TGIF

Another Friday without the chimps and a TGIF :-( Is East Side Marios still the prefered watering hole or are you lost without me?

I think I will head out to a restaurant for a bite to eat tonight. Somewhere in downtown KL and maybe then a beer or two. I have some new programming that needs to get started this weekend and some old stuff that needs to get finished.

The new countdown is at 89 days until August 31st.

I hope your weekend is more exciting than mine, TTYL

Jim

Time in Malaysia Extended

I will be staying in Malaysia until the end of August so my countdown is now at 90 days not 70. taylor's requested that I stay until that time in order to get some things completed. I was okay with that as it is important to me to fullfill the duties you were hired to complete.

I have gotten into the habit of exploring KL. There is lots to do and many, many restaurants and smaller malls to explore. The other night I went to the Hard Rock cafe for some western food and to listen to a live band. The food was great, music not so great, but the crowd was mostly white folks like me which is unusal most places I go.

There is still lots of time if anyone wants to visit and we all know you teacher types have the months of July and August off. I would be happy to show you around, feed, entertain, and accommodate you.  I will draw the line at free beer for larry as no one can afford to feed free beer to Brown Bear :-)

I am doing some ONSIS work and have just completed in-servicing 75 Malaysian teachers on Blended Course delivery and implementing Gizmos in their Science and Mathematics courses. If you have not used Gizmos, check them out at http://www.explorelearning.com/. You can use any Gizmo for 5 minutes ... just enough time to get a feel for what it does. There are several hundred Gizmos to explore.

I am surviving well on my own and have even started to cook now and again.

That's about it for now, so TTYL.

Jim

70 to Canada

I have started my countdown and I have about 70 days until I return to Canada. It always seems more real when I have a countdown :-) I am making a list of things I have to do before departing from S.E. Asia.

Visit Australia
Visit Langkawi one last time
Walk in a thunderstorm
Watch a sunset and sunrise on the same day
Have one too many beers :-) with some friends

I guess that is about I want to accomplish.  I came for a year and stayed 2 years.

It is too bad that I will miss being here in Malysia with Jaime, however, I do know the way and I hope to visit once or twice while she is teaching at Sunway College.

I am still working at the Blended Course initiative here at Taylor's. I also have lots of ONSIS work to complete and training for the staff who will take it over once I leave. I doubt if I will have time to get bored.

TTYL, 70 and counting ...

Resigned

Big News ... for me anyways ... I handed in my resignation today. I hope to be back in Canada in early August (Ottawa). It is time to put my life back in some semblance of order and I figure I can do that best in Ottawa with some help of a few good friends.

Shelley will be joined by Jaime in June and they will reside in Subang Jaya. Jordan will be working in Ottawa for the summer, attending the Faculty of Education at U of O in the Fall.

So that is my big news. Other than that, it is 33 degrees and 90% humidity as usual.

TTYL,

Jim

Back in Malaysia

Jill McGrath coined the phrase 'sauna hell' when she was describing the climate here in South East Asia and she had it correct.I spent a day in London (actually in the Air Canada Lounge at Heathrow), transfered in Singapore, and arrived in Subang Jaya on last Monday night. I spent the week jet lagged (travelling around the world in 13 days does take it's toll) and had a relaxing weekend.

Here it is, Monday again and my first full week back. I have workshops for Malaysian teachers on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday of this week.The workshop is on how to use Math and Science Gizmos (learning objects). That will make for a long week. I also have to meet with the eLearning folks from Taylor's University as they just announced they will be 100% blended course delivery for 2015.

My time here in Malaysia may be limited as I find my feet are itching to be elsewhere, mainly back in Canada. I miss the seasons, my family, and my friends and I have things to take care of back in Canada related to my separation that are very difficult to complete from the other side of the world.

Not much news :-( I guess that is a sure sign it may be time to move on :-)


TTYL,

Jim

Currently in Halifax

I am currently in Halifax, awaiting my 11:30 pm flight to London England. I did take the airporter into Halifax today and had fish and chips down by the harbour. I hope to get into downtown London as well tomorrow as I have about an 8 hour layover before my flight to Singapore.

Travelling around the world can result in lots of wait times. My daughter Jaime had warned me about that after her first European trip.

Not much to talk about as airports are kind of boring, even if you are in a lounge with free booze and food :-)

So far I have enjoyed the fresh air in Canada, but have been way too busy!!!

TTYL,

Jim

Jordan's Graduation :-)

May 30th has come and gone and Jordan has graduated with a Bachelor of Kinesiology from Trinity Western University. The convocation ceremony was held in a large Pentecostal church in Abbotsford B.C. and was well done. Jordan was happy, but I think I was happier seeing him graduate. He has worked hard over the 4 years and should be proud of himself. He has been accepted to the Faculty of Education at the University of Education this Fall.

I met jordan the next morning and he showed mehis new set of wheels, a 2003 BMW 325. He says he looks better getting out of a BMW in a suit, rather than a truck.

After I met Jordan for coffee I decided to drive to Whistler as I have never been there and I hear the drive is great now that the roadwork for the Olympics is completed. I fly out the next morning to Ottawa and look forward to visiting some friends and my mom.

TTYL,

Jim