2010, Part Five: Our Wedding

I've decided to cut my post on 2010 into five parts, as it's just too long for a single one.


Part One: Our Plane
Part Two: Finishing my M.A.
Part Three: Our New Jobs
Part Four: Our Trip Out West
Part Five: Our Wedding


It was quite the year!

During the first few years of our relationship, MB and I talked a lot about whether or not we'd go through the wedding process again. After thinking hard about it, writing all about it in my blog (it helped me to write out what I was thinking!), and making lists of why I thought marriage was important, I decided I still wanted to get married. I couldn't imagine myself never marrying, whereas MB grew up in a place where most people live in common-law relationships forever (Quebec). None of his friends are married -- that's the norm there. But after a lot of honest, hard discussions, it was MB who said he understood that marriage was like taking your relationship to another level. It was about commitment. It was about asking yourself -- and your partner -- the hard questions. Talking about the future together. Obviously, you don't need to get married to have all these discussions. But a wedding makes it "official". And for us, if we hadn't decided to marry our exes, we both think we might still be with them, just coasting along...

We got engaged in May 2010. I thought there was no need for a formal "proposal", and that "proposing" to me was much too old-fashioned, I even said I didn't want an engagement ring. But my husband insisted he wanted to "ask me properly". What I hated about this was knowing he wanted to get married too, but having to wait for him to make it official. Luckily, I was busy finishing my Master's degree during that time, so I didn't have too much time to think about it. A few days after I submitted my thesis, we took off on a cross-country trip, and he proposed while we were flying through the Rocky Mountains. It was such a beautiful moment... and we actually made the front page of the local paper with our "romantic story"! It almost seemed unfair that here I was, not even wanting an actual proposal, making many jealous with my "fairy tale" story.

We decided to get married that fall... five months after the official engagement. We had already discussed where we wanted to have it (his hometown) and what we wanted the ceremony to look like (the whole thing written by us, and not religious). We talked a bit about eloping, but decided in the end that it was really important to us to have our closest friends and family there. MB is particularly close to his mom's side of the family, so we knew we had to have them there. We chose to have many guests, with a buffet-type meal and no open bar, rather than a more intimate wedding with only a few guests and a sit-down meal.

The fact that we had only five months to plan for such a big event meant that I could say "no bridesmaids -- too complicated and too expensive!" "No, I'm not making any fancy invitations, I don't have time!" (We sent out postcards, and I put all the details on a no-frills website.) The room wouldn't have been decorated at all if it wasn't for my mom's offer to print out old photos of MB and I in black and white and string them around the room. I didn't have time to make anything crafty. And the ceremony site wasn't decorated at all -- we figured the sunset would be scenic enough (it was!). I let MB's stepmother pick out my flowers (I just said, "anything red!"), and my friend M assembled the bouquet for me the morning of the wedding.

In the province of Quebec, anyone can ask for permission to "stand in" for a Justice of the Peace and perform ONE wedding ceremony (well, as long as you don't have a criminal record!). Our good friend and skydiving coach JL offered to officiate for us. My little brother played the guitar and sang as we walked into the room (we really wanted to walk in together -- even if I'm super close to my dad, we wanted the symbolism of walking in together -- as in, we are embarking on this journey together).

We lucked out on our choice of venue. I knew this was going to be the most expensive part of the event, but we found a place that didn't charge us a thing for the room rental -- just a fee for catering. the manager kept telling me, "don't worry, there'll be enough food, I'll make sure of it". He was very reassuring, but somewhat nonchalant as well. I figured I would just have to trust him! And I'm so glad I followed my gut with this one - the food was great, it didn't cost us a fortune, and everyone was happy.


The Dress

I actually bought my dress from the "Used Dresses" section of oncewed.com. When MB and I were discussing the wedding (even before we were engaged), I told him that I didn't want to spend hundreds and hundreds of dollars on a dress that I was only going to wear once. In fact, I boasted that I thought I'd be able to find something under $200. After saying that, though, I started looking online for used dresses, wondering if I'd actually find anything for that price. One day, I saw a dress on Once Wed that was EXACTLY my size - the measurements the girl gave were my exact measurements. The dress was simple and elegant. And it was $50! I didn't think twice about it, and ordered it. I figured if it didn't fit, or I changed my mind about it, I could always sell it. Well, when MB proposed just a few months later, I thought -- how easy!

10-10-10


It was such a perfect day. Oh, there were some hiccups -- like the fact that our ceremony site wasn't set up when we got there that morning just to check it out (we ended up moving tables and setting out chairs ourselves!), and that we almost didn't have time to take photos before the wedding because my hair took longer than expected. There were things that didn't work out so well -- like the duet we were supposed to sing in lieu of our "first dance". (One of the microphones wouldn't work, so we awkwardly sang from the same mic... and then moved into dancing right away, forgetting all about our thank-you speech!)

But I'm calling it perfect anyway. I remember waking up that morning with a smile on my face, thinking that today was the day I was marrying MB. I remember hearing my brother start playing Amanda Marshall's "Marry Me" at the beginning of our ceremony and having a shiver of excitement wash over me. I remember walking out into the room and being shocked at how packed it was. I remember everyone cheering me on as I tried to say my vows, but got all choked up (I think someone even yelled out "You can do it, Kim!"). I remember MB's hand gliding down my backside as we kissed - oops! (Married or not, he quickly brought it back up when he realized my dad was right there!) I remember dancing until 3 in the morning and then walking over to the chip stand down the street for greasy poutine (the lineup was too long, so we didn't end up getting any). I remember waking up the next morning and calling MB my "husband" for the first time. It was so strange at first! I'm so glad I have those memories. In the end, that's all that counts.

2010, Part Four: Our Trip Out West

I've decided to cut my post on 2010 into five parts, as it's just too long for a single one.


Part One: Our Plane
Part Two: Finishing my M.A.
Part Three: Our New Jobs
Part Four: Our Trip Out West
Part Five: Our Wedding

It was quite the year!

Our first trip with our plane began only a few days after I submitted the final version on my thesis. I left all the trip planning to MB: all I knew about our plan was that we were heading to the Canadian Rocky Mountains, which I had never seen before.

First leg: Ottawa -- Oshawa -- Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario

Oshawa Airport

Georgian Bay

We left on such a gorgeous, sunny day. We stopped at a small airport north of Toronto so MB could do a short check flight with his insurance broker. Then we flew north, flying low along the edge of Georgian Bay, then through Killarney Provincial Park, and across the top of Lake Huron all the way to Sault Ste. Marie, where we stopped for the night. We discovered that not having a car when travelling is pretty annoying... especially since a lot of airports are out in the middle of nowhere, and not in town. The taxi to the closest campground cost us $30.

Windmill farm near Sault-Ste-Marie, Ontario

The next morning, I had my very first hitch-hiking experience! We decided to try hitching a ride back to the airport, being the broke plane-owners that we are (we didn't mention to the people who picked us up that we were flying out of the airport in our own plane!). Matt planned out the next leg of our flight and we were soon in Kenora, Ontario -- right on the Winnipeg border. We thought we'd be able to make it to Calgary that same day, but we ended up having to spend the afternoon in Kenora waiting for... a spare tire! Ours had a bald spot and Matt didn't think another landing on it would be safe. So we ordered another one and they changed it for us there, but it did take a while for the tire to arrive (on a cargo flight).


Matt called a few small airports in Saskatchewan, trying to decide where we could spend the night. We ended up flying to a small airport in Maple Creek -- it was right in town, and the person we spoke to said it would be ok if we set up our tent right on the grounds of the airport. It was perfect! And when we got there, the flying club member offered the pull-out couch in the "clubhouse" - so we didn't even have to set up our tent! (I really wish I had thought to take a photo of the clubhouse...)

My first glimpse of the Rockies, when we landed in Springbank, Alberta

Rundle Mountain, near Canmore, Alberta

From Maple Creek, we flew all the way to Springbank, Alberta -- just outside of Calgary. We were only a few hundred kilometres from the Rockies, and I was so excited when I finally glimpsed the mountains. From Springbank, we rented a car, because we wanted to go visit one of MB's pilot friends in Canmore, Alberta. Canmore is right at the foot of the mountains -- SUCH a gorgeous small town.

After spending two nights in Canmore (and hiking up one small peak), we drove off to Banff and then Jasper. We spent the night in Jasper -- it was FREEZING cold! And then I convinced MB to spend one more night in Banff. He seemed antsy to get back to our plane and keep going, but I thought we should take our time and see a bit more of Banff.

Was happy to be in the car when we saw this momma bear and her cubs!

Turns out he was excited about the next leg of our flight because he had a surprise planned... As we were flying through the Rocky Mountains, slack-jawed at the beauty and wonder of seeing the mountains so close up, MB looked over at me and said, "Kim, I couldn't wait for us to get to this precise spot. (We were flying over Revelstoke Park in British Columbia.) I think this is the most beautiful spot in Canada, and I wanted to tell you, right here, how much I love you. You are the woman of my life (la femme de ma vie)."

AMAZING view of Revelstoke Park -- we were SO close to the mountains!

 At this point I looked over and smiled at him, thinking how sweet he was. Then he kept going, saying his prepared speech without a hint of nervousness... and I finally realized what was happening. The tears started streaming down my face as I looked at him, then looked at our surroundings (kind of worried that he should be watching where we were going), then looked back at him.

"Look in the glove box." (I didn't even know our plane HAD a glove compartment! My ring had been right in front of me this whole time!)

"Will you marry me?"

Just before landing in Kamloops

When we landed in Kamloops I still had a GIANT grin on my face. We had Indian food that night, and spent the next day with another pilot friend of MB's, hiking. Then before we left for Vancouver Island, we went to the dropzone (skydiving centre) at the Kamloops airport, hoping to get a jump or two in that morning. We still hadn't called our friends and family to announce our engagement, so I told MB I had an idea: why not get our photo taken, with our skydiving gear on, and a sign saying "Nous faisons le grand saut!"?

While a fellow skydiver took our photo, a photographer approached us and asked what our sign said. We told him, "it means we're tying the knot!" MB, being the chatty person he is, quickly told him how he had just proposed. The photographer didn't waste a minute, and called a reporter, who asked MB to tell him the whole story over the phone. The next day, we found out we had made the front page of the Kamloops Daily News with our engagement story!

We flew to Campbell River, on Vancouver Island, next. While MB went mountain biking with a friend, I wrote an email to all our friends.

Instead of sending out the photo of us with our sign, we sent out the front page of the paper! My mom AND my dad cried as they read the article (I made them check their email while I was on the phone with them).

A quick stop in Tofino (hitch-hiking into town again--I was getting used to it by then!) and then a gorgeous flight along the coastline, and we were in Victoria. As I was looking down at the Pacific Ocean, I told MB I had NEVER seen a whale. Less than 30 seconds later--the words had barely left my mouth-- I spotted a whale spray! I gasped as I saw the whale's tail come out of the water. It was incredible.

In Victoria, we stayed at my friend Steph's, who graciously offered us her bed in her tiny condo. We walked around town, visited the Royal BC Museum, contemplated taking a whale-watching tour (but decided against it), and then went out for sushi that evening with Steph and her friends.

We flew back across the country in a single, very long day, stopping just for fuel (every three hours or so).

What a trip.

(Continued in Part Five...)

2010, Part Three: Our New Jobs

I've decided to cut my post on 2010 into five parts, as it's just too long for a single one.

Part One: Our Plane
Part Two: Finishing my M.A.
Part Three: Our New Jobs
Part Four: Our Trip Out West
Part Five: Our Wedding

It was quite the year!

One day, while trying to motivate myself to finish my M.A., to convince myself that all this work was worth it, I took a look at a government jobs site. I told myself that maybe having an M.A. would give me a career advantage. And lo and behold, I saw a position for a "translator trainer", facilitating language-related workshops for professional translators. Hmmm... I had always wanted to teach. But I looked at the experience required, and then looked at the profiles of the other trainers on the departmental website (25, 30, 35 years of experience...) and told myself I wasn't qualified. Then a little voice told me there was no harm in trying. So I applied. Wrote off a quick letter and polished up my CV in the midst of writing my thesis. Didn't have time to give it much more thought.

When I got an email inviting me to write an exam, I realized I had been screened in. I had passed the first step in the application process. This job application that I had sent off pretty much on a "coup de tête" became more real. I was nervous about the exam... but I shouldn't have been! It went extremely well, and I felt pretty confident when I left that I had passed.

I was invited to come in for an interview. When I saw the proposed date--April 29--I hesitated. I supposed that I could have asked for it to be postponed to the following week, explaining that I had to submit my thesis on April 30. But I was always taught that job interviews get ultimate priority, and I couldn't bring myself to ask for a different date. I knew that technically, I could be there that day. And so I went.

For the interview, I was asked to prepare a 20 minute presentation on a specific topic--one I knew little about ("Managing Generation Y"!). So the night before the interview, I set aside my thesis and researched, wrote out and rehearsed a 20-minute presentation. I found out later that it blew them away.

Despite my limited experience, I was offered the job. So not only was I starting a new life as a non-student for the first time, but I was embarking on a new career path!

(Continued in Part Four...)

2010, Part One: Our Plane

I've decided to cut my post on 2010 into five parts, as it's just too long for a single one.


Part One: Our Plane
Part Two: Finishing my M.A.
Part Three: Our New Jobs
Part Four: Our Trip Out West
Part Five: Our Wedding


It was quite the year!

It all started with a big purchase: a 1979 four-seater Cessna airplane with turbo engine and retractable gear (wheels). Also known as “the minivan” of private aircraft because of its (relatively) large cargo capacity.

This photo was taken the first time I saw the plane, after it had been imported into Canada.

In fact, the ball got rolling right before Christmas, when MB’s dad agreed to lend us a large amount of money for said purchase. We had been talking about buying a plane for a while—ever since MB moved to Ottawa, in fact. MB wanted a fast, sporty two-seater. I wanted room for kids, arguing that buying and selling a plane was probably not a simple process (boy was I right) and we might as well buy a “family-sized” plane right away.


When we got back from Christmas vacation, MB immediately started researching different planes. He took it very seriously, making up Excel spreadsheets to compare different models, printing out ads, and making up folders to sort out all the information he needed for the purchase. He's the one who looked into storage fees, insurance, loans, etc. I felt very much the "wife" when he showed me pictures of the planes he was considering and asked me if I liked the colours. But then again, I felt ok with leaving the shopping up to him as I didn't know much -- well, nothing at all, in fact -- about planes. Especially used ones. MB would be the one who did the flight tests, inspections (with certified maintenance engineers), and so forth anyway. We did discuss where we would park the plane once we had it, how we would pay for it, and what total costs were involved (yearly maintenance, engine overhaul, etc.).


Since I was busy with my M.A. (more on that later), I was actually quite happy to leave all the work to MB. One day, he announced "I think I've found the one"! He was happy because it had a turbo engine - I was happy because it had four seats and the price was right. The actual purchasing process was incredibly stressful, and again, I was glad to let MB handle most of it.


Finally, FINALLY, several weeks after actually purchasing the plane, flying it to Canada, getting it inspected, repaired, and then "Canada-certified", we flew it to Ottawa. It was finally here! We were actually plane owners!


We realized what an exclusive club we now belonged to when a guy at the flying club (where we keep our plane) casually told MB he'd sell him his house for really cheap - $400,000! Yeah, right. It's actually kind of embarassing to tell people we own a plane -- they all automatically think we're millionaires. And usually ask me if MB is a doctor. We may be plane owners, but we're far from rich - we just made a lifestyle choice! We don't have cable, or fancy cell phones; we only have one car (that's paid off); we live in an apartment.


We took our first major trip with our plane in May, taking off just days after I had submitted the final version of my M.A. thesis.

(Continued in Part Two...)