july 5 2005

This is my new t-shirt. I've been coveting this shirt for quite a while now and I finally found it, a few days before I leave Toronto. I think it's the logo of a local rec league hockey team.

Another furious day of packing, followed by some time hanging out with a very new friend. Doesn't it always happen that you meet great people just as you're about to move out of town? To think that I spent two years here not having a clue how to go about meeting people I get along with. Thinking about it, my friends from this Toronto phase of my life, I've met them all through internet communities - I started with a hockey site, then a gardening site, and now, Flickr. Some people overlap between a few of these places. I think I've been really lucky, meeting the people that I have. Most of these friendships played itself out strictly online while some bled over into real-life, as it did with the friend I met with today. I really do believe that these connections formed over the internet have been very meaningful ones for me, especially so during a period of profound isolation. My life is going to change quite a bit over the next couple of months - my social life may play out a little more out in the so-called real world, but I am crossing fingers that these connections I've found will continue to thrive.

I guess I'm feeling a little sentimental today, having tired myself out being in the moving "zone" for a few hours, packing away my clothes. After dinner, I took my dog out for a long walk around the park. We have a ritual now where we walk until we get to our designated bench. Usually, the breeze off the water is very soothing and my dog seems to enjoy sitting there as I smoke a cigarette. When I'm done with my habit, I spend a few minutes showering her with affection, which she especially enjoys. Since she's not moving with me, every time we go on our walks, I'm trying to treasure the specialness of it, hoping that her future walks will be filled with much pleasure and affection, for the walker and the walkee.