The Ex-Ex-Nomad: 2007: Year in Review by Dana L.

If 2006 was a year of endings, then 2007 will be remembered as a year of rebuilding. Marty and I slowly but surely transported our possessions from the "prairies" (ha- because Calgary is so prairie like!) to the beautiful island, and we also spent time building up our livelihoods in a brand new place. Marty went from a few alarmingly dry months of art sales here to having his best year ever, and I progressed from spending time at agonizingly horrible jobs to rekindling my interest and experience in the non-profit world.

One of the many trips back and forth in our Nomad to bring all of our stuff here to Victoria.

2007 feels like a cusp or a turning point, though-- not something complete or finite in and of itself. I have a clear sense that 2008 will be a whooshing journey into something completely different but completely incredible. As audible as a clock's ticking, I hear the countdown inside of me. This ticking, I'm relieved to tell you, is not coming from my biological clock (if I even have such a thing), but rather from my certainty that this, too, shall pass. I'm sure Marty's sales will increasingly come from people all over the world, and I'm hoping that 2008 will be the year when I finally begin to understand the direction my own career/life is heading.

My resolutions for 2008 are not resolutions in the traditional sense; rather, they are plans that I'm putting down on a makeshift 'To Do' List:

1. I'd like to read more books. I am only now just coming out of my academia-induced reading coma, wherein reading was no longer fun but required. In 2008, I'd like to read books that are not published by a university publishing house or other recognized scholarly printing press. Among the books that I'd like to (finally!) start are the Harry Potter series. (I wanted to wait until ALL the books were finished before I started the first one. Now I can go ahead and delve into a 4900-page odyssey!) Perhaps I shall even read some trash! Hooray for trash!

2. I would like to visit some of the Southern Gulf Islands. It's been over a year on this main island already, and yet I've never ventured onto one of the smaller islands. In 2008, Salt Spring-- here I come!

This little guy was spotted on our hike yesterday... along with over 30 of its kind! I had never seen so many jellyfish before, and they were all just relaxin' in the inlet.

3. I will take a vacation. God knows I need one. I don't even care where or how long-- I'm a little burnt out now and would love a few weeks to rejuvenate. (Of course, my mind's eye has already planned out elaborate trips to Peru, Scandinavia, Mongolia, and Mother Ukraine, but I'd be happy even spending a week on a lawnchair up island.)

And on that note, Marty and I will be spending New Year's Eve at the lovely (if not stormy) French Beach. We have welcomed a new addition into our family, and it's high time we start spending a little more time together.