New Year, New Me?

If by 'New Me', you mean someone who actually updates their blog with any sort of regularity....then, yes. Hopefully this does indeed signal a new me. 

Urban Dictionary defines a new year's resolution as 'the things you promise yourself you will do over the year but quit after the first 2 weeks. I couldn't agree more. I am not exactly the type of person who makes New Year's resolutions and here are my other reasons why:

1. January is one of the most depressing months on the calendar. Christmas is over, you've spent too much money, you've become sick of the family and friends that you struggled to spend time with over the holiday season because you're just too busy the rest of the year. Why compound all that misery with resolutions that involve you giving up something you enjoy or limiting the free time you already have?
2. People generally make unrealistic resolutions that are not unattainable exactly but are usually somewhat out of reach. 'I'm never drinking/smoking/eating rubbish/stealing traffic cones/molesting sheep again'. Or something to that effect. It should be 'I'll only have 3 drinks a day instead of 7', 'I'll only steal 4 traffic cones a month' or 'I'll only molest the sheep with really good personalities'. High expectations breed failure so aim low. 
3. If you're not trying to give something up, you're trying to learn something new or do something better than you did before. Again, the 1st of January seems like a good time to start but making resolutions like being more charitable/helping the homeless/learn Italian pick up some new hottie at work/become a pole dancing instructor - these should be things that you do all year round. 

If I were to make resolutions, I wouldn't call them 'resolutions'; I'd call them my new year intentions. Not to be monitored but just attempted, with no shame if I fail.

• Try to be a bit nicer to people. I stress the word 'bit'. Every job I've had over the last few years has led me to have a certain level of disdain for the general public that I will try to curb where possible. I need to realise that most of our customers do not wake up in the morning with the sole intention of ruining my day. Sometimes it creeps into my private life too, although I seem to get away with it with people who know me but I'm bound to offend one of them someday. Not while Andy Shaw's around obviously....
• Travel more. Not giving myself a number of kilometres or countries to visit, just simply to travel more. This would even include getting a TTC day pass and taking all the streetcar lines from one end right to the other. This might even include trying out some other bars that aren't the Departure Lounge but let's not get too carried away here. 
• Read more. I've become more addicted to watching TV shows that I've already seen while curled up on my bed in the hostel but think it would be a good idea to expand my (admittedly, already impressive) language skills and not just improving my watercooler conversation topics. Except Game of Thrones. I am eagerly awaiting series 3, just like everyone else and will repeat the first 2 series again and again. Oh, I could read those books actually, couldn't I? 2 birds with 1 stone, I like that. 

Still, all of these may go the way of most new year's resolutions, or they can remain intentions. The road to hell is paved with good intentions. Let's hope it's a fun road to travel on!

Moral of the Story - I quite like the old me, thanks very much. A few minor adjustments wouldn't go astray perhaps but nobody's perfect!

It's Been A While.....

The Departure Lounge 

Obviously, I've been spending far too much time enjoying myself and not nearly enough time considering how much people have been missing my updates and my extremely talented style of writing. I will do my best to go back to regularly posting but I'll use this one as a bit of a round up of the last 2 months of my time here.

• I passed my official 6 month mark of working in the hostel by....TA DA!...moving in. Circumstances (personal and financial) led me to bite the bullet and give up my privacy and space to move into the staff room. I now share my living quarters with 140 other people, live a whole 40 seconds away from where I work and have a bar in my back garden. Could be worse ;)



Reunited after 6 years!

• I had a visit from an old friend who I first met over 6 years ago in South Africa. It was the first time that me Mick and Viv had been together since we met in Cape Town so it was quite an emotional reunion. It was one of those things where you wonder if it would be awkward after so much time away from each other but lo and behold, it was like we'd seen each other weeks previous rather than years. Spent a lovely couple of days together, along with Mick's partner Conall. Far too short a time together. Looking forward to getting some more visitors before the end of the year!!
• I finally managed to do something touristy (apart from Steamwhistle) and visit the Art Gallery of Ontario. It was nice and all but I'm really not a gallery type of person. It's just a load of paintings at the end of the day and most of them weren't even that nice. There was a bathroom sink stuck on the wall at one point, that was vaguely interesting. You were supposed to focus on the negative space around the sink. Random.
• I took up (and subsequently quit) a second job at a Call Centre. Not being one of those really annoying losers who calls at dinner time asking if you would like to switch phone/internet provider or if you want to answer a 30 minute survey on your consumer behaviour habits. No, I participated in what is known as 'business to business guided voicemail messaging'. Sounds way more complicated than it is. I would turn up for 4 hours, dial a load of numbers, usually navigate some sort of automated receptionist to press play and leave a voicemail in the contact's mailbox. Boom. Some new type of direct marketing, we'll see how well it does. 
• I stage managed a concert for the Irish Choral Society of Canada, it was my second ever paying gig as a stage manager - I wasn't even expecting that! It was a beautiful concert based on an Irish Immigrants tale of coming to Canada and the adjustments that need to be made, obstacles to overcome, all told through a variety of musical pieces performed by the choir interspersed with recitations by the 'immigrant'. It was lovely. They even let me do the light design which was pretty special.

Just to briefly mention some other bits and pieces that will require their own posts (hopefully not too far in the future) - going to see 'Bring It On' the Musical; Medieval Times; Wine Tasting Olympics at the Plummer Chalet, the start of Threesome Thursdays (not what you think!) the end of Karaoke Fridays. So much to tell, so little time.....

Moral of the Story - don't leave it too long between blog updates. Your head will be MELTED with all the stuff you're trying to remember. Then again, if I wasn't out doing all these things, there would be nothing for me to post about now would there?