Ever since I’ve had this blog, I’ve wanted to do something more with it than what I currently do – I write one tiny update every few months about nothing in particular.
What I’d really like to do is find a subject – something to write about on a regular basis. Something related to life in London perhaps, or IT / Technology, food, gaming or music? These are a few of my areas of interest.
I suspect that there are only one or two people who actually read this blog, but if anyone does, I’d love it if you left me a comment or two with any suggestions you might have of things I could write about.
Happy new year!
Life
I know it’s been ages since I’ve written anything here, but it’s been a busy stretch lately. I worked a lot more shifts than usual at the John Labatt Centre prior to quitting my job there after being hired by Labatt.
I’m enjoying my new job at Labatt so far. I work as a Commercial Support Analyst, and it’s interesting work. My biggest challenge so far has been getting used to the hours – I work 8:30-5:00 Monday to Friday, which is a big change for someone who is used to working evening shifts.
Life
I had a pretty rough day today. My dog Jigs, who has been sick for a little while took a drastic turn for the worse yesterday and today, and we ended up having to have her put down this afternoon. It was around 4:15pm when she passed away, but I’ll always remember her and she’ll always be my good girl.
She'll always be my good girl.
Life
I had my final studio time for MIA last night, which was kind of sad, but I got to go out with a bang – my old guitar teacher put me in touch with a local band called “The Last Voice” who was looking for some studio time, and I had a blast recording them. During the session we ended up getting one song recorded fully with overdubs and everything, and a second song done live off the studio floor. The guys in the band were very professional and very musically tight, especially considering their age – they’re all in high school.
During the session, I also had some people in to watch, and check out the studio for themselves – my parents showed up for a good chunk of the session, as well as my girlfriend Amy, and two former guitar / karate students of mine. It seemed like everyone there had a really good time; the guys in the band seemed very pleased with how the recordings were sounding, and the people in the control room with me were very interested in seeing a session firsthand.
All in all, it was a really good night, and a great way to end my time in MIA. I’ll be mixing the songs this week, and with the band’s permission, I may post them once they’re done.
Music
I can never seem to think of anything to write here.
Life
A couple weeks ago, we had an interesting discussion in my ethics class at school regarding students cheating on test and assignments. The general consensus in the class seemed to be that people would rather look the other way about cheating than report it and be considered a “rat”.
Several things about the discussion struck me as particularly interesting; first, the term “rat” or “ratting out” which has obvious negative connotations was thrown around a lot instead of a more neutral term like “reported”. The exception to this was when people were talking about a hypothetical situation where someone was copying off of their test and gaining as a direct result of the person’s hard work. In this case, people seemed to be much more receptive to reporting the cheater, and the negative connotations disappeared.
Thinking about it after the class ended, I think that many people are willing to look the other way regarding cheating at school because of the social stigma reporting a classmate entails. People look the other way because they place a higher value on the personal connection with the cheater than they do on the pursuit of justice on such a small scale.
I know my thoughts on this are a little disjointed and clumsy, but this is my first attempt at something like this. Hopefully I’ll improve in the future. In any case, let me know what you think – would you look the other way if you caught a classmate cheating?
Opinion
With exams done, I now have a nice long christmas break ahead of me. It’ll be nice to have some time off of school to relax and also to take on more hours at work to earn some extra cash.
I’ve been working a fair bit already, having 3 shifts at the JLC in 4 days, as well as my regularly scheduled shifts at the karate school.
Life
I had my final practical exam of the semester this morning in the big studio at school. I was a bit nervous about it going in, as I’m a bit intimidated by the prof who was running the exam, but I ended up doing reasonably well. I ended up with a B on the exam, which is a little lower than I was aiming, but I’m still happy with it. All I have left now are 3 exams on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of next week.
In other news, I’ve been brainstorming a bit about a new direction for the website of the karate school I work at. They’ve had their current layout for years now and it’s fallen out of regular maintenance. I’ve got some cool ideas to make the new site more exciting, informative and modern, but we’ll have to see what happens with it.
Computers, Life, Music
Finished my last assignment for the semester at my 5am studio session this morning. I’m happy with how it turned out, and I’m looking forward to having a nice break over the christmas holidays.
I have 4 more tests and 1 more practical exam to get through, but I can’t wait!
Life, Music
Tonight is my final studio session for this semester, which I’m using to finish mixing my last project that I have due. Unfortunately it’s at 5:00am and so far, the weather doesn’t look like it’s going to make my 20-25 minute drive to the school a very pleasant one.
Oh well. At least it’s the last time I have to do this until sometime in January.
Life, Music