The Waiting Game

It's a good thing that a day is not the sum of its parts. Yesterday was mostly good. I think it can be summed up by a matter of equasion.

Snowboarding = Good
Snowboarding + Fresh Powder = Excellent
Snowboarding + Fresh Powder - Visibility = Less Good
Zero visibility + Flat Runs + Super deep pockets of powder = Frustration.

I spent a lot of the day swimming, and on many occasions couldn't tell if I was going downhill or not. I'm generally a pretty confident rider, but even the blues were treacherous. At one point I started off on a blue run and within seconds the hill took a steep dive where it had looked flat from the top, sending me straight into a thigh-deep mess. So I climbed back up the snow bank, and found a slightly better route down. After spending the first half of the day this way I opted for lunch and coffee. By 13h I was toast, and made my way to the bus stop to wait, knowing that the bus came at least at 17h, and probably before a few times.

I bundled.

And waited.

There is a certain fear that comes in waiting. None of the info booths in the lodge were open that day. I wasn't sure if I needed a ticket to get on the bus or if I could buy it onboard, and none of the mountain lodge employees could seem to direct me to anyone with more info. I wasn't even altogether sure that the bus back to Grenoble would come to the stop, except that I had heard another passenger ask the driver in the morning a question ending in "Ici" and the driver said "Oui." So there I waited, hoping that the bus would turn the corner at any moment, afraid to walk away in case that was when the bus came and perhaps it was the only one.

At a pretty cold 16:30, the cute french boy who was on the arrival bus came to the bus shelter and my inner dialogue finally hushed with some proof that I was in the right place, or at least with the comfort of company. Turned out he even spoke some English!

The bus did come at 17h and I boarded somehow without allerting the driver to the fact that I didn't have a ticket. It could have been Karma or luck, but behind his chair was a sign that said what seemed like the French equivalent to "Fine for not having a ticket, 45€. Fine for faking a ticket 120€....etc...." As soon as we got off for the transfer to the Grenoble bus, I ran inside and bought the ticket just in case, and to ease my worry.

Once I arrived safely back to the bus station in Grenoble the walk to Sylvain's was easy. He made pork chops and potatoes for dinner, and we watched some Southpark.


Plans

I'm packed, and just about ready to depart from Grenoble. Things are a'changin quickly. After talking with Cookie it looked like he would be in Copenhagen until the 16th, so I booked a bus ticket from Paris to Copenhagen to arrive the afternoon of the 13th. After that it was just up to me to determine what to do and where to go after the 16th. That is, until realizing this morning that I had misread the email, and Cookie was going to be gone until the afternoon of the 15th. D'oh!

A flurry of planning and logistical work ensued. Gchat with Cookie and a few phone calls later, a plan had hatched! One for which Cookie and I now have all the necessary tickets, thank heavens. The plan is like so.

• Depart Grenoble for Paris by train (in 2 hours), crash at Olin's, stash snowboard
• Board bus to Copenhagen at 7:30 tomorrow. Arrive KBH 5:20 on the 13th
• Find Cookie's.
• Cookie and I fly to Stockholm, 10:45 on the 13th.
• Board cruise. Cruise overnight from Stockholm to Helsinki
  
• Helsinki for the day
• Cruise back to Stockholm Monday, then to KBH
• Stay at Cookie's, party the 15th
• Both depart KBH on the 16th. Cookie flies home to Seattle, I go to....somewhere.
  

Le sigh. Travel is a little expensive and tiring, but I'm still very firmly in the black and haven't yet had to spend any money on lodgings. Plus THE CRUISE IS FREE. ^_^ Thanks, Cookie, for the hookup. As sick of logistics as I am now, I should probably search for a couch for the time between KBH and Paris, the 16th through the 21st, probably either in Berlin, Brussels, or Amsterdam--I'm aiming for my return flight.

I've been thinking a lot about what I want. Not just what's easy, or what's doable, but about what I really desire. And after a lot of thinking, what I actually want is to come home. Because, try as I might to be a nomad, Seattle is Home. Adventure is grand, sights are wonderful, and travel is rewarding, but without my family and friends to share it with, it's not much of a life.

I'm really glad I came. And I think it was necessary to leave under the assumption that I wouldn't be returning right away. But one of the most rewarding things about this trip has been the perspective its given me on home, and the realization that my life doesn't have to be quite so crazy to be full of valuable or exciting experiences. I've spent a lot of time with myself, and a lot of time pondering the meaning of my own contentment. And if I'm right, contentment might just be mine when I get back.

So, I think the decision is made. =) For now, Flapjack and I are going to go catch the train back to Paris.

<3 Love you all
- A