The start of something good...

Tomorrow I start a new chapter in my life. I fly to Calgary tomorrow morning, and I will pretty much start to look for a job right away. Hopefully I will have something by the end of the week. I'm not nervous about leaving, I am actually excited about moving out and exploring new opportunities! I have been reading a book lately called Miracle in the Andes, about the rugby team who's plane crashed in the Andes and they were lost for 72 days, eating the flesh of the others who didnt survive the crash in order to stay alive. Anyways, at one point in the book, the father of the man who hiked over 70 miles to save the survivors says to his son "Dont let this be the best thing that happens to you". What a powerful statement! Things that have happenend in the past are amazing, such as going to Dordt, all my friends there, and the amazing times we have had together, but I shouldnt make that the best thing that has happenend to me. If I look forward to things that are better, that will be what I will get! Like the game, Bigger or Better. From this point on, I will live my life Bigger or Better!
Tonight I hung out with a friend from high school I havent seen all summer because he was away. It was good to see him, he is a crazy guy, and we had fun laughing at his dogs who were having fun getting sexual favours from his brothers new puppy(poor thing). He is going to school in Edmonton, but his girlfriend will be in Calgary, so hopefully I can see them lots! She seems very nice, and even offered me a ride with her to Edmonton sometimes on the weekend!
Today I also got a cell phone, a pretty snazzy one at that. It can play MP3's. Cell phones and plans sure are confusing though, they are probably the form of technology that I understand the least. If you want to call me, go ahead, I have unlimited incoming(if I understood it right), and my number is 403-993-8426! I'll try to set up facebook on there, but Im not sure if it works in Canada, so we'll see. Otherwise you can email me, or send me a text, and I'll get back to you! Keep in touch everyone!
Until I post again,
Mark

I am Back from the end of the earth

Like I said in my last post, I went for a week long hike. We left monday morning, drove for 3 hours, then went out for lunch, and took a float plane to the start of the hike. It was an amazing time. It took us 5 days of hiking to get er done, but the first day we only hiked for 1/2 hour before setting up camp. The trail was very rugged, not many people do this hike, and we spent a lot of time hiking on the beach and along the coast. There were no ladders to climb, just ropes to pull yourself up in certain areas or down in others. There is just way to much to say, so to sum it up, I'll just say that God is an amazing God, and he is even more amazing for creating such an awesome planet!! We even saw killer whales from the beach we were camping on! If you havent gotten out this year to do anything cool in the great outdoors, get out and do it!! Thanks for all your prayers, they worked! There were NO injuries, which is actually very amazing becuase 8/11's of our group was over the age of 50!
Wednesday I leave for Calgary, and I wont have my own computer there, so I'll try to keep everyone updated. I'll get a cell phone eventually, so when I do, I'll post my number so you can call me! Pray that I get a job that is good for me!
Mark

Watch out Nootka, Here I come!!

Tomorrow morning I leave for a 6 day hike with some friends from church, mostly retired people but 1 guy my age. Its 35 km long, and will be pretty grueling. Right now my pack weighs in at 45 pounds. We have to our own food along, and basically everything else we need! Its awesome! I did the world-famous West Coast Trail in highschool, which was longer, but less rugged. This trail has no cable cars to cross rivers(you wade instead), no ladders(you use ropes), and there is no way to get onto or off of the trail except by float plane or boat! I'm kinda worried about that, because for those of you who don't know, I'm pretty much deathly allergic to bee-stings, so if I get stung I can be in serious trouble, if I dont have my epinepherine pen. But I'll have 3 along, and there is a bunch of nurses in our group, so all should be good. Even so, pray that there won't be any injuries, the weather will be nice(hypothermia is a serious threat), and that we can experience God's beautiful creation without any other problems!

Here is a map of where the island is, its off of Vancouver Island

http://www.vancouverisland.com/Maps/?id=34 (the top right corner) I live about a 3 hours drive away, plus an hour flight in a float plane.

In other news, I went to a wedding this weekend, the last one of the summer. My friend Kim, who I went to school with for a long time and worked with last summer, got married!! It was a really cool ceremony, it was on a grassy knolly area overlooking the ocean, and it was really casual. The guys didnt have to wear suits, they had white shirts and khaki pants, and the girls wore green skirts with white shirts. Very Kim style, I liked it a lot! I'll post some pictures!

Kim, the bride of course!(blooger wont let me add pics, so copy and paste the address into your adress bar to see-they are DEFINTETLY worth it!)

http://members.shaw.ca/mrkwkkrn/K-lav.jpg

Kim and 2 of the bridesmaids, who I also went to school with for many years! Ashley is in the middle, and Jenn is on the right. Both are married. Jenn and her husband, Chuck, live on the island. Ashley and her husband Mike live in Calgary, so hopefully they can introduce me to some cool people!

http://members.shaw.ca/mrkwkkrn/HS-girls.jpg

That is all, hope you all have a good week in your last weeks of work or if you are going back to Dordt already, have fun!

P.S. Anyone in the market to buy an island? Check this out!! http://www.bcoceanfront.com/private_islands.html
Marko

Coolest flower photo ever

Well, the art world is probably going to kick my butt for this, but I really love this photo. I hated it at first, but now I am enthralled with the color, the composition, and the fact that the part that I wanted sharp is actually sharp!! Woohoo!! It looks better on print by the way, Im still working in film. I want to get it enlarged to 16x20 or bigger!

In the headlines today, today was a great day! I spent the afternoon with Kim Taylor, because she was here visiting, and so I showed her the island. We went up to Parksville to the beach, explored the ocean, and then went to the "2006 Canadian Open" Sandcastle sculpting competition. That was radical, and thats not a word I use often:) After that we went to Coombs, where there are goats grazing on the roof of the buildings, we got ice cream - actually I got raspberry and pineapple sorbetto, it was amazing. We explored there for a bit, then drove back to meet her mom and got some drinks from Tim Hortons. The visit ended on a sad note, however, with the unexpected passing of my Chocolate Milk Iced Cappuccino. She somehow managed to knock it out of my hand during our hug goodbye. I was sad. But we laughed. And someone will remember the good times we had when they step on the goey mess in the parking lot:)

Trust

Trusting in God is tough....that is what I have been slowly realizing over the last few weeks.
A few weeks ago a friend called me and asked if I was serious about moving to Calgary(I had mentioned it before). So I was praying about it, while I was applying for jobs in Calgary, and that God would show me a sign that I should go. Well the next morning one of the places I applied to called me, and wanted me to come for an interview.
So I went to Calgary this week, and did the 3 interviews that I had lined up. They went ok for the most part, and I got 1 of the jobs for sure, but I had to turn it down because it started on monday, I needed a car, and it was only temporary. The one that I really wanted(the place that had called) I found out I didnt get tonight after I got back, so I was pretty bummed about that. I really felt like God wanted me in that position, but I guess not.
On the plus side though, on my way to an interview for a photography gig, I stopped in at a design studio next door and dropped my resume off, and they called me later that day! So I have a phone interview with them on Monday morning. Also the owner of the place I got rejected at told me of a commercial photographer who is looking for a assistant, so maybe that will work out. I also talked to the owner of a hair-styling school, and they are looking for a photographer for the fall to shoot their models...so maybe I could do that also! I guess God does want me there, just on his terms, not mine!

My first picture!

(sorry I had to remove the pictures due to issues with the photographer I work for)
This is sort of what I have been doing for work this summer. Being a second shooter for a wedding photographer. Part Time. VERY part time. Like 4 hours every week. But its good experience.
THe other night I freaked out about the upcoming move to Calgary. I woke up at 4 in the morning(after going to bed at 2) and was very distraught about having absolutely NO money! I couldnt sleep for a while after that, so I got out of bed, ate some cereal with milk, and read the paper. Then I went back to bed.
Looking back I probably should have gotten a part or full time job for the summer, and just saved the money. But I can't change the past now, and in retrospect I had a good summer with my parents and helped them out a lot.
My uncle and aunt are here from Northern Alberta, I LOVE having guests - especially when they are your favorite relatives. My siblings and I spent a lot of time at their farm visiting them and playing with their kids, and I thought today about how I havent been there in around 10 years. Sad. Tims have changed, but I'll definetly have to go up there for a weekend or something when I am in Calgary. Hopefully tomorrow we get to do something cool instead of sitting around talking all day.
Tuesday I fly to Calgary for interviews - I have 3 lined up. 1 print shop, 1 doing school photography, and 1 photographing pools(part-time). I really hope I get the print shop one and that its a rockin place, as well as the pool job. If I dont get any, I'll just get a shitty job doing something like produce or whatever until I can find something better.
Well thats all, pray that my interviews go well!