God's Pannier

so...a couple months ago i saw a pannier set online that locked, zipped and clipped into a backpack.  from that point on i had it in my mind that i would like a pannier/backpack for biking around in LA.  this was confirmed by a couple bike-friends telling me that Panniers made a big difference in their daily commuting.  less effort, less back stiffness, no back sweat, etc.

so not knowing where to start i headed to mountain Equipment Co-op in Calgary.  It was Sunday and the car/pedestrian traffic in this part of downtown was heavy.  as i neared the part of town where mEC was i prayed "Lord, i need a good parking spot, a pannier/backpack, and a decent price.

I got to MEC and the parking lot was full, and the parking spots along the road as well, as far as i could see.  Except for one of the best spots.  The spot closest to the store across 8th St. was open and i slid right in.  double checked the parking sign...yep it was legal!  1 down, 2 to go.

I walked into the packed store and asked for directions to the panniers.  an employee in the bike/pannier section toured me through what was available, and showed me a couple models that changed into tote bags, but informed that sadly, MEC doesn't carry a pannier that assembles into an actual backpack.  she left and i kept looking.  lo and behold, discreetly placed at the end of one row facing the back of the store was an interesting looking tall tote bag.  I pulled it out and looked at it.  "Pannier/Backpack/Tote" the tag said.  It was better (more continually spacious) than the bag i had seen online, and i figured out the switchover mechanism fairly easily.  I got my bag!  2 down.

The price with tax was about 70 dollars, which was within the realm of what i was willing to spend. 3 down.

Thank you Lord.

onwards and upwards!

Wells Fargo??

I am now the proud and loyal customer of Wells Fargo.  My first American bank account!  :)  Definitely felt steered this direction after all my attempts to hook up with Bank of America kept failing to the point of ridiculousness.  

onwards and upwards!

Approved!

got approved for the apartment i wanted in North Hollywood!  yay!  

upwards and onwards!

Tim

Got my I-20!

hey folks

having completed all the requirements, my I-20 arrived in the mail!  I realize this is a little bit like posting pictures of your kids...no one cares as much about this as I do...but to me it's a big deal!  I've been working towards this for months.  Here's the actual I-20 (left picture) and to the right of that is my beautiful SEVIS I-901 Payment Confirmation receipt.  :)  these 2 pieces of paper and my passport are the documents i need to enter the U.S. as a student!  hooray!!

I did get a kick out of the fact that the Department of Homeland Defense website didn't make it past my spam blocking filters initially.  Whose defending against who?

upwards and onwards  :)

- Tim

Prayer Requests

Thank you so much to those of you who come to this little blog to catch up and find out how things are going.  I really do appreciate you.

I have some prayer requests I'd like to share with you, for my upcoming time in L.A.

1) That God will help me come in contact with excellent artists at the film school with whom I can collaborate whole-heartedly.  I would love to make contact with Christians or spiritually open-minded people who are the absolute best at what they do, and with whom I can create films that are stunning, glorifying to God, and things of real excellence.

2) I need a place to live, so please pray with me that i find the 3 "C"s:
    -conveniently located
    -cost effective, and
    -comfortable

3) Please pray that God helps me find the funds to pay for school as I go, so I don't have to sink  
    further into debt at this mid-point of my life.

thanks everyone!  more to come in the days ahead.

upwards and onwards!!

New Ride

hey everyone

introducing the newest member of the Tim Hildebrand family...my new bike!  :)  decided i needed a good and gas-efficient ride for L.A., so i treated myself and went shopping with my friend, and avid cyclist, Bill Hamm. (red shirt)  We went to a gigantic shop called Cal's Cycle in Linden, AB, and after testing a bunch of bikes this Rocky Mountain Metro 50 was the clear choice.  Light but tough, glides like a dream.  it was love at first sight, and the test drive only confirmed it.  yay!   

onwards and upwards!

L.A. Bound

hey everyone

so the latest news in the life of Tim is my upcoming education in LA, at the New York Film Academy.  two Januarys ago i auditioned for the Masters program, and subsequently received the largest scholarship available for my program.  I was honoured at a reception for 700 participants with one of two top prizes awarded.   The other went to Oklahoma's Tinasha LaRaye, who is in LA pursuing her career as we speak.  I actually went for breakfast with her while checking out the school this past January, and also got to spend time with an old friend, Lennette Randall, who was attending the school at the time of my visit.

that's the macro-news, here's the micro-news...today i finished my application for an I-20, which is what will get me into the country on a student visa basis.  the whole process is a bit complicated to explain, but the really tricky part was coming up with a large enough lump sum to satisfy the school's "Verification of Resources" form.  This isn't money i'll necessarily use...i plan to live somewhat off the rental income i'm making in Saskatoon.  But the rules are that i have to show the ability to pay for my entire remaining tuition and living expenses while at school.  so i re-negotiated my mortgage.  this involved a lot of prayer, as the bank rep made it clear my application was most unlikely, with my decreased earnings the next few years.  in the end, they did qualify me for a modest amount, which left me with $67, 892.16 of credit on my RBC homeline plan.

that's $62,458.29 American.

The amount i needed to show the school?  2 years of living expenses in LA and remaining tuition;

$62,431.00 American.

God is so good!  Thank you Father.   upwards and onwards!