One of these Things is Not Like the Others

Click photos to enlarge

Originally I was planning on writing a post about how different my present location is from my location one year ago, but then I started thinking about all the other places I've lived. The photos above are arranged in the order of date lived in: Victoria, BC; Kelowna, BC; Singapore; Banff, AB. I'm not gonna say anything more, let's let the pictures do the talking this time around, eh?

photos (cc) me

a Photoblog - Victoria, a Bit of Old England

photos by me

Birthday Blog

Sorry about the lack of posts in the last while (Music Mondays aside). I've been on the busy side, researching for my blog posts on the Grid, working lots, and then travelling to Vancouver and Victoria. It's been a busy couple of weeks.

Victoria has been rad, suffice to say. Brought a friend over who had never been to the Island before, so I got to play the part of tour guide for a day or two. Went to a Janelle Monae concert (again), and she was simply astounding (again)! Covered "You Only Live Twice" and "Goldfinger," among others. And then it was my birthday, so I went to see the peacocks and we chased ladies together. I'll have picture later, I promise.

Now I'm taking a quiet day off, sitting at my laptop and writing one of those aforementioned Grid blog posts. One down, one to go: due date is tomorrow! After that comes a week for reviews and edits, then it'll go live... uhm... July 11th, I believe. I'll have that link here on my personal blog, don't you worry.

So with that, I better get going! Tomorrow is Canada Day, so I already know I won't get anything done at all. Cheers!

Photo by Will Clayton

on Graduations

Something about my "Downtempo" playlist gets me all emotional and nostalgic every time. This time 'round, I'm reminiscing on the long lost days of high school, which I was also considering back in Singapore. I'm not just missing some of those old friendships (and wishing I had done a better job at maintaining them), but the lifestyle high school offered. Carefree certainty. You always knew what to expect, always knew what you would be doing a year from now.

Life was simple: do well, get the grades, next year you'll move up a number.

Come to think of it, university has been somewhat the same. You go through much the same motions, moving from year to year until BAM. You've graduated. And then what?

It's been odd, though. "Real life" hasn't hit me the way that I expected it would. Maybe it's because my degree is still pending, maybe it's because I only finished up on Tuesday... maybe the truck full of bricks needs some time to arrive.

But back to high school and that other graduation. I really screwed up there, and I've learned a lot since then. I coasted through my first year at UVic as if it were grade thirteen, but slowly started cutting off the ties to my high school friends. Upon moving to Kelowna and UBCO I cut nearly all connections to my hometown, and have been continually pruning my list of friends with each passing year. It's at the point where every time I go home to the Island I can visit pretty much every friend I still have, even when I'm only back for a few days. It's convenient for sure, but a little disheartening at the same time.

Maybe it's time to pull at some threads and see what unravels.

Photo by me

a Photoblog: Victorian Water Fowl

all photos by me

Snow Days

Mother Nature has apparently decided that the West Coast hasn't had enough winter loving in the last few years. My hometown of Victoria has been hit with a considerable dump of snow apparently, as has Vancouver, and the weather conditions in Seattle, WA, have been granted an appearance on CNN.

Here in Kelowna, I'm sat at a chilly -20, though it "feels like" more when wind chill is taken into account. This might be one of the most hilarious parts of weather reports during the winter: on top they'll give the actual air temperature, and then below (usually in italics or a different colour font) will be the "feels like" temperature. Hilarious, but depressing.

All in all, though, I'm glad to be in Kelowna. Yes, it's a temperature difference of over fifty degrees from Singapore (aieah!), but people in this city know how to deal with winter. Victoria? Not so much. Cancel ALL THE THINGS.

Really, that's all I want to say. Doing that thing where I procrastinate from writing again. Heheh.

photo by me.

Music Monday: Home at last, right?

After a hectic week and a confusing travel day (arriving before I leave? Sure, I guess that's cool) I'm finally back in Victoria. I'm home. Or at least that's what it's supposed to feel like.

Yesterday night I caught myself referring to Singapore as home, as if my time in Vic is just a quick vacation before I head back to my dorm in the tropics. And it is just a quick vacation; in two weeks I'll be packed up and ready to move to Kelowna. Really, I'm not sure where "home" is right now. Part of the confusion of being in a in-between period, I guess.

There are plenty of other Kings of Convenience songs that I would feature before this one, but "Homesick" resonates with me at the moment. Listening to the Kings has been a part of my efforts to acquaint myself with autumn before arriving home. It didn't work. The fall weather, the short days, the Christmas saturation... it was all very overwhelming. But oh well.

I don't really have the time, or the frame of mind, to say much more, so here's a video of the boys performing live. It's a funny coincidence that the performance is from Singapore, eh? Anyway, enjoy! I promise to have some travel photos up before Christmas.

a Photoblog: Island Living

a Few More of those Favourite Things

Haven't posted any "real" blog stuff in a while, so I might as well do a list post. Here's what's keeping me going right meow:

Tim Horton's coffee and donuts are a Canadian staple. I love my double-doubles, sour cream glazed, chocolate glazed, maple dips, and turkey clubs. Unfortunately I can't get those in Singapore. I'm trying to do the math on how many Tim Bits (donut holes) I'll need to buy in Vancouver for my flight to Shanghai.

McDonald's Dollar Drink Days are one of the first signs of summer. As terrible as it may be, I love going into the drive-thru and coming out with a large Diet Coke for a little bit of spare change. I'm in at least four times a week. I may have an addiction.

Adele, particularly her song Rolling in the Deep, is one of my go-to summer playlist favourites. Even better are the amount of great covers of her material, so I can have multiples of the same song on my playlist and sing to each one. Also, I finally figured out what all the background singers' lines are. Victory!

Roller Coaster Tycoon became one of my favourite games the moment I started playing it. I recently reinstalled it on my family PC and have been glued to that machine ever since. My only problem is that I tend to make the rides "too intense" so no-one will go on them. Boo on you, wussy AI.

Living on an island and being able to hit the beach and the fact that it is finally hot outside. I love beach combing, suntanning, swimming, having bonfires, and all that good outdoor summer seaside stuff. Thankfully my next move will be to a tropical island. I might have plotted this in advance.



images by flamster2468, StayProud, jprice325, Mike Overall, and me

Oh Summer, where art Thou?

The end of term can't come fast enough. I already know that I'm going to come out of the summer broke, but it will be entirely worth it with what I have planned. And just what do I have planned, you ask? Travel. Lots and lots of travel. Here's quick peek at what's to come.

Moving back to Victoria, for a couple months at least. I can't wait to get back home, because Vic is such a great place to be in the summer. Depending on my job situation, I could have a tonne of free time on my hands, so island exploration could happen in bulk. I'll only have about two months there, though!

Shortly after moving back to Vic I'll be jet setting to Turkey with my family on a two week vacation. I've never been to this part of the world before, so I'm using Greece as my most approximate measuring stick. The last family trip we took was to the Czech Republic, and it was a blast. Hoping this will be even better!

Only a few days after I return to Vic from Turkey I'll be hitting Vancouver for the double-header Janelle Monae and Bruno Mars concert. So much anxious anticipation! That said, my summer will likely be peppered with visits to Vancouver and Richmond. That's the joy of living on an island with amazing transportation service.

Summer Seattle Trip will be happening again this year hopefully. We didn't get much of a chance to explore downtown Seattle on the last excursion (someone took a few hours too many in Nordstrom Rack), so that will be top priority this time around. Besides, I'll be trying to keep my wallet tightly closed at this point because of what happens next.

In July I'll be moving to Singapore for at least four months. While there I can assure you that I'll be making trips to the surrounding area. High on the list? Thailand, Bali, Kuala Lumpur, and Borneo. I'm hoping that NUS and UBC will throw some more funding my way to make all this indulgence possible, hah.


Victoria photo by CodyMaH, Turkey photo by kanikey, Vancouver photo by ericr33914, Seattle photo by photoboy1002001, Singapore photo by superdupersumo

Tattoo three, Round two

So today I had my second session at Urge in Vic, my tattoo destination of choice. I've been to two other places in the city, the first of which was terrible, while the second one was good but not good enough to bring me back. Why'd I go back to Urge? Emily. She's my artist.

She has a style all her own. She specializes in "all things rad," which is perfect for me. I like rad things. Better that these rad things are on me, raising my rad-factor tenfold! Also, I promise that I don't have a tiger and unicorn at tea tattooed on me.

I do have a mythological beast, though. My most recent (and hopefully final) addition is a Russian firebird, known throughout the English-speaking world as a phoenix. Yes, I have a story for it but no, I will not be sharing it here. It goes a little deeper than the usual "rising from the ashes" phoenix motifs into the Russian lore. I'm rad like that.

Urge logo by Urge, painting by Emily Shoichet, firebird artwork by an unknown artist

a Picture Challenge: 5 - a Favourite Memory

Funny, this photo seems a tad familiar. Oh, I know why! It's because it was my Ptag avatar for a while. And it's the URL icon thing for my blog. And it's the background image for my blog button (which you should post places. Hint hint). 

But it's also a photo from one of the best days of my life to day. A bittersweet day in hindsight, but a day on which I experienced my first "perfect moment." I wrote about it on Ptag somewhere, I'll try to search down the link sometime.

Anyways, the gist of it is that I was celebrating my best friend's (at the time) 17th birthday, a surprise party which I had a big part in organizing. It was the afterparty that gets the credit for being "that moment," though. We trekked off a path in Brentwood Bay to a small stone beach, lit up a fire, and just hung out until 1 or 2am. It was before the days that drinking was necessary for fun. We talked, laughed, sang, and all the rest for a good five hours. I miss that simple innocence.

Might I ask, have you ever had one of those perfect moments?

Author's Note:

Looks like I've written a few things based on or inspired by this moment over at Ptag...

the Strait

Moments Pass us By

photo by me.

my Influence Map

Have you ever taken a step back and asked why you are who you are? It's not really something you think about too often. It's not something I think about too often. But now is not often; I just pondered those thoughts.

The result? This:

please click for full size view

Pretty nifty, eh? It took some work to put together, and even more work to actually think about. I tried very hard to use only photos that I have taken, but that started to limit the representation of my influences. Here's a bit of an explanation for each one, frame by frame.

Spirituality: I was raised in the Seventh Day Adventist church and attended Christian elementary and high school, so religion played a big part in my development. But not just Christianity, or just religion: I've taken bits and pieces of other philosophies, too, probably like the majority of people out there. (photo by me)

Chris Corner: He's a musician, the front man of IAMX and co-founder of the disbanded group Sneaker Pimps. As with the other artists on this map, it's his way with words that has influenced me most, as well as the messages in his lyrics. (photo by Vera Hofmann)

Sia Furler: Another musician, Sia embodies the childlike, carefree, but mature and political adult. She is outspoken in both her art and in her public life. (promotional photo, no listed creator)

Metric: A Canadian band, with singer Emily Haines at the front. Really, I think it is Emily who influences me the most, but I have to give the rest of the band credit, too. I could listen to their latest album Fantasies all day, and frequently do. (photo by me)

Star Wars: Do I really have to explain this one? The films, the books, the entire mythos behind it all. I was raised on Lucas Arts, and continue to be influenced by the franchise today. (photo by We Made This Ltd.)

t.A.T.u.: I always get lots of flak for enjoying the group t.A.T.u. Most people recognize the girls from their two (English) hits in North America, few know that they lasted as a group for ten years. Once their presence completely faded away in North America I knew I'd never be able to see them perform live. I beat that impossibility, though, by seeing them in Italy while backpacking. (photo by me)

Greek Myth: Besides being a Star Wars nut when I was a kid, I had a major soft spot for Greek mythology. I adored the stuff. I read Homer's Odyssey for fun, only to read it again in AP Literature and then bang my head against my desk in second year English because no-one knew what it was about. (photo by me)

UBC Okanagan: Where do I even start with this one? Moving away from Vic has probably been the single most impacting thing I have ever done in my 21 years of life. It completely changed the direction of my education, earned me a tonne of new friends that I know I can count on for almost anything, taught me so much about myself through living with (completely rad) room mates each year, and given me so many opportunities to experience things I never would have tried if I had stayed in Vic. That about sums it up. (photo by UBC)

Mirrors: I should probably also add windows. I have a strange fascination with them, and both often show up as motifs in my writing. (photo by me)

Island Living: Whenever I need an excuse and don't have anything valid, I usually just retort with, "It's 'cause I'm an island boy." (photo by me)

Home: What do I need to say about this one? My family has had a significant impact on me, and will continue to. I have amazing parents who are determined to present me with every available opportunity that approaches, and a sister who is pretty much my best friend. That, and my family (including me) is rather cooking-oriented, so I'm never starved for baked goods. Ever. (photo by me)

Now, what has influenced or impacted you? Feel free to answer in the comments, or write your own post about it. You can find a blank template for the Influence Map here.

Weekend of Food, part two

I am now back in the sunny Okanagan (not to say that Vancouver Island wasn't equally sunny), and I brought home quite a bit. Movies to watch, books to read, banking to do. And food. I probably brought about 3 or 4 dozen cookies on the plane. Why?

Because my house in Vic was consumed in a baking frenzy all weekend. First I baked cookies. Then my mum baked cookies. Then she baked more cookies. Somewhere in there a pie and a cake both appeared. And muffins. All over the course of about three days.

But that's only the beginning. If I were to give you the itinerary of my weekend home, it would look something like this:

Saturday
Pre-flight Timmy's; donut and hocho consumed.
Post flight Timmy's with sister; donut and hocho consumed.

Sunday
Grilled cheese sammich; cheddar, salami, mustard, and pickles on brown.
Baked cookies; oatmeal cherry chocolate chip.
Thai red curry with the fam.
Two movies with the fave cousin; cookies eaten, popcorn consumed.

Monday
Pancakes for breakfast.
Lunch out with Shawn; sammich!
Timmy's with Kayla; donuts and hocho consumed.
Thanksgiving dinner made; turkey, stuffing, potatoes, balsamic onions, gravy, apple-raspberry pie, pumpkin spice cake.
QV's with Alex; blackberry cheesecake and chai tea consumed.

Tuesday
More cookies baked. Muffins also appeared from nowhere.
Timmy's with Jen; donut and hocho consumed.
Leftover Thanksgiving dinner for lunch.
Leftover Thanksgiving dinner for dinner.

As you can see, I might have a bit of a Tim Horton's addiction. Juuuust a little bit. It doesn't help that there's a Timmy's on campus, either. Oh, and that mysterious word hocho? It's short for hot chocolate. I'm a lazy West Coast Canadian like that. I can't be bothered with all the extra syllables. Same with the word sammich. You'll just have to accept the fact that I'm rad like that.

Pictures of the baked goods will be coming in a future post, likely titled Weekend of Food, part three. Awesome sauce.

Cookie Monster would be proud. Right, Cookie?

Weekend of Food, part one

Because I am a Canadian, I get to celebrate Thanksgiving this weekend. This also means I get to go home! Together, these things mean that many favourite things will be eaten. Let's just say that right now I feel like this:

Omnomnom!

Cookie Monster, Ernie, and Zoe all (c) Sesame Workshop, footage from TLC