Author: Blake

PW #5: Puerto Vallarta, MX

Just like that, my 12-day-long vacation has come to an end, and it’s back to reality. After almost 2 weeks of lounging, eating as much as I can, and having my feet in the sand, I’m back home at my desk writing this PW. This is my third year going to the same city, at the same time, to the same resort. It may sound a bit repetitive, but it’s actually made some of the most memorable trips for me. Once you visit the same place for the third time (at least in Puerto Vallarta), I’ve noticed that the people who are still there are always so happy to see me and my family come along.

The shopkeepers, the staff at the resort, and really anyone who we had talked to the year before lit up when we came over and said hello. There was this one server, who had talked to me and my family quite a bit, who saw us back at the pool on the second day of our trip. The minute he saw us, he looked so happy and excited that we decided to come back. The hospitality in the city is something I really adore. Yesterday, when me and my family were getting on the shuttle to the airport, one of the staff members came over to us to say goodbye, and she said “Same time next year?” It’s hard to not want to come back after how amazing everyone has been over the last couple weeks. Then there’s the miracle of air travel, which somehow gets me over half of Mexico and the entire continental United States in just under five hours. It’s crazy to think about. Puerto Vallarta, you have everything I want.

Brave New World: PR

To be totally honest, it’s hard for me to say that I really enjoyed this book. As a reader, a lot of things about this book were just really odd to me, and I don’t really see the appeal to the book, at least for myself. I didn’t really understand how the society that everyone lived in was a ‘utopia’, due to a number of large factors. The first one would be that no one has any family members. To me especially, it seems crazy that a society where no one has any family would be considered a ‘utopia’ by any stretch, mainly because a lot of my world revolves around my family. I do know that this depends for a lot of people, as everyone has different relationships with those people. However, for me, most of what I do is with my family. If I’m going skiing, it’s with my family. If I’m going on a vacation, it’s with my family. If I’m going on a road trip, it’s going to be with my family. You get the point. A lot of what I do is with my family, and I like it that way. If I had no family like in the society of BNW, I’d be left not really knowing what to do next.

The second factor would be the amount of sexual elements in their society. While I understand that since no one has any family members and that sex is only for recreation, the whole concept is disgusting. Little children who are just starting to put a picture together of the world playing sexual games with each other is literal insanity at best, but this being part of a utopia is just on another level for me. Flipping through the pages of this book I would be thinking to myself: “Could this be any worse?” I’d then flip to the next page and I would go “Actually yes, somehow they made this even worse!” The final factor would be the genetic modification of humans in this society. I wasn’t really a fan of the fact that people were artificially bred into specific classes of society. The fact that people are predetermined to be in a certain class before they even get started just doesn’t sit right with me. What happened to working your way up to becoming a manager of a massive corporation through hard work ethics and determination? While Epsilons might be just content being janitors and street cleaners, it seems wrong to predetermine a newborn to be one for the rest of their life. Despite the fact that I wasn’t really a fan of the book, I did find the societies’ usage of hypnopedia interesting. It would be cool to see some sort of technology arise using this practice. Overall, Brave New World wasn’t my favourite book in the world, and I personally didn’t enjoy it that much.

PW #4: Heart of The Coast

With school finally over for the holidays comes my favourite time of year; ski season! The moment school was over, off I was to the mountain. The best part was being blessed with 39 centimeters of fresh powder over Friday night last weekend. Saturday started off nice, especially with all of the new snow. The wind was gusting quite a bit over the top of the mountain so unfortunately the peak chair stayed closed through all of Saturday. Nonetheless, I was still able to make some amazing runs through a bunch of glades between some of the runs. It was quite low visibility, but it was still a great day to say the least.

Sunday was discouraging at first, but it ended up being unbelievable in the end. My first run was a little bumpy. All of the snow that had been skied out on the front side from Friday’s snow had thawed out near the bottom of the mountain from the sun and had gotten a bit icy. However, it was quite a cold morning for the hill, and the top of the mountain that hadn’t been skied out yet ended up being some of the best snow I had skied. I ended up dropping in off of the side of the peak into this chute and then into a large patch of glades. Good thing it wasn’t icy! I’m sure the run would’ve been treacherous without the sheer abundance of powder everywhere. The drops off the peak seemed to have the best snow out of the whole mountain, and I must’ve made four or five of the same run. It really was amazing. Along with the awesome powder, it was a total bluebird day too which made this day super fun. December seems to always provide some of the best skiing days out of the whole season up at Mount Washington, so I always try and soak them up. Even just the feeling of being out there up in the mountains in so relaxing. I’ll just plant my poles in the ground, go sit down for a minute, and just take these days in while I look out at the Coast Mountains and the valley below. This weekend I better bring along a drink!

IRJE #3: My Side of the Mountain

My Side of The Mountain, by Jean Craighead George. This book, published in 1959, is a tale focusing on 15-year-old Sam Gribley, who decided to run away from his home in New York to go off and attempt to survive in the wilderness on his great-grandfather Gribley’s farm.

“By April I was no longer living off of my storehouse. There were bulbs, tubers, and greens to be had. Meals were varied once more. There were frogs’ legs, eggs, and turtle soup on my table. I took my baths in the spring again rather than in the turtle shell with warmed over snow.” (pg. 161)

In this quote, we see Sam discussing the end of winter up in the mountain. He was finally able to have more varied meals since animals were coming out of hibernation, berries and plants were starting to grow, and the weather was finally becoming warmer. Sam is no longer restricted to the small surface area of his hollowed out tree because of the cold weather, and he is now able to explore more of his local area.

PW #3: The Passage of Time

There’s something about the world around me that’s… nostalgic almost. If you’ve lived around the Colwood/Langford area for a large part of your life you probably know what I mean. Like when you take a walk up the street you grew up you have the realization that everything has completely changed since you were a small child. Maybe it’s that park near your house that’s been bulldozed, or that store that’s closed its doors that you used to go to all the time when you were younger, or maybe it’s that field that you used to walk around in that got developed into a neighbourhood. Whatever it may be, it represents the passage of time.

Seeing the changes happening around your world is a feeling that nothing else can really match, and it feels so odd looking back to how everything was when nothing you see looks the same. You’re almost a stranger to the place that you’ve been living your entire life when you compare how everything was. Maybe it’s something that you notice every so often with places you used to visit all the time, or maybe it’s something that you’ve never really noticed. Taking a walk through the same place just a decade later shows the effect that time has on the world around us.

IRJE #2: My Side of The Mountain

My Side of The Mountain, by Jean Craighead George. This book, published in 1959, is a tale focusing on 15-year-old Sam Gribley, who decided to run away from home to go and live in the wilderness on his great-grandfather Gribley’s farm.

“Five notches into June, my house was done. I could stand in it, lie down in it, and there was room left over for a stump to sit on. On warm evenings I would lie on my stomach and look out the door, listen to the frogs and nighthawks, and hope it would storm so that I could climb into my tree and be dry.” (p. 35)

In this quote, Sam Gribley is reflecting on his achievement of completing his house in the wilderness, which was a tree that he hollowed out with the usage of fire. He had completed this house just in time for winter, and he installed a fireplace in the front of the house to keep him, as well as his pet falcon Frightful, warm during the cold winter months. The beginning of this quote where Sam is talking about ‘five notches into June’ is simply referring to days into the month.

 

“The Moral Equivalent of War” + “Can men live in a peaceful society?”: Reflection

I’ll first start with the first text “The Moral Equivalent of War”, by William James. I found James’ beliefs quite interesting, particularly the fact that he believes that agreements should be able to be made, and that warfare really isn’t necessary, and it’s hard to disagree with that. Another aspect I found interesting was how James states that “War is, in short, is a permanent human obligation… The only alternative is “degeneration” (pg. 2).” He is essentially talking about militarism, and how it’s lead many to believe that war is the only option to have noticeable change. For the second text “Can men live in a peaceful society?”, by Eric MacKnight, I found multiple aspects of this text interesting, the first aspect being how women from bourgeois society generally gravitated towards ‘bad boys’ with bulging muscles, despite the fact that a sizeable portion of these individuals were actually horrible people. Part of this is allegedly to blame on the boredoms of bourgeois life, which supposedly lead to people engaging in wild behaviors that were against societal norms. The fact that many people were starting to stray from the norms of masculinity surprised me, especially in this context. Overall, I found both of these texts equally interesting to read about in class.

PW #2: Northern Fall

Earlier last week, me, my Dad, and my two brothers put together a plan to go visit my family in Northern British Columbia for Thanksgiving, and to go hunting as well. With this fourth trip of the year complete, I can happily say that I was able to go up to Smithers through each of the four seasons this year. Fall is really such a beautiful time to be up North, especially seeing all of the trees drop their leaves, along with the beautiful colours to show for it. This 1200km drive would take a total of 16 hours, including a ferry. It was so surreal seeing the sunrise and sunset during a single drive, and it really shows how vast and wide our province is.

With a couple early starts, we did the drive in one day, going both directions. This drive traverses through some of the most rugged and beautiful landscapes British Columbia has to offer, such as the Fraser Canyon, the Cariboo, and the Bulkley-Nechako. The trip went amazing, with lots of highlights, such as getting my first grouse this year, having my first Thanksgiving with my family in Smithers, being treated to a show of dancing Northern Lights the night I arrived, and having the ability to make my second annual fall trip, which I’m incredibly grateful for. We started our drive back home early in the morning, arriving back home late that night. After a full day of travelling, I looked through the photos in my camera roll as I came though the door at home and thought to myself “It all feels like a dream”.

IRJE #1: “The Sun Also Rises”

The Sun Also Rises, by Ernest Hemingway. This novel explores the “Lost Generation”, which is also referred to as the post WWI generation. The main story revolves around a group of British and American expatriates from the 1920s.

“Oh Jake,” Brett said, “We could have had such a damned good time together.” Ahead was a mounted policeman in khaki directing traffic. He raised his baton. The car slowed suddenly, pressing Brett against me. Yes,” I said. “Isn’t it pretty to think so? (pg. 246)”

This quote reflects the significant moment that Jake and Brett reflect on their lost love and the passing of time. Both of these characters are heavily affected by the war, and each of them are constantly searching for meaning in their lives. For most of the story, all of the characters are in a state of disillusionment as they search for this light. It really shows how deep certain feelings and emotions go when you hear about them on the surface.

All Quiet, WW1 Prose PT I + II: PR

I feel that the texts that we have read so far have been rather eye-opening for me. I realized that I didn’t really see how transparent the details of war were in these pieces in these texts compared to other pieces of literature, such as how warfare as a whole was portrayed. War in movies was always portrayed as being cool, but in reality it’s horrific, traumatizing, and damages entire generations. It was really an eye-opener to hear about the devastating realities. I found All Quiet a good book as it helped to emphasize to the readers what everyone was involved in. Between the sixteen year olds who had their entire lives ahead of them, to the experienced elders who had been to war before, it was quite informative to hear about about the stories of the soldiers and the harsh realities that each of them had to endure. The language that was used was very powerful in conveying what war was actually like, contrary to the movies and television shows.

Certain aspects that were mentioned in All Quiet that soldiers were conditioned to seemed insane to me, such as the soldiers being glad about their fellow comrades being killed because they got extra rations for their next meal. Something like this seems impossible to be happy about to us, but those enduring war were forced to put some sort of silver lining on the devastating situation they were in so that they could keep pushing forward. For the prose readings, I found those interesting in a different aspect, particularly the remarks made near the end of pt. II by a soldier. They talk about how they really didn’t realize how much they had until they went to war, such as not worrying about where tomorrow’s meal is coming from, constant shellfire, and being physically attacked. In conclusion, I feel that each of these texts are solid, and emphasize the harsh realities of how war actually is.

PW #1: Winter Feeling

Do you know that feeling every winter? You know, that feeling when winter is just about to start and the leaves have fallen off the trees and you get your first epic powder day on the mountain? It’s an amazing feeling really, and it’s something that’s almost irreplaceable. When Christmas is just a few days away and you’re sitting by the fire with your hot chocolate and shortbread just watching the snow fall right by your window in a cozy cabin. I know I have, and I have to say that it has to be one of the most relaxing feelings ever. I remember skiing the mountains up North with my cousins, whether it’s making that last run on the T-Bar, hitting a jump in the park, or throwing on some skins and traversing up through the powder fields in the seemingly endless mountain range.

To me, it’s an ultimate sense of freedom, and it’s something I can’t wait to experience again. Just getting to these small ski towns is equally as impressive in my opinion. Whether you’re driving in a car or flying in a plane to these places in BC it almost seems that the landscape never stops. You drive, and drive, and drive, for a whole day, through so much terrain until a small town nestled in the vast mountain range comes into view. For a moment you look in disbelief at the signs on the winding mountain highway when you see a sign that says the town centre is only 10 minutes away. Ski season is almost upon us, and even the Northern mountains have already been covered in snow, despite the fact that’s it’s not even October yet. Crazy right? At this rate, the fall could turn into ski weather rather than the usual hunting season in the North.

Blake’s Brief Introduction

Hello everyone, my name is Blake. Welcome to the eventful blog that I’ll be continually updating with super long and drawn out stories or things that I find interesting when I need to post here. Currently, I am residing in Victoria, BC, although a portion of my time is spent in Northern British Columbia in a small town known as Smithers, BC, 1200km north of Vancouver. A large part of my family is made up from members in Smithers as well as the surrounding areas in the Bulkley-Nechako. As for school, this is now my fifth year attending Brookes Westshore. Time flies! I remember making this exact post at this time during the start of MYP4. Some of my interests include fishing, hiking, hunting, exploring, and skiing, essentially anything that has to do with being outdoors and enjoying myself. Fortunately, I happen to live in a place where all of this is possible which is so awesome to have as opportunities. During the winter I ski up at Mount Washington and travel up north, during the summer I fish and play in Smithers and at Horne Lake, during the spring I’m finding new trails and majestic lookouts, and during the fall I’m hunting around for grouse, seeing the leaves change colour, and dreaming about ski season. Canada rocks, man.

Most of my adventures happen among the island, but some also happen up north too. I’ll never pass up the opportunity to go on an adventure, whether it’s just going on a bike ride into town or going on a weekend ski trip into the mountains. They always prove to be memorable, no matter how small the adventure may be, they all hold a place in the things that I love doing. Everyone who is around me knows that I’m always talking about the experiences we’ve had, as well as new exciting ideas too, and it is a distinct characteristic about me that’s always there. The little things bring me joy, like listening to a new song I’ve found, seeing a pretty sunset, or catching my first sockeye on the lake with my Grandpa at Babine. I can’t wait to share more about my experiences in the future.