Trip to Ottawa

Weekend before Halloween, I went to visit my friends Graham and Kendall (and their little one, Ned) as well as Travis and Mal (who have recently moved to Ottawa)

This is me on a train!  Happy times.  Was a really nice ride to Ottawa, got to do a lot of writing.

Ottawa train station on a Friday night.  Spooky.

Graham picked me up, and we picked up sushi from 168 Sushi.  I commented how it looked like a strip club.

Here's us having a quiet meal because Ned is asleep.  All of us were fading fast because we had long days.  Kendal and Graham had been up late with Ned the night before.

They let me stay in Ned's room.  Very cute. =)

We get ready the next day to visit the Ottawa War Memorial.

Look at this little rascal.

Graham posing with his happy face.

Fountain!

The crowd is here, paying respects to the fallen soldier, 24 years old who was shot to death by someone claiming to be part of ISIS.  The police later confirmed that he was acting alone.  I felt incredibly sad, but, also not proud, but something like it as I visited the monument.  I always try and pay my respects when I come to Ottawa.

Parliament buildings.

The Centennial Flame, which confirms 100 years as a Confederation as Canada.  The change is gathered from it and given to the winner of the Centennial Flame Research Award, to someone with disabilities doing research on persons of interest with disabilities, or activities of Parliament.

Gov of Canada building.  The shooter was around here too, I think?

Beautiful view from the bridge nearby.

Ned eventually got tired of being pushed...and decided to push the stroller himself.  

Then we played in the leaves.

We went home and carved pumpkins.

Played ball.

The next day I went to see Travis and Mallory, since Graham and his family would be at church most of the day of Sunday, anyways.

Went for a walk, saw some cool art.

And then we went and ATE DOUGHNUTS. =D

After doughnuts, we went through a farmer's market.

Then I saw THE BEST THING EVER.

MY LITTLE PONY GAME OF LIFE.  MUST HAVE.

Afterwards, Mal and Travis and I chilled at the train station for a little while.  

All and all, was an amazing trip!  Thanks guys! =D

MY HALLOWEEN COSTUME IS READY

AND I'M SUPER EXCITED ABOUT IT.

Ottawa!

In the nation's capital! So excited to be here!

Oh Flute! How I've missed you!

TOW: Love

A friend of mine recently broke up with her boyfriend.  It was surprising; they were a good couple and seemed happy together.

But my friend Sarah (who is now happily married with a baby celebrating her birthday yesterday) once said to me: "No one can really know what goes on in a relationship except those two people."  And I have thought about this a lot since that moment. And I have seen that phrase proven true, time and time again.

Love is not easy.  And sometimes, for some people, love is not enough.  Because you might want more from someone else than just love.  You might want a house, or kids, or money.   You might want acceptance from their family, or for them to accept your family for the way they are.   

Not all loves are the same.  Some are romantic, some are familial, some are friendships.  And not all loves come in the same shapes or sizes.

Most importantly, sometimes you love the person more than the other person loves you back. And that can be hard to realize and wrestle with. 

But the beautiful thing about being in love is that you can hope for the better, for the best that can be.

And in all my relationships, of every kind, I hope for the best, every day.

I keep meaning to blog!

It's just been too busy.

I have fallen into bed most nights for the month of September.  What a interesting, strange, busy September.

Lots to love, though.  I am constantly blessed by the people in my life.

I have lots of thoughts….but I'm tired! =(

That's what I get for writing 75 personalized responses to all the Facebook messages I got. =P


My life….is so much better than it was a year ago.

I'm so happy. =)

Whew!

Finally moved into my new place.

Have internet, have roommates and I am happy.

More birthday postings coming soon! =)

What a great day

Can't wait for more days like this in my future!

Trip to college with Alex and friends

 

We played many a game of Uno.

 

This was my beautiful view all week.

 Necessary stop at Tim Hortons!

Why hello there!  (There's a funny video also included in this somewhere on my phone...)

 Scrabble!  I lost.  Miserably.

But still having a great time.

 

Making dinner.

 Hanging out on the hill. 

 Badminton!  It gave me....more tendinitis! =(

 Campfires are the best.  This one was pretty good....fed it all evening with the wood Greg and I collected.

 Greg doing charades.  Biggest fail that I never got....Quicksand.  Sigh.

 

Bri and Phil look on in anticipation! What clue could be next??? (We played a lot of charades...)

 Handsome! 

 

Phil admits that he has a problem and says goodbye to his best friend, alcohol.  Next vacation for Phil: detox and rehab.

 

Playing gin rummy!  (Also lost terribly at this....)

 

Remains of the weekend!  I had a great time, but I also was very tired by the end.  Was good to get to know Alex's friends a little better.  Overall, I had a fun time....it's been a long time since I did something like this, so it was a good learning experience for me.  Next time, I need to make more personal time for myself, I think.  It'll help me to have a better time.

TOW: Loneliness

Did you know that some of the loneliest people are the ones in a committed relationship?  A recent study showed that 62.5% of the people who reported loneliness were married and living with their partner. (Can I find the link to that study?  Nope.  But, hey, the internet is probably right about that, eh?)

Sometimes people we love make us feel lonely.  They are being dismissive, they have been unfeeling and uncaring, they have done something unexpected that upsets our daily routines.

Sometimes we feel insecure, and it seeps into our relationships.  Who knew that in a world of 7 billion people, you could feel lonely and insecure?

I suppose I am going through a rather insecure phase myself.  A lot around me is changing…my friend Robert moved to Ireland, and I am missing him.  My friend Derek moved to Calgary…I miss him too.  My friend Elizabeth is plotting a move to Calgary to live.  Anyone else getting the theme of 'love me and leave me' here?  Hello??? Is this thing on???

Ahem.

Life is tough….you build something up that makes you happy, and then suddenly, it's gone again.  You look for good things, and instead, you find sadness.  We often look under rocks hoping to find jewels, and instead are disappointed with the muddy underside of what we've uncovered, especially when we look closer and critically at our relationships.  Disappointment can lead to loneliness.  But disappointment is just part of the story.

Every love we have will hurt.   No friendships is perfect.  No romantic relationship, no love is perfect.   And it's stupid, and we wonder why we bother in the first place, and we wish that hard ball of pain inside of us would go away.  And we wait and wish and we hope, and sometimes if we're lucky, we can smile again.

No one can feel my emotional pain.  Only I can feel it.  And this separation, this individuality of pain, it makes us unique.  It is our story.  And sometimes, that story can make us lonely.

The Creative Process

This is totally how the creative process works….I have been in these meetings:

http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/642693

Geez!

Been such a long time since I posted on here!

I have found I don't have as much time for personal writing as I used to.  I suppose I should be happy to have a full schedule, but still!  So busy!

Some life updates:

• Alex and I are going to his friend's cabin for a week next week.  Photos to follow.
• I am tentatively planning all my birthday awesomeness that will be the birthday I was meant to have when I was 30.  THAT'S RIGHT. SCREW YOU, 30.
• Lots of vacation planning this year. 
• My niece is getting christened at Christmas, really excited for that.
• Moving Sept 1.  Need a new place.  Argh.

Alright, time to go….next activity of the day! =D

Happy Canada Day

Had an amazing weekend and the last couple days have been really special.

Played board games with friends….super fun!  Though I lost most of the time, was really great to get together and just relax and be a bit silly with some great people.  (That's Liz and Sarah in the photo.  We were playing Dominion at the time, I think)

I also celebrated 3 months with Alex.  I normally don't make a big deal out of anniversaries and such, but it was really nice…and we got to talk, had some laughs, spent most of the day together, was really nice.  At first I thought I would be exhausted by it, but it turned out to be just right.

OK!  Off to bed!

Happy Canada Day, to all my Canadian friends and family!