I am completely exhausted, bruised, blistered, smelly, ravenous and grinning from ear to ear.
It has been a pretty great week.
Monday, June 16, 2008
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Monday, May 26, 2008
Doomsday Celebrations
We spent the day at the beach; brought baskets of food, blankets and towels and all the instruments we could carry.
Aside from the livid colours in the sky and the fervent intensity of the celebrations you would never know the end was drawing near. It could be any other day; just an arbitrary holiday marked with seaside celebrations.
We have determined to meet it, not only on our feet, but dancing;
smiling and laughing.
Singing.
Squeezing every last drop of joy there is to be had out of what remains of this life.
We want it all, and we haven't got long.
There are no sign bearers here. No nay-sayers, alarmists, or sermonists preaching damnation. They are perched outside the council halls, at parliament, and on the remaining broadcasting TV stations. They have kept to the warrens of the city; and they are welcome to it.
Before the sun goes down, Aubin claims a seat on one of the bluffs overlooking the ocean. He sits and paints it as it pummels the rock cliffs at the north end of the beach. He paints the lurid cloudscapes and the sea birds diving off the cliffs. He paints the surf as it breaks across the beach and the sun slipping towards the horizon. He does not paint the growing crowd. His beach is empty. He gets the waves just right. Likely, his work will be destroyed long before the oil paints have a chance to fully dry . It doesn't matter because this piece isn't about production or documentation. Its about doing what you love.
As the light begins to fade bonfires spark into life along the sands. The crowd continues to grow as more and more people arrive.
Drums pound. There is every manner of instrument being played. Voices join in chorus and laughter percolates through the buzz of the crowd. Fire spinners work their magic. There are more than a few costumed and painted faces here, making last appearances, determined to make the last show a good one. A set of whirling dervishes set to work entrancing themselves. Great huge skeletons and reapers move through the throng; hovering overhead on tall staffs. They reach out menacingly or lilt and dance according to the whims of their puppeteers. Someone brought a projector is is blasting old movie fragments onto the rock face.
Occasionally a shark explodes from the crashing surf and hurls itself towards the beach. Most of them are small, and are carried back out to sea by the retreating waves. A few larger ones have been marooned and lie; thrashing, gasping or still, on the sands. Some opportunistic party goers have already begun carving steaks for roasting over the fires. No one knows for certain why the big fish seem to be driven towards land. We speculate about offshore weather patterns and pressure systems. We talk about horses getting skittish and dogs going crazy before tornadoes and wonder how they know the things they do. We wonder when the big wave will come.
Tucked away in the quieter corners of the beach there are tall tales being told. We regale each other with our greatest moments; and the most delightfully embarrassing moments of our friends'. A posse of old ladies share a last pot of tea (or two) and cackle over their bridge hands. Lovers kiss in the shadows.
This is the very best of what our species has to offer; secrets and songs and stories. We are at our finest; drumming and dancing the night away. We will pour it all out on the sands one last time.
We refuse sadness.
We are, all of us, temporary.
Aside from the livid colours in the sky and the fervent intensity of the celebrations you would never know the end was drawing near. It could be any other day; just an arbitrary holiday marked with seaside celebrations.
We have determined to meet it, not only on our feet, but dancing;
smiling and laughing.
Singing.
Squeezing every last drop of joy there is to be had out of what remains of this life.
We want it all, and we haven't got long.
There are no sign bearers here. No nay-sayers, alarmists, or sermonists preaching damnation. They are perched outside the council halls, at parliament, and on the remaining broadcasting TV stations. They have kept to the warrens of the city; and they are welcome to it.
Before the sun goes down, Aubin claims a seat on one of the bluffs overlooking the ocean. He sits and paints it as it pummels the rock cliffs at the north end of the beach. He paints the lurid cloudscapes and the sea birds diving off the cliffs. He paints the surf as it breaks across the beach and the sun slipping towards the horizon. He does not paint the growing crowd. His beach is empty. He gets the waves just right. Likely, his work will be destroyed long before the oil paints have a chance to fully dry . It doesn't matter because this piece isn't about production or documentation. Its about doing what you love.
As the light begins to fade bonfires spark into life along the sands. The crowd continues to grow as more and more people arrive.
Drums pound. There is every manner of instrument being played. Voices join in chorus and laughter percolates through the buzz of the crowd. Fire spinners work their magic. There are more than a few costumed and painted faces here, making last appearances, determined to make the last show a good one. A set of whirling dervishes set to work entrancing themselves. Great huge skeletons and reapers move through the throng; hovering overhead on tall staffs. They reach out menacingly or lilt and dance according to the whims of their puppeteers. Someone brought a projector is is blasting old movie fragments onto the rock face.
Occasionally a shark explodes from the crashing surf and hurls itself towards the beach. Most of them are small, and are carried back out to sea by the retreating waves. A few larger ones have been marooned and lie; thrashing, gasping or still, on the sands. Some opportunistic party goers have already begun carving steaks for roasting over the fires. No one knows for certain why the big fish seem to be driven towards land. We speculate about offshore weather patterns and pressure systems. We talk about horses getting skittish and dogs going crazy before tornadoes and wonder how they know the things they do. We wonder when the big wave will come.
Tucked away in the quieter corners of the beach there are tall tales being told. We regale each other with our greatest moments; and the most delightfully embarrassing moments of our friends'. A posse of old ladies share a last pot of tea (or two) and cackle over their bridge hands. Lovers kiss in the shadows.
This is the very best of what our species has to offer; secrets and songs and stories. We are at our finest; drumming and dancing the night away. We will pour it all out on the sands one last time.
We refuse sadness.
We are, all of us, temporary.
Monday, May 12, 2008
glitter synapse post run afterglow
late night trek through the back streets and wood lots
my breath is metered in foot-fall syllables.
heart pounding
ragged smile
I'll never not love this
The streets are empty
the air is cool,
heavy with lilac, crab apple and birch pollen
trees in rut,
lusty
shouting tawdry, hymenopteric "come hithers"
their perfumes are deafening.
my breath is metered in foot-fall syllables.
heart pounding
ragged smile
I'll never not love this
The streets are empty
the air is cool,
heavy with lilac, crab apple and birch pollen
trees in rut,
lusty
shouting tawdry, hymenopteric "come hithers"
their perfumes are deafening.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
you happy now
You know those days that are kind of great, but for no good reason?
Today was one of those.
I got to sleep in and gently drift to consciousness without the assistance of a screeching alarm clock, have breakfast at a sugar shack with McKenna and Simon, Dig out my bike and go for a tour (albeit a tiny one) with Shawn and Mikey, and then have drinks and eats with my cuz Shianne and Auntie Chris and her friend Sue.
The sun was shining, the conversation was good and i didn't do a SINGLE productive thing, all day. Plus i got invites to play Road Hockey, Go Hot Tubbing, and go Whitewater rafting. (yes, yes and YES! )
And somebody said my skin looks nice, and not in the creepy, 'are you about a size twelve?' silence of the lambs kind of way either.
The only parts that sucked were trying on bathing suits ( I've decided that i look better naked than in spandex, by the way, and that skinny dipping is definitely the way to go - i've known that since i was about 3, actually - and i will only ever wear a bathing suit again if its a choice between that or fines for public indecency - "*sigh* Tuttle's naked again...better call the cops...." )
AND i never DID find anyone to play frisbee with! Not a single, solitary throw...TSK! So be forewarned...I have now given up on asking, pestering, pleading, begging, wheedling, trying to subliminally mind rape, coax, cajole, or blandish anyone into playing with me.
The new rules are as follows:
1. It shall be understood that any time i am speaking with you, hanging out with you, in the same postal code, or in an upright position and or breathing between now and November 1st, that i am likely to have a frisbee on my person.
2. The frisbee does NOT have to be in plain sight for a game to be initiated.
3. At any point during said ' hang out' , i may launch the Frisbee towards your face, provided that i shout your name before it actually gets there.
4. You will simply be obliged to catch it in some manner.
(hands or teeth, its your choice...*shrugs*)
5. In the event that a player elects to not have fun, and catches the frisbee with their face, a game of Tag may be substituted at said injured player's discretion, depending of their degree of eye watering and desire to throttle me.
6. Although slightly less fun, it shall be agreed upon that a player may preemptively thwart surprise frisbee attacks by directly asking to play, and participating in at least five tosses - even if they suck. This will be sufficient effort on your part to humor me until next we meet.
Today was one of those.
I got to sleep in and gently drift to consciousness without the assistance of a screeching alarm clock, have breakfast at a sugar shack with McKenna and Simon, Dig out my bike and go for a tour (albeit a tiny one) with Shawn and Mikey, and then have drinks and eats with my cuz Shianne and Auntie Chris and her friend Sue.
The sun was shining, the conversation was good and i didn't do a SINGLE productive thing, all day. Plus i got invites to play Road Hockey, Go Hot Tubbing, and go Whitewater rafting. (yes, yes and YES! )
And somebody said my skin looks nice, and not in the creepy, 'are you about a size twelve?' silence of the lambs kind of way either.
The only parts that sucked were trying on bathing suits ( I've decided that i look better naked than in spandex, by the way, and that skinny dipping is definitely the way to go - i've known that since i was about 3, actually - and i will only ever wear a bathing suit again if its a choice between that or fines for public indecency - "*sigh* Tuttle's naked again...better call the cops...." )
AND i never DID find anyone to play frisbee with! Not a single, solitary throw...TSK! So be forewarned...I have now given up on asking, pestering, pleading, begging, wheedling, trying to subliminally mind rape, coax, cajole, or blandish anyone into playing with me.
The new rules are as follows:
1. It shall be understood that any time i am speaking with you, hanging out with you, in the same postal code, or in an upright position and or breathing between now and November 1st, that i am likely to have a frisbee on my person.
2. The frisbee does NOT have to be in plain sight for a game to be initiated.
3. At any point during said ' hang out' , i may launch the Frisbee towards your face, provided that i shout your name before it actually gets there.
4. You will simply be obliged to catch it in some manner.
(hands or teeth, its your choice...*shrugs*)
5. In the event that a player elects to not have fun, and catches the frisbee with their face, a game of Tag may be substituted at said injured player's discretion, depending of their degree of eye watering and desire to throttle me.
6. Although slightly less fun, it shall be agreed upon that a player may preemptively thwart surprise frisbee attacks by directly asking to play, and participating in at least five tosses - even if they suck. This will be sufficient effort on your part to humor me until next we meet.
Saturday, April 19, 2008
the smiler
So the other day, I woke up at about 5 am, way before the alarm clock, and realized, as i struggled towards consciousness, that i must've been smiling in my sleep. My mouth was all dried out and my lip was plastered way up above the gumline. I can only imagine how creepy that must've looked...
Me carelessly sprawled on the bed, French curled up by my side...swaddled in down duvet and egyptian cotton sheets, first light blushing through the window as the birds begin to chirp in the first days of spring outside... brow completely unfurrowed by the daily grind, eyebrows making a gentle accent of circumflex bliss on my forehead...and then....pan down... to the toothy, too wide, perma-grin of a hapless, hungry zombie that has managed to chew its own lips off.
*flashbacks of the movie Seven*
hah!
Now that Must've been some Goooooood Dreamin'.
and at least i'm not a chatterer like e-dot.
:-P
Me carelessly sprawled on the bed, French curled up by my side...swaddled in down duvet and egyptian cotton sheets, first light blushing through the window as the birds begin to chirp in the first days of spring outside... brow completely unfurrowed by the daily grind, eyebrows making a gentle accent of circumflex bliss on my forehead...and then....pan down... to the toothy, too wide, perma-grin of a hapless, hungry zombie that has managed to chew its own lips off.
*flashbacks of the movie Seven*
hah!
Now that Must've been some Goooooood Dreamin'.
and at least i'm not a chatterer like e-dot.
:-P
Sunday, April 13, 2008
stunned.
Ok, so,
My shift at the Good Food Company today might best be described as "Nighmarish", or perhaps "a harrowing ordeal"....(it was CRAZY busy, people were weird, people were cranky and then the cash register completely broke and half of the transactions that DID get put through were done on 'void' with no paper trail to track the numbers....wheeeee!)
I was dead tired and ready to drop by the end of the day, so i was completely surprised when one of my tables wanted to make a donation to the "Send April to Africa" fund. I said it was very nice of him and thank you very much, and please help yourself to any of the Photo prints if they should happen to please your eye.... as he left a rather large tip for the table, and i assumed that that was that.
Needless to say i was completely stunned when he wanted to make another transaction for a 250.00 donation for the trip. (!!!!)
I protested that it was too much, and he said, no, I'd been serving him and his family for years, and he strongly believes in helping out people within the community and he thought it was a good cause, and that was that. !
so yeah! pretty awesome!
then at the end of the shift i ended up with a huge wad of tips from the crazy busy day...and when i got home and checked the mail - expecting a huge cell phone bill and not much else- there was a government cheque for 600 bucks in outstanding GST credits. So all told, Travel fund is up a cool 1000 bucks in one amazing day.
awesome,
awesome,
awesome,
*squee!*
My shift at the Good Food Company today might best be described as "Nighmarish", or perhaps "a harrowing ordeal"....(it was CRAZY busy, people were weird, people were cranky and then the cash register completely broke and half of the transactions that DID get put through were done on 'void' with no paper trail to track the numbers....wheeeee!)
I was dead tired and ready to drop by the end of the day, so i was completely surprised when one of my tables wanted to make a donation to the "Send April to Africa" fund. I said it was very nice of him and thank you very much, and please help yourself to any of the Photo prints if they should happen to please your eye.... as he left a rather large tip for the table, and i assumed that that was that.
Needless to say i was completely stunned when he wanted to make another transaction for a 250.00 donation for the trip. (!!!!)
I protested that it was too much, and he said, no, I'd been serving him and his family for years, and he strongly believes in helping out people within the community and he thought it was a good cause, and that was that. !
so yeah! pretty awesome!
then at the end of the shift i ended up with a huge wad of tips from the crazy busy day...and when i got home and checked the mail - expecting a huge cell phone bill and not much else- there was a government cheque for 600 bucks in outstanding GST credits. So all told, Travel fund is up a cool 1000 bucks in one amazing day.
awesome,
awesome,
awesome,
*squee!*
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