Traitor?

I must admit I left the Sunday afternoon football game with some mixed feelings. I attended the game with 4 Forstbauers and 3 of their family/friends, all of whom are great BC Lions fans. This playoff game was even more of an important event in their eyes and they were decked out in orange, yelling and screaming like usual but with the added effect of three drums and a trumpet! It was (it always is) fun to go to a game with fans like the Forstbauers...

This family has had 8 seasons' tickets for as many years as I've known them and that's going on ten years now. Loyal fans who enjoy the CFL (they are out there). I even bought one of their season tickets from them about three years ago and managed to get to just about half the home games. It was a lot of fun! They certainly make the BC Lions and the CFL a worthwhile experience.

The mixed feelings I mentioned didn't arise from the fact that BC ended up losing the game, securing a woeful 1-7 record for the second half of the season after starting it 11-0! They were caused by a yellow sweatshirt...

I spent the vast majority of my life in Alberta and grew up a big fan of the Edmonton Eskimos. When I was a youngster, Warren Moon led the Esks to three Grey Cup victories (I think) before going on to a hall of fame career in the NFL. I loved knowing who he was before the NFL fans really caught on to how good he was! His teams, including Gizmo Williams, drew me in and made me love the CFL. I would be green and gold for life!

Anytime Edmonton came to town (here in Vancouver) I made a greater effort to get out to the game so I could be "one of those guys" who would cheer for the visiting team. That was how it worked, remember, I was green and gold for life...

Well, this game was a big game. Huge! The winner would move on to the Grey Cup and a shot at the championship of the CFL. I stuck my yellow sweatshirt in my backpack and went to the game. Unfortunately, other than a brief appearance during the warmups (when I tied it to the railing in front of me) this symbol of faithfulness, this declaration of allegiance never saw the light of day. I watched the Forstbauers and their fervent support of the Lions and made a decision: I would not cheer for the Eskimos today. I won't cheer against them, but I won't cheer for them either. It would prove to be an interesting choice.

The Eskimos won the game 28-23 and will play in the Grey Cup on Sunday, which I could go to if I wanted to pay for it ($150.00!!). My team is in the Grey Cup in the city where I live and I have access to a field level ticket to the sold out game (sold out seven weeks ago) and I'm not going to go....green and gold for life?

The mixed feelings arose when I wondered if something fundamental in me died on Sunday: a little piece of romanticized idealism birthed in childhood, my loyalty to the Eskimos. The child in me questioned why I didn't wear the sweatshirt, scream for my team and celebrate the victory. I didn't have an answer other than to say I was honoring my friends' wishes, the loyal Forstbauers who had invited me to the game. The child in me shook his head and snorted, unimpressed.

I'm still a little mixed up by it all, though not in any significant way. I know I can always go back to bleeding green and gold for life...I just have to wait for the next game.

Poll: Should I go to the Grey Cup? Yes or no...opinions?

HAPPY!

Your Inner Child Is Happy

You see life as simple, and simple is a very good thing. You're cheerful and upbeat, taking everything as it comes. And you decide not to worry, even when things look bad. You figure there's just so many great things to look forward to.

How Is Your Inner Child?

Canada Immigration

Hotel Max was great! I would recommend it to anyone heading to Canada Immigration in Seattle! The room was small, but nice and very clean. The hotel is brand new (renovated with name change, opened in Oct) and it shows. I liked it alot! Plus, it is next door to the office building housing the Canadian consulate. Ideal.
And no, we didn't try out any of their special packages...thanks, Drew.

The reason that Alex and I had to head down to Seattle was Canada Immigration. For those who don't know, Alex is a Guatemalan who legally lives in Canada through the everpresent grace of a Work Permit issued by immigration. Three years ago, she applied to become a Landed Immigrant in this nation of ours and on Wednesday, Nov 9, 2005, she finally had an interview!

Many of us never have to deal with long term immigration issues (I know I never had before) so the process and the depression that accompanies it is quite extraordinary. I have always thought of Canada as a laid-back, fun-loving kinda place with big hearts for people. One visit to the Canadian consulate in Seattle made it clear that this is not the image others would receive while they try to gain access to our lovely nation!

Cold, sterile and impersonal, the waiting room was filled with people bearing a strange countenance...it was the glimmer of hope, but combined with the pall of resignation, as though each one was convinced that the hope to which they held would be pulled from their grasp quite soon. It was a terrible atmosphere. And my wife, Alex, had this same countenance upon her.

After realizing this, I prayed with Alex in that room, that God would reveal Himself with warmth and joy, that smiles and conversation would pepper this waiting room rather than the gloom of impending doom. I'm glad we prayed. Alex had her interview and I waited. While waiting, I observed a palpable change in the presence of the room. People were joking with the neighbors, little kids were evoking "OOooOOOooo, isn't he cute!!!!" statements from various onlookers, and most everyone was smiling. That was nice to see, cause I was disappointed I couldn't go in with Alex. When they sent notice of the interview (a whole two weeks ahead of time - for an interview at 8:00am on a Wednesday in Seattle! - how considerate), they indicated that I would be interviewed as well and I was excited to take part. Unfortunately, I sat in my seat and waited for a call-up that would never occur :(

Alex emerged from the interview quite charged however... she was accepted! After three years of waiting, much pain and confusion (the story is very long), she was told by a Canadian official that she will recieve her Landed Immigrant papers in the new year (assuming her FBI report comes back positive, her medical status is clear, her Guatemalan passport is updated with her married name and mailed in, blah, blah, blah). The real point to the story is that Alex is finally in. A real, live person told her to her face that she is okay for Canada! Good times.

We celebrated with a wonderful Cajun meal in the food court (I know, I'm so romantic), a speeding ticket on the I-5, and a bunch of shopping at the outlet stores. We both bought a new pair of shoes. These are the ones I bought...Yay!!

Go Canada!

Hotel Max

I decided to glance over my blog after that last post and realized that I've been running on a pretty negative (or at least serious) trip for the last while.

Thus, something to smile about! This evening, my wife and I will travel across the U.S. border to the bustling metropolis of Seattle to stay at the new Hotel Max...
Alex and I have an appointment with Canadian Immigration in the morning at 8:00 and made the choice to drive and sleep rather than sleep and drive (no doubt avoiding morning rush hour in the process..me happy).

Looking for hotels is boring and tedious on the internet, so I picked the one closest to the embassy that looked nice. They have their own website, so you could check it out too!
www.hotelmaxseattle.com

They have a package called the "Hubba Bubba Hanky Panky Romance Package"..ooooo. Pretty funny!! Needless to say, I get a day off to spend with my love in sunny (yeah, right) Seattle! Gonna be great!

Do not disconnect.

My ipod's been acting up today and won't work properly. It's frustrating. The screen simply says "Do not disconnect." with huge red circle with a line through it. Doesn't matter if I shut down the computer it's attached to or use the "Safely remove device" icon in my system tray...aarrrgh.

So, despite the warning screen and the rather blunt instruction in the manual to the contrary, I disconnected my ipod.

The same screen shines...big red circle with a line through it...Do not disconnect. Something is wrong with my poor little ipod. Ain't technology grand? It'll run out of battery power sometime and maybe that'll help. Tune in for further updates...

A'ight

I remember how confused people would get when I'd use the word "a'ight." Most could not grasp the nuance of such a tight phrase. Just like exchanging "phitty" for "fifty"; it has a tendency to confuse rather than enlighten. So sad.

But that's not what is really on my mind tonight. No, I'm actually thinking about being a'ight. I mean, am I? Alright? Am I?

I believe that each day is made up of positive things and negative things and perhaps some things which could be defined as neither positive nor negative...neutral I suppose. Overall though, each situation, word, look, touch, thought, etc. carries with it some kind of effect on your mood and even your perception of how the world is turning around you.

So am I a'ight?

Today was certainly more positive than negative. Most days are. I have a life that, if it were counted as the sum of experiences, would add up to what I would assume to be a comparitively high number! I've had a great life to this date. That's encouraging, but at the end of the day does it leave me "alright?"

My friend, the Diceman, Pastor Andrew Craig, spoke of how great it feels to look at the world more idealistically, a world filled with heroes who are also role models; inspirations to something greater than...(you can check that out on his blog, Roll o the Dice)

I want to feel that way tonight, but I can't. I find myself at the end of a good day still questioning whether I'm a'ight. I want to look at the world with light, not with darkness, but the brooding mass, a void really, stalks me and stands out against the light tonight. Philosophically, I know I go home each day to my bed a changed man. I know that I end today as a different Brent than the one that woke up this morning.

I hope that when I think back to this day, with all its changes, I remember it as being a'ight.

I want to live in a world inspired to end each day with idealism alive. I want to see light on people's faces. I want to smile. I want to cry with joy. I want to be a'ight.

Shades of Grey

I suppose the title could be "Shades of Gray" but whatever. Anybody know the reason for the two different spellings of the color? Is it a simple American vs. European english thing or is one supposed to relate to something differently than the other? For example, that is a gray whale. A grey whale doesn't exist, but a gray whale does...what do you think? And if this is the case, what could the different spellings relate to? Hmmmm.

Anyhow, that has nothing to do with my post at all actually. So onwards and upwards!

My question today is: What is the difference between a story teller and a liar? I mean, I do know that they are fundamentally different things (unlike gray and grey) but why is a great storyteller applauded and encouraged to grow in his/her talent when a great liar is punished and beat down on the way to a horrible existence?

Is it the motive??

A liar tells stories to deceive and get away with something said or done that is hurtful to someone else? A liar tells stories to garner attention and bulk up a deflated self esteem?

This is in opposition to the story teller, who lies with the greater purpose of entertaining and enthusing the crowd. A story teller lies to invoke the imagination, incite emotion and lead others to feel something (and thus, sense they are truly alive) !?

I don't know if there is a fine line to draw... I think great story tellers are fantastic liars who pepper their fabrications with enough truth to draw our admiration and accept the tale laid before us. Perhaps being labelled a liar isn't such a bad thing at all? With practice, maybe the liar realizes all his/her potential and develops into a magnificent story teller, with book deals, movie scripts and a weekly PBS show. I'm sure it could happen.

Or, perhaps ultimately, he/she arrives at the highest post prepared for such talented folks and becomes a politician :)