Unwarping Oneself

I have been warped. It's true, being in a city like Washington, D.C., has the effect of hardening oneself to the people and situations around you. Being in Canada, I've noticed that my once positive, rosy outlook on life has been replaced with an impatient, selfish attitude. This is especially noticeable this time of year when people around me really do need a giving heart and a shoulder to lean on. For example, a very dear friend of mine lost her mother earlier this year. And the last week has been very hard for her as she tries to get into the Christmas spirit. The other day, when she called and was just talking out her feelings, I felt annoyed. Doesn't she know I am working? Doesn't she understand I have other things to do? But then I checked myself; does it really matter if I take an hour out of my day to listen to her, which is all she really wanted? I felt like a first-class jerk for even thinking those thoughts (I did stay on the phone with her, btw).

One of the things I've always loved about D is that his heart is very giving. If a friend needs a hand, he runs out and helps without expecting compensation. So many of us would expect some kind of remuneration for taking time out of our busy lives to help a friend. But shouldn't that be the reward...the knowledge that you helped someone out? I have always admired this about D and despised it in myself. I see that by living in a city like DC, where everyone is worried about "me, me, me," I have lost sight of selfless giving and been hardened to the simple idea of lending a helping hand. So, I am resolved to change that in me and worry less about time and inconvenience in favor of showing love towards others. After all, isn't that the spirit of the season?

Thankful for Much

I can't say I'm ungrateful, as this year has been very good to me. I've moved to Canada to be with an amazing man who is everything I've ever hoped and prayed for. And although it's frigidly cold this week, I'm grateful I have a roof, a car that works, and a warm blanket to sleep under. I am thankful for my consulting work, and although I do struggle to make myself concentrate and work from home, I am grateful that I am employed. I am grateful for the Christmas season and the joys it brings. As I decorate the house for Christmas this weekend, I will happily bop along to the Christmas tunes blaring out of my iPod (thank you Glee Christmas and Sufjan Stevens!). I am grateful for my family who have been supportive and uplifting. And although this Thanksgiving I will not really be celebrating with decadent foods and desserts, I am grateful that I can be thankful for so much.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Write Drunk: Edit Sober

Write Drunk: Edit Sober ~ Ernest Hemingway

This is one of my favorite quotes. The writer in me agrees wholeheartedly. The realist in me says, get real...you can't be drunk all the time! True, but that doesn't mean I don't want a glass of wine every now and then to help me get started!

In just a short few days, I will be participating in a writing challenge called NanoWrimo. For those of you too lazy to click on the link, it's a novel-writing challenge where you write 50,000 words in 30 days. You choose a genre and get cracking. They have smaller support communities in different cities, all striving to simply write. They even have these 15-minute challenges where you write to see how many words you can in the short time frame. Sounds like fun, right (write!)?

Well, here's my problem. I've been sober for too long. As an editor, I have honed a special craft of rewriting and rewording almost everything that comes across my inbox and into my magazine. So when I sit down to write, I'm stuck. I keep rewriting sentences and searching for words that don't materialize. I have lost the ability to tap into my creative mind and just write. So when my cousin suggested I try this, I thought "what do I have to lose?"

I'm still not sure what I'm going to write about. I've decided to write in the romance genre because, well, why not? And since deciding this, the phrase "engorged member" has become a running joke around the dinner table at my Aunt's house. But I don't care, the point is to just write, relax your mind and write. Thank goodness I use a computer instead of a pen and paper...I can destroy the evidence afterwards! But at the end I hope I can say I've started drinking the proverbial wine and leave the editing until later.

Working It All Out

Well, it’s been 6 weeks and life here has been, well, fast. I am really surprised by the lack of down time and the number of things to do. I had grand plans of taking some time off, traveling and generally being lazy. Well, that will have to wait until I retire! After 6 weeks, here’s what I love about living in Edmonton:

1. D, of course! I love being near him, seeing him, kissing him…well, you get the point. I am more and more impressed by the person he is and I am so glad I moved. Any nagging doubts about whether or not this was the right decision are long gone.
2. Family. I am so glad to be near family. I am feeling so loved and blessed, it’s contagious. I have a blast with my aunts, uncles and cousins! Even though I don’t have many new friends yet, I don’t feel like I’m missing out.
3. Radio stations. I do a lot more driving here, and the radio is infinitely better b y a long shot. More stations + more variety = a lot of car karaoke!
4. Food. The quality of food is so much better here. It’s less processed, more organic and servings are much smaller, which is great for my waistline.

But should you think I am looking at all this through rose-colored (or coloured) glasses, I am not. Here is what I am learning to live with, grudgingly:

1. Cold. Yes, it’s cold here. Hovering around 60 during the day. And they consider that warm! It actually snowed in Calgary over the weekend. And while that city is 2 hours away, it does not bode well for me. I have already purchased a warm winter coat and am shopping for boots.
2. Expenses. Things here are really expensive. Gas is more, food is more, clothes are more, shampoo is more! The sticker shock is getting old. All my budgeting is kind of out the window because I am always underestimating what I need to spend. It’s like starting over from scratch!
3. Dirt. There is dirt and dust everywhere! My car gets really dirty and I have to wash it almost every week.

Compared to the love list, I can live with the hate list. I am looking forward to the holidays and experiencing the sights and sounds associated with that time of year. And while I do miss things about the states, I am glad I’m here and this chapter in my life is turning into an exciting one!  

Days 10-12

So this is really late in coming, but I've been busy settling in here. The rest of our trip was fantastic. We headed out towards the South Dakota badlands and enjoyed touring Mt. Rushmore, the caves underneath the mountain, a yummy winery called Prairie Berry Winery, and seeing Deadwood and Sturgis SD, known for outlaws and motorcycles, respectively. It was wild.

You can see Mt. Rushmore in the background.

The rest of the trip was driving, driving, driving, driving. It kind of sucked. There's nothing in Wyoming or Montana, at least the way we came. And, despite my objections, we slept on the side of the highway in Montana. I'm still slightly annoyed by that one. Even if it did enable us to cross the Canadian border early in the morning, allowing an easy transition and export of my car (which I neglected to do 72 hours in advance). We made it to Edmonton safely and here I am. Total mileage: 4,124. The car survived and has since been doing well. We'll see what happens come winter! It's already fall here, complete with long sleeves, pants and socks. I miss summer :(

Welcome to Alberta, where it's rained every day since I've been here :(

Days 5-9

Phew am I ever sick of sitting in a car! Between driving from Missouri to Minnesota to South Dakota, we've been racking up the miles on the Oldsmobile. Here's a quick recap:

1. Darren survived the Kookamonga Challenge. He was sick for a couple days but rebounded nicely for the Minnesota State Fair
2. Went on a great tour of the Anheuser-Busch brewery in St. Louis. Totally worth the $25 to drink directly out of the finishing tanks! Great history and tour as well of the behind-the-scenes process of brewing beer.
3. Toured Mark Twain's hometown of Hannibal, Mo.
4. Experienced the Minnesota State Fair where we saw heads of butter, ate lots of food on a stick, livestock being born (yes, born) and had a blast losing at games and taking many spins on many rides.

At the brewery

Heads of butter! In the background you can see a girl being "carved". They get to keep their heads afterwords.

I think D and I will survive if we can make it through the Black Hills area of South Dakota! We'll be here for a couple of days before heading up to Alberta. Almost there!

Days 2, 3 & 4

Well, the last few days have been quite a whirlwind of activity. Between seeing my sister, friends, and attending a wedding in Memphis, I'm pretty exhausted. But still excited because D proposed!!! That's right, he did what few others could do and pulled a surprise engagement on me. I honestly had no idea it was coming. I am so happy though! I think the initial shock has finally worn off and now I can talk about it without getting all flustered. He proposed on UNC's campus, on the kissing bench which, as alums know, if you kiss your true love on that bench you will marry him/her. I showed D that bench during his first visit to see me as part of his campus tour. We did kiss on it. I can't believe he remembered and wanted to go back and propose to me while we were sitting on it! So, as all things have been on this trip, we were running late to meet friends for dinner. He insisted on going through a walk on campus, I insisted we skip it. Especially because he was complaining about losing his phone somewhere in the car (we found it afterwords, in the car). So we walked and sat on the bench. He kissed me, and asked if I had ever kissed anyone else on this bench (no). He kissed me again and pulled out the ring, and asked me to marry him! I must have said "Are you serious?" several times before saying yes :) I was too surprised to cry, which I guess was the objective. Here's a pic:

My ring is so pretty! It's an ice diamond from the mines in Canada so you can tell exactly where it came from. It's 2 and 1/4 karat (so I'm told) and a round cut in a cathedral setting. It's stunning. I really can't stop looking at it! No date, no plans yet. I think I'll let myself move before I decide on anything like that. Just enjoying the moment for now!

The rest of the trip has been fun. Yesterday and Today we are in Memphis. We saw Graceland yesterday and went to the fabulous wedding of some friends. Today we are off to Sun Records Studio and Darren is taking the Kooky Canuck 7 lb hamburger challenge. Then we're off to St. Louis!