Leavin' on a jetplane

Having spent a lovely day last weekend in Ottawa, I reflected on some of the great cities I've visited in Canada: Quebec City, Kingston, Cornwall, Mississauga, Toronto and my absolute favorite, Vancouver.

1997 was a tumultuous year; I'd finished Illustration and Design at Dawson, clueless as to my next step. I ultimately decided to take a chance on a one year intensive traditional animation course at the budding VanArts, and with my lovely wife Isabelle, boarded a plane headed West.

I never figured to return to Montreal, which filled me with the nervous excitement of the unknown, and the bittersweet sadness of leaving everything familar behind. I spent the previous Spring strolling around NDG with a clunker black and white manual camera taking snapshots of my favorite spots around the city. I felt that these photos would act as fuel for my fond memories, and capture a shard of time with still, grey tones; I still have them in an album somewhere.

Vancouver was beautiful, with a completely different vibe than back East; folk were laid-back and constantly smiling (it seemed), oblivious to the cloudy skies and film productions bustling around them. Stanley park was a favorite haunt of ours, and our one bedroom apartment was quite charming, despite the expensive rent and lovely view of a cemetary across the street. I still miss the hum and crackle as buses zoomed by, and wonder how the Great Canadian Superstore and Province newspaper are faring these days.

We left only a year or so after our arrival (we decided to leave because work prospects seemed better back East, and we ended up missing family more than expected), and I find myself thinking of Vancouver often. Although I appreciate the city of my birth, in particular the neighbourhoods of my childhood and adolescence, I wonder if I'll eventually settle elsewhere within this amazing country.

Wherever I do, it'll be home, as long as I'm surrounded by the people I love!