Tales From the Milk Drinker

From UNB Mech Eng and all around good guy Paul Lapointe, aka "Good Paul" (as opposed to bad Paul). He's alive and well and working as an engineer in the Fredericton Area.

I found these out there in the vast world of the interweb. Pretty funny in my opinion.

Could people please comment and say (if you are a student OR were a student) how many hours per day average you work on school work. For the purposes please include hours spent in class. If you're shy leave your comment annonomously.

For those who transferred to the working world from school - do you find you spend more hours on work than you did school, the same or less?

I propose that about 40 hours a week is healthy and normal. Something that distrubs me is when students cut sleep out to work. I don't think that is healthy.

I wish to publically announce that I am impressed with the service I've recieved from the University of Waterloo Housing and Residence Services.

I'm living in a 4 bedroom townhouse residence which is, in 99% of cases, reserved especially for graduate students. Thinking back this is the first place I've lived in my university career where there was absolutely no bullshit from the landlord about unpaid rent (when it was actually paid), late payments (when it was paid on the specific date they asked for), lost cheques, unpayed damage deposits and damage deductions for damage the last people living there did. I just showed up and they handed over the keys and they never hastle you.

The staff just left my place now. They come every 4 weeks and scrub the hell out of the kitchen and bathroom and vaccum the floor. Service with a smile. I could eat out of my bathroom sink right now. They do an amazing job.

We also are the only residence to be offered a free ride to school on a dedicated Columbia-Lake-Village only shuttle. Sure comes in handy when you have a sore ankle like I had this week.

We even have a community center with a huge big screen tv, pingpong, pool, and laundry driers that actually get your clothes fully dry for 75 cents. They burn natural gas instead of heating with electricity so they've got a lot more punch. The community center also has a respectable library of DVD's that are free for the borrowing.

Two thumbs up for you Columbia Lake Village Staff. You're a big cut above the morons out there trying to pass themselves off as providers of fine student housing.

That week I spent in Ottawa at the ChallengeX workshop put me behind in my 2 courses but I think I'm finally getting back where I need to be.

Life is so routined and busy but I like it. I try to do schoolwork during office hours and then the nights are taken up with powerlifting 3 nights a week, and coaching special olympics one night. Me and my room mate Tim and 2 of our neighbors Jen and Amir are in the habit of going out Saturday night for food and a movie which is great - sort of a degreased version of the Fredericton friday night greasers.

Today I'm feeling an undeserved sense of accomplishment. I better not just slack off though, I've got some thermo to write up.

How many of you use www.pandora.com

Go to this website and enter the title of a song or singer/band you like. Pandora then plays a list of songs it thinks you might like based on your input. It's like a custom radio station. It's free (after you listen for so long you have to register but that basically just means giving them an email address that works).

Makes for good listening whilst you work. Try it out.

I just bought my plane ticket home for Christmas. I'll be home from the 14th till the 4th of Jan. I recommend those others planning to do so do it soon. You will already have a very restricted window of available flights do to sold outedness.

In other news I'm working pretty hard and these grad courses are tough. But I'll make it. I always do.

I signed up for anothe Powerlifting meet in Niagra Falls on January 20. Should be really fun.