For those who don’t know, from the 5th thru the 12th of April, I was up in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. 12 hours each direction of flying, and let me tell you that’s a story that’ll be covered later on in this post, but never the less… you really get an appreciation for the length of the travel when you hear it in terms of hours in flight. My trip over there was quite relaxing, on my hop from Portland, Oregon to Toronto, Ontario, Canada the plane was even only about half full! So we had plenty of room to stretch out and actually enjoy the flight instead of being all cramped up. Quite enjoyable, and make the trip seem less painful as I plugged in my laptop and enjoyed a movie and working on a couple projects.

Then I landed in Halifax at about 10:30pm local time. As per norm for me travelling, I hadn’t slept the night before, so I had been up for going on 40 hours at this point. But I was alive, I was enjoying it, and I was happy to be there. Erin, whom I had gone on the visit to see, was there to meet me, and we used a transport service called Driver Daves, which if you’re ever in the Halifax area and need a ride to and from the Airport? I highly recommend! We gathered my luggage and set off for her place. Getting back to her place about 11:30pm, my travel had finally come to an end. It was so nice to just be able to stretch… ugh, finally.

Over the next couple days, we explored Halifax, and I got to witness first hand this city I had been hearing about for over 2 years. My only regret? That I didn’t stop to take more photos. But I’ll admit I was completely unprepared for the wind portion of the weather there and as such it was rather nippy you might say. It still surprises me as I think back on it how much the area reminded me of a smaller version of the Seattle area I grew up in. Nice people, culturally diverse, wonderful food, wonderful atmosphere, just all around good times.

Over the weekend, we took the 4 hour drive north to Prince Edward Island (PEI) and visited her parents for a night. PEI has a remarkably small population for a province, only something like 130,000 people live there, and as you’re driving from the Confederation Bridge across to Charlottetown you really get an appreciation for all the farm land that exists out there. Then we arrived… and it was almost immediately obvious I was in for a bit of a surprise. (Granted, I knew it was happening, but I had no idea to the extent) I was flat out shocked at the sheer amount of amazing food they decided to make. I could instantly tell it was something her parents enjoyed doing, and I felt honoured and humbled by the entire experience. Not exactly something that happens a lot to me.

It was on the way back from PEI that I had what I’d consider a moment of clarity. Ever have one? Where everything in your world just feels right, everything is going according how you’d think, and you just know? Yea, had one of those…

Needless to say, the end result is, Erin and I are now engaged.

I’m working on getting everything in order to move up (or down as the case may be) to Halifax. I’m working on getting everything locally in order, and I’m going to be leaving Northern Idaho. It’s a big move, and it won’t be without bumps, but it’s something that feels right, and it’s something that I want to do. So here’s to it.

And you know? There was more I was going to say, but that feels like a pretty good place to close this post, and I’ll save that for another one. So in closing, here’s a couple pictures that I took while on the trip. Enjoy.

Идея за подарък

For those who haven’t heard, I’m in the process of moving across the continent, to Canada, to start my life a new. It came out of nowhere, and it’s an opportunity I’d be a complete fool to pass up. I won’t make that mistake again, I’m grabbing life by the horns, and doing this. Tickets are purchased, I’ll be flying out for a visit in the beginning of April, and then attempting to make the move sometime there after. I can honestly say I’ve never wanted anything more in my life. It excites me, fills me with energy, and gives me reason to fight thru each day with a smile on my face and a passion in my soul.

While I’m there, you can be sure this site will be filled with photos, experiences, and memories I wish to share with the public. My Canon PowerShot SX20 IS will be taking the trek with me, and I’ll be snapping many many pictures of the new area. It’ll be my first venture living outside the northwest, and I look forward to the different experiences it will bring me. Moreover, since I’ll be moving out of the country, it’ll be even more entertaining, let me tell you what… the process of immigrating is not one I wish on anyone. E-gads.

I guess I’m writing this to catch up, to say yes, I’m alive and well now. I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about this, thinking about what might happen, and I’m ready for it. There’s more to tell, so much more, but for now I’d like to close this one, and save those stories for another day.

My inner muse has returned in part, so you should be seeing more frequent updates from me on this site. I hope everyone is well, and if you want to, drop a line in the comments! I’d love to hear from ya’ll.

Til then.

As a society, we spend too much time running around, not taking time to treasure the moments that allow us to just enjoy the moment for what it is and not worry about what the next will bring. I urge you, take the time this week to just sit down and enjoy a moment. You’ll thank yourself. Hell, grab a friend, and go get your Buy 1 Get 1 Free deal from Starbucks this weekend on their holiday drinks.

In other news, I learned a couple of things… Evidently the gas gauge in my car is off a bit, and I let it get a bit low. Mental note to self: Quarter of a tank == refill. Car wouldn’t start this morning. Oh well, I’m sure it’s happened to more people than just me.

I also learned of this amazing website… Simply entitled: youparklikeanasshole.com. I’m gonna print out a few of these and see how many I can get away with posting on people’s vehicles. Cause damn… I don’t know about where you live, but up here a lot of red-necks with their F-350s that don’t seem to understand there are white lines that separate parking spots. Who knows, maybe they’ll listen, maybe they’ll get offended, but either way, I’ll feel like I’m doing my Boy Scout “Good deed daily” by letting them know they’re being an asshole.

At any rate, today has been a good day thus far, lets hope for many more in the future. I hope everyone out there is ramping up for a great holiday season, and I’ll definitely be posting more as it goes along. I’ve got a lot on my mind.

Til then.

I’ve had a lot of thoughts running thru my head lately, some good, some not so much, but all growing so I can’t really complain. It’s lead to some interesting conversations, especially with my question posted on Facebook of “what is your biggest fear?”. What’s mine? Dying alone. The idea literally scares me out of my mind, and I don’t quite know why. Maybe posting this will help me figure out why, and if nothing else, it’ll get it out in the open and down on paper, which typically allows me to stop thinking about it non-stop.

In personal news, I’m on the job hunt, and I’m redoing my vCard website. It’s giving me a chance to update my résumé, play around with CSS3, and keep fresh on the details I so very much pride myself on knowing. I’ve found like riding a bike, I never really forget the skills, I just also must admit I still can’t draw worth anything! Good thing I’ve got my camera right? Otherwise I’d never have any source images for anything I want to do! Funny when I think back that in college someone was trying to get me to be a 3D modeller for their start-up business. Oh well, I digress.

I hope this post finds everyone out there well, and if we haven’t spoken in a while, drop me a line! I’d love to hear from you. I’m rebuilding my contact list anyway, and to be entirely honest, I’d like to know how folks are doing and catch up. So hit me up.

Secondly my websites, peoii.com is still going to remain my official blog, but my other domains (most of which I’m certain not as many know about) are going to undergo some re-defining as to their purpose.

Peoii.com — My main blog, where content shall remain unfiltered. If I need to rant something off, this is where it’ll happen. More frequently, this I promise to myself. I need that outlet in order to resolve things, so here’s where it shall be.

Anpobal.com — I’m working towards a more healthy me, so I’m going to start publishing dishes I’m trying, recipes I’m creating, and a specific focus on the newer healthier me tips that might help others.

JamieHarrell.com — Yes, I actually own it, and now it’s just a quick portal for myself that I made. It’ll continue in that same light, but I want to completely modernize the appearance and jazz it up. Suggestions are completely welcome to this end!

Photos — I’m going to set up a photo blog for myself, I just need to narrow down which platform I want to use. There are quite a few options, and unlike services like Flickr, I really want that security to know that my photos remain mine. Plus, I pay for web space, why should I pay them too?

Facebook — My “a sides” as it were, not fully formed thoughts, just ramblings/etc. More private audience, and if you haven’t befriended me there, by all means send me an invite. It’s filtered, but only just.

Twitter — My twitter account is likely going to be subject to simply a placeholder whereby my activities on all my websites will be syndicated.

To that end, it’s quite a task, centralizing everything and making it flow properly from site to site. Likely you’ll see massive changes on all fronts, but in the end, it’s the goal I’m after anyway.

There are many more changes in the works, but these are the beginning stones to me. I’m anxious to see what this may provide, and how it may change me. It’s been needed for a while, and I’m writing it here as a commitment to myself to get it done. Here’s to the beginning.

1. I have a vision, I know exactly what I want to see from the site, and I know how to accomplish that. Ironically, a lot of things I want are part of the new default theme coming with WordPress 3.0. So I’m going to hold out for that, and modify the theme accordingly.
2. I won a digital camera… something I’ve wanted for a long while, and that’s going to allow me to get the vision I want for the website done properly.

I’m personally very anxious to play around with the camera, and I just got the UPS tracking information for it today. So yea… look for new stuff coming soon!

When I originally launched this site the upkeep was insane. Everything was hand written, but I loved the look and feel I had developed for the page layout. Problem was, my tastes change a lot when it comes to design, and I found myself spending more time on maintenance than actually posting content. Lately, I’ve been slacking on content because the presentation isn’t where I want it to be. So it’s time to fix that, it’s time to get back to my roots, while still being able to allow WordPress to do it’s job and handle all the backend code that I’d honestly rather not deal with on this project.

So hopefully you’ll be seeing a change again by Thursday, and if nothing else, I’ll post some screenshots of the work in progress. (Even though my visit count has gone down recently due to lack of updates, I still can’t launch an at least mostly complete theme)

Until then.

Why am I saying this? For the first time in my whole life, I know exactly what I want. I thought I had before, I thought I had found my way, but now? Right this instant as I’m typing this? I know without question, reserve, or mystery. What I am feeling right now is the most pure feeling I’ve ever had in my whole life, and I can’t describe how much I enjoy it.

I want to ride that rollercoaster, cherish in the high points, sail thru the low points, and experience every moment inbetween. More importantly? I know I want to share that journey. Most importantly? I know with who.

I woke up this morning with a smile on my face, after a day yesterday where I hit a low point. For those who know me, it tears me up inside to know I hurt someone… and yesterday? I did, and it killed me. A low point in the rollercoaster indeed. I couldn’t sleep for crap, it kept me up thinking, wondering, hoping for better… Then I finally crashed from exhaustion, woke up, and suddenly… I knew. I knew it was a new day, new hopes, new dreams, renewed faith, and I smiled.

Here is to a brighter tomorrow, cause we’ve got a long climb to the next peak.

That said, if you have a Wave account, feel free to add me:
j…@g…e.com

Also, as a Wave user, I’ve got 20 invites available. I’m reserving about 5 of those for special individuals, but the other 15 are up for grabs. Either shoot me a wave (lolol, email), IM me, contact me somehow, and let me know your email address you’d like the invite sent to. They’re not an immediate send, as Google quotes “Invitations will not be sent immediately. We have a lot of stamps to lick.” But you’ll get it fairly promptly if I’m not mistaken.

So yea, if you’d like one, contact me, and I’ll be posting my feedback on this wonderful tool soon hopefully.

That said, I’m hoping it doesn’t start freezing the ground soon, cause I’d like to actually get a couple things moved around before the big deep freeze. After years up here, it still surprises me how much longer it seems to take to get things done thru the winter months. And I was honestly not expecting this near this quickly, so time to beat feet.

Otherwise, I’m alright, calm quiet days have given me a chance for reflection, to continue the process that has been the slogan for this website for years now. To Rediscover myself, one post at a time. That in of itself is more a help than I could have potentially thought. I’m almost where I need to be, and that’s got me feeling pretty darn good.

Well, I’d write more, but I’ve got a couple other projects that need to get done, so I’m gonna get to them! More soonish!