Looking Back on 2014

Well, I’m hesitant to make any New Year’s resolutions about maintaining this blog and trying to be more active, if my record towards the end of 2014 is any indication – still, something I’ve been meaning to do for awhile now is write up a kind of “year-end summary” of my 2014. And even if we are nine days into 2015, now is an especially good time to reflect on the previous year and all the sorts of things that happened over the past year.

Needless to say, it’d be hard, if not impossible, to go over all the events in the past year – I wouldn’t even want to attempt such a task. Still, there were a handful of things, whether they be accomplishments or events, that happened that really stand out for me. There’ve been a number of engagements and marriages (a pretty recent trend!) – by my count, three engagements and three weddings. It was also the centennial anniversary commemorating the start of World War I in 1914, for which I attended the local Remembrance Day event, which I found to resonate all the more given the hundred years that have passed since the outbreak of the war, and how much has changed in that period of time.

But one biggest things for me was finishing up my MA in its entirety in July, and convocation in October. To be honest, writing this now, the stress and anxiety that I felt in those summer months while working on my final project all seem to be a distant memory. I guess in a way that’s not such a bad thing, because it means I’m left remembering the positive and enjoyable times, and there were definitely a lot of them. I don’t want to spend too much time going over all of them in detail, but from meeting people and making friends (who could both commiserate with grad student life and hold stimulating conversations about ancient history), to taking courses that (at long last) more often than not dealt with exactly the sort of content that interested me most, to getting experiencing teaching and sharing some of my own interests with people who may or may not known that much about antiquity, to both organising conferences and presenting at them…all those things together made the two years of the MA what it was, and I doubt I’d trade them for anything.

Sort of related to that though, the past year was also with a good deal of travel. I know I’ve mentioned in previous posts that travelling isn’t really something entirely new for me – but where 2014 is different is that it could well be the most travelling I’ve done in a single year. Some of that travel was related to the MA, like Scotland and Chicago (worst winter storm ever, by the way). But other places were more personal, like Nova Scotia – which probably has some of the best and most beautiful landscapes I’ve seen – and California, which I was fortunate to visit twice…the first time being right after Nova Scotia, and the second time actually capping off 2014 and starting 2015 with friends.

On that note, I don’t think there could’ve been a better way to close off the year. Even if the weather in California could be a little uncooperative (to the point of hail one day, and apparently one or two days we were there were the coldest in 60 years…yes, sixty), having that time surrounded with dear friends more than made up for it. Plus, escaping snow is always a good thing, and where better to do so than California? – but I’ll tell you one thing, seeing Christmas lights and decorations against backdrops of palm trees and sandy beaches is still something I’m struggling to reconcile.

For all that though, I don’t imagine it’s always so easy to find a group of people you can get along with both so easily and so well, so I’m definitely blessed on that count – and the opportunity to get away and travel with most (unfortunately not all) of this group, just for the sake of relaxing and hanging out without a sense of responsibilities or obligations (something I personally haven’t done with everyone in around seven years), has left me looking back at 2014 with a fair share of good memories.

Let’s see what 2015 has in store…

Halifax Bound…and Arrived

So, I had actually meant to write up a new post before I left, but time was against me – and so I’m writing this while in Halifax (hence the “and arrived” part of the title). In any case, I am now safely arrived and settled in Halifax, which is my first stop on a three week vacation that’ll take me coast to coast. Right after the week in Halifax, I’ll be flying to Sydney, NS, and over there to California to spend a week with a friend.

As a lot of my friends know, I’ve been fortunate to have been able to travel to a lot of different places around the world. Still, that being said, there’s something different about this trip, and I think I know what it is. Even though I’ve gotten to travel, this feels like the first time in a long time where it actually feels like a vacation (the last time might’ve been 2011?). Almost every other place I’ve gone in the past few years, there’s been some element attached to it, usually an educational element. Again, don’t get me wrong, I loved each and every one of those places and had a great time in them, but the fact remains that they weren’t holidays/vacations, but there was always some work to be done, whether in the form of excavating, reading and studying, writing essays or exams…but this time, it really does feel like a genuine vacation, or perhaps more properly, a getaway, because I’m doing it all alone. And that makes it all the more exciting. Driving back home late last night after spending some time with a few friends, I actually had a sense of butterflies in my stomach…not so much because of nervousness, but anticipation, and I haven’t really had that feeling about travelling for a pretty long time.

Basically, I really am looking forward to this time on my own, and the chance to de-stress, clear my mind and just do things when and how I want to, without working under specific schedules. That sense of freedom is what makes travelling so amazing…and for this trip, I’m just going to take things as they come – no real itinerary or plan, no “Place X on Day 3” or anything like that (although there are of course a couple of places I know I want to go visit). I’m not even really overly concerned with going to museums (I know, shocking!) or famous buildings, or any of the typical “touristy” places…that’s not really the goal of this trip. I think I’ve done enough of that already, but what drew me to the east is its nature and landscapes (things that I feel I haven’t really appreciated before). Besides that though, you often hear people talking about how it’s a good idea to explore your own backyard before travelling somewhere else. In my case, I guess I’m doing it backwards – still, to close this post with another common saying, better late than never…