Minnie Trip: Entry 1

 It’s ten pm*. We are on the bus, just past Grand Forks and due to arrive at the hotel at four am. Just thinking about that makes me cranky so let’s move on. In about an hour we’ll stop in Fargo at a truck stop for a gas and go—the third stop of the evening already. I’m pretty sure there will be free Wi-Fi which will allow me to post this entry.

Amara and I have cracked open a bottle of wine and snacked on cheese and chocolate and have not yet run out of topics of conversation.

Tomorrow the bus will leave at 10 am for the outlet mall. We’ll have about six hours there—not enough for me, but Amara is confident we can do it. I need new runners, a brown skirt and Christmas presents for the family. People would be disappointed if I did not bring home at least one pair of shoes so I am hoping Nine West has something.

We are on the old people bus. Wow. These ladies don’t get out much. They talk like truckers when away from the hubbies.

*It's 11:26. We got off at the trucker stop so the driver could gas up. People were instructed to grab food and go, but most people are pretty leisurely. I anticipate further delays. Boo. 

Point me to the shoe sales

Over the river and thru the woods to the Minneapolis area I go...

I've got my clothes packed, my American money bought and snacks for the ride. Tomorrow my Fashionista Friend Amara and I are getting on a bus and travelling to America for the Good-Wooden Leg Ladies' Shopping Trip. Outlet Mall. Mall of America. Black Friday. Bring it on, America, show me your discounts.

I may not sleep tonight. I doubt I'll be able to sleep even on the 8+ hour bus ride. I'm bringing Mac and my unreliable camera in case I have the time and energy for some blogging updates on the super buys. Also, I may pretend it is my birthday on Saturday so I can get a free piece of cake when we go out for dinner. Let the countdown to 29 begin!

Fridge-worthy

Remember I said I was going to a painting class? I was supposed to paint this:



in 5.5 hours?

How do you think I did?

First of all, let me tell you the story. I got there and I was the only person to not have her own caddy of brushes. The instructor said not to worry, that I could borrow hers. She was a wonderful teacher. She was a restaurant owner by day--a Greek diner, and she had the heavy accent to match. During the class she went around to everyone to see how they were doing and help them out as needed. I needed her a lot. I haven't painted since junior high school. But she was very kind to me and patient. She praised my work and when she saw me sitting there, not sure what to do next, she'd say, "Jill, honey, I will be there in a minute". So with her help and my willingness to try, I ended up taking home this:




I'm so proud of myself!

My future is aces high and joker's wild

On Saturday I went to McNally Robinson Booksellers to get my free, Winnipeg-ized tarot card reading. As part of the Winnipeg Cultural Capital of Canada 2010 ARTS FOR ALL initiative The Winnipeg Tarot Company offered free readings for the month of October. And as an added twist to the paranormal, the readings were done with a special, Winnipeg-themed deck featuring all things iconic about my hometown.

I was the first customer of the day. I knew what I wanted the cards to give me insight on but I took a moment to carefully word my question. I've done this before, I know the tarot likes specific questions.

I was instructed to cut the deck three times and then re-stack it as I saw fit. The reader then dealt the spread and turned the cards over one by one as she explained their meanings.

My first two cards were the Diva and the Street Person. These cards were representative of my present.

"The Diva represents someone who is the star, the center of attention," the reader explained. The Street Person card represented poverty and financial struggles.

The next card was the nine of blizzards. It features a thin girl at one of those Winnipeg--One Great City signs stationed at the city limits. It's blowing snow and she is improperly dressed (this sounds totally like me huh?). This card represents a struggle, some hard work and tough times but also perseverance and toughness. With this card we were starting to look to my future.

The third card that came up was the Three of Floods, which depicted the Teddy Bears' Picnic.

"This card represents a collection of people from all walks of life coming together. The stream that you see running through the image represents a life force uniting these people together."

So far so good, the cards were giving me a very interesting response to my question. With the final card the reading was dead on.

"The Fool on Garbage Hill card represents the ultimate friendly Manitoban. Here he is standing high atop garbage hill, but if he falls, he never falls hard and he never falls very far."

The reading actually confirmed what my own intuition was telling me. I was pleasantly surprised by it.

"Okay, now I have one more card for you. You can ask another question and then I will turn it over and read it for you."

I again thought for a moment before voicing my question. "What does my future hold for me in love?" I asked.

The reader turned the card over and placed before me the Devil card.

"This card represents carnality and lust," she said and her eyes twinkled. She seemed to think this meant something very hot and passionate was in my future, but I saw something else entirely. That there, by my interpretation, was the sinful Homewrecker card that has been the thorn on my long stem Valentine rose for quite some time now. If the cards are in fact right, it's more married men and bored, betrothed boys licking their lips and regarding me as little more than a fun distraction. Ah well, I'll worry about the love thing later. There are many, many more cards in the deck for me to play right now.

Okay, the reading wasn't entirely free, actually. In exchange for the reading, patrons were asked to give a Winnipeg story--any story that comes from Winnipeg. I had thought about it for a bit and decided to talk about the support and love my family got from the Blue Bomber family this past summer when my uncle died, specifically Lorne, the team padre, and about being invited to the practice where we all went into the huddle together.

The reader gasped.. "What a beautiful story," she told me when I was done and I was pleased. It felt like a fair exchange of gifts.

The very hungry caterpillar is still hungry

I had a one hour appointment today with a life coach. She was one of the coupons in the Lifestyles pass I picked up this month.

I had some time to kill before my appointment so I wandered into a couple of Exchange District shops. The first one was a hat place. I looked around at the merchandise, touched it, picked it up, checked the price tags and put it down. A few I thought were interesting enough to try on and check out in the mirror.

"The tag goes to the back," the storekeeper said when he saw me trying on a large wool lid that seemed to have ear flaps. Aware I was being watched I shyly glanced in the mirror and then put the hat back.

There were toques, caps, fedoras, hats with pom poms and hats with feathers. Pink ones, blue ones, black ones, plaid and solid. None of them seemed me though.

"On Wednesday he ate through three plums, but he was still hungry"

--The Very Hungry Caterpillar



I found my way to the coach's office. It was in an old building with winding hallways and uneven floors. Her space was a small room with a desk by the windows and table and chairs by the door.

"So what brought you here today?" she began by asking.

I took a deep breath and struggled to get out my first sentence. She followed up with more questions that led up to the ultimate one.

"So what would you do if you removed all the barriers? All the fears, all the need for approval?"

I have been thinking about this question a lot over the past few months. Last week I found myself in the bookstore and even picked up Life Coaching for Dummies and started working through it. I had an answer but suddenly I was shy to say it out loud. So I talked around it, pretended like I was still exploring options. I tried to feel out what her reaction might be. I was hoping she'd say what I was thinking, like it was her idea first and I could just give an enthusiastic nod and grin. But that's not really how coaching works. It's hard to open up completely to someone you've only just met. And I've read that it can take time to find the right coach for you, the one you'll feel comfortable with, who gets you.

The session was not a waste though. I did let my heart speak a little bit and I saw how fears have been holding me back. There is no making a wrong decision, and making a big change doesn't mean having to bind and gag all your fears so you can jump head first into your choice. The way she described her approach to change sounded like a metamorphosis, a process gradual enough that it doesn't hurt or feel scary.

I am proud of this place I am in right now. I got myself here, but I did it all with the security of the approval from my family and friends. I am ready to start doing things on my own esteem now. I have my own legs, my own voice, my own funds. Things may not go the way I plan, but I have to be okay with that and hopefully they will stick by me anyway because that's when I will need them the most.


"The next day was Sunday again. The caterpillar ate through one nice green leaf and after that he felt much better. Now, he wasn't hungry anymore and he wasn't a little caterpillar anymore."
--The Very Hungry Caterpillar