Math March Madness

As many of you know I went to the University of Waterloo for Math. Every year there is a math alumni event in Toronto in March (it used to be every March 14th in celebration of Pi day, you know 3.14 - those crazy mathies). Well, last night was the annual event. I am so glad I took this morning off work.

As usual there was a pool tournament. A couple of years ago the event was held at Vinnie's and I made it to the final game after beating Dean Alan (the Dean of Math at Waterloo). Last year I was asked by our Alumni coordinator Pat if I would help run the tournament. Of course! Unfortunately, I was knocked out the first round. If I remember correctly it was by the Dean.

This year, I was once again asked to help with the tournament and of course I said yes again. And once again I was knocked out first round. This time by Ian (who won the tournament last year). Next year, I have to remember to write out the pool rules that we are going to use PRIOR to the event. Every year I forget that I will be asked this question and that the 'real' pool players will be upset with whatever 'easy' rules we choose. We need to choose a couple of easy rules so that the 'non' pool players always know what's going on.

Unfortunately, because I'm running around getting everyone playing I don't get to chat as much as I would like (and you know how much I like to chat). I did meet some great people and wish that I had of had longer to talk with them.

One of our rules was that if you scratch on the black you lose. Deidre (sp?) won her first game this way; then she won her second game this way; I believe the third win was the same to put her in the semi-final. But as you can see below she was doing quite well in the semi-final against Jamie:

My friend Tim was also doing quite well and then he was pitted against Tom (who is also Deirdre's friend). Apparently Tom was taking a page out of Deirdre's play book because he was trying to play the most defensive pool game ever. Tim actually sank more of Tom's balls because Tom was just trying to hook the eight every shot. It was very crazy.

Then the evening gets a little hazy. I know Tim ended up in the final. (Tom's tactic didn't quite work out for him). But, I can't remember if it was Jamie or Deirdre against Tim. You know they look so similar :) Either way, Tim won (yeah!).

Ian (our winner from last year) won a painting of the Waterloo campus that he really wanted to win last year. So, that was good.

Tim, Ian and I stuck around to play pool for awhile. There was a guy from Chicago, Kevin, at the bar that was wondering what was the deal with all the math and so I invited him to play pool with us (unfortunately, he ended up with me as a partner).

I played extremely badly last night and definitely need to get out and practice (the last time I played was probably back in December). I finally got myself home on the bus by around 2am. I just caught the last bus back to Mississauga. I think it took me over an hour and half at that time of night. I should really check the bus schedules before I head downtown.

A great time appeared to be had by all and I can't wait for next year! Note to self: write out the rules prior to going downtown.

Brother Blog

Jason now has a blog as well and I can keep track of his crazy day to day life. Please check it out: http://gollumullog.livejournal.com/

This weekend I cleaned up the motorcycle and had it out on the road. Saturday night was not so fun. It was cold and rainy, but I didn't have to beg for a ride. Which was very nice.

The reason for taking the motorcycle out in the cold and rain was because it was my friend Tim's birthday. I couldn't miss that. Actually, I had forgotten that I did need a rental car for one last weekend. I was putting away my hockey equipment and realized that I had one last hockey skating class. So, I called the rental company and they said they would call me back when they were on their way to pick me up. I waited and nothing. They didn't even call back on Monday to apologize for forgetting about me. I believe this was a fluke since they are normally very good about getting me a car every weekend. I am now carless until mid May when hockey starts again on Wednesdays.

Back to the party. Tim's birthday was alot of fun. Wow, I didn't recognize the house. There were actual curtains on the windows (I love you Tim, but your house had that crack house look to it), not a sheet in the window. His new girlfriend Jen is definitely a good influence.

Skating at the ACC

Okay, I went skating at the ACC. Do I remember to take my camera? Of course not! So, no pictures of me at centre ice. It was still alot of fun. I was amazed at how bad the ice is and how small the ice is.

Lisa hasn't been skating since she was around 15, so that was interesting. Actually, she did great and seemed to really enjoy it. I'm hoping she will join me at some public skates in the future. It's funny, when we were in university together I remember her telling me that her mom thought she should learn how to skate so that she could go skating with her friends. Lisa brought this up when we were out on the ice on Saturday. Well, it took awhile, but there was actually an event where it would have been good to have skating ability.

Our final playoff game was this past weekend as well. We lost 4-0. I still had fun and it was a great season. The summer season starts in a month and a half. I don't know what I'll do in the meantime :)

St. Paddy's Day

Well, another St. Patricks Day has come and gone. Another year to recover from drinking green beer. I may have my picture in one of the Toronto papers today. Some guy was taking pictures for the Sun (I believe, it was loud at the bar) while I was dancing. He wrote down my name and then another woman asked me some questions about why I chose to celebrate at Failte.

Julia and I met up with Tim, Jen and Jerome at around 12:30 at the bar and it was already packed. It was difficult getting a table! Julia and I left around 10:00pm. I am at work today (yes, Saturday) and boy do I feel rough. No more green beer!

The band (Kitchen Party) was excellent as always and the dancers were amazing. Failte has Irish dancers come in throughout the day, which is so cool.

Tonight I'm heading downtown to go skating with Lisa at the ACC. Some media promotion, I'm so excited.

On March 4th, my friend Annie got married. Congratulations! A good time was had by all. The reception was beautiful and the food was amazing. Annie's husband is Greek, so we actually got to do some Greek dancing, so much fun.

Single Girl

No more Bryan (and for those of you that were unsure - no more Ricardo, either). I'm dateless again, but used to it, so no biggy.

I've been watching the Olympics non stop and love how well the Women's Hockey team is doing.

I rented (well Zipped - zip.ca is awesome) Crash, the third movie up for best picture at the Oscars. It was really well done. Definitely makes you think, I highly recommend watching this one. It's not a happy movie and I think there was only one character I actually liked, but I think that was the point. I still want to see 'Good night and Good luck' and 'Walk the Line'. I'm really not fussy on seeing 'Munich'. Maybe this weekend.

(Okay, I'm back - I actually wrote all of that a couple of weeks ago. Probably around Valentine's Day since that is when Bryan and I broke up.)

I've seen Walk the Line now and wow, was it great. Joaquin is so damn hot. I definitely recommend this movie. In my opinion it should have been up for best picture over Capote. Philip Seymour Hoffman was amazing as Capote and the movie was good. But, I didn't think the overall movie was as good as Walk the Line.

Tonight I am off to see Good Night and Good Luck with Lisa. Then on Sunday I'll be all excited to find out who won. I will be at hockey during the beginning of the show. But, I just picked up my new PVR so I can start watching from the beginning as soon as I get home. I'm so excited.

I'm off to my friend Annie's wedding tomorrow. I'm sure she will look beautiful. And I suspect from all the planning I've heard that it will be a great reception.

Last weekend I headed to London to see my family (well part at least, Dad, Sue and Rach). And to check out their new hottub. Oh, I want one for my very own (but, will have to settle for the one at my gym). It was a really great, relaxing weekend. Lots of Olympics to watch and much sleeping on the couch!

Books for this week included Enchantment by Orson Scott Card. Everytime I read one of his books, they blow me away. If you get a chance I highly recommend this one. Especially if you have ever read any Russian Fairy Tales. Currently, I'm reading Blue Gold: The Battle Against Corporate Theft of the World's Water. This book is making me extremely depressed, but definitely opening my eyes. North Americans waste more water than any other group of people. Come on people conserve that water, it is not even close to unlimited. More on this book later, when I'm done.

So, before I sign off here are my Oscar picks:

Best Picture and Director: Brokeback Mountain
Best Actor: Phillip Seymour Hoffman
Best Actress: Reese Witherspoon
Best Supporting Actor: Jake Gyllenhal - but I don't think he will win :(
Best Supporting Actress: well, I don't really care. I only saw two of the performances and they were good, but didn't blow me away
Best Original Screenplay: Crash
Best Adapted Screenplay: Brokeback Mountain