Amsterdam fun

Well this city is pretty interesting. It's been a bit of an adventure trying to get around and all that jazz.

I am really enjoying it but i forgot my upl;in cable so i won't be able to post any pics till I get back unfortunately.

Anyways i am safe and sound in amsterdam and really enjoying the city. I haven't taken enough pictures yet,. but it's raining which means it's a bit more difficult.

I will probably post more from Paris.

A bientot!

Adventure time

So i leave in about 7 hours for my first trip ever to the continent of europe. Am I excited, you bet I am.

It's been kind of a whirlwind last couple of days i had a party of sorts before i left and ended up hungover. I haven't been hunover in quite some time. It was not fun. Puked that night, puked the next morning and after i attempted to eat something later in the day puked again. Thank god i was smart enough to leave one day for me to recover before i leave.

I will try and psot here once or twice during my trip but it depends if internet is easily accessible and cheap. It shouldn't be too bad.

Wish me luck

Travelling fun

My girlfriend bought her ticket to Australia to come visit me. I am super duper excited. It should be a lot of fun. Her ticket even cost less than mine which was a relief. Thank god for seat sales!!

I am also leaving in less than a week for my first real trip on my own to Europe. I am quite excited, but i don't really know what to expect. I will be travelling alone which should be interesting, it'll definately be an experience. I'll be hostelling it up so hopefully i'll be able to meet a ton of people and have some good experiences.

I'm a pretty conservative guy so i don't expect too much out of the box to happen. I hope to get to versailles, the palace of the french court, and see some of the sights in Barcelona. I expect a lot of my trip will consist of walking around and marvelling at different sites. I hope to learn something about myself.

It seems like this is something that the few friends i know that travelled have really learned about themselves. Hopefully that'll be a benefit on my travels too. I am bringing a journal with me that my gf bought so hopefully i'll be able to record my impressions and of course i have my new digital camera to take pcitures too

random musings

I had the chance to meet a friend i hadn't seen in a long time. Someone who went away not enjoying school and who has decided to return and finish her degree. She was almost serene and it was good.

It reminds me how much i have actually changed in the past 3 years. I realized after I left residence how many of the friendships and really experiences of my university years were tied only to residence, and how ephemeral some of the relationships i had in res turned out to be.

It was nice to see that my friend was doing well, she seemed really happy and really in a good situation and really committed to her studies.

I think if i had taken some time off after highschool i might have been better prepared for the rigours of university. i don't have any regrets about the way it worked out but i think it might've been easier.

There's so much pressure on students to start and go right away to university. I know i felt that pressure from my parents, but also from society in general. Of course it depends on what I had done with that year too.. Some people just piss the time away, and I could've done that. I think it really depends on the person

that's it for now.. another post tomorrow

Montreal

So I spent one day in Montreal, yesterday actually a little over 24 hours. I went to go visit my brother. He moved there last week.

It was interesting to see him being so independent (keep in mind he has never lived anywhere except at home) and i'm proud of him for what he has achieved so far, i just hope he can actually find a job. That's the key to him doing well in Montreal. He has all these ideas about how to spend money that he doesn't have.

His French isn't that great, so he'l have to work on that a bit if he really wants to go far. I couldn't get over how bilingual the city was. I know that there are french areas and english areas, but wow all the sales people spoke both. I tried to get in my little bits of french. My french is a lot better than it was before i had my bilingual job at the infocenter. I am really worried about keeping it up though.

One of the interesting comments I have heard for people though is that it's really tough to learn french when everybody around you CAN speak english, it's so easy to switch into what you're comfortable with.

Anyways my brother is doing fine and it was good to see him. There are some things I still don't agree with or understand about him, but hey thats life. I wish him all the best.

Conversations with friends 1

I had some interesting conversations tonight. I realized that when it comes to conversations I seem to have, they tend to be pretty argumentative with my friends. It's always fun and we debate all sorts of things but it seems like even when we agree we are being loud and not listening.

I also had a really good conversation with one of my newer friends and i think that it really solidifed the fact that our friendship will continue in the future. That's a second person i've lost to Alberta recently.

I have really been able to find some good people in my life that I can call my friends, and though some of us have drifted a bit I really think that I have a few good solid people I cna call my friends. That's something that should really be celebrated. I feel like sometimes I am not the best friend in the world, but i know that I would be at their side in a second should the need arise.

In other news...
I can feel the messiness of my room subsiding and its starting to look livable again. I also completed a 500 piece puzzle and I am now starting on some 1000 piece ones. I forgot how much I love doing them

Lazy Sundays

I havent had a weekend to myself for a while, and by that I mean one in which I can spend time with my girlfriend but also just lounge about and be lazy. It's very nice.

I am trying to get more organzied and I really hope that this time I can make progress. It seems to be a perennial goal with me, get more organized. I find moving time is a great time to get rid of stuff, and that is fully what I intend to do before I go to New Zealand. My problem is i'm a bit of a packrat. But i'm getting better, i honestly am, so that's good.

Other than cleaning up my room and trying to become more organized not much is new. I can't wait to have a normal schedule, but it doesn't look like it'll be happening anytime soon.

I just hope I can get a job when i come back and pay my living expenses this fall

This that these and those

I don't have that much to say except that I had a good time last night for my gf's roomate's bday.

Apparently my brother is now in Montreal and doing ok. I have to send him a copy of my resume so that he can build his own. I just hope he gets a job, that's my big worry now that he won't get a job.

I am glad he finally moved out though. I mean he is almost 21 years old and had never lived away from home. It's good, he now as no one to blame but himself for whatever happens in the future. I just hope he takes the opportunity and runs with it.

Other than that no news really.

A good conversation with an old friend is such a valuable thing

I talked last night to a friend last night and it really was good. I hadn't had anything but a brief MSN chat with her in the previous few months. I had been meaning to call her, but i had gotten distracted. So she phoned me, and it was great.

It's always nice to know that there are some people who even if i haven't seen them in a while, we can still share our experiences and enjoy each other's company.

I also think this has to be renewed over the phone or if possible in person. Talking over MSN only gives an incomplete picture of the person you're talking to. It really is worth it eveyr once in a while to chat over the phone, even if it is more expensive.

I have been in better contact with some of my older friends over the last couple of weeks and it's been a nice feeling. I just hope I can keep it up. I think i'm getting better and being in a relationship and maintaining contact with the outside world. It's definately hard at first.

My last day of work

Last night when I finished my shift, it was a bit sad. I have worked at the same place for 16 months. It's passed by so fast! Especially the last month. It really flew by.

I've enjoyed it very much, it was a great job, and i had really great people to work with. It was one of the first jobs I had worked regularly with people of my own age and that was one of the best parts.

It's time though to look towards the future, and it's going to be an interesting time in my life, with all the travelling and the chaos that that will bring. I am spending the next 3 weeks just taking a break. I plan to do some reading, some bike riding, some writing and I also plan to do some planning for my two trips.

I am heading to Europe in about 3 weeks and i'm super excited. I have a general agenda planned out, first to Amsterdam, then to Paris via Brussels to meet my uncle, then off to Barcelona for 5 days then back to Amsterdam.

I've got 2 weeks !

I leave on September 28th!

I miss the CBC especially on Sunday mornings

This is not to be a political blog, but I just have to say how much I wish the CBC strick was over and I could listen to intelligent radio again. Especially on sunday mornings when I am awake usually have no responsibilities and could just lie in bed and listen.

This is my second last day at work, and I am a little sad to be leaving. I am ready to move though, and I think it'll be great to spend a few weeks lounging around before I leave for Europe.

I just hope finding a job isn't a hassle, though in the end I won't be a popular guy with management because I have to quit right before the busy christmas season. It's mostly a money reason, I need to make enough money to support myself over the October, November, December period. It shouldn't be too bad, and even if I don't get a job I won't starve.

I am really looking forward to living with my new/old roomate. He is moving back after taking last year off before starting grad school. I really think it'll be good to have him back around. He's a great guy, and everyone in the house is really glad to have him around. He's also starting a project to do more with our basement, and set it up really nice.