Author Archives: Zachariah Gibbens

3 Years in Canada

It’s hard to believe I’ve been here for so long, honestly things are so routine now I actually had most of the day go by before I realized what day it was. I’ve gotten used to many of the subtle differences to the point where my last trip into the US I was surprised the restraint needed to take my card (In Canada, the card processing machine comes out to your table)

Thankfully we were already at Peggy’s Cove and able to celebrate it while we were there, shortly after got some days off. I’ll try to update this post and add the pictures and the Natal Day fireworks. I have to process them first.

Hollow Update

Sorry it’s been so long since my last update, I’ve been preoccupied with new jobs these past few months and just really haven’t had much to say here. I wish I could say I’ll be more active going forward, I’m just not sure if that’s true. Right now my main goal is planning a trip to Jakarta, Indonesia within the next 12 months and just keep working. Hopefully it will be a calmer year, last year was a year of chaotic good.

Right now my main projects are working on some maintenance scripts for various services and servers I run, getting my ham radio license in the US upgraded and getting one for Canada too.

Working on some video content.

Sorry for the long time between posts. I’m working on some video content by the years end. I’m also going to finish some of my drafts later this month.

2021 in Review

I’m actually surprised and at the same time disappointed with how my New Year’s Resolution went.
This post will mark 13 published posts this year out of the 15 total published posts.

I started out with a goal of posting weekly, but quickly realized that was too frequent and actually defeating the point in some respects. I scaled it back to once a month thinking that’d be the bare minimum, that I’d always be able to write a personal update, a technical how-to or maybe a post about a previous trip I’ve taken and ideally be able to actually do more. I fell short of this in a few ways, which covers the disappointment.

However I’m surprised that I never gave up on this blog, even when writers block kept me away, it got harder with three jobs or times where I felt unmotivated. (I actually made some private posts for some of those days, not a part of the count above)

I’m even more surprised that I wanted to keep coming back, write more posts and improve this blog, it’d have been so easy to scrap it and move on/start over with a clean install.

I kind of hoped that this year I’d have Permanent Residency in Canada, my application is still in process. I’ve hoped to see my family and meet my girlfriend’s family for the first time, as border requirements have changed, risks of those requirements changing mid trip and Covid’s own evolution as new variants occur have all played a role in postponing these plans for the time being.

I’m going to talk about 2022 goals in my next post, partly because I’m still ironing out what exactly I want out of 2022 and partly because I’m considering trying a different format for that announcement.

New Year’s Resolution Post for October 2021

I was hoping to have some Halloween content to go with this but unfortunately the weather was all gloomy and a real down pour during trick or treating. I’ve gotta give the kids in the neighbourhood credit however, they didn’t let it stop them.

This month was mostly work and self-reflection, some planning for 2022 and working towards Canadian Permanent Residency. Unfortunately it’s too early and/or personal to really share anything in this list at this time. I will talk about my experience going through the Atlantic Immigration Pilot program at a later date, however.

The weather has become cooler, 4°C at night and 10°C during the day. We’re definitely seeing that fall to winter change start, no snow or ice storms yet. (Out west has had at least one already) We roll the clocks back next week, It’s going to be weird seeing the sunset before 5pm on Sunday.

Hopefully I can get a chance to ice skate and go to a hockey game this winter.