In the evenings just before books and bedtime, Magnus and Mamma have been working very hard at writing the alphabet. Since Magnus’s lessons at school are in Chinese, the English side of his learning has to come from us. Right now, I would say Magnus is 90% in reading his alphabet and can write down roughly 10 letters on his own. He works hard at it and is always very proud of his new letters when he learns them.
One of Magnus’s favorite games around the house is hide-and-go-seek; every night when we come home from work he is always ready to go and showoff his new favorite spot(s) that he worked out with the Ayi during the day. Since playing, Svea has really caught onto the game and can always be found hiding in a closet or behind some curtains even when we are not playing. Every now and then we find ourselves asking, “Where’s Svea?” and then have to go out and hunt her down. It is fun to watch her get into the game and see her hiding in these obvious hiding places that she thinks are so sneaky.
One attribute Vancouver Canucks fans really get to hone in on and develop as human beings is hope. Every year it seems we search deep within ourselves (and the team’s roster) to see where we can find it and then ride that out until its eventual conclusion, which for Canucks fans has rarely been very fruitful. In the 38 year history of this franchise the Vancouver Canucks been to the Stanley Cup finals twice. Now don’t get me wrong, I love this team, I do - but geez, do they ever test one’s patience! After a disastrous ending to the 2007/08 season, the Canucks fired their General Manager (Dave Nonis) and then on April 23rd, 2008 announced his replacement - Mike Gillis. And this is where all us Canucks fans find ourselves again: searching for hope. My first reaction to Gillis’s hiring was frustration, but then after watching his entire press conference and a few one-on-one interviews, I found that I liked his frank demeanor and his hard-nosed hockey philosophy. Yes, he doesn’t have any experience with managing but he conveyed quite pointedly a style of team that I like and he seemed to have a fresh approach in how to achieve that - I was convinced. So, like the beaten dog that I am, I have once again found hope in this franchise and am here to say that I like the Gillis hiring and am hopeful about next season and the future to come. How will it all pan out? Well, that is why I am a fan. Go Canucks!
Here’s the latest picture of Svea Elina taken today wearing her Zhong Guo Lao Ren (Old Chinese person) hat. The girl has been sick for the past week with Bronchitis and has been under the weather in a big way, but she seems to be breaking out of it and getting back to her old happy self - which always makes for a happier home.
Historic reaction to the Canucks missing the playoffs…
P.S. - Thanks to Susan at Colorado Daze for this, I just had to rip it off!
Now that our one week vacation is upon us, I have decided to take a little time for myself and re-watch some of my favorite classic movies while the kids are down for their afternoon nap - and today’s selection was Das Boot. Now, if you are not familiar with this movie I strongly suggest you get down to your local video store and pick it up right away. It is definitely the best submarine movie out there but I could easily put it up there as one of the best war movies as well. Das Boot is not a movie that you watch, it is a movie that you experience. You experience the suffering of life on a submarine, the fears of being trapped below the water’s surface and the horrors of naval artillery engagement. This is definitely not a romantic war movie where everyone walks off into the sunset at the end, but it is a classic and I thoroughly enjoyed watching it again.
Growing up in British Columbia in the 1970’s it was pretty tough to ignore the greatest hits from the rock band Chilliwack (especially living so close to Chilliwack and driving through it all the time). Anyways, everytime I listen to these guys I get a strong sense of nostalgia and it just seems that this particular song has struck even more of a chord with me. On a couple of occasions when no one else has been at home I have found myself cranking up this song and coming just shy of breaking out into the air guitar. Shameful I know, but when a guilty pleasure is trapped within sometimes you just have to let it out in a fury - as long as no one else is around!
Busted!!
When it comes to watching good wholesome movies with the family, nothing (and I mean nothing) beats a Pixar production. Now, I apologize to all of you without children who may not be as up to date as us family folk when it comes to Pixar movies, but really, there is no comparison. Movies such as: Toy Story, Incredibles, Monsters Inc. and Cars are all classics in my opinion - and even after you have watched them a gazillion times as our children do they still hold some charm. Whoever is in charge of creating these movies knows full well that the entire family unit is watching and they do an absolutely fantastic job of hitting all levels with their humor; also, the animation of Pixar movies are second to none. I was deeply saddened to see that Disney bought them out (because I hate Disney), but I will do my best to overlook this point. Anyways, Pixar films has a new movie coming out - Wall-E - and I have to admit that I am quite excited to see it. So, thank you Pixar for making top notch films that keep everyone in the house happy. Keep up the good work!
Growing up in the early 1980’s in British Columbia there was only one goaltender anyone ever cared about: “King” Richard Brodeur. During that magical Cup run, there was absolutely no question that King Richard was one of the hottest goalies in the league and basically carried the Canucks on his back all the way to the Stanley Cup finals. He definitely proved the old adage: “A bad goalie can make a good team bad, but a good goalie can make a bad team good.” Every team looks for it down the stretch run and time after time goalies have proven that they can single-handedly win you a championship if they are hot. The team builds upon that confidence and once that momentum is established it can be very difficult to stop - so yes, I’m hoping for a little bit of ‘King Richard heat’ as the Dong Bei Cup begins.
I am not going to go into any detail about it, but this past week has been one of the most intense and craziest times I have ever experienced at our school. Yes folks, we are involved in crazy, crazy times right now…
It’s 8:15, time to get going to work!
During our travels in Myanmar it was impossible to not be inspired/captivated by the Buddhist faith. Everywhere you looked you saw its daily cycle peacefully being carried out within society, and the longer we were there the more comfortable its routines became. Now, growing up I was raised in a household where religion was not really discussed in an open forum and it was certainly never practiced, which basically makes me a purebred heathen. Yes, I am quite embarrassed to say that it was not until my grade 12 year when I truly learned what Easter was all about - and it was Pastor Sam Kinison who taught me that lesson! But as I have grown older I have found myself drawn to mysteries of religion and the many stories that they have. Now, my exploration is not an attempt to find divinity, it is purely a quest in trying to understand the concepts of each and attempt to actualize the differences between them. To be be frank, I am not a religious person but I do find them (at the least the oldies) to be very interesting, at least in a historical sense; and quite simply, I want to understand them more. So, I have decided to begin a year-long quest where I will only read books that deal with religion (and it is my hope to draw upon as many different religions as possible throughout this year). I want to learn the different histories and crazy cast of characters all religions have so I can try to understand the basic principles around them - I’m not looking for their answers, just their stories. First up on the list is Karen Armstrong’s Buddha, which is a fascinating look at the very early stages of Buddhism and how one Siddhartha Gautama (the big guy himself) traveled his path to enlightenment. This book details very richly, and academically, the historical conception of Buddhism and how it has grown throughout time. This book has been a great introduction into Buddhism and I am now looking for another book to compliment it. Karen Armstrong is ridiculous in her knowledge of religion and will be a huge source of insight during my little quest. Anyways, I am not too sure where I will travel next but hopefully I will learn something and be the more wiser for it.
And now this pause for station identification…
Another goaltender I remember watching as a child and place right up there on my all-time list is Ken Dryden. Historically, Dryden has played in some of the biggest games in Canadian history and he also had an absolutely outstanding NHL career - even though it was not a very long one. I’m not exactly sure how to classify his style, but quite simply, he was a goalie that would always make the big save whenever his team needed it. Mr. Clutch, yeah, I could use some of that!
