My (Proposed) Newfoundland Itinerary

Readers & Friends: I don't think I've mentioned yet that I'm going to Newfoundland a week from today.  My girlfriend K. is already there for a 6-week program, but the funny thing is that I'm not going only to visit her.  The beautiful universe has made it so that I'm going to St. John's next Friday for a 3-day conference (paid for by work!), and tacking on a 6-day personal vacation during which I can visit with K. and see the one province I've never been to.  I can't wait!!!

Have you been to Newfoundland?  I'm hoping you'll take a look at my itinerary and let me know if there's anywhere I don't have there that I can't miss.  Keep in mind the following: a car's already been booked, the Fishers' Loft Inn (Port Rexton) has already been booked, and the conference is non-negotiable.  My Saturday, June 15 is really open, so any must-sees in St. John's would be great.

Thanks!!

~~

Friday, June 7

arrive in St. John's, meet K., have a nice dinner, relax

Saturday, June 8 - Monday, June 10

conference (which includes visit to The Rooms and a night out on George St.)

Tuesday, June 11

spend the day in St. John's with my friend T., do touristy stuff (Signal Hill), get screeched in if we haven't been already, have some delicious meals, etc.

Wednesday, June 12

pick up rental car, drive from St. John's to Port Rexton, check into inn (Fishers' Loft Inn), drive to Upper Amherst Cove, explore, drive back to Fishers' Loft, have dinner

Thursday, June 13

have breakfast at the inn, hike the Skerwink Trail, have lunch at Two Whales, drive back to St. John's, stopping through Heart's Desire and surrounding towns, having dinner somewhere, arrive back in St. John's late evening

Friday, June 14

wake up early and start driving at 6:30 am, drive to Cape St. Mary's, taking the coastal route (5 hours), visit the bird sanctuary, have lunch, drive back to St. John's and return car by 4:00, spend evening with K. in St. John's

Saturday, June 15

spend the day in St. John's and go on a whale & bird watching tour midday (booked with O'Brien's)

Sunday, June 16

last day, spend morning with K., flight departs at 3:00 pm

To Do Lists & Living Alone

A few years ago, you couldn't have found a person more in love with living alone than me!  As an introvert, I loved the fact that home was a safe haven; safe from social interaction (not that I don't enjoy it, but I need an escape) , certainty that everything was in its rightful place, and somewhere I could unwind and decompress at the end of the day... and mentally prepare at the beginning of the day, for that matter.

When my girlfriend K. and I moved in together in September, my biggest worry was that I'd be lacking alone time.  I worried that home - although I knew it would still be a safe haven - would no longer offer enough solitude or time and space for decompression.

But what I realized is - and I'd like to assume this is the reality of a great relationship - time with K. feels like alone time.  It's relaxing, rejuvenating, energizing... sometimes quiet and peaceful... and it always brings me to that place where I feel most balanced and capable.  That's a testament to K. and to our relationship.  Either way, the alone time I get randomly here and there, or during the work day, in combination with time spent with K., suffices well.

So what made me talk about this now?  Well, K. left on Sunday (today is Tuesday) for a 39-day (who's counting?) stint in St. John's, Newfoundland.  We haven't been away from each other for 2 or maybe 3 nights since we moved in together, and the void she's left is palpable.  I get to join her in 17 sleeps, I'll spend 9 nights with her, and then in another 10 days she's back at our home.  SO... it's not horrible, but like I said, it's palpable.

I miss her a lot, and I'm not delighted to have all this alone time because I've been getting along just fine without it, BUT... it's amazing how my living alone behaviour looks now that I have a little perspective.

For example, when I came home from the airport on Sunday after dropping K. off, I immediately took out a pad of paper and a pen and started writing a to do list.  Random stuff, like "Watch Apollo 13".  Yeah... it's weird, but I used to do that all the time.  As I always say, when I have nothing planned, it's because I've planned to do nothing.  I like to have control over my routine and schedule and I feel reassured when I'm able to complete things and move through my day with a sense of accomplishment, even if it's by crossing out "Shower" on my to do list.

But it's not something I do now that I live with K.  I do it when a day is full of activity, or of course I use to do lists at work, but not for personal stuff.  But suddenly K. is gone and I feel the need to steady myself with a to do list.

I also went to bed really early on Sunday night.  It's like I had to just close the book on that day and sleep until a new one came along... bringing me closer to seeing K.  I used to go to bed really early back when I lived alone in Port Hope.  Like, really early.  8:30 was not an unusual bedtime for me.  K. and I are medium-to-bed, medium-to-rise... 11:00 pm ish to 7:30 am ish.  I went to bed at 9:00 pm on Sunday night, just trying to will the time away.  With K. my life is full and exciting and we try to get to bed at a decent hour, but we always have each other's company.  Alone, I felt the need to just get the day over with (especially since I had accomplished what I'd set out to do).

It might sound depressing, but it's not!  I'm just introspecting and I'm fascinated by how quickly we slip into old patterns of behavior.  It seemed normal in Port Hope, but it doesn't any longer.  So yesterday I got outside, spent time with my parents and then my sister, came home and read for a while, had a beer, got myself ready for the work day, and went to bed at 11:00 with a clear head and my cat Spoon snuggled close by.

I will survive!


Currently reading... Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk by David Sedaris

Posts to come... My thoughts on Onward, Howard Schultz's story of Starbucks, and then another post on CAA and how great their service is

The reading challenges mattered

So get this: the reading challenges mattered.

Let's start from the beginning.  In May 2010 I gave myself a challenge - The Reading Challenge - which was to read 8 books by the end of August.  4 months, 8 books.  I gave myself this challenge after I was done my undergrad, to fight my fear that now that I was no longer pursuing an English degree, I would stop reading.  With all the possible ways of filling up leisure time these days, I wanted to ensure a longtime hobby of reading didn't suffer.

The result of the challenge was that I finished 8 books by September 5th, so for all intents and purposes, it was a successful challenge.

Working off that success, I thought: let's do another.  So Reading Challenge 2 (or rc-2) was to read another 8 books over a 4-month period (September - December 2010), but the stipulation was that 50% of the books had to be classified as fiction.  In the end, I finished the challenge on February 19, 2011, but again - so what, who cares?!  The whole point was to be reading, and I was.  Even better, 100% of the 8 books ended up being fiction!

Then there was rc-3, which overlapped with rc-2, and the challenge was to read 20 books in 2011.  I read 17.

rc-4 was the same - read 20 books in 2012.  I read 12.

Highlights of the challenges?  Encouraging myself to read more + the following books: Sex Drugs & Cocoa Puffs by Chuck Klosterman, By Nightfall by Michael Cunningham, The Girls by Lori Lansens, No Great Mischief by Alistair MacLeod, When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris, and In One Person by John Irving.

But there wasn't and hasn't been an rc-5.  What was my reasoning?  I guess not completing my second two challenges wasn't super encouraging and so I thought, why not take the pressure off, stop writing about it, and just read?  Well that's great, and I stand by it, except... I'm reading less than ever.  Granted, it's been a busy first third of the year, but I've read two books!!!  Grace by Grace Coddington, and just the other day I finished The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb.  Great books, and THIFB was a hefty read, but still.  Two books in four months?  I can do better than that!

So I don't think I'm necessarily going to give myself a new challenge, but I guess I just wanted to acknowledge that the reading challenges mattered, and that for me, blogging about my goals helps me achieve them, because you - whether you know it or whether it's an active thing that you're doing - are holding me accountable.