Labyrinth and Spa

This weekend was heaven and hell. Thank goodness, heaven came after hell, or I'd not have survived to wake up this morning and get to work!

It began Friday night when myself, N.G. and T.H. all went together to a labyrinth walk. Now for those who are unaware, a labyrinth walk is like a walking meditation. You walk the path of the labyrinth (which is different from a maze. That's important. A labyrinth has only one path. Only one. It's near impossible to get lost) to clear your mind and reflect upon whatever issue is bothering you the most. Some people come out with realisations so profound they border on visions. Or so I've been told.

Feeling a little blue from all the rejections, and a little stressed about not going anywhere fast, I decided that it couldn't hurt and so I walked the labyrinth.

No there was no Minotaur. There was, however, a choir and a guitarist. A large number of candles, and more people than I expected.

It was actually quite nice. I didn't manage to glean any amazing insight into myself and my current situation, though the impatience of one of my companions may have had something to do with that. I did come out feeling calmer and more centered, however.

I'll definitely be doing it again, though perhaps on my own, so I am unfettered by anyone else's time.

A big thanks to N.G. for taking me out to this one.

Saturday was hellish. I woke up just in time to go to lion dance... if I took the bus. It was cold and rainy and miserable, so I rushed to the bus stop only to discover that my bus was five minutes early. There is something so disheartening about watching your bus pull up to the bus stop when you're stuck on the other side of the road. In any case, I had to wait 45 minutes for the next bus in the freezing cold wind and drizzle.

I arrived to lion dance late and in a mood.

After lunch with the rest of the Lion Dance troupe, which was delicious, I headed off to teach Kung Fu for an hour. That was not out of the ordinary.

I had to go to the University of Ottawa to help the professor proctor her exam there. For three hours. I managed to acquire the most excruciating headache whilst there, and it didn't let up the entire weekend. The exam was from 7pm to 10pm. To fill in time, I went over to a friend's apartment and her and I and her boyfriend played boardgames. I had to leave one third of the way through a game of scrabble. Grrr!

The day was very long yesterday. I left the house at 9am and did not return until well after 11pm.

Sunday was much better. My awesome flatmate, who has been working really long hours, decided that today should be a girly day for us both and treated me to a visit to Le Nordik - a Nordic Spa in Chelsea, Quebec. It was bliss.

The spa works like this: you enter the sauna or steam room and stay until you're really, really hot. Then you go outside and stand under a really, really, really cold waterfall for 10 - 15 seconds. Then you find a place to sit and relax until your body temperature returns to normal. Repeat three or four times. Now when I say that this waterfall is really, really, really cold, I mean it was really, really, really cold. I lost feeling in my feet. It was that cold.

Surprisingly, it did seem to have some health benefits. I was having trouble swallowing all morning (the beginnings of a cold, perhaps?), but by the second time through the cycle, the pain in my throat had completely disappeared. I was so relaxed by the end of it. It was simply awesome.

I was feeling very girlish by the time it was over, and decided that I would take my flatmate for a pedicure. Alas, everyone was all booked up and we couldn't get one. Instead we each bought nail polish and sat at home eating chocolate and painting our nails before heading out to dinner at my flatmate's parent's house.

It was a wonderfully self-indulgent day.

Well, that was my weekend. I'm now ready to face the marking that I must do by Thursday, and I can do it with a smile!

Today there are a few ziggs.com searches to report:

Visitor Location: N/A
Date: April 14, 2010
Time: 3:26 AM EST

Visitor Location: N/A
Date: April 14, 2010
Time: 6:39 AM EST
This one bugged me:

Search Engine: Google
Search Terms: sonia carrere 83 yahoo canada
Referrer: http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=sonia+carrere+83+yahoo+canada&btnG=Search&meta=
Visitor Location: United StatesDate: April 16, 2010
Time: 6:03 PM EST

I clicked on the link, and I still hadn't come across my profile on ziggs by page four. They really must have looked and looked.

That's it from me! Have a great Monday everyone.