Triathlon Pre-Race

Today I volunteered at the Abbotsford Triathlon,... I was assigned to the road course at one particular intersection and had to direct the cyclists safely and manage the car traffic.

It was a my way of getting to understand how a Triathlon operates behind-the-scenes, and to give something back to the race -- tomorrow others will volunteer on my behalf, so it was my desire to volunteer for others today.

Only one wipe-out at my corner, when a cyclist took the corner way too wide and went into the opposing gravel driveway. The front wheel slid out and down she went. There was minimal road rash, and admirably she picked herself up sorely, got back on the bike and carried on.

When the last cyclist past my position, I picked up my pylons and went to watch the runners cross the finish line. Emotion overcame me as I saw the perseverance of the participants and how their friends and family cheered them across the finish line.

Afterwards I went for a swim in the lake, 1/2 the distance (750m), my first open water length. I finished in 20 minutes. If I do the full distance in 45 minutes tomorrow, I'll be very satisfied.

Overall, I would have liked to do more training. KOIOS work just kept me too busy in the month(s) leading up the event. I managed to do some swimming, running and cycling, but never put it all together yet, or to practise the transitions. Tomorrow's event will be the first time it all comes together. I am proud that I changed my eating habits, eating less, eating more healthy, drinking litres of water and loosing ~7 lbs in the process -- down to 175lbs, which was my weight at age 20. That is one success of this Triathlon training that I'm happy about.

Mt. Cheam climb...

Yesterday, Alex, Elena, Logan and I climbed Mt. Cheam, near Chilliwack. T'was a gorgeous sunny day. The views of Mt. Baker to the South and adjacent Lady Peak to the South-East were beautiful. The panoramic view of the Fraser Valley from East-North-West was a tad smoggy but spectacular. Snow patches were fun to slide down in and throw snowballs. A great moderate day-trip hike. From the parking lot, a 5 hour hike round-trip. ~90 min drive to get there, with the last few KMs necessary to have a 4x4.

Canada Day

Eh?

My Dad...

A card written for Father's Day :-)

"My Dad", by Maysah (Age 8)

My father is... a nice guy. His name is Henry. He has a beard, a small one. He has no hair.
My father is good at... cutting grass with allergies. Not any old allergies. Grass allergies. He is good at teaching sports.
My father and I like to... go out together. We get library books. Stuff like that.
My father likes it when... it's quiet. He likes it when I help him.
I love it when my father... lets me go on the computer and play games with me.
My Dad is great because... friendly, playful, helpful and joyful.

Nothing Runs Like a Deere...

Did something this past week that I didn't think I'd ever do --- Bought a John Deere riding mower. Dunno why, but the practical and fiscal part of me just couldn't see myself ever paying 2X what another brand of riding mower could do. Like Craftsman, MTD, Toro or Snapper for example...

But we did... Hey, we cut a lot of grass. A lot. 5+ acres. And often. 1-2X per week if we can. The current Ford 1210 tractor/mower we had was just too big and problematic. And we've had a Craftman's mower before -- T'was OK, but basic. So we figured since we love to cut grass so much, why not buy a mower that we would love and enjoy.

And oh man, does it ever ride nice. Wow. So easy and fun to drive. Turns on a dime. Very smooth. Pretty powerful. Cuts beautifully. We are very happy with it.

Life is short. Enjoy it. Ride a Deere...

If today is your birthday...

"You are loyal, dutiful and protective of loved ones. However, personally you are highly individualistic. You have a mind of your own. Many of you have a scientific bent and are technically proficient at something. You like a harmonious environment and strive to maintain this. Work hard to build and construct something this year that will benefit you in the future."

P.S. I only look at my horoscope one day a year.... :-)

The Restrooms of South Korea...

Ever thought about judging a country’s culture before by their restrooms' leisureliness and energy? Well, in the Suwon region of South Korea, they take their restrooms very seriously!

http://eng.suwon.ne.kr/ -- See Tourist Guide --> Beautiful Restrooms

Much thought and planning goes into making their restrooms a "comfortable place to take a rest or to recharge energy".... That facilities should be "harmonious with surrounding environment."

Under Sights and Experiences, there is a tour called “Sightseeing of the World Cultural Site of Hwaseong Fortress and at specialized Restrooms”, where you can see “A sightseeing course has been developed, linking the world cultural heritage site of Hwaseong Fortress and beautiful local restrooms. Tourists from both home and abroad can enjoy the sightseeing of Hwaseong and at the same time the novel experience of visiting specialized restrooms.”

Thanks to Fred and Anna on researching their upcoming trip to South Korea...

Eccentric America

http://www.eccentricamerica.com

Oh, the very bizarre things people do. This web site (and book) will keep you entertained about the weird and wacky. Just when you think you've see it all,... well, keep reading.

Reach For The Top

A small trip down memory lane....

In 1982 and 1983, I was part of the Reach for the Top team for my high school, Ballenas Secondary School. It was a fun intellectual and teaming experience.

Reach for the Top was / is a knowledge quiz show which had teams of top high school students from across the country compete for top school in Canada.

In 1982, as the only Grade 11 student, I was a "spare" on the school team. In 1983, I was one of 4 Grade 12 students to make the team. We practiced twice a week for months leading up to the show, using a very simple home-made quiz contest buzzer system to practice with. I recall the field trip to CBC Vancouver fondly. CBC gave us accommodations at the adjacent Sandman Hotel. I remember an elevator ride deep below ground to the studios, a short powder-puff of make-up, and instructions of how behave during the taping, including clapping when the "applause" light was lit. We lost our first and only game,... it was close, 185 - 175, or something like that.

Reach for the Top debuted on CBC Vancouver in 1961 as a television quiz game for high school students, modeled on the British television series "Top of the Form", and was an intant success. By 1966, 23 TV stations in all 10 provinces were carrying the show, with about 600 schools taking part. Terry Garner was CBC Vancouver's original host. Programs across Canada had different emcees, but it was Garner's show that was used as a training model for other CBC hosts. One of whom was a young Alex Trebeck, quizmaster for the Toronto program from 1969-1973, now host of Jeopardy!. Garner was replaced as host in 1982 by Eric Dwyer, and Reach for the Top was cancelled by the CBC in 1985.

Reach for the Top has continued to evolve outside of the CBC, primarily within the Candian Learning Television and Knowledge Network broadcasts. It continues be shown on several private and public networks. In 1985, the "SchoolReach" program was established, without the glare of television lights, is played by thousands of students, with its top teams invited to play "Reach for the Top" on television.

See www.reachforthetop.com and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reach_for_the_Top.

"But Dad,... I can smell it [Licorice] on your breath."

People who know me, know that I have love for Red Licorice, to the point of being very possessive about it. Same for chocolate. Oh sure, I'll share,... most times, but when it comes down to the last few pieces, back-off, they're mine.

Kids are smart though. Recently while seemingly trying to be sneaky and eat licorice behind my kids back, I got busted.

"Do you have any licorice, Dad?", asks my daughter knowingly.

"Who me?", I reply innocently. "Nope, I have none".

"But Dad,... I can smell it [Licorice] on your breath."

*** busted ***

This "Baby Blues" comic strip says it all. :-)

Triathlon Baseline

Signed up for the Abbotsford Triathlon today. The full Olympic distance. 1.5KM Swim, 40KM Cycle, 10KM Run. Not just the half Triathlon / Sprint Distance. It's my first ever Triathlon, something I've always wanted to challenge myself to do. Go big or go home.

The Triathlon gives me a big goal to aim for. Last year it was Mount Baker climb. This year is the Triathlon. It gives me focus to get more physically fit, eat better (less) and loose some weight.

I've baselined myself. I think I can do the swim less than 1 hours, the cycle in less than 2 hours and the run in about 1 hour. That 4 hours total elapsed time. Last years last place finisher had a time of 4:02:43. I want to beat that time. It's a modest time target. If I do better, then great. Remember this is my first triathlon, so that real goal is just to finish. Yeah!

Bradner Car Rally a Cliff-Hanging Success!

[Submitted to Bradner Barker Newsletter]

“Drivers! Start your engines!” That was the excitement that 21 drivers and accompanying navigators (and passengers) felt this Saturday, April 29, 2006, as the 1st Annual Bradner Car Rally.

OK, OK,… it was more like “Folks, since it’s raining outside, please line up at the [Bradner Hall] door and patiently wait for your instructions before departing”.

In intervals of one minute, the 21 cars were sent away from Bradner Hall, with rally instructions in-hand, leading the cars on a 2+ hour, ~100 kilometer trek around all corners of Abbotsford. The drivers and navigators had to carefully follow speed, odometer and directional instructions, and answer many skill testing questions along the way. What seemed easy on paper was quickly found to be much more difficult for many of the drivers.

Drivers and navigators had to locate 4 strategically placed Checkpoints along the route, and if found, perform further skill-testing tasks. Interestingly enough, these Checkpoints were harder to locate than several cars expected, causing some to succumb to opening their penalty-causing “Panic Instructions” just to get back on course.

Prizes and bragging rights were awarded to the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and LAST place finishers. Note: A perfect score would have been ~200 points. Here are the official results:

First place (178 points):
Driver: Mark Tomashewski
Navigator: John Buchanan

Second Place (175 points):
Driver: Henry Wilsenack
Navigator: Logan Wilsenack

Third Place (172 points):
Driver: Fern McDonald
Navigator: Don Wenting

Last Place (-125 points):
Driver: Larry Meyers
Navigator: Andrea Tabian

It must be mentioned that the first place winners did not finish in the top position because of their ace driving ability or superior navigational skills, rather only because they were given 25 bonus points for rescuing one of the rally vehicles that had gotten stuck on Sumas Mountain, precariously teetering over a road-side cliff. Otherwise a lowly 8th place finish would have been their fate.

True rally champions were the second and third place finishing cars, who found all Checkpoints, obtained perfect skill-testing scores and stayed very close to the official speed & time (not too fast, not too slow).

With a score of -125 (yes, that’s negative 125), last place winners did not actually finish the rally because of a blown water-pump, thereby disabling their vehicle and sending them to a repair shop.

Pizza and refreshments were served afterwards at Bradner Hall, as the drivers and navigators re-told their stories of buying Cherry Ripe bars at Clayburn Store, throwing horseshoes at Albert Dyck Park, or swapping driver/navigator positions whilst climbing over each other INSIDE the car.

Funds raised benefited the Bradner PAC. Many thanks to Debbie and Ken Nielsen for organizing this super fun event. See you next year!

First 10K run

Logan and I ran our first 10K run together recently.

It was a charity thing for the Centre for Child Development in Surrey. We'd run before around the neighbourhood and country-side, but never a formal organized run.

Our time was 1:05:56. The goal for our next 10K run is to break the 1 hour mark,... easily done we think with a bit of pacing and training.

Not only was this a fun event, creating a bit of awareness for special needs kids, but I was very proud of Logan for challenging himself, completing the run, having fun and not complaining once. Looking forward to more runs and events together.

Hooray! Hooray! It's the First of May.

Hooray! Hooray! It's the First of May.
Outdoor screwing starts today!
-=-=-=-
The legend continues. With thanks to Ernie Hamm.

My all-time favorite Far Side cartoon.

Who says Chess isn't a sport?

Please return your persmission slip if you want to join the chess club and participate in the chess tournament.

Expert chess player? Yikes. Me? I don't think so. Well, perhaps against elementary school kids.

I remember vividly playing chess as a child with my Dad and at school. Sure I played a lot of other sports too, but chess stimulated my brain. By age ~10, I was able to beat my Dad regularly. It is a fond memory for me.

So far my kids haven't beat me yet, but they're getting close. I really have to pay attention a lot more these days and the chances I give are much fewer. Not that I'll mind when they do beat me at chess --- it will be a proud day for me when they do.

I believe that chess makes kids smart and that the games of chess has many parallels in life. It teaches patience, concentration, and thinking ahead of how to solve a problem. They learn self-motivation and how to devise creative solutions to put their plans into action.

-=-=-=-

"A computer beat me in chess, but it was no match when it came to kick-boxing" -- Anonymous.

Minda Abair at Jazz Alley

Got sax?

My buddy T-Bone and I went on a road trip to see sensual Jazz sensation Mindi Abair play at Jazz Alley in Seattle last month. Wow! Hot! Sultry saxophone and smooth jazz/pop at it's best.



Seattle is a neat place. By chance, we stumbled upon the Experience Music Project. And the adjacent Science Fiction Museum. Waaaaay cool places, though we only had a few minutes to gawk in the gift shop. Definitely a future roadtrip in the making...

OLPC - One Laptop per Child

I find the potential of this fascinating…

One Laptop per Child (OLPC) is a new, non-profit association dedicated to research to develop a $100 laptop—a technology that could revolutionize how we educate the world's children. The goal: to provide children around the world with new opportunities to explore, experiment, and express themselves.

See: laptop.org or OLPC.

The Bad Dream

"The Bad Dream"... or so supposedly called, is a famous African painting, depicting an African hunter in a dilemma.

The hunter, scared by the lion, jumps up onto a rope to escape. In the process, the hunter drops his rifle. The hunter can't climb up the rope because of the snake. And can't jump back down because of the lion. And there is a rat chewing at the rope, so time is running out before the rope breaks and the hunter falls into the waiting jaws of a crocodile in the water.

What is the hunter to do???

Great Big Sea

Kids and I went to the Great Big Sea concert last night at Centre for Performing Arts, Vancouver.

Great high-energy Newfoundland, Celtic rock/pop music.

A really heart-warming sing-along essentially because most everyone knew the words to so many songs. I was proud to see Logan & Maysah singing "Donkey Riding", "Ordinary Day", "Captain Kidd" and so many other songs they knew.

The impromptu sing along to "Summer of 69" and "Sweet Dreams" was nice. It was great to sing along to "Charlie Horse", "The River Driver," and you can never go wrong with "The Night that Pat Murphy Died."

And.. I'll never look at a fish's tail the same way way....

I would rate this show as one of the best live performance I have ever seen. A truly excellent show - great energy and the crowd really appreciated the band playing after their bus accident earlier in the day.

-=-=-=-=-

Back from Africa. Prince is home.

I'm back in Canada. Home sweet home. Land of hot showers, electricity, good roads and moderate temperatures. Back since last week actually, but due to a nasty stomach bug, just now able to catch up on emails, blog, work life & farm life. Internet cafes were not easily available in Monrovia or Accra.

Good news -- Prince is home too.

It took the help of many people, including involvement from Immigration Canada (Ottawa), senior immigration official(s) from CDN High Commission (Ghana) and even good recommendations from the US Embassy in Monrovia to give the accreditation necessary for ACFI.

Adoption is a roller-coaster ride. Lots of emotional highs. Many lows. Lots of smiles, laughter and happy tears. Quite a few dissapointments, anger and frustrations. I always say Adoption is not a single event, rather Adoption is a Journey,... a journey that lasts a lifetime.

Prince is an amazing 7yr old boy. Very natural at music beat. Exceptionally good at sports. I was playing soccer and {NFL-style} football with him, and he was playing at a very high calibre for his age compared to what I was used to for his age. A very curious boy,... flicking light-switches tens of times, just to see what they would do. Leafing through magazines and books like a new world is being discovered to his eyes.

In the orphange, Prince would do his own laundry. Bucket of water, bar of soap, and scrub... He bathes and cleans himself like no other kid I've seen, scrubbing dirt off his skin from head to toe. Very tidy, folding his clothes meticulously and sorting it beside his bunk-bed. He eats and eats -- no surprise I suppose. Once he figured out that 2nd helpings were allowed in his new found world, 2nd and 3rd portions have become the norm. At the orphanage, meat was only served once a year -- on Christmas Day. On his second day with us, Prince took 45 minutes to devour a chicken drumstick, savouring and eathing every last possible morsal of meat, grizzle and marrow. Our skin-less, bone-less, white-meat chicken culture could learn a thing or two....

In all, we visited 3 different orphanages in Liberia. A deaf orphanage with 57 kids in Gardnersville. A large 10+ acres, multi-building orphanage, home to nearly 400 kids age 4-15 in Dixville. And a small orphanage house for older boys, age 15-25, just on the edge of Monrovia.

Out of all, the Deaf Orphanage had the most impact on me. I had learned to sign my name (spelling H-e-n-r-y) in advance, and the kids, craving such emotional attention and communications, clung to me, signed and communicated back to me. They loved to ham it up for the camera and to see themselve on the digital camera LCD screen, squealing with delight when they saw their faces. It touched me deeply...

Cheers!

-=H=-

The man from Ouagadougou

Today I met a man traveling to Ouagadougou. "oo-ga-doo-goo" is the neatest sounding city-name I've seen on this trip so far... It is a city in the neighbouring country of Burkina Faso.

The man was to have traveled to Ouagadougou via Bellview airlines, but the flight was cancelled. Grounded is more like it. Bellview had a recent history of plane crashes and a poor safety record.

We ended up flying Slok Air from Ghana to Liberia.... not that Slok has any better safety record (United Nations personnel had been prohibited from flying on Slok at one point because of the 0.5 safety rating (out of 10)). But we need to get to Liberia badly, so what choice do we have?

-=H=-

P.S. Goat soup and Kenturkey Fried Chicken on the menu last night at the Hometouch Restaurant....

The Mango Tree

BAM! Roll, roll, roll,.... splat! It's 3:00am and I've just been awoken from falling fruit from the Mango tree outside my guest house room. BAM! Roll, roll, splat! Another mango drops out of the tree onto the tin roof.

Arrived here in Accra, Ghana, on Monday late evening,...greeted by a swarm of pan-handlers all looking to carry our baggage to the waiting car for a few USD or local currency (Cedi). "No thankyou" is not something they choose to understand. It's a bit frantic and we are glad when we are in the van with all our luggage and person intact. Thankfully the guest house we are staying at has a secure gated compound and relaxing gardens.

Accra is HOT. 30C is the night-time temperature. Brutal to sleep in that kind of heat. Plus the humidity is ~85%, so everything is clammy, like the bedsheets.

Went to the Canadian High Commission (Embassy) on Tuesday and ran into some major road-blocks. Prnce's medical forms have not arrived and have been traced to still sitting with the doctor in Liberia. Furthermore, the CDN Immigration office does not recognize the ACFI operated orphanage in Monrovia as an accredited organization, and first needs to perform a review of ACFI. These are major issues to overcome quickly if we have any hope of bringing Prince home with us.

On Friday (Jan 6/06) we travel from Accra to Monrovia via Slok Air. All local carriers here have a less than stellar reputation, but we've chosen the best we can. Tentatively we will spend 5-7 days in Liberia, depending upon if we bring Prince back with us or not, and depending upon what additional medical or visa work may need to be done back in Ghana.

Blogging will be brief until I return. Internet cafes are hard to find, and the priority has been to do whatever necessary to bring Prince home. I have pictures and diary, and will endeavor to blog more upon my return.

Cheers!

-=H=-