On the final road

Hello everyone,

Hope your end of summer is going awesome. Poetry/photo book is nearly complete and it will be released on september 24th. If you would like your copy simply say so, or send me an email (adeslaur@ualberta.ca) Meanwhile here is a photo of highway 22 I took on the way to waterton park. Also I'd like to give props to my friend Chris (Mister Plello) on winning the sonic 102.9 cd cover contest. Props braaaaa.

Tentative book release dates so soon son

Hello everyone,

I do realize it has been nearly a full month since my last post and I apologize. I have been really busy and have taken more time to work on my book. I have decided that I'm going to get my book out first, then I will reconstruct my blog. Tentative book release dates to will be anounced soon... in the next 2 weeks...stay posted son!

Tribute to 7/11

I was born and raised in the same house and one of my greatest childhood/adolescent memories is walking to 7/11 and getting slurpies. Whether it be in a scorching 30 plus summer day or a cold winter night, 7/11 walks were not uncommon. Last month, this 7/11 location shut down, it was tragic. I took a photo as I was driving and in a hurry so the photo isn't so good. It is the blank brown building behind the esso.

Summer Steeze

On Friday, the Seaman brothers and I went to the stampede on one of the 1st days this year. It was still early (just before noon), nothing was really going on and it was sunny so we pulled off the classic cliché: It's 5 o'clock somewhere, and hit the beer gardens. Featured in this photo is Jarrod and Oliver enjoying a cold beer on a hot sunny day. Steeze.

#1 favourite pickled food

Shallots are the bulb that grow at the base of green onions...I think. I only had them once in Montreal but they were awesome. Pickled shallots concludes the tribute to pickled foods. I couldn't find any in Edmonton or Calgary so I just put together some photos. Peep it.

3rd favourite pickled food

Third favourite pickled food is pickled peppers. There are ideal on subs and hamburgers but best on chicken burgers. Although this falls behind pickled asparagus, it was difficult to chose which was best. Stay tuned for the best pickled food in the world. Enjoy this photo of a chicken burger flooded in pickled peppers.

4th favourite pickled food

This pickled item complements most meat. You can eat it with beef, poulet which is chicken in french, pork, with crackers or if you love it that much you can eat it all by itself. Pickled four bean salad is my 4th favourite pickled food.

What pickled foods do you like?

Second favourite pickled food

Hello dear visitors,

I was going to count down the 5 best pickled foods but I don't have #4 or #3 in my house and I'm way to busy to get them, it is tragic. But order and routine are boring anyways right? The second best pickled food is: pickled asparagus. I picked these guys up at the Strathcona farmers market on a scorching sunny day in Edmonton. They were pricey but well worth it. Enjoy!

5th favourite pickled food

I love pickled stuff, if its pickled I will probably eat it. The next 5 blogs are a tribute to pickled foods. My 5th favourite pickled food is pickled cucumbers also known as pickles. Classics are always gold. What pickled stuff do you like?

Sunset sky diving

I've only been skydiving once and that was during the day. I've always wondered how it would be to be skydiving during a sunset... This photo makes me want to try it. Ladies end gents...Enjoy this photo of the setting sun.

Corona

Corona type summer day...in Edmonton:

11am - Wake up to a "already 25 degree" day

1pm - Go to the farmers market

3pm - Have some ice cold beers on the balcony

6pm - Rock concert

2am - night walk in 2o plus degree weather

3am - Bed

These days are like gold in Edmonton

Golf pros

This past sunday we went golfing. This is Pecs driving the ball. I don't know where this ball went but I'm pretty sure it hit a window on one of those condos in the background. This is THE NEW technique for swinging a golf club.

Lazy summer Days

I'm a big fan of winter and skiing but summer is of equal dope-ness. One of my favourite summer activities is chillin in the sun on a sunday afternoon watching a cheap baseball game. Here is a photo of Telus Field in Edmonton I shot from my Balcony. Enjoy.

Time "X".

Details.....

smile.

Anyone who has driven from Lethbridge to Calgary will most likely have seen the smiley face equestrian. It spruces up a boring drive.

Fernie skiing

In January 2006 I came to Fernie to do some skiing over the New Years. On New Years day the hill was relatively quiet because everyone slept in, it had snowed about 3 feet overnight, and I was on the hill bright and early. I met a Scottish fellow that also loved to ski. He was an amazing skier and really pushed me to do things that I wouldn't usually do.From then till now I really learned to push my limits. We were dropping off a cliff that morning when the sun was rising. Here is a photo he shot. This photo makes me wish I could ski year round because around august I start going through skiing withdrawal. enjoy and drop a comment!

Innovation at its prime....maybe...not

A couple of weeks ago, the door to the storage on the balcony would not open. The handle would turn but the latch wouldn't open. So we had to open it using our innovative minds. We tried to take the bolts out. The middle one came out like it was dipped in oil but the other two had notches in the middle of them so a hammer and screw driver did not suffice. In total it took us fire for heat, WD40, vice grips, a rag, a coat hanger, a lighter, a phone book, a hammer, a card (like a credit card), bolts and a couple screw drivers. I won't even try to explain our ideas to open the door because it would be a novel... This door ruined my night. And no we couldn't pick the lock nor could we unscrew the handle. If you are faced with the same situation just bust the handle and kick the door in. You will save in both time and money. Enjoy this photo of innovating door opening tools....oh yea we also used newspaper and dental floss....stoopid door.

Awesome coffee

It wakes us in the morning. It's a good thing for socializing. It gives us an excuse to take a break from work. And It's smell is amongst my favourite. Coffee is a big part of our lives, mine at least. I few months ago I went to a coffee shop and their coffee was the best I have ever tasted...by far! and it was just in a paper cup, not a mug. This is weird because usually coffee tastes better in mugs, for me anyways. I dunno if its just a cozy home kind of feeling or if their are some kind of chemical interactions between the coffee and paper cup that results in deterioration of taste...or something like that. If you have never been to this coffee shop please do so. It is called transcend and it's on the corner of 99th st and 62 ave Edmonton, AB. Peep the photo and get a coffee there. And for you real coffee buffs, they have a coffee there that is a regular brew but with 4 extra expresso shots. It's called "who needs a red bull" or something like it. I think they should change it to "well lets hope this gets you through that 8 hour coference." ENJOY! If you think you know a coffee shop that is better than this one please let me know!

photo wars

A few months ago, Braydon and Chris came to my place to shoot some photos of the edmonton night sky with their steezy camera. They started rapidly firing shots at each other. It reminded me of some kind of star wars final stand off, enjoy mis amigos!

Melting Montreal

I took this picture of a building in montreal. This building is dirty from rain or erosion or something like that. But it was 30 plus this day so I liked to think it looked like it was melting. Fortunately it was not that hot. Enjoy

love to live

I love old and complex structures. This weekend I have a great opportunity to witness some. From dozens of overpasses in one giant intersection to old churches to cobblestone streets to stone buildings...Montreal is a prime site for there amazing structure. Being able to witness these structures makes me appreciate life and love the life I have so much more. Pics to follow!

eff dubelyas

I am a big fan of fireworks! They bring back so many memories. Three summers ago Evan, Tyler and I lit off fireworks on a beach in a BC provincial park where we were not allowed but did it anyways. As soon as we lit em, the park patrol we're on us like butter on bread but we escaped luckily. From then on we referred to fireworks as FWs (eff dubelyas) as a lingo to avoid the park patrol finding out we lit of the FWs. Now I live in Edmonton, I moved in on July 1st and was putting together cheap but reliable ikea furniture that night when I heard loud bangs and thought somebody had a gun or something in the building. But then I look outside and remembered "Oh yea...Its Canada day today" . Yup, I had a prime seat to a sweet fireworks show. This is a picture I took from my apartment. Enjoy!

One thursday summer evening...

One thursday summer evening I was driving down a road to get to my house and a house struck my eye. All the houses on that street were dull colors and I am big fan of loud colors. This house was bright blue. It looked like the house I want when I buy a house... except in red because red is such an awesome color. Feel free to comment!

Acquired taste finally acquired

When I was a kid. I hated the way vegetables tasted. Now I love them. Only I year ago I was disgusted with the taste of olives, now I love them too (especially the garlic stuffed ones at Strathcona farmers market). A few years ago I disliked the way wine tasted. Everybody told me it was an acquired taste but I never really understood that. This fall I had a Spanish red wine at my aunts house in Montreal and I actually liked it. Recently I had an Argentinean wine that has been made for over 4 generations and I thought its taste was the next best thing besides skiing in waist deep fresh champagne canadian powder. I think it is now safe to say I have finally acquired a liking for the taste of wine. Here is a photo of that Argentinean wine. Enjoy!

parking lots in the sun

Summer time!

Despite my love for snow and winter, there comes a point at the beginning of every spring season where I get excited about 20+ weather, late sunsets and (last but especially not least) fresh sneakers. Last summer I got these New Balance sneakers down in D.R. Enjoy.

rainy days

Winter, summer, spring or fall I love being outdoors but every once in a while. when its raining/wet snowing, I like to sleep in, write and watch the rain. In the last 2 weeks I have worked running like crazy. Today it is raining/wet snowing in Edmonton and I'm just chilling inside. Check out the pix taken from my apartment. You can just barely see them through the precipitation.

Prime time swoosh sneaks

Hello my dear visitors,

Nike has the most fresh sneakers I must say. Check out these 80's style sneaks. My friend Chris is having a competition for the best pello (Purple yeLLOW) photo so I tweaked it....ch-ch-check iiiit ooooooout...

A tribute to Shane McConkey

Ski legend Shane mcConkey died during a ski accident when he was "ski parasailing" beside an avalanche. He is a ski pioneer both style and talent...He was one of my favs. Check out his ski video..a tribute to bond...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sal4h_bPe4g

Today's special

When you are a student you are poor and don't have time to eat. Being a student, going home to gorge on home made food makes holidays like easter that much sweeter! Now I'm back in school. Today's special for grad students includes pasta, coffee and beans.

Eduin Ortiz

One month ago I decided to sponsor a child but I was hopeless to choose from the millions of children. I chose this kid because he is from Bolivia (Che's execution location) and because he has the same last name as my favourite baseball player: David Ortiz for the Boston Red Sox. Ladies and gents meet Eduin Ortiz.

Monumental structure

I love the architecture of old churches and other buildings. This summer we went to Higuay in Dominican Republic and saw the basilica. It took them 28 years to build it and the doors are 14 feet high and made of bronze. I thought it was pretty astounding. This is a couple pictures of the basilica in higuay

skis for sale for cheap!

I have skis and bindings that I want to sell for $150... They are volkl v-pros that I got for 350 original price 4 years ago. 170cm long, 80mm waist, good all-mountain ski and still in great condition. If you or someone you know are interested please let me know!

jumping out of a plane

In the past 3 years I have wanted to go sky diving but never went...until last summer. It was an amazing thrill and recommend it...only if you seek adrenaline thrills. This is a picture of me screaming my face off at 3500 feet off the ground.

Red rays and p'kins

My blog title was boring so I changed it. Red is my favourite color and I like to chill on a hot summer day and let the sun rays hit my face. This past halloween. Erica and I carved some pumpkins. Neither of us had carved pumpkins before so it was fun to say the least. Here are our p'kins. Erica's is on the luis and mine is on the roger. Thankyou come again

Fruit carvings

This summer I was lucky enough to go to Dominican Republic. In the hotel we were staying in there were birds carved out of fruit, I thought it was mind blowing. Here is a picture of a bird carved out of canteloupe. Enjoy!

Not the first or last dumb idea

A month or so ago Chris and I went skiing in Golden. On our way back we decided to stop on the new bridge they build over the kicking horse river, which is a pretty high bridge. Since it was so high, I wanted to sit on the hand rail while semi's wizzed by. If you know me the least bit, you know that I crave adrenaline. When I showed my dad this he freaked out but I told him atleast I wasn't standing on it...Look pa' no hands. Photo courtesy Chris...he is an amazing photographer

white, brown and green?

My roomate Bri is from St. Paul. In St. Paul she lives on a ranch with chickens that lays different colored eggs. I thought it was so cool so I took a picture. The brown and green eggs in this picture are from the same chicken, I believe the white ones are from a different chicken. chhhhhhheckitout.

Here comes the sun

Yesterday I took my time walking to work and took some pictures. I took a picture of the street I work on which was just doused by the falling sun. No Im not a bum I don't work on the street but a building that is on the street. It was dope.

Pink rims and a mass spoiler

I like cars and goofy looking things and this car was parked in my parking lot so I had to take a photo. Imprezzzzzzzzzza!

busy busy busy

I have ignored my blog for the past long little while and this is mainly because grad school is ruling my life. Today I went for a walk, chilled out and cleaned the house with music. Living in a big city, I am always in a hurry, so I like to slow it down once in a while and pretend Im in a small town. I am working on a poetry book and it is probably going to come out in June. Copy's are probably going to be $8 or $10. If you want a copy I would be happy to mail it to you.

This is me cleaning the house and singing to band of horses. They are a good band for this...