Shout Out To The Universe

Hey there universe, I just wanted to say thanks.

First off, thanks for rewarding my decision to ‘up’ my annual donation to the United Way.  I have a little bit taken off every pay check along with a load of other people at work.  Despite economic blah blah blah blah, I decided to give a little more, handed my form in early and won the early bird draw of round trip tickets from Victoria to Vancouver on Harbour Air!

Swa?!  Awesome!  I rarely win draws, even when it’s only a 1 in 18 chance!

Secondly, thanks for helping me keep all my promises to myself this weekend.  I didn’t over eat, I barely drank, I cleaned and did laundry, bought groceries, I took 2 baths and finished a book. To do list?  Checka-check check!

Third, thank you for my hair dye.  It has been one of my most lamented losses of all time, the loss of my redredred hair.  For almost two years I had this killer red hair until they discontinued the dye.  I’ve tried pretty much everything else out there but to no avail, I can’t match that ferocious red!

Rock star shot... but look at that RED!

On Saturday I went to London Drugs to buy a scale, some toothpaste and some dye, but the scale that was in the flyer was not available at that store, and the 2 for 1 on my favorite toothpaste?  Not on.  So I said “frigg off, LD” and went to Wal-Mart.  Yup.  I caved.  But… THEY HAVE MY HAIR DYE!!!! (Ok, it is one shade darker than the one I used to use, but I don’t care, as long as it’s vicious, bright red) I have no idea how Wal-Mart has it, they were probably supposed to take it off the shelves but decided to sell off their stock anyways, but I’m gonna buy all of them.  YEss!

To Kitty, Or Not To Kitty?

I have been wrestling with this idea for over a year… do I get a cat, or don’t I? I looooove kitties.  Not in a Bubbles-food-mountain-cat sleeping-on-my-head kind of way, but I love kitties.

Technically, they’re not allowed in my apartment.  But here’s the thing, I’ve lived in this place for 10 months, already renewed my lease once, and no one has come to do an inspection, or even asked if everything is ok with the place.  Plus on my floor alone there are 3 small dogs.  So I figure I’d be ok with a secret kitty, even if it’s a bit chancy.

Other concern: friends with allergies.  A few of my closest friends have allergies so they wouldn’t be able to come play at my house any more, especially Shanny, who often comes stay with me for days at a time.

Plus, I don’t have a yard for the kitty to go outside in, just a balcony.  And the cats I grew up with loved their outdoor times.

But… every time I go to my parent’s place, I see the lovely, cranky old Oscar.

She makes me screw up my face and say “cute!” far too often.  And it would be nice to share my apartment with another living creature, instead of just books and my BFF/Worst Enemy, the TV.  A kitty to cuddle with, to play with, to wrestle with… and to do things like this with:

Now, if you’re not a pet person, or you think dogs are better, don’t bother joining the discussion.  “Cats are boring” or “A dog will love you more”  are not effective arguments in this case, it’s either cat or no cat.

So… Cat?  or No Cat?

(***Keep in mind, this would be a post-Christmas Kitty***)

Delicately, now…

Over pasta, red wine and a chipotle chili chocolate bar last night, a few friends and I had a discussion about gut reactions.  Everyone has emotional reactions when something happens, and there isn’t really much you can do about them, it’s part of being human.  If someone speaks to me with a nasty tone of voice, my first reaction is to be nasty right back.  If someone questions what I do or say, my first reaction is to be really defensive.

But it’s never about the reactions, it’s about whether you act on them or not.

My mom always told me to react delicately, to take a step back, to wait 5 minutes, 5 hours, over night or whatever.  And my mom’s advice has never been wrong, on this or anything.  But I like the idea, reacting delicately.  Rather than allowing your first emotional  gut reaction out, which could inevitably take something small and blow it up, you take a moment to think. You lay out the whole situation from start to finish either by saying it out loud or reviewing in your thoughts to help clarify it.  You examine what the consequences of your reaction will be rather than just barfing it out.

React delicately.

I’m not saying that your first reaction is wrong, maybe it’s completely justified.  But before you punch that guy in the face for what he said, think about it for a second and see if you really want to have assault charges laid on you, or if calling him a motherf#@%er is enough of a reaction.

Before you snap back at a friend for a silly ignorant-sounding comment or a snitty tone of voice, think about it for a second and see if you really want to turn something very small into a fight. Or maybe you should just let it go and remember that everyone has bad days, and says things out of jealousy or hurt feelings.

To quote one my faves, High Fidelity:

“I’ve been listening to my gut since I was 14 years old, and frankly speaking, I’ve come to the conclusion that my guts have shit for brains.”

1 Month, 6 Days, 7 Hours & Change…

That’s where the countdown to Scotland clock is at… and I’m getting pretty stoked.

First off, I have found out that Ojos De Brujo are playing while I’m over there, so that’s a distinct dancing possibility.

Also, the German Market is going to be on in Edinburgh, which I looooove!

But really, I’ve been trying to figure out why I loved living in Scotland so much.  There are just as many idiots and wonderful people as any other country.  There are just as many beautiful sights and bad traits as any other place.  Yes, ok, I love the accent, but that’s not enough to make you love a whole country, is it?

I’ve never felt more free from pressure as I did when I was there.  All debts, pressures about relationships, careers, ‘doing something with my life’ etc were all back at home.  Who doesn’t feel like they’re thriving when the pressures are off?

Plus, when I was there, I stood out a little more.  People noticed me before they knew me, if only because of my accent.  And while I hate to admit to vanity, when you’ve never really been singled out for anything superficial, it’s actually quite brilliant to be noticed from afar.

I’m probably only thinking all this because I’m trying to avoid any kind of disappointment when I return, since going back to visit isn’t going to suddenly transport me back into my fancy-free years.  Or maybe it will, and you’ll never see me again ;)

Whirlwind Weekend

For a girl who’s been trying really hard to take it easy on drinking and partying, I had an epic weekend… and I really feel it this morning, let me tell you!

Friday night was the station’s first puck party, and of course the Canucks blew it.  Really guys?  Against Calgary?  (And further, why are there so dang many Calgary fans in Victoria?  I’m starting to think Calgary fans may be more annoying than Oilers fans.  Diss intended.)

After hockey, there were some extra tickets to the Def Tones / Slip Knot show. As a minor Def Tones fan, and having always wanted to watch grown men from Des Moines head bang with masks on, I went.  It was all the hilarity I could have imagined… percussionists on rotating lifting drum kits,  beer keg bashing (empty, one can but hope) and bouncing sweaty angry men all over the place.  I think I’ve had my fill of black t-shirts for a while, but I did laugh, and laugh, and laugh.

Now, previously while at the pub, we had entered a silent auction for a pair of Canucks tickets to Saturday’s game.  And at the Slip Knot show, Tindy got the call that she had won!  So for $40 we got two tickets to the Minnesota Wild game!  It was a bit of a whirlwind, between Saturday morning’s hang over, the ferry/bus/new skytrain into Vancouver, a quick dinner and two VERY strong mojitos, suddenly we found ourselves at a Canucks Game!!!  And we won!

Ok, yes, our seats were in the no booze zone, an epic failure, especially since we didn’t notice until we had drinks in hand and the hostess was like… “um, no.”  But we slammed them back, found our seats between some very impressionable and entertaining children, and watched the Canucks win! Plus we found some empty seats in the drinking zone before the end of the game, so alls well that ends well.

We spent some time at Dix after the game with a few friends that were also at the game, and then we went for a suburbs adventure into New West to a cocktail party at my friend Joanna’s house!  Ah, the adventures that ensue when you have no plans to start with…

After a very sleepy trip back to the island Sunday morning, and a lot of time spent prone on the couch resting, last night was MSTRKRFT.  The music was amazing, especially one of the openers Long Walk Short Dock.  And the crowd would have been worth the trip just for the people watching fun.  I would say that 80 percent of the people there were Uvic students either trying e for the first time or just getting blasted on whatever else was available.  Then there was a small percentage that looked like they’d shown up for a Death From Above 1979 show.  My two personal faves in the crowd was the guy who looked like he could have been an extra in hackers, or possible a back up dancer in a Utah Saints video, and the girl who would have been a shoe-in for a place on Electric Circus back in the day.

I think it may have actually been too much for one weekend… I’m still waiting for everything to stop spinning.

She Work Hard For De Friendship

This past week has reminded me about friendship.

I’ve always had this theory that the best kinds of friends are the ones you don’t have to work hard for.  The ones that no matter how long it is between visits, and no matter what’s going on in their lives or yours, are still easy friends.  No stress.  No mess.

More and more I’m realizing that there’s more to it than that.  Yes, friendship should be fun and easy and forgiving, full of laughter and memories. You shouldn’t have to work hard for it.

But you should want to work hard for it.

It should be like no time has passed even when it’s been months between visits and phone calls.  But you should make a point of not letting it be months between visits and phone calls.

Yes, your friends should feel comfortable around you no matter what.  But you should work hard to make them feel amazing when you’re around.

Yes, you should be able to say anything to your friends, and vice versa.  But you should make a point of saying everything to them.  Don’t hold back, don’t assume they know.  If you love them, tell them all the time.  If they hurt you, tell them right away.  If you’re angry, don’t swallow it.  If your happy, get it out there for them to share. If they look good, let them know.

If you hate their shirt, maybe keep that to yourself.

I don’t see all of my friends as often as I’d like, there being a bunch of water,  or borders, between us… but from now on, I’ll be working hard to make sure everyone I love knows it.

It’s All About Perceptions

It’s all about perceptions.

This is the line that was used at work yesterday to explain why the daily walk my co-worker and I go on is no longer allowed.  We usually head over to Fairway Market to grab something for lunch, or to just stretch our legs for a bit.  We’re usually gone for about 25 minutes, and since we’re both writers, I guess you could notice that we’re gone.

And apparently this has been “perceived” as meaning we don’t have enough to do, so maybe we don’t need three writers here at the station, so when the budget gets cut blah blah blah

Or it could be perceived that coming up with creative ideas all day long is mentally exhausting, and that every couple of hours you just need a little change of scenery.  Smokers go for smokes.  We go for walks.  Went for walks.

Thus ends the bitching.

I finished two books over the weekend, and they were both about perceptions.  Finding Nouf by Zoe Ferraris is about a man in Saudi Arabia who is a desert guide, and has had no real contact with a woman ever in his life.  He has no sisters, his parents died when he was very young, and he was raised by a bachelor uncle.

All this changes when he starts investigating the disappearance of his friend’s sister Nouf.  He is exposed to women in a variety of settings: wives of poor and rich men, the sisters of the missing girl, Nouf herself in her journal, and a female medical examiner who has little regard for traditional Islamic treatment of women.  Through all of this  his perceptions of women change radically, and of course, he solves the mystery.  Finding Nouf was a great book, a really interesting look into a traditional Islamic lifestyle, and a pretty decent Whodunnit to boot.

The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway, who is from Vancouver incedentally, is also about perceptions.  In this case, it is about how one person, the cellist, can change the perceptions of an entire city.

Sarajevo was under seige for years in the early 90’s, its citizens were under fire from soldiers who camped out in the hills around the city.  They would literally be killed crossing the street by snipers.  There are 4 characters, fathers, brothers, daughters who began as ordinary people, but were changed by the war. They lose hope, lose their families, become soldiers themselves, lose themselves to fear and have a variety of reactions but when the cellist starts to play in defiance of the war, the city changes its perception of life under siege and finds hope.  The book was exciting and tragic, and beautifully written.  Even if you decide not to read the book, the 10 page intro to the story will give you shivers.

***

Tonight I’m going to the premier of Law Abiding Citizen starring the delicious Gerard Butler.  I love action movies and explosions, so even though I know it’s probably not going to be the most intellectual movie of all time, I’m pretty excited to sit and watch GB for a few hours, and hope that he speaks in his real (Scottish) accent instead of a faux American one.

Milking Cows & Laundry

First off, this:

What?!

Secondly, I’m wearing my last pair of undies today so that means it’s time for a big visit to the ol’ Sparkle Bright tonight.  I’m looking forward to my evening of avoiding eye contact with the crazy anarchists, reading my current awesome book (Finding Nouf by Zoe Ferraris), sipping some Cafe Fantastico decaf and singing along to my ipod as loud as I want in public.  (The dryers drown me out, you see.)  Who knew doing laundry could be such a treat?

The only hiccup is actually getting my laundry the two blocks down the launderette, because let me tell you… I gotta lotta dirty britches that need cleaning.  I think I might actually cough up the $2.25 to take the bus two stops.  Yes, actually, that would work perfectly!

Bring on the Sparkle Bright!

(Uh, robots doing laundry and a pregnant lady?  Ok…)

Farm Fresh Sexiness

On the weekend I went to Madrona Farms Chef Survival Challenge.  And it was like watching live food porn.  Mmmm mm mm mm mm.

Madrona is very vocal about supporting local farmers, and their property is beautiful, diverse trees, ponds, tons of bird species, not to mention all the fruit and veg that they grow.  The point of the Chef challenge was to raise money and awareness for the Friends of the Madrona Farm Society who are trying to raise $2,500,000 so The Land Conservancy can buy the farm and protect it and it’s ecosystems for good.

Ok.  Now to the food.

They had an amazing spread with breads, salad, roasted pumpkin soup with almonds,  fresh veggies, corn, roasted chicken and sausages, beans, gravy, roasted potatoes, squash, rutabaga and carrots.

Holy Crap.  Like, holy crap.  Love!

It was sunny out there was a beer garden and all kinds of live hippie music to enjoy.  There was hay everywhere and free coffee and farmers.

Then the chef challenge started.  Each chef, from local fine dining establishments were set up under tents, having each run through an “obstacle course” to collect farm vegetables to cook.  They then had about an hour to create a meal for two, which was auctioned off to raise money.

The highest price meal was $210 I think?  There were duck dishes, a huge steak, literally the biggest I’ve ever seen, halibut, lobster, etc.  There were chips/frites/fries made from every kind of vegetable, steamed vegetable parcels, scalloped potatoes, gratin, Hollandaise, mayonnaise, every kind of fresh sauce and veggie combo you can think of.  It was such an amazing turn on, we just kept wandering from table to table, lusting after the food… and the chefs too.

Yeah, I was checking for wedding rings. I would like to marry a chef, please.

It was a great day.

Wooooooaaaah, Books!

Ok, wrote this a few days ago, but was about to finish the last book and wanted to include it.  BOOOOKS!

The Gathering – Anne Enright

Ok, I’m not going to lie, the first 3/4 of this book was boring.  I actually threw is on the floor on multiple occasions.  Not a ringing endorsement, but the last 1/4 of the book made up for it.  ALmost.

It’s an inner journey, and by that I mean it is the story of what 39-year-old Veronica remembers about her family’s history.  She is one of 9, or ten, kids in the Hegarty family. As she tells the story of her childhood in pieces, each person’s character changes from good, to bad and back… each memory casts a different tint to the stories.

But you don’t figure out why everyone is so messed up until the end, see?  So it is brilliant, with great prose and interesting people, but a 3/4 boring book isn’t one I can fully recommend. At least it was a quick read.

Next.

Darkmans – Nicola Barker Um.  an 850 page book?  Been a while since I picked up one of those… but it came highly recommended so, what the heck! There are about 6 or 7 characters in this book that blunder their way haphazardly through a few chaotic days where nothing makes any sense. It seems like they are, at random times, possessed by an evil spirit, “The Darkmans”.   (Apparently the spirit of a medieval court jester who liked burning people alive, he seems to inhabit each character making them do horrible things.)

Artistically, but annoyingly, the book  omits certain scenes which makes everything else seem even more bizarre and inexplicable. And the end seems a bit unsatisfactory, explaining little of the reason behind everything.

That said, the  book is inventive, witty and well staged, and despite their crazy behavior, each character is charming and lovable.  Until they killed the cat.  Yup.

Next.

On Chesil Beach – Ian McEwan

This was another Booker shortlisted book, and it was incredible.  a newly wed couple is having their wedding night in the early 1960s, and after the ceremony, they’re each alternately eager and incredibly scared to have sex for the first time.  The story is from both points of view, rampant with flashbacks that describe their histories and relationship.

And of course, it’s a disaster.  But the two characters are so intense and easy to understand that it’s like living through it yourself (again.  seriously?  remember how awkward your first time was?  don’t lie.)  but with a little more understanding.

A definite recommendation.

Bad Monkeys – Matt Ruff

Holy Crap this book was good!  Jane Charlotte is being analysed by a psychiatrist because, while being questioned for murder, she claimed to be working for a clandestine organization that is devoted to crime prevention.  She worked in the Department for the Final Disposition of Irredeemable Persons, also known as Bad Monkeys.  Basically, once a person has been deemed truly, irrevocably evil, she and her compatriots would sweep in and get rid of them.

Sounds like a pretty rad book already, right?

But as she tells her story, and the details come out, and it becomes impossible to tell if she’s crazy or not, and later, if she’s good or bad.  It’s exciting and funny and there are vigilantes who dress as scary clowns and who kill people with “natural causes” guns.

It’s not the most literary book ever, but man is it good.