My first time

Oooh… this is very exciting, losing my blog virginity. I’m a bit nervous. Never done this before. Not quite sure how to do it, actually. But I want to, I really do.

Yes, I’ve been waiting a long time for this moment to come.

Methinks I’d better halt the extended metaphor right about there. Better to start things off with a proper introduction and explain what I hope to achieve here with this, my new blog.

I’m a 29-year-old journalist who’s moving back to Toronto in May after four and a half years living and working in beautiful British Columbia. (Its slogan: “The best place on earth” – how do you top that?)

People in Vancouver think I’m nuts for wanting to leave this lovely city and return to T.O., a town West Coasters view with about as much affection as they do a nasty rash – probably less.

The primary reason for the big move back east is employment, or my current lack thereof. Last December I was laid off from my job as a newspaper reporter – the lowest man on the totem pole in a union newsroom.

(The axe fell the day before New Year’s Eve, too, which sucked, but at least my heavy drinking, overeating and alternating fits of hysterical laughter/heavy sobbing didn’t seem that out of place.)

Ever since I’ve been searching for a new gig and finding bits of writing work here and there to make ends meet.

These are tough times for the newspaper industry, though. Whatever else Toronto has to offer, I think the concentration of media there represents the greatest potential for job opportunities once things pick up again.

I haven’t entirely lost hope for the future of newspapers and print journalism, despite there being a growing list of reasons why I should.

Job or not, it’s high time I had a place to share my musings on an array of random stuff, especially current events, pop culture and the media’s role in all of it.

First, however, to get things going, I’m going to blog as I make my way across the country, meandering back to Toronto in my trusty Honda Civic. (Enter movie-trailer announcer): “One man. 5,000 kilometres. The journey of a lifetime…” A bit overstated, but you get the idea.

Anyway, I hope you’ll find something entertaining and engaging about what I’m attempting to do here. And I invite you to join the conversation.