Feeling salty.

The disillusionment persists. Last Thursday, I decided I needed some time off the island. I mashed my overnight gear into my panniers and pumped my legs all the way to Swartz Bay. There, I had seven different destinations to choose from that would take me off Vancouver Island. I’d already decided on Salt Spring Island. Ruckle Park is one of my favourite camping spots, and it’d been several years since I last camped there. In fact, I believe the last time I camped there was with Yann and Ed in 2019.

This time, I was all on my lonesome. The last time I camped alone was… never. That was actually my first time. I didn’t realize until recently that I was an outlier among my friends for never having had that solo camping experience and wanted to change that. (Cocaine and changing a diaper are two other things that most of my friends have done that I haven’t, and I plan on keeping it that way.)

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Cozying up indoors, outdoors.

OH, WOW I DO NOT ENJOY SHOPPING.

In our last session, my therapist suggested adopting the Scandinavian hygge lifestyle to combat the winter blues, which, for me, starts in October. The idea is to make my living space cozy and inviting so I’ll look forward to hanging out in it. This seems like solid advice. So far, it’s taken me on a two-hour journey through various online retailers for an area rug.

When I finally thought I’d settled on a rug, I saw the shipping cost and noped out. Thus my rug research continues. Help.

Also, who, other than NEST, makes good scented candles? I know I’d like to border the living room with strings of warm white lights, but shopping for that is dreadful, too. Once my living room is as cozy as can be, I’ll require a plush hooded robe to lounge around in.

My birthday is somewhat coming up: if mid-August wasn’t too early for grocery stores to stock Halloween treats, it isn’t too early for me to think about my birthday wish list. It’s a milestone birthday, too: the sort that warrants a tiered cake. As an adult with a moderate disposable income, wish lists seem unnecessary. Except, I actually wish for people to locate these items, which I’ll then pay for myself. Volunteer as my personal shopper for my birthday!

The anniversary of myself aside, I co-celebrated an anniversary last weekend: Jordi and I have been together for a year. Now that we’ve hit that milestone, I can finally reveal his face:

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A short distance overseas.

On Wednesday, Yann reached another milestone: the anniversary of his conception. He celebrated the usual way, turning it into a destination Birthday. Last year, we were at the base of Mt. Albert Edward. The year before, we were in France. Before that? New Hampshire.

Anyway, you get the idea: August is a good month to have been birthed.

In the time of Coronavirus, we had to be low-key with this year’s destination and tote a pump dispenser of hand sanitizer. I also brought a chair, binoculars, and at least twelve articles of clothing even though we were gone for just a night.

So, where did we go?

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Apocalyptic insignificance.

Last night, Yann and I laced up our Nike Decades and headed up to Gonzales Hill Observatory with a flask of phenobarbital to catch a glimpse of NEOWISE before it disappears for the next 6000 years.

The observatory itself is an old weather station and is off-limits to the public; however, the Capital Regional District was kind enough to provide a park bench 20 metres away from the building.

Yann and I settled down on this bench as the sun sunk below the horizon. As usual, Sirius was the first to seep through the evening twilight, followed by the Grande Ourse, which is French for Big Bear, which how they refer to The Big Dipper. Or you’re in the UK, The Plough. Whatever it’s called, it’s the one constellation most Northern Hemispherians can identify. The Big Dipper was to direct us to NEOWISE’s position in the sky.

We sat in the darkness, shivering among the wind-warped Garry oak trees for an hour before scoping the dim smudge that is NEOWISE in the sky. It was expectedly anti-climactic, as we had long missed the window when it was the most brilliant.

Also, there was no flask of phenobarbital, and I wear Adidas kicks.

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Dark matter.

White woman wearing a black hoodie with the hood up emerges from an opening inside a cave. She is wear a head lamp and is carrying her sunglasses in her mouth.
Spelunking in style.

In 2008, along with 2 others, I entered one of the larger caves in Horne Lake Caves Provincial Park. Fifteen minutes later, we got spit out in a ditch on the side of the New Jersey Turnpike. I only mention this because Being John Malkovich is my favourite movie and has been since it was released 20 years ago. If you haven’t seen it, I can guarantee that it’ll be more interesting than this post.

But you’re here to read about me, right?

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