On Mountains and Molehills

[Writing this from the airport at Vancouver after spending a week on Whistler, Canada.]

I never thought that I would be one for mountains, tall pine trees, snow and the near freezing cold, but I suppose people change or else discover a deeper realization about themselves than they know.

Something about the air made me think about what I was really about. And I started to compile a new playlist. This one's of interest actually -

If you could only have one playlist (hypothetically - imagine a somewhat broken down iPod) to be stuck with on a desert island with potentially no hope of rescue, what would that be? (And to be fair, you can't create a playlist of all the songs on your iPod either)

1. Black Eyed Peas - Where is the Love
2. Youssou N'Dour - 7 Seconds
3. Tori Amos - 1000 Oceans
4. John Mayer - No Such Thing
5. Cranberries - Dreams
6. Cranberries - Linger
7. Cranberries - When You're Gone
8. Cranberries - Free to Decide
9. Sting - Shape of My Heart
10. Sting - When We Dance

That surprised me. Almost to the extent that I'm nearly realizing (we're on the edge of something here) that probably inside me there is a black, politically charged activist longing to sing out loud. Perhaps this is no surprise if you read my blog from times ago. I'm not entirely surprised if hidden behind the power suits and analytical frameworks, a hip-hopping, french-speaking girl whose favourite outfit are loose sweat shirts, jeans and t-shirts with greenpeace messages is still existent.

These are some of my all-time favourite songs. They get me up in the morning, they remind me of the best times of my life. But as much as they are reminiscent of times past, they're also a sharp reminder that these best times are times now past. With faces of friends that I love most, but do not meet.

Instead, I let my shopping define a different person from the person that my colleagues thought they knew. I bought 3 ski jackets, a bag that I absolutely adored with brown/mint tribal patterns on it: "It's a bit fractal..." was what Mariusz, one of my colleagues, said about it.

If there's one thing my colleagues learnt about me during this trip, it is that they had only scratched the surface of what they think they know about me in this one year of interaction. Funny enough, I had the same realization, except I know what I value now - the hiking, the trees, the crisp, cold air, the powder (snow), snowboarding, funk, dogs.

If I had my way about it, my perfect holiday trip would now involve a ski village, a golden retriever, and many walks in the snow and along the lake.

And I never thought I had it in me to be a nature girl.