When in Wemindji...: May 2016

Nowadays I sing most things. If I'm in the car and I want to make a statement to a passenger, I'll sing it. Why do I do this? I do this because if I don't sing, I will cry.

Just kidding. Life is good. I am alive, I am breathing, I have a lovely little home, I have a job and good friends. What I do not have is good luck. Good car luck to be specific. Guess what. I GOT ANOTHER FLAT!! Doing what you might ask? Expert Aidan-rescuer and car-fixer Daren (my teaching partner Stacy's husband) thinks I ran over rock which literally ripped a hole in my tire. A hole big enough to stick a finger in. So my front passenger tire is basically garbage. Might I mention this is my 4TH FLAT IN 3 YEARS. 4TH.

Do you have a spare Aidan? Why yes, thank you for asking - I do! In fact, I have 5 SPARES ON RIMS! But where are they Aidan? Well, that's a funny story. My 5 extra summer tires on rims are sitting in storage in Amos where my old van was brought to it's final resting place when I crashed it way back in November. The kind mechanics removed the tires from the back of my van and stored them for me (did I mention when I crashed my van I had 5 tires on rims floating around the back seat? I could have been decapitated). Now you may ask, Aidan, why haven't you retrieved your tires from Amos, you pass through there fairly frequently? If you had just picked them up, you wouldn't be so stressed about a silly flat! Well, allow me to let you in on a little frustrating secret. The Amos dealership - no matter what - is ALWAYS CLOSED when I pass through town. I have not once been able to make it to the service department where my tires are stored before it closes. So that has been my dilemma. I do not like travelling without a full-sized spare on a rim for obvious reasons. As I am sure you could imagine, the factory-issued spare tire that comes with a van is literally the size of a large bagel and useless on long trips like mine.

But before I tell you the solution to my problem, allow me to tell you the tale of how this happened in the first place.

I was working at school yesterday completing my didactic order for next year (I got placed in Grade 2 again, I am quite pleased!). Working hard on a lovely afternoon didn't bother me as I had the windows open, the shades pulled up and I was doing what I love best, spending money. The clock struck 4:30 and I left work for the grocery store to pick up a few items to tide me over until my IGA order arrives this Tuesday. I bought my goods and as I was leaving, I was tricked into giving a ride home to someone I am fairly certain is a gypsy ready to curse me. I drove this person home, and as I was leaving their home, DING my low tire pressure alarm went off. Gypsy curse. Now, this is fairly typical of my van, especially in winter when the air contracts inside the tire and I lose a little pressure. I am not usually concerned. However it was like, 20 degrees yesterday so I did give it a second thought, but kept driving. I was heading to Daren and Stacy's house to borrow some large clamps I needed to hang a large wet rug up outside on my railing (another story for another day). As I pulled up beside Stacy's home, I went around the car and saw that the front passenger tire was losing air at an ALARMING rate and a very loud and obnoxious hissing sound could be heard. Daren immediately got out his tire-fixing kit (similar to doctor's bag) and began poking and prying, trying to find the hole (didn't take long, it was about the size of a penny) and the cause of the tear. He thinks it was a rock which is entirely possible seeing as though Wemindji's landscape is littered with rocks big and small. He plugged up the hole, filled up my tire and sent me on my way. This man has helped me on more occasions than I am comfortable admitting to and honestly I should have him on retainer.
So as of now my tire is still plugged and full of air but I am wary of tomorrow. I have started the ball rolling to make arrangements for a transport company to pick up and deliver my tires from Amos to me this week hopefully and then I shall be on my way. In the meanwhile, please say a prayer for me to whichever god you believe in, light a candle, clutch some beads - because I could use all the good karma I can get right now!!

Slowly but surely, it shall be summer in Wemindji.

Ordering!

Hello!! Well, Goosebreak is sadly over and it felt like the fastest passing holiday I have ever had. Of course when you factor in a total of 4 days of travel, 2 weeks off isn't really as long as you imagine, but I still managed to squeeze in lots of social and family time down south in Oakville.

Monika, Raquel, Capable Sub Jill, Bobo and I took off Friday afternoon two weeks ago after school and began our journey home. We made it to Amos at about 1:30am and hit the sack! We left again the next morning around 8 or so and hit the road for the GTA! Both travel days had good weather and clear skies and the drives were fun and peaceful. I am a very cautious driver now but apparently not cautious enough because I scored myself my first ever speeding ticket just outside Rouyn and boy was it a doozy. I learned my lesson however and really watched my speed for the rest of the trip and on the way back up to Wemindji too.

Home was glorious. I saw lots of friends and had many good laughs!! I spent as much time as I could with family and earned a place in Robin's heart as he smiled and laughed at me non-stop!! I figured out what made him smile and did that constantly to get my fix!! It went by fast but every moment I could spend with friends and family I cherished. I am really looking forward to returning in just 5 short weeks!

This Goosebreak I also did a lot of planning and booking for my UK/France trip with my mom!! We are taking 2 weeks and hitting up London (the fatherland), Paris and Wales (the motherland). It is going to be a very packed trip but we really want to see and do as much as we can!! We have some really amazing excursions planned and I am really looking forward to seeing where my family comes from and also see some amazing historical sites. I wish we could go for longer but my wallet does not allow me to extend this trip any further. I'll just have to make a list of things I want to see and make another trip someday!

The weather in Oakville was beautiful pretty much the entire time I was home. Gorgeous sunny days with temperatures ranging from 10-20 degrees and it really renewed me!! I took Bobo on lots of neighborhood walks and I couldn't believe how the town is changing so much every time I am home. Oakville's large lots provide new builders with plenty of room to build monster homes where bungalows once stood. Every time I come home there is a new house on this corner or that street and I can feel myself becoming less and less familiar with the Oakville I still call home. With all these monster mansions springing up, it further solidifies the fact that I will never be able to afford to live in Oakville when I decide to come back south to look for work. I will likely stay rural, which is no bother to me. I love the peace and quiet and privacy of countryside or woods, so the urban life doesn't appeal to me anyways (phewf).

The weather upon arrival to Wemindji was not as beautiful however. While away, it looked as if most of the snow had melted!! But, once I got home, the grey skies opened and dumped lots of snow and freezing rain back down, so that has been my reality for the past weekend. I was lucky to have a relatively good drive back up north (which I am grateful for because I got my winter tires switched off the day before I left) but others who left a day later were not so lucky! Currently, about 7 teachers and their families and pets remain stranded in Amos or Matagami because the James Bay Highway was officially closed due to dangerous driving conditions. When it started to snow up here, apparently it REALLY started to snow down at Matagami, and since the plows had long been tucked away (because in any normal world, you don't need a snow plow in May - still a foolish decision in my opinion), the road could not be plowed and it was very unsafe to travel. So my friends stayed an extra night, and now another, until it melts a little and is deemed safe to return home! Most will be travelling home tomorrow morning and will make it in for Wednesday. I wish them a safe journey and am VERY GLAD it is not me stuck down there because you know my luck!!!!!!

Anyways, during Goosebreak I had a lovely couple who were friends of a past employee come stay in my home for their own holiday!! They were interested in learning more about native culture and found themselves in plenty of amazing experiences while here. They took unbelievable care of my home and even CLEANED MY OVEN!! My oven prior to their visit was shameful. I have recently had two oven fires (for a total of 3 since I moved in) which I didn't clean very well (or at all) and these poor folks had to experience my oven and its penchant for fires on their first night. So I felt really bad about that (even worse about the fact that I forgot to leave them the code to deactivate the BLARING fire alarm) and that I left them with such a dirty oven, but I came back to literally a sparkling appliance. I am forever grateful. They also left me some very thoughtful gifts and I was tickled. By hearing and seeing all the fun things this couple did, I realize that I need to get out more and explore the Cree Nation and see all the beauty and traditions that exist. I am going to make it my goal to see all the communities before I leave here and I am very excited to start planning.

Anyways I have to watch the season finale of Girls and the latest episode of Game of Thrones and relax after my first day back at school after so much time off. I am pooped to say the least. Ta ta for now!