It's Peanut Butter Jelly Time!
Just thought it was a funny title. Well, it makes me laugh...
I had originally started this blog on Monday, then saw something shiny and got distracted. Well, it more or less happened like that. Without further ado...
Bit of a sports busy weekend. I attended the Oilers home game vs. the Chicago Blackhawks. The Oilers should have pounded them but alas, it was a 4-3 loss for the boys in blue. It was still an entertaining game, just would have been much sweeter to see a win. Then I got to watch the CFL Western Final on a 60+ inch big screen tv. It was a good, intense, and tight game. It was all tied up in the fourth quarter and it was the team that makes the first mistake that would lose. Thankfully, Dickenson throws an interception and the Eskies turn it into the winning touchdown. The last minute was still nerve-wracking because B.C. had the ball and could have won on a miracle touchdown. The Eskies coaches had to make some tough, somewhat questionable decisions with the football. Good thing they pulled it out because if B.C. somehow pulled it out, I cannot even think of what the backlash could be.
By the way, it must be near exams or something because the blogs have come back alive a bit. Sigh, in the meantime I've got some group projects to work on. I'm just trying to make it to Christmas. Than to summer. Than next Christmas, than graduation! Yay!
And speaking of Christmas, it is nearly December and hasn't snowed. I wish I can find this kind of toque somewhere for the winter. Looks spiffy to me =D. But to keep going, its not very cold at all! What up with the lack of white stuff on the ground? Remember when we had the Grey Cup in 2002? Or the Heritage Classic in 2003? Those were both late November games and it was FREEZING temperatures!! Now? The only sign of November is the fact that it gets dark really quickly.
In a completely different direction, I would like to try to do some kind of self reflection. I think its fairly evident I hardly practice that on here. Time to time while I'm sitting on the bus or whatever I think about what I've gone through or my opinion on certain topics and how I could blog about it. Oh, then I don't. Even right now I'm having lots of trouble deciding what I want to type. I think I need some help out here on this one...
Actually, does anyone have a topic I can try to think about for myself? Or ideas to just get started. When I first started having a blog, it was just fun to have my own little space on the net. At the time I was also looking at other people's blogs and saw what kind of thoughts would come out. I thought eventually that I could have similar types of things happen, that my writing could improve, that I could "grow". Oh you know... all the good stuff that comes with having a journal. Well, I don't think that has happened. So I'll try to get some kind of opinion piece at the least coming out.
Sunday, November 20, 2005
Sunday, November 13, 2005
"I walk alone... ", "no its I walk the road!"
The title comes from a small disagreement between my mom and my dad over a lyric in Green Day's "Boulevard of Broken Dreams." In any case, my mom was right (like always? I really don't want to admit it). Yeah, and this came up because my mom's new favourite song is that Green Day single. Suddenly she has become a Green Day fan and wants to pick up their DVD "Bullet in a Bible." Thanks to my so deservedly won Best Buy coupon from McDonalds, we'll be doing that.
So my placement just ended. Really, I don't know where to start. It wasn't great, but it wasn't horrible. It was pretty good and it close to what I kind of expected. However, at times I felt that what I was doing could have been done by anybody. In regards to Ryan's blog, I feel that I enjoy the fact that my profession has a broad range of opportunities. I can enter mental health, work with kids, look at job safety and so on. However, this is also a weakness because I find there is some lack of direction for the profession of Occupational Therapy. Generally there are some things associated with OT, like splinting, but I still find it hard to come up with a simple explanation for what we really do. Um... we try to keep you functional!
I'm just continuing this draft that I started on Monday. I was thinking that I would try to blog weekly and have Monday entries. Well, I'll shoot for Monday or Tuesday as I missed it yesterday.
However, I have to cut this one short because I need to head to bed. There is potential that I might be up again at 2-3 am. To be clarified later...
The title comes from a small disagreement between my mom and my dad over a lyric in Green Day's "Boulevard of Broken Dreams." In any case, my mom was right (like always? I really don't want to admit it). Yeah, and this came up because my mom's new favourite song is that Green Day single. Suddenly she has become a Green Day fan and wants to pick up their DVD "Bullet in a Bible." Thanks to my so deservedly won Best Buy coupon from McDonalds, we'll be doing that.
So my placement just ended. Really, I don't know where to start. It wasn't great, but it wasn't horrible. It was pretty good and it close to what I kind of expected. However, at times I felt that what I was doing could have been done by anybody. In regards to Ryan's blog, I feel that I enjoy the fact that my profession has a broad range of opportunities. I can enter mental health, work with kids, look at job safety and so on. However, this is also a weakness because I find there is some lack of direction for the profession of Occupational Therapy. Generally there are some things associated with OT, like splinting, but I still find it hard to come up with a simple explanation for what we really do. Um... we try to keep you functional!
I'm just continuing this draft that I started on Monday. I was thinking that I would try to blog weekly and have Monday entries. Well, I'll shoot for Monday or Tuesday as I missed it yesterday.
However, I have to cut this one short because I need to head to bed. There is potential that I might be up again at 2-3 am. To be clarified later...
Wednesday, October 19, 2005
There She Is!!!
Yay for blogs that just won't die! I find typing up entries really difficult, but I guess I'll keep plugging away at it. Its only been a few years. Supposedly keeping some sort of journal is good for self reflection, which is in turn good good for you because it allows you to something something. Whatever.
So a few days ago I started my first fieldwork placement. I have been placed in a long term care facility and so far its been a good experience. Hey wait a second, that sentence doesn't seem right. Well, you know what I mean. Anyways, my preceptor is super nice and I think I'm pretty lucky to have this person right off the bat. In general, the staff is great and add the fact that I got to stay in Edmonton I have a good situation. The only possible stressor for me at this moment is all my assignments that are based on this placement. My University courses thought it would be a good idea to give us assignments and have us work on it during placement.
As for the placement itself, I don't think I will go into much detail about it. However, I will list some observations real quick:
- Wow, the stuff you learn in school is important!
- It is a suprise how much consideration needs to be taken when getting a wheelchair for someone.
- I can't imagine having to worry about being still in one place too long because a pressure sore might occur. (Basically, sustained pressure on an area of the body can cause an ulcer to the skin.)This ties in with the previous point because this is something that can happen due to sitting still in a wheelchair for too long.
- Bowel and bladder control! An embarassing topic but a vital topic in a person's well being. In fact, I've come across a video of someone with a spinal cord injury who would prefer control over those things rather than be able to walk...
- There are lots of small victories that can mean so much to the client. Something like being able to comb your hair again can be a huge deal.
Okay, enough of that.
Now, onto something differet. Hm... oh crap! Just recalled that on Saturday there is a birthday party! Its kinda neat there is a theme to it. The theme is to.... rock out! Come out dressed as a rock star! Hehe, so far I've thought of stealing my brother's mask he has been working on, wearing a long wig, and throwing on a KFC bucket onto my head. Then voila! You've got Buckethead! Well, it would be pretty damn funny.
Lastly, while reading Maggie's blog I found the paragraph about her cousin Lewis absolutely hilarious. Maggie if you get to read this, first check out this flash called "There she is!!!." Click watch movie. Its probably the most enjoyable flash movie I've ever seen. Watch its sequel too. Now, if you choose to check out the rest of the site, well.... yeah.. your cousin could very easily have found something not suitable at all.
But yay for a flash movie about a rabbit and a cat...
Rock out!
Yay for blogs that just won't die! I find typing up entries really difficult, but I guess I'll keep plugging away at it. Its only been a few years. Supposedly keeping some sort of journal is good for self reflection, which is in turn good good for you because it allows you to something something. Whatever.
So a few days ago I started my first fieldwork placement. I have been placed in a long term care facility and so far its been a good experience. Hey wait a second, that sentence doesn't seem right. Well, you know what I mean. Anyways, my preceptor is super nice and I think I'm pretty lucky to have this person right off the bat. In general, the staff is great and add the fact that I got to stay in Edmonton I have a good situation. The only possible stressor for me at this moment is all my assignments that are based on this placement. My University courses thought it would be a good idea to give us assignments and have us work on it during placement.
As for the placement itself, I don't think I will go into much detail about it. However, I will list some observations real quick:
- Wow, the stuff you learn in school is important!
- It is a suprise how much consideration needs to be taken when getting a wheelchair for someone.
- I can't imagine having to worry about being still in one place too long because a pressure sore might occur. (Basically, sustained pressure on an area of the body can cause an ulcer to the skin.)This ties in with the previous point because this is something that can happen due to sitting still in a wheelchair for too long.
- Bowel and bladder control! An embarassing topic but a vital topic in a person's well being. In fact, I've come across a video of someone with a spinal cord injury who would prefer control over those things rather than be able to walk...
- There are lots of small victories that can mean so much to the client. Something like being able to comb your hair again can be a huge deal.
Okay, enough of that.
Now, onto something differet. Hm... oh crap! Just recalled that on Saturday there is a birthday party! Its kinda neat there is a theme to it. The theme is to.... rock out! Come out dressed as a rock star! Hehe, so far I've thought of stealing my brother's mask he has been working on, wearing a long wig, and throwing on a KFC bucket onto my head. Then voila! You've got Buckethead! Well, it would be pretty damn funny.
Lastly, while reading Maggie's blog I found the paragraph about her cousin Lewis absolutely hilarious. Maggie if you get to read this, first check out this flash called "There she is!!!." Click watch movie. Its probably the most enjoyable flash movie I've ever seen. Watch its sequel too. Now, if you choose to check out the rest of the site, well.... yeah.. your cousin could very easily have found something not suitable at all.
But yay for a flash movie about a rabbit and a cat...
Rock out!
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
Thats a Nice Story
Well, I haven't blogged for a while and so now is a good as time as any to post something. By the way, for the singles and singles of individuals that looked at my vacation pictures, I will finish putting them up on myspace sometime soon.
So far my program... sucks. It is different than my previous University years and a lot of people feel that we haven't done anything concrete yet. We've just got special words we like to throw around such as "enabling", "client centered", and "holistic." However, I remember being told by others to just wait for that first field placement. After that, you suddenly spring to life. Everything clicks and from there its a whole lot more smiles than before. Hm... I guess I better make sure I get all my requirements for that first placement. Oh yeah, I stay in Edmonton for my first one in October.
The most interesting classes I've had so far are when patients have visited. Actually, the first one was a standardized patient named "Millie." A standardized patient is actually just an actor or actress playing the role of a patient. Sort of like Kramer when he played the part of a ghonorhea (sp??) patient from Seinfeld. Anyways, she basically played the part of a stroke patient and came into the class so our instructor could perform an assessment. It was pretty neat and the actress did a really good job. she even cued our instructor to remember that in her stroke case she could only hear from the left ear.
The next visitors were a very nice, humourous couple. It is kind of a sweet story because they met in Rehab. One of them has Multiple Sclerosis and the other one has a brain injury after being struck head on by a vehicle. These events and their meeting occurred way back in the late 1980's. I'm not going to mention too much about them, other than that they seem to have a high zest for life. They love their independence and wouldn't trade their lives for anyone elses. For some reason all I could think is that Hollywood couldn't produce a script that could touch their story. There is no doubt in my mind that the whole class loved having their presence. I'll add one last thing that I really admired about their relationship. They seemed to be able to talk to each other about anything and I guess they've learned in their way of life not to take anything for granted.
It seems like a shame to just give them only a paragraph, but I think I may be seeing them in future classes. Alright, thats all for now. GG o_O
Well, I haven't blogged for a while and so now is a good as time as any to post something. By the way, for the singles and singles of individuals that looked at my vacation pictures, I will finish putting them up on myspace sometime soon.
So far my program... sucks. It is different than my previous University years and a lot of people feel that we haven't done anything concrete yet. We've just got special words we like to throw around such as "enabling", "client centered", and "holistic." However, I remember being told by others to just wait for that first field placement. After that, you suddenly spring to life. Everything clicks and from there its a whole lot more smiles than before. Hm... I guess I better make sure I get all my requirements for that first placement. Oh yeah, I stay in Edmonton for my first one in October.
The most interesting classes I've had so far are when patients have visited. Actually, the first one was a standardized patient named "Millie." A standardized patient is actually just an actor or actress playing the role of a patient. Sort of like Kramer when he played the part of a ghonorhea (sp??) patient from Seinfeld. Anyways, she basically played the part of a stroke patient and came into the class so our instructor could perform an assessment. It was pretty neat and the actress did a really good job. she even cued our instructor to remember that in her stroke case she could only hear from the left ear.
The next visitors were a very nice, humourous couple. It is kind of a sweet story because they met in Rehab. One of them has Multiple Sclerosis and the other one has a brain injury after being struck head on by a vehicle. These events and their meeting occurred way back in the late 1980's. I'm not going to mention too much about them, other than that they seem to have a high zest for life. They love their independence and wouldn't trade their lives for anyone elses. For some reason all I could think is that Hollywood couldn't produce a script that could touch their story. There is no doubt in my mind that the whole class loved having their presence. I'll add one last thing that I really admired about their relationship. They seemed to be able to talk to each other about anything and I guess they've learned in their way of life not to take anything for granted.
It seems like a shame to just give them only a paragraph, but I think I may be seeing them in future classes. Alright, thats all for now. GG o_O
Friday, September 02, 2005
5 Quickies
So Chris, a question on your imminent future, how are you feeling about a whole new school year?
My mood right now is a bit of excitement. I'm crossing my fingers that I didn't forget to tie up any loose ends before I head into my new program. But there should be a lot of things to look forward to. Hopefully I'll meet some new people in my classes and get ot know them, learn something new, build a career, and have some fun while doing all that. I do have however this lingering doubt in the pit of my stomach that maybe what I'm going into won't be the best fit for me. ...Ahhh shut up. I can't really worry about that too much.
How was your vacation trip to Brunei?
I really enjoyed it, but I don't think I did as much or appreciated it as much as I could have. Seeing so many relatives back "home" was a treat, unfortunately I've never regretted being unable to speak Asian languages as much as when I was in Brunei. But I'm incredibly lucky to have had the chance to go and experience some travel like that. Now another question I'm wondering is whether or not to blog about it. I'm feeling that I should, but I will actually have to plan it out like an essay. I'm just not sure what to include and exclude, and whether I have too much to say or nothing at all.
How was your summer overall?
It was excellent! If I complained about it at all, I'd have to somehow roundhouse kick myself. In all likelihood I've probably had the most time available to be running around having fun. Now its time to prepare for the year and be ready to "hit the ground running" for school.
What are you looking forward to?
I don't really know. Since I'm kinda unsure of what the future holds for me, I have an optimistic "lets see where this takes me" kind of attitude. In sports however, I know that 68 Edmonton Oiler hockey games will be televised for free. Oh that might hurt the studying a little bit... hey anyone wanna know the cost of seasons tickets? For the best seating, season tickets will cost about pretty much the same as a year of going to University fulltime. Yay!
Any last comments?
Yeah, while the optimism meter is running high I just wanted to say to all my friends out there, good luck on the upcoming year in whatever your endeavour may be. Work hard, play hard, be safe, and have some fun. =D Heres to all the good times we've had, the crap we've waded through, and whatever it is that comes up this year. And just so you all know, whether you need somebody to cheerlead, celebrate with, need support or help, whatever, just ask and I'll show up.
So Chris, a question on your imminent future, how are you feeling about a whole new school year?
My mood right now is a bit of excitement. I'm crossing my fingers that I didn't forget to tie up any loose ends before I head into my new program. But there should be a lot of things to look forward to. Hopefully I'll meet some new people in my classes and get ot know them, learn something new, build a career, and have some fun while doing all that. I do have however this lingering doubt in the pit of my stomach that maybe what I'm going into won't be the best fit for me. ...Ahhh shut up. I can't really worry about that too much.
How was your vacation trip to Brunei?
I really enjoyed it, but I don't think I did as much or appreciated it as much as I could have. Seeing so many relatives back "home" was a treat, unfortunately I've never regretted being unable to speak Asian languages as much as when I was in Brunei. But I'm incredibly lucky to have had the chance to go and experience some travel like that. Now another question I'm wondering is whether or not to blog about it. I'm feeling that I should, but I will actually have to plan it out like an essay. I'm just not sure what to include and exclude, and whether I have too much to say or nothing at all.
How was your summer overall?
It was excellent! If I complained about it at all, I'd have to somehow roundhouse kick myself. In all likelihood I've probably had the most time available to be running around having fun. Now its time to prepare for the year and be ready to "hit the ground running" for school.
What are you looking forward to?
I don't really know. Since I'm kinda unsure of what the future holds for me, I have an optimistic "lets see where this takes me" kind of attitude. In sports however, I know that 68 Edmonton Oiler hockey games will be televised for free. Oh that might hurt the studying a little bit... hey anyone wanna know the cost of seasons tickets? For the best seating, season tickets will cost about pretty much the same as a year of going to University fulltime. Yay!
Any last comments?
Yeah, while the optimism meter is running high I just wanted to say to all my friends out there, good luck on the upcoming year in whatever your endeavour may be. Work hard, play hard, be safe, and have some fun. =D Heres to all the good times we've had, the crap we've waded through, and whatever it is that comes up this year. And just so you all know, whether you need somebody to cheerlead, celebrate with, need support or help, whatever, just ask and I'll show up.
Friday, August 26, 2005
Saturday, August 06, 2005
Greetings from Brunei!
Yay! My family and I made it safe and sound to my mom's hometown in Brunei. We finally arrived after catching a series of flights, some being very brief stopovers. The list of our stops is as follows: Calgary, Los Angeles, Taipei, Kuala Lumpur, um... some town... and we arrived in a place called Miri. From there we were driven about another hour and a half I think.
Anyways, I'm on my cousins comp and I don't plan on staying on this too long. Just letting whoever know that I made it, yay!
Yay! My family and I made it safe and sound to my mom's hometown in Brunei. We finally arrived after catching a series of flights, some being very brief stopovers. The list of our stops is as follows: Calgary, Los Angeles, Taipei, Kuala Lumpur, um... some town... and we arrived in a place called Miri. From there we were driven about another hour and a half I think.
Anyways, I'm on my cousins comp and I don't plan on staying on this too long. Just letting whoever know that I made it, yay!
Friday, July 29, 2005
Fishing trip pictures
Just some photos from our fishing adventure in Slave Lake a few weeks back. To take a look, click here.
Just some photos from our fishing adventure in Slave Lake a few weeks back. To take a look, click here.
Monday, July 25, 2005
Summer Days drifting away...
Its nearly August which means there is... sadly only one month of summer left. However, I'm glad to say that this summer has felt pretty long. Its just that I've kinda lost track of time because I don't really need to follow a schedule of some sort, although things have felt eventful lately.
Some of you know who Linda is. She went to Vietnam and while there took some studio photos. I don't know if she really felt like showing them, but they're not exactly difficult to find and I think they look nice so I thought I'll put up the link. You can find them on her myspace by clicking here.
Oh yeah, I totally misread the date on the Eskimos tickets that I have. They said August 26th, not July 26th. Man, I would have looked retarded going to Commonwealth on the wrong day. Anyways, I have around 6 tickets I can sell off for $5. From what I know they are lower bowl seats closer to an endzone and they come with a hotdog and drink, and a park and ride bus pass. I believe the game falls on a Tuesday night and starts at 8 p.m. Lets go support the Esks "defend the turf!"
Hmm... other than that I'm kinda done here. I would talk about the Karate BBQ except posting up pictures with captions would be so much better, but of course I have none. Oh I know! I'll type up something about the hypnotist show from when I went to Klondike Days.
Alright, its 11:30 pm and its Me, Larry, and Tony heading out to Molsons Brewery to watch a hypnosis show. Earlier in the day we watched him (Marc Savard) perform and we all had a really good time. We figured his adult show would be really great as well. The show is just starting so Marc is calling for volunteers and Tony and Larry go up. Larry gets let off the stage but Tony is deep into a trance, so he stays. I think I'll just tell one part of the act and let Tony choose whether or not he wants to share his experience. Now, skipping to near the end of the show, the hypnotist decides to have fun and tells all the guys on stage that the following be true: they're all 9 months pregnant. The girls next to them are nurses to help them and everytime Marc coughs, the guys get hit with an intense contraction. Hehe, the look on each guy's face was priceless. Oh, and according to Tony's nurses, he was having twins (boy and a girl!). While coughing and hitting the guys with consistent contractions, Marc decides to stick a microphone in some faces to see how some of the guys are doing. We had answers from "oh man I'm so sorry! I screwed up", "don't tell my mom" to Tony's articulate answer of "Screw you!". When the "babies" were delivered it was great! This one guy who was pretty big was very emotional, he was crying and just so very happy. It was touching and frickin hilarious at the same time =D. Then Marc goes to another person, a white guy with glasses and a red cap and looks at the baby and goes, "why this baby looks just like you! How are you doing and feeling?" Then the guy looks back, somewhat incredulously, and says "uh... my baby's black".
....
Ahahahahhahaha!!
Its nearly August which means there is... sadly only one month of summer left. However, I'm glad to say that this summer has felt pretty long. Its just that I've kinda lost track of time because I don't really need to follow a schedule of some sort, although things have felt eventful lately.
Some of you know who Linda is. She went to Vietnam and while there took some studio photos. I don't know if she really felt like showing them, but they're not exactly difficult to find and I think they look nice so I thought I'll put up the link. You can find them on her myspace by clicking here.
Oh yeah, I totally misread the date on the Eskimos tickets that I have. They said August 26th, not July 26th. Man, I would have looked retarded going to Commonwealth on the wrong day. Anyways, I have around 6 tickets I can sell off for $5. From what I know they are lower bowl seats closer to an endzone and they come with a hotdog and drink, and a park and ride bus pass. I believe the game falls on a Tuesday night and starts at 8 p.m. Lets go support the Esks "defend the turf!"
Hmm... other than that I'm kinda done here. I would talk about the Karate BBQ except posting up pictures with captions would be so much better, but of course I have none. Oh I know! I'll type up something about the hypnotist show from when I went to Klondike Days.
Alright, its 11:30 pm and its Me, Larry, and Tony heading out to Molsons Brewery to watch a hypnosis show. Earlier in the day we watched him (Marc Savard) perform and we all had a really good time. We figured his adult show would be really great as well. The show is just starting so Marc is calling for volunteers and Tony and Larry go up. Larry gets let off the stage but Tony is deep into a trance, so he stays. I think I'll just tell one part of the act and let Tony choose whether or not he wants to share his experience. Now, skipping to near the end of the show, the hypnotist decides to have fun and tells all the guys on stage that the following be true: they're all 9 months pregnant. The girls next to them are nurses to help them and everytime Marc coughs, the guys get hit with an intense contraction. Hehe, the look on each guy's face was priceless. Oh, and according to Tony's nurses, he was having twins (boy and a girl!). While coughing and hitting the guys with consistent contractions, Marc decides to stick a microphone in some faces to see how some of the guys are doing. We had answers from "oh man I'm so sorry! I screwed up", "don't tell my mom" to Tony's articulate answer of "Screw you!". When the "babies" were delivered it was great! This one guy who was pretty big was very emotional, he was crying and just so very happy. It was touching and frickin hilarious at the same time =D. Then Marc goes to another person, a white guy with glasses and a red cap and looks at the baby and goes, "why this baby looks just like you! How are you doing and feeling?" Then the guy looks back, somewhat incredulously, and says "uh... my baby's black".
....
Ahahahahhahaha!!
Monday, July 18, 2005
My teef hurt!
The other day I picked up another package from my faculty. This one was to make sure that I had certain immunizations and that I would need to take a physical to make sure I was healthy. It also had for me a list of places asking where I would like to go for my field placements. They gave a map of Alberta and Saskatchewan, and it showed all these places I've never heard of dotting the provinces. Well, sooner or later I'd be living on my own for a while, but facing the prospect of it is kinda daunting. I can't remember how many times I'll get sent out, but its not really one long placement. Its a bunch where I'm gone for a few weeks, come back, then go back out. Anyways, the bottom line was that this is getting me closer and closer to that first class in September. I sure hope this is what I wanted to get into. This ... ahh... know what? I don't really feel like blogging about how I'm a bit freaked walking into this. I'll just keep it to myself for now.
In other news, I got some fun stuff lined up before I'm leaving. Does anyone wanna goto Klondike Days on the 25th? It would be cool to get a nice group of people and head out. I would like to grab a small core number for sure though, because inevitably the group splits up. But thats fine because people want to do different things. Also, I have a couple of tickets for the Edmonton Eskimos game on the 26th against the Alouettes, gametime I think being 8 pm. Anyone possibly interested? I guess I shouldn't forget the Karate BBQ we have this Sunday, anyone who wants to go? Just ask me for more info. Looks like I'm gonna have a ball before packing up, can't really ask for much more.
Alright, thats all for now. I'm gonna goto sleep and hope my mouth recovers from the sharp pokey scrape thingy the dentist's assistant uses.
The other day I picked up another package from my faculty. This one was to make sure that I had certain immunizations and that I would need to take a physical to make sure I was healthy. It also had for me a list of places asking where I would like to go for my field placements. They gave a map of Alberta and Saskatchewan, and it showed all these places I've never heard of dotting the provinces. Well, sooner or later I'd be living on my own for a while, but facing the prospect of it is kinda daunting. I can't remember how many times I'll get sent out, but its not really one long placement. Its a bunch where I'm gone for a few weeks, come back, then go back out. Anyways, the bottom line was that this is getting me closer and closer to that first class in September. I sure hope this is what I wanted to get into. This ... ahh... know what? I don't really feel like blogging about how I'm a bit freaked walking into this. I'll just keep it to myself for now.
In other news, I got some fun stuff lined up before I'm leaving. Does anyone wanna goto Klondike Days on the 25th? It would be cool to get a nice group of people and head out. I would like to grab a small core number for sure though, because inevitably the group splits up. But thats fine because people want to do different things. Also, I have a couple of tickets for the Edmonton Eskimos game on the 26th against the Alouettes, gametime I think being 8 pm. Anyone possibly interested? I guess I shouldn't forget the Karate BBQ we have this Sunday, anyone who wants to go? Just ask me for more info. Looks like I'm gonna have a ball before packing up, can't really ask for much more.
Alright, thats all for now. I'm gonna goto sleep and hope my mouth recovers from the sharp pokey scrape thingy the dentist's assistant uses.
Sunday, July 10, 2005
Gone Fishin'
Before I forget, I need to give much thanks to Dev. He is the one who brought his camera and took all the pictures during our time in B.C. The Vancouver trip was a great experience. My only regrets is that I didn't keep track of how much I spent, and that I didn't see my aunt too much. In sum, it was a blast hanging out with everyone, so thanks for the memories guys! The trip has kinda divided my summer as well. I have "Before B.C. trip", and "After B.C. trip." Oh yeah, now I'm thinking of heading back there when the Olympics come back to Canada. That would be friggin awesome, watching Canada defend their gold in Ice Hockey.
As I mentioned before, I have some more travelling to do as I leave for Brunei at the end of July. Also, Keith is having a birthday party about less than a week before we leave and right after is the Karate BBQ, and I plan on hitting Kdays on the 21st. Anyone up for some rides??
Getting back on track, this weekend a bunch of families (Mine, Dev, and Tony's) plus a bunch of others went to Slave Lake for some fishing. We arrived Friday night and set up our little dome tent right away. We didn't do too much that night and went to bed because we wanted to get up early in the morning for some fishing. That dome tent sucked so badly, it last worked when me and Keith were younger. However, now that we're bigger than our parents, that thing didn't us all that well. I haven't slept that badly for a long time.
The next morning we had to walk to the dock and the group consisted of Tom, Helen, Dev, Ant, Keith, and my dad. Well of course, plus me. Tom had rented a boat for us. So we get on the boat and well, theres not much to tell. We fished! We had several fish that weren't big enough to keep, but my Dad and Ant came up with two keepers. My memorable moment at this point was that I had this huge bite, and although I was sitting at the back, my line got pulled to the front. Since I didn't anyone getting tangled in my line, I went to the front and I saw tons of seaweed in front, so I was convinced I was hooked on some seaweed. Except it was pulling on my line, and was pulling so hard I needed to increase the tension of my line. I'm pretty sure it was a fish of some sort since my line suddenly relaxed... Ugh, then we decided to move the boat somewhere else, and we were travelling into the waves. Whoever was at front got totally soaked by Slave Lake water. Yay! ....yuck...
We headed back for lunch and split into different groups. Now it was Dev, Ant, Keith, Edwin ?, my dad, and me. We didn't really feel like walking the long way, so we tried a shortcut. Imagine that we had to walk a U end to end in order to normally walk to the dock. Well, we tried to avoid going around by heading into the tall and somewhat ominous grass. At first it was fine, although a few thorny plants annoyed anyone wearing shorts. However, it turned for the worse when we realized that this area was right next to the lake, and it would be swampy. It was gross!! Shoes, socks, and pant legs were ruined! But you know, it was friggin hilarious.
We get to the dock in shorter time but a lot smellier, but whatever! We get the same boat as the morning, but this time it just completely sucks. Now, it wasn't working very well in the morning, and this time the boat decided to going forward wasn't in the cards. So my dad figured it would be best to idle in reverse (going in reverse would spray too much water at us) and to help us along, use the oars to paddle back to the dock. Yay! The renter of the boats got back to us and gave us another boat which was in much better working condition. So we got out, and this time me and my dad were the ones with keepers. YAY!! I caught a fish!!! Yep, I'm a real outdoorsman. That pretty much ends the exciting parts of the trip.
I think I have a few pictures because my dad took his new digital camera there. Hopefully I'll get a hold and post some up soon. Three cheers for camping!!
Before I forget, I need to give much thanks to Dev. He is the one who brought his camera and took all the pictures during our time in B.C. The Vancouver trip was a great experience. My only regrets is that I didn't keep track of how much I spent, and that I didn't see my aunt too much. In sum, it was a blast hanging out with everyone, so thanks for the memories guys! The trip has kinda divided my summer as well. I have "Before B.C. trip", and "After B.C. trip." Oh yeah, now I'm thinking of heading back there when the Olympics come back to Canada. That would be friggin awesome, watching Canada defend their gold in Ice Hockey.
As I mentioned before, I have some more travelling to do as I leave for Brunei at the end of July. Also, Keith is having a birthday party about less than a week before we leave and right after is the Karate BBQ, and I plan on hitting Kdays on the 21st. Anyone up for some rides??
Getting back on track, this weekend a bunch of families (Mine, Dev, and Tony's) plus a bunch of others went to Slave Lake for some fishing. We arrived Friday night and set up our little dome tent right away. We didn't do too much that night and went to bed because we wanted to get up early in the morning for some fishing. That dome tent sucked so badly, it last worked when me and Keith were younger. However, now that we're bigger than our parents, that thing didn't us all that well. I haven't slept that badly for a long time.
The next morning we had to walk to the dock and the group consisted of Tom, Helen, Dev, Ant, Keith, and my dad. Well of course, plus me. Tom had rented a boat for us. So we get on the boat and well, theres not much to tell. We fished! We had several fish that weren't big enough to keep, but my Dad and Ant came up with two keepers. My memorable moment at this point was that I had this huge bite, and although I was sitting at the back, my line got pulled to the front. Since I didn't anyone getting tangled in my line, I went to the front and I saw tons of seaweed in front, so I was convinced I was hooked on some seaweed. Except it was pulling on my line, and was pulling so hard I needed to increase the tension of my line. I'm pretty sure it was a fish of some sort since my line suddenly relaxed... Ugh, then we decided to move the boat somewhere else, and we were travelling into the waves. Whoever was at front got totally soaked by Slave Lake water. Yay! ....yuck...
We headed back for lunch and split into different groups. Now it was Dev, Ant, Keith, Edwin ?, my dad, and me. We didn't really feel like walking the long way, so we tried a shortcut. Imagine that we had to walk a U end to end in order to normally walk to the dock. Well, we tried to avoid going around by heading into the tall and somewhat ominous grass. At first it was fine, although a few thorny plants annoyed anyone wearing shorts. However, it turned for the worse when we realized that this area was right next to the lake, and it would be swampy. It was gross!! Shoes, socks, and pant legs were ruined! But you know, it was friggin hilarious.
We get to the dock in shorter time but a lot smellier, but whatever! We get the same boat as the morning, but this time it just completely sucks. Now, it wasn't working very well in the morning, and this time the boat decided to going forward wasn't in the cards. So my dad figured it would be best to idle in reverse (going in reverse would spray too much water at us) and to help us along, use the oars to paddle back to the dock. Yay! The renter of the boats got back to us and gave us another boat which was in much better working condition. So we got out, and this time me and my dad were the ones with keepers. YAY!! I caught a fish!!! Yep, I'm a real outdoorsman. That pretty much ends the exciting parts of the trip.
I think I have a few pictures because my dad took his new digital camera there. Hopefully I'll get a hold and post some up soon. Three cheers for camping!!
Friday, July 08, 2005
Photos!
I threw up a few pictures for those who wanted to see on myspace. Should be able to just click the picture next to my name on MSN Messenger.
I threw up a few pictures for those who wanted to see on myspace. Should be able to just click the picture next to my name on MSN Messenger.
Wednesday, July 06, 2005
Vancouver Trip... End
Well, this is the last one about the Vancouver trip. I seriously doubt anyone's read all of it, but I guess that isn't the point. I just wanted to be able to remember what happened.
On the tail end of the trip, we decided to check out Vancouver's lookout tower. Its one of those space needle looking towers like the CN Tower in Toronto, although not nearly as tall. It was actually not too expensive to go up and the tower provided a really good view. Damn it Vancouver has some really nice scenery. It was really neat because we were able to look at places we had already been, like Stanley Park, Grouse Mountain, and we could see where we parked our van. There was also a revolving restaurant on the next floor up, but we didn't go there.
Next we went back to Metrotown once again for some more shopping. I forget how much time we spent here, maybe an hour or a little over that. Either way, its a nice mall but its no West Ed. Nothing really too noteworthy to mention except we killed some time.
At 7 we went to the Richmond Night Market. Basically its a parking lot full of stores that mostly sell some kind of novelty item that you don't need, but its nice to have. You know things like laser pointers, hats, DVD's, squid balls (food), and swords. They do have a section for food. In fact, one of the things we saw was a strip of bacon wrapped around sausage. Yum! Anyways, for products like electronics, you should be a little wary. If you do your homework you can buy certain things like headsets, mouses, and so on.
We finished off our night by eating out at No. 9's again and would head back to the house to pack up.
Well when we got back to the house we talked with Tess for a bit because it would be our last night staying there. We would hit the road around 8 on Saturday morning to drive to a place called Radium, which was still in B.C. I tried to get up early, but it was difficult thanks to Tess and her introduction of "Ladder Theory" to us.
So it was a drive yet again, and we killed time by the usual ways again. Sleeping, music, portable DVD player. This time for me it was mostly sleepy. I was actually seated in the middle and it was sooo easy to fall asleep!! Anyways, after about 8 hours we get to the hotel we're staying at. The reason we were stopping here was to cut the trip and spread it over two days, and to check out the hot springs.
So after settling in for a bit, we checked out the hot springs. It was basically a pool outdoors except heated naturally. You could see the steam rising up and as I've said before, this kinda stuff added a nice atmosphere to me. It also rained for a bit too so for a little while I was hot and cold. Brrr... it burns! Anyways, it was comfortable and we talked for a bit, a nice place to be. Afterward we headed back to the hotel and finished out the night by watching the Arrested Development DVD I got. Hehehehe...
As for Sunday, theres really nothing to comment about. Its just the finish of the drive and so the journey ends here. I think I'll post some final thoughts next time.
Well, this is the last one about the Vancouver trip. I seriously doubt anyone's read all of it, but I guess that isn't the point. I just wanted to be able to remember what happened.
Friday
On the tail end of the trip, we decided to check out Vancouver's lookout tower. Its one of those space needle looking towers like the CN Tower in Toronto, although not nearly as tall. It was actually not too expensive to go up and the tower provided a really good view. Damn it Vancouver has some really nice scenery. It was really neat because we were able to look at places we had already been, like Stanley Park, Grouse Mountain, and we could see where we parked our van. There was also a revolving restaurant on the next floor up, but we didn't go there.
Next we went back to Metrotown once again for some more shopping. I forget how much time we spent here, maybe an hour or a little over that. Either way, its a nice mall but its no West Ed. Nothing really too noteworthy to mention except we killed some time.
At 7 we went to the Richmond Night Market. Basically its a parking lot full of stores that mostly sell some kind of novelty item that you don't need, but its nice to have. You know things like laser pointers, hats, DVD's, squid balls (food), and swords. They do have a section for food. In fact, one of the things we saw was a strip of bacon wrapped around sausage. Yum! Anyways, for products like electronics, you should be a little wary. If you do your homework you can buy certain things like headsets, mouses, and so on.
We finished off our night by eating out at No. 9's again and would head back to the house to pack up.
Saturday
Well when we got back to the house we talked with Tess for a bit because it would be our last night staying there. We would hit the road around 8 on Saturday morning to drive to a place called Radium, which was still in B.C. I tried to get up early, but it was difficult thanks to Tess and her introduction of "Ladder Theory" to us.
So it was a drive yet again, and we killed time by the usual ways again. Sleeping, music, portable DVD player. This time for me it was mostly sleepy. I was actually seated in the middle and it was sooo easy to fall asleep!! Anyways, after about 8 hours we get to the hotel we're staying at. The reason we were stopping here was to cut the trip and spread it over two days, and to check out the hot springs.
So after settling in for a bit, we checked out the hot springs. It was basically a pool outdoors except heated naturally. You could see the steam rising up and as I've said before, this kinda stuff added a nice atmosphere to me. It also rained for a bit too so for a little while I was hot and cold. Brrr... it burns! Anyways, it was comfortable and we talked for a bit, a nice place to be. Afterward we headed back to the hotel and finished out the night by watching the Arrested Development DVD I got. Hehehehe...
As for Sunday, theres really nothing to comment about. Its just the finish of the drive and so the journey ends here. I think I'll post some final thoughts next time.
Tuesday, July 05, 2005
Vancouver trip Cont'd, Part III
Wow, when I look back, it seems to be an eventful trip. I'm just trying to remember the main things about the trip and not fill up on the stuff like how Tony got me a balloon (Yeah, I really wanted it... :S). It saddens me to know how quickly it started and ended. Anyways, better start getting to those days before my memory crashes.
Before I forget, we also went to Kit Beach. Although the weather wasn't really that great for swimming, we still got to play in the sand! At first I was gonna help Megan build an alligator, but it was kinda boring. Then Dev helped her finish it while Tony and I build a small sand town called Clamville. The reason its called that was because Tony kept finding clams, and when we were done, he made a big lake and dumped them in there.
Each morning I was usually among the first to wake up. I eventually started a routine where I would eat my cousin's cereal (Vector!!). If I recall correctly, this day was a bit of a sleep in day. The agenda for the day was Stanley Park. It took a while to get there but when we did, someone came up with a very good idea to rent some bikes. We all thought it would be really fun but the nearest bike rental places were apperently off the island of Stanley Park. Well, after a few minutes due to a traffic circle that came out of nowhere and well, forced us to circle, we found a place for bike rentals, but more importantly, parking space. Now there was an option of using tandem bikes (the bikes with two seats) and singles. Tom and Helen went for it, and in a what the hell mood, so did Dev and Tony. I for the life of me would have killed whoever went with me.
So we went off and decided to bike around Stanley Park. We saw some totem poles, acanon, light house thingy, a dragonhead replica that had gone on the front of a boat, and some beaches. I had a really fun time biking around and there was just sooo much to look at! Its too bad my descriptions would mostly consist of words like water and rocks because thats what surrounded us. Yet it pleasing to the eye. After the bike ride we headed to the beach again.
The most interesting thing was that they were filming for the movie Like Mike 2. However, watching them film wasn't too exciting. We stayed at the beach for about half an hour to an hour. I really can't remember. I was looking forward to my next meal which would be at some sushi place.
We went over by Robsons Street and walked into this nice Japanese place. I can't remember what this place was called, except that it started with an S. They had these cool tables and the booth that surrounded it was shaped like a boat. But we ended up getting a table in the corner inside what seemed to be the only table that could have seated 10 or more. The restaurant seriously put tables if there was a 5 foot circle possible. Everytime I walked outside of our booth, I would walk into somebody. As for the food, well it wasn't as great as it could have been, but I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Afterwards we cruised Robsons St. for a bit of shopping. There I got the first season of Arrested Development from their big Virgin Records store, and a nice Canucks hat from somewhere. This pretty much ended the day.
This would be the day we decided to tackle Grouse Mountain!! The hiking distance is about 2.9 km and the vertical is about 900 m. I looked forward to this because I could treat it like an adventure. So we started our ascent up, and it was kinda funny because part of the group believed we were only going up a bit of a distance, then coming back down. The other part of the group knew better. Once we started, we were gonna finish going up. On a sidenote, I don't think I could have done it going down. I just wouldn't be able to get my footing. Anyways, we start going up and I start sweating alot, partly because its a hard hike and partly because I just tend to sweat easily. Again, lots of nice scenery to look at and near the top there was this fog/mist that gave a really nice atmosphere. It was kinda neat to walk out of it and into the sunlight when you finally got to the top.
At the top there was a bunch of shows, and one being a lumberjack show. It was really entertaining, and nearby were some animals. I managed to get a glimpse of a wolf. Afterwards we ate at the restaurant they had, watched a few more things, and took the $5 trip back down the sky lift thing. Oh yeah, the way up cost $32.
Afterwards we went back to my cousins place to clean up. Then half of the group would go clubbing and the other to see a movie. We ended up watching War of the Worlds and I thought it was a solid effort. Unfortunately, it wasn't anything groundbreaking and that actually takes away from the movie. I enjoyed the first 3/4ths of the movie, but the end just kinda happened and finished it. Well, I want to read the book now. That would be the end of that day for us, which would lead us to the last two days of our trip (Sunday doesn't count, we were just travelling back).
'Till next time!
Wow, when I look back, it seems to be an eventful trip. I'm just trying to remember the main things about the trip and not fill up on the stuff like how Tony got me a balloon (Yeah, I really wanted it... :S). It saddens me to know how quickly it started and ended. Anyways, better start getting to those days before my memory crashes.
Before I forget, we also went to Kit Beach. Although the weather wasn't really that great for swimming, we still got to play in the sand! At first I was gonna help Megan build an alligator, but it was kinda boring. Then Dev helped her finish it while Tony and I build a small sand town called Clamville. The reason its called that was because Tony kept finding clams, and when we were done, he made a big lake and dumped them in there.
Wednesday
Each morning I was usually among the first to wake up. I eventually started a routine where I would eat my cousin's cereal (Vector!!). If I recall correctly, this day was a bit of a sleep in day. The agenda for the day was Stanley Park. It took a while to get there but when we did, someone came up with a very good idea to rent some bikes. We all thought it would be really fun but the nearest bike rental places were apperently off the island of Stanley Park. Well, after a few minutes due to a traffic circle that came out of nowhere and well, forced us to circle, we found a place for bike rentals, but more importantly, parking space. Now there was an option of using tandem bikes (the bikes with two seats) and singles. Tom and Helen went for it, and in a what the hell mood, so did Dev and Tony. I for the life of me would have killed whoever went with me.
So we went off and decided to bike around Stanley Park. We saw some totem poles, acanon, light house thingy, a dragonhead replica that had gone on the front of a boat, and some beaches. I had a really fun time biking around and there was just sooo much to look at! Its too bad my descriptions would mostly consist of words like water and rocks because thats what surrounded us. Yet it pleasing to the eye. After the bike ride we headed to the beach again.
The most interesting thing was that they were filming for the movie Like Mike 2. However, watching them film wasn't too exciting. We stayed at the beach for about half an hour to an hour. I really can't remember. I was looking forward to my next meal which would be at some sushi place.
We went over by Robsons Street and walked into this nice Japanese place. I can't remember what this place was called, except that it started with an S. They had these cool tables and the booth that surrounded it was shaped like a boat. But we ended up getting a table in the corner inside what seemed to be the only table that could have seated 10 or more. The restaurant seriously put tables if there was a 5 foot circle possible. Everytime I walked outside of our booth, I would walk into somebody. As for the food, well it wasn't as great as it could have been, but I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Afterwards we cruised Robsons St. for a bit of shopping. There I got the first season of Arrested Development from their big Virgin Records store, and a nice Canucks hat from somewhere. This pretty much ended the day.
Thursday
This would be the day we decided to tackle Grouse Mountain!! The hiking distance is about 2.9 km and the vertical is about 900 m. I looked forward to this because I could treat it like an adventure. So we started our ascent up, and it was kinda funny because part of the group believed we were only going up a bit of a distance, then coming back down. The other part of the group knew better. Once we started, we were gonna finish going up. On a sidenote, I don't think I could have done it going down. I just wouldn't be able to get my footing. Anyways, we start going up and I start sweating alot, partly because its a hard hike and partly because I just tend to sweat easily. Again, lots of nice scenery to look at and near the top there was this fog/mist that gave a really nice atmosphere. It was kinda neat to walk out of it and into the sunlight when you finally got to the top.
At the top there was a bunch of shows, and one being a lumberjack show. It was really entertaining, and nearby were some animals. I managed to get a glimpse of a wolf. Afterwards we ate at the restaurant they had, watched a few more things, and took the $5 trip back down the sky lift thing. Oh yeah, the way up cost $32.
Afterwards we went back to my cousins place to clean up. Then half of the group would go clubbing and the other to see a movie. We ended up watching War of the Worlds and I thought it was a solid effort. Unfortunately, it wasn't anything groundbreaking and that actually takes away from the movie. I enjoyed the first 3/4ths of the movie, but the end just kinda happened and finished it. Well, I want to read the book now. That would be the end of that day for us, which would lead us to the last two days of our trip (Sunday doesn't count, we were just travelling back).
'Till next time!
Monday, July 04, 2005
Vancouver trip cont'd...
Monday
During our stay at Victoria, we had a hotel room and we crammed the 7 of us. I guess I neglected to specifically mention who was on the trip, so let me do so now. We had Tom, Helen, Dev, Ant, Kevin, Megan, and myself. Anyways, before going to bed the movie American Beauty came on. Most of us ended up staying up to watch that movie. Previously on the drive I had watched Good Will Hunting so now that was two new movies for me. Both really good movies, at least in my opinion.
Anyways, back to Monday. We woke up and breakfast was a bagel. Nice!! To kill some time we went shopping again. Finally, we all went whale watching. The regular price I think was about $75, although I could be wrong. However, there was a student rate of $50 and Tom had some kind of coupon. At first he couldn't use it because he neglected to mention it when reserving spots for us, but after some Jedi mind tricks he was able to use it. Now for some killer whale watching!!
So we boarded this open boat thingy while wearing a jacket and a nice bright red toque they gave us. The reason for the clothing was because it would get really cold once we hit certain speeds. It was a fun ride in the boat and we saw some nice scenery (spelling?? and dammit Alberta and your flatness and lack of coastlines...). We travelled in the boat thingy for about an hour or so until we stopped to look at the whales. Due to regulations, we had to keep a certain distance away from the whales, but we got a bit of a close up when they swam toward us. This one lady seemed angry that the whales decided to swim closer to another boat, and vented a bit at our guide. She asked well how come their boat got to be closer to the whales?? Well, frick, I don't know... I guess the whales decided to swim closer to that boast to piss you off. Anyways, I believe Dev has some nice shots and I got to see a whale breach (basically the whale jumps out of the water and does a flip). When we were leaving, our guide said okay lets go back! So we all looked away and of course a whale decides to breach! Man, screw that! I'm going to Seaworld again for Shamu.
We also visited Mile Zero and to my understanding... actually... I still don't really know what the hell it is. But anyways, we ventured onto the coastline and took some pictures on the rocks. It was also a very nice scenic area.
After some ice cream stops, we need to make it back to the ferry back to Vancouver. Its a bit late so everyone is worried about the ferry being full. And being the super prepared people we are, we are taking the last ferry out. As we're driving theres a whole bunch of cars zooming through. It seems everyone is trying to make the last ferry!! Now somewhere along the stretch of road there is a big looming sign. On it all I could read was ....%....Ferry....Full. There is a big silent collective "oh crap!!" in the van! We get closer and there is a big silent collective "phew!" because the sign says the ferry is only 31% full or something like that.
The ferry we're on is a new one and its fairly nice. So we have another nice cruise and we go back to my cousins house for a night's sleep.
Tuesday
Dammit, my mind is drawing the biggest blank in the world. What the hell did we do on this day?!? Oh wait! I think we went to Metrotown. Basically the biggest mall Vancouver has is really two malls that just happened to be built right next to each other. The other one is called... Metropolis! Yay! Right next to these malls is an area called Station Square. We happened to park there and we saw a Thai restaurant in the parkcade. Yeah... okay... For the most part the stuff we saw there was pretty much the same stuff we'll see in Edmonton. However, they had a Nike store!! I'm convinced I would have bought something if I had stayed there more. Usually I hate buying clothes because I have to try it on and crap like that. I probably would have gotten a hat.
Afterward we hit up Granville market... place... thingy... whatever its called. On the drive over we would take East Hastings street. It was a street we would get a bit familiar with, as it is notorious for being a very seedy and dangerous area. Once, my dad unknowlingly took Tess, Keith, and I for a quick walk there. Some hilights include a guy who was literally pissed drunk. But carrying on, we managed to pick up snacks while at the market. I mainly picked up apples, I believe it was oranges for Dev, berries for Ant, and Tom had pepperoni sticks. There were a lot of neat little stores (like the kids area!) but there wasn't really anything that screamed, "buy from here!! Totally what you want and you won't find it in Edmonton!" Although Kevin did pick up a nice colouring book about the history of swords. Yes, a colouring book that was all about swords.
For our dinner, we would goto a Chinese restaurant called Number 9's. Yeah, I don't know why you would call yourself that, but whatever! I thought it was one of the better Chinese places, but about the same as a place like Good Buddy. It was good enough to come back here again though, I'll say that much. So after we filled our stomaches up we called it a night, which would lead us to...
Wednesday
Okay, this is for next time!
Monday
During our stay at Victoria, we had a hotel room and we crammed the 7 of us. I guess I neglected to specifically mention who was on the trip, so let me do so now. We had Tom, Helen, Dev, Ant, Kevin, Megan, and myself. Anyways, before going to bed the movie American Beauty came on. Most of us ended up staying up to watch that movie. Previously on the drive I had watched Good Will Hunting so now that was two new movies for me. Both really good movies, at least in my opinion.
Anyways, back to Monday. We woke up and breakfast was a bagel. Nice!! To kill some time we went shopping again. Finally, we all went whale watching. The regular price I think was about $75, although I could be wrong. However, there was a student rate of $50 and Tom had some kind of coupon. At first he couldn't use it because he neglected to mention it when reserving spots for us, but after some Jedi mind tricks he was able to use it. Now for some killer whale watching!!
So we boarded this open boat thingy while wearing a jacket and a nice bright red toque they gave us. The reason for the clothing was because it would get really cold once we hit certain speeds. It was a fun ride in the boat and we saw some nice scenery (spelling?? and dammit Alberta and your flatness and lack of coastlines...). We travelled in the boat thingy for about an hour or so until we stopped to look at the whales. Due to regulations, we had to keep a certain distance away from the whales, but we got a bit of a close up when they swam toward us. This one lady seemed angry that the whales decided to swim closer to another boat, and vented a bit at our guide. She asked well how come their boat got to be closer to the whales?? Well, frick, I don't know... I guess the whales decided to swim closer to that boast to piss you off. Anyways, I believe Dev has some nice shots and I got to see a whale breach (basically the whale jumps out of the water and does a flip). When we were leaving, our guide said okay lets go back! So we all looked away and of course a whale decides to breach! Man, screw that! I'm going to Seaworld again for Shamu.
We also visited Mile Zero and to my understanding... actually... I still don't really know what the hell it is. But anyways, we ventured onto the coastline and took some pictures on the rocks. It was also a very nice scenic area.
After some ice cream stops, we need to make it back to the ferry back to Vancouver. Its a bit late so everyone is worried about the ferry being full. And being the super prepared people we are, we are taking the last ferry out. As we're driving theres a whole bunch of cars zooming through. It seems everyone is trying to make the last ferry!! Now somewhere along the stretch of road there is a big looming sign. On it all I could read was ....%....Ferry....Full. There is a big silent collective "oh crap!!" in the van! We get closer and there is a big silent collective "phew!" because the sign says the ferry is only 31% full or something like that.
The ferry we're on is a new one and its fairly nice. So we have another nice cruise and we go back to my cousins house for a night's sleep.
Tuesday
Dammit, my mind is drawing the biggest blank in the world. What the hell did we do on this day?!? Oh wait! I think we went to Metrotown. Basically the biggest mall Vancouver has is really two malls that just happened to be built right next to each other. The other one is called... Metropolis! Yay! Right next to these malls is an area called Station Square. We happened to park there and we saw a Thai restaurant in the parkcade. Yeah... okay... For the most part the stuff we saw there was pretty much the same stuff we'll see in Edmonton. However, they had a Nike store!! I'm convinced I would have bought something if I had stayed there more. Usually I hate buying clothes because I have to try it on and crap like that. I probably would have gotten a hat.
Afterward we hit up Granville market... place... thingy... whatever its called. On the drive over we would take East Hastings street. It was a street we would get a bit familiar with, as it is notorious for being a very seedy and dangerous area. Once, my dad unknowlingly took Tess, Keith, and I for a quick walk there. Some hilights include a guy who was literally pissed drunk. But carrying on, we managed to pick up snacks while at the market. I mainly picked up apples, I believe it was oranges for Dev, berries for Ant, and Tom had pepperoni sticks. There were a lot of neat little stores (like the kids area!) but there wasn't really anything that screamed, "buy from here!! Totally what you want and you won't find it in Edmonton!" Although Kevin did pick up a nice colouring book about the history of swords. Yes, a colouring book that was all about swords.
For our dinner, we would goto a Chinese restaurant called Number 9's. Yeah, I don't know why you would call yourself that, but whatever! I thought it was one of the better Chinese places, but about the same as a place like Good Buddy. It was good enough to come back here again though, I'll say that much. So after we filled our stomaches up we called it a night, which would lead us to...
Wednesday
Okay, this is for next time!
Sunday, July 03, 2005
There and Back Again
Well, we're all back from the Vancouver trip. I had a blast, and pretty soon I'm going to be gone again. I have some camping trip to go this upcoming weekend, and on July 29th I leave for Brunei and come back August 23rd. It was fun hanging out with everyone and the things we saw and did.
We left on the 25th of June and came back July 3rd.
Saturday
We left Edmonton at about 4 am. For the most part, it was pretty much a straight drive except for gas breaks. We did have a quick lunch break though, but there was a concerted effort to limit stops. In total the drive there was about 12-13 hours. I was crammed into the back with Kevin and Megan. Actually, it wasn't as bad as it could have been. Pretty much the ways to kill time was to sleep, listen to music, or use Megan's portable DVD player. There isn't much to tell since nothing crazy happened on the drive there.
At about 5-6 pm B.C. time we found the place we were staying. There was an arrangement where my cousins would take the 7 of us into their home. They lived in Coquitlam which was a bit far away from the places we would see, but that was the only negative. There have a pretty big home housing my Aunt and my cousins Tess (who is our age) and Vince (who is 24). Tess was always the cousin I would hang out with during family gatherings since we were close in age. I didn't see Vince much during the trip, although that was kinda expected. But anyways, we arrived at the house where my aunt greeted us. She helps us settle in a bit and jokes that I'm useless in helping navigate us around in Vancouver. Since this is the end of a long drive, we're all hungry but can't decide on where to eat. We wait for Tess to come home from work and she also ends up joking that I'm useless in navigating Vancouver. Thanks guys. Anyways, we eat at Red Robins and after that, the day is over.
Sunday
So the plan was to stay in Victoria after arriving in Vancouver. To get to Victoria with our rented van, we were going to take a ferry. Everybody woke up and got out the door relatively on time, but we just missed catching the 9 am ferry. We wandered the shopping area that was close by and took pictures near the coast. Soon we heard a big loud voice telling us to get our butts back into ours cars to drive onto the ferry. At the same time they started unloading the ferry that had currently docked. The cars unloaded and drove down the road we had crossed to take the pictures. At first everyone was all excited about the ferry and we stood outside for a while, but then it started getting cold and windy. The ride was about an hour and a half before we reached Victoria island. After checking into the hotel we went shopping. For the most part it was just wandering around. It pretty much would come to splitting up, with the groups being the two couples on their own and Me, Dev, and Ant just wandering around.
Our next meal would be at a place called "Barb's..." well I don't remember anything else about its name. But it had very good fish (halibut) and chips. Good enough to come back the next day. What was very cool was that were floating houses right next to the place! I wish I had a camera so I could show pictures, but alas, I don't.
Next was Butchart Gardens. Although there were only about 2-3 hours left before it closed and there was some light rain, it was probably the best time to go. I thought the light rain added a really nice atmosphere to the place and with us getting there so late, there was no one else there. I really enjoyed the place there and this was also a place of some stupid fun. First off, we picked up umbrellas and for the most part, we used them as swords to fight. The funny thing was that Kev saw some wheelchairs for use, so he decided to grab one. About 30 minutes into the garden, the genius decides he is sick of the wheelchair ,and we ditch it somewhere. Later on when we go back we find that someone already took it back. The funniest part is at the end when Dev, Tom, and Ant decide to have a quick wheelchair race in the parking lot. Somehow, Ant goes veering off to who knows where, and some guy sees them all and busts them. He just yells out, do you need to use that? Ant looks at him, looks down, goes alright, I'll get up. Meanwhile, it seemed that Dev and Tom weren't spotted, so they quickly finished their race. Tom won by the way. That was pretty much the end of that day.
Well, we're all back from the Vancouver trip. I had a blast, and pretty soon I'm going to be gone again. I have some camping trip to go this upcoming weekend, and on July 29th I leave for Brunei and come back August 23rd. It was fun hanging out with everyone and the things we saw and did.
We left on the 25th of June and came back July 3rd.
Saturday
We left Edmonton at about 4 am. For the most part, it was pretty much a straight drive except for gas breaks. We did have a quick lunch break though, but there was a concerted effort to limit stops. In total the drive there was about 12-13 hours. I was crammed into the back with Kevin and Megan. Actually, it wasn't as bad as it could have been. Pretty much the ways to kill time was to sleep, listen to music, or use Megan's portable DVD player. There isn't much to tell since nothing crazy happened on the drive there.
At about 5-6 pm B.C. time we found the place we were staying. There was an arrangement where my cousins would take the 7 of us into their home. They lived in Coquitlam which was a bit far away from the places we would see, but that was the only negative. There have a pretty big home housing my Aunt and my cousins Tess (who is our age) and Vince (who is 24). Tess was always the cousin I would hang out with during family gatherings since we were close in age. I didn't see Vince much during the trip, although that was kinda expected. But anyways, we arrived at the house where my aunt greeted us. She helps us settle in a bit and jokes that I'm useless in helping navigate us around in Vancouver. Since this is the end of a long drive, we're all hungry but can't decide on where to eat. We wait for Tess to come home from work and she also ends up joking that I'm useless in navigating Vancouver. Thanks guys. Anyways, we eat at Red Robins and after that, the day is over.
Sunday
So the plan was to stay in Victoria after arriving in Vancouver. To get to Victoria with our rented van, we were going to take a ferry. Everybody woke up and got out the door relatively on time, but we just missed catching the 9 am ferry. We wandered the shopping area that was close by and took pictures near the coast. Soon we heard a big loud voice telling us to get our butts back into ours cars to drive onto the ferry. At the same time they started unloading the ferry that had currently docked. The cars unloaded and drove down the road we had crossed to take the pictures. At first everyone was all excited about the ferry and we stood outside for a while, but then it started getting cold and windy. The ride was about an hour and a half before we reached Victoria island. After checking into the hotel we went shopping. For the most part it was just wandering around. It pretty much would come to splitting up, with the groups being the two couples on their own and Me, Dev, and Ant just wandering around.
Our next meal would be at a place called "Barb's..." well I don't remember anything else about its name. But it had very good fish (halibut) and chips. Good enough to come back the next day. What was very cool was that were floating houses right next to the place! I wish I had a camera so I could show pictures, but alas, I don't.
Next was Butchart Gardens. Although there were only about 2-3 hours left before it closed and there was some light rain, it was probably the best time to go. I thought the light rain added a really nice atmosphere to the place and with us getting there so late, there was no one else there. I really enjoyed the place there and this was also a place of some stupid fun. First off, we picked up umbrellas and for the most part, we used them as swords to fight. The funny thing was that Kev saw some wheelchairs for use, so he decided to grab one. About 30 minutes into the garden, the genius decides he is sick of the wheelchair ,and we ditch it somewhere. Later on when we go back we find that someone already took it back. The funniest part is at the end when Dev, Tom, and Ant decide to have a quick wheelchair race in the parking lot. Somehow, Ant goes veering off to who knows where, and some guy sees them all and busts them. He just yells out, do you need to use that? Ant looks at him, looks down, goes alright, I'll get up. Meanwhile, it seemed that Dev and Tom weren't spotted, so they quickly finished their race. Tom won by the way. That was pretty much the end of that day.
Friday, July 01, 2005
Short Update from B.C.
Well, I'm still in B.C. but the trip is almost over. We've done quite a bit, so hopefully I can remember most of it. At the moment it seems everyone else is asleep. It looks like I'm one of the first to wake up. Its kinda funny because usually on a family trip that would go to Keith, and I would be the last to wake up. As much as it is a bummer to have the trip end, I imagine people are starting to miss their beds.
Well, I'm still in B.C. but the trip is almost over. We've done quite a bit, so hopefully I can remember most of it. At the moment it seems everyone else is asleep. It looks like I'm one of the first to wake up. Its kinda funny because usually on a family trip that would go to Keith, and I would be the last to wake up. As much as it is a bummer to have the trip end, I imagine people are starting to miss their beds.
Thursday, June 23, 2005
Quick bulletin update, I'm in, yeehaw!
At 2:00 pm on a Wednesday afternoon, I get a call from someone in the Occupational Therapy department. I wasn't at home at the time (at St. John's Ambulance) so I missed it. By the time I get home and call back, all I can do is leave a message. So I don't know if I'm in. The next morning my cell phone has a missed call at 9, and I'm kicking myself for not getting out of bed. I end this phone tag session quick and reach someone and eventually hear, "we have a spot for you, will you accept?" So Yay!! My future is on track for now! Of course, it only gets harder and I'm gonna have to put in a tremendous effort the second I step into a class.
However, there is a potential problem. Next week the department mails out some package but at the same time I'll be in BC. They may need me to sign some documents, but if I fire off an email to the lady in charge, my parents could hand it in.
Anyways, time to grab a quick nap before heading off West. Later days!
At 2:00 pm on a Wednesday afternoon, I get a call from someone in the Occupational Therapy department. I wasn't at home at the time (at St. John's Ambulance) so I missed it. By the time I get home and call back, all I can do is leave a message. So I don't know if I'm in. The next morning my cell phone has a missed call at 9, and I'm kicking myself for not getting out of bed. I end this phone tag session quick and reach someone and eventually hear, "we have a spot for you, will you accept?" So Yay!! My future is on track for now! Of course, it only gets harder and I'm gonna have to put in a tremendous effort the second I step into a class.
However, there is a potential problem. Next week the department mails out some package but at the same time I'll be in BC. They may need me to sign some documents, but if I fire off an email to the lady in charge, my parents could hand it in.
Anyways, time to grab a quick nap before heading off West. Later days!
Monday, June 20, 2005
Update
Alright, lets just get a brief sit rep on whats going to be happening with me. On Tuesday and Wednesday I'm heading to St. John's... center? place? Eh, whatever its called. Anyways, I'm going there for a Stardard First Aid/CPR course. I've always kinda kicked myself for not getting this sooner. You never know when any little tidbit from these courses could come in handy. Luckily (and knock on wood) I've never experienced a very tense situation where such knowledge needed to be called upon.
On the 25th I'll be on a trip heading out to Vancouver. Yeah, its coming up pretty quickly and it will be a 10 day trip. Whats mind boggling is that when the trip is over and I'm back in Edmonton, it'll be July!! That means summer is half over! But back to teensy bit more about the trip. I also talked to Tess, who is my cousin that lives there. After she had a quick chat with her mom it looks like our group might be able to stay at their place. Awesome! Y'know, whoever planned this trip, I should probably say thanks to for including me in on this. It probably helped that I have a lot of free time now since I've just been bumming around =)
I think I might try to keep a journal of it. If I bring a small notebook, and jot some point form notes about what happened and fill it in with more info at another time it shouldn't be too hard.
Now, that kinda brings me to another thought, I always wondered if blogging would get easier. Really, it never did. I've never been much of a "sharer" to begin with, and writing a diary of some sort never appealed. So that would make having a blog a dynamite idea! Well, at the time I thought something would change and maybe I would throw more out in the open. Instead, I just end up throwing around some scattered thoughts and brief sentences on what I've done. Ugh, clearly I can be capable of more than that, right? Why else have I kept this up when I could have just forgotten about it? Well, I really like being able to read about what everyone else is doing. And another thing is it seemed like keeping a journal was a good thing, although I'm not sure why. It doesn't matter to me if no one reads this, but the potential for it helps keep me honest and a bit more open minded. Plus, I should type as though I'm typing this for another person to read. That way this blog will be a good archive of what my thoughts, actions, and opinions were.
Okay, I think I'll end this here and see where I go afterward. On a side note, if anyone is bored, check out this blog. The writer is a bouncer at a club in New York, and these are some of his stories and observations.
Alright, lets just get a brief sit rep on whats going to be happening with me. On Tuesday and Wednesday I'm heading to St. John's... center? place? Eh, whatever its called. Anyways, I'm going there for a Stardard First Aid/CPR course. I've always kinda kicked myself for not getting this sooner. You never know when any little tidbit from these courses could come in handy. Luckily (and knock on wood) I've never experienced a very tense situation where such knowledge needed to be called upon.
On the 25th I'll be on a trip heading out to Vancouver. Yeah, its coming up pretty quickly and it will be a 10 day trip. Whats mind boggling is that when the trip is over and I'm back in Edmonton, it'll be July!! That means summer is half over! But back to teensy bit more about the trip. I also talked to Tess, who is my cousin that lives there. After she had a quick chat with her mom it looks like our group might be able to stay at their place. Awesome! Y'know, whoever planned this trip, I should probably say thanks to for including me in on this. It probably helped that I have a lot of free time now since I've just been bumming around =)
I think I might try to keep a journal of it. If I bring a small notebook, and jot some point form notes about what happened and fill it in with more info at another time it shouldn't be too hard.
Now, that kinda brings me to another thought, I always wondered if blogging would get easier. Really, it never did. I've never been much of a "sharer" to begin with, and writing a diary of some sort never appealed. So that would make having a blog a dynamite idea! Well, at the time I thought something would change and maybe I would throw more out in the open. Instead, I just end up throwing around some scattered thoughts and brief sentences on what I've done. Ugh, clearly I can be capable of more than that, right? Why else have I kept this up when I could have just forgotten about it? Well, I really like being able to read about what everyone else is doing. And another thing is it seemed like keeping a journal was a good thing, although I'm not sure why. It doesn't matter to me if no one reads this, but the potential for it helps keep me honest and a bit more open minded. Plus, I should type as though I'm typing this for another person to read. That way this blog will be a good archive of what my thoughts, actions, and opinions were.
Okay, I think I'll end this here and see where I go afterward. On a side note, if anyone is bored, check out this blog. The writer is a bouncer at a club in New York, and these are some of his stories and observations.
Monday, June 13, 2005
New Middleweight Champ!
I'm gonna make this a quick one, and mostly about watching UFC 53. I thought the event was pretty exciting, not completely full of competitive matches but rather to see if the guys they wanted to push belong in the Octagon. By the way I'm talking about professional fighting in the event known as the Ultimate Fighting Championship. The sport is pretty much called "mixed martial arts" or MMA for short. I'm not completely sure why I became such a fan of this, it can be pretty raw and brutal at times. I guess combat sports are pretty much the only ones where you find total one on one competition. And even though a fighter will need a lot of people backing him/her up (sparring partners, coaches, sponsors and so on) in the end, he is responsible for what happens to him. I also like the simplicity of the sport in comparison to something like football, baseball, heck even bowling (seriously, who came up with this idea?). Anyways, there was one fight between Rich Franklin and Evan Tanner for the Middleweight Championship and it was a solid fight. For me it was the culmination of Rich plugging away, working hard and smart, getting his chance and giving it his very best. He won the MW championship fairly clearly, but had his scary moments. Anyways, this picture best represents what it took for him to become a champ.
To be honest, I could probably go on for a long while, but its not like I think about this THAT often.
In other news, I haven't recieved word on whether or not I'm accepted into the Occupational Therapy program. Its "Mid-June" and I don't actually know how I'm getting the news, or if they're only telling those who get in. For a long time, my attitude was pretty much to just take it as it comes. Kinda fast how "Mid June" has come, and I have no idea what to expect. I'm hoping that I'll get to have a celebration dinner instead of a consolation one.
Looks like this stayed brief, but I better head off to bed and try to fall asleep.
I'm gonna make this a quick one, and mostly about watching UFC 53. I thought the event was pretty exciting, not completely full of competitive matches but rather to see if the guys they wanted to push belong in the Octagon. By the way I'm talking about professional fighting in the event known as the Ultimate Fighting Championship. The sport is pretty much called "mixed martial arts" or MMA for short. I'm not completely sure why I became such a fan of this, it can be pretty raw and brutal at times. I guess combat sports are pretty much the only ones where you find total one on one competition. And even though a fighter will need a lot of people backing him/her up (sparring partners, coaches, sponsors and so on) in the end, he is responsible for what happens to him. I also like the simplicity of the sport in comparison to something like football, baseball, heck even bowling (seriously, who came up with this idea?). Anyways, there was one fight between Rich Franklin and Evan Tanner for the Middleweight Championship and it was a solid fight. For me it was the culmination of Rich plugging away, working hard and smart, getting his chance and giving it his very best. He won the MW championship fairly clearly, but had his scary moments. Anyways, this picture best represents what it took for him to become a champ.
To be honest, I could probably go on for a long while, but its not like I think about this THAT often.
In other news, I haven't recieved word on whether or not I'm accepted into the Occupational Therapy program. Its "Mid-June" and I don't actually know how I'm getting the news, or if they're only telling those who get in. For a long time, my attitude was pretty much to just take it as it comes. Kinda fast how "Mid June" has come, and I have no idea what to expect. I'm hoping that I'll get to have a celebration dinner instead of a consolation one.
Looks like this stayed brief, but I better head off to bed and try to fall asleep.
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