MOOT conference in Hamilton

Last weekend I accompanied Charlotte and her whole biochemistry team to a MOOT conference in Hamilton, just SW of Toronto (I can't remember what the initials are for - it's a moot point anyway...) So below you will get a tour of MacMaster university.


I accompanied Charlotte so that she could attend talks, etc., while I watched Leigh - this is from the day we arrived:


Leigh, of course, was the center of all attention:


This is quite a fun team - it was fun hanging out with them,


they create their own atmosphere, quite convivial,


until I divert their attention to this good ol' camera:


Leigh and I took a walk through the campus:




















I had fun with my camera:




I wasn't the only one having fun:


I wasn't the only one taking pictures:


I wasn't the only ninja:


This is my favorite picture of the weekend:


This is where Leigh and I took a rest from all the picture-taking:


Our two drivers, Pierre-Yves and Sebastien, on their way back to the van from watching a bluejay:

US vacation 10/6 - 10/14

Here begins a short accound of a visit to the US: Charlotte and her family - Guy-Claude, Andre, Leigh and uncle danio left Quebec, Canada on October 6 for 10 days to visit Richmond, Virginia. First picture: the family plus my parents:


We stopped in Montreal to visit Bill and Judith Hatcher in their beautiful apartment - the greatest breakfast awaited us in the morning!


View from their balcony:


Group picture:


On the Road agayin!


It was a long road, but we had a comfy van:


Occupying ourselves during fuel stops:


Then we spent the night at Sam's home in Baltimore:


We saw his whole family - Molly and Maia (Maia and Andre had a wonderful time together):


I even saw my good pal Adarsh!


Then I ran into Sheila, her children, her friend from Seattle; I also talked to Nina and Omid via Adarsh's cellphone.


We did eventually get to Richmond. I was hoping to visit my old workplace at LandAmerica to see some of my friends - Nik, Carleen, Tanya, Annie, Jopassa, Keith, Emily, Steve, etc. but we arrived too late. So we went straight to Silent Dinner at Willow Lawn mall - a weekly meeting place for the deph and dumb. There we met Natalie, a close friend of Charlotte's:


Andre is a cutie!


I stayed at the Falconer home, watched "The Interpreter" with Midge and Rob. I rested a little, and on Saturday, the day after our arrival, I had a chance to visit Mishkin and Christian and the former's family. This is a picture of my chasing the children with the camera:


and one with the lot of us:


Another pic of Natalie & Charlotte - on the occasion of a fundraiser for a new Baha'i House of Worship to be built in Santiago, Chile:


Traveling is tiring:


but family time is so very precious - this is at my very favorite cafe just down the street from my parents' home, called Jumping J's Java:


And now, for the biggest event of our stay: a family reunion with my grandmother, her two sons and daughter (my mommy), along with their respective families, a gathering that hasn't seen its like in 6-7 years!


The silly version of the group:


Charlotte and I were dying to go shopping at Elwood Thompson, a natural/health food store. There we met Henriette, who bought us breakfast!


Just before leaving, Midge prepared a classic family dinner for the whole group, which we enjoyed in a most convivial atmosphere around a well-garnished table:


In the background of the next picture, you'll see part of a lake. Mark (front right) took Andre� and I on a boat to teach us some fishing:


Leigh, the star of the trip:


Charlotte, the center of it all:


me, the danio:


Packing for the way back was a different story...


We stayed at Sam's in Baltimore again on our way back to Quebec, where I caught Andre and Maya playing again together. It was so wonderful watching two children play so easily without even speaking the same language! (Andre speaks only French - maybe a tad bit of English)