Balance is a funny thing. People talk about how important it is, although some say true balance doesn't exist and striving to find balance is the point itself.
The definition of balance, or rather choosing which items are most important to us, constantly changes. If we discover an addictive sport or hobby we immediately find a way to include this newfound passion in our lives while still attempting to maintain the sense "balance" we had beforehand. If you're like me and find new interests all the time, the number of things you're attempting to fit in to your life keeps growing. Just thinking of how you're going to try and balance everything can get overwhelming.
There are a few new things on my plate right now, like a paragliding course I'm putting on (that I'm super excited about) plus a full-scale job hunt in the works. This has made me look at balance in a new way, since before I didn't really have any. My schedule was wake-up, fly, eat, sleep. Although I wouldn't say I felt "out of balance" before, I definitely felt like I was missing out on other things in my life. I was lucky to be a paragliding bum for sure, and if the weather cooperates I hope to have a spring and summer full of paragliding (cross-country, competitions and flying tandems), but this time I'll be sure to let other experiences into my life too.
Is there such a thing as balance then? I think things even themselves out in the long run and you'll go crazy trying to find that perfect balance across everything you want to do. Focus on what's important now, don't forget that living a full life and having fun is just as important as paying your rent and congratulate yourself when you get one more thing checked off your to-do list. Personally I recommend doing that with a nice glass of red wine.
Paragliding in BC
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Goodbye 2011
It's curious to hear people talk about how fast time flies. For me, this year seemed to last forever. There was the almost two full months spent traveling and flying through Europe, then 3 months of flying tandems every day and then job hunting and setting up my new home in the fall, which extended until, well, I'm still looking for a job and constantly rearranging things in my place.
So the past year was definitely interesting and packed with adventures and change. Looking ahead to next year it seems 2012 will be filled with new beginnings and will take me wherever I let it. I'm not as interested in setting goals this year which is strange, as it's usually my favourite thing to do. I've changed a lot in my life over the last 6 months and am still working on things already put in motion, so my new years resolutions will include continuing on this path I've started upon.
2011's goals...well I entered 2 comps but neither were FAI sanctioned. I did place fairly well and through both of those did some good XC flying (which was goal #2). My personal paragliding business got pushed to the side due to all the tandems I flew for my instructor, although I did make a pretty cool website if I do say so myself!
2012...I'll be more eco-friendly, starting by recycling last year's resolutions, ha ha. I want to fly in the Canadian Nationals this year, plus hit a comp or 2 in the US. More XC flying is on the list again, but more importantly is working on my business, so between flying tandems and maybe doing some instruction it may be tricky to fit in. It's something to strive for though!
Have a fantastic start to the new year and hope to see more of you in 2012!
So the past year was definitely interesting and packed with adventures and change. Looking ahead to next year it seems 2012 will be filled with new beginnings and will take me wherever I let it. I'm not as interested in setting goals this year which is strange, as it's usually my favourite thing to do. I've changed a lot in my life over the last 6 months and am still working on things already put in motion, so my new years resolutions will include continuing on this path I've started upon.
2011's goals...well I entered 2 comps but neither were FAI sanctioned. I did place fairly well and through both of those did some good XC flying (which was goal #2). My personal paragliding business got pushed to the side due to all the tandems I flew for my instructor, although I did make a pretty cool website if I do say so myself!
2012...I'll be more eco-friendly, starting by recycling last year's resolutions, ha ha. I want to fly in the Canadian Nationals this year, plus hit a comp or 2 in the US. More XC flying is on the list again, but more importantly is working on my business, so between flying tandems and maybe doing some instruction it may be tricky to fit in. It's something to strive for though!
Have a fantastic start to the new year and hope to see more of you in 2012!
Monday, October 24, 2011
Halloween Flying
Every October there is a paragliding "fly-in" where pilots gather for a weekend of flying and socializing. There is a costume party on Saturday night, and depending on what they're wearing, some pilots even wear their costumes while paragliding. It's cold this time of year, and some of the costumes are rather...skimpy...so not too many end up in the air with their creations.
A group of us go every year and dress in a theme, this year was "Road Kill". I was a dead frog. My costume was covered in blood, guts and tire tracks so I didn't wear it flying, but the next day I put on my frog head (complete with brain squishing out if you look closely) and had a little flight.
It always seems to be more about seeing your friends again than the actual flying, which is just fine by me. Friends are what makes life so amazing, and the more excuses to hang out with them the better!
Monday, October 17, 2011
Winter Getaway
It's been an amazing summer.
120+ tandems in 3 months, making fantastic new friends and a big move have all made this a summer to remember. It's time to look ahead to the future and right now, that means deciding where and how to travel this winter. My non-flying friends (I do have a few!) are starting to talk about getting away to Vegas, and the paraglider pilots are beginning to book their flights to Valle de Bravo, Mexico which collects pilots from around the world from November through January.
As someone who loves travel, my biggest dilemma is having to choose if I should go back to somewhere I've been and know I love (Mexico, Ecuador, Brazil?) or somewhere new (Columbia, Chile, Hawaii?). Or do I face reality and put my nose to the grindstone, find a full-time job near home and work straight through til the spring? My hope was to go south and fly tandems through the winter, but generally the money you make when living that kind of life is enough to get by while traveling, but not enough keep paying rent back home.
Debt vs Sanity...which will win this year???
Mexico?
Ecuador?
Get a "real" job?
120+ tandems in 3 months, making fantastic new friends and a big move have all made this a summer to remember. It's time to look ahead to the future and right now, that means deciding where and how to travel this winter. My non-flying friends (I do have a few!) are starting to talk about getting away to Vegas, and the paraglider pilots are beginning to book their flights to Valle de Bravo, Mexico which collects pilots from around the world from November through January.
As someone who loves travel, my biggest dilemma is having to choose if I should go back to somewhere I've been and know I love (Mexico, Ecuador, Brazil?) or somewhere new (Columbia, Chile, Hawaii?). Or do I face reality and put my nose to the grindstone, find a full-time job near home and work straight through til the spring? My hope was to go south and fly tandems through the winter, but generally the money you make when living that kind of life is enough to get by while traveling, but not enough keep paying rent back home.
Debt vs Sanity...which will win this year???
Mexico?
Ecuador?
Get a "real" job?
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Fame
If you were reading this blog when I was competing at the Rat Race you may remember the post about the TV crew that was around filming us. Well here's the finished product!:
It's cool to see a video that explains a paragliding competition so accurately. Well mostly. There are not many of us who look or act like the long-haired guy they interview but they got most of the other stuff right. I'm beyond excited to have gotten my first time into goal on video...and LOVE the fact that they refer to me as a "young pilot". And they say Hollywood is cruel...ha ha.
It's cool to see a video that explains a paragliding competition so accurately. Well mostly. There are not many of us who look or act like the long-haired guy they interview but they got most of the other stuff right. I'm beyond excited to have gotten my first time into goal on video...and LOVE the fact that they refer to me as a "young pilot". And they say Hollywood is cruel...ha ha.
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Rain days
Since I only usually post about stuff that happens on sunny days, I thought I'd switch it up and show you how I spend some rainy ones.
Today started rainy, then it was sunny for 2 hours, then it rained again. So I actually took 2 tandems in the break but my wing still got wet from folding it in the damp grass. Gliders are like tents, you can't pack them up wet. So I'm drying my paraglider at home right now and decided, well, what better way to dry it out than to build a fort?
There was rain forecast a couple of days ago but the morning started off dry, so I decided to go for a hike up a small, nearby mountain. This hike had the craziest switchbacks I'd ever seen, with steep inclines, steep declines, and lots of stairs.
Stairs
And more stairs
Who needs a bike? "Single track" for people
Rain started when I got back to the trailhead
The other thing I'm doing which I'm not going to show you because it's far too messy is unpacking. I recently moved into my own place as my boyfriend and I have split up. This happened a couple of months ago and things are still good between us which is great, because he's a paraglider pilot too and this is such a small community. So with the end of the relationship as well as the approaching end of tandem season there are a lot of changes going on in my little world. Thanks to all of you for sticking with me through this journey so far...who knows where I'll end up next!
Today started rainy, then it was sunny for 2 hours, then it rained again. So I actually took 2 tandems in the break but my wing still got wet from folding it in the damp grass. Gliders are like tents, you can't pack them up wet. So I'm drying my paraglider at home right now and decided, well, what better way to dry it out than to build a fort?
There was rain forecast a couple of days ago but the morning started off dry, so I decided to go for a hike up a small, nearby mountain. This hike had the craziest switchbacks I'd ever seen, with steep inclines, steep declines, and lots of stairs.
Stairs
And more stairs
Who needs a bike? "Single track" for people
Rain started when I got back to the trailhead
The other thing I'm doing which I'm not going to show you because it's far too messy is unpacking. I recently moved into my own place as my boyfriend and I have split up. This happened a couple of months ago and things are still good between us which is great, because he's a paraglider pilot too and this is such a small community. So with the end of the relationship as well as the approaching end of tandem season there are a lot of changes going on in my little world. Thanks to all of you for sticking with me through this journey so far...who knows where I'll end up next!
Friday, September 9, 2011
Weekend Getaway
It's been like the movie "Groundhog Day" over here - wake up...go to the landing zone...fly tandems....eat dinner...go to sleep. I'm not complaining at all, getting paid to do something you love anyway is one of the best things you can hope for. Therefore, I'm living the Good Life.
But every once in a while you need a little change. So over the long weekend a group of us went on a little paragliding road trip to a beautiful spot that overlooks the water and has a launch 2000 meters over it. The plan, for those who don't know what SIV is, is to fly over the water and then try to collapse your wing in many different ways, and do tricks, and above all have fun! You wear a life vest in case one of those collapses doesn't fix properly and you have to throw your back-up parachute. We have an instructor in a boat guiding you through all sorts of scenarios and ready to rescue anyone who goes swimming.
I was really excited to go this year to help my friend perform a d-bag launch. The d-bag (deployment bag) hangs off my tandem with the passenger's paraglider all packed up inside it, then with a tug on the quick release buckles...well...why don't you watch my video instead.
Here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDpM9bzuuqw
Hope you all have a great weekend!
xx Martina
But every once in a while you need a little change. So over the long weekend a group of us went on a little paragliding road trip to a beautiful spot that overlooks the water and has a launch 2000 meters over it. The plan, for those who don't know what SIV is, is to fly over the water and then try to collapse your wing in many different ways, and do tricks, and above all have fun! You wear a life vest in case one of those collapses doesn't fix properly and you have to throw your back-up parachute. We have an instructor in a boat guiding you through all sorts of scenarios and ready to rescue anyone who goes swimming.
I was really excited to go this year to help my friend perform a d-bag launch. The d-bag (deployment bag) hangs off my tandem with the passenger's paraglider all packed up inside it, then with a tug on the quick release buckles...well...why don't you watch my video instead.
Here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDpM9bzuuqw
Hope you all have a great weekend!
xx Martina
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