Costa Rica and Canada Collide!!
A wonderful salutation to you, my readers! So it's been a little while since my last life update, so I thought I'd grace you all with a "lovey-dovey" summary of my visit to see my long distance sweetheart♥, so prepare yourselves for a slightly sweeter flavoring to my usual nonsense. Also, buckle up, it's gonna be a long one.
The Beginning;
So I have currently been in the absolute greatest relationship of my life for about 5 months now and it has been nothing but a huge blessing for me, the only downside.... she is 4738.2 miles away (give or take). Now fun fact about that, I personally never wanted to be in a long distance relationship, it was never something I thought I'd become involved with, however God has a sense of humor and loves to prove me wrong, so here we are, at least when he proves me wrong he does so in such a lovely manner, as this lady, my girlfriend has become my best friend and blessing in the shortest amount of time, and I couldn't have asked for anyone better. Anyhow, after a month and a half of fun conversations, memories, and just being dorks, I knew I had to confirm these feelings and visit her. So I planned a trip and on June I got a ticket for the week of September 19th-27th;
The days passed and the excitement only grew as did our feelings for each other, we even created one of those countdown apps to increase the ever increasing hype;
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| It actually started off with 89 days. |
Huh? What's that? You are wondering why we titled it "ShrimpNSquid"? I can explain the pet names if you want! No? Well too bad, I'm doing it, it's actually a short story.
Origin of Shrimp and Squid;
So who here remembers that "what animal are you?" quiz that Google had back on Earth day this year? Yeah!? No?? Well whatever, so Google made this quiz and when it came out, my not yet girlfriend sent me a link for the same since I enjoyed silly online quizzes it's actually how we started connecting, from answers on lame online quizzes, anyhow as I am sure you can guess, she got Mantis Shrimp and I got Giant Squid as my result.
Fun fact, these nicknames became incredibly accurate as my Babe is short and colorful like the little Shrimp and I am tall and goofy like the Squid! *cue unnecessarily long and uncomfortable group AWWW* Haha, so that's the story of our pet names, and it was a short one like I promised; anyhow back to the main event--
The Actual Trip // Saturday Sept. 19th;
So the day finally arrives, after much waiting, Skype calling, and planning; it's September 19th and I have a 12 hour travel day ahead of me, and I am just beyond excited, to the point where I only managed to get 2 hours of sleep the night before. But that didn't matter I strutted into the airport with hopes of grandeur and nothing was going to slow me down!!
Boarding pass in hand, I was beyond ready, I quickly messaged all my loved ones goodbye and fell asleep throughout the entirety of the 4 hour flight to Houston, well, almost entirely, I was not blessed with a window seat and the person that was had the weakest bladder known to man, as they had to keep getting up and disturbing my slumber in order to exorcise their excess bodily wastes, but aside from that it was quite restful!!
Either way I made it to Houston in one piece and here is where the waiting got intense, as I had a 4 hour lay over to look forward to, which when you are by yourself is honestly quite incredibly dull; but thankfully unlike my LA trip, Houston airport security wasn't "randomly" checking me all the time, so I could explore my temporary cage in peace.
This uninterrupted strolling however resulted in me following random families/people and narrating their every move in an Australian accent, as if they were some nature show, until I got hungry which then resulted in a depressingly "romantic" lunch date with my carry on luggage...
The food was alright, but the awkward silence during our lunch was uncomfortable as all hell; I mean my backpack caught me eyeing another bag, one of those ones with the wheels, I tried to explain that I was simply looking at how easily the wheels make pulling the weight around easier, to which my back pack took offense to as it implied I was calling it heavy, I tried to explain that it's weight is not something to worry about as it means it has substance and besides it's only temporary!! My backpack wasn't having it, it's zipper glistened for help, you could tell it was demanding a lighter load, so I took out my sweater from it, however that did nothing but allow my backpack to give me the cold shoulder for the rest of the trip... soooo lame, pshh!
Regardless of the constant "talking" behind my back after that train-wreck of a lunch date, I started boarding my plane to Canada, and I was a sweaty polymerization of nervous insanity and excited wonder as I found my seat on the same, this was it, the final step before I got to see/meet my girlfriend for the first time; not to mention I had actually gotten a window seat for this flight, all was finally falling into place!!!
A few minutes later we took off into the cloud filled sky and I had to force myself to sleep in order to contain the bubbling mixture of thoughts and emotions, keeping them from overflowing. With the window seat and my Nintendo 3DS as my 2 sources of comfort, I lazily let time slip by, only dozing off occasionally, that is until I heard the pilot utter those long-awaited words "We will be landing in Edmonton in 20 minutes!" Once that announcement was made, I could no longer doze off, play, or window gaze, I could only excitedly wait.
"5 minutes til we land, everybody please remain seated with your seat belts buckled!" that is what rang through my ears in the final moments, I couldn't stop smiling and shaking, I was going to see this lady whom I have fantasized about meeting and hugging for 4 almost 5 months at this point, it felt like a heavy dream, one full of uncertainties, and despite being made uneasy by the unknown, I was excited to venture forth and give us a legitimate try. As I walked off the plane and nervously stumbled past customs (I had to lie about how I met my girlfriend since the guard didn't believe the truth) and made it into the airport lobby, and started searching for her. I connected to the internet and tried calling her only to notice that my phone battery was literally at 4% and she was no where to be seen; the worse started to sink in, "what is she stood me up? No, no she wouldn't do that... But what if she can't find me? And with my phone battery as is, I am in a dangerous spot, I--I--" but before my mind could continue flooding with "what ifs" I noticed this gorgeous lady running up to hug me, it was my Babe ♥ and we shared one of the greatest hugs of my entire life.
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| From this moment, all nervous feelings fled, and all that was left was an odd familiarity and peace! |
From that moment forward, I knew that this would be something different, something simple and nice, no mind games, or dating mantras designed to confuse and frustrate, just a legitimate bond growing in an organic way, and I loved it! Anyhow it was a 3 hour drive from the airport to my Babe's hometown of Fox Creek, on our way there, we frantically scoured the town for a Walmart, popped my Tim Horton's cherry, and I learned what Monster High was all about #TeamGhoulie... Anyhow, long story short we got to my hotel at around midnight, and she decided to hang out with me despite it being so late, we finally had a moment of peace to properly converse and, eventually kiss the night away...
Sunday Sept. 20th;
After a long nap, rather than a full night's sleep, we awoke refreshed and ready for the real first day as a regular distance or ordinary couple. The agenda was to get a feel for the town of Fox Creek and meet her family, simple enough, and the nice thing about it being a small town is that you could walk everywhere, I personally quite enjoyed that.With that said, as we walked out of my hotel, The Foxwood, I got to know a lot of the surrounding area, she showed me the restaurant "Ernie O's" with the worst chicken wings in existence apparently, and then we passed this blue dome like motel, called "The Grizzly" or something of the like, where there were apparently a lot of murders, so that's umm lovely, and that eventually led us to her current place of employment and local super market, where the deli and fruits were fresh, the prices were outrageous lol (understandably so being an oil town), and the people were nice; this is where I met her sweet mother (Mama Michelle), this is also when I met creepy co-worker Brittany, who was very blatantly "boy crazy", and I was no exception... Seriously, the way she stared at me when she cried out "Boy Katie, they weren't lying, you're man is HOT!" it was not something of flattery but of terror!! SHEER TERROR!!! *Ahem* Anyways, after the super brief introductions we bought some salmon and other goods and went to my girlfriend's home, where I met her step dad and brother, and adorable dogs, Shadow, Toomik, and Maxx (I adore dogs btw so I was in heaven). After some more brief hellos, my girl called me downstairs to her room and presented me with the most heartwarming of gifts, the complete Calvin & Hobbes collection, which was my absolute favorite comic when I was a kid and actually has some sentimental value to a degree, so for her to get me the entire collection was simply awesome for me personally.
After squeezing her with hugs of immeasurable gratitude, I presented her with her gift, which were thermal mittens, 3 shirts, one of which was unique with a drawing I made for her on the front, a bunch of sticky notes I had drawn of fun relationship milestones that we'd have up until that point, and a Nintendo 3DS; thankfully she loved and uses all of the gifts ♥.
Anyhow from there on, my girlfriend made us some homemade salmon, which was delectable in case you were curious! After dinner, Mama Michelle offered to take us back to the hotel and invited us to her husband's birthday dinner the next day, to which we gladly obliged.
As we returned to the room, we began one of the many things we had been holding off on, something that we were just itching to do when we got together, and I think you know exactly what I am talking about, mhmmm, that's right... DRAGON BALL SUPER MARATHON!! We had been willingly putting it off so that we could experience it together and for the brief time that we watched it, we enjoyed every minute of it, before it lulled us to sleep.
Monday Sept. 21st;
Ahh, Monday was upon us (oh and for anyone wondering why there wasn't an MS Paint Monday the week of this visit, now you know, my apologies.) and I managed to get up early enough for the continental breakfast being offered at the hotel, all I got to say is that the Canadian bacon was phenomenal! After breakfast we spent the day conversing and eventually going back to her place to be ready for the birthday dinner. Now while at her place I noticed that fall was beginning to grip the city in its colors, and with some time before the dinner, we decided to take an autumn stroll. Personally, I love going on walks, they clear your mind, and help you realize what a masterful piece of art our planet is, and to be able to soak that in with such a lovely lady, was a highlight of the week. The trail was a fanciful fusion of yellows and oranges and the weather was inviting, truly a simply sight for most, but when with the person you fancy it becomes much more poetic and memorable.
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| a brief look at our walk (selfie square) |
So as we walked I noticed a warning sign for bears, mountain lions, and wolves, thankfully we never saw any, though deep down I kind of wanted too... also blended within the orange backdrop we came to her neighborhoods community garden, and while here we met the most terrifying wooden owl, AKA the "OWL OF DOOOOOOOM", he not only had the glare to pierce through minds and souls, but he moved on his own, despite being made of wood; and not only that he didn't ever seem to move when we saw him from the outside, so maybe he is solar powered or motion-sensored, or maybe he is an owl.... of DOOM.
Don't believe me about the Owl of DOOM eh? Well see fo' yo self fools!
Hahaha, stupid I know, but the owl of DOOM was a staple of this trip so I had to do it justice. #OwlOfDOOMForPresident
Now, after the owl of many dooms graced us with his countenance, the community garden had one more spectacle to behold, one that I, as an aspiring artist AKA chronic doodler, found to be quite beautiful, and that was the community mural that had been painted on the side of a water tower, though it wasn't really a tower as much as an enormous tank, regardless the art that was bestowed upon it made for a lovely sight, as you will now see for yourselves!!
Now, here on the left is a brief shot I took of the mural,and the cracks, shadows, and juxtaposition of nature vs man made were simply breathtaking, and something I certainly didn't expect to see in an oil town, s it is safe to say I was pleasantly surprised to find such a creative little corner.
After the community garden, we left to head back to my girlfriend's house in order to arrive in time for the birthday dinner, however as we left we were stricken with a random shower of sleet, I would have taken pictures of the pelting, but my girlfriend refused to stay still during this icy madness long enough to get a decent pic, haha, but it is all good, we rushed back to the house and made it without losing an eye to the ice storm, and because the dinner wasn't ready yet, and as aforementioned our eyes were still functioning, we decided to go to her room to watch a movie, in this instance "Maze Runner". Now here is where I realized what a cute little coward my girl is, and I was ready to be the protective marshmallow in this movie, but alas I fell asleep half way through haha, she however valiantly pushed forward, and I woke up in time to watch the end with her.
As soon as the movie ended the homemade birthday meatloaf and veggies were served, and it was all super delicious, but then the cake was brought out, and it had I believe 3 layers of chocolate, now I personally am not a cake person, let a lone a triple chocolate layer cake person, but indulged in the consumption of the same in order to not appear rude, and I struggled with it... I thought it impossible for a human to consume, however when I looked up all but I had just about inhaled the cake and were ready to get the dishes washed.... at that moment, I could hear the words echoing in my mind, "You.Are.The weakest link. Goodbye!" however I pushed onward and finished it like a champ!!
We then said our goodbyes and headed back to the hotel, to continue to dragon ball our supers, alas all the episodes became sluggish and un-watchable so instead we just talked of "idiocies" until bed. :P
Tuesday Sept. 22nd;
*BOOM* My girlfriend gets an early morning text from her older sister, an older sister whom I was told didn't really want to meet me and therefore one I probably wouldn't meet during this trip, but she surprised all of us that morning as it was her who invited us to tag along with her and her daughter the neighboring city of Grand Prairie (GP). Now, that morning I had woken up with something one might refer to as traveler's diarrhea, but there was no way I was going to miss out on this once in a lifetime invitation from the sister who doesn't normally do this. So I stuck it out for the 2 hour drive there, a drive full of 90s one-hit wonders and gangsta raps, sister chatter, and a cute shy little girl whom I'd end up having a lot of fun with throughout the day.
As we arrived at GP, we stopped by this clothing store so that my GF's sister, Courtenay, could get some new clothes for her daughter, Audrey, whilst there, we noticed one of those like waiting room, child play zones, you know the ones the sometimes have in doctors office, with all the moving pieces and wooden knickknacks all around? Yeah? No? Well, whatever the point is this is how I started bonding with Audrey as I started to show her all the whimsical hidden knobs and moving pieces on the play thing, and she was having a blast, then this poopy pants kid came along and tried to get me to play with him as well, and he kept pointing at me funny, no doubt gang signs, so now I couldn't leave Audrey to play since there was this member of the Troublesome Toddlers in the same vicinity and his gang lea--I mean mother was no where to be seen so we had to act carefully, as his funk plagued the play area. A few moments of cautious distance keeping and group glaring later we moved on to the toy store! Seeing as Audrey's birthday was soon approaching, we got her a few gifts, and I noticed she had an eye on this fun exercise trampoline, so not to toot my own horn, but since my girlfriend and her sister hadn't let me pay for anything, I decided to find and buy that same trampoline for Audrey's birthday, fingers crossed that she likes it when the day comes.
After the shopping was concluded we went to go bowling, and let me warn you, I am mediocre at bowling, but I felt confident enough in my skills to not suck too hard, and since it was Audrey's first time bowling, and Courtenay and Katie were constantly chiming in with how bad they were, I didn't think it would get too competitive... It technically didn't, but at the same time I was surprised when we arrived to the bowling alley as it was not the bowling I had come to know, no, it was something called 5 pin bowling. Now in 5 pin bowling, the balls are one-size all and significantly smaller than the average 10 pin bowling ball, which I had grown accustomed to, and by accustomed I mean not as sucky as I used to be, which was quite sucky. Haha, anyhow, Audrey got this cool little slide to help her aim, whereas my girl and her sister just knew how to play, especially Katie, she was a 5-pin monster! Then it came my turn to bat, I felt as if I was part of the Washington Redskins, so I channeled my inner Tiger Woods for luck and got 3 gutter balls straight, oh yeah that's right, in 5 pin bowling, you get three shots per turn (not that it helps lol). What was cute is by the half way point Audrey only wanted me to help her bowl, poor adorable little soul, I was a terrible 5 pin bowling coach, but she had fun and got really comfortable around me so that was sweet. By the end I did worse than everyone else, with a whopping 34 points, everyone else was 50+, Katie even got over 100, clearly, I am still the "weakest link".
After the bowling tourney of half-pins we went out to eat at a restaurant simply called "The Keg", by this point my stomach was on and off with the nauseousness, but I had to play the brave card as I felt I needed to make the best impression on this day. We all ordered different things, and the waitress brought this weird veggie monster coloring sheet for Audrey with just 3 crayons, blue, red, and yellow. Now, here is my question, if they are vegetable monsters, why are kids not offered green to color with? Or any of the secondary colors for that matter, as those are more veggie appropriate colors no? In the end, the food was really quite pleasant, and that is why you go to a restaurant in the first place, not it's crayon collection... (or so we tell ourselves). After which we were on our way back "home", 2 more hours of road is all that stood between me and stomach tension finally leaving me, of course the road's bumps were what made this experience difficult, because aside from that I wasn't all that affected by it. About halfway back though I told my girlfriend how I was feeling because I wasn't able to keep the charade up for much longer, and she semi-scolded me for not saying anything before, but ultimately the good first impression was solidified and the day was a complete victory, it will be like that Earth Wind & Fire song, her sister may forever remember the 21st night of September because we accepted her invite haha; at the end of it all we got back with no incident! :D
Wednesday Sept. 23rd;
We awoke on Wednesday and my stomach was basically unbearable at this time, which my girl noticed almost immediately and she then literally became my nurse for the day, despite my protest, she proceeded by bringing me some medicine, as well as my Grandma's stomach pain/diarrhea "cure", Ginger-ale and Pretzels; to be honest, it meant the world to me that she remembered my mentioning of it a few months back. We then proceeded to lazily hang out and watch movies all day until the medicine, pretzels, gin, and abundance of TLC from my lady cured me of my ailment. And because she had to stare at my sick mug all day;
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| BLAAAARGH! I was sick! |
I thanked her by inviting her to a Chinese food dinner date hours later, which she appreciated greatly, we also invited her co-worker Caylynn to some chicken fried rice, simply because she was a sweet potato. There is seriously nothing better and "wiser" to do after over coming a stomach virus caused by not being used to local cuisine, than to buy a bunch of greasy Chinese food and sharing it with some excellent people, and that my readers is exactly what we did, and we bought moon drop grapes for dessert which were also extremely delicious and juicy.
Overall I enjoyed this day because though incapacitated for a big chunk of it, we got to just hang out, with no interruptions, aside from my constant trips to the restroom lol, and therefore we got to really bond as friends and goof off as ourselves, it was really quite a lovely experience, and one of my favorite days while there; As she showed me, that even the most, "uneventful" days can be the most memorable when you are with someone you love.
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Chinese food dinner date with the Shrimpy♥
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Thursday Sept. 24th
Ahh, Thursday, my favorite day of this entire vacation, this was the day my girlfriend simply said, we are going to the lake, but I can't know why, I just have to dress nicer than usual. So without any further ado I got dress, we went out, and Mama Michelle drove us up to the lake, to a surprise photo shoot. It was honestly quite fun and awkward at times as well, the afternoon was full of our laughter. So instead of talking about the photo shoot, let me give you a highlight reel of some of the pictures we had taken (also just my luck, my skin started breaking out on this day... on picture day!)
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| Pensive posing on the grass |
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| Definition of adorable + 1 marshmallow |
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| The ever popular and forever romantic stick duel |
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| Luis and Katie standing in a tree..! |
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| A kiss of modern nostalgia |
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| Scoping out the region for our next location |
After our gaze over yonder, the photographer told us about this sweet spot with tall grass, so we naturally headed to our next awkwardly photogenic adventure, and here are a few more pics for your viewing, as they are each worth 1000 words;
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| Searching for Pokémon in the tall grass, with our Majin Buu Strut |
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| Ridin' towards adventure |
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| Classiness personified |
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Lazy Thursday Kisses <3
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Following our photo shoot I was treated to another home cooked Canadian treat, moose accompanied by the most amazing homemade potatoes and gravy!! After the delicious meal, we headed back to the hotel to continue our movie marathon, and finished our Chinese food for a midnight snack. Also this was the night she accidentally hit me in the face which made my nose bleed, fun stuff haha. Additionally we did what all ordinary couples get to do on a daily basis, selfie spam <3.
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| SquidNShrimp Square |
And so ends our photo-filled day :)
Friday Sept. 24th;
Friday was a mixed bag, we woke up early and went to get some breakfast together, actually taking advantage of the hotel's breakfast, we then decided to use this day to basically chill out and finish our movie marathon which eventually led to a full throttle tickle fight which she won since I ended up falling off the bed, after which we both were hungry again and ended up going to the convenient store to get some warm snacks and sugary beverages, we continued to joke around and hang out until we got in a debate on what the best root beer is, a debate that has quietly been going on in our sub-conscious throughout the entire week, but Friday was the day we finally went out on which is truly superior Barqs or A&W!!! After some silly and solid arguments we ended up agreeing that they are both ok. (Though Barqs is infinitely better)....
After our snackage we quickly went back to her house in order to download some more movies as well as get some glow sticks for the glow walk that was taking place later that night.
We were able to get 2 sticks and return to the hotel with plenty of time to spare, at this time I started gathering my things in order to have everything ready for my departure on Sunday, only to realize my keys and USB with back up work stuff was missing, which stressed me out as I could have sworn I left it on the table, but I wasn't going to let that stress me out, in fact I got into the awkwardly placed hot tub while Katie took a nap in order to relax before the glow walk, the sad thing is I couldn't for the life of me find the button to turn on the water jets, it ended up being under the towels below the towel rack...
So with stress out of my mind and a cool evening as our back drop we got ourselves bundled up and went for the glow walk, it was surprisingly full of people and quite an enjoyable sight, seeing all the forest lit up by hundreds of glow sticks, truly a lovely sight, and it was nice to just mesh with the community in such a fun and simple way.
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| GLOW WALK! |
Following this nightly stroll we were both hankering some noodles, so we walked all the way to the only restaurant which sold them only for their kitchen to be closed early, defeated and starving we walked all the way back to the super market in order to buy some deli sandwiches, jalapeño chips, and root beer!
When we got back to the hotel, now freezing from walking all over the place we had a glow stick rave picnic to end the day, it was quite the treat and the sandwiches were incredibly filling.
Saturday Sept. 26th;
This day, this was the hardest day, but we tried not to think about it. You see, we were originally going to go to Canadian Comic Con on this day, but we decided not to because Courtenay had offered to take us to Jasper, this beautiful tourist location of complete natural beauty, unfortunately that didn't happen so we just ended up spending the entire day together being lazy, finishing our movie marathon, buying the Shanghai noodles that we were craving the night before, and just not letting each other go.
We watched funny videos, and I said my goodbyes to her family preemptively, at this point my Babe gave me something, she gave me a glittery notebook, one which she had been writing her thoughts in one she told me not to read until I got to the airport on Sunday, one for me to also write in, until she claims it back the next time we see each other. I was filled with sorrow and joy to receive this farewell token, but I was not going to let that feeling overtake me yet, we still had a day together. The rest of the day was spent talking, kissing, laughing, packing, and eventually a brief dinner at Subway, neither of us slept that night, we just talked... Until her brother showed up to take me to the airport... At this moment I was completely destroyed inside, I had grown so used to being with her, I didn't want to go back being long-distance, I didn't think I would miss her so freaking much already...
Sunday Sept. 27th;
...We slept, huddled super close throughout that 3 hour drive, I never let go of her hand, oh, how I miss holding her hand, such a simple yet powerful gesture many take for granted... we got to the airport and said our goodbyes, alas her brother was tired and not willing to wait for her to stay with me until I left so it was like taking off a band aid, our farewell, quick and painful, and a feeling I don't desire to experience again, however I will gladly suffer through it, should it mean seeing her once more.
I went through Canadian security, was accused of identity fraud for some reason, I managed to pass all their suspicions with flying colors and then found myself alone in this large, yet figuratively empty airport, on my way back home... They say home is where the heart is, so at this point my home is undefined, but I hope come April, I can feel like I am completely at home again; since when I opened up that glittery notebook, and read the few entries inside, a large chunk of my heart remained wedged in Canada, waiting for Katie to bring it back with her.
Until next time <3
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I apologize for the longer than usual post readers as well as if it was a bit too sentimental for you, what I want to transmit is this; when you meet someone who's smile turns your world upside down, but in the best possible way, when you find a motivator who just wants to see you succeed, a person who despite all your flaws thinks you are perfect; and not only that they invoke in you mutual feelings towards them without any effort, that is to say it comes organically, don't let them go, whether they are your next door neighbor or 20,000 miles away, because even though it can be hard, and most may not want to understand, the joy and simplicity that you will achieve is the absolute closest thing to ture happiness and/or success, but you have to work for it, because temptations will be there, and loneliness will creep in, but that's where it is up to you to keep striving towards it! Fight for it! Be open about it! Don't complicate it! And you will see there is no distance that can keep your hearts apart.
I thank you and love you Katie, and I appreciate you spending this week with me. God bless.
Much Love,
Wachi
