The Giant Oat

Okay, i’m now more than half way through this journey and it’s time for a review:

1. Take the path less trod – I’ve gotten lost a few times, but I think this one has yet to be fully realized. I think taking six weeks off work is unusual, and I am really proud of myself for making it happen.

2. Build something with mud – not for another few weeks!

3. Trust my gut – this one has been tricky. I have trusted my gut for travel plans and it has worked out really well. I have yet to really have the guts to trust my gut in other matters, though. Or I am still trying to figure out what the gut is saying. It is too busy digesting food. I think I heard it say to move to BC, though.

4. Drink in a London pub – done and done and done… i will not forget that hangover for a while yet.

5. Write a poem – not yet

6. Wander Montmartre – I did do this, adn loved it!

7. Eat more fondue (cheese AND chocolate) than is good for me – cheese yes, fodue, not so much. Maybe when I hit Geneva? I have had a lot of chocolate and cheese everywhere I go. My favourite has been French cheese. My face shows signs of overloading.

8. Spend days on a quiet beach in the sun doing nothing at all – If that were “day” singular, I did that today. Maybe tomorrow will make it plural. I suspect this one won’t get fully realised, though.

9. Sketch – at the Louvre, I was inspired!

10. Write a short story – grrr….I struggle with the creative writing, but my crazy dreams lately are certainly fodder.

11. Write in my journal – my journal has been my sole and constant companion. I am afraid it is contemplating leaving me, after all my jabbering on and on and on! I keep it with me always, and over solitary meals I often write as if I were talking to my meal companion. I’ve gotten back in the groove of talking to myself, and it is great (in writing, not in public outloud).

12. Set a course (ideological, geographical, spiritual, employment-related) to follow when I return home – ummm….. maybe the art farm will help settle this, but again, BC is popping up a lot, and so is this idea of editing for a living. Maybe I’ll find a head hunter. I do, however, find it really interesting when I chat with people about what I do at home. I have a cool job! Whoa! I didn’t thnk I’d write that!

13. Do something that scares me – leaving my love for six weeks scares me daily. Crossing the street in Greece scares me. I have to work on this one a bit more, though.

14. See a volcano – nope. Maybe Vesuvius when I go to Pompeii?

15. Ride a gondola – saving it for one romantic trip in the future when I have someone to share the ride with. I did enjoy the water taxi, though.

16. Surf a couch – Fraid not. Well, I did get assigned to sleep at a Ukrainian lady’s house. My cousin got the couch. I got the bed. We both got forced to drink too much.

17. Follow the wind – indeed indeed indeed. The venetian wind in particular.

18. Experience an eco-village – soon!

19. Celebrate Easter in a new way – half done this. One way was last week, involving a greek catholic Good Friday in Greek, Slavonic services at the byzantine catholic college in Rome singing with a Swiss choir, and joining the crowds for the spectacle in St. Peter’s square. This weekend, I go Greek Orthodox, with a mix of Uki Catholic in Thessaloniki and Athens. I expect an interesting Good Friday. I do not expect anything near as fun, beautiful, tasty and wonderful as Brampton, Ontario, though.

20. Learn to cook something tasty – I have eaten many tasty things, especially a french soup with mustard, but I have yet to prepare aything. I will emulate when I get home.

21. Connect with new friends and old — done!

22. Remember and discover what I have to offer the world – work in progress.

23. Photograph beautiful things – done, though I wish I had my SLR (film) camera.

24. Meet beautiful people – My venetian dinner mates, my English housemates… and I hope some good people on a French Farm!

25. Laugh abundantly – to tears, in fact, in Assissi at a restaurant where we werent even drinking! Almost peed my pants/

26. Be moved to tears- many times

27. In the quietness of solitude, hear my voice – still trying to be quiet enough

28. Avoid being mugged and/or harmed – so far so good!

29. Learn that there’s no such thing as being lost – definitely making progress on this one.

30. Know that I am exactly where I ought to be: a place of infinite possibility – ah…well, this I think might need a bit more work, but I am more than half way there

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