Very moving...

It's been an interesting month, that's for sure. First things first: my good friend J came to visit Bethany and I in Toronto; the first time I'd seen him since he left England in May 2004. J rocked it out with me on the turntables at Freshwind 2004, and also formed the band The Salivators with me. The guy had keys to my house for a year, you know? We hung out and saw the sights. We went to Smokeless Joe, and to the Ontario Film Board. We took him to the Panorama lounge, and we watched movies. We drank beer and went to church. We hung out with people and ate good food. We drank cocktails and we drank coffee. We spent time catching up.

Then came the tough part. I had to say goodbye to Bethany. We'd been together for two months by this point, and I was not looking forward to going to the airport. It would be four months before we'd see each other again, when she comes over to visit at Christmas.
There was something else making my forthcoming journey home a little daunting. Over the summer, I took into account my options; my thoughts on the teaching course I started in January. I thought about the things that I would almost certainly have to go through in my final term, and I decided that it was not going to be a good thing to continue. As a result, I left my job in the school, and with it, made the decision to leave my beloved Leeds, and move back to Worksop. Leaving Canada this summer meant leaving Leeds, and finding a new job.

So, this month has been an interesting one. When I got back, I found myself a new job - I'll be working with teenagers with behavioural problems. I found a replacement for my room in Leeds. I broke the news to my band, and organised a couple of farewell gigs. I've packed things and sold things. I've given things away. I've spent time sorting things out to leave. I've visited Worksop a couple of times, and been to the unit I'll be working in. I've met my sister's tortoise. I've caught up with some friends, and had band practices. My cell group got together with my old cell group to give me a send off; which was excellent.

If there's one thing I'll miss about Leeds more than anything, it's the level of silliness that ensues when my friends and I come up with an idea. Last night, we opened an art gallery in our BASEMENT. No, really. We had flyers for it and everything. We displayed work by Bethany and myself, my roommate Butch, and his girlfriend Katherine. We had free wine, and people came to look around. Some pieces have been sold, and we expect more to go during the week. It's the sort of thing that can only happen in a big city. I'm going to miss that in Worksop.

Having said that, there's some benefits to living back with my parents, and I'm not talking about low-cost rent (although that is a major bonus). They pretty much live out in the country, and some clean air won't do me any harm. There's not that much to do at night, so I might find some more time to exercise. My dad likes to build fires in the garden. I like to build fires in the garden. We can build fires in the garden. And it's not too far from Leeds, so I can pop back for a visit.

Oh, there was one other great thing that happened to me this month. My wonderful friends Ben and Kelsey decided that they wanted to bless me. Having told me how much they remembered hating being apart before they got married, they checked some dates out with me, and bought me a ticket to Canada for October. So, my three months in Worksop is nicely divided with an excursion to see my wonderful girl. That's what I'm talking about.

It's good to be back. Love.