My MooCards are in the mail now!!!!

moo.com


MOOO!

More new mail today!

From Giorgia in Australia!
I'm on a pretty great roll of very pleasing mail. Here are some of my favourites from the package:


Photo


Poloroid


Postcard

Being outside today....

Is like riding a roller coaster without having to wait in line.
It's very weird. not to mention the fact that it was forecasted to be 15 degrees in the middle of December. Completely bizarre. But I'm not complaining. I can appreciate an odd occurance which allows me to focus on it. I'd rather thank about that than my grating work/holiday happenings schedules.

Things like this amazing piece of mail I received today through sendsomething.net also don't hurt!









I'm working on this swap for swap-bot right now:
http://www.swap-bot.com/swap/show/25498

And I'm really loving how it's turning out. It's a fairly big project (70 pages), but since it's so many and for a person I don't know, I'm not considering it too precious, therefore I'm trying to go quickly and not taking things too seriously. Getting some pretty pleasing layouts. I plan on documenting them and maybe making my own perfect bound booklet with them! Very happy with that lil guy.

Things are well. I'm looking forward to Monday and Christmas day, both of which I will have off work. Despite having minute collapses in mental state, I'm pretty sure I am maintaining a positive attitude. A wise man (cook at my work) once said, "Sometimes you have to fall apart before you can properly put the pieces back together"

"HERE, HERE," I say!

For Stephanie

Blogger wouldn't allow me to post this in a comments section, so here it is for you! You got a good one!

Most people don't pay attention to this part of the magazine...

The most engaging, delightful horoscopes I've ever read. Taken from Issue 3 of Another Magazine, with Pam Anderson on the cover looking completely refined and naturally gorgeous.



Read all of them straight through and it's a short, beautiful tale of love lost. *Sigh*



(click on it to view it in its own window. I hope it's big enough to read!)

Just a couple of things tonight...

My good good dear friend Angela lives all the way on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. An infinitely wise and creative young lady, she's working on her BA Hons Printed Textiles Design at the University for the Creative Arts in the UK.



Yes, that's right, folks....her elestic glasses strap coordinates perfectly with her tank top. Leave it to Angela to blow your mind. Five times in a row.

Go take a look at a blog she set up to help her with her work, if not only to read the comments. Please, you have to read these comments and maybe leave your own as well, wink wink.....Can't wait to see how this bad boy turns out. Good luck Angela!

http://loveandlostlovers.blogspot.com/

More kewliez

1. You're Really Breakin' My Heart, 2. What are you Thinking?, 3. Judi, 4. So tell us....


I've been using my flickr a lot more lately and maybe for Christmas I'll get a "pro" account. I just found bighugelabs.com which allows you to mess around with your photos a bit and have really been enjoying myself. I think it will also allow me to make more frequent and more interesting posts to me blog. Quite looking forward to this!

KEWL

http://advancedstyle.blogspot.com/

Gooder

What are you guys being for Halloween?

If you were going to make a care type package mail package for someone of the opposite sex that you were close with, what would you put in it?

I need some idears!

Well Well Well
Here I am at my last day of work.
I was supposed to wake up early and lug my bike down to the Post Office to send it off, but you know, I didn't. I'll do it tomorrow. I'll do everything tomorrow.

-Bike box and other box to the post office
-Pay Taylor for letting us borrow his car
-Make many many batches of cupcakes
-PACK EVERYTHING
-Pick up thank you cards
-Go surfing one last time
-Return rented movies
-Pack up the car so we can leave EARLY Wednesday morning

And then it's off to Victoria for a night. And then it's off to the airport for an overnight flight to Halifax.
I apologize for typing things out that will probably bore you, but I think this post is more for me getting things straightened out, rather than your reading pleasure.

Things that are of priority on my first day home:
-Seeing my beautiful mother (and father) and little doggies
-Eating lunch at Presto Pastaworks
-Getting insurance and registration sorted out for the little Kia Rio-IT'S ALL MINE NOW!
-Seeing Robyn, Zane, Alexis, Jenner, ANGIE, and really anyone else who I may bump into while I'm on my merry way.

And then secondly, the other, not as important things I am excited to do:
-Craft, mostly, sewing. I missed my machine and fabric collection.
-Bake and cook, for all my friends (baked french toast for Cassie) So please, let's make a food date. I think I am pretty good at cooking now.
-Paint my room-colour suggestions?
-Move Todd and Andre's SHIZZZ from my room to their new home-any helpers?
-GET ORGANIZED!!!!!!

Looking forward to everything, I just hope I don't feel too overwhelmed....!!!

CAN'T STOP WON'T STOP

If I had a way to make mix cd's right now, this is what would be on my first one.

This video=my new fashion icon

Nothing too new. Reading a lot lately, had a lovely chat with Jenner Berger on the phone this afternoon, went to Port Alberni a couple days ago and instead of floating down a river in a tire, I visited Superstore for a long time and sat next to a lake for an hour or so. I bought a pair of sunglasses for $2 and pet two dogs named Lily and Joy.

Halifax is creeping ever closer....anxious and excited and nervous....

I've been working for 9 days now......I only have two more days left to work and then I have two days off.
Then I work for five days and then I have two days off again and then I work for two days and then I go to Victoria for a couple days and then I fly to Halifax. Everything's moving so quickly....

I still have to ship a box of stuff home ("stuff" I've accumulated while here).
I have to go to Ukee to get a box for my bike to be sent home in, as well as buy these really cool animal masks they have there. I keep thinking about them. I can't NOT buy them.
I have to send out a bunch of Tofino postcards. I don't really have a use for them in Halifax (ANY TAKERS???)
For the next couple of weeks, I'm going to try to use up a lot of the food in our cupboards. I don't want anything to go to waste.
UM, ALSO I HAVE TO PACK.....


But I can't think about all the stressful nonsense right now.
What I CAN think about is how AWESOME my weekend will be. After working this long, it will be a great relief to be off to Sproat Lake and Stamp River, near Port Alberni, where we will partake in some all day drinkin' and tubin' down the river. Luckys and RAPIDS galore. We're still in the planning stages regarding hostel VS. camping. We'll see. I'll keep you posted.

Kind of Like a Restaurant Review and Kind of Not....

So I was in a mood last night.
I wanted to go surfing, but I also didn't want to.
I was grumpy. Todd went surfing with the two french girls.
I just didn't know what to do with myself.

So I did what I always do when I'm in Tofino and alone and in a weird place.
I went for some sushi at Tough City Sushi Bar, just down the street from my place. I brought a book with me like I always do, and sat at the bar, second from last seat, like I always do. I feel very comfortable there, the wait staff are always so nice to me, and I'm a sucker for delicious sushi. And of course, the man who owns it, I can honestly say-he is probably the most charming man in all of Tofino. Tourists go to the restaurant just to catch a glimpse of the quick talking, profane "Crazy Ron".

He's always been really great whenever I visited the sushi bar. While Jenner was down, a large group of us went for sushi and of course were regaled with potty mouthed recollections of horrible customers and how they were told off, He knew exactly what we wanted to hear.

Last night Ron turned my frown upside-down. He came up to me just before I got my meal, asked me my name and where I worked. He shook my hand and told me that he thinks I'm a "real cool chick" and he's heard from the wait staff that I was "a pleasure to serve", among other very humbling things. Later on through my dinner, other employees came up just to chat, about other customers they were serving or about tattoos (I don't hate this as much anymore). Later Ron and his wife and I chatted about the time they visited Nova Scotia and saw a sasquatch.

We all have those times when we feel a little bit smaller than we usually do, for no rhyme nor reason and I'm very thankful for the completely unaware little angels like Ron who know exactly when to say the perfect thing.

These guys will be getting a batch of cupcakes before I leave.

HOORAH!!!!

So on Wednesday night, Pacific Surf School and Rentals had a staff party at our house. We rounded up two barbecues and salmon, lamb, steak, veggies, and salad were served. Alcohol was provided and was plentiful. We set up a makeshift campfire in the back driveway, and honestly, it was quite pleasant and special. The food was awesome and it was nice to chat with some of the people around town. More and more people started showing up. The owner's sister, all the employees at Storm (the surf and clothing shop next to PSS) and even the man who runs the shows at the legion. There was a big show (reportedly the biggest of the summer) at the legion later that night, so everyone was pre-drinking pretty hard. Todd and I tried desperately to get tickets earlier that night, but alas, it was sold out. However it help to have friends in high places. The owner of Storm was there as well, and he generously gave Todd and I tickets to the show. Things were really rip-roaring by the time everyone headed down to the Legion, and things were crazier inside. The show was filled to the brim. Sold out-plus the sneaky devils who scammed their way in. Needless to say, most of the town was in that one room and everyone was getting a little crazy.

Todd warned me. And I laughed at him. He told me, if there was any night that my bike would get stolen, it was that night. "Guaranteed". I made fun of him. But alas, the next morning when I woke up with same hangover as everyone else in the town, my bike was no longer at the side of the house where I left it.

I cried. I thought Todd had hidden just to prove a point. He didn't. I cried some more. I had a horrible day. We filed a report with the RCMP. We told everyone. Emilie, said in her thick french accent "Oh, I'll tell my boyfriend Grey. I'll tell Grey, he'll find it, trust me". Jay said he would run someone over with his pick up truck if he found out who took it.

In my heart of hearts, I just wished that someone had come back to the house after the show and borrowed it to get home, and they would bring it back. But it had been three days.

I just received a phone call from Estuardo, who works as a surf instructor at Pacific Surf School with Todd.
Estuardo informed me that as he was finishing up with his lessons at Long Beach today and packing up the van, he found my bike shoved under the trailer. YAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. Most likely someone at the house HAD borrowed it, probably someone who worked at Long Beach Lodge (EVERYONE was there at the party), knowing it belonged to someone at the house, and knew that someone at the surf school would know who it belonged to.

HAPPY HAPPY JOY JOY!

See mom? Someone DID take it.

Someone stole my bike last night

Greg always bring the best presents when he comes to visit!!!!

Too many thoughts all at once to possibly collect them, but I can say that I am beyond happy, but also sad because it has been so long since I saw him last.

I just don't know what to think.

http://imasucker.wordpress.com/

This blog added me as a friend on facebook (Can blogs do that?!)
And that gem led me to this gem:
http://cuteboysmakemenervous.blogspot.com/

If I wasn't so busy at work today, I would have read everything on both of these.
You will probably like them just as much as I did.

Mom, you might not think they're as funny. I know you read this, so you might not want to bother with them. LOVE YOU!

What a Perfect Day Off from Work Consists of:

Visitors-Jill Boyce
Meeting new people-Angie
Get-togethers galore
An entire day at the beach with the sun shining brightly and warmly (A rarity here in Tofino)
Hot Dogs, marshmallows, mangoes, corn, ketchup and mustard
My very own personal surf instructor (Todd)

Put it all together and you get a great day to try surfing for the first time for a very wary and unsure customer (even though I wasn't buying anything).

Now let me just tell it to you straight. I went into that skin tight wetsuit thinking "I'll put this on and get in that water just this once. I'll show them that I'm not a pussy, and everyone can stop bugging me about this". I was basically trying surfing just to prove something. I've been doing this a lot lately. Not even just lately. All the time. And for a long time I've been doing it. I need to learn to let go of a lot of things. I need to learn to get over myself. I think the fact that I'm saying this and typing it means I am well on my way.

So, even with thinking all of these negative things about trying surfing, I am sitting here the next day at work, aching bones (REALLY ACCCCHHHHING), and I just wish I was out surfing again. And believe it or not, I wasn't too bad, I don't think. I got up on my board several times, but alas, the feeling was so amazing, I just started laughing hysterically. I laughed so hard and so fully that I teetered and fell right off that board. It's hard to have a hearty laugh AND balance on rushing water at the same time.

It was so great, being out in the water with a great group of people. We were all varying degrees of surf ability and we all egged each other on. We yelled when to start paddling your brains out, yelled at each other when we were about to bowl each other over. It was the greatest sense of teamwork and comradity that I have experienced since, well, since I was in a bowling league tournament. It's been awhile.

Now, for some unrelated pictures form the redneck themed party, stolen from my roommates girlfriend, Rebecca.
Please see July 8th post for a little bit of a foreword.


Out on Kennedy Lake, following the craziest, longest, most hugely potholed road.


Todd's boss, Paul




"Now just let my stick this in your tushie..."



Doesn't exactly look like the safest thing, now does it?

Before coming out here, I imagined this place a certain way.

In my head, I pictured bonfires every night, on the beach, bum planted firmly in sand, cheap wiener on the end of a sharpened stick. Tummy aches nightly from too many burnt marshmallows. Sand in my shoes, purse, underoos, hair....eyebrows? I pictured myself healthier, stronger, full of life. Ready to take on things. Oh my, thinking about it did seem very magical. Very otherworldly, something I had always wished of every summer, but was never fully satisfied.

Well now that I'm here in Tofino, I can safely say I am satisfied. A bit "over-satisfied", shall we say.

I'm sick of cheap wieners. Sick of bellyaches, sick of sand EVERYWHERE. Not just on me. Sand stuck in the pages of my books, in the bed sheets, SAND IN MY EYEBROWS. Sick of hiking rainforest trails to get to "secret" spots. Yeah, sure, the views are breathtaking and yes, otherworldly. But I'm sick of working so hard for my leisure time.

Why can't nature be easier? I think I like it better when it's a novelty that I rarely get time to experience.

I, of course, am mostly joking. I'm doing Tofino to it's fullest potential, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

COMING SOON: ANOTHER VISITOR TO TOFINO....MR. GREGORY NAPIER!!!!

Please stop waking me up so early in the morning.
And please slow down, I'd like to keep at least SOME of my view until the end of the summer....

See that mountain in the back, with the two peaks? Todd climbed that the other day.

Is this for true?

http://postcardx.net/

Yes, Lindsay, your wildest dreams have come true.

EDITTTTTT!!!!
I did some sleuthing. That website SUCKS.
This one rules:

www.sendsomething.net

Wow...

Papercuts by misterrob.co.uk


Camping tonight on the beach with Erica, hopefully will be followed by magical beach laying tomorrow. Minus a sunburn. Minus the boys. In addition, hot dogs and marshmellows.

Most everyone has mail coming to them. If you asked for it, it's in the mail. If you didn't ask me for it, ask, and you shall receive.

Have you ever heard of.....

...this drinking game where you stand on a chair, one arm behind your back, pants down, string of toilet paper in your butt, ON FIRE, and you have to drink a beer before it reaches your butt?

Redneck themed party, last night.

PICTURES COMING SOON

I'M IN FLAVOUR COUNTRY AND THIS COUNTRY'S NAME IS JENNERLAND

Yesterday, Jenner Berger arrived in Tofino on a bus. She arrived on that bus wearing a beautiful white and blue pinstriped dress with a big red belt. I arrived at the bus station with heightened anticipation. We shared a really great hug, while laughing and maybe I cried a little bit. Maybe-just a bit.

We had an interesting day together. I enjoy the fact that I can continue exploring and finding out things about this place, and yesterday, I was able to share my findings with someone who was just finding everything out as well. And I didn't have to feel ashamed for stating the obvious to some of the more seasoned pros around here.

One of the major break throughs of yesterday and last night was this: People in Tofino? They just want to chat. THAT'S IT.
Some examples:

We went to the cold beer store in town, where the employees seem to always be fried out of their coconut, and listen to their house and jungle music so loud you can barely hear yourself figuring out whether you want tequila or imported Propeller (SERIOUSLY). The gentleman in front of us in the lineup was just in Washington, where 24's are SIXTEEN dollars. He filled us in on exactly how many 24's he bought, in how many days, and how many friends those were split up between. It was a really confusing math equation. The friendly beer store employee told us quietly that tequila was cheaper at the other liquor store in town, so we stepped outside so I could begin to remember where exactly the other store was in town. The mathematician was outside so I asked him to refresh my memory. Truth was, I don't think he even really knew. Instead of answering our question, he asked us why we would want to go there, what kind of tequila we were looking for and what we were up to that night. I eventually remembered where the store was on my own, and we bid him a good evening.

Later that night after a few margueritas, we headed down to THE bar in town, "The Maquinna". I can't remember exactly who the first person to approach us was, but I believe it was the gentleman who wanted to tell us that as a baby, he had a bright red afro. Apparently, he once had very curly hair, even though NOW he has straight brown hair! WOW! We were shocked. He also told us a joke. What do sharks like to eat? FISH AND SHIPS! And with that, he went off into the crowd.

The we met Coral. Small and cute. I would describe her look as one of those cross-genre types. A gothic hippie. The floaty hempy, free spirit styles, except all in black, with combat boots. We danced with her for a while, as she seemed to have some sort of control over the DJ and what he was playing. We figured it could help to have friends in high places.

Then there was Ford from Saskatchewan. Shorter, stalky, big muscles. Blond hair. He came into the bar with a bunch of other guys who looked just like him. Turns out that Ford is up for the week, for some surfing and camping with friends. He has a fraternal twin sister back home. He thinks my name is Lisa and that Jenner and I are sisters.

Jenner spoke to a nice guy who thought that we were just as bored as him (NOT TRUE) and was here for a bachelor party

There's this kid around town who reminds me a lot of Greg, and he was out last night too. We didn't get his name, but Jenner made sure to let him know that we FULLY appreciated how badly he was GIVEN'R on the dancefloor. He was all over it. Eyes closed, huge smile, didn't even give a shit, wasn't checking out girls. That guy was GREAT.

And after this, easily 15 more quick connections were made with people who just wanted to chat or say something friendly. Even standing outside after the bar closes, I hear from the crowd: "Halifaaaaaax". I think at first that it was someone we met earlier that night, but no one looks immediately familiar. We walk over to the group of people hollering at us....and a girl, all the way over here, as far away as you can get from Halifax without a passport, this girl, says to me, "Did you used to work at Junk and Foibles?"

Can you believe it? HA!

It's starting to get hard keeping track of the names of people I meet her, even just in the boutique. I've always been bad at names. But if that's the worst thing going for me right now, I've got it pretty good.

It feels like life is just getting a little bit better as each day goes by.
And with that, I booked my ticket to come home. August 28th.

What did YOU do on Canada Day?

Mine was fairly uneventful.

It started off with my boutique getting trampled by many traveling families and their children. My entire day at work was almost finished by a tempting salmon barbeque and skateboarding competition just across the street. Who would have thought that I might be enticed by skateboarding? Tofino does weird things to you....

Later that evening while at home I made the most delicious and bizarrely conceptualized meal I've made in a long time. This meal consisted of milky, buttery mashed potatoes with parmesan cheese, homemade cilantro and basil salsa, ground beef with sauteed mushrooms and onions, and cheddar cheese. The ingredients were layered in a roasting pan and then baked for ten minutes or so. The feast was so big, we'll easily be eating for the next three days.

After making dinner, I was so tired I just wanted to crash into bed and never get out. Andre came over around 10, presumedly to cause some trouble with beers and Todd. They ran off to the First Street Dock. I figured I could just sit on our front porch (which conveniently looks over the Clayoquot Sound,) and watch the fireworks. Hesitation set in. I scurried into some real pants (as opposed to sweatpants) and rushed down to the dock. At this point, disappointment set in. The fireworks SUCKED. They were few and far between, and came in singles, instead of EXCITING GROUPS OF FLASHING LIGHTS!!! The crowd though, they ate it up!

It felt like the whole town was down there at the dock on First Street, right by the Sea Shanty. People hollered. They hooted. They raised their arms and pumped their fists at the night sky. They even made the metal sign with their hands in the air, while shouting "WHAWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!" This all was a bit much for me, as I was already half asleep at this point. Todd, Andre and I decided to start heading back for home before the crowd. The way home is on a slight incline from the dock, and as we got farther away, I looked back and realized just how many people were down there. I really believe it was just about the whole town, plus a bunch of tourists, of course. It was at this point when the fireworks died down and you could hear a fairly small group start in on the National Anthem....
We all laughed, and as we laughed, the chanting grew louder.....and louder......until you could hear it coming from the entire length of the waterfront, not just the dock. It was loud. Booming. And it seemed to be coming from all directions. The drunks standing outside of the only bar in the town belted out the word "pee" instead of "see" and "thee".
The three of us agreed that we had never been to a Canada Day fireworks display where it was finished with a town-wide anthem singing to finish them off.....

So what did you guys do on Canada Day?

Tofino's So Cute...

How cute?

Tofino's so cute, it has a "Girl Skate Day" and only girls are allowed to skate the skatepark today. They actually tell all the boys to leave over the skatepark PA system. DJ Cherry Bomb is spinning some girl friendly hits and they're giving away prizes.

Last night I had a strange scare. I biked all the way to the info centre (like, 8 kms, FYI!). On my way back I had my mouth open, singing to Eric Pryde's Call On Me (DOI, OVBZ). Now, I knew this wasn't a smart idea and I knew I swallowed at least two bugs, but those little fuckers bit me in the back of my throat! My petite drainpipe swelled right up and I could barely drink my green tea when I got home. Thank god it only lasted about an hour. I thought for sure I was going to have to shove the ol' epi-pen into my thigh and bring back horrible memories of past trips to the hospital.

No worries though-all is well now and I can enjoy some more of my "Best of Now Dance" playlist.

I LOVE THE INTERNET

Just a short note to let all of you guys know how happy I am that we can all connect even though we're not all in the same place.
The fact that we can get "together" and discuss stuff that's on our mind and get people's feedback is awesome, especially because I can't talk to you guys in real life.

I'm just so stoked that everyone can be excited for bike rides and getting healthy and feeling good about life, and we can all do it TOGETHER (sort of). Your guys' support and opinions are greatly appreciated. Seriously.

Robyn and Becky-How's that cookbook coming along? YOU KNOW I WANT IN ON THAT SHIT!

My Saving Grace

Yesterday afternoon, I had planned my big first ride on my brand new bike. I literally had not even sat on the thing. The guy at the bike shop called me "an easy sell". I looked at it and said, "I'm just gonna take it" This photo isn't my actual bike, but it looks just like this one. Squint your eyes and think "Shiny sleek black all over with sparkly delicious banana seat".
So I was all ready to go. To take my gal on her maiden voyage. Alas, trouble arose and I fell into a shitty mood. A horrible, dehabilitating funk that made me just want to lay in bed and feel sorry for myself all afternoon. I felt that was my only cure. Good ol' Todd made me feel stupid about wanting to do this and suckered me into putting my ass on that delicious banana seat with promises of treating me to coffee.

It is at this point where describing my day becomes tricky. I immediately biked off into the parking lot near our house and did some wobbly circles, gaining my "bike legs" back after years of only using my legs for such things as walking, dancing and occasionally tripping on things. The magical, childlike, FREE AND HAPPY feeling that poured all over me was so powerful and weakening at the same time. Completely overwhelming. Instantly, I began telling jokes, laughing, and yelling at people (mostly Todd). And he held true to his promise. We biked down to the Botanical Gardens where Andre works for a cup of coffee and a nice break before heading back to town.






In the beginning, moving out here was supposed to prove how independant I was and how "in control" of my own affairs I was. When it came to fruition, however, I felt more trapped and helpless than ever. These feelings came as such a shock to me and I didn't really understand how to deal with this. I thought many times that I had made the wrong decision coming out here, but time and reflection tells me that it has been the right decision and that I need to stick to my convictions. And as silly as it sounds, this bike is the objectification of everything I was looking to achieve/become when I came out here. Those feelings I felt when first getting on my bike, were the feelings I wanted when I first got here. Of course, in retrospect, it's naive to expect that right away without any work towards it.

To be completely honest, being out here has been really hard on me for the most part. The move to the other side of the country has been far from easy. I never expected it to be easy, I just never expected it to be this hard either. But as each day comes, I feel myself finding more and more positive things in my current situation. I am also starting to feel a small sense or pride in myself for sticking it out at a point where I could have easily left at the first (or second or third...) sign of bad waters. I ultimately see myself striding at full pace to accomplish something I set out to do that I had never attempted before.

It's amazing to me, how this bike was almost a religious experience for me.

Anyway, I don't know if much of that made sense or flowed properly, but there it is.
In other news, I'm looking at doing some sort of cleansing or detox. Do you guys have any tips for me? I'm not looking to purchase a ton of medicinal herbs/oils/shitlikethat (seeing as there's nowhere to buy them in Tofino).

Nova Scotia Adventures!

Bonnie is a woman who grew up in Parksville, B.C., but has lived here in Tofino for the past 9 years. So far, she has been unable to find love. Instead of referring to the opposite sex as "men", she refers to them as "penises". Needless to say, she's had some pretty bad luck in the past with partners. So next month, her and her sister are going on vacation for a month and they're travelling all the way to my stomping grounds. The beautiful province of Nova Scotia. The place that once filled this aching hole inside my heart. Bonnie hopes to find a "Dumb, hairy fisherman" to help fill the hole in her heart. A big one that will help her keep warm at night. She doesn't like snow.



Now, being the friendly east coaster that I am, I promised Bonnie that I would compile a list of MUST-SEES and MUST-DOS for any newfound resident or temporary visiter of the area. I'll make sure to include Peggy's Cove, of course, but I need YOUR GUYS' HELP with the rest of the list!

A couple things to note:
-She'll be there a month, at least
-She doesn't want to stay just in Halifax, she wants to go everywhere
-She's thinking about taking an art class
-She'd like to stay close to the water

Throw me some ideas, places to visit, places to eat, anything!

How did YOU Celebrate Friday the 13th?

I would like to know this.

I celebrated by sleeping in, waking up, and then having a nap.
Later, the three couples of The Blue House (Todd and I, Kita and Chantelle, Jon and Erica) Went on a hike through the rainforest boardwalk (up stairs, downstairs, twists, turns, hanging bridges, EXCITEMENT) to Schooner's Cove. The cove is filled with amazing pockets of beachy bays where the sunlight floods the place in weird patchy ways and lots of driftwood. Everytime you turn a corner you're bowled over with breathtaking views you couldn't imagine in your dreams.
We immediately set up a little campfire complete with beach blankets and veggie dogs and 1 kilogram of marshmallows. We of course, already had picked out perfect roasting sticks on the half hour rainforest walk. Popular topics of conversation included what other types of objects or animals our roasted veggie dogs looked like, and who would die first if we were in a campy horror movie at that very moment. Right around high tide time (10:30) we hightailed it back to the parking lot, trying our darndest to keep on eye out for black bears in the pitch black night.
We finished up the night with a good ol' fashioned round of Ouiji board (homemade, seance-style). Lights off, candles, gathered in a circle. Nothing much came of it, but it was quite the bonding experience, holding hand in a circle, meditating with each other.

And that's how I spent my Friday the 13th.

PISSED

Bad mood, curly hair!

BEST TIME OCCUPANT EVER

INTERNET COLLAGEZZZZZ

WORK WILL NEVER BE THE SAME AGAIN!!!!

FUCK SURFING

I'M GOING INTERPRETIVE HORSEBACK SURFING!

The best $3.14 I've ever spent

SILK CHOCOLATE TRUFFLE BARS
If I could stop eating these, I'd be eating pretty healthy. For me.

IT'S OFFICIAL

JENNER-BROOKE BERGER IS COMING TO TOFINO

For a limited time only, to fulfill one of my wildest dreams.
I am looking forward to reigniting the "good ol' times". I can just feel it in my bones, those few days are going to rule hard.
Next, in the works, is the one and only Ben Craig.


Today, ONE person has come into the boutique so far. And she was asking directions for another place in town.

In other news, sick as a dog.

Shorter than I thought....

I told Rhonda, the lady who did my hair that "I can see myself liking it"
Which is the truth.


It's gonna take some getting used to.
When it's curly, it bunches all up into little curls and it reminds me of my grandmother's hair, but not really in a bad way.

And Alexis, it's true, it wasn't the same without you. Before she started going at my hair, I tried to tell her about the things that you do, that I liked, for example, the backcombing of the hair at the root to abolish pesky straight lines of growth colour. She didn't get it. But as soon as I stepped into the salon and the waves of Aveda hit me, your memory was strong, and I held you in my heart as I held my breath and inches were lopped off.

But still, great girl, truly enjoyed her, along with everyone else who worked there. I may try to befriend them.
I miss you guys.

I'M GETTING MY HAIR DONE TOMORROW!!!!!!!

LET'S HAVE A VOTE!









They don't all look the same do they?

Hidden Treasures

One must always look on the bright side of things.

Taking those words in heed, I present you with some of the nice, nice things that have happened in the past month.

Yesterday, during my visit to the bank, it came to my realization that I have much more cash than I thought I did. HUZZAH! After evaluating my situation, I decided that perhaps I should treat myself. Today I'll be making an appointment at Studio One, which I hear is the nicest hair salon in all of Tofino. Well, it's actually one of two. The other is "Bee's Barber". That one's near the laundromat. I haven't heard that much about it.

Last night we moved into "The Blue House". There are nine people in total living there. That means two bathrooms and two fridges. And two dogs: Lily and Cedar. To say hello, Cedar takes your hand in his big brown mouth and gently gnaws on your knuckles. Two of our roomates are from Australia and I have heard nothing more funny than two Australians doing Newfoundlander impressions. Just you try to imagine that one.

Several cafes in the town have piqued my interest. The Common Loaf is probably my favourite. They have different baked selections everyday, but my pics include the ginger scones and raspberry white chocolate muffins. And don't forget the breakfast sandwich with real black forest ham, for a great deal of $6. The place has two levels, the top one being a small round room with a round deck circumnavigating the outer perimeter. Cafe Vincente's is also nice, but only if you can grab that REALLY comfy chair in the corner, by the window. Tuff Beans is another option for breakfast. Huge portions, even though that reflects in the price, but I guess nothing in this town is cheap. The option are next to endless. Breaker's (where I worked for two weeks), Jupiter's (Sketches me out, lots of nuts), Sobo (pricey but delightful), Whale Cafe (right on the water), Tofitian (very popular) and a few more I haven't visited yet....

Another great thing about being in a town where show are held at the legion, usually once or twice a week, is that I don't have much of a chance to waste my money on things. I haven't been drunk since before I left Halifax, I haven't bought one piece of clothing. There isn't a magazine store here, so I steal them from the laundromat. The best thing about being here is looking forward to what will come after this. I don't plan on saving a huge sum of money while here, but IF I DO....oh think of the things. I could buy a car, a beater, maybe just the little Kia Rio off my parents and go all around the states. That's one thing I've always wanted to do...Or I could go back to Europe, see the places I have never seen before, or I could plant myself in Amsterdam and never ever leave. I could eat cheese pancakes forever. Perhaps I could stay in Halifax and open a store.

Who knows....
I tried to find a good picture to put here to spice up the post, but I couldn't find one.
I did find lots and lots of old photos on my photobucket though, so maybe my next post will be of old pictures. Wouldn't you like that? Yeah? me too.

Allow me to introduce myself.....

Here I am at work, at Boutique Upstairs. A place that allows me to check me email ten times a day, allows me to impressively stock up my photobucket account, as well as participating in  lengthy skatepark gazing sessions.

Tofino amazes me more and more everyday.  The small town is much more underdeveloped than I thought it would be. I also expected the town to be RIGHT on the beach. Not so. The town is right on the water, but it takes a nice 5 minute bike ride to get to the closest of MANY beaches. Despite the size of Tofino, the place is crawling with young people and  people who would like to be young. There are many dreamcatchers, dreadlocks, spraypainted vans, cars turned into makeshift houses, girls with dogs, girls with hula hoops and Australian people here. 

Also, severe lack of housing for seasonal Tofitians. 

Tonight, after work, Todd and I move into "The Blue House". The Blue House is Todd's work's staff accomodations. The house is in the middle of town, a hop skip and a jump from the boutique I work at and it's so close to the water that the waves in the bay will lap you to sleep at night if you ask nicely. In the past, the house has been off limits to girls not working at the surf school, but this year, the three full time gentleman workers all have girlfriends who have nowhere to live. This year, they are making an exception to the rule. Lucky for me. Without this exception, I'd be packing my bags for home as a result of being homeless.

I decided before coming out here for the summer, that this would be my time to start things differently.

Step #1-Quit smoking. So far, successful. It's been about a month now. I'm fairly confident in saying that I will be able to continue this newfound trend. I'm crossing my fingers.

The following steps, I believe should be:

-Stop eating Chocolate Silk Truffle Bars from the place across the street.

-Pick up yoga or jogging on the beach which come on, really does sound kind of magical. Either of these will require a pair of reasonably effective (re: not fashionable) sneakers. For this reason, excersizing will have to wait because there is no store in this town that sells sneakers.

-Create more artwork. Because I have been allowed long periods of time with the internet, I have realized that this place is good for more than just a few things. The internet is an endless source of inspiration. Continuing on past explorations, I'd like to do a lot more with handwritten fonts. The following is a collection OF REALLY AWESOME PICTURES FROM THE INTERNET!!!!

I have so many more where that came from. It would blow your mind.

It blows my mind how much I miss home. But I think being out here will help me grow up. It will help me be a better me. Right?