east coast swing

i didnt actually make it to the coast. but i went to winnipeg. most of you know how i feel about winnipeg, but i must admit i had a good time. i was attending the 90th annual Canadian Chemistry Conference and presenting my recent research work to a group of mostly chemists from all over the world. it was definitely a learning experience.
the highlight of the trip however was the sweet people i got to see. a shout out to the King's for a place to stay in winnipeg and erin in brandon. and thanks to tracy, charity, murray, scott, clay, mark, dean and hub for meeting me somewhere to hang out along the way. it was good to see all you guys. minus your dogs.

my university friends

jackson and tressia are the other two grad students that i am working with at the uni here in saskatoon. both of them are extremely smart and have helped me out a great deal over the past 5 months. so i thought id post a couple pictures so when i talk about them you know at least what they look like. jackson is from zambia and tressia is from south india. i just took the pictures on photobooth so the quality isnt excellent, but its all good.

footbag

in highschool a couple of buddies and i got into the sport of footbag quite a bit. we never got close to being as good as this guy, but after playing a bit this weekend, my interest has kind of been re-sparked. check this out. wow!

a month later...

inspired by brianne's late end of the semester update, i decided to do my own. although exams finished a month ago, things have not gotten any less busy. for a few weeks there i was quite worried that my average would not be high enough and i would be kicked out of school and looking for a job come the end of april. turns out that was not the case. however, i did learn more in these past four months that i had in my complete undergrad career. that is sweet.
-ive also still been rolling with the diving lessons. that game is so hard. so many technical aspects that i never even thought of before. but by the end i am going to be able to do some pretty looking stuff i hope. i might have to continue this in the fall too.
-melissa moved to yellowknife just in time to miss nic coming home from india. some sister she is.
-i got to see pete and chelsey and the kid. good times. pete only beat me by one stroke on the golf course so now we are even. i thought that was pretty good since he has been golfing since january and that was my first round of the summer.
-i wrote my learners exam for my motorcycle license. to pass, you have to write 3 parts, one about street signs, one about your motorcycle and the third is the same one that you would write to get your learners for a car. i failed part 3 after getting 100% on the first two sections. that was embarrasing. so i did some studying and only got 3 wrong the second time i wrote. if a decently priced HD came across my path, i would be hard pressed not to buy it.
also
-i have been reminded how much i do not like the following things/people: lindy ruff, daniel briere, the toronto maple leafs, shaving, dogs, prime minister harper, baseball, the nba, vince carter, winnipeg, the wedding part of weddings, and the vancouver canucks.

grid blog about moms

where to even start on this topic is beyond me. through the years (almost 26) my mom has dressed me, changed me, taken care of me, worried about me, fed me, fed my friends, put up with my bad attitude and poor choices, and loved me through it all. she listens to me whine, complain, and still gives me feedback and suggestions on things i could do to make the situation i am in better. she has definitely taught me a lesson or two in organization and being a true servant. a lot of the time without even saying a word. being able to see Jesus in people seems to be getting more rare all the time. mom, however, is an exception. of all the things she has done for me, the single greatest is showing me a glimpse of Jesus. thanks mom. happy mothers day!

more on climate change

i found THIS article on climate change and global warming on the good old cbc website (no, stephen harper has not cancelled the cbc...yet). its coming from a pretty different point of view than anything i have heard. some interesting points include: "climate change is not a global issue--that is the problem" along with other ideas about how we maybe need to look at the positive aspects of it as well. anyway, read it for a non-traditional view point on the debate. its interesting.

weekend away

throwing rocks
Originally uploaded by xjermsx.

this weekend we headed up to emma lake to get away from the city and the busy-ness and a had good weekend of swimming, dirtbiking, working, tree chopping, sleeping, watching playoffs, eating, and laughing. this was my first time to bern & debs cabin and my first time riding dirtbikes. so preston showed me how and we ripped up the trails up there. i only crashed once. it was great to get away and not worry about school or anything for a few days. check out flick for a few more pictures.

earth day

so i dont really know what earth day even means. and ill likely become less popular for some of my ideas. but that doesnt matter. first of all. i dont really like hippies. they usually smell bad. as for earth day, i definitely think myself, as well as society in general (at least in the 'western world'), and especially old mr. harper need to change something about how we live and consume. we are not doing ourselves a favor and if i ever have kids, they are gonna be feeling it a lot more than we are today.
at the same time, i also think that a lot of it is a fear campaign. we are so good at falling for those. "oh no, a few people died of bird flu, watch out, or else", "y2k is coming soon, buy as much stuff as you can so you dont die when the computers all quit", "west nile is taking over the world, cover your body with our chemicals and you will be okay", and the list could go on. i think you all know what im talking about..we are constantly living in some sort of 'fear' because of the way we buy into mainstream media. now im starting to sound all political like blair, so i better wrap things up...all of these are problems and likely need to be dealt with on some level, and climate change and the overall condition of 'our' globe is somewhat troubling, but lets all use some common sense, lets try and be conscious of our decisions but lets also learn to think for ourselves. thats all.

i hate the canucks...

its true. i am not a vancouver fan. my good buddy pete, however, is for some reason. maybe just cause he moved close to vancouver, or maybe because he is weiner, i am not sure. but anyway, after trading a few trash talking text messages, pete decided to phone me. that was sweet. i miss that guy. i dont really have much to say other than it was a good phone call. usually i hate talking on the phone, but when its with a friend from far away, something seems to make it okay. so thanks for the call pete. i still think your canucks are gonna lose to the stars in 7 and you are gonna lose by 2 strokes on the golf course on may 5th. mark my words.

now to learn how to do it right.

one and a half
Originally uploaded by xjermsx.

after looking through my yellowknife 2006 summer pictures, i was inspired by some of the diving ones cody took. so i busted out the speedo from winter hibernation and joined the saskatoon diving club. today was my first lesson. i learned how to jump. after an hour of jumping 'properly' i am exhausted. but its so fun. so if you are looking for a new pasttime. go learn how to dive. its sweet. then when we go visit yk we can rip the cliffs and bridges apart.

wrestling

a lot of this isnt new to most of the people i have been in conversation with over the years, but i kind of like some of the ideas and the way things are said. you can check out the full article at http://www.theooze.com/articles/article.cfm?id=1495 the link there, but here is a few bits and pieces that jumped out at me.

"What if we approached God, more often than not, with an attitude of confrontation rather than submissiveness?...Before taking a look at our own story as Christians, listen to what the Buddha had to say regarding following the path of truth: "Believe nothing just because a so-called wise person said it. Believe nothing just because a belief is generally held. Believe nothing just because it is said in ancient books. Believe nothing just because it is said to be of divine origin. Believe nothing just because someone else believes it. Believe only what you yourself test and judge to be true."

"What has happened to this ancient tradition of fighting with God? It's not an avant-garde suggestion. All the prophets did it and the wisdom books of the Bible are filled with questions, not answers. Why have we become so laissez-faire when it comes to following God? Jacob wrestled with God, breaking his leg in the process, and threatened God with continued fighting if he did not receive a blessing. How much more rich our journeys would be if would just learn to be comfortable with "fighting" God! It'd probably make His life a lot more interesting too"

any thoughts on all this?

playoff hockey

now the so called 'march madness' just finished, and i will admit that i watched some of it. and it wasnt really that good. but the real sporting event of the year is beginning. actually it really already has begun for some teams. im talking about playoff hockey. the hardest trophy on the planet to win enters its second season in just a few days and the next two months are going to blow anything basketball could offer out of the water. it wont even be close. so for all you people that call yourself sports fans but still like watching basketball, put your seatbelts on and get ready for a real sport, where a little bump or slap on the wrist doesnt get you fouled out, where the last 30 seconds of the game do not take 15 minutes to play out and where guys leave their hearts and souls on the ice in pursuit of the greatest prize in sport.

the newest toy

the newest toy at uncle berns is a unicycle. this is preston tearing it up. he is seriously a quick learner. as for uncle bern, maybe not so much.
check out flickr for a few more pictures.

christmas in march

joel was coming to regina this weekend, so i headed down for a visit and some good laughs this weekend. these guys celebrate christmas march 25th so we had some sweet meals. those guys know how to cook. friday nite was facial hair nite. check out the rest of the pictures on my flickr page.

giving fashion the finger.

melissa showed me this video about the shoes that i know you all wear.

#1 site on the internet

THIS website has become the biggest trend on the internet. that i know of. and man its funny. most of you will think its funny anyway. some may be offended, (probably teachers, girls and animal lovers) but if thats the case, you are likely offended too easily. go check it out. for a first hand view point of what living in india means, this is the place to check out if you havent done it already.

march 11th?

spring
Originally uploaded by xjermsx.

that is ridiculous that march is already pretty much half over. serious. its getting to that time of year again. spring yes, but also wedding season. i appreciate the former much more than the latter, let me tell you. but check out how beautiful saskatoon is this time of year? people are starting to move here from all over the place...join the trend while its still young.

feeling like im 15 again..

sunday nite i went to louis pub to watch one of my all time favorite bands, they have been around since the late 80s. now the nite started off pretty funny. the show was a 16+ show, and when i got there, and gave him my ticket, i was also asked for my i.d., apparently i look younger than 16. sweet. after that i watched 3 bands that were allright, but nothing special, and then got to see Propagandhi. most of you probably wouldnt like these guys, i know for a fact that my dad doesnt, but on the other side of some of the things you (and even me) might disagree with, they have some great lyrics. singing for social justice and change, and this is a group of guys that actually does something about it. its hard to find people that are as sincere and passionate about these things as these guys are. so if you have a few minutes and are bored, they have some lyrics posted and some suggested reading on a variety of topics at www.propagandhi.com. be careful, it might challenge your thinking/world view.
and in other news, go by the new MEANS cd. all i can say is hot damn!

Nadal loses...again

for those of you who dont follow the tennis season in between grand slams, i just thought id let you know that nadal lost in the quarterfinals in dubai. most of you are probably anti-nadal anyway, so you can celebrate with me...and just in case you see heather mcmillan, make sure you point out that nadal lost...again. he is on his way out. you heard it here first.

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.