February

I can't decide if February is a good month or a bad month; an optimistic month or a pessimistic month. Back home, in northern Ontario, February is still in the middle of winter. Here in Nova Scotia, it's the month of tumultuous weather. But then, January and December were just as tumultuous this year, and March promises to be even worse.

There are no holidays in February. Valentine's day doesn't count because we don't get a day off. It's been nearly two months since our last holiday--Christmas and New Years Day. Our next holiday will be ... and again, St. Patrick's Day doesn't count because we don't get the day off ... Easter, which is almost another two months away. Kind of depressing. Of course, if you have school, University students get Reading Week in February and High School and Elementary School students get March Break in March. People who have jobs get nothing.

So I'm feeling ambivalent about this month. The only conclusion I'm coming to is this: Thank goodness it's only twenty eight days!

bekah gettin' married

janelle's cousin rebekah got married saturday. i realize that the photos will probably hit facebook within a day or two, but these are my favourites:

janelle with the bride and groom
janelle made this as a favour, using adobe illustrator
it's robb
beautiful janelle
marcella blowing bubbles
the back of my mohawk
ashlin
cuuute
very pretty, i like that circle thing in the background
it's marcella!!
laurie.
janelle and patrick are in love
patrick, waiting for this party to be over already!!!

fugitive pieces by anne michaels

this book is a poetic biography of the poet jakob beer and is summarized in the poet's own words: "a man's experience of war never ends with the war. a man's work, like his life, is never completed." jakob beer was killed in a car accident in athens in 1993, his wife survived him by two days.

the title, fugitive pieces is a fitting one for this story because it lays out beer's history like a patchwork, rather than a linear narrative. each part of the story fits in its own place, ordered by when its significance is realized, not when it occurs on a linear time scale. there are elements of linear narrative in the story, but pieces of the story contiuously go back and forth through time, completing a segment begun earlier here, beginning another there, only to abandon it briefly, return to it later, and complete it still later. or the order could be reversed, a segment is concluded, then the reader is taken into the past to witness its inception and progression.

the novel is fascinatingly written. it's written in poetic prose that makes it both a pleasure and a delight to read. it's startlingly beautiful and very emotional in a strange way. i say it's a strange way because the writing never focuses on the feelings of the characters, but on their thoughts and actions but the reader still gets to witness and share their emotions. it's strange and wonderful. i only wish i could ever aspire to write like this. i would put the writing style up there next to tolstoy. it's that good. on the cover of my copy there's an extract from a review by john berger; it says, "[an] extraordinarily beautiful book...trust and read it." i concur wholeheartedly.

the story traces jakob beer's life from his childhood. it begins when he is discovered as a child by the geologer/historian athos. athos adopts him and cares for him through the second world war. jakob is a jew and must be hidden from the nazis, but the reality of the war does not totally enter the story, it only shades it. later on we see it's effects on both jakob and athos and some of the other characters. jakob spends most of his life searching for his lost sister, bella, who--we can only assume--died in a nazi concentration/death camp. so in the beauty of the novel there is a continual strain of tragedy but it is always redeemed by grace. if i were to write an essay on this book it would be called "grace in fugitive pieces." i loved it.

thanks, vince.

water, water everywhere

so, janelle and i had just gotten to bed and were blissfully drifting off to sleep when, with a jarring jolt we were awakened by the insistent ringing of the telephone.

i was fumbling with the alarm clock, trying--unsuccessfully--to turn the alarm off when janelle gently said, "it's the work phone, darling" and answered it: "killam properties, quinpool tower."

there was a flood. expletive deleted.

we dressed in a hurry and descended to the location. as we rounded the corner, i saw an inch deep river of murky water streaming down the hallway towards us and panicked.

thankfully, janelle is a hero. she rolled up her pant legs and marched right into the water, taking the vacuum and battling the onrushing waves. meanwhile, i got on the telephone and called henry, woke him up and confused him. then i took a turn at the vacuum while janelle went upstairs to wake joy.

joy made some more phone calls, and it turned out that there was nothing the plumber could do, so we just had to manage it the best we could ... visions of staying up until sunrise vacuuming this flood flashed through my mind.

the flood was coming from the toilet. yes, gross. and little brown chunks were floating around.

we really have to be thankful for the tenants, though. they were troopers. they took turns vacuuming, they laughed and made jokes about it, and really made us feel comfortable and kind of happy to be helping. that was nice. normal tenants would have been angry and would have taken it out on us. normal tenants are the kind of people that deserve to get flooded. these people were so nice, they SURE don't deserve it. but i'm glad it happened to them and not to a normal tenant...

finally, the water stopped flowing from the toilet. but that was after joy knocked on a bunch of people's doors and told them to turn their water off and not use any until morning. and after that, it was just a matter of vacuuming up all the puddles. we must have emptied that industrial shop-vac at least thirty times. maybe more.

we did what we could, and headed back home. rather uneasy that another call might wake us up just as we went to sleep...

patrick's list of the top ten worst people to give your money to

so, we're officially in some kind of recession or something, so here are some tips on how not to waste your money: if at all possible, avoid putting it in any of these ten places:

10. Homeless people: they don't NEED your money, there's places they could go for free food and shelter if only they'd give up their addictions. if you ask me, they've got it made. and then they have to go and defecate in the stairwell of the building you live in.

9. The North American Automobile Industry: they've got such bad business practices, it's no wonder they're going bankrupt. And they'll give you a shoddy product in return. Besides, used cars are almost as good, sometimes better. (so buy used and buy foreign.)

8. Book Retailers (like Chapters, Coles, Indigo, etc.): you can get it cheaper used (or online) AND it's the same product. Or you can even take it out of the library, but then you don't get to keep it.

7. Name Brand Clothing: we all know we're only paying for the name. if you NEED name brand clothing, buy it at winners or value village or something.

6. The Entertainment Industry: Movies, Music, and Games. If you can pirate it for free, why on earth should you pay for it?

5. The News Media and other Magazines and Newspapers: if they're not lying to you, they're probably publishing something that's not even news worthy. Who wants to pay to be lied to. If you want to read it, just go to the dentist's office. Or take it out at the library.

4. Your Union: they'll protect you if you give them a percentage of your earnings. sounds like the mafia to me. and, considering canada's labour laws, isn't the union a little redundant?

3. Post secondary educational institutions (colleges or universities): who here thinks that they're being overcharged for their education? enough said.

2. The Bank: they've got enough of it already, why do they want more? why pay a 'service charge' for a bank account when you can get one for no charge? besides, banks have the WORST service ever. they even tie their pens down, so you won't get ANYTHING from them free.

1. The Government: because they'll waste it. if it doesn't go into the paycheck of some totally useless government official--like a senator who'll spend most of the year in Mexico (when's the last time YOU got paid to live in Mexico?)--it'll pay for the implementation of some policies that the next government will likely reverse anyway. (gun registry, anyone?)



disclaimer: this is a joke. it's supposed to be funny, or something.

21st Century Living

these are the lyrics to the song 21 century living by matthew good:

Y’know, today I was only asked one question,
and that one question all day,
you know what it was?
“Do you want that supersized?”
Y’know, come to think of it,
I’d like the whole ----ing world supersized.
(Supersized guns!)
Supersized planes,
supersized satellites.
Think about how many more channels you could get with a supersized satellite.
(Supersized sales)
How do you supersize a sale?
How about we supersize third world debt relief?
(Supersize love)
(Supersize honesty)
Supersize government.
Come to think of it…Actually, nah, let’s not supersize the government.
I’d like to supersize death.
Can I have a supersize of death?
I’d like a supersize of death, with a Coke.
Y’know, we need some backup singers;
we’ll have, like, a little jingle.
(It’s alright, sooner or later)
Kinda like that, y’know?
We’ll supersize your song;
really, that’s the goal, isn’t it?
We can supersize the record;
we’ll sell more records!
It’s a supersized record!
That is, after all, our ambition.

Fake lightning flashes over the skyline
A deer in your headlights
So gun it
We’re singing songs about 21st century living
If hate’s in your heart, man
You’ll take what you’re given

Ambition,
ambition is a tricky thing.
It’s like riding a unicycle over a dental floss tightrope over a wilderness of razor blades.
Ambition can backfire.
Ambition means more,
ambition means faster,
ambition means better.
What if you could supersize – can you supersize ambition?
Does that make you ambitious to supersize ambition?
Around here, our ambition hurts more than it helps.
See, around here, our ambition throws a non-perishable item into the donation box at Christmas
and pats itself on the ----ing back because it thinks it’s done something decent.
Yeah, we’re supersizing ambition.
Make no mistake about it.
(It’s alright, sooner or later)
Ambition will televise the revolution,
and it will sell more ----ing commercial spots than the Super Bowl,
the Olympics,
the World Series,
and the tragedY DU JOUR  combined.
We’re supersizing,
we’re supersizing the record,
because we’re ambitious.

interesting, huh? i like that, to me, it doesn't sound preachy at all (i really don't like when books, movies, and music sound preachy. if i wanted preachy, i'd download a sermon.) he's just talking about ambition and obliquely getting his brazen, in-your-face opinion-message across. i like that he kind of tries to shock the listener into paying attention. this is my kind of ... whatever it is.

some qualifications

so, on my previous post--the "25 facts" (or something) post, at number sixteen i wrote something like, "i think people are generally stupid."

i think that statement deserves a few qualifications ...

i don't think that people are stupid. i mean, i don't think that you're stupid.

what i think is that, in general, people don't really use their brains at all. i mean, aristotle used to think that brains were just used for filtering and cooling the blood and had nothing to do with thinking ... this seems to be becoming more and more true. i'm just thinking about things that people do and say and believe without thinking about, you know?

when i read the news on yahoo! i like to read people's comments on the articles and some of the opinions there are just so off the wall and crazy that it makes me feel like sticking my keys in an electrical outlet. (i did that once, it was fun. blew all the fuses at the manpower office in kapuskasing. probably embarassed my dad too. he was looking for a job or something.) i just think that, in general, people are often thoughtless. i mean, believing everything you read in magazines like cosmo? really?

um, 25 secret facts or something, i don't know. sorry.

1. i like blankets and quilts and comforters and duvets and bedsheets and those sorts of things. i like to wrap myself up in them and feel myself drift to sleep. i also like wrapping myself up in them and reading a book or sitting by a fire.

2. i like music. i almost always have music playing. i could just sit on the sofa or lie in bed listening to music. when i used to have the time to do it, when i got a new album, i'd put it on and lie on my bed and listen to the whole thing from start to finish.

3. i think children are generally the awesomest people in the world. at least, they're the people who make the most sense to me in the world, because they generally tell how they feel and say what they think and aren't really interested in the really, really stupid things we adults are interested in.

4. i think people don't really like me. even children.

5. i'm not shy. i'm just quiet.

6. it took me a really long time to figure out that when people say "how are you?" or something like that, they don't really mean it, they're just trying to be polite. now i think i'm really jaded, and have a hard time trusting people.

7. i'm not a very skeptical person. i don't have a hard time accepting different points of view or believing people when they tell stories. i don't think i'm gullible, though, maybe just a little naive ... but, like if someone tells me a story that makes sense, i generally believe them. i don't think that's a bad thing, though, because it usually doesn't really make a difference whether i believe them or not.

8. i don't like shaving. i'd rather look scruffy than shave.

9. morning is my favourite time of day ... if only i didn't like being in bed MORE. (see number 1)

10. i like stories. i like to read books, watch movies and tv shows, and play games that have really compelling stories. i also like stories that have some humour. it doesn't really matter if the graphics are bad or the acting is shoddy, or the writing is poor (well, i'm kind of picky about the writing ... it annoys me when the author obviously didn't put much effort into his writing) -- like i said, i don't really have much of a hard time believing things.

11. i like to write stories but i think i'm too hard on my writing and i tend to self-edit too much.

12. i love feedback. i think criticism is one of my biggest motivators. like if someone reads my writing and comments on it, i'm more likely to write more.

13. i have a haunting suspicon that nobody reads my blogs.

14. i think "echoes, silence, patience, and grace" is one of the awesomest album titles ever.

15. i have this weird love-hate relationship with politics because i'm fascinated by the political process, especially in canada, but it also frustrates me like nothing else.

16. i think people are generally stupid.

17. my favourite instrument is the piano.

18. i like kissing.

19. i think freckles are Sooo sexy. freckles and big hair.

20. giraffes may be the awkward dorks of the animal world, but i think they're awesome.

21. i like my job, mostly. but it's really boring. same thing every day ... i wish i was a book editor, because i think i'd make a better editor than a writer. once, in highschool, i made a girl cry when i edited her essay.

22. i love people. i think they're awesome. too bad they don't like me.

23. i generally prefer staying home to going out. i hate big crowds and big parties. i have a hard time hearing the people around me when there's lots of background noise.

24. i don't have facebook because i'm too lazy to set up an account.

25. if you want to keep me occupied, just dump me in a book store. i love shopping for books. hmmm ... i also like shopping for electronics and gizmos, like computer parts or peripherals and software. i don't generally like shopping for clothes.