So when I was living in Taiwan and travelling Asia, I found beauty in the simple things ... taking a scooter ride through the city or across the mountains ... having a smoke n' sipping on sugar cane juice by the marina ... walking the night market ... hiking in the mountains ... it made me realize something. It made me realize that every place has something to offer; and I started feeling guilty for having seen so much of these foreign countries, knowing that I've seen so little of my own. I promised myself at that time that when I return to Canada, I would explore.
I came back to Canada with my Taiwanese girlfriend (her first time off their tiny, but amazing, island). It gave me every reason to tour my own city all over again, so we did, for about two months. We did a lot of the usual: CN Tower, Niagara Falls, CNE ... I mostly enjoyed how she was excited about the little things ... like how many trees we have on our street. After she returned, I made it a point to continue venturing out of my usual comfort areas of Markham and Richmond Hill. I checked a map and realized for the first time that Lake Simcoe is insanely close to me ... so I took a drive Northbound. The scenery was so-so ... probably the most interesting thing I came across was a tree that was covered in shoes. It was fascinating and eerie at the same time because it was in the middle of nowhere. I wondered what the story was behind the whole thing. I also came across a book of Canada's waterfalls and realized that Hamilton, ON has a lot, so I made it a point to visit a close friend there and go hiking in the mountains. Last summer I was reading up on our National Parks nearby and realized that there are so many. I wanted to plan a camping trip, but never got around to it ... no gear, not enough interested parties, and other various excuses.
Trip #1. It's starting to become tradition that for my birthday, I rent my parents' timeshare in 
Collingwood and have a weekend party with a few close friends. I'm doing it again this year, but this time I took the whole week off work so that after the weekend party and everybody returns to work, I will have five days to myself to ... well, to do whatever the hell I want ... reflect, unwind, read, watch movies, ... Maybe one or two people might even have the time to stick around and keep me company, but even if they don't, I'm happy to hang out by myself. I've always been pretty comfortable being on my own once in a while. I remember once I went to a matinee movie by myself and, consequently, ended up being the only person in the entire theatre. Anyway, the hard part is that this place only sleeps 8 people and since I've met a lot of great people this summer, I don't know who to invite anymore. There's always a few staple people who I have a past with ... my cousins, my bro and his girlfriend, and a few close friends ... but then I'd love to have my newer friends there too this time around. I wonder if I should just ram the place for the weekend and have people sleeping wherever there's floor space. I just hope the neighbour's don't complain in that case. Anyway, that's vacation #1.
Collingwood and have a weekend party with a few close friends. I'm doing it again this year, but this time I took the whole week off work so that after the weekend party and everybody returns to work, I will have five days to myself to ... well, to do whatever the hell I want ... reflect, unwind, read, watch movies, ... Maybe one or two people might even have the time to stick around and keep me company, but even if they don't, I'm happy to hang out by myself. I've always been pretty comfortable being on my own once in a while. I remember once I went to a matinee movie by myself and, consequently, ended up being the only person in the entire theatre. Anyway, the hard part is that this place only sleeps 8 people and since I've met a lot of great people this summer, I don't know who to invite anymore. There's always a few staple people who I have a past with ... my cousins, my bro and his girlfriend, and a few close friends ... but then I'd love to have my newer friends there too this time around. I wonder if I should just ram the place for the weekend and have people sleeping wherever there's floor space. I just hope the neighbour's don't complain in that case. Anyway, that's vacation #1.Trip #2. I was trying to determine how I should use my bounty of vacation days so I sent an email to some close friends, asking if they'd be interested to join me in a road trip to the East of Canada. They all pretty much declined and tried to suade me to change the destination to New York or Atlanta or some other party-spot. That's probably how Trip #3 got started. But I made another promise to myself recently. I promised that, as much as possible, I would stop accommodating other people, and start doing things for me. So in time I found others who shared my interest to travel Eastbound. The plan is for a possible road trip to the East of Canada in early September. I already have the time booked off. We just need to decide if we're really doing this.
Trip #3. In trying to inquire about the interest of Trip #2, I inadvertenly started a conversation about a trip to Las Vegas; somewhere I haven't been since I was a kid on a family trip, and somewhere that I've been told by countless people I need to experience as an adult. I know I had promised myself I wouldn't fly anywhere this year, but the timing seemed so perfect. I'm single, I'm not too young and not yet too old, I've been in party-mode lately, and I have a good group to go with. On top of that, we would be celebrating my cousin's birthday. The trip is scheduled for October and I already have it booked off. On the flip-side, I agreed to this trip when Trip #2 was looking like it wasn't going to happen. Now that Trip #2 is a possibility, I'm thinking of bailing out of Trip #3. I would love to do both, but I have to be realistic about my budget. I can barely afford both trips, and I definitely can't afford to continue living at home with my parents ... my need for freedom is ripping at the seams.
Anyway, moving on. The reason for this blog post, and the next few to follow, is Trip #2. Collingwood is going to happen no matter what, and making invite decisions will just come down to an executive decision; and Vegas is still a while away. I can go or back out as I see fit when the time comes. However, Trip #2 requires more planning and thought. I think I have to weigh some pros and cons right now and make a plan because the time to make decisions is upon us. What does the trip have to offer? What will it cost? Will the things I will see make up for the amount it will set me back in savings to move out? These questions and more need to be addressed ... and I'm pretty methodical in my ways ... so I think I will begin exploring these in future blogs for the next little while. Stay tuned.
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