Posted: March 8th, 2010 | Author: Shawn | Filed under: blah blah blah | 7 Comments »
In 3 little days I’ll be up before dawn and flying to Haiti. I’m already a little bit sad that I’m leaving Victoria. It’s been an awesome month here, and I could happily stay longer. On the other hand, I’m also glad to be on the move again. I have quite a few hands seemingly, because on the other other hand there’s a ton of unknowns about how things will go in Haiti. Oh, and on the other other other hand… ok, not really. In the last minute I’ve learned that I either need more hands, or a new catch phrase. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: February 28th, 2010 | Author: Shawn | Filed under: blah blah blah | 2 Comments »
One of the most time consuming habits I have is standing around day dreaming about things I see. The most random things can set me off on an internal litany of pretend conversations and scenarios. I blame it on being an only child. Or perhaps it was that skateboarding head injury mishap in ‘88. Either way, my point here is that my day dreaming has to work overtime when I’m traveling. So many new things to imagine. For kicks I thought I would share one of the things I saw here in Victoria that got my imagination going.
We had walked past countless sailboats and it was just another morning in the harbour. All the proverbial chat topics were going on, “ohh that one is pretty” and “I could sail around the world on that baby”, and so on. Then amongst all the fancy boats this little beauty suddenly caught my eye and ignited my day dreaming muscles. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: February 18th, 2010 | Author: Shawn | Filed under: blah blah blah, places | 6 Comments »
Do you ever have those days when you’re not certain why you travel? I’m in Victoria BC for February, and this morning I was out running errands. As I was about to turn into a government office I noticed a hardcore looking photographer taking pictures all around him. As I paused a moment to not walk into his current shot, I got to looking at what he was shooting and wondering what was so damn photo worthy. It quickly became a moment of realization that what I was ignoring as just normal scenery was some other guy’s great photo. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: February 11th, 2010 | Author: Shawn | Filed under: blah blah blah | 5 Comments »
There’s probably no shortage of swanky lists that rate and rank the various airlines of the world. I don’t check any ranking lists though when I book my flights. I just search up what I need on Kayak and go with what looks best. However, after so many years of flying in and around Canada, I have come to strongly prefer Air Canada. They’re not perfect, don’t get me wrong, but I think they’re better than most. I’ll even pay a little extra to fly on Air Canada, and I have a dozen reasons why. In no particular order, the dozen reasons why I prefer Air Canada are… Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: February 3rd, 2010 | Author: Shawn | Filed under: blah blah blah, web | No Comments »
I had the good fortune to contribute to a cool roundtable post up on the Where I’ve Been blog about visiting Canada. It covers some really good questions about destinations in Canada. I definitely recommend checking it out if you’re ever likely to visit Canada or know someone who is.
I really like the style of those roundtable posts they do at Where I’ve Been. Comparing the different answers from various travel folks gives a different sense of perspective on the topic. Plus it’s neat when all three of the contributors give the identical answer to a question. Then you know there must really be something to it beyond personal opinion. This is actually the second one I’ve contributed to and with some luck I hope to do more in the future. Anyways, check it out!
Oh, Canada: In a few days, epic NBC Winter Olympics montages will remind the world that its rugged environs have provided us photogenic landscapes, hockey, poutine and moose for decades. And while Bob Costas and co. might boost interest, Canada remains a remarkably overlooked tourist destination. Why?
Continue reading Travel Tuesday Roundtable: Canada on the whereivebeen.com blog.
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// shawn
Posted: January 20th, 2010 | Author: Shawn | Filed under: blah blah blah | 4 Comments »
By all accounts good old Dorothy was a self-destructive, sarcastic, lunatic. She was horribly fantastic at seeing life for what it really was — love it or hate it. And she certainly knew how to live it. A great many writers seem to have an unrealistic, or overly optimistic “seize the day” style pep that simply irritates any sensible person. Dorothy’s writing often bears that message of living as though you may find yourself dead tomorrow. However, she doesn’t have that nauseating tone of a born again rainbow salesman. Which as a die hard realist, I certainly appreciate. Live how you must, but do it now. That’s ultimately the underlying, idealistic fuel for a life of experience, exploration and exhaustion. Wouldn’t you agree? For example,
On Cheating The Fiddler
“Then we will have tonight!” we said.
“Tomorrow — may we not be dead?”
The morrow touched our eyes, and found
Us walking firm above the ground,
Our pulses quick, our blood alight.
Tomorrow’s gone — we’ll have tonight!
I had considered “Enough Rope” as the title of this very site in honour of Dorothy. A sober point that it’s very easy to throw out your baby with all that bathwater. The freedom and wherewithal to shrug off the nine to five and be independent for a living really is just enough rope to hang yourself, isn’t it? Note: should anyone ever wish to give me a treasured gift, I’d eternally swoon over an Enough Rope first edition. Just saying. Ultimately, it came across as a bit too sobering of a title for what should be a fairly sunny genre of writing. So I opted for nonsense instead.
If you ever have the opportunity to acquire a copy of The Portable Dorothy Parker I highly recommend seizing it. As I got down to the very last handful of items in my apartment to toss, I came across my copy. As one of the only books left on my shelf I was torn over what to do with it. My old back says there’s no way I’m toting it around in my backpack, but my bloody heart says that it surely must come with. At the time of this writing it rests tentatively on the “pack me” pile. We’ll see. I leave you with some of Dorothy’s shorter and more famous quotes. Good day.
“Drink and dance and laugh and lie, Love, the reeling midnight through, For tomorrow we shall die! (But, alas, we never do)”
“I don’t care what anybody says about me as long as it isn’t true.”
“Lips that taste of tears, they say are the best for kissing.”
“I shall stay the way I am because I do not give a damn.”
“I wish I could drink like a lady / I can take one or two at the most / Three and I’m under the table / Four and I’m under the host”
Finally, my very favourite, “You can drag a horticulture, but you can’t make her think.”
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// shawn
