The last day of 2002 is upon us. Very very very weird. I am back from Europe...got in last night around 9:00 pm and I leave for Milwaukee tomorrow afternoon. So, I ain't around for too long. Today is all about seeing people and I am going to try my best to see as many as possible. Tonight, going to go to Arthur's party first to see all the Waterloo posse - can't wait for that and then, I am going to end my night at the Marathi posse party to hang out with the childhood gang (it'll be a reunion of sorts too so I'm excited).

Last night, I couldn't sleep so I was watching the Gladiator DVD. It was really weird cause I was lying in my bed in suburbia Scarborough watching Romans fight at the Colleseum - a place I just was about 5 days ago. Very strange feeling to be home but can't wait to see you all...

Happy New Years today.

Merry Christmas everyone. Hope that you are all doing well. I am in Rome now...have been here since yesterday afternoon. I am typing on an Italian keyboard so there might be the odd punctuation mistake...sorry for any confusion this may cause and if I am implicated of anything, I will claim that I was not aware of what the computer was typing. Last night was an incredible experience. I was at St. Peters Cathedral in the Vatican City and the Pope was doing Christmas Eve Midnight Mass. My family and I didnt go in because we didnt have tickets but we did hang around outside and they had large tv screens and loudspeakers everywhere. There were a bunch of pilgrims there who had come from all over the world - China, India, America, various other European countries. The funniest thing happened during mass. I was standing watching the screen and listening to the pope and then I looked over and there was this girl who had just pulled a lighter out of her bag and who was lighting up a fattie! Yeah, you heard correctly...she was smoking a phattie while the pope was giving mass. It was quite comical but really, what can you do I guess.

This trip has been fantastic so far. Learned a lot of history. So far, Ive been in Paris (for about 20 minutes), Fontainbleu (where my brothers school was), Lyon, Cannes, Nice, Monaco, Monte Carlo, Genoa, Florence and Rome. Tomorrow we leave and we are off to Geneva (gonna stop somewhere on the way) and then eventually back to Paris. My parents then leave. Then its me and my brother for a day and then he leaves. Then it is me on my own for a day in Paris when I will do the Eifel Tower, Arch de Triumphe and The Louvres most probably.

Whats going on back home. Anything exciting. Actually, anyone know what is going on for New Years yet. Well its time to get going...gonna go rest up cause I think that I might be partying tonight with some girls we meet during breakfast. Should be a good time...

Bonjour tout le monde. Je suis en Paris maintenant. Actuallement, je suis en Fontainbleu, la ville be l'ecole de mon frere. Mes parents et mon frere sont ici. Cet apresmidis, nous allons visiter Lyon et Nice et cet nuit, nous allons pour un grand dine. Maintenant, je veux changer a anglais...

My flight yesterday was absolutely crazy. Got to Milwaukee at 12:20 for my 2:15 flight. Checked in. Got my boarding pass. Had some Lunch. Went through security. Got to the gate, only to find out that the flight had been CANCELLED. Then, went back through security. Back to the ticket counter. Found this really nice United employee or took me to another computer (because the United and Air Canada systems don't communicate with one another). We were looking for alternative ways for me to get to Paris cause there was no way I was going to make my 7:00 pm connection in Toronto to Paris. I found a Milwaukee - Chicago - Paris flight that seemed to work so I was booked onto that one. Unfortunately, I couldn't get upgraded to business class or anything. I did get a $7 meal voucher which was okay I suppose. So, I rechecked my bag. Went back through security. Got some food. Went to the gate and sat. After about an hour (it was now 3:30), I decided to check the board to make sure my flight was still leaving at 4:30 as scheduled. Turns out the flight is delayed till 5:15. There is no way I am going to get to Chicago in time now to catch my 6:30 Chicago - Paris flight. Damn - I am screwed again. So, I go back through security. Back to the ticket counter. Get my bag that had been unchecked and found out that they were sending all Milwaukee - Chicago passengers on shuttle buses. So, I hopped in a shuttle bus and we left Chicago by 4:00 pm. The bus driver was so slow it was aggravating. Finally arrived at O'Hare at 6:05 with 25 minutes to spare. Thank god I already had my boarding pass so I ran through security, didn't check my big black bag this time (I took it as carry-on) and ran to my gate. Got on board the plane at 6:27. The plane stopped boarding at 6:30.

Man that was crazy. Okay time to jet but happy holidays to you and all your families. Have a safe holiday and I'll speak with you all soon.

Well ladies and gentlemen, I just finished my six sigma training and I just wrote my online test (well, I've been doing the test in portions for the last 3 days). I passed so now, I am an official greenbelt (well, I still gotta do a project but I am definitely getting there). The test was pretty hard but I persevered and applied my stats knowledge. I am starting to sound like a nerd but I actually don't mind this stats stuff. I am understanding it. Damn man - when Smith and I took that BIOL 361 Experimental Design course last year in 4B, who would have thunk that it would have been as beneficial as it has been. To be honest, when we graduated - we both said that that was one of the most beneficial courses we've ever taken (in terms of actual good stuff that we learned). Now - with this Six Sigma stuff, I am applying it and learning more. I can totally see how stats and process design is very important in the business world.

I am off to the gym now (for the last time of 2002) and then, I'm going to come back to finish packing for Europe. Wanna get that done by about 10:00 cause tonight - we are hitting up downtown Milwaukee for one last time before 2003 as most people are going home or elsewhere for the holidays.

Talk to ya'll later,

Quick note. I went to the Raptors game tonight here in Milwaukee. It was fantastic! The Raptors won (ending their 4 game losing streak) in overtime by a 122 - 117 score. It was such a fun evening. I was the only Raptors fan cheering in my entire section of the stadium. I definitely gots some stares throughout as I was heckling The Bucks and their fans. Lindsay Hunter hit a huge three with 1.5 seconds left on the clock to tie the game at 104 and send it to overtime. Then in overtime, the Raptors came back from another 7 point deficit to take the lead, and this time, didn't look back. What a great game and great time. I went with 13 friends (all from work) that I organized this outing for. Hopefully, they all had a good time. But really - how could you not have had a good time. The game was entertaining and I'm sure that I probably looked pretty stupid at times wearing my purple headband and dancing/cheering all alone.

A great night no doubt. I was just on the phone with work, then Dell Customer Service cause my laptop LCD screen is really bruck up. There was this 1 inch thick vertical line down the right side for about a month now. But today, when I turned it on, there is also this turquoise tinge all over wherever it should be white. Needless to say, typing this blog is very hard on the eyes right now (see what i go through for you guys). During the call, as he was taking my info to get a new LCD sent to me - he had to ask me a series of questions. The first was "Is this machine going to be used in any activities involving nuclear weapons and/or the creation of them?" The other one regarded "my current status in the U.S. - they wanted to know if I was a spy or going to use this machine for secret government activity, etc" That was some funny stuff....

Off to bed now. Big training day ahead of me!

I just watched Sleepless in Seattle tonight and I am currently watching When Harry Met Sally. This has been a Meg Ryan night but it's been really good. These two moveis are great...man i am a sap. But whatever - I really like both of them. The Meg Ryan fake orgasm scene in the diner is absolutely priceless. And Billy Crystal has some fantastic lines about the dynamics between men and women. Rob Reiner is the director of both of these movies and he definitely has two masterpieces. Absolutely perfect date movies! That is for shizzy.

While watching the movies - I had a really good msn conversation with an old friend of mine. Nanda from the Science Centre School. She is one of the coolest, most put together people I know. It was a really great conversation about a ver interesting topic. Isn't it always about relationships? Anyway, I hope that I see her over the holidays. It would be cool to see the rest of the Science Centre posse some time again soon. Roppa, Julie, Bosco, Gus, Luke, Katie, Sylvia, Veronica and the rest of the gang.

Okay - so I just got laughed at by Dave who just got home and saw me watching the end of When Harry Met Sally. I am officially a sap!

Check out the picture on Tchao's site. Look at the top right corner. It's pretty money, eh?

Going to bed now...
Good night

Wow, I feel a lot better now. I am well rested - all I did today was sleep. Last night was a lot of fun but at the expense of how I felt today...not so great. Tonight, I went to our TSLP Christmas party and it was pretty good. It was cool to chill out with my classmates. We had this White Elephant gift exchange where you bring a present and then each person gets a number. The first person picks a gift and you just go from there. The cool part is that as each next person's turn comes - they can take the gift from anyone who has already chosen, or they can choose one for themselves. Today, we were supposed to bring a gift that was funny or cheesy or something...I bought condiments and gave that as my gift (ketchup, mustard, relish, mayo, bbq, ranch and sweet/sour sauce). It was a pretty funny gift...I though but also kind of useful. A lot of the other stuff was crap.

I gotta start thinking about my Europe trip. I leave in 5.5 days and I haven't packed or thought about what to take or anything. I should start wrapping my head around that. It's just that I am pretty busy and not sure when I will get to it. Packing for my backpacking trip this summer was easier cause it was summer stuff which isn't very big and bulky. This is going to be harder cause it's winter and I have to have sweaters and pants.

Haven't said hello to many of you in a while so here goes:

Etch - hope you are enjoying your relaxing days and getting ready for the new job. you wanna plan that boarding trip for the 31st?
Smith - how was the first week of work buddy? hope it's going well
Karen - miss you man. i am trying to see if i can find some cheap milwaukee - seattle flights...hopefully in the new year. when you going to be in toronto for the holidays?
Christine - congrats for finishing this term of school. can't wait to see you in toronto
Luen - work sounds good...it was great to speak with you yesterday. we gots to do this boarding trip
Ingrid - you around town over the holidays? esso still kicking but?
Amisha - half way through school, eh? wow...time flies
Julie - what are you doing over the holidays? chilling in so-cal or going anywhere?
Malloy - haven't heard from you in a while. you never replied to my e-mail. by the way, the new computer looks awesome - well done.
Kevin - new site is absolutely money. how do you find the time to do that man? it is really impressive
Tai - the job going good? it's been a few months now so i guess the "new" feeling is wearing off. cook any gourmet feasts lately?
Flo - what's up with you? celestica still paying the bills? any news to report?

It's Saturday morning and wow did I have a crazy night yesterday. It was nuts because of one reason, and one reason only. WINE. I had a little too much...well, a lot too much but we don't have to get into details. I've only passed out due to drinking a couple of times in my life but it happened again yesterday. I went to an office Christmas party. It was at the house of one of our bosses (well, not my boss but the boss of some of my friends). She had an absolutely gorgeous and HUGE house. The insuite bathroom for the master bedroom is bigger than my room here in Milwaukee and absolutely dwarfs my room back home. There is a jacuzzi and the shower has two shower heads on each wall...very efficient for cleaning I guess.

I forgot to tell you guys...last Sunday I had a driving lesson with Dave in his RSX. It started out pretty bad but by the end, I was doing a lot better with the stick. Since his car is a sports car, it was tougher to get into first gear because it revs so high when you just touch the pedal. I gotta keep practicing but I definitely feel like I'm learning.I need to know how to drive standard cause next week in Paris/Italy, I am going to be driving with my family in a rental car.

I think that I'm going to take a nap now cause I still kind of feel like a tub of poo.

It's been a few days since the last blog but they have been very productive. Hard to believe that it's actually Thursday now. Monday night - I made tandoori chicken. It was my first attempt and it actually turned out pretty tasty and moist. Unfortunately - our bbq was either out of gas or it was too cold outside to start it. So, I baked the chicken instead. As a result, the taste was there but it was kind of soft and not the greatest texture. I probably should have broiled it for the last 5 minutes or something. Oh well, lesson learned - it can only get better. Maybe you can try it sometime...

Washed the car yesterday - it looks mint! Now, I've just gotta vaccuum and amour-all the inside this weekend. Then it will look money. Last night, Dave got tickets from his manager to the Bucks-Pacers game at the Bradley Centre. It was a really entertaining game that went into overtime. The Pacers won in the end and our seats were really good. about the 5th or 6th row in one of the corners. That place was pretty empty (the upper deck that is) so there was definitely space to move around. I'll be going next week on Tuesday for the Raptors game (They are in town to play the Bucks) Can't wait to see my team but I am a little scared to see what transpires. Vince, AD and Alvin are all out with injuries right now. That is the top 3 players in the lineup. The team is fielding a very sup-par squad these days and as a result, getting their asses kicked by everyone, including the lowly Cleveland Cavaliers last night.

On the drive home from the came, myself, Dave and his two buddies, Ashok and Sunil - the four of us were having this conversation about happiness. The example of Hugh Heffner came up. Now here is a guy that ever since he was in his late teens, has been a "party guy" For him, there is no segregation between work time and play time. His professional life is his personal life. It's a neat concept to have that he can live that way and totally enjoy both aspects of his life. On the other side, for most of us - work is just that, it's work. It's not our passion, it's not what we want to be doing all the time. If we had the choice every morning when we woke up..."What do I want to do today?' For most of us, it wouldn't be "sit on that conference call", "chair that meeting", "produce that fiscal report". Then we started talking about society's roll in our choices of careers, etc. In this day and age of an economic society that we live in - it's tough to say: "You know what, I am going to break away from everything that is stable and go after ___________" The thing is that ____________ is that passion that we have. Whether it's music, athletics, film, cooking, programming, finance, etc. It's hard for everyone to devote their lives to those passions because chances are - we will not be able to support ourselves and our loved ones. Perhaps one day, we will be able to but the steps to get there will be a lot longer and harder.

Not sure if I've just talked in circles over the past paragraph or if I've actually been somewhat poignant but in any case, there is my sphiel for the morning.
Back to that job of mine...

Just got a great e-mail from Christine this morning and it has totally inspired me. She is a really great person with a big heart and I'm glad that things are going so well for her these days. It's cool to see how things are going well for a lot of my friends of late. All of this always cycles.

I am doing really well these days and just got some things that I want to concentrate more on. Work is one of them. Of late - I have just kind of been floating along but I really wanna start performing well and kicking ass. I want to prove myself while I'm here in Milwaukee cause this is where I can be noticed. I really wanna start applying myself more and being more proactive in my projects. I realize that this sounds like some crap from the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People or something like that but I think that by actually writing (or typing) it and having a concrete record of it - I will be more inclined to actually doing it, as opposed to just saying that I want to do this. I'll let you know how things go.

Last night, went to the Red Room Inn here in Milwaukee. It was kind of a cool place. A pretty small but chilled set up with funky furniture, a well stocked bar and some funky trip hop/acid jazz playing. I get the impression that there are some other cool places like that hidden around this city. The trick is just finding them. We found this one on www.onmilwaukee.com. There are other e-mail distribution lists that I'm becoming a part of such as YPM (Young Professionals of Milwaukee), 501 (some other list that throws parties every Friday night). The idea is to meet people other than work friends. So far - all my friends in this city are from work. They are all cool people but I wanna meet some people outside of the office. I'm sure you understand what I'm talking about.

That entry I had the other day about Chicago definitely was funny. I just re-read it and wow - did that make any sense? Anyway, I did have a great time in Chicago. The conference was great. It was huge - at least about 80,000 people were there over the 6 days. I like the general vibe in the city and want to go back and experience it more. The trick as well is meeting more people. So far I have a friend named Ashley who is studying at Loyola and my buddy Ravin from Waterloo. Ravin will be a good partner in crime so I gots to go back soon and start checking out the scence. Apparently the Funky Buddha Lounge is a chilling place to go and they mix in live percussion (african, indian drums, etc) with hip hop and old skool. Looking forward to checking that out.

It's Sunday. It's beautiful outside. I am gonna get my car washed and do some groceries this morning. I didn't get to bed last night until 5:00 am but I woke up today at 10:00 am as if I was ready to go. That's good though cause I'll get to bed at a decent time tonight and be ready for the week ahead. Enjoy the remainder of your weekends everyone.

CONGRATULATIONS MR. TCHAO.
my brother - the time has come...let's sit around that nice dinner table we were talking about and share stories about the working world.
well done and congrats.

And Mr. Smith - knock em dead on your first day on Monday...

You boys have made me proud.

good evening everyone. it's friday night and i just finished dinner. i am updating my site and drinking some wine. Actually, it's not some wine...I am just about finished the bottle that I opened up earlier during dinner. So you can see - it's been one of those nights. Let's see how this blog ends up...as it gets more and more alcohol induced.

The week in Chicago was great. I really like that city - there is a tonne going on and lots of people say that it is a bigger version of Toronto. I think that I could kind of agree with that. I definitely have never seen a city with as many taxi cabs and hotels. It's got a cool vibe with all the restaurants, skyscrapers, jazz and blues bars. There is a tonne going on. I went up the Hancock Observatory yesterday. I was on the 94th floor looking down at the city and learned a lot about it too. I learned about the great fire of (1861 I think) - it's the one that gutted almost the entire city. As a result, Chicago is one of the only modern cities that actually had the ability to start over and re-plan what was going on. Also - do you know why it's called the Windy City? I think you think you know but in fact you don't. It's a coincidence that's it actually so cold and windy there. The relal reason that it has the nickname is because back during the Columbian assembly (whatever that was) the politicians of the city were lobbying for something and whatever they said was perceived to be very long winded and full of hot air. As a result - the city slowly got referred to as the windy city due to the nature of the politicians. Interesting, isn't that?

I am watching the Mavericks - Lakers game right now on espn. The Mavs are 17 and 1 this year so far and absolutlely kicking ass. They are killing the Lakers by 27 points right now in the 4th quarter. It is pretty awesome. I've gotta say - Steve Nash is money. He is such a solid player. Definitely probably my favourite in the league. I've gotta find a Steve Nash Dallas Mavericks jersey - that would be a cool pickup.

Well - I'm not sure how much sense this blog made. I am going to blame the wine nonetheless so have a good night and talk to ya'll tomorrow...

I wrote this Blog about a week ago but didn't get a chance to upload it. Here it is for your viewing pleasure. Updates to come about Chicago tonight. I had a great time...
_______

I am sick. I am sick. I am sick.
I hate it. I hate it. I hate it.

Hopefully, I get better soon cause I've got a full week ahead of me in Chicago at a conference/tradeshow.

Today has been pretty eventful. I helped Ketan move into his new place this morning. He is moving in with his girlfriend, who is really cool. They've got a nice cozy apartment in an old part of Toronto and it's really nicely set up. This afternoon, I went to my favourite Indian
Restaurant in the city, Bombay Bhel, with my parents and a good friend of my brother's from San Francisco, Fiona. It was great to see her cause it's been so long. She is Irish and has this great accent. She's such a lovely person as well. At lunch, Fiona brought her new boyfriend, a brown guy from Toronto. Get this - he represented Canada on the Mens 1988 Field Hockey team that competed at the Summer Olympics in Seoul, Korea. It was pretty cool cause that is the closest I've ever been to an Olympian. Man, if I was really talented at something and got to represent my country...that would be the biggest thing in my life. Speaking of being really good at something, tonight I watched this movie called Bend It Like Beckham. (by the way, don't mind the German site - can't find the English equivalent...the movie is all in English though) It debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival this year and it was a fantastic movie. It's about an Indian girl growing up in the UK who loves David Beckham and only wants to play football all the time. Her parents are traditional Indians who don't think that is a lucrative career and think she is wasting her time. The story unfolds and it is really well done. I am definitely going to watch that again soon. You should all rent this movie - it is brilliant.

Last night, I went to Shmooze (the hottest new club in Toronto, or so I've heard). It was a pretty good place with a ton of people and I went with Eric and the Marathi posse. The observation I made was that everyone there seemed to be having a great time, whether they were dancing, chilling, chatting or drinking. It was great. The only thing that the club needs to put it over the top is a new DJ. I must say - that guy was GARBAGE. No one plays every song for their entire 5 or 6 minutes! You gotta switch them up after like 30 seconds or a minute dude! You gotta keep the crowd guessing, and more
importantly anticipating, the next tunes. That is how you keep the crowd bumpin' all night long.

Gonna start reading the first Harry Potter book tonight. Also, gotta start my Digital Camera research - the self imposed deadline is next Sunday night (the 8th of December)