Owling is a 'Hoot'!

The transformation of our apartment into a poorly maintained menagerie could certainly be cause for complaint. However, we've managed to stay upbeat and positive. Following my sister's (Caleigh) blog has helped put things in perspective. She has spent her summer travelling with MedOutreach through Tanzania, Africa. The group is comprised of four doctors, two dentists, and two nurses (Caleigh is one of the nurses) all of whom are students from the University of Western Ontario. For many people living in Tanzania a few critters or a leaky faucet would be the least of their worries. It's been very inspiring to read of her humanitarian efforts. In addition to lending a helping hand to the Tanzanians, she has been able to partake in some tourist activities too. She ran (and completed) her first marathon at the base of Mt. Kilimanjaro, and later has plans to return and climb the mountain. Just recently, she sent a message via Facebook to Steph describing her upcoming plans. The highlight of the message is what she has in store once she reaches the summit. She is going to plank on Mt. Kilimanjaro's peak!

My best mates planking. Excellent form!

This is not the only instance of international planking that I feel may have been in response to an earlier blog posting 'Planking and the Pinnacles'. A few weeks ago, good friends of mine got married. Unfortunately I was unable to attend. A few days following the wedding, photos of the event were posted on Facebook. I was eager to check out what I had missed. As I flipped through the pictures, I was glad to see everyone was having a blast and wished that I could have been there to enjoy the celebration. Near the end of the album was a photo of all my housemates from university planking in a venue with stadium seating. They had tagged me as an invisible planker. It was a very nice gesture and made me feel like a small part of me was with them on that special day.

An unobstructed view of Polaris.

But of all the blog induced planking acts, my favourite would have to be my Dad planking in the Yukon wilderness. My parents had taken a ten day trip to the Yukon with my Dad's sister and husband. A few days after their return to Ontario, I received an e-mail from my Dad with the subject "Planking in the Yukon". There were a few photos attached. I anxiously opened the attachments to find evidence of both my Dad and Uncle planking. Besides their age, what made it completely outrageous was that they were planking the wrong way. They had forgotten which way to lay. Face up or face down? It wasn't until they returned home that they realized they had chosen incorrectly. In the e-mail they posed the sorry excuse that, since they were in the northern hemisphere, they should lie on their backs as opposed to the plankers of the southern hemisphere who lie on their stomachs. This would ensure that all plankers worldwide face the north star (Polaris). They definitely get points for creativity.

Planking. Owling. What's next?

Now it seems there is a new game in town. A little more complex, but very much the same. It's called 'owling'. The rules of the game are simple: pose like an owl in peculiar locations, take a photo, and share it with other people. The whole thing is a bit silly, but a good planking or owling photo is a sure bet for simple amusement. If this trend continues, it will certainly be a lot of fun following it's evolution. And it may be evolving at a torrent pace. After spending only a few moments surfing the web, I've stumbled upon deading, toweling, coning, plowling, and koalaing. The definitions are as follows:

Coning: the act of buying a ice cream cone at a drive-through and grabbing it by the ice cream itself and not the cone.

The fundamental poses.

Koalaing: the act of wrapping your legs around someone or something like a koala would hug a tree. 


Toweling: the act of draping your body over hanging ropes imitating a towel hanging to dry.


Deading: Being alive, but acting dead.


Plowling: owling on someone who is planking.


I am not making any of this up. People are doing these things. I don't think any of these poses have or will have the same following as planking does, but maybe it's too early to tell. So, for now, happy owling everyone!