Zen garden metaphor

I used to have a little zen garden at work, complete with sand, rocks and a little rake. I would come in in the morning and reflect on how I was feeling, then trace my design for the day. It was a fun thing to do and my colleagues who dropped by would sometimes offer creations of their own.

Now the funny thing is, a colleague I didn't like produced a garden absolutely not to my taste. After seeing that creation, it occurred to me that such a garden would be a great psychology test... She had piled the rocks in a corner and the lines from the rake were unequal. To me, this was the antithesis of calmness. I didn't think of it at the time and will never know if that pile of rocks had, for her, positive things associated with it. What is certain is that the creation was distasteful to me and I wasn't sure if it was because of the author or because of the creation. In any case, I found my reaction to it quite interesting and wondered if there was something fundamental in the reason why we did not get along. Perhaps our views on life were so opposite that we did not enjoy working together?

On the other hand, I was always pleased with my friends' efforts. In their uniqueness, there was always something I could relate to. And I guess that is the essence of friendship: the acceptance of the other in his/her uniqueness.

The Soul Attractions

We had a blast last night at the Tech Rocks watching the performance of Adobe's The Soul Attractions. The guys and gals were great if you judge by the reaction of the crowd (lots of Soul Attraction tees out there) but the judges went for "rockier" bands.
Unfortunately, I didn't stay for the whole show this time around: there were seven bands in all. Nevertheless, I hear the level of competition was quite high (higher than the previous week). I had lots of fun filming the whole thing (with Steve's awesome digital camcorder - I need one!) and mingling with my ex-colleagues. I was in a very festive mood and was just generally excited at being there. The Soul Attractions played 2 original songs and one soul song which I didn't know. I am told that all the Tech Rocks performances end up on You Tube so you might want to check them out later today or tomorrow to see what you missed. You will hear excellent solos from the members.
They are playing again at the site update meeting in Adobe tomorrow. It is not a public event but it will give a chance to the Adobe people who missed it to cheer the band.

Surprise!

This is what we woke up to today. April 16. What kind of a joke is this anyway? The stoic Canadian is turning into the weary Canadian.
Bring on summer already...

Tech Rocks

Two of my best friends are participating in Ottawa's Tech Rocks as part as the Adobe Systems band "The Soul Attractions". For those not in the know, this is an annual event showcasing Ottawa's tech talents. Bands from local tech companies compete for fun and a chance to win a recording deal.
We're going to size up the competition next Wednesday (details here) and of course I will be cheering them on the following week.
There's lots happening in our little town...

The Easter Bunny Rocks!

Yseult and Minuit went for a walk and saw bunny tracks around the house. THis has never happened before. They end in fron of the house (I guess he was looking for the door). Lo and behold, this morning we had a little basket with chocolate animals - an owl, a cat and a bunny! Sweet

Have yourselves a heppy Easter!

Bloody Cold

My head will shortly explode. It's when you can't breathe that you realize how precious breathing really is.
Man, I miss the good old days when I could keep my mouth close and breathe through my nose. Tell me they will come back? Actually, maybe the people around me will miss the good old days when I was breathing through my mouth and not talking so much... Le bonheur des uns...
So - just wanted to complain and let you know if I am not blogging it's because I am busy sneezing, coughing, napping, and all that jazz.
Don't worry, you can't catch it via blog.

Knick knacks

My cousin gave me a book on Pilates exercises with a ball - I will give it a try because:

Ckeaking knees
Going down
Creaking stairs

Minuit smells good on cold nights when he comes in from outside:

Winter smell
Bare feet under
Cold fur