Back in the thick of it.

Well folks, finally here's a real update for y'all. I hope you enjoyed the last couple photo posts.

Things here in Rossland, BC, are flowing along nicely. For a while there I was a little worried that nothing would fall into place, but it seems to be working out great. I've been working part time at a restaurant down in Trail waiting tables, which has been good for pocket money but not good at all for bankable money. So finally I managed to land a job at the local ski hill, Red Mountain Resort, as a lift operator. I also had an interview with the food and beverage people yesterday, and I'm confident something will come up there.

What does all this mean, you ask? Well, if something DOES come up in F&B at the hill then I can give up on the restaurant job. My main problem there is that the shifts are infrequent and traveling back and forth is sketchy at best. If I had a car of my own it'd be no problem, but public transport here runs at ridiculous hours, so I can't rely on that.

As you can see, everything job-wise is falling into place perfectly. My future, on the other hand, is all over the map. I've got some great ideas, and just came up with another one an hour ago. I like this one and might look deeper to see how far I can take it.

It's all in how determined one can be to obtain their dreams. Make it happen.

Through The Fog...

Closed for the Winter!

When it dumps, it dumps!

Well, today is snow day number 3 here in Rossland, BC, and it's bucketing down. I went to bed last night and there wasn't a fleck of snow in the air. When I got up, somehow there was three inches on the ground. All this in a span of seven hours... And it hasn't stopped! Amazing.

Tomorrow I am hoping to start my new job at the Trails End Cafe down in Trail. I'm going to be waiting tables, but it won't be that bad. The menu is amazing (and pricey), and the restaurant has a good reputation, which should bring in some nice tips for yours truly. And trust me, I need it. I'm looking into buying a car (just a little run-around for the winter and beyond) and it looks like the insurance alone is going to cost me more than the car! Well, not quite, but it's still a kick in the dick.

Some more good news for you folks out there: I got an interview at Red Resort. This is the big one for me. Ideally I would like to work days at the mountain, then about three nights a week at the restaurant. This would give me the money I need to play around for the winter, as well as put some aside for when I have to decide what to do in the spring. Most importantly, though, I'd be keeping busy and meeting people, which is definitely what I need at the moment. Restlessness is setting in!

Good things are happening, I can feel it. The ball is rolling, and I think it's rolling in the right (albeit lengthy) direction...

Snow day #2.

Right now, here in Rossland, BC, it's snowing like a mutha... I'd finish that sentence, but sensitive eyes are watching. They are calling for up to 15cms of snow today and over night, but from friday until tuesday it's meant to rain, rain, and rain some more. All the beautiful snow will be gone for good. Well, until it snows again.

Talking to a lady in a shop today, she told me that it's a pretty regular thing to get over twenty five FEET of snow each year. I assume that this doesn't all happen at once and you have to dig your HOUSE out of the snow, but tweenty five feet of snow is still twenty five feet of snow, no matter how you look at it. Apparently about five years ago they got hit with more than FORTY FEET in the season! Are you fucking serious??!!?? That's some back-breaking shovel work, let me tell you...

No, it's actually good. I'm looking forward to the snow. I haven't done a whole lot of winter photography, so it will be a good challenge for me. Oh, and that whole snowboarding thing should be pretty fun, too!

All settled in, with LOTS of places to go!

Well, I've moved in to my new place here in Rossland, BC, Canada. A little history of Rossland: It was apparently the place of the first ever helicopter flight in North America by Louise Gagnon in 1902; Rossland was home to the country's richest gold mine; There are over 200 mines dotted around the area of Rossland; It is home to approximately 3500 people.

Everything is super amazing at the moment. I'm confident that a job will come soon, and I'm even more confident that my photography skills can only improve by being in such a beautiful location. Rossland is only about 10kms from the US border, so if I felt like going for a long weekend to Washington, I could walk there. HA! Everyone that I've met in my short time here (and there's been quite a few!) has been super nice and helpful. Just yesterday I was given a tip off about two different job opportunities that look interesting!

The house itself is very cool, too. Two bedrooms, huge living/dining room, big kitchen where I can build up some culinary skills, massive bathroom with a kick-ass shower... It's very nice indeed. The tv only gets two stations that are always fuzzy, so I won't be watching it that often, but this can only be a good thing! Oh, and there's a huge, fenced backyard that I can go out and make snow angels in when the snow arrives.

Did I mention that last year (from what I've been told) there was six feet of snow on the ground at one point? Good things are going to come from this move to BC, I can tell...!

All settled in, with LOTS of places to go!

Well, I've moved in to my new place here in Rossland, BC, Canada. A little history of Rossland: It was apparently the place of the first ever helicopter flight in North America by Louise Gagnon in 1902; Rossland was home to the country's richest gold mine; There are over 200 mines dotted around the area of Rossland; It is home to approximately 3500 people.

Everything is super amazing at the moment. I'm confident that a job will come soon, and I'm even more confident that my photography skills can only improve by being in such a beautiful location. Rossland is only about 10kms from the US border, so if I felt like going for a long weekend to Washington, I could walk there. HA! Everyone that I've met in my short time here (and there's been quite a few!) has been super nice and helpful. Just yesterday I was given a tip off about two different job opportunities that look interesting!

The house itself is very cool, too. Two bedrooms, huge living/dining room, big kitchen where I can build up some culinary skills, massive bathroom with a kick-ass shower... It's very nice indeed. The tv only gets two stations that are always fuzzy, so I won't be watching it that often, but this can only be a good thing! Oh, and there's a huge, fenced backyard that I can go out and make snow angels in when the snow arrives.

Did I mention that last year (from what I've been told) there was six feet of snow on the ground at one point? Good things are going to come from this move to BC, I can tell...!

You CAN get something for nothing!

Well, that's a bit of a lie, or at least an exaggeration. If you read down a few posts, you'll notice that I had all my camera equipment stolen from an underground parking lot in Calgary (thanks again, fuckers). Anyway, after much wrangling and telephone calls between parents, insurance claim agents, etc, I have finally started to rebuild my stockpile.

Here in Vancouver, at a Best Buy, and via a telephone call back to London, Ontario, to a claims agent, with the help of Manager Michael, I managed to spend close to $3500.00 on camera goodies. The most exciting piece of all is a brand new Nikon D80 digital SLR, along with two lenses (18-135mm and 55-200mm). These two will pretty much replace the four lenses that were stolen, but I DO still wish I could have picked up a 50mm f1.4 prime. Oh well, beggars can't be choosers when you're shopping at Best Buy. I also picked up close to $350 worth of filters for the two lenses, which shocked Manager Michael. Also, I threw in a nice SB-600 speedlight flash for good measure. That's the main unit. I also got a Canon Powershot A710 for nights out.

It was fun and frustrating at the same time doing my shopping, and took over four hours to get it all done. In the end, though, I got close to the equivalent of what was taken from me by the Calgary Crackhead. Now I'm off to start making beautiful art. Can't wait to be in those mountains again!

Oh, did I mention that all of this didn't cost me ONE PENNY? No? Well, all of this didn't cost me one penny. There.

You CAN get something for nothing!

Well, that's a bit of a lie, or at least an exaggeration. If you read down a few posts, you'll notice that I had all my camera equipment stolen from an underground parking lot in Calgary (thanks again, fuckers). Anyway, after much wrangling and telephone calls between parents, insurance claim agents, etc, I have finally started to rebuild my stockpile.

Here in Vancouver, at a Best Buy, and via a telephone call back to London, Ontario, to a claims agent, with the help of Manager Michael, I managed to spend close to $3500.00 on camera goodies. The most exciting piece of all is a brand new Nikon D80 digital SLR, along with two lenses (18-135mm and 55-200mm). These two will pretty much replace the four lenses that were stolen, but I DO still wish I could have picked up a 50mm f1.4 prime. Oh well, beggars can't be choosers when you're shopping at Best Buy. I also picked up close to $350 worth of filters for the two lenses, which shocked Manager Michael. Also, I threw in a nice SB-600 speedlight flash for good measure. That's the main unit. I also got a Canon Powershot A710 for nights out.

It was fun and frustrating at the same time doing my shopping, and took over four hours to get it all done. In the end, though, I got close to the equivalent of what was taken from me by the Calgary Crackhead. Now I'm off to start making beautiful art. Can't wait to be in those mountains again!

Oh, did I mention that all of this didn't cost me ONE PENNY? No? Well, all of this didn't cost me one penny. There.

I'm a Westerner -- It's Official!

Today I passed from mountain time (like I said before, fuck you Calgary. Mountain time is NOT my time!) into Pacific Time. I don't ever plan on going back. Sorry everyone. Pacific time seems to suit me just fine...

BC. What to say about such a place? Everywhere I look there seems to be something new and exciting and beautiful and amazing. I'm loving it so far. I'll let you know again when I actually decide on a place to stay, and start looking for a job. That could make or break this whole experience. The job hunt is one of my major worries right now, but I think I've come at a good time of year, so hopefully no problems.

We're in Nelson right now, which is apparently one of the sunniest places in BC. Even though we arrived and it was dark, I've got a good feeling about the place. I only noticed ONE Wal-Mart! Lots of coffee shops, street shopping, it's on a lake, and the air is clean.

About 10,000 people call Nelson home, but there's a good possibility it might be 10,002 by the end of this month.

Fuck You Calgary.

Last night as Stephanie and I were peacefully sleeping the night away at the Days Inn here in Calgary Alberta her car was broken into. I'm guessing that it was probably some kind of addict looking for some crap to sell. Thankfully the "crap" they decided to take was ALL OF MY GOD DAMNED CAMERA EQUIPMENT!!! WHAT THE FUCK!!! So not only do I not have a camera to take photos of the rest of our trip, but all the photos since Red Lake Ontario (about two weeks ago) and all the undeveloped/exposed film has been taken.

Thanks Calgary. I don't know if I'll be coming back any time soon...

Mountain Time is MY Time!

Welcome to Calgary, Alberta. The urban sprawl here is huge. I think we probably drove for about thirty kilometres before we got into the city proper. Absolutely crazy. The place is booming, but there isn't enough housing for all the people to stay in, so people are having to rent one bedroom apartments for $1000/month. Is it REALLy that amazing of a place? Sure, it's pretty sunny for most of the year, and those chinooks will warm you right up in the winter... But the COST!!! Think about it!

So off to Banff tomorrow or the next, and probably spend a few days in the surrounding parks area exploring and getting used to the mountain air. Hikes, bikes, and good ol' times...

BC is next, and off Vancouver to see a couple friends and an Uncle. Can't wait.

Beautiful Ontario, when will you end?

To anyone out there who has traveled the length and breadth of Ontario, Canada, WHY THE HELL DIDN'T YOU TELL ME IT WAS SO DAMN HUGE!!!??? Holy crow, it's been ages. Since leaving London two weeks ago, we have already clocked up more than 2,600kms on the speedo, and we're only in Red Lake! Yeesh! There's still four more provinces to go!

Actually, we should be in Manitoba come Saturday, which will be very exciting indeed. It's time to get this show on the road and see some places I haven't been before. Mind you, I haven't seen Northern Ontario before, and have thoroughly enjoyed it, but there's something about getting out of the province you grew up in, you know? Also my excitement for getting to British Columbia is drawing me to get out there.

Does anyone out there know of any good, exciting, challenging car games to play? Steph and I have been traveling quite a bit lately, and sometimes the conversation in the car is a little quiet. Anyone? Anyone?

So Long Southwestern Ontario!

Notice I didn't say "goodbye", instead opting for the pleasant "so long"... I'll be back for visits, so it's definitely not a goodbye.

Yeah, in about 20 hours I'll be leaving London, Ontario, Canada, never to return to live again. At least that's the plan. My move to British Columbia is, at this point, being viewed as a long-term move, and as such I'm having a hard time dealing with the fact that I am leaving all my good friends and family behind. So, to all those that have enriched my life beyond anything that you will ever realise, thank you SOOOO much. I value your friendship and love immensely, and hope that it will continue for many years to come.

Wow, it's really getting down to it. I still haven't packed my clothes, or even decided on which articles I'm bring with me. Nothing quite like leaving everything to the last minute, eh? Steph and I only just today managed to get the roof box strapped down to the car! Haha, its alright. Toronto is our first stop, and that's only a couple of hours away, so we'll have some time to organise things a little bit better when we're there...

So thank you London, and good luck for the future. Thank you to all my friends and family, and I'll be seeing you real soon. This is not the end, it's only the beginning of something beautiful...!

Four Days until Cashstrapsville.

In four days I will be unemployed and pinching pennies. Seriously. In eight days I start the move to western Canada.

I'm looking forward to the latter of these. I'm not so looking forward to having to watch my wallet. It sucks, but can easily be done. I think after traveling the world for six years I've probably learned a few things about living on the cheap, so what's another two months, right? I'm excited to not work at this particular job... In particular I'm looking forward to not working with a couple people anymore. Don't get me wrong, there are a few people that I will genuinely miss from my work, but they are too few to keep me there.

Stephanie (my travel partner) and I have pretty much got everything sorted out for our trip, though. We managed to get a roof rack attached to her car, and the only thing we really have to get is the actually roof box to store our stuff in. This is very exciting indeed. Her little car is going to look pretty awesome with it latched atop the roof! I've already started to go through my stuff, and luckily I don't have much. Steph, on the other hand, has to have a garage sale this saturday to get rid of all her things!

When I get out west I'm living with nothing. A bed, a chair, and a dresser. That's all I need. Maybe some cutlery and food articles... I haven't decided yet.

The Good Ol' Garbage Sale.

It's a Canadian institution. The saturday morning garage (aka garBage) sale. If you're lucky and live on a street that's into this sort of thing, maybe you can organise a street garbage sale. That way people will come in, far and wide, to peruse yard after yard of useless crap that you don't want anymore. Hey, your rubbish could be someone else's disgusting table ornament, right?

Here's an example of what you could pick up at our house's sale:

- a white stain-glassed swan lamp
- a tv that gets three channels
- a VCR (doesn anyone use these things anymore?)
- musical tapes by the likes of C&C Music Factory, the Beavis and Butthead Movie Soundtrack, etc.
- a six speed bike with two working speeds.
- an orange fondue set.

If anyone is interested, there's heaps of other useless crap lying around that you're more than welcome to take off our hands. I can't think of anything else I'd rather be doing at 8am on a saturday morning. Although, the couple beers I've already had are taking the sting out of it all...

Welcome to America... err, Canada!

For someone who's just arrived in Canada, it'd be hard to tell the difference between this country and our neighbours to the south. Hopefully my friend Tam, who's just flown in from New Zealand, doesn't think Canada is full of loud-mouthed, over-weight, intrusive people.

You see, we (being my brother Geoff and I) picked her up from the airport in Toronto on Saturday afternoon and drove in to the City to spend the night. Little did we know that Carabana was on (Toronto's massive celebration of Carribean culture). This is a huge event, with people from all over the states coming to blast reggae music from their "pimped out" cars and drink cheap wine.

The next day we attempted to drive from Toronto to Niagara falls (118kms away). In fact, we crawled there. Carabana was over, so the Americans had to go home in their Escalades and Crown Victorias. It took us THREE HOURS to drive the normal one hour drive to the falls.

I'm being all negative here, and I'm sorry for that because I'm really happy to have Tam here and I know we're going to have a good time. I'm just not a fan of crowds...

Vitamin C and a Cleanse.

I just finished an entire pint of orange juice and had a shower. Just thought you should know...

Alone in a house on a hill...

...Well, in a house on a nice, quiet street, that is. I'm taking care of a friend's house for a week while her and her parents are away in Ottawa, our nation's capital. It's been really nice to have the place to myself. Two down sides: They haven't got a shower, only a bath; They haven't got internet access. On the PLUS side, though, is that they stocked the house with snacks and beer! I think it all evens out.

What a hot, HOT week! I mean, I like being outside and active and all, but when it's 40+°C with the humidity taken into account it's not exactly the best of days to be active... Let alone WORKING IN! Holy shit, it's been hot. The best part is that for the next five days it's only meant to get hotter. Then, BAM!, Friday rolls around and it's meant to be 21°. Weather is a fascinating beast...

Tomorrow, Sunday, I'm breaking down and getting a mobile phone. It's hard to believe, and I thought that I'd be able to hold out until I arrived out west in BC, but I went to the stores last week and found a pretty good deal, so I'm going back tomorrow to seal the deal. Yeesh.

Welcome to the 21st Century, Adam!

Didn't you get the memo?!?

So there's a near war going on over in the middle east... I suppose you've all heard about it, right? Did you also hear that there was another tsunami over on the Indonesian island of Java? Yeah, that one sort of got lost through the cracks a bit.

What wrong with everything in the world? Why can't we all just "get along"? The ceasefire between the Palestinians and the Isrealis was going so well, and then all heck breaks loose just to the west with Lebenon and those ol' baddies of the 80's Hezbolla thinking they want to stir shit up. Apparently Iran had "something" to do with the initial attacks, according to words our of Isreal, which could really heat things up (remember when the Iranian hard-line president said something to the effect of "Isreal should be wiped off the face of the planet"?). Oh joy.

But on looking at the positives about this new war, at least it's taking away from the strife and violence that's STILL happening over in Afghanistan and Iraq. I mean, when was the last time you heard about a fresh bombing in Iraq? Probably the day before the first bomb dropped in Isreal, actually... Even though there are undoubtedly mass killings every single day. I bet Ol' Bush Baby is loving this!

Gosh Bless those American Politicians. Don'tcha just love a good international conflict?