Hurry up to wait!

July 15, 2014
I am writing this on the 16th because I was half way over the Atlantic Ocean, far away from internet capabilities as the 15th came to a close. Looking back, I saw a predominant theme of "hurrying up to wait" throughout my day.
The day began with me going to TDCanada Trust to get GBP from CAD cash. Unlike my bank, TD has GBP on hand. I was only able to use their services because I had an old RRSP with them. I rushed there, but then had to wait in line for a good 20 min until they opened another wicket. From there it was rush to Staples to print off my itinerary in book form (over 60 pgs.). When I got there, again, I had to wait for pages that I printed out myself (to save time) were bound. JB, who was so nice to drive me to the airport, hurried to my place, arriving at 1:25 only to have to wait until about 1:45 for me to be ready. (thx again for driving me!!) When I reached checkin, an Air Canada guy opened another line for me so I was rushed through check in in a matter of 5 min tops and then I went to my gate and waited an hour until they started boarding. Again in Toronto, we arrived at the end of the gate D wing and I rushed over a good distance to reach the end of gate E only to have to wait as they were late checking us in. I was in row 43 and there were rows behind me of this 7 seats across flight. As it turned out, the plane was about a quarter empty, so I moved into the centre 3 empty seat, lay across all 3 and had myself a good series of cat naps all flight. We arrived in Edinburgh early (guess we rushed?) and had to park on the runway as our gate was occupied. By this time, there was no question the theme of "hurry up to wait" was well established, but also, there was no question it was the next day, so I'll have to leave the rest for tomorrow's entry.

I must say that I like the "hurry up" renovations in YYZ. They have the normal moving walkway and then beside it, another one that moves at least 3 times as fast.....incredibly fast - like comparing a VIARail one in Canada one of those super fast trains in the chunnel! There is also some pretty cool art work to entertain people on their way to gate E80 that you can walk through. While waiting in YYZ, I got an email from my new school stating the courses I'll be teaching in the fall. That was nice....now I can gear some pics towards augmenting specific lessons.

The number theme of yesterday and the beginning of today was "16" ...... I boarded gate 16, my plane left at 16:00, and my rental car was parked in bay#16 when I arrived to retrieve it next day. Perhaps I should have waited 16 years more to go on this vacation, though, 'cause I had not anticipated the car insurance being so expensive about 365GBP! Yikes! But that belongs to the 16th day, so I need to stop writing now.

I decided the best way to get over jet lag was  to stay up all night on the 14th, thereby making me all frazzled when I was packing on the morning of the 15th, where I had 1.5 hours to pull out that suitcase and backpack and start putting things into it. The lack of clarity of brain wasn't the best, but it was similar to many school mornings and I'm sure many of my 'mom friends' experienced after having their 2nd, 3rd, or 4th child where they couldn't just go back to sleep when the baby slept after being up with the baby all night because her other children would completely destroy the house and be in danger if she did. So, no use complaining about lack of sleep as it's just the norm for women my age, I think :)

Well, I've hurried up to write this and now will have to wait to post it because I need to add a pic of the gorgeos sunset I saw from my seat as we crossed somewhere....probably mid Atlantic.
-just another day of living in Paradise.....

The Bonnie bonnie banks of Mooney's Bay

July 14, 2014
Well, there's a joke that says "When does God laugh? When men make plans!" If that is the case, He was rip-roaring laughing today 'cause I'd planned to have finished packing yesterday and yet my suitcase is still in storage, not a lick of anything in it yet and it's after midnight! We McNabs just don't pack in advance.....there's somewhat of an unintentional tradition of procrastination, I think..... the adrenaline rush that comes from last minute packing seems to make the trip all that more exciting! My plane doesn't leave til 4pm tomorrow, though, so I guess I'll have all morning to finish if I don't get to it tonight. I'm still wired for sound, though, so I have a few good hours of work in me yet. Yes, I'm still on my work schedule: to bed around 1am and up before 6am. Eventually I'll get into the summertime schedule of sleeping in til 7 or 8.....probably just around the end of Aug ;)

Today I cleared out the last of my things from NDDHS. My work area just looked dead - like an abandoned western mining town when I looked back at it. I had brought my camera thinking I'd take a pic for posterity but just didn't have the heart.....it would be like taking a pic of a skeleton. It sure was good to clear out all those exemplars, though! I found some from as far back as when I taught an OAC class! I refused to take it all home, though, and was able to recycle over 4 boxes of stuff. How refreshing! I think everyone should move half-way through their career so they'll sort things that otherwise might just never get sorted before retirement. ;)

After all that purging, I went to the bank and then massage therapist. (Thank you MM!- I needed that!) :) It was time to run some errands after that, mailing off things, purchasing last minute things for Scotland, etc.. Finally, I met up with one of my travel buddies (TW) and we took a stroll along Mooney's Bay. The sun was setting as we left, so I grabbed this shot. It reminded me of the song "Loch Lomond" and I've been singing it  all evening.

Bye-bye, Ottawa...... What a beautiful city we live in!

If ye are prepared, ye shall not fear

July 13, 2014
Today I was asked to give a talk in church about gratitude. It was really hard to not have it be all about Scotland as I've been spending the last while preparing for my trip. My VTs suggested I write a blog and share my experiences this way as not everyone has facebook accounts (nor wants them). So, here I go....I've never  blogged before, so pardon the amateur look and probably verbose method of blogging. Hopefully I'll get better.

This trip was designed as a bit of a family history trip of sorts - a quest to see where my ancestors on both sides of my family came from. My mom's mom was born in Newton Stewart and her mom in Gatehouse of Fleet. The McNab burial grounds are in Killin. I'll spend a "wee bit of time" in each place but wanted to get an overall appreciation for this land and am thus taking a whirlwind tour, designed by me,  to many of the corners of Scotland. For sake of ease, I'll write each leg separately and hopefully this computer will retain enough of a charge to allow daily entries. Thx again for the free notebook Nate & Ben!

I wanted to start my web log/journal today as I'm beginning  my trip with a grateful heart. I'm grateful for not only the funds to go but the ability and time. I'm grateful for everyone who gave ideas of what to see and how to make a penny stretch a little farther.  I've planned out my lodgings (all except one night, which I'll do by tomorrow) and planned what I want to do/see each day to maximize my opportunities and minimize regrets. Due to meeting 3 ferries and a boat tour, some planning had to be done pretty precisely but hopefully it'll all be worth while in the end.

By way of prep, I started researching places to see about a year ago (when I initially planned to go but ended up going to Alaska instead that year). Once I had a general idea of all the places I wanted to see, I planned out a route that could be driven. It was apparent right away that due to the remote locations and vast distances, travelling by car was going to be the way to go as opposed to relying on local transport. Finally, I bought my airline ticket (about 3 months ago), then I made sure about 2 months ago that my rental car was booked, and in the last month, I've been using airb&b as well as other websites to book lodgings, averaging about $50/night.....extremely cheap for European standards! My cheapest night will be my last night ($18 + booking fee $2) and my most expensive will be on the Isle of Lewis (50GBP, including full Scottish breakfast). Most places offered are over $100 a night so it took some finding to get these more economical spots at specific spots along the path I wanted to take to minimize driving (max 3 hours a day to allow for multiple excursions).

In the next 2 days, I need to do laundry, pack, exchange currency (get GBP), move the last of my things from my office at work (I'm changing schools this summer), pay bills in advance, and if I can, do my income tax (govt owes me $$ so no rush, but I could use the $$ for this trip!) It always works out in the end, but since this trip is being "documented" for family and friends, I want it to all run smoothly so nobody worries. Timor omnis abesto! (the McNab motto, which means "Let all  fear be absent!")