Research, Pictures, and Sticky Notes....

As pretty much anyone who's been in contact with me over the past 4-ish years knows, I'm wanting to move to Scotland. Real bad. And I'm being honest when I say that it's developed into a physical pain when I contemplate having to give up that dream and settle in Canada for who knows how long. At this moment, I'm closer than I ever have been to achieving my dream, and yet there's still one (ONE) obstacle that has the power to overthrow me and my plans. I won't go into any detail here (mostly because I'd like to share a "Look what I had to overcome" kind of story if I actually get to move), but just know that it's super frustrating when you don't know both of your parents and you're applying for visas (not the credit card, but the traveling kind).

Working out my frustrations through all of this legal mumbo-jumbo that I'm having to deal with has brought out (in full vengeance, I might add) my ruthless cleaning/organizing side. What usually happens when I'm feeling almost any strong emotion is that I'll go into some kind of freak cleaning machine mode, and not stop until everything around me sparkles (or fluffs, or shines, or drapes as it's intended) and is colour coded (mostly referring to my closet here). Sometimes it's handy, but most of the time I'm told it's a bit scary to walk in to me in the midst of this process. (I also have one awful story of pocket-dialing a friend while I was singing at the top of my lungs to angsty teenager music... thankfully I actually was a teenager at the time, but still. Learned my lesson on that one.) This time seems to be more mature, well-handled, and less smashing-things-around than usual, but only time will tell if I stay level headed. Tonight in particular, I got a little overwhelmed with all the sites I was having to bookmark on my mom's computer (something I don't really like doing, because it's not mine), so it turned into me creating a Post-It wall in my room (much more visible and fun, much less having to find websites over and over and over again). So far, I love it, and it's not even half done yet!

I have to thank everyone whose blogs/websites I've found about packing to move overseas, what to pack in your carry on vs. checked bags, where to find great luggage, checklists for every step of the move, etc... all of you have been fabulous and helpful!!

I'm also flabbergasted at how beautiful all the pictures are that I've seen on every post about traveling; does everyone have an SLR but me? Surely no, but I've always found that despite how much I love my digital camera (I researched for months and proudly spent $500 on it... my first "adult" purchase), I never use it. Mostly, I just look at it and marvel how pretty and cute it is. Learn from my mistakes, be critical with yourself, and don't buy a digital camera if you're never going to use it. If you have a smart phone, you'll never notice the fact that you don't have a digital camera, truly. Maybe I'll regret saying that eventually, but if I've had the thing for darn near 7 years now and honestly can't remember the last time I used it, it's time for that poor thing to go to a digital camera-loving home. *Rant over*

Over the past 4 hours I've been reading blogs, researching, scribbling on numerous sticky notes, and just generally getting lost and inspired in reading about others' adventures around the world, and it's been really nice; kind of like going on my own mini adventure.... but I can't wait until the stories and pictures are my own.


Through all my insecurities, though, God is good. All the time. God is good!

Why I hate the Biography section at Chapters, in pictures:

...Soccer/Rugby, hey? How about that Ski & Snowboarding? And Ellen DeGeneres?

I didn't realize this one was so blurry (sorry!), but the new sections here are: Larger Than Life, The Originals, and Remarkable Women. How do you classify books under those categories in the Biography section? If you've published a biography, there must be something remarkable about you. And how do you classify someone as an Original? Seriously?

A larger perspective of the new section. Call me crazy, but isn't there a better use for all the empty space on those shelves? Such as putting those books stacked at the end of the row on a shelf, maybe?

This is under the "alphabetical by subject" section in Biographies. And nothing else in a book store gets under my skin faster than seeing the Alphabetical by Subject section at Chapters. Can anyone tell me under what section these shelves would be categorized? Didn't think so.

I was once looking for a book about President Obama as a gift for a friend. I looked under the Biography section for a bit before deciding it was probably somewhere else, and using one of the computer kiosks they have. I searched Barack Obama and came up with about a half dozen books on the subject, and all of them were listed as being in the Biography section and I hadn't seen any of them. It was at this point I decided I needed professional help, so I found a store associate to help me. A couple minutes looking produced nothing, so my help ran for reinforcements in the form of someone who had worked there longer. A few minutes more produced every single book on Obama except the one I was after. I was told that it probably wasn't on the shelves yet, and to come back occasionally to see if they'd put them out. As I was walking out of the store, I saw 6 copies of the book I wanted. In the fiction section.

This is the book I had been looking for.

This year, I've just realized, is my tenth year on this site. Besides living, I don't think I've ever stuck at something for so long...

What a decade it's been, indeed.

God is good. All the time. God is good.