Something I actually did!

There are lots of activities in my life that I pre-record here to share with my friends. Like Guerilla Gardening or writing letters to my friends overseas. Unfortunately some (most [all]) these grand adventures had yet to happen. In the last 20 minutes, however, I have accomplished something excellent. I have made 1 wooden ring.

I was inspired by some rings I saw at the mall, but none of them fit me. I used only my hand drill and some sand paper. The photographs I’ve posted below show you the magnificence that resulted.
My next plan involves reading a chapter or two of a book I’ve been reading for a LONG time. I’ll let you know tomorrow if I actually follow through with it.

Victoria Day

Happy 187th Birthday!

James Tiberius?

The Lynden Park Mall opens at 9:30 am on Saturdays NOT 10. I learned that the hard way last week. It's a good thing I learned it, because if I hadn't (having missed my bus this morning) I would have opened the store late again. Luckily I had enough time to call for a cab, and enough foresight to request Captain Kirk.

I don't know why they call him that, but he listens to cool music and the last time he picked me up he cost about $4 less than anyone else.

Transcribed below is the harrowing account of our trip to the mall.

I get into his cab and we head off to the mall. It wasn't long (about 2 blocks from my place) before some guy starts waving us down. Normally a cabby would just drive on past, but not Kirk, he's all heart. He stops and picks him up too. Turns out he's headed for the north end as well, so we split the fare. What a normal cabby would have done for $15 Kirk did for $10 split two ways. We each happily paid about $7 and boldly set off to work.

If that alone wasn't enough surprise for one day, when I got to work, I found this on the Internet. Weird eh? Makes you wonder what's going on in the day to day life of a Starfleet captain.

The sun will come out . . . tomorrow.

Remember the weather yesterday? If not I’ll refresh your memory. It rained. A lot! Making the most of the situation Shabu and I took the woke up early and headed off to the beach. We ended up doing a lot of indoor activities, like visiting the museum and stopping into the beach front shops. We even got a foot long from the Arbor (which had been torn down and rebuilt since the last time I was in Port Dover). It was a great day, despite the rain (and a couple heated arguments).

Once we made it back to Brantford we stopped to get some groceries and then I had to book it to Hamilton to pick up my Dad from work. When I got there, I took a moment (1.5 hours) to use the Highschool’s wood shop to sand a few (probably close to 200) cowrie shells into beads.

Following that, Dad wanted to stop to look at some sheds, and it turns out he knew out sales person and went to Highschool with the guy that owned the shed shop. What’s weirder is he had his highschool yearbook in the van which he serendipitously pulled out, revealing a multitude of shared memories and prompting a LENGTHY walk down memory lane.

After that we stopped at Tim Hortons and a woman my Dad knows came up to the van to tell us she was engaged. Then in Brantford again, we stopped to return some rented movies, and ran into J. Starky, city councillor. Apparently he was friends with my Uncles from way back, and knew me by name (although didn’t know I was, in relation to my uncles, until that evening).

Then I came home, made a HUGE and delicious bowl of fish soup. My own recipe, it was a delicious way to end a wonderful day.

Snail Mail

I don’t work ‘till around 2 o’clock today, so I slept in ‘till 10, had some bacon and eggs for breakfast, then sat down to update my blog. Unfortunately I couldn’t think of anything to write. I’ve been doing all sorts of great things the past few days. Shabu and I walked up to Jumbo and rented some pirate movies, I’ve been to a birthday and a buck and doe, I’ve made new and exciting hemp bracelets and necklaces for myself, but nothing that I felt compelled to blog about.

That was until I had a stranger message me from Nigeria. We chatted for a bit, and I started thinking about the people I know overseas, with whom I’ve fallen completely out of touch. I’ve got friends all over the place, but concentrations in England and Italy. I lost all the addresses from England, and I’ve written a grand total of two letters to my Italian friends in the last several years. However, today that all changed. Today I resolved to write letters to my friends in Italy, and place a call to my old highschool to see if they kept my British friends addresses on file. If they did, I’m going to spend a good chunk of my next day off writing letters and shipping them across the world. I might also send a letter to a friends tree planting in B.C. Apparently, it’s the only contact she’ll have with the outside world for a couple of months.

Or

Perhaps I was supposed to start work at 10:15am and messed up again.

Spock it to me baby!

It's been a while since I posted something like this. I hope you like it. There are a whole bunch more of this series that you can access from this site.

Quebec, tu me manque.

Ayden est en Québec et il m'écrit de bons e-mail. J'envie d'etre là avec lui. I also wish I remembered all the French I once knew. Alas, c’est la vie.

Today’s Tip: Staycations

I learned this little technique from an episode of Corner Gas. (A show with a new connection to Brantford [not Toronto] Shhhh) In one episode Brent takes what he calls a staycation, where he sits in the sun, imagines he’s on a tropical vacation and writes postcards to all his friends. Seemed like a silly concept at first, but recently I've changed my mine. This past Monday Shabu and I went for a walk and took a staycation together on a patch of grass. We sat in the sun, closed our eyes and dictated postcards back and forth to each other. It was relaxing and all the day’s pressures and time constraints were temporarily ignored. The only thing that mattered was the sun, and our postcards. I had taken a trip to Lake Eerie, to a secluded cottage where I once stayed. Shabu went to a tropical Island where she was pooped on by a pigeon.

The point of a staycation (at least as I've come to see it) is not about the vacation, it’s about taking time for yourself. Just allowing yourself time to do things you enjoy (like lying in the sun) and collecting your thoughts. I’ve found a new park in Holmedale which doesn’t seem too busy and I think I might take another staycation there. I’m thinking Haiti this time. They’ve got a fascinating culture, and in my mind there are no militants.

Sunday in the City

Yesterday Shabudabu and I sought adventure in the big city and before long found ourselves bidding bon voyage to my brother (who is now in Trois Rivieres) and heading off to meet our destinies. Kensington Market is a little neighbourhood in Toronto located just behind Chinatown. If you’re even slightly bohemian, you’ll find something cool hidden in one of the shops or sidewalk displays.

My path took me down crowded streets and into countless shops to purchase hemp for macrame, suede straps for bracelets, a postcards for a wall display and support for local activist groups. Shabu’s path took her in a slightly different direction, as she left the market and headed for the mall and a brand new haircut/colour/style. Thanks to some foresight and some e-mails Shabu was able to connect us with some good friends with whom we enjoyed a Chinese lunch and a (slightly more expensive) Thai dinner. Each experience was fantastic; and held surprisingly well maintained basement bathroom facilities.

I hope to repeat this experience again very soon, and look forward to my next opportunity to do so.

Another Glorious Thursday

I’ve always felt a certain connection to nature. Many of us do, but we all seem to have different ways of expressing it. Some express this connection in traditionally accepted ways, like gardening, reading books and magazines, hiking, biking, taking pictures, and spending time outside enjoying the weather. Others chose more involved expressions like tree sitting, guerilla gardening (one of my personal favourites), and political campaigns to support all manner of environmental causes. My brother has recently decided he would express his concern in the form of a hiking expedition to support the Bruce Trail.

For all of my talk, I have yet to plant a single seed. Even my window boxes are empty, devoid even of soil. I have however been working on a different project for a while. Nothing on the scale of my guerilla plans but none the less something that will express my own personal connectedness to the natural world. I’ve built a hat rack.

Built out of an old tree branch I found close to the fire pit in Caistor Centre it adds a certain charm to my tiny bedroom. The tools I used to create this masterpiece were simple and, in retrospect, not quite the best I could have used for the job. The flat side of the rack (the side that connects to the wall) has a slight curve to it making it difficult to hold tight to the plaster. I also mis-measured the screw holes which has also contributed to a weakened adhesion. Despite these few small imperfections, however, I’m very pleased with it. I think it gives my room a more rustic and earthy ambiance. Reminiscent of antlers hanging above a mantle. My own personal tribute to Gaia.

You Jackass!

Some bastard made off with the little lever thing that lets me attach my seat (still safely stored inside) to my bike itself!!! Once again, I find myself unable to enjoy the immense pleasures and freedoms associated with owning a bicycle.