All recent photos can be seen here

New Camera

So, the handful of people that read my blog already know that I'm in Ghana. So this blog will be put on hold until I return. But, I do have some exciting news, and that is: I got the Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT Camera right before I left! Very exciting. I started fiddling around with it last night, and reading the manual ;)

Have you signed on to the petition that will be this generation's legacy?

What's your favourite vegetable?

Asparagus is one of mine. Especially when Caitlin makes it.

A Dare

Water and Sirens

Let's try a different art form today. Here are two poems I recently wrote:

Water

When we go out
she orders two glasses of water
as if she's a withering plant
unable to have hidden
from too many days of sun
the lines in her skin
exaggerated by parchedness
hair, straw-like, though
I saw her in the shower this morning
her need is urgent
and I receive a menacing look
if I question this
when the amused waiter arrives
with three waters in hand
(though I considered not getting
one to avoid attention)
the first water pours easily
down her throat
almost finished before we've
given the menu any serious thought
she smiles modestly
her eyes express relief at rehydration
and for a moment the shine of her skin,
the sparkling golden brown of her hair,
and her wet lips,
speak deceivingly of fulfillment.


Sirens

when the rain starts
I know
that soon
sirens will sound
sound
and wail

as if the heavy drops of sky
are a final slip
that loosen our grip on life

flashing lights rush
to crumpled cars
to frozen bodies
whose blood runs hurriedly
through strained veins

and I lie in bed
tucked firmly in my covers
uncomfortably warm
listening to the sirens

Outhouses can be beautiful

Pearls

Tunnel Craze

Potpourri

Sunshine Coast

A recent trip to the Sunshine Coast with my folks resulted in these pictures. It appears as though the only thing I saw was trees. Figure out what the first picture is of.

Invasion

So, it's kinda old, but I think it's funny (you have to click on it to get the larger version):

August 19th Fun Day

Hello Dear Friends!

Mark August 19th down on your calendars as the day of fun! It will start with water gun capture the flag hosted by Saturdays in the Park followed by a bbq and poker tournament at my house. Why all this fun you ask? Well, Saturdays in the Park is a wonderful pastime in its own right, and me and Robbie are heading off to Ghana for a while so we'd like to say goodbye. Also, this is really a goodbye party for Aviv and Eric as they are going away (don't know them? come and meet them to say hello and goodbye!) Also Paul is leaving. And Bishnu. In fact, many people I know are leaving, so it's a good time to get together. In case you're thinking, "but I'm so busy and have such a jam-packed schedule!" Well, that's why this day has been so delightfully arranged that if you can't find the time to say a proper goodbye, then at least you can drop by and give us a hug at some point during the day.

What do you need to know? Water gun capture the flag will start at 1pm at Blue Mountain Park in Coquitlam, see the SitP blog for more details. BBQ will start after that, around 4:30 pm, and poker tournament will start around 7pm. If you are wanting to bring something, I will be assigning food items to those willing ( i.e. veggies, drinks, snacks, dessert, etc), so pls let me know - you may also suggest what you'd prefer to bring. I'm also generally interested in knowing whether you are coming. Feel free to bring friends, the more the merrier.

I don't want to hear any sorry excuses, so you better just plan on coming. If the weather doesn't cooperate, the day is still on but in perhaps slightly altered conditions. See you soon!!!!!

B / J / G

OK, update on Ghana. I am doing an orientation somewhere (may be out of province) Aug 28-30. Then I am doing orientation in Calgary from Sept 5-7th, coming home for the evening, and then flying out to Ghana the next morning (well, really, I'm flying out to Montreal, Frankfurt, and then Accra - don't even ask me how many hours this will take) Then I have to check in to work monday morning, so I really hope my jet lag is non-existent! Anyways, the really important part of this is that I will be home from Aug 30/31 to Sept 4. This is over the long weekend I believe. So, perhaps I will have a goodbye party then, b/c all you people are gone during august! So many conflicting schedules...In other words, can you please let me know if you're around during that weekend? I was also thinking of having a get together on Aug 25.

I wanted to post more pictures, but things aren't loading properly. I've tried twice already and it's a little frustrating. So I've given up for the night. Will try again later.

Yay! Finally worked, here are some more:

Banff / Jasper / Ghana

OK, long anticipated post is finally here. In case the pictures are not worth the wait, how about some exciting news? Robbie and I are going to Ghana! I think I'm leaving as early as August 27th...! For at least 6 months. Even more exciting news is that Robbie and I will be sharing a blog for our time in Ghana to report on our life there. Keep posted. And here are the pics (Anyone feel like buying me an actual good camera for the trip? :P I feel so limited with my crappy digital!!):

Coming Soon...

Ok, I know I've been really boring and not posted anything for a while. But I'm going to Banff tomorrow morning and hopefully will get some nice pictures that I can upload via Robbie's laptop. We will be away for about ten days in case anyone is wondering. You can check out the awesome website I made for the event we're attending.
Cheerio!

Pender Island 2

More pictures from Pender Island:

Pender Island

This is day 3 of our getaway to Pender Island. We are staying at Eagle's Cove Cabin and it is absolutely beautiful. Yesterday morning I watched from the balcony as 6 otters played in the bay - they are so cute! There are, as the name suggests, many eagles as well as hawks and other birds. Here are some photos from our days here (the first one is the cabin we stayed in):

SEASIA

Here are some "award-winning" photos from SFU's annual international photo contest. They are photos from a field school I did in Southeast Asia (Singapore, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam)







Also, for those of you who are disconnected from coq city life, I thought I'd share with you the frightening state of social activity (I mainly mean me and Robbie...and Ben...):

Tribute to Stephie(s)

Totally unrelated to this post, is my recommendation to you, to see The Inconvenient Truth. Al Gore is actually not a robot, and it's a good movie. Even if a fraction of it is true, it's worth thinking about. So, go see it!

Colour my World

You wanted colour? Ok. Here's some colour ;) The rocky ones are from Robbie's roof, and I had to throw in the last one of him looking so cute!

B+W Leaves, Dandelions

So I've found posting old pictures boring. And decided to take some new ones! These are from yesterday, in my front yard :) More results from this session coming soon.