The Dude Awakening

So! A few minor changes to report.


Got married, quit my job, bought a house on Denman Island, moving there effective Saturday! Heading to Ireland for our honeymoon on Sunday, can't forget that one.

I had grand designs on keeping a journal through this website all about the process leading up to our wedding -- my experiences, observations and feelings about it, but there was no way such leisure time was going to happen during that crazy period. That ship has sailed, and blogging it now would not really do it real-time justice. But I can get reflective, stay tuned for that.

We moved all our things up to the new home today, filled a Budget van to the hilt, leaning heavily on the assistance of our respective families -- what a bunch. They have come through for us over the past year many times, especially in the past two weeks. Anyhow, after a long day of work and some play, I got some sleep on the drive down-island and now find myself wide awake at 1:30am.

It seems this time of day is the most productive for me in terms of writing. I think that goes back to many hours hanging out on late-night Internet chats in years past. Anyway, so I couldn't sleep and the Fasts' computer was humming away here in the other room, calling for me. Bethany is asleep on the hida-bed we're using until the honeymoon starts. She drifted off despite me trying to use the TV to tucker me out. What a rambling bunch of thoughts this is, I will snap back on track right after I say: I sure miss TV! It is a wasteland for the most part, but it's now a novelty for me for the first time I guess ever. I think we'll be getting cable again on the island, we'll see if I can have the discipline to only watch the good stuff in moderation.

Our wedding was nothing short of brilliant, thanks to my talented bride. Bethany made sure her stamp was all over it, and all I could really do was stand there grinning like a lucky fool, basking in my good fortune. Credit where it's due, many people stepped up to make it what it was: our parents, Kyle, Cory & Craig, Janet & Allison, Davin & Caroline, all my boys, and some 150 other guests who all helped light up the day for us. An unbelievable experience. The cliché about it being the best day of one's life holds true. So far, anyway.

Come Monday, it was into full-on moving mode. The pace of packing was insane -- but somehow organized. Monday and Tuesday packing went well, nice and neat, labelling boxes and wrapping breakables -- again, our families coming through big-time, willing to help. Come Wednesday, we just had to make sure we were ready to pack the truck in the early evening. It turned out pretty good! Got it all into our new place anyway. It awaits our return from Ireland to sort it all out.

So Denman Island is a beautiful place where we've been going since our early days together. We got engaged there last year, and we've now decided to make it our home. A pretty big change all right, and I don't make this decision lightly. I actually struggled with the idea at first, as I'm naturally resistant to change of any kind. But the more it percolated, the more it made sense to do it now.

The first question I get from most folks is 'what will you do for work up there?' A valid question all right -- work is not exactly easy to come by on the island. For a while, I faked it by saying I have the proverbial "irons in the fire" -- a lie, mostly, to take the pressure off and get to the good stuff. I'm choosing to leave it alone while I enjoy the process of getting married for now. The work issue will be one to confront, and believe me, it's on the list. But it's just one piece of the puzzle which seems to be coming together rather nicely so far.

Have a look at the map up top -- on the east side, the green plot is Fillongley Park, with several streets right underneath. Ours is the second one in from the water. We've already met some of the neighbours, great characters all of them. They're saying it's good to see some young blood moving onto Denman.

There are several interesting opportunities to get involved in our new community. There's the volunteer fire department that always needs help, and there's also a volunteer-run pirate radio station. The debut of the Bethany and Steve Show may not be far off. There is also an active music community, but I'm not too sure what form that's in just yet.

The ferry issue is another factor, but we're not letting that stop us from trying this. Frequent users and island residents get a pretty substantial break as it stands. People are complaining loudly about the fuel hikes, and it is a grave concern for the island's economy. But I'm of the opinion that fuel has been way too cheap for far too long -- so I say bring on the higher prices. That's the only way things are going to change.

Will I miss Victoria? For sure, it's the only place I've ever lived. It will always be my hometown, it'll always be here, and I'll always have reason to be coming back. What I won't miss is the noise, rising taxes, strata fees, the cramped quarters of the condo building, the worsening crime, street junkies, parking meters, fast food, etc. All the bad stuff I will not miss -- and all the good stuff I will. Simple eh! As cities go, Victoria is hard to beat. But I think I'm ready for a break from cities for now.

Will I miss my job? Yes and no. I haven't really had the chance too yet, but that point will come. I had a pretty cool career going, but it was becoming a bit stale for all sorts of reasons. Taking off the media goggles will no doubt change my perspective on the world for the better, as I've heard from other ex-media people.

Will I miss hockey? Hell yes. That's the hardest part about moving away. I'm trying to find a game in Courtney, so we'll see if that's practical. There may be some couch crashing or car sleeping involved.

Time to wrap this -- with yet another pledge to keep on blogging. It's been said before in my blog history a couple times. I'm sure there will be stories to tell as we try our damnedest to transition from city to rural life. It could be a bumpy ride! Likely to be quiet until mid-August as we enjoy our time in Ireland, but I plan to pick up the ball and run with it afterwards. If all goes as planned, I'll have plenty more down time to enjoy on Denman for things like blogging! Glad to have finally gotten all this down in pixels.

Steve