One of the reasons we chose the B&B is because it has a beautiful yoga studio, which Irene enjoyed to no end. Meanwhile, while playing Almost Fetch with Jake, I learned that dogs can pick up very big sticks.

The next day we went out exploring Denman Island with some bikes that our host lent us. We went to the East side of the island, found a beach, then we went to the West side of the island, and found a beach. Go figure. In-between, we passed by Central Park, which wasn’t quite as perfectly centered as you might expect.

After a couple nights there, we caught a ferry back to the mainland and waited for our shuttle to Nanaimo where we rented a car for our long drive to Tofino. Before we started that, though, we had lunch at Lefty’s, a restaurant owned by two left-handed guys. Even the menus were printed the wrong way! =)

Tofino was cold and damp, although, thankfully, it didn’t actually rain like it was forecasted. We were surprised to find that it was actually clear and sunny for a couple hours one evening! I chickened out on surfing, but we filled our days there with some long walks on the endless sandy beaches and hikes in the rainforest. We also ate Ukee Dogs and some great burritos out of a truck.

Also, we planked.

Pretty soon we were on our way back across Vancouver Island, and since we had the car rental for another day, we went on a little adventure. During this adventure, we came across a bear that wouldn’t even give me a high five. He was kind of a jerk. Then Irene managed to find some last-minute vacancy at a cute little B&B in Qualicum Beach, where we could dry out our gear before continuing on our trip.

The next morning, thanks to a tip from our friendly German hosts, we checked out the last day of a sand sculpture contest. Interesting facts about sand sculpting: they’re not made with beach-grade sand and they’re sprayed with an eco-friendly glue every day for two weeks to get them to set.

My favourite was this one; check out the detail on that elephant!

We dropped the car back off in Nanaimo, did some laundry, and caught a shuttle to Victoria, where I finally found a bear that would give me a high five! Yay!

Wandering around Victoria was a bunch of fun, and our waterfront hotel room was a perfect place to come back to every day. It was a heritage building, and as such, our well-discounted room was poorly insulated and right above the band playing in the hotel’s pub. That means that since they played until 1, we were awake until 1. Kind of a bummer for people who are used to going to bed at ten!

Then on Sunday morning we bused to Sooke and took a hockey-heavy cab ride to French Beach. There was an early morning fog that rolled over the beach that was absolutely eerie. Our friends Chris and Alexia joined us for the last two days of our camping trip, where we explored the beach and its driftwood structures.

In this picture, you’ll find Chris’s Macguyveresque beercan s’more stove. This idea should be patented.

Well, that’s it, folks! A few snapshots from our adventure! Now go out and enjoy the sun!

This is Hiker Michael signing out!

You probably didn’t notice the person standing in front of the wall. If you look carefully, you may recognize that stealth-like chameleon. (Guess what, it’s me.)

Maybe it’s more than just a picture because I’ve never felt this blended. I’m caught up in this mixture of unrewarding work and excited trepidation, and it’s getting thick. These days, any time I have for writing goes instead to editing. After that, it’ll be web design and marketing. Then you’ll be getting regular updates and sneak peeks at something that I hope is going to be pretty awesome. By then, though, none of those updates will be from this site.

Nobody’s noticed more than me the infrequency of posts to this site. I haven’t been drawn to it as much as in the past, like a favourite t-shirt with a permanent stain, but that’s because I’ve decided to throw it out. The concept was too big in the beginning, and when I scaled it all down, thetrigger.net lost my vision. Now, what I imagine is perfectly simple.

I will take my things and set them somewhere else, and if you were to visit, you would find a more accurate representation of me, presently.

I’ve always wanted to write my name in fresh cement, and when I saw the recently-poured sidewalk across the street, I couldn’t help myself. I took an apple, chopped it in half, and carved an imprint into it. Then I waited until the Surprisingly Vigilant Security Guard had to go to the washroom, ran over there, and stuck my apple into it, retreating to safety moments before he came back. In and out like a bank heist.

To be honest, I’ve never been in a bank heist, but I have seen a lot of heist movies, so believe me, I know what I’m talking about. My execution was somewhere between Ocean’s Eleven and Dog Day Afternoon. Closer to Ocean’s Eleven, though, since nobody… well, you know.

The only flaw in my execution was that my apple was too mushy by the time I used it that it left only the faintest impression. It basically looks like a water stain. But I guess that’s why they say crime doesn’t pay. It costs an apple.

It’s a minor torment. This story has been on my mind for nearly seven years, and in that time I’ve thought of many details. It feels like a shame to have wasted that time, though I do understand that it wasn’t all a waste. Many details have now become unnecessary, except to explain the backstory, which leaves me with ample material to work from if I ever have to write a prequel. I hope not to.

We never really know when one of these Important Conversations will happen, do we? Nobody tells you at the time, so it’s not until perhaps years later when you realize the impact it had.

I’m going to be busier than usual these upcoming few months. As excited as I am, the thought that I’ll have less time to work on this nearly-completed project is frustrating. I can nearly see the end. It’s right there.

What is most useful when it’s broken?

I scratched my head for a while as I thought it through.

Finally, I asked, “Is it a piggy bank?”

It wasn’t. Or at least, he said, not the answer they had. I stepped back and thought it through again. Finally, when my tea was ready and I had no more guesses, I asked for the answer.

“An egg,” he said.

“Aww, that’s not right,” I replied. “Piggy bank’s a better answer than egg.”

This is my reasoning. An egg brings life into the world, which to me seems like the most useful application of anything. If it’s broken, it’s completely useless, except of course – as the riddle implies – if you’re eating it.

Whereas a piggy bank contains money, and when it breaks, you can buy something awesome. Seriously, you can get anything you want. A broken piggy bank could even buy more food than what you’d get from eating a broken egg! Even math agrees with me!

The barrista, however, did not. And since it’s his place, he gets to decide the answers to his riddles.

But since this is my web site…

The correct answer is piggy bank.

And then yesterday, after a slightly delayed flight and then a long drive, I was back in my home town. I did not sleep uninterrupted. Once again, I woke up in a similar confused way, slowly adjusting to my surroundings.

Something similar happened years and years ago. I can’t imagine what similarities between then and now might be causing this unusual restlessness. At times, I worry about things like sleepwalking, even though I’ve never had a history of it. Never even an incident. But the thing I worry about is not knowing if perhaps there was.

On the way home last night I shared a taxi with an Austrian couple. They’d been in Vancouver for six months, and I asked what they thought about it so far. In Austria, he said, he only paid fifteen dollars a month for the equivalent cell phone package he has now. Here, though, he pays sixty. To be honest, mine is even more than that, which is all very absurd. Those companies must return substantial profits.

There’s a lot of growth in that industry these days.

Leave it to a night at the bar to remind me why I spend very few nights at bars. When I was younger, I didn’t mind that the music was too loud, and I didn’t mind that it was too cramped. I guess this is one of the hundred other indicators that I’m getting older.

Avi too. Just under a year old, and just over a meter tall. He’s a perfect reminder that if the conditions are right, you have to use the opportunity to thrive. Do something you love doing long enough and it’s bound to pay off. Otherwise, who knows, maybe you didn’t really love it as much as you thought.

On a related note, the Great Big Project is becoming more defined. All these stray ideas are coming together in harmony; characters are developing, plot is advancing, conflict is building. I used to know how it was all going to end, but now I’m not so sure. Even I can’t predict it any more.

I’ve been looking at various web sites that may help me develop my own future. I’m seeing opportunities at every inconvenience. Possibilities. There’s a theory that exists wherein every possible decision creates its own alternate universe. In one of them I might be a pilot, in another a rock star, and in another I’m sitting here in this same chair with a different shirt on. Nobody really knows where any decision will lead, but I think that when we do what we love, we compile good decisions that lead to good outcomes.

I’ve got a pretty solid compilation going on. Let’s see how this all plays out.

Last week I was the key witness of an assault. The mindlessness of it all sits in my memory, reminding me of how sudden everything can be. We’re in such a rush that we lose our minds over things that don’t matter.

Maybe this weather is the universe telling us to slow down. Racing from one moment to the next, we barely see the blur in-between.

This new year has aged me. We do grown-up things without even noticing them, and then one day it all catches up. We realize exactly where we are.

Be mindful that time does pass by, that good things do come, and then go. Each moment will be the only one like it. Focus. Make it the one you want.