Yukon part 1: The start of the journey

So I talked about in my last post how I looked after some pigs.  That could have done with some explanation but I felt it needed to have a lot more space.  I'm going to write a series of experiences I had around looking after those delightful pigs.  I'll be writing in chunks every day for the next few days.

In the summer of 2012 I went to the Yukon with my friend Estelle and volunteered on an organic farm with the wwoofing program (The World Wide Opportunity on Organic Farms)  Essentially you work in exchange for a place to live and food to eat. It is a really good deal for the people volunteering.  As I learned from my host if the volunteers actually do some work then it's great for the farmers involved as well. I had wanted to try out the wwoofing program for several years.  What I had heard was it was a great chance to learn and see new places, but I had been hesitant about going alone (As a side note I've also been really interested in the Yukon since I was about 12 and read White Fang by Jack London for the first time).  So when Estelle sent me a text asking if I wanted to join her on a trip to do both I jumped at the chance.  It really did feel like a dream combination.

The Yukon for me up to that point was nothing but vague ideas.  Books by Jack London, the song Long Gone to the Yukon by Stompin' Tom and Google Maps street view of the Top of the World Highway.  That's all I really knew but I with each new tidbit I also knew I wanted to go there badly.

I had experienced some bad luck the summer before when trying to get to England so I was owed a fair bit of money through an airline.  My reward was getting a $40 ticket to Whitehorse - unheard of!

Suddenly I found myself boarding a plane to a wonderful place where people of such diverse backgrounds come to make it their home that it is hard to find someone who is originally from there.  First day there I my cab driver was originally from my province and the first person I met had driven there from Ontario with his cat.  The Yukon seems to have a way of catching the people who visit.  Everyone I talked to about going North demanded that I promised to come back.

Decluttering and moving

As of Christmas Eve I have come to the end of my month of decluttering.  In an attempt to get things to a more reasonable level in my apartment, I gave myself the goal of getting rid of one thing for 30 days starting on November 25.  The results were very pleasing.  It became a pretty big pile of stuff rather quickly which was not what I had expected at all. It even helped a lot with Christmas shopping in a way.  People would come over and occasionally find something they would like in the box.  Definitely the most surprising one for me was my friend revealing a great love for Anne of Green Gables. So Canadian!  I gifted her the full box set.  It worked out even better than expected because she had forgotten about expressing an interest in them. Double success!

With having been told I have a limited time to move out I have stopped going through my books as vigorously as I would like but I did manage to clear out about half a shelf.  Now the remaining are all packed up and ready to move.  With most of my things going into storage (minus that which can not freeze) I'll be able to go through my boxes one by one and eliminate all of the books that I'm not really interested in reading or re-reading in the future.  My standards are pretty high for which books I'll be allowing myself to keep because I've limited myself for a more simplistic lifestyle.  I've filled half a large plastic bin with my favourite and in some cases rare books that I have. When I've gone through my sizable collection I will eventually fill up the rest of the box.  Past that I will not allow myself to have anymore books.  Supporting local libraries has always been important to me so this will really force me to be a more consistent patron.

...ok odds are that I will have another bin by the end but the hope is there.

I feel like I'm on the cusp of some great change because of this move.  In theory I think this will force me to make some pretty big decisions about where I'm going in life and who I want to be.  Most days I'm ok with this change but then I'll find myself waking up from a nightmare (dreamt that I was actually supposed to move out a few weeks earlier than expected... as in that day!).  My mind is trying to work through some pretty intense anxiety over it all - will I be able to pack up everything in time?  The move has put me into a bit of free fall state of stress. My only real comfort comes from packing.  The simple act of putting my shit into boxes has become a type of meditation that has managed to make me feel like this move might actually be an attainable goal.  Slowly my life is becoming a sea of cardboard on every chair and patch of rug in my place but that just means that I'm actually getting closer to my goal.

Here is hoping that I'll be able to actually get it all done.

Watching Hoarders and moving, power combo for motivation

Back in November I was watching a marathon of Hoarders online.  I started thinking about some of the random little things I had kicking around that I didn't really need or want any more.  I thought I would set myself a goal like my friend Estelle had done a few years ago.  She was going through her things and getting rid of one thing everyday. I loved the idea. As of November 25th I started with the plan of having 30 days of giving things away. I hadn't even really thought about the Christmas aspect.  I told myself that if I filled a bag with enough nice things for kids in good condition then I would make a donation.

Eliminating clutter from my life stemmed from a vague notion that if I was going to move countries or even cities I was going need to have a more manageable set of possessions. Generally, I like the feeling and look of having a more sparse lifestyle, so it was going to be a double win.  But life has a way of speeding up time tables on me.  Since starting my project I was told that by January 31st I need to be out of my place... well crap.  Looks like it is going to be a lot more than one thing a day to get rid of.

When I had started brainstorming things to give away I had only really thought of about 10 things. I thought that by this point in my declutter process that I would be finding it hard to find something everyday.  But now that I'm actually through the things I was originally thinking about giving away I have gone full blown in really thinking about what it means to have less.  I had filled a box with things to give away by December 1st.  It was actually incredibly helpful to have the list because it got me into action of actually giving things away. 

I decided to keep going with the declutter plan.

For me, the biggest source of mess always seems to be paper related. Papers are constantly coming into my life. After a short while they start to add up. Before I had a weekly pile that started slowly growing on Monday and would expand to a few different surfaces by the end of the week. With constantly working and running out the door, I always used to think I didn't have time so it could wait till the weekend. Then there would be the mountain to go through. It always got done but it did take way more time than it needed to.

I've been taking care of this with filing as soon as it comes through the door.  Each time I grab the mail I stand by my recycling box and my accordion file. I leave all junk and envelopes in the box and file the bills. With my wonderful hand crank shredder sensitive information can be recycled with peace of mind. I've put the three in a more readily accessible spot by the door where most of the papers got caught coming in in the first place. I love the concept of putting things where they will be used not where you want them to be. It takes a lot less time and stress to just get to work on something rather than having to make a big production of gathering what you need.  Keeping all my important documents in one place is also going to be essential when I move.

In the case of my books (another form of paper clutter) I've been reading more of the ones that I was on the fence about.  While I read I actively think about if I really am going to read it again. Do I need it on my shelf or will getting it from the library work for me in the future? There are a lot of "take a book, leave a book" homes popping up on front lawns around the city, I try to make it a point of leaving one in each whenever I can. Additionally If I'm reading a book and think my friend would really love it I put their name with a sticky note inside it and either loan it or give it to them. (I have pretty different tastes in books compared to my friends so that doesn't happen very often).

This is where moving is streamlining my decision making.  I will be moving back in with my parents for a few months to make some solid choices about where I want to go in life.  I'm putting into a storage unit all the things that I will definitely want in my future home but for sure wont fit in a bedroom.  Couches, table and chairs, book shelves and all the other little house things that add up (pots and pans, vacuum, ironing board, towels, dishes, etc).  The first thing I did when packing up was take all of my favourite books and put them in a container for storage.  I don't need them with me at my parents' place but they will be essential for making any future place I live a home.  I filled half a box.  The rest of my books will come with me to be read over time and given away.  At the end of the reading and sorting I think I'm going to limit myself to just being able to keep enough books to fill the rest of the box.

My goal now is to have my place ready to move by December 31st.  This way it will keep me hugely motivated to keep thinking in terms of "This needs to get done now!" rather than letting myself get complacent and procrastinating.

What do you do to eliminate clutter? What is your biggest challenge? Want to join me in giving away stuff? Let me know in the comments what donations you are making.

The best winter

I've made a pact with myself this year to not let the dislike of the cold and winter from years past drag me down.  I had to make this agreement with myself in order to keep my sanity for the next few months.  After almost 7 months of winter and then minimal amounts of free time to actually be out in the heat of summer I spontaneously started cursing when I woke up to the first snow fall.  I could not accept that winter had come again.  The warning shot of winter melted, and I realized that I had to change my attitude or I would not make it through this year.

An important aspect of this pact was realizing that I just can't talk to people about the weather ever this winter.  When I'm around someone who hates the cold as much as me I join in on the cold smack talk and feel worse.  If I'm around someone who loves the cold it becomes a conversation stalemate with nothing more to say until the topic changes.  All this week I've been using a lot of humour about the weather to shift the topic and it has been working nicely.

This is all thanks to last week helping to wean me off of my desire for a longer Autumn season.  I spent the majority of my time on the road.  I drove up to Saskatoon with their noticeably higher levels of snow.  With the bright sunshine and warm wind it was a perfect couple of days to get used to the snow again.  Driving then further on to Price Albert I found where winter has been hanging out for much longer.  With Semis Jack-knifed on the highway and an army troop carrier truck on its side in the ditch we were pretty careful on the roads.  It was this gradient of progressively more white as we went up that helped ease me into it rather than the shock of a sudden dump.  On the way back it was just solid snow the whole way.  Winter had snuck back to Regina and set up camp.  But thankfully I had my game plan ready this year for how to cope.

I found my car encrusted by the ice rain and then about 2-3 inches of snow on top. 

I set to work with the first part of my plans.  I now keep my ice scraper in the back seat on the floor.  It seems so simple now.  When I go to get it, the avalanche of snow will land in the back-seat and not the driver's.  I've only had a chance to store my car in garage for winter approximately 3 times in my life so I'm pretty used to having snow on my car but this year I'm purposefully not going to be lazy about removing all of it.  I've got a few other little things planned like lifting the wind shield wipers off the glass at night so they don't cement themselves down. 

I've always been one of those people who doesn't layer enough for the cold, or if I do have enough layers for heat then there is the wind chill factor that sneaks in through every seam.  This year I will not skimp on preparation and layering clothing.  Even if I don't think it is going to be so cold I'm going to always have my big coat, small gloves and mittens, extra layer of either outer shell pants or having some tights on under my clothes.

I'm also think about getting one of these little jaunty ice scrappers but it might not help me stay positive.  Maybe I'll go with an ice scraper that is also something to keep my hand warm.  Keeping my mind off the cold with creative projects and having an emergency stash of scarves (my socially acceptable blankets) will hopefully be enough to make this my best winter.

Please share any ways that you make winter barable, and if you love winter then what aspects do you love?  

Inspiration and mountains

Sarah and I have been swapping links online for a while now to give each other a taste of what has been capturing our interest.  Each of us looking at a little project to do, videos that make us happy and so on.  The vlogbrothers and zefrank making up a big chunk of what we share on youtube.

 Neil Gaiman Addresses the University of the Arts class of 2012 is the most recent thing we've been watching. In his speech Mr Gaiman talked about his mountain or goal in life. Choosing to do things that get him closer to his mountain.  It made for an interesting talk yesterday.  On a long ramble around the lake we got talking about what our mountains were.  Both of us are sitting in a time of flux trying to find what we want to strive for... so the mountain is pretty hazy.

Sarah has a much clearer view of what her mountain is not.  I thought about looking at a mountain at night with stars shinning on either side.  You can see the mountain because it blocks out other things.  While the stars are beautiful they are not your mountain.

I was thinking more along the lines of building my own mountain... but now I'm wondering if that was a misdirected answer.  I'm still doing it but I'm not sure where it is going... like finding a few boulders that have bounced down the mountain towards me and I'm thinking that putting a few together would make a pretty good hill to climb.  And being from a prairie province a hill is pretty impressive.

But for now I'm writing down all the little things that I love to do and I'm putting them up on my wall in a hope that eventually I'll look up and see what direction these boulders have been coming from.

How you should not convert people

So because of one of my tags from yesterday it made me think of another story.

I was walking to a friend's party a few years ago. My friend's apartment was situated in amongst a lot of apartment blocks so very little parking in the area so I had to park pretty far away. This wouldn't have bothered me normally, except the road was having light problems so there were no streetlamps on, and I was startled to suddenly catching sight of two men walking on the other side of what I had previously thought was a deserted road... who obviously spotted me at the same moment and made a bee line across the road towards me. I couldn't make them out at all in the dark and got kind of freaked out. I kept walking and one of the guys went to get ahead of me. They were cutting me off from getting to my friend's place a block and a half away. There was a van in between us (why they had to split up) so I stepped further off the sidewalk onto the grass towards one of the apartment blocks thinking about running behind the buildings. Wondering if that would place me in more or less danger, get a head start? Or isolate myself?

But before I could head that way they spoke to me. It took a moment for my brain to process what they were saying. Mormons. I felt like yelling at them. I wouldn't allow myself to drop out of my fight or flight mode. I kept distance between us and edged away.

I was only half listening to the conversation (thankfully I can make small talk in my sleep). I was mad, thinking: Which of theses idiots thought it was a good idea to come up to a woman on her own at night? And then I got analyzing why I was mad. I had been scared. Scared that these unknown guys were going to attack me. I calmed down some as I talked with them a bit, slowly walking around them. Putting me closer to my friend's building. I finished with them and walked away thinking: Wouldn't it be a perfect way to rob someone by saying "don't worry we're Mormons"

I always like going for walks on my own and I like talking to Mormons... but that night really made me question going out at night on my own.
Could I have defended myself? probably not
Would anyone have been able to help me? ...no
Did it stop me from going for walks on my own? No.

As I'm reminded of this I think it is time for me to look into taking a level in bad ass.

A new direction

Alright, so I'm back in Canada after another adventure around the world. Slowly I'm making my way back to Regina and questioning what I should do with my life and where I'll be living 5 months from now. I don't know why that time seems to be important but it seems as good as any... wait... that would be my birthday... good job mind for keeping up on things when I'm just sitting back.

I've been thinking more and more about my past goals of keeping this blog up to date, but that just doesn't seem my style. (much like how comas seem to escape my notice most days till I really work at it)

I've been using a website called Ohlife which has pleased me to no end and keeps me on track with recording my day to day memories with email reminders. Very handy. So now I can focus on actually making this into a Blog with a theme? Pattern?

I've had a bunch of recommendations about what it could be about and I think a little mix would help things.

Sarah said way back at the start that I should record how I meet people. To be a helpful guide to others in need of learning the art of friendship.

A woman that I met in the UK last month said that I should write out all the crazy little stories from my traveling adventures.

Both of these I think would be really fun to write about and would not require keeping in a chronological order... where my life seems to break down if I try doing things like this.

So the plan is set. The stories are there in my brain and the people are out there to meet.

Nerd Carolling Thanks You (final total)

So Nerd Carolling has come to an end. We were really happy with the results!

We had hoped to raise $100 from our two days of singing.

We made that in the first night.

After 5 nights of carolling, (3 more than we had planned thanks to an amazingly positive response) we raised...

$505.58 CAD

Sarah and I made the donation last night to Child's Play. People have also been giving online donations and telling us about them. So our real grand total is

$565.58 CAD

Thank you so much to the people who got excited and sent us around to a variety of people. You started a chain reaction that got us sent to so many different places in the city and got the word out further.

Thanks to Sarah and Emily for putting in their time and singing voices to making this possible.

A huge thank you to Jonathon Coulton (jonathancoulton.com) and The H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society (cthulhulives.org) who said we could use their music and basically made the whole thing possible. They have really great music, if you haven't done so already you should check them out.

This was a really fun project and we hope to be able to do this again next year!
Merry Christmas

Nerd Carolling (first night)

We went out singing last night and already have passed our goal of 100 dollars for Child's Play (http://www.childsplaycharity.org). So now we're hoping to double it. We had so many people get into it when we started going around. Once they understood what we were doing it snowballed. We'd sing for one house and they would send us to two more houses.

Also people were really happy to give to Child's Play. Most had been wanting to for a while but didn't feel like it was worth it for their five or ten dollars. But we've also had people from other cities email us to let us know they've donated an amount and want us to sing for someone in Regina. So exciting!

Hang out time.

For the past few days I've been getting back into the flow of visiting people. It has been really good to finally get my feet wet with different groups and to figure out where I am in terms of connection. Basically I'm relearning my friend dynamics and seeing who likes what/who now. Mostly just figuring out if I'm going to step on any toes and what subjects have become taboo with some.

Essentially I've been having the easiest time getting back together with people. Any confusions are cleared up within hours and all the drama that television and books say I'm supposed to have is nonexistent.

A fair few number of my hangouts have involved the game a question of scruples. (2nd edition as the first edition was just to full of random cards, hard to take it seriously in several cases). It is an older game from the 80s so there are a few cards that have been removed by us for just being far to offensive and out of date. No in fact you can't do that because a law has been passed and court cases have been fought over it. Very fun and gets conversations going in new and interesting directions. Like the question game but with less pressure.

I've been spending lots of time with friends from highschool. Joc and Meg who I hadn't really seen all that much in University, with Joc being away and Meg being busy. I've been going out with them for coffee, movies, and working out. Estelle I got the chance to talk with on the phone as she lives in another province. Now just to make sure that we connect again before the end of the year! We have these great long chats and then life snatches us up. And I'm keeping in contact with Sarah a great deal but not nearly enough with Emily, which makes me rather sad when I think about how I'd feel in her position.

Spending time with them has really made me feel happy in knowing them. All such great women who are absolutely fantastic.

But even with the old crowd I still have managed to meet a new person. Through Joc at a coffee shop on the 20th and then meeting him again last night as our server at a restaurant. This might be a good start to getting to know the city again and building up my status as "knowing everyone". This is a long term goal that I need to decide if I'm going to go after. If I do, I'll feel like I shouldn't leave the city and moving anywhere will seem harder and scarier. "But I won't know anyone!" Yeah a silly excuse not to move and one that my frightened self is really keen to pump up to unreasonable proportions.

As for my short term goals, today I'll be putting away clothes and seeing if there is anywhere to get raspberry canes and Saskatoon bushes in the city.

Back to life.

Well, that title doesn't really work as I was always alive. I am however back in Canada, back to my city and back in my own home. I've taken to reading as much as I can while I have this uninterrupted time. With no responsibilities of school or work I've been getting through a huge pile of books to read. I've just about finished my 5th book of the month (not counting audio books and manga/comics). But my trip count included audio books so maybe I should count those too. Alright revision. I'm about to finish my 9th book of the month. I want to keep up the level of reading that I had on the trip, if not go further with it. In the almost six months I was away I finished 28 books...

The bulk of my reading took place in the four months I was in New Zealand and Australia. Singapore, Korea, and Japan were too packed to get much done. I did borrow a book while I was in Korea, I was staying with my lifelong friend, but I felt more down than inspired. Sitting at home while I could be out exploring? I don't think so. It was different when I was driving around the outback and along the mountains of middle earth with my parents. We would spend maybe 3-5 hours in the morning driving, explore for the rest of the day and have an evening of reading and rest. Wake up the next day and repeat.

"The Asia portion of [my] trip", as most people I met were calling it, was all me planning what to do next and how to get the most out of my time. Hoping trains and buses and finding hostels (or anywhere) to stay in.

I'm thinking of getting all my notes from the trip transferred from my journals into a typed format so I can edit easier, but I also plan on uploading photos. And I have yet to do either. It feels like the trip is entirely an incident in my life that is cut off. I went away and have returned. I don't want to be the person who looks back and says "Those were my glory years." and can't have any conversation that doesn't include "When I was in (insert country name here) I.. Blah blah blah"

But it was a huge part of my life and feels like a starting or jump point. For now I'm just going to focus on getting back to having adventures at home and thinking about what job I want and where I'm going to live to start this "adult" portion of my life.

Goal for today is to finish the next 50 pages of my book, return it to the library, and make some butter tart slice.