I don't mean to be earnest, but it feels necessary to point out that with a new year comes new beginnings. And in this case, the new beginning is borne out of an ending - namely, this journal.

The past year and a half has brought many new artistic discoveries for me, which I'd like to recall. New cd's bought in late 2004 and 2005 included some Elliot Smith, Beck, Jack Johnson, Rufus Wainright, and the wonderful discovery of Norway's Kings of Convenience's two albums, Quiet is the New Loud and Riot on an Empty Street. I didn't see many live bands, but the ones I managed to catch were great (stand-outs were Sigur Ros in Ottawa and the Wilco show in Montreal). I saw several plays and a ballet at the National Arts Centre, I visited the National Gallery - albeit nothing like I used to - and my proudest realization was the acquisition of four seperate works of art. In some ways, these are my physical legacies, the items that will outlive me and represent my admiration of art and creative aesthetics.

I traveled - nowhere near as far or as long as I dream of doing someday - but found myself in different places throughout the year nonetheless. Toronto replaced Montreal as my main destination, having found myself there about five times in the last year, with Montreal having been visiting on three occasions. Of course, the greatest trip was the summer vacation out west. My time with friends in Alberta and Vancouver was refreshing, and one of the most exhilirating highlights of the year.

And, of course, I wrote. I started thinking in writer's terms, repeating a certain thought as I drifted to sleep so as not to lose a sentence or particular description I wanted to record. I spent many hours challenging myself to find the most accurate, beautiful or humourous way to describe the currents that traveled through me, because that's how I know to bring joy and beauty to my life. I marveled over the ability to share my thoughts and daily ongoings with friends across the world, from Ottawa to the west and east coasts, from Britain to Asia. I was delighted to read the comments posted, and to be included in a growing web of online journals that friends and strangers share. I discovered to what extent I harbour a love of masterful language and communication, and how much I need to acknowledge my thoughts, longings and personal victories. Through this blog, I had the opportunity to validate my needs and mere fancies, and glimpse at what talents I have and don't have. In this was an exercise in thinking, and the simple yet mysterious process of applying those thoughts to words and writing.

And yet here I am, having somehow grown restless and ready to shed this skin I'd come to grow into. It is simply time for me to put this site to rest, and allow it to be set and cast into a historical representation of a particular time and place in my life. This is neither too serious and revelatory, nor is it merely a forgotten doodle left on a soggy napkin. It is what it is, and I am content for it. It will remain here for you and, as time fades into new things, it will be here for myself to return to and remember past thoughts. I expect I will not visit often - the overt minimalism that I've practiced in the past has already resulted in too many thrown-out letters and photos that are gone forever - but it will be nice to know these old thoughts and events are recorded and kept here among the rest of the world wide clutter.

And so I continue to write, only in different ways, in different mediums, for different purposes. Wish me luck, wish me hope, wish me art and delight! I aspire the same for you, first through awakening, then by adventure, all this expressed through my crooked grin.

xoxo