Tag: Journal Posts

Despite the amount of cool technology I own (iPads, iPhones, etc.), I actually don’t really spend much money on anything else in my life, other than plane tickets when I travel. While I appreciate new clothes, my brain rarely comes up with the idea that I actually go buy some new ones. The one exception to that is socks – whenever I see a nice pair I generally always buy them. Which is why I probably own about 100 pairs (and even then it’s hard to find a matching pair from time to time). That said, one personal item I have been shopping for recently is a new wallet. I can’t say that I’ve ever owned anything special in that department; usually I just head down to the mall and buy whatever I can find, often some faux-leather item for about $20. But recently an Australian company called Bellroy has […]

Well, it’s been 9 days since I arrived in Buenos Aires, and I thought I would give an update. So far, I’m really enjoying myself here, although I haven’t been too far from Palermo Soho yet other than to set up my cell phone. Today marked a pretty important milestone in my journey – laundry. In Buenos Aires they don’t really have coin operated laundromats, they have what are called lavaderos. They are usually small shops where you drop off your laundry and pick it up later after it’s been washed and folded. I managed to muddle my way through some dialog to drop my clothes off this morning. I walked away with a ticket and the inclination to return at the end of the day, so here’s hoping I get my clothes back! I’m sure it’ll turn out fine. I’m actually really excited about this weekend because I’m going […]

Things are moving quickly now. My apartment is about 90% packed at this point, and I’m currently cleaning like a mad man so that I can get most of my damage deposit back. I’ve already moved in with my parents for the month of December, after which I’ll be heading to Vancouver Airport and catching a plane to Buenos Aires. Everyone keeps asking me if I’m excited. Truthfully, not yet. I know I will be, but packing and moving are both a bit stressful, and I haven’t had too much time to fantasize about my first beer in Argentina yet. I’m hoping once December rolls around and I no longer have the keys to my apartment that the realization that I’m about to spend a year traveling will finally hit me. I’m going to start keeping a running tally of my traveling expenses on this site so that others can […]

Strangely enough, most people in Vancouver probably don’t remember me as ever being super skinny. For whatever reason, I’ve always had a bit of meat on my bones. You can chalk it up to a slow metabolism, or crappy genes or whatever, but there are not many times in my life where I’ve been rail thin. The first time I came close though was probably around grade 11. I was playing three sports at the same time, getting lots of rest, and for the most part, lived a pretty stress free life. I couldn’t tell you what I weighed during that period, but looking at old photos I definitely think I looked fairly athletic. For the most part, I stayed relatively skinny during university. I’ve always sort of oscillated plus or minus ten pounds fairly regularly, so I’m sure there were times I was a bit chubbier, and times when […]

Last night’s tweetup was a ton of fun, so thanks to everyone for coming out. I crashed at a friend’s place in Vancouver last night, and came back to Chilliwack around noon today. Unfortunately, someone drove a tractor over my head sometime in the middle of the night, and I had a nice headache for most of the day. I ended up crawling into bed around 1:30pm when I got home, and somehow slept until around suppertime. Given that my fridge was pretty empty, I decided to order some pizza and spend the evening watching a few movies from the couch. I’m not sure what the weather will be like later this week, but I’ve booked a site up at a campground for next weekend. I’m hoping there will be at least a few days of sunshine so I can go chill out next to a picnic table. Unlike last […]

Time comes, time goes. Yesterday was June, and today’s September. No fierce battles, only casualties. Last night I picked up a nice steak and threw it on the BBQ. Half way through cooking I ran out of propane. First time in two years that’s happened. I guess change is floating in the air these days, little wisps of something else to do, somewhere else to be. The leaves will fall soon, and then the rain, and then the snow. Turn a few more weathered pages in the book and it’ll be June again. Wash, rinse, repeat. It’s cold in here – grab the axe and help chop down another few years for the fire. I miss the autumn. Not the autumn we get out here, but the ones out east, with splashes of color and brisk air that can blow it all away. Long walks with nothing on my mind, […]

As you can tell, this is my first entry for the 2008 Blogathon. The purpose of blogathon is to, over the course of 24 hours, blog and attempt to bring some exposure to a local charity of our choosing. For me, I have chosen to represent the Union Gospel Mission, a Vancouver charity that helps the homeless and those in need. Another Long Night In Vancouver The housing crisis in Vancouver is worsening, and many people find themselves without shelter each and every night. Those individuals, who are a part of this city, are often neglected and left to rot on the streets while our government dumps hundreds of millions of dollars into tourism or events like the Olympics. Without organizations such as the Union Gospel Mission, many of these people might not last long on the streets. That’s why I’m hoping I can encourage a few people to support […]

I love the smell of Saturday in the morning. The sleeping in, the sound of traffic that pulls me out of bed at 11am. It’s not very often I get full days to myself these days, so when I do get them, I definitely enjoy them. I’m just demolishing my second cup of coffee, and then will probably hit the open road for a few hours. I went by the hospital last night to see my friend Clay. Clay had a quintuple bypass surgery, but is doing relatively well. As I well know, being in the hospital totally sucks, so I’m gonna swing by for a bit. Then, who knows. Maybe down to Urban Fare to get some groceries. Maybe out to commercial drive to take some photos. I haven’t been outside with my camera in quite a while. I went over the internet real quick this morning to see […]

Part of the reason I went back to Chilliwack this last weekend was to get caught up on sleep before all the craziness begins this month and next. Thankfully I managed to do just that, and often slept in until 11:30 or noon. I actually feel fairly refreshed, which is a nice change. Chilliwack Rainbow One of the things I’m going to try to do over the next two months is to lose a few pounds. Before being in the hospital and all my surgeries, I was in a fairly happy place with regards to health. But this last year has been tough and I haven’t really been that vigilant with watching what I eat and getting exercise. So, I’ve decided I’m going to make a focused attempt to drop down to the happy zone again in the next few months, which means I won’t be going out and doing […]

Yes, this is what I look like before I cut off your head and steal all your powers, bitches. Big thanks to Clay for misusing all our web design resources at work to make this possible. Apparently he thought the whole Star Wars thing was too retro, and came up with something better. Thanks for supporting my cause against the evil guys against me, dude. Watch out for my sword. PS – I’m commando under all that shit. Believe it. Also, tomorrow is a big nerd session at my place. John Bollwitt, Boris Mann and John Biehler are definitely swinging by to drink some beers, watch some movies, and play catch-up for all the things we’ve all fallen behind on this week. It’s the unoffical “Catchup-Camp” over at my place.