I'm trying...

1. Zipline at Whistler
2. Get a new tattoo
3. Kayak
4. Go camping more
5. Fish in the Kootenays
6. Travel someplace warm
7. Take Salsa lessons
8. Find a moose
9. Take a grizzly bear tour
10. Go to a blues concert
11. Learn how to better use my point and shoot camera
12. Learn Photoshop
13. Get a high score on Spooksis’ Rotoblox ****closing in****
14. Swim a 400 IM at the Nationals in Kelowna
15. Get an aquarium
16. Do 10 chin ups
17. Hike the Lions
18. Learn how to make some Serbian dishes
19. Go to a Giants or Canucks game
20. Learn how to invest in my TFSA
21. Learn how to juggle ***almost there***
22. Visit an Opera friend
23. Go to Seattle on the train
24. Write a story
25. Draw 50 pictures
26. Get a new guitar or piano
27. Learn more Serbian
28. Learn how to make sushi
29. Ride the wooden roller coaster at Playland
30. Leave my PostSecrets book somewhere
31. Get my tarot cards read
32. Say hi and smile at 50 strangers ****25 to go!***
33. Donate blood
34. Test drive a convertible
35. Grow a pineapple
36. Skinny dip at Lost Lake
37. Scan old photos from my childhood/family
38. Visit another province
39. Take a train ride
40. Go to Karaoke
41. Watch the Olympics from the comfort of my new sofa
42. Practice meditation for 50 days in a row (for at least 20 minutes each time)
43. See the Northern Lights
44. Try Lazer tag
45. Go to Vegas
46. Visit Jasper
47. Go to a Lions game
48. Make a Cleo calendar
49. Sort through my photos and print some and make a scrapbook/photo album
50. Fly a kite on the beach

See! There is plenty of room. I have been working hard to declutter my life to make room for Dare's clutter. It's quite exciting I must say. As you can see, things are still spread out quite spaciously on the shelves. I have taken three bags of clothes to the thrift store and have thrown out or recycled other odds and ends. So much room! Perhaps room for a couple new pairs of shoes! Oh, life is good.

I don't know what it is about this blog but it's just not happening these days. It's not a lack of things to blog about. It's just a lack of I don't know what. Maybe it has to do with just wanting to live life and not think about writing about it all the time. I rarely take my camera with me anymore. For a while there all I could think about as I walked along was about taking pictures to post on my blog. Of saying something clever. Or not. I feel some pressure to blog about my recent trip to Belgrade but for some reason I just want to keep that private. Do I need to share everything with the world? Of course not. Can't I do that?

Well, today I went to the beach and I found a really nice quiet spot, lay down and started reading my book. It's "Snow" by Orhan Pamuk. Not typical summer beach reading and that has nothing to do with the title. A great book, very thoughtful. And for me thoughtful reading needs peace and quiete. Anyway, I had just got comfortable and started reading when a very loud couple decided to park themselves next to me. Well, he was loud. Not loud as in decibels loud but in frequency loud. Non stop talking. The only time he stopped talking was when his wife decided to go for a walk on the beach. Yes. Silence. Like snow.

After two chapters I turned over and was gazing out over the water when a very large man screamed out, "Look look!" It was a seal. A harbour seal. Only a couple metres from shore and only about 5-6 metres from me! Maybe he looked at my blubbery body and though I was female seal. But then that stupid large man started walking towards it and scared it away. Stupid big ugly half naked man. Hairy too. I won't bother saying his nationality . That's racist, but I can guarantee he was stupid, big , ugly and hairy and half naked. That's a fact. Seals are more attractive. Blubbery yet sleek. And probably quite intelligent. And quiet.

So I left. It was time to go to the gym and work on the blubber. Stopped by SDM to buy a lotto ticket and got caught up in the discount deals in the clearance bins. Lavender foot cream, cortisone first aid cream, roll on bikini wax, and Oatmeal Crisp cereal. Damn it, the clerk rung everything up and didn't ask me if "That was all", because it wasn't all, and because of that I forgot the lotto ticket! Well, my mom's gonna win it anyway. Pretty sure she might give me a little bit of the winnings. Maybe. Maybe if I give her the lavender foot cream.

So to the gym. I warmed up a bit, my usual routine and as I did, Vitali (yes that's his real name) one of the trainers came over like he usually does and started questioning the exercise I was doing. Ok, let me tell you, Vitali is incredibly knowledgeable. He is a former world silver medalist in pentathlon. He knows how to swim even. But every time I'm there he is always showing me a better way to do different exercises. Anyway who knows me knows how stubborn I am when someone offers advice and I don't ask for it. I have even told him this but because his English is not that great it seems that he doesn't understand my reluctance to improve. Ok, he does have a big ego, but mine is big too. And my biceps are pretty big too. But he's in awesome shape and I'm a cow. A cow with a resting pulse rate of 54 and blood pressure 115/75. Okay, I'm in pretty good shape for a cow. So, anyway, I decided, gulp, deep breath, to take his advice. The first exercise was squats and I allowed him to correct what I was doing wrong. It wasn't that bad. But later on I was doing bench press. I stopped when I saw him looking at me and said, "WHAT AM I DOING WRONG NOW?" He laughed and replied that what I was doing was fine but there was a better exercise to do that was more active and better for swimmers. So I allowed him to show me this. I admit, it was much better. Gulp. I'll still do bench press on occasion though, it makes me feel more like a jock. After that he went home, yay, and I finished my workout. Next time he said he'd show me one more exercise. Ego ego ego. Let it go let it go.

Before I went out this morning I watched Jack Layton's state funeral on television. It was incredibly moving. A mixture of personal and political eulogies with lots of music and humor in between. The first eulogy was from a first nations assembly leader. He spoke in his language and gave a ceremonial chant, and then offered a white eagle feather to Layton's wife Olivia. That's when I started crying.

Stephen Lewis' speech was also amazing. You can always count on Lewis to make the most of any political stage. And this funeral was very political. When Lewis said that Layton's final letter to Canadians (see my previous post) was a social democratic manifesto, the whole crowd stood and cheered. He got that right. Stephen Lewis, another great Canadian, former NDP leader, UN ambassador and African AIDS advocate. Layton's children also spoke. His son talked about his father having endless energy. Going to the gym every day for an hour, working for his causes and in parliament and still having time to have a tea party with his granddaughter. His son gave this quote from his dad after telling a story of them trying to sail a small boat. He was amazed his dad knew how to sail. But then the wind stopped and no matter what they tried they just couldn't get going. So, they rowed to shore. Jack said to his son, “You can wait forever for perfect conditions, or you can make the best of what you’ve got now.”

That's a good thought to end on. Now, listen to this...

le soleil bleu.mp3


J'ai voulu vivre autrement
De chercher l'horizon loin des saisons
Voir les gens vivre vraiment
D'admirer les secondes de chaque instant.
Je voudrais reconstruire les routes du temps,
Qui nous séparent autant depuis longtemps
Et si celles-ci nous mènent à Rome,
Qu'est-ce qui nous sépare autant de l'homme ?

L'amour, la paix, le soleil bleu,
Les seuls plaisirs qu'il y a dans mes yeux.
Le soleil bleu...
L'amour, la paix, le soleil bleu,
Les seuls plaisirs qu'il y a dans vos yeux.
La mort, la haine,
Est-ce vraiment ce qu'on veut ?

On devrait tous pouvoir espérer
On devrait tous pouvoir exister

J'ai construit un beau voilier,
Pour traverser le ciel une nuit d'été
Je changerai l'eau douce en eau salée,
Pour y rejoindre les mers par quatre chemins
Je suivrai les étoiles et les dauphins
Mais où se trouve ce monde où tout va bien ?

On devrait tous pouvoir exister
On devrait tous pouvoir espérer

Le soleil bleu...

L'amour, la paix, le soleil bleu,
Les seuls plaisirs qu'il y a dans mes yeux.
La mort, la haine,
Est-ce vraiment ce qu'on veut ?
Le soleil bleu...
L'amour, la paix, le soleil bleu,
Les seuls plaisirs qu'il y a dans vos yeux.
La mort, la haine,
Est-ce vraiment ce qu'on veut ?

On devrait tous pouvoir être heureux...