the kootenos

i just got back from a bit of a trip; paul and i went to the kootenays to help our friend Markus clean out his property which he finally sold. the whole trip wasn't super enjoyable for me, because, for one thing, i don't like travelling that much. i mostly like staying where i live. i feel like i am typing words of sacrilege, but of course there are exceptions, or i would still be in calgary.

anyway, we set off in the farm van, which although i am grateful for its use and that it held itself together the whole time, it's so loud. it seemingly has no muffler, and the whole thing creaks and flaps faithfully along.

on the way we stopped at Half Way hot springs, which were amazing! we didn't take our camera down with us: this is the only good photo i could find of it, THIS IS NOT ME OR MY PHOTO (and this person is obviously a prude):

the whole thing was really amazing, hippie made, nobody around, friggin' hot.

after that we drove a bunch, had a big bonfire with markus, went to some dumps, visited nelson, realized nelson is just another city where you can spend money, spent money, drove some more, got sick, visited a sweet glass blowing shop, read DUNE, and finally came home.

we have a bunch of tools, books, and other useful stuff that markus was getting rid of, and it was nice to visit with him, but i am happy to be back on the farm. i always dreamed the kootenays were really magical and special, but i found out they can ALSO be haunted and creepy.

vancouver

was awesome. here is my trip:

we spent around 16 hours on the greyhound to get there, but it wasn't really that bad. it went pretty fast, despite greyhound being so ghetto. i took a bunch of stuff to keep myself entertained on the bus, like some knitting, some pants i wanted to patch up, and a book (in case i happened to be post-carsick), but they didn't have any lights on at all. not the low lit panel that goes along the side, and there were no overhead personal lights. we had to board in the dark and when we got off the bus i ended up seeing a brownish stain on my seat, eww! there was a lot more examples of the ghetto-ness, but oh well, it got us there and it was cheap.

when we got off the bus, we charged our phone at a coffee shop and for some reason Paul bought a china-man hat... you know the ones, right? then we walked directly though east hastings. fucking crazy and it was only 10 am!

we found our way out to Richmond, where we were staying. paul carried all my stuff, and even pushed me in a shopping cart for the last leg. we were staying at some calgary friend's of his, and they have a great apartment filled with bikes and a hammock.
we stayed out there for a few days, going for awesome bike rides and blazin' and having the usual stoner conversation about how the world is messed up.

all of us went on a mountain side ride that was nice. we got to share the path with a million longboarders in training, it was cute. we got off the path for a bit and watched some dragonfly sex and looked at trees. paul and i road in to granville island, stanley park, and downtown 'couver.

for a few days after that we stayed with my friend in the downtown east side and it was a nice change, and kind of funny, suddenly being so close to everything that we had just struggled to ride our bikes too the previous day. we had brought a "fun" chocolate bar along with us that we were sort of rationing. we finally ate the majority of that and hit up an awesome arcade downtown. i love pinball! it's my new favorite thing. i love the combination of digital and analog that makes up the machine. my favorite was the adam's family one. oh look, here is a picture of it that i googled.
we did some more bike rides and i attempted to find shoes because mine were on the verge, but it's impossible. i ended up getting some at a vintage clothing store in kitsilano pretty randomly on the last day.
we ended the trip with the nudie beach at UBC. it was wonderful - so hot and sunny, and being naked on the beach is GREAT.

we decided to fly back and we got a ride from paul's brother, straight from the beach to the airport with no time to spare.

i tend to not take great photos, but here are 5 sort of:

• a slug on the path. we were all kind of concerned he would get run over so we watched him cross for quite a while.
• paul in the only underwear he brought on the trip, on a beach downtown.
• me walking to wreck beach. i knew the nude portion was coming up, so i was half way there already.
• a night bike ride. i think i was actually from a boys' only ride. i was in the hammock sleeping already.
• bamboo in stanley park. paul climbed it, i watched.

belgium jah

currently in bruge. only a few days until i return and i can not wait to get back. its been awesome but i´m sick of eric´s snoring and i´m really hyped on a lot of things, including:
- seeing my boyfriend. ooh i miss him too much
- seeing my new apartment
- going caving
- learning french
- finding a new job
- maybe woofing, maybe just moving somewhere cool

anyway, gotta go. bye internet. see you soon.

oh cripes!

ok everyone - i really hate admitting this, but you were right. it IS expensive to have a turtle, and the tank DOES smell, and i'm ALREADY sick of it.
OK!? mom, dad! you were right. not that you read this, but i said it, so lets just please move on.

i just called my brother and he is going to take her back in april when he is done working out on the rigs.

it's just been really really frustrating. i planned on putting any extra money toward my amsterdam trip (my theme for the next 8 months = "make do"), but i've already sunk almost 400 bucks into turtle supplies, and her tank STILL looks like a mud puddle. she doesn't seem happy either - it's kind of painful to watch her swim around in this little tank constantly. i can't get her to go on the basking thing, and its bumming me out. my place is a mess also, every time i start cleaning up i notice how gross the tank looks, or how sad she looks, so i get side tracked. ALSO, i'm sick of washing my hands every minute.

so there you have it - i'm the 8 year old who whined "i'll take him for walks every day, please please please buy me a puppy!"

i feel pretty shitty about this. and i'm DREADING really telling my parents, can't wait to get the big TYS (told you so).