One Kool Wedding

I just got back from a friend’s wedding. Not sure when was the last time I went to one. Maybe a few years back. Now they are coming in spurts. I have two more in January that I will be attending.One in the Philippines and one in Abbotsford.

My friend’s name is Brian Kool. So yes, he had one “Kool” wedding. Haha. I’m gonna miss this guy a lot. He will be taking off to Edmonton to be with his wife, Joan to live happily ever after. God bless both of you!

Brian and Joan exchanging vows

“Here, you can have my piece, I’m on a diet”

Listening to people’s speeches

“Soon I will have two kids of my own” – Brian

Men in White (Chris the best man beside Brian)

Who’s the good looking guy in the middle?

U2 – Live from the Rose Bowl

List of songs:

Breathe
Get On Your Boots
Magnificent
Mysterious Ways
Beautiful Day (with a few lines from In God’s Country)
I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For, with coda of Stand By Me,
Stuck In A Moment (acoustic guitar version)
No Line On The Horizon,
Elevation,
In A Little While (last verse spoken by an astronaut in the International Space Station),
Unknown Caller,
Until the End of the World
The Unforgettable Fire
City of Blinding Lights,
Vertigo,
I’ll Go Crazy If I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight
Sunday Bloody Sunday,
MLK (Martin Luther King tribute),
Walk On (Aung San Suu Kyi tribute) with Never Walk Alone snippet

Desmond Tutu recorded message

Encore:

One
Amazing Grace
Where the Streets Have No Name
Ultraviolet (Light My Way)
With or Without You
Moment of Surrender

Two Birthdays and a Turkey

This Thanksgiving weekend I went back home to Nanaimo. Thanksgiving is always special not only because I get to eat a big turkey dinner but it’s also a celebration of two birthdays. My dad’s birthday is on the 10th and mine is on the 11th. So you can imagine there is a lot of food! For my Dad’s birthday, we celebrated by having a big turkey dinner with all the fixings. I was stuffed to the max. I was so full I couldn’t even bend down to tie my shoes. I just had enough room for cake at the end just to fill in the cracks.

For my 30th birthday, Phebe and I decided to go to The Keg to celebrate. I had the top sirloin dinner and Phebe had the mushroom balsamic chicken. I was stuffed to the max as well (I think it’s because of the bread they give out at the beginning). We also had complimentary cheesecake for my birthday. Later that evening I also had my birthday cake at home. I was all “caked” out.

To see more pictures click here

Enjoying our turkey dinner

Putting on the candles for Dad

Dad blowing out his birthday candles

Phebe and I at The Keg

Enjoying my top sirloin dinner

My parents and I at home with my birthday cake

Mt Tzouhalem

During our drive back to Victoria from our Mt. Arrowsmith trip, Chris and I decided to hike up Mt. Tzouhalem in Duncan. I had hiked this up before but it was about four years ago when I hiked with Phebe (Read 2002 post). I thought I could feel my way to the parking lot but the surrounding area had changed dramatically due to new development in the area. I had to go to somebody’s house to ask for directions. I remembered the last time I hiked it. It was about less than an hour hike to the top with stunning views of the Cowichan Valley. Chris and I made good timing but after the one hour mark we got a bit worried. We had somehow missed a turn. Unfortunately we took a wrong turn and ended up turning a 40 minute hike to an over 2 hour hike! There were so many trails to the mountain (see map for more details). Eventually we found our way up. Unfortunately we had to share the views with other people on top of the mountain. On the way down we decided to take a different route to get to the car. Bad mistake. We ended up in Providence Farms which is basically on the other side of the mountain! So we decided to head back uphill and along the way we met up with the people we saw at the top. They said it would take us over an hour to hike back up and to the parking lot! As it was getting dark soon, we decided to get a ride from them.  They drove us all the way around the mountain and back to our car. As a reward for our efforts we decided to treat ourselves to the two whopper special at Burger King. Giddy up!

For all pictures of Mt. Tzhouhalem, click here

Mt Arrowsmith (Judges Route)

September 26, 2009

This past weekend I had the opportunity to hike Mt. Arrowsmith which is located just outside of Port Alberni. It is the highest mountain in southern Vancouver Island at 1819 metres. My friend Chris and I chose the Judges Route as it was probably the most accessible route to the top and less technical than the others (quickest way to the top I believe).  The trail to the top is steep (elevation gain of about 1000 metres) and is about 6 km round trip and should take about 5 hours round trip. We did it in 4 hours – 2 hours up and 2 hours down. The views on the top are simply breathtaking. You get a 360 degree view of the Alberni Valley and the mountains in Strathcona Park (on a clear day of course).

For pictures of Mt. Arrowsmith, click here

Directions on how to get there (Judges Route Trailhead):
There was some confusion on how to get to the Judges Route trailhead. Some of the sites out there provide different directions so I will hopefully clear things up. If you are coming from southern Vancouver Island follow Highway 19 and then take Highway 4 heading west to Port Alberni. You will go through Cathedral Grove and Cameron Lake. Just west (approx 1 km) of the Alberni Summit you will need to watch for a gravel road on the left side (this is Summit Main). There is a small sign that says “Mt. Arrowsmith” at the start of the gravel road so make sure you don’t miss it. If you are coming the other direction, it is about 5.5 km from the Visitor Information Centre (travelling east) and turn right onto Summit Main. There is no “Mt Arrowsmith Ski Hill” sign so make sure you slow down and watch for a gravel road. After you’ve found Summit Main, it is a good idea to set your trip meter to zero here. Follow Summit Main for 2.7 km to the junction with Cameron Main.  Turn left and drive 7.7 km to the Pass Main junction on your left. Drive about 2.8 km up Pass Main to the intersection of Pass 32 (I think it’s Pass 32 but just follow your trip meter). You will see a sign “Judges” on the right. Park a little further up Pass Main on the left side. Enjoy the hike!

So Long UFE Summer

I am done! I just wrote my 3 day (13 hour) UFE exam.  No more studying. No more exams. Although I am glad it’s over and done with, I don’t have a good feeling about it. Pretty much everyone feels the same way though. The results will come out December 4th. Until then I am going to sweat, cry and moan for 2.5 months. This summer treated me good though. It was good not to work. It was good to wear t-shirts and shorts all day instead of dress pants and dress shirts. It was good to have the afternoon off to play tennis. But most of all, it was good to grow a beard! I had to shave it before I wrote the exam or else the invigilator would’ve mistaken me as a bum off the streets! Haha.