Casual Thoughts

     Well, I did that thing once again where I forget that I have a blog and then don't post to it for months after just  promising myself and my void-readers that I'll post more.  I really should just write out my thoughts more and backlog them to have a more consistent post schedule, but the only one I'd be doing that for would be myself, really, and I just can't get motivated a lot of the time to do things purely for myself or my own improvement.  If something doesn't benefit someone else in some way, being a gift or positive blessing, or improve my friend's or family's lives in some way, then I will be much less motivated to proceed with it.  The purpose of this blog was never to inspire others, or provide meaningful or useful information - it is simply the incoherent ramblings of a young adult man trying his best to exist in this chaotic world.      That being said, I've been rather selfish for the past month or so, writing or sketc...

Around 2015 I started using dot-grid journals to try and keep track of my scattered mind for college, in a method called "bullet journaling" -- I'm sure it's pretty well known to most people these days.  I'm not the best at explaining how it works, but there are plenty of good resources out there about learning what bullet journaling is all about, from the official book , to YouTube videos. For a bit of fun, I put together a couple items that I consider my favourites for bullet journalling (from Amazon, the terrible site itself, as it's the easiest I find to browse for a wide range of items on - if anyone has any competitively priced US-based stationery sites, feel free to recommend them to me!). That being said, the price I list are for 4/24/2021, rounded up to the nearest dollar without tax, and are likely to change by the time I finish writing this post! The links in this article are to Amazon, but they aren't connected to me in any way, so I don't ...

Receiving our first box from HelloFresh was a little rough, but once it arrived, it has been smooth sailing since.  I was expecting our box to arrive while I was writing my previous blog post, and doing some general maintenance on the website, but it never did arrive, even after the delivery cut off time came and went.  I reached out on Twitter to figure out what was happening, where was our food and why was it delayed, but I never really received any answers, just an apology, a refund, and a $35 credit for our next full-priced box.  We had shopped accordingly for the week, expecting most of our big meals to be taken care of, and made something small and insignificant for dinner when my wife came home that Thursday.   At this point, upon being immediately issued a refund, we weren't sure if the box was going to show up at all, and we wondered how long we should wait before going out and buying food for our dinners for the next week if it wasn't going to show....

Hey everyone!  I'd like to first start off by apologizing for taking nearly a whole year to post something.  It wasn't my intention to wait this long, as I had intended to post an update mid-quarantine last Spring, but I just couldn't bring myself to do anything creative.  I know there's a lot of individuals in the same boat, too scared and too anxious to do almost anything.  You're not alone, we're all living through one of the most challenging times in our history, and the world is changing all around us with little to no input of our own.  The COVID-19 pandemic is a very serious topic, that I could write about for paragraphs, but I think for now, I want this post to go in a different direction.  (P.S. wear your damn masks, people!) One of the things my wife and I have found challenging over the past year, is grocery shopping.  From having nightmares about forgetting my mask, to the shortage of many different items, it hasn't been the easiest time to...

3/3/2020 March Third already, huh? At the end of December I asked my parents to send me one of the books that I left behind on the far left bookshelf in the makeshift living room I constructed in their basement.  The book was in the section I determined is the "self-help & religion" section, under Harry Potter on the top shelf, and above shelves of various biographies, recipe books, and fitness guides.  The particular book that I asked them for is titled "Winter Blues: Everything You Need to Know to Beat Seasonal Affective Disorder" by Norman E. Rosenthal, MD.  I had left the book behind as I was having a good time with life - having just went through the US K-1 Visa process, and planning a move to the US, I cut corners and left a few things behind that I hesitated over when packing.  My parents then sent me the book in a care package that contained many Canadian goodies, from Mars bars to Lays Ketchup Chips.  My wife and I get very excited whenever we...

As I'm sure many of you know I am not a U.S. citizen.  The United States has rules, and some pretty strict ones regarding immigration.  Becca and I have wanted to live together for over a year now, and finally, after months of research, paperwork, and waiting, we have a result. There's a few ways for a Canadian to enter the United States permanently, from specializing in a career and getting a job offer, to apply for a full-time University schedule down in the states and spending twice the amount for tuition because I am a "foreign student", to eloping abroad.  But, I think we chose the option that was best for us, which is applying for the K-1 Fiancé Visa. We applied on November 5th, 2018, were approved by the USCIS on March 7th, 2019.  Then, on May 21st I received contact from the Montreal Consulate regarding my application, prompting me to book a doctor's appointment on June 17th, and an immigration interview on July 17th.  At the time, Becca was visiting...