Next!
I’m thinking of staying here in Ottawa and reconciling that I’m going to fall into this political trap that I swore I’d outwit. I’m getting better at politics; I can crush people faster and easier. I can get stuff done quicker and with less effort. The only thing I can’t out maneuver is this stupid feeling that if I turn away for a minute I’ll be out of the loop and surpassed by some next kid.
Man I’m a staffer now; I used to make fun of those people. Like “I’m a hired gun, I’m easy breezy, I do what I want so eat me”. Now I’m all like “My paycheck is tied to my performance…better smarten up”
Man I got douche written all over me. Yuck!
I don’t know if this is the sort of thing that can only be resolved by selling you Ferrari and going tree planting or something.
Vancouver-Victoria-Vancouver-Burnaby-Port Coquitlan-Montreal-Ottawa
So I’ve returned to Ottawa from BC and I have to say it was a great time. Kind of weird at parts, B.C. sure has some characters. I went to a wedding in Burnaby but the crowd was predominately from Port Coquitlan. They brought with them their small town charm like saying “Ex-squeeze-me…baking powder” like it’s still cool and singing “Pour Some Sugar On Me”. Don’t get me wrong, I like Def Leopard as much as the next guy, but even in my home town we don’t take ourselves seriously when we rockout to this song.
It was funny; I learned that the bride and groom met each other at a party on a farm…right next to Robert Pickton’s farm...at roughly the same time that the murders were occuring…romantic. People also sweat like crazy; I guess they weren’t accustomed to the 15 degree weather. Man what a scorcher. I wore my suit all night and even danced to Spirit of the West in it with out breaking a sweat.
All this to say I had a blast; the people were great, the scenery breath taking. And secretly, I loved combating the accusations that Toronto is actually “Eastern Canada”. They were pretty insistent, but I did fair pretty well in my defense with out the use of a map.
BC day two
It’s great to be a traveler in your own city; we stopped in Toronto Tuesday night and had to find a place to stay. I love living like this, I actually enjoy getting stood up for rides on craigslist and struggling to catch a cab to catch buses in the nick of time. I like being stranded with my backpack and killing time with nothing to do but muse about my adventurism.
So I’m now in Saanich B.C. on Vancouver Island, just outside Victoria. We arrived yesterday morning in Vancouver and spent the day catching up with friends all over the city. Drinks were in order from downtown to Burnaby and then we had to race back to catch the ferry from Tswassenn to Swartz bay. It’s absolutely gorgeous here, and the weather is amazing (much better than when I last came in December).
We tanned on the deck of the “Spirit of Vancouver Island” as we curled in between hundreds of islands on the Straight of Juan de Fuca, not sure how it got its Spanish name but beautiful none the less. We landed on the island and caught up with my girlfriends’ dad and had sushi and caught a movie. Now we’re lying in the backyard dodging clouds trying to get honey dipped so we can make our friends jealous back in Ottawa.
Not sure what’s up next, but I’d like to visit some of my Dad’s friends. 50 years and one day ago he landed here as a refugee with his family. He was 12 and was taken in by a family who housed them and taught them English. I’d like to meet them to share some “coming full circle” sort of moment. It would probably be cooler for them then it would for me, since they’re probably a million years old now. But a piece of history would be a nice addition to this trip.
Capital Diary
For the past two months I’ve been living in Ottawa, I have a great place with my girlfriend. My Job is always new and exciting, real high stakes with short deadlines but super fun. Its great to live in a different city, its great to come home to Toronto. I like the quiet, then I like the noise, I like the smiling faces, then I like the rude and callous indifference of Torontonians. It’s like when seasons change and you get all nostalgic, you keep getting hit with all that you love day to day, because I bounce back and forth so much.
I’m off to Toronto again tonight; I’m looking forward to craning my neck up towards the skyscrapers and squinting into the many rows of lights and trying to guess at the number of floors. I’m excited to see the sunrise from across the lake onto the downtown core as a bend around the highway on the way to the airport. I’m just stopping through. I’m off to Vancouver and that should prove to be interesting. I haven’t been there since January, so I’m excited.
