In the Beginning . . .

Every journey has a beginning, but we often miss the first steps of our own journey to an unknown destination.

We don't realise that we are moving away from the familiar, towards something that will revive and redefine who we are. There are baby steps in the beginning. A thought that sneaks up from some unknown place in our subconscious or a dream that we can't shake the next morning. Maybe a comment by a friend that strikes a nerve, or a piece of music that speaks to something deep within. We
don't catch sight of it yet, it still hasn't surfaced.

But if we are ready, then the synchronicities begin to emerge. It's only chance that four people have mentioned that author's book to me this week. Maybe I'll check it out and see what it's all about. Then there's that writing workshop that's coming up. I keep seeing notices for it everywhere, and then my old professor asked me if I was interested in going. How strange is that? Well, I have been dedicating a lot of time to my writing lately and I am looking for some guidance. I guess it couldn't hurt to check out what a workshop is all about... We call them coincidences and flukes because it makes it easier for us to dismiss them OR accept them.

And then there's a moment where everything shifts, where you realise that you have crossed the line between the familiar and the unfamiliar. Your heart began the journey awhile back and your head has just caught on to the fact. And when that happens, you are fillled with such overwhelmingly contrasting emotions - fear and giddiness, anticipation and doubt, pride and shame. Then there's the choice that your mind imposes - retreat or forge ahead. Ah, but if your heart has already begun the journey, there is nothing to be done but forge on. The heart will ALWAYS triumph over the logical mind in matters that involve the self's evolution.


And so it is, that I have crossed over the line.

I have crossed the line before, most often my journeys have been leaps of faith that literally involved journeying to far off destinations. I think perhaps my first journey was when I moved to Ireland in 2003, but really that journey began a year and a half before I found the courage to get on a plane and move to another country where I knew not a single soul. That journey really began with me ending a relationship that was holding me back from my draems of travelling the globe. Oh how the world opens up wide to embrace you when you choose to follow your dreams.

Now I am doing it again. I have set myself a challenge to bike 400 kilometres, from the Western tip of PEI to the Eastern tip of PEI. To my mind it seems a daunting challenge. I know there are athletes that would see it as a breeze, but I am not an athlete by any stretch of the imagination. And while I have been steadfastly dedicated to working out and eating well for quite a while now, this is still very much a leap for me.

Biking is not my forte. I am full of fears, mostly that I will injure myself, or my eyes will water constantly as they sometimes do at the most inopportune times. I worry that I will be last, that someone will have to keep coming to the back of the pack to make sure I'm still actually on my bike. I stress that my bike will give out on me and I'll be stranded because my mechnical abilities have been absent since the day I was born. I worry that I won't be able to sit or walk for days after the 4-day adventure.

But I am excited too. Almost giddy with anticipation. I LOVE a challenge. I thrive on setting a goal and reaching it. I decided, just ten days ago, that I would do the Tip to Tip for Africa, committing to not only completing the 400 kilometres, but also to raising at least $600 for the Townships Project.
This is what is driving me - if I am raising money for a worthy cause and people are so willing to support me, then I WILL complete my end of the bargain or injure myself trying (not planning on that, just trying to get a point across!).

Already, I have devised game plans for both fundraising and training, and things are happening. Call them coincidences or flukes, but I know they are synchronocities..opportunities and occassions that are presenting themselves because I AM ready for this journey.

And on that note, I will sign off. More to come re: my training and fundraising.

April Showers...

Wow, so it's been a month since I posted a blog. I daresay I'm becoming a rather lazy blogger. This is not, however, to suggest that I am being lazy in life. Quite the contrary, life has been ridiculously busy/fun/crazy/exhausting as of late. I shall do a brief recap of the past month's main highlights (not including Jen Mac's orange hair, which was certainly a fabulous highlight!)

Florida/NYC Vacation - Yay. Mid-March meant an much needed escape for the island of snow and wind! I headed to Halifax where I spent a couple of very enjoyable days with Sister Sahra and Rowan Thunder. After a fudge-making session gone wrong (i.e. I ate half the pan in a night!), I was off to Orlando for five nights and four full days of wonderful magicalness!

I met Sheena down there and we spent the first two days wandering around, getting splashy at Typhoon Lagoon and fobbing ourselves off as a married couple (to each other) so we could go to a timeshare presentation and then get really cheap tickets to Busch Gardens. We even had wedding rings which, if they were real, would have set us back about $30,000! I'm not sure we fooled anyone with our charade, but it was hilarious! Sheena got really into telling the story, while I just barely managed to stifle my laughter. On a related note - NEVER EVER agree to go on a timeshare presentation, no matter WHAT incentives they offer you. It is the biggest waste of time and they are so aggressive you can bet your bottom dollar they are aggressive.

Jen joined us mid-week and we enjoyed drinks/food at Bahama Breeeze, delicious drinks at Blue Martinis (plus I danced my butt off, which is always fun!), and had a fantabulous time at Busch Gardens. An amusement park, a zoo AND free beer! Could there be anything better in the world? Well, aside from a giant candy factory with free samples... Anyways, we went on a super scary rollercoaster, plus some average-scary rollercoasters, downed a lot of beer and went ot beer school where we learned that pretty much everyone pours beer into a glass the wrong way. You do not tilt the glass and pour into the side. You set the glass down and pour directly into the middle.

NYC was AWESOME! I left FLorida on Friday and headed to the big apple, where I met up with my friend, Kelly, who is goind a RTW trip. The first night we went out for dinner and started chatting with an older couple sitting beside us - they poured us Saki and gave us all sorts of tips on where to go in the city. Then when we left the restaurant, we were greeted by four people our age who ended up taking us to the subway and one of them stayed out and showed us around Greenwich Village. The next day we just soaked up the city - went on the Staten Island ferry, Ground Zero, 5th Avenue, Empire State Building (but not up it!) and tried to do some shopping, but it was madness. I did mange to buy a knock-off Prada purse from a dude selling them on the street - literally. In the evening Danielle arrived from Montreal and us three single gals hit the town in style. We went to a DJ show (Digitalism) then to a random bar called Hi-Fi, where we enjoyed many beverages and the company of some decent blokes. Sunday was kind of a write-off on account of Saturday night. KElly and I eventually made our way to Central Park, then in the evening all three of us went to a comedy show down near Times Square. Monday was more touring - we went to Soho, where we had the BEST rice pudding at a place called Rice to Riches, then we wandered down through Chinatown to the seaport for lunch. Sadly I had to call it a day and get on my bus to the airport. Boooo. I will definitely go back to NYC. I would love to see more of it, and perhaps in a different season.

Grad School

So about a week into March I rec'd word that my application to Queen's Masters in Enviro Studies program had been accepted. Upon returning from my holiday, I decided to accept the offer. So...it looks like I will be moving to Kingston, Ontario in September and calling it home for the next two years. It hasn't really sunk in yet. I am such a commitment phobe and this is a significant commitment of time and place, as well as money. Luckily the financial burden will be significantly reduced by funding offered through the university. Still, time is so precious to me! Anyways - I'm excited about being in academia again, in an arena that I find interesting and important.

Tip to Tip

Last Friday I decided, under the influence of several glasses of wine and a few shots of whiskey, that I would register for the Tip to Tip For Africa event. This is an annual event held on PEI, which requires participants to raise funds and then bike from the Western tip of the Island to the Eastern tip over a four day period. The total trip is about 400 kilometres! I have to pay $ for my accommodations and food, then I have to raise $600 for the Townships Project, which supports South African women entrepreneurs through micro-financing so they can start or expand their business.

An excellent investment of funds in my opinion. As for the question of my survival - we shall see. I have just started training, so it should be quite an interesting five weeks leading up to the actual cycle, which takes place May 16 - May 19. If anyone is interested in learning more about the project and/or sponsoring me check out the website:

http://tiptotipforafrica.wordpress.com

If you want to donate just click on the donate button and use your PayPal account or credit card. be sure to include my name in the NOTES link which will appear when you are reviewing your donation!

On that note I shall end this blog post with a promise to post on a more regular basis in the upcoming weeks, perhaps with some notes re: the progress of my training. As it stands now, I am quite simply SORE all OVER!

Dumping Allan

So tonight, after very little thought, I dumped Allan. I know many of you probably weren't even aware I had a boyfriend. Fair enough, I haven't blogged in awhile and it was, in any case, a very short-lived, destructive relationship. I really didn't tell anyone about ti while it was going on, because I was ashamed of myself for getting into a relationship with him in the first place. I guess I saw this coming, I should never have gotten involved with him, but damn he was such a sweet package that he was impossible to resist.

Seriously, I never really thought of myself as a gal that goes for 'tall, dark and handsome', but I fell hard for him. I didn't even TRY to pretend I wasn't interested. I just dove right into the relationship without a second thought. I told myself I could handle any temptations he threw my way, but I was just a fool in love. I became addicted to him, I'm not going to lie about that. I loved nibbling on his ears and caressing his derrier in excited anticipation. And while it's true I always initiated things, he was always there just waiting for me to pop by for a visit. Never once did he turn me away. Ah, but who am I kidding? I was using him to satisfy my own selfish desires and it wasn't fair to him or me. I've worked too hard at resisting temptations to let some American boyfriend screw with my head or my hips.

And then tonight, I finally realised I'm too good for him, I've outgrown my taste for mediocre. He wasn't really that tasty of a morsel, he was more about quantity and less about quality. I decided that if I'm going to have a boyfriend that encourages sinful behaviour, he'd better be of the right pedigree. And we all know that American Allans have nothing on their Swiss, German or even British counterparts.

Yes, I daresay, if I ever pick up another chocolate bunny boyfriend, I'm going to shell out the big bucks for the creamiest version available on the shelf. Lindt anyone?