I'm Back!

re·al·i·ty –noun
[ree-al-i-tee]
1.the state or quality of being real

After a month away I am now back in Capital City. I spent the last four weeks or so in beautiful British Columbia.

Where I went to volunteer at the 2010 Winter Olympics with the aerial crew.

And got to see some great sites in and around Vancouver.

Including going to see a couple of great shows, like:
Elliott Brood


and We Were Promised Jetpacks.


I also got a chance to do a little snowboarding at Whistler and Kicking Horse.

Where I met the most amazing girl.

And got to see her band, Jiva Tree, perform.


Over breakfast I realized where I want to spend the rest of my days.

But for now it's back to reality, back to my one room apartment and my work from home job. Back to trying to make ends meat and remain sane and happy all at the same time.

One thing I'm going to take from my trip is that I am going to attempt to bring a little bit of that Vacation Persona that we all have into my everyday life.

I'm going to get out more and try new things.
I'm not going to be afraid to talk to strangers anymore.
I'm pretty much going to go against everything I ever learned as a kid, except maybe that whole look both ways before you cross the street thing, that could still prove to be important.

My first step in this 'New Me' transformation is to upgrade to a Big Boy Bed, and from there the sky is the limit.


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Winterlude 2010

ice sculp⋅ture –noun
[ahys skuhlp-cher]
1. the art of carving figurative or abstract works of art in three dimensions from a block of ice

Yesterday I picked up HP’s CA350 Digital Camera from Best Buy in preparation of my trip to Vancouver where I will be volunteering at the 2010 Olympic Games.

I thought I would test out the camera by spending, what may be my last Sunday in Capital City (well at least for a few weeks anyway), at the Winterlude ice-carving contest.

I hope you enjoy the pictures:

The One Block Challenge

3rd Place Winner

2nd Place Winner

1st Place Winner


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Rogers & Fido Customers Can Text Donate To The Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund

do⋅na⋅tion –noun
[doh-ney-shuhn]
1. an act or instance of presenting something as a contribution.

By now you are most likely aware of the massive 7.0 earthquake that hit Haiti on Tuesday just outside the country’s capital, Port-au-Prince. There is speculated to be over 100,000 people presumed dead and relief efforts from all over the world are flying into Haiti as we speak. You too can help.

There are many donate by text options circulating around the internet, but only a few of those options are currently available to Canadians.

Rogers and Fido customers can easily donate $5 by sending a text to the following:

'HAITI' to 45678 and your $5 donation goes to the Salvation Army.

‘HELP’ to 1291 and your $5 donation goes to Partners In Health in Haiti care of The ONEXONE Foundation where 100 percent of the donations will go to the Haiti Relief Fund.

Outside of customer donations Rogers Communications will also be donating $250,000 in funds and goods to Partners In Health.

"We at Rogers extend our deepest sympathies to everyone affected by the earthquake in Haiti, and to Canadians who are concerned for their loved ones back home," said Edward Rogers, Deputy Chairman, Rogers Communications. "In support of Partners in Health and other relief organizations in Haiti, we encourage our customers to aid relief efforts via our text-to-donate campaign."

Although not currently a donate-by-text option, if you also donate to World Vision Canada the Canadian government will match every dollar donated, (up to 50 million dollars) from now to February 12th, which is more bang for your buck.


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Build Your Own Nation

mi⋅cro⋅na⋅tion –noun
[mahy-kroh-ney-shuhn]
1. a small, self-proclaimed entity that claims to be an independent sovereign state but is not acknowledged as such by any recognised sovereign state, or by any supranational organisation

I'm a bit of a loser when it comes to a certain video game called Civilization, I can play the game for hours at a time and tune out the rest of the world. It’s a great distraction.

I first discovered the game from reading the exploits of Cameron Colley, the main protagonist in Iain Banks’s novel Complicity.

Basically the game’s objective is to "...build an empire to stand the test of time". While playing it I always thought 'Hey, wouldn't it be great to do this for real?' Well it looks like now I can with the Futurist’s piece on the “DIY Nation”: How to Start Your Own Country.

I will leave you with a list of micronations from Wikipedia.




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