Fantastic show last night at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre! While it's not my favourite piece of music, the second half is wonderful, and the whole symphony is certainly loud and impressive. The new renovations to the theatre make a huge difference, that's for sure. A definite improvement in looks, but especially in sound. I plan to attend at least one more VSO concert this season, and have enjoyed every one I've been to so far.
Getting all of the primary animation approved is always an important and satisfying milestone in any project, so I must say it feels great to have reached that stage at last on "Family Guy". With just one more month, and an abbreviated one at that, to go until finals, there's still a lot to do. I was able to take today off, however, which is my first full day away from the office since coming back from the holidays on January 4th! Crazy! I don't think I've ever personally animated such a large number of shots in such a short period of time as in this show. Despite the amount of work, it's been fun.
I always find it difficult to keep up with friends and hobbies when work gets busy, but I am getting better at it compared to a few years ago. It's important to keep a life away from work going, in order maintain your mental sanity, and to help maintain a heavy workload over a longer period of time without suffering burnout. Hockey is still out because of an injury, but I'm able to keep up with most of my martial arts training, which is important with a test for 2nd Dan black belt coming up in April. Between work, the Olympics, friends, and an upcoming trip to Florida, I really need to make every training session count in order to be ready.
Speaking of the Olympics, it's almost time! I've got tickets to a couple of hockey games, which should be a great time, and I plan to watch as many of the others on TV as I can, especially every single Canada game. It's a shame the weather hasn't been cooperating, but I doubt it's a big concern with only one venue affected. I do hope to be able to get away from the office enough to enjoy some of the festivities, which is another reason why I've been trying to get ahead by putting in some long days.
Twelve more hours off, then back to the grind!
Science project prompts SD school evacuation
Ridiculous.
I'm usually fairly optimistic about the ability of debate to help two sides find at least some common ground. However, there are some people who just can't be reasoned with. There's no point in discussing their ideas, because they're so disgustingly poisonous that just thinking of them is repulsive. All we can do is wait for them and all who believe in them to die, so Humanity can finally go forward without their vile presence.
I went to the Vancouver Symphony last night for the second Saturday in a row. Another good show, but I definitely would have preferred they finish with Rachmaninoff instead of Mozart. Personal bias, I suppose. I do like Mozart, but his symphonies are wimpy, and while the compositions are technically interesting and obviously brilliant beyond most Human ability, they rarely excite me. It's hard not to feel Rachmaninoff, and when you've got a piano performance that amazing, it demands to close the show.
Happy New Year, I suppose! As relaxing as the Christmas break was, it is nice, in a way, to be back at work. Unfortunately it's going to be extremely busy for the next two months. While the first season of "Stargate Universe" is wrapping up soon, the real bulk of the work is due to an episode of "Family Guy". Well, not a whole episode, but a fun sequence. The episode airs in March, which means a finals date at the end of February. Crunch time!
Once the show is done, however, I'll be taking my first vacation of 2010. A trip to Florida to visit family and see one of the last Space Shuttle launches should be fantastic. I've got my fingers crossed that the launch goes off as planned. I'd hate to miss my chance to see one, especially with the minimum five year gap between manned American launches. With the political situation south of the border these days, I wouldn't be surprised to see NASA's funding cut, or at least hamstrung, while Washington throws America's future generations' money at every problem under the Sun. The bright side is that NASA and the American space industry is massive and does command some political power of its own. We'll see what happens, but it sure would be nice to be able to look forward to seeing an Ares V launch one day.
In the meantime, work has dibs on the majority of my time. After being injured in a hockey game just before Christmas, I'm also looking forward to getting back on the ice and back to martial arts training this week. Oh, and I suppose there are the Olympics to look forward to in February, as well! Another reason to get ahead of the game by spending January in the office. It's not as if it's nice outside, after all.