What a Year

It was appropriate that I had just come back from traveling and this was at an exhibition that I went to in January. I hope that one day I will be able to have my own map marking off all the places that I have been to!

A rare breath-taking day of sunshine in February...perfect day for a walk in one of my favourite areas of the city.

Say hello to Max. Life has never been the same again since Mar 24, 2008. Sometimes you just hand over the credit card for something you adore and don't ask questions and don't look at your credit card statement for a VERY long time.

Spring is by far my favourite season at home...the cherry blossoms, momentary breaks in the constant rain and the promise of warm, sunny days ahead. As the saying goes, April showers bring May flowers...

I've lost count of how often I have moved in the past 3 years...if my faulty memory serves correctly, it's pretty darn close to double digits. I was finally able to settle down a little bit again in May and this was one of the first photos I took on my balcony. Nothing like a good bowl of ice cream on a warm spring night.

One of my most treasured moments was teaching my brother how to kayak. He's not one to take direction from too many people, especially his younger sister - so this was a pretty significant achievement for me! I merged this with a photo that I just really like that I took in June at SFU. This is partly a reminder that Yvonne had graduated from SFU at this time as well. So all in all, a very busy month.

The Big Kablooie.

Otherwise known as the HSBC Celebration of Light that happens yearly at the end of July and first part of Aug at English Bay. I was lucky enough to be able to see this from the roof of my friend Tara's apartment building, rather than fighting the crowds on the beach.

Garibaldi Provincial Park (August). This was one of the most beautiful hikes that I have ever been on. The view of the lake at the end is breathtakingly gorgeous. Although it was fairly cloudy for a majority of the time, there were a few breaks in the clouds that revealed water that is an intense turquoise.

I took my Dad on a road trip to Portland for his 65th birthday in Sept. Perhaps one of the most trying trips I have been on for many reasons...thankfully I am quite amused when I look back on the whole experience.

Combined with frenzied job searching in Oct, I was completing my portfolio for a contest this year. After nearly 6 months of mulling over photos, tweaking each and every one, waking up with visions of combining images, and so forth, I finally finished 3 days ahead of the deadline. Few months rest and then right back at it again.

Fall is another beautiful season in Vancouver. I missed photographing most of it this year b/c there was just so much to do. I found myself hanging out under some trees for shelter from a sudden downpour in Nov and managed to capture some of the colours of fall.

Pan Pacific Wish Breakfast and Toy Drive on Dec 3. This is one of the best moments in the year as individuals from many walks in life bring an unwrapped toy in exchange for breakfast. Line-ups usually go out the door and this year was no exception. The sheer joy of the choirs, Langley Ukulele Ensemble and the firefighters that pile up all the toys is truly fantastic.

And that is my year so far...