Saturday outing

On Saturday, I had a good outing. I went to a part of the city that I frequented fairly often as an undergraduate student, but haven't returned for years.

I ended up getting vegan soft-serve ice cream made of bananas. This store was in a food court. I also went to the stall next door to get oxtail, with peas and rice, and a side of coleslaw for lunch. 

Oh, and I get a dozen beef patties. They should last me the entire week, at least.

Returning to my alma mater - a familiar homecoming

I attended a handful of free learning sessions at my alma mater, where I got my undergraduate degree. It was a great night out.

I hadn't been there in years. Many of the buildings have had facelifts. Yet, I walked on campus as if time had stopped. It was highly familiar to me. Second nature.

It makes sense that it felt like home. I spent four years of my life there.

I sat in a lecture hall where one of the sessions took place. It was the same lecture hall where I attended my first summer math course. The long tables and pull-out chairs are long gone. Bolted, fold-up chairs with tiny desks that you can fold down are their replacements. As technology has advanced, so has the lectern with tons of ports and cables.

All my math courses that I took on this campus were in this building. I felt like I was an undergraduate student again. It felt comfortable and right after all these years.

Weird. In a cool way.

Former math professor is with his fractals in heaven

The other day, I was talking to my mini-me colleague at work about my second-year calculus professor that I had in my undergraduate years. Yesterday, I did a survey sent by my alma mater.

After completing the survey, while on my university's Web site, I did a departmental search of the Math faculty. This professor wasn't on the list. Perhaps he had retired.

I did a search on Google. Sadly, he had passed away nearly two years ago from cancer.

This man was such a gentle soul. He was fully bilingual (English and French) and bright. I didn't realize that he was Jewish, as his last name is waspy.

The last time that I saw him was probably in the early 2000's. I had come to visit a former computer science professor on campus and this professor was on the same floor. We chatted. It was nice. I have fond memories of our conversation. 

May he rest in peace and enjoy the fractals in his new universe.