Now What?

We returned to Vancouver in early November and have been slowly re-adjusting our body clocks.  We weren't tired of travel, but we were tired of being on the move on a regular basis, so it has been nice to stay put for a while.  However, we know that we aren't finished yet.

I still don't have an assignment with MSF.  There were a number of possibilities over the past couple of months (Somalia/Kenya, Lebanon, and Bangladesh), but nothing happened in the end.  I was fine with this as I wasn't totally thrilled with any of the options.  I'm still optimistic that something will work out and as I learned long ago with MSF I need to be flexible and patient.

It's raining in Vancouver and we have no commitments for at least the next few months.  So at the beginning of December we depart to live in Phuket, Thailand.  Recognizing that we are tired of being on the move the plan is to stay in one place and to live a more regular life.  In addition, we know that Alex needs to spend more time with kids his own age, so we will sign him up for pre-school.  It will be good for him and also good for Thipp and I.

So the plan is to live in Thailand for at least two months.  From there we will wait to see if MSF eventually come-up with something.  If not, we will come home...eventually.

Career Recognition at BC Hydro

Upon my return to Canada I was surprised by former colleagues from BC Hydro with an unprecedented honour.  There was a sweater raising ceremony to recognize my career contributions to running the GRM hockey pool.  It was wonderful to see such appreciation for my my most vital contribution to the organization.

One of my colleagues (I won't mention Dave's name) was moved to write the following:

"It was with tears in my eyes that I watched Ian's pre-shrunk #15 jersey, with "ADAIR" emblazoned across the back, lifted to the rafters of E09 under the glare of the PSOSE spotlight. For those of you viewing from home, the moment was immortalized on celluloid (ok, maybe it was just a bunch of 1's and 0's on someone's phone), and will be forwarded forthwith.

In Ian's honour, 15th place has been officially retired from the pool standings (Ian's average position in the last nine pools)."

Sweater raising ceremony with Renata and Gord

Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Visiting with Frank, Ingrid and the boys in Den Hague, The Netherlands

Long-time readers of my blog may recall my story from May 2005 of my weekend visiting my Dutch friend Frank at Ndhiwa, Kenya, not far from where I was living in Kisumu. Ten years have passed and Frank is now living in Den Hague with his wife Ingrid and their two boys.  A lot has changed in ten years.