I’m sitting in the Zocalo Cafe in Courtenay, watching the rain outside and feeling content with my lot in life. I took my bike in to Sarah’s bike shop across the street and by the weekend I’ll be on two wheels again! And that is so excycling I can’t even tell you.

See the thing is, while in Chemainus my bike was consigned to an inaccessible corner in the basement, since there was no other place to keep it. And it was an odd place when it comes to cycling; everything in town proper was an easy walk but the roads were definitely not cycle-friendly. And Duncan was just too far to ride to (for me).

Now, my bike is conveniently stored and I live a sweet 7k ride from town, so once again my bike gets to be my main form of transport. Yess!!

The reason I’m sitting at my computer in a cafe instead of going home to write is that I’m experiencing a router issue. My connectivity at home is, shall we say, variable. So as soon as I get some cash ahead a new router is on my shopping list.

And now that I have a home to do card readings from–two homes in fact–I will indeed be getting some cash ahead very soon. I have some debts to pay off, but the lack of having to pay rent is a sweet treat indeed and makes life feel more doable all around.

These are my card reading homes in Courtenay: on Fridays from noon until five I’m at Winds of Change, which is the Moonliting of Courtenay (crystals, tarot cards, readings, hemp / organic cotton clothing, esoteric books etc). In fact, it is the only shop of its kind in the Comox Valley, so there is no reason it shouldn’t do well.

I have high hopes for my participation in the space; I plan to do classes in the back room by this fall too. Astrology classes to start with, and possibly some creative movement and a songwriting class too, if there’s time for those. The shop is huge as such places go, and the back room (where readings happen) is plenty large enough to hold classes.

The shop is under new, young, vital ownership since last summer, and the mood is good. Apparently the previous owner had developed a reputation, such that certain would-be customers avoided the place. Apparently she had a habit of watching everybody who came through the door with a level of vigilant suspicion that felt less than warm and inviting. The current shop atmosphere is clean and open; it’s a good place to do readings. I’m there one day a week because every other day is booked with other readers. So in addition to being a place for me to do my thing, I also get to network with others in my line.

My other home is right here at the Zocalo Cafe. It’s a great hangout (I keep running into ex-Hornbonians here), and also extra spacious for a coffee shop. There’s a perfect alcove where I set up my tablecloth and crystals and hang out my sign for readings (Saturdays and Sundays from 11 until 3pm). Jeremy, one of the owners (I haven’t met the other yet), has been exceedingly welcoming and helpful.

I asked at the Dancing Bean in Chemainus which is kind of the equivalent place, coffee bar and music venue, if I could do card readings from there a year or so ago. It would have been perfect, they even had a nice little alcove table set apart from the rest of the restaurant where readings could take place in relative privacy. But do you know what they said (and this highlights the difference between here and there, I think)?

“We tried that, but many of our Christian customers threatened to walk out if we didn’t get rid of the card readings.” Interesting, hm? The owner of the other shop (the Book Nook) where I asked said something similarly regretful. It seems that the Christian community in Chemainus is somewhat militant and controlling.

Which explains the table of frozen faces back at my first open mike when I introduced a song as being about ‘Adam’s first wife.’ Ha ha. Talk about a line that fell flat. Awkward moment. It was only that one table, and according to my spies in the audience, they left immediately after the song.

What can I say? I’m a plain and simple pagan, and this town feels more friendly to my kind. Perhaps it’s the Hornby influence.

Duncan, being bigger, felt more inclusive but the shops and restaurants there were all tiny. Wishes (the equivalent of Winds of Change) was crammed to the rafters. You could fit the whole store into a corner of Winds of Change. Coffee on the Moon, my Duncan coffee hangout, was always crammed and had about a quarter of the Zocalo’s seating space.

I guess what I’m saying is, it seems there’s room for me here in the Comox Valley. We’ll have to see how it all plays out, but I feel hopeful. Optimistic even. Well, it’s May. How else to be?

By the way, the last photo above shows my new home in the background. I live in the middle building. That’s my window. I’m standing on the highway, so if you happen to be driving out of Courtenay toward Campbell River, you can see my place. As always, just click on any photo if you want to see the bigger version on my flickr page. I use these self-portraits as a kind of photo blog; many of them have captions which tell the story of what was happening on that day.

Just so you know. I’ll see you all next time! Mwaahhh!! I love you!

This entry was posted on Monday, May 25th, 2009 at 4:43 pm and is filed under about me, my creative journey. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.