Week #52! It’s difficult for me to grasp that I have already held 51 different professions over the past year.

Since I am always on the road continually thinking about the following week, I haven’t yet had the chance to reflect on the experience. When I take a moment to stop and think about it, I realize, wow, I have done quite a lot of stuff this year.

This week I have returned to my home town, Port Moody, British Columbia, where I will be the Mayor. I have lived in Port Moody my whole life, and so it’s only fitting that my journey ends here.

It’s a busy schedule this week, filled with the swearing-in of Police Constables, a visit with the Port Moody Scouts, a few committee meetings, Shoreline Art Unveiling, Chengdu China Artists’ Exhibition/Reception, and the Port Moody Arts Festival Opening. Every Thursday between 2pm - 5pm, the Mayor has an open door where any citizen is welcome to come and discuss any issues. If you’re in town, feel free to stop by and say hello!

So what’s next week you ask? I have another five days yet to figure that out, as for now it’s time to clean up the town!

My mom would be pleased to hear that I didn’t jump out a plane this week.

Without a tandem jump master currently on base, there was no one qualified to take me. I would have loved the opportunity, but I must admit a small part of me was slightly relieved.

Going into the week I think I was more concerned with how my hair would be received in a military environment typically known for their clean cut hair styles. I hoped they had spent some time on the website, know what I look like, and so are aware of what they are getting themselves into.

Luckily they were fully aware and I somehow managed to come out of the week hair still intact (Though I definitely got my fair share of inquisitive looks). It’s not everyday, well actually I should say ‘any day’ that you see a guy with long blond dreadlocks fully suited in combat gear walking around CFB Trenton.

Love For Acronyms

I thought that I was accustomed to the use of acronyms after I spent last week with TSAE in Austin, Texas.

I learned this week that the military’s’ love of acronyms and short form makes the acronyms of associations seem like a walk in the park. An example: “At 8AMS, I met a mech eng, two years out of RMC, now an LT at CFB Trenton. Then in the aft I helped config a flight sim at 426 TTS.”

At times it’s as if they are speaking a different language.

Although I didn’t jump out of a plane, there was no shortage of excitement this week and I realize just how lucky I am to have had such an amazing opportunity.

Out In The Field

Immediately after arriving, I got fitted in my combat gear, then met with the big boss on base, 8 Wing Commander Colonel Mike Hood, one of the many responsible for bringing me to Trenton. Then, it was time to head out into the field.

I visited several squadrons over the course of the week. My first stop was with 8ACCS, Air Communication and Control System with a primary mission to support Canadian air operations.

I participated in a simulation as an Air Traffic Controller bringing an aircraft in to land and visited the mobile air traffic control towers. It’s amazing how they can transport all that equipment and have great communication signals even in the most remote areas of the world.

Later in the week, it was interesting to see the actual ATCs at work. I was even allowed to speak to a few aircrafts giving them instructions on how to proceed. One of the pilots must have thought I was crazy because I accidentally held onto the call button while speaking with a co-worker a few desks away. Oops!

Simulating Real Flight

With the crew at 8AMS (Air Maintenance Squadron), I helped re-fuel an aircraft heading overseas, turned some wrenches with the maintenance guys, and assisted a start up.

Over at 426 Transport Training Squadron, I spent some time in the flight simulator to see if I had what it takes to be a pilot.

It was incredible how realistic it was. The cock pit is an exact model of what you would see on the C-130 Hercules, everything looks, feels, and reacts the same.

Although not really something to be proud of, I can now say that I have crashed a plane in Hong Kong, Paris, Toronto, Alert, and in Thule, Greenland.

At the 424 Search and Rescue/Transport Squadron, I arrived in the morning and 20 minutes later was riding in the front seat of a Griffin Helicopter.

I have never been in a helicopter before and it was an awesome experience. The pilot let me try my hand at hovering and take control of the stick when we headed back to the base in Trenton.

I didn’t realize how difficult it would be to keep the helicopter in one stable position. This is an important skill to master as many times the pilot will have to remain hovering as search and rescue technicians rappel out to the victim.

Adding to the level of difficulty, the weather and terrain will most likely not be cooperating in a rescue type situation.

After we landed, I wasn’t exactly sure what the plan was. The helicopter is really loud and so difficult to communicate without the radio. I got out of the front seat, then was escorted into the back seat.

Within five minutes we were off again with two different pilots and a couple of Search and Rescue Technicians (SAR Techs). We headed out to a nearby field for a training rescue. The two SAR Techs rappelled to the ground followed by a stretcher. The helicopter then lowered and I was able to get onto the ground to get an amazing view from underneath.

I always knew that helicopters generate a lot of wind, but I was surprised to experience just how powerful it really is. I had to drop to my knees in order to not be blown over and even then I had to brace myself.

Delivering Cargo

As we arrived back at the base, I left the Griffin Helicopter and was escorted directly across the tarmac to the C-130 Hercules, a military transport aircraft. I put on a different helmet, a harness, and walked up the ramp at the back of plane into the cargo storage area.

With several SAR Tech guys on board, we buckled up and away we went.

Once we hit our cruising altitude, I got harnessed in and helped open the side doors as well as the back ramp. It felt just like the movies. Flying in a military aircraft, the back fully extended open, standing near the edge looking down at the houses and trees that appear as mere specs on the ground far below.

The SAR Techs were unable to jump due to high winds, but I was given the opportunity to make three drops - basically throwing items off the back of the plane when given the order so as to hit the mark below.

Another highlight of the week was working with the EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) unit within 8AMS. Basically, they get to blow stuff up. I got to blow a stick of C4 as well as about a dozen phosphorus bombs which explodes when contacted by oxygen. The guys were a lot of fun and it was a really cool experience.

A Range Of Opportunity

Before this week, I never realized the number of different professions available on the base.

When many think of the military, we tend to think immediately of fighter pilots, weapons, infantry… After only a few days within the military and seeing all the different challenges, opportunities, and dynamic activities it encompasses, I quickly saw the vastness and variation of positions offered.

Whatever you may be interested in, whether it be policing, photography, engineering, teaching, you name it and I guarantee that you can find something that matches it in one of the squadrons in the Canadian Forces.

Thanks so much to everyone who made my experience such a positive one. I really enjoyed my time at the base and appreciated all the patience and willingness to share your trade. I have the deepest respect for all of you!

-Sean

This week I am working with the Canadian Air Force in Trenton, Ontario. I will be stationed at 8 Wing Trenton which is the biggest Air Force Wing in Canada.

I will get to see many facets of the Air Force throughout the week as each day I am scheduled to experience a different department.

I am really excited about the opportunity to see what working with the Canadian Forces is like. It is a profession I don’t think many seriously consider as a career option coming out of school.

In the email with my schedule for the week, a post script note written by the Major caught my attention. It was addressed to the Sky Hawk Captain and asked if a tandem jump could be arranged. Yikes! I jumped off a bridge way back in Week 1, so I guess it makes sense to jump out of a plane as we approach Week 52.

As you may have guessed, trying to keep up with the pace of an “episode a week” was folly at best. So instead, they’re more like Easter eggs that you find posted on the site when you least expect it…a nice surprise.

So without further ado, here’s Sean’s bone-crushing week as a Martial Arts Instructor at Dojang Studios in Vancouver, BC.

If only I had a dollar every time I heard the word ‘association’ this week. Being new to the world of associations, I admit I was most likely more aware of it, though I could have sworn that in each conversation I had, the word ‘association’ was used at least five times.

On my first day at the Texas Society of Association Executives (TSAE), I probably spent the first half wrapping my head around the intricacies of association life and the vast acronyms that prevail.

So if I thought the idea of an “association made up of associations” was intriguing, check this one out: There is a national association called Alliance. This is an association for presidents of associations of associations.

That’s how they roll in the Association world.

I must admit, once I drew an organizational tree and got my committees, boards, chairs, co-chairs, and sub-committees sorted out, all the semantics started to become justifiable and actually made sense.

As Beth often said, “there are associations for everything.” And she’s right.

Driving downtown, she would point out all the different buildings of where various associations were located. Previously, I would have paid no attention to such landmarks, now with a tuned eye I was suddenly spotting them everywhere.

I had the opportunity to visit a few and spend time with some of the association executives to learn about the particular association.

A Commitment To Members

A large part of associations is about networking through social events and providing meaningful seminars to it’s members. Which is kind of fun when you think about it, each month there are a couple of party’s to attend where you are bound to meet some interesting people.

An association is only as strong as the commitment of its’ members. It would not be able to exist without their active involvement and willingness to volunteer in order for everything to run smoothly.

Beth and her team at TSAE could organize the best seminars and events possible, though if nobody shows up or there are no volunteers to help bring everything together, it wouldn’t work.

I sat in on the meeting with the committee that produces the bi-monthly magazine. I thought it was great that these individuals would take a few hours out of their day in order to bring something together they feel is important and will benefit their co-members.

A Texas Sized BBQ

Back at the office, Beth, Alaina, Sonnia, and Marc were all great to take the time to explain their roles with TSAE to me.

I was told that a visit to Texas wouldn’t be complete without trying out famous Texas BBQ. When I was in Georgia I had BBQ, though I was informed that BBQ in Georgia is generally pork, whereas Texas BBQ is usually associated with beef.

Well that’s one distinction, the other one of course being that Texas BBQ is “bigger and better.”

Inside The Board Meeting

Every quarter the board members of the TSAE meet. This happened to be this week, so I got to attend as a special guest and observe the proceedings.

In all honesty, it was not the most stimulating three hours, though I enjoyed watching the dynamic between individuals, the various communication techniques used, and learn about the overall structure of a board meeting.

Afterwards we went for lunch with several of the board members before heading out to The Renaissance Hotel for the tour a Meeting Planner would take when organizing a conference. It’s a beautiful facility and the Pastry Chef was kind enough to send me home with some goodies!

I have gotten very accustomed to staying at new peoples’ homes. I can feel right at home surprisingly quickly. It was even easier this week as Beth, her husband David, and son Matthew, warmly welcomed me into their home and showed me some great southern hospitality.

David is a Professional Speaker and a member of the local chapter of Toastmasters (a group that meets to build confidence with public speaking skills).

In 1990, David’s speaking career got a kick start when he won the World Championships of public speaking competing against 30,000 other Toastmaster members world wide. This local chapter meets each Thursday morning, so I went a long this week and got in on the action myself speaking to the group about my experience over the past year.

The TSAE annual summit is next September in Texas and Beth has already been asking me what will it take for me to come. I would love to. Though at this point I have difficulty committing to anything two weeks in advance let alone six months from now.

I guess you could say I like keeping my options open.

-Sean

This week I am in Austin, Texas working with the Texas Society of Association Executives (TSAE) as an Association Professional.

What exactly is an Association Professional? That’s a good question.

When President/CEO Beth Brooks first contacted me about coming to Texas to work with TSAE, I had a difficult time wrapping my head around what they do.

“So, you are an association?” I asked. Beth replied, “Well yes, though we are the association of associations.”

While I was intrigued simply by the fact this actually existed, I didn’t give it much thought and put it on the back burner.

Over the past year of job offers, Beth was probably one of the most persistent people. She made a great case to come to Austin.

There are 24,000 associations in the US, 1,600 of which are in Texas. TSAE is the association of associations - meaning they provide educational training for the professionals who work for all the associations in Texas.

The land of associations sounds like a unique world in itself - I am looking forward to discovering it.

I left Wyoming early morning and arrived a few hours later at the Salt Lake City airport with plenty of time for my flight to Washington DC.

Hours before I was scheduled to leave, my name was called over the intercom stating that my plane was boarding. Curious, I quickly went to the gate.

When I got there, they told me my transferring flight through Chicago was running late, therefore I would miss the connection and not be able to get to Washington that night. The alternative was to hop on a different flight to Baltimore, about 45 minutes north of Washington.

I took it and was promised my checked luggage would be joining me once I arrived.

Well, that didn’t quite happen.

When I met Joe, the marketing director of the Capitals, he probably thought, “Wow, what did we get ourselves into? This guy looks like he can’t take care of himself - scruffy facial hair and no luggage, yet carrying a distinct odor that can only be attributed to a week spent on a farm.”

Fortunately he didn’t put me on the next flight out of town. My bags came the next day and I was able to clean up before heading to my first day on the job.

Life of a Mascot

I then entered the world of Professional Mascots. Most people probably think it’s an easy job. All mascots seem to do is show up, dance around for a bit, give some high fives, start the wave and make people laugh.

I quickly found out it’s a full-time job. Many make a great living doing it, and they take their role very seriously. When it’s not a game day, there is other stuff to do: schedule appearances in the community and private functions, take care of the suit, maintain good physical fitness…

I was surprised to find out how much actually goes into it.

I also realized how much goes on behind-the-scenes at a sporting event. As a member of the audience, you grab your seat and expect to be entertained. That truth is that everything is planned down to the minute: when they will do different promotions, run certain contests, play a particular segment.

I was able to attend the pre-game operations meeting and go through the detailed script for the night which was cool.

Getting A Handle

During the game, I followed Slapshot around as his handler, helping with his straps, getting his jersey on. With all the various parts it can be a little challenging. It was great to see the man in action so I could pick up a few pointers before it would be my turn.

At the end of the game, I was given the opportunity to go onto the ice and use the “Pucker Chucker.” It’s a gun that shoots pucks up into the crowd.

Turns out I would be the third consecutive victim of the Pucker Chucker.

After they announced the three stars of the game, I started firing. The first two came out no problem, but on the third, the compartment that holds the extra pucks exploded - sending the pucks all over the ice (let’s not forget this is in an arena filled with about 17, 000 fans).

Luckily I was well warned beforehand that this might happen, so I didn’t feel too embarrassed and simply picked up the pucks and starting throwing them into the crowd.

Ice Ice Baby

Being on the ice is an awesome experience. Looking up into the stands, hoping that you don’t slip, fall, and make a fool of yourself, you are suddenly everyones best friend.

Why? Because you got free stuff, and for some reason everyone loves free stuff.

It doesn’t matter what the random item may be or even though they know when they get home it will just go into a drawer until it’s Secret Santa time again next Christmas - the fans still want it.

Yesterday, Slapshot grew several inches when I suited up and went to the Kids Open Skate. I had a lot of fun and the kids responded well.

It is great to see the different reactions. It reminded me of my days as a Pre-school Teacher at Nature’s Childcare in Boise, Idaho - everyone is always happy to see you when you walk in the door.

Afterwards we headed to downtown DC. I had a great time interacting with all the people, playing jokes, goofing around, and just making people smile.

Today is another game day - Next up the Boston Bruins. Let’s go Caps!!

-Sean

This week I am working in Washington D.C as the Mascot for the Washington Capitals. For those of you that don’t know, The Washington Capitals is an NHL team. I will also get to help out with promotions and in-game entertainment (you know, those people that wear tracksuits at games, are always smiling handing out free stuff, making sure everyone is having a good time)

I will first learn the ropes of what it’s like to be the Capitals Mascot “Slapshot” by helping out during a game as his handler, then I will get a chance to suit up as “Slapshot” at a Kids Open Skate. It should be interesting wearing a cumbersome costume with limited visibility while a mob of kids run at you.

I will also be spending sometime outside the arena in the downtown Washington D.C area interacting with fans and getting the city excited about the team and upcoming playoff run.

Being that I am from Vancouver, I am lucky that they’re not playing the Vancouver Canucks.

Go Caps Go!

I caught a flight to Salt Lake City last Sunday morning, a few hours away from La Barge, Wyoming where I would be working on a ranch with a cowboy named Chet.

Chet’s wife, Billy, picked me up from the airport. We then drove about an hour to a neighboring town where we met Chet and his friend Cody. I was quickly immersed into the Cowboy lifestyle.

About 15 minutes into our drive, Billy explained, “Sean, we’re going to throw you right into it - we’re going to a roping today!”

I had no idea what that meant, but I was excited nonetheless. It’s not everyday your reality changes so drastically. Only several hours earlier I had woken up before sunrise in a Los Angeles suburb, now I found myself on route to a ‘roping’ in rural Wyoming.

Learning the Ropes

The roping was organized in teams of three. Each goes out into the enclosed area with about 10 calves. The judge announces one of the calves numbers and the team of three cowboys has to successfully rope the front and back legs of the assigned calf in the shortest time possible. (I won’t tell you how I did).

Afterwards we made our way to the ranch where Chet and Billy currently work. The ranch is located in a a beautiful setting - a valley surrounded on both sides by steep rock faced mountains. A green river flows from the nearby mountains through the ranch splitting at one point to create a small island.

For some reason I forgot that it would be cold this time of year in Wyoming, though the thin layer of snow simply added to the picturesque scene. I can imagine the landscape must be equally impressive with the change of season.

It is calving season at the ranch - for the next couple of months everyday they are new arrivals. Chet’s main priority is to make sure everything is going smoothly, that there are no complications with the birth, the calf is feeding properly, and each one must be tagged.

It’s an around the clock job, Chet would wake up a couple times a night to go check on the heifers (female cows that have yet to give birth for the first time, usually around 2 years old) to make sure that everything was okay.

I didn’t realize this until my last night there, so I was able spend my nights sleeping soundly.

Riding Into The Sunset

I enjoyed many things about this week: the beautiful scenery, working with animals, great people, and not to mention good home cooked meals. But most of all, I enjoyed my time on a horse.

My horse for the week was named “Hiccup.” He was very gentle, though in his old days he has become a bit lazy and somewhat stubborn. He was the boss, he walked as fast as he wanted, when he wanted, where he wanted… he managed to comply just enough so you couldn’t really get mad at him.

One thing that I have always wanted to do is gallop on a horse. Good ol’ Hiccup helped me out in small bursts.

I didn’t have much control of where we were going, but we were going, and going there fast. The power and sheer strength of horses is something that has always amazed me.

Speaking Cowboy

Chet and Billy found my random calling out “Yeehaw” amusing and I managed to debunk a few myths associated with Cowboy talk.

Unfortunately, Chet never says “yeehaw” or “giddy-up,” not even “heyah” when he wants his horse to go faster. I guess I wasn’t all that surprised. These sayings have been so ingrained through pop culture that it’s hard not to whip them out when you are in such a setting.

I found myself giving ol’ Hiccup a good John Wayne style “heyah” when I wanted to gallop and certain no one was in ear shot.

I had a great week as Cowboy. Chet and Billy were a lot of fun and I was able to do many activities I had never done before: go to a roping, visit Wyoming, gallop on a horse, tag calves, sort bulls, ride a tractor to feed cows…

During the summer months I was told it’s a different experience. For the most part the cows will graze on government owned undeveloped land in their natural environment and a Cowboy will ride out to meet them and check on them daily.

I hope someday I will be able to return.

-Sean

Ian here, (the project videographer) filling in for Sean. I’m currently in our hometown Vancouver, while he’s in the middle of Wyoming working as a Cowboy. When we last parted ways, he said he’d be somewhere remote, and likely not have internet access.

Well, he was right.

So instead of waiting until the end of the week for Sean to update, I thought I’d write a pseudo-update, imagining all the things Sean may (or may not) be doing at this very moment.

See! Sean spending his time suiting up in cowboy gear (chaps, spurs, the whole bit) and swinging his leg up and over a saddle. See! Sean pat the horse and tip is hat down low. See! The stalk of wheat protruding from his lips as he gazes out at the cattle and engages in cowboy conversation with his mentor Chet. I imagine they’re saying things like, “Yup” “I reckin” and the classic “Uh-huh.”

That wasn’t so hard right?

Now, I could in fact be wrong.

It could be that the life of a cowboy is no longer about beans from a can, campfires under the stars, and a life lived in heroic solitude. It could be that a cowboy lives in a nice home, with cable TV, and drives around in a big truck instead of taming stallions.

It could be a lot of things. But I guess we’ll have to wait until Sean emerges from his digital silence with a real update, won’t we?

Until next time,

- Ian