simra.net Doing stuff since 1973

I haven't posted much about the Nathani-Sim household lately. I took the last week off to enjoy an extended spring break with the family. No plans, except to take it easy. Unfortunately, we call caught this virus and while three of us are recovered Sasha is still struggling (which means restless nights for us all, and explains why I'm blogging at 3am). That hasn't stopped us from having fun- last weekend Maya and I went skiing where she accomplished riding the towrope on her own. This was followed by the purchase of a new digital piano. We managed to avoid getting suckered in to the $1500 Rolands at the music store and are pleased as punch with our $300 Casio from Costco, which, believe it or not, has weighted keys. We also picked up this this fantastic book for teaching kids piano, which is loads of fun, comes with a CD, and doesn't require any musical knowledge on the part of the teacher. Even Sasha has been getting into the musical groove with her little head-bobbing dance. It's so great having a musical instrument in the house again- my guitar is still in storage.

Other new things: Maya's also been filling her days with new pottery classes and this morning I introduced her to the basics of gravity and conservation of momentum via Line Rider ;-) . Later, I took her to the UBC rink for public skating. They have nice training frames for beginning skaters, which work *so* much better than the pylons they have at the Kits rink- it was our first time out this year and Maya was blasting around on her own in a couple minutes.

These are definitely the best aspects of parenthood- really engaging with your child's enthusiasm for learning new things. I'm looking forward to these last two days off.

It's been a while, but I got an email this week that reminded me that it's worthwhile. Here goes:

1. Paper reviews. There, I've said it. For the past 7 years I've hated doing reviews, put them off, dreaded them, etc. Now that I'm free of academics I actually really enjoy doing reviews- it keeps me up to date and reminds me that I still know what I'm talking about when I ask for a noise analysis and some indication of originality. I've just peeled off a bunch for CRV and RSS. [ This should not be construed as an invitation for review requests, nor should anyone think I've changed my strategy of putting off the review until I get the 'gentle reminder'. ;-) ]

2. I mentioned the great weather 'round here already. Almost time for cherry blossoms.

3. My youngest. Going through the pics we snapped this weekend- she's only 13 months but she's got the most amazing appetite for spontaneous fun and a well-developed sense of humour. Her latest trick is to do down-dog and laugh hysterically when you stick her face between her feet- and then laugh even harder after she reaches back and sticks her fingers up your nose. She's a diamond in the rough. :-)

I was hoping to compose a longer post tonight but, alas, jetlag has got the better of me. All the same, I'm grateful tonight for the opportunities this past year to connect with old friends and new, and for my wonderful family.

Peace and happiness to one and all in the coming year.

Today I'm grateful for my beautiful wife. Fifteen years ago today Nisha and I got together at a Halloween party in Molson Hall. It's hard to believe it's been this long, but I can't wait to see what the next 15 years brings. Thanks, Nish, for making my life so wonderful. I love you Sunshine. XO

Things I'm grateful for today:

• My brother. It's his birthday. :-)
• My high school teachers. I've been meaning to post this for some time- every once in a while I get to reflecting about where I came from and how I got from there to here. Although there were several really great teachers, three from Richmond Hill High School circa 1990-92 stand out for me:

• Dale Matsushige: music. Steve Jobs was once quoted as saying that all the best programmers he knew were musicians. While unfortunately I didn't keep up the sax, music remains an important part of my life. Mrs. Mastushige was our music teacher and, apart from keeping us honest, she demonstrated the value of pursuing your passions.
• Tom Eschle: math. I had Mr Eschle for most of my senior math classes. I mean, really, where would I be without calculus and linear algebra?
• Jim Harris: business/accounting. The thing about Mr. Harris is that he was the kind of guy who gave you the confidence to take on challenges right out at the limits of your abilities. Even though I was (and am) a total spaz, he always had a supportive go-get-'em attitude.

... so my gratitude goes out to these three, not to mention all the other great teachers from the time the school was still on Wright St. Those were good times. :-) If you went to RHHS, who were your major influences?

Three things I'm grateful for:

• A dusting of snow on Grouse Mountain. The clouds parted for a few hours yesterday to reveal that fall has definitely taken hold.
• My new ipod shuffle, which my father-in-law sent me to replace my busted 20-gigger. It's nice to have some music back in my commute.
• http://forestwisdom.thaipulse.com/ -- Gary left a comment on one of my old posts and I hadn't been to his blog in some time. He's got some exceptional posts on the situation in Burma from a Buddhist perspective.

http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?playlistId=1...

Tonight I'm grateful for Spirit of the West. I can't count the number of weddings I've been to where Home for a Rest brought the house down. Linked: ITMS link to Tripping up the Stairs. Take a moment to sample the first track, An Honest Gamble, from their early days as Celtic Folk-Rockers. Brings back great memories of my freshman year.

Tonight I'm grateful for

• a chance to get out and see friends, and a great Fringe play, to boot. It's all about game theory. ;-)
• the rolling hills of 4th Ave thru Kitsilano late at night. Driving home reminded me of how I felt when I first moved here- the overwhelming sense of geography in this place can wane with time but every once it a while it catches you by surprise.
• My eldest, who is excited to be learning French.
• Six fantastic months at Braintech as of today. I never imagined I could enjoy work this much.

A little dose of G:

• My best man, Ravi is married. The wedding was a blast.
• My ticker, which keeps on ticking. Rav's bachelor party was a pre-festivity game of hoops. I haven't played basketball for at least 8 years, but it only took a couple minutes to get back into the game. I was never a good player, but I played a lot better than I expected.
• Settling back into the work routine, and enjoying the free video from the website of the best cable channel in the universe. Showcase is by far the most daring of Canada's mainstream cable channels. Check out the first episode of Trailer Park Boys. Television gold.

http://integral-options.blogspot.com/2007/08/gratitude-83007-integral-ap...

In his daily gratitude post, Integral Options discusses why gratitude is good for you...

Today I'm grateful for a chance this long weekend to go to the big smog, (T.O.) for a friend's wedding. You know who you are... :-)

I have way too many things to be grateful for tonight, but here's a quick rundown.

In the category of four things I got right today:

• Get down with some metta action, yo! I used my bus ride home from work to take some deep breaths and exercise my good-will neurons. The ride through Stanley Park helped keep it serene. I've found that although there are rarely any immediate effects, over the next 24 hours I usually feel a lot happier and more relaxed. So far so good...
• Get rid of worry. I've had a few things piling up at work and they kept buzzing in and out of my head on my way home. I could feel the creeping anxiety that I would forget them tomorrow, so as soon as I got home I plugged off a TODO email to myself and let it go. Worries resolved.
• Break the rules. Our building is horseshoe shaped with a little courtyard in the middle. Maya's befriended some of the kids in the building and they've been playing ball-tag. I joined them after dinner tonight to blow off some extra steam, and soon we had a small crowd of kids and dads making a lot of noise. Ordinarily, I'd feel pretty self-conscious in that situation, and I'd definitely be beside myself that someone would come out and shut us up. Tonight, though, I said "Bring it on!" and we had a blast until a neighbour obliged and came out to give us a piece of his mind. Good on him, too, for confronting us- we politely agreed that it was time to mellow out and the game petered out a few minutes later.
• Express some gratitude. Right here, right now. :-)

... and in the category of good listening...

• The fine sounds of Jesca Hoop, my latest find on Critical Metrics. Check out Intelligentactile 101.

This morning I'm grateful for

• Exercise. For three years or so my weight-control method of choice has been a healthy dose of stress and moderate amounts of sleep deprivation. Now that I'm not so stressed out I've got to figure out how to keep this engine running, so this morning I went for my first run in a very long time. It was encouraging to discover that I'm actually not in such bad shape- walking to and from the bus every day must help.
• UBC campus, which offers the best running routes of any city I've ever lived in.
• Living more with less. With the exception of our clothes, beds, a chair, a coffee table, some cushions, and some kitchen stuff, all of our things have been in storage for the past month. Suddenly, our apartment is so spacious, it takes only 10 minutes to clean the kitchen, and with only one laptop between Nish and I we're forced to actually spend time with each other. :-) Occasionally I miss my roller-blades (see above), and the Vancouver labour dispute has closed the libraries, making reading material tough to come by. In any case, we're enjoying the realization that we can do without most of the detritus we've accumulated over the years.

... off to work!

WH over at Integral Options Cafe sets a great example with his daily gratitude post. I can't quite keep up but I can put in a solid effort. :-)

• Music seems to be the theme this week. I'm still loving Critical Metrics which dishes up plenty of fantastic free music, and makes my working day a little bit brighter.
• This little fan-made video of Roscoe by Midlake, just one great tune I found on CM.
  
• Whatever strange source of energy has helped me function daily on less and less sleep. At some point it will be payback time, but for now I'm feeling great and enjoying life.

http://www.boingboing.net/2007/08/16/perry_farrell_yawn.html

Combining two posts into one tonight- first, a review of the new improved Perry Farrell and his band Satellite Party. Mike Breen laments that Perry's lost his edge. See, this is what happens to artists when they get too happy. :-)

And for that I'm grateful- Jane's Addiction was surely one of the most important and influential bands of the 90's and Ritual de lo Habitual still resonates with me (although listening to Stop! makes me cringe- what song apart from Teen Spirit better represents the commercial explosion of alternative music?). I'm happy for Perry that he managed to survive those years with his health and sanity intact, and doubly glad to hear that he's singing songs with the F-word to kids. Rock-on, Perry. ;-)

Here's Three Days for old time's sake:

Today I'm grateful for this little piece of dharma:
The greatest achievement is selflessness.
The greatest worth is self-mastery.
The greatest quality is seeking to serve others.
The greatest precept is continual awareness.
The greatest medicine is the emptiness of everything.
The greatest action is not conforming with the world's ways.
The greatest action is transmuting the passions.
The greatest generosity is non-attachment.
The greatest goodness is a peaceful mind.
The greatest patience is humility.
The greatest effort is not concerned with results.
The greatest meditation is a mind that lets go.
The greatest wisdom is seeing through appearances.
Atisha

Today's my birthday. I'm officially older than You-Know-Who.

Tonight I'm grateful for all the truly wonderfully fantastic things in my life-

• my beautiful wife and children,
• reconnecting with long-lost friends on Facebook,
• my extended family on the other side of the country,
• my new-found enthusiasm for life, the universe and everything. I've taken some strange turns the past few years but I'm feeling like a 20-year-old again. Ok, maybe just a really lazy 20-year-old.

and the simple things, too

• gently bouncing Sasha to sleep the past two nights,
• a birthday breakfast at the Naam,
• crossing the Lion's Gate every day on my way to work (and letting the chauffeur drive so I can enjoy the view.)
• and last but not least, my fantastic job. Even tho' the jetlagged kids dragged me out of bed at 5 this morning, I came home from work more energized than when I left the house.

Let's end the night on a positive note, shall we?

Tonight I'm grateful for:

• Our new digs in our old neighbourhood. After a month's absence we've (I've for now) moved back to UBC campus. I'm so glad to be back here out at the end of Pt Grey.
• Our long-time friends in the neighbourhood- I had help moving in from Kevin Murphy and his stepsons today, and spent the night playing Uno with a crowd of UBC/SFU profs from double-E.
• That Nish and the girls are coming home in a little over 24 hours. I've missed them so much!

A little dose of gratitude. Tonight I'm grateful:

• for Zencast.
• That I've had the gift of time the past few weeks to really dive into some great on-line content. ... and the fact that Google Reader makes it so much easier to zero in on the good stuff.
• For J.K. Rowling's wonderful imagination. :-)
• For my small but growing readership (you), without whom there would be no joy in blogging- just a voice in the wind. Don't forget to subscribe!

William Harryman has a daily gratitude post over at Integral Options and I'd like to take him up on his question- what are you grateful for?

Just came back to Dave's from a rare night out- went to improv and watched the fireworks- I'm incredibly grateful for this great city, great friends, and a chance to enjoy them. I'm also incredibly grateful for my wonderful family, who are all 3300kms away. I've only been away for 36 hours and I miss them already. I'll throw one last tip of the hat to the Beastie Boys for a great tune. ;-)