It seems Canada is an excited and excitable little place.

Fitting, as Canada embarks on some not-often-seen national pride… that I embark on a March-long blog project. I’m trying to show and display and consider some pride in the City of Calgary.

It seems the decade planning will have to be put on hold.

I’m trying to discover the best of this city. Details to follow. Comments welcome.

[Now, to find a video recorder and a book].

so.  part 2 of 3. of this post‘s homework.

five things i’d be grateful for if they were achieved in the next 365.242199 days:

1. i want to apply for something(s) i know i barely qualify for, or don’t qualify for, or do qualify for.  the montreal photo contest was a great lesson: why not try?  …a scholarship, …a trip, …a conference, …an addition to the job, a speaking opportunity, …the corner office.  who knows??
2. the excursions.  i want to make the most of the trips i have planned: auckland/sydney, lethbridge, montreal.  i also, though, want to make it somewhere unexpected… whether somewhere near or far, or somewhere within those planned trips.  i want this to be the year of a place not yet discovered.  or.  a place seen a new way.
3. this one might sound awfully resolutiony.  i want to get in a rhythm with food, and exercise, and stress-outlets that i can stick with and works with me.  i guess, i’ll just stick that boring one in the middle.  maybe i’ll throw: FINALLY ride the new blue bullet at west edmonton mall, in this one to glam it up a bit.
4. i want a house that feels like home, a space i can be creative with (and in).  funky.  urban.  bright.  alive.  i have a few ideas.  it’s all coming together: the colours, the ‘stuff’, the furniture.  i want the funky couch, i’ve envisioned for a long time.  i want a patio that’s another entire spring/summer/early-fall space to relax on, and that’s inviting.  i want to explore the neighbourhood more, too.  see what’s around.  i want to really, truly unpack.  that’s never really happened.
5. *excuse the purposeful vagueness here*
   i want to see rightly with my heart. à la  “On ne voit bien qu’avec le cÅ“ur. L’essentiel est invisible pour les yeux...”
   be.  explore.  live.  discover.  create.
6. oops.  this post would fit here wouldn’t it?  the whole ‘coaster endeavour.  it wasn’t really a january mission.  ever.  this year though?  …very possibly.

up next, i guess: the decade.

Our library catalogue at work has just been upgraded. You might think my favourite part of upgrading might be having new features, or getting to attend an entire day workshop, OR you might think I may not have a favourite part of upgrading. However, bar none, the best part of an upgraded system is it is now a system that allows you to choose toolbar/background/font COLOUR SCHEMES.

I carefully perused each choice and have landed upon “Spring”, a joyful earthtone selection of hues.

How was I to know that moments later I would be contacted by my condo’s renovators with a little ‘pop quiz’? Turns out, my library catalogue was not the only thing in my life waiting to reflect my true colours. My condo was, too. …and if I wasn’t quick, the choice would be beyond my control.

Within minutes I must train my eyes to find their way Ouija-Board-style to colours they’re drawn to. I choose Chinese Artichoke, Earth Smoke, and Loft. What was hard, was not looking at the colour names. While I liked Dishwater, who would want that on their walls?

What did I end up with? Something “Spring”-esque, a joyful earthtone selection of hues.

I can’t wait to see the final product. And now that I’m on a roll, I just want to recolour my whole entire life. Seems like if I get too many more opportunities in the next little while, with this current headspace, my entire life will be green.

, words
spiny or smooth, whispered or declaimed.
words to consider, reconsider.

[I don’t know what it is about that poem that continues to stick with me, but it does.  I just can’t stop continually throwing snippets here and there.  It’s not even from our country.]

[Luckily, I have a few new word-gems, from our own nation(s) to use, now that our Olympic Opening Ceremonies has taken place.]

We do encounter each other in words. …in words, and smiles, and activities, and ideas, and meals, and tasks, and trips, and cheers, and wii-games, and drinks.

This week almost killed me.  It is and was all fine, but university came at me triple-time and triple-force.  Speaking at convention was a whole new experience; being asked to write an article related to a study for convention was, too.  The week was a lot.  Kind words and here’s-what-we-can-do words got me through.

Then this weekend, words of celebration and fun.  We find ourselves in Edmonton catching most of the Opening Ceremonies, playing Just Dance, and seeing what it is Edmonton has to offer us.

Because we’re open to it, a few new acquaintances present themselves.  Old acquaintances bring their smiles and words, too.

We encounter each other in words.

I’m grateful for weekends like this, where I’m not so busy and distracted and forced to focus… where I can appreciate and notice and choose the words, more often.

I’m adding a Number 6 to the latest list before moving on to the next two.

I want to experience a new rollercoaster.

I’m overdue.  It’s symptomatic of living in Calgary, because there aren’t many new ones near here.

I’ve been on the one at West Edmonton Mall countless times now, and while it’s certainly smile-invoking, I’ve now ‘had better’ [although, I still remember my first time on it with crystal clarity].  I have a few favourites, for different reasons:  SheiKra for the sheer thrill, Goliath for the company (and the Montreal background), and the Italian Job for my Mom’s reaction (we’d told her it was a tame one).  I’m sure there are others I’m forgetting, too.  But the first round on any of those, or any others, is ALWAYS the most fun.

Yes, La Ronde is getting a new one this summer.  Toronto’s Canada’s Wonderland probably is, too.  Silverwood isn’t to far.  And I’d probably be holding my breath for a long time before one landed on the QEII.  So.  Where will the new coaster be?  The best ones always have lots of hype, so will it find me?

I really do need to get this blog video-equipped, so once I check this sucker off my to-do list I can post up the entire endeavour.  =)