“And when you’re in a Slump, you’re not in for much fun. Un-slumping yourself is not easily done.”
-Dr. Suess
On this day last year, I was in California. I had just driven down from San Fransisco to Los Angeles and spent my first couple of days exploring the quintessential LA sites, such as the Hollywood Walk of Fame and took a bus tour of Beverly Hills, Mulholland drive and various “celebrity” homes. This particular morning, I woke early and made my way to Beverly Hills again, but this time with visions of living out my Pretty Woman fantasy (minus the escort/wealthy businessman part, of course). After taking some photos of the quiet streets and classic signage, I found an adorable little restaurant for breakfast. I had a mimosa type brunch cocktail aptly called “Pretty Woman” and sat there, munching on my enormous omelette, feeling bewildered that this was currently my life. I was sitting on Rodeo Drive, sipping a cocktail and anticipating a (very small) shopping spree on the three-block landmark I’d only ever seen on TV. Who was I? In five short days I’d be living out my bucket list Coachella experience in Indio, California, but not before galavanting around the infamous Venice Beach, Malibu, Santa Monica Pier and Palm Springs.
Is this real life?
Today, I’m sitting at home, typing on my laptop and looking through old photos. I love taking tons of photos and sometimes have to remind myself to live in the moment. But today I’m grateful for my shutterbug qualities and reminisce on the memories; closing my eyes to get a glimpse of the sun on my face and the salt air around me. Today is exactly one month of my new reality-quarantine. Thanks to the COVID-19 virus there is literally a global pandemic occurring. Starting in China and expanding all over the world, entire countries enter lockdown. Thankfully in Canada, we haven’t gotten to that stage, yet. Everyone stockpiled toilet paper, hand sanitizer and cleaning products and I’m nervous to leave my apartment even to walk my dog. The studios I teach Pilates at have been closed to curb the spread of the virus, as have most stores and restaurants deemed non-essential. Other cities, such as New York, are in crisis mode, flying doctors and nurses in as a desperate attempt to save lives and continue the fight. Front line workers are in a seemingly losing battle against illness, fatigue and dwindling medical supplies.
Is this real life?
Life is a wild, unpredictable ride; it’s what happens when you’re busy making plans. There are heartache and despair, death and sorrow, joy and happiness. It’s all intertwined and inevitable. Next year will bring more challenges and more successes. Oh, the Places You’ll Go!
“So be sure when you step. Step with great care and great tact and remember that Life’s a Great Balancing Act.”
-Dr. Suess
Something happened this past week that has just amplified an issue I’ve had for some time. I went to the beach on Wednesday to relax and spend some time by myself. I really needed this day to just shut my brain off for a bit because for the last while I’ve been so go-go-go, I haven’t felt relaxed in quite awhile. I was sitting on my towel, under my umbrella, reading a book when I noticed a few texts and emails from work. This annoyed me slightly and reminded me why a Wednesday as a day off was too difficult to be able to turn off, as most other people are working still. During this 30 second interaction with my phone, I happened to look up and notice a family with 2 small children were beginning to set up camp in front of me. Now, admittedly this is not my favourite sight as children tend to be louder in general (but so do teenager groups) and as I’m on a public beach I’m not upset by this development, just simply noticed and then proceed to contemplate my work situation again. A few moments later I was pulled from my thoughts by the father of this family, who proceeded to question me if I had just rolled my eyes at his family. I was so caught off guard it took me a moment to realize he was even talking to me and then I held up my phone and politely said “no, sir. I’m thinking about the work situation.” That was not good enough, he became aggressive and raised his voice, continuing to berate me in front of the whole beach, claiming to have seen me “roll my eyes” even though I was wearing sunglasses that you cannot see my eyes through (part of why I bought them). I kept repeating I was just sitting here, that it was a work message and that it was not directed at him until finally, he uttered the infamous sentence “well, you have a resting bitch face then” before he finally moved off down the beach with his family. Now, why did this experience bother me so much? Not for the reasons you might think.
Today happens to be the last day of one of my co-workers who has worked at the studio for nearly two decades. She is the first instructor I ever took Pilates with at that very same studio, that I now work at as well. Luckily for me, she has become not only a mentor to me but also a friend. It is the end of an era. 
My first major experience of travelling internationally was in 2010 and we used hostel computers to send emails back home. The idea of mobile data was still a foreign concept to me, as I still had a basic flip phone and therefore, not having data access was not at all out of the ordinary for me. Flash forward to 2013 and my first iPhone (yes, I waited until the 5 to get onboard from my Blackberry) was practically glued to me at all times. The novelty of a smartphone had just been experienced and I was hooked. This new found freedom to Google wherever and whenever and download app after app to play addictive games to waste hours upon hours was such a new experience for me. Which is what made my 2013 trip that much more difficult to get through without the easy access I was now accustomed to. At the time, Rogers who is my service provider, had 3 package options while travelling. I can’t remember the specifics but each one came with talk and text plans but no data whatsoever. I easily blew through my plans each month I was away (4 in total) and would have to get another and sometimes another still. If you used one plan up, you had to wait until your next billing cycle to get that same plan again, which meant I’d have to get the increasingly less talk and text plans as the month went on. Calling cards worked too but they can be a hassle to purchase and dial in a rush, so out of convenience I’d use my cell phone. My biggest reasons for using the talk and text up was of course due to travelling alone, I’d call my mother or a friend to chat or tell them about some amazing thing I saw that day. But often, I’d also use up my plans to call my mother for help finding a place or a phone number I needed if lost. I had written out loads of directions to my hostels, etc. before leaving and yet, inevitably, I’d end up lost or confused and need help. Asking strangers for directions in a place you can’t speak the language, sometimes very early in the morning or late in the night, is not the best of ideas as a female travelling alone. About halfway through my trip I was introduced to City Maps which is an offline GPS mapping app that allows you to search for addresses or places, gives directions and shows you which direction you are walking. The issue was you had to download the maps while using Wifi so if you forgot (like I did in Bilbao at 11pm) then you were screwed and would have to use your data to download or find a traditional map. I had used maps prior to learning about the app but sometimes the map wouldn’t show enough of the city and would be essentially useless for me to find my hostel. Also, nothing screams 
We stayed in a six floor walk up, we found on Air Bnb, that had the sweetest little balcony that looked out on the city. I would 100% stay there again, even with all the stairs! I was blocks from the beach and the lively tourist section of the city, which wasn’t as busy due to us arriving in early September.
110 days 