Thursday, November 20, 2008
MULTIPLE TIME ZONES LATER…
You know you're not in Nova Scotia when...
Snow flakes are sprinkling Nova Scotia and here I am in Hawaii. John and I packed up our gear and took off for the Wikiki beach early this morning, I in my bathingsuit, he fully dressed. John does not go in for the wet stuff unless it comes with steam, soap and a side of towels whereas I am pure fish. Tres finny. So, there I am in my element frolicking beside toasted surfers with my white legs scaring off the wildlife while he lounges on the side looking like Tommy Bahama escaping from the boardroom.
A day at the beach, John-style
I cannot possibly show a photo of myself in my bathingsuit for risk of causing somekind of Internet collapse but I do have this one of me in my coverups standing beside a banyan tree with the lovey doves all around. Please note that it appears as though one is perching on my shoulder. Not so. However, my legs (blissfully out of sight) are nearly the exact shade of said dove. I'm sure there's a message in this, something rich in symbolic meaning, but it escapes me for the moment. If my expression looks a little perplexed it is only because I am having one of my typical dialogues with the photographer. He is urging me to take my hand off my hat while I implore him to just take the picture. this goes on for several moments and the struggle leaves me looking a bit stunned.
Jane in hat by banyan tree
Speaking of stunned, as I trot around the world, dropping into restaurants and cafes for meals, it has occurred to me that life has grown far more complicated in the simplest of ways. For example: washroom signage. When did it go out of fashion to use the words 'Men' and 'Women' on washroom doors? Try stumbling around multiple timezones, have yourself a supper at 2:30 am according to your bodyclock, only to find yourself staring blankly at a washroom door trying to decipher the his and the hers? How many fig leaves do I need, anyway? One or three? And what is that cute little picture really saying (like, is that a she in a sarong or a he in a kilt?) Just tell me, already!
In any case, tonight I'm heading to the Cheesecake Factory for dulce leche cheesecake. I'm not even going to use the "I'm on vacation" line for an excuse to eat such a decadent dessert because I can't: technically I'm on life and life is better with cheesecake.
Next posting I will be several pounds heavier and writing from Australia.
Happy Thanksgiving all my American friends....
Posted by Jane on 11/20 at 09:52 PM
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Tuesday, November 18, 2008
OF GIANT FIRS, COASTAL RAINFORESTS AND I’M STILL IN CANADA
View from the top of the world
It is 6:00 am local time and Jane has just flown seven hours with a few more spent in airports in between. She arrives in her location, spends a lovely afternoon with friends and goes to bed at a reasonable hour. Fast forward to the next morning when she awakes in another new world, albeit one with a similiar climate to her own (moist, end of fall leaves still clinging to the trees, that misty, maple-y scent to the air) and marches down to the coffee house below the appartment where she's staying with friends. To look at her, you'd almost think she was functioning. She orders cappuccino and goes to pay for her purchase. For a moment she stands there gazing into her multicompartmentalized wallet. Hmm, she thinks: Euros? Pounds sterling? US dollars? She looks up at the waiting clerk: "I only have Canadian change. Will you take that?:" The woman looks at her kindly and not a little amused. "Yes, we find Canadian money actually still works in Canada."
I'm shocked! What's happening to me? So what if I've just flown across a continent? I'm still in my home country! This is Canada and I can use Canadian money! But, all that aside, it occurs to me what a huge disconnect a human can go through when journeying to multiple countries in a short period of time. Today the Pacific north west, tomorrow to south Pacific. Who can blame me if I get a little confused?
Ahoy, earth to Jane: Jane at Horsehoe Bay, Vancouver
Besides visiting Granville Island where I saw the most glorious knitting shop (closed) and wandering amid that market-infused pedestrian area I love so well, Colleen & Steve took John and I off to the deep Douglas Fir country to frolic in the tree tops on suspension bridges and canopy walks. Being a tree-hugger by nature, the opportunity to cuddle up to a 300-yr old Woody is something I love. I can't help but cherish anything that can live so long, stand so straight and so tall.
Jane&Steve: Don't ask!
So, there I am scrambling through the treetops and these suspension arteries and what do I find? A young woman knitting! In the trees, at the start of the walking webbery. I asked if I could take her picture but wished I had also asked her name:
Random acts of knitting
Posted by Jane on 11/18 at 10:31 AM
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From the entry 'OF GIANT FIRS, COASTAL RAINFORESTS AND I'M STILL IN CANADA'.
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| By Iris on 2008 11 18 |
