Hey everybody!
You're all invited for some fresh apple strudel that yours truly made himself. It will be served hot with a side of vanilla ice cream.
:)
Yeah, I'm pretty happy with how my first apple tart worked out. Anyways, let's get to more pressing issues like New Year's. I haven't heard from Marcel at all and we need to decide what to do. Janine and I are thinking about going out this year, is that a valid option for you guys? What's your budget like for a nice party?
If we want to reserve anywhere, we're getting to the time where everything nice and affordable will be booked, so we need to move fast on this!
Email me or call me and let me know.
Ciao,
Karim
Friday, November 09, 2007
Thursday, October 25, 2007
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
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
Sunday, October 07, 2007
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
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
Wednesday, October 03, 2007
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
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
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Getting started early on October
Today was fun. I woke up late-ish (around 9AM), took my sweet time, went to a Magic tournament (new big set prerelease tournament actually), arrived 45 minutes late, built a deck in 5 minutes flat (with a friend quickly helping me sort cards), won all 4 rounds and walked out with 10 boosters of prize, a big smile on my face for a great day of fun, and some time to see Janine.
After spending some quality time w/ Janine, I am pleased to say that this was one of the most relaxed and fun days I have spent in quite some time. I missed playing and competiting at Magic and I needed to let go my projects and school stuff for some time. I accomplished all of that quite well and will have a quite busy couple of days catching up :)
Anyways, I just felt in the mood for posting so I thought I might as well do so and give some more news!
Love,
Karim
After spending some quality time w/ Janine, I am pleased to say that this was one of the most relaxed and fun days I have spent in quite some time. I missed playing and competiting at Magic and I needed to let go my projects and school stuff for some time. I accomplished all of that quite well and will have a quite busy couple of days catching up :)
Anyways, I just felt in the mood for posting so I thought I might as well do so and give some more news!
Love,
Karim
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
So what's new in September?
Hello everybody!
Kash here speaking. It's been a while since I actually posted anything with content, so let's go through a quick update of what's going on in Montreal.
1- beautiful weather in August and September! Who would have thought? Certainly not me. I'm sweating my ass off and loving every smelly moment. (ahum) Well, let's just say that winters are long and cold and I'm definitely enjoying the brief respite from the cold.
2- school's in again! Actually, between the end of the summer session and the beginning of orientation and craziness that this fall was, I had very little time for a breather. I didn't even get to see my peeps since Marcel was working hard on his thesis and Bourgui on his black belt. At least they both are doing amazing things and I got to sit around and sleep in for a week-end (Waking up at 10 AM? Woohooo!)
3- I'm doing lots of cases in my classes. As in reading quite a few pages, analyzing them and trying to get a reasonable story and recommendations out of it. It's a very intense process and I think this is what makes the MBA worthwhile. I'm also taking an entrepreneurship class and I think I could be a good one. All I need at this point is a good opportunity on which I am qualified to act (i.e. probably something to do w/ computers) :) If not, I think I can be a strong management type guy that will actually understand the techies and might even share a few common things with them
Yeah, the MBA also teaches you to do lists. How pathetic that I can't find a better way to express myself :)
Nono would probably make all of this sound exciting and mysterious.
Oh, how could I forget? The wedding date has being narrowed down to the 18th of July in the Casino du Liban in Jounieh, Lebanon. We're waiting to see on developments in Lebanon's stability before confirming anything, but if you're reading this blog, there's a good change (100% I'd say) that you'll be gettting an invite around X-mas time, so plan your summers around this if you want to come!
As I already said, I unfortunately won't be able to provide lodging for anyone, but we an arrange for cheap accomodation nearby, especially if many people think they'll show.
All of this is still a little premature at the moment since Lebanon is not very calm and reassuring right now, but I still hope that things will be good by the summer.
That's it for my brief update, see you next month at the latest!
Love,
Karim
Kash here speaking. It's been a while since I actually posted anything with content, so let's go through a quick update of what's going on in Montreal.
1- beautiful weather in August and September! Who would have thought? Certainly not me. I'm sweating my ass off and loving every smelly moment. (ahum) Well, let's just say that winters are long and cold and I'm definitely enjoying the brief respite from the cold.
2- school's in again! Actually, between the end of the summer session and the beginning of orientation and craziness that this fall was, I had very little time for a breather. I didn't even get to see my peeps since Marcel was working hard on his thesis and Bourgui on his black belt. At least they both are doing amazing things and I got to sit around and sleep in for a week-end (Waking up at 10 AM? Woohooo!)
3- I'm doing lots of cases in my classes. As in reading quite a few pages, analyzing them and trying to get a reasonable story and recommendations out of it. It's a very intense process and I think this is what makes the MBA worthwhile. I'm also taking an entrepreneurship class and I think I could be a good one. All I need at this point is a good opportunity on which I am qualified to act (i.e. probably something to do w/ computers) :) If not, I think I can be a strong management type guy that will actually understand the techies and might even share a few common things with them
Yeah, the MBA also teaches you to do lists. How pathetic that I can't find a better way to express myself :)
Nono would probably make all of this sound exciting and mysterious.
Oh, how could I forget? The wedding date has being narrowed down to the 18th of July in the Casino du Liban in Jounieh, Lebanon. We're waiting to see on developments in Lebanon's stability before confirming anything, but if you're reading this blog, there's a good change (100% I'd say) that you'll be gettting an invite around X-mas time, so plan your summers around this if you want to come!
As I already said, I unfortunately won't be able to provide lodging for anyone, but we an arrange for cheap accomodation nearby, especially if many people think they'll show.
All of this is still a little premature at the moment since Lebanon is not very calm and reassuring right now, but I still hope that things will be good by the summer.
That's it for my brief update, see you next month at the latest!
Love,
Karim
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
Summer's Zooming By
Hail oh adoring multitude who are suspended to my virtual lips (i.e. keyboard)!
Summer's almost over, at least as far as the MBA is concerned. A couple more weeks and I'll be done w/ the stupid classes and start getting ready for September and the real challenge. Although I must say that summer classes are necessary for me to graduate in May 2008 (if all goes well), the experience has been lesser than regular classes. The fact is the summer is split into to mini-summer sessions with a duration of 6 weeks (+ 1 exam week). This means that instead of going to each class once a week for three hours, you go twice a week.
I have taken two classes this summer. First professor's a part-timer, doesn't know the material enough to make it interesting, and gave us insane amount of work (two classes per week with a rather large due every class makes an interesting summer). He also tests on the content of the book, requiring not only reading of every chapter but also memorization of many small details that are in general irrelevant... Needless to say, that class is my least favorite so far in the program.
The other class though is the total opposite of the first one. The teacher knows his material so well he refers you to the correct pages to look at off the top of his head. He also eliminated all work, keeping only exams for this class (midterm and final). Of course, he strongly suggests doing a bunch of exercises as well as reading the material closely, but there are no formal assignments. Since this class is actually very interesting, I feel like I'm missing out on the additional content (like assignments and more readings) that he would prescribe in a regular semester.
Now that I think about it, I'm complaining about too much work in one class and not enough in the other... Either way, the coming end of the classes also reminds me of how little time is left in the Montreal summer season too, since September hails the coming of autumn in these parts. Janine and I haven't really had the chance to go out much lately, so I'm not looking forward to September...
Let's abrogate this painful story and just say that I miss you all and see you soon (in this blog, on your blogs and IRL one day).
-K
Summer's almost over, at least as far as the MBA is concerned. A couple more weeks and I'll be done w/ the stupid classes and start getting ready for September and the real challenge. Although I must say that summer classes are necessary for me to graduate in May 2008 (if all goes well), the experience has been lesser than regular classes. The fact is the summer is split into to mini-summer sessions with a duration of 6 weeks (+ 1 exam week). This means that instead of going to each class once a week for three hours, you go twice a week.
I have taken two classes this summer. First professor's a part-timer, doesn't know the material enough to make it interesting, and gave us insane amount of work (two classes per week with a rather large due every class makes an interesting summer). He also tests on the content of the book, requiring not only reading of every chapter but also memorization of many small details that are in general irrelevant... Needless to say, that class is my least favorite so far in the program.
The other class though is the total opposite of the first one. The teacher knows his material so well he refers you to the correct pages to look at off the top of his head. He also eliminated all work, keeping only exams for this class (midterm and final). Of course, he strongly suggests doing a bunch of exercises as well as reading the material closely, but there are no formal assignments. Since this class is actually very interesting, I feel like I'm missing out on the additional content (like assignments and more readings) that he would prescribe in a regular semester.
Now that I think about it, I'm complaining about too much work in one class and not enough in the other... Either way, the coming end of the classes also reminds me of how little time is left in the Montreal summer season too, since September hails the coming of autumn in these parts. Janine and I haven't really had the chance to go out much lately, so I'm not looking forward to September...
Let's abrogate this painful story and just say that I miss you all and see you soon (in this blog, on your blogs and IRL one day).
-K
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Post for the month of July
I wouldn't want to make the blog name a big lie, and I've been pretty skimpy on news like Wendy never fails to remind me :)Here are some of the promised pictures I brought with me from Lebanon. First, I think this picture goes back all the way to the 5ieme in 1992, although it could also have been during the 4ieme. Bourgui is already tall and sexy, although not quite as much as his modern handsome self. Professor Dubuis (I think) is on the right, and many other familiar faces, although some have gone over the years. On the personal level, this was the beginning of the ugly years, with way too much hair on my head, not enough gel, ugly glasses and the beginning of facial hair.
The second one is from the other extreme of high school, the Terminal year, with many more familiar faces to all of you who read this blog. Ah the joy of having about 3 girls in class and the rest of them being boys... Although Bourgui was taken care of, Damien and I were busy getting record rejections (I won handily, but that's just due to my unabashed willingness to do silly things, or at least back in 1996 it was.
Anyways, I got a couple more pics like this for a future post. And maybe some more news by the end of August :p
I think that Kash Monthly is about correct these days, with not enough extraordinary things happening to be worth taking note of, and too many things pulling attention in other places, such as facebook.com (if you're not on there, you should be) and LinkedIn (which I have but don't really use yet).
I hope you are all OK, and I miss you all like hell.
Love,
Karim
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