Let the creation begin!

Airports excite me.

The sounds of rolling suitcases, the multitude of languages flying around, the crazy motorized carts, arrivals, departures...it gets my fires burning and travel bug jumping.

From the time I can remember, I was always venturing somewhere. When I was 5, I went on my first plane ride to Edmonton. Not exactly exotic but a fresh, new experience for my young self.

Another cherished memory is being with my dad on his boat. He was a commercial fisherman so there were many summers spent boating up the coast of BC, hanging out at the docks in Prince Rupert, and working hard as a deckhand on the wide open ocean. If we weren't fishing, we were road-tripping every chance we got. Whether it was driving up to the Interior of BC to see family, flying to Disneyland, Vegas, or Ontario, touring Vancouver Island in an RV, and spending Spring Break driving along the West Coast down to California and back.

It's not a wonder why I can't sit still for too long, whether it's short travels or long ones. I'm at my happiest when I get to venture because travel is (and has been) a big part of my life. It's only now I realize how important it is for my soul and why I need to do it more often.

Speaking of which, it almost time to board!

Time to say au revoir.
Let's do this!

Ready...Set...

...almost time to go!

I'm exhausted as hell right now. Had an extremely long and busy day at work today, followed by a very late dinner so I technically should be off to bed. Instead, I'm finalizing my packing.

I decided to take the smallest suitcase possible after starting with my largest suitcase and only using a third of the space in it. It's as light as air and will be great to travel with! My carry-on, however, is extremely heavy. With my camera, laptop, journal, and accessories, it's truly ready for any adventure.

Is it weird that as much as I love to go, I hate to leave? Saying goodbye to routines and habits are great but what kinda fun will I miss? Then again, how much more fun will I experience being away? I will find out soon enough!

Anyways, would love to chat more but I have lots to do tonight. My kitchen is a mess and there are many guide books and language apps to be downloaded.

See you at the airport!

F**k It

After a good few glasses of Cabernet on Friday night, I was able to get some quality shut-eye and reset my sleeping clock. This time next week, I may need a bottle or two in order to calm myself enough to get me some rest for Wednesdays flight. In the meantime though, my suitcase is out, the "To Do" lists are being chipped away at, and I'm tying up loose ends at work and at home.

As ridiculous as it may sound, there's a very miniscule part of me that hates to leave the momentum happening in my life right now; Work is continuing to get more exciting and fun, new acquaintances have been formed and there is great interest in getting to know them better, and plans to move to Vancouver are in the works but will be on hold until I return. The upside to having so many positive things happening right before I leave is that there will be lots waiting for me when I get back. 

Now as much as this very small part of me doesn't want to leave, the rest (a very LARGE part) of me can't wait to get off the ground. As you've figured out, this trip isn't just a vacation for me. It, already, has a significance that is indescribable. 

I'm sure most of you can relate to such moments in life where you feel like you have nothing to lose. Where that one seemingly irrational thing seems to be the only thing that makes sense and everything seems to ride on that one moment as if it was a crux to which everything else would follow. This is such a moment for me. I like to call them, "Fuck It" moments. 

I picked up the "Fuck It" book almost a year ago in the hopes to find a new way to go with the flow, let go, and enjoy life. Since this trip will breach all my safety zones, the Fuck It "way" reminds me to just let go, let things be, and have an adventure. My savings account will be spent, the fear of being in a foreign land by myself will be faced, my daily routines will be interrupted, and friends, family, and home will be missed. Previous to this moment in life, all of these "breaches" would have be considered complete and utter chaos - and may have been the reasons I never ventured beyond it before. But now all I say to that is, fuck it. Life's too short to stand still.

The excitement is building

The countdown continues for something that feels like it has taken forever to get here but I know it will creep up on me so I've been taking care of some business. Talking to my bank about all my cards that I will use overseas, ordering Euros, confirming a check-in time for my cat at his "hotel", and making a list of all the hotels and tour companies to contact in order to confirm my reservation, not to mention a list of things I need to pack and take with me.

And being the organized freak that I am, I have already selected my seat on the plane. An interesting feature that KLM has now is a Meet & Seat feature, in which you can log in with your Facebook or LinkedIn account and find people who match your interests, language, even company profile. Some might think this is a bit creepy and has a potential "stalking" factor to it but the nice thing is that you can choose what to share or what not to share. Being a single gal, I just had to give it a try. It'll be another great way to meet people and have the flight be a little less lonely. Unfortunately, not many know about it so I was the first person on my plane to use it. Ho-hum. I guess I'll have to strike up conversation the old-fashioned way.

Now that the do-list items are being crossed off, I'm starting to feel the pressure, the stress, and the excitement of the big day. Because of this, I haven't been eating much, my work has been fully distracted by all the things I need to do, and my sleep has been broken by many midnight pee breaks, tossing and turning, and really early mornings. I thought this wouldn't happen until the night of but this trip is in my sights now as opposed to months away so I'm definitely feeling it all.

And on that note, it's time to try and get some shut eye - or at least get some good tossing and turning in.

Gone Fishin'

With 3 weeks left to go until take-off, I feel all that is left to do is twiddle my thumbs and watch the clock. Patience and timing are really front and centre right now and yes, it's killing me. The impatient side of me just wants to go already while the patient side wants to enjoy the next few weeks of finalizing plans, sharing my plans with others, checking things off the To Do list, packing, and preparing for the big day. It's all a matter of time now!

Maybe that's why I can't even piece together a decent blog post for you all. My head is already in vacation mode.

When I started this blog, my unwritten rule was to blog once a week leading up to the trip, then blog more frequently when I actually got to Europe. For some reason though, I just haven't been inspired by anything. I've been writing since Sunday, fishing for something interesting to write about and...look...nuthin'.

In the world of blogging, they say you should write something of "superior quality" even if it means writing, re-writing, and waiting to post it as opposed to writing & posting crap. But you know what...screw that! I'm tired of being governed by "should's" so I'm gonna make my own rule - write what's true and real as opposed to only writing about the best and most exciting parts. No editing allowed!

After all, what's the point of sharing the experience if I can't share it ALL.
So here's a whole lotta nuthin'...and a whole lot of waiting....

The Curiosity Coin Toss

Being curious can open up the door to an unlimited amount of knowledge, success, and happiness. It can also bring about great disappointment, embarrassment, and failure. Hence why we sometimes don't even choose to exercise the thought. It's a coin toss!

The big question is whether or not you let that fear of the unknown prevent you from even tossing that coin.

In recent months (this trip aside), I've been getting more and more curious about life and experimenting (responsibly of course!). These "experiments" include being more spontaneous or saying yes to more activities/events, eating new foods I've never tried before, exploring different places in the city, and even opening up my life, my home, and myself to new people. None of it, though, came without fear. Sitting 4 weeks away from my trip, I get butterflies as much as I get the sweats but there's a trick to making the fear take a back seat.

Someone once told me that in order to free yourself from being held back by fear, you have to put on your bravest face, get curious, and experiment with the possibilities. Of course with that comes great vulnerability, a feeling that most (including myself) aren't 100% comfortable with, but that's quite alright as it's part of the process and the excitement of it all.

A great Seinfeld moment comes to mind...



Who would have thought life could be summed up so simply...
Good ole Seinfeld!

By replacing that fear of the unknown with curiosity, it can be quite fulfilling and even gain some surprising results. But first you have to get curious and choose to flip that coin. See what happens if you do something a little differently or outside of the comfort zone.

Oh and don't forget to report back :)

Wanderlust

Another week passes and now that the "grown-up" stuff is finished for the time being, it's back to the fun; The fun dreaming, the fun of wonder, the fun of getting lost in your favourite travel movies. My top three which I will get lost in over and over again are:

Midnight in Paris. This is one that I absolutely fall in love with each time I watch it. I, too, have the fantasy of stepping into an era where great painters and writers existed. How exciting it would be to sip a latté with Dali, hear the life story of Picasso, and most importantly, live in Paris in the 1920's. If only that cross-over was a reality, I would visit every night! But if I'm lucky enough, I can absorb a little bit of that inspiration from the city itself, knowing they walked the streets at one point in time.




Eat, Pray, Love. Another goodie of mine that I could watch again and again. Some days, I wish I could live in a completely different world and just wander, figuring it out as I go. As I'm starting to realize though, I'm more of a planner than I once thought. That doesn't mean I don't have a little bit of an explorer in me. This movie brings out that explorer and reminds me that life can be an amazingly wonderful journey - if I let it be.



One Week. This film is awesome not only because it's set in Canada, but it speaks volumes when it comes to "carpe diem" which really hits home for me. Over the years I have experienced many life changing moments which made me re-evaluate myself and my direction, again and again. From health scares to heartbreaking loss, the message being reiterated to me is live life to the fullest, at every moment, no matter what. Capturing dreams big or small, embracing what is, and letting go of what isn't or never was. And even though I may not be perfect at following this motto 100% of the time, I will always strive to live a full life whether it's eating a new food, making a new friend, taking a trip to somewhere new, and embracing the many more moments - good or bad - that lie ahead.