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

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

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

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!

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.

Yes, I am on YouTube! Here is the student recruitment video I am in. I am the one riding the bike.  Let me know what you think of it.

Another video that talks about Office of the Auditor General of BC and the work I do. Enjoy!

It has been ages since I’ve been at the Pacific National Exhibition (PNE) here in Vancouver. I remember going when I was a little kid with my mom and uncle and all I could remember was being at those home shows all day and complaining about the fact that all I wanted to do was go on rides and eat cotton candy. It was a great day to be out at the fair. Although we didn’t go on any rides, it was really fun to check everything out. Phebe and I enjoyed “Superdogs”, the Motorsport Show, Celtic Legends, Artistic Edge Dance Academy, Farm Country and the bee beard demonstratioin, the parade, the mini-donuts, and of course the home shows.

To see all our pictures, click here

August 21-23, 2009

The weekend camping trip to Tofino was great. Although it sprinkled the first day, it cleared up pretty fast and we ended up with gorgeous weather for the rest of the weekend. We camped at Kennedy Lake, which is just on the outskirts of Tofino.  This camping area that we chose was also known as “Redneck Beach”. My friend Chris drives a Saturn and was the “minority” there as we had entered 4X4 land. As you can tell from the name, it was a bit rowdy at night. The first night wasn’t bad but the second was worse.I learned my lesson from my Cape Scott trip and brought some ear plugs! I slept like a baby. However, some people got no sleep at all as people were yelling, screaming, singing, and playing music all night long!

They should have this as a tourist attraction for Tofino

On Saturday we took a trip out to Tofino and had lunch at the Sea Shanty restaurant. It was pretty much the only thing to do that morning as it was pouring down rain. The thing to get there is the oyster burger. One of the best I’ve tasted so far. I decided to get the yam fries ($3 more which is a rip-off) but it was so worth it. Yam fries are the best! Later that afternoon it cleared up a bit and we all headed to Long beach to play some soccer and frisbee and just hang out on the sand.

The oysters were pretty yummy and so were the yam fries

The best part of the day was dinner. Ok, you may think that all I talk about is food but man, it’s like the best part of camping – The Food!! I’m pretty sure we had the best dinner out of all the camp spots at that place. It was super gourmet. For dinner we made bison burgers, smokies (with sauteed onions and garlic, and tomatoes), bbq mushrooms and green peppers all spiced up, salad on the side, and for dessert we had my favorite recipe – banana smores. To make banana smores you basically cut up a banana in half, and alternate adding marshmellows and chocolate in the banana and wrap it in tin foil. Let it heat and melt on the grill for a few minutes and voila  – you have a gewy and tasty banana smore!

Kevin’s famous smores – Ok, it doesn’t look that appetizing but man, it is sooooo good!

For more pictures of our Tofino trip, click here

PASSED MODULE 6!!! I am eligible to write the UFE this year!! It was such a relief. I have been thinking about this all week and to finally know that I have the whole rest of the summer off to study for this exam means a lot. I want to thank everyone for their prayers and encouragement through this time. I am going to finish strong and work hard these next several weeks and push to the end.

August 7-9, 2009

Day 1 – The Drive Up
We left our trek to Cape Scott Friday afternoon at around 1pm from Victoria. It was a bit of a later start than we wanted but we did manage to get to the campground before dark. The forecast for the weekend called for rain, rain, and more rain. The drive to Cape Scott was about 8 hours in total including a couple of stops for gas and a bite to eat at Subway. From those 8 hours, 2 hours were spent driving on the logging road from Port Hardy to the trailhead. Holberg was the closest settlement from Cape Scott which is about 16 Km away. Our original plan was to hike about 45 min. and camp at San Josef Bay but by the time we arrived it was already dark and beginning to rain. We stayed overnight at the San Josef Heritage Park Private Campground just a few minutes away from the parking lot and trailhead to Cape Scott.

There to great us at the entrance was a big, barbarous-looking fellow who kind of resembed  bit of Santa Claus and one of the seven dwarfs mixed together. When we told him we were gonna hike Cape Scott, he made this “clumping” sound with his mouth and pretended he was stepping in knee deep mud. It was pretty funny to see actually. If that was a sign of what was to come we were in big trouble. We then asked how much the camping will be and he replied,”It’s by donation…..(long pause)……minimum of $15 dollars“. Huh???!!! What kind of donation is that? We managed to put up our tent in time just before the pouring rain.

Day 2 – The Hike to Cape Scott
It rained the whole night. I couldn’t sleep. The sleeping bag I bought a few days ago kept me warm and snugly all night but the loud rain drops on the tarp kept me awake. Should’ve brought ear plugs! After we ate a quick breakfast (bagels and pepperoni sticks) we were on our way around 9am. There was a light drizzle at the start of the hike. The trails weren’t that bad. I pictured we would be hiking in knee deep mud but it was nothing like that. Sure, it was a bit muddy but it was nothing too hard to handle. Most of the trails were made up of boardwalks which can be slippery if you don’t have the proper traction on  your shoes. It took us around 5.5 hours to hike to Nels Bight where we set up camp. A map of the trails and locations can be seen here.

From here, it’s about another 2 hour hike (4 hour r/t) to get to the Cape Scott Lighthouse. We quickly set up our tarp and tent to ensure we got the best spot.  About a 5 minute walk from our camp spot was a place we could get “fresh” water. It turned out to be brown with floaties in it! Just to make sure we didn’t get sick, we treated the water with iodine and also boiled it to death.

It took awhile for us to set up camp but we did manage to leave around 3:45pm to the Lighthouse. Along the way it cleared up considerably which made the beaches more enjoyable. The 2 hour hike to the Lighthouse felt like a breeze without our backpacks on! As we were walking along the trail, I spotted from a far distance what looked like a bear! When the “bear” caught my eye, it came towards me. As it came closer, I realized it wasn’t a “bear” but  “wolf”! It was now running faster than before. I was scared. When the “wolf” came a bit closer, I noticed it wasn’t a “wolf” after all but a dog! Phew! It was one of those wolf-looking dogs.

I must say I wasn’t too impressed with the Lighthouse. I do not want to give it away but it was not what I pictured it to be. Don’t get me wrong, it was nice to see the northern tip of Vancouver Island but it was strange sight to see. We made record time on the hike back to our camp spot. I think it was due to the fact that we were ready to eat the biggest meals of our lives. The menu was beef stoganoff and stir-fry (onions, garlic, carrots, celery all spiced up to perfection)!! Words cannot describe the awesome sensation of this meal. It was the ultimate flavour explosion!

It had cleared up considerably near the middle of the day and at night. After dinner we enjoyed a nice campfire and star gazing at night.

Day 3 – The Hike Back
We woke up to a wet morning. It had drizzled the whole night leaving the tent area pretty wet. That didn’t let us down though. We started the day with the breakfast of champions. Two packets of maple and brown sugar instant oatmeal for starters and then a huge package of Korean noodles with celery and carrots in the soup. It was soooo good! We packed up all our gear and said our final goodbyes to the beach and we were off. About an hour into the hike it started to pour down rain. The trails got a bit muddier as our legs and feet got a bit sorer. Chris’s right knee was also acting up but we still made record timing on the way back! Tired, thirsty, and wet, we made it back to the car at around 3:30pm. We got all our wet clothes and shoes off and slipped into something more dry. Such a relief! We make a quick detour to go see the “Santa Claus-dwarf man” to get some fresh water before our big drive back to Victoria. I should’ve gotten a picture of him!

We wanted to make it back to Victoria as quickly as possible. However, maybe we were too quick. Chris got pulled over by the cops around Port McNeil. He was clocked at around 125 Km/h in a 80 Km/h zone. As the cop was approaching the car, I could see Chris starting to shake. He has never gotten a ticket before let alone being pulled over. He was pretty nervous. We acknowledge how fast we were going and gave the cop our ID’s and registration. Several minutes later, the cop comes back and acknowledges the fact that Chris has a perfect driving record. Because of this, the cop gave Chris a warning! The speeding ticket would have been $196 but we left without paying anything! Oh yah! The drive back to Victoria was a bit slow and cautious after that but we did manage to arrive safety at around midnight.

For all the pictures click here