Playing catch-up

A second and final post for the day, as I'm off to bed... even though it's barely 7:00 PM PST, though I suppose having been up since 5:30 or so this morning -- eastern time! -- might have something to do with my overtired state.

It’s been a busy few days, what with the web hosting and e-mail snafu sapping an inordinate amount of time & energy, and I’ve omitted quite a few important updates that I should probably address now.

First, I might have inadvertently glossed over our domestic manifestation abilities, "our" meaning those belonging to D. and I. I mentioned a few days ago in another post how our lease had been extended until next spring, round about the time I may be due to return from England. What I neglected to mention was that the very night before, D. and I held a “visioning” session wherein we declared what we wanted out lives to look like in the coming months/year or so. Basically we set our intention then asked the universe for support, and one of the first things I asked for was for the transition to go smoothly for all concerned.

Lo and behold, the very next morning Jane stopped by and broke the wonderful news that we wouldn’t have to move house until the spring after all, taking a huge stress off all our shoulders (and our landlords’ own) in the process. A win-win for everyone. We even found a new housemate into the bargain, someone who looks to be a good fit for Katmandeux when Tod heads back to Seattle. When it come to manifesting, I am almost getting as good as D. (She's good. She's very good. Ask her how she acquired me, f'rinstance.) Now to get to work on building that entertainment empire… I mean, hey, we have so many good works we need to propagate in the world, and we’ve got to finance them somehow…

Then there was the party, which under the circumstances turned out to be “just” a going-away do for yours truly, and not the house-cooling we had first thought. It was great to see everyone, including some rather unexpected (and most welcome) guests from the PolyGram days. Either my eyesight is getting much worse than I thought, or everyone is looking mighty good these days: Nancy, Mairi, Jeanne, Shannon, and all these wonderful people whom I have not seen in donkey’s years are all looking pretty hot. Great to have my men’s team there, too. Words fail to express just how important these men have been in my life for the past five years or so -- a constant source of inspiration, and a good model of how I want to be in the world. If all men had the vision, integrity, commitment, caring and compassion of this team, the planet and its inhabitants would be in much better shape than it is now.

Though we didn’t get to doing a cursory clean-up until sometime after 2:00 AM, I wisely managed to avoid overdoing the libations. I had about two and a half beers or thereabouts (not that I was counting), although given the combined intake over the previous few days I’d had a good skin full (not that I’m complaining). I knew I’d need all my faculties to finish packing and making general preparations on Saturday. A hangover was the last thing I needed.

The transition proper began with a smooth-as-buttah flight to Ottawa on Sunday. I surprised myself with how calm I was. Actually the smoothness began with packing the night before; everything is now put away for the move, whenever it might take place, with the exception of a few boxes that have been left open for easy access in case I need to ask Danika to send particular books or articles of clothing while I’m gone. Of my personal effects, I somehow managed to take only two bags, plus my computer bag, which – for a whole year of living overseas – is not bad at all. Limiting myself to two bags is not something I could have done alone; not easily anyway, and certainly not without overstuffing the damned bags. So, thanks to D. for helping me stay on track and keeping the baggage manageable. And for being an incredible trooper. She’s keeping it together remarkably well. She really is amazing.

I managed to snooze on the plane. The movie was Thank You For Smoking, which I’d already seen, and which is hilarious. I didn’t feel bad that I couldn’t stay awake as might otherwise be the case. The fact that we didn’t get to bed until sometime after midnight – and then got up at 5:00 am – also assuaged my guilt over catnapping through the movie.

Of course we can’t take any liquids on the plane, I’m already dehydrated before we’ve even left the ground, and although I manage to have some breakfast before leaving the house it soon wears off and I find myself paying $5.00 for a veggie wrap (which was either tastier than I expected, or else I was really hungry too). Then there was the $2.00 bag of apple slices… but I suppose I was mostly paying for the accompanying container of caramel sauce (?!), presumably for the calorically challenged. I’m really not fond of this notion of paying for my airline meals. I mean, airline food is still airline food – i.e., the portions are small, and even though I order the veggie options it’s nowhere near as healthy as anything I normally eat. True, it’s hard to screw up an apple, but somehow they managed. Worse still is the fact that I’ve been eating the party leftovers for what feels like days now, so my entire digestive system is in revolt. I need some real, substantial, home-cooked vegetarian fare. Soon!

Ottawa is shrouded in low-lying cloud and drizzle, so low that my first glimpse of the city in about 20 years arrives mere seconds before touchdown. I arrive more or less on time in the late afternoon and promptly note that the airport, modern and pleasant as it is, is surprisingly small for a city of over 1 million population and the seat of national government. Some guy takes my bag off the carousel and claims it; bewildered, I ask if he'd mind if I looked at the name tag. It turns out to be mine, and I sense that it was an honest mistake, and we both share a good laugh. He would have mostly walked away with my underwear and socks, anyway -- not the bag with all the electronics & other goodies.

The weather here is appropriately cool and overcast, helping me acclimatize to the anticipated London fall conditions. I’m tired and fortunately everyone here goes to bed very early anyway, so I had extra incentive to do likewise and thus begin the physical transition. I have forgotten to procure some melatonin and/or herbal jet lag remedies for the trip. Not being able to log online helped me get to bed at a sensible hour, too. Three hours may not be much of a difference, but it’s enough. (I've always said I'm a lightweight when it comes to the jet lag thing. My flight attendant friend Helen, who thinks nothing of jaunting to & fro between Vancouver and Singapore or further, just laughs at me.) On the bright side, Eastern Canada is a useful intermediate step between Pacific Time and Greenwich Mean Time.

I was worried that I’d have a hard time falling asleep, and for a few minutes there my brain was buzzing a tad too much, but before long I’d fallen fast asleep. I awoke Labour Day morning with the previous night’s chamomile tea kicking at my kidneys, begging for merciful release. My alarm, set for 7:15, ensured that I neither overslept nor baptized the bed.

Time to put in a good word for the Mastery of Self-Expression, whose monthly newsletter (Hi Bob!) I have just received and which I will now permalink in the sidebar; check it out. For all my Montreal friends, they’re working on the first-ever Montreal Mastery workshop too. I highly recommend it. Chances are very good that without the kick in the pantaloons provided by the Mastery, I might not be embarking on this adventure, never mind the fact that I might not have taken some or all of the steps that have led to the significant life-affirming changes (career, marriage, business, etc.) of recent years. Cheers, everyone. Good night.