Elephants have seatbelts?

Went elephant trekking today. It was fun. I was amused that they have seatbelts on the bench on the elephants back, but its a good thing, those things are hard to stay on. It was cool because in Africa it was 'stay the hell away from the elephants or they'll kill you', whereas here at the elephant training centres you can go right up to them and pet them and stuff.

That's it really.

Fun in Chiang Mai

So, surviving Thailand so far. I've seen way more Buddah's than I've ever cared to, but that's okay. The first couple temples (5.5 tonne gold buddah and a 50m long reclining buddah) were neat, but after that they all kinda started to blend together in to the same art and architecture. I've also experienced my first Thai Massage. The jury is out... I've never gotten a real massage before, so it's hard to judge, but man am I sore today. Went to the floating market which was cool, and the bridge on the river kwai (like in the movie) and saw some cool WWII stuff... never really think about it reaching over here, but it definitely did.

Tonight is the Chiang Mai night market and tomorrow is elephant trekking, so that'll be a blast I'm sure.

Hope all of you are doing great and enjoying the holidays!

Merry Christmas

Off to Thailand tomorrow. Found a Kite-Surfing School in Phuket! Can't wait. See you in January!

Mmmm... fresh quiz

I checked Alison's livejournal for the first time in a long time (sorry Alison, it's too much of a pain to log in all the time.) and lo and behold, a new quiz!

FOUR JOBS YOU'VE HAD IN YOUR LIFE
1. Laser Scanner operator for Point Geomatics
2. St. Bonaventure - Youth Ministry Coordinator
3. Ireland, Saskatchewan, Northern Alberta - Youth Ministry Consultant
4. Sunwest River Guides - Trip Leader/Guide

FOUR MOVIES YOU COULD WATCH OVER AND OVER
1. Better off Dead
2. O Brother Where Art Thou?
3. Grosse Pointe Blank
4. Uh, lets say Back to the Future

FOUR CITIES YOU'VE LIVED IN:
1. Calgary, AB
2. Cork, Ireland
3. Limerick, Ireland (sorta)
4. Dublin, Ireland (again, sorta)

FOUR TV SHOWS YOU LOVE TO WATCH
1. Family Guy
2. Simpsons
3. Futurama
4. West Wing

FOUR PLACES YOU'VE BEEN ON VACATION:
1. Egypt
2. Kenya
3. Germany
4. All over the states

FOUR WEBSITES YOU VISIT DAILY:
1. Hotmail
2. Colms Blog
3. Fark
4. Something Positive
(2-4 aren't daily, but the closest thing to regular)
FOUR OF YOUR ALL-TIME FAVORITE RESTAURANTS:
1. Bookers BBQ Grill and Crab Shack
2. Buon Giorno's
3. Open Seasame
4. The Grizzly House

FOUR OF YOUR FAVORITE FOODS:
1. Jambalaya
2. Briscuit
3. Fajitas
4. Pizza

FOUR SCHOOLS YOU'VE ATTENDED
1. U of C
2. CMD/WCACYM Summer Seminars
3. Rescue 3 International's SRT certification courses
4. Western Canada High School

FOUR THINGS IN YOUR ROOM:
1. a bed
2. A lot of clothes
3. Photos
4. Books/CDs

FOUR THINGS YOU ARE WEARING RIGHT NOW:
1. Jeans
2. T-Shirt
3. Shades
4. Cross

FOUR PLACES I'D RATHER BE RIGHT NOW:
1. Somewhere where I could surf
2. Skiing
3. In Thailand already
4. Finished my Thesis

Abe Licoln and Brian Setzer

Man, good TV. Razer chanel has brought back Clone High... it was a pretty fun cartoon that only had one season before it was cancelled. I'm hoping they make some new episodes so that there's a season 2. And after that, PBS was showing a Brian Setzer Christmas Concert... it was sweet. Such a good performer. Man I wish that guy would come to Calgary.

Unfortunately, it can't all be good. Tomorrow is the TV event of the millenia... Barbara Walters Presents: Heaven, how do we get there? Holy crap... literally, how do they get away with that kind of shite.

Okay, that's it on the TV.

Pleasant surprises

Well, I went shopping today, and didn't spend as much as I thought I would, which is awesome! I was looking for a UV filter and new camera bag for the rebel XT, and they had a wicked ass deal at Robinsons, the bag (same brand as everyone else) was way less than anywhere else, and this one is specific for my camera, so that's awesome. The battery and memory card were also cheaper than expected.

But, the best surprise was how little needs to be done to my banjo. I stopped playing it cuz the neck was all messed up and lots of dead frets and the bridge was screwy and stuff, so I took it in to Long and McQuade expecting it to need a pretty serious overhaul. The tech there said a straightforward setup should fix about everything. I guess the neck was at the wrong angle, so he was just gonna adjust that then do the curveature and intonation, tune the head etc. So sweet, so what I was thinking would be like $150 or so is gonna be like $40 or so. Nice.

The Old (well, medium) School

It was sweet! Char, Little Heather, and John Grant all came dancing tonight. So good to see them all. It's literally been like 4 years since I've seen John. We had a blast. For reference, they were all on an old incarnation of the Lindy Grasshoppers. Not the first generation, I think maybe second or third, but as far as the scene goes, some of the longest around.

That's all really. Pumped for a weekend in Banff, and only like 10 days until Thailand! I wasn't too keen at first, but I'm starting to get excited. I need to get a book or something tomorrow. Oh yeah, and no more work probably until the new year... mmmmm rest.

Go North Young Man

Cuz hey, it isn't cold enough this far south right? I have to admit, I'm glad winter is here. I was gonna go skiing this week, but it was too cold in Banff (-30 the two days I was gonna go). My morning cut off is not much colder than -20, after that it stops being so fun. If it wasn't solo skiing maybe, but by yourself freezing on the chairlift, not as fun. It was kinda nice though, I've been off work for a week and a couple days. It's too cold to scan anything outside, and all our current Calgary projects are outdoors, so until a chinook or a warm stretch, not much going on. I did get pretty bored though. I've turned into a bit of a workaholic, but at the same time my self motivation is low. So if I'm working in the field its go go go, but at home, unless Chris tells me we have field work, I get lazy, then frustrated with the lazy part. This job in Fort Mac is mostly indoors, so we'll be good there. I'm really hoping the rest of december is in Calgary though, I'm getting road weary, and I miss Karen a bunch... wanna max the time with her before Thailand.

Met Karen's mom and sister last night. It was fun. It was quite the introduction though. I got to Karen's building and the Slade women were in the lobby. Karen came out and ushered me inside, where her mom, and mostly sister were having a small fit... in a good way I'm informed. Apparently the consensus is I'm quite the hottie. I'll take the compliment, even if I am skeptical... I'd go with marginally above average hottie ;) J/k, it was really funny more than anything, although at the time it was more speechless than I can remember being for a long time. After all that was done we walked to the Keg for dinner and checked out the Airdrie festival of lights. It was some good times. I was glad to meet them, they seem like pretty awesome people.

Also got out dancing tonight. Awesome times. I seem to have hit this 'every two weeks or so' kind of groove, and it's just great. I get to see all my swing peeps on a pretty regular basis, I am still absorbing the last stuff I learned, so I'm not bored with it or feeling stale, but I'm not sliding back or getting out of shape or anything. Good music too. Bobbie, Dave and Trev did a great job.

Anyway, ramblin' guy here. I should go to bed.

Also, Dave, David and Colm, UPDATE YOUR BLOGS! I'm bored and have nothing new to read! (because that is reason #1 to write of course... to entertain me).