- save money for more travel
- get my act together as a soloist
- write stuff
- clean my house
The last bit sounds mundane but it's - also - true! When your surroundings are chaotic and jumbled, piles of junk and paper everywhere, it affects your peace of mind. Time to get rid of that old baggage and make room for a new life.
As I contemplate a more stationary, but increasingly musical immediate future, here's a review of what ended up being a most epic year for me in terms of travel and music.
January 2012 found me packing for the Philippines, a country I never expected to visit in a million years. But Veni, Vidi and Vici I did. And fully intend to return. The journey began as most of my epics. It wasn't my idea, I swear! Just like in 2009 a friend wanted to walk the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage across Spain, and was unable to last minute. I went anyway and met some amazing people across the world.
Just like in 2010, another friend suggested we go to Iceland to visit a former co-worker of his who we'd bonded with while hiking the Mantario Trail. My friend wasn't able to come but I went on my own and wandered from the West Fjords to the flowing lava fields of the volcano Eyafjallajökull.
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| Above Isafjordur, West Fjords of Iceland |
Just like in 2011, the cellist from my string quartet suggested I sign up for the Manhattan String Quartet workshop in Salzburg, Austria to study the brilliance of Mozart. Since I was going all that way I figured I should stop in and visit all the good people I'd met on the Camino in 2009.
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| Entrance of the house where W.A. Mozart was born in Salzburg |
2012 was no different. aLfie said one day, "Want to come to the Philippines with Inna and I?" He was half kidding, but the travel monkey on my back blinded me. "Yes! When?" aLfie had no choice then but to make arrangements. He ended up putting together an amazing schedule of rehearsals and gigs for his former indie New Wave band, Half Life Half Death and included every musician who had ever played with them. At our final concert Feb. 3 at Club Phi in Pasig City, Metro Manila, we had 10 people on stage by the end of our 19-song set.
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| ALL the members of Half Life Half Death. Photo by OmaY Gorecho Photography |
It was an amazing experience for me, especially since I'd never dreamed of visiting anywhere in the Pacific Ocean, let alone Southeast Asia. For four weeks I was a resident of Pasay City, vacationed in Coron Town, Palawan, and learned how to manoeuver through the public transit system of Jeepnies, the LRT and metro busses. Most importantly I made some of the most amazing friends in my life, and had the distinct pleasure of being able to play music with them.
Returning home from the tropics to a frigid February, I immediately resumed my winter habits: not one week back in Manitoba and I was skiing 20km to the Mantario Cabin in the Whiteshell Wilderness Zone for the Louis Riel Day long weekend.
In March my only travel was changing jobs: after two-and-a-half years I hung up my PR hat at Turnstone Press and started a new job as a qualitative research analyst for a professor in Community Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine. This meant no more vacation, but a new journey for me academically and career-wise.
Rock climbing took over life in an unusually warm April, and I left the city as much as possible if only for weekends.
In May, a work trip took me to Toronto where I took in a Picasso exhibit at the AGO, visited a friend and did way too much shopping!
For the July Long weekend, some friends and I went exploring places we'd never seen before on a canoe trip in the Grassy Narrows area.
The Riding Mountain Triathlon is a staple escape for my sister's in-laws every August where my goal each year is to try to beat my own 10km time. No such luck this year. Getting lazy! But I brought my fiddle and my accordion-playing bro-in-law and I whipped up some polkas for the kids.
September Long I hiked the 63km Mantario Trail through for the ninth time leading up to what I hoped would be a 10th in 10 years at Thanksgiving. Twas not to be, unfortunately, due to an unseasonal blizzard that buried the trail and blew down tree tops to mangle the whole length of the trail. Four of us bravely ventured 15km but turned back when it looked like we'd be killing ourselves to finish in 3 days with gawdawful conditions.
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| Members of the Alpine Club of Canada-Manitoba Section who wisely turned back from this snow-covered 'summit'. |
November found me escaping on a mini-epic journey to SoCal to play music with one of my newfound Philippine friends: singer/songwriter Clementine; discover family I'd never met; and experience Getty art, music ranging from country to classical, and hiking in Joshua Tree, one of the most starkly stunning places on earth.
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| Getty Centre gardens. In sunny November. |
I was supposed to ski to the Mantario Cabin again to ring in the New Year, but was hit with strep throat right before, so there was no way I was going to ski that 22km into the wilderness with a heavy backpack. There are always other opportunities to travel!
As Auntie Mame (Rosalind Russell) said, "Life is a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death!" Though I may be staying put for a bit this New Year, I intend to keep feasting.
Happy New Year!
