On a Jet Plane...

Immense gratitude goes out to Camille Maheu for helping fund the 'To The End Of The World' documentary on Indiegogo! My name thanks for your contribution, cannot wait to start filming!

Only 2 hours until me and the parental units leave for the Montreal airport. The dog is suspicious of what's going on... he keeps walking on my stuff, growling and whining at me. Last night he was laying on my piles of travel clothes chewing on a toy. He either doesn't want me to go, or he thinks I should pick out different outfits!

A few more things to accomplish this morning; sync ipod/charge it, shower, attempt to fit everything in my pack, console sad bichon, create business cards, and put some makeup on! Tough day...

Have a wonderful Sunday everybody! France, here I come!

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!

Crazy Busy!

Since the last post I have been running around like a mad woman!

Friday= Doctor's appointment, at which i was prescribed a vaccine called Menactra to prevent meningitis. Have yet to actually fill the prescription; shots are the worst! The evening was then spent leading a Standard First Aid recertification course for some of my fellow staff members. SFA is such an amazing course to teach; so many bad jokes to be made all while spreading lifesaving knowledge! When I got home that evening I made a spontaneous and amazing decision: I will see Lady Gaga perform at Scotiabank Place this Sunday.

And so, a cheap ticket was purchased and my weekend became instantly incredible.

Saturday= Class all morning; sat by the window and therefore accomplished very little. All this was immediately proceeded by flu-like symptoms and me going home early. Of course, feeling crappy then resulted in an afternoon of Gravol and sleep. I don't even remember what happened Saturday night... what I do recall involves lots of cuddling with Bentley, my crazed bichon frise.

Sunday= Me and dad's glorious return to Sunday A.M. Adult badminton and the Goulbourn Recreation Complex. There was a massive snow dump the night before, so the roads were in terrible shape; this worked to our advantage because attendance was lower than usual to our favourite Sunday sport. We played 6 games in a row without any breaks! Once we got home I prepared report cards for my swim students, went to work for a few hours, took the fastest shower and got ready for Lady Gaga! Completely honest, the show was incredible. My ticket had me seated off to the side at the top of the nosebleeds, so I went 2 rows up to the top of the arena, pulled up a folding chair and sat at a better angle in the cement walkway. I don't think I have ever been so visually stimulated, assaulted, charmed... all at once! One of the concert highlights was right at the beginning when Gaga was having mic problems. A stage hand handed her a working mic into which she declared "At least now you know I don't f***ing lip sync". She kept expressing her deep appreciation to her fans, and also kept saying inspirational messages to the crowd about following your dreams even when other try to bring you down.

(Photo cred: Greg Kolz, fan photo from March 6, 2011 concert at Scotiabank Place, Ottawa, ON. Photo retrieved from www.ottawacitizen.com. If only I had been this close to the stage!)

When I am asked about where I am going at the end of March, the reactions aren't all positive. Half the time people will look surprised when I tell them about the Camino and ask me why I am going on this immense hike, if I've been training to prepare, or if I have thought about how hard a hike like this will be. Others will tell me how great the trip sounds, ask where I will be travelling, and share stories of their experiences abroad. To be completely frank, trying to leave the more negative comments out of my head has been difficult lately. I feel such immense pressure coming from my program and my family that the negative is seeping in. Can I complete my work on time? Will I forget a crucial element in attempting to be successful? Can I be successful in a time crunch such as this?

This is going to sound corny; however, going to the Lady Gaga concert was a truly uplifting experience. Her message made a connection with me, and her music keeps me wanting to dance and smile. She is completely over the top, but when she spoke of keeping your eye on your goal and not letting others get in the way... that is exactly what I need to do!

Honourable mention to one of the funniest websites I have seen in a while... http://www.damnyouautocorrect.com is absolutely amazing! My abs thank you for the great laugh-workout they just received...

I promise to never let 5 days go by between posts ever again! Thanks for following Tasha, Tatyana and my journey!

Lightening the Load

Okay, here's the deal. I love my ipod, and I don't mean just a little bit. It comes with me everywhere. It was purchased in 2007 as a present to myself after a challenging summer spent working at an oppressive (to the staff) summer camp in the Shenandoah Mountains. It's a classic 80G video black ipod. The question remains... would anyone like to buy an 80G video ipod classic?

Since volunteering at the Prime Time conference, I'm th

inking perhaps I should step it up and get an ipod touch. Here's where getting a touch could be a good idea: eliminates the need for a full on computer because it has wifi capabilities, can have Skype added so no requirement for a phone, it can play music, take small HD video, and looks cool. Basically it would take 4 devices' (ipod, flip cam, computer, cell phone) place and would therefore be more spatially smart. The price seems decent at $229, considering 4 years ago I payed closer to $400 for my classic. I may need to poll some friends about this decision... Facebook, I'm coming to you for answers!

Being prepared is my thing. I absolutely love researching before doing to eliminate unpleasant surprises or plot twists... So when researching the Camino, I came across an advice page that suggested carrying approximately 10% of your body weight or less while doing the pilgrimage. The reasoning behind this figure is of course to avoid injury. Because I am a the master of preparation, this also means I tend not to be a light packer; this poses a challenge, and brings me back to the ipod thing. How much weight am I really saving by purchasing an ipod? Is it wise to put all your bets on one piece of technology? What if it gets lost or stolen?

In addition to selling my classic, I've been considering listing my dog as well. Who knew Bentley, my bichon frise, would actually try to consume a maple chair.

(Dog for sale?)

Sadly, I will not be going to Sudbury, Ont. this weekend. Found out that Laurentian is having their reading week now too; therefore, most of my buddies are back at home relaxing! All the years I went to LU, I cannot recall my reading break and Algonquin's to ever have coincided. This year we all just got "lucky" I suppose.

That's all for tonight, bringing the destructive demon to meet a bull mastiff tomorrow. Perhaps he will be able to put Bentley in his place!