a little learning is a dangerous thing ...

Sunday, June 22, 2008

Reality: The New Buzzword

Hey! It's been awhile!

Why have I been away for about three weeks? I have a good excuse, really! See, I've been working pretty much non-stop since I got back. It's like I've slid back to a year ago, to that sunny day in June 2007 when a fresh-faced me, directly out of my second year of university, hesitantly climbed onto a Bomag packer for the first time on a Norwich, Ontario construction site. The rest, as they say, is history.

I'm now a verifiable packer expert (with experience on THREE different packers) with a minor in traffic control management (or, as the plebes call it, flagging). Pete and I have been working in Minesing, close to Barrie, for about three weeks now, and staying at Georgian College. Every day we work for about 11 hours and then head back home for the weekends. It makes for a simple existence, wherein the highlights are showering, eating, and sleeping. But I really am grateful for the job (thanks Greg!) and am saving up for next year at UWO, which promises to be an insane cycle of MIT and English courses mixed with part-time work and some squished-in extracurriculars. It's about a 180 from my cycle of just three courses a semester, pub visits, and travelling on the weekends in Europe. That goes without saying, I guess. But that's fourth year for ya: no jokers allowed.

I see my friends preparing grad school applications and (gasp!) career plans, and it's intimidating. I'm about a year behind academically in MIT (though ahead of the game in English Lit), so I'll be playing catch-up all year in that department. But in other ways, I think I'm doing alright :).

Thanks to everyone who came out for Richard and Ashley's Buck and Doe on June 14th! It was a fantastic time, and a great way to celebrate their engagement!

Also, CONGRATS to my next-biggest brother Bryan and my lovely friend Lisa, who announced their engagement almost two weeks ago. I'm so happy for you two :). I'm glad we got to celebrate with both of you for a few days before Bryan headed to BC and his brand-new job in the north. It's really a time of exciting change... can't wait for the crazy year that's in store!

xx

p.s. Anyone else pick up the new Coldplay album? LOVE IT. Classy and at times heart-in-throat, as always. Their 2006 show at the ACC is still one of the best nights I've ever had.

Monday, June 2, 2008

Back in the C.A.N.A.D.A.

Ah!

That is how I can describe my reaction to being back in the ol' S-burg after nine months. Well, five, if you count coming home for Christmas for two weeks. As I expected, nothing has changed, though I do have a new apartment that I'm pumped about (which I saw on Saturday) and my family has ripped our basement apart in a serious renovation-y burst of inspiration. So, I guess change is afoot in our lives at the moment, though it mostly consists of tearing down drywall and adjusting to our ever-revolving lineup of Fords.

In other, much-delayed news, I am proud to present the second of a pair of travel videos that began with the freespirited "Clubbin' Through Europe" feature and continues to a more sombre piece: without further (or any) ado, here's my Windows MovieMaker masterpiece, "9 Countries, 21 Days: A Short Film".*




*Dedicated to my three travel mates, Jean, Johanna, and Francesca :).