Coming Soon To A Tyson Near You

Seeing as my last post was a review of my summer, I thought I should share my plans for the fall and a bit of the winter. I’ll only go as far as New Years though.

Just Thought I'd Share A Photo From My Younger Years. It's My Sister and I!

Coming up this weekend already is the North Thompson Fall Fair and Rodeo. It’s a very hick event that attracts all the rednecks and farmers from all over the country. It’s kinda neat though. I mostly just like going sometimes to watch the rodeo, but haven’t been for a couple years due to a complicated work schedule. Hopefully I can get in at least one day this year. Oh! And can’t forget the cotton candy. I know its pure sugar and its going to make me incredibly high, but I love the feeling of it melting in my mouth. I don’t care about the taste, its all about the feeling! Maybe even this year I’ll stay on the mechanical bull longer than a few seconds too.

As soon as the long weekend ends, then school starts right after. It’s not bad though, I usually enjoy the first week of classes. It’s pretty relaxed, no labs and mostly just review/going over the course outline and material. Also, like I’ve mentioned in many blog posts already, I have some really wicked classes this year! So I’m excited to see what I get to learn. BONUS! I have a field trip in my Biology 2280 class (Ecology and Evolution of Land Plants), that’s more like a camping trip and its only in the third week of classes. Very stoked.

Next week, on the Friday, I’m going to be skipping classes for Ke$ha feat. LMFAO in Vancouver! I’ve been working myself up for this for a while now, and I can’t wait to get my VIP package! I’ll be driving myself and two of my sisters there and spending the night in downtown Vancouver. Then on the Saturday, my sisters are going to be doing some shopping while I visit with some old summercamp buddies of mine! I love being able to see them, they are amazing friends that I wish lived a lot closer to me because they are so reliable, loyal and trustworthy. Something a lot of my friends here lack.

The week after that, on Thursday, my dance lessons start. I spent a lot of money to get some top of the line tap dance shoes, now I’m ready to fly across the dance floor like a couple of my movie heroes, Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire.

My birthday comes on October as well! So I need to start thinking about what I’m going to ask for. Usually I put a lot of thought into my birthday list, I try to keep things very affordable. I don’t want my family spending much money on me at all, but also things that I’ll genuinely use and appreciate. So I need to take off my dunce cap and do some thinking.

I don’t have too many other things on the go for this fall, most of what I mentioned will keep me quite busy anyways, so its probably a good thing. Although, with that said, I’m going to try and make a very hard effort to go and visit my friends in San Francisco again over New Years.

As far as goals go, I just look to get similar grades as what I got last year, but hopefully even better. I really want to make more international friends as well, I need to build connections all over the world to be able to be free to travel and have friends to show me the ropes, guide me and give me a place to stay. I also look to get out a little more than last year, I’m incredibly self-disciplined with my studying and focus on doing my best and getting people to smile. But this year I want to try and have a little more fun, meet more people and do some crazy adventurous things I’ve never experienced before.

 

“We come to love not by finding a perfect person, but by learning to see an imperfect person perfectly.” – Sam Keen

 

Tyson Trepidations.

Nerding Out With TED

I do admit confidently, that sometimes I can nerd out quite a bit. I don’t really care, if it interests me then hey, it’s okay.

Once in a while though, I’ll go on Wikipedia to look something up or read into whatever is on my mind and I end up Wiki-surfing. I go from one subject to another and another just looking random things up. For example, the other day I went on Wikipedia to look into that new show called Terra Nova, then I ended up reading about Steven Spielberg, then onto Stephen King, Jack Layton, Fallout 3 and lastly, Rio.

Maybe I have an addiction to learning random facts. I could be like that random fact guy who sits in a corner, then whenever someone walks by, I’ll shuffle out of hiding yelling “RANDOM FACT!” and give them one. Even if their running away.

But really, that’s not even what this post is about, and I shouldn’t be creeping out the people that have to put up with reading this neither. It’s more about how I can nerd out a tonne with TED.

Who’s TED anyways? I don’t even know a TED.

Well, okay, TED isn’t a person, its a nonprofit organization that specializes in “ideas which are worth spreading”. It’s basically a conference full of guest speakers that have some innovative ideas for the world. I gotta say, some are pretty inspirational and creative. It has all kinds of people giving the talks, from scientists, to actors, to magicians, soldiers, writers, dancers, investors, etc. Any person, even just regular people that have a big idea.

So if you feel like nerding out, seeing something inspirational or really cool, give it a try! Below are a couple of my favorite conferences.

This TED conference video features Marco Tempest, he’s a magician that uses iPods as his magical props. While he performs, he talks about truth and lies, art and emotion. It’s really neat and worth a watch.

Here’s another one, this ones a bit longer at 18 minutes. This inspiring lady is Charity Tillemann-Dick. She had a double lung transplant and after being told by her doctor that she will never sing again, she proved them all wrong. Watch her amazing speech and musical performance if your up to it.

 

 

 

“In order to do good, you have to do something.” – Emily Pilloton

Tyson Trepidations.

A Tuxedo Mask Among Us

Alright, I know Halloween is still a little more than two months away from now. But I already decided what I’m going to be. I made this decision the other day to fulfil a childhood dream I have always had.

Growing up I watched a little bit of television like most children. I didn’t watch all that much due to my wild imagination and inability to sit still, but there were a few shows that could grab my attention. Some of those were Pokemon, Power Rangers, Dragon Ball Z, Boy Meets World and of course Sailor Moon.

While watching Sailor Moon though, I got a bit of an attachment to Tuxedo Mask. He was such a suave and brilliant hero, that I wanted to be just like him! Plus I had a bit of a crush on Sailor Mars, so I figured I would be able to attract her by being Tuxedo Mask!

So this Halloween I’ve decided I’m going to put away a little bit of cash to get a really good and authentic Tuxedo Mask costume going. I’ve done some searching for the main dressage, so I’m looking at something over a hundred dollars. But that’s alright, to be one of my childhood heroes would be like those Mastercard priceless commercials. For me it would go like this:

University Tuition: $4000

Visiting San Francisco: $495

Tap Shoes: $114

Mr. Bert: $75

Tube of Toothpaste: $1.99

Becoming Tuxedo Mask for a day: F%$&ing Epically Priceless.

So I’m going all out, I’ll even buy a bunch of roses to throw at cute girls or something! Maybe I’ll even save the day or something really crazy like what the real Tuxedo Mask would do. AND I already know I can pull off the hair too!

It’s going to be a good Halloween this year I think, has anyone else decided this early what they are going to be? And don’t say your too old to dress up for Halloween, that’s bull poopy, life is meant to be enjoyed and filled with fun times.

 

“You must believe in yourself, follow your path without fear.” – Tuxedo Mask

 

Tyson Trepidations.

Plotting, Plotting and Plotting. Creativity!

I feel so lazy this summer.

I haven’t really done much at all during time off school. I did my roadtrip right at the start of the summer, so that’s my travel portion out of the way. In a way though, I kinda wish I saved it for closer to the middle of the summer so that it would be something to look forward to and also make me feel not so lazy and unproductive.

As a result though, I have been plotting things to do and ways to make up for it during the school year and next summer. There are some things that I have always been interested in, but never had the chance to tackle yet in my life. Mostly, its because I lived in a very small town that didn’t have many things to offer anyone growing up. But now that I’m an adult (at least age-wise), and can get myself around with my own car and means; that makes me able to do some of those things I never had the chance to as a kid. Also, since I’ve been doing nothing but working, especially with the cold, rainy and dark weather this summer has offered so far, I have been wanting to get a little more creative.

Ahhh creativity!

I think that I’m a pretty creative person. I always come up with some outrageous stories, songs and jokes. Not to mention I like to write, play guitar, and use my imagination whenever I can.

Actually, as a kid, my best friend and I had all kinds of different personalities we made up, along with different types of creatures and adventures we invented. In fact, for a lot of that stuff we did, we were probably a lot older than someone would expect to be doing that. But we had fun, and that’s really all that matters.

Actually, I think I’ll make a post about that sometime later too…

Anyways, back on topic!

Like I was saying, I’ve been feeling pretty creative sitting at home, not really doing anything but working and seeing the occasional movie. So I’m going to push myself to explore my creativity. Not just for the rest of the summer, but during the school year as well.

First, I want to take up tap dance lessons. I’ve always had an interest in that type of dance for a long time and as a result, always dreamed about learning it. So I looked up the Kamloops Dance Academy here and inquired about adult tap lessons for beginners. They have one class a week for ten months that I can register for, running every Thursday night from September until June. I think that would be a great opportunity for me, especially considering I need to be a little more physical and active these days. I even checked into the cost, which isn’t too bad, being about $44 a month, making it about as much as I pay for one University course.

The other thing I would like to do is get serious about writing a novel I’ve been planning for a while. This is something I’ve always wanted to do but never really dove right into. Over the last while, I have been building a plot and planning characters, give them certain dynamics within the story.

Writing a book is something I’ve also dreamed about doing, but I know its a lot of work, especially with the genre I’d be writing into. I know its not really a subject written about too often, so I’d be entering some virtually unexplored waters. But also with that said, its better that way to bring something new onto the table. I know its quite a big endeavor as well. Most people give up somewhere in the middle because things start to get stale for them. There are the stages where at the start its always exciting, and writing is the easiest, but then in the middle there’s that hump in the road which claims a lot of victims! If I can get over that hump, the home stretch will be the easiest part for me. I’m pretty determined of a person and I think its something I can do if I plan everything properly. So needless to say, I’m pretty excited to get going with this project and see where it ends up.

Other than that, there are my many plans for next summer, and I’m going to go for every single one of them. Whichever one I end up getting, I suppose I will go with… Hoping I get one in the first place that is. They are just things I want to do, to try and make the summer a lot better and worthwhile than the ones I’ve had in the last couple of years. Some of those things include getting a job with Parks Canada/BC, get accepted to the Youth Mobility Scheme in the UK for a working permit, or travel to Malaysia and Singapore.

So I have a few things I want to get done, the most difficult will be writing my book though. I hope all goes well and you will definitely hear about each of these endeavours as they are undertaken.

“Polygamy: An endeavour to get more out of life than there is in it” – Albert Hubbard

Tyson Trepidations.

Sending Kids To Summer Camp

During my childhood and part of my teenage years, I was fortunate enough to attend a summer camp five times. Every one that I went to is infused in my brain forever and stand out as some of the most fun and memorable moments of my life. So I think if a parent gets a chance or wonders if they should send their kid to summer camp, they should most definitely research one close by (or not necessarily close) and send their kid without hesitation. The skills, memories and friends they come home with, stay with them forever. Childhood memories are something I would never want to lose or replace with anything.

The first time I went to a summer camp was when I was about 10. I went to Sunnybrae Bible Camp, located along the incredible shores of Shuswap lake and at the base of the pristine Mount Bastion. It was a beautiful camp with really expert staff, and perfectly executed activities and plans. They definitely had the experience and the resources necessary to give kids the best of time while there.

At Sunnybrae, they have tonnes of activities to choose from to make for a new experience all the time, such things ranging from archery, to swimming, to learning a little more about the bible and religion. All of their camps for kids are a week long and cost $235 + British Columbia’s HST tax. But it isn’t just limited to kids, they have teen and family packs as well. Also, even if your kid isn’t raised with a religion (much like myself), I think its still a great opportunity in their development. At Bible camp, they don’t push religion onto anyone. I just think its just a great way to introduce the Bible to kids and a little of the western religious history. It’s an important part of the worlds development and culture, so I think its a little incompetent to not be at least be a little familiar with the Bible and religion.

The other four years that I went to a summer camp, were spend at the Vernon Army Cadet Summer Training Center (VACSTC). I was in cadets for seven years, from the time I was 12 until I aged out at 19.

When I was 14, I went to VACSTC for the first time doing a Cadet Leader course that lasted six weeks, then the year after that I did a Cadet Leader Instructor summer camp course in one of the prestigious Drill and Ceremonial platoons for another six weeks. During both of those years I had an amazing time, learned tonnes of new skills and made plenty new friends that I’m still friends with today.

While attending VACSTC there are a number of different camps to attend that are specialized for different purposes like music, drill, shooting, and athletics. With those camps come a series of lessons as well, based on the different types of camp you choose to go to. Besides the lesson, there are a tonne of fun activities included in each; things like absailing, beach days, water slides, sports nights and even looking at some of the local tourist attractions in and around Vernon, British Columbia. This camp is free, paid for by the Department of National Defence. But your kid actually gets a bonus for going, not much though, just $60 per week spent at camp and you have to be in cadets to be able to attend. But the memories and bonds that you make at Cadet camp are those in which you keep forever.

Myself and Two Other Staff Serving As Flag Party

Lastly, I also spent another 2 consecutive years at VACSTC. I had such an amazing time every time I went, that I wanted to return, but this time as staff. For the first year I was the high ranked warrant officer for the Rifle Coach platoon, specializing in familiarization with several different rifles. The next year I was again a Warrant officer, but this time for a platoon in Drill and Ceremonial. As a leader and staff, I was in charge of about 30 kids with one or two other platoon warrants at my side. We were in charge of their safety, supervision, fun and we were the ones that passed on the commands to them.

Since I was staff, it was a paid position (quite generously, I might add) under a seven week contract. The first week there is spent meeting the other staff and getting a rundown of what we would be doing with the kids for the last six weeks and going over the rules.

Even to this day I still make time to go and visit some of my friends from camp, as well as visit some of the kids that I taught while staffing there. Just before my roadtrip I went and visit with one of the kids I taught that lives in Vancouver, but in August I’m also going to visit some friends I staffed with in the place where it started, Vernon, BC. I honestly can’t wait to see them and I think if any parent gets the chance, they should send their kid to summer camp. It gets them out of the way for a little so the parent can relax for a bit of the summer themselves, but it also lets their kid explore different aspects of the world, learn tonnes of new skills, and come home with a million new friends. All-in-all, summer camp is amazing.

“To see the Summer Sky
Is Poetry, though never in a Book it lie –
True Poems flee” – Emily Dickinson

Tyson Trepidations.