December 20, 2006

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS, HAPPY NEW YEAR AND SO ON!

Hello all! as you can see, our new house is decked out for the holidays! the lights went up on December 1st, the first full day we were in the house.

as you will see from the following pictures, the interior isn't necessarily as well decorated as the exterior! we've already done some work, but those photos will have to wait until the next entry or two. after all, it's more fun with the before / after effect anyway :)

so what you're looking at is our dining room, living room, back yard ( the last owners had SEVEN cats, hence the mesh that was their encagement! and it all collapsed in the snow...), and a taste of what the basement suite is painted up like. pretty , no? and the wood panelling? We'll be attacking that stuff with extreme prejudice. Gorgeous. and what of the chandelier? a real touch of class. there's five or six chandaliers in this house. nope, not sure why.


Last but not least, just a slice of the view from our spare room. we can see the whole North shore range from our house! (to those of you on the prairies / back east, etc... these are called mountains.. mahwn/tayns

well, despite the snow in these pics, and the lights on our house, this isn't an overly Christmasy holiday message so... ummm... uhhhhhh... Oh, I know, here you go... Click This!

November 27, 2006

New Digs and other info

Well, It's been six weeks, give or take, since I updated this thing, so I'm going to try to cram as much of it as i can into one breath, so as not to waste your time in this sound-bite, give-it-to-me-now age of information...



okay, Deeeep breath iiinn...aaaannndd... GO!



updating you from mid october on Kate lost her wallet then I crashed the car the next day and then we bought a house two days later and then two more days later my contract at work finished up and then Kate got the flu or something gross like that and then her wallet showed up magically in the mail with everything in it so yay but even though kate now had a license again she still had no car but kate's mum gave us her truck which was good as kate needs a car for her work which is going well by the way and also cause the car wasn't fixed until just before rememberance day which means it took a month to fix the car which tells you that I smucked it really good but when we got it back we used the car to go to kamloops to visit my parents over the long weekend which was nice and mixed into all of that I have been trying to line up another contract and hopefully one that is longer than the last because that was way to short and I have also been touching up and fixing up this house before we move out of it which happens this thursday, november 30th and hopefully the snow that has been falling here the last couple of days will have disappeared or at least sorted itself out as moving day could be gross but I think the snow is maybe a bit better than the 320 mm of rain we have so far received in the month of november and since it's the end of november that means I'm only three months away from being an uncle and if you were wondering Dina's baby is doing just fine and nellie the dog is also fine and mum and dad are fine they went to mexico for a week last month and that was nice and dad just finished his very last chemo this week way to go dad it has been a long year but you rule and now I think we're up to speed which is good because I'm about to pass out.










......WHHHHEWWWW....


did you catch all that? highlights include:


-looking for work
-bought a new house, which is awesome, pictures to follow

so that brings you up to speed! when next I write, which will hopefully be next week, we'll be in our new place, and with any luck I'll have another gig lined up.

October 3, 2006

Death, and Birth (y'know, just the light stuff this week)

Overnight on September 27th, 2006, family man and avid fisherman Gordon Loutit lost his battle with lymphatic cancer. He’d been in the hospital for three weeks before he snagged snag the big fish that carried him upstream and away from us. It's said that a graceful death is the ultimate acheivement in life, and for all the months he was sick, and for all the weeks he was in hospital, there wasn't one complaint to be had...

...I first met Gord at Kate’s high school graduation in the spring of 1997—that was only the second “date” Kate and I went on, and needless to say, it's an odd thing to one's ENTIRE family all in one fell swoop so early on in a relationship. But that's what happened, and among the family members present: Gordon Loutit.

Technically he’s a neighbour, but more appropriately he’s been a father figure for Kate since she was born. As a young girl, Kate would spend hours at Diane and Gord’s house across the back lane when Kate’s mum was at work. In later years, when parental supervision didn’t matter, Kate could still be found over at the Loutit house, sitting in the kitchen drinking tea and eating brownies.

Gord would tell a fishing tale to anyone that would lend an ear, talk about the fishing show he caught on TV the night before, or tell stories about near anything for that matter. He loved to talk about construction projects going on around the city and province, to gripe about government, and fume about cost over runs on this and that. With a gleaming eye, a grin and a chuckle, Gord managed to pull me into one of his fishing stories at that high school grad of Kate's back in 1997. All I had to tell him was that I was from Kamloops, and that I hear he liked to fish. From there, I was told everything I could have wanted to know about the waters around Kamloops and the marine life that inhabited them. Instead of being a fish out of water, I was made to feel as comfortable with their family as I could have hoped.

Not an entirely docile creature, Gord would be quick enough to tell his grandkids to go play in traffic if they were annoying him, and would be more than happy to tell you when you’re wrong. But on the other hand, if you needed a ride to Timbuktu, he’d be the first to offer it. And if you needed something when you got there, he’d give you the shirt off his back. And naturally, he’d be there to pick you up when you wanted to get home again. Kate was ferried back and forth by Gord more times than she could ever count.

There’s a family that misses you now, a groove in the TV room chair that no one else will be able to fill, and a particular fish-motif coffee mug in the cupboard above the sink that will sit empty. Here’s to hoping the fishing ‘Up There’ is better than it ever was down here…

Tight lines, Gordie. We love ya.

---------------------------------------------------------

And now, on to new life... An update on the happy news I mentioned last time about my Sister in law being "with Child" as they say...

We got Pictures, baby! (pun intended...)
Here's the first ultrasound of the wee one! The Docs say he / she is perfectly healthy so far with a strong heart, and Dina reports that she can feel the baby moving around in her tummy now... in true Dina fashion, she likens this feeling to 'indigestion'...

I'm not entirley sure what to make of these pictures thus far... on the first image, my future neice / nephew looks a bit alien, and the second image looks more jellybean than human :) No doubt there's all sorts of cuteness just waiting to be formed! and it's perhaps more exciting to see the pictures than it was to hear the announcement in the first place---It's real now!!

That all being said, it was my brithday this week, as well as Dina's brithday, which falls on this very day! Given those facts, and amidst the birth and death going on around me, I can't help but remind myself that in between, there's lots of life to live!

"To everything there is a season,
and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

A time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted..."


Ecclesiastes 3

September 14, 2006

waxing on the waning sun...

Sadly, summer is disappearing, as is evident in the chill of the light of both dawn and dusk. The frigid fingers of Fall are wrapping around the longneck bottle of summer, preparing to tip the season upside down altogether, the last drops of a warmer, brighter time of year spilling into the gaping maw of autumn.

sigh...

I’ve started wearing sweaters again here and there, and the hangers of warmer clothing are slowly making their way from the back to the front of my closet. For the first time the other night, I had to wear a jacket to the dog park. All these decidedly un-summery items are hanging up front and centre with the dress clothing, which has also been put back into high rotation now that work has started up for me again.

Speaking of work, it’s going well (easy to say after only a week back at it—I’m still in the honeymoon phase!) It’s a different position than I’ve held before. Less PR, more PR / Marketing, so it’ll be a switch for me to adjust to that, but it will be really nice to add to my skill set with some totally new things. The people in my department are really great, which is always nice. As you can see from the photos, it took a while to get settled into a “complete” office. The materials were a little slow to arrive. Thank goodness my kind and caring coworkers were so willing to pitch in and put together an office space using their own supplies…. The desk is a little small, the pen a bit frilly, and the paper a bit pink, but my coworkers are short females, so what should I expect?



Before work got started, Kate and I were in Kelowna and Kamloops visiting family over the labour day long weekend. Kate’s dad, his partner and her sons (as well as the dogs) and Kate and I had a chance to do some swimming in Lake Okanagan, which was still a lovely temperature. Up in Kamloops, we didn’t have a lake while visiting my parents, but the neighbour’s pool was open, so good enough! The local black bear has been making good use of the fruit trees in the area, and in general making regular appearances in the yards, as evidenced by these pics, taken by my sister, Kari.

Sure, he looks cute, but the droppings he leaves all over the lawn are far from adorable, all full of the remnants of everyone’s fruit that he’s been stealing!

And Finally (last, but certainly not least)Some big news coming out of Kamloops, comes via my brother, Jamie, and his wife, Dina. In true pop culture style, the pair let it be known that they’re expecting a wee one as of March 3rd, 2007! They did so by having us all over for a barbeque, and they presented my dad with a Grandpa Burger from A & W... GROAN!!! ;) My parents are totally thrilled, as are the rest of us. Kate and I are looking forward to the aunt and uncle gig! Congrats again to Jamie and Dina! YaAaAYyYYYY!

on that note, I'll close things off. The thought of new life is a much happier one than that of the end of summer ;)

August 28, 2006

back on the employment wagon

Let's play Good news/ Bad news once again, shall we? It's been a year
since I did that, after all!

Since last I wrote, I managed to fool someone into thinking I'll be an asset to their organization :)
I'm going back to work! hurray! I'll be going to what was called the Workers' Compensation Board and is now called WorkSafeBC. I worked there doing public affairs / media relations / kid-who-cut-his fingers-off spokesperson work back in 2001/2002, and I'm quite pleased to be going back! This time, I'm going to be helping with some marketing initiatives in the Investigations Division. What do they do? I won't fill in all the details here, but if you feel so inclined, follow this link to an FAQ on the department! the general idea is that they look into the serious accidents or deaths resulting from an incident on a jobsite.
So, I'll be starting that gig on Sept 6th on a six month contract to start--sounds like there's good chance for extension / integration as a permanent worker. It's a junior management level job, and I think my official title will be 'Junior Policy Analyst'. Don't ask me why!

Hey, that's good!

Unfortunately, it may be the case that the dog training gets cut a bit short because of starting a job, and we could use more time to get her used to our being out of the house--not that I haven't been trying to desensitize her as days have gone by! submitted as evidence of her need of help:

Exhibit A: the TV room as it should look...
Hey, that's good!
Exhibit B: the TV room as it looked after three hours of nellie being on her own in there...
Hey, that's bad... (note the pee stains...click the pic to enlarge if you really want to! )

with other more good news, dad had a CAT scan done recently, and his last round of chemo has gone really, REALLY well--his tumours have shrunk 80 per cent! We are all thrilled for him, and it's nice to know that his being under the weather during treatment days has at least been worth something!

Hey, that's Awesome!

Also in the cancer camp, less fortunately, is Kate's childhood neighbour, Gord, who has a fast acting Lymphoma wearing him down at the moment. He's a father figure in Kate's life, and in general more a member of the family than a neighbour. Just keep him in your prayers for us!

Hey, that's no good at all...

But the Good news goes on! just look at these pictures! the garden is putting out a great crop right now. tomoatoes of the cherry, beefsteak and roma varieties, and HUGE runner beans by the fistfull, with bell, Jalapeno, and banana peppers still to come

Hey, that's good!

also, my sister-in-law came back from a trip to Holland and got us all sorts of goodies, and in just a few days, my sister comes home to live in Canada for a full year, after living in England for the past three years as a teacher. It's going to be great to have her around for a while!

Hey, that's good!

And has anyone been paying attention to the weather around here lately? Holy dinah! faaaantastic!

hey, that's good too!

It sure is! and on that note, since the Goods are winning over the Bads at this point, I'll wrap up and just say that overall, life is pretty frickin' sweet.

... Looked up to the Lord above and said "hey man thanks,
Some times I feel so good I gotta scream"...---Tragically Hip, New Orleans is Sinking

August 10, 2006

Still jobless (and other summer stories)

stardate 11.9.2006: status: unemployed... still

The job search has proved itself an interesting one as of late, garnering me one interview for a handful of applications, and for said interview, I didn't get the job. No matter, it would have meant two and a half months on the road, and I'd rather be at home, I think! (this is what I tell myself to make it all seem okay... >sniff<) But honestly, I am not worried about the job prospects. Of the four other application packages I have 'out there'none of them have even reached their closing dates as of yet. The summer is generally a pretty slow season for the Communications world, as it is for pretty much anywhere one might try to get a job. So, as the Fall draws closer, hopefully prospects will improve!

despite my lack of employment, I still found time in my busy schedule of job searching, housecleaning, going to the gym, and whipping our puppy into shape to head up to Whistler for a few days over the August long weekend. Kate has Fridays off right now, so we even got a four day trip out of it.

The highlight of the weekend--aside from the glorious weather,mountain vistas, shimmering lakes and fresh air--had to be the Canadian Barbeque Championships, which took place in Whistler village over the course of the weekend. Picture it if you will:

two dozen or so competitors gather to cook up their best BBQ'ed Pork, Chicken , and Beef. You, as a spectator / carnivore head to the site. upon paying five dollars which goes towards the charitable cause of crohns disease / colitis research, you're given free access to wander up to any of the competitors tents, and sample of the particular meat they happen to be cooking for the competition of the hour.

First up, the Pork. Forgive me Jewish God, for I have sinned. There was more pulled pork in a plethora of mouth-watering marinades than this here meat eater knew what to do with. More glorioualy succulent ribs on hand than even the most gluttonous of gluttons could hope to gorge upon. There's a little bit of Homer Simpson in all of us, I think. And on August sixth, there was a lot Homer showing up in a lot of people.

After the pork had been turned in for judging, the competitors turn to their chicken recipes, and the process began again, with the carnivores running around like chickens with their heads cut off (pun intended) trying to grab up the samples before they're all gone. And so it went with the beef after the chicken had been turned in.

Yes, my meat-eating friends (sorry to all the Vegetarians out there...)It was every bit as wonderful as I describe, and then some. I imagine it will be right up there with wedding days, and--when they arrive--the birth of my children. Unlike such events, however, the BBQ champs happen every year. Amen.

as pennance for the extreme over-indulgance, Kate and I used up the free lift tickets we had and hiked atop whistler mountain for a few hours the next day, so as to work of some of the meat in the high alpine. Okay, okay, it wasn't really punishment, as the pics below will attest to!

atop Whistler mountain, with a view to Black Tusk in the background


an inukshuk garden, top of Whistler


one big Inukshuk!


flowers in the alpine


a wall of snow towers above Kate



Oh, and if any of you are wondering about the status of the puppy, she's generally been great, though thus far she's chewed through several BBQ tools off our back deck, two DVD cases, a corn husk broom (twice... it was reconstructed, then chewed again)two ant poison traps, a mini football, a leash (an escape technique), and has jumped two fences and leapt from a first story window in order to track us down. Here's a few more pics!

learning to swim!




nellie constantly tries to squeeze in through the space cut for a cat door


Scratch my tummy damn you! scratch it!


until next time, I wish you puppy-tongued kisses and 14 hour slow-roasted pulled pork. Cheers!

July 16, 2006

WHOA NELLIE!!!!


The happy new addition to the household comes to us via the SPCA. Nellie (formerly known as Athena--but we decided she didn't like that name...) has been in the shelter since May. Her previous owner is a single woman undergoing chemotherapy, and also a mother of a two-year old. she decided she couldn't do all that and own a puppy.


the vital stats on nellie are:

Age: 10 months
Breed: Border Collie / lab cross (less collie temperament, more lab.. hurray!)
Colour: Black w/ white patch on chest
Issues: separation anxiety
Housebroken: YESSSS!!!
Quarterback sacks 2004/2005 season: 14

We spent the last few days building gates on our back fence specifically for the purpose of containing a dog that we figured we'd get sometime this summer, and we're very pleased to have found such a great pooch so soon!




To all of you who expected a baby announcement, don't get your hopes up. Give it a few years, eh?

July 11, 2006

back in Vancouver for a while!

Hello all, it's been a few weeks since the last update! As it turns out, while Kate and I were away on vacation, the world forgot to stop turning on us, and we had to play catch-up on return. some of the examples of the things that happened while we were away / in the last few weeks.

-Getting off the plane in Vancouver, I was subjected to a violent attack of food poisoning that lasted a few days.
-Most recently, we spent a few days in Edmonton attending a friend's wedding.
-the weekend before that, Kate was out of town for five days being a camp counsellor.
And while we were away:
-Kate's mum stepped down from her high-profile job with the BC government.
-My sister's boyfriend's grandparents BOTH landed in hospital.
-My sister's Boyfriend's brother and wife had their baby.
-the same baby at age three-weeks landed in hospital with suspected meningitis (she's ok now though!!)
-My sister's broken leg didn't heal at all in 12 weeks--she just had surgery to fix it, hopefully it will be okay now)
-My veggie garden turned into a twisted jungle of weeds and unchecked growth.
-A guy I grew up with in Kamloops died in a car crash.
-And his obituary appeared in the newspaper right next to that of my grandfather's, who also passed away while I was 'out and about'.

and I think it's this last bit that I wanted to talk about today. Grandad, also known as James Frederick Chase--or Fred--was in bad shape for the last decade or so. He suffered a stroke back then, and ever since slowly slipped away from us as the man we knew. We haven't been close simply becuase we really haven't been able to. When he died in the hospital a few weeks ago, it was as much a relief to us as it was a sorrow, and as such, it was hard to know how to feel at the time.

But now that we as a family have had a chance to gather and remember him, I'm a little more clear on how I felt about grandad. I also had a solitary car ride up to Kamloops (where we held the gathering) to think about things. My Brother, Jamie, said a few words at the memorial that defined pretty well what I too thought. These thoughts are along the lines that, even though we weren't too terribly close to Granddad, either in the capacity of grandchild or child, we none the less owe our very lives to the man. If he and Grandma never found each other, we never would have been born, not his own six kids, not any of the eleven grandkids, nor the eight great grandkids. Or, had my grandparents met but not moved from Ontario to BC in 1967--which would not have been and was not an easy thing to do--to start life fresh and new, I could have grown up in some other place than this province that I love and call my home.

Grandad served 17 years in the Canadian Navy, so it was perhaps appropriate that we held his memorial on Canada Day. It's thanks to guys like him that we get such a holiday, and for that, I have to be proud of and thankful for my grandad.

The fireworks that night were for you grandad.

June 23, 2006

European Travels: Turkey (gobble gobble) Pt. 2

This will be a long one, so İ hope ıt ıs at least informative!

back to where Ä° left off...

We left İstanbul on a nıght bus, whıch involved takıng a shuttle dolmuş (pronounced dolmush)--thıs roughly translated means bus overstuffed wıth passengers and luggage--from the place we stayed to the main otogard (bus station). It was an experience to be sure. Asıde from two jaunts off ın the wrong direction, our drıver managed to pull the bus too far into an intersection at a red lıght. At thıs poınt, we were hıt by a train. Yeah, we thought the drıver would have seen that comıng too... it was not so bad, actually. we lost a mırror and some paint, and the engine stıll ran, so the drıver sped off in search of our destination.

...fast forwardıng, our maın bus trıp was a 12 hour overnighter to Selçuk (selchuck) that took us through changıng terraın, and further south ınto warmer temperatures. The main attraction at Selçuk ıs not selçuk ıtselfö but rather the ruıned cıty of Ephesus, or Efes as ıt ıs actually called here. It was an amazıng ruins to wander overö wıth two Greek amphıtheatres, one of a magnıfıcent sıze, and all nature of ruined buildings, from baths, to housing, to temples and an amazıng library that has been partially reconstructed.

Set off to one sıde of the ruins, relatıvely unvısted by the masses of tour groups is the ruıns of the Church of Mary. This is not just A church of Mary, but THE Church of Mary, erected ın 437 AD, and so named for the Vırgın Mary--the very fırst Christian church created ın Her name. An unforgetable moment to stand at what remaıns of the altar.

Back ın Selçuk, there are also ruıns to be seen. The ruined Temple of Artemıs has but one column remaining erect. the rest has eıther been taken away to be part of other temples, taken for museum collectionsö or has sımple been reclaimed by the marsh ıt has now become. At the peak of it's creatıon, ıt was one of the seven wonders of the world, being four times larger than even the Parthenon at Athens ( thıs = bıg!) Above thıs sıte, on another hill sıts the Church of St. John, where St. John hımself was dıscovered to be buried. His tomb is humbly maintained among the ruined church. Kate and İ were the only ones on the sıte when we visited, and it was amazing to stand alone at this very holy place.

Picking up speed again, the Ephesus trıp was just a one nıghter. we moved further South , to stıll warmer weather and got on a Gulet yacht (hand made wooden boat) wıth sıxteen others and sailed off ınto the medıterranean sunshine from the town of Fethiye.

The next three nights and four days İ can only describe as amazing! Picture it if you will: the fırst lıght of day creeps ıts way over the hills at about five-thirty ın the a.m.. You awake on deckö where you've just slept under the stars.
'you going swimming?' whıspers a boat mate , not wantıng to wake others on deck.
'yeah, gimme a minute' you say as you wıpe sleep from your eyes.
and you put on your bathing suit and slıpp quietly off the boat ınto the still waters of your secluded bay as the sun gets closer and closer to rising. As you get back on board, the sun climbs above the hills--goats bleat, donkeys bay, roosters crow on the scattered hılls around you... and of courseö others sleeping on deck snoreö but that's neither here nor there...

and after the day has started with a swim, breakfast ıs served. Then you swim. then lunch. then you read and sleep and swim/snorkel. then dınner. then swim. then sleep. then wake up and do it agaın. Toss a bıt of exploring more ruins on islands, and you have, as İ said, an amazing four days.

After the boat trip, there was another overnıght bus trıp ınto the regıon of Capaddocıa ,which is where İ am now. The Bus system here, by the way, ıs AMAZİNG! It makes greyhound look like total crap. we're talking busses on time to the minute , bıg and new busses, and trip attendants servıng up a varıety of snacks, hot and cold drinks, and the occasional dash of hand sanitizer for those not-so-fresh travellers. Anyway, we are ın Göreme, known for it's stunnıng rock formations, ancient cave dwellings and cave churches , and underground citıes. (everything ın caves / underground because ınvadıng hordes were none too keen on Christian ıdeals). Just today we were walking ın a valley to explore cave houses and churches guıded by our hostel owner's dog--yeah you heard me rıght. The dog knows where to go and how to get there. Spotty ıs one cool pooch. Alas tomorrow, we must fly out of here.

I have much to remember and appreciate from this trip. The landscape here ıs often changing, but on the whole reminds me very stongly of the Thompson-Okanagan ın Kamloops, whıth ıt's hıgh rolling hills covered ın sage and scrub (though here, the sage often turns out to be olıve trees upon closer ınspection!). You can fınd a piece of home no matter where you are!. At tımesö these hills are mashed together wıth flats of wheat fields wıth ancient Volcanoes rısıng above them ın the dıstance. Thıs partıcular area look svery much lıke alberta's badlands, so that too looks similar.

as for the seas , what can İ say about the clear beauty of the blue water? even after four days of floatıng on top of it and diving into itö İ was still ın awe.

Of the hıstory that ıs found here, İ cannot say enough. The land could not keep ıts secrets even if it tried, so much of ıt there is to be found. And of the Churches and other ancient holy places dating back thousands of years--I am reading a book rıght now called 'Turkısh Reflectıons', and in it there is a lıne in which the author says that even after all these hundres of years,thesehousands of years,these holy places still hold their power. and how true it ıs. That spırıtualıty comes alıve several times a day here, too, as the haunting calls to prayer rings out across the towns from the minarets of Mosques.

of the people here, we have--amongst the calls of 'buy thıs!' and 'buy that!' found much hospıtalıty and warmth. Above all, perhaps it ıs this--lıke any place--that will brıng me back.

That is plenty long enough for one entry, to be sure!! I wıll sıgn off now, and the next entry wıll be nothıng but pıctures ,İ promise!!

June 14, 2006

European travels, pt. 1 England (wot wot) continued, and Turkey (Gobble Gobble)!!!

first off, lets talk about what was, for all intensive purposes, the last chunk of travel in Britain.

OXFORD: A charming town of higher education, dreaming spires, lazily meandering rivers, finely cut cricket pitches and grass tennis courts, a myriad of rowing clubs, and last but not least, plenty of public drunkedness.

We were in the Town of Oxford primarily for Kate's graduation ceremony--she finished her D.Phil two years ago, but never went through the commencements. The ceremony was done almost entirely in latin, and was as chalk full of pomp and circumstance as you might fancy an Oxford graduation ceremony might be.

Aside from the ceremony, we did a ton of visiting with Kate's friends that are still living in the town, and in between visits, there was ample opportunity to visit many of the town's ancient sites and college grounds. The Churches range from a few hundered to several hundred years old, as do the various colleges (there are 39 colleges that make up the university of Oxford). No shortage of famous attendees to Oxford colleges--JRR tolkein, Lewis Carrol, C.S. Lewis, and the list goes on. We also went kayaing and did a bit of punting ( river boating, for you uneducated plebians out there. Scoff, scoff).

All in all, as I said to Kate, if her social calendar during here three years here was anything like the few days we spent, I would have been spent within a month. IT's so damn tiring going to high teas, sitting in the parks in the shade of trees, picnicing with friends... okay, I'll shut up now.

on to TURKEY!

at 3 am on June 12th, we arose and made the short 20 minute walk to the Oxford bus station, where a shuttle took us to Heathrow Airport, where our flight to Istanbul awaited us.

arriving in Istanbul in the early afternoon, we took a short while to get into the area of Sultanhamet, and our hotel. We're in the heart if the monumental centre here, with the Grand Bazaar, the Ayasophya (eye-ah-so-fee-ah), and the Blue mosque all within spitting distance. the latter two are massive buildings, and as impressive as they are large. The Ayasophya was built in the 6th century, used as a place of worship for the Byzantine Christians. The roman catholics rolled through, trashed everything, and after that, it was used as a mosque. It is now a museum, featuring amazing works of art from both the Christian and Muslim worlds. we tried to spend lots of time in buldings such as this yesterday, because it was... COLD AND RAINING! hello? mediterranean? ummm, you should be hot and dry... as it was, the rain has passed and today is fantastic. But I digress...

The Grand Bazaar! This place makes west edmonton mall look like a strip mall. 4,000 shops, people. that's right, 4,000. Kate and I did some rug shopping in there on our first evening, and I am happy to say that we're the proud owners of two very fine turkish rugs, one from the 1920's, and one from the 1960's. Both Beautiful! the buying experience was a lot of fun, filled with bartering, small talk, and turkish apple tea. The Bazaar is a place where you can buy pretty much anything, or at least have people trying to get you to buy everything. the typical attention grabbers are "Yes! Hello!", "Hello my friend!" to gain some eye contact, but have also included things like "Hey Beeg Man!" or "Hey pretty lady!", and our personal favorite... Hey! You need viagra?!"...

up to speed, we are departing istanbul tonight on a bus destined for Selchuk, where we will visit Ephesus for a day or so. I'm really looking forward to seeing the temple of Artemis, as well as some major Christain Holy sites: the Bascillica of St. John--his burial place--and the House of the Virgin Mary, the residence that Mary lived out the rest of her days following the crucifiction of Jesus.

the bus ride down leaves at 8 pm, and will take 10 hours... supposedly... we'll see!!

that's all for now! cheers!

European travels, pt. 1 England (wot wot) continued, and Turkey (Gobble Gobble)!!!

first off, lets talk about what was, for all intensive purposes, the last chunk of travel in Britain.

OXFORD: A charming town of higher education, dreaming spires, lazily meandering rivers, finely cut cricket pitches and grass tennis courts, a myriad of rowing clubs, and last but not least, plenty of public drunkedness.

We were in the Town of Oxford primarily for Kate's graduation ceremony--she finished her D.Phil two years ago, but never went through the commencements. The ceremony was done almost entirely in latin, and was as chalk full of pomp and circumstance as you might fancy an Oxford graduation ceremony might be.

Aside from the ceremony, we did a ton of visiting with Kate's friends that are still living in the town, and in between visits, there was ample opportunity to visit many of the town's ancient sites and college grounds. The Churches range from a few hundered to several hundred years old, as do the various colleges (there are 39 colleges that make up the university of Oxford). No shortage of famous attendees to Oxford colleges--JRR tolkein, Lewis Carrol, C.S. Lewis, and the list goes on. We also went kayaing and did a bit of punting ( river boating, for you uneducated plebians out there. Scoff, scoff).

All in all, as I said to Kate, if her social calendar during here three years here was anything like the few days we spent, I would have been spent within a month. IT's so damn tiring going to high teas, sitting in the parks in the shade of trees, picnicing with friends... okay, I'll shut up now.

on to TURKEY!

at 3 am on June 12th, we arose and made the short 20 minute walk to the Oxford bus station, where a shuttle took us to Heathrow Airport, where our flight to Istanbul awaited us.

arriving in Istanbul in the early afternoon, we took a short while to get into the area of Sultanhamet, and our hotel. We're in the heart if the monumental centre here, with the Grand Bazaar, the Ayasophya (eye-ah-so-fee-ah), and the Blue mosque all within spitting distance. the latter two are massive buildings, and as impressive as they are large. The Ayasophya was built in the 6th century, used as a place of worship for the Byzantine Christians. The roman catholics rolled through, trashed everything, and after that, it was used as a mosque. It is now a museum, featuring amazing works of art from both the Christian and Muslim worlds. we tried to spend lots of time in buldings such as this yesterday, because it was... COLD AND RAINING! hello? mediterranean? ummm, you should be hot and dry... as it was, the rain has passed and today is fantastic. But I digress...

The Grand Bazaar! This place makes west edmonton mall look like a strip mall. 4,000 shops, people. that's right, 4,000. Kate and I did some rug shopping in there on our first evening, and I am happy to say that we're the proud owners of two very fine turkish rugs, one from the 1920's, and one from the 1960's. Both Beautiful! the buying experience was a lot of fun, filled with bartering, small talk, and turkish apple tea. The Bazaar is a place where you can buy pretty much anything, or at least have people trying to get you to buy everything. the typical attention grabbers are "Yes! Hello!", "Hello my friend!" to gain some eye contact, but have also included things like "Hey Beeg Man!" or "Hey pretty lady!", and our personal favorite... Hey! You need viagra?!"...

up to speed, we are departing istanbul tonight on a bus destined for Selchuk, where we will visit Ephesus for a day or so. I'm really looking forward to seeing the temple of Artemis, as well as some major Christain Holy sites: the Bascillica of St. John--his burial place--and the House of the Virgin Mary, the residence that Mary lived out the rest of her days following the crucifiction of Jesus.

the bus ride down leaves at 8 pm, and will take 10 hours... supposedly... we'll see!!

that's all for now! cheers!

June 6, 2006

European travels, pt. 1 England (wot wot) continued

allo allo there then! I've managed to procure a computer for a short while, so I'll send on the next update. Today's topics: English roads and English foods.

First, the roads. My God, what an adventure. How to describe them... imagine you've got a wet spaghetti noodle. no. thinner. angel hair pasta.yeah, that's it. Now, take that freshly cooked noodle, and let it drop onto the counter. see how that narrow little noodle has all those twists and turns? that's an english road. take that narrow road, and put stone walls on either side. and I mean, right on the side. no sidewalk, no curb, just road, then wall. throw in a dash of 60 miles an hour, and you've got yourself a driving experience!

there is actually a perfectly good explanation behind the shape of the roads--they were first laid out between those stone walls which serve as boundaries between farmlands, and were designed for horses and carts, not cars. and said farmlands do not fit into a nice little grid, which thus explains why the twists and turns are as they are.

I can't complain about all of it. very little of the driving is done on these wee roads, if it can be helped. The motorways are lovely modern roads with speed limits set at 70 miles an hour ( =120 km / hr), so you tend to get places fast. AND, despite speed cameras placed here and there to slow you down, there seems to be a complete lack of police highway patrols. So really, there's nothing to stop one from going 90-100 miles / hr(=135-150 km / hr), slowing down of course at the well marked speed camera locations. uhhh, not that we would EVER drive as such excess...

okay, FOOD. :0)
If my cardiologist read this, he'd have a heart attack (pun intended). Okay, I don't have a cardiologist.But I had to get that delicious food-related pun in there (pun not intended, in retrospect, but approved of none the less). But I do have a gastroentrologist, and he'd have a right shitfit (again, pun intended) if he saw what I've been eating. Largely, the English don't believe in eating something if it's not fried or deep fried, so it seems, and vegetables aren't high priority in any case. So, breakfast is bacon, and sausage,and eggs, and fried bread, and fried mushrooms and tomatoes. It's heaven. throw in the occasional cornish pasty (pronounced pass-tee)--a tasty steak and potato concotion wrapped in breading, add a pint of beer, cornish clotted cream, and ice cream, and I'm on the fast track to a serious belly.

As soon as I get home, I'm hitting the gym.

as for where we've been in the last week, we spent a few days in cornwall at my aunt's house visiting there, then is was on to the Welsh coast in the seaside town of Porthcawl. It was a picture perfect spot, and we did some day trips from there. Of none of the above, words can't describe some of the amazing scenes, so the photos will have to wait for my return home. amazing country all around.

As of yesterday, we left Wales, drove to Oxford to drop some bags (we'll be back by week's end), then travelled up to Stratford-on-Avon for the night. If the name rings a bell, it's the hometown of mr. Shakespeare... and since we were in his neck in the woods, we felt it was appropriate to take in a performance of Romeo and Juliet at the Royal Shakespeare theatre before retiring to our picture-perfect 16th century bed and breakfast in Wilmcote, the hometown of Mary Arden, Shakespeare's mother. Life is so trying. sigh. :0)

I awoke this morning to another of those gigantic greasefests which was formentioned, then Kate and I booted it back to Colchester to return our car rental which was due back today, and we're now in London staying with our friend Alexandra for the night, before heading back to Oxford tomorrow.

hopefully I'll check back in after the Oxford experience. Pip pip, Cheerio and all that, eh wot?

May 31, 2006

European travels, pt. one: England (wot wot)

3:30 PM--Left Vancouver on May 24th bound for London Gatwick airport. Flight was comfortable as we had booked more legroom before we left. As it turned out, more leg room came with more perks, too. We got premium-class treatment, which included choice of meals, free drinks the whole flight, and one of those nice warm towelettes at the end of the trip.

11 AM, next day--arrived in england,used the trains to get out to colchester where my sister lives. spend most of rest of day fighting to stay awake (didn't sleep on the plane... too many movies to watch!)

10:30 pm. Crash. sleep like a little 6'7" baby.

okay, enough of the timeline. you'll be here all week. the past seven days has seen us spend a few days up with my sister, where we visited the school she teaches at, got to know the island of mersea on which she lives, as well as take a day trip into London.

In London, we did a whirlwind walking day which included a trip on the London Eye--for those of you who don't know what that is, it's essentially a ferris wheel on steriods. absolutley huge. you can see the entire city of London from up there. Or, normally you can. as it was, it was pouring with rain and foggy, so the London Eye had a cataract that day, and we were in it. no matter, a few good views to be had.

we also visited with some of Kate's friends that live in town, having dinner and drinkgs by the thames with them.

fastforward, and we're in cornwall now, down south. staying at my aunt's house. Kate and I are here, as is my sister, and my parents are also visiting right now, too. generally, one does not take a honeymoon with so many members of one's family... but here we are. since we've been in cornwall,w e've been to the beach a few times, both to walk on the sand and the cliffs high above, and we went to the Eden project yesterday, a ecological recovery of an old clay mine. Sort of like the Biodome project in the states, but instead of being a massive failure, it's a huge success.

okay, will leave off there for the time being! will report back next week hopefully! ta for now!

May 19, 2006

Stu Goes To War!!

*



well, I've finished my military journalism course in Alberta, and there's a lot to tell, so strap yourself in. First of all, I'm a trained killer now, and I'm going to Afghanistan as an embedded JTF2 journalist within the Canadian Forces (CF). Huh? what? Oh wait, I'm just mashing together everything I learned in one sentence. I'll slow down a bit...






First, our trip started off at the University of Calgary. Our program coordinator and instructor, Bob Bergen, took us through a three inch thick resource binder at breakneck speed over a two day period ( by the way, 'us' refers to the 12 of 'us' from across Canada that were participating in the course). The binder has everything in it from press clippings to the FOI request processes to the Queen's Regulations that the military is subject to in their conduct, and pretty much everything in between that might be of use to a journalist attempting to report on the military. So, take a dash of classroom theory, and pepper in talks from retired service men, current public affairs officers with the CF, mix in tours to the local naval museum, and the Calgary Highlanders regiments to check out their digs / drink, and you come out with a bunch of cub journalists that have a much better idea as to how they might go about reporting on this crazy thing called war... I mean... uhhh.. peacekeeping...

We also spent a few days at CFB Edmonton to get some hands-on experience with the tools of the military trade (read: fun with guns and tanks). As you can see from the attached photos, we got up close and personal with everything from the small arms that are used in the field up to the vehicles currently in use by the CF. Not everything worked perfectly--Namely, the LAV (Light Armoured Vehicle) that four of us were in, in which our driver misjudged the width of the gap he was attempting. One broken axle and a 'rescue mission' later, six of us were squeezed into a TLAV (Tracked Light Armoured Vehicle). The driver didn't misjudge any widths on this cruise around the training grounds, but he did misjudge the depth of a muddy pool of standing water.
We had a wave crest over us and soak us totally, and the engine flooded as a result. Within a few moments though, the engine roared to life again, and we were on our way.

Also while on base, we were introduced to the use of some small arms in a simulator room. The photos I have didn't reproduce the video wall very well, but the idea is that a
battle scenario is loaded onto the screen, and you have the choice of one of eight weapons with which to destroy the enemy (congrats again to Kurt for taking out four--count em' four--friendlies during the heat of battle. It can happen easily folks, sad but true).

The visit to Edmonton wasn't all toys--we had classroom sessions with various areas on the base, such as the 408 Air Squadron, the Princess Patricia's Candian Light Infantry, the Engineers, etc. It gave us a very holistic view of everything that goes into the functioning of a base. You'll also note from the photos some men on horses--we were given a demo of the Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Candians) Ceremonial Mounted Troop, Lead by one Lieutenant Alastair McMurachy. They take care of Prince Charles and Camilla's horses--I have pictures, but if I showed them to you, I'd have to kill you.

Oh, and while on the base, we had the opportunity to socialize with officers on secveral occasions. We had a breakfast and lunch with them, and we were allowed to join them in their mess for Friday afternoon Happy hour.

The trip afforded out-of-session fun, too! in Calgary, we were put up in the fabulous Village Park Inn, well appointed with restaurant, bar, pool, and hot tub...most rooms had fridges and microwaves, too... but never the room I was in..l don't want to talk about it. We had free time to explore the city---no trip to Calgary being complete without hitting up Peters' Drive in!! In Edmonton, we stayed at the City Centre Ramada. Ironically, the City Centre Ramada isn't actually near the city centre. go figure... In any case, while in town, we visited West Edmonton mall and Whyte Avenue. Since I moved form Edmonton in 2004, not a whole ton felt as though it has changed, other than the city keeps getting wider and wider with constant building. I had the chance to see a couple people while in town though wich was great ( suz, thanks again for the nutz and bolts!) For those of you wishing for a refresher on my opinions about Edmonton, see blog entry 13.08.04, as well as those around it.

We spent a half-day in Banff as well, which was really nice. The sun was out, the clouds were few and far between and the sights were... seen...?! Hmmm, I must be out of words... so, in summary, what did I actually learn??

A journalist covering / hoping to cover the Canadian military faces some roadblocks. For one, the the military is a boys club chalk full of intimidating language, acronyms, and ceremony not necessarily understood by civilians. So even though you might think you're KBD, you better find yourself getting up at oh-dark-30 with the troops in order to work your way into their culture and earn some of their respect. talking to a PAFO won't get you the story you want / need, so cozy up to those soldiers! (Clear as mud??)

Second, once you're 'in' (read: embedded), you have to be careful not to end up with Stockholm Syndrome, being overly sypathetic to the unit you finally managed to get close to. Don't wanna lose that precious objectivity!

Third, Peacekeeping as an idea is nice, but much like communism, the theory doesn't seem to relate to successful practice! overwhelmingly in our course, we heard that soldiers are frustrated with the term. Peacekeeping might work if they were going into areas where peace existed, but generally, that's not the case. The CF is in areas of conflict, and as such, actually have to engage in war (dirty word such as it is), and with the paltry funding that the CF receives, it ain't easy being a soldier engaging in said war.

So, there's a taste of what I learned in the past 10 days! there's plenty more where that came from, and I'd be happy to chat it over with anyone who's interested (I promise I'll use less acronyms). To my J-school peeps--I highly recommend looking out for this course next year!


* medals pictured are those belonging to Lt. Hampton Gray, who was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross and the Victoria Cross; he died in Battle just days before the end of WWII, the Naval Museum is dedicated to his name.

May 4, 2006

SPOILED ROTTEN!!!


The photo collage above is from a little boating trip Kate and I got to take in Seattle this past weekend--but I'll get to that in a moment!

Our weekend started on Friday afternoon, when we arrived down South. Our friend Rain was our gracious hostess for the day, along with her husband Damon. The pair of them live on the East side of Lake Union, and Rain works for a sea plane company along the lakeshore. As such, Kate and I got to take an aerial tour above Seattle!! Here's some pics!





On saturday morning, Damon and Rain took us to the Locks, an impressive system of raising bridges and water locks that help get boats to and from the open sea in to the lakes. Here's some more pics of that outing!!
That afternoon, after saying adios to Rain and Damon, Kate and I headed out to the Elliot Bay Marina, where we were meeting Bob and Sally--they had given us an overnighter boat trip on The Roberta-- named after Bob's Mother--as a wedding gift, and we were ready to cash in!

Round about the time of our departure from the marina, the rain started, the winds kicked up, and consequently, our crossing from Seattle to our destination--Blake island--was done in a white squall. What's worse, Giant squid wrapped around the boat, A whale swallowed us, and I'm pretty sure we were boarded by pirates. okay, okay, so that may just be some books I read, but whatever. But really, it was very wet, and windy to be sure.

we dropped anchor around the wind-protected side of the island, and spent time talking and filling our stomachs in the cabin of the boat. at about six pm, the weather passed on, and we were treated to a nice evening walk and frisbee toss on the shore. Dinner ran late, but man, it was worth the wait. Halibut, sauteed in shallots, poached in white wine and topped with breadcrumbs, served on a bed of lentils, with salad and bread. YUMMM!

By then it was late, and we all went to bed...and awoke to a beauty of a day! we hit the shore after a long and leisurely breakfast (scones w/jam, bacon, scrambled eggs, juice / tea... just for the record...), and spent the next three hours or so circumnaviagting the island at low tide. I'll put on a whole whack of pics at the end of this entry, so if you're bored of reading my ramblings, feel free to move on... :) The walk was beatiful. we saw racoons feasting on low tide goodies at the water's ege, bald eagles, and plenty of seagulls. We stopped to build lots of obos (aka, inukshooks, to us Candians), play some frisbee or baseball with a tennis ball we found and a hefty stick, and did our part to pick up some garbage accumulating ion the shoreline.
after getting back on the boat, we prepared to set sail for the mainland. The weather was great, though not enough wind to warrant using the sails, so we chugged along under engine power. A few birds here, a few curious seals there, some dodged driftwood, and we were back at the Marina by late afternoon. What a fantastic couple of days!

But, Kate and I, being the people of leisure that we are at the moment, didn't drive back to BC right away. We stayed overnight with Bob's sister, Pam. It was nice to have a visit there, and THEN, on Monday, we finally headed home--but not before a stop at the Seattle outlets store (thanks for being strong these days Canadian Dollar!) I bought a fab pair of cargo khaki shorts from Eddie Bauer, if anyone cares :)

Claire, we missed you on this trip, but next time!

oh yes, and of course, somre more photos of our trip, posted below! Next entry: my adventures in Alberta. see you then!