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50 Crazy Things in my 50th Year #33 – go to a Passion Party

/ Vesta Giles / 2 Comments
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Note: These are NOT the toys we’ll be talking about!

How to write this… let’s see. There is so much I can’t say about what happened that night! First off, a passion party is like a Tupperware party but for sex toys. They are almost always all women and lots of fun even if you don’t buy anything. While I’ve been invited to several of these events, I’m always working or occupied. Even with this one I had to leaver early because I had a snowshoe race early the next morning. The first time I was invited to one all my friends were at it while I was working at the Civic Election, sitting at a polling station in Savona with my big (big) boss. They were texting me with the fun that was happening. I was trying desperately not to look at my phone.

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This time, when the invitation came, it was from a really good friend. There would only be five of us plus the “Pure Romance Consultant”. The five us are really close friends and one of us, and it wasn’t even me, has some anxiety about unfamiliar social situations. We were MORE than happy to limit it to just us, where she felt safe, and I think that’s what made it so much fun. It’s also the reason I basically have no pictures and have had to grab from the internet – and even then I had to censor the memes!

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There are always ice breaker games at these things and usually alcohol and food. I wasn’t drinking because I had a long drive home. They were drinking, though. In fact, a particular bottle of champagne pretty much exploded, put a dent in a ceiling tile, and landed an arc of bubbles in the lap of an unsuspecting guest. The party had to be halted because we were laughing so hard we couldn’t breathe.

We had the party in the children’s play room at one of our houses. Obviously it wasn’t mine because I have no kids but I do have a stash of Lego. The reason was it was two floors below where her kids were sleeping so hopefully they wouldn’t hear us shouting and laughing, and exploding champagne bottles. No good, they still heard us. It was a bit odd talking about and checking out different kinds of sex toys while being surrounded by elaborate Lego creations.

 

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Still not the toys we were talking about!

During the ice breaker games if you correctly answered a particular type of trivia question (the kind designed to see if you’re paying attention), you would get a little tiny rubber penis or set of boobs. At the end, the person with the most won a prize. There was also a draw prize for a little gift at the end. Of course, I won that. But it was strawberry flavored and I can’t stand strawberry flavoring in anything so I gave it to another friend who loves strawberry flavoring and actually has the potential for a date. Everyone wins!

one! one question right!
I was up to six by the time the evening ended, but the winner had eight!

About the products:

The had some really nice moisturizers, bath products, and massage oils. These were the tame part of the party.

Then we started passing around different vibrators. Creative, if not particularly realistic designs. That’s all I’m saying.

Some really smart marketer gave one of the vibrators the name Phillip… I think this is brilliant. It gives the vibrator a persona. I think they should all be given guys names and personas.

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There were products for women and men. Some of the men’s products were eye opening, to say the least. There are some things that just never occurred to me before that night.

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Smelling – different products smell different on different people. Of course, we were curious so we all had to try a bit and then run around and smell each others wrists. They really did smell different. I’m pretty sure guys don’t do that when they get together.

All in all we had a huge amount of fun and we are still talking about it.

Why was this crazy?

Well right now I can’t buy a decent date… but apparently that makes me a prime candidate for some of their devices! Soooo not going there!

Would I do it again?

Sign me up! Apparently the next one is at the end of March. I’d offer to host one at our place but we can only fit about four people in our living room.

 

50 Crazy Things in my 50th Year #32 – Go rock climbing

/ Vesta Giles / Leave a comment

20160129_195222This is another thing that I have avoided because my brother is really good at it. He has been a rock climber for years, climbed mountains, and naturally gravitates to this kind of activity. I have next to no grip strength, never have, and I’m short and uncoordinated. I know my attitude toward this stopped me from having fun or joining other friends who enjoyed it so I knew it needed to be on this list.

I discovered that Jaydan Dick, Krista’s son (she was one of my Brides Maidens, ate bugs, etc. etc.). Jaydan is 14 and growing so fast we can almost see it happening. He’s currently 5’11 and built like a spider – long limbs and hardly any torso. I, on the other hand, am 5’4” and built more like a bumblebee – an improbable flyer. Jaydan had done it before and already knew he loved it. I was not so sure.

Jaydan – spider man!
apparently these are very important
I only dropped him twice

We made plans for Friday night, January 29th. This was after I had done my ice skating crazy thing in the afternoon – I was already kind of dead. Cliffside Climbing Gym is pretty much the only place in town to go and it’s excellent. It was packed with a birthday party and loads of university students but there was always lots of room to move around.

We took the little orientation session and then started on the easy walls – I would call them the bunny hill of climbing walls. When I called earlier they said runners would be OK for a first timer. I learned quickly that this wasn’t the case. Just save yourself some agony of you go and rent shoes there – it’s worth every penny of the $3.

Jaydan flew up and when it was my turn I crawled up slowly. Then I got to the top. Then I realized why I really hadn’t wanted to do this before. Just like with Trapeze School (or maybe not quite as dramatic), when you get to the top you have to let go and there is a brief moment where that sensation of falling appears. I practically threw up right there. That would have ended our night pretty quickly because Jaydan was right below me and you know I wouldn’t have missed that target.

We kept going up and down and I got better at letting go at the top. The nice thing about a climbing gym like that is you can go with someone who is much more advanced than you are. Each time you have to unhook everything to switch positions – one person climbing and one person at the bottom – so you can quickly go from a bunny wall (me) to a spider wall with overhangs (Jaydan).

Although my arms were absolutely dead at the end, I really enjoyed this and Jaydan and I had a lot of fun. We plan to keep going and now there are others who want to come with us so we can have some fun as a group. I may even get my own climbing shoes. I think when my brother reads that he’ll fall over in a dead faint. “Who is this person calling herself my sister?” Perhaps I should warn him ahead of time.

Why was this crazy?

Fear of falling. Fear of jumping. Fear of public humiliation. Fear of not immediately being good at something

Would I do it again?

Oh yeah! Gotta get me some shoes!

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50 Crazy Things in my 50th Year #31 – Go ice skating

/ Vesta Giles / Leave a comment
skating pic

Then….

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now…!

When I was a kid I used to take figure skating lessons and I was OK. I was never daring but I was a pretty good skater. The thing I hated, though, was falling on my knees. My knees are really sensitive and I still remember the shooting pain when I fell on them on hard ice. Band, swimming, and other activities took over and I just never skated anymore. This held me back a bit because people would invite me to go skating on a lake, or other events. I never had skates and I didn’t feel confident – my knees throbbed at the thought of it.

Finally, I realized I was missing out on a lot of fun with my friends by turning down any and all skating invitations. I knew I had to get back on the blades and I knew it would be a crazy thing.

One of my best friends, Michelle, is a single mom to an awesome 4-year-old who was taking skating lessons. The Logan Lake Recreation Centre had free skating for parents and tots on Friday afternoons. I’m off every other Friday. Most of the time there is just Michelle and her daughter there, occasionally someone else will show up. I knew this was the perfect opportunity because I could get my feet under me without a billion people running into me. And the public humiliation factor was non-existent.

 

skating – first time in 40 years and I didn’t fall

I went to consignor sports and got a pair of used hockey skates. I thought they would be more functional for general recreation skating. There are lots of things I didn’t know about hockey skates, even though my brother played for so many years. I never knew that hockey skates are sharpened in a curve so you actually rock back and forth. Figure skates are flat. I knew hockey skates didn’t have the pick – obviously, but I didn’t realize that my body, after all these years, would have such a strong memory of using the pick to stop, start, etc. Also, hockey skates don’t come up as high on the ankle as figure skates do. This meant they felt less secure and my ankles had to work a lot harder. Now my ankles were flopping from side to side and I was rocking on the blades from front to back. My shins got a workout! Hockey skate blades are also much shorter in length than figure skates – it’s a whole new motion. I was not expecting this!

4 year old camel specialist
up and down the boards I go
Michelle helping our other little friend

I started out going up and down the boards, trying to get my balance and get used to the sensations. Michelle’s daughter and the other little boy we had with us were under strict instructions not to go near me since I was still learning. She was whipping around with one of those cages for a while, and then without. Did you know they make those cages in adult sizes? I REFUSED to go there. I used the boards instead. Another thing I noticed is that my ankles are so used to being in cross country ski boots where they have a lot of movement. It was hard getting my head and body adjusted to the new sensations.

It took about 20 mins and I was feeling a lot more confident so I ventured away from the boards and across the centre of the ice. The 4-year-old was thrilled and was desperate to skate with me. “Miss Vesta, did you know I can do this?” – she does a camel with one leg stuck out behind her – still in the cage though so I don’t think it counted. “Miss Vesta, wanna see how fast I can go?”… No! and you’re still in the cage so it still doesn’t count! “Miss Vesta do you want to borrow this? You could have it!” She motions to the cage.. No!!!!!!

We don’t need those cages
skating selfie

Still vertical. Then I started doing laps and I knew I was getting my groove back and getting used to the skates. Next time I work on going backwards and employing stopping techniques that don’t involve running straight into the boards. I skated for a full 90 minutes and my hips and shins were dead.

Why was this crazy?

Fear of death, knee mutilation, and public humiliation. Duh!

Would I do it again?

Absolutely! I’m a skating fool now… but the kids still aren’t allowed to come near me.

50 Crazy Things in my 50th Year #30 – Climb a tree

/ Vesta Giles / 3 Comments

As I described before in the rock climbing blog (coming), I’m not really built for climbing things. So, the thing that kids just spontaneously do and I have avoided like the plague seemed crazy enough to qualify for my year. I would climb a tree. Even when I was a kid I didn’t really climb a lot of trees.

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Since I’m also a geocacher, I thought I might has well kill two crazy things with one climb. Sometimes geocaches can be found in trees. The degree of difficult for the geocache itself is relatively low – you can often see it easily. The terrain difficulty, however, is another thing. For those who are geocachers this cache was SITC#6: VV Abies. I think SITC means Stuck In Tree Cache. The terrain difficulty on this one was 4/5.

I put it out to some geocaching friends who have helped in some of my crazy things – the Conair plane crash hike, motorcycle riding, etc. John, Yvonne, and Tracy all leapt at the chance to do it with me… or at least laugh at me while I did it.

“Let’s go watch Vesta get uncomfortable” is now a popular pastime for many of my friends.

We knew there was a tree climb cache in Valleyview, one near the Safeway in Sahali, and another in some trees on the hill above Costco. The Valleyview one seemed to have the less public humiliation attached to it, and it was probably the most accessible. Crazy thing – here we come!

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John brought a stepladder, which we didn’t really need because the bottom branches of this lovely tree were fairly low. Still, I used it (crazy… not stupid!). Tracy warned me about the sap, which I hadn’t considered… ew! John went up first and blazed a trail so I could see a good route to go up. I went next. Once I got up there I had to figure out how to hold on to the tree while unscrewing the lid to the cache and signing the log inside. This I hadn’t considered! At least I remembered to bring a pen. I if I hadn’t I’d have had to go down and come back up again.

Going up was OK. It wasn’t great, but I made it. Coming down was another matter. You know that piece of advice “don’t look down!” – well how the hell are you supposed to come down the tree without looking down??? I finally made it and after a few minutes at the bottom I stopped shaking. When I was up at the top an elderly woman walked by wondering what they are all looking at. Was a cat trapped in the tree? Was there some other wildlife? Was there an interesting bird? No, it was a 49-year-old woman built like a bumble bee clinging desperately to a branch about half way up a tree. When Yvonne told her what I was doing she thought it was great.

oh yeah, I climbed a tree!

Why was this crazy?

Fear of falling, fear of public humiliation, lack of coordination or spider limbs… the usual!

Would I do it again?

As long as John brings the ladder!

 

50 Crazy Things in my 50th Year #29 – Take an art class

/ Vesta Giles / Leave a comment

20160118_203151My brother is the artist in our family, I am the writer. He is guitar, bass, and a host of other instruments he picks up and plays by ear and heart. I am clarinet and reading music and playing with heart and technique. I have done some painting but I generally avoid it because he’s so good at it.

When my friend Donna, who I work with, invited me to Paint Night on January 18th with some of our other coworkers she suggested it could be a bit crazy. I agreed. I grabbed Jody for moral support and we were off to Paint Night. I’m not sure Paint Night qualifies as an art class but it was a lot of fun and took some of the seriousness away from art.

Jody in her snazzy apron
me rocking the apron
my coworkers rocking their aprons
now what?
we got this!

Paint Night is an event style program held across Canada. It’s kind of Bob Ross with appies and drinks. Everyone goes to a pub or bar, paints the same painting (or a facsimile thereof), and has a lot of laughs. Surprisingly, even people who haven’t held a paint brush since they were five come out with some pretty awesome paintings and they all represent the style of the person doing the painting. It was quite remarkable.

Look! no pink!

I knew the painting we would be doing would be of pink cherry blossoms. Some of you may remember I have some issues with the colour pink so I suspected going in that I would end up rebelling and coming home with a painting that wasn’t pink. Oh yeah, it happened!

I sat next to a guy who had never been there but his wife, on the other side of him, obviously had. He was also the only guy there and it was packed with women.

We started with the sky. That seemed easy enough. I noticed I’m more slap happy when it comes to painting and Jody is very meticulous. I think that represents our personalities pretty accurately. Then we did the mountains and the long path coming down the mountain. Me slapping paint on and Jody carefully making perfect Japanese styled mountains. My painting pretty much doubled in weight by the time I brought it home.

The guy next to me was really funny. We all added the branches and body of the tree next. Mine was slapped on, Jody’s was perfect, and the guy next to me created a tree that looked a lot like Groot from Guardians of the Galaxy. I love Groot! We had lots of laughs about his Groot tree. By the end, when his was done, it looked Groot imitating Peter Frampton or Robert Plant – lots of pink and white rock n roll hair.

The last thing we added were the pink and white cherry blossoms. I was shocked at how good everyone’s paintings were. I was also amazed at how different they were. People like me, who weren’t too into the details, and people like Jody who worked hard on making theirs what they wanted, not necessarily exactly like the original – it wasn’t that kind of perfectionism, it was more that they had a vision and even if they’d never painted before their vision appeared in their paintings

Some women next to me were painting their landscape purple, they’d obviously been there before. I decided to make my flowers more grey and I love the result! My mom says we should hang my painting right next to an amazing watercolor my brother did a few years ago. I think it would drive him insane next time he visits…. Therefore it’s a good thing!

Why was it crazy?

Painting in public, being a beginner in something my brother excels in – all crazy!

Would I do it again?

Absolutely. I still want to take drawing and other painting classes, and we’re already trying to decide on the next paint night we’re going to – it’s like a party with paint!paint night

50 Crazy Things in my 50th Year #28 – Take control of hills

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Perhaps you’ve heard that I have a bit of a thing about going down hill, speed, being out of control, falling etc. It’s been a recurring theme for many of my crazy things. It was driving me nuts that I’m so paranoid about falling when I cross country ski that I automatically take my ski out of the track and turn it into a break at the merest sight of a downhill – whether the hill warrants it or not. I wanted this automatic response to stop.

A few years ago I was night skiing and I had some really bad falls. It was really icy, the temperature was ridiculously cold (in the -20C range) and my glasses didn’t just fog up, they froze so I couldn’t see anything. I fell hard and my body has this locked in memory that I can’t let go of.

My fear started getting worse. Senior citizens would kick snow in my face as they skied past me going down hill. I developed a killer snow plow. It got so bad a few years ago my friend Wendy wanted to take me up to Sun Peaks to the top of a black diamond cross country trail and push me down to desensitize me from the sensation of going fast. She assumed that by the time I stopped screaming I’d have this fear thing handled. I never let her ski behind me on a hill after that.

They day was January 17th. Jody and I were going for a short, happy ski in fresh snow. For most skiers the snow would have been annoying because it was slower. For us it was perfect!

We did a route of easy green trails for about 6Km. There are some nice rolling hills and I knew I had to put some effort into getting over this fear. I told Jody that for that day I had to keep my ski in the track on all hills. She laughed and agreed, and got out her phone to video it. I was determined.

As we did each hill I felt like I couldn’t breathe. My heart was in my throat and I was shaking by the time I got to the bottom. There were times when my foot just jumped out of the track by itself. When that happened I had to stop, go back up the hill and try again. Frequently, when it happened, I may have said some bad words… I know… if you know me you’re probably shocked! (but not really).

We did Ponderosa, Hoss, and Little Joe – all fun green trails near the day lodge at Stake Lake. On one particular hill on Hoss I had to start at the top three times before I finally made it.

The snow was fresh and slow, perfect conditions. I told Jody I had to do it and she was willing to stop while I battled my fears. My leg jumps out of the tracks to act as a break – it’s like an instinct I have a hard time stopping. It just shoots out the second I start to pick up speed.

So, with the Wendy Lehar desensitizing plan firmly locked in my head I vowed to do our entire route without sticking my foot out. It was really hard and when my foot shot out part way down a hill there may have been some F-bombs as I stopped, climbed the hill, and started again.Good thing Jody lost the video she took with all the f-bombs in it… no proof!

Eventually I made it through the route doing all the hills. I was exhausted! No pictures for this one but Jody is my witness – I did it!20160117_101910.jpg

Why was this crazy?

Oh, the usual, fear of falling, fear of going fast, fear of being out of control.

Would I do it again?

If the conditions are right I am trying to do it as much as I can – my own desensitization at my own pace.

 

50 Crazy Things in my 50th Year #27 – Eat a bug on purpose

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This started because I have bit of a reputation as a picky eater. When I was in first year college some friends and I used to watch comedy videos on Friday nights. This was in 1985 and we got to know comedians like Richard Pryor, Robin Williams, and one of my favorites – George Carlin. Carlin did one routine about Fussy Eaters. Among the many characteristics of fussy eaters Carlin mentioned in his routine were the fact that picky eaters won’t eat something if it SOUNDS disgusting, or if they can’t identify it, or the food sounds weird, or anything with a “y” and a “g” in it, or …. It goes on and it’s a really funny routine.

After we watched it I distinctly remember my friend Diane looking right at me and saying, “That’s what you’re like… you’re a picky eater!”

This was news to me.

Since then I have observed my fussy / picky eater qualities at work and I would almost agree. I reminded Diane of her comment a while ago and she has no recollection of it. She scarred me for life and she doesn’t even remember!

So, when the idea for my list came up Eating a Bug on Purpose was automatically on it. Bugs are a growing source of protein in many countries and they are becoming more popular in North America. Crickets are regularly ground into flour in many Indian restaurants and bugs show up on many other menus as well.

My friend Donna at work sent me a new book to the library system on cooking with insects. Ick. There is also a popular kids book called ‘How to Eat Fried Worms” – I have it out but I still haven’t read it.

Bug night

I had no idea how I was going to find food grade quality bugs to eat. This was my first problem. I’ve eaten lots of bugs in my day but none of them on purpose.

The first problem was solved by my friend Amanda when were at Universal Studios in Florida. She came across Salt n Vinegar Crickets and bought them as part of my birthday present. I was suitably horrified. I saved them for 10 months until I hosted Bug and Wine Night at my house. My friend Krista, who would have to eat a bug with me, told me that Sticky’s Candy had all kinds of bugs for sale too!

So, after a trip to Sticky’s I was set. I even brought out my finest dessert plates to serve them on.

Bug night

Our bug night was Friday, January 15th. Krista, Monica, and Jody were coming over and we were having real appies as well as the bugs. Krista and Monica agreed to try them with me and Jody and my mom were happily documenting the evening. What I wasn’t counting on was Monica bringing over live crickets that would have been fed to her pet frog. This was wayyyy out of my comfort zone! In a lovely act of Karma one of them got stuck in Monica’s throat… see video.

2016-01-16 02.40.48 from Vesta Giles on Vimeo.

In order to make this work I was chasing the bugs with Fireball, Monica had wine, and Krista had Sambuca and vitamin water.

The question is, how much fireball do you need to ingest to make you forget you’re eating bugs? Answer…. a lot!

We started with the live ones, which we mercifully drowned in alcohol. Since I hate pills or anything else small touching my tongue, I have perfected a technique for filling my mouth with liquid, tilting my head back, opening my mouth and then dropping the pill / bug in so it never actually touches my mouth. I may say that by the end of the night, with fireball as my coach, I was having my picture taken with the bugs on my tongue and I was chewing them after. This was while the room was spinning.

2016-01-16 02.48.40 from Vesta Giles on Vimeo.

RIP
Bottoms up!
And nearly back out again!
“Just a shot glass full of medicine helps the cricket go down…”
look at me all daring and stuff
Krista is trying to not get legs stuck in her braces
Monica is fearless
the room may have started spinning here, or possibly too much laughter

How were the bugs?

Despite being flavoured, none of them really had any flavour. They were very dry and not something I’d rush out to do again. I can see the value of the added protein in a flour, though. I would still have a hard time with fresher, squishy bugs, worms, or things bigger than a cricket. I may be crazy but I have my limits.

Why was this crazy?

Oh come on!

Would I do it again?

If someone bet me a large amount of money … sure!

Huge shout out to Krista, Monica, and even Jody for sharing this with me and for my mom and Jody who were both able to take pictures while simultaneously laughing to the point where they were crying. And a huge shout out to Amanda who found the first bugs for me!

50 Crazy Things in my 50th Year #25 – Make a Snow Angel

/ Vesta Giles / Leave a comment

20160103_134905 1Sometimes my crazy things are just reminders that it’s important to be young and remember the joy that can be found in doing things that children do – swinging on swings, hopscotch… the list is endless. If we only did adult things then we get stuck in an adult world and that can be boring, limiting, and it likely means closing the door on joy.

Early in the ski season I saw a snow angel on the side of a ski trail. Just out in the middle of nowhere particularly special. It made me smile, and I tried to remember when the last time I made one was. I couldn’t remember actually ever making one. I must have made them when I was a kid, bundled up in a snowsuit, but I had lost it. That door to childhood was closing. I knew then that a snow angel had to be a crazy thing.

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Jody Lenarcic and I went for a challenging but awesome snowshoe up to the bluffs at Stake Lake on January 3rd. While were out enjoying the sunshine and sparkly white snow (my favourite days) I mentioned it. She looked at me… she has a look… it says “let’s make this happen!”… kinda scary sometimes! As we progressed up toward the bluffs the snow was deep, powdery, and bright white. It was perfect. The bluffs rose above us, basking in the sunshine. The snow was at least two feet deep and it was pristine – completely untouched. We both knew this was the spot!

the snow was amazing
our shadows like the fresh air too

Setting this up to get good pictures was actually trickier than we first thought it would be. We wanted to get video and photos. The first problem was having me pass her on snowshoes on the deep narrow trail – not a lot of room and it was almost a game of twister but we managed to survive. Next, I had to figure out how to fall backward on snowshoes. They are long in the back so it’s actually kind of difficult to fall backwards. I have no problem falling sideways – I’m a pro at that.

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Basalt Bluffs

Once we got that organized I fell backward into the deep, fluffy snow and flapped my arms and legs. It’s hard to flap in deep, pristine snow, and I learned that snowshoes don’t really flap very well – this had a high degree of difficulty. Once I’d done enough flapping to make a decent angel we realized Jody would need to pull me up so we didn’t disturb the pattern. We spent a lot of time thinking about how we would manage this feat and all the while my butt, back, and legs were freezing and starting to get pretty wet – should have thought of that sooner! Where was the snowsuit of my childhood???

2016-01-03 21.50.14 from Vesta Giles on Vimeo.

When Jody finally got me vertical, and we could breathe again after laughing so hard, we looked down and saw the most perfect snow angel ever. It was awesome! The deep snow really did the trick.

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We made our way back to the parking lot – it was a long snowshoe and we were pretty tired at the end of it, but I noticed I felt just a little bit lighter – not in body, but in spirit. Every once in awhile I picture that angel and I wonder how many people went by on the trail and smiled at the angel beaming up at them. It makes me smile more.

Why was this crazy?

I propped open the door to that childhood energy that dictates we do things purely because they are fun, make us laugh, and just feel good.

Would I do it again?

Any chance I get!

 

50 Crazy Things in my 50th Year #24 – Polar Bear Swim

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My whole 50 Crazy Thing Adventure started when I told a library patron of mine, Dawn Nelson, that I was going to do the Disney Princess Half Marathon in Florida two days before my 49th birthday. Dawn is an artist who loves living life, bright colours, and big ideas. I love her! She is in her 70’s and when I told her I was doing this because it was the craziest thing I could think of and I was dreading turning 50 the next year, she looked me right in the eye and said, “You need to do 50 Crazy Things in your 50th Year… you need to hit that birthday head on. Don’t cower from it, hit it with all you’ve got!” That’s what started it all… you can blame her!

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Dawn and I at the Polar Bear Swim – it’s all her fault!

 

Every year Dawn drags her husband to Nicola Lake on January 1st to do her own Polar Bear Swim. When I mentioned it was on my list, she said she would do it with me and come into Riverside Park for the Kamloops event. It was locked in stone – we were doing it!

When New Year’s day came, the air temperature was -11C with the wind chill. the water temperature was 0.5C. There was deep snow on the beach and ice along the shore. Go big or go home! This wasn’t one of those sissy Polar Bear Swims that my cousin and uncle did in Vancouver, this was hard core!

I read up on tips for the polar bear swim ahead of time:

  • wear shoes in the water – your feet will be frozen and won’t feel anything sharp so you could cut yourself and not know it
  • take a towel to put on the sand (what sand?) so you can easily step out of your frozen water shoes and into dry ones
  • have your clothes ready – it’s not the water that will kill you it’s the hypothermia from the air temperatures and exposure after

Admission to this informal event was by food bank donation. There were a limited amount of commemorative t-shirts so Dawn and I each scooped one up.

Now we were ready and people, lots of people, started to stream onto the beach. I would say there were at least 200 people there, and maybe 100 went in the water. My mom came, and so did Dawn’s husband, Dale, and my friends Jody and Gerry – mainly to take pictures and make sure it actually happened.

As the people were arriving I saw herons across the river, some pretty startled ducks, geese, and swans near the shore where we would be jumping in. And when I looked up, I saw an eagle fly above us. Seeing eagles is always special to me. It’s like a reminder to pay attention, when eagles are around something special is happening. This wasn’t just a party for people with hangovers who wanted to do something stupid on New Year’s Day. This was special. I was about to find out just how special.

Ruby

The beach began to get really crowded. An elderly lady with a peaceful expression on her face, relaxed and curious, stood next to us. I asked her if she was here to watch someone. She said no, but she had always wanted to do it and thought this would be as good a year as any. Dawn and I nearly fell over. Ruby, it turns out, is 90 – soon to be 91. She lives alone and decided she would just show up this year and do it. I had three support people with me. Dawn had her husband. Ruby came alone. We quickly adopted Ruby.

Me, Ruby, and Dawn (plus Dawn’s husband, Dale, before we started
Picking our way across the ice on the way out
Who me? I’m not cold!

 

3…2…1…!

I wore running shorts, a bright orange long sleeved running shirt (so rescuers could find me), a pink Disney running shirt over top  – I got it at the Princess Half – it seemed fitting – this was so nobody would recognize me since we all know I have some issues about pink. I also wore gingerbread deelybobbers on my head to celebrate the season. Dawn was wearing shorts too, as well as a Santa hat. Ruby stripped down to just a simple bathing suit.

When the time came Dawn and I held Ruby’s hands because there was at least two feet of ice between the shore and the water and we didn’t want her to slip. The current was strong and the water gets deep quickly on the Eastern side of the beach so I kept holding on to her. I didn’t want her to float away!

I ran in, tried to inhale, and discovered I couldn’t breathe! I went down to my shoulders and we paddled around for a bit before dragged Ruby out. She wanted to stay in. Apparently she has an ice cold bath every day and that’s the secret to her youthful appearance and longevity.

When we got out we all helped each other get warm clothes on. Ruby’s canvas water shoes, her other shoes were in her car, were frozen solid and squished from her stepping on the backs of them. We couldn’t get her feet in them. When she was walking back to the car she stepped out of one into the snow and didn’t even know because her feet were so cold!

Home after the swim – I look most refreshed
the shoes I wore in the water filled with snow before I got in and froze solid when I got out
Got the shirt!

 

When we got back to our cars we made sure Ruby would be OK. I gave her my business card and told her to give it to her family if they wanted any pictures. A few days later her daughter in law contacted me. They were happy we were there with her and were very grateful for the pictures. I even sent her the link of us making (barely) the CFJC TV News!

So, the eagles were right. Something special did happen. We met and were inspired by Ruby.

Why was this crazy?

Seriously?

Would I do it again?

Dawn and I are already making plans for next near! Anybody want to join us?

 

 

50 Crazy Things in my 50th Year #23 – Go Out for New Year’s

/ Vesta Giles / Leave a comment

Again, this might not seem crazy to most people, but to me it’s big.

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The day lodge at Stake Lake – so pretty at night.

New Year’s Eve is pretty much a holiday I ignore. I’m an introvert. I’m not big on parties, and I’m really not big on getting dressed up. I have also been described as being ‘possessive about my sleep’ so late nights aren’t really part of my bag of tricks. When I was little I shocked more than one set of parents when I kicked visiting kids out of my bedroom and put myself to bed. I also fell asleep at my own 16th birthday party. New Year’s Eve? Apparently things happen at midnight that I see on the news the next day.

So, to slightly expand my options I decided to accept the open invitation to go to the Overlander Ski Club’s New Year’s Eve potluck and ski. I’ve avoided these events before because I don’t know anybody but when doing crazy things – point yourself toward what you avoid. Now, this potluck only went to about 9pm, but still … the point is I went.

It was ridiculously cold that night. Even with extra layers my legs and arms were burning. I skied for a bit on my own, and then went in and discovered that despite all my crazy activities this year, I was still an introvert. Sigh. Like a true introvert I hovered on the outside of a packed room filled with skiers who have all known each other for decades. I had fun though, I met a few people there who were new and didn’t know anyone else either, and I hung out in the corner with Jordan (a young guy who works at the ticket booth) and his girlfriend. Club President, Alan, who is not an introvert, merrily worked the room and sat with for awhile chatting the corner before moving on.

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Nothing says New Year’s like a disco ball hanging above a wood stove at New Year’s

I had fun, the food was great, the skiing was cold, I didn’t have to dress up. I still, however, didn’t make it to midnight…. maybe next year!

Why was this crazy?

Introvert? Know almost nobody? Go out on New Year’s – take your pick!

Would I do it again?

Sure, I can hold down the corner of a room like nobody’s business! More seriously, though. I do need to do this more often so it gets a bit easier each time. I actively avoid parties and that has to stop. Life rarely happens at home and even if I’m happily nestled in the corner, at least I got off the couch and out the door. From my corner I always admire people who mingle easily. Maybe someday, with practice, it will come.