ABOUT ME

As I’ve gone through life, I’ve come to see it as a series of stages that one goes through. They feel quite distinct and when I look back upon mine, some seem distant while others, which occurred decades ago, seem like they could have happened a few months ago.

The formative years

I spent the first part of my life growing up in a Northern Ontario mining town which is where I developed my love for the outdoors. I was fortunate to have awesome parents who taught me the importance of being honest and and a hard days work. I made life long friends while I was there but I didn’t realize at the time how important that would be to me.

Education + fun

After realizing what I wanted to do in life, I moved on to University. In a nutshell, those years were spectacular.

The events, people and adventures I had during those days are better left off the unforgivable internet. Needless to say, it shaped me into the person I am today. During my third year of classes, I was accepted into a student exchange program that I had applied for so I got to spend a year studying in Glasgow, Scotland. Not long before I left, I read a quote from Pierre Trudeau and if I may paraphrase a bit, it goes something like: “one year of living abroad is equal to ten years of formal study”. The guy may have been polarizing but he was absolutely right about that tidbit of wisdom. My year away changed me for the better and it was then that I finally started figuring out life and my confidence in myself started climbing.

Fell in love with Ottawa

Before I graduated, I knew that I was destined to stay in Ottawa (which, by the way, should be renamed to AwesomeVille). I was quite fortunate that Ottawa turned into Silicon Valley North since I had my eyes set on that sector. Over the years, I have been surprised of the amount of activities that are here and that are under utilized. Mountain biking trails, paddling routes, hikes as well as cultural and music events abound here. There are many hidden gems throughout the city and surrounding area and I love finding them.

Work + travel + family

Over the years, work has been good to me and it enabled me to travel extensively (for pleasure) and experience things that very few people ever get to do and I fell quite fortunate for that. After many years of working and playing, I met the person who was made just for me and we ended up getting married, buying a house and then started a family.

Sharing the past

As my adventures unfold, I find that life really is quite short and that at some point I will start forgetting a few things here and there. So I decided to put up this site as my way of cataloging my experiences so that I may share them with those who helped me make them as well as share them with my family. It also serves as a way to give some insight to those who are close to me but weren’t around for the adventures so I hope you enjoy them.

Worthy Quotes

Well done is better than well said.
Benjamin Franklin
In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on.
Robert Frost
The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails.
William Arthur Ward
Once in a while you will stumble upon the truth but most of us manage to pick ourselves up and hurry along as if nothing had happened.
Winston Churchill
Never leave till tomorrow that which you can do today.
Benjamin Franklin
It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit.
Harry Truman
Don’t ever wrestle with a pig. You’ll both get dirty, but the pig will enjoy it.
Cale Yarborough
Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school.
Albert Einstein
You must be the change you wish to see in the world.
Gandhi
It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog.
Mark Twain
Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence in society.
Mark Twain
There's a fine line between fishing and just standing on the shore like an idiot.
Steven Wright
Substitute 'damn' every time you're inclined to write 'very'; your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be.
Mark Twain
When a person can no longer laugh at himself, it is time for others to laugh at him.
Thomas Szasz
Try a thing you haven’t done three times. Once, to get over the fear of doing it. Twice, to learn how to do it. And a third time, to figure out whether you like it or not.
Virgil Garnett Thomson
He that lieth down with Dogs, shall rise up with Fleas.
Benjamin Franklin
Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing.
Benjamin Franklin
I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.
Maya Angelou
A fanatic is one who can’t change his mind and won’t change the subject.
Winston Churchill
You can do anything, but not everything.
David Allen
The measure of a life is not what that life accomplishes,but rather the impact that life has on others.
Jackie Robinson
We do not stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing!
Benjamin Franklin
They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.
Benjamin Franklin
Don't go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first.
Mark Twain
To the man who only has a hammer, everything he encounters begins to look like a nail.
Abraham Maslow
If I only had a little humility, I’d be perfect.
Ted Turner
By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.
Benjamin Franklin
Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.
Winston Churchill
Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.
Benjamin Franklin
Tis a great confidence in a friend to tell him your faults; greater to tell him his.
Benjamin Franklin
Never argue with a fool, onlookers may not be able to tell the difference.
Mark Twain
To me, boxing is like a ballet, except there's no music, no choreography, and the dancers hit each other.
Jack Handey
People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily.
Zig Ziglar
Whatever is begun in anger, ends in shame.
Benjamin Franklin
Remember not only to say the right thing in the right place, but far more difficult still, to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment.
Benjamin Franklin
One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors.
Plato
The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.
Mark Twain
If it's your job to eat a frog, it's best to do it first thing in the morning. And If it's your job to eat two frogs, it's best to eat the biggest one first.
Mark Twain
In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock.
Thomas Jefferson
Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.
Albert Einstein
I never forget a face, but in your case I'll be glad to make an exception.
Groucho Marx
A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.
Winston Churchill
Take rest; a field that has rested gives a bountiful crop.
Ovid
Poet (43 BCE - CE 17)
A Man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still.
Benjamin Franklin
The secret of life is honesty and fair dealing. If you can fake that, you’ve got it made.
Groucho Marx
History will be kind to me for I intend to write it.
Winston Churchill
History is written by the victors.
Winston Churchill
Do, or do not. There is no 'try'.
Yoda
Jedi Master
Laughing at our mistakes can lengthen our own life. Laughing at someone else’s can shorten it.
Cullen Hightower
Never ruin an apology with an excuse.
Benjamin Franklin
We learn something every day, and lots of times it’s that what we learned the day before was wrong.
Bill Vaughan
Those who believe in telekinetics, raise my hand.
Kurt Vonnegut
Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead.
Benjamin Franklin
It takes many good deeds to build a good reputation, and only one bad one to lose it.
Benjamin Franklin
If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything.
Mark Twain
It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.
Mark Twain
The most interesting information comes from children, for they tell all they know and then stop.
Mark Twain
We’ve heard that a million monkeys at a million keyboards could produce the complete works of Shakespeare; now, thanks to the Internet, we know that is not true.
Robert Wilensky
There are lies, damned lies and statistics.
Mark Twain
If the lessons of history teach us anything it is that nobody learns the lessons that history teaches us.
Anonymous
Do not confuse motion and progress. A rocking horse keeps moving but does not make any progress.
Alfred A. Montapert
Honest criticism is hard to take, particularly from a relative, a friend, an acquaintance, or a stranger.
Franklin P. Jones
Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.
Oscar Wilde
Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws.
Plato
Well begun is half done.
Aristotle
Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.
Will Rogers
You miss 100 percent of the shots you never take.
Wayne Gretzky
If you don’t make mistakes, you’re not working on hard enough problems. And that’s a big mistake.
Frank Wilczek
I am opposed to millionaires, but it would be dangerous to offer me the position.
Mark Twain
When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced. Live your life in such a way that when you die the world cries and you rejoice.
Native American Proverb
Whoever would overthrow the liberty of a nation must begin by subduing the freeness of speech.
Benjamin Franklin
Computer games don't affect kids; I mean if Pac-Man affected us as kids, we'd all be running around in darkened rooms, munching magic pills and listening to repetitive electronic music.
Kristian Wilson
Nintendo, Inc, 1989
Be at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let every new year find you a better man.
Benjamin Franklin
Adam and Eve had an ideal marriage. He didn't have to hear about all the men she could have married, and she didn't have to hear about the way his mother cooked.
Kimberley Broyles
When the well is dry, we know the worth of water.
Benjamin Franklin
Advice is what we ask for when we already know the answer but wish we didn’t.
Erica Jong
The manager administers, The leader innovates. The manager maintains, the leader develops. The manager relies on systems, the leader relies on people. The manager counts on controls, the leader counts on trust. The manager does things right, the leader does the right thing.
Forbes Magazine
Many people die at twenty five and aren't buried until they are seventy five.
Benjamin Franklin
No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.
Eleanor Roosevelt
The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated.
Mark Twain
We are what we repeatedly do; excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.
Aristotle
Trouble knocked at the door, but, hearing laughter, hurried away
Benjamin Franklin

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