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TopTue, 31 Jul 2007
Jul 31, 2007, 17:16
[home/journal] What a weird day today was! I went to bed last night about 10 p.m., and slept through until 4 p.m. today! I woke up once to puke, and once to check email in bed. Basically, the rest of the time I slept. It wasn’t like I was feeling particularly sick! I didn’t have any aches, no headache, no sore muscles, no stuffed nose, no sore throat. Just dizzy. I just felt dizzy, and that’s what made me puke in the morning. I’m feeling a little better today, but I hope I’m all over it tomorrow: that’s when I start my new job!! I don’t want to be sick the first day of work! ~Jason
Sick Today
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Mon, 30 Jul 2007
Jul 30, 2007, 21:56
[home/books] This was quite an interesting novel— my wife, Joanne, and I actually listened to it on CD while we drove 2000 miles across Canada. It took a while for me to get into it: there are a lot of unusual character names to get used to and the point of view keeps switching from one heroine to another. But overall very compelling. I was especially amazed at how it changed my views of Islam. I highly recommend it. ~Jason
A Thousand Splendid Suns
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Tue, 24 Jul 2007
Jul 24, 2007, 01:09
[home/journal]
Moose Jaw, Aldersgate College, and the Guidos Family
Today was the first day of our trip back to Ontario. I start my new job on August 1st, so I wanted to head back early.
But we had not yet visited Moose Jaw, which was important to me, so Joanne and I decided to stop in today.
I wanted to visit Moose Jaw for two reasons: first, my alma-mater, Aldersgate College, was there. I wanted to take the opportunity to visit the (now defunct) college to take some photos and revisit some memories. Secondly, my dear friends, Bud and Marcelle Guidos, live in Moose Jaw. They were like parents to me through my four years there. They had me over many times for meals, to watch movies, to play Foose Ball, to read model railroader magazines, and to play their grand piano.
It was wonderful to see them again. They invited us into their home, and we chatted for some time about trains, model doll houses, the past, children, and lots of other great topics. Then they took all of us (all six of us!) out for lunch to “Humpty’s.” Joanne and I hadn’t seen them since we were married, so it was great to introduce them to our children and to recount some of the things that had happened over the last fourteen years. I just wish that we had more time to spend with them.
It was kind of sad to visit the college. Some of the buildings were nearly hidden with weeds— others had been neglected. Despite the differences, things seemed strangely unchanged. I trooped around the grounds with my camera (in 103 degree heat, I might add!) and got some shots of Epcott Hall, the H-hut, the newer dorm (which contained the Blue Lounge— what was it called again?). I’ll put the pictures up on Flickr and/or FaceBook when I return home.
Then it was back on the road, and heading for Winnepeg. But the thought of setting up our camper and sleeping in this heat was just too much. So we called CAA, and they found us a wonderful hotel suite for a great price! This hotel has a swimming pool and hot tub, free computer and web access in the room, and lots more. So I guess the camping will resume tomorrow night! I hope Northern Ontario is a little cooler than the prairies right now!
~Jason
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Sun, 22 Jul 2007
Jul 22, 2007, 23:43
[home/books] I just finished another novel, called "The Testament," by John Grisham. This is the second Grisham novel I've consumed, and I must say I like his style. In this story, an extremely wealthy man dies, leaving all his money to an illegitimate child (a missionary woman) instead of to his crazy children. A washed up lawyer is chosen to travel to her remote village and get her to sign some papers— and suprised to find she doesn't want the money. Five stars! ~Jason
The Testament
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Mon, 16 Jul 2007
Jul 16, 2007, 22:53
[home/journal] It was the summer of 1987 when I first tromped the halls of the West Edmonton Mall, then again with some “Celebration” friends back in 1988 and/or 1989… today the family made another visit through this gargantuan establishment. Everything from the world’s biggest indoor roller-coaster (which Lucas and I loved!) to an indoor wave pool and water park, indoor skating rink, a petting zoo, bungy cord jumping, an entire pirate ship, underwater submarine adventures, performing sea lions, and tons of other typical mall stuff… this is one CRAZY mall. I bought some junk from Dollarama, which I could have got anywhere, so that’s a little funny— but what a blast seeing the kids on all the rides. I even got to ride a horse on the merry—go-round with Gracey. What a lot of fun! Heading home tonight… it’s nine already and I’ve got a four or five hour drive back!! ~Jason
West Edmonton Mall
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Sat, 14 Jul 2007
Jul 14, 2007, 21:18
[home/books] The Shape of Snakes was, I think, my second (or third?) Minette Walters book, and I enjoyed it quite a bit. It took a while to really get going— I found the narrative style a little confusing at first. As one reviewer put it, The first-person narrative of The Shape of Snakes is broken up by documents, letters, and statements of various kinds, which provide our only alternative source of information when we start to wonder just how much the narrator's account is concealing. We never learn her first name — she is just M. — and she remains surprisingly distant… Once I got used to the style— I think maybe 150 pages in, I started to really enjoy it. It means one can't take the narrator's descriptions at face-value. The reader must interpret the narrator's opinions based on the other character's responses. All said, I recommend this book. It's an entertaining murder mystery. 4.5 stars. ~Jason
The Shape of Snakes
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Tue, 10 Jul 2007
Jul 10, 2007, 12:54
[home/hobbies/fishing] Yesterday, grandpa Sawatzky took we boys up north, to Poplar Point on Cowan Lake for a bit of fishing. Over the last few years, I've really started to LOVE fishing. Joanne's brother-in-law, Gerald Zacharias, stayed behind, but Richard, Lucas, Seth and myself enjoyed a day of angling, boating and laughing. We caught 20 of our limit of 30 fish. I was fortunate to be the first to catch something, but right away Seth caught the next two. Lucas lost a couple at the last minute, and then it was a race between Seth and myself. (I loved that his first real fishing trip went so well— there's nothing worse than being introduced to fishing and coming away empty-handed). Within the first couple of hours Seth was leading the catch-count with four fish. These were big, (well sort-of big), mean-looking Northern Pike, with rows of teeth waiting to take off a finger. Grandpa had a little mini baseball-bat which he used to knock the fish on the noggin. It was hillarious that Seth wanted to do that himself. He's such a little man. Then it started pouring and we made a bee-line for the shore. I had noticed that Seth's green spoon-lure was doing better than the red and white ones, so I went up to the store and bought myself a green one. That was a bright move, because when we went back out, it seemed every time I put my lure in the water I pulled out a fish. That's one terrific spoon! So the fish are all cleaned and de-boned and we're having a fish fry tonight. I can't wait! ~Jason
Fishing at Poplar Point
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Jul 10, 2007, 12:19
[home/books] I finished my novel last night before bed— it was a really enternaining read by Giles Blunt called "By The Time You Read This." The coroner and police have ruled Detective Cardinal's depressed wife's death as suicide, but he's convinced it was actually murder. Not only is he struggling to discover the truth behind her death, he's trying to convince his friends and coworkers that he's not crazy. This was another page turner, and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good mystery. The characters are so believable: multi-dimensional, full of passion and heart-ache, and the intricate story line is at once convuluted and captivating. Great book! 5 stars!
By The time yoU reAd this
~Jason
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Sat, 07 Jul 2007
Jul 07, 2007, 15:30
[home/books] One of the things I love most about being on vacation is that I get to do lots of pleasure reading. Last night I finished my first book of vacation, called "Looking Good Dead" by Peter James. Joanne had read it first and though she enjoyed it, she wasn't overly impressed. But I really got into it— breezed through the short chapters, and couldn't put it down. I'll be looking for more Peter James books. I've just started my next novel, "By The Time You Read This" by Giles Blunt. ~Jason
Looking Good Dead
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Fri, 06 Jul 2007
Jul 06, 2007, 20:43
[home/journal] Well, we had a breakdown on our trip! While coming up to Dryden, our accessories/fanbelt broke because of a seized bearing on the tensioner. Ended up costing us $250 for the repair, plus $100 for the hotel room that night, and extra for towing… fortunately the towing will be reimbursed by our CAA and insurance companies. We're now in Neaunlage and enjoying time with Joanne's parents— the heat is unbearable, which is a real contrast to northern Ontario, but it promises to be cooler the rest of our time here— so we'll see. We've been recording regular video journals, and as soon as we find a high speed connection, we'll try to upload them to the site here. ~Jason
Breakdown!
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