The Lewis Chronicles

What I have been reading....

2011-10-22T08:17:00.000-07:00

Over the last few months I have been reading a number of books on success and achievement inspired by the Malcom Gladwell's The Outliers. It has become a bit of an obsession with me as I find connections to my work as a teacher, my involvement with youth soccer as a coach and board member and as a father of two youth sport obsessed boys.

What has really struck me is how the research (admittedly all of these books reference each other and others of a similiar point of view) all brings us back to an old school belief in the value and importance of good old fashioned hard work and dedication. ...... I have written, edited, deleted and rewritten the following paragraphs and decided that I really have too much to say on this subject and at this point it all ends up as a rant so I'll leave it for you to read the books yourself and see where the ideas may apply to your own life.

On a lighter note if you liked the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo check out the following book.

Can't wait for summer

2011-07-31T14:43:00.001-07:00

The calendar says July 31 but the weather says October 31.

What happened to Spring?

2011-07-09T14:49:00.000-07:00

We are now a week into summer and after a Canada Day soccer tournament in St. Albert and several days of long neglected household chores it finally feels like we are getting a bit of a break. This is our first Saturday without soccer since we were in Mexico and it feels nice to just look at each other and ask "what are we going to do this afternoon?" without an immediate answer.

Of course the break also means we have time to notice that it is supposed to be summer and we are stuck in what has been several months of cold and wet weather. So much for our plans to head to the cabin and enjoy the lake. I can't wait for soccer!

St. Patrick's Day Mexican Style

2011-03-21T09:25:00.000-07:00

This year we are in Mexico during the week of St. Patrick's Day. In Mexico St. Patrick's day is a big deal and consists of week long festival. This goes all the way back to the Mexican-American War of 1846-1848 and the Batallón de San Patricio.

A bit of Background: The San Patricios were an army battalion in the Mexican Army made up largely of Irish immigrants (there were other nationalities as well, including Canadians) who came to the U.S to escape the Irish Potato Famine and joined the U.S. Army as a path to citizenship. During the war many of the San Patricios would face their Mexican "enemies" all week long. On Sunday, however, they would put down their guns and cross the border into Mexico to go to church and play soccer with their fellow Catholics, the very same Mexicans with whom they were at war.

Eventually, many of the Irish deserted and joined forces with Mexico. Those who did so before the war broke out were considered deserters. Those who fought for Mexico after the war broke out were defectors. When the war ended, each San Patricio was arrested and given a court martial trial. The deserters were branded on their faces with a "D." The defectors were hung in what some say is the largest mass execution in U.S. military history. To honor these brave men, whom Mexico calls heroes and the U.S. calls traitors, there are two celebrations held in parts of Mexico: Sept. 12, the anniversary of their execution, and March 17, St. Patrick's Day. http://adage.com/article/the-big-tent/mexicans-celebrate-st-patrick-s-day/125694/

Barra de Navidad is about 5 minutes away from what is commonly knows as Melaque and is a populary snowbird destination for Canadians. Melaque is actually three towns, Melaque, Villa Obregón, and San Patricio, seemlessly joined together. With St. Patrick being the patron saint of San Patricio Melaque hosts one of the biggest St. Patrick's day celebrations with nightly fireworks in the town square.

All week people we had met in Barra had asked us if we had been to the fireworks yet so we figured if we were ever to embrace Marla's Catholic roots what better time than on St. Patrick's Day in Mexico.

We arrived about 8:30 pm and the town square was buzzing with midway that would do the PGX proud and random fireworks being shot into the crowd just to add some atmosphere. I was disappointed that I had not done a little more research into the appropriate dress for the occasion as Marla obviously stood from the other women in their skinny jeans and 6 inch heels. (As I said there were moments I thought I was 16 again at the PGX) After waiting several hours which included a growing crowd staking their observation spots, Mexican dancers in costume opening the evening Mass, setting up of the fireworks tower and the St. Patrick's Day band warming up the crowd the 9:00 pm fireworks went off right on time at 11:15 pm.

The Fireworks were, as advertised, nuts! The large tower burst into light with shapesof animals and saints spinning and whistling, showering the crowd with sparks. Kids put pieces of cardboard over their heads and ran through the sparks under the structure. Things got really interesting when the fireworks began shooting into the crowd. (I am assuming this is the part that was to pay homage to the soldiers in the war.) Luckily we had taken a que from some French Canadians near us and used a Palm tree as a bit of protection as fireworks landed all around us. Just when I didn't think it was going to get any crazier the top of the tower lite up and shot a huge structure into the air with the illuminated word FINI on it. It quickly became apparent that this was not a structure meant to fizzle out in the air as it quickly descended to earth and crashed into a tree a few feet from us lighting it on fire. Ya, Crazy but in Grame's words AWESOME!!

St. Patrick's Day Band

Tribute to San Patricio

Grande Finale

Difference a Day Makes....

2011-03-13T16:33:00.000-07:00

March 12, 2011

March13, 2011

Steaming through February

2011-02-13T09:09:00.000-08:00

Wow, where did January go and when the heck is February going to be over? It seems like just last week we were taking down the Christmas tree (perhaps that is why the decorations are still piled up in the garage) and now we are starting to get organized for Mexico. February must be the least appreciated month of the year, a month to just get over with and onto brighter and warmer days. As we move through the middle of the month it is impossible to not look ahead to spring. Mexico is just around the corner, soccer for the boys will crank up, the cabin will start to thaw out and hopefully we will see some grass by Easter. At the same time we tend to ignore all that February has to offer. Basketball is winding down and we can actually see the improvement another season has brought to the boys, skiing is in full swing, a new semester has brought a fresh outlook to work (even without a prep). It is amazing when I look through our family pictures how few pictures I actually take in February. It seems like every year we skip right from Christmas to Spring Break. I would like to think that this year would be the year I slow down and enjoy every bit of time for what it is worth but in a February where we are playing soccer 6 days a week (between Marla, the boys and myself), I have just come off my prep and am in my 4 block semester, just found out I am teaching another TRU course this semester, 2 boys in basketball and Marla and Melanie trying to buy a condo in Phoenix all I can think about is that in 27 sleeps I will be on a beach in Mexico with a Margarita in my hand. Maybe next year will be February's year.

Great Day in February

Merry Christmas 2010

2010-12-22T09:51:00.000-08:00

As I sit in the glow of our Christmas tree looking out at the frost covered trees I am reminded that it is time for the 2010 Lewis Christmas letter. Of course there is also Marla buried in wrapping paper and ribbons asking me if I have done the letter yet and letting me know that I could always help with the wrapping to kick start me (It is not that I don't want to help with the wrapping she is just a lot better at it than me ;-)

With that said here it is, the Annual Lewis online mass Christmas blog posting. No friend requests, no pokes, no wallpaper, no chat, no apps, no games, just plain old fashioned Christmas Greetings.

2010 was a great year for us. Of course, as I think about what we did this year I realize it is much like the last several years, school, Sayulita, Gabriola, Purden lake, running, soccer and generally a lot of play time. While all of this does not make for a very dynamic Christmas letter, it sure is a nice life.

We had a great winter last year with lots of snow so the skiing was fantastic. We went to Smithers for Marla's birthday with the Martins and the boys fell in love with Hudson Bay Mountain. As a result, in true Lewis fashion we are going back there this year for Marla's birthday with the Martins. (We kind of follow the philosophy of if it was good once it must be good twice, or three or fours times.) Locally we are hoping to have another good year on the slopes but so far the weather is not cooperating as we need a nice dump of snow to get the PG hills in decent shape.

Snow Bunny and her boys

Casting not Catching

Of course one of the best things about last year and a winter with tons of great snow was that it was gone by the time we got back from Mexico at Spring Break. We went back to Sayulita with Marla's parents and her sister for spring break and had a great time. Yes, we stayed in the same house, ate at many of the same restaurants, occupied the same spot on the beach... hey don't judge us, if it ain't broke why fix it. And just so you know we are going to a new place this year, Barra de Navidad, so see we can mix it up.

Mexican Stand off

The Spring ended up being pretty crazy for us as it was a bunch of great times and experiences surrounded by a bunch of really crappy stuff. Along with going to Mexico, the spring was my first on the soccer board and was very busy for me and my eager assistant (Marla) which meant along with coaching several teams and running basketball at my school we were spread a little thin. We were also involved in a huge battle over school closures and a proposal to move French Immersion out of our school which would have meant the boys would have had to change schools ( we won but it left us pretty drained and bitter). At the same time JP and I got the opportunity to go to San Diego for a conference so Marla and Marnie came along and we spent a week in San Diego and had a great time. All of this meant my running season kind of died before it got started and I couldn't really afford the time to go to Boston so I decided not to do the marathon and instead go this year (and of course it filled up in record time and I missed the registration so I have to wait another year but that is a whole other posting). Let's just say when summer came we were even more ready for it than usual.

Super Fan!

We kicked off the summer with a trip to Seattle with the Martins (you will notice our pattern of staying with things that work does not just extend to places we visit but also to traveling companions) to watch a baseball and soccer game. We had an unbelievable time watching the Mariners beat the Yankees with a Grand Slam, watching the world cup final in a packed restaurant and the kids finding out we had unlimited access to the concession at the Sounders game.

Loving the cheap seats

A little more subtle than Connor

Slurpee Cup, Kamloops

The rest of the summer was basically soccer, sun and water. Graeme and Connor have both become soccer crazy over the past year. Graeme had a chance to play on a more competitive team this year and went on a few out of town tournaments while Connor become obsessed with Spain and the World Cup. As a result it seems that a lot of our time is organized around soccer but not to worry it will all pay off if Connor can follow through on his plan of playing for soccer for Barcelona and in the off season running a cake shop in Spain. (Seriously, he must get this stuff from his mother)

The weather this year was fantastic so it meant a lot of very hot days at the lake and once again we were lucky enough to have our friend Val let us use her place on Gabriola Island which we happen to hit during a heat wave.Connor even finished off the summer in style running his first 5 km with his mom in the Labour Day classic. Yes it was a very good summer!

Yes, those are star fish!

Lots and lots of skim boarding

Proud Winner

Graeme had another good cross-country season and is really doing well in basketball but he is really all about the soccer at this point.

All in all another great year with a little bit of work just to break up our sports and leisure activities. The best part is as great as 2010 was 2011 is shaping up to be even better. Even though we might not get to visit and talk to everyone as often as we would like to we do think of all of you often.

We wish you all a Merry Christmas and hope 2011 finds you healthy and happy.

Love the Lewis'

Enough Said

2010-11-02T11:09:00.000-07:00

Unloading

2010-09-21T15:02:00.000-07:00

Wow.... take a break from posting and see what happens. The reality is after a spring filled with fighting the closure of my sons' school, working through the politics of youth soccer, dealing with program cuts at my own school and coaching pretty much every waking moment of the day the last thing I could think of was even talking to people let alone blogging about what was going on. Of course despite the fact that no one actually noticed that my last post was 6 months ago I am undaunted and am forcing myself to resume posting.

Despite being in a general mental funk regarding work and the direction of society in general I had another spectacular summer focused on family and friends. This of course has only made it more difficult than ever to return to work or should I say to return to the management of schools. Teaching is great, my classes and students are great. What is already draining the life out of me is the outside noise, such as emails, planning sessions and staff meetings that seem to have little purpose and less value. Maybe it is simply a function of getting older or that my kids are getting more and more enjoyable to be around so my bitterness at things that pull me away from them is growing. On the more positive side professionally side I have taken a position within School District #13 that has been most rewarding.

On Mexican Time

2010-03-03T19:43:00.000-08:00

Few things are better than watching your kids rush out in ocean upon arrival.

Merry Christmas 2009

2009-12-12T07:13:00.000-08:00

Well, here it is mid-December again and we (and by we, Marla means I) have missed our Christmas card mailing deadline. So once again I turn to the power of the Blog (you see I really maintain it all year for this one posting that someone other than Kev, Glen and JP might actually might read). I am not sure what that actually says about myself, Kev, Glen and JP but that is a topic for another posting. Anyways here it goes, the reason you all have high speed internet, The Lewis Year in Review.

2009 has been a great year for us. We did a lot of running as a family, Marla and I did several races and both Graeme and Connor took part in their first "official" race during the labour day classic. Connor had a great race sprinting his way through the 1 km kids run and Graeme finished 8th overall in 5 km run.

Graeme and Connor had a lot of fun in soccer (Marla had an awesome time coaching Connor's team, just ask her sometime). Graeme is still playing basketball and Connor has decided he is a tennis player. Oh to be young again, when through unstructured play and the absence of scorekeeping, anyone can feel like Roger Federer or Steve Nash.
Graeme and Connor both had a fantastic year in school and have really enjoyed Grade 5 and 2 so far this year. Connor has become the "serious" student, even if he is a bit of a stalker. (We are trying to explain that making one card for your teacher is cute, making 30 is a illness.) We (and again here, by we I mean Marla) spend our time telling Graeme the get out his homework and Connor to put his away. Seriously, they are both loving school and doing great. We are continually amazed that they can speak and read in both French and English, however, we are bracing for the day they start to talk back in French and we have to go look what they said before so we can figure out how upset we should be. Marla and I has also had a great school year. Lots of the same old same old but it has been fantastic.

Of course the best part of work is holidays and 2009 was another in a string of best years ever. We returned to Sayulita and it was awesome, went back to our friend Val's place on Gabriola and it was awesome and we had a hot, hot summer at the lake and it was awesome! (If you have a chance when a heat wave hits your province make sure you are on an island somewhere.) It is actually kind of ironic that Marla and I enjoy our jobs so much but we really, really enjoy when we are not working.

The only real concern Marla and I seem to have is the pace at which time seems to be passing by. Funny how for a great part of your life you wait for time to pass to get your driver's license, finish school, get a raise etc. and then you have kids and it is like the fast forward button has been pressed. The boys are just so much fun that every year brings a little bit of sadness that they will never be that age again (not to mention that we will never be that age again). The consolation so far has been that every new year has really been better than the last so we are hoping that trend continues for a while.
With 2009 coming to a close the outlook for 2010 is looking good already. The ski season should be awesome with a ton of snow already, our holiday to Sayulita is already booked for March, Marla and I heading to Boston in April for the Boston Marathon and before you know it we will be into summer vacation. (Again, not that we don't like our jobs, we just really, really like when we are not working.)

We hope that this Christmas season finds you all healthy and happy and that 2010 is a great year for all of you. Have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Love the Lewis'

PS. If you really have some time on your hands this holiday season and would like to check out some more photos visit our flickr site here.

Raising Men

2009-10-16T10:40:00.000-07:00

With two young boys I often think about the type of men I hope they grow into. (A combination of Archie Andrews, Thomas Magnum, Bobby Orr, William Wallace and Leonardo Davinci comes to mind.) As my boys grow older it comes clearer and clearer to me that I cannot shelter my children or control their social, emotional interactions as there are just too many influences out there and eventually they will find my boys. My hope is that my wife and I have provided a set of core values that guide our children's actions and provide a framework to lean on as they navigate the murky waters of adolescence. The closest thing I can provide as a parenting strategy is the following poem by Rudyard Kipling.

If

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with wornout tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on";

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch;
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run -
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man my son!

The meaning of Minutes

2009-10-16T09:30:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I ran in the Kelowna marathon. This was the culminating race of my running season and I was aiming to run a personal best time beating my previous 3:19 mark.

It was a chilly day, -10C, in Kelowna which made for a cold start but ended up being very nice to run in. My plan was to set out on a 3:10 pace and see what I had left in the last 10 kms for a push to 3:06. I had a great race and held a steady 3:10 pace for 30kms but when I looked for another gear at around 32kms it just wasn't there. I was still happy as I was cruising on my 3:10 pace and feeling good. At the 40 km mark things went sideways as the course kind of disappeared and we were sent down a wrong road and ended up running over a 1/2 km too far. I finally crossed the finish line in 3:15, which I was very happy with, but I was confused as to what had happened since I was on pace for 3:10 right up to the last 2 kms.

In the end there were several problem with the course, including the two leading runners getting lost on the course and having to drop out. Since the race the running discussion boards are filled with some very upset people, especially those who missed their Boston Marathon qualifying time by seconds. As a result the organizers are looking at trying to adjust people's times to reflect the extra distance run. Read about the issues here.

This has gotten me thinking about how powerful things in print can be. I must admit, I would like them to adjust my "official" time to reflect that there was a screw-up but really whatever they do will be a rough estimate that I could do myself. So why do I care if they change it? I can probably do a better estimation myself so why can't I just tell people that I was around 3:10 or 3:11 and leave it at that? Why does that feel like cheating but if they change it in print it feels more legitimate even though I know that no matter what is done the time will not be a true marathon time. It is weird that after running for 3+ hours a few minutes would make a difference. I am happy with a 3:15 time but I am also disappointed that my finish line to finish line race was compromised after months of matching kms to seconds. I am more disapointed that it actually matters to me.

For race results click here.

Update:
I have just received an email that my time has been adjusted according to IAAF standards and my "official" time is now 3:12:30. After all is said and done it is somewhat less satisfying knowing that it was the result of some calculator work and not speed work but I'll take it.

Poking and Proding

2009-10-03T08:58:00.000-07:00

I was recently asked to speak to the teachers at South Kamloops Secondary School about "what I do" in the classroom. Now "what I do" is nothing new or particularly unique. It is not even stuff that lots of other teachers aren't already doing. So why would I be asked to speak? Good question, the best answer is that the principal is a friend of mine and he knows I can talk on and on about educational practice and theory once I get going.

Originally I was asked to do a "short" session for the staff. This quickly turned in "Oh by the way, we've set aside the whole day for you". I must admit when I found out that I was expected to be the entire day's pro-d for the staff of a large very accomplished school I was a little anxious. Not nervous or afraid I couldn't fill the time, like I said I can talk and talk and talk, but I thought about how I would react to listening to some guy I didn't know talk at me for an entire day on "what he does". Considering that I am`a fairly harsh critic of poorly done pro-d this concerned me.

With the help of some friends, over beers in Barkerville but that is another post, I designed what I thought was a pretty solid mix of personal testimony, educational theory, professional reflection, practical examples and hands on activities. I had a mix of digital material to illustrate and entertain, I had samples of student work, I had templates and highlighters and discussion material and inspirational quotes and examples of research. It was all coming together.

Upon arriving at South Kam I walked into the library and to my horror looked upon a tiny overhead screen with rows upon rows of chairs set up in a lecture style arrangement. No speaker's table or podium just a space in front of the chairs for me to stand and talk. Ok, this would be a challenge but I was used to rolling with the punches as if you learn anything as a teacher it is nothing ever goes according to plan. I hooked up my computer to the projector they provided, it didn't work, so soomeone quickly went to retrieve a new projector. Again, no panic, if you present enough you are used to these small glitches. I tried to hook up my laptop but no wireless and the ethernet cord they had was too short. No problem, I could do without the internet it would just remove some of the more dynamic elements of my plan. Once the new projector arrived the same helpful person ran off to find me a longer cord. Excellent, I am back on for internet use. The new cord arrived and I quickly discover no connection and no one knew the proxy settings. Internet back off unless I use one of their laptops so I quickly transfer my files. Teachers are now arriving and it is time to start and my plan is already unravelling.

We all know as teachers once class starts you can't sweat the samll stuff as you just have to get on with things. I must admit despite the challenges of the seating and technology arrangements I started off on fire. Nice intro, good jokes, it was a tight 20 mins, of course the first session was an hour and a half. During my intro it also became clear that using the laptop, which was attached to a pedestal like tower with the projector, would require me to turn my back on the audience every time I used it. When I did bring something up the screen it was so small that you couldn't really see it anyways so I decided to abandon much of the visual element of my presentation. No problem, I could talk them through the examples and get to the first activity, an exercise in developing common language and understanding. When I turn it over to the staff they were fantastic. They dove into the exercise and generated some great discussion but it also become clear to me that some of my other activities were going to be very awkward without tables to spread out material and work on. No problem it was coffee and I had time 15 minutes to adjust.

During coffee I quickly revamped the order of my presentation, cutting out the examining school practices activity in order to get straight into reflecting on classroom practices. No problem, this was a solid midstream adjustment.

Well, what happens when you zig? Someone zags. Once we started up again I asked for any questions or comments and the rest of plan went out the window. People began asking very specific questions related to my classroom practices and school structures. People seemed to want to know how "it worked". As a result the next hour and half saw me lay my educational soul bare to be examined by a bunch of strangers.

Lunch finally came and I was really exhausted from what was for me a very mentally active morning. After lunch I was scheduled to do an hour session on using technology to end of the day. This is something I have done dozens of times for many different schools but once again I was faced with the fact that the tech and room issues were essentially going to result in me "talking to" the group about using technology with very few examples and no opportunity for hands-on. I waded in and did the best I could to try and give some practical applications for technology but by this time I was really tired of talking so I imagine they were really tired of hearing me talk. The staff, however, was great and at least feinted interest well.

People have asked how the day went I really can't answer that. I wouldn't say it was bad but it wasn't anywhere near what I wanted it to be either. It was a surreal experience to spend hours taking about your individual educational ideals and practices and be questioned on them. I take pride in the fact that I could provide answers and I hope that at a minimum the staff at South Kam saw me as a person who has thought about what and why his classroom is the way it is.

I would like to thank the staff at South Kamloops as they were an unbelievable audience, much better than I could have been sitting and listening for that long. My friend always brags to me about how great his school and his staff are and he is right their professionalism and passion is obvious as I hope was mine.

By the way, a little advice. Never facilitate and entire day of pro-d and then immediately get in your car and drive 6 hours by yourself. There is just way too much time for reflection.

Mirror Image

2009-08-07T08:45:00.001-07:00

Admit it we are fascinated by look a likes, why else would that Cher impersonator turn up so many places, seriously not that many people are into Cher. While some people resemble others there are some that are freakishly similar. Take Andy Roddick and Stiffler (Seann William Scott). I actually have a hard time separating the two they look so similar. The entire time I watched the Wimbleton final this year I kept watching for Roger Federrer to throw out a comment about Stifler’s mom to throw Roddick off his game.

Then there is the just the plane old creepy morphing into the same person. Like Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson or Dianna Ross or Farrah Fawcett. Yes, Farrah Fawcett! Seriously check it out, the bone structure, the hair, the eyes and they both mysteriously die on the same day, coincidence??? Makes you wonder if Michael was lightening his skin or if Farrah was darkening hers. The proof will be if Ryan O’neal becomes involved in the custody case for the Jackson 3 (Paris, Prince and the little Tito).

I know we have all wondered either secretly or aloud who we look like, hoping that people see a link to the Brad Pitts and Christy Brinkleys (I don’t care how old she is she is still hot) of the world. As for myself here are some of the people I have been told I look like, I’ll let you be the judge.

What I am reading

2009-07-28T11:20:00.001-07:00

I am now on holidays looking for a good book and it is tough as I have recently had a good run of interesting reads.

Once a Runner is the legendary running novel by John L Parker and a must read for runners. First published in 1978 Parker sold it out of the back of his car at races from which it gained a cult following and critical praise . It was just republished this year so I grabbed a copy and was not disappointed. Once a runner is an enjoyable bit of fiction and a motivating read for anyone interested in running. It was pretty cool to get a glimpse into the psyche of the 70s running scene as Parker himself was an accomplished runner and sprinkles his book with real world characters, especially those from the hardcore the South Florida running community.

The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon by David Grann recounts the tale of Percy Fawcett, the renowned explorer who went missing in 1925 while searching for the mythical city of El Dorado. Percy Fawcett is an interesting character and really the last of a dying bread of old school explorers (Apparently Indiana Jones was inspired by Fawcett so he is Ok in my book). The book describes Fawcett’s legendary ability to survive in the jungle and his dogged determination to explore the Amazon while also recounting the many failed attempts over the last century to discover what actually happened to Fawcett and his two companions. Grann provides a great deal of insight into Fawcett, as he gained access to private family documents, as well as an interesting bit of background into the Amazon. Grann keeps the story moving and you constantly find yourself amazed that Fawcett survived as many expeditions as he did. A great story of exploration and mystery that leaves you thinking that there is still more out there to discover.

Born To Run by Christopher McDougall is one part anthropological study of the Taraumara of Mexico, one part fitness self-help manual, one part human anatomy lesson all tied together by the crazy characters and culture of extreme endurance running. I enjoyed this book much more than I anticipated as McDougall keeps the story moving by focusing on the interesting array of characters he meets while trying to unlock the mystery of pain free running. Yes, I know it sound like an incredibly lame premise for a book but it really becomes quite an interesting story of self-discovery and the limits of human endurance while keeping a sense of humour and never getting bogged down with spiritual, soul searching rhetoric.

I have now switched to some fiction and have started Elephant Song by Wilbur Smith. My wife says it is was one her favourite novels so it seems like a good beach book.

1st Rant of Summer

2009-07-24T14:33:00.000-07:00

My family and I have officially hit the road for a trip down to Gabriola Island to kick off our "vacation" portion of our holidays. As we stopped off at my parents house on the way I sat down to relax, read the paper and clear my mind of projects, household chores, schedules and appointments. With a clear and unburdened mind it suddenly hit me as I read about the new harmonized tax to be introduced in BC.

I @#$#%&! hate business. Not the average Joe trying to provide a service or product and make a buck but the business that our government talks about benefiting from every new policy that screws over the consumer. The type of business that seems to think you are a lesser human being if you are an employee. The type of business that thinks that gouges in the good times and then wants concessions in the bad times.

I mean come on, we are in the worst economic downturn in nearly a century and our government decides this is a good time to increase consumer taxes through the HST because it will provide some saving to businesses. I am sure that is a nice consolation to the guy who just lost his job at the mill. The upside is he really won't be affected by having to pay an extra 12% next time he is out for dinner since he doesn't have any money to eat out anyways.

Here's an idea to help businesses, reduce consumer taxes to encourage me to spend more.

My wife and I play the game. We went to university so we could get good jobs, we bought a house, buy RRSPs, pay into our pension, pay our bills on time and shop local when we can. However, as we are faced with dropping real estate values, disappearing investments and a pension plan that most likely is a mirage our government decides it is a good time to nail us with some more taxes to help support "business" through some hard times.

I would simply like a little more effort put into solutions to help business that don't include Gordo sticking his hands in my pockets.

Ahhhh....... Summer

2009-07-14T14:49:00.000-07:00

Well, I find myself midway through the third week of a ten week summer and I am almost done my summer projects (at least the must do ones) to go along with a steady diet of food, drink and socializing. The best part is that we really haven't even started what we would consider our holidays, we just haven't been working. It has been so relaxing that I really don't have anything to write about but in the effort to at least keeping the appearance of this blog being up to date I thought I should post something. So below are a couple of pictures of one of our cabin squirrels doing his best humming bird impression and then testing out the guarantee on my father-in-law's squirrel proof bird feeder.

They do say the darndest things

2009-04-12T20:10:00.000-07:00

So it was my son's birthday the other day and he decided he didn't want a birthday party just a special day with one special friend. My wife and I thought Score! Less work and organization for us, which when it comes to children's birthdays is really the prime consideration. When we asked him who he wanted to bring he responds with the name of a girl in his class that he has gone to school with since pre-school. Now this girl is one of his best friends so it makes sense but of course all my wife and I can think is how do we explain to her parents that our 7 yr old son wants to take their daughter on a birthday date. With this in mind we try and convince him that it would be good to maybe take one other friend. It takes a little while but finally he agrees and lets us know that he'll invite one more person, another girl. Now, don't get me wrong, there is a little bit of fatherly pride that my son is apparently a ladies man (that is how I am choosing to interpret the situation) but my wife and I can also see this situation getting more awkward as we really do not know this other girl's parents and they might not be OK with the Hugh Heffner style birthday my son is arranging for himself. Being the good parents we are we then use the Jedi mind trick to convince him that maybe it would be better to just have a special day with one friend.

Anyways, the day comes and my wife takes my son on his date/birthday and everything goes fantastic. Now when you have two boys you get used to constant poking, prodding, jumping, throwing in search of the inner alpha male. So the dynamic of a boy and girl together was quite interesting. The two of them had a great time and the whole experience was quite mellow as they both were much more cooperative than competitive. However, the classic moment, and the reason for this entire post was the conversation between my wife and the kids at dinner.

My son's friend turns to my wife and said "Do you know he is the funniest person on earth?" My wife, thinking that goofball and funny are apparently the same thing in grade one, replied that no she was not aware that he was the "funniest person on earth". With this my son's friend turned to him and asked "How do always know the perfect time to be funny?" My son, in a very serious tone, responded with "Well, you know, when I was born I wasn't sure I knew when, but then one day I just realized that I had it."

Now if you don't have a 7 year old you might not get this but it is pretty neat when you realize that while your child may not actually be "the funniest person on earth" you do enjoy spending time with them more than anyone else on earth.

Our Nation's Capital

2009-04-12T19:40:00.000-07:00

I recently spent a week in Ottawa at an educational conference and unlike our leaders the capital city did not disappoint. I have been looking forward to visiting Ottawa for many years but for some reason I have not been able to convince my wife that Ottawa in March can be as nice as Mexico, just different. So when my school asked if anyone was interested in attending a conference in Ottawa being a dedicated educational professional I jumped at the opportunity.

The history of the city, the educational, cultural and historical attractions and just being in the middle of the workings of our government was pretty cool, not to mention there is an Irish pub every block. Ottawa is definitely a place that every Canadian should visit if only to see where many of our tax dollars go and that bilingualism might not have been such a bad idea. However, perhaps the best example of Ottawa as a government town is the fact that they built their hockey arena 18 miles from downtown in a different city (Kanata). It might have been a 45 minute bus ride but at least the Senators won, they even took it to a shootout so we got our money's worth.

Not only was the trip a great personal experience and one more thing to scratch off my life list, it also did fire me up a great deal as a teacher. Sure the conference was fine but being a social studies teacher and getting to visit the Parliament buildings, the War Museum and the Museum of Civilization my mind was racing with new ideas for my classes. I have also decided that when I grow up I really want to be a Senator.

Viva Mexico!

2009-03-14T15:26:00.000-07:00

We are back in Sayulita for spring break this year and despite our fear that the recent "discovery" of this little village by mainstream travellers might have spoiled it things are as fabulous as ever. The food is fatastic, the beach uncrowded, the Pacifico cold and plentiful and the people as friendly as ever. Of course this year, I have seen more woman sporting the notorious "armband" tatoo than ever before in my life. (Just a tip ladies, as stupid as the armband looks on men it really looks bad on women. If you want really want to feel like Pamela Anderson do yourself a favour and stick to the fake boobs and the sex tape.)

I think the best thing about this year is how much the boys are into it, especially the ocean. They have always had a great time but this year they are into the whole experience beyond just being on vacation in a neat place with a pool. The above photo was taken less than an hour after we had arrived and even though we had been up for about 14 hours and had not eaten in 4 the boys needed to hit the ocean before we could do anything else. Since then it is usually the boys urging us to get to the beach in the morning so they can hit the waves. The other day I sat on the shore and watched Connor float on his stomach for about and hour just letting waves crash him around. I think watching them enjoy it so much is even more important to me than what kind of experience I am having (which is awesome by the way). It is amazing how quickly we can slip into a routine of killing time between margaritas and meals and it has nothing to do with the fact that it was -40 at home earlier in the week, really it doesn't.

To check out some pictures of our Sayulita Spring Break click here

A Good Read, A Good Lesson

2009-02-28T08:20:00.001-08:00

I have just finished reading Three Cups of Tea, the story of ex-mountaineer Greg Mortenson building schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and recommend it to anyone who is looking for something to read over spring break. It does a nice job of introducing the reader to the complexities of tribal politics in northern Asia, while also emphasizing the impact one individual can have if they put their own ego aside and "just get after it". While Greg Mortenson is obviously an extraordinary individual he is also a person with whom the reader can relate and will often prompt the reader (at least he did with me) to ask themselves what might happen if we could all just follow a vision of action driven by respect and caring for others. Of course being oblivious to the impossibility of a task and simply soldiering along also seems helpful.

Being an educator I was particularly interested in the book's message about the value of education in promoting peace and fighting poverty and oppression. It was both inspiring and frustrating to read about how much importance was put on simply putting dedicated teachers in front of youth who saw education as way to improve not only their own lives but the lives of future generations. The planning of Mortenson's Central Asia Institute is focused on how to get resources to students and teachers who are assembled in open fields, deserts, mountain valleys, back alleys and cramped basements trying to create some type of classroom environment. Meanwhile here in the "developed" world education is taken so much for granted that most of our planning meetings revolve around how to deal with chronic non-attendance.

Mortenson does not come across as a rebel or a man driven by a need to buck the system so Three Cups of Tea never comes across as one of these "I took on the establishment and won" stories. Moretenson is definitely not a "Crazy Joe Clark", instead he is simply a person who recognized a need and continually takes small steps toward meeting that need. The most powerful part of the story is the way Mortenson goes about his work always seeking the advice of those he is trying to help and creating a process that was respectful of traditions and cultural values.

Didn't we all really know?

2009-01-16T18:12:00.000-08:00

Well, who would of ever have thought that a British guy, dressed up like a British gal singing about things that really made no sense (what exactly does Karma Chameleon mean anyways) would turn out to be a bit off. Yes, that's right Boy George seems to have run afoul of the law for holding a male escort captive (OK, that is not all that surprising) and beating him with a metal chain. Apparently decades of prancing around in a dress and large hat leaves a guy with some unresolved issues. I think this really falls under the category of if it walks like a duck......

By the way Prince still rules! (Old Prince of course not that symbol crap)

Pissing Match!?

2009-01-11T10:43:00.000-08:00

What the hell is going on with the Ice Oval!

For over nine years a fantastic group of volunteers have been maintaining the Ice Oval and thousands of users have enjoyed what had become a real jewel in our community. Going to the ice oval had really become one of the highlights of the winter season, especially for families. It was a fantastic facility with everyone from toddlers taking their first steps on blades to adults trying to get re-oriented after years off skates to recreational skaters trying get in some exercise to school groups to hockey players to serious speed skaters all enjoying the fresh air and great ice. Sure at times the ice was congested and people would have to be on their toes watching out for others but that is more a testament to what an important and valuable facility the ice oval had become. The oval was a winter activity people could count on. It was well maintained, always open (depending on weather of course) and free. In a northern community it is important to have winter activities that are affordable and accessible for families and everyday citizens to stay active and healthy through the dark winter months and the ice oval filled a valuable need in our city.

So my question again is what the hell has happened!

Last year the Ice Oval Society asked the city for some land (and money I believe) to move and improve the oval. This to me was a no brainer as why wouldn't we support these amazing volunteers who provide such a fantastic service. Well, the society received what they wanted and the changes to oval were made and now it is January 11th and the ice oval remains closed. I have spoken personally to dozens of people who, especially over Christmas, have shown up to the oval expecting to skate as they have done for nearly a decade only to find the gates locked. Some of the closure has been blamed on weather (too much snow, too cold, cracking ice) but we have had a lot worse conditions in the past and the oval has been open. The main issue seems to be a pissing match between the city and the Ice Oval Society about user groups. Last year there happened to be an ugly incident between an adult speed skater and a 15 yr old hockey player. So of course now we need to have hours of operation for different user groups, they have taken the hockey area out of the centre of the oval, they need to hire security and restrict the hours the oval is open. Hmmmm, let me see 9 years, thousands of users, one incident. Ya, sounds like we had a real problem there. I guess we will not have to worry about and incidents this year as there are no users. As someone who loved the oval and truly respected the job done by the volunteers I now really pissed off that any of my tax dollars have gone into this situation. I will gladly pay more to have the oval open and accessible but if it is going to become a speed skating only oval with other user groups being severely restricted then I say shut it down. Hey, if the problem is the kids playing hockey in the middle crossing the ice and spilling out into the oval then flood an area next to the oval so they don't have to cross the ice.

I don't know who is to blame and I am sure there are issues that need to be addressed but as Dick Voneugen, longtime volunteer and founding father of the oval, said in the paper the other day, "for nine years we’ve been freezing ice and when it was ready, we skated, and what has changed?”

The Guilt of Relaxation

2009-01-04T09:30:00.000-08:00

As I lie on the couch enjoying my morning coffee on the last Sunday of Christmas vacation I realize that the last couple of days has brought on a stirring of uneasiness. At first I couldn't figure out what it could be as it has been a wonderful and relaxing holiday and then it dawned on me. It is the nagging sense that I have accomplished virtually nothing during the last 14 days. I have a stack of marking sitting in my office, the new project for my socials class is still just an idea in the back of my head, the painting of the basement will have to wait for the summer (maybe), even the 10 minute repair of some caulking in the bathroom is still left undone (I did, however, buy the caulking so I am halfway there on that one). I had such grand plans (Ok, they weren't grand but they were at least some ideas of how to get a few left over projects completed). Nothing has come to fruition and as work approaches I have the sense that I have just dicked away 14 valuable down days.

Then last night I started to take a little inventory of the holiday which included several days skiiing with my family, many dinners and drinks with family and friends, hockey, skating, swimming, walks, sledding, squash, gym time, reading, playing games and every morning spending hours having coffee and reading the paper with my wife and I realize the break has been filled with accomplishments far more valuable than if the hole in the basement wall has been filled (OK, I really do need to get on that one). The problem is not with what I have been doing, or not doing, it is with the fact that my relaxation is sometimes filled with guilt when I am not checking things off some mental to-do list. My lesson learned this holiday, next break I need to set my expectations lower and work harder to meet them. With that said, as usual it has been an awesome Christmas and now I have to get busy and get some stuff done, I only have a day left.

Christmas Greetings

2008-12-10T21:46:00.001-08:00

Well, the tree is up, my gift wrapping ability has been questioned and Marla and Connor are fighting over the electric blanket so it must be time for our annual Christmas greeting (Of course trying to cover up that once again we have not been organized enough to get out Christmas cards in time.)

It has been a great year for us. Coming off another awesome summer (see Summer Recap post) the fall has flown by. Connor is grade one and enjoying being a full-time student, or at least he is enjoying having lunch and recess with more time to play. Graeme is having a fantastic start to grade four. I think getting letter grades has really motivated him as he was pretty proud of his report card this year. Interesting, that even at that early age students are motivated by the mark but that is a topic for another post. He has the same teacher he had for grade three and is really enjoying it. Marla and I were both involved in volleyball again this year, which is always rewarding but makes for a busy fall, especially after getting used to the slow pace of summer. Graeme is playing basketball again this year and has become quite a player. I guess I am going to have to learn a little more about the intricacies of the game as it looks like I will be coaching it for quite a while.

We are really looking forward to the Christmas break and getting out and doing some skiing. Marla missed out last year with her knee surgery so she is anxious to get out and see the progress the boys have made. Of course, we are hoping it warms up a bit here as it is a little cold out to consider anything other than curling up by the fire, which has its upside as well. While we are enjoying some fun in the snow, we are heading back to Sayulita this year for spring break so it is hard to keep from looking ahead. I must admit I do spend a far amount of time checking out the newest Sayulita photos on Flickr during these cold days.

As I write this I realize, as I am sure you do as you read it, that our family seems to follow familiar patterns. I attribute it to the fact that our life is great and why change something if it isn't broke. Of course, it might also be that we are incredibly boring and lack adventure and spontaneity. I am going with the life is great theory.

We really do appreciate everything in our life and that especially includes our family and friends. We hope the holidays find all of you well and provide a well deserved break and some time to spend with family and friends.

Love the Lewis'

The Email Challenge

2008-11-29T08:11:00.000-08:00

There was a time in the dark ages, the period before Napster (the first Napster, not the subscription sell out version we have today), when the world was introduced to email and our heads spun with the limitless communication possibilities it held. How could it be that we could actually send a message and communicated in nearly real time to people all over the world for free? No longer would we be slaves to the postal service and the phone companies. No more birthday cards lost in your car for months because you didn't have a stamp on you. No more watching the clock while you talked to Gramma because the call was costing you a second mortgage. This was a new world where we would stay in contact with friends and family like they were living next door. We could become more efficient and productive as email would streamline our workplace communication. Imagine the time we would gain as email freed us from walking around and having to talk to people individually. Now we could make a mail list and send out a memo to as many people as we wanted. We were giddy as we thought of the great things we could accomplish with this gift of reclaimed time that email would give us.

Now as we are into the second decade of commercial, global email we have become slaves to email, not using it for meaningful exchanges with those people distant but important to us. Instead, we spend our days shifting through mailboxes stuffed with messages from the person down the hall (who you haven't actually spoke to in months, I think his name is Pat, or maybe that is the lady in the room downstairs). The vast majority of theses messages don't actually apply to you but you haven't been taken off the 45 person mail list created 3 years ago so you not only get the original message but then 44 other messages from people replying with things like "Ok", "Thanks" or "Sounds, good". Then of course there is the very hilarious "forwarded" messages from people you have never met but they somehow intercepted a message with your email address on it and thought that you would enjoy the dancing monkey with the erection (OK, that was actually a good one). By this time you haven't even began to deal with the 14 messages questioning your manhood, girth and stamina (not mine of course, I don't get those, its like they know) and the 12 more messages pleading for financial assistance or offering you a chance at a guaranteed millions (if only these people could get together). By the time we have sorted through all of these messages we don't actually have any time or energy to read, let alone respond to the messages from people you care about. Then just as you are about to close your mailbox up pops a new message introducing a new workplace policy that seems to counter the last memo on the same subject and confuses and angers you so know you have to spend the next half hour figuring out what the hell is going on only to find out that the message was sent in error by some one new who didn't know a previous email had gone out a day earlier on the same subject by the guy in the next office. It is about this time that we begin to wish that email would just disappear so.........

I am challenging you all to take back your in boxes and free yourselves from the bonds of meaningless email.

For one week:

Do not email anyone within a 5 minute walking distance or yourself (just go talk to them).
Do not respond to an email unless it specifically asks you a question.
Do not send a email as a way to avoid talking with someone.
Do not send an email that you know will upset someone (if you are going to piss someone off have the courtesy to do it in person).
Do not forward any email to an address that you cannot identify.
Do not read any messages from an address you cannot identify (just delete them don't let your curiosity get to you)
If you are part of a mail list that you don't want to be email the sender and ask to be removed.
Check your own mail lists to ensure accuracy
Send at least one email to someone meaningful in your life with whom you have lost contact with (even better call them if you can).
Do not spend more time on your email in a day then you do talking to someone who is important to you.

Boston Bound

2008-10-13T08:46:00.000-07:00

Well I did it! In Kelowna yesterday I ran the marathon in 3:19:20 and qualified for the 2010 Boston Marathon which will take place two weeks after my 40th birthday. I have always wanted to visit Boston but have never had a reason. So at the start of the summer I decided I would try and qualify for the Boston Marathon and that would give me reason enough for a visit. The only catch was I had never run a marathon before. After a trial run in Edmonton in which I had pacing issues which lead to cramping and missing the time by 6 minutes I ran a smarter race in Kelowna on a fairly punishing, hilly course. I know it is a nice accomplishment just to finish the marathon but I must admit that making the time for Boston gives me some extra satisfaction and seems like a really nice way to spend my 40th birthday.

Summer Recap

2008-08-27T08:42:00.000-07:00

It has been a while between postings here at the Lewis Chronicles so I thought I better give a little update on a summer filled with travel, relaxation and recreation.

This summer marked the first official summer back from the admin/management ranks of education and after a year back in the classroom I can firmly say I made the right decision. One day I may right a book about the experience but I think it is enough to say here that I am glad I had the experience but even more pleased that it is over.

The summer began with the hottest Canada day weekend in several years and we played, ate, drank and swam (not necessarily in that order) at the lake. It was the perfect way to kick off the holidays after a very cold spring.

One of the highlights of the summer was going back to Gabriola Island to stay at my friends place on the ocean. We had a week of perfect weather and filled our days with walks to the beach, playing in the sand (OK, the boys played and my wife and I napped), and eating. It was a great week just hanging out together with no phone calls, email or any other of the distractions that are so much part of our daily life.

From Gabriola we were back in town for a few days before we headed out to our annual family vacation at McLeese Lake. It was another great time with my wife's family and the boys had a great time playing with their cousins.

After Mcleese lake we headed straight to Kamloops for a week to visit grandparents and soccer camp for the boys. The weather was, as usual, incredibly hot and the boys had a great time at soccer in the mornings and visiting in the afternoons.

After Kamloops we were back home again for a week to mow the lawn and get in a little lake time before I headed to Edmonton to compete in my first Marathon. I had just decided while on Gabriola Island to enter Edmonton as a tune up for the Kelowna marathon on October. I have set a goal of running a 3:15 time in Kelowna to qualify for the Boston Marathon and I hoped that I might even make the standard in Edmonton if I had a good day. Well, for most of the race I had a good day but struggled over the last 10 kms and missed my time by 10 mins. It was a good experience and I learned a little about pacing (tip: don't try and stick with the leaders for the first half of the race when you have never ran that distance before) for Kelowna.

After Edmonton we could start to see work looming in the distance as I had to go in for a few days to run a summer camp and my wife goes in for a few days early to register kids. I did, however, manage to sneak out to the Babine river with a good friend of mine for a little Salmon fishing. There is really not too many things cooler than standing in a pristine river with Salmon rising all around you waiting for one to hit.

Yes, it is tough finding time for all the recreational activities, BBQs, travel and down time. If only we had one more week ;-)

Great Day!

2008-04-09T19:28:00.001-07:00

What could be better than skiing with your best friend on your birthday.

No Mas, No Mas

2008-03-20T16:23:00.000-07:00

I tried my hand at surfing today, taking advantage of the full-moon surf and the small crowds on the beach. After all if you are going to flail away in the ocean it's nice to have as few witnesses as possible. Anyways, I thought I was fairly well prepared having watched a video on u-tube demonstrating proper technique and spending the last several days intently studying the surfers while I drank my beer. Sure people have mentioned that I might want to try a lesson but come on I snowboard, ski, skate, boogie board, waterski, rollerblade, pretty much any sort of balance sport other than surfing I have given a go so how hard could it be. Well as the photos below illustrate perhaps a lesson wouldn't hurt.

See how carefully I study the surf break. The guy on U-Tube said this was essential for a successful surf experience and something many beginners don't take enough time to do.

Ahhhh....... here I am wading out my weapon firmly in hand ready to do battle with the Posiden and his minions.

Looking good paddling out, confident, nice form, possibly a high point of the whole experience right here.

Yes, just like I had visualized on the beach, spot the swell, feel rise, paddle for the break.....

Houston we have a problem! I am not sure what went wrong I just know that it kept going wrong over and over and over. Apparently when people say you should try a lesson they are not always full of crap. Either that or I had a faulty board, which at this point I haven't entirely ruled out as some 11 year old girl was beside me and she seemed to have no problem getting up so obviously there was some equipment issues.

Of course, at least I would be able to stand proud in front of my boys having shown them that the only true failure comes in never trying. That was until I saw the photos of their reaction to my surfing, I think they missed the lesson.

Troncones Daycare

2008-03-17T16:32:00.001-07:00

Well we arrived in Troncones to find a secluded little paradise. It is incredible the lack of people on this little strip of beach and how amazing the sand and surf is. We are just down the beach from Troncones at Manzanillo Bay and it feels like our own private resort with only a handful of other people around. As you can see it is quite a task to keep an eye on the kids among the throngs of beach goers. The people have very friendly and our house is amazing. I think it took the boys at least 2 minutes upon our arrival to jump in the pool and since they have spent more time in the water, either the pool or the ocean, than on land. There are several top notch restaurants literally within yards of our place and I am on my second batch of margaritas this afternoon so what could be better. The best thing is really we are only on day three and I am just beginning to move into relaxation mode.

Heading South

2008-03-13T12:24:00.000-07:00

Well, we are a few hours away from beginning our journey south to Mexico for spring break. I am done teaching for the day and despite having several things I should be doing I am staring at the clock willing it to hurry up. As excited as I may be the boys were just crazy this morning they are so excited. I must admit it makes the effort and expense even easier to take when you see how much they enjoy it. The sun, surf and Pacificos help as well. I can't believe that it is actually spring break already, it seems like Christmas was just a couple weeks ago. Perhaps there really is something to the old adage "time flies when you are having fun" as we have been having just a great year.

I am not sure what the internet connectivity in our place will be like but if I can find a connection I will posting some vacation pictures at http://www.flickr.com/photos/kinglewy Because I know everyone really enjoys other people's vacation pictures.

If you have any spring break pictures to share send a comment with the link as we would love to see them.

Adios

Fight the Borg!

2008-02-07T18:52:00.000-08:00

Today my oldest son brought home a questionnaire from his school's Parent Advisory Committee indicating that they are looking into school uniforms and asking what we, the parents, thought. Here is my response:

I would like to express my vehement opposition to the idea of school uniforms!

School, by its very nature, is already an institution of conformity where individuality is at odds with the need for order and process. A student’s need for self-expression, while valued, often must be put aside to ensure we are: lined up straight, colouring within the lines, not pushing or shoving, not running in the halls, quiet when working, not looking out the window, putting our hand up, using blue ink not purple and sitting quietly (unless it is discussion time then you must have something to say). While we accept the many rules and processes of school as necessary in providing a safe and functional learning environment for our children I have to ask what is the purpose of school uniforms.

If the reason is that parents are feeling pressured by their children to buy them the latest in-style fashions? I say don’t put in a school uniform because you can’t, or won’t, say no to your children. If the reason is that some children feel left out because they can’t afford, or their parents won’t buy them, the latest LuLu Lemon hoodie or Nike shoes? I say we should be educating our children to look past the superficial while acknowledging that we live in a world that some people will have more material goods than others. We don’t teach students to value what is on the inside by pretending that everybody is equal on the outside.

I work at a school which has the most diverse student populations in our city. We have students who can’t afford food and their clothing reflects that poverty to some of the wealthiest and most affluent children who have never wanted for anything in life. One of the things you learn quickly in our school is that there is an understanding, tolerance and respect for one another that comes not from all dressing alike but from working together and looking past the clothing on each other’s back to the person inside.

Clothing is a basic human right and one of the most important methods of self-expression for youth and you are asking me to allow an arbitrary group the right to dictate how my children dress. I am sorry but to this I must say NO! Diversity is a great thing and something which our children should grow to honour, respect and appreciate. The world, our city, our province does not all look alike, dress alike or act alike so how do we expect our children to look beyond the superficial if we take the easy road and hide our differences. In addition, if this does go forward to an open meeting I will be organizing a formal opposition to this motion.

Merry Christmas 2007

2007-12-22T17:29:00.000-08:00

Hello and Merry Christmas,

Well it is a couple days before Christmas and Marla has been gently reminding me that "we" have yet to compose a holiday greeting to all of our family and friends. My defence has been that a message always has a greater impact the closer to the event it is received. However, that seems to be wearing thin so I've made a trade, she wraps, I write.

We've had a great 2007. On the the school front, Connor started kindergarten and is really into the whole school thing. He is a very serious student often giving Graeme advice about being prepared and following directions. Who would have thought that Connor was going to be the rule follower out of the two. I guess he just takes after his Dad in that respect. Graeme is having an awesome school year as well. We are continually amazed to watch his development as it seems everyday he is learning something knew and developing more and more independence. Marla is still counseling and got back into coaching volleyball this year with a coworker. I am back in the classroom teaching after quitting my admin job and it has been great. The downside is I am working much too hard but the upside is I am actually doing stuff I enjoy, except for marking. I HATE MARKING!

Graeme decided not to play hockey this year and is playing basketball instead. He's been enjoying it and there's no 6 am basketball practices so that is a big plus. I thought I might even get a break from coaching since I have never played basketball but funny it didn't seem to work out like that. Both Graeme and Connor are also getting big into soccer playing outdoor and indoor this year. Marla and I ran a few running races this summer and had a great time. Marla has actually been really good about running right into the winter while I have pretty much shut down since the snow came. Marla is still playing volleyball but will need to take some time off as she just had major knee surgery this week. The doctor says 6 weeks on crutches but Marla figures she will be good to go after Christmas. She calls it optimism, I call it stubbornness.

We are heading back to Mexico again this year at spring break but instead of Sayulita we are heading to Tronconnes. Sayulita, the last two years, has been fantastic but the price of things has gone crazy so on the advice of some friends we are going to head to Tronconnes. Shouldn't be too tough of an adjustment as they have all the essentials, a beach and cold Pacifico. Really, we are not too particular about time off as it seems like the boys are at the ages that regardless of what we do or where we go we have a great time. It will be the last year we have a two week spring break for awhile so we felt we better take advantage of it.

Life has been good for the Lewis' and we hope this Christmas season finds all of our friends and family in good health and good spirits. While we may not always be the best at keeping up with all of you we would like you to know that we think of you often and value you as part of our lives.

Happy Holidays,

Love the Lewis'

Swimming up Stream (or is it sitting in the shallows)

2007-10-20T09:18:00.000-07:00

Oh ya, once again my traditional ways have outlasted the trends as I opened the paper today to see an article about people turning away from Facebook. (You can read the entire article here.) Well, I am glad to say that just like my resistance to acid wash in the 80's my reluctance to be trendy has served me well. As you can see on July 20th of this year I posted the same complaints with Facebook on this very blog. Now, I just have to wait for this whole tattoo thing to blow and my pasty white, ink free skin will become the hottest thing since desert boots.

A month and a half in

2007-10-19T05:43:00.000-07:00

Well, it's mid October and I am a month and a half back into my new old career again. Since I have gone back to the classroom from admin people are always asking me how it is going and really the only answer I have been able to give is FANTASTIC! It's great to feel like I'm working in education again as opposed to managing the behaviour of children and adults who chose to act like children. My only real regret is that I agonized over the decision when I knew in my heart it was the right thing for me to do. it has been a great experience to see my school, students and staff from the classroom and compare it to my perspective from the office. I must say, the view is definitely better from the classroom. However, the best part of my career change come not at work but at home when I sit around the dinner table with my family and we discuss how our days went. Instead of being frustrated about discipline cases, mind-numbing supervision, or mundane scheduling tasks I tell my sons about the neat lesson we did in class or the goofy thing some grade 11 did. My sons get to see me enjoying school as a place of learning and social interaction. Sure there are still frustrations but they are now sidebars in my day surrounded by learning. I don't regret my time in admin as I believe it has made me a better educator by giving me a broader perspective and it has definitely allowed me to return my focus to the classroom instead of looking out and wondering what else there is.

Me and Jacques

2007-09-28T18:57:00.001-07:00

So I found out last night that Jacques Demers would be visiting my school this afternoon with the Minister of Education to support a new literacy initiative in B.C. Of Course being a big Montreal Canadiens fan and having grown up watching Jacques Demers coach in the NHL I quickly talked to my principal and "invited" my class to the presentation. It was great to shake hands and get a photo with the man who pulled off the greatest coaching move in Stanley Cup history when in 1993 he called the illegal stick penalty on Marty McSorley of the Los Angeles Kings during game 2 of the finals.

First Day of School

2007-09-04T18:12:00.000-07:00

Well so starts another school year. This year is a special one, however, as I returned to the classroom but more importantly our youngest son started kindergarten. It is hard for my wife to imagine that both our little boys are in school and that daycare drop off and pick up is no longer part of our daily routine. The boys had a great first day, as did my wife and I, and we are off on a new stage of life. We can only hope this one is as fun as the last.

Cause it feels good!

2007-08-19T10:13:00.001-07:00

Over the years much has been said and written about the Mac vs PC debate. I could go on and on about the benefits and shortcomings of each platform here and certainly you would not see anything you haven't read elsewhere ad nauseam and almost certainly it wouldn't change your mind as to your preference. Most times the choice to go with a Mac or a PC boils down to what you have used in the past and are familiar with and/or how good a previous experience you have had with a particular brand. For my own part I have flipped back and forth using friends PCs or Macs, whatever was available at 2 in the morning as I was scrambling to get and assignment done for a 8 am deadline, during my early university days. My first computer purchase was a PC. Despite the fact that I had always preferred the "feel" of the MAC I was seduced by the compatibility and the lower price of the PC, plus my dad could get me a bunch of free software from his work. This was pre-internet days and really after university was finished I did not had a whole lot of use for a computer other than wasting a few hours every once in a while on Civilization. When I started teaching several years later the school I was at had a few old Macs and I had a chance to reacquaint myself with the platform. As the new iMacs came out and the price came down I decided to go with a Mac the next time I bought a computer, plus I also could get a bunch of free software from work. I have been very happy with my iMac and it is still being used by my kids. During the time I had this machine the internet exploded and the ease and functionality of Mac's iLife products really won me over. Then a couple years ago I changed jobs and was also back at university taking my master's. I needed a laptop and despite being very happy with my iMac and iBook I decided to by a PC laptop. The job I was taking and the school I was at used PCs so I decided to go with compatibility, plus I could get free software for the PC from my new school. The laptop has been a good machine and despite a few maintenance issues, thank god for extended warranties, it has preformed very well. I have found that with a little searching I can find applications to do what iLife did for me and I have enjoyed not having to worry about compatibility issues. Back on the Mac side, the other day a friend of mine lent me his MacBook for a few days. I must say, even though I am preforming the same task as on my PC laptop I am enjoying the look and feel of the Mac once again. As I was playing around making a website with iWeb it dawned on me, why use a Mac? Because it feels good and in this day and age isn't that enough. Everywhere we turn we are confronted with death and destruction, global warming, rising costs, decay of the family unit, unwinnable wars ........ so if we are going to be inundated with email for Viagra and the next can't miss stock option shouldn't we at least enjoy it. My PC has some life left in it but when the time comes I may just break from my tradition of following free software and go with what feels good.

Island Life

2007-08-09T13:02:00.000-07:00

Well my family and I have been lucky enough to spend the week at my friend Val's place on Gabriola Island. I have never been on any of the Gulf Islands and I find myself asking what the hell have I been doing? It is quite spectacular here, not to mention Val's place is located on Killer Whale Lookout, how cool, and you actually look right out on the ocean from the living room. It made it a little distracting, however, to try and watch a movie last night as my wife and I kept looking out the window to watch the Otter's play on the rocks.

Dark Rider

2007-07-24T10:14:00.000-07:00

Well Connor succumbed to the pressure of his cousins this weekend and took off his training wheels. Of course in typical Connor fashion he found it necessary to where his ninja tights, Zoro cape and brandish his double swords just in case he came across any bad guys.

Facebook Shmacebook

2007-07-20T08:43:00.000-07:00

Alright my wife is now a part of the Facebook nation so I took a look to see what it is all about. I have to say I don't see myself facebooking any time soon. The idea of people "poking" me, messages about people's moods filling my screen, receiving emails alerting me to the fact that someone has left me a message on Facebook and generally calling people friends that I had little or nothing to do with in the real world is just too much pressure for me. Now some people may find my attitude towards Facebook surprising considering the fact that I have a blog I regularly update and share thousands of pictures on Flickr. However, the difference to me is that I really don't care if people access those sites or not. I mean I put things out there in the hope that friends and family who would like to keep up with the activity of our family can feel better connected but the whole point is I don't have the time or interest in communicating with everyone individually. The few times I have looked at my wife's Facebook page I get the distinct sensation of a phone that just will not quit ringing and my head begins to hurt. Now don't get me wrong I have no problem with people who are into Facebook. I just find it kinda interesting that people feel the need to "force" their messages onto others but won't actually just send someone and email. It is great if people get a chance to reconnect to people from their past, however, just a caution sometimes you find out there is a reason you lost contact with those people. Now I am not sure if anyone will read this or not as I don't know if anyone visits this blog and nor do I care I feel better just for writing it. Now I must give up the computer as my wife wants to check her Facebook.

The Pressure of Summer

2007-07-20T08:41:00.000-07:00

Well, we are heading into the third week of summer and it seems like time is flying by. I can't believe how little it feels like I have accomplished but at the same time it doesn't feel like I have slipped into my vacation routine yet and I beginning to get a little anxious. Now I know people out there who are not teachers are rolling their eyes and mentally wrapping their hands around my neck for whining about how fast three weeks go when we still have another five of holidays ahead of us but trust me the pressure is enormous. I mean I have a mental list of jobs around the house and cabin that I want to get completed plus I have a stack of books to read, a bunch of hobbies to get a kick start on, an exercise routine to begin, places to visit and explore around BC, family to visit, dinner parties, BBQs, kids summer camps. There just never seems enough time and the list just keeps going so I am sure you can see having the summer off is not as easy as it seems. In fact just writing about it has got me wound up. I think I better have another cup of coffee, before I go for a run and begin loading the truck for the lake.

The Graduate

2007-06-27T18:30:00.000-07:00

Hard to believe that my little boy is already a pre-school graduate. If it wasn't for my youthful appearance I would start to think I was getting old.

Story Time

2007-06-03T07:58:00.000-07:00

Never to young to be read to, Graeme reads a story to his brother and cousin.

Finally a Lewis is published

2007-06-01T08:14:00.001-07:00

In speaking with my son's grade 2 teacher it seems as if Graeme, in place of doing his math work, decided to write the following story about a boy who eats his math book. Well instead of getting in trouble his teacher thought it was quite funny and has published it in the yearbook.

Le garçon qui aime less livres

Il y a un garçon qui aime manger des livres.
Cela a commence quand il fait ses maths.
Il ne sait pas bien les maths, alors il mange
page de maths. Après, il mange une
grosse, grosse phrase, et après ça, il mange
tout un livre. Mais toutes les pages du livre
se sont mélangées dans son estomac. Il était
triste parce que quand il parle, il dit :
« Ba +He +Ke + 7 = eliblablabla. »

Graeme Lewis

La fin

A New Old Direction

2007-05-26T10:16:00.000-07:00

Well as another school year comes to an end I am preparing for a shift in my career direction again. I have resigned from my administration position and I am heading back to where I started, the classroom teaching social studies. I decided earlier this year that after years of university education gaining my Bachelor of Education and Master of Educational Technology degrees that I had strayed too far from the education side of schooling and too close to the management side. It has been a tough year in many respects as I struggled with the decision to quit, I am sure Marla would share with you how annoying I was as I worked through everything in my mind. While I am very excited, happy and proud of my decision it did not come easy. In a society that values promotion and views success as how much money a person makes it is easy to let your ego drive decisions. However, the more I examined the reasons that I went into education in the first place the more I realized I had moved farther and farther from those reasons over the last two years. Clarity was really brought to the situation when my son asked me one night at dinner as we talked about our day "How many kids did you suspend today dad?" I thought back to the days when I was teaching and he used to hang out with me in my classroom on the weekends as I was prepping for lessons and decided I liked the idea of my children knowing me as a teacher better than as an administrator. Besides, as I told Marla, it is hard to reconcile an ideology of "screw the man and his stupid rules" with actually being "the man". I am looking forward to next year as I have decided to remain at PGSS and will have an opportunity to get back to what I love, teaching social studies. Who knows what the future will bring but for know I can rest easy in the knowledge that I got in on my own terms and I am going out on my own terms.

Air Mexico

2007-04-10T11:11:00.000-07:00

My son and I went on a little zip line adventure in the hills of Sayulita. Here he is flying across the third zip line. You can tell by his very cool "good" at the end of the clip that he figures he is an old hand at this jungle flying.

The office memo that ate the world

2007-04-09T12:39:00.000-07:00

Have you ever noticed how the convience of email and the ability to communicate with family and friends from all around the world quickly and cheaply has been turned into nothing more than a glorified office memo. Personally I work in a position with just enough authority that people feel it necessary to cc me on pretty much every friggin email they can conjure up. Everything from, the city informing god knows who about the city facitilites that have been booked for the upcoming week to parents asking for homework for their children to messages to the custodians complaining the waste paper basket still has a piece of scrap paper in it from the previous day. What is worse than getting all of the mundane messages that actually pertain to you...? It is getting cc'd in on mundane messages that don't pertain to you and in most cases relate to people or events that you don't have a clue about. Now one could argue that my recieveing these messages should be taken as a clue that I should actually get invlolved and try and figure out how they do involve me. I rather take them as a challenge in creating mail rules that will allow my junk mail filter to block them. On top of getting all of these messages is the fact that we get sucked into using your email account for nothing more than work related crap. While we constantly lament the lack of time we have to keep in contact with people important to us and how our busy lives leave us with little motivation to send out those christmas cards from last December we always seem to have time to send out the latest email to our colleagues clarifiying the previous email that was sent as an explaination of the instructions to the original email. When our total misuse of this great technology truely hits you is when you go on vacation like I have this week. During a typical work day I will receive approxiamtely 175 messages a day. While I have been on holiday that number has dropped to 4 a day with three of those having to do with ways to improve my manhood but that is a different post. Why do you ask am I writing about this, well I think we should take back control of our email accounts and refuse to read or send work related messages after 7 pm. If you have something to say at that time you should go talk to your family and leave the work stuff for the morning. I also think we need to quit the ccing. If the message is not important enough to the person to warrant them to be included in the addressees then they don't need it sent to them. They are probably not reading it anyway so save yourself the trouble. Most importantly, use your email for what it should be, a powerful way to stay in contact with those people who are important to you. That is all I have to say about that. now to get back to those emails about my manhood.

camera man

2007-04-07T12:19:00.001-07:00

camera man
Originally uploaded by kinglewy.

I recently gave my older son a cheap little digital camera and he has taken to photography. He has already graduated to a little better model with a zoom. It is great to see him laying on the ground or climbing on the rocks to try and get the shot he wants. It is even better to look at the photos after and get a little glimpse into how he sees the world. This shot is of him taking pictures of the Iguanas in Sayulita. To see his pictures of our spring break in Sayulita click http://www.flickr.com/photos/kinglewy/sets/72157600044177141/

Anticipation......

2007-03-29T11:24:00.000-07:00

Well, we are only 2 sleeps away from being on the beach sipping Pacifico in Sayulita and everyone is getting pretty excited. We have had an awesome winter but it will be great to sit back, unplug the phone and email and read a few books while enjoying the sun. I wonder how Connor is going to react when he figures out we didn't pack his "warmy" pants and gum boots. Current weather in Sayulita 32 degrees.

Choirboy

2007-03-10T09:10:00.000-08:00

Footage of my son in his first choir recital. Ok, it is pretty boring stuff unless you are related but then again isn't that what blogs are all about.

4 yr old career counseling

2007-02-24T09:54:00.000-08:00

Do you ever notice that kid are much more interesting than adults. My 4 yr old son was driving with my wife the other day and a song was playing that included the line "Would you be the saviour of the broken?" My son asked my wife what a saviour was and she explained to him that it was a person who helped people. He asked if they helped homeless, sick and poor people and wife told him yes. My son then thought for a while and said that he would like to be a saviour when he grew up. My wife told him that would be a great idea as it is very important to help people. He then remained quiet for quite a while and my wife could see him in the rear view mirror deep in thought. After a few minutes my son said he had a problem because he wanted to be a saviour but he also wanted to be a Ninja and it is hard to be two things. In fact, he also wanted to be Batman so that would be hard and he would have to think about it because he would like to help poor people and homeless people or people who were lost in long grass because you know people who are in long grass get scared because they can't see were to go. He thought he might have to talk to his brother to see what he thinks so it should be interesting to see where this goes. I'm just glad my wife wasn't listening to If I had a Rocket Launcher.

The Iceman Cometh

2007-02-24T09:51:00.000-08:00

Well, a couple of weeks ago my wife and I joined another couple and decided to throw a team in the Iceman competition. The Iceman is a unique northern athletic event that consists of an 8 km cross-country ski, 10 km run, 5 K skate, 5 km run and an 800 m swim. It is a fantastic event that really brings together the community. We had a great time even if we were not the most prepared team. We are looking forward to next year and we may just even do a little training beforehand.

Missing Mexico

2007-01-21T09:56:00.000-08:00

As we are deep into winter and looking forward to heading back to Sayulita in April I thought I put together some shots from last year. A warning, this is pretty boring stuff except for the boys who can watch themselves over and over and over and over ...

Bubbalicious

2007-01-21T09:47:00.000-08:00

Ok, this is cool and don't lie you would all like to give it a try.

Pass the Prozac

2007-01-16T14:08:00.000-08:00

Ever wonder why you sometimes get that sinking feeling or the people around you seem a little gloomy and on edge. After a century of living the good life, scarfing down fast food, driving gas guzzling muscle cars, building houses, resorts, bridges and generally shaping the land and taking from it anything we chose we are now facing the global hangover of a 100 year party. How is this reflected in our moods? Look no further than our entertainment choices in recent years. While in the 80's and 90's we could unwind with Crocket and Tubbs for a hour as they chased drug smugglers and bikini clad babes around Miami now we tune into some guy who decides to eat MacDonald's for a month straight and point out how we are slowly killing ourselves through a lack of nutrition and overindulgence. We used to tune in weekly to the Dukes of Hazard to see if just maybe Daisy Dukes shorts would ride up that extra quarter inch. Now we tune into Michael Moore's latest shockumentary to see how corporate America is pillaging our communities, or how the president fixed the election, or how or culture is turning young people into killers. Take your pick they all follow pretty much the same story line, we're f****ed. Gone are the feel good days of Richie, Fonzie, Potsie and the gang. Today we are stuck with Franky, Bubbles and the rest of the Trailer Park Boys. No wonder we are a little down. Universal health care is under siege, the education system is in need of reform, nightly we watch highlights of wars we cannot win, we don't recycle enough, we spend too much, our children are too fat and stupid, our pension plans will be bankrupt before we can claim them. If you do happen to feel good about your life then you have pangs of guilt about not being concerned enough about the future. All I can say it is a good thing I had the foresight to tape then entire last season of Magnum PI so that whenever I get that sinking feeling I put on my Tigers cap and take a little trip back in time.

An Inconvenient Truth

2007-01-07T19:00:00.000-08:00

Well my wife and I finally got around to watching the Al Gore film An Inconvenient Truth and I must say it was time well spent. At first I was not really all that sold on the idea of watching a film with a "moral" message from the right hand man of a president who thought of his secretary as a cigar holder or whose wife had petitioned so vehemently against those icons of my youth Judas Priest. However, to my surprise film was very entertaining and educational. Al Gore comes across earnestly and without the air of a past vice-president just milking the post administration pay check. The film uses just enough science to be convincing and informative without making the viewer thing he his watching a re-run of the Nature of Things. Overall the film delivers a compelling call to arms for all of us, especially in North America, to get off our butts and start taking care of the land the has so efficiently looked after us before it is too late. Of course, the downside is that I am now filled with guilt every time my furnace kicks in and when my kids start to complain about the cold I find myself lecturing them about how cold it is going to be when we bring about the next ice age.

What are we doing in education??

2006-12-31T09:32:00.000-08:00

This month Time magazine has proclaimed "you" to be their person of the year for the role each and every one of us is playing in the transformation of the world wide web from an information repository to an interactive global community. Time calls the growing community of bloggers, podcasters and videographers a revolution with sites such as blogger, youtube and myspace attracting millions of subscribers and daily hit counts in the hundreds of millions.

Meanwhile in education we seem to be stuck in a debate around how much access we allow students, how we can best monitor and restrict their internet access and what is the best way to get music to play over the entire length of a powerpoint. While we lament funding cuts and grouse about the apathy of today's students and how they are just not interested in things we turn our backs on the many resources that are at our fingertips thanks to the growth of the read/write web. How many teachers do you know who are accessing the hundreds of soldiers blogs from Iraq or Afghanistan. How about using webcams to link up with other classes around the world or access one of the thousands of virtual fieldtrips from places like NASA and the San Diego Zoo. How about taking advantage of the price drop in digital cameras and designing lessons that put them in the hands of their students or encouraging students to create videos or podcasts. How many teachers have their students publish to the web and seek feedback from people with no vested interest other than having an opinion. Don't get me wrong I don't think it is the teachers' faults. I think it is a result of working in a system that has long been a dispenser of knowledge. In this environment information is to be given out in small, controlled doses so that progress can be measured and standards maintained, or created, in a sort of chicken and egg scenario.

While one to one laptops initiatives are seen to be cutting edge in the education world and have school districts all around North America scrambling to try and remortgage our children's' educational future so we can provide them with shiny new computers with no real sense of how they will be used. Perhaps school districts should take a closer look at why the large number of students who actually have their own laptops are not bringing them to school or using them in their classes. Maybe it is because students are not allowed to text message in class, MSN is banned, assignments are not online, email is blocked, wireless access is not provided and internet resources are not part of the lesson plans. The reality is that I do not need the school system to buy my children a laptop or monitor their online activity, I will do that. What I do need is a system that encourages rich learning activities that take advantage of the power, simplicity and creativity of a vibrant online community.

Everybody seems to get the power of the read/write internet and more so they are simply going online. Teenagers chatting about the latest episode of the OC, preteens creating online pets on www.tamagotchi.com, parents sharing the latest pictures of their kids and grandparents video chatting with their grandchildren. Everybody seems to be tapping into the power of the internet and molding it to their own purpose so what are we waiting for in education. Jump in, explore, play its OK, we might just learn something along with the students. In education we keep investing in infrastructure and hardware asking ourselves is this revolutionizing education yet. What we really should be doing is looking to the kids and the online community to see what we can take advantage of before the revolution runs right over us.

Anyways, this is a little deep for Christmas vacation but if you want to read a position paper I wrote about technology not being just a tool feel free to download it here. Not Just a Tool

Click here for the Time magazine cover story Cover Story

Happy Holidays

2006-12-23T10:40:00.000-08:00

Well, the holidays have begun and it is sure nice to pause and take a deep breath after what has seemed like a hectic start to the school year. It is hard to believe that it is already December 23rd. Somehow I don't really feel as prepared for Christmas as I should be but the decorations are up, the presents are under the tree, the eggnog is chilling in the fridge and The Flintstones Christmas Caroll is on TV so maybe we do have it under control.

2006 has been a good year for us. We had a fantastic time in Sayulita, Mexico at spring break with my Mom, Dad and Cyndi and Scott. I know you are all dying to see some photos so feel free to click Sayulita. In fact we liked it so much we are heading back this spring break with Marla's family and some friends. I must admit despite years of putting her off Marla is starting win me over to this whole just lying on the beach thing. Of course 70 cent Pacificos don't hurt either. We had a great summer with hot weather and many sunny days at the lake with family and friends. Graeme thinks he is a tubing god and Connor has realized that if you fall off in the middle of the lake you actually won't drown. Connor also caught his first fish this summer and, in fact, skunked Graeme and I on several occasions.

Marla is back at College Heights this year and is enjoying her second year as she starts to feel more at home at a new school and enjoys the people she works with. She does, however, secretly wear wear Duchess Park t-shirts under her clothes sometimes so I don't think the black and gold has been completely exercised. I am also back at PGSS this year doing the VP thing . It is nice to not be the new guy and at least have the students spell my name right when they decorate the bathroom stall. Graeme is enjoying grade 2 and we are amazed with the amount of French he is picking up. Of course I am impressed by anyone who can count to 10 in French as my grasp of the language ends with "tenir le premier rôle ce soir d'abord des canadiens de Montréal" Connor is in his second year of pre-school and is loving it. He is really ready to go to kindergarten, however, he has stated that he does not want to go to Graeme's school because all they do there is work. You know what task masters those primary teachers can be. Graeme has started hockey this year which also means I am coaching hockey. He started out a little reluctant but is really enjoying it as his skating has improved and he feels more confident about stopping. He is excited about January as he starts power skating and he likes the ideas of just skating and not having to use pucks so I guess we still have a little ways to go before we have to worry about having the next Sidney Crosby on our hands. Graeme and Connor both completed another level of swimming lessons this fall and they are both really becoming good swimmers and they sure love the water. Surprisingly, unlike their mother, they do not need the water to be 85 degrees before they get in.

We hope all of you have a great Christmas and a Happy Holidays! Know that while we not always be the best at keeping up with people we think of our friends and family often.

Love The Lewis'

Master of Educational Technology

2006-12-02T12:29:00.000-08:00

Well, after 40 straight months of course work I am finally finished my master's program at UBC. It has been a long haul but also very interesting and rewarding. I am glad I took the route I did as the course work was of interest to me and the online environment allowed me keep some balance between school, work and family life. It will be very strange to not have any readings or assignments hanging over my head and I am sure it will take me a while to stop thinking about course work even though there isn't any. The real downside is that I guess I no longer have an excuse to put off the bathroom renovation I have been working on for a year.

Introducing.....

2006-11-04T20:32:00.000-08:00

Jake Robert Bilbrough our 1st nephew and the boys' 1st cousin. A cute little fellow hey, must take after his uncle.

Winter is Upon Us

2006-11-04T15:08:00.000-08:00

Sure it looks more like a snowshmoo than a snowman but it is the first one of the season so let the winter fun begin.

Superheros and Ghouls

2006-11-01T19:38:00.000-08:00

Some things just make you smile.

Greatest Classic Rock of All Time

2006-09-25T20:53:00.000-07:00

I started thinking of the greatest songs of all time. You know those songs that you first heard decades ago and still are among your favorites. They may not necessarily be the songs you listen to everyday but no matter how many times you hear them you just have to turn up the volume and sing along. I just started the list and if you have any songs you think should make the cut let me know and I'll decide if they are worthy.

Save the Internet

2006-08-18T21:15:00.000-07:00

Enough Said!!

Salmon Virgin

2006-08-17T15:22:00.000-07:00

Here I am with the first Salmon I have ever caught. I have wanted to go Salmon fishing for many many years but I guess it is a function of living in such a great fishing area that you sometimes take it for granted and I just never have gotten around to going. Well this weekend my buddy called me up and said there was room in his father-in-law's trailer if I wanted jump in with them. Well, what an awesome couple of days. The weather was great and the fishing spectacular. We saw some grizzlies, had some laughs as caught a bunch of fish, what could be better. If you want to see some more pictures go to Fish Eye

Beach Start

2006-08-09T09:52:00.000-07:00

At a family renuion this last weekend my wife's family gathered on the beach in anticipation of a spectacular wipeout as I attempted my first waterski in 13 years.

Renos

2006-08-03T10:15:00.000-07:00

Funny how priorities change. A few years ago I would have been excited about buying a new bike or a golf club or something similiar. Now I am excited because we just got a new roof, windows and furnace for our house. Of course new roof means we have to paint the house and new windows means new blinds and .......

Don't feed the animals!!

2006-07-30T13:34:00.000-07:00

Going against the best advice of parents everwhere here are my two boys feeding a squirrel at our cabin.

What's on the iPod Today

2006-07-18T09:47:00.000-07:00

Universal Health Care

2006-07-11T18:02:00.000-07:00

I came across an article in the newspaper the other day about how British Columbia is looking for ways to recoup some of the health care costs incurred by tourists as they visit BC. While we are very proud as Canadians of our universal health care system, apparently the fact that tourists are getting sick or injured while in our country is putting a strain on our medical resources. I guess the fact that we have thousands of Americans crossing the border in charter busses to buy prescription drugs is less of a problem than someone twisting an ankle on the West Coast Trail but that is another post.

Anyways, this article got me thinking about my experience as a tourist and needing to access another countries health care system. While in Mexico this spring break my 3 year old son came down with a high fever and complained of severe pain in his neck and ear. The town we were staying in had no hospital and my wife and I having no vehicle and speaking little Spanish were extremely anxious. As my mother went in search of a local to inquire as to the nearest hospital she returned with a gentleman who not only told us the nearest hospital was just up the highway but also insisted on lending us his vehicle to get there. When we arrived at the hospital we found no one who spoke English but instead of being frustrated with our lack of Spanish one of the people behind the desk went into the street and came back with a man who spoke a little English to help translate for us. Once in the examination room a doctor came in, again speaking no English, and was extremely patient as he attempted to diagnose the problem. Once he thought he had narrowed the problem down he brought in a pediatric specialist who conferred and assisted. Once they had the problem properly diagnosed as a parasite they gave us a prescription and made an appointment for us to return in three days for a follow up before we flew home. To say the least the generosity and caring of the Mexican people put us at rest and we are truly appreciative of the care my son received.

The interesting thing is that at no time did they ever ask for health care, insurance information or payment of any kind. I guess as medical professionals they simply saw a person in need of care so they did what they have been trained to do. Maybe we should be encouraging people to visit Mexico instead of B.C. if we are worried about the rising health care costs of tourists.

Birdie Watching

2006-06-29T08:03:00.000-07:00

Twilight Green Fees Jasper Park Lodge = $120
Last room in Tonquin Lodge = $175
Refreshments at the 10th hole = $50
Hitting one long putt for birdie in the splendor of the Rockie Mountains = Priceless

Public Out Cry

2006-05-21T07:57:00.000-07:00

It is interesting to me the things that the public gets all fired up about. In my hometown the papers have been filled with letters and articles discussing city council's decision to ban RV's from camping overnight in parking lots. This debate has been going on for about a year, since WalMart came to town and the campground owners took exception to people staying overnight in the WalMart parking lot. At that time council told WalMart that they would have to erect signs informing people they could not camp in parking lots as it is against city bylaws. This apparently was not good enough for the campground owners as this spring they put pressure on city council to start enforcing those bylaws. City council responded with a strategy that would see tickets issued to offending boondockers. Well, boy did the RV world react. Apparently, our town was instantly blacklisted by the RV world as emails swirled informing the geriatric gypsies of the black hearted city council that would not let them enjoy the spacious and scenic accommodations of a WalMart parking lot. Letters flooded into the paper filled with outrage at the shortsighted city council. How could they let all of these valuable tourist dollars escape our grasp. Well, city council did what any responsible political entity would do, they immediately reversed their decision.

What makes this interesting to me is the time, effort and emotion devoted to this issue. It is similiar to the furor created when the Hockey Fights were coming to town. One would have thought that the Prime Minister was visiting for all of the media attention and public opinion it generated. What is sad is that our town, like many, has other issues that people should get involved with and deserve the public's involvement. Growing drug use and meth addiction among our children, teenage prostitution, expanding slums, increased homeless population and the list goes on. However, sadly many of these issues get much less attention or ever generate the public interest and involvement that the can apparently be generated by telling a tourist driving a $100,000 RV that he will have to pay $15 for a campsite can. The good news is that if we can just get city council to pick up the tab for a few tents maybe our homeless can stay at WalMart.

Back at Ya.

2006-04-17T20:45:00.000-07:00

On my buddy Kevin's blog, The Long Road, he posted a video of himself carving a few turns on Sun Peaks so I thought it was my turn.

Oh Ya, We're in Good Hands!

2006-04-15T17:34:00.000-07:00

Our new saviour, Stephen Harper, who vows to clean up government and have a more transparent government has just come out with his ingenious three point plan for winning back the faith of Canadians. Apparently, the problem as Steve O sees it is those ministers who embarrass or contradict the government in public. So for those ministers who do not goose step in line with the conservative party plan Harper says they can expect 1) public humiliation, 2) to be banned from official trips and 3) to be kicked out of cabinet. It sure puts my mind at ease to know that if my representative in government speaks out on behalf of his constituents he will be "publicly humiliated". As one minister has said the message is clear "So stick to the party line, or you'll go out there and tell the whole world that you're a dumb (jerk) who screwed up." WOW, I can feel my faith in government growing even as I write this. With this sort of open dialogue and innovative thinking being encouraged at the highest levels of government I am sure we will soon have solutions to problems in health care, education and social services. I guess the only positive thing is that we can all feel a lot closer to our ministers as now they are truly like us, being told what to do and to shut up and take it from a leader who was elected by less than a third of the Canadian people.

Microsoft Creativity

2006-04-15T15:26:00.000-07:00

Check this video out showing Microsoft, once again at their creative best, stealing from MAC.

Old Video

2006-04-06T18:45:00.000-07:00

I am playing around with embedding video and this is a video I made for my wife on our 5th anniversary. As we approach year 8 I still like looking back on it and it amazes me how things just keeping better as we share our lif together.

Tasty Waves

2006-03-18T14:42:00.000-08:00

Here I am working hard for those waves. It's a tough job but someone has to do it.

Watching the Break

2006-03-17T09:01:00.000-08:00

No worries

2006-03-17T08:59:00.000-08:00

Surf Rider

2006-03-14T13:57:00.000-08:00

This is a picture of my buddy who is also on the Sky to Sea to Sky adventure and I had to post the greatest picture ever taken of him. I bow to you oh rider of the waves.

.... and on to the sea!

2006-03-14T13:08:00.000-08:00

Oh ya, phase 2 of the Sky to Sea to Sky adventure is well under way. We arrived in Sayulita, Mexico a few days ago and life is fine. With lots of surf and sun, the days are spent gathering on the beach, watching the kids play and trying to master the intricacies of the boogie board. No phone, no t.v., just the waves, some good books, lots of Pacifico and a hijacked wireless signal. There is really something therapeutic about sitting on your couch, reading a book and looking out the patio doors at the ocean wondering when the muffin lady is coming by. Well it is time to find the shrimp man and see what the boats brought in. Hmmm.... life is good.

Old School

2006-03-05T15:42:00.000-08:00

J.P. throwin down a little 80's backscratcher action.

Tree Hugger

2006-03-05T15:40:00.000-08:00

Here I am coming out of the trees at Sun Peaks, having a blast.

Party Bus

2006-03-05T15:36:00.000-08:00

Paul ripping it up at Sun Peaks.

Sky to Sea to Sky Adventure Begins

2006-03-05T09:13:00.000-08:00

Well spring break is quickly approaching and our family is heading of to Mexico for two weeks. Everyone is very excited and it just so happens that the little fishing village that we are going to is going to be hosting numerous families from our home town. However, before we can get too serious about the sun and sand myself and two friends had to deal with a little sun and snow. Three glorious days of skiing with a great group of students from the school we work at was just the thing to kick start our sky to sea to sky adventure. The next month will see us carving up some powder on top of the world to pounding the surf on the pacific coast to returning to the best spring snow in the world. With leg one of the journey under our belts we just have to pause for a few days of work before heading for the beach. Knock on wood that the rest of our adventure is as successful as this first leg.

High Diver

2006-03-01T09:54:00.000-08:00

Some great diving and the first time off the high board. All was going well until the belly flop.

Ski Buddies

2006-02-15T09:41:00.000-08:00

A great day at the hill and the start of many more to come.

Post Op

2006-02-09T09:49:00.000-08:00

Mommy and son after he has had his tonsils and adnoids removed.

First Christmas Performance

2005-12-20T09:45:00.000-08:00

My boy getting some words of encourgagement before his pre-school christmas concert.

Christmas 2005

2005-12-01T09:43:00.000-08:00

A great day in November walking by the river to get a picture for our christmas card this year.

Morning Person??

2005-10-02T08:49:00.000-07:00

My son is now in grade 1 so he has a little longer days at school and has to get up early each morning to get ready. Neither of the boys like to go to bed and they both seem to only have the ability to get up before 7am if it is a weekend.

So they other day in an attempt to get my son up I had gone into his room and turned on the light. When this only promted him to pull the covers over his head I went over to him and gave him a big hug. At this point he stuck his head out from the covers and told me. "Dad, do you know that parents are sometimes a little annoying to kids in the morning?"

Dynamic Duo

2005-05-06T17:32:00.000-07:00

This is a picture of my boys on my youngest's 3rd birthday. For some reason he had the idea that he wanted a Batman party and that he would be Batman and his brother would be Robin. You can imagine that my wife was thrilled with this as she doesn't really sew. but I think she did and awesome job and the boys thought it was pretty cool. The only thing is that now my other boy wants a Spiderman party.

Moose Country

2005-05-06T09:26:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago we were returning from our usual Sunday evening dinner at my in-law’s house. To return to our house we have a choice of two routes to take. One is your basic city route and the other is through a forested area that acts like our university endowment lands and is notorious for having moose on the side of the road. For whatever reason we had not gone the university route for several months but this evening as I approached the intersection of the two routes I asked my two sons if we should go through moose country. Our 3 yr old immediately began shouting “Yes, Yes! Moose country, Moose country!” Our 6 yr old then said “No, don’t do it. Don’t listen to him, he’s just a baby!” I told him that his brother had called moose country first so we were going to go that way.

At this point I should also mention that the next day at work I had a big interview first thing in the morning and as we passed through the intersection heading into “moose country” I began thinking that maybe we were tempting fate by taking a route we haven’t been on in so long.

Almost immediately as you move through the intersection there is a sign on the side of the road signifying to watch out for moose. As we passed this my wife said “Alright, everyone keep your eyes peeled for moose.” She had barely finished her sentence when I was staring the huge hairy belly of a moose wondering across the road right in front of us. I slammed on the brakes and the moose kept moving across the road. Just as I thought we might actually miss the moose the front corner of our car clipped the back leg of the moose and it's big butt bounced off the hood of our car and it ran into the woods.

As we sat in the car in silence for a moment my oldest son burst out "I'M A LITTLE SHAKEN UP BACK HERE!" My wife and I looked at each other and burst out laughing. We asked if everyone was OK and my youngest son looked at us with his eyes wide as saucers and began chanting "Moose country, moose country.” As everyone was OK and the damage to the vehicle was minimal we began driving on. With the chants of moose country continuing our oldest yelled out “I told you not to listen to him! He’s just a baby! Why are we listening to him?”

All in all for hitting a moose it was one of the more hilarious things that has happened to us for a while and on top of that it made a nice ice-breaker for my interview the next day.

Don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys

2005-01-21T15:04:00.000-08:00

Walk Like A Woman....

2005-01-20T10:13:00.000-08:00

I was driving my son to Kindergarten the other day and Lola by the Kinks was playing on the radio. We were just quietly driving along when the song came to the part "Girls will be boys, boys will be girls". At this point my son perked up and said "He said boys will be girls, that's weird", I responded that it was a little funny. A few moments then passed and my son added "you know dad, if I lived in that world I would want to be a girl, so I still be a boy".

RRSPs kid style

2005-01-15T08:27:00.000-08:00

The other day I was driving my son to kindergarten and he asked me if we would have a day off tomorrow. I said no and that we still had a few days before we could have a day off and he asked why didn't we just make a day off? I must admit at this point I started to like his train of thought and though inside I was saying "ya, let's make a day off", it came out as well, "you have to go to school so you can learn things and mommy and I have to go to work to make some money. "Why can't you just be retired like granpa" was his response. To this I answered that I didn't have enough money yet to retire. My son then said, "Dad, don't worry you can have some of my money."

Don't you wish you could be five again?

Hark the Herald Angels

2004-12-22T18:09:00.000-08:00

A little clip of our oldest boy in his first Christmas Concert.

Christmas Concert