IgloONotes

School! Nothing better, nothing worse.

So because of school, travels, packing up and leaving Germany, adjusting back to Windsor life, and all the things that go about life, I've just had no time to write in here! Kinda sad, but true. I still really enjoy coming back here and seeing what I've done in the past So many things have happened since then. Just a Quick run down...

My girlfriend visited me in Germany and we went travelling all over Europe, stopping in Paris, Rome, and Berlin as the major stops. Then we did a couple small trips to Rothenberg, Munich and the BMW museum, and of course my favourite next-door city, Erlangen. The Pizza in Rome was amazing, the Cold weather in Paris, not so much.

After she left, I found a cheap flight to Hong Kong and decided to make a quick trip out to see her before flying back to Canada.

Of course, an extended time in germany would never be complete without a trip to the Nurburgring. I spent a whole day of driving, and had some pretty amazing sights along the way. Being passed by a Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera and a Porsche 911 GT3. It sends a chill down my spine thinking that I was on the same world famous racetrack as them.

Then I did a road trip driving along Germany's most scenic driving roads. I drove along the German Romantic road, and the German Alpine road, the latter being more exciting and scenic because of the mountain range we had to drive beside, through and over (under?). With our Trusty Mini Cooper, we carved out the roads and finished up with a tour of the Audi Headquarters Showcase.

Before staying in Windsor for a long period of time, I decided to make a trip to China to visit my Dad. Somewhat odd feeling because I wasn't sure if I was going to be there for an extended time, and when the next time I would be back. I got a chinese haircut that had to be fixed by myself when it started growing longer.

Back in Windsor, life has been pretty much filled with School, Engineering, and uh...School. I did manage to get my old computer up and running at full steam again after being attacked by internet worms the whole time I was in Germany. I also just picked up a Wireless PCI card so that I can write this on my Desktop computer while in the Basement. As they say, life must go on. And after reading about all the tragedies going on around the world, to famous people, not so famous people, I feel pretty lucky to be here.

Ever had to wait?
I mean, really anxiously waiting. I arrived at Frankfurt about 3 hours earlier than I really needed to, just in case. I made sure my hair looked okay and that I was wearing the right clothing to be presentable.  I was wearing the right watch and my shoes had to be clean.

Today wasn't just another day to the airport, I was picking up my girlfriend.

The last time I saw her was about 4 months ago in Hong Kong. We had a wonderful time together, travelling to Macau, travelling all around Hong Kong, and eating some of the best food in the world. This time, we would be trekking across Europe and seeing some of the best places that Europe has to offer. But before all this, I had to wait.

Do you really have any idea what its like to wait for someone that you've been waiting for, for four months? Someone you always enjoyed being with when you were together, someone who makes you feel like nothing else could go wrong in your world. Its excruciatingly nerve-wracking. I've never been sky-diving but I guess that I would feel quite the same. Except that when you're skydiving, there's always that feeling that you might not make it to solid ground the same way you were expecting.

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After months of waiting, looking down at my watch and scratching off the days on the calendar, the day had finally arrived. My Girlfriend was going to be arriving in Germany for a wondrous holiday together. We would be flying, taking the train, and of course, driving to cities all across Europe.

Let me highlight driving.

I had to pick up my Girlfriend from Frankfurt airport. I wanted to use the company car but policy doesn't allow the car to stay with me overnight. The company cars available to me are simple. Either a green Ford Focus which is falling apart or a Blue Opel Astra. I've honed my Manual driving skills in both cars and each has their own characteristics. The Focus for example is easy to drive smooth, but once you're on the road it starts to complain that you didn't service it yesterday.

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After a month-and-a-bit-more absense from IgloONotes, I am glad to say that I will back in the swing of things in the coming days. In case you're wondering what I've been up to, don't worry, I have not been abducted by Zombies on the highway but rather have been backpacking around Europe with my girlfriend.

We saw the Berlin Wall in where else...Berlin. Along the way, we stopped by the good 'ol Eiffel Tower in Paris and finished up with the Bestest of the best cities during our trip, Rome, Italy. Oh, I forgot to mention all the other sites we went to before all that.

Stay tuned!

Until...a while, IgloONotes will be on Holiday enjoying the weather, the snow, the festivities and whatever might come their way. Merry Christmas and have a Happy new years! Or as the Germans would say,Frohe Weihnachten und ein gutes Neues Jahr!

Time. The most important question running through my head. I've recently had a lot of time on my hands and spending it usefully has been a problem. Google news is only a click away, and its relatively useful. Instead of staring at a useless computer screen, I can read about what's going on in this world. The US elections I'll admit attracted more of my attention than it should have. You'd think that being Canadian, I would have followed the Canadian elections more but, no.

Canadian Politics has turned into just one huge mess I could honestly care less about who turns out as Prime Minister. The only thing I could ask for is lower tuition fees.

I've tried going on Youtube once in a while but, watching a cat flush a toilet over and over. And over. And over...gets boring. Maybe seeing a kid fall off his bike ending in a screaming cry is funny for some, but I just think, poor kid.

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If you've been keeping up with my Go karting shenanigans, you'll know that I've got a pretty good record. I set the fastest lap time and placed second on my first outing. My second time round, I placed second in every possible place: qualifying, fastest lap, and the race, behind the one and only Speedy Sparky.

I've been waiting for my time to get back into a Kart for a while. The last two times left me with an addiction that I just couldn't shake. My jousting with Sparky left me in a definite second place. The fact was, he was faster and I couldn't pass him. I had led for one ceremonious lap, but he duly passed me right away. I wanted to know what could of been...

Time went along and every once in a while my mind would get stuck on Karts. How fast I would be against real competitive guys? Would I be able to pass them or just get relegated to an uninspiring second place? Sparky was good, don't get me wrong, but he was only one guy. I wanted to challenge a group of highly strung veteran German racers on the track.

My friend asked me if I would be interested in joining him and a group of fellow guys on the Kart track. He said it was a different track than we've been to and we'd be going for one hour. He didn't even have to ask me twice. October 30th...redemption.
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I never would have thought that looking for a new moblie phone would be so hard. I've had a simple Sony Ericsson z520a for a good while, enough to tell me that I don't really need gadgets on my phone. All I do is make calls and send texts. The camera, I never use, nor do I use the browser, or even the games. The novelty of those things died out after just a month.

On the other hand, there's all these smartphones popping up and with prices plummeting, its made me rethink what I really want in a phone. Are 5 megapixel cameras going to tear me away from my beloved Panasonic TZ5? Are web browsers on phones going to rip me apart from my Macbook? I did a bit of cell searching and this is what I found out...

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Change.

That's the campaign that Barack Obama was campaigning for, and change is what the americans got. The change in presidency brought thoughts around the world for the US to end its 'my stick is bigger than your stick' mantra so well known in Iraq. Will he do exactly that? That's tough to say. But will he bring the USA off from its knees and rally americans together to bring back faith in the white house? I can't even say a definite 'yes' on the one. But what I do know is that he's already done what President Bush so thoroughly neglegted, given the American people confidence and hope.

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So for those of you who follow Formula 1, you'll certainly have followed the final race to a dramatic, chaotic, and very controvercial season of Formula 1.

For those of you not really into the loop, just know that the winner of the Formula 1 world championship turned out to be a fight to the last race, the last lap, and the very last corner. It was an extremely thrilling finish to a crazy season, with two drivers Filipe Massa and Lewis Hamilton, vying for the crown.

It started out as any other Grand Prix, cars lining the grid, ready to race. But just as the lights were about to go out, the heavens opened and smothered everything that she could offer. This lasted just a few minutes, but it threw the teams into confusion as to what tires to slap on their cars. Should they gamble and stay with the dry tires, or be safe and go with the wet tires?

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