Day 196 - Mountain Revitalization

Day 196 - "Your Girl" Tourist

Ahhhh how I love getaways to the mountains! It's been years since I have taken the gondola up to the top of Sulphur Mountain.  Just over a year a go my sister Danielle was proposed to by Justin a top the gondola so we decided to visit their memorable spot. Hanging out on the mountain all day brought back wonderful memories of when I used to live and work at the Rimrock Resort in Banff. It was a perfect day to soak in the Banff Hot Springs, ride up the gondola and enjoy martinis with a cheese plate at the Rimrock.

After our relaxing day we went on our mini pub crawl and sugar crawl on Banff Avenue. There are as many sweet shops and fudge factories as there are pubs in Banff. It was impossible to not over indulge with coconut hay stacks, candy from my childhood and fudge. We played it well and went for a little hike around the Bow Falls in the morning to burn off all the food, drinks and sugar that we had ingested. The falls weren't completely frozen over so unfortunately I couldn't get any photos walking on top of the falls.

 Justin managed to snap a nice photo of me with Mountain Rundle in the background. This specific mountain is on my bucket list of hikes. Apparently it's quite strenuous and is an eight hour return hike. I am hoping to tackle it this coming summer as last summer I accomplished a few warm up hikes up Mount Yamnuska, Mount Indefatigable and Heart Mountain. 

Until the summer...

xox

Day 197 - Sniper In Training

Day 197 - "Bang Bang" Nancy Sinantra

Say hello to my little friend...actually she's quite a big, intimidating friend. I ventured outside of my comfort zone and chose the biggest gun that I would be able to physically pick up and shoot. My gun of choice was an AR 15 semi-automatic rifle.

My heart was pounding as I walked in to the firing range. The deafening sound of so many guns going off at once combined with the vibrations in my chest made me jump with every step. I had to breath deeply to control my nerves and try to shut out the explosive environment. It didn't help that the shooter next to me had an array of guns in front of him including a Desert Eagle which was incredibly wild and loud. He was much more accurate with his shots than I was, nevertheless I did quite well my first time as I clearly hit my target more than once! I chose this lovely target sheet since I am on the zombie theme this week.

My shooting companions for the evening were my younger sister and her husband. Her choice was a 9mm hand gun and his was a gun similar to an AK 47. Neither of them had ever shot a gun before and it was quite the experience for both of them as well! Justin would have been sold on a membership, if only he lived in Calgary. I am thinking that every Sasky man has a gun fetish. Then again I might be acquiring a fetish for guns along with the adrenaline as well.

Her clown went doooown. Without a doubt I shall return to the shooting range. My adrenaline is surging and I already know that I won't be able to sleep tonight! 

xox

Day 198 - Zombie Love

Day 198 - "The Fear" Lily Allen (Duke Dumont Remix)

Do you ever wish you were talented enough at drawing or painting that you could re-create your dreams, nightmares, memories or visualizations to show others the images that lay deep in your mind?
In this lovely image above, we have my nightmare from last night. I must be watching too many zombie and vampire shows. I'm not even sure what that eerie thing is but it did a great job of waking me up in the middle of the night.

I have read in various "dream" articles that humans have anywhere between three to nine dreams a night. I believe I am one of the fortunate people as I can remember the majority of my dreams in vivid detail. My dreams seem so tangible and vivid that I have mistaken a dream for reality. After I wake from a vivid dream I feel as though I am living two lives at once. Especially when I have lucid dreams and I am aware that I am dreaming but have complete control of every aspect. In another one of my dreams from last night I "completely forgot" that I could fly. When I remembered that I possessed this skill I started hovering above a ton of canvases in an art store to get a better look at the selection. Flying dreams are by far my favourite. I was flying on broomsticks every night for weeks after I had read the Harry Potter series.

My lucid dreams come in handy when I have too much on my mind during the day that I can actually conceptualize and problem solve in my dreams! One problem that is unsolved are the dreadful nightmares...especially the re-occuring nightmares. Disappear Mr. Eerie Man in my painting. I am thinking positive thoughts right now so that I may paint something beautiful tomorrow!

xox

Day 199 - My Not-So-Secret Bubble

(Photo by Jenn Arguin, 2010)

Day 199 - "Mexican Mavis" Boy & Bear

I treasure every time someone initiates conversation about my blog and when they ask questions about certain posts. A work colleague was astonished by the elements of my life that she had never knew about. In general we all have various types of relationships, mostly being: acquaintances, friendships, family relationships, and work relationships. With every person we know in our lives we choose specific pieces of ourselves that we want to share with said person. Such as if I didn't have my mom on Facebook or have her reading my blog, then she wouldn't have knowledge of many random events in my life. Example being she would have never seen my scary self portrait photos (I love you so much mom, again I am so sorry for scaring you!). The same goes for my work colleague who has been very excited to read about my intriguing stories and ventures.

There is only so much time in a day to open up to our friends so we can learn more about each other. I realize that I am quite the conversationalist when it comes to sharing my stories and bits of knowledge that are stuffed away in my brain. I always have to set the stage for my story and start right from the beginning to ensure that my listener fully grasps the tale. I have even found myself standing up so I can act out the tale.

My life is an open book and I can only hope that each of my posts has a positive impact on at least one person (other than myself). I'm also hoping that my readers will continue to learn new things about my eccentric life that I love so much. I strive to continue to inspire myself along with my readers in the next 198 days. The world is my oyster and a new week has just begun...I have a feeling this week will bring several riveting stories.

I <3 lazy Sundays.

xox

Day 200 - Stiletto and Psyche Cardio

Day 200 - "Move For Me" Kaskade and Deadmau5

I would call myself more of a social drinker rather than a party girl these days (or years I suppose). My ambitions in life increase every day and there is no time to be hung over in my world! Although...once in awhile it is nice to let the night take you away. A girl's night out was put together for Saturday and quite the night out it evolved into. There are three elements that I cherish on a girl's night out; one is without a doubt the copious amount of dancing, two would be the erratic conversations and plans that are brewed amongst the beautiful minds and three would simply be being in the presence of my inspiring and stunning ladies.

I have always chosen to air on the side of dreamers. Each one of the ladies out on Saturday have their own personal bohemian dreams and I was passionately feeding off their idealistic futures with every word that was spoken. I find myself attracted to people who want to live freely and who want to be any where in the world besides in the centre of a city while working our days away for the man (yet how have we found ourselves here now!).

Amanda wants to be on an organic farm in British Columbia with gardens and fields of fresh fruit, vegetables and herbs.

Renee wants to be on a sailboat, with a pen and paper, writing her little heart out.

Helen wants to be constantly travelling across the country while running around barefoot through the forests...dancing and frolicking.

And me? I will do as I've always done best and be the little social butterfly. I want to help Amanda grow, be there with Renee as she floats on and I want Helen to show me the secret beauties of Canada.
Of course I will be doing all of this while feeding and sharing my dreams. The wonderful part is each of their dreams are easily incorporated into my dreams.

Fly ladies, fly...and take me with you!

xox

Day 201 - Prima Donna

(Photo by Jenn Arguin, taken for DocuDramaRomCom 2012)

Day 201 - "Five Step" Radiohead vs Dave Brubeck

I am aways in awe while watching actors in movies, plays, and theatrical performances. Watching an actor play the roles of diverse characters is very impressive. I have never acted before but always wondered what it would feel like to be on stage...having all eyes on you. I have a couple close friends who love to act and they are very animated when they take on their character's role. They hold a  stunning talent.

One of my friends is an actor and part of the organization of a short play. He was asking around for actresses to play the one female role. As I have no acting experience I was too shy to immediately speak up. After thinking about it for a few days I realized that I am quite an animated person in my every day life and I love public speaking, so perhaps I should try acting! He sent me the script to review and I was so excited as I flipped the pages. He said that I have to read the script for him and the director/writer of the play to see if I fit the part and if I have the potential to act. I now have another addition to my ultimate bucket list of life: To act in a play. First I read the script with friend outside of the play so I wouldn't be so nervous in front of the director. I was bubbling with excitement and sweating profusely while reading. It was so much fun! I then re-read it for the actor in the play and he said I would be great! I was smiling ear to ear. Now the final step...I still need to read it for the director, Graeme Black, to confirm that I am what he is looking for in his play.  Graeme is always busy writing, acting and directing. He has a great imagination and his most recent work is a 25 minute short film called DocuDramaRomCom. Crossing my fingers that I have the chance to work with him.

I will continue with the updates should I land the role and begin rehearsing! There are too few hours and days in a week for me to accomplish all that I want to do in life. I should revisit the "four hour work week"so I have more time to immerse myself in my arts.

Writing...
         Painting...
                   Drawing...
                              Guitar playing...
                                                  Photo taking...
                                                                   Acting...

It's a wonderful life.

xox

Day 202 - Chimera

(Calgary skyline by Jenn Arguin...but this isn't what my poem is about ;) )

Day 202 - "Daydream" by Youth Lagoon (Noah Hyde remix)


Chimera

Vivid will describe this image.
I can feel every single emotion.
I am looking at myself from a distance and it's pleasant.
This world is limitless and it's amusing to my eyes.
It this a fantasy?
I hope no one discovers this secret.

Can you sense that I have a a secret?
My heart pounds as I stare at the beautiful image.
This seems real but I know it's a fantasy.
Let me describe this emotion.
I am powerful and in control, my actions are recorded by my eyes.
Everything I do feels very pleasant.

I wonder if they think my world is pleasant?
The thrill of knowing is my biggest secret.
What is perceived through their eyes?
This is MY image.
I can sense but don't acknowledge negative emotion.
I want to stay in this land of fantasy.

If you only understood the thrill of my fantasy.
The rawness of what lays in front of me is so pleasant.
As I get closer I can feel it rising, the emotion.
All tied up, it's a scary secret.
I inhale and appreciate my image.
They are focused on me, those eyes.

I mask the eyes.
I will do as I please for this is my fantasy.
The ambience seems to grow dark around my image.
It doesn't change the way I feel, all is still pleasant.
Now I want to share my secret.
I'm unsure if the world can handle the level of my emotion.

I will describe my zealous emotion.
Close your eyes.
Imagine a deep, dark secret.
Let loose your biggest and most desired fantasy.
Soak up the excitement which is profoundly pleasant.
Now do you see my image?

To feel such an intense emotion, is just one highlight of my fantasy.
I wish you could see the ecstasy with your own eyes, this sensation is very pleasant.
Do you want to hear more about the secret details of my perceived image?

Jenn Arguin

xox