Wednesday, January 31, 2007

The Apple of Alberta's Eye

For those of you wondering, the afore mentioned Apple of Alberta's Eye is none other than the West Edmonton Mall (to be called The Mall hence forth). Amber and I are currently attending a conference called Transitions - it is a whole lot of training for new missionaries. I must admit that my brain is feeling full as we have been learning lots, but it has all been very thought provoking. Plus, it is super great to have the opportunity to meet soon-to-be missionaries, like Amber and I. Talking with people who are expereincing the same things as us, though each in their own unique way, has given us a lot of new perspective to work through.

BUT, back to The Mall! Yesterday, in a moment of informational overload, one of our fellow missionaries in training convinced the man in charge to take a spontaneous road trip to The Mall. There was great excitement surrounding this moment. Breaks were shortened to make the most of our time, classes flew by as we waited in anticipation and pulses were racing contiually throughout the day! The atmosphere became so intense that people were reluctant to utter the name of The Mall, as if speaking it too loudly would cause us all to wake and fdefinitelyit had only been a dream. And then the moment of departure came...

We piled into the van and we were off traversing the straight roads of Alberta (where we had seen 2 moose - or mooses - only the day before). We drove towards Edmonton with a building sense of excitement and then...we got lost! And to be honest, by we, I mean the driver (whom we shall allow to remain annonymous). Now, I am not criticizing this person but I have to say he had been to The Mall before. And, as if that was not enough, it is slightly ridiculous to have announce to a car load of hyped-up missionaries that you cannot seem to find the largest mall in North America...

One awkward phone call later we found ourselves at The Mall. Nearly bursting from our skin, we charged into The Mall in search of roller coasters to delight us with both twisting and looping. Alas, to our great dismay we found that all of the attractions had closed at 7:00pm and the clock had already struck 7:15pm. In that moment, if you stopped to listen, you could hear the sound of my dreams breaking amidst the ticking of the clock (which had hit 7:17pm by this point in time). After consolling ourselves with Starbucks (I tip my hat to you Cinamon Dolce Latte), we shopped and dreamt of what it would be like to be riding the roller coaster at The Mall.

In lieu, of a roller coaster Iride was offered a dare devil ride on a shopping cart at a Wal Mart in Le Duc. I am still waiting for that ride - you know who you are....

Thursday, January 11, 2007

No Laughing Matter, Well Maybe

Back in BC just in time for the weather to release its fury once more! My time in the tropics of Ontario was great. It was exciting to see friends and family. It was also wonderful to have Amber come and spend some time in my part of the country. We flew back together (that was a nice first) on January 7th.

Life, once again, has picked up momentum and I like the business and challenges that this year has in store. They excite me!

Something even more exciting is driving the streets here in the Lower Mainland of BC. There are just too many funny moments to share. There are literally cars and trucks, of all shapes and sizes, strewn everywhere. Drives that should normally have taken me only a short while have turned into roadtrips! The highlight of it all came when it took me an hour-and-a-half to make it down one street. I had never heard of a city bus spinning out before that day...and to my great surprise, 2 city buses had spun out and blocked traffic just ahead of me! What are the odds of that happening? No seriously, I want to know.

As much as the snow and wind has wreaked havoc on BC, it is incredibly beautiful out there...picture tall pine trees dressed heavily in white with the sun reflecting off the snow as it blows off of mountain tops (please note this view is best enjoyed from the inside of your home).