Epilogue

Hey folks. This post is going to be a bit more somber than my usual schvike, but please bear with me. As most of you have noticed I haven't updated S&R in quite some time. Last you heard I had just started my week as a house manager, and that was nearly a month ago. What happened? You guys have been loyal readers and you all deserve an answer. To make a long story short I decided to drop out of Katimavik.

Katimavik is a lot more complex that I may have made it seem. For the months leading up to my departure I always answered queries about the program buy stating that it was "a youth volunteer program where you get to travel Canada (for free) and do cool projects for communities, all whilst living with a group of like-minded individuals". To say that that is untrue would be a lie; to say that it's an understatement is the truth. I could go into depth about my reasons for leaving, I have two three-page reports I did on the program I could post, but I'm not going to. First and foremost they are personal; anybody in the program considering dropping out needs to have their own reasons for doing so, not mine, but more importantly that would be boring!.

It was important for me that my decision to stay or go be based on rational thought, not rash emotion. I base plenty of my decisions on spur-of-the-moment feelings but never when that call could have sever consequences. This is why I decided to do my reports. After my week as house manager I sat down and started work on my first one. It detailed by goals in life, why I wanted to do Katimavik, the pros and cons to both life in the program and life at home, and more than a fair bit of my personal thoughts on each point. "Two weeks", I told myself "I'll give myself two more weeks to think things over" (I had been having doubts about the program for two weeks prior to the first report). Obviously when it came to my second report I weighed my thoughts and decided to ask for my plane ticket.

I really could go on for pages about the reasons my decision, but to be blunt I don't want to. My reasons were sound, I'm back home already, and thankfully everybody seems to accept my decision, and more importantly to respect it. Plus, even if I did elaborate, Katimavik is an amazingly efficient organization. They may hunt me down or unleash Zombie Jacques Hebert.

What does this mean for the future of this blog? I'd very much like to continue writing it. I enjoy writing, it's a fantastic creative outlet for me, it lets me see my thoughts in concrete form (which is invaluable as my thoughts are rarely concrete for more than a few seconds), and according to some of you I'm not too shabby of a writer. Thank you all who have given me praise, either through the comments or to my parents, I really appreciate it. It's great to know that I'm entertaining some of you. I may not be the next Poe or King, and heck you may have all stopped reading, but thank you if you are. I plan to continue to chronicle my life here in this blog and I would love your comments, thoughts, or constructive criticism on my writing style. Was yesterday boring to read about? Do I use too many commas? Do I forget to use "too" instead of "to"?

Thank you all for reading. Remember, no matter how dull your life may be, no one will know that unless you brag about it! Mundane lives are meant to be chronicled, and as your host here I plan to do just that.

(witty sign-off under construction)

Douglas Gohl Piper, ex-Katimaviktim