Water

Geoffrey once told me a story about how he almost died as a young man. He was fishing on Lake Victoria and trying to travel from one port to another. A storm suddenly came upon the boat and tossed the vessel miles down the lake in fog. When they came ashore, the locals were amazed that they survived, pointing out to them the jagged rocks that protruded near the shore for miles. He truly believes God saved him that day. I asked, a bit perplexed, “Couldn’t you have swam to shore if the boat capsized?” Geoffrey laughed and replied, matter of factly, “Of course not, I can’t swim.”

Many Ugandans have never seen a river or lake, let alone been taught how to float in them. This was a shock to me, one who grew up around pools and lakes and was a lifeguard. In fact, last week in conversation I mentioned that I once worked saving people from drowning and the man I was speaking with looked at me like I was otherworldly.

So, when we took the older boys and girls down to Lake Victoria to see it up close they were in a state of shock. When I slowly walked them out on the dock they were nervous but curious. When I asked who had been near a large amount of water like this only a couple raised their hands. They spent most their time just looking down over the rails.





The day we took the boys it was quite windy and waves were crashing onto shore. It reminded me a bit of home and I decided to take off my shoes and walk in the waves as they were coming in and out. At this point, even the adults were adamant in telling me that I should not touch the water and the kids were telling me that I was going to die. Much to their surprise, I didn’t. After a few minutes of building castles that were destroyed by the waves and digging my feet into the sand, they decided to come closer, picking up rocks and shells that were strewn about. They were curious of the water and its contents. A few days later I found a collection of rocks and smooth glass in the boys home that they must have stuffed in their pockets to bring back.





That time at the beach I will never forget. It was simply outside of the scope of what I knew, the reality of growing up around water. I was reminded of baptism and the image of death and life that St. Paul uses, being immersed as if dying and being brought out as if you have new life. For Ugandans, this image is much more vivid. I remembered Scott telling me that when many of the church members here were baptized they had never gone under water. The prospect of death was in the back of their minds as they were lowered under the waves to a strange, dark, distorted world. There was never any real danger, but the uncertainty of coming back up was a reality.

I am also reminded of the story of Jesus calming the waters. When a storm quickly kicked up on the Sea of Galilee many of the disciples most likely did not know how to swim. I had forgotten just how much the raging sea represented chaos, darkness, death to them. What happened? Jesus brought order, light, life in the midst of despair.

Geoffery and Jack(fruit)

One of the great things about living here for a season is, obviously, the people you get to know. I have been able to spend a good amount of time with one of the pastors, Geoffrey, and thought I would ramble a bit about him.

Geoffrey lives on the property here with his wife, Rose, and his three children Issac, Esther, and Praise (the one in the pic below). They live in a one room house that is essentially a bunk bed and a queen bed. You can see in the pic the space that they have. But, despite the size, Geoffrey is always so inviting and I have spent many times talking with him in there. His joy is infectious and is a testament to how one can find the things in life that truly are important.



Geoffrey is the lead pastor of the church here and he is whom I travel with to different homes in the community. On Monday nights there is a time of prayer, teaching, and food at rotating houses. On other days we simply go visiting. These moments have been humbling but have brought so much perspective. What do you discuss with someone whose life consists of finding food for the day? What do you say to someone who explains how their house almost burnt down last year and they lost everything? Our go to in Canada is “what do you do for work?” Here the unemployment is upwards of 75%. Most of these places consist of grandparents and/or widows and many children. I will post some pics and some more stories about these times soon.



Anyway, back to Geoffrey. He is an avid English reader and consumes the paper whenever I pick it up for him. The other day he noticed that I was just finishing Anna Karenin, a 1,000 page Russian novel, and wanted to “check it out”. He also is a farmer and a cook. His family lives a lot off of the crops grown here on the property and he had me over for dinner the other night. It was great food and I felt honored that they would share what little they had. The meat was especially good and I have asked for him to tell me the next time he is making it so he can teach me. (A quick sidenote: Meat is something that is very rarely eaten here, maybe once a week or once or twice a month. This has been something I have had to get used to as us Canadians can have it upwards of once or twice a day!)

So, Geoffrey and I are quickly becoming friends and, using his words to describe how I feel, “I have learned so much, thank you so very much.” The picture below is one I took walking down a path to the houses in the community. If you have ever met Geoffrey, you know that he is lanky, and walks “dramatically” with long strides and long, swinging arms. It’s funny how it’s the little things you realize you won’t forget and connect the people that have visited here.



When we were doing one of the care and compassion days, handing out mattresses, food, soap, etc..we would ask how far we would have to walk with the supplies if the truck wouldn’t go any farther. I had heard that Geoffrey, with his long strides, misjudges how long it would take for us mere mortals to get somewhere. SO, being clever, I decided to ask him distance, not time. The first time we stopped he said 200m and what seemed about ½ km later we were there. The next time stop I questioned him how far again. He said. “Maybe…half a kilometer.” I asked, “What if we are walking slowly?” He replied, “A kilometer.”



Jack(fruit)hangs of many trees on the property here. It is quite large and is covered in uncomfortable spikes. One of the first things I noticed was that every day the children were up in the trees knocking on these things with their ears up against them. I was confused until I asked one the children and they showed me that they are seeing if the jackfruit is ripe. If it is, they quickly gather a few others to help them get it down and hike it over to the tree near the kitchen. They strut triumphantly as they are surrounded by all the other children, pushing, watching, hoping to get a good place in line. One of the older boys then cuts up the fruit and hands out the pieces. There is enough for all 50+ kids with some left over.





A few things I have noticed during this circus. The jackfruit can be very sweet, a combination of honeydew, watermelon, and …something entirely different. It is very good but is a bit of a sacrifice eating it as there is a syrupy layer that is worse than sap to get off your hands. The next few hours are a pain if you need to write, type, etc. The kids use leaves to wipe it, but it never seems to work.

Everything rests on the skills of the child testing the fruit before they pick it. The other day one of the children was berated by the others because they had picked a prime jackfruit too early and they were all left with a bland flavor. They have it only, maybe, once a week so it is a big deal to them. I don’t speak Ugandan but it seems that they give the poor “tester” a piece of their mind for a while.

The children line up quickly (as shown in the pic) because Alex and Joseph haven’t quite got the equal cutting down right yet and everyone knows it. The first kids get large pieces and it is only after about 20 kids that it is realized that the pieces need to be smaller. Also, they lose track of the kids as some run off to hoover their piece and come back pretending that they hadn’t got anything yet. I have been thinking about stepping in but I notice that the “moms” don’t and it is interesting watching the policing evolve. Alex just started cutting up 20-30 pieces before he hands them out and it seems to be helping.

Thank you again for all the encouraging messages. The internet has been down in town and it has been raining so I apologize for the delay. The next post will be in 3-4 days hopefully.

-Shaun

Jack

People back home constantly ask me if I am lonely. I usually explain I have over 50 children to keep me company (and sing songs at 7:00 in the morning right outside my window). However, the kids are going back to school after their month break and so I am glad that I met Jack, a local. He’s a good listener and, wouldn’t you know it, understands my Canadian accent. He’s also good for a laugh. The other day someone came by when Jack and I were having a cup of coffee and asked me if I was going to eat him. Who knew cannibalism was common in Uganda! Anyways, Jack and I are discussing him coming back with me in August. I guess he has a cousin or something that lives in L.A.

Odds & Ends

I couldn’t find a theme for this week’s blog entry so I hope the title ties things together. I have included some topics that you, the readers, have been asking about and some things that are new.


Time. Some of you have asked me what I am spending my time doing. Recently, I have been spending a lot of time looking at the desk above. I seem to be teaching almost every day of the week here and on topics that I have to make up the material for. I don’t mind it, though, as I am learning a great deal while preparing. What am I teaching? Well, I meet with three (soon to be four) pastors 1-2 times a week. All of their studies seem to have a different focus and I am even helping one of them with schooling. On top if this, I am teaching at the church in town on Thursday nights, meeting at house groups on Mondays and Tuesdays, and, beginning next week, addressing a group of students at the local college. Did I mention that they are asking me to speak on struggles youth are having, mainly on success as well as, I quote, “fornication”. I am also preparing for a leaders session next weekend that I am a both excited and a bit anxious about.

Doom. When the team came, having read about the ant “issue” I was having, they stocked up on this stuff. Just dump some of the powder when the ants come in and they won’t go near it. There hasn’t been an ant in sight of the kitchen in the past two weeks. However, the little terrors are getting a bit more ingenious as I noticed them beginning to come in through the laundry line and down the shower in the bathroom.

It began with a visit to the boys home to say goodnight. They were sitting around, bored, and simply were excited when I read out English words from their textbooks. So, after a couple nights that, out of recesses of my mind I remembered some games I played when I was their age (I seem to be digging up all of my old tricks as of late). Tick-Tack-Toe, Checkers, some random Dot-Box Game, they all began to come back to me. Anyways, this has turned into a nightly ritual and the boys ask me constantly what game I am going to show them “tonight”. The problem is that I’m running out of games. Help? Please, if you remember things like paper football from grade school please leave some ideas in the comments!



Everyone on the team was pushing me buy a drum to have while I am here. My response was, “What am I supposed to do with an African drum?” Well, for fun, I decided to ask one of the locals to teach me and, lo and behold, I am beginning lessons. The best part about it is that I am using an old drum from the Church until I get good enough to ruin my own.

Jeff, Shannon, & their kids, as I have mentioned, have been such a help to me here. However, in my discussion of them I failed to mention something exciting in their lives. They just adopted a few month old baby from an orphanage in Kampala. This child had been left on the side of the road and taken to the orphanage. The story of how she ended up with them is amazing and the Dycks should tell it…actually, its here(scroll down). Her name is Mazi and although she was fearful of me at the beginning she has warmed up to this “Mzungu”.

Well, that’s enough random topics for now. Thanks for all the emails. They have been so encouraging. Also, keep sending questions as I realize I have tended to forget some things. Oh, and I cut my hair off (with the support of the vote, of course).



more to come...

Here and Gone

The team from Peace Portal Alliance Church left today. It has been a whirlwind week and this is the first time I have been able to sit down and type. It was a week of firsts as I drove for the first time on the left side of the road, visited the equator for the first time, did a first day of care and compassion, visited the Dycks place for the first time in Rakai and met the baby they just adopted, Mazi.

Having the team here (5 people + the Dycks) was great. Everyone jumped right in with the church and the kids and it made for a brilliant time. I got to know Nigel much better and it was good to see the Dickies. Having three mothers around also helped with preparing good food and having a clean place. It was also funny because they had read about my ant dilemma on my blog before they came. They made sure we had all sorts of insect killing chemicals around at all times!

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you for your emails. They have been a glimpse of home.
As promised, I have added some pics of the kids with descriptions. It is hard to put my experience with them into words and, as usual, simply thought I would comment on the photos and mention a couple of stories at the end.


The picture from the top of the post from left to right is Cc (Cee-Say), Sam, and Martin. Cc is a beautiful girl and granddaughter of one of the elder men in the church (more on him in another post). Here smile makes everyone melt. Sam is also a smiler and is missing a bunch of teeth. He is a bit shy but has warmed up to me. Martin is the cook’s son and a terror. That blanket he has I try to avoid at all costs as he wipes his constant runny nose all over it.



I have begun to pull out all the funny tricks, gimmicks, and games that I learned as a child. Here the kids are trying to move the proper finder that I point to. It is hard as they have their arms twisted around. It’s a left brain/right brain trick but to the younger ones it is simply amazing.




Here are the kids playing tick-tack-toe after I taught it to them. Job is on the left and is simply a really kind kid whose English is pretty good.


Tobogganing in Africa


Wasawa Brian. He is a quiet kid but I have found him to be very pure hearted. He is wasawa because he is a twin but his brother died a few years ago. Last week, when one of the kids hurt themselves playing soccer I glanced over and saw him praying for his friend.




Laurence. What can I say? He is a leader here and I use him to communicate with many of the other kids. He looks out for the younger ones and, on top of everything, he is a good soccer player.


Lavonne, this one is for you.

Here I am with Wycleff and Immaculate (CC’s older sister). All the kids sure love the camera and these two are no exception.

A couple of stories.

The third night the group was here we went by the three homes and said goodnight to the kids. Well, when we went by the girls house they proceeded to put on a 20 song show for us, dancing included! The sound of their powerful voices and their smiles is something I will never forget. (A funny side note: We went by to do the same thing a couple of nights later and they performed a skit that had something to do with not eating food that has flies on it to avoid cholera?! Too Funny.)

Going from living in the guest house by myself to having a dozen people here is a big change. I snuck away a few times to read, write, and pray. One of these times, one of the orphan girls came and sat beside me. She didn’t say anything for 20 minutes but was just content to sit there and watch me. I eventually drew a couple of sketches of things that were sitting around us but what amazed me was her contentment in simply sitting and watching. I am beginning to understand Jeff and Shannon’s comment that if the only thing I do is live here, it is enough.

More to come…

Place

Although my time here has been short, I have come to really enjoy the area I am living. The 10 acres is pretty secluded from town and, being on top of a hill, overlooks the whole area. I was finally able to catch a sunrise and it was better than advertised. The coffee wasn’t too bad either!

The property here consists of 3 children’s homes, a church, a medical clinic, a bath house, a guest house, food shelter, 52 orphans, 3 “moms”, a pastor and his family, 5 goats, 3 pigs, a bunch of chickens, a soccer pitch, and a partridge in a pear tree. The pictures here are a glimpse of what the property looks like. I actually walked around and took them when the kids were off getting their haircuts so, unfortunately, there is no one in the pictures. I also knew that if I tried to get the kids to take a few that it would lead to massive confusion! However, the Dycks have returned for the week and the team arrived yesterday. They have already taken some images that I will try to procure.

Greenery & Food Shelter


Guest House

Church & Medical Clinic


Regulation Goal


A couple of quick stories and then I will be off. I went on Friday to the airport to pick Nigel, a team member from the church, up. I haven’t gotten used to driving on the other side of the road yet so I also hired a driver. While getting ready to go he had mentioned just how bad the drivers and roads were here. I was surprised somewhat and mentioned that I hadn’t seen anything too horrible. He told me it was just a matter of time. Sure enough, as we were heading to the airport, we not only nearly ran over a jaywalker who wasn’t paying attention, we also saw a huge truck clip a bicycle overloaded with massive leaves, sending the bike and cyclist flying. He seemed to be pretty shaken up but otherwise alright.


As those who have been here know, most everyone walks or travels by boda (motorcycle). A boda can get you into town and back for a couple of bucks and, depending on the driver, a sore back or a conversation about whether there is AIDS in Canada. The bodas also are used to transport material. Well, while the team is here this week we are doing a care and compassion day. I was asked to pick up mattresses from town so that we could give them out. I asked about transport and Jeff said to get the bodas to bring them up, adding that I would need only one. Sure enough, the driver brought up all six on one trip and when I asked how many he could carry if he had to he said that, on one occasion, he took nearly a dozen! Did I mention that I saw an axel break on a truck a couple of days ago because it was overloaded?

More to come…..

Blogging & Pictures

Blogging & Cameras, two things I am forgetting constantly. I have never carried around a camera before this trip and so I am leaving it out in very discreet places....and still forgetting it. As for blogging, please bear with me and please post comments! I would love to hear from you.

I will try to have a real post up on the weekend. So try back then!

Ugandan Rain + Technology = Lack of Updates

So, when Scott casually mentioned that it would rain maybe once a day for an hour here I thought nothing of it. However, I have since learned that April is especially wet and it has rained for half the day most of the days I am here. As a Canadian, I shouldn’t be concerned except that excess rain + dirt roads + hills = cars in the ditch and any rain + businesses = closed.

This has led the no internet. I braved the elements once and walked down the hill to the main road, soaking wet. I then proceeded to take a motorcycle to town only to find out that the internet “café” was closed. Never again. The next day I went into Kampala (the main city & capitol) with Jay Duncan only to find out the internet was so slow I couldn’t even load blogger. So, I apologize to those whom I told via email to check the site.

Here are a couple of plots thickening on my end:

The ants are taking over my residence. Every night it is an experiment/challenge to see if it is possible to not have any ants crawling around the kitchen in the morning. The one rule is that I cannot use any poison. It has been hard as any piece of bread or any drop of juice leads to hundreds of ants as the following pic attests to:




Last night I had my first mac and cheese comfort meal. I had the leftovers late and left the dish in the sink, filled with water. I thought the water in the sink along with the water in the pot would deter the ants. However, they somehow found a way down the drape, dug a couple pieces of mac out of the pot and when I woke up I found this:




The battle continues.

This afternoon I had to play the part of the excited/disappointed father for 40 orphans. It is the end of the kids first quarter of school and I thought I would watch as their report cards were handed out by Frank (a female worker here) to learn more of their names. Well, next thing I knew she decided to make all the kids, once she read out their results, bring the report to me to look at and let the child know what I thought. So, I tried the best I could to look disappointed for the kids whose marks went down since last year, excited for the kids who have done well, and encouraging to the kids who struggle. It was hard as I was trying not to laugh, especially when one of the kids would come over to me distraught, probably having just been berated for not reading English well.

I will try to post some pics of the kids next time and explain how my work is going. Off to play futball…

A Weekend In

I’m here! After another 8 hour flight I arrived in Uganda at 8 am on Friday. I had a scare that only half my luggage would arrive (especially after what is happening with B.A. at Heathrow) but after some waiting I spotted my second box.

Jeff and Shannon (link) picked me up and took me into Kampala, the capitol and largest city. They showed me around a bit, took me to the only mall (Garden City), and I bought some food for the next day or two. We then dropped Shannon off at an orphanage that she volunteers at and headed to the ten acres, where I would be staying. The car ride from Kampala to Mpigi is about 45 minutes.

After I got settled, Jeff, the boys and I took motorbike taxis into town. I was shown the market, the supermarket, and we met up Jay, a friend who has a guitar workshop there. We came back, had some dinner and I slept very well for my first night..

The rest of the weekend consisted of going back to Kampala to pick up supplies for the team that is coming in a couple of weeks, meeting people around where I am staying, going to church on Sunday, actually preaching at church on Sunday, saying goodbye to Jeff and the kids, and spending the afternoon eating and talking with Michael, who started the church and the community projects here.

I realize that this description is very vague. I have trouble spending any more time on it. However, I thought I would, instead, give some impressions and tell a couple of stories.

The first think I noticed after leaving the airport is that everyone is outside, walking at the roadside, in open air markets, and it really gives a greater sense of community. When I tell people here that most people spend their time inside in Canada they don’t believe me. The closest thing I can describe it as is Granville Street on a Saturday night (minus, of course, the alcohol and the police). It is just that feeling of people everywhere. I will try to take a picture next time I am in the city...



Another thing I am getting used to is the concept of time. Everything is much slower here. Jeff was shocked when a local plumber came the next day to fix a leak in the sink. When I asked someone about when we should meet, they said, “Monday afternoon.” I wanted to clarify. I replied, “When Monday afternoon?” He said, “Monday afternoon.” Well, alright. Monday afternoon it is.

I am overwhelmed by the children. There are over 50 orphans here and they are consistency curious about everything that I am doing. Some are beginning to learn English. However, most cannot say more than their name. But, they rarely have any time with adults. So, although we cannot communicate, I am beginning to realize that just being with them is enough.

I will try to post more pics next time (I always am forgetting to take pictures). Here are a few of the 10 acres and my residence.





More to come…

Switzerland

In the business leading up to my trip, what I needed was some time to relax, think, pray, and just, I guess, BE.

This is exactly what I was able to do in Switzerland. I went and visited the Russell’s who I had gotten to know through house church and have been living over there for the past two years. They were extremely generous hosts and I felt part of the family as I lived and traveled with them for just over a week. Most of my time was spent in a small town just outside of Basel, right on the border between Germany and France. It was relaxing simply being part of their everyday routine, taking the kids to school, having coffee in the morning, going for walks in the afternoon, and sitting around the dinner table at night. I did do a few “touristy” things, going on a walking tour of basel, visiting a couple of museums, going to a stunning church, but stayed away from it for the most part. Here are some pics that Karlin took (sorry that they are unedited):














The weekend I was there we went to the Alps. The Russell's have a flat on one of the local mountains where we stayed and went skiing on Saturday. A quick side note: I had to be fairly apologetic as a boarder as they seem to have a bad rep. on the local mountain. People were almost disappointed when I mentioned that I didn’t ski. Anyways, there was actually new snow in April and we were able to find bits of powder most of the day! That night we celebrated the last ski weekend with some other families at a local pub. On Sunday, Charles and I watched a famous one day bike race (its name escapes me). It gave me a new appreciation for the sport as Charles is very knowledgeable and knows many of the riders.





A couple of things I noticed in my time there:

Apparently many (not all) of the Swiss people are very strict in the ways and do not like outsiders. Charles, Karlin, and the kids told me many stories about being told off for doing pretty non-consequential things. However, I never got yelled at and near the end of my stay it became a bit of a joke. I never got up the courage to run around in town, put my feet up on the bus, take my time checking out at the supermarket, or pee standing up after 10:30. I am regretting it a bit…Here is a shot of the "gang" loitering around town:



The strictness might have something to do with the fact that it is really very quiet and peaceful there. There isn’t much noise, even in town. The kids, even in kindergarten, walk to and from school by themselves. I noticed a cardboard clock in a window of a car and asked Karlin what it was for. She explained to me that when you park you set the clock to the time that you left. That way, if a ticket person comes by they know if you are beyond the limit. I really don’t see this working in Canada…
Some people that have flats in town have little plots of land just outside of it. There are one room cabins, gardens, and fire pits there where family and friends can get together outside. I don’t know how this would work in South Surrey but how great would that be!



My second night there I mentioned to Karlin that I had been watching the second season of Arrested Development on my flights (thanks sis!). Karlin said that the people that lived there before them had left the first season behind. So, every night we watched a couple of episodes while drinking a glass of wine. That show is one of the smartest comedies to come out in a while. Every character cracks me up…


Anyways, I am sitting at Heathrow with a 8 hour layover until my flight to Entebbe. My boarding pass is securely on me (so far) and I am looking out over the runway while typing….more to come…

London

I met up with my Father in London and stayed overnight. Dinner was great (classic sausages and mash) and we wandered the streets. He had to leave early in the morning and my flight wasn't until later so I was able to spend the day in the city. I ate breakfast sitting in the sun outside of the national art galley. I discovered that the gallery wasn't open until 10 so I wandered down to Buckingham palace. I enjoyed the walk in the park more than the palace itself! The impact of the beautiful gardens with the historic buildings in the background was something I never expected.

The Art Gallery was interesting. I spent most of my time looking at the Rembrandt paintings, especially Christ and the Woman Caught in Adultery. It was said that when it first debuted people took off their hats before it in awe. The detail in person is astonishing.

After the Art Gallery I wandered up to the British Museum. The highlight there was seeing the Rosetta Stone and holding some old Roman coins. They are beautiful and heavier that I expected. Also, I had never seen a mummy before, so that was exciting. From here I wandered back to the hotel and got on the tube to the airport. I have myself lots of time (2hours) until my flight. But, of course, something went wrong at the last minute. I somehow lost my boarding pass and kept my receipt instead...I ended up being the last person on the flight as they couldn't find someone to print me a new ticket..

However, I wasn't as embarrassed as the woman who stood up to get a bag after the seat belt sign was put on. There was a delay and the flight attendant made sure to tell the woman, and everyone in earshot of her, that it was her fault for the delay. I guess it is policy if someone gets up for the attendant to call the pilot and, in this case, we lost our place for takeoff and we had to wait 10 minutes. Well, the woman was so embarrassed that she moved to the back of the plane. So kids, now you know what happens if you think your more important than the seat belt sign!

I am here in Switzerland with the Russels. They live in a quiet town just outside of Basel. Hopefully I can get over this jet lag tonight...more to come...

Lucky Guy

Well, the first leg of my journey here has begun. I was supposed to fly out of Vancouver Sunday evening except the plane had a 4 hour snow delay in London. So, actually, we didn't leave until 12:15 or so. A funny story...

When I was booked in by the travel agent she must have placed me in the emergency aisle to give me more leg room. I didn't know this so when I checked in the person behind the counter had a strong accent so I thought they were asking if I knew the emergency procedures. I thought it to be strange but went along with his questioning and was about to explain that I have read those plasticised cards several times when I realized he was asking if I was willing to help people since I was sitting in the isle. I felt like an idiot. Well, he was so impressed that I did get an emergency isle seat that he brought it up several times. He also gave me a food voucher due to the delay.

Anyways, I made it through security and got something to drink using the voucher. I then was talking to Richard Barcaly (who just happened to be on my flight and was the person who actually bought the land that the church in Uganda built upon, but that is another story) and he asked me what seat I was in. Well, I pulled a ticket out of my pocket and it read $10 food voucher. I had given the vendor my boarding pass! Long story short, I got the pass back by cutting in a large lineup and once again bumped into the ticket agent who was impressed by my seat. He took my ticket while saying "oh, its the lucky guy"...no kidding...I was on my way

Send Off Bash

It is Wednesday night before the trip and the reality of leaving is beginning to set in. I am still coughing up green globules but feeling much better after being under the weather the last little bit. Hopefully things continue to look up.

This Friday at 7:30 my family is throwing me a going away/birthday bash at my place here in Surrey. Should be a great way to say goodbye, if only for a season. If you read this and I have not had a chance to speak with you about it, please feel free to come by! I would love to see you before I go.