The End of an Era

Hey dinophytes! As it is almost the end of my time here in Drumheller, I thought it would be fitting to show you a picture of my first time visiting the Tyrrel Museum!

This is me (age 7) with my sister (age 5) in front of Lillian the Albertosaurus in 1986. As you can see, I am very excited (shown here by my dramatic pointing and my sweet bowl cut).

Jump ahead 20 years and observe the photograph above. This is me, dramatically pointing again! Note my less-sweet smaller haircut and my bulkier physique.

On a more bittersweet note, the area behind me in the photos (including Lillian) is going to be torn out to make room for a new display of ceratopsian (horned dinos) material. So goodbye Lillian, you shall be missed. Another major change to the museum includes tearing out the globe in the entrance and replacing that area with a walk-through dried-up riverbed with four new life-sized Albertosaurs (a family) surrounding you! I can't wait to come back in a year and see the changes, but it does mark the end of an era.

Today was the last day of my job here at the museum, finishing two months of Camp and three days of Camp tear-down and clean-up. Mostly that involves dismantling the tepees, haling out the fridge and stove from the kitchen, and spending 4 hours setting up freaking basketball hoops! Aaaahhhhh! Thanks a bunch Tyler (my boss), I hope next years' kids enjoy the results of my blood and tears!

Craig and I will be driving back to Vancouver after Cameron's birthday party (happy birthday Cam!) Till then, I'm listening to David Bowie and watching Firefly.

Couple of sketches...

I want this blog to be a place where I can share my artwork as well as ramble on about nonsense stuff, so here is a dino-doodle I did a couple of years ago...

An Update on the Summer - Hot!

Here is an update on my summer in Drumheller:

So far this summer, I've had a million mosquito bites, teepees blown down, crying children, and a really good time!

There have been 6 camps this summer - two junior camps (age 9-11), two family camps (adults and kids), and two senior camps (age 12-14), each about a week long. My job as a camp counselor includes taking care of a teepee full of kids, teaching them about dinosaurs and Alberta prehistory, taking care of homesick kids, ADD kids, jerky kids, dino-weenie kids, doodler kids, space-cadet kids, lurker kids, bedwetting kids and kids who "literally" hate all types of food. Three kids stand out:

-Kid A = Fun-loving tiny kid who loved every moment in life ("5 minutes left before lights-out?!!! Yes!!!!") but did everything super-slooooooow.
-Kid B = Large chubby kid who always had his shoelaces untied (grrrrr!) and said he "literally hates _________" (insert healthy food item here) and cried at the dinner table.
-Kid C = Worst of the lot. Tall thin dumb BO problem who would not stop interrupting and would always lurk and try to get extra juice or dessert. He'd use his height to bully others and would always stand WAY to close to you. We had him sign a contract requiring him to behave or we would call his folks and send him home! I only wish we could have sent him...

Other than work, the summer has been lots of fun. Drumheller is getting bigger each year - they now have a Walmart! But still no Starbucks...

The crew has begun and filmed another movie, this one a space police flick about 5 cops patrolling a tiny mining planet in the backwater of the Universe, called "Delta Patrol: Space Cops!" I play an easygoing cop (Deputy Ethan Moda) who's planet was destroyed in the Arthris Wars and now fights the good fight, but wears a bad tie. Expect to see it in about a year!

These last two months have flown by and it's almost time to head back to the real world. I'll post some photos of the summer soon.

Peanut Butter Out!

Raorrrrr!

(This is one of the museum's Tyrannosaurus Rex's. She's got 63 vertebrae.)

Blog the First.

So here we go-> Me! Blogging! Here I am, but where am I? Right now I am in Drumheller working for the Royal Tyrrell Museum as a Camp Counselor!
And now, as August is coming to a close, the last kid has departed and it is time to be moving on.
On a funny side note, one of my roommates just called my blog "Blonde's Bog."
Anyway, my plan is to document my travels in this blog for the next year (in an attempt to reduce the number of mass emails!)
So here we go, Masses, enjoy my blog.