So I'm back to school and it has hit me like a ton of bricks. This is going to probably be the busiest semester for me ever. It was busy back in first and second year, but I'm going to have to work even harder than I did then. So hang on tight. Get ready for late nights, long days and plenty of tea, coffee, and my new found friend, Dark Dog energy drink. God bless it.

Well, we got back from Vancouver again last night. It was a great time just driving, seeing some of Vancouver, going to a great show. It's nice sometimes to just be on the road, away from home. You think that perhaps you can be a different person for a while, although that doesn't really happen.

So I did a road trip the last few days down to Spokane, Seattle, Vancouver and back home to Calgary. I went with two friends from Engineering for a scavenger hunt which was a part of the forthcoming Engg Week 2004. We had a great time seeing some new scenery, collecting some interesting things, driving through storms and icy roads, meeting plenty of homeless guys and spending time with friends new and old. A great time was had by all. Now time to get ready for the next trip back to Vancouver in only 5 days time. Crazy.

I think that perhaps I have not really been Canadian until last night. For the first time, I really know what it is to live in this cold, cold land. My roommate and I went skating at the Bowness pond for about an hour or so. It was quite cold though at about -25 degrees celcius. There was a good fire pit there that you could warm up your face and hands at every few minutes if need be, but it didn't really do all that much for my feet. I could feel them getting numb, and then had trouble feeling them for a while. I decided it was time for us to go when the balls and heels of my feet were starting to get cold as well as my toes. When I got home, my toes were numb for a quite a while. In fact, about two or three hours later, part of my big toe on the right foot was still numb, and the parts of it that weren't numb were hurting with a dull sort of pain. I guess I got pretty bad frostbite on the tip of that toe. It is still just as sore today.

I don't know all the implications of this just yet, but I think it may be possible that I never have feeling in the tip of that toe again. Hopefully it doesn't turn black or fall off or something crazy like that.

Oh, and the trip home was about 106 songs long.

I'm back from the Dids and also Vancouver where I've been for a few days for Crusade's Winter Conference. I've got a few days now to recoup and do a bit of work before heading out on the road again for road trip for Engineering Week at school. I've still got some journaling and recap to do about all my experiences the last week or two. Maybe I'll post some of them here after I get them out of my head. It was great to be in Vancouver again. I can't wait to get back there again in a couple of weeks. Oh, and the drive is a great with all its mountains and snowy trees. I hadn't driven to Vancouver for years.