Well, as alluded to in my last blog post, it's Chase Family Annual Video Christmas Card time!
Yes, the tradition that looks fancy and slickly produced, but is actually just a thin veneer to paste over the fact that we fail to write out honest-to-goodness 'get em in the mail' paper cards. And yes, I can call it an 'annual' video card now, as I think this is at least the third year in a row of producing this!
Anyway...
From our family to yours: Wherever you are this holiday, and however you celebrate, we wish you the very best of the season, and send along our hopes for a happy new year to all of you.
Enjoy!
Blessings,
Stuart, Kate, Sacha, Heidi, and Nino the pooch
December 21, 2015
December 7, 2015
Once again, it’s been too long, friends!
Let’s make this brief, since I’ll be back soon with the
annual video Chase Family Christmas Card!
So, what’s been shakin’? The Syrian refugee crisis is a
mess, Canada has a new prime minister, Halloween
has come and gone, ISIS/ISIL is terrifying, the Canadian dollar is down, mass shootings are up, and the
Christmas shopping season is in full swing. That about covers it, yes?
Happily, amidst all that, I found a new job in past months, with the Make-A-Wish Foundation (BC & Yukon Chapter, specifically). It. Has. Been. Amazing.
I am the new Director of Marketing and Communications. What is Make-A-Wish? Let me communicate to you about that (see how I’m earning my paycheque?!)
The Foundation has the very cool mission of granting the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy. As in: let’s send kids to Disney resorts; let’s let kids get a new trampoline; let’s have a kid meet their hero.
Happily, amidst all that, I found a new job in past months, with the Make-A-Wish Foundation (BC & Yukon Chapter, specifically). It. Has. Been. Amazing.
I am the new Director of Marketing and Communications. What is Make-A-Wish? Let me communicate to you about that (see how I’m earning my paycheque?!)
The Foundation has the very cool mission of granting the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy. As in: let’s send kids to Disney resorts; let’s let kids get a new trampoline; let’s have a kid meet their hero.
It’s straightforward,
impactful, and very, very rewarding. I am a happy camper here.
So far, I’ve
gotten to do cool things like witness a wish kid turn on the lights at VanDusen
festival of lights and launch Gingerbread Lane at the Hyatt. Gotta love
Christmas!
 |
| Saying a few words on behalf of Make-A-Wish at The Hyatt Vancouvers' Gingerbread Lane launch. |
 |
| The lighting of the VanDusen gardens with Wish Kid Hannah, family .. and some strangers in red suits. |
What else? Still doing the paddling thing. Just did a first
set of TeamBC canoe-kayak winter dryland tests this past weekend. I haven't done one of these sets of tests since the early 2000's. Long story
short, basically its me at age 36 vs. a bunch of way-in-shape 15-19 year olds.
Buncha punks.
One of them expressed near disbelief when I told them I wasn't there to coach, but to participate in the testing. I says PARDON?
Here, a 30 second vid I slapped together of one of the
tests! It's called a benchpull for those unitiated.
Okay, that’s enough for now! As I said, see you again
shortly with the video Christmas card! I hope all your holidays are bright!
October 2, 2015
One of these years is not like the other
Happy birthday to me!
If present me could go back a year ago and bet against past me about what my 35th year was going to be like, present me would be in the money!
A year ago, prospects looked good for a training and competition track that may have lead to the 2016 Rio Paralympics in the sport of sprint kayak. Alas, as multiple previous posts have noted, I was declassified based on new rules that came out this year.
A year ago, I was working at PwC, but here we are one year later and I'm searching for my next exciting opportunity!
A year ago, I was jogging along fine. Now I'm waiting for knee surgery! I've also managed to somehow put a small tear in the bicep insertion on my right arm. That one is a minor hassle compared to the knee!
All these things come with their own blessings, of course. I am excited to find my next work contract that is at the core of what I'm good and and what I enjoy. The paddling thing is what it is, and I am thoroughly enjoying being in a different kind of boat, the V-1, which provides its own potential opportunities and sense of satisfaction. That, in tandem with free time at the moment affords me the opportunity to take long, introspective paddles on my birthday!
The knee and the elbow things are... well, that's getting older, perhaps :D
On my birthdays these past years, I also turn my thoughts to my parents. By this age (not that they could have known at the time), they were already well past their mid-life. If (BIG, HUGE knock on wood) It was to be the same for me, I know that by my mid-30's I have already been blessed with so much opportunity, and such a great community of friends and family that I just have to smile about where life is at. The constants in my life with which I am blessed year in and year out keep a smile on my face no matter what.
No sense looking down when there's always a sun overhead!
Here's to the 36th birthday bringing about new opportunities and experiences!
If present me could go back a year ago and bet against past me about what my 35th year was going to be like, present me would be in the money!
 |
| AH, Florida tan lines. Good times were had in my 35th year! |
A year ago, prospects looked good for a training and competition track that may have lead to the 2016 Rio Paralympics in the sport of sprint kayak. Alas, as multiple previous posts have noted, I was declassified based on new rules that came out this year.
A year ago, I was working at PwC, but here we are one year later and I'm searching for my next exciting opportunity!
 |
| What a family! |
All these things come with their own blessings, of course. I am excited to find my next work contract that is at the core of what I'm good and and what I enjoy. The paddling thing is what it is, and I am thoroughly enjoying being in a different kind of boat, the V-1, which provides its own potential opportunities and sense of satisfaction. That, in tandem with free time at the moment affords me the opportunity to take long, introspective paddles on my birthday!
 |
| #Birthday10K on a foggy Vancouver Friday! |
The knee and the elbow things are... well, that's getting older, perhaps :D
On my birthdays these past years, I also turn my thoughts to my parents. By this age (not that they could have known at the time), they were already well past their mid-life. If (BIG, HUGE knock on wood) It was to be the same for me, I know that by my mid-30's I have already been blessed with so much opportunity, and such a great community of friends and family that I just have to smile about where life is at. The constants in my life with which I am blessed year in and year out keep a smile on my face no matter what.
No sense looking down when there's always a sun overhead!
Here's to the 36th birthday bringing about new opportunities and experiences!
September 1, 2015
At Summer's End...
Well, here it is. A summer of blistering heat and drought conditions is over. The end--here on the South Coast of B.C., anyway--has been heralded with days of lashing wind and rain causing massive power outages and widespread damage from tree falls.
We get it, mother nature. It's Fall, just around the corner.
But hey, let's remember the good times. Here are a couple of videos from our summer adventures!
Enjoy. Bookmark this page for when it's November, dark and raining even more.
This is a video from a bike trip my wife and I managed to get in, sans kids, up at Whistler. There's no footage of the steep stuff, cause I don't have a GoPro and was only willing to hang on to my iPhone for the safe sections :P
This is a video from PlayLand, where we take the kids at least once a summer. Once again, no footage from ON the best rides since I don't have a GoPro :P PS, The BEAST is a fantastic new ride for anyone visiting the PNE.
This is a video from the Sunshine Coast, where my brother, sister and I, along with our families, packed in some fun over a weekend. For the uninitiated, by the way, the Skookumchuk narrows featured herein? Not a whitewater river. Ocean. It's quite the sight considering the rapids it produces at ebb and flow tide times!
That's it for now! Enjoy the rain!
We get it, mother nature. It's Fall, just around the corner.
But hey, let's remember the good times. Here are a couple of videos from our summer adventures!
Enjoy. Bookmark this page for when it's November, dark and raining even more.
This is a video from a bike trip my wife and I managed to get in, sans kids, up at Whistler. There's no footage of the steep stuff, cause I don't have a GoPro and was only willing to hang on to my iPhone for the safe sections :P
This is a video from PlayLand, where we take the kids at least once a summer. Once again, no footage from ON the best rides since I don't have a GoPro :P PS, The BEAST is a fantastic new ride for anyone visiting the PNE.
This is a video from the Sunshine Coast, where my brother, sister and I, along with our families, packed in some fun over a weekend. For the uninitiated, by the way, the Skookumchuk narrows featured herein? Not a whitewater river. Ocean. It's quite the sight considering the rapids it produces at ebb and flow tide times!
That's it for now! Enjoy the rain!
August 4, 2015
A work in progress: Story of a renovation
Well, here is the video about our home renovation that ironically took longer to finish than the renovation itself.
Considering how long contracted home renovation jobs can take, It’s pretty pathetic how long this video took to put together. None the less, I'm pleased to share it with you!
In this video, I focused in on only a few various aspects of the job; the main floor,
broadly speaking, the backyard / back of the house, and some of the
landscaping. Fact is, our basement and main floor were fully gutted, many supporting
structures were replaced, and we rejigged some of the footprint as we went
along. All in, it was about eight months that we were moved out. Our
landscaping remained a shambles even after the house was done, so it was summer
2014 before it was all complete… give or take.
If you need me, I’ll be on the front porch watching the sunset.
https://youtu.be/WGtdNPwaxVM
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