Trip to Halifax
I know it’s been a while since I posted, but I’ve been insanely busy, so my apologies for that. Moreover, I wanted to take the time to write this up all proper and stuff, cause it’s got some pretty huge news in it, and for that it’s worth every moment I’ve taken to write this up properly.
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.
2011
Anxious is an Understatement
I don’t know how to put this best… I haven’t been this excited for something in a very long time. If you look to your right, you’ll see a countdown clock that is counting down the time remaining until my trip to Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. I must check that clock 10 times a day, and every time I get more and more exited for the future.
I’ve spent some time doing some light reading up on the area, and it’s remarkably similar to the area I grew up in for being over 3200 miles away (~5400 km, for those in metric! Oh yea, learning that conversion in my head quickly too). Surrounded by water, city on a hill, only real thing missing is the amazing mountain shots. But by the same token, Halifax has a music and food culture that I’d just about kill for. You don’t realize how little you have around you, until you really take a look at somewhere else. Maybe it’s the fact that Idaho has almost nothing in comparison, maybe it’s that I just need a change of pace, or maybe there’s something I haven’t quite said here yet that is really driving me. Odds are really good it’s the last one, but that’s a story for another post now isn’t it?
At any rate, April 5th I leave for Halifax, and return about a week later. After that? Who knows now, but things are looking good, and I’m super excited for this trip. March is going to be a very long month indeed, any suggestions for speeding it up a bit?
In closing, I want to point out to everyone something that was linked by my friend Andy on his Facebook account. In this article by the Huffington Post there is an amazing video showcasing some of the beautiful things that make the Seattle area so incredibly special. I urge everyone to go check it out, and see just how wonderful an area most of the people who know me grew up in. I was so taken back by the music in the piece, that I went in search of a full copy, and Erin actually found the link I’m about to share. Enjoy some just damn good music.
Mat Kearney — City of Black and White
Til later.
2011
Life Changes
Life has a funny way of taking you by storm. It surprises you, it shocks you, and it makes you remember that there’s something very powerful worth living for. Life is good, it’s looking up from where I was for a while, and I’m full of hope and desire. For a while, I haven’t been in a good place… it sucks to admit, but it’s the truth. I was a down person, alone, quietly making my way thru existence wondering what actually lay in store for me. That’s completely changed as of December.
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.
2010
On a Good Day
Today I got to do one of my absolutely most favourite things in the world. It snowed this morning up here in Coeur d’Alene, and even though as I look out my window now the brief bit of sun we’ve gotten has dissolved most of it, I got a chance to enjoy it. Pouring a hot cup of tea, taking an old chair out back, and just watching it fall. It was peaceful, it was reflective, and it reminds me that the simple things are the most important things.
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.
2010
Never give up…
I’ll admit it, I’d had some crap go wrong in my life of late, and I had in some ways given up hope on humanity. It both scared me and saddened me that things had gone the way they had, and I didn’t know if I had it in me to recover from it. I’ve always been one that people seem to feel comfortable coming and talking to, but there are few people who I feel I can really go to when I need to get something off my chest. And one of those people shocked the hell out of me yesterday.
Monday night, I open my door only to find a “We missed you” card from the post office. It listed for a parcel, and I hadn’t exactly ordered anything, so my mind started running thru the gambit of things it could potentially and logically be. Wrong address? Doubtful, I live in Idaho for petes sake, I mean really now… Package from family? Well a) it’s a bit early in the season for that, and b) it was marked with delivery confirmation, which no one in my family would typically do, so nope, not that. Well what else could it be? I was totally stumped. Oh well I figured, I’ll just go check it tomorrow, and figure it out.
Sure enough, 10:30am and I was down at the Coeur d’Alene Post Office to pick up my mystery package and finally put an end to this confusion. And then I got the biggest shock of all. A friend, a very good friend, who is one of the people I can talk to things about, decided I needed a bit of a pick me up and sent me a care package. I was … to put it mildly … in shock. I don’t typically get such things, and I honestly had no way to know how to react. Irony is, I’ve sent quite a few of them myself, and I’ve often wondered how people take getting such a thing, but it’s never stopped me in the past. Now as I sat there with box in hand, I realised exactly how that felt, and you know what? As I lay here unable to get back to sleep, I now know that simple gesture turned around my faith in humanity.
It’s the little things that make the biggest difference, and as we head forward into the holiday season, I’d like everyone to remember that. It’s not about what we’re expected to do, it’s not about what we’re planning to do, it’s the little things that happen each and every day, the little surprises that happen every once in a blue moon, it’s those things that keep us remembering that this is a life worth living and enjoying to it’s fullest each and every day. If you take nothing else from the ramblings of this red headed wacko, take that with you, please, and share it.
And to that person, I just want to say yet again. Thank you.
