Trekking up Mount Galiano

 On our visit to Galiano Island this summer, we made sure to hike up to the top of Mount Galiano. The trail was longer than I had expected, but thoroughly pleasant and the view from the summit was as breath-taking a view of the Gulf Islands as you would expect (click on the panorama below to enlarge it)

 Vancouver is filled with crows, but it's always a treat to see ravens, and there were several of them playing around and being quite acrobatic in the thermal currents where the ocean met the mountain. I always enjoy the opportunity to see birds in flight from above and Kathryn took this excellent picture of one zipping along doing his very best impression of a fighter jet.

 The day was hot and the trail was long, but the view from the top was certainly worth it. We had a bit of a tight schedule that day, so we didn't have TOO long to relax at the top, but we managed to get a few self-congratulatory photos from the summit before heading back down. I would like very much to do a time lapse from the peak, but that will obviously have to wait for next time, and then maybe we'll take a little more time to enjoy the climb up as well ;)

Mayne Island Japanese Garden

 While both sets of parents were in town, we took a short visit to the Gulf Islands, and in one little jaunt we took a day to explore Mayne Island. As luck would have it the "Tour des Isles" was taking place that very weekend and we found ourselves with locals eager to drive us to the sites and showcase their home. So what began as a trip to a nearby harbor quickly escalated into royal treatment with chauffeured excursions.

 One spot immediately suggested by our guide was the Japanese garden, which was an absolutely stunning place to spent an hour in relatively quiet contemplation. Originally built to commemorate the early Japanese settlers of the island, many of whom were unfairly imprisoned during World War 2, it evokes an exotic feel to this little west coast town.

(click on the panorama below to enlarge it)

 We had never heard of this garden, so it came as a delightful and unexpected surprise. The combination of plants and sculptures made for a very pleasing landscape to relax and explore at our leisure.

Convocation and Valedictorian Speech

After 2 very stressful (but in hindsight very quick) years, I graduated from the BCIT Accounting Diploma Program. Both sets of parents came out for the ceremony along with my lovely Kathryn, which really reinforced what a special event it was for me. I have several years of part-time schooling to go before I complete my degree and then my designation, but this certainly marked the cut-off point where I quit worrying about returning to VFX and officially began my new career.

The ceremony was in a church near the BCIT campus which comfortably sat the board and top instructors from several programs along with 230-ish graduates and 1200-ish guests, so that seemed like a good excuse to try out New Professional George and deliver the Valedictorian address. A few years ago I would have hidden in the back, but now I am quite comfortable talking infront of large groups of people, so long as I have time to prepare.

Since BCIT was very clever and recorded the whole ceremony, I have easy access to my speech, and to save anyone else from having to sift through 2+ hours of people in funny hats receiving awards, I have edited out just my speech below: