'Bots, Books, and Bowling

Despite my fluctuating energy levels and recent back-to-back-to-back snowstorms, it's been a busy few weeks. My weekends have been especially filled with fun stuff thanks to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Toronto. I had promised Alfredo that we'd get together every Saturday (as opposed to every other weekend) in January to make up for the time we missed during my treatment. Big Brothers has been kind enough to schedule all sorts of events to chase away the winter blahs, and we've been attending them all.

First up was a build-your-own robot workshop sponsored by Celestica at the Ontario Science Centre. We attended a similar workshop in September of 2006 and were delighted to discover that this year's robot was different from last time. In 2006, the 'bot was more of a "some assembly required" contraption. This year's robot was more about programming than putting it together. Its easy-to-use software came on a CD that Alfredo was able to take home, along with the robot itself... but not before kicking some robotic butt on the various challenges set up around the workshop room. Here he is winning an intense race against a Little Sister competitor around a Martian obstacle course:

Last weekend we were out and about again to attend the 2008 Bowl For Kids' Sake. Being last year's Big Brother / Little Brother of the Year, we were specifically invited to attend Media & Corporate Day to give interviews. Alfredo learned the exhausting side of fame and soon tired of posing for pictures and talking into microphones.

Fortunately, we were also there to bowl and we had a blast on the lanes. Also fun was bowling on the Nintendo Wii, several of which were set up for the event. This was my first experience with the Wii and it took some getting used to, as Alfredo also discovered when his first virtual ball went flying into the crowd of electronic onlookers. I was grateful he had more control with the real bowling balls.

A Wii was also up for grabs as the grand prize in the fund-raising raffle. I bought some tickets hoping to win it for Alfredo. Our number didn't come up for the Wii, but we were shocked to win the fourth-place prize: a gift bag of makeup products! Despite his disappointment at winning makeup rather than a video game console, Alfredo couldn't wait to take his prize home to his mom. What a kid!

When not bowling or building robots, Alfredo has been helping me out with a project for work. I'm currently finishing up editing on a book called The Seventh Expert that combines non-fiction information about the Middle Ages with game-playing elements to keep readers engaged. Alfredo and I have been field testing the game and I'm thrilled to report that Alfredo has really been enjoying it. We have yet to finish it and will continue to play through the book in the coming weeks.

And speaking of work, last month I mentioned the launch of the Tea Time at Annick Press blog. This past week I posted an entry there about editing picture books. Check it out for a further glimpse of my job.