I hate goodbyes. The truth is that I hate very few things in life. Liver. Allergies. Getting stabbed. And goodbyes.
There have been a few times in my life where I’ve left almost without saying goodbye. I’ve skipped goodbye parties at work. I broke up with a girlfriend via mail (we lived next door).
I am very bad at goodbyes. Normally it’s a mixture of not being able to find the right words to say, and not wanting to hear a gushing of emotion (I don’t respond particularly well to being made sopping wet in happiness, sadness and melancholy).
So, knowing that I’l almost certainly do absurdly bad at real-world goodbyes, I’ve decided to take the happy medium (okay, extremely sad medium, but whatever). I’ll do my damndest to do my real world goodbyes justice. But, in case I withdraw or break down or forget people, I’ve decided to do a blog goodbye as well.
I’ll try and get everyone in this post. But, as with all things, you often forget the most important people just because they’re so damned obvious! So if I forget you, I apologize. Hopefully I don’t also forget you in the real world goodbyes. I figure between real world and online goodbyes I’ll hopefully get everyone in!
In The Beginning
We came to St. Stephen very much by accident. We’d spent a year in Winnipeg. *shudder* Yeah, if ever there was a bad decision, it was going to Winnipeg. Maybe it was necessary for my development. Dunno. I met some rocking people, learned lots. But gawd the weather. And musquitoes. They’re like flipping Apache helicopters.
So we left Winnipeg. When we left, we were on a “blogger salary”. We were looking for somewhere that 1) we could afford, 2) we knew folk and 3) wasn’t Toronto or Winnipeg.
Our options became Lethbridge, Alberta; St. Stephen; and Charlottetown, PEI.
We decided to spend a couple of weeks in St.Stephen, then a couple in Charlottetown and then see how we felt.
Within days we knew we were staying in St. Stephen.
It’s hard to express why. But it was warm, friendly, welcoming, bright, cheery… It was exactly what we were looking for, and it fit completely. We’ve built a lot of memories here in just a short year and a half.
Sweet, Sweet Memories
Looking back on the last 18 months or so it’s hard to isolate just a half dozen great memories. There are lots of little ones like swimming at the quarry, playing volleyball on Thursday nights, lots of great gaming nights with Jeff, meeting with local entrepreneurs, helping Dan learn to blog, doing a time management course, walks along the river, climbing a mountain, playing drums, Loon Bay, lots of great movies with friends, times at Doolies and the Sidedoor, going paintballing…
In fact there are too many little memories to even list. But there are some big memories from my time here as well. Hopefully I can do them justice.
Will dying: I don’t think I’ll ever get over this. It’s been easier being out here. Partly because nobody here knows Will. Partly because when I do lose it, someone’s always there to stand with me. I still miss you Will. The wind is quieter, leaves in the fall are dimmer, and jokes just aren’t as funny without you. Of course, the roads are safer, but yeah 
I’ll never forget driving to volleyball with Jake after I heard the news and having to pull over and weeping like I’ve never wept before. See you soon mate 
Blog Marketing pubished: Sure lots of people have written books. I contributed to More Space before this project and co-wrote another book after this. But this was my book! I’ll always remember opening it at SSU and everyone being so thrilled. I was incredibly subdued, it was a shock, but thanks to everyone for being so excited, it meant the world to me
b5 getting funded: I was over the moon. The blogging world was on fire for a few hours (top of TechMeme baby, heh). But back at home everyone was over the moon. What a great feeling to have so many people say they’re proud of you!
There are lots of other memories, big and small. I can’t list them all, but I want to thank everyone who’s been a part of my life during the last 18 months.
Thank You’s
I wanted to take some time to thank some specific people. This could be a book of thank you’s, so if your name isn’t here it’s not because I don’t deeply and truly appreciate you
Jeff: Mate, you’re one of the best friends a guy could have. Gaming’s great, but it was always more than gaming and beer (great as that is, gawd @ Condemned… by the way, FEAR is a new 360 shooter that’s kind of similar, heh!). Leaving as our friendship is getting deeper is one of the hardest parts of all. I miss you mate. You’re a champion, a dreamer and an inspiration. Love you mate.
Dan: I’ll always be honored to count you as a friend Dan. I have to be honest and say that your reputation intimidated me at first. But you are one of the best human beings I have ever met. Even in your hardest times you look up, even when you’re stressed you smile, and even when a poor raw drummer couldn’t pull it together you supported me. I could thank you a thousand ways and never say enough, so just know that I’ll never forget you.
Peter: People move rfrom other continents to be closer to you. You are the most wise and humble person I have ever met, and I’ll always treasure getting to know you. Every time I think of you, I’ll smile. My only regret is that I wasn’t here long enough for the passion you pulled out of me to do something of lasting value in this town. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
Walter & Carol: You guys welcomed us into your home our first night here, and we’ve never forgotten that. You have an amazing family and marriage and you’ll always be an inspiration to us.
Ed: Ed, you’re another one of those folk I wish I could have gotten to know more. Similar industries, similar passions, and a similar weakness for not going biking often enough! I’m sure we’ll see each other around. I owe you at least a dozen beers mate
Band: To every musician I’ve played with out here, thank you. I’m very aware of how raw and rusty I am as a drummer, and none of you ever made me feel sub-par. You all always welcomed me. So thank you all.
SSU Team: You are all amazing servants. Thank you for always smiling and always doing your best!
SCV: This whole community rocks. You guys have more passion than should be humanly possible. Don’t be afraid to express it!
Conclusion
I was hoping at the start of this to actually express the depth of my thanks, love and sadness at leaving. I know now that that’s impossible. All I can say is the simplest thing of all: I love you all, I will miss you all, and I will never forget this place, this community or the home you helped us build here.
Thank you.
