Big news

I'm coming back to Toronto in June! Email me for more details. For everyone who is in town, especially friends I didn't get to see over the winter break, I will be sure to contact you. I've been terrible at keeping in touch.

Things in Seattle are going well. I finally found a roommate and a new place. My roommate is named John and he's from Microsoft, which is okay because he's tolerant of my constant jokes. Seriously, John is a great guy. The place is near downtown Redmond and it already feels like home. We finished unpacking and things are starting to settle back to normal. Yesterday we had our inaugural hot pot, before the weather grew too warm.

Last week we went to see the cherry blossoms at UW. The UW out here, that is. How beautiful the campus is! Now I see what the left-brainers of the world miss out on when they attend university. The blossoms were in full bloom, pale and white. Not pink like in Japan. I wore red to compensate.

March went by with minimal commotion, with the exception of the move. All things said and done, it went really smoothly, especially with the help of some great friends: Martin, Stan, Pat, and John. Recently I have been volunteering at church and my lesson to teach is how to abandon worry (Phil 4). Somehow the providence of the timing of the lesson and the move made sense: I'm normally pretty anxious and without what I learned the whole ordeal would have been a lot worse than it actually was.

For the first few nights I slept on the floor in the living room. I brought the cushions from my big orange couch. I set up the computer because I was bored and it was one of the few possessions I had with me. Somehow, the change in scenery and the liveliness of the sodium lights gave me some inspiration to write. It was nice to return to a meager existence — Mac Pro notwithstanding — for just a little while.

Further back, in February, Sil, Chris, Fred, and I went to Cuba. How I wish I had known about the lesson not to worry then! I had the wrong hotel name when I arrived. Everything worked out fine, though, despite my frantic pacing in the wrong hotel's lobby. After seven great days of sun, I learned many things. Always pack enough medicine. How to drive stick. Cuban food gives me LDZ. All in all, a great trip. And it's still free because Chris still hasn't cashed the check I wrote him.

Winter went by like a lamb in Seattle. I wish I could have said the same thing about Toronto. The only upside is snowboarding. Adrian came to visit in February, right before the Cuba trip. We had a blast in Crystal Mountain, him on skis and most of us on snowboards. Adrian, if you're reading this, I'm still waiting for this country to have a long weekend so I can fly up there! I miss the beef in Calgary, so expect a visit soon.

I think I'll leave things here for now. I don't want to say too much on this blog or I'll run out of stories to tell in person. So to you, my friends, I say good night. And take care.

P.S. The Queens project was a success. I'm writing it up in another venue, so you won't see any more posts about it here.