Archive for November, 2007
We had our first substantial and lasting snow on Tuesday. It's been cold all week so we still have nice powder on the ground, and the weather forecast is for another snow storm this weekend (which should get the ski resort open). Tuesday morning I woke up to 7 inches of snow and both our vehicles without snow tires. After a valiant attempt to keep my car on the road, I decided that driving without snow tires is suicidal, and worked from home. Lesson learned: get the snow tires on before Thanksgiving.
Two nights ago Kayla and I went out for some night skiing in our back yard and the woods behind our house. We both bought new sets of cross country skis at the end of last year's season, so this was the first time she got to try her new pair. The snow was perfect. To top off the night we went sledding down the hill a couple of times. I love winter in north Idaho!
Tomorrow is my last class session before Christmas break. We don't reconvene until the second week in January. I think I'm ready for a holiday. School has been very invigorating and very tiring as well. I'm hoping I can use some of my free time in December to come up with a topic for my thesis.
November 30th, 2007
In the past Thanksgiving has been a time to see family and experience the typical flurry of holiday activity. This year, both sets of parents are out of town and we had a quiet meal at home in Bonners Ferry. It was very nice, especially in contrast to the busy and sometimes stressful events of the last few months.
We started the day off with a community football game at the park. Miraculously, no one was injured, and despite not having played football for about two years, I completed several passes (and was foiled once by an interception). Nadine played her first and probably last American football game, which she characterized as "boring". I had to agree with the assessment. American football is strongest as a game of strategy and fast, short bursts of activity. However, the constant stopping and starting, with most of the game spent standing around, gets a little tiresome. I still stand firmly behind the opinion that soccer is the noblest of sports, but that is mostly based on the fact that I am horrible at other popular athletic activities (read basketball, baseball and football). Soccer is suited to my physical style: lots of running requiring deep endurance, plus constant vigilance and foresight in terms of strategy. I like the fact that soccer is a fluid game in which offensive and defensive moves continue in a steady stream, with little letup in the action. In contrast, football does seem a bit dull.
This morning we took the family on a hike up to Myrtle Creek and the small dam that provides our town's water supply. It was about 18 degrees when we set out, probably the coldest morning we've seen this season. Everyone was bundled up, including Madeleine in her pink snowsuit. The boys and Uncle Matthew broke the ice in every puddle on the way to the dam, and had a good time seeing who would be the first to break the creek ice with a rock. Nadine has been making holiday wreaths and we spent some time collecting materials so she can sell some wreaths at the upcoming craft fair.
This evening we went downtown for the arrival of Santa Claus. He pulled up to the curb in a firetruck and all the kids lined up for a chance to meet the big man. I sang a few songs with our quintet (quartet tonight... one person couldn't make it). I had to take off my gloves to work the pitch pipe and turn pages, and after only four songs my fingers were numb. Luckily we went to the library afterward and warmed up. Our community choir performance is coming up, and Kayla and I have a duet in one of the songs. This is the first year she's been able to join the choir and it's been fun singing with her.
Tomorrow it's back to life as usual... I have homework to finish and lots of projects around the house. The holiday has been good while it lasted.
November 23rd, 2007
Yesterday I realized that the comments feature isn't working on this site. Users were getting a SQL error when attempting to post comments. I believe I've fixed the issue and for the five people who actually read this blog, you can now post comments!
November 12th, 2007
My first semester of grad school is drawing to a close, and it's been the most hectic three months of my entire life. I guess I shouldn't complain, since it has also been very enjoyable, but I am looking forward to a vacation. This week I am working with my team to finish up our semester integrative project. We present that on Friday and then our last class session is the week after Thanksgiving.
Currently the biggest dilemma regarding my MBA program is choosing a topic for my thesis / final project. My current ideas are pretty vague, with words like "technology", "international", and "non-profit" floating about with little in the way of actual plans. This is becoming a problem, since I need to have any travel scheduled by January or February in order to have time over the summer to actually work on the thesis. I'm finding that an executive MBA is a little more challenging in the sense that I don't have three months for a huge internship in the summer. This restricts the kinds of topics I can choose, since any really involved research I do has to be stuffed into two weeks of vacation from my job.
Back in August when I brainstormed over possible topics, I realized that if a foreign language was going to be part of the experience, it would have to be Russian. My French is too shaky for even intermediate business terminology, and would require a heavy commitment in time to get up to snuff. My Russian, which I haven't actively spoken since a research trip in 2001, had accumulated some serious cobwebs, but I knew that the grammar and vocabulary were buried somewhere, just waiting to be brought back to light. The problem was finding a tutor. When Kayla and I were planning our vacation to France, I hired a Belgian friend to come to our house and work with me for about two months prior to the trip. This time, I resorted to the Internet. The results have been encouraging. Each week I have a 45-minute lesson with a tutor I found through VerbalPlanet.com. For seven euro per lesson, she works me through the painful process of remembering a language I once spoke more or less fluently. We use Skype to talk for free and she posts a list of vocabulary to review each week. After about ten lessons I can finally converse without stumbling on every word, and feel reasonably confident that by the summer I will be back in decent shape. Assuming, of course, that I end up doing anything related to Russian.
November 11th, 2007
Here are some photos from this month. Jeremiah had his birthday and we've enjoyed lots of hiking as the weather has cooled and there's less to do in the garden. No snow yet... check back at Thanksgiving!
November 4th, 2007
