Cha-Cha-Changes

A lot has happened since I blogged last. Burning Man came and went. I went, as did my 18-year-old. He worked with us on the Gayte Crew and totally kicked ass. I was a very proud momma out on the playa this year. It started out as, "oh you're Clarity's son," and ended as "wow, you're Shirly's mom?" He made a name for himself, and it was awesome to watch.

After the Burn, we returned to California, Shirly returned to Japan for a while, and I started preparing for a new adventure: The Great White North (aka Canada). Yes, I'm attempting to "winter in Canada," and yes I know how absurd that sounds, but it's the only way I will know if I can really hack it.

Why Canada? That's another story entirely, but for all intents and purposes, I'm starting over, and attempting to do so in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, which is about 3 hours or so above the American border.

Getting there was a three-day adventure through Nevada, Idaho and Montana. I have a few regrets from the trip, like not stopping at the Potato Museum in Idaho, and not buying boots in Montana, but for the most part, the trip was smooth and uneventful. I narrowly missed hitting a coyote in lower Montana, and sadly injured a pheasant about 20 miles from the border.

The border was a bit of an ordeal. They let me in, but only after 2 and a half hours of interrogation and inspection. And there are conditions, and issues, and hoops. It suddenly became clear to me the irony of my current status as an immigrant given my family history and ethnic background.

But things are slowly falling into place. As usual, consulting work fell from the sky at just the right moment, so I'm busy, doing work and looking for work at the same time. Rebecca has succumbed to a new routine of walks and is warming up to her kennel for when I'm out of the house. And me, I'm traversing a new culture, with entirely new (to me) environmental requirements that include winter tires for my car, hats and gloves, wool socks and a new pair of boots ordered from the store I saw them at in Montana. It's an adventure. It's definitely an adventure.