How did I get here, anyway?

Many people so far have asked me why on earth I decided to come to Edmonton. It's not one of your classic places for a working holiday. None of the working holiday agencies offer to find you work here. In winter, it gets excruciatingly cold. It's not the biggest city in Alberta (even if it is the capital) and interestingly enough, it's a lot like Adelaide.

Well, friends, the answer is simple. Her name is Christine :). I have been friends with Christine via the world wide web for several years. Last year, we bullied each other through the epic adventure that is NaNoWriMo. We chatted on skype and earlier this year started texting each other all the time. Christine would constantly tell me I had to come visit her. It was half jokingly, knowing of course that if I had the ability I would jump on a plane in a heartbeat. But I had a full time job with ridiculous time committments. How could I just up and leave and go to Canada?

As it turns out, quite easily. Around Easter I had something of a mental breakdown. I left my job and spent a few weeks in my house doing nothing and waiting for my anti depressant meds to kick in. And then I had a conversation with my friend Tim. Tim is a great person. I don't think there's a single situation in life which Tim would be unable to give sage advice on. And when I was talking to Tim about the fact I had left my job, had no idea what I wanted to do but had a friend in Canada who was bugging me to come visit, he had two very simple words for me.

'Then go'.

I laughed him off at the time. I couldn't afford it. I was too sick to leave home. How could I go to the other side of the world and just leave everything behind?

Turns out, quite easily. Fares were about half the price they had been six months about. I got a healthy tax return. Canada and Australia have a working holiday agreement. Centrelink paid me to be sick for a few months so I didn't have to live off my savings. Things fell into place.

And here I am. Employed, with a roof over my head and a warm bed. What more could I ask for, really?