Starting today, I’m beginning my first summer in Montreal.

I have always been busy. Crazy-busy. For the past four years, I have been so busy that I’ve forgotten to enjoy myself. I’ve been anxious, I haven’t slept well, I’ve had health issues. But as of right now, I have all the time in the world and I aim to fix all of this. The school year is over and I don’t have a job.*

This is what I intend to do:

- Explore new Montreal neighbourhoods & restaurants & cafes & city events
- Take some trips – hopefully, Quebec City, Victoria (BC), and back home to Toronto.
- Document my travels & exploring with pictures
- Practice sewing
- Spend time reading books for both fun & academics (but mostly fun)
- Eat at fun restaurants as my budget allows
- Learn how to cook new things
- Enjoy myself!

lastly:
- Document it all here (as well as other thoughts) for you to read and to keep me honest

In the past, even before I joined the “real world” and started working in jobs that kept me (on average) 60 hours a week, I was constantly keeping myself busy and keeping myself anxious. I had a short time off during one summer (in 2002, I think) and I spent it miserable and not really enjoying myself. I had three weeks off between jobs in 2006 (with another job lined up, waiting for me) and I spent the time stressed about grad school applications and yes, miserable.

Grad school brought a new kind of anxiety – feeling like an imposter, still working 60 hours a week (between two part-time jobs and school work), feeling out of place in my new city (montreal).

Today I walk out class at approximately 4:30. I have no real job* and no real commitments. I am living in a new city with a lot of time on my hands. So, here I am…  I’m committing myself to enjoying life for a short while, less miserable-ness, less anxiety, more fun and more adventure! I commit myself to enjoying weekends. To seeing new things,  to not wasting hours and hours on the Internet, to taking up new projects. I hope that if I can carry some of these habits into my last year of school and that I can carry them with me for a lot longer.

* I do have one freelancing gig that almost pays my bills and may still do a little bit of work for a professor, but that is less than 20 hours of work a week – so it almost doesn’t seem like a real work week.