Can't get me down when I'm up...

Today I am sick. I was kind of sick yesterday and only a little bit the day before. Today, I shouldn't be at work but I am...for now. I'm supposed to be in course at the moment but our instructor is stuck on the Deerfoot (aka The Parking Lot) so we have a bit of time to catch up on a few things. So yes, I'm not feeling great today, etting a puck in the mouth yesterday didn't help either, but I'm still in high spirits. Why?

Her name is Noel.

I've been up in Edmonton the past three weekends in a row is I'd be lying if I said it wasn't to see her. I've know her for a long time (lifeguarded with her in Nanton back in the day) but hadn't seen her in a few years until the November long weekend. She's just started engineering at the U of A and had a few questions about what a real engineer does (like I know). I was coming up to Edmonton anyway so I suggested we get together for a beer to talk. It was a good night and she's been on my mind pretty much ever since. Sorry to say that this will be her one and only semester in engineering (guess I didn't do that good of a job convincing her). Actually, she's switching over to science with the plan to get into medicine as soon as she can. I think she's doing the right thing.

She is also how I ended up at my 5th straight Bar None two weekends ago. Great Aggie party put on at the Agricom. I always look forward to it because it's finally a chance to get out and two-step the whole night. I do enjoy other kinds of dance but not nearly as much as spinning a girl around the floor. Noel had never two-stepped but thankfully (for her) she's a quick learner. You wouldn't normaly think that over an evening where you're drinking you dancing would steadily improve (and not just in your own head). I saw quite a few old friends there too. Sadly, I lost the ass-grabbing competition. Guess there's always next year.

I will be taking a bit of a break from Edmonton this coming weekend. Instead there will be 9 of us heading out for the opening weekend at Kicking Horse in Golden, BC. I've never been to the mountain but with 215cm of fresh snow last week...I think I'm going to like it.

Okay, still time to grab another coffee, wash my hands for the 10th time this morning, and get back up to my 3-day-long "Regulatory Awareness" course. Wish me luck...I'm going to need it today.