Trial for the Trail

On Friday, Tom, Andrew, Ashley and I will be starting our road trip out to Vancouver. We'll be working Friday morning, so we'll likely only make it as far as Revelstoke or Golden on Friday night.

The plan is to spend the remainder of Saturday (which we don't spend driving) and Sunday in Vancouver with Tom's relatives. After that, we'll be starting our four-day hike on the Juan de Fuca Marine trail on Vancouver island.

This weekend we had been planning to do a test hike to try out our gear. Unfortunately, after the car got busted up and I ended up with a hairline fracture, we opted to cancel the test hike so I could have some more time to heal. However, we still wanted to test out our stuff before we were actually on the trail.

So, we did some back yard prepping.

First, Tom broke out the water filter. When we hiked the Grand Canyon last September, there was potable drinking water at each of the campsites. They actually had pretty good plumbing in the canyon! Unfortunately, that's not the case with the West Coast. Any water we drink will be out of streams, so it's important to have something portable to get rid of sediment and bacteria. This is where the MSR Miniworks EX Microfilter comes in. It did a really good job when we tested in on tap water... Heh heh, totally drinkable!

Tom and the MSR Microfilter.

Next, Andrew and Ashley tested out the portable burner. Coincidentally, it is also an MSR product, the MSR Firefly! Once Andrew got a gigantic flame going, we boiled a pot of water with their new camping pots. It didn't take too long, and it didn't seem to use too much gas either. That's good-- because the gas canister is pretty big to bring along on the trail with us.

Andrew and Ashley with the MSR Firefly.

And finally, we pitched the tent. It's a... You guessed it! MSR tent! Because we're secretly spokespeople for MSR equipment. To bad they don't pay us anything...

Do you remember the tents of your childhood before collapsible poles had been invented? I have this memory of my parents' red two man tent. It was a huge production to set it up. When I was little, they would set it up in the backyard for us, and there were strings tied to trees and ropes anchoring the tent to the deck to get it to stand up. Then if you had to get up at night (say, to use the washroom), it was a veritable minefield of trip-wires getting around the tent!

Thankfully, tents these days are much improved. It took us less than 10 minutes to get the tent in standing order. The MSR Hubba Hubba is pretty awesome. We've heard and read a lot of good reviews about this particular tent, and we got an awesome deal on it at Atmosphere (formerly Coast Mountain Sport). It is lightweight, sturdy, and has good head-room!

Tom and I celebrate tent-pitching success!

So now we know that the water filter, burner and tent will work. The only question that remains is: Will my FOOT work by next week? I think it's probably at about 70-75% recovery, and I have 7 days before we start the actual hike. So I hope that will be enough time to heal up properly.

If I still can't hike properly come next Monday, Tom and I will probably do some camping from the car. The Juan de Fuca trail has multiple trailheads, so it would be possible for Ashley and Andrew to continue hiking, and for us to meet them along the way. Hopefully it won't come to that-- but at least we have the option.

Please think positively for me!

Shauna, It's Your Birthday!

Shauna, aka S-Dizzle, aka Shaunanana

Here's to S-Dizzle,
As she turns twenty-three,

Living the life of a grad student,
As happy as can be.

I miss her lots,
Back in her hometown.

But I spam her daily,
It doesn't get me down.

S-Dizzle is great,
She can rock the drums.

And she has no problem
Telling off bums.*

She's also rather accomplished,
At keeping Jeff in line.

Jeff misses her too!
He does his best not to pine.

I hope today of all days,
You're getting spoiled silly.

If you're not... What's wrong with people?
I BLAME BILLY!

And now are you thinking,
"That last verse didn't make sense!"

That's not my problem,
You must be dense.

Keep warm in Edmonton,
I hope you're not cold.

And I hope you're accepting that,
Gad, you're getting old!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SHAUNA!!!!!

CLARIFICATION:
*By "telling off bums," I don't mean that Shauna tells off homeless people. I mean she has no problem tell off people when they're being buttheads.

KA-BLAM-O!

This week has gotten off to a rocky start.

On Monday morning I hopped in the car at 7:20am to make my way to the bus stop.

And then...

KA-BLAM-O!

At 7:25am I had a busted up car, and a hairline fracture in my right foot.

Essentially, someone making a left hand turn on a yield on solid green light didn't bother to yield (to ME!). Instead, they smashed the front drivers side of the Versa. The Versa isn't even a year old yet! The poor girl isn't looking so good right now. She's at the autobody shop waiting to be assessed. The SUV that hit me didn't even look like it had a dent in it!

The lady that was behind me in traffic stuck around to be a witness to the accident. So insurance will definitely cover everything for us. The other driver was at fault!

And after I went to a walk-in clinic and got some x-rays, the doctor told me that the fracture in my foot is fairly minor. It's not all the way through the bone, and nothing is out of alignment. So I could be back to normal in as little as 7-10 days. I hope so! Hobbling around is really putting a cramp in my style! Other than some stiffness and soreness in my neck from the impact, I got off pretty lucky.

This is definitely an experience I have no desire to repeat.

Let's hope the rest of the week gets better.

Are You Blue, Yellow, Green or Red?

A couple years ago a took a course with my team at work. The course was for, "Insights into Team & Personal Effectiveness," which essentially means, understanding personalities and how to interact with them. The results of the course were a bit like a Myers-Briggs test. By the end, you had a better understanding of your key strengths and weaknesses, your natural tendencies, and how others with different personalities may percieve you.

( From Insights Discovery)

http://www.insights.com/LearningSolutions/LearningSystems/Discovery.aspx

Personalities are broken down into four major categories. Blue, yellow, green and red.

Blue

Someone displaying "blue" traits is likely to be introverted, questioning and analytical. They like to think tehir actions through and have all the facts before they make a decision. They are thorough and systematic. They are likely a planner or organizer, and may prefer written communication in order to ensure precision when giving directions or making suggestions. Sometimes people that lean towards a "blue" personality will be seen as cold or reserved. They are also more likely to avoid confrontation, or keep an opinion to themselves.

Yellow

Someone displaying "yellow" traits is likely to be extraverted, sociable and enthusiastic. They enjoy the company of others and like to have fun. They are always active, and thrive on the possibilities of tomorrow. Sometimes people that lean towards a "yellow" personality will be seen as excitable or indiscreet. They are also more likely to be seen as impractical or unrealistic during times of difficulty.

Green

Someone displaying "green" traits is likely to be introverted, encouraging and caring. They value relationships and enjoy being thought of as reliable. They prefer democratic decisions and are sensitive to moods in social situations. Sometimes people that lean towards a "green" personality will be seen as docile or stubborn. They are also more likely to avoid making a descision that could go against their value system.

Red

Someone displaying "red" traits is likely to be extraverted, determined and strong-willed. They are efficient and focused. They have little difficulty expressing what they want, and act quickly and assertively to achieve their goals. Sometimes people that lean towards a "red" personality will be seen as aggressive or overbearing. They are more likely to show little or no concern for personal relationships.

At the beginning of the course, I thought I was mostly blue. But it quickly became apparent that I'm also dominated by green. And at the end of the course, they give you this personalized profile based off of some multiple choice questions that you answered weeks before the course. I was blown away by how bang-on the profile was!

Something of interest is that people tend to find individuals with opposite colours to their own to be the most difficult to interact and relate with. Blue and yellow are opposites, as well as red and green. This is something that I think about all the time now when I meet new people or work with someone new. It's surprisingly easy to get a "colour read" of someone. On my old team, I worked with a lot of women, so there was a lot of green and blue personalities. On this new team, there's a bunch of men. In fact, as of now, I will be the only woman on my team. There is a lot of blue in the group (engineers tend to be analytical), but there is also a hellalotta red! So it's been a bit of an adjustment to figure out how to interact with everyone. It's something I'm definitely more observant of. I think it's a pretty good tool!

So...

Most likely you'll be dominated by one or two colours over the other.

What colours do you think you are?

A Tribute

NORTON, Daniel George
Daniel George Norton passed from this world on Thursday, May 13, 2010 at Foothills Hospital after a long and courageous battle against multiple myeloma. Dan is survived by his wife Tracy Snell; his beloved children Christopher, Nicole and Rachel; parents George and Irene; sister Kim; nieces and nephew Stephanie, Thomas, Allison and Sydney. Dan and his family wish to express their gratitude to Dr. Nizar Bahlis and his team for the outstanding care they provided. Dan's memorial service was held at Parkdale United Church, 2919 – 8 Avenue NW, Calgary on Sunday, May 16 at 2:00PM. Those wishing to make a donation in Dan's memory may do so to the International Myeloma Foundation, online or at 12650 Riverside Dr. Suite 206, North Hollywood, CA, 91607. Expressions of sympathy may be forwarded to the family via the website www.fostersgardenchapel.ca.

"What the heart has once known, it shall never forget."

The oil and gas industry is a small world. There are very few degrees of seperation between geologists and geophysicists-- everyone knows everyone. Or everyone knows someone who knows you.

So when Dan Norton passed away last week after a long battle with multiple mylemoa, the sad news travelled quickly among peers.

I met Dan in 2007 after I graduated from University.

I didn't know him well, but thanks to him, I got some hands-on experience with seismic processing. He was a patient teacher with an easy sense of humor.

Dan spoke often of his wife and kids, with obvious pride. My thoughts are with them.

The world is definitely a little less bright with his passing.

A Mish-Mash of Updates

Update 1: Hawaii

Our plans for Hawaii 2010 are coming together. So far, Ashley, Steve and I have booked our flights. We'll be leaving July 9 (Ashley's heading out a day early), and returning on July 16th. The trip will fall almost entirely over Stampede week. This means that I will miss Aaron Lines at Nashville North, but I'm sure there will be other opportunities to see him in the following years. Jeff, Shauna and Billy are still looking into flights. It sounds like they'll be out on July 10, and back on July 17 or 18.

Update 2: Wedding

I picked up my dress on Saturday! It (of course) doesn't fit, but I was expecting that. Still love it. Still really love it. I'll be getting it altered in July.

Tom and I are doing a cake tasting this coming Saturday. There is a pastry chef that runs her own business out of the wedding venue, so we figured for the sake of simplicity, we'd go with her. I don't want to sell her short though! Her cakes sounds absolutely delicious. Check our her website here: http://whippt.ca/Whippt.html

Here is a list of some of the more interesting cakes that she makes. We're going to sample three. Chocolate, Raspberyy & Pistachio, Roasted Coconut Cream and Red Velvet. Mmmm... Makes me hungry just thinking about it.

Chocolate, Raspberry & Pistachio - Layers of pistachio cake, dark chocolate ganache & raspberry mousse

Passion fruit, rum and vanilla - Tahitian vanilla bean cake soaked in light rum syrup, layered with passion fruit curd or mousse

Raspberry & White Chocolate - Layers of vanilla bean soaked pound cakes & creamy white chocolate mousse, bursting with fresh raspberries

Triple Berry - Kirsch moistened sponge cakes layered with raspberries, strawberries, blackberries and chantilly cream (subject to season & availability)

Roasted Coconut Cream - Buttery vanilla cake soaked with light rum syrup & layered with coconut cream, toasted coconut & cream cheese icing

Lemon Chiffon - Light chiffon cake layered with lemon curd or lemon bavarian mousse & finished with vanilla buttercream

Chocolate Hazelnut - Light hazelnut biscuit & cocoa cake layered with creamy chocolate hazelnut buttercream

Mocha-Misu - Espresso soaked cocoa genoise with Italian mascarpone rum cream

Tom also took it upon himself to create a design to put on the cake. He's the one smoking a cigarette. I'm the one doing the decapitating. See? I have girl hair.

Tom's wedding cake design -- all rights reserved.

Update 3: 10km

Last week, I ran my first 10km! Or rather, thought that I ran 10km two Sundays ago. I finished in 67 minutes. This is by no means fast, but I was still quite pleased with myself. Then on Friday I decided I would run it again. Only... I quickly realized that I must have been delusional last week because my math was off when I was converting miles to kilometers, and I actually only ran 9.75km on Sunday.

Blast!

But it's okay. I ran the full 10km on Friday afternoon, and I did it in 65 minutes! So I ran further, and faster overall. Seems good to me.

I've been thinking I should sign up for some road races this year... But I'm a bit of a chicken!

Update 4: Hikes Galore

Looks like Tom and I might get to hike up to the Burgess Shale this summer, thanks to the silent auction win that Jill and Paige acquired at the GeoCanada conference.

Plus, we're starting to make a plan for hiking the Juan de Fuca trail on Vancouver Island in July with Andrew and Ashley. We're going to have to acquire a whole bunch of camping and back packing equipment, ASAP!

Update 5: Stubborn Child, Refuses to Say "Hotdog"

As I mentioned in a previous post, a couple weeks ago I was on the phone with my sister, and Dylan said "Hotdog!" on the phone.

Tom and I saw him last weekend, and we tried to coax it out of him again. He refused, stubborn kid that he is. "Dada" is still his descriptor of choice.

Dylan - 19 Months and Counting

Two years ago when my sister, Kelly-Ann, and her husband, Chris, told us they were expecting, I was excited for them. The baby would be the first grandchild in our immediate family, and I would officially become an Auntie.

I have to admit, although I was excited, I was also a bit apprehensive. I personally don't have a lot of experience with babies. I was the youngest in both our immediate and extended family. There was only one baby cousin after me, and when I got old enough to baby-sit, the kids on our street were already in Kindergarten or elementary school. Dealing with kids has never felt natural to me-- I managed to avoid even holding a baby until I was 24 years old!

A new born Dylan (top). Baxter and Dylan (bottom).

Dylan was born on September 20, 2008. He started out life tinged yellow (he was a bit jaundiced) and a full head of hair. And as is typical with newborns, for the first few months, Dylan didn't do a whole lot. He ate, he slept, he cried, he spit up (a LOT) and most importantly, he was immobile. You could put him down in one spot, and he would stay there. Each time I saw him, he could do something new! He could smile, he could laugh, he could hold something.

Dylan at 5 months.

In the photo above, Dylan is hanging out with Baxter. They are playing with their toys together. This photo was taken after Dylan had made his next big achievement-- he learned to roll. Maybe learning to roll doesn't sound like much, but I was amazed by the places he could get to by wiggling himself around on the floor.

Dylan air swims at ~7 months.

Before Dylan mastered the art of crawling, he went through a hilarious phase where he would lay on his belly, and flap his arms and legs up and down. It was like he wanted to crawl, but hadn't quite figured out what to do with his limbs yet. It looked like he was swimming the butterfly crawl on dry land.

But once Dylan figured out crawling... There was no stopping him. Suddenly... He was mobile! Capable of getting into anything and everything. Nothing can hold him back. He has investigated the dust bunnies in the vents at home, and sampled some dirt in the garden. He dipped his feet in Lake Sicome (but wouldn't get his knees wet), and has started watching Flames hockey with his dad.

Dylan at 8 months (crawling). Dylan at 10 months.

Dylan at 10 months with Auntie Amanda. Bullying Uncle Tom.

As far as I'm concerned, it's pretty easy to understand how a kid could become utterly and overwhelmingly spoiled. Dylan has a smile that could light up a room! You can't help but melt when you see him-- even after he's been causing trouble. It even makes changing poopy diapers more tolerable (which I admit, I've only had the pleasure of doing on one occasion).

Even though (at this point) Dylan won't remember much, he's been lucky enough to have a lot of experiences this early in life. Dylan has flown to Phoenix, Arizona, to visit him grandma and grandpa. He's also flown with his mom to San Francisco, and ridden on a bike over the Golden Gate bridge. He's also been camping in a tent!

Dylan with mom and dad in San Francisco. One year old.

Now that Dylan is walking (and running), he is working on talking. For several months he's been regularly using "Dada" and "Uh-oh." Although, pretty much everyone is "Dada," and "Uh-oh" is not always used when an accident has occurred. In fact, a few months ago when Kelly-Ann told us about an incident where she was in the middle of making dinner. She had pots boiling on the stove, and chopping that needed her attention. And then she heard it... An, "Uh-OH!" from the pantry. When she looked inside, there was Dylan. He had squeezed out an entire bottle of maple syrup all over the floor and all over himself! "Uh-oh", indeed!

Dylan has added "hotdog" to his vocabulary, and apparently "Baxter" (but I have yet to hear that one). Every time I see him, he has learned to do something new! He can open doors now, resulting in the purchase of child proof door handles. He can wield a hockey stick. He has a nearly full set of teeth. At the end of an evening out, he'll give you a kiss and wave good-bye. And he has apparently become very attached to his blankie. He'll use it to console himself after he gets in trouble.

Dylan at 17 months.

Dylan's second birthday is less than five months away. I can't wait to see what he'll learn next! Because anything Dylan learns is something I learn too. This little guy is a treasure to our family!

So... now that you know all about my nephew, I leave you with this:

Dylan's first haircut.

Hmmm... I really need a haircut too!