11:30am Thursday, April 30th

Yesterday was such an awesome day! I woke up feeling great! The sun was shining again. This weather has been so amazing.

I spoke first thing in yesterday morning at Ladysmith Secondary. I was a bit short on time, so I spoke as fast as I could in order to say all that I wanted to say. We didn’t have time for the slideshow though, which seems to be happening fairly often these days. I hope somehow I can put it on my website soon for all of those who are missing it. The students in Ladysmith were great, and I really enjoyed my time there.

From Ladysmith I headed back to the Coast Hotel in Nanaimo. I had a couple of hours to relax, so I took advantage and got caught up on emails and Facebook messages. The morning session for the Nanaimo P.A.R.T.Y. Program had cancelled, giving me some rare free time.

The session at NGH in the afternoon was cool. I had even less time than usual. My presentation is 65 – 70 minutes on a good day. Normally I get 45 minutes for Nanaimo P.A.R.T.Y. Yesterday I had less than a half an hour to speak. I did what I could. I started the presentation about halfway through and cut out what I could… mostly jokes. I also spoke faster than I had ever spoken in my life. I spoke so fast that Christina from P.A.R.T.Y. entered the room thinking I was pissed off. I explained after I was just talking as fast as I could… me mad… never… well ummm… read on… If anyone reading this is wondering what this P.A.R.T.Y. thing is I am talking about, it is a program for grade 10s held in hospitals I think internationally. P.A.R.T.Y. stands for Preventing Alcohol Related Trauma in Youth.

I left Nanaimo pretty well right after I was done speaking. I wanted to get to Victoria as soon as I could to taken advantage of the sunny warm weather. The drive was beautiful. As I drove into Victoria I noticed the weather wasn’t quite as nice as it had been in Nanaimo, but it was still sunny nonetheless.

I stayed at Laurel Point again. I love staying there except it makes most other places I stay now seem a lot less nice. I had a delicious pasta and seafood dinner in the restaurant. One of the servers is actually a teacher I met last week at Edward Milne Secondary in Sooke. She also used to play soccer with my sister Allison. What a small world it is. As I waited for my dinner I wrote more responses to emails and Facebook messages. Dinner was so good… did I say that already? As soon as I finished and paid my bill I was ready to turn those carbs into exercise.

I went for another 20km ride last night. I took the Galloping Goose Trail again through Victoria and up towards the hospital. It is the best ride I have ever done… well not last night, but just this trail in general. I love it and keep thinking as I ride that I would love to move to Victoria.

Once back to the hotel, I had a warm bath then lay in bed and chilled watching TV. It was nice to get to sleep early and even nicer to sleep in the awesome bed at Laurel Point again. 7:00am came a little too early this morning though. I could have just kept sleeping.

I was in a great mood this morning when I woke up, aside from being tired. I got ready and opened the blinds to see yet another beautiful sunny day. I waited until the last minute to call the bellman to help me with my bags and in hindsight it was a mistake. I only waited because when I call them 10minutes before I want them to come they always come right away and I am not ready. It is a classic Catch 22 or Murphy’s Law… Anyways they took forever to get my truck and bags and I ended up leaving the hotel about 15 minutes later than I would’ve liked to.

I got to Belmont Secondary unsure of where to park or enter the school. I know from being there before that there are stairs and ways I need to go to get around the obstacles. Today I was not speaking in the gym like I normally do, but rather in a classroom… room 120. I called reception and asked for some help but was led only halfway to where I should’ve gone. I was starting to get frustrated. As I tried to get out of my truck, double parked because there were no wheelchair spots, juggling my laptop, speaker bag, and an additional projector I was not too stoked. I was pissed off. I managed barely to get into the school where I was met by a teacher. Thankfully he was cool and knew where I was going and helped out. He even seemed to understand the cursing I was mumbling in frustration.

I shook the pissy mood off and did my presentation for the smaller than normal group. It went well, but again I couldn’t show my slideshow. When I was done the police liaison officer at the school, who is a rad guy I had met last week in Sooke, helped me out to my truck and explained the confusion. I was over it by then and now it is all in the past. I think that is the first time I can say I showed up at a presentation and was pretty snarky to the people around me. I apologize. It hasn’t exactly been the easiest week of my life.

Now I am sitting in the parking lot at Victoria General Hospital about to head inside. I am doing the P.A.R.T.Y. Program here today. This is always one of my favourite places to speak. Once I am done, I am driving to Courtenay and will be watching the Canucks game in my room at the Best Western!!!! I can’t wait. I will post this later when I have an internet connection… I will also add whatever else happened today since now.

9:14pm Thursday, April 30

Canucks WON!!! But wow they sure gave a big scare. That was harsh. We got lucky!

The rest of the day was quite good. P.A.R.T.Y. in Victoria was definitely the highlight. I have been speaking there for a couple of years now almost monthly, so I am pretty comfortable. The presentation was solid as far as I could tell and I finally got to show my slideshow! I was speaking to students from Stelly’s school, which is always a treat. They were great and I am really glad we got to spend an hour and a half or so together today.

Once finished, I got out of the hospital quicker than normal. I did hang outside in the sun around my truck with Cassandra and Dianne who run the program for a while, but was pretty anxious to get moving so I would catch the game.

I had enough time to stop in Nanaimo for sushi at Blue Ginger. I met my friend from ICBC Caroline there and we had a really nice visit. I have gotten to be really good friends with a lot of people I have met through ICBC.

The drive to Courtenay was ok. I have driven these roads a lot on the past couple of weeks, so the drive is getting a bit redundant. I was thinking more this afternoon about Melissa and was kind of bummed as I entered town. I at least could pick up the Team 1040 on the radio and got to listen to the Canucks pre-game show.

I parked as the anthem was about to start and got checked in and into my hotel room as soon as I could. I turned on the TV, bags falling all over off of my lap and the time clock read 19:35. I just lay in bed and watched the entire game. It was a nice relaxing night. I am thinking bed really soon, as I am feeling a bit burned out. This has been a pretty busy last two weeks… or six weeks… It’s all pretty much a blur! I do know I have done 18 presentations all over Vancouver Island since April 20th.

Well goodnight all. Thanks for reading! Thanks to all of the people in my presentations today. I will be responding to your messages soon!

~: )

Kevin

12:05pm Monday, April 27th

It’s another sunny Monday. I am way at the top of Vancouver Island in Port McNeil right now… the hometown of Vancouver Canuck, Willie Mitchell. I came in last night and arrived around 9:30pm. I left my house just after 1:00pm and hit Costco on my way to the ferry. It is a pretty good haul to get here.

I spoke this morning at Port Hardy Secondary. Port Hardy is another 35 – 40 minutes north of here. I have spoke at PHSS 3 times in the last 4 years. Today was the best of all three. The crowd was very cool. I ended up staying way after I was supposed to be done. The principal was super cool and just gave me however much time I needed. I didn’t feel rushed and was able to tell the entire story and show my slideshow. We even had a chance for some questions afterwards and there were some awesome questions… notably “does my junk still work?’.

Many students approached me after the formal part of the presentation was over. We talked, took pictures, showed scars and war wounds. I even signed a few autographs. After all of that I showed a small group my skate section on my lap top. One of the skateboarding students was down to see it. Most of the crew came outside with me afterwards and I showed them all my bike, my truck and how I get in it. A really cool guy named Franky hung out until I left and shared his own story of strength and resilience with me. It was a great morning.

Now I am just checking out of my hotel, The Black Bear Lodge. I have my second and final presentation of the day this afternoon at 1:00pm at North island Secondary, just five minutes up the road. I drive back to Nanaimo after that and will be staying there for the next couple nights. I have my bike with me again this trip, so I am thinking maybe a bike ride tonight.

I will write later about the second half of my day… until then…

8:29pm Wednesday, April 28th

Sorry it took me until now to finish this blog. I had a long drive ahead of me after my presentation in Port McNeil yesterday. On top of that, I was having a tough afternoon too. As soon as I got to Nanaimo I went for a 10km bike ride along the water to try and clear my head. When I got back to the hotel here in Melissa called me and delivered the final blow… we are done and there is no changing it. So needless to say last night was Hell.

Before my heart was broken to pieces last night, I was having a pretty good afternoon. My presentation at McNeil was great! The students there are always so awesome! I had plenty of time to speak and show my slideshow. I even got to show my skate video as everyone entered the room. I have a ton of emails to read and respond to from yesterday yet and am anxious to read them. So far from what I can see I had two very effective presentations in the North Island.

This morning was rough. I barely slept last night and still had red swollen eyes when I did wake up. I had thought last night that I would probably need to cancel today because I was so messed up. But I woke up and thought I can do this. It would be better to speak than to lay around bed all day feeling sorry for myself. I would be mad if I cancelled too.

Both presentations today were tough to get through. I was hoping not to have a repeat of Comox with waterworks galore. Thankfully today I think I had dried myself out so there were no more tears to cry. I talked pretty slow through the first presentation at Kwalikum Secondary. Despite all the pain I was in, I think it’s pretty safe to say that the presentation went great. I had a grade 12 class. They were very attentive and seemed very receptive to our story. Although it is hard, I think some of my best presentations are when I am really emotional. The presentations definitely swing more on the heavy side. I hung around and chatted with some students at Kwalikum before I made my way to Ballenas in Parksville.

I was feeling lees emotional for this afternoon’s presentation. I think mostly I was just warmed up from the morning. I knew that I had got through it once today, so I could do it again. Truthfully, it is really tough to speak under these circumstances, but I always feel better after I do. Ballenas was awesome today. The principal met me at my truck and was a warm familiar face. As I entered the school I had some stoked kids recognizing me too. They were excited to hear me speak again. There excitement was getting pumped for the presentation.

I met a cool guy in the theatre who was playing old school Metallica on his bass as I set up my AV gear. The grade 11s entered the room as I played my skate vid on the big screen. Things were off to a great start. I had an awesome gal named Michelle running all of my AV for me. She did a great job! Thanks. Overall, this afternoon the students were awesome. My presentation was definitely on the heavier side again this afternoon, but I felt it was effective again for many who heard it. I felt very happy with today’s presentations as I left the school. I was still feeling pretty hurt, but the sun was shining so I decided I would go for a huge bike ride once I got to Nanaimo.

The people at the Coast Bastion Hotel here are really good to me. They helped me both days getting my bike out of my truck and also stored my wheelchair while I rode. I went for a 20km ride today up Hwy 19. Man, the first 9kms or so was pretty much all up hill. It was tough work, but I fought through it. When I hit 10kms I turned around. The ride back was great! It was mostly all down hill. I was going an average of 30kms for the majority of the ride. The less difficult ride back to the hotel was a great prize for the hard work the other way. I so view life like this. I always want to save the best for last. So yeah, it worked out perfect.

After my ride I got my bike put away and headed for my room. I put on a decent shirt… more decent than a beater and grabbed some dinner from the restaurant here. It was delicious.

As of the rest of the night… nothing too exciting. I had a few calls to return, mostly people concerned about me like my mom and Allison. I felt good taloking to bith and am in a pretty good place. Now I am going to end this blog for the night and get into bed and relax while watching some TV. I feel I need a nice relaxing evening.

Well I will try and check in again tomorrow. I have a presentation first thing in the morning in Ladysmith and then am doing the Nanaimo P.A.R.T.Y. Program tomorrow afternoon. When I am done, I will drive to Victoria to stay in the amazing Laurel Point again. I see another big bike ride happening tomorrow on the Galloping Goose.

Thanks so very much to everyone from today and yesterday. Please bare with me over these next weeks as I am having a pretty tough go. I will write everyone back and keep this blog going as best I can. On these tough dark days I get so much inspiration from you all!!! Thanks!!!

KB

11:00am Thursday, April 23rd…

It is yet another beautiful sunny day on Vancouver Island. Today I am up island a bit in Duncan right now. I spoke at Queen Margaret’s School here today. It is an all girl’s private school. The presentation went great. I think people were feeling it. I am feeling pretty spent today and talked a lot slower than normal and thus went into OT (overtime). Thanks to everyone for sticking around into your break. It is cool talking to an all girl audience. I have to shape my words differently than when I am speaking to both guys and girls. I enjoyed the change up. So often I think I focus on the guys mostly because we are usually the nuts! But today it was all about the gals!

Right now I am sitting in a parking lot in Duncan replying to emails and Facebook messages. I just responded to about 20 emails from this week. All of them are so inspiring. It is so great to get messages hearing from people how our story has impacted them or how it has actually changed their lives or made them act differently. I love these messages you all send me. They truly inspire the heck out of me.

Across from me sits a rad skatepark… I just caught myself envisioning tricks and lines I would like to pull off on my board at this park. I feel very drawn to skateparks recently. I just want to be near them. I love that sound of a skateboard rolling down the street or clacking off the ground. Man I wish on this sunny day I could just go and kill that park… or any park.

I plan to include these words into my presentation this afternoon in Chemainus. I have been to Chemainus a couple of times before. Sadly I just learned from an email from a former student that the school has recently lost a student. This afternoon is going to be tough again, but I am up for the challenge. I will do my best to keep my composure better than I did in Comox last week.

I will check in and write again later once I am done my presentation.

9:23am Saturday, April 25

Well, here I am a couple days later finally writing. It has been a tough week and I was feeling entirely emotionally spent after Chemainus on Thursday.

The presentation went quite well. I was amazed at how strong people in the audience were after losing their buddy Ryan so recently. I tried my best to show that things will get easier in time and that living a great life is the best way to honour a fallen friend or loved one. I hope I got my message across. Chemainus is a great school and I always meet really cool people there. I have received some pretty remarkable emails and messages from there since my visit, one in particular that brought me to tears. It is pretty harsh how many of us are affected by car crashes and death and suicide and drug and alcohol abuse. Man, reading others stories just inspires me to stay strong and hopefully be that source of inspiration for anyone who is hurting and in pain right now.

I hit up Subway again for a late lunch / early dinner before Chemainus. I have been eating so healthy all week. I can see I have lost weight and feel absolutely great. Dealing with Melissa and my heart being broken, I find it so healing and healthy to do positive things that benefit me. Years ago I am sure I would’ve been bar hopping, partying trying to meet girls… but all of that never did anything but make me hurt more. This week I have eaten well and rode my bike almost every day.

I went for a big ride on the Galloping Goose again Thursday when I got back to Laurel Point. This time I went towards the hospital and made it past Spectrum School. That was significant for me because I had spoken at Spectrum last week and knew how far of a drive it was. It felt great to know I got there using literally nothing but arm and will power. I rode 20kms and headed home in a GREAT mood. On my rides I have not been listening to tunes like I normally would. I have just been thinking and clearing my head. It has been so healthy and I really feel I have learned a lot about myself this past week. I think if I have time I may go for a big ride today too around the sea wall in Vancouver.

I finished my week in Victoria yesterday. It was a great week. I did 10 presentations! I almost did 11 but my health wasn’t so good yesterday, so after my morning talk in Sooke I headed for the walk-in clinic. Holy crap! I waited pretty well an hour and barely made it to my afternoon presentation. Speaking of yesterday’s presentations…

I started my morning off at 6am. I woke up rise and shine again and packed up and left Laurel Point. I have really enjoyed the morning drive out of Victoria each day. It is so amazing there on a sunny morning. The best thing is traffic is mellow going out of town, so it isn’t all hectic. The line up going in looks like hell!

Each day as I drive I eat an apple for breakfast and listen to my iPOD. I have almost 10, 000 songs so I pretty well have Kevin Radio on shuffle. The drive to Sooke was beautiful. I have been going there for years (since I was quite young) as I have family there, and only now am I starting to realize how truly beautiful the scenery is on that drive. I even notice the ferry ride through the Gulf Islands more now. I think it is one of those things where we see it so often that we don’t realize how awesome it is. It is a case of taking what is there in front of my face for granted. But that is something I feel I am doing less and less these days.

I arrived in Sooke with plenty of time to get set up. The theatre there is sick. The presentation went super well, except I went OT again! I talk slow some mornings and have a real hard time getting my presentation done in the time I am given. The VP was so cool though. She just made sure all was good and gave me whatever time I needed. The students in Sooke were rad as they always are. We relate to each other because I have been to their stomping grounds. I have jumped off the cliffs at the potholes and skateboarded in the streets of Sooke. I even have the one slide with the potholes in my PowerPoint at the end. I advertise the Sooke Potholes all over, everywhere I go!!! So I feel Sooke and me are down. I hung out with quite a few students afterwards and had some really great talks. It is so amazing to have such great experiences day in and day out. A really cool police officer who had been at the presentation gave me an escort to the lab in town so I could take care of my health woes. She is so rad! She told me she gives kids rides home when they are drunk and sounds like about the coolest cop I have ever met!

As I said earlier, I barely made it to my second presentation because of the waits in the walk-in clinic. I got to St. Margaret’s at least before the show started and thankfully they were very ready for me. I was set up in minutes and ready to rock before the audience entered the room. I noticed when I pulled into St Margaret’s that I had been bike riding directly behind it in the trails that lead to Swartz Bay just a couple of nights earlier. I thought that was pretty cool. I sat and waited for everyone to enter and quite quickly after the bell rang the girls started to make their way in. St Marg’s is another all girl’s school – my second of the week and second in two days. I felt that I had a strong presentation and that the gals were feeling me. I felt a huge sense of accomplishment as I spoke knowing that I got through such a tough week emotionally and still manage to give 110% in all 10 of my presentations. I had it set in my mind I would go out with a good one, and I truly feel I did.

I left not too long after the presentation was over and headed for the ferries. I had a 5pm reservation, but just by luck made it onto the 4pm sailing. Thankfully I did because I had plans to go to The Killers concert in Vancouver with Melissa last night. Even catching the 4pm time was a bit tight. We luckily had time to stop for sushi in Kerrisdale on the way to the show and got there in time to watch the opening band walk off stage – perfect! Yeah maybe you are reading this thinking “ummm didn’t they break up?”… What can I say… it’s complicated. The show was awesome! I am not the hugest Killers fan ever. I know some of their songs and they definitely have some doozies. I would much rather see say Bad Religion or NOFX and love and sing along to every song, but last night was pretty rad. The songs I did know rocked. They definitely put on a great show. The stage and light show was pretty sick too. I have never seen a concert at Thunderbird Arena before, but must say it is a SICK venue!!! I would way rather see a band play there than GM, BC Place, The Croatian Crap Centre (nothing against the Croatians just the stupid venue and the lame bouncers and security), or the ghetto dumpster PNE. Thunderbird is RAD! The sound is awesome; the place feels new; parking (wheelchair at least is free and right beside the venue); the seating and view is great! I would say it reminded me of a Commodore Ballroom show meets a stadium show. It is RAD!

Well, now it is Saturday morning. I am feeling pretty good again today. I slept in Vancouver and am about to have some breakfast and possibly hit the sea wall. I have a lot to do today before I leave for the Island again tomorrow.

I want ton say thanks to everyone from this week! Man it was a good one! I am pretty sure I have written everyone back too! It feels good to be on top of things. Thanks for all of your amazing messages!

Have a safe great weekend!!

~: )

Kevin

Today was a beauty!!! Today was a day of revalations… My eyes feel so open…

My days seem to start off tough and get better as the day goes on this week. I have been dealing with Melissa and me breaking up since last Thursday. It really hit me hard on Monday and since then I have been sorting through the emotions as best I can.

Each morning I wake up I feel sad. I miss her and miss the way I felt knowing that she was in my life. The hardest part of my day is getting out of bed and motivated to shower, get dressed and leave the hotel.

Today I found the motivation to get to Mt Douglas and I am so glad that I did. I have spoken there before. As I pulled into the parking lot, I couldn’t help but remember how the last time I spoke there Melissa was with me. Man break-ups are so hard. Still I sucked it up and went inside.

I had a great crew setting me up at Mt. Doug. I had great sound and picture and an awesome mic. All was set to go as the students started to enter. There were a lot of people in the gym today. I bet there were at least 600. Yep, 600 awesome people! The presentation this morning was so awesome! One of my best I have had this year! It was such an inspiring experience for me. I know I reached people in that room today. I felt proud and happy as I left the school.

I left Mt Doug just after 10am. I didn’t need to be at Parkland Secondary in Sydney until 11:30am, so I had some time to kill. I was thinking early lunch at Noodlebox, so I drove way out of my way back into downtown Victoria only to discover that the Noodlebox was closed. Bummer, but I would be back.

I punched the address to Parkland into the GPS and figured I might as well start driving to Sydney. It was another beautiful day for a drive and I was in a great mood still from the great people at Mt Doug this morning. Who I forgot to mention gave me a sick standing ovation!!!

I enjoyed a relaxing drive to Parkland with plenty of time to take in the sights and sounds of the city. I was looking forward to my afternoon presentation. I have spoke at Parkland the last four years in a row. Each time has been great. I feel very connected to the school and get along great with the students and the principal Mr. Newlove.

This afternoon was so awesome! I spoke in the theatre to grade 12s, as I always do. There were other grades mixed in as well, but for the most part it was grade 12s. This afternoon’s presentation was equally as awesome as the morning show at Mt Doug. The presentations had different feels, one being in a large gym with a huge crowd and the second being in a theatre with a relatively smaller crowd. But I love the contrast! I could tell people were hearing me at Parkland today too. I left the theatre to find a huge group of crying girls in the hall, so I knew I definitely had made at least some impact today.

After hanging with a group of the gals from the hall for a couple hours, I left Sydney and headed back to downtown Victoria. This time the Noodlebox was open, so I grabbed the Spicy Peanut Box…. Mmmm SO GOOD! So spicy too! My mouth was on fire, but I love the spice. The day was going great and mostly as planned. Aside from giving my all in both presentations today (which of course I always do), I had it all planned out to eat some carbs and get some energy for a bike ride this afternoon.

When I got back to Laurel Point I put on some shorts and talked to Melissa on the phone. It wasn’t the best conversation, but it got me thinking.

I left Laurel Point on a mission. I was going to ride 20kms. I thought a lot as I rode through downtown Victoria and over the Johnson Street Bridge into Esquimalt. I thought even more as I rode along the Galloping Goose Trail. I ended up riding 20+kms tonight, all the while doing some serious soul searching.

During my ride as I thought about life and choices, I realized that I am constantly growing and changing still. I thought lots about my relationship with Melissa and things we have spoke about. I did some serious soul searching and realized that there are still certain aspects of my life that need polishing. I did not get down on myself, but rather became inspired to work harder at growing. I also reflected and felt proud to know that this past year has been the biggest year of growth ever for me. I am going to keep the momentum. That is the plan.

I also realized tonight that all of my personal growth has reflected in my presentation. Even today, people who had seen me speak before were telling me that my presentation has gotten better. I believe strongly that my presentation is better because I am better.

I really felt like I was having an epiphany tonight as I rode my bike. I feel absolutely inspired to keep bettering myself. I thought as I rode that I would speak of the enlightenment I experienced tonight in my upcoming presentations as a way to better understand what I am feeling and to really make sure that the goals I am setting are accomplished. If I tell thousands of people my goals then I am going to have to do more than just talk the talk. I will also have to walk (well I guess roll) the walk or roll… umm I am confused now. I think you get what I am saying.

I guess what I am trying to say here is that tonight I further realized how much I need to speak in schools. First and foremost, I speak for you all. I speak for those who listen and learn. I speak so I can hopefully teach others through my own experiences and impact inspire and motivate people to be smart, enjoy life, and appreciate the gift. Speaking and knowing that I am making a difference inspires me so much. It gives me such a great life purpose and sense of reward. But on top of this I have come to realize that speaking is also a form of therapy for me. It helps me understand myself and life better and inspires me to keep growing and becoming a better person. I have noticed that in many of my own recent dilemmas, challenges and tough times, like this break up, I am looking to my own past experiences and triumphs over adversity as an inspiration to keep moving forward and to never give up. I have learned how to translate pain into growth; I have learned how to translate challenges into experience. I feel all the more happy because of it. I see that it is all a circle bacause the more I learn and share the more you all will benefit. Wow life really is an amazing ride!!!

This may be a deeper blog than usual, but it is where I am at. I hope you enjoyed reading it and I hope it inspires people. I know I feel inspired.

Well that’s about it for tonight. Before I relax with a warm bath (my legs are freezing from my bike ride) I want to thank everyone from today. There are so many of you to thank! You were all great. Thanks for all of the messages; I hope to start getting back to people tonight.

~: )

Kevin

The Canucks win in four!!!! Yeah Yeah!!

Today was a good day capped off with a Canucks win.

I started the day at SJ Willis. It is a smaller school right in Victoria. The group was pretty small on a sunny day, but it went well. It was one of the smaller audiences I have had in a while. I ended up being really short on time and pretty well just winging it through the whole presentation trying to be done when they wanted me to. I went a bit over, but for me it was as good as I could do with the time I had.

After SJ I had a little until my next presentation at Esquimalt. I drove into downtown Victoria on my way back to Laurel Point and stopped in town to grab some sun screen. YEAH YEAH sunscreen. I started to get burned yesterday. Finally this LONG winter that turned into the coldest spring I can remember is over. I chilled at the hotel for a bit and had the other half of my sub from yesterday. I have been eating very healthy on this trip trying to get my weight down for the summer ahead.

My presentation at Esquimalt was great! I had plenty of time and took full advantage. The theatre there is super nice, so sound and everything else was rocking. I left the school and headed back to the hotel again to watch the game. And what a game it was!!! Man, you can always count on the Canucks for a bit of drama. I thought halfway through with the Nucks winning 2 – 0 that St Louis was done. But they made a big surprise come back. That OT was insane!

The plan for the rest of the night is to chill and get some rest. I have been feeling a little burned out this week and am going to try and catch up on sleep and rest starting now.

Thanks for reading as always!

Thanks to everyone at SJ Willis and Esquimalt from today! You are all awesome!

Over.

Kevy Metal

Pt. 1

One presentation down and another to go for this beautiful Monday, April 20th… Of course I mean that in the best way possible!

My first presentation today was super cool. I spoke in Shawnigan Lake at a smaller school called Lakeside Preparatory School. It used to Maxwell Bahai International the last time I was in the area. Apparently another name and location change is coming soon.

I spoke in the cafeteria to about 80 + students. It felt very intimate and personal with the small crowd and no mic. The students were awesome and so was the staff. I went way over time… probably 40minutes later than I was supposed to speak. The students were down for more and so was I. Not only did I have nowhere else to be, but I couldn’t think of anywhere else I would want to be than Shawnigan Lake on a warm sunny day talking to a great group of young people.

I have a couple of hours between now and my next talk at Frances Kelsey in Mill Bay. This will be the second time I have spoken at FK. Four years ago, I opened my first ever Vancouver Island tour with a presentation there on my birthday. I will always remember that presentation. I was feeling kind of bummed being on the road all alone for my birthday and then the entire audience sang me happy birthday. Then at the end of the show I got a standing ovation… possibly my first ever!

My presentation has changed a lot over the years. Of course I hope for the better. It will be interesting to see if I can rock today’s audience like I did the last time I was at Frances Kelsey.

In the meantime and in between time… I am chilling in my truck with the doors and windows open at the skate park near the school. There are some local rippers tearing it up. I miss skateboarding, but can watch it now and just be stoked to watch people shred rather than be bummed it wasn’t me. It will be interesting to see if the rippers will be in the audience at my presentation this afternoon, or if they are cutting the entire day to skate in the sun. It’s a good thing there wasn’t a skate park in Cloverdale while I was in high school or I probably would’ve missed even more classes.

I am going to finish this blog later once I am back in Victoria and done my second presentation of the day. Until then…

Pt. 2

Then is now…

Wow I wouldn’t have imagined the day could have got better but it did!

The presentation at Frances Kelsey was good… kind of chaotic but good. I was way short on time to begin with. But I wanted to give it everything because there was such an awesome set up for sound and screen etc. I started late then the mic was very tinny. I had to go no mic, which was going to make things even trickier to stay on time because without a mic my presentations last longer. I think it just takes more energy to project my voice, so I can’t speak as quickly as when I am mic’d. I was doing pretty good for time until I knocked someone out. I haven’t had a pass out in a few weeks, but today the streak was broken. I hope the girl is ok. I swear it is not my intention to make people pass out. It just sometimes happens. It has happened both times I spoke at FK. …OK you may be reading this thinking it doesn’t sound so good, but it was. Actually it was great because the people in the audience were with me 110%. They understood I was short on time and made it as easy as possible for me to get done what I wanted to get done. Best of all when I didn’t finish on time about 500 students were patient and stuck around after the end of school for a couple of minutes until I was done. FK has rad people. I feel very connected whenever I speak there.

I hung out with the SADD team for a while after the presentation. They are a great bunch of girls doing great things. There were others hanging around as well, so I showed my slideshow. I remember a dude named GoGo who was particularly moved by our story. Another cool guy named Chris came up to me and let me know if I wanted to go check the skate park, he was sure that him and others could help me through the thick gravel driveway. I had stayed in my truck earlier as to not have to battle the gravel and had mentioned it in my presentation when describing the challenges posed by the world’s lack of accessibility.

After I left FK I went to the skate park and sure enough Chris was there. He is a super cool dude who unfortunately tweaked his ankle and was unable to skate. I guess we were both in the same boat… unable to skate but still wanting to be at the park.

Two more guys approached me as I rolled up to the park. I couldn’t make out who they were at first but soon noticed they were both teachers from Lakeside, the school I spoke at this morning. Phil was chilling and Jake was skating. He was pretty darn good too! Imagine if your teacher was a sick skateboarder! How rad is that? All of us hung out, Jake ripping it up. I took some pictures of him skating and plan to get them up on here soon. While snapping shots today I was thinking I would like to take more pictures of people skating in the places I go to speak. I would love to put them all in an album likely called Skate Pics in my gallery.

I was so stoked leaving the park today. I drove with NOFX on and the window down. I could see a tan on my face and just thought GREAT DAY! I hit Subway on the way back into Victoria and had a light dinner. Once back at the hotel, I got changed into shorts and a t-shirt then went for a bike ride around James Bay. I rode 10kms along the water and feel AWESOME! I haven’t ridden my bike since the summer. It was great to get out and I hope to again Wednesday… I would tomorrow but Canucks are playing!

I got back to the hotel just after 8pm. I got into my chair and a cool guy named Marc who works at the hotel put my bike in the back of my truck and parked it for me. I love staying here because I am always treated so well. As I rolled back to my room thinking what a great day, I noticed the sun setting over the harbour and took a few pictures. What a perfect way to end a perfect day.

Tomorrow I speak at SJ Willis and then Esquimalt. I start at 10am, so I get to sleep in a bit longer than today’s 5:45am wake up. I look forward to another sunny day in Victoria tomorrow and hopefully watching the Canucks clench the series in four games.

That’s all for now.

Over.

Kevin

The Canucks win again!!!! Wow I really didn’t expect us to be this rockin’. I thought we were going to be solid as we have for so many games now, but this is pretty sick.

I am sitting in my truck on the ferry heading from Tswwassen to Victoria. This will be my first full week tour on the Island. Last week I spoke a few times, but this week it will be ten presentations in five days. Busy Busy!

I had a pretty emotional presentation to end the week last week. I had a lot going on personally starting Thursday night in Courtenay. When I woke up Friday morning to s sunny day, I figured I could tough through my presentation at Comox without the emotions coming through. Well, about halfway through right before I got into the part about suicide I just fell apart. Dude I was crying pretty good. I was trying to be tough because I knew the school had lost a friend this year, and I wanted to be the rock. But it went the other way and I could barley keep it together. I did manage to pull it together and finish the presentation, but it was among the top three emotional presentations I have done. The other two were in order… 30 minutes following the phone call that my buddy Jordan had hung himself with my dad in the crowd for the first time ever; and at my old high school Lord Tweedsmuir with my old hockey coach, past teachers and my mom in the crowd in a gymnasium I had walked into many times in the past. Guy, girl, whatever… sometimes we gotta let that stuff out. I felt better after. I hope the presentation meant a lot to those in the audience in Comox on Friday.

Anyone who watched me last week, at least Thursday and Friday would have noticed my computer was crapping out. Well I found out last night that my power cord was no sketchy cord. It works only when it wants to, and that is why my battery kept dying. I was a bit panicked last night when I discovered it was all but toast, but thankfully was able to pick up and aftermarket cord from Future Shop today. I think I might even take it back when I get home and just buy an entirely new laptop and use this one as a backup.

Today was a busy day for a Sunday. I woke up pretty early and showered then drove to Fleetwood to watch Hayley’s ball game. My intentions were to just watch one game, but they were such awesome games I ended up staying until halfway into their third game. Hayley’s team, the Surrey Storm came second in the tournament. It was awesome! I was bummed they lost, but it did give me an excuse to dodge out early and watch the Canucks!

That’s about it. I am writing this in my truck parked on the ferry. I will be staying at one of my favourite hotels all week, the Laurel Point in downtown Victoria. I am really stoked on that. I even brought my bike and shorts so I can get out for some rides at the end of the day when my presentations are done. By the time I arrive and check in, I will have time to quickly post this on the site and then get to bed. I am going to be up possibly before 6am tomorrow to make the drive to Shawnigan Lake, where I am speaking at 8:30am. I speak at Frances Kelsey in Mill Bay tomorrow afternoon.

Goodbye for now… I will check in tomorrow!

Kevin

I am happy to say I got to Courtenay, BC on Vancouver Island just a few hours ago. I love it here in Courtenay and have many great memories here and on this part of the Island. I have spoken around here quite a bit and have great memories from each time I have done so. My last great memories in Courtenay would be from this past June when Melissa and I spent an amazing weekend at the Kingfisher and went kayaking around Hornby Island on our way back home!

Today was great, as I knew it would be!

Spectrum was an awesome way to kick off the VI 2009 Tour. I am pretty sure the crowd had not heard me speak before, which is pretty rare on Vanouver Island these days. I spoke to a good part of the grade 12 graduating class. I really felt people were hearing and feeling our story. The sound and visual and everything was bang on… once my laptop started working properly. Thanks to the techies running the show! I was spoiled today getting to speak in not one, but two theatres.

I barely had time after my talk at Spectrum to get to Claremont and get set up. Thankfully Claremont is super close by. Also, I have been there so many times that everyone knows me and knows what I need. I also know the school and where things are. It was pretty cool to be rolling into the school and hear people saying my name “Kevin Brooks.” I have some serious history with Claremont, and after the messages I hav egotten already tonight and the people I met and chatted with today I believe the legacy continues. I got to hang with the sister of the Shizniz page’s creator today for a while. She is super cool, as is her brother. Actually everyone I hung out with and spoke to at Claremont was rad! It was an awesome afternoon to compliment and awesome morning… GREAT DAY!

The drive to Courtenay was mellow. I feel like Vancouver Island is home these days because I have drove around here so much over the past four years. I got to Courtenay around 5pm and quickly checked into my room at the Best Western. Once I dropped off my bags, I went to a nearby restaurant called Fluid. I have eaten there before and know it is good, and tonight was once again awesome!

Since I have been back from dinner, I have just been chilling and trying to catch up on emails… The plan for the rest of the night is to hopefully see Chicago beat the Flames and Anaheim beat the Sharks… I like to cheer for the under-dog…. That is about it for tonight… Get a good sleep in my king sized bed.

I have one presentation at Highland Secondary in Comox tomorrow and then I am heading home. I plan to hit Coombs on my way back to the ferry in Nanaimo for some candied salmon… mmmm it is SO GOOD! Not sure if the goats will be on the roof there yet, but if they are it will hopefully be my first time seeing them… Coombs is super cool! The market there has so much cool stuff and like I said they have goats on the roof… check it out… http://www.oldcountrymarket.com.

My plan for the weekend is to watch the Canucks game tomorrow and I have a b’day party to go to on Saturday night in Vancouver. I am also doing a radio interview with CFAX 1070 in Victoria at 7:30pm Saturday night. I will be doing the interview over the phone since I will not be on the Island anymore…. check it out!

Well that is it! And oh yeah I just had one wish come true… Chicago just scored seconds into overtime to win the game!!!! I want Chicago to win because I think the Nucks have a better chance of beating them than Calgary… that and the Flames suck!!!

Night.

Kevin

…Chilling in bed at the Elk Lake HoJo in Victoria. I will be touring Vancouver Island over the next three weeks.

I had three awesome presentations yesterday! The first two were at Clayton Heights in Cloverdale. It is always pretty cool to speak to a home town crowd. Both presentations were packed and both audiences were awesome! The theatre at Clayton is perfect for speaking and I even had a chance to show my skate vid at the end of the second one. Thanks to everyone at Clayton! I met some awesome people there, especially my new buddy Brendan. Thanks for lunch Mrs. Suarez and thanks to everyone who has written me. Also big thanks to Will for taking care of the AV… thanks dude!!

After my presentations at Clayton, I headed to Killarney Secondary in Vancouver. I had never spoken there until yesterday. I had the entire grade 12 class! It was awesome too. Man… people were really laughing at my jokes yesterday at Killarney. Through the more intense parts everyone was chill and I could feel they were feeling me. I am so glad I got to speak there yesterday and look forward to my return next year. Thanks to everyone at Killarney anf big thanks to Kittie and Allison for the set up!!

After Killarney I hit Costco by GM Place for water for my Island trip. I think it was the first time I have ever spent under $100 in Costco. I grabbed Melissa some roses too, since I hadn’t seen her in a little while and wanted to surprise her with something Springy. I dropped off all of my stuff at Melissa’s, but she wasn’t home yet so I ran / rolled a few more errands around Yaletown. It was beautiful yesterday! I got back to her place around 6:30pm then Melissa and I had a nice visit and then I was off.

I went to the Turbonegro concert at the Commodore in Vancouver last night. It was SICK! I cabbed there and met some buddies as well. We all partied it up and had a great night. My buds got a ride home after by one of their girlfriends and I rolled back to Melissa’s as it was all down hill back to Yaletown.

I had a pretty solid sleep and then got ready and made my way to the ferry. I kind of dozed off on the ferry today. I was hoping to listen to the Team 1040 and get up to speed on all of the playoff previews, but I couldn’t pick up the radio signal in my truck on the ferry. The sleep was nice and when I drove off the ferry the game was just starting. As of now the second intermission just ended so I have to go. GO CANUCKS!!

Tomorrow I am speaking at Spectrum and Claremont here in Victoria. I am looking forward to returning to both schools as I have had some pretty solid talks at each and met great people through both schools too. I am pretty sure I have spoke at Claremont more times than any other school. A student from there actually started the Shizniz Facebook Group too! So tomorrow will be a good one!

Well that’s all for now. I’ll check in again tomorrow.

Over.

KB

I had an AWESOME sleep in this morning! It is so nice to be back in my own bed after a week. I took advantage of a rare day off today and slept late because my sleeps at home will be few and far between over the next couple of months.

I have been catching up on things since I woke up this morning (11:45am)… still morning technically. Not having internet access over the majority of the weekend left much to be done today. I still need to start writing everyone back from the previous week, but that is all I have left to do and it is my favourite part.

I just posted a new gallery on the site. The pictures are from the last week. They start in Surrey, BC and go through the week in the Southern Interior through the Fraser Canyon to Whistler. There are some pretty sweet pics I must say. I have one from last night too… Hayley’s b’day wish! We celebrated her birthday with the family yesterday after Easter dinner.

The plan for the rest of the day is to shower and get dressed and packed for the next week of travel. I am stoked for the week ahead of presentations. Not to mention Turbonegro tomorrow at the Commodore!!! I also need to go b’day shopping for Hayley and Allison as their b’days are both this week. My afternoon will be capped off in Maple Ridge watching Hayley’s ball game. Lots to do still, so I better get on it!

Happy Easter and thanks for reading…

PS. I will get back to everyone who has been writing me very soon ~: )

KB