~*...shredding solo...*~

i wasn't able to get in touch with my swedish friends jonas and frederick today, but i still wanted to go riding. so i walked down to the hitching spot on the highway hoping i'd be able to hitch a ride to whitewater.

i had never hitchhiked before in my life, so all of this was a new experience for me.

it took me 6 minutes standing at the hitchin spot before someone picked me up. its nelson, the community here is strong, the energy is friendly...and there's a hitching spot to get up to whitewater.


riding solo was also a new experience for me. i'm used to having at least one person to shred with, but not today. the sun was shining brightly against the clear blue skies. that also meant that there was no new snow. the runs were all hard packed and groomed. that did make for some very very fast runs.




this woman was rocking the original kemper one piece, and she was on a monoski! old skewl baby!


i shared my last run with a guy named cory that i met on the chairlift. turns out he is from toronto, and is visiting family in nelson. he hooked me up with his grandparents after, who drove me back into town. schweet. no need to hitch a ride back.

overall, it was a good day out. riding solo is still shredding, so i can't complain...but i prefer riding with others. riding is fun no matter how you slice it, but riding with others is more fun.

this is where i have been sleeping for the past two weeks...and three of the beautiful souls who have opened up their home to me as i search for a more permanent place to live.

owen, carron, akkal

owen and i headed over emily's place for a pizza potluck for dinner. i met some incredible people, drank lots of booze, and ate delicious pizza (pear and pesto make for delicious pizza toppings).


lighting our shots on fire were also part of the menu for the evening.


got to hang with some very kind, chill, and amazing people. nelson is growing on me. thanks for opening up your home to me emily.



~*...normaste...*~

~*...happy hallmark day...*~

fuck hallmark! but i did hear the voices of the women i love today, and i am thankful to have them in my life to love.

hearing erin's voice today warmed my heart and made me want so badly to be near her.

i just got off the phone with christina, and i'm experiencing my usual after christina conversation high.

i don't even question how its possible for two women to have my heart, it just is. spend some time with them and you'll understand why. i can't wait for you two to meet. it will be majik.

i love you erin. you blow my mind and rawk my world.

i love you christina. thank you for reminding me that i am perfekt.



...and i awoke, and faintly bouncing 'round the room was the echo of whomever spoke.

i love you...and its not because hallmark told me to say it.

i also received a package today from my friend alex in toronto. i started a thread on tribe two weeks ago about nalgene bottles, and how i lost mine in jasper. alex saw my post and offered to replace my lost nalgene. he did more than just replace it, he went overboard. the package included four boxes of granola bars, advil liquid gel caps, an edge sharpener, an adventure towel (to wipe down my board), kung pao chicken (the freeze dried kind), a sticker, chocolate kisses, three dvds full of essential mixes, and a brand new red nalgene bottle. dude, i can't thank you enough. thank you for thinking of me. its good to know i'm loved.

and to make it even better, erin found my nalgene in jasper and is sending it back to me. not to mention that i found another red nalgene in the lost and found at whitewater. three nalgenes are better than none. schweet.

~*...normaste...*~

~*...my first back country experience...*~

yesterday i experienced my first taste of back country riding at whitewater. not having any of the necessary equipment made it even more of a challenge. snowshoes are key! otherwise the hike back up is very difficult. i was sinking into the snow so often that i had to crawl at times just to move forward. add to that the weight of my board on my back, and it was a challenge getting back up.


the snow is worth it though. knee high powder on the north face, harder packed on the south because of the intense sun that has been gracing nelson for the past week. i wasn't complaining though. beautiful sunshine beating down on you as you hike up a mountain peak in february!


i spent the day with two swedish skiers that i had met at the dancing bear inn, jonas and frederick. these guys were a lot of fun to ride with. one was on skiis, the other on telemark skiis.

imagine riding down that, and then having to hike back up! nucking futz...but soooo worth it. without snowshoes, the trek back up took 90minutes as we zigzagged our way back up to the peak.

then we trekked up to the peak behind me here...another 25minutes. then we rode down this 44degree mountain face:



we started at the top left by the trees, and rode down through the bowl. heaven it was, steep heaven!

hearing your voice echo off of mountains is like nothing else i've ever experienced. riding pure powder after hiking to it is the the purist high, and i now know what it feels like. the satisfaction of hiking to the top of a mountain and then riding down it is overwhelming and incredible. its pure.


whitewater lived up to its slogan again: simple. pure. real...deep!



next purchase...snowshoes!

i was supposed to attend a free goa trance party last night, but i was in bed by 6:30pm. i woke up this morning. yah, hiking that much really took its toll on me.

this afternoon i'm hiking up to the crystal creek. yes, it is exactly that...a creek with crytals in it. i'jm so excited. i wish my ipod worked so i could listen to beatz :(

~*...normaste...*~

~*...rotating my canvas, again...*~

normdate 2.7.06
2:43pm

i am sitting on a picnic table on the shores of lake jootenay. i am surrounded by tree covered mountains. this unusual february weather has me without a jacket on, walking on green grass. there is geese poo everywhere though. kinda par for the course when you're surrounded by geese ;)

the prana flows strongly through this valley of the kutenais. behind me is the big orange bridge, or bob as the locals call it. i've just finished tuning into the kutenai force through spinning poi here in the park. i've learned the reverse butterfly. time to learn new ways to tweak out the butterfly. and so my repetoire of fluid poi movements continue...i can't wait to spin fire.

i woke up this morning to a new day. there is a wireless network in the home i'm stayin in, and a laptop i can use just a few feet away from the sofa i am sleeping on.

my vbelly and spirit are full thanks to the soup kitchen down the street from where i'm staying. free food, who can argue with that? a young man did fellowship with me as i ate, and we shared our perspectives on who god is with each other.

"if everyone agreed on everything, nothing would ever change."

i've got my own copy of the new testament thanks to the soup kitchen. i'm going to read the book of romans as i promised my mom i would. i look forward to discussing it with her, to sharing our interpretations of the story and words. everyone has their own point of view.

god hates religion.

"there are an infinite number of ways to right meow. right or wrong is just perspektive."

i'm going to the youth employment research center now to work on my cv. its been so long since i've made a resume, especially seeing as i've been the one accepting resumes for the past 7 years. i guess its time for me to rotate my canvas, work on the painting of my life from a new perspektive.

again, the sun is shining brightly above the mountains in front of me. i am pleasantly reminded why i wanted to come back here to live.

last night, talking to owen and julia our conversation expanded our horizons. julia, one of the most beautiful souls who lives in the home i am staying at, was describing to me her trintiy. she made a triangle with her hands and described each of the three sides that completes her trinity. our minds were expanded when i showed julia that her trinity is really not made up of three, but rather four by including the space that surrounds her trinity. that is all that is not. it is none of it.
this truth, going beyond the balance of two, the trinity of three, was revealed to me thanks to a beautiful dreadlock named theresa.

theresa and i shared an incredible experience through breath play at a private party. with our clothes on, we caressed and synchronized our breathing. she showed me that breathing is a four part process.

inhale
pause
exhale
pause

it reminded me that there are more than just two sides to everything, more than three, there are an infinite number of sides.

the conscious
the subconscious
the unconcscious
and none of the above

when you are looking, there are particles of possibilities. when you are not looking, there are infinite possibilities of consciousness.

get people into agreement, then make a suggestion.

"those jeans look good on you, but i think this pair over here will flatter your ass even more."

~*...normaste...~*

~*...a new chapter...*~

normdate 2.6.06
2:38pm

i am sitting on a sofa, my new bed, at andrea's home on the hill in nelson. the solarium that i am in is surrounded by windows and is painted yellow. jack johnson is playing in the background. there is a piano in this room that i have been encouraged to make use of. on the wall is a magnificent painting of a woman holding the sun and the moon, pregnant with the earth.



andrea and her partner akkal are seven weeks away from having their first child. the paintings that adorn the walls of this home radiate the powers of the goddess, the majik of fairies and elves, and the universal prana that connects all life.

the artist is a local woman named christina smith. click here to visit her site.




"i can change the world with my own two hands." ben harper is playing in the background. i wonder where kristin is right meow. maybe i should czech her blog. hearing ben harper reminds me of so many good times with kristin. i am am thinkin of you kristin. you are loved and missed.

the energy that flows through nelson is beyond powerful. nestled in the mountains of the kutenais, built on a quartz deposit, the force is strong here.



i've spent the last three daze doing my casi level 1 instructor's certification at whitewater here in nelson. its not the largest hill (only two dinky double chair lifts), but it is the most imtimate and majik mountain i've been to.


the summit side (click image for larger version)


the silver king side (click image for larger version)

whitewater may not be the biggest, but it has the best snow i have ever ridden...yes, even better than big white. the two chairlifts take you up 1300ft of vertical to some of the best riding i have ever had the pleasure of experiencing.

whitewater lives up to its name and slogan: pure, simple & real...deep.

there is so much back country to explore here that it could take you years to explore it all. steep chutes and light fluffy powder. i am so glad i am here. thank you for sending me here.



on saturday, my casi class and i went for a run down the diamond glades, voted best new tree skiing in canada by ski canada magazine. a 10minute traverse from the summit chair brought us to the glory basin. what an incredible site it was...a large deep bowl with waist hight powder ending up in the most beautiful snow filled glades i have ever seen. it was straight out of a movie! it was the most fun an extreme riding i have ever done in my life...and this is my home mountain!!! i didn't have my camera with me at that time, otherwise i'd post a pik. did mention that it w3as dumping maad snow all day long?

my casi course wasn't very difficult. it focussed more on your teaching abilities rather than how well you ride. the biggest challenge was to "detune" my riding, tone it back and ride with less performance, just like a beginner. maintaining my balanced body position (hand over nose and tail) while riding is the foundation of snowboarding (accoreding to casi). thing is i've been riding with my shoulders facing down the hill instead of hand over nose and tail. its a different feeling unlearning a technique, but not too difficult.


now i'm a certified level 1 instructor and can teach others (and get paid)...but not until next year. there are no jobs available this late in the season. and i also get pro deals in september: 30-40% off cost!! yah baby. new gear owns. schweet.

now i've got to find some form of employment and a place to live. i am thankful for andrea and her roommates opening up their home to me. i am blessed, and loved.

~*...normaste...*~

~*...on my way to nelson...*~

normdate 2.1.06
9:49am pst
kamloops, b.c.

i am eating a turkey bacon melt from subway and drinking a coffee at the stagecoach cafe in kamloops. my 2:20 stopover here on my way to kelowna has just gotten longer. i missed my connecting bus to kelwona because i was asleep on a bench bench here in the kamloops bus station. my suitcase and snowboard are on their way to nelson, i've got to wait for the next bus to kelowna at 12:15pm. i arrive in kelowna at 4:30pm and will have to wait until midnight for the next bus to nelson. i should arrive at my final destination at 5:10am. what an adventure.

rich and anastazia are in kelowna, actually big white. i gave stazie a call, and she's going to see if rich can get a car so they can keep me company on my 7hr kelowna stop over.

good thing i've got some acid to keep me company ;) what a trip this is turning out to be...sans beats :(

we connekted my ipod to erin's imac to see if we could transfer music to her hd. it was the first time my ipod was ever connekted to a mac, and the transfer of music didn't work. now my ipod won't play beatz properly, it just scrolls through a playlist and doesn't play anything *grrrr* no music sucks. its deafening.

om. everything is occuring perfektly at all times.

well, might as well make the most out of my waiting time eh?

what are you waiting for right meow?

i'm waiting for a bus. i'm waiting for my ankle to heal. i'm waiting for the next chapter of my life to begin. i'm waiting to take a shit. brb.

aaah...nothing like dropping the kids off at the pool followed by a few rounds of super bust-a-move. i'm thinking of you turtle and vasquez. you guys are super bust-a-move jedis.

10hrs ago i was at pete's bar in jasper surrounded by amazing people. there is an energy that flows through that town like no other energy i've experienced before. being surrounded by mountains, especially the rockies, is majikal. i was supposed to leave jasper on sunday, but the people and the energy there kept me in town a few daze longer. i've left a mark on that town, and it has forever changed me. its comforting to know that if things don't work out for me in nelson, i can go back to jasper and teach snowboarding at marmot (thanks pascal, you fukkin rool dood!).

leaving erin was the most difficult thing i had to do in jasper. she blows my mind and challenges me to thinkg differently and be a better person. she is brillian, outgoing, confident, and daam good lookin too...yah, she brings out those qualities in me. i knew from the first moment we met last july that she was tuned into the force, a powerful jedi. every moment i spend with her simply confirms my initial thoughtz.

erin, you trigger in the me the honest, loving, and forgiving part of my personality. i love you.

elsbeth, you remind me what its like to feel perfekt about myself. i love you.

christina, you are the song i've always wanted to sing. i think i'm going to call you right now and tell you that.

wow, just the sound of her voice brings me comfort. i am never alone as long as i am surrounded by people who love me.

i am loved.

i am love.

i love me.

we come to love not by finding a perfekt person, but by learning to see an imperfekt person perfektly.

same same but different. old text messages are bringin me comfort right meow.

"thank you for loving me. thank you for taking care of my heart. thank you for believing in me, and believing in humanity. thank you for making me a better person, and for making me want to be a better person. it feels good to be loved." - erin

"barf!" - mel

"u is neva online anymore...i meeeeesssss yoooooooou!" - elsbeth

"hi babe...not sure that you still have this number...hope you are well :) you are MISSED my dear!! big love and vibes 2u." - dani

"you're the song i've always wanted to sing...xox." - christina

i smell weed. i wish i had some.

"you can achieve the same level of awareness through a lifetime of yoga and meditation, or you can take the shortcu t and do acid." - rich

2:31pm
salmon arm, b.c.

just another stop on my way to my destination. where am i heading? out there...and in here.

well, at least the journey is fascinating.

this hat brings out the majikal properties in me and the world around me. thanks grant, i missed my rice hat and i'm glad to have a new one.

"any man who wears a hat like that isn't afraid of anyone." - jayne

3:52pm
vernon, b.c.

this is where scott chisholm of advanced safety management lives (http://www.treeplanter.com).

writing things down give thoughts shape.

i own this thought.

the same prana flows through all of us, its what we do with it that makes us different.

what a boring world it would be if everyone agreed on everything.

writing down a thought, giving it shape through words, gives you ownership of that feeling.

"wherever you go in this world, give em shit!" - lady at tatlow's

5:07pm
kelowna, b.c.

i'm sitting in the kelowna greyhound station. my connekting bus to nelson leaves in 7hrs. well, seeing as this is the town i was going to possible call home, i guess i should take the next few hours and explore it.

where am i?
kelwona, greyhound bus station.

why am i here?
killing 7hrs of layover time.

when am i leaving?
midnight bus to nelson.

who do i know here?
rich and stazie...but they can't make it to town from big white. banafshe, sandra's friend. thanks sandy, your friends are my friends.

what do i want to do next?
find an internet cafe and post this blog entry.

normdate 2.2.06
8:23am
nelson, b.c.

i am sitting at the computer terminal at the dancing bear inn in nelson. i finally made it. my 28hour journey from jasper has finally come to an end. my room isn't ready yet, so i'm chillin in the front lobby...posting this blog entry.

my casi level 1 course begins tomorrow at whitewater. a new town awaits me. a new community awaits. the world awaits.

the force is powerful here.

and so the next chapter of my life begins...

~*...normaste...*~

~*...maligne ice canyon...*~

normdate 1.28.06
3:49pm

i am sitting at the bottom of maligne canyon watching grant climb the 75ft ice wall in front of me. ice is frozen time. so beautiful.

pete is ballaying grant. what a rush it is to climb ice. impossible is nothing. my legs are burning. my knees are bruised. my arms and hands are on fire. i couldn't ask for a better first day out ice climbing. the rush of accomplishment as you the reach the top is beyond exhilirating.

ice is falling from above as grant picks and climbs his way to the top.

the crampons on my feet make crushing ice and climbing it much easier. take that frozen water, rock wins again! craompons. reminds me of tampons with cramps. clamp ons...got it. same same but different.

the sun is going down and my body is feeling it! what an awesome way to tune into the force. the prana is very powerful here in this canyon. i can hear the water rushing through the canyon beneath the ice under my feet.

grant is bellaying down the ice wall. nice climb. i can see why people love it out here.

canada kicks ass.

i'm going to spin some poi in this canyon and then hike out of here for dinner at te moose'snook for more luxury dining at hobo prices.

i love it here.

~*...normaste...*~

~*...jasper, alberta...*~

normadate 1.23.06
3:34 central time

i am looking at the sun as it tries to hide behind the clouds above the rocky mountains. i am surrounded by beauty beyond anything words can describe. in front of me is a frozen lac beauvert, a large section of which has been cleared to form an outdoor skating rink. an english woman from london has just skated by me. the rockies are breathtaking.

right meow, i am at the fairmont jasper park lodge. i would say that i am a guest, but really i'm just freeloading off myfriends rob and pete. they arrived here in jasper on saturday night. erin hooked them up with a sweet room at staff discount prices. i asked them if i could sleep on the floor in their room...instead we got a cot set up. schweet. we have been taken care of out here. from a pimp room to complimentary bath robes (with slippers), we are living it up like kings.

don't you know who we are? we're sum 41! ;)

erin's friend monica, who also works here, is the employee of the month. the benefits of being employee of the month include 75% off all regular priced menu items at any restaurant at the resort.

yesterdaymorning we ate at the swanky breakfast place in the lodge before heading out to marmot basin. $25 breakfast buffet for only $6. you rool monica!

i've ridden with rob and pete in ontario at blue mountain. rob has a chalet just north of collingwood, and i normally stayed there when we rode weekends at blue. it was great to see them on the other side of the country, and go riding the rockies with 'em.

marmot basin is about 30mins outside of jasper. its a pretty good sized resort with some breathtaking scenery. the snow coverage was a bit lacking though. maybe its because all of the snow is natural, no man made snow here. its a purist mentality which flows freely through this place. that leaves the conditions up to gaia to decide, and so far gaia hasn't been so generous with her gifts to marmot this season. there were some bare spolts, ice, and even exposed rock....sometimes even in the middle of a run you'd see rocks jutting out forcing us to be much more aware of our line.

there was also some good powder in the trees, and some powder that you had to hike to. riding with rob and pete, who have never really ridden anything other than blue mountain, was a rucsh...similar to me when i rode whistler for the first time. the excitement, the awe, the rush of shredding a real mountain for the first time was priceless for them. i was stoked to be riding with friends.

lift tickets were $43 for the day, a discounted price for this time of the year....jasper in january.i wouldn't say the conditions were ideal, but it was definitely better and bigger than blue mountain and worth $43. after riding big white two days before, nothing can compare to the champagne powder that covers big white.

we made it back to the lodge and ordered some bah robes (complimentary thanks to our vip status that erin hooked us up with). the robes are $100 in the gift shop. we paid nothing...even got slippers too. big pimpin!!!

we're sum41!!!

after a long day of riding, rob pete and i headed to the spa in the lodge for some hot tub aktion. man did that ever feel good. a dip in the outdoor swimming pool (yes, we rolled around in the snow and jumped back in the pool) and a wind down in the steam room really did out bodies good.

i find it fascinating to see what the upper class enjoys when they vacation. i could never afford to stay at a posh fairmont resort and get vip treatment. this is completely opposite of the adventure and accomodations that i am about to embark on.

thanks for the hook ups erin. thanks for letting me crash with you guys rob and pete. you all fukkin rool.

i've always known that i was different, from my skin colour to my personality. i've always known i was the same as others around me too...judge me by the content of my character and not the colour of my skin. in toronto, that diversity is common place and encouraged. out here, i haven't come across jamasian dreadlocks, especially here at the jasper park lodge. the rich are almost all white people, with maybe a few asians in there. i love challenging people to think differently as much as i enjoy being challenged by them. the wave of energy that i stimulate in others just by being in the same room is fun to shape, especially when that energy is brought out in rich white people who aren't used to seeing one of me.

grant said that he has never seen someone shape the energy of people like me...he says that i disarm people with me personality. thanks grant.

erin and monica dropped by our room later and we headed to the posh restaurant in the lodge called the moose's nook. this is where the uber rich staying at jpl come to dine. we may not be rich, but we are with the employee of the month. 75% off baby! ooh yah! that is the only way we could afford our meal there.

we're sum41!

so with that discount, of course we had to order he most expensive things on the menu. my $36 filet mignon only cost $9. our $50 bottle of wine (of which we haed two) only cost $12.50. luxury dining at hobo prices. thank you monica. you fukkin rool too!

duck a foie terrine as an appetizer, seafood and cheeze fondue, and chocolate mousse for dessert, two bottles of wine, with tip, our meal came to $25each.

hooked up!

pete and rob ended up crashing, but i joined erin and monica at a local dance bar called athaby's. they say that jasper has the second highest std rate in canada next to banff. being at athaby's i can see why. the sexual energy in there was out of control. meat market isn't even the word to describe it. seeing as i don't normally go to top40 bars, being there was a bit overwhelming. and yes, i was the only coloured guy there. i better get used to it eh?

we took a cab back to the lodge where i passed out. i skipped riding today to relax, and save some cash. rob and pete said the conditions weren't as good as yesterday. just relaxing and sleeping in was great, and i had a 4hour 24 marathon on a&e to keep me company.

i was going to czech my email and update my blog from the business center in the lodge, but $10/hr for internet access is way too rich for my blood. i'm looking forward to having my pc again.

so as i watch the sunset behind the snow covered peaks of the rockies fom the comfy lakeside seats nestled on lac baurvert, i am reminded how blessed we are to live in canada. this country is beautiful, breathtakin, and diverse.

i'm going to spin some poi and channel this prana through movement.

~*...normaste...*~

p.s.our new government is elected tonight. i hope harper does no leadout country. i am not able to vote out here :(

~...happy 4:20...*~

holy shit, i've been here for how long and this is my first 4:20 spliff? guess so...

happy four twenty. hooray for kind budz. *lights up*


21 years ago today, lou gherig's disease claimed the life of my father. je me souviens.

hey pops, rawk da pillarz of heaven for me. you are missed down here.

~*...normaste...*~

~*...the perfekt part of me...*~

normdate 1.14.06
1:59am pst

i am lying on a cot in the storage laundry room of a sweet chalet at creekside gondola road in whistler. in 6 hours i will be getting on the creekside gondola and make my way up the whistler peak with brett to make first tracks. it will be my first experience riding freshies. i'm so stoked and exploding with anticipation.

so why am i awake? i should be sleeping. well, i was sleeping until 10 minutes ago when my cel phone rang. i though it was my cel alarm that i have set for 5:30am so i can call my friend dawn and get her ass in gear to come ride with us. but this was not an alarm, it was a ring.

only one person i have come across could call me, wake me up, and within seconds turn my mood from tired and groggy to unbelievable excitement and elation. she brings out the part of me that makes me feel perfekt about myself. just the thought of her reminds me of the part of me that i love and trust most. even if it is three hours later than it is now in toronto, she's up and needed to explode my world from the other side of the country with the sound of her voice.

she called to tell me her sister (her brother's girlfriend actually), is coming to van on sunday and would love to see me before i leave for the interior next week.

holy shit the thought of this girl blows my fukking mind. she is the one whom i compare all otherz to. she has reminded me that i am perfekt, and if/when i choose to have a partner in life they will have to make me feel as goof if not better than she does, if i'm to entertain the possiblity.

i know you're reading this (both you and her). i am here...you are there...that's what's wrong with here. but it is dumping snow outside the chalet, and i am at whistler about to rest up for my first freshie experience. soon, i will lose my freshie virginity to newly fallen gaia.

i guess even if there are things 'wrong' with here (did i just say something was wrong?), its still pretty awesome. extreme is my default setting.

thanks you for waking me up. thank you for reminding me that i am perfekt. thank you for loving me.

you fukkin rawk my world!!!

i love you

~*...normaste...*~

~*...exploring vansterdam with olivia...*~

january 12, 2006
captured moment number 1.12.6

i'm sitting in cafe artigiano drinking a grande chai tea cappucino with olivia, a beautiful soul from new jersey.

having people fly in from a different country to spend a few daze with me exploring a new city is a gift.


i just ran into my friend jeff from university. he worked at john fluevog in toronto on queen street. olivia and i were looking at some shoes in the john fluevog store on granville when i hear my name called from behind me (olivia just took my pen).



jeff had finished shool in the tee dot and is now designing for john fluevog here in vancouver. i guess the "you never know who you might run into on queen street" phenormenon happens everywhere for me, even on granville.

sketchin in a cute italian caffe on hornby...life is good. burning man 2006 baby...playa people. happy birthday liz.