(no subject)

[jaala]

I'm back in Canada now and, suffice it to say, a heck of a lot of stuff has happened since the last entry. I'll write a list of them some time, I hope.

In other news, I'm once again seeing if I can fit some regular form of physical activity into my school schedule. It's all very well to plan to go for walks and make use of the university swimming pool, but I'm not good enough at planning and time management to carry out self-directed activities. So it looks like I need a class or club. In fact, for my health's sake I'll probably have to go so far as to eliminate one or two of the music/theatre activities (Choral Ensemble, church choir, QMT crew, QSOC, faculty-led jazz choir) that are usually a higher priority for me.

I've rejoined the Swing Club, which is enjoyable enough, but I actually might prefer (or want to supplement it with) something that requires more commitment:

• Outdoors Club - they organize group camping, hiking, canoeing, and biking expeditions. When I had a paddle down to Grantchester during my last week in England, I realized how much I missed canoeing. Hiking and camping too.

• Queen's Dance Club - offering a lot of different classes but the only ones I'd find interesting and do-able are Modern and Tap. With my luck, Modern will probably be scheduled during church service again.

• Queen's Athletics - offering Yoga, Tai Chi and Highland Dance classes this year. I've heard Yoga and Tai Chi are good for people with chronic pain. Highland Dance looks like fun but might be a tad too strenuous for my level of fitness.

Decisions, decisions...

It's weird, actually. When I think about the extra-curricular activities I've done in my life, they switched around almost completely during my teenage years. Prior to that time, I did wilderness camping/canoeing, ballet, track and field, swimming, figure skating and classes (usually in crafts) at the library; and my participation in musical ensembles was fairly minimal. A slightly gruesome injury put an end to figure skating fairly quickly though.

As I became a teenager, I got interested in wind bands, pit orchestras, choirs, computer, indie movies, comedy and play-going. I grew too old for library classes. I finished swimming lessons, didn't want to continue to lifeguarding training and also got fairly unpleasant reactions to chlorine. And, sadly and for various reasons, my camping/canoeing, ballet and recreational swimming dwindled to basically nil.