the homeland

back in regina for a few days. 24 hours in a van later and im back in the queen city. so far ive seen lots of good friends, the family and had some good laughs.
i gotta say i miss this place. not so much the city, but the people. grade A goodness.
not that yellowknife isnt full of the same, but there is something about home that feels good.
so far the week will be full of breakfasts, lunches, tennis, soccer, swimming, and watching some sweet bands play.
i heard a vicious rumour though...tim, simply delicious has closed.
now, dont get too upset yet, i havent confirmed it myself. but i will let you know the final word when i see it for myself.
it could be a sad day in the QC.
well, the hotdogs are ready. time to eat, and then off to the tennis courts.

some wisdom i stole from gene..

tonite at church, gene talked about fathers, mostly our Father. one thing he said stuck with me, mostly because it met me where i am at these days. he said something along the lines of "we need to come to God just as we are, not how we are supposed to be".
kind of neat.
kind of made me think about how i need to quit making excuses about how i am not good enough, or how i have been apathetic, lazy, etc. and just come. it doesnt matter where i have been, where i am at now, i need to quit making excuses.
so thats what i will be thinking about for a few days here.
5 more work days till regina.
looking forward to seeing the regina folk.

world cup prediction: you heard it hear...second

so, the world cup is into its second day, im currently watching england vs. paraguay and cheering for paraguay (sorry jon and evan). but anyway, the greatest sporting event in the world is underway. four years ago, jon slywka and i watched this tournament from many different venues (including 6 different countries), including an electronic store in Shillong, India. we sat on the floor behind some refrigerators so as not to be seen by the owner. eventually, the owner came by, saw us watching, asked us where we were from, and after he found out we were canadians, gave us some stools to sit on, turned on the rest of the tv's on the wall of televisions and cranked the volume. not much is as unifying globally as soccer. not only is it a beautiful game, but its a chance for everyone to put down their guns, grab some boots and a ball and play a bit of football.
anyway, jon, one of the greatest soccer aficionado's i know has predicted the czech republic to win it all. so you heard it hear second. this man could look like a genius if his prediction comes true. (i pick holland or argentina)
here is a picture of my soccer team. probably the closest i will ever come. but we were pretty good. i miss these guys.

first fish ever

first fish ever
Originally uploaded by xjermsx.

so i went to the cabin this weekend with joel, arlen, cory, dwight, brendan, darla, amanda and brianne. it was a good time. it was my first fishing experience ever. i enjoyed it i must say. 6 hours of casting and reeling, i finally caught this fish. i know its not very big, but after 6 hours of nothing, this was about as good as it got. holding it was disgusting though. anyway, it was a great weekend full of fishing, laughing, swimming in the freezing cold lake and enjoying some amazing parts of nature. i posted lots of new pictures from the weekend, so check them out. good times had by all...except arlen, cause he didnt catch any fish.

mass

i went to mass tonite. i was in the area and thought i would stop in and observe. pretty neat experience. so much history within catholicism that sort of intrigues me. also kind of interesting to me is the mystery and otherness they attribute to God. pete and i talked about that a little bit while we were both still in regina. something i think the churches i have grown up in have forgotten about, focusing more on the personal relationship and intimacy aspect. both are good. i think we need more balance. i need more balance anyway. i need to remember that the God who loves me unconditionally and not because of anything i have done also created the world around us- the beauty of nature, the intricacy of life and life systems...and given humans the capacity to come up with crazy things like fax machines, internet and other technologies that blow my mind. so here i am...trying to find that balance. the balance that lets me be in relationship with my Creator, but also lets me worship the majesty and mystery that is God....

sunday, may 21

sunday, may 21
Originally uploaded by xjermsx.

Great Grandma Start passed away around 1:30 in the afternoon on Sunday, so I visited the cemetery to spend some time thinking about the little bit of time i got to spend with her. she was an exceptional lady, even getting around fairly well on her own right up till her stroke. 94 years. so much history, and a life full of stories. her faith has been passed on through the generations, and her influence has reached me in more ways than i probably even know. i always remember getting books as gifts and crisp 2$ bills for my birthday when i was younger and smiles and nice visits the last few years. so, here is to a great lady, one that i look forward to meeting again...

saturday night fights

last nite in yellowknife 12 boxing matches took place at the multiplex. the main event was for the "champion of the world" title in the WBC superfeather weight division. it was a pretty neat thing to be able to watch first hand, and to even get up ring side for one of the rounds. some of those guys and girls could throw a mean left hook. and i got to go for free. tickets were 75$ but since i helped sell the beers, i got fairly good seats to watch all 12 bouts.
definitely a good time. some good KO's and some sweet uppercuts. i didnt take my camera cause i thought i would be too busy, but ill see if i can round up a picture or two from someone...my first live boxing event was pretty sweet...if you ever get a chance, go check it out.

i was in high school once

i was in high school once
Originally uploaded by xjermsx.

in a few weeks my brother is graduating from high school. it makes me feel old. so here is some reminiscing from my days in high school. joel found this picture in one of his old shoe boxes. those were the days....

saturday nite part 2

this is dale
Originally uploaded by xjermsx.

so the food was great. definitely worth the wait.
dale came with me. i work with dale. hilarious guy, good musician. all round class act. anyway, this is him near his house, more like shack. pretty neat way to live. no running water, no heater. just a fireplace and imported water from the lab.
anyway, i figured out how to make kris's photo page work in the links now. so go see them if you want.
i added more again today as well.

saturday nite...

saturday nite this weekend is pretty exciting. a girl at work is marrying an east indian guy, and his family, mostly his mom, run a catering business.
so tomorrow nite, there is a "dinner and dance" at one of the pubs up here. the sweet thing is, it is east indian food, and this girl from work got me a ticket.
i havent ate any of that since i left regina. something i miss. moms butter chicken is so good.
so tomorrow nite will be a taste of india, but also a taste of home.
also,
kris got a new camera too. i posted his photo site in my links. it doesnt work yet, but it will. check it out, his pictures will likely be cooler than mine.
mine have been updated almost daily so far, and ill try to keep that up. so keep checking them out.
there might be a good one or two in there somewhere.

bjorn borg

bjorn borg
Originally uploaded by xjermsx.

i drove past the tennis courts with my camera tonite to find that bjorn borg has moved to yellowknife to play tennis. check this out...

check these out

so im trying this flickr thing. you can see it over to the right of this page...
it will have pictures that i have taken, or maybe tim took some of them.
anyway...they will kind of give you an idea of where i live and the crazy hooligans i hang out with.
check them out if you get a chance.

it is may already

i bought a new toy this weekend. this toy is probably one of the most complicated that i have ever had to learn how to use. but its going to be fun. i will start putting my pictures onto a website for people to look at once i get some that are worth looking at. until then, i have a 300 page manual to read and lots of buttons to test out...

april 29th, 2006

today i got out to play some tennis. it was pretty windy out there. kind of ironic that i was playing with tim, the guy who assured me upon moving up here that it didnt get windy.
anyway. it was great. what a great game. its like a moving, full body chess match. tim and i didnt quite make it that far today since my shoulder was pretty sore...because,
on wednesday i borrowed darlas longboard to ride for a few minutes. it didnt like me and i crashed.
it was cold out while i was riding, so my hands were in my pockets. i tried the trusty shoulder roll, but landed right on the lateral end of my clavicle. so, its still pretty sore and had a tough time returning tims rockets on the court.
nonetheless, it was sweet to be out hitting the ball.
moral of the story is...dont ride a skateboard with your hands in your pockets...and dont ride darlas at all. it is hard.

i was too young...

but these images are pretty intense. 20 years ago today the chernobyl disaster began, and consequences are still being seen first hand even today.
pretty scary stuff.
if you have an extra 2 minutes check these pictures out...

http://www.pixelpress.org/chernobyl/index.html

(you will have to cut and paste this address...sorry, i havent figured out how to create a direct link. just do it. its not that hard)

off to a good start

it is playoff time in the NHL. and it doesnt get much better than this year.
the leafs missed the playoffs, which is almost as good as a montreal stanley cup.
and tonite, the canadiens took their first step to number 25 with a 6-1 win over carolina.
vancouver also missed the playoffs. what a beauty year for hockey.
no more saturday nites spent watching the stinkin leafs.
time for some real hockey and some real hockey players.
go montreal.

madball-the kings of new york hardcore

from one of new york city's finest bands...these lyrics are where i find myself at sometimes...

God help me
Guide me towards righteousness Lord, once again
Please give me back the innocence of my youth
That was taken from me so long ago
Out of my control
I do not lay the blame on anyone
Only you can save my soul,

I'm calling
I'm calling out, I'm calling, is anyone listening?
I'm calling
I'm calling out, I'm calling, are you listening?
Cause I'm trying to fight it with all my heart and soul,
Strength and hope, is it all my fault?
I can't deny it, sometimes I lose control
I lose all hope

God save me now
From my past and present sins once again
Please give me the peacefulness of my youth
That I've never had
I keep it all inside, for the sake of pride
I will not disrespect my family
Only you know what I hide

I'm calling
I'm calling out, I'm calling, are you listening?
Cause I'm trying to fight it with all my heart and soul,
Strength and hope, is it all my fault?
I can't deny it, sometimes I lose control
I lose all hope

Until then, it feels like
I'm caught between
Heaven and Hell

Please take away the sins of me and my father
Give me the strength to prevail
If you forgive me, then I'll forgive myself


if you feel like watching the music video for this song...its at http://www.ferretstyle.com/madball/

ed

a good friend from regina started up a blog too. ed has been a huge encouragement and example to me..so im looking forward to seeing what he has to say. if you dont know this guy, move to regina, and go hang out with him at his house. he will make you laugh, make you think and tell you some good stories. miss you lots eddie!
check it out here....


http://eslywka.blogspot.com/

please excuse the profanity...

ive been reading a book by Anne Lamott that i bought this week called "Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith". i am about half way through and must say that this lady is hilarioius. not only is she hilarious, but she inserts phrases or paragraphs that have stopped me in my tracks. made me think. made me examine.
the one ill share this time has a little bit of profanity in it...and yes, i grew up being taught that this is bad...but lets try and look past it together this time to see what she is trying to say. she is talking about light and darkness, and how in life we run in to patches of each...so here goes.

"Without all the shade and shadows, you'd miss the beauty of the veil. The shadow is always there, and if you don't remember it, when it falls on you and your life again, you're plunged into darkness. Shadows make the light show. Without shadows, we'd only see what a friend of mine refers to as 'all that goddamn light'"


ive never thought of that before. the purpose of shadows. ive always thought they were kind of neat, but never knew their purpose. i guess they do have a purpose. i guess even shadows can teach us something about life, about our relationships, about our God.

at 2:00 am...

they decided that they needed to push all the clocks forward an hour. so this morning came pretty quick. i miss good old saskatchewan where they dont mess with the clocks or your sleep...
but anyway. im starting to get that itch to get out and play some tennis. unfortunately, im afraid that it might be a little bit later in the year than what im used to. but maybe it will be even that much sweeter when the white leaves for the more glorious green and red of the tennis court.
if you are up for a game, give me a call.