Wedding Plans

My fiance and I have been busy planning a wedding. We’re having a short engagement period, so it’s going to continue to be a busy summer. I setup a simple website to house directions and info for the guests. You can find it at jonathanandleanne.com!

Filed under: Life , blog, engagement, planning, website, wedding

Engagement

For those not in the know yet, on May 28, 2009 I proposed to Leanne and after a brief moment of incredulity, received an enthusiastic yes, of course, yes!

We kept the news a secret over the weekend while she was out of town until we could both go to see both sets of parents to share the news first hand and receive their blessing and guidance before anything else.

We’re excited about our forthcoming marriage, but still overwhelmed by what we have to do this summer to prepare for a simple fall wedding. We’ll be sure to let you know if we need any help and will welcome your participation and advice, but for now, let us enjoy the moment.

If you’re reading this, thank you for your role in our lives! We appreciate you and hope our marriage can provide a source of inspiration, help, support and community for all of our friends.

Filed under: Life , Barrytown, engagement, marriage, wedding

Quote

We almost always thought the same things were funny. That may be the best sign of intellectual communion. Roger Ebert.

Filed under: Life , Gene Siskel, humour, Movies, Quote, Roger Ebert

For My Friends

Bible Reading for September 8, 2008

The guys of Davidsons:

And to Chris and Rachel:

Here’s your verse for the day.

Micah 6:8

8 No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good,
and this is what he requires of you:
to do what is right, to love mercy,
and to walk humbly with your God.

Filed under: Life

Grad ‘98 Valedictorian Address

In honor of my high school reunion that happened this past Saturday, here is my valedictorian address from our graduation, back in 1998. I secretly hope that a student somewhere looking for a speech for grad will come across this one and make it their own. This is one case where I fully support plagiarism, just let me know so I can celebrate a little with you.

Honored guests, parents, fellow graduates. Tonight is a special night. We have reached the base of a mountain. Ahead of us is our future. It may seem to be overwhelming, towering above us, but I would like to share some ways that might help to address the future with confidence.

First, it is important to remember that we have a whole life ahead of us. We have only reached the base of the mountain. It could have been tough to get here but the real climb may be yet to come.

I believe it is important not to forget the people who have helped us to this point. As we move into this new phase of our life, it will be important to keep ties to our family, friends and teachers. They have guided and encouraged us in the past and will gladly do it again. It is they who have given us the tools to attack that mountain ahead of us. By using the skills they have taught us and the knowledge and wisdom they have shared, we should have confidence in whatever we do. In a sense, they have given us the ropes which will keep us from falling off the mountain and if we can’t trust them, we can’t climb.

From the lessons we have learned and the success we have had to this stage in life, we can continue our journey with confidence, but also with patience. The road ahead will not be easy so we need to take one step at a time. If we concentrate our efforts on each step, we will be less likely to fall. If we set small goals more often, we may be more likely to succeed which will give us confidence to continue. The top of the mountain can’t be seen from our vantage point because it is too far away and covered in clouds. It is hard to set a goal for the top if you can’t see the top. You may know where you want to go at first but if you don’t seem to be making progress then you will be easily discouraged. If we set small goals we will not easily forget what we were striving for in the clutter of everyday life. These goals may be getting a certain job, graduating with a certain degree, passing a class, making it through a busy week, a tough day, a tough test or a certain speech. The point is that if we are constantly setting goals, we will know where we are going.

The journey we face will not be easy. Since we will not be able to call on our families and these friends all the time it will be very important to make new friends and find new mentors. There have been many people who have gone before us and have reached the same goals we may be striving for. If we follow in their footsteps, by getting advice and encouragement, it will help us on the journey. Also, if we find friends who are fighting tooth and nail for the same goals as us, it will make things much more pleasurable and manageable. An example would be solving a Math 31 problem with the help of friends. If two or more share the load, the work and climb is made easier.

I would like to share an illustration that relates closely to what I have been saying. On May 27, 1998, Tom Whittaker was the first amputee to reach the summit of Mount Everest. He did it with an artificial leg fitted with climbing spikes and with his friends by his side. It was also his third attempt at the feat. He did not give up until he succeeded. Another climber had this to say of the achievement, “To climb Everest with two feet is hard enough, but to climb with only one requires that much more effort.” Since the end of last year, 931 people have reached the peak of Mount Everest by following in the footsteps of Hillary and Norgay, the first to reach the summit in 1953. A member of the base camp team had this to say, “If you set your mind to it, and take one step at a time, you can accomplish anything.”

Finally, I think that it is important to realize what will make life successful. It is not the search for wealth or power. You will be truly successful if you have surrounded yourself with friends and family, reached out to those around you in need and lived a godly life.

I’ve heard that the job of the valedictorian is to give the farewell address. So to our teachers and to the grads of ‘98, may I bid farewell. The mountain of the future towers above us waiting to be conquered and from the top you can better see the sun, moon and stars. Good luck on your climb and enjoy the view.

Filed under: Life

Benefits of Community

A couple of events recently have encouraged me with the benefits of community. Community in the sense of a group of friends that you spend time with and share your life with.

1. Free movie tickets to an advance screening of Darfur Now and running into friends / associates at the theatre, walking back to apartment to find the girls ready to put on a movie, dumping the gf there, getting a text from roommates about wings and driving out for wings with a group of 8 that show up at different times but finally congregate at the same table.

2. Phone calls in the evening from a friend, stuck in an old school video game without internet access and needing help from a walk-through. Googling one, finding the appropriate section, “Use the eraser eraser in the cave in the middle of Stonehedge”, and wishing luck, all in about 4 minutes.

3. Going to a friend’s house for a group meeting, but upon cancellation, sticking around drinking tea and talking for a few hours.

4. Going to friend’s house right after work after picking up take-out from the Vietnamese place downstairs from their apartment, sharing tea and working on our respective tasks (emails, preparation, paper-writing, video games) until another friend shows up for a small group meeting.

5. Playing basketball in a recreational league with friends, winning our game and then going out for some of the best pizza in the city with half of the team, getting a phone call from an old roommate asking for a place to stay that night, catching up with him before crashing in bed.

These things all have in common an aspect of spontaneity. It’s a level of comfort that occurs knowing you can interrupt another person’s life at any time and know they will be okay with that. Your friendship becomes more of a live, changing thing that encompasses every area of your life, instead of a relationship that is governed by the few planned events that you both are a part of.

Filed under: Life , community, friendship

Relationship Status

For all those reading over at Facebook, you’ve noticed my recent relationship status change. It deserves more than a cursory mention, but Leanne and I have started dating officially now. For all those who’ve asked for details and provided well wishes, thank you and know that it’s well received. I’m headed to Edmonton with the youth this weekend and intend on catching up with all of you in the coming days when I get a chance to catch my breath. Too many late nights planning for youth stuff this fall, hanging with roommates and enjoying the last few nights of singledom have yielded a sore throat and clogged sinuses. I’ll be well soon, I’m sure.

Filed under: Life , relationships, weekend plans

Question for you…

How often do you really smile at strangers? Do you make eye contact with people you see walking down the street?

Let me share what I’ve been challenged with lately. I had some improvements done to my 4 top, front teeth recently. Instead of having yellowish teeth with a bit of a gap, I have consistent, good looking, whiter teeth. Next week this time after getting the final ones put in, they’ll look even better and be whiter, matching my other top teeth. I think I was a bit self conscious about my old teeth and one consequence is that I’d smile more with my mouth closed than open. Now, I find I still smile closed mouth because the habit has been formed.

It will take a while for me to change in this area, but to help, I’m being more deliberate to smile to strangers, both guys and girls. Most of the people are either waitresses or cashiers that I’m involved in some daily exchange of service, or people passing on the street. Just making eye contact is a huge first step because it implies that you are willing to talk or engage with the person you are making contact with it. At lunch today, I made eye contact with a homeless guy, and because of it, he stopped me to ask if I wanted to give him change, even though he was just pushing a shopping cart full of cans down the sidewalk and wasn’t asking for change.

I want to be the type of person that is approachable and is able to talk to random people on the street. If not for the sake of the gospel, just for the sake of giving people the time of day, and treating them with respect, showing them that they are loveable and worth entering into conversation with. Along with this, I’m sure I’ll be pushing my boundries more to talk with girls also and flirt a bit with them. I don’t do that easily and only mean to flirt in a way that puts a smile on a face knowing that someone found them attractive and interesting.

My favourite part of dose magazine when it was around, was the part at the back where they talked to people on the street, showing a photo of them and their response to some question of the day. I’d like to do something similar with people I meet and see around the city. I’d have to first start taking my camera everywhere, and second, be bold enough to speak to random people, asking their permission for a photograph and talking with them. I’m not ready yet to do it, but will try before the summer is done.

One challenge I find is with girls, and sometimes guys, who wear big, ‘fashionable’, sunglasses. Wearing these make it extremely difficult to make eye contact, and therefore to initiate any other kind of contact. It’s fine when you’re walking down the street, as long as you recognize that you are unapproachable and aloof because of your fashion choice of eyewear. I find it rude when people continue to wear them while speaking with people, and even more rude if they are indoors. Am I wrong to feel this way?

Filed under: Life , sunglasses

Next few weeks

• Catsitting Jellybean
• Dogsitting Tigger and protecting his empty house from burglers for his nervous family (baseball bat?)
• Cycling around the neighborhood
• Morning tennis matches
• Getting a Barrytown t-shirt made for myself
• Working long into the night on a project that I’m behind on for work
• Leading a small music team on a Sunday when everyone will be at camp, not church
• BBQ’ing again after being out of propane for a couple weeks
• Enjoying having 5 people living in the house instead of 7
• Getting speeches prepared for my brother’s wedding
• Spending a week in Oregon at the beach and at my roommate’s Grandma’s house
• Waiting for our cat Richie to have her babies (hopefully not under my bed this time)

Also, I apologize for so many bad self portraits lately. My teeth are looking better than ever, though.

Filed under: Barrytown, Life, Travel

You’re trying to seduce me.

A smattering of recent events.

1. Hockey playoffs were sorely missed last winter and the city is making up for it this time, though at a tentative pace. Alternatively, the personal approach is more enthusastic, with a few nights out to watch games with friends. It gets expensive though, sitting down for a meal to preserve a table close to the TVs.
2. Go watch this commercial. It has all the elements of a quintessential Wes Anderson movie. Perfect.
3. Things at Barrytown are humming along great with a new roommate this past weekend. There are offers for a move elsewhere and discussion of new residences. Things will likely remain status quo for the summer at least.
4. Went for a walk down 8th Ave (Stephen Ave) and bought a bratwurst with mustard and sauwerkraut for lunch. A rare treat.
5. Jane Jacobs died this week. I just finished reading Death and Life of Great American Cities a couple months ago and it's really solidified thoughts regarding how I view our own city and where I'd like to be living within this city. I woke up one Sunday morning to the sound of her voice on our local campus radio station (cjsw) speaking at a conference about city planning and communities and what makes neighborhoods great. It was a wonderful way to wake up. Also check out this interview for more background. It was my first exposure to her writings and personality.
6. I finally rented The Graduate and loved every bit of it. I laughed and Barrytown took immediatedly to Benjamin, whose insecurities and spontaneity amidst an uncertain period in life, we can all connect with.
7. I'm mapping out and personally experiencing an interesting phenomenom that occurs to those with introverted characteristics. When you see someone interesting and don't have the guts to converse with them you will see them around all the time, but when you finally work up the nerve to approach them, they will never pass through your field of vision or be around when you wish them to be. It's frustrating and leaves you with many regrets for passing up on earlier opportunities when you didn't say hello.
8. An interesting story you can ask me about sometime: with my camera in tow, I was personally invited as the only male allowed at a portion of the woman's conference at my church last Saturday evening. How odd is that?
9. Who wants to ride bikes this Sunday afternoon? Barrytown 10 Speed Racers Sabbath Ride starts at Barrytown, sometime after lunch.
10. On Tuesday morning, it took a massive, two hour double session to get my teeth cleaned up at the dentist. That smooth tongue on tooth feeling is back.

Filed under: Barrytown, Life, Lists