Time.

I received rather disturbing news last night from Immigration Canada. I do not know how to describe the way I feel about the whole ordeal for the last two years. It hasn't been easy for me to keep a straight face with all that has been going on. One refusal after another they slowly build up. First it was my work permit extension; then it was one visitor permit after the other trying to wait on my Permanent Residence application. At the end of that wait my application was turned down because my IELTS test expired. Expired... the thought of having to go through all of that again to reapply? Friends tell me to not give up.

I am about to break down.

Since June 2015 I applied for a study permit, I tried online but all it told me was I am not eligible to work. "Not Eligible to Work" when I wanted to apply for a study permit. Confused and frustrated I sent my application to the closest Immigration Office in Vegreville. I received a reply at the end of September stating I need to apply to an office outside of the country for a study permit. Which I did after getting all the information I needed to apply. This time, the online application works. By the time I sent my application it was Oct 14th 2015. When I checked on the processing time it says a wait time of thirty days.

A month.

November 14th came by, no response.

Then December 14th went by, still no response.

December 17th was the day I finally received an update to my application. Another refusal.

The moment I got home from a long day my heart started racing. Hoping for good news and wishing my luck would turn then. The moment I logged in to my account the word Refused caught my eye. At that moment my heart skipped. I had no idea what to think of. I wanted to break down but it was not the time. When you have totally no idea how to respond to something that was so vague when the letter you read from the immigration officer lists a few sections and paragraphs from the Rule Book. My dear friend started looking up on it and read out loud word by word. I caught them one by one and started to piece them together. My mind was in disarray by now and it was hard to grasp what they mean.

So we put two and two together and decided on a fair reason, my choice of studies. I applied into General Studies. Just because I needed a class for upgrading to get into Ecosystem Management at the college. Then a second reason of refusal hit me as I continue to read from the letter; which is another string of misery. Have I not been trying to apply for an extension? Has my time in Canada come to an end? Is my life taking a different turn just as Canada has?

What will my future bring? What will all this entail to? I can only wonder... I am at your mercy...

British Columbia

* - UNDER CONSTRUCTION - *

SABC

There is always the feeling when you cycle out in the Alberta prairies. The sense of wonder, the sense of awe, the sense of bewilderment when the wind starts to blow. When you cycle through every curve of the road, every hills, every coulées, all the southern Alberta wind swept plains can offer; you feel it in your muscle, you feel it with every breath, you feel it in the very sensation of breathtaking view when you lift up your eyes to its splendour. You tend to feel how insignificant it is of our existence in this world. The pain reminds you of the very hurtful moments you have been through in your life, whether it be self inflicted, or by the very people you have come to love and lost...

Even though I took the whole week off for this trip, I still get called in to work for three days. Hence, I had little to no preparation at all for this trip, as compared to five years ago. Back then I was on a cycling spree to eight different destinations, covering around six hundred kilometres which the furthest I went was to Coutts. I still remember how I felt back then... Some lasting memories I will never forget.

Looking back at my journey I was rather intrigued by how everything worked out for me. The night before I was trying to get the saddle bags on only to realize the rack I have does not fit with the disc-brakes on the bike frame. It was around half past eight when I reached Sport Check at the mall to get something that will fit on my bike. When I got there I was told they have already stored their saddle bag racks for the season; and suggested I go to Canadian Tire to get them. When I got there I found the perfect saddle for my bike. Instead of having to fit it on the frame of the bike, the one I got only needed to fit on the seat-post, which works perfectly for me. However, the saddle bag I have does not actually fit on the rack itself, so I had to position it in a way where it is a little to the front. Much to my dismay, for the first thirty kilometres of my trip I was having trouble cycling because my heel would knock the saddlebags. After around fifteen minutes I finally figured out how to fix it and it was smooth sailing after.

When I reached Barons, I stopped for a bite to eat. I was hungry then. The wind started to pick up right after breakfast and fortunately, southerly winds helped me as I headed north along Highway 3. The trip towards Champion was of a blur. The need to reach my destination before my anticipated time had me focus more on paddling and my eyes were mostly on the road. From time to time I noticed a lot of eyes were on me when drivers passed me on the highway. Some waved, some stared...

When I reached Champion, I had to head east along Highway 529. I had to say, with the wind blowing it made the trip rather difficult. I made quite a few stops and I was really tired then. Honestly up till this point my legs were starting to cramp up. To press on in such condition proved to be painful. Slowly I cycled through blistering sun and chilling winds. I stopped once in a while to either catch my breath or to rest from the pain on my bottoms. I should have worn my cycling pants after all for long trips like this.

I will never forget to view of the lake around the camp. It was larger than I thought. Approaching from the west, I had quite the distance to cycle. As it slowly looms in the distance I cannot help but noticed the awe and fascination in me I felt when I looked out beyond my tired body. How great is the view... Even a photograph cannot do such wonder justice. One has to be out here exactly how it should be, alone, when through the pain and vulnerability of the body and mind can one see such bliss and peacefulness.

The most difficult part of the trip I have to say is the coulées right before the junction into the camp. A long stretch of road going uphill, though not as steep, but almost as long as whoop up. Right before the climb I made a stop for some food and drink. A couple of two-bite brownies and a couple gulps of water gave me the last bit of strength I need to endure and push through this last trial.

At last when I reached RR212, I stopped and looked back at how far I have come. Tears started to well with no reason. I cannot believe I have reached this far with so little preparation, and so little time. It did took way longer than I expected, but that was no surprise. The last 3km was a race, pushing my way through the rocky pavement and greeted by cows on either side of the road. It was rather amusing to see them as they eyed me when I passed by.

When I reached the drive way of Jeff and Jessica's house I was completely spent. Tears were pouring not from pain, but a relief and joy for the journey. I was greeted with open arms from Jeff.

108km altogether. The reason why I took this route was because of the small towns along the way. Though, hardly any shops were open save one, which I was glad. And to sum this all up it was quite the trip, considering how little I get to prepare. I wish I am able to do this again in the future.

Two-Wheels-and-a-Heart lives on.

The Jitters...

My last cycling project was 5 years ago...

And tomorrow, with little to no time for preparation, I will be embarking on a journey I have planned early this summer.

The reason why I never really got time to prepare was because of the stress, and lack of time for cycling trips. I have been working lots, and am in no shape to do this, however, it must be done...

Whether this trip is going to get me killed, or not, I am going to make it out there, and back again. Just the thought of heading out to the prairies, the sight of agricultural wonder, and of course, the friends I will meet out there, is enough to make this trip come to fruition.

I hope it will be a good ride tomorrow.

If I don't make it...

Drive

I was seventeen when I first got my license, and I love driving for the life of me. When I moved out to Canada I never drove for five years, and on the fifth year, I got my Canadian driver's license. Those years were hard, considering taking the bus to school takes way longer than it is compared to driving. Had to wake up a couple of hours earlier to catch the bus, and get to where I want to on time.

Anyway, there were two events in my life where accidents, and almost accidents occurred. The first one was back in Malaysia on my way to work, it was raining early in the morning. I was going along this bend of a road when suddenly the car started to spin off the road. Luckily there was no one coming from the opposite side, and no pedestrians, I almost hit a lamp post too. When the car stopped the engine was dead, it stalled when spinning and I was in third gear. When I got the car started and back on the road again, the whole wheel and steering wheel is so off of alignment we had to get it fixed a couple of days later.

It was shocking to say the least. My whole body was trembling when I was at work. Of course I didn't  tell anyone until they asked.

The second incident happened last night while on my way home. Twas waiting for the light to turn green at the traffic lights on Stafford drive, 3rd Ave. The lights turned green so I started to ease out of the stop line. I suppose I was lucky enough not to step on the gas too hard, as I usually do. I caught headlights at the corner of my eye and I hit the brakes, fortunately enough, this person from my right ran a red light, and I felt the other car passed mine like a burst of wind. I tried to catch the license plate but the car was afar off into the distance. I was shocked and angry, if I could've just stepped a little bit harder on the gas, the front end of my car will be gone.

I suppose that day I saved two lives. One was mine, and the other driver. The accident could've got their license taken away from them. Insurance claims and stuff, possible injuries...

Was happy to know I made a difference that day... And that is all that mattered.

All the Small Things...

I do not know where to begin... So excited for my friends who are expecting and welcoming another member into their family. I am honoured to be part of the few who get to know the news first, and to be able to experience something totally new despite from not a part of the family, well, blood related anyways. To feel the little nudges on my fingers on her belly is just a whole new experience for me, and I wonder when will it be my turn next. Seems to me it will be a while before that goes down.

Anyways, I hope to see you all at the hospital today and am excited to welcome that little one into the family!

The Submission

I suppose this will be another post about how things have been since I got the letter from the immigration. Not that I would like to talk about it, but it has been a while since I have kept to my blog, for obvious reasons. I need to think of a name so that I can have it on the internet, except I just don't want her around here. For what it's worth, it was pretty unfair for me when things happened. Though, I would like to think myself the perpetrator in this whole conundrum, it was not entirely my fault. Maybe it was, but we never got around to talk about it, and that was the problem.

But enough about this charade, the reason for this post is rather simple, until I get news from the government, a huge load has been lifted off my shoulders, and I am still deciding whether or not to submit my PR application. It would be greater if I submitted my PR application as well, but yeah, I still have doubts about the whole "restoration" status on the application, plus, I am not sure how this will all go down for me, because so far I have been rejected by everything I have came in contact with. Maybe it is just my luck, but I hope someone up there will smile upon me in regards to all this. I hope and pray this will soon come to an end.

In recent days, I have been on and off the bike. I need to start soon, because this project won't start itself without me. So far I have gone up and down Whoop-Up drive for my training, and I have to say I have improved much compared to my first time. I guess I need to start somewhere... Make a decision and just go for it instead of worrying about how the day is going to be. Anyways, I think this will be it for now... I think I know what I should do.

Until next time, cheers.