Back to School

Well, its that time of year again when students head back to school. I was no exception back in 1986 as I headed off to WLU for my 1st year as an undergraduate student.

Its funny the things you remember...in particular, I remember how much I wanted my parents to disappear so i could "get on with it"...the "it" part being "the rest of my life". At the time - attending University was the culmination of everything that I had been working towards. My folks did leave - but it wasn't that long (maybe once I had recovered from Frosh Week) that I called to update them on everything that had gone on and how excited I was to finally be a University student.

Now that I work/teach at a University - I see this ritual played out year after year. Its actually fun to watch - things change...but as you all know...many things stay the same - in particular, the wish for every young adult to just "get on with it".

I look back at the fresh face of mine in 1986 and wonder to myself...would I go back and do it all over again if I could? The answer is a definate YES!

Stay Thirsty.

PS> not that anyone is really following my blog...but my apologies for the delay in posts....busy time of year as you can imagine.

Lowrider...

As promised, today's post pic is me on my motorcycle with one of my good friends Lisa M. I have worked in the Middle East with Lisa on several different projects - so we know each other under stressful situations - which makes for a great friendship.

Anyways - Lisa loved the bike and we went on a very long ride all around the Niagara region. On the day she arrived, we did a massive wine tour - which suprisingly enough, Lisa had never done before. After about 9 different wineries, it was back to the cottage and a lovely fish dinner - drinks - and relaxing.

Good food, good friends = good times. Who could ask for anything more.

Stay Thirsty!

In Vino Veritas

This coming weekend our friend Lisa will be paying a visit to our trailer down in Niagara. Purpose - to visit as many wineries in one day as we possibly can. Lisa has never been on a wine tour before so this should be fun. She is back from Jordan and in desparate need of some R&R time. Today's pic is from an earlier tour Tara and I did on our own back in July of 2005 - July 15th to be exact.

This picture has a lot of good stuff in it. Our little yellow "taxi" - 2004 Chevy Aveo (which is paid for as of October this year...yipee!. The large wine goblet Tara is holding was given to us by my father back around 1993 or so. On the table is an assortment of cheeses, meats and so on. Of particular note is my favourite - Vienna Sausages from Grace Foods. Finally - we are on a picnic table right across from our favourite winery - Reif Estate (check them out here) I recommend their Pinot Noir. I have a bottle of the 2000 vintage waiting for a VERY special event.

I may blog about our tour this Sunday next week - this blog is taking on a more dynamic nature - so be it!

STAY THIRSTY!

Reflecting the fictional past...

If you don't know the show "Mad Men" this post may make no sense to you. They have a promotional program on their website that allows you to create a "stylized" version of your 1950's self. The picture here is what I turned out like. I could totally see myself drinking a martini and talking about the fashionable swim attire of the 1950's in front of a room of my fellow co-workers (all male of course) - really....I could!

Well - perhaps that is just a bit too much fiction for one day.

STAY THIRSTY (and if you live in Ontario....stay warm!)

Everthing is Irie in Jamaica

Ok - flashback to summer, 1970 and my first trip to Jamaica - where my mother comes from. I actually remember bits and pieces of this trip. One of my strong memories is the swimming. This picture was taken in the water right in front of the house my uncle had rented for this trip. It was in Discovery Bay - a beautiful spot that I revisited this past January. Nothing beats the warm water surrounding Jamaica....nothing! I do wish we could have some of that warmth here in Toronto soon - otherwise, this summer will be a bust!

The family trip to Jamaica in 1970 (all my uncles and aunts and cousins were there) has a place of honour in family lore. Its an event that defined us as a family and continues to morph into legendary status everytime we get together - which is more rare as time goes by. Family is important - no matter what form it takes - for myself personally my family is the most important thing, despite how much we are separated by time and space. My family continues to expand (which is the greatest thing ever!) - and its the activities that we participate in together that brings us together and creates those "common adventures" that keeps us together.

I am so blessed...

STAY THIRSTY!

Accountability

Todays picture is from the year 2004. The key theme for this picture is all about accountability. My daughter (as is human nature) has the tendancy to shift blame to anyone but herself. We are all guilty of it...but when it comes right down to it - what makes us better people is the degree to which we take responsibility for our actions (in all the forms it can take).

When I saw one of my students wearing this shirt while excavating in Jordan - I begged her to give it to me so I could give it to my daughter. Getting home after being away for 2 months in the desert - its great to have a gift that you KNOW the recipient is going to love. My daughter wore this shirt for a week straight I think. It was definately one of my favourites.

Its funny what people will wear, put on their car bumpers, name their boats, tatoo on their bodies, etc. Its all about marketing...what we subscribe to, what we believe in and so on. It is so important to us as individuals - that we want others to know it to. We want it to define us. Sometimes thats a good thing - sometimes not...but at any rate "whatever it is...I didn't do it"!

STAY THIRSTY.

Living one day at a time...

First of all - I need to apologize for not updating the blog. This is one of the things that I find particularly troublesome - that is - finding time to actually "blog" about stuff. When I read other blogs and they are so creative and full of information and so on - what really impresses me are those people that are consistant in posting. Either - they have a lot to say and time to say it - OR - they just don't lead busy lives. For me - its the busyness of life that gets in my way.

Ok - so on to todays picture. This one comes from 1998 - November to be exact. As you can tell from the picture, I was in a bad car accident. In West Virginia of all places! To answer your question of "what happened" - I'll try to keep this brief. Bottom line - myself and two of my friends were driving down to Orlando to go to an academic conference (American Schools of Oriental Research if you must know). On the way I got tired and asked my friend Debra to drive for a bit while I got some shut-eye. Well - next thing I know we are spinning in the air and I end up half outside the back of the car unable to feel my legs. Obviously everything worked out fine - but it was a harrowing experience that brought the three of us together to be friends for life.

Its amazing what you remember and dont remember about trumatic events. What I do remember is being thankful to be alive - I remember Debra crying thinking that she had killed us - I remember Steve being all proud of himself for holding on to the music tape we were listening to - I remember the cab driver (ex Viet Nam vet) who was using an old YooHoo container as a spitoon - I remember being taped to the body board and riding in the ambulance - etc etc. What I don't remember is how it felt to be completely helpless. I don't remember the pain. I don't remember the cost of replacing the vehicle. And so on. One thing that I do remember that I'll never forget...is the sound of crunching metal. Any of you who have been in an accident - you know what I am talking about.

Until next time...STAY THIRSTY!