TORONTO GIRL CHRONICLES

I have a “crazy friend” that I met in Paris. He is the type of person that has no cares in the world. He goes around from place to place having crazy experiences so that he has a good story to tell over beers in some dingy bar. He has visited 35 countries and lived in five, including Morocco, where he got arrested. He is such a free spirit, such a fascinating person. Perhaps I am so enthralled by him because he is the total opposite of me. I am a self-proclaimed neat-freak and I love stability. I like travelling, but I have an itinerary and read extensively on the place before I arrive there. He, it seems, just picks a place any place and goes.

Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to be so free spirited. To just pick up and go. Not a care in the world, able to withstand the most unbearable of circumstances with an always optimistic smile. I wonder if I have let myself become so uptight that I am creating this environment where I will miss out on exciting opportunities to follow the path less travelled. Or maybe I am just creating my own path at a careful speed...I just don’t want to set limits...

Regardless, if there is something that I’ve learned from “crazy friend” is that sometimes you just have to let go. Welcome the surprises in life, roll with the punches. I once heard that the best experiences are the ones that you don’t plan. It’s true. He just wrote me an e-mail about his new un-heated apartment in Brooklyn and his crazy upstairs neighbours who have swings in the living room to keep warm. After I read it and wiped off my laughter induced tears I promised myself that I would try to be a little bit more spontaneous, allow some excitement and maybe come up with a good story to tell you over champagne in an upscale lounge.