My New Wheels

So today Mom and I went out to look at the car offerings around Bowmanville. We ended up finding one at the Oshawa-Whitby at Owasco VW.

So as you can see, it is indeed a Golf. A 2001 Golf GLS to be exact. It isn't a diesel since they really are a bit harder to find; but no problem. You'll notice it is 4-door--I hear clapping in the distance. Can't forget to mention the sun-roof and heated seats. :) Oh, it only has 62,700 KM on it, so plenty of life left in it.

The scheduled pickup time is 2PM Thursday. Can't wait to call it mine!

Just for the people who like facts and figures out there:

2001 Volkswagen Golf GLS

Certified:	Certified Vehicle
Engine:	2.0L 4 cyl Fuel Injection
Interior:	Black
Location:	Owasco Volkswagen
Kilometers:	61,702
Transmission:	Manual

Featured Equipment

• Air Conditioning
• Driver Side Air Bag
• Passenger Side Air Bag
• Anti-Lock Brakes
• AM/FM Cassette
• Security Features
• Alloy Wheels
• Cruise Control
• Front Wheel Drive
• Heated Mirrors
• Heated Seats
• Keyless Entry
• Manual Transmission
• Power Brakes
• Power Door Locks
• Power Mirrors
• Power Steering
• Power Windows
• Sunroof
• Tilt Steering Wheel

Time to Fly

With just about 2 hours and 45 minutes left, I am heading out the door to check-out. I'll see you all on the other side of the globe...well our side. :)

Picture from Dinner

Just received a copy of a picture taken at the dinner last Friday. From left to right we have: Wai Ming, Sham, and myself.

It Has Been Confirmed

So it has been confirmed that I'll be on vacation from this Friday through to the 19th of December, returning to work on Tuesday the 20th (for a few days). So in just over 25 hours I'll be on vacation (minus the flight time of course). :) Looking forward to seeing everyone, as well as being a proper Canadian citizen.

The Final Stretch

Well we are approaching the final stretch; just over three days left. :) This past weekend didn't go quite as I hoped. I had intended on going to another part of Georgetown and do a little shopping, etc. However, due to the "day-time" hours I've been living I slept far to late.

The weekend wasn't an entire waste Friday night I went to the Annual Dinner for the organization within the client company I'm working for. It was an entertaining event, if not artificially extended by their seemingly pointless skits.

Saturday was spent mostly chatting with Dad and teaching myself Mozilla XUL. For those who care to know, XUL is the language which the gecko rendering engine understands. That probably means absolutely nothing to most people. But for those of you who are still reading this, I have started to implement a BOINC Client UI.

Today I went with Sham and her family to Batu Ferringhi, where we had dinner and wandered the night market. One huge difference between Batu Ferringhi and Georgetown is the number of tourists. Batu Ferringhi is the tourist location on the island of Penang. Which is also location of the Golden Sands resort at which I could have transferred to for weekends....but I never did get around to that. Between working and sleeping I never managed to do so. :(

Anyway, I'll be seeing everyone very soon! :D

Not As Planned...

Well today didn't happen quite as planned. But I still went out for a wander around. Didn't see anything in particular, just a random stroll. I will have to say that having a 7-digit PIN number doesn't work so well. Time to research to see how I can use my Bank of America card here. :( Until I figure it out I guess I am not using my cash advance located on my BofA account.

I took a couple pictures to remind everyone of the real Penang. Note the tall KOMTAR building, it is helpful since it is the tallest building on the island, and right beside my hotel. :) Makes it hard to get lost.

Plans

Well I'm actually going to do something tomorrow. Planning on going to see the Botanic Gardens with Sham & her family. So look forward to some pictures.

I think that I'll be going to bed soon. Yes it is late, 4:45 AM and I just finished working about 1 and a quarter hours ago. Well at least there will be some good overtime. :)

Planes and Plans

Well according to the flight tracking, Joy and her mother have landed safely in Holland. I hope that they both enjoy their trip thoroughly. They will be there for about two weeks, and should be back in Ontario a day before me, on the 7th of December. I'll probably post some of the picture that find their way to me.

And for the next couple weeks, well probably the remainder of my time, I'll be working shifted hours, 4PM - 1AM local time (3AM-Noon EST). So, I get to sleep in every day now. So far it is going alright, but I've only had one day of it. :)

A Little Less Red

So, still been very little excitement here. What is everyone else been up?

Some of you will be happy to know that there is a little less red under my chin. Joel, now only has to worry about the length of the hair on top of my head.

News from Malaysia

Well I know you are all hoping for some exciting news from the exotic Malaysia. However, I'll have o disappoint you with pretty much no news what-so-ever. My time has been spent doing one of a few things: working, eating, sleeping, or reading. Finished off The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, and now I am back to the never-ending Otherland.

So that is about it. Have a good day, night, or whatever time of day it is for you.

So Sleepy

I imagine a few of you are curious as to what is going on here. To put it simple, nothing exciting. My time has been spent working, and not much else. Have a good work week behind me with two days left in the week. That is never a good thing. So basically I'm exhausted.

The Tale of the Lost Luggage

Well one day in Malaysia is over, only a few left. :P I spent a lot of my day chatting with folks back home, and watching Asian TV (which mostly consisted of Western movies). But onto the point of this post. So now, just around 24 hours later, there is some news regarding my luggage. No, I do not yet have them. But according to the WorldTracer Services both pieces of have been located, and the airline (Cathay Pacific) is confirming. I suppose by confirming they mean that the airline currently in possession of them is confirming that they indeed have them. So hopefully more good news will be following.

Ryan In Malaysia

Well I have made it to my hotel in Malaysia, safe and mostly sound. More details in a little bit.

Malaysia v2.2

Well I finally made it to my hotel. And it worked out to only 44 hours door-to-door. Most of my flight from Hong Kong to Malaysia was spent sleeping. And I learnt a good lesson during my sleep. Don't sleep during final approach. If you do, the touchdown can be quite a startle.

I am here safe, and mostly sound. I after standing around the baggage carousel for a good while, they conveyor stopped. This is not a good thing. So, I have finally run into the whole lost baggage thing. The Penang airport is to forward my baggage to my hotel once they get it. Which hopefully won't be too terribly long since I am without any sort of extra clothes. They did tell me that if I didn't have the luggage at my hotel by 9:00 AM that I should call to inquire. So that sounds promising.

I really hope that it gets rounded up soon, other than the fact it has my clothes, tripod, mail for the last few months, and my degree from UW; my Vonage adapter is in there which means I'm not just a phone call to Kitchener away. :( And to top that off I cannot get this Primus calling card to work from here (or Hong Kong for that matter). Also, (yes again) SkypeOut doesn't seem to work very well to call places such as Port Colborne.

I'll let you know how this all turns out tomorrow. For now if you want to get in voice contact with me Skype or Google Talk seem to be the only way.

Malaysia v2.1

Well I am nicely in Hong Kong now. I've had a chance to wander around the airport a little. So far seems pretty much the same as last time I was here.

I would have to say that the flight from Toronto to Hong Kong has gone better than the previous flights. I think that can probably be attributed to the fact I have a lot more air-time under by belt, and I knew what to expect from the flight. And since I didn't get much sleep last night (well whatever you call the night before I left Arizona), and refused to sleep on the flight from Arizona to Toronto.

Also, I am feeling a lot less apprehensive about this whole trip than last time. I could almost say I'm completely relaxed about it. I guess I can say that all this traveling over the last year has had its benefits.

My flight was a mix of a few activities: reading, playing games, watching movies, eating, and sleeping. With sleeping and reading taking the majority of the time. The movie selection was a lot better than on the America West flight (I don't even recall what they were showing now). During my flight I ended up watching The Island, and most of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, both over food. Note that there were many more and all them were an closes loops, so I could have watched many more during my flight, but I did not.

Ah, food! It is great when the airline actually feeds you. The Toronto-Alaska leg had supper, steamed chicken, rice, and mushrooms; it was decent, but maybe it was the couple glasses of wine that made that decision. And the Alaska-Hong Kong leg provided us with a mid-night snack (fruit-cup, sandwich, sushi, cookies, and a Kit-Kat), and breakfast (Udon noodles with shrimp, fruit, and banana bread).

George, I would have to say that The Time Traveler's Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger, was a superb book! It is one that I think almost anyone would enjoy. So, all you other readers out there, I suggest you give this book a read. With that done, I'll move onto The Curious Incident (another book George lent me...even if they aren't his books).

And now back to the present, what shall I do for the next few hours? Sushi at 11? It will be my 25^th birth anniversary.

Primary Leg of Trip Done

Well I have safely arrived in Hong Kong. The large leg of my journey is now complete (around 11 hours from Alaska to HK). This will be short, since it is from a public terminal. I'll be writing real blog entries on my laptop, which I will then post once I'm settled in Malaysia.

Now, I just have to find something to do for 7 or so hours. I think I'll have some food.

P.S. Happy birthday Joel (I am unable to get the pay-phones here to work with my calling card).

Malaysia v2.0

Well the first segment of my journey home from the desert is over. I am currently sitting in Person Intl. Airport in Toronto. I just nicely found my way through Canadian Customs, checked-in with Cathay Pacific, and to my gate, terminal 3 gate C27 in case you were interested. My flight does not board for about another hour, so I thought I would start to document my second Malaysian trip.

Just as predicted, I was up extremely late last night ensuring I had everything in order. So, what that really means is that I procrastinated my packing all the way until about 4:30 AM. But unfortunately that wasn't the only thing I had to do. Well, more accurately “should do”. After all those hours of packing I then felt I should actually get some US cash to take with me to Malaysia, since it is easily changed to Malaysian Ringgit (RM). So after all was said and done I didn't get to sleep until about 5:30 AM.

A short 3 hours later I was awake again, showering and packing all the random electronics I was charging on good old 110 volts power. Alison and John (a pair of co-works that were down for a short trip) came by the Ranch and after a quick breakfast we were on our way from Phoenix to Toronto. Oh, I forgot to mention the individual on our rental car bus (from the rental location to the airport). Just after the 3 of us got seated on the bus a man escorted by two others was brought on the bus, he had the fancy chains on his ankles and wrists. Sure is good to leave such things behind.

So, now back in the present, I am fighting off the land of dreams. I didn't actually sleep on the Phoenix-Toronto segment due to pre-occupation with The Time Traveler's Wife, and Metroid: Zero. That is all for now, I'll supply an update once in Hong Kong.

Note, this entry is likely to arrive well after the actual time in which I wrote it. This is due to the fact I wrote it off-line, to be posted when I have an internet connection again.

Bye-Bye Desert

Well as anyone would guess I'm still up packing. The good news is that this will be the last post before I head home, via Malaysia. Back to the packing thing...I won't be getting a lot of sleep tonight, but I think I will make up for it on the planes over the next couple days.

The End is Near

Well we are finally coming close to the end of this long 7 month stay in Arizona. The family is all in bed, preparing for their flight back to Canada tomorrow mid-day. In a few short days I will be following them (well with the side trip to Malaysia).

Normally one would think that I would be dying to go. However, you all may know that I really don't like moving. As strange as that may be for someone who has gone through co-op at UW and was forced to move every 4 months. When it comes down to it I really don't like having to pack up all my belongings into boxes just to have to pull them out again shortly there after. I think that the unexpected change of departure date may also be having an adverse effect on my readiness to leave. It was all worked out in my mind for departing on the 9th of December. But now I'm leaving on the 3rd of November, but not to home. Needless to say, it will be a busy couple days sorting out both my departure from Arizona, but also my trip to Malaysia.

Good-byes are never easy, and I have met a few good friends down here that will be missed. I could go ahead and say "bye, I'm never coming back", to quote Adam, but I know as long as I am at PEER Group and working on this project I'll find myself back in the desert sooner or later. So instead I'll see you all later.

Joel in Arizona

Well Joel seems to have had a good time down here in Arizona. I thought I would share a little collectino of Joel in places such as the Grand Canyon, Sedona and places along the way.

I liked that he always brings his patented look wherever he goes. :) 

Time to Exit the Desert Stage Left

It looks as if I am going to be leaving Arizona sooner than originally expected. I will be fly back to Toronto on next Thursday (November 3rd). So now you are asking "what is the catch?". And the answer to that is that later that same day I'm flying back to Malaysia.

So I will be officially out of the desert on November 3rd, and will be in Malaysia until the 8th of December. And then, right on schedule (actually a day early, but that will be killed with jet lag) I will be back in Ontario. :)

So I'll be finishing up my 7 month stay in Arizona the same way I started it; makes all nice like covers to a book.

Grand Canyon with the Crew

So we made it safely to and from the Grand Canyon. And no, contrary to mom's believes no one feel into the Canyon.

Good photos from the trip will be posted after I get some sleep. Until then you will have to keep yourself entertained with this sad photo.

[Edit: This post will look like it is almost the same as the previous. I posted this one because the previous was not showing up. But now you get two views of my one opinion.]

Everyone safe and sound

We made it to and from the Canyon safe and sound. And the pair in this picture didn't do too much freaking out at the heights.

I know this isn't the most beautiful picture, but it is meant to prove we actually went to the Grand Canyon. We will post some additional--and better--photos in the near future. 

En-route

So as of right this instant Mom, Dad, and Joel are flying over lake Michigan. They should be landing in Phoenix in 3 hours and 20 minutes.

Just in case anyone cared.

Ah, the South West

I think heard one of the most ridiculous things today. I was grabbing dinner at In-N-Out Burger and as leaving I heard a teenage girl say "I love the winter" as she plays with the cuffs of her long sleeve sweater. Now it isn't exactly hot here anymore, but at 9:30pm (when I heard this) it was 22C out.

I would really like to see what would happen if you took these Arizonians and stuck them in Ontario during the winter. Hell, even right now in the autumn.

Joy and her new camera

Joy is very involved with the photos she is taking. Doesn't even realize I was taking this picture. This photo is taken at the Grand Canyon along the Hermit's Trail.

The Hermit's Trail goes west along the south rim, starting at Grand Canyon Village. The trail's lookout points are accessable via a free tour bus or on foot. Joy and I took the hybrid approach. We took the bus to the second point, and then hiked for about 4 hours until we found ourselves near the other end (just prior to a 5km gap between points). At this time we got on the bus and headed back to the Grand Canyon Village, and then onto the desert side lookouts.

More to come... 

Sedona at Dusk

Sedona gives up the nice sunset shots again. The sky wasn't the most perfect for sunset shots (didn't have much of any clouds), however good pictures were still available. 

Weekend Plans

Hi all,

What is everyone up to this weekend? Joy and I are heading to the Grand Canyon this afternoon after I am finished work (should be early afternoon). We will likely go via Sedona; catch some dinner and maybe remnants of a sunset. :) Plan checking out the Canyon for the most part of Saturday, and head home in the evening.

I imagine that Sunday will be spent around the pool. :)

Oh, we went and saw Serenity last night. Very good movie. I'm not sure what someone who hasn't seen the Firefly series would think of it though.

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.

Crashing Waves

This photo was taken during my trip to Los Angeles with Caroline. The photo is of waves crashing through the pillars of the Santa Monica pier. 

Mouth of the Mighty Maitland River

This photo was taken on the hike George, Carolyn, Malcom, Joy, and I took during the Labour Day weekend in Goderich. The hike spanned the Tiger Dunlop Heritage and the Goderich-Auburn trails.

The photo is taken from the Menesetung bridge towards the mouth of the Maitland river. The Sifto salt mine can be seen in the distance. 

A new photo from a new camera

This one of the first photos from Joy's new camera. I got her a Nikon Coolpix 5600 for her birthday (it is a little early, but wanted her to have it for her travels to Holland in November).

This photo is a random shot of some dying flowers on her mother's kitchen table. 

Almost Home

Well it is almost time for my Thanksgiving trip home. My plan is leaving 2pm AZ time, and I'll arrive in Toronto around 9pm ON time. For those interested I'm on Air Canada flight 590. It is getting exciting, even if it is only a short trip.

And the other good news is that it is just over 2 months until I get to return home for the foreseeable future. :)

Long time....

Hi all,

It has been a little while since I've done any posting. Why? I'm not sure; lazy, maybe. So what have I been up to? Not a whole lot, probably the only real news is that I bought myself a bicycle last weekend. You can see a picture of it here, it is the Del Sol LXI 1.0.

I haven't done a lot of riding with it yet. I did a 10 mile loop last Saturday, but come Sunday I don't think my rear-end would have taken any more. I hope to start riding it to work occasionally, but I'll need to buy a lock first.

I bought it from Tempe Bicycle, and the nice thing is that any time within four years of purchase, I can sell it back to them for half the price of purchase. So in the end it makes it a nice and cheap form of entertainment and transportation.

Well that is all for now.

Thanksgiving

So I'll be flying back to Ontario on October 6th, but unlike previously planned, I'll be working the Friday. :( Work schedules and agendas can sometimes rule all. Not a nice fact, but a fact none the less. Hopefully I can make the Friday a short-ish day, and then Joy & I will make the trip from Kitchener to Cherry Valley.

Then, sometime mid-late Sunday morning we'll head to Wainfleet (Joy's parents' place). From then on it is up in the air.

I do hope that there is a wine tour Saturday morning/afternoon. :)

Books as Free as Beer

For all you sci-fi lovers out there, I am providing you with a link to a site where you can download perfectly free eBooks (in a variety of formats). It is provided as an experiment as to whether the availability of free books hurts the sales of ink & paper books.

Back in Hell

Well I have arrived back in that overly warm place called Arizona. I had such a great time while back in Ontario; I can't wait until it is my full-time location. Only a few short more months until that is reality.

Fahrenheit 9/11

I just finished watching Fahrenheit 9/11 with Mas. I do recommend that everyone sees it. Do be sure to acknowledge the facts are presented from a specific view, and in such a way as to highlight that same view. But, just from the facts presented in this documentary you just have to shake your head at what has happened (and still is happening). It almost makes one sick to the stomach.

And I'll leave with single question: "How would our world be different if the votes in the Presidential Election of 2000 were counted correctly?"

I shed a tear for the people of America and Iraq.

The Results are In

Well they aren't results but we have all been waiting to find out. I just got confirmation that I'll be coming home for Christmas...erh Labour Day ;). I don't yet have the flight information, but it should be the standard flight times for to & from Phoenix. I'm scheduled to fly back on August 26th, and then back to Arizona on September 6th. Yippy! I can't wait to see everyone again.

I'll keep everyone posted.

Weekend of Adventures

Well actually it really hasn't been extremely eventful. Friday Caroline had the pleasure of heading home to Ontario (lucky girl), and Mas will be arriving here Monday mid-day.

So what have I been doing with my weekend? Not a whole lot. A lot of my time has been spent playing World of Warcraft. The exciting thing was dinner. Went a got a very nice piece of tuna from Whole Foods. With this fine piece of fish I made myself some seared tuna. It was extremely good, if I do say so myself. ;)

And that is about all I have. Not very exciting I know.

Well one other thing. Just thought I'd put a couple cents in for the Joel Plaskett. I suggest you check him out, a good Canadian artist from Nova Scotia (he and his band are on on the Maple Music label...maybe I should check out some of the other artist on the label). And just to let you know I can thank the CBC Radio 3 podcast for bringing him to my attention.

Those Crazy Americans

Well I got my pictures back today. They all turned out quite well. So what were the mystery photos? They were photos of the PEER Group Christmas party & a party in Saltford.

But one that I'm going to share with you now is one George and I just had to take since it is deep look into the American mind. Be sure to look close at the picture.
For those of you who didn't look close the bumper stickers read: "I hate foreign cars" and "Smash a foreign car for Christ".

New Toy/Photo Accessory

Well I got myself a new toy, erh...photography accessory... Well, what I actually got was a scanner. I got it with the primary intent of digitizing and sharing film. So I got it for all of you. ;) So what did I get? I got a CanoScan LiDE 500F at the price of 130 USD.

The scanner comes with a film scanner, so if for some reason I don't have access to the print I can scan the negative. But from some initial tests scanning the negative doesn't yield the best results; this is consistent with other flatbed scanners I have tried (in particular Dad's HP...correct me if you have discovered a technique for scanning negatives well).

So, I really don't have any good photos to try it out with yet, as I left the film/prints from the various trips back in Kitchener. But the good news is that I am getting 3 rolls of prints back on Tuesday afternoon. One roll from recent time (I think it has some pictures form South Mountain, and from July 1st weekend), the other two are some of the mystery ones that I had waiting to be developed (I think they could be from some time in 4th year of university), and I still have another 4 of the mystery rolls to develop. So we all will have to wait until Tuesday until we get to see how well it works.

Atom Feed

Just a little FYI, I have enabled Atom Syndication feed. You can find it by clicking on the image. If you have no idea what I am talking about then, just ignore this post.

Lightning Gallery

Well today we headed east of Phoenix to see a lightning photography gallery at the Boyce Thompson Arboretum. So at about 11:30 Akash (friend of Lacey's), Caroline, Lacey, and I headed out for the relatively short 50 mile drive.

So we get there and it isn't what we had hoped. We didn't find a gallery but more a room with maybe 20 photos. Well that was a bit of let down. :( To the photographer's credit, the majority of the photographs were very impressive...just not near as much as we expected.

So after our short viewing of the photographs we wandered through the gardens--it is a arboretum. The gardens were full of various desert plants.

So it was a neat little trip, but not as spectacular as I had hoped.

SUVs

I just came across this blog entry, and thought most of you would enjoy it.

"Famous" Elmo 

Los Angeles Follow-up

As promised, I am writing to let you know more about the trip Caroline and I took to Los Angeles, California. Yes, I am actually doing it this time; I know that there have been previous occasions with empty promises of more info, but not this time (don't you guys feel special).

It all started about a week and a half ago, when Caroline and I thought (well mostly Caroline) we should go for another road trip out of the desert--it isn't exactly the most wonderful place to be here. We were thinking of going to San Diego, but a quick look into hotel prices and we quickly changed our minds (200 USD per night being the cheaper of the available hotels). So instead we thought Los Angeles would be something good to see (ocean, Hollywood, etc). We booked our hotel room for Friday & Saturday nights (at a much more reasonable 90 USD per night).

Now the thing about Los Angeles is that it isn't exactly close to Chandler...it is was about 650 km from the apartment to the hotel. And we didn't exactly get out of the greater Phoenix area in record time either. We left McDonald's at 5pm (now lets not go into whether that was a good choice as to eat there or not) and eventually got out of the GPA an hour later; so far, not so good.

So at about 11:15 we get into Long Beach (where our hotel is)...oh almost forget to mention not to stop at rest areas in California, they are extremely sketchy. But back to finding our hotel.

This is where we learn the lesson that addresses and directions are not fungible. You see Caroline didn't think of writing down the actual directions to the hotel. And as it turns out there happened to be about 3 Domingez Streets in Long Beach area...oh and that didn't include the one that the hotel was actually on. So we started to go through the possible streets, with no luck. We eventually found someone's wireless internet connection. :) So we go and check Caroline's email (which had the location clear as day). So after about an hour of driving around Long Beach we finally find the hotel. :)

Saturday we found ourselves going and checking out Hollywood Blvd with all the stars. :) Oh, and don't forget all the people who have left their mark on the side walk (in front of the Chinese theatre).

Afterwards took a tour down Sunset Blvd towards the ocean. Of course we took a quick detour through Bel Air to see how all the rich people lived. Mostly on narrow roads up very high hills. :)

Oh I forgot to mention the visit to the Wax Museum and Guinness Book Museums.

A waxed copy of Charlie

Ryan with the cast of Sienfeld
A poor representation of MarilynRyan and the King

As I was saying, we headed towards the ocean and found ourselves on the very beach that Baywatch was filmed. Doesn't this look familiar?
Well that was about all there was to day one. On Sunday the only real tourist thing we did was to go visit the Getty museum. Now the Getty was a very cool place. It had extremely neat architecture! I'd love to go back. The highlight of the art was probably the photo exhibit of Frederick Sommer, and the architecture itself. They also had some Rembrandt paintings, which I'd have to say were quite interesting, but still enjoyed the photo gallery more.

Back in the Desert

We made it back safe and sound to Arizona. Only about 1500 KM driven this weekend--good thing it is a rental. ;) Well I just finished downloading all my pictures to the computer, and I think I'll be off to bed.

Here are a couple photos from The Getty in Los Angeles (I'll upload some more tomorrow, along with some details of the weekend):

Welcome to LA

Well we finally made it here. In general it went quick and without incident...in general. It seems that Caroline didn't have the directions written down, we had the address though. After our second try at buying a LA map (we got an Atlas in Phoenix but were unable to get an LA city map) we find out there are 3 streets which match the one we were looking for. :( They end up not being anywhere near the right ones--very sketchy places. Tell me why the same street if found with different postfixes?

Eventually while driving down the street Caroline catches a wireless network--we are in business. She brings up her email, find the message about the hotel, and bingo we have found where the hotel is. By the way, the particular instance of our street never did occur in the index. :(

Well, I'm off to bed now. I'll fill you in on the trip as it progresses.

We're Off

I imagine many of you will be away from your computers for the weekend, but I'll post this now anyway. All of you get a lovely long weekend, but being stuck here in the States I'll be working Monday. But between now and then, Caroline and I will be making a journey out of the heat to go play tourist in Los Angeles, CA. What will we do? We'll find something to occupy our time.

The plan is to leave Chandler at around 4 or 5 (whenever Caroline is done working). We will stop for a bite to eat somewhere enroute. We have a hotel in Long Beach for tonight and tomorrow. So in a couple of days I'll present you all with what we did, along with photos since I'll probably just take my digital camera (we are going to scary LA).

Oh on a side note, have a wonderful trip to Europe George & Carolyn. Take lots of pictures, let us know what you are up to if you get a chance. And if not we hope to find out about it in two weeks.

Something is....different

I think something is happening. We have lightning, and a very strong wind has started. The wind is howling through the cracks in the door jams and windows. Finally, some weather!

Productive Weekend

Well I just finished a little extra work--4 hours of it actually. What a way to spend a Saturday evening :(. Well actually as sad as it sounds it was actually very productive. I was stuck in this situation due to some very tight deadlines next week (actually they were pushed out from this week already). So hopefully that will be all the work I do this weekend...cross your fingers for me.

The funny thing about me working this evening is that I spent most of the day teaching myself the Ruby programming language. For those of you that may by some odd chance be interested you can find out more about it on the Ruby website, or from their very thorough documentation. Yeah, I know I'm a geek.

Well I should probably get to bed soon since I'm going for dim sum with Lacey, Yuki, and Tony. Mmmm, dim sum.

From the Desert

Well today will be my last day before I'm joined by other PEER developers for the next long while. Minh and Cindy arrive later today, they will be here for the week. Next week Caroline returns, so that means one last weekend of peace ;). Actually, it will be good to have people around again. It gets very quiet around here without anyone else around. So I won't need to mope around anymore.

For those of you interested in weather...no change here, still hot, still no rain. But did you expect anything else? It will be quite a shock for those coming down here from Kitchener. Hopefully they manage.

I still haven't heard anything about when PEER will fly me back next. :( I figure I'll come home around Labour Day, regardless of whether PEER foots the bill or not.

Back in the Sunny South-West

Did I mention it is sunny and warm here?

My trip to Ontario was an excellent time, but it has come to an end with me back in Arizona. I thoroughly enjoyed the company of family and friends throughout my time back in Ontario. I really can't wait to return back home. :( When will that be? I'm not sure yet, the latest would be for Thanksgiving but I'm set on being back for a camping trip around Labour Day (I know Joy is up for that), if anyone else wants to join us that would be excellent.

As some will agree returning to work after a break isn't the best thing (not just because it is back to work) but because the work that piles up--or rather doesn't finish itself. So it is looking like this week will require some overtime (un-paid I might add).

Well back to work. :(

Back in the Home Land

I made it safe and sound back to Canada. And boy was I happy to see trees, grass, and water (George I'll stop making fun of your tree hugging ways now). I arrived back in Bowmanville at about 18:15 PST (9:15 pm EST). Hopefully I'll see you all soon. :)

T-Minus 18 Hours

It is getting closer. Only thing left now is for a little sleep and a plane ride (and some packing). :) It is so exciting to be coming home tomorrow.

My next post will be from Canadian soil. :D

31 Hours and Counting

Well it is almost time. Tomorrow night at around 7 PM EST I'll be arriving at YYZ (Pearson Airport). Yes I'll finally be back in the home country. Can hardly wait...well don't have much longer to! :)

My flight (America West 262) will be leaving Phoenix at 12:11 PM PST and arriving in Toronto at 7:27 PM EST. So now those who wish to follow the flight of Ryan (probably Grandma and Dad) can.

See you all soon. :)

P.S.
Don't worry, I'll bring all 9 rolls of prints for everyone to see.

That was a busy day

Well today didn't turn out the way I intended. It was meant to include a trip to Tempe Camera's lab to get the prints that I didn't get with my many rolls of film, and maybe get Lacey to buy a camera. But as I mentioned that didn't happen.

I woke up to Gilberth knocking on my door with some slightly hysterical comments about the fact he should already be on his plane to New York. After I wake up and come out to see what the fuss is all about I learn that his flight to New York was not for Sunday morning, but rather Saturday...two hours prior! So I tell him to call the airline and sort out how to deal with it (since I didn't know anything better to do about a long missed plane).

So he spends a good 30 minutes sorting out his options and ends up getting a ticket for tomorrow (Sunday morning) at 7 am, and only $100 to reschedule. So with issue one dealt with it was off to his apartment to clean out (since it wasn't Sunday he needed to leave).

This excursion turned into a little ordeal as well. It seems the apartment (well actually it is a golf resort) had not been charging his corporate card in $1000 increments as they said, so instead he was stuck with an $8000 bill. Quite frankly his card didn't cover that. So after an hour or two of sitting while he tries to sort this out I take off (with his car) to go to the Hertz rental to renew my own rental. Note that it is about 2pm when I pick up my car....I have missed the Tempe Camera lab, they closed at 1pm. :(

After I eventually get my car renewed and pick up Gilberth and get back to the ranch it is 4:30, so much for dim sum. So there goes the days original plans. The new start with breakfast, lunch, and diner all at once, at BJ's (they make excellent deep-dish pizza). After a satisfying meal John joined Lacey, Gilberth, and I for some Cold Stone ice cream. Think of gelato, but with ice cream and they mix in real items like raspberries, chocolate bars, etc. Very tasty.

The remainder of the evening was filled with visiting the used CD store, returning Gilberth's rental and a night at Iguana Mack's. But more on that later.

Something is missing

I can't seem to find the car keys. The car is still there, but I haven't seen the keys since I grabbed my wallet from the car on the way to Tempe Camera. Hopefully a night of rest will allow the old brain to sort out the mess.

The Pictures Are In

So today was the day Graeme made it here. Well that isn't the real news of the day, just something to keep you in a little more suspense. What really happened was that I picked up my 9 rolls of film. 8 from the last two outings: first to Monument Valley, second to the Grand Canyon (both with a bit of Sedona); and one mystery one that came for the trip to Arizona in my camera--this one containing some Christmas photos (games night I think), as well as the hike Alex, Kat, Joy, and I took on a winter river (Elora I think). After a small donation to the Tempe Camera lab of almost $90 I was racing back home to see how they turned out. [As a little jump ahead note, the prints turned out great and don't regret paying a little more to get them done at a professional lab.]

As soon as I get home, I sit down and start to go through all the rolls of prints--of course being sure to re-sort them into their proper order. I seem to be missing 7 prints, I'll have to call/visit the lab tomorrow to clear this up. There are some beautiful pictures contained in these prints, I must find a way to share them with everyone as soon as possible (George I think you might be jealous of the night shots). So it looks like I might have to go and look at either print scanners or bed scanners this week, since I don't know anyone here with a scanner.

Oh and before one comments on the potential need for a digital SLR--*cough* George *cough*--wait until you see these photos.

Canyon Crew

From left to right: Mas, Caroline, Ryan, and George

For our trip to the Canyon we had a bit larger group this time. This picture is taken just after we had the sunset photo-shoot. Note that this picture was taken with George's D70.