Pride and Prejudice thoughts

Work has been busy lately with a conference coming up, but to help rest during the nights, Deb and I have been watching a lot of movies. We believe in buying used or really cheap movies that we like to watch again so we went to Blockbuster.

Blockbuster is great because it has great variety, but also very cheap movies. They had a 3 for $20 sale and other sales for DVD movies. So, they had a 2 for $20 for some of the more in demand movies so we picked up U2's Vertigo concert in Chicago and Pride and Prejudice. U2 will have to wait as we watched the new P&P. I saw the old BCC version during my university years when I had to read Austen's novel for English. The movie helped a great deal with my understanding of the whole story and was very well acted and filmed.

This new one, I was a little skeptical because it was shorter and I had my doubts about Knightley. However, I found myself really enjoying the movie as I did the first one. The tale of a woman and man pursuing each other but going through honest misunderstanding and miscommunication but getting it right later on is a feel good story at the end! Deb thoroughly enjoyed it as this is her third watching it and I have to agree that it is worth watching again.

Facebook vs.

So, I have a facebook account now and it is eating up some of my time. But I have found out that it is hard to keep up with two online hobbies - blogging and facebook. Although Facebook does have a blogging function, Blogger has a far superior product and thus I keep my blog account.

With myspace, facebook, blogger, friendster, ringo, flikr, youtube, MSN Messanger and all these online communities, who has time to meet up friends face to face? I think society is changing where people would rather "talk" online than to go out to talk or even pick up the phone. This leads to a host of problems in my opinion:

• people's social skills take a dive and will create an increase in awkward social situations
• people not knowing how to confront people to resolve issues. Issues are left unresolved or dealt with improperly
• hordes of men and women at the computers for hours at a time without doing chores, housework or anything for that matter
  
• more online proposals
• lonely people being deceived into online relationships but getting more lonely in real life

What Shall We Call Cell Group #1?

As cell group #1 gels, I think it is time for a name! I really liked the pizza making prayer meeting. yummy... Any suggestions?

My suggestions:

1. Food group #1 (lol)
   
2. Hungry Chinese Community of Christians (HCCC!!)
3. Bread of Life
4. Flame's Cup - hold on... wrong group
5. Grace and Truth cell group
   

In other things... recently, I got a new board game from my sister (thanks Crystal!) called Ticket To Ride. I played it a few times two summers ago, but recently played it again at a training conference and it was addictively fun! It is set on a map of North America and you build train tracks based on your route objectives and depending what kind of cards you draw (you can choose). There is strategy involved on what to build and where to build first!

I have found that strategic "building" games to be fun. There is something to the experience of building something up and whether you win or lose, you can look back and see how you did. This is true for other games like Settlers of Catan and Scrabble. Good times! Anyone want to play? 2-5 players.

Cell group #1 rocks!

We had our first church cell group hang out time this past Friday and our cell group did a hot pot! It was a lot of food, a lot of fun cooking it and a great time to know each other a bit more (like having a first date at a cemetery. lol

I look forward to many more great times with cell group #1!

I Swear I Was Turning 28

For a time, a few months ago, that this year I was going to turn 28. I don't know why, but I thought so... until my wife corrected me and reminded me that I was born in '77. sigh.

Why Men Hate Going to Church

Finally I have had the chance to dig into this book. A few posts ago, I intended to put up thoughts on the book as I read along and that has been a whlie ago. Apologies to those who have been expecting a post for some time now on this subject.


I have enjoyed the first 5 or so chapters - the main thrust so far is that the church has evolved into an institution that attracts more women than men because how we do chuch is very feminine. When asked what is a good church, they would answer, "a kind, loving, community of people" - a place where women would thrive. However, this is not neccesarily something men look forward to. And I think it is important to note that the author seems to be pointing out that this is not attractive to non-believing or even to the fringe Christian men. I believe men who are mature has something else that draws them to church - Christ (and that, in my opinion is not feminine).

Murrow, the author, also points out that the age group 18-29 are missing from most churches because they share the same characteristics as most males (since our generation is being brought up in a more egalitarian society). Men and young adults share a common value - they want to be challenged, and they are not finding that in the church.

A good point so far is that the author has taken great pains to make sure that he is not in favour of a male-dominated church or a church catered to men only. He notes that there seems to be a imbalance towards women right now and that the church will correct itself to go towards a balance. He does not favour or male or female-dominated church but believes that the balance will produce a healthy church.

More thoughts to come as I read more...

Mooseheads

This past weekend, I went out with my colleagues to catch a major junior hockey league game. The Mooseheads were playing the Fog Devils (gotta love 'em names). I was looking forward to this weekend - live hockey games are great! And the home team did not disappoint. After being all tied up in the third, #20 - Voracek puts it in past the netminder with 6.7 seconds left on the clock. Can't beat that!

What excites me is seeing these guys potentially being drafted in the NHL and tracking them through their careers. In Calgary, I just caught the NHL (i.e. the Flames) news and going ons. Here, I get to see the new up and comers. The Moose was home to a couple of current high profile NHLers - namely Alex Tanugay (Flames) and Jean-Sebastien Giguere. There are high hopes for #20 Jakub Voracek who is currently ranked #2 by the International Scouting Services for the next NHL draft.

Major Junior Hockey Highlights:
1. Seeing the future of hockey
2. $14.50 tickets
3. Kids yelling like crazy for their team. Quotable for kid behind us ... "St. John's can eat my poo"
4. Kids dressing up and dancing to get the camera on them and displayed on the jumbotron
5. Timbit hockey at intermission

Just When You Thought It Would Slow Down...

... the pace keeps up. Expectations can work for you, and sometimes it doesn't - especially when you expect things to slow down in life, but it doesn't.

But it is always better busy than not.

Tipping

I had a conversation with a group of friends over the weekend about tipping and even though I wasn't totally in the conversation (I was really concentrating on driving the Cabot Trail), I had some thoughts.

I agree that tipping is a weird phenomenon in that it has morphed into an expectation that you tip servers rather than they have to earn their tip. For example, a waiter is paid by the restaurant for their service to customers. That is what the restaurant pays them for - but do customers have to pay tip for regular service? I agree that if the waiter is great and goes above and beyond the call of a "normal" waiter that you tip him/her. But when the service is bad and you leave no or very little tip, there is a cry from the waiter (and sometimes they run after you) moaning that you didn't leave a tip. Now, this personally hasn't happened to me as I usually leave tip, but there sure are times when I didn't want to. Perhaps I am too worried of what they will think of me the next time I return or of what they may paint of Chinese people in general (that all Chinese people are cheap).

So what to do? Off to Google I go and to my surprise, when I type in tipping etiquette, most sites are pro-tipping and on the side of servers (those who collect tip). Since I am not in a researching mood and only looked at 3 sites, I think I will create my own tipping rules for waiters (as they are the ones who I normally give tips to). Maybe I can try it out and see how it goes...

Start with 15%:
1) If I don't get served right away, in a normal situation, I will drop the tip by 5%.
2) If a server doesn't take our order in a timely way (meaning that I start feeling antsy), less another 5%.
3) If I get a different order than what I ordered and they don't give a discount on the bill - no tip! If they correct the order and give me a discount, add 5%
4) If they don't offer to refill my drink where the drinks have free re-fills, less 5%
5) If the waiter comes back more times than the standard, "how is your meal?" question, add 5%
6) If the waiter's attitude is totally off, less 10% (this will be hard to do as you don't want to further add to the bad attitude)

I think that is all I would do... the next step is to follow it!

White

OK - so since my last post, I did start "He That Is Spiritual", but it is a harder read for me (non-fiction), but a lot of the book is familiar. Perhaps that is why it is hard for me to dive right in. It is familiar because it influences another writer that I read a lot, Bill Bright. The first three chapters are entitled, "The Natural Man", "The Spiritual Man", and "The Carnal Man".

But I haven' gotten around to "Why Men Hate Going to Church" because I started two other books - "Courageous Leadership" by Bill Hybels and "White" by Ted Dekker. Now, I finished White in two days as it was just a great read. It is the third book in the Circle trilogy that Dekker has. Dekker has a uncanny way to write supernatural thrillers that parallels the truths of the Bible. I loved the Circle trilogy because it answers people's questions about spirituality, God, and the gospel without being up front preachy and obvious. But through storytelling, he tells the truth and makes great points that make you think about life and how we view Jesus. Check it out! I read all three books by loaning them through the public library.


Hybels' book, I'm halfway through it and even though it is a non-fiction book, I love the content. I'm not a big fan of his writing style, but the substance of the book is great. I look forward to finish it and post some thoughts on this blog soon.

Why Men Hate Going to Church

As discussed in a previous post, I'm a slow non-fiction reader. And I give it up to the fact that I have a really short attention span. I love new books ... and I am hooked by the titles and different themes, but I don't think I have the patience to read a whole book through. Thus, I get stuck in 5-6 books never to finish them and preventing my wife from reading them because she thinks I'm still "reading" them.

So, there is a new book that I picked up over the summer that caught my attention. "Why Men Hate Going to Church" by David Murrow. Now, I bought it because a lot of men have recommended the book to me. I don't know the premise, and I don't know the author. Is church too boring? Is it not adventurous enough (aka. Wild at Heart)? Is it not challenging enough? Well, I think I will start reading it and posting up what I read. I am also to start reading "He That is Spiritual" by Chafer lent to me by my friend Luke.

Too many books, not enough attention span.

Additional pics of this summer

Here are some other pics from this summer...

Our church C&C camping trip to Rissers...

Me and my Amazing Race partner - I'm eating some really gross, dried and hardened anchovies and the photographer caught me when I was just making a face. It looks like I'm looking at my partner in disgust. LOL

Our new co-worker who is coming in a couple of weeks! Welcome Matt!

Deb playing with huge plastic chess pieces at Anna and Drew's wedding reception - a beautiful day!

Blueberries

I think I just had a shift in my favourite fruit. It used to be strawberries, but now they are blueberries. In large part is because I have been blueberry picking lately and they are just plain yummy. However, they are very healthy. Here are a few facts about blueberries that I found...

1. Blueberries are antioxidants. This means that they help neutralize "free radicals" (that are by-products from metabolism) which cause cancer and other age related diseases. Blueberries are ranked #1 compared to 40 other fresh fruits in this area.
2. Blueberries prevent urinary tract infections
3. Blueberries help improve eyesight
4. Blueberries have potential to lower cholesterol

So, in light of these facts, I think I can eat blueberries forever. You can also make once unhealthy foods into healthy ones...

For example:

1. Ice cream - just throw a handfull of blueberries on top and it is healthy
2. Milkshakes - blueberry milkshakes (yummy)
   
3. Pancakes - healthy already, make it more healthy by adding blueberries into the mix
4. Blueberry pie
5. Poutine - add just a handfull into ... (JK)

Home At Last

You don't really miss home until you have been away and that is exactly what I have been feeling lately as my wife and I have been travelling quite a bit. Pics from the places and events we've been involved this summer... (sorry, not in chronological order as I can't seem to get the pics in order with the blog tools)...


Yarmouth


My brother!



Camping in BC


Coast off of Yarmouth



Strawberry picking in the Valley


The boys from the summer trip


Camping with Matt and the rest of the gang from the summer


Being tourists on a gondola

U2

So, I haven't been always a U2 fan due to the fact I had a sheltered childhood. I never really got into pop culture and music was one of them. However, I have discovered U2 later in life and I must say I am a fan now.

(Deb and I was browsing in the local Future Shop and we found the Best of 1980-1990 and 1990-2000 for $9.99 each! Yep, that is right - we were looking at used CD stores and we couldn't get it at that price!)

After watching Rattle and Hum on DVD and seeing the impact their music it has on my friends, I have been able to sit and listen to the lyrics. Yes, these guys are talented, but they also have great things to sing about. My wife's favourite song is "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" as it talks about heaven, a favourite topic of her's.

Slowly, but surely, I will discover the greats of music that I missed when I was young...

Older Women Younger Men

There is a strange phenomena in my hometown - a lot of my friends are in a older woman younger man relationship. Not only that - some are engaged and some are married. Now if it was only 1 or 2 couples like that, that is not a cause for alarm. But the fact that there are over 5 couples like that in one church does cause me to pause and think what that is.

Not that I have anything against older women younger man (OWYM) relationships. I think it is perfectly fine, but I do think it does make me do a double take in my brain every time I hear of a OWYM relationship. Is it because society is generally older man younger woman (OMYW)? Or am I just hearing from women that they prefer older men?

I think society thinks OMYW makes more sense because men mature later and thus women can relate to older men better than younger ones. However, I think there is also a underlying (correct or incorrect) psychological comfort for the woman knowing that an older man can take care of you better. They feel more secure in an OMYW scenario.

I guess a plus for the OWYM side is that men usually die earlier and thus the woman in the relationship doesn't have to endure widowhood longer than their OMYW counterparts. But then again, what do I know?

On the Road Again

Tomorrow I leave to go west and to tell you the truth, I'm not that eager to go. Not that I am not looking forward to the people I'm going to visit and the events I'm going to attend (2 weddings and a conference), but I'm not eagerly waiting for the airplane rides and the driving involved.

Years before, I loved to travel and every time a trip came up (specifically, a plane trip), I would get these butterflies of anticipation in my stomach. I'm going to fly! I would treat the actual plane ride as an event to be enjoyed and savoured. I'd soak in the movies, order a can of Coke (always felt bad for asking for a can, but once I saw others do it, I felt better), and eat my fill of airplane snack mixes.

Now, I just see it as a good excuse to read another 100 pages of my current book or sleep.

Fiction vs. non-fiction

I love fiction. My wife recently remarked how I can go through fiction like nothing while it takes me years to go through non-fiction books (I am currently stuck in the middle of approx. 5 non-fiction books). But ever since I picked up "The Lord of the Rings" when I was in junior high, I have been going through a healthy diet of fiction books!

Currently, I am going through Ted Dekker novels. Dekker's novels combine supernatural phenomena with edge-of-your-seat adventure - and doesn't come off sounding corny. The novel "Blink" was a great read and highly recommended.

Last 4 fiction books read this summer:
1. "Blink" Ted Dekker
2. "The Broker" John Grisham
3. "Black" Ted Dekker
4. "New Spring" Robert Jordan

Non-fiction books I am trying to finish this summer:
1. "Let the Nations be Glad" John Piper (started 3 years ago)
2. "Reading the Bible for All Its Worth" Stuart and Fee (started beginning of the year)
3. "Spiritual Leadership: Principles of Excellence for Every Believer" (started 2 years ago)
Another 2 or 3 books that I have started long time ago but haven't touched this summer... (sorry Brad)

Clothesline

I was looking forward to using the clothesline to hang dry my clothes. It saves energy, the clothes smell great afterward, and it just looks like a very home like thing to be doing on the weekends. One problem - the hedge underneath it was neglected by the previous owner and is overgrown to the point where you can't hang the clothes above it.

So, out I go to buy a ladder (ladders are expensive!! What do they build them out of - titanium?) and some shears and go hacking away at the hedge.

Don't you like the black socks and great visor? Fashion setter!

Halfway to being done, I ask Deb to hang a few clothes to test how much I need to cut the hedge down to. We had just done a wash and I was excited to see how the clothes work out... but lo and behold after putting a few wet clothes, the clothesline gives way and breaks.

sigh - the joys of a homeowner.

Looking sad with broken clothesline

Dying a slow death

Computers come and go - and mine is on the brink of dying. Yes, it is an obsolete computer (AMD 600 MHZ, 256 MB RAM, 30 GB HD for those who care) but it lasted for 4 and a half years.

First, it was the fan - it couldn't cool down properly so it would whine and sputter until it overheated and shut down. There were times of calm, but lately it has started up coughing again. Then it was the keyboard - the "f", "j", and "m" didn't work. Soon all the numbers didn't work and I had to plug in an external keyboard to use the computer. Finally, the 30 GB was just too small and since filling it up, it has taken it 10 min. to start up the computer.

Alas, I think I need a new computer. Yes, it is time.

(written on Deb's laptop because mine overheated last night and I'm afraid to turn it on)

Camping

I love camping. Ever since I was a little boy when my family went on vacations through the mountains, I loved to live out in the open air - especially waking up to the view of the mountains. Creation is great!

I try to go camping every year and this year I had the opportunity to go backcountry camping with some friends in B.C. this summer. I have only done backcountry camping twice - once in junior high and once with friends in Calgary during my university years.

After our trip to East Asia, Deb and I (and some friends) went to Manning National Park. It is a great location with great scenery - the only catch was that it was snowing!!! Here are some pics - my wife tells me it looks like scenary from the Sound of Music (a movie I can't recall seeing).

It snowed!!

The week we came back home, we went camping again with our church. Except this time we drove in with cars and only stayed a night. It was fun, but very misty and wet. After the trip, I had upwards of 50 mosquito bites. Lesson: use Deep Woods Off (not any other ones - they don't work). I would show you a picture of my legs with all the bites, but that would be gross and I would like to keep this blog rated G. lol

More than one way to heaven?

Reading the news and I came across an article saying that the world's second most wealthiest man, Warren Buffet, is going to give $37 billion to the Bill Gates Foundation. Wow - that is a lot of money.

However, what caught my eye was this quote, "there is more than one way to get to heaven but this is a great way". He was referring to his giving to the the Gates foundation that is aiming to eliminate the world's top 20 diseases.

It is comments like these that make me think how we, as humans, like to make our own way to heaven by doing good things. I'm not against good things and I applaud Buffet's move, but I hope that is not what he is banking on to get to heaven.

Jesus said that there is only one way to heaven and after thinking it through, it makes sense. Why create many ways to heaven when one way is enough? As well, that one way is unique from all of the man-made solutions of this world in that you don't have to do anything for it - it is by grace we have been saved through faith. That is the beauty of Christ!

If you want to check out the site:
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/27062006/2/world-buffett-s-billions-might-help-cure-world-s-worst.html

There and Back Again

Wow - it has been a long time since I have been at home and it is quite the feeling when you get back from a trip. It is interesting to reflect back on the things that happened in the past 7 weeks and also to think about what the 7 weeks would have looked if I stayed at home.

Things That I Found Different When I Came Back Home:

1. We have a house sitter (thanks Ian!)
2. We have ants in our basement
3. There is a baby bottle in our car (no, we are NOT expecting)
4. Our furniture has been moved around (thanks Ian!)
5. We have flowers blooming around our house (thanks mom and previous owners)
6. There is an annoying high pitch sound that is coming from our attic that is irregular and intermittent

Anyway, pics to be posted soon of our summer trip!

Travelling

One of the great joys in life is travelling. In the next little while, I will be travelling and will have limited internet access. But stay tuned for interesting stories and cool pics from around the world.

Where are you going this summer?

Easter

Easter - one the most holiest (if not the holiest) holidays on the Christian calender as we celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

To be honest, in the past I have felt disconnected with the celebration that surrounds Easter. As a Chinese Christian Canadian, I am caught between cultures. Although my parents are Christians, we never celebrated the traditional holidays that usually dot the Western calendar (Thanksgiving, Christmas...) the way Western family do (in the same way, we don't celebrate most Chinese celebrations - but that can be another blog entry). Easter is no exception. Church has done a lot to educate me on how to relfect upon the spiritual significance of these holidays but I love to see it become a heartfelt tradition I celebrate on my own.

Now that I live on my own, I have been experiencing other families' traditions and appreciate the significance of the holy day. It is still a struggle sometimes to get excited about the reason for the holidays (usually I find myself getting more excited about the days off), but I love how Eastern Canadian culture and tradition brings the focus back to Christ. The area is rich in religous history and I appreciate the focus on Christ during Easter.

Lord, thank you for your death and resurrection - for the forgiveness of my sins and for the power to live a life pleasing to you because you live.

Here is to many more Easters where I can remember the sacrifice of God's only Son so that individuals can have a relationship with Him and experience His love eternally.

A Green Thumb

I was asked by a collegue what goals I wanted to have for the coming year in regards to hobbies. Now, I usually would say my hobbies are reading, hiking, camping, and playing video games (if you call it a hobby). However, having a new hobby, I never really thought of needing one. But it was a good challenge.

Maybe my new hobby will be raquetball (I was going to write this entry on raquetball, but how fun is that?) That is something that I have picked up lately and playing with the guys I work with and some friends. However, it is not a new hobby since I used to play twice a week as a student in the University of Calgary.

After some thought, I decided that I would like to start gardening. Since now I have moved into a new house, I actually have room to do some gardening. The thought of taking a sunny Saturday afternoon working the ground, pulling weeds, watering plants, putting new plants into the ground and watch flowers and plants grow, does appeal to me.

Although I will be a way from home for quite a bit of time this summer, I look forward to do some research on it and see what I can plant. My mom used to plant a whole bunch of Chinese vegetables and we had a whole bunch of veggies to eat when it was harvested. Since it looks like Ian Lau is going to house sit for us while we are gone, maybe he can start a new hobby as well. ; )

What new hobbies are you planning to start this summer?

Winning

My wife has already commented on Tim Horton's contest/lottery so I won't here, but to say that I am 1 for 8 with the win being a free coffee. I didn't realize that the free coffee for was any size so by the time I ordered a medium Cafe Mocha and handed over the "coupon" (as they call it) it was too late to change it for a large. Grrr....

But on the topic of Tim Horton's, the company had its IPO (initial public offering in stock market terms), yesterday and I find it fascinating that stocks can go up in price on pure hype. Tim Horton's share rose $5 in one day. I think that is why I am so reluctant to "invest" in shares of a company. My friends have likened it to gambling. I think they were referring to the popular trend of day trading, where people buy and sell shares based on movement of price (sell high, buy low) and not on any public knowledge or long term investment. I agree that is gambling.

But long term investment in shares can also be high risk if you are not on top of your research and news. If you are investing in stocks, you have to invest time as well - and I guess that is what I don't have is time! (well, money as well for stocks)

Which connects me to my third thought for this blog - I am reminded of a board game I used to play - Stock Tickers. It is a fun game of rolling of the dice to mimick the stock market and you buys and sell shares between rolls. It is fun because you can split your stocks or it can go to 0. It is fun to play with risk takers cause they either win really big, or lose really big. Fun times! if any of you are big board game players, you are welcome to play any time (which reminds me that there is still a Wongs vs. Mattheis game of Scrabble to be played)!

PS - Winning - I guess I had that to connect the three thoughts, you can win in all three things.

Saving money

So the local power comapny is raising rates again and it is going to be more expensive to use electricity. As a new home owner, this bad news to me and it got me thinking how to save more money and electricity.

Well, one thing that I learned over the past week was how to keep my wood stove burning continuously so that it maintains a desired level of heat. Now I don't have to restart the fire 2 or 3 times a week - I can leave it going for a whole week and and just add more wood from time to time. This is true throughout the night and as long as I set the electric thermostat at 5 degrees Celsius around the house, all is good and we can save electricity. The house doesn't seem to have any drafts so all the heat generated from the stove makes its way up to the top floor. Thank God for wood stoves!

Another way to save energy, I believe Deb and I can do, is to switch all our light bulbs to those low wattage long life bulbs. The only thing is that it costs a lot initially to buy them. As well, most of our lights in our new house are the small socket, chandelier type candle shaped bulbs and there isn't a lot of those low wattage ones out for those types yet. There are a few, but they are way more expensive! So, I think I need to wait for a sale and lobby for more of those types of bulbs...

Memory...

Memory - my memory bites. Do you not hate the feeling when you come across a person you know, but don't can't remember the name? Well, today was one of those days. After seeing a friend to the front door, the door next to our house (we live in a duplex) opens. I look up and say, "Hi there" my usual greeting without thinking who it was. "Hi Joshua" he said. I froze... it was my neighbor and I just blanked out. I couldn't remember his name. I looked down, and then after an awkward silence, I shouted something to my departing friend and hastily closed the door.

I felt like crawling under a rock! I can't believe I don't remember his name. Mind you, I only met him once while I was shovelling the snow off my driveway, but you would think I would remember such details - he remembered my name.

Not only did I not remember my neighbor's name, I wasn't too quick on my feet. Deb was right beside me and all I had to do was introduce her to my neighbors and hopefully they would have said their names by introducing themselves. But no, I had to make an awkward situation more awkward by closing the door.

Anyway, I have gotten over the feeling of hitting over myself over the head many times over (I think) and will make the point to introduce ourselves. I feel like we have to bake cookies or something and give it to them as we introduce ourselves... is that from a movie or something? Anyway, this time, I need to write the names down...

NHL 2005

In light of Canada's sobering lost in the Olympics, I sometimes want to get away and plug in NHL 2005 to see if things would come out differently if I chose the team for Canada.

Anyway, that leads to one of my favourite pastimes - playing NHL on my Gamecube with my favourite hockey team, the Calgary Flames. I like the Flames not only because I was born and raised in Calgary, but the great players that have come out of Calgary.

So, I love playing Flames in NHL 2005 and currently enjoying a great 2005-2006 season. With great trades that has landed me Staal, Knuble, Bergeron, Draper and other great players, we have clinched the number 1 spot in the conference and in good shape for the playoffs. Go Flames Go! (plus they are doing great in real life)

Canadian Hockey

What is this? Canada, the powerhouse of all things hockey, is struggling through the round robin of the Olympics... okay, not struggling, they are being dominated! With two 2-0 shutout losses to Switzerland (???) and Finland and a truly sorry win over the Czechs, I wonder how we will do against Russia today. Maybe the Canadians will pull together since they are in the medal rounds now, but it was a scary round robin. Here is hoping for a turnaround!

Cyclops

So I found this quiz on a friend's blog and took it. I didn't know that Cyclops is the team leader of X-Men. Interesting... so I guess Deb is Jean Grey. lol....

You scored as Cyclops. Cyclops is the team leader of the X-Men, and a skilled one at that. He loves Jean Grey very much. He's a strict and sometimes uptight leader, but he believes in his cause and he knows what he's fighting for... Peace between Mutants and Humans. Powers: Optic blasts

Cyclops		70%
Storm		65%
Colossus		60%
Iceman		55%
Nightcrawler		55%
Wolverine		50%
Jean Grey		50%
Beast		50%
Gambit		35%
Rogue		30%
Emma Frost		15%

Most Comprehensive X-Men Personality Quiz 2.0
created with QuizFarm.com

New house = more work = enjoyment

I never thought that getting a new house meant that I would be more active - and enjoying it. It is amazing that I have new found energy to do house work. Maybe it is the thought that it is now yours and that there is value in doing work at home.

For example, while I was living in an apartment, I hardly wanted to vacuum the place partly because it will only get dirty later on and when we move out, I never have to deal with the consequences. But now, I am constantly thinking how to clean things and improve the house because the buck now stops with us (Deb and I).

So, when we had the Snow Day last Wednesday, it was no problem shoveling the driveway (even though it took two and a half hours to clear). I ordered a whole bunch of wood the other day and it has been back breaking hauling it to the shed (still some on our drive way). But, I enjoyed it - and it was a good work out. Maybe I was lazy when I didn't own the place where I lived. But now, I would like to think that I'm not that lazy...

Wood on our driveway that I have to move after our rainstorm over the weekend (Deb helped!)

Inside our shed - our wood storage area for now

New posting

Sorry I haven't posted anything yet, but with the move and with work, things can get quite busy! So with requests to post something (i.e. Ian Chik) - here it is! In the coming days I will post more pics of my new home and intruiging things going in the back of my mind. But to whet your appetite, here is a pic of the wood stove which I love and bought a whole bunch of wood for today!

(Gold plate and decorations are previous owner's - sadly, we don't own those anymore to put above the stove)

Go Vote!

If you are Canadian and you are reading this blog today, and you haven't voted yet, let me encourage you to go vote! Let your voice be heard and take the opportunity and privilage to vote. See you at the polls!

Casserole

I have known that men and women think differently, but a quote from a book my wife is reading (Fantasy) really helped illustrate it:

"If women are like a casserole, men are like a TV dinner (global verses compartmental)... Men and women think differently. For us (women), everything is thrown in one big pot. The flavour of one area of our life affects the flavour of every other area. Men, not so much. They can compartmentalize."

Now, my favourite saying when women (like my wife) seem to blend everything together is "Women are like casseroles". You think a topic has been addressed, but two conversations later, it is right there again. That is what I'll write for now... maybe more later.

Canadian Election Debate

Recently I have been drawn into the interesting election Canada is in the middle of. Although I didn't care about elections the past couple of times Canada went to the polls, I'm drawn to this one beacuse of the platforms policies, drama, and the interesting things Canadians are saying about the different parties.

I was also drawn to the second round of English debates. I didn't catch the first round, but the second one was facinating to watch as the leaders traded thoughts, opinions, and barbs at each other. One guy really drew me to watch and that was the NPD leader and his strategy in this debate (and also as a campaign). This guy is smart (strategy wise) as he knows he won't win this election, but is preparing for the next. It will be interesting to see what happens January 23rd, 2006. Go vote! Go Canada!

Happy New Year!

2006! Happy New Year! So, every year I go to a conference in Toronto and ring in the New Year with worship, prayer, and dance party with hundreds of other people from Eastern Canada. It is great fun! This year, the NYE party theme was the 80s... and it was quite eye opening! The 80s, I have decided, was not a pretty decade, but it did bring some great memories including GI Joe, Transformers, Ghostbusters (see pic below), and other notable shows (yes, I was a kid in the decade). What did you do for New Year's?

The sound and physical arrangment team as Ghostbusters!

The Ghostbusters blasting some Pac-Man ghosts

Grezky and the Oilers - definately the 80s...

Kelley, Deborah and I - scary!