You can call me Dennis because that's the name my parents picked for me at birth. I'm likely called a host of other things nowadays but I'm sure a few would be deemed inappropriate in a public space. I was born in time to see a few of months of the 1950s with my own tiny, blue eyes. After that, I grew up, went to school, and eventually became prepared to earn my own money as a teacher.
In the early 80s, I ventured out into the world at large. It really did turn out to be big. I soon met my partner when we were employed in Saudi Arabia. More time and few more instructional job positions passed. Then, at just one year shy of a dozen, we moved to western Canada. That was in 1996.
Therefore, my final and longest employment experience was at the British Columbia Institute of Technology. I was a language instructor for seventeen years. I taught technical and business English to adult international students and new Canadians. It was a fascinating career move and emotionally-rewarding experience. Yet, I stopped as soon as it became financially feasible. My liberation was granted in the latter part of 2014.
Since taking advantage of early retirement, Jay and I have lived overseas during dreary, west-coast winters. We have saved money but spent many extraordinary months in countries such as: Mexico, Egypt, Malaysia, Cambodia, Indonesia, the UAE, Sri Lanka, Argentina, and South Africa. As you may have guessed, we love summers in BC but also savour part of each year in warm and sunny spots.
This journal has been ongoing for well over twenty years. It's how we remember the things we did and when we did them. I'm happy to be able to share our experiences here.
Navigation Hints
Several decades of text and photo data are accessible here. Ordinary navigation options are located under the header near the top of each page. However, in order to quickly locate additional entries, the area near the footer becomes important. First, in the lightly-shaded, green you'll often see the words:
Newer Posts ---- Home ---- Older Posts
These are self-explanatory as they allow access to a more recent entry, the current week of entries, or one with an older date. Anyone can start at a particular entry and go forward or backwards a single step at a time.
Furthermore, in the darker grayish area, the number of monthly visitors is shown. Under it, a user may easily select an archived month of their own choosing. For example, September 2022 (30) on the drop-down list will force the journal to jump to the 30 entries found in that month. All archives are organized in reverse chronological order, so September 30th will appear at the top of the page. Monthly archives will always contain several pages of data.
Lastly, the search function is where the magic can begin. A visitor can simply see if I've ever mentioned a particular word, phrase, or topic. Enter any word and select the search button. For example, I typed in the word, stumble and discovered I had used it in 10 different entries between 2007 and 2023.