life is progressing quite nicely these days.
just last night elisha finally got the phone call she was waiting for...she's now an IT & Science teacher at Queen Margaret School in Duncan....good wage, great working environment and only a short drive away from nanaimo. now that she has procured the job, we can start to get our lives in order.
first on the list is the purchase of a new vehicle. we've settled on the honda fit...a definite step-up from our 1996 mazda protege. if everything goes according to plan, we should be able to drive it off the lot on friday evening....trying not to get my hopes up, but i think we deserve something new.
wedding plans are nearly done...just a few kinks to iron out in terms of flight details and a few other minor things. i can't actually believe how easy it has been to arrange all of this, thanks in large part to leesh. of course, she has had the time off so i've left it in her capable hands and i know she enjoys the planning side of things anyway. it's just so hassle-free and i am thankful that we are getting married this way. i was just touching up a wedding photo for my parents and looked at all the people they had in their wedding party (and knowing my family) and can see what they must have been up against. even though there have been a few bumps in the road while trying to get everyone onboard, at the end of the day it's for us and i think that this photo which shows a lot of compromise just reinforces why the destination wedding is the way to go.
getting excited as heather only has a week left before she is out here...can't wait until she is finally here to stay (as i'm sure she is) it'll be nice to have a social circle again, even if it's more of a triangle.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
good tidings
saturday july. 26th.2008 was a great day.
it was the day i finally decided to make an honest woman out of elisha. the day started off like any other....household chores, late breakfast and grocery shopping. at the back of my mind loomed the moment when i might pop the question.
as the day progressed, money came up and as usual, caused us to quarrel. we were both so upset at the lack of money we had we stopped speaking. great, i thought. how am i ever going to ask her now? the original plan was to ask her later that night at a fireworks display...cheesy, i know, but also tried and tested.
eventually tempers cooled enough and we began to discuss money and how we had to sit down and start thinking of money in terms of ours, not mine and hers. as the conversation progressed, the word unified kept coming up and suddenly a light went off in my head...when would i get an opening as good as this again?
i excused myself and went to my nightside table where the ring had been waiting patiently the last 2 days. as i put the ring in my hand and walked back towards my beloved, i felt disembodied as if i was watching my body from above. each step seemed heavy and laboured as my nerves tried to overtake my rationality. i willed my feet to move me forward as i swallowed the lump which had formed in my throat.
i finally laid eyes on her and my nervousness doubled. i willed myself onward, my brain repeating the same thing over in a rapid, machine gun-like blur...askheraskheraskheraskher until....
"I don't really know how to say this..." i pull the ring out of my pocket.
the girl whom i have loved since i was 18 began to cry and all she could manage was a high-pitched "Honey!"
i got down on one knee and asked those four little words that would begin anew our life together.
"will you marry me?"
she threw her arms around me and sobbed the word "YES!" we both were in a state of hysteria mixed with absolute elation.
finally, after so many years together on this adventure called life, we will be together always.
and i couldn't be more happy about it.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
big improvements
what a change these last few weeks have brought. the last 10 months living in small-twon exile have finally come to an end...no more hanover, no more living with my parents and no more circling the airport of life. we're on our way to b.c to a brand new start and and a new life. i'm full of excitement and anticipation of what's to come, but before we arrive at the destination we mustn't forget the journey...
day 1 - june.28.2008.
3:15am - awoke to rainy skies. a hasty goodbye before jumping in the packed to the hilt car and a 2-hour drive to tobermory. the crossing to manitoulin island was tranquil. calm, cobalt blue waters were broken lightly by a gentle rain. had a bit of a slow time once we made the landing due to a faulty swing bridge. soon enough, we were on our way once again with a staggering 1200km to drive to thunder bay. the landscape changed dramatically the further we pushed along highway 17. i finally see whay ontario is the land of lakes beacause we passed countless bodies of water surrounded by rocky, pine-covered hills. i can also see why people who live in northern dislike southerners...we are spoiled rotten in almost every way: infrastructure, convenience and amenities. northern ontario has none of these things yet has some very striking scenery...those who live there must consider it a trade-off where you take the good with the bad.
the drive went smoothly as we rocked through sault ste. marie and communities so tiny they were little more than rest stops. around wawa the fog started to roll in from lake superior slowing our pace. still we drove on and on until we reached marathon, the last stop before the final leg. here the fog evaporated as the rain began. the further we drove the bigger the increase in rainfall. luckily the light held allowing us to keep watch for moose crossings (which were more frequent after dark) finally, we pulled into thunder bay and quickly found the campground. the elements were against us as the rain soaked us and the wind howled at us. by this point patience was in very short supply so we angrily albeit hurriedly put the tent together. after our grueling 15 hour drive we collapsed into our damp, wind-blown haven and fell into an uneasy sleep. the wind continued through the night threatening to blow us away. it also created unusual shapes sounds near the tent. as i fell in and out of sleep i swear i could hear the following.
a) eerie laughter, fun-house styles.
b) hands brushing over my tent a la blair witch
c) someone repeatedly opening and closing my car door, stealing all my belongings.
none of these things happened and after i managed to get some sleep we were feeling refreshed and ready for the next day.
day 2 - june.29.2008.
the mission is to get to winnipeg, a mere 7.5 hour drive and exactly half of yesterdays torturous exercise in stupidity. my hip and ass are so sore i think i'll need replacement surgery by trips' end. actually, it wasn't so bad but still took a while to get out of ontario...man! what a whopper of a province. we set off fairly early and passed the day watching the rocks and pine trees, pines trees and rocks go by, hour after hour when suddenly the way opened up, the trees and rocks became fewer and we entered manitoba. at last, the biggest leg of the journey was over. continued onto winnipeg where we spent the night.
day3 - june.30.2008.
got another early start today which was good because we made a few wrong turns while trying to leave winnipeg. the map was no help either. even the locals we eventually asked for directions told us it's one of north america's most difficult cities to navigate.
agreed.
we found our bearing and shot off west once more. the day started off cool but gradually grew warmer and warmer. by the time we stopped for lunch, it was 33 celsius without a cloud in the sky. elisha and i positively cooked in our car but our spirits were high knowing we had only a short jaunt of 6 hours drive. dan found a nice campground with a pool which was pure bliss. now, just waiting for this guy and his laptop to go to sleep so i can smoke a cannon before bed. tomorrow, we're off to calgary and to see barry.
day5 - july.2.2008.
happy canada day! finally got to spend the national holiday in my home country and what better way to celebrate it by driving across this great nation. the drive was pretty uneventful but thankfully cool due to cloudy skies. there were some impressive landscapes of dark, foreboding weather against yellow, green and brown fields of crops. sped our way past grain elevators which soon gave way to the perpetual motion of oil derricks and at the same time matching the pace of trains taking containers across the neverending plains. before we knew it, calgary loomed ahead on the horizon and after getting a tad bit lost, we met up with barry where we'd be spending the night. it was great to catchup with him over a few beers and bongs before crashing into sleep. the next morning, we sleepily said our goodbyes with promises of plans in the near future.
the drive from calgary soon saw the stoic rocky mountains looming before us. they are so impressive they almost seem to good to be true. a very humbling experience and a great reminder of why we decided to see this country. we continued on down the transcan, making our way past kamloops when we decided to camp for the night at logan lake.
day 6 - july.3.2008.
last day of our cross-country caravan. mixed bag of feelings as i am happy not to drive, but sad there's only a little more to go. at the same time, excited to see our new place and the start of something new.
day 1 - june.28.2008.
3:15am - awoke to rainy skies. a hasty goodbye before jumping in the packed to the hilt car and a 2-hour drive to tobermory. the crossing to manitoulin island was tranquil. calm, cobalt blue waters were broken lightly by a gentle rain. had a bit of a slow time once we made the landing due to a faulty swing bridge. soon enough, we were on our way once again with a staggering 1200km to drive to thunder bay. the landscape changed dramatically the further we pushed along highway 17. i finally see whay ontario is the land of lakes beacause we passed countless bodies of water surrounded by rocky, pine-covered hills. i can also see why people who live in northern dislike southerners...we are spoiled rotten in almost every way: infrastructure, convenience and amenities. northern ontario has none of these things yet has some very striking scenery...those who live there must consider it a trade-off where you take the good with the bad.
the drive went smoothly as we rocked through sault ste. marie and communities so tiny they were little more than rest stops. around wawa the fog started to roll in from lake superior slowing our pace. still we drove on and on until we reached marathon, the last stop before the final leg. here the fog evaporated as the rain began. the further we drove the bigger the increase in rainfall. luckily the light held allowing us to keep watch for moose crossings (which were more frequent after dark) finally, we pulled into thunder bay and quickly found the campground. the elements were against us as the rain soaked us and the wind howled at us. by this point patience was in very short supply so we angrily albeit hurriedly put the tent together. after our grueling 15 hour drive we collapsed into our damp, wind-blown haven and fell into an uneasy sleep. the wind continued through the night threatening to blow us away. it also created unusual shapes sounds near the tent. as i fell in and out of sleep i swear i could hear the following.
a) eerie laughter, fun-house styles.
b) hands brushing over my tent a la blair witch
c) someone repeatedly opening and closing my car door, stealing all my belongings.
none of these things happened and after i managed to get some sleep we were feeling refreshed and ready for the next day.
day 2 - june.29.2008.
the mission is to get to winnipeg, a mere 7.5 hour drive and exactly half of yesterdays torturous exercise in stupidity. my hip and ass are so sore i think i'll need replacement surgery by trips' end. actually, it wasn't so bad but still took a while to get out of ontario...man! what a whopper of a province. we set off fairly early and passed the day watching the rocks and pine trees, pines trees and rocks go by, hour after hour when suddenly the way opened up, the trees and rocks became fewer and we entered manitoba. at last, the biggest leg of the journey was over. continued onto winnipeg where we spent the night.
day3 - june.30.2008.
got another early start today which was good because we made a few wrong turns while trying to leave winnipeg. the map was no help either. even the locals we eventually asked for directions told us it's one of north america's most difficult cities to navigate.
agreed.
we found our bearing and shot off west once more. the day started off cool but gradually grew warmer and warmer. by the time we stopped for lunch, it was 33 celsius without a cloud in the sky. elisha and i positively cooked in our car but our spirits were high knowing we had only a short jaunt of 6 hours drive. dan found a nice campground with a pool which was pure bliss. now, just waiting for this guy and his laptop to go to sleep so i can smoke a cannon before bed. tomorrow, we're off to calgary and to see barry.
day5 - july.2.2008.
happy canada day! finally got to spend the national holiday in my home country and what better way to celebrate it by driving across this great nation. the drive was pretty uneventful but thankfully cool due to cloudy skies. there were some impressive landscapes of dark, foreboding weather against yellow, green and brown fields of crops. sped our way past grain elevators which soon gave way to the perpetual motion of oil derricks and at the same time matching the pace of trains taking containers across the neverending plains. before we knew it, calgary loomed ahead on the horizon and after getting a tad bit lost, we met up with barry where we'd be spending the night. it was great to catchup with him over a few beers and bongs before crashing into sleep. the next morning, we sleepily said our goodbyes with promises of plans in the near future.
the drive from calgary soon saw the stoic rocky mountains looming before us. they are so impressive they almost seem to good to be true. a very humbling experience and a great reminder of why we decided to see this country. we continued on down the transcan, making our way past kamloops when we decided to camp for the night at logan lake.
day 6 - july.3.2008.
last day of our cross-country caravan. mixed bag of feelings as i am happy not to drive, but sad there's only a little more to go. at the same time, excited to see our new place and the start of something new.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
slight improvements
february is here and things have improved ever so slightly. my last entry was a complete and utter bitch, so i feel it's prudent to inform my dear reader how things have gotten better over the last 2.5 weeks.
we have a car again! old is new! thanks to tanya for lending us her car whilst she finishes her studies...you are the most! funny enough, we are using elisha's old car which is tanya's new car which is now our new/old car again...would that make it nold? not sure.
we are also starting to hatch our schemes to escape this hole in the ground. we are still sticking to our original timetable, but the plans are becoming more cohesive. honestly, the biggest thing standing in our way isn't resolve or know-how or even money it's just that we don't know what to do next...vis a vis, there are too many choices. some where hot and tropical locale sounds fabulous right now as could be provided by anywhere in south america, but then again so too does contributing to my CPP while living in the uttermost west of canada. spain or any where in europe would definitely offer some cultural meats to my stew not too mention that it is europe and opportunities to work across the pond tend to expire as i do. decisions, decisions...
we have a car again! old is new! thanks to tanya for lending us her car whilst she finishes her studies...you are the most! funny enough, we are using elisha's old car which is tanya's new car which is now our new/old car again...would that make it nold? not sure.
we are also starting to hatch our schemes to escape this hole in the ground. we are still sticking to our original timetable, but the plans are becoming more cohesive. honestly, the biggest thing standing in our way isn't resolve or know-how or even money it's just that we don't know what to do next...vis a vis, there are too many choices. some where hot and tropical locale sounds fabulous right now as could be provided by anywhere in south america, but then again so too does contributing to my CPP while living in the uttermost west of canada. spain or any where in europe would definitely offer some cultural meats to my stew not too mention that it is europe and opportunities to work across the pond tend to expire as i do. decisions, decisions...
Thursday, January 31, 2008
2008...i give up.
as you can likely guess from the subject line in my email, this msg is going to be a rant...i apologize in advance if you are having a great day and would like to keep it that way...if so, maybe you should save this one for another time when you're of similar mind. anyway, here goes...
the start of this 2008 has been off to the rockiest of starts. First, my favourite aunt passed away just over 2 weeks ago suddenly. She had been in a lot of pain for a loooong time, so I'm happy that she at least doesn't have to experience it anymore...she was my dad's sister and it was the first time in about 15 years I have seen each member of my family in the same place, speaking to one another...bizarre how it takes the death of someone to give the living a swift kick in the complacency...hopefully, the healing can begin with my dad and his estranged family.
life must go on however, and the next week things were just starting to feel back to normal when i received a little piece of mail from Revenue Canada. It was a notice to call them about something but didn't specify. Turns out, it was a loan that had gotten lost in the shuffle (i went to college when everything got tossed back and forth between the banks and the government) I found out I owed the outstanding amount of $1500 which has gone to collection about 2 years earlier. Super. So, back to the bank to try and get a loan...as I'm sitting there, the loan officer tells me that they would be unable to give me a loan as my CANADA student loan has also gone to collection. Impossible, I thought but after many phone calls later, it turned out that I did indeed owe the money...about $8,000 worth and it had actually gone past collections and was nearing litigation. Meaning, I would have been sued by a major Canadian bank meaning no possibility of credit in Canada, again. But wait, it gets so much better. The bank was going to take a lien against me, and because I don't own anything it would've been against my SIN number. This means 33% of my employed wages would have been garnished. however, because a large part of my income comes from self-employment, the bank would have been authorized to take 100% of that income. Lovely, isn't it? Of course, it was paid immediately so now I'm in my dad's pocket for $6600 (I talked them out of the interest in favour of full payment)The ironic part is that it took a different collection notice to bring a potentially worse collection notice to my attention. I had thought everything was fine. I'm not a deadbeat when it comes to paying my bills...I had everything set up for payment and left it with my parents. I'm not pointing fingers, but the woman I spoke to in litigation said if I had waited 2 more days then it would have been up to the courts to decide. Yikes.
This week has been most rotten of all. After months of being back, I have watched my dog Abby decline and decline. She has had terrible skin problems which take expensive medicines to clear up. She was near blind, lost almost all of her hearing about 2 weeks ago and basically had chewed off most of the fur on her back legs. It was time to do something, so we made the decision to have her put to sleep. IT was tough. I don't know if you are a lover of animals, but I would rather have my dog taken away suddenly then have to go through something like that again. I can't help but feel guilty about it, even though I know it was again a release. Hopefully, death will not become the dominant theme of 2008.
Last night, my dad went out with my car and got into an accident. He's fine, but the car is totalled. Again, wait for the tasty cherry on top. THERE WAS NO COLLISION. Thus, the car is a write-off and now Elisha and I have no way to get out of here and there is nothing we can do about it. As usual, my dad decides to blame everything else except his driving skills, so I got to hear last night how everything has gone wrong since we've been back.
You got that right.
I fucking hate my life right now. I can't remember when this much shit has happened to me at once...I feel like I'm the short kid who spilled milk on the bully that is 2008 and now it's kicking the shit out of me. I know, things will get better but it's true whoever said it's darkest before the dawn. Things have never been darker.
I tell you here and now that I will muster every iota of energy I can spare and channel it towards leaving this, this...place. I don't know where yet, but frankly it doesn't matter right now as long as it's far, far away from here. Luke Skywalker once said that Tatooine was the furthest point from the bright center of the universe...i think hanover might be tatooine.
there you have it, my 2008 so far. on the eve of the february, my fingers are crossed that things will improve...or i'm using my last few measly bucks and buying a shotgun.
the start of this 2008 has been off to the rockiest of starts. First, my favourite aunt passed away just over 2 weeks ago suddenly. She had been in a lot of pain for a loooong time, so I'm happy that she at least doesn't have to experience it anymore...she was my dad's sister and it was the first time in about 15 years I have seen each member of my family in the same place, speaking to one another...bizarre how it takes the death of someone to give the living a swift kick in the complacency...hopefully, the healing can begin with my dad and his estranged family.
life must go on however, and the next week things were just starting to feel back to normal when i received a little piece of mail from Revenue Canada. It was a notice to call them about something but didn't specify. Turns out, it was a loan that had gotten lost in the shuffle (i went to college when everything got tossed back and forth between the banks and the government) I found out I owed the outstanding amount of $1500 which has gone to collection about 2 years earlier. Super. So, back to the bank to try and get a loan...as I'm sitting there, the loan officer tells me that they would be unable to give me a loan as my CANADA student loan has also gone to collection. Impossible, I thought but after many phone calls later, it turned out that I did indeed owe the money...about $8,000 worth and it had actually gone past collections and was nearing litigation. Meaning, I would have been sued by a major Canadian bank meaning no possibility of credit in Canada, again. But wait, it gets so much better. The bank was going to take a lien against me, and because I don't own anything it would've been against my SIN number. This means 33% of my employed wages would have been garnished. however, because a large part of my income comes from self-employment, the bank would have been authorized to take 100% of that income. Lovely, isn't it? Of course, it was paid immediately so now I'm in my dad's pocket for $6600 (I talked them out of the interest in favour of full payment)The ironic part is that it took a different collection notice to bring a potentially worse collection notice to my attention. I had thought everything was fine. I'm not a deadbeat when it comes to paying my bills...I had everything set up for payment and left it with my parents. I'm not pointing fingers, but the woman I spoke to in litigation said if I had waited 2 more days then it would have been up to the courts to decide. Yikes.
This week has been most rotten of all. After months of being back, I have watched my dog Abby decline and decline. She has had terrible skin problems which take expensive medicines to clear up. She was near blind, lost almost all of her hearing about 2 weeks ago and basically had chewed off most of the fur on her back legs. It was time to do something, so we made the decision to have her put to sleep. IT was tough. I don't know if you are a lover of animals, but I would rather have my dog taken away suddenly then have to go through something like that again. I can't help but feel guilty about it, even though I know it was again a release. Hopefully, death will not become the dominant theme of 2008.
Last night, my dad went out with my car and got into an accident. He's fine, but the car is totalled. Again, wait for the tasty cherry on top. THERE WAS NO COLLISION. Thus, the car is a write-off and now Elisha and I have no way to get out of here and there is nothing we can do about it. As usual, my dad decides to blame everything else except his driving skills, so I got to hear last night how everything has gone wrong since we've been back.
You got that right.
I fucking hate my life right now. I can't remember when this much shit has happened to me at once...I feel like I'm the short kid who spilled milk on the bully that is 2008 and now it's kicking the shit out of me. I know, things will get better but it's true whoever said it's darkest before the dawn. Things have never been darker.
I tell you here and now that I will muster every iota of energy I can spare and channel it towards leaving this, this...place. I don't know where yet, but frankly it doesn't matter right now as long as it's far, far away from here. Luke Skywalker once said that Tatooine was the furthest point from the bright center of the universe...i think hanover might be tatooine.
there you have it, my 2008 so far. on the eve of the february, my fingers are crossed that things will improve...or i'm using my last few measly bucks and buying a shotgun.
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