2011: Reflection, 2012: Aspirations

Hello Readers!

So I don't want to brag about my 2011, but this past year was amazing! I have traveled so much this year and have gained so much experience from my travels and living aboard, I cannot believe I am sitting on the other side it all already! 

Places I visited:
- Krabi, Thailand
- Bangkok, Thailand
- Siem Reap, Cambodia
- Malacca, Malaysia
- Penang, Malaysia
- Hong Kong
- Yogkarta, Indonesia
- Yangon, Myanmar
- Inle Lake, Myanmar
- Mandalay, Myanmar
- Bagan, Myanmar
- Lurong Prabang, Laos
- Ha Noi, Vietnam
- Ha Long Bay, Vietnam
- New Delhi, India
- Pushkar, India
- Jaipur, India
- Agra, India
- Varanasi, India
- Darjeeling, India
- Kathmandu, Nepal
- Chengdu, China
- Lijang, China
- Dali, China
- Beijing, China
- Tokyo, Japan
- Kyoto, Japan
- Osaka, Japan
- Hiroshima, Japan

All the while I was living overseas. 

Also during my time spent overseas, I got one of the most fantastic jobs I have ever had with Infocus Asia.  It was an amazing experience and I will not soon forget it!  The people that I met there were some of the most amazing people and they have all left some deep footprints on me.  I wish them all the best of luck and hope they are all surviving the bootcamp ;) 

Now it is time to look forward to 2012, resolutions for this upcoming year:
1. Eating 5 meals a week that don't have meat, that are lunch or dinner.  Breakfast is too easy not to have meat. 
2. Work out more!  When I was in Singapore I worked out from Monday to Friday everyday for an hour.  I found that having work outs incorporated to heavily into my daily routine that it was easier to stick with it!  I want to repeat this again this year! 
3. Continue traveling.  If I can't go to new countries every month like last year, then I would at least like to visit new places I have haven't been to around here.  Like I have not explored much of interior BC, or north of Whistler.  So I hope to continue exploring because I was bit HARD by that traveling bug and I really feel like satisfying that itch! 

I hope that 2012 will be an exciting year and more exciting that 2011.  It will be a tough to beat, but I am going to work very hard to make it a memorable year! 

Thanks for reading!

New Beers! Page!

Hey! 

Check out my new Beers! page!  I have been sampling beers while I was traveling!  I hope you enjoy it! 

Thank you and best wishes!

Drinking some Angkor Beers while having our feet massaged by FISH!

On Being Home

Hello Readers!

Well I have been home for a few weeks now: after an amazing year a bit of living aboard and traveling!  This past year was amazing.  I couldn't have asked for a better year!  The people I have met and places I have will not soon be forgot.  Home hasn't changed much, which is kind of wierd.  I thought it was going to change more, after seeing on Facebook all the pregancies, engagements and weddings. 

I have compared my life to a book a lot recently.  There are different chapters in your life and that last year was an epic chapter.  The chapters before that though, were boring.  I find that my everyday becomes kinda boring and it all blends together.  Recently though I have had some epic jobs that made the years stand out a bit.  But before that, they all seem the same.  Then this year living aboard, I just hope to make the next chapter of my life just as epic.  I don't want to slip back into the blending of days. 

I am already feeling the itch to leave.  People have told me why that could be: I feel that I am taking a step backwards now that I have had this amazing year.  I think that may be cause, I want to continue moving forward and coming home with no job in sight I feel like coming is a step backwards.  Hopefully I score an awesome job and this feeling will subside!

Before you start to think that I hate being home, I am very excited being able to see all my friends and family again.  You don't know how much you love them until you miss them!  It is also nice to be able to do all the activities I missed doing: sports, snowboarding and concerts! 

Thanks for listening!

Jumping Photo: Kyoto, Japan

Recent Obsessions: Non-Fiction Books

WELCOME TO ANOTHER THRILLING SEGMENT OF RECENT OBSESSIONS!

While living aboard and on my travels I have discovered a new love: Non-fiction books.  The few that I have read:

Nothing to Envy - Barbara Demick
A reporter finds a few stories about the people living in North Korea.

Committed - Elizabeth Gilbert
Elizabeth Gilbert's account of dealing with how is going to have to get married.

First They Killed My Father - Loung Ung
The story of one brave little girl and her family through the horrible 1975 Khmer Rouge takeover.
 
Lucky Child - Loung Ung
Ung's reunited with her sister, who was left behind in Cambodia.

The Girl In The Picture - Denise Chong
The story of the girl who was photographed running naked from a napalm blast that hit her village and how that photograph changed her life.

The Accidental Billionaire - Ben Mezrich
The creation of Facebook.  From the points of view, of a selected few.

Currently Reading: Touching My Father's Soul - Jamling T. Norgay
A son is following in his father's footsteps up Everest during one of the most deadliest seasons: winter of 1996.

All of these I recommend!

When I was little, I hated reading.  As a grew a little older and wiser my appetite for reading grew.  Now I am an avid reader.  I love reading.  Before moving to Singapore, I loved to read Fiction books.  It amazed me to read stories about people's imaginations and the stories that can create from just thinking of a new idea.  Since moving and now traveling, I have new found love for non-fiction books.  Reading about events that really did happen and people who have survived the unthinkable; can be inspiring, dreadful and happy.  Sometimes, I cannot believe that some stories really did happen, they seem so far fetched! 

On the Road

Hello!

Sorry for the no posts during a very exciting time! 

I have now left Singapore and on my way home, the long way around. 

The first place we stopped at was Myanmar.  Noted for it's issues with the government was an amazing place that should not be missed!  When everything blows over with their issues, this is going to be the new "untouched" tourist spot.  Go there before this happens!  It is an amazing place!  At our first stop, Inle Lake for almost a whole day, Jenn and I were the only guests in a giant 50 room resort.  We then went to Madalay, and Bagan.  We flew in and out of Yangon (Rangoon), but didn't stay there too long.  

After Myanmar we went to Bangkok to get connected with real lifeagain .  In Myanmar, it is very hard to get online, buy dental floss, buy sunscreen and a few other things.  So we stop over in Bangkok for a few days to take a breather.  And also to get Jenn's Chinese Visa!

After Bangkok, LAOS!  Lurang Prabang is the most tranquil, peaceful place I have visited yet.  I love it there.  Good food, great people and the surrounding mountains were a sight for sore eyes.  Living in Singapore, the highest thing to see is Marina Bay Sands.  I miss the mountains and it was a nice refresher. 

Then on to Ha Noi, Vietnam.  We went from Ha Noi to the mesmerising Ha Long Bay.  We went on a boat that our friends recommended and it was a great time!  It reained a few days we were there, but in the end the sun came out to play! 

The had been a typhoon hitting the south east Asia area and so we made a quick desicion to go to India.  We didn't want to spend time in the rain, since we are going back to back to Vancouver at the height of the rainy season. 

We landed in Delhi and made plans quickly to go around the northern areas: Pushkar, Jaipur, Agra, Varanasi, and Darjeeling.  I am sitting in a cafe in Darjeeling at the moment.  I love it here.  The city (yes, city) is situated on the side of a mountain.  The streets weave up and down the side of the slopes while the buildings hug the side of the mountain for dear life.  This place is the first place that has seemed to really feel different from the rest of India.  And I am getting my good fair share of mountains here..... HIMALAYAS!!!!

If you want to see pictures please feel free to check out: www.flikr.com/teenersc

Thanks so much for reading! 

Oh Singapore

After leaving Singapore, flying over top of the tiny island, I had some time to think and reflect on my time there. 

The things that I will miss most about Singapore:

Infocus Asia: 

Going Away Party with my peeps!

 Infocus was an amazing place to work and spend my days.  Great people and the job was fun too.  SHOUT OUT to all the awesome people at Infocus Asia!  Cheack out the awesome site and FB page! 

Chewy Juniors

 CHEWY JUNIORS!  These things are fantastic!  They are chewy on the outside and the cream in the middle is delightful!  I hope one day these tasty little treats will end up in Vancouver!
 

Chicken Rice

I really enjoyed the national dish of Singapore: Chicken Rice.  As simple as it is, I was impressed.  There are three key elements: the chicken, the sauce, and the rice.  The chicken needs to be moist with not too much fat on it.  The sauce: Jenn and I preferred it to be most salty than sweet with a some heat behind it.  The rice needs to be soft but not over cooked and full of flavour.  The flavour is made from the broth the rice is boiled in. 

Merlion

But the thing that I will miss most of all is the merlion.  It's elegance and beauty is memerizing.  I must say that if every city were to add a merlion to it, it would be a better and safer place!  LONG LIVE MERLION!

Thank you Singapore you will be missed!

MOVING!

Last week Jenn and I moved out of the condo and now we are living with my aunt and uncle for our last few days in Singaore.  

It was a very stressful week, trying to get everything ready to move out.  I had a BBQ the night before our last day and Jenn was not too pleased about that.  

Getting rid of our unwanted stuff was the hardest part.  We gave a majority of it away and just leaving some in the apartment when we left.  We still have router that we don't want.... do you know anyone who wants it?  When it works it provides 3 wireless connections. 

Now I just want to recall some fond memories from the place we called home for a year:

Our light in the living room.  For some reason whenever we replaced the light bulbs, the light bulbs would burn out after a few days.  We spent a good amount of money on lightbulbs for this one light... and there are 5 lights on it!!!

The view from our sliding door window.  That is the tennis court on the right and on the left is the school where screaming children would wake us up in the morning. 

The lawn that Jenn murdered.  After this she got it replaced with a new lawn.  It looked much better than this one.

I found these little shells while I was cleaning one day.  I believe they are little gecko eggs!!!  We did have one or two really small geckos running around the apartment while we were there.  Maybe these are the eggs they came from!

The stove top after I spilt peppercorns all over it.  The lid on the peppercorn grinder was broken.... I thought I could get the better of it... but clearly it got the better of me.  

This is how we spent most of our weekends here in Singapore.  Jenn always had school work to do, and I needed to entertain myself somehow. 

The condo was nice because it had a pool.  And being on the first floor had it perks (not needing the elevator when you are moving). 

So next week (only 6 days, actually) we are off on our three month adventure! 

The Big 25!

The big 2-5! Quarter century and what not! A few weeks ago I celebrated one my most memorable birthdays: Twenty Five Years Old.

Me, in front of Shrek's toilet

I was having some troubles on what I was going to actually do for my birthday, all the way up until the day before. And because I didn’t want to let myself down and be boring, I decided (with some convincing from James and Vic) to go to UNIVERSAL STUDIOS SINGAPORE!

James, Vic and Jenn in front of Shrek's house

We awoke early in the morn to arrive at the park at a decent time (before the afternoon started). We got this awesome package where you get four adult tickets and 50 bucks to spend inside the park, on anything! We used the vouchers for our lunch at the 50's diner and had real American burgers... with pork floss in them.

Promoting Peace at the Water World show

It was awesome to ride some big roller coasters, rapid rides, and queue in lines. The lines weren’t bad at all, I was happily surprised. I ran around the park like a little kid jumping up and down while Jenn, James and Vic all tried to pretend not to know me.

I planked a barrel.  I heard that's what all the cool kids are doing these days.

My favourite ride was the Cylon of Battlestar Galatica dueling roller coasters. I didn’t even go on the other one (the boring humans' one) because it didn’t go upside down. I went on the Cylon twice! We also went on the Mummy roller coaster a couple times because we all liked it so much. The first time we went on it, a mummy popped up out of the ground and I screamed! Jenn laughed at me because of it and hasn’t stopped laughing since.

Scared of a little T-Rex

The Jurassic Park ride was awesome! It got us all SOAKING wet and there was a hilarious picture of James and I, where we were totally scared of the T-Rex that pops out. We didn’t get the picture because it was twenty dollars. SO MUCH FUN!

The gang, at the gates to Jurrasic Park

The park made me feel like a little kid. Running around and suffering from over stimulus to awesome things. So that whole, one year older and a year wiser stuff... didn’t happen for me this year. I put it off for my day of being like a kid again.

Wahoooooooooo!

AWESOME!

Recent Obsessions: Tina Fey

Welcome to another 'mazing segment of Recent Obsessions. This we will feature the comedic stylings of Tina Fey.

While in Cambodia, Jenn and I stumbled upon 30 Rock. The hit NBC series: created, produced, writer and stars in by Tina Fey herself. She plays the lovable and adorable main character Liz Lemon, head writer of the sketch TV show called TGS. We thought the one episode we watched was hilarious! The second we arrived back in Singapore, I obtained all 5 seasons and we have been watching them (a few episodes a day) ever since.


Recently I also obtained Tina Fey's audio book, BossyPants and proceed to listen to it in its entirety in less than a few days. She is the reader for the book and it was a fantastic listen!

In her Audio Book, she talks about her normal life, discovery of who she is and wanted to be; was an empowering (and very embarrassing for her) journey.

After watching and listening to all of things Tina Fey has created recently, I have come to respect and admire her for her courage and bravery. She has sprouted from the depths of awkward nerdieness into a talented and hilarious joy to watch on TV. She has done all of this while staying true to who she is and what she believes in. You are awesome Tina Fey and don't let anyone tell you otherwise!



*I finally figured out how to post posts... but I can only do so in the old Blogger editor. The new and "improved" one seems to be failing me. If you are/were having a similar problem, please comment. I like the new editor and I want to be able to use it again. Thank you*

Sorry I will not be able to update because Blogger will not let me post..... except in the title.

Singapore: Life Recently

Well it's been a long time since I have written about is going on in my life.

Not so recently, the first weekend of April, Jenn and I went to Hong Kong.  We met up with my parents and had a wonderful time with them and in Hong Kong.  I love the food in Hong Kong, it's so delicious and reminds me of all the Chinese food in Vancouver.  Jenn and I saw Victoria Peak, Star Ferry, fishing market, Pixar Exhibit and ate some wonderful roasted goose.  Which I have never had before.

Jenn and I on the ferry to the fishing village, Hong Kong

A few weeks back, Jenn and a few of our friends took the bus to Malacca, Malaysia.  None of us had been there before and I think a few of us had thought that we wouldn't have the time to see it. Malacca is this cute little tourist town with small streets, lots of traffic and delicious Malaysian food.  We were only there 3 days but you don't need more than that to see this quaint little place.  We stayed in the Holiday Inn and it was the nicest hotel I have stayed in since I was little.  We just walked around and had a real relaxing go of the place.  It was really nice to just relax and get away from Singapore. 

Me leaning on a brick wall in a shop house, Malacca

Walking on the bank of the river, Malacca

Last week, on Tuesday was Vesak Day which is a public holiday in Singapore.  Jenn and I decided to not sit around in the apartment and go for a little adventure.  Headed off to the Live Turtle Museum.  This museum is the largest collection of live turtles in the world.  They have the Guiness World record to prove it.  It was a small place and all the turtles looked pretty happy.  It wasn't expensive and this museum is situated in a wonderful park: the Chinese Garden.

Me holding a turtle: Pig Nosed Turtle, Singapore

Jenn feeding the turtles in the pond, Singapore

Then after the park and turtles, I met up with Brett for a night shoot of the downtown bay and river area.  I had a lot of fun taking photos.   

The Singapore Flyer, Singapore

Marina Bay Sands, Singapore

And today I took this picture:

Me and me working away, Singapore

Recently my life in Singapore has been pretty normal.  Working five days a week and trying to have some fun and relaxation on the weekend.  The next few months there are no public holidays so hopefully Jenn and I will be able to get some time off to get away from the concrete jungle.  We are hoping of going to either Cambodia or Burma in the near future. 

Recent Obsessions: Comics/Super Heros

This is not a recent obsession, this is just one that I just realized I should post.

Batman From the 90's Cartoons

I have been in love with comics, graphic novels and super heroes since I can remember.  I use to watch all of the old 90's cartoons with Batman, Spider-man, Superman, etc.  My love of super heroes even spread to the far reaches of nerdiness to include the Power Rangers.  The first Power Rangers, like before the White One came in.  That was when it was still awesome.

Superman from the 90's cartoons

When I was young my Brother and I even "ran away" from home to go to the comic book store that was at least a twenty minute walk from our house.

My favourites:

Graphic Novel: Watchmen - Alan Moore

Series: Scott Pilgrim - Bryan Lee O'Malley

Super Hero: Spider-man

Villain: The Joker











If I was a super hero what would I want my power to be?
To be able to speak any language at any given moment.

Also, to demonstrate how much I love all this stuff:  On Saturday May 7, it is the global event: Free Comic Book Day.  It was the first time this big bookstore was participating so I headed over there was the second person in line to get my free comic books.  It was fun and they had discounted comics as well, so I bought Brian Azzarello's JOKER.  I hope to be in the states one time for this event, maybe in LA or something where all the big comic book events are, like Comic Con.

I hope you enjoyed this segment of Recent (but not really) Obsessions!

Best wishes!

Recent obsessions: Photography

Welcome to another exciting segment of RECENT OBSESSIONS! This time I will be talking about my love of photography.

I have loved photography for awhile and recently begun to appreciate it more because of traveling.  Traveling has been an amazing outlet to practice taking better photos.  Traveling has also forced me to become a better photo editor as well.  I have been using Adobe Lightroom to edit my photos and learning this software has been fun and exciting!

You can see what I have been working on, on my Flikr Photostream.

A true inspiration of photography is the winner of the TED talk... prize.... I forget what he won.  But just watch the video and you will be truely inspired to use your old film cameras too!  I use my Dad's old Pentex K1000 and it is so much fun!  If I had access to a dark room, it would be so much fun!  Enjoy the video below:

Not only do I like taking photos, I also like being in them.  You can check out all my jump photos and hands in the air photos. But a friend a mine who is an amazing photographer, James Prevette.  He has taken some photos of me and they are awesome!  We actually did a shoot together not too long ago and the crane photo below was one of the products of it! 

At the Chingay parade.

Crane Shoot

I hope you enjoyed this segment of RECENT OBSESSIONS!  Until next time.......

Recent obsessions: Lissie

This Recent Obsession is finally a girl: Lissie. 

A friend of mine (Jenn Slingshot Brisson) posted on her Facebook page, this video: 

After one listen: I was hooked. 

Even the non-acoustic version of this song is amazing:

I have been listening to both her albums (EP and debut) non stop for over a week now.  I have memerized almost every lyric and can't her amazing songs out of my head. 

If you like to listen to girls who play on guitars, she definitely for you.  Check her out at Lissie and you will not be disappointed. 

Remember......

Remember that song that we all wanted?  Well the artist who sang just came out with.....

Penang

Flowers at the Penang Botnaical Gardens

The first day was definitely a rough start to what I was hoping to be the calm before the storm (the new job).  However, homophobic guys and monkeys prevented me from enjoying my first day.  Just some guys I met in the airport were a little mean to me.  Then the monkeys chased while I was alone the forest of the Botanical Gardens.  It was the greatest start to a trip, but it got much better after that first day.  

Shop house along the street.  Shop houses cover the streets all throughout Georgetown.

I stayed in two places in Penang, in Georgetown in the city centre and in Batu Ferrinngi on the beach.  It was nice to move a little on the trip to get a different sense of the whole island.  I loved the city, it had so many of those shop houses, and they were gorgeous!  Bright colours, paint chipping away and such a rustic old town feel.  It was amazing.  Georgetown was nice because it was a city, so you got all the conveniences of a city but it’s not nearly as busy as Singapore or Kuala Lumpur.  There was also a lot of little tourist things to see.  I had a blast walking around the city for a couple days and taking it all in. 

The beach at Batu Ferrinngi

When I got to Batu Ferrinngi, it was to sit and relax on the beach.  I spent one day walking around and checking out the area, and also going to the Toy Museum.  The second day, I spent the whole day on the beach.   It was nice to just sit out there and enjoy my books, music and the sun.  

Sunset at batu Ferrinngi

This trip was super nice too because I met a few interesting people along the way.  I met a girl, Christine, from Germany who was on a German cruise.  But she was just walking around because she didn’t want to do the tours that were offered.  We were kind of following each other because we both lost.  We got to talking and she sounded super cool, we exchanged emails and she was off on her cruise.  I also met a cool local, Abus, has traveled around and he works in the health department for government.  I don’t know what he does exactly, but it involves driving around.  He was super cool and we hung out a few nights. 

Spider-Man at the Toy Museum.  This is the biggest Toy Museum in the world.

Buddhist temple in Penang.  Biggest Buddhist temple in Malaysia.

Penang is a wonderful, quiet, quaint, and rustic place. It is a small island so getting around is super easy and the food is amazing!  I love the food!  If you ever find yourself in West Malaysia, head to Penang you will not regret it! 

Recent obsessions: Monster Factory

Hello Boys and Girls!  It is time for another wonderful segement of RECENT OBSESSIONS! 

This time on RECENT OBSESSIONS we will be featuring Monster Factory!

Monster Factory is a wonderful place where monsters are made!  I love those little monsters!

The reason that these guys have become a recent obsession however, was their Buddy Contest.  This contest was participants send in their address' and then there was going to be a bunch of people around the world selected to house Buddy for a week or two.  Jenn and I both entered, she of course won.  

Buddy!  He likes to travel!

Losing didn't bring me down!  I am so excited to have Buddy with us soon!  Jenn is seventh on the list of people who Buddy will be staying with.  He is going to be well traveled once he reaches Singapore. 

After entering the Buddy Contest I continued to visit the Monster Facotry website almost daily and everytime I found something new.  Like for instance, one of the Colin monsters is featured wearing a hoodie by the Clothing Experiment Brand and when I went to that their website, who was modeling some of their sweatshirts?  Well I think it was Andrew from Songs to Wear Pants to!  

There are also cool videos and awesome monsters to see at the amazing Monster Factory!

I love those guys!  Thanks for being a RECENT OBSESSION!!!!!

Colin!  He wears a hoodie!

 

Recent obsessions: Mark Zuckerberg/Facebook

Time Magazine - Person of the Year 2010 - Mark Zuckerberg

Mark Zuckerberg, as we all know is the creator of Facebook.  Facebook is that wonderful website that we all visit at least twenty times a day.  Who isn't addicted?

Facebook has changed how interact with each other and how we interact on the internet.  I believe that Facebook has changed the world.  The creator, Mark Zuckerberg, was honoured with Person of the Year 2010, by People Magazine (see picture above).

Yeah Facebook!

I became fascinated with Zuckerberg when I saw the movie: Social Network.  I think it is crazy that a few guys (very computer-tech-savy guys) came up with the most viewed website in the world, in a dorm room!  It is absolutely amazing!  Regardless of drama that revolves around the creation of Facebook, it is amazing how much of it has changed 500 million people's lives.

I remember when I was in university (as if it was so long ago), when I first heard about Facebook.  I signed up and it was great!  I even remember getting mad when I heard that they were going to allow high school students to be on Facebook.  That is how recent all of this was!  Amazing!

Mark Zuckerberg - Facebook Icons

I think Zuckerberg made a good decision in not selling Facebook and staying on as CEO.  He got to take control of Facebook and make it into what it is today. 


 Thanks Zuckerberg for being a recent obsession!