Sometimes You Say It BEST

http://www.globaltvedmonton.com/Fire+near+Fort+McMurray+forces+temporary+work+stoppage/4863861/story.html


.....when you say nothing at all . 

Namaste

When Smoke gets in your Eyes......

Last night I'd done a new entry and, due to a crotchety net connection, I lost a half hour's work before I could save it.  Lesson learned.

MUCH has transpired since I arrived here 72 hours ago (likely THE grandest understatement I will ever make)

Though 'here' is now 'there' due to an Emergency Evacuation today.  Well, not quite.  It was supposed to be....this morning.....then got put on hold until we all finally bugged out to various other locations this evening, where I now AM.  Not entirely sure where....but about an hour South of my previous two night's sleeps  (I did wake up in the same bed this morning though....who knew?)..

There are FIRES here............BIG ones.  Ginourmous really, if you can wrap your brain around the 90,000 acre 'thing' .....check these out (10 is our current issue) :


http://www.industrymailout.com/Industry/View.aspx?id=282464&q=320342392&qz=fd06c3

http://maps.nofc.cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/cwfisapps/interactivemap/index.phtml


that BIG blob in Northern Alberta, rimmed in pink?  Zoom IN a little.....THAT is where I am .  I've seen it, I've inhaled the smoke and picked the falling ashes out of my hair for the last few days too and I STILL can't wrap my mind around it. I think of the 'fuel' ....lovely trees ....and the wildlife involved and it very nearly makes me sick.  So, I try to not do so..........

I have, literally, landed in The Twilight Zone.  The last few days have been SO far removed from anything even remotely conceivable to me that if I was a Betting Gal I would have bet you a million dollars a mere week (not even actually, I accepted this job last Monday) ago that you were INSANE had you told me any of this would happen.  WOW.

So now, again, I've shifted and am a Refugee of sorts, from a home I was settling quite nicely IN to.  Small, not so posh Camp..........FABULOUS people.  A large extended family of sorts.  There are ever so many stories (like the one that got lost last night) about that place and the people there already.....I have been most fortunate to have landed amongst such a wonderful little group.  We have now been tossed to the winds somewhat.....not sure what happens past this point ? 

I'm now in Posh.  I have a room that's three times the size of my former one, with it's own bath, climate control and in a seriously impressive, much newer and much larger facility.  I don't think I care for it so much though.......it does not FEEL the same and THAT, my Friends, is absolutely Everything really.
I also don't have a job  now until (if) we all get shipped back 'home'..........let's just hope that's SOON, very.  I won't mind at ALL packing up again and bugging right back out of Posh.  Please and Thank You Universe.  I think perhaps, that I won't unpack at all :) 

For now I am just plain ol' tuckered out.  The last 72 hours of my life have been, frankly, bat chit CRAZY.  I've learned a lot about wildfires (!) , people and how very valuable extended Families are for those of us (and if they can find a way to keep me I WILL stay :) that are either forced or choose to earn their livings so very far away from their homes.  It's not about Posh.....that much is obvious.

I'm leaving this wee space for a bit now, to rest and recuperate from this latest Big Adventure (!) and figure out what Plan B is looking like.........then I'll be back to tell some of those stories.  Monster Gophers, Christmas Dinner in May.....SqueeeeEekey Jugs....My Future Husband According to Peggy (aka my son needs a wife !) ...Yummy Medics too  ;)

It's probably All Good.....the people certainly are in any case.....it's just been a tad strange getting there thus far......just a tad............

That's What She Said.......

TTFN

Quick Note

Briefly, to let you know that I'm still here and never so happy to wake up in a Strange Bed, ever!!! Lessee what this day has in store......no winds and some rain would just be lovely.

Happy Sunday (?) LOL Everyone ......

Light

:~D

Alien Planets and Wildfires.......

Alrighty then.  I am, for the most part and much to my surprise almost at a loss for words.....................

Late last night I arrived here, in Kearl Lake, Alberta.....my new 'Home away from Home', with the exception being that, if  I don't actually have a nervous breakdown first....'here' will actually be my place of residence 75% of the time.

Does this mean I'm Albertan  now??
(funny what stress and sleep deprivation does...last night I spent nearly an hour on the highway wondering why there were so many Albertan plates ??  Seriously.  My Driver still remains vastly amused.....)

Aside from the obvious geographical contrasts (it is seriously FLAT ) it was quite clear before I even got off the last plane that all is not well here.  The SMOKE is absolutely incredible and turns the sky the strangest hue of pinkish orange I have ever seen in  my life.  Most unsettling indeed and, once again, I was forced to place absolute and utter FAITH in the powers that BE to keep my safe and away from harm in this strange place.....The Universe flung open a door and I hopped through it, how bad could that be??....

It is also, quite clearly, OIL COUNTRY.  In as much as the home of my heart is GREEN , lush, natural........this place is NOT.  You know you're not in Paradise anymore when you , literally, drive past the infamous Thousands Of Dead Ducks zone.......wow.  (for the record, that 'issue' (!) hath apparently been solved by floating hundreds of 'buoys' with large orange 'scarecrow' type figures on them...it keeps the waterfowl from landing and then, ultimately expiring from whatever it is they get covered in.  Too  much information....I honestly do not want to know right now :/  )

From my wee vantage point, I really and truly am on another planet........

After traveling past what seemed like an obscene amount of "Camps" ...some of them so stark and massive in size they literally look like very, very unpleasant Correctional Institutions........through fairly intense smoke (I'm actually laughing, hard, at this point because it is truly quite surreal) .....I arrive at the gates to 'Home'.  Imagine a border crossing in a small and hostile country.  Guard towers, men with dogs (Security here literally has the lifelike image of a ginourmous German Sheppard emblazoned on the sides of their vehicles).....We must be stopped and Inspected.  I actually had to provide my passport and get the appropriate security clearances to proceed any further. I think I may have signed my first born  and the neighbour's cat away too but I'm honestly not sure anymore.  No Drugs No Alcohol No Cameras (really...oops) etc etc....they mean it too.  No doubt.  I am a very, very Good Girl now !!

Another drive further down the road I am in CAMP.  This is actually one of the few camps located right on a working site, hence the security issues and total lack of personal freedoms and movement.  It's DANGEROUS  out there.  The large cluster of mobile trailers stuck in the middle of absolute Nothingness is actually looking damned inviting now.  I just want to get away from the Stephen King skies and put my bags down and my feet up for a bit !  My Driver (lovely man) at this point in time is having a great time picking on me and my entire naivety regarding my new environment and when he tells me that if I step OFF the walkway leading up to said cluster of buildings , alarms will go off ?, I believe him. Totally.  (this would be akin to waiting for whales in Lake Erie as a small child as well as the plethora of water snakes in the Nanaimo harbour at the fireworks last weekend (Dave !! )....I am such a total Schmuck sometimes !)

In any case, I owe him  one.  Yup............;)

I am greeted, with a *hug* by my new Boss and, seemingly, an absolutely Fabulous and fun gal.  I am also, clearly 'green' and the subject of much interest and curiousity.  Absolutely everyone is nothing less than extremely friendly, 'off' colour and clearly very much just REAL people.  Despite my unease,overall fatigue and overwhelmed state, I LIKE these people.  Immediately.  Perhaps not the place, yet, but the people are truly lovely....it reminded me very much like my trip to San Antonio, I am not a Stranger here.  Interesting comparison but the feeling and the people are the same, just a totally different environment....again.

I spent the remainder of my evening learning that this Camp had been on Emergency Evac alerts until earlier the very same day.  Smoke and air quality issues (like I hadn't noticed !)  due to the 230, 550 HECTARE fire currently burning out of control (!!!!) above our heads.  Okee Dokee.......more forms, signatures and DNA samples required  (to be fair, also a couple of more hugs and a "you're A Keeper" which was to me at the time akin to sending me to the spa for a day really) before I am finally allowed to seek the shelter of my new room.....

I'm guessing this little dorm is about 10x15 ish.  I have a single bed, small desk and wardrobe.  I have a window (I was worried about this one actually), although I am currently unable to open it due to smoke issues and it only looks at another trailer anyhow....it is oddly comforting regardless.  I share a 'bathroom' (shower & toilet) with the room next door.  There is actually a little red light beside my door that lights up when the other occupant is using the lav....he he .....surreal.  Fortunately for me, as Staff the other room will remain unoccupied for as long as possible, depending on camp capacity.  (PRAY please :)  My own room also has a small sink, vanity and medicine cabinet of it's own (also a huge relief, the thought of bathroom wars at 5 am was frightening me) I have Satellite TV over my bed (what the heck else is one going to DO off duty anyhow ?) 
Bizarre but entirely functional.

After unpacking my 80 lbs of luggage (I've already told my new Boss that, should she decide not to keep me, they can auction of all of it....lol....there is NO way I am schlepping it all back to BC.......)I discover I had inadvertently omitted a TOOTHBRUSH.  Really.  You laugh now but when you're a Zombie at 1 am on a foreign planet and you have to go to work again in a few hours??  Not.  Nor is the fact that it's very much like a hospital or casino noise wise....24/7.....nothing stops moving here......so much for sleep this particular night.....

So.

At this point in time I hath already worked 5 of my 10 hour split shift (while training only...thanks !) and don't have to be 'back'....down the hall.....he he.......until 5pm.  I am tired, more than a little freaked out (mostly in an amusing way though.....ADAPT is the obvious Plan Of Action here ) and really wondering what I've gotten myself IN to.......that said, I'll save the rest (and there's plenty LOL) for later.  I remain beyond exhausted and am going to schlep myself back to the dining room , grab lunch then 'nap' the afternoon away....or try.......until I have to stroll down the hall and back to my office.

That's my story so far and I'm sticking to it...............no apologies for bad spelling or structure...I'm like the 'this is your brain on drugs' Egg commercial (but I'm NOT and can prove it now...he he)  if anyone remembers that ? .....the things one has to DO to make a living these days (lol)

'Nighty Night for now :)

(and OH, evacuation alert remains in effect but the winds are apparently being kind and we should be OK here for awhile......no worries, they know what they're about with this stuff up here ;)   

*****Here's a little something someone, somewhere here posted on Youtube yesterday....they are SO fired if they get caught for this but I'm thankful as it helps to show you exactly what I arrived to :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZmtSiTpjMA

This Journey

(as written yesterday afternoon.....leaving it as was)

This latest, relatively Random and entirely unprecedented Road Trip hath now, officially commenced.

Tone for said Big Adventure (and , coincidentally, new Job) was set last night in absolutely Royal style.

Having recently been blessed by several more Hostesses with the Mostest, I was treated to a Send Off Feast by the duo who I will, in future, refer to as the Madames Fabulinas (not those kinds of madams either, just for the record...few know better than I how easily rumours get started ) . Said absolutely Divine creatures fed (check my links for THE best cakes on this Island) and nurtured me and sent me off into my future with much merriment & JuJu. Rarely have I felt so spoilt and utterly content.....Thank You , Ladies.....You truly ROCK.

I was also most fortunate to be delivered by one of these gals to the airport in Nanaimo. Having mentioned the travelling issues of being an Island Dweller previously I'll just say that the time spent in superb company is at least a thousand times more pleasant than the shuttle bus. Again, THANK YOU.

Imagine my surprise to find that, once again, my wee little 'local' (40 minutes away) airport has been redesigned and I no longer have a clue where , how or what I'm supposed to do or be going. Cool. Fits in the overall scheme of this latest adventure anyhow. I admit to being a little horrified that I'm apparently schlepping 85 pounds worth of 'stuff' with me (!!) but, just for a moment, ponder removing yourself to an extremely remote (no corner store if you forgot your toothbrush) location for three whole weeks. Really think about it. Those little tiny travel size containers you usually take? Replace every single one of them with a life size version. Alarm clock? SAD Light? Puter...iTouch dock?? I'm still a little amazed I didn't find a way to pack up a hound or two also. Needless to say , the GOOD news is that only half of it, if all goes well, will make the return trip. 50 lbs of “Home” will indeed remain in way back and beyond for use in future travels.

That said, imagine my complete shock to have the flight attendant of my wee little puddle hopper announce that they had to re-arrange passengers to the back of the plane (!!) because there wasn't as much luggage as they expected . Pray Jayzuz but I no longer had to worry about being responsible for a crash into the Salish Sea due to poor packing and excessive luggage !

After settling into our whopping 15 minute flight (for the record, this translates to nearly 2 hours on a ferry AND a half hour to the Vancouver airport...this'd be the reason to FLY if possible) I got settled into a wonderful conversation with the sole flight attendant, who, oddly enough, happens to be a HUGE fan of San Antonio and Texans in general. Stories were traded and both of us have enough suggestions for things to do and places to see to last several more trips. I consider it A Sign LOL

Mercifully enough (the last , Post Olympic trip was quite a shocker) the Vancouver Airport remains much the same as last time. Sans the beer however as I am no longer allowed to DO that . Saved me locating one of those invisible lavs at the last minute so as far as I'm concerned it's a Win Win anyhow .

I settled in with my borrowed laptop and got caught up with friends and, with The Fires (!) The gentleman seated beside me in the waiting lounge was headed to the same destination. His profession is dealing with fires and he hath been summoned......to......YUP.   Apparently my current destination is having some serious issues with shifting winds, smoke etc etc.....I looked it up and it's really not looking very good. This may well be a short trip (!!) We shall see...........regardless I am so far removed already from anything remotely considered 'normal' , in even my vocabulary, that it doesn't matter. These people KNOW how to evacuate and, at the very worst, I have 50 lbs less of stuff !!

So, here I AM. Inaugural twice monthly 'commute' of 8 hours and 1400 miles nearly complete. I've always loved flying, anywhere, as it is the one place that there are absolutely NO demands on your time. Sleep, read, write (he he) ..Knit (better odds of you winning the lotto on this one...just sayin') ......whatever. It's YOUR time. Totally. I for one am looking forward to exploring the possibilities therein and open to suggestions as well (other than knitting of course ;)

Time for final leg of this journey......into the (literal) fires apparently and into what quite possibly will be my new 'Home' for three quarters of my life at the moment.

A beat up pickup and several more hours of travel await me.

That's what she said for now.

Light

K

Exactly as it should be......

http://www.attitudeiseverythingmovie.com/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=DotENSHBe2U

Two Things to think about in the interim........It's absolutely amazing what can happen in less than 24 hours...............WOW....................

WATCH THIS SPACE !!! 

(here I GO......and Grow.............again ....he he he.......:)  

Prayer Chain

Once again could any and everyone still reading these wee therapy sessions of mine  PLEASE send your prayers, healing thoughts, JuJu ....whatever you choose to call a whole BUNCH of positive ENERGY .....in the general direction of San Antonio, Texas.

Boiling bats, burning The Chump in effigy and/or sending smoke signals is entirely acceptable if it works, this is Miss Vicki and being politically correct in any way is entirely inappropriate anyhow ;)

Thanks, in advance, for everything turning out just FINE and our very favourite Gimp Goddess getting back Home as safely and as quickly as possible.

Love You :) 


****as at Tuesday evening.......all's well and should be just fine for Miss Vic, pending a few adjustments !!  YAY !!!!!!!!  

John & Fred and Becoming UN 'Stuck'

In an effort to SHIFT 'things' I have sworn (and am now doing it publicly as well ) to the following terms;

1.  I will no longer allow these 'things' of late to define ME.  In any way.  This is a transient situation and already well on it's way to being History !

2. I will ASK for exactly what I want.  Dear Universe.......with meaning, with feeling and with the absolute and utter belief that This Too shall be TRUE.  I knew this once, forgot....look where it got Me? YIKES !!!!Lesson heard and learned, very well......

 3. I will, gladly and with a great deal of constant Gratitude for what I have and will come to have, BE FUN, feel GREAT and  focus on Every Little Thing that allows Me to do so.  A-Z remember ??  the details can work themselves out with neither further fuss nor worry from Me............

4. I will write more often.  The laptop's on it's way (because I Asked ;) and my wee purple pen works just fine in the interim.  

It's therapy, I need it.....humour me, please,  because I love you :~D 

SO.

Today's This is ME feeling GREAT moment involved  (of course) another  somewhat Random Road Trip......just a wee way down the road to a favourite coffee stop along the Nanaimo Seawall.  Here She goes again ;) ........

(as originally written....the Old Fashioned Way.... with pen & paper ;)

I am currently sitting on the Seawall with a Pumpkin Spice Latte, wee purple sign that says
  "Just say HELLO " and a somewhat silly little *GRIN*.  I DO these things, or probably should more often, anyhow :P

My first Note To Self would have to be that I really should, in future, check out the local Goings On before planning little Adventures such as this.......Parades tend to provide some substantial Parking Challenges that are probably better off avoided.  Whoops.....who knew?  I needed the walk anyhow :)

Next Note To Self....placing that wee purple sign on your wee bistro table does indeed result in some interesting looks and comments.  As much as I truly appreciated a local Busker incorporating "Just Say Hello" into his lovely Irish Folk Song (!!)........tad TOO 'unusual' , even for Me.  I'm odd but not THAT odd and yes, I did just indeed pass him a Toonie for his troubles :)

Immediately voting for slightly less conspicuous (!!) after  being turned very pink in public I'm opting to mostly disappear said sign under the pile of papers from my bag.  Oh YAY !!  Now I am just a little purple HELLO ;)....and only if you're paying attention......This Paper Malfunction should allow me to now relax enough to just LOOK around.........works !!  Now I'm merely amused instead of mortified.  Win Win !

I now notice that strollers/joggers and the overall Wee Child Transportation Systems have seriously evolved since my own "Haul It All" days.  WOW.  Here I used to live in fear of not making it over a mere curb with my ever so precious cargo....these Beasts can clearly climb WALLS now !!  No matter the number of kidlets, amount of gear or obstacles faced.....you really CAN haul it ALL now....and look really good doing it too !!  Progress :~D

I've just been interrupted again and am forced to realise the number of Lovely Hounds that people are leaving entirely unattended and at the mercy of plenty of Passers By...I would NEVER (!!!) That said, I am personally in this moment baby sitting a gorgeous and sweet Boxer/Dane (?) pup who's supposed Owner just tied to the table beside Me with a " Please make sure no one steals her !"  and vanished.....for over twenty minutes so far.  To  my horror I DO admit to more than a little temptation and a heap full of relief when said pup was eventually retrieved, without so much as a Thank You (should have taken her Home....just sayin'......LOL )

Fun Thing !  Kidlets apparently still LOVE Blue Ice Cream !!  As much as it horrified Me when my own kidlets were so afflicted, many a small Smurf inspired face hath recently skipped, smiling, past my seat here.  It truly seems like only yesterday that I myself was trying to gently wipe said Blue Goo off my own squirming kids !  HMmmmmmm.....Memories that make The Heart go *SIGH*  

More Fun !!  there are currently what appears to be a Swarm of Teenagers laughing and running amok all OVER the Seawall  !  They seem to be directed by 'grown ups' with walkie talkies....hmmmmmm Flash Mob perhaps??  dry land Marco Polo??  Perhaps if I sit here long enough their purpose will become clear? or perhaps there isn't one at all and they're just having FUN.....let's wait and see for now......

More WOW.  Spending most of my time in the Wonder Bread world of Dullsville (LOL....sorry but I am simply not old enough yet to live there much longer) ....there is ZEST here just a few miles away !!  Every size, age, shape, colour....in both human and hound alike ...appears to be present here on the waterfront.   Even ON the water itself; paddle boats, kayaks, canoes, float planes and massive yachts all bob along merrily beside one another ... YAY ! 

(Brief note here.......despite being mostly concealed now I am officially up to 7 on the "Hello" count and admitting to being very surprised.  Clearly, despite the lack of sunshine and chill here on the waterfront, Spirits remain HIGH and bolder than usual .  The Busker still , hands down, wins this odd little experiment though ;)

Oh HA !!!  A very lovely and very elderly couple only just plunked themselves at the table next to mine.  He immediately asked " Are you writing a Dear John letter?  or is his name Fred ?"  After laughing and explaining that there is neither a John nor Fred in my life at the moment he then exclaimed ......and this absolutely deserves a drum roll, coming from an Octogenarian, .........

"Oh WELL then !! your John ran off with Fred ?! "

I very nearly fainted laughing and am still trying very hard to keep breathing and not attract any further attention..........BRILLIANT !!!

I absolutely adore the wit & wisdom of our elderly population and this one was nearly as fun as the 93 year old former Disney Engineer that was wanting to buy a gas powered motor scooter only yesterday.....another story perhaps ;)

HmmmMmmmmmmmm previously mentioned Grown Ups with walkie talkies hath apparently observed both my amusement and confusion and taken a moment to wander over and explain The Swarm.  It's seven Teams, consisting of local CHURCH Groups and some Americans ;) ......Tacoma....LOL......They are playing their own version of The Amazing Race and are, Cap Guns (fun!!) in hand currently racing towards their final destination.  This would be 'Janelle', another 'grown up' ...who is now *GRIN* ing in complete abandon as she watches The Swarm both determine her location and surge towards her.

I LOVE it !!

That said, despite the hugely entertaining FUN I've been party to this last hour or so, this li'l Road Tripper is freezing her fanny off AND her Parking is about to expire :O

Off to refuel by feasting with Good Chums (did I mention I was ever so thankful for all of you ? :) and perhaps, in a little bit, climb onto a Roof Top to watch the Fireworks with self same chums.....my ocean being the mirror for colour and light and my mountains being the backdrop for a BLAST of ...DAZZLE for the evening  :)

THANK YOU UNIVERSE, please DO bring more of today's THIS...ON ...PLEASE :~D  

Happy Victoria Day , everyone, from this Rock o' Mine to wherever you may BE .

Light (the kind that sizzles in the air ;) & Laughter 

K

(transcribed, rapidly, from coffee stained, wind blown and rapidly scribbled notes......I will not edit, it's Just Me and I think  Y'all be just fine with the simplicity of it all....I now have to go back to the waterfront and watch things get Blown UP ...he he he ...PurRrrrrrfect  :~)  

Nanaimo Harbour

:~D 

My temporary charge :)  Some People .......really...

P.S...........Thank You Universe for the Sky Daisy ;) 

Some say..........

Tonight I had a very Dear Soul tell me that I 'talk in short stories' and yet I don't WRITE them.......


Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm


I DO......and am very aware of this.  Despite my (currently four plus ) decades of 'Life Experience' I remain, very obviously, EVER  so easily amused.....by Every Little Thing :)


That's just ME and that is indeed the stuff that ever so many short stories are made of.


Dear Universe......please.......grant me the Space..........the Freedom ($$) and the ability (hello MacBook:) to DO so??


and I swear that I will DO just that.


(toss in a little more Texas and I will write an Epic ;)


Namaste