Name: Robyn Olm

Nationality: Canadian!

Age: 29

Birthday: April 5, 1975

Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Previous locations include Victoria, BC, Vancouver, and Fujieda, Japan

Job: Receptionist, assistant to general counsel, assistant to HR director, accounting assistant

My Resume

Languages: English, and a smattering of French and Japanese

Sign: Aries; Year of the Rabbit

Hobbies: rock climbing, gardening, reading, yoga, writing
 

I guess the first thing I could say about myself is that I can't sit still.  And that applies to most aspects in my life.  :)  I love to travel, and I've been to several countries in Asia, as well as spending a year teaching English in Japan.  I don't know if a restless soul is a good thing or not; I guess it's just a thing.  Part of me always wants to absorb new information, learn things, experience new things. 

When wanderlust isn't an option, usually due to finances, I find I get even more restless.  I find yoga very calming, and it helps me to focus inward, which is something I often find hard to do.  Of course, it's power yoga, so there's plenty of physical work involved.  I've also started rock climbing regularly, which also helps.  Great exercise, especially for those muscles you'd not otherwise use.  And again, it satisfies my need for motion, moving, going somewhere.  Even if it's tethered to a rope and only goes a few metres in the air.  ;)  I've also recently picked up some cross-country skis, so once there's enough snow I'll be off on trails, absorbing the crystalline world that has taken the place of all the green that was there before.

And, of course, there's always spiritual escape.  I really don't stop reading, even if it's trashy magazines like Cosmo.  I particularly love science-fiction, the edgy, harsh worlds of William Gibson or the surreal works of Neal Stephenson.  However, I'm really not choosy- each book has something new for me to absorb.  (Though I'm really not a fan of bodice-rippers or Harlequin stuff)  Something like my attitude towards people- everyone knows something interesting, and one can learn something from anyone. 

Another hobby I'm passionate about is gardening.  I can grow almost anything (except cyclamens, for some reason), and I can literally perch myself next to the garden for hours, sift the dirt through my fingers, and marvel at the life growing there.  It is one of the few things I'm exceptionally patient about.  I also have many indoor plants, including a jasmine that is going through a second round of blooms this year.  Definitely a fantastic thing to smell as you walk in the room.  I have several species of orchid as well, and I have very good luck with those.  I've ordered some plumeria seeds, yet another fragrant flower, from eBay, so hopefully in a few years they'll bloom for me as well.

For almost four years I was an English as a Second Language teacher.  I taught overseas in Japan and here in Ottawa.  I love the English language, all of its nuances and quirks, and I love teaching it to my students, even if they're not always as enthusiastic as I am.  :)  In a sense, though, teaching also gave me an outlet for my restless soul.