dear josh,
i think it has been a while since i have written to you. perhaps you've noticed. perhaps not. a lot has been going on, it has been a full year, so, the writing of letters to friends is often forgotten. it is only now, after a year in vancouver, that i find myself with my first moments to rest and reflection on the west coast. where to go from here?
well, i supposed i can tell you a bit about the year i've had in vancouver. as you know, when we last spoke, i was gearing up to leave ontario to tour across canada in promotion of my last album, with plans to settle in vancouver when it was all said and done. we were on the road for seven weeks in the fall of 2009. seven long and painful weeks. i will spare you the details of the tour now, but to say that seven weeks in a car, doing the long drives that are necessary when traveling across canada, did quite the number on my spine, and it took me a months of regular hot yoga and a few chiropractic adjustments to remove the pain and regain movement in my upper back. it was as if several of my vertebra had fused together. the tour was difficult, with several money-losing shows, a criss-crossed routing, expensive gas, and one incident where my tour book (with our tour money) was stolen.
once in vancouver, i stayed with my brother (colin, who i'm sure you remember) and his wife and their two children for several months, while attempting to find a job. after a short while, they offered me the "job" of taking care of their twin girls while my brother's wife went back to work, so, i became a sort of nanny. not what i had expected, but wow, quite the experience taking care of those little angels! i had not worked in a bar for almost a year and was hoping to never go back, but eventually, i needed money and to live in my own apartment, so i took a bartending job six months ago. i suppose i didn't have much choice at the time, but, looking back on it, i think it was a mistake, as i did not realize that returning to working late nights would be a really negative experience for me. one that does not hit you all at once, but creeps into you slowly, infecting every part of your outlook, until you find yourself a lifeless, unenthusiastic, fatigued, and dreary soul. it is only in the last two weeks, with finally finding a new job (that takes place mostly during the day), that i have started to come alive again, feeling as though a fog has been lifted.
after months of feeling too tired and depressed to do much of anything, i have found myself taking up jogging, getting back to yoga classes regularly, and, beginning again to work on creative projects, writing and researching some acting and art classes to study in the new year. it feels like a very exciting and positive time for me, which is, i supposed, why i am writing to you now, wanting to share this positive spirit with somebody.
i hope all is well with you and yours, and do hope to get a chance to visit in the new year.
regards,
ryan
