Sunday, August 31, 2008
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
That went well
I recently went for lunch with some friends and we were talking about how a huge age difference in a relationship doesn't always matter. A person might be 45 years old but act 10 years younger, so it's okay if they're dating someone who's 35.
One friend said that sometimes, though, it's just gross. She has an uncle who's in his late 40s who regularly picks up 18- or 19-year olds, and it causes her some discomfort to think about it.
"You think THAT'S creepy," I said. "When I was 12 and I would go stay with my dad, I'd have to go with him to the beer parlour and everyone would ask if I was his girlfriend."
My chuckle was met with a horrified silence.
I thought I was telling an amusing little story. Apparently I was wrong.
One friend said that sometimes, though, it's just gross. She has an uncle who's in his late 40s who regularly picks up 18- or 19-year olds, and it causes her some discomfort to think about it.
"You think THAT'S creepy," I said. "When I was 12 and I would go stay with my dad, I'd have to go with him to the beer parlour and everyone would ask if I was his girlfriend."
My chuckle was met with a horrified silence.
I thought I was telling an amusing little story. Apparently I was wrong.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Conversation with a cat, pt 2
Nat: I'm having people over in a couple of days, Lucy. I want you to be on your best behaviour, okay?
Lucy: People? Yay! I love people! I'm going to tell them all about how you torture me so they'll feel sorry for me and pet me and pay attention to me.
Nat: Don't bother. I've already warned them that you lie.
Lucy: I'm going to tell them about the beatings!
Nat: They won't believe it. They know I adore you.
Lucy: I'll tell them you send me to the dungeon when you leave.
Nat: Lucy, they know I live in an apartment.
Lucy: Well then I'll tell them how you lock me up while you're away.
Nat: If, by "lock you up" you mean "let you have free reign of the entire apartment except my bedroom," then sure - tell them.
Lucy: What about the water torture? You can't deny THAT actually happened!
Nat: I'll let them know it was because you decided to climb up the chimney and got yourself covered in soot. I think they'll be on my side.
Lucy: Um...what if I just purr and tilt my head a bit. Do you think they'll pet me then?
Nat: Oh definitely.
On the inside, looking out
Lucy: People? Yay! I love people! I'm going to tell them all about how you torture me so they'll feel sorry for me and pet me and pay attention to me.
Nat: Don't bother. I've already warned them that you lie.
Lucy: I'm going to tell them about the beatings!
Nat: They won't believe it. They know I adore you.
Lucy: I'll tell them you send me to the dungeon when you leave.
Nat: Lucy, they know I live in an apartment.
Lucy: Well then I'll tell them how you lock me up while you're away.
Nat: If, by "lock you up" you mean "let you have free reign of the entire apartment except my bedroom," then sure - tell them.
Lucy: What about the water torture? You can't deny THAT actually happened!
Nat: I'll let them know it was because you decided to climb up the chimney and got yourself covered in soot. I think they'll be on my side.
Lucy: Um...what if I just purr and tilt my head a bit. Do you think they'll pet me then?
Nat: Oh definitely.
Monday, August 18, 2008
New soul
Last weekend the best event all year in this city occurred - our folk festival. There are people who live here who have never attended the festival, even though they're music-lovers who would enjoy many, if not all, of the acts that perform. I don't understand these people. I've been going since high school and I don't remember missing any years. I love everything about the weekend, and I look forward to it all year. The moment the snow on the ground starts melting, I count down the days. Why? Well, I'll tell you...
Reasons why I love going to the RFF:
1. Music: Over THIRTY HOURS of awesome music! Where else am I going to get to see Jill Barber, Pascale Picard, Final Fantasy, Rupa and the April Fishes, Weakerthans, Broken Social Scene, Great Lake Swimmers, Kathleen Edwards, Suzanne Vega, Jully Black, and Michael Franti all in one weekend? Where else can I see Jully Black and Final Fantasy do a workshop where they sing songs about love lost and found or Ramblin' Jack Elliott and Old Man Luedecke singing about the road not taken? Nowhere, that's where!
"Broken Prairie Scene" workshop where I discovered
a bunch of awesome local bands
"Un Monde Fou Entre Nous" workship with I fell in love with
Kathleen Edwards, Rupa from Rupa & the April Fishes,
Ndidi Onukwulu, and Pascale Picard
2. Nature: Music just sounds better when you're sitting on lush, green grass, there's a cloudless blue sky above you, and you can feel the sun sizzling your SPF-40-protected skin. And even though it rained the final day of the festival, it didn't wreck the weekend. In fact, as my friends and I were huddled under Walter, our gigantic tarp (he's big and cumbersome but when you need him, he comes through for you), we were cozy and together and having fun. And when a band I'd never heard of called Bellowhead came on and the music was SO! MUCH! FUN! that everyone was dancing and jumping and twirling in the rain, it felt absolutely right.
The Saturday evening sky
Sunday evening before the main stage show started
3. Peeps, pt 1: I live in a small prairie city. We have a conservative provincial government and a conservative federal government. There are a lot of conservative people that live here. Very nice, very generous conservative people, to be sure, but not really "my people." Once a year the vegans and dreadlocks and pot-heads and treehuggers and bicycle warriors and feminists and non-straights and socialists and old hippies congregate in the park for three days and even though I hardly know anyone there, I don't feel lonely. Where ARE you people the rest of the year?
4. Peeps, pt 2: The friends that accompany me to the festival are some of the best people on the planet. I love them all dearly and relish the fact that we get to hang out together for three whole days.
5. Peeps, pt 3: A family attends the folk festival. There's Mom and Dad and four younger, 20-somethings - two sons, one daughter, and the daughter's sig fig. By coincidence, I have sat near this family for the past four years and seeing them interact makes me very happy. They are so nice to each other. One person will go for food and offer to bring things back for everyone. People buy each other gifts. They joke and chat and have fun with each other. Whenever I see this family, I want to run up to them and greet them like long lost relatives. This year the oldest brother was working on a cross stitch, but I couldn't quite make out what it was. Good stalkerish paparazzi photos are more difficult to take than I thought!
What does it look like to you?
6. Size: It's a small folk festival. I believe the main stage host for Sunday night called it a "perfect little elf festival." Because of its size, the festival has a different feel - it's more intimate, more personal. You see the performers wandering around, checking out each other's daytime shows and chatting to fans. You end up being 20 feet from the stage during the daytime shows. Small means it can take place in Victoria Park, which is right smack downtown. It feels good to hang out in the middle of the city at midnight and not be scared. Once I stake my claim on my patch of grass at the main stage, I feel absolutely comfortable leaving my gear on the tarp and wandering around. In all the years I've attended the festival, I've NEVER had anything taken from me.
The Saturday evening main stage crowd
7. Food: Oh, the food! This year we have our choice of African, East Indian, Thai, and Afghan. Everything from organic to super-bad-for-you. I shall have my fill of smoothies, butter chicken, and mini donuts.
Mini donuts, where have you been all year?
I've written before about how I feel quite lonely and isolated, how I don't feel many connections in my life. In a lot of ways, the rest of the year slowly chips away at my "me" - at my essence. But this weekend is the one where my soul gets built up whole again.
Reasons why I love going to the RFF:
1. Music: Over THIRTY HOURS of awesome music! Where else am I going to get to see Jill Barber, Pascale Picard, Final Fantasy, Rupa and the April Fishes, Weakerthans, Broken Social Scene, Great Lake Swimmers, Kathleen Edwards, Suzanne Vega, Jully Black, and Michael Franti all in one weekend? Where else can I see Jully Black and Final Fantasy do a workshop where they sing songs about love lost and found or Ramblin' Jack Elliott and Old Man Luedecke singing about the road not taken? Nowhere, that's where!
a bunch of awesome local bands
Kathleen Edwards, Rupa from Rupa & the April Fishes,
Ndidi Onukwulu, and Pascale Picard
2. Nature: Music just sounds better when you're sitting on lush, green grass, there's a cloudless blue sky above you, and you can feel the sun sizzling your SPF-40-protected skin. And even though it rained the final day of the festival, it didn't wreck the weekend. In fact, as my friends and I were huddled under Walter, our gigantic tarp (he's big and cumbersome but when you need him, he comes through for you), we were cozy and together and having fun. And when a band I'd never heard of called Bellowhead came on and the music was SO! MUCH! FUN! that everyone was dancing and jumping and twirling in the rain, it felt absolutely right.
3. Peeps, pt 1: I live in a small prairie city. We have a conservative provincial government and a conservative federal government. There are a lot of conservative people that live here. Very nice, very generous conservative people, to be sure, but not really "my people." Once a year the vegans and dreadlocks and pot-heads and treehuggers and bicycle warriors and feminists and non-straights and socialists and old hippies congregate in the park for three days and even though I hardly know anyone there, I don't feel lonely. Where ARE you people the rest of the year?
4. Peeps, pt 2: The friends that accompany me to the festival are some of the best people on the planet. I love them all dearly and relish the fact that we get to hang out together for three whole days.
5. Peeps, pt 3: A family attends the folk festival. There's Mom and Dad and four younger, 20-somethings - two sons, one daughter, and the daughter's sig fig. By coincidence, I have sat near this family for the past four years and seeing them interact makes me very happy. They are so nice to each other. One person will go for food and offer to bring things back for everyone. People buy each other gifts. They joke and chat and have fun with each other. Whenever I see this family, I want to run up to them and greet them like long lost relatives. This year the oldest brother was working on a cross stitch, but I couldn't quite make out what it was. Good stalkerish paparazzi photos are more difficult to take than I thought!
6. Size: It's a small folk festival. I believe the main stage host for Sunday night called it a "perfect little elf festival." Because of its size, the festival has a different feel - it's more intimate, more personal. You see the performers wandering around, checking out each other's daytime shows and chatting to fans. You end up being 20 feet from the stage during the daytime shows. Small means it can take place in Victoria Park, which is right smack downtown. It feels good to hang out in the middle of the city at midnight and not be scared. Once I stake my claim on my patch of grass at the main stage, I feel absolutely comfortable leaving my gear on the tarp and wandering around. In all the years I've attended the festival, I've NEVER had anything taken from me.
7. Food: Oh, the food! This year we have our choice of African, East Indian, Thai, and Afghan. Everything from organic to super-bad-for-you. I shall have my fill of smoothies, butter chicken, and mini donuts.
I've written before about how I feel quite lonely and isolated, how I don't feel many connections in my life. In a lot of ways, the rest of the year slowly chips away at my "me" - at my essence. But this weekend is the one where my soul gets built up whole again.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
How odd
I have different hair. It's not completely crazy, but it's also not a cut I've seen often. I have eyebrow-length bangs, longer-than-chin-length pieces that frame my face, and the rest is pretty short. I call it the Reverse Mullet because it's a party in the front and business in the back.
It's the kind of hair that made my grandma say, "Did the hairdresser MEAN to do that?" And then she booked an appointment for me to get my hair set (whatever that means) and took me out to buy a nice blouse and pair of slacks. Gotta love grandmas!
Oh, did I also mention that I FREAKING LOVE MY HAIR? Cause I do.
The other day I was at a pub with a friend and he commented on our server's hair, calling it "odd." It was a bit unusual - short, pixieish, bleached blond with electric blue chunks - but I liked it and told my friend I thought it was funky.
"Of course you think that. Your hair's odd, too."
I was instantly reminded of a dream I had the night before. For some reason I had to break into a fancy hotel room and steal something. I don't remember what I had to steal and I don't remember the reason behind the caper. I don't even remember who gave the order. I do remember thinking how if I got caught, I would undoubtedly be fired from my job.
So I clumsily broke into the hotel room and before I could exit the hotel, an alarm was sounded and everyone was on the look-out for me. As I crept past a security guard, I saw a description of me on his clipboard. Under hair it said "Layered and strange."
I told my friend about the dream and he laughed.
"See! Even YOU think your hair's odd!"
I think I might set him up with my grandma.
It's the kind of hair that made my grandma say, "Did the hairdresser MEAN to do that?" And then she booked an appointment for me to get my hair set (whatever that means) and took me out to buy a nice blouse and pair of slacks. Gotta love grandmas!
Oh, did I also mention that I FREAKING LOVE MY HAIR? Cause I do.
The other day I was at a pub with a friend and he commented on our server's hair, calling it "odd." It was a bit unusual - short, pixieish, bleached blond with electric blue chunks - but I liked it and told my friend I thought it was funky.
"Of course you think that. Your hair's odd, too."
I was instantly reminded of a dream I had the night before. For some reason I had to break into a fancy hotel room and steal something. I don't remember what I had to steal and I don't remember the reason behind the caper. I don't even remember who gave the order. I do remember thinking how if I got caught, I would undoubtedly be fired from my job.
So I clumsily broke into the hotel room and before I could exit the hotel, an alarm was sounded and everyone was on the look-out for me. As I crept past a security guard, I saw a description of me on his clipboard. Under hair it said "Layered and strange."
I told my friend about the dream and he laughed.
"See! Even YOU think your hair's odd!"
I think I might set him up with my grandma.
Monday, August 4, 2008
All about meme
Even though I wasn't tagged to do this meme, I stole it from Madam Diva. You should read her list because her answers are fun and thoughtful and interesting.
I am: super excited for the folk festival! Only 4 more sleeps.
I think: in my next life I'd like to be a duck.
I know: things aren't as bad as I always think they are.
I have: a clean fridge! I finally cleaned it for the first time in, oh, let's just say YEARS!
I wish: plane tickets weren't so bloody expensive.
I hate: when you try and pop a zit and it doesn't pop and you end up making it a hundred times bigger and deeper.
I miss: my sister. Why do you have to live away?
I fear: being unliked.
I hear: the wind rustling the leaves on the trees, someone using a band saw, and the ever-present hum of the hospital's heating and cooling system.
I smell: deliciously like Lush's Flying Fox body wash.
I crave: sushi!
I search: eternally for the perfect t-shirt - one that fits well, makes my boobs look good, and has the perfect picture or saying on it that lets everyone know how awesome I am.
I wonder: where I'll be in twenty years.
I regret: not taking biology in high school because I thought the teacher was a tool.
I love: easily.
I ache: to go on a big trip.
I am not: good with money.
I believe: that children are our future. Teach them well and let them lead the way. I also believe that this season of So You Think You Can Dance is rigged.
I dance: badly but with abandon.
I sing: all the freaking time!
I cry: WAY too easily about anything and everything.
I fight: my urges to live off nothing but Diet Coke and salt and vinegar Pringles dipped in hummus.
I win: the fight to eat well...most of the time.
I lose: that fight approximately once a month.
I never: burped until that one summer I stayed with my dad and step-mom for a month and everything we ate was either deep fried or chocolate because FRUIT AND VEGETABLES GIVE THEM HEARTBURN!
I always: put on a mix CD of my favourite happy music and sing when I'm doing dishes.
I confuse: everyone when I try to tell a story after drinking 4 pints of beer.
I listen: to my music loudly - too loudly, considering I live in an apartment.
I can usually be found: at lunchtime reading a book and eating my sandwich on a bench in Victoria Park.
I am scared: of taking the bus to visit my family in Winnipeg after that HORRIFYING murder.
I need: to get laid.
I am happy about: the Roughriders' season so far - 6 and 0!
I imagine: that won't last long due to the 8000 injuries on the team. I also imagine there are a few people reading this who are surprised I like CFL football since I say quite regularly that sports are evil. What can I say? I'm a hypocrite!
I am: super excited for the folk festival! Only 4 more sleeps.
I think: in my next life I'd like to be a duck.
I know: things aren't as bad as I always think they are.
I have: a clean fridge! I finally cleaned it for the first time in, oh, let's just say YEARS!
I wish: plane tickets weren't so bloody expensive.
I hate: when you try and pop a zit and it doesn't pop and you end up making it a hundred times bigger and deeper.
I miss: my sister. Why do you have to live away?
I fear: being unliked.
I hear: the wind rustling the leaves on the trees, someone using a band saw, and the ever-present hum of the hospital's heating and cooling system.
I smell: deliciously like Lush's Flying Fox body wash.
I crave: sushi!
I search: eternally for the perfect t-shirt - one that fits well, makes my boobs look good, and has the perfect picture or saying on it that lets everyone know how awesome I am.
I wonder: where I'll be in twenty years.
I regret: not taking biology in high school because I thought the teacher was a tool.
I love: easily.
I ache: to go on a big trip.
I am not: good with money.
I believe: that children are our future. Teach them well and let them lead the way. I also believe that this season of So You Think You Can Dance is rigged.
I dance: badly but with abandon.
I sing: all the freaking time!
I cry: WAY too easily about anything and everything.
I fight: my urges to live off nothing but Diet Coke and salt and vinegar Pringles dipped in hummus.
I win: the fight to eat well...most of the time.
I lose: that fight approximately once a month.
I never: burped until that one summer I stayed with my dad and step-mom for a month and everything we ate was either deep fried or chocolate because FRUIT AND VEGETABLES GIVE THEM HEARTBURN!
I always: put on a mix CD of my favourite happy music and sing when I'm doing dishes.
I confuse: everyone when I try to tell a story after drinking 4 pints of beer.
I listen: to my music loudly - too loudly, considering I live in an apartment.
I can usually be found: at lunchtime reading a book and eating my sandwich on a bench in Victoria Park.
I am scared: of taking the bus to visit my family in Winnipeg after that HORRIFYING murder.
I need: to get laid.
I am happy about: the Roughriders' season so far - 6 and 0!
I imagine: that won't last long due to the 8000 injuries on the team. I also imagine there are a few people reading this who are surprised I like CFL football since I say quite regularly that sports are evil. What can I say? I'm a hypocrite!
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