hazel llanes

That up there is my dad looking mighty dapper during his visit to Pittsburg, Pennsylvania in the 80’s. As a young mechanical engineer he got to travel to a bunch of places around Japan and the US, often bringing cool toys home for us.

In 1999, he sacrificed his successful job and left his close friends and family in order to fly us over to Canada. For the first few years we were here, the only work available to him was janitorial jobs. One time, I asked him why we moved to Canada and he replied that it was so that we could have a better future.

My dad is a quiet man. But he is the most intelligent, selfless, patient, hardworking, and funny person I know. He expresses his love by working himself to exhaustion. I owe him so much.

Thanks for my life—past, present, and future, Dad.