Hello all! Well, doubtlessly there are those out there who have been starting to wonder what is happening with good ole ActiveSteve. Well, fear not, I’m about to fill you all in on the most recent happenings 🙂 There have been a number of contributing factors as to my delay, not the least of which is the fact that my home computer crapped out on me, causing me a certain amount of grief in the interim. However, all that is sorted out, and I’m now typing this on a brand new machine that I’ve put together. Oh yeah, and since I was getting a new computer, I decided that it was time to build a new computer desk. You can see the pictures from that little project over on flickr. Of course getting a new computer never is as easy as plug in and go, and I spent many late nights (and continue to) recovering old data, as well as configuring both my new computer, and my resurrected old computer (it now will be my dedicated music studio machine). Now, as exciting as that probably is to some of you, others are probably more interested in some of the other recent activities, so with that in mind, read on at the link and find out what’s new.
The first thing you’ll note is that I still haven’t gotten around to releasing the re-design for the website that I’ve been tinkering with. As you might have guessed, that’s also due to the PC woes. Hang tight, I’m still working on it, and you’ll see the fruits of my labour soon-ish 😉 Of course, I’ve already spilled the beans on something else that we worked on, which was new kitchen cabinet knobs (poor man’s remodeling), as well as my super-awesome built-in desk that I designed and built for my studio. It’s something I had been toying with for a while, and I’m glad that I finally did it. It’s pretty sweeeet! Now, the more observant of my followers will have also noticed a funny picture accompanying this post. That’s me of course, but not a recent shot. It’s a picture of me when I went scuba diving in Fiji last winter. Why choose that shot? Hmm…
Well, could it be because Jody and I are taking our PADI Open Water certification? Why yes! That’s exactly why. Tee hee. Unfortunately, in taking this course, I’m realizing that it’s something we should have taken a few years ago. After all, we’ve been to numerous great diving spots in the world, and just never had the chance to go diving as we weren’t certified. Well, no more I say! We’ll now be certified, able to rent all the gear we need, and hit the open water either together, or as part of a group, without the need for a divemaster. Plus, we’ll be able to go to the ‘good’ spots, away from the tourists who wreck the dive sites.
There was another motive for signing up to do this course. We will likely have a once-in-a-lifetime diving opportunity over the Christmas holidays, which would warrant having training. Specifically, we hope to be diving the Red Sea! The best part is that we’re looking at diving the Saudi Arabia side of the Red Sea, an area that not many people get to see. It’s reputed to be the best spot to dive in the Red Sea, but due to the nature of that country, most divers never get the chance. So how are we so fortunate? Well, that’s where having family and quasi-political connections comes in to play. As my sister is currently posted there for work, we will have the opportunity to visit the country as guests of not just one, but two embassies. I wil be a guest of the Canadian Embassy, and my non-married spouse will get to be a guest of the New Zealand Embassy of all places!
Along with hopefully doing some Scuba Diving while there, we’re also looking to book an internal trip to visit Mada’in Saleh, a recently-declared Unesco World Heritage site, which is very similar to the better known site of Petra in Jordan. However, once again, this place would get a fraction of the tourists that are known to flock Petra, so I think that would be awesome. Oh, and I’m also personally hoping to check out a camel market, and maybe get me a camel, or some automatic weapons. Whatever the locals do, you know!
On the local traveling front, I also just got back from a weekend bachelor party to celebrate one Dave Smith’s departure from the single lfe. Not that he hasn’t been long gone from that anyway. A group of us headed up to a rustic cabin and lodge type place up at White Lake, which is very near Calabogie / Pakenham. We had an awesome weekend, with plenty of poker, video games, rain, BBQs, some swimming, some simmering sauna action, and even an excellent round of golf. I had a camera with me, but was too pre-occupied with partying to even bother busting it out. I imagine Darcy will have some shots up on Facebook soon, so you’ll see some of the mayhem. There were some rather memorable moments, some of which I wish I hadn’t witnessed, but they’ll not be discussed here to protect the not-so-innocent!
Lastly and leastly, to close off this rapidly growing post, I’ll fill you in on what my Active side has been up to. I’ve of course not been completely delinquent in my training, but the length of my training sessions seem to max out at 2 hours these days. Generally, I’ve been doing some running now, as well as a bunch of biking (usually an hour a day), along with my pool time for the dive course. I’m encouraged with the state of my knee, and will soon see yet another doctor about scheduling a cortisone shot of some description. After that, I plan on working to build my base running back up. However, I’ll keep going to the gym as well this winter, and hopefully lots of biking, snowshoeing and skiing. Carl and I have also officially registered for the BC Bike Race, and I’m really stoked about that. I’ve even booked my plane tickets for that one too. So as you can see, the big ActiveSteve train rolls on, and I’m still on board. Stay tuned for next year’s race developments, as I’m hoping to come back strong. Till next post, take care!
