A new life...

WARNING: The following post may contain just about every known cliche to recent university undergraduates. For those of you who care enough about my life to read the entire thing, thanks. :D

When I said that I'd be posting a a rate of one-per-month I lied. It's been just over 4 months since I've last posted at Christmas. Life has changed a lot since then. In the thick of my last year as an undergraduate, I had another 4 months of school to look forward to. Reading my last post, it seems like a blink of an eye, but there was a lot of hard work, pain, perseverance, pleasure, and joy in that time.

Turns out I can do school if I put my mind to it - I actually passed with flying colours. Before this year, I never imagined I'd have the expertise to be useful at the workplace, nor have the training and the theoretical background to succeed. Although I'm not an expert in everything, I think that I've actually put in the time now to have confidence in what I've learned, and to actually enjoy it.

The caveat to my academic revelations is that I happened to eat out a lot more, which added to my stomach, whom I've affectionately named "George." (The frequency of the undulations is too high now to count.) Strong correlation between plaza food and weight gain. This summer, and every summer for as long as I can remember I have resolved to get a six-pack, only to fail quite miserably as I enjoy my barbeque steaks, beers on the patio, and ice cream cones as I stroll around.

Speaking of steaks - I guess the era of McDougall is over for me. I've spent the last 4 or so years off and on living in the same house in Waterloo. It was a classy joint, hardware floors, massive driveway, a deck behind the house as well as a pond. I've bonded with the people I've lived with there probably to a point where I'll keep in touch with them for the rest of my life. Because of that house I was able to cook, entertain, and show hospitality to dozens if not hundreds of different people. It's been the cause of a lot of stress and grief (my marks also went up when I stopped hosting events and cleaning up), but there were definitely a lot of unforgettable memories living in that place. It was a place I called home.

Home? What a strange and shifting concept that is. Sometimes it'll feel just right when I'm back in Kingston, sitting in my room - looking out the window across at the church, tacky orange curtains from the 60's and all. Other times I'll be driving back into Waterloo after a long trip, pulling off the highway and feeling a sense of relief at coming back into familiar surroundings. This time? Strolling down the ramp at YVR, taking a look outside and seeing the mountains again.

Oh Vancouver! I've burned that impression into my memory, keeping it safe and treasuring its beauty every time I see it again. Biking up and down the hills, riding on the Skytrain as it hurtles around the city, breathing in the same scents, that clean crisp Vancouver air. All these things are precious elements that make Vancouver the gorgeous city that it is.

By the way - I hoped to have told most everyone by now, but it turns out I found a full time job in Burnaby. I've been here less than a week, and finished school just over two weeks ago. My life back in Ontario seems so distant now. It really is a new start, a new adventure, a new life...