Southbound
Sunday November 12, 2023
This year, I’m not flying south to spend the winter. Instead, I’m flying south for only two weeks, to four new countries, to explore some of the most beautiful parts of South America. Our first stop is Panama for a seven hour layover, where we’ll go see the canal and grab some food before getting back on the plane to Buenos Aires. I’ve been preparing for this trip for a while, and it’s required a lot of planning and organisation. I’ve been learning some rudimentary Spanish too - this’ll help me for this trip and hopefully my three months in Barcelona too.
The last few months have been incredibly busy. Our trip to Newfoundland was amazing, with a gruelling eight hour hike up and down Gros Morne, as well as a sneaky visit to the town of Dildo. Our trip to Kawartha Lakes for Thanksgiving was less amazing. We were supposed to go kayaking on the Sunday but due to rough conditions and the inexperience of the group in general, the rental company asked us to cancel the excursion but wouldn’t refund us. Instead they offered us a 50% discount on the next trip, which means we’d have to drive back out to take advantage of it. We did see some nice fall colours on the Trans Canada Hiking Trail, and some spectacular salmon jumps at Port Hope, but a few things went wrong that weekend and it was mildly frustrating.
Work has also been busy, with several difficult technical problems to solve. We’ve got a new programmer starting while I’m away, and I’m hoping that’ll alleviate some of our challenges. The industry is in a state of volatility at the moment, with thousands of layoffs happening all over the place. 2024 will probably be much of the same. I’m just glad my job is safe and I’m constantly reassured by our CEO that Prytania is going to be fine.
I went to the CNE this year with Hardeep. It was a welcome return to Exhibition Place, and the air show had been buzzing around Toronto skies a few days prior. The dog show was hilarious and adorable at the same time, and it was video games themed, so extra special. The food was as expected - expensive and nothing to write home about, but the most surprising experience was the audio sensory light exhibit in a dark room. It was a kaleidoscope of colourful patterns and fractals and geometry with a gentle soundtrack to accompany. A couple of weeks later, I tried to show him the salmon run on the Humber River, but we saw nothing. Instead, we went for dumplings in Chinatown and then went kayaking around the Toronto Islands. At night, we wandered around the city for Nuit Blanche, but nothing was notable.
I was at Hemingways with Emilio for the Rugby World Cup final, New Zealand versus South Africa. There were a lot of Springboks supporters, but there were a lot of black jerseys around as well. The atmosphere was fun and jovial, with a few “chaaa hooo!”s throughout the game, but alas, it wasn’t the result that the we were hoping for. Has to feel a bit bad for Sam Cane too. As soon as the final whistle blew, I was out of there.
Emotionally, it’s been a bit of a roller coaster too, with ups and downs. We had to cancel our work trip to Los Angeles because of the hotel workers’ strike. The darker days have forced me to bring out my sun lamp, to force my brain to start making the happy chemicals. We haven’t gotten our first snowfall yet, but after I get back from South America, it’ll only be a month until Christmas!
Posted by Jeremy at 1:03am on Sunday November 12, 2023 :: 0 comments :: 