It is amazing how strange it can seem. Tomorrow at this time, I will be unemployeed. I will no longer have shifts in that building that I have spent so much time at. No longer have a need to be there. Considering, like any job, how much of my life it consumes, it is a hard thought to fathom. But it feels pretty good in its own way.
I will miss it. Staff. Customers. Even parts of the job. But at the same time I am so unbelieveably excited for my trip that it is hard to feel sad about leaving the job. Finishing with work simply makes Europe and the Netherlands that much closer...
My goal is to have my backpack packed by the end of the week. Ready to go. That might sound early to some people, a good week ahead of schedule, but it makes sense. This way if there is something last minute to buy, I have a week to remember it, to pick it up. And it means I get to get accustomed to my new pack. Going to go on some walks to get used to the weight and size of it. Not that I will be carrying the whole thing around often, but I need to have a little bit of a feel for when I do have to carry it for more than an hour or so. So if anyone is looking for a walk next week, let me know;)
In other news, I got to feel my sisters baby kick last night! Since she is due in early June and I don't know for 100% that I'll be back by then, we figured on trying to give me a chance to feel the baby move before I leave. So I went over last night, she sat, she ate, she lay down-on both sides, she had a slushie, and finally we got it to move a little bit. What a strange feeling. To hold your hand on a tummy and feel such obvious movement inside. Just a little miracle!
Have a great day, and a super week! I'll try to be in touch, have to get all warmed up and in practise for while I am gone=)
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Plane Tickets
I BOUGHT MY PLANE TICKETS!!!
Departing for the Netherlands April 1st, arriving on the 2nd. I return home May 2nd... Assuming that is, that I am ready to come home.
After all these years of saying it, I am finally doing it!
Am I nuts?
Departing for the Netherlands April 1st, arriving on the 2nd. I return home May 2nd... Assuming that is, that I am ready to come home.
After all these years of saying it, I am finally doing it!
Am I nuts?
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Good Day
I don't even know where to begin. This happens everytime I think. There ends up being so much time in between my blogs that so much happens I don't even know what to say when I finally sit down and write my hello... So I guess I'll just touch upon a few things.
A friend of mine, a friend of many, died late last month. Derrick Timmermans was involved in an accident as he was driving home from The Kings University College in Edmonton to Abbotsford during reading week. He hit a patch of black ice, spun out, and after a couple of days in hospital he was declared brain dead. While it is difficult to imagine that a 25 year old vibrant young man could be taken so young, at the same time we learned that his family is at peace with it. Two of his sisters flew out for the memorial and informed those in attendence that Derrick was 'ready to die', not hoping or waiting for it, but not afraid or worried about it. And as a further blessing, we learnt that all seven of his major organs, and both his eyes were donated. It is extremely rare for someone to be able to donate all their organs, so in a way he lives on in the lives that his family's selfless action of donating his organs restored life for many others.
RIP Derrick. God Bless to your family and friends. See you again some day.
In other news, a little less somber, I quit my job and am planning on going to Europe. More specifically, I am finished working at the Flying J as of March 19, 2008 after two years and nine months of work. It has been interesting, educational, stressful, and fun. No idea what is next in line for me in terms of work, but I am not to worried about it at this time.
The plan is that on April first, I will hop a flight to the Netherlands(Holland) where I will spend a month or so backpacking and exploring the country of my ancestors. I have always wanted to go and have talked about it many times, and while I have not yet bought my plane ticket- I am going to do it this time. I intend to embark on this trip solo, and although I am more than a little terrified about it, I strongly feel that it is the time to go. I emailed a cousin of my moms who lives in Friesland(Northern Netherlands) and she told me that I am welcome to stay with her for up to two months. Since then the trip got shorter, but it gives me the freedom to stay longer if it doesn't feel like the time to leave. I have also got ahold of a friend of mine from there, a guy I met about 5 years ago, and he said I can stay with him as well. He lives a bit more in the Western end of the Netherlands and is doing a practicum right now, only working a few hours a week. He was really excited to hear I was coming down and mentioned he might be willing to travel with me. I've another friend there, whom I met at the same time as that guy and he is pretty busy right now, but I am pretty sure(pretty hopeful) that he will be available at least a couple days as well. Finally, a friend of a friend is an au Pere in Switzerland right now and she gets weekends off and we might be meeting up for aweekend in Nice or something as well. So while I am going alone, there is a chance of meeting up with various contacts.
It is hard to believe it is real. I applied for a Mastercard and it came in the mail today, so I have my emergency money while I am gone. I bought a travel backpack this afternoon. It felt like a really big commitment, like admitting to my bank account that it is about to dwindle. It has me excited, like the trip is more real then ever before. Now I just have to work up the nerve to walk into a travel agent and book my flight.
The best thing about the whole thing is the fact that I really have no idea what I am doing with my life after this. If the month doesn't go well, I come home and return to life here, what is a month out of my life? It'll be an adventure in the Netherlands, in Europe, so it wont be anything close to a waste. But if it does go well, then who knows. Perhaps I will stay longer than the month, or I shall return home for the summer, put away some more money, and go back, in the fall, or next spring. Go back to travel more, or to work. To visit or to live. Anything is possible and since I really have no idea, I am trying hard to be open to any and all options.
So, to be cheesy, the winds of change are blowing and my world is about to be turned upside down. Heres to the adventure and the unknown to come!
A friend of mine, a friend of many, died late last month. Derrick Timmermans was involved in an accident as he was driving home from The Kings University College in Edmonton to Abbotsford during reading week. He hit a patch of black ice, spun out, and after a couple of days in hospital he was declared brain dead. While it is difficult to imagine that a 25 year old vibrant young man could be taken so young, at the same time we learned that his family is at peace with it. Two of his sisters flew out for the memorial and informed those in attendence that Derrick was 'ready to die', not hoping or waiting for it, but not afraid or worried about it. And as a further blessing, we learnt that all seven of his major organs, and both his eyes were donated. It is extremely rare for someone to be able to donate all their organs, so in a way he lives on in the lives that his family's selfless action of donating his organs restored life for many others.
RIP Derrick. God Bless to your family and friends. See you again some day.
In other news, a little less somber, I quit my job and am planning on going to Europe. More specifically, I am finished working at the Flying J as of March 19, 2008 after two years and nine months of work. It has been interesting, educational, stressful, and fun. No idea what is next in line for me in terms of work, but I am not to worried about it at this time.
The plan is that on April first, I will hop a flight to the Netherlands(Holland) where I will spend a month or so backpacking and exploring the country of my ancestors. I have always wanted to go and have talked about it many times, and while I have not yet bought my plane ticket- I am going to do it this time. I intend to embark on this trip solo, and although I am more than a little terrified about it, I strongly feel that it is the time to go. I emailed a cousin of my moms who lives in Friesland(Northern Netherlands) and she told me that I am welcome to stay with her for up to two months. Since then the trip got shorter, but it gives me the freedom to stay longer if it doesn't feel like the time to leave. I have also got ahold of a friend of mine from there, a guy I met about 5 years ago, and he said I can stay with him as well. He lives a bit more in the Western end of the Netherlands and is doing a practicum right now, only working a few hours a week. He was really excited to hear I was coming down and mentioned he might be willing to travel with me. I've another friend there, whom I met at the same time as that guy and he is pretty busy right now, but I am pretty sure(pretty hopeful) that he will be available at least a couple days as well. Finally, a friend of a friend is an au Pere in Switzerland right now and she gets weekends off and we might be meeting up for aweekend in Nice or something as well. So while I am going alone, there is a chance of meeting up with various contacts.
It is hard to believe it is real. I applied for a Mastercard and it came in the mail today, so I have my emergency money while I am gone. I bought a travel backpack this afternoon. It felt like a really big commitment, like admitting to my bank account that it is about to dwindle. It has me excited, like the trip is more real then ever before. Now I just have to work up the nerve to walk into a travel agent and book my flight.
The best thing about the whole thing is the fact that I really have no idea what I am doing with my life after this. If the month doesn't go well, I come home and return to life here, what is a month out of my life? It'll be an adventure in the Netherlands, in Europe, so it wont be anything close to a waste. But if it does go well, then who knows. Perhaps I will stay longer than the month, or I shall return home for the summer, put away some more money, and go back, in the fall, or next spring. Go back to travel more, or to work. To visit or to live. Anything is possible and since I really have no idea, I am trying hard to be open to any and all options.
So, to be cheesy, the winds of change are blowing and my world is about to be turned upside down. Heres to the adventure and the unknown to come!
Friday, January 18, 2008
My Post Christmas Rant (and other musings)
It amazes me sometimes how caught up we get in our lives. How quickly time passes, while we stare out the window day dreaming. I always feel like I am a busy person. Like there is so much to be done and no time to do it. But really this isn’t the case, because at the same time I can look back at the last month, ask myself what I did and generally speaking the answer stays the same. I work. I sleep (minimally at that). I eat. I go dancing (some weeks more than others). Occasionally I will meet someone for a ‘coffee date’, you know those random times with friends that can make up such a large part of our lives. Or mine at least. Other than my times hanging out with Cheryl, if I were to lose my ‘coffee dates’ I would likely lose all of my social interaction outside work and church.
The holidays were pretty good. I have decided it really bothers me how commercialized Christmas is. How many people actually acknowledge it for what it is, a celebration of our Saviours birth. The importance of the event, the occasion that are the cause of it, are completely lost and forgotten by nearly everyone- religious and non religious alike. It actually almost bothers me to the point of total frustration sometimes, but that is old news with it already nearing late Jan. My brother and his wife made it home for Christmas from the States this year, so we had the whole family together for the first time (first time since my niece was born) and I believe our first Christmas as a whole in three years or so. It was awesome. I got to spend some one on one time with both of them, which was a rare treat and I really appreciated it. Outside of that it was just another couple of weeks. I worked straight through the ‘holidays’ I am in the hospitality industry after all...
As for what the New Year brings, that is a good question. I got a guitar, so I hope the New Year brings new musical talents. I hope for time to dance, the opportunity to sing, and the chance to meet new people, to make new friends, and to touch base with old ones. I hope to learn things, to make a difference, to have some unique experiences, and to enjoy my life. To travel somewhere I have never been, to try something totally new, to step out of my comfort zone every now and then, and to have a year that at the end of it, I can look back and smile in perfect contentment, knowing that I have lived it to its fullest. I know, who doesn’t want these things right? But even if I share these wants with others, it makes them no less mine.
Work is going alright. I am slowly getting more and more recognition as a manager, from staff, customers, and the other managers. I am beginning to receive more and more management tasks, more responsibilities. I quite like that part of it. And otherwise, life just is. Nothing new or exciting to report. No big plans for a trip (not yet at least, keep posted for anything fun like that).
Ok. Battery on my lap top is about to die. Good night, stay in touch, and try to make someone laugh today- really really laugh. Chao!
ps. I ate Japanese food and lived to tell about it, a pretty big feat for me!
The holidays were pretty good. I have decided it really bothers me how commercialized Christmas is. How many people actually acknowledge it for what it is, a celebration of our Saviours birth. The importance of the event, the occasion that are the cause of it, are completely lost and forgotten by nearly everyone- religious and non religious alike. It actually almost bothers me to the point of total frustration sometimes, but that is old news with it already nearing late Jan. My brother and his wife made it home for Christmas from the States this year, so we had the whole family together for the first time (first time since my niece was born) and I believe our first Christmas as a whole in three years or so. It was awesome. I got to spend some one on one time with both of them, which was a rare treat and I really appreciated it. Outside of that it was just another couple of weeks. I worked straight through the ‘holidays’ I am in the hospitality industry after all...
As for what the New Year brings, that is a good question. I got a guitar, so I hope the New Year brings new musical talents. I hope for time to dance, the opportunity to sing, and the chance to meet new people, to make new friends, and to touch base with old ones. I hope to learn things, to make a difference, to have some unique experiences, and to enjoy my life. To travel somewhere I have never been, to try something totally new, to step out of my comfort zone every now and then, and to have a year that at the end of it, I can look back and smile in perfect contentment, knowing that I have lived it to its fullest. I know, who doesn’t want these things right? But even if I share these wants with others, it makes them no less mine.
Work is going alright. I am slowly getting more and more recognition as a manager, from staff, customers, and the other managers. I am beginning to receive more and more management tasks, more responsibilities. I quite like that part of it. And otherwise, life just is. Nothing new or exciting to report. No big plans for a trip (not yet at least, keep posted for anything fun like that).
Ok. Battery on my lap top is about to die. Good night, stay in touch, and try to make someone laugh today- really really laugh. Chao!
ps. I ate Japanese food and lived to tell about it, a pretty big feat for me!
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