EPTIt has been four some-odd months since my last blog entry, and I've been absent for this long time for very good reasons. My life has completely changed in the four months since we last talked, and - as I've been promising for nearly 2 years - all for the better. I did it; I made it. I have defeated failure.
So allow me to reintroduce the same blog, in the same format, with a slight schedule change. I'm calling it Blog-day Wednesday, and I'll make sure to write a post every single Wednesday when I'm doing my laundry. I think it's good to reflect once in a while and not play video games all night, and the routine is paramount to being a well-rounded success. So, without further ado, allow me to reacquaint you with what TheGiz is all about: being the most good, highest quality person that a man can be, and how I've gotten along in the past 4 months.
1. Defeating Waterloo
I first decided that I would become a Mechanical Engineer when I was 12 years old, in Grade 6. I decided that I liked cars and all manner of machines, and one of my favorite books was The Way Things Work. Well, 12 years later - 6 of which were spent at the University of Waterloo - and I've finally graduated. I am now TheGiz, BASc., Honours Mechanical Engineering.
In the past I've talked about how much work it was, and my fourth year - right up until the end - was no exception. My absence on TL was due to my school work schedule. Every day I'd wake up, go to school, and spend every waking moment in class or in the 4th year study room. I'd return home again between 10pm and 2am, having eaten all my meals at school. I could do nothing less: failure right at the end would have been heartbreaking.
After successful completion of my exams I went with my family for a lovely vacation on Hiltonhead Island. What a phenomenal place. The temperature was perfect, if a little humid at times, and the scenery is beautiful. The island is covered in these aesthetic "palmetto" palm trees, and all the trees have creeping moss on them. We golfed four rounds, shopped, hung out on the beach, and on our way back to Niagara Falls stopped over in Washington DC for a great tour.
Graduation was this past month, and let me tell you that it's the most satisfying thing. I could not be more proud.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/7dfAl.jpg)
Hiltonhead is two things: beautiful and rich.
2. Getting a Real Job
In my time at Waterloo I've worked 8 co-op jobs, but every time I worked a 4 month period that income would disappear into my university's coffers. In 4th year I had to actually search for a full-time job, and I heard that it was no easy task even for a graduating engineer. A friend of mine had 40 interviews last year before he was able to find employment. I simply neglected to apply to a lot of jobs except those that I really wanted, which seemed few and far between.
Then, I got a call from a company that I'd haphazardly handed a resume to back in the fall. They wanted to interview me, so I jumped on it. I knew that the company was a direct competitor to another company that I worked at in 2010, and they had a lavish downtown Toronto office. Toronto was exactly where I wanted to be. It's where the money, the girls, the people, and all my successful friends were. The job was also directly related to my chosen field of expertise.
The phone interview went great, and the in-person interview went better. I think it helped that the HR manager was a pretty attractive woman who was easy to talk to. The boss was also really personable. The only thing I screwed up was remembering one fundamental formula, which bugged me for weeks afterwards. But it doesn't matter now; I got the job!
Now I'm working for a prestigious company on a great team of good guys, in a beautiful office, designing a 1.6 million sq. ft. hospital. It's exactly what I studied for and I like doing what I do. Oh, and there's also a high-end health club located in the building next door. I can go from my desk to a hot tub in 10 minutes.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/qUiZl.jpg)
Even if it isn't a nice day I just have to look inside in my office.
3. Moving to the Big City
I started work in mid-May, so I needed a place to live. I found a roommate right away. My best friend since Grade 2 had just been relocated to Toronto himself, so we resolved to live together and find an apartment. Finding one was not an easy task and was quite stressful: my roommate is very budget-conscious, while my philosophy is 'if you spend money, you solve problems.'
After a stressful few weeks of looking I found a great-looking place on Padmapper, and that same day it was ours. We moved in on July 1st, and now I'm struggling to furnish the place. I have a complete vision of what I want - I'm just trying not to blow massive amounts of money on furniture. I'm now happily situated between Yonge-Eglinton and Leaside.
Since the move I've added about an hour of sleep to my night, and my commute has gone from 2 hours per trip from my temporary residence in Milton to a mere 45 minutes. I don't even mind it - I'm plowing through A Song of Ice and Fire by reading on the train. I'm also working out nearly every weekday, except those few where I have to go shopping for the house. I haven't dropped any weight yet but I sure as hell look and feel leaner and stronger. When I was at school I just felt scrawny - but how could I work out when there was so much studying to do?
The other advantage to living in the city beside the good commute is the fact that EVERYTHING is here. All my successful friends, all the stores, all the jobs all the money: it's all here. I also love buildings, and architecture, and trains, and girls, and everywhere I look I see one thing or another that is pleasing to the eye. Once I've settled down a bit more I'm going to dive headlong into it all. Dating, going out, dancing, meeting people. It just excites me and makes me thankful that I actually earned the ability to do any of it; back in Waterloo I always felt guilty because there was work to do.
I'm by no means done; this is just a start. But I think I've come very far, and so can anyone else if they've worked for something worthwhile. The world is my oyster.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/92bWL.jpg)
This is what I see now when I go out for breakfast (at Fran's). Life is great.
May happiness reign supreme.
See you next week!
Tonight's music is from Britain: three songs to make up for my absence. First two are Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs. The dude is young and has a lot ahead of him. Second is You Love Her Coz She's Dead. I LOVE these guys (also check out Superheroes). Call them a more intense second coming of Crystal Castles, who produced Empathy, one of my favorite songs of all time.
Edit: Image links were bad. Fixing...
Congratulation!
