Earlier this year, I got a Facebook invite for a surprise birthday party in Malta. I’m sure when it was sent out nobody thought anyone from Canada would show up, since it’s a really long way to go for a birthday. But as soon as I received the invite, I decided it would be really fun to show up, and also a chance to see a little more of Europe. British Parliament I left at the end of May and stopped briefly in London for a few days. I met up with my friend Barry, someone I recently met in Argentina back in February. We mostly just hung out around his area, watching football in the pubs. But ...

Stella As many people know, I spent the last four months bouncing between South America and Europe. It was a fun time, and I met a pile of great people over the course of my trip. One such person is Stella Maris, who lives just outside of Sao Paulo, Brazil. I was at a random pub in Buenos Aires called “Sugar” when I ran into Stella and her cousin. I was a few sheets to the wind, so I honestly don’t remember too much that night, other than meeting up with them. But thankfully I’ve kept in touch with Stella over the last few months, and it so happens that I can wish her a virtual birthday ...

Well, today there are at least two important events that happened in the past. First, on January 15th, 1977, my friend Brennen was born. Since that time he has pretty much been a major pain in my ass, causing me to lift boxes for weekends at a time, to fix countless porn-infested computers, and to drive out to the edge of the world (White Rock) on weekends. That said, he’s a great friend, and I hope he has an awesome birthday today. Also, at this exact time last year I was packing up the last few things in my desk in Vancouver and leaving my job there for the last time. Hard to believe I’ve ...

Years ago I was in the lab at UBC when I got a call telling me that my sister was in labour. A few hours later I was back in Chilliwack, and Jessica, my niece, was welcomed into this world. Over the course of her life, I unfortunately haven’t been around as much as I would have liked. But thankfully now I’m in Chilliwack and I can spend more time with her. One time I was back in Chilliwack visiting and decided I wanted to get a Whopper from Burger King. Jessica asked if she could come with me, so we went together. Here’s a photo of Jessica with her jar of bees and her flower. Happy Birthday ...

The photo above is from my 19th birthday. I don’t even really remember the circumstances that led me back to Chilliwack that weekend, but I actually do remember blowing those candles out, and being at the same condo where I graduated from high school. In that same condo I showered after a lot of rugby games, I did a lot of physics lab write-ups, and I even wrote my first song on my Fender strat after some girl stood me up. Sadly enough, I spent most of that night sitting in the dark on the couch in my mom’s living room and wrote most of it on my electric, completely ampless. My mom would ...

Tomorrow (depending on when you read this), is Rebecca Bollwitt’s birthday (or Friday, if you’re looking for an absolute time). I first met Rebecca at Northern Voice 2007 I believe, and had just come out of my first round of surgery (thanks to those four idiots who put me in the hospital). It was a time when I desperately needed the support of others the most, and a role her and John took up instantly in my life. Since that time, Rebecca and John have become really close friends of mine here in Vancouver, and I can’t imagine my life at this point without them in it. In fact, of all the reservations ...

I meant to post this earlier, but I’ve just been slammed these last few days. Today is a special day, as it’s the birthday of two of my good friends. The first is Arieanna, who I’ve been lucky enough to get to know a lot better over the course of this last year. The first time I really hung out with her was at the 2008 Canadian Juno Awards in Calgary, where her and I crashed a VIP party and proceeded to drink our weight in beer. Good times. The second birthday is of course Keira-anne‘s. One of the first times I ever hung out with Keira was on a little dog walk out in Stanley Park. Having ...

Unfortunately, there are very few people in this world nowadays who aren’t full of shit. I have been around many blocks, and met many people, and I always end up (thankfully) back home with the same people I left with. That said, you do meet the odd person once and a while who is as good as his or her word. Today (depending on when you read this) is Tony Pierce’s birthday. I originally met Tony down at Matt’s Las Vegas birthday party. I didn’t get to spend a lot of time talking to him down there, but slowly, since then, have gotten to know Tony, and been privileged enough to drink the ...

Well folks, it almost slipped under the radar, but I managed to catch it. Today is John Biehler’s birthday. Happy Birthday John! ...

There were a few birthdays last month that I sort of missed in terms of blog entries. I do my best to get them all, but sometimes my schedule gets the best of me. The first birthday was my step-mom, Cathy’s. Cathy’s been an important person in my life ever since I was a little kid, and she’s still there to help out today. And the other birthday was John Bollwitt, who recently celebrated the big three-oh. Happy (belated) birthday guys. ...

Well, I’m not actually sure if it’s today, but Dave Olsen recently had a birthday. I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know Dave in the last year or so through Rebecca and John, and he’s an outstanding guy with a real love for the Internet and his friends. Not only is he an amazing podcaster, but if he were about 75 pounds heavier I’m pretty sure he’d be one of the few people to keep up with me at the bar, no doubt about it. In addition, Dave and I have actually been cooking up a little web kung-fu that we’ll be talking about real soon. I was down in San Francisco this weekend, ...

Today is my sister’s 34th birthday. It seems like only yesterday we were tromping out in the backyard together in Chilliwack. As most people know, my family is very important to me, and I am very protective of them. My life growing up in Chilliwack wasn’t all roses, and most of us had to pull together to get to where we all are today. My university education was basically funded by various members of my family and loans from the government. My sister worked extra hard and offered to pay my phone bill every month, while my mom gave me spending money. My dad and stepmom came in and saved the ...

Today is my father’s birthday. He has been spending the last few days on a great fishing trip adventure, flying around various parts of British Columbia with some friends and fishing. As I’ve pointed out before, my dad is not only my father, but also one of my good friends. We’ve had lots of great adventures together, and hopefully we’ll keep the tradition going. Given that we’re both so busy these days, it’s not very often we manage to get together and hang out. But that fact makes the time we do spend together that much more enjoyable. So on that note, I want to wish my dad an awesome ...

You know, it’s hard to believe that there was a time when Andie was actually taller than me, but it’s true. I think I passed him at the age of 16 or so, but Andie could always hold his own in a wrestling match. As you can tell, today is my brother-in-law, Andie’s, birthday. Andie started dating my sister when I was 14 or 15, and he’s been an integral part of the family ever since. I’m proud to call him my brother-in-law. Happy Birthday Bud. ...

Whenever I think of Canada Day, I am always reminded of the few years I spent in Ottawa. Out there, Canada day is a day-long party, where they basically shut the downtown core down and let everyone mingle, get their face painted, and for those of you of legal drinking age, have a few street-side beer. At the end of the night there was always a big concert on Parliament Hill. So by comparison, Canada Day in Vancouver is pretty tame. Last year I got together with some friends and had a few pints in various locations around the downtown core. This year, I don’t really have any plans, but will ...

Back at it again. Now that the Junos are over, I’m basically full swing back into the daily grind. I have an interesting optimization problem at work that I’ll write about at some point (from the perspective of how to speed up compilation of a project), but other than that, it’s just business as usual. I started getting a tickle in my throat yesterday which has somehow exploded into a full-on sore throat today. So, while I’m at work, I feel like I’m on the verge of getting sick. It’s most likely related to being on a few crowded planes and shaking hands with tons of new people last ...

I’m sitting in a hotel room, in Calgary, lying in bed in my boxers, eating some nachos that were delivered via room service. That, people, is how I rang in my 31st birthday tonight. There were lots of parties going on in Calgary, but truth is I just wanted to relax, watch some TV, and reflect on another year. I actually had the perfect photo to put up here for this entry. It was a shot of me with a bunch of other photographers at the Junos, all hanging out with Russell Peters after the awards. I thought it would be a fun shot, and would sort of sum up this weekend for me in a photo. But when ...

Yes, today is my mom’s birthday. I lost count of how old she is years ago, but she’ll always be 39 in our hearts. Have a great day today mom! And hurry up and call me back so I can wish you Happy Birthday myself! ...

Well, it’s almost the weekend again. I awoke this morning to some major construction going on in one of the units around me, and I sure hope it’s done before Saturday morning rolls around. Last night I hit Wings on Granville with Rebecca, Keira and John. For those of you who haven’t been, it’s a quaint little spot next to the Howard Johnson hotel on Granville Street that has cheap wings from 2-6pm daily. Rebecca and Keira, photo by KeiraThe girls basically did two pitchers of beer by themselves, so I imagine they were feeling pretty tipsy by the time they left. This weekend is already ...

Today is my good friend Rebecca’s birthday. To be honest, I’m not really sure how old she is, but I’m convinced she is dangerously close to being a cougar. I’ve only known Rebecca for about a year now, but I’m thankful we’ve gotten to be good friends in that time. Happy Birthday Rebecca! ...