through, and we were told that we couldn't go hiking that day. After camping for the night, they'd repaired some of the trail, and we ended up hiking a rather aggressive 38km over two days, hiking along the very hilly coast to Little Bald Rock and back. My calves and thighs took a couple of days to recover.

Now that the new school term is getting started, I'm thinking more seriously about actually pursuing a master's degree. Mostly, I'm interested in the flow and visualization of information, so maybe something in the Human-Computer Interfaces program. I'll probably need to talk to somebody and figure out what my options are, given that I want to continue to work full time while doing the degree. I was going to take the Algorithms course this term, but because the CS program has changed so much since I was an undergrad, I was told that I should take CS240 first.