NBEX 2016
I absolutely love living in the Fredericton area in September. The city comes alive with the return of the students, NBEX and Harvest. It's a great month to help clear our mind of the idea that summer is in our past and we are starting to prepare for fall/winter.
This year was no different. We started our NBEX adventures by going to the carnival with our nephews for their birthday. We hung out while they went on rides (lame, I know but those rides can get quite expensive and there weren't any new ones or absolute favs that I felt the need to go on).
Jeff always needs to play some games so he played his favourite bowling game. It's 0.25 for every roll. The ball is on a track and you have to get the ball over a little hill and into a valley without it coming back over the hill. So, pushing that ball at exactly the right speed is a must. He aimed to get a stuffed Jonathan Towes which he did accomplish and surprisingly it didn't cost him much (approx. $8.00). Once he got his stuffed hockey player he was happier than a pig in sh*t. This stuffed hockey player is now a main ornament in our living room. I'm not sure how I feel about it but he's happy so that makes me happy.
Of course, one of my favourite things at the NBEX is the animals. It's kinda sad that these animals are so close together for a few days but at the same time I know they are being fed well and most of them seem to be pretty used to humans and interacting with them. It's always a reminder that I no longer eat pork and beef and I have a much greater appreciation and able to bond with these animals a lot more.
We were also able to catch a high flying diving show. These divers acted as if they had no fear but in reality I am sure their heart was racing but it didn't stop them from doing what they love to do.
Fear use to stop me in the past. Fear of not having enough money.Fear of not having enough time.Fear of not succeeding.You know that fear, right?
It' scary and makes you feel uncomfortable. It makes us question our decisions that we make or that we want to make. It's easier to 'play it safe' instead.
I am happy that I've realized living with that fear is not living at all. It will end with a life full of regrets instead of a life full of experience. There will never ever be a perfect time for anything and you will always want or think you need more money or more time. You will fail before you succeed. The key is to keep going by having the motivation and support from people around you.
Make your life one that you want to live instead of waiting for the perfect moment to do what you want to do. That moment will never come.
We were also able to catch a comedy show later on in the week featuring James Mullinger. We loved this guy. He was hilarious because he told the truth about maritimers. If you ever get a chance to see him do it.
Jeff also decided to get some deep fried Reese peanut butter cups. He claimed they were delicious but I decided I didn't even want to know what I was missing so I didn't even have a bite. They did look good though.
Finally, on the Friday night we caught some magic shows that were pretty fun except Jeff knew some of the magic tricks and told me about them (well, in all fairness I begged him to tell me after he told me he knew how some of the tricks were being performed). It was still a great evening and we finished it with some amazing fireworks.
So many people in the Fredericton area complain about the expense of NBEX (which is only $10). There was always plenty of things going on once inside NBEX which was completely free. The only thing that required extra money was the carnival (and any food that you would want to purchase). For $10 you really got your money's worth. It only comes around once a year and is an evening out of the house. There is a saying that goes like this "some people like to complain and if they didn't have anything to complain about they would complain about that".
