A few new things…

The weather is getting warmer, the sun is shining everyday, I’m loving the deep flow module at VSBM, and I’m can hold handstand for a good 10 seconds now. Life is good. I’ve had a few exciting and pleasurable surprises in the past few weeks as well:

1) The textbook that we were supposed to receive at school wasn’t re-printed this year, so we had $150 or so that we had already paid, but didn’t receive anything for. So, the director of the school decided to give each student a gift certificate to Vida Wellness Spa at the Sheraton Hotel for a 60 minute bodywrap and exfoliation. I just came back from mine tonight and it was amazing. I had never had one before and now my skin feels brand new. The treatment started off with a salt scrub, then an oil application, then I was wrapped up like a mummy in about 100 different layers of towels and blankets. While I was baking my practitioner gave me a head and face massage, then finished the treatment with lotion application. It’s tough getting massages everyday and then having to go through one of these treatments…

2) I didn’t want to say anything prematurely, but about a month ago I was contacted be an editor for VegNews Magazine to see if I would be interested in writing a travel article for them about Vermont. I said yes, of course, and it will be run in the July+August issue, so check it out! I don’t get paid, but I get a free yearlong subscription!

3) If you haven’t noticed yet, I’ve updated the picture section of my blog and added pages for Thailand/Laos, British Columbia and China as well as lots of new pictures in the other categories.

I think that’s it for now… I’m sure I’ll think of more things later, but I’ll keep you updated!

Spring Break Escapades

This past week was our very timely spring break at VSBM. After three weeks of Swedish Massage, four weeks of deep tissue, several joint release sessions, countless hours of anatomy lectures, enough emotional-heavy body/mind classes to last me a lifetime, and a scattering of Anusara yoga workshops, we were all ready for a week off. I was excited to spent some time with Mom, showing her around my new stomping ground and exploring the islands by car. She flew into Vancouver late Monday night and I met her at the airport, then we took navigated our way through the city via bus and finally arrived back home around midnight. 

On Tuesday (sunny skies, thankfully!), we hopped onto our bikes and I gave her a tour of the mansions of Shaughnessy then led her through the wooded pathways of Pacific Spirit Park near the University of BC. After, we ate our lunch while browsing through Banyan Book’s extensive selection and then took Geordie’s yoga class at Yaletown, where Mom unabashedly expressed that “he talks too much”.

I don’t think I would have gotten away with not giving Mom a massage while she was in town, so on Wednesday morning I took her into school and gave her a 2 hour treatment.  She seemed to like it! After, we went to pick up our rental car, which is when Mom discovered that her driver’s license had expired… in 2007! (This is after realizing the night before leaving for Vancouver that her passport had expired). So… the car had to be rented under my name with a fee because I’m under 25, and since it was so expensive, we decided not to get insurance. I hadn’t driven since December and now I had to navigate city streets, city traffic, and unknown roads. No pressure. The first thing I did after leaving the parking garage was turn right on a one-way street…

Despite our difficulties with the car, the rest of the vacation went surprisingly smoothly. We spent a day and a half on Vancouver Island exploring Victoria, Butchart Gardens and driving all the way east to Renfrew, stopping along the way to explore coastal trails and interesting spots. We camped the second night, but I hadn’t brought a mat to lie on, so the cold seeped up from the ground and neither of us got a good night’s sleep.  

On Friday afternoon we caught the ferry to Salt Spring Island, of which I had heard great things about from a number of different people. It was late in the day when we arrived in Ganges, the largest (a very relative term) and we were both hungry, so we booked a room at the Salt Spring Inn, ate a quick dinner, and were in bed by 7:30. 

Saturday’s are renown on Salt Spring for their farmer’s market in the center of Ganges, so Mom and I spent an hour or so browsing the stalls, sampling goat cheeses (yes, I’m back to eating goat cheese), and admiring the multitude of locally-made crafts, none of which we could afford. Our plan for the afternoon was to hike up Mount Maxwell, but nowhere on the drive up did we see a trail or even signs for a trail, so we ended up at the top in our car, feeling very much like tourists. The views were amazing, though, and we befriended two German students who ended up catching a ride with us to Ruckle Provisional Park where we set up camp for the night. Ruckle is a beautiful area and Mom was beside herself when she finally found her first purple starfish. Before we had to board the ferry to take us back to Vancouver, we toured the rest of the island and stopped at Salt Spring Island Cheese farm where we sampled more goat cheese and played with their stick-obsessed Border Collies. Then it was onto the ferry and back to rainy Vancouver. I think we both had a really good time, but also glad to be out of the car and back in a familiar bed. 

Here are some pics from the week!

Photo Update

I’ve been working on the picture section of my blog (finally!) for the past couple of days. I’ve added many new photos that you may not have seen before, so if you have a chance, check them out. There are more categories to come (Thailand, China, British Columbia, etc…) so check back in a few days!

Stanley Park Zoo

You’ve all probably been wondering where I’ve been and what I’ve been up to in the last month and I’m hoping that you haven’t completely given up on me and my blog (if you’re reading this chances are you haven’t, so thank you!). Needless to say, I’ve been pretty busy with school, yoga, and taking every chance to get outside when the sun decides to shine. The weather is finally getting nice, with temps in the high 50’s and I’m crossing my fingers that the constant gray drizzle has come to an end, especially with Mom visiting next week. School is going well. We just finished our four-week-long deep tissue course and after break we move on to deep flow – a technique created by a Vancouver School For Bodywork and Massage School grad that combines both Swedish and deep tissue moves. As for the break, I’m excited to show Mom around the city and explore Vancouver Island and Salt Spring Island, but I’m sure the week will go by way too fast! 

I’ve been doing yoga 5-6 times a week at Yaletown and I love it! I’ve gotten to know some of the regulars and teachers pretty well and I’m constantly being amazed at all the new tricks I can do. Tonight in class we had a live drummer, which brought some great energy and playfulness into the room. 

The cherry blossoms are beginning to come out and I’ve spent quite a few afternoons soaking up the sun in Stanley Park and biking along tree-lined streets. The park is full of wildlife, especially birds, and a family of raccoons. I spent a few hours taking pictures of the critters and here are some of my favorites. 

Ten Dollars and a Chocolate Bar

I know I haven’t written in awhile and I apologize, but my days have been filled with massage, biking, yoga and cooking with not much room for recording my escapades. I’m just about one month into massage school. This week we finished our Swedish Massage module and had our first student clinic! Our classroom was transformed into a makeshift spa with each of the nine rooms sectioned off with curtains hanging from metal bars dangling from the ceiling. We have nice linens, blankets, and duvets to use and eye pillows, heating pads, extra pillows and hair clips if we need them. I was scheduled for two 60-minutes massages on both a male and a female. Surprisingly I wasn’t nervous and both treatments went really well. The woman gave me a chocolate bar (vegan!) and the man tipped me $10. Both wrote really good evaluations too. 

Aside from school I’ve been biking around to places I haven’t been yet, like Lighthouse Park on the North Shore, Banyan Books (which is amazing!) and Deep Cove, also on the North Shore. I’ve also kept up with yoga and have been going pretty much every day after class. Today I stayed up in handstand for the longest time yet! 

Mom sent me her flight itinerary for April, which I’m excited about. I can’t wait to show her around my stomping ground… again. I want to go to Salt Spring Island and Victoria, but other than that I don’t really have any plans. If anyone has suggestions, we’re open to some sight-seeing ideas!