My Dream

Well, it just came out of nowhere and really hit me this past week - I long for the Mediterranean Sea. No, really, I need to se it again, and soon...sadly, I know that I won't be able to do so for an entire year. I have watched the full moon rise over Monaco, and seen its light dance on the waves, I have watched the sun set over Santorini, and I have seen it rise again from the deck of a Turkish Gulet. I have dined beneath a moon as red as the wine that was in my glass, thinking of eternity on a beach at the foot of Mt. Olympus. No other place in the world has the effect over me that this body of water does. It is magical, wonderful, full of mystery and delight. It doesn't even matter to me what part of it that I do visit - the Ionian Sea, The Adriatic, the Aegean, the Tyrrian. I need to watch those hopelessly blue waves cascade up the shore, to submerge myself into the endless depths of it.
Infact, it is my dream to one day operate a small hostel/pension, complete with rooftop terrace and taverna, somewhere on its stunning coastline; to wake up everyday to that salt smell, to feel the breeze blowing in from Africa, watch it stir the palms, listen as the waves crash upon the pebbles, "bringing an eternal note of sadness in". That is what I want in this life. The question now is, how to make that dream a reality? Well, I'm working on that.

Brittany - A Haiku

Laughing eyes dance at
Evenfall; azure blaze,
Passion's sweet longing.

Getting Way Ahead of Myself?

Well, as long as I'm doing odd lists on this blog, i might as well add to it. Wedding songs. Whats' that you say? "Geoff, you have no girlfriend, let alone anyone who you would consider marriage with"...well, thats true, but I have already decided my song. Of course, the very fortunate future Mrs. Geoffrey R Ludkin would get a say...I will give her a choice, as long as it comes from my list...You see, very generous!
1) Crash - Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds
2) Lost - Pat McGee Band
3) Walkin' To Georgia - Jim Croce
4) Fields of Gold (accoustic) - Sting
Who knows? Maybe in time, I will change my mind, but if my day was tomorrow, I would do it to these tunes...don't ask why.

My Own Blue List - World's Top Ten Bars, According to Me

Well, I don't claim to have been everywhere. Indeed, I have barely scratched the surface as far as international travel is concerned, but I have been able to get around somewhat. In that time, I have also been able to really live it up, with drunken revelry as one of my main priorities...hey, if I was to take life seriously, I wouldn't get out alive, right?
Anyway, I just spent a wild, crazy, amazing night in the town of Fisherville last week, and it got me thinking: out of all the places I have been to and seen, where were my favourite party spots, or more specifically, which were my favourite bars. I hope to be able to make this a top ten list, but I make no promises, I may have a few more than ten...eleven, ok? Sue me.
11. Windy O'neils - Blue Mountain, Ont. Great for a night of revelry after conquering the slopes, especially when the band is a good one.
10. The Blarney Stone - Vancouver, B.C. Another great Irish Pub, with good live music and dancing...and a house band that has played there every weekend for 20 years.
9. Ho Ho Hostel - Inverness, U.K. Ok, the hostel is not the bar, but I can't remember the bar's name, and they are owned by the same person. What an experience to get "locked in", to party with all the locals.
8. Myron's - Charlottetown, P.E.I. All I can say is "happy hour". If you've been, you know what I am talking about. Also, 2 stories to fit all moods and bar styles.
7. The Walkabout (Temple) - London, U.K. The perfect place to begin a young man's first backpack trip. Snakebites! "I come from a land down under...."
6. The Lower Deck - Halifax, Nova Scotia. A time warp to pre-Confederation Maritimes, especially when Signal Hill belts out "Sweet Caroline", and you thump your glass onto the table to keep time.
5. Paladium (Pink Palace) - Agios Gordios Corfu, Greece. Toga Party...ever Saturday.
4. Fusina Bar - Venice, Italy. Contiki Tours bus stop = wild parties.
3. Red Bull Bar - Ios, Greece. Right on the main square in Ios village. When seen in high summer, it is pure madness, a carnival of sin.
2. The Red Garter - Firenze, Italy. International Beer Pong tourny, every week. Thats all it needs.
Drum Roll Please......
Number One Bar in the World:
1. Ye Olde Fisherville Tavern - Fisherville, Ont. Nostalgic choice? Yes. However, I have spent many of my best nights in this hole in the wall. You just have to love a place that still proudly hangs a moose head on the wall.

Haldimand Twilight - a double Haiku

Summer twilight lays
Heavy; mist clinging to Earth,
Birds sound night's advance.

Dark embraces, light
Fades, killed in lead skies; fireflies
Dance, igniting stars.

The Blossom's of Spring Not Yet Spent

The night's of late Spring,
Electrified by their passion,
Darkness heavy with the aroma of promise,
Intoxicating, invigorating.

The scent of their bloom
Envelopes, laying about, filling
The lungs with the lust
Of a youth not yet spent.

Oh sweet bloom of Spring,
Speed not these short nights
Into Summer - linger, gift us
With song, the echoes of Pan.

Speed not into Summer, for
The bloom shall then be
Spent, fallen into the
Decay of Autumn.

Spring flowers, so alive,
So lustful, filled with the
Bounty of this
Youthful season.

Fragrance of the young,
Blazing, firey colours dancing
Beneath mobile stars,
Fireflies brilliant about them,

Stay, and awaken passion.
Drift upon the breath of night,
Linger, find eternity in
This young season

Ere Spring is spent
And Summer speeds away

The Waiting Game

Well, the results came in, and to my surprise, Lakehead U accepted me into their ranks. Pretty exciting stuff, considering I had no backup plan if that fell through. Off to school yet again in the Autumn. I have to admit that the prospect of classes and deadlines does not turn my crank, but the idea of being ble to live that good old school lifestyle is great. Of course, as my future career depends on my performance, I will have to do things a little differently this time around - no more sleeping in, skipping class to play volleyball, drinking my face off on a monday night, just for the hell of it....I will actually have to apply myself, something I have not done in 8 years, since I was in highschool. The fact that I got into residence was a nice touch as well. i was concerned about having to locate accomodations in Thunderbay, since it is such a long drive up, but when i got the word that I was in for res, it was a huge load off. I will be 9-10 years older than most of the other res. dwellers - I'm still not sure who it will be worse for, although I'm sure that on a maturity scale I will score about the same - maybe I can teach them all a thing or two...more likely I will be the one who gets the education....the teens these days are a little bit more, i don't know, "out there than we used to be. At least thats the way it seems, but it may just be I am getting older and my memory is foggy....who knows....
It is all just a matter of time now until i get to move up to T.bay, and restart my academic career. It seems that I have been spending a lot of my time waiting lately, which is a state that does not really agree with me. Makes me feel like I am existing in some type of limbo, always looking ahead to some distant point i time, and neglecting the present. I hate that. Life should be lived in order to capture the moment. All I can hope is that when this school year is over, my degree will free me to live the lifestyle that I desire. Who knows what I will do, but I certainly hope that I get lead over seas to some distant land in order to teach, much like my friends Kirk and Julie, who have taught in Bulgaria and now Thailand. Now that is living!
I just have to get through the upcoming school year, and then the world is my oyster. What a wondeful prospect!