Renjie Butalid

(Above: Somewhere in Michigan – Road trip across the USA – February 2008 Edition with
Kevin Royal, Shawn Grover and Adam Halpert)

Building on an earlier blog post, I intend on making my way across Canada solo at the end of the month, all the way from Toronto, ON to Cranbrook, BC. I will be traveling from July 26 to July 30 and will be covering approximately 4,400 kms.

The long drives each day should provide me with a lot of time to think and reflect, and on occasion, sing along at the top of my voice to the loud music blasting from my car speakers. Of course, I plan on downloading a number of audio books and comedy podcasts as well to keep me company and would be open to any recommendations. Please feel free to leave them in the comments section of this blog post.

Below is the tentative schedule of my road trip across Canada, alongside the embedded Google map that showcases the route I intend to take in order to get to Cranbrook, BC.

View Larger Map

Monday, July 26 – A. Toronto, ON  to B. Sault Ste. Marie, ON

Tuesday, July 27 – B. Sault Ste. Marie, ON to C. Thunder Bay, ON

Wednesday, July 28 – C. Thunder Bay, ON to D. Winnipeg, MB

Thursday, July 29 – D. Winnipeg, MB to E. Regina, SK

Friday, July 30 – E. Regina, SK to F. Cranbrook, BC

Six Degrees of Separation – Perhaps YOU Can Help?

As I make my way across Canada, I would certainly be open to anyone wanting to show me around their city or town as I am passing through. (Anyone have a friend in Wawa, Ontario for example?)

For the cities highlighted in bold scheduled on the tentative dates above, it would be great if it also came with an offer to crash on your couch for the night.

(Above: Sigma Chi House, Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches, Texas -
Road trip across the USA – February 2008 Edition with Kevin Royal, Shawn Grover and Adam Halpert)

If you or a friend of a friend would be willing to help me out with this favor, please do get in touch with me via email – renjiebutalid (at) gmail (dot) com, Twitter, Facebook, or feel free to leave a comment at the end of this blog post.

If you are able to help me out, what you would get in return is great company and lots of laughs, and a new found friend who would be forever grateful. Thanks so much and I look forward to hearing from many of you.

My Ignite Waterloo talk on the myth-conceptions of Dubai and Abu Dhabi, which took place at the Waterloo Regional Children’s Museum on March 3, 2010, as part of Global Ignite Week.

Oh I come from a land, from a faraway place
Where the caravan camels roam
Where they cut off your ear
If they don’t like your face
It’s barbaric, but hey, it’s home

When the wind’s from the east
And the sun’s from the west
And the sand in the glass is right
Come on down
Stop on by
Hop a carpet and fly
To another Arabian night

Walt Disney’s Aladdin (1992)

Im definitely getting the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics fever, after watching the (at times) visually stunning opening ceremonies on Friday, Jen Heil’s silver medal win in the women’s moguls Saturday (she didn’t lose gold, she won silver), and yesterday’s golden boy Alex Bilodeau breaking Canada’s dry spell of no gold on home soil since the 1976 summer Olympics in Montreal.

In case you missed it, watch Bilodeau’s gold medal run in the men’s moguls here.

I even went as far as giving in and buying a Vancouver 2010 sweatshirt at the Eaton Centre in downtown Toronto earlier this afternoon. Im glad that I did however, because the Olympic Torch was on display at the Eaton Centre and I was able to get a photo with it. I have to admit, a part of me was disappointed when I missed the Olympic Torch relay when it passed through the Toronto/Kitchener-Waterloo area at the end of December (I was out west in Cranbrook, BC for the holidays then), and I missed it again when it passed through Cranbrook, BC at the end of January (I was back in Waterloo already).

GO TEAM CANADA!!!

Of course, I would also like to express my heartfelt condolences and prayers to the friends and family of Nodar Kumaritashvili, the luger from Georgia who died in that horrific Olympic training crash just hours prior to the start of the opening ceremonies. Shame on CTV for needlessly showcasing video footage of the horrific crash, sensational journalism at its worst.

Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics Photos Courtesy of the Toronto Star