(mis)Adventures with stupidity...
Well... it has been an interesting looooooong weekend. (Pics to follow).
Picked up my sister at Killarney Park on Friday. The trip was pretty uneventful and was almost perfect. (Yes... the paranoid pessimist in me was waiting for the proverbial dagger to drop, I suppose). Didn't meet any bears (AH! Thank you for small miracles) though my sister and her friend offered to lead us to the dump to see the Dump Bears if I really wanted to see one...
...which I promptly said "NO"
Yes, I'm terrified of bears, but how they described the Dump Bears kind of made me feel sorry for them. Essentially they're a family of very docile bears who live in the garbage dump and line up enthusiastically when the garbage truck comes to dump the trash. Because of the nature and the easy access of the food they eat, they were essentially really fat, harmless and balding. Bears are majestic creatures that demand and deserve respect... the idea of seeing what we humans have done to them makes me want to cry somehow.
I did learn that curling up in a sniffling ball may trick Grizzly bears, it don't work for Black Bears (which what was mostly was living in the area) if them bears really have the intention of eating you. My sister loves to quote the bear attack training video from the 80's that the Park staff was required to watch...
There are two kinds of bear attacks behaviours. Defensive and Predatory. If a bear is eating you, it is no longer acting defensively."
I learned that when a bear attacks you with the intention of eating then you have three options for survival:
1. Fight for your life, literally to the very death.
2. Run faster than your companion, if applicable.
3. If you have pepper packets, quickly rip the package and sprinkle it all over your person. If you have salt packets, do the same until seasoning is perfect to taste. Hey! The least you could do is give a pleasant experience for at least one of you. ^_^.
I also learned that despite my anxious whining prior to the trip, I'm actually a lot tougher than I give myself credit for! (and that my Dad is a bigger princess than I am...). I really did enjoy being in the outdoors and look forward to doing more of it. So I guess the addition to my already picky list of boyfriend applicant qualifications...
Ability to fight bears is an asset (if I really like him) or less athletic abilities in regards to running (if I don't like him as much). (^o^)~ohohohoho~~~
There was a full moon on Saturday evening which was really really nice! But prior to the moon showing itself, there were times when the entire park was covered in complete darkness. There was one time I was walking on a trail going towards the staff house where my sister and her friend was... and then I heard this rustling sound behind me.
ARGH! BEAR!!!!
...was my first thought. I flash my torch around and saw this cute fox staring at me. It was very cute! So I start walking and I hear him follow me again. I stop, he would stop as well and stand there staring at me. It was very cute for the first ten minutes... but after a while it started to get a little scary...
This fox wants to eat me!!!
...was my next thought. Of course, I would find later that foxes are scavengers. The Park foxes, in particular, love to steal bread from campsites. They're very smart creatures! I wish I had my camera with me (not that it would be any use in the dark...). I saw him and one of his sibs in the day time. But they don't stand still long enough to have their picture taken. I was also told that he probably was just messing with me. Smart and EVIL creatures!
My dad and uncle went fishing... didn't really catch anything significant. My sister caught one fish though. They only caught 3 that was worth keeping. Everything else had to be thrown back because they were too small.
One of the places that we went fishing was this secluded area called "Dave's Bay" and it had a really awesome sunset! There were also beavers swimming around! But they were so far away though... I managed to video one in my digital camera (to follow), but it was so far that it's essentially this weird blob skimming across the water.
Essentially living my entire lif in the city, being exposed to the open wilderness was definitely a very breathtaking experience! I never realized that the province I lived in was so beautiful! Definitely a wonderful change of pace from Toronto.
Of course, Saturday came, time to go home... wow! Remember the dagger I mentioned earlier? It FELL! The first Long Weekend Park incident was created by me. I lost my Dad's car keys in the comfort station! It was less than two minutes when I realized and ran back for it only to find the keys gone. The person who picked it up didn't bother returning the keys to lost and found. So I pretty much spent most of the day trying to call CAA and tow trucks (because we needed to move the car out of the campsite) and trying to figure out how to get home because my Dad had work the next day and I had a film shoot in Toronto!!! WAAAAH!
The nearest city that had those services was Sudbury, which was 2 hours away... by car. Plus there was the fact that because it was the long weekend, everything closed early so we couldn't get to a car rental place in time and the Greyhound buses stopped running. Fortunately, I got a hold of my little brother (our saviour) who actually volunteered to drive up to Killarney from Toronto to pick us up and bring my Dad's spare car keys.
It was an interesting and stressful weekend... but definitely memorable. ^_^.
Would this change my perception about going back? No... I'm already making plans for next year! I'm looking at the Civic Holiday on August and next Labour Day weekend. For sure, I normally don't have anything scheduled those months. Being free to do stuff outside of filming and stage is actually really nice! So I just might continue on with it.
Speaking of which... because of the being stranded in the wilderness fiasco, I almost missed my film shoot on Sunday (and I think the crew was ready to kill me when I sent that e-mail!) Anywayz, I finished my scene (YAY!)... and got offered a job for another movie. One of the crew helping out was making his own feature film and guess what...
It was a Non-Filipino independent movie about Filipinos! Particularly about Filipinos who like to karaoke!!! OMG!?!?!? Of course I said yes (despite not knowing the script). How many opportunities do Filipino actors in the industry have to play Filipino characters in a non-Filipino Film? It's just one scene... BUT I'M PLAYING A FILIPINO!?!?!
Haaa... despite the stress, it was a really good long weekend!
Picked up my sister at Killarney Park on Friday. The trip was pretty uneventful and was almost perfect. (Yes... the paranoid pessimist in me was waiting for the proverbial dagger to drop, I suppose). Didn't meet any bears (AH! Thank you for small miracles) though my sister and her friend offered to lead us to the dump to see the Dump Bears if I really wanted to see one...
...which I promptly said "NO"
Yes, I'm terrified of bears, but how they described the Dump Bears kind of made me feel sorry for them. Essentially they're a family of very docile bears who live in the garbage dump and line up enthusiastically when the garbage truck comes to dump the trash. Because of the nature and the easy access of the food they eat, they were essentially really fat, harmless and balding. Bears are majestic creatures that demand and deserve respect... the idea of seeing what we humans have done to them makes me want to cry somehow.
I did learn that curling up in a sniffling ball may trick Grizzly bears, it don't work for Black Bears (which what was mostly was living in the area) if them bears really have the intention of eating you. My sister loves to quote the bear attack training video from the 80's that the Park staff was required to watch...
There are two kinds of bear attacks behaviours. Defensive and Predatory. If a bear is eating you, it is no longer acting defensively."
I learned that when a bear attacks you with the intention of eating then you have three options for survival:
1. Fight for your life, literally to the very death.
2. Run faster than your companion, if applicable.
3. If you have pepper packets, quickly rip the package and sprinkle it all over your person. If you have salt packets, do the same until seasoning is perfect to taste. Hey! The least you could do is give a pleasant experience for at least one of you. ^_^.
I also learned that despite my anxious whining prior to the trip, I'm actually a lot tougher than I give myself credit for! (and that my Dad is a bigger princess than I am...). I really did enjoy being in the outdoors and look forward to doing more of it. So I guess the addition to my already picky list of boyfriend applicant qualifications...
Ability to fight bears is an asset (if I really like him) or less athletic abilities in regards to running (if I don't like him as much). (^o^)~ohohohoho~~~
There was a full moon on Saturday evening which was really really nice! But prior to the moon showing itself, there were times when the entire park was covered in complete darkness. There was one time I was walking on a trail going towards the staff house where my sister and her friend was... and then I heard this rustling sound behind me.
ARGH! BEAR!!!!
...was my first thought. I flash my torch around and saw this cute fox staring at me. It was very cute! So I start walking and I hear him follow me again. I stop, he would stop as well and stand there staring at me. It was very cute for the first ten minutes... but after a while it started to get a little scary...
This fox wants to eat me!!!
...was my next thought. Of course, I would find later that foxes are scavengers. The Park foxes, in particular, love to steal bread from campsites. They're very smart creatures! I wish I had my camera with me (not that it would be any use in the dark...). I saw him and one of his sibs in the day time. But they don't stand still long enough to have their picture taken. I was also told that he probably was just messing with me. Smart and EVIL creatures!
My dad and uncle went fishing... didn't really catch anything significant. My sister caught one fish though. They only caught 3 that was worth keeping. Everything else had to be thrown back because they were too small.
One of the places that we went fishing was this secluded area called "Dave's Bay" and it had a really awesome sunset! There were also beavers swimming around! But they were so far away though... I managed to video one in my digital camera (to follow), but it was so far that it's essentially this weird blob skimming across the water.
Essentially living my entire lif in the city, being exposed to the open wilderness was definitely a very breathtaking experience! I never realized that the province I lived in was so beautiful! Definitely a wonderful change of pace from Toronto.
Of course, Saturday came, time to go home... wow! Remember the dagger I mentioned earlier? It FELL! The first Long Weekend Park incident was created by me. I lost my Dad's car keys in the comfort station! It was less than two minutes when I realized and ran back for it only to find the keys gone. The person who picked it up didn't bother returning the keys to lost and found. So I pretty much spent most of the day trying to call CAA and tow trucks (because we needed to move the car out of the campsite) and trying to figure out how to get home because my Dad had work the next day and I had a film shoot in Toronto!!! WAAAAH!
The nearest city that had those services was Sudbury, which was 2 hours away... by car. Plus there was the fact that because it was the long weekend, everything closed early so we couldn't get to a car rental place in time and the Greyhound buses stopped running. Fortunately, I got a hold of my little brother (our saviour) who actually volunteered to drive up to Killarney from Toronto to pick us up and bring my Dad's spare car keys.
It was an interesting and stressful weekend... but definitely memorable. ^_^.
Would this change my perception about going back? No... I'm already making plans for next year! I'm looking at the Civic Holiday on August and next Labour Day weekend. For sure, I normally don't have anything scheduled those months. Being free to do stuff outside of filming and stage is actually really nice! So I just might continue on with it.
Speaking of which... because of the being stranded in the wilderness fiasco, I almost missed my film shoot on Sunday (and I think the crew was ready to kill me when I sent that e-mail!) Anywayz, I finished my scene (YAY!)... and got offered a job for another movie. One of the crew helping out was making his own feature film and guess what...
It was a Non-Filipino independent movie about Filipinos! Particularly about Filipinos who like to karaoke!!! OMG!?!?!? Of course I said yes (despite not knowing the script). How many opportunities do Filipino actors in the industry have to play Filipino characters in a non-Filipino Film? It's just one scene... BUT I'M PLAYING A FILIPINO!?!?!
Haaa... despite the stress, it was a really good long weekend!