What on earth is going on? Where am I? What am I doing? Why haven't I written anything for quite some time?
Blah, blah, blah, blah, BLAH!
Truthfully, I'm feeling pretty apathetic about my travel journal. Why is that? (another darn question!) I think it's because I'm technically not travelling anymore. Furthermore, I really do not feel like writing down about my daily activities and such in Victoria. Actually, that's a lie because it's always on the back of my mind and sometimes I think about fantastic and interesting things to write down, but I just never get around to it, so ultimately, it comes down to priorities and my travel journal has not been one of them.
Now, you might be asking yourself, what are my priorities? I often ask myself the same question. Presently, I am not to sure!
Health is an obvious one. For example, I went to Stacies birthday party on the just passed weekend. Knowing that she was getting a keg and that it probably wouldn't be the most vegan friendly environment, I packed an abundance of fruits, two smoothies full of more fruits and vegetables, nuts, seeds, two meals (I always cook in large quantities so there are ALWAYS leftovers for lunch the next day or dinner) and finally, my daily breakfast of steel-cut oats with an assortment of seeds for the following morning so I would could jump right back on the healthy bandwagon!
If you think that the two photos above are beautiful, it's because they are. Victoria was beautiful almost two months ago when I snapped those. It's a rarity to wake up and see the sun shining now. Instead, the leaves are brown (which is still very beautiful) the skies are mostly grey (not as pretty) and the roads are pretty slick - rain, rain go away! Apparently though, I can expect this cold, wet, miserable weather to be quite regular over the upcoming months.
Fortunately though the very same people that tell me about how chilly it's going to be also tell me that I am in the best part of Canada for a Winter, with minimal snow on the island and in Victoria. So yippee for that!
Truly though, I love Victoria! That is why I have decided to settle down for a bit here. I love the community of friends I have made, the place itself is wonderful, it's not a big city, nor is it to small. I very much enjoy the work that I am doing, so why not keep the good times rollin'??
This is my vehicle. Up until recently, I had enjoyed riding to get around. I still do, but like I said, there is a cool breeze in the air! It's uncommon for me to leave the house without at least a shirt on, maybe a light hoodie on above that, then another jumper on top of that and then a waterproof windbreaker, and finally a scarf is the dairy-free icing on my cake.
Anyhow, this morning I found out that "ANYHOW" is not actually proper English! Thursdays are my favourite!! For the past 3 weeks I have been attending a Toastmasters club in Victoria. They meet at 6:55am each Thursday and have welcomed me into their club. This morning, I was informed that "anyhow" is actually slang, I did not know that. That is why I go, to learn! After my Thursday morning Toastmasters meetings I go to the Camosun College Landsdowne campus to use the gym. Do I pay to use it? No way! I haven't had to pay to use a single gym since I left Australia!
Maybe I should start paying to use the gym? In almost the 8 months since departing I have gained somewhere between 4-5kgs! Whoopsie..
Getting up early is one of a few things that is starting to become quite difficult. Gone are the days where getting up at 4:15am was a cinch! Doing pull ups is proving to be a bit more of a challenge. Banging out 20 straight reps was something I used to be quite proud of, but now getting through 3 sets of 10 reps is quite the task. And don't even get me started on running! Boy oh boy, Jack aint so nimble or quick anymore!
What else do I need to highlight, hmmmm… ?
When I moved into this temporary (I'll tell you why it's temporary in a second) home on the 1st of October, I was just coming down with what was to be a mean cold/flu. I got a bit better, then the next day would feel considerably worse. Towards the end of the sickness we decided to get a cat, which after going through many names, we agreed upon "Coco". Coco is quite the smart cat, very lazy, but quite a personality. She'll lounge around for most of the day, but as soon as a door or window opens, she'll sneakily try for her great escape. When she wants your attention she'll make all the noise in the world, if she wants nothing to do with you, you'll know about it. ANYWAYS, so we got Coco and I started coughing heavily and had these intense headaches. It probably lasted 2 days, but I was convinced that I was allergic to cats, like father, like son. Thanks dad!
Good news though, turns out I am not allergic. So my room which I declared a "cat-free zone" now welcomes Coco.
http://www.usedvictoria.com/classified-ad/Odd-jobs_18295043?fb_action_ids=10151101970076022&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_source=aggregation&fb_aggregation_id=288381481237582
I put an ad out on a local website asking for odd jobs. Monday to Friday, I work no less than 3 hours a day, so obviously I am very busy and don't have much time for anything else. Regardless, I thought I could use a bit of extra work to fill up my days, there were a few interests, but nothing concrete. I thought it was funny nonetheless!
Working for Community Living Victoria has so far been an absolute blast! Being apart of the Teen Community Connections team is a tonne of fun and post camp, it's exactly what I want to be apart of. For example, last Friday after we picked the teens up we visited a pumpkin patch before going off to play some capture the flag. I have never been to a pumpkin patch before, it was such a cool experience!
It was HUGE!
Over on this side of the world they celebrate something called "Halloween" and apparently carving pumpkins are a big deal. "WHAT?? YOU'VE NEVER CARVED A PUMPKIN BEFORE?!?"
My room mates and I are throwing a Halloween party on Halloween, which falls on a Wednesday, so we are expecting quite the attendance.
Unfortunately though, the good times at 2537 Cedar Hill Rd are coming to an end. Just two weeks after moving in I found out that I have to move out! The land lady wants to move back in with her son after a failed relationship or something. So we have 6 weeks to ship on out! Come the first of December I am pretty sure I have found a place to sub-let until the 1st of May next year. It's a really cool place, again shared with 3 room mates, it's not in the ideal location and it's a bit more expensive, but I think it will be cozy for 6 months before I head back to camp… Only 230 days to go. Ha!
Now I believe that is it! I mean there are many things that I haven't gone into detail about, but you get the gist of where I am at. I got a little bit of a routine which I like very much. Toastmasters and the gym on Thursday mornings, I play indoor soccer on Tuesday evenings at UVIC. Chloe and I joined an intramural team and we've lost the last 3 games… but it's fun so that's irrelevant! ;)
Oh! I almost got away with it again. I never wrote anything for all of September. That was a fun month as I didn't pay a cent in rent, although my grocery bill was through the roof! I was fortunate enough to stay with Stacie and Jen. In return for allowing me into their home I attempted to cook as frequently as possible, but I owe them so much more than that.
From what I can remember during September there was an abundance of two things:
1. Great food
Scrumptious pad-thai.
Fresh pizza night was always a favourite.
A combination of dips and Catan was deadly..
2. Numerous games of Settlers of Catan
Naturally, I would typically win ;)
And another win, online this time with Jim, Stace and Luke. Watch out cool kids!
If I wasn't cooking, I would be playing Catan. If I wasn't playing Catan I would be cooking. More often than not it was a combination of the two.
Now folks, that's all for today. I'd like to say that I will get around to another entry before the end of the year, but no promises!
