Samomatic

Last weekend 6 of us, Horace, Brian, Ryan, Yassir, Ed, and myself embarked on a 2 day canoe trip in Algonquin Park. It was a trip with a lot of ‘firsts’ and ‘mosts’, more on that to follow.

Yassir and Ed were pumped cause they could fish and prepare it for dinner (we even had salt and pepper packets from Timmy’s). We rented 3 Kevlar canoes and were off to Big Porcupine Lake.

We had 3 portages each day and the longest one being 600m consisting mostly uphill. It was challenging and satisfying when we carried everything in one go and made it alive with the canoes on our backs.

Peaceful morning.

We decided to have a silly little competition and see who can catch a minnow – anything goes. We must have looked ridiculus to other groups! Below are some of the ideas we had and the biggest fish Ed have ever caught, we didn’t even have the proper size hook for it!

0 for 3 tries for Yassir, I think he should settle for a fish farm.

Our last leg was crossing Smoke Lake and we had to battle for 2hrs against a head wind. It was very tiring but rewarding to get back onto the dock.

After returning our equipment and grabbing a quick lunch, we decided to be ambitious and tackle another 10km hike. The sunset from the top was amazing but the bad news is that we had to hike the last 2km in the dark. We had to worry about wandering off the trail as well as drops or rocks in the way.

I haven’t been on a canoe trip for over 3 years and it reminded me how good it feels to get away from the city and enjoy the nature and the fall colors.

Getting used to the work schedule once again, it is nice to be living at home.
Last weekend was the Toronto International Circus Festival near Ashbridge’s Bay. The organization is called Circus Without Borders and they try to raise funds and perform for less fortunate children. All the performers during the weekend were volunteers and they put out a splendid show.

It takes dedication and perseverance for the performers to perform such unbelievable tricks/maneuvers. Apparently one of the performers trains between 60 to 80hrs each week!

I think there is certain resemblance to the movie “Big Fish” and the children really loved the shows and the interaction with the performers.

It’s been 3-4 years since we have graduated from high school but we always managed to stay in touch and get together even though many of us are working/studying out of town.

The third and final Charity Ball, organized by Kathy and Jenn along with help from a lot of others, was a great closure to the summer long fund raising campaign for the Canadian Cancer Society.

The main event of the night was a fashion show with clothing sponsored by local artist and well know brands, the models were invited by friends attending the Charity Ball and had to learn to do pose and walk in the weeks leading up to the event.

Photo of the planning committee. Good job guys!

Last weekend a bunch of us went downtown to the Bier Market to celebrate multiple birthdays and farewell for Greg who is moving to Nova Scotia for a full-time position.

It was good times sampling different drinks from all over the world and catch up with each other before going off for another semester.

My brother and I have recently just launched a new daily photo blog. All the modification and theme icons are done by Horace, I think it looks fantastic!

Visitors can play a little game to guess which one took the shot for that particular day. Winner gets the opportunity to travel all over Europe (at your own cost of course!).

The new blog will be a good way to display some random pictures that I usually don’t upload onto this blog, hope you enjoy it, comments + critiques are always welcome!