Where has the fever gone? Who have I become? If not a gypsy anymore, what adjectives can I use to describe myself now? Student, designer, Vancouverite, home-body, Quiksivler lifer...wait a moment, I was always these things, even when I was a Gypsy (except Vancouverite!). I was a student of the world, a designer of my density (and blog), a home-body in several homes, and a Quik Enthusiast forever! If the math is correct, that means that if I'm all these other things now, I am still a gypsy, just a different kind. True, the backpack has been filled with books rather than all life's possessions, and I get my kicks from weekly neighbourhood chili cook-offs rather than weekly neighbourhoods, but the fever is still present.
So what's this traveller been doing now that she's been in one city for 10 months? So much has changed, but all generally on track with the life plan I've always had set out. I spent a great summer getting connected to the lush lands of greater Vancouver suburbs as a landscaper. Braving the rainy spring days was well worth the nearly two months we went without a drop of precipitation, and the blazing sun for beach days. I made some great friends and had a pretty good few months. The middle of the summer saw a few bumps in the road. No wait, that wasn't a bump. That was me on my bike that you hit on your way to work. Yep, after a triumphant return to cycling and mastering 26k per day, I was rapidly sent back to public transit after getting hit by a car on my way to work one morning. With a mangled bike, and a few injuries (noting serious!) my summer took a bit of a turn. It was mentally hard to get back to the high that biking had given me. Luckily I had good friends to keep my entertained for a while. September saw a Seattle pin added to the travellers map for a weekend to Bumbershoot music festival and PAX, the biggest gaming convention in the world! And I had more fun at PAX than Bumbershoot, imagine that! Taylor was the driving force behind that trip, and it was amazing to have him out in Vancouver. The quest to get him to actually move out here still lives on. We get closer all the time. As well, an impromptu trip to Forks WA with my old roommate from Brisbane who was visiting the States. We were completely Twilighted out.
Eco Fashion Week- 3 little words that took over my life for two months. In August, my lovely roommate Kaleen propositioned my to assist her as a volunteer coordinator for the event to be happening at the end of September. What we both thought would be a pretty easy job ended up taking up all of our free time and sending us both into stress overload. But come the time of the event, we had met some amazing people in the industry that were making tracks toward a more sustainable and Eco friendly way of conducting business. The week was a great opportunity and I look forward to more in the future.
Just before the cold weather set in here, I quit my job as a landscaper and took on role of STUDENT! Indeed I am back at school taking a one year intensive course called Design Essentials. It's meant to set me up for the big bad, cut throat world that is graphic designing. It's something that I've been saying I want to do since I finished college at Fanshawe. I bit the bullet and luckily squeaked in the last minute. The course is at BCIT and Emily Carr University of Art and Design. I'm only 6 weeks into the program, and it is intense like they said. It's a lot of work crammed into the 12 week terms. I'm also still a Quik lifer and have been promoted to supervisor (again!) where I'm trying to earn some green to live and study. This week, not going so well. But all a balancing act I need to get used to.
Last sort of update, Devin Henderson is coming to visit tomorrow! YAY!! She'll be here for a week, where I will be working and going to school almost every one of those days she's here, but I've lined up some things so she'll never be bored.
And lastly, lastly...I've deleted Facebook. It's only temporary, but it was seriously interfering with my school work. What a waste of time it is look at someones photos of their dog 3 times. It was getting a bit ridiculous, so it needed to go, for the time being. But not even 4 hours later, and look what new distraction I've found. I think this is a better way to procrastinate, don't you think?!
I hope this catches you all up a bit better than my lame status updates. But you can still follow me on Twitter for that. Just come back here to read the real juice, I promise, I'll get some juice!
Gypsy- maybe not moving, but always shaking things up.
