When my parents visited earlier this month, I asked Mom if she could bring me some more rhubarb. I finished the stash I had frozen from last year and can't imagine actually paying for rhubarb when Mom can't even begin to use all of hers.
I can't remember ever not liking rhubarb. I may have come out of the womb sucking on a stalk of the stuff. Whenever people say they don't like rhubarb I just feel so sorry for them, that they're missing out on something they just don't understand. Rhubarb is such a misunderstood vegetable.
Most of the recipes I've made with rhubarb have turned out pretty good, but I always like to try new ones to mix it up a bit. I thought back to the upside down cranberry cake I've made a few times and thought I'd try it with rhubarb instead. It turned out so good that I don't even want to share it with anyone, even though I probably shouldn't eat an entire cake by myself, even if half of it is rhubarb. I might freeze half of it and try to stop myself from eating the rest of it. Seriously, I can't even begin to explain how good it is. Really, really, really good. So good.
After work I popped over to Windsor for some sausages and chicken, and discovered they have single freezer packs. The list is pretty impressive and I'm totally thinking about it because it would mean a variety of cuts that I don't have to choose, all ready to toss in the freezer. Considering how often I buy/cook meat as it is, I have a feeling I'd be living off it for quite a while. And, don't ask me why, but I was sort of excited that soup bones are tossed in for free, which means broth without having to cut out the bones. I'm excited about bones.
Wish I could go berry picking. My freezer is low on frozen fruit.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Sunday, June 28, 2009
do you love me now?
Just back from Calgary, or, rather, just back a couple hours ago from Calgary. I'd booked this trip ages ago for Sled Island, well before the full lineup was announced. It really didn't matter who was playing; I just wanted to get out of town for a few days.
Anyone from Calgary will find this offensive, but I suspect, under non-festival circumstances, Calgary is pretty dull. I have no proof of this, other than having very little to do during the non-festival hours. I barely passed people in the street when I walked to and from the downtown area on the weekend. It's weird to not see anyone for 12 or 13 blocks; I'm not used to that sort of isolation anymore.
There was a lot of musical stuff to be excited about, though.
The highlight for me was watching/listening to the Breeders do "Do You Love Me Now?" in the park. When I got the "Safari" single on vinyl all those years ago I wore down the grooves on that song because it struck a cord (even then I had fucked up relationship crap going on). Now it hits extremely close to my heart; not enough to bleed it but just a slight graze, just enough to scratch the surface and leave a permanent scar. I kind of love that the Deal twins are so self-deprecating and seemingly normal despite their crazy backgrounds. Darcy said Kim looks like his aunt; Kelly mentioned that she smelled something in the air that she wasn't supposed to have and told the crowd they'd have to put out their smokes, then laughed and said, "Nah, I'm just kidding. Can you imagine? 'Um... everyone, could you stop smoking, please?' As if I'd do that!"
The biggest night was Thursday night, which was spent almost entirely at the #1 Legion. The Legion is always the night ending spot where "surprise guests" play (usually one of the headliners or a bigger band from out of town), but on that particular night there were some stellar bands playing. Japanther kicked ass, totally causing a frenzy and spawning a number of man-crushes with their Ramones-esqueness. Japandroids were awesome and I stared for long periods of time at the drummer and then shook myself out of it; they were mesmerizing. We heard a bit of King Khan & BBQ, but the small upstairs room was packed literally to the rafters and steam was floating out of the room. I couldn't get within 10 feet of the doorway, let alone inside to see the stage. Andrew WK played a "surprise" set, but it was largely the same as the karaoke show we saw the night before, so we bolted after a few songs. Holy Fuck was excellent in the park, totally killing their set. I managed to see King Khan & BBQ play Friday night and it was mind blowingly good. These Arms Are Snakes played the Friday secret show (we were hoping to catch the Obits, but they were completely late so TAAS went on first) and were a nice surprise. Last night I caught Women, Githead (Colin Newman from Wire's latest band, which didn't really grab me as I'd hoped) and the Obits before admitting defeat. All in all, a more than satisfactory outing.
A few things that I feel I must comment on:
1) I'm sick of young men wearing slim-fitting jeans that are slightly too big for them with belts, yet not cinching the belts enough to keep the jeans up at an appropriate level. Seriously, do you remember that scene in "Clueless" when she talks about how dirty high school boys are with their saggy jeans, the waistlines falling right below the curve of the male bum? They're STILL wearing them that way. It's just sad, that's all. Also, it looks lame.
2) Since I've known my friend Joe, he's had a big thick beard. Last month he shaved the beard off, citing the "douchebags" around town that are now sporting beards and not wanting to align himself with them. I found myself scowling at beards over the last few days and now realise Joe was right: beards have overtaken the music scene and it is just too much. There is no good reason for all that facial hair. Don't even get me started on the ironic gay moustaches I saw; that's a whole other rant.
3) Travelling alone blows. I don't mean the actual being somewhere else vacation part of it; I mean the transporting part of it. Today it felt like every couple on earth was in the airport and that there was a massive neon sign above me as I walked around that pointed out I was not travelling with someone else. It would be nice to go somewhere with someone else. I haven't travelled like that for a long time and I miss it.
I'm totally beat. This morning I was up until 3:30am, then couldn't fall asleep, then was startled by my friend's friend showing up at 4:30am after assuming he'd ditched out on staying over (which would have totally sucked since he was supposed to drive me to the airport today because Calgary has no shuttle service into the city and transit takes between 70 and 90 minutes, assuming all connections are made). I woke up at 8:30 and haven't slept since, so maybe it's time to go to bed, especially since I start my contract tomorrow.
Oh, I also finished dress #3 and, while I like the fabric, I'm not sure how much I like the actual dress. I probably have to redo the hem to make it fall a bit smoother, but that will have to wait until I actually feel like putting more work into the hem, which may never happen. A bad hem is still a hem.
Anyone from Calgary will find this offensive, but I suspect, under non-festival circumstances, Calgary is pretty dull. I have no proof of this, other than having very little to do during the non-festival hours. I barely passed people in the street when I walked to and from the downtown area on the weekend. It's weird to not see anyone for 12 or 13 blocks; I'm not used to that sort of isolation anymore.
There was a lot of musical stuff to be excited about, though.
The highlight for me was watching/listening to the Breeders do "Do You Love Me Now?" in the park. When I got the "Safari" single on vinyl all those years ago I wore down the grooves on that song because it struck a cord (even then I had fucked up relationship crap going on). Now it hits extremely close to my heart; not enough to bleed it but just a slight graze, just enough to scratch the surface and leave a permanent scar. I kind of love that the Deal twins are so self-deprecating and seemingly normal despite their crazy backgrounds. Darcy said Kim looks like his aunt; Kelly mentioned that she smelled something in the air that she wasn't supposed to have and told the crowd they'd have to put out their smokes, then laughed and said, "Nah, I'm just kidding. Can you imagine? 'Um... everyone, could you stop smoking, please?' As if I'd do that!"
The biggest night was Thursday night, which was spent almost entirely at the #1 Legion. The Legion is always the night ending spot where "surprise guests" play (usually one of the headliners or a bigger band from out of town), but on that particular night there were some stellar bands playing. Japanther kicked ass, totally causing a frenzy and spawning a number of man-crushes with their Ramones-esqueness. Japandroids were awesome and I stared for long periods of time at the drummer and then shook myself out of it; they were mesmerizing. We heard a bit of King Khan & BBQ, but the small upstairs room was packed literally to the rafters and steam was floating out of the room. I couldn't get within 10 feet of the doorway, let alone inside to see the stage. Andrew WK played a "surprise" set, but it was largely the same as the karaoke show we saw the night before, so we bolted after a few songs. Holy Fuck was excellent in the park, totally killing their set. I managed to see King Khan & BBQ play Friday night and it was mind blowingly good. These Arms Are Snakes played the Friday secret show (we were hoping to catch the Obits, but they were completely late so TAAS went on first) and were a nice surprise. Last night I caught Women, Githead (Colin Newman from Wire's latest band, which didn't really grab me as I'd hoped) and the Obits before admitting defeat. All in all, a more than satisfactory outing.
A few things that I feel I must comment on:
1) I'm sick of young men wearing slim-fitting jeans that are slightly too big for them with belts, yet not cinching the belts enough to keep the jeans up at an appropriate level. Seriously, do you remember that scene in "Clueless" when she talks about how dirty high school boys are with their saggy jeans, the waistlines falling right below the curve of the male bum? They're STILL wearing them that way. It's just sad, that's all. Also, it looks lame.
2) Since I've known my friend Joe, he's had a big thick beard. Last month he shaved the beard off, citing the "douchebags" around town that are now sporting beards and not wanting to align himself with them. I found myself scowling at beards over the last few days and now realise Joe was right: beards have overtaken the music scene and it is just too much. There is no good reason for all that facial hair. Don't even get me started on the ironic gay moustaches I saw; that's a whole other rant.
3) Travelling alone blows. I don't mean the actual being somewhere else vacation part of it; I mean the transporting part of it. Today it felt like every couple on earth was in the airport and that there was a massive neon sign above me as I walked around that pointed out I was not travelling with someone else. It would be nice to go somewhere with someone else. I haven't travelled like that for a long time and I miss it.
I'm totally beat. This morning I was up until 3:30am, then couldn't fall asleep, then was startled by my friend's friend showing up at 4:30am after assuming he'd ditched out on staying over (which would have totally sucked since he was supposed to drive me to the airport today because Calgary has no shuttle service into the city and transit takes between 70 and 90 minutes, assuming all connections are made). I woke up at 8:30 and haven't slept since, so maybe it's time to go to bed, especially since I start my contract tomorrow.
Oh, I also finished dress #3 and, while I like the fabric, I'm not sure how much I like the actual dress. I probably have to redo the hem to make it fall a bit smoother, but that will have to wait until I actually feel like putting more work into the hem, which may never happen. A bad hem is still a hem.
Monday, June 22, 2009
foodcentric
Pockets of joy.
Yesterday I met up with the FairSands for Greek Day outside their door, literally. I've mentioned before how suffocating large crowds are to me, but I'm always amazed how alone I feel walking within large masses of people, and at times there were a lot of people. We ate a bunch of food and kept going back to their house to get away from the crowds to eat in relative peace: souvlaki, spanakopita, loukoumades... So many loukoumades because the line was super long and Rach's mom made it worth her half-hour wait while the rest of us kept the kids amused indoors. Terry was performing in front of an insurance company and it was fun to see huge masses of people warm up to him. I love knowing an Elvis Tribute Artist (ETA) because there aren't a lot of people that can say they know an ETA. It makes me feel sort of special.
Today I met up with Linh and Stewart to pass over the keys and get an update on their kitty's demeanour. I managed to keep Momo alive, which is nice and helpful as a cat sitter, and didn't overfeed her. (I sometimes have visions that most animals will explode like fish if I overfeed them, which is probably part of the reason I don't think I can ever have an animal in my care long-term.) She was crying a lot when they returned home, though, so I guess my petting/playing with her wasn't nearly long enough, even though she acted all bored of me. They brought me a big bottle of fig He'brew, which I am so excited to try. My friend Mike originally did testings of He'brew varieties and reported his scientific results, and claimed the fig one was the tastiest. They also brought me a case of Cherry Coke, which is so incredibly awesome of them. We went for lunch at a vegetarian Vietnamese restaurant in Burnaby that I'd heard about from a co-worker. I am very fond of meatless meat-like foodstuffs and the meatless meat-like foodstuffs were quite nice at this place. A bit of a bitch to get to from our area of town, but tasty and relatively cheap. (There's another place on Fraser that's supposed to be really good as well, so it's next on the list.)
I sewed most of dress #3 and had a nap 'cause that's how I roll.
Rich called to ask where in my neighbourhood he and his friend could eat cheesecake, so they came 'round and we went to Sweet Revenge for dessert. Since it was quite nice out, we walked from my house (I'm always pushing for this option rather than meeting at locales) and checked out repairs around the neighbourhood. The shop is rather dainty, so it was amusing to me to watch the boys navigate tiny spoons and drink from china teacups. We did talk about fishing, so I guess it balances out. I never really got why they decided to come to my neighbourhood to eat cheesecake, but whatever. (Actually, I had raspberry creme brulee and Alf had chocolate mousse cake; Rich was the only one who had cheesecake.) It was a really fun last-minute.
I have a Pet Shop Boys song going through my head, one that likely wasn't as popular as "West End Girls" or "It's a Sin" or the like, but it makes me nostalgic for the times I'm living through now. I know I'll look back on these days with a fondness for the simplicity of them and the friends I spent them with, in the same way I look back on my 20s. I fear the armchair that will trap me and force me to only think back to fonder days, back when I could move.
Yesterday I met up with the FairSands for Greek Day outside their door, literally. I've mentioned before how suffocating large crowds are to me, but I'm always amazed how alone I feel walking within large masses of people, and at times there were a lot of people. We ate a bunch of food and kept going back to their house to get away from the crowds to eat in relative peace: souvlaki, spanakopita, loukoumades... So many loukoumades because the line was super long and Rach's mom made it worth her half-hour wait while the rest of us kept the kids amused indoors. Terry was performing in front of an insurance company and it was fun to see huge masses of people warm up to him. I love knowing an Elvis Tribute Artist (ETA) because there aren't a lot of people that can say they know an ETA. It makes me feel sort of special.
Today I met up with Linh and Stewart to pass over the keys and get an update on their kitty's demeanour. I managed to keep Momo alive, which is nice and helpful as a cat sitter, and didn't overfeed her. (I sometimes have visions that most animals will explode like fish if I overfeed them, which is probably part of the reason I don't think I can ever have an animal in my care long-term.) She was crying a lot when they returned home, though, so I guess my petting/playing with her wasn't nearly long enough, even though she acted all bored of me. They brought me a big bottle of fig He'brew, which I am so excited to try. My friend Mike originally did testings of He'brew varieties and reported his scientific results, and claimed the fig one was the tastiest. They also brought me a case of Cherry Coke, which is so incredibly awesome of them. We went for lunch at a vegetarian Vietnamese restaurant in Burnaby that I'd heard about from a co-worker. I am very fond of meatless meat-like foodstuffs and the meatless meat-like foodstuffs were quite nice at this place. A bit of a bitch to get to from our area of town, but tasty and relatively cheap. (There's another place on Fraser that's supposed to be really good as well, so it's next on the list.)
I sewed most of dress #3 and had a nap 'cause that's how I roll.
Rich called to ask where in my neighbourhood he and his friend could eat cheesecake, so they came 'round and we went to Sweet Revenge for dessert. Since it was quite nice out, we walked from my house (I'm always pushing for this option rather than meeting at locales) and checked out repairs around the neighbourhood. The shop is rather dainty, so it was amusing to me to watch the boys navigate tiny spoons and drink from china teacups. We did talk about fishing, so I guess it balances out. I never really got why they decided to come to my neighbourhood to eat cheesecake, but whatever. (Actually, I had raspberry creme brulee and Alf had chocolate mousse cake; Rich was the only one who had cheesecake.) It was a really fun last-minute.
I have a Pet Shop Boys song going through my head, one that likely wasn't as popular as "West End Girls" or "It's a Sin" or the like, but it makes me nostalgic for the times I'm living through now. I know I'll look back on these days with a fondness for the simplicity of them and the friends I spent them with, in the same way I look back on my 20s. I fear the armchair that will trap me and force me to only think back to fonder days, back when I could move.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
on being cheap
Oh geez, I am broke. I took out a bit of money for the birthday dinner of one of the bridesmaids, thinking the leftover money could see me through to my trip this week. No such luck. It was fun and all, but I have a huge gripe: freeloaders.
We had sangria at my friend's house before we took taxis to the restaurant. The couple in my taxi shorted me and the other girl a couple bucks each for the taxi. Fine, whatever. At dinner they had the most expensive meals, appetizers and twice the number of drinks, yet still put in the same as everyone else, totally shorting the rest of us by at least $20. The same situation for drinks after dinner, but by that point I just didn't care anymore and put in just enough to leave a bad tip for our horrible waitress and ditched before they put in their money.
I know I'm not the greatest tipper sometimes, but, holy crap, $20 short for dinner is a massive amount. Obviously you know what you've consumed is twice as much as everyone else; pull your weight, for cripes' sake. I had no interest in talking to them after the dinner incident.
Other than that... I wore the most recent dress to work today, a pixel-looking A-line dress with poorly placed pockets that I threw on as an afterthought. It's not so bad; I like the pattern. Someone suggested it looked homemade in a Main Street sort of way; like it probably cost a lot. Just wish I had my serger serviced so I could finish the edges better. It's going to start unravelling like crazy. I didn't get home early enough (or sober enough) to tackle the third dress. As much as I'd like it done, I have to hold off. Drat.
We had sangria at my friend's house before we took taxis to the restaurant. The couple in my taxi shorted me and the other girl a couple bucks each for the taxi. Fine, whatever. At dinner they had the most expensive meals, appetizers and twice the number of drinks, yet still put in the same as everyone else, totally shorting the rest of us by at least $20. The same situation for drinks after dinner, but by that point I just didn't care anymore and put in just enough to leave a bad tip for our horrible waitress and ditched before they put in their money.
I know I'm not the greatest tipper sometimes, but, holy crap, $20 short for dinner is a massive amount. Obviously you know what you've consumed is twice as much as everyone else; pull your weight, for cripes' sake. I had no interest in talking to them after the dinner incident.
Other than that... I wore the most recent dress to work today, a pixel-looking A-line dress with poorly placed pockets that I threw on as an afterthought. It's not so bad; I like the pattern. Someone suggested it looked homemade in a Main Street sort of way; like it probably cost a lot. Just wish I had my serger serviced so I could finish the edges better. It's going to start unravelling like crazy. I didn't get home early enough (or sober enough) to tackle the third dress. As much as I'd like it done, I have to hold off. Drat.
Saturday, June 20, 2009
bad hair day
I should really be snuggled into bed, but I had a sugar crash nap this afternoon for what may have been a couple hours (I can't remember what was on TV when I closed my eyes). My ability to sleep a full night has been compromised.
My hair looks a bit soccer mom right now, which is upsetting because I am not, nor will I ever be, a soccer mom. The guy talked about Iran and Noam Chomsky and might have gotten distracted so much that he chopped my hair into what it is. I'll know better after I wash it and style it myself (admittedly I am poor at styling, but could it be worse than soccer mom style? NO). It's a bit poofy and short, but at least the colour is a bit more even. Did I mention it's short? It's really short. Ultra short.
Having multiple days off this week, I realise that I like not working. If only there were a way to not work, yet still be able to afford to live in the manner I've grown accustomed to. Since I'm obviously not going to be a trophy wife for some rich guy, I guess I have to buy a lottery ticket and hope for the best. I could probably live OK on $9 million for a while. If I live frugally.
Of little interest to anyone but me, my deodorant smells like nectarines, and I like it. Also, Pimms is STILL sold out at every liquor store I go to. It just doesn't show up in shipments, for some reason. How can I drink myself to death without Pimms?
Starting the sewing portion of the third dress tomorrow night, maybe, likely.
My hair looks a bit soccer mom right now, which is upsetting because I am not, nor will I ever be, a soccer mom. The guy talked about Iran and Noam Chomsky and might have gotten distracted so much that he chopped my hair into what it is. I'll know better after I wash it and style it myself (admittedly I am poor at styling, but could it be worse than soccer mom style? NO). It's a bit poofy and short, but at least the colour is a bit more even. Did I mention it's short? It's really short. Ultra short.
Having multiple days off this week, I realise that I like not working. If only there were a way to not work, yet still be able to afford to live in the manner I've grown accustomed to. Since I'm obviously not going to be a trophy wife for some rich guy, I guess I have to buy a lottery ticket and hope for the best. I could probably live OK on $9 million for a while. If I live frugally.
Of little interest to anyone but me, my deodorant smells like nectarines, and I like it. Also, Pimms is STILL sold out at every liquor store I go to. It just doesn't show up in shipments, for some reason. How can I drink myself to death without Pimms?
Starting the sewing portion of the third dress tomorrow night, maybe, likely.
Friday, June 19, 2009
never ending story
This is getting out of hand.
Today is a perfect example of why I banned myself from fabric stores entirely for 3 or 4 years. I already had a slew of fabric for a variety of dress patterns I want to try out. That's fine. No problem. But at the sale today, I bought another Vintage Vogue pattern and decided to peruse the bargain section because it was the only way I could afford to make it (it requires about 7 metres of fabric because it's a 1957 dress with a very full skirt). I bought 7.5 metres of a $3 pinky cherry blossom print fabric that was 50% off. When you do the math, it's $11.25 for the fabric. All notions were 50% off, so with the zipper and thread included, it will cost $14 to make this dress (since it's for me I'm not going to worry about labour costs).
Doing the math just makes me want to buy more. This has to stop. I haven't even mentioned the other fabric I bought for another 1960 dress. (I'm nearing completion on the trial run of it and it actually looks pretty neat with no real alterations, though it may be a bit snug, but I won't know until the zipper that I forgot to buy is sewn in.)
Those who have now seen the hideous dress were much kinder than I believe they should have been. People looked at me slightly oddly while I waited for the bus this evening, which I didn't really care about because the dress is comfortable and I can't begrudge a dress that has such ample pockets and that gives my belly room to wiggle. But to me it's obvious it's made with quilting fabric that isn't pretty. Whenever I look into the bathroom mirror, all I can think of is Laura Ashley. This dress actually reminds me of a Laura Ashley pattern my mom sewed for me when I was in grade 10 or 11 with small flowers on a medium blue background. I really liked that dress; this one is OK, but not my favourite fabric of all the ones I've bought recently.
The problem with me is I get obsessive about something for a while until something else distracts me away. Much the same as my tangent talking. Sometimes I'll go back to my original point (or sewing), but sometimes I forget and remember ages after the fact. I have a dress that has been waiting for minor repairs for two years and I can finally finish it because I got the supplies (bias tape) needed to finish the job.
For those of you not at all interested in sewing, I feel so bad for you. Not bad enough to stop talking about my projects, but still.
Tomorrow I'm finally going to get my hair cut/coloured after months of declining style. I got a coupon at work for a salon downtown. Hopefully my fake sister-in-law will be back to styling soon; she had a baby in May and wanted to be back at work, at least a couple days a week, by the end of August. I sure hope so. I'm so afraid to go to someone else who doesn't understand my hair.
Oh, my friend Duncan sent me a link to the new Evaporators' video for "The Bombs in my Pants" because parts of it were filmed at that show I went to in Strathcona months ago. It is of interest because my face figures prominently in the video. Neat!
Today is a perfect example of why I banned myself from fabric stores entirely for 3 or 4 years. I already had a slew of fabric for a variety of dress patterns I want to try out. That's fine. No problem. But at the sale today, I bought another Vintage Vogue pattern and decided to peruse the bargain section because it was the only way I could afford to make it (it requires about 7 metres of fabric because it's a 1957 dress with a very full skirt). I bought 7.5 metres of a $3 pinky cherry blossom print fabric that was 50% off. When you do the math, it's $11.25 for the fabric. All notions were 50% off, so with the zipper and thread included, it will cost $14 to make this dress (since it's for me I'm not going to worry about labour costs).
Doing the math just makes me want to buy more. This has to stop. I haven't even mentioned the other fabric I bought for another 1960 dress. (I'm nearing completion on the trial run of it and it actually looks pretty neat with no real alterations, though it may be a bit snug, but I won't know until the zipper that I forgot to buy is sewn in.)
Those who have now seen the hideous dress were much kinder than I believe they should have been. People looked at me slightly oddly while I waited for the bus this evening, which I didn't really care about because the dress is comfortable and I can't begrudge a dress that has such ample pockets and that gives my belly room to wiggle. But to me it's obvious it's made with quilting fabric that isn't pretty. Whenever I look into the bathroom mirror, all I can think of is Laura Ashley. This dress actually reminds me of a Laura Ashley pattern my mom sewed for me when I was in grade 10 or 11 with small flowers on a medium blue background. I really liked that dress; this one is OK, but not my favourite fabric of all the ones I've bought recently.
The problem with me is I get obsessive about something for a while until something else distracts me away. Much the same as my tangent talking. Sometimes I'll go back to my original point (or sewing), but sometimes I forget and remember ages after the fact. I have a dress that has been waiting for minor repairs for two years and I can finally finish it because I got the supplies (bias tape) needed to finish the job.
For those of you not at all interested in sewing, I feel so bad for you. Not bad enough to stop talking about my projects, but still.
Tomorrow I'm finally going to get my hair cut/coloured after months of declining style. I got a coupon at work for a salon downtown. Hopefully my fake sister-in-law will be back to styling soon; she had a baby in May and wanted to be back at work, at least a couple days a week, by the end of August. I sure hope so. I'm so afraid to go to someone else who doesn't understand my hair.
Oh, my friend Duncan sent me a link to the new Evaporators' video for "The Bombs in my Pants" because parts of it were filmed at that show I went to in Strathcona months ago. It is of interest because my face figures prominently in the video. Neat!
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
on the up and up
Days seem to be a little lovelier lately.
Last night I watched "Happy-Go-Lucky" and found myself slightly bored by it, but aware that there was a lesson to be learned. If you think your day is going well, it's probably going well. It's all depends on your perspective.
Today I met up with Linh and Stewart for Japadogs (the Smithe location) and a hangout. I had the oroshi, which was tasty, but the daikon made me burp for the rest of the afternoon. We decided to follow it up with beer, so headed to Steamworks for the daily special (cheap jugs) on the patio. They have sour cherry beer right now, a 9% stout, and we were surprised to learn that they cannot serve more than 20oz. of it to any one person. We tried a little sample; it was OK, but we prefer the Impanema, a white wheat beer. We discussed a group weekend trip to Portland to eat and go to Target, so I hope it works out. I get to feed their cute little kitty this weekend.
Tonight I had a dinner with work people at one of the librarian's houses. It was a lot of fun, a catered affair to say goodbye to the librarian I'm filling in for this summer. They really like wine, so I got to hear increasingly interesting stories as the bottles emptied. With the sun out, surrounded by the backyard garden, it felt like summer.
Tomorrow is the Fabricland trip and I have an afternoon visit with my wee friend Brittany planned. And then I have cat lessons after to make sure I don't overfeed or neglect Momo.
I feel pretty good lately. This is good.
Last night I watched "Happy-Go-Lucky" and found myself slightly bored by it, but aware that there was a lesson to be learned. If you think your day is going well, it's probably going well. It's all depends on your perspective.
Today I met up with Linh and Stewart for Japadogs (the Smithe location) and a hangout. I had the oroshi, which was tasty, but the daikon made me burp for the rest of the afternoon. We decided to follow it up with beer, so headed to Steamworks for the daily special (cheap jugs) on the patio. They have sour cherry beer right now, a 9% stout, and we were surprised to learn that they cannot serve more than 20oz. of it to any one person. We tried a little sample; it was OK, but we prefer the Impanema, a white wheat beer. We discussed a group weekend trip to Portland to eat and go to Target, so I hope it works out. I get to feed their cute little kitty this weekend.
Tonight I had a dinner with work people at one of the librarian's houses. It was a lot of fun, a catered affair to say goodbye to the librarian I'm filling in for this summer. They really like wine, so I got to hear increasingly interesting stories as the bottles emptied. With the sun out, surrounded by the backyard garden, it felt like summer.
Tomorrow is the Fabricland trip and I have an afternoon visit with my wee friend Brittany planned. And then I have cat lessons after to make sure I don't overfeed or neglect Momo.
I feel pretty good lately. This is good.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
motivational speaking
Something must be missing in my life.
I shouldn't get so involved with something as stupid and vacuous and planned as "The Bachelorette". It's so terrible, yet I watch it weekly. This week my favourite bachelor left of his own will. He's from Chicago and has big eyes and seems normal and nice. There is talk that he'll be back in a couple weeks, the spoilers trying to spoil the season. What would be great is if Wes, who is the one with the girlfriend (and shitty songwriting skills; seriously, that song he kept singing to her? DREADFUL), winds up getting replaced by Ed once it comes out for real that he's got a girlfriend. I mean, Ed asked if he could keep the rose. That must mean something.
See? What the hell is wrong with me?!
Tonight I have to work and I totally don't want to. I have a number of days off this week and next, and am trying to take advantage of the time off by knocking off projects as best I can. I want to get canning supplies so I'm ready to get to it when fruit and vegetables start coming into season. There are a few recipes I want to make, including ginger syrup for homemade ginger soda, and a big batch of simple syrup for iced tea and lemonade (this will require massive sugar purchasing, as the baking push of April/May has left me with very little). I cut out another dress today and can get most of it done before I can get a zipper to finish it. I have enough of that particular fabric to make a skirt and another three dresses (so much of it!). I have to organise my sewing supplies in general because I've been looking for bias tape for a few days with no luck (and I know I have two packs of it). The hideous dress is as done as it's going to get, so it'll go into rotation this week.
My friend Heather asked if I want to go to the enormous Fabricland in Surrey on Thursday for a big, weird Thursday-only sale (50-70% off!), so we're going to check it out. I'm fearful, if only because I have no idea how much more fabric I'm going to wind up buying. I can't not buy fabric. I have six cuts waiting to be turned into dresses; how much more can I buy? This isn't even counting the cuts in boxes that I got over the last couple years before I banned myself from buying fabric. I found an entire box of Repro Depot fabrics that I intended to use for skirts; that alone would mean another 8 or 9 skirts!
These things make me realise how neglectful and lazy I've been the last couple of years. I should have been sewing my ass off instead of worrying about school and finding work and the like. Even baking could have been replaced by sewing, to a point. Sigh.
With my tidying of last week, I unearthed a couple of White Spot coupons that I need to use/get rid of by the end of June. The Giants did well for a couple of games I went to and White Spot gave "free appetizer with an entrée" coupons whenever the Giants scored 6 goals or more. Anyone feel like visiting White Spot in the next week or so?
I shouldn't get so involved with something as stupid and vacuous and planned as "The Bachelorette". It's so terrible, yet I watch it weekly. This week my favourite bachelor left of his own will. He's from Chicago and has big eyes and seems normal and nice. There is talk that he'll be back in a couple weeks, the spoilers trying to spoil the season. What would be great is if Wes, who is the one with the girlfriend (and shitty songwriting skills; seriously, that song he kept singing to her? DREADFUL), winds up getting replaced by Ed once it comes out for real that he's got a girlfriend. I mean, Ed asked if he could keep the rose. That must mean something.
See? What the hell is wrong with me?!
Tonight I have to work and I totally don't want to. I have a number of days off this week and next, and am trying to take advantage of the time off by knocking off projects as best I can. I want to get canning supplies so I'm ready to get to it when fruit and vegetables start coming into season. There are a few recipes I want to make, including ginger syrup for homemade ginger soda, and a big batch of simple syrup for iced tea and lemonade (this will require massive sugar purchasing, as the baking push of April/May has left me with very little). I cut out another dress today and can get most of it done before I can get a zipper to finish it. I have enough of that particular fabric to make a skirt and another three dresses (so much of it!). I have to organise my sewing supplies in general because I've been looking for bias tape for a few days with no luck (and I know I have two packs of it). The hideous dress is as done as it's going to get, so it'll go into rotation this week.
My friend Heather asked if I want to go to the enormous Fabricland in Surrey on Thursday for a big, weird Thursday-only sale (50-70% off!), so we're going to check it out. I'm fearful, if only because I have no idea how much more fabric I'm going to wind up buying. I can't not buy fabric. I have six cuts waiting to be turned into dresses; how much more can I buy? This isn't even counting the cuts in boxes that I got over the last couple years before I banned myself from buying fabric. I found an entire box of Repro Depot fabrics that I intended to use for skirts; that alone would mean another 8 or 9 skirts!
These things make me realise how neglectful and lazy I've been the last couple of years. I should have been sewing my ass off instead of worrying about school and finding work and the like. Even baking could have been replaced by sewing, to a point. Sigh.
With my tidying of last week, I unearthed a couple of White Spot coupons that I need to use/get rid of by the end of June. The Giants did well for a couple of games I went to and White Spot gave "free appetizer with an entrée" coupons whenever the Giants scored 6 goals or more. Anyone feel like visiting White Spot in the next week or so?
Sunday, June 14, 2009
nothing in particular
I just saw the worst subject line for spam: enter her twat like a bull unlayering runes. What the hell does that mean? Unlayering runes?
My parents left around noon for their drive home. It was going to be a challenge getting away from the 'hood because of car-free day on Main. We drove over to Langara to look at the library building and struggled to get away from my house with Main closed to King Edward. I have a slight fear that they'll be stuck on side streets for the next five hours, trying to get to the highway.
There is some reluctance to head to Main for the street thing. I find large groups of people overwhelming sometimes, and will already be around people tonight at the Julie Doiron show. Do I need to avoid people on bikes all afternoon? Do I want to walk around those people that sway back and forth to hippie drumming? But I always think of festivals in Japan that have ramune and yakitori and takoyaki, and I secretly want to see what kind of street food there is. Not that I'll eat it; just the knowing is often enough. Will see if my neighbourhood friend wants to meet up over there. Or not.
The big project for the weekend (er... today) was to get a new commuting bike. With living 30 blocks from Langara, it seems weird to pay for a bus pass for the next couple of months when I could walk or ride there. Because of a lack of sleep last night (coughing related), I'm slow-moving and not sure I can bring myself to look at bikes in the state that I am in. But I need to get on this before I start in a couple weeks. The sooner the better.
My parents left around noon for their drive home. It was going to be a challenge getting away from the 'hood because of car-free day on Main. We drove over to Langara to look at the library building and struggled to get away from my house with Main closed to King Edward. I have a slight fear that they'll be stuck on side streets for the next five hours, trying to get to the highway.
There is some reluctance to head to Main for the street thing. I find large groups of people overwhelming sometimes, and will already be around people tonight at the Julie Doiron show. Do I need to avoid people on bikes all afternoon? Do I want to walk around those people that sway back and forth to hippie drumming? But I always think of festivals in Japan that have ramune and yakitori and takoyaki, and I secretly want to see what kind of street food there is. Not that I'll eat it; just the knowing is often enough. Will see if my neighbourhood friend wants to meet up over there. Or not.
The big project for the weekend (er... today) was to get a new commuting bike. With living 30 blocks from Langara, it seems weird to pay for a bus pass for the next couple of months when I could walk or ride there. Because of a lack of sleep last night (coughing related), I'm slow-moving and not sure I can bring myself to look at bikes in the state that I am in. But I need to get on this before I start in a couple weeks. The sooner the better.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
fighting the good fight
As luck would have it, as soon as I have a glimmer of time off (two more days!) I get the idea of a cold. I don't have a cold; I have symptoms that would imply I may get a cold if I weren't on the Cold FX cycle and drinking tea and water most of the day and gargling with Listerine. But I'm not sick. Nope. Not me. Not sick.
So what if I went through almost an entire package of Fisherman's Friend? They freshen my breath.
Today I missed seeing David Sedaris at the CBC for a bookclub chat/reading. I had every intention of going, but then had my shift today extended and I couldn't really rationalise passing up that kind of money, even though I love David Sedaris and will likely never get this close to him again. Sigh. David, look me up the next time you're through town. I'll take you to dim sum.
My parents are coming to town tomorrow for a short visit. Mostly this is to make sure my sister is OK, since she's still not really speaking to us and it was her birthday yesterday. But they'll be testing out the new sofabed; they're the guinea pigs. (Is that even accurate? Do they do any testing on guinea pigs anymore? Aren't rats or mice more popular in animal experiments?) I didn't put as much effort into cleaning my house as I probably should have, since they generally point out something that doesn't seem like it's as clean as it should be. My biggest issue was moving all my sewing stuff that I had scattered across my dining room table. That took forever to deal with.
Yesterday after work I headed to the SW Marine Drive Fabricland to pick up some Vintage Vogue patterns because they're regularly $30, but are on for $5.99 for the next week. I also got some fabric that was "buy 1 metre, get 3 metres free" and wound up with 8 metres for $30. I probably need to stop visiting fabric stores again. It's becoming unhealthy. I sorta finished the hideous fabric dress, but I don't like how it fits and so either have to take half of it apart to try to figure out how to fix the weird sleeves and the bunchiness at the back or just put in the zipper again and cut out a few inches to try to solve the sleeve problem by tightening the whole thing up. Neither is tempting right now.
I should probably go to bed. A full night sleep would be sweet, though unlikely since my body seems to refuse to sleep past 6:30am. Black out shades would be awesome. I could pop to the fabric store for something...
So what if I went through almost an entire package of Fisherman's Friend? They freshen my breath.
Today I missed seeing David Sedaris at the CBC for a bookclub chat/reading. I had every intention of going, but then had my shift today extended and I couldn't really rationalise passing up that kind of money, even though I love David Sedaris and will likely never get this close to him again. Sigh. David, look me up the next time you're through town. I'll take you to dim sum.
My parents are coming to town tomorrow for a short visit. Mostly this is to make sure my sister is OK, since she's still not really speaking to us and it was her birthday yesterday. But they'll be testing out the new sofabed; they're the guinea pigs. (Is that even accurate? Do they do any testing on guinea pigs anymore? Aren't rats or mice more popular in animal experiments?) I didn't put as much effort into cleaning my house as I probably should have, since they generally point out something that doesn't seem like it's as clean as it should be. My biggest issue was moving all my sewing stuff that I had scattered across my dining room table. That took forever to deal with.
Yesterday after work I headed to the SW Marine Drive Fabricland to pick up some Vintage Vogue patterns because they're regularly $30, but are on for $5.99 for the next week. I also got some fabric that was "buy 1 metre, get 3 metres free" and wound up with 8 metres for $30. I probably need to stop visiting fabric stores again. It's becoming unhealthy. I sorta finished the hideous fabric dress, but I don't like how it fits and so either have to take half of it apart to try to figure out how to fix the weird sleeves and the bunchiness at the back or just put in the zipper again and cut out a few inches to try to solve the sleeve problem by tightening the whole thing up. Neither is tempting right now.
I should probably go to bed. A full night sleep would be sweet, though unlikely since my body seems to refuse to sleep past 6:30am. Black out shades would be awesome. I could pop to the fabric store for something...
Saturday, June 6, 2009
you probably thought i had more upstairs
Does Facebook know something I don't? It's telling me Camera Obscura is playing RIGHT NOW at the Commodore, but I was at that show and it seemed to be over when I left. Now I question myself...
There was a decent-sized crowd there and I didn't have to avoid thrashers and no one stepped on my toes and no tall men pushed past me to get to the front. It was thoroughly pleasant. A young man stood behind me, but didn't talk to me, even though he kept looking like he was going to, and danced close enough that I could feel his breath on my neck. I just had no voice to actually talk. (I said something to two people around me and I think I sounded like a Muppet. Seemed very unnatural, even for me.) There were a large number of young men who knew a lot of the words to songs and one boy gave them grossly oversized corsages made of fake flowers and a mixed CD. Boys have crushes on those Camera Obscura girls.
Tracyanne and Carey wore dresses and heels and hair ornamentation (Tracyanne had a feather headband thing that was actually more chic than I'm making it sound and Carey had a chiffon scarf tied round and knotted like a headband which was also more chic than I'm making it sound). It makes me want to finish that dress fast so I can wear it either this weekend or early next week. Need more flats. Gotta get on the Summer of Dresses but quick. It's time to feel like a lady.
On my way home, I passed by the guy who used to play outside the Black Dog all the time, playing on Granville. It was super weird... There's still a bunch of construction along Granville, which has bunged up the sidewalks, so there isn't room to really stop in certain sections. He was in the nook of a storefront and started playing just before I got near him and people just stopped dead in their tracks and pressed themselves against the gates that keep them away from the construction. Like, 20 people just stopped, mesmerised like rats or children or whatever by the Pied Piper. That doesn't happen very often around here. He's gotten really amazing, though, so much more than when he had the acoustic guitar and the long hair. It made me smile and feel a little nostalgic for those late nights post-Black Dog when we'd go to the Funky Pickle for drunken slices and sit on the curb, half-listening to him play, lamenting on important life issues.
The moon was rather full (though not full) and slightly orangey tonight. I love that it shows up brightly while it's still light out. Tonight I waited for the bus around 9:45 and thought back to when I had a "be home before dark" curfew going into grade 8. I probably could have gotten away with 10pm tonight!
Oh, I think I've figured out why I'm unlovable: I think I smell. Like, smell to distraction. I'm not all together sure, though. My mouth seems to smell weird on one side between two teeth, my feet enjoy producing fumes, my deodorant fails me... I either have to meet someone who lacks the ability to smell (thereby making a dreadful match since people who can't smell sometimes lose their quality of life entirely and then kill themselves, such as Michael Hutchence) or die alone. My two options; neither seems particularly good.
Yesterday I neglected to mention that my couch came with matching throwpillows. This makes me feel adult-like, but not as much as the fact that my Eames chairs match the couch. Now if I just had a more grown-up TV stand and a TV with an actual remote... Then I'd be as close to being a adult as I'm going to get.
Indeed, these are the thoughts in my head while sober. Imagine what flies through after a good dose of gin.
There was a decent-sized crowd there and I didn't have to avoid thrashers and no one stepped on my toes and no tall men pushed past me to get to the front. It was thoroughly pleasant. A young man stood behind me, but didn't talk to me, even though he kept looking like he was going to, and danced close enough that I could feel his breath on my neck. I just had no voice to actually talk. (I said something to two people around me and I think I sounded like a Muppet. Seemed very unnatural, even for me.) There were a large number of young men who knew a lot of the words to songs and one boy gave them grossly oversized corsages made of fake flowers and a mixed CD. Boys have crushes on those Camera Obscura girls.
Tracyanne and Carey wore dresses and heels and hair ornamentation (Tracyanne had a feather headband thing that was actually more chic than I'm making it sound and Carey had a chiffon scarf tied round and knotted like a headband which was also more chic than I'm making it sound). It makes me want to finish that dress fast so I can wear it either this weekend or early next week. Need more flats. Gotta get on the Summer of Dresses but quick. It's time to feel like a lady.
On my way home, I passed by the guy who used to play outside the Black Dog all the time, playing on Granville. It was super weird... There's still a bunch of construction along Granville, which has bunged up the sidewalks, so there isn't room to really stop in certain sections. He was in the nook of a storefront and started playing just before I got near him and people just stopped dead in their tracks and pressed themselves against the gates that keep them away from the construction. Like, 20 people just stopped, mesmerised like rats or children or whatever by the Pied Piper. That doesn't happen very often around here. He's gotten really amazing, though, so much more than when he had the acoustic guitar and the long hair. It made me smile and feel a little nostalgic for those late nights post-Black Dog when we'd go to the Funky Pickle for drunken slices and sit on the curb, half-listening to him play, lamenting on important life issues.
The moon was rather full (though not full) and slightly orangey tonight. I love that it shows up brightly while it's still light out. Tonight I waited for the bus around 9:45 and thought back to when I had a "be home before dark" curfew going into grade 8. I probably could have gotten away with 10pm tonight!
Oh, I think I've figured out why I'm unlovable: I think I smell. Like, smell to distraction. I'm not all together sure, though. My mouth seems to smell weird on one side between two teeth, my feet enjoy producing fumes, my deodorant fails me... I either have to meet someone who lacks the ability to smell (thereby making a dreadful match since people who can't smell sometimes lose their quality of life entirely and then kill themselves, such as Michael Hutchence) or die alone. My two options; neither seems particularly good.
Yesterday I neglected to mention that my couch came with matching throwpillows. This makes me feel adult-like, but not as much as the fact that my Eames chairs match the couch. Now if I just had a more grown-up TV stand and a TV with an actual remote... Then I'd be as close to being a adult as I'm going to get.
Indeed, these are the thoughts in my head while sober. Imagine what flies through after a good dose of gin.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
piecing together
Life rolls on.
The dress using the hideous fabric is nearly done. I have to adjust the arms/neckline a wee bit because it's a bit loose and I don't want to show my bra to everyone (I'm selective), but I will probably wear this a lot this summer. Ideally, I would have a second dress cut out and half done as well, but the pattern I bought for it contained the wrong size in the envelope, so I had to go back to West Van to get a new one, but they were sold out of it. This means I have to go to Marine Drive. Another trip to the fabric store frightens me. I always come home with more fabric (I bought 3.8 metres of dreadful blue and green swirlies bargain fabric). This means more dresses. I haven't gotten around to even thinking about skirts yet. Dresses are so much more complete. All I have to do is match shoes and a cardi (work is cold); with skirts, there are more things to match.
Today my sofabed arrived and I'm trying to figure out the best place for it. I feel almost adult-like, except for still having a poorly laid out apartment and certain pieces of furniture that I've had since I was 17. I sometimes dream about owning an apartment of my very own, but that's really not attainable. It's virtually impossible for me to be able to afford anything on my own unless I suddenly come into a lot of money, which isn't a good way to plan for the future. I wish I could win the lottery. (Actually, one of my friend's brothers won the lottery, about $100,000, and paid off his student loans and took a trip to South America and Easter Island, and now has no money and no job.) Sometimes it feels like people are lapping me in life; owning my own home is the most basic thing and I can't even do that. Drat.
Fun stuff the last week or so:
1) Rose Melberg, Chain & the Gang, Calvin Johnson's new band Hive Dwellers at Little Mountain. Really fun, though the start of sweating-like-hell-at-live-venues season. Pre-show I had ikayaki at Lihn and Stewart's (Lihn made them!), which was totally awesome. Post-show we went to the Foundation with Eva and Marc for the enormous tray of nachos.
2) Went to buy a bunch of booze at the Cambie booze emporium and then had okonomiyaki at the Clubhouse with Lihn and Stewart as a bribe...
3) Caught a ride to the Transfer Station in South Vancouver to dump my futon partly in the metal recycling station and partly in the dumping building. Being able to get rid of my stupid death trap futon I gladly passed over the $6. Got a few pictures, too, including a few powerlines across from the station. Stewart and I agreed the light was awesome on Monday for photos.
4) More shifts at Langara! I hope to be competent at work soon.
I have to prep for a committee meeting tomorrow morning, but really just want to lie around on my couch for a while. This weekend I'm going to Camera Obscura and Jens Lekman (different days), and having a preserving/canning meeting Saturday night to discuss strategy for small batch production with Jill. I mentioned to my mom that I'd be home this summer with friends to can and she was enthusiastic. I wish I'd paid more attention to canning when I was younger; my life would feel so much more accomplished (I'm not even joking. It's a real skill that I've always felt weird about not having, based on where I grew up).
Day 4 of 14 days in a row.
The dress using the hideous fabric is nearly done. I have to adjust the arms/neckline a wee bit because it's a bit loose and I don't want to show my bra to everyone (I'm selective), but I will probably wear this a lot this summer. Ideally, I would have a second dress cut out and half done as well, but the pattern I bought for it contained the wrong size in the envelope, so I had to go back to West Van to get a new one, but they were sold out of it. This means I have to go to Marine Drive. Another trip to the fabric store frightens me. I always come home with more fabric (I bought 3.8 metres of dreadful blue and green swirlies bargain fabric). This means more dresses. I haven't gotten around to even thinking about skirts yet. Dresses are so much more complete. All I have to do is match shoes and a cardi (work is cold); with skirts, there are more things to match.
Today my sofabed arrived and I'm trying to figure out the best place for it. I feel almost adult-like, except for still having a poorly laid out apartment and certain pieces of furniture that I've had since I was 17. I sometimes dream about owning an apartment of my very own, but that's really not attainable. It's virtually impossible for me to be able to afford anything on my own unless I suddenly come into a lot of money, which isn't a good way to plan for the future. I wish I could win the lottery. (Actually, one of my friend's brothers won the lottery, about $100,000, and paid off his student loans and took a trip to South America and Easter Island, and now has no money and no job.) Sometimes it feels like people are lapping me in life; owning my own home is the most basic thing and I can't even do that. Drat.
Fun stuff the last week or so:
1) Rose Melberg, Chain & the Gang, Calvin Johnson's new band Hive Dwellers at Little Mountain. Really fun, though the start of sweating-like-hell-at-live-venues season. Pre-show I had ikayaki at Lihn and Stewart's (Lihn made them!), which was totally awesome. Post-show we went to the Foundation with Eva and Marc for the enormous tray of nachos.
2) Went to buy a bunch of booze at the Cambie booze emporium and then had okonomiyaki at the Clubhouse with Lihn and Stewart as a bribe...
3) Caught a ride to the Transfer Station in South Vancouver to dump my futon partly in the metal recycling station and partly in the dumping building. Being able to get rid of my stupid death trap futon I gladly passed over the $6. Got a few pictures, too, including a few powerlines across from the station. Stewart and I agreed the light was awesome on Monday for photos.
4) More shifts at Langara! I hope to be competent at work soon.
I have to prep for a committee meeting tomorrow morning, but really just want to lie around on my couch for a while. This weekend I'm going to Camera Obscura and Jens Lekman (different days), and having a preserving/canning meeting Saturday night to discuss strategy for small batch production with Jill. I mentioned to my mom that I'd be home this summer with friends to can and she was enthusiastic. I wish I'd paid more attention to canning when I was younger; my life would feel so much more accomplished (I'm not even joking. It's a real skill that I've always felt weird about not having, based on where I grew up).
Day 4 of 14 days in a row.
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