Canada Day

I’ve now experienced Canada Day in 3 different Canadian cities!  I love this country.

My first 24 Canada Days were of course in Winnipeg.  And they were pretty awesome.  Winnipeg throws an incredible Canada Day, and the turn out is always incredible.  I have countless great memories of meeting up with friends and wandering around Osbourne and Corydon before making our way to The Forks to watch the fireworks.  One Canada Day stands out, when a bunch of us met up and eventually even got one of those gangster photo shoots.  A great memory.

I had 2 Canada Days in Edmonton.  Edmonton pulls out all the stops.  Whyte Ave is closed off to traffic and packed with people.  Then an artificial waterfall is created on the High Level Bridge over the valley.  Then the fireworks.  Very impressive, and no doubt incredibly expensive!  Some great memories as well!  Sadly no pictures though, but here’s one of the artificial waterfall from google images.

Last night I had my first Canada Day in Halifax.  Halifax being one of the oldest cities in Canada, it’s a pretty big deal here too.  There’s a bunch of parades in the morning (which I missed since I worked late the night before), then buskers and shops lining the waterfront.  I stopped to watch a fire-breather for a while.  The city felt alive and I wondered around downtown and the waterfront before meeting up with a work friend and his girlfriend for a few beers.  Was a good time.  I stopped by work for a bit to get some things done, and then met up with work friends again to catch the fireworks.  The fireworks were launched from a barge in the middle of the harbour between Halifax and Dartmouth.  It was pretty awesome.  Getting home was a bit of an ordeal since it was impossible to get a cab and the busses were packed.  It took me over an hour, 2 busses and eventually a cab, but I did make it home.  When I got home Heidi (my new room-mate) and I played some Black Ops PS3 online, each on our own respective PS3s, with 2 of her friends.  It was a great Canada Day!

New Roomie

Got a new room-mate this weekend.  When Ryan moved out a few months ago we arranged to have his sister move in once she moved to Halifax.  Saved me the trouble of looking for a new room-mate, and I knew I could trust her.

I knew Ryan’s family from when he moved to Halifax, so it was good seeing them again, and Heidi seems really cool, I’m sure we’ll get along great.  On Friday we ordered pizza and chatted, and tonight we got drunk and watched Russel Peters, lol.

She also brought her cat, awesome cat without a real name.  About 3 years old and super friendly and cuddly.  Great to have a cat around again.  Love cats.  And it’s Siamese!

Good to have a roomie again!

The Dark Side

Well, I finally bought a PS3.  It has a ton of exclusives I’ve always wanted to play, with more announced at E3.  And I had a ton of old games to trade in.  With the trade in and some other lucky promotions, I got one of the best deals ever.

• PS3 160 gb
• Call Of Duty: Black Ops
• Killzone 3 Collector’s Edition
• Infamous
• Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune
• Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
• Little Big Planet & Wipeout HD (Sony’s Welcome Back promotion, since I technically had an account from when I briefly had a PS3 in Edmonton)
• HDMI Cables

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  Total after tax: 200$

Now THAT is a deal!  The Killzone 3 Collector’s edition came with a cool dynamic theme for the PS3, all DLC, the OST and Making Of vid, an art book, an action figure and a cool bust of the Helghast.

I spent most of the weekend on Skype with Chad playing PS3.  Felt like old times having a videogame night with Chad.  I miss when we lived together in Edmonton, those were good times.

My PS3 experience hasn’t been perfect however.  The first night it started beeping and making really louds clunking sounds.  I returned it the next day for an exchange and the new one is working fine though, thankfully.

Also, Oliver was quite happy to see I finally got a PS3.  He’s an admitted PS3 fanboy (and Kanye fanboy for that matter…)

It’s been a lot of fun so far, and easily worth the cheap price I paid!  So far I’ve been playing Infamous and Little Big Planet.  You may have noticed I’ve added a PS3 ID badge to my blog now too.  Now I can be an achievement AND trophy whore .  Now back to playing!  If you have a PS3, add me:  notme2000

The Catalyst

Spent this morning reading through the old blog I kept during my road-trip back in 2008.  I can’t even fathom how much I’ve changed since then, as a result of that trip.

For years I’d felt the need to do something drastic, I felt trapped in my own life.  At first it was a North American month pass for VIA Rails, and eventually it evolved in to a road trip.  I invited my friends to come, and they agreed, but backed out at the last second.  Although at the time it hurt, I decided to go anyway and it ended up being better that way.  I needed to redefine myself, and you can’t do that with anyone watching.

During the weeks leading up to it, everyone including my closest friends and family tried to talk me out of it.  The Dale they knew could not handle something like this, especially alone!  They were just concerned, because it was so unlike me.  It was a big thing to do alone, it was intimidating and risky.  Not what I was known for.  And even though I had my own doubts as well, I stayed determined, and when the time came I got in my car and drove headlong into those doubts.

It’s no exaggeration to say that none of my major accomplishments could have happened without those 2 weeks alone on the road.  During those 2 weeks a seed was planted.  I started to suspect I was capable of much more than I’d originally thought.  During those 2 weeks I saw things I never thought I’d see, did so many things I never could have imagined myself doing, it made me realize all those limitations I’d placed on myself were illusions.

Suddenly I felt restless in my old life.  I knew I wanted more.  I decided to move to Edmonton for a change of pace and to get out of debt.  I never would have seen that as a possibility before the road-trip, but now it was something I had no doubt I was capable of.  Then working in the videogame industry watered that seed, and that suspicion grew into a conviction.  I was capable of so much more than I’d given myself credit for, and life had so much more to offer than I’d let myself see when I lived in doubt.

Reading that blog was a revelation.  In one of the entries before I hit the road, I wrote that I’d wanted this road-trip to be one of the most important things I ever did, a “spiritual odyssey, an existential exodus.”  And that’s exactly what it was.  Now I live in Halifax, I’m in a career I love and I’m climbing it fast, I welcome every new adventure presented to me with excitement.

I had no idea the places that road-trip would lead me, years after I thought it was over.  I end this entry with a quotation from that old blog:

“Well, even though I have enough money to make it to the East Coast, it wouldn’t leave enough time to properly enjoy the cities remaining on my trip, especially Montreal and Toronto.  So it looks like this is as far East as I make it for now.  But I’m sure I’ll make it out there some day!”

Airport Blogging

Airports are a familiar locale for me lately. Ever since things with Longtail started with a flight to Halifax for the interview, I spend about 6 days a year in airports and on planes. On a single-direction flight, like today's Winnipeg to Halifax trip, I see 3 to 4 airports (departure, arrival and layovers) and fly on at least 2 planes. I know Toronto Pearson International Airport like the back of my hand. The shoe shine guy remembers me whenever I decide to get a shine.

It's not like I'm some kind of crazy jet-setter living out of my suitcase, but it does give me a small window into what that kind of life would be like. I often overhear the flight attendants or pilots talking, forgetting what city they're in or what the local time is. I could see liking it, and hating it. I have no plans on going on tour for anything any time soon though, so it's all just fun what-ifs.

Today my layover in Toronto is 3 hours. I'm sitting in a cafe eating a hot dog and fries next to a window overlooking the tarmac. More than half the people here are using iPads.

I often meet people during layovers and have interesting conversation. Usually that's Toronto, but sometimes the layover is in Montreal too. There was one guy I met who was an admitted gambling addict who told me the story of the night he won 100,000$ and still managed to lose it all within the month. There was a couple from Germany who were traveling the world on her Dad's inheritance. A few creepers too who I regretted starting conversation with. I also have a frustrating habit of meeting really nice, cute girls on layovers. Frustrating because obviously nothing is going to come of it, once one of us has to leave for our flight we never see each other again. That's also kind of cool though, these spontaneous brief interactions.

You also see a lot of emotion in airports. The sorrow of a couple splitting for a long period of time, someone leaving their home for their ambitions, etc, but also the joy of couples reunited where they can't keep from crying and kissing like highschoolers, or someone returning from their tour of duty to their relieved family.

I should probably get out of this cafe and go to my terminal, boarding starts in a bit under an hour, and I want to get a seat in the waiting area before they fill up. I'll write an entry about my trip from Halifax, soon.

Dad's Wedding

My trip in Winnipeg has been a lot of fun, and I will write a proper entry about it soon. But the main reason I took the time off work, bought the plane tickets and an expensive three-piece suit, and then flew down was for my Dad's wedding!

During my last visit for Xmas my Dad announced to the family that he'd proposed to Andrea, his girlfriend of about 10 years! I can't believe it's been 10 years! I still remember when he first started telling my brother and I he was seeing a new woman. A girl at work had introduced them, that girl was my now-step-sister, Ashley.

Neither of them are religious, and they weren't looking for a major ordeal, so they had their wedding at a very nice restaurant named Bailey's. It was a beautiful wedding, friends and family, and it was a great time. My Dad was beaming all night, I'm so happy for him!

I had a decent role in the wedding, which I wasn't expecting. As the first born son I was at the head table. It was my Dad and Andrea, with me at my Dad's side and Andrea's best friend at hers. I held on to the ring, was part of a small procession including the 4 head table members led by Andrea's Dad on bagpipes. I even signed as a witness! Derek brought his new Digital SLR camera so I took some photos. Using it made me realize I miss photography, though just as a hobby. The photos are on my USB but I won't be able to upload them until I get home in Halifax.

It was a great night, everyone had a blast, and everything went perfectly. We took a limo to and from the wedding. My Dad gave a great speech that blew everyone away, with some great jokes. The food was amazing, I had a steak, and much alcohol was consumed. Family came in from all over the place including my uncle Keith and aunt Sandra and their kids Jordan and Abby.

The next day I went for lunch with my Dad and Andrea before they left for their Honeymoon road trip together. The previous night they'd stayed at one of the nicest hotels in the city, and they'd gotten a complimentary room upgrade to the biggest nicest room in the hotel, with candles and rose pedals spread all over the room. So happy for them. Andrea is great, and I'm glad to have her as a member of the family. Her son Andrew is cool, and now my step-brother. We're going to try to go for drinks before my trip is over.

Obligatory Ashley Brunch Blog Post

Ashley, a photo by notme2000 on Flickr.

A great tradition! She was looking great, as always!

Toronto Airport

, a photo by notme2000 on Flickr.

I'm on my way! Still have a pit stop in thunder bay then it's off to Winnipeg!

Tattoos

Tattoos, a photo by notme2000 on Flickr.

My tattoos so far... Thinking of getting a new one soon!

Stars

, a photo by notme2000 on Flickr.

A building downtown, pretty neat!

Halifax Instagram Walk

It was +20 today, so I decided to go for a walk.  Once I was walking in the sun, with my headphones in, taking in the beautiful Halifax Sunday afternoon I decided to take some photography using only my iPhone and the popular app Instagram.  It was a great afternoon, and reminded me how beautiful Halifax is.  I moved here right before winter, so this will be my first summer in Halifax, and I’m beginning to realize that’s when it really shines!