Thursday 30 December 2010

Moving Pictures

I had planned on writing about movies but I left the list that I was going to be working from at home. I have seen 45 movies in the theatre this year and yesterday I started organizing them into categories. My categories are very general as of right now. They are pretty much 'loved it', 'liked it', 'it was ok', didn't like it' and 'hated it'. All I can remember off the top of my head right now is that my 'loved it' list had 9 movies on it. I figure I need a top ten list so I am going to go see The King's Speech tonight and hopefully that will round out the ten best. If not though, I am happy to have a top nine - it's original at least.

I always think that I am going to try and see 52 movies in a year just so I can say I have averaged one a week but I always seem to fall right around 45. I don't want to see crap just to fill a quota so I let the flicks fall where they may and see what I want to see. Usually without any regrets. I think the only 2 movies I have recently regretted paying to see were The Ugly Truth and Zack and Miri make a Porno - both terrible movies!

Tuesday 28 December 2010

Prepping for the Year in Review

I started thinking about 'My Year in Review' this morning while I was in the shower - the shower seems to be a great thinking place for me. I had reread my YiR blog post for 2009 not too long ago and was thinking of that as a gauge for this year's YiR and I realized something fairly interesting.

2009 was a tough year but I had a long list of great things to write about too. It was a memorable year in that a lot happened both good and bad (although in hindsight is the bad ever really bad). 2010 was a lot more understated. There are big things...The Olympics, dating, school, holidays...but it still seems like less. I haven't finished compiling my list yet so I know I am missing some things. I should hopefully have the post up by the end of the week though so we'll see.

*Update - upon some reflection, I've decided that yes, sometimes the bad is actually just really bad.

Monday 27 December 2010

Nearly didn't post this one...

I am tucked away right now, in the corner of a local cozy coffee shop. I chose this particular coffee shop today because of it's location and it's coffee. I often pick where I am going to go based on the clientele - more specifically, men. I like to go where the men hang out. As a single girl for the past *cough* years, I find it's a good thing to put yourself in situations where other singles may be hanging out.

So here's the thing with that plan - I'm not a single girl anymore. Old habits are hard to break though and I find myself still thinking like a single girl. So today when trying to decide where to go and write, the first places that came to mind are the men-centric places. Not that I ever met an available, age appropriate or straight guy at any of the places I frequent. When I remembered that my goal today was to write and not scope out available men, it narrowed my choices of where to go down to two. This one won out because it's got the best atmosphere.

*I have to interrupt my own writing to let you know that I am listening to a playlist while I write and Bad Bad Leroy Brown is playing and I am slightly rocking out.

So, back to me not being a single girl. This is new. Six weeks new...well, actually almost eight weeks but he's been away for the past two so they are harder to count. Since he's been gone, my life has mostly gone back to exactly what it was before we met and so it adds to the confusion of trying to remember not to think like a single girl. Before he left, he referred to himself as my boyfriend and when I talked to him today he talked about our 'relationship' so clearly I need to break the single girl thought process.

I had thought that when I started dating that I would blog about it, share the stories with everyone. Well, it turns out I am far more private than I expected. Even as I type this, I am contemplating deleting the whole post.

The single girl lifestyle has been mostly very good to me over the years. I went back to school, moved into the city, started a new career, found my passions (writing, painting, school, movies, God, my friends, myself), I have a rich and full social life, I have great friends and am rarely ever bored or lonely (and I've been lonelier while in relationships than I ever have been as a single girl - the loneliness is far more acute when you're not alone). But the single girl lifestyle also had a ceiling and it was fast approaching.

So, I don't know that I will be blogging about my adventures in dating as I had thought I would. Maybe as I get more comfortable with it, I will write more about it. As it stands right now though, this will have to be enough.

Thursday 18 November 2010

Movies, movies, movies

This has been a busy semester for me. Between work, school and a social life (not to mention a trip to Palm Springs), I've barely found the time for other things. My hobbies seem to have fallen by the wayside and the only upside is that I am having enough fun that I've barely noticed. Until this morning, when I woke up (couldn't sleep might be more like it) and felt like writing. But here I am again, in a mood to write with nothing in mind to write about.

My film class is good. I am loving watching movies and learning all about them. Plus, we've watched some pretty great flicks so far.
The Birth of a Nation
Easy Street (Charlie Chaplin)
Sherlock Jr (Buster Keaton)
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (Germany)
Battleship Potemkin (Russia)
Citizen Kane (US)
Breathless (France)
Rashomon (Japan)
The Seventh Seal(Sweden)
Taxi Driver (US)

And in the next two weeks, we'll add Dead Ringers (Canada) and Pan's Labyrinth (Latin America) to the list.

As for movies in the theater, I've barely had time to get out. And to be honest, there haven't been a lot of movies coming out that I have been very excited to see. I have seen some good movies lately though. The Town (Ben Affleck) is a stand out. Nowhere Boy (the story of a pre-Beatle John Lennon) was great. It's Kind of a Funny Story was good. The Social Network was fantastic. - ok so I have seen some pretty good movies lately. I would include Fair Game on the list except that I ended up in the third row and since much of the filming is in close up with hand-held camera, I felt queasy for most of the movie, which took away from really being able to enjoy it.

Oscar season is about to begin and work and school will be winding down and so I might be seeing a lot more movies in December. Maybe I'll even beat last years record of 47 movies in 52 weeks.

Friday 10 September 2010

History of Film

So the class I'm taking is amazing! It is so completely up my alley that I almost can't stand it. Basically, I will be learning about the history of film and every week we will watch a movie and talk about it. My only assignment is to write about movies.

My first class was on Tuesday and at one point I actually felt teary I was so excited to be there. It was only mildly ridiculous that the girl sitting next to me was 19 years younger than me. Seriously, she was 17 and at one point even gave me an "oh honey" dripping with empathy at how ancient I am. Sure, it was based on the fact that in talking about music, I referenced 'mixed tapes'. But I don't think I'm the one to be felt sorry for. Mixed tapes were f*cking awesome! Kids today have no idea.

So here's what I think I am going to do, blog wise... I am going to write about all the cool things that I learn in my class. I figure anyone who is probably reading this might also have an interest in cool things and I think movies and the 'history of' is a cool topic.

First things first - here's what I learned this week.

One of the very early filmmakers was a french stage magician, Georges Milies. He was one of the first to use editing and special effects. Before him, films were 30 seconds to a minute long. Filmmakers would set up a camera and film one thing for up to a minute - feeding a baby, knocking down a wall, a dancer spinning, someone jumping into a lake. People were fascinated to see these 'moving pictures'.

Georges Milies wanted to bring spectacle to the people and so used editing to create a false reality. He has been called the 'Father of Special Effects' or the "Father of Science Fiction'. He made movies with story lines and plots and changes of location. He wasn't a savvy businessman though and didn't copyright any of his films until 1912. By then his films had been so bootlegged, copied and shown all over the world that people just stopped showing his films rather than pay him for the rights to show them.

By 1913 he had made over 500 films and was completely bankrupt. In the end, he sold his films to the French army to be melted down and made into boot heels for the soldiers.

One of his most famous films "Le Voyage Dans La Lune", made in 1902, can be viewed online. Click the title for the link. We watched it in class and it is fairly fascinating that it was made in 1902.

Saturday 4 September 2010

School

I am not registered for any classes this fall and I am a little regretful. I suppose in a way it's actually not too late for me to still register, but I'm pushing it. As far as I know most classes are full. Fully full.

Ok, so I just took a time out from writing this post to do a course search and see if there was even a class that appealed to me. As I scrolled through the list of courses so many of them appealed to me. It's amazing how many courses I would love to take! I just want to keep learning.

One course stood out more than all the others and I started to really feel something; A stirring in my heart, behind my eyes, a flutter in my tummy. I decided to see when it was being offered because my work schedule this semester kind of cuts through all the days and the likelihood of it being at a time when I am also available seemed slim. I clicked on the schedule and I am completely free and clear for that time. My eyes flicked over to see how far down the wait list I would be (I've been 11th and still gotten in) and there is no wait list. The class has 14 seats available.

I believe I might be a student after all this semester!

Goodbye girl

September! Not only is it September but it's September 2010. I remember thinking in March 2009 that I couldn't wait for 2009 to be over. And now 2010 is now rounding the bend to 2011. 2009 was a tough year and I am very happy to report that 2010 has been much, much better.

I feel happy today which is always a nice way to feel. The sun is shining, I am at a cool coffee shop drinking a delicious latte, I am writing, I am listening to good music (a playlist made by my favourite online dj), I am having dinner with friends tonight and I have no complaints.

*The title of this post is the name of the song I was listening to when it came time to write a title and I liked it.

Thursday 22 July 2010

No spoilers - read away!

Inception.

I'd like to write more but I'm in the camp that thinks the less you know going in the better. Although, I actually believe that about most movies. I find if you know nothing, the movie unfolds and you are along for the ride. If you know anything, it sets up expectations and assumptions. Still, with the way previews are made these days, not much is left to discover once you finally get to see the full movie.

I thoroughly enjoyed Inception. It was original and well executed. I felt inspired and excited after seeing it; just for the creative process and the joy of finally having seen a good movie this year. Though, to be fair, I saw The Kids Are All Right four days earlier and when it ended, I walked out of the theatre feeling as though the long dry spell for good movies had finally been broken.

If The Kids Are All Right broke the spell, Inception flooded the dryness and satisfied my thirst! It satisfied the thirst and made me thirstier! I want more good movie-viewing! I want to feel inspired and excited.

I have hope that the second half of 2010 will be better for movies. I have heard murmurs of good things to come. Let's hope they're right.

Friday 18 June 2010

I love a licensed cafe!

Two days in a row - look at me go! It's like the good ol' days of regular blogging.

Alright, alright, I won't get ahead of myself. I am currently sitting in a cafe that is also licensed and so I am drinking an ice-cold glass of white wine that was generously poured by the nice-looking young man who works here. Coffee is for mornings! Wine is for the rest of the day!

I have just come here from a different coffee shop (also licensed) but the demographic there was skewed to the older crowd (I probably fit right in - Denial isn't just a river in Egypt - that joke so doesn't work in writing). I have been trying out different coffee shops so that I don't become a permanent fixture at the one I favour the most.

I keep going back to the same coffee shop because it's close to home, has a lot of natural light and is quite busy. It's a Kitsilano hot spot and so there's a heavy rotation of interesting people. But I gotta say, right now, sitting here listening to a friend's online playlist of music (shout out to local1028!), sipping cold white wine and looking out at the trees lining Trafalgar, I am pretty content. And who could ask for more!?

This is the same cafe that I came to on my first date a few weeks ago. It's a good first date kind of place - casual, comfortable, public, licensed. It's also a good hanging-out, writing a blog post kind of place.

No complaints here!

Thursday 17 June 2010

A post for the faithful

So I totally know how frustrating it can be to click on a blog that you are looking forward to reading only to be disappointed because they STILL haven't updated and it's been AGES. I'm with you people! Although many of you have probably even given up on me.

I know that Cooptown was a catalyst for a lot of people to check my blog and since Cooptown hasn't been going out on a regular basis for quite a while, I'm sure more than a few of you have stopped checking the blog too. I don't blame you.

I keep thinking I'll be better but I haven't been so far so I don't know if I even believe myself.

So here is a post for the faithful checkers (or the ones who have me on their google reader). I'll even give you something juicy for being so faithful.

I have started dating.
Yikes!

Ok, so 'started dating' might be getting ahead of myself but I did go on a couple of dates with someone and while it didn't work out, it did get me back in the game so to speak. I guess the correct way to say this is that I am open to dating and actively looking to meet someone.

The first date that I went on was about three weeks ago and I learned a valuable lesson that day - I didn't die and I had fun.

Doing something fun that doesn't kill me - I can do more of that!

Saturday 8 May 2010

Mixing it up

I have been doing some different things this week and it has been good to break out of my normal routine and shake it up a bit.

First, I joined a yoga studio. I have an unlimited pass for the next nine weeks and my goal is to go 3 times a week.

Second, I went to the symphony again and have decided that I need to go on a regular basis. I absolutely love it. You can get rush tickets for $15 at the door. I'd pay that much to spend the same amount of time at a movie and the symphony is just as entertaining.

Third, I went to an art opening and a fundraiser for a art gallery. So far I am liking the art world. I have friends who are well connected and it helps. They can tell me which shows to go to, which events are good, and they let me tag along with them to get my feet wet. The people are fun and friendly and so far it's been a good time.

Last night at the fundraiser, we got there and almost right away we were invited upstairs into the office for a shot of tequila (this is when being with a well-connected friend comes in doubley handy). We cheersed, shot tequila and then went back down the darkly lit stairwell to the main room. When we got back to our table, my sister leaned over and said "We just did everything our parents tell us not to do...'Hi, nice to meet you. Do I want to go upstairs to a dimly lit private office and drink alcohol with you? Sure, let's go!'"

Good times.

Friday 7 May 2010

The Reference Letter

I debated on whether or not to post this and decided go for it. I have removed names of people and associations for privacy purposes. I am completely humbled by this letter and so grateful to my instructor for writing such amazing things about me.

Dear Ms. ___

It is my great pleasure to be able to write this letter in support of Ms. KT's application for the position of ______ . K took my English class (Introduction to Fiction and Composition) in the fall of 2009. I have taught hundreds of students at this level, and K stands out as being one of the most exceptional students that I have ever encountered in my ten years of teaching.

It was most certainly K's writing skills as well as her maturity, ability to handle sophisticated subject matter and complex tasks that set her apart from her peers. K wrote essays that were, essentially, superior. In fact, I used one of her essays as a model essay that I still distribute to students as a demonstration of an excellent piece of writing. Moreover, for her final research paper, K wrote one of the most interesting and original pieces I have ever read from a student; she wrote about issues specific to the ____ Community, and this piece of work was one of very few that I have seen that opened up an entire world for me about which I knew very little. With her passion, remarkable ability to organize her thoughts, and her tremendous insight, K's paper was the all-too-rare case of the student teaching the teacher.

In all of my interactions with K, it has been abundantly evident that she is extremely bright, and has a well-honed capacity to handle work in a manner that is efficient, independent and very well organized. She is certainly a very resourceful individual with a great deal of initiative and leadership. Her decision to pursue this position with her professional association is, I believe, a well-informed decision, and I feel absolutely certain that her academic background as well as her life experiences make her a unique and outstanding candidate for this job. I have absolutely no hesitations in providing K with my highest recommendation for this position; I know that she will not only succeed at, but will distinguish herself in all of her chosen pursuits.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you require any further information.

Sincerely,
______, M.A.

Monday 3 May 2010

Job application

I applied for a job last month and I didn't get it. In fact, nobody got it and so the job was re-posted nation-wide. I decided, despite the very kind rejection, that I would apply again. The first time I applied all I submitted was my resume. The second time I decided to write a cover letter and get a reference letter as well.

The first draft of my cover letter was terrible. I copied and pasted it from sample letters and then rewrote it in my own words. It had no flow, sounded nothing like me and was even kind of ridiculous. I had my sister proofread it and she agreed that it wasn't good. Even writing it, I felt sick of reading about myself. It was all the great buzz words and I wasn't buying it even a little. If I were really so "goal oriented" or had "exemplary resourcefulness and initiative" or really "thrived on challenge and change" wouldn't I be somewhere quite different in life.

It isn't that I am not those things - I just can't quite pack the punch that those buzz words are pulling.

I stewed over that damn cover letter and finally put it aside, sat down at my computer and wrote from the heart. I wrote a letter telling them who I am and why I thought that I would be a good fit for the job. An honest, buzz-word-free letter. I will likely get turned down a second time for the job and honestly I won't even mind if I do. But it was a great lesson in being authentic.

As for the reference letter, I had approached my English instructor from last semester to ask if she wouldn't mind writing a reference letter that spoke to my writing skills. She went so much deeper. I am humbled by her words and kindness. I had expected something more formulaic and what she wrote instead is personal, thoughtful and graciously flattering.

I had told her that my goal is to write and last semester, when the course was done, she handed me back my final assignment and said "now go be a writer".

Monday 26 April 2010

Outside in the rain.

brrrrrr!
I am sitting outside on our covered patio in the pouring rain. I adore being outside in the rain and so am in a slight state of heaven right now. The catch is that I am also cold. I don't want to go inside because it is so nice out here and the sound of the rain is making my skin happy. Cooper doesn't know what to make of me sitting out here and so he is going in circles from the chair next to me, to my lap, to the door and then back up on the chair next to me. If I weren't so cold I would stay out here for ages. I'd drink hot chocolate and read a chick lit novel and revel in the joy of being outside in the rain without getting wet.

I think I need a Snuggie!

Saturday 24 April 2010

Anthology

Things are coming together. One way or another they always do. I heard a saying not too long ago that has stuck with me - "Everything is always ok in the end. If it's not ok, it's not the end." In my times of fear and despair, that saying has been really helpful.

Life seems to be lived in a series of events. I am starting to wonder if the thing that ties it all into a grand narrative rather than a series of vignettes, is children. Is having kids the thing that weaves the novella into a novel? Or is just a novella with kids in it.

Or is it just me? Do other people feel this sense of life being lived in short stories? And do our vignettes collectively become a grand narrative that we just aren't able to see while we are living it. Like seeing the forest through the trees.

I must be having a philosophical day.

Sunday 18 April 2010

catching up

This has been a busy semester for me and I am regretful that I haven't blogged more. I logged in more than a few times but never really knew what to write and ended up logging back out without writing anything.

And now here I am again, logged in and wanting to write something but without a clear idea of what to write.

The class that I took this semester was another English course - modern novel, poetry and film - and once again I loved it! I so love being a student. I'd never studied poetry in my life and this course seemed to ignite in me a 'like' of poetry. Or at least a curiosity to continue on and study it some more. I wrote my poetry exam last Thursday and think it went pretty well. We had two hours to read a poem, analyze it and write an essay. I think I wrote a good essay, I'm just hoping it's a good 'poetry' essay.

It was the film component though that I loved most of all. I adored studying film - watching movies, analyzing and discussing them. I may just take film study courses forevermore. One of the four films we watched was an Orson Welles film noir from 1949 called The Third Man. I ended up choosing it to write my term paper on and so watched it a few times and loved it. It was critically panned when it was released. Audiences didn't know what to make of it and critics thought it was terrible. In 1999 though, it was named the British Film Institute's best movie of the 20th century and is on the American Film Institute's top 100 films of 100 years. I got my term paper back last Thursday and got an A+ on it. Yay!

I should be studying right now, except I can barely call it that since what I need to do is watch a movie. Pedro Almodovar's All About My Mother. I watched it once already but was so caught up in the story that I missed a lot of the elements that I am going to have to write about on my final exam this week.

Hopefully inspiration to write continues to hit and I log on here with something to say rather than the rambling I'm doing today.
til then,
cheers!

Sunday 7 March 2010

Oscar predictions

It's Oscar night tonight! And it's time for me to commit my predictions to the interweb.

Usually I spend hours researching the nominees. I watch the short films online if I can. I read up about the Foreign films if I haven't seen them. I read reviews and critic's picks. This year, I did no extra research; I have seen a lot of the movies nominated this year, (in fact I've seen all 10 movies up for best picture) but I watched them for entertainment when they came out and not as research for our Oscar competition. My competitors are my sisters and even with all my research, I usually come in third (out of three). So this year, research schmeesearch, I'm gonna wing it!

In black is who I think will win and if it's different from who I want to win then I will add that in green. (update - I am adding the winners in red if they are different than who I guessed)

Best Picture
The Hurt Locker

Best Actor
Jeff Bridges
Colin Firth

Best Actress
Sandra Bullock
Gabourey Sidibe
Meryl Streep

Best Supporting Actor
Christoph Waltz

Best Supporting Actress
Mo'Nique

Best Director
Katheryn Bigelow

Best Original Screenplay
The Hurt Locker
A Serious Man

Best Adapted Screenplay
Up In the Air
Precious

Best Cinematography
The Hurt Locker
Avatar

Best Editing
The Hurt Locker

Best Art Direction
Avatar

Best Costume Design
The Young Victoria

Best Makeup
Star Trek

Best Original Score
Up

Best Original Song
Crazy Heart - The Weary Kind

Best Sound Mixing
Avatar
The Hurt Locker

Best Sound Editing
Avatar
The Hurt Locker

Best Visual Effects
Avatar

Best Animated Feature
Up
Fantastic Mr. Fox

Best Foreign Language Film
El secreto de suis ojos (The Secret in Their Eyes) Argentina

Best Documentary Feature
The Cove

Best Documentary Short
Music by Prudence

Best Animated Short
Wallace and Gromit in a Matter of Loaf and Death
Logorama

Best Live Action Short
The New Tenants

Wednesday 3 March 2010

So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, goodbye Olympics.

Whew! What a ride! I have to say that the past two weeks were some of the best of my life. I had no idea that I was going to have that much fun during the Olympics.

Universities and colleges in the lower mainland were closed for the Olympics and I have to say it was such a gift having that break. I am so grateful for those 14 days off. Before the games started, I had some pretty grand ideas of how I was going to spend my two weeks off of work and school; I was going to go to movies, visit with friends, see my grandma, maybe go away for a weekend, do homework, and maybe go to a couple of the free concerts that were going to be all over town. Oddly, that is one of the few things I didn't do - I never made it out to one free concert. And there were so many great ones: Sam Roberts, Blue Rodeo, Elliot Brood, Kathleen Edwards, Sloan - just to name a few.

I have so much to say and yet am feeling like I have no idea how to write about it. It may need more than one post. I want to write about what I did but I also want to write about the amazing swelling of pride and joy that our city experienced. I want to copy and paste a lot of other things that I have read so far that say it better than I ever could. My brother-in-law wrote a really beautiful piece on his feelings about the Olympics. I think I will ask his permission to copy it here.

Basically, I loved the Olympics! I loved having them in Vancouver. I love that Canada beat records with how many gold medals we won. I loved the excitement, joy and pride on the streets of Vancouver and that everyone mingled and talked to everyone else. This 'no-fun city' became the most fun city ever! I met so many people and something shifted in me...I wanted to meet so many people. I am one of those shy, reserved Canadians and something shook loose in me. I was out there chatting up people and engaging in conversations with just about anybody - something that I would love to continue doing. Having just spent about 15 minutes talking to the guy beside me at the coffee shop here, I think I'm proving that this is doable.

Thankfully with the Paralympics starting in 9 days we aren't just going cold turkey on the whole experience. The cauldron will be lit again for 9 days and the BC pavilion and the Mint will be open to the public until March 21st. The zip line will continue to run, hopefully with shorter lines, for the duration of the paralympics and those are just a few of the things still going on.

Alas, I am back at work and school and not as free and clear to head downtown whenever I want. But I will get out here and there and I will continue to cheer and celebrate and mingle. Even when the paralympics are over.

Go Canada!!

Monday 15 February 2010

And away we go!

The Olympics are finally here!

We are 4 days in and I am exhausted. I wanted to make sure that I took advantage of everything I have going for me during these two weeks: I live in the city, I am off work, I don't have kids. I had initially thought that I was the perfect age to enjoy everything...old enough to appreciate it, old enough to drink, old enough to pretty much do anything I want. I forgot that I am now too old to party all night long without any consequences. Not that I've tried because I am also at an age where after a full day of walking and taking in all the sites, all I want to do at 9pm is put my feet up, chillax with some mindless tv and go to bed.

I will definitely make a point of checking out the nightlife but it will be the event of my day when I do - not tagged on at the end of a long day of festivities. It's one or the other for me.

So far I have been loving being out and about. I have spent so much time walking around our fair city (and I don't use the word lightly - this has been the warmest winter Olympics ever - way to go Vancouver) and taking everything in. And there is still so much to do and see.

Highlights so far include:
  • seeing the torch
  • the 4D movie at the Ontario Pavilion
  • the green carpet (AstroTurf) and beers at the Saskatchewan Pavilion
  • talking to all the locals and tourists that we wait in lines with
  • seeing musicians at Granville Island, way up in the air, suspended from a crane while playing
  • celebrating Canada's first home gold with other proud Canadians at Atlantic Canada House
  • the glorious weather yesterday dispelling Vancouver's rainy reputation
  • seeing groups of athletes(?) from other countries walking around the city (we saw one of the Russians smoking - always surprised to see someone smoking)
  • the light show between English Bay and Vanier park
  • and hanging out with friends while doing all these things.

I just got a text about going out tonight...looks like it'll either be the Heineken House or Sloan at Atlantic Canada House (which is the backstage lounge on Granville Island - Sloan in a TINY venue = cool).

Glad I'm taking it easy today to gear up for tonight. I'm sure it'll be grand whatever we do.

Tuesday 2 February 2010

Ugh!

I am sitting in a computer lab at school and the guy beside me is furiously (and I mean FURIOUSLY) picking his nose. It is so unsettling that I can't concentrate on anything else. The movement of it, out of the corner of my eye, is even giving me motion sickness. He stops for a bit, types and then goes back to it. So now I am of course horrified at how filthy and disgusting the keyboard he is using is and that he could have very well been using THIS computer yesterday and now I am typing over his grimy, snotty germs.

Ugh!

I am actually covering half my face so as to block him out while I sit here. Must.Go.Wash.Hands.Now.

Wednesday 13 January 2010

Short and not that sweet

I am sitting here in a coffee shop/cafe/restaurant and the plan was to write, but a ton of other things took precedent and got in the way. And now I am too hungry to stay so am going to meet ST for sushi and a movie and this is all I have time to write.

I could've not written anything at all but then that would defeat the purpose of coming to said coffee shop/cafe/restaurant.

Will attempt it again tomorrow.

Saturday 2 January 2010

2009 Year in Review - concerts

Over the years I have stopped going to as many live shows as I once went to. The price of tickets and the too big venues were the two main reasons why. What used to be fun and excited had become expensive and impersonal.

I only saw 6 acts in 2009 and for the most part they were great. Friendly Fires, Dragonette, Snow Patrol and Coldplay all top the list for enjoyable, energized, exciting and fun shows. Madonna was good, but our seats were far away and so it had that impersonal, I-could-be-watching-this-on-tv kind of feel. Tower of Power were fun. The sound quality wasn't great and we all had to plug our ears a various points during the show but they perform well and the audience makes up a lot of the entertainment with their enthusiastic dancing. Tower of Power is my dad's favourite band and so every once in a while he takes us to a show. Over the past 19 years I have lost count of how many times I've seen them live.

That was it for me and live acts in 2009. I think my mom even sees more live music than I do.