I live in a small town in central BC with my husband and my dogs. I love to get outside whether that is hiking, kayaking, taking the dogs for a walk, or spey fishing for steelhead. I have had the privilege to complete several backpacking trips from the historic gold rush Chilkoot trail in the north, the Brazeau Loop, to the West Coast Trail and many in between. I have also made the trip around the Bowron Lakes circuit a couple times and fully intend to go back.
When I am not escaping to the bush I am working as a Literary Intern, bookkeeper, social media advertising, and working on my own creative writing projects. I love learning about the publishing industry and the intricacies that work within it. I love working with agencies and being able to see the publishing world from their perspective. As might be assumed by now I am an avid bookworm and I am always working on building up my own collection. Some of my favourites include Suzanne by Anais Barbeau-Lavelette translated by Rhonda Mullins, Ru by Kim Thuy, The Vegetarian by Han Kang, and I could go on.
Working freelance or as an independent contractor has its benefits. One of which is working from home. As AU alumni, the ability to focus and work effectively from home was honed throughout the course of my degree. It means that some mornings I start work while still in my pj’s, I can eat breakfast at… Read more »
Fall has always been my favourite season, I do enjoy certain aspects of them all, but Fall has always been, and probably always will bel, on top. It isn’t because I love the changing colours (though I do) but because of the feeling of progress and excitement that it instills in me. The chilled morning… Read more »
Last year I threw my first casts with a spey rod, that is, an extra long rod that you use two hands to cast with. There is a definite technique to fishing this way and I found it enjoyable, fish or no fish. There was a challenge to learning the rod and the cast. When… Read more »
Last year wildfires tore through central BC resulting in the evacuation of the city of Williams Lake. This year, the fire situation has come back. There are several fires burning in northern BC, many throughout the entirety of BC. In my area, there are 8 “wildfires of note”: 200 hectares to 68,000 hectares. One of… Read more »
Staying organized can be tricky. I have found that, after a busy week, I lose sight of my desk. I have various piles that made sense at one point scattered around. Moving the piles into their appropriate home (and they do all have one, and, no, it isn’t on my desk) is much easier at… Read more »
This year has brought about a lot of changes for me. I have been seeing my career grow and my hard work paying off. It is a slow process in the beginning, but it is one of those things that, as long as I kept pushing, the more momentum I gained. I am thrilled to… Read more »
The drive to succeed can be overwhelming. It can push us to take on more and more until we feel we are being pulled in too many directions. Each “thing” can potentially be helping us get to where we want to be. But when is enough, enough? When is it time to step back and… Read more »
“I failed” can be the hardest statement to admit to ourselves; never mind to say out loud. But maybe failure isn’t a bad thing. There is a cliché saying about if we never fail we’ve never tried. And this statement is true: if we never try something new we can never fail at that task…. Read more »
The idea of being busy is pushed as being good, being productive, being, well, busy. But, being busy isn’t always being busy doing something. Sometimes being busy means busy exploring or busy being. I think it is almost dangerous the way that society romanticizes being (work) busy. While, granted, there are a few instances of… Read more »
My favourite Canada Day memory is when we were hiking the West Coast Trail. We were walking along a sandy beach, belting out the anthem with no one else in sight, just sand, sun, and surf. There is something cathartic about enjoying a day like that in the wilderness, a wilderness that in some ways… Read more »