Let's Do the Safety Dance!

So a couple observations I've made:
Travelling without family is an adventure and much less stressful (but I love my family very much).
It's possible to have a complicated travel plan involving two plane flights, two coach rides and a ferry go off without a hitch.
Korean beef bulgogi is a godsend.

Sitting on a plane next to a Geography major while flying over five provinces gave me a whole new appreciation for the diversity of land in Canada. No, I'm serious. I saw the prairies for the first time yesterday - a huge expanse of flat farmland that looked like an infinite checkers board at 30000 ft. There were white oblong patches that I'm assuming were frozen lakes - in April! Landing in Edmonton, everything was still brown and overcast, but in a weird sense, kinda serene.
Flying over the Rockies was everything but. Apparently there're 10 mountain ranges in Canada, all unidentifiable to me, and the jagged mountainscapes were incredibly intimidating. My ~ 12 years of flying experience meant nothing as my palms started sweating. In the middle of a godless snow-covered mountain range is not where I'd want to crash.
Now Victoria is gorgeous. It's filled with hills and exposed rock and flowers I haven't seen in the 10 years I've spent in Ontario. Everything looks and feels slightly European. It's partly the winding roads that follow the land and not a grid system, and the daisies and cherry blossoms, and blackberry bushes. It's also the buildings - some really neat architecture - and that everything feels really laid back. With winds coming in from the Pacific and, literally, Alaska, you can get (as my host memorably said) "four seasons in an hour and a half". Step out of the wind, however, and you're soon warming up in a simple sweater. It really is a beautiful city - with an unparalleled view.
We walked to the University today, taking a route that went to the top of a hill that overlooks the entire city - mountains in Seattle were clearly visible with their snowy peaks, as were other islands off the coast. A white blip on a nearby hill is the University observatory - turns out UVic's physics department is divided into Astrophysics and CERN (the same way our home University is Med School Applicants and Writers). The two don't talk much.
On the way down the hill* (* the only reason I'm not using the word "mountain" is because the Cascade Mountains are right there. I consider myself fit, but man, that was a hike) we saw a dog that had the look and gait of a small bear mated with a lion. In fact, I'm not convinced it was a dog. I've seen thinner fur on alpacas in Peru. I'm fairly sure the owner was Scottish, figures.

I was going to write more, but I've barely seen all there is to see. I'm absolutely drained from today (and it's only quarter to five). Pictures and videos to come, now that my charming new phone connects to my PC.

Today's title comes from the entertaining and friendly air stewardesses from the flight from Edmonton to Vancouver. We were also introduced to Captain Jacob and First Lieutenant Kevin.
:)

Coloured Glass and Unpacked Bags

My last day in my parents' house has lured me outside with beautiful 30ºC weather and streaming sunshine. Well played, Ontario. Well played.

In accordance with the kick off to warmer days, I've rediscovered my summer jams from last summer and am enjoying the greatest hits of 311. Beautiful Disaster makes me happy. (What do you mean you've never heard of 311? They've been around for ages...)

The biggest splurge of the day - and quite literally the year - has been my new Blackberry (unchristened as of yet). I've got email, long distance and messaging all for the price of a small organ on the black market. I figured I'm going to be a semi-professional researcher come, oh god, Monday, so I should at least have some technology to be able to deal with it. If not, at least I've got Sudoku on the go. 

I'm currently in the haze of staring at my suitcase and the pile of to-be-packed crap that's surrounding it. I think I need more sort of assertive direction when it comes to packing. Usually I end up drifting listlessly around my room and grabbing things at random... And my carry on bags are generally pretty notorious in terms of useless knick knacks...

But the best part so far: I have a place to live. 

You know, nothing quite beats the feeling of being on the move. I'm moving across the country under 12 hours and the idea is carbonating. One of my favourite feelings in the world. 

!!! I'll be flying over the Rocky Mountains! That's it, I'm picking up a disposable camera along the way. 

Yeah, you heard me. A disposable camera. 

Because I'm old school like that.

Oh, shoo. 

You weren't planning on LIVING somewhere, were you?

Happy Easter everyone!

So I received an email from the gorgeous house I've been courting for the last few weeks... The room's been rented. I have four days to find another house. I give myself two before I throw myself at the mercy of my supervisor.

(20 minutes later...)

Three emails sent to three potential houses, still scouring craigslist....

Act On An Opinion

Word for word transcription of the bucket list:

April 19, 2011
Franzi,
the undefinable, limitless, unharnessable powerful force 
- go downtown and make tea in the middle of the street
- do groceries w/o going to a major grocery store
- join an activist group
- act on an opinion
- live out your third chance
- knowingly make a mistake
- tell a stranger the truth
- hook up with a Victorian lover
- draw a portrait of one of your housemates
- go kayaking
- take a walk off the beaten path (literally)
- perform a song to someone
- write a manifesto of Franzi's musings
- allow yourself to feel intense, constructive emotion in the rain
- skydiving
- skinny dip in the ocean


X
Witnesses:

Whoo, boy.

Don't Say Goodbye

I never say goodbye. Among the tearful farewells I usually deliver a tight hug and a "We'll see each other again" or "'Til next time, yeah?", peppered with "Stay safe" and "I'll miss you too".
I've left a lot of people in a lot of places. It's part of travelling so much and being quick to make friends, not to mention the entirety of a family tree firmly rooted in the Vaterland. But despite the tearful farewells, even the rib-splintering pain of moving to another country at the age of nine and leaving behind all you know and love, the connection, though faded, was never lost. The idea that stuck in my childhood was that, even if you wanted to lose track of someone, in this day and age, it simply wasn't possible.
To this day, there is only person I haven't been able to rediscover.

Having said that, I watched another one of my nearest and dearest leave my house today, realizing that'd be the last I see of them for the next four months. And it sucked.

For the last eight months, my life has been centred in a community of 20 very hard-working individuals, each one a bright entity unto themselves, spinning bizarre circles, trying to keep up with the demands of a crazy workload in a crazier program. At the same time, I've been running counter-laps with people in various friend circles, all distinct in purpose and familiarity, all of which has left me feeling like the epicentre of a particularly deranged Venn diagram. In five dimensions. It's been an exhilarating ride, one that begs a couple weeks off for recovery and barbequeing with said friends.

Any friend worth their salt knows this is not how Franzi Does Summer.

In nine days, I leave everything behind and take a four month trip across the country. I'm going to be a professional lab slave in a field of chemistry I have never heard described or mentioned in any textbook. I will be making money (*_*), which I will immediately spend on food and rent, while living in what seems to be the COOLEST HOUSE IN VICTORIA. (more deets to follow). I plan on having the time of my life and will probably take up hang-gliding in my spare time.

Jesus, this is a long post.

Anyway, two of my nearest and dearest were over for evening tea and crackers. We made bucket lists for each other to complete in the summer. I predict hilarity, which I will record with due diligence.

Now that this blog is up I have a pseudo-physical reminder to keep posting. I have achieved my goal for the night - back to cookies and sleep, studying to follow...