Well, now that I actually have things to say that are longer than will fit reasonably in a tweet or facebook status update, I sheepishly mope my way back to wordpress. Hello, wordpress. How have you been? Yeah… I’ve been totally meaning to call you but… you know how it is?
Returning from a 2 week trip to BC has finally injected a little “get up and go” into what was a pretty structured and repetitious existence here in Fredericton. In retrospect, I’m not sure that 2 straight weeks of pretty much perpetual events, trips, and adventuring should count as a proper vacation. I don’t think I necessary did a lot of relaxing. In fact, I only felt particularly “relaxed” twice on the whole trip. Once on a rocky beach near Dallas Road in Victoria reading Heather O’Neill’s Lullabies for Little Criminals and on the plane trip between Montreal and Fredericton listening to Bat For Lashes while watching the sun set above the clouds.
On the other hand, it was an exceedingly good trip. I learned some things while attending the Digital Humanities Summer Institute at the University of Victoria. I spent time in glorious downtown Victoria, which seems to be a city more or less dedicated to presenting itself nicely. More importantly, I got to spend time with my good friend Lisa Pasolli which doesn’t happen nearly often enough. I drank a lot. I resisted the urge to stuff a UVIC baby bunny in my backpack (they were pretty cute, you guys). I did a little work-related networking which is how you know you’ve moved from a “job” to “potential career”. That was sort of terrifying actually, but it’s nice to meet people who you’ve only known through conference calls and email. I also met someone who was basically a female version of myself. Well, she’s much prettier than I am, obviously. The introduction went like: “oh, you two know more about music than anyone I know, I’d like to see you duke it out.” Except we mostly just agreed on things and nerded out about excellent indie royalty to follow on twitter.
Oh, and I bought an iPod Touch, which turned out to be a pretty great decision.
Vancouver was also tremendous. Camping out at the Hotel Manitoba (thanks again James) in what I assumed was the “Mount Pleasant” area, I mostly walked around town, soaked up the atmosphere and sights, and found it hard not to be stunned by mountains. I worked on my BC uniform by spending stupid amounts of money at MEC and on various foodstuffs. People said that I’d never eat sushi in New Brunswick again and while that’s probably not accurate, it will definitely be a downgrade. I saw ISIS at the Commodore Ballroom and I’m not sure that part of this “temporal fuckstorm” called jetlag isn’t amplified by having my brain crushed by their huge riffs the night before I flew back.
Speaking of which, I’m definitely getting more used to flying which is probably useful. I used the iPod to jot down a few notes about my trip home. They are as follows:
- The praries crapped all over those pretty mountains. Thanks Alberta!
- Extras probably not as good as the office but is still pretty great.
- LOL@30 Rock… “Tell her that you want your privates and her privates to do a high five!”
- Montreal airport simultaneously more french and less french than I was anticipating.
- Making a departure at 8:55 is deceptive. You feel like you have one hour to kill but really it’s two.
- Pretty sure my ears want nothing to do with this ascention/descention business.
- Between the dark, humidity, and ridiculous warmth, I have decided that this is basically a flying womb. Awesome.
- Theme for my commuting on this trip: screaming children… Toddlerian throatsinging!
- Not uncertain that this iPod isn’t the best purhase I’ve made in a while.
- Bat For Lashes was a particularly good decision for the dusk flight home.
Oh, and the whole thing was kicked off by the wonderful wedding of good friends Roger and Darcy in Halifax. So yeah!
So, sitting here at my desk in Fredericton feels a little different. I sort of feel like I grew up a bit while I was out west, which is weird because I did absolutely nothing responsible. I’m refreshed, though. I feel like I can finally get this thesis out the door and look towards moving on. Greener pastures! Good trip. Thanks everyone!
