happy halloween!

Faeries, and teachers, and frogs, oh my!
So last night was our halloween party... it was fun, groovey, and punctuated by girlish screams and neighbouring fireworks. There were some great costumes, such as: a firefly with a blinking bottom, Princess Fiona (Tara, looking incredibly cute in her little pink dress and green arms and legs), a christmas tree, toilet, Dr. Phil, several creapy dead people, a gorilla, etc.
me. I was fern gully... the place... basically I wore green with a lot of flowes and leaves glued and pinned to me... it was fun.
highlights were the costumes, friends, music, candy...
lowlights were poor crystal getting sick on too much gin, the dirty sticky floors in the morning, when our neighbour called... suggesting it was time to quiet down, and that he didn't appreciate people jumping though the hedge near his boat (gorilla in the hedge...), having to work the next morning...
But all in all, the low wasn't so low, and the highs made it worth it. Plus, Dana made us supper tonight to say thanks. Potato leek soup, yum! and we got to give out candy to cute trick-or-treaters tonight which was fun. But there's an in class essay tomorrow, and then it's micheal Franti! wahoo

Today: woes and wows

- waking up to the phone ringing, only to have it be an irritating beep on the other end
- the phone ringing again, the same damn beep
- yet again the phone... but this time a person calling for crystal, whew!
- hanging out in pajamas, eating pineapple chunks, reading poetry in the morning
- waiting for a email...
- getting a message from Tara asking me to take Sinisa's shift at the school changing the
cinecenta sign when I don't have classes or another reason to go up there...
- seeing Tara in Biz's cute pink prom dress
- meeting Crystal at the bus stop and heading to the mall to get candy and pumpkins for
halloween
- having to carry those pumpkins and candy home, along with groceries, on a busy bus...
- cleaning the bathroom (surprisingly not a woe)
- carving pumpkins with crystal, and her sorority girls, plus Adam and Brent from downstairs,
while having chips and pop
- girly squeals and shreaky laughter...
- heading down to The Central Bar and Grill to have dinner and see Ron Sexsmith
- waiting in line and almost not getting a table
- talking to a physics graduate named Thanos, and a cool couple who had just been teaching in
asia for the last two years... about scary movies, and music, and physics...
- waiting over an hour for our food (nachos, veggies and dip, and wings for the carnivores)
- listening to Sarah Slean - the opening act
- waiting 1/2 an hour
- listening and enjoying Ron Sexsmith's sexy voice...
- almost falling asleep because of the mixture of mellow music and room temperature
- walking home in the wind and dark with friends
- having to push all the crap off my bed
- sitting in my warm cozy bed, ready to sleep
- falling asleeee........

lunar eclipse

What a gorgeous day today! The sun must be getting forgetful because it was shining hot like springtime, and the sky was oh so blue. I got to wear my new brown skirt today which is oh so cute (except for the fact that I neglected to wear a slip and so spent most of the say tugging it down as I walked - damn I had sticky tights!) and my click-clacky black boots. I did some more lovely filing today at work... bleh. But then I sat under a tree and read a good chunk of my novel for canadian lit, enjoying the warmth, and the fresh air. after class I met with sweet Tara and I read to her, yes i did, D.H. Lawrence's "The Shadow in the Rose Garden" and, well, it was interesing. not the best short story i've read, but interesting. I finally got my midterm back in my British fiction class, and i didn't do as bad as I feared, so that was nice. Then i came home and made burritos - yum! and watched a bit of Sex in the City, and then decided to stroll up to Summit Park to get a better view of the Lunar eclipse. It's pretty cool, we watched the shadow of the sun slip across it from our kitchen window (at first we had to jump up to see in above the house across from us, it was kind of funny); it was already fully covered by the time we made it up to the park, but it was still cool because it wasn't completely dark adn it was sort of tinged slightly red - tara said it was because of at the relfections from the sunrises and sunsets still happening around the world, or something like that, i'm not sure if that makes sense, but it sounds cool to me.
What isn't so cool, is the stupid kids who keep setting off fireworks around our neughbourhood! It's driving me crazy! and half the time they're just the stupid ones that only make noise! Arrrgh! and one more exclamation mark for good mesure... !

Who's excited to go see Ron Sexsmith??? I am!
www.ronsexsmith.com

FOR A MOMENT THERE

For a moment there
I could've swore
I knew where I was going
For a moment there
I was in my room
Following the music
Never knowing
If it was going anywhere

I could hear it in the sky above
In the streets below me
I could hear it in the songs of love
Just enough to show me
There was a light somewhere
Somewhere

For a moment there
The sun was in my eyes and I was blinded
For a moment there
But now I look again
And when it seems like all is lost
I find it
Or it finds me anyway

I can see it in the sun above
In the grass below me
I see it in the ones I love
Just enough to show me
There is a light somewhere

For a moment there
I could see it in the ones I love
Just enough to show me
There is a light somewhere

- Ron Sexsmith

music mania...

well, it started with Lester Quitzau and Mae Moore in Nelson (a great show! They are amazing together, so sweet and their voices go together beautifully), then Sarah Harmer last weekend (with Crystal and Dana, at the Mcpherson Playhouse - our first time there, in the almost nose-bleed section, but still amazing, I love Sarah's voice. she rocked), then there's to be Ron Sexsmith on the 29th which i'm really looking forward too, and finally Micheal Franti of Spearhead on Nov. 1st, which should be amazing. And in between that is our dress-up halloween party - wahoo. Oh yeah, and I guess school fits in there too. heh heh, just kidding, it slaps its fat butt down over everything. I'm just glad that I'm getting to hear all these great people!

What ever it takes my love...

Yay! Wednesday is finally over! Not that today was a bad day in itself, but the days leading up to it have been jam-packed with reading, writing, and stress! and a little bit of Ron Sexsmith, lovin his cd 'retriever' right now. I finally finished my english essay and got to read it aloud to a group of 6 class mates, and yes, I did go red (well at least in the beginning, i think it faded as I motored through my essay). It's amazing how reading your essay out loud can make you cringe... but they said it was good, so that was nice - here's hoping that my teacher thinks so too. :) But other than that, it was a beautiful sunny day (well the earlier part of it) and I love crisp sunny fall days, they're such a treat. Me and Tara decided to skip our last class (bad i know, but sometimes you just need to) and went to the Uvic Bookstore so I could pick up a novel that I somehow missed on the reading list for engl 436A. While we were there, we found some very cute (and pretty cheap) shoulder bags - they're a little plasticy, but they've got these great pictures on them in panels. Tara got one with poppy bulbs on it (you know, after they've flowered) and I got one with leaves - it's a very lovely green. yay! Then we headed to the hillside mall for a few groceries, and the cutest thrifty's grocery guy smiled and said hi to me - of course me and Tara had to giggle and stare after we'd moved away. dreamy sigh. Then we headed home, make some scrumptious salad and watched a couple episodes of "Sex and the City" it was grand. Now, i'm going to flop my tired head onto my cushy pillow and sleep until I wake up.

okay, i've just spent the whole evening procrastinating from doing any real homework. This is not good as I have two assignments due this week! Why do I always do this to myself? Practice I tell you, practice at the art of self-induced stress to aid in the production of panic-induced bull shit that passes for an essay. okay, maybe it's not that bad. I did do a lot of homework on friday and saturday (well, relatively) and I did work all day today... But really, if I had just spent a couple hours working on my essay, there'd be less for me to write in the next 2 days... I like how I'm able to think of these things, but rarely follow them through. Oh well. And here I am, writing a blog. of course.

midnight serenade...

I just had the longest dream about Matt Good last night... (oh don't get naughty, it was nothing like that) He was serenading his girlfriend and I was with her in the appartment peeking out another window (well, he is cute, even in a dream). But the girlfriend couldn't be with him anymore because his career was always coming between them, so I had to go out and tell him that, poor guy. And the weird thing is, he's married in real life... hmmm... what does it all mean i wonder? not that i care too much, if matt good wants to slip into my dream and sing a few songs, i'm okay with that. :) (are you jealous Tara?) ;)

200 pages, a stupid phone call, and and hour of pain...

my oh my, what a day. It wasn't even a particularily interesting day, but it was a long one. First off, I woke this morning, and then after breakfast and a shower (where I tried a sample of the new fructus shampoo and my hair still smells all mangoy-fruity), I read for about three hours to finaly finish the novel that I have to write my paper on for wednesday. It's about a very large jewish prostitute named Hoda, and it's very good, but still a lot to take in, in a short period of time. In the middle of reading, I got a phone call from mastercard saying that they were going to send me a card shortly in the mail, blah blah blah, and when I told the guy that I didn't need another (stinking) credit card because I already have one, and I'm a student, we went on about how I'd want to switch over once I heard about the points blah blah blah, and I was getting so mad because I swear I get the same phone call every couple of months and when are they going to realize that I don't want another bloody credit card. It starts to get difficult to be polite when you just want to yell "SHUT UP!!!" But I just said firmly (and perhaps rudely, but I swear that's how you have to be to get them to actually listen to you) that I was busy, didn't want a card, and thany you for calling - and he finally got the hint. Man, I would hate to have that job. It's hard not to get made at the callers even though it's their job to phone you and everyone's got to make a living, but sometimes... grrrrr....
But anyway, so after that, I went to class where instead of discussing canadian literature, we met in the library for a "session" with the English Librarian. I am embarrassed to admit how little I knew about the resources available for canadian and english literature... but I'm glad I finally learnt about it. It's amazing how you can go through 4 years of school using a very small working knowledge of your library and never trying to expand it until your teacher does it for you... The pain I could have been spared...
So after that, i painted banners (oh the excitement of my job at grafix...) and me and Tara headed to the mall for some groceries (me) and cds (Tara). We then hung out (well, procrastinated from doing homework) until it was time to head to our 3rd Fitness Fusion class. I think our instructor is the devil. The theme was strength tonight, and we set about trying not to collapse as we lunged, did push-ups, tried to be chairs, balanced, and tried to remember to breathe. I already know that my quads are going to be a little (hah!) sore tomorrow... But it feels good at the same time to be doing something active, even if you want to kill your buff instructor...
And now, after enjoying an exciting hour of ER, I'm setting into my bed with the intention of getting 9 hours of sleep... mmmmm mmmmm!

back in the thick of it...

Well, I'm back from Thanksgiving weekend at home in Nelson. It was a quick trip (will write more when I've time), and as soon as I returned I realized the pile-up of work and assignments awaiting me was larger than I expected. So after attempting to study for a midterm tomorrow, and not quite finishing a (long) novel that I have to write an essay on for next week, I venture off to sleep. I plan to expand on my adventures to the homeland when I have a space of time to breathe in, but I leave you with a song that me and my brother sang one evening as we waited for supper (I swear, we're musical geniuses!): There was a fish, who had a wish, not to be someone's supper dish! When he moved his tail, it went swish swish!
(just wait, there's more to come...) ;)

Farewell Ticki...

Tomorrow is the last time I'll take a trip with Ticki, my dad's blue Bronco II that he so generously let me use for the summer. It's been a good time, and she will be missed. Especially when it come to getting groceries, and early morning shifts at work. And while she may be a little rusty, and drip a little oil, she served me well. (We'll ignore the fact that she definately preferred to be driving with a full tank -rather than one half full or less, and the time when she wouldn't start with the key in the ignition, but she'd happily rumble to life without one, and the time when I started driving and noticed that my radio wasn't working, and all my lights were on like I'd stalled, except I was still driving... ) The good far outweighed the bad.

To Ticki, may your rust be minimal, your gas be good, and your tires never flat.

monthly poem...

This poem is by my workshop teacher, Lorna Crozier, a well-known and very talented canadian writer (I'm so lucky to be learning from her!). I love this little poem - it's brilliant.

Onions

The onion loves the onion.
It hugs its many layers,
saying O, O, O,
each vowel smaller
than the last.

Some say it has no heart.
It doesn't need one.
It surrounds itself,
feels whole. Primordial.
First among vegetables.

If Eve had bitten it
instead of the apple,
how different
Paradise.

rockin' out...

Just got back from groovin' at Steamers. Velvet had a guest drummer (bongos etc) and it was pretty groovalicious. I decided that I needed to got out tonight because I worked all weekend and haven't gone dancing in a while. Plus, I really didn't want to do homework... (bad mera) So, me, Crystal, Emanuel, Noah, and Caria (sp?) headed down first to Bog Bad John's for a cheap beer (well, I had a sprite...). For those who have never experienced this unique pub, it's low ceilings plastered with stickers, scribbled-on canadian and american dollar bills, and hanging from beams and other accoutrements are various bras and underwear - apparently you get a free drink if you donate a piece of your undergarments to be displayed... A real classy joint. But we got to munch on free peanuts and throw the shells on the ground, and it definitely has character. The best line, was when the music stopped for a minute and this woman yells out. "Hey! You promised me Dwight Yokum!" (again, sp?) And she was serious! We were all amused.
Then we headed to Steamers for a good 3 hours of dancing. Me and Emanuel tried to have a "dance off" to one song, but neither of us could do/remember each other's moves so we mostly just wiggled a lot and laughed. Good times were had.
But now I must sleep and do all my homework tomorrow before class. Oh well, it was worth it.

iron and w(h)ine...

I'm sitting in my bed. It's friday night at 10pm. Why am I here you might ask? Well, I have to work at 7:30am tomorrow so I thought I'd try to get a decent sleep, everyone else is out enjoying the night and I don't feel like watching tv, so I thought I'd snuggle down, check my email, and close my tired eyes. But apparently the boys downstairs are also enjoying their friday night - for which i can't blame them - becuase they're booming heavy-on-the-bass music and I'm trying not to get extremely irritated... It's one thing when you're down there enjoying it, and another when you're trying to go to bed and all you hear is this womp womp womp thump thump thump - it's enough to make one twitchy! sigh... I've put on a great, mellow band called "iron and wine" and plopped on the earphones to drown out the noise... (hence the title... this is me whining, not the music) ;)
But we had a lovely supper tonight, Tara had her friend Joanna over and she's really cool, and a couple other friends popped by and we had spagetti squash with homemade sauce, salad, and lots of appys... and for dessert - pumpkin pie with whipped cream! YUM! Good friends and good food makes for good fun!
Oh yeah, last night me and Tara and Oona went to our first "Fitness Fusion" class which combines Yoga, Pilates, and traditional strengthening exercises. So we'd do a 'downward dog' and then we'd be doing push-ups! Needless to say I'm a little sore today... But it was fun, and it felt good to be doing something active especially with my two sweet friends. :) Hopefully next week won't feel so shocking...
Here's hoping sleep comes quickily, and tomorrow's work goes by even more quickly!