Tag: Canada

bookmark_borderWhere would you live?

Posted on

I’m off out tonight to have a few drinks with an ex-colleague who is about to head to Merika, for life (well for a while at least). He’s sold up, got his paperwork in order and he, his lovely wife and their still new son will fly over to Texas and setup a home and life there.

It’s an intriguing thought, leaving the UK permanently and one I’ve toyed with a few times. Some times I think it would have to be an English speaking country with Australia and the USA being the main candidates, with Canada not far behind, but occasionally I harbour desires of heading somewhere completely alien to me, where I don’t know the language or culture and really jumping in at the deep end.

Birmingham, perhaps?

It would be a big step but in many ways it’s no different from changing jobs or buying a new house. Obviously the scale and implications are different but ultimately it’s a mindset thing. If I was of a mind to do it I would’ve already. So I’m presuming I’m not.

But then wanting and desiring something like that, something that is a ‘big step’ and quite scary when you sit down and think it all through, is one thing. Doing it, is another.

A few of the blogs I read are by people who have done just that (Fuddland, Little Red Boat, Autoblography, and Plasticbag for example) and I really do admire them hugely for it.

Ultimately I guess I’m either a coward or at some point I’ll run out of excuses to NOT do it.

So, if I rock up at your door in San Francisco, New York, Adelaide, Sydney, Toronto, Wellington or anywhere else outside the UK, do be kind. No doubt I’ll be a complete nervous wreck!

bookmark_borderStepping Back

Posted on

I was recently chatting to someone who has a plan.

He is retiring at aged 50 and going off to live in the wilds of Canada. He’s Canadian so it’s not as far-fetched as it sounds, but the really scary part is that he is deliberately going to be “off-grid”. He’s a self-confessed geek so this is quite a step and, when he told me all this I suggested that it was some form of backlash against the grip of technology, a deliberate swipe at the lifestyle we all find ourselves living in modern society.

“But of course it is” he grinned.

I harbour a similar desire, namely to retire aged 50, but as yet have no plan to get there. It’s unlikely to happen and as such will remain a dream but, it is something I’m now thinking about. If I did retire early, what would I do? Where would I go?

The idea of living remotely appeals to Louise and I, even if it isn’t that far removed from civilisation. Being off-grid, no internet, limited phone access, is another deal entirely but given that I do so enjoy snatched moments of solitude, an afternoon lost in a book, a stroll round the park, it is worth considering.

Personal space is something for which we all hunt, something we aim to manufacture by donning headphones and blocking out the rest of the world. Regardless of where we are, the message remains the same and annoyance comes from those that don’t even realise that is the aim. It’s not just about listening to music, it’s about creating a place that only belongs to me. It’s most significant when wandering city streets to your own soundtrack, the reverie snapped by Big Issue sellers and small women with big umbrellas. Elsewhere this method of isolation can be more reliable yet the one place where I could be assured of true solitude would be at home and I rarely, if ever, use headphones there.

Perhaps true solitude is only possible when you are in the middle of nowhere, for any manufactured space bears the scars and remnants of modern day living. At home the phone demands an answer, walking down the street you are considerate of others as you navigate the myriad of shoppers and so forth, even lying in the park on a summer day is fraught with stray dogs and misplaced footballs.

I treasure quiet moments. Snippets of a day to pause and reflect before returning to the headlong plunge of life. Some people enjoy the helter skelter existence we seem to have these days. The incredible rush of even the most basic day is at times a sad indictment of our society, at others a thrilling embracing of being alive. Recharging our batteries is reserved for sleep, yet surely there needs to be more, surely we must pause more often to gather ourselves before the next onslaught?

Those that retain the ability to stepback have a skill to envy. One simple step creates the space I crave yet can so rarely find.

I need to learn to step back now and again.

bookmark_borderSnippets

Posted on

Well done Canada and Spain.

~

That other site I run has just hit a landmark, 300 members. Wow. It’s been a fun couple of years and I’m hoping the next couple will be even better (irons in fire, etc etc).

~

Now, I have to admit I feel slightly guilty* when I go on holiday as I would hate to deprive my dear reader of my nonsense carefully considered posts, so I’ve scheduled a few posts to be published whilst I’m away.

Upcoming posts

(Awww c’mon, you didn’t think I’d give you the post titles, did ya?)

~

Not got time to fix the miniblog (after Blogger started adding in extra code without being asked!) so Keep an eye on my del.icio.us account for the meantime. anyway…

~

And yes, the HaloScan is playing silly buggers, hassles installing a new database server I believe. Sorry.

* no not really

bookmark_borderBy the friends you keep

Posted on

Dinner at the Salty Dog this evening means I’ll miss seeing my ‘Aunt’ Doris who is over from Canada (she’s a school friend of my Mum, that kind of Aunt).

Stag Day on 16th October means I’ll be hungover on my birthday (it’s a “clay pigeon, quad biking, paintballing day, beers and lapdances at night” kinda day).

Wedding on November 5th means I’ll miss the fireworks (but I wouldn’t miss it for the world and besides, Louise is chief bridesmaid).

Sometimes being too popular IS a good thing.

And I’ve just realised I’ve left my camera at home, just as well my replacement mobile has turned up.

bookmark_borderGreener Grass

Posted on

Sun is shining (weather is sweet), makes you wanna move your dancin’ feet!

Was musing to a friend that since I returned from San Francisco, I’m questioning why I would want to stay in Scotland. We had things MUCH better when we stayed down south (financially, socially, weatherly) but why limit it to England. America, Australia, New Zealand, Canada (uhhh except for all that snow….). As I’ve stated to others I’m going hang here for a couple of months until things pan out, but the trouble is the new job information is so accessible, and even something basic like a salary comparison is easy… depressing but easy. Still it’s not just about the money. Right? …RIGHT???!!

Next redesign started last night, got the square sum of nothing done, but did manage to get a couple of scripts working (hey I’ve only been working on them for about 2 years….)