Camping!

Tomorrow morning at the unknown hour of 5:00, Dan and I will be leaving to drive to Kelowna to camp with our families for a couple of weeks. Today's interview went pretty well so hopefully I get onto the short list for the last round of interviews. That should happen sometime in my second week at Wiigs (the campground we stay at in Kelowna) so I may have to fly back to come to the interview. Hopefully it'll turn out to be worth it. Well, I'd better get what little sleep I can tonight, we have a long day of driving ahead of us.

Happy Birthday Mom

Today was my mom's birthday so Happy Birthday and many happy returns to the day. I attempted a cake but had a little problem stacking it so it's a little crooked. That also made icing it real fun. The other problem I had was that the icing just kept getting soaked into the top of the cake (it's one of those fluffy pudding cake mixes) and so for a while it looked like a moldy sponge. I had to make extra icing to cover the top after it was done soaking in a bunch. So, not the best looking cake but it sure tastes good and that's what matters right?

On a totally different note, I have an interview at a place called Deloitte this afternoon in Edmonton. I'm not going to hold my breath on getting the job (though I sure would like it) but the experience will be good and it's nice to finally know that at least one company thinks I can write a cover letter and resume and fit into some job description. Well, wish me luck.

What a beautiful day

Wow today was (is still) hot out. I went golfing this morning and what a beautiful day to be out on the course. A little hot at the end of the round but I can handle the sun anytime in place of rain. I think it must have been the weather, but I shot a lot better too today than on Father's Day. I think I'll have to hit the range again sometime before this Saturday's golf and BBQ afternoon that I'm putting together. Let me know if you want in. Well, off to read a book in the hammock in the sun.

Two Great Movies

Ok, so I'm going to bed right after I post this. In the last week I've seen two of the best movies in theatres that I've seen all year so far: Mr. and Mrs. Smith and Batman Begins.

First off, Mr. and Mrs. Smith is a great action movie that is actually quite subtle (if an action movie can be that) in a lot of ways. I thoroughly enjoyed it and suggest that anyone who likes any kind of action type movie at all goes out and sees it. It doesn't hurt that Angelina Jolie is in it (so hot)...and Brad Pitt for the ladies.

Next I went to see Batman Begins. Now I know that a lot of people have been pretty hard on the Batman movies so far...and rightfully so in a lot of ways. I personally don't mind any of the Batman movies so far but this one blows the rest out of the water. It does such a great job of introducing and explaining the Batman character in an interesting and exciting way. And as far as I know, is more true to the original comics and graphic novels than any of the other movies.

So go see Batman Begins and Mr. and Mrs. Smith...you'll probably like them. And if you don't, then you just wouldn't know a good movie if it slapped you in the face :)

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to all the dad's, grandpa's, and every other kind of father out there. I spent the afternoon golfing with my dad...too bad we both played pretty horrible. At least it was a nice day. A little bit of a odd thing happened during the round though. When we were on hole 5 the course marshal came up and said that if the horn blew we were supposed to stop play immediately and get off the course. Usually this is for thunderstorms but since there was no cloud in the sky we couldn't figure out what it was supposed to be for. We were told it was because the river was overflowing and the campground was being evacuated. If the river rose much more, the golf course would also have to be evacuated. Fortunately that didn't happen and the amount that the river rose, while quite a bit (over 2 feet in 1 hour apparently), it didn't end up doing any serious damage...in Devon anyway. A little bit of excitement and confusion added to the normal round of golf. Well, I'm off to bed pretty quick here because I have to get up early to go to the gym. Have to get in shape for waterskiing and the like.

Grad Pictures

Here's a few pictures from Wednesday's grad posted below...

And just as another tidbit, I'm going to try and start posting a few more pictures now that I seem to have that figured out.

Don't I look scholarly in the cap and gown?

Gold Medal winner Adam and I

Mom, Dad, and I

And Congratulations!

I'm sorry, in my rush to post the day's events so I could get some stuff done before going to bed, I neglected to really say anything about/to my fellow classmates.

So to all the class of 2005, not just in Science, not just at the U of A but everywhere...CONGRATULATIONS!!

All of that hard work and the years of learning and growing have finally culminated into one very expensive (and incredibly valuable) piece of paper. Just remember that learning comes with the journey and not as a result of the destination...and this isn't the destination, it is only the beginning of another journey (or a new branch of the same one). Life has only begun and the real world awaits.

David Beck: BSc, Specialization in Computing Science...

...with a Business Minor and Industrial Internship. Or at least that's what my diploma reads!! I got my degree today!

The day started out with a Faculty of Science Convocation Breakfast at the Shaw Conference centre where we had some speeches, breakfast (obviously), and a few awards were handed out. My friend Adam (who also was valedictorian of my high school grad class) got the Dean's Gold Medal for Specialization in Science. Congrats Adam! I also got to see and talk to Jim Hoover, the professor I was a TA for in the last semester so that was good as well.

After some pictures at the Shaw after breakfast, we headed to the mall to get me some new dress shoes. We then drove back to the university to pick up my "graduate apparel" and get ready for the afternoon's festivities. I also picked up a frame for my diploma and ordered a grad ring (thanks Mom and Dad!). The ceremony was pretty long and at times a little bit boring but there were some good people around me to talk to and it was good to see some people that I haven't seen for a while.

When all the pomp and circumstance was finished, we went outside for some more pictures and eventually made our way to Joey Tomatoe's Mediterranean Grill. It was delicious. After a long and tiring day we finally got back home just before 10:00, 14 hours after we left home in the morning.

I just want to thank everyone who helped me through my university studies, and helped me get to university in the first place. All the support and help I received means a lot to me. Thank you all!