Calvin's Weblog

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times

The date was December 29th, 2003. It was a clear and sunny day, but the temperature was skulking somewhere between -4 and -6 all day. Carole and I were supposed to meet some friends on Cypress Mountain for a fun day of tubing down the slopes, but we somehow got our messages crossed, and while we thought we were supposed to meet them at four PM, they had infact met at noon. In retrospect, four PM should have sounded suspicious, as that left only an hour of daylight... but anyway...
We spent a lazy morning watching the special features on the Gangs of New York DVD, and eating Christmas chocolates. When it came time to leave (around 3PM) we realized our mistake - but, not to be dismayed, we set out on a nice drive through the countryside. "Bring your camera" I told Carole, "It's a beautiful day, lets go to some of the beaches around here - I bet they'll be deserted, since it's so cold... maybe we could get some nice pictures?" Boy did we ever.
Our first stop was Bunzen Lake. It was far from deserted. Actually, I think 'packed' would more accurately describe it. We made our way to the shore and snapped a few pictures, managing to keep the picknicing and barbequing families out of them (yes, surreal as it sounds, in -6 weather on Dec. 29th, there were a lot of beach BBQs... but I'll get to that)

Here's a shot of the pristine lake on that gloriously beautiful day.

Now back to the hoards of family picnics... hopefully this doesn't come out the wrong way, but all of the families were Asian. I do mean all... I honestly think hat Carole and I were the only white people on the beach. As we meandered along the placid shore, we wondered why that was. It really made us think, seeing how important family is in the Chinese culture. How regarless of weather or temperature or time of year, these people were making time for their families and sharing the amazing day with one another. Not only that, but it was inspiring how they were taking advantage of the natural beauty and free parklands that most of us Vancouverites completely take for granted. When you step back and think of how completely awe inspiring our majestic landscape must be to someone from Hong Kong, it really make you realize how bady we've squandered it.
Carole and I both resolved on the spot that for the rest of the day, we would seek the beauty in everything, and see the raw simplistic perfection in every element of our natural surroundings. It certainly helped that it was a beautiful day to begin with, but once we really started to look - I mean stop all the thoughts in your head, take a deep breath, and 'feel' with all your senses, your entire surroundings - it's like being touched by God. It's like the floodgate has opened and every leaf, every drop of dew, every swath of frost, every bird, every spiderweb, every ray of sunshine is in and of itself, absolutely perfect. And peaceful.
Our next stop was Belcarra. A nice drive through a protected forrest opens up on the Seymore arm, and the view across this narrowinland Pacific ocean inlet is of the North Shore's Deep Cove.

Here's me crouching on a rock, breathing deep of the frosty ocean air, feeling the warmth of the sun, and the chill of the wind, and looking out at the array of colours on the montainside.

The sun turned everything it touched to gold that day.

Gnarled trees bathed in the sunlight, danced in the wind, and cast the most intricate and amazing shadows as the glistening grass reaches ever westward, catching the last rays of a setting sun.

Every tree had a story to tell us. This one was very pleased that we took the time to notice her, even though she insisted that we should come back again when she's in full bloom. We promised we would.

The sun was now almost set, and we started to leave. But as we did, one last tree called to us, thanked us for coming, and cast to us the last rays of twilight, to help us on our way.

Perhaps it was just one magical day. Perhaps the heavens opened and shone down on us for some special reason. Perhaps we were 'meant' to feel this peace and oneness with the world on this day only... Or perhaps we were given the gift of sight, to see what has always been there, and will always be there if we take the time to look.
As it turns out, I believe, it was all of the above. The heavens really did open up that day, and we truley were being watched over. We really had been given the gift of inner peace, and shown the beauty in everything. We casually made our way home, not wanting this perfect day to end, but knowing that we made the most of it, and that we could do the same any day we wanted, now that we knew how to 'look'. Not twenty minutes after getting home, the phone rang. While we were out, enjoying his last gift, Carole's brother David had passed away.

One for me, one for Vetiver

Okay - here are a couple of news storries I read today - the first one's for me, the 2nd one made me think of poor vetiver, who's only a joint or two a day away from being this guy...

Beer kegs rescued from icy river
BBC
"Russian troops have retrieved 10 tonnes of beer trapped under the Siberian ice after a week-long operation. A lorry carrying the beer was lost while crossing the frozen River Irtysh, near the city of Omsk, about 1400 miles from Moscow. The driver managed to jump out after the ice gave way, but the lorry and its cargo sank. Six divers, 10 men with electric saws and a tank pulled the beer kegs - but not the truck - to safety."
Read article...

Marijuana finally kills somebody
Daily Record |
"A young man has died from cannabis poisoning after smoking around 23,000 joints. Experts believe Lee Maisey, 36, is the first Briton to die as a direct result of taking the drug... Lee smoked around six joints a day for 11 years, an inquest heard. A pal found him dead last August on the living room floor of the house they shared... The cause of Lee's death was listed as 'cannabis toxicity' after a post mortem revealed high levels in his blood... Cannabis has been linked to suicides and fatal accidents. But Lee's case is the first where it has been listed as a direct cause of death." [Meanwhile, how many Britons have been killed by hyponatremia (water intoxication)?]
Read article...

Oh yeah, photos!

Thanks for reminding me Vetiver, here's a shot if the Venician,

And here's a shot of Carole and I standing in front of the Bellagio.

Here's Paris (right across the street from where we were standing at the Bellagio)

And here's New York, New York. We've got loads more pictures, but I think you get the idea...

As for the history lesson, I just had to be different - I mean really, Vegas is Vegas - it has all been said before...

Viva Las Vegas!

We're back from a quick 'sanity regainer' jaunt to Las Vegas. Way too quick, but totally worth it. We took in shows, went to almost every hotel & casino, rode the Manhattan rolercoaster at New Yerk New York, and even took in a Medieval Times dinner show of jousting and swordplay while eating with our fingers at The Excalibur. We gambled lots, I drank lots of comp'd budwiesers, and we still managed to walk about 15 to 20 KM a day, up and down the strip.... in short sleeves! It was around 20 degrees during the day... not hot, but really nice compared to the -12 we had here the week before.
I've got lots of pictures (yet to be developed) and lost of 'Americanism' stories to tell about this trip. For instance, at the beginning of the Jousting tournament, each section of the audience was supposed to cheer for their 'king', and each king represented a different European country. Our King was the King of Spain...
Anyway, when the king of Frace came on to the field, the whole stadium booed... including the section that was supposed to be cheering for him! I just don't get it. The president starts eating 'Freedom Fries', so the whole damn country goes on a 'oh, we must hate the French today' kick. It's sad... really sad. Especially since right across the street from the Excalibur is the massive Statue of Liberty replica at New York New York.
Does anyone else see the glaring irony in this? America hates the French because they refused to send troops to Iraq without conclusive proof... and as we all know now, there wasn't any proof of WMD. The French were RIGHT, and that pisses off the Americans even more. The Americans hate the French because they won't stand up for American values, or help fight for American values.... irony of all ironies, the French GAVE the U.S. their values, AND without the French provided arms, ships, money, and men to the American colonies, America would never have been able to win its freedom from the British during the American Revolution. Some Frenchmen - most notably the Marquis de Lafayette, a close friend of George Washington - even became high-ranking officers in the American army. It was an alliance of respect and friendship the French would not forget... which brings me back to the Statue of Liberty...
Almost 100 years later, in 1865, several French intellectuals opposed to the oppressive regime of Napoleon III were at a small dinner party discussing their admiration for America's success in establishing a democratic government and abolishing slavery at the end of the Civil War. The dinner was hosted by Edouard Rene Lefebvre de Laboulaye. Laboulaye was a scholar, jurist, abolitionist and a leader of the "liberals," the political group dedicated to establishing a French republican government modeled on America's constitution. During the evening, talk turned to the close historic ties and love of liberty the two nations shared. Laboulaye noted there was "a genuine flow of sympathy" between the two nations, and called France and America "the two sisters."
As he continued speaking, reflecting on the centennial of American independence only 11 years in the future, Laboulaye commented, "Wouldn't it be wonderful if people in France gave the United States a great monument as a lasting memorial to independence and thereby showed that the French government was also dedicated to the idea of human liberty?" Laboulaye's casual question struck a responsive chord in Bartholdi. Years later, recalling the dinner, Bartholdi wrote that Laboulaye's idea "interested me so deeply that it remained fixed in my memory."
So was sown the seed of inspiration that would become the Statue of Liberty.
Construction began.... and On October 25, 1886, Bartholdi and his wife, accompanied by Count Ferdinand-Marie de Lesseps, chairman of the French Committee, arrived in America. At Liberty Island, surrounded by newspaper reporters recording his words for posterity, Bartholdi simply said, "The dream of my life is accomplished." Dignitaries from both nations were in abundant attendance. Representing America were President Grover Cleveland and members of his cabinet, as well as the governor of New York and his staff. The French ambassador attended, accompanied by the French Committee. And, most ironically, members of some of America's wealthiest families - the same families who had not contributed a single cent to the statue's pedestal - now jockeyed for seats of prominence.
When it was President Cleveland's turn to speak, he said, "We will not forget that Liberty has made here her home, nor shall her chosen altar be neglected." Now, more than 100 years later, neither she nor her chosen altar has been neglected.... to bad we can't say the same for the French, huh?

Okay, Okay, Okay - Happy New Year!

Yeah, it has been a while - I know... Hey, stuff happens.
I took a long, well deserved blog break, but I guess I'm back now.
To catch everyone up, I had 3 weeks off of work to essentially veg-out, and I just started back to work this Monday. It has taken all week to catch up, but now that I'm caught up, I managed to find 5 minutes to write something (well okay, 10 minutes... I just finished writing in the Scarecrow Journal about the show we played last night.

So now that I'm writing, I can't really think of anything to say... oh well, at least I got the ball rollin'. Happy 2004 everybody - with all the crap we went through last year, I'm hoping this one's going to be hella-wicked-good. (As Adam Sandler would put it). Carole and I are sneaking off to Vegas for a couple day next week since we didn't get away during the winter break... hopefully a couple days will cleanse the ol' soul.
Well, that's it for today - talk to y'all soon, I promise!