From Taiwan to Ontario, Ontario to B.C.; I am sitting in my 'office' which is more akin to a bedroom minus a bed that a true office. No nice view, but no cosmopolitan culture and no gridlock. That said, I can view a nice pulp mill and smell it before I can get out of bed. But that is only on bad days, and they are seemingly dwindling as I notice it less and less. I am aware that the pulp mill precession of awareness is occuring - ask anyone who has been here for a long stint and they may claim honest ignorance to their olfactory recognition of a giant (nay, two giant) stacks of effluent permeating the city streets below. However, it is a note on which I need not dwindle. I now live in Prince George, B.C. , and aside from the fact that you cannot make a left turn in this city, aside from main intersections, I am happily residing in the self proclaimed northern capital of BC. Although in a valley between two main mountain ranges, which itself is very large, it is a a short jaunt to a multitie of outdoor pleasures. When time allows I find ways of penetrating the mountains and in short time eluding bears, lynx (although they elude me more than opposite) and bighorn sheep (they can be intimidating up close...trust me) and scrambling up to glaciers and eating lunch on precipices overlooking a vast array of mountains. Better yet, I can spot Nappes and giant faults that are perplexing enough to have me taking endless pictures to try to decipher the orogenic processes later. Essentially, Prince George is situated nicely for my outdoor lifestyle and the social perspective is far from that of the great lakes region - a refreshing fact. The city has very little in the way of a social scene, but this is not a bad circumstance. There are a few budding (albeit dated and established) places where one can relax and read, work or socialize, but I stress the word few. The logging industry has a hold on this town, but there is a population rivaling that of Peterborough (80 000 give or take a few thousand...) that has created, developed, evolved a culture in itself. Scooters, hybrids and compacts fill the streets among the oversized and lifted pick-ups, making for a distinctly eclectic driving experience. Which brings me back to 'no left turns'. The city I am growing to love, but it was designed by either an astute planner from a rivalling city attempting to bemoan PG residents, or the most ignorant and incapable team from within. Either way, it is an outlandishly perilous system, and I hold no warm feelings to teh fact that I need to circle the city just to go home, when it is a block away from where I started, simply because it is a left turn I need, but cannot, make.
All said, and a lot was said (I applaud you for getting this far) I am now happily in Prince George (herein 'PG') B.C. and am living an existance that I can be happy with.
More later. I want to describe this place more efficiently. And I endeavour to post pictures. Somehow.
The learning curve continues.
Goodnight.
