I was going to write another job-reated entry, but…I’ve been talking about that way too much lately. I haven’t finished this “Undergrad” series of entries yet. I will soon. I mean, there are only three terms left to write about. However, at the current rate that I’m writing these things, I’ll be finished by…November. Ha! I know: such a strain on my time. Heh.

**Spring 2005**

Life was certainly interesting during this time. I mean, there were just so many new and interesting things going on. Though, now that I think about it, it all can be reduced to four big events. The first was that this period would be the first time I’d be living with a full set of new people. Seriously, it was an exciting prospect; I was hoping for fresh perspectives on life and such. Secondly, it was the start of “fourth year”. Of course, I’d been there for longer than four years (what, with co-op and all), but whatever. I’d heard repeatedly from various sources that I’d be home free once I got to fourth year: no more stress with regards to passing the term. That remained to be seen. The third event was the search for a new job. I’d worked at the old place since late 2002. I wanted a change of venue, and I was making sure I got it. The last event was the work put into IPS. The Intelligent Parking System took up so much of my time during that period. There’s truly a love/hate things going on with that project.

Hmm. Well, this time around I was placed once more into the fancy apartment type residence. I didn’t mind. I mean, it’s an improvement over living at the townhouses–it’s a 10 minute walk to class versus a 25 minute trek. As well, the residence was air conditioned, making for mostly comfortable living conditions. I’d be living with three others, and sharing a bathroom with one of them. I got a preview of my roommates’ names a few months prior. Interestingly, I was going to live with all Chinese guys. I didn’t know what to expect. What I found from the three of them were very distinct personalities that fed into Chinese stereotypes. There was the Canadian-born Chinese (CBC) who was friendly, and at least considerate when it came to others. There was the Mainland guy who was good to get along with but still stuck in some old-country habits. There was the HK guy who was loaded, snobbish, and reclusive. Anyway, I’m not going to recount the stories about them from that time period, if only because I’ve already written the stories. I can say though that I found the experience pretty valuable. It made me realize the extent of my adaptability. I guess though that it was easy enough because everyone kept to themselves. We all led our separate lives and rarely crossed paths, even within the apartment. I think it’s a bit easier that way because there are fewer expectations that way. Truth be told, I was too busy anyway to really be in the apartment all that much.

Fourth year really kept me ridiculously occupied. Although this term only required us to take four courses, the majority of our time was really focused on the fourth year design project. The FYDP introduced us to the CIM lab. This is where we spent most of our time programming. Previously, we were always anchored in the dingy public computer labs because I didn’t have a laptop. When I got one, we were cut free! Thing is, it was hard to find an isolated place where the lot of us could talk loudly and converse freely. So, more often than not, we ended up in that cursed lab. The cold concrete floor and fluorescent lights became all too familiar. There were days where we’d watch the sun set, the sun rise, then the sun set again. So gross. My only comfort was that I knew that I’d make it out without failing the term. You know, I did face a large amount of stress over my school work that term. I was very pissed at the school during various periods. However, by then, I was becoming more accustomed to the harshness of the reality. I kind of think it’s funny how it took me so long to get to that level of cynicism.

The job hunt was also another source of stress (HAH sounds familiar). Since it was my last co-op term, I thought that my stock was at an all-time high. I thought I could be picky about what jobs I wanted to apply to because companies would be tripping over themselves to hire me. Oh, that just shows even more of my naive nature. So sad! Anyway, at first I had only applied to 4 jobs. None of them gave me an interview. I was in shock and feeling quite down. After some time, I ramped up my game, and started applying more often. I was still acting a little sparingly, though not as much as before. I think my dignity was weighing heavily into things. I did eventually get interviews. However, the jobs that I thought I would get fell through. You know, looking back and comparing it to my situation now, I can see a lot of similarities. I mean, back then, hope seemed to be fading that I’d end up with something. It’s the same as now. Where I can find comfort with the lessons from the past is the fact that I eventually did find something in a field that I’d never been in before…and that term turned out to be the best co-op term I’d ever had. Right now, I can hope that despite the fact that no one seems to be interested in me, I’ll end up with a job that is a great fit for my personality. Things always work out for me, right?

Am I right?