goodbye canada!

It is amazing how good it feels to smile.

While at work two nights ago, I made an effort to cheer 'grumpy cody' up as he sulked around the kitchen for no apparent reason. The contest: See who can smile for longer. It was funny at first. Funny because we were all forcing ourselves to look content... happy even. But with each glance into the kitchen I saw Cody, washing dishes, with a huge - though presumably forced - smile upon his face. The more I saw this, the more my smile became genuine. The more people noticed that my forced grin had become real, the faster theirs followed suit.

Within minutes, the attitude of the entire kitchen had changed. Work was fun. Fun to the point where I've had the staff that was on that night calling me each night since, asking if anyone wanted the night off, as they wanted to come into work.

And work aside, I find myself walking down the street these days, my face adorned by a toothy simper, or I find myself driving, too or from Lou's most often, just beaming... about nothing and everything at the same time. 

I just read all of that back to myself, and I realized how lame it actually sounds. The truth is though, that I really don't care. My mood as of late, and my choice and willingness to be happy, and let everyone know this through my facial expression - it feels fucking incredible. It feeds off itself.

Seriously.

Try it.

Spend one day smiling. Even if you aren't happy. Just smile. Force it. It'll take hold eventually, and you will see the change - in people around you, in how people approach and talk to you, and then, in your own mood. I really do believe that happiness is contagious. So I will do my best to spread it around when I am able.

On a completely different note. I will be leaving the country... for a while.

Lou and I have decided to go away, for a year, maybe longer. 

The details of the trip are in the works, and we have a lot of ideas to hash out. As well, we have some immigration issues to tend to - in terms of her status in Canada, and what effects that leaving will have on her visa here, as well as her eligibility to return to Canada after our trip, if we choose to do so.

The plan as of right now. Leave at the end of next summer - spend two weeks in Japan, one week in Thailand, and one week in Vietnam - before ending up in Australia. Two months in oz - the first in Brisbane with Lou's family - the second traveling about the country. We will then return to Canada for a week or so, in order to re-group, re-organize, and re-pack, before taking off to the U.K. Our plan is to settle somewhere there for the winter months, securing work and accommodations. While much research is left to be done, we are leaning towards Northern England or Scotland. Maybe Edinburgh.

If all goes well, we will hopefully be able to save a bit of money during the winter, and come mid-March, we will hit the rails.

Our goal is to visit every country in Europe. This will take a few months.

After our European travels, its off to Africa. There are some great opportunities to do volunteer work in Africa. We plan to try to set up work there first, however their are opportunities through an organization called CADIP to help out with different projects all over the place. It's awesome too, because they don't all focus around building and development. Many of the projects are aimed at increasing awareness of the issues within a given environment, and some focus on cultural exchange, where you are working directly with youth.

Anyway, that is the plan as of this moment, it is bound to change some, but I think we're pretty set on most of the things I have mentioned. Stoked. But now I must return to work, I've got a smiling contest to get back to!

a month in review...

When you look into the mirror...what do you see?

The reality is that we look into the mirror numerous times each day. The question is...do we pay any attention to exactly what it is we are looking at?

More importantly - do we understand WHO it is that is staring back at us?

I looked into the mirror tonight and realised that the person staring back at me is someone so incredibly different than the person whom would have been staring back as little as a year ago...

I am proud of that.

I feel that I have progressed so much as a human being in the last 10 months that it is almost hard to comprehend. I look different. I act different. I feel different. I am different - all in the best of ways.

I set out to makes some changes. Though, when I set out, I didn't quite know what changes those would be exactly. Changes to my lifestyle have given way to changes to my diet and overall health. These modifications to my diet and overall health have given way for changes to the way I think. And changing the way I think has had an immense effect on my personality. I have, in some way or another, created a cycle of optimism and positivity that feeds off itself.

My life is amazing.

It would be much too daunting a task to re-cap everything of significance since my last post. And touching quickly on the fact that it has been exactly 36 days since that particular post - I have learned something quite important. When I set out with this blog, my intention was to force myself to update daily. I suppose my logic was that a daily post would ensure that I was pushing myself each day towards a new experience. I think that sometimes, when you just let go a little, life can kind of whisk you away for a while - and if or when this happens, you must let it whisk away. You cannot ask it to hold on, while you share stories of the whisk. Nor can you ask it to slow its pace you can take it all in. You just let it whisk. And, if everything goes well, you sit down afterwards and reflect a little (or a lot). I think now that I understand this I won't need to strive for a daily update. Perhaps just when I feel the need (though, for the sake of consistency, I will try for once a week as best as I am able).

The last month of my life has definately been one of those 'whisks'. And I think a blog of written reflection based around the last month of my life might actually take the NEXT month of my life for me to write - but I'll do what I can.

In the last month: I climed a mountain. I fell down that mountain. I painted a picture. I became a brother in-law. I gave a speech. I said I love you. I went on a road trip. I surfed. I laughed. I bonded. I learned. I saved and I spent. I worked. I relaxed. I made a list. And I flew a kite.

I took pictures too...