dreaming over the ocean

God writes the gospel not in the Bible alone, but on trees and flowers and clouds and stars. ~Martin Luther Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves. ~John Muir Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer's day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time. ~J. Lubbock

so, this week comes with a pretty surprise. As you may know, I love my bike . i love the colour scheme, I love the fact that it can be a three in one bike. it is my commuter, my racer and my very long ride bike. it is a reminder of breaking my arms 3 years ago in a bike crash, and the recovery from that, and getting back onto a bike. it was a new bike, one with disc brakes, pink cable housing, and a baby blue body. that bike taught me to love triathlon, and was a great deal, since I got it on a pro-deal. 999$ for a 1850$ bike. It reminds me of vancouver and commercial drive, and everywhere I bring it, people have a nice little look-see. in fact, *you* can have a look-see in the photo below, on the ride from Montreal to Ottawa, that I did in May. it has had a great 3 years. And, it is not going anywhere. in fact, it is not being replaced, despite the large amounts of money that I have spent this spring to have repairs and fixes done to it (all to find out that I had crappy mech...

Well, what a weekend. It was kinda as expected. well... mostly. it was small, it was fun. it was a race, and (as you know...) i love racing! Got there on saturday, at about 2:30. It was pretty funny to explain why I felt like I had to be there early. Explain to a non-triathlete all the pre-race rituals that you feel like you need to go through. get the race packet. look at the lake. maybe swim in it. maybe not. ride your bike. set all your race gear out on the bed. look through it. walk away to eat some carbs. look at your stuff again. lie in bed, maybe take a nap. relax. do nothing. talk with other competitors and size them up, if you see them. drool over expensive bikes. lie in bed. drink water. talk about what some of your goals are. but, not too much, so you don't stress yourself out. Race day was a nice day. FINALLY! first race of the season that it did not rain. Slave lake is nice, but very shallow. I got there, racked my bike next to the other 13 olympic distance racers (yup...

So, about to head up to Slave Lake, Alberta, which is 3 hours north of Edmonton. This will be my first triathlon in Alberta, and I am pretty stoked for it. for those of you who don't know about this place, Alberta is flat like a pancake, especially in the central/north part. it is the "First annual" so, it should be interesting to see how many people are there, and how the event is run. it is kinda excited to not know much at all about the race! I was able to put some tri bars onto my bike, and yesterday the guys at the bike shop I am working at, took apart my shifters, replaced a STI lever, and said my drive train was a shit show. but, then they fixed it. so, things should be good to go. as long as I can go faster than the bugs which will be up there. how am I feeling? well, I haven't raced an Olympic distance since May 2009. I know that the plan is "balls out." just go. so, that is what I will do. No hesitancies. Do I feel 100% "in form...

okay, so, this 70.3 (1/2 ironman) race is just in my [current] back yard. previously, my coach said that it would be "too soon." but, what if i did it "just for fun?" oh god. that itch is back. you know. that itch that makes you do insane things. crazy things. fun things. anyone out there want to give me a race entry?

"Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it." -W H Murray So, that quote is the outward bound quote of the day. I like it. simple. something to think about. Apparently, according to "a popular reader edited encyclopedia," William Hutchison Murray (18 March 1913–19 March 1996) was a Scottish mountaineer and writer , one of a group of active mountain climbers , mainly from Clydeside , before and just after World War II . the following, are my legs. in a lake. it was taken using a small camera, with a technique called Lomography, which (according to that same popular reader edited encyclopedia) emphasizes "casual, snapshot photography. Characteristics such as over-saturated colors, off-kilter exposure, blurring, "happy accidents," and alternative film processing" are used. i think it is kinda neat. thanks, boy. i like this photo. this past weekend, in Fernie, was great. it is so nice ...

so, I love pink. i like the new layout. still going to be working on it, though. Off to Fernie for the weekend. Boy and brother are racing in a silly, ridiculous mountain bike race, called the "Lost Boys Lungbuster." People think I am strange for doing long races that involve 3 sports in one. Try climbing up a ski hill on a Mountain bike. Now that is strange. i will take the chair lift up, and meet them at the top. :) a [not.very.quality] photo from yesterday's ride with my two cousins and uncle (who is taking the photos) through the central alberta roads. Beautiful day, slight tail wind, draft line, and 90km at 30+ Km/hr at a percieved exhertion of probably around 4/10. Beautiful, if I do say so myself. Love the grain elevator. Such a typical alberta scene. More photos to come, when i get my hands on them. I may have sounded a little cynical of Edmonton, in my last post. For those of you who are not really familiar with Canada geography, the province ...

So, what memories do I have of edmonton, from the last time I spent more than 4 days here. I think the best memories were from when I was a kid, and I was a "Royal Glenora Gator." Many days were spent under the summer sun at the outdoor pool, with friends who lasted for years. Every summer, we would come together, we would train together, laugh together, travel together, and race together. From the time I was 7 until I was about 14. then... I went to boarding school. The other day, I went to the Glenora club, and I looked at what is their new pool. It is beautiful. It is indoors, but under a glass structure, so it feels like it is outdoors. The lap pool is detached from the kids pool, and there is a little jacuzzi tub. The guarding office is not sketchy, but a wide open, spacious area. but. it doesn't have the memories attached. it is a vague recollection of the past. I have, of course, other memories of Edmonton. like Edmonton Folk music festival. And the riv...

so, today, I had a conversation with Jodi Tuck, who is one of the members on the committee for the Global Health stream, for my school. it was short. but. it ended up being a harder conversation than predicted. global health. international health care. marginalized people. social justice. africa. these are the things that make my heart beat. they are my passions. the things that I cannot imagine my life without. the things that I feel like I was created for. the things I want to dedicate my life to. the areas in which I want to serve. and, yet, today I was told no. i was told no, because apparently, in my application, I took serious issues, and approached them too "lighthearted." (for example, where asked about the need to learn a language, they read my response as me saying 'you don't need to learn another language to work in a cross-cultural setting.') the following was the question, and my response: How do you plan to acquire the necessary language skil...