It’s been two months since I returned home and much has happened to help get me back on my feet again. Mom says I must have an angel because when I made my decision to fly home, the same day she received an e-mail from a friend looking for someone to house-sit and care for their cat for two months while they travel in Peru. It’s ironic really that upon my return from Peru, I could be house-sitting for someone while they’re traveling there. Mom asked me if I would be interested and of course my answer was an immediate, “Yes!!” So, already I had housing lined up for when I returned home and it was free to boot! It was one less thing to think about while I searched for a job and settled back into Canadian life.
Lucky for me it’s happened again. My assignment here at the house is ending on March 6th and I hadn’t really been looking for a new place to live due to all the work I’ve been doing: public presentations on my Camino and writing for a local fair, plus looking for a more full-time job. My mind has been occupied with other things, but again my angel was looking out for me. My mom received another e-mail from someone she knew who was seeking a room-mate and immediately she forwarded me the ad. It was in a dharma house if you know what that is. If you don’t, basically it’s a house run by a Buddhist monk. So, I drove there that day, met with the monk and took a look at the room.
The room is a decent size and it’s bright with lots of windows and a door that opens up onto a park by the ocean. It’s $550 per month inclusive. Awesome! I don’t need to buy anything since it’s fully furnished and not only that, when I do decide it’s time to hit the road again, it will be an easy transition.
There are a few rules that I will have to get used to though. I’ll have to be quiet. That’ll be a tough one for me since I love to listen to music, dance, sing and play my flute. Also, I like to rehearse for my presentations out loud as if I have an audience. At the place I’m house sitting, I can be as noisy as I want which is liberating. When I rehearse I walk around the house pretending the pictures of animals and people on the walls and the cat are my attentive audience. I won’t be able to do that there. I’ll just have to silently mouth my presentation to all the kids playing outside in the park and when I want to play my flute I’ll have to leave the house. It could be nice though. I could find a nice spot on the beach beside the ocean and play.
The other rule I may have a difficult time with is it’s a vegetarian household. Hmmm… I tried being a vegetarian for an entire year before I embarked on my 800 kilometer pilgrimage through Spain a year and a half ago. That didn’t go over well at all. I began to lose my hair actually. It got very thin and I had to start eating meat again. I definitely wasn’t a very good vegetarian and obviously wasn’t getting enough protein. I’m sure the extreme number of calories I was burning from walking an average of 25 kilometers a day for 31 days didn’t help matters. Finally my hair is healthy and thick again and I don’t want to revert back. I suppose there is protein powder, but I’m not sure of the effectiveness of that. I may have to eat meat when I’m away from the house at work, during short house sitting assignments or while visiting friends.
I managed to get work. A local fair that I used to write for contacted me and asked me to write for them again. I already wrote my first teaser article which will go to print sometime soon. So exciting! I also got hired as a casual clerical employee at the University of Victoria. I know…it’s clerical again, but I need something in the meantime. The appealing thing is that it’s casual. They even said that if I wanted to book off for two months it’s ok. Other casuals do it. Well, that’s perfect considering I have a travel bug and am itching to go on pilgrimage again within the year. It also gives me time to point my ship towards my goals of writing and presenting.
Yes, I still want to house-sit too. I belong to an organization called Trusted Housesitters. Even though I have a place to live, I want to do short assignments here in Victoria so I can build up references. My goal down the road will be to house-sit in different countries while I work remotely. Now wouldn’t that be fabulous?
Anyways, there are lots of plans, but one thing remains very clear in my mind and that is to do something meaningful with my moments. The challenging part is that it doesn’t just fall into my lap right away. The wheel is turning though. It’s beginning with my presentations which have been in front of 140 people and I love it…really! I didn’t realize I would enjoy public speaking so much, but I do…at least about this topic…my journey along the Camino de Santiago. I’m passionate about it and want people to experience it too. Other plans include keeping this blog going, writing about my experiences and working towards my goal of helping others find their way out of their comfort zone and past their fear. How that will all pan out, I really have no idea. All I know is that it will happen, it’s beginning and I’m excited about it.
1 comment
Everything is falling into place. You are heading in the right direction and you have the determination to make it happen. So much has happened on your ongoing journey since your return from South America just ten weeks ago. You’ve learned that, not only can you write well, but you are a fabulous story-teller and public speaker. People want to hear what you have to say. You are entertaining. Remember that it isn’t the destination (your goal) that is as important as the journey. So enjoy the here and now. You DO have an angel on your shoulder.