Zaak like Barack

Photo: AFP/Getty Images

Late last night I ended up watching the interview that Rick Warren hosted with Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama (watch it here). I was deeply impressed. When I was in Guatemala I didn't have much of an opportunity to see video of Obama and I was limited to distilled sound bytes in news articles. After hearing this guy give frank and heartfelt answers to questions on leadership, morality, America and government, I'm sold. The man has principles! I didn't watch the interview with McCain for two reasons, it was 2 AM and I'm sure I would have disagreed with him (especially on the war issue).

What was most striking to me is that nothing he said caused me to disagree with him - which leads me to think I must have thought out these issues as much as him - which leads me to think that perhaps I should get into politics.

I really think the tempest of fear that is creeping up against him because his father was a Muslim and his mother an Atheist is ridiculous. For one, the fearful are Christians who believe in the transforming power of Jesus blood - unless of course your parents weren't Christian... Hmmm.

Just Wages

This is something that has been weighing on my heart for some time now. After witnessing the unjust wages in Guatemala and in Canada, I thought I would share some thoughts.

I collected a few example salaries and made some calculations for daily wages* for different professions in both Canada and Guatemala:

Doctor in Calgary: $724
Top Accounting Executive in Calgary: $479
Lawyer in Calgary: $448
Realtor in Calgary: $354
Teacher in Calgary: $257
Mechanic in Calgary: $214
Sales Clerk in Calgary: $135
Doctor in Guatemala**: $36
Policeman in Guatemala: $23
Teacher in Guatemala: $15
Bank Clerk in Guatemala: $9
Agricultural worker in Guatemala: $3.50
Housekeeper in Guatemala: $2.50

First of all, I accept that there is a very clear difference in cost of living: A doctor in Guatemala is only going to pay $5/hour for work on his car and $15 to have a housekeeper. Guatemalans have no need to heat their homes or build insulated houses. Everyone in Guatemala can travel a fair distance on public transportation with $5, whereas that amount will get you in and out of downtown Calgary on the LRT. But, other costs are quite similar: electricity, petrol, food (slightly less), electronics (slightly more), medication and seeing a doctor cost quite a bit more as to receive adequate services a patient must pursue the private health sector whereas Canadians have universal healthcare and most jobs provide some kind of pharmaceutical benefit. And sure, Calgarians are going to pay a fair bit in tax for many of the services they receive.

Now for an instant, toss out all the figures I've just shared and receive these questions: What is the value of any person's 8 hours of work? Is there a minimum amount that we can say this labour should provide, no matter the skill or education or risk involved? Clean water? Daily food? Health services? Possibility of education for children? Ability to save 5% of wages? Ownership of a home? Opportunity for travel, recreation and creative pursuits?

If we decide that all working persons*** should have these basic needs met, then we ought to consider what the minimum amount each person in the world should be paid for their time and labour. We follow this amount with the adjustment of what multinational corporations end up having to pay for raw materials, foreign production of goods and services that are brought into the first world. If this became a reality, I believe that we in that first world would not be able to afford something as simple as bananas if the banana crop workers were paid to such a standard, let alone coffee, clothing, and electronics. That is unless the wholesale, transport, and retail profit margins were reduced to reasonable levels.

We could also decide that we in the west enjoy far too many excesses that are causing the injustice in poorer nations. Should anyone in the world be making more than $200**** a day? Should any 1 person in the world enjoy luxury when there are 9 lacking most basic necessities?

Tony Campolo makes this distinction (loosely summarized):

Democracy: People are free to pursue the careers they choose to and society benefits when all people enjoy the basic necessities of life. The government's responsibility is to its people. Workplace justice can be a focus.

Capitalism: Reaping maximum profits is the focus. China is the world's best expression of capitalism.

I think we should begin to make that distinction as well and begin to thwart the capitalism in our culture and in our world rather than automatically coupling it with democracy.

*Meaning that their wages are calculated only for those days worked - a teacher works 40 weeks each year, so his salary would be divided accordingly. Most Canadian jobs were given 3 weeks vacation, the Guatemalan ones weren't given any vacation time.

**Many doctors work at public hospitals during the day and then operate private clinics in the evenings and weekends to compensate for the poor daily wages. If they didn't, they would earn about the same as policemen.

***Provisions for non-working persons is another discussion that I won't begin here at this time.

****This is an arbitrary number.

Olympic Commentary

I haven't been too taken in by these Olympic games. I always enjoy watching different events and this is what I want to comment on. Where I'm staying, there are three channels that offer coverage of the games: CBC, Radio Canada, and NBC. I've noted that neither NBC nor CBC so far doesn't stick to any event to show a good portion of the competition, but rather offers highlights of their own country's competitors only. They both have way too much interview commentary as opposed to raw competition footage. Radio Canada (a francophone channel) on the other hand sticks to an event and shows a full competition even if the competitors aren't from Canada. I like that more.

Logpile Lodge

On August 6, 2000 Amber and I were married in Smithers, BC. Our first night together as husband and wife was spent at the magnificent Logpile Lodge just a few minutes drive out of town.



Exactly eight years later, Amber and I spent our anniversary at the same lodge. April watched our kids for the night. This time we were much more rested and we enjoyed the complimentary drink upon arrival and the fabulous view from the balcony. In the morning, as I was reading my Bible, a hummingbird buzzed above my head. I thought it was a dragonfly. Breakfast was amazing and incredibly filling - juice, coffee, muslix/yoghurt/fruit, fresh bread toast and jam, bacon, eggs, and roasted vegetables. I also ate half of Amber's waffles.



So Amber, it's been a pleasure being your husband these last eight years. You're a trooper!

Dispatches from the Greyhound

I've travelled over 28 hours on the bus in the past 2 weeks. Pretty glad I didn't go to Winnipeg last Tuesday night. I wasn't worried as I boarded the Greyhound in Edmonton late last night because a teenager rooted through my dirty laundry (and everyone else's). And the murderer is police custody.

I had to retrieve my car in Chase, B.C. a couple weeks ago so I hopped on the bus in Red Deer in the evening and arrived the next morning. I enjoyed the view of the mountains as we approached Calgary at dusk.

Bus depots are certainly an intriguing place. People from every walk of life are laying on the floor, drinking bad coffee from vending machines and anxiously waiting with their luggage at vague boarding gates. Everyone tends to keep to themselves as there aren't a lot of children to break the ice.

In Calgary a woman interrupted my Tetris game to tell me that she was on a trip to see her mother on her deathbed. Her fear was that she would get there after her mom had slipped into a coma. We visited until it was time to line up and then again hours later at our layover in Salmon Arm.

The bus driver thought somehow that not everyone would fit onto the bus bound for Vancouver from Calgary, but I ended up with two seats to myself. The buses aren't built for comfort. I managed a couple hours sleep switching between fetal and sprawled out positions. The greatest discomfort however came from our bus driver who would leave the lights on for our 10 minute stops (every 45 minutes or so).

I remember hearing my sister-in-law, April, talking about her cross-country bus trip. She did a fabulous imitation of the drivers as they announced each stop and the rules of conduct on board the bus. Each fragmented phrase was held together with raspy breathing into the microphone. Our driver often told us that if we missed reboarding (I never disembarked for the courtesy smoke time) the bus that we shouldn't worry, another bus would be on its way in 14 hours.

Dreary and dehydrated at dawn, I sat in the Greyhound station in Salmon Arm, BC. I leafed through a free seniors newspaper then asked the desk worker if she knew of a free internet hotspot nearby. A warehouse worker shouted out that the Best Western next door did. I guess I could have tested the frequencies myself because sure enough, I had a free connection on my iPod Touch and was able to check my email and send a message to my wife.

My second trip was substantially longer, but far more direct with just a 50 minute layover in Prince George. After buying my last minute ticket, I sat playing Tetris. A hooded, overweight and sweaty young man plunked down beside me and told me the security was freaking him out. I asked him why. He exasperatingly recounted some incoherent story about the guard smoking up on his off time. Then he turned and looked at me. "You're not the guy I was talking to before, are you?" Nope. He quickly got up and left.

Everyone on the bus had their own pair of velvet seats for the night ride through the Rockies. I had stayed up very late the two previous nights so I had a hard time drifting off, especially with an overweight teen snoring behind me. I listened to some tunes I hadn't listened to in a long time on my iPod and slept between Hinton and Jasper.

Arriving in Smithers a few minutes late in the mid-afternoon, I was greeted by a payphone that was torn to shreds (bears?). Amber eventually came to get me. I was whisked off to Tyhee Lake where I chased my children in the grass.

Car Four

Some of my worst memories involve my cars. So after running into some hitches with my latest car I started reminiscing about my past cars. Stop. Reminisce means to "indulge in enjoyable recollection of past events." That's not what I'm doing. I'm recalling.

I got my first vehicle on the road when I was 23. It was a 1981 BMW 320i and I was thrilled. I had to get it inspected before I could register it and after a couple problems I was driving it back to Lacombe from Red Deer. I thought I would stop and fill up before leaving the city. That's when I discovered the leak at the top of my gas tank. Then it was the fuel pump. Then it was a short on my battery connection. Then it was my starter. Then I smashed it into an oncoming tractor trailer. RIP.

My second car was purchased with my new fiancée, Amber, just before we wed. It was a 1997 Toyota Tercel. Insurance was insanely high because of the ice I skidded that wrecked my first car. We near Edmonton Centre and then in Montreal, but when we moved to tiny Spruce Grove a thief broke into the car and wrecked the lock in our driver door.

Number three was our little 2001 Kia Rio in Guatemala. We drove it for nearly three years and had zero problems with it. The only real time it gave me stress was on a 2-day trip to El Salvador where I got my first flat tire abroad which meant figuring out where to repair it (it turned out that it was just around the block and cost me US$1). And then as we were leaving El Salvador, an insane man attacked our right rear fender with his foot, efficiently denting it.

Our latest wheels are imported from BC and Germany before that. It's a 2000 Audi A4 that we got for a good price. Sadly the troubles began early on as the mandatory out of province inspection declared that it needs about $3000 worth of work. Good times.

Reliving Days 5-9

A couple days ago I had to pick up our vehicle in BC and drive it to Red Deer. The trip took me on much much of the road that I cycled five years ago when I crossed Canada. It was the first time back on this section and the memories just flooded back. I was amazed at how nothing on the road was unfamiliar; there was a preternatural knowledge of every hill and twist.

We had already finished the first four days of our journey, having conquered our doubts about traveling on the highway and then beating the Coquihala. On day 5 it was a sunny day and we rode from Kamloops to a look out (photo above) about 8 kms west of Sycamous. We fed on corn and rode the furthest any of us had ever ridden in one day. Will and Saison had their famous collision and Judy spilled apple sauce throughout the common area of the camper.

The next day was also beautiful. I rode with Eric, an Australian who was dating my cousin. We talked most of the morning. When Jess (my cousin) got back on her bike in the afternoon after giving her bad knee a rest all morning, he rode with her. I never did get a chance to ride alone with Jess - the only one from the whole group. 

We passed through Revelstoke where some of us had hoped to eat at a restaurant someone in Edmonton had recommended, but it was closed. Judy had severe sinus pain and spent some time addressing that. 

We set up camp in another pullout hoping to repeat what we had done the night before. Moments after setting up our tents and having just sat down to eat supper, a ranger came by and told us we must move to the campground some 18 kms up the road. We took the motorhome and backtracked the next morning. Most of us watched About Schmidt that night. I don't think they liked it. I did though.

On day 7 we climbed the Rogers Pass in the rain - one of our only rainy days. It was cold too. Will and I had a spat after I waited for him upon departure as we didn't want anyone riding alone at the tail and then he left me after 10 km. Our spat lasted until the Saskatchewan border and Saison took the brunt of it as she began riding almost exclusively with Will from that day on and she is my sister.

We proved ourselves again after reaching Golden, we climbed up to Yoho Nat'l Park on some incredibly steep road. 

Bernd and Kurt weren't able to meet up with the motorhome for lunch and so they arrived in Golden ahead of everyone else and were exhausted. Kurt thought Bernd had died.

We spent the night at a wonderful campground with a hot tub. Will and Landon went down to the river to do some mischief and Bernd gave them a shout pretending he was a ranger. They thought it was a ranger and bolted back to the campsite via an alternative route. We told them weeks later that it was only Bernd but they didn't believe us.

The next day we crossed the Alberta border and spent the night in Banff. The road was up and down, but nothing too severe and with the excitement of finishing B.C., everyone had a great ride. When we arrived in Banff, the feeling was electric - Landon and Kurt couldn't stop giggling. A man we met invited us to camp on his lawn (and livingroom). Some of our group thought he was strange, but I thought he was quite generous.

It took us nine days to reach Calgary. The last day was the most exhausting yet, not because of any major hills (there were some very long foothills), but because of the headwind, something we hadn't experienced yet. We were also exhausted from not having had a rest day yet - the first was in Calgary.

Amber hit the wall on this leg of the trip. I waited with her for quite a while under an overpass and while she struggled with her will to go on, I just stared at the mountains and couldn't believe we had gotten this far. 

It would be another 33 days of riding before we reached the Atlantic Ocean.

The Day that Sucked

I woke up with the plan to have my car inspected, insured, registered and on the road to take my wife to a movie.

Instead... the inspection (required for all out-of-province vehicles) yielded several minor problems that will require fixing. Cost and time are still to be determined. Then the fire alarm went off in the theatre 4/5 of the way into the movie.

Back in Spandex

August 13, 2003, last day of my ride across Canada.

It has been three years since I last rode my road bike (not a motorbike). This morning my mom said she was going to ride her bicycle to work and I thought "hey! I should get my gear out and go with her." 

It took a while to get everything together, especially my clip-less shoes which were in a box behind boxes under the stairs. I oiled my chain. I pumped up the tires. I slipped into my sleek spandex shorts. And off we were.

The ride was just 11 kms each way, but it gave me a chance to ride by some gorgeous canola fields and test my tolerance for the tiny seat.

I'm planning to do the Tour de l'Alberta next weekend. Should be grueling (162 kms). I'm also planning to cycle to work whenever possible (gotta do all my grading and planning at the school though for that to happen) this coming school year.

Adjustment

Upon my return to Canada, I find myself marveling at how easily I am able to adjust to my new life (mind you, I'm not working yet).

The traffic is regulated by laws.
The internet is lightning fast.

The electricity doesn't blink off.
It is dead quiet at night (and mostly during the day too).

I can use my credit card everywhere - so no cash in my pockets.

DVDs can now be purchased as low as $3 in bargain bins.

I can drink beer and wine (in moderation of course).

There are no bugs in my bed.

There is hot water in the taps.

I can flush toilet paper down the toilet.

The public library offers thousands of books and hundreds of movies on loan for free.

I can check out groceries by myself at Save-On Foods.
Not having to have my guard up against theft.

The sky is huge.

There is a dishwasher in our house.

My shower has pressure.

The post office has regular and frequent hours of operation.

The radio stations offer a wide array of music and news items.

My family can call me on their first try dialing.

The local movie theatre has films in English.

We have grass on our front lawn.

The fresh fruit can be bought easily without bruises and rot.

Everything has price tags.

Now, having said that, there are a few things that I really miss about Guatemala (aside from really missing my friends).

The opportunity to build a relationship with almost everyone you buy from (from the gas jockey to the chafa salesman).

Bargaining prices down if I felt so inclined.

Not being conscious or fearful of ever getting a speeding ticket.

Cheap and tasty street food.

The gorgeous mountains and greenery.

Being able to practice my Spanish and the challenge to learn on a daily basis.

The friendliness of everyone I met.

Behold the iMac [once again]

This is my fourth Apple computer. I bought the iMac G4 (the one with the swivel screen on top of the half globe) way back in 2002. I sold it and replaced it with an iMac G5 in 2005. In 2003, I also purchased a 12" PowerBook to use at work and for travel.

Now, I have the newest iMac and wow! does it rock.

2.8 GHz Dual Core Intel Processor
2 GB of RAM
500 GB Hard Drive
Dual Layer DVD Burner
Wireless Card
24" Screen
Built in iSight camera & decent speakers
Remote control
Sleek new keyboard and mighty mouse

I could probably have made due with my G5, but with the bonus of a free iPod and printer and the incredible ease that video editing now becomes plus the fact that I can get another 3 years of Apple Care, I think it's well worth forking out the extra $1000 after selling the old one.

Blogging from my iPod

I got a new iMac after selling my old one to a friend. Because I am a teacher, Apple gave me a $100 discount, $100 towards a printer, and a new iPod Touch (same as the iPhone, but not a phone). At first I wasn't drawn to this model because it only has 8 GB, but the thing is amazing! I can surf the web, check my email, listen to music, watch videos, browse photos, check the weather, and heaps more.

So here I am blogging from the thing!

More on the iMac later.

Home; Away From Home

My final week in Tactic involved attending 6 meals at people's homes, a farewell service after church, 3 days of medical clinic where we served over 400 people, many errands and sales, and my first soccer game. Far too many feelings and occurrences to record here.

We flew in to Edmonton on Friday night with over 460 lbs of luggage. We flew over bright yellow canola fields and around thunderstorms before landing and meeting my sister and bro-in-law. As we pulled out onto the highway, bright rainbows had settled onto Leduc and Nisku.

My son turned 3 today. We left Canada when he was 2 1/2 months old.

Mr. Miguel is talking to you

Every other night I get a phone call from the owner of the greenhouses next to our house. I have this guy's number in my phone so I know before I pick up that it's him. The conversation is the same every single time:

Zaak: Good evening Miguel.
Miguel: Mr. Miguel is talking to you.
Zaak: Hi Miguel. I can lock the gate tonight.
Miguel: Can you lock the gate for me tonight?
Zaak: Yes, I can.
Miguel: Would you do me the favour?
Zaak: Certainly. Yes.
Miguel: Well, thank you.
Zaak: No problem. Good night.
Miguel: Same to you.

The funniest thing isn't only that it takes forever for this conversation to happen. It's that he talks so slow! "Le haaaaaa-bla Donnnnnnn Mi-guelllll."

Rio Dulce; Three Days

Along with these friends we took a 3-day road trip to the east. Our initial plan was to take a 6-hour gravel road, but a bridge washed out in the middle of it, so we took the 4 1/2 hour paved one.

DAY 1

On our way to Rio Dulce we stopped at the ruins in Quirigua. One of the stone carvings is portrayed on the 10 cent coin. The park is quite beautiful with a large field with massive stelas rising from the earth.



The ruins date back about 1200 years on average and they include a ball court and several ceiba (the national tree).



There is a jade museum at the entrance and this little idol reminded me of Donnie Darko's rabbit.



The ruins are just 6 km off the highway through a Dole banana plantation.



Our family stayed at the Tortugal marina and hotel right on the Rio Dulce which connects Lago Izabal and the Caribbean. It's a very inexpensive place to stay with a great restaurant. The only access is by boat taxi or on foot from town. We stayed in an isolated bungalow where the kids could run around naked.

The water is incredibly warm and there is some terrific swimming at the hotel, just not shallow water for the kids.



The Tortugal has a large library. This book was in our room (the title had me laughing all weekend) (the title has something to do with pupate state, but the book was on government). I stuck to 2006 issue of The New Yorker. Read a great article on Deep Springs College in California - very independent of thought where half the learning is on the ranch and the other half in the classroom (at the ranch).

DAY 2


We headed out to Puerto Barrios, one of the three major ports in Guatemala and the only one on the Atlantic side. We hired a boat (after some severe bargaining) to take us to Livingston and Punta de Palma.



Amber and I had been to Livingston before and there wasn't much desire to return; it's just tourist shops, drug pushers, and hair braiders. We had lunch there and hung out until the rest of our crew was ready to go to the beach.



Punta de Palma is just 10 minutes away by boat from Puerto Barrios (a gross port city), but it's a gorgeous beach with calm, warm, shallow water. The kids loved it and so did I. A real change from cold Tactic.

Day 3


The Castillo de San Felipe was built in the 1500's to protect Spanish trading posts in Lago Izabal from English and Dutch pirates. We could see the castle from our hotel. We spent our last morning of the holiday walking around the site and then hanging out on the shore of the Lake. Along the walk to the castle, we passed a cinnamon tree and an allspice tree. The leaves smelled delicious. It is a beautiful place!

Qu'est-ce que c'est?

Points for the
Person who
Pegs what is in this
Picture.

Bushwacking

On Monday morning, dudes from my church gathered together on the new church property wielding machetes. We tore through the back part of the land that descends on a creek and a spring. We had to make a path for surveyers who are coming next week to do up plans for new construction.



We killed a lot of plants. A lot. There were another dozen guys that climbed the hill before I took this photo. We cut around coffee plants and larger trees. We ran into some wild rhubarb too. The guys said it took away thirst.

Someone behind me even killed a water pipe. I got all wet in the process.



The guys kept asking me if I was tired after an hour. I wasn't tired, but my hand was sore. They would say, "it's probably your machete that 's tired," and then they would lend me their file. Despite my best efforts (which didn't include wearing gloves, because no one else was wearing gloves), I got a hand full of blisters and scratches.

from Chitzujay to Cuyquel

I've installed my last stove. The owners asked me in December to hold delivery until their new house was built (I delivered my second to last stove in May for the same reason). Their house is in Chitzujay, Cobán - up over the mountain to the north for 30 minutes of back roads.

The drive was pretty insane. I had Impact Ministries' Toyota van with the stove, Blaise, and 5 people from the family in the back. Switchbacks with washed out cement tracks on the steep parts were freakier than the cliffs.



Blaise was a real trooper. The kids loved him and he played with them really well. They gave him a green short and fat banana and some sugar cane. I got a cola.

I worked with the father to set up the stove. We had to build a 6-inch dirt platform for the stove because the stove pipe wasn't long enough to reach the high ceiling. The family is Q'eqchí and the mom doesn't speak a lick of Spanish so it took a while to explain how to care for and use the stove.



On the drive back to Tactic we could see the landmark church in Chi-Ixim to the south of us. The church towers high above our town.



Later the same day, I took Amber with me to get a photo I needed to send to a donor. From Cuyquel, we could see the same church in Chi-Ixim to the west of us.



It was nice for Amber and I to get away - thanks to Jess for looking after our napping babies. After a terribly bumpy drive that Amber had to weigh the back of the van down just to get up some climbs, we had a 20 minute walk down and up and down a street and some corn fields. The recipient family wasn't home, but I got a picture of their house construction.

Royal Solitaire or Royal Waste of Time

One of the iPod games I've bought is Royal Solitaire. It is a collection of 10 versions of solitaire card games. FreeCell (one of my life goals is to Win 25 FreeCell Games in a Row) and Klondike (the solitaire game that comes with Windows and also with the iPod) were familiar to me before, but the other eight were new.

Aces Up
Beleaguered Castle
Canfield
Freecell
Golf
Klondike
Peaks
Pyramid
Scorpion
Yukon

I picked up the iPod last weekend and played Aces Up and won. This is a very rare occurrence because the game has very little to do with skill and all to do with the cards dealt. I decided to try Beleaguered Castle and won at that too. Beleaguered Castle is even harder because most games barely permit you the first move! I then got the idea to beat all 10 games in one day, which I did.

My shame is that the game logs how much time I play and in the past 18 months, I've spent just over 80 hours playing the dumb games. Gotta interact more with people.

The Dam of Chixoy

Last weekend we drove the half hour to the hydro-electric dam in Chixoy. We brought our friends, Hector and Ericka along as they had never been either.

The road goes down and down and down into a valley. After about 20 minutes of driving in the heat we pulled up to some men walking and asked how much longer it was and they said the dam was one hour away. We gasped. Hector asked if it took an hour by car. "Oh, no, by car only 15 minutes."



The sight of the dam is quite breathtaking. It reminded me of the fortress at Helm's Deep in The Lord of the Rings. Arriving at a security gate, the guard asked us if we had permission. I asked what that meant. He said we should have asked for permission an hours round trip away from an engineer who would give us written permission to visit the dam.

We didn't have this. Hector and I were certain we could convince this man with a bit of money that we weren't going to terrorize the dam and that his supervisors wouldn't be visiting as it was a Saturday. After 15 minutes of chatting with him, no dice.

There is a road that winds up the side of the mountain next to the dam and then through the mountain in a tunnel that takes you to the other side to see the lake and the hydroelectric plant. We weren't permitted to go there.



He did let us cross the gate and hang out by the river where some boys and men were fishing for tiny fish. Hector says they are good fried with tortilla. We skipped stones and enjoyed the view of the back of the dam.

Then we went up, up and up, back home.

Anecdote

Yesterday, as I was giving Julie, a fellow missionary, a ride home in the rain, she told me that she was told one of her letters was hanging on a bulletin board outside the post office. I asked if she had gotten it yet. She hadn´t. So we went to get it.

When we arrived and the post office was closed. Sure enough, there was an envelope addressed to her stapled along with another letter to a bulletin board as an example of what a letter looks like. We ripped out the 6 staples and I took her home. It was from her pen pal and had arrived in Guatemala back in January.

Ruth, our neighbour who discovered the letter, had asked the postal worker if the person the letter was addressed to knew the letter was stapled to the bulletin board. He said yes and that she had given them permission to use it as an example.

Nice.

Concentration

We've been experiencing frequent blink power outages over the past 2 weeks. Everyday, there are two to three or more of these. My computer shuts down in a flash and then all my other gadgets power-up and I am left nursing my programs back to life.

What gets me the most is that I still forget to frequently save my files, so I often lose 15-30 minutes of work. I figure the reason is that I am so absorbed in my work that I forget to save.

We've been experiencing frequent accidents of the urine sort on our living room floor. Fortunately, they are not as frequent as the power outages. I should identify my son as the cause of these accidents so you are not disgusted with my poor sanitation abilities. He is in the midst of potty training (I give him a maximum of 6 months until he's fully trained).

The tremendous 'uriny' in all of this is that the pee accidents happen for the same reason I fail to save my documents regularly: he's concentrating on his task and forgets that he has to pee until it's too late.



His task is putting together 25-piece puzzles and he's really good at it.

He got a new puzzle today for having filled up another sheet with 35 stickers. He gets a sticker every time he pees/poops on the potty.

Justin: Photographer Extraordinaire

As I mentioned a few weeks back, my buddies Alan and Justin were here for a visit. While here, Justin took over 800 photos with his Nikon. It was great to see what he was able to see through the lens. He captured expressions of our children. He presented us with textures we daily walk by in Tactic. He gave us some sensational photographs that we could print and frame!

Check out a small selection of the photographs here and read an account of his trip here and see large versions of the photos on flickr. Amber is going to publish a blog commenting on these pictures too.



Super pics dude.

3-Dimensional Home

A while back I installed Sweet Home 3D on my iMac and I've been tinkering around with it every now and then. I've always enjoyed designing dream homes and making them as elaborate as possible, but lately, I just want something utilitarian and that is mine.

Four Bedroom
Open Kitchen-Dining-Livingroom
Patio
Office
Complete Basement Suite
Laundry and Storage Room

Of course, some luxuries are conceded:

Walk-in closet and freestanding bathtub for Amber
Floor to ceiling bookshelf for me
Recreation room with ping pong table
Tiered movie theatre

Date Night w/ Wife

Amber and I finally went out on a date, after more than a year. Children.

We took some friends along, newlyweds, to help us remember how it´s all done. Got a baby sitter (our sponsor child) (bonus) and headed to Coban to see Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Then we grabbed some coffee and pastries at a little stand in the mall.

It was good to get out, but I think it is a practice that needs practicing. We´ll be going out plenty this summer when we have all kinds of family to look after the little ones.