A Bug's Life

I found this bug in my garden last week.

Dog deck details

the lazy way

Seeing as I now have a huge amount of pictures and only small amounts of time, I have decided that I shall dedicate the next few posts to pictures. Enjoy!


These were taken around my house yesterday. the wonders of technology.

nautica

When I was in Toronto in May I took a walk down by the water and took a few pictures. Here are two of my favourite ones.

girls of summer

Yay for the first day of Summer! The season of gratuitous flowers!
And the season for which I can finally revert to the original colour of the blog. It's like coming home. I don't normally go for pink but this is a nice shade and I still think it's the nicest template offered. But for the sake of variety I have decided to change colours with the seasons. And it makes good sense when there are four different options. I've assigned blue for winter, green for spring, pink for summer and brown for autumn. I am slightly disapointed that autumn, my favourite season, was stuck with the worst colour but it had to be that way; it doesn't make sense otherwise. And brown will match any of the stunning pictures of fall leaves that I am inevitably going to take and post.

It has been alternating rain and sun all day. Maybe because it is a day of transitions the weather thought it would follow the general theme. I am planning on heading to the beach again with some friends tonight so I hope it won't rain on our parade. If it does, we'll just come on back here and find something else to do. But it would be nice if we could enjoy the great outdoors.

In other breaking news (except that I really do hope that it doesn't break): I finally got my laptop!!! Yay! I have been (as expected) spending all my spare moments on it sorting and arranging what pictures and music I have. I can't wait until I get to hook it up to my brother's computer and get all the stuff I've been dumping on that in the mean time. Should be awsome!

suffocating venom

I have been reading Molecules of Emotion by Candace B. Pert, PhD. It is an interesting and informative book and, so far, has almost made me interested in going into sciences! I know it's hard to believe but there you have it. Perhaps, though, I should stick to reading about the sciences (I'm good at reading in any case).

One paragraph (that has little to do with the actual topic in the book but is present merely to explain a different point) caught my interest and I shall quote it here:

...In higher animals, the cobra's venom acts by entering a victim's body and diffusing to the acetylcoline receptors, including those on the diaphragm muscles, which regulate breathing. The venom blocks the access of natural acetycholine to its receptors. Since acetycholine is the neurotransmitter that's responsible for muscle contraction, the resulting paralysis of the diaphragm muscles causes death by suffocation.

So then both cobras and boa constrictors essentially have similar means of finishing off their victims, only the cobra does not have to try very hard.

Sand and water

Ah, the beach.
Ah, summer.

I have a feeling that this one will be one of the more memorable summers. My job is great (have I mentioned that before?) and I hope to be able to connect with friends that I havn't had the time to keep up with other summers. Last night I went with some friends from school to the local park/beach and sat around and then ended up in a game of beach volleyball with a group of guys from Egypt. It was fun for the most part (some strange moments occurred but that's okay; everything worked out well).

I love summer evenings. Evening is my favourite time of day (just as autumn is my favourite time of year); I love the feeling of the day finally cooling off--the sun no longer beating but rather gently embracing those in it... Anyway, another thing that I enjoy about summer evenings is that they seem to like to linger. The day has tired them out so they hang around lazily in no hurry to leave. I enjoy being outdoors.

Sorry if this post seems worthless. I enjoyed writing my simple ode to summer and beaches and water and sand. They're wonderful.

Nicotiana and sky

A Nicotiana seed-head taken last winter.
I just realized that I have not posted any pictures in quite some time. Now, as I have said before, my hope is that when I do get my new computer that I shall be able to take my pictures from my camera and post them, just like that. Now I have to load them onto my brother's computer and send them to my Grandma's computer before I have the luxury of choosing a picture to post at any point. I am looking forward to the day when that will no longer be the case but, before that day comes, here is a photo.

Elusive Time

I figured that I would have more time to write better posts now that I'm home from the trip and settling in to the work/play schedule. But that does not seem to be the case. I'm also hoping (probably in similar hopeless fashion) that when I get my new computer (notice the use of 'when') I'll have more time (or at least, for starters, the computer will not periodically shut down my browser for no apparent reason in the middle of whatever I may be doing) to devote to writing. But we'll see if that develops. I know in my previous wishful thinking that I forgot to factor in the time spent on keeping in touch with new friends made on the trip. So maybe I will have more time with the new computer. Then again, I will probably spend more of that time simply playing around with pictures and music (knowing me). But that will be fun too. Working has also tired me and when tired I am not as creative and have not the energy to attempt to make what I write sound clever.
So I apologise for the lack of content and quality but that may be the case all summer long, so be prepared.

After Math (there is life)

In the weeks following my return, more results of my trip and how it has changed/impacted me have appeared. For one, it wasn't until I returned to my home church that I realized how much I love being there and how much they feel more like family than friends to me. Another unlooked-for event is the request (over e-mail) from an acquaintance made over there for me to look for a job for him and invite him to Canada. Not going to happen. But I do see the reasons why he would want to come over here. We live in such privilege.

In other news, I'm really enjoying getting back to work! I know it's only the second day back but it is truly great to be paid to take out your frustrations with a sledghammer and a slab of concrete. I'm getting a great workout (and perhaps getting back into shape after a new low in that department on my return from the unhealthy-eating vacation), a tan (perhaps slightly farmer-ish but it's still a tan), and I really am working with two of the greatest guys you'll ever meet.
I'll let you know if my sentiments change after a month or two of this hard work.

And a segue-less change of gears: I've been thinking of purchasing a laptop. This has been an ongoing consideration for quite some time but especially now that I have so many pictures from my trip, I would love to have a place where I can actually share them with others... So my 'looking' status has taken on a more serious aspect and has been changed to 'inquiring' hopefully to be followed up with 'purchasing' in the not-so-distant future.

I'll keep you posted.

the grindstone has a purpose

So I shall be starting work again in about nine hours from now. I'm really excited to get back to landscaping and into the groove of getting up early and working. No, I'm not crazy, I just enjoy the feeling of satisfaction of working hard and the result of a job well done. I also have been blessed by a wonderful work situation and boss. I know there are days that I would rather not get up and days that I would rather not have to leave the house but I know at those occasions (at least my little, annoyingly-postive voice in my head tells me) that I'll enjoy it once I get out there (usually!).

Another benefit that I am looking forward to with much anticipation is the getting-back-into-shape effect of hard work. After spending the better part of a year sitting at desks, reading and writing with only the occasional walk to count in the way of exercise and especially after the amount of food (and very fatty food at that) that I ate while away (everyone was very hospitable, especially when it came to serving food...), it's about time that I actually worked my body a bit.

So here goes, I am about to take the first real plunge back into life and responsibility. Wish me luck!

after the fact

I spent some time today researching some of the things we went to see while travelling and now that I have some time and distance, I think the facts are finally sticking. It all makes more sense now in any case. I think one of the factors is that I am able to read about it and see what the names actually look like (there's something about combining oral and visual learning for reinforcing lessons and I know it works) but also when I read about the different people and places, they are presented in a logical, linear fashion that makes sense to me and provides a structure in which I can place all the little facts I learned in order.

On the other side of the issue, having seen the actual places gives me much more interest in the history and incentive to remember.

In an ideal world I probably would have researched like this before going but (I tell myself) I wouldn't have know where to start and what lines of study to follow up.

This trip and subsequent learning of history has further inspired me (not that I needed further inspiration) to travel more, in particular to travel to England where much of what I am interested in and studying in school took place. I think my studies would be enriched immensely were I to take a trip there. I guess I need to convince someone to sponsor me now... Anyone?

the silence like unto death has lifted

I am finally back from the land of Uz to the land of blogs. It has been a long time for me not to have posted my ponderings, pictures, and quotes and I have many to share but I think that they will come out bit by bit as I process them. For now I think I shall keep this short and say that I have had many experiences that have changed me in many ways and I am looking forward to a summer filled with 'normal' activities in which I can chew over my abnormal ones and see what to make of them.
When I left this beautiful country everything was brown and on my return all the leaves have popped out and things are in bloom. It is a beautiful picture of what can happen in a short time with a little sun and water. It encourages me in my prayers for that sun and water in my new friends' lives.