About Us


The Open Road Project exists to spread kindness and meet the needs of strangers. We travel in a 1979 GMC Vanguard named Lily. These are our stories.

Friday, April 1, 2011

REZ RUMBLE

As it turns out the madness in my march did include its healthy dose of basketball. On monday my Intramural team made an unexpected run to the finals where we lost a hard fought game to finsih 2nd overall in our division. Not to shabby for a bunch a' throw together first years.
more significantly, on Sunday RAC hosted Rez Rumble. If you are not familiar, this year i have dedicated some serious time as a member of the Residence Athletic Council (RAC) and its been a blast. REZ RUMBLE is potentially one of our biggest events aside from our
weekly leagues. what it is, is a charity student-don basketball game. To get to participate i got to raise money for the chairty Right to Play and thank to Little House I raised almost 300. our overall goal for the 14 residences was $2500. we exceeded that and raised almost 400 bones! the game was a blast. it was East vs. West All Star style. with the campus split down the middle to divide the teams. little House falls on the east side and we were donning the blue jerseys. we did our best to fill the bleachers and a lot of students and dons came out to support the charity game. at halftime we had a dunk comp, and prior to we presented the charities with the much neccessary novelty sized cheques of course...

This snap is a pic of most of the players and coaches. it was one of the highlights of the year for me. especially as part of my RAC memory. that was a great day. and Laurier did some great stuff for two great charities, Right to Play and Bracelet of Hope.

we won by 1. sick game.

Ice Ice Baby.

This year Jer and I applied to be Ice-Breakers during O-week next year. The role of a Breaker is basically to ensure that your designated floor of first years have to best time possible, and feel extremely welcomed to Laurier during the Orientation Week. My breakers, Pat kate and richa this year were unreal and im stoked to do the same next year along side Jer.

This application process for ice breaking is surprisingly rigorous as the position is quite popular. i believe there is approx. 200 ice breakers each year and this year over 800 Applied!

first you submit an online application

>> then if thats accepted you make the interview stage.

after the interview. is perhaps the most memorable part of all applicants. THE CREATIVE.

if you havent seen our creative yet. (facebook circulates quite well) this is what we threw together.

click here to CHECK IT OUT

Monday, March 28, 2011

Roomies

I have had a sweet time with my roommates this year. Many of you know that I am a don/ RA in a residence here at Wilfrid Laurier University. I am in an apartment style residence which means that at the beginning of the year I am placed with 2 random first year students. I could not have had better luck. Kevin, Alex and I have had a really sweet year and have been up to all kinds of crazy antics since day 1. We got along great and shared the responsibilities of running a household. I would say we kept the place pretty neat and tidy, providing our many friends with a homey and inviting atmosphere. Meals are always provided for our guests, what is ours is yours, so if you haven't come by yet this year, I would get on that. This post is a tribute to my roommates. Here are a few highlights of the year.

Rocky
I came home one night to find a new pet in my room. (One of the many pranks played on me. I guess that is what I get for leaving my door open more often than not) Kevin got me a pet rock, appropriately named Rocky. We had a great time hanging out with him, although cuddling with him would provide bruises and scrapes. Sadly, he stopped eating and died. We gave him a proper burial by dropping him down the garbage chute from the 14th floor.



Settlers
If you have not experienced the board game Settlers, well I feel bad for you. If you were to come to our house on any given evening, there is a good possibility a game of Settlers will be in progress or about to start. This is a game that is comparable to Risk but without the violence and like monopoly without the 6hr play time. Its usually the perfect way to relax after a long day of business lectures, although the game can get pretty heated. It's a game of trading, stealing, alliances and enemies. It brings out the best and worst in us all. I have been known to be fairly ruthless at times. Here is a picture of my settlements during my most recent win.
Ruthlessness=Victory.

Nerf Wars
More times that I can count on my fingers and toes combined, I have been ambushed. By who you may ask? I would ask a different question. BY WHAT!? There are times when my roommates turn into something straight out of a modern war movie. It is times like these where I will be enjoying a meal and an episode of The Office and without warning be bombarded by a hail of Nerf darts. While some may call it childish to run around with goggles and plastic guns, I would refer to it as childish. Wait what? Oops! However, I must admit, I have joined in on the battles on occasion and it is a good time. I'm pretty skilled with a Nerf gun.


Alex's Cooking
My roomate Alex is a master chef. The best part: Kevin and I reap the rewards of being the ones who are around at dinner time. Whether he is baking pumpkin pie, apple cookies, making his famous pasta or tuna burgers, there has never been a time where Kev and I have gone hungry. Thanks Alex, for your expertise in the kitchen.

So boys, here's to you! Thanks for a solid year. I hope there are more good times to come as we still have a few more years here at Laurier! For the rest of you, if you haven't had a chance to meet these two goons, come on by. I'm sure you will be embraced with a plate of food, a few darts in the face and of course a good time.

Sunday, March 20, 2011

The Madness of March.

flashback to this time 2 years ago. My entire life at this moment would be spent on the couch wearing sweatpants with Doritos cheese on my fingers, dishes unwashed in the sink- and my brother and dad right beside me.
This behaviour was totally justified because this time is the year that even my mom can understand: MARCH MADNESS PREVAILS.
last year during the tournament, I was in Australia, so things were a little bit different and most of the basketball talk happened over skype. however, it is safe to say that this year i have experienced the most madness of anytime during my life. school is winding down- meaning the work load before exams is winding up. summer is approaching which only means the job search intensifies. (which reminds me: To all you CEOs reading, i've decided the only way to make this fair is for you all to pick a number between one and a thousand. and i work for whoever gets it right on.)

k great job search is now off the To-Do, but still much madness remains.

like the madness of St. Patty's- i swear i saw that leprechaun. plus interacting with drunk "irish" people the entire day was quite an experience.
the Madness of school (30 page business reports, business presentations, labs, and not the slightest will to do any of it.)
And how could the madness of basketball that brings my old man to washington to watch the games, not help to exasperate my desire to do nothing but watch basketball.

its really quite maddening- but im lovin every minute of it.

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

My Flourishing Modelling Career

For our avid followers, you would know that since the humble beginnings of this blog I have revamped my modelling portfolio and rekindled my love for the camera. Ever since working with Dylan Hamm a few months ago, my phone has been ringing off the hook for various shoots, ads and commercials. While initially I was a little skeptical when Rolling Stone magazine left voicemail after voicemail and email after email, I finally decided to call them back and told them that I could give them the shoot of my band that they so desperately wanted. I gave them a little interview too. Thankfully when I got to their head office, I found out that Dylan just got hired and I got to be on his first cover. Not too shabby.

Sunday, March 13, 2011

There's nothing quite like it.

Lately schools been pretty busy. Ive been working pretty hard, and its seems these days, the more i work- the more i procrastinate. they sort of go hand in hand really. My life has become two modes. work mode. vs. procrastinate mode.

the constant battle rages.

if it wasn't for my 30 page business report due;
my room wouldn't be nearly this clean.

if it wasn't for my economics midterm;
i would never have bothered to listen to Josh Earls and his infamous 9/4/11 predication of future economic crisis. (clearly based on his wealth of economic knowledge from EC 140)

if it wasn't for daily lab readings;
i wouldn't be nearly as practiced at writing my signature.

To anyone who has ever learned paper origami, that cool pen-finger-spin trick, Rubic's Cube or Sudoku;
you already know my dear friend procrastination.

but most importantly, if it wasn't for hard work mode;
the things we do wouldn't quite have the same appeal, and we would all just be spending our time aimlessly doing semi-cool stuff.

and at this exact moment writing on this blog is my semi-cool thing. so if reading it is yours because you otherwise should be reading textbooks, writing essays or thinking... cheers to you!

And
Cheers, to procrastination:
The instant gratification of delaying Suck.

Friday, March 4, 2011

Do's and Dont's of Bolivia

Here are a few of the more exciting pictures from my trip. I will also share a short story with each one.
Do: Let the little ones carry you around in return for carrying them around all week.
Do: Become good friends with the bus driver, who not only inspired me to become a world class RV driver, but also stopped at a random sketchy car markets so that I could get awesome accessories for our RV.
Don't: Don't walk through the market with your purse at your side. An old woman will slice it open and root through it before you can even realize what has happened.
Do: Dance with the Bolivians on a Friday night. They know what's good. However, watch out for when they surround you in the middle of the circle, you will be required to show off your dance moves. I didn't know any, and I'm pretty sure I was the focus of their laughter. Nevertheless, good times.
Do: Eat a giant pizza. While this may not be quite as delicious as Twice the Deal or Pico's Pizza, sharing a giant pizza with great friends=great times.
Do or Don't: Get something pierced in Bolivia. This one is really up to you, I mean I think most people would opt for Don't in this situation, but I like to live life on the edge. Who knows how many stories that needle could tell!
Don't: Don't get caught napping while you are supposed to be painting. I mean, this is just common sense. I tried to hide behind the couches but still got caught. My punishment: had to go play tag for 20 minutes, and let me tell you, that is most likely why I needed to take this nap in the first place.
Don't: Don't get too close to the black widows on the bus. I think they are poisonous or something?
Do: Eat the chips that they put out at the gas station to advertise for the Crispy Chips that is attached to the station. They are delicious, fresh-ish and best of all: free.
Do: Let your friends give you a new hair-do. Everyone will laugh at how cool you look, and some may even call you Princess Leia. Isn't it everyone's dream to be a princess?


This will conclude my posts about Bolivia. If you want to hear more, or see some more pictures, feel free to contact me in person. Sadly, I did not get to experience the Cholitas. They are in a different city. However, Tyson did say that if there was a league in Cochabamba, he would take groups there in a heart beat. I guess I will just have to go back someday. After all, it still remains on the bucket list. This trip was a huge blessing. Made some lifelong friends and memories. Best of all, I learned a ton about myself, the way the world works and possibly some things I want for my future.

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Our Work Projects

I thought you guys would like to know a little bit more about what I was actually doing in Bolivia so this post is dedicated to showing you some of the things that we actually got done. This is moreso for interest sake rather than humour factor. We actually got a lot done. The first few days were a little frustrating as we were working on Bolivian time. What does this mean? Well, for one, expect everything at least a day late. The wood for the laundry room came 2 days late so we ended up cutting a bunch of grass with this mini electric mower. Picture a months worth of grass during the rainy times. Anyway, once the materials got there, we had a lot of fun drilling into the Brazil nut wood. Rock solid stuff. Many drill bits were lost during the battle. Also, another thing I realized is that people tell you what you want to hear. Not what is realistic. Which I have found is really annoying. Telling me what I want to hear and then not coming through is just doesn't make sense because I would have been fine if you just told me that you would be late. Well that's how it works in Bolivia. Here are some pics.

Carpenters Tom and Jerry with the Architect Manuel, infamous for their 3 hour lunch breaks and broken promises.
Me painting at the girls home. Wow that looks great!
Before we arrived.
What we got done during one week. While it may not look like much to the naked eye, we worked really hard and I'm even surprised we got this done with the number of setbacks and frustrations. Well, shes solid and hopefully will have a roof and paint by the time the second half of our team comes back this Monday.

It was really great giving back to these homes. The kids who live at these places are actually the best. My favourite part of the trip was hanging out with them and just feeling the love. I miss it already.

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

A Hike

It is most likely not a surprise to many people that I love the outdoors. The first Saturday we were in Bolivia, we had the opportunity to go for a hike in the backyard of the guesthouse we were staying at. AKA, miles and miles and miles of mountain trails. Needless to say, I was loving life. Just being out in the mountains was so refreshing. Green all around, fresh air, the sound of the river flowing and the warm breeze. Just thinking about it makes me want to be back. It was a good hike and I'm glad we did that instead of lounging around in the hammocks all afternoon (also a way I spent lots of time star gazing and such). Anyway, here is a pic of some of the scenery.

After this, we went to the girls home to set up for Carla's birthday party. It was her 15th which is a huge deal in Bolivia. Essentially it is a coming of age ceremony. It was so great for me to see how much of a big deal they made it. In a house of 22 girls, I could see a lot of these parties happening. Still, no expenses were spared. Cakes, food, decorations and a hired DJ with a big ol' sound system. It was super fun just dancing around with all the kids, having a good time. When it was time for the ceremony, her 15 friends each grabbed their dates to get ready for the ceremony. There are 15 couples that are a part of it, each representing one year of her life. Well, turns out, they were short on guys. Also turns out that I am a guy. When they asked me to be a part of the ceremony I could not have felt more special. I had been in the country less than 24 hours and got to be part of this special event. Us Enns' have a way of getting into places were we are usually not supposed to be. Oh, some of you smarter readers may have caught on that there were 15 couples. Yes I did get to have a date. I even got asked out. Not hatin' that. Sarah is a volunteer working with the foundation during her year after high school. She is a cool cat and it was nice to make a new friend who knew the ropes a little bit more than I did. I had a really great first Saturday night in Bolivia, waltzing away. Here is a little pic of the party crew.

Udder: It's whats fer dinner.

There is a Bolivian folk legend that has translated into the ultimate national food dish. Once upon a time, there was a man. This man had some friends. They liked to drink. One Friday night, while the kids were sleeping, he came home with his friends and took over the living room to play some Cotcha (Bolivian Yahtzee). While the poor wife was trying keep the children asleep, she heard her husband yell, "HEY WOMAN, WE ARE HUNGRY, MAKE US SOME FOOD!" In a slight rage, she went to the fridge and threw all sorts of leftovers onto a plate. There was some steak, some fries, a variety of veggies, cheese, chicken, and to spite them, cow udder and intestines. She tossed it in front of them and said, "If you guys are macho enough you will eat this." Well turns out, they absolutely loved it. Not exactly what she was expecting when trying to stick it to this chauvinistic group of drunks.
Anyway, this is a short story depicting how the national dish came about. I had the opportunity to experience it. Rusty (the guy who owned our guesthouse) was in charge of picking the places where we ate. Early in the trip, he took us to eat some Pikay Macho. Let me tell you, it was delicious. Just a mountain of awesome. I am proud to admit that my favourite part was the intestines. Tasted just like bacon, but chewier. On the flip side, I'm pretty sure I ate a little too much of it, and my digestive system wasn't too pleased with me for the following 48hrs. Enough said.

Airport Adventure

Hello my friends. I am sure that many of you may be a little ticked at me considering I did not post one time while I was in Bolivia. First of all- sorry. but more importantly, its Jamie's fault that he doesnt check his emails. ...not even from dear friends in Bolivia. However I am now home and will write a bunch of posts about my time in Bolivia. I will try to write a bunch of stories for you guys. The good part about this is now you get all the pictures.

this first on is: Airport Adventure.
So although I have already spent almost a day here I'm going to start from the beginning. What sort of adventure begins without airport drama? After our team got to the airport, we started to check in. Instant issues. Since we were flying through brazil, we needed visas in order to re check our baggage because we were switching airlines from air Canada to aero sur. It takes 10 days to get a visa. So what did we do? Naturally got into a team huddle and prayed. It did not take us long to see the power of prayer in action as the manager came down and signed some special forms for each of us 11 travellers. We were on our way! The first flight was pretty long but we all slept, or tried to. Our stop in brazil was for almost 6 hours which was a nuisance. We passed the time by playing Euchre, Never Have I Ever and by trying to figure out if that darn woman in front of us at the waiting gate had a shirt on. From where we sat it appeared that she didn't, and we weren't sure about cultural norms in Brazil. It was pretty hot, so I decided I maybe wanted to take me shirt off but right before I acted on my thoughts she stood up which revealed she was wearing some tube top thing. Anyway, the next few flights were shorter but we were super tired by the end. Oh, quickly. Food on the plane was pretty good. Dinner was a nice pasta but breakfast was another story. One attendant was saying hot cereal and after I said sure! ( better than airplane eggs) another attendant said what I got was called bread pudding. Anyway, I just ended up calling it moist mystery mush and choked it down. Then on the next plane I ate what I called a mystery meat sandwhich. Some called it roast beef but last time I checked I don't know of a meat that has a grey hue. Anyway we hopped off in Cochabamba and the air was cool. We were greeted by Tyson and Carolina. These are the folks that are taking us around for the week. Honestly, coolest. Couple. Ever. I will prob talk about them a lot and just so you can get a visual, picture tall, lip ring, mphwak and glasses with a wife who has dreads. Fabulous dreads. I'm stoked to get to know them. We then took the midnight ride to our guest home(after 24 hours of travel) and let me tell you. Unreal location. Right at the base of the mountains. Food on the table. Smiles all around. Life is good and we will be well taken care of. Today we visited the homes we will be working at butthats for another post.
Till next time- jeremy
Mystery Mush

Thursday, February 17, 2011

The Bolivian Cholitas

Well dear friends, today I leave for Bolivia! At about 22:00 I will be taking off from Pearson International on my way to Cochabamba, Bolivia. As I'm sure you can all assume, I am pretty stoked. I have been excited for new experiences, new friends and a new view on life (it's tough to come back from trips like this the same person). Another thing I have been more recently excited for, is something that my dad found while flipping through the pages of an old National Geographic.

Yes. What you are looking at is real life. This is a superb candid from a Bolivian Underground Womens Wrestling League. The women who wrestle in this league are called Cholitas. After some research on the National Geographic website, I quickly learned that these women do not mess around. Let me quote the article...

"Watch out!" the entire audience shrieks. Yolanda has been celebrating her victory, but Claudina, as proof of her evil nature, is about to lunge at her from behind. Yolanda spins too late; Claudina knocks her flat and clambers like a crazy person onto the ropes. "I'm the prettiest!" she yells at the audience. "You're all ugly! I'm the one the gringos have come to see!"

Now that is what I call entertainment! Well let me tell you Claudina, I have just added something to my bucket list. I am the gringo that is coming to see you. Hopefully I can find one of these wrestling rings on a Friday night. Who knows? Perhaps the people that I will be staying with know where I can find these people. All I know is that I want to be there. I want to be one of the cheering fans. This isn't any fake WWE stuff, this is womens Bolivian wrestling at it's finest and I want to experience it first hand. Next time you guys hear from me, it will be from the mountains of Bolivia!
P.S. I would be too down to find an outdoor practice ring and meet some of the local wrestling celebrities. Wish me luck.

Monday, February 14, 2011

Other Stud: Found a Valentine.

Previously Jeremy wrote about his endeavors to find his true love on a day like today. (see: One Stud Lookin' for a Valentine) And not in anyway am I intending to crush his dreams or make him feel any more hopeless in his quest. However, in response to Jeremy's post regarding valentines day: Even I have found a valentine.

There is someone I've been wanting to introduce to you all for a while now; and finally, the time is perfect. Meet Bozena (pronounced: Bo-jena)

Weve been friends for some time now, I met her at the Pasta station in the Dinning Hall, where she works every monday to friday, from 11-7. it started off really quite casual, i'd say hi and ask her how she is doing as she'd make my lunch everyday. Eventually we became acquaintances and she'd sneak me double scoops of chicken or bacon in my pasta... and you can obviously understand how that escalated our relationship.

Recently, she left for 3 weeks to visit family and Poland, and I cant even explain to you how difficult it was on me. my food lost all its taste, i stopped going to classes, i barely even got out of bed. But, shes back now and were back to our old ways. over the months, I've developed some nicknames for my girl Bozena, I like to call her Bo-geegee or Bonanza. I used to call her Bon Jovi, but she hated that so i agreed to stop even though that was one of my favourites. We've have some good times, me and Bozena. Usually when i see her i say "Hi how are you...Make me a Pasta Woman! on-lookers are always shocked by my rudeness but we just laugh because we know the special bond we have. (one time her co-worker, so shocked at my offensiveness, even tried to kick me out of line, untill Bozena had to intervene and explain the joke infront of everyone)

she's a real joker too. one time she told me they were eliminating the Pasta bar from the menu. - Shocked and enraged I asked her why in the world they would get rid of my favourite meal station!? she told me they were switching to only selling popsicles... and with her thick polish accent and innocent smile. it was some time untill i realized she was pulling my leg. we still laugh about that one... Even when im not getting pasta, i like to stop by and say hi to Bo-geegee. And one time when i had gotten a salad instead, she asked me why i did. i told her i just wanted a change. she shook her head, told me i made the wrong choice. when i asked her why, she said one word: cockroaches. and walked away.

it's a good thing we have. i see her every monday to friday - so she know's i committed. and She's a fantastic cook, and she knows that important to me. so if your even in the Laurier dining hall, and you happen to see my lady. be nice, say hi. and make her day.
maybe even drop my name and you may find yourself with some extra cheese on your pasta.

Saturday, February 12, 2011

One Stud Lookin' for a Valentine

Ok ladies. I know you all know what day is coming up on Monday. So for you males who are totally oblivious to the upcoming holiday, get it together. There are nice young ladies looking to be wooed. Yes my friends: Valentines Day is fast approaching. While I am not usually one to get crazy involved in meaningless events held by society to create revenue on useless occasions during the off season, this year is going to be different. I am tired of waiting eagerly for the 14th to arrive just to have my dreams crushed and my heart broken. This year I am posting, on this blog, a personal profile, pictures included, so all of you ladies can take a look-see and maybe have the best Valentines day of your 17-24 year long life.

Name: Jeremy Enns
Age: 19.5
Height: 6 Feet Tall
Body Type: Slender
Favourite TV Shows: Greys Anatomy, The Hills
Favourite thing to do: Long walks on the beach obviously.
Special Skills: Can put hair into a bigger pony tail than most girls.

Ladies. Take a look at the picture. Now back to the text. Is this the kind of man you are looking for? Cause he can be your Valentine. Do you like a man who is smart? Look at those glasses. They scream "I like to study!" Do you like a man who knows how to work hard? Look at those work boots. That is real dirt you are gazing upon. Those bad boys aren't for style. They are for real. Now that you know this is someone who can bring home the bacon, what happens when he does come home? Is that a plate of freshly baked cookies? Yes. Obviously made just for you. Not only that, but how about a personal drum solo to the Phil Collins song In The Air Tonight. No doubt. All of this and we haven't even addressed his attire. Laurier shorts translates to someone who is highly athletic. Tuxedo t-shirt: do I need to post the urban dictionary definition?

Definition to urban culture : Typically a black t-shirt with a white tuxedo printed on the front, giving the illusion that the person is wearing a tuxedo.
They are usually awesome.
"Is that guy wearing a tuxedo t-shirt?"
"Yeah. He's probably awesome."

I couldn't have said that better myself. So that is pretty much everything you need to know about your Valentine for this year. I guess I will just wait for the phone to ring now, should be flyin' off the hook any second... Oh just one more thing. On Monday the 14th I have to be on duty in my residence seeing as I am a don and all. So just expect a quiet night in, and uh, maybe I will have to leave for extended periods of time to deal with student issues and keep the building in order. But you obviously just read my online profile, so you wont mind... right? Just leave a comment, on this blog, with your name and number and I will be sure to get back to you within 24 hours. Love you! (too soon? Ok, I guess I just like you a lot.)

oh no mojo.

During my exam today, i was feeling real good. I had my Mojo going, pay off for the week of studying and im whippin out answers. Half way through Laura Allan (121 proff) walked in to my exam room and we made eye contact. I was feelin so good I guess I winked at her. she winked back. before i even realized what i had done, she was already out the door. walking away. Probably asking herself why she just shot a wink back to a first year...writing an exam....that she wrote.

either way. confidence boost.
i think i did well on my exam.

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Sieze, Hold and Embrace Success

not since rhyming roses with violets can I remember writting a poem. Nor do i think ive ever even cared the slightest to do so. But recently i felt inspired.

If you know me well, or if you've ever even just had that slightest conversation with me, I'll admit, I probably tried to convince you that I am going to be successful. Yesterday I was chatting with Murray, Leah and Wendy about the topic. Which cause me to Just now, daydream about it. And I had some thoughts. About how to define it, and how its completely different to everybody. How to achieve it? so then i started to write.

Embrace Success

Purpose, ambition and success are all cut from the same cloth.

It’s a rag that cleans the dirt of hard work; and wipes the sweat off your brow.

Its free, but priceless. It’s nothing spectacular, but very special.

At one point or another in everybody's lifetime you’re given the chance to feel it.

So Seize it.

Sometimes it fits like a glove. But usually it’s baggy, goofy, and doesn’t quite fit.

RELAX. you’ll grow into it.

It was after all, made for you. And you for it.

So when it feels like a blindfold, trust in it. Trust in yourself.

Its intangible, but you'll know when you feel it

So Hold it.

Eventually it will fit you perfectly, and that’s when you will realize;

This success that appeared to be given to you

Was actually constructed by you.

You were given the ability. Just Live it the same way He did;

Purposefully, ambitiously and successfully.

So embrace it.

Because it's how you embrace it that determines everything.


not the usual funny random stories we often write about on our blog. but i finished this poem, and thought i'd share. enjoy success.

Cheers, Jamie.

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Cochabamba

Now if you read the title of this post and though that this would be a post about a really cool new dance technique that I have acquired, sadly you are mistaken. However, if I do learn a new/unreal move, you will all be the first to know through some hilarious pictures.

Cochabamba is a city in Bolivia where I will be spending my reading week. I am going with 12 young adults from a local church called The Embassy. We are working at an orphanage for girls who are between the ages 3-15 and also in a home for 0-5 year old boys and girls. The organization is called Ninos Con Valor (or Kids with Value in our native tongue). We are running different activities with the kids during the time we spend there. We are also building a laundry house for the facility. This is something that has been a serious need at NCV for the past few years and our team is really excited to help fulfill this need.

Now I know a lot of you are checking over the records in your brains trying to figure out where exactly Bolivia is (and don't tell me some of you are not, people have confused Bolivia for Bulgaria, Bosnia, Borneo etc). Well Bolivia is in South America, and in fact, neighbours Brazil. Just take a quick look for yourself, the "A" is Cochabamba (a beautiful city surrounded by huge mountains). As you can also tell, it is landlocked: no access to the coast. There are some pretty crazy things going on there politically and socially. Water privatization is a huge issue there and corporations pretty much own water that falls down as rain. I am really excited to learn more about the situation in Bolivia as I go and experience it first hand.

Our team leaves on the 17th and your prayers for safety would be much appreciated! Also, if you are thinking, "Wow this is really cool Jer!" and want to help us out, come out to Boston Pizza (by Connestoga mall) this Monday the 7th between 5 and 9pm. If you have a special coupon that I will give you upon request, 10% of your bill will go to support our teams project in Bolivia. NOW THAT'S WHAT I CALL A WIN WIN SITUATION! FULL STOMACH AND A HELPING HAND! I will also be writing a blog post for each day that I am there (if I have the ability to with the internet down there) so be sure to keep in touch when the time comes.

Thanks for reading!

The purpose of life is not to be happy - but to matter, to be productive, to be useful, to have it make some difference that you have lived at all. ~Leo Rosten

Saturday, January 29, 2011

New Years Resolution Solution Pt. 1

so if you've been reading our blog (or have read back to January 1st) you may recall our new years post in which Jer and I stated resolutions for one an other. One in particular involved Jer resolving that he would love if i adopted any sort of musical interest or ability.

well Jer, get your drumsticks ready good buddy.

i have found quite a promising lead. Click here.

Ambition

I think ambition is my favourite word. It encourages hard work and effort. everyone who has ever been great at anything had it. it inspires success, and motivates the person who feels it.
its just a great concept. and it can refer to anything; big, small, sports, music, academics, anything.

so go find ambition. or keep it if you have it.
enjoy success,
jamie&jer

Monday, January 24, 2011

It was a normal day like any other...

It was a normal day like any other. I had just run into Jer, Tim and Jennie in the Business building, and was off to class. On the way home i took the long route that kept me entirely indoors, and in doing so, i got into that mode. that Head-down-oblivious-too-everything-BBM mode. Untill suddenly i felt the necessity to pee. so i took a sharp left into where i knew the bathroom to be.
As i walked into the bathroom i can remember the feeling of distinct appreciation for the cleanliness and pleasant sent of this particular washroom. and as i contemplated the possible reasons for the magnificence of this restroom, it was then our eyes locked and my heart sank... me and a female. WHAT HAVE I DONE. i walked into the girls bathroom? this couldn't be!? so i took several steps back and looked at the door.. Ewwwwwwww. I was standing in the girls bathroom. and just like that, my 9 year, 6 month, and 13 day streak since that dreaded day back in grade 5 was over. I can still remember that day vividly, As the high pitched chants "Jamie is an Amy! Jamie is an Amy!" still ringing through my head. kids can be cruel.

new streak since accidentally walking into a Women's Washroom: 00 years 00 months 00 days 03 hours.

Friday, January 21, 2011

Heist

qualifying as easily the stupidest genius idea ive had in ages, let me tell you a story.

my wheelie desk chair in my dorm room has been broken for almost a month now, and all the while sitting on this now wobbly stool without a backrest- Ive been scheming a way to get a new one.

it was only recently, while i was chillen with Murray in the concourse, did the most genius idea fall into my head. we were going to heist a desk chair from the concourse computer lab. to be returned at the end of the year of course, i just need it for my res room in little house.

so we got to scheming.

Murray, paranoid about the camera's, persisted to me to come up with a clever plan to evade capture, so that is exactly what we did. we would set in place an alibi in case of capture as a reason for why we were "borrowing" laurier's ITS property. we planned an entire rigamarole in which i would convincingly fake an ankle injury conveniently directly in front of the surveillance camera in the SBE building. the next step to this ploy was to hobble (with murray's assistance) down the hall, until it would appear that i can go no further, this happens, conveniently right outside the computer lab. murry from there would wheel me out on one of these chairs, and we would bring it home scotch-free.

with what appeared to be a flawless plan i know what your thinking. how could any of this possibly not work.

well the injury plot was executed to perfection and we were making our way out the building- myself talking about how great of a plan this was, and Murray telling me how unlikely this was going to work, and how bad of an idea this was. he did however, credit our level of preparation, and effort. by the time we got out the doors, i was slightly annoyed by his paranoia. he did have a point that the four obviously wheel tracks in the snow was kind of suspect. but when he told me there was cops. I got fed up and turned (actually swivelled) around to tell him to relax.... WEEEOOOOOW. (siren noise) And thats when the cops showed up. So this is where our hoodwink really takes off. i gave my ankle a quick Indian burn (for effect), and the officers got out of the squad car. "can we help you boys?"
no officers actually... This is where we described the flim-flam plan we prepared as our alibi.
hook, line and sinker, the officer took bought it and were actually quite helpful offering to drive us straight to our door. its cold out so why the heck not. i insisted that i would be ok on my own, i hopped inside and we finally burst with laughter. dodged a close one there. but with not real malicious intent, i would qualify that as a good night.

its just a shame that still im writing this sitting on a wobbly busted excuse of a chair.

lessons learned: when i said: "Murray chill! its not like there's i guy sitting in a room looking at dozens of screens monitoring the campus. this isn't the movies"
well i learned there is that person, and that room, and those dozens of monitors. more importantly i learned that he or she is very good at their job.

lesson #2 learned: just pay $80 dollars and buy a chair you can own you dummy.

lesson #3 learned: if an idea your claiming is a great, can also be considered a scheme, hoodwink, gambit or heist. its probably not great. its probably stupid.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Dooleys

The other night we had a few great friends down staying with us. Such great friends in fact that I think they deserve a name drop: Adam Willms Charles and Krug. We went for dinner at Wilfs, and then later in the night we headed to Dooleys for a few rounds of pool where we met up with Jen and Andrea. We snapped a couple candids and they basically speak for themselves. We learned that Jeremy's hair goes fire red when he is about to sink a shot...
...and we also learned that Jamie is quite the instructor...

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Change in Plans.

So for those of you who have been followers of this blog, I dropped a fairly large bomb on my parents the other week. This here is Heather and you should all know at least a little about this story by now(click if you don't). We had these grand plans that I thought were so amazing but it seemed as though she had a different view on the matter. Anyways, she came to Laurier the other day and I must describe this picture to you as there are many intricacies that you may not have noticed. First of all, it appears as though it is a happy scene. My face is filled with joy and my eyes with wonder. The words that Heather just spoke were: "Jeremy. I lied on my blog. I love RV's." Naturally one would think that this bodes well for a small town boy with an RV. However, notice the solemn expression on Heather's face. I should have noticed it the moment I saw her. You see Heather lives in B.C., where used RV's are bountiful and usually built after 1979. The words she spoke next cut deep into my heart, (please read as though you are watching a soap opera).

"Jeremy. I lied on my blog. I love RV's... BUT, Jerry bought a better RV and he lives in BC." "Heather, who is Jeremy? I am Jeremy?"
"No Jer. Jerry. He has a business degree from Ivey, your rival school, and plays drums in this awesome band who is just about to get signed to a major record label. Oh... and I'm sorry Jer but.... he has dreads twice as long as yours. He is basically you... just better."

This is about the time where you look to the bottom left corner of the picture. I had Jamie with me for moral support, but as you can see, he is as shocked as he was useless. With these words, Heather got up at marched confidently out of McDonalds, never to be heard from again.

Sunday, January 16, 2011

foose.

"Fostering skill, Accuracy and Timing; It's not just a game, its a way of life"
- Giuliano Bentivoglio 2010 ITSF world champion.

what is the significance of this quote? and who is this Spaniard? ...please allow me to explain:

Not since pokemon in grade 6, or the frisbee summers at camp, never has someTHING more consumed my life. currently the addiction is fooseball. i could stop anytime i want, i just don't want to. it's safe to say I play everyday, (1-3 hours) and especially during exam time- me and Murray had a standing fooseball challenge every night a 2am. we did this for literally 6 days straight. fooseball is fantastic. With enjoyment comes repetition, and with repetition comes passion, and with passion sometimes, just sometimes comes obsession.

so yes friends, I am obsessed. But your concerns however are largely unnecessary, like the wise words of the international table soccer federations champion, I've learned many skills from this sport. so worry not. UNLESS however your concerns are for my opponents. well then, in that case it is very much warranted.

you see friends, similar to the Illuminate in America, Little house has a discrete society of its own. the Fooseball society of Laurier. Founding fathers are Mike Dwyer, Matt Murray and Alex Kellerman and myself. Feel free to respect these exceptional gentlemen as your superiors.

so play fooseball and enjoy it. come ask me to play it will make me happy.

Friday, January 14, 2011

More Clarification

Now it is Jeremy here and I too would like to clarify something. Namely about my hair. I have had countless conversations about every facet of my hair and usually what comes up is the whole washing factor. I hope that this can clear up all misconceptions. Can I wash my hair? Yes, I am quite capable of grabbing a glob of shampoo and scrubbing my head. But do I need to wash my hair? No. Why not? It doesn't smell bad and isn't dirty. There is such thing as a natural cleaning process and my hair has come to this point. There is no grease there is no gross smell, just hair on my head. Believe me when I say this because I mean, I have a lot of hair, and if it smelled bad, I think I would be the first to know. Thank you for understanding, and next time you see me, take a whiff. I would be happy to share.

Thanks.
Sincerely-Jeremy, the more professional writing one, but also the slightly less professional looking one.