Day 223 - Free Bird

(Photo taken at the beginning of my trek up Machu Picchu, Peru)

Day 223 - "I Feel it All" by Feist (Britt From Spoon Remix) and "Around the World" by Red Hot Chilli Peppers

"I always wonder why birds choose to stay in the same place when they can fly anywhere on earth, then I ask myself the same question." - Harun Yahya

I've been feeling restless since I pulled in to Calgary today, restless in the sense that I need to keep drifting and travelling. Saskatoon was such a nice break from this busy work driven city. While living downtown in midst of the hustle bustle, I feel like I am never working hard enough and I can always be accomplishing more than I've already completed. In my initial post titled "The Prequel" I had mentioned one of the creators of Biobeats was saying everyone works too hard and they forget to enjoy their life and more importantly what is in front of them. I can't help but notice that when I step outside...the whole world is right in front of me and it's begging me to explore it's hidden adventures and perils.

While enjoying a bottle of wine with a few of my friends this evening, the topic of a weekend trip this summer to Las Vegas came up. I didn't hesitate and said I'm in! It fits perfectly with 4. Drive a Race Car from The List of Justice. I very well could travel 1.5 hours north of Calgary and ride a stock car around the international track in Wetaskiwin...or I could drive an exotic race car around the tracks in Vegas!

As I was browsing flights to Las Vegas I started searching other travel destinations. Truthfully I have never been to our country's capital Ottawa and my mom will be there in a month's time. She is the coach for the very successful Wheelchair Curling Provincial Team and they are playing in the Wheelchair Curling Championship in Ottawa this March. I am planning on flying out there to watch a couple games and to tour around Ottawa. The only deterrent in my travel plans is the $700 flight. It's insane that it costs that much to fly within my own country but I suppose it is quite the distance. For the same distance and same price I could fly to Belize for a ten day tropical beach holiday. Hmmm, it's looking to be an expensive 229 days but the anticipation of Coachella in California, Ottawa, Las Vegas and 10. Travel to a New Country (maybe Belize??)...eeee it's time to begin travelling again after being so stationary.

Night night.
xox

Day 224 - Never Never Land

Day 224 - "Mushaboom" By Feist

My heart dropped as I was packing my bags this evening to head back to Calgary tomorrow morning...it's always a sad night when I have to leave my nieces. It's been an eventful and fun week with the girls. They have assisted me in letting loose and forgetting all of my problems in the world. Visiting them is comparable to travelling to Never Never Land. Every day is so innocent and entertaining and the best part is we all act like reckless children (which of course they are still children of two and five years). We typically start of the day with chocolate milk and a snack (mom and dad already have fed them breakfast), then on to puzzles, books and barbies before we sneak in some dessert before we eat lunch. This brings us to my favourite part of the day...nap time! Then it's arts and crafts (abstract painting or colouring) or if the weather is nice then a toboggan ride to the park. All of this is done in our pyjamas because when Aunty Jenn visits that's how we roll. Rinse and repeat which entails a bubble bath with thirty rubber duckies and an early bed time of 8:30pm.

Visiting my nieces and family in Saskatchewan has been my holiday destination for the past year. I haven't been on another holiday recently other than snowboarding a couple times in the mountains and I am very satisfied with my personal travel hot spot. I am always so relaxed and happy after an extended period with my little munchkins. I wish I had the time to write down everything those two girls say because they always have me giggling with their comments, actions and questions. The funniest conversation with one niece this week was about relationships. She is somewhat aware of what has been going on in my life and out of no where she said "Aunty Jenn, I know exactly what you need to do to make things all better with you and your boyfriend..." out of curiosity I asked her what I should do and she said "well it's simple, ask him to marry you!!". Hehe what a little darling and then the following day she cut out a handful of paper hearts and instructed me to give them to him for valentine's day and she reminded me it will all be ok.

I am so grateful for my little nieces, they showered me with love when I felt so empty and they filled me right back up. I am already counting down the days to my next road trip to Saskatoon. The morning will bring hugs and tears from my nieces, it's heartbreaking on both ends when I leave. But I secretly love seeing the tears that pour down my older niece's cheeks because it reminds me how much I am loved and wanted by my girls. Especially when she holds me tight and begs me not to leave...one of the best feelings in the world is knowing that you actually mean something to someone.

Love love love.
xox

Day 225 - Powder Pirate Calling

Day 225 - "Running Up That Hill" by Kate Bush (Datassette Remix)

Today I was catching up with a friend over Facebook and he had mentioned that he is heading to Tanzania in Africa to hike the six day trek up Mount Kilimanjaro and go on a couple safaries. This brought back amazing memories of when I was in South Africa six years ago going scuba diving, driving around on safaris and of course my favourite part of the trip...I had volunteered on a monkey farm called The Vervet Monkey Foundation. During my stay at the foundation I had the opportunity to interact hands on with the baby monkeys which included feeding them, playing with them, getting to know them and learning about their unique behaviours. Originally when I was planning my trip to South Africa I had been looking for volunteer opportunities in an orphanage but I came across the monkey foundation and thought "when in the world will I have the chance to play with baby monkeys and learn about them?".  I loved the experience and highly recommend it to anyone who has an interest in monkeys.

Prior to volunteering in Africa I had been a volunteer at Providence Place for many years. Providence Place is a long term care home for geriatrics. I initially volunteered as a candy striper where I visited with the residents and helped serve food and then helped out in the physiotherapy department where my mom works. My mom always instilled upon me that volunteering is a fundamental part of life. If ever I tell my mom that I'm bored or lonely, she reminds me to get out and do some volunteering...to make use of my time and help someone other than myself.

I'm heading back to Calgary on Thursday and I'm slightly nervous because I keep thinking about all of the new free time I will have in my evenings and on the weekends. Usually a person would be excited about this, but not me...I loved (probably too much) to brainstorm and plan fun things for us to do during the week and on the weekend. Even just little adventures together like star gazing at the U of C observatory ("to the observatory!!"). Now I need to redirect my thoughts and volunteering is a healthy and natural way for me to take the focus of my alone self. A few months ago, when Farrah had passed, I was in discussions with her manager at her job at the time about volunteer opportunities. She used to work at CNIB which is a non-profit charity organization for the blind. I was too overwhelmed at that time with work, family, adventures and coping with the loss of Farrah to set aside time to volunteer. Here we go! I finally replied to her manager today to set up a meeting to see what volunteer opportunities are available.

Thank you mom and Farrah for being rocks in my life! A new learning experience is around the corner, very excited to see what fun this brings.

Until tomorrow.
xox

Day 226 - To Ink or not to Ink

Day 226 - "In for the Kill" by La Roux

5. A New Tattoo (not crossed off yet!)

As per usual, after a piercing(s) my mind wanders to ink and the amazing art that a human body can display. I am more infatuated with tattoos than piercings yet I have more piercings that tattoos.  If you know me well then you know why it's been nine years since I've been inked...and that is a painful story.

My first tattoo was a Japanese symbol on the back of my neck representing courage. I had this tattoo done when I was in grade 12, right before graduation and of course without my parents consent. I was, without a doubt, the rebellious child of the family and my parents told me that we were not allowed piercings or tattoos before the age of 18. Needless to say I had my belly pierced at 16 and a tattoo by 17... I am smiling like a devil right now while thinking back to those occasions. I believe I chose the symbol courage because I wasn't sure if I would make it out alive after my parents saw my new personal art work. Tattoo number two was done in the same year after I turned 18 and that tattoo is the definition of pain in my life. The last tattoo, tattoo number three, consists of two beautiful pink hibiscus flowers which I adore.

To make the story short for tattoo number two...I had always felt like a very independent individual. I always did/do everything the hard way and try to not rely on anyone else, let alone a man. So naturally I had my last name tattooed on my back in the form of "Ms. Arguin" to state that "I shall retain my maiden name and not take on a man's!". Ah, I regretted this tattoo very soon after. Not only because it was a bit crooked but because it was a stupid tattoo idea on my part. C'est la vie. Once I began my career about six years later and had a few extra spending dollars I began the painful process of laser tattoo removal (the video attached is not my tattoo but just an example of the process). I am sweating bullets right now and feel nauseous just watching the first ten seconds of that video. Thinking back to my first session I can still smell my burning skin and feel the laser cutting into my skin like a very hot knife...and then I passed out cold on the floor...and then went back eight more times only to STILL have the darn tattoo on my back. Over $1000 later I gave up. I have a faded tattoo on my back and an amazing idea in mind for a new tattoo to cover it. Unlike Ms. Arguin I have been thinking about this piece for more than one week.

To ink or not to ink? My answer is TO INK!

Sweet dreams.
xox

Day 227 - Shiny Things

2) A New Piercing

Day 227 - I'm already knocking adventures off my list! It feels good to be accomplishing a desired feat so early in my days. As much as my little nose piercing is something that I've been wanting for a very long time, a part of me titles it as a brief distraction. One month ago, when the new year rang in, I thought I was on a path to harmonizing my goals and priorities. Throughout the past couple weeks I have been questioning myself about the essentials that I truly yearn for to bring happiness in my life. Moving forward to a new life place and mind space is difficult when I had such faith and optimism with my past. It's insane how quickly life can change directions! And ah yes and the first song I played when I opened my laptop was "Breathing Underwater" by Metric.

I need to concentrate on staying positive, time to turn this post around a bit. Every time that I glance away from my computer I find myself staring at four of my canvases leaning against the wall. One painting in specific I have been staring at for over a year. I just can't seem to figure out if it's completed or not. This tends to be my biggest challenge with my art work, because there are endless options to always add more to a painting.  Abstract painting has been an on going hobby throughout the past four years and only in this past year have I really blossomed. I am so proud to tell everyone that some of my art work is displayed in a restaurant called Tango in Calgary! I am hoping to infiltrate another restaurant in the coming months, crossing my fingers. I'm going to end this day on a good note while I'm bubbling thinking about painting and here's a recent photo from Tango with two pieces of my work:

Night night...
xox

Day 228 - The List of Justice

(Photos were taken during two of my paragliding adventures, one in Peru and one in Golden, B.C.)

Day 228 - ahhh it's Saturday and I've had plenty of time to imagine what adventures I hope to be posting on my blog in the coming days. My track of the day comes in two versions, one is the original and the second is a dubstep remix (I prefer the dubstep remix) "Youth by Foxes (original)" and "Youth by Foxes (Adventure Club dubstep remix).

As I had hoped, one of my nieces woke me up by sitting on me and bouncing up and down shouting at me to wake up...gosh I love her. I started the day by sitting in the mall with my sister and my nieces having coffees and hot chocolates. I literally sat there and stared at my nieces in awe of their beauty as they pounded back their hot chocolates so they could move on to the next adventure in the mall...playing on the loonie rides (tiny cars, speedboats, carousels, etc. that run for about one minute for one loonie). They had two things on their bucket list for the day 1) a sugary treat and 2) loonie rides. This led to the question that I presented to myself today: "what's on my bucket list?". Oh how the possibilities are endless! What an exciting thought challenge for the day. After discussing my list  in depth with my other sister at the end of the day I had narrowed it down to 10 items. There are a million things that I want to see and do but I am taking into consideration that I only have 228 days left to complete my list. Drum roll please...(P.S. I changed the name of my list because bucket list seemed to cliche)...

The List of Justice

1) Sky Diving
2) A New Piercing
3) Learn to Play an Instrument
4) Drive a Race Car
5) A New Tattoo
6) Fly in a Helicopter
7) Learn How to do the Splits
8) Acquire my Motorcycle License
9) Take Pole Dancing Classes
10) Travel to a New Country

I am smiling ear to ear thinking about beginning to knock each adventure off my list! Perhaps tomorrow the list will be down to 9? Having something to look forward to is a calming feeling. I am expecting to sleep well tonight.

Until tomorrow.

xox

Day 229 - Inside and Out

(Photo taken in Central Park in New York, it was amazing to watch the giant bubbles being created)

Day 229 - let's start off by getting everyone in the same mood as I am in by listening to the following two tracks... "Red Moon" by The Walkmen and  "Wonderful Life" by The Hurts.

I woke up this morning after an amazing sleep and played the song "Wonderful Life" while I was getting ready for work. This song really hit me because the lyrics describe a couple that team up like a Bonnie and Clyde to tackle life. They are there for each other even in the lowest moments of their lives and remind each other why life is worth living. Fighting back a tear after my long and sleepless week I pushed on with the quote in mind "tis better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all".  Now I'm smiling again after letting my mind flood with warm memories of my recent year. In times of sadness it can be to easy to be filled with emptiness and today I am focusing on making room for happiness by focusing on two things: remembering the wonderful life that I've had and looking forward to what lies ahead on Day 229...family and friends.

Today was a fairly uneventful day as I worked then was on the road for six hours travelling to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan (yay!) to spend the week with some of my family. Other than being greeted with warm smiles from my older sister and her husband upon arrival, the real highlight to my day was jamming in my car to a ton of my favourite tunes. I made it a point to listen to songs where I knew the lyrics so I could have a real dance party on my own. Things got exciting for me when The XX played and I remembered that three days ago I booked my ticket to COACHELLA with a bunch of friends!! Ahhh, the only outdoor music festival that I have ever attended was Craven Country Jamboree in Sasky...and at that festival I made it a point to not attend any of the bands playing but more or less have an adventure through the campsites with my girl friends in our hot pink camper van. But Coachella is a different story with different music and a completely different scene...my music and my scene with my amazing friends.

Time to shut this blog down for the night as the sooner I close my computer the sooner I will be awoken by my two little nieces at 7am shouting at "aunty wake up!!". It's amazing how unconditional love can make your heart beat so hard. Day 228 will certainly bring fun and loving adventures...exactly what I need to mend my heart.

xox