Notes from an ex-con...

The sun is shining, its warm and I'm surrounded by the fragrant aroma of gardens and gardens of flowers. In short, I'm miles away (literally and spiritually) from the dreaded Ospika camp. My last day in the bush was okay, Pete the slavedriver made us work until 6PM. Myself, a second year named Pat and a rookie drove out of the camp in a truck with a trailer on the 1st of September.

Pat had bad luck on the roads and ended up hitting a huge rock and blowing out a front tire (we already had 2 flats from the ride). He was shaken up so we changed the tire and I drove the rest of the way without incident. I was overjoyed to be done with brushing. It is certainly a job I will never return to. I became sick of the people and their cro-magnon conception of jews, homosexuals, and other things. I'm sick of working with idiots who I normally wouldn't asscoate with in the real world. Oh sure, there were a few decent guys, but given ther suffering associated with that job, and the lack of money that I expect to be good every year - there is no good reason for me ever to return to Apex (Rapex).

I drove down from Prince George to Vancouver uneventfully and took a cab back to my apartment. I immediately came down with some sort of stomach flu that is just relasing its vice-grips from my stomach and allowing me to enjoy my newfound freedom.

The Africa trip is coming together. I have my plane tickets, my vaccinations, and my visas are being applied for. The GAP tour backed out on me in Ethiopia so it looks like I will be travelling that country independently. It should be quite the adventure with some pluses and minuses. I probably won't get the exposure to the tribes in the south that I was looking forward to. On the other hand, I can organize an expedition up Ras Dashen (the highest mountain in Ethiopia and Africa's 5th Highest mountain) on my own (apparently it's a scramble but totally climbable). I bought myself a Bradt guide to Ethiopia and intend to spend a good part of this month laying out an itinerary for an amazing trip.

I found the books I'll need to write that article for Adbusters and will be bringing them with me to Africa with a note-book. For the moment, I'm still striving to extract the bush and the genraly hideousness of this season from my veins. It's not too hard when I'm surrounded by the peace and natural beauty of Vancouver Island.

Signing off recovering quickly...