Nose Stories

I'm not doing tht much actual stuff these days, so thought I'd just tell random stories....

Last year I was running the cross-country ski trails in Fort St john, when I tripped, a blade of grass poked up my nose, and started GUSHING blood.
funny - -it doesn't hurt to have a blade of grass (or a stick of salal - done that too) poked up your nostril into your sinus.... It's just a weird feeling. And LOTS of blood. Damn my big nose holes!!!!



This reminds me of another nose story...... years ago, I was on a mapping break in the bush with my partner, and a no-see-um flew up my nose. I was like, "Oh my god. Oh my god. A bug flew up my nose! I can feel it flying around inside!! Aaaaarrrhhhhh! He's banging against the sides!" I was making those weird faces - you know how it is when your nose is irritated... felt like both eyes migrated to one side of my face like a deep sea fish. Then I sneezed, and ABSOLUTE REFLEX, we both looked at the kleenex, and said, "There he is."
(Poor fella. High speed impact. Instant death.)


My partner looked closely at me and said, "Funny, you don't have a big nose. But you sure have big nose holes."
see? not too big a nose, but large holes.

Back on Home Soil, Sigh

One week ago, my plane landed in Kamloops, BC.
Yes, in fact, it is weird to be back.
Very weird to hear Canadian accents. On the plane, I kept pricking up my ears, thinking, "Hey, that person must be Canadian." Air Canada flight to Calgary - go figure.
Strange to be back among my stuff, although it's mostly in boxes and needs unpacking (Cousin Kenny wanted his spare room to be available, so I had to box things).
Great to get phone calls, texts and emails from friends welcoming me back.
GREAT to eat Fresh is Best salsa and guacamole, made right here in Kamloops. They can't even match the stuff in California. It's that yummy.
Fabulous to eat fresh peaches, right off Kenny's tree. This is possibly one of my fave experiences in the whole world.
Terrific to visit Julie and Ted in Penticton this week. It's the Iron Man there this weekend, so lots of excitement and athletes running, biking and swimming all over the place.
Tomorrow AM will be my first long run with Susan and Carol. It will be awesome to run with company!!!

Things have changed. There's a new tax on fuel, so gas costs $1.34 a litre. A big jug of milk costs $5.49. (OMG!! I'm sure it was $4 just a while ago.) I can receive calls on my cell at no extra charge, just like everywhere else in the world. I ran into Sasha, an old work colleague, today, and got the update on the office. Same old, same old. It was great to see her, anyway.

I've got loose ends to tie up: finish the sale of the house in Fort St John; go through 6 months of mail; get memory for my computer; train for a half marathon in Banff in 6 weeks. I'm taking a break from alcohol until after the race. Time to recover from The Good Life in Europe!

If all this sounds anti-climactic, well yah, it is. So glad I've got the Olympics to give me some excitement. Siigghhh. Really thinking about how soon I can get back to Europe....might be early October...

Chateau Cote du Rhone

* this is a catch up post, so don`t be confused by the fact that it`s out of order. Didn`t want to miss out these pics and telling about the experience, that`s all.......

My great running partner, Susie Sunshine, came up with the term `Running Shoe Sight Seeing`. One of the incredible bonuses of running while travelling is that by getting out and getting moving, you get a really different view of a place.

While I was at Millefeuille (that`s French week 2 in Provence, in case you`re having trouble keeping up..), I looked out the front door of the school, and noticed that each hilltop had a chateau or little castle or something on it. So I took off for the next village, through the vineyards. At the village, I ran up a steep hill, past a lovely chateau, and found myself on the brow of a hill where I looked down on the Rhone River, and across the entire valley. I told the other students about this, even the other runners, but sadly no one else had gone exploring on this route.
All this in only 60 minutes. Bliss. PLUS, I was wearing my .mp3 player and listening to French phrases. Super-scenic multi-tasking!


did I mention the school was in a Chateau that sold wine.... how great is that....






abandoned house in a vineyard

the chateau



the River Rhone

What the Heck is Tara Up To, Anyway? No.2

I figure it's time to inform people of what I'm doing, in a more clear way.
So, first of all, I am doing a third week of intensive French training, this time at the following school. http://www.buildingyourself.com/dialogue/business.htm (I have the full intention of posting a summary comparison of the 3 schools I attended, as each had its own pluses and minuses.)
Secondly, I will return to Kamloops on Aug 15.
Third, I am in the process of selling my house in Fort St John. It's been a pain trying to rent the entire place from far, far away, so it's time to cut my losses.... Actually, it's time to secure my profits, as I've happily done quite well on that. Am thinking of buying a "flatlet" in Central London, the equivalent of a permanent hotel room. Wish me luck finding something suitable that costs less than a gazillion dollars...

And to clarify, Africa job hasn't FOR SURE fallen through. Don't think they were aware that they've had me waiting for 6 months. The other day, Sam, my primary contact said, "Oh yah, wow, William has to come back from the Congo, as his ticket was only for 6 months. Can you believe that?" I said I could, as I left for Europe just a couple days after him, and I have to come home too. My medical insurance only allows me to stay out of Canada for 6 months at a time.... He tried to tell me to just wait a little longer, things are so close, but I explained that it would be ridiculously risky to go to Africa without insurance. He said the guys would be very disappointed about my going home, and I replied, "Not as disappointed as I am."
I think he was humiliated to realise that they've made me wait so long. As usual, he hasn't called since, as he absolutely avoids that sort of interaction.
Anyway, have to finish the sale of my house in FSJ (conditions due to be removed end of this week), and plan to run a half marathon in Banff at end of Sept. So they've got 6 more weeks where I'm "otherwise occupied".