Big Beaver Diaries

How To Live Like a Rockstar When You are Not One...

Author: The Beave

Big Beaver Diaries / Canada

Mom – A Tribute to a Fascinating Lady

Mom Roxene Clementine Beler Harris Swayn 7 March 1946 – 16 June 2018 The Tributes: Larry-Vivian Kabrud  She was an amazing lady for sure! Dawn Fister She was a truly gifted woman that could do anything!! Randi Mc I remember her from the Big Beaver Rodeo. She had a booth with beaded bandannas…best craft ever for a busy little girl. Trina Korbo It was a honour to know her HUGS Carmel Thurlow I remember her love for gardening and her flowers!! Kurt Thurlow I have one...

The Re-Encounter, The Follow Up, and The Finale

Life is Crazy

The Re-Encounter, The Follow Up, and The Finale

Seoul, South Korea The Re-Encounter, The Follow Up, and The Finale – A Hook Up Tale. The Re-Encounter – Nov. 20/2005 Then the strangest thing happened to me just outside the stadium/flea market. Mark and I were walking down the street when a girl and I made eye contact. We both said, “No Way! What the hell? That is crazy!” Her name is J.B. I used to sit next to her in French 101 at the University of Regina and...

A 1981 Yamaha MX175: An Eight Year Old’s Dream.

Canada

A 1981 Yamaha MX175: An Eight Year Old’s Dream

A 1981 Yamaha MX175: An Eight Year Old’s Dream I can not remember what we had been doing on that evening, or what friends I had been with, but I was happy to leave them to follow him. I was eight years old and I was busy learning how to become a cowboy on the horse that my parents had just bought for me. But he said that he had a motorbike that, “Would probably be just about right for...

Driving from the Northwest Territories to Alberta.

Big Beaver Diaries / Canada

Canada Driving from the Northwest Territories to Alberta.

Canada Driving from the Northwest Territories to Alberta. Fort Smith, Northwest Territories, Canada.  14 January 2018. I had an alarm set for 10:00. Alarms are terrible on vacation. It took some time, but Julie and I eventually got out of bed.  Showers. Pack the car. Dead battery. Great… It was Arctic cold again, -34° Celsius, so it was hard to blame the car for not wanting to fire-up. Had it not been for our morning fire-up in the room, I may...

Entering the Northwest Territories: Fort Chipewyan to Fort Smith.

Big Beaver Diaries / Canada

Entering the Northwest Territories of Canada: Fort Chipewyan to Fort Smith.

Entering the Northwest Territories: Fort Chipewyan to Fort Smith. 13 January 2018 (continued. Click here for dog sledding first part). Fort Chipewyan, Alberta, Canada.  At 13:00, after some convincing from everyone in the community, Julie and I left Barbara and Robert Grandjambe’s house, gassed up the car up in Fort Chipewayn for $1.60/liter, and drove north. It would be a 3.5 hour trip from Fort Chipewyan, Alberta to Fort Smith, Northwest Territories. Neither Julie nor I had been to any...

Dog Sledding in Fort Chipewyan, Alberta, Canada.

Big Beaver Diaries / Canada

Dog Sledding in Canada: Fort Chipewyan, Alberta

Dog Sledding in Fort Chipewyan. Fort Chipewyan, Alberta, Canada.  13 January 2018.  I had an alarm set for 08:05. Neither Julie nor I wanted to get up but time was of the essence in Fort Chipewyan. Of course, there is time to be used wisely when you are on holidays. And even when you have a massive day, it is important to take partake in vacation horizontal bed dancing. The world can wait! Julie and I packed up, showered up, and headed...

Traveling Canadian Ice Roads: Fort McMurray to Fort Chipewyan

Big Beaver Diaries / Canada

Traveling Canadian Ice Roads: Fort McMurray to Fort Chipewyan

Traveling Canadian Ice Roads: Fort McMurray to Fort Chipewyan. 12 January 2018. I was nearly pacing the floor waiting for Julie to finish her course in the morning to come and collect me. It is hard to know what a person is going to need in northern Canada. I was already far north in Fort McMurray, Alberta, but we were going to be heading much further north than that on an ice-road…further north than most Canadian minds think of, to...

Learning to Butcher a Deer and Make Sausages

Canada

Learning to Butcher a Deer and Make Sausages

Learning to Butcher a Deer and Make Sausages. 15 November 2017. Dusty, Stryker and I went for a drive in the afternoon to see if we could find any deer as hunting season is underway. Shortly into our drive, a buck jumped out of a patch of trees! Dusty took three shots at him but missed the buck that ran into another massive grove of trees. The buck was in quite a hurry by that point, understandably. Dusty went into...

Bank Error in my Favor, Collect $720!

Big Beaver Diaries

Bank Error in my Favor, Collect $720!

Bank Error in my Favor, Collect $720. May 15 – 2012 Big Beaver, Saskatchewan, Canada. I was up at 8:00 and I called my bank in London, England. My financial institution forgot to mail my pre-ordered bank statements to the farm while I was in transit to Canada. I needed the statements to be at the farm as soon as I got home. They never arrived. When I called the bank, I was very polite, though I told them that...

Live Transcripts

Mexican Bar Brawl

Mexican Bar Brawl. -Live transcript of Mr. E. https://youtu.be/mEn2yTJO8xc [su_dropcap]I[/su_dropcap]n October, 2014, I went down to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. That is where Junior, one of my best friends, lives. We go down there to hang out and do all kinds of shenanigans. We go once every-other-year kind of thing… It was nearing the end of the trip of when I was supposed to leave. I went there with a one-way ticket and figured I would come back whenever I had...

Thinking about Picking Mangoes in Australia?

Education

Thinking about Picking Mangoes in Australia? Don’t do it!

Thinking about Picking Mangoes in Australia? The season is on the way. Are you thinking of picking mangoes in Australia? Perhaps you should re-think that idea. I know, I know…you have red and green, juicy, oval-shaped stars in your eyes with just the right texture. You are thinking breakfast, lunch, and dinner of mango-surprise… Your favorite fruit is the mango… Mango fruit salad. Mango juice. Mangoes on your cereal. Mangoes on your hard-boiled eggs. Mangoes in your lasagna. Mango grilled-cheese...

Broken Baseball Dreams

Big Beaver Diaries / Live Transcripts

Broken Baseball Dreams

Broken Baseball Dreams. -Live transcript of Mr. H. [su_dropcap]S[/su_dropcap]o this story starts off how I was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays. The 18th round, second overall pick out of Canada. I ended up going down to Florida for a year and a half. Went to spring training with the Toronto Blue Jays. Proceeded to go to Kansas and Missouri. The thing is this whole time I had a long-term girlfriend. High school sweetheart of five years. So I decided...

Roger Waters Us + Them

Big Beaver Diaries / Rock and Roll!

Roger Waters Us + Them

Roger Waters.   Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.   24 October 2017.   For $167, my friend Christian and I found tickets 16 rows back of the stage for the Roger Waters Us + Them show at Rogers Place in Edmonton.  It is about as close as a person can get to seeing a Pink Floyd show that includes Roger Waters post-1981.  There were nosebleed tickets available for about half of the price so we went all in.  The top four concerts...

Big Beaver Diaries

#metoo

The ‘me too’ movement is a serious matter on Facebook right now, in an attempt to bring sexual harassment to light.  It is incredible to see how many women I know who have been sexually harassed.  It is truly sad.  I too have a story about sexual harassment, and I posted it on Facebook with the #metto tag.  I wanted to shine some light on it from a male perspective as well.  This is how it all went down… 21...

Tragically Hip, Gord Downie, Amsterdam and Canada.

Big Beaver Diaries / Rock and Roll!

Tragically Hip, Gord Downie, Amsterdam and Canada.

Tragically Hip, Gord Downie, Amsterdam and Canada. 18 October 2017.   Time is really taking my rockstar heroes.  It took Gord Downie today. Downie was from a Canadian band called The Tragically Hip.  There is a small possibility that you have you have heard their name if you are from anywhere else, but if you are from Canada, and under 50, you grew up with them or you grew up listening to them.  Gord Downie was a iconic legendary poetic rockstar.  Brain cancer,...

The Situation of my Mother with Alzheimer and Dementia

Big Beaver Diaries / Education

The Situation of my Mother with Alzheimer and Dementia

The Situation of My Mother with Alzheimer and Dementia. Doug, my mom’s husband/my step-father, collected me from the mall.  He told me that he barely recognized me when he first saw me because of my short hair.  Doug then drove me to see my mother at the care-home where she stays.  The home was having a hot dog and hamburger sale so entire families were there to be with their loves ones who have been institutionalised… I was not sure how...

A Conversation with a Transgender

Big Beaver Diaries / Education

A Conversation with a Transgender

A Conversation with a Transgender. I had been spending time in Manila, Philippines, with a lovely girl named Irene.  We had spent the afternoon roaming the Manila North Cemetery, which was amazing as there are residents everywhere, living in the middle of the cemetery among the tombs.  It was really incredible to see. On the way back to the center, Irene asked what I wanted to do for dinner.  I told her that at the moment I was not hungry. ...

Learning Liquor

Education

Learning Liquor

Learning Liquor. 6 October 2017 Sometimes I get called ‘Soft’ or get called a ‘Pussy’ because I rarely drink hard liquor.  When I get called a ‘liquor pussy’ and I am never sure if that is an insult or a demand…  It drives me a little bit crazy because most of the people who attempt to taunt me have never come close to partying to the degree that I have over the years since this journey began fresh to the...

The Synchronicity of Tom Petty and the name, 'Jen'

Life is Crazy / Rock and Roll! / Women

The Synchronicity of Tom Petty and the Name, ‘Jen’

The Synchronicity of Tom Petty and the Name, ‘Jen’. 5 October 2017. Life is weird and has patterns. One could never understand how synchronicity seems to happen in the bizarre ways it does… Tom Petty’s death has hurt me. I loved his music and the way he carried himself as the coolest and most casual person one could ever wish to meet.  He is one of my heroes. I have been listening to so much of his music again over the...

Earth Revolutions

Big Beaver Diaries

My Earth Revolutions

Earth Revolutions. Maybe it is common knowledge but perhaps it is not… I have been thinking about this for the past couple of days and it is likely that no one has had to think about it unless it has happened to them… When you fly around this planet from east to west, you lose a day of your life when you cross the International Date Line. One day full of your life! Poof! Gone! Somewhere between Canada and Australia...

Guns 'N Roses Concert - Edmonton, Alberta.

Big Beaver Diaries / Rock and Roll!

Guns ‘N Roses Concert – Edmonton, Alberta.

Guns ‘N Roses Concert – Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.  30 August 2017. I was up at 09:00 and my 17-year-old cousin Trevor was up and at it by 10:00 so that we could get on the road.  He and I got into his car and headed 5.5 hours north to Edmonton, Alberta… …Guns ‘N Roses. On the drive on the way there, I bought tickets on Stubhub for $145 ($183 CDN) for seats on the bottom of the Commonwealth Stadium, 36...

The Crotch Rocket at 212 km/h.

Big Beaver Diaries / Extreme Adventure

The Crotch Rocket at 212 km/h.

The Crotch Rocket at 212 km/h. 28 August 2017. I met up with Trevor, my 17 year old cousin, after lunch. Trevor asked if I wanted to go biking. “Heck Yeah!” That sounded like a blast! Trevor has a 2012 KTM SX-7, 250cc, four stroke dirt motorcycle with a lot of bottom end power. He also has a 2004 Suzuki GSXR, 600cc, crotch rocket. I would soon learn how accurate the nickname crotch rocket is for one of those motorcycles…not...

Terracotta Warriors Tour in China

Big Beaver Diaries

Terracotta Warriors Tour in China

Terracotta Warriors Tour in China. 19 June 2017. I was up and on four hours of sleep when I had to hit the shower at 08:30. I was not sure if Markus was going to make it back to the hostel in time for our pre-booked Terracotta Warriors tour in China.  In the middle of my shower, there was a knock on the door. He made it! Good job buddy!   We had to be at reception at 08:50 and...

Fun Signs in China - Cultural Translation is Entertaining

Big Beaver Diaries

Fun Signs in China – Cultural Translation is Entertaining

Some countries have really great signs.  Signs in China are some of my favorite.  Sometimes they are funny because of a difference in our cultures.  Sometimes it is a confusion in translation.  I assume, that someone must know someone who speaks fluent English…  However, for entertainment, I am glad they do not… Here are 19 of my favorite signs in China:   Thanks for looking at Fun Signs in China. If you enjoyed this, please share.     (Disclaimer for...

Drunk on a Plane in China

Big Beaver Diaries

Drunk on a Plane in China

Drunk on a Plane in China. Beijing, China. 3 July 2017. I was up at 09:00 to get cracking at our plans. Markus and I booked plane tickets for Manila, Philippines that leaves today. But first, there would be a 15 hour stopover in Quanzhau.  We think could be the first city we visited in China, but we are not sure. Markus called it a ‘Blank Flight.’ We went for a walk around Beijing but we were bored because we had a...

Getting a Chinese Tourist Visa in Bangkok

Big Beaver Diaries

How to Get a Chinese Tourist Visa in Bangkok

Background: So, the Chinese tourist visa is a bit elusive and somewhat tricky to get. The rules for getting a Chinese visa vary depending on what country you are standing in. It is strange how there are no real consistencies.  Here is what I know: I travel on a Canadian passport, and entered the Chinese embassy in Prague, Czech Republic, where I asked if it was possible to apply for the tourist visa there on a non-Czech passport. The lady behind the counter said it was no...

Swimming with Whale Sharks in the Philippines.

Big Beaver Diaries

Swimming with Whale Sharks in the Philippines

Swimming with Whale Sharks in the Philippines. Oslob, Cebu, Philippines.  14 July 2017. I was up at 05:00 on a terrible sleep…  But it was worth it… …the wee hours of the morning would be spent swimming with whale sharks in the Philippines! Markus and I met with three other foreigners in Sharky’s Hostel and we were guided down to the water where we were given a briefing in a room with about 60 other people. The briefing was nothing...

Exiting North Korea

North Korea 2017

Exiting North Korea – Part 9

Exiting North Korea. Pyongyang, North Korea.  28 June 2017. * (For the previous part, click here: Travelling Pyongyang North Korea – Part 8) …I awoke this morning to realize that my Chinese roommate did not snore last night! How fortunate! I was in the shower in my room at the Yanggakdo International Hotel in Pyongyang, North Korea, when the phone ran as a wake-up call from Kim, my guide. “Meester Beavers,” as he has taken to calling me lately, “It...

Travelling Pyongyang North Korea

North Korea 2017

Travelling Pyongyang North Korea – Part 8

Travelling Pyongyang North Korea – Part 8. Pyongyang, DPRK. 27 June 2017 (cont’d). * (For the previous part, click here: Life in North Korea – Part 7) As we are on our way back to the capital city, travelling Pyongyang North Korea, I was interested in local careers, so I asked my North Korean guide, Kim, about jobs.  He told me that all jobs pay nearly the same.  A dentist makes a similar amount of money as a bus driver.  I wanted...

Life in North Korea

North Korea 2017

Life in North Korea – Part 7

Life in North Korea. Kumgang, DPRK.  27 June 2017. * (For the previous part, click here: Mt. Kumgang North Korea – Part 6) The doorbell of my hotel room in Kumgang, North Korea, went off at 06:00. The front desk sent someone to my room door to wake me up because the telephones in the hotel do not work… Breakfast.  Bus.   Life in North Korea and off to Mt. Kumgang…my group of seven Chinese tourists and I… North Korea...