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Tuesday, January 23, 2007

A Writer's Retreat & Five Things

Back to reality.

I can't bask in the glow of David Copperfield's love child forever, nor can I go back to complaining about lack of opportunities in my life. I've decided to do something about my stagnant state...

For the next few days, I won't be blogging. I won't have any access to the internet, to my cell phone, to television, to friends, to anything.

I've decided to be proactive and do something with myself.

I'm leaving tonight for Galiano Island, a Gulf Island located an hour's ferry ride from Vancouver. I'm going to a wee resort and am renting a cottage for three nights. I'm bringing my schoolbooks, my computer (again, no internet) and me, myself and I.

I think one of the reasons why I am having trouble starting my writing is that there is too many distractions in my life at the moment. Friends, boyfriend, family, job hunting, blogging, emails, etc. All of these things have been capturing my attention and giving me reasons to procrastinate.

The solution? A solo voyage to an island somewhere, where all I have to do is write, read, walk and be alone with a box of wine.

I'm hoping that I return on Friday refreshed and rejuvenated, with pages of writing under my belt and a school assignment or two completed.

Of course, I realize that this was Jack Nicholson's plan in The Shining as well, but hopefully I won't be terrorizing the other resort guests with an axe and chasing them around a hedge maze. Would make good writing material though...

When I get back though, you can bet I'll entertain you with tales of Scottish Castles, New Years Eve in Paris and Our Night at the Moulin Rouge. I promise!


But for now, I will leave you with the blogosphere's Five Random Things About Me:

1. When I was nine I started to read the World Book Encyclopedia books from front to back. I got to letter G and quit...I think I was 11 years old at this point and realized it was stupid. However, I now have a handy repetoire of useless information that I like to spring upon people at impromptu moments ("Did you know the human head weighs eight pounds?"....wait, that's from Jerry Maguire).

2. I horseback rode competitively for 12 years. I even had my own horse for a year or two, Lady, but she was the devil in disguise. I ended up quitting riding at age 18 when I the horse I always rode, Diva, suddenly died. Though she and I didn't always see eye to eye (can't have two divas in the ring) she was a great horse and her death made it easy to quit. I recently bought new riding pants though and am looking to start up again, when I can afford to spend $200 a month on lessons or a half-lease.

3. In a pinch, I have a hard time distinguishing between left and right. I feel this is a product of falling off a horse one too many times.

2. When I was 13, I decided to become a paleontologist...no doubt brought out by my inane love for the movie Jurassic Park. This went on for many years and I have a wide knowledge of dinosaurs now, including all the different types, the periods in which they lived in and the world's best paleontologists (Robert Bakker, etc). However, once I realized that I would need to know math in order to do a science degree, I pushed that dream aside. Math blows.

1. I was given laughing gas at the dentist when I was 10 and it was my first experience tripping out. I haven't been to the dentist in years because I know that they want to pull out my wisdom teeth and I want to prevent that for as long as possible. However, I also made it my new year's resolution to go to the dentist this year. I know if they gave me laughing gas again I would be over there in a shot.

I guess I'm supposed to tag someone with this (as in they have to do it too). Hmmm, I pick Kass and Robyn.

All right, that's it, I have a ferry to catch.

Wish me Bon Voyage!

21 comments:

Anonymous said...

Good, I'm not the only one that can't tell left from right. I always have to think about it for a second. I too used to show horses. You may be onto something here. Hope you have a great trip.

Anonymous said...

distractions are overrated. i kept my wisdom teeth until age 36.

Anonymous said...

Galiano sounds fun. I love the gulf islands.
About the wisdom teeth- get them done!!! I am a HUGE chicken, and just got mine done, you are asleep so you don't feel anything. Apparently ou have to get it done in your 20's , otherwise your jaw bone seals up and it could be a huge procedure later on.
have a good trip
Stacey

Anonymous said...

that sounds ideal.. a wonderful few days away from technology to soak in your thoughts.

many happy writing days to you!

Anonymous said...

I can't tell left from right either in a pinch. I always have to put my hand like I'm holding a pen. Good thing I'm not amdextrious (sp?). I constantly forget about my "other" left. When my son says "Does this go on my left foot?" I'll be like, "No. Your right." And then have to correct myself.

I hope the cheap wine doesn't ruin your big plans!!

Have a great, proactive trip!

How come the gassed you Harley? All I got was novacaine!! I did get some vicodin to take home with me....that was nice. Seriously though, it doesn't hurt during the procedure. Just gotta watch for dry sockets and the gauze is kind of irritating. Go to the dentist....if nothing else, at least you get an ADA approved toothbrush for "free".

Anonymous said...

Great meme!

I tried that no-internet thing throughout Christmas and New years. Worked wonders!
I took some time off then, too, away from work, away from politics, away from it all - just me and my family and Christmas...

All we need sometimes! :)

But boy was it nice to return to "civilization"! :D



Thanks for vising my blog, btw!
and ryc: I'm Sophia, no doubts about that! Capisce? ;)

Kass said...

Oh goodie lol.

And why does it go 1, 2, 3, 2, 1? lol

M said...

bon voyage!! :)

M said...

oh, sometimes I have a bit of #3 going on.

Steph said...

Your little escape sounds awesome! Have a great time and i hope you get lots of work done.

Anonymous said...

Good luck, that sounds like an amazing mini-break/mini-retreat!

Anonymous said...

Hope you're having a wonderful & productive time! Not to start any rumors, but is there anything Ross should know with you AND Indie both on hiatus???? ;-)

Anonymous said...

The solution? A solo voyage to an island somewhere, where all I have to do is write, read, walk and be alone with a box of wine.

What an outstanding idea! By now you should be back -- I hope it was a success. Tell us about it when you get the chance, OK? No hurry!

Anonymous said...

hello there- i know you are on your trip right now and that this has nothing to do with that - but i just wanted to say sumthing about that post you did awhile ago about why women shouldnt propose to men and i just wanted to say that its completley true - i proposed a few weeks ago to the love of me life - ive been with him for 4 years - and he he turned me down because: I wanted to marry for love and he wanted to marry for 'practical reasons.' - he said that women marry because they are in love and for men, love has nothing to do with it, it's all about being a suitable wife! He says this is so why women dont and shouldnt propose because if it was left up to us we would all be proposing to our men too soon- like a year in his words- and we would all just get turned down anyway- We didnt break up but he did leave it at "we are not in that place yet' - this is after 4 years of being tgether- and we are in our early 30s!

I know you arent an advice person but i thought maybe you could blog about it because he says its a fact and it makes me worry that i will never find anyone because im quite irresponsable and "nonpractical" and i fear that no matter how much a man loves me he will never want to marry because of this. Am i doomed or are there actually men out there who wouldnt care that im a bit all over the place -what female isnt- and would want to marry me because of love? Or do you agree with my soon to be ex that men only marry when the time and purpose "suits them?" What about when teh woman thinks its right? Does that not count for anything and is it because we are too "emotional" and not "practical" when it comes to love? Anyay, I wont wait around for him, i dont think any self-respecting female should!

sorry for taking up your blog like this- i hope you had a nice retreat and hopefully you can shed some light on this when you get back!

-ENID

Wanderlusting said...

Harley - Hmmm, sounds like a connection

Dan - Yes they are and ouch!

Rubber Duckie - Galiano I'm sure is fun in summer...As for the dentist, I will get the teeth puled out sometime in this decade... It's actually being put under general that I dont want to do. Been under 6 times, it's enough.

Rachel-Thanks, it does wonders

Charm School Ah but just because it's in a box doth not make it cheap

Heart - ah, Sophia, of course! I tried the whole going away with family in Mexico in November. I found that I can only relax when truly alone! Family drives me nuts

Kass - Yes, well it goes without saying that those can't tell their left from right, can't count properly either. I told you "math blows!"

Adjil - hahaha...shhhh! I'm just coming back from Signapore now!

M - glad to see Im not the only one with #3 problems...

Steph - Thanks, I did!

Beth - it was a perfect mini-retreat, I don't know why I didn't think of it sooner.

Dan - Success! But I'm in no hurry to tell you about it, so don't worry ;)

Enid -Hi!
I don't know if I am the best person to answer your question because not only do I know very little about the opposite sex and marriage, but I'm afraid I'm cynical on the subjects. This is why I am sorry to say but I am inclined to agree with your "soon-to-be-Ex."

I think men do marry for practical reasons (such as would she be a good mother, can she cook good meals, is she dependable with money etc)while women marry because of emotion (love,preferably, instead of infatutation).

When was the last time you heard of someguy getting on his knee and proposing because "I love you more than anything and can't imagine spending the rest of my life without you by my side." Maybe in movies that happens, but not in real life. At least, not often anyway.

I also believe that its harder for some women (me included) to ever get married because of this, because if you aren't "practical," than good luck to ya! I think deep down guys sometimes wait and wait and wait for a sign that you are worth taking a risk for. Because, after all, marriage is a risk and can't be taken lightly.

It's sad that marriage is done by "his" time...he decides when the time is right, he decides whether you are suitable or not, he decides whether you should or not...does the woman ever get to decide? Is her input ever asked for on the situation? No.

So kudos to you for taking the initiative and asking your (ex) man. So he said no...now you don't have to waste anymore time for a guy who may or may not have make up his mind. I believe most women have their own personal "limit" when it comes to waiting around and your 4 years is fairly generous!

Now you can move on, dump his commitmentphobe ass and hopefully find a guy out there who will want to be with you forever out of love and not because you fit into some mold society has put you in.

Of course, this is all my opinion on the issue (I said I was jaded, didn't I?) and I'm pretty sure there are countless examples from people that would prove me wrong...actually, I am hoping there are! Prove me wrong people, prove me wrong!

Maybe I'll blog about it more in depth at some point, it sounds interesting (I'll put it into my growing 'Blog To-Do Pile') but for now, I just got back and want to spend the weekend winding down.

Everyone else - thanks for your encouragement! I had a wonderful time being productive and creative, connecting with nature and myself and reveling in my solitude...but I'll get into that all in good time!

Unknown said...

So I know this isn't my blog (d'uh!) but I'd like to respond to Enid.....hopefully you DO dump his sorry ass. If he doesn't love you enough/think its practical for you to get married/think you're good wifey material by now, he never will. Why has he stayed in this relationship for so long? Don't mean to sound negative or mean or imply that this is your "problem" in any way but WTF is his problem?

Wander ~ The whole "I can't live without you" proposal, on one knee thing? Totally still happens. At least, it did with me. In. Public. Yup.

BecsLifeOnline said...

Yeah I can sympathize with the left and right thing, caused a bit of panic in my driving test but I passed anyways :-) Ha ha.

BecsLifeOnline said...

Ooh by the way I just saw the comment from you that included "I wish I could get off to Wales for a weekend". Hey you're very welcome you know! Ha ha ha :-)

simon said...

horses:- We were into them for years. I had a Australian brumby (wild horse) which I broke in using the Pat Perelli method.

We still have a leopard spot appaloosa called Chunky (cause he is)... he is crossed with a draught horse, and broken to harness.... he is a beautiful old boy now ( 25), and a spirited saddle ride, big solid and gorgeous...

Horses are something that you are either right into or right out of. anyway.....

simon said...

Enid/anon.. I just read your comment.

If I were you.. I would f%^& your man off. If he don't want to marry you, don't be a door mat either.. love is a 2 way street!
(thats the advice i would give my daughter)

(Can I say that here Wanderlust??)


Re wisdom teeth... You are 100% correct I just had mine out... and it was the most difficult operation they had done. The jaw had sealed them.....( I am a lot older that 20)

thetiniestspark said...

oh, i completely understand being inanely obsessed with a movie and then wanting to grow up and BE whatever that movie was...and then giving it up, because, inevitably, math was involved. it was the same for me and wanting to be an astronaut with Apollo 13 and Contact. I am sooooooooo horrible at math. I agree: math blows.

Also, I am very jealous of your island getaway -- would love to hop on a ferry and escape by myself with wine and a computer for a few days! I hope it is a successful trip : )