Hehe...nothing like a little originality to start off another glimpse into my strange little world:) Been back for a week, been very busy...so haven't had a chance to write.
Spent the last weekend in October in Ucluelet...a tiny town about 50 km south of Tofino, on the west coast of Vancouver Island. It is about 200 km away from Nanaimo...a memorable drive, methinks. The scenery is beautiful...the life is simple...and the curvy roads are, excuse the adolescent boy in me emerging for a brief moment, worthy of my considering getting my car lowered...for those who have an inclination for physics...to lower my car's centre of gravity...wow, it was a fun drive...good thing my gf doesn't get motion sickness... :P
I went for a few reasons...it was my gf's b-day...and I didn't want to do something "run of the mill"...it was a chance to have a brief reprieve from the rat race...and I really, really wanted to see storm season on the Pacific Ocean for the first time in my life. It's funny...only a scant few hours from home...but uncharted territory for myself. I am the type of person who talks a great deal (mostly garbage, as some may have the good fortune to know;-)...and does very little...at least in my opinion anyway. So, had a whim...and decided to go...forgot about practicality and all that good stuff for a moment...and off we went:P And to get ahead of myself a bit, it was worth it...on many different levels.
We rented a cabin at the end of a little bay...just a short distance from waters of the Pacific...at night...it was so dark that the presence of the ocean was more felt and heard, than seen...the wind made me feel alive...the air cleansed my lungs...I think words are sometimes inadequate to describe some moments...this was one of those. No matter how many pictures I take...no matter how much I write...it has to be experienced. And to share the moment with someone...the memories will forever warm my mind.
I think, often, with the bustle of daily life...one can easily forget the important things...because one has to worry about making a living...studying...paying bills...running errands...yada yada yada...won't bore with the mundane details of my existence. But for those four days in October, life slowed down for me...and it was beautiful. There were no timelines...no emails...no plans whatsoever...that drove my gf nuts...because I like to fly by the seat of my pants...she likes to plan...to maximize the "fun" I suspect...I just wanted to do things at my own relaxed pace...I am happy to say she eventually came around to my way of thinking ;-) We managed to have every type of weather...pounding rain at night drowning out the waves breaking on the shore...brilliant sunshine amidst fine misting rain...gusty winds...pounding rain during the day...amazing to behold...ok, ok...I know I am just a silly boy waxing lyrical about inclement weather...but I prefer being a kid most days:P
We managed to see most of the coast from Ucluelet to Tofino and some of the Pacific Rim National Park...the huge trees in Cathedral Grove are awe-inspiring...800 years old...I'll be happy if I am still standing at 80:) Long Beach was cool...very few people were there...which was good because my antisocial nature extends to beaches too.
On a more personal level...before we headed off...I wondered how my gf and I would fare...after all...we hang out together a fair amount...but I wondered how it would be to spend several days with her...or maybe I should put it in a more appropriate context...how would she handle that many days with ME?!? Good ol' boring, loud-mouthed, obnoxious, immature me! Seriously though...I wondered if at the end...would we be stronger or weaker? Maybe I think too much.
Well, what were the results? 500+ km of road later...two 1.5 hr ferry rides...96 hrs of wonderful moi! We're still together...guess that means it turned out alright, eh? :) I think of myself as being simple...but most that know me...they think I am not. It was good...there were moments...but I think the two of us got a better sense of whether we are compatible or not...whether we complement each other...the latter is incredibly important...at least to me. I think it's not as important whether two people have similar interests or not...whether they are cut from the same moral or religious cloth...or whether they think the same about certain things. I am not trying to trivialize these things...they are important...but to me, they are only secondary. They are more short term considerations...but longer term...how do two people complement each other? That is the most important in my humble opinion. Do they make each other better? Does the strength of one make up for the weakness of the other, in any one thing? Do they fit together? Silly analogy, but relationships seem to me to be akin to a puzzle. Find the right pieces...and things fall into place...it looks easy...but sometimes very difficult. For a while there, I thought that my gf and I lived in different worlds...we grew up in different worlds...but it is not necessarily a bad thing. And though we are still in the process of opening our strange worlds (especially my complicated one) to each other...I feel we are making each of our worlds better...and know something...that fits:)
Now the bad...500+ km of my gf singing...sigh...sigh...sigh. Not much more to say than that...actually, her voice is not bad...and considering the alternative was with me singing...well, let's just say that it was probably a good thing I decided not to open my pipes:P...a welcome relief for all parties involved...enough said:)
Back to the rat race... :(
Spent the last weekend in October in Ucluelet...a tiny town about 50 km south of Tofino, on the west coast of Vancouver Island. It is about 200 km away from Nanaimo...a memorable drive, methinks. The scenery is beautiful...the life is simple...and the curvy roads are, excuse the adolescent boy in me emerging for a brief moment, worthy of my considering getting my car lowered...for those who have an inclination for physics...to lower my car's centre of gravity...wow, it was a fun drive...good thing my gf doesn't get motion sickness... :P
I went for a few reasons...it was my gf's b-day...and I didn't want to do something "run of the mill"...it was a chance to have a brief reprieve from the rat race...and I really, really wanted to see storm season on the Pacific Ocean for the first time in my life. It's funny...only a scant few hours from home...but uncharted territory for myself. I am the type of person who talks a great deal (mostly garbage, as some may have the good fortune to know;-)...and does very little...at least in my opinion anyway. So, had a whim...and decided to go...forgot about practicality and all that good stuff for a moment...and off we went:P And to get ahead of myself a bit, it was worth it...on many different levels.
We rented a cabin at the end of a little bay...just a short distance from waters of the Pacific...at night...it was so dark that the presence of the ocean was more felt and heard, than seen...the wind made me feel alive...the air cleansed my lungs...I think words are sometimes inadequate to describe some moments...this was one of those. No matter how many pictures I take...no matter how much I write...it has to be experienced. And to share the moment with someone...the memories will forever warm my mind.
I think, often, with the bustle of daily life...one can easily forget the important things...because one has to worry about making a living...studying...paying bills...running errands...yada yada yada...won't bore with the mundane details of my existence. But for those four days in October, life slowed down for me...and it was beautiful. There were no timelines...no emails...no plans whatsoever...that drove my gf nuts...because I like to fly by the seat of my pants...she likes to plan...to maximize the "fun" I suspect...I just wanted to do things at my own relaxed pace...I am happy to say she eventually came around to my way of thinking ;-) We managed to have every type of weather...pounding rain at night drowning out the waves breaking on the shore...brilliant sunshine amidst fine misting rain...gusty winds...pounding rain during the day...amazing to behold...ok, ok...I know I am just a silly boy waxing lyrical about inclement weather...but I prefer being a kid most days:P
We managed to see most of the coast from Ucluelet to Tofino and some of the Pacific Rim National Park...the huge trees in Cathedral Grove are awe-inspiring...800 years old...I'll be happy if I am still standing at 80:) Long Beach was cool...very few people were there...which was good because my antisocial nature extends to beaches too.
On a more personal level...before we headed off...I wondered how my gf and I would fare...after all...we hang out together a fair amount...but I wondered how it would be to spend several days with her...or maybe I should put it in a more appropriate context...how would she handle that many days with ME?!? Good ol' boring, loud-mouthed, obnoxious, immature me! Seriously though...I wondered if at the end...would we be stronger or weaker? Maybe I think too much.
Well, what were the results? 500+ km of road later...two 1.5 hr ferry rides...96 hrs of wonderful moi! We're still together...guess that means it turned out alright, eh? :) I think of myself as being simple...but most that know me...they think I am not. It was good...there were moments...but I think the two of us got a better sense of whether we are compatible or not...whether we complement each other...the latter is incredibly important...at least to me. I think it's not as important whether two people have similar interests or not...whether they are cut from the same moral or religious cloth...or whether they think the same about certain things. I am not trying to trivialize these things...they are important...but to me, they are only secondary. They are more short term considerations...but longer term...how do two people complement each other? That is the most important in my humble opinion. Do they make each other better? Does the strength of one make up for the weakness of the other, in any one thing? Do they fit together? Silly analogy, but relationships seem to me to be akin to a puzzle. Find the right pieces...and things fall into place...it looks easy...but sometimes very difficult. For a while there, I thought that my gf and I lived in different worlds...we grew up in different worlds...but it is not necessarily a bad thing. And though we are still in the process of opening our strange worlds (especially my complicated one) to each other...I feel we are making each of our worlds better...and know something...that fits:)
Now the bad...500+ km of my gf singing...sigh...sigh...sigh. Not much more to say than that...actually, her voice is not bad...and considering the alternative was with me singing...well, let's just say that it was probably a good thing I decided not to open my pipes:P...a welcome relief for all parties involved...enough said:)
Back to the rat race... :(
1 comment:
We took almost the same trip in summer 2000, before Michael moved to San Diego. But no rain. It is a magical place.
How can you complain about your gf's singing so many times in your blog? What kind of bf are you? :P
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