the facts of life (that was a sweet t.v. show)

today at school i got to thinking. i got to thinking about how chemistry is the basis of life.
think about it.
if it wasnt for chemistry, none of us would be here. no jokes. we are chemistry in the flesh. reducible to atoms and particles (or waves), smaller than even most microscopes can see. now that is cool.
but there has to be something more than that.
first of all, it blows my mind to think that we are made up of things that are so small that all work together to keep us alive. but more importantly, how is it that when something is missing, my whole body knows it?
when i miss food, i know it. when sleep gets left out, i definitely know it and even when i leave out things that arent physical, somehow my body knows. that is crazy to me. that these physical pieces of matter "know" when things in the spiritual aspect of life are missing. but how do those particles know? (the answer is they probably dont know anything, but hear me out)
all of this chemistry exists because someone greater created it. and it exists for one purpose--to be in a relationship with that someone greater.

reading

i just finished checking my handy 'bloglines' site that shows me when you guys all update your blogs. and it kind of hit me for the first time, or at least the first time in a long time, that i really like reading your blogs. seriously. if it wasnt for your blogs and updates i would have little to no clue what was happening in your lives. its a pretty sweet thing to be able to catch up on it all in a matter of a few minutes. its sweet reading about everything from the little stuff that comes and goes with everyday life, to some of the stuff that makes me think way too much. so keep those updates coming and remember that saskatoon is the new regina.

movies that make you think

i like watching movies as much as the next guy, but the last week or so since spending some time in calgary, i have a sort of renewed interest in movies that make you think. i mentioned "Ugananda Rising" in my last blog, and im sure most of you still havent checked it out, but you should. last nite i watched "Jesus Camp". i hadnt actually heard about it until last nite, so maybe im way out of the loop or something and behind the times, but i got to see it. man. that movie is crazy. (for those of you who are out of the loop like me check out www.jesuscampthemovie.com) id be interested to hear what some of you guys thought about it. other movies that are on the 'to see' list right now include: invisible children, killing fields, the boys of baraka, sometimes in april. does any one have any other documentary/make you think type movies that are worth a watch?

calgary sucks

now that i have got your attention...at least those of you that are calgarians...calgary doesnt suck, its definitely not as cool as saskatoon, but its pretty fun. im here for the weekend, watching davis cup and catching up with some old friends. kori and lisa have been kind enough to let me sleep at their house, use their shower and eat some of their food. it has been a pretty fun weekend and usually anytime kori is around the weekend is almost full of laughing. . today i even got to see dan hill. one of the estevan boys that i grew up with. ive known him for 25 years. weird. one of the topics of conversation of the weekend has been about kori and lisa's trip to uganda in the summer with a team. so they have been exposing me to some of the things they have been learning including some pretty hard to watch movies. if you get the chance check out "uganda rising". its one of those ones that is good to watch, but hard to watch at the same time. a clip from it is at www.ugandarising.com. on weekends like this, im thankful for friends, for being able to watch each other learn and grow and for sharing some laughs.

what i do all day.

lots of people have been asking me what i do all day at school for 40hrs a week. so ill try and explain it without making things sound easier or harder than they are.
i only have two courses, which have a lecture once a week for 3 hrs at a time. so when im not in lectures, i have about 34 hrs of time to kill. so far i have been working on catching up and refreshing the old brain on 1st and 2nd and 3rd year chemistry that i forgot while i was working last year. my courses have assignments, so i spend a good chunk of time on those as well.
the rest of the time im in the lab synthesizing, characterizing and polymerizing. usually i synthesize a ligand, complex it to a metal centre and then characterize it to make sure that i got what i was aiming for. then this metal centred complex is usually a catalyst and i test to see how effective it is at polymerizing alkenes. (you are likely using polymers right now, so it is extremely relevant).
a lot of the chemicals i use are air sensitive so i have to use them under a nitrogen atmosphere either on a $4000 piece of glassware or in a sealed glove box that has a nitrogen atmosphere. so its pretty fun.
the other day i was getting rid of one of my chemicals that is flammable on contact with water. so i got a huge bucket of ice water and scraped this white powder into the ice water which let out good sized fire balls. now if that isnt sweet...
anyway, the compound i made today was called
(mu-chloro)-(2,6-diisopropylphenyl-3,5-di-tert-butylsalicylaldiminato)copper(II). check it out at your local drugstore.

keeping up with the joneses

yeah. thats right. one of the guys that i look up to the most has started a blog. kori has been a solid friend since highschool and has always impressed me with the way he thinks, so im excited to read some of that on his blog. check it out here. and you wont be dissapointed.

generosity..

well. i honestly dont have a lot to say about this topic. my life in general hasnt been that generous. but generosity has been poured out to me so many times. india is one time that still sticks out. and i know i blogged about this same generosity when tim asked us to write some thoughts on our visit to that country. but i still cant shake the way the people poured out their generosity on us. seriously. i have also been a benefactor of this generosity from my parents, for about 25 solid years, from doug and cindy last year, as well as tim and tara who fed me on a weekly basis, if not more often, and now to bern and deb. those are just the ones that have been recent and so are still on my mind. but serious, if you want to learn about all out, no holds barred generosity, go visit some of the friends we have made in india.

for my arts friends

i thought this one was funny. it was in the saskatoon paper last week. its one of those things thats kind of too bad, but since its true, we might as well have a laugh about it, right?

another succesful trip

another weekend has come and gone, and with it a trip to the queen city. i got to visit an old friend from white city school. grade 6-grade 10 and then some university classes with this guy. now he is a physiotherapist in regina and rolling in the dough. that was a highlight for sure. breakfast on saturday and sunday mornings were priceless...thanks blair for sunday morning. that was what i needed. the weekend also consisted of playing and watching tennis. i must say, jon and i were hitting the ball pretty well this weekend but nothing like, guess who...you guessed it. roger. did any of you watch any of that australian open? there are no words to describe the brilliance of mr. federer. and not only did he win, he didnt drop a set. in 7 matches! the first time that has happened since 1980. and not only did he win 7 matches in a row in straight sets, the fact that nadal wasnt in the final was great too. i like watching him lose. and the final was closer than it would have been if nadal was there. anyway, my prediction is that 'rafa' will disappear. pull a gustavo kuerten and get swallowed up his ugly long shorts. you heard it here first.
arlen made me laugh a lot this weekend. next time you see him, ask him about his appointments at 'sugar-it-off'. apparently thats where he goes to wax his back. nasty hey?

saskatoon update

while all my friends are writing blogs about things that matter like having new babies, ideas about heaven and hell, baptism etc. i have been kind of in a dry spell. a long dry spell. i just havent felt inspired even a little bit to write anything worth reading. to be honest, things have felt really dry for a really long time. to put it bluntly, i just dont care right now. i know that some things with my attitude, my choices and my mindset need to change, but why bother, right? i could blame it on a lot of things, and make excuses till the leafs win the stanley cup (which isnt going to happen in my lifetime) but it all boils down to the fact that deep down, i dont want things to change. kind of a weird place to be in, and for such a long time. so thats where things are right now.
any one have any suggestions?

things that make me smile...

right now, at this very moment, i am watching roger federer's third round match at the australian open against mikael youzhny. watching federer play tennis makes me smile. and i know i blogged about this while me and jon were watching him live in november, but watching him on tv is different now. and although, not quite as good as live, it is still pretty incredible. i can die a happy man knowing that i saw the best tennis player ever, live, 5 times in 8 days. it doesnt get much better than that.

means

matty
Originally uploaded by xjermsx.

one of my favorited bands was in saskatoon on sunday nite. and man. even though i saw them friday nite in regina and was blown away, i was impressed again on sunday. seriously. it was a good way to start a week hanging out with 4 sweet guys and listening to them play some of the best music out there. they are on tour right now so if they are near you, you need to go see them. you will not be dissapointed. other people have posted the link to their new song, but you should go check it out again, and check their tour dates at www.myspace.com/means_music

come and go tea...be there.

today is monday. as i sit in saskatoon, watching the college championship football game, i cant help but think about wednesday. nothing really exciting is happening to me on wednesday, but my little brother is headed to india, and im gonna miss that guy.
yeah, its true, me and kris use to tape his arms, legs and mouth shut with sock tape and beat on him and make fun of him till he cried, but really, he has grown up to be one of the coolest guys i know. i'd like to take credit and say that i taught him everything he knows, but i cant even do that. he is much more intelligent than i, one of the best goalies i have ever seen play soccer, hilarious, and he likes the best hockey team on the planet.
i am super excited for him to hit up india, and get to spend more time there than i did. i am excited to hear his stories, and hear about the things he learns, and the people he gets to hang out with, and im pumped to see what he brings back for me. ok. thats not really that high on the list.
but im gonna miss him. so, nic if you read this, bring me a picture of you with para and mowia. miss ya bro.
and if you are reading this in regina, go to my parents house tuesday nite, january 9th, for his "come and go tea", as he calls it, and give him a hug for me.

what have i gotten myself into...

oh man. this is crazy. school seems like it is going to be harder than i thought. i only have to take 2 classes, but need to maintain more than a 75% average, as well as conducting novel research, or i get the boot. so, that means lots of hard work, and long hours. so here goes. i guess i signed up because i wanted the challenge. looks like i got what i was asking for and more.
by the way, did you guys watch the canada vs usa game this morning? wow. that was fun to watch. toews was solid in that shootout. 3 for 3.
thats all i got.

the year the world was going to end.

we made it through another year. it seems like only a few years ago that everyone thought the world was going to end when we hit 2000. sure made those people look foolish.
now its 2007. crazy. tomorrow morning i head to saskatoon, register for classes and settle in. classes start wednesday. yeah. thats early. i know. doesnt take long for them to get you rolling.
regina has been great the last 2 weeks. lots of relaxing, good meals with good friends. some sweet family time and some hockey.
as of tomorrow, if you are ever in saskatoon...you need to look me up. besides, saskatoon is the new regina. tell all your friends.

kiva.org

for christmas, my parents gave me a 100$ gift certificate for kiva.org.
it is a pretty cool organization where you can use the money in your account to lend to entrepeneurs in developing countries as they attempt to get their business off the ground. the money will be repaid once they make it back, and then you can find a new business to fund, or withdraw your money...so its a neat idea, gives people a chance to make some money on their own but also to get something off the ground that might not otherwise happen. check it out. every little bit helps as usual, and you can always get your money back and take it out at the end. so thats all i got. much better than some more things under the tree that i dont need.

new look. new year.

so its time for a new look. my time in yellowknife is done, and so are my travels to the far east. with things wrapping up in 2006, its time to change things up around here.
so i did. really, all that changed was the color, and the location i am blogging from, but its at least somewhat fresh. as 2006 wraps up, here is my top 10 list for the year...

10-getting a half decent job to start my post undergraduate career

9-winning the yellowknife open tennis tournament singles, and doubles with nic

8-life at the ashbys for a few months

7-supper at tim and taras once a week

6-learning to fish and wakeboard on the n.w.t. lakes

5-cabin trips with joel et. al.

4-coming to regina to visit a few times throughout the year

3-camping trip with cody and arlen

2-road trip to china with jonny sly

1-the tennis masters cup in shanghai. hands down.

there are likely more, but a year is a stinkin long time to remember. so thats all i got for now.

back in the q.c.

it is good to be home! regina feels empty. lacking buildings, and people and vehicles. but i kind of like that.
sorry to kamara for talking so much during the soccer game. i havent spoken to a native english speaker for over a week, so i think i was a little deprived.
anyway, here i am. ready to sleep in my own bed. watch for new pictures on the flickr account in the next day or two.
and maybe some more thoughts when my brain becomes less cloudy.

one last time from china

so its been a cold, but good week in beijing. saw a lot of really old stuff. pretty cool. ate some food i havent had before, and likely wont have again (like dog, sorry to all my pet loving friends. but its true. i ate some dog) and got to hangout with anson. what a good guy. so tomorrow i leave. i get home monday dec 18 at like 8pm. so if you are in the mood for looking at some 1500 or so pictures...ill be glad to share them with you. it will be sad to go, but im super excited to get back home. and into a routine in january.
for those of you i havent told, i am starting grad school in saskatoon january 3rd. the final official word came the other day, so its all set.
so if you are ever passing through the "city of bridges" look me up. serious. it will be nice to have some company. thanks china, its been grand.

"something from the pig's insides"

yep. thats what i ate for lunch. we had chinese dim sum and that was one of the dishes. it wasnt anything like bacon or ham. more like inards. anyway. i tried it, but tried to avoid it after that.
today has been a long day already, but a pretty sweet one. we visited the Ming Tombs. tombs from an emperor that lived and died sometime in the 1500s. and is now buried in the hillside outside of beijing. pretty neat to see.
then lunch, and then off to the great wall. man. pretty cool thing to see. i have seen pictures and heard people describe it but its something else. really. so if you are reading this, or looking at my pictures when i get home...you will probably blow it off like i did. so come see it yourself. my legs were shaking when we got back down. lots of stairs and i am sure that no two on the whole way up are identical in height, length, pitch or size. no jokes.
anson and his family have been very good to me. although i cant understand either of his parents, his dad makes me laugh. he pretty much talked the whole 2 hr drive back home. maybe to the vehicles beside us, maybe to me, or maybe to himself. anyway. things are great in beijing. it is colder than hong kong though. a few more days of seeing the sights and kicking it with anson. and then back to canada for me. see you guys in a couple.