blatherings

blatherings
the shallow side

priceless

 

also, my adviser liked my intro... more soon once I'm over the cold and the sunburn, both of which I got frm the lake this weekend. 
10.7.07 03:07


Is it just me, or do they cuter as you go along?

An interesting art project that turns teddys inside out.  Bears, I mean, not lacey things.
11.7.07 07:37


Only one problem with Daywatch

Kitty, S and I went to see Daywatch last night, the sequel to Nightwatch. In many ways it was better than the first – no cheesy dubbing for a start, the visual effects and story line were more consistent than in the first – which seemed to be divided into two – and it combined scary with laugh out loud funny without resorting to pratfalls.


The theatre was nice, clean and cool with a small audience with only one crazy person. I think the two women in the back were Russian – I tend to laugh very loud and after I lost it at one scene, they started laughing loudly at other bits, that seemed to do more with translation I think.


The only problem is that the movie left me feeling empty. Not in the way Transformers did – not a fluffy empty but a “my life is empty and bloated and so are the lives of most of the people I know” sort of way. Don’t get me wrong; I’m grateful for what I have. I know that I have worked to be who I am and the have the things and the security I do. I don’t think that a life of poverty is more… clean or less complicated. Between my own fears when I’ve been out of work because I have no family to turn to, watching people I know struggle in low paying jobs and reading Keep the Aspidistra Flying with its take on poverty and integrity and art, I don’t think that being or choosing to be poor, esp in the west, is less complicated or more fulfilling.


Nevertheless, I do think there is something wrong in the way I live. Not that I necessarily need to fight the forces of darkness - or goodness for that matter - to give my life meaning. I don’t need a higher purpose thrust upon me. I just think there should be more. I have nice things, and I don’t obsess about getting more. Except maybe books, but I don’t think I have an unhealthy obsession. I could do with some more clothes, but I hate shopping and it isn’t like I can’t get more I just don’t put any effort in cause I don’t care about how I look. I have some excellent relationships and I like in the last year how my relationships have changed. I have good, close friends and a circle of acquaintances after that who are amusing and diverting (although I have a facebook rant burbling inside of me about friends). I have a secure and decent job that pays me well and affords me both the time I want to live and a chance to make jokes. Plus, I have a job on the side that is just plain fun. I have interests that I have the time and money to peruse and for a couple of my interests, I am decent enough at them that if I applied myself I could be pretty good. My health is what it is… I’m not so unhealthy that I will die soon but I am unwell enough to be happy about the good days. And I want to be clear – and now that I’ve babbled on about who good my life is, I’m sure its just overkill – that I don’t mean this as a “poor me” post.


But I hate our world. The inequity. The way people I know buy things in hopes to make themselves feel better. The pettiness. How some people fill their lives up with some much stuff – either physical or activities or drama – that there is no space. The fact that people go home and turn on the telly so they can watch other people’s pretend lives instead of living their own. But I think that’s what my problem is. What does it mean to live your life? Even those with destiny thrust upon them be it Anton from Daywatch to Buffy has pretty messed up lives. I believe, in general, you find the things you enjoy, and do them, the people you enjoy and help make them happy, you get through the bad stuff and enjoy the good stuff. Slurpees in summer, cocoa in winter, plashing in puddles in the spring and kicking up leaves in the fall. And that’s what life is. But it feels empty right now.


So gentle reader – and I know who you are – what gives your life meaning?

13.7.07 21:48


I have pretty awesome friends

P and the bananafish took me to the Valley Zoo for my birthday, along with S, C & M and C’s friend B. The weather wasn’t as blazing hot as it has been, so walking around didn’t leave me with a sunburn or complaining pals. The zoo itself was meh – there is a guinea pig exhibit and one for prairie dogs among the cooler beasties like camels and the Siberian tiger – but the day was a lot of fun. We walked around, looked at animals and played with the kids. M was a mix of very excited and over-tired so a touch cranky and once the bananafish are done, wholly doughnuts are they DONE.

So we stopped for cake – P gets her cakes done by a baking genius in a wide range of crazy shapes… and mine was in the shape of a bananafish! It was also a marble chocolate which was tres yummy. And the nicest part is that I managed to get through almost entirely gift free. I’ve been saying for a couple years now that I don’t want stuff, but to be taken out instead. I don’t need more crap to get dusty, I need more experiences and fun times with the people I love. C did get me something – a plastic goat which stands in for the goat they are buying for World Vision in Ghana. And that is just too cool.

Afterward, S and Kitty took me to dinner and to a movie – Live Free or Die Hard – which continued the Transformers thinly veiled subtext of FAMILY! AMERICA! and then we drove around a bit, which considering how much S loathes driving was truly a gift. Oh, and we took Maya out for a stroll as a precurser to Kitty and S arguing politics with Momma Moose. S’s going to take me to the Calgary Zoo in the next couple of weeks, which I suspect will trump the hell out of the Valley Zoo, and I’m really excited by it. There were also the gazillion phone/facebook messages that were sweet or tempting…

What a lovely start to the year.

18.7.07 09:39


Whee + glup! Redux

C and I didn’t run today – its still muggy hot and she’s a touch tired from having a houseguest and a baby – but we did go for a lovely walk and had a good chat. During the walk, she said she is interested in training for a half marathon like the one in Disney World in January. At first I thought I was getting dumped as she started talking about what it would mean in terms of training and commitment. I was quite expecting to hear “and you’re just not up to it, so see ya!” but what I got instead was “would you be interested?” which is much better, really. I have come to enjoy our runs. She’s encouraging and tricky and I can always do more than I expect with her. So, I’m interested although slightly non-committal. My thesis has to come first, although it should be done by the time we’d leave, and there’s the money which I could save and when I spoke to S about it he seemed pretty excited. She has yet to talk to her husband about it – she just heard about the run this morning so it isn’t like we’re planning anything yet… But its so nice that both she and S seemed to think of course I could do it if I wanted to. I adore that the people around me think I can do anything so long as I put my mind to it. When she comes by Monday she will hopefully be by a little early so we can start looking at actually training for the 5k we want to do in September, which will be our jumping off point for the half marathon.
19.7.07 02:06


trippy

so, we were having dinner at the High Level Diner last night (really, half my life is spent there so do I need to mention this?) with the fa gang and S and our goddess of smutty delights - partially as a farewell dinner as Kitty is off to Vancouver next week for grad school and the Vixen has bought a house and may be getting a real job and looks to be entering grown-up life and partially just to get together. It was a blast. We drank (gasp! I had booze!) and ate and giggled and mocked silly people and argued politics and talked about recessions and spending to excess as a hope of staving off hopelessness. It was so good.

and as we were piling into the car a cat, who had been staring at us meowed very specifically and directly. The goddess was still getting settled so her door was open and the cat walked in and jumped up onto her lap. Which is exactly what happened with her last cat who recently died. It would have been trippy in the first place, but two cats in a row treating you this way? So we brought the gato back to her place and she’s going to call the SPCA and pound and such and may just have a new kitty. It was strange just how calm and focused the cat was – flopped down while we were driving as though it was nothing, had no problems being held or picked up and in her apt was pretty chill after having a good sniff about. And let me say Damn! What a LARGE cat. With full ears, which I am no longer used to as Bella is partially earless and a huge fluffy tail. Very pretty. I hope it works out.

21.7.07 17:13


giggle

My gawd but this is brill.

25.7.07 07:13


 [next page]

powered by
20six.co.uk