by Sylvia McNicoll | Jan 2, 2010 | Sylvia McNicoll
As you approach the Niagara Falls Freefall Indoor Activity Centre, you hear the roar of a jetplane engine. The blue and red figure floating on the tower looks vaguely like Superman, a hero from my youth. The other part of the building is a triangle made of glass triangles.
Now I don’t feel like a superhero. In fact some of my joints ache and the warning poster inside says people with injuries, sprains, fractures and SORE JOINTS shouldn’t participate.
I ignore it for my craft.
I hand over my Visa and get talked into adding the video, it’s only $15 perhaps I can extract bits for a powerpoint presentation on writing the book. Then I head into the brightly lit classroom with the television at the front. Imagine, the tv is a teacher. The video demonstrates hand symbols and body positioning. As quickly as they’re mentioned, I forget them and feel nervous that I should quit. Each student must demonstrate the correct posture lying across an ottoman. How much more stupid can I feel.
Then we sign the waiver. Those forms are the scariest part of this adventure as they keep mentioning death. How can anyone die bouncing of cushiony walls?
I could probably find a way.
Next we suit up in huge parachutey jump suits, helmets and goggles. We’re given earplugs to mold and insert. All set?
Into the wind tunnel we go and position ourselves along the bumper of the round room.
The jet engine roars louder and louder.
We have a coach in the centre and he guides us, one by one, into the air. Me last, thankfully. You can’t tell how high you’re floating or whether the coach is holding on to your jumpsuit but watching the others, he never seemed to let go.
So you kind of jump up and stretch your arms out, bending your knees and lets up. You float bellydown. The wind from the engine inflates the parachute like suit and you look like a marshmallow person. (I only saw this in the photo after) The sensation is much like the one you get blowdrying your hands in those highpower dryers in the Go Station and in the washrooms on the 401 leading to Montreal. You know the ones that kind of look like they’re blowing your skin off?
This sensation is mainly directed at your face and as I was grinning (from the sheer stupidity and embarassment) my lips were being blown back and I felt my spit leaving my mouth.
How did I feel doing it? I felt like the master of my universe, conquering all fears. Everyone should tackle something that scares them, it makes you stronger.
by Sylvia McNicoll | Dec 28, 2009 | Sylvia McNicoll
The presents weren’t the highlight of Christmas. I guess they never are. Enjoying the Spencer Smith Park lights are a tradition. Going to Hunter’s Teddy Bear Concert is another. We took William and Jadzia to the free train in Gore Park, downtown Hamilton. Previous years
it was Hunter. We liked taking him to the movie A Christmas Carol, in 3d. A new event was celebrating Jadzia’s birthday, her first, a delayed event that took place on Boxing Day instead of her actual birthday on Christmas. The best part of Christmas was family for sure.
by Sylvia McNicoll | Dec 28, 2009 | Sylvia McNicoll
Hunter appreciates the perks of the writing career. He told me how lucky we were when we attended the press release for the new Harry Potter exhibit coming to the Ontario Science Centre in April. You can see the television cameras lined up in the back for the sneak preview.
An owl delivered the message, smoke rose and the flying car appeared in the background.
Best was that we saw the Body show after which I had missed the press date for as I was teaching in Brant Hills School at the time. I fell asleep during my favourite star show in the planetarium, Hunter nudging me when I snored. He slept all through the drive home. Happily it was easy for me to stay awake. I have to agree with Hunter, being a writer is the best job in the world.
by Sylvia McNicoll | Dec 28, 2009 | Sylvia McNicoll
The holiday season began with a field trip to the Royal Botanical Garden in Burlington/Hamilton to get photos for the magazine. Jadzia and William enjoyed the outing among palm trees, koi fish and other exotic flora and fauna. Later in the month, we took a horse drawn wagon ride in the rain through Burlington and bought most of our gifts in the small, uncrowded, downtown shops that wrapped for us. Snow would have been nicer but it was still fun and free except for the shopping.
by Sylvia McNicoll | Dec 3, 2009 | Sylvia McNicoll
Lately, I’ve been feeling quite mellow and it has to do with the novel I’m working on.
Death on Youtube is about a girl who dies and has the clock turned back so that she can re experience her last 14 days, only with a difference.
Through her eyes, I see, hear, smell and feel things with a new intensity. Everything she experiences could be her last time. So she notices the pigeons nesting in the corner of the underpass for example. She watches the sunset and looks for shooting stars. (It’s late August)
In honour of my character, 14 year old Jade, I’m posting my list of things I like to do:
Chat on the phone with a friend.
Walk my dog early in the morning.
Watch Youtubes of other people’s pets doing crazy things or just being cute.
Look at the water (Lake Ontario from my deck) in the distance.
Drive along Lakeshore and see expanses of the water close up.
See boats and lighthouses.
Drink coffee and read the newspaper in the morning.
Read a book, anytime, anyplace.
Boil up something with brown sugar in it. I like to smell it and watch the bubbles break.
These are some of the more solitary experiences. I’ll add to this list as the more social things come up, like visiting with my grandchildren.
by Sylvia McNicoll | Nov 16, 2009 | Sylvia McNicoll
Somewhere in this mess, my car keys might be buried. However, this is the way the office looked after I straightened for awhile and no key turned up. And I cleaned a hall closet and a laundry room and checked all my pockets. Emptied my purse. Checked in the washer and dryer. Dreamt they were stuck in a binder, but no.
So I paid $375 to have a new set “programmed”. They don’t even come with a remote box, sigh. Then there were the new winter tires, replacing the brakes, the tail lightbulb, the windshield wiper that smeared. The total bill was $1,600. Nobody better complain books are expensive to me. Or even author visits. After all, I need keys, a tail light, brakes and a clean windshield to get to them.
I’m now afraid to clean the rest of the office in case they turn up. They would need to be re-programmed you see.
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