First Week in

yup, Im officially a week old Masters student.

As with my last posts, so far so good. I gave a 1 hr presentation today on vacuum technology. Now, I knew that my 8 month stint with the McMaster Fireball show would someday payoff...maybe, but it really has. As much as it wasn't an engineering internship by any means, it really prepares you for some important parts of a technical career, communication. It is almost as important as knowing the math, the abstract ideas, and the current events. I was assigned the topic less than a week ago and was a little worried as to the outcome, but after I collected my info, the transparencies and the presentation took no time.

'Transparencies?' some of you might be asking, well, this goes back to communication. There is a big difference between summarizing your ideas well on a page for an audience to refer to as you're speaking, and just writing point form of everything you want to say. After the hour, even the prof came up, patted me on the back, and told me it was 'excellent'. I'm not one for relishing in compliments, but it still felt pretty good. Plus, the guy who went right after me, made all of the mistakes one should not make, and got reamed out for them. I felt bad for him, but it made me think of why mine went so much better...communication. huh, who knew riding in a van with Rmac for months educating high school students as to the wonders of education and science would actually pay out in the end, but it really has. Thanks Mac Eng.

k, I should probably tell a couple of the fun stories that I've experienced over the last couple days. The first one was called the 'Bierlauft' (translated literally as 'Beer Walk'). Definitely one of the funniest things Ive seen since coming here 2 months ago.

It was an event put on by one of the many campus bars and involved groups of 3 and a case of beer. There was a track of about 3.5 km around the campus laid out, and the goal was to traverse the trail as fast as you could go, all the while drinking the entire case of beer over the 3 people. To give you an idea of the magnitude of this, most teams did it in around 30-40 minutes, which is a shitload of beer to consume while running as fast as you could.

I was rooting for some of my American friends, appropriately named: Team America (Fuck Yeah!). I would have definitely joined, but unfortunately, i heard about the event too late, so team Canada was a no go. There were a few stations set up with various tasks to perform before the team could move on (ie. build a paper boat, which is not too easy while hammered and exhausted). Also, each team had to bring back each beer, totally empty, with a bag of all the bottle caps.

The race itself was entertaining, although because i wasnt partaking in the consumption activities, it wasnt that fun. The real fun came after the teams finished.

I have never seen to much vomit in my entire life. (and for those who have known me a while, Ive seen some shit in my day)

Nearly every team, upon crossing the finish line, found a patch of grass by the bar and heaved up 8 beers worth of puke in a magnificent display of self destruction. Everyone was cheering for them as they lost it, partly because i was drinking during the race as well.

Well, the race was a close one (the teams were staggered by a few minutes, so we werent sure who actually won till later), but I knew Team America did very well, but they had a problem, they were missing a beer cap (which cost them 5 minutes penalty). Call it fate, call it luck...hell, call it good international relations if you want, but I so happened to be drinking the same beer they received, and managed to keep the beer caps in my pocket. So I yelled to them that I think I saw it 'over there', quickly performed the smooth cap hand off, and saved the day.

A mere beer cap? yes, a mere fuckin beer cap.

Turns out they were ahead by a mere 3 minutes and that beer cap actually kept them in 1st place. So they won, and the bar hosting it provided everyone with free beers and delicious BBQ afterwards.

They won a free dinner and pitcher of beer from the bar, and last night they invited me to come and enjoy the feast with them, it was stupendous. A huge platter of meat, fries, and chicken wings, for all of us, and of course delicous German beer.

I decided that day that next year, I will definitely be participating in the annual Bierlauft here. Even though i wasnt even competing, Im very glad i went.

I could tell some more stories from the weekend, but this post is long enough, and I know how much of a chore it is to read these epics (who here knows Nick Leeson?). But short story, checked out Henning's band, they were awesome, then promptly went downtown where a large group of us drank, danced, and debauched the city till sunrise. It was also a great night, but I guess that sums it up pretty nicely.

All in all, life is still grand, and I really have no complaints. peace