"Housesitting for Canada's Literati since 2006"

That's what my friend Ellen said I should put on my business card. I seem to be spending less and less time at home in my minimal apartment and more and more time at my friends' well outfitted condos while they're away in exotic destinations.

Works out well. This week I'm at Lil's in Cabbagetown. Lovely 3 bedroom condo, brand new kitchen. Then in August I'm at Margaret's, also in Toronto ... swimming pool, piano, big house and a car to use while I'm there (which is a huge bonus since I haven't owned a car since I smashed mine up in 2006 (the only accident I've ever had .. nobody was hurt except my car, yet my insurance company decided that my insurance needed to go up to $5000 a year. I think they were surprised when I laughed at them. Really hard. And for a long time)

Je digress ...

So I'm enjoying going to readings, art openings and also working on my own stuff. So much easier when there are no distractions. I do all my best work away from home.

And I've had some really good discoveries ... the Surutha takeout, just around the corner on Parliament Street. Sri Lankan food .. really inexpensive. I just had a mouth searing, flaky, delicious Masala Dosa, which is like a crepe filled with hot curry. Yum. Having been to Sri Lanka, I'm really happy to have found this place.

Now here's a question: When did Toronto panhandlers started suggesting a minimum contribution? This guy came up to me in Kensington Market this morning. Started talking to me, asked me if I could spare anything for lunch. I always keep a pocket of change for this kind of request. And then he asked me "do you have a five? I'd rather have a five". Whoa, man, that's nerve. He was friendly and good natured when I told him with a large note of exasperation in my voice that no, he couldn't have five. Some people's kids, eh? ...

Speaking of nervy, the two cats that live in Lil's house are harassing me for lunch. Nothing more to report of any interest right now anyway. Just a fun time with lots of space for new ideas. And I'm finally getting the self-discipline together to realize some of these big ideas. Feels so good.

Yes, I did come back ..

If the only way you know me is through this blog, you might be thinking I decided to stay in Central America. I did come back. Had an amazing time, which you can hear all about by subscribing to The Green Planet Monitor. I'm working on my last story and sending it to Dave, my producer this week. And the, no more trips until Dave and/or I write another grant for another infusion of travel funds.

BTW,the picture above is taken from a mountaintop in Honduras .. I love Honduras .. I need to go back there again. But for a while, I think I'll hang around home a bit more.

I was thinking today about how my life has changed since I began this blog. It was in June of 2005. Marriage had quickly and unexpectedly self-destructed the previous December. My friends Tim and Simone invited me to come down to Bear River, Nova Scotia to get some perspective by the Bay of Fundy. Then, back home to the arduous task of disassembling 20 years of marriage, selling the house, dividing the stuff, yelling at the gods ...

Then, two years of rootlessness. By choice. Summer in Vancouver, the fall in south Asia, back to Hamilton in 2007, where I have been ever since. With some really great trips to Central America, Africa, Nova Scotia again ...

Five years later, reflecting back .. it's been hard. (though I have to say, if your heart has to break, no better place to mend in than in the Himalayas. Or on the Serengeti. Or even having a drink between planes at Heathrow). And, even though I responded by living life large, it still took a long time to be where I am right now ... happy again, making a living, doing work that I love, with lots of people in my life I love and who love me.

It's all working out ... think I'll get back to doing some more writing here .. I've been mostly concentrating on writing material that brings in money. And that's important but so is the stuff I do for myself. So, hi again ... time to get back into the habit of writing just for me. And you, my friends who visit here to see what I'm up to these days ... (though most of you know because you're all on Facebook .. blogs aren't so essential these days. how times change ...)

Almost lift off

It's two am ... I tried to sleep last night. Went to bed at about 10 pm dozing while watching a bit of the Olympics. Those ski jumpers are amazing. What a feeling it must be to hurdle down a hill and then be airborne for 100 feet (or is it metres?).

Rather nice to catch a glimpse of snow before I go. Last night here in Toronto it snowed too. Hard to believe that tonight I'll be in a climate that feels like summer.

I'm feeling surprisingly calm for someone who is going into uncharted territory. Fortunately, it's my own uncharted territory. Lots of people have charted it before me, and I am really grateful to be travelling with the good folks of World Accord - Terry, David and Nelson.

My itinerary:

- land in San Pedro Sula, Honduras about noon
- travel to a farming village about five hours away in northwest Honduras
- stay in Honduras about five days .. then down to Antigua, Guatemala for a day of r & r
- then go to Chimaltenango, not too far from Guatemala City
- Guatemala City on the 24th until March 3rd
- March 3 - go to San Salvador
- March 5 - back home to arrive in Toronto at the frosty hour of midnight ...

.. 2:17 already .. cab will be here in about 20 minutes .. good morning all, I'll update you when I'm at a computer again ... this time in the sunny south.

Time to start blogging again ..

Good morning, friends. The reason why I started this blog in the first place is so that my friends can keep track of me when I travel.

So far, this blog has covered India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Kenya. With stops at airports in between. Closer to home, I've been to Vancouver, Bear River Nova Scotia, Ottawa, South River Ontario, Windsor Ontario and places I've forgotten about.

And now I'm going to be adding Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador. I leave next Sunday, the 14th .. Valentine's Day and my nephew Anthony's first birthday ..

I'm doing another installment of documentaries for The Green Planet Monitor, the podcast/radio series I have been working on with my buddy Dave Kattenburg for many years now.

Today, I'm summarizing my story list, trying to figure out where to stay in San Salvador, whether to stay longer in Guatemala City and take the TICA bus to San Salvador .. many questions.

And as is my usual state of mind before a big trip, I have the usual moments when I just sit immobilized in my comfy chair as I say to myself "I can't believe I'm doing this .."

More later .. much more later.

Happy New Ear!

and New Year too .. for my new year's resolution, thanks to Kathryn Borel Jr. (author of Corked! - a Memoir of Wine and Existential Dread" -- from today's National Post (why I subscribed to the NP is a story for another blog entry"

I would do a link to her book but I can't find one. If it's as good as this quote, I want to read it.

Says she:

"Don't trust all your feelings right away ..

I have a long and explosive history of experiencing a large scale feeling, trusting that it is correct and making twisted life decisions based on what turns out to be a mere impulse, as opposed to a real emotion. Like most significant things, big life truths or important feelings tend to take a bit of time to reveal themselves in full... I now generally squash the impulse to make public -- or private -- proclamations of big feelings. I mix the truth with a little time and light and measured discussion and see if it holds as steady as I thought it did in the first place. And then I act."

I think she's a bit further ahead of me when it comes to this particular skill .. I expect this will be hard work for me.