Where were we

Tell me something: you ever had an awkward moment where you see someone you think you know, go up to them and say hello, then get a stupid look on your face because it turns out they’re not the person you thought it was?

No? Never? Okay, fine, well it DOES happen to me sometimes. Like a few days ago, it almost did when I was walking home from class and saw a guy who looked a lot like Vince Fazari. I didn’t accidentally say hello, though, because seeing Vince would’ve been more of a surprise than you think.

This past Friday was the one year anniversary of my buddy Vince Fazari’s death from cancer.

It’s been a year, but it still hurts like hell. I still do double-takes expecting to see him on campus, because I guess it never completely sunk in that we’ll never see him again.

I miss Vince a lot, especially these days when I struggle with my doubts about love and about work. Because he had this way of facing doubts and fear head-on, using his unshakeable optimism to believe he’d find a way, and then his strength to make the right things happen.

I am a better person for knowing Vince. My quote-collecting “half-nuts” buddy who, when the doctor told him he only had three months left, said he didn’t have time to be upset and instead made his friends feel stronger.

After our design projects wrapped up, we got together at McGuiness and Michelle called a toast to Vince.

Here’s to you, Vince. Wish you were here.

Now I’m tempted to sit back and feel gloomy for the rest of the night, but I know Vince would hate that and probably push me out of my chair . So I’ll try to push out some fun stuff. Or at least talk about what’s kept me from having any fun! Say hello to our design project.

For our design project, Cheryl, Ganan, Gary and I decided to change the world… for car wash owners by designing a weather-resistant control panel that works just as well but is twenty times cheaper. The secret? Well I can’t tell you, because Ganan sums up how pretty much all of us feel after finishing this thing.

Design symposiums are awesome, though. A chance to see what our class has got, giving you everything from a chance to walk on water…

…warm your hands…

…track your customers…

…track your eyesight…

…and even grab a picture of your fellow Mitragfosoft (don’t ask) buddy taking a picture of you for her blog. Hi Adrienne

I’m not sure what’s better, though. Going through a design project, or totally losing yourself after it’s done.

On the right is Jeff, and on the left is Graham, my buddy AND roommate next term.

This is Graham and Jeff after a few.

This is Ankur.

This is Ankur after realizing he doesn’t have to tune pianos for his project anymore.

This is Dan unable to keep girls off of him.

This is Rohit unable to keep girls from falling asleep.

This is Bev.

This is not Bev.

This is a round.

This is Mike.

This is not Mike.

This is a good time for me to go do some work. Ciao

Busy busy busy

There’s something really satisfying about working in a machine shop. Maybe it’s the chance to get off the computer and work with your hands. Maybe it’s the feeling of putting in the time and walking away with something you’ve created with your group in front of your eyes.

Maybe it’s the toxic fumes from the superglue.

In any case, the last few days have been really busy with design work, but it’s been as good an experience as it’s been a busy one. I like where our project is heading.

And I think it’s interesting how the busier you get, the more time you seem to be able to spend on other things. That is, I’ve been pouring in most of my time into our design project, but it’s also left me a lot more focused and on top of the rest of my work.

Apparently, this is what positive psychology likes to call “Flow” – having an awesome experience losing yourself in something for a small period of time. And it’s something that if you practice it in one part of your life, it can help you achieve it in other parts of your life. Which might explain why keeping up with things like music or sports can actually make the rest of your work that much better.

I like that.

Anyway, hope you’re finding your flow in whatever you see fit. As for me, I’ve got work to do. These glue fumes only last for so long.