Easily Distracted

Update: Added a couple photos.

My Big Brother, Aryk, is now officially married to his wife, Heather! The wedding was Sunday, August 3rd and it went extremely well. I had the honour of being best man which meant a lot to me. I even got to wear a kilt! (Along with my brother, their baby, the officiant, and the piper.) I don’t have any pictures at the moment, but I’m sure I’ll get some eventually.

I helped my sister out with creating a DVD slideshow with music to present at the wedding (via rented projector) and give to them as a gift. My sister was behind all the creative and organizational efforts, I was just needed to put it together. It turned out really great, and it was definitely worth going with the more expensive projector. But the thing I was most nervous about was the “often most anticipated” (according to various sources on the Internet) speech of the evening – the Best Man’s Speech. I was brainstorming bits here and there for quite a while, but I worked on it pretty intensely the last couple days trying to make it flow and deciding what to keep. I was even making changes 1 minute prior to getting up and doing it! ^.^ Anyway, the speech went really well – better than I could have imagined. It’s amazing; the feeling you get when you have an auditorium full of people under your control, laughing when you want them to laugh. People throughout the night kept telling me how good it was. I think I’m still floating on that high.

But what’s most important is that Aryk and Heather loved it – that makes me feel great – that I was able to contribute a little bit of success to their fantastic wedding.

Had a bit of a nasty hangover the following day… and I was incredibly tired. But it was all worth it! Again, Congratulations guys!

A lot of things have happened over the last month or so that I haven’t really mentioned, as I’ve been fairly busy, tired, lazy, or all of the above. Let me see… a (mostly) chronological bullet-point of events:

• I went snowboarding at Cypress with my brother (Jan 23). Was awesome.

  

  Here’s a couple videos my brother took of me snowboarding. Impressive camera work, actually! Not as impressive boarding. Notice my arms are pretty active. But not bad. Keep in mind, I think this is only my 8th time snowboarding in like 7 or 8 years? Video1 (more of a trial, 6MB), and Video2 (24MB)

• I’m now 27 years OLD (Jan 25th). Managed to let that one slip by, somehow….
• Went to the Ruby Barcamp in Gastown. Met Shirley and an old classmate there. Saw some Python groupies, as well, scoping the competition. (Jan 26th)
• I also briefly went to Prince Rupert (Jan 29-31), which was interesting, in a small-town kinda way. Really beautiful looking out across a foggy Tuck Inlet at dusk. Didn’t get out and about as much as I would have liked. Funny (terrible?) method to get there (plane, bus, ferry, bus).

  

  

• Went to the Brickhouse with Jesse and his friend, John. Really cool atmosphere in a not-so-cool area. Also cemented my dominant status. Again. (Feb 8 )
• I’m now an Uncle! … er… Biologically! At 4:20am on Feb 12th, my big brother and his girlfriend had a baby boy. He’s very tiny and cute. And tiny. Congratulations guys! Not sure how my brother will be able to use his other Cypress ticket now…. he’ll be busy!
• On Feb 14th, I gained step-family when my dad remarried. More congratulations! The wedding was in Las Vegas , so I was there for a few days (Feb 13-16), hanging out with siblings and losing money – which was pretty fun.

  

  

  My sister and I are holding huge alcoholic slushies with extra shots that come in test tubes!
• Failed to meet up with Shirley for the VanUE meeting. Walked around downtown for an hour with the wrong address in my head. Doh. Went to Guu with Shirley and John, after. (Feb 21)
• Oh, and I did a day-long course on Aircraft Ditching and Underwater Egress. It’s not every day you get to be dunked in a pool with all your clothes on! Really good experience, actually. I Hope I never have to use what I practised. (Feb 18)

Anyway, it’s been a pretty crazy month. Some more pictures forthcoming. Maybe.

Despite no grand plans of getting pleasantly inebriated tonight, 2007 was actually a very eventful year. I finally finished up my undergrad in May; something that was long overdue. After, I enjoyed some free time in Vancouver’s fantastic summer (and then Fall), and I just recently started making a much needed dollar. (I got Jesse to thank for hooking me up with that.) My big brother and his girlfriend of six(?) years announced their engagement AND that they were expecting a little one. My dad announced his (2nd) engagement. My cousins are expecting their first and second kids. One of my best friends, Kurtis (who I’ve known since forever), moved to Brazil and got married! Alex married Dez. Ben and Mayu had a baby (whom I’ve still yet to meet).

But one person in particular made this year very memorable for me: you know who you are. Thank you.

And to all my friends and family, Thank you! And Happy New Year!

ありがとうね。　あけましておめでとうございます！

2008 will be interesting, I’m sure. たのしみよ！

Update: I went to the local watering hole for a drink and some chat with our homestay student, who also had no plans. We even got champagne!

Two of my friends got married on August 25th, 2007. Congratulations to Kurtis and Nubia in São Paulo (sorry, I wasn’t able to attend), and Alex and Desiree in Vancouver (it was a very nice wedding). I’m happy for everyone! Also, within the same week, my big brother announced that he popped the question to his girlfriend of 6 (?) years and she said yes! The wedding will be next year. Not only that, but they’re gonna be parents! (I wanted to wait a little while before posting that bit.) This is pretty big news in my family! On that topic, Ben and Mayu should be daddy and mammy very soon… Happy times.

Hmmm… ‘Guess I’d better start swimmin’, or I’ll sink like a stone, For the times, they are a-changin’.

Finally got around to posting some pictures.

Scott & Kim’s Wedding

Ben & Mayu’s Wedding (and the following evening)

Happy Birthday, Canada!