My dear friend, Carly Thomas, has just released an album of acoustic renditions of some of her best songs. I was honoured to be included on the holiday-themed closing track, Hold You (On Christmas Eve).

It’s been a while since I last travelled down the road playing guitar with Carly. Listening to this album brings back some truly wonderful memories of nights spent playing music across this great country.

If you’re into physical media, you can get a CD and some cool artwork by visiting her online store.

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Having spent the last 9 months working on accounting and mobile banking software for cooperative micro-financing institutions in Uganda, reading about the challenges the Watsi team faced while working in the same region was extremely relatable. The ease with which they addressed these challenges, however, is completely foreign to me.

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My post from the other day definitely came out of left field. I had just finished reading Steven Rinella’s book, Meateater, and was all amped up to figure this hunting thing out.

What I didn’t do a very good job explaining was that this idea is still very new, and like all good ideas it has not yet been fully tested.

Do I actually want to kill an animal? I have no idea. I can probably count on one hand the number of fish I’ve killed, pets included. I once went to a firing range on my way to a Mutemath concert in Detroit, but other than that, the vast majority of my firearms experience is with BB guns and Duck Hunt.

So, I’m definitely in the romantic stage of this endeavour where it’s an exotic idea that has not yet had to face the harshness of reality.

Right now, I love climbing mountains and I am falling in love with cooking. With these things comes the question “am I being responsible with how I’m sourcing the food that I eat?” At the moment, I believe the answer is “no, not really” and that hunting may be a solution to this problem.

Or maybe sitting under fluorescent lights and eating lunch in a food court for the last two weeks is making me stir crazy and I just really want to get outside.

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I’ve never hunted before. My father took me fishing when I was young, but it was never a big part of my childhood. My focus was on organized sports and music. We did have a forest near our place where we would ride our little dirt bikes, but I didn’t fully realize how fun hiking in the outdoors could be until I came back to BC in 2015.

Since returning to Vancouver, I’ve been spending more and more time outdoors which has made me contemplate getting into some fishing and hunting.

I recently came across hunter, writer, podcaster, and TV personality, Steven Rinella. Watching his show inspired me to learn more about hunting and his podcast inspired me to set some goals and put a plan in place to achieve them.

His book, on the other hand, reminded me that I am lacking a lifetime of experience and knowledge. As excited as I am by the thought of one day finding and harvesting my own meat, I realize that it’s a pursuit that may take many years to achieve.

Thankfully, I’m not in a rush. While I continue to develop my endurance in the mountains, my familiarity with the landscape, and the skills one requires to be qualified to hunt, I relish the fact that I am a complete beginner who doesn’t really know what he doesn’t know. For someone who loves to learn, it’s a feeling worth recognizing and celebrating.

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