dreaming over the ocean

It was holiday time in early July!  And, for the... THIRD... time in my life, i went up to Alaska to enjoy the wilderness, spend time with my good friends Sam and Gretchen , spend 24hrs a day in the light, and get eaten alive by bugs.  Oh how much I love alaska, and oh how much it reminds me that i probably wouldn't mind doing some nursing up in the Northern Latitudes.  Sean and I had a few "discussions" prior to our trip, about what we planned on doing, as we tend to have opposite views as to what a holiday should look like.  I would love to just take off and spend a week in the backcountry.  Sean likes cultural activities. We tried to meet half way, and I think we did. Lets go through some of the highlights: My 30th birthday!   That's right, I'm now approaching the crest of the hill.  4th decade of life, bring.it.on.   We spent a few days in McCarthy, which is a wee small down at the end of a gravel road, surrounded by a national park....

It seems as if this is a little "out of date" now, since SO MANY things have happened in the past few weeks.  That being so, the trip was so epic, and I loved it so much, and haven't talked about about it yet.  And, I tend to suspect that there are a few people who would appreciate a post on it! --------------------- A couple months ago, when my friend Kevin Shon brought forward the idea of climbing Mt. Rainier, I was a little skeptical, and VERY excited.  Would there possibly be the chance that "fate" would work out that a number of my friends from West Virginia would have the same period of time off, that we could engage in an epic adventure?  I knew that there was a small chance.  but, small is better than no-chance.  And, to increase the chances, it would be for me to say "yes." I knew for sure it would be something I would love to do. and, it came together.  5 Friends: myself from vancouver, Sam and Gretchen from Alaska, Kevin from.... every...

It's been a while since posting~  as I would say, because there is nothing going on.  But, truely, there have been great things happening.  Shortly after arriving back in Canada, from New Orleans,  I went right out to Tofino , for a short 3-day holiday with the Birch's.  The Birch Parent's were celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary, so everyone came together for a beautiful weekend! Staying at Middle Beach Lodge , we had plenty of time to sit and relax, walk on beaches, and eat nice west coast food!  I've been to Tofino once before , with my beautiful niece.  This was definitely a different trip, but, it is really nice to just be able to get out and relax.  I do think, however, that the next time that I am out there, I want to engage in a bit more "water sports."  Either do some surfing, or some kayaking, or something... one of the great things about being on the coast, is that there is so much ocean to take advantage of! As always,...

yeah, i know. it has been busy. I know it is busy when: emails pile up. i find that I am only getting 6-7 hrs of sleep a night. i drive 12 hours each way to see family, only to stay in the destination for a day and a half. i don't answer my phone when it rings. i bring school work to work work. day schedule looks somewhat like this: wake up. work out 1. study a bit while eating. grab a coffee. work. eat. work. go home. snack. workout 2. go hang out with boy. eat dinner. bed. REPEAT. i realize that it is already the 4th, and I only have 10 days left in this city. i barely have time to squeeze in dinner with my mum. i don't blog much. so. things like that have been going on. a better blog post will follow. but, for now, I leave you with some more photos. remember how I mentioned at one point in a "things i like" post, that I love getting film developed after they have sat in my room for a year, or longer. these photos (and the ones in the tree post) are from a rec...

My dear friends, sam and gretchen, have this amazing dog, Jack. I have never met him, every time i think of him, i think of this video. I cannot stop laughing when i see it :)

so, on saturday night, i went to our christmas party for work. try putting fitness professionals into high heels, on a boat through false creek, wearing dresses. add snow and wine and too much food. this is what you get. me and my roommate, erika. the mandatory by the christmas wreath photo! me and hot mama, joanna, and her baby in her belly.... The girls from the front desk, and their favourite trainer! This was the first time that carolyn (in the middle) has ever seen snow. she is from Perth. and, i made her walk outside in tiny little heels. can't forget riding african style with too many people in a car! joanna drove. we made the pregnant lady drive in the snow. safety first ;) and, two photos from being up all night long in seattle, with Sam and Gretchen. I was pretty stoked to see them, and am more impressed that after only getting about 5 hours sleep in the 48 hrs previous to this, we do not look so bad! friends, let's do that again sometime :)

that was today. my day, thus far: wake up 6:30. school work and breakfast. depart 8:15, on bike, with "sports rain jacket" (from my WVU rowing days), and one pair of long spandex underneath capri-length cannondale cycling bib short things, wool socks, wool short sleeve, polyester long sleeve, and "waterproof" cycling gloves. go to a doctor's appt, 8:45. go to coffee with erik, 9:15. gracefully accept a pair of cycling booties. go on bike ride, 10:30ish. return home, 11:45, and run into shower. eat lunch. do school work (or, blog!). now, here in vancouver, we get rain in the winter . and, when i say rain, i mean that a low pressure front places itself directly above the city, and remains there until about april or may. however, luckly enough though, we have not had a lot of rain this fall. there have been damp rides, but not soaking rides. today, though, i was reminded of what it is going to be to train through the winter. Today, i thought "hmmmm, m...

it is sooooooo good to have you back. I can barely contain myself.

So, I would like to begin with the fact that I am moving over from my long-running Xanga blog. www.xanga.com/that_canadian_rower. For a number of reasons, I think. 1)many of my friends are on blogspot now. 2)i dont really post very frequently there anymore. (not meaning that i will post frequently here, either, but, you know...) 3)im not a rower anymore. so, maybe it is time to not go under the "that_Canadian_rower" name. 4) maybe it is just for a change. Blogging, for me, is a funny thing. because, in reality, who are we to think that our thoughts are interesting enough to be read by other people? but, it is a bit of an outlet, I suppose. and, if people really have the desire to keep up with you, they can... so, Sunday was remembrance day. Veterans day in the states. here in canada, the Poppy lapel pin comes out in abundance, to remember Canadian soldiers. The significace, i think i remember, is that poppies, previous to the 1st world war did not grow a lot on battle...