Fountainhead Friday Fun

It draws to an end
It comes to a close
My Oz days are numbered
But not everyone knows...

Here in Vancouver International Airport, as I await my flight to Hong Kong and Sydney – a hellish routing, but a cost-effective one – I can reflect on the past 18 (count ‘em!) days. It has truly been the bestest-ever visit to Canada.

Holy heck, this visit has reinforced so darn many things for me, some of which I already knew and just needed reminding of. Chief among them:

• I’m blessed with amazing friends who value me. Lucky lucky me!
• I also have the ability to make new friends, a fact that I’d totally doubted after this past year in Sydney.
• I don’t mind the rain as much as many people. It could be way worse: snow!
• There’s a sense of familiarity here that’s very comforting. At the same time there are still so many exciting, new-to-me things about Vancouver specifically that I don’t feel bored or complacent.
• I haven’t been forgotten by those people on whom I’ve made an impression in the past. How cool is that?!
• My family always welcomes me with open arms. They rock.
• Vancouver is the city I want to live in. Vancouver is the city I want to love in. Vancouver is the city I want to laugh in. And ain't that some great headspace to be in? Amen.

To illustrate how great a visit I had, here's an example. I arrived in Vancouver on Friday, November 12 and went to my favourite pub (The Fountainhead on Davie Street) that very evening. Being no dummy, I did plan my arrival to facilitate a Fountainhead Friday, after all. You always know you’re gonna run into someone you know and love at The Fountainhead on Friday night, and this night was absolutely no exception. I had a great visit with many folks, and it was nice to be welcomed back as “the foreigner” living an exotic overseas life. I was pretty quick to dispel the notion that everything was wine and roses in my Sydney life, but it was still nice to have everyone be so interested in my latest developments.

But then something happened that I hadn’t experienced in well over a year: a nice (and nice-looking) man chatted me up and I actually felt sparks fly. Yup, for the first time in waaaay too long, I was in a pub feeling relaxed, friendly, happy-go-lucky, and (clearly) approachable for the “right” type of man. Not the creep or derelict that tends to approach me, but a decent, good-looking, nice, engaging man who I was immediately attracted to. David turned out to be a swell guy, and it was so nice to feel a bit of chemistry at first introduction. Can it actually be that I’m not a man-repelling leper/freak?! Apparently yes : ) Praise Jesus! Or, more accurately, for the first time in a long time I was laughing, smiling, surrounded by friends, and loving it. Seeing as I'm never like that in Sydney, no wonder I'm not attracting any decent men.

'Twas a very valuable lesson to learn, and one that makes me realize how much more of a fit Vancouver seems to be for me. And that was just my first night in town!! I met tons of nice people during my visit: Taal, Bill, Walter, Steve and Puddle among them. And I got to know Greg a bit better, which was absolutely marvelous. So maybe I am capable of forming friendships, despite the fact that my recent experiences would indicate otherwise. Yay me! I’m so stoked about moving back to Vancouver in the Spring. Can ya just stand it?!?! Bring on the next 4 months, and then bring on the start of a new and exciting chapter. I'm readier now than I've ever been!