Transitions & Decisions

It's been a totally interesting and different few days. Full of packing, driving, house-hunting, and getting ready for a quick little dip out of the country. The more I think about the more I realize this may be the time we've been waiting for. Over the past 2 days Mike and I have been travelling from Calgary to California, making a quick stop in Phoenix along the way. Travelling always seems like a crazy thing to me. I feel grateful to finally be here (in California) at our final destination. By the time all was said and done it felt like much travelling, both flying and driving, before our final arrival at the Westin in California.

Getting through the airport in Calgary was both a shocking and somewhat alarming process. I was chosen randomly for an electronic swab test before even going through customs upon arrival. The officer swabbed both my camera and my laptop and tested the swab before giving me permission to move onto the customs clearance stage. All except one of my bags was flagged through customs. The large sour drink of juice serving me my daily dose of whatever seemed to make her feel most powerful searched it anyway. Pulling everything I own out of every bag I brought and calling extra help over for a full body pat down. I said nothing and at least a 1/2 hour past before she stuffed all my things somewhat together and told me I could "take my things". She found NOTHING. No empathy or pardon for the accusation and wasted time; or The woman behind the counter was cold, unprofessional, and presumably power tripping. It felt seriously sad to be on the end of whatever she was doing.

One of Mikes bags was searched too. The other man working the security section sorted his bag in 1/11th the time it took for the woman to search through mine. The man seemed intuitive and was doing all that he could to balance the massive line of checks that needed to be done due to all the time the woman had wasted on my things. Mikes check was finished much faster than mine, and as soon as he could be, he came to stand with me and help me remember how to breath in the midst of my panic. That took time for me to recover from. It felt really terrible to be falsely accused by a piece of technology and a woman that has no faith in truth or humanity.

About a day and a plane ride later, I'm moving forward from it. The sun and blue sky makes it easier. I realize that if I continue to feel strongly about this situation I believe there are many different people and resources that can be discovered here. In the meantime it's vacation time! This afternoon Mike and I plan to hit the streets of California and see what the town has to offer. We've been hanging out at the villa since last evening. With a pool, hot-tub and ping pong, Mike and I are fairly easy to entertain. Mikes found some city life less than a half hours walk away and I'm excited for the adventure. Never having been to this part of California before makes me feel adventurous. I have no idea what awaits us.

Yesterday marks the possible death of my favorite Nikon J1. * This camera has been a part of my life for past 5 years + and I have loved it every step of the way. I like to think I'm not a wasteful person, so I like to hold on to what I have while it works. "Waste not, want not." There's a part of me that feels I may need to say goodbye to the camera, and another part that hopes deeply that all the camera needs is an extra good battery charge, or possibly even just a new battery. The camera will not turn on. Over the next few days I'll continue with testing and obviously do my best to salvage the device. If all is said and done, I hope that my next camera will provide me with as much durability and quality as my last.

Rent photos reflecting our 2.5 day search for our new home before we found what we have recently settled into!