Past, Present, Future

I'm still not quite accustomed to the fact I live in Banff. The other day I said the words, "Here in British Columbia." Nope, this ain't BC. I'm an Alberta boy now.

If you told me a year ago I would be living in Banff, doing what I'm doing, I wouldn't have believed you. I probably would have laughed. A year before that, the idea of living in Singapore would have brought forth the same reaction.

But here I am, living in the Rocky Mountains, working as a manager at the Gap, volunteering as an intern with planning and development in Banff.

Oh, right, I don't think I've mentioned that. I volunteer for the town of Banff! Basically I'm an assistant in the planning department. A few days ago I finished up some policy research, now I'll be compiling said research into various "best practices" case studies, and then the next step is to present this to the stakeholders and engage in constructive discussion. Our timeline ends in November, when the policy is presented to council for approval. Hey, look, I'm involved in the planning world!

All these recent developments make me chuckle when remembering posts like "Done Done Done," in which I mused the abysmal future Canada's number-crunched had forecast, and "Angsty Unemployment Cycle," where I ranted about my lack of gainful employment and workplace challenges. Well, I've got both in plenty, now!

I couldn't be happier with the way things have turned out. Moving was a gamble, and an impulsive decision at that, but I've been dealt a good hand. The social life could be improved, but now that I'm in the groove of my two jobs I'll have some time to dedicate to social pursuits. And it's only been the first month of twelve! Count me excited for the future.

photo (cc) me

on the Grid - Master Planning for a LEED Certified Neighbourhood in Kelowna

The site of the former Kelowna High School sits vacant only blocks from the downtown waterfront. The city of Kelowna, Canada, has grandiose plans for this piece of property: a mixed-use neighbourhood anchored by a large public park. The project is aptly titled Central Green.

Read the full post on the Grid.

Music Monday - Northern Lights

Slowly but surely I'm becoming accustomed to some of the bigger changes of life in Banff. One of the biggest? Waking up before 5am twice a week. Mhm, every Tuesday and Friday I'm up at 4:45am in anticipation of a 5:30am start to my workday. And as much as I'm not a morning person, starting that early has its benefits. One such benefit is biking through the cold, crisp air under a blanket of bright stars. My fingers are crossed that I'll one day see the aurora borealis here in the mountains. I've already seen it in Kelowna!

This is one of the songs that captures the experience nicely, "Northern Lights" by Cider Sky. If you've heard it before, there are three possibilities: you are a fan of Cider Sky, you have been to the Gap within the last month, or you've watched those popular teenage vampire movies that seem to suck (period here optional, but highly encouraged) perfectly good musicians into composing songs for the soundtracks. I fall into the second category. Here's the song for you to enjoy.

on the Grid - Tending the Urban Forest in Vancouver and Toronto

On opposite sides of the country are two of Canada’s iconic cities: Vancouver, British Columbia and Toronto, Ontario. In this age of green building practices and sustainable development, both cities are pushing forward to be leaders in environmentally conscious city planning and design. Toronto has adopted a green roof strategy and passed bylaws to require new developments to include green roofs. Vancouver has declared an intention to become the greenest city by 2020.

Both cities are making strides to expand the urban forest, though in very different ways.

Read the full post on the Grid.

Music Monday - Woo-Sah

I'm a big fan of the Kingdom Hearts series, so featuring this song is inevitable. The soundtracks to the various games are superb, and all crafted by a woman by the name of Yoko Shimomura, lending a certain constant quality to each game. Of all the songs, though, my favourite has to be "Dearly Beloved," the home screen background music of each game.

Why do I love it so much? With the very first chord I am instantly relaxed. My shoulders drop, my lungs heave a soft sigh, I close my eyes and let all the tension leave me.

It's something I need every now and again, as I'm a rather emotionally closed person (comes with being a Green!). I bottle emotions up, and music is my most favoured form of relaxation. That's the reason I have a 'down tempo' playlist on my iPod, with five different versions of this particular song. I admit, I'm a little obsessed, but you will be to after giving it a listen!

Below are the two versions from Kingdom Hearts II, probably my favourites, but I love all the versions for different reasons. Enjoy!

a First Time for Everything

This may come as a surprise, but before today I had never had a library card. I had never borrowed a book from a library that wasn't on campus, and never a non-academic book at that. I never counted down the days I had left to finish a novel, never owed late fees on a book lost in a messy room. Nope, that was never me.

That's right: me, the Advanced Placement Literature student, Cultural Studies major, Star Wars book nerd, and longtime Protagonizer, has never had a library card. Until now!

Today I picked up my first ever library card for the Banff Public Library, with which I promptly borrowed Edgar Rice Burroughs' first volume of "The Collected John Carter of Mars." I now have a growing list of films to borrow from the library, and have yet to even look at the CD collection. If there's anything in the jazz family, you can be sure I'll borrow that, too. Hopefully this won't turn me into some sort of book hermit, the literary equivalent of a crazy cat lady.

That's all I have to say. It's reading time!

photo (cc) Ozyman