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Apparently I'm not intermediate
2008-04-24 20:30:00
Apparently when you do outdoor activities in BC you need to know your skill level. In Toronto, there are no activities that require a skill level. If I want to go to the ROM, all I need is basic geographic knowledge of the city?s layout and $20. With the same level of skill I can visit Kensington market, cruise Queen St on a busy Sunday afternoon and then go the gym. Apparently in BC there are further separations in the ?skill level? of the citizens.So when we first saw the sign that said?Only experienced hikers with advanced skills should attempt this climb?We didn?t think much of it. We made our way to the trailhead with our awesome Toronto ?we can do anything? and ?of course we?re experienced and advanced? attitudes.When we reached the trailhead our attitudes quickly changed. The very first 10 steps on the trail involved scaling a large wall. It was meant as a message to say ?if you can?t even get on the trail, you shouldn't attempt the accent?. We looked around for the ?real ro...
More About: Intermediate

Inner Peace & Suburbs on the Road Less Traveled
2008-02-18 05:43:00
We shout ?cuidado? (?careful? in Spanish) to each other as we descend into the valley hugging the river below. We need to make our way down about 200 feet to get to the crystal clear river below, but there is no path and the decline is steep? Impossible in many areas. We carefully dig our fingers into the roots of the trees above and carefully make our decent, double checking each branch, rock and root we grab onto in order to test its trustworthiness. We slowly get closer to something we haven?t seen, only heard, but we just ?have a good feeling about it?.Closer to the bottom it becomes slightly more dangerous but we see the river up close at last. About 8 feet deep in the deepest part and crystal clear green water at the foot of a waterfall. The sounds, the sights the smells are spectacular. All senses are stimulated. We get ninety percent of the way there, but we are now faced with one last obstacle. We need to trek across a fallen tree that?s covered in slippery moss. I start to...
More About: Peace , Vancouver , Road , On The Road , Inner Peace

Time is the most undefinable yet paradoxical of things...
2008-01-26 19:57:00
Time is the most undefinable yet paradoxical of things; the past is gone, the future is not come, and the present becomes the past even while we attempt to define it, and, like the flash of lightning, at once exists and expires. ~Charles Caleb Coltonmy baby picture at birthA handful of years later: Apparently I'm crossed eyedSabrena: munchkin in the front: Dana: Habs jersey. Me: beside grandmaAppently I do this look a lot when I get shy.Dana (Middle) Sabrena and I. DanaMe showing dana an invention. Him looking very interested.Christina (Dana's daugther) showing dana her presents: Dana looking very high.Sabrena at home with classic 80's art in the backgroundSabreana passed outBenjamin an dChristinaDana and I joyriding. Sabrena and I not sleeping.Wipe outMom, Dad, Subby, Dana and IMy mom as a babyMy mom as a little girlGrandma!Molson Canadian ad with my sister in it.Subby and ISubby playing with our step dadSubby having a bath in the sinkSubbySubby and maybe her boyfriend. Apparen...
More About: Time , Things

Panoramics
2008-01-21 05:05:00
View from our front yard at sunsetView of downtown
More About: Vancouver , Pano , Panoramic

36 hours ago
2008-01-03 07:09:00
Edith Piaf playing in the background, the mountains in the foreground. This is my first morning in Vancouver. My life once again positively transformed through change. Just over 24 hours ago I was celebrating new years in a park in Kensington market in Toronto with my sister and a couple close friends. We had a small stereo system with us, so with fireworks exploding in the background, the roar of the bars and the not so impressive sound coming from our $30 stereo system we spent the last second of 2007 at the top of a park slide and we brought in the new year by sliding down the slide and making our 2008 wish.Toronto started getting hit with a snowstorm at around midnight but it didn?t slow down our outdoor conversation, dance and music party. Shortly after warming up at a nearby house we made our way to Kum Jung Yen, a grungy but welcoming little restaurant in the heart of Toronto?s China town. The restaurant doesn?t play music so we used our portable music player to entertain the...
More About: Hours

A man's memory is not a summation,it is a chaos of vague possibilities - Jo
2007-05-01 19:45:00
This post may become filled with Aphorisms as my wit fails me today. Also failing is my ability to post a blog post regularly for my family and friends to see. 1 post every couple of months has turned out to be a less than effective strategy on maintining a readership and has even led my brothers and sisters to stop visiting my blog. The viewership of this page now consists of myself and my mom. It has become more an email to my mom with a URL. Which is a nice segway into my first aphorism: If at first you don't succeed, failure may be your style. This is how i feel about my blogging abilities. In the world of facebook and myspace, blogs have become a thing of the past. Something '06ish, newspaper'esqu, too "printed word", not digital enough.Sorry mother, I've been rambling. How are you? Things here in Buenos Aires are fantastic. We will be making our voyage back to toronto in just a little over 2 weeks. We have met some fantastic people since we've been here and it will be har...
More About: Memory , Bili , Memo , Chaos

3 days of fragmented thoughts
2007-03-12 05:43:00
picture: Me doing my sunday spanish cram sessionTo my left, I see a man in a cage, nostrils flared, both hands holding the cage which he calls his home, knawing at his encasement, our eyes meet. I?m mesmerized temporarily, before fear forces my eyes to the road. Probably a victim of Paco, a highly addictive cocaine by-product that transforms humans into the living dead. My ears are fixated on the sounds the caged man is making but my eyes go their own way and find refuge on the skeleton of a dog partialy sunk into the ground.Picture: Hand made shackI look to my right, I?m waved into a school, a boy runs up yells ?Hola amigo. Que tal?, throws me a high five, his little sister, not wanting to the re-construct the academic sentence of her brother offers a high pitched ?hola? and throws her little hand up for a high five. I bend down for a hug and a picture. She puts her fingers in her mouth and smiles the most beautiful smile I?ve ever seen. The sound of the knawing is still in my head...
More About: Thoughts , Thought , Days , Fragment

Caution: Women with a briefcase is dancing
2007-02-19 02:23:00
New things I've learnt in 2007.When you go to a club that recieved 4.5 stars on gay.com, you're going to a gay bar.Walking in the rain isn't so bad2006 was so 2005Sundays, this city closes down: I am a firm believer in a solid day of do nothing but read and write day.we have turned our dining room into a dance room. I think a dance room should be as mandatory as a bathroom in a house. just you, a set of speakers and your willingness to boogie. I have not yet figured out what the sign with the women on it means. I will keep you posted.me buying orange juiceBus out of the city for the weekendme at a beachthe clouds at the beachthe beach at nightSubby seeing the Atlantic for the first timeBaby whale and motherSam waching me coming out the waterSammy and her dad at a cafeView from the bus stationbeach at nighfallBeach at sunsetBeautiful City of Punte Del Estebeaching it on a cloudy dayMy outdoor livingroomSam happy to be walking around our neighborhoodSam's dad in the cemetaryLittl...
More About: Dancing , Women , Case , Brief , Briefcase

My new years present to you: Conversation starters
2007-01-17 15:09:00
The sky is bluer hereMen greet each other by a kiss on the cheekWomen greet men by a kiss on the cheekIf you don't like kissing people, you won't like it hereAlmost 40% of people live in povertyThere is 95% less begging than in TorontoI have found out that my name doesn't work in Latin America and I need a new Spanish name. I'm not making a chiste (see notes below for definition of chiste). the beginning of my name "ste" and the end of my name "ing" are impossible for Spanish people to say. what I usually get is "Star leen" our "Audi". I have changed my name officially to Audi, until i can think of something cooler. any suggestions are welcome.On new years eve everyone throws their work from the last year out on the street (see picture to the right)Paper shredders are 1) slower and 2) less fun than the previously mentioned paper disposal methodEven if you don't have work papers to throw out of your window on new years, throwing anything from your balcony is fun and will be encou...
More About: Buenos Aires , Present , Years , Sati

Merry Christmas
2006-12-25 00:14:00
Its hot and tropics here in BA right now. We just finished seeing Sam's dad off and are about to welcome my sister, Sabrena. She's spending all day Chris t mas in an airport or airborn. Likely the most boring way to spend Christmas.When she arrives we're off to Punte Del Este to hit the beaches and do some snorkeling. I've posted some pictures of tango shows, bookstores, cafe's and concerts. I hope this gives you a better idea of the character of Buenos Aires.Let me know if you need my address to send presents. I'm not picky.Tango Show Tango CafeChurch OrchestraBook Store
More About: Punta Del Este , Merry Christmas

Patagonia & Happy Feet El Penguino
2006-12-18 03:14:00
We spent the last week in Patagonia (the province of Chubut) where we came face to face with happy feet el penguino. Happy feet agreed to do a quick photo shoot for us (photo to the right). really nice guy. The big screen ads about 5 feet, turns out he's only about 16 inches tall.during our week we also got within 10 feet of a right whale and her new born baby, saw wild ostriches, lama's, lizards, sea lions, elephant seals and something that looked like a mix between a dog with horns and a naked rabbit.All and all a fantastic experience. But because I just took the last 5 days off, I have a lot of work to do right now. So I'm just going to post a handful of pictures of the region.I miss you all and hope to hear from you all soon.Sterlingleaving Buenos Aires at SundownSandstorm on our beachEarly arrival in a small town in ChubutWhale mom playing with her babySammy and her dad out on the South Atlanticour beach with seo lionsclose up of the sea lions playing (or fighting) in the wa...
More About: Feet , Happy Feet , Penguin

Tango Night Out
2006-11-24 19:16:00
My Spanish is slowly developing, I?m discovering very cool Spanish music (elecro-flamenco, classic tango and reggaeton) and I find myself getting more attached to Buenos Aires. For the first time in a long time I have also found myself over my head in work as Rob and I try and raise a huge chunk of cash to fund a business venture that will allow us to own the rights to a technology that will take advantage of the huge price discrepancy between the British pound and the Canadian dollar. So I?ll soon be getting paid in Pounds which is close to about 6 times the value of the Argentine peso. So my money will go a very long way. I plan on retiring in February, maybe sooner.My retirement post will come in February, for now I want to talk to you about tango. The other night Sam, myself and a couple other people from our Spanish school went to ?Michelangelo?, which is a stunningly beautiful old building located in San Telmo (the same neighborhood, that president bush?s daughter got robbed i...
More About: Night , Tango , Tang

Buenos Aires: Dos
2006-11-15 17:46:00
So it only seems like we've been here for about 2 days, but it's been over 2 weeks now. We're really in the groove now. I can go to stores and kind of order what I need. And even if I don't get what I want I still get something. For instance, the other day I tried to order a steak and instead got a plate of SPAM. I can't even complain to the waitress because I haven't taken a class on complaining yet so I just sit there and eat my SPAM and pretend it's what I meant to order. When Sam says "that's not what you ordered is it?", I just reply "what do you mean? This is totally what I wanted... why do you want to trade for your nice roast chicken?". I am also in Spanish school right now and I have to do about 4 hours of school / day. It's such a blast. Nobody speaks english in the school so I'm just winging it. For instance today, I had to put together a sentence about my house.. here is what I intended my sentence to read.."my apartment is fun becuase we listen to music, dance...
More About: Buenos Aires , Aires

Buenos Aires
2006-11-07 03:42:00
Flying over chileYes, I am finally here. This city is amazing. Much more amazing then even my high expectations. My neighborhood is stunningly beautiful. 20 foot wooden doors, marble sculpture, old French architecture, countless fashion and food boutiques (no chains or big department stores). It's very European here. Think Paris, with a touch of Rome having a head on collision with Manhattan, then divide the price of everything by 3 and you have Buenos Aires . I can't spend money quickly enough. Samantha (Samantini, what people call her here) and I go out for dinner each night. We spend time in our neighborhood called "Recolletta" going to really high end Italian or French restaurants. We get a bottle of nice wine, nice lamb, fish or steak meals, a couple of appetizers and desert. Then we pay them the equivalent of about 30 dollars before heading off to the club district to accidentally party at a "transformer" party. Transformers as I soon found out are not the robots we are famil...

Before Departure
2006-10-25 02:02:00
Before we leave on Tuesday for Buenos Aires, Argentina for an unknown amount of time, I thought I would do one last post just for fun. However, I don't have very much time right now, so I'm just going to upload some random pics from the last 8 years I've lived in Toronto.Picture from Koray's balcony. My apartment is the one to the left! Many nights out here having drinks, cuban cigars, chats and chill music sessions.The view from my Livingroom!My apartment from the ferry heading off to the toronto island beachesSammy walking to the beach across the street from us.Sam; singing with a glass of merlot. Me; wasting no time.Snowboarding.The lesson: Humans are not stronger than mountains. Random Other pics of booting around....Small town in Cuba. We had dinner at a Cubans families house and then they took us for a tour of their town. We couldn't communicate with the women who was showing us around and feeding us, but it was likely the best tour of my life. Cool thing about having a b...
More About: Part , Departure , Fore

Unorthodox brand of parenting
2006-08-30 23:32:00
Sammy, Subby, Christina & BenjiChristina and Benji just left my place in Toronto , to head back home out east. We had a blast while they were here. They pretty much take care of themselves. They are like the kind of kids I want to have; independent, can cook, clean themselves, pay their own way and don?t do drugs. I did realize that I think I?m going to too laid back of a parent though. If ever in doubt about things like bedtimes I would simply ask them what I should do. I would ask them ?when do you feel like going to bed?, which they responded ?about 2am?. I think it?s fairly reasonable for an 9 year old to stay up until 2 on a Wednesday!We had a great time though, we strolled around downtown, Kensington market, queen st, skydome. We even went to a busker festival to watch some really entertaining performers eat fire and make gay jokes to crowds of kids. Pretty unacceptable humor for 4 year olds, but they all seemed to get a kick out of it, so who I am to say to say when kids shou...
More About: Parenting , Brand , Renting , Rent

3 Very Srange Men: A pictoral essay on Krups, Thano & Cream
2006-08-30 21:25:00
Me arresting Jon for smokingI wake up to the sound of racial slanders being thrown around outside Jon?s 8th street apartment. ?f!@k you crazy nig!@?r? one man?s shouts at the other. Only a half second later the exact same insult is echoed back. I groan, rub my eyes, and make my way out of bed to peek out the window to what, juding by the language being used, is going to be some black and black agression. To my surprise I was wrong. It was a 70 year old white man yielding a cane vs. a young black man using an 8 foot 2x4 as his weapon. As if I wasn?t already surprised by the fact that this is how some people start their day at 8am in the morning, I was even more surprised to find that the small 3 foot wooden cane was actually doing a pretty good job of fending off the 8 foot 2x4.So naturally, instead of calling the police to break up a fight which seemed it may be a bit uneven (considering the weapons and descrepency in age), I opened the window and took my seat on the fire escape wit...
More About: New York , Essay , Cream , Range , Oral

Machine Guns & Cute Kids
2006-04-18 14:54:00
Cool shot I took on a beachHello again everyone. It?s been a couple of months since my last entry so I thought I?d throw up another posting. I just read that only 50% of people who set up a blog continue to post after 6 months. I don?t want to become a statistic. Here we go.This time I?d like to write about a recent trip Samantha and I took to Honduras to visit her mom who just bought a beautiful piece of island property there and has been living there on her sail boat for the last half year or so. I had emailed some of you a while ago, but since then I have got new pictures developed so I?ll post up my new pictures.We visited the Bay Island Area just off the coast of the mainland. This region possesses beauty beyond belief. However, it also has many of Central America?s worst problems. For starters, Honduras is the poorest country in Central America. It is plagued with an awful AIDS outbreak and in many parts it has an excessive crime rate. There is a strong weapons culture there a...
More About: Cute , Kids , Guns , Machine , Chine

New York, New York
2006-03-03 15:32:00
Hey friends and family. I've decided to post a blog about my New York Living experience rather than email you about it because it's easier for me to upload pictures and change / add information when I want.As many of you know I had decided I wanted to go live in Manhattan for a couple of months. I've always been intrigued by the city and wanted an opportunity to get to know it more intimately. I also thought I would use this opportunity to help grow my business to the next level by attending various coaching seminars and networking events.What I have seen and learnt here, I could not put into words. It has exceeded and continues to exceed my highest expectations. This is not to say that everything has been fun or easy since I got here, to say that would be an outright lie. This is a city of extremes. You are either on top of the world, or having this city serve you a beating on a platter. This city requires that you have a New York mindset. Failure to think like a New Yorker is a...
More About: New-York