Pictures of the North

Just thought I would share some more pictures from my travels for those who are curious.

This is a picture from Greenland in the Bay by the airport

This is a picture from the minesite I was at there.

This is a picture of a herd of Muskox from the minesite I was at in Nunavut

On the subject of work, I just had three more projects come up which will take me to September 9th. My attendance at the Kwoon from now until August 15th will be hit or miss. From the 15th of August to September 9th, I will be out of the province again and am unsure if I will be able to attend online even again. I will try and get some pictures while I am away and and am hoping to get some practice in on the shores of the Artic Ocean in Paulatuk NWT or maybe the banks of the Mackenzie River in Norman Wells.

Where My Work has Taken Me.

I am still in an area with no WIFI but am once again "borrowing" some from the government building here. I was going to talk about how working away is hindering my training but I then started to think about where this work has taken me and the things that i have got to see and experience. I am going to list some of the places I have been for work and feel free to look them up so you can see where I have been.

In the NWT I have been to Enterprise, Hay River, Kakisa, Fort Providence, Behchoko, Yellowknife, Gameti, Wekweeti, Lutsel K'e (currently), Sambaa K'e, Fort Simpson, Tulita, Norman Wells, Fort Good Hope, Tsiigehtchic, Fort McPherson, Aklavik, Inuvik, Tuktoyaktuk, Ulukhaktok and Sachs Harbour (furthest North). These are the communities that I have spent multiple days working in. I have also been in Deline at the airport and driven to the outskirts of Whati before driving on an ice road for 6 hours to Wekweeti. In these places I have seen Wolves, Black Bears, Bison, Grizzly Bears, Polar Bears and Muskox. I have been on twin prop planes, helicopters and float planes as well as numerous Ferries crossing the Mackenzie River.

I have also worked at a Gold Mine called Hope Bay in Nunavut just south of Cambridge Bay on the mainland coast and I have been in the Kugluktuk for a couple of hours waiting for our plane to offload its cargo. While at the Gold mine, I saw hundreds of Caribou as well as Seals, Narwhals, Wolves, Wolverines, Muskox and Grizzly Bears (14 in one area all at once).

My work has taken me to the Yukon where I have worked in Whitehorse and 3 remote mine sites. Minto mine which is just South West of Pelly Crossing. Hecla which is close to Keno City an old mining Ghost Town (almost as there are a few residents still. And Ketza River, an abandoned gold Mine Soth East of Ross River. In the Yukon I have seen Elk, bears and a Lynx.

My work has taken me to Greenland via Iceland. To be able to see Icebergs and waterfalls and experience the Blue Lagoon is something I may never have done if my work had not taken me there.

So does it suck to be away so much and miss so many things at home? Yes, but if I look at the big picture, my work has allowed me to travel all across Northern Canada as well as Alberta, BC, Saskatchewan and Ontario and I have seen things in the wild that most people will probably never see. Looking at things lately has made working away a lot easier.

I'm Still Here. Kind Of!

I was able to borrow someone’s WIFI as I needed to send a work email so I am taking this opportunity to check in.

This trip has been extremely frustrating for me as everyday there seems to be a problem that is hindering the work. It started on the first day with our vehicle and accommodations. Then it was a problem with equipment, supplies, tools and manpower. I am trying to just go with the flow but it has me in a state I can’t get out off it feels like. I am trying to roll with it but it gets more difficult everyday.

As usual there is no real place to train as it is a house shared with other people and they have no gym in the community so it is a lot of mental training. This is of course hurting my numbers specifically the form reps but I will just work on what I can when I can.

Hopefully I can borrow the WIFI again next week. Just so you know, we are on a #G network here that is extremely slow, so I can see blogs but it takes forever to download the websites and uploading is impossible. That’s why I can still react to blogs.

Sundays and Training

I am really enjoying our Sunday morning coffee talks as I am learning things about the team that I probably would not get the chance too. I have not been able to attend the last few due to work but I did on Sunday. There were only 4 of us but the 40 minutes went by so fast. I am hoping to attend this Sunday but it is also the day I fly out for work again so not sure yet.

Speaking of work, I will be gone form the 14th to August 3rd and then there is a chance I will be gone for six weeks starting in August. I am torn on this because it is a great opportunity for me but it is also a long time to be away. I can say I am at 50% for wanting and not wanting to go.

I am doing fairly well with my requirements but still need to work on my forms of course. I am planning to take a sword with me this time. It will be a practice one and I will put it in my checked bag so hopefully it will make it through security. I have been focussing a lot of my time lately on the grappling syllabus along with the Sanda syllabus. This has taken some time form my other Kung Fu practice but I feel this is almost to a place I am happy with it and this will allow me to shift my focus a bit.