What a lovely day!
The weather was ridiculous, sunny and pretty warm, and the light was amazing. Fall light is superior to most other times of the year, the crispness makes colours a little sharper.
Today I met up with a few girlfriends for a quick coffee, chat, and matinee of The September Issue. It was so fun to see them, especially Sara in from Victoria, and the movie was pretty fun. I mean, it isn't heavy-hitting drama or anything, but I totally admired Grace Coddington and love watching process. I dislike Anna Wintour less than before (reading a couple of biographies about her painted a dreadful picture of her) and continue to love Andre Leon Talley. Seriously, that man is just so fabulous.
Yesterday was a decent birthday, as far as birthdays that aren't noteworthy go. I was back at work and my co-workers played an amusing Beatles animated video for my birthday. I got to see my friend graduate from cop training, which was pretty interesting. The formal suits for police are quite sharp and seeing all the police cadets and graduates, as well as a fair number of field officers, was pretty overwhelming. Lots of eye candy. Dangerous, untouchable eye candy. After work Terry picked me up and we went to Grub for dinner. I seriously love Grub; it's always tasty and I should get paid for how much/often I gush about it. We were seated beside my boss and her husband (I knew they had reservations, but it was funny to be beside nonetheless). We both had the 5-spice sirloin steak with horseradish cream, wilted spinach salad with vinaigrette, and homemade gnocchi with Roquefort cream sauce. SO DELICIOUS. I didn't even have dessert because I was so pleasantly full. Then we wandered over to The Main to meet Kathy and her friends for a drink. It was very pleasant, one of the more pleasant birthdays in recent memory, largely because I didn't have to plan anything to rival Hallowe'en. I'm so over competing with Hallowe'en for the attention of my friends.
This week will be action-packed. My sister won Canucks tickets for Tuesday night, so we're going to (hopefully) watch the Canucks destroy the Rangers. Wednesday I'm meeting my friend Simone for Coco Avant Chanel. Thursday there are a couple of shows I haven't bought tickets for, but could if I got my act together. Saturday is the battle between my alma maters' hockey teams: the T-Birds vs. the Golden Bears. I always cheer for the Golden Bears because my time at the U of A was so much more memorable than my time at UBC. And the Golden Bears usually win. A rare week of stuff to do.
Now I just need to continue to fight off the sickness.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
silly dresses on silly women
I've been home sick the last couple of days and going a bit nuts. Not that I'm sick-sick; I'm just tired and have body aches and want to clear my throat occasionally. My throat isn't sore, my head and nose aren't stuffed, my lungs are clear. But the tiredness and soreness and the headache yesterday and this morning kept me home. No one in my tiny office wants to be sick and if I go in sick there's nowhere for them to hide.
While home, I've been watching more vacuous TV than I've ever watched in my life. I've only recently discovered the crap channels I have above channel 28 and have been sausaged in a duvet, immobile, while my brain was filled with silly girls who speak in monotones, who flip their hair more than a normal person should, who make everything more dramatic than it really is.
Does anyone actually believe that "The Hills" and/or "The City" are real? Because they aren't. Like, at all. And it amuses me that anyone bothers to pretend it is. I've been catching the odd "Sex and the City" and "Queer Eye..." and these shows amuse me in a different way. There are other shows that have absorbed my day, but they are just embarassing to admit to.
I'm hoping to go into work tomorrow (I don't have sick days so if I don't work I don't get paid) and make it through the week without incident so I can see a matinee on Saturday. My plan was to see The September Issue last night, but that didn't happen and so now it is set for the weekend. I am so excited to see it. SO excited.
"ANTM" is on and I feel compelled to waste the remainder of the evening. My ability to make rational decisions was destroyed when I sat through most of a "Rachel Zoe Project" episode. Back to the cotton sausage.
While home, I've been watching more vacuous TV than I've ever watched in my life. I've only recently discovered the crap channels I have above channel 28 and have been sausaged in a duvet, immobile, while my brain was filled with silly girls who speak in monotones, who flip their hair more than a normal person should, who make everything more dramatic than it really is.
Does anyone actually believe that "The Hills" and/or "The City" are real? Because they aren't. Like, at all. And it amuses me that anyone bothers to pretend it is. I've been catching the odd "Sex and the City" and "Queer Eye..." and these shows amuse me in a different way. There are other shows that have absorbed my day, but they are just embarassing to admit to.
I'm hoping to go into work tomorrow (I don't have sick days so if I don't work I don't get paid) and make it through the week without incident so I can see a matinee on Saturday. My plan was to see The September Issue last night, but that didn't happen and so now it is set for the weekend. I am so excited to see it. SO excited.
"ANTM" is on and I feel compelled to waste the remainder of the evening. My ability to make rational decisions was destroyed when I sat through most of a "Rachel Zoe Project" episode. Back to the cotton sausage.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
don't tell anyone, but I've got a run in my stocking
One thing I've realised and am not all together happy about... Cary Grant wasn't always an attractive, suave man.
My love affair with him started with An Affair To Remember because of the whole longing angle. The Empire State scenes, later destroyed by Sleepless in Seattle, made my 1997 trip there a little more memorable (or it could have been my travel companion). Lately I've been watching more movies that he's in and my gaze is shifting slightly. In The Philadelphia Story he had moments of dreaminess, but the dreadful collarless jacket he wore at the end kind of shocked me. That was more or less forgotten with Holiday until I reviewed the cover. He just looked kind of weird on the cover. And how quickly he started making out with the sister. What a manwhore.
What's funny about the movies I've been watching is that they all have Cary Grant and/or Jimmy (James) Stewart and Katherine Hepburn. Damn, they dressed her well. How ridiculously thin that woman was. Ridiculously. And yet I don't hate her in the way I sometimes hate ridiculously thin, beautiful women. Maybe it's the dresses.
With my parents' plane being delayed an extra hour-and-a-half, I've got some time to kill. I don't want to keep watching movies because they're making me kind of depressed. Because in almost all of them, the women wear high heels and floor-length gowns in the middle of the day and have parties until 4am and have fabulous parties involving trapeze bars. That, unfortunately, doesn't reflect my life.
I had a small dinner party last evening and barely wore a skirt (it was corduroy, rather than me being a slut who couldn't keep my skirt on), but my clogs probably don't really equal high heels. And people didn't even last past 10pm. It became horribly apparent that I am not glamourous or interesting or a spitfire like Kate Hepburn. No, I'm just the sort that can maybe feed people, but not entertain them. And, on top of that, 10pm was too late for me to get downtown to see Dead Man's Bones, so I lost on all counts.
There's nothing I want to do more than sleep until sometime in November.
My love affair with him started with An Affair To Remember because of the whole longing angle. The Empire State scenes, later destroyed by Sleepless in Seattle, made my 1997 trip there a little more memorable (or it could have been my travel companion). Lately I've been watching more movies that he's in and my gaze is shifting slightly. In The Philadelphia Story he had moments of dreaminess, but the dreadful collarless jacket he wore at the end kind of shocked me. That was more or less forgotten with Holiday until I reviewed the cover. He just looked kind of weird on the cover. And how quickly he started making out with the sister. What a manwhore.
What's funny about the movies I've been watching is that they all have Cary Grant and/or Jimmy (James) Stewart and Katherine Hepburn. Damn, they dressed her well. How ridiculously thin that woman was. Ridiculously. And yet I don't hate her in the way I sometimes hate ridiculously thin, beautiful women. Maybe it's the dresses.
With my parents' plane being delayed an extra hour-and-a-half, I've got some time to kill. I don't want to keep watching movies because they're making me kind of depressed. Because in almost all of them, the women wear high heels and floor-length gowns in the middle of the day and have parties until 4am and have fabulous parties involving trapeze bars. That, unfortunately, doesn't reflect my life.
I had a small dinner party last evening and barely wore a skirt (it was corduroy, rather than me being a slut who couldn't keep my skirt on), but my clogs probably don't really equal high heels. And people didn't even last past 10pm. It became horribly apparent that I am not glamourous or interesting or a spitfire like Kate Hepburn. No, I'm just the sort that can maybe feed people, but not entertain them. And, on top of that, 10pm was too late for me to get downtown to see Dead Man's Bones, so I lost on all counts.
There's nothing I want to do more than sleep until sometime in November.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
avoiding the yawnies
The day that I get a full night's sleep, I mess myself up by avoiding my home for as long as I can.
I left my house at 7:40am, worked my day, hightailed it to my other job to work for a few hours (sick replacement), and will head to a show tonight at the Black Frog. I will be surprised if I'm home by 1am.
What I planned to do tonight wasn't exciting or anything, but it was a plan. But part of my lesson is to figure out how to roll with the punches. Being flexible means long days, but can also mean awesome.
I left my house at 7:40am, worked my day, hightailed it to my other job to work for a few hours (sick replacement), and will head to a show tonight at the Black Frog. I will be surprised if I'm home by 1am.
What I planned to do tonight wasn't exciting or anything, but it was a plan. But part of my lesson is to figure out how to roll with the punches. Being flexible means long days, but can also mean awesome.
Monday, October 19, 2009
the fear
How I wish I were more interested in making jam. I really, really do.
I've been meaning to make jam for more than a week and it hasn't happened. One of the things stopping me is that I have to actually go and buy canning supplies and I don't really want to. I don't want to because I'd have to drive. I don't want to drive because this city freaks the crap out of me.
When I visit my parents I am the only person who drives. Mom and Dad prefer me to drive; Dad says it's to keep me in practice, Mom just doesn't like to drive unless she has to. While they're away they've left me their truck with expressed instructions to drive it around. I'm just such a chickenshit. I'm afraid of driving alone in the city because I'm totally not used to it and am worried that someone is going to smash into me because I'm not doing something right and that would be very, very bad. Sigh.
So the man that I think is really attractive at work popped in to see if I could find some electronic links to printed copies of reports he got from somewhere. It seriously took me about a minute to find and send off the links, and I had to drop off the printed copies that he left with me. Five emails passed between us in less than two minutes to organise. He has the sweetest office above the institute's president with a nice view of the surrounding area. He kept wheeling towards me, but never got out of his chair (he's quite a tall man). We had a short, amusing conversation about throwing parties in his office and getting busted by the cops who have offices down the hall. When I got back to the office I mentioned the sweet office and my boss said something about him being cute and I agreed that, yes, he's an adorable man. And she said she'd have to figure out a way to bump into him to see if he's single for me. I am afraid.
Speaking of men I have no chance with, I'm half debating buying a ticket for Dead Man's Bones for Saturday. But I'm also supposed to have people over for dinner, so chances are that's not going to happen. Guess I should see if they're coming over...
Sometimes I'm a thumping bore.
I've been meaning to make jam for more than a week and it hasn't happened. One of the things stopping me is that I have to actually go and buy canning supplies and I don't really want to. I don't want to because I'd have to drive. I don't want to drive because this city freaks the crap out of me.
When I visit my parents I am the only person who drives. Mom and Dad prefer me to drive; Dad says it's to keep me in practice, Mom just doesn't like to drive unless she has to. While they're away they've left me their truck with expressed instructions to drive it around. I'm just such a chickenshit. I'm afraid of driving alone in the city because I'm totally not used to it and am worried that someone is going to smash into me because I'm not doing something right and that would be very, very bad. Sigh.
So the man that I think is really attractive at work popped in to see if I could find some electronic links to printed copies of reports he got from somewhere. It seriously took me about a minute to find and send off the links, and I had to drop off the printed copies that he left with me. Five emails passed between us in less than two minutes to organise. He has the sweetest office above the institute's president with a nice view of the surrounding area. He kept wheeling towards me, but never got out of his chair (he's quite a tall man). We had a short, amusing conversation about throwing parties in his office and getting busted by the cops who have offices down the hall. When I got back to the office I mentioned the sweet office and my boss said something about him being cute and I agreed that, yes, he's an adorable man. And she said she'd have to figure out a way to bump into him to see if he's single for me. I am afraid.
Speaking of men I have no chance with, I'm half debating buying a ticket for Dead Man's Bones for Saturday. But I'm also supposed to have people over for dinner, so chances are that's not going to happen. Guess I should see if they're coming over...
Sometimes I'm a thumping bore.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
making it happen
At some point in the last 24 hours I thought it would be a good idea to invite my friends over for dinner. This is amusing because I haven't been for groceries for more than a couple days and haven't even finished sorting out my kitchen and where everything should go. But still, I invited people over.
It was fine. I worked until 5 and then picked up the stuff I needed, and threw it all together (almost literally). Managed to sort of make it look like my apartment wasn't a complete mess. They brought wine and I joined them without any major mishap and they really liked what I made (prosciutto-wrapped chicken and garlic roasted potatoes with a pear & goat cheese salad). I'm pretty sure that I should invite people over more often, but always have some concern that people will just be polite even when it isn't that good. (In this instance, the mmmmms made me think they were either being honest or they're really good at faking.) Maybe I'll make that my new year's resolution: invite people over for food more often.
I didn't get around to throwing together the apple cake I wanted to make, but depleted the freezer supply of baking and now have to do some baking. Baking!
The wine... wine usually makes me physically ill and I thought it was some sort of allergy, but I managed OK tonight and topped off the wine with some beer and, still, everything seems fine. But I do desperately want to sleep, though it is almost 1am and I'm used to being in bed by about 10:30pm.
My friend told me a funny story about an UFC guy who has to do community service in Vancouver and is doing two hours of that community service at my workplace (not the library, but the building) on Monday. It involves him talking about ground combat in the gym area and I'm going to see if I can somehow go see what's what before I have to go home. How random and strange.
Tomorrow I'm hoping to get rid of my returnables and maybe drive my parents' truck while they're away (I think they're flying to Egypt right now). And get a bed frame for my bed from my friends and go to the apple festival at the UBC farm. And make some quince jam/jelly after collecting some canning supplies. And deal with the tomatoes that have ripened on my counter. And maybe deal with the fruit my mom brought that is starting to soften, including the nectarines that I'd like to turn into jam. (I gave away a jar of peach jam tonight and should maybe replace it with more.) Busy, busy.
I realise this is rather dull, but I'm also a bit tipsy and don't want to be more interesting right now. To bed!
It was fine. I worked until 5 and then picked up the stuff I needed, and threw it all together (almost literally). Managed to sort of make it look like my apartment wasn't a complete mess. They brought wine and I joined them without any major mishap and they really liked what I made (prosciutto-wrapped chicken and garlic roasted potatoes with a pear & goat cheese salad). I'm pretty sure that I should invite people over more often, but always have some concern that people will just be polite even when it isn't that good. (In this instance, the mmmmms made me think they were either being honest or they're really good at faking.) Maybe I'll make that my new year's resolution: invite people over for food more often.
I didn't get around to throwing together the apple cake I wanted to make, but depleted the freezer supply of baking and now have to do some baking. Baking!
The wine... wine usually makes me physically ill and I thought it was some sort of allergy, but I managed OK tonight and topped off the wine with some beer and, still, everything seems fine. But I do desperately want to sleep, though it is almost 1am and I'm used to being in bed by about 10:30pm.
My friend told me a funny story about an UFC guy who has to do community service in Vancouver and is doing two hours of that community service at my workplace (not the library, but the building) on Monday. It involves him talking about ground combat in the gym area and I'm going to see if I can somehow go see what's what before I have to go home. How random and strange.
Tomorrow I'm hoping to get rid of my returnables and maybe drive my parents' truck while they're away (I think they're flying to Egypt right now). And get a bed frame for my bed from my friends and go to the apple festival at the UBC farm. And make some quince jam/jelly after collecting some canning supplies. And deal with the tomatoes that have ripened on my counter. And maybe deal with the fruit my mom brought that is starting to soften, including the nectarines that I'd like to turn into jam. (I gave away a jar of peach jam tonight and should maybe replace it with more.) Busy, busy.
I realise this is rather dull, but I'm also a bit tipsy and don't want to be more interesting right now. To bed!
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
do you feel lucky?
With the new lottery draw, I've been thinking of dabbling in a ticket this week. I could do a lot with $25 million and I won't have access to that kind of money unless I lose limbs due to someone's negligence (not my own) or win the lottery. But people like me don't win the lottery. It's usually a retired boatmaker or an office full of middle management.
When I was growing up, on Saturday nights we'd have to interrupt our dinner to watch the Western. The Western was a half hour of BC lottery draws and results from the horses (at least I think it had something to do with the horses). My dad regularly played the same numbers, a combination of the birthdays in our family. He may still play the same numbers, I'm not totally sure. Anyway, he never won a huge amount, but occasionally we would hear about the $10 he won. Once I remember getting $100 because he won $500. That was cool. I wouldn't mind winning $100 now.
My friend's brother won $100,000 earlier this year and it was gone in around 6 months. He gave some to his family, paid part of his student loans, and travelled for 3 months. I have no idea how to use $100,000 that quickly. I mean, I could buy an apartment (or a tiny corner of an apartment), but I'm so indecisive with buying shoes that buying an apartment would probably take forever. If I had $25 million... I could be more decisive with that much money.
I'm going to try to dream the winning numbers. I mean, it's a pretty lucky year for me. I won those steaks at the meat draw over the Labour Day weekend... It's not much of a stretch to win $25 million, right?
As an aside, I have a bunch of quince from my friends' house. They have two trees and no idea what to do with them. I have enough for a lot of jam and some tarts/pies, if I get to it. Anyone have experience with quince?
When I was growing up, on Saturday nights we'd have to interrupt our dinner to watch the Western. The Western was a half hour of BC lottery draws and results from the horses (at least I think it had something to do with the horses). My dad regularly played the same numbers, a combination of the birthdays in our family. He may still play the same numbers, I'm not totally sure. Anyway, he never won a huge amount, but occasionally we would hear about the $10 he won. Once I remember getting $100 because he won $500. That was cool. I wouldn't mind winning $100 now.
My friend's brother won $100,000 earlier this year and it was gone in around 6 months. He gave some to his family, paid part of his student loans, and travelled for 3 months. I have no idea how to use $100,000 that quickly. I mean, I could buy an apartment (or a tiny corner of an apartment), but I'm so indecisive with buying shoes that buying an apartment would probably take forever. If I had $25 million... I could be more decisive with that much money.
I'm going to try to dream the winning numbers. I mean, it's a pretty lucky year for me. I won those steaks at the meat draw over the Labour Day weekend... It's not much of a stretch to win $25 million, right?
As an aside, I have a bunch of quince from my friends' house. They have two trees and no idea what to do with them. I have enough for a lot of jam and some tarts/pies, if I get to it. Anyone have experience with quince?
Saturday, October 10, 2009
i'll tell you what i do when my day is over
Seriously, sometimes I feel like the biggest fucking loser ever.
Saturday nights I am almost always home. It's a rare night if I'm out. And this isn't by choice or anything so noble. No, it's because my phone doesn't ring, my messages go unanswered, my attempts to socialise are generally thwarted in favour of something better. I am always in conjunction, never the featured attraction. I have come to expect this and so have all but given up on trying. It's a given that all weekends from now until I die crushed underneath a mound of paper that needs shredding will involve me watching TV alone. Good times.
Today I worked a few hours at Langara and came home to continued kitchen issues. Currently my outlets don't work, which means no cooking unless I want to drag my stupid oven into the hallway. The only option is to boil water on the floor or in my bathroom and eat some kimchi noodles I've been saving in case I get sick and don't get a chance to stock up on nourishment (though I refuse to get sick). I've decided that, in light of my surprising situation of being home alone on a Saturday night, I'll instead eat Peek Freans and watch the most romantic (read: depressing) musical movie ever made.
The pack of DVDs I ordered came in yesterday, so I picked them up today and painstakingly peeled them from their cellophane prisons. These are the sort that I can easily watch over and over. Tonight: The Women and possibly (though likely) Les parapluies de Cherbourg. The former is meant to make me want to finish sewing my dresses, the latter I watch as punishment for failing in all relationships I've been in. I got it specifically because it deals with an ill-fated relationship, something I know all too well and feel I need to remind myself of on a constant basis. Really, the colours and clothes look amazing and that it's almost entirely sung is inconsequential (even though I like musicals a great deal). I'm trying desperately to keep myself from Desk Set tonight because it might push me over the edge, forcing me to buy pop and drink Jack & Coke all night. I believe drinking alone until you pass out is a sign that you have a drinking problem.
Do I know how to party or what?
Saturday nights I am almost always home. It's a rare night if I'm out. And this isn't by choice or anything so noble. No, it's because my phone doesn't ring, my messages go unanswered, my attempts to socialise are generally thwarted in favour of something better. I am always in conjunction, never the featured attraction. I have come to expect this and so have all but given up on trying. It's a given that all weekends from now until I die crushed underneath a mound of paper that needs shredding will involve me watching TV alone. Good times.
Today I worked a few hours at Langara and came home to continued kitchen issues. Currently my outlets don't work, which means no cooking unless I want to drag my stupid oven into the hallway. The only option is to boil water on the floor or in my bathroom and eat some kimchi noodles I've been saving in case I get sick and don't get a chance to stock up on nourishment (though I refuse to get sick). I've decided that, in light of my surprising situation of being home alone on a Saturday night, I'll instead eat Peek Freans and watch the most romantic (read: depressing) musical movie ever made.
The pack of DVDs I ordered came in yesterday, so I picked them up today and painstakingly peeled them from their cellophane prisons. These are the sort that I can easily watch over and over. Tonight: The Women and possibly (though likely) Les parapluies de Cherbourg. The former is meant to make me want to finish sewing my dresses, the latter I watch as punishment for failing in all relationships I've been in. I got it specifically because it deals with an ill-fated relationship, something I know all too well and feel I need to remind myself of on a constant basis. Really, the colours and clothes look amazing and that it's almost entirely sung is inconsequential (even though I like musicals a great deal). I'm trying desperately to keep myself from Desk Set tonight because it might push me over the edge, forcing me to buy pop and drink Jack & Coke all night. I believe drinking alone until you pass out is a sign that you have a drinking problem.
Do I know how to party or what?
Saturday, October 3, 2009
and there is not the slightest excuse for plum or puce — or chartreuse
My head is swimming with visions of dresses. I'm going through a bit of a phase right now that seems to want to extend for a while longer. This week I got "Unzipped" and "Valentino: The Last Emperor" in the post and have watched both this weekend. This has pushed me over the edge a little. I am this close to getting a ticket to "The September Issue" at the VIFF, even though my parents will be at my house waiting for me to organise some dinner and visit before they leave the country. I could just wait for its regular release, which should be in the coming weeks. Patience...
A wee visit to an online retailer has resulted in another 6 (six) DVDs on my credit card. I'm waiting for an intervention.
Actually, these are all things that are just good movies in general, but they're heavy on the good costuming. I have a thing with certain movies specifically because of the clothes. "Funny Face" is one of those movies; "An Affair To Remember" is another. "Breakfast at Tiffany's" goes without saying. I watch these at least a couple times a year, largely because of the clothes. With the purchase of "Desk Set" and a rewatching of "Roman Holiday", I realise that I've been going about things all wrong.
I don't have a very good body for '40s and '50s clothing (or any other era, really, judging by how poorly things fit me), but I love the way the clothes look. And since I have a weird fascination with Edith Head and think Bunny Watson is top-notch (and with her being a librarian), I need to somehow find a way to dress somewhere between the two, only for my body shape. This will be my struggle in coming months/years.
Actually, this week Heather sent me a link to a ridiculous pattern sale. Simplicity and Butterick patterns for $2.99, Vogue patterns for $3.99. Believe me, I poured over them looking to load up on patterns, but I still have 4 1/2 dresses awaiting completion and about a dozen other patterns that still need to be trialled. It was a struggle not to buy any. But there were a couple of vintage suits that I don't think I have (I actually have to doublecheck my stash... I have a feeling I have one of them) and a coupon for 50% off 5 metres of fabric to use by the end of October. That could easily be a Bunny Watson-esque suit. Just the blouse would be the struggle. I think I even have shoes that would do. It would be so good.
I'm not sure if I've mentioned my profound love of Isaac Mizrahi, but it is ON again. I so want to venture to a Target circa 2006 for some of his stuff. Granted, I doubt there would be any of his coloured beast coats of 1995, but one can dream. Even if they would probably make me look like Sweetums. Liz Claiborne makes me feel a bit old, so going back in time would really be better.
A wee visit to an online retailer has resulted in another 6 (six) DVDs on my credit card. I'm waiting for an intervention.
Actually, these are all things that are just good movies in general, but they're heavy on the good costuming. I have a thing with certain movies specifically because of the clothes. "Funny Face" is one of those movies; "An Affair To Remember" is another. "Breakfast at Tiffany's" goes without saying. I watch these at least a couple times a year, largely because of the clothes. With the purchase of "Desk Set" and a rewatching of "Roman Holiday", I realise that I've been going about things all wrong.
I don't have a very good body for '40s and '50s clothing (or any other era, really, judging by how poorly things fit me), but I love the way the clothes look. And since I have a weird fascination with Edith Head and think Bunny Watson is top-notch (and with her being a librarian), I need to somehow find a way to dress somewhere between the two, only for my body shape. This will be my struggle in coming months/years.
Actually, this week Heather sent me a link to a ridiculous pattern sale. Simplicity and Butterick patterns for $2.99, Vogue patterns for $3.99. Believe me, I poured over them looking to load up on patterns, but I still have 4 1/2 dresses awaiting completion and about a dozen other patterns that still need to be trialled. It was a struggle not to buy any. But there were a couple of vintage suits that I don't think I have (I actually have to doublecheck my stash... I have a feeling I have one of them) and a coupon for 50% off 5 metres of fabric to use by the end of October. That could easily be a Bunny Watson-esque suit. Just the blouse would be the struggle. I think I even have shoes that would do. It would be so good.
I'm not sure if I've mentioned my profound love of Isaac Mizrahi, but it is ON again. I so want to venture to a Target circa 2006 for some of his stuff. Granted, I doubt there would be any of his coloured beast coats of 1995, but one can dream. Even if they would probably make me look like Sweetums. Liz Claiborne makes me feel a bit old, so going back in time would really be better.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
daily recap
Today was my last regular day at Langara and it was really sad to leave. Some of my co-workers took me for dim sum at Sun Siu Wah, which was awesome because there were enough of us to have a bunch of stuff and I got my beloved radish cakes. Then toward the end of the day everyone in my office gathered around my desk and gave me a card and an edible gift and played "I Love A Man In Uniform" by Gang of Four, and it was just really, really lovely. (They told me they refused to get a more permanent gift because they expect to see me back there.) I really like working there and am hoping to be able to work Saturdays there because it's just such a good place to work. I feel really fortunate that they seem to like me enough to want me to be there more. We're all hoping something comes up sometime before the end of my contract (or at least right around the time it ends) so I can be back there on a permanent basis. That would be rad.
Unrelated, I was closing up some email stuff from one of my other jobs and noticed a news item about a person who was promoted to the presidency of an association that sounded quite prestigious. I froze and my hand flew to my mouth to stifle the gasp that leapt from my mouth. The man in the news item used to be a priest that I knew through one of our former parish priests. I went to the ceremony when he became a full-fledged priest. He had dinner at our house a few times. Judging from the story, he's no longer a priest, because he had charges against him for child molestation (that wasn't in the story). We knew there were accusations against him, but had no idea what happened to him, if he was found guilty or jailed or anything. This was when I was about 15 or 16. He was nothing but kind and appropriate to me, even when I was a child in a summer camp that he organised. But these charges... It was a weird internal struggle to see him doing well: part of me wondered how he managed to get out of that situation and if he was guilty, but the other part was kind of glad that he was living a functional, productive life. Do people in his workplace know of his former life? Does he have to register as a pedophile? This probably requires greater effort and I may look into this further, just to appease my mind.
Strangely, he was the second priest that was accused of child molestation. The other was a much older priest who came to dinner with our parish priest (the one was staying with our priest while charges were being laid and the case was being prepped for trial) when I was about 11 or 12, and all I recall was that neither my parents nor our parish priest would allow him to be alone with me at all, even for a minute. My mother had told me of the accusation, so I knew why they were being so cautious. But seeing him, I had no idea how he could convince anyone to do anything sexual.
Tangenting, I just got back from Sondre Lerche and found him to be quite intoxicating. I would have loved to watch to the end, but the early start tomorrow made me nervous. As it is... Anyway, I did get to hang out with Heather and Blair, which was great fun. The rare chances that we get to hang out are always a treat.
Unrelated, I was closing up some email stuff from one of my other jobs and noticed a news item about a person who was promoted to the presidency of an association that sounded quite prestigious. I froze and my hand flew to my mouth to stifle the gasp that leapt from my mouth. The man in the news item used to be a priest that I knew through one of our former parish priests. I went to the ceremony when he became a full-fledged priest. He had dinner at our house a few times. Judging from the story, he's no longer a priest, because he had charges against him for child molestation (that wasn't in the story). We knew there were accusations against him, but had no idea what happened to him, if he was found guilty or jailed or anything. This was when I was about 15 or 16. He was nothing but kind and appropriate to me, even when I was a child in a summer camp that he organised. But these charges... It was a weird internal struggle to see him doing well: part of me wondered how he managed to get out of that situation and if he was guilty, but the other part was kind of glad that he was living a functional, productive life. Do people in his workplace know of his former life? Does he have to register as a pedophile? This probably requires greater effort and I may look into this further, just to appease my mind.
Strangely, he was the second priest that was accused of child molestation. The other was a much older priest who came to dinner with our parish priest (the one was staying with our priest while charges were being laid and the case was being prepped for trial) when I was about 11 or 12, and all I recall was that neither my parents nor our parish priest would allow him to be alone with me at all, even for a minute. My mother had told me of the accusation, so I knew why they were being so cautious. But seeing him, I had no idea how he could convince anyone to do anything sexual.
Tangenting, I just got back from Sondre Lerche and found him to be quite intoxicating. I would have loved to watch to the end, but the early start tomorrow made me nervous. As it is... Anyway, I did get to hang out with Heather and Blair, which was great fun. The rare chances that we get to hang out are always a treat.
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