the end of an era

well, in about 56 minutes, one of tennis' greatest stars ever will begin his last fortnight at the U.S. Open. Andre Agassi has been one of my favorite players since i picked up a racket for the first time. so it will be a sad few days, likely bringing tears to my eyes, as he trys to pull out one more grand slam. such a classy guy who plays beautiful tennis, and carries himself in a way that just commands respect. a true champion. he has definitely inspired me and made the last 20 years of watching tennis memorable. we will miss you Andre!

.confused.

so here is the deal, i am confused. well, maybe more just wondering. tim, and francis have posted some great ideas about blogging and putting this discussion into action. and i know i have talked with other friends before about how great sitting around discussing world issues, faith and spirituality can be, but if it just stops at the table, was it really all that good?
so here is where the confused/wondering part comes in. hopefully i can put this into logical, straight forward questions to ponder, and hopefully get some help with.

is discussion wasted if it is just heard and not acted upon? what if that discussion is part of something that, possibly subconciously, enters our minds and changes us from the inside out?
or is that even possible; does this "movement" have to be a conscious decision?
and
how do we challenge those that we are discussing with to put that discussion into action (as well as move ourselves)?

new in yellowknife

dayna, my cousin from weyburn just moved to yellowknife on the weekend. its already been fun having her around, getting the chance to get to know her better and making fun of her for her gypsy outings with melissa as they did the old orpah and morpah. (long story, but dayna and melissa are gypsies). anyway. i was reading her goodbye saskatchewan blog at daynamarie3.blogspot.com and it made me miss home. mostly my grandparents. my grandpa fleming recently had a stroke and is now recovering and working on the motor skills he lost. this guy is so tough. i miss him. definitely a role model in my life, in a quiet, unassuming, joking around, teaching me more than i thought he has, fun, loving way.
its crazy how people like that can love me. i guess it is just one more way that God shows us how much he loves us. and tonite, i am thankful for that. miss you grandpa, hope you are doing well!

jumping off things

yellowknife is great for jumping off things into the water.
there is water everywhere and usually some kind of cliff, bridge or wall to jump off. so ive taken a real liking for diving off things. it is probably one of my favorite things to do...and cody or nic or dad has often been there to snap some of those...so here are a few...if you ever come to yellowknife i know some sweet spots...so lets go. you can find more on my flickr site over there ---->

just move

almost a month ago already(...wow...)harm left yellowknife. before she left we had a good visit. kind of talking about where each other was at on our journey, shared with each other how apathy and laziness were such an easy rut to fall into. one that i have been in for far too long. harm is now in China (check her out at www.harmonymc.blogspot.com) but sent me an email before i left for the weekend that had me thinking any time i got a few minutes of quiet.
i spent the weekend out at a camp and then at a cabin. lots of time in the water, jumping off cliffs, swimming, boating, fishing, etc. beautiful scenery and great friends.
for about 5 minutes this morning i had time sitting outside, sun shinning, blue sky, fire crackling, coffee in my hand, bacon waiting to be cooked. what more could a guy ask for. anyway. i took that time to talk to God. harm had encouraged me to just move. to take even that first step. so in those moments of conversation with Him, i told Him i was ready to move. to climb out of the rut that had too quickly been becoming more than a rut. so here i am, nothing spectacular happened, however i feel like im in more of a place that i want to be. headed in the right direction. not trying things my own way, i have help. neat. help that has been waiting for a long time to be asked. help that has all the answers, the right answers and an amazing love for me that i cant understand. it wasnt a big step, but im moving...

tennis weekend

this weekend was the YK Open tennis tournament up here. so it was super fun. there were 24 entered in the mens singles draw. for some reason they decided to give me the second seed. weird. anyway, i ended up winning the tournament in singles after a 3 setter and nic and i won the doubles about an hour later.
so it was a sweet weekend. i walked away with 150$. cant complain.
the next few days will be for resting sore and tired muscles.
thanks to everyone who came and watch and yelled with me.
see pictures here...http://yktennis.sharepointsite.com/default.aspx

i quit reading daves blog

to be honest, i dont like ready daves blog. not even a little bit. not because it is poor writing--it is actually quite good. and not because i am jealous that he is better than me at soccer--i have come to realize there is nothing i can do about this...
to be honest, i have stopped (not entirely, i only read it when i get enough courage) because he challenges me too much. makes me look at the way im living and makes me realize that im far from where i need to be. thanks dave for your honesty, encouragement, wisdom and 'genuineness'...(is that a word?) i appreciate you and wish i could go out for breakfast with you...
if you are not dave, check out his blog at http://dgainest.blogspot.com/

10 days later

10 days since my parents left. not much is new here. amy tells me i need to update my blog, but the last few weeks im finding i have very little to say. one of those seasons i life i guess.
i am reading a pretty sweet book. it is called "napoleon's buttons: 17 molecules that changed history". its interesting. so far ive learned about pepper, cellulose, nitro compounds, and glucose...read it if you get the chance. i would...
and
for those of you who dont know, my grandpa fleming is in the hospital. he had a stroke on friday and has been in the hospital since then. sounds like he is doing better today so that is good news. keept it steady grandpa. we are praying for you.

back to regina...

not me. my parents.
but it sure was good to have them here. hang out, eat some meals, see the sights, play some tennis. good times.
even though im taken care of extremely well up here in yellowknife, i miss them quite a bit. and melissa and kris too. so thanks mom and dad for coming and hanging out and checking out my new home...
will be home again soon.

1 out of 3 ain't bad..?

well, italy beat france. not good. (italian soccer is boring)
mauresmo beat henin-hardenne, not good. (henin plays more attractive tennis)
but federer beat nadal. that is sweet.
a magician on grass. even compared to barishnakov by some. elegant and graceful on the tennis court. 4 wimbledon championships in a row. and he beat his arch rival, his nemesis on a day when so many thought he might fall again.
heather thinks nadal is cute. gross hey? at least he lost. sorry heather.

cliff jumping at the falls

3
Originally uploaded by xjermsx.

i love jumping off of things. so when i saw this cliff at cameron falls i was pretty stoked. it made the trip out there even better. check out my flickr page for the sequence...dad took these for me. if anyone is up for a trip to cameron falls and a cliff jump...look me up.

italia

well, to say that i was cheering for Italy at the start of the tournament would be an understatement. but i also was not cheering for Germany at all either. so todays semifinal was kind of like the leafs playing the canucks. i hate both the teams, but i will never cheer for the leafs...ever...and so with the analogy, i will also never cheer for Germany. after watching their match against Ireland last world cup, i concluded that i would never cheer for the Germans again.
anyway...italy won. a sweet game. and im hoping they meet france in the finals.
in other news, im back in yellowknife. regina was great. amazing even. thanks to those of you who woke up early to eat breakfast, or watch soccer, or hang out. it was the highlight of the summer so far.
2 more matches in the world cup. it is bittersweet really.

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....