Busy days and short nights

What can I say, midterm season has been going on, as well as a bunch of dues, since I had the "intelligence" of putting all my dues in mid-semester rather than later. What this means is that crunch time is right now, not in mid to end november.

Anyways, let's talk about interesting stuff: X-mas plans!
What are you guys up to? Last year we had a great time partying at Janine's place, although this year it might be quite different. We might go out for dinner and a party, or do something smaller at my place, or something different altogether.

I certainly hope Bourgui, Natalie, Marcel, Janine and I will be all together, and if some of you guys are jealous or just want in, you know you're always welcome here :)

Oh, I also received a message from Stuart Armstrong and he probably will be in Quebec around that timeframe, so he might be with us too.

That's it for today!
Ciao,
Karim

Dinner and a board game - or how to have a great evening

Yesterday evening, we were invited by Janine's mom to have dinner at their place. As usual, the food was amazing and the company even better. There was fattoush - a lebanese salad, beef shawarma, falafel, home-made pizza, and more. Let's just say that good times were had by all and no one left the table without feeling like they were going to burst.

After a quick respite, desert was served, including some kind of apple pastry that was delicious (wrapped in thin crunchy layers of pastry), a chocolate cake and a coffee cake. Again, everything was home-made by my future mother in law, and everything was delicious. There also was a nice platter of mixed fruits, as well as Turkish coffee to help ease the digestion.

After all that eating, we just had to relax and end the evening on a board game. This time, Settlers of Catan were enjoyed by all, and although we hadn't completed the game yet, it was the team of Janine and yours truly who was ahead when we adjourned.

My collection of board games have expanded to include a few classics, such as Carcassonne and Alhambra and more. We alternate between them, and although they are all enjoyed by everyone, Settlers of Catan remains the most desired game of them all. Since I have introduced everyone to gaming with it and it's the one that has the most interactions between players, it has earned a special place in our heart.

I'll leave the list of games as well as their strengths and weaknesses to another time, so I don't gobble all my content in one humongous post.

That's it for today's update, I have to get back to work now.
Have a happy Canadian Thanksgiving (this Monday)!
Karim

What's new today?

I had a presentation yesterday with a strong team of individuals. As always in group work, especially when working with opinionated people, it makes for interesting times in meetings. The good thing is that we're able to find a good place to be and I've been able to smooth things out when it looks like some people are getting upset.
End result: we got a 90% on our presentation, which feels quite nice :)
The next couple of weeks are very busy, and I really shouldn't be posting here right now :p
At least I type fast hehehe
That's it for today!
Ciao,
Karim