Priceless

On Friday, I told you I had a secret...and now I can talk about it online. I flew out to Edmonton this weekend to surprise Gabby. She graduated from her BEd degree, and I wanted to be there to see her walk across the stage. I figured surprising her would be a lot of fun, and boy oh boy was I right. Just the greatest reaction ever. I loved it so much. And as an added bonus I got to see some other lovely people who I haven't seen in a while and who I often miss. So, although flying out here is way more expensive than it should be, today was basically priceless.

Shh! It's a Secret!

...and I can't tell you...yet.

The Lovelies

I write a lot on here about the loveliness of simple things and how much I enjoy spending time with my friends. And, really, who doesn't? I find though that it's one of those things that I keep realizing over and over again. It's not so much that I forget it, but more that I'm repeatedly struck with the truth of it. This week was a slog. It's not that it was bad really, it was just...gross. I felt off all week. I've been a bit under the weather, it's been raining, I've been feeling a little buried by my ever-growing reading list...in short, it was one of those weeks where everything kind of piles up and you wind up in a bad mood even though everything is actually fine. Despite all of that, there have been sets of hours that have shaped themselves up rather nicely. A couple of my closest friends out here just left. We took a few hours break from work to bake and check out the new crepe restaurant in town. The baking was fun, although poorly planned, and the restaurant was lovely, although they are still trying to find their stride. And the company was, of course, delightful. And we parted with plans for breakfast at the crepe place (yes, this might become somewhere we spend a lot of time and money), coffee shop work, and eating the fruits of our baking adventure. All in all, it was pretty much the perfect antidote to the weird mood I've been in.

Adventure and Passion

I see life in angles, in lines of perspective, a slight turn of the head, the blink of an eye. Subtle glimpses other folk might pass by. Cameras help me translate, interpret, and understand what I see. It's a simple act that keeps me grinning. I never set out to become anything in particular, only to live creatively and push the scope of my experience through adventure and through passion.

-- Mickey Smith, Dark Side of the Lens

If you haven't watched Dark Side of the Lens yet, do it. Now. I can't properly explain how inspiring I find this video. It's stunningly shot and exquisitely narrated. The twin ideas of adventure and passion are things I've been trying to incorporate into my life more. Or, rather, they are things I've been trying to follow more regularly. I'm starting to learn that I will never regret saying yes to an adventure, and I'm starting to try to shape a life for myself that is defined by my passions, no matter how impractical it may seem. Apologies if you feel like I've been harping on about this particular video, since I posted a couple of quotes from it on my other blog, and shared it on Facebook. When I find something this good, something that articulates things I'm trying to wrestle to the ground this clearly, I have to share it with everyone I know.

Let's go on an adventure!

Thursday and Friday were full of adventures, which made for a rather delightful end to a week full of theory readings for my thesis. On Friday three of us jumped in the car on a sunshine-y blue-skies day, rolled down the windows and went for a drive. We originally intended to find one particular spot that we've heard really good things about, but instead we ended up getting lost and just driving around. Along the way we found this building that was absolutely falling apart, so we stopped to take some photos.

These are the kind of outings I associate with summer. Good friends, good weather, and nowhere in particular to be. I'm hoping for a lot more of these kinds of afternoons this summer.

Leap and Shuffle

I've taken to walking down abandoned railroad tracks. It turns out they are good places to think these strips of solitude that run along the edge of town. There used to be trains running between here and Halifax, carrying people with stories of their own toward lovers and family and friends, or away from lovers and family and friends. I think of them and their stories. And as I walk I find myself pushing past trees that have taken root along the rails, pushing my way deeper into silence, deeper into solitude, deeper into history. And I think about the workers who laid this track. I wonder if they carried a picture of someone in their pocket - a sweetheart, a mother, a daughter, a sister - and if they took it out to look at when the work seemed like too much. I wonder if they missed home. For some unknown reason, a strange personal superstition, I suppose, I only step on the ties. I focus intently on this task, and suddenly that old childhood singsong rhyme floats into my mind. "Step on a crack and you'll break your mother's back." I smile, because my mind stores strange and useless information like this and because here there are no cracks, or perhaps there are only cracks, and I am not entirely sure what this means. This practice makes walking difficult though. Sometimes the ties are too far apart, sometimes they are too close together, so I have to leap and shuffle along this path into the past. And I find this appropriate, for the weight of history always seems to make us walk a little oddly.

The Most Important Things

Yesterday, the lovely A and I were sitting in the coffee shop chatting while we should be working. This is pretty much a daily occurrence for us, and therefore isn't particularly notable (other than the fact that it is a practice I kind of love). But, as is often the case with our conversations, I left mulling over quite a few things. In particular, we have been talking about priorities a lot lately, especially when it comes to people. A's excellent advice: Don't make someone a priority who isn't willing to make you one. There are, she has wisely pointed out to me, times when you have to make someone a priority who isn't making you one right at that moment. We lead busy lives, and in a university town there is always school or work to get in the way and screw up our nicely established priorities. But you should be sure that the person would do the same for you, that when your life gets busy and you drop the ball when it comes to them, allowing them to slide down your priority list, they will keep you high on theirs until you can rebalance your life.


This is the kind of lesson it takes me a long time to learn, although I wish I was a better student.

Things That Might Go Wrong

Things That Might Go Wrong

John Steffler

I was trained to be cautious:

my father always there

two steps ahead of my every move:

"If you hold it like that it'll slip....

Now what are you going to do with it?...

I saw a guy try that once and it tore off his arm."

But I go beyond such rote-learned caution.

I am creatively cautious, exquisitely

sensitive to things that might go wrong.

Quicker than any computer my mind

scoots down dozens of possible turns events might take,

spotting the dangers,

clucking warnings automatically as a hen.

Now, lying in bed, I listen as

my young daughter goes to feed the dog.

Not in his water bowl! I think to yell.

Such a nag, I tell myself.

Always your fretful plaint rotting everything.

Poor kid.

Still free. Purely happy getting his food.

Keep out of it.

You'll make her hate you in the end,

look back some day and see

you were the hole that let in doubt and fear.

Even when there's no rattle of dry dog food,

even when I hear the dog slurping his breakfast

I don't say a word.

I lie grinning, victorious,

having checked all the dangers

and dodged the worst.

Pickups

When I titled this post I was thinking of the word "pickup" as a play on a musical pickup (as in, "from the pickup to bar 32") and the notion of a pick-me-up. But then I realized just how many different word plays I could do with it, and, being from Alberta, I felt it was only appropriate to work in a pickup truck. Especially if it could be an old farm truck. Mission accomplished.

I've been writing a paper lately. Or, rather, I've been wrestling with a paper. And quite frankly, it has been kicking my butt. Seriously. Every time I think I've gotten the best of it, it throws a nasty left hook my way and catches me completely off guard. Oh well. It has to be handed in in only a few hours, so it will be done with soon enough. Normally while I'm writing I am big on folky singer/songwriter music. Or jazz. Or classical. But today I needed something upbeat and catchy. Something I could dance in my seat to. So I put together a little play list and thought I would share it with all of you. Just in case you need a pickup while you're working on end of the semester projects, or studying for exams. Or, if you are one of the lucky ones, celebrating the end of classes. I thought about doing this on Grooveshark or 8Tracks or something, but then I realized that a lot of these songs have awesome videos, so I just stuck with good old YouTube.

Lonely Boy - The Black Keys
This song never fails to get me dancing.

Call Me Maybe - Carly Rae Jepsen 
It's. Just. So. Catchy. And the video is pretty funny.

Don't Let Your Feet Touch Ground - Ash Koley 
I dare you not to feel happier after listening to this song.

Stadium Love - Metric
You can't go wrong with Metric. I've had the Fantasies album has been on repeat today.

Home - Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeroes
Just enough country twang for me to love it.

Here It Goes Again - OK Go
An oldie, but a goodie. Plus, dancing on treadmills. (This might be what I imagine doing every time I'm at the gym.)

Hush Hush - Natalie Portman's Shaved Head
Another never-fails-to-make-me-dance-like-a-fool song.

Slow Motion Machine Gun - Pearl and the Beard
The ending to this song is such fun.

Black Horse and the Cherry Tree - KT Tunstall
I will always love this song.

Come Back Down - Greg Laswell (feat. Sara Bareilles)
I might be slightly obsessed with this song. And I might sing along to it every time it comes on.

Angels - The Wooden Sky
Love the foot-stomping opening. Love the tempo change.

King of Anything - Sara Bareilles
This is basically my theme song.

Happy Easter

Happy Easter to one and all.

I've been writing a paper this weekend, but I did have a delightful potluck with some friends on Friday, so it wasn't a total loss of a weekend.

I hope that whatever your weekend held, you enjoyed it.

Wonder temporarily overpowering the mind

astonishment, n.
4. Mental disturbance or excitement due to the sudden presentation of anything unlooked for or unaccountable; wonder temporarily overpowering the mind; amazement.

I've been finding myself astonished quite frequently lately. Here are some of the (good) things that have been provoking this sensation:

The friends I've made out here. They are some incredible people.

The fact that it has already been 8 months since I've moved. Crazy!

The small, simple moments of beauty that are everywhere.

All of your wallowing is unbecoming

Come Back Down
Greg Laswell (feat. Sara Bareilles)

Come on now you good friends, are you waiting this one out
You've gotta come back down
You've gotta come back down
Look around you, you're the only one dragging this out
You've gotta come back down
You've gotta come back down
All of your wallowing is unbecoming
All of your wallowing is unbecoming
You've gotta take it on your own from here
It's getting pathetic
And I'm almost done here
You've gotta take it on your own from here
It's getting pathetic
And I'm almost done here

What you set out to kill off has been gone some time now
You've gotta come back down
You've gotta come back down
Head out any further and you might just forget how
You've gotta come back down
You've gotta come back down
All of your wallowing is unbecoming
All of your wallowing is unbecoming
You've gotta take it on your own from here
It's getting pathetic
And I'm almost done here
You've gotta take it on your own from here
It's getting pathetic
And I'm almost done here

All of your wallowing is unbecoming
All of you wallowing is unbecoming
You've gotta take it on your own from here
It's getting pathetic
And I'm almost done here
You've gotta take it on your own from here
It's getting pathetic
And I'm almost done here
You've gotta take it on your own from here
You've gotta come back down
You've gotta come back down
You've gotta come back down
You've gotta come back down
You've gotta come back down
You've gotta come back down
You've gotta come back down
You've gotta come back down


If you've been reading this blog for any length of time, you know I like my singer/songwriter artists, and that I am a serious fan of Sara Bareilles. So, I ask you what could be better than one of my favourite singer/songwriters teaming up with Sara Bareilles? Pretty much nothing. Plus, at this point in the term, sometimes I could use a reminder not to wallow. And frankly I would rather hear it from Greg and Sara than from someone else.

Lighting Issues

I've been spending a lot of nights in my office lately. This isn't something I really enjoy doing, because, frankly, I don't like my office. It is tiny. And doesn't have any windows to the outside. It does, however, have a window into the hallway so I often feel like I am sitting in a fishbowl being observed by every person who walks past. The walls are covered in holes and peeling paint to the point where it looks like a crazy person used to live here. The thing that has bothering me lately though: fluorescent lighting. It is too bright and makes a weird buzzing noise. I have never gotten along with it particularly well. There is a floor lamp in my office, and I would love to turn off the overhead light and just use it, but whenever I turn it on, it kind of smells like something is burning, and that just doesn't seem better. Ah well. At least I'm productive here in the evenings/late nights. I suppose I can deal with the lighting issues if I actually get my work done.

Home Sweet Home

Welcome to my blog's new home! It looks the same, but the address is different. Kind of like the houses in new subdivisions. Only with more character and personality, I like to think. Since my dream home definitely includes a chandelier in at least one room, and the likelihood of me finding a place that allows for such extravagant decorating anytime in the near future is quite slim, I figured it might be fitting to decorate this new, virtual home with something pretty and sparkly. What do you think?