Life Update: Snapshot

Hello folks! So this life update has been a long time coming. I used to send these updates regularly but have failed to get a real snapshot of my life out successfully for some time. So here it is.

I have quit my job! I have worked in the hospitality industry for the past two years in conference planning. It has been an amazing run. I have been captivated by the freedom working from 9 - 5 has allowed me in my personal life, the financial stability provided by a regular job as well as the practical learning enabled through on the job tasks rather than academic study.

However about six months ago I was ready to move on. Only one problem, I didnt' know what I wanted to do! Consequently, the last six months have been filled with questions to myself and others, seeking advice from books and my peers, career counselling as well as soul searching about my values and needs. This search led me down three distinct paths: 1) go back to school to increase my qualifications, 2) get another job in a new industry or 3) take advantage of the fact that I am young and relatively committment free and travel the world.

I have taken steps to go down each road. First, I looked into going to law school for environmental law which eventually led me to a number of high-end MBA programs which I think will best meet my long term goals. In the end, I have applied to go back to school (only to one school this year) and am waiting to hear back if I will be admitted for 2011. If I am unsuccessful, I will make sure to get in for 2012 and already have my eye on a number of schools which would interest me. The schools I am looking at attending are either in the US or in Europe and I look forward to leaving and studying in either of these regions.

Second, in the fall I applied to a number of jobs in the agriculture sector, the industry to which I am currently transitioning. I primarily was looking at jobs in larger companies where there was a structure to allow for young people to grow and learn alot about the business in a short amount of time. It has also become apparent to me that I like working in environments where I am able to work intensely in one area and then quickly move on to another area and do the same. One such program was the Grad@Loblaw program. This is an 18 month training program in the Loblaw company where they take on recent graduates and immerse them in the business of food retail. I was particularly excited about this opportunity, however only about 100 participants were admitted from a pool of 5400 applicants most of which were from Ontario.

Next, I applied for a Grain Merchant Trainee position with Cargill which would be based in Vancouver. For those of you that do not know much about our current agriculture system, it is dominated by a few very very large companies, one of which is Cargill. Cargill has approximately 160,000 employees in 60 countries and is the largest privately held company in the states. They have won awards for being one of the top employers of young people and as I said are very involved in our food system. For example, in one of my interviews it was shared with me that 90% of all food products used at McDonalds is supplied by Cargill - this means the chicken, the salt, the flower, the potatoes, the colas, the dairy.....

After a series of interviews I was offered the job in early January, however by that time I found myself on another road. Had I been offered the Cargill job four months earlier I would have taken it in a heart beat. As a Grain Merchant Trainee in Vancouver I would help organize the logistics of the sale and exort of Canadian grains (transported by train from the prairies) to Asia and the world (loaded onto one of the many iconic ships that wait in the Vancouver harbour). Unfortunately, I had already applied to school by January and knew if I were to be accepted to do my MBA that I would go down that road. Further, as a result of being unsuccessful finding a new position for a few months I had developed a strong desire to challenge the way I live; this means living without a regular home, a regular job and the regular conveniences of city life.

Basically I wanted to travel and through my travels learn what was important to me both in the world of agriculture as well as in my personal life. So where has this brought me? First, I will be moving to Whistler as a mini-vacation to myself for the month of March to ski. In my seven (yes you read that right, SEVEN) years living in Vancouver, BC, Whistler has been one of my favourite destinations. So I only see it fitting to spend my last month able to ski everyday and breathe in the fresh mountain air. Next, my roomate is also leaving her life in Vancouver behind and will be moving to Toronto to open a cafe/record store. So she and I will be moving to the Queen Charlotte Islands/Haida Gwaii in April to live on a homestead with a retired couple. There we will help them get ready for the summer, explore the old growth forests of BC, island life as well as some of the untouched first nation heritage of our nation. I particularly look forward to seeing some of the original totem poles.

Starting in May, I will be moving to Cawston, BC where I have been hired as an apprentice at Klippers Organics - http://www.klippersorganics.com/. The reason that I felt more confident about my move to work on an organic farm at this point in my life is because I am still trying to figure out which side of the food industry I would like to work for - 1)do I see myself working for a Cargill long term which is really big food business or 2)do I see myself working and building the quickly growing local and organic food systems that follow very different business models.

At Klippers I will be exposed to business models to get organic produce and eggs from the farm to 1) high-end Vancouver restaurants, 2) Vancouver farmers markets and 3) people through community supported agriculture. I also am eager to learn the skills necessary to produce the foods I really enjoy in order to have those skills as well as be credible about my knowledge of food production.

Come the fall, if I am unable to get into school for 2011, I plan to go abroad and continue to acquire similar skills in Europe and South America. Not only will it be an adventure of world travel, but also of world agriculture. The urban food system is a global one, and I want to go to the source of the products on our shelves.

Obviously being able to get up and leave Vancouver is not an easy feat. It appears even someone as myself that doesn't consider themselves to be a huge consumer, acquires a lot of possessions in a very short amount of time. Consequently, the last three months I have been systematically selling, giving away or tossing my posessions. Really my goal is to reduce everything I own to what I can take away with me in my car (or in the case of my bike attached to my car). It has been a very cleansing process. Not being one to have a strong connection to 'things' in the first place, I am amazed that after getting rid of over 50% of my furniture, clothes and household items I really don't feel like I am missing anything at all!

I look forward to discovering over the next months what it is I miss and what I decide I can't live without. Until then, I will continue to clean my house piece by piece before moving out.

That's all for now!