October 2009

October 23

The Rest of California

I was not incorrect in my observation of the number of Mexican restaurants on every street corner. I learned, soon after my last blog entry, that I actually did have 3 Mexican restaurants available to me within a 1-block radius! There was one on the same block as my hotel, one across the street on the west side of the hotel and one on the north side! It was great :o) The one I went to had mole, so I made sure to take advantage of that.

In any case, I didn't end up doing a whole lot while in California. The main thing I wanted to do while I was there is go see the Angels play the Yankees as I was only a 5-minute drive from the stadium, but the problem is that the game started 13 minutes after my fair ended, and the fair was a 45 minute drive from the stadium. Still, I found out it would be ok to go late, but I didn't think about the fact that I wouldn't be able to get parking, so I never ended up getting to go! The smart thing would have been to just drive to my hotel and take a taxi, but by the time I figured that out, it was too late to really go to the game.

I did go see the historic district of Orange, CA. I read that they had the highest concentration of antique malls in the state or the country or something. I thought there might be some nice, old architecture, or something, so I went there, but it actually wasn't that exciting. Most of it wasn't even picture-worthy. However, the one thing about some of the antique stores I went to reminded me of being at my grandma's when she used to have all her old dishes and stuff. It smelled the same and reminded me of the simplicity and the hardships of old times. I was also disturbed to see some things in the antique stores which were not antiques when I was a kid! Way to make a person feel old! So a couple of the photos I included are from the inside of the antique stores.

I drove to San Diego on Wednesday night and felt it would have been a pretty drive to do by day when you can actually see the ocean, along which you drive for much of the way. At least I had a harbor front view. I didn't get to spend any free time in San Diego beyond the hour before I had to leave for the airport. After my fair, I went to get a tea from Starbucks, which was across the street from a naval base, so I was able to get a couple of photos of the boats and ocean. I would have liked to spend more time in San Diego as it seems like a really nice city with a lot of interesting things to do. Maybe I'll get back one day. It would have been nice to slip down to Tijuana too!

3:33 PM | Read comments (1) | Permalink | Travel

October 18

Sunny California

So for work, I had to travel to Southern California. Normally, this is my colleague's territory, but she wasn't able to make this particular trip, so I ended up having to cover. I've never been really excited about California. I have no attraction to LA or any part of the state, except for maybe San Diego, but only because it's so close to Mexico! I will actually be in San Diego during this trip, but for such a short period of time that I won't be able to take a side trip down to Mexico, unfortunately. The good part about this area, though, is that there are so many Mexicans living here that there are Mexican restaurants with authentic food on almost every street corner! It's great. The hotel I'm staying at in Orange has a restaurant so near that it smells of tortillas in the air. I love it! I'm definitely eating there for supper.

I arrived at the Burbank airport, a.k.a the Bop Hope Airport, situated among hills that look like the ones you always see on TV with the word "Hollywood" in white on them. I was half expecting to see that at any moment, but not really knowing where I am in relation to Hollywood, I wasn't really sure what to expect. It was quite hot that day and just as hot the next. I found I didn't really pack appropriately as I didn't bring any clothing that's cool to wear in my downtime, like a pair of shorts and some sandals. Thankfully, as I wanted to go shopping anyway, I found some stuff for next summer in Edmonton that I can wear now. Last night, I went to a place called La Luna Negra, a tapas restaurant with live Flamenco on the weekend--or so they advertise. The food was ok, but the Flamenco dancing wasn't really Flamenco. It was more classical Spanish with elements of Flamenco. The male dancer and the guitarist were the best. The female dancer wasn't great as a dancer, but she was much better as a singer, and I wish she would have stuck to that. In any case, it was a good way to spend the evening alone. That's the one downside of travelling for work is all the meals alone. I try to do take-out when I can, but it's not always possible. And sometimes, it's better for my health just to get out than to just sit in my hotel watching TV while eating take-out.

I haven't taken any pictures since I got here. The couple of things worth taking pictures of were in places where I could hardly stop to take them--on the Interstate--and traffic is here much too heavy for me to snap any photos while I drive. I need to concentrate a lot more than usual here! One thing that kind of disgusts me, though, is the pollution. I forgot to take a photo from my hotel in Pasadena, which was just of the parking lot and the other side of the hotel, so I took a photo from my Orange hotel as soon as I got here. But I noticed that there may be little hills in the background, and you can't tell due to pollution. There's a lot of smog here, and it's pretty gross. I started wondering about the commercial about cheese coming from happy cows in California. I wonder how healthy those cows can be when they're drinking the water of polluted rain. I don't know what other source of clean water they have, so it kind of concerns me.

In any case, I'm hoping to get to see a MLB game tomorrow. Turns out my hotel is 5 minutes away from the stadium where the Angels play, and they're playing on Monday and Tuesday, so I'm hoping to see the game on Monday, even though I'll have to show up late after the fair I'm at in the afternoon. Better than not going at all!

October 13

More of Denver

I did get to do some touristy stuff while in Denver. I went out with a friend of my brother's, and we went with a couple of other guys to an Italian place. The one guy we were with is Italian, and this was a place he highly approved of, so it was nice to go to a place that you know is authentic. And the prices were reasonable. Darned if I can remember the name, however! On Sunday, I went to the Denver Art Museum. They had a variety of different exhibits. One of the things that makes this museum unique, or so they advertise, is that the exhibits are constantly changing. I didn't get as many pictures from there as I would have liked, mainly because the museum doesn't really allow people to take photos. So I took the few I could steal. On Monday, I went to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. They had a variety of exhibits there as well. You could take pictures there, but the lighting was quite poor. In any case, I hope the pictures suffice.

8:52 PM | Permalink | Travel

October 09

Back into Travel

So, here I am in Denver, Colorado. This trip was quite a bit longer than the one I did last year because I was able to register for more of the college fairs in the area this year. The first part of my trip was the same as last year, beginning in Aspen and then driving to Colorado Springs from there through Independence Pass, through the mountains and over the continental divide. It's a beautiful trip. Last year when I went, I just remember feeling that I was driving down what I would imagine heaven's streets of gold to be like. The yellow trees in the sun appear to glow from within in the sun, like dimmer orbs of the sub itself emanating a warm light. I was so looking forward to that again. Unfortunately, it wasn't quite the same. They had already had snow in Aspen this year, and as a result, many of the trees were already browner or had even lost their leaves, and then it was snowing for quite a ways through the most mountainous part. It was still pretty, though, and I stopped in some different places from last year so as hopefully not to duplicate too much from last year's photos.

I ended up not doing anything touristy in Colorado Springs this year and am hoping to do some stuff in Denver this weekend. I was hoping to get some NFL tickets for the Broncos game on Sunday, and I could have found some on eBay, but the forecast for Sunday is meant to be quite cold, and I don't have proper clothing for sitting out in that type of weather, so I don't think I should go just to freeze myself to death! I don't know yet what I'll do this weekend. I was hoping to go salsa dancing tonight, but I'm not sure if that will end up happening, so I'll have to see what else I can do. Maybe there's an opera I can see or something. I'm sure I won't be bored no matter what! I did spend a bit of time in Boulder today as I had to go out there anyway,and I went to a place called the Pearl Street Mall, a pedestrian mall with lots of little artsy shops and Tibetan/Indian-type import stores. There was also a tea shop where I tried to refrain from buying any, but there was such a great-smelling black-vanilla tea that I couldn't help myself, plus it was on sale, so what could I do! I highly recommend a visit there, though. I ate lunch at a place called the Paradise Bakery & Cafe where I had a great bowl of butternut squash soup, something that just warms the soul on a chilly, fall day. Let's see if I can post some pics soon! One cool thing that happened was very happenstance. I got to a school where I had a meeting way too early, so I was trying to figure out what to do to kill time. As it turned out, the school was across the street from a sculpture garden. There were tons of really interesting sculptures in there, and even though it was snowing, I decided to walk around the pond to snap a few photos. It was right in a residential area, so there are people that live right across the street from this. That would be so cool!

3:21 PM | Permalink | Travel

Back in the Saddle

I realised that I wanted to write a blog entry about this a while ago, but I had just been so busy, so I'm going to do 2 separate entries since I was about to write an entry from Colorado, where I'm currently situated. Oddly, I meant to use the title of my blog today to refer to the fact that I'm back to travelling for work again, but it seems more fitting to talk about having gone horseback riding at my aunt's place, an activity I haven't done for quite some time. Pictures should be forthcoming as I've already downloaded them from my camera and posted them on Facebook for the same of my family that prefers them there.

In any case, that was a great weekend. It was meant to be a farewell to my cousin and his wife, who are moving out of province, but not a lot of our family could make it. Still, it was such a relaxing little holiday. I think I'll need to go out there regularly just for the stress relief of riding horses. It was so peaceful and relaxing that I forgot about all the problems of the day--and there are sure enough of them, but out in the trail, you're just there with your horse and a few other people with you and nature. Maybe it's because I'm a prairie girl, but I do find fields of crops to be very peaceful scenery, so relaxing, especially under a warm sun with a cool breeze. There is so much beauty in our province. The leaves on the trees had already started to turn yellow, and one of the things that I love about trees like that is the way they reflect light. It's like they're glowing from within. I'll describe them in further detail in my next entry about Colorado!

It was great to get to do something I love so much, though. I used to go every summer as a child when I spent my holidays and my grandparents' farm, and when I got close to the horses again, the smell of the saddles and the horses together was nostalgic in such a happy way. Can't wait to go again!

3:04 PM | Permalink | Hobbies

June/August 2009

There were no July entries, so here are the others!

August 12

A Morbid Reflection

It is an ominous title to my post, I know. But sadly, this is the topic on my mind at the moment, and I ask the reader's forgiveness for typos and errors that I may make because I'm in no state of mind to pay attention to these things at the moment. I am currently surrounded by a lot of death, which is why I use the term "morbid." And I must write about this here because it is therapeutic for me; words are things that can hurt, but they can also heal.

This morning, I learned that the husband and only child of a close and beloved friend of mine died in a car accident, and my friend herself is in serious thought at least stable condition. It seems a miracle that she survived when you see pictures of the accident in the news, but when I think about how my friend might feel about it, she may be wishing she had died with them as she keeps saying she has lost everything. The birth of her daughter did not come without struggle and miracle, and now all has been taken away. Her own blood relatives live outside the country, and since the accident happened in the US, none of us can even be at the hospital where she is recovering from her own injuries and subsequent surgery just to pray with her and hold her hand.

I sent a text message to my mom because I needed to hear someone's voice, someone who could stand to hear me cry. She and her husband had shed their own tears yesterday as a doctor who worked at the hospital they work at died rather suddenly and unexpectedly Monday evening.

I decided, apprehensively, to come into work today, though I had been crying a lot, was in shock (and am still), not knowing for sure if I'd be able to function. But I wanted to be able to think about something else, something like work, which has no emotional connection attached to it, so that I could hopefully get my mind off the whole topic for a while. Moments after I got to my desk, one of my colleagues came over to tell me that she just found out one of her best friends had died in a plane crash. This girl was from Australia, but I had met her when she had visited my colleague here in Canada just a couple of months ago.

If that hadn't been enough, a friend I had emailed this morning told me he had just lost a good friend on Friday, dying of a heart attack at the entirely too young age of 27.

The term I use to describe myself today is "bewildered." I do believe there's a reason for everything, but we don't always get to know what that is right away, if ever. If anything, these types of experiences, while grievous, cause me to put many things in my own life into perspective, such as certain personal problems or what have you. I've already experienced that type of sobriety on several occasions in life, which is why I so rarely freak out about anything in the work place or when friends come to me about their problems. If it's not life or death, it really can't be that bad. At the same time, I also can't help thinking about mortality in general and how much I need to make sure my life counts and that I do everything I need to do before God decides it's my time to leave this world. This was the conclusion I reached when I used to think my life was so bad I just wished I didn't have to go on. I decided then to live every day like it's my last, to make sure the people I love know I love them, to pour my life into caring about and for other people, and to do whatever job it is for which God placed me on this earth, at this time, and in this place.

12:25 PM | Permalink

August 02

About Words

This is not an entry about words as you might think, a scoff at some grammatical injustice that someone has committed or a grievous typo found in a most concerning place. This has to do with words themselves as the bread and butter of communication, food for thought but also nourishment for the soul.

I'm trying to expand the breadth of the scope of literature I read. Mostly, as you can tell from the fiction on my favourite books list, I read novels that were written before 1900. I have rarely read any after that I've felt were as well written as the classics, and as a result, I generally shun them when it comes to my own reading pleasure. I do not shun them for others who read them because I so strongly encourage the act of reading that I would rather have a person read any book that he or she finds interesting than not reading at all. By increasing the scope of the literature I read, I intend to read books by authors from countries outside the US, Canada, or Britain, for example, which is usually the only selection of influences we get exposed to in school. Since I have a number of Colombian friends and a number of literate friends, all of these have recommended I read Gabriel Garcia Marquez, so I have a couple of his books, one in Spanish and the other in English. I started reading the English one, which is actually the memoirs of Garcia Marquez, called Living to Tell the Tale, so it isn't fiction, but his life is so colourful that it reads like fiction. For all of those people who have told me I should write a book about my life, I think even this author's life tops it!

In any case, this book helps me to learn a lot about the history and culture of Colombia, and the reader gets to see how Garcia Marquez is necessarily a fundamental player in the formation of that history. That part alone is quite fascinating.

However, reading Garcia Marquez is also a confirmation that people can have convictions about words and phrases, short stories versus novels, as much as some have convictions about Macs versus PCs or digital TV versus satellite. What he writes about being a writer doesn't seem to describe me accurately as Lynn Truss did in Eats, Shoots and Leaves, so I'm not sure if I can come close to comparing myself to a writer as he is, the kind who breathes writing and out of whose pores is a literary prowess more powerful than anything else in my life. Yet write I must. Maybe not short stories or novels. Maybe it's just poetry, but Garcia Marquez uses metaphors the way I've always wanted to and never knew if it made any sense. He is bolder at using these words out loud in feats of oratory genius that many admired, though he doubted himself. And I am a coward compared to that. I supposed if I walked around and claimed to be a poet, it would be easier. People would perhaps even expect it, and that might make things easier, but until that time, my cowardice lies in saving my best words and my best expressions to poetry written on paper, hidden in books that few may know. It would be so great to devote a life to writing, to painting, and to singing. Garcia Marquez was skilled at all, and it's like finding a kindred spirit that I will never know but who will inspire me and change my life in immeasurable ways.

5:23 PM | Permalink | Books

June 17

MS Rona Bike Tour 2009

It has been a while since I last wrote, but I haven't been doing a whole lot, and some of the fascinating things that have been going on at home are things I can't really talk about in public spaces like this, so I'm just keeping to myself a lot these days. This past weekend was a lot of fun as I did the MS Rona Bike Tour for the second time. I figured it I made it last year and survived, I should be able to do it any other year because it really couldn't get much worse. There wasn't nearly the wind we had last year, although it was much hotter this time around.

Anyway, I do have a few pictures and will hopefully add a few more in the near future as some of the pics I want to add were taken on my cousin's camera, and he still has them. This year, besides riding with my friend Susan, my cousin Chris and his wife Christine joined us. It was nice to have a bigger group, and it was also nice for me because Chris and Christine were going around my speed, and none of us could catch up with Susan, although there was one leg where I actually could spot her on the road, which was a first! The heat was a little oppressive that day, but it was great weather, and they do a good job of keeping us hydrated, having lots of water, Gatorade, and fruit available for us at all the check points and meals. I was able to complete the ride in 4hrs 45mins of riding time, so not including stops and meals, and that's 45 minutes faster than last year. I think a lot of it this year had to do with my ability to ride up all the hills rather than have to walk up them like last year. I was rather proud of myself. I am rarely proud of myself, but this is one of those times because I'm able to do something I thought I would never be able to do as a result of my own ineptitude for all things athletic. It was really exciting for me, and I consider it a great achievement in my life, especially as I'm just short of my 32nd birthday at the moment!

In the evening, they have a dance after the dinner. Personally, I don't understand how people have the energy to dance so much. All I could think about was sleeping, and I also didn't feel well because my nose was really stuffy. I think I breathed in a lot of dust that day due to the drought in the province because I felt like I had hay fever, and I kept having to blow my nose. I was a little concerned for the next day, then, but it turned out well. I woke up with a clear nose, and my headache from the previous evening had also disappeared, not to return.

The second day goes a little faster because there are 3km fewer, but we also made sure not to spend as much time at the rest stops. That was a bit of a challenge at the first check point, though, because one of the dogs on the farm that lends their yard for this event came right over and plopped herself down on my right arm. My arm was pinned for a while as she lapped up the attention and love. Those are the pictures that Chris has that I want to put in my album because the dog was really nice. In any case, I was able to make it up the hills and inclines all on my own again, and I made it to the end in 4hrs 15mins despite the heavy wind during the second half of the day. It still wasn't like the wind of last year, so it was more manageable.

As for pain, I didn't have much pain other than the sore butt you get from sitting for so long, some quads that were a little stiff, and hands that lost feeling in them. I've figured out that my handlebars are not positioned correctly, so I end up leaning too hard on my hands, thereby pinching the ulnar nerve and losing feeling in a few of my fingers. Now that I know, I can get it remedied so I don't lose feeling anymore! I do think there's a point at which the body does eventually give in to the demands of the mind. When I first begin, it's like my body protests the continual strain I put upon it, but there comes a point where it admits defeat, and despite cramps, aches, and any soreness, it goes on as a broken horse knows to follow the reigns. You essentially make your body submit to your will. In any case, if I'm in the city next year, I'll definitely be doing it again!

April/May 2009 posts

May 03

Playa del Carmen

I had such a good trip to Mexico, a vacation this time, that I couldn't even remember the name of the radio station I normally listen to! It was a much-needed break. You'll see that I've already got my photos uploaded. I think most of them don't need much explanation beyond what I've stated in the captions. The catamaran trip was great. I could really just be boating all day long. I really love it. There were some huts along the way where people actually live, right along the coast. I saw a lady come out of one of them and come down the rocks to the shore, but it was too far away. If I had a telescopic lens on my camera, I would have taken a photo, but it was otherwise too far away for her to be seen with my camera. In any case, I was so relaxed, and the guys that operate the boat had an excellent mix of tunes that made the trip even more perfect.

I also enjoyed the trip to Xcaret. I thought it might be a cheesy theme park, but it was actually pretty cool. I went to the aquarium, which is where a lot of my fish pictures were taken. I learned that jellyfish are not as dangerous as we thought. One of the guys that worked there let me touch one--it's his hand you see in that one photo. You can touch them from the bottom, but you can also touch them on their tentacles with the palm of your hand. Apparently the type of pores matter, so if I touched it with the back of my hand, I could get stung but not with my palm. So I felt the jellyfish, and it felt fairly slimy, but not unlike anything else you might touch that lives in water. It wasn't gross at all. They also had a mushroom farm, which is where my fungus pics came from. I think fungus is cool.

The wedding went quite well, not surprising considering it was mostly Colombians and Newfies. It was a really fun wedding. The only damper on the whole trip was the H1N1 flu problem. We went to Xcaret because it was actually open, but we had originally planned to go see some ruins that day, and as fun as Xcaret was, I would have rather seen ruins, but all of these places got closed due to the flu. The federal government closed down many sites. But really, there wasn't much going on. I mean, there were no cases of the flu in Playa del Carmen or Cancun. Only people in the food industry were wearing masks, but few other people, at least until you got to the airport. I would encourage people to continue going to Mexico except that few airlines will take you there. Well, you can still go with Mexicana and Air Canada, just not on vacation packages. So if you get a chance, travel! It's no less safe than staying here! :o)

8:19 AM | Permalink | Travel

April 10

The Rest of Texas

I didn't really get a chance to do a whole lot the rest of my trip in Texas. I had been hoping to go out and see a museum or something like that while in Houston, but it didn't work out. I imagine I'll be in Houston again sometime, so hopefully I'll get to go another time. When I returned to Austin, I went out to see some bats fly out of their daytime resting place. My brother had told me that there's this bridge where you can go watch tons of bats fly out at sunset. When I got there, there were panels of info and a sign that said this colony was the largest urban bat colony in the world at 1.5 million bats. There is a great little hill you can watch them from, and apparently they would fly out over top of us (spectators), so I was really excited about that. Well, a crowd had already begun to gather by the time I got there. While we waited, a man that appeared to be homeless decided to pose for us. He posed because he was wearing a beret with horns, a short, black leather jacket, a short cheerleading skirt, a fanny pack underneath the skirt that he actually wore on his fanny. We know this because he mooned the crowd so they could snap pictures. I have to admit I caught a snap of him myself, but not while he was mooning and not that he saw because I didn't want to encourage him! Anyway, his outfit also included a purse, white tube socks, and ladies black slippers, kind of that Chinese style of black shoe but without the strap. It was very strange!

Outside of that, we waited and waited, got colder and colder and eventually realised the bats weren't going to come out! We saw a hundred or maybe two hundred bats at the most; we found out from some of the locals there that it was likely too cold for them to come out, so we wouldn't get to see them. Sadly, I didn't get another chance to see them because the next night, I had the college fair to attend in the evening, so I would miss the sunset. Well, it wasn't really an exciting climax to the trip, but I think I was starting to run out of steam anyway. The good part about Houston and Austin was meeting up with old students. That was really the highlight, especially now that two of them are working and have business cards and everything. It's great to see them doing so well!

8:05 AM | Permalink | Travel

April 04

The Lone Star State

I've been so busy since being in Texas that I haven't had much time for updating my blog--but I am here to work, so that has to come first! I've been in Texas for a week now, and it's a pretty cool place. People here are really friendly, and aside from climatic differences, there are a lot of similarities between Texas and Alberta. There are a lot of country folk here, they have hockey teams, there are lots of ranches, and people like country music. Oh, and of course there's the connection with oil. As I've been driving across the state, there have been beautiful wildflowers in full bloom in the ditches and fields along the highway. I was able to get a close enough look at the main one I kept seeing, and I guessed it was a wild lupine of some kind. Turns out I was right, and it's known here as the Texas Bluebonnet, and it's their state flower. It's so beautiful in groves! And splashed in and amongst them here and there are some kind of baby pink flower that resembles a poppy and a coral coloured flower that appears to be like the Indian Paintbrushes we have at home. OK, so I decided to Google more native wildflowers for Texas and found out it's the pink evening primrose. It's quite lovely! Well, I guess I should stop with the flower talk, no?

I've so far been in Austin, San Antonio, Dallas, and Houston. I have time today to explore Houston and more time in Austin on Monday, so will do a bit of sightseeing then. But it turns out the Alamo is in San Antonio, and I went to see that before driving out to Dallas. I, too, wanted to remember the Alamo. I didn't know a thing about it prior to going there, in all honesty. It was a battle between US, Texan, and Mexican people, and eventually, as we know, Texas gained independence from Mexico and then eventually was acquired by the US. I was surprised to learn that Napoleon and his brother on the throne in Spain actually had an influence during this war, meaning that France played more of a role in the construction of US history than just LaFayette's influence during the American Revolution. I was also surprised to learn that pretty much all the US guys in this battle, including the well-known Davy Crockett, were all Freemasons. I saw a documentary on the role of the Masons in the construction of the US as well, and I think we cannot underestimate their true influence in the country, then and even now.

I had some free time on one afternoon in Dallas and went to the JFK Memorial as well as the 6th Floor Museum, which is in the building where Lee Harvey Oswald actually shot JFK. I didn't realise that Oswald himself was killed by a strip-club owner while being transported to jail. What drama! Of course, that means no one was ever able to find out why Oswald actually killed JFK, and theories abound, of course. The museum is quite well done, and it actually put me into a somewhat thoughtful and even teary mood. Obviously I wasn't around during the assassination, but this exhibit caused me to see what hope JFK provided to the majority of American people for a change in the country, and even the rest of the world seemed to have that same hope in him, too. It appeared that JFK could and would do a lot of good for the country. No wonder people compare Obama to him. I can definitely feel that sense of hope that we all have with Obama, and I just hope that no one assassinates him!