26 January 2006
Menace to Society
Have you ever thought about the duality of some relationships? For example: you can get along well with someone on a social level, but when it comes to any kind of collaboration, you both tend to be mutually bent on ripping the other person's throat out using your respective bare hands.
It's a Multiple Personality Friendship (or Acquaintanceship), folks, and while it's a roller coaster, at least you're always secure in knowing that while your Collaborative Relationship is in ashes at your feet, you can fire up the old Social Relationship and grab some tapas or something...
***
In other news, I'm concerned about the number of How To books I've been collecting. I just bought Stitch 'n' Bitch today and it covers basically the same stuff Knitting for Dummies did. And all that Debbie Bliss stuff too. My stack of writing how-to's is hefty and what is this all amounting to?
Good: A Rough Draft (admittedly has been collecting dust since 30 Nov)
Bad: Two half finished scarves and a hot pink piglet torso (knitted of course) lying around the house aaand collecting more dust.
***
Finally: I set aside this time to work on my First English Assignment Ever but ended up getting frusterated because I'm still new to poetry and still take it literally. Once someone gets me started on brainstorming, I'm golden but until then: writer's block.
***
PS: A shout-out to Ken, our brand new, orange-crush-orange vaccuum cleaner! Yesterday Joe and I got a Thank You Note from Lynda at Sears that said, "Happy Vaccuuming".
Happy Vaccuuming, Indeed, to one and all!
It's a Multiple Personality Friendship (or Acquaintanceship), folks, and while it's a roller coaster, at least you're always secure in knowing that while your Collaborative Relationship is in ashes at your feet, you can fire up the old Social Relationship and grab some tapas or something...
***
In other news, I'm concerned about the number of How To books I've been collecting. I just bought Stitch 'n' Bitch today and it covers basically the same stuff Knitting for Dummies did. And all that Debbie Bliss stuff too. My stack of writing how-to's is hefty and what is this all amounting to?
Good: A Rough Draft (admittedly has been collecting dust since 30 Nov)
Bad: Two half finished scarves and a hot pink piglet torso (knitted of course) lying around the house aaand collecting more dust.
***
Finally: I set aside this time to work on my First English Assignment Ever but ended up getting frusterated because I'm still new to poetry and still take it literally. Once someone gets me started on brainstorming, I'm golden but until then: writer's block.
***
PS: A shout-out to Ken, our brand new, orange-crush-orange vaccuum cleaner! Yesterday Joe and I got a Thank You Note from Lynda at Sears that said, "Happy Vaccuuming".
Happy Vaccuuming, Indeed, to one and all!
16 January 2006
The Car Chronicles (or: A Weekend Runs Through It)
On Thursday night, as Joe was driving home from band practice, he was pulled over and issued a warning because the driver’s side headlight burnt out. We were given 72 hours to replace the bulb and go to the police station so they’d cancel the ticket. During this ordeal, Joe couldn’t find the ownership of the car, something he mentioned to me when he came back home.
We got the car from my parents, so on Friday, I emailed dad to see if he had the ownership papers. He didn’t and suggested that I come home on Saturday morning to go to the local DMV and get everything sorted out.
My dad and I, we’re very alike, and by 5:00pm on Friday, we were both really concerned (or in my case: freaked out) about this missing ownership business. What if I got penalized for driving without ownership? What if I had to get the car safety-d again? How much would that cost?
Throughout many panicky tirades of that evening, I had a number of unkind words for the gov’t who never cease to complicate matters with multiple forms to fill out and ever-changing titles (ownership? registration? Come on!)
Joe kept his cool and we dug around the car on Friday night. The ownership was in the car, only it was in the back seat under a pile of directions to Picton.
By the time we finally found the ownership, I was emotionally exhausted. It had been a brutal week at work (hence the entirely overblown emotional reaction to a manageable situation) and I wasn’t up to going to the band’s show. Joe went ahead and I met SJG for dessert as planned.
When I returned from a great chat with SJG, I pictured the exact shade of brown that I wanted to dye my hair. The colour of milk chocolate…gorgeous! And it absolutely couldn’t wait. Knowing that I was likely to be pulled over again, I drove to the nearest drugstore, only to find it closed. Damnation!
When I get an idea in my head, I’m single-mindedly stubborn, so I drove 15 minutes to the drugstore near Oma’s and was pulled over in the parking lot. Bloody 'ell! Good thing the ownership was in the car. After being advised to replace our extremely faded license plates, I was able to get to my fluorescent-lit oasis, only to find that none of the hair dye lived up to my chocolatey standards. I bought a pack of cough drops and drove home.
On Saturday morning I was too annoyed to sleep in, so I drove to Canadian Tire and got the damn bulb replaced. The rest of the day was fabu: brunch with PofL, the Chronicles of Narnia with Joe at night, and long periods of relaxation in between. We bought birthday presents for Joe’s mom and sister and were looking forward to seeing them at 1pm the next day.
The deal Joe and I made was this: I would get the bulb replaced and Joe would take the car to the police station to cancel the ticket. True to his word, Joe left early on Sunday, without breakfast, and went to the police station.
On his way back, he went to Sugar Mountain to return the mug that contains chemicals known in the state of California to cause cancer and birth defects. The store was closed (it was 10am) so he went back to the car and realized that his keys were locked in it. He called me to come and get him so I got out of bed, brushed my teeth and called a cab. Blueline said they’d be right there so I waited on the porch.
It was one of those clear, crisp, blue sky winter days. The kind where your nostrils freeze together within seconds of leaving the front door.
Cold.
After 20 minutes I called blueline again and 10 minutes later a cab showed up. By the time I got to Joe, I could have walked there. Heck, we could probably have been back home by then! Joe was standing on the sidewalk with no mittens, no hat and a tepid decaf coffee doing an excellent impression of the saddest human icicle in history.
So finally, at 11am we got back home. We showered, breakfasted, wrapped gifts and motored out of Ottawa (with Stuart MacLean to keep us company down the 417). We were only half an hour late and had a grand time at Joe’s mom’s. There was warmth, laughter, terrific food and fantastic company.
The End.
If I take away anything from this long and trying lesson, it is this: always order Strawberry Rhubarb pie over Chocolate Oblivion cake. Restaurant cake just isn’t as good as homemade.
We got the car from my parents, so on Friday, I emailed dad to see if he had the ownership papers. He didn’t and suggested that I come home on Saturday morning to go to the local DMV and get everything sorted out.
My dad and I, we’re very alike, and by 5:00pm on Friday, we were both really concerned (or in my case: freaked out) about this missing ownership business. What if I got penalized for driving without ownership? What if I had to get the car safety-d again? How much would that cost?
Throughout many panicky tirades of that evening, I had a number of unkind words for the gov’t who never cease to complicate matters with multiple forms to fill out and ever-changing titles (ownership? registration? Come on!)
Joe kept his cool and we dug around the car on Friday night. The ownership was in the car, only it was in the back seat under a pile of directions to Picton.
By the time we finally found the ownership, I was emotionally exhausted. It had been a brutal week at work (hence the entirely overblown emotional reaction to a manageable situation) and I wasn’t up to going to the band’s show. Joe went ahead and I met SJG for dessert as planned.
When I returned from a great chat with SJG, I pictured the exact shade of brown that I wanted to dye my hair. The colour of milk chocolate…gorgeous! And it absolutely couldn’t wait. Knowing that I was likely to be pulled over again, I drove to the nearest drugstore, only to find it closed. Damnation!
When I get an idea in my head, I’m single-mindedly stubborn, so I drove 15 minutes to the drugstore near Oma’s and was pulled over in the parking lot. Bloody 'ell! Good thing the ownership was in the car. After being advised to replace our extremely faded license plates, I was able to get to my fluorescent-lit oasis, only to find that none of the hair dye lived up to my chocolatey standards. I bought a pack of cough drops and drove home.
On Saturday morning I was too annoyed to sleep in, so I drove to Canadian Tire and got the damn bulb replaced. The rest of the day was fabu: brunch with PofL, the Chronicles of Narnia with Joe at night, and long periods of relaxation in between. We bought birthday presents for Joe’s mom and sister and were looking forward to seeing them at 1pm the next day.
The deal Joe and I made was this: I would get the bulb replaced and Joe would take the car to the police station to cancel the ticket. True to his word, Joe left early on Sunday, without breakfast, and went to the police station.
On his way back, he went to Sugar Mountain to return the mug that contains chemicals known in the state of California to cause cancer and birth defects. The store was closed (it was 10am) so he went back to the car and realized that his keys were locked in it. He called me to come and get him so I got out of bed, brushed my teeth and called a cab. Blueline said they’d be right there so I waited on the porch.
It was one of those clear, crisp, blue sky winter days. The kind where your nostrils freeze together within seconds of leaving the front door.
Cold.
After 20 minutes I called blueline again and 10 minutes later a cab showed up. By the time I got to Joe, I could have walked there. Heck, we could probably have been back home by then! Joe was standing on the sidewalk with no mittens, no hat and a tepid decaf coffee doing an excellent impression of the saddest human icicle in history.
So finally, at 11am we got back home. We showered, breakfasted, wrapped gifts and motored out of Ottawa (with Stuart MacLean to keep us company down the 417). We were only half an hour late and had a grand time at Joe’s mom’s. There was warmth, laughter, terrific food and fantastic company.
The End.
If I take away anything from this long and trying lesson, it is this: always order Strawberry Rhubarb pie over Chocolate Oblivion cake. Restaurant cake just isn’t as good as homemade.
09 January 2006
Giant Baby Head
This weekend, Joe and I went to the Art Gallery to check out the Christopher Pratt exhibit before it ended. His paintings are something. At first glance, I wasn't be impressed. It looks exactly like whatever it is supposed to be: a dresser from the seventies, a moose crossing the street in front of a truck, the ocean as seen from a cottage screen door.
But then I looked closer and realized..wow! This looks exactly like whatever it's supposed to be! Only frozen in time with no disturbance by anything that is not supposed to be there (ie: garbage, graffiti). Like the flip side of sterile. What would you call that? Whatever you call it, it was pretty cool. Also, if you look at the water as though you were reading, you see the waves move. Attention to detail like that is mesmerizing and awe-inspiring.
On the way out, we were deciding whether to wander around the gallery any more or head out when we saw the head. It was a very realistic replica of a baby's head, complete with downy hair and Great Staring Eyes. Though, it was more a mask than a complete head, since there was nothing at the back other than some two by fours and other things needed to hold the head up. The baby head convinced us to stick around a bit longer.
Also this weekend, I read "A Girl Like Sugar" by Emily Pohl-Weary. (http://emily.openflows.org) This book rocks. It's about a 24-year old woman who loses her boyfriend to a drug overdose. It's set in Canada, the characters are believable and sympathetic and the story is very Real...nuthin' plastic in there.
I wrote to Emily Pohl-Weary to tell her how much I enjoyed the book and she wrote me back the next day (today!) offering some encouraging and friendly words. Amazing!
Have a great day, everyone,
E.
ps. Thanks to Lindsay and Sean for a fabu time on Saturday night and Thanks to Mom, Dad, Ainslie, Oma and Artie for a chill Sunday.
But then I looked closer and realized..wow! This looks exactly like whatever it's supposed to be! Only frozen in time with no disturbance by anything that is not supposed to be there (ie: garbage, graffiti). Like the flip side of sterile. What would you call that? Whatever you call it, it was pretty cool. Also, if you look at the water as though you were reading, you see the waves move. Attention to detail like that is mesmerizing and awe-inspiring.
On the way out, we were deciding whether to wander around the gallery any more or head out when we saw the head. It was a very realistic replica of a baby's head, complete with downy hair and Great Staring Eyes. Though, it was more a mask than a complete head, since there was nothing at the back other than some two by fours and other things needed to hold the head up. The baby head convinced us to stick around a bit longer.
Also this weekend, I read "A Girl Like Sugar" by Emily Pohl-Weary. (http://emily.openflows.org) This book rocks. It's about a 24-year old woman who loses her boyfriend to a drug overdose. It's set in Canada, the characters are believable and sympathetic and the story is very Real...nuthin' plastic in there.
I wrote to Emily Pohl-Weary to tell her how much I enjoyed the book and she wrote me back the next day (today!) offering some encouraging and friendly words. Amazing!
Have a great day, everyone,
E.
ps. Thanks to Lindsay and Sean for a fabu time on Saturday night and Thanks to Mom, Dad, Ainslie, Oma and Artie for a chill Sunday.
03 January 2006
Mission Launched
Happy New Year!
Today I went to the Arts office and registered for the first course of my English degree. I got into the section I wanted so I don't have to miss work *and* it meets only once/week.
While I was debating whether or not I should follow through on this new educational venture, I realized that in the past few months I've been laying the foundation for my life. It started in October when I attended the Writer's Conference. Then Joe and I got engaged. Finally I applied for my BA in English.
It's easy to come up with a plan but follow-through takes more than a dream. I've had a lot of dreams and put them on the back burner while waiting for a better time. I really do feel like right now, I'm going somewhere.
Any step, whether forward or back, is better than stagnancy.
***
Thanks to Shawn and Heather, Gus, Shane and the rest of the Kingston gang for such a riotously fun New Year's Eve!
***
Will you be in Ottawa on Friday, January 6th? Check out the World Beats and Eats One Year Anniversary Extravaganza: http://ottawastart.com/story/3158.php
And don't forget the CapCity Cohort gig on Friday, January 13th at Avant-Garde: http://www.capcitycohort.com/
G'Night!
Today I went to the Arts office and registered for the first course of my English degree. I got into the section I wanted so I don't have to miss work *and* it meets only once/week.
While I was debating whether or not I should follow through on this new educational venture, I realized that in the past few months I've been laying the foundation for my life. It started in October when I attended the Writer's Conference. Then Joe and I got engaged. Finally I applied for my BA in English.
It's easy to come up with a plan but follow-through takes more than a dream. I've had a lot of dreams and put them on the back burner while waiting for a better time. I really do feel like right now, I'm going somewhere.
Any step, whether forward or back, is better than stagnancy.
***
Thanks to Shawn and Heather, Gus, Shane and the rest of the Kingston gang for such a riotously fun New Year's Eve!
***
Will you be in Ottawa on Friday, January 6th? Check out the World Beats and Eats One Year Anniversary Extravaganza: http://ottawastart.com/story/3158.php
And don't forget the CapCity Cohort gig on Friday, January 13th at Avant-Garde: http://www.capcitycohort.com/
G'Night!
