On The Road

My, how time flies! It seems like it was just yesterday that I was in Halifax packing and cleaning like a mad woman (because I'm a procrastinator) and fleeing the province.  But I suppose it has only been about three weeks since I left … so I guess it kind of was just yesterday?

I am currently in Calgary visiting my sister - cooking her meals and doing her laundry like any good sister would do. She IS giving me a free place to stay, among other things, so it's probably a fair trade.  Plus she has to put up with my bossy/mother-like tendencies sooo … maybe I should do more?

My departure from Halifax was a bit of a whirlwind, mainly because I worked almost up until I left which only gave me a few days to pack, move, clean and say so-long to the city and my friends.  It actually worked out for the best because I didn't have much time to start second-guessing myself and my decision to leave.  Although it was sad to say good-bye to so may people I love, I know that I will keep in touch with everyone and see them again! I also made a point of spending lots of time with my friends and visiting my favourite places (ex - Durty Nelly's, Noble, Ob La Dee - all of which are coincidentally drinking establishments …) during my last month in Halifax.

My first stop was Montreal - a city I've been to quite a few times and absolutely love.  It was also a reunion with some of my dearest friends who I have known since high school.  It's comforting to have friends who you might not get to see all that often but when you do reunite, it feels as though no time has passed at all and you pick up right where you left off. 

Our time together in Montreal consisted of a lot of drinking and eating as ANY good trip does.  Some people eat to live but I live to eat and I'm okay with that.  A few things I did during my Montreal visit included strolling the streets of Old Montreal with Rosalind, eating at a delicious crepe restaurant where Jennie works with Jennie, Nick, and Rosalind.  It is called Spanel and I HIGHLY recommend visiting if you love both sweet and savoury crepes (who doesn't?). I also went to a Scandinavian day spa for some relaxation - because having no job and nothing in particular to do every day just wasn't enough.   We obviously did more than I mentioned here but as I said, the focus was eating, drinking, and spending time together.  Some moments have been captured on film and will be part of my next video blog (COMING SOONISH).

After about a week in Montreal I hopped on the train and headed to Toronto, a city I had never been to. I must say - I was going there with an open mind but had also heard a lot of things about the city that weren't the greatest.  I had heard on multiple occasions that people in Toronto aren't very friendly, the city isn't overly pretty, etc.  Much to my pleasant surprise, I actually loved Toronto! I stayed with Nick and he hooked me up with a map and basic overview of the city and from there I just kind of explored during the days while he worked.  People were friendly and there are so many cool (and pretty!) areas of the city.  I guess with any place you visit and/or live there are going to be positive and negative aspects.  After living in Seoul, I had my fair share of experiences with not-so-nice people and not-so-pretty areas BUT, for every negative aspect there were at LEAST two positives.  And I'm sure that rings true for a lot of places. 

In Toronto, I continued with the eating and drinking (as I'm sure you guessed) but also met up with a lot of different friends from all over.  I reunited with four friends who I had met while teaching in Korea and it was SO fun! I also got to spend time with friends from Nova Scotia and from Dal.  And OF COURSE Nick who let me stay with him for a week.  In addition to food, drinks, and reunions I went to two tapings of George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight.  The first show was an interview with Laurence Fishburne and for the second taping I got to see Rob Stewart, the director of Sharkwater and Revolution.  It was so much fun!  I went to two different shows at theatres that Nick works for, ate some delicious Korean food, went in the CN Tower (had to), and visited the distillery district where I hoped to do a Mill St. brewery tour but it just so happened that on that day something was broken so they weren't running it.  I drank some beer in lieu of going on the tour.  The CN Tower was a bit frightening because it's really effing high.  And that glass floor? I mean, they say it can hold 14 hippos but have they ACTUALLY tested it? I don't think so.  Overall I had a blast in Toronto and would love to go back and visit again.

I had initially planned on making a stop in Manitoba to visit my friend Jill.  After some investigation, I kind of realized that I had planned for too much in a short period of time so decided to save my Manitoba visit for warmer weather & the POLAR BEARS and spend more time in Calgary with my sister.  I will also be seeing Jill this summer when we spend a month together in Europe.

SO THAT BRINGS US TO PRESENT DAY.  I am in Calgary and have been here for a week.  I kind of thought this city would be full of cowboys but I was wrong.  I have only seen two people sporting cowboy hats.  I am now, in this moment, just realizing that maybe it's not other people who jump to conclusions about cities they have never been to … but me.  I mean, I thought people in Toronto were going to be mean and that Calgary was going to be full of hicks with lots of money.  I'm half-kidding.  I thought there was a CHANCE that it could be true.  But it's not.  The city is actually really multi-cultural and seems to be more of a business hub than I had anticipated.  And lots of engineers.  Can't swing a dick here without hitting an engineer. 

This weekend I am going to Banff with my sister and her roommates. Erin refuses to go on a gondola ride because the last time she and her friends got stuck in mid-air on one due to inclement weather and she is afraid of heights.  Which is valid - but what you don't know is that my sister has lots of … 'fears'.  I use this term loosely because they include more common ones such as the dark and the dentist … but also less common/irrational ones such as whales.  That Free Willy … quite the monster.  I MEAN.  Anyway, it will be really fun.  After that I head to Edmonton and then to BC.  After that - my plans are not fully concrete yet!

UNTIL THEN, KEEP IT SEXY GUYS.  I do have plans to work on a video blog in the VERY near future so hold tight for that.  There is just so much pressure though.  Expectations are running high. HOPE I CAN DELIVER.

Lots of love,

Kandace

(This blog was written on Friday but posted on Saturday.  So technically I am in Banff currently but for the sake of the blog, just go with it.)

Settling down – or simply, settling.

I know what you’re thinking - ‘a travel blog … what an original idea’. TRUST ME, I GET IT.  But don’t worry, I won’t get all Eat, Pray, Love on you. 

This past fall, I really started thinking about the future a lot.  Kind of in the – what the eff am I doing with it - type of way.  I had been at my job for about a year and a half.  A job I liked .  But did I love it? No.  It really got me thinking.  Why stay at a job that I don’t love but just simply don’t mind? Well, I guess to pay the bills.  And maybe because I didn’t really have anything else on the horizon.  Eventually I started to become uncomfortable knowing I was in a place in my life where I wasn’t completely happy but was opting to do nothing about it.   After all, isn’t the point of this whole thing (life, or whatever) to ultimately be happy?

This is not to say I was UNhappy.  I have the most amazing friends here and I love Halifax. Halifax to me is what Manhattan is to Carrie Bradshaw.  CLICHÉ.  SEX AND THE CITY REFERENCE. K guys, if I could be ANY of the SATC girls, who would I be? I’m definitely not slutty enough to be Samantha but I’m also not smart enough to be Miranda.  Kidding.  But seriously.  Halifax holds a special place in my heart.  The thing is, carrying out a job I didn’t see a future in and going to Durty Nelly’s two to three times a week can only fulfill a person for so long. Ya know? Like … can I really dance to the Mull River Shuffle every weekend for the rest of my life? (the answer is probably yes)

In December, I told my boss I would no longer be working come March.  It was tough, I felt like I was letting the company down.  I knew I was making the right decision, though.  I really wanted to travel.  Indefinitely.  No real schedule or anything (financially or otherwise) constraining me.  Traveling is something that I love and really value.   A quote I like that kind of describes me quite perfectly at this point in my life is:

I see my path, but I don’t know where it leads. Not knowing where I am going is what inspires me to travel it.

I think it’s a very sad reality that in the world today, money is the source of so much worry, stress, unhappiness and limitation in the lives of the average person.  But what can we do about it? We need money to be able to survive; to do the things we want to do (to a certain extent).  Luckily for me, I had an extremely generous great-aunt who thought that education was very important.  Never having children of her own, she decided she would pay for the post-secondary education of my sister and I.  I was able to go through university without having to take out a bunch of student loans, which I feel beyond appreciative about. The great-aunt who so generously paid for my education sadly passed away in 2011 and included me in her will.  Now, I am by NO MEANS reaching Donald Trump status.  Or even really in the financial position of a wealthy lawyer.  But I feel very lucky to have some freedom to be able to do some things I really want to do.  NOT TO RUB MY DEBT-FREE LIFE INTO ANYBODY’S DEBT-RIDDEN ONE.  I just wanted to simply point out that while I can say that it’s important to pursue what we need to in order to be happy, there are times when it’s easier for some people to do.  I wish it wasn’t the case. But I also believe that money shouldn't be the ultimate reason to do or not do something.  And traveling can be done very cheaply so don't let it (the cheddar) stop you, KAY?

After I realized that I would have some financial freedom, I knew that there was nothing really holding me back from taking off and traveling for a year … maybe more, maybe less.  Except for this fear that I should be ‘settling down’.  I am 27 after all, right?  Shouldn’t I be in a serious relationship, thinking about marriage, children, and staying in one particular career?  We all know that this isn’t necessarily the way it goes these days … but I think most of us would be lying if we said we didn’t feel a bit of pressure to have it all figured out by now.  But for me, settling down would really just mean settling.  AND I DON’T WANNA SETTLE. 

So, here I am.  In three weeks I will have no job, no apartment, limited bills, no furniture, no effing idea what I’m really doing.  But I think I’m really going to be happy. I thought this little part of the interweb could be a place where I update y’all on my travels and what not.  I will be doing a video blog (BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND) until inevitably my camcorder and/or computer break and/or get stolen.  If being mugged in Vietnam taught me anything, it's that you gotta hold on tight to your personal belongings.  It just gets more difficult after a few drinks.  I should also add a disclaimer - I can't fully guarantee the consistency of my updates.  BUT I will try. 

I think most of my blog posts will also be funnier and less preachy than this one … unless, of course, I find myself.   

So stay tuned.  Or don’t.  I mean … it’s your choice.  NOW JUST TO THINK OF A CLEVER VIDEO BLOG SERIES NAME.  Lord of the Kandace? No. (would this be a play on Lord of the Rings, Lord of the Flies, or Lord of the Dance? All of the above? Why are there so many things with lords??) Maybe just Travels with Kandace? Too after-school special.  

I DON’T KNOW YET YOU GUYS.  TBD.