Vancouver?

February 22, 2006 - So the last couple of blogs have been a little dramatic and emotional, but now that things have cooled off a bit (well kinda), I thought I would shift gear and write about something else - I guess mainly to get my normal, ordinary life back in order, but also I'm a little bit tired of writing about my relationship problems and my quarterlife crisis. So I thought I would write about one of my favourite topics (other than planning): going on vacation!

Now I have to say that the last time that I went on a real vacation was back in May 2004, when I went to Europe. That was probably the best trip I have ever gone on - mainly because we planned the trip by ourselves, with no help from anyone. Since then I have gone on side trips (Buffalo and Cambridge came to mind), but I definitely would not call them a "vacation".

With things not going so well for me lately, the desire to just go away has gotten stronger than ever. Each time I walk past Flight Centre, I feel like going in and telling them to book me a flight to Paris for the next day. And you know, if I have the nerve, I could probably do it too. But as usual, I get scared by the thought of travelling by myself and I drop the idea before I could even seriously consider it...

But that might change! My grandmother recently gave me all her airmiles and now I have enough to fly to anywhere in North America - for free! The problem is I have to book my ticket by April 1, 2006, but at this point, I have no idea where I want to go. I don't want to let those miles go to waste either - so I will have to think of something fast. Right now, the idea of Seattle/Vancouver sounds good - I have never been to Seattle, and I have always wanted to go back to Vancouver (I still want to move there eventually, but that dream seems to fade as each day goes by). San Francisco is a good possibility too. I haven't been to that city in over 10 years and I'm pretty sure that things have changed considerably.

I guess going to Seattle/Vancouver might win out - I do know a few people in the city (though I know a lot more people who have moved from Van to TO), so I guess I could visit them, but then again, I don't know them THAT well, so I probably won't be spending too much time with them either (not to mention they are probably too busy to deal with me). But still, I will have to pay for accommodation, which will be pricey. At the same time, I will still be travelling by myself - though I'm pretty sure I can handle being on my own for a few days in Vancouver. Hmm, now the more that I think about it, the more I think I can do it!

There's also that major Canadian Planners Conference in Vancouver in June. I tried to write a proposal at work to see if they could send me to attend (that way, I'll get to have free accommodation & airfare), but chances of that are real slim now, especially since our director doesn't want us to attend conferences that are outside the province. So maybe I could go on my own...but June seems so far away. I want to go somewhere, like NOW. To quote Kelly Clarkson (again):

Wanna feel the warm breeze / Sleep under a palm tree
Feel the rush of the ocean
Get onboard a fast train/ Travel on a jet plane, far away
I will breakaway

Maybe I should just do it. It's only Vancouver. I can handle that, right?