The Pursuit of Adventure

Brain, please slow down so I can sleep.

2012-01-05T23:38:00.001-06:00

My brain decided the night I wanted to go to bed early would be a good time to go into overdrive... Thanks Brain.

So hear are thoughts that are bouncing around me head. I once read a book by Bear Grylls on a bunch of survival techniques for the most dangerous places on earth. In the intro of the book Bear made the comment about how the word "Wilderness" was not the right word for going out into the bush. He said the fact that the word "Wild" was in the word was wrong. He said there was nothing wild about nature. If anything he said, the cities and urban areas are wild.
(I think this is how it went, it has been a while. This is how I remember it.)

While I do see some truth to his statement I think he only eluded to one part of the truth.

Nature is in fact not wild, there is order to the forests and the animals the live where few humans ever see. Yet there is something wild about being where few humans have gone before. Nature plays no favourites, it has no bias. The lightning strikes the ground whether humans are their or not. Trees do fall whether people are around or not, do they make a noise? Who knows, all I know is that they fall regardless of human presence. Avalanches seem to show off their destructive powers whether humans are around to see the amazing sights or not. Even the best and most experienced avalanche experts can at times be surprised by avalanches. There seems to be no way to tame the beast that we humans call nature, wilderness, or the great outdoors.

So how does one describe or define what some call wilderness and some call nature? Who knows, but whatever you call it you can be sure of a few things. Nature is wild and yet is full of order. Nature is full of what we would call imperfections, rocks crumble, trees fall, water floods, animals get sick or injured and die. However I would have to argue that nature is perfect, self regulating, self sufficient, self governing. No one animal can ever get the upper hand to rule. That is, unless humans get in the way and mess things up.

"In nature, nothing is perfect and everything is perfect. Trees can be contorted, bent in weird ways, and they're still beautiful." Alice Walker

Nelson House Reflections

2011-11-30T19:00:00.001-06:00

Last week I had the opportunity to spend a week in Nelson house with the pursuit students and Ben. We got the opportunity to volunteer at the local school, spend time with kids in the community, spend time with some adults in the community, sing on the radio, and live with a family from the community. All of which was very interesting.

I will share one thing I have been thinking about over the last few days since returning from Nelson House.

I am not sure if someone is responsible for the way things operate in nelson house. But I can tell you this, The "systems" that are in place there do not seem to be working. The school system does not seem to work there. The law system does not seem to work there. The Honour system does not seem to exist there. The majority of what you see when you are in Nelson house is utter and complete brokenness. Children grow up without feeling proper love, which ends up taking them down a lot of roads no one should ever have to go down. People complain that they cannot get any jobs, which is largely due to the fact that in the past when people have been given a job they disappear after a couple of days and leave the employers hanging. And yet I can't really blame the people for this.

Be honest, would you go to work for 8 hours a day to make money when you could sit at home or do what ever you wanted and still get money from the government? I think most of us would like to think that we would at least do something productive with our time if the government would send us money every month. But I wonder if we really would, and if we did how long would it last. How soon would we become lazy and then eventually pass it off to our children, who would then pass it on to their children. After a few generations it would be the norm to do nothing.

Not that I want to sound all high and mighty, but I honestly believe that if someone wants to make a difference in Nelson house all they need to do is Love the people. Show the children LOVE. Show the parents LOVE. Teach the people how to LOVE. and in a couple of years you will have a completely different Nelson house.

It is hard to blame people when they have grown up in an environment like the one in Nelson house. Not to let them off scott free but they are at a serious disadvantage.

It is easy to give an opinion when I am removed from Nelson house knowing that I will not really be going up there anytime soon I don't think. I honestly do not think I could handle it, I am not qualified for that type of job. I am sure someone is somewhere, hopefully they find there way onto this blog.

That is all for now.

What do I do?

2011-11-11T23:51:00.001-06:00

I told one of the students yesterday that I am done being socially acceptable. I want to be able to express how I am doing without feeling like it is unwelcome. So I am trying to do things differently know. Although I can already say that tonight I didn't do what I am trying to do. It is a work in progress, the journey is more important than the end result I think.

Like when someone asks me how I am doing. Good, Pretty good, Excellent, Great, and Really Good are among the most common replies.

So how am I doing you might want to ask.

Currently I would rather be in BC and in Manitoba, here is why.

I used to want to be back in manitoba because that is where my community was. My family was there, my friends where there, and my church was there. Why would I want to be away from that? So I moved back and it was great, I saw my friends, my family, and my church again. But part way through summer it started to wear off. It was lacking in some areas, but change was coming.

I moved out to Red Rock Bible Camp starting september to help out with a Discipleship program. Perfect I thought, 8 months of a tight community feel that would help others and myself grow closer to God... This is the change I was needing.

I am out here in a community of people who desire to make a difference in the life of campers and students, and yet I feel like I am floating between two worlds with no where to put an anchor to which I can hold onto. There are students here, I am one of their leaders which makes it difficult to have a mutual encouraging relationship. Not to say I am never encouraged by them but it is my job to encourage them and use my gifts to build them up, not the other way around.

Then there are the other full time staff, while I am accepted by them I feel like I am not one of them. They all have family so come evening time they are typically with them which does make sense. Also, as much as I am staff here at the Camp and I put in my hours every week probably more than 40 hours (Most of my day is with the students and I am with them in the evening as well. So in a sense when ever I am with them I am working). I am not temporary and I know it.

I feel disconnected from a lot of my friends in the city and the friends that I do connect with are for the most part on a surface level. I am not trying to place the blame solely on my friends I realize that it takes two people for a deep friendship but this is how I feel.

So right now, a number of my most meaningful relationships are with people that I left behind at CBC. Which I did not realize until these past few months.

I mean I really messed up when I was out at CBC. I did not invest enough in the friendships I had or the people I lived with. It has taken me almost 7 months to come to figure this out.

Do not worry, I am doing good for the most part. It just that right now this is how I feel.

Vapours

2011-11-09T22:44:00.003-06:00

It has been a while, I just had nothing to write...

Tomorrow I am going to process, and I will write what I come out with at the end, or at least what comes out along the way.

"He who knows others is wise. He who knows himself is enlightened." - Lao Tzu

What will it take?

2011-10-15T21:32:00.001-05:00

Yesterday part of me wanted to grab my laptop and go throw in in the lake. After which I would shout at the top of my lungs "Take that" and I would then have a sort of proud moment where I would feel like I stuck it to the man!

But then I thought about the consequences of that action. I would have a harder time connecting with friends who live far away. It would be slightly more difficult to get my work done. I would have a hard time putting pictures from my camera somewhere, but I could just buy a photo album. I would have a hard time getting music on my ipod, and I am not even sure if a Discman still exists?

When it comes down to it the reason I did not throw my laptop into the lake is because I can't. I am a coward when it comes to some of my ideals. I am addicted to wasting time looking at pictures, watching videos, and playing Tetris on my computer...Yes I play Tetris.

I am in a constant war between my 2 minds. The one wishes to be connected at all times and to not miss out. It wishes to see notifications and emails pop up as if that is how I know things are going well. The other mind wants to be able to let go of it all and feel freedom. It wants to be free to come and go as it pleases to not have to worry about where to plug in the laptop when the battery is running low. It wants to say "Let the laptop die and never return again." I desires simplicity and freedom from these man made idols.

It is a constant war in which small battles are played out on an hourly bases stuck in some sort of tug of war struggle. With no end in sight.

I am distressed

2011-10-12T23:24:00.000-05:00

I read an interesting article today about the passing away of Steve Jobs and what he left behind.

In this respect, Jobs’ greatest achievement in life was nothing like the lofty goals of Wangari Maathai, the Nobel Prize-winning activist who fought poverty, corruption and environmental degradation and who silently died in Kenya two weeks ago, apparently without anyone noticing. No. All eyes are focused on a man whose greatest achievement in life was simply to bring aesthetics and rebellion to the forefront of his highly successful brand, thereby perpetuating the commodity fetish at the heart of our so-called post-material society.

What is wrong with North America?

If you want to read the full article go here:
http://roarmag.org/2011/10/steve-jobs-obituary-for-a-capitalist-revolutionary/

Good day.

2011-10-03T23:17:00.001-05:00

Today was a fantastic day. I felt blessed and hopefully helped others feel blessed. May you be blessed too!

Love in the Strangest of places

2011-09-27T20:39:00.001-05:00

I have now lived at camp for 23 days. I still remember moving in, it was quiet here and seemed almost empty. "Oh dear" I thought "This might not be as great as I anticipated. But today I can gladly say that I was wrong with my assumption.

There is an interesting dynamic here at camp. There are 6 married couples living here at camp who have a combined total of 12 kids all of which are under the age of 7 and 3/4ish. Then there are 2 support staff who live here although one is leaving end of october. Then 4 pursuit students and of course, ME.

It really shouldn't have come as a surprise to me but today I realized that I am popular with the little kids. Maybe it is because I sometimes act their age, or that I am not overly tall, but we seem to get along very well.

I realized tonight that this year will be ok. I should never really have a reason to feel lonely and if I do I can always play with the kids around camp. They are full of energy and have a ton of love to give to anyone who is willing to run, play, or chase them.

Today I was blessed with the gift of love from a handful of children.

This will be a good year.

The Mallard lake experience.

2011-09-25T13:52:00.001-05:00

Last week I was on a canoe trip with the Pursuit students that started at Caddy Lake and was supposed to go to Big Whiteshell lake, supposed to being the key word.

The first day was a pretty good day, it started out cloudy and a bit breezy but near the end of the day the wind died down and the sun broke through the clouds, not to shabby. I knew the second day was going to be a bit more of an adventure because we had to go through Mallard lake which is a wild rice field. So it was inevitable that we were going to have a bit of a tricky paddle through a rice field but I had no idea how ridiculous it was going to be. We started out in high spirits, according to my map and my GPS we were about 190 meters from the start of the lake when I had to exit my kayak because I was stuck in silty mud. From there I proceeded to blaze a path towards the "lake" with my kayak towing behind me (I attached it to my PFD so I could still use both my hands).

The canoes being a heavier than my kayak had a harder time getting through the rice field. Because of this I was a head scouting for more open water and also making a trail for them to somewhat follow. In order for me to be able to walk at a some what reasonable pace through almost waist deep water/mud/slime I had to use my kayak paddle to push down the rice stalks in front of me and push down on them to help get my feet out of the mud and to step forward. I soon realized that I was no finding anything that resembled deeper and more open water. I spotted a pine tree off to the side on the shore and decided to head for shore so I could climb up for a better view. Once i was up in the tree I took one look and realized that due to very low water there was almost no way we would get through the 'lake".

After a discussion with the others in the group we decided to turn back and go back the way we came. We decided the effort to get through Mallard lake was no worth it seeing as we would only have 5 hours of good day light left and we would need at least that to travel the 2.5 km we needed to get back onto the river.

We made it home the 3rd day as planned, just later and more tired than we originally planned. But it was a fun trip. Next year I will be heading back to mallard lake to conquer it.

Here is a picture of us having lunch in Mallard lake (a rice field) I am still standing in the water but the majority of my body under the surface is actually in mud, water.

192 847 hours later

2011-09-14T21:07:00.004-05:00

192,847 is roughly the amount of hours I have been alive, and I was 21 for only 8,760 of those hours.

A number of things have changed over this past year:
I graduated from school.
I moved home.
I worked at a outdoor retail store.
I made new friends.
I made some mistakes.
I got new stickers for my car.
I got some new perspectives on life.
I learned how to sail.
I learned what it felt like to feel weightless while scuba diving.
I read some good books.
I took on challenges.
I failed at some.
I have had victory with others.
I took on a new job.
I moved away from home.
I moved away from friends.
I moved away from family.

However, there are some things that haven't and never will change:
My love for my home.
My love for my friends.
My love for my family.
My love for my God.

To my friends. Thank you, as you know I am sort of an extravert, I do not really enjoy spending a lot of time on my own. Thanks for being with me, whether it is for coffee, lunch, dinner, settlers games, memory, tile rummy, hanging out at a lake, mini golf, tennis, monopoly, kayaking, sailing, canoeing, ping pong, biking, and yes even sneaking into pools. I have enjoyed it all immensely.

To my family. Words will never truly be able to express my gratitude. You have encouraged me while I was away at school and cheered for me as I returned home even though I would be leaving you again. You have supported me with prayers, laughter, meals eaten together, even financially. I will never be the same because of the love you have shown me.

To my God. You alone know me fully and yet you love me still. I would be forever lost without your grace and love. You help guide me when my eyes fail to see. I am forever grateful.

Camp has a sail boat?

2011-09-07T21:21:00.000-05:00

It has been a while since I posted and a lot has changed since I last wrote. I am not house sitting, not living at home, and not working at wilderness supply anymore. I am know living and working at red rock bible camp ( which will be called camp from here on).

The first day here was pretty good. After work we went out on the lake for some much need skiing to unwind from the day (its very necessary). After that I wolfed down my dinner (It is acceptable to eat food like an animal at camp... your in the bush for goodness sake) and then headed out on my mountain bike to go exploring. I could get used to this I thought to myself.

Today there was no skiing but there was a sail boat! I went to go look at the boat... oh dear stuff looks to be missing. So I made it my goal to see what was missing by setting up all the rigging. PS. I have never done this before. It is true that I have sailed before and hooked up the sails. But I have never had to take down the mast to run the lines inside the mast to get it ready for sails...

I started around 520 ish and by 830 I had gotten most of the boat set up... Sails and all. There are a few minor things to get for the boat probably and a few things to adjust but if there is wind this weekend there will be sailing.

Tomorrow the students for Pursuit (The program I am interning with) are showing up. Then the real party begins.

Difficult Situations

2011-08-22T22:21:00.000-05:00

I am not an expert in anything.
I am not an expert in anything...
I am not an expert in anything!

The above statement is not only a disclaimer but it is a statement that helps me remember the following.
Making mistakes is a prerequisite to being human.
It is ok to not always have an answer for everything.
Be humble, not matter how much you know there is always someone who knows more than you.
There is always something to be learnt in every situation.

That being said, I will now go back to writing about what I originally wanted to.

Someone posed this question to me the other day: (this is close to word for word but not exact.) "How do you deal with people who claim to be christians but get drunk often?"

It is not an easy answer, this was one instance where I told the person I would have to think about it and get back to them. So I turned to the bible to look for some answers, this is what I got.

1 Corinthians 5:11-12 "¹¹But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyonewho bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one. ¹²For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge?"

I think the biggest question after reading this is HOW are we to judge those who claim to be a christian but whose actions are not lining up?

It is important to realize that everyone makes mistakes, people will screw up no matter how hard they try. However this does not give us an excuse to continue on in our sin. We must try to attain Christ's perfection (Try is the key word as it is impossible to be Christ, but it is the pursuit of it that is important).

So to answer my friend I would have to say this.

It is a christians duty to hold each other accountable to the teaching of Christ. That being said, it does not give everyone an excuse to go around to everyone in their church and confront them on all of their issues. If you want to hold someone accountable it is essential that it be done out of love for the person first and foremost. How to do that I am not quite sure, I think that every situation is different along with every person, so one must be careful and sensitive about how they go about doing it.

I also think we need to remember what Matthew said in chapter 7:3 "Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?

Happy pondering!

I may never get past this

2011-08-08T22:44:00.000-05:00

Wow, I didn't realize how serious that title sounded. Seeing as how I am not one to go back and change that much on my posts it will just have to do.

So with my new Job starting in just under a month (although I am already doing some work now) I have been given the task of getting some gear together for the camp. I originally thought this would be an awesome task, I like buying gear and I like trying to get deals (Which Winnipeger wouldn't?).
I guess I forgot that I was on a budget.... Kind of an important detail. So now I am sitting here struggling to figure out what is essential and what would just be "nice".

I have had this issue ever since I started buying gear. Trying to find the balance of buying good quality equipment and knowing when what I am paying has become excessive and unnecessary. Hopefully all this hemming and hawing will pay off in the end.

All I can say is that right now I am so very thank full for the rain. I missed it in July.

I was bored this afternoon.

2011-08-02T22:50:00.002-05:00

funny things the world does.

2011-07-26T22:52:00.000-05:00

money is a funny thing.

Just think about it for a bit. somewhere way back in the day (who knows exactly how long ago) people decided to use some form of coin as a means of putting value on commodities to make trading easier. and now the world seems consumed by it. I think it would be fun to go back to a time where currency didn't exist. Where you traded what you had for something you wanted.

It would be interesting.

Do I look Like a Waiter?

2011-07-21T22:45:00.000-05:00

Just a short post on another interesting story from work.

So today there were some customers taking a look at some kayaks and as I was walking away after helping them one customer asked me "Excuse me, could you bring me a glass of water or maybe a pepsi?" WHAT?!?!?!

Luckily I am pretty could at keeping comments to my self because I really wanted to poke fun at the customer. Who goes to an outdoor store and asks for a Pepsi? Part of me felt like saying "Sorry but we just sold out of pepsi, how about some orange juice... NOT.

It did make me laugh tho, and in the end I did got get here a glass of water.

just grow down and listen

2011-07-19T23:01:00.000-05:00

This is what I have found out at work. The older a person is the more likely they are to not listen to me.

Today A gentleman came into work to see if he could get some pole replacements for his tent. The answer is very simple really. NOPE. the reason being that we don't sell spare tent poles because they are very specific to each tent. so to carry spare poles would be somewhat useless. Plus if there is ever a problem with someones poles we can usually just get them replaced by the manufacturer.

So I try to explain to this man that even if we did carry spare poles we don't carry the brand of tent that he has so they wouldn't fit anyways, to which he says "I am sure they would fit.". So i try to explain that in fact it would not work. But he does not believe me.

Then one customer suggests that he should just buy a new tent. His response was "I wouldn't pay 2 cents for one of those tents."

I was kind of shocked so I asked him why, and he said that things made now a days were not nearly as good of quality as they were 40 years ago. He used a toaster as an example... Toasters are NOT Tents I said. Then I reminded him that it used to be that you couldn't touch the sides of the tent because if you did then water would come through... Not so anymore.

He ended up leaving talking about Walmart and princes auto. but he still didn't believe me.

Probably because I was just a kid in his eyes. I paid money to use tents and to learn how to set them up. I like to think that I know a bit about tents.

Dust as a warning sign?

2011-07-18T19:50:00.000-05:00

Have you ever wondered about dust? It intrigues me in some ways, dust is basically a lot of tiny particles floating around the air that eventually settle somewhere on the earth and over time if that place is undisturbed more and more dust will collect.

I think that Dust should be used as a warning sign. Sort of like your gas light that goes on when your car says "Hey buddy, you are going to be out of gas in a little while... you should fill me up!" Except that the dust warning light would be saying "Hey you haven't used me in a while do you need me or what?"

I am going to go out on a limb (sarcasm) and say that north americans live in excess. What do you think?
I have 2 digital cameras... why? you ask. because at on point one seemed to be broken and at the time I could not get a replacement memory card (I was way up north). I did however get my hands on a new camera so I could take pictures of what I was doing for the rest of the summer. But now, almost a year later I still have the second camera. It has some dust on it. So do a number of my other possessions that I seem to "need".

I do understand that say your snowboarding equipment may have dust on it after a summer. That makes sense, there is no snow in summer (depending on where you live).

I may need to start going around and looking at all my stuff to see if I have any dust building up. If I do find dust then I should ask myself "Do I really need this?"

A Year of Living Generously thoughts

2011-07-04T20:22:00.001-05:00

I just finished reading this boo... It was Awesome. -------->

I recommend that you read it. Not only did it make me think more about volunteering but it gave me some ideas that I figured I should write it down.

It seems to me that more and more companies are getting on the "giving to charities" bandwagon. Some companies (Cadbury) even goes as far as starting their own type of charity where when you buy a chocolate bar from them you can put in the bar code on their website and it donates parts for bicycles that they give to kids in africa.

I think it would be interesting to help businesses not just find charities or organizations to support but something that their staff could be involved. Not that companies supporting organizations financially is bad, but I feel that it would be much better if a companies staff could also be involved with an organization.

Just some thoughts.

The Age of Entitlement?

2011-06-23T00:09:00.000-05:00

In a casual sense, the term "entitlement" refers to a notion or belief that one (or oneself) is deserving of some particular reward or benefit.

I don't think I like the word Entitlement, Sure i think people are entitled to equality in the sense that everyone should be treated with respect, that one person is not above another. But other than that I do not necessarily feel that people should feel entitled to anything. Do we as people deserve any sort of reward or benefit.

Should I feel entitled to some sort of special recognition because I always try to do my best at work? Because I come in every day ready to work, with a smile on my face regardless of how I feel on that particular day? I don't think so. That is what is expected of me. I don't think you should get anything special for doing your job.

Don't get me wrong it feels great to receive recognition on a job well done, but that shouldn't be why you do it. I don't hold the door open because I want to make people think I am a nice person. I do it because it is a nice thing to do.

Is there a word for people who just do their job to the best of their abilities all the time without being asked? who do something because it is the "right" thing to do?

Could we use the word "Quality" to describe those people?

I don't like this Age of Entitlement, But I am most definitely down for an Age of Quality.

This is Home

2011-06-16T10:52:00.000-05:00

It almost seems like I have been home forever but in reality it has only been a six weeks. But the weather in the last couple of days has reminded me that I am indeed home.

A couple of days ago I was about to drive home from a friends house where a bunch of people from church were hanging out. We were sitting outside and looked up there were some serious clouds moving quickly over our heads. We quickly cleaned up outside and moved everything inside. Sure enough the rain came. I walked form the house about 50 feet to my car and was completely soaked. Driving home cars were pulling off to the side of the highway due to the rain... you couldn't see a thing.

It also rain pretty heavy yesterday afternoon but stopped in time for my friend Dan and I to paddle down the river. Today I got to wake up to a lovely sunny day.

Weather in manitoba is pretty intense. In the summer it gets really hot, then it gets crazy humid and they we have some of the best thunderstorms ever. Then winter comes and it gets extremely cold. I really like the two extremes... I really like home.

The picture isn't the best quality, but it makes it easier to upload so that is as good as it is going to get with this internet connection. But this is a picture of my back yard, The other day someone asked where my favourite place in the world was, I said the arctic (Although they said it didn't count because i have never been there...) But now that I think about it, I think my house is.

Thoughts for Today

2011-06-08T09:08:00.000-05:00

Here are some good thoughts for today that I found on my Grandmas fridge.

- Be not afraid of going to slowly. Be afraid of standing still.

- It is good to be wise, and it is wise to be good.

- By improving yourself, the world is made better.

- The truth does not hurt unless it ought to.

- No answer is also an answer.

- Give without remembering, be receive without forgetting.

- There is more to life than money. Life must have meaning.

-Success usually comes to those who are to busy to look for it.

"Even if it's a little thing, do something for those who have need of help, something for which you get no pay but the privilege of doing it." - Albert Schweitzer -

Leave of Absence

2011-06-05T18:27:00.000-05:00

So I haven't written anything for almost a month now. Not because I have nothing to say, it is almost the opposite. As people at work have noticed, I can talk for a very long time and I can also carry on a conversation all on my own. So I am not suffering from a writers block or anything like that.

Part of it is motivation, I just haven't felt like writing that much. Nuff said.

Although recently I have been thinking about this whole blog thing and the stuff I write on it. There is a part of me that feels if I want to write about my Pursuit of adventure and the stories that come out of it, then I have to be honest which means no censoring. Not censoring from vulgar language or inappropriate things. More just about how I feel and my thoughts. Sometimes I don't write everything I want to because I am not sure if I really want people to know everything, they may think I have gone of the deep end and then get overly worried or weirded out... who knows. So I am thinking it over, who knows what I will decide on.

Time

2011-05-08T19:47:00.000-05:00

I don't know what my problem is, I feel as though I am horrible at time management. Since I have been home it seems as though time is flying, like it is slipping away and I cannot figure out what I have been doing. I do not like this.

I easily could have had 3-4 long blogs over this last week. but I never got around to it so I will have to summarize my thoughts/thinkings/dreams all on this one post. So here it is:

1) I do not feel peace about being excited (which I am not anymore... its hard to put this into words) over Osamas death. As weird as it sounds even to my self I can't help but feel as though there are people who cared for him and that he cared for that are now dealing with loss. I am sure he had his favorite things just like I do which is a weird thought in my brain.

2) I think I may have come to a conclusion about return policies. I think I may have to stop taking advantage of some stores in this area. Over the past 3 years I have returned a shoe 3 times and gotten a new pair every time. Most people would not see this as an issue but I have come to the conclusion that it is wasteful on my part to return a shoe when it only has a minor tear in some fabric that doesn't not effect how my shoe works. What do they do with this shoe? Give it to someone? maybe. or they just throw it out. I will keep my shoes now until they are completely worn out. and then go buy a new pair.

3) I want to start doing some research on building my own canoe out of carbon fiber. It sounds crazy I know but as it turns out my cousin has informed me where to get thrown out carbon fiber for free (who new that aircraft carbon fiber had a shelf life... if they don't use it in time they throw it out). My cousin also knows how to form it and all that jazz. It could be a fun project but I feel like it will take a while.

4) Fun money! ya you will have to wait later in the week for this one. It needs its own post.

That is all for now, hopefully I will be better with my time

Oh ya, this is more of a pat on my back than anything else. I started keeping my reciets (My mom will be so proud of me) in attempts to keep better track of my money. I still need to make some sort of filinn system for them and then take time every 2 weeks or month to go over them to see where my money is going. But I started keeping my reciets, not to shabby.

Evaluation letters

2011-04-22T00:06:00.000-05:00

I find myself contemplating my current state, I am done my two year diploma. However I feel like over the next week my thoughts will be revolving around this past two years and I will evaluate what I have seen.

Part of me wants to write out a letter to the program director and assistant director to let them know my thoughts. However part of me feels like I should have done this sooner so it could have been a face to face conversation. To send a letter seems a bit cowardish to me. That way I don't have to actually deal with the things I have observed or feel. I do not have to accept responsibility for not saying anything sooner.

But I think I will write a letter regardless, it will just need to be writen humbly.

My lesson learned (not trying to steal from mannys life lessons): When you feel convicted to say something you should do it right then, not wait for a better opportunity to appear, it may never come.

The Past, Present, and Future

2011-04-16T02:37:00.000-05:00

It is about that time now, two exams to go and then I am done with school (Other than a four day sailing trip!!!). After doing a bit of reminicing I have come to this conclusion about me leaving school and some friends behind. (This also has something to do with fun money!)

I do not own a time machine, I will never be able to return to any past time to relive a cherished moment. I am moving along a linear timeline that moves in one singular motion that cannot be stopped. To try and get back to the past would be to struggle endlessly and eventually realize that during my struggle to live in the past I have lost the opportunity to fully live in the present. To try and be other than in the present would be foolish, a vain pursuit and so I will live in the here and now. I will not be afraid or sad when making steps forward because with each one I will leave the past behind and move toward the future, but I will always be present in the present. It is in the present that I will find life.

Fun money

2011-04-13T01:04:00.000-05:00

Fun money you ask? What does it mean?

Think of "pay it forward", except you start it and there is no expectations on the person you do something for.

Think of "Dine and dash", except you just show up hand over money... and then disappear. (So its completely different)

Imagine bring smiles to the faces of friends, family, or even strangers.

Imagine the feeling you get when throwing suprises for people, the excitement, your hear beating in your chest, the "Good" feelings you get.

I am working on something, an idea in my head. I have put it into practice before, sort of like a trial run. It was interesting, pretty fun, and I am sure it got talked about.

Want in on my little secret idea?

HA...

You will have to wait.

It will be revealed sometime around the beginning of May. So you will just have to wait.

Ideas to reality

2011-04-06T00:25:00.000-05:00

I had an interesting thought on the way home from the movie theater tonight... (I go almost every tuesday, its tonnie tuesday so it litterally only costs a toonie to see a normal movie in the theater)

I often get ideas for stuff, usually it is for a cool movie or something like that. Lately it has been about the pursuit program that I will be interning at this fall. I really want to make a promo video for the program over the year so that others can see what it is all about. But I realized that for the most part my idea will never become a reality. Not that I won't put out the idea for the video, or that I won't film something or edit it. But the ideal of my idea will not happen.

A few years back when I worked at my church as a youth intern I made a few videos, it was almost torture. The reason being is that I had an idea of what I wanted to create, but due to a lack in skill and knowledge of the software I was using I was unable to accomplish what I originally wanted to.

So I am left with a few options.

1) Smarten up and go take some classes on it so that I can get closer to achieving my ideas (hmmmm anyone want to give me a million dollars so I can go learn stuff?)
2) Sit and stew about the fact that I cannot create that which I would like to (oh, that is what I am doing right now)
3) Give up on trying to reach my potential... (that does not sound like fun)

I am sure there are more options, this is all I could come up with right now.

It is not just movie editing, this happens when I paint t-shirts, write papers, try and build things. Basically anything that I think about before hand and visuallize either the outcome or how I want something to look.

I hope this doesn't keep up at night...

We needed to breath

2011-04-02T02:35:00.000-05:00

Last night around 7pm I had an idea...

I wanted to see the sunrise and I wanted to see it while sitting on top of a mountain. My friend and I did not have a lot of time to pick a hike, we went with one that we knew had a good view of the west, we were unsure what the view of the east would be but we decided why not just go for it!

We left abbotsford around 1030, and arrived at the trailhead and started hiking at 1130pm.

UP was our direction. Around 1245 we hit snow. I knew there was a chance of snow, I just didn't know what to expect. we went up and up and found more snow and ice on the tail. We arrived at the top at 2am after a long precarious walk over ice and snow. One problem, on a really narrow ridge that has ice crusted snow where do you put your tent...

Eventually we found a small spot near the base of a large tree, it wasn't ideal but we made it work. We had an amazing view of the fraser valley, the amount of lights was astonishing. We got to bed around 3am and woke up at 645am 5 minutes before sunrise. It was cloudy and snowing, so no sunrise. We didn't care to much, we had made it to the top. it only took us an 1 hour and 15 minutes to get down, half the time it took us to get up.

It was good to get a way even if it was just for a short while.

We needed to breath.

You know not what you say...

2011-03-26T16:13:00.000-05:00

On average I think it is safe to say that I have more free time than most people. Espeacially when it comes to school. Why that is I have no idea, it just seems to work out that way.

Free time I can stand, it leaves things open for me which I like. What sucks is the fact that my free time schedule often does not match up with anyone elses schedule.

And then people will tell me that they wish they had my problem of having free time and not knowing what to do with it. Really? is my question. Do you really want what I have. I can think of an endless list of things I can do. My problem is that no one is available to do anything with me.

My batteries recharge when I am with people, that is why the other night when a friend texted to see if I was awake because they wanted to talk. I got out of bed to go, even though they said it could wait till morning.

I get in a weird funk when I have free time with no one around, I don't care to do much, I just want to be with people. So i will go to the school cafeteria around meal time to hang out just so I can see people. I loose any desire to do much else (Hence why my blog posting has been lacking).

Who ever wants this can have it... I pity you.

Anticipaition

2011-03-05T16:08:00.000-06:00

Don't worry this is good anticipation. I finally got the news today that I have been accepted as the Pursuit Intern at Red Rock Bible Camp. Am I excited?...you bet. I am also slightly nervous, scared, unsure. However I feel peace, and a lot of it.

I don't have a lot of information about the details yet, but as they come in I will let you know. If you want to know more about the program you can go to http://pursuit-redrock.com.

It is still 6 months away which seems like a long time but I have a feeling it will be here sooner than I know it.

JUICE!!!

2011-02-23T00:52:00.000-06:00

I should really look into getting sponsored by these guys. I really really really like drinking their juice!

Brain food

2011-02-20T22:08:00.000-06:00

I play a lot of games on the internet... its my brain food. don't believe me? Try this game and then tell me it doesn't work your brain.

http://armorgames.com/play/10591/interlocked

Caring ain't free

2011-02-13T00:09:00.000-06:00

So I may or may not made a few new years resolution about school this year. I know I wanted to be more organized, and although I am not supper organized I think I am doing better than previous years... SO YAY me. And I am not sure if I am dreaming this one or if this one was real, althought it doesn't matter because it has happened.

I started caring more about school. I decided somewhere down the line that this last semester I wanted to actaully care about school and try to do better than I previously have. Maybe its some subconcious thing that loves to push hard near the end of stuff. I know this is true in other areas of my life. I think people in general would agree that near the end of either a sport or activity that its best if you just give it your all or "Lay it all on the line" as some might say.

However this attitude has never really translated over into my school work it finally wedged its way in... Shucks.

I have spent a total of 5 hours out of what I am guessing will be close to 15 hours by the time I am done of studying for my midterm. The nice thing is that our teacher told us exactly what he expected on the exam so I wrote down everything that I thought was importnat. I ended up with almost 7 full pages typed. Today I memorized 2 and a half pages. I took a 3 hour break from studying where all i did was eat, clean the kitchen, play some computer games, and not thinkg about what I had memorized. I started to write down as quick as I could the information and realized I haf retained 87%, not bad says I.

So this sudden care for school has got me to think. Why is this? (I am a curious one you see) I think I have figured out.

This same scenario happened in the case of one subject last year. And thinking back to that situation I have realized that how I feel about the class is almost identical to how much I care about the subject. Kind of neat.

But then I realized the unfortunate thing about what I am experiencing. While it is great that I am caring more and studying more for my class. I have realized that I am very much in a "do or die" scenario. I do not want my but to get kicked by this exam so I am studying my butt of to avoid failing.

While it does help that I actually care about the subject part of me realizes that there is a chance that I may care more also because it is necessary for me to care more in order for me to study more. Maybe my subconcious has figured that out. I can almost guarentee that what I am memorizing now will only go into my short term school slot. and that most things will not reach the long term.

It is really to bad that exams in school cause me to do this. I really wish I could learn this stuff and commit it to long term memory, but the time constraints of school and the fact that they make us do tests that mesure how much learning we have achieved during our time in the class does not really allow for such things.

Oh life what a confusing and amazing thing you are.

Well I am off to bed. My plan is to read outloud what I was memorizing today right before my head hits the pillow to help it fester in my brain overnight. I may also tuck it under my pillow for good luck (or osmosis, although I am not sure if my pillow is osmosis proof... we will see.)

How do we treat people

2011-02-09T01:09:00.000-06:00

Have you ever felt convicted of something that you add in the thoughts you are having into a paper even though the paper does not call for them?

I do all the time. This time it was to do with my case study for my ethics class. The basic idea of the case was this.

A manager of an orange grove hired a contractor to take his oranges to the factory, the contractor hired a middle man to do the transporting. The middle man dropped of the oranges and then got paid by the factory, after he got paid he ran off with the money. Because of this the contractor never got his share of the money so he could not pay the manager the money he was owed. The question then was, for a christian is it ethical to sue the contractor to get the money he owes you.

The verse that was used the most was Matthew 18:15 ¹⁵ “If your brother or sister^[b] sins,^[c] go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. ¹⁶ But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’^[d] ¹⁷ If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector."

At first this makes sense to me, try and deal with them rationaly and try to resolve the issue as quietly, painless, and cost efective as possible. If that doesn't work then go to court.

What bothers me about this is that people then say that it is ok to just go strait to suing if the person is non christian. This confuses me. We are called to love our neighbor as ourself but it seems as though fellow christians get the better end of the bargen. Supossed you were in this situation and you just went straight to suing the contractor because he wasn't christian. However if you just would have talked to him before you went all crazy with legal papers you could have worked something out.

If christians are supposed to be the light in the world than shouldn't we be setting an example for the WORLD? Should we be the best peace keepers, and mediators? Should we be an example of how issues between 2 parties can be resolved without having to go directly to court?

I am curious... I obviously don't have the bible memorized but I wonder if there are more verses that speak to this. Or am I just making a big stink about nothing?

2011-01-31T18:27:00.002-06:00

Cultus Vibes

This is good stuff.

No More Hypothetical Ethics

2011-01-27T21:33:00.000-06:00

I have decided today that I do not like having debates on ethics when it comes to hypothetical scenarios. Here are a few reasons why:

1) You never get all the facts in these scenarios, you are told to decided what you would do and why when you don't have all of the information. (Although sometimes you don't actually have all the information when it comes to making decisions)

2) Most of the examples are really extreme, for example, 5 people are going to get run over by a train unless you switch the track its on. If you switch the train to the other track then it will run over 1 person. How often do you run into this situation? (unless your will smith and are constantly trying to save the world)

3) There are enough real situations to discuss that happen on a semi-regular basis that could be discussed instead of waste time talking about things that will probably never happen.

Intelligence

2011-01-25T00:57:00.000-06:00

"the ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills" that one of the many definitions of "Intelligence"

Today in one of my classes we were asked to define intelligence and then to try and create an intelligence test. Here is what I learned or reinforced as a result of that class.

Even if the world could agree on a definition of intelligence it would be impossible to fully measure all aspects that involve intelligence.

It seems to me that we have done to intelligence what we have done with everything in today's society. What I mean by that is; we have put a monetary value on it and expected everyone to agree with the value of it.

Since we can't come to a consensus of what intelligence is, every test we take that claims to be an "intelligence" test is not totally accurate. it is applying a grading system by which we evaluate each other.

We have given the word Intelligence more personific (sorry about the gramar but I like the way it sounds) qualities than it should have. Intelligence is an abstract idea that humans have given life in order to determine a sort of pecking order in society.

This hits home for me a bit, when I was growing up I struggled with the fact that my sisters got much better marks than I did. I am fairly confident that I called my self stupid on multiple occasions (a probably believed it for a while too) I finally got out of that phase with the realization that it was not just their hard work and dedication to their studies that helped them get amazing marks. (not that they are not naturally smart, but trying counts for a lot too)

Since they tried to excel at school they did, It is possible that I could have achieved marks similar to my sisters but it would have required more effort in my school than I was willing to put in. (it also would have been more effort than my sisters put in).

However reverse the roles and put my sisters to work building a wall in a house or something along those lines and you would have the opposite situation. While I would have an easier time building some walls, my sister with some practice and effort could build the same wall as me.

I am thinking I may make it a resolution to stop using the word intelligent. I think I may try to find a substitute for it. not sure yet.

I Judge, You Judge, We all Judge now.

2011-01-14T02:41:00.000-06:00

You cannot deny that you judge people, while you may not do it often I think it is nearly impossible to not pass judgment on someone at some point in your life. It may be a celebrity, it may be your family, it may even be yourself. Have you ever stopped to think about how you judge people? Do you judge them by their possessions or by their ideals? Do you judge them by their intentions or by there actions?

I have been thinking about this topic for a while know, especially when it comes to how I/we judge myself/ourselves in relation to how others see us, and then how to discern what is the truth in regards to who we are (mainly character).

For me when it comes to a persons character there are 2 sides of the coin. There is the side that everyone sees. This is how people see you in every day life. The other side of the coin is the side that people don't see. Not to say that you hide this side, that isn't what the sides represent. But this side represents how you act when you are alone.

Oh what am I trying to say... you know sometimes I wish I was better at communicating.

Basically what I have been trying to figure out is who I am. I will try to explain it this way.

Every year for the past 10 years my families Christmas tradition has been to write each other a short blessing on a card. Then Christmas morning we read each other the cards we have for them to bless them. It is one of the best things about Christmas. This year I took the time to read through the cards starting from the first one (Which was from the year 2000) to the latest one. After reading through all of the blessing I had received from my family over the past decade I could not feel some what like a fraud.

You see while I see myself as someone who is a very forgiving and understanding person when it comes to other people I am very critical of myself. It is as if I hold judge myself on a harder scale than anyone else. So when I look through all the blessings I could not help but feel as though I ad tricked my family.

The fact is I know I have not lived up to what they have said in the cards. I have messed up, and of course I have, I am a human being that is broken. So how should we view ourselves?

I feel as though it is ignorant to ignore the past and to push into the future. But I am afraid that if we dwell to much in the past we will never have a future.

Do intentions count for anything? or should we be judged solely on our actions in comparison with our words?

Hope this made sense.

Uncovering the Past

2011-01-12T00:39:00.000-06:00

"There are certain things that are fundamental to human fulfillment. The essence of these needs is captured in the phrase 'to live, to love, to learn, to leave a legacy'. The need to live is our physical need for such things as food, clothing, shelter, economical well-being, health. The need to love is our social need to relate to other people, to belong, to love and to be loved. The need to learn is our mental need to develop and to grow. And the need to leave a legacy is our spiritual need to have a sense of meaning, purpose, personal congruence, and contribution."

-Stephen R. Covey

Have you ever wondered what your legacy will be? Will people have an easy time talking about you at your funeral or will they struggle to find things other than a general statements like "He/She was a good person."

Deep down I think humans desire to leave an amazing lasting legacy. A legacy that people will remember for years and will aspire to be better because of it.

I want part of my legacy to involve adventure. I realized last semester that Adventure is at the core of who I am. Today I discovered that Adventure may just be at the core of more than just me, but something that has been passed down for years.

I am going to stop here quick. I feel like the term Adventure has a large variety of definitions. It really depends on the person so I will tell you what the term "Adventure" means to me.

Adventure is when you purposely start something where you do not know either the end result, the outcome, or the process by which to accomplish the task.

An easy example would be an arctic explorer, while he knows that he wants his destination to be but he does not know exactly how his trip will go. There are to many variables to account for. However an example could also be someone who is starting a business. They know that this is what they want to do but they are unsure of all of the steps to running a business well. There are millions of examples but hopefully you get the picture.

1st day of school and my assignment is to research my church denomination (Mennonite Brethren). Here is a brief summary of what my discoveries have been so far. The MB (Mennonite Brethren) were formed/started January 6 1860. 18 Heads of households signed a Secession Document (the action of withdrawing formally from membership of a federation or body) a few days later 9 more Heads of households signed the document as well.

My Grandma gave me some manuscripts that were written about a relative (Heinz) who lived from 1917 to 1995. In this account his great-grandfather is mentioned. I am guessing that Heinz's grandfather would be close to 80 years older than he was which means that he would have been born in 1837 (hopefully my math is right) which means that he would have been around 23 when the MB's got started. It makes me wonder, was Heinzs' great grandfather a part of this start up? Was he apart of one of the 27 families that signed the document?

Regardless the answer to those questions, the stories in the manuscripts tell some pretty amazing tales of which I hope to be more acquainted with.

Conclusion of this post (If you made it this far)

We are all apart of some sort of Legacy weather we like it or not. No matter the history of your family, if it is written down some where, just past down through stories, or it has been erased from the face of the earth you are apart of a legacy. And when you die you will pass on your legacy to the next generation.

What kind of Legacy will you leave?

It is late again.

2010-11-26T04:16:00.000-06:00

I am up late again...

My mind starts to race once it gets past 11 pm I find. It also doesn't help that I am listening to some fairly Epic music which seems to make my brain go into overdrive and make me think that everything I say is going to put to the song I am listening to at that time.
Which Results in

Special Ideas/concepts and writing styles that are only seen when Epic music and Brain Function occur simoltaniously after 11 pm.

I have found my next "Thing" There is a good chance it will be consuming a large portion of my brain power for the next couple of weeks.

Interested in what is going on? I will give you some hints. Its something involving my future. Most people would not be surprised I am considering it. Words like Epic, Adventure, Discovery, and Fun are definitely apart of it.

Right now I am on a ridge, there is a thunderstorm. I am soaked. I am leaning into the wind. Water is pelting my face. I am squinting to see the path before me. I am Smiling. I am ready for adventure.

The Cusp

2010-11-25T00:32:00.000-06:00

Back in the "day" (lets say just before the internet hit the world) people interacted with each other face to face. There was no email, or IM's (instant messages) when you wanted to do buisness with someone you went and talked to them (or called them I guess) I believe the internet is having a major effect on the human brain. I was talking to my instructor today who does group facilitating at trinity. He said that people as they grow up start to pick up on facial cues (like when someone is made or upset or annoyed). As people grow up they become more aware of how their body functions, for example junior high students look akward playing sports sometimes, or they don't realize emotional physical cues as easily. I asked him if the internet was playing a roll in how quickly that part of the brain develops.

He didn't know!!! This is where the cusp comes in. He said that as it stands right now, people studying the brain and behavior and what not do not have sufficient data to hypothosize how the internet affects this.

But think about it, the more we are on the interent the less face to face interactions we have. I know for me when I want to know something from somebody I am not sure I will see soon I will either text or email. If they email me back then I don't need to interact with them face to face. I am sure that the more we use the internet for interactions the slower that portion of our brain will develop.

I could be way off the mark, I in no way really know what I am saying. Do not get me wrong, I like the internet. It is handy and quick, and sites like facebook can be amazing tools for networking. I think we just need to figure out the balance between email/online chats with face to face chats (or at a minimum phone conversations).

That is all for now. I will have more to come on my searchings soon.

Competition

2010-11-18T03:15:00.000-06:00

It has been interesting being in the second year of my program. You get to see a new set of people take the role of first year and see how their group reacts to things that you went through.

At the end of last year I warned a few people going into the program to try and stay away from competetion. I will say that in some circumstances competetion is a great way to push yourself in away that is hard to do on your own (for most people I think) but this is not one of those situations. You see, in the first year of the program you get split into two groups. In the First semester you get split into Alpha and Bravo, and in the second semester you get split into Charlie and Delta.

I find it fun/interesting/some what curious to watch as the groups in each semester seem to have a bit of a judging competetion. In first semester when you don't really know anyone you observe your group and then you observe the other group. After you go on a trip you come back and end up talking about your trip with the other group and this is where it starts to get noticeable. Some will comment on the food they made and how the instructors loved it and other will tell of what they all did. The stories go back and forth and you can sometimes get the feeling that people are telling these stories as a way to show dominance and say "look how good we are, we are at the top" (but maybe that is my take on it. This will go on through out the semester and it isn't to much of a big deal I guess.

Then the Judging gets interesting when second semester comes around and the group is split into Charlie and Delta. Instantly people will talk over who is in which group and who they are surprised about. I think what happens is throughout first semseter people start making criteria for the two different groups so that when second semester comes around they think they have a good idea over who will be where according to what they think is the criteria. So when the groups are split up and they realise their critera was wrong they get somewhat confused I imagine. And some people get slightly upset that they are in one group over the other because of the precieved notions that one group is superior or even just different than the other.

Usually people come to the conclusion that Alpha is for the go getters and stronger students and bravo is for the more laid back lazier students. The same is with Charlie and Delta (Charlie being similar to Alpha and Bravo to Delta) I really can't comment on this observation, I could see how they would try to match personalities but that is only obsercations from my year. This doesn't mean my observation is correct.

I have an Idea...

Well actually it is being borrowed from my grade 12 drama teacher who had the task of making 2 different cast lists for the class to share roles. The two groups would alternate between bigger and smaller roles every night to make it fair. Instead of there being a group A and B, he had a Group A and a Group 1. This may seem silly but I feel like in some ways it slows down how quickly people will start to compete.

I think ultimately competing with and judging the other group will still happen but it may slow down the process. It also gives a chance for the instructors state the reason why this is done. To let the students of each group know that it is not a matter of one group being better than the other. They have to do it for practical reasons.

This is long enough I figure. That is all for know.

Except I like this short dialoge from the movie Inception

Dom Cobb: What is the most resilient parasite? A bacteria? A virus? An intenstinal worm?
Arthur: Ah, what Mr Cobb is trying to...
Dom Cobb: An idea. Resilient, highly contajous. Once an idea has taken hold of the brain it's almost impossible to iradicate.

Done

Did you know?

2010-11-15T02:20:00.000-06:00

Thermal expansion is the fancy word to describe what happens when something gets warmer or colder. (when an object warms us it expands, when it cools down it contracts.) This is generally case with every object in the world...
Anomalous - deviating from what is standard, normal, or expected. This is the word one could use when describing the property of water. You see, when you put water in a pot and turn on the heat, as the water warms it expands. That is until the tempreture reaches 100 degrees Celsius, then it turns into a gas. When you put water into a freezer it will start to contract. That is until it hits 3.98 degrees Celsius. You may be thinking, water doesn't turn to ice at that tempreture, and you would be right. As soon as water gets colder that 3.98 Degrees Celsius it starts to expand again, and as far as I know it is the only element that does so.

I wonder why God did this. Could it be because if water got denser than all the ice caps would be a the bottom of the sea? Maybe He did it because He knew one day I would read this and it would peak my interest.

I did not appreciate science so much when I was in high school. You were graded on things and had to do assignments because you were told to. Not a conducive learning environment for me (To bad that is how all schools operate). I am realizing that I will probably learn more outside of my Natural history class than I will inside it. For one, I think you should be in Nature to learn about. Natural history. and Two, I like doing research on my own time, when marks are not involved, and I can learn about one thing at a time until my curiosity is satisfied.

There are many things to explore. It is why I will always be searching.

The World is Neat

2010-11-12T21:10:00.000-06:00

So my natural class has been a bit of a mind crusher. We went over a bunch of physics formulas and such, then chemestry, and today we got into astrology and the earths surface. The first day was a bit of a drag, although I did make a game of writting down every thing he puts up on the board so I guess that is good. But today was actually kind of interesting we talked about the different layers of the earth and Continental drift.

There is a lot more going on in the world physically then most people realise. Now I am actually excited for mondays class.

Real school...Whats that?

2010-11-11T11:11:00.000-06:00

So today I start a Natural History and Interpretations class for school. (I realize it is rememberance day but I don't make the schedual around here). We were sent out the Itinerary for what we would be learning. I did a word count for kicks, it was 731... and it was all written in point form which means that there was little waste on words like and, the, who... you get the picture.

We will be learning about things such as physics, astronomy, geometry, oceanography, climate, weathering and erosion, biology and ecology, and this list goes on. its a 7 day course. I am arming my self with a 100 page not book 2 pens, a pencil, maybe a marker or two. I feel like I am taking a university class, not a bible school class.

Wish me luck.

Movie Time

2010-11-09T12:21:00.000-06:00

A neat movie I found

WORDS from Everynone on Vimeo.

The difference between a Rut and a Grave

2010-11-05T13:35:00.000-05:00

Well there are technically two differences between a rut and a grave. Some will say the depth some will say the dimensions, technically they both deal with the size but we will leave them as two different answers.

        I think it would be safe to say that I have been in a rut the past while. I have lost motivation for most things which is unfortunate. It has not been an easy semester for me in a number of ways, in other ways it has been a breaze. Being the only person in the second year of my program taking the Aquadic Track (water based activities, or WBA) does not make it easy to go about your school year in a normal fasion. Because the first semester in second year is a modular semester, the students in the semester spend time in courses usually 7 days long learning new skills for the first 3 weeks. Then they take a first aid course followed by a 3 week period where the students are given a chance to go out with their peers to practice their skill and gain experience with what they have learned since the beginning of the year. This time is followed by 3 week long course that all students must take regardless of what track they are in. (They are either in Aquadics, or Alpine).

         Because of my summer Job up on the Nahanni I took some courses and did a few trips that would count towards my first semester. Because of this my first course was first aid which started October 1st. So I stayed home a bit longer and showed up to school on September 20th. I then took the first aid course. Since I only took 9 days worth of courses during the summer I technically still needed to get some more training in (Usually both skill tracks recive 21 days of training in september) even though I had already taken 3 different coruses. So I signed up to take three more scuba diving courses to top my days of training up to 15 (which I was informed by my director would be adiquate. A week after first aid had ended our 3 weeks off of school started. I walked into my directors office signed a few papers and badabing badaboom I was done my 3 weeks (I did trips over the summer with work that counted). During these three weeks I took my scuba diving courses and will be finishing up this weekend.

As a result of this weird position I am in, showing up late at school, taking only one week of class on campus, and living off campus, my social life has been vastly different from that of last year.

I am a social person, while some people are fueled by groups of people and recharge by being alone I am fueled by being with people whether large groups or even just one on one. However I usually do not need to recharge by being alone. Sure every once and a while I enjoy having some quite solitude to thing but that usually happens to me regardless of my daily schedual (it usually happens right before I go to bed, which is usually when I write blogs. It is my release). But since most of my friends are either busy with classes during the day and doing homework at night I have found it difficult to keep busy socially. Which means I no longer need some quick down time before bed which means I go to bed late out of boredom and have a lack of motivation to write.

       I do have 3 weeks worth of classes coming up which I am looking forward too, however after those 3 weeks of classes I am done for this semster. Which is where the good news and bad news comes in.

Good news, I will probably be coming home first week of December and won't be returning to school until january 10th (May aswell making some good money at home where there are more thing to do then be bored out here.)

Bad news, I fear this will hinder my social life when I return to school in someway or another being gone for almost a month.

This is a crazy long post, so I will leave you by doing a kind of life lesson (the Idea of which I took from Manny G). No matter where you are, it is nice to have friend and family waiting for you for when you return.

So while I have mixed feelings about my returning home early, don't worry people from manitoba its more happy feelings than sad.

This guy makes me laugh

2010-11-03T01:53:00.002-05:00

The dishwasher life

2010-10-27T02:35:00.000-05:00

So I am a dishwasher at a White spot reastaurant in Abbotsford. Actually I am not a dishwasher, I am a Dish Hygine Speacialist, DHS for short. (its sounds more ligit.)

People keeping asking me how I am liking work. It is a funny questions to me. Dishwashing is definatly no my passion, but I also do not hate it. It is just another job for me, it helps pay for school.

In other news I went swimming the other day, if felt weird. You see the last lets say 7 times I have been in a pool it has been with scuba gear on, and I am usually under water. So you can imagine it felt wierd to have to stay on the surface and not breath through a regulator. Also tredding water is alot easier when you have fins, and a BCD full of air attached to you. So hopefully soon I will be somewhat of a Merman, with out the fins of course.

Stay fit and Have fun.

A Little Up Date

2010-10-19T03:15:00.000-05:00

Well I have not written anything on here in a little while so i guess I will write a little update about what is going on in my noggin.

I was at gleaners again today, To date I have volunteered 32 hours and I have enjoyed every single moment of it (not even lying). My parents got to come and see what gleaners was all about over thanksgiving, which in a number of ways was pretty fitting in light of the holiday. Today I spent 4 hours cutting open 2 kilogram bags of frozen vegetables and emptying them into huge bins so they could be chopped up by a machine and then put onto the racks for drying, We went through 12 pallets. Each pallet contained 24 boxes which held 6 packages weighing 2 Kgs. if my math is correct, each box weighs 12 Kgs which means each pallet weighs 288 Kgs. Times that by 12 pallets and you get 3,456 Kgs or Roughly 7, 063 Lbs of vegies. I think they had 16,000 Lbs donated to them of perfectly fine product (well obviously not good enough for the grocery store, supposedly there was something wrong with the machine that graded the product so they had to pull it out of the store. don't worry the food is still safe to eat, it just isn't nice enough for North Americans.)

I also realized today during my 4 hours of cutting open bags that I love activities that require in some ways low brain function. Obviously you don't want to cut your hand or anyone else with your knife but other than that there is not a lot that goes into grabbing a bag, cutting it open and then dumping it out. However there is something bout it that I really enjoy. For one I get to become more and more efficient as I go along, always tweaking how I grab and slice the bags before dumping them to be more efficient. I wonder if this has something to do with people desire to master something (not that I was perfect, but really close. Kind of like and Asymptote)

I have found it to be true in a number of jobs that I have done that do not require and excess of brain function, or at least don't seem too. Because it seems that people who are really efficient at something even if it is mundane or simple still need to use their brain to figure out how to become efficient in what they do.

I think I will have a pondering session tomorrow. I have never had a time dedicated to pondering, We will see what comes of it.

I will let you know how the pondering goes.

happy thinking.

Love is taking over.

2010-10-06T00:05:00.000-05:00

Sorry this post is no about a girlfriend, if thats what you were hopping for than I will apologize in advance. But you never know so read anyways.

I have been starting to notice a pattarn over the last little while. Well maybe its more than a little while, I would say atleast a year maybe a little longer.

Some would call it passive. Some people would say its just my mennonite background taking over. The best word I have for it right now is love.

Now that I think about it this has been happening for years. I remember when I was younger I was an angry child. Not all the time but there would be time where I would lash out for no real good reason (if there is even such a thing as a good reason to lash out... Who knows?) It was almost uncontrollable it seemed but as I grew up and switched schools my lash out became less and less and became the more joyfull person I am today. Although I am still not immune to having the odd lash out, it is fairly rare.

And then the other day I was talking to a friend and he told me a story of something that happend to him a while ago. Basically the short version of the story was. My friend did this to me, so I did this in return, End of story.
Then I said, "Well why did you do that?"
He said "Well do you think he deserved it?"
And I said quickly "Nobody Deserves anything." (emphasis on Deserves)

In someways I wish I were a peaceful monk. Monks love everyone no matter what. However I don't think I wasnt to lose the ability to be fight back well not so much fight back but defend others. So I am not sure where that leaves me.

Oh well I guess I still don't have it figured out.

until next time. Keep thinking

A rant

2010-09-30T01:44:00.000-05:00

I was going to write about a place I have been volunteering at for the past week but I got an email today that really got under my skin.

The email was a notice to infor the students in my program that there was going to be a "connection" time happening next week where there would be time to get to now our director/assistant director and the other students in the program.

Here is a chunk of the email:

Moreover, it is IMPORTANT that you attend this Connection Time as you will learn very valuable information that you would miss out on if you do not attend. I cannot say much more than that, but if I could give you one piece of advice I would recommend that you write this into your CBC day planner, blackberry, iphone, ecalendar, pompilot and make it a “Must Attend” event! And for a little extra incentive, there will be FREE coffee, tea...and we all know that poor college students NEVER pass off free food.

I read this and felt almost insulted. I am sure the emailer did not intend to insult or offend anyone but don't treat my like an kid who you assume doesn't know anything. For starters. Last year all of our trips were with our Director/Assistant Director so it is safe to say that I know them fairly well already. Second of all. There are a hand full of 4th year students, probably the same amount of 3rd year students. I know all of the 2nd years, And I I have met the majority of the 1st years. In total there are approximately 40 OL students.

And now I will be processing this all night when I could be doing something else (Like sleeping...).

Thats all for now.

I am going to try and get some pictures of where I volunteer soon and do a post about it.

Thoughts on School (or what ever I am doing) so far...

2010-09-24T00:54:00.000-05:00

Well I have been in abbotsford since sunday now. Technically I am at school, however I am not in class until the 1st. It is a bit of a long story so i am not going to tell you the whole things. Basically I did stuff over the summer that counted for part of my schooling which ended up covering the courses I normaly would have taken in semptember.

So now I am here at school but I have no reason to be on campus until the 1s of october.

I did however start volunteering today at a place called Gleaners. Basically it is a christian organization that takes donations of vegitables from farmers (the vegitables cannot be sold at stores for reasons such as size or blemishes) and then they dry the vegies and make soup packs out of them. Today was my first day there and it was a lot of fun. Something about doing a sort of mundain task appiles to me. It leaves me to my thoughts but still allows my body to be active.

However I still feel some what disconnected from my surroundings. I feel as though I am opperating on one linear track and everyone else at school is on another. We are both heading in the same direction but we are often not at the same place. Every so often our paths cross and there is some dialouge about what the other person is doing and then we both go our seperate ways again.

This is something I will need to explore. It seems as though I either tend to issolate myself from my surroundings one way or another or I feel like I am issolated from my surroundings. I know I am searching for something. I just don't know what.

1 year closer to death

2010-09-14T23:05:00.000-05:00

Well another day went by today, nothing really eventfull happend. I woke up as per usually ate food, went on the internet, listened to music, went ot my grandparents, ate more food, played a few games on my ipod, ate supper with my family, got some gifts, and I suspect that I will eventually go to bed...But that won't be until tomorrow.

You know when you start to loose intrest in a hobbie. You just have no real desire to partake in the activity anymore... you still get a bit of enjoyment out of it but you could do without it.

I think I have lost interest in my birthday. I still appreciate getting calls and what not. but to be it was just another day, nothing to get overly excited for.

That is all I got

If you had one day left what would you do?

2010-09-04T01:28:00.001-05:00

The other day me and my mom went or a bike ride from out house to birdshill park and then back again. During the ride we discussed numerous things, so I will let you in on one part of it.

I forget how exatly we got onto the subject of health (maybe it was the fact we were riding our bikes...) and we came to the conclusion that as you get older it is most likely that your chances of getting sick or injured or even dying suddenly is higher.

You know how sometimes people ask eachother "if you had one day to live what would you do?" A lot of people would answer with some crazy plans for their last day on earth (what would you do?). I probably had a crazy answer for that questions the last time I was asked but from now on I think I would like to make my answer something like this. "I would wake up and eat breakfast, I would go to work/school/other (depending on what was planned for that particular day) and I would do what ever I was doing like I always do (hopefully to the best of my abilities). When I am done there I would go home have dinner and invite people over to party."

What if we lived as though every day was our last day (maybe I don't need to have a party every night but why not...). I think people would make sure that what they were doing that day was useful and had a purpose. We wouldn't do something that wasn't benificial because why would we want to waste any of the precious time we had left. I want to be more deliberate in my day to day doings. Whether it be teaching someone how to drive standard (which I may do tomorrow) or cutting the lawn (I will be doing some tomorrow).

That way when it is our last day on this lovely planet (not that we will necessarily know its our last day) we won't be scrambling around trying to do everything we wish we had done or trying to say all the things we wanted to say. Everything will be "up to date" so to speak so all that will be left to do will be to do what we always do one more day.

Do you really think this helps?

2010-08-26T09:09:00.000-05:00

For those of you who don't have facebook let me quickly explain something. You can put a status up that everyone can see. The status appears on your "wall" and you can put anything you want on it. Sometimes people but an inside joke for their status, sometimes its a request of some sort, or even just what they had for dinner.

Every so often I see what someone has put on their status and I think to my self, "What are you thinking?"

This morning I saw this "If you believe in Jesus Christ put this on your wall. Don't just ignore this because the Bible says if you deny Him, He will deny you in front of his father at the gates of Heaven. This is a simple test. If you love God and you are not ashamed, then copy this to your wall"

I really wish I could get inside the person head who put this up. Basically what they are saying is that If I do not post these few lines as my status I am Denying Jesus, and in turn he will deny me in front of God when I get to heaven...

I do find it interesting that it says "This is a simple test" a test of what? a test of reason? I for one do not think God is going on my facebook to see if I have this as my status. Anybody can easily type that they are not ashamed of something from the safety of their own home.

When are people going to Grow up???

The last few days

2010-08-23T22:13:00.000-05:00

Time has sure flown over the last few days. I thought I would let you in on what was going on.

Friday August 20

It was my sister wedding rehersal and then dinner party. I got to, for about 5 minuets stood in as my now brothers groomsmen. You see one of Johnny's groomsmen was late coming to the rehersal so I got to practice walking down the isle with the groomsmen.

The Dinner Party was fantastic, loads of pork and tons of people, it was awesome.

Saturday August 21

I biked from my house to just past polo park. Took me about 1 hour and 15 minuets and it was loads of fun. Then I went to the Delta hotel to hang out with Johnnys family and relatives for a few hours and then to my aunties house to visit my side of the family.

Sunday August 22

Jen got MARRIED. it was awesome. I felt very blessed to be the first Guy to see Jennifer in her wedding dress. she looked simply stunning. The party went late and it was loads of fun. Thanks to all my friends who came out to help with the wedding stuff.

Monday August 23

We cleaned up the barn today, it didn't take to long. (the reception was in the barn on my grandmas yard) And then I went out sailing at Fort Whyte. It was crazy windy today (between 20-50 km/h) My friend Lindsey took me out (shes a pro, im not so pro) But I did do a pretty good job. We only capsized once and I deffinatly righted to boat, No bigs.

hopefully I will let you in on some more fun things later in the week.

Until then just make sure you check our milks experation date to see if its sour...Silly

Prepare thy self to party.

2010-08-21T23:54:00.000-05:00

This will be a short one.

My sister is getting married tomorrow and it will be the most exciting day in my life for a little while atleast. I am pretty sure my own wedding will be much more exciting for me than my sisters. But who knows when that will be right? That maybe a hint if you are a single girl around my age that likes me but is not related to me and that likes the outdoors somewhat and can put up with my crazy family and me... anybody??

ahahah weddings have a weird effect on people. Its bed time for this guy, I need to prepare myself to party.

My Summer Adventure Trailer

2010-08-18T08:58:00.000-05:00

Here is a Trailer I made for my summer. Hopefully I can find some time to get a full video done... What am I saying I am not working and I am at home... well see. My sister gets married sunday so things are ramping up here at home.

Hope you enjoy the trailer.

My Summer Adventure (Official Trailer) from Joshua on Vimeo.

Well I am back

2010-08-15T01:19:00.000-05:00

So I have been back for about 6 days now and it has been nice to be home. but I think I am having almost a mini culture shock. I had a job this summer that most people I know have never had. It definatly doesn't fall under and "regular" summer jobs and to be honest I do not really know how to answer people when they ask me how my summer was.

So I will say this, I learned a great deal this summer about a number of things, so here are a few things I learned in no particular order of importance.

I learned that you should not work hard to get recgonition or rewards, you should work hard because you are able to.

I learned that things often look nice on paper than in real life.

I learned that often what seem to be the smallest forms of generosity tell a lot about a person.

I learned that even adults can be picky eaters.

I learned that 7 year olds are sometimes smarter than we give them credit for.

I learned that it is important to know why you are doing what you are doing.

I learned that no matter how good our intentions are, we are all capable of being monsters.

and I learned that every once in a while it is good to jump in freezing cold water just to give your lungs and heart a bit of a shock.

Well I am back and that is all for now.

First trip done

2010-07-26T01:24:00.000-05:00

Pulpit Rock

Man he looks tasty

Getting some good spray

My Rock Friend

I am actually not sure what to say at the moment, I am in fort nelson for the night taking a break and heading back up to the base sometime tomorrow. My camera broke wih about 1 week left in the trip so now I need to find a new one in town, im not sure if I will find one here or not...Who knows.

I got pretty good at making Cinnamon buns

I figured I would put up a few pictures so you guys could see what was going on.

Hope you Enjoy

Driving with the help of miners

2010-07-01T23:39:00.000-05:00

I have been going back and forth driving across what seems like the country but its only been from BC into the Yukon and then Into the Northwest territories ( Aprrox.809 km) I have gone there and back twice now and I will go there one more time to start my trip on the 4th of july. But first I have to travel north 4 hours tomorrow and then come back the next day because I am dropping off clients that are going on a trip. So ya I kind of know how to drive.

Speaking of July 4th its the even year of my weird string of accidents. Luckly I am not driving that day, Somone else is. If you don't know the July 4th stories you will have to wait until I am back to write about them.

But I have to give a serious shout out to the Boys and Lady over at the Tugnston near where I was this morning. They fed me 2 meals and gave me some supplies to get the trailer off the bus (which was stuck in a river... Its a long story, you will have to wait until august to here it, All I will tell you know is that the Bus is still in the stream bed in 4-6 inches of water.) They people at the mind were more than generous, it seems as though they hadn't seen someone other than a miner in so long they thought I was a orphan bear and they just wanted to keep me. But I had work to do, so i left.

I will leave you with a help full tip.

If you don't want misquitos in the 15 passenger van while sleeping in it, light up a misquito coil in the van and let it go for 20 minutes... All the misquitoes will be gone, Trust me.

Until next time,

Josh

Ridiculous

2010-06-24T00:45:00.002-05:00

I am doing good. That is all i have time for. Got to go.

Ps the North is sweet.

Wait what?

2010-06-16T01:23:00.000-05:00

The phone rang this afternoon at 12:48...

Caller: Did you guys take the day off?
Me: Nope were busy working drying to get stuff done.
Caller: Oh... Well do you think you could leave to come up north tonight?
Me: Ya I think so.
Caller: Ok see you later.

It was 4:30 pm when I drove off the drive way with all of my belongings back in my car (that was including the 1 hour it took to get my oil changed). Although my car is not nearly as full as it was when I left school (I shipped some stuff home and my dad took some when he visited in may) I still have a bit of stuff in my car ;)

I stopped in calgary to see my grandparents who on there way to Vancouver and I am now in Edmonton outside a closed Starbucks getting some WIFI!!!

This will most likely be my last post until august sometime when I get back into Civilization.

This kind of reminds me of my time in Utah which is funny because I also didn't get back until august.

Interesting...

Well I guess that is all I have to say for now so I will leave you with this.

But even if I'm left high and dry at the end of this wild journey, just taking it is a great feeling.
Olivia Wilde

Oh the places you will go.

2010-06-08T22:56:00.000-05:00

It has been a busy stretch here in canmore, it is hard to believe that after almost a month of dehydrating, frying, bagging, tapping, labeling, and packing that this first part of the summer has almost come to an end.

We have been working hard to get ready for the first few guides to head up north to the base to start on the first trip of the season. Vehicles need to get fixed or get decals put on, first aid kits need to be updated, materials for buildings need to be ordered, guides need to get there stuff together, and other odds and sodds need to be done. Tomorrow I am heading off to the rafting base on the red deer river to get ready for a school group that is coming out rafting on thursday. Friday I am taking a youth group down another river that runs into Cochrane. Saturday to Monday I am taking a basic moving water instructor course and on Tuesday there is a possiblity that I am going to be driving up north for the rest of the summer or for a bit and then I would come down and then I would go up agian, but as of right now I am not sure what will be going on tuesday.

But in light of the fact that there is a chance I will be going up I need to start getting things ready to leave.

That is all for now.

Staying up late is just to easy.

2010-06-06T00:56:00.000-05:00

It is times like these (when I should be sleeping) that I look for inspireing things on the internet.

So here it is.

Must we always teach our children with books? Let them look at the mountains and the stars up above. Let them look at the beauty of the waters and the trees and flowers on earth. They will then begin to think, and to think is the beginning of a real education.
- David Polis

Today while I was preparing the rubbermaids full of food for getting shipped up north the nieghbors were outside planting flowers and their young son was helping them(I think he is home schooled). He quickly came over and asked what I was doing. so of course I told him (it wasn't really exciting and I think he knew that) and then he moved on and talked to Jason who was outfitting canoes (way more exciting) and started asking more questions.

He probably learned something today that he never would have learned in school.

There must be away to find a balance.

A Rare Breed or A Fortunate Traveler

2010-06-01T01:08:00.000-05:00

You may have heard of "living life on the sidelines", watching people "play" in the "game" of life (wow, thats a few quotation marks). I guess in some ways I have never really understood that phrase. Because we are all in the "game" of life as long as we are a breathing person with a body temperature that is close to 37 degrees celcius. But I get what people mean by this, it usually describes someone who isn't "Doing" something with their life. Someone who is sitting around not doing much, not pursuing anything in particular, just living and waking up the next day to do it again.

So am I a Rare Breed or a Fortunate Traveler?

Now at first glance it would be nice to say I am a Rare Breed and I am sure a few of you would agree. Looking back at my days since highschool I have always been aiming or waiting for the next thing. Sure there have been time where I have just worked, but even in those time of what seems to be "stillness" My mind is constantly searching for something else.

However, could it be that I am just somone who likes to be in motion, and because of this I have just happened to get lucky an gotten to do some neat things. If you never swing a bat you can never hit the ball. If you never try to stand on your head and spit knickles you will never know if you can. (I have tried that one... swallowing does not count as spitting does it?)

In the same breath I would love to be the Rare Breed but I would be saddened at the same time. As much as it would be nice to be the "Heroic" figure who sets off and inspires others to chase after their dreams I would love to realize that I am just trying to catch up with others. (Its like running WHICH i dis like. but when I have to I much prefere to run behind someone so that I have something to run after...(that sounds weird) if I run up front I can't even chase nothing)

Anyways, after that little bracketed segmient I know it is time to hit the Cott one more time. (go to bed) I hope this all makes sense.

Do not worry about sitting on the sidelines. As long as your alive you are in the game of life, all there is to do now is MOVE YOUR FEET.

The weather may be against me...

2010-05-29T00:05:00.000-05:00

This doesn't make sense, either the owner of the car found the note but didn't move her car which doesn't make sense. Why would you walk to your car and then go back to your house?? (unless she often gets notes in her car and it is like her mail box...)

Or the weather stoll it off her car, Which also doesn't make sense. My cars name is Thor which was the God of thunder to the germainc and other norse scandinavian regions. Now thunder you would think is pretty connected to who ever is incharge of the weather. So WHY would my car let the weather steal my note... I put it in a zip lock bag just incase it rained.

Now I will have to wait and wait. Never knowing if my note made it into the hands of a human or ended up somwhere and is now being used by chipmunks for nesting materials.

oh well.

Letter to a stranger...

2010-05-27T23:14:00.000-05:00

So today I wrote a letter to a stranger.

Since I have been living in canmore I have noticed a black sunfire that parks just down the street from me. They have manitoba plates so you know they are going to be friendly people/person. So tonight I decided to write them a note saying hello from my car (Tonight they parked right infront of my car). So hopefully they write back, I think I may have seen this person get out of their car once, I think it is a girl but I could be confusing it with another car. I will let you know if I get a letter back. Wouldn't that be neat!

A good last few days

2010-05-26T23:08:00.000-05:00

From sunday night until tuesday night I saw SOOOO many people from home. only 5 were intentional and the rest were just pleasant suprises. I originally was going to go to calgary on monday and hang out with my sister who was coaching her volleyball team at the 16/15 and under club vball tourney in calgary. Turns out there was a lot of people I knew there because there were a bunch of teams from manitoba. and the nmy one friend and her friend were in banff last night so I went out there to hang out with them.

My co-worker said yesterday "man your popular" I think I got 5 texts... but I had to explain to him that after tuesday night it was back to normal.

Which it now is, I had to restock my spud supplies today. I bought a 5 pound bag when I first got here but it ran out in 2 and a bit weeks, so I finally got around to buying more spuds and bought a 10 pound bag, for 3.99 Im not sure if this is the cheapest price out there but I feel like its a pretty good deal. I also bought 10 oranges for 3.90 thats right 39 cents an orange (naval ones too)

Tomorrow the whole work crew is back (2 more guys) they were on a swift water rescue course monday to wednesday but tomorrow we will be back full force with the food packing. It should be good.

Josh the Explorers Plan, 1 year + 2 days in the making.

2010-05-21T23:44:00.000-05:00

This is amazing, 1 year and 2 days ago I Josh Dyck made an Explorers wish list. And today Josh the Explorer not only has some of his wish list in his possession BUT!!! he is making a plan. That is right people, a plan.

You see for school we are giving 3 weeks in october where we must do something called "21 day expedition" The Outdoor leadership students are given 3 weeks off of class to go and practice their skills in the field with their peers. So today me and another student were talking about how we need to do an epic canoe trek. We looked for some good routes that would take us 16 days to complete but with no luck. We are given 5 travel days if we do the 3 weeks straight so we only need to be on trip for 16 days.

Then I had an idea. Why don't we make a costum route, a First. (hopefully it will be a first) So that is my new task, To plan a route through Eastern Manitoba and Western Ontario that from our knowledge has not been done before and that will take around 16 days. I am working on a rough trip route and I will let you know as I go along what the plans are.

Hopefully I will be able to post regularly on the progress of the planning.

That is all for know.

And as Wait Whitman once said " Sail Forth- Steer for the deep waters only. Reckless O soul, Exploring. I with thee and thou with me. For we are bound where mariner has not yet dared go. And we will risk the ship, ourselves, and all."

Ok mom, the last part is not true, I won't risk it all... just a bit...ok?

Exercise?

2010-05-20T22:53:00.000-05:00

So today at work the topic of exercise came up and needless to say the three of us in the room did not have a lot to say about our excercies routines because none of us have one. Or do we???

Here was how our discussion went...ish.

We went over the point of exercising, and came to the conclusion that for the most part people excercise either to 1 feel good about themselves, 2 have a healthy life style, or 3 to look good. Now their could be a fourth group and number 4 would be because they enjoy it. (I will talk to those people in a bit.)

If you want to feel good about yourself couldn't their be a better way to do it than going running for 4 miles and then turning around and running back? (maybe try hiking up a mountain for a good view and going back, or climbing a cliff, or paddle down a river)

If you exercise because you want a healthy life style why don't you just go out side and play a sport or take up an outdoor hobbie?

If you exercise to look good, then I would strongly suggest you look at my 3 tips for looking good in front of a camera that I put up in my previous post. (I think I look pretty good... AND I don't exercise.)

we decided at work that a simple solution is just to take up climbing or mountain biking, maybe hiking and paddling. something that gets you places. Now I guess there are people that love running but that is just plain weird. It would be like filling your car up with gas then dumping it out and biking somewhere in stead. NO ONE DOES THAT. (I will still love you if you enjoy running, I will just think you are weird)

and for those people who love to just work out in the gym or do that running thing, I do not know about you types. I am not sure I understand what goes on in your brain when you go to the gym.

Although I must say, Group workouts are fun, but more because there are sweet people around to enjoy everyone elses company. (Shout out to Fukumoto Fitness) that is the first shout out I have done to a business and also the first shout out I have given to a future brother (brother in law if you want to be technicall but calling some one your BIL (Brother in Law) or SIL (Sister in Law) is just weird. Although I think it would be sweet to say, Hey this is my BIL Johnny. it would just be funny.

thats all for now.

When you know the camera is looking, you best be looking good.

2010-05-19T21:37:00.000-05:00

Here are some pictures of the Cataraft I was talking about.

And here are some pointers about getting your photo taken for any people trying to be guides

#1 If someone points a camera at you and you notice in time, Make a face!!!

(it makes you cooler)

As you can see by some of these photos I am pretty good at it.

#2 If you don't have time to make a face make sure they can't take a picture of your face

(Im also good at it)

#3 Make sure to hide when eating... Mom is not there to correct you so it can get a bit ugly.

(I tried to hide but they put the pot in the kitchen where everyone else was... They snapped 2 pics and I tried to use Rule #1 to cover up the #3. It didn't work)

One thing I have done at work/ FOTD

2010-05-18T23:18:00.000-05:00

FOTD stands for Find of the Day, this is hopefully the first of many FOTD's I will have during my summer.

Find of the Day #1 from Joshua on Vimeo.

This is what I do at work, sometimes...

Just another day at work from Joshua on Vimeo.

Guide School

2010-05-17T15:46:00.000-05:00

This past weekend I was out on the Kootenay river at Guide school. We drove out thursday night and camped at a place called horse shoe rapids for 2 night. While there we did some runs of the river from a put in spot upstream of our camp. We were using canoes and catarafts. We practiced rescues in the canoes and just worked on getting used to paddeling the new catarafts since no one has done them before.

Saturday morning we took of from out camp and went downstream doing more practicing and running some rapids until we got to our next camp site. Sunday we paddled to our take out spot loaded up all the boats and headed back home. It was a good weekend with excellent weather and a lot of laughs. Hopefully I can get some videos from another guide.

I finished my book last week, and have found a lot of other that seem pretty interesting. There is something about peoples capacity for survival and extrodinary feets that facsinates me. If you are looking to find the book I just read "The long walk" you can get it on amazon.com for a pretty good deal. I bought mine used which made it cheaper and you couldn't really tell it was used. Here are some others that look pretty good as well. maybe one day I will read them. (Well actually I have seen the movie Touching the Void And I know it is good.)

Books

2010-05-09T22:38:00.002-05:00

One more chapter I told me self, I heard about this book during my time in Utah (julyish 2008) and only got a copy of it near the end of this past march. Because I was focusing on finishing school I tried to not read it so that I could have more time to read the book and not be distracted by my school work or the book.

Hopefully you can all relate to the feeling I am currently experiencing. You sit down to read and you do not realize how much time is going by. Page after page you read anxiously waiting to find out what will happen to the characters in the book. I will give you - without spoiling the book for you - a summary of the book so far;

Slavomir Rawicz did not do anything wrong, but according to for the russians all it took was for Rawicz to be in the Polish army and in the wrong place and at the wrong time to get a 25 year sentance in a siberian labor camp. After an extended train ride in a cattle car packed with fellow prisioners and over a 1000 miles of hiking through a harsh winter enviroment he and 4500 other prisoners ended up at their labor camp, Camp 303 roughly 300 -400 miles south of the arctic circle. after spending a few months at the camp he has had enough and 7 men including himself are ready to try and break free from their labour camp and head south.

That is as far as I have gotten, I can't wait for tomorrow when I plan to read it again.

So you should go out and find this book, its called "The long walk - the true story of a trek to freedom" the author is Slavomir Rawicz ;)

I find it interesting that often people talk about these amazing books we find and are reading. I think this is a good thing to do, reading books is good to do no matter what kind of books, although I think true stories are better sometimes.

But how often do we talk about the bible like it is a book you just can't but down. A book that gets you excited to turn the next page. Im sure a lot of people really do enjoy reading the bible but I feel like most people do not get as excited to tell their friend about reading the bible as they do for the last book they just read.

I am guilty of this although I wish it wasn't true. I am getting better at reading my bible, but I am deffinatly not where I want to be with it.

That is all I have to say for now, so go first read your bible and get exicted about it, maybe you your Imagination next time you read it :) (thats for you mom) and when your done doing that, go get the book The long walk and read about some people and their amazing trek to freedom

Joshua spice?

2010-05-05T21:47:00.002-05:00

Well I finished day 3 on the job, it isn't to bad all things considered. Now you may be wondering what are all the things I consider about my job that make it not to bad? First let me say my job is going to be like a curve, it is starting out pretty mellow at first and by the end of my time here I will most likely be on a river up in Nahanni National Park helping make food for clients and paddle down some of the most pristine nature you can find in a national park in all of canada.

All things considered,
My Boss is awesome, yesterday we went for a shopping run in town to Sobeys to get some groceries for the summer. 5 shopping carts later and we were done. (Imagine going down an isle and scooping out as many cereal boxes as you could at once, it was pretty much like that) Then we came back and unloaded groceries and set up shelving in the basement suit to organize food. We have started organizing food because we don't have it all yet. He had to make another run to cosco today. So in totall we have done 2 cosco runs and 1 sobeys run.

Today I spent the day making spice kits. I pakaged close to 20 different spices and make 6 spice kits, 4 for boat trips and 2 for when the boat trips go hiking. Tomorrow I think we start to organize. Once were done I will throw a picture up.

Oh ya I somehow got the nick name Joshua Spice today, I guess its fitting because I was working with spices all day. I doubt it will stick this summer but you never know.

Josh Spice out.

A Challenge

2010-05-03T23:48:00.002-05:00

When I think about it I should and could have seen this coming (Maybe we all could have) if I thought about it like I am now. Oh hind sight. If you have been following me over the past number of years you will know that I am often doing something. I am either trying to survive in Southern Utah, or trying to survive working on a ranch in BC, or I am planning to do something that sounds ridiculous.

I remember now what first caught my attention when I glanced at the what BOSS is not page. It was that it was something that is not easy and not for everyone. The 28 day program was something that was supposed to help test our limits. For me it was fairly easy, I knew I was capable of more. I found the OL program at CBC and figured this would help me find out more about my limits, and it did. I was stretched over the first year and I rose to the challenge.

Now I am sitting here on my cot in a basement sweet that feels fairly empty (because it is) realizing that I should have seen this coming. It is something that I think all people do. When you finally complete a task that was challenging but that leaves you feeling stronger and more capable you will thirst for more. And that is exactly what happened during reading break when I decided to look at Nahanni Wilderness Adventures website. I saw something that grabbed at me, something that made my heart beat a little faster.

And today I had a panic attack when I all of a sudden felt like I was inadequate for the task at hand. And while I know that it is a Lie, part of it is true. I am untrained and do not have a lot of skill in the area of being a river guide. But as I look back to when I first decided I would do this it was one of the big reasons why. This is my opportunity to learn and to grow, and yes; To be challenged.

I have to laugh at myself now a bit, 7 hours ago I was a blubbering kid sitting on his cot and now I am writing as though I am ready to take on the world.

So i am ready to go again, to start another day (in 42 minuets)

Thank you for supporting me, I would mentions names but I know you know that you know who your are.

Here we go again...

2010-04-26T19:50:00.002-05:00

Well I got back from my GOSE (Guiding Operating Skills Exam) and I Passed, I was actually runner up for a scholarship. Its kind of like a bitter sweet, It would have been nice to get it but I am not really that up set. Although if I was a firm believer in Ricky Bobby I would think "If you Ain't first you last"

in other news I will be heading of to Canmore in 2 days, I am still not totally sure where I will be staying, but I am sure things will work out, I have called a few people so things are looking good. Also my father will be dropping in to calgary on the 30th and we will hang out for a few days. On the 3rd of may I start work and then the adventure begins.

I am thinking of filming my summer adventure and making a video of my adventure, I am going to start filming tomorrow, althought I do not leave for one more day after that tomorrow should be a good day.

That is all for know, I will keep you posted on my summer adventures, as they used to say on body break, "Stay fit and Have fun"

The stand still

2010-04-13T00:31:00.004-05:00

I am in what I call a "stand still" of emotions. One could say that I am excited to leave school but at the same time I am nervous for what lays before me. One could easily say that I would rather stay at school and not have to face uncertainty. I am not happy to say good bye to these people that I now call my friends, but I am not sad.

In some senses I feel stoic, I do not feel sadness or happiness, I do not feel regret, I do not feel accomplished. Then there is my other half who feels almost every emotion on the spectrum.

This summer my plan is to get training to become a river rafting guide (maybe throw some canoeing in there) and by the end to be doing some day trips with various people as a professional.

I am excited and nervous and anxious and my adrenaline is pumping through my veins and I can feel my heart start to quicken when I think about my summer. There is a part of me that would have rather gone home and worked for the summer. But the die have been cast and I cannot help but jump into this adventure I know find myself gravitating toward.

The die have been cast... What a funny saying, I like it.

2010-03-31T22:57:00.003-05:00

I have been inspired in part by my friend Manny Goossen and by the fact that this is my 200th post. Not nearly as EPIC as Mannys Olympic Movie Trailer but it is as good as I got.

Happy 200th Post

Cup half empty or Cup half full

2010-03-30T01:58:00.004-05:00

If you were to walk into an arena where all the lights were turned off but in the middle there was one candle burning, would that room be a dark room or would it be a room with a little light? I think most people would say that the room is dark. Sure there is light but one candle in an arena would probably not shed that much light. If you were close to it maybe it would do you good but if you were 100 feet away would it help you see?

I have been thinking about how we as humans do not see properly. We are a blind species, we are blinded by hate, by lust, by greed or envy, by anger, sometimes even hunger. I am convinced that we are not born this way but as we grow up we start to lose our sight. Slowly but surely we become blind but we have no idea that what we see is far from what really is. We look at people but often do not see souls. We ask question with out really thinking if we really want to know the truth. Just as we say the room is dark even though it has light in it I think that we look at people and we do not see the light that is in them. We do not see what they truly are, maybe I have stretched this analogy a bit far but I think it still works.

I am not sure if I have solution for this blindness regarding how we see people. I wonder if it would help to sit down with people and to just ask them a few questions and then just shut up for once and listen.

The Past

2010-03-23T12:27:00.002-05:00

This weekend while on a trip with school I did a presentation on starting fires in the back country without a flame. I focused mostly on using a fire piston to show that you do not need a lighter or matches to start a fire but that you can do it by simply compressing air. I found out about this tool around a year ago while looking at different fire starting techniques on the internet and was completely amazed when I bought one and it actually worked. When I presented it to the group it worked first try and with a fair amount of ease. The sounds from the group I was presenting to got me to thinking.

When we left for the trip I did not know if i would be able to find the right types of tinder to start a fire but I decided to bring the piston along and hope for the best. Since coming back from the trip I have realized that we as a human race do not appreciate the nature around us. We see nature as something to observe and preserve but not something to interact with. Sure there are a lot of people who enjoy hiking or other outdoor activities but how many of those people would go into those same settings without their fancy gear or their simple water proof matches.

How many of us when walking through the woods see ways to eat and make a fire when looking at a tree? How many people see ways to get rope when looking at a small plant? How many of us are fine with just seeing nature and not really experiencing it?

Some times I wish the worlds technology would fail us just for a while so people would realize their dependence on it. If that happened it would be the people who have truly embraced the world that would flourish and not the people that have tried to work around it.

The Future

2010-03-08T01:42:00.002-06:00

“Every tomorrow has two handles. We can take hold of it with the handle of anxiety or the handle of faith.” - Henry Ward Beecher

Tonight I feel like I have reached a crucial point, a fork in the road. Do I go or do I stay? Going could lead to my summer being spent away from home, staying could mean missing out on something grand. The something that I am usually ready to go after at a moments notice. Right now I feel as though I have finally been challenged to go for something. It is a classic example of the decision we humans all face when opposed by something we are unsure of or afraid of. The human response is either Fight or Flight. I can Fight my fears and go after something that I am not 100% sure about or... I can Run away from it to something that is consistent, something that I know will be there waiting for me.

I think my heart and my brain both know the answer, but there is something within me that is fighting to deny the truth. I think that something is me. I have always known that I am my own worst enemy but tonight I have been challenged to step up and confront my doubts.

And so begins another journey, a new chapter in my search.

VAVOOM...

2010-02-26T02:57:00.004-06:00

The other day I was talking to my good friend Chuck and he used the word Vavoom. Now you must understand that I am a huge fan of unusual words to describe things. I go through words in phases and I quite enjoy pulling out random words to use. So I asked Chuck what this word meant, he informed me that it did not have a definition and that the word was more of a lifestyle than a word. So he asked me "How do you define your Vavoom lifestyle?"

So while this post is for everyone to read it is specially made out to Chuck.

My Vavoom lifestyle in a lot of way can be defined by, mostly broad statements that do not have a lot of specifics. Phrases like embracing the adventure of life or living life to the fullest, but there are some select words that I feel are essential to my Vavoom lifestyle. To be truly in my this lifestyle there must be these words.

Integrity, Grace, Love, Courage, Passion

I could probably list even more words but these are the ones that popped into my head.
If I do not live with these 5 things how can I expect to see these things in others.

My Vavoom Lifestyle is something that I long for, it is what gets me up in the morning. It is why I am the way I am. It is what causes my life to be filled with adventure and uncertainty. While others may look and observe what seems to be on the verge of complete chaos, what they do not see is something that is under total control. Like a cabanchee as my one co-worker once defined for me. A cabanchee is always on the verge of chaos but is always under total control.

I don't know if this has made any sense... Oh well.

A new way to do school.

2010-02-10T21:55:00.003-06:00

I have been listening to an audio book lately (I know, it is not as good as reading the book but it was a free download and books cost money). The book is called "Drive, The surprising truth about what motivates people"

One of the major themes of this book is that as society changes and we start interacting with more and more people in new and new ways, and as our ideas about things in life change over time we need to reevaluate how things are done. According to the author Daniel H. Pink "The secret to high performance and satisfaction—at work, at school, and at home—is the deeply human need to direct our own lives, to learn and create new things, and to do better by ourselves and our world."

I have not made it all the way through the book but so far it has engaged me and has got me to think about my own experiences. In his book he says "Most of us believe that the best way to motivate ourselves and others is with external rewards like money—the carrot-and-stick approach." For example to motivate my self to study I will say to myself that after an hour of studying I can go for a nap or go get some booster juice (which is SO GOOD), or I say that I can't take a break until a certain amount of material is covered.

As I was lying in bed last night I started thinking about this "Carrot and Stick" approach in relation to school. In some ways you could say that good marks are the motivation behind studying, opposite of that is the idea that what drives you to study is not the reward of a good mark but the fear of failing.

Then I wondered what would happen if you took away the idea of failing or passing a course. Lets say I sign up for a four year degree in carpentry, at the end of the four years you typically either pass or fail. Some people will be motivated to get a high mark and will do so, others will study not to get a good mark but so that they will not fail. The end result is the same, if you pass you get your degree. Now when you go get a job people will see the piece of paper that says you have that degree and you can get a job. But what if we completely abandoned the pass fail theory? Here is my idea.

At the end of the 4 years you get a degree no matter how well you did in the course. Now let me explain, instead of doing a pass or fail mark which is usually 50% at the end of the 4 years they take your overall percentage and that goes on your degree for employers to see. In some ways this theory is actually similar to the "Carrot and Stick" approach but its more carrot than stick. The people who want to do well, will try as hard as they can because they want a good mark to go on their degree people who regularly just try and pass will either do that and have a 51% showing on their degree, will try a lot harder to excel in the program or will realize that this is not what they want to be doing.

It is just a thought I had the other day, I am not sure if it would ever work but I think it would be an interesting way to do school. People would take more seriously what program they are entering and they would hopefully enter something that they are passionate about. Then they would excel not because they want a good mark but because they love what they do. This would be reflected in their graduating mark and employers would see that they person they are employing is a highly motivated individual.

Just an idea... What do you think?

Should I stick to my day job?

My addiction

2010-02-09T01:14:00.003-06:00

So I was sitting here in my room thinking about my day as I usually do when it comes near time to go to bed, and I came to a realization that I may have an addiction. This however is not your stereotypical addiction.

It is not drugs, alcohol, or anything like that.
It is inexpensive, usually it is pretty much free.

I am addicted to conversation, I cannot get enough of it. However not just any conversation will do. I do not want surface conversation, sure every once in a while they happen and there is nothing wrong with that. Some times the surface is as far a person is willing to go on that particular day.

I do crave conversation though, I have never been one for coffee but to me conversation is to the the coffee drinker, the first cup of coffee in the morning. If you don't have that cup of fresh coffee in the morning it just does not feel right. If I do not have good conversations during my day I go to bed feeling as though something was missing in my day.

The amount does not even matter that much to me. Anywhere from a 5 minute conversation about some idea that popped into someones head that they tell me in passing to long conversations where time is irrelevant because you do not want the discussion to stop.

So if you read this and want to have a conversation, next time you see me let me know. I usually do not endorse feeding peoples addictions but I hope that people feed mine.

You can keep your Dream Job, I do not want one.

2010-02-07T03:14:00.001-06:00

So I feel as though in the last little while there has been a lot of talk about dream jobs. So let me make this clear, I do not want to ever get a dream job. In fact there are a lot of jobs that I would love to do, however if you were to ask me what my dream job would be I would have no idea.

Here is my theory, if I were to land my dream job what ever it may be, what do I do when I lose that job or am no longer able to do that job? Do I then have to settle for a mediocre job? You see a dream job is usually viewed as the best job out there for you. If that is what your view of a dream job is than any other job you have will be less than ideal in some ways. Actually I feel like it would be less ideal in most ways. You would go to work each day thinking that there is something better out there for you. You would get to work and realize that you have not achieved the "best" job or your most wanted job.

I would much rather find a job that I enjoy doing and enjoy doing it. I think a lot of time people have dream jobs and wish to find one because of extrinsic factors. Please do not get me wrong, taking a job because of extrinsic factors is not a bad thing, it is nice if a job has benefits and rewards to it. However it should not be the major reason why you are taking the job. People who are motivated by extrinsic things will not stay motivated or be as effective as people who are motivated intrinsically.

I want to go as far as I can for as long as I can in each chapter of my life. When the time comes for me to move on from my job I will do so with pride because I have gone as far as I could with what I had. I will then start a new chapter and chart a new course for as long as I can. Each job will be as good as the next because I made it as good as the next. I do not want my idea of a dream job to in anyway interfere with how I feel about my present or future job.

So people can talk about dream jobs all they want. I do not want to have one, I do not even what to have an idea of one. Each job I have will be far more than a dream, it will be an amazing adventure. An epic quest in search of new shores, in search of something far greater than myself, in search of life.

2010-02-01T02:30:00.002-06:00

“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” Leonardo da Vinci

Over the past little why I have come to the conclusion that what the world needs more than anything else is Simplistic Love.

It does not need to have lights that blink, or lovely smells.
It does not need to have a million feature, or look impressive.
It in know way needs to be flashy nor does it need to be colorful.
What it needs to be is Love, nothing more, nothing less.

I wrote in a paper my thoughts on this subject and got a response from my professor that went as follows:
"Joshua, you are right that Life and Theology should have a simple foundation: Love God, Love others. But the world is not simple and even love becomes complicated as it is lived out in a complicated world. Theology is the task of understanding what God's love looks like in our lives and our world."

The thing is I can not really argue with his point, the world is not simple and love often becomes complicated. My questions is why?

I don't have much to say after that question, I do not have the answers and I know that I am not the best at acting out what I think love should look like. But I try.

I try to love regardless of the situation,
I try to love regardless of anger
I try to love in the midst of pain
and I try to love regardless of what if my actions will be seen by others or not.

To me Love is the act of putting others over personal comfort, It is the act of ignoring pride to make the world in some small way a better place, Love recognizes flaws and chooses to love anyways, sometimes you will point out the flaws others you choose to ignore. Love sees the best in everyone and realizes that people are not perfect. I feel love is a lot like grace, in the way that you must extend it to others and your self before you are able to receive it from others. And I believe that you have to choose to love, feelings and emotions are not sturdy enough to keep love afloat on the turbulent seas of life.

I try to Simply Love, what is so complicated about that.

A Crappy weekend... Warning part of this story will envolve Fecal Mater

2010-01-26T20:12:00.001-06:00

On friday morning Charlie group was up early heading out to Marriott basin which is a bit north of pemberton up the 99 highway. The Goal of the weekend was to head up into the basin and practice some avalanche training and to enjoy some skiing (or snowshoeing if you were not skiing). The hike up however was not going to be your ordinary hike.

The hut that we were going to be staying in over the 4 days we were staying in the basin is maintained by the Alpine Club of Canada or ACC. One of the way in which ACC maintains the area the hut is in is by having an out house by the hut to contain human waste. This is done by putting 40 gallon barrels under the toliet seat to catch and cointain the human waste. Because of an above average use of the hut over the past little while they were running out of barrels and needed to get some up there ASAP, that is where charlie group comes in.

Now the barrles are not that heavy, but they are quite large. On our way out to the trail head we made a stop in whistler to pick up our soon to be named, poo barrels. We picked them up and noticed that a hauling system had been installed on the barrels to aid us in hauling them the 6 kilometer hike up to the hut. What the hauling system looked like was as follows. For a lid there was a circular piece of plywood on the top of the barrel. The lid had 2 holes on either side of the circle which a rope went through and then into the barrel. The ropes then came out the side of the barrel near the top and knots were put on the barrel to prevent the rope from going back in the barrel. The rope then traveled down to the bottom of the barrel and before it reached the very bottom of the barrle the rope was taped down to the side of the barrel with several layers of duct tape. From there the exsese rope could be tied to a back pack in order to drag the barrel along the trail to the hut.

We arrived at trail head and 2 people tied the barrel to their hip belts on their back packs. Off charlie group went with Corwin and I at the back of the pack dragging these barrels up with us as I imagine early explores would have dragged sleds through the artic on expiditions. Since I was feeling rather explorerish I decided to give my barrel a name fitting to how it felt... Dead weight is what I called mine, Corwins fittingly called his Annoying, It had a hard time staying on the trail and enjoyed twisting sideways.

After numberous changes of barrel haulers and what seemed to be endless amounts of trying to find better ways to transport the barrels after the duct tape broke on one of the barrels we made it to the hut and decided to call it a day, We would swap the barrels another time.

In the summer you would have had to climb up stairs to get into the out house but because of the amount of snow on the ground this season you actually had to go down some snow made stairs in to the out house. Coincidently in summer swaping the barrels is easy because the out house bottom is above the ground but again the snow was so high that the door to where the barrels were kept was barried. It was roughly 12 feet below the surface of the snow to be exact, and once a few of us had dug down deep enough to open the door our two fear less guides stepped forward to finish the task.

Stepped forward is a bit misleading in a way. It was more like stepped down 3 giant stepps into a 5 foot deep hole. Not to mention they were sporting the "Poo Suits" which were blue tyvec suits that had be used in previous poo swaps judging by some brown streaks on the suits. They also got some fancy gloves for obvious reasons.

Once the door was removed from the back of the out house the rest of charlie gathered to watch. It was like they were witnessing a horrific car accident that they could not tear their eyes off of. There were 5 barrels below that toliet seat. 1 of which was full of frozen pee, and one that was still collecting pee, 2 that were full of frozen poo with plywood lids covering what we did not want to see. And one final barrel... Now no one said that when the barrels needed to be swapped ASAP that they actually meant ASAP. The barrel had being used for 2 full days before we swapped it and it should have been swapped before anyone decided to add to the already full barrel.

Lets just say that the poo was mounding over the top of the barrel, some was frozen to the side of the barrel and some on the very top was still soft and fresh.

To make what could be a very long story short the next hour consisted of our two fearless volunteers moving 3 full barrels of poo, 2 frozen and 1 partially frozen out from underneath the toliet seat and placing the new barrels underneath. During this time an ice pick had been used to help free the frozen barrels from their place and something flew into one volunteers mouth, not a large chunk but does it really matter when you are standing next to hundreds and hundreds of pounds of poo? The volunteers were also wearing the only thing close to proper foot wear that they had... Thier ski boots, and 2 days later there was still poo to be found on portions of their boots.

Thank you to Dan and Aaron for their efforts that weekend, you really did make it a crappy weekend

What makes a team a team...

2010-01-18T02:48:00.002-06:00

From Wikipedia ( take it how you want)
A team comprises a group of people or animals linked in a common purpose. Teams are especially appropriate for conducting tasks that are high in complexity and have many interdependent subtasks.

There is no "I" in team...

I have been thinking lately about what it means to be a team and what makes a team a team. So here are my thoughts so far.

I think to be a team you need a goal, with out this you are simply reduced to a group of people who spend time together because it is nice...
To be a team you need to all be selfless, you must realize that you are only one part of a working team. If you neglect others in order for personal gain or comfort you may jeopardize the rest of the team. If everyone does this one does not need to worry about suffering as everyone is looking out for everyone.

For different types of teams different things maybe required. For instance on a sports team uniforms are worn for various reasons. For one it helps differentiate you from your opponent, it could also help your fans cheer for you. If there was not a team colour or design what would people wear to games?

I guess my big question is what is most essential in making a team and actual team. Is it the mentality of the people in the team? Is it the labeling the Team a Team either by making a name or a uniform, maybe even a logo?

I personally think that in general it is in the mind of each person on a team that makes the team a successful team. I think that the mindset is more important that the uniform you wear or the name you call your self because you could have the nicest looking jersey, the best team name, or even the most inspirational group motto or goal but if you do not believe in what they stand for is there any point in putting on the jersey, chanting your team name, or memorizing your motto or goal?

your thoughts are welcome

The bubble just maybe a big misunderstanding

2010-01-15T01:15:00.003-06:00

Maybe it is just my brain playing tricks on my but while watching a movie clip about a girl who decided to move out to the middle east to become a midwife where less than 1% of the population was christian.

This is what I believe peoples understanding of the "Bubble" is;

People usually say that people who grow up in sheltered homes live in a sheltered bubble, if you live in a christian community a lot of people will say that you grew up in a christian bubble. Bubbles tend to be looked upon as a boundary that separates you from things that make you uncomfortable or uneasy. People who tend to not take risks or do things that stretch themselves are usually viewed as people who never leave their bubble.

After watching the short clip on this girl I realized that what if the bubble we consider ourselves in is actually the oppisite. What if the fear we feel about leaving our "bubble" is actually a fear of entering our "bubble". In the video the girl described her apprehensions and fears about moving out to the middle east, however once she was there she said she felt no fear and was at total peace. What if the bubble of her nice city in canada wasn't a bubble at all, what if her bubble is living out in the middle east.

This would mean that we have an almost oppisite idea of what a bubble should be. What if our "Bubbles" were places where we felt peace because we knew where we were supossed to be?
What if our "Bubbles" were places that stretched us to make us better people? What if our "Bubbles" is what we all search for but often have a hard time finding?

Now sure you could probably still used the definition that someone who stays in the same area of their life and never ventures out lives in a "bubble". Maybe that person got lost along the way and for a while thought they were where they were meant to be, and maybe they were. I think the thing about bubbles is that you are not always meant to have just one bubble. Throughout your stages in life you will need different bubbles for different things. Growing up you may need a safer bubble, when you grow up and get older you may need one that will stretch you and help you mature, and so on.

All I am saying is that I think bubbles have a bad wrap. I think it is time we reevaluate what we define as a "Bubble" and realize that it may just be a big misunderstanding.

My life on a game lavel

2010-01-11T23:29:00.003-06:00

Some days I wonder if I should study sociology, I have come to the realization that the way in which my life is lived has spilled over some what in the way I play board games. In this instance it is Settlers of Catan. Allow me to elaborate.

Over the last number of years I have come to a clear realization (with help from others as well as myself) that I have a hard time sticking to one thing for a long period of time. I am on a constant search for the "Next Big Thing". Since high school I have gone from construction, to planning to work at a camp in Florida. It turned out that I did not make the cut for Florida so that night I made a new plan, 28 days in the middle of no where in southern Utah on a survival course. From there it was back home but not for long, 2 and a bit months later I was headed off to BC for the first (but not the last) time. Three and a half weeks later I was on a bus headed home. (The place in BC I was at was not going to help me in anyway possible). I went back to work doing construction half time and started as a youth intern at my church part time. A month into that I took a month off ( It was planned almost 6 months earlier) and went traveling around turkey for almost a month with my sister. After that I came back to work and 5 ish months later I headed off to school in BC. I have been at school (with a break for Christmas) since august 22nd.

I was playing settlers of catan the other day on the internet.. Ya I play on the internet sometimes, so what. But I noticed that when I play settlers I start with one strategy but often change part way through the game. I will experience a few rolls of the dice in a row giving me an unexpected assortment of cards and I quickly see what I could do with them and go with it, often forgetting my original game plan.

I think its kind of neat.

The New Title

2010-01-10T21:53:00.003-06:00

Well, I didn't do that much to change my blog. A picture from my travels in turkey with my sister (Steph) and a new title (same font and color). Two minor changes one major outlook. The title "In Search of New Shores" is a title that could easily encapsulate a lot of what I have been feeling since high school or more currently my thought process here at CBC.

Man I actually have a lot to say on here for once but I don't think I can put it all in one blog.

The paragraph below is taken out of one of my papers that I had to write for one of my classes. It was a six page paper on how to behave around people who don't believe in what you believe in.

The reality is that no matter what you do in life you will always have people around you that believe something different that you. To make an analogy our lives are like the explorers leaving Europe to find new land, you must journey out onto the ocean losing sight of all land and try to find our way to a location that you can not even be sure exists. On your way you find more and more boats and as you talk to the captains of each boat you hear their ideas of where the new shore is and how to get there. Some people will leave your boat for another, others will join your boat. While you sail whole boats might join you and boats might leave. You might never reach the shore or eventually you will land on a shore and you will then discover whether you were right with what you thought was right or if you got sidetracked by others who convinced you that they were right.

So here I am at CBC hoping to learn something in order to get a better understanding of where this new shore is. Where I will end up is still a mystery, and while there are days when I wish I could see a map that showed me where I was going to end up I do not want to ever see it. (I don't have to worry to much seeing is how there is nothing that I have found that is reliable in telling the future) As much as there are day when I dislike having to set a course not knowing exactly where I am going to end up. In the end I love the mystery of life, I enjoy waking up each morning knowing that I am the one who chooses what I do and where I go. Of course there are circumstances that will affect where I am going that are not always within my control, But at the end of the day the sails of my ship are in my hand.

I choose my course

Anxious as a polar bear thinking about global warming...

2010-01-04T23:30:00.005-06:00

“True happiness is... to enjoy the present, without anxious dependence upon the future.”

Seneca quotes (Roman philosopher, mid-1st century AD)

I wish I could say that I was truly happy today, but I am anxious and I do not enjoy it. I came to school with a plan for how this next semester would be, but as life often does a curve ball has been thrown at me in the area of bad brakes. A cost that I never thought to factor into my financial planning for this semester. In the big picture this is a small matter, I won't run out of money even though i may feel uneasy about it some times. I am going to try to get a job at safe way... I know right what a cool job. If only they still had people on roller blades. I mean I could try to get a job as a waiter and make some more money with tips and such but I wonder if I would get more tired having to deal with people all the time. Not that I mind people but you never know right

?

Abraham Lincoln:

Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.-

Tonight I will make up my mind to be happy, because I am usually my own enemy.

IM BACK

2010-01-04T12:01:00.002-06:00

I am back at school, and keen to be mean... Not really. I did however get to reception before any other students today and before most students even registered I was in and out x3. (Ya that means 3 times... Im that important) what is on my schedule for the rest of today nothing really, I have to pick someone up from the airport at 1050, and then I don't really have anything to do. I am most likely going to terrorize the new people.

Ps, I am thinking of redoing the blog, but I have figured out to much yet. So keep your eyes open, next thing you know It will be different.

The end, Half way point, and a new beginning...forward thinking from the other end

2009-12-18T04:14:00.003-06:00

The end...
It is the End of the semester and to that I say so long, It was a good semester for the most part. I would be a liar if I said I enjoyed the whole thing. I did not always enjoy the home work, waking up at 8 to go to class when I had chosen to go to bed at a ridiculous hour in the morning. (It's college what do you expect) I didn't always enjoy the excessive amount of peas or rice that were put on my plate but in hind site, I guess i should be thankful for having food. This has been an ending for the history books I will tell you that.

Half Way Point...
Part way through the semester I wasn't sure if i would come back for a 2ND year of school, I was nervous about a few things and I wasn't sure what to do. Funny that During the Half way meeting with my OL instructors was when I was put at ease about the whole things. Man those dudes are sweet, i really appreciate them. I get to go home too probably the best part about this half way deal.

A New Beginning...

I am not one for new years resolutions, In the past I have firmly stated that if you want to start doing something New you should just start it and not wait for New years. technically I'm not waiting for new years I'm waiting for the 3rd of January when I return to CBC... so I'm kind of being a hypocrite...SUE ME... no please do not sue me I don't have any money to give you. you can sue me for hugs if you wish but if you do please shower often, I am not a fan of hugging smelly people. (But i will if necessary)
Anyways... I have a lot of plans for next semester, I guess I could share with you my hopes and dreams for next semester. My dream is to accomplish all of these things consistently throughout the semester, hopefully it will continue after as well.

1) I want to start reading my bible on a consistent basis and journal something about what I read.
2) Get a part time Job, I am taking 12 credit hours next semester 3 of which are done over a weekend a 7 day hike and volunteering once every 2 weeks. the other 9 credit hours are 3 different classes, 2 on Tuesday Thursday and one Wednesday morning. I will have a lot of excess time. Making some money would be nice. SEGWAY.... (How do you spell that anyways??)
3) I want to make a serious budget for myself. I have made budgets in the past but I am not very good at keeping them. I am hoping to talk about it with a financial planner at school beginning of next semester to get some tips and help.
4) Be more intentional with People here at CBC. another SEGWAY....
5) This is kind of like a bonus one but I think it would be fun. I would call it Slurpee's and Shalom. I think it would be fun once a week to take someone out for a Slurpee (cause they are pretty cheap) and just listen to how their week has been. the plan is to have my own cups for Slurpee's, making it even more cost effective. there are some downfalls to this plan, It could back fire and no one would want to go with me, or it is a smashing hit and I am swamped by the number of requests for my Slurpee's and Shalom dates.... Oh how i dream, ah aha my brain is weird.

OK, It is 0345, and I need to be up to drive people to the airport tomorrow. and clean my room, and hopefully hang out with people.

That was my semester in review. Bingo night is coming up this Monday and for any people living in the Manitoba area reading this post or anyone in the Winnipeg area on the 21st of December Monday night 10 PM at regent casino its BINGO NIGHT!!!!

PS, my lips are chapped, lets hope I can find my lip chap.

Keep it fresh and remember, the only thing better than one birthday is more than one birthday...

Excitement is plentiful

2009-12-13T15:36:00.002-06:00

Today has got me feeling super duper. I woke up and got ready to bike to church ( around a 10 minute ride) and a few snow flakes started to fall just before I left. The Service at church was fantastic, and when I got out to ride my bike home it was snowing!!! there was snow on the ground and a little bit was on top of my bike. I threw my back pack onto my shoulders and took off on my bike. (It was so funny to watch peoples expressions as I road past them out of the parking lot and as people passed me on the road)

I felt like a kid standing out side trying for the first time to catch a snow flake in my mouth. Which I did while riding my bike. There I was, riding my bike Aldwin down clearbrook road towards school with my mouth wide open yelling, ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh. I haven't done that in a while and I think I will have to try and make it more of a habit whilst riding my bike. I love the feeling of being propelled down the road on my bike as I hug to the frame as if I were in an important race.

And yesterday I went for a walk, another thing I will try to make habit in the new year. I got a few weird glances from people driving back from the bowling alley to school. But I felt like opting out of the car ride for a nice walk. It was good to go slow, well actually I was walking at a pretty decent pace ( close to 7 km/h) Just saying...

Well, it turns out that you actually can't learn through osmosis... who would have thunken. So I must get back to my reading and memorizing.

until next time (whenever that may be)

Kick the tire

2009-12-02T22:15:00.002-06:00

We did a run this morning called Kick the tire... The tire is no longer there and it was dark, you will hear me breathing a lot in this new and exciting video... it should be good.