Yukon Jay - 小祥

Moving to Victoria

Yup that's right, for the 3rd time in 3 years, I am moving again. This time to Victoria and may become a permanent move. Last Friday I was hired by the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources (my previous Co-op employer) to assist their consultant in reviewing and make recommendations on their mining process and consultation policies. So the work sounds exciting... we'll see after I start. This is all sudden and I will be starting Sept 4th, so I am moving this WEEKEND. As for where I will be staying... Andrea's sister's big house!!! (Pictures to follow in the coming weeks) I'll also be working a bit in the Vancouver office, but mostly commuting back to Vancouver on the weekends on the ferry.

So after being offered the job last Friday, Andrea and I stayed in Victoria till Monday to visit her sister - it was also our little mini vacation. On the way to Victoria, we encountered some killer whales on the ferry. There was about 8 of them and difficult to take pictures. This was the best shot I got.

Over the weekend we drove to Cathedral Grove, 2.5 hrs north of Victoria to see some big trees at the park. Quite amazing...

There was a major storm in 1997 and uprooted some of the trees.

This is not a trail... but rather taken from resting my camera on top of a fallen tree.

Back in Vancouver on Monay and went to the PNE on Tuesday and watched the Superdogs show... dogs doing tricks. Here's a beautiful Siberian Husky which I would gladly buy one if it wasn't so hairy.

And here's the picture... So anyways, getting ready to move and will update when I am in Victoria with pictures of Collette's beautiful house.

Friends from Plano

First things first - I GRADUATED! Wrote the last exam earlier this month, and here's what I'm finishing with: BA Geography & Asia-Canada (minor), Chinese Certificate and Co-Op Certificate.

In terms of job... been informed Rescan Environmental consulting is considering my resume. I also spoke with the government ministry I worked for and they have opportunities coming up that may be suitable for me.

Next, this past week some family friends from Plano came for a visit. They were on a tour, visited Banff and last few days in Vancouver. On their last day they wanted to visit Whistler and I was their tour guide.

But first, I took them to Deep Cove since it was so close. And yes, Andrea is recovering... slowly but surely.

We got to Whistler and took the first gondola, which was a 20 minute ride. We got off, looked over to the next gondola... which was heading to the top of that mountain.

Here's our friends, Joanne and Don, walking over to the next gondola ride and enjoying the view.

This may not look high up... but it was quite scary. I was tense the whole time.

Here we are on top - 7,000 ft with the view of Whistler.

This is the other mountain where the 2010 Winter Olympic games will take place - Whistler Blackcomb.

And the inukshuk, the official logo of the next Winter Olympic

And this hut... I thought that was just weird. Overall, they had a great trip and it was good to see them again.

ER and Gangsters

Following up with my last blog entry, Andrea did get her appendix removed late Sunday night around 10pm. There was a small rupture (after hours of waiting despite checking in at 4am); however, it was minor and incisions were minimal. She stayed at Vancouver General Hospital till Thursday and was recovering fine until last night.

Yesterday she started getting shots of severe pain and noticed a lump on the side of her stomache. Being conscious, we decided it required attention immediately and I drove her back to the ER at 2am. If anything, it might just be gas buildup, or abscess from the rupture.

Once again, it is the weekend and the ER was swamped - 2hr wait. X-rays did not reveal anything, and general surgery was notified (her original surgeon was off duty). 8:45am and I had to leave for work, just as the surgeon paid her a visit. They wanted to do a CAT scan, and hopefully find out what is happening.

Anyways, our trip back to the hospital was 2 days after the worst shooting incident in the city's history: 2 men died and 6 injured in a restaurant shooting at 4am - gang related. It turns out 3 of the 6 is being treated at the hospital we were at and cops vehicles were everywhere. Parts of the hospital was in lockdown for treating the victims. VPD (Vancouver Police Department) also fear retaliation by gangs

Cognizant of the surroundings outside ER, I joked to Andrea: "the worst that could happen now is not your stomach, but caught in the cross fire if the gang decides to come here and finish their job." She laughed... at least her spirits are up.

I'm now at work and we'll see how things are developing at the hospital when she calls me later.

ER

It's 12:20am and just got home from the ER as Andrea is getting her appendix removed. Been an exhausting day because I drove her to the hospital yesterday morning at 4am, after we had her birthday party.

We had to wait a whole day for her to get the surgery... downside of free healthcare I suppose. The hospital was swamped with traumas and surgeries had to be prioritized. The fact that its a long holiday weekend doesn't help either.

It was also interesting to find Andrea a bit nervous about having to "pay" for the surgery... I think she lived in China a bit too long. Anyways, going to sleep and back to the hospital tomorrow.

Benson - the camera I used was Canon PowerShot A710.

Celebration of Lights

Every summer in Vancouver fireworks are displayed by 3 countries on 3 separate nights. Last night was China, the last country after Spain and Canada. So Andrea and my mom went to the beach to check it out. Below are some of the pictures... you can also watch Spain's fireworks on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4fpnIyAGmU