Today I was downstairs with Erica to clean up the den.  She knows that we have mp3s and access to music videos from our desktop, so she was asking for “music.”

I thought, instead of playing Lady Gaga or Katy Perry, why not something with less pop and a bit more sophistication… so I poked around for something by Feist (which I’m a huge fan of)… and came across this video she did for… Sesame street. Anyways, I think it’s very cool that an artist would take one of their songs and change it so that kids can relate to it and learn something.

It was also cool to see how captivated Erica was, and how hard she was concentrating to learn the melody and words. I couldn’t stop smiling.

The other day I got that same feeling you get as a kid that is just a few days away from going to a new school.  You’re looking forward to it because everything will be new and different, but at the same time there’s some anticipation because well… everything will be new and different.   

We’re now a couple of days from our move, and our place is filled with boxes, labels, and things are just a bit chaotic right now.  Erica and the cats have been noticing the escalating change, and the past few mornings e has woken up and not been happy.  All her familiar things are now in boxes.  Her room is filled with boxes and garbage bags.  The cats are also needing extra attention and reassurance.  I’m guessing the move will be hard on them as well- I read that cats get attached to places whereas dogs are fine as long as their humans are around.

As for the move itself, we severly underestimated the number of boxes.  In the end, E went online, at Jennifer’s suggestion to Frogbox.  They are a company that drops off these green, stackable, sturdy plastic boxes (similar to ones we used to move at the office) and pick them up again when you are done.  No need to go out and buy cardboard boxes (they are expensive!), tape them together, collapse, or recycle them.  I imagine they are a lot more environmentally friendly.  We very much recommend them.

I think back to when we moved here almost 8 years ago, and how much has changed since then.  We weren’t married, we had hand-me-down furniture including a used futon and sawed off love seat for the living room.  We had E’s double bed on an ikea frame… and a foosball table with a cover and 4 bar stools for a dining room table.  We were one of the original owners here at Madison, I think 4th or 5th to move in.  We’ve seen neighbors come and go, and neighbors turn into really good friends.  As with any strata, we’ve also seen our share of drama, but also a strong sense of community.

Tomorrow is Erica’s last day at Cecelia’s daycare, and if we’re emotional about missing daycare, then I’m sure the same goes for Erica and all of her friends (Fay-fay, Cah-is, Di-da, Annabelle, etc).  We know she likes going there and playing with her friends.  It’s definitely one of the reasons why she’s so well socialized. 

For us, the location has been great.  E works nearby, and for a few years I worked about a mile away from Madison.  Family lives nearby, good restaurants and grocery stores, Brentwood’s an ok mall, Metrotown is close by, the Heights is a 10 min walk, my local fishstore is on Hastings, Making Memories (the place where E should work!) is by Safeway, lots of nice parks nearby, Eileen Daily pool, Burnaby mountain golf course, 8 rinks, skytrain, North Van, etc. 

Don’t get me wrong, we’re looking forward to the new place, finding new amenties and friends… and I think we’ve found a good place for our kids to grow up.  Many milestones in our lives happened while we lived at Madison… a lot of really good memories.  But in a few days, we’ll be starting out in a new environment, and part of the fun will be discovering all the things that will turn into more good memories in time.  

 Yeah, tomorrow’s going to be a tough day.

A few weeks ago I didn’t know who Randy Pausch was, and I admit that I stumbled upon his speech and his story quite accidently. After learning the backstory, I watched the speech, and was just captivated. Although titled ‘Achieving your childhood dreams’ it boils down to passing on all the lessons learned on how to live a good life. When he revealed his true intention for giving the speech at the end, I just had a lump in my throat and it was one of those rare moments where I was truly moved.

Anyways, I’m not sure why it’s no longer on youtube, but I did find a shorter version of his speech here-

If you have an hour to watch the entire speech, or want to read the book (I’m halfway through); both can be found here-

http://www.cmu.edu/uls/journeys/randy-pausch/index.html

I highly recommend checking it out, it’s time well spent.

Hard to believe we’re almost half way through 2008.  I keep thinking what a paradox time can be… the older you are, the faster it goes.  I also used to think that the older you get, the more stable life becomes.  You tend to have a more secure job, know who you are, and generally settle down.

I don’t know why, but it seems like the rollercoaster is speeding up and we’re about to go into free-fall!

First up, we have an accepted offer on a house!  When e started walking and entering toddlerhood, it was at that point where we outgrew our place.  Generally we love living here.  The area is really convenient, we have a lot of friends in the area, e’s daycare is around the corner, and we spent many days enjoying the views from the decks, and of course BBQs! 

We’ve been looking for a house in our neighborhood for about a couple of years, but nothing seemed to fit.  The value just wasn’t there.  For example, 600K gets you a standard lot with a small house built in the 1950’s.  Prices have just gone up and up, although they are now moderating, I don’t think we can get what we want for under 760K.  Unfortunately we had to look east in search of value, and that search took us out of Burnaby and into Coquitlam. 

Last weekend we were driving around looking at open houses, not really expecting anything as we’ve been taking drives out there for about 6 weeks to try and get to know the area better.  The first few were flips, and although nicely done up, we didn’t feel the value was there.  The last house on our list was in a Cul de sac in Harbour Place.  Couldn’t recall why I jotted it down, but we were passing on the way home so we decided to drop by. 

They say that it’s your gut feeling that tells you when it’s the “one.”  I guess it’s similar to dating… but we both got the same feeling after looking around for a few minutes.  The price was reasonable, the size, condition, layout, and yard met our criteria, even the wall color was similar to what we would have chosen.  For us, it hit all the marks except it wasn’t located beside Jericho beach.  There’s still a lot of work to do to remove the subjects, and if we get that far, I’ll post pics of the house and write more about it.  That being said, we’re now in a mad rush to get our place on the market and sold quickly.  Should be fun decluttering and moving furniture with a toddler running around!

Second bit of news is that we’re expecting our… second!  Yes we decided one was not enough work and so #2 should be arriving mid-September.  <reminder to self- exhale>  It was this that prompted us to get a realtor and fast track the house hunting as I don’t know how we’d cope with 2 in our current place.  I think the timing should work out- hopefully we can sell soon and move in by late August.  <note #2 to self- never start a new job and have a baby the same month>

So if you’re feeling up to moving boxes, I’m sure we’ll need all the help we can get!  <note #3- thou shalt not sell and move while wife is very pregnant, and especially not when there’s a very active toddler getting into everything!>

Wish us luck!  So far I haven’t changed jobs this year.  🙂 

When I was growing up, my list of favorite drama/action TV shows were something like this-

• Bionic Man
• Battlestar Galactica
• Knight Rider
• Airwolf
• Simon and Simon/Magnum PI
• Miami Vice

Now when I turn on the tele, instead of reruns I see reimagined versions of Bionic Woman, Battlestar Galactica, and now Knight Rider.  In the theatres, we had movie versions of The Dukes of Hazzard, Miami Vice, and Starsky and Hutch… and in an interesting reversal there’s the made for TV Terminator- Sarah Conner Chronicles and I believe an upcoming Star Wars series.

Is it possible that we’re running out of creativity, and simply rehashing old ideas, or are TV shows like fashion- acid wash jeans and pastel colors get recycled after a couple of generations when everyone has forgotten what a bad idea they were in the first place.

It seems odd to me to see the same shows appear on TV again.  I have happy childhood memories of the originals, so why do they need to bring the shows back to try the formula again?  For whatever reason, the remakes are often shadows of the original.  Sorry, but Starsky and Hutch was a joke, I couldn’t bring myself to see Dukes of Hazzard, and Miami Vice was just ok, but none lived up to the original. 

Don’t get me wrong, I thought that the reimagination of Battlestar Galactica was waaay better than the original… once you got past the fact that Starbuck is now a girl.  Likewise with  Terminator- I actually really like it- it’s clever and they’ve put a new spin on it.  I hope it gets renewed.

As for the new Knight Rider and Bionic woman.  Boooring.  I hope the old Kitt comes out of retirement and shows the new Kitt some old school moves.

Maybe it’s because I’ve spent far too much time in Airports, or maybe it’s because this song was used in my sister’s wedding video… but I’ve just been humming ‘My Moon My Man’ for the past week.  I’ve been a fan of Feist over the past year and a bit, with ‘Mushaboom’ and ‘Inside and out’ steady favorites on the MP3 player… but every once in awhile there comes a song that just grabs your attention.

I actually have something really cool to write about!  I have a friend, Maria Abagis, who along with her hubby Spiros, are cycling/travel/photography fanatics.  They go places and do things that make the rest of us think about quitting work and hopping on a bike to tour France for a month… or visit Nepal… sigh…

Anyways, last week she tells me that they are going on a trip of a lifetime, which for them is really something!  So in her words, this is what they will be doing for the next year.

Starting in January 2008, we will be cycling the length of Africa to raise
money and awareness for WaterCan (www.watercan.com) and Against Malaria
(www.againstmalaria.com). We are participating in the 6th edition of the
Tour D’Afrique; a cycling Race/Expedition that starts at the foot of the
pyramids in Cairo, Egypt and ends 12,000 km and 120 days later in Cape Town,
South Africa. We will be cycling through Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya,
Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Botswana, Namibia and South Africa. After the Tour
D’Afrique, we plan on continuing travelling and cycling through Europe and
Asia. We plan on travelling for about 12 months.
  

I can barely hold in my admiration… wow, what a fantastic experience that will be.  The cool part I think, is that this is also for a couple of very good causes.  I know Maria did her homework in researching and selecting these charities.  Personally I find that there are so many charities out there, it’s hard to know which ones will do the most good with the limited funds they get.  Clean water and mosquito nets… sound really simple, but it’s what saves a lot of lives.

Anyways, here’s a link to their blog.  Spiros is a fantastic travel photographer, and I’m looking forward to following their progress.  I would encourage you to check out the two charities as well.  http://www.cyclingtheroadlesstravelled.com/  Safe travels!

I boarded the 747 from Frankfurt to Bangalore just before noon.  Seeing so many Indians waiting in line, it was my first taste of the culture change that was to come.

The plane was packed, but I got a window seat thankfully, so I settled in for a snooze. I found that the 747 gave a bit more room, and the seats were a bit more comfortable.  It helped that I could lean against the window.

There are 2 lines of thought when dealing with timezone change.  Try to stay awake to synch with the destination timezone, so that when you arrive at nightime, you are ready to sleep even though your body says it’s still afternoon.  Or zonk out and sleep as much as you can.  I tried the former for about 4 minutes, and basically zonked out for most of the flight.

Plus when you are asleep on the plane, the monotony of being immobile is a bit more bearable.

A few hours in, I looked out the window and saw the black sea.  It looks like a beautiful area for a future visit.

Once we reached India, we started to hit some turbulance around Mumbai.  It’s monsoon season so Mumbai is heavily flooded.  I think over the season they get 2 meters of rain!  

I had taken a gravol earlier so I was still fairly sleepy.  At this point, I really didnt care how bad the turbulance was, but it was pretty constant from Mumbai to Bangalore.  It’s a strange sensation… it’s dark outside, you’re strapped in looking at the seat in front of your, but you’re getting bounced around in all 4 axis.  There’s no visual frame of reference for all this motion you’re feeling.  Gravol is your friend.

Finally… lights from below.  Nothing like the lights from Calgary or New York, but concentration of dim lights scattered here and there.  As we drop into final approach, I see signs, roads, and buildings very close beneath us… where’s the runway?  The ride is bumpy all the way down… finally the rear wheels touch, and we feel this left-right-left swaying from a cross-wind. Yee haw!! touch down at midnight.  We disembark and the first thing you notice is the humidity in the air, and the different smells.

The airport is well… a lot like the airport in Cancun- an older building made of plaster and stone.  We’re herded like cows to the immigration lineups where there’s about 6 stone-faced officers with stamps.  There’s a sign that says <paraphrasing> “less talk, get through faster”

I’m like the last person to get through immigration as I was seated at the back of the plane.  Next is baggage carousel, which after looking at the size of it and the sheer number of passengers crowded around it, I’m so glad i just brought 2 carry-on bags.  I change my CDN to Rupees… hand the man 100, and I get 3500 rupees back in 1000 and 100 bills.  My wallet feels full.

Final hurdle is the customs, give the man the slip saying I’m not bringing anything of worth into the country, and I’m through the doors. 

At this point, I’m supposed to meet the hotel driver holding a sign with my name.  I see about 7 well dressed drivers in uniform… nope, my names not there.  I pass through some more doors and see more drivers with signs… nope not there either.  At this point I’m not worried, but am wondering what to do. I walk to the main doors to peek outside, and I see hundreds of dark faces peering back at me.  Wow, Toto, I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore…

I was hesitant to walk out into the throng, as I haven’t left the building and I’ve been asked if I want a cab 3 or 4 times.  I double check to make sure I didn’t walk pass my driver, and I head outside.  Thankfully I spot my “Indian-fied name almost immediately- Mr. Deerek Lau”

Walk fast down the ramp and into the parking lot.  Looking around, I see building architecture that you just don’t see anywhere in NA.  Different materials- stone/plaster/wood.  The parking lot is controlled chaos with cars, scooters, bikes, and those 3 wheel jobs zipping around.  I hop into the backseat and off we go to the hotel. 

The driver is nice, I can kinda understand him… he’s already offering to take me around the city on a tour sometime.  I found that a lot, Indians are masters at drumming up additional opportunites and business.

The trip through the city is wild- the traffic- I’ll write about that later- is almost indescribable… and I thought Paris was tough.

So we’re winding through streets that look pretty rough- rubble on the side, some buildings look like they’ve been bombed, lots of signage selling various products… and all of a sudden the car makes a right turn through some gates, and voila, I’m at the Chancery Pavillion.   It’s a nice hotel, even by NA standards.  The doorman opens my door, and offers to help with my bag.  Pet peeve, when I’m carrying a small 19″ carryon, and a backpack, I don’t need help to carry it 10 yards to the front desk, or 5 yards to the car.  I know it’s part of the service culture, but really…

As I enter the building, I notice it again, that smell.  Every building you enter has a fragrance to it, and it’s different from building to building.  It’s like a spicy, heavy perfumy smell.  It’s like Potpourri mixed with feenugreek seeds. 

By the time i check in and get to my room, it’s almost 1:20am.  I plug in my laptop, and of course there’s a fee to use the internet.  Most NA hotels are free, but here it’s 200 rupees ($6 cdn) an hour.  The hotel is 260USD/day, which if you think of what that means to the average Indian, it’s a staggering amount.  I later find out that my driver rents a place for his family of 4 for 1200 rupees a month.

I get on MSN, send some emails, unpack a bit, and I’m ready for bed at 2am, and I’m getting up by 8am to meet the driver.  20 hours on the plane, 26 hours of straight travel.  ZzzZZzzZZzzz…
 

In 2004, I got to spend 2 weeks in Virginia for work.  The hotel I stayed in was about a block and a half away from the Arlington National Cemetary, and specifically near the “Iwo Jima Memorial.”  At the time, I was aware that it was a statue created from the famous Rosenthal photo, and I admired it for its size and composition.  I was also aware that this statue was about the marines who fought in the Pacific theatre, as they hopped from Island to Island towards Japan.

Naturally when the movie came out last year, I was very interested in seeing it.  We haven’t been seeing a lot of movies lately, so when I saw the novel, I bought it to read on the airplane, at the beach, etc.

I couldn’t put the book down.  The author is the son of ‘Doc Bradley’- the Corpsman who is just behind the Marine at the base of the flag.  He writes from a son’s point of view- wondering about what his young father was like during WWII, and this starts an investigation into the conflict, the enemy, Iwo Jima, and the lives and deaths of the 6 Marines in the photo.

Impressions

History is one of my interests, and I thought I knew something about WWII.  Most of us who have seen ‘Saving Private Ryan’ remember the shocking opening minutes.  As brutal as the Normandy landing was, the Iwo Jima landing, if possible, was worse.  The Island, seen as the gateway to Japan, was defended by 200,000 soldiers who had months to dig in and prepare a devastating defense.  The Normandy assault was over in a day; it took 800,000 troops over a month to “win” Iwo Jima.  800,000 with a casualty rate of 60%.

To give some background perspective, it was battles like Iwo Jima that hastened the use of the A-Bomb.  I’m sure there were other factors involved in the decision, but there was an estimate of 1 million American casualties if they wanted to invade and conquer Japan.  Probably the most telling statistic was from Ira Hayes, where a full company of 250 Marines, each an expert marksman, highly trained, went in… and 26 walk out. 

What I liked the most about the book was how the author devoted a lot of time writing about each of the 6 soldiers pictured in the photo.  Mike Strank, Harlon Block, Franklin Sousley, Ira Hayes, John Bradley, and Rene Gagnon.  It tells the story of each man… where they came from, what their family was like, how they grew up, why they joined their service, and if they survived Iwo Jima, what life was like afterwards.  By the end, you feel as if you knew each man.

The book also tells the story behind the flag raising, and how the “photo” and the men pictured in it were used by the Propaganda machine to raise funds for the war.  

I have since bought the movie… haven’t watched it yet, but look forward to.  Plus I’m also eagerly awaiting ‘Letters from Iwo Jima’ just to see the story from the other side.  The book details an enemy that was utterly ruthless- able to carry out the most barbaric acts and brutal tactics, but not all of the Japanese soldiers were souless individuals that committed all the atrocities, and I think this movie will give balance to ‘Flags.’

I think the two movies show that the only tragedy was that there had to be a war in the first place.