Paint

It's been a bit of a slow week. Aside from a two day trip to Prince George, I've been pretty much just resting up in Jasper. Prince George was alright, but I'd already been there once before, and the town itself is a bit depressing. Most of the people that you pass on the street seem down, and the locals that I talked to weren't exactly crazy about living there. But I did manage to find my friend Dave, who I met on Denman Island during my last trip out west, three years ago (lord, has it been that long?). I had a great time hanging out with him for the day. He's still running his tattoo parlor, but plans on moving to Vancouver in the next year or so. Dave's not entirely sure how he ended up in Prince George. His then-girlfriend managed to talk him into staying ten years ago, and he stayed till now. Since he's planning on doing a sabbatical in October he was pretty booked up for the next month , but offered to squeeze me in after closing that night. He's very talented, and I ended up getting a blend of the sun/yin yang/peace symbol on my leg, about eight cm. in diameter. Afterwards, we went back to his apprentice's place, and after watching a movie there, saw the new Jet Li movie at a theatre. Interesting film, but sometimes I had a hard time following it. The fight scenes were very much exaggerated, but it was intentional (people would jump ten feet into the air to deliver a big kick).

Beyond that, I've spent most of the last week watching television at my friend Jason's place. I'd like to be able to get out more, but it's been pretty consistently cold and wet. Unfortunately, the Olympics are over, so most of my entertainment has come from the Republican National Convention. I don't think that I'll ever understand politics. How these speakers can keep a straight face is beyond me. It's so easy to tear apart their arguments, from how 'justified' the war in Iraq was, to the 'booming economy', to how much less terror there is in the world thanks to Dubya. But for some reason, the Democrats can't seem to get off their arses and pipe up. Maybe they're afraid of sounding rude or something. And how the Republicans manage to make three hour speeches based solely around Kerry's flip-floppiness is amazing. Apparently it's better to elect a liar than someone who can't stick to a particular point of view. I should really stop watching it, but there's nothing else on (seriously! when did TV get so bad?). Everyone that lives at the house where I'm staying works at least twelve hours a day, so TV seems to be the only way to pass the time.

One show that I did find funny was something on Showcase. It's called Trailer Park Boys. Ten minutes of watching it reminded me why I left Nova Scotia. The show is based in Halifax, and though it is exaggerated, the characters aren't that far removed from some of the people that I grew up with. If you haven't seen it, definitely check it out.

Speaking of the Maritimes, it's strange how many Maritimers are here in Jasper, and how we all end up clustering. Back when I lived here, most all of my friends that weren't from work were from the east, and I didn't even realize it until I was ready to leave. And now, all of the people that I've been around since I got here are either from Ontario or the Maritimes, but mostly all from the latter. I have no idea why things went this way, but it seems like most of the people from B.C. that I've talked to tend to hang out with other people from the west, and though they're all very nice, somehow it's never gone to actually hanging out.

After I leave Jasper, which will likely be either tomorrow or the day after, I'd like to spend some time camping out while slowly making my way to Banff, which is about four hours south of here. After that, I'm not sure whether I'll take a mini-trip to Calgary and back, or just head straight for the Okanogan (spelling on that) Valley, which is in the south of B.C. Lately, I've felt less like planning things than ever, which is saying something.