My friend Callum 'pyromaniac' Patterson whom I went to uni with was to wed his long time girlfriend Virginia 'too nice for Callum' Latimer in December. I decided rather last minute that seeing I didn't have a full time job I should go and see them tie the knot back in NZ. Thus an elaborate scheme was plotted with my mate Brendon 'Bdoggry' Henshaw to arrive at the wedding unannounced. Brendon said that he would be bringing a 'date' so I took on the alias of Elizabeth. I wore it well. The plan went off without a hitch I even talked [View Full Entry]

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We had many miles to cover in a day so started early and got the games cranking early. Nicola's American states jigsaw puzzle came in handy, we quizzed each other on categories like all the east coast states, all the states that start with m, all the states that start with vowels. My american geography improved dramatically over those few hours. Andre got peeved with the ridiculous pre pay pumps at the petrol stations. That's a lot of p's. You have to pay beforehand so it becomes impossible to fill the tank as you don't know how much you need. I [View Full Entry]

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Yellowstone warranted a second day so we headed down to the park early. We first checked out the thermal springs, it smelt like Rotorua if you are a kiwi. The colours were impressive with an array of orange, pinks and greens. Its hard to see how trees can grow in these conditions. I got duped into believing the others had seen a frog in one of the hot springs. I'll get them back one day, maybe at their wedding. The buffalos are humongous and after talking to a guide we learnt that Bison and Buffalo are synonymous, I had thought they [View Full Entry]

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Today, we had found out was thanksgiving in America, Canada celebrates on a different day earlier in the year. We realised that none of us really knew what thanksgiving was. I have just googled it and apparently Thanksgiving Day is ... a harvest festival. Traditionally, it is a time to give thanks for the harvest and express gratitude in general. As we checked out of the hotel we walked passed the kitchen. A large sign read "Hunters if you leave your game in the fridge please put your name on it." For some reason in my head I imagine an old [View Full Entry]

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We were surprised to open the curtains in the morning and see thick snowfall which had obviously been happening for a while. The deers looked freezing as the snow coated their backs. I guess they are used to it. I don't think I could ever acclimiatise, I 'm a hot weather fanatic. Thankfully soon after setting off the snow eased off and eventually stopped. We got over-excited when we thought we saw a wolf, it turned out to be a huskey dog and had a collar. Oops. An hour or so drive saw us arrive at the US border. We parked [View Full Entry]

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Before heading off on a roadtrip, Andre had to go into town and sate his unquenchable thirst for shopping. Every time he plays golf he thinks he should buy a new set of clubs rather than hiring. He'd have a garage full if he was allowed. I think he may have been born with one too many x chromosomes. Once Andre had bought a $500 jacket and we had gone for a tour of Calgary downtown it was time to get ready and head south. Andre and I headed to the airport and hired a Ford Escape 4wd. It was bright [View Full Entry]

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Former London flatties Lisa and Andre decided that on their way home to NZ from the UK they would stop in Canada and spend a few weeks with us. They arrived bearing good news that they were engaged. The big rig popping the question in Holland in a town bearing his last name: Van Sintmaartensdyk. I think I spelt that right. Lisa you better start practising now. Before I tell you about their trip, I need to start with the night before their arrival. Rick, a mate from University, who like Nic and I had a year visa in Canada and [View Full Entry]

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North Americans go nuts for Halloween, weeks beforehand people deck out their yards with all sorts of weird and wacky paraphernalia. I particularly liked one house's decoration which had skeletons in coffins, graves with bones coming out, and ghosts dangling from the windows. They must have spent hundreds of dollars. We were not as excessive, but did buy some pumpkins. I'd never hollowed out a pumpkin before, it was quite novel really. You start by cutting a hole big enough to fit your hand, making sure you keep the piece cut out. Then you scrape and scoop all the goopy insides [View Full Entry]

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After months of no work, I finally got round to looking for something. To start with I checked papers and websites. The papers were rubbish and the websites had a few good leads. Calgary is an oil and gas city so wages are higher than the rest of the country. It means that people are flocking to the city in search of jobs. Besides this, when we first arrived there were ads for jobs in lots of shop windows. For this reason I was filled with optimism that I would find something. I was excited when I read a job posting [View Full Entry]

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Hands up if you know who Chris Cornell is? For all of you with your hands down he's the lead singer of the bands Soundgarden and Audioslave two of the biggest rock bands in the 90s and 00s. He also has a solo career with his biggest hit "You Know My Name" being a James Bond opening theme. I'm not just telling you this for shits and giggles, we went and saw him playing at Calgary University. Nic, Tina, Chad and I rocked up early had a feed and a few drinks before watching support act "Mobile". They are a Canadian [View Full Entry]

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