And so it begins

I finally got around to starting that blog that was mentioned in the sacred texts of the same unspecified religion that foretold my coming. The world is now one step closer to the apocalypse.

Anyone who is mentally disturbed enough to actually enjoy my weekly "News from Exile" e-mails - which will keep on coming anyway - will expect the same type of pseudo-humour here. Occasionally, I'll dip into politics or personal philosophical musings, but mostly it'll be updates on my adventures, with a lot of descriptions of Miramichi, that world-renowned hive of human activity.

Sometimes, it will seem like dispatches from another planet, and not only because of the extraterrestrial origin that is one of the more popular explanations for my mannerisms and mode of speech (I tell my friends from Ontario that I'm from South Africa for the same reason I tell the Miramichiers I'm from Charlottetown: It cuts down on the confusion).

This will mainly be because for the first time, I don't really have anyone to hang out with. Aside from my fellow reporters at work, most of whom I get along with great, I just don't have anyone my age to talk to, aside from the guy across from me who likes Final Fantasy, doesn't drink and smokes like a bloody chimney.

So I have a lot more time for introspection and I like to think it's made me more observant. At the very least, it's allowed me to keep pitching stories at work such that I rarely have to ask the boss for newstips. As well, most everyone I know in this country lives in Ontario, and while my exile is necessary and a true godsend (hey, compared to having to go back to Africa...), it won't last forever. When I go back to Ontario, I hope to return to contacts and friendships that won't have dulled. It will make it easier to find a couch to crash on while I hunt for a new place.

That's all that's in my head right now. More to come as more odd things happen to me.