charlieo

Hey! How's it going out there? Long time, no blog hey? Well, the news in the life of Charlieo is that I'm settling in to Montreal again. It's been about a year and a half since my geographic location has been so stable. The Co-op sur Genereux is bustling with bike repairs, giant pots of soup, and for me, lots of computing. Yup, despite the anti-social nature of tap tap tapping on keys, I plan to do a lot of it over the next year. Never mind that right now though; there's been lots of other cool stuff going on in the last month... I'll work backwards, towards my last blog: In the last week, I moved into the bedroom that I'll have 'til the end of December. I really can't over-emphasize how much I appreciate ... read more

super fast - done planting - hitch down to Kamloops, visit fam - out to Van City - out to Vancouver Island - Leslie, Kevin, wanna hike? back east? aug 18 - 28 ? ? ?... read more

Another day off - Now we're in Hinton - Getting better at planting - P.B. = Personal Best = 1620 trees in a day - Making $100 per day regularily - I'm on the steep part of the learning curve - much less PAIN! - less than an hour drive to Jasper National Park now - just got back from Miette Hot Springs - Much Needed Ree Lacks Eh Shun - Gotta buy a shovel in P.G. - pick up laundry - I'll shave one of these days - 5 days on - 1 day off - 5 days on - 1 day off - then to B.C. west of Prince George - In the mountains... A typical day planting? Up at 5:15 - coffee + smoke at 5:30 - make lunch, pack water, etc. - ... read more

So... When I get out of the truck, returning from a day on the block, I kind of limp from one sore foot to the other. Scrubbing my hands, grabbing my dishes, lining up for food, every action is slooow, trying to minimize all unnecessary jolts to by battered being. But I've found the cure...I'm aching all over until I lie flat on my back in my boxer shorts, and smoke a cigarette. Its great. After four days, and more than 2000 trees - which is said to be not at all bad for a rookie - I'm in Edson for my first day off. I've got a crew, led by Tim and Samaya. Lots of friendly folks, of all sorts. Brian is fifty I think, he's planted for like 17 years. There's three or four ... read more

So, the past two days have been rather exciting. After calling about seventy B.C. tree planting companies, I finally found myself a job. I'll get a ride with a Folklore Contracting crew today, up to their next gig near Red Earth, Alberta. I'm ready for what might be the toughest job I've ever had. Having been a rather lazy traveller for the last three months, it feels good to be on the road towards some well-earned dough. Why plant trees? Mostly because of the people I've known who have enjoyed planting. The couple who owned the farm I worked on last summer paid for it with tree planting money. Every summer for eight or nine, years, they made the journey from the Saguenay to the B.C. coast, because the made good money, and because they loved ... read more