Montreal 

View from the plane. Notice the downtown core shrouded in haze, hugging the base of the mountain, called Mont Royal (hence, Montreal).

An interesting layering of urban patterns. St. Joseph's Oratory is the dome on the left.

Nothing beats a bowl of pho. 

St. Viateur, where they make melt-in-your-mouth bagels.

Lebanese cuisine is amazing. This is the schwarma.

At Steak-Frites with old friends.

New Year's 2009 at a straw-bale cottage in Morin Heights.

Relaxing at an outdoor spa.

The Canadian landscape.

Chad having an intense conversation with Pastor Dave.

Charmaine and Janelle.

With Pastor Dave's family and Tyson and Eliane.

Very good article by Thomas Friedman about how America has turned into G.M.

SHA Christmas party.

We had our annual christmas party this year at the Linked Hybrid. 200 people attended, with lots of food and flowing wine within the cool, darkly lit belly of the sales office, which afforded amazing views of the project. We projected images of our work onto the sloping aluminum facade of the cinema outside, which really made it a truly magical experience.

Nick Vujicic speaks at BICF

A man with no arms or legs spoke this Sunday. An amazing testament of overcoming great barriers.

The New El Croquis is out!

I worked on one project in the book- the Nanjing Museum of Art and Architecture, due to be completed this winter.

Oct 12, 2008: Diana Krall Concert in Beijing.

Canadian jazz singer came to Beijing on Canadian Thanksgiving and dazzled the (mostly Chinese) crowd with a fantastic concert. She played all the familiars- "The Look of Love", "Dream a Little Dream of Me", "P.S. I Love You.", and "S'Wonderful.  It was a perfect Sunday evening- listening to a quartet invent rhythms both melancholy and playful.  Krall is herself was impressive- quiet concentration on the piano while murmuring melodies with that sultry voice. She also gave well-timed, modest but beautifully authentic anecdotes of life in Canada. And for a brief hour or so, it felt like a warm June night in Montreal.

A birthday party of 40.

Steve, Elle and I celebrated our birthday (Oct 6) with 40 of our friends at IKEA. It was a crazy idea, but surprisingly, none of the IKEA staff minded.

Chuandixia: October 19, 2008

Went back to this 700 year old Ming dynasty village, with a lost city on the top of the mountain, a large cave, and a breath-taking gorge.