tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7361537080965854892011-04-21T15:06:42.348-07:00A weekly blog following Chris Reed's activities in Vancouver during 2008.Chris Reedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11479533382376288647noreply@blogger.comBlogger47125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-736153708096585489.post-50955443011150703052008-12-31T15:43:00.000-08:002009-01-03T12:46:35.208-08:002009-01-03T12:46:35.208-08:00

6 months ago (on Facebook Graffiti) I drew this:In the beginning of December, Family Guy had this sketch:Which makes me 6 months funnier than Family Guy...Happy New Year!(Check out my new 2009 Music Blog!)

Chris Reedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11479533382376288647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-736153708096585489.post-40354847360118774302008-10-30T14:00:00.000-07:002008-11-02T08:05:24.232-08:002008-11-02T08:05:24.232-08:00

I have registered for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) for November and am hoping to begin work on a novel shortly. The idea is to write 50,000 words in 30 days with the limited time forcing raw creativity out of my mind. No time to edit, no proof reading. If I complete the challenge, I will receive a printed manuscript free of charge and can apply to publishers if it is any good.I'm not

Chris Reedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11479533382376288647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-736153708096585489.post-11264387545758043722008-09-30T14:00:00.000-07:002008-10-07T11:23:22.051-07:002008-10-07T11:23:22.051-07:00

I decided to write a story today and practice my video blogging. Hopefully this entertains you. Please rate & post comments so that I can improve.Hello and welcome to the second of my video blog posts, entitled "How To Tell A Story" from my "Canadian Adventure" blog.He awoke in the night with a start; sweat dripping down his round face. For a second he forgot his peril and wondered what the

Chris Reedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11479533382376288647noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-736153708096585489.post-30614781894565131842008-09-25T14:00:00.000-07:002008-10-02T01:56:17.724-07:002008-10-02T01:56:17.724-07:00

The first of my video blog posts, hosted on YouTube, to go with my Canadian Adventure blog.Please comment and rate it so I can improve as I make more videos.Edit: Video remade to remove a few errors. Further suggestions welcome.

Chris Reedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11479533382376288647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-736153708096585489.post-41712047570112769922008-09-20T14:00:00.000-07:002008-09-20T15:39:00.500-07:002008-09-20T15:39:00.500-07:00

Since arriving in Canada, I have had 4 jobs and worked more than 1000 hours. As well as landscaping and the summer program, I also worked briefly as a chef and even more briefly as a cold caller, back in the Spring. Now it is approaching winter and I don't want to be working outside when it is raining or snowing (having had enough of that during the first 4 months of my stay!) so have started

Chris Reedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11479533382376288647noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-736153708096585489.post-75907214098052129992008-09-15T14:00:00.000-07:002008-09-18T20:44:25.234-07:002008-09-18T20:44:25.234-07:00

This week's post was guest-written by Zander Rios and amused me. Regular blogging will resume next week with updates on Whistler and my life in general.It was once said, "What is worth doing, is worth doing at the last minute". Actually, I may have made that up but in the interest of my getting a decent grade on this paper, lets hope I'm right. While I have always been something of a

Chris Reedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11479533382376288647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-736153708096585489.post-66805240142111597952008-09-05T14:00:00.001-07:002008-09-20T15:40:03.649-07:002008-09-20T15:40:03.649-07:00

After an eventful summer, things have gone back to the way that they were in April! I recently returned to work as a landscaper (after two months out; having worked with kids before a month off), attended two youth club planning meetings (of the three that I hope to be involved with before and after Whistler), I am blogging things that happened within the last week and I am again single.The main

Chris Reedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11479533382376288647noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-736153708096585489.post-6225087160141826482008-08-30T14:00:00.000-07:002008-09-20T15:40:52.760-07:002008-09-20T15:40:52.760-07:00

Since I had travel plans booked, and then was quite ill for most of the rest of my time off, I would have missed for most of the month whether or not I had booked it off in May. To say that August has been eventful would be quite understating it!As well as the travelling around Western Canada and Oregon, I also spent time updating this blog (post by post) to a new site (which has better features,

Chris Reedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11479533382376288647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-736153708096585489.post-60956325919665090062008-08-25T14:00:00.000-07:002008-08-31T13:56:09.426-07:002008-08-31T13:56:09.426-07:00

When I arrived in January, I was hoping that I would be able to get medical care and a doctor, since I was a Canadian citizen, without any major hassle. The fact that I am only now blogging about it now, in August, should be testament to how wrong I was.Firstly, medical care varied in each province and since I hadn't been born in BC, I had to wait 6 months before I could apply for a "Carecard".

Chris Reedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11479533382376288647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-736153708096585489.post-70730902918018721582008-08-20T14:00:00.000-07:002008-09-20T15:41:39.794-07:002008-09-20T15:41:39.794-07:00

In Canada, until very recently, it was indisputably legal to download music from the internet for free. The argument to support this, put forward by various organisations including the Canadian government, was that most people who download are those who also support their favourite bands anyway (via CD's, concerts and merchandise). Furthermore, I would add that my recommending a band to someone

Chris Reedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11479533382376288647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-736153708096585489.post-65611049941514566892008-08-10T14:00:00.000-07:002008-08-31T13:07:02.254-07:002008-08-31T13:07:02.254-07:00

As well as having citizenship (and therefore no need for a working visa), I chose Canada because I had connections here already in case things went badly. My Uncle had made a good case for Vancouver last summer when I visited after summer camp (having already made a pretty good case when I first visited in 2005!) and when things weren't working out in the UK, it seemed like an excellent choice.If

Chris Reedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11479533382376288647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-736153708096585489.post-38361248491516101372008-08-05T14:00:00.000-07:002008-08-31T13:06:57.833-07:002008-08-31T13:06:57.833-07:00

If you have spoken to me in the last year, you will know that I am not quiet and shy like I was in high school. No longer am I the guy propping up the wall at a party or freaking out because a girl spoke to me. Not that I really ever was to the extent I am suggesting but I definitely remember feeling awkward around girls - and probably didn't hide it well.I have said many times that travelling

Chris Reedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11479533382376288647noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-736153708096585489.post-3089618672816497972008-07-30T14:00:00.000-07:002008-09-20T15:42:58.619-07:002008-09-20T15:42:58.619-07:00

The last week of July was the final week of Summerfun and so we had been put into a team of four coordinators with no volunteers and with a reduced group of senior kids for the week of camp. Cindy, the church's youth pastor and main organiser for both Summerfun and Kids Club, would be in charge of the juniors with her daughter Ariel (who had helped both teams through the first four weeks) and we

Chris Reedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11479533382376288647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-736153708096585489.post-80501804501653057472008-07-25T14:00:00.001-07:002008-08-31T13:06:47.338-07:002008-08-31T13:06:47.338-07:00

Summer Fun has been a summer program for the youth at Fraserview church for many years and usually runs through July. The kids are split into two groups (Grades 1-3 and 4-7) named Summerfun Jr. and Summerfun Sr. and as two of the four main coordinators, Sage and I worked with both groups in rotation - starting with 2 weeks with the seniors and then 2 weeks with the juniors (the reverse order of

Chris Reedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11479533382376288647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-736153708096585489.post-38495693885187440862008-07-20T14:00:00.000-07:002008-08-31T13:06:40.951-07:002008-08-31T13:06:40.951-07:00

Since getting a girlfriend in June, I have been able to experience areas of Vancouver that I would otherwise have had no reason to see - as well as finding out what life is like with someone special in my life. Since we live about one hours bus ride from each other, we have tended to explore both Richmond and Vancouver, so that one person didn't always have to make the journey.The nicest movie

Chris Reedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11479533382376288647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-736153708096585489.post-26866136040107619382008-07-15T14:00:00.000-07:002008-08-31T13:06:38.189-07:002008-08-31T13:06:38.189-07:00

July 10th marked my one month anniversary with Jill and we went out to a nice restaurant in Richmond to celebrate. Not wanting to upset her Mum by getting her home late – having recently missed a bus transfer and adding half an hour to the journey! – I decided that we should aim to arrive back at her house by around 9pm for a few brownie points and also to ensure that it wasn’t our last ever date

Chris Reedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11479533382376288647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-736153708096585489.post-25022917282881256292008-07-10T14:00:00.000-07:002008-09-07T22:39:59.021-07:002008-09-07T22:39:59.021-07:00

As a general rule, the busiest time for landscapers is the height of the summer. Although the mowing slows down - less rain and more heat causing the grass to turn brown and grow more slowly - the weeding and other neglected areas of the job (taken over by the mowing between April and June) become high priority and so there is much work to be done.Since my trip here was always less about the

Chris Reedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11479533382376288647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-736153708096585489.post-85738393122177984432008-06-30T14:00:00.000-07:002008-09-06T09:48:58.646-07:002008-09-06T09:48:58.646-07:00

Since arriving in Canada – having had my bike flown across the Atlantic as the single item of “sporting equipment” that each passenger was entitled to have carried for free - I have only cycled for a handful of reasons. Firstly, I have been using it a few times each month when visiting my Uncle’s house, a few miles away. For 2 months I also made the commute to the Flying Beaver by bicycle too. On

Chris Reedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11479533382376288647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-736153708096585489.post-29665561465653974592008-06-25T14:00:00.000-07:002008-08-31T13:05:14.231-07:002008-08-31T13:05:14.231-07:00

Around the greater Vancouver area (including Richmond) the buses and “sky train” are operated by Translink. Prior to arriving in January, I had only used the buses once – last summer with Thea and Brad to UBC (University of British Colombia) – and it had been a pretty good experience; quick, scenic and easy.When deciding fine details about moving to Canada, in December, I assumed that I’d be fine

Chris Reedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11479533382376288647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-736153708096585489.post-50423488896514396862008-06-20T14:00:00.000-07:002008-08-31T13:05:19.300-07:002008-08-31T13:05:19.300-07:00

Since witnessing my parents' horrific divorce when I was young - though old enough to remember! - I decided that the one thing I'd never do was break a girl's heart. In my naivety, I presumed that the only way to acheive this was not to ever find a girlfriend so that the complication of ending a relationship never came up.Considering it was a pretty bad plan constructed by a 6-year old (as a

Chris Reedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11479533382376288647noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-736153708096585489.post-20182324905518616922008-06-15T14:00:00.000-07:002008-09-07T22:29:09.264-07:002008-09-07T22:29:09.264-07:00

Just a quick blog post to let the world know that I have now survived for two decades. Initially this went live as a commentary on my first few and last few years as well as the actual date this year. A day later, I decided that it really wasn't that interesting and to instead focus on some highlights of my 20 years - in a similar way to in early June where I made an autobiography on my friend's

Chris Reedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11479533382376288647noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-736153708096585489.post-51825992020147015122008-06-10T14:00:00.000-07:002008-08-31T13:05:01.989-07:002008-08-31T13:05:01.989-07:00

When I came to North America last summer, one of the things that I had been hoping to do was visit a working ranch and see the cowboys in action. As it turned out, I didn’t get a chance and so I forgot all about it until the middle of May – when it was offered as a trip with a group of guys, deep into interior BC.Coming straight from work, I was dropped off by Larry and left with the second group

Chris Reedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11479533382376288647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-736153708096585489.post-48538065211075025252008-05-30T14:00:00.000-07:002008-08-31T13:04:57.096-07:002008-08-31T13:04:57.096-07:00

If you don't know what beta testing is, it is a process through which all new websites, games and computer programs go through before they are released to the general public - to remove all the bugs.As much as I knew that my 3 months away from home last summer would change me, I had no idea the extent to which the change would happen or really even what parts of my life or personality would be

Chris Reedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11479533382376288647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-736153708096585489.post-38397929499291416622008-05-25T14:00:00.000-07:002008-08-31T13:04:52.902-07:002008-08-31T13:04:52.902-07:00

When I was 15, I remember wanting to be one of two things. The first was to do with making movies (a director or an animator) and the second was a school teacher. In June, the penultimate month of "Year 10", we were given the chance to spend a week working at a desired place of future employment to see how we liked it, for "work experience".Having applied to Aardman Animations (the creators of "

Chris Reedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11479533382376288647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-736153708096585489.post-66220371288057716562008-05-20T14:00:00.000-07:002008-08-31T13:04:49.320-07:002008-08-31T13:04:49.320-07:00

When I arrived at the Bowen's house in January, I had no idea what longboarding was. Therefore I will start with the very basics. Longboarding is a board sport that is similar to skateboarding in part. The main differences are the board itself being longer (and lower to the ground) - for greater speed and stability - and the effect of these changes on the style of riding.Unlike skateboarding,

Chris Reedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11479533382376288647noreply@blogger.com0