23 April 2012

Weekly Reflection

It's been a pretty stellar week though I'm lacking time to fully update it so here are the main points in no particular order:

-Met Melanie (melaniecanrun) at breakfast yesterday and it was a ton of fun - we are both complete crossfit/paleo addicts and it was amusing I'm sure to our two non-crossfit/paleo companions
-Rawsome is Awesome...  Melanie so kindly surprised me with some treats from Rawsome and they were unbelievable.  https://www.facebook.com/gorawsome
-beach run, ocean swim, coffee, great friend... no much else needs to be said
-NSV - getting picked up by this great friend and held off my feet and not worrying if I "might" be too heavy (clearly I am not)
-SUPing with dolphins!
-busy days and quiet nights
-olympic lifting technique sessions
-Rx-ing (running) Fran and moreso knowing that I own pull-ups now, no going back as Coach Kirst said.

-3 hour skype calls with best friends half a world away - eating dinner while she's having breakfast - felt just like hanging out

It was a great 7 days of solid and varied workouts, new friends and old friends.  Nothing could be better.  Here's to another great week!

19 April 2012

Thankful Things Thursday

-New clothes - I dislike shopping but when everything is too big it's a requirement - new dress - size XS?  Yup, I'll take it.
-The cute little lady at the market - every single weekend for as long as I can remember - she's been giving me an extra mango - secretly, it's always hushed when she says "you can have one more" and it always makes me smile.  Sadly mango season has come to an end.
-Knowing and believing in my heart that we only get one (finite) life on this planet and there's no use spending it any other way than happy... you define your happiness - it will change, perhaps daily but I wouldn't have it any other way.  I'm starting to let go of what I think the future should look like and replace it what today should be like because today is what matters most... every day.
-Olympic Lifting sessions and getting stronger.  Most days, no matter how good or bad they've been are always made better by a good crossfit session and I'm loving learning technique to get even better still.
-Last minute weekend WODs with good friends.  Handstand pushups and handstand walks.  Being able to do pullups in the park and not needing a band.  Love.  Winner buys coffee is the best and only rule.
-Coffee
-Learning to let go - of people specifically... even ones you care deeply about because sometimes it's the only option, I know I can't control anyone but myself and how I choose to feel/be.  It doesn't mean the caring stops though.
-New shoes, and obnoxiously bright pink shoelaces for those shoes.
-Travel plans... they're still indefinite (flights are expensive!) but they're forming and that makes me really excitedly happy.
-I am extremely thankful for electricity.  After 15 hours without it last weekend I was overjoyed when the power company finally came and fixed the line.  It's amazing how creepy a place can seem just knowing you can't turn on a light versus normal every day darkness.  Yes, power.

New Dress/ blurry photo

13 April 2012

A reminder...

I'm the girl who:

-drives too fast down a tiny one way street but just can't help herself
-has terrible fears of not having an epic love and growing old alone
-doesn't have many friends but is loyal and faithful to the ones I have an once they're in my heart they are there forever no matter how much time or distance comes between us
-feels more comfortable in jeans and a t-shirt but looks pretty damn hot in a dress and a great pair of heels. 
-goes along with societies norms but doesn't quite fit into them
-doesn't belong to cities but rather to the world and can't imagine ever having roots to just one place
-has three places that I call home, where I am now, Vancouver and wherever my parents live
-loves simplicity though I too often cause complications in my external world
-has no musical talent and yet can't live without the sound of it in my life
-loves love hip hop and classic rock yet will always crank up the radio to sing along to the sappy late 80's power ballads that shaped my formative years
-wishes on stars and eyelashes knowing that neither have the capacity to make my dreams come true
-loves domesticity and cooking and cottages and yet I sit at a desk 9-5 monday to friday and finding it both sometimes rewarding and often stifling
-understands how it's easy to give your body away when you don't care about the other though anything but easy when you do
-knows heartbreak and the void of people leaving but has learned through the years that it's not always about me though even when it is I learn and get stronger for the next time
-feels anything worth having is worth taking a bit of risk on
-realises that there are no guarantees in life but sometimes trust is enough with the right person.
-wants a marriage but doesn't think the wedding is necessary though in my mind I can picture the dress I'd love to wear
-is strong and composed but sometimes also completely lost inside and that we're all really the same in this regard
-yearns for love but often finds it hard to let myself *be* loved
-believes there is one other out there for her, that one person that you feel like you've known for years and you choose each other
-thinks that it's better to fight when things gets hard rather than walking away, giving up
-trusts that things worth having are sometimes complicated but ultimately worth it
-believes that sometimes you just have to jump and trust that another person is going to stick with you through the ups and downs and won't walk away even when so many people have walked away before
-is terrified of so many things and yet standing strong afraid to share these secrets
-is full of emotions and curiosity and wonder and my mind never stops trying to 'figure it all out' even though there are rarely any answers
-expects the best from anyone even as I'm constantly let down because of it
-often gets hurt when I open my heart but wouldn't have it any other way
-spent too much time hiding and pushing people away and I don't want to do it anymore
-doesn't want regrets and is willing to take the risks
-wants a person in her life to share moments with, the silliness and laughter, coming and going through time
-loves roadtrips, a fast car, the hwy, windows down and music turned up LOUD
-things that the best part of traveling is the first breath of fresh air when you step off the plane
-enjoys paddling - outrigger, stand up, surfski
-has been single longer than not but I'd rather be alone than to settle for anything less that perfect (for me)
-is an only child and enjoy my independence and space
-loves dusk as the world slows down in that transition from day to night
-dislikes Halloween and New Years
-thinks the sound of laughter is beautiful
-hates wearing shoes
-loves the water but can't really swim
-enjoys playing, revisiting youthful days
-has a strong affection for my bed and lazy mornings spent in it
-loves a good thunderstorm sitting by a fire
-can't pass a used bookstore without going inside and admiring the contents within

April 13, 2012

The past 3.5 hours have been spent on a patio, shapeless conversation, smiles and laughter and red wine. I'm left now thinking of you - of the numbered days.  Of a want, a need to call you, to see you.  Just be in the same space.  But I can't, I know that.  I know that it only pushes you away, that things need to be on your time, your control.  And so I'll wait.  Silent.  And I'll hope that you will reach out, want to spend time with me too before you leave again.  Before the space of months loom before us.  You've promised me once.  Dinner.  But I still hope for more than that.  I'll never tell you though.

*******

I adore you as we balance this line between friends and more and back to friends because caring is hard and scary.  I don't mind it though.  And yes, sometimes the distance is hard, well, not the distance itself but the distance that seems to exist when we're in the same city.  I get it.  Had fair warning. I know where I stand, it's all on me.  But I can't give you up, don't want to.  And even as we stay friends, just friends, I have no urge to date anyone else, can't bring myself to look because none are like you and I like you, a lot, just the way you are, no matter the distance.  Now if only you could see that.

12 April 2012

Thankful Things Thursday...

-Getting mail - real mail, not junk mail or bill mail but actually letters from friends.  It was the best card from my best friend... it was also shocking to realize that I've known her close to 17 years!

-Coffee.  Can this have a permanent spot on this list.  It truly makes me happy every single day.  And the guys in the coffee shop across the street have taken to having it ready for me pretty much as I walk in the door.  Happy!

-Rocking unassisted pull-ups and toes to bar.  I'm happy with the progress I've made over the last few months.  I'm also excited to have finally gotten my first full depth unassisted dip.

-Knowing when to step back a bit.  I'm taking another 4 days off from crossfit for a number of reasons but I like the fact that I'm in tune with my body and mind to know when I need this and to not feel guilty for doing it.

-Massages.  Going in a few hours for a well earned and much needed massage.  Not only will I be resting my body but I'll be caring for it too.

-Being happy.  Just this.  It sounds so simplistic and trite but I'm truly happy with who I am and where I am at.   I say this having come from such a long period of my life where I was more often than not unhappy.  I'm not by any means saying things are perfect (hello silly boy) but I find that I can deal with unexpected situations or things that don't go my way with some grace and understanding better than I could and I can accept that ultimately it will all work out just as it needs to (it got me this far so it has to be true).