I once heard that when someone's Chinese astrological animal year comes up that person has completed a cycle in his or her life and the next one (another 12 years round the animal wheel) begins with changes and challenges.
This is the year of the pig, or wild boar, and my birthday is Sunday the 11th. I am 36 and that means three cycles of my life have passed. This being my year then I decided to attempt some new things, take some chances and face some challenges. I promised myself not to be slack this year (maybe even lose some weight). Even if something seemed impossibly out of reach before I decided I would summon the courage to take a few big steps in that direction. I am going to push both my writing and photography this year and get my ass up a few more mountains, particularly Mt. Hotaka, which has rebuffed me with nasty weather on three occasions so far (I was so close last year, making it to the summit of the neighbouring peak).
There are plenty of challenges I choose to face. I don't have to but I do to expand my horizons and tackle new learning experiences with the possibility of new successes. Some challenges, however, land in my lap and catch me off-guard. Last week I heard my parents bought an apartment and have put their house up for sale. They will move out at the end of May. I will be home at the beginning of May to attend a friend's wedding. That means my timing is perfect because I can spend the whole week of my holiday cleaning out all my things - books, comics, hocky cards, cds, photographs, magazines, nicknacks, furniture, clothes, Star Wars toys, etc. I have to sell it, store it, or send it to Japan. So, before I go I plan to do a bit of research to get some ideas where I can try to sell the things I don't need to keep anymore. I won't be doing any hiking, I guess.
In order to go home I need to renew my passport this year, and in order to come back to my job I need to renew my visa. The passport must be renewed first however, and I need my birth certificate, but the one I have, I found out, is no longer valid. I need to apply for a new one from Quebec. So my application time has suddenly been cut from comfortable to crazy, as in 'insanely short.' I have to send the application, wait for the certificate to come, apply for the passport, wait for the passport to be ready, then apply for the visa renewal. I am not worried yet though. As my mother says, it will all fall into place.
In the mean time, I have some articles to submit, photos to send, an exhibition to prepare, and a volcano to climb. On top of everything my girlfriend will move into my apartment at the end of this month.
Can this pig handle it all?
Oink, grunt. Do pigs lie in the mud?
