This vacation has been weird. Because my partner just started working a new job last month, we were unable to plan any kind of trip/camping together so I was largely left to devise my own set of fun vacation-type activities.
I failed.
Not only did I not plan any fun vacation-type activities, I did the opposite–I planned things like annual checkups, getting my ID renewed, and giving samples of urine and blood for science.
The first day I went for a run it rained. The last day I ran it was 30ºC at 9:30 in the morning. But at least I completed all nine runs, as I’d set out to do. Last year I ended run #1 with horrible pain in my right leg and didn’t run again until the new year. So there is that.
Of course, run #6 was highlighted by the infamous tree root incident, in which I snagged my left foot and went down hard on the gravel (the bruise on my hip is still spectacular-looking nine days later). I walked the Conifer and Spruce Loop trails again today to survey just how potentially hazardous they are if I decide to start running on them again (runs 7-9 were done sans optional side trails). What I discovered was one super large tree root that spans the entire width of the trail and is in a clear area. The only way to trip on this root would be to approach it with your eyes closed and maybe with your shoes tied together, too. The only other tree root was…the one I tripped on. If I run counter-clockwise it’s on the other side and out of the way. This means that the Conifer and Spruce Loop trails are actually a lot safer than the Cottonwood trail, a 2+ km stretch that is unavoidable and rife–rife, I say,–with all kinds of roots and wooden planks sticking out of the earth from when the area was a logging operation.
What else happened on this curiously unfun vacation?
On my run route I saw a python and a bobcat/lynx. A man approached me at the end of a run to say he’d just seen a bear up ahead, the way I was heading (I did not see the bear). If this was Australia I’d probably have been bitten by several poisonous things by now.
I lost my wallet. Granted, it was recovered about 15 minutes after I realized it was gone, but now I’m paranoid it’s going to again leap from my pocket as if it were both sentient and capricious.
Today–the last day of vacation–I witnessed a car accident. It was only a fender bender, fortunately. From my perspective it looked like a silver car was heading east down Government Street in Burnaby and a black car was turning left onto the street from the nearby Costco parking lot, filled with 10 gallon jars of mayonnaise. The black car went wide into the lane occupied by the silver car and physics asserted itself, with much scraping following and at least one piece of something or other popping off (a side mirror, I think). I walked down the block, crossed over to the other side and made my way to the cars, now pulled over with hazard lights blinking.
The man in the black car asked for my name and number. I provided them. The driver of the other car, an irascible older man, approached and asked what I saw. I told him. He responded, crankily, “So you’re saying I’m at fault?” I told him, no, I wasn’t saying who was at fault, I was only reporting what I saw, which was the black car hitting the silver car. He grumbled and went to confer with his wife. The driver of the silver car told me he tried to get out of the way. I shrugged. I couldn’t tell. I went home. I haven’t heard from anyone. I hope I don’t.
What else happened?
On the plus side, I did not get sick. This kind of amazes me, as it was a natural given the way things went. I could still wake up with a head cold tomorrow.
My weight remained pretty much the same, despite numerous runs and long walks and reduced snacking.
I have had difficulty sleeping at times. My mind whirs like that top in Inception. I have often gotten up and gone for a walk because of this restlessness, this weird inability to sit still and just relax (note: I do not get up and go for walks after going to bed, I just flop around like a fish but smell much better).
I’ve cooked and cleaned a lot. More than I normally would. I broke the Swiffer mop and had to buy a replacement.
I saw the new Star Trek movie. It was better than the previews made it look, but it was still just good, not great.
I intended to start reading a book or two. I did not. I bought several, though, and I’ll try starting again tonight. So much free time to read and all I managed was a few magazines and some websites.
I tried to write. I am not too far off one-post-per-day on the blog, though a large part of that is due to those nine runs. I have not written any fiction. Writer’s block? It feels more like paralysis right now. I sit at the keyboard and my mind freezes. I know all the tricks, I know I should free write or try a prompt. Instead I push away from the desk and pace about or go for another walk.
I am an expert at walking.
I don’t really want to go to work tomorrow. I feel like I still haven’t unwound yet. I need a holiday from my vacation. At least the Labor Day weekend is only a few weeks away.
The last seven paragraphs have started with “I.” I am talking about myself a lot.
I am sorry (ho ho).
Anyway, that’s about it. Next vacation I’m going to actually plan things out. I may go away somewhere. Somewhere nice, without bobcats or tree roots or car accidents. I’d like that.
