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ABOUT ME Way better than any Facebook listing.

So, you want to know a little bit about me, huh? Well, since I don't want to ask my friends what they really think of me and I don't wish to share my reference letters (and rejection letters) with you, I guess I'll have to do all the talking. I hope that everything is satisfactory!

Here are the past photos...

Taken: By Sean, November 19, 2010, on the roof of City Museum in St. Louis, Missouri.   Details: While planning my recent hockey trip, it was easy to find things to do in Washington and Philadelphia. However, it was a bit tougher to find attractions in St. Louis. There's the Gateway Arch... and then what? Fortunately, my friend heard about City Museum located in the loft district. The museum featured caves, tunnels, ball pits and airplanes, all of which could be explored. Ten stories up were a Ferris wheel, a school bus hanging off the roof and various other caged structures like this one I'm standing in. Considering all the places I squeezed into, my only injury was an elbow scrape going down a slide. Still, this was a neat stop and an excellent workout.

Taken: By William, October 2, 2010, at the Bell Lightbox in Toronto.   Details: Everytime I travel to Toronto, I tend to do the same things. I make sure to check in with my uncle and visit the Hockey Hall of Fame. This time, I was in town on business and arrived a couple days ahead of time to take advantage of Nuit Blanche, an all-night arts festival throughout downtown. Among the many strange exhibits were oversize clown heads squished between two buildings and duelling piano players whose sheet music was promptly folded into paper cranes. However, the coolest thing I saw was this Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, which was given to The Barbarian Invasions in 2004. The next time I'm in Toronto, I'll make sure to bring along my acceptance speech when I visit the TIFF.

Taken: By Jay, September 15, 2010, at The Links at Crowbush Cove in Morell, Prince Edward Island.   Details: I was looking super casual on my trip through the Atlantic provinces. Instead of wearing a golf cap, I chose to sport a Vancouver Grizzlies basketball hat for most of my rounds. Also, the only pants I brought with me during the week-long vacation were khaki trousers, so I looked like I was wearing the same pair of pants every day. This pair was especially baggy and comfortable, much like my golf shoes. I needed a new pair of waterproof shoes, so I went with a pair of Kikkors that made me look like I should be b-boying after hitting my shots. Anyway, if it appears that I've pulled my drive well left of the intended target, you're correct. Even though this has been my best year of golf, I have developed a nasty "power fade" ball flight that I can bend from left to right. This drive on the 11th hole, called Sully's Run, ended up fine. However, I needed to one-putt to save a double-bogey seven on the par 5.

Taken: By Leon, August 11, 2010, at Millennium Park in Chicago.   Details: Yes, that's me in the middle of an empty plaza, relected in Cloud Gate. One morning during my family trip to Chicago, I took a trip to Grant Park while everyone else slept in. Each time I passed by the many monuments in the park, they were surrounded by tourists. So, it was a little odd to check out landmarks like the Buckingham Fountain (the one from the opening of "Married... with Children") and the statue of General Logan with no one else around. By the time I got to Millennium Park, city workers were busy washing "The Bean" and wiping away the various prints left behind by the previous day's visitors. This gave me a chance to snap a self-portrait with the skyscrapers along Michigan Avenue to my left. When the rest of my family woke up we went back here for photo ops, but I was glad to see it without the crowds.

Taken: By Lilly, July 28, 2010, at home in Ottawa.   Details: It only took me 11 years to get rid of the eyesore that was my microwave, and that was because my aunt and uncle came to visit Ottawa and got me a new one as a gift. My old microwave oven was also a gift from another uncle, and it was perfect for my minimal existence. Honestly, the two settings of "cook" and "defrost" were all that I needed, and the second timing dial was a bonus. Plus, there was no need to clean the thing since the beige interior hid all the splatters. Still, I stopped using my microwave to make popcorn ever since I almost burned down my friends' kitchen while attempting to pop a bag in their newfangled stainless steel oven. Now, I have one of my own as seen in the background. As for my old antique, maybe the Smithsonian can put it on display.

Taken: By Cindy, June 5, 2010, at the City of Ottawa Traffic Operations Division.   Details: When I heard about Doors Open Ottawa this year, I made sure to go. I wasn't too excited about it last year, given that most of the venues were churches or other places that I had no interest in seeing. It wasn't until I learned that the traffic operations centre was part of the event that I was disappointed in missing out. I made sure that was the first place I visited, and it didn't disappoint. Among the highlights of the tour was the central traffic control room that showed live camera footage at various intersections on television screens. I forgot to ask if I could rent the room during the spring to watch multiple hockey playoff broadcasts, but I'll be sure to find out next year.

Taken: Professionally, May 29, 2010, at the Ottawa Race Weekend 10K.   Details: Every time I run in the 10K race during Ottawa Race Weekend, I have a goal of finishing in less than 45 minutes. I've been able to beat that time in Montreal and Vancouver, but I have never been successful in Ottawa. Part of the reason is due to the relatively flat course. I count on conserving energy on downhill portions, but there are none to be found at that race. Also, my fastest times have been run in single-digit temperatures, and that's never going to happen running in the early evening in May. This year, there was a new factor to blame, which was the wind along the canal. It felt good to run into a cool breeze, but apparently it didn't help me get a faster time. Anyway, I can be content that I have another good photo from the race showing me being faster than at least a few other people.

Taken: By Grant, March 21, 2010, at the Navan Curling Club in Navan, Ontario.   Details: If I had a trophy case, it would be quite bare. It would have a Grade 8 mathematics medal and some participation ribbons from several sports days. So, I wasn't looking to add any hardware when I entered a curling bonspiel with some friends. I've only been playing for four years, and the biggest prizes I've won have been a couple of curling pins and two frozen turkeys. In spite of my inexperience, our team pulled out a victory in our event and claimed a very nice trophy. The granite slab beneath the silver stone gave it a bit of weight, so I had to grasp the base with both hands while posing for my picture. Later, I was already planning my victory parade route when someone notified me that we didn't get to keep the trophy. Well, I guess that means that we'll try to win a different event next time around.

Taken: By a friendly volunteer, February 27, 2010, at the Winter Games Cauldron Viewing Platform in Vancouver.   Details: While spending most of my Olympic experience in the athlete's village was amazing, it didn't give me much time to do much else surrounding the games. One of the things that I wanted to see before everything wrapped up was the outdoor cauldron near the waterfront, so I did that on the final weekend. As with all things Olympic, there was a lineup to get an unobstructed view but it wasn't a long wait at all. While seeing the flame was inspiring, all I could think of standing next to the cauldron was poor Wayne Gretzky on the back of a pickup truck on his way to the site during the opening ceremonies. Anyway, I'll be back here for a statistics conference this summer, but I doubt that my reception will be as big as Wayne's.

Taken: By a happy employee, February 22, 2010, at LiveCity Yaletown in Vancouver.   Details: One of the most popular things to do during the Olympics was to check out free activities. Among these were the sponsor pavilions at LiveCity Yaletown being held at David Lam Park. During a break from volunteering, I lined up for 90 minutes before the site even opened. This got me inside right away, and I headed straight to the Coca-Cola exhibit. However, I was disappointed with the lack of freebies there. For my wait, all I got was a small bottle of Coke that I had already received when I watched the torch relay. I was also underwhelmed that I couldn't use my own camera to take a photo with the torch itself. So, when I saw the polar bear mascot, I was more enthused than usual. This picture didn't make up for the poor experience, but it was still cool.

Taken: By another Olympic fan, January 23, 2010, at the Royal Canadian Mint in Ottawa.   Details: A couple weeks before heading off to volunteer at the Olympics, I found out that the Olympic and Paralympic medals were going to be on display at the Mint. Since I wasn't fortunate enough to be given duties at one of the sport venues, I figured this was as close to a gold medal as I would get. When I got to the Mint, the boutique was packed but there weren't many people crowding around the medals. This was perfect for me as I got to check them out up close. Unfortunately, this made it difficult for me to get a photo with the medal display. After a few minutes walking around the store, someone else finally showed up to view the two sets of gold, silver and bronze medals. Quickly, I asked her to take my picture and handed off my camera so that I could pose with the medals.

Taken: By Sean, December 5, 2009, at Jobing.com Arena in Glendale, Arizona.   Details: When I agreed to go on a Senators road trip, I knew that I had to pick up a team shirt. Given my past experiences of having popcorn thrown at my Rangers jersey in Toronto and being cursed at leaving a Tampa Bay game in a Canucks sweater, I knew that the choice of apparel was important. It didn't take me long to decide on a T-shirt with the #9 of Milan Michalek, especially since I would be visiting his old stomping grounds in San Jose. However, instead of abuse, I got a lot of praise at the Sharks game for backing their former player. Even on the gritty streets of Los Angeles, I was only met with hockey talk from Kings fans. Following a loss to the Phoenix Coyotes, I spotted a fan wearing the jersey of Milan's brother Zbynek, so I congratulated him on winning the battle of the brothers.

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