It's been a while -

So I figure I should make some attempt at writing something.
Now I find myself missing my days as a What's Up writer, firstly because my editor, Darrell, would let me blather about any subject that piqued my interest - but it was also great exercise just to work on something every couple of weeks.
I've been on quite the adventure since I left the Yukon in July. To begin, my fiancee and I packed up our belongings, drove them down to her parents place, stuffed them in a shed, then immediately took off on a long drive to Winnipeg to perform at the Fringe festival there.
Canada has a well known and loved circuit of Fringe festivals, across the country, where any schmuck with the application fee has the chance to put on any kind of show they want in front of an audience. Generally seen as a venue for the weird and experimental, you're likely to catch a little bit of everything at one, from comedic plays, to musicals, beat poetry, dance, clown, classic plays and even some Shakespeare.
It's what appealed to me in the first place, that there's such a scattershot of shows, in such a wide variety, it's like a theatre zoo. Of course, it also means that the quality is highly subjective, from utter crap, to sheer brilliance.
My show was a a bit of a stand-up revue, of material and sketches I had performed and honed in Whitehorse.
The Winnipeg Fringe is not a good place to start for a first timer. The learning curve is quite large, and takes getting used to a lot of humiliation. While each Fringe supplies you with a venue, tech support, and box office - all the promo is pretty much done by yourself. Which entails you hoofing around like a reverse-hobo, begging people to come see your show.
Myself, being introverted, had a hard time at the whole promo thing - but at least we got some audience.
We had a much better time in Saskatoon. The Fringe there is much smaller than the others, but is known amongst the Fringe participants as a bit of an "oasis". This is a real chance for performers to get to know each other, hang out, and socialize. And indeed, we did. Some might say a little too much, but we let them know that people from the Yukon are truly unique individuals.
If you happen upon some lost looking theatre artists from the UK or Australia, don't be suprised. We're pretty sure we sold the place really well on a lot of people.

So - I learned a lot about myself as a performer, but I'm nowhere near having a clue as to where I'm going. Performance wise that is. As for a settling place to call home, we really dig that Saskatoon - and we'll likely find ourselves there in May.
In the meantime, we're hanging out at Erica's parents place in Summerland, BC.

This year was my first discovering the Okanagan. This former Eastern Ontario boy has become Westernized I tells ya. We've already decided that we're going to retire in Oliver, where I have already chosen my old man hobby, forgoeing the usual WWII fascinations, golf or complaining, and instead I'll be working on my grow-op.