Hey...when you play with knives be gentle.

Can These Guys be trusted???? What do you think?

Do you sometimes feel like this Chinese New Years Dragon when you wake up in the morning? 

Recently Julianne and I went to Taiwan and boy did we eat like kings. In fact if you look closely you can see just how big my belly really is at this Japanese Restaurant. 

Yes Dog's Latrine. 

Have you ever seen a dog latrine before? Well while I was hiking I came across one. Good thing dogs don't need privacy while doing their thing. 

The Boys on St. Helens Sometimes it's those great memories that last forever.

Solitary Confusion

Within the confined walls of my thoughts; Endless impressions of raindrops; Cover your body with unmanageable consequences; This scene imprints my mind and embeds itself into history; Where thoughts of happier days resurface to seek fame and power. So skip happiness along the nearest lake and pretend it never sinks, Because our imaginations could never disappear. And still we persist to glow as fading lights on a mission for blackout; Dreading the moments conceived through absentmindedness; Covering every tear with four letter words; While managing to conceal reality with smiles and white teeth. But now the tortured notion of solitary confinement; Distinguishes itself in every reflection; That grins back though the polished tiles; They seem to lead my life; Square by Square by Square By Landon Wood

New Web Site

For those of you who would like to know what I do please check it out - Standing Tall Australia

The Joy of work

There are times in life when the perpencity of progession seems to be clouded by a shrewed darkenss. The bits of light that funnel through create dillusions, distractions and uncertainties. The greater the uphoric symphony of dreams the more miss perception life seems to become. The one thing that is certain and constant seems to be the simple fact that work is joy. Those are morsels of work that create joy and change the world forever.

The Trip

Seeing in the real world, Trying to taste the salt, For out of life springs light and liver, Can’t digress from reality either, Old times reverberate through my ears, The smells intoxicate my nose, Deepness transcends dreams and hearts, Pushing upward from an unknown source, The way in divided by my touching hand, Through shouting of a forgotten voice, Anguish is replaced by perception, Then I arrive at the place called home.

The Train

The time flies on by and I am here, A tranquil, fragile soul that is contented, Mustering courage and faith to ride the train of success, I jump on board and I am there. The time flies on by and you are there, Fidgeting, mustering the depth of the soul, Turmoil, trauma, and beguile to ride the train of uncertainty, You leap on board and you are here. Two diverse souls on the train of consideration, The only two deliberating their future, We join hands and feel the warmth, Life is calm, life is love. Friends from a distant past with the future in our path! Love McKay

Vision of a Cluttered Mind

Her eyes peel back and there is darkness, A flutter and a float takes a different fullness, Dipping, draining, forming, the light penetrating, She is there, peering through the wellness. Slivers straiten through the shaft of light, Her body folds and convulses that night, Twisted, flipped, wrapped, the light shined, She is there, contorted, feeling the fright. Moist and sticky, it lies in her spit, It cannot touch her unbend able lip, Torn, shorn, the light is now born, She is there, veiled, bending with hip. The light is consumed……..there is darkness. McKay Wood

Dirt

Well OK here's the dirt! It's on the ground and it sometimes gets between your toes and for a fleeting moment you pick it out frantically cursing under your breath at that little worm that just dug its way into you heel. Yes, this is life and feet are the main objective: callused, dirty and full of stench. they hold you, support you, get you places, move you, jump you, kick you, and when you lay down to rest at night they are there with you resting at the same time. Oh the feet of life sometime fleeting and hampering because this is what you do. Are they connected to the innermost thought and divine accusations that come but as to no result of your feet? And when you sprain those poor little devils what sort of love do they get. And a swear or two to let them know that they are weak and impossible to please. Oh how I love me feet that connect my soul with the reality beneath it. So, love your feet and feel at ease because no matter how much you spit or cough your feet will love you all the day long. Love McKay

A Place Called Home

Wow the pleasures of a place called home. The smell of the trees, the smile of the bros, and the love of a family. Yes, the celebrated coming home has created euphoria in this tranquil state that I now reside. The great treasure of future seems to beacon me to come find her. I recapitulate through mine eyes the past that has been. A field of vibrant colors, foreign words floating through the air, tumultuous times in places of peril. Yes I will succeed and with her shall posse the inheritance of eternity. The prison of mediocrity cannot bind my bearing soul and lead me through gates of never-never land. I am here, I am real, I am me!

love McKay

Family Vitamins

So it is very fine thing to be traveling all over the place and suddenly realize that you are just traveling. And in the back of your mind you hear the echo of take a break you’re working too much! Very ironic but just when you thought you were taking a break your mind says "no your working" and the only thing left to do is climb a hill with a great Hindu temple on the top and watch the sun set! The fact of the matter is each of us has a breaking point. Well let me be more specific...we all have a point at which we can say “I'm not doing what I thought I was doing.” You see, this is all very fine and dandy until the dandy wilts and dies. Then you’re left with just the fine and no dandy. That would not be so bad if the fine you had to pay was no more than the original cost of the dandy but it of course never is? It all comes down to proper vitamins. I am talking about the vitamins of life...you know the kind that we all need and if we don't get them we are sad and deprived. You are all smart kids and can relate when I speak metaphorically so get off your butts and take some vitamins today! I love you all McKay

Hawaii

Oh the joy of the sun setting beneath my tired eyes, the clouds caressing the fibers of my vision, the sand spinning silk on my chest, the waves cresting on my brow, the horizon easing my dreams, the palms waving through my hair, and the fish swimming through my legs. This is a place of wonder, of passion, of reality. The usualness of life becomes transfixed through a brief moment of splendor...her name...Hawai'i.

Love

McKay

A Time and a Place

There is a time and a place for almost everything I am convinced. A time to be here, a time to be there, and a time to stare. A time to give and to get and a time to forget. A time see and to feel and a time to be real. A time to think and to wonder and a time to make a blunder. A time to time to pee and to poo and a time to just be you. A time to find and to make and a time to break. A time to like and to love and a time to receive from above. A time to learn and to teach and a time to preach. A time to cry and to yearn and a time to earn. A time to hug and to kiss and a time to miss. Through all of these times there come with them certain places. They are understandably places in time. Or perhaps time in places. I am a wanderer. Wandering across lands and worlds. Seeing, feeling, touching, being. I am man. I have been perplexed by the lives of many to only at some distant time find their lives in myself. How far must I need to go. How long do I need to sow? At this moment I am trivial in my thinking of life. The times and places consume and presume themselves in a thought of good fortune. As for this time I will lose myself in the reality of China as I embark on the journey of TIME in a PLACE of dreams.

McKay

Inspired by Ecclesiastes 1:1-11

3 Strikes

Fri, 27 Jul 2001 So as it happens to be I am on the fate of 2 with the probability of getting 3 strikes and being put out of the ball game. I am optimistic however with my waves of good fortune and understanding the movement of life. Yes, it happened finally my second major scooter accident in the heart of Taiwan. Let me play a bit on the first strike that happened nearly 3 months ago. I was at the third intersection that we can see from our building. Incidentally if you stand outside on our balcony (the 11th floor) for a time you will most probably see an accident! So I was turning the corner and a hot rider came whipping around me at some higher top speed. Well unfortunately he caught the side of my bike and both our bikes went spinning into oblivion. I am sure he felt like Alice in Wonderland when she was in her spin cycle. I received a bruised hip a broken mirror and some other minor cuts. I was scared with shock for a while after and wow I was pumping adrenalin. The great thing about these teenage cruisers is the stereotype. They all are skinny, rich, brown dyed hair, the hockey style helmet with their 100cc Suzuki Dream scooters that could blow bye my slightly older 125cc. Occasionally their high school girlfriend is riding on the back almost always young and gorgeous. So my run in with this kid was less than favorable and he must have got the worst of it. However despite his spinning bike and body he got up in a hurry boarded once again his bat cycle and cruised on to victory, that I am sure. My cousin Mike promptly yelled “get your can over here”. A good effort but had no effect on the 100% Taiwanese roadster boy wonder. Now the second accident was in (my eyes full of compassion) concern of who’s fault it was. I was cautiously going through the next intersection and what before my eyes should appear but an old ladies scooter and her eyes full of fear. Yes she just jumped out in front of me not looking and I bulldozed her. I almost drove right over her. Quite the speedy dream I was having. I got up picked up my bike and she had slid from out under her scooter and she had a boo boo on her knee. Yip she was just a little hurt and I was once again a shocked man. I picked up all of her things that got scattered and sent her on her way. One guy even drove his scooter over and said that it was nice of me to help her. He obviously did not see the whole picture and assumed that this old lady could barley drive a scooter let alone see where she was going. There you have it folks the talented driving of the Taiwanese. I am amazed almost everyday I see drivers whipping past and through and in between and inside and beside, wow amazing. It has put me over the edge for the competition in the North American market. When I return I will be rearing to go. I will just need to consider something a little bigger than the maximum 150cc that is restricted by law! The third strike I am sure will come at the most crucial part of the game and I will be ready! Love McKay

The King of Kong

So it happened that I had my visa cancelled and was illegal here in the Oh so everything legal country of Taiwan (that was a joke for those who are unfamiliar with my sarcasm). Apparently 3 weeks or so had lapsed since the cancellation and a big fine could have been the result. My wonderful Taiwanese friend Thomas took me right down to the police station with my travel itinerary to Honk Kong. Not only did the people let me off the hook they were actually quite pleasant. I hopped on the Air China jet ready to partake from what I understood as a boring/amazing/historic/too busy/too polluted three day trip. I find it very interesting that there are so many different opinions from so many different types of people. Granted when I have an opinion I am the first to tell whether or not something suites me. I am starting to realize the power of positive thinking and the "think and be rich" idiom. It has been a part of my life for a few years now and now that I have tasted the greatness of the power of thought becoming reality I plead yea to all those who are unlucky or experiencing sadness due to environmental occurrences. Write me and I will recapitulate fleeting thoughts of depth to the suppleness of this logic! I had one phone number arriving and this proved to be the start of something great there. This Hilda, a person that my friend Alex has never met and only been with her son in an English training camp in Canada. Well I told her that I was planning on staying at a place (that the Lonely Planet guide book devoted a whole page of warning) called Chungking mansion. She abruptly told me that that was absurd and that she would make a few calls for me. I gave here my ridiculous $30 CDN budget (that I almost wasn't really will to do) and said goodbye. In reality I thought that the beach sounded more appealing than anything else at the time. So after napping in a city park and being woken up by an aging female security guard (wow she secured that park well), I called her back. To my freakiness she booked me into a top notch place and told me a price that my memory has chose to forget. I pleaded that I did not even bring that much money and after some major deliberation and calls to try and cancel the deal she managed to convince to me to go check into the Hotel. Well it was called The Empire Hotel and at $300CND/night I am sure location was a bit of that cost. Located in the heart of the living city...Hong Kong. I some how was able to subside the fear I had of paying for this place and not even knowing the person that had put me there. I took a jot out on the street had some talks with people and it was decided that (in my own little trivial consciousness) I would take a trip to Kowloon to visit a couple of the highly rated markets. No sooner was I staring at my subway map trying to sort out the transfer I was too take when Good Fortune struck...yes it hit me very hard. This nice women looked at me with the map in my hands and must have read my lost puppy dog look cause she came to my rescue and perchance that was almost the same place where she was heading. Her name was Wendy. In her mid to late 30's her smile was all about kindness. She turned out to be a very successful insurance rep. that had her own team of sales people. She pulls in about $80,000usd a year and had her own little house #2 over the Hong Kong border into China. Well if kindness never ceased we got chatting and she was so kind she ended up inviting me to a KTV birthday party of one of her sellers. So I hung the night away me and my OJ and a bunch of pissed KTV singers. She was however on the somewhat sober side and told me that for the next two days she was going to be my tour guide and I was going to be like her little brother...she would take care of me and all I had to do was speak English to her. This lady was amazing and not enough can be said about her kindness. We ate out went to markets and she even bought me an imitation Swiss Army watch. Thanks a ton! One high light how ever was this dance club that we went to one of the nights. The music was good but the laser show in the dance floor was worth the ticket just to get in. This place was paced with people and there were lots of rooms. The other side of this phenomenal laser show was live music being played while sipping our water. Apparently in Hong Kong there are 5 big families that control most of what goes on in that city. Their pull in politics and in power is of the major influences. One pissed chap even mentioned that when China took over Hong Kong from the British in 1997 Mao Zedong sat down with these families and said "now how can we make this work for us?" This club was owned by one of the big 5 (sound like accounting don't it!). Another fun time was in my last few hours before my plane left Wendy took me with some of her friends into the mountains for a Barbeque. It was the perfect portrait of the tons of Chinese people crowded into a small area in this beautiful scenic mountain with tons of Fire pits cookin lots-o-funky Chinese meat stuffs. I guess from experience that Chinese and Taiwanese people alike love to be around each other. The more the better. It was great company with a nice family along with Wendy and me. So the time cam to say goodbye and I gave her a hug, thanked her and she gave me enough money to get from the taxi to the express train to the airport. Well this lady was just what the doctor ordered and I will always be grateful for the "Good Fortune" that brought us together. During the second day there I was just relaxin in my cozy little hotel room waiting for Hilda (who got me the room in the first place) and her family to come pick me up for a day in Hong Kong. So this sweet little Chinese family that spoke decent English took me to a few cool places. This Restaurant on a peninsula jetting out to the ocean was quite the treat. I just picked out the live swimming seafood I wanted, and they caught it in their big tanks and cooked it up. In all the time I have been in this part of the world I have come to really enjoy seafood. The more eat it the better acquainted I am with the exquisiteness of it all. We then went to a beach and another joyful scenic spot. Their hospitality was unique. I often feel kinship to many of those whom I meet on my travels. An almost instantaneous friendship emerges and I am stuck feeling drawn closer to God through my contact of others. When they finally dropped me off at the hotel, Hilda told me not to worry about the hotel even through my insisting I pay her some money. So my thoughts on Hong Kong are very interesting indeed. This place gave me a slight feeling of London with all the amenities and cars even on the wrong side of the road. The English spoken usually had an English accent and the city was always lively and bustling with people. There were yet many garden and park areas that tickled my fancy. Through all this European fanfare there came with this place a feeling of mystery. Lurking deep in many alleys and small streets I peered through barley see through able windows to only catch glimpses of the exotic China I thought of as a boy. The mix of cultures and races came of every walk of life The rich and poor were abundant posing their defiant and undesirable look as they passed my on the walkways. I shall once again imagine the cities lights hitting the ocean as the sun just disappeared. The sparkles glint off my tiresome eyes. A lone boat from an era long past raises it's picturesque sail as the plot of the night wind claims it's decent. This is the ancient and the modern weaving their destiny into one accord. Much lays still undiscovered and only time permits the result. Hong Kong will always hold that lust and appeal until at one finally not to distant day I live there and mix my life with the life of that city, thus becoming part of the dream. Love McKay