Personal

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Regional Linguistic Differences

Canadian French has very distinct regional differences. It usually takes only a few sentences to determine that someone is not from your region and, if you’ve traveled enough, to pinpoint where they’re from. After six years of living in the outaouais region of Quebec, it was still obvious that I grew up in the metropolis (Montreal) and I still encountered new-to-me words and expressions that gave me pause.

I’m discovering that the same is true for Canadian English, to the great amusement of my new boss, who was astounded that I had never heard of the words ginch and gonch. “What do you call a ginchy pull?!” she asked me and I finally clued in, replying “A wedgie?!” (Don’t ask me how we got on the subject! 😀 )

This week, I worked on an inventory project and she told me to add the deckles to the list. I had absolutely no idea what a deckle meant in that context. I’ve only used the word deckle in crafting, as in a deckle edge on paper. So, she spelled it out for me–decal–and I discovered that she wanted me to add the DEE-CALS to the list. My colleagues also say deckle. HUH?! I know that even though I did most of my schooling in English there are words I I don’t pronounce properly, but decal=deckle?!

At least, I know what a chesterfield is and we agree that dinner is served past 5pm, not at noon, so we’re still partially speaking the same language, although I’m learning to keep Google open for translation purposes. 🙂

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Making an RV a Home

There’s more to making a home out of an RV than just putting up pictures or changing the curtains. You need to engage your other senses. I think that the way a home smells is very important. It has taken a long time to rid Miranda of her generic and still slightly mothbally RV smell, but today I finally succeeded.

I stayed in and did hand laundry, baking (muffins and a loaf of bread), and general cleaning of the rig. When I came in from swimming a few moments ago, I was greeted with the scent of lavender and yeast and was flooded with a sense of peace and well-being.

Peace and rest at length have come. All the days long toil is past, and each heart is whispering, home, home at last.

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Miscellany

1) I brought the toad in for an oil change tonight. As the service tech was handing me back my keys, he said: “Are you aware that you have damage to the front wing on the driver’s side?”

I grinned and replied proudly that I was the evil culprit who had done wrong to Pommette!

My cheerfulness about the matter confused him.

2) While waiting for the car to be done, I had a wonderful dinner of a tender grilled chicken sandwich on a ciabbata roll with fresh veggies; a crisp salad of romaine lettuce and thick slices of juicy beefeater tomatoes, all of which tasted like they’d been picked at the height of summer; and a fantastic iced coffee. I had this meal at a restaurant I haven’t eaten at much in the past twenty years and which sure has grown up since the last time I was acquainted with its menu. Had I been presented this food without any wrappings, I would never in a million years guessed that I was eating a McDonald’s meal!!!

3) I have decided that spring has sprung because I say so and have stopped heating, other than turning the electric heater on super low at night to cut the dampness!!!

4) Last fall, I spent three months mostly working with ingrates who constantly belittled me (mostly because there was one kind soul). This spring, I’ve spent three months working with lovely ladies who made sure I had flowers, a gift, and cake on my 30th birthday. The way this universe always balances itself out never ceases to fill me with wonder.

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The Half-Way Mark

At this time six months ago, I was in Ottawa on the eve of the big departure. Six months from tonight I will either be back in Ottawa in anticipation of returning to my government job the next morning or committed to long-term full-timing. I already know that chances are that I’ll be going with plan A… which is to not go back to my government job. But there are too many variables and what ifs in my plan at this time to discuss it any further. I’m such a tease. 🙂

I’m not where I thought I would be tonight in terms of my financial situation. A lot of things went wrong in the past six months, including the market crashing and longer periods of unemployment than anticipated,  so I’ll admit that I am scrambling a bit to come up with the funds to finance the next part of my journey, that is to get me to employment in Dawson City, Yukon. I would be happy to remain at my current position (and my employers would be glad to keep me) for an additional month, but the prohibitive cost of rent here does not make that a good option. I have been trying to find part-time evening and/or weekend work, but that has yet to pan out and time is running short. I know that the money will come, it always does, but it’s hard not to think about how quickly May 1st will be here!

When I look back on the past six months, I marvel that I am not bitter and disillusioned. September was amazing, yes. But October, November, and December were mostly hell. January was a mixed bag of feelings–taking so long to find work, bad weather keeping me cooped up, moving to such a wonderful park, joy at finding a great contract. February was good, even if it reeked of my old life–commute and desk work, but tolerable because it was a means, not an end. March and April will be much of the same I imagine. But I am impossibly happy, more content and at peace than I have ever been. Hard as this life has been at times, it has been joyous, freeing, good, and honest.

If there is one moment that I will cling to as the vivid memories of September 4th, 2008 to March 3rd, 2009 start to fade it is the minute I stepped out of Miranda at Lake Louise. The sharp scent of pine is etched in my memory and serves as a reminder that I can go forth into ‘their’ world, but still do it my way.

I will also never forget Croft’s and my adventure with the batteries that led to discovering what the big honkin’ yellow button is for. The whole misadventure taught me to have more confidence in myself, that my sense of humour is my biggest ally, and that I am not living in a vacuum; there are wonderful people out there willing to help if I just ask.

Thank you to my readers who have followed me thus far. I’d still keep a blog even if no one read it, but it’s nice to know that my experiences strike a note with people outside my bubble.

All that’s left to say is “Dang I should have bought some beer to celebrate and YUKON, HERE WE COME!!!!!”

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Lynn Canyon Park

Today promised to be a gorgeous, springy day, with sun and highs in the double digits. Things have started to dry out considerably and I was just itching to get out of the city and enjoy a hike in the woods. My first instinct was to visit the Capilano Suspension Bridge. It’s not a cheap excursion (30$ entrance fee plus 5$ for parking), so I did some research on tripadvisor.com to see if it’s a tourist trap. Apparently, yes, because nearby Lynn Canyon offers a comparable experience at a price that can’t be beat: FREE!

Free sounded especially good since I wasn’t sure I’d actually get across a suspension bridge. I sure didn’t the last time I was faced with one!

Well, it seems that continued exposure to suspension bridges and a gondola ride have made me a little less of a scaredy cat and I wound up crossing the Lynn Canyon Suspension Bridge no less than THREE times! I will admit that I got across as quickly as possible, didn’t stop to take in the scenery, and shook like a leaf the whole way, but what progress!

Lynn Canyon is situated in the heart of a temperate rain forest and is a world of towering redwoods and pools of clear emerald water. Until today, I’d only seen water that clear and beautiful in Alberta. I spent two glorious hours enjoying the perfect weather (mid-single digits there) taking the first steps to getting in shape for the Chilkhoot hike. I finished my morning with a picnic lunch and then a stroll through the excellent Ecological Centre (2$ suggested donation).

Pictures are on the Lynn Canyon page.

Something wondrous happened today. I don’t know if it was the weather, the minimal GPSing I needed to do to get around, the amazing lack of traffic, nature, or what, but I… Oh, the English language is failing me here. In French, I’d say ‘apprivoisé’, which means tamed, but not quite for this context. I guess I’ll say I made my peace with the GVR, found something about it to love, discovered a little corner of it where I was happy to leave a tiny piece of my soul. The GVR is no longer a big, bad scary urban enclave (shootings notwithstanding), but a place that I will remember as being ‘home’ for four months in 2009.

Good day. 🙂