It's been a lonely week at the Burt household, since we've been a man short most of the last week. I did try to keep busy while Sofi was out of town, though. Last Tuesday I went to play basketball outside of Sheldon Williams with my buddy Quinton and some old and new faces. Normally I play soccer on Tuesday nights but since it was postponed due to the long weekend I was able to make it for a change. I had a good time considering I really don't know how to play and have zero ability. We did end up playing soccer on Wednesday, which was fun because we were joined by a bunch of Asian folks who happened to be in the neighbourhood and they had skillz.

Sofi got back from Saskatoon on Thursday night so she wasn't gone that long. We got to spend most of the weekend together. On Friday after work we went to my parents' house for supper and to visit. On Saturday Sofi and I went over to Jessica and Dan's new pad to enjoy a fabulous Mexican supper and watch the Riders eke out a meager victory. It was a nice way to spend a Saturday evening!

Saturday afternoon was also fun, since I attended the first class of my semester of Spanish 100 at the U of R. Getting back into the swing of things as far as education was a breeze thanks to the painless online registration process. The class itself was great and so is the instructor. The only problem is whether I will be able to continue taking the class. You see, I was under the impression that my employer would pay for any university class I wanted to take, but it turns out that they require the class to relate somehow to my job, so it's not exactly a rubber stamp. Here's what I put on the form to justify my enrollment:

This course will enable me, as an employee, to function and compete effectively in the global economy of today and the future, of which our company and particularly our parent company will be a part. The course will help me develop intercultural sensitivity and increase my global understanding. In addition, it will improve my critical and creative thinking skills. Learning another language will also improve my English vocabulary and language proficiency.

After the brief stint of togetherness, my wife has again left me again :( We got up super early today and I dropped her off at the airport this morning for her 7:10AM flight to Calgary, where she'll drive out to Banff for a week of training for her new job. I didn't have much time to be sad since I had to go into work afterwards to put a fix in during one of our change windows. I've been working on and off today in between trips to the grocery store and my parents' house for food and a chance to wash my car.

In the good news department, my buddy John in Baghdad sent word that over the next few months his Brigade will be re-assigned to potentially less hazardous parts of Iraq and hopefully out of direct combat operations. Considering 18 people from his Brigade have been lost since June, this is very welcome news! :)