Is the grass greener?

Just to reassure my readers slightly - yesterday was a good day. After moving from my former residence and giving Greg his bed back, I ensconced myself in another halls, whereupon my lovely host presented me with two tickets to the Man Utd vs AC Milan game and we proceded to Old Trafford to watch it live. Fantastic. Although the game could have been better, it was great to be back at a sporting event.

The evening was spent playing computer games (this was our routine for about five years, so it was comforting to get back into it). Thursday morning was greeted with rain and snow, so I took the bus to my workplace rather than driving (oh, I got a parking ticket the other day, so the car is in my bad books). It was great to see everyone at work again, and they spent a couple of hours telling me that coming back to England was not "giving up" since no-one there would have been brave enough to make the same move I did, and they were all proud of me. I was also offered my old job back if I wanted it, which was nice to hear. Everyone was fab!

I then got on a bus and went up to the University, where I was meant to meet my ex-supervisor from my Psychology days in a cafe. 45 minutes after my sitting there alone with a hot chocolate, I abandoned the place and sought him out in the department instead. Much swearing when he saw me, and much apologising that he had not remembered I was coming (this was what he was like throughout my degree!). But then we had a long and very interesting talk, which I cannot repeat here for fear of breaking confidences, but which boils down to the fact that from being a broken man not so long ago after the death of his wife, he is, as he put it succinctly "In love again." He sat and talked for an hour while I listened to all his plans, and generally beamed as if I was the older person and he the excited kid planning a future. It was really nice to hear. Of course he tried to shock me in the first five minutes of our meeting, as he usually does, but when he saw that I wasn't flinching as the gory details came out, we had a good chat. Another reason to be cheerful.

After coming back to my friend's room and watching some more computer mauling of various beasts, I ventured out once more and took a bus to my favourite pizza place, returning with a chicken and mushroom deep pan that was as good as I remembered. The evening was more computer stuff, and some more interesting and cheering events. All in all, a damn good day.

Which has served to remind me that; love comes along when you are least looking for it, and in the most random of ways (as evidenced by my supervisor); friends can conquer all; I am not admitting defeat by planning to come back to England; even though you may think that everyone is against you, this is invariably a lie. My plans now? I shall stay in Vancouver until about September, and I shall have some fun. I shall book trips I want to go on, stop stressing about the rest of my life, and treat these next six months as the travelling gap year I never had. At the end of this, I shall return to England for a couple of years unless anything comes up in the meantime to change these ideas. The people I love are here, and I think that overcomes any amount of shortcomings that the country may have. Thanks to all for cheering me up and making my stay here so good. And thankyou to everyone out there who commented on my blog. It makes you feel a lot better that people out there, who you have never met, are concerned for your welfare.