• Bicycle around Angkor Wat: Cambodia

    Bicycle around Angkor Wat: Cambodia

    The world is full of awesome things to see. But oftentimes, how you see something matters just as much as what you see. This week’s Blue Marble Badge of Awesome goes to Jon Chilton, for sharing his bicycling experience around temples in Cambodia.

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  • Shoot Blow Darts in Japan

    Shoot Blow Darts in Japan

    As the Baby Boomer generation gets older, more and more attention is being paid to “senior-friendly” activities. Your mind may automatically go to things like Bridge, shuffleboard or knitting (or Guerrilla Knitting if you’re super cool). But a rather unconventional activity is picking up steam in Japan: blow darting.

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  • Play Dodgeball World Domination

    My brother Dan introduced me to a great variation of classic Dodgeball. Here he is to explain: “At the school where I teach, students are in charge of organizing and running intramural activities this year. They have started with an old-school favourite: Dodgeball. However, they have introduced numerous variations on the game to keep the…

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  • Do a Photo Scavenger Hunt

    Photo scavenger hunts are a great, low-impact, low-cost alternative to the classic “find and collect” game. Whether you’re looking for a fun activity for your corporate event or just want something to do with your buddies on a Saturday afternoon, a photo scavenger hunt is a quick and easy thing to whip together. As the…

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  • Donate Blood

    Donate Blood

    One of the most awesome, simple and selfless ways you can help somebody is by being a blood donor. In 2008, at age 27, I was diagnosed with Chronic Mylogenous Leukemia. The doctors gave me 40-50% of surviving. Despite the odds, my doctors and I were determined to do everything in our power to beat…

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  • Go on a Retreat: Washington meets WiFi in Virginia, USA

    Go on a Retreat: Washington meets WiFi in Virginia, USA

    I think some people thought me strange to drive 9 hours to spend a week in Winchester, Virginia on a “writing retreat.” After all, I work from home. Couldn’t I get the same work done there? Maybe. But I feel there are many advantages to getting away from your daily routine and surroundings. Virginia proved…

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  • Remember: Wartime letters from my Grandpa

    Remember: Wartime letters from my Grandpa

    Remembrance Day is November 11 – a time for us to reflect on our freedom and honour the brave men and women who served (and continue to serve) our country in both times of war and peace.

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  • Assemble a Book of Encouragement

    Assemble a Book of Encouragement

    A couple weeks ago I wrote about the birthday “human art show” my friends and family performed for me while I was in the hospital undergoing chemotherapy treatment. Another uplifting and awesome thing they pulled together was a “book of encouragement.”

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  • Host a recipe swap night

    Here’s a simple idea that’s both a fun social activity as well as a way of beefing up your personal cookbook (or vegging it up as the case may be). Throw a Recipe Swap party. The rules are simple: Bingo-bango-bongo, you’ve got 10 new recipes in your playbook. If you want, you can also choose…

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  • Sandboard the Dunes: Peru, New Zealand, Namibia and more

    Sandboard the Dunes: Peru, New Zealand, Namibia and more

    Growing up in Canada, tobogganing factored big in my childhood. Each winter the hills around Port Albert, Ontario became the grounds for epic battles with my siblings and cousins. I often felt bad that people living in warmer climates were missing out on this awesome activity. But then Ashraf Dean submitted this photo of him…

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  • Build a House: Volunteer with Habitat for Humanity

    Build a House: Volunteer with Habitat for Humanity

    I may have dropped my hammer off the roof five times, but even so, I had a great day recently volunteering on a Habitat for Humanity build. In addition to lending a hand for a great cause, it was great to just get out of the house and do something different.

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  • Work abroad

    Work abroad

    Working overseas has many advantages. It looks great on a résumé. It lets you really immerse yourself in the day-to-day life of another country and culture. It’s a great way to make overseas travel affordable. It gets you out of your comfort zone and helps you grow as a person. It broadens your perspective and…

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  • Perform a human art show

    Perform a human art show

    On October 15th I celebrated my 4-year bone marrow transplant anniversary. Or, “transplantiversary”, as my friend Tina calls it. Four years! Holy crap! In many ways it seems like yesterday I was undergoing treatment for leukemia. In other ways, it seems like a lifetime ago. Either way, I have to pinch myself sometimes to remind…

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  • Play Tri-Pong

    Rainy days are the mothers of invention. While visiting my friend Rob’s cottage, he taught us how to play a simple, yet exhausting version of ping pong. This is Tri-Pong. A big difference from your average ping pong game is that the players are working together, not against each other. Another big difference is that…

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  • Take a soak in the Banff Hot Springs, Alberta, Canada

    Take a soak in the Banff Hot Springs, Alberta, Canada

    I’ve never had much of a fashion sense. Most of my clothes are unfit for a blind hobo. Despite this complete ineptitude and disinterest in anything to do with fashion, I knew the moment I laid eyes on that old fashioned bathing suit in the display case at the Canadian Rockies Hot Springs in Alberta,…

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  • Yarnstorm the streets: Graffiti Knitting

    Yarnstorm the streets: Graffiti Knitting

    When I think of knitting, my 86-year-old grandma comes to mind. When I think of graffiti, an angry youth who wasn’t hugged enough as a child comes to mind. When I think of combining knitting and graffiti, my mind explodes from the ensuing awesomeness.

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  • Go Geocaching

    Ever wanted to be a pirate and search for buried treasure? Is your favourite part about Easter the egg hunt? Do you pride yourself in your ability to find lost car keys? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then geocaching just may be for you. I’ve wanted to go geocaching for years…

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  • Visit the Moeraki Boulders, New Zealand

    Visit the Moeraki Boulders, New Zealand

    Tina Coghlan submitted this photo into the “That’s Awesome” Photo Contest of the Moeraki Boulders in New Zealand. I thought they were so cool they deserved their own Badge of Awesome post.

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  • Host a pasta dinner fundraiser for your birthday

    Host a pasta dinner fundraiser for your birthday

    Last week I introduced you to Nicole Smith, who completed the Susan G. Komen 3-Day walk to end breast cancer. Well apparently the apple doesn’t fall too far the tree. Because this week’s Badge of Awesome goes to her son, Keagan, who recently celebrated his 10th birthday in a very awesome way.

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  • Play Spoons (with vigour)

    Spoons was a very popular card game in the Martin household growing up. I’ve played a few variations of it over the years but the general idea remains the same. Click here for the full rules. Some people play that when you get a set of four, you don’t actually yell out SPOONS! This adds…

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  • Have a beer at Oktoberfest, Germany

    Have a beer at Oktoberfest, Germany

    Prost. Schnitzel. Lederhosen. Oompah. Ziggy zaggy ziggy zaggy, oy oy oy. If these words confuse you, odds are you’ve never been to Oktoberfest. As a resident of the Kitchener-Waterloo area in Ontario for many years, I’ve attended my fair share of Oktoberfest events. If you do go, prepare to have your fill of sausage, sauerkraut,…

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  • Walk to end breast cancer: The Susan G. Komen 3-Day

    Walk to end breast cancer: The Susan G. Komen 3-Day

    Today’s post is dedicated to my friend and mentor, Myrta Rivera, who passed away of cancer earlier this week. One of the best people I’ve ever known. Cancer sucks. Fighting cancer is awesome. As a cancer survivor myself, I know all too well how important family, friends and community are to the journey. One of…

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  • Chase some cheese: Cooper’s Hill Cheese-Rolling, Gloucestershire England

    Chase some cheese: Cooper’s Hill Cheese-Rolling, Gloucestershire England

    I spent a lot of time this past summer watching the London 2012 Olympics on TV. And while England put on a good show, there’s one sport I was disappointed didn’t get any coverage at all. A sport from their own backyard no less: Cheese-rolling.

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  • Go WWOOF’ing: World Wide Opportunities On Organic Farms

    Go WWOOF’ing: World Wide Opportunities On Organic Farms

    A couple weeks ago I talked about my experience volunteering on a refugee camp in Ghana. Keeping up with the theme of volunteer travel, this week’s Buddha Belly Badge is all about WWOOF’ing. WWOOF stands for World Wide Opprtunities On Organic Farms. It pairs willing workers (affectionately known as WWOOFers) with organic farmers looking for…

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