Just NB

Remember way back when I started writing this blog. Life was challenging. Fifteen thousand kilometres from home, living in a world with no tall buildings (I remember the first time that our city got an escalator and people would ride it for fun), spotty electricity, cyclones, you name it. I remember that I would occasionally find peanut butter in the grocery stores and buy a few to have on hand and later learned to buy some while on vacation and store in our duplex...I remember that for months it seemed like Tuesdays were almost impossible, almost always leaving me in tears. Slowly I acclimated, with the help of friends that quickly became my new expatriate family. I was no longer alone in this new world. I had my share of ups and downs, all kinds of new experiences - some bad, some good, some terrible, some wonderful, but I did it with my new family. I'm fortunate enough to still be in good contact with a lot of them, even chatting with one of them this week. We would be seeing ...

I have loads of information to post...all good, I guess? Or less somber at least.

If you are one of the stragglers still reading this blog...now almost ten years old and find yourself innovated and overwhelmed with topic of  THE VIRUS  , it may be worthwhile to skip this post. As always, I'm writing for me...and I finally need to write about the status of today's world. It's scary out there. I take PD (Physical Distancing) seriously and this weekend, I went grocery shopping and went and got supplies. My first experience started off nerve-wracking but I was quickly put to ease as both the store and the shoppers complied with all of THE VIRUS prevention rules. It was as if the shoppers and I had some kind of secret meeting outside. "Ok, Black Kia, You'll start with aisles 8, 9, and 10, and then Green Nissan, You'll taken them once follow her once she's done. And guys, don't touch your face!"  I posted my story and thanks (and how it was handled on the store's Facebook page because it truly made a difference in my day.)...

A little lightness to post this morning. I decided that finally Maggie decided a « real » haircut.  She ended up at some frou-frou salon that was affordable but well rated.  Ahhhh. Less of the dumpster dive look! We decided to hang out with some friends for a couple of days. They have 2 young kids & Maggie gets PKAYED OUT & is ready for bed at 10pm!  And it often means that sometimes we go to bed....feeling like we live in Salvador Dali’s house. But in a good way way.  Take care everyone. Stay calm & I hope you’ve stocked up on all you need to. ❤️

I'm back in Edmonton with a long to-do list. The regular stuff, plus the other stuff that came up while I was in Mexico, madly scribbling in my notebook instead of typing away on my little iPad. I had a meeting on Monday with a new recruiting firm. I was anxious, because as it turns out, I need a little adjustment on my medication, and that became VERY clear on vacation. While in Edmonton, I was able to busy myself with little chores and distractions and extra dog walks and...well, I could blame a lot of my anxiety and mood swings on what was going on at home...but when I was away from it all, I could see that while yes, I'm going through a hard time, my meds need a little tweaking. My doctor had mentioned as much before I left and she had noticed it before I did, but there were quite a few anxiety attacks on vacation. I'm happy that I have so many tools that I've learned, but on the way home, I had an anxiety attack that lasted about 4 hours. That's very exhausti...

This was a very last minute trip...but I needed to get away so much. I was stuck and unable to handle the smallest task. A friend from out East visited me, which was kind, but it’s sometimes harder than I admit to live alone and I don’t have the social network that I need. I won’t get into the plethora of events that I’ve experienced (but a few are worth writing about because I can now look back and laugh) over the last two months, but I had cracked. No other way to put it. Cracked, cracked, cracked. And while running away from the smallest of tasks like loading the dishwasher or grocery shopping isn’t the ideal solution, I needed a retreat from it all where all my needs were taken care of and where I felt distance from all of my problems. Yeah, judge me now. Wherever you go, there you are. You can’t escape your problems. It’s an irresponsible choice considering your current life situation. But you’re not in my brain. And my brain was telling me that I needed some kind of escape...