Hummingbird604.com » birthdays

Happy birthday Robert Ballantyne! (@RobertB)

Raul — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 17:04:27 +0000

Twitter is one of those amazing things that brings you closer to people that you would have probably not met otherwise. Robert Ballantyne lives on Bowen Island (i.e. we don’t live in the same city). However, we both have similar interests (policy, governance, negotiation) and Robert has been an amazing source of advice both at the personal level and at the professional level.

Robert is an incredibly smart man with a kind heart, who is genuinely interested in the growth of people around him, and I’ve grown to become good friends with him. To your health I raise a glass of soda pop as I have sworn off alcohol for a while, my dear Robert. May you enjoy your birthday with your family and friends, and hope to see you in Vancouver sometime soon.

My eldest niece turns 18 today. Happy birthday, E!

Raul — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 08:00:13 +0000

I almost can’t believe it’s been 18 years since I held my niece E in my arms as a little baby. Eighteen years ago, I took a bus back to my parents’ hometown because I had this nagging feeling that my sister-in-law was about to give birth. My intuition didn’t betray me (it rarely has) because a few hours later, I was at the hospital, accompanying my brother and his wife in this momentous occasion. She was our family’s very first niece!

While we were a family of five boys (yes, I have FOUR brothers) we suddenly had to become used to actually having a girl in the family. Quite obviously, being the first, she has had to both endure a lot of challenges and been lucky to be spoiled rotten in some other areas. I am very proud of her and I know that she is currently under a lot of stress as she is trying to find financial aid to undertake her undergraduate degree in the US (by the way — do any of you dear readers know anything about scholarships for international students at the undergraduate level in the US? If so, could you please send me a message via my contact form or a tweet or an email, or drop a comment? Thanks!)

To my dearest princess: you make me proud every day and you continue to amaze me with your maturity in a number of realms. I know that you are working hard and that you realize that these are the times to work even harder. Remember that your sisters look up to you and that you set the example. Work hard. Play hard. Be happy, and laugh a lot. Find a moment every day to reflect and take stock of the blessings you have and don’t ever lose sight of the fact that your family (your Mom, your Dad, your sisters and of course all of us your extended family) love you very, very much and that we will be there to support you along the way. You will succeed, sweetie. I have plenty of confidence in that.

Today and every day, sweetie I wish you happiness, health, success, but more than anything, lots of love. Love you always, your uncle R.

Happy birthday Pat Zaph

Raul — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 06:14:54 +0000

Today is my friend Pat Zaph‘s birthday. I met Pat through both our blogs, and he has been recently a savior when it comes down to taking photos (he’s a really good photographer, whereas me, well, I’m not all that amazing as a photographer!).

Pat is a very smart dude, and we share a common interest in public policy (and blogging, and good food, and great friends). For a number of great reasons, happy birthday my friend. No, I didn’t forget. I was at Women in Film Festival New Media Day!

Happy birthday, Karen Parker!

Raul — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 18:58:42 +0000

My good friend Karen Parker‘s birthday is today, March 1st, and I just wanted to take this opportunity to wish her “Happy Birthday”. It’s been a pleasure to get to know Karen, and she’s not only responsible for the very pretty customization of my blog (she implemented the vast majority of the elements on the theme, and took me away from WP.com slavery).

Karen and I have had a chance to hang out this past year and she’s helped me in more ways than you can imagine. She’s been a trusted advisor, a great friend and definitely, a fantastic point of reference and source of information regarding all things tech.

I hope you have a wonderful day today with Dan, Karen and I look forward to a celebration sometime soon! All the best today and always!

Happy belated birthday, Dr. CS!

Raul — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 18:35:16 +0000

My friends mean the world to me. One of the reasons why it would be so hard for me to ever leave Vancouver is because I have managed to create social networks that have become like extended families, and therefore it would really break my heart to leave all that behind.

One of my current off-line gangs (a group of close friends that has solidified through the past few months) got together yesterday to celebrate CS’s birthday (actually, make that Dr. CS). Not only is she the girlfriend and partner of one of my very closest friends (whom I call my adopted brother), she is also a very good friend of mine (and technically that would make her my adopted sister-in-law).

She’s funny, she’s witty, she’s warm, she’s sweet and more than anything, she is a very loving and caring individual. She has become one of US. She is not only my friend’s girlfriend, she has established a place in our hearts and I’m very proud of calling myself a friend of hers.

Congratulations on your birthday! Many happy returns to you, and we’ll celebrate when I get back to Vancouver

Belated Happy Birthday, Monica Hamburg!

Raul — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 02:50:29 +0000

I’m actually not sure if it’s belated or not, but I now recall that this morning/afternoon, a potluck was held in Kits Beach for the lovely Monica Hamburg! I am so sorry I missed it, but I’m sure lots of our common friends will have photos for your viewing pleasure.

Photo credit: Tanya on Flickr

Monica, I hope you know how grateful I am to have you in my life, how amazed I am at your talent, your sweetness, your intellect and your capacity to love. You are amazing, and no wonder why you have so many friends. You really know how to be one.

Much love always. Give my best to Chris.

Happy Birthday, Ben!

Raul — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 14:00:40 +0000

Before any of my friends has a heart attack thinking “OH NO, IS RAUL IN TOUCH AGAIN WITH THAT BEN“, no – this is NOT a belated birthday for that one. On the contrary, in the tradition that I’ve recently begun (just this week) of congratulating fellow bloggers and Twitter friends, Ben Boudreau of the blog No Ordinary Rollercoaster (based in Halifax, Nova Scotia) is turning 23 as of today!

Ben first left a comment on my blog, I think, when I live-blogged one of the Third Tuesdays, as he was/is organizing Halifax’s Third Tuesdays if I am not mistaken. Anyhow, I’ve read his blog frequently and most recently we reconnected through MyBlogLog (thank you, Internet!). So, here is to Ben’s many more years – may you grow wiser (and don’t be so hard on yourself!).

Happy Birthday, Tanya (aka NetChick)!!!

Raul — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 18:09:04 +0000

One of Vancouver’s uberbloggers (and good friend of mine), Tanya Davis (aka NetChick) is celebrating one more year on this planet, and in what form! She is heading to Las Vegas! They say that whatever happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, but I am hoping I’ll have some info on what happens there via the internet.

I met Tanya in person only this year but I’ve been reading her blog for a long while. I’ve had the pleasure of spending time with her outside of the realm of blogging, just hanging out as friends, and I can tell you that she is one of the sweetest people on the planet. She is also the uber-organizer of Third Tuesday! If you don’t get to see her before she heads to Las Vegas, you can give her a big birthday hug on the next Third Tuesday.

Tanya, I am so happy you’re in my life, and here is to you! May we enjoy many more Rock Band sessions (although I damn need to fix my guitar/bass skills!).

Mandatory weekend recap

Raul — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 17:47:11 +0000

The week-long conference did a really good job of protecting me against myself. Since I already had too much on my plate, I didn’t agree to more than four events over the weekend (I KNOW! Impressive, eh?). Friday night I had dinner with a colleague and friend of mine from Ottawa at Chicas (on 70th and Granville – restaurant review forthcoming). Saturday morning I had brunch with C and B at The Nice Cafe, and last night I attended Tanya‘s and Corinna‘s birthday party at The Rugby Club (restaurant review forthcoming). This afternoon am meeting a friend of mine for coffee and this evening I am having a “Raul night” since JT is away.

Had a chance to see some good friends of mine from the blogosphere, including MJ (and J), David Drucker (and P), Monica Hamburg (and C), Gillian, Miranda, and many friends from both Tanya and Corinna.

After dinner and drinks we headed down to Tanya’s place for some Rock Band. I’m getting better at vocals but my bass and guitar skills are still nowhere to be found To celebrate last night’s RB, here’s one of the songs I like the most: Mississippi Queen (the video shown below is Expert – I can’t do beyond Easy so far).

[UPDATE - Never mind - I've been trouble embedding YouTube videos - I'll deal with this later]