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justinburnett
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Name: Justin
Location: Canada
Gender: Male
Interests: Internet things, Photoshop, recording, woodworking, hiking, walking, languages....
Expertise: Music (with my folk-comedy duo, Ticklish Brother) and theatre mostly, but I also work with wood, and enjoy many other aspects of "art" (though the only visual art I'm not attrocious at is photography). I've also worked in construction, interior design and renovation, taught English in South Korea to children aged 3 to 16, and trained people in how to operate heavy machinery in Canada's largest food distribution centre.
Occupation: Education/training
Industry: Education/Research
Message: message meEmail: email me
Website: visit my website
Member Since:
12/28/2000
 Lifetime
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This shot was taken about 3 weeks ago on our last hike. The very next day the baby shifted, hiking got much more difficult for my lovely wife, and ever since she has been limited to more of a waddling sort of movement. The official due date is tomorrow, and although only 5% of women deliver on their projected date, there's little doubt that one way or another we're going to be parents in the very near future.
The stress level in the house is noticeably up. My profs are being great about taking my befuddlement into account, and I have accommodations in place in case I have to be away during exams or whatever. My wife doesn't like hospitals, and isn't impressed that she's going to have to be in there alone (after the actual delivery, the fathers are restricted to the usual visiting hours). We're both worrying about parenthood and whether we're going to ruin this poor child's life. I'm worried about the job application process and what happens if I don't get hired anywhere. Basically, we're just kind of obsessing over all kinds of stuff. But we'll get through it all, one way or another.
And I guess that's it. We're in a holding pattern, just trying to keep ahead of the details while we wait for the arrival of the guest of honour. It's surreal, to go from baby inside to baby outside, then they're going to hand us a baby and we get to take it home! Here you go, here's a baby! It's yours! A baby! Your baby!
It's gonna be interesting 
Take care
-J-
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| I spent my day today wrestling with my resume. I also got together all my lesson plans from my internship, pictures and videos of classroom activities, and other such things. This was all in preparation for the big Job Fair taking place in the afternoon and evening. It was only upon arriving at this Job Fair that the truth was revealed: it was largely pointless. Well, not necessarily pointless but certainly not what I had been led to expect. I thought some part of the actual hiring process was going to take place, but in fact what was there was tables from the various school districts, offering pamphlets and non-specific advice I had mostly already gleaned from their websites. I had gotten myself all worked up, thinking this was a major deciding event in my professional future, but was handed an anticlimax.
Nevertheless! Anticlimactic meeting or not, one way or another the last semester of my Education degree is underway, and I need to be applying for jobs. I'm polishing up my boasting and bragging skills, trotting out all even tangentially-related experiences and accomplishments, in pursuit of gainful employment. I have no doubt mentioned before, numerous times, that job hunting is not my strong suit. Going into the process with so little idea of how this specific industry hires is even more enjoyable. The booth people said it's not particularly unusual to get offered a job the week before classes start! What fun!
But all of this kind of pales in comparison to the real event on the horizon. Indeed, my life is about to change forever. This is not hyperbole. In fact, if my life doesn't change significantly, it will probably be a sign that I'm doing things wrong. You see, in 6 weeks or so, I become a daddy!
Yes, after so many years of waiting for the "right time", my wife and I finally realized that waiting for the "right time" was probably like waiting for "pigs to fly". Such a perfect time is almost certainly mythical, and if we're going to have children we had better get on with it. So we did, and very soon indeed the Burnettlet will emerge and Things Will Be Different. We're both very excited, and surprisingly well equipped so far in terms of cribs and swings and things, thanks to the generosity of friends and family. I'll be stressed with school and job hunting, we'll both be exhausted, but such is the way of things. He will be loved, and that's a crucial first step not every baby is lucky enough to have.
Take care
-Justin-
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| A few years back, some time around the turn of the millennium, I was sitting with friends in a Halifax bar called Hell. It was open mic night there, hosted by singer/songwriter Al Tuck. His music was great, and when he came over and sat with us after he proved to be an engaging and pleasant individual. I enjoyed the chat we had, and when we all scattered to the winds in the wee hours, I hoped our paths would eventually cross again.
Fast forward a year or two, and Al popped back into my mind. I looked up his website and decided to drop him a quick e-mail. In it I expressed the hope that everything in his life was going wonderfully. It was a week or so later that I learned that his apartment and all his possessions had recently been destroyed in a fire. He never replied to my e-mail. Ever since I've felt guilty about that message, rubbing salt in the wound.
Fast forward again to recent times. Al was playing downtown here in St. John's, and I saw my opportunity. I popped down and caught his set with stellar guitarist Duane Andrews. Afterward, I waited in the line of admirers until I got a chance to introduce myself. I related the story of the e-mail and extended my decade-late apology for my inadvertent insensitivity. Al was very gentlemanly about it. He did remember the e-mail, and said it actually cheered him up at the time.
So there you have it. It's never too late to offer an apology, open up lines of communication, and tie one more little thread of connection in this crazy world.
Take care
-J-
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| It seems like every time I get on a roll with my posts, life gets crazy busy again and I lapse into silence again. It's been 6 months since we arrived here in St. John's, and plenty of things have happened. Not surprisingly, most of my activity has centered around my return to university and the associated fun. The in-class portion was actually a breeze. Compared to my first degree, the hours and workload were drastically lower. I was pleasantly surprised by the Education program -- I had been afraid it would be stuffy and uninspired, something to be endured rather than enjoyed. But it turned out to be quite contemporary and conspiratorial.
Probably the best aspect of being back in Newfoundland (at least the one we can take advantage of every day) has been the easy access to nature. In southern Ontario, every piece of land is owned. Unless you go to a park or walking trail, your options for wandering are very limited. Newfoundland, on the other hand, had a very low population density and consists mostly of crown land. It's so easy to get out, hike along the cliffs next to the ocean, and not feel as if you're boxed in by civilization. Perhaps not everyone's idea of a good time, but it certainly suits us. The dog enjoys it too. She turns out to be quite intrepid, able to hike along with us for hours at a time. Since she needs so much exercise, we bought her a backpack which we fill with cans to weight her down. She doesn't mind wearing it at all, and it helps wear her out on the days we can only have her out for an hour's walk.
Another big perk of being back in Newfoundland is that it puts us closer to my family. It's been tough living so far away and only being able to fly out to visit once a year. We were able to drive across to see them during the Christmas break. It was a very relaxing sort of visit, with few ambitions. We just sort of hung out, hiked when we felt like it and the weather cooperated, ate good food, laughed...
Anyhow, I have to post this and be done with it. If I keep trying to get up to date and put in pictures and things, I'll never finish. This actually only takes the action up to the beginning of January Oh well. My internship, which has been taking up all my energy and attention, ends in a couple of weeks, so hopefully I'll be back then to do this properly.
Hope all is well with everyone.
Take care
-J-
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| Well, after Montreal we decided to try and make a little more progress than had previously been the case. It was our goal to do the whole 12-hour stretch from Montreal to Halifax in one go, plus pee breaks and such of course. Nobody who knows us would be surprised to hear that for various reasons we ended up leaving the campground rather later than we had intended. It was a lovely day for a drive, and we did get partway into New Brunswick before we ground to a halt. It was 4am and we were facing another 4 hours of driving, so we drove through the foggy and deserted streets of Grand-Sault until we found a pleasant little motel which gave us a discounted rate (and was not a bordello or strip club). We settled into our little cottage at the shores of the little pond with the little island, and settled into blissful sleep.
The next day we again got off to a late start, though we did eventually get going. We stopped in Fredericton for a few hours, doing some laundry, getting the dog extremely dirty at the dog park, then taking her to a wonderful u-wash place to get all shiny again. She probably enjoyed the getting dirty part the best.
Our arrival in Halifax drew very little fanfare, considering it was the middle of the night. A tired brother got out of bed in the hotel and came downstairs to let us in, we schlepped a bit of stuff up, and then conked out in the 16th floor suite. Definitely a step up from most of our previous accommodations on this trip. Halifax was all about family visiting, both with my extended family and with my mother and brothers. We shared some lovely meals, some chatting and laughter, compared notes on where we all were in the scheme of things. It was all too brief, but even though we changed our ferry bookings several times, eventually we did have to go. Hopefully we'll be back there more frequently than has been the case these past few years.
Northeastward next, to the ferry at North Sydney. Our first time ever driving our own vehicle onto the boat, and our first time sailing on the newest addition to the fleet. It made a fairly good first impression -- lots of deck access, improved services and food -- but the lack of rentable bunks (cabins only) meant we slept most of the trip out on deck. I've always loved this ferry trip, especially the mysterious night crossings.
Coming off the ferry in Port Aux Basques, we had originally planned to drive all the way through to St. John's, but for various reasons ended up overnighting in Corner Brook. I can't say I was heartbroken, since that meant I got to spend a little more quality time with my mother and brothers.
So that was the last leg of the trip. I'll save the next chapter for another entry. It was certainly an adventure, filled with fun bits and disappointments, people visited and people missed. I hope to get the chance to do something similar eventually, though hopefully not as part of a move. Did I mention I hate moving?
Take care
-J-
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