Where Did the Blog Name Come From?

It's not exactly the same (I didn't want to rip it off entirely), but at the time I was listening to a lot of Daft Punk at the time. I generally prefer the remix though.

Love the song and the lyrics, thought "wow, that's a great motto for life in general".




Work It
Harder
Make It
Better
Do It
Faster,
Makes Us
Stronger

More Than Ever
Hour After
Our Work Is
Never Over


Daft Punk, drop that new album already!

My 10 Essentials

Lately I've been reading (and thinking) about living life with less stuff. I looked around my place and thought about how many things I had that I rarely, if ever, use anymore.

After watching a video series on GQ today titled "10 Essentials", where they interview famous-ish people about the 10 things that they have that they cannot go without. It made me wonder what my 10 essentials were.

1) All Natural Crunchy Peanut Butter (President's Choice)
I eat this stuff, at least twice a day. It goes with everything. Pretzels, honey, chocolate, bananas, berries, etc... Even just by itself it's awesome. If you've never just had a teaspoon of peanut butter on its own, try it.

2) Coffee (preferably Kenya and Sumatra dark roast)
I am not one of those 5 coffees-a-day people, but I definitely need the 2 that I do have. Once I ran out and didn't have my morning coffee, I was definitely less alert during my drive to work. Other than bacon, I can't think of another smell that I love more than coffee brewing.

3) iPod (classic 160gb)
As someone who listens to music almost all day, I need my iPod. I can't even remember what it's like not having albums upon albums available whenever I want.

4) Computer/Internet/Facebook
This one is quite unfortunate, I'm online way more than I should be.

5) Chefs Knife (cuisinart 8")
I made the mistake of buying one of those huge 16 piece knife sets when I first moved out. The chefs knife gets used at least 80% of the time, if not more. I'd like to get a new one though...

6) Stainless Steel Water Bottle
I rarely leave my place without one. It goes to work, it goes to the beach, it goes to the gym. It carries water, smoothies or chocolate milk.

7) Watch
I don't understand using a cellphone as a primary method of checking the time. I've tried it, it makes me feel like a kid or a hipster. Neither of which I'm good with. I equate a watch to a cellphone the way Obi-Wan Kenobi compares a blaster to a lightsaber. "This is the weapon of a Jedi Knight. Not as clumsy or random as a blaster; an elegant weapon for a more civilized age." Be a man, wear a watch.

8) Premium 4-way Stretch Board Shorts (Hurley Phantom in Blue)
I've been playing beach volleyball for a couple years. I would see everybody wearing boardshorts, but I would just get swim trunks to play. I saw them at the mall for $75, I thought I would never spend that much on a pair of shorts. Recently I went to Marshalls and bought a pair, I can never go back to swim trunks. Super light, water resistant, quick dry, ultra flexible, I wear them to workout now instead of regular shorts.

9) Car (Toyota Matrix 2011)
I drive a Toyota Matrix. It's not glamourous by any means. Though having gone 2 weeks without a car when my previous car decided to die on the side of the highway, I definitely appreciate having one. It means I can go where I want on my schedule. No waiting for buses, trains or streetcars. No waiting outside in the dead of winter. No missing connections and having to wait for the next one to come by. I don't miss those days at all.

10) Comfortable Shoes (Geox Respira in Blue/Grey)
On working days, I wear shoes for at least 9-10 hours a day. Though I'm not on my feet, I still need comfortable shoes. Wearing something uncomfortable for that long can't be good.

Not only did it make me think about the things I really use, but it also made me think where to spend. Spending on "essentials" isn't really spending, more like investing.

This really took a long time for me to learn, coming from a family that's SUPER frugal. Growing up, if I would ask for the latest badminton racquet, running shoes or whatever, my dad's response would be "this is good enough, you don't need that". I never really believed him, but I had no choice. Now in hindsight, I see that maybe I wasn't fully right, but I was definitely half right. I'm not going to blow a ton of money on a Rolex now, but at the same time, I wouldn't just get a $5 watch from Walmart either.

The things on the list aren't meant to be things you need to survive, but they're things that greatly add to the quality of your life as you see it. Makes sense to make those area the most enjoyable you can, right?

Time Traveling is Not Advised

During the holidays I had some free time on my hands. I decided that I would try to clean up my computer (the files, not the physical object). It has been long overdue. When I mean long overdue, I mean over a decade.

Every time we would upgrade the computer, the files would get shifted from one hard drive to the next. Each time, it would be listed as something like "D Drive Backup". This happened several times over the years. It was quite the time warp, I could see what was on my desktop in 2004, projects I was working on, what songs I was listening to, etc... Some of the folders and files went back to 2000.

I have to admit, it was kinda neat. Until I stumbled upon particular folders. I had saved chat logs, emails and photos as well. I decided to open a chat log that I had between my ex gf and I from 2005 and take a read through. What a mistake that was.

As I read through our conversation, I was reminded of how good things were between us at it's best. I had forgotten how much she actually understood me. From there, I had to stop and just sit there for maybe 15 minutes to process all the thoughts that came rushing in. I really thought I was past everything and I thought I could handle opening the file. I don't know if I was wrong or if it just opened old wounds.

I never did get back to cleaning up my computer from there. The files still remain, as I didn't really know what to do with them. Maybe I should throw them away, as to not repeat the same experience. At the same time, scars remind us of the past mistakes we have made and lessons we should keep. Maybe I'm over thinking this.

I Couldn't Have Said it Any Better

Goodbye 2012, Hello 2013

At the end of every year, I can't help but get a little retrospective. Over the past 3 or 4 months, I can't lie, I've been feeling pretty blah. That's not to say everything has been terrible. Looking back on the past year as a whole, I'd say it was somewhere in the middle. In relation, overall it was not as good as 2011, but better than 2010.

If I had to give 2012 a theme or title, it would be despite the setbacks, hope remains.

Alright, here we go, lets start with the good:

• even though I'm still single, dating came a lot easier this year than last, actually got excited about a few of them this year, compared to last year which seemed like a total write off
• the trip to Turkey was awesome
• made progress decorating my place, finally
• organized my storage space, to me that's been the most surprising in a way
• finally cut my hair, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be
• a new car
• met more and more volleyball peeps, playing higher level ball more frequently
• cooked for the first time: chili, tiramisu, rice pudding, meatballs, roasted veggies
• concerts: black keys, death cab, arkells
• finally played Settlers of Catan, it's awesomely addictive
• I got a raise at work, it wasn't amazing, but it wasn't terrible
• Finally splurged on a decent coffee grinder, best thing I bought all year

Now the bad:

• it's been a year of injuries, some of which will never ever get better (torn right ACL, torn right medial meniscus)
• more dates is great, but it's also more drama
• remaining grandparents' health continue to deteriorate, though I suppose it's feeling more of an inevitability
• still at the same job, I am doing very little and learning even less, I don't even know if I want to stay in my field at all, but I can't afford to go back to school either
• my old car broke down on the side of the highway, one highway exit away from my place at 2am on the coldest night in January, FML
• a new car, as much as I like not having to worry about every new random sound and that I can haul stuff, it was a cost I was hoping was not going to come until later, and the ongoing cost of a new car I underestimated
• especially after replacing the brakes just a month earlier, goodbye money, it was nice to know you
• my kitchen is still a mess more often than not
• Ikea discontinued a lot of their birch stuff, sucks when you've already committed to decorating using that colour little by little
• NHL lockout

Looking on the bright side:

• despite 3 months of inactivity, I still fit in my clothes, albeit more snuggly
• even though my injuries are severe and will never heal, I am back to playing vball, though I may never get back to where I was before, I was going crazy without it
• I still have my job, I can still pay my bills and survive
• there are a lot of people who have it worse off than me, and for that I should be thankful

Observations:

• life is going to continue to happen, regardless if you choose to check out (mentally, emotionally or physically) or not, may as well and try to have a good time, and when things aren't so good, to just try your best to ride it out
• change isn't inevitable, but the passing of time is, they are not connected
• the more I realize how little I control, the more in control I feel
• I wish I did more of the things that I like (learning to cook new things, trying different restaurants, travel, concerts, volleyball), but that's really within my control, I suppose that should be my resolution for 2013

The Rejectee Becomes the Rejector (and it's not great)

When it comes to dating, I've been on the rejectee side of things. While it's disappointing, eventually after awhile you get use to it. As a guy, stereotypically being the pursuer, you get use to it.

After first dates, if I'm not feeling it, I generally don't call for a second date. I don't feel like I owe any sort of explanation, as a first date (I think) is just a meeting of two people to see if things are good enough to keep getting to know each other. It's no different than meeting at a party or a bar or a supermarket.

Recently, there was a mutual rejection, but that's a bit different. This though was the first time in a long time when I had to be the rejector. And I have to say, it feels kinda crappy. We went out three times, and I could tell that she was interested. At first, I wasn't initially super interested, but there was something there that I found interesting. She wasn't the usual type that I'd be interested in, but there was something about her that was appealing. So I decided to ask her out again. The second time was kind of the same, there was something intriguing about her, but I wouldn't quite call it attraction. 

Here's where things get a bit sketchy on my part. I had a pretty good feeling I wasn't attracted to her, but I did have a good time being with her. I wasn't too sure if I wanted to give it another shot, but I decided I had nothing to lose. Though now she was texting me during the week and I didn't really feel excited about it to the point where I was not really up to texting her back. It felt dishonest in a way.

For me, this is kind of the litmus test. If I go out with a girl, and I'd rather be playing volleyball, that I'm probably not that into her. I mean I love volleyball, but I would easily miss a day of playing for a girl that I'm interested in. Thinking about it while I was leaving volleyball, I realized, that I would rather play than go on the third date the next day. That was a bad sign. I was already committed however, so I went.

And again, it was the same. I had a fun time, but I just didn't feel that chemistry with her. There were even two or three times during the course of the date when there were other girls around that I had to consciously stop myself from checking out. But hanging out with her was more fun than say, sitting at home or even watching a movie.

It took me awhile to pull the trigger and let her know. I was bouncing back and forth whether I should give it another shot. Based on how I was feeling, I knew that I should not. There were a few things about her that bothered me, and I tried using that to justify it. I guess the hard thing about it, is that she's a genuine person, who on paper is great, but in person, just something wasn't there.

I don't know how girls are use to rejecting guys, a friend of mine, she rejects guys pretty frequently. To her, it's no big deal. Before, I thought being the rejector would be easier, but this experience made me see that both sides of rejection sucks.

Turkey 2012

I have to admit that I did not keep up nearly as much in my note taking as I should have during this year's trip. It's been almost a month since we first left for Turkey (now upon completion of this post, over a month since we got back), so I'm sure there are gaps and fuzziness in my memory by now. This time around doing a tour, I kind of just wanted to let my brain go, and just take things in this time, from the planning all the way to the arriving home.

Originally I wasn't going to even write anything down, but after going through my posts from last year, I thought it was a good idea, since I forgot entire things about last year's trip. I have a super long version going, but also wanted to post something with just highlights and memorable things because:

1. The details can be pretty boring to read, and I've heard my stories can have way too many (sorry, I remember a lot of stuff).
2. They're also boring for me to recall and I'm getting bored of writing

So here we go.

The cast of characters is as follows:
Mutlu (our tour guide)
Mike and Erin from Calgary
Khalil from Edmonton
Martin from Germany
Antonia from New Zealand
Evgenia from Russia
Hayley from Australia
Yulia and Vitaly from Belarus
Claudia and Divina from Mexico
Annelle from South Africa
Jodi from Australia

ISTANBUL

• on our flight to NYC, we get delayed by maybe 30 minutes by none other than Obama
• on our flight to Istanbul, we get delayed by over 3 hours by Obama again! Get of our way POTUS! To make it even worse, we have to sit in the plane for the entire delay. (Reminder, call Delta for the travel credit!)
• getting off the tram, we're having a bit of trouble getting our bearings, this old dude sees the address and tells us to follow him. Kat is a little concerned, but it's a busy area with lots of people (plus I'm pretty sure I can take him :P). He leads us to our hotel which I think is really nice. He sticks out his hand and I shake it and thank him. BUT NO! He wants money! I give him maybe 2 lira, he's kinda pissed, but whatever. WTF! Not a very good first impression Turkish people!!!
• We are off to explore, trying to find the Grand Bazaar, a girl of maybe 5 years old hugs Kat tightly, she wants money from Kat for her affection. Can you say prostitute in training?!
• They have shops that are just dedicated to making baklava, that's how crazy it is.
• We walk to Istanbul University and wander for maybe an hour, cannot find this Grand Bazaar, it's suppose be Grand, right?!
• Thinking about going out to party in the bar district, but decide against it (good call)
• Waking up early is not for me
• The traffic in the city is worse than any place I've ever been. The trams are packed like sardines in a tin can. Our group actually gets separated because of this on our first outing!
• Being an Islamic county, they have calls to prayer 5 times a day. Even in a busy city like Istanbul, the speakers can be heard over everything!
• Learning about the historical structures the day after travel, not the best idea, soooooo tired... blah blah blah... obelisk... blah blah blah... hippodrome... 
• We go to 3 mosques in a row, Sultanamed (kinda nice), Hagia Sofia (super amazing), Blue Mosque (overhyped)
• In the tourist area, there are two kinds of street vendors that catch my eye, freshly squeezed pomegranate juice stands and these guys that make fresh lollipops. The fresh lollipops are pretty amazing to see
• Our first lunch is really good. Had the beef stew with bulgar. But the highlight was easily the baklava for dessert.
• We stumble upon Annelle and Evgenia at the end of the Blue Mosque, we wander together for the rest of the day. I have to say after this meeting, I think Annelle is super awesome. Evgenia is cool too, but super quiet. We wander around and it starts to rain, we find shelter and get a Turkish coffee and get to know each other better. For the rest of the trip Kat and Annelle hang out a lot, as the trip progresses, I can't help but think how things would've turned out differently if we had not run into them after the Blue Mosque...
• Baklava in Turkey, WAY better than anything you get at home! 
• We have our first donar for dinner, I have to say I'm underwhelmed.
• There an obvious lack of government food inspection agency here, we can see the staff handling the food without wearing any latex gloves. Gross.
• Earlier in the day we joke about an Ikea in Turkey, later we pass an Ikea in Istanbul. Irony!
• Overnight bus rides, never again! Worst sleep ever! Easily the worst way to travel overnight.
• Getting harassed by some dudes at a rest stop waiting for the washroom about not knowing Turkish, okay at this point of the trip, I'm thinking most Turkish people are unfriendly jerks who want money for everything. Seriously Turkish people, work on that.

CAPPADOCIA

• Arrive at Cappadocia, not what I expected, though I seriously didn't know what to expect.
• Mike: "We should rent those dirt bikes, we could have a race"
  Dave: "Know what would be better? Racing those dirt buggies"
  Mike: "We gotta look into that"
• Most people choose to sleep in the rooms, I go wandering with Jodi and Khalil, was pretty awesome, it was the only time I got a real coffee for the whole trip, we got to know each other better, talked about everything and anything
• Jodi: "I need a jumper"
  Khalil: "Get the dragon poncho! It's authentic!"
• Jodi on being age and single
  Jodi: "I reckon anybody over 28 and single has dodged a bullet"
• Fairy caves, are pretty cool. You mean people live in them? Even cooler!
• A ton of stray dogs and cats that the town seems to adopt as their own
• Okay fine I'll go for the Turkish Bath (the first of many things I'm doing for Canada)
• Okay fine, the Turkish Bath was kinda cool, strange how getting close to naked with 3 other dudes who you've just met, while Turkish dudes wearing just as much bathe and massage you, brings you closer together. Guys that bathe together, that's a bond that can never be broken...
• Pretty quickly, the Canadian guys bond together, over bathing, jokes, knowledge of Superman and hockey, drinking and losing at Cranium to the girls
• Mike: "Drink the whiskey!"
  Dave: "I dunno guys..."
  Jodi: "Do it for Canada!"
  I down the whiskey
• The BEARD PACT has begun! Hot shave as a reward at the end of the trip
• Mutlu: "Who's missing?"
  Everybody: "The Mexicans"
  * This would become a prevailing trend on the trip
• Nothing like eating dinner cooked in a clay pot. Also, don't mess with Jodi, she can kill a clay pot with one swing!
• Khalil and Hayley: "...Rave Cave"
  Mike and Dave: "I heard Rape Cave..."
• Lets go drinking at the Australian bar! Rocked at drunken Jenga, but clearly let the team down in drunken Cranium.
• Mike: "Rave Cave can be a Rape Cave"
  laughing 
  Khalil: "Glow Sticks!"
  laughing 
  Erin: "Strobe Light at the Rape Cave!"
  laughing 
  Khalil: "15 Seconds!"
  laughing 
• Singing Bad Boys: "Bad Boys, Bad Boys, whatchya gonna do, whatchya gonna do when they come for you..." 
• Hayley petting every and any animal in sight, how have you not caught ringworm yet?
• Of course I bring the gum that has the Canadian flag on it to support the Olympic team...
  Martin: "We would never have our flag on gum in Germany"
• Turkish beer Efes, not so good, Jager shots, very good (but way overpriced), still have to see if I can find Mariachi, didn't expect to be drinking this much, but glad my alcohol tolerance remains in tact
• Vegemite, still as awful as the first time years ago
• Jodi's Vegemite Face, it's priceless, in her words is better than any orgasm she's ever had
• Walking Jodi home from the bar, damn girl you're hot and you can drink/hang with the guys? How are you still single?!
• Sounds like somebody is getting some strobe light action in the next room... Khalil's got some major game
• It's a lot colder than what you said it would be Weather Network!
• Around this point in time, I start feeling a little sick...
• 5am wake up call?! $200?! For 60 minutes?! Well worth it for the Balloon Ride at sunrise! Life changing, no, amazeballs, definitely.
• There are a lot of Asian tourists here!
• 25 ppl per balloon x $200 x 100 balloons x 2 shifts/day = $1,000,000/day
• Happy Anniversary Mike and Erin!
• Dave: "It'd be awesome to play paintball here"
  Mike: "Why is that?"
  Dave: "It's so authentic, though I don't know think they'd appreciate paintballs all over these historical caves"
• These Turkish rugs are super nice! Watching them made by hand makes me understand why they're so expensive.
• Though the guy selling them is kind of a sexist d-bag. I was really hoping Jodi was going to tear him a new one, after he tried to justify why only women make the rugs.
• Do you think they'd be offended if I rub my face on the rug?
• Ayran, the most disgusting drink I think I've ever had. Yogurt and salt do NOT go together!
• After the dinner with the local family
  Dave: "This would make a great Call of Duty map"
  Mike: "I'm thinking more Assassin's Creed"
  Dave: "Good call"
  Mike: "I can make anything into a video game"
• It's windy at the top of this fortress, you know what's a good idea? We should climb on top of the wall of the fortress!
• Mutlu not impressed with our rock climbing skills, little does she know, it's only just begun!
• Watching how Turkish pottery is made, this dude is pretty funny
• Seeing kids walking home from school wearing uniforms
• At lunch, we see the pottery guy come to the same place. I guess we are eating how the locals eat
• Turkish Night! This was the only meal on the trip that I thought was amazing. Though I wish the belly dancers were hotter
• The verdict on Turkish people
  Dave: "Do you notice that Turkish people are ugly?"
  Annelle: "This is a tourist show, if these guys are the best looking this country's got, I feel sorry for these women."
  Dave: "It's not like the women are any better you know"
  Annelle: "Yeah, I know. I think the average rating of Turkish people is a 2"
• Kat: "You mean you don't find these belly dancers hot?"
  Khalil: "Two words, tramp stamp"
• Hayley and I bond over music for hours starts off like this...
  Hayley: "You love The Black Keys? I love the Black Keys!"
  Dave: "You love Death Cab? I love Death Cab!"
  Hayley: "Wow! You're pretty cool! Up until this point on the trip, you were just this random guy!"
• Dave: "You mean you've never seen any of these bands in concert?"
  Hayley: "Nobody comes to Australia!"
  Dave: "You need to move, Australia sucks!"
• Dave: "Wait, you do Vodka shots?"
  Hayley: "Yeah"
  Dave: "Nobody last night would do them"
  Hayley: "We need to hang out more"
• Khalil: "We should do Vodka shots! For Russia!"

LAKE EGIRDIR

• 4 hour morning private van ride, welcome to the group, our driver, Capt Rahbjev! By the way, I have no idea how to properly pronounce or spell his name.
• The energy drink that is actually worse than ayran, and that says a lot. It was literally like dog shit  puréed into a drink. Strike 1, Mike.
• No Kat and Annelle, guys don't sing Hakuna Matata, we just don't (thanks for the back up Jodi)
• More underground stuff? Though I think Hayley's found her dream home...
• It's Bayram! Time to slaughter goats on the streets for the next 4 days!
• Stop for Piyaz for lunch, it's this weird bean, egg, tahini, yogurt salad, where we watch 3 kittens ganging up on what appears to be the jilted whore cat of the area
• Playing Asshole/President, apparently in Australia it's known as Bitch and has a couple different rules.
• Hayley and Annelle get the Honeymoon Suite *clap, clap, clap!*
  * the three rapid claps, was defined earlier in the trip as getting it on
• Khalil: "Split a bottle of wine?"
  Dave and Jodi: "Yeah, I'm in"
  * this was my 4th night in a row drinking
  ** this conversation happened almost every meal between Khalil, Annelle, Mike, Erin, Jodi and myself from this point on
• Jodi, Khalil, Kat, Martin and myself all start singing along to Meatloaf's, I Will Do Anything for Love on the radio, okay I think we've got ourselves a theme song!
• You mean there's only a lake, a mosque and an island you can walk/bike to? I'm sleeping in
  * it was the only day I slept in (meaning waking up at 9am, not 7am) and took a long shower for the entire trip.
• Avert your eyes from the goat slaughtering!

CIRALI

• 6 hour van ride in the morning, again...
• Easily the most dreary day of the entire trip, it was cold and rainy the entire time there
• There is no hot water here...
• You know what makes things better? Wine and Asshole/President.
• You know what's a better idea? Going for a hike in the cold rain to see the Chimera...
• Hayley: "I'm kind of a pyro"
  Dave: "Try burning something"
  Hayley throws a receipt into the flame...
  Hayley: "Why isn't the receipt burning?"
  Dave: "They must make their receipts fire resistant"
  Hayley: "Really?"
  Dave: "LOL! No! :P"
• Breaking out into a random singing of Phoebe Buffay's Smelley Cat
• Jodi teaching me how to whistle, still can't do it.
• Vegetarian Pide is awesomely spicy! Who knew a vegetarian version of something could be better than the meat version!
• Best rice pudding ever!!!
• Is it just me, or am I freezing my ass off?!
• After 3 days of being sick, give me the meds, Jodi (aka vacation mom)!
• Communal drinking of the massive jug of really crappy wine in Khalil's room.
• Canadian dudes, all sharing blankets, together, yeah it's that cold.
• Is it Claudia? Or Paola? We have no idea!

UCAGIZ/OVERNIGHT BOAT TRIP

• The van again?! At least the scenery is quite nice this time.
• These roasted chickpeas are terrible! I wasn't expecting them to be chalky. Strike 2, Mike...
• We're on a boat!
• While swimming in the cave...
  "That sounds like a dolphin!"
  "I'm pretty sure that's a bat"
  "I hope it's a dolphin"
• Yay! Another fortress to climb!
• The rich dude with the helipad
• Jodi catching the sun
• Bay leaf trees everywhere
• Those are the goats who escaped Bayram!
• Breaking out into Mumford and Sons sing-a-long
• The Aussie/Kiwi rivalry finally comes out
  Antonia (to Jodi): "It's pronounced 'fish and chips', NOT 'feesh and cheeps'!"
• It's cold, we should all stand by the fire!
• I had no idea we were burning Thyme bushes, they were massive! Tree size pretty much.
• A heart to heart with Annelle while everybody plays backgammon and rummy
• Thanks for keeping the fire going mom (Jodi)!
• What do you mean we drank all the red wine on the boat?
• Screw this, we're pouring out own servings (we would later find out we cleared out all most of their vodka and whiskey)
• Khalil gets Turkish Drunk with the boat staff
  *Turkish drunk is where you don't remember parts of that night
• Khalil: "Mutlu! Mutlu! How do you say ... in Turkish?!"
  *I don't know how many times he asked this
• Jumping off the top deck of the boat (for Canada of course)
• Apparently fish like potato chips, corn nuts and other things
• What do you mean this camera card is corrupted?!

DEMRE/KAS

• Stopping at the pebble beach at the restaurant (seemingly in the middle of nowhere) with the awesome view of the sea, but the meals take forever!
• Cheeps!!! I fuckin' LOVE cheeps!!!
• This is the first time I realize that they don't level the land here, then build. They build on top the hills and valleys
• We see our first theatre, it holds approximately 4000 people
• Having communication problems with the waiter, my coffee didn't arrive until we were leaving!
• Looks like they're having a concert/festival in the town square that reminds me of the port in Marseilles, but smaller, cleaner and nicer
• Lets get some ice cream! Mmmmmm pistachio!
• We're the only ones at the bar, I guess we're here early
• Talking to Khalil, Annelle and Jodi into sticking around and get our drink on
• Worst DJ ever! Who plays REM's Losing My Religion to get people in the mood to dance?
• Vitaly and Yulia awkwardly dancing, awwwwwwww!
• Where did Annelle and Khalil disappear to?
• This music sucks so bad, my desire to stick around is wavering, I think I'll go take some photos
• Okay, I'm a little bit lost, I'll make my way back to the bar
• Mutlu (to Dave): "Are you staying? Mike said you were going..."
  Khalil (to Dave): "What?! You can't back out!"
  Dave: "Yeah I'll stay, I was thinking about it though, you guys disappeared and this DJ is terrible!"
• Dave: "Is that new?"
  Annelle and Khalil: "We got nose rings!"
• Annelle (to Dave): "Their mojitos are really good!"
• Rounds of shots at the bar of a now super packed tiny club
• Way too many photos of us giving the camera the finger
• Dancing (and other stuff) with Annelle in the middle of the packed club
• Completely forgetting about Khalil and Jodi
• Apparently this lady at the club is pissed off with me, I'm so drunk at this point, whatever
• Stumbling out of the club with Annelle, have no idea how we're going to find Khalil and Jodi, may as well keep on with other stuff
• Hey! There's Khalil!
• Realizing how drunk I am when I have to go to the washroom and rest my forehead on the wall at the urinal...
• Khalil: "How drunk are you?"
  Dave: "I'm okay..."
  Khalil: "How drunk are you?"
  Dave: "Yeah I'm pretty drunk, do you know how to get back to the hotel?"
  Khalil: "Nope"
  dum, dum dum...
  Dave: "I'm pretty sure our hotel is in Demre, but that's all I know"
• Dave (to the taxi driver): "It's in Demre"
  Annelle (to the taxi driver): "It's the pink one!"
  Jodi (to the taxi driver): "It's shaped like this!" *makes the shape of a heart, what was suppose to be a rectangle
• We get back to the right hotel miraculously. Jodi heads to Khalil's room, hmmmmmm...
• Have the worst headache ever, wonder how bad this hangover is going to be...
• Almost passing out in the hallway

PAMUKKALE

• Wow, no hangover! Awesome!
• 5 lira for the smallest, crappiest coffee ever! Even for instant coffee, fail!
• Nope, not so much in the mood for a museum...
• These ruins are in really bad condition, but the road is still pretty good
• Walking through Hierapolis with Jodi for the afternoon, just talking, mostly about the world, politics, immigration, human rights
• Awesome view of the town below and the sunset (as well as the moon rising)
• Ah! Here are the white cliffs! I wish I saw these first, and not the ruins...
• Walking down the white cliffs in the dark, in barefoot, at least the hot spring water running down the cliffs was pretty warm
• This town really does suck, the ruins and white cliffs are the only thing that's here. Other than that, it was maybe six streets
• OMG, Haley, what did you buy?!?! (It was a singing/dancing doll of this guy who's a character on Turkish television, his Turkish name escapes me, but we all called him Pépé)

SELCHUK

• EPESUS! This is probably the first set of ruins EVER that I've been through that are seriously amazing!
• somebody left a gummy bear sitting up on the ruins :P
• The guy at the excavation site letting us go through the restricted area
• An ancient theatre that seats more people than an NHL hockey area, CRAZY
• Genuine Fake Watches
• Hey look, a riot!
• Hey, there's a barbershop right beside the restaurant!
• Okay Mike, we will end the beard pact early and get a hot shave after dinner
• Fireworks go off while getting a hot shave, loud noises while a dude has a razor at your throat is disconcerting...
• The restaurant owner giving me a 'shave' with a sword
• Getting shaved while listening to Carly Rae Jepsen's Call Me Maybe
• Ola! Don Khalil!!!
• Grape and Apple hookah, it was okay
• Wha? I hear City and Colour playing at the bar?
• Backgammon tournament, Mutlu isn't very happy with me :P
• Thanks for the ice cream Kat! This strawberry one is kinda stretchy. It's really the only way I can describe it.
• Martin and I end the finals in a draw
• Chilling with Mike, Erin, Khalil and Jodi at the bar afterwards
• It's starting to pour! We have to finish this wine though...
• The bar owner is giving us a ride back to the hotel, awesome!

AYVALIK

• The fact that the trip is coming close to an end is starting to dawn on me
• Free deep fried bread! It's gross yet delicious at the same time
• Tauntish! The dog of the bed and breakfast, so friendly!
• This is the coolest house ever! I wish I lived here.
• So what are we having for dinner?
• Walking around the city with Khalil, grabbing some cookies and chillin'
• Mike passes by, tells us he's looking for a shirt, we're not doing anything too much, sure we'll tag along
• Now that I think about it, I could use a shirt, I never thought I'd be clothes shopping with two other dudes on vacation
• on choosing a shirt at Mavi
  Dave: "What do you think?"
  Mike: "Looks good"
  Dave: "Done"
  Kat would later approve of the choice, thanks Mike!
• Still on the hunt for this mulberry wine, it's been days! But we did find regular wine, that'll do for now.
• Back early, may as well break open this wine and play some backgammon
• This rooftop view really is fantastic (I never use the word fantastic, that's how good it was)
• Annelle and Kat arrive back and are knitting?!
• Okay, really this time, what are we having for dinner?
• These hats are kinda cool, lets try them on.
• Jodi is the head chef for the evening, Mike and Dave will be sous chefs, for the evening we will be having an asian chicken chili stir-fry and rice.
• We're all off to the market and each have our items to find, and break!
• This kitchen is definitely not made, nor equipped for three people to work in at once.
• Being in a house, it's kinda cool, that we can all have a chill evening where we can just hang out.
• At the end of the evening, it was the first time I really thought "it'll be sad to leave this place and these people" though in a way, this night would've been a fitting ending

CANAKKALE

• Driving along the Aegean Sea, awesome views
• Martin will be our tour guide for this morning! Please, tell us the story of Troy!
• That giant horse is really hokey, I guess I should go up it since I'm here
• Troy, easily the WORST ruins, though the itinerary does warn you that you have to use your imagination
• Look out for the spider webs!
• Off to Gallipoli, the ferry ride across is pretty cool.
• Jodi and Antonia get emotional at the war memorial
• Poor sea urchins washed up on the shore
• Walking through a former battlegrounds and trenches, you get a better sense of what soldiers might have had to go through, it's a little unnerving actually
• Wow, seriously, Jodi and Antonia went from arch enemies to BFFs
• University town on the Aegean Sea, with bars all up and down the harboured coast, by comparison, our university towns suck!
• Brad Pitt donates the horse from the movie Troy to the city, MUCH more impressive than the hokey one
• This place we're going to for dinner looks fancy...
• "What do you mean it's not available? It's on the menu!"
  *this would apply to almost half of the menu, what kind of restaurant is this?!?
• The food didn't even end up being that good. Though when doing the conversion, I think it ended up costing less than $20. But based on the decor and the relative pricing, you would expect much better food
• This pumpkin dessert is sadly not like pumpkin pie at all
• Off to the bar, Mutlu seems excited
• Ummmmmm... this bar isn't that great, sorry Mutlu
• Stopping for dessert on the way back to the hotel, fanciest presented baklava I've had this trip
• Ah crap, I lost my toothbrush!

ISTANBUL

• This mornings bus ride feels much more ominous that all the others, unlike the other mornings' bus rides, this one is very quiet the whole way, it feels much more like we're on our way home rather than to another stop, even though we still have one night left
• Official end of the tour. :(
• How we ended up at our tour guide's place
  Mike (to Mutlu): "Did you need help with your stuff?"
  Mutlu: "No, it's okay, I'm taking a taxi back to my place."
  Dave: "Party at Mutlu's!"
  Mutlu: "We can do that."
  Dave: "Really? I was just joking, but if you're up for it, it'd be kinda cool."
  Mutlu: "Let me call my roommate."
• Off to the Grand Bazaar! Hopefully we can find it this time!
• I've bought NO souvenir's yet, I better get on this
• What a tourist trap...
• What to get, what to get... I just need to start getting things
• Where's Kat and Annelle?
• The Spice Bazaar is not a 15 minute walk from the Grand Bazaar, <sarcasm>thanks a lot Khalil</sarcasm>
• Sorry I'm late everybody...
• An early goodbye to Mike and Erin in the stairwell. :(
• Off to Mutlu's!
• This part of Istanbul, it reminds me of Etobicoke, mostly houses, some apartment buildings, some restaurants, a grocery store and a train station
• It's weird, but I realize at this point, Mutlu is not our tour guide anymore, and we're still hanging out, it's nice that she think enough of us to invite us to her home
• We have to be quiet, otherwise the neighbour might throw a shoe at us. Though I wonder if we're also quiet because we're all tired, and for a lot of us it's the last night. If our minds are already thinking about packing up, catching the plane, etc...
• Saying goodbye to everyone :(
• I'm getting baklava and turkish delights for people, off to wander the streets of Istanbul after midnight
• At 1 in the morning in Aksaray, you can get prostitutes and baklava on the same corner
• Last chance to get the Starbucks mug at the airport, they don't have it? boooooo!
• Almost missing my flight, they even announced my name on the PA!

ODDS & ENDS
(re-occurring events, observations and things I can't quite recall where they fit in)
FOOD:

• Every breakfast was bread, olives, goat cheese, yogurt, tea. Some places had dried fruit and honey. You have no idea how happy I was to have peanut butter when I got home.
• Survived off a steady diet of gozleme, which is basically a savory crépe, though it reminds me of roti
• Kofte, which is a turkish meatball, was also in steady rotation
• Beef makes up almost 80 percent of their meat, followed by lamb. I never thought I'd miss chicken, but I did.
• Introduced to Raki, which is the leading brand of the official liquor of Turkey, it has an anise flavour, but you actually add ice to the shot and let it melt. It goes from clear, to a murky colour.
• I wish I had more pomegranate juice now that I see how expensive it is at home, was equates to $1.50 for a glass of freshly squeezed pomegranate juice. Here that would easily be four or five times as much
• In some ways I wish I weren't so health conscious, I would've had baklava or rice pudding every night, now I can't...
• Yogurt and Seasonal Herb potato chips is just Sour Cream and Onion, fail!
• Checking out the nuts and dried fruit stand with Jodi, we ended up buying a whole bunch
• I'd swear they are mini-almonds, but their actually apricot seeds? Wha?
• Seeing the following trees: walnuts, olives, figs, pomegranates, apricots, persimmons, currents

REST STOPS and DRIVING:

• Aww, the crates fell off of the that fruit truck at the highway exit
  Mutlu (to everyone): Anybody want to go help that truck?"
  We all helped pick up pomegranates and persimmons from the road, we would all then get invited/volunteered to pick persimmons from trees for the far. They would send us off with what seemed like a whole bushel of persimmons. Fresh persimmons right of the tree, AMAZING!
• Dave (to Annelle): "Macarons... in Turkey... at a rest stop.... How good could those be?"
• Annelle's love of sweets (candy)
• Jodi can sleep anywhere, I seriously saw this in action
• The Beards - Sex With a Bearded Man, youtube it, it's funny, thanks Hayley
• EVERY rest stop, the girls come back with bags of candy and cookies, which leads to...
• Jodi, Haley and Antonia trading stories about how much weight they've gained since starting their travels
• I guess the same rule in Canada goes for Turkey, never buy produce at a rest stop
• The biggest washroom I've ever seen was at one of the rest stops on the way to Cappadocia
• Khalil and I getting an eyeful, seeing Vitaly and Yulia making out, we then promptly point it out the Hayley, the hamster dance becomes their porn music

OUR TOUR GUIDE, MUTLU:

• Our tour guide Mutlu, really gave us a bit of an inside perspective of what it's like to live in Turkey from a leftist, liberal perspective. She has views that could be seen as feminist, independent and modern. At home, she would not be out of place, but in Turkey, she is definitely in the minority. You can hear the strained passion in her voice that it's an exhausting battle she must face, living in the country that she does.
• Mutlu also really loves Canada, Toronto in particular (she had visited recently), she gave our group a speech about when she visited Canada, that people are just allowed to be who they are, it sounds like she would like to move here one day. For her sake, I really do hope she makes it. She's really cool, and it's tough to see how repressed she must be living where she does.

LIFE:

• It's highly unlikely you'll return to the place you're visiting, so you may as well (within reason) experience as many things as possible while you're there
• It's very possible to act younger than your age, but very difficult to act older than you already are
• Time is not money, time is definitely worth a lot more than money
• I am jealous of the care free attitude that youth affords, but I am grateful for the knowledge that experience has given me
• You shouldn't settle for one or the other, why can't you have it all (thanks Kat!)