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!

i'm off!

thanks so much for the support everyone.  away i go.  

i'll stop for a bit in Guangzhou, and then carry on.

please send me good vibes.  i'll be in touch as best i can...internet might be sketchy.

so long!

Retreat 2013

just getting home from Germany, and it was a huge success!
almost 300 kids from 5 different bases joined us for a 4-day winter festival of bigtime games, meals, sports, and teaching sessions.  here's some highlights:

Row 1:  my actors performing one of our 5 Hobbit-themed sketches on the subject of taking a new journey.  (i was pressed into service and got to wear the SpongeBob costume)

Row 2:  pictures of one of my brother Rob's big event games...this one involving 4 color-coded teams squaring off in a Middle Earth version of capture the flag, complete with She-Lob's lair.

Row 3:
 1) my brother Rob, helping in a skit as GandRob the Grey,
 2) kids being led by an amazing band of local high school musicians.  and
 3) me with my amazing cast: college youth work students assigned to assist me for the weekend...they learned lines and rehearsed tirelessly so we could put a good-quality sketch on stage for each of the 5 main sessions, in tune with the message from that particular session.  The kickoff always gives a little leeway for more fun, and included life-saving guest appearances by Batman, SpongeBob, Han Solo and One Direction Guy.  From left:  Nathaniel, Michael, Gin, me, Shaun, Jenessa (the camp director) and Julia.  (not pictured is the equally-talented Connor Durr)

                                     


To the right:  actor, chauffeur, go-fer, costume and prop designer EXTRAORDINAIRE, and all around woman of action Gin Hill stands beside some of the potato chips donated for the weekend.  The retreat relies heavily on the goodwill of the local community, and the community definitely was up to the task.  food was a highlight for sure.

what a pleasure to be involved, and to see kids not only beaming with joy from healthy fun, but also gaining understanding and becoming better people.  a ton of work, but it was a highly gratifying week.  Thanks to all of you for your generous support!  I couldn't have done it without you.

Good Start

        Got to the airport at 5 am, and was told i had no seat assigned (though i had my pre-printed ticket with me), and the plane was oversold, so there was a chance i would not be allowed on the plane.

       a few minutes later they called my name over the PA system, and at the counter they told me i'd been upgraded to Premium.  :)  So here's a picture of my seat at the front of the plane, with my complimentary pillow, blanket, and two pre-flight drinks.  :)  Great news!

(p.s. note the massive armrest...2 people can use it at once!)


In Heaven, the airport people at Minneapolis / St. Paul will be put in charge of the washrooms...look at this!  EVERY stall a handicapped stall.  THAT'S What I'm TALKING about!  The stalls are huge, with spaces to put your luggage.

the bathroom was spotless, the decor superb, the automatic soap dispenser actually put enough soap in my hands to get them really clean, and the drying options were like a boss.
               
                                                              Thank you Minneapolis.

Tim Hildebrand:  Trained Anti-Terrorism Aware-ist.

In a recent twist, i was requested to complete anti-terrorism awareness training at the behest of the U.S. Military, in anticipation of my upcoming trip to Germany to help with a youth retreat there.  i have completed the training, and received my certificate, above.
I am officially aware.  :)

Tim Hildebrand: saving the world, one online curriculum at a time.

vaccinations!

i'm in between two vaccination appointments on Feb. 4 and 11, with a third to come in a month, as i get ready to depart for India in May.  above is the Saskatoon Travel Centre where they discuss your travel plans with you, and what vaccinations are mandatory and recommended.  left is the wonderful nurse tasked with the job of sticking me.  :)  

  

I got my first shots for hepatitis, typhoid, measles and mumps, japanese encephalitis, and rabies (you get vaccinated for rabies because its hard to find treatment for rabies where i'm going, and needles are recycled in rural clinics...and so can cause more problems than they solve) along with a prescription for Malaria pills.

                                                      My nurse was mortified when i asked her to pause with the needle in me as we took the pictures.  :)  what a pro she is...SO knowledgable of the subject matter, wonderful demeanor, and i almost didn't feel the needles go in and out at all.  the woman had game.  it's been 6 days since my first shots, and no adverse effects.  

February 2, 2013

it's been SO LONG since my last post, i'm terribly sorry!   i've been a busy man the past month and a half, travelling to Washington DC, then to the southern United States for auditions, and then to BC to act in a show at Western Canada Theatre.  But though my postings have been few, work on the mission trips has been ongoing.  i'm just 11 days away from leaving for Germany, the plane ticket is purchased, and preparations are underway.  In one sense it seems fitting to put the "unexpected journey" Hobbit picture here, since this missionary journey was completely unexpected just 1 year ago. But in truth, the picture is here because i am currently writing Middle Earth-themed comedy sketches for the chapel services at the youth retreat.  Skit #1 of 5 was just approved today, and i'm going to be scribbling hard the next few days!   My drama team will only have two day to practice together before going onstage.  amazing.

With funding updates and vaccination pictures all coming shortly, the posts are going to start popping up fast and furious now, so stay tuned!

Dec. 14:  forms completed for working with youth in Germany - check!

clothing surprise!

received an amazing, unexpected blessing when a friend offered to donate some clothing to the trip from her chic downtown store.  the friendly...effervescent even...and knowledgable staff helped me find a couple outfits that fit within the dress code, were plenty comfortable, and great looking to boot!  my closet was low on appropriate clothes for this trip, but i had pushed that down the list as a low-priority item.   so happy about this!

my first mailout!

hey everyone.  big kudos to those of you who requested an old-timey information letter...here it is!   20 letters going out to kind and interested souls the continent over.  i really appreciate the support.  anyone else wanting a letter can send a mailing address to timhildy@hotmail.com, or phone me at 306-664-9789.  signed, sealed, delivered it's yours!