Dear blog, I miss you.  Sorry I have neglected you for so long. A lot has happened since we last spoke.  I went on a crazy ass adventure that took me to volcanoes, ash filled glaciers, 24 hour sunlight, lots of rain, lots of mountains, lots of wind, lots of food, lots of laughs, lots of memories, and some shenanigans.  I met some super cool people, and a few duds along the way.  I got pretty sick but also ate a lot of weirdness.  And yes I put on some weight.  Worked on a farm, almost got eaten by a dog, and visited the city where Fred Flinstone grew up.  I also made it in a Turkish newspaper and some sort of video blog TV show. That was neat.

And then I returned to my favourite city in the world: Toronto.  My grandfather passed away.  I miss him.  He was a great dude who loved to laugh a lot.  I think I got that from him.  I read on Facebook the other day someone’s status update about how if you could spend one more day with someone up in heaven who would it be, and I would have to go with gramps.

Then I got to go to camp where I met all sorts of intelligent and fun people.  Right after that, I got to spend 3 days with the foremost expert in Northern bushcraft in the world.  I learned a lot.   I found a really cool place by my school.  I can literally go home between classes and nap.  I do that everyday.  Naps are so nice.

I got into some trouble with a large company. They sent their lawyers after me. Long story, don’t want to talk about it. That was scary. I made a mistake and got slapped. I pray that its over.  It won’t be the last mistake I make, either.  One of the reasons I haven’t written in so long is I was warned by my school.  I have to represent the school and myself in a professional manner now to maintain a good reputation.  I will say this: My reputation has long been far from good.  It doesn’t take a genius to find some dirt on me on the internet. I can’t stop a friend from posting a dumb picture of me and tag my name on it. I don’t see myself stopping myself from doing stupid stuff in the future, either. Cameras be damned, its in my nature.  But I also know a secret that I’m going to share with you.  People are forgiving, forgetful, and simply don’t care.  So I’m not worried, not for a second.

I’ve been so busy, but in a good way.  I really enjoy school right now.  I can’t believe I just wrote that, but I really am.  I am learning a lot.  And the people are just so smart.  It feels so good to be back in academia.  And I’m not in the least bit stressed.  In fact, I get plenty of sleep, eat well, exercise frequently, and even get to go rock climbing and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu a few times a week.  And when I’m not doing that, I am attending some school social events, club meetings, doing group work, or hanging out with friends.  I even started journaling again, and reading!  Phew, and I was worried I wouldn’t have any time.

It hasn’t been easy, though. There have been plenty of bumps and I have my fair share of bruises, but you how I am.  So don’t worry about me, I’m all good, but I do worry about my friends and family sometimes.  Things have been rough for some of them.  I know they’ll get through, but not being able to help seriously sucks.

Anyway, its late, and I’m sleepy.  I was supposed to go out to a classmates birthday party but when I got there the lineup was ginourmous so I couldn’t get in.  On my way home I thought of you.  Strange, I know, but here I am writing away.  Hope to do it again, sometime soon.  In fact, you can bet on it.

Best,

marty