I think I'm ready for winter now

I have a new winter coat. 10 Dollars at Old Navy.

Yeah I know but ten bucks is ten bucks!

All right, bring it on baby, I'm ready for winter!!

If this is Tuesday, it must be Prince Albert

Well, the house will begin to shrink in a few moments. Both girls will be returning home from their travels.

I'm glad they are able to travel. Yes, one's been only an hour away, but she's been staying on her own and trying out life by herself. That's always a cool taste of freedom. Life, on your own, in a bigger city...

The other one took a bigger, more expensive jump and headed right down to California for ten days. (I should add that she paid for it herself). It's a big step for her as it's usually not her thing to put herself out there on a limb. But this was a relatively safe limb, so off she went.

It has been my experience that travel changes a person.

It broadens ones perspective and experience. It allows you to see life from different angles, angles that you had never thought possible before.

Traveling to places where the language or culture is different forces you to think about who you are and what your culture is about. Then you are ready to really experience the other culture.

It forces you to develop a level of independence that perhaps you had not known before. You need to be deliberate at the things you do every day. Purchasing a chocolate bar in another language, with weird money forces you to think, and not just let life pass by.

Travel also opens you to options. You could do this or that, live here or there, the possibilities seem endless.

Yesterday Lauralea and I sat in a cafe and we talked about so many people who have never set foot beyond Prince Albert, or at least Saskatchewan. For many of them they really don't know what's out there. So, if they wish at all, they wish for the unknown. As a result, many of them won't ever leave the city heading to greener pastures. For some of them the "Greener Pastures" are to be feared and rejected. Nothing to be perused or looked forward to.

When I traveled, I discovered people who had the same spiritual roots as I had, yet their cultures were very different than mine. I learned that culture and things of the spirit were not necessarily the same. This discovery was so important for me in terms of personal growth. It clarified things for me in a way that remains to this day.

No, traveling is one thing I encourage people to try whenever they have the chance. It changes you, makes you a better person. If you need an excuse, it's a good investment in yourself.

So it will be interesting to see how these two change this year. What with all the travel that they have been doing and will be doing.

Interesting indeed.

Lark News, all the news that's misfit to print...

Lark News is reporting that The Rapture occurred March 31, 2005, at 9:43 a.m. Greenwich Mean Time.

...and took both people on the planet whose theology was exactly correct.
    Dan Wilson of Ottawa, Canada, was snatched away while sleeping.
    "He spent years refining his eschatological scheme," says his wife. "Just last week he told me he had it all right, but I still disagreed with him on a minor point. I regret that now."
    Rejna Thanawalla of New Delhi, India, also experienced the Rapture, say friends.
    "She knew exactly what the books of Revelation and Daniel meant," they say. "Sadly, none of us listened to her."
    In a surprise, Tim LaHaye says he was "slightly wrong on the subject of the Beast," and was left behind. Other prophecy experts say they, too, botched minor points in their end times charts.
    "Looks like we'll have to stay and wait this out," said one disappointed pastor.

At least one was a Canadian.

More Lark, here.

This is getting interesting, Pt.2

Um, yeah.

Due to the fact that people are starting to hear rumors about it, and it seems we have older kids who cannot keep silent, we need to confirm what the questioning emails and the quiet whispers in the corner are about.

Lauralea (and I by default) are expecting. Autumn will find us adding a fifth child to our collection, just before Christmas.

I think I'm ok with it, but Lauralea... well, it's gonna be a bit of a road to travel.

Sigh. Interesting indeed.

---

UPDATE:

Well, that was fun while it lasted! Thanks for being so gullible, you made my day.

It was a bit of work, coming up with a possible idea, hacking my daughters Blogger account, keeping the locals quiet. But it was a nice way to spend April Fools day.

In other hoaxes;

- The Toronto Star reports that Ashton Kutcher and Paris Hilton to star in a 2005 remake of Casablanca

- The BBC report (http://www.bbc.co.uk/ouch/features/tv_watershed.shtml) that a think-tank has suggested that disabled people should not appear on television until after the 9pm watershed.

- SpaceDaily (http://www.spacedaily.com/news/rocketscience-05o.html) reports that President Bush has cancelled the Space Shuttle Program and EADS SPACE falls for it 

- The Today programme on BBC Radio 4 reports that, as a result of an obscure 19th century rule succession of the House of Saxe-Coburg, Camilla Parker-Bowles's son, Thomas Parker-Bowles, who is older that Prince William, will become second in line to the British throne following the wedding of Prince Charles and Camilla on 8 April 2005

- Nature.com  reports that bacteria from the Apollo missions is destroying the moon.

- Bush twins to join Air Force tech unit in Iraq

-  Homestarrunner.com displayed a hoax message purporting that the popular (and free) animation website would begin charging money for access. A comically mediocre "tour" of pay-site features was also presented.

- King Arthur Pendragon claimed that English Heritage had handed ownership of Stonehenge to the Druids, as part of a project to place a roof and restore the ancient temple to its former glory

- Malaysian radio station Hitz.FM Morning Crew, Rudy and JJ, announce that they have been fired for coming in late the day before, and take hostage of the station. The drama went on for their entire morning shift. Malaysian newspaper The Malay Mail was in on the joke.

- A&W restaurants announce new deal of "Two grandpas for five dollars".

- BMW printed a full page ad in a number of UK newspapers (including The Guardian, The Independent, and the Daily Mail) saying that in 2007 the EU were banning right-handed cars being driven in mainland Europe, (effectively banning every British car) and that they had invented steering wheel-less technology.

 

And, some real events happened that people thought were April Fool's jokes. Like:

- Christopher Eccleston quits Doctor Who (2005) after one series

- Mitch Hedberg's death

-  British Home Secretary Charles Clarke is being asked to pardon Anne Boleyn for the crimes of adultery, incest and witchcraft for which she was beheaded in 1536.

- Google doubles Gmail disk space quota to 2Gb.

- The BBC asks to interview long-deceased singer Bob Marley.

- Google offers Ride Finder for real time information on taxi cabs in selected cities.

 

Sleep well tonight, I know I will.
Course, half the house is still away, (The upstairs half...) so, I suppose it's still possible that it could be made to be true...