Life is what happens when you are busy making other plans

The Telus World Ski and Snowboarding festival, which is in its 15th year, marks the Winter season coming to a close. My 27th birthday has come and gone, the Olympics arrived and then left,  the Paralympics happened in a heartbeat, my snowboarding season ended early with me out injured and now it’s the slow season again here in Whistler, BC.

The local restaurants put on special deals to entice people to dine out. That’s if they decide not to close. The 2009 / 2010 seasonal workers migrate to their next destination…whether that’s to Australia or New Zealand to continue their season, whether it’s back to work in the ‘real’ world or to continue with their studies at school. Each person has their own story to tell. Some will stay on for the amazing Summer months in Whistler and then continue with the epic life of a ski bum.

Spring rolls around, the slopes are turning from pristine white to a murky green. The skunk cabbage is appearing, marking the awakening of the bears out of hibernation. The weather doesn’t seem to know what it wants to do rain one minute, sunshine the next.

As cirumstance would have it, my days in this province are numbered. It’s onwards and upwards to the next chapter. I will miss this amazing province and the sensational 12 months I have had here.

From Coast to Coast

I started off life on the West coast of Scotland. It was beautiful. The scenery was second to none. My hometown overlooked the Isle of Arran and I enjoyed watching the sun set over the water and disappear behind the sillouette of the island. I was spoiled with local produce, rolling countryside and world renowned golf courses (Ok, I never actually played golf, but those courses attracted a lot of rich tourists to the region who did and working as a waitress, their generous tips subsidised my pocket money!)

I moved to the East coast of Scotland to go to university. The view out to sea was endless and the sea eventually merged with the horizon. There were some of the best beaches I have been to. White sands stretching for miles and sand dunes aplenty. This move put me a four hour drive from my family and friends, 241.35 Kilometers to be exact. It seemed so far away at the time. Living in Canada I now know of people that would commute that distance!

When we moved to the East coast of Canada in 2008, it was a big deal. I was moving 4365 kmwith one suitcase to my name. It was an adventure. Only a 6 hour flight from family and friends, relatively it didn’t seem too far away. Many of the place names are the same. We live in Nova Scotia, latin for New Scotland. There are towns called Aberdeen, Inverness and New Glasgow…street names sound familiar to those found in Scotland. Every second person has Scottish ancestory and Cape Breton scenery is like entering the highlands of Scotland. It has made settling here very natural and relatively easy.

In less than three weeks I will be moving to the West side of Canada. For the first time in my life I won’t be living by the sea, but in the mountains. I will be travelling over 6,300km to get to Whistler B.C. That puts me at 7000km from where I started off in Scotland. The thought is daunting. I now have the belongings of a two bedroom apartment and all the clutter I have accumulated over the past 15 months. I can assure you, it doesn’t fit in the one suitcase I travelled with the first time.

Decisions have to me made pronto about what to sell, what to put into storage, what to take on the flight and what to ship across the country. It’s stressful. I have no job to go to in BC. I don’t know anyone over there. On the flipside, it’s never stopped me before and it certainly won’t stop me now. I’m looking forward to experiencing another part of the country that I have chosen to be a resident of. We’ll see how I cope with being land locked. I’m sure the fresh mountain air and healthy life style will more than make up for it.