Big Trip - Big Move

So, the summer has passed quick as usual. I've been kept pretty busy with work and with getting used to life in a new city.

It's definitely had its ups and downs. Moving to a new place is always a difficult experience that brings with it new opportunities for discovery - both of self and of the new physical surroundings.

I've really come to like Ottawa. The city is smaller than any other I've spent significant time in (i.e. Montreal & Toronto). The smaller size is nice - you can get almost anywhere by walk/bike and don't have to deal with huge amounts of traffic. The city is also really green. Parks can be found everywhere - a national park is accessible within a 30 minute bike ride!! The Gatineau hills provide some really good mountain biking and an escape from the urban.

Building relationships here has been a challenge for me. I've made some really good friends nonetheless and look forward to meeting new and interesting people...

Work has been good to me. It challenges me to think and develop new skills and the subject matter is super interesting. In the fall I will begin working with the environmental team and the corporate social responsibility team. It will be a challenge to manage the two, but I am excited about the opportunities for learning that it will provide.

I will be moving into a new place in September - a basement apartment all to myself. It will be the first time that I've lived alone, without roommates. I am excited and somewhat apprehensive. I am looking forward to a place to call my own, but fear the loneliness that comes with that, especially come winter when people are less likely to venture from their homes. I think it'll be okay though :)

That's all for now folks....I'd appreciate some comments just to know that people are reading this!! But if not, thats cool....I write it as much for myself as for others..

Ian