CaptainOrange

Being Musical Facebook told me that I've been friends with James for 9 years, now. Wow! 9 years? What ever did I do with my life before Facebook's distinctly lacking AI could remind me of how long I've been friends with one of the most important people in my life? I wouldn't bother watching the video (in fact you can't, as it disappeared from my feed today). I won't attempt, in this forum, to enumerate it's many shortcomings. But, I do want to take the opportunity to say that my friendship with my brother, James, is now 40 years old. Happy Birthday. First Summer -- Vincie, Jamie, Michael Facebook doesn't know this, but I was allowed to hold him in my arms on the day he was born. Although it says James on his birth certificate, for the foreseeable future we would all called him  Jamie . I can remember the pride I had, at the age of 5, to be entrusted with something so fragile and special. It must have been about age 3 when his personality ...

Day 5 Bloedel Conservatory roof Can't let yesterday get me down. I got a fresh view of Canada's 3rd largest city and made a new acquaintance, should I ever find myself down and out. But, I've come to vancouver to lighten my spirits and I've only got one day left. I hear it is in the -30s (counting the windchill) back home. I feel in a tropical mood today. I have postponed a trip to the Bloedel Conservatory so far, because I thought it would be a perfect activity for Wendy to do with me. I hadn't counted on how tired she would be, nor how early it would get dark. I was surprised that at this time of year the sun sets 30 minutes earlier than it does in Saskatoon. It makes up for it by rising an hour earlier. Damn daylight savings time. The hike to the Bloedel is about 7.5km from downtown, but it is a interesting walk. I crossed the Cambie St. Bridge, right at the tail end of English Bay. Suddenly all of the tall buildings were gone and I was walking into ...

Day 3 A Dingy, one-railed stairwell of The Pinnacle is better than nothing Wendy starts her conference today, so I am on my own. That means no plans and a much less traditional type of tourism. So far, Monday is wet and crazy. The locals I have asked seem to think snow in downtown Vancouver is a rare event, but apparently their odds of having a white Christmas are about 1 in 5. However common or rare, I quite enjoy seeing the city display a fun mix of panic and wonder. The fervour with which our quickly jaded population rediscovers the selfie as giant flakes cling to needy lashes brings a glow to my Grinch-like heart. By no means immune to our cultural obsession with sharing our lives, I also partake in the ritual. A man of many rituals, I set out today to find some stairs to climb. After my various successes in Calgary, last year--with the notable exception of The Bow --I was sure that the easy going, West-coast vibe of Vancouver would yield many exciting opportunities. Not...

Day 1 Very excited to be in Vancouver. I've only been here twice in my life. Once when I was 10 or 11 years old, and once when I came to see The Police in concert with Anna and Ian in 2007 . Wendy and I have never been here together. Like most of the good things in my life, we are in Vancouver because of Wendy's insatiable desire to learn and teach. She is attending the Learning Forward conference. You may remember this as the conference that allowed me to go to Nashville in 2014 . She was a presenter at that one. This time she is just attending. In both cases, I was/am along as an adorable complication ;) But, before the learning begins, we get to do a little exploring. First... Wendy style. Our flight arrived in Vancouver at 6:35am and we were at the Pinnacle Hotel Harbourfront shortly after 7am. By agreeing to change our room type from a King-size bed to 2 doubles, we were allowed to check in immediately (rather than waiting until 3pm). We flopped down and rested...

Setting Sun avec Wine Gums... Perfect! Wow! So, naturally, I got sick immediately upon returning from NB. Averaging 1300 km/day and sleeping in the car for a week seems to have taken it's toll. For anyone who has noticed (and/or cares) I have not had a chance to do a blog post about my time in Boston with Brad. I still plan to get to that... honest. But, "time doesn't wait for me, it keeps on rollin'" -- Foreplay/Longtime  (on YouTube) by Boston ;) As a man of the moment, this is what is in my head right now. Time doesn't wait, but Boston probably will. I look forward to my mountain trips with Dave each year, yet I had decided that I couldn't gracefully manage to make it out to Canmore this time. 10 days getting out to New Brunswick and back... several projects at work that I was behind on, and a garden full of future pizza sauce and pickles that wouldn't wait a moment longer. I had given up. Resigned myself to my fate. Of course, you all ...