Category: Random thoughts
-
It’s my life!
Read more: It’s my life!It was someone’s birthday – really that was just an excuse. It seems that this particular crew always finds an excuse for a party on Wednesday nights at sea. We were in the middle of the Atlantic, on a container ship, with not much else to do. We, as well as everyone else on board,…
-
National Writing Month
Read more: National Writing MonthNovember is national writing month. A couple of years ago, before I began my PhD, I participated in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). NaNoWriMo is a challenge to write a 50,000 word novel within the month of November. I chose to use that time to write reflections on our Going East adventure, in hopes of…
-
Funny the things you didn’t realize you enjoyed – reading serendipity
Read more: Funny the things you didn’t realize you enjoyed – reading serendipityWhen we were on our trip, I often found it difficult to get my hands on English books. When they were available in bookstores, they were horribly expensive (I paid 20 Euro or $30 CAD for a paperback book!). This was in the time before kindle, so there were limited options for eBooks – Scott…
-
Have you opened your TFSA yet?
Read more: Have you opened your TFSA yet?Update: I was wrong. TFSA contribution room accumulates every year that you are 18 or older and a resident of Canada throughout the year. You do not have to set up a TFSA to earn contribution room. It still may make sense to keep your emergency funds (if you maintain any) in a TFSA, but…
-
When right is wrong!
Read more: When right is wrong!When you are a child, you are taught that if you must ride your bike on the street, that you should ride as far to the right as possible. This gives cars as much space as possible to pass you. However, as you grow older and bolder, and start to ride on busier roads, it…
-
Indian Reservation versus First Nation
Read more: Indian Reservation versus First NationTravelling through Saskatchewan, our route took us along a highway that intersections with several “Indian Reservations”. In Saskatchewan the highway signs indicated “Entering Indian Reservation” and “Leaving Indian Reservation”. When we saw these signs, we both cringed at the terminology. Words are very powerful things, and the language used seemed rather offensive to us. Prior…
-
Like an ant crawling slowly over a giant machine
Read more: Like an ant crawling slowly over a giant machineShortly after we left Banff National Park, we saw our first oil derrick pumping away. It looked quite pretty with its multi-coloured paint, so we stopped and took a photo. Little did I know just how much oil and gas infrastructure we would pass by in the following days. It was the ride from Rocky…
-
Responsible travel blogging
Read more: Responsible travel bloggingThroughout our journey, we have been reminded that freedom of speech is not a universal right. As travelers and bloggers, we have the opportunity to meet many people, and often we report our meetings in our journal. However, in some of the countries we visited, we suspect that stories we tell are read not just…