040: I am grateful for Vancouver

Carol and I had a great time in Seattle, but it sure was nice to set foot on Canadian soil again.

Vancouver

Photo by Evan Leeson on Flickr

Seeing the sign saying Vancouver at the train station sure made me happy, and we had only been away three days.

What is Vancouver?

Vancouver ” is a coastal city and major seaport located in the Lower Mainland of southwestern British Columbia, Canada. The city is bounded by English Bay, Burrard Inlet, the Fraser River, the city of Burnaby, and the University Endowment Lands. Vancouver is named after Captain George Vancouver, a British explorer. The name Vancouver itself originates from the Dutch “van Coevorden”, denoting somebody from (in Dutch: “van”) Coevorden, an old city in The Netherlands.” [source]

Vancouver has often been called one of the most livable cities in the world and, according to The Economist, is at the top of the heap. I don’t really know what that means, but I do know I have lived here for more than 16 years and I love it.

I was here when I was six years old with my family while Dad attended a veterinary conference in Richmond, one of the suburbs. I loved the city then, as much as a six year old can. I dreamed of moving here for years and then, when I was 24, I did. I never left.

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039: I am grateful for Halloween

On the evening of October 31st, in Canada and the U.S. especially, children dress up in scary (or not so scary) costumes bang on doors in their neighborhoods and collect candy.

Playmobil Halloween

Playmobil Halloween on Flickr

Halloween is not all about candy, costumes and kids. Well, not exactly.

What is Halloween?

Halloween (also written Hallowe’en, literally “holy evening”), also known as All Hallows’ Eve or All Saints’ Eve, is an annual holiday celebrated on October 31. It has roots in the Celtic festival of Samhain and gets its name from being the evening (e’en) before the Western Christian holy day of All Saints (the Eastern Orthodox celebrate All Saints’ Day in June). It is largely a secular celebration but some have expressed strong feelings about perceived religious overtones. [source]
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038: I am grateful for trains

This post is coming to you from the defrig.com mobile office in Seattle WA. This morning Carol, a.k.a. Mrs. Grateful, and myself were up before the birds and in a taxi on the way to the train station.

amtrak-streamlined

Photo by Professor Bop on Flickr.

We hopped on Amtrak train number 513 and choo-choo’d our way down the coast to Seattle for the Day of the Dead or Dia del Meurtos festival taking place tomorrow and Sunday.

What is a train?

A train “is a connected series of vehicles for rail transport that move along a track (permanent way) to transport freight or passengers from one place to another. The track usually consists of two rails, but might also be a monorail or maglev guideway.” [source]

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037: I am grateful for adoption

Every year at this time I reflect on the events that were taking place for two families around now, exactly 40 years ago – One was a young mother wondering what had become of the three month old son that she had to put up for adoption, the other was a loving young couple who could not have children by the usual means and were hoping like mad that the application they had made for the adoption of a child only three weeks earlier would find them parents one day.

On Halloween, 40 years ago, the couple got their wish after a phone call, traveled to a Halifax foster home from their house in Bridgewater, NS. There they met and brought home a wiggly 3 month old baby boy in a crappy looking pink hat that his new dad promptly removed from his head saying, “No son of mine will be caught dead in a pink hat”.

Different times.

The baby, me, of course, got sick with an ear infection right away and the screaming began. It hasn’t stopped since.

The Brownes gave me the life that Dianne could not at the time and four years ago, when we finally met again back in Nova Scotia she was relieved to see she really had made the right decision. Thank you Dianne!

Here’s some of the evidence of that time:

my-family

Photo by my Dad's camera on auto.

Left to right: Dad, a.k.a Ted, my sister, Rachel, also adopted, Mom a.k.a Marion, Me, Dianne, my birth-mother, and my wife, Carol.

What is adoption?

Adoption “is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting for another who is not kin and, in so doing, permanently transfers all rights and responsibilities from the original parent or parents. Unlike guardianship or other systems designed for the care of the young, adoption is intended to effect a permanent change in status and as such requires societal recognition, either through legal or religious sanction.” [source]

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036: I am grateful for bed

I am not feeling well. As if my immune system has not had enough of a beating over the last 6 months. Symptoms: sore throat, runny nose and headache. We, Carol is feeling it too, either have a cold or the flu. Great. Two days before we are scheduled to take the train to Seattle. Off to bed. But first, a post.

bed

Photo by Armand Frasco on Flickr

We really are blessed to have such a comfy bed (that’s not it in the photo).

What is a bed?

A modern bed is typically made up of a mattress, usually containing springs, foam or feathers and is sometimes placed on a box spring for extra support. Beds are used mostly for sleep or resting, but there are other fun things that can be done on a bed that I would rather not get into at this time. I think I am blushing.

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035: I am grateful for candy

It is that time of year again. When I was a wee puckster I loved Halloween just as much as the enthusiastic young fellow in the photo below. And probably for the same reason as far as I can tell by the excited look on his face.

the-haul

Photo by Casey Fleser on Flickr

I lived for the 31st of October every year. I loved to hold open my pillow case and scream “Trick or Treat!” through a crappy plastic Robin Hood mask with a pinchy elastic held on with staples. The neighborhood adults then fire a fistful of candies into the sac and even before the door shut we were what-did-you-getting.

Yucky old potato chips had faces made at them.

Apples got smashed on the street thanks to that excuse we had about razor blades, pins or needles stuffed into Halloween apples by creepy, and most likely sweaty, mean people who smoked cigarettes while doing it. The real reason was probably the apples are healthy angle.

A bit of an FYI – according to snopes there really has been nasty stuff found in all forms of Halloween booty. Yikes.

Anyway, I know I wanted one thing when I opened my loot bag – CANDY!

What is candy?

In case all your teeth have fallen out and your taste buds have died, candy is “a confection made from a concentrated solution of sugar in water, to which flavorings and colorants are added. Candies come in numerous colors and varieties and have a long history in popular culture. The word ‘candy’ comes from Arabic qandi, derived from Persian qand, meaning ‘sugar’ probably from Sanskrit khanda ‘piece (of sugar).'” [source]

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034: I am grateful for learning

Today I spent some time educating myself on a few things. I have been learning about better business practices, the value of using WordPress as a CMS (content management system), how to better communicate with clients and of course a bit more about what I need to let go of to live a little more freely.

learning-time

Graphic by Temari 09 on Flickr

I like to learn something new every day, no matter how trivial.

What is learning?

Learning “is acquiring new knowledge, behaviors, skills, values, preferences or understanding, and may involve synthesizing different types of information. The ability to learn is possessed by humans, animals and some machines.” [source]
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033: I am grateful for tradition

As you probably know, carving a Jack o’ Lantern for Halloween is a tradition in North America. Today Carol and I went to her co-worker’s house for a little pumpkin carving. Being from Australia, they had never done it before and I think they had a blast.

sharing-tradition

Photo by Mike Browne (Yes, me!) as seen on Carol Browne's Flickr account

What is tradition?

Tradition is “the handing down of statements, beliefs, legends, customs, information, etc., from generation to generation, esp. by word of mouth or by practice; a long-established or inherited way of thinking or acting.” [source]

Apparently they do not celebrate Halloween in Australia. A travesty for sure. All I could find online was that some people there celebrate Guy Fawkes Night on the 5th of November but we did not get a chance to speak to them about that.

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032: I am grateful for adventure

What a fun day we had today. We headed off to Richmond on the brand new Canada Line with Carol’s friends Denise, Cynthia and Cynthia’s mom.

learning-to-travel

Photo by Emanuela Marchiafava on Flickr

In addition to riding the rails we ate authentic Chinese food, smelled strange odors, looked at books that open backwards (to my western brain at least), bought trinkets and incense at The Daiso and finally, thanks to Cynthia’s generous mom, I had my very first bubble tea with black pearls (strange texture but yummy fun!).

It wasn’t Paris or Zimbabwe, but we had a wonderful little adventure.

What is adventure?

Adventure is “an exciting or very unusual experience.” [source]
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031: I am grateful for drive

It has been a full month since I started this and I have posted once a day. I am not all that surprised that I made it an entire month. I am, after all, quite driven lately.

driving-a-fancy-car

Photo found on Flickr courtesy of Freeparking.

It is hard to find a photo about drive that does not have a car or a computer disk of some sort in it. I chose the one above because I am sure that the young man in the photo from Arizona in the early 1920’s had a lot of drive too. It would be interesting to hear more about the life he led after that photo was taken. No doubt it is quite the story.

What is drive?

Drive is “an inner urge that stimulates activity or inhibition; a basic or instinctive need.” [source]

Since I have been doing all this work on improving myself I feel driven to do great things; to succeed at life; to be happy, joyous and free.
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