I got my blackberry and it's resulted in a few changes.

My old cell phone would last about a week because I barely used it for either talking or texting. The blackberry battery really doesn't last that long, mostly because I am using it a lot for applications and the internet. People tell me that the first battery charge goes the fastest, so I'll bank on that. I'm on the second charge now and it is going slower, but I'm already using it less.

The Telus network has been having technical issues lately and I think my internet is going slowly on the phone because of that. The website is also not letting me add the other 2 numbers onto "My 5 National" numbers.

With the blackberry, everything is so interconnected. Part of my internet routine is to open up a bunch of tabs with my multiple email accounts. I'm fast at it, but it is still a process I have to go through. I added my email accounts onto my blackberry and now I don't have to check them; I'm notified as soon as a new message is received.

I should qualify that - blackberry seems to not get along with hotmail at all. It does not properly communicate with my hotmail email - I knew this in advance, several people told me that they just check their hotmail from the website. I'm not sure if it is the network problem or not, but even the website won't work for me. I typed in my email and password, but it said I couldn't log on. Now, the website won't even load!

I had set up a new hotmail account with a more grown-up address and I've been in the process of switching between them, but now I'm thinking that I might as well just drop hotmail altogether. I have a gmail account that I could easily start doing all my business from.

Also, I now have a UBC account, so I'll have all of my academic business going through there.

In diabetes land, things are going well. For the last few days, I've been taking 120% of my basal doses - my sugars were elevated because of illness. I still take the same amount for meals and it seems to be working super well - my sugars are better controlled than they were before I was sick.

I'm starting to feel vaguely better, but I have a feeling this bronchitis or whatever will stick around for a while yet...

I'm sick.

I caught a cold in Vancouver. I don't think I've ever had just a cold that goes away after its course. It inevitably develops into something else, like a sinus infection or bronchitis. I don't know what it is this time, but I don't like it. I'm drinking lots of tea and resting today. Last night I stayed in and watched a movie. Today I've done the same and I'm going to watch another movie while I eat dinner.

I had long been thinking about getting a smartphone when I move to Vancouver. A few days ago, while checking my account activity online for my pay-as-you-go phone, I noticed that Telus had updated the 'my offer' section - incentives for you to upgrade your plan or whatnot. Previously, I had nothing there, but now there are loads of incentives.

Smartphone plans are rather pricey. The most important thing for me is caller id and voicemail, which always cost extra, so I wasn't exactly jumping on the bandwagon for a smartphone. One of my offers includes free voicemail and caller id for the length of my plan.

I also realized that there's no reason to wait for when I move; there will be enough new things in my life when I move to Vancouver that the phone would just be an added stress. Logically, I should get it sooner than later!

I'm going to be getting the blackberry storm - it has a big touch screen. Typing things will be slower than the other blackberry options, BUT still faster than freaking T9!

Anyway, I'll be ordering it into next week and then I'll update once I get the phone!

I really enjoyed my travels this summer.

Vancouver was great and it left me feeling excited to move there in a month!

Winnipeg was busy and filled with wonderful people, as usual. I didn't get to see everyone that I wanted, but there will be other times.

Thompson was super fun! My sister and brother-in-law are always lots of fun to spend time with and they're wonderful hosts. My puppy niece is getting older and starting to calm down...ish. Just like in Vancouver, I could not have asked for nicer weather in Thompson. The sun was shining and it was warm - much different than when I was last there in the dead of winter.

I'm now safe and sound in my London apartment feeling a little overwhelmed at what I have left to do this month. Packing is a little daunting because I don't know how much room I will have in Nancy's car, and I likely won't know that until the day we start our road trip.

Even though I still have a month more here, I'm already starting to box up as much stuff as I can.

Cleaning and packing... endlessly.

It just caught me off guard...

I just read the title of my last blog post and realized that I'm moving in a month's time....AHHH!

I'm still in Vancouver right now and it very much feels like a vacation. Really, this is going to be the last bit of calmness I will have in a long while. Once I get back to London, I'm packing up for good and working hard to make money. I also have to study hardcore for my entrance exams. The move itself will be intense and there's always that period of unrest when you move to a new place. PLUS, I'll be in a doctoral program almost as soon as I move here.

I know I said, AHHH, but I'm still excited and positive about all this change.

Ok, for now I have to get myself organized for some meetings with professors at UBC in an hour or so. I only have about 6 more hours to spend in Vancouver before I head off to Winnipeg for my last real visit before relocation.

Vancouver - my new home next month!

On Friday and Saturday, my new roommate Nancy and I were apartment hunting like mad people. Vancouver is a crazy place to be looking for rentals in - there are very few two-bedroom apartments and they're all ridiculously expensive compared to London, Ontario.

My thoughts are that the better the city - the higher the rent. I'm willing to pay more to live here because it has worlds more culture, beauty and opportunities than London. Vancouver is also one of the more beautiful places I've been. In how many cities can you touch the ocean while looking at the mountains?

The weather had also been beautiful the entire time we were searching. I'm still here for another few days, but Nancy headed back out East. We put in an application, but weren't going to hear back until after Nancy had gone home. We had resigned ourselves to that fate, but then we stumbled upon a marvelous basement-ish apartment in the Kitsilano area - halfway between the university and downtown. It's ridiculously close walking distance to everything that we could want to do - restaurants, coffee, hair dressers, groceries, clothes stores, and lots of trendy things.

The apartment is above ground, spacious and at the bottom end of our price range. Anyway, I'm super excited and we'll be moving at the end of the summer. Possibly driving... I LOVE ROAD TRIPS!

Ok, bye for now - time to go grocery shopping with my wonderful hosts.

Toronto was great!

I think it was exactly what I needed. Some of my favourite times here in Ontario have been when I escaped to Toronto to visit my friend Chris. Wow, that speaks volumes about my time here in London, haha!

There's also something about a big city that appeals to me - something that I will have in spades next year.

In just a few days I will be heading to that big city to find a place to live. I am planning on packing a bunch of my stuff and moving it out in advance, via my second suitcase. This plan means I need to figure out what I'm taking tomorrow - I'm running short on time. There's always so much to do when getting ready for a trip and I always seem to leave it until the very last moment.

I've only been in Toronto for 8 hours and I already feel refreshed!

I've been needing to get to Toronto to see some people this summer, and I couldn't do it during June because I was subbing at a church, so this is the first weekend I've had where I didn't need to be in town on Sunday.

I'm not sure if this is the first time I've bought greyhound tickets since getting my ISIC card, but DAMN! It only cost 35 dollars instead of the normal 50. Maybe they lowered prices in general due to some bad press they got earlier this year. Anyway, much more affordable.

A nice Greek dinner tonight was overfilling with food, but one can't go overboard with good times and good friends.

Not much else to report. It's good to be away from work for a little while. I will have a few days, and then I run away for another 2 weeks in Vancouver and Winnipeg. I thought I was taking time off by just not doing anything after my thesis, but apparently that wasn't a break - it was just a lack of productivity. I think the time away from London will do me a world of good!