The Engleson Files

A hopeful view of many nights to come!

Well, today is the day the Engleson clan sets off below the equator to spend three glorious weeks in Indonesia. Getting down to the volcanic islands is going to be a bit of a jaunt/stress but we will deal with all of that as it comes. Below is, again, a loose itinerary of when and where we will be traveling to while down in Indonesia. The blog will be officially shut down until we return; so until then I hope everyone takes good care of themselves, has a great Chinese New Year and we will visit with you all once we get back to Dalian.

2009 Vacation

Jan. 18th - Dalian - Hangzhou
Jan. 19th - Hangzhou - Kuala Lumpur
Jan. 20th - Kuala Lumpur - Bali
Jan. 21st - Bali - Flores island
Jan. 22nd - 25th - Komodo Island/Flores Island
Jan. 26th - 28th - Sumbawa Island - by land or sea?
Jan. 27th - Feb. 6th - Lombok/Gili Islands
Feb. 7th - Feb. 12th - Bali
Feb. 13th - Begin the journey back home
Feb. 15th - Arrive back in Dalian

Again, stay well and we will talk to you all once we return!

For her birthday, Svea got a new house and kitchen set for her to play with. She’s becoming quite the girl these days and loves to invite people over to her place for a nice meal and a visit. Her best dish so far is chicken on the bone with a dash of strawberry - now, once she learns to serve a few cocktails to her guests I can see myself popping over on a much more frequent basis!

We’re sick, we’re tired and we’re suffering at the Engleson household. Three-quarters of the family is sicker than dogs and need to get out of the cold desperately. Three more sleeps to go until holidays, but please, can all of you feel sorry for us in the meantime!

Yesterday, Magnus came running up to me after work and screamed, “Daddy, Daddy, look what I drew today at school! This is what we are going to see in Indonesia!” He was so excited. First off, he’s right, and second, I just think this drawing is fantastic! Yes little Bjorn, we are just about ready to go and I do so hope we can find your fish - or at least knock ourselves out trying!

Wow. I just watched My Left Foot for the first time ever the other day; and man, what a performance by Daniel Day Lewis! He was absolutely incredible and I just really enjoyed watching this movie - so, if you are 20 years behind like me, get out there and check this film out!

In six sleeps these sisters are heading down to Indonesia! Now, I stress the word tentative on our itinerary because we have booked nothing yet and are approaching this trip with a certain sense of freedom. But, with that said, we do have a loose plan of where we will be going:

First, the plan is to land in Bali, stay one night and then quickly fly over to Flores island where we will try to spend 3-4 days. From there we will branch out to Komodo, or Rinca island to see the infamous (and deadly!) Komodo Dragons. Also, the snorkeling in this area is supposed to be fantastic so it is my hope to get Magnus out in the water to check out some cool sea life. I, for the most part, am scared shitless of what lurks in the ocean’s depths below but am very excited to be focusing on it this trip - snorkeling is going to be a huge part of this trip in Indonesia for Magnus and me.

From there, it is my hope to find some old salty dog in Flores who has a sea-worthy vessel to take us by boat over to Lombok island. Here, we would like to spend as many days as we can on any three of the Gili islands (just north of Lombok) and again enjoy some sun, surf, sand and snorkeling. While on Lombok there are also a few volcanoes that I would like to check out as well - Lombok looks great and I think it is going to be very cool!

Then once we have had our fill there, the fam will once again pack our bags, hop on a ferry and make our way over to Bali where we will finish off our time. Here, we will see if we can find a nicer, more upscale resort, so the kids can cut loose and have some fun by a pool; not too sure where we will go here. While on Bali I would also like to go inland to see the rice terraces and then visit the quaint little village of Ubud.

So, this is out tentative plan. Words cannot describe how excited we all are to be heading down to Indonesia for this year’s vacation. I think it is going to be a wonderful trip and I am officially ready to go! Six more sleeps, six more sleeps…

On Friday night we had both Svea and Magnus’s birthday party at our house. It was a great night spent with a handful of close friends who all came by to help the two celebrate. Ice cream cake and cupcakes awaited us all in the end and (I think) all who came had a great time! While it is not yet official - Happy 2nd and 5th birthday’s to our wonderful children!!

I have had this damn song in my head for the past three days! I have no idea why it is in my brain for this long and do not know how to get rid of it; therefore, I inflict it upon you to either help me find a way to cope or to just pass my torment on to you. Enjoy!

After finishing the Watchmen, I have come to conclude that the character Rorschach is one of my favorites in all of literature!

It never gets old winning this tournament! Congrats to all the members of Team Canada on a great tournament!!

This past weekend we held our 4th annual Winter Festival in Jinshitan and judging by all who came out it was definitely our most successful event ever. The weather was absolutely fantastic, the ice was perfect and good friends were in abundance throughout the day. We had activities for all ages in attendance and for all who were interested: speed skating, curling, hockey and, of course, the marquee event - barrel jumping! This year we added real barrels (water barrels) to the drama, and let me tell you, as a competitor, the barrels were a real psychological battle once they started getting on in length. I bowed out after 14 barrels and three others tied at 16 for the title. As for the family, Mom and Svea came out and enjoyed a few hours putzing about on the ice, Magnus skated for a solid two hours with friends and had a blast (see below). While his stride is not where a normal Canadians would be, I am very proud of his ability. It was a fantastic day and I hope to get out on the pond again real soon before we head off for our winter vacation.

Wow. What a game. That is all I can really say about today’s World Junior Hockey game between Canada and Russia. Back and forth, ups and downs - it had it all; and then to cap it off with a death-defying game tying goal with only 5 seconds left! It was wonderful to watch. Now, about halfway through the game I was ready to throw my computer screen out the window because the Canadians were looking sluggish and was not looking like it was going to end as I wished, but in the end, we found a way, escaped, and are going for our 5th straight gold on January 5th! Good luck Canada! - I will now figure out a way to try and turn this into a lesson so I can watch Tuesday morning!

Historically, Canada and Russia have always brought the best out in each other when it comes to the game of hockey. Both nations have the utmost respect for each other when it comes to the game, and I think it is safe to say that both countries have taught each other valuable lessons on how to play - which has thus created the beautiful game we see today. But there is one very strange fact about these two nations when it comes to big hockey games against each other: many of our classic battles against each other have all ended in 6-5 victories for one team or the other. Case in point: Game 8 of the 1972 Summit Series, Paul Henderson scores with 34 seconds left to give Canada a 6-5 victory in what has arguably become the greatest hockey series ever played. Move ahead 15 years to the 1987 Canada Cup, in what many others have deemed to be the second greatest series ever, all three games in the best-of-three final ended with a 6-5 score, with Canada winning two of those three - everyone remembers Mario Lemieux’s game winning goal! Now, jump ahead to today’s game. With 5 seconds left and looking as though we were all but done, Canada pulls through with a sensationally dramatic goal and then goes on to win in the shootout and ending the game with a final score of 6-5. Now, yes, we have played countless of other games against the Russians and have had many different scores, but it is kinda spooky at how when the really big, meaningful games between Canada and Russia are played the final score always ends up 6-5.