Have my first religion-related injury...... First, fell ON shoulder. (Technically, drinking-related injury.) Second, fell and stretched shoulder when suspended only by grip on a tree root while rest of body dangling down hill (trekking injury). Third, completely aggravated sore right shoulder by turning VERY large prayer wheels - always with right hand, and always clockwise. On the upside, suffering makes the blessings more potent. These blessings are sending messages of peace into the world. You're welcome.
Buddhist Shoulder - a bit like tennis elbow?
Monday, November 8, 2010
Everest and nuns
Incredible flight this AM. It was clear as we went along the Himalaya, so we had clear views of Everest. WOW.
I flew past Everest today.
I FLEW PAST MOUNT EVEREST TODAY.
HOLY COW, I FLEW BY MOUNT EVEREST TODAY!!!!!
Bhutan is nice, but feels very tame compared to Nepal :) We did visit a Buddhist nunnery this afternoon though, and were able to witness them praying. They play various instruments (cymbals, drum, long loud horns) and chant prayers. I was sitting beside a girl as she was turning the pages of her "prayer book", and one "hymn" they did was called 'A Light Shower of Blessing Flowers'. Cool, right?
I flew past Everest today.
I FLEW PAST MOUNT EVEREST TODAY.
HOLY COW, I FLEW BY MOUNT EVEREST TODAY!!!!!
Bhutan is nice, but feels very tame compared to Nepal :) We did visit a Buddhist nunnery this afternoon though, and were able to witness them praying. They play various instruments (cymbals, drum, long loud horns) and chant prayers. I was sitting beside a girl as she was turning the pages of her "prayer book", and one "hymn" they did was called 'A Light Shower of Blessing Flowers'. Cool, right?
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Diwali in Kathmandu!
All is well here in Kathmandu. It is the Hindu Festival of Diwali here, and for the next 2 days. Yesterday we hung around until the office until we had a ceremony to welcome Laxmi, the goddess of wealth, into the place. It was cool. They made a puja, like an altar, with small cash bills, flowers, fruits, incense, colours, pictures, oil lamps....all led into the office by a mandala on the sidewalk outside, and then a trail of smeared cow dung with a few oil lamps and flowers to lead Laxmi inside. All of these were to attract her attention and tempt her to come inside. (Cows are sacred to Hindus - I think this explains Laxmi's attraction to cow dung.) Also, they annointed all of the money-making items in the office (computers, desks, filing cabinets, safe, telephones) with colours and flowers, again to attract Laxmi's attention.
We all did a small ceremony at the puja/altar, where we threw colours and bits of rice and millet at the puja, as an offering. And Deepak, as head of the household, gave each of us a tikka. That's a small blob of colour on your forehead, as a blessing. The ladies also got a small amount of cash.
Later, we went to Deepak's house, where he gave us beer. Hindus are not meant to drink alcohol at other times of the year, so this is significant. And Deepak's wife gave us round, fried, sweet rice bread treats (similar to a doughnut, but not quite) that are only made at Diwali.
Children came to the house, and sang songs and were given a bit of cash. It is said that if the singers come and are given money at your home, this will bring prosperity and wealth into your home this year.
Next, a band of troubadors came to the neighbours' house, wtih big speakers and trained folk dancers. They put on quite a show! Sometimes the dancers were performing, but other times it was a group dance to a popular song. (Keep in mind the Nepalis were all drinking, so they were happy to dance.) I joined in dancing to one song, thinking I'd just stay on the sidelines, but OH NO, nearly immediately I was in the middle of the crowd. I got plenty of compliments on my dancing. Seems all that time "dancing and bouncing my bums" in Africa has paid off in spades.
Another cool part of Diwali is that they worship different animals as part of worshiping the earth and a healthy ecosystem. So far, they have worshipped crows, dogs and cows. I didn't see how they worshipped crows, but on Dog Day, dogs were fed nice food, given flower malas (necklaces) and tikkas on their heads. It was the same for cows today - marigold necklaces and bright colours put on their foreheads.
Tomorrow is Brothers and Sisters Day. Will let you know how that goes.
We all did a small ceremony at the puja/altar, where we threw colours and bits of rice and millet at the puja, as an offering. And Deepak, as head of the household, gave each of us a tikka. That's a small blob of colour on your forehead, as a blessing. The ladies also got a small amount of cash.
Later, we went to Deepak's house, where he gave us beer. Hindus are not meant to drink alcohol at other times of the year, so this is significant. And Deepak's wife gave us round, fried, sweet rice bread treats (similar to a doughnut, but not quite) that are only made at Diwali.
Children came to the house, and sang songs and were given a bit of cash. It is said that if the singers come and are given money at your home, this will bring prosperity and wealth into your home this year.
Next, a band of troubadors came to the neighbours' house, wtih big speakers and trained folk dancers. They put on quite a show! Sometimes the dancers were performing, but other times it was a group dance to a popular song. (Keep in mind the Nepalis were all drinking, so they were happy to dance.) I joined in dancing to one song, thinking I'd just stay on the sidelines, but OH NO, nearly immediately I was in the middle of the crowd. I got plenty of compliments on my dancing. Seems all that time "dancing and bouncing my bums" in Africa has paid off in spades.
Another cool part of Diwali is that they worship different animals as part of worshiping the earth and a healthy ecosystem. So far, they have worshipped crows, dogs and cows. I didn't see how they worshipped crows, but on Dog Day, dogs were fed nice food, given flower malas (necklaces) and tikkas on their heads. It was the same for cows today - marigold necklaces and bright colours put on their foreheads.
Tomorrow is Brothers and Sisters Day. Will let you know how that goes.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
in Kathmandu!
oh wowowowowoowow, the trip has been awesome so far
First, the greatest layover ever in Hong Kong.
Then 2 really nice days hanging with the Days in Singapore
And yesterday a super fun night in Bangkok with new all-Canuck friends Terry, Mike, little Darcy, Natasha and Samir. The short version: got spiffed up and went to the Long Table, which is on the 26th floor. We were there in time for Happy Hour, so me n Terry drank half price prosecco. Yippeee! My fave! (Astute readers will recall that I see this as a sure sign that Gods love me when sparkley wine is on sale.) After much too much fun with a truly INCREDIBLE sky line view, we headed to N and S's swanky-assed apartment. It's only $2000 a month, but WOWOWOWOW, it would cost $6000 a month for similar in Vancouver. There, we had incredible Thai take out (cost = $8 for all of us), gin and tonics (another of my fave drinks) and smoked a hookah with rose-flavoured tobacco.
Too bad I don't have my photo-posting thing to put pics up now, so this will have to wait.
I'm now in Kathmandu, Nepal. Major disappointment today: it was cloudy so did not see the Himalayas, namely Mt Everest, as I flew by. Pretty bummed, but maybe in a month?
Leaving in the morning for 18 days of trekking. SUPER cool.
First, the greatest layover ever in Hong Kong.
Then 2 really nice days hanging with the Days in Singapore
And yesterday a super fun night in Bangkok with new all-Canuck friends Terry, Mike, little Darcy, Natasha and Samir. The short version: got spiffed up and went to the Long Table, which is on the 26th floor. We were there in time for Happy Hour, so me n Terry drank half price prosecco. Yippeee! My fave! (Astute readers will recall that I see this as a sure sign that Gods love me when sparkley wine is on sale.) After much too much fun with a truly INCREDIBLE sky line view, we headed to N and S's swanky-assed apartment. It's only $2000 a month, but WOWOWOWOW, it would cost $6000 a month for similar in Vancouver. There, we had incredible Thai take out (cost = $8 for all of us), gin and tonics (another of my fave drinks) and smoked a hookah with rose-flavoured tobacco.
Too bad I don't have my photo-posting thing to put pics up now, so this will have to wait.
I'm now in Kathmandu, Nepal. Major disappointment today: it was cloudy so did not see the Himalayas, namely Mt Everest, as I flew by. Pretty bummed, but maybe in a month?
Leaving in the morning for 18 days of trekking. SUPER cool.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Hong Kong!
I am posting this from Singapore.
On the way here, I spent a 9 hour layover in Hong Kong. I was last there in 1988, so thought it would be cool to see how it had changed. And WOW, has it ever!
When I was there back then, Hong Kong was the first place I visited as I traveled solo across Asia. It was foreign, confusing, had NO English and smelled like Chinese 5 spice. It was the first place I had ever seen beggars with deformities.
Well now, HK has english signs everywhere, directing you to any landmark you might like. The people speak english. There is a mass transit system that takes 24 minutes from the airport to downtown. The people seem to be from all over the world, not only China. It was modern and clean, and lots of new construction.
I especially liked the advertising for all sorts of things.
On the way here, I spent a 9 hour layover in Hong Kong. I was last there in 1988, so thought it would be cool to see how it had changed. And WOW, has it ever!
When I was there back then, Hong Kong was the first place I visited as I traveled solo across Asia. It was foreign, confusing, had NO English and smelled like Chinese 5 spice. It was the first place I had ever seen beggars with deformities.
Well now, HK has english signs everywhere, directing you to any landmark you might like. The people speak english. There is a mass transit system that takes 24 minutes from the airport to downtown. The people seem to be from all over the world, not only China. It was modern and clean, and lots of new construction.
I especially liked the advertising for all sorts of things.
 |
| winging into Hong Kong |
 |
| Hong Kong |
 |
| easy peasy! English signs pointing your way to any landmark |
 |
| Hong Kong |
 |
| hangover from SARS and H1N1 |
 |
| view from Victoria Peak |
 |
| slope stability works |
 |
| more slope stabilisation stuff |
 |
| lion statue |
 |
| me, on Victoria Peak |
 |
| No Smoking lion |
 |
| found a display about dim sum. THis kid REALLY likes it |
 |
| cleaning the photo display |
 |
| I was highly disturbed by how much this child enjoys meat balls |
 |
| is it a cloud? |
 |
| I have NO idea why the Marriott chose to advertise with a spider as big as a pillow |
 |
| Victoria Peak tram |
 |
| Hong Kong |
 |
| will be sterilised every 2 hours? A method of money laundering? |
 |
| Hong Kong skyline from the Star Ferry |
 |
| and now we know what Clark Kent wears |
 |
| food experimentation in HK. Had to wait for the mochi to thaw for 20 mins. Tasty, but :( |
 |
| skyline on Tsim Sha Sui side, HK harbour |
 |
| construction on reclaimed land |
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Personal Best!
YYAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!
New personal best today in the Royal Victoria Half Marathon! I took nearly 2.5 minutes off my previous best time at this distance. AND it was my 6th half marathon in 6 months.
Celebrated with champagne and OJ with the girls, of course. Pretty sure there's electrolytes in champagne, right?
New personal best today in the Royal Victoria Half Marathon! I took nearly 2.5 minutes off my previous best time at this distance. AND it was my 6th half marathon in 6 months.
Celebrated with champagne and OJ with the girls, of course. Pretty sure there's electrolytes in champagne, right?
 |
| Queen Super Wonderlust, aka. Carol |
 |
| Susie Sunshine |
 |
| Reggie the GILF and Core Queen Cathy |
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Himalayan Itinerary
This is mostly for Mom and Dad, but now anyone can know exactly where I plan for be in late Oct and into Nov.
Itinerary for Nepal and Bhutan:
17/10/2010 – Day 01: Arrive in Kathmandu and rest
18/10/2010 – Day 02: Kathmandu- Shyabru Beshi 9-10 hours by jeep
19/10/2010 – Day 03: Trekking to Gatlang 6:00 hrs
20/10/2010 – Day 04: Gatlang to Tatooani 6 hrs
21/10/2010 – Day 05: Tatopani to Thuman 5:30 hrs
22/10/2010 – Day 06: Thuman to Briddim 6 hrs
23/10/2010 – Day 07: Bridim to Lama Hotel 5:30 hrs
24/10/2010 – Day 08: Lama hotel to Langtang 5 hours
25/10/2010 – Day 09: Langtang to Kyanjing Gompa 3 hours
26/10/2010 – Day 10: Kyanjing Gompa: explore day
27/10/2010 – Day 11: Kyanjing Gompa- Lama Hotel: 5-6 hours
28/10/2010 – Day 12: Lama Hotel - Thulo Shyabru: 5-6 hours
29/10/2010 – Day 13: Thulo Shyabru- Shing gompa: 3-5 hours
30/10/2010 – Day 14: Shin gompa- Gosainkunda: 5-6 hours
31/10/2010 – Day 15: Gosainkunda- Ghopte: 6-8 hours
01/11/2010 – Day 16: Ghopte- Malemchigaon: 6-7 hours
02/11/2010 – Day 17: Malemchigaon - Tarke Ghyang: 5-7 hours
03/11/2010 – Day 18: Tarke Ghyang- Sermathang: 3-5 hours
04/11/2010 – Day 19: Sermathang- Malemchi Puul Bazaar -Katmandu : 3-4 hours; 2 hour jeep
05/11/2010 – Day 20: Observe exciting Diwali (lighting festival), which is really interesting
06/11/2010 – Day 21: Again observe the exciting Diwali (lighting festival)
07/11/2010 – Day 22: Last day of Diwali festival, which will be celebrate as brother and sister festival as a part of the Diwali festival
Bhutan:
08/11/2010 – Day 23: Fly from Kathmandu, arrive Paro – Drive to Thimphu . Overnight Hotel Thimphu.
09/11/2010 - Day 24: Thimphu S/S and afternoon drive to Punakha.
10/11/2010 - Day 25: Morning Drive to Bumthang.
11/11/2010 - Day 26: Bumthang S/S overnight in Bumthang.
12/11/2010 - Day 27: Bumthang Excursion to Ura back Bumthang.
13/11/2010 - Day 28 Bumthang – Gantey – Wangdue. Overnight at hotel in Wangdue.
14/11/2010 - Day 29: Wangdue – Thimphu – Paro
15/11/2010 - Day 30: Paro – Excursion to Taktsang.
16/11/2010 - Day 31: Excursion to Chela Pass and visit Nunnery and afternoon drive back to Paro
17/11/2010 – Day 32: Paro valley sightseeing and hike to Taksang Monastery (Tiger nest)
18/11/2010 – Day 33: Depart from Paro - Kathmandu and rest
19/11/2010 – Day 34: Fly back to Bangkok/Kuala Lumpur/Singapore
Itinerary for Nepal and Bhutan:
17/10/2010 – Day 01: Arrive in Kathmandu and rest
18/10/2010 – Day 02: Kathmandu- Shyabru Beshi 9-10 hours by jeep
19/10/2010 – Day 03: Trekking to Gatlang 6:00 hrs
20/10/2010 – Day 04: Gatlang to Tatooani 6 hrs
21/10/2010 – Day 05: Tatopani to Thuman 5:30 hrs
22/10/2010 – Day 06: Thuman to Briddim 6 hrs
23/10/2010 – Day 07: Bridim to Lama Hotel 5:30 hrs
24/10/2010 – Day 08: Lama hotel to Langtang 5 hours
25/10/2010 – Day 09: Langtang to Kyanjing Gompa 3 hours
26/10/2010 – Day 10: Kyanjing Gompa: explore day
27/10/2010 – Day 11: Kyanjing Gompa- Lama Hotel: 5-6 hours
28/10/2010 – Day 12: Lama Hotel - Thulo Shyabru: 5-6 hours
29/10/2010 – Day 13: Thulo Shyabru- Shing gompa: 3-5 hours
30/10/2010 – Day 14: Shin gompa- Gosainkunda: 5-6 hours
31/10/2010 – Day 15: Gosainkunda- Ghopte: 6-8 hours
01/11/2010 – Day 16: Ghopte- Malemchigaon: 6-7 hours
02/11/2010 – Day 17: Malemchigaon - Tarke Ghyang: 5-7 hours
03/11/2010 – Day 18: Tarke Ghyang- Sermathang: 3-5 hours
04/11/2010 – Day 19: Sermathang- Malemchi Puul Bazaar -Katmandu : 3-4 hours; 2 hour jeep
05/11/2010 – Day 20: Observe exciting Diwali (lighting festival), which is really interesting
06/11/2010 – Day 21: Again observe the exciting Diwali (lighting festival)
07/11/2010 – Day 22: Last day of Diwali festival, which will be celebrate as brother and sister festival as a part of the Diwali festival
Bhutan:
08/11/2010 – Day 23: Fly from Kathmandu, arrive Paro – Drive to Thimphu . Overnight Hotel Thimphu.
09/11/2010 - Day 24: Thimphu S/S and afternoon drive to Punakha.
10/11/2010 - Day 25: Morning Drive to Bumthang.
11/11/2010 - Day 26: Bumthang S/S overnight in Bumthang.
12/11/2010 - Day 27: Bumthang Excursion to Ura back Bumthang.
13/11/2010 - Day 28 Bumthang – Gantey – Wangdue. Overnight at hotel in Wangdue.
14/11/2010 - Day 29: Wangdue – Thimphu – Paro
15/11/2010 - Day 30: Paro – Excursion to Taktsang.
16/11/2010 - Day 31: Excursion to Chela Pass and visit Nunnery and afternoon drive back to Paro
17/11/2010 – Day 32: Paro valley sightseeing and hike to Taksang Monastery (Tiger nest)
18/11/2010 – Day 33: Depart from Paro - Kathmandu and rest
19/11/2010 – Day 34: Fly back to Bangkok/Kuala Lumpur/Singapore
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
BIG Update
I've been hopeless at writing on this blog for ages, so here's a biggie update!
I'm off to Asia on Tuesday at 2 AM. I'm going for 8 weeks!! One of my old high school galpals lives in Singapore, so I'm going to stay with her for a bit. Then she's connected me to her friend Terry who is currently living in Bangkok, so I've got a guide with a couch lined up in Bangkok! Then it's off to Nepal for 18 days of trekking. I've wanted to go trekking in the Himalaya for about 5 years, so I'm happy I'm finally doing that. I get back to Kathmandu in time for a 3 day festival of Diwali, the Hindu Festival of Lights. Very cool. I love attending festivals as it is an amazing snapshot of local culture, and I am thrilled I will see this!
After Diwali in Kathmandu, I'll leave for 11 days in Bhutan, another mountain kingdom in the Himalaya. I have wanted to visit Bhutan for decades, literally, so this is HUGE for me. I had hoped to do some trekking there, as it is meant to be incredibly beautiful. But instead I'll be lucky enough to see a, you guessed it, FESTIVAL in eastern Bhutan. Bhutan is a very traditional country, unique and interesting, and not very open to the West, so I am so excited to see this place. Did you know that instead of tracking the GDP (Gross Domestic Product), they track the GDH (Gross Domestic Happiness)? How fantastic is that? Apparently the King noticed years ago that citizens of more economically successful countries were not necessarily happier, and he decided that happiness is more important than money. WOW. I cannot wait.
My friend Gary has just booked some of his trip, and will be joining me for part of the Nepal trek and for Bhutan. His friend worked with the Prince of Bhutan, so I am strongly angling for a meeting with the Prince!! hahaha, we shall see.
After Bhutan, I'll head back to Bangkok for another couple nights, and hopefully see Terry again.....if they have not yet moved away from Bangkok. (They have a great lifestyle where her husband works in internet something, so they just choose somewhere that sounds cool and live there for a few months.)
Then I've got a night planned in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. I had the option of flying directly back to Singapore, but instead chose the "less good" connection to give me a night in a place I've never seen before. Fun, right?!
Then....back to Singapore. At that point, I'll have 2 1/2 weeks of holiday left, and I have made no plans so far. Maybe hang with Laura and her family? Hopefully we could do a trip to Cambodia to visit the orphanage she sponsors. Anyway, those plans will be made when the time is right.
And then I'll be back in Vancouver on Dec 8.
Update on my projects
I have 2 great projects in the works:
1. a book about the good things that come from the adversity of cancer
2. Getting Gold for Canada
The book project has been in the works for a while, but over the last couple months, I have done some wonderful and inspirational interviews. People have made gains and found things such as: more fulfilling meditation practise; the ability to love more deeply; financial freedom; improved personal relationships; changed careers; etc etc. It is great!
2. the project about Getting Gold Medals for Canada has me working with competitive and elite paralympic athletes who do nordic skiing. This started because I watched my friend Jamie guide a visually impaired skier in Whistler last spring. I watched at the categories of nordic skiing, and was fascinated watching those competitions. As usual, I met some engineers in a bar and got chatting about what I was excited about, so the idea came up that the athletes should have better equipment. And that I should find corporate sponsors to do this, AND that if these companies has engineers working there, they could have a perk of working with elite paranordic athetes. I saw it as a perfect match!
Then I sat down with Jamie and Tony, who run the local nordic ski club in Vancouver, which happens to have many of the Canadian National Paralympic Nordic team. I pitched them my idea, and they were super keen! But then it came out that most of the paranordic athletes had not accessed the research and academic resources available in the Lower Mainland. WOW, I just assumed that was something that would have already been done! So the first phase of my project is to link athletes with researchers and students in Vancouver.
I have now met a few athletes and made some incredible contacts at UBC and BCIT. I am really, really excited! I've met a gal who is doing her Ph.D. in Human Kinetics, so she has many grad students and undergrads to approach. And I got connected to the Head of the Prosthetics Dept at BCIT who was shocked to hear that our best standing athletes do not have a sport-specific prosthetic. (Fyi, standing athletes have issues with lower limbs, such as amputations.) He's going to talk with his lab, and I may also look to form a partnership with folks at UBC too. And I met another woman who is a resident in at UBC Med School in Physical Medicine (this is physiotherapy medicine, and sports med, and rehab med, and prosthetics. It's a broad field). She told me she has spoken to some of her contacts, and they are excited as it's tough to find research subjects. WHAT?!? So here I am, finding a gap in athletes' development and connecting it to a gap in related research! How great is this? I'm thrilled!
I spoke last night with Sean, who is in a wheelchair and brand new to nordic skiing, although keen to compete. He doesn't have equipment yet, or really know how to ski. But I told him he's great, as he's a raw talent. He used to play hockey at an elite level, so has the "right stuff" to be competitive. One of the other sit skiers has spent years on trial-and-error to get his sled set up, although he is now on my list to be analyzed for biomechanics, to see if he is in the most efficient position. (Seriously. This guy is the top ranked sit skier in Canada, but has NOT had analysis done to see if he is skiing as efficiently as possible.) Anyway, I'm thinking that perhaps Sean could be put into our program at an earlier stage, and maybe shorten the learning curve to become an efficient skier? He is excited about my idea!
I see HUGE potential for this project, and I am excited.
Have I mentioned I'm excited?!?!?!? :-D
What else? Healthwise, I'm great. I have a recurrence, just a little one. Anyway, we've known about it for 2 years now, I guess. I had to meet with all sorts of specialists last year. Eventually, a treatment plan was recommended, so that I would have another blast of radioactive iodine. They did say I could take thyrogen to do this, so it wouldn't be nearly so horrible, but.... I have currently declined treatment. It's a little speck of a tumour, and we're just watching it. If it grows a bunch, or I get mets, or whatever, THEN I'll have some I131. But in the meantime, I'm healthy and happy.
Fitness wise, I've set a goal for myself of running a half marathon each month for a year! I have one coming up on Sunday, and that will be one a month for 6 months, so I'm halfway there. :) I'm surprised how tired I am, actually. But it's going fine.
So......that's my update. It's a long one, as I've been soooooo busy, my poor blog has been sadly neglected. Terrible.
I'm off to Asia on Tuesday at 2 AM. I'm going for 8 weeks!! One of my old high school galpals lives in Singapore, so I'm going to stay with her for a bit. Then she's connected me to her friend Terry who is currently living in Bangkok, so I've got a guide with a couch lined up in Bangkok! Then it's off to Nepal for 18 days of trekking. I've wanted to go trekking in the Himalaya for about 5 years, so I'm happy I'm finally doing that. I get back to Kathmandu in time for a 3 day festival of Diwali, the Hindu Festival of Lights. Very cool. I love attending festivals as it is an amazing snapshot of local culture, and I am thrilled I will see this!
After Diwali in Kathmandu, I'll leave for 11 days in Bhutan, another mountain kingdom in the Himalaya. I have wanted to visit Bhutan for decades, literally, so this is HUGE for me. I had hoped to do some trekking there, as it is meant to be incredibly beautiful. But instead I'll be lucky enough to see a, you guessed it, FESTIVAL in eastern Bhutan. Bhutan is a very traditional country, unique and interesting, and not very open to the West, so I am so excited to see this place. Did you know that instead of tracking the GDP (Gross Domestic Product), they track the GDH (Gross Domestic Happiness)? How fantastic is that? Apparently the King noticed years ago that citizens of more economically successful countries were not necessarily happier, and he decided that happiness is more important than money. WOW. I cannot wait.
My friend Gary has just booked some of his trip, and will be joining me for part of the Nepal trek and for Bhutan. His friend worked with the Prince of Bhutan, so I am strongly angling for a meeting with the Prince!! hahaha, we shall see.
After Bhutan, I'll head back to Bangkok for another couple nights, and hopefully see Terry again.....if they have not yet moved away from Bangkok. (They have a great lifestyle where her husband works in internet something, so they just choose somewhere that sounds cool and live there for a few months.)
Then I've got a night planned in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. I had the option of flying directly back to Singapore, but instead chose the "less good" connection to give me a night in a place I've never seen before. Fun, right?!
Then....back to Singapore. At that point, I'll have 2 1/2 weeks of holiday left, and I have made no plans so far. Maybe hang with Laura and her family? Hopefully we could do a trip to Cambodia to visit the orphanage she sponsors. Anyway, those plans will be made when the time is right.
And then I'll be back in Vancouver on Dec 8.
Update on my projects
I have 2 great projects in the works:
1. a book about the good things that come from the adversity of cancer
2. Getting Gold for Canada
The book project has been in the works for a while, but over the last couple months, I have done some wonderful and inspirational interviews. People have made gains and found things such as: more fulfilling meditation practise; the ability to love more deeply; financial freedom; improved personal relationships; changed careers; etc etc. It is great!
2. the project about Getting Gold Medals for Canada has me working with competitive and elite paralympic athletes who do nordic skiing. This started because I watched my friend Jamie guide a visually impaired skier in Whistler last spring. I watched at the categories of nordic skiing, and was fascinated watching those competitions. As usual, I met some engineers in a bar and got chatting about what I was excited about, so the idea came up that the athletes should have better equipment. And that I should find corporate sponsors to do this, AND that if these companies has engineers working there, they could have a perk of working with elite paranordic athetes. I saw it as a perfect match!
Then I sat down with Jamie and Tony, who run the local nordic ski club in Vancouver, which happens to have many of the Canadian National Paralympic Nordic team. I pitched them my idea, and they were super keen! But then it came out that most of the paranordic athletes had not accessed the research and academic resources available in the Lower Mainland. WOW, I just assumed that was something that would have already been done! So the first phase of my project is to link athletes with researchers and students in Vancouver.
I have now met a few athletes and made some incredible contacts at UBC and BCIT. I am really, really excited! I've met a gal who is doing her Ph.D. in Human Kinetics, so she has many grad students and undergrads to approach. And I got connected to the Head of the Prosthetics Dept at BCIT who was shocked to hear that our best standing athletes do not have a sport-specific prosthetic. (Fyi, standing athletes have issues with lower limbs, such as amputations.) He's going to talk with his lab, and I may also look to form a partnership with folks at UBC too. And I met another woman who is a resident in at UBC Med School in Physical Medicine (this is physiotherapy medicine, and sports med, and rehab med, and prosthetics. It's a broad field). She told me she has spoken to some of her contacts, and they are excited as it's tough to find research subjects. WHAT?!? So here I am, finding a gap in athletes' development and connecting it to a gap in related research! How great is this? I'm thrilled!
I spoke last night with Sean, who is in a wheelchair and brand new to nordic skiing, although keen to compete. He doesn't have equipment yet, or really know how to ski. But I told him he's great, as he's a raw talent. He used to play hockey at an elite level, so has the "right stuff" to be competitive. One of the other sit skiers has spent years on trial-and-error to get his sled set up, although he is now on my list to be analyzed for biomechanics, to see if he is in the most efficient position. (Seriously. This guy is the top ranked sit skier in Canada, but has NOT had analysis done to see if he is skiing as efficiently as possible.) Anyway, I'm thinking that perhaps Sean could be put into our program at an earlier stage, and maybe shorten the learning curve to become an efficient skier? He is excited about my idea!
I see HUGE potential for this project, and I am excited.
Have I mentioned I'm excited?!?!?!? :-D
What else? Healthwise, I'm great. I have a recurrence, just a little one. Anyway, we've known about it for 2 years now, I guess. I had to meet with all sorts of specialists last year. Eventually, a treatment plan was recommended, so that I would have another blast of radioactive iodine. They did say I could take thyrogen to do this, so it wouldn't be nearly so horrible, but.... I have currently declined treatment. It's a little speck of a tumour, and we're just watching it. If it grows a bunch, or I get mets, or whatever, THEN I'll have some I131. But in the meantime, I'm healthy and happy.
Fitness wise, I've set a goal for myself of running a half marathon each month for a year! I have one coming up on Sunday, and that will be one a month for 6 months, so I'm halfway there. :) I'm surprised how tired I am, actually. But it's going fine.
So......that's my update. It's a long one, as I've been soooooo busy, my poor blog has been sadly neglected. Terrible.
Monday, October 4, 2010
Cool Pic
Without a doubt, this is the coolest picture anyone has ever made for me. Bo did it. In her spare time, on a break from being a OB/GYN in California and mother of 7 and wife, and all around Superstar.
 |
| diving into Hiatt Lake, Emigrant Wilderness, California |
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Trip Prep
Looks like my face is ready for anything!
sunscreen for my lifestyle: hanging from a cliff (checked repeatedly), skydiving (check - 1989), or sailing through the precarious straits of the Pacific (check!)
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Blueberries!
Cap'n Blair sent me a text today: A blueberry just rolled by...
In case you've lost track, it's been nearly 7 weeks since we sailed through a storm. LMAO.
In case you've lost track, it's been nearly 7 weeks since we sailed through a storm. LMAO.
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Back from Beyond
I'm baaaack..... 7 days in the Emigrant Wilderness with 10 great friends. Carried 54 lbs on day 1, and ~ 45 lb on day 7. Body is tired, feet are shredded, and my smile is large as all outdoors.
details to follow....
details to follow....
Saturday, August 21, 2010
No Joke
Mackenzie peed on me. On my leg. On my foot. I. Am. Not. Kidding.
We were walking this morning, and I was chatting with Jill. Macdog was on his leash. No biggie. Suddenly there was a slightly warm, wet sensation. ACK! Seems he'd lifted his leg, I wasn't watching, and walked right into the stream. He didn't give a crap. Didn't even notice. Looked a bit puzzled by my yelling and shaking the offended leg.
On an unrelated note, I am going backpacking tomorrow, and will be off grid for 7 days.
We were walking this morning, and I was chatting with Jill. Macdog was on his leash. No biggie. Suddenly there was a slightly warm, wet sensation. ACK! Seems he'd lifted his leg, I wasn't watching, and walked right into the stream. He didn't give a crap. Didn't even notice. Looked a bit puzzled by my yelling and shaking the offended leg.
On an unrelated note, I am going backpacking tomorrow, and will be off grid for 7 days.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Nascent Mariner
here's the very loooooong story of my recent trips aboard boats:
Tuesday I headed for Vancouver Island. By this time, I was getting numerous requests for visits and had agreed to help Blair bring the boat back from Campbell River in a week, so....dropped my car at Tsawassen and walked on.
Met Julie for pedicures, and they were LOVELY........ So nice. The Willowstream Spa is fantastic. (It's in the Empress Hotel - I know how to do things right!) Spent that night at Juju's house, then...... Dave texted and wanted to take us for a ride on his boat! He followed me all the way to Vancouver Island! So Wednesday afternoon, Julie and I floated around on Dave's boat in the sunshine. Dave was VERY happy to have 2 bikini-clad blondes aboard :)
keep that track of that......I lost my wallet on Wednesday PM.........
We then motored to Otter Bay, on Pender Island. I'm sure it had NOTHING to do with the fact that I'd been drinking sparkely wine, but when I went swimming after dark, the bioluminesence was INCREDIBLE. When I kicked my legs fast, it looked like fire. And when I moved my legs very slowly, it looked like I was wearing gorgeous, sparkley tights. WOW. MAGIC.
On Thursday, Dave dropped me back at Crofton, where I had left my rental car. I had pre-arranged to meet some old friends, so had to drive up-island. [details and pics in another post] Let's just say that I was magnanimously offering to buy my hosts ice cream, when I discovered my wallet was missing. :( Ooops.
The next day, Friday, I returned my car to Duncan, and Captain Blair drove down to pick me up. His crew had flown back to Toronto, so I had agreed to help crew his boat back to Vancouver, although admittedly, I know NOTHING about sailing.
So... when Blair collected me on Friday, he had to pay the gas in my rental car. And take me out for lunch. And take me out for dinner in Campbell River. And buy all the groceries. And it's his boat, so he paid fuel, moorage, etc........
We stayed on his boat in the marina in Campbell River on Fri night.
On Saturday, the weather had changed..... No longer hot and sunny, a small gale was blowing up, and it was drizzly and cool. This made it pretty tricky to get the 60 foot yacht out of the marina. (hahaha, when I said it was a boat, I was later corrected. It's a yacht. It sleeps 9, should have a crew of 6, has a full kitchen, shower, 2 heads, tv, stereo....although NO hot tub. What the heck?!?)
Like I said, very tricky to get the big boat out of the marina. Everyone else apparently thought we were a little looney for heading out, as oh, there was a small craft warning!! In the marina, there was a light wind, so Blair did about a 20 point turn to get out, and ALL the other boaters were out and trying to keep him from ramming their boats.....and he did not. I ran back and forth like a yappy terrier, pushing the boat away from all obstacles. When he finally did get us out of there, I said, loudly enough for all to hear, "I'll drive next time, and we'll get out with a 6 point turn!!" hahahah, he wasn't even insulted, as he is a damn good boat driver, and I do not know how to do anything. :)
OK, so Blair and I headed south. The shortest way to get to Vancouver was to cross over pretty soon. We got out into the main channel, west of Cortes Island, and got right into the weather. Blair sort of quietly said, "Go downstairs and put everything away. Anything that could fall off the counter needs to be put away, or it will fall and smash."
I failed to realise I had about 1 minute to do this!!!!! We got into some serious swells, and I was down there, putting the coffee maker in the sink, and then dashing to save the laptop. I apparently jumped a bit too hard, and hit my arm HARD....had to sit still for a couple mins as I really thought I had broken my wrist or arm. Ouch.
While I was feeling sorry for my arm, a box of blueberries had launched itself off the counter, so now, as the boat, oops, YACHT, wildly rocked back and forth, blueberries rolled back and forth in time.
Being the earnest, though unskilled, galley slave I am, I banged my way over to the galley. (This was HARD. I was falling everywhere, and have the bruises to prove it.) I found a good container, and plonked my way onto the floor to sit amongst the berries. They were rolling everywhere, and I had to brace myself under the table or I woulda have been covering as much distance as they were. Blair, who seems comfortable in all sorts of inclement weather, poked his head down to check on my mayhem, and laughed his guts out. There I was, like a slightly seasick grizzly, wedged under the table, grabbing berries as they rolled by. Since we'd washed the floor just the night before, I ate quite a lot, but saved most of them in my plastic bin.
In case you know something about sea conditions (which I do not), fyi, there was a 3 foot swell, with another 1 foot of wind on top. This meant we were in 4 foot waves, and that really means 8 feet from top to bottom. So really it was like jumping on and off the top bunk of bunk beds! So you can understand why I would need to hang on tight, or wedge myself under various pieces of furniture.......
little did I know I'd be sailing in a storm!
HAHAHHAHAHAH, I am totally laughing at what a complete pain in the ass I am!
Oh yah, and I STILL had not gotten to the ATM to pay him back!
aaahhhh, now just think back to a lovely week....
I even made a map so you could try to follow my trail!
It all started with an invite to watch the fireworks and go sailing on the August long weekend.......
I had a great weekend on the sail boat. Blair, his brother Kevin, his 88 year old dad, and his pal Todd were all living on the boat. My link-up, JoAnne, thought I had no where to stay in Van, so she told Blair I'd be staying aboard, which was totally convenient, but slightly weird when I realised I was the only GUEST staying.... Oh well. Sat night we watched the fireworks and had a pretty boozy party.
 |
| YUM! Dim sum remains |
Then Sunday AM we went for dim sum (YUM!! I have not done that in years!).
And Sunday afternoon we went to Bowen Island. It started getting late, so we all went for dinner on Bowen, and then the group decided it would be way more fun to stay on the boat in Snug Cove in Bowen.
It's a tough job, but somebody's gotta do it: me n JoAnne, resident mermaids
As we pulled into the dock on Bowen, there was a very drunk woman on the dock, and she liked me instantly. And she said, "You need to meet my friend," and dragged me over to meet Dave. We had a very short convo, then she said, "You guys should get married," so I grabbed to nearest boat captain, and got us hitched! hahahhaha, luckily, he was in fact NOT a current boat captain..... Nonetheless, he and I exchanged numbers.
 |
| Blair's 88 y/o Dad, who performed the ceremony |
 |
| Canada Place |
ok, so next day (Monday).....got dropped at Canada Place, collected my car and by then, Dave had texted and wanted me to meet him at the Port Moody marina, and he'd take me for a cruise, and cook me dinner on his boat. What am I, CRAZY??? Like I would miss this opportunity?!?!?!
 |
| Indian Arm |
Tuesday I headed for Vancouver Island. By this time, I was getting numerous requests for visits and had agreed to help Blair bring the boat back from Campbell River in a week, so....dropped my car at Tsawassen and walked on.
Met Julie for pedicures, and they were LOVELY........ So nice. The Willowstream Spa is fantastic. (It's in the Empress Hotel - I know how to do things right!) Spent that night at Juju's house, then...... Dave texted and wanted to take us for a ride on his boat! He followed me all the way to Vancouver Island! So Wednesday afternoon, Julie and I floated around on Dave's boat in the sunshine. Dave was VERY happy to have 2 bikini-clad blondes aboard :)
 |
| nautical pedi-toes |
 |
| Captain Dave, enthusiastic about his view |
 |
| towheaded bow ornaments |
 |
| YAHOO! |
Hmmm, what next? Dave and I then motored to Saltspring Island to fuel the boat and "get supplies". (And by supplies, obviously, I mean wine.) While he gassed up the boat, I dashed to the liquor store in town. I chose 5 bottles, then the lady at the counter said that they had a sale on: 10% off if you buy 6 bottles. Well, HELLOOOOOOOO!!! I had already been eying the prosecco, so this was obviously a message from above: GOD LOVES ME AND WANTS ME TO DRINK SPARKLEY WINE!! I was so excited, that it seems I lost track of my wallet on Dave's boat :(
keep that track of that......I lost my wallet on Wednesday PM.........
We then motored to Otter Bay, on Pender Island. I'm sure it had NOTHING to do with the fact that I'd been drinking sparkely wine, but when I went swimming after dark, the bioluminesence was INCREDIBLE. When I kicked my legs fast, it looked like fire. And when I moved my legs very slowly, it looked like I was wearing gorgeous, sparkley tights. WOW. MAGIC.
On Thursday, Dave dropped me back at Crofton, where I had left my rental car. I had pre-arranged to meet some old friends, so had to drive up-island. [details and pics in another post] Let's just say that I was magnanimously offering to buy my hosts ice cream, when I discovered my wallet was missing. :( Ooops.
The next day, Friday, I returned my car to Duncan, and Captain Blair drove down to pick me up. His crew had flown back to Toronto, so I had agreed to help crew his boat back to Vancouver, although admittedly, I know NOTHING about sailing.
So... when Blair collected me on Friday, he had to pay the gas in my rental car. And take me out for lunch. And take me out for dinner in Campbell River. And buy all the groceries. And it's his boat, so he paid fuel, moorage, etc........
We stayed on his boat in the marina in Campbell River on Fri night.
On Saturday, the weather had changed..... No longer hot and sunny, a small gale was blowing up, and it was drizzly and cool. This made it pretty tricky to get the 60 foot yacht out of the marina. (hahaha, when I said it was a boat, I was later corrected. It's a yacht. It sleeps 9, should have a crew of 6, has a full kitchen, shower, 2 heads, tv, stereo....although NO hot tub. What the heck?!?)
Like I said, very tricky to get the big boat out of the marina. Everyone else apparently thought we were a little looney for heading out, as oh, there was a small craft warning!! In the marina, there was a light wind, so Blair did about a 20 point turn to get out, and ALL the other boaters were out and trying to keep him from ramming their boats.....and he did not. I ran back and forth like a yappy terrier, pushing the boat away from all obstacles. When he finally did get us out of there, I said, loudly enough for all to hear, "I'll drive next time, and we'll get out with a 6 point turn!!" hahahah, he wasn't even insulted, as he is a damn good boat driver, and I do not know how to do anything. :)
 |
| everything's under control with Cap'n Blair |
OK, so Blair and I headed south. The shortest way to get to Vancouver was to cross over pretty soon. We got out into the main channel, west of Cortes Island, and got right into the weather. Blair sort of quietly said, "Go downstairs and put everything away. Anything that could fall off the counter needs to be put away, or it will fall and smash."
I failed to realise I had about 1 minute to do this!!!!! We got into some serious swells, and I was down there, putting the coffee maker in the sink, and then dashing to save the laptop. I apparently jumped a bit too hard, and hit my arm HARD....had to sit still for a couple mins as I really thought I had broken my wrist or arm. Ouch.
While I was feeling sorry for my arm, a box of blueberries had launched itself off the counter, so now, as the boat, oops, YACHT, wildly rocked back and forth, blueberries rolled back and forth in time.
Being the earnest, though unskilled, galley slave I am, I banged my way over to the galley. (This was HARD. I was falling everywhere, and have the bruises to prove it.) I found a good container, and plonked my way onto the floor to sit amongst the berries. They were rolling everywhere, and I had to brace myself under the table or I woulda have been covering as much distance as they were. Blair, who seems comfortable in all sorts of inclement weather, poked his head down to check on my mayhem, and laughed his guts out. There I was, like a slightly seasick grizzly, wedged under the table, grabbing berries as they rolled by. Since we'd washed the floor just the night before, I ate quite a lot, but saved most of them in my plastic bin.
In case you know something about sea conditions (which I do not), fyi, there was a 3 foot swell, with another 1 foot of wind on top. This meant we were in 4 foot waves, and that really means 8 feet from top to bottom. So really it was like jumping on and off the top bunk of bunk beds! So you can understand why I would need to hang on tight, or wedge myself under various pieces of furniture.......
I will guess this lasted about 30-60 mins, but I truly have no idea. It was mostly fun, although I was starting to clench my teeth and wish for an end.... As Cap'n Blair said: "It's not dangerous, just uncomfortable." True, but still we had waves crash over the bow, and I had to close all the portholes as water was splashing inside.
little did I know I'd be sailing in a storm!
Not long after that, we moored at Hernandes Island, south of Cortes. Had lunch, thought about swimming, but....didn't.
Anchor up, we motored south. There really is no other great harbour or safe bay until we got to the mouth of Jervis Inlet. So we pased Savary Island (nice beaches, apparently), past Powell River and its unique breakwater of WWII warships, east of Texada Island, and set anchor safely in Thunder Bay. Yep, we motored across Canada. [haha, obviously not.] It's just inside the south of Jervis Inlet, close to Saltery Bay ferry terminal.
OK, so which day is this? Ummmm, we're up to Sunday. I still had no wallet, but what was I gonna do? Tip an orca, as it swam by? Nah, they didn't show up.
 |
| I've got my sea legs, and am just hangin out now. |
OK, Sunday we headed south from Thunder Bay. I gave my mom a call from off shore - AREN'T CELL PHONES COOL??? We motored around the southern tip of Texada Island, as Blair wanted to show me Jedediah Island. Apparently his brother Kevin tried to buy this island at one point..... Anyway, it was a pretty nice place to have lunch and go swimming. There were 2 seal pups being weaned by their mom....we had front seats for Animal Kingdom :)
 |
| Jedediah Island on the left |
 |
| bummer of a view... |
Back under Texada, we headed south for Gibsons. Wow, I still cannot believe how slow boats go compared to cars! HA, we were going 6 knots.... I can run nearly that fast..... Finally, Sunday night we moored in Gibsons harbour, so we could hang above decks (check that nautical lingo... I'm kind of a pro now) and look at the sparkley lights.
 |
| on the way to Gibsons |
Finally, Monday AM, we pulled up anchor, headed north around Bowen Island (got the scenic tour....cuz the rest of the coast is not scenic?) and finally back to Granville Island marina.
 |
| ferry leaving Snug Cove, on Bowen Island |
OK, as you'll recall, I had left my wallet on Dave's boat...... So he had to come and collect me! (I'm not high maintenance at all...) He forgot my wallet, so brought the cash I owed Blair for gas, travel, food, etc etc. And then I made him buy me a coffee (not high maintenance) and listen to all my stories without interrupting (still not!). And we got into.... Dave's Porsche Boxster! YAY for me! First, we went to Mom's house to collect the last of my luggage. Then, out to Tsawassen to collect my car. AND he had to pay for my week of parking. (Oh no, definitely not high maintenance...)
Anyway, so I was cranky and restless. (Wow, I kinda suck as a date...) "I wanna go running." "I wanna go home to my dog." blah blah blah.... What we really did was go for a drive - who knew Port Moody is LOVELY? - and went for a bite at the Keg. Where they have Happy Hour $1 raw oysters!!!!!!!!!!! OK, so I completely fell off my plan... Couple glasses of wine, squeals of delight at oysters.....so we were off to the liquor store for more supplies, and back to his place.
Spent the rest of the evening hanging with him and his son, watching tv, telling stories and drinking wine. Pretty fun night.
The next AM, Dave must have been really desperate for his cash, cuz HE LET ME DRIVE HIS PORSCHE TO GO GET IT!!!!!!! And somehow I managed to get it back to him in under an hour :)
And so I finally made it home Tuesday afternoon. :)
So yes, my life is GREAT.
 |
Aaaaahhhhhhh, my life does not suck at all :) |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)