Keep Calm and Read On.

I am so excited! I have been living and working away from home since June and I miss my friends quite a bit. A few days ago one of my better friends told me they'll be coming out here soon and was wondering if we could get a place together! I CAN'T WAIT. When I went into my first year of Uni none of my close friends attended the same one. So I never roomed with them, went to their dorms or shared a place with them and I always felt like I had been missing out on a huge part of growing up; living with friends. They'll be out after Christmas, most likely in January so I have plenty of time to find us a place and get things situated. Cannot wait. Life gets better.

Hope is a double edged sword. Both empowering and paralyzing. Sometimes hope pushes me forward, allows me to grow and change. Sometimes hope keeps me stuck in place, like my feet are sunken in mud and all I can do is stare off hazily into the future. I love her. I will never unlove her. In 100 years whether we are together or not I will still love her. She's wrapped herself around my heart, like string wound too tight around one's finger. Threatening to take all feeling from beneath it's coils. I don't know if I'll ever escape it. I don't think I ever want to. I often find myself saying; "If you never get her back, you'd just as soon be alone." The more time we spend apart the more I feel this way. In my mind there is only her. Hope nudges me forward each day, in the belief that I'm one day closer to being with her again. At the same time it binds me to her, almost as if promising that it is all but inevitable. Whispering in my ear that someday it will all play out just as I imagined. Hope has me empowered and paralyzed.

I have been here in Alberta for a little over two months now. I knew no one save for my Aunt and Uncle. The alone time has led to a lot of self reflection and growth.Which I've found is a lot of work in itself. It takes a lot out of you to take a step back and objectively look at your life and the decisions you've made. To decide whether they were right or wrong and then to accept that you can't change it. I've made a lot of money as well. In not a lot of time. I spent yesterday walking through the ritzy parts of the city. Looking at the houses, the families within them, and their pets. To me those are the three things in life that affect you the most day to day. Where you live, who you live with and your trusty, loving canine companion. It is my personal trifecta of happiness. Those are the essentials you build from. After that comes your vehicle or travel bike. Then your vacations and trips. All the while accenting it with delicious foods. You've got to take it all in, step by step and with priorities in mind. Family is a priority this week. I've made enough money to comfortably fly home this week and visit them all. Let them know I'm doing well in person and that I'm thinking of them. My Mom and sister don't know yet and I can't wait to walk through the door and surprise them. My friends in Halifax are excited to hit the city and I can't wait to buy them a round and be able to thank them for being there for me this past year in that east coast sudsy style. A cold beer is the best thank you I could give them. On, and maybe the DVD set of Arrested Development. Anyway! That's whats going on with me this week!

Neil Hilborn, performing during Individual Finals at the 2013 Rustbelt Regional Poetry Slam. Order his most recent book here: http://buttonpoetry.com/product...

RIgging. North East of Brooks, AB.

I'm the most exhausted I've ever been I'm dirty beyond scrubbing. My arms hurt from lifting. My legs hurt from pushing. Yet this is the happiest I have been in a long time. My goals are in sight and now I know I can do it. Let the work and money keep coming. Scotland, here I come.

My new Roommate, Sunny!

Dinosaur Park, alas there were no Dinosaurs here.

So far I've passed all off the necessary courses to begin work as a floorhand with Precision Drilling. Orientation starts tomorrow and from there it's savesavesave. I've got a bit left of my student loan to take care of and car insurance monthly. Other than that it's all being put away for the end goal (School in Scotland) and trips during Spring Meltdown and Winter Freeze-up. Over the duration of the next few years I have a country bucket-list to complete. I guess that's it for now though!

See you later Pictou County. Hello, Alberta. Hello, money in the bank. Hello, one step closer to Scotland. Hello, one step closer to my Wolf-hound.

Nothing heals the pain of your last love, like the memory of your first. My last relationship was ended very poorly. Yes, there were things I did wrong. Yes, I hold half of the responsibility for it ending at all. But I didn't make an immoral decision that compromised my character to do so. A little while ago I ran into the first girl I had a crush on. She was just as beautiful as when my crush first started in grade 1. Just as sweet and caring. She had never stopped being the person I had a crush on. To this day I can't decipher between whether I still have a crush on her or whether it's just a tremendous amount of respect for who she is. Regardless, her existence is a constant reminder, no matter how much I've been hurt by love, that there is still this incredible girl out there that at any given moment could steal my heart's attention.

Alberta for the next few years is a-go. 1 step closer to Scotland.

It was the perfect way to finish off a long week of looking after the house, throwing 2 parties and hanging out with my sister.