"Why are you moving to Spain?" & more importantly, "Why haven't you left yet?"

The first question is one i get asked fairly often.

Most of the people i know here in Sarnia are career-driven, focused on their futures, and are starting to blissfully settle into the second half of their 20's: promotions are being sought; houses are being co-signed; cars are being leased; girlfriends and boyfriends are turning into fiancées; and before long, storks will take wing, ending these first few ginger steps into adulthood. For some clandestine reason, and hopefully directed towards some higher purpose, the driving force in my life isn't governed by any of these things. Unfortunately, at the tender age of 26, i have yet to figure out why not. Whenever i get asked 'why Spain?', my pseudo-confident response is always 'Why not?' , but the truth is, i have absolutely no idea. I don't speak Spanish, i don't know anyone there, and i have no connections or hookups of any kind. What i do know is that it's warm almost all year-round, the people are friendly, the night-life is electric, and the entire country takes a nap every afternoon. That's more than enough for me.

The second question wont take nearly as long to answer.

I was initially set to leave on November first - although it should be noted that 'set' in this case is nothing but three letters grouped together, as I had absolutely nothing booked or confirmed whatsoever. This unrealistic target was soon pushed to the 9th, which then quickly became the 12th, 14th and 16th respectively. Now as I write this on the evening of the 17th, I can say with 100% certainty that I am leaving on Tuesday morning, the 20th of November - a scant 20 days behind schedule.

Packing all your shit takes a lot longer than you would expect it to. Whether it was sorting through the thirty boxes of accumulated jetsam, collected from 5 different cities over 15 years, or maybe just the lack of a concrete itinerary, this lengthy delay has come about unexpectedly; and is starting to border on embarrassing. I told a lot of people about my trip, and this was cleverly designed to prevent me from backing out...but as the days continue to fall off the calendar, I've since become the architect of my own demise. Everyone knows, and everyone is starting to think that I'm full of shit.

Another possible reason for the delay, and perhaps the most unexpected one of all, is a girl named Maryann. Having ended my previous relationship - or I guess more accurately, having it ended for me - over two years ago, and spending the subsequent years sport-fucking the single leagues, it seems almost ironic that I should have met this awesome person now. I guess thats the way things like this go, and theres really no use trying to understand why.

I'll be in Ontario for another week visiting some mates - the definition of that word having been retooled numerous times in the last couple weeks - and then I'm off to Manchester to visit and old friend from college. I'll be in Dublin around the beginning of December before finally settling in Denia, Spain on the 9th or 10th of December...or maybe the 11th.....or the 12th...

So, that's that. I guess we all find our own way in life, and hopefully this adventure will play some small part in helping me find my way in mine. I know I will meet some fascinating new people along the way, and will have lots of tall tales for all of you when you come visit me. In the meantime, stay on top of your mortgage payments, make sure to go in for regular oil changes, be wonderful to your better halves, and name all of your children Jake.