About

Who are you?
My name is Nathalie. I am a dreamer.

I grew up in New Brunswick and now live in Calgary with my husband (Billy) and our dog (Buster). I am a daughter of supportive parents (a Zamboni driving dad, to boot!). I believe in fate as much as I believe in working for what you want. I believe in grabbing onto opportunities for all they are worth.

What’s this all about?
I think Phil Keoghan summarizes it best in his book – No Opportunity Wasted.
“No Opportunity Wasted is about learning how to live while you still have the chance, about letting go of the handrails, taking off your tie (and maybe taking off a lot more, while you’re at it), and swerving off that predictable road you’ve been following for years–onto a strange and bumpy path that just might, with a bit of luck, get you lost. It is about taking the time to enjoy experiences you’ve denied yourself. It’s also about sharing experiences with other people you know and connecting with people you don’t know – beginning with yourself.”

Were all those things that you’ve experienced on your list ‘before’ you did them?
No; this is why I prefer to call my list a “life list” as opposed to a bucket list. A bucket list implies that these are things you want to do before you die. My life list is more about grabbing opportunities: I never would have put “Meet Stan Lee and give him a kiss” on my list – but when I realized that he was in Calgary and that I had the chance to “meet” him, I recognized that I wanted to be a situation of: “I had the chance to meet this legend; I didn’t.”

Why is this called “Self-Satisfied Smirk”?
The title comes from a line in ‘Oliver Twist’ by Charles Dickens.

“He looked tired and worn, but there was the same complacent repose upon his features that they always wore: and through dirt, and beard, and whisker, there still shone, un-impaired, the self-satisfied smirk of flash Toby Crackit”

I loved the image it evoked; of a person who despite what challenges they may face would use what they had to get what they wanted. Mind you, dear Toby Crackit didn’t use it for good by most standards, but that’s besides the point. I also thought it gave the sense of being proud of yourself -and why shouldn’t you be if you’re accomplishing things you want to do!