Canucks & More Milestones

Driving to and from work today, I realized that I was the only one with a Canucks flag still attached to my vehicle, outside of those die-hard fans that have the Canucks logo plastered and/or glued to their vehicles. It was just a day earlier that you would see a flag on every second or third vehicle, so much so that one could question the dedication and loyalty of those that didn’t have a flag on their cars. After all, “We Are All Canucks”, right? Well, for most of the time and only if and when it’s convenient, and only if we’re on a winning streak. That’s sports for you.

It’s overdue but it’s always better to be late than never: it’s time to toot my own horn and tell you about my blog’s new milestones; and just like the last one, I would like to start it off by saying thanks for taking the time to read my stories and posting your comments, providing your feedback and guidance along the way.

It is the 5000+ readers celebration. Here’re some stats to share with you:

• First blog entry: 9:30 PM – Pacific Standard Time, on November 24, 2010, titled Not Another Blogger; obviously, that didn’t change as the aforementioned blog is still my first entry J
• Number of readers to date: 5,125
• Most read blog entry: Rest in Peace My Friend, dated January 1, 2011, which also won a first place prize at an open contest; this first place entry is followed closely by Racism is just “peachy”!
• Top three “referring sites” in order: Facebook, LinkedIn and Google, which the latter moved up to replace Twitter
• Funny Stat: One of the reasons why my blog showed up on Google so many times was because of people searching for the following keywords: “Samantha Fox” and “Phoebe Cates Fakes”
• “Page views by countries” in order of highest to lowest (drum rolls please): Canada, United States, Denmark, United Kingdom, Malaysia, Russia, Hong Kong, Germany, Philippines and Australia
• Just for fun, I thank the following “browsers” (top three only as the list is too long): Internet Explorer, Firefox and Safari
• Also, I’d like to thank the following top three operating systems for allowing readers to access my blog: Windows, Macintosh and iPhone

Well, many of you had asked me what I was going to do with this site once I reach 40 years of age on April 27th as the title of my blog won’t be relevant. Well, there’s work in progress so please stay tuned.

Love you and thanks for reading,

Armin

Imagination!

I’ll explain the reason behind showing you this picture shortly, so please hang in there!

The last couple of weeks have been full of great surprises, some of which I can share while others have to remain a secret for the time being.

Well, as some of you may have seen the Facebook update, our four-legged two-footer monster suddenly decided to become a two-legged two-footer monster. Yes it’s true, Brayden finally walked without any assistance. Affectionately, he is currently known as “Frankie”, which stands for little Frankenstein J

Also, for the first time ever, Isabella surprised us with a breakfast in bed for Easter Sunday. She brought us two bowls of cereal that were delivered on individually prepared trays. Also, she made her baby brother breakfast along with a bowl of fresh fruit, which consisted of chopped up red grapes.

I’m very proud of them both!

Now, what’s with the picture you ask? Well, here’s the story:

Couple of nights ago, right before I started with the bedtime story, Isabella asked, “daddy, what do you see when you look at the fan?”

I tried to concentrate as hard as I could but couldn’t come up with anything; I simply answered: A Fan!!! How boring!

So here’s Isabella’s version of what she sees… but before you read any more, take a look at the picture again and see if you can let your imagination lead you to the answer.

Here’s a one minute pause J

OK, so Isabella told me that she sees a woman (head, two arms and two legs) with a baby boy in her tummy, which is being kissed by her triplet girls!

Do you see it now?

May you be lucky enough to have an imagination as colourful and active as a six year old.

Thanks for reading,

Armin

PS. Next time that I feel like life is tough, I'll try to remind myself of how difficult it is having to learn to walk.

Denmark...



Little Mermaid(s)



Isabella getting introduced to
my favourite writer, Hans Christian Andersen



… the land of small cars, bicycles and people with big hearts; or at least that was our experience.



Now, that's bike park!



As you may know, we spent Spring Break 2012 in the land of the Vikings. The sights and sounds of Roskilde and Copenhagen were enough to keep any tourist engaged. From its cobblestone streets to water canals zigzagging through the city, and from the old castles to the new and beautifully built Opera House, Denmark has something to offer everyone.

However, this trip was not just about experiencing a new country; rather, it was about reconnecting families and introducing new members to the old ones. And I think we succeeded in accomplishing just that, thanks to my family’s wonderful hospitality.



Royal Plaza



I met my cousins’ spouses and children for the first time, while Karm (my wife) met most of her extended family only for the first or second time.

However, the highlight of the trip was the way Isabella, our 6 year-old world-traveller, was embraced and loved by everyone in Denmark. To watch Isabella review old pictures with her great uncle, to witness a bond being developed between Isabella and my cousins and their respective families, and to hear Isabella talk about her experiences in Denmark was an amazing experience.

Unfortunately, our 1 year-old world-traveller, will not remember much about this trip, however, rest assured that he had an impact on everyone around him through his mischievous behaviour, his devilish smile and baby-words, which in no way, shape or form make sense to anyone except himself. One such word was “Teekam”, which was repeated by everyone throughout most of the trip.

Finally, it was great to share this experience with my parents. I loved sitting on the sidelines to watch my mom and her brother (my Uncle Esi) disagree on things like two teenagers, or to listen to stories between my parents and Uncle Esi and Zohreh Joon (my Aunt (Uncle Esi’s wife)).

Another reunion must take place as every 20 years just doesn’t do it.

Thanks for reading and wish you a lovely reunion with your loved ones.

Armin

PS. Thanks to Hadis, Paritpal, Mahdis, Jacob, Sara, Payam, Daei Esi, Zohreh Joon, Elham, Jamshid, and their children for making this a memorable vacation. Love you all. Also, I wanted to thank all those that came to visit us, whether they travelled from within Denmark or as far away as Germany. Your presence made this trip that much more enjoyable.



PPS. As a bonus, we got to spend the Persian New Year together. This was a real treat in that the it had been about 30 years ago that we got to do that.