Tuesday, September 23, 2008

changes

Life is full of change, it's inevitable. In a few weeks I will be celebrating 2 things:  my 25th birthday and my 3 year anniversary of being in Ontario. 

3 years and a few months ago I was talking with my friend Celeste as she made her preparations to attend L'abri in England. I suggested since she was going to be in Europe, I could give her the names of some of my family in Switzerland so she had people to celebrate Christmas with, our conversation quickly went from Celeste's european travels to Celeste is travelling Europe and Niki is going back there to celebrate Christmas with her. Before I knew it, I was quitting my job at Kawkawa and was making plans to move back to Europe and spend a year backpacking, visiting my World Vision child, hanging out with family and going on tours of ancient landmarks. I bought a train ticket to Toronto and a freighter ticket from Montreal to Hamburg (I hadn't solidified my Toronto-Montreal travels yet). I was on my way.

then ... life happened. I came to Hamilton and after much debate, forfeited my $2000.- freighter ticket and called my parents to tell them (much to their relief) that I was not going on the freighter after all. To which there natural response was "when are you coming home?" Now comes the hard part, how do I tell people that I...

a) went to work at a Christian camp in preparation to finish my Bachelors in Religious Education, only to...
b) not go back to school and instead work full-time at a camp at the base of the Rockies, to which I...
c) quit my full-time job at said camp so I could buy a one-way ticket to Europe, and then...
d) tell them I'm moving to Hamilton instead?! 

Yeah, I'm a bit of a nut. So I moved here, absolutely fell in love with the place and have been here ever since. I've gone home twice for Christmas and once for a 'celebrate with the grads/meet the nephew' visit, last June.

Since being here I've finished a two-year program in Office Administration; held a job with Sobeys that lasted nearly 2 years, a stint at Subway that I held while at Sobeys but for only 8 months before going back to school; dated 2 guys; lived in 2 homes; finally, I have a full-time job in my field. 

Now, things are changing. Again.

My best friend Laura, from out here, is getting married in 4 days, I'm moving to a new home (hopefully my last before I have my OWN home) and just 2 days ago acknowledged that it has been a year since I broke up with the man I thought I was going to marry.

Things are a little crazy right now. And nostalgic as well, I guess.

And on a lighter note, I cut my hair and got my eyebrows done. New home, new style, new Niki??

3 comments:

  1. Photo??? Phone call????????? OK, you're on the other side of the country. But stay in touch! Eh?
    :) XOXOXO

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  2. This may sound weird, but i'm a bit jealous of your whole random and sudden move to Hamilton - it is cool that you have found the freedom to just go where you have gone and to settle without a long deciding process. Sometimes I wish I had the guts to do that...and any idea of where I would go.
    Also, if I ever say that I had my eyebrows done, it would mean I had burnt them off somehow.
    Girls are so weird.

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  3. From the numbers.. seems like you're hoping for `3rd time's the charm` ....

    pray it would be.

    Pants - it's easy. Pack a bag, leave the rest, and start walking(or flying, biking, driving, swimming)
    Folks'll think you're crazy..and of course you are. Here's the good part : NO ONE is `sane`. Sanity is a grasping for normalcy under human conditions.. and those never remain the same. So sanity is unattainable.
    Go crazy. Go for a long walk and get lost and forget how to find your way back.

    ..The Rabbit Hole beckons..

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