Departure in O.M.G.

Endless gratitude going out to Eric Kougioumoutzakis and Rae-Anna Maitland! They have the honour of being the first funders backing the 'To The End of the World' documentary! They get to enjoy some of the perks I have offered to those backing the doc... Eric and Rae-Anna, thank you x1,000,000 for your support and encouragement! Remember to keep spreading the word so perhaps your friends and family may join you in also enjoying the lovely perks of being a funder for the doc!

For more information about the project and on how you can support the creation of this documentary, click http://www.indiegogo.com/caminodoc to get right to the campaign's home page.

Departure for Europe is so soon! The flight leaves from Montreal on Sunday evening at 6:30 p.m. and I still have quite a lot to do. My plan is to mock-pack my bag a few times in order to fit everything in effectively.

Definitely am going to have to look up how it would be best to pack the sound equipment and camera, a PD170. What I have heard thus far from peers is that it is probably best to carry the camera in a carry-on fashion. What I imagine this is good for is to prove to customs that it is not a mule of any kind, and that it is in working order. Have I mentioned how excited I am do be going overseas to shoot a film?! 'Cause I am SO excited!

I worked one last shift at the pool today, took care of my dog, picked up the parents from each of their workplaces, picked up my cousin in Alta Vista... and after all that, went out for a big dinner at a restaurant in Kanata called 'Crazy Horse'. It's a country-western bar that plays great country hits, the staff wear huge belt buckles and daisy dukes, and the menu is fantastic. They have a burger called the 'Koo Koo Cheval', get it?

My parents and brother, aunt Paule and her kids, uncle Jacques, aunt Gail and their two kids, as well as my cousin Celine sat down together to a rowdy delicious feast. It was a medley of celebrations: my father's birthday is at the end of the month, and my aunt Paule's birthday was yesterday, and my departure on Sunday. Happy birthday to you Dad, and a happy belated birthday to Paulie... spinning class will not be as fun without me!

What I love best about gatherings is listening to different people's stories. I've always felt a bit distant from my uncle Jacques, much to do with the fact that we don't get the chance to visit often; however, tonight I really enjoyed listening to him tell stories from his recent trip to Whistler, his train stories from his France-Italy travels back in the early 80's... he is captivating when he speaks, and he is very intuitive! From his family I received the perfect hiking gift: a blister care kit! My soles, heels, and toes thank you so much for such a great present!

Off to bed now, I've got my last class tomorrow morning!

Breakfast Hazard

This morning began in the usual fashion. My alarm went off at 8:15, pushed snooze, spent 4 minutes waking Bentley, got vertical, poured coffee, fed the dog. The only unusual part of my routine this morning was choosing a bagel as my breakfast food. Well, that turned out to be a mistake because as I was cutting it in half, which was a challenge because the bagel had been living in the fridge for a few days, the knife did an unexpected fast move and struck my thumb. What an unwelcome surprise at 8:36 a.m.! My immediate reaction was to clamp down on my wounded thumb to stop the bleed, and went quick to the sink. Once there, I collected my thoughts, grabbed a paper towel and then took out an ice-pak from the fridge. 3 things were going through my head: 1. I am going to make a bloody mess, 2. R.E.D. (rest, elevate, direct pressure), 3. Now what? I'm so accustomed to treating injuries at work, then either sending them to the doctor or calling an ambulance that I actually was stumped as to what my next move would be.

After calling my father's cell phone 5 times in 45 seconds, I called my aunt Paule, the nurse, who was at work at the time. She first asked me it"was it a bagel accident?". Well, yes, but what the heck! Turns out bagel accidents are the top breakfast injury in North America...greeeeeaaaaaat.

Next move was to wake my sleepy brother, and he brought me to the clinic. He didn't put up a fight or contest when I asked him to "please bring me to the clinic, I need stitches". Not exactly a statement not to take seriously.

He stayed with me at the clinic, and when it was all over he brought us both home and got ready for school. Wednesdays are a work afternoon for me; I called the pool office and explained the scenario to them... also that I am not permitted to get my fresh stitches wet for at least a day. My wonderful boss told me to stay home and rest, they would get by without me. I've said it before, and I will say it again, my workplace is composed of the most understanding and supportive supervisors and bosses ever. Thank you WBSC! Thank you Michael, my bro, for helping me out this morning!

Anyways, no work for me today, but I am keeping my hair appointment at 5:15p.m.! Highlights at the Algonquin School of Hair Styling.

Thanks for following the blog, you are amazing!

P.s. if considering bagels for breakfast, do not use a steak knife to cut it! Learn from this painful experience!

Coffee Break

Bridgehead and Beau's Brewery have made the ultimate fusion... Winterbrew beer! They've combined Beau's all-natural beer with fair trade Nicaraguan coffee to create this intense flavour-party-for-the-palette... and it kept me conscious for a fair bit longer than alcohol usually does! Last night I went to a party at the Bridgehead at 96 Sparks in Ottawa that featured this awesome brew. Really hoping that it will be available at the LCBO sometime soon!

I heard about the Bridgehead-Beau's event through an old camp friend, Cameron, who is a barrista (is this a gender neutral term?) at one of the coffee shops. While we were hanging out last night he also recommended I become a couch surfer. I don't know much about couch surfing, but I do know it is an extremely cost effective way to travel AND that joining the couch surfing community is by invitation only... ladies and gentlemen, I may have just found my in. So I'm in the process of signing up with the website... there is so much info to put in... but such great reward in the end.

I didn't clue in until the other day, but this week coming up is my reading week for school!! How college can schedule a March break in the mid-end of February is beyond me. Regardless, this basically means I have made no plans, and it may be too late to make any. Originally I was going to get to Sudbury, Ont. to meet up with some of my amazing friends at Laurentian University. It might take a miracle to pull this one off!!

Anyways, it's the long weekend here because of Monday being deemed 'Family Day'. No difference to me, it's my 'March break' after all! The plan for the week is to get a move on on my school projects, and perhaps pull a trip to the Dirty Nickel AKA Sudbury outta my bag... wish me luck!

(Sudbury, Ont., view of the water tower from the downtown Tim Horton's!)