back from the west

and another grey cup goes to the eskimos!

well at least i went to the right parties...the spirit of edmonton parties
you meet a lot of fun and offbeat people and see your share of rubber chickens

so last night at the airport i helped out one of the montreal canadiens
now not being a habs fan i didn't know
but a few airport agents were loving it
and a really nice guy trying to attend to a family emergency
so i may get a few free unsolicited tickets
anyone game?
just goes to show that just because you are a big hockey jock doesn't mean you can't be a super nice guy!

and today i met another amazing person at the spa
fighting strong unbreakable spirit
a new client who has booked another appt with me and has sle, ra, battled a few long-titled cancers.
so it was a good challenge to all of my clinical studies
pharmacology pathology and looking for neurological signs during treatment
so fun...

and this is part of my week
varied challenging tiring fantastic and full

flight

sometimes when i think about how far we've come
i think about flight
being able to visit friends and relatives
like this summer
celebrating the lives of auntie peggy and uncle mimos
catching up with lots of relatives
meeting some that i didn't even know were related to me
i come from a big family!

and also
it makes me think of the pioneers of flight
today i thought of brown and alcock
the names you don't hear as much about
but these two were the first to complete a non-stop transatlantic flight
from newfoundland to the coast of ireland
facing ice and mechanical failure
in 1919 these two brits flew a vimy vicker across a tempestuous ocean
in ireland there is a hotel that bears their name
in ottawa there is a beautiful weather vane with a vimy vicker on one side that flies over the east block on parliament hill
my days as a tour guide in ottawa pointed out all of these lovely historical notes to go along with the grander buildings
so many moments in history are commemorated here in ottawa
but so many of them have to be looked for
they don't just stand in front of you
look at me look at me
and a great flight is commemorated by a weather vane that flies higher above this city than anything except the peace tower

a fantastic recollection of the first transatlantic flight is on newfoundland's grand banks site...

leaving for grey cup in less than 2 days

how cool is that
plus i get to hang out with some of the yto res girls
women i have known since i started at ac
the first real job that has lasted nearly 11 years now
the job that helped me pay off the student loans
and travel more of the world
and introduced me to some amazing people
so as with last year when the grey cup was in ottawa
it should be a fun time in vancouver

thoughts on earl grey before heading to the grey cup

well it is only a few days until i fly out to vancouver to take part in the pre grey cup festivities
and having worked as a tour guide at rideau hall several years ago
i read up and researched all of our governors general here in canada
and earl grey seemed like a plucky gent
who would have been a lot of fun

the 4th earl grey was gg from 1904-11
the great canadian tradition of the cfl's grey cup is named for him
this is the gg that obtained the landau that is still used for official events
for bringing new embassadors to rideau hall to be welcomed by the governor general
for several other government functions too

but earl grey had his fun too
ottawa was still a far cry from a cultured city
and earl grey's time at rideau hall may have included the usual tired stiff official work
but also took some time to set up less formal events
on the site of rideau hall
there once stood a tobaggan run, nearly .5km in length
and many diplomats would be initiated into canadian life with a ride down the slide
rideau hall also had a skating rink and shack for winter skating parties
and earl grey was often seen in his big fur hat taking part in the festivities
less formal times for a formal office

the 4th earl grey undoubtedly would have enjoyed our yearly football fest

Life is grand

I was last at the canyon in January
love looking back through photos to remind me

how grand life is
and memories of the days there
this one was from the morning before we left the canyon and drove back to las vegas
rebecca and i stayed at the canyon inn
and just breathing in the whole experience
and these crazy huge ribs we had at one of the diners there
and the pretty ridiculous photos of us eating the ribs
but those photos are for a later blog
just looking forward to seeing the canyon again
soon

xi'an - west peace

the trip to china allowed me to see many sites that i have been wanting to see and experience in person for years
great wall
karst hills
hutongs
and the terracotta warriors
or bīng mǎ yōng if you speak mandarin

the army consists of over 8000 life-size terracotta warriors and horses buried with the self-proclaimed first Emperor of Qin (Qin Shi Huang) in 210-209 BC.
chinese archaelogists are putting the army back together again as most of the figures were broken




the details of the warriors are really amazing
and it is said that the peasants who discovered the warriors in the 70's still visit the site and are kind of local celebrities
every warrior is unique with different features
and poses





this is the largest area that holds the warriors
it is the size of an airport hangar
and you have pretty close access to the warriors
there are other, smaller vaults as well
but you get the idea of simply how vast this fabricated army was here





this is steve at the entrance of the hangar, when we first saw the warriors
the site doesn't disappoint
certainly there are the usual tourist catches, an outdoor market, an overpriced restaurant
but it is very accessible from xi'an
and we took the local bus there for 5 yuan (a little less than $1)
and there is an amazing museum in xi'an that gives more depth and history to the story of both xi'an and the terracotta army

really something
and it was really rainy outside that day
as it is today in ottawa
so maybe that's what made me think of this experience

xi xie xi'an