Tag: Chris Friesen

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Be The Best.

D-fence.

I’ll try to bring some pics forward that you probably haven’t seen before.  Chris had played a December tournie in Seattle for a number of years including a few months back in 2009.

You see Chris here (grey helmet) in pursuit and ready to aid his fellow defender and ward off an enemy attack!  He loved playing defense.  Where other players lived to score goals, he got that same satisfaction stripping a ball from a goal scorer, breaking up an offensive play and then moving the ball quickly up the field to push his team forward.  Throw in some good physical contact and it was a great day at the office!

I love the second picture…taken on the next day.  He’s wearing his Team BC helmet (you can see the 41 on it) and he’s just provided the other team’s offensive player a reminder of what’s going to happen if he wants to get close to the goal.  One of his lacrosse teammates told me he hated going up against Chris in practice because he knew he was going to feel it, but he loved going against Chris in practice because he knew he was going to get better.

Getting better usually requires getting out of the comfort zone.

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Be The Best.

Room for a view (part 2)

If you haven’t read ‘Room for a view’ part one, have a quick start there and then this will make more sense…maybe!

Ok, so the results are in.  As of this morning, 44% of voters said painted lines on the freeway are 5ft long, 24% said 2ft, 18% said 8ft and only 15% said 10ft.  Answer?  It depends…but it is never under 10 ft. according to my definitive research team.  An American study indicates US lines are 10 ft, but I had a chance to talk to my Dad yesterday and he personally measured 16-18 foot lines in 3 different spots in BC a few decades ago (really!).  I had 10 feet in my mind, so upon further intensive research, where did I find my confirmed Canadian answer?  If you can believe it, right on the BCIT website for our Civil Engineering program.  The length of the lines “depends on the speed limit – sometimes the paint segments are actually five meters long (about 16 feet).”  Dad, you were right on!!  The point of the US study was that most people thought lines were 2 feet long.  In our poll, 85% of us believed the lines to be 8ft or under….which is too short.

The point? Both speed and angle of how you view the lines changes your perspective and therefore your understanding of how long those lines are.

I was in a video game store with Chris many years ago when he was about 7 or 8 and a lot shorter!  You know those video game display demo things they have at the front of the store?  He could easily reach the controls and he was trying out a game.  I was looking at the screen as he played.  ‘Look out’, I said, ‘you’re going to get hit’….and sure enough his player bit it.  This happened 3 times.  I asked Chris why he didn’t move his man…he said he couldn’t see.  I asked him what he was talking about, it was so obvious…just move your player to the right.

I can’t see Dad.  What?  Then it dawned on me.  I knelt down so my head level was at the same level as Chris.  Because of the angle of the screen and my ‘NEW PERSPECTIVE’, it was obvious.  The screen was angled and you could only see a shimmer of action at that level, not the full game.  What was ‘obvious’ to me, was not obvious to him, largely because of our angle of approach.

I’ve never forgotten that video game story and it’s helped me many times to remember to check my perspective.  The dashed lines on the freeway exercise is an interesting one as it challenges our understanding of what we think we see.  These blog posts are called ‘Room for a view’ because it’s a reminder to me to always be aware of seeing situations (work, family, life, business) from multiple perspectives.  Your speed and approach may lead you to greater understanding, room for another viewpoint…Chris taught me that on a video game system when he was 7 or 8.

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Be The Best.

Taize, singing bowls and AC at the Abbey.

You remember AC right? Ya, that’s Auntie Cathy to some and just ‘sis’ to me!

Those songs from Chris’ funeral were amazing and I love listening to Love Shines.  If you didn’t hear it, you can now, with all the cards we received as a backdrop. (video below)

Anyhoo…Cathy plays about once per year at the Westminster Abbey in Mission.  If you’ve never been to the Abbey, it’s worth a visit.  This ‘service’ is different than anything you’ve ever experienced.  The acoustics are unbelievable and the setting is amazing.  For full details on the what, where, when, how, check out her blog post. Brent, Cathy’s husband, recently returned from India on business and brought Cath a 100 year old ‘singing bowl’.  She’ll be using it that night.

For me personally, that service is very intense with the silence and music, but Ingrid and I have snuck in for a song or two along with a walk on the beautiful grounds.  If you want to do something completely different from the usual, the Abbey is the place to be this coming Saturday, May 29th from 8-9pm.

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Be The Best.

Surfing the sunset.

The blog earlier this week about silver linings on the clouds made me take a closer look at other cloud pictures I had.  You’ll see a bunch of pics from the intense sky this week as well as a bunch of sunset pics from one of our favourite places…Hawaii.  In one or two of the images you’ll see a very small lone figure surfing at sunset.  I was thinking about surfers riding the edge of the wave and then Chris riding the edge of the clouds along that silver lining.  Hey, they say you are allowed to stare at the clouds and see things, right?  Hope you enjoy.  (you can watch in HD)

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Be The Best.

Facebook saved our lives?

This was a quick update note that we sent earlier today to everyone who had joined Chris’ memorial page on Facebook.  I wanted to share it with you here as well.

Ingrid, Max and I wanted to thank you all so much for the support over the past 2 months.  It has been incredible.

If you want to continue to be with us as we journey forward towards the ‘new normal’, you can follow the blog link at: christianfriesen.com (I’ve added an email subscription thing at the bottom right of the page to make it easier for you to know when the new posts go up)

The other HUGE news is that through the generosity of Harrow Sports and the Burnaby Mountain Selects program, a Chris Friesen memorial lacrosse shaft will be produced and orders are going to be received through next Sunday, May 30.  When I first saw the artwork, and even now, I get goose bumps as this is very cool!

Here’s the great part.  All net proceeds (beyond the manufacturing cost) are going to the Christian Friesen Memorial Award at SFU!  We’ve had people ask if you have to play lacrosse to own one.  Answer? Nope!  They are real pieces of art complete with Chris’ signature, ‘Be The Best’ and the lacrosse ‘silhouette’ on the end cap of the stick. To see the sticks and for order info check out: christianfriesen.com and click on the ‘stick order’ tab at the top of page.

We can’t believe it is almost 2 months since Chris’ passing.  Month two in many ways has been harder than month one as the continued reality of Chris not being with us physically sets in.  That being said, the spirit of Chris is here in a growingly significant way.  I see it through people’s (young and older) desire to Be The Best and through people working together on positive change…including push-ups!

We will continue to keep the Facebook group open for the months ahead and want it to be a place you are free to drop a note to us or to Chris as well…and yes, that’s a completely ‘legit’ thing to do.  One of my first blog posts was about how ‘Facebook saved our lives’.  Those notes of support meant more than you can ever imagine.  We sincerely thank you all for your support during these weeks, not only of us, but your support of each other.

Randy

(for Randy, Ingrid and Max)

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Be The Best.

Vacuums and grief…why not?

A couple of weeks before Chris passed away, he told me about his buddy Tanner and how he was going into the vacuum business.  Would I help him out?  Could I talk to him? Could I give him some business advice?  My initial answer was sure, but I had questions too.  Wasn’t Tanner in school? Why vacuums? Really….a 17 year old kid opening a retail operation?  Really?

You know Tanner.  He spoke at Chris’ funeral and was a great friend.  Sometimes school doesn’t fit for everyone at the exact time we think it’s going to.  For Tanner, right now the timing is wrong.  Now before we go any further I’ll tell you something (and Tanner listen up…this is in WRITING now with witnesses!!)  Several weeks ago, Tanner and gang were over and I made Tanner promise he would complete his GED at some point.  He agreed.  Tanner we have a deal!

That being said, we currently have a business to run.  You see, Tanner’s family runs the Big Gary vacuum stores and that’s how Tanner has learned the business.  And yes it’s true, at age 17, this young man is opening his own retail operation in Port Moody called Newport Vacuums!  His website is a simple marker with contact info for the time being. So…if you are somewhere in the Port Moody area and need a new vacuum or have a broken system that needs some fixing, Tanner is your guy.  He is having is GRAND OPENING on Saturday, May 22 at 202 Newport Drive, Port Moody, BC.

Tanner…I wish you every success in your new business.  I know Chris would have loved to have you in school with him and the gang, but he also understood school was a tough choice right now and he REALLY wanted you to do well and that’s why he was asking me if I could help you.  You and I have had some great business conversations in the past several weeks and I wish you all the success in the world!  Remember your customers first and most everything will fall into place for you….and in the long run, don’t forget…we have a deal about that GED, ok?

PS Great voicemail on your business line.  Customer oriented, energetic and approachable.  Good work.

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Be The Best.

Silver linings

The weather this week has matched our experiences quite well.  It’s been a very extreme weather week.  Get where I’m going?  I took this picture on Tues evening from the deck of our home.  It sort of says it all.  The dark clouds are very present, but still a hope persists.  As the saying goes, every cloud has a silver lining.  Thinking about the sun behind a cloud actually is a good symbolic view of where we’re at right now. We can sense that more sun is going to come.  We can sense there are brighter days ahead and for pockets of time, just like the weather this week, you feel the sun’s warmth and then in an instant it’s raining and cold again.  I think the hope is that we believe…no actually we know the sun exists.  We know it will be sunny again and even though the clouds and rain persist, the sun will have it’s moment and hours in the days ahead.  For now we’ll pack a good umbrella and a hot cup of coffee as we continue on our journey.

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Be The Best.

Da boyz were back in town…

An unexpected treat awaited us when we arrived home tonight.  Max and good bud Spencer were ‘chillin’ (I feel so hip) doing a little P90X (an oxymoron I know) and in the ping pong, teen-age hangout room, we actually had ‘da boyz’ playing some ping pong and beating each other up.  It was great.  A few more games of ping pong were played, some additional fighting occurred and of course various feats of strength to see who could match Chris’ forearm power portrayed in the rowing pic from last night’s blog.

Boyz…it was great to see you all.

We’re proud of all of you.  Keep working hard!  (that goes for all of our teenage contacts out there!)

Play Hard, Be Safe and Have Fun. Remember, the only person I ever said that to?  As of tonight, that’s for all of you, starting with ‘da boyz’.

Here’s some pics.

Ingrid, Jesse, Marshall, Dylan, Cam, Alan, Tanner, Me.
Jesse, Tanner, Marshal, Dylan, Cam, Alan
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Be The Best.

Row, row, row your boat.

Chris and his Brookswood buddies Jesse, Dylan, Marshall took to the water for the inaugural season of the Brookswood Rowing Club last year.  They really wanted to be in the same boat (so to speak!), but that was not to be.  The teams were mixed and they made some new friends. Even though they didn’t get to race together, they stuck with it through the season and these are some pics from their regatta in Bedford Channel at Ft. Langley.

Being The Best is not about winning everything or having everything turn out the way you thought it would.  Not even close.  It’s about trying new things.  Wanna hear a secret?  My good friend Mark Wardell once had a private meeting with Jimmy Pattison…yes, THE Jimmy Pattison, a BC icon and billionaire many times over.  Mark asked him what THE secret of success was.  You know the answer?  Be prepared to lose and lose big.  Interesting.  The secret of success is calculated risk and trying new things where the outcome is uncertain.  ie, Trying out for the rowing team and not winning every race, trying out for the basketball team and being cut, trying something new at work and risking failure but pushing boundaries.

Being The Best is about trying new things whether you ‘win’ or not.  This is as much a challenge to me as anyone else.  Be The Best.  I want to try at least one new thing in 2010.  I’m not sure what yet, but I promise to blog about it..!

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Be The Best.

Shoes and souls.

It’s hard to count the number of people at our house during the first few weeks since we lost Chris.  I found this picture yesterday on my Blackberry taken in the first couple of weeks.

I must say the shoes weren’t exactly that neat when I found them, but I arranged them to avoid a tripping hazard and took a quick picture!  Each one of those pairs of shoes represented a teenager willing to come out of their comfort zone to hang out with a couple of 40 something parents and remember Chris with us.  To all the Brookswood friends, lacrosse buddies, family friends, cousins and friends of friends who have come by in the past seven weeks, we thank you from the bottom of our…souls.

Keep working hard to Be The Best as you finish the school year in style.  Be safe this weekend.