Trip through the Mountains 2018

This is probably my favourite vacation I took last year, only being beaten by our Denmark trip the year previous around this time.

 

While in Edmonton, we stopped by West Edmonton Mall for a total of 15 minutes, and decided we could find the same things in Toronto.  I forced Alex to come with me into an antique store, which I found MEGA FUN.  So many cool things, but all of them breakable.  We also visited Andrea and Francis, two very good friends of mine, and I didn't take a group photo of everyone. :(  But we had a great time before going off to the mountains! :)

 

Probably my favourite photo as we drove into the mountains

 

I loved this photo, even though something odd happened when I took it...it was a mountain I fell in love with 

 

We discovered goats right by Miette Hot Springs 

 

We hiked to the water sources of the Hot Springs, smelled terrible, looked beautiful.

Took some really great mountain photos

Stayed in a very cute bed and breakfast that served the best banana bread, fresh every day!

 

 

Stood on top of a mountain in near Jasper

Found a new favourite waterfall, Tangle Falls

 

Spent a rainy day in Banff....the place I hate most on earth.  (Complete tourist trap...)

 

Pretended to meditate to pretend I enjoyed hanging out in Banff...

 

But we did go for a short hike, and had some fun doing it.

 

Once in Calgary, we stayed across from 'The United Brotherhood  of Carpenters and Joiners of America.' (Also, on way to Lake Louise, learned how fast people drive on the highway.  It's fast!)

 

Visited with my Aunt Jodi and Uncle Jake and family

 Went to Lake Louise, and captured 'the photo' we went on this trip for! 

Had a $100 lunch on the patio of the hotel (Which I didn't pay for, ha!)

Drove home so I could get a kiss from my momma

And then got upgraded to first class on our flight back...say what??? Wow!

Overall, there were so many memories and moments, it's hard to count them all.  It was definitely a road trip to remember!

Wedding #2 this summer

 

My favourite photo I took of the bride and groom, my brother and sister-in-law

Me in my new suit jacket, with pants that I was told were 'too short.' (But I looked good anyways!)

I took fewer photos at the wedding because they had an official photographer and videographer (the norm these days, since having a video of your wedding is easy now, more than ever) and I was busy catching up with family and old family friends...some of whom I hadn't seen in 10-20 years.  If there's one thing a wedding is good for, it's catching up with everyone and celebrating an important family event!

It was a great start to my vacation with Alex, though there was some stress for him, this being his first family wedding of my family he had attended.

TOW: Phantom of The Opera

Nothing is quite as iconic in 90s musical theatre for me as the opening chords to the Phantom of the Opera.  Those chords foreshadow darkness and uneasiness, combined with an upbeat tempo, that suggests action and adventure.  The electric rock sound, contrasted with the operatic dreaminess of the rest of the musical numbers show how different the two worlds of Christine and the Phantom really are.  And watching the musical for the first time, in contrast to my first reading of the book, opened my eyes to new ideas on this iconic story.

For those who have never paid much attention to the Phantom of the Opera, it's a classic romance, in which Christine is torn between two male love interests.  The Phantom, who has threatened and tricked the theatre management into making Christine a star of the opera, and has fallen in love with her.  Raoul, her childhood friend, and benefactor of the opera, has found her in adulthood, and wishes to have a normal courtship with her as times would allow.  The Phantom teaches Christine how to sing, comes to her in the middle of the night, and is a creature of dreams and suggestion. In comparison, Raoul is a classic Prince Charming, not a devil of any kind, but a normal hero.

One of my theatre-going companions made the comment that a good Phantom has to be three S's: Scary, Seductive, and Sexy.  (She felt this one didn't have all the goods, unfortunately.)  And it's true, the whole point of the Phantom is that he is both a sexually appealing man with a mind for great things, and a monster of epic proportions, both physically and mentally.

Seeing the Phantom of the Opera in person, it reminds me that so much is determined by what we look like.  If he hadn't been hideous, if he hadn't a horrible disease, if his own family had loved him, if, if, if.  I think that's why, even with all his cruelty, we can sympathize with the Phantom.  He's a character who should be loved, but is unlovable.  It reminded me of how many people play in that world of darkness and magic, where as long as no one shines a light on them, they are mysterious, interesting, and powerful.  It is only when they are shown love, that we see them as they are: broken, wounded, and in great need.

Wedding #1 this summer

I just thought I would post some pictures, and some memories I had of this wedding:

• Got to see my brother's office and where he works
• Got to hang out with my nieces, who are growing like weeds
• Made some new friends with the groomsmen
• Hung out with both my dads on father's day this year, for the first time in what must have been 10 years

For one weekend, I had so many laughs, my throat hurt!  So much family love.

Five year anniversary

Alex and I have been together for five years now...what a milestone!  Some highlights:

• Visiting Niagara Falls together
• Going to beach resorts (which was something new for me)
• Going to Europe multiple times, for lots of silly adventures
• Lots of nice meals and breakfasts cooked for me.

The funny thing was we both forgot until halfway through the day it was five years since we met.  We took time that weekend to do something special, and he made me a lovely meal.

We made so many memories this year! I wonder what next year will bring.

Wow, been so long!

Who knew I would be gone from blogging for so long? 

It's been a very busy two months, so I haven't really had time to post on here. Most days have been work, gym,  home, bed.

And it will still be like that until next week.  March is the worst time for people in non-profits, most of us our fiscal year ends in March.  Which means everyone tries very hard to spend a lot of money very quickly.  Which means my life has spiraled out of control, as per usual, until fiscal year end!

I was watching a youtube video of someone who I really like, and he got me thinking about social media as a platform.  Back in the days, I remember when all these platforms were used for fun, conversation, and some business. 

I miss the days when online felt like a bunch of online communities and secret worlds. 

Everyone talks about wanting to be found online, or wanting to find things online, but sometimes, I don't want to be found, or known about, or commented on.  Every now and then it can be fun, but most of the time, you can't replace being together with people in person.  Sometimes digital can bridge the distance, but often we are missing those things that matter most to us.  Being close to someone...physical contact, being in common places together. 

At my friend's concert band last night, there was, as always, multiple members of the community in the audience, from politicians to local activists and people from the local old folks home, etc. It was something you don't always see these days.

Real communities are ones where people know what they care about and why, and what they definitely don't care about.  In today's world of too much information, sometimes cutting things out is as good as adding something in.  We live in a world of many choices, but few good decisions. Sometimes, it's a world of few decisions, paralyzed.  A place, a real place, with a community, means that there are traditions and  things people come together to do regularly...it's something that's very precious in a big city, in a digital world, etc.

I guess I hope that in the future, technology doesn't get in the way of people living their lives, like I feel it does now.  I think most of the things we use that are short form technologies, are bad for most of us.  Other than email, online maps, and a few messaging services, the world would probably be better off without the rest of it, honestly.

And that's my Luddite thought for the day.

Ursula K Le Guin

Ursula K Le Guin was one of the authors who inspired me and sparked my imagination, especially in philosophical thinking, at a young age.  It's with great sadness that I read of her death today.  She was a humanitarian, a feminist, a person who wasn't afraid of speaking her mind.

For a good introduction to her as a person, check out this article.

 For her most popular series, check here.

Earthsea is forever a place in my mind, and the battle all of us face with inner darkness and the need to make whole what is inside of us.

2017 in review

What a great year. Overall, 2017 was the year I really grew, even though a lot of things stayed the same.  I thought I would share my favourite photos from each month, highlights from what was a very eventful, travel-filled year.

January

A wonderful walk with my beautiful mother shortly after New Year's Day.  We had a wonderful time.





That time I accidentally painted a 'meat tree,' with witch and tombstone at a paint night instead of a tree that said 'Enchantment.'  (Maybe just not the right kind of enchantment?)

February

Teaching Alex to ski was an amazing moment for me.  Such a fun adventure as a couple!  We have already gone skiing once this season, more to come!



Alex and I filmed our first cooking video!  Hard to believe it was almost a year ago!

March

Liz and I went to see  Chris Boti for what must be the third time...it was just as good as always.  No members of Guns 'N' Roses there this year in the crowd, unfortunately.

April

Anne, our VP Ivan and I raised $1,000 for our hospital. I definitely need to up our game this year, and raise more! :)  



Tried the unicorn frappuncino.  It was disgusting.



Liz and I visited the McMichael gallery.  Here she is painting her latest masterpiece for a collection.

May

A very good friend night out with Karl and Danny...where I did some karaoke and they watched. 



U of T shaker at Wonderland...a great event as always.

June

Sarah, Liz and I go bouldering.



Pride 2018



Liz, Heather and I go a-wine-ing.  They both bought a lot of wine, and we discovered champagne in a can.

July

 

A giant duck visited us on Canada Day.





Alex, Tyler, Tammy and I went to Denmark, then Sweden.  A trip of a lifetime.  Met new family I didn't know I had!




We visited the ABBA museum in Sweden and saw some scandalous things.

August

 

Reconnected with a great friend from high school in Stockholm...who now is a great adult friend! <3 p="">  

Let's go to the Ex!

 September

 
My first real LGBT wedding...was beautitful.



Ran a 5K with work peeps.



Volunteered with this fantastic group of people and made some new communications friends with the Invictus games.  Also got to have Prince Harry walk right by me.



Also got to hear Bruce Springsteen and Bryan Adams play together.  That was something.  
October




That time Alex and I did two costumes for Halloween

November



Said goodbye to a great friend who went to work overseas.  Trish, I miss you.



Toronto Christmas Market with Judy, who came to visit Liz.

December




Christmas....chaos as always!


What a year!  Looking forward to 2018 being even better!

2018 Fitness challenge!

I am doing a fitness challenge to get into better shape.  It's a 200 push up per day challenge. 

Currently, 60 real push-ups, 140 half push-ups.  4:40 mins.

More to come! :)

Interesting topic: Quantum tunneling

So the other day my friend Liz and I were having a discussion about science, and she made a joke about quantum tunneling.  While I feel like I understood the basic concept, I suddenly became overtake with the desire to understand more, since the basic concept of quantum tunneling that Liz explained goes like this:

Quantum tunneling refers to the quantum mechanical phenomenon where a particle tunnels through a barrier that it classically could not surmount.

Which, if you understand anything about physics, makes you go 'huh?' 

It's like how some particles want to be somewhere in the world, and they go on a bear hunt...because if they can't go around it, they just go through it! ^_^ 

I had a lot of fun learning about something so fascinating and different.  This video was a good intro to it.  (Though I read a lot more about wave particles than I ever though I would!)