In sync with Ma Nature

It appears I chose the right time to move down east to New Brunswick. Out in lovely British Columbia (where I was initially intending to go) some very unwest coast-like weather has been whitening things.

And in my old stomping grounds of Alberta, it is chilly to say the least.

I remember that kinda cold too well.

Meanwhile, out here in New Brunswick, I seem to have side-stepped these wintry onslaughts. While cool at night it's been lovely during the day remaining well above 0. It was up to 19 Celsius a week or so ago and according to Environment Canada this week should hover between 4 and 13 on the Celsius scale. Not a heatwave, but not bone-chilling or white either.

It appears (to me) as if I chose the right year to move to the east coast. Feels as if I'm in sync with Mother Nature.

The first parking ticket in New Brunswick

This is from a few days ago - Saturday? Well, whenever. It was the day we went looking for a bakery reputed to be somewhere around Keswick Ridge and, in our wanderings, we came upon the Mactaquac Dam.

But before all that ... Liz got her first New Brunswick parking ticket, courtesy of Fredericton. It came to $10.

I'm just guessing, but I don't think this one is the last. More will surely follow.

The Jolly bartender - the Saint John road trip

Yes, he was a cheerful and accommodating fellow. And the trip to Saint John was great, although we did get lost coming back and drove around New Brunswick aimlessly.

(I was speculating today that there must be word out by now that there’s a gold Taurus with Alberta plates randomly scooting up and down the roads of the province.)

I’ve edited somewhat the gazillion photos I took yesterday and have posted them right here.

I was shooting everything. And Liz took a few too. By the way, don’t expect to see any rhyme or reason to the order.

Road trip - Saint John, New Brunswick

Yes, we hit the road today and headed down to Saint John. I took many photos - 147, to be exact. So as you might imagine, I've no inclination to go through them all and post the more interesting ones - at least not now.

That sounds like a project for tomorrow ... maybe. Perhaps later. Who can say?

Despite some less that enthusiastic opinions of Saint John, I liked it and liked it a lot. At least what I saw of it. Very different from Fredericton. One (the latter) is pretty white collar. The other (the former) pretty much blue collar.

Or so it seemed to me.

But more on that another time.

Downtown Fredericton, rainy day

Yes, it waa damp today. And drizzly. And foggy.

But warm!

Well, warm in Canadian terms - about 14 degrees Celsius.

I'm having a helluva a time adjusting to the time difference. At 1:00 in the afternoon here it's 9:00 in the morning for the people I know in Vancouver. It's 10:00 back in Alberta.

Very disorienting.

Busy getting oriented and settled

Not much to say and not much time to say it today ... I spent most of it working on documents and learning/relearning some Web stuff. Like Dreamweaver 8 and Photoshop Elements since I'll need these for some of the things I hope to do.

It peed buckets of rain today but I didn't mind. Back in Edmonton they had snow.

This motel I'm staying at till a home is located is so noir. It was made for a movie with someone like Robert Mitchum. I have to get out and get pictures of it.

Hopefully I'll be able to toss together a better post soon and visit some other blogs and comment. But I'm also posting, when I can, on my other blog, Writelife. For whatever that's worth.

(By the way ... the image is of the highway, which I walked down the other day into the centre of town. A walk that took something like an hour and forty-five minutes. Yes, I took a cab home.)

Cul-de-sac

I was going to visit some of my favourite blogs tonight and maybe even leave a comment or two but Blogger seems disclined to go along with this. So ... I guess I won't.

Too bad. I finally had some time tonight to actually enjoy the Internet. C'est la vie.

The lighthouse - for Lianne

Yes, Lianne, this is the lighthouse outside our motel room that flashes all night long.

Not the best picture, but my camera doesn't do night shots well. But this is it!

And that's all I have to say about that. One more note to Lianne: I will let you know when it ceases to feel like a holiday and starts to feel like real life. I'm guessing that would be any day now.

Soggy day in Fredericton

Yes, I'm in Fredericton. And yes, for the time being we're staying in a motel. Well, I gotta live somewhere till I buy a house. And besides, it's kind of cool, as are Neil and Kelly who run the Silverwood Motel.

Liz dropped me off downtown today at the bank, where I had some things that needed doing. Then she headed to Moncton for meetings and to see a friend. So I was on my own today and took the time to meander around a little, relax, and get a feel for things.

I like it a LOT. It was fun earlier today when I was a coffee shop and online trading emails with my boss in Vancouver while talking on my cell to my friend in Cornwall, Ontario. There is free wireless Internet here so you can plant yourself just about anywhere in downtown Fredericton and be online. So despite the many miles separating all of us, you can be in touch pretty easily – and pretty immediately.

Anyway ... although everything's a bit of a blur at this stage, all is going very well. It’s still early, all of this is first impression stuff, but at this point I’d say I love it here and this was a great decision. Thumbs up. Four stars out of four. Highly recommended. And so on ...

Yes, I have arrived

I had some problems getting my Internet connection working but I finally have and am now blogging from Fredericton, New Brunswick.

Yes, that's me playing my passenger role in the long drive from Toronto.

Now that I'm here in Fredericton, I can finally start to reorient myself and do a bit of self-redefining.

And have a beverage or two.

Midpoint

I'm in a hotel room in the Sheraton Gateway at Terminal 3 of Pearson Airport, Toronto. I had dinner with friends. Tomorrow, we hit the road and do the first half of the drive to New Brunswick.

So I'm on my way.

Today was a very long one. No sleep, somewhat hungover, and very very tired.

Tomorrow I hope to be closer to where I like to be. Better rested, more energy, greater wit in the bot mots.

We will see.

The condo is empty

Yes, the condo is empty. I am no longer there and I ain't going back.

Tomorrow, I catch a jet at 1:20 pm and fly to Toronto, then Sunday hit the road for the drive to New Brunswick. We should be there by Tuesday.

Yes, this is all happening. And the anxiexty attacks are passing.

Soon, all will be well and I'll be settled. Well, in a manner of speaking.

Today's installment of 'The Move'

I'm slightly less stressed than I was for yesterday's post - but I'm still experiencing high anxiety levels and therefore will likely disavow postings from this week. Speaking of posting ...

I sent an email to my friend Ron and thought it read a bit like a post so I'm going to post some of it here. It may seem a bit disjointed, but hey - this is a blog. Waddaya want? Literary art?

Yes, it's all happening fast and it's both exciting and wildly stressful. Of course, idiot that I am, I'm working this week rather than taking it off - big mistake. For example, tomorrow I'll be here working while movers take things out around me. Fortunately Saturday is coming up quickly so I think I can sidestep the ulcer.

Friday I've got the junk people coming in to take away all my useless crap and I have to make my way into the office to turn in my corporate knicknacks ... laptop, ID, etc. Not to mention some cleaning up and other running around. So I'm not sure when or if I'll be free.

One reason I'm doing all this so quickly was to just do it - use the momentum and stress to get it done. If I'd taken a more reasonable, thoughtful approach I think it would have dragged on till next spring. So I just threw myself into the chaos of doing it fast and to hell with what went sideways (and a good deal has/will).

It's also a good thing I took this approach. If I had thought of this clearly I would have had a coronary. The last time I moved across the country was about twenty years ago and all I had was a suitcase. And my last move was only a few blocks. This time, it's across the entire damn country with the accumulated crap of someone who has furniture, computers, books, bikes, blah blah blah. It ain't the same!

And buying and selling real estate ... oy! Good thing I hadn't known what I was getting into with all this moving business.

One nice thing about all this technology, and part of the reason I can make this move, is it allows you to be anywhere and still be in touch.

I'm actually looking forward to setting up as a kind of business and maybe taking some time to redo my various web sites. I'm also hoping I can get into something less tech oriented - maybe even something that doesn't involve computers! Now that would be a change. But I'll see what happens when I get down there.

Anyway ... back to packing. Good grief ...

The post I probably should not post

So, why am I making this rather large change in my life? I find it interesting that no one has really asked me this. I suppose some people have and I’ve given what I think would probably be a pretty obviously frivolous response … but no one has actually pressed me on it. No one has said, “Yeah, but why are you really doing it?”

So let’s review …

• I’ve spent the last year or so experiencing what I would consider rather serious depression
• I took the time to see a therapist (that was kind of so-so)
• I killed my cat
• I quit my job
• I sold my home
• I’m moving to a part of the world where I don’t know a damn soul

I dunno. To me that sounds like a bit more than merry-making quirkiness. Sounds to me like something’s seriously fucked up with that guy. But generally speaking people seem to accept my lameass answers about wanting a change, a slower pace, blah blah blah.

Let’s be honest. I’m doing this because I hate my life.

Of course, having said that I should also say I’ve had a beverage or two and I’m in one of those “feel sorry for myself” zones, so my comments may be tainted.

Still, some truth laces through all this. As well as some jim dandy writing. (Okay, so maybe not jim dandy, but at least somewhat engaging.)

Even as I write this my mood improves. So perhaps I’m not so grimly poised as I sound. I’m a bit amused by my own, as Mr. Dylan might phrase it, “sad complaint.” (That’s an inside joke for Dan.)

But it would be nice if the people I knew were aware that this is no small thing I’m doing, and that it’s not being done on a lark.

I may seem amused or indifferent or simply acting on the spur of the moment, but I am not. This is serious business to me. Depth of feeling should not be measured by how much water falls from the eyes.

Maybe one day, when I find my balls, I’ll actually say what this is all about. (However don’t, as the expression goes, hold your breathe. That’s not my strong suit.)

Postscript:

I'll probably be horrified in the morning to find I've actually posted this. But for now, I'm rather pleased I've posted something that's worth a damn and actually says something, even though it is a bit vague.