/life/Goodbye Canada!
My bags are packed, I'm ready to go.
My bike is in a box, my garlic press, cheese slicer and favourite bowl are nestled amongst clothes and other things. I've copied my important documents, and double checked my flights. My swiss army knife is tucked into my checked baggage, and many boxes have been shipped.
I had a great time bumping gently across Ontario. I saw many people in Waterloo, and missed a few. (Sorry Simon, Leanne, JP, and probably others.) I was surprised how many people I saw that I knew, and I invited many people to come visit me in Dublin.
I went to a Q&A forum with David Suzuki, which was neat. I liked him; I didn't find him intellectually satisfying, but rather intuitively satisfying. He refered to hydrogen as an "energy source" rather than a transmission mechanism, which was frustrating. He also conflated "peak oil" (when we can no longer keep up with oil production) and air pollution, which is also frustrating. (It is common to see this as related, but they aren't. It could be that we run out of oil well before the atmosphere is unrecoverably polluted with carbon dioxide, or it could be that we destructively pollute the earth well before we run out of oil. Many environmentalists imply that these two things will transpire at around the same time, but while that might be elegant and tidy, there's no reason to believe it will be the case. These arguments should not be mixed; one is directly environmental, the other is economic.)
I said I'd write about New York, and I never really did. I never really figured out what to say, except that I was astounded how much I liked the city. In fact, it gave me a sense of what a city should be: good transportation, lots of arts, friendly people, strange little stories and histories visible everywhere. The stereotypical grumpy New Yorker was nowhere to be found; people were helpful, even if you were just looking slightly lost. It felt safe.
I had a great time with Clare's relatives — her cousins each had their chance to show us their favourite bits, it seemed. The Gugenheim was a neat building, though the Aztec art exhibit lacked practical connection for me; art disconnected from the tools and techniques didn't hold my interest well.
I'd like to go back some day, and maybe even work there.
In two weeks, I start at Google. I'm very excited about it; I hope it lives up to its reputation.
I've decided to put the entries for Ireland in the travel category, even though that belies the nature of this journey. I'll be settling there, with a longer horizon than I've had since I was 15.
As always, my thanks for all the little favours that have made the preparation and visits successful, especially to my parents, Josh, Andrew and Ian & Joy, who each gave me a place to rest my head.
Goodbye Canada, I'll be back soon enough. I hope many of you have a chance to come visit me in Ireland, or meet me anywhere nearby in Europe.
