A Summary Of What I Have Learned So Far This Year

1. It is when you don't really want it all that badly that you get it.
2. If you call yourself KJ, 9 times out of 10 people will ask you what it stands for.
3. When in Europe, think very carefully about where you intend to have a bowel movement. The toliets do not like to flush poo very well and you may be stuck there for hours, staring desperately at the toliet bowl, pumping furiously away at the handle, hoping to God that somehow, someday you will be in a country where even the largest dump is swept away with the flick of a wrist.
4. You DO want to have sex more in your thirties.
5. One can always choose silence, sure, but if one wants to take part in the conversation and still isn't quite sure what to say, the best solution is to ask a question.
6. Falling in love can be fun. Falling out of love can be hell. Letting go and moving on can be the hardest thing you are ever asked to do.
7. You will not have an easy time finding peanut butter over in Europe or the UK. I seperate Europe and the UK because, for some odd reason, the UK does not consider themselves European.
8. When overseas, wear your Canadian flag all the time and in a prominent place. Generally, Americans are not liked.
9. Love who it is you are and make no apologies for it. If your partner can not accept it, thank them for their time and move on. It is not worth selling your self-esteem for companionship.
10. Making a top bunk bed while balancing precariously on a rickety metal ladder with your head smashed into the ceiling is less fun than it sounds.
11. If you are going to be co-dependent, be co-dependent with your MacBook. A MacBook will never let you down.
12. Whenever people tell you that something will be impossible, a line up too long, a train too packed, a dream out of your price range, a show sold out - ignore them. 9 times out of 10 it is all hullabulloo. You'll get in no problem, someone will give you free tickets and the money will show up. Where there is a will, there is a way.
13. First come first serve seating on an airplane is a baaaaaaad idea.
14. If you were hoping that while backpacking through Europe during winter you were going to look pretty, think again. (Unless what I am saying is all just hullabulloo).
15. Kissing a man passionately for an extended period of time who has stubble can cause cold sores.
16. There is no truth, just perception.
17. If they didn't or don't love you enough, can't love you enough and ultimately are choosing to leave you - IT IS THEIR LOSS.
18. The dictionary widget on a a Mac Dashboard is a must have for bad spellers.
19. If your 24 year old boyfriend is saying he is not ready to get married and have children then, well, okay. If your 34 year old boyfriend (or god forbid 44 year old boyfriend) is saying he not ready to get married and have babies, worry.
20. Be prepared that ordering Macdonalds french fries in Rome may cost you just under six Canadian dollars. Then question why you are eating at Macdonalds in the first place.

I am sure there are a few more things that I have learned, but a sampling will have to do...I am off to the Centre which I haven't attended in so long and is missed by me. Check out my new Konkin Question - inspired by a question asked in an Edinburgh newspaper and, of course, Cracker The Crazy Dog.

It is good to be home.

Good to the power of fantastic.