Dig in, cause this is going to be a long one... A retrospective of the last ten years, where I've been and what I've been doing. It's too bad I didn't get into digital photography until later in the decade as I have some quite amazing photos from the first half of the decade... maybe it's time to get a scanner? Anyway, there will be photos when photos are available...
2000
I rung in the millennium with some really great friends on a snowy rooftop in Montreal. I was studying photography at Dawson College and working full-time in a (now gone) photography store downtown. I fell (very hard) in and (even harder) out of love. My grandmother (mum's mum) passed in January. Ranya and I became flatmates. One of my good friends' went crazy. I dropped out of photography school. It was actually a big year. A lot happened to change who I was. I suppose everyone expected big things from the new millennium, and in a way, it totally delivered.
2001
I started working at the bank in January. That changed my life a lot. I met some amazing people, started earning more money and felt more like an adult with a 'real' job. Little did I know that I would be there for almost five years. In September (the 5th to be exact) I boarded an airplane for the first time in my life. I came (oddly enough) where I am right now, to London. It was a dream come true and gave me the travel bug. While in the UK:
I visited Lisa - god we look so young here, but neither of us has even really changed that much!
we went to Brighton,
and Aberdeen to visit the square (that I'm standing in) where my Great great great grandfather was born.
We also spent a few days in Edinburgh, a city that I love even more now. It was the trip of a lifetime and changed my life forever, not only because it made me want to move here even more, but because it helped me understand that I could travel and see the world.
While I was there the world changed as well - on September 11. We all remember where we were that day, I was in a car driving through the English countryside on my way to Feckenham to visit Lisa's parents. It was so surreal for me that I didn't think it was real until we got to their house and saw it on TV.
2002
hmmm... 2002... I guess I technically started university in Autumn 2002. I had wanted to go back to school for some time and thought university was the way to go, but wasn't sure what I wanted to study. Of course, I left it to the last minute and registered on the first day of classes as an independent student. That meant I could take any class that was open to all students - so non program specific. I had a list of courses I was interested in but only two of them had space open so I registered for History of Journalism and Contemporary News Media. They changed my life -
2003
Having aced my two classes, I kept going and enrolled in Literary Journalism for the winter semester. I also applied into the Journalism Department to become a full-time journalism student. The rest, as they say, is history... In September I started at Concordia in the full time Specialization in Journalism program.
In February, I traveled - this time on my first real holiday - to the Dominican Republic in the Caribbean. .
I went with Ranya on a last minute deal to a resort near Sosua in the north of the island
It was heaven, and some much needed sun in February.
I breathed under water in the swimming pool... still need to get properly certified for scuba diving... think I'll make that a goal for this decade!
In May, I got my lip pierced
The year brought many ups and downs, changes and happiness. In December, my best friend and flatmate of three years moved to Greece. Also in December, Cherry moved in and we were flatmates for almost as long... Another friend for life.
2004
The first five months of 2004 were a countdown to my visiting Ranya in Greece! I spent most of May on the island of Lesvos with her. There are so many pictures that I would need (and have thought of doing it) a book to showcase them all... Here are a few of the artsy ones:
Eresos, Blue LockI became obsessed with taking pictures of the thousands of locks around the island, I don't know exactly how many I shot, but enough for a coffee table book on the subject - another project for this decade, I suppose!
Eftalou, Swirly Gate
From inside Molyvos CastleWhen I got home from Greece I cried for a week. But life goes on and so did mine, but Greece has a permanent spot in my heart because of that trip and I'm certain (even more than before) that it is a place I will return to again and again in my life.
2005
In February, I returned to the DR with Cherry, Trisha, and Maria.
On our day trip to Saona Island
It was a good trip, and again, much needed sun in February. It was also a break from the five classes I was taking at uni. In hindsight, it wasn't that smart taking five classes and working 30 hours a week. I spent June in the midst of a nervous breakdown and didn't leave the house except for essentials. The drugs (anti-depressants) helped and Cherry was a bigger support than I think she knows.
2006In March, I started this blog.
In June I graduated from university with a Bachelor of Arts Specialization Journalism with distinction.
That was one of the biggest days of my life. I had worked so hard to get there and to finish off on such a high note (distinction) was amazing. I almost missed my convocation because of a herniated disc in my lower back. Walking across the stage should have been the easiest part of my education, but it took everything I had to get across and I immediately went home and spent the next six weeks in physiotherapy.
I also got my drivers license.
On August 21 I arrived in Seoul, South Korea to start my year teaching (which you can read all about on the this blog).
2007
My year in Korea. Read all about it elsewhere as I just can't get into it all here...
I made tons of great friends from around the world, some who I've seen and some who I'm likely to never see again, but all in all it was a truly fabulous experience and I wouldn't trade it for anything. Thanks to all of you that made 2007 and life in Korea so special.
In August, I met Ranya in Thailand for the holiday of a life time.
at the end of our lovely Thai holiday
we pet the tigers at the tiger temple
we watched the tide come in and go out on Ko Tao
I drank from a bucket for my birthday
We rode elephants on Ko Samui
We played in the temples
And enjoyed all the sights, sounds and tastes of the Land of Smiles... read all about it
here.
After another week in Korea I was on my way home to Canada on the second of September... A few months later I was off on a new adventure when I moved to London in early December...
2007 was a big year for me. It changed who I was in many ways that I probably still don't even realise. It definitely filled me with the kind of confidence I always knew I had but never showed the world.
2008I got my first job in journalism. Doing exactly what I wanted to do on the day I graduated from university (and I still get to do it everyday!)
Me filming Tony Blair (technically 2009, but still...) In March I discovered I am a natural at skiing when I went on holiday in Switzerland.
On the border between France (behind me) and Switzerland
In August Ranya married the love of her life in Lesvos, so I got to go back to one of my favourite places on earth.
Molyvos, Levos, Greece
the happy couple
worshipping the moon
and the sea
In October I met my love on a drunken night out with work friends... Life hasn't been the same since...
One of our first pictures together
For 2009 please see below!
It's been a crazy decade... from living a relatively comfortable and boring existence in a flat in Montreal to traveling the world and landing in London doing a job that I love... life has been good to me despite a lot of pitfalls... I hope I make it look easy, but it wasn't... Here's to another ten years of adventure, happiness and love.
