A few days to go....

I am off to New Zealand in a few days.... I figured i better update one last time before I go. I leave on friday and I haven't really prepared. I have a few phone calls to make tomorrow to see a few people before I leave.

I was thinking today about how much I miss the atmosphere of school. I was thinking about all the books i want to read and how being a part of academia is really a supportive environment for thinking about the world.

I've had a few interesting conversations with my brother just about the academic world as he struggles to find the direction for his life.

I miss those kind of conversations already. For more than 2 years my roomates and I have debated all sorts of topics and it proved a fertile environment. Of course we never had statistics readily available, nor did we ever compromise our positions much, but the debates were fast and furious.

Back home on the prairies

Man I've been travelling so much back and forth between Ottawa and Regina lately. It feels weird to be home so shortly after i left it. It makes me realize how much Ottawa has truly become my home. Although there are many things I miss about living in Regina, it's a Regina that hasn't changed. That's part of the problem, Regina has moved on without me.

I'm not really worried about it though, i have also moved on past Regina. I don't have many people to visit here anymore and it feels a bit strange still coming home. Every time i came home over the past few years my mom has rearranged things and changed the house, painted this, got a new fridge etc etc.

I wonder what it'll be like in a few more years time. When i start bringing home a wife or kids. It'll be pretty interesting i guess. For now though I think it'll suffice to just enjoy myself here and see what the future brings. Once I leave for New Zealand, the next time I come here might not be for such a happy occasion.

Quick update

I have been doing some thinking lately about all sorts of things. I really think this period in one's life is really a hard one. So many things are going on at this time. SO many choices to be made.

Decisions about love and careers choices. Big important decisions.

It's really tough to know if you've made the right decisions. It is kind of a funny question to ask at times. Who even knows what the right decision is.You also have to compromise too

It's hard for me because there are so many diverse interests i have. I read about energy policy and all the exciting stuff going on in the thinking there, and i want to become an energy analyst. I read abut canadian trade policy and i want to do an MA in that subject. I look at a prospectus for an MA program and i get excited to do that.

I'm starting to wonder if i shouldn't just pick something an run with it.

I'm in the nations capital once again

I am back! It feels good but also kind of strange. It turns out that there are going to be some major changes in this house, my leaving being one of them.

I am moving out of this house over the next 6 weeks.

6 weeks


That is nuts. I will be moving out the place that i have called home for over 2 years. Since I left home, this has been the place I have stayed the longest. This is where i met my girlfriend, and this is where i finished university.

It's going to be strange adjusting to that, especially leaving my roomates and friends who I have lived with over the past few years.

I am looking forward to moving on with my life though, and my trip to New Zealand (and australia) is really a big part of that I think. It will be my post-university experience, 3 months in another part of the world. It isn't the 1 year trip I had planned, but i think it will be long enough.

I learned a lot baout myself in just the 2 weeks i spent travelling alone in Europe, this will be a bit different, but i hope to really make the most of my time there.

Hopefully i'll have a bit better idea of where i am heading and what my plans are, but if not it will still be worth it. This relates a little bit to the site of this blog, "half-kiwi" I am indeed half-kiwi, my mom is from New Zealand. This is nice for this trip because I have citizenship which makes it a bit easier to travel, but it also means I will be discovering a part of my heritage.

Last week at home

Well I am still at home, reporting from Regina, Saskatchewan..

Just went bowling with a friend from high school, it was fun, but I can feel the distance growing between us.

Oh well, it's interesting anyways to see what he is up to and who he's heard from among our mutual friends.

It has become a bit strained but it's pretty interesting anyways to see how he is doing and to catch up a bit. The problem is now that it's moved into the stage`where it's mostly about the past and no longer looking towards the future.

It's kind of strange how that happens, how one day you start talking only about the past and who you used to know and what they're doing now. It happened quickly with some high school friends, but now it's move to the point where it really has become the majority of the people i knew before high school.

Still home

I am still home.. My dad is doing better, in fact he came home tonight for the first time since being in the hospital..

I am doing ok, but it is pretty boring here...

Not much to report

Off again

Wow I leave tomorrow morning. I will have been home for just over 24 hours.

It's been a bit of a whirlwind tour here. It seems so stranger to be leaving so quickly after getting back.

I enjoyed my trip but i enjoyed getting home even more. My girlfriend was there to meet me which was fantastic. The guy at gave me a bit of quizzical look as i told him I took no checked luggage. It's definately the way to travel. I hope to travel like that more often.

I just realized how badly i need pants, and to make some money. I hope I can work in New Zealand/Australia because seeing as i'll be back and forth so much over the next little while i doubt i can find a job.

I'm thinking more and more i might try and spend a month in Sydney, Australia and get an apartment and find a job for a month. It could be fun..

Plus after my Europe experience I think it'd be good to really get rooted in a place and just relax. Travelling every other day doesn't really let you see much.

Coming home

Yeah i am leaving Europe today, but i am also going home back to the prairies soon, in fact I have one day between my arrival home and my trip back to my parent's home.

My dad is sick, and is in hospital, he's been sick for a while, he has some kind of inoperable cancer, and hasn't been doing too well. So of course I am heading home.

I just got news today that my dad is doing better so thats a positive sign. I'm looking forward to spending some time at home, helping out where I can and we'll see what happens...

Barcelona!

Hey, i am in barcelona and enjoying myself. The hostel i am in is pretty fun, and i´ve met a few people already which is nice. Getting out of paris wasn´t hard it jsut involved me sitting in a train station for 4 hours because everything i wanted to see was closed due to a general strike. I was glad my uncle got out the day before because the airport was just chaos. Oh well my first general strike i guess.

Other than things are good, though it´s proving a bit difficult to wait until dinner time here, which is very late. I am very hungry, not having easten much all day...

Until next time..

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.

First Post

This is not my first online journal. However it's been almost 5 years since I started the last one and I wanted to start over. I also want this one to better reflect the changes that have occured in me over the last 5 years.

A lot of things have changed, I live in a new city, I just graduated from university, i have a steady girlfriend. Things have even changed from where I was a year ago, still in school, and single.

This really a period in life when I think there are a lot of changes going on for most people. Trying to get established in whatever field they choose, making decisions that likely could affect the rest of their life.

I am writing this blog in part because I will be doing a lot of travelling in the next while and I want to be able to post pictures ( taken with my new digital camera) and share my adventures.