Listening Project

Hi everyone,

I was away from Colombo for the past week working as a facilitator for the "Listening Project". The basic idea behind the project was to send teams to various parts of the country to have discussions with people about their experiences with international assistance, whether it be humanitarian, livelihood, emergency, and so on.

I led a team to Anuradhapura district which sits in the north central part of the country and is one of the original buddhist kingdoms dating back 2300 years. The cultural aspects were interesting, but I was more taken by the stories people told us about what is happening in the area in terms of assistance and development. Two of the days were spent on the northern defence line which separates the LTTE (Tamil Tigers) and government areas. It was amazing hearing the perspectives of people constantly displaced, sent to internally displaced persons (IDP) camps, and then starting over. Many of the people we spoke to had lost family members in bombings and attacks, were living in temporary shelters, and had very little money (if any), but they were some of the kindest and warmest people I've ever met in my life.

It was an opportunity for me to get into the field, leave my desk in Colombo, and gain a new experience in Sri Lanka. AMAZING!!!

Baby Ethan

Hi everyone,

yes, my "baby sister" had a baby of her own. Lori "Lou Lou" Spurway gave birth to Ethan Cole Spurway on September 9th, 2007 after only 4 hours in labour. I heard that Lori even drove herself to the hospital. Considering she's from good Ukraininian farmer stock, I'm surprised she didn't have him at home and continue making breakfast.

I have officially nicknamed my new nephew "Rutiger" for no other reason than to use a Simpson's reference. Mom and dad both seem pretty tired and there have been a few little panic moments of the first time parents "wondering what to do next." Everything is fine now, uncle Terry is definitely not happy to be so far away at the moment, but updates come regularly, so that has to do at the moment. T

Uncles Terry and Geoff (again)

Hi All

Well Terry's little sister Lori just had her first baby at 8:45 this morning...Terry is still asleep in Sri Lanka and will get all the news once he wakes up. I will let him fill you out on all the details.....Mom, Dad and baby boy all doing well.

Love
G

Quote from the Seawall #1

"Hey I have to change my whole f@*king lifestyle... where did this start?"

Quotes from the Seawall...Intro

Hi All

For a few years now I keep threatening that I will write a book compiled of quotable quotes overheard as someone passes you on the seawall deep in conversation. As I will never actually get around to this I thought I would throw a few of them out on the blog instead over time.

Love
G

Back to the Seawall...

Hi All

Well Terry is now back in Sri Lanka after a whirlwind but great visit...lots of time just to hang out and reconnect. So now it is time to get back into my solo routine for a few months...

As you would probably know from my previous posts 'The Seawall' forms a lot of my activity space year round. Here are a bunch of pics from the last little while...

Sunday Afternoon Couple

Second Beach

Third Beach

Groovy Graffitti

B&W Series

WOW....that went fast!!!

I can't believe I'm sitting in my hotel in Bangkok right now...How did the time go so quickly?

With that being said, I had a great time in Vancouver reconnecting with Geoff, taking a holiday up the Sunshine Coast, seeing friends, going to a wedding, celebrating the start of another decade, wandering around during Pride, and so on.

Bangkok is my middle point to help me get back into time zone, back into the heat/humidity, and to think about my time in Canada, and my 3-4 months ahead in Colombo. The biggest question I was asked when I was at home was, "are you enjoying it in Sri Lanka?" My answer to that was a resounding "yes". Even with the conflict, human rights issues, heat and accompanying sweat, poverty, etc, I feel lucky to have this opportunity, to have a partner who supports my work, and to have new perspectives and thoughts thrown at me to challenge me for both my professional and personal growth.

Thanks everyone for making my time in Vancouver so memorable. I look forward to seeing you all again in a few months. T

Camping it up at Mermaid Cove

A view of Mermaid Cove

Vancouver Pride

Bangkok Street Scene

Terry's 40th...

Hi All

To get the birthday weekend started we had a couple of friends [or friends who are a couple] over for drinks. Then a few more friends over on Saturday night for drinks, the fireworks from the balcony then off to The Pumpjack our local bar to take in the sights and sounds of a whole lot of sexy men in leather...[ok so maybe that was a little present for me in there as well ;) ].

Home at some God forsaken hour but up early on the day itself for an ocean dip before heading off to another friends wedding: One of the grooms being Sikh, east indian Canadian born and his husband USA born Radical Faerie, the wedding being conducted in the Dr Sun Yat Sen garden by a Chinese/Canadian marriage celebrant...complete with dove release. Home from there and then off to the Gay Pride post parade festival at the beach where it was my job to announce to anyone that we met that it was Terry's birthday...with lots of ensuing hugs/kisses and then some. Dinner with friends old and some new, then an evening wandering about Davie Street people watching.

At the wedding

Terry and Mohammad

Terry and Claudio

The One that Got Away

Monday was a public holiday so we had time to just hang out and have a lazy day, time at the beach swimming and snoozing in the sun.

All in all a well celebrated birthday.... year older but I think he is actually getting better looking as he goes.

Love to all

Geoff

Pending Birthday...

Guess Who Turns 40 Tomorrow???

Terry in Town...

Hi All

As you would know from previous postings Terry is now back in town for a two week break...time to catch up, celebrate his 40th birthday and just generally hang out, and just spend time with each other.

I can honestly say that after 9 months it has been a little strange being back in each others space and finding our rhythms as a couple again, especially knowing that it is such a short break together this time around...

So after a few days in Vancouver of getting over jetlag we headed up the coast to a place called Saltery Bay to go camping, sit by the fire, lay around naked in the sun and swim, swim, swim...Nature has that wonderful quality of letting a lot of your 'stuff' slide to allow time just to be with each other and reconnect.


Tomorrow is Terry's 40th birthday. It also happens to be two gay friends wedding and gay Pride all in one day....and all of that is before 5pm!

I will post again tomorrow with a few photos of the day for you.

Love
G

A Weekend Away and Only Seven More Days

I spent last weekend in the beautiful city of Kandy. My friend Jasmine works there for the Women's Development Cooperative, so I stayed with her at her very luxurious apartment (which is actually a wing of an old mansion). It was a good chance to unwind and enjoy the serenity of the hill country, before winding up my work to prepare for my 2 week Vancouver break. I'll be home on July 26th and I am SO LOOKING FORWARD TO IT! T

Kandy Town

The "oh so glamourous" Jasmine

The view from Jasmine's apartment

Another view from Jasmine's garden

07 07 07

Posted for no other reason than it is one of those interesting dates.

Love

G

The Countdown Begins...to August 5th

Hi All

Tomorrow will be just one month until Terry's birthday on August the 5th...40th birthday that is!

Love
G

30 Years On...

Hi All

Cathie brought a few old photos with her for me to copy and I realized that these two were taken 30 years apart... 1977 (note the fabulous 70's pattern on the speedos) and 2007 (which you have seen before)

Love

G

1977

2007

In search of...

Hi All


Cathie (one of my sisters) is in town visiting for two weeks and we have spent the last week or so in search of beautiful flora, fauna and landscapes with lots of success! I will post a fuller selection in the next few days but here are a few to get you started.


Love

G

Life and Nothing But

Hi everyone,

lately Geoff and I have been quite reflective as I'm sure you've all noticed. I've started my new Human Rights blog, Sri Lanka is taking a turn for the worse, and Geoff has been putting life and death into perspective. As a bit of a change, I'm adding some photos to help me revisit the beauty of Sri Lanka, and to reconnect with my partner on the other side of the world. T

Gary, Tom & Sequoia

Dear All

This evening finds me in a very reflective happy/sad head space inspired by nature, death, love and friendship. I don't really know where to start this posting so here goes...

A week ago an old friend Derek from Australia's Dad Gary died, today a friend Tom in the US from my meditation group died, in the next few weeks a friend in Vancouver's dog Sequoia is expected to die of cancer...

Each of their deaths bring something very beautiful to my life...I don't have the words to describe it exactly but it has to do with a feeling of an appreciation for what each of them has given to their friends and families and how they have each made an impression and changed the world in their own ways.

Gary belongs to a category of men who I would describe as 'one of life's good guys'. He watched us fumble our ways through our late teens and early twenties. I'm sure we annoyed the hell out of him sometimes with the constant invasions of his home, but he always made us feel welcome. I last saw Gary at my parents 50th wedding anniversary dinner...a bit older a greyer than I remember him but still the same old Gary, greeting me like I was a long lost friend. At the end of the night Gary and his wife Rose were the last to leave the restaurant and as we all walked out into the street and said our goodbyes I would not have imagined that it was the last time we would see each other....I will miss him.

Tom died suddenly and unexpectedly in his sleep last night. He also belongs in the 'one of life's good guys' category. Apart from his numerous other roles at our retreats, Tom was the offical 'meet and greet' guy as people arrived to register. He was an uncomplicated guy who had a big heart and the ability to just go up to total strangers who were looking lost and a bit vulnerable and make them feel completely welcome and cared for. My last memory of Tom was chatting about how he was going to celebrate his birthday that evening with his wife and kids with a late night pizza after getting home from retreat....I will miss him.

Sequoia has an inoperable cancer and is expected to die in the next few weeks. Sequoia is a 13 year old labrador and constant companion of her 'dad' Chadwick to whom she has brought an incredible wealth of love and joy over the years. Sequoia holds the official title of being one of this planets mellowest dogs. As with all 'labs' she loves the water and the last time I saw her she had decided that she was feeling well enough to climb out of bed where she had uncharicteristically been for the previous few days and just chase sticks in and out of the water at the beach for the afternoon with a few doggie buddies....I will miss her.

I spent today in nature with a friend hiking in the mountians, swimming in a lake and this evening by myself with my first swim in the ocean for the season. Nature brings out the best in me and I reflect a lot when I am in it....with lots of reflecting today....as far as I know Gary, Tom & Sequoia didn't set out to transform the world we live in by doing anything particularly profound but each of them has done so in their own way by just being who they are and loving those who surround them.

I thank each of them for the impact that they have left on my life and for the sense of appreciation that their deaths has given me for those who love and surround me.

G

Terry's New Blog

I have been wanting to find space to write about human rights and human rights abuses, diversity, conflict, etc., so I created a blog to branch off from this one to do just that. The idea behind it is more of a challenge really, a challenge for friends, family and bloggers to become more aware about what's happening around the world. It's a new site (as of Saturday, June 2, 2007), so it has a lot of work ahead. I've added the link below and to the links section on the right side of this blog. T

http://humanrightsrespectingdiversity.blogspot.com/

Heather Small - Proud

Proud of Colombo Pride

The past week was spent attending Colombo Pride events. It is not a small feat organizing Pride when you consider that homosexuality is illegal in this country. I am extremely "proud" of Equal Ground, the organization that showed the courage to see it through, and to my own "team Vancouver", who helped us raise almost $1000 toward Pride and other events which will help create awareness in the community and educate people on equality, respect, and diversity.

I've attached a video (see above) that became a bit of an anthem for me during Pride and some photos of the events during the week. I'm also happy to say that I began volunteering at Equal Ground about a month ago, as I am very impressed with their passion and commitment to human rights issues. T