The Turning of the Wheel

Happy 2011! (Well, technically I celebrated the Pagan new year back at Samhain, but I still celebrate this one as well - it's too much fun not to. :) I went to a party at Jarett and Mike's again this year, as I have the last couple of years, and this year's theme was awesome: we each had to dress as either our past or future self. I was originally going to dress as a brewmaster (following my new dream of opening a microbrewery at some point in my life), but the day before the party Heather and I ended up at the mall trying on fancy dresses "just for fun".

And, wouldn't you know it, but we each fell in love with a dress that seemed to have been made for us. Heather came up with the idea that we could go as 'golddiggers' as our future occupation, which would justify the dress, and go along with our history as impoverished grad students, so we went for it. However, after some thinking, we decided that it wasn't nearly feminist enough - and it certainly wasn't optimistic about our own success in life - so we changed our theme to that of 'sugarmamas'. :) Add some bling, some gin, and we were set for the night, which turned out to be an awesome time, as always.

A few big developments over the past few weeks. First, I finally saw the sports medicine specialist and then waited to get an MRI done on my knee, and both confirmed that I've torn the ACL. And, not only that, but the ligament is actually totally gone - it's not a partial tear, as initially suspected! (Apparently, I'm just coping with such a nasty injury much better than most people, which is actually kinda cool, and a testament to all the heavy squatting I did last spring.)  I'm meeting with a surgeon in less than a month, and it looks like I'll be going in for surgery in March or April. They will actually use part of my hamstring to reconstruct the ligament (kinda creepy!), but I'm just looking forward to being able to do everything I'm used to doing afterwards - even if it means 6 months of rehabilitation. Not to mention that my lack of mobility will do a great job forcing me to write my dissertation this summer. And, in the meantime, I'm kind of enjoying setting my training goals at keeping my legs as strong as I can going in to surgery, in order to quicken my recovery; it's basically given me an awesome excuse to spend a lot more time in the squatting cage with a heavy barbell, which I love. Nope, it's definitely not all bad.

Next, I moved again, for the second time since I've been back in Canada since September, and for the third time this year - not to mention the 6 months I spent living out of a backpack! I didn't really want to move another time, but the living situation I was in just wasn't working out. Not only was it too far from my gym (an hour commute round-trip, which was really no good, especially with my knee), but my work space was also terrible. But mostly, I just really missed living on my own. So, after a bit of searching, I found a new place that I totally love near the CNE. It's close to the lake (perfect for rollerblading after surgery and 2am strolls through the park), only a 10-15 min walk to the gym, plus it's affordable and quite spacious. I've never lived in a larger apartment building before, and I was worried it would be boring and generic, but it was built in the '50s and has some neat features - like the bright pink bathroom that I decided to decorate in 'pirate chic', haha.

Really, though - what else do you do with a bathroom that colour?! I'm on the ground floor (good for a girl who'll be on crutches in the near future), and it's super warm, plus my building superintendent is really responsible and nice, which is awesome after the last creeper. So, I moved on Dec. 15, which was kinda crazy and it was rather stressful, but I have zero regrets about my decision. Mowgs seems pretty happy here too, and I already know it's going to be an ideal space in which to write my dissertation.

Oh, and my friend Vanessa and her partner, Stacy, have asked me to officiate their handfasting! I feel very honoured and excited about it. I've been a solitary practitioner for a long time, and V has been the only other Pagan I've really hung out with and done ritual with in Canada over the past few years - not to mention that she counts as one of my best friends - so it will be really cool to be part of this step in her life. It's also surprised me in some ways that she asked me... . I know that I often end up leading rituals when we do them together, and at one point I considered doing the education to become an Interfaith Chaplain, rather than do my Master's (until I realised 'interfaith' actually meant 'lots of different types of Christianity' and wasn't  inclusive of other belief systems), so in those ways it feels really natural to be taking this step... but at the same time, my insecurity creeps up, and I feel a bit imposter-ish about taking on that leadership role. But mostly, I'm just honoured to have been asked, and I'm really looking forward to being part of this rite of passage for them. Thanks, V. :)

Otherwise - I'm headed back to the UK in February! Just for 2.5 weeks this time, to finish up some interviewing, see friends, and do a brief pilgrimage to Glastonbury - but I'm still incredibly excited about it. I think this trip will make it a lot easier to handle not being able to move over there early this year, as I'd originally planned. And I think it will also make the sedentary life that awaits me this summer more bearable.

Overall, I'm looking forward to seeing what the next year brings - and I hope it brings good things to you, too!