Christmas has come and gone....on to the New Years Party

Here are some of my pictures from this years holiday season thus far.

The main building I am currently working on in Brockville.















Sunset through the rain droplets on the windshield.

I don't know where Lawren gets those killer tendencies.

We are having a fondue because we are fond of you!

My parents house on Christmas Day - where is the snow?

Smoking with my Oma.

Walking with my wife.

Checking out 100 small towns in France.

The mini sens jersey for my new nephew/neice who is behind schedule on the whole being born thing.

A Sufjan Stevens type of Christmas

Currently Listening To:
Sigur Ros
Takk
__________________________________________________


A couple months ago when Sufjan Stevens released his latest compilation I was immediately interested. Several reviews said some good things and the clincher was when I read the record label's review. His label, asthmatic kitty records, has the best name for a record label. Anyway, the review stated somewhere that Stevens started the Christmas collection out of his inherent aversion to christmas carols and the frill and excess that almost always accompanies them. That sounded perfect for me.
So I bought it.

A month later and it is pretty much the only cd (or cds) Irene and I listen too. Now I find out that pretty much everyone else has already heard the cd and thinks its awesome. My brother Lawren actually bought it too.
Oh well, so much for being new and cool. Looks like the cool kids are right there behind me. Actually it is encouraging that there is so much good musical taste out there.
Anyway the other cool thing about the compilation is the packaging that comes with essays, short stories, guitar chords, poster, comic and stickers among other things. Definitely good times and with that great Sufjan touch on every song this music is hard to beat.
Only one question: How Christian is he?

Here I am with Sufjan and his 'family' and my favourite poinsettia.

Barcelona: The Great Enchantress

Currently wanting to listen to:
The Dears
Gang of Losers
______________________________________

Lately I have been reading a book by Robert Hughes about Barcelona. Ever since I learned about the incredible architecture there from my History teacher in Mohawk I have dreamed of going there. Next year, the Lord willing, I will be there (sadly for only one day). Barcelona is probably best known for Antoni Gaudi the architect of the Sagrada Familia, Casa Milo and Casa Battlo. Seriously amazing stuff. The more I read about the guy, the more I like him. He was fiercely conservative and a very pious Catholic. He was intensely deep and I am sure many people couldn't understand him. Like many famous architects he was not rich and cared nothing for money. He would only take a commission if he had full artistic control (sounds like an indie band). His work influenced many modern architects like Frank Gehry.

So I want to post this quote from this book which is quoting another architect from Barcelona with the same independent Catalan spirit.
"Only societies without firm fixed ideas, which fluctuate between todays thinking and yesterdays, without firm faith in tomorrow's - only those societies fail to inscribe their history in durable monuments"
Domenech i Montaner (1849-1923)
Looking back on that statement in our americanized world it seems all the more true. North Americans know relatively little about architecture and history. It seems so sad to me. I hope I can gain something culturally by visiting Europe and seeing all that history with my own eyes.

I'm back.......sort of

Currently Reading:
Barcelona: The Great Enchantress
By: Robert Hughes

The funny thing is when you go on vacation and don't do any work you get home and realize that, strangely enough, no work got done.

Blogging has become one of the victims of a busy life. Working and then leaving early so you can get more done on your other job doesn't leave much time for fun and recreation aka blogging. But I am taking a lunch break and its Friday so why not. Most consultants leave early on Fridays anyway.

Anyway, anybody who has followed the latest technology in Blu-Ray and HD DVD knows that there is a battle of technology going on that rivals the Beta to VHS insanity of years gone by. As in all conflicts many people simply must jump on one side or the other. One of my favorite sites Engadget.com has been on this issue like a fat kid on a smarty since before day one. According to someone there the latest news in the tech world is that Sony is done and Toshiba will win with its HD DVD system. And while I am inclined to agree I still can't picture Sony getting knocked around too easily with all these other companies supporting them. Sure they have taken a few blunders in the past while but come on.

Either way if I was going to call it, I'd say Sony will lose out (they certainly are right now - stupid PS3) but it really doesn't matter because I can't afford either of the systems.

And I'm going on vacation tomorrow....

So this is an example of what can happen when you go on vacation for a couple days (note the post-it notes on the monitor). And this is what happens when you don't use your keyboard for too long. I wonder what my desk will look like when we get back from Winnipeg....

Look at me I'm a Boston Creme!

You Are a Boston Creme Donut

You have a tough exterior. No one wants to mess with you. But on the inside, you're a total pushover and completely soft. You're a traditionalist, and you don't change easily. You're likely to eat the same doughnut every morning, and pout if it's sold out.

What Donut Are You?

Actually I do like those donuts but the best are plain sugar coated from this little indie bakery in Stittsville. They melt in your mouth - so good.

Song of the Day

I have been extremely busy lately and will be for the forseeable future. I am currently working two jobs and all the travelling on the weekends takes up any free time I might have had.

Anyway on the busride home (my only real quiet reflective time) I heard a great song on my mp3 player and I just wanted to share it with everyone. (I was previously going to post the lyrics to another great song but that will have to wait I guess)

It is 'Such Great Heights' by The Postal Service (yet another great band off of Sub Pop Records. Here are the lyrics:

I was thinking it's a sign that the freckles
in our eyes are mirror images and when
we kiss they're perfectly aligned
and I have to speculate that god himself
did make us into corresponding shapes like
puzzle pieces from the clay
and true, it may seem like a stretch, but
its thoughts like this that catch my troubled
head when you're away when I am missing
you to death
when you are out there on the road for
several weeks of shows and when you scan
the radio, I hope this song will guide you
home

they will see us waving from such great
heights, "come down now," they'll say
but everything looks perfect from far away,
"come down now," but we'll stay...

I tried my best to leave this all on your
machine but the persistant beat it sounded
thin upon listening
and that frankly will not fly. you will hear
the shrillest highs and lowest lows with
the windows down when this is guiding
you home


Now I am not always a fan of love songs but this one is so irresistable with its catchy beat and soft melodies......oh so good!

Protect your what?!?!?

I will never cease to be amazed at what you can buy online. People truly are insane in this overtly capitalist society. But I guess if you really hate bruising your banana...... (should we get this for you Irene?)

ps sorry for the slightly rude overtones (I couldn't help it)

Crazy Cousin Alert

Here is a pic of my crazy cousins attacking my sister with what might be love but I'm not sure.
If you put these three in a room together crazy things are bound to happen.

Another Music Switcheroo

Listening to: Sufjan Stevens - Sufjan Stevens invites you to: Come on feel the Illinoise

A couple months ago I promised Tim that I'd write a blog on some music he handed to me. After listening to it and growing to love it oh so much I have come to some conclusions that may or may not change. These cds have made it through my mp3 player several times in the past months. Since I am doing a major overhaul on my player contents I figured this was as good a time as any to pause and reflect on the good tunes that have worked themselves into my heart.
So here is a selection of the latest:

Belle & Sebastien - Push Barman to Open Old Wounds: I love these guys. In fact after only a few listens I went out and bought the actual cd. Nothing like some modern scottish rock ballads to soothe the soul. I can't believe I missed their North American tour. Its also the best type of music for a lonely bus ride through the city.

Clap Your Hands and Say Yeah - Selftitled: Also an amazing disc, a little like the Arcade Fire but better I think in some respects (clearly not in all respects). This band encompasses all that I love about modern rock music. It is a super solid disc through and through.

Islands - Return to the Sea: What can I say other than I listened to it over and over again while driving back to Ottawa from camping in the summer. 5 hours of the same cd! Not to many cds can handle that. Click on the link for a good pitchfork review.

Preston School of Industry - Monsoon: Another great disc. Lots of good wails. Their version of 'Caught in the Rain' is amazing.

Wolf Parade - Apologies to the Queen Mary: Took a while to get into this one as it is louder than most music I am into these days. Has a bit of a Franz Ferdinand feel to it. Good times.

Yo La Tengo - Prisoners of Love: A Smattering of Scintillating Senescent Songs: 1985-2003: A smattering indeed. I have really only begun in the last two weeks to appreciate this band. I prefer some of the softer songs on disc 2 like 'Autumn Sweater' and 'Tears Are in Your Eyes'. They tend to go on these lengthy noisy bits which you really have to listen too hard if you want to appreciate it.

Manic Street Preachers - The Holy Bible: One of my favourite bands and this cd fits in well as a good backdrop to my other manics cds. It is some of their older stuff from when they still had their lead singer and a 4-piece band. Its rougher and louder and you have to like the manics to like this stuff. I recommend their more accessible compilations like 'Lipstick Traces' to get into the (in my opinion) kings of Britpop.

Happy Listening!

I Hate Suburbs: Reason #88

Listening to: Yo La Tengo - Prisoners of Love: A Smattering of Scintillating Senescent Songs 1985-2003


Finally a study that clearly states that suburbs are unhealthy and are therefore a burden on the health care system. (I added the last part because since the study was done in the US they don't have a health care system.)
Yes its true, we knew all this already BUT now there has been a study!

Reuben needs......

Listening to: The Clumsy Lovers - Save For You

I have been tagged by Jolene (welcome back to the blogging world Jo!)
I am supposed to type "Reuben needs" into google and see what I need. So according to google these are the top ten things that I need.

Reuben needs... Prayer - Absolutely
Reuben needs... all these hospital procedures - Aaaaaah why are there men in white suits bursting through the doors!!!!!
Reuben needs... to do more than his Luther Vandross impression - Hey I do all I can.
Reuben needs... a Nobel Prize - And I don't even know why
Reuben needs... to do a press release for each county - On what?
Reuben needs... to learn how to loosen up - Absolutely (i mean if I am like Einstein)
Reuben needs... to lose his 'nothing ventured, nothing lost' attitude - Hey doesn't that kind of contradict the last one?
Reuben needs... a second chance - More than a second chance i think.
Reuben needs... rye - Need I say more.
Reuben needs... a full measure of love and courage to get by

I think that last one sums it all up pretty nicely so we shall leave it at that.
I won't bother tagging anybody because I don't think anyone who wasn't tagged already actually reads this blog. If you havn't been tagged by anyone else and you find yourself reading this consider yourself tagged!

I don't think I am that smart!

What Famous Leader Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

The Butterfly Flaps It's Wings

Irene and I just finished watching a movie called 'Happenstance' (the French title is 'Le Battement d'ailes du papillon'). It was a french foreign film with subtitles and that distinct, fresh non-hollywood approach. And the star is the wonderful Audrey Tautou from 'Amelie'. If you havn't seen 'Amelie' rent it now and if you have than you will like this movie too. Watch out for the nude scene that seems to last faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaar to long. I don't think that was necessary (fast forward without missing anything).
Anyway, I just thought it was good to see another fresh movie. Sure it was a romantic comedy but it was so different and so much better and so much more fulfilling in the end. It wasn't intellectual or brilliant but it kept you thinking.
And I like Audrey Tautou. I found that she reminds me somewhat of Audrey Hepburn in 'Breakfast at Tiffanys'. Plus the movie had so many shots of the Paris Metro which I find facinating for some reason.

Now I am going to bed.

Are Pumpkins that Fun?

Its been a while since I carved a pumpkin but I wouldn't mind trying now that I probably have a little more finesse with a large knife than I did at six years old. But what if I did a carving so good that I wanted to keep it year after year? Well I just found out that now you can do that. Check out Funkins. It is unreal what you can find on the internet. I love Google sometimes (when they aren't trying to take over the world)

Rick Mercer reporting on WestJet

Anybody who watches the Rick Mercer report will know what I am talking about here. This week he is made an honorary Westjetter for a day. See the show Tuesday @ 8 on CBC of course.

Irene and her fellow westjetters are all giddy with excitement (I'm probably exaggerating but if you have ever flown with WJet you would know what I mean)

Anyway, it should prove to be a good show. Most of the people I know at WestJet are pretty crazy cool people. Combine that WestJetter attitude with good ol' Rick and funny stuff is bound to happen.

If you miss it check here.

Also he did a spoof on one of their "Owners" commercials. Check it out here by scrolling down to Nov. 29 2005.

3 Flicks and a Tune

As I write this, Irene is watching 'Gilmore Girls' which is a soap opera on uppers (they all talk way too fast in that show). Anyway the point of this blog was to describe 3 movies that made me smile and 1 song that almost made me cry.

The first movie was 'Elizabethtown'. This is a great movie that at first glance seems like a normal chick flick but it turns out going in some different directions. It does end kind of predictably but it has its share of funny parts and really different characters. It is also the first movie in which I actually enjoyed Orlando Bloom.

The second is 'American Beauty' which is a totally off the wall movie. It has some pretty racy parts but you have to 'look closer' (that's the motto of the movie). This movie has so many layers. Even the title means so much. I loved it even though it was rated R. Plus it puts down suburbs (in its own subtle way).

The third movie I watched again a few nights ago and it is one of Irene's favorites. It is the Audrey Hepburn classic 'Breakfast at Tiffany's'. If you have not seen any Hepburn movies you are really missing out. She shines in this one as a totally carefree girl. It isn't flashy and hollywoodish its just good fun. Why can't they make movies like this anymore?

Lastly is a Sufjan Stevens song from his Illinois album called Casimir Pulaski Day. The whole album has a great surreal quality to it (making it perfect bus riding music). Anyway, when combined with a strong case of melancholyness, a sunny day, an autumn walk through the park and the lyrics 'my shirt tucked in and my shoes untied' it actually choked me up. Anybody who knows me would know that I am not a very outwardly emotional person so it kind of caught me off guard. I love that God puts those things in life when you least expect them. I love being able too see beauty in life.

Alpacas are warm!

Irene's parents came back from Peru last week. The pictures they took looked amazing. Think really cool spanish architecture, ancient Inca ruins, steep cliffs covered in greenery and terraced farming. I'd go there in a second if I was given the chance.
As per usual they came bearing gifts. They brought me back a hat made of Alpaca (smallish llama) wool. Its cool and it keeps me warm. I can't wait to be tearring down the slopes in quebec looking all stylish in my Alpaca hat. Take that you stylish montreallers! Anyway here is a pic so you get the general idea. Boy do I look good (in that hat)!

Is that a Rollerskate in your pocket?

I just got back from Raleigh, North Carolina last night. It was good times. Maybe I will post some pics at some point.

Some of the highlights included:
-Eating at Big Ed's (we saw Ed and yes he was big)
-Spotting Canadian flags
-Cheering with the locals
-Trying to mimic the southern accent (Irene was the best - or she tried the hardest)
-Smuggling bananas over the border and denying any knowledge of it
-Learning that it was actually the North who lost the Civil War (and the south may take it up again at any time in the near future)
-Taking illegal pictures of Toll Booths
-Mimicing the New York accent (Irene was the best once again)
-Rollerskating with the locals
-Great tunes (and not so great tunes)
-Feeling overwhelmed with football (they even televise high school games - There are too many teams in the NFL let alone the college leagues and now high school too!!!)
-Shopping in a Walmart Superstore (and I thought regular Walmarts were big)
-Shipping a pumpkin pie 2000 kms (maybe we should have declared that at the border too)
-Three navigators telling one driver where to go (sorry Josh)
-Cheap Gas (I think we actually robbed the one place)
-Scrubbing bugs of the windshield (I can't believe thats a highlight)
-Taking far to many pictures of the Washington Monument (You can see it from anywhere in DC)
-Trashing the Super 8 hotel room (and having the ceiling collapse on Irene at night)
-Josh attempting to take pics of the great views in the Poconos (did they turn out?)
-Cruising in my favourite car (that Lexus is one sweeeeet ride)
-What are Tar Heels and why would a prestigious university cheer for them?
-Hanging out with Corrine and her roomies.
-Finding out that Raleigh has more girls than guys (that doesn't matter because I'm married)
-Using the GPS to find things. (There is a washroom in 1.3 kilometers!)
-How's Your News?
-Falling asleep to Cuff the Duke.
-Playing 'Things in a Box' (Whats that in your pocket?)
-Revealing secrets (I DO NOT own a leather cat suit)
-Taking far too many pictures (its a good thing we went digital - or is it?)

and the list goes on......

Wow we did a lot of stuff!

Creation is Amazing!

Last weekend we spent a lot of time on the road travelling down to the Hammer for my brothers grade 12 grad. On the way down for about half an hour it was pouring and the sun was shining so brightly. I have never seen anything like it. Of course we started looking around for the rainbow and it was behind us so Irene took a pic through our rearview mirror. It would have worked except for the bridge that jumped in the way.

Then on the way back to Ottawa the same thing happened with an even bigger rainbow over the entire highway. At one point there was even two rainbows. It was amazing too.And this shot is off our balcony in our appartment. This is what I love about living so high up. Suddenly those crappy elevators and smoking neighbours don't really matter.

And tonight it is off to North Carolina to visit the Jagers and hang out in some (hopefully) warm weather. The drive should be really cool with all the fall colours.....

Creation is Amazing!

Last weekend we spent a lot of time on the road travelling down to the Hammer for my brothers grade 12 grad. On the way down for about half an hour it was pouring and the sun was shining so brightly. I have never seen anything like it. Of course we started looking around for the rainbow and it was behind us so Irene took a pic through our rearview mirror. It would have worked except for the bridge that jumped in the way.

Then on the way back to Ottawa the same thing happened with an even bigger rainbow over the entire highway. At one point there was even two rainbows. It was amazing too.And this shot is off our balcony in our appartment. This is what I love about living so high up. Suddenly those crappy elevators and smoking neighbours don't really matter.

And tonight it is off to North Carolina to visit the Jagers and hang out in some (hopefully) warm weather. The drive should be really cool with all the fall colours.....

Monaco Grand Prix (Hopefully)

Our plans to go to Europe next year are starting to take shape. The villa in Vence (40 minutes out of Nice) is already reserved and we have started the whole passport dealio. A couple weeks ago we found out that the famed Formula 1 race of Monaco is going to be happening while we are 1 hour away. So the plan is to definitely hit that. This is the hardest road race of Formula 1 and is one of those tracks that pretty much every guy grew up racing in several computer games. It would be so amazing to see that live!!! I hope it works out!

Payphone Warriors: A Metropolitan Turf War

This is quite possibly one of the coolest games invented. I can just imagine some Young Peoples Commitee organizing it for a study weekend.
Click here to check out a review of a guy who played.

How did I miss this?

I missed one of the greatest days.

OK Hunting is Cool

I always thought hunting was pretty useless but this video has proved me wrong.

Sailing Is The Ultimate Sport

My brother-in-law took me out sailing again on the labour day weekend. This was my third time sailing with him (or anybody else) so I am starting to get used to the craziness surrounding sailing.

Before I knew Josh I had never really thought much of sailing. Despite living along Lake Ontario I just assumed that the sailboats out on the lake were merrily putting along having a grand ol’ time. My knowledge of sailing was limited to what the bible says and what I saw when I went for a walk along the lake. As with most things that you never deal with, there is so much more to it than you think. Now that I have done it and seen real racing sailboats I can say that I have a lot of respect for the sailors who race these small boats throughout the world. The guys who race have got to be slightly insane. They are travelling so fast on a vast, unpredictable course while relying solely on the wind. Some of the crashes rival Formula 1 and NASCAR. The boats can actually flip ass over tea kettle and the sailors get thrown way off the boats. It definitely has an element of insanity but its cool to watch.

A while ago, Tim wrote about luge and how it shouldn’t really be considered a sport. I couldn’t agree more but now that I have tried sailing I would vote sailing to be the ultimate sport. To be good you have to be athletic and smart. There is so much to know in the world of sailing. You have to know how to read the wind and water and know all the different types of sails and how they work. You have to be able to do multiple things at the same time and you have to do them fast or you will capsize.

It also takes a fair amount of energy to keep the boat going at a good speed. You have to ‘go out on the wire’ and pull on various ropes to keep the sails full. And you have to hold the rudder straight. I am just getting started and if Josh was explaining it this would turn into a full length text book.

The last thing I want to say is that there isn’t much that comes close to the thrill of flying across the water while hanging off the edge of the boat with nothing but a wire attached to the mast holding you. It is also amazing that it is only the wind that is moving you so it is pretty quiet. I have never been on a small motorboat but I bet it can’t even come close to that kind of thrill.

Birthday - Yay

To anyone who cares, my birthday was on the 3rd. It was a good time; in fact the whole weekend was full of good times. Irene and I went down to Brockville and Merrickville which are two quaint small Ontario towns. Brockville is on the St. Lawrence and is defined by the river. It seemed to be full of American tourists. One guy thought we don’t have cream cheese in Canada and I didn’t bother trying to correct his ignorance. We found a good place to eat though.

Merrickville on the other hand is one of those towns defined by artists and the tourists drawn to them. It is full of glass-blowers, painters, nice restaurants and old expensive hotels. I would think it attracts a lot of Montrealers. It kind of reminded me of Old Montreal. It is a town that caters to tourists with money so we didn’t buy anything. You can read more details about that trip on Irene’s blog.

Irene also got me a new electronic toy. It is a GPS locator which I had been talking about for the past few months. It will probably lead to some more travelling adventures. Now I just have to get the detailed maps to put on it. I think I am turning into a GPS junkie. Oh well, its better for you than crack right?

The weekend was rounded off with party at my in-laws and sailing on Labour Day. Definite good times.

Gnome vs. JimBob

As I have mentioned before, Irene's sister is expecting a baby. This will be my first nephew/neice so it is really exciting. Maybe it's even more amazing when you are closely related. So here is a picture of an ultrasound from a few weeks ago. See if you can figure out where the baby is. It took me a while but I saw it eventually. The picture is of the baby's head from a couple months ago (check the date on the picture).
Currently Mike and I are rooting for a boy. I immediately named 'him' JimBob and Mike, being the father, changed it to Gnome (he likes garden gnomes). He says he might still change it after the baby is born. For the kids sake I hope he does. Mike has till late December to think of something else....

Pilate @ the SuperEx

We recently went and saw one of my favourite bands, Pilot Speed (formerly Pilate) at the Ottawa SuperEx. There wasn't that big of a turnout but most of the people there where huge fans. It was like a real indie show. They played their collective hearts out and on a few songs ripped out mine. The falsetto on those sad songs gets me everytime. Man do those guys kick some serious butt. In a better venue they probably would have sounded even better. It wasn't the best concert I have ever been to but it was up there. I tried taking a picture or two but I can't control shutter speed on my camera so they all look somewhat like this....

Incidently we also came across a one-man band doing a great cover of The White Stripes Seven Nation Army(You would have loved it Joel). I should have taken a picture of that.

Josh & Dina, Greg & Shelagh

Recently I attended two weddings. The first was my good freinds Josh and Dina. It was your typical Can. Ref. wedding (i.e. like mine). It was great to see a lot of my high school friends again. Good times were had by all. To show you what I mean here is a picture of Josh and Dina throwing cake at each other. Clearly it was good times.

Joel also had a great speech involving throwing a binder the size of the Ontario Building Code.
And here is some guy doing an impromptu flyby with his motorized parachute. I don't think he had anything to do with the wedding but I could be wrong.
The second wedding wasn't so typical. I went through college with the groom, Greg. We bonded because we were both dutch-canadian (oh how I hate hyphenated nationalities) and we were both Christian. He went to a non-denominational church which believes you must be born again and disagrees with infant baptism. You can't argue with his faith life though. Greg is a great christian guy and I respect him for showing it. For me the highlight of the wedding service was when it turned into a praise and worship christian rock concert. Usually that kind of music turns me off but it was pretty good in this situation. Sure the 'message' could have used some more substance but it was good to hear something different. If nothing else it helped reaffirm my faith.

Here is a picture of Jason (another dutch-canadian-christian-technologist), Greg and me.

A Touching Elephant Story (Its True!)

In 1986, Mkele Mbembe was on holiday in Kenya after graduating from college. On a hike through the bush, he came across a young bull elephant standing with one leg raised in the air.
The elephant seemed distressed so Mbembe approached it very carefully. He got down on one knee and inspected the elephant's foot, and found alarge thorn deeply embedded in it.
As carefully and as gently as he could, Mbembe worked the thorn out withhis hunting knife, after which the elephant gingerly put down its foot. The elephant turned to face the man and with a rather stern look on its face, stared at him. For several tense moments Mbembe stood frozen, thinking of nothing else but being trampled. Eventually the elephant trumpeted loudly, turned and walked away.
Mbembe never forgot that elephant or the events of that day.
Twenty years later he was walking through a zoo with his teenaged son. As they approached the elephant enclosure, one of the creatures turnedand walked over to near where Mbembe and his son Tapu were standing.
The large bull elephant stared at Mbembe and lifted its front foot off the ground, then put it down. The elephant did that several times then trumpeted loudly, all the while staring at the man. Remembering the encounter in 1986, Mbembe couldn't help wondering if this was the same elephant. Mbembe summoned up his courage, climbed over the railing and made his way into the enclosure.
He walked right up to the elephant and stared back in wonder. Suddenly the elephant trumpeted again, wrapped its trunk around one ofthe man's legs and swung him wildly back and forth along the railing, killing him.

Probably wasn't the same elephant.



thanks to Irene

Camping = Good Times

To all who went camping with me at Guelph lake, thank you for the killer time. It was probably the best trip to date for some of us. Here are some pics that should be self explanatory for anybody who was there. For those who weren't, I'll fill in the gaps.
Look its a homemade Lakeport. Just when I thought I had run out, Jocelyn whipped it up. Why is there a donut on top of it?

Here is the neighbour kid with the shirt sucking wedgie. This is the type of picture you get when people borrow your camera.

Tim taking a pic. We did that a lot.
The guys shooting things. We did that even more.
See.
Mmmm donuts.
Devon is grabbing yet another Busch. Dude, you should have stopped then.
Jocelyn and a girl whose name I forget.
Josh doing TWO bad things the week before he gets married.
Joel having a good time. He had a good time the whole weekend.

Thanks for the good times people and I'll see y'all next year!

Pilate = Excercise

The latest cds I have been enjoying for the past month are:

1. Stephen Fearing – Yellowjacket
A great disc I picked up on the spur of the moment after reading something in the paper about his 'intimate' performance at the Tulip Festival. It is essentially a pop album but his great voice, interesting lyrics and unique sound keep it different enough for me to enjoy. He is one of those Canadian artists who will never achieve huge fame (a la Micheal Buble) but keep on trekkin because of their love of music and it shows.

2. Mark Knopfler and EmmyLou Harris – All the Roadrunning
Who would ever think I would end up listening to a country album. I guess it was bound to happen after listening to copious amounts of Folk-Rock from Iron and Wine and Bright Eyes. I have never really cared for either Mark Knopfler or EmmyLou Harris on their own. Singing together brings out the best in each while leaving out the annoying country twang and classic rock guitar solos. It’s a solid disc that I have listened to over and over again. Plus, Irene likes it too.

3. Pilot Speed formerly Pilate – Sell Control for Life’s Speed
One of my favourite bands, and another Tulip Festival performer. These guys know how to make a solid album. This album is not straying from the sound of ‘Caught By The Window’ but that is definitely not a bad thing. The melodic angst ridden music reaches a high on a track called ‘Turn the Lights On’. It’s a sad song and I am a huge sucker for sad music. It sounds a lot like Starsailor or a slowed down version of Muse. All in all it has got me hooked like only a good cd can.
Check it out.
On a side note, I think they had to change their name because of legal issues in the USA due to the similarity of their name to the excercise routine....

Sickening

Recently a good friend of mine wrote a great blog about the pedophile political party in the Netherlands getting enough votes to qualify for government funding. Its ridiculous but inevitable in today’s world. But a seemingly random guy commented on his blog. I wanted to know who this guy was and when I clicked to his blog it was all about how he was a pedophile and how he was trying to create ‘rational’ discussion on the topic. I guess everything ends up on the internet eventually. Sickening.

The Average Parisian’s View of Muslims

Almost every morning I take the bus out to Kanata with this guy who recently moved here from France. He currently lives down the road from me so we are usually catching the same buses and transferring at the same stop. He always sort of stood out and I am convinced that it is because his clothes are way more stylish than anybody else on the bus. Its something you notice with Europeans and Montréalers.
I just happened to start talking to him one time after chasing and failing to get a bus to stop for us. We had 15 minutes to kill until the next bus came.
Over the past few months we have talked on and off and got to know each other quite well. Two weeks ago when the Lebanon vs Israel war was just starting again we started talking about muslims and our respective views on them. Personally I find the media and governments (mostly the media) paints things too black and white. For instance, on TV they are showing all the Lebanese Canadians coming back with all these horror stories of bombing raids and dieing children. They are trying to shock people into thinking the government is doing nothing while condoning Isreal’s indiscriminate killing of innocent people. On the other hand the government really isn’t in any position to do anything because they have no military and therefore no presence. Also, Israel’s goal is not to kill Lebanon but the Hezbollah government in Lebanon. And it was the Hezbollah who started this and brought it upon themselves. They broke the uneasy ceasefire in the first place. Really all the blame should be on them. But that doesn’t really give Israel the right to kill innocent civilians. It is all too complicated an issue that stretches back decades, even centuries and it can’t be solved in a little known blog entry.
But getting back to my point which was the average Parisian’s view of muslims. When he started talking about muslims I was almost shocked at his non-canadian views. He spoke with such force of his distaste of muslims that I was thinking it was racist. He said ‘That is the typical Canadian’s world view and it will be Canada’s downfall’ when I pointed it out. I told him that I have worked with very devout muslims and found them to be very good people. He said that was maybe 0.0001% of them. He went on to explain that in Paris, like the rest of Europe, muslims were slowly taking over. The attitude they exude is that they own the country and they are above the laws of the land. Ordinary rules were written for ordinary people. They are slowly pervading every part of the country because the residents originally had the attitude that Canadians have now. Nobody wants to be perceived as racist, nobody wants to not let immigrants from specific countries in.
He said that the younger generation (my generation) is finally getting sick of being pushed around. They are realizing that their freedoms are being taken away from them by immigrants who refuse to even learn their new countries language. This newfound patriotism is what led to the riots in Paris last year. The angst between the two sides is bringing out violence on both sides. Is this the future of Canada? Other immigrants (Indian, Italian, Asian) all assimilate to a degree and even if they don’t they don’t try to take over their new country. It is only muslims, pushed by their violent and aggressive religion who are told explicitly to go out and conquer the world. And it is in a totally different sense than the Christian mandate.So what are we supposed to do? Reject them? Fight them? Not let them in? I don’t know but its something I will definitely look out for when I am in Paris next spring the Lord willing.

The Life of Pi

I just finished reading 'The Life of Pi' by Yann Martel. It was a good book and hard to put down but the ending is still bugging me. If anybody else out there in bloggerland read the book please could you tell me what you think happened at the end. Was the entire story with the tiger made up? This will bug me every time I think about that book. On the other hand it was a very entertaining read and I recommend it.
Currently I am reading a book called 'Great Streets'. It discusses what makes a good street and which streets of the world are the greatest. My favourite street in the book so far is Paseo de Gracia in Barcelona. It’s probably because it has so many of Antonio Gaudi’s buildings on it. He even did some lamp stands and mosaics on the sidewalks. Why can’t North America have any streets like that? I will definitely have to check it out when I go there.
The other interesting thing the book mentioned is that the Champs Elysees in Paris (probably the most famous street in the world) is lacking and although it once was a great street, it is taking a turn for the worse. Either way, I want to see it anyway.
The last great book I just finished is by one of my favourite authors, Philip K. Dick and is called ‘Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep’. It is more commonly known, to those who have seen the movie, Blade Runner. A fantastic book and one of the few movies I actually own. So I watched it right away.

The creation of a thousand forests is in one Acorn

My new band of the week is The Acorn. I found out about them from a CBC radio program called Fuse. The program airs once a week on Wednesday night. It hosts a variety of artists, some famous (by Canadian standards) and some not so famous. The artists are paired up and music is made. Some of the more well known artists to play were Ron Sexsmith, Hawksley Workman, Rufus Wainwright and Stephen Fearing. Most of the shows are live at the studios here in Ottawa and the tickets are free.The Acorn, an indie band from the Ottawa Valley, was teamed up with two top classical orchestra players playing a chello and violin I believe. I tried to get tickets, was too late, and ended up not even catching the show on the radio. But I did some research online and downloaded their Live at Royal Albert Hall disc off their website. Download it for yourself here. It is definitely a decent indiepop disc and supposedly the new disc is quite a bit better. I am going to check it out for sure. These guys could be going places......

Funnies

Click this link to find out what nationallity you are with respect to the Zidane affair.
Funny stuff.

Bluesfest is No Joke

When I heard the Ottawa Bluesfest was starting up again for the year all I really heard was that Great Big Sea was playing. Don't get me wrong, they are cool, but not worth 30 bucks. Then I picked up a paper at the bus stop and it showed all the bands playing on just the main stage. It turns out that the event spans three weekends and two weeks. There are 5 stages throughout downtown showcasing somewhere around 75 bands. And they aren't your usual Canadian bands playing in front of unenthusiastic old people. Just a glance at the schedule brought to my attention The Stills, Matt Mays, Sam Roberts, Blue Rodeo, Live and closing out the show on the final Saturday is one of my favorite bands, Wilco. I didn't even know there where more Wilco fans in Ottawa. And this is only on the main stage. If you wander around to the other stages you could catch Broken Social, Feist, Malajube, Wintersleep, Fiery Furnaces, Metric, The New Pornographers, The Acorn, Controller.Controller and Torngat. This weekend is going to be the biggest night of concerts for Ottawa and I am not going to be there because I will be camping. Oh well, next year I am going to have to plan a little better. A pass for the entire time is just over 100 bucks which seems decent.Yup, definitely going to have to plan better.

What an End to the World Cup!

Can you believe what Zidane did?!?
Unreal! How can you headbutt a guy in the chest? First off, who does that? Second, who does that in the world cup final when you will probably never play in one again.
He must have been paid off by the mob.

Music Switch

Last week the battery on my MP3 player died and I did more than switch the battery. I switched the music too. I tend to leave music on if I like it and I really liked it so I had no real reason to change it. But I was getting new cds and the best way to get into them is to listen on the bus. So I switched from Iron & Wine, Belle & Sebastien, The Shins, Wilco and The Libertines to some more mainstream pop from the likes of Richard Ashcroft, Mark Knopfler & EmmyLou Harris, Stephen Fearing and because I could resist, Wilco's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. Has it improved my busride? No. But what has improved my busride is construction which now forces the bus to drive closer to my work.
As a side note, Wilco is closing out the Ottawa Bluesfest on the main stage this year and I am going to be missing it because of a camping trip. Oh well. Maybe they will be back next year.

What a crazy weekend!

Last friday the company went white water rafting. Now unbeknowest to us, the Ottawa River has some of the best (i.e. craziest) white water in North America. So needless to say, it was awesome. We even got the DVD so maybe I will post some pics later. Anyway, after that we drove back to Ottawa and played some hockey. Now I got roped into organizing another hockey outing. Should be cool if I can find some free time.
On Saturday morning I went to the home of a woman in our church to rip up her carpet. We hadn't realized how much carpet it was until we got there. Jeff and I ended up staying all day.
Then Sunday we did the whole fathers day thing. We got my father-in-law a personalized licence plate that says 'DELTA 4CE'. He calls his research group the Delta Force because it has something to do with their enzymes or something like that. So, no, it has nothing to do with him looking like Chuck Norris.

Go Nederlands!

Ah yes, there is nothing like leaving work early to catch a world cup game with a pint of beer! (Thats Carlsberg, not Budweiser)
Go Holland!

The Last of the Wedding Pics

Check out the last load of wedding pictures here and honeymoon pictures here.
And please, if anyone has any pictures from the wedding, send them to me or Irene!
Please!!!

I Hate Suburbs: Reasons #149 & 262

Let me put this into perspective. I hate suburbs. I have probably grown to hate them more as I learn more about them in this crazy industry called construction. I have several reasons but we won't get into all of that.
When I worked for Farrow Architects it was in a really cool neighbourhood called Westboro here in Ottawa. It is one of those self sustaining areas that draws specialty shops and great restaurants. It also draws rich people. But I loved the area and the I thrived on the movement of the city there. On the flip side, I have now switched jobs to work for Vandenberg out in Kanata. Kanata is known for the high-tech industry, Scotiabank Place (what a dumb name) and suburbs. It is one of the 5/6 main suburbs separated from the city by, what else, a 'green' belt.
Anyway, I get off the bus on inbetween a business park and suburbs. I walk for ten minutes through suburbia until I get to my office which is actually a really cool building other than its location. So during my walk while listening to Bright Eyes or Iron & Wine or Belle & Sebastien I get to take in the wonderful sights and sounds of suburbia waking up and going to work.
So my Reason #149 is this. I got off the bus a little earlier one day and there was no cars. I thought it was weird because usually it is impossible to cross the road for fear of getting run over by a suburbanite on his way to work in the big city or a perfectly manicured business park. But it turned out that everbody in suburbia is a clone because not more than 5 minutes later everyone got in their cars and and drove out of their garage to head to work. It was like flicking a light switch. So thats my reason: Everyone (yes I know its a generalization - get over it) in suburbia is cloned.
Reason #262 is more of an Ottawa thing. In the GTA and GHA people know what landscaping is. Here in Ottawa, however, people think landscaping is putting a few flowers in the front bed and keeping the grass green. They just don't know any better or they just don't care. In the Horseshoe people don't think twice about dropping over 10 grand on some big rocks and plants. I am not saying that you have to but at least try making some half decent flower beds. Granted you have to get a good company to do it. My point is, if you are going to live in an area where all the buildings are identically ugly, than the least you could do is make your yard stand out by looking relatively interesting.
Anyway, thats enough ranting for today.

Painting is Fun

We recently painted our appartment. It was fun. Someone told us that it would really test our relationship. It didn't. I think maybe if we were painting our house (if we had one) I would be a little more of a perfectionist i.e. anal. That might have put some strain on our relationship.
Anyway I think it looks pretty decent. Pretty classy. Good choice of colours Irene!

The bedroom is a chocolate brown which is also pretty cool.
And on the same night (yesterday) I captured a great picture of the view off our balcony looking towards Andrew Hayden Park. Notice the sailboats on the water. Can you see Josh rippin along out there? Nope its too small.

I have been Deleted

I checked the Farrow Architects website and little over a week after leaving the company I have been deleted from the "Personnel" list. Its funny because it took me a month to get on to that list.

Sickened

Finally I am feeling better. After about three weeks of exhaustedness and a general feeling like crap I decided (or or other people decided for me) that blood tests would be a good idea.
So apparently I had mono. Now that I am recovered that information is very important to me. But I suppose it could have been worse.
Anyway I have got to get to work. If anything my new job is more busy than my last one. But I am loving it. Its weird how in school every project is a pain but once you get paid for it its suddenly something interesting. I think it has something to do with the fact that at the end of the day you can drop it and get on with the rest of your life. You don't have to go home and continue working on the stuff you were just working on all day at school. At least that was my experience with school.

I Have Been Poached!

I have resigned from my job. Less than 3 months after starting at Farrow Architects Inc. I have been offered a job by Ralph Vandenberg Architect. This apparently happens a lot in the Architectural Technology field, especially in Ottawa. I am not going to go into the specifics of why I would rather work at Vandenberg but the biggest reason would have to be job atmosphere and project variety. I hope and pray that I will fit in well with the company. It is a small firm of 6 people with projects ranging from high end residential fit-ups and restaurants to condos and large scale retirement homes.
Just when my life was starting to develope a sense of routine....
In any case I start my new job on Monday April 24.

Wedding Pics #2

We have finally posted some more pictures. Check them out here. They are a selection of the official (from Corny) and unofficial (from Jason) pictures. Feel free to copy them for yourself.

I Am Morally Against My Job

What do you do when you are paid to do something you think is wrong? Right now I am working on a strip plaza project in Napanee. The problem is I think strip plazas are making our country uglier by the day. I think they are horrible. They promote the things I hate the most: Suburbs and Driving.
What do I do?

Wedding Pics # 1

So now that I am married (hopefully more on that in a later post) I am not less busy. Nope life never seems to get slower. Right now I am banking on life getting a little slower in retirement but the track record is not looking too good. From finishing school to finding a job to starting a job to moving to getting married it was quite insane. But why am I still so busy? I don't know but I am sure it has something to do with quantum physics.
Anyway the point is everyone wants pictures of the wedding but I have no time to post them. We don't have internet at home so I have to do it at work which is slightly annoying. It hasn't worked to well.
Hopefully on the long weekend we can work something out although family is coming up and I am sure we will be busy.

However before you get all dissappointed b/c of the title of this post, Irene's mom uploaded some pictures from her camera. Check em out here. You see, the solution was to get someone else to post pics for us.
Have fun in the sun!

One Way to Annoy Liberals....

I saw this bumper sticker a while back and recently found it online. I circulated it around the office and needless to say the liberals were annoyed. So redneck yet it was on a Canadian vehicle (probably a truck).

IT HAPPENED!!!!

Call me a geek but I did a print screen at the event I mentioned in the previous post. For those who missed it, you can now view the actual image taken at the precise second. It will never happen again folks, just think of it. NEVER!

For those of you who are into into Numerology

In a desperate attempt to get back into the blogging thing I am posting a short quasi-interesting blurb. Perhaps it will lead to more meaningful entries.

I found this tidbit of info mildly amusing....

At 1:02:03 on Tuesday, April 4 it will be the only time ever where it will be 01/02/03/04/05/06.

Unless you are one of those annoying people who put the month before the day than it already happened.
Slightly cool isn't it?

I Always Thought The Oscars Were Pointless

But guess what movie won best picture. Yup thats right Crash won. I guess they must know something about movies at these awards shows......
Nah it must have been a mistake. They can't have actually intended to give the award to a good movie.
Yup I was right all along the Oscars are still pointless.

Crashed into a good movie

I saw Crash last night. I had heard some things about it but nothing dramatic. But I loved it. I think a good way to describe it is a movie about modern american racial discrimination. I thought it got the point across quite well. I am not going to bother writing about the movie but it had good acting and great plots with just the right amount of twists. You really feel for all the people. Some of the swearing was a little bit much but I think it was ok for the type of movie. I like how it didn't rely on gangs and killing and that type of stuff. It is a uplifting and a depressing movie all at once. Watch it.

Our Apartment

So we are officially renting our apartment now. It is a spacious multi-room dwelling normally used by royalty but for some reason we can afford it. No actually its quite small but perfect for the two of us. The kitchen is a decent size (see the pic with Irene in it)

The apartment also sports a dining / living area thats big enough to have a decent amount of people over. Living Rm with a View^

The master (sorry) only bedroom is hopefully big enough for our bed and all of Irene's clothes. We shall see about that.

The view is a decent sunset view of the Ottawa River and the Gatineau Hills in behind which can be quite nice. The only thing with the sunset is that the apartment can get really warm in the summer.

In the basement of the apartment there is an excercise room and two squash courts, laundry room and a pool table. I need a pool cue. There is also some storage space and a bike room. We also are paying a little extra (10 bucks/month) for indoor parking. All in all it will be exciting.

We are moving all of Irene's stuff up this weekend. Packing on Friday and unloading it all on Saturday morning. Hopefully we can start to get the place set up on Saturday too.

I will be living there till the wedding. Just think, little ol' Reuben has to be a bachelor for a few weeks. Should be interesting.

Thats it for now. You could probably check Irene's blog for a more emotional and in depth look at the apartment situation if you were so inclined.

^Irene in the Kitchen (no - not where she belongs)

The Bedroom>

Coincidence

A weird thing happened to me today. As I was driving to work I absent mindedly checked out the car I was following and noted a bumper sticker that I recognized. Now the weird thing was when I was on the on ramp onto the 417 on my way home 8 hours later I was behind the exact same car. Now what, I ask you, is the chance of that happening?

Update on my Life

So for anybody that actually reads this blog:

As of Monday, February 6 I have started my job at Farrow Architects after turning down several job offers. So far the job is great. The people are great (really busy but still great). The job atmosphere is good too. All in all I am enjoying myself immensely. The firm has about 10 people so it is not so large that you become a dismissable number. The guy I share my office with, an intern architect from Carlton U. is into exactly the same music as me. It works out well as we can play music without pissing each other off. I still find it amazingly coincidental that he not only has heard of Sigur Rose but loves their "hopelandic" music as much as I do.

Irene and I have chosen an apartment which will be availiable on March 1st. It is William Mosgrove Towers in Ottawa. For a one room apartment it isn't too bad. It features a large kitchen and living / dining room with beautiful sunset views of the Ottawa River and the Gatineau Hills in the background. It is also right on bus route to my work so I plan to sell my car. Any takers?

The wedding planning is progressing and I am confident that everything will come together for the big day on March 18th 2006.

Thanks for joining us more updates will follow...

A University Education

I often wish I had the chance to get a University Education. I would have majored in something like the languages, sociology, psychology or the classics. These types of courses or majors or whatever you want to call them will not teach you how to put together a building or how to design a ship. Those types of skills will definitely make you money out in the real world. But is life all about money? Of course not. Life is so much more and to experience it you must learn about how it works - not how to work it. So that is why I would want to experience a university education. It would teach you about life. Not necessarily skills for life but about life in general.

The reason I did not go to University was:
A) The cost: I could not afford it and still would not be able too. I never made as much money on my summer jobs as my University going friends. But I never needed to make more because God always provided the perfect amount. My bank account was always at something like $0-25 when I started my next job. And if I had been requiring more money for something like university I am sure it would have been there.

B)The pressure: I never did all that well in High School. I got average marks quite consistently. I did quite well throughout the year especially on assignments where I found that the harder I worked the more marks I received. What ended up bringing my mark down from a high 80 / low 90 to a more average sounding 70-75% was always the exam. I was never good at studying and it showed. The other thing I disliked was writing essays. I have been told that I wrote decent essays (that is what the marks said) but I think I got the marks by making the title page look fantastic. Either way I disliked organizing my thoughts into a clear, concise and coherent 1000 words as I am sure anyone who reads my blog can agree.

Both of these reasons turned out to not be valid. First of all money is not a big deal when you are young. You will have plenty of time to make it back once you start working. And when I look at half of the idiots in university now I can definitely say that "If they can do it, so can I." Also one of the things you learn in university is how to organize your thoughts into a clear, concise and coherent manner. If that is not a useful skill for any job I don't know what is.

So to sum this whole blog up I just wish I went to university and then to college. I find college teaches you to be too logical. That is a great quality if you are building a house or designing a ship but not so useful when debating the war in Iraq or the effects of so called “freedom of the press” in Denmark etc. I guess what I am trying to say is I really respect those smart people in universities even though most of them are too idealistic for their own (or anyone’s) good. But that is what makes a university education so good. It makes you more ready to accept change and to incite it (or to know why it should or should not happen). But look at all the good changes that have happened because of what was started in a university. Obviously this is a very debateable point but really where would we be without universities and the issues they have been dealing with since the renaissance.

Wedding Planning

This is wedding planning from my point of view. I think I am the average guy. I am not one of those guys who says its the woman's job to plan it. I do not think it is right to say that all I will do is wear a tux and show up and say "I do." But I am definitely not the kind of guy who really enjoys the whole experience of wedding planning.

In my opinion the whole wedding planning situation is over done, over emphasized and over blown. From my experiences so far anything and everything that has to do with a wedding is automatically over priced. For example you can buy a normal pen for what? Five cents? But a beautiful feather pen with some large synthetic feather sticking out costs thirty dollars. (I bet you get less ink with that too seeing as the feather is taking up all the room in the pen.)

It seems that everywhere you go people ask you about details like what colour are the dresses and what type of flowers you are using. People seem to assume that you will be doing what is traditional in our part of the world. That is spend obscene amounts of money on one day. I heard the average amount spent on weddings is far into the 10-20,000 ($CAN) range.

That said, the day is very special and I can not wait for it to come. I want everything to run smoothly and I want everyone to have a good time. So there seems to be a fine balance between caught up in what the world does and actually having a wedding where the one thing that really does matter is the fact that two people are starting their lives together. The focus should be on the fact that God is at the center of all of this and not how many tiers there are on the wedding cake. I think our wedding has found that perfect balance (or as close to it as Irene will let me).

Irene has all these dreams about what she wants her wedding to look like. I can visualize it too but I have heard from almost everybody who gets married that you do not remember much of the big day. Thats why you get pictures I guess....

Blogging 2

Ok I think I have this blogging thing figured out. If you look at the sidebar to the right of the screen I have added links to some websites and links to blogs of friends of mine. Enjoy 'em. I also filled out some of my profile questions.

Thats it for now because we have to fly out to Ottawa tonight where we plan to dine at Boston Pizza and spend all day Saturday looking at apartments.

Hope we find something...

Moving to Ottawa

So if you did not get my email about moving to Ottawa than you would most likely not be reading this.
Yes, moving to Ottawa, what are my thoughts on this? Well when I started looking for jobs I just wanted whatever I could get. As the job search progressed I became a little more picky. I refined my search methods and every chance I got I would show any potential employers my transcript, references and letters of reference. I found that if they never saw any of those I was just another guy with a resume.
Anyway I ended up with a couple job offers and four other potential job offers. I had thought that once you get a job offer its easy. You accept and start working. I had not prepared for making some serious decisions about how it would affect Irene's job or where we would live or how the wedding plans would be disrupted. But I made the decision to take this job offer in Ottawa after much prayer and consideration.
In any case it will be an adventure and at least I know that I am marketable. Although I will be barely be making enough money to support two people, God will guide us as we start our lives together.

Blogging

Is this whole thing worthwhile? I mean, why blog? Does anybody care what I think about things? Probably not so why am I doing this?
The answers to those questions are:
-Probably not
-Who knows
-Of course not. In todays world noone cares about what other people think. Or at least that is what we are supposed to believe. Wow that could turn into a huge discussion.
-I still have no idea although I was deeply impressed with a friends blog and my fiance is also using it for good purposes. We shall see if I keep it up. Judging by past projects - not very likely.

What a weird feeling. My first blog.