Life of Jordan

2011 Christmas Update

2012-01-18T16:55:00.000-06:00

It's almost Christmas. It's come surprisingly fast, even with the Christmas tree in our house being up BEFORE Halloween. Time always seems to fly by in this season. The last few months have probably been the best of the year, but first to start from January.

January 2011 was barely a month in to our marriage, we had come off a busy wedding day, an amazing honeymoon, and a very rushed Christmas season. The reason for that was I worked all weekends, including the 24 and 25th, the days Michelle and I had always celebrated on. The 24th I worked from the morning until the afternoon, leaving work early to drive home to Austin. We spent the rest of the day there, celebrating Christmas, then leaving bright and early in the morning to travel back to Winnipeg for work. Working Christmas day is probably one of the most depressing thing someone can do. To avoid sounding selfish, there are many people in this world that don't get to celebrate due to many reasons, and it breaks my heart. But I strongly believe this is one day of the year that nobody should work. Obviously that's impossible to do, people are needed for many things to function nowadays.

Up until February Michelle had been without a job, and for the months running up to it she was busy searching everyday. Job searching has never been a fun task, and finding a job that suits your preferences can be quite tedious and difficult. She eventually found a position working as a receptionist thanks to a tip from her sister. She has been there since then and enjoys it very much.

Winter lasted well past it's welcome this year, even giving us a blizzard at the end of May. But this summer was one of the best I can remember. Due to our conflicting schedules (Michelle worked Mon-Fri, I worked Thu-Mon) I was often left to bike by myself. Very early into the year I was biking down Wellington (one of my favourite routes) when my bike malfunctioned. It turned out that the crank had broke, essentially disabling any pedalling motion I could make. Luckily for me I was right near the Century bridge, so I pushed my bike up it, and gliding down towards Portage Avenue. From there (with momentum) I made it to the Polo Park parking lot where a close friend of mine picked me up. We took my bike to a shop downtown, and several days later it was repaired.

The last few summers had experienced a lot of rain, this summer was an exception. Nearly every single day was perfect, and it was almost too much to take in. I didn't mind the one day where it was raining, because I wouldn't feel inclined to go outside. This wasn't the case this year. Michelle and I enjoyed many walks along the path outside our apartment, and we biked out for ice cream and to Assiniboine park several times.

This spring newly wed couple of ours moved to the city just minutes from our place, and we spent many evenings with them either going for walks, swimming in their pool, or watching movies.

Nearing the end of the summer they moved away, and we were sad to see them leave, thankfully it wasn't a far move and we have visited them since.

Winter has enjoyed a slow and prolonged entry, but it was welcome. This is a super late post, as it is now 2012, but things are good. Michelle is enjoying her job, and I am enjoying both of mine. Stay tuned for what this year has in store.

October

2011-11-07T08:22:00.001-06:00

My dad told me to blog more.

It's already November, but I'm writing about Halloween. I find that between Facebook and Twitter I don't have much left to write about on here. My days are already posted to the interwebz, a lot of it through visual media (pictures).

Last Monday I went trick or treating with my niece Karlee, along with Michelle, Lindsey, and Alicia. Without making my life sound boring, going out dressed as Frankenstein was the most fun I'd had in a while. It was more the reliving childhood memories I guess.

This week Michelle and I met with the pastoral couple that had worked with us through marriage preparation, and married us. It didn't feel like a year since we last met, but the last time we'd seen them was our wedding day. I hope it was somewhat comforting to see that we are still in love. Haha.

I'll leave you with a video I shot this morning: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8cNZorlxrg

Pumptober

2011-10-24T16:32:00.000-05:00

October is almost over, and I've had a good run. Last year I set October as "pumpkin" month, cooking and eating as many pumpkin things as I could think of. So far I've made, pumpkin tarts (homemade pastry), pumpkin cheesecake, and mock pumpkin muffins (used sweet potato). I've tried pumpkin icecream (made it last year), and pumpkin beer (just tastes like regular beer). Next month is eggnog month, but I'm getting a head start by making an eggnog cheesecake. Stay tuned.

I'm Back

2011-09-06T21:03:00.000-05:00

I had this blog in the dark for the past few weeks due to some unwanted comments. I have since restricted any form of commenting. If you would like to chat, send me an email.

Since my last few post I have found a job. Two to be precise. Both are completely different from each other, but are both cooking positions. I also get approximately 2 weekends off a month, which is absolutely awesome and something I've been looking forward to for a year now.

Things are good.

For The Better

2011-09-01T16:25:00.000-05:00

It's been a dark few weeks. Anyone who has been without a job can relate. Searching for employment is a depressing time, you go out on a limb with every resume just praying that somebody will call. I received several call backs, and did 3 interviews, ultimately deciding on one.

I took a job at Canadian Mennonite University, CMU for short. I will be working nearly full time as a cook. My duties will be everything from opening the kitchen and preparing breakfast, to cooking dinner and closing the kitchen. In between my days off from CMU I will be filling the gaps working at my favourite place to eat, Bonfire Bistro. It's very small bistro packed with food loving staff who strive for new and greater things. It's always changing, and extremely fast paced, it keeps me on my toes.

The light at the end of the tunnel is my days off. I will be having around 2 Sundays off each month now, which I will finally be able to enjoy church with Michelle. And on top of that, both jobs are morning shifts, the latest beginning at 10, so I will always have evenings. Plus, they're only 10 minutes from home. God had His hand in this.

August 22

2011-08-22T16:58:00.000-05:00

It's 4:28PM. The temperature is 33 degrees but feels like 38 with the humidity. I think that's hot for August 22. I'm in shorts and no shirt, sitting on my balcony over looking Sturgeon Creek. It's absolutely gorgeous. Like phenomenal. Many words come to mind just to describe this day. Well to describe the weather at least. The day, well that's another story. One that isn't quite as enjoyable. I handed out 5 resumes today. Possibly more.

I've seen two bikers on the path below me. I biked today. For about 45 minutes give or take. Then I wasted away my day on the couch. It's been a struggle. I went home last weekend with Michelle and spent it at her parents. Her two cousins and aunt and uncle are out to begin building on the new house. As well as Sean and Adrienne with Joshua. I love that little guy.

As much as I want kids, I'm glad it's just Michelle and I right now. I know last year I had a bunch of readers checking up on my progress during camp, but I have no idea who is reading now. To update you, I am looking for a job. Yes, I am unemployed. Finding "any old" job is easy, but I've worked at so many fantastic places that it's set my standards incredibly high. Unfortunately I think less of myself then others do of me.

I've been cooking for 5 years now. It doesn't seem like a long time, but I've worked with many talented people whom I've learned so much from. Much of what I know is from experience, watching others. I've grown to love what I do, to the extent where I feel bored if I'm not in the kitchen.

It's what I know. I know food. My day is based around what the next meal will be. That's been a FB status of mine. Food. It's almost all I think about, besides providing for my wife, and making sure that God is the center of our relationship. I took a leap of faith last year.

In June of 2010 I quit my job of nearly 3 years. I felt God calling me to camp, and I followed. Then for 2 weeks after camp I lived on faith alone, praying for a job. And He gave me one. Once again I'm in the same boat. I have no job, and I am looking for one. Thankfully a good friend and previous co-worker has set me up with a part time gig starting tomorrow. He's incredibly talented, placing second twice in Winnipeg's Iron Chef competition.

But it's only part time. So far. And it's a big decrease in pay. I feel embarrassed without a job. Like my skill is not enough. It's hard. Surely there are many more things in life that would cause a person to be depressed or ashamed, but when a husband cannot provide for his wife, it's something that causes a man to hang his head.

It's not my intention for this post to be depressing, or to cause that reader to feel sorry for me. Simply I hope that others can learn from my experiences, as I have learned from others.

Hmm, Ok.

2011-08-17T14:37:00.000-05:00

You know the scene in movies where the actor is holding the camera, so all you see is their face? For example look at 1:18 in this clip. It gives you the impression that things are kind of in a daze. That's how my last 2 days have felt. Things have happened, but it's been a struggle to comprehend them. I am literally struggling to retain information. Someone could punch me in the face and a minute later I would have forgotten about it. Or I would choose to believe it never happened.

I need to breathe. I'm going to church this Sunday. For the first time in 11 months.

August Update

2011-08-09T21:48:00.000-05:00

It's been a while since my last update, I have even forgot to add several biking trips to my blog. So....

I am taking my first time off this year. I have maybe only asked for 2 days off since January 1, 2011. Both Michelle and I are taking the 12th to the 16th to go camping and spend time with family.

We will be leaving Winnipeg very early Friday morning on a 3 hour drive to Rushing River Provincial Park just inside Ontario. As of right now, the eastern parks in Manitoba are under a strict no fire ban, with some parks even closed to the public. I called Rushing River 2 days ago and they said they aren't affected by the ban, which is good new for us. We need a campfire if we plan on cooking any food.

We arrive at the park hopefully before 11AM on Friday and will be tenting there until Sunday morning. During our stay we plan on going canoeing, making s'mores, walking around Kenora, swimming in the lake, etc..

It's been a long time coming for a day off with Michelle, as I can't remember the last one. We will be sure to make the most of it. Stay tuned for pictures, and for the most updated info on us follow me on Twitter.

Summer 2011

2011-07-31T20:31:00.000-05:00

It barely feels like I've had a summer at all. The only thing I get to do is bike on my days off and that's pretty much run it's course. I think I've done over 500kms by now and it's just getting boring. I asked for an extended weekend off next month and I hope to go camping with Michelle at Rushing River in Ontario. I'll be off work for 6 days (2 of which are my scheduled days off). In order to get those days I'll be working 8 in a row this following week starting on Thursday. I don't mind, it will be worth it to spend some much needed one on one time with my wife. Speaking of the love of my life, she is in the Austin/MacGregor area tonight as I suggested she visit on her long weekend. It just so happened that her parents computer broke so she brought our laptop. I am writing this post from my phone so forgve the typos. Anyways, I look forward to a road trip with Michelle, you can pray that the weather is warm and sunny.

That's it for now.

Skillet

2011-07-10T23:20:00.001-05:00

Last week my dad phoned me and I asked if I would like to attend a Skillet concert with him. I had no idea they were playing, but I agreed, as long as I could bring my best friend (Michelle).

It had been years since I'd last seen them play, which was at Sonshine fest. Having not listened to them for what seemed like forever, I was unsure if they're style had changed. You see, many bands change to fit in with what is popular. Right now techno beats and auto-tune is popular, as well as slow soulful ballads. I don't like either of those, so I was slightly apprehensive about going.

Apprehension aside, it was an awesome concert, and it re-established why live music is so much better then listening to an iPod. I tried filming some of it, but unfortunately it was so loud that the audio from my iPhone is all distorted. You can check out the clip on YouTube, but I suggest muting it. Thanks to my Dad for taking me out, and for Michelle for coming as my best friend.

Got It

2011-06-29T08:11:00.004-05:00

Well I got my wish. It was sunny yesterday, more then I expected. Which has left me with quite the sun burn on my arms and forehead. I wore sun glasses though to protect my eyes. After all doesn't the saying go "the eyes are the window to the soul"?

Yesterday was easily my longest bike ride yet, having travelled more then 50kms! I visited Michelle at work in an attempt to surprise her for lunch. Unfortunately my wife see's right through me and I can't keep anything secret from her. This is a good thing, it prevents me from ever considering lying to her. We drove to the nearby Tim Hortons and shared food and conversation. It was nice to see her on my day off. I just wish it was longer.

I'm planning on driving to Macgregor today to enjoy the pool. Nobody is home, but I'll take advantage of the free laundry services while I'm there. I want to take this time now to direct you to my brother's Twitter feed. He is currently living in Saskatchewan working as a helicopter pilot. I told him to start posting pictures which he has. This is a surprise, as prior to this he has stayed clear of all things virtual. Have a good day internetz.

Update June 29: 377.1kms
Update: July 6: 410.3kms
Update: July 12: 429.1kms (from previous ride)
Update: July 12: 466kms (from the 12th)

I Want My Gas Ball

2011-06-27T08:14:00.000-05:00

The sun keeps disappearing. It comes out for a few minutes then immediately ducks behind some clouds. It's my friday today. I am praying for sunny skies the next two days, and if that is the case then I might head home to the farm to catch some rays.

Dehydrated

2011-06-14T15:30:00.002-05:00

I am dehydrated. I literally just chugged a glass of water after typing that. Today was a beautiful day. It is now cloudy however. I mapped my bike ride today on Google Maps and the approximate distance was 38.5kms. Adding that to this years total brings it to 291.9kms.

Update June 18: 300.7kms.

Update June 21: 325.7kms.

It Needs to be Done

2011-06-12T07:50:00.000-05:00

It's 7:30AM on a Sunday morning. The window in front of me is open, and it's quiet with the exception of songbirds and emergency sirens. What a combination. I can hear the refrigerator fan behind me, chilling my milk for what will possibly be my cereal. Michelle is still sleeping, she rarely ever sleeps in, and when she does sleeping in is still only 8 hours of sleep. I am proud of her. The forecast today is nearly identical to yesterday, 22 and sunny. We went to BDI last night for ice cream, we hadn't been there since last year while we were taking pre-marriage classes.

It's been over 6 months now since we both said our I do's. I was thinking about this last night, and one of the best things that Michelle has done for me is keep me accountable. Without her I would not be where I am today. I probably would have never decided to quit my previous job to work at a kids camp all summer. I probably wouldn't have made the decision to be baptized. I would not be married. And I probably would have much less faith in my God.

Maybe it's the warm weather, maybe it's missing out on family events, or evening seeing both my families for that matter. But working weekends and not seeing Michelle has been pulling me through a wicked game of depression tug of war. I posted on my Facebook yesterday that it had been 6 months since Michelle and I had a entire day off together. She corrected me by stating it was February 9th. So over 4, but not quite 6. Still try and imagine the only time you get to see your spouse is after a 9 hour day of work. You are exhausted. You were on your feet all day. Some days it takes all my effort not to just pass out on the floor. But the love for my wife gives me the desire to spend time with her. I know that as long as I'm at this job I will not be able to go to the zoo, I won't have a lunch picnic, there will be no Sunday morning church services, no trips to the parents respective farms, no family gatherings (except the ends). No Christmas day celebrations. None of it.

What makes it so much more difficult is that I have a good job. It's relatively low stress, the work load is rarely too much, and it is the best paying job I've ever had. I get low end health insurance as well! But as much as I care about my job and providing for Michelle, my personal relationship with God and her are much more important to me. Which is why if a better opportunity came about, one with weekends off, I would probably take it. I still enjoy cooking, but I'm beginning to think that if I want those days with Michelle, cooking might not be able to offer it.

Until then...

Date Night

2011-06-08T08:13:00.001-05:00

Last night Michelle and I took and evening out to spend time with each other. We first went to one of our favourite restaurants, if not the favourite (I'll post a link in the bottom). When we arrived the entire dining room was packed, even the seats at the bar. This place is small to begin with, but they had recently expanded (much to the dismay of the cooks). After about 10 minutes we were seated in a nice 2 person table against the wall. We've been there many times, but only twice have I ordered off the menu. That sounds bad, I mean the menu has wonderful selections, but the specials are always interesting. I had the Atlantic Salmon special.

To describe: Salmon filet with a white wine tomato sauce, couscous salad with toasted cashews, arugula and tomato, garnished with pickled cucumber, and chef's vegetables. All for $22.95. The thing with this dish was the diversity of the flavours. Each section of the plate had it's own taste, but they didn't distract from each other. I felt bad for devouring it so fast, but it was hard not to take bites from every side so quickly.

Michelle's favorite is the spinach linguini in a dill cream sauce, but she opted for the linguini in marinara this time. It came with a plethora of fish including clams, shrimp, and scallops. We both thoroughly enjoyed our meals, and thankfully had time to reach the theatre.

Unfortunately, the movie we had originally decided to see was basically sold out, with only seats in the very front. After sitting with my neck craned for a few minutes I decided to get a refund and try for a later time. If you don't know, on Tuesdays Famous Players gives free regular popcorn and drink vouchers with every movie ticket. We had already redeemed the voucher, but after refunding and buying new tickets, I was given another voucher (4 free popcorn and drinks!). The vouchers last for about a week, so they didn't need to be redeemed that day. To add to that, while we were standing in line, the theatre currently playing messed up, so as people were leaving they were given free movie vouchers by the manager.

Michelle assumed they were numbering people off who were standing in line, so she told me to grab some. Long story short we ended up getting our movie free, along with free popcorn. It was a good night.

Repaired

2011-05-25T15:46:00.001-05:00

I got my bike back yesterday. Thank you Frichard for bringing me to MEC. I almost snapped when the back tire fell off just seconds into hopping on my newly repaired bike. Thankfully I figured out the problem. Turns out they didn't tighten the back bolt on at all. Anyway, we went biking, hit some jumps, got some scratches. It was fun. Although I hope it warms up soon.

Adding yesterday and today brings the km total to: 206.2.

Update: June 7: 253.4kms (added 47 from Tuesday the 31st).

A Long Walk

2011-05-18T08:10:00.001-05:00

My bike broke yesterday, as I was biking to Frichard's house. It broke just before the Century bridge, so I pushed it across to the Joey's on St James and got a water there. Frichard then picked me up in his car and drove me to MEC downtown where my bike is currently being repaired. It turns out it was a bent back frame, broken axel, and possibly broken derailer. A lot of damage, yet I hadn't done anything significant to have wrecked it. My guess is the nearly 10 years I've owned it have just taken their toll. I would like a new bike somewhere in the future, but $50 repair is cheaper then a new bike.

Once my bike was dropped off Frichard and I borrowed his roommates bikes and rode to St Vital park, oh and before that we had lunch at Burrito del Rio on River.

I biked a combined of 16.6kms yesterday, bringing this years total to: 138.1kms.

Update: May 18. Add 18.8kms, total stands at 156.9kms.

Warm

2011-05-16T19:03:00.000-05:00

Add 11.8kms to my 2011 bike stats.

It's been incredibly nice this weekend, making me remember why I love this country again. Tomorrow I'll be adding a decent tally to this years biking.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-05-11T13:29:00.003-05:00

A Whole Lot of Stuff

2011-05-10T09:54:00.000-05:00

The province is flooding. That's big news, like 1997 big. Ok maybe not that big, but it is serious.

I've got a lot on my plate right now, more expenses related, so it's slightly stressing me out, even more that it's entirely my fault. Not that I'd want to blame someone, but for that fact that it could have been avoided. The weather actually went down this morning, it was 12 degrees around 7:30 and not it's 10. Also, to throw more fuel on the fire, it's supposed to dump up to 10mm of rain by Wednesday. I want to go take some pictures of the flooding, but at the same time I need to stay home because I'm Michelle's ride today. I took her to work so I could look at glasses frames.

My grandparents on my dad's side visited the other night. They were in the city visiting a 91 year old lady in the hospital, although they didn't actually see her as she was out for dinner with her daughter. My grandpa shared a story from 1954 when on May 4th he was driving a fuel truck on the old number one highway when an on coming Austin Mini lost control and slid into his truck head on. Oh, and I forgot to mention there was a blizzard. In May. It doesn't sound so surprising now that it's happened several times in my life. Anyway, as the story goes both front seat passengers (how you fit someone in the back is beyond me) were thrown threw the tiny windshield into a snowbank, and the guy in the back stayed put. All were in pretty serious shape, but as my grandpa recalls everyone survived. It just so happened that a military medical van was driving by, and was able to transport the injured to the Carberry hospital. The story got more complicated when they realized everyone in the vehicle only spoke french, they were from Quebec. My grandpa also had his cousin from Mexico riding with him who only spoke German. So back at the hospital they had a fun time translating everyones account of the accident to the RCMP.

It was an interesting story, and during it I was asking myself "how many crazy stories must my grandparents have?". They've lived over 3 of my lifetimes. I myself could tell stories for days, so imagine what nearly 80 years could say.

That's it for today.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-05-04T13:37:00.002-05:00

My best friend.

Lunch

2011-05-03T17:23:00.000-05:00

Biked 10kms today, bringing the total to 109.7kms as of May 3.

I had lunch with an old friend today. I got to catch up on stories from a trip he just got back from. You can read it here. He travelled with a friend across Europe seeing Ireland, Rome, Nepal, and a few others. 60 days over seas. He had a blast, and can't wait to travel again. It was cool hearing about everything, as Michelle and I had literally been talking about travelling just yesterday. I would love to see more of the world. Winnipeg only has so much to offer. Like snow 7 months of the year. Blech. I'm sick of snow. I honestly wouldn't care if I never saw it again, except for mountains, which I love.

Frichard is the friend I am speaking of. He would be considered one of my oldest "new" friends. The reason for new is I've only known him in the past 10 years, not 15+ like some. I think I met him in either 2005 or 2006. But we've hung out and kept in contact since then. We had turkey clubs for lunch. Until next time, keep fit and have fun.

Bike Update 1

2011-04-26T16:31:00.000-05:00

I forgot to tally last weeks bike ride, which was about 15.9kms. Today I did about 29.8kms (all routes are tallied on Google Maps). This brings the total to 99.7 as of April 26, 2011. So close to 100, and it's not even summer yet. Check out the panorama below that I shot this afternoon.

I stopped in at my old place of employment this afternoon to have a chat with my old chef from the Winnipeg Squash Club. It was good to catch up, he had some cool stories. Like how this winter he and another chef went to a resort in Mexico to cook with a chef ranked in the top 10 of all Mexico. The stuff they did was nuts, like foie gras cotton candy. Yeah, that's Epic Mealtime stuff.

Tonights dinner is slow roasted ribs. And by slow I mean a good 10 hours. Then they will be broiled and smothered in barbecue sauce. To accompany the ribs I have corn bread baking, as well as baked beans, southern style.

360º Panorama by Jordan

2011-04-26T16:18:00.000-05:00

Stuck Between the Lines

2011-04-26T08:07:00.001-05:00