Ottawa Bound

Tomorrow I’m off to Ottawa on my last (I think) work related trip of the year. Unlike almost all other trips this year, this one will be relatively close to home and thus will not require a flight. I know, I’m as shocked as you are.

Around The World, Around The World

If my trusty spreadsheet is correct, my upcoming flight from Vancouver to Toronto will be the 43rd time this year that I will launch myself into the air and safely land somewhere else. And at some time while I’m majestically soaring through the clouds on said flight, I will effectively begin my third lap around…

A Brief Visit Home

In just under a week I’ll be boarding yet another series of shiny metal lawn darts, as my next round of travel kicks off. While my plans have been modified because of a need to be in the Vancouver area in early November, I will nevertheless be bouncing all over the place – at least…

Sabbatical

In slightly more than 80 days I will begin my first sabbatical since becoming a faculty member in the School of Computer Science. To say that I’m excited would be an understatement.

Hello Iqaluit

Early this morning, Nic and I said our goodbyes to Rick, Robbie, and Gemma – our hosts for the last two nights – as we began the second leg of our adventure that would take us from Ottawa to Iqaluit, Nunavut. While the trip through Ottawa was short, it gave us the opportunity to spend…

I Found The Mothership

In two days I will board my 8th shiny metal lawn dart of the year on my way through Ottawa to Iqaluit with Nic (whom you might remember as the guy who wore the T-rex research onesie on our trip to Rigolet last year). We’re heading north to meet with colleagues to chat about community-based monitoring…

Final Thoughts

So 2014 is nigh. I’ve just finished cleaning up the house, organizing some platters of food, chilling some champagne1, and am about to go shuck some oysters as I await the arrival of some friends who will be ringing in the new year with me. All told, not a bad way to spend the last…

Elliot Seems Pleased

Well, after 4 awesome days in sunny Florida I am home. While I’m sad to say goodbye to the 25 Celsius days spent running around the Magic Kingdom with Mark, I’m thrilled to be home after having completed another of my Not-So-Bucket-List list items1. When I arrived home, I was greeted by a very affectionate…

The Year That Was

Remember back in the old time-y days of 2012? Those were good times. Anyway, now that it’s the future I figured I should take a few moments to look back on the year that was 2012 to remember what I’ve accomplished, and identify those challenges that have eluded me for one reason or another. Perhaps…

Goals For 2013

Being a man who likes lists, it should probably come as no surprise that I’ve decided to set up a list of things1 I’d like to accomplish in 2013. Some of the goals are on the list because I didn’t quite meet them in 2012. Some of the goals are exactly the same as other…

This Is What Happens When Life Happens.

This weekend is the Toronto Waterfront Marathon. You might remember this marathon because I’ve mentioned it several times over the last few months. Along with the Toronto Goodlife and Ottawa marathons in May, the Waterfront would make my third marathon for the year. Throw in the Goofy race in January and I’ve got a lovely…

My Five-Star Weekend

Amanda and I are currently somewhere between Cobourg and Toronto, on our way home from Ottawa. We’re a little tired, but nothing that a little coffee and snack won’t fix. My weekend in Ottawa with Matt and Monique was awesome. We spent most of our time at Monique’s parents’ house in Aylmer, Quebec. The house…

The Gravity Of Travel

  It’s officially 2 weeks since I returned home from adventuring with Rick and the Big Mountain Challenge. To be honest it feels like an eternity ago. Weird how that happens. Since I managed to finish up the work that I needed to finish for tomorrow earlier than I expected to, I’ve been sitting here…

GPS Or Naming Fail?

So as I wrote yesterday, last night I attended the wedding of my friends Erin and John. And I will repeat what I wrote yesterday – the wedding was fantastic. The most important and amazing thing about the weekend was the opportunity it afforded to be able to spend time with friends that so rarely…

I’ve Got The Runs

If you’ve been following this blog you’ll already know that I am a runner of sorts. You’ll also know that I like to give myself rather crazy challenges. For example, I decided that this year I needed to enter and run in 12 different races. I also decided that I needed to run 2 marathons in a…