Getting Better

February 23, 2007

Had to take a couple of sick days due to a bad hotel I stayed in Niagara Falls.

The closest hotel was the REX and I called to see if they had room. I grabbed a cab and checked in with the nice folks in the office and had myself a little room. It seemed colder in the room than it was outside but the heater came on so I figured they turned it on remotely somehow since there was no thermostat. I crawled under the covers and fell asleep until Leena and G showed up and commented on the cold. She brought my propane heater in from the car and we drove across the street to a really nice restaurant. I slept well that night but woke up too early and cold again because the fuel had run out and I didn’t have another cylinder. This room was very cold and there was no phone to call the office so I had a hot bath got dressed and packed for the days shoot. My throat was sore and I had a fever so I popped a LOT of vitamin C.

Oh well, we had a really good few days shooting In Burlington and I stayed at Leena’s after that where I could recover and get well.

We are leaving for London Soon so I can pick up some gear to bring to Brampton’s shoot and we plan on picking up G in the Falls and checking in to a hotel In Brampton tonight. I have Chris working with me tomorrow and Cam on Sunday. It should be a good shoot.

Cam is setting our laptops up tonight on his way back from Barrie and by then we’ll have all our gear from London and the Storage unit in Niagara to set up Saturday morning.

It’s already 12:10 pm so I guess I’d better get my ass in gear.

Catching up

February 15, 2007 9:30 PM

Sitting in a place called Ivan’s pub near Cam’s place in Niagara Falls waiting for Leena to pick me up. It’s been a long day after having one off yesterday and it looks like I’m working in Burlington all next week as well. I never made it back to London Wednesday because of a bad snowstorm that made it pretty dangerous to travel.
February 12, 2007

The other big thing in my life is I’ve been doing some Gymnastics photography for Cam McNish who Joe Todd at Forest City Image Centre connected me with. Cam and I hit it off and we’re making plans to open a studio in Niagara Falls. I’ve been quite busy with this and away from London for 3 weeks and need to get back to catch up on friends and work there. It’s also been quite expensive staying in hotels so I’m going to get a storage unit to keep the gear in while I cross the border to stay at Leena’s.

February 10, 2007

It’s been a wile since I posted and quite a lot has happened. My dad passed away quite unexpectedly, (I thought he had 6 months to live). He died peacefully in his sleep while having a nap with my sister Hannika sitting in a chair beside his bed. Before his nap he said he loved her. I phoned about 10 minutes before she realized he’d passed away and she suggested we drive around and have something to eat because he was sleeping so peacefully and that rasp from his throat was gone. I had a weird feeling so I went directly to the house and my nephew Tim walked to our car and said Papa was gone. He had a funny look on his face and at first I thought, (wished) he was kidding.

The funeral was one just like in those cheesy family story book movies. Our dear friends and family gathered to say goodbye and we all connected again. It was so good to see them all and they made me feel so close and loved. I feel so blessed to have such wonderful people in my life, friends and family. A common thing at Moraal family funerals is the laughter. At my Oma’s and my mom’s and my dad’s funerals the most treasured memories are the funny stories everyone told about events in their lives and how they were touched by all 3 in some humorous way especially in times of crisis. It goes to prove the Reader’s Digest quote that Laughter is indeed the best medicine.