Posted 7:11 AM by Lodger
The trip home was wonderful. I split my time between snowy Kamloops and unusually snowy Vancouver. Of course, I wish there had been more time, but it was great to see family and friends and chill out in the quiet. My little niece, Emma, is now 20 months old and a real cutie. Seeing her and my brother Jason and his fiance Natasha was a definite highlight of the trip, along with a hockey game with my dad, kitchen table wine/coffee talk with Mom, time with Melissa and her new beau, and catching up with the girls, Steph and Michelle, as well as the many other friends I managed to see, if only briefly. I love you all and the trip home has definitely helped me work out my plans for the next few years and beyond... the ultimate aim is to settle in BC. I just want to make some hard, cold cash first (in Japan) before I head back. It was a bit weird being home though...

I've become so used to the crowded streets in Croydon/London that even Vancouver seemed eerily quiet to me. The first thing to catch my eye driving in to Steph and Michelle's from the airport was a 7-Eleven along Granville Street. To my eyes it looked to be the size of a Safeway... so big, so empty.

But the biggest shock to my senses was revisiting the landscape around Kamloops. It seemed bigger, wilder, more spacious, and definitely more spectacular than I had remembered. Homes carved into rugged hills (which embarrassingly seemed now to be mountains to my eyes) spaced liberally between patches of trees... the Thompson River snaking out in three directions in the valley seemed to go on forever. I guess it's true what they say: you really do come to appreciate your home more after being away for awhile. A strange experience.

Some big news:

1) My sister's met someone special, an engineer named David and they seem very good for each other, head over heels and all that... congrats Melis. Over the holidays he had the pleasure of getting know the fam... hope we didn't scare him too terribly.

2) JV and Verona had a baby boy! As yet un-named... in Hindu culture birthdate and name must correspond and thus they are waiting for input about names from a priest. I've not seen Verona, but JV is over the moon. A man not short on enthusiasm at the best of times, he's practically coming out of his skin with excitement. Talking to him I couldn't help rubbing my hands together and laughing out loud, the kind of spontaneous laughter that comes not form a good joke, but rather from excessive joy... it was infectious. He exclaimed passionately, "Rick, you would not believe the experience of birth. It was fascinating! You do not know the strength of woman before experiencing it. It is awsome and it is frightening!" I've not met the little guy yet, as Verona is still recovering from a difficult labour, but am eager to begin taking on surrogate uncle duties as soon as possible.


I guess that's the most of it. Again, Happy New Year to everyone here in England and elsewhere in the world. I plan to make 2004 a good one. I'm feeling light, airy. Focused and ready to take on whatever may come my way. It's been awhile. It feels good.

Adios!

PS
See 'Roger Dodger' on DVD or video. Hilarious.