Arrived

Well, it's yet another post for August, but if I'm going to write about being on my way to Winnipeg I have to write about arriving.

I made it into Winnipeg safe & sound on Friday. I have been spending the weekend shopping, setting up and generally moving in. I am also very fortunate to have a great deal of family in Winnipeg who are not at all mechanically inclined by still got the few pieces of furniture I had put together alright. Also, fortunately with my Dad & Glenda here for the weekend I was able to get out and do any and all shopping required and am now happy to say that I am well set up. I'm sure odds and ends will pop up along the way but for now...I have arrived.

Look for more posts as school gets going. I'm going to try to stick to my minimum of once a month but I am hoping for more as I start all this new stuff up.

On my way

Well, it's finally here, I'm actually on my way to training college now. The end of a long road of paperwork and steps is glaring me in the face. In a way I'm more excited about this then anything in my entire life. In another way I'm more nervous about this then anything in my entire life. I suppose those both make perfect sense and both are perfectly natural. This is a huge change that will encompass the rest of my life in one way or another no matter how it turns out.

For all that I've been living on my own for 10 years now I've never "left home" and now I'm doing it. I wonder if I'll break down when I realize that I will not be getting back in the van to come back to Alberta....we shall see. I am not the breaking down type of person so it's hard to say.

So here I go, continuing the journey that's brought me this far, and we'll see where the rest takes me.

Farewell Sunday

Well, I can't believe it, not only has my farewell Sunday come but now it's gone. It was both a really good day and a really sad one. I had an opportunity to speak and I talked about growing up in such a great church. Surrounded by people who love me and have always taken care of me. I have never been and never will be able to say that I have no one there for me and nowhere to go because there was always someone at Glenmore who would be there for me.

That response time was the only time I started to cry during the morning and those who know me will know that crying at all at something like this is unusual but it was a big day. After the service there was a time to chat and enjoy some great desserts and cake. I had a great time chatting with friends and family and getting an opportunity to say goodbye. There were lots of hugs, and laughs and memories. I will always miss these people but I know that they'll welcome me back for holidays, and visits no matter what happens.

I've included some pictures from the day.

My crazy family

My best friends

Cutting the cake

Response time

It may be a rut but it's all mine

Some people will tell you I'm in a rut, others will say that I am a creature of habit. Personally I say I'm just content. I am the person that tends to buy the same items at the same stores all the time. As I've been moving I started to wonder if they'd notice I was even gone.

Calgary is a bigish city and todays society is not focussed as much on customer service, so I think between those two items they probably won't notice one less customer no matter how regularly I buy items from their location.

I am excited to set up new habits, locations, items and stores in Winnipeg. It never takes me long to hunt up those haunts of mine. I remember when I was working in Australia for 3 weeks and within the first three days I had my routine firmly established. Now if that was somewhere I was living for only 3 weeks imagine if I'm there for 2 years. I might have my routine established in the first day - we'll have to see.

You may have guessed from the above that I'm not exactly thrilled about change in my life so I've been having feelings of extreme excitement warring with my inherent dislike of change. However, in my new quest to be more positive I've been focussing on the excitement and reminding myself that this gives me a great chance to make or break habits that need it.

Packing

When I was 16-18 or 19 years old I moved around on a regular basis for a variety of reasons. I lived with family, friends and strangers and finally got my own apartment and I've lived there ever since.

During all of those moves I lived out of a couple of duffle bags, and that was it so I don't think I fully appreciated what a pain it would be to do this particular move. In the time I've been here I've not looked through anything. I moved in, nested and have gotten to the point where it may take dynamite to get me to Winnipeg. What I am loving about this is was I'm downsizing but that is not enough to make this whole process completely enjoyable.

Oh well I'm too the point now where I'm almost all packed so I might as well suck it up and get over it ;).

On a sad side note my kitty is moving to BC this weekend and I will miss her very much.

Stampede 2009

Well, another year, another Stampede. The Calgary Stampede is referred to as the greatest outdoor show on earth and kicks off with a parade on Friday morning and runs for 10 days. The Salvation Army band is the longest running marching band in the parade and I've been marching with them for 12 or 13 years now and loving every minute of it. I started marching with them holding the banner, then moved up to the timbrels and now I march with the band itself. I still enjoy marching no matter how wiped I am at the end. To see the crowds of people, all the kids waving and having fun, and the fact that my weirdest friends are the ones who call my name out when I march :). I don't know where I'll be next summer but I know if I'm not marching I'll feel the loss but I'll be thinking of the group as they go down and I know I won't miss the blisters I always get.

Friday night of course it was down to the grounds to hang out, watch the chuckwagon races which are very exciting, and the grandstand show. This year as I headed down to the grounds from the train station the police were stopping everyone and there were a whole bunch of official looking black vehicles and media. I was very curious as to who was arriving and low and behold it was Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper...very exciting. After that we were allowed to go ahead and I met up with the band and we went into the grounds. I loved the chuckwagon races and even managed to pick the team featuring a Calgary Flame for my pick in one of the heats and the grandstand show was fabulous. Although, I didn't like one particular set of stunts where it just looked like they were going to die, and die horribly.

Saturday afternoon and evening was the carnival, BBQ and concert. There was a HUGE number of people there for the carnival and that was fantastic. I was thrilled to see such a response for a church event. The food was as always excellent, and the program was very entertaining. After the program a whole bunch of us went out for something to eat and to catch up with each other. Fred and Wendy were down from Edmonton, and it's always good to see Wendy unfortunately she brought Fred but what are you going to do? I'm kidding, of course it was great to see both of them.

Well, today ends another stampede weekend and my last as a member of the band (possibly, one never knows), but it definitely ends out my year before heading to college, and it ended on a great note.

Ruthlessly Sorted

As I am getting ready to move I am going through boxes, bags and other assorted storage items that I haven't gone through in a very long time if ever. When I first moved into my apartment my mother dropped off a large load of things that she'd kept for me and I never went into them. So now I am taking the opportunity and going through all the boxes and I find I am getting rid of as much as I can stand. I am pushing aside that thin streak of sentimentality and tossing aside what doesn't mean the most to me. Now of course I am nothing if not practical, so, I will be having a yard sale, be donating any useful items to the Salvation Army etc...

I have enjoyed seeing some of them items though. I found my grade 6 year book and it still burns me that I didn't press hard enough on the paper so you can only read about 3 words :). I also discovered the reasons behind why I am not allowed to have a library card anymore, and the remnants of my obsession with finding items that had my name on them. What I really love to find are the pictures - which are not going anywhere. Pictures of my dad with...HAIR, and I don't actually ever remember him with hair so it's a big revelation. Pictures of my various uncles weddings, and pictures of me growing up - apparently the attitude was there from day 1.

Now I will go continue to sort, and hopefully toss, but thoroughly enjoy some walks down memory lane.