"School's out forever..." Alice I couldn't have said it better.

This past week I was sitting at my desk at work when it finally -and profoundly I must add- occurred to me that my university career is coming to a close and that I would be done and graduated from the University of Ottawa as of December 2007.

No more studying and having to stay home on weekends reading chapter after chapter from textbooks, or putting to memory information that I may never use. I hope that I will be working come the new year -have a few leads- and have the ability to put my newly acquired knowledge to good use.

When I did start school I was working part-time and in the summer at trailhead. Working with this gear and with people passionate about their sport be it paddling, climbing, hiking…was a great way to pass the time. I was also given a great store discount and pro-deals direct from the companies -The North Face for ex- that left me purchasing all the gear we needed and then some.

One piece of equipment was left out. For two reasons first being I didn’t have the money nor the need for the gear at the time. Second it was to be a gift to myself for completing my education –as if the degree wasn’t gift enough. The gear in question is a Suunto watch (I have always loved watches and still do).

The Suuntos are called "wrist top computers" as they can perform many different functions to fit the needs of runners, marine sports, golfers and mountaineers. The last one on the list is where I fall in. I am presently looking at the

X-lander and the Observer;

Both come equipped with;

 Altimeter: Altitude, vertical speed, logbook function with quick-access button, memory capacity 99 logs, history memory; Barometer: Sea level pressure, absolute pressure, weather trend indicator, temperature, automatic 4-day barometric memory; Compass: Bearing, cardinal bearing, bearing tracking, North-South arrow, declination setting; Chronograph: Calendar, 3 alarms, dual time, stopwatch with 99 split/lap times

Although they come with a price tag of $299-499 they are practical for the type of hiking and climbing that Tracy and I do. Knowing the exact altitude we are at any given point in a hike or having a quick reference to a compass, or to see a drop in pressure signaling an in coming storm, on my wrist can avoid Hell days like the hike to table top that to this day Tracy has a hard time talking about -it was scary.

Another thing that we are thinking of doing in early 2008 or 2009-possibly- is a big trip similar to Peru. Now that I will be done school we can travel again. During this trip we hope to tour certain places and volunteer our time as well to help out the local communities.

Their will also be a 5 day trek that is on my list of "things I have to do before I die". This watch would come in very handy on this trip. I hate saying where we are going as I feel like it will jinx it so if you can figure out what peak is in this picture then I will give you a prize -ooooo a prize what could it be? don’t get too excited.

or this place

Forts