Currently Deactivated

This blog is currently inactive, I´m in South America right now, and my adventures are being recording at my travel blog:

www.horizon-to-horizon.blogspot.com

For the entertainment of the wider world...

70 Questions I Guarantee You've Never Answered


1.Would you kiss the last person you kissed again? Hell, yes!

2. What song describes your relationship status? Blindfold, by Morcheeba

3. How much does your dog weigh? 60 lbs.

4. Are you a heart breaker, or the heart breakee? I hope I don't end up as either

5. Ever waxed your legs? Nope

6. Earrings or necklaces? necklace, I've always had my bling, current one is from Bolivia

7. Who have you talked to most today? Myself, probably. I'm losing my marbles.

8. SEX? Yes

9. Friend of the opposite sex that lives closest to you? No one within an easily measurable distance.

10. Color of your shirt? Brown

11. How many years have you taken a language? Not counting my years of botched French as a young child, 2 years.

12. Who's on speed dial 5? My home. Right in the center where it's easy to find.

13. What color is your background on your computer mainly? grey

14. Do you wish on 11:11? you can wish on that?

15. Good advice if you ever go camping? Get lost

16. Are you a bad influence? Yes, but people seem to love me anyways.

17. What color are your eyes? Blue

18. Would you rather have your name or your siblings name? I like my name, hands off.

19. Would you do anything for someone? There are a few people that have earned that.

20. Have you ever been called a whore? Not to memory

21. Favorite color? Blue

22. Do you use smiley faces on the computer a lot? No, I'm too conventional in my usage of computers

23. What song is on? Heart's A Lonely Hunter, by David Byrne

24. Are your grades good? Silver honour roll.

25. Do you have any friends with benefits? No.

26. Does your best friend have a facebook? She might, I have only been using it for a couple of days.

27. Who's page did you last visit? Chelan's, where I found this.

28. Last time you went out to lunch? Today

29. Do you watch the Gilmore Girls? I watched it once, missed the point of it, haven't watched it since.

30. Have you ever enjoyed listening to Jack Johnson? On the occasion

31. Have you ever watched the O.C and enjoyed it? I've never watched the O.C. (GASP!)

32. Do you have one or more Britney Spears C.D? No, or may hell consume me.

33. Which radio stations are your favorites? Radio in my part of the world fucking sucks. The CBC can take claim as a favourite.

34. Are you a Lost fanatic? No

35. How many in your cell contact list? Don't haven't on me right now, more than I can count.

36. Do you have an ozzy song in your library? I don't think so.

38. Alanis Morisette? Tastes like fish

39. Do you watch Family Guy Regularly? Sadly, yes.

40. Favourite cat? I don't like cats. I feed them to my dog.

41. Do you read? More than some people will read in a lifetime

43. Do you sing obnoxiously in the car? Yeah, when I'm feeling abrasive

44. Do you sing obnoxiously in the shower when no one's home? Not for years

45. Have you ever watched a little kid's show when you were bored? Yes

46. What's your favourite memory with your crush(past or present)? I'm still creating favourite memories with the present one, get back to me on that one

47. Deleted.

48. Have you ever liked a girl/boy but didnt ask her/him out because you were afraid?
Yes, but not because of her, but because I was fairly sure I'd ruin both our lives if I did

49. Have you ever written a poem or story about your life? Parts of my life, several poems

50. Have you ever spent over an hour thinking about nothing but your boyfriend/girlfriend? Yes, I wish I could spend more time doing it.

51. Have you ever liked someone solely for their appearance? Yes.

52. Do you eat all the servings in the food groups on a daily? I'm semi-vegetarian, so no.

53. Are you ever a freak about cleanliness or organization? Haha, some people wish I was.

54. Have you ever been to South America or Africa? Yes, South America

55. Do you know how to knit? No.

56. Do you have a cell phone or iPod with a patterned cover? No.

57. Have you ever written love song lyrics yourself and put them in your profile? No.

58. Do you keep a diary or journal online? A travel diary, this blog in fact.

59. When you open your closet, what is the dominant color? White

60. Baskin Robins or DQ? DQ

61. Physics or chemistry? Chemistry.

62. Earphones or headphones? Earphones

63. pink or teal? Pink, teal makes me think of a hospital.

64. Earrings or a ring? ring.

65. Commitment, or casual dating? Commitment.

66. Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings or Star Wars? Lord of the Rings

67. Fly or road trip? Road Trip.

68. Starbucks or Tim Hortons? Neither, Fibonacci.

69. What is your favorite Disney movie? What a fucked up world I live in

70. How much jewelry do you own? Almost none

This is the mission plan...

This is the plan for travel...

By the end of August 2007, I will get on plane for Quito, Ecuador. I will then spend about a month in a language school which I still need to select out the array that can be found. As well, I'm looking to be doing some kind of volunteer work there, possibly work in an orphanage or with street children, something to give me a perspective of the disadvantaged and isolated parts of society. Other things would include a possible trip into the Amazon, and to climb one or more of the volcanoes in the area, Cotopaxi, being the closest and most obvious.


From there, my next stop will be down to the coast to visit my friends and to spend time escaping from the big cities and crowds of people and the rushing by of modern life. I want practice surfing some more time near the ocean.

Things are vague after this point, and I don't intend to plan much, and take things more spontaneously. After what I would will probably be at least 2 months in Ecuador, I go south to Peru, then on to Bolivia, to Argentina, possible side trip to Uruguay and then last to Chile, where I will get on a plane from Santiago to fly to Australia, where my extended family will be gathering in Perth for the 80th birthday of my grandmother, the matriarch of my large, and very British, family. Ultimately, I will arrive back in Canada by April 2008. I will have through 7 to 9 different countries, traveled hundreds of miles, seen things, met people, learned what it's like to really travel, and hopefully much more that will help in my life, and of course, just for it to be an awesome experience.

Wish me luck...

South America Rising

So I was looking over my finances the other day, it turns out I have enough money to go back to South America. This immediately stimulated the following response me me:

FUCK YEAH! I'M GOING BACK!

After recovering from the moment of blissful ecstasy, I realized that now I need to figure out where and why I'm returning, aside from being the dopest continent I've been on so far. I mean, possibilities are endless, from simple sightseeing to rallying for socialist revolutions to smuggling cocaine in and out of Colombia. I eventually settled on activities that wouldn't likely result in my death or incarceration, as I'd like to come back to Canada afterwards.

Following in the footsteps of Ben and Erin before me, I'll be down for about 6 months. Beginning in Ecuador, I'll start in Quito, and spend about a month there in a spanish school and acclimatizing to the way of life. Remember, culture shock is very real! After that I'll head down to the coast to visit my friends at Las Tunas. After that... is a mystery. I want to go down with minimal plans, as part of what I disliked the first time I went was that I was following a fairly inflexible itinerary. Stupid North American fear of being sued for letting someone skin their knee. One thing I want to do though, is reach out. I'm thinking working in an orphanage or some kind of community work, something to immerse myself in deeper understanding of the people around me. But one thing is for sure, South America, here I come... with a first aid kit.

On the move again...

With the leaving of so many friends my life lately, as they step out into the world, off travelling or attending post-secondary, it has highlighted many of the consequences of travel for me again.

We all need to eventually move on in life, but it's always the people that count most. They walk in and out of our lives, all playing a part in making up who it is that we are. Some of them play a particularly crucial role in the shaping of our lives, others maybe not so much. For me, there have been many mentors, signposts people that play a pivotal role in who I am today, most of them know who they are. Entering my final year of high school, it has begun to occur to me of my imminent departure from home, and for me to begin to step out, and my funds accumulating nicely, my return to South America should go off without a hitch. It's important, I think at this point to reflect and consider the people that have played, and many that are still playing, a part in my life. So many are, even already have, faded, and it makes me step back and wonder "what the hell happened?" and consider who in my life is worth remembering and keeping contact with, and who is going to step out of the limelight...

Signpost: The Life Gap

So, with a pair of contrasting trips done this year, it struck me mostly just how different they had been: Ecuador, with it's simplicity of life and lacking any kind of material wealth, and Europe, the heartland of Western civilization, massed with culture and material wealth in fantastic proportions. I have just been to the two extremes of the human life on this planet. They couldn't be much more contrasting. What divided them also, regardless of the quality of the life of they lived, was two different perceptions of the world and ultimately, two different ways of living. Ecuador lived for the present, having no need or power to focus too much into the future. It lacked any kind of modern wealth and thus made the most of what it did have, and every small thing, every day, was celebrated with an unshakable happiness and satisfaction in life. And Europe, with it's eye on the future, on progress, and the high quality of life lived by it's denizens, and found it's satisfaction in always moving forward and waiting to reap it's fruit, thus lacking the total satisfaction with the present. Each had, basically, what the other lacked, fundamentally because they are looking at life from different perspectives. One on present, the other on the future. One on doing all the work before reaping the fruit, the other did a little work each day took a little fruit. There are many critics of both ways of living, but they do in fact ultimately lead to the same conclusion, and each has it's own pros and cons. While some people campaign one over the other, I disagree, it is totally up the individual which road they take, as each comes with it's own rewards and sacrifices. It is something that more people should consider, as the majority of people think there is only one way of living, and those not lucky enough to be able to make it. Life is always about choices, and this is one I think more people should consider.