The preparations begin!

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Occasionally I put a little too much thought into things. Some might say that this trip of mine is one of those things, but i don't think so. OK, here's the deal. I'm going to go to Asia on January 5.. The catch is that I don't really know when I'm going to come home. Now the problem that has actually been holding me back for quite awhile.. the same obstacle that I have previously never been able to overcome, is the fact that i own a house in a slumping economy! So how the hell am i supposed to see the world if the house situation is fighting a losing battle. Well, this trip to the east is interesting.. It seems that everything is kind of figuring itself out! Within days of me thinking that it might be a good idea to just cut loose, leave my job and run away I get a call from my uncle! It goes a little something like this:

"Hello Ryan, So I'm thinking of getting out of dodge (Yellowknife) and i'm thinking that Grande Prairie might be a good place to go to.. So i was wondering.. would you mind a roommate?"

woah.. talk about good timing.. "Yeah, actually I could probably handle a roommate"

Weird how things sort of just fall in your lap. So I have not actually talked to my uncle Norm since that day, but he has been in contact with both my cousin and my mother! They have thoroughly filled him in about my plans to travel and it seems he likes the idea of renting a fully furnished house for a while.. hmm, WOW.. sweet!

So, I have a reliable roommate/landlord.. GOOD DEAL.. However, Although i am a bit of an optimist, i am also realistic. It is always good to hope for the best, but plan for the worst. It is a good all around policy actually.. If thinks go bad, you are prepared! and if things go good, you're pleasantly surprised! WITH THAT SAID: for the next few months, I am preparing for the worst possibly scenario that I can think of on the home front. Foreclosure! haha, it is not that i think its going to happen, because really.. My freakin uncle is going to be renting from me. I KNOW he'll be reliable and a good tenant. But, the thing is.. If shit happens and the worst case scenario DOES unfold; I don't intend to come back to Grande Prairie to save my house. I like it and all, but i am not going to save a house in a place that I don't really plan on sticking around anyways. I don't want to be there, so why go through the trouble. Extreme? maybe... That being the circumstance i am planning around, i am disassociating myself from my assets. I have a couple vehicles, a couple big toys, and a few possessions that can be considered valuable enough to be assets.. and then a bunch of stuff that actually means something to me that i don't want to lose. These two categories are going into safe keeping while i am gone.

This will ensure that:

1) I will have something to come back to
2) thinks are well looked after
3) Some things will be useful to their 'caretakers'

So i took the first step yesterday. I had my car up for sale, but it didn't sell because of the winter being so close! SOOO, i dropped it off in Grande Cache, and hitchhiked back! I could have taken the bus, or found a ride with a friend, but i felt like a bit of adventure.. and it was awesome! It took my an hour and a half to get picked up, and a certain amount of prep.. I found out that after an hour of trying to "'thumb" a ride on top of the hill, beside the highway in Grande Cache IT WASN'T WORKING!!

At this point I had a moment of hopelessness; I was cold, alone, shunned, wondering how i was going to get home. After all, today was WEDNESDAY! Wednesday is WING NIGHT.. I had to make it back in time ot enjoy cold beer and hot wings with the guys! So, in this moment of despair, i look up greyhound in the yellow pages on my phones wireless web (yay for technology!) give them a call, and find out they only do freight! WTF?? they refer me to another company in town that transports People to Grande Prairie. Unfortunately, or.. maybe fortunately! the bus leaves at 1230 daily, by this time it was 2pm. damn! Was i going to have to call ym sister to bail me out? awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww, nope.. too much pride.. I'll be damned if i do that! I'll friggin walk first! (no i wont.. I'm not that ambitious or stubborn.. 185kms is a long way to walk!!)

So i walked to a nearby gas station, bought a coffee to warm up (it was about 0 degree C there) and looked for a marker.. No dice! Across the highway i go, to the mall, where i find the drugstore and buy a GIGANTIC marker that i found there! The tip of it was about a square centimeter! After making this purchase, i walked around back of the mall, and, *ahem* rummage around by some dumpsters and scrounge up a cardboard box that i can rip apart in order to make.......

A SIGN!

After ripping the box down flat, I walked up to the highway with a new feeling of hope. Maybe this will work! Once i get back to my 'hitching point' i crouch down and write a huge "GRANDE PRAIRIE" onto the sign. Ten minutes and 5 cars go by.. At this point I notice how many people were making a concerted effort to avoid eye contact.. Holy! What a good way to make someone feel low! This is all part of it i tell myself.. all the while having thoughts that maybe i will have to make that call to Carmen... NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! I'm going to do this shit!

I flip the sign over, and write in massive block letters: GAS $ $ $.. Maybe that will attract some attention right? Gas is so expensive these day that if I saw someone offering gas money.. i would probably pick them up! I'm going ot stop here, and mention that i actually removed my vertical labret during this little adventure in an attempt to appear MORE RESPECTABLE to prospective rides. I cant really being to explan how crushing it is to have semi's pull into and stop in the brake check lane, then take off when you approach the vehicle.. DAMN YOU PEOPLE! I'm a responsible citizen! I just want to do something different for a change!!

After adding the gas $$$ to the back of the sign, my mood improved. I actually started to have a bit of fun with it! I would hold up the "grande prairie" side long enough so i was sure a driver would see it, then when they got closer, i'd flip it over to the GAS$$$ side and give them a huge grin.. then instead of being crushed at their effort not to look at me.. I laughed at it! It was actually an incredibly liberating moment.. at that point, i wasn't worried about getting picked up, i was actually enjoying myself! Not 10 minutes after I added that to the sign(and i got a more positive vibe) I got a ride! AND i didn't even flash the GAS$$$ side to that guy!

my ride, Charles, was awesome! He was a hotshot driver and mobile spa owner. VERY cool guy, with many many sides. We had really interesting, and at times very philosophical conversation about life, living and the power of the mind. Fuckin wild!

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Comments

[WebbHog]

Positive Vibe...
You hit it dude, positive vibe! Attitude is all it takes to change your life. Keep a good attitude and pass it onto other people is what it's all about. Think good thoughts and good things happen. I was at a party not long ago and someone told me that over the last 30 years they have noticed that my biggest gift was my attitude. Everything I do I take in an attitude of sucess, it works for me. Excellence is not a skill, it is an attitude! (Positive Vibe) Turning what looks bad into good is the secret of a happy life. Live Long and stay happy!