Category Archives: Opinion

Dear John

Dear John,

I’m sorry Canada, it’s not you, it’s me.  I shouldn’t have let this go on for so long.  I have known for a while we weren’t suited for each other but I just didn’t want to believe it.  I came back to give you a second chance, but we are just going to have to accept the fact that I am not meant to be here.  I hope we can remain friends and that I can come back to visit.

I have been blind and I didn’t want to see.  My friends told me that you were just a boring, colder and more expensive version of Australia but I didn’t want to believe it.  I wanted to give you a second chance and I really wanted to make it work this time but I guess what they say is true, you can never go back.  I just want you to know that I tried, but the whole time I’ve been here I just haven’t been very happy and I haven’t felt any connection to you.

It’s like any relationship I guess.  There has to be a bit of give and take and a bit of compromise but to be honest I haven’t found you to be very supportive or helpful.  For starters you are just too big and difficult to get around.  You phone system is just bizarre and your internet connection sucks.  I have managed to make do but why am I the one compromising?

The people here are very friendly, when you can actually find them amongst all the bloody Australians.  (It’s no wonder Australia thinks it has an immigration problem because all the Aussies are actually in Whistler).  I have met some great people though and I’ve had some interesting experiences.  There have been some good times but just not enough to make me stay.

And I’m sorry Canada, I just don’t understand all the hype.  You are a very pretty country but I just don’t see the beauty that everyone else bangs on about.  I’m from Tasmania, and there is plenty of trees and water there.  I just don’t see why you would think your mountains are better than anyone else’s.  I don’t see the Swiss coming here in droves.

I’m sorry it didn’t work out between us.  I hope we can remain friends and that I can come and visit sometimes.  It’s just that my heart isn’t here.  I may have left it back in the UK or in NYC or perhaps it is actually in San Francisco but I feel no need to lead you on any further.  I’m sorry if I gave the impression that I was here for a long time, I was in fact here for a good time and in that I have been disappointed.

I take with me some good memories and some life lessons and I hope to stay in touch with the fantastic people I’ve met.  My time here is done, and I am sorry for that but it’s time for me to go.  I hope there are no hard feelings.

Til we meet again,

The endless wanderer

Michelle xx

Jasper

I took the bus to Jasper from Prince George.  The lady I had been staying with in Fort St James had appointments in PG so I got a ride.  The bus left in the evening and arrived in Jasper at 2:40 am.  I did have all intentions of passing the early hours of the morning at Tim Horton’s but I had a rotten cold that had been trying to take hold for a few days, and when I called the hostel before my bus I was told there would be nothing open.  So I did the sensible things and got a taxi to the hostel.

My first day was not exciting.  I slept in.  I had arranged on the phone to do ‘work for stay’ so I work in order to get free accommodation.  I did that then went back to sleep for a while.  The HI hostel is situated about 11km out of town on the way to the Tramway.  I was happy to have a day to myself and not do much at all.

The next day I took the free shuttle into town.  I walked along one of the main streets looking in all the souvenir  shops looking for the sew on patches I like to collect.  I then had a walk around the rest of town.  It is a small place and there really isn’t much to it.  I went to tourist information to get a few ideas then went to the Bear’s Paw Bakery to check out their baked goods that I had heard a lot about.  I then decided to walk the Discovery Trail which goes around the town area.  I got to one part and noticed a picture of a bear on the signage.  I took this as a warning that there were bears in the area.  I decided I didn’t want to risk getting attacked so I went back to town.  Turns out it was just part of the sign.

The rest of the day I just did what I needed to.  I found a supermarket and picked up what I needed.  Food is more expensive than I was expecting so I didn’t get a lot.  I also sat and had a beer at Jasper Brewing Co.  I managed to kill a bit of time but I still had 4 hours until the free shuttle went back to the hostel.  The quilt shop in town wasn’t open and I didn’t see the point wasting time at the library so I paid the $15 for a taxi back to the hostel.

Jasper is a nice place to look at but to be honest it does nothing for me.  Also I had arrived during the ‘shoulder season’ so all the summer things had closed and all the winter stuff hadn’t opened yet.  I got talking to a girl in my room who changed my mind about going to Lake Louise and now I think I will head straight to Banff.  I need to pick up a bit of work for a month or so.

The weather isn’t much and I can’t afford taking a taxi to and from town just to do nothing.  I’ve got a couple of days to get organised and work out some sort of idea for Banff and I will make the most of my time bumming around the hostel to drink tea and write.

Living the Dream

I left the farm.  It wasn’t the worst experience of my life but it wasn’t the greatest either.  I probably could have stuck out another week but I think it just came down to me not wanting to be there and deal with someone else’s issues and the gossip and two-faceness of it all.  What I really wanted was just time to myself.

I am now living in a tent for this week in an RV park 8 kms out of Smithers.  I need to stay in the area because I have a writers retreat next weekend (Sept 27-30).  But my current situation suits me a lot better.  I find my situation rather funny actually.  Well, it’s funny that I would much prefer to be in a tent 8kms from anywhere that resembles civilisation then listen to a delusional and unorganised woman whinge about her life and tell me all about her mental health issues and pass judgement on what she knows of everyone else’s.

I still maintain that travel is the best education.  You learn so much about yourself.  What you will and won’t put up with.  You learn to stand up for yourself and you learn from the people you meet along the way.  I have come to not just realise but accept that I am a traveller.  I think this is just my nature.  I’m not even sure if I could slot back into society and do what people seem to think they are meant to do, have a house, a career and a few kids.  I’m just not like everybody else, and I can’t pretend to be.

I think I am destined to live on the fringe of society with all the other degenerates and hobos and gipsies.  With the people that just don’t quite fit anywhere.  Or perhaps my ideas and ideals threaten the security that the rest of society holds dear.  I’m sure people feel more secure in the fact that they have a roof over their heads, an income and food on the table.

I’m not even sure why I don’t want that.  I like my freedom.  I like to do as I please without answering to anybody.  I don’t want to have to justify my choices to anybody.  I may be exceptionally cynical but I’m happy.  I wonder how many other people can say the same.

I find happiness in the simple things.  I’m happy that the sun is shining because my current situation would be so much different if it was raining.  I’m happy to have time to myself and to reflect on how exactly it is that I got here.  I’m happy with the lessons of my past because I would not be able to do this without every moment that has gone before.  I am happy with, and appreciate, the random acts of kindness from strangers.

So I may be living in a tent.  I may be rationing my food and firewood but I am living the dream.  I am living my dream of a simple life and freedom.  I am enjoying the moment and have no grand expectations on what I should be doing or what I am meant to do.  I mean sure, the nights are a little cold but I found my thermal legs in the bottom of my pack yesterday and my neighbour here loaned me a blanket and gave me a cup of tea last night with a big shot of Drambuie in it.

I sat by my fire with my cup of tea and looked at the stars with a big smile on my face.  This is the life.

Forming a plan

I find it amusing at the moment that my inability to form some sort of plan seems to annoy people.  I mean, really, my plans don’t actually effect anyone else so what does it matter?  Just because everyone else has a plan doesn’t mean I need to have one.  The reason most people I’ve spoken to have a plan is that they are on holiday, I’m not.  This seems to be the biggest difference between me and everyone else and one that no one seems to understand.

I used to be all about the plan.  The way I am travelling at the moment is very different for me.  I am flying by the seat of my pants.  It has been strange but I think I have adapted well.  I am certainly less stressed than I was a few weeks ago.  I am enjoying the sense of freedom.  Each day is different and I’ve met some fantastic people, so I think it has worked out well.

At the moment I wake up of a morning with no idea where I might end up that night.  The past week I’ve been out on the farm, but at the moment I am back in Whitehorse.  I had a couple of days work lined up so I came back into town and thought that I should really decide what I’m going to do for the next couple of weeks.

I find that my decision making abilities are based on the information I have available at the time.  At this point it seems Tanned Man and I have parted ways.  There was no falling out or goodbye.  He wasn’t forth coming with information on his plans and after his little nancy, and I quote, “If I wanted a travel partner I would have brought my girlfriend” I kind of figured the guy is better off on his own if he’s going to have hang ups.  Also, I am not going to make plans around someone else.  I refuse to compromise and I may get a better offer.

I like being open to the possibilities at the moment.  I am free.  I can do what I want, when I want.  By not having a plan it allows me to be more open to other possibilities, and to meet other people and get talking and I could end up anywhere.  If you have a set itinerary and are restricted by time limits then you don’t really have the ability to take the opportunities that may come your way, or the offers from others.

This makes for a very unorganised way of doing things but it seems to suit me at the moment.  So last night after I arrived at the hostel I overheard a guy talking about a room he had to rent temporarily.  This caught my attention because I have the possibility of increasing my hours at the couple of jobs I’ve managed to score.  Later I got talking to a different guy who was about to buy a van and was heading to Vancouver after the weekend.  So I have the choice between staying in Whitehorse for a couple of weeks or getting a lift south.  I need to be in Smithers at the end of September and after a little research on the Help X website I could line up somewhere to stay for a couple of weeks.

Today I was thinking I might stay.  Then I got back to the hostel and taking off seemed like a better idea.  I don’t know.  We’ll see what tomorrow brings…

Honesty

There are a range of things to consider when writing one of the most important things to remember is to be honest.  For this blog my main focus has been to consider my audience.  I realise my audience ranges from my grandparents to my little sister and perhaps a random stranger from India.  Because of this I have keep my tone neutral so as I don’t offend and I can try and keep everyone happy.  This is just not possible.  I received some much appreciated feedback recently.  It was appreciated because it was honest.  I was told that this blog is bland.  To be honest, I agree.

I don’t add my usual spark or opinions.  This blog is harder to write than my other one, because I consider my audience perhaps a little too much.  It is also difficult to write because I don’t actually do very much where I am at all.  So, because this week has been rather lame and unexciting I will treat you to what’s been going on in my head.

This week in my head I got married.  This also progressed into a Facebook marriage.  I finally got to speak to a friend back at the pub I used to work at.  We had a lovely catch up and yes, got married.  We used to refer to each other as husband and wife when we were living and working together and I think after knowing him for a grand total of three minutes I proposed when he handed me a warm bread roll that he had baked himself.

Also in my head I have been progressively getting annoyed and somewhat peed off by my job situation.  Unfortunately, as those of you who have actually met me would know, this has not stayed in my head.  I am working at my boss’ mum’s B&B this weekend while she is away.  I am only meant to be on call to check people in.  After running back and forth for 4 hours and realising her system is really crap and constantly getting interrupted to do a second job that I didn’t even want to do I may have exploded a little yesterday.

When she initially asked me if I wouldn’t mind helping out I told her to give me a few days to think about it.  The next time I spoke to her I was about to say no thank you but she was already talking like I’d agreed to it, so it was easier to just agree to it.  I am sure my boss knows I’m not happy about the situation because I moan about it to her, but she “doesn’t want to get involved.”  So, what do you do?

In my head, you day dream about leaving.  This usually leads to getting restless and eventually packing and then progresses to actually going.  So, this week I realised I am actually getting less responsible with age.  Most normal people grow up, get a real job, buy a house and settle down with their 2.3 children and proceed to live a rather average and in my opinion dull life.  Lucky for me I am not a normal person.  Not even close.  The older I get the more I realise that I have less time and patience to put up with crap.

My last job I quit via txt message.  I just decided that it was a rubbish job that any monkey could do so rather than do the “responsible” thing and give two weeks’ notice I just sent a txt.  Hey I was about to leave the country so what did I care?  Now, I’m thinking ‘Hey I’m in another country, what do I care?’  Being a cleaner in a hostel is not a career move.  I’m a traveller working in a hostel, it must be expected that I will move on at a whim?

So, I hope you have enjoyed this little trip into my head this week.  I will try to be a little more honest in this blog and in my life from now on.  It may be time to be honest with my boss and tell her I am unhappy here.  And it may be time to be honest with myself and be ok with the fact that I am somewhat irresponsible and to change my mind and my plans whenever I feel like it.  You only live once and I’m not getting any younger, though I seem to be acting younger the older I get.

On a personal note

This week I have been a little bit reflective.  I have had some interesting conversations, I have overheard some interesting conversations and I have had to reassess the way in which I think about communication and also my place in the world.

I’m sure this all seems a little deep, but I still maintain that travel is the best education even if you only learn something about yourself.  I know I am different to most people.  This is just a fact of my life and one that I try and accept on a daily basis.  Not that this fact has ever worried me, I make the point to remain different.  Some people may understand me, some people may not.  This is not a reflection on me or the other person’s abilities to relate to people, it is a fact of life that we are all different.  It comes down to a number of factors; our experiences, our communities, society and culture, just to name a few.

This week I have come to realise a hard fact, one that I already knew but sometimes need reminding of.  Your opinions and beliefs and your views are based on your own personal experiences.  My experiences are different to everybody else’s.  This is my choice and sometimes I go out of my way to be different to other people.  By travelling I am becoming more aware of the world and other cultures and beliefs and I’m interested in learning and hearing about other people’s experiences.

My housemate/ work mate grew up in communist East Germany.  We have some very interesting conversations and I am happy to say we have learnt a lot from each other.  We have a similar perception of the world and live a similar lifestyle so it is easy to get along.  We also share a similar dark sense of humour. We may not agree on a lot of the topics we discuss but it is always interesting to get a different point of view, and sometimes it not about whose right or wrong, you just have to accept things as they are.  You are not going to change the world but you can change your views of the world.  There have been many conversations with her where I have reassessed the way I think about certain things.

I overheard a conversation in the kitchen the other day.  Two girls were talking about food and how difficult it is to be vegetarian when travelling.  I was fascinated by this discussion.  They talked about why they were vegetarian in the first place, where they had travelled and the sort of food problems they had encountered.  It seems so obvious once it’s pointed out to you.  Everything seems to come down to culture.  Your eating habits are based on where you are and the type and availability of certain foods and your culture determines your eating habits.  If you are vegan for whatever reasons, I mean it’s your choice, the simple fact is that in some countries you would not be able to eat that way.  So, do you limit your own experiences because of your own personal beliefs?  The two girls I overheard did also discuss the fact that these are very Western ideas and that food allergies are a side effect of what we eat and may be a consequence of our society.

I’ve come to realise that the more I experience, the more I learn, the further away I get from people that may have been in my life for years.  And I don’t just mean in the sense of a physical, measurable distance.  There are certain things I just cannot relate to because I haven’t experienced them.  I can try and be understanding and supportive but that can only go so far.  And it is the same in reverse.  There are some people that cannot relate to me.  This isn’t a reflection on the friendship or that person’s ability to be understanding; it just becomes a fact of life.

This makes communication difficult.  I really try and keep in touch with people, not just while I’m travelling.  When I am at home I will make a conscious effort to spend time with people.  Communication methods are ever changing but it is more difficult to keep in touch with people that cannot relate to what you may be experiencing.  I guess this is life.  You learn and grow and change and adapt.  It’s evolution.

Well, that’s what I think anyway.  I am sure other people have a different opinion.  Thanks for reading.

To plan or not to plan: My travel plans

While I was in the UK I found planning my travels to be essential.  I like to make plans.  I like to be organised and know what I’m doing and when.  I find it is helpful when you need to stick to a budget and when you have limited actual travel time available.  None of the plans I made went according to plan.  I wasn’t devastated by this.  I’m flexible and open to possibilities.  I just like to know what the possibilities might be.

This trip I decided would be different.  I have a friend who doesn’t make plans more than a day in advance and doesn’t get stressed or anxious by this so I thought I would give it a go.  I made no preparations before arriving in Canada other than having the correct visa and booking a hostel for my first week.  I didn’t even crack the spine on my guidebook until a few days after I arrived in Vancouver, and so far things have worked out.

Before I left Australia people would ask what I was going to do in Canada and my response was “Arrive.”  I did have a vague idea of what I wanted to do though.  I knew I wanted this trip to be as different from my time in the UK as I could make it.  I knew that I would have to look for work as soon as I got here.  So far it’s all working out for me.  I’m in Canada on a two year work visa and my funds are limited, so I figure I have plenty of time for actual travel next year.  This is all well and good but doesn’t make for a very exciting blog at the moment.  So here are some things I have in mind to do while I’m in Canada.

Currently I am committed to my job until around October.  I don’t have much in mind to do while I’m here except work and save money.  I have a trip planned for the end of September to Smithers, a town about 4 hours away.  I’m going to a writers retreat for a weekend.  For October I am thinking of going to Hadia Qwaii (formally known as the Queen Charlotte Islands) for a week or so.  This trip is so I can do an interview and take photos of a guy’s workshop.  But this is just a lovely thought for now.

For the winter I plan to head north.  Probably not the best idea in the world but I figure I have to get used to the cold and darkness and it’s all part of the experience.  Also, I have no desire to spend any significant amount of time anywhere near Whistler.  I’m sure it’s a lovely place.  But I’m here to meet Canadians not other Australians so I like to keep away from the areas where Australians tend to congregate.  I am hoping to find work around Whitehorse and I really want to experience the sled dogs and see the Yukon Quest.

Hopefully by April next year I have saved up enough money to spend 6 months or so travelling across the country.  During this time I hope to go to Hadia Qwaii and do the tourist thing.  I was thinking maybe even a WWOOF placement.  Prince Rupert is the beginning of the VIA rail and I really want to travel by train across the country.   The trip is meant to be beautiful and I love train travel.  But I don’t think I would do it all in one big trip.  There are a few things I want to see and do along the way.

Other things on my To Do List include:

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police Heritage Centre in Regina, Saskatchewan

WWOOF or Help X placement on a ranch

Go to a Rodeo – I was thinking the Calgary Stampede but might go to something a little less touristy

Tap a maple tree and make syrup

Go to the Maritime Provinces – Nova Scotia, PEI, Newfoundland etc

Spend time in Québec

 

That is the start of my list.  I’m sure I will add to it over the next year.  If you have any suggestions, please feel free to add them to the comments below.

Breakfast time

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.  For me, it is important to find a decent place to go to for breakfast.  I have some favourite places.  In Hobart I love to go to Salamanca, usually on a Sunday because Saturday is too busy with the market.  In Melbourne I love Brunswick St.  I lived in England for two years and have to say that having one choice, being an ‘English Breakfast’, wasn’t so great.  I don’t understand why people want to eat liver first thing in the morning or baked beans at any time of the day.  But I did enjoy a bacon sandwich with my coffee and papers of a Sunday morning.

So this week I ventured out to check out my breakfast options in Prince Rupert.  There are some cheap places to go if you want a simple eggs and bacon on toast, but I wanted the full on pancakes and bacon deal.  I was told that the best place for breakfast in town is the Waterfront Restaurant at the Crest Hotel, so that is where I went.  Breakfast is only served until 9a.m. so it was an early morning for me.

What I loved most about this place wasn’t just the view but the amount of choice.  I could have had a frittata, bagel, fruit, waffles, pancakes, 3 different versions of eggs benedict, eggs florentine (again, I don’t understand why you would want to eat salmon first thing in the morning) or an omelette.  According to the menu a Canadian Classic is eggs and bacon on toast, which frankly I could have made at home, so I went for the Fisherman’s breakfast.  This was exactly what I wanted and more.  Pancakes, eggs, bacon, sausages, some sort of potato stuff with butter and maple syrup on the side.  YUM!!!

After I enjoyed my breakfast and the 3 cups of coffee I had I decided it might be a good idea to go for a walk.  So I walked along the waterfront, up a set of stairs and then decided to go on a little adventure.  I say this because I actually had no idea where I was going.  I just figured I’d get to something that looked familiar at some point.  And I found one of the main roads a couple of block later.

I was going to go to the Last Minute Market, which is a local market that usually takes place on a Saturday, held at Moose Hall.  Turns out Moose Hall isn’t where I thought it might be.  I thought it was near Moose Park, because, you know, that would make sense.  Turns out it is at the other end of town.  So I gave up and just went back to the hostel as it wasn’t long before I had to start work.

I walked past the parade that was setting up for Seafest, a festival that is a ‘salute to the Canadian Coast Guards’ which is on this weekend.  I bragged about my lovely breakfast to the German girl then had to start work.  I had a lovely morning but I don’t think I’ll be spending so much on breakfast again anytime soon.  It was a treat and I enjoyed it.

For more information about the Crest Hotel (though, for accomodation i would recommend the Pioneer Backpackers Inn) go to:

http://cresthotel.bc.ca/crest-hotel

For Seafest, check out: http://www.prspecialevents.com/Page7.html

Miscommunication

Travel teaches you many things.  Your ability to adapt changes.  Your decision making skills are altered.  The greatest lesson that travel teaches me is patience.  Generally, I have none.  I am not a patient person.  I hate waiting on other people.  But with international travel comes the International Date Line, and that means you have a time difference to deal with.

There is currently a 17 hour time difference between the west coast of Canada, where I am and the east coast of Australia.  Honestly, it is near killing me.  Making skype dates, being considerate of other people and generally keeping up to date and in touch with the people back home is very time consuming.  I don’t mind and please don’t think I’m whinging but it would be nice if that consideration was returned.

Again, this trip is different to what I did in the UK.  As soon as I arrived in London I got a mobile.  I have decided against it this time.  The mobile system in Canada is a little weird and a bit expensive.  Mobiles here have a local number, if you leave that area; you need to get a new number.  You also pay for features such as message bank and caller ID.  Basically I can’t be bothered with the hassle.  I also spent a lot on money on phone calls while in the UK so I thought this time I would save myself and my mother some money.

As everyone back home goes about their business and I’ve made this choice to travel it seems I’m the one that has to do all the adapting.  My best friend is great.  Our relationship is constantly changing and evolving and it may take us a bit of time but we manage to adapt to whatever comes our way.   She is a busy wife and mother of 5 kids and running a business so we usually make the most of any moment we happen to be free at the same time.

So my mode of communication for this trip is skype and e-mail.  But I have to be patient with waiting for replies.  This is a struggle for me.  I have always felt it is important to maintain my friendships with people.  That is how I’ve managed to have the same best friend for 27 years.  I still keep in touch with my high school sweetheart and the pen friend I’ve had since I was 10.  I’ve met a lot of people while travelling and with Facebook it is easy just to drop a line and say ‘hi’ every now and then and if I happen to be in their area I let them know.

I find it’s a case of ‘out of sight, out of mind.’  I make an effort to keep in touch because my friendships and relationships are important to me.  Having that connection with people back home is how I am able to keep travelling.  It is the little bit of effort that people make that means the world to me.

This blog is the easiest way for me to let people back home know what I’ve been doing.  That is not to say I don’t want to know what people at home are doing.  I do.  I’d love to.  In order to maintain any relationship it takes a little bit of effort on both sides, and communication is the key.  I may be travelling but my life isn’t exciting all the time.  Sometimes I do my laundry.  If you sat down and sent me an e-mail telling me you did your laundry, for me, that would be the greatest thing in the world because it meant that you took 5 minutes and made the effort.

It is not what the people back home communicate it’s the fact that they do communicate.

Brain Fail

It is one week until I head to Melbourne.  I should be excited or nervous or something but really I just have a headache and my face is about to fall off.  I have a rotten cold and it is sucking what little motivation I have out of me.  Yesterday I tried to work on my article but the words just looked like soup and although the couch would have been a lovely place to lay down all day I just couldn’t let myself do it.  Instead I almost finished a quilt.  So, just one more to go and I’m all finished.  Well, finished with quilts anyhow.  These two may have to come with some sort of health warning but I’m sure I’m just contributing to the child’s immunity.

I got a comment yesterday about how PC I’m going to be making this Blog.  So I’ve been thinking about that a bit.  I’ve also been thinking about what exactly I want to communicate with this Blog.  I’ve been doing research for my article and getting really annoyed with the amount of utter rubbish that’s on the internet.  Just because you have a blog and an opinion doesn’t make you an authority on, um, ANYTHING!

My article is about the fear of success and I’ve had some interesting responses from actual psychologists who say it is really rare and usually an unconscious fear.  Then I have come across blogs that make out that it’s really common and tell you how to overcome it. And then I’ve come across gurus and life coaches and I find myself writing to them asking for more information, oh, and can you tell me exactly how you are qualified to speak on this topic?  Right there would be my reason as to why I haven’t received many responses. I’m not qualified to give an answer but in my opinion it is not fear, it is the awareness of changes that success brings and you are using it as an excuse not to even try.  Get off your arse, get on with it and stop whinging. Hmm, this would be why I didn’t become a therapist.

So, I’m not entirely sure how PC this blog will be.  I’m aware that my readers range from my 16 year old sister to my 85 year old friend whom I used to quilt with.  I will be using this as an example of my writing for potential editor, publishers, and agents and for writing jobs I may apply for.  So my main aim is to not purposely offend.  I realise I have an interesting take on life and many people don’t agree with what I do or my opinions.  That’s fine.  I realise I’m different.  This blog, like me, is a work in progress.  Though, I would like to at least make it entertaining and worth the time taken to read it.  But for now, time is short and I’ve got loads to get done, so I will stop going on about what I should be doing and just go and actually do it.