Small Thoughts
Cultivating Friendships
I'm not really sure when making friends became work. It was easier in school. You'd grab a coffee, eat lunch, study together and maybe go to the gym. Nowadays, it seems like people seem more reluctant to make the time or travel to see others when it's slightly out of the way. My one good friend keeps complaining about how Calgary is a suckhole and there's nothing to do, you have to travel really far distances to see other people, the roads suck and he's just dissatisfied. He worked here for about a year and did the last three years of grad school in beautiful Montreal. It's no wonder he can't find anything to do. Montreal is bustling with nightlife. He also had the luxury of having friends that were good at organizing and planning outings -- and so as a result he's never really had to look. He's trying to escape from Calgary by doing grad school elsewhere. I'm not sure why he's in such a rush to explore the great things in other cities when he really hasn't found the good things in his own. But I think it'll be quite a shock for him. If other people don't live in residence with you he has the same obstacles to overcome no matter where he goes.
Work
I've been feeling less trapped by work the last little while. I figure, I'm okay restarting in a completely different field if this doesn't work out. In the mean time, work allows me to have my beautiful apartment and the occasional trip. My boss is great. I was watching a vlogbrothers youtube video on growing up and it made a lot of sense. A lot of young people feel trapped by picking a field and sticking in it. It's too hard to decide what you want to do with the rest of your life because with every choice you make a bunch of doors close behind you. It's more reassuring when you know that regardless of whether you make a decision or not those doors will continue to close. Your job doesn't have to be the only thing you can do. You can make time for the things you feel are important. I feel like I really need to start doing more with my time -- give back to my community and be a more interesting person.
Family
My family is really dysfunctional -- but we make do. I think I need to have more patience with my mom (even when she is being impossible). I don't know if it's the whole mothers vs daughters thing but we have some fights that we never grew out of having. As she's getting older I think she needs to be surrounded by happy things in general. She's worked hard her entire life and deserves to have good times. I also feel that the more I age the more distant I get from my siblings. I thought the opposite was suppose to be true. We're still a form of support and a resource for one an other but I can't help feeling like it's something that time won't even fix. I'm going to Toronto for a work trip next month. I'm flying in a day early to spend some time with my cousins and aunts. I hope it won't be awkward.
Cooking
Eric and I have had a decent week of cooking for ourselves. We try to keep a balance of meats and vegetables and slip the occasional vegetarian meal in. I've been hankering for some fruits (and I made a noob mistake of buying $8 cherries). We haven't had any domestic disputes yet. Though if he lets his beard grow any longer I think I'm going to have scratch marks allover my face. We're stealing internet until the Shaw guy comes and hooks us up.