This week was mainly taken up by driving lessons at Young Drivers. Their program was much more expensive than others, but it was highly recommended by my friends. I was happy with how much I learned in the program, and it was well-run.

I also spent some time running errands. I'm reasonably happy with High Park Tailoring. The proprietors had been in business for more than forty years, and they gave me friendly advice on how long my slacks should be in order to accommodate the two heights of heels that I brought. Altering the blazer turned out to be almost as expensive as buying it, but the result was okay. For routine alteration, the drycleaner in the Bathurst subway station is much cheaper. I was disappointed in Yiorgos the Cobbler. The shoes were not ready when I came to pick them up. The shopkeeper hadn't even started on them. I'll look for a shoe repair shop closer to High Park. Now that I've sorted out my wardrobe and figured out a few places to go for maintenance, I should be fine.

James Iveniuk's birthday/send-off was a blast. I met a number of interesting people I'd like to get to know further, including a few geek girls. I baked meringue kisses, which were a hit. I think I'll make some for the department.

I'm a little nervous about my paperwork processing time. I'll talk to Lorna tomorrow about all the requirements. I'm planning to rush two bound copies of my thesis and complete the rest at a little more leisurely pace, if that's possible. It'll cost me $50 extra, but I think the peace of mind is worth it.

As for September: I've been meaning to writing a book on Emacs. I find myself skipping over my help.gnu.emacs messages, though, which tells me that I'm not quite that interested in Emacs at the moment. Thinking deeply about and writing about social computing might be something that'll help me transition into work more smoothly.

Next week, I plan to:

• Complete my degree requirements
• Complete my paperwork for post-graduate work permit
• Have lunch with IBMers
• Plan blogging talk
• Take two in-car driving lessons
• Outline social computing booklet

Random Emacs symbol: coding-system-list - Function: Return a list of all existing non-subsidiary coding systems. - Variable: List of coding systems.