News Update

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. We've had several dumps of snow, so we've been busy on the driveway. Wendy helps out with that. It's above zero again this weekend and water is running on the streets and driveways. The markets have remained volatile, but it appears they may have turned the corner as gains were achieved this week. I had an excellent week, and almost made quota for the month; this is gratifying as the TSX is down 1.5%. The US indices also seem to have turned upward, but remain further in the red to this point. In basketball, my Jayhawks lost in Iowa early in the week, but returned home to beat Kentucky this evening. Their mediocre work last week dropped them to #4 in the rankings, and they may drop again after this week's efforts. Rock Chalk boys! I've been watching the Junior Curling championships this weekend. It'll be BC vs NS in the women's final, and MB vs N.Ont in the men's final; both games are set for tomorrow. 

Liam is home for the weekend. Friday was a school holiday, so they picked him up on Thursday. He's been having issues with an ingrown toenail, so they made use of the bonus day to get that operated on—these folks know how to have fun! This weekend features a celebration of the boys' birthdays with movies, pizza and crazy cake—that's more like it! Liam turns 16 on Thursday, and Haaken turns 19 next Sunday. Amazing how they're aging so quickly while the rest of us remain the same! Haaken continues with work around the house while he is applying for jobs and following up with potential employers. We pray something will come through soon. 

Erin and Kristian have had a good week. Erin's pushing has moved the school forward toward a new FM system for Kristian's hearing. Kristian had a good week in school. Sadie got her hair cut and styled! Kristian got his hair trimmed as well! 

Travis & Joanna remain very busy with work, and Joanna has received an invitation to apply on some contract work. She's somewhat interested. Gemma and Andrew are in the transition phase between semesters with exams and new course work to consider. Gemma made a nice batch of cinnamon buns, and both have helped out on the driveway clearing. 

That's about it for his week. 

News Update

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather was cold over the weekend, but has moderated to just single digits below zero, and the driveway has burned off in the sunshine. We got the renovated washroom ready in time for Travis and Joanna's return from the Dominican Republic, but there will be more work there once the new shower stall arrives. It's looking better anyway, and the new, insulated floor surely helps. I replaced the bad ABS joint, so that part is good now. Wendy primed the drywall, and we'll paint the whole thing once it's completed with the new shower. The markets have remained volatile, but I had an excellent week, and have moved into the green for the month, although the index remains down 4.8%. North America won the Continental Cup of curling, but it was close. The Jayhawks played two more subpar games this week, but won one of them. However, they've been dropped to #3, so I hope that encourages them to work harder! Women's provincial curling championships are on; I'm tracking results as well as watching a few of the games. 

Haaken continues to apply for jobs and call back to potential employers about his status. We do pray for job for him, although now there is the complication of a planned family trip in three weeks. Eric has been able to end the bus commute, as they got their CRV back on Thursday from its deer inflicted damages. Eric/A are in Saskatoon this weekend as they've begun French classes in preparation for the trip. Liam continues at school, but expects to rejoin the family next weekend. They continue with their downsizing efforts. Next in line is to eliminate Partylite and Tupperware! They are also finalizing plans for the trip to Paris. A small recovery in the loonie may allow them some savings on the exchange!

Erin has been working over some options for improving Kristian's hearing experience. She's pressing the school to upgrade their FM system, so Kristian can receive sound directly through his hearing aids. Otherwise things continue well as they experience their first winter in their first owned home. Erin now has a blood pressure machine, so she can monitor her BP at home. Kristian got to go skating and sledding this week; he had a great week in school with no extra homework because he was doing so well. 

Travis and Joanna returned on Tuesday evening. They really enjoyed the time at Punta Cana, and had clearly been absorbing a few rays while there. Now, they're back to business. Gemma and Andrew are in exam time for the end of semester 1. They both do well at school. 

And that's about enough for this week. 

News Update

Winter has come to our home on the shore of Lake Superior. We've had a good dump of snow, and I've been clearing the driveway on Thursday and Friday. We've been working all week on a renovation of the downstairs bathroom. I have the plumbing done, although I may buy a replacement for one joint where the glue set up before I had it at the angle I wanted. We got the new flooring down for most of the room, except under the shower, since we're still waiting for the new shower stall to arrive. I got the first coat of mud on the drywall this evening. The markets have continued their downward slide although I did get my first two green days of the year. Still, not making any gains, but at least I've stopped the bleeding. The opinions of the experts are not encouraging. All indices are down over 7% already this month. I've reduced my investments, but if this continues, I will reduce further next week. Brad Jacobs and Jennifer Jones won their respective Skins championships last weekend. This week it's the Continental Cup in Las Vegas. Kevin Koe, Pat Simmons are representing North America on the Men's side, while Jennifer Jones and Rachel Homan are on the Women's team. To this point, the World Teams are leading, but the big points are tomorrow, and nothing has been decided yet. The Jayhawks played two mediocre games after their big triple overtime win over the Sooners. They lost earlier this week, and made a better effort to win today. Still it seems certain they will lose their #1 status when the new rankings are announced tomorrow. Rock Chalk Jayhawks!

Liam is home this weekend. He's playing drums for the worship team! Baileys are also making some final plans for their Paris trip. Part of those plans is hoping for the exchange rate to improve over the next few weeks, but their financial advisor advises that that's not going to happen! Haaken has submitted his application for Capilano University. He is putting the finishing touches on his portfolio as well. He continues to apply for work and make follow up calls on resumes he's distributed, but nothing has come through yet. Tonight, they are enjoying The Martian in 3D. Later, they may enjoy a non-festive showing of Die Hard in honour of Alan Rickman.

Kristian has experienced both ups and downs at school! We're cheering for more ups! Erin is back in good health, but intervention continues on her blood pressure medication. Sadie seems to be having a solid week!

Trav & Joanna started the week with more photo shoots of the hockey teams in Nipigon. They're narrowly missed getting stranded by the bridge failure there. On Tuesday morning, they left for a week in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. They seem to be having a great time there! Gemma and Andrew are keeping us company here in the frozen north!

And that's about it for this week. 

News Update

The first week of a new year has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has continued very mild (most days above freezing) with some snow and showers to add to the mix. It has turned colder today, -10, so now it's icy on the vehicles and driveway. The streets that haven't had much traffic are likewise slippery. Wendy has been busy with puzzles, and I try to locate an occasional piece! We've had a terrible, no good, very bad week on the markets. It's been the worst opening week ever recorded, and I suffered along with the indices. According to my definition (short term average falling below long term average) the TSX has been in a bear market since last June, and now others who use the -20% definition have joined my analysis. Anyway, it's been hard to make money in the current circumstances. However, there were strong economic indicators both sides of the border as jobs data were positive, although some pundits question the quality of jobs created here. However, it seems the main issues are elsewhere, where softness in China meshes with softness in the rest of Asia and Europe and leaves investors feeling negative. The World Juniors had an exciting conclusion as the host country Finland beat Russia in overtime to win Gold. The NFL season has moved into the playoffs and my guy (Peyton Manning) is back at the controls, so I'll be following that. The Jayhawks were awarded #1 seed after their win last Saturday, but were sorely tested before beating the Sooners in triple overtime on Monday night—it was fun to watch!. They travelled to Lubbock and beat TCU tonight in a poorly played game—still a win! This weekend is the Skins game in curling, so I've been enjoying that. Sweeting and Jones are in the women's final. Gushue will face Jacobs on the men's side. 

Eric/A and the boys are still basking in the after-glow of the Force Awakens! Their FaceBook entries continue to be dominated with references to the movie and expectations of the next one! We really enjoyed it as well. Erica had some extra excitement this week as she hit a deer on her way to work—some repairs may be needed to the bumper and grill. The deer ran away—should be charged with leaving the scene! Otherwise they're involved in a version of Spring Cleaning—they're searching, sorting, and discarding stuff! Since it's still Winter, we'll call it, "Searching for the Camera!" 

Erin has experienced much improvement in her infected finger, and it appears to be well. She is also being treated for high blood pressure, and more work remains to be done there. I told her that high BP is an inherited disease and she thought I meant because Wendy has high BP, but I corrected her understanding—we get it from our children! Since she was working with Kristian on his math, she was quick to agree! 

Travis and Joanna are busily engaged in the Puckshots business again. They had eleven teams scheduled for photographs this week to raise their total to ninety-three this season. I noticed one cute piece of photographic magic that Trav uses to provide better-than-expected service to these teams. Why should a picture lose value just because one guy is not wearing skates?! 

And that's about it for this week! 

The Year/Week that Was

Another year/week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. It has been another year of adventure with my best friend, Wendy. We began the year with two months on Vancouver Island,  where we were hosting Haaken as he finished his high school program. We took a tour to visit family and friends in Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas in the early Spring. We spent most of the summer in Regina providing day care and golf practice for Kristian—that was a pleasure! For October and November we joined a team for a mission to India where we enjoyed working in the schools and congregations connected to Ray McMillan's work there. After another short sojourn on the prairies, we closed out the year in the comfort of our house on Lake Superior. We have spent the week leading up to the new year making great efforts to clean up the turkey and baking leftovers! I've enjoyed too much of both! The weather has remained unseasonably warm, but we did get a little snow at least. The Santa Claus rally in the markets ended way too soon as Wednesday and Thursday suffered deep losses and I barely had any gains for the month. World Junior Hockey has completed the preliminary round and moved into the playoffs. Our guys did not perform well, but we made the playoffs. However, we lost today to Finland, so we're out of the tournament. The US college football playoff began yesterday, but my Sooners lost out, and my interest died with them! The Jayhawks have completed their preseason schedule and enter the regular season ranked #2 in the country—I guess that means they will try harder! They did today, opening conference play with a win over Baylor. 

News from the family in Saskatchewan has been slim as they're busy enjoying the festive season as well as getting back to work. We wish them all well in the new year. The weather has been nice there also, so they've been able to get outdoors to play in the snow and enjoy the scenery. Trav, Joanna, Gemma and Andrew are managing some relaxing, but also have some photoshoots and hockey card orders to complete.

And that's about it for this time. 

Money Management 2015

Happy New Year! 

2015 was a year many in the investment community will wish to forget. All North American indices struggled, and most were down. The TSX, which I invest in, suffered the most (-11.1%), and only the Nasdaq was in the green, gaining 5.7% for the year. The broadest index, the S&P500 was pretty much flat (-0.7%), so that gives the clearest definition of how things went. There were opportunities, especially for those who play the markets both ways, and also for little guys like me who can manage their buys and sells more nimbly. In the final summation, I did well, not quite up to quota, but at least managing to cover the payouts we have planned for our retirement needs. It helps that both of us qualified for our OAS this year, hitting the magic 65 for the government to begin paying us! That lowers our needs from the investments, and we've finally begun building up our TFSAs once again. Big thanks are due to Wendy, as she does the work to maintain our household budget, and keep us on track with our expenditures. It has also been great to have my brother to chat with every day; we are able to bounce ideas off each other even though we invest in different markets. And, of course, it always leaves us with someone else to blame!! 

We are well blessed financially, and it remains my assignment to continue to try to learn better ways to manage and invest the accounts. I hope for positive markets in 2016. 

Boxing Day

Another festive week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my home town. We have enjoyed another round of giving and receiving; and we now acknowledge even more blessings. We have been glad to spend time with our family here at home, and also to FaceTime with the crew who gathered at Erin's house in Regina. What a special blessing it is that Erin & Kristian now have a nice place to set up their home! We certainly rejoice with them. Eric/A and the boys have a nice place in PA as well, and both have work that is rewarding; we only wish their work places were closer to each other! Travis & Joanna, Gemma and Andrew have established themselves in the downstairs suite here, and that has been a double blessing for us as we not only have them close by, but we can hit the road whenever we wish! The weather has continued mild with above zero temperatures again this week, and some rain to wash the streets clean. We got a dusting of snow for a white Christmas at least. The markets have finally launched a Santa Claus rally, and even though they were only open 3.5 days, I managed to gain more than a full week's quota. The Junior World Hockey Championship is underway, and Canada dropped their opening game to the US—Go Canada, Go! There are a plague of college football games on the TV, but I'll only be following the playoff games and cheering for Oklahoma—Boomer Sooner, Boomer Sooner!  

And that's about it for this week! It will be the New Year before another weekend rolls around, so I'll take this opportunity to wish you all the best in 2016! 

Twas a week before Christmas!

Merry Christmas! 

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown! The promised snow has arrived and it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! We received a dump of slushy snow on Sunday afternoon and Monday, so it's been difficult on the streets as drivers fail to adjust quickly to the vastly changed driving conditions. I've been working on the steps and driveway most of the week, and it's gradually getting better. I think today's scraping has the steps in good condition. The rain, snow, and near freezing temperatures have conspired to leave the driveway in less desirable condition. We don't have an expectation for any sunny days in the near future, so we'll keep at it with scrapers and salt.  I have decided to cover some of my cedars against sun burn this winter, so I worked on that for a bit. I think I'll need some ropes to tie their white robes on—it looks like the clan is in my back yard! Wendy has been busy with shopping and Christmas baking. I'm enjoying omitting the former, and engaging the latter! The market has continued to be troubled. There was a buying frenzy around the US Fed Rate hike, but that died out into big losses Thursday and Friday. I had a very good week despite some pull back on Friday, however, I only have two holiday-shortened weeks left and much quota left to earn! A new face won the Canadian Open as John Epping beat Brad Gushue in the final. Rachel Homan won the women's Open, continuing her dominance. NFL is nearing the playoffs, but Peyton is not playing, so I haven't been watching. Jayhawks won big again today in university basketball and are ranked #2 in the young season. Riders are making a big splash as they hired the Grey Cup winning coach away from Edmonton, and fired about half their players! Can you say, "Rebuilding?"!

Eric/A and Haaken continue with life in PA. Liam has completed exams at Caronport. They are arranging Christmas and Kristian-care together, which has relieved us from another trip west—thanks guys! Erin suffered an infection of some kind in her finger. She had to get it lanced, and is now on antibiotics. We hope this will take care of the problem.

Trav and Joanna have been very busy—too busy with PuckShots, Bucket Decals, and the other aspects of Ulrich Design. They even got the old man into the harness briefly this week! Apparently, I didn't set them back too far! Gemma and Andrew have completed the term and are on break from school. They both came home with excellent report cards.

And that's about it for this week. Merry Christmas! 

Home Again!

We enjoyed a wonderful family reunion in Regina last week, closing it off with a celebration on Sunday as a morning of fellowship at Glen Elm was accented by a great Sunday dinner at 55 Laird, where we noted the engagement of our niece, Ashley, with Barry. Feeling suitably recovered from jet lag, we set out Monday morning for TBay, but we didn't make it. Plenty of fuel in the car, but I ran out of gas at Dryden, so we stopped there for the night, and completed the drive home on Tuesday. It is good to be back home, and we are enjoying catching up with the family here to complete the reunion cycle. The weather remains unseasonably warm and I managed to get the leaves cleaned up from the lawns, and watered-in the cedars. They are promising snow overnight, and winter must arrive soon. The markets were volatile this week with three very bad days around two good days. The action leaves the TSX down 4.7% this month, 12.6% for the year—sigh! I was down for the week, and with the US Fed rate story next week, and the holidays coming up, I am despairing of making quota for the year. My man, Kevin Koe, won the Canada Cup of curling on Sunday. This week is the Canadian Open, and Koe once again made the playoffs. He lost his semi-final game tonight, but it was another good showing. The hockey season is about 1/3 through, so I'm paying a bit of attention to the playoff races there. Basketball season has started, and I've watched three Jayhawk games since we got back—all wins! Rock Chalk. 

We caught up with Eric/A and the boys in Regina last weekend, as we were getting our recovery time at Erin & Kristian's. They are looking to have Christmas together in Regina, but we're planning to stay home for Christmas this year. Trav, Joanna, Gemma and Andrew are off to Minneapolis this weekend for a hockey tournament. We're hosting their other creatures here at home! 

And that's about enough for this week. 

The Voyage Home

Tuesday was a quiet day for us as we prepared ourselves for the departure from India after midnight, and the 14-hour flight to Toronto. There was some shopping, much resting, packing, and Carter was trying to work through a case of Delhi Belly. We boarded the flight as scheduled and flew ahead of the sun before finally arriving in TO about 5am Eastern. We cleared customs there, and prepared for the morning flight to Regina. That marked the end of our team travels, although Janelle and Carter still had to travel to Salmon Arm via Kelowna, and Tyler had to fly home to Yellowknife. We began the process of time zone adjustment at Erin's place in Regina, and plan to drive home next week. The first three nights have featured interrupted sleep, but we're gradually feeling more clear-headed during the day time. We're certainly appreciating a quiet, downstairs room here at Erin's. My eye has continued to improve, and now I remain only to complete the regimen of antibiotics. We drove over to Caronport to retrieve Liam on Thursday evening as he and Kristian both had dental appointments on Friday. Grandma took them to their appointments. Eric/A and Haaken arrived on Friday evening, so we are enjoying a reunion with them as well. Canada Cup of curling is on, occupying some of my awake hours! My guy, Kevin Koe, is in the final tomorrow. The markets have been troubled by various news stories all week, but ended with a bit of a rally on Friday, so I was at least in the green for the week. As I had called it, Edmonton won the Grey Cup; now, it's time for them to change their nickname in keeping with the times. 

And that's about all I remember from this week! 

Taj Mahal—My Eye!

Something got in my eye soon after our arrival back in Delhi, and I don't like it. Our friends here accommodated me by obtaining some eye drops to lubricate the problem, but that didn't seem to be easing the pain or leading to a solution. So, Wendy led me through some further steps! Her investigations did not find the speck in the upper outside quadrant of my left eye, and the redness continued to disgust the viewers, while the pain continued to dismay me. Finally, we found a clinic open with a doctor in attendance—yay! Nope, he was reluctant to even touch my eye let alone look in it! He did proffer a prescription for Ciproflaxin antibiotic eye drops. These, he assured me, would destroy the infection troubling my eye and its observers! Clearly, I was left to my own devices. Following the advice of a friend who had informed me that Q-tips were not to be used in ears, I obtained a Q-tip, and used it on the inside of my upper eyelid—man, was that uncomfortable! Then, I began dosing it with the Cipro, on the hour as recommended by the good doctor. Today, I have continued the treatments every second hour (I'm good at following some of my doctor's recommendations!), and it both looks and feels better this evening.However, I may have to get it looked into (If I can find someone who will actually look into it!) when I get back to Canada! 

And, as to that other little point—we visited the Taj Mahal, and the Agra Fort today. The Taj Mahal was duly spectacular, but I was actually more impressed with the fort. We found ourselves at a loss to get a picture that would do justice to the Fort, but here's one Wendy took of the Taj Mahal. 

Taj Mahal

Delhi-Closing the Week

QTUB Minar

We flew down to Delhi on Thursday, and plan to spend the remainder of the India trip based here. On Friday, we did a number of tours to sights around the city. The QUTB Minar (the tallest brick minaret in the world at 74 metres) and the ruins left from the Islamic period were very impressive. On the other time extreme, we toured the Lotus Temple which is of very recent vintage. It was also very impressive, and both places of worship remain in use. Then, we traveled to the India Gate, which is a remembrance of the war dead from the World War I time, and closed off with a viewing of the nearby Parliament Buildings. On Saturday, we endured a small tour of an unknown part of the city while our drivers tried to find the location of the India Social Institute. With the help of street vendors, they finally dropped us off close to our destination, and we walked the remainder. Once there we had a prolonged meeting with a group of Ray's friends from Manipur who are located here in Delhi. It was a good time! Throughout the last couple of days, I've been troubled with something in my left eye. None of the rest of the group wants to dig around in my eye, and Wendy seems able to find anything in there. It keeps irritating the eyeball, so I'm wandering around with a red eye that also alarms those unfortunate enough to see it! We hope to find a place of first aid that can get it cleaned out for me—soon!

Lotus Temple

Things seem to be progressing just fine on the home front; we were able to FaceTime with two of the children, but could only see the third! It kept saying it was 'connecting', but we didn't get to talk. We are looking forward to getting back there next week. The markets have continued to wobble their way forward, and I had a decent week, but remain short of quota and with only one day left in the trading month. My pick, Edmonton, takes on Ottawa in the Grey Cup tomorrow. We'll see if they can finish it off for me! 

And that's about it for another week. 

Chandigarh

We flew over to Delhi, and caught a flight up to Chandigarh on Monday. It was hard to know if we were still in India—the traffic lights were working, the drivers were (mostly) staying in their lanes, and the beeping was much diminished! Chandigarh was a planned city built by a team in response to the partition of India after it gained independence and Pakistan opted out. As a result, the traffic system is (I was going to say, "much more") organized, and getting around feels very efficient. There are traffic circles for most intersections on the arterial routes, and there are signs to explain where we are, and where we are going—what a concept! We are mostly on the wind down aspect of the trip, and we enjoyed several touristy destinations around town. We also got to meet many more of Ray's old friends and contacts from years gone by. We enjoyed the Rose Garden—even though it was not in season, there were lots of blossoms. We marvelled at the Rock Garden—one person's dream for turning trash and waste into an artifice. Some of us enjoyed the museums, but we only got started on checking out what was available there. Others spent much time and money shopping! It was a good time. Today, we flew down to Delhi once again. We will spend our last few India-days based here.

Another week in the books—Bagdogra

Bill in the Posies!

I scheduled Saturday as a day of rest and recovery for me. I have been fighting a head cold lately, and it finally appears to be breaking loose. So, after breakfast it was Tylenol Cold & Flu, and back to bed for me. The rest of the team has also been experiencing similar effects of being used up! Some are already on the mend, but most of us are less than 100%. Ray is much better; he's been gaining strength and energy toward this weekend. Next week, we begin to head west with a trip to Delhi. We shall see what adventures await us. 

It has been a good week in the markets although Friday had a bit of a downturn; still, I was able to gain more than double my weekly quota, so that provides some catch up. We don't hear so much about sports from home. CFL playoffs continue with the conference finals this weekend, and the Grey Cup match up will then be set. 

Internet provision here has been strange in that it drops off every so often, and then we have to get a new password. We have little slips of paper all over with expired passwords; it's hard to imagine who thought this was a good idea! When we do have connection the bandwidth is not great, however, we were able to get some FaceTime with Erica this evening, and that was a start at least!

And that's about it for this week! 

Bagdogra Part 2

Thursday and Friday were spent at Morningstar, another fledgling school focused on teaching English here in West Bengal. Here in the Darjeeling tea plantations, and near the border with Nepal, the Nepalese connections are strong. Upon our arrival, we were feted with scarves, garlands and bouquets—one after another after another! It was overwhelming. I believe I collected ten scarves, six or seven garlands—mostly of marigolds, and many bouquets. This is, apparently, their tradition for welcoming people! We felt very welcomed! This was accompanied by songs and dances under the hot sun until the shiny parts of my head were beginning to feel uncomfortable! On Thursday, we worked primarily with the children, and I also did some preparatory investigations on the teachers to focus my workshop which took place on Friday. Both sessions went well, and we hope will be of lasting benefit as this school plans to continue adding classes each year. It currently has three pre-school levels, and the first four classes of basic school. They have obtained registration from the district inspector of schools; this seems to be based on adequate facilities and adequate curricular match—progress! 

This completes are scheduled work with schools for this visit to India. We feel quite satisfied with our attempts in all localities except Chennai. We have continued to track the situation there, and it has not improved! The continuing rains led them to release water from a local reservoir, which in turn, caused further flooding, evacuations, power outages... We can only imagine the ravages of exposure and disease that still remain for them. The rains have not stopped yet, so who knows when clean up and recovery may begin! 

Bagdogra Part 1

We have enjoyed working with the first of our schools in this area. We were able to revise the schedule to get in two days of activities with the children, and still have occasion for a teachers' workshop. Both efforts went very well. The school enjoys high enrolment in the Nursery, Lower Kindergarten and Upper Kindergarten classes which bode well for the future. They are currently offering schooling through Class IV, and plan to continue expanding with one class per year until they reach Class X. Considerable development of labs and the like would be needed to complete a high school program, but it does remain a distant dream for the staff. They plan to add to the facility each year as they expand grade offerings, so their ambitions are high and commendable. The structures and program they have already is impressive. I know we are an encouragement to them, and I hope we have also provided some further tools to help them progress. 

Yesterday, we also paid a visit to Lenin Colony, a lepers colony near here. We met some of the families and entertained about twenty-five children. The children are all clear of leprosy, but we did note the ravages of the disease on some of the grownups. It was a humbling and gratifying experience to spend time with them. Tomorrow we move onto the second school in the area. 

Chennai in the Rear View Mirror

It has been a difficult and discouraging visit to Chennai, and we feel a certain sense of relief to see it behind us. When Ray fell ill, that was enough to put our program into turmoil, but it was considerably exacerbated by the rains. Thunderstorms continued to dump water on our heads, on the streets, into the parking lot of the hotel, into the hotel, into our rooms, into the elevator shaft—do you get the picture? Due to Ray's illness, he could not take the pulpit on Sunday morning, so that task fell to me. I was not expecting to face 800 to 1000 smiling faces! Fortunately, they remained smiling, and Emmanuel must have done a good job with the Tamil side since the message was well received! When we got back to the hotel, the parking lot was filling again, and by supper time it was coming in the front doors. We were hearing reports of flight cancellations, and the vehicle people were doing lots of hand-wringing about how long it might take to get to the airport in the morning, and jacking up the prices! To make a long story short, we have arrived in Bagdogra, India. It's a suburb of a bigger centre called Siliguri, and you may be able to find that one more easily. The longer version—it's been a long, tough day. We were up at 4:45 to attempt a run to the airport through the flooded streets of Chennai. The hotel was back to taking on water after another night of thunderstorms, so we had to wade into the water to get to the vehicle. The vehicle price had more than tripled, but we were stranded, and they knew it! We made the trip successfully, and were promptly informed that our flight was delayed, so we had an extended stay and they wouldn't even let us check-in until 8:30. After that things got better. The flight was about 1 hour late, but we had the same plane from Chennai to Kolkata to Bagdogra, so at least we didn't have to worry about connections. Once here, we have made connections with the school, and met with Naresh over the program at his school for tomorrow and Wednesday! It feels very good to see the prospects of a good program coming together. We feel very badly about how little of our program worked out in Chennai, and even though it's in the past now, we feel like there remains unfinished business there—another time, I hope! 

Saturday in Chennai

Saturday in Chennai went much better with drier weather. However, Ray has fallen ill as the head cold he has been battling, has gained control and extended into his chest. We have called the hotel doctor to check on him this afternoon. So, plans had to be cancelled, postponed and revised—same ol', same ol'! He has asked me to have some messages ready for tomorrow, so I'm busy with that this afternoon. We went for a tour this morning, sans Ray. We visited St. Thomas's Mount, which includes a shrine for St. Thomas. I climbed to the top in honour of my own brother Thomas since he's laid up with a partial knee replacement! After that we toured Little Mount which includes Thomas's hideout cave, and the spot where he was finally killed—just as well you weren't here for that, brother! We got in a brief stop at the Marina Beach, so we could wet our feet in the Bay of Bengal. Carter got a little bit more than his feet wet! I have been testing out my constitution with solid food today, and so far, so good! We have another day here in Chennai; Monday is travel day, and we're set to fly to Siliguri in northern India. We have two schools to work in there, and the teachers in one have already asked for a teachers' workshop as well, so I'm prepping for that. This week has been a bit disjointed as plans keep falling victim to changed circumstances, and that can get discouraging. 

We're continuing to suffer through troubled stock markets as strong data out of the US has made investors anticipate a rate increase there, and troubled economies in the rest of the world have prompted them to worry about growth overall. The double whammy condemned me to a losing week, and I've fallen off the pace I've been trying to maintain. In sports, the Riders closed off the regular season with a win in OT. Way to finish Riders! The CFL is into the playoffs this weekend, and I'm picking Edmonton to win it all.

We have had better internet connectivity here, and we've managed to FaceTime with our children. They're doing fine, and we're reassured. Eric/A have Liam home for the weekend, and Greg visiting, so the whole family is together. Kristian has been sick a couple of days, but he's better now.

And that's the end of another week in India. 

Flooding in Chennai

We flew into Chennai (Another renamed city, as it used to be Madras) on Thursday. It was great to be greeted with flowers, warm smiles and handshakes, in 30 degree comfort! Thursday evening we paid a visit to a local orphanage (more flowers, warm smiles, handshakes) and enjoyed supper with a family here—good friends of Ray, and now our friends as well. Ray has put together plans for our weekend here, and like other Indian plans, it is subject to change! We awaken several times through the night to the crash of thunder, and the splash of rain. We patter to breakfast through the splash of wet hallways. Our hotel is not only surrounded by flood waters, it's flowing in through the front doors about an inch above floor level. Sandbags and towels are used to improvise a dam; staff are working frantically in a losing battle to keep the floors safe and dry. Ray informs us that today's plans are cancelled and that for now we are stranded in the hotel. It's a low-key day which is just as well for me as I'm down with Delhi Belly, and cannot wander away from safe access to a washroom! Several visitors brave the water to visit us here. One group took several hours to drive about 10km to the hotel. Another group was in transit for half the day to get to see us. We are honoured by their efforts. The rain stopped in the afternoon of Friday, and we're hoping our other weekend plans may go forward. The team has gone out for pizza supper, while I remain in my room. I think that I'm improving! 

Oh Kolkata!

Oh Kolkata! "That which we call a rose, by any other name, would smell as sweet." The name has been changed, but the City of Joy stills smells as much, and is vibrant with life. We got here in time for Diwali, the festival of lights. The official start this year is November 11th, so that means the tenth was Diwali Eve, so fireworks started that evening, continued all night, and then accelerated in intensity on the evening of the 11th. Talk about Remembrance Day? We thought we were in a war zone. Regulations being what they are, we sometimes found ourselves in the midst of a shower of falling sparklers. After our first evening visit with long time friends, Swami and Violet, this was a tourist stop. On Wednesday, we paid a sombre and humbling visit to the site of Mother Theresa's work. Her tomb is there, and her small room has been maintained as a shrine. Then, we made a disturbingly easy pivot to the world of KFC, ice cream and shopping. After we were shopped out (It happens more quickly for some!), we rode the subway to a station within a few km of the hotel, and then the six of us packed into one small Ambassador Cab for a memorable ride the rest of the way. This morning, we packed up and headed to the airport for our flight to Chennai. We've arrived to a rain-soaked city, and the discovery that November is the rainiest month of the year in this part of India.