About Laura-Jane
Posted on 16. Mar, 2008 by Laura-Jane - Whimfield in Personal
Laura-Jane is the writer of this blog. She lives with Cameron at Whimfield Farm in Prince Edward Island. Here are some tid-bits about her.
I was born in 1982 in a log-house on a small acreage in Parksville, British Columbia, Canada. Although I only lived in our family house until I was five years old, I have many fond memories of our property. And as I grew up I remember pledging that if I won the lottery I would buy our family house back.
I’ve always had a desire to live the rural lifestyle, and I am excited to be on the brink of making this dream happen, albeit not in the house I lived in as a child.
I had a happy childhood, and some good (and some rebellious) years as a teenager. When I was sixteen I met a certain captivating soul named Cameron, and we’ve been together ever since. We both attended University (first Malaspina College in Nanaimo, BC, and then the University of Victoria), and I majored in Criminology and Political Science.
Throughout University, I was a very active ‘blogger, and I absolutely loved writing and sharing my life with the few who were inclined to read my stories. I wrote for five years, and I am so glad that I did. For me, the most incredible benefit of ‘blogging was to be able to track changes in myself; my grammar, thoughts, ideas, and goals transformed so much throughout those five years that it’s striking to look backwards–but that’s the beauty of the passing of time!
After graduating from University, I worked for the Langford City Hall in the Engineering and then the Planning Department, where I met a lot of fabulous people and I really did enjoy my job.
Cameron was working full-time as well, and we settled into life. We were avid hikers, geocachers, and letter-boxers, and we enjoyed our weekends immensely. My ‘blog was virtually abandoned by this time, and I missed writing whole-heartedly, but did not have the time nor the will to get back into it.
Cameron and I would often discuss the difference between our “work lives” and our “home lives”. We both enjoyed our jobs, but we felt very compartmentalized and felt that work left little time for much else. For a couple of years we mulled over the idea of making a major change, but it was hard to imagine really making it happen. The idea grew bigger and bigger the more we spoke about it, and eventually one day we suddenly vowed (yes, pinky swore) that we would change the way we lived our lives. From then on, everything was easy; it was coming to the decision that had been the difficult part.
And so we set the ball rolling… We sold our condo, sold our furniture, quit our jobs, left everything we knew behind (including every member of our beloved families), and drove across the country to our new home: Prince Edward Island.
For me, leaving everything behind was, in some respects, easy. I am a very quiet home-body and I had very few friends. I have a passion for people as a whole and to me there is nothing more interesting than meeting someone new, but sustaining friendships has been hard for me as I have a tendency to be flaky and to disappoint.
I had always known that I’d have to leave my job sooner or later, so I was mentally prepared to leave those beautiful people behind (although that’s not to say that it wasn’t hard!).
I seem to have a problem with commitment so I didn’t belong to any groups, although I dabbled in playing the cello with a local orchestra on and off. We didn’t have any pets, and I’d given up on house-plants years before.
My family is incredibly loving and I knew that they would support me no matter what. I miss them all, but I know that we will always be there for one another, and I firmly felt that a major life change was needed for me to really be there for my family; working long hours and feeling stressed left me pretty incompetent when it came to staying in close connection with my family.
Now, let me call your attention to the fun stuff:
I play the cello! I love word games! I love baking sweet goodies! Heaven to me is a bag of All Dressed chips. I speak French. The less I pay for something, the more proud I am of it. When I read books I never read the dust-jackets. I love Broadway musicals. I’m terrible with everyday friend stuff, but if you need me in a pinch, I won’t let you down. I have played on a curling team (and, if Cameron has anything to do with it, I will again). I love elderly people, especially my Grandma Connie. I can’t sew/knit/crochet but I make a mean rag rug. Hot chocolate is my comfort food. I don’t drink alcohol. I’m a vegetarian. If I am ever inclined to get another full-time job, I’d like to work in social services. When I consider going back to University, I consider taking sociology or social work. I love swimming. I love music from the 1920s and 1930s. I’m a bad liar. I don’t know my times tables. Cameron is my best friend. We don’t have a TV, but I have watched every Seinfeld episode ever made. I love riding public transit, and if you tell me your life story I’ll listen.
Vicki
Jul 1st, 2008
Laura-Jane you must write a book. “How to leave the rat race”
christy
Sep 21st, 2008
i enjoyed reading your bio. YOU ARE A GEOCACHER TOO?!!!!!! i bet they have good ones on PEI. let me know your geocache name sometime and i’ll look you up on there :)
PS love the tractor pic
christy
Sep 21st, 2008
well i looked you up on geocaching.com and loved looking through your pictures on there. we are big time hooked and wish we wouldve started geocaching way back when we bought our first GPS (then we couldve cached montana and alaska!!). but we cached out in oregon and washington this year so that was amazing. i just love how it takes you to places you never EVER would have found without the hobby!! when you get settled into your new area it will be a great hobby to start back up again.
our name on there is “basebell6″ and i am a high school math teacher / cross country coach!!
Rain
Mar 30th, 2009
Hi Laura-Jane,
I’m so inspired by your story! I am very much like you, quiet, homebody, kind of solitary and enjoy the idea of homesteading.
Lived in Quebec my whole life, but I’ve always felt homesick for P.E.I., funny huh? My dream will finally come true! I love the photo of you on the tractor! Remember those aptitude tests they made you do in high school? My chosen career was farmer, at the time I poo-poo’d that, but now I know it was right on the money.
Rain
Mayten
Oct 25th, 2009
Hi Laura-Jane & Cameron,
My name is Mayten and several weeks ago you visited my blog and left a generous comment….Only now do I find time to respond to you and thank you for taking of your time to learn about my project and work in Chincha, Peru. Like you, I left my position as director of admissions for a college in the states and moved from NJ, back to south america to do what was vital to me….seek integral health for all….
So here I am 2 plus years into my dream, working my behind off with communities that were devastated by an earthquake, enduring a lot of difficulties, and being able to go to sleep at night, exhausted but feeling like daily through my work, I am fullfilling my responsibilities as a human being…..
I hope you continue visiting my blog and hopefully decide to volunteer with my project some time in the future …I desperately need to create an official website and perhaps this is something you might be able to help me with.. …i am always in need of creative and socially involved people who can understand the importance of bringing health and well being to all…i offer room and board, food and internet free of cost in exchange for hard, committed and creative work….consider it please…i already have a logo and the text but need the creative/trained professionals to put all that together…..just a thought…
Presently, I am launching an ati-violence campaign working with 7 schools and two shelters for sexually abused girls and need lots of help……please share my blog with colleagues and friends who might be interested in helping a small yet determined project like La Casa De Mayten….check videos about our work on youtube when you get a chance and share them if you can as well…I need the world to help improve the world …
Español:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igzb6IkoiJs
English
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVYEldGmFlw
Thanks again for visiting my blog and leaving such nice comment….hugs to you both hoping life where you are is bringing you tons of health and interesting and creative opportunities…..stay in touch.
Mayten …Director…La Casa De Mayten…Chincha, Peru
http://www.maytenandtheimpossibleproject.blogspot.com
http://www.volunteersouthamerica.net/Mayten/ma_index.htm
Natalie Williams Calhoun
Jan 3rd, 2010
Hi Laura-Jane… just wanted to drop in and leave a brief comment – looking forward to sitting down and reading more of your blog when time permits (I’m the mom of a busy 16 month old so free time is few and far between) but I read about you guys in the Guardian once my husband and I arrived in PEI in August 2009… and it’s interesting to read about your adventures, since we’re kind of doing a little bit of the same stuff ourselves – bought a 100+year old farmhouse on 16 acres and definitely need to do some renos (now that winter has arrived and the drafts have set in) but we’re loving live in PEI so far… and I’m a cellist too! That’s actually how I made my living previous to coming to PEI, and I’m hoping to build things up again – playing with the PEI Symphony and teaching in Charlottetown (we’re in Millcove)… And I’m originally from Vancouver Island too – grew up in Courtenay, but from teenage years in Vancouver.
Anyways, I will gradually read through your posts and check on how your renos worked and what went well and what didn’t… and I’ll be sure to ask for advice!
Thanks,
Natalie
Marcelo Antolos
Dec 25th, 2010
Hi I just dropped by and wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas. Let all your wishes come true for you and your family and lets hope the next year be prosperous for all us.
Leslie Mackenzie
Dec 1st, 2011
I happen across your blog by chance, looking for some advice on driving across Canada and sleeping in the car. I was quite incredibly touched reading it. The very best to you and Cameron for your future.