The National!

OK, so I guess there's one more blog entry before my big HireMICHAELforHamiltonIsland.com "Thank-you" entry.

When I was in Penticton yesterday, I got an e-mail from CBC. They wanted to film me while I checked to see if I made the Top 50 for the Island Caretaker position. Unfortunately, I was going to be on the road when the fifty finalists were announced. It's just as well, because I did not make it as a finalist. While I question about a fifth of their selection ("That was better than mine? Really?"), I can't help but think that I should have used my extra 16 seconds to talk about the Great Barrier Reef and maybe score higher in their selection criteria. Oh, well!

As a consolation prize, I was on CBC's The National last night as "This guy from Whitehorse actually took a dip in sub-zero water". While that may be scientifically incorrect, it's also pretty neat to have been on The National (and CBC Newsworld, again).

Mr. Adventure! First Fantabulous Issue!!!

I was reading Kennie's blog, Tales from the Arctic, when something caught my eye. Comics on a blog! I just had to try it...

Dear Tourism Queensland,

If you're reading this, it must mean that you're considering me as one of your fifty finalists. 

Neat!

I hope you enjoy yourselves as you explore Michael's Meanderings.  In this blog (in addition to my regular adventures) you'll find an account of the growing publicity that my application video has generated for The Best Job in the World and the Islands of the Great Barrier Reef.

To help make your decision a little easier, I've compiled a few links that are relevant to the Island Caretaker position:

• My Statement of Qualifications (including recommendations from friends, acquaintances, and blog readers that I've never actually met)
• A summary of my media-friendliness: Local, National and International Media Coverage, to date (not including the many blogs that have posted about my application).
• The story behind my first application video.
• An example of what I can do to help promote the Great Barrier Reef's tourism operations.

I look forward to showing you what my supporters and I will do when I make it to the Top 50!

Thanks for your consideration,

Meandering Michael

I have been casted in a pod.

If you don't listen to CBC's "The North This Week", you're missing out on some amazing stories from an unusual and amazing place: Canada's three northern territories.

Last weekend's podcast had a story about some crazy guy who goes snorkeling in a frozen Yukon lake. I can't imagine what that's all about.

You can download the podcast here.

If you like what you hear, you can subscribe to "The North This Week" podcast here.

(Oh, and just in case you didn't already see it on the CBC News site, check out the Video and Audio Highlights on the CBC North website for the video version of the story.)

One more for good measure...

While my application video for Tourism Queenslands "Best Job in the World" was eye catching and entertaining and demonstrated my adventurousness and love of the outdoors, it didn't demonstrate that I could actually speak.  It demonstrated that I could squeal, yes, but not that I could speak.

Just to be on the safe side, I decided to submit a video proving that I can help Tourism Queensland show the world what the Islands of the Great Barrier Reef have to offer.  You can view the newest application video here. (Five stars!)

That video is, of course, a teaser for the full video my family's visit to UNCOMMON JOURNEYS where we went dog sledding.  In case you missed the howling good time we had, here it is again:

Doesn't that just make you want to go dogsledding?  Now imagine what I could do for the Islands of the Great Barrier reef!

Papers! Papers please!

I imagine you're getting tired of the constant announcements on Michael's Meanderings about the great publicity that the hireMICHAELforHamiltonIsland.com campaign has been getting for Tourism Queensland.  I mean, it has been featured on the Internet, local and national radio, local and national television and now, at long last, a newspaper.

Today's Whitehorse Star had a half-page article on my application and "The Best Job on Earth".  You can read a printable version of the article online.

There are only ten days left for people to submit an application for the Island Caretaker job.  Well over 10,000 videos have been submitted, but not all of them are "tasteful enough" to be put on the site.  I wonder who has the pleasant job of screening them.  I also wonder when someone will make a bundle of money producing a "Wild and Naughty Australian Job Applicants" compilation video...

Snorkeling in support of hireMICHAELforHamiltonIsland.com

Clare, over at The House & Other Arctic Musings, has been a great supporter of the hireMICHAELforHamiltonIsland.com campaign. He even tried to go for a snorkel in Arctic Bay, Nunavut. He wasn't successful, but at least he was able to record the phone call he made to me during his attempt.

Poor guy. He looks so lost out there with his mask and fins. I bet everyone in Arctic Bay thought he had gone off his rocker.



As a former RCMP officer, Clare has experienced some strange and interesting things. If you ever want a great read, check out his "True Crime" stories at The House (scroll down to the bottom of the page and work your way up).

How awesome is this?!

My application for Tourism Queensland's "The Best Job in the World" has been featured on CBC Newsworld not once, but twice! You can view it on the cbcnews.ca website here.

Today's Newsworld segment is a slightly shortened version of the segment that appeared on CBC Northbeat last night, which I've also included here (though the quality on the cbcnews.ca site is much better, so watch that one.):



I still haven't seen the CBC Newsworld interview from Sunday. If anybody has a copy, please let me know!

The proof is in the pudding...

I was pretty happy with how the CBC Newsworld interview went, although I still haven't seen it. It's pretty fun to do an interview when the host is still laughing from watching the video.

I know the segment went to air because shortly afterwards I got a call from a woman asking me about Jade's special diet. She'd heard me mention it in the interview. Her niece's son has seizures and medications aren't working. After seeing the segment, she looked up my number and phoned, wanting to know more about how we're controlling Jade's seizures. Even if nothing else comes out of my campaign to get hired for Tourism Queensland's "Best Job in the World", if that little bit of information helps the kid, then it was all worthwhile.

So, why didn't I watch the segment when it was on?

I wanted to film another video to demonstrate to Tourism Queensland that I can show the world what the Islands of the Great Barrier Reef have to offer. The proof is in the pudding, as they say.

To make the video, Fawn, Jade, Halia, and I went to UNCOMMON JOURNEYS to meet the dogs and ride in a dogsled! FUN!

Here's the video. I love how one of the dogs plays camera hog. I also really like the sled ride segment at the end. I know Jade does too; she kept asking me to play it over and over and over again this morning. And again and again this evening.

Snorkeling in the Yukon

I just received a report from a fellow blogger that people are landing at her site after googling "snorkeling in the Yukon". I can't imagine why...

Have I unintentionally founded a new Yukon tourism sector?

Spotted in the UK...

The publicity being generated by the HireMICHAELforHamiltonIsland.com video has been astounding!

What's equally astounding is how many of you, my readers and supporters, have come forward with your own ideas to help with the campaign to get me hired for Tourism Queensland's "Best Job in the World".

Check out this picture, which was recently sent from a supporter in the UK...

Spotted in the UK...

OK, so the picture is a fake, but the support is real. Every day, I hear from people who are trying to rate the video, but are having troubles with the stars. Every day, I hear from people who are blogging about the campaign or who are passing the link to the video on to their friends and family. Every day, I hear from people with encouraging words like, "I hope you get this job" and "They're crazy if they don't hire you" and "Go for it!" Every day, I hear from people who have seen my campaign on the news or who have heard about it on the radio. Just the other day, I heard from a colleague whose friends in England told him about the HireMICHAELforHamiltonIsland.com campaign.

Lately, though, I've been hearing new things: I've heard comments from some people that they're planning on making their own youtube videos to support the HireMICHAELforHamiltonIsland.com campaign and I've even heard whisperings about public support rallies if I make it to the Top 50.

I've set out to do something daunting. To be the one person selected from 10,000 other eager applicants is no small feat. Your support and your encouragement and your enthusiasm is what's going to make this happen.

You guys are the best.

Mo' Media!

I received several reports this morning that the HireMICHAELforHamiltonIsland.com video was on Canada AM!  I didn't see it, but I'll try to track it down.

If you missed last night's "As it Happens" interview, don't fret. You can listen to Part 1 of the show here.  My interview with Carol Off starts eighteen-and-a-half minutes in.

But, wait!  There's more!

The camera crew for CBC Northbeat came to my house this morning for an interview. Those camera lights sure are bright!  The segment will air on Monday CBC Northbeat. If you don't have access to the CBC North channel on your television, you can watch the Northbeat broadcast online, live at 18:00 MST (20:00 EST).  If you miss that, there's still a window of opportunity.  You'll be able to watch the "latest show" on their site until Monday afternoon.

Also, I just received a call from CBC Newsworld. We're doing the interview tomorrow and the segment will air on their station throughout the day on Sunday.

Neat! I wonder if any Australian stations will latch onto this campaign..? You know, I'm getting pretty darned excited about the opportunity to represent Canada and the Yukon in Australia and about sharing my Queensland discoveries with the world!

Carol Off asks me about "shrinkage"...

I never expected her to go there. I really didn't.

You can listen to the interview tonight on "As it Happens". Tune your stereo to CBC Radio 1 or listen online, starting at 18:30 in Canada (19:00 NT). Barring unforeseen circumstances, the segment should air at 18:45 (19:15 NT).

If you aren't able to listen tonight, don't fret; I'll post a link to the segment tomorrow.

Not-so-shocking never-before-released footage!

Just in case you had technical difficulties that prevented you from listening to the CBC North radio story from yesterday, I slapped together a little youtube video with never before released footage of me getting out of the water! 

"Oh, look.  He's getting out of the water.  Now he's taking off his fins.  Now he's drying off.  This is more action-packed than the Yule Log!"

What I heard on CBC Radio this morning...

Fairy tales do come true...

It might happen. It just might happen.  For real.

How do I know? The HireMICHAELforHamiltonIsland.com campaign just got picked up by CNBC.

HireMICHAELforHamiltonIsland.com IS NOW ON FACEBOOK!

Are you a fan of Michael's Meanderings?

Are you looking for an easy way to share his spectacular "Best Job in the World" video application with all of your friends and family?

Then the HireMICHAELforHamiltonIsland.com facebook group is the tool for you!

"Into the Wired"

Yukon writer Mark Koepke contacted me shortly before the snow started flying. He was writing an article about Yukon bloggers for his Yukonography column in the November/December issue of Above & Beyond Magazine.  He wanted to interview me.

Oh, and there would be a photo shoot.

The interview was great.  I relaxed in a chair while he asked me questions that I actually had answers for.

The photo shoot involved sitting in the drizzling rain one evening, pretending to type on a stone-aged Mac, while photographer Jesse Devost composed a masterpiece.  As an amateur (very amateur) model, Jesse made me feel so comfortable, and I really think the picture is great. He did an excellent job bringing out the largeness of my feet.

You can see the picture and read the PDF version of the article here.

The making of a "Best Job in the World" application video...

If you haven't seen the video yet, you can watch it here.

Wearing flippers while running on snow is not easy. The flippers do not work like snowshoes.

Running in snow with fins: not recommended.

But maybe I'm getting ahead of myself.

I knew I was going to apply for "The Best Job in the World", but wasn't sure what my application video was going to be about. How does one communicate that they're adventurous, entertaining and love outdoor activities in less than sixty seconds? I watched a few videos on the site and most of them were of people communicating their adventurousness, entertainment value and love of the outdoors by sitting there and talking about it. Yee-haw! Most of the Canadians and (Northern) Americans were doing it by sitting in their backyards in their bathing suits. Yee-haw! It got old pretty fast.

I needed to do something different. I needed to communicate everything I wanted to communicate and I needed to make it stand out.

The Inspiration
When I was a kid, growing up in Regina, Saskatchewan, my family would head out to Wascana Lake on the weekends for some ice skating. One cold, cold day, I watched a bunch of crazy adults go running into a section of the lake from which the ice had been cut, swim around for a bit, and then run back out to a heated tent. They were whooping and hollering and the onlookers were cheering and there were smiling faces all around. Some of the smiles were chattering ones, sure, but everyone was smiling.

Of course I had to try it. Just not in Wascana Lake. It's filthy.


Getting Ready to Shoot
Armed with my inspiration and the shots I wanted already planned in my head, I started preparing for the shoot.

As you might imagine, going swimming in a frozen lake is not easy. Not because of the cold water, necessarily, but because of the frozen water. With three feet of ice sitting on the lake, it was going to take some work to get at the water.

I started recruiting volunteers. Dennis at FishonYukon.com loaned me an ice chisel and an auger. My neighbour, Cathy, loaned us her chainsaw. Another neighbour, Atlatl Mike, volunteered his time.

To make sure that we didn't do any damage to the lake while cutting the ice, Atlatl Mike removed all of the chain oil from the chainsaw and replaced it with corn oil. Ryan from down the road offered to ride his snowmachine out and help with the difficult job of hauling ice. In the end, he blew a belt on his snowmachine and couldn't join us.

Dark and early, Atlatl Mike and I drove up to Fish Lake. We needed to work quickly for the shot I wanted. The sun was rising over the mountains and we had to film before the sun started shining behind me, ruining the shot.

Fortunately, we were in luck! There was open water where the lake flows into a creek, and the ice surrounding the open water was thick enough to walk on.

Open water.

Outflow

Preparing the Site
Before driving up to the lake, I had run through every "what could go wrong" scenario I could think of and had prepared for each one. Safety throw ropes with lifejackets attached? Check. Rescue poles? Check. Blankets and a heating pack? Check. Phone? Check. Car key on the car's drivers seat, ready for an emergency? Check. Safety crew trained and ready? Check.

All of the safety gear was set up and ready for action. Now all we had to do was clear some ice and snow so I could get out of the water easily and safely.

Atlatl Mike clears a path to the water.

Atlatl Mike breaks some ice away so I can climb out of the water more easily.

After the egress route had been cleared, I set the camera up on a small tripod and framed the shot. I showed Atlatl Mike how to start the camera and let him know that he shouldn't move even a little bit while the camera was running or the sound of his boots crunching on the snow could ruin the whole shot. There would be no second takes.

With the site prepared and the camera ready, the time for snorkeling had arrived.

Second Thoughts

Recording my last will and testament...

...while standing thigh-deep in snow.

As I walked out onto the ice, I was surprised to realize that I wasn't having any second thoughts. As I stripped down to my bathing suit, it dawned on me that I had made a firm decision to do this the night before - and that I was more committed to doing it than anything I've ever committed to doing in my entire life.

I was committed. I was confident.

I was crazy.

The Swim
I was crazy to think that I could run through snow with flippers on my feet.

I stood there, staring at the open water, mentally visualizing what was to come. "Get in and get out," I kept telling myself, "Get in and get out."

Atlatl Mike started the camera and I stood there in my bathing suit and snorkeling gear, counting off the time needed for the scenic opening shot before I made my grand entrance.

Eighteen.

Nineteen.

Twenty.

Go!

I lunged forward, ready to run gracefully through the snow before taking a giant leap and making a spectacular cannonball dive into the water.

Instead, I tripped on my flipper.

"Get in. Get out," I was still telling myself, "Get in. Get out."

I lurched back up and started running for the water again.

"Get in. Get out. Get in. Get out."

Just as I was about to take the leap for my spectacular cannonball dive, my fin caught the snow again and I went down, hands resting on an icy ledge under the water.

"Get in. Get out. Get in. Get out."

I decided to go with it and let my momentum carry me into the frigid water.

A few people have asked me if I was using special effects to make my video. I assure you...

... I was not.

Cold Water Submersion
I was expecting the gasp reflex: an involuntary intake of of air or water due to cold water submersion. The gasp reflex never came.

Instead, the first thought that floated through my mind when I was fully submersed was, "This isn't anywhere near as bad as I was expecting!"

I was expecting sudden, shocking, debilitating cold. I was expecting a massive cold-induced headache from abruptly-chilled blood flooding my brain. I was expecting sudden and excruciating shrinkage.

Maybe my cold-receptor nerves were overloaded to the point where they became non-functioning, or maybe my adrenaline was flowing a mile-a-minute, but I didn't feel any coldness at all.

"Get in. Get out. Get out. Get out."

I swam right for shore, forgetting all about the underwater camera that was attached to my wrist.

Swimming right for shore.

Back on Dry, Snowy Land
As quickly as I was in the water, I was out of it. The exit route worked well, with one small exception.

Stepping out of the lake, one flipper at a...

...hey! Where did my other fin go?

One of my fins had fallen off and was drifting towards the lake outlet. It was more important that I get dry and stay warm, so I started to remove the rest of my snorkeling gear.

Removing the remaining fin.

Turning off the underwater camera.

As you can see, not only am I adventurous, I'm highly intelligent, which explains why I removed my water shoes before I removed my mask and snorkel. Yes, there's nothing quite like standing barefooted on the snow.

Years ago, I figured out that my underwear needs to go on before my pants, but I'm still having trouble figuring this one out.

Atlatl Mike went to retrieve my wayward fin while I told him about the swim. The breeze felt warm on my back as I toweled off. I looked around at the beautiful colours in the sky and on the mountains. I wasn't in a hurry anymore. I could relax and take it all in. It felt great.

I felt great.

Enjoying the scenery.

POP QUIZ: What am I doing?
a) Watching water droplets freeze to my skin?
b) Checking out how buff I am?
c) Seeing how much my nipples have shrunk?

Post Production
The first time I watched it, I was disappointed with the footage.

I fell! Twice!

The underwater camera lens was covered in snow from the fall! I forgot to hold it steady in front of me! The footage is nearly impossible to watch!

It was too short! I wasn't in the water long enough! I didn't get enough footage!

Then I started editing it. You know how, sometimes, things don't go according to plan? How the "what you got" seems to pale in comparison to the "what you wanted"?

Well, sometimes, if you're willing to look for the merits in the "what ya got" instead of brooding on the "what you didn't get", you'll find that "what ya got" is even better than the "what ya wanted".

Things don't always go according to plan. Sometimes they go better.

I showed the video to my wife. She started laughing. I started editing it some more and showed it to a few other people. They started laughing.

Yeah, so I didn't get the footage exactly the way I wanted. Yeah, so I tripped. Twice. It made people laugh! My pride's not so strong-tasting that I can't swallow it on occasion.

I hope you enjoyed the video as much as I enjoyed making it. If you'd like to see more, remember to watch the video here and then rate it. Maybe the next one will be filmed in Australia!

My "Best Job in the World" Application Video!

After a suspenseful wait, it's up! My "Best Job in the World" application video is finally up!

I know exactly what you'll be thinking when you watch this video. You'll be thinking, "What style! What grace! What the heck?! Give this guy the job!"

You can watch the video by clicking here: Meandering Michael's Best Job in the World Application Video"