neptula

shedding

2010-07-22T11:50:00.000-06:00

Living in Edmonton I felt very out of place. I often longed to have friends that viewed the world in the same way that I did, and were ambitious, active, and loved having a good time. I'd usually find one or the other trait in a single person (sometimes, not all the time, don't get offended Edmonton friends). I'd divide my time up between groups and whenever I tried to merge it usually failed.
Leaving Edmonton for Eindhoven I was SURE that I would be so much happier and find exactly what I was looking for. This wasn't the case either.
Upon settling in Calgary for a couple months, I FINALLY feel like I've got it. I am happy. I have some amazing people around me and for the first time in a while I don't have the urge to get up and go, just to keep going in the direction that I am.

I am looking forward to tying up the last of my loose ends.

xo
v

Ch-ch-ch-changes

2010-06-25T10:58:00.000-06:00

For those of you who do not know, I am back in Canada. I'm back re-assessing life and the next steps I'm planning to take.

I do like keeping this blog, and after a bit of a hiatus from it, I plan on revamping it and finding new purpose for it. From here on in I want to focus on things I find interesting and inspiring, focusing a lot of art, design and fashion, because that is what is important to me these days.

I have a few projects in the works, and I hope to document a bit of the process of those too.

So I hope you stick around!

xo
v

Things the Dutch eat

2010-04-19T13:57:00.000-06:00

If you ask the average Dutch person to describe Dutch cuisine, they most often would have a difficult time picking out something that is truly unique to the Netherlands in terms of food. But based on my own personal observations the Dutch are masters of putting various things on bread. Lunch usually consists of a variety of sweet and savory "broodjes".

Here are some uniquely Dutch examples of bread topping:

Savory
1. Smeerkaas

This is a lot like Cheese Whiz, but comes in a wide varieties of flavors, like sambal (spicy), herbed, gouda, and ham.

2. Ambachtelijk Salade

This category encompasses any "salad" constructed with the base ingredient of mayonnaise. You can get chicken curry, chicken satay, egg, cucumber, crab, tuna, salmon, probably others.

3. Filet American

Raw. Meat. Spread. Pureed cow. Salty. Gross. Apparently can be found in different flavors as well.

They also have regular deli meat, a wide selection of thinly sliced 'wurst' (sausage), and of course lots and lots of cheese.

Sweet
This category is a bit more delicious.

1. Hagel Slag

Affectionately called a "candy sandy" by my friend Sarah, Hagel Slag is basically ice cream sprinkles for your toast. These can be dark or milk chocolate, sprinkle or shaving form, or even multi-coloured plain candy sprinkles. The key to these is to butter your toast prior to slag-ing it to make the candy stick.

2. Appelstroop

Like thick apple syrup for your bread. Often eaten with butter or even cheese.

3. Schuddebuikjes

A lot like hagel slag, but mini cinnamon cookies! Also requires butter.

4. Kokosbrood

Think flat macaroon for your toast. Quite good on its own. I've only tried the plain kind, but it can also be found with fruit flavors like banana, or with raisins.

5. Duo Penotti

Nutella-like hazelnut/chocolate spread with some vanilla creamy stuff. Yummy.

I also found this ad for Duo Penotti 'Solo'. A bit risque, no? Apparently sex also sells sandwich spread.

There are also many many other popular condiments, like some vegetable infused mayo called "sandwich spread", peanut butter with chocolate chips, curry ketchup, satay sauce (peanut-y), and lots of regular mayo. So much mayo.

Another interesting thing I have yet to try is vla, which seems a lot like pudding to me. It's everywhere and looks tempting, but quite processed and more than likely unhealthy.

Only one more week to try this stuff! Then back to good old Canadian predictability. Sigh.

xo
v

I got blogged!

2010-04-14T15:15:00.001-06:00

Today I received a message from Gay Giordano letting me know that she included one of my pigeon paintings in a post on her blog, I Dreamed I Saw in a feature about pigeons.

I haven't had much chance to look around the site, but it looks pretty neat from what I saw.

So thank you Gay! I'm really flattered by this!

I also want to mention that the painting that is featured there will be available in print form in the extremely near future.

v

ps I don't know what happened to the formatting of this post, but part way through it went orange and bold. I fixed the orange, but the bold seems to be sticking around. Oh well!

pps Here's a direct link to the post

Shameless Self Promotion

2010-04-09T05:08:00.000-06:00

In my quest to become a self sustaining artist, I've making prints of my paintings!

The first of these prints is my horse cherub.

If you are interested, it can be purchased for 25$ off my Esty page
Or by contacting me personally.

xo
v

Images 4 and update

2010-04-07T05:00:00.000-06:00

So I had the meeting with my boss, and they do not have consistent work for me. That being said, it looks like I will be returning to Canada and seeking out work there. I am ok with this. I'm really looking forward to coming home, being with family and friends, and hitting the reset button. So my plan for now is to come to Vancouver beginning of May to run the Vancouver 1/2 marathon and enjoy the coast for a week or so, then arrive in Calgary on May 11. I'll hopefully be able to come back to the Netherlands for Dana's graduation end of June (and maybe a little trip to Berlin again as Dana really wants to go, and I would love to see our friends that live there again before they move back to Australia), but that's still up in the air for now (money-wise).

I have three weeks left here. The weather's been nice lately and I'm enjoying it, but I am really looking forward to coming home. Canada rules.

These pictures seem to have an animal theme.
What do you think?

xo
v

Lunch!

2010-04-02T07:31:00.000-06:00

I love lunch. Almost as much as I love breakfast. But lunch has a special something about it, that nice little break through the day, and if you get to eat something special (even if it's some tasty leftovers) it gives you something to look forward to all morning.
That said, I have always had an admiration for cleverly put-together lunches, like this lady and her cute bento boxes she constructs for her kids. I mean... how awesome would it be to open a lunch box and see something new and unexpected every day?!
If/when I have kids, I totally plan on doing similarly awesome things. Maybe even for myself the next time I have a job/school where I have to take lunch everyday.

xo
v

Images 3

2010-04-01T02:54:00.000-06:00

Woowoo! I hope you all are enjoying this. I am.
What I find interesting is that now by grouping the pictures together in groups, I am seeing similarities and connections between the pictures. And since I'm posting them chronologically, it kind of shows where my head was at (or what was attracting me) at that particular moment.

For instance, I find this group all sort of humorous. Except for the parachute one. I don't know what's up with that. I quite like it though.

xo
v

Images 2

2010-03-30T04:37:00.000-06:00

I have the final presentation for my project at work tomorrow, so today will be a long day and late night. I only wish I had enough sleep last night and more chewy ginger candies to power me through the day.
I had a dream last night that I was sleep walking. One of those dreams within a dream. It was freaky.

xo
v

Images

2010-03-28T14:09:00.000-06:00

Due to my internship/job, I have developed an addiction to saving random pictures I come across on the internet. It might be the subject matter, colors, or design that grab my eye, for whatever reason I save it. I've been using this image bank as inspiration for designs and at times just plain amusement.

And I've decided that I should start sharing it. I'll post a few pictures every few days. Hope you enjoy it.

xo
v

Springtime

2010-03-23T09:45:00.000-06:00

It has finally warmed up here. Although the thermometer didn't go down much past -5 it was a bitter, long winter. The sun is out longer, giving me light and scenery for my apres-work runs that were previously in the dark. When I leave work I feel awake and alive, and I no longer dread the cold bike ride home. Instead I enjoy the sounds of the birds and the springtimey smells.

I've been brimming with ideas for my own projects. T-shirts for threadless. Prints of my paintings. Patterns to screen print. Bags to make. Last night I couldn't fall asleep because my mind was racing so I got up and sketched. This makes me sooooo sosososo happy. I spent the weekend laying on the couch, reading, sudoku-ing and going for a couple runs. It was fabulous. Last night I worked on Adobe Illustrator tutorials. I've updated my cirriculum vitae and portfolio and applied for some more jobs (in Canada). Being productive has been good.

I am planning to come home, not sure for how long. At first it was for a visit, then possibly permanent, and now I'm unsure. I had a chat with work about my situation (visa and money running out, needing a more permanent/reliable job), and they were a bit bummed about me possible leaving Eindhoven. So we've set up a meeting next week to talk about my future. I have no idea what will be the outcome, as they need project managers and graphic designers not industrial designers, but it's nice to know that they are willing to talk about it and that they do like me and want me around. I've been hesitant asking for so long (language barriers bring out the shyness in me), but I'm glad I finally did. Ask and ye shall receive, so they say.

upwards and onwards

xoxo

Happy St Patty's Day!

2010-03-17T16:28:00.000-06:00

After having a couple frustrating days at work while feeling on the brink of a cold and chronic shoulder pain, I've managed to concoct the perfect remedy (that surprisingly doesn't contain booze): exercise, cook, eat, chill. Maybe throw a power nap in there (I am the queen of power naps).
Yesterday I went for a run and make a delicious, rich chicken curry with the little ingredients in our fridge. Curry is my fallback plan for any meal. It's so easy and good. Go ahead and try it out if you dare:

1kg chicken thighs (bone in), about 7-8 pieces
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1/4 onion, chopped
Some ginger, about a tbsp roughly chopped
One leek, sliced
One can of coconut milk
1 - 1.5 tbsp green curry paste
About 1.5 - 2 cups frozen peas

Brown the chicken thighs in a little oil in a large pan or saucepan on high. Set aside and drain excess oil.
Throw in a little more oil and brown up the garlic, onion and ginger. Throw in the leek and toss around a bit. Reduce heat to medium.
Dump in the coconut milk and mix in curry paste until delightfully homogenous.
Put in the chicken thighs and peas, mix around until everything is covered. Reduce heat to medium-low. Put a lid on the pan/pot and simmer (stirring occasionally) until the chicken falls off the bone with minimal effort.

My cure for the blues today was trying my hand at Irish soda bread. I thought it appropriate, as it's St Patrick's Day and I don't feel like getting drunk. I'm really happy about the results. I couldn't help but try out a slice before snapping a picture.

It was warm, dense, and a bit tart. I hope it lasts till Saturday so I can make some french toast and use up the 1/2 container of mascapone cheese I have hanging out in the fridge.
This bread is ridiculously easy to make.

Preheat oven to 375F
3 cups flour
1.5 cups buttermilk
1.5 tsp salt
1.5 tsp baking soda

Whisk together dry ingredients in a large bowl. Make a reservoir in the center for the milk. Pour in 1 cup of buttermilk and set aside the other 1/2 cup. Mix ingredients together, stirring in the remaining 1/2 cup of milk. Mix until you have a soft dough.
Sprinkle some flour on a clean surface. Knead dough on surface for no longer than 30 seconds to a minute, just enough to make the dough stick together. Pat into a flat circle and slice an X about 1/2" deep and plop it onto a baking pan lined with parchment paper. Bake for 40 minutes or until the bread makes a hollow sound when you tap it on the bottom.
IMPORTANT:
DO NOT OVERKNEAD or else the carbon dioxide bubbles will collapse.
Also apparently it's important to make sure the oven is fully preheated before putting the bread in.

Voila! Enjoy your bread.

xo
v

Applying myself

2010-03-15T10:25:00.000-06:00

Now after a fantastic, exciting month of running around Europe (I believed Dana's mom once referred to me as a "whirling dervish" and that probably applies in this situation) it's back to business. Business being current work and also finding new work.

Since I unfortunately have no steady income here, it looks like I will be heading back to Canada and have been looking for opportunities back home. There seems to be a lot of jobs and companies I'm interested in, so it's giving me some hope. I've been updating my resume and portfolio, and whenever I do that, it always seems like I end up rewriting or redesigning the whole thing. That's probably a good thing though, since after Edhv I have a better handle on graphic design. It just takes time! Ugh. Sometimes I feel like I'm subconsciously procrastinating when I do that.

It's bittersweet. As I have been incredibly homesick lately and I would love to feel financially comfortable again, it's been such an adventure living here and I've learned a lot and met some incredible people. I am just so thankful for technology (ie skype and facebook) that I feel like I will keep in contact with those who've made such a good impact on my life. But still I feel sad that this experience didn't turn out as planned and I feel disappointed in myself for retreating into familiar home territory. I've been accused for "running away from my problems", but at the same time, I believe that generally people are afraid of changing their minds.

But of course this doesn't mean I'm suck in Canada forever, always looking back to my 10 months abroad as the only adventurous event in my life. I'm looking at this experience as a trial run. I have all intentions on living outside Canada again, but I'll go about it differently next time. It may be for school, or for a job. Or possibly to set up my own company or work as a freelancer or just live as an artist. Whatever it is, next time I will have a solid plan. A big lesson I have learned is to not move to a new country during a global recession without a job lined up before hand. It's a bit of a challenge. I'll also be more choosy about which city I live in, and choose one based on not just who is living there or if I have work there. I will have to put serious thought into it and have a set of criteria to ensure I will stay there a while and be happy.

Anyways, I was talking about procrastinating earlier and right now I'm double procrastinating so I should get to it!

xo
v

Cheerful

2010-03-05T03:25:00.000-07:00

Some days you wake up and a small series of relatively insignificant events set the tone for the day.
Today the tone of the day was set from the emails I got when I got to work this morning. I had a nice email from my Grandparents saying they saw the project I worked on in Milan, and they enjoyed the fudge I sent them from Scotland. I also got an email of cute animals from Mom and a quick hello from cousin Michelle, including a naked picture of Burt Reynolds.
Good days always start with Burt Reynold's ass.

Thanks!
xoxo

2010-02-16T07:42:00.000-07:00

When the unfortunate happens sometimes it doesn't matter how close of a friendship you had with a person, but the effect that person had on your life.

This past Saturday the incredibly talented skateboarder, designer and artist Nathan Matthews passed away after battling brain cancer. We weren't particularly close friends, although we hung out with common friends occasionally and had a good time.

I always highly valued his honesty and kindness, always a gentleman, with high morals and a healthy lifestyle. He obviously stuck to his guns in what he believed in and that sort of determination showed in his work and friendships. I often checked out his website to see any new work he posted, and was often left feeling awed and inspired when I did.

I followed his cancer treatment on facebook and always hoped that he'd pull through. I felt sick on Sunday morning when I read that he didn't. His death has hit my friends that were quite close to him very hard, and it pains me to see them in pain. I know my role now is to, yes, be sad, but to be there for them first and foremost. My heart fully goes out to his family and girlfriend, as I can't imagine the loss they must be feeling.

Rest In Peace Nathan. Your legacy lives on in your inspiration to others.

Homesick!

2010-02-08T08:42:00.002-07:00

poutpoutpout.

Mijn Stage

2010-02-03T14:14:00.000-07:00

Mijn = my
Stage = internship

See I'm learning Dutch!

So yes, my internship/job/place I go every day and design.
I am working at a graphic design firm, mostly designing identities (ie: logos and everything that goes along with it). It's quite interesting and different from what I've done before. Everything is heavily researched based to find what the company/topic is all about, then eventually that develops into some sort of visual identity.
My job, as intern, is to be a machine. First a research machine, next an idea/sketch generating machine. It's quite draining. But, for the most part, quite rewarding to see your ideas develop into something fun and unique.
It's been hard busting my ass for no pay, but there might be a light at the end of the tunnel. The project I'm working on now (to do with public transport transfer stations, more conceptual than graphics based) I will apparently be receiving some "compensation" for. I don't know when or how much, but hopefully I'll find that out soon. With this project I'm the only designer working on it so far, which I feel has really given me the opportunity to show my abilities, and the feedback has so far been positive. It's nice.
I've also been asked to go to Milan to help build a "paper cave" for a few days in February. Everything is paid for, although I don't know if I'm getting paid per se, but still, I don't have to pay anything so why not?

A big negative, or challenge, I should say, is the language barrier. I know some Dutch. Enough to buy groceries, order food in a restaurant, and few nouns and verbs here and there. I constantly ask how to say things. And everyone can hold a decent conversation in English as well. The tough part is lunch time. Everyone is speaking together, and in Dutch. So I have no chance in getting in on the conversation. And since I don't just stand around making a million sandwiches (more on the reason for that later in my next post) like everyone else, I just finish my crackers and cheese and veg and go back to my desk and check emails (that I usually don't have) or get back to work while everyone socializes. I feel like a bit of a loner at times. But on the other hand I am still making friends there and we hang out from time to time.

I had a nice conversation with my boss about a week ago. He wanted to know how I was doing. Not just work-performance wise, but life wise. How I was adjusting and managing to live in Eindhoven. I expressed my challenges and conflict about going back home. He said for the past few months he's been trying to figure me out, and that my work is quite different than the stuff in my portfolio. His perception of me was spot-on though. He said that I am quite intelligent and that is good in a world where everyone is trying to be trendy (I am aware that I'm not good at being trendy, I think), but I need some sort of push. Whether it be the right job or further schooling, I need to find something I feeling passionate about and pour myself into it. Which is so true.

I've found while I really enjoy designing and developing things, I don't really think I like typical product design. Most firms I see out there are not doing anything I am interested in, and it's a stretch for me to feel really excited about a great chair design or stuff like that. I think I'd really like to pursue more painting and illustration, at least for now. I feel happy doing it.

Well, that's it for now! Off to bed early so I can get up and run at 6am. Woo!

v

arg!

2010-02-03T13:54:00.000-07:00

I wrote a nice post about how my internship is going and saved it because I wasn't finished! And now it's gone! Arg.

Next?

2010-01-16T15:53:00.000-07:00

So I finally feel stable enough to write on this thing again.

Lately I've been pretty frustrated. Which, I guess is understandable having moved to the other side of the world. It's taken me about a month or so to really wrap my head around my future and lay some plans. This whole move has really shaken my basis of reality, and made me really question my direction in life in terms of location, relationships, my work ethic, and career choices. It's been real tough trying to figure everything out.

I'm realizing that while I like living overseas, Eindhoven is not the place for me. It's been difficult finding work, and quite intimidating looking for restaurant jobs or anything of that like because I don't speak Dutch (well, the Dutch I speak is limited to ordering food and simple things, no conversations yet). No work means no money, leading to a feeling of helplessness and dependency. Not enjoyable. Also from traveling around quite a bit I would really like to live in a city with a bit more of an international feel. I'm not the happiest when I'm here.

I went home over Christmas holidays, and I didn't realize how much I missed Calgary. Edmonton is nice to visit, but Calgary will always have a special place in my heart, because it's home. And it's big enough to have a semi-large city feel to it, which I like. I also miss the close proximity to the mountains, and believe it makes winter that much more bearable.

A slight comparison to here, where it rained, then sleeted, then snowed, then rain tonight between 5pm and 11pm. And it's chilly. That humidity...

So as I enter into my second half of my year permit to live here, I have to start thinking about what to do next. If I don't have a job, I can't stay (I have to prove sufficient financial means to live here). So unless I find a job elsewhere, I'll probably head back to Canada. Which I am ok with. I wouldn't mind living there for a year, getting some coin, then thinking about heading out into the world again for work or for school. This has been a good test at living abroad and I definitely want to live outside of Canada again, but a bit of time back at home would be alright. At the very least I'll be able to look at potential places to live and work first before heading out, and go about moving in a different way.

I've got a lot of choices to make in the near-ish future. I like this freedom I have right now, but at the same time, I would really like to feel at least a little bit of comfort and direction in my life. A year ago all I was focused on was getting over here, and now I'm not sure where I should go, what I should do. I've been looking into a lot of possibilities and have a few good ideas so that's nice.

I know this post was a bit heavy, but it's a part of living over here and important to express. But if being over here has taught me anything, it's to jump into whatever I do with passion and ambition, and really go past what I feel is comfortable. And that makes me feel able to do anything.

Anyways, there is more going on in my life that I want to share, but I just wanted to get that off my chest for now. There'll be something more lighthearted next time, I promise.

Berlin

2009-11-17T11:11:00.000-07:00

After an excitement lacking, anticipation filled 7 hour train ride, I made it to Berlin last night. I am staying with some friends, Guy and Kyo, in their neat little East Berlin apartment above a shisha bar and a cafe that sells doners and falafels for a euro. Food, and rent too apparently, is incredibly cheap here. Where they live there are a plethora of ethnic diners where three people can dine for under 10 euro. That is unheard of in good old Eindhoven.
It has been grey and rainy so far, giving the city quite a melancolie atmosphere that I feel is appropriate as I check out the East Side Gallery and what not. It got dark around 5pm and this city is somewhat lacking in street lighting so I didnt get to see as much today as I would have liked, but it is still so so cool.
East Side Gallery is the longest remaining stretch of the wall, and for the 20th anniversary of the collapse, artists that had painted works on the wall were invited to refinish their pieces. It was really beautiful. The pieces had so much emotion in them and understanding the social turmoil of Berlin at the time made it quite the experience.
This morning Kyo and I went to a vintage shop called Colors where half the store sells clothes by the kg. Clothes are surprisingly light and I spent under 5 euro for three shirts. The other half of the store has more expensive vintage clothes but on Tuesdays everything is 30% off. I got a cardigan and shirt for Dana, and a fur hat for myself. I had been looking for a fur hat for a while now. Mostly in Paris where my search turned out fruitless as the French are quite petite folk. I am glad that Germans seem to have larger heads.
On that note, there are quite of few rounder people here. Too much currywurst and beer.

I love the font used on the street signs and train stations.

image via Ask Meta Filter

The train stations are decorated in coloured tile, all different and very pretty. I like them.

This city is huge. I already know that I will need a second visit.

Currently...

2009-11-14T11:37:00.001-07:00

I'm making a playlist for African ladies.

New Stuff

2009-11-12T03:11:00.000-07:00

I've been putting off updating because I have so much to write about, but then I decided that I'll just get to it when I get to it. I'll just continue to post day-to-day things for now.

Since I've had some request for it, I've added a subscribe button. I know it works with such things as Google Reader (which you automatically have if you have a gmail account, but probably didn't know about), but there might be an email option (to get emails whenever I post something new), but I'm still figuring it out. Google Reader is actually pretty handy, especially if you check the same sites every day. The reader just keeps them all in one place. To subscribe just click on 'Posts' under 'Subscribe' (in the righthand column), and click on the Google logo. If you don't want to bother with that, there is a 'Subscribe by email' button right under that.

Moving on! I've started a series of paintings called the Dirty Birds of Paradise. I won't go into a full deal explanation but be sure to check it out (the link is in the column on the right).

The Work Situation
This week I've been working evenings at a gallery called Design Huis as part of an exhibition called Glow. Glow is a city-wide demonstration of light and art (since Philips Electronics was started in Eindhoven and lots of light bulbs were made here) so people will wander around the city checking out the different installations. I worked at Design Huis during Dutch Design Week as well, which was pretty boring work. I just wandered around, telling people "neit aanraken astiblieft!" (don't touch please). This week isn't all that much different, but this time I either count how many people come into the exhibit, sell coffee, tea and gluhwijn (mulled wine), or stand at the doors saying "Here for Glow? Trop up en den links" (Here for Glow? Go up and then left) or "Toilette es duur door en den links" (bathroom is through the door and then left). See, I'm learning!

Although most of my emails to companies have resulted in fruitless "thanks for your interest but no thanks we have no vacancies" responses, I've managed to get myself an interview with a cool company called Edhv. They do mostly graphic work, but have openings for freelance designers of all kinds. The interview is next Friday.

I also exchanged a few emails with a local furniture designer by the name of Joost van Bleiswijk about possibly doing an internship with him.

So there are a few things going. I'm happy. Getting a serving job here isn't as easy as I had hoped, as everyone wants you to speak dutch (understandable), so I hopefully will get real work soon.

Life in General
Next week Dana and most of his classmates head off to Namibia for two weeks. Dana's working on a project with a company called Penduka designing a tool to make embroidering leather easier (I'm actually helping him with it). On Monday I'm heading off to Berlin for a few days to visit friends and get out of Eindhoven for a bit. Other than that I just cook, clean, go for runs and do pilates. I feel so very housewifey sometimes.

v

progress

2009-10-14T08:19:00.003-06:00

After two small breakdowns (from me feeling like I have nothing to show for working a year at a job that didn't particularly give me much design experience, moving here, not having a job, getting low on money and gaining weight), I woke up this morning and felt SO much better.

I put in a full day of working on business cards and portfolio. I contacted a gallery called Design Huis to work part time during Dutch Design Week (which is next week... and I noticed that someone hasn't bought their plane ticket yet, COUGH Chris COUGH) and no joke, a minute after I sent the email, I got a call back asking me to come in on Saturday. Excellent.

I have lots of stories to tell. I hope I get to it tonight somewhere after I go for a run and make stew, and between painting portraits of pigeons and crows.

Paris and things

2009-10-10T02:09:00.004-06:00

Hey folks! It's been two weeks but I haven't forgotten about this blog thing. I've just been busy with illustrations, portfolio making and hanging with my mom.

We're in Paris right now, enjoying four days of walking, shopping, museums and food. I'm testing my body's capacity to pile on pounds. So far, so good. I do miss my collar and hip bones though... I'll find those later.

It's my mom's birthday today, wish her a good one!

Mom Time!

2009-09-25T09:49:00.003-06:00

My Mom got here today! Yay! Nothing feels more homey than when parents come to visit.

I added some pictures to my previous post on Paris. Go check em out (they're on the next page).

I'll hopefully post about Liane's visit and Normandy soon.

That is all. Have a good weekend!

Mums and I drunk in Mexico,
trying to demonstrate what we would look like with eye lifts

I deserve a reward.

2009-09-23T05:16:00.003-06:00

Yesterday I bought a sewing machine.

I was eying this one I found at a second hand store (Het Goed, it's called) for 12.50 euro. It was old, but seemed to be in good condition, had all it's parts, and a four week guarantee from the store. So I figured why not. I got Dana to fashion some elastic bands to the flat part of my bike over the rear tire and made my way over there.

I was pleased to find that the sewing machine was still there so I promptly purchased it, and hobbled out the door trying to carry the thing. I'm guessing it was at least 30lbs. I had a really hard time carrying it. I also loaded up on cheap fabric, a print of some birds, and two small flower pots that occupied all the available space in my messenger bag.

So I get to my bike, and realize there is no way the bungee/elastic cord things will fit over the entire sewing maching and it's respective case. So I take out the machine, remove the guiding foot and needle, and slide the flat part of the machine under the elastic. I had my over stuff bag slung over my right shoulder and resting on my left hip, and the case of the sewing machine in my right hand (and somehow I was still able to have both hands on the handle bars).

This is probably no big deal to any Dutch person that's probably moved furniture with their bikes, but holy, that was a difficult ride home. I nearly crashed in the middle of an intersection in front Het Goed, but after some adjusting and picking up momentum I did alright. I dreaded any corners or red lights, as everything would start to wobble.

But alas, about 20 minutes later, I arrived at home. Sweaty and a little shaken, but unscathed.

If living in the Netherlands was like Girl Guides, I think I would have a new badge for my sash.

weekend of bluh.

2009-09-20T04:28:00.004-06:00

On I think Wednesday night, something tripped a breaker in the middle of the night so we woke up with no power. That problem was easily solved with a call to the landlord (aka Mr Jacobs/Jacobs/architect man).

Fast forward to Friday when Dana and I are making sandwiches for lunch using whatever was leftover in the fridge (a chicken breast and a pork chop). Dana heads off to school, I start doing whatever. About an hour later I get a serious case of stomach cramps and upon texting Dana, discover he has them too. Some fresh mint tea seemed to calm mine down, but I still had a nagging headache. So I popped an anti-inflammatory and went about my evening of making pasta salad and headed off to a friend's birthday bbq. Lots of fun, but I was still visited by the occasional stomach cramp.

Saturday I eventually manage to pull a hurting Dana out of bed and over to Emmaus (second hand sale that's open on Saturdays) and the Polish Market to look for a couch. We found a neat ornate cabinet (with carved owls and fish and skeleton keys to open the doors) for 40 euro to go in the living room, and lucked out at Polish with a 27 euro leather couch (but broke one of the legs getting it into the elevator). By about this time my headache had returned with avengance, and no matter how many pills I popped it would not go away. So to make myself feel a bit better (and soothe Dana's hangover) we made homemade macaroni and cheese, and watched a movie, taking advantage of our new couch and temporary coffee table made of wooden crates*.

Throughout the afternoon my headache progressed into the back of my neck, the stomache cramps returned and brought along a fever. Dana had pretty much the same thing, and let's just say I'm glad we have two bathrooms in the place. We're not exactly sure what brought all this on, but I'm suspecting the food left in the fridge when the power went out, the same food we put into our sandwiches a couple days after. I have no idea how long it was off for, but that's the only thing I could think of.

Today the digestive stuff is better, but instead have those lovely monthly cramps that make me wish I wasn't female. Dana's mostly better too, but we still have fevers and I still have a headache. We're pretty irritable at each other right now, but we managed to (mostly) successfully make our first Dutch pannekoeken (thin, crepe-like pancakes), and some "hammekoeken" (our name for pannekoeken with ham in it). The mix was some cheap "Euro Shopper" brand mix, but it was still pretty tasty. Although I must say I miss maple syrup. The 'traditional' syrup here tastes like molassas.

I think Dana's trying to configure the living room furniture right now, and normally I would go help to save the floor from being scratched, but I'm lying in bed and lazy and comfortable so I'll let that go.

The churches outside (there are five I can see from our roof terrace) are going nuts right now. Bells a ringin'. Such is a Sunday in the Netherlands.

v

*Dana found two wooden crates outside a store in the city centre, and my plan is to make a coffee table out of them. That will be done once we make it to Praxis (the Dutch Home Depot)

Things are coming together

2009-09-17T03:12:00.003-06:00

Yesterday I had my appointment with the IND (Immigration and Naturalization) to register as a citizen of the Netherlands. I had all my proper forms, passport photo, and copy of my return ticket. I was nervous as the whole work visa process up until now has been nothing but delays, miscommunications and frustration. But yesterday, aside from waiting for about half an hour, went very well. The woman I dealt with was incredibly friendly, spoke excellent English, and was very knowledgeable. I walked out of there with a sticker on my passport permitting me to work, and a huge smile on my face.

I finally got a mobile as well. It's the Samsung E1120 and cost me 25 euro, plus 20 euro on a prepaid plan. It is so budget. No customizable options and the most annoying automatic keypad lock. But it makes up for it in cheesy ringtones, most with names with drug references, like "get happy", "flying high", "secret life", and the more blatent "tripping".

My mom's coming for a visit in a week! She'll be here for 2 1/2 weeks which will be nice. We have plans to go to Paris for her birthday (the last weekend she's here).

Life is good.

v

Paris, the Expat Blues, and some chairs

2009-09-02T02:12:00.008-06:00

Paris
After the whirlwind of last week, scrambling the basics of an apartment together, we hopped on a bus and traveled six hours to Paris. And I'm happy to say that I still love Paris. First off, I love the food (for the most part, we had an entire day of food mishaps, which I'll talk about later). We had a fabulous dinner on Friday night at L'Ebauchoir, eating to the edge of discomfort and intoxication.

This was tasty

One the way back to our hostel we walked along the Seine a bit, discovering groups of people gathering and dancing to music, practicing Capoeira, or juggling fire. It was so amazing to see such a variety of stuff happening in a public space. I really think that the quality of a city can be seen in the amount of activities it's residents engage in outside the home, with each other, in public areas.

Capoeira circle

Saturday we visited the Pompidou for some modern art goodness and checked out their female artist exhibition. We grabbed a falafel for lunch and did some shopping in the Jewish Quarter, where there are a few excellent and cheap vintage clothing shops.

Le Centre Pompidou (Mon musee prefere du Paris)

That's me! With Dana's design! In a book! In the Pompidou!

Headed back to the hostel, we sat out on the patio, drank beers and chatted. We had noticed that we were a bit older than the majority of the other hostel guests, and after a bit of sluething we figured out that it was orientation week for the American University of Paris. And we were the only non-university people there. It was strange, but made for great people-watching.
Several beers deep we headed out to Rock en Seine (the music festival that originally brought us to Paris that weekend) to catch Faith No More (that being one of their more laid-back songs) and Birdy Nam Nam. All I can say is wow, I've seen Faith No More live, and it was fabulous. Mike Patton's voice can melt me into a puddle of goodness.
I then fell asleep on the metro home.

Sunday we woke up too late for the hostel breakfast, so we grabbed a baguette, some proscuitto, cheese, and a tomato to eat on the hostel patio. The baguette was good, but both the meat and cheese were rancid. Gross. So to supplement our bread, we each bought this veggie and sausage dish from the hostel cafeteria. The vegetables were soggy, and barely resembled vegetables, and the sausage tasted like it was made purely of salt. A few bites in and we were done, and returned to the room to nap. We set out again to get a meal in us before heading to Rock en Seine again, and since it was about 4pm no restaurants were serving dinner, just drinks and coffee. And we are famished. We walked for a good 20-30 minutes before finding a restaurant that served food, and we dove into greasy plates of roasted chicken smothered in gravy with a side of fries.

At the festival we saw Eagles of Death Metal, MGMT, and the Prodigy. We had seen the Prodigy a few years back in Spain at a festival, and it was a less than stellar performance. They seemed disinterested in the crowd (and vice versa), played for 45 minutes then left without an encore. This performance, however, was incredible. The played all great songs, and even had little remixes inbetween some of them. And two encores. At one point they got the crowd to make a circle and someone set off a flare, which was (incredibly dangerous, but) so cool. I'm not sure if it was someone from the Prodigy, or just a random crowd member. Looking at that video, the crowd was HUGE. We were on the other side of the flare and back a bit, and we were only about a third of the way back in the crowd.
The dust at the festival was out of control. Some people were wearing masks, and when it all ended you could barely see through the thick air. Everyone was coughing and covering their faces with their shirts. Later that night and the next day, both Dana and I got nosebleeds.

Monday we visited the Pantheon, visited the crypts beneath it, then bussed it back home.

Expat Blues
The emotional rollar coaster I'm riding. On the bus to Paris I started feeling homesick. I wanted so bad to return to my easy, English speaking country with a familiar and comfortable bed to sleep in. I want to call up some friends and hang out. I miss my parents and my cat so much. I was tired of feeling like the only one setting up the place while Dana layed around being all jet-lagged (which I was too), feeling like both a housewife and a mom. I was frustrated with the fact that I had to register at city hall and report to immegration, fill out forms and make an appointment to get a residency card. In Canada I just lived. It was easy. I had an annoying and frustrating couple of days in Paris while I worked all of this out with Dana, letting him know what was upsetting me and why and how to deal with all of this.
Going to Paris and experiencing a new wave of culture shock made Eindhoven feel more like home. At least I had something somewhat familiar to return to, my place where I have clothing in drawers and a place for my toothbrush.
Then I remembered why I moved here. I wanted a different life, something out of the ordinary. I didn't want to have everything to be easy. I made my bed and have to sleep in it. So I decided to just roll with it, and learn to love the adventure of living in Europe with all it's quirks and cultural differences. It might be difficult at times, but at least it's not boring. I'm still in awe sometimes that I'm here, making this happen. I now have my residency forms filled out and the appointment made. Things are fitting together.

My close friend Liane is coming to visit tomorrow, which is so exciting, seeing a familiar face from home. She just moved to Edinburgh for school, so I'm sure she's going through a similar shock to the system. It'll be a great week hanging out with her and showing her around!

Chairs
Yesterday we went to the 'Polish Market' to look for furniture and other household things. We got some small stuff, like floor mats, garbage can, mugs, etc, but the only furniture we could agree on were these chairs. And they are perfect. They are a great aesthetic jumping off point and has given us some ideas on what else we'd like. Dana and I are both so in love with them.

Until next time,
v

First few days of Eindhoven

2009-09-01T08:53:00.003-06:00

(the following was copied from an email I sent a bunch of people... just in case it seemed a little familiar)

The flight over was good, beside Frankfurt airport was ridiculous. It was hot and muggy, long lines, customs closed the desk we were lined up for (which was a full line up) creating mass chaos and annoyance for everyone. Then we walked across the airport to security, which was another long line, then redirected to another security desk where they did a very thorough search of our bags and electronics, then walked downstairs, across the terminal, upstairs, then started running for our plane. All this while we're carrying two heavy bags each. We were pouring sweat by the time we made it to the airport.

When we got into Eindhoven we dropped by to see the apartment we were interested in, and it was amazing! So we signed the papers and moved in the next day. We have all our bags (mostly my stuff however) unpacked and we bought most of the basic necessities besides furniture. Last two days we've been sleeping on an air mattress and eating while sitting on the floor, looking out of the window at the traffic below (there's floor to ceiling windows across the whole place).

Here's the current state of the living room... that's our air mattress in place of a couch or anything else. It's really the only comfortable thing in the apartment. I'm making one of the many lists of stuff you have to do when you move to a foreign country and own nothing but clothes. We've done nothing but shop and start the registration process for me since we've gotten here. My feet are tired from all the walking.
Those black squares are solar panels that generate electricity for the geothermal in floor heating and water systems. The building is pretty energy neutral and we don't have to pay for water or gas heating like most other places.

Our kitchen. From left to right there's a microwave-oven combo, below it a small fridge, then a steam oven with a dishwasher below. Then a flat ceramic cook top, corain (sp?) countertop that flows into the double (but still small) sink.
We used the steam oven today for some chicken and veggies and it's awesome.

Our room, which is messy. That white door leads to a walk in closet.

The main bathroom. We also have a half bathroom next to the kitchen.

Here's the view from our window. It's a busier street but our place is really quiet inside. We also have a balcony near the front door, and a roof terrace. The only other tenants in the building are the architecture firm that built it (the key arch lived in our apartment for three years and moved out for a bigger place), and a flooring company. So after 6pm we have the building all to ourselves.

So like I said we're off to Paris tomorrow for a music festival and back on Monday, and I'm really looking forward to it! When we come back we'll be getting a proper bed and some other furniture so it should feel more like home soon.

Read this post in reverse. I'm going back in time.

2009-08-19T23:58:00.004-06:00

Wow, it's been a month?

Well, for starters I didn't make it to Austin. My passport was stuck in Dutch-visa-land and wasn't sent when I was told it was supposed to be sent. Loads of tears and phone calls ensued, and I had to cancel. I was so disappointed. Rachelle was disappointed. It cost too much to change my plane ticket to come a day later, and I had no idea if my passport was even going to arrive the following day (which it did, visa and everything). I guess on the plus side I had a weekend of lying around, which has been nonexistent for months now (I can't think of the last time I've had a weekend without anything planned), and I still have a flight credit that I will use to go to Austin, probably around Christmas time.

The previous weekend I spent in Saskatoon. I visited my Grandparents, Aunt, and Uncle. It was nice, chill, with lots of great food and convo. Gma made my favorite, ribs and saskatoon berry pie. We walked and rode bikes around the river, and visited my uncle's family at their cabin before driving home.

For August long weekend (we're going back in time more here), and half of the week, my mom and I headed to Shadow Lake Lodge. We were blessed with beautiful weather, a day of rain, then a cool day. Met people from all over the world.

Before THAT I had my last days of work, and a going-away party in Edmonton full of general Whyte avenue debauchery, however I managed to reasonably pace myself and was able to drive the three hours to Calgary without wanting to fall asleep at the wheel.

So here I am now, DAYS (oh my god) away from the move day. Everything is in place. I have my visa. My car has appointments to get minor repairs done for it to be sold when I'm gone. I've packed, repacked, unpacked, packed some more, then plan to repack again when Dana arrives in Calgary. Friends are coming into town to see me off, and more friends and family are gathering on Saturday for a last big hurrah until Christmas time.
I'm looking forward to this weekend so much, and to everything past it, when every experience is new.
I will miss everyone here SO MUCH, but there is far too much to look forward to, to be nostalgic. Those close to me will still be there, and as Dana says, I'm just broadening my territory.

xo

40 days

2009-07-16T00:01:00.000-06:00

I counted today.

chipping away

2009-07-14T22:46:00.006-06:00

More news on the moving front.

Shortly after the last update I drove down to Edmonton International Airport and picked up Dana. It was such a cheerful reunion and I am so glad to have my buddy back. After living apart for close to a year we've both developed various habits and routines that are different from what we left with, and thus have spent the last week getting used to each other again, and for me at least, getting used to someone being in my space. Probably a combination of my somewhat introverted-ness and growing up an only child (plus never having roommates), I find it quite foreign having someone stay with me. I find myself feeling very protective of my things, my routines, and my solitude. Living with Dana I have to learn to let things go and allow some change and flexibility without feeling irked. This process is going quite fine. I think I'm adjusting well. I hope he feels like he's adjusting well living with someone who's a little more particular than he is.

I have my visa application appointment at the Dutch Consulate on Thursday, and everything I need is slowly trickling in. My ticket is purchased, I just need the confirmation and itinerary (thanks Dad!). My authenticated birth certificate (thanks Chris and Ali!) should arrive tomorrow (or else heads will roll at Canada Post). I have money in the bank, and will get proof of this tomorrow. At the same time, I will purchase health insurance. I have a Dutch address and phone number to put on my application (thanks Luke!). I have my passport, and passport photos (in which I look hideous).

I booked a ticket to Austin! To visit my cousin Rachelle. Apparently she has the weekend all planned out for us, including a trip to the Junk Cathedral, runs along Town Lake, probably a museum or gallery, loads of live music, Mexican food, Texas Barbecue, and other weird Austin things that she finds for me. Times with Rachie are always so much fun, as she is a goof and one of my best friends.

we have fun

Looking at the calender for next week, I realized that I'm finished work next week! Time flies.

Holy... what am I doing?

2009-07-05T16:05:00.003-06:00

I have such trouble putting things into words. Ideas and thoughts and all sorts of stuff float around in my head all day but when I sit down and try to write or type them out, I freeze. I can't recall anything I wanted to write about or express. This is my current challenge, and I figure to get past this block I should write about that very topic. I think if I keep writing something of value will come out.

I want to make an effort to record the next while in my life, as it's a major transition. I've sold my condo, I'm leaving my furniture, dishes, whatever else behind. Saying goodbye to not only my friends in Edmonton, but in Calgary and Vancouver. And to my family. Although I haven't lived in the same city as them for six years now, I've never been far from them, and always in the same time zone. I'm leaving the culture I am familiar with. The wide roads, giant parking lots, chain restaurants, half-ton trucks, hockey and what North Americans call football. English signage and familiar stores.

I'm moving to the Netherlands.

I'm sort of surprised I'm going through with it. It's so easy to feel comfortable and just fall back on the familiar, then settling for fantasies of doing something crazy and daring. Sometimes I think "what am I getting myself into?" but for the most part I know that if I stay where I am I will accomplish nothing, just become stagnant. I have every ounce of faith in the universe that while it might be a wild ride at times, everything will turn out fine. I'm sure my heart has never beat so fast for so long ever in my life, as it has in the past month or so (and will in the month to come) whenever I think about moving.

There is so much to do, I am so scared, but so excited!

Licking Problem

2009-05-08T11:10:00.004-06:00

My cat is getting a cone today. He obsessively licks and scratches his elbow (or the joint one would most associate with a cat's elbow) until it's red, raw, and wet with kitty spit. It's sad. I don't like seeing him uncomfortable, and the sound of his constant licking is wearing on my nerves.

This is somewhat of a reoccurring problem, and sometimes seems in direct relation to the stress in my life. So when I see/hear him licking, I get all concerned, stressed, and annoyed and he just licks more and more frantically. The cycle continues.
It seemed especially bad today so I made a vet appointment and they recommended to get him a cone to wear until his appointment on Tuesday. This is the first time he's stopped licking today since I woke up to the "slopslopslopripriprip" sound of him doing it this morning about two hours ago. Poor little guy. Cones are just so sad.
I need a hug and a beer.

Plan B

2009-05-06T07:39:00.002-06:00

So apparently grad school isn't going to be the big life change I'm looking for.

I had my interview this morning. It was two hours later than they scheduled (it was supposed to be at 4:30am), asked some ambiguous questions, told me what they didn't like in my portfolio, and I was turned down. Had I known how much they were on the fence about accepting me I would've done the interview in person, because I bombed over the phone in these circumstances.
I was a giant mess right after. I couldn't even text Dana to tell him, I thought he'd think I was joking. I've calmed down (thanks Mom), and as it still feels like I've let myself (and everyone who was rooting for me) down, it's not the worst thing that could happen. They didn't reject me outright, there's just things I need to work on. And that's not a bad thing, really.

Just for fun, let's weigh the pros and cons of this situation:

Grad school pros:
- new experiences
- new people
- challenging myself, thus (hopefully) creating awesome things

Grad school cons:
- holy shit, expensive!
- lots of bureaucracy and administrative disorganization to deal with (Dana's had a tough time with it)
- less time to develop other aspects of my life (running, art, music)
- stress: lots of it
- sleep: less of it

I need to refine my design aesthetic and philosophy, apparently. I think deep down I knew this, and maybe I needed this to really see it. Things have generally come fairly easily to me through my schooling, good marks and acceptance into university wasn't very difficult for me, which is why this was so shocking. So maybe I've become complacent and lazy, and I think forcing myself to reevaluate my aesthetics and philosophy will put me that much more ahead.

So what's next? I'm still selling my apartment, then getting laser eye surgery, and moving to Eindhoven. I just need to throw finding a job into there. A job in Eindhoven. It'll be cool, I won't be broke! I'll look into grad school again at a later time. It'll still be there in the future, and maybe I won't feel like I need it later.
As disappointed as I am, I'm glad I'm no longer wondering and waiting and I can start moving forward. Now the future seems full of possibilities.

abs

2009-05-04T14:30:00.002-06:00

Adapted from a conversation with Dana:

"I almost have no love handles left!"
"But I like your love handles"
"But I'm trading them for an awesome six pack!"
"Oh you have a six pack?"
"Sort of. A six pack under some padding. Like someone through a couple blankets over it."
"Or someone hid a six pack in your bed?"
"Yeah, like that."

Yes. My stomach looks like someone hid a six pack in your bed. I think that's acceptable.

woah look at that!

2009-04-28T22:15:00.005-06:00

So no post about Mexico. I got lazy. Too much to write. Too far in the past for me to have any interest in it. Maybe some day, but don't count on it. Most people have heard the story already.

I feel like I should write in this more, but life is so stagnant right now. I am so ready for a major change (ie moving to the Netherlands) it's not funny, and it's coming, but I'm unfortunately stuck in this shitty limbo situation right now waiting for it to happen.

A cure to much of my frustration is getting an interview for my masters degree with the Design Academy in Eindhoven. The date for the interview arrives (at 4:30am, nonetheless, which is half past noon dutch-time), and after a night of hardly any sleep waiting for their call, the interview gets bumped. It's rescheduled for next Wednesday, which is great. I just hope it's not bumped again. If it is, I'll go back to reconsidering Plan B, being moving to Eindhoven to work then looking at grad school at a later date and possibly different location.

My immune system has been crap this year. One possible reason for this could be the reintroduction of meat into my diet. When I stopped eating meat I hardly got sick, and since February I've caught pretty much every bug that's come around. It's also possible that my immune system is beated down by the stress and frustration of working two jobs (one of which I really dislike), packing to sell my apartment, saving money, and training for a half marathon. This stress and frustration has caused me to grind my teeth at night, subconciously clench my jaw and fists, and my period to be two weeks late.

Hence the desire for a major life change. I should have just left everything and moved over months ago. But what's done is done and I have to just stick this through.

In recent, non-complaining news I recently went to Vancouver and had some fun. Especially at The Presets concert. Dana came to Canada for a week and that was nice, although we both got sick and were busy running around to the bank (him) and work (me).
So. Much. Fun!

Eating

2009-03-06T23:49:00.001-07:00

Granted I was not vegetarian for 8 years, but this article pretty much sums up how I feel about it at the moment.

Stay tuned for stories about Mexico.

2009-02-15T00:06:00.002-07:00

I'm manicured, pedicured, spray tanned, and off to the Mayan Riviera tomorrow.

Spray tanning is awesome. Besides smelling weird for a day. But I can handle that.

See ya, suckers.

Green and Greedy

2009-02-11T12:33:00.004-07:00

Have you heard?
New Orleans is totally fixed!

This got me thinking, and a little depressed. Here I am, designing (well, sort of, helping design is more accurate) houses for people with money to purchase to ease their ecological guilt with a company that is so high on themselves they fail to see their obvious hypocrisies (like locating themselves in an area in the city that is hard to get to by everyone, constantly asking to print things, loosing them, and having to print them again, to name a couple). Meanwhile, there are displaced families living in third world conditions in our neighboring nation.

Why are we doing what we're doing? Does we really need an ecological suburb? Does that sentence even make sense?! WTF, an ecological suburb. Why not retrofit or replace homes in New Orleans with carbon neutral models and foster sustainable community re-development, just off the top of my head? Or, if that's too much for you, pick a run down community within the city and retrofit that? I don't understand this whole green movement, coming up with all these fancy NEW products, when we can really make do with what we have, reworking the old into new.

I feel a little guilty ranting about this while I'm supposed to be working, but hey, apparently everything runs on hypocrisy these days.

In totally unrelated news, I just saw a woman walk by outside, then stop and beat on a section of ice with a set of pliers.

Places I Don't Plan on Eating at Again

2009-02-09T15:04:00.003-07:00

Wok Box
Tofu that isn't burnt shouldn't taste burnt. Low on sauce and flavor. Constant source of disappointment.
Badass Jack's
Not as bad as Wok Box, but why should I pay 6 - 7$ for a wrap mainly consisting of peas, corn, and bean sprouts? Aren't those the cheapest vegetables available? Shouldn't there be falafel in here too, swimming in the crappy veggies and weird thai sauce? Also disappointing.
China
If the dish is mostly containing oil, it probably shouldn't be eaten. If you don't know what it is, it probably shouldn't be eaten. Most food in China breaks these two cardinal rules, and I've consumed more than enough of it in the past couple years. Less disappointing, more frightening.

oh jesus!

2009-02-08T20:24:00.001-07:00

I'm pretty sure Dana will disagree, but I think these are pretty cute.

2009-02-07T11:33:00.003-07:00

Fell asleep last night on the couch around 5:30am watching Buckminster Fuller. Woke up this morning on the couch around 11:15am with a massive gin-fueled headache.

Also I wish Wok Box delivered, because I'm not the mood to put on pants and go out into public.

y'know what sucks...

2009-02-05T11:54:00.000-07:00

Going to Mexico and not being able to eat ceviche. Dammit!

allergies are fun

2009-02-04T15:51:00.002-07:00

Most people know that the only meat I eat is fish and seafood, but recently (that being the last two years or so) I have been experiencing some mild allergic reactions to canned fish. When I eat some, the insides of my ears and tongue itch, but nothing incredibly serious. That was, until yesterday.

At about 2pm I have a couple bits of tuna from a jar. It was some really expensive stuff with flavoured oil that I've had before and didn't have a reaction to. I got a bit of a reaction, but again nothing serious. I just made a mental note to not eat it anymore. At about 5pm I have some salmon that I cooked myself and was fine. I go to the gym at 7, and start out by running on the treadmill. I notice some stomach cramps, as if I've eaten too soon before running (which rarely affects me since I'm more used to running). I decide to quit after a mile and go to do some weights before returning to the treadmill. While I'm pumping iron, the palms of my hands start getting hot. VERY hot. And red. And my scalp starts itching. And behind my ears. And armpits. I look in the mirror and I see hives on my neck. This isn't good I thought, and run to the change room, grab my stuff, then head to my car to go home and get some Benadryl.

I make it across the low-level bridge and to 97 ave when my heart starts POUNDING FAST. I got really dizzy and notice that my lips are swelling. Nearly hyperventalating, I pull over and call 911. They talk me down to a near-calm state so I don't panic myself unconcious and send an abulance to fetch me. Abulance comes, pumps me full of antihistamine (I didn't need epinephine, thankgodandmycatisonmykeyboardandIcan'tpressthespacebar there we go he's off now). They took me to the University hospital to monitor me until my rash goes away (right I didn't mention that I also had a rash all over).

Dana's dad picks me up and I stay at his parent's place for the night to make sure nothing else happens, because allergies sometimes like to flair up a little even after they're treated. But I was fine. Today I had a little bit of the hot palms and felt a little funny, but Benadryl helped that and now I'm merely existing in a druggy haze.

So yes, that was my Tuesday night. And I don't think I can eat fish anymore. I'm going to play it safe and stay away from all seafood until I get an allergy test, even though I think shellfish is ok because I had shrimp on Friday and was a-ok.

This sucks big time. I LOVE fish. I LOVE sushi. I'm very active, and don't really want to have to start eating meat again, or eat more tofu because of the phytoestrogens in soya. Beans and legumes are great and all, but not as lean as other forms of protein. So I don't know what I'm going to do.

I think it's nap time.

2009-01-30T01:26:00.002-07:00

After a week of obsessively checking Canada Post's package tracker, my portfolio has apparently arrived at the Design Academy. And I thought the suspense was bad before... but now I have to wait to hear back from them. Jesus. And there's no tracker on that. And I already emailed them (knowing they'd just receive it today).

I can't handle not knowing! The stress!

a break from portfolio-ing

2009-01-20T14:52:00.001-07:00

superpoop.com

They can't be serious.

2009-01-12T09:18:00.002-07:00

Barf!

This is less disgusting (for most), but still weird and I obviously wouldn't drink it.

making stuff

2009-01-11T15:01:00.002-07:00

I wonder if raising a child is much like designing and building a piece of furniture. I really hope not.
You get this great idea, and decide to act it out, carefully planning all the steps you will take. Seems like a piece of cake.
You get so excited to see the finished project, having full confidence that you'll be able to pull it off juuuuust fiiiiiiine.
You fuck up. Numerous times. Then try to fix the problems so no one will notice.
You look at the finished project, wondering if that idea you acted out so long ago was a good idea, and hope that it ends up accepted in the world.

Ugh. No offense to anyone with/having kids. This is just me venting about a chair I'm trying to finish for my grad school portfolio. A chair I started about two years ago, and finally finished today.

Also with the furniture-kids comparison... names. What to fucking name the thing that accurately represents what you want it to be. Right now, I'm thinking "Stupidfuckingchair".

I have a rating scale inside my head for the difficulty of the projects I've completed based on the blood, sweat, and tears that have gone into the project.
Sweat is 1 point.
Blood is 2 points (per time injured).
Tears is 3 points (for each time I've sobbed with frustration).

The concrete frames were a 1. Nothing complex or frustrating, but dremeling and mixing concrete can work up a sweat, or at least a slight glow to the skin.
I'd say the chair is at least a 10. Welding is quite physical, same with punching holes and threading the leather ties to attach the seat and back (I'll put pictures up later. You'll understand). One point. I have a sweet scar on my arm from the hot metal scalding me back when I was making the frame. Two points. And I'll group all the times I've pricked myself with a needle stitching the original leather seat onto the frame into two points. Then today the leather tie breaks as I'm pulling on it and I hit my hand on the metal, skinning a knuckle. Two more points. Then there was the time part of the frame broke at 3am when I was SOCLOSE to being finished. Cried with frustration and threw the part across the room. Exhaustion and chair induced tantrum. Three points.

But now, I think it looks alright. At least acceptable enough to put into my portfolio along a long description on the nature-industry juxtaposition present in the materials chosen, and the human connection to both blahblalbhalbhalbhal something about it being handmade blahblahblah.
I'm glad it's done. And you can even sit on it!

Words I don't like.

2009-01-10T15:48:00.001-07:00

Juggernaut.
Harlequin.

I don't know why. They just bug me.

enough of my whining

2008-12-08T22:47:00.003-07:00

I just read the last few posts, and they contain a fair number of no-no words and seems pretty negative. Life really isn't that bad and I should quit belly-aching about things.

Here are some things that are good:
My love comes home in THREE DAYS. That is very exciting.
I put up xmas decorations in my apartment for the first time in the five years I've lived here. I like it. It's festive.
Five day ski trip coming up soon! I leave on xmas eve and come back sometime after the 29th. I am craving the mountains and it will be nice to be in them.
Speaking of mountains, there is a good chance my NYE will be spent in Jasper. I LOVE JASPER.

So although it doesn't seem like it all the time (even to myself), the ratio of good to bad still favors the good.

HA!

2008-12-05T15:00:00.002-07:00

Facebook claims this blog is malicious.

I get this little message when I click on the link off my profile, and I can't get to it.

FUCK YOU FACEBOOK! HOW'S THAT FOR MALICIOUS?

2008-11-24T19:24:00.002-07:00

Comments left on youtube videos confirms the large number of stupid people who unfortunately exist among us.

Fuck you for wasting my time trying to read through your horrid spelling and atrocious grammar (alternatively spelled "gramma")!

WHAT'S UP?

2008-11-17T12:29:00.002-07:00

Eating pomegranate + lentil soup

Been working at home since 7:30am

Listening to the fire alarm go off every thirty seconds for no reason

A little tired from the night before

Mango, cashew, coconut, red rice dish

2008-11-10T17:35:00.004-07:00

This recipe is one of my own design. I first came up with it my last night in Eindhoven as a quick, post adventure meal.

a glug of oil (coconut is my favorite, but olive, vegetable, or canola also work)
1-2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 small or 1/2 large onion, chopped
1 cup red rice (usually can be found at Asian super markets)
2 cups water
1 ripe mango, peeled and diced
1/2 yellow, red or orange pepper, finely chopped
1/3-1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut, or fresh chopped coconut, if you have it! (it's much better)
1/4 tsp (or more) cayenne pepper
freshly ground black pepper
salt

- Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add in garlic and onion and cook until soft
- Throw in the red rice and saute for a minute or so
- Pour in the water. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 45 minutes (until rice is soft and most of the water is absorbed)
- This would be a good time to do your chopping of everything else
- Stir in the mango, pepper, cilantro, and coconut
- Stir in cayenne pepper and black pepper, salt until the flavors really come out (this may require more than you think)
- Add in more cayenne and black pepper as needed

Some chopped avocado and turmeric are also good options to add in

Enjoy!

2008-11-04T16:12:00.001-07:00

I don't understand why half the people I work with don't seem to have an indoor voice...

My favorite videos from Dutch Design Week

2008-10-21T16:01:00.002-06:00

Another thing I miss

2008-10-04T15:52:00.003-06:00

Having someone who will go anywhere and do anything with me at the drop of a hat, instead of finding excuses.

One night in Amsterdam

2008-10-04T15:48:00.001-06:00

Stay!
Eat!

Only 5 sleeps left!

personal, sappy, bitchy post ahead.

2008-09-30T18:13:00.006-06:00

The whole long distance thing sucks. Lots. When you've come accustomed to a person's presence it's hard to adapt to anything else.
I hate coming home and not having someone to call right away and talk about my day
I miss having someone that will go for a beer under any circumstance. It could be one beer, it could be many. Just to sit and talk without anything else to do.
I miss just sitting and listening to cjsr.
My workout and concert buddy is gone. I don't have someone to go swimming (then breakfast!) with, and I don't have someone who will accompany me to any concert because I know they trust (or are at least willing to try) my musical taste.
I hate feeling single again. Although I am not AT ALL, I go to parties alone, I meet my coupled friends and I often feel like the odd one.
I hate not being able to drive over as fast as I can when you have a shitty day. I hate that there's no one here to drive over and make me feel better when I have a shitty day.
I miss how you would bury your face in the pillows on weekend mornings. And how we'd stay in bed for an hour before getting up, and my cat would come purring and kneading, and curl up between us ready for pets.
I miss the sound your truck makes when you stomp on the gas.
I miss your friends! The ones that I would feel a little weird about contacting to hang out but I still find cool.
I miss getting drunk then doing something stupid, then waking up and going for breakfast, eating something cheesey, then me wanting to hang out for the entire day and drink coffee while you need to go do something important.
I miss hearing your keys jingle in the hallway before you open my door. I would try to quickly decide whether I wanted to open the door for you or wait till you came in and called "hello?" in such a questioning tone that seemed like you weren't sure if I was home or if you were calling into an empty apartment.

We had such an incredible "last date" night. Culina, then getting drunk at Passetempo, walking home. I can't wait to have another date night in Holland.

This next week will either pass by so. slow. or quick.

I hope for quick. Obviously.

dear gummi frogs

2008-09-30T12:19:00.003-06:00

Where do you get off? Creating the perfect symphony of taste and texture.

I love you.

Mr Treats

2008-09-26T20:54:00.004-06:00

On the street level of the building I work in there is a coffee shop by the name of Treats. A man of Italian origin (although he has no accent, I know this through conversations with a fellow employee during World Cup soccer season) and indeterminable age (he's greying but doesn't seem old) works there and probably owns the franchise. I once bought something with debit and since he has always called me by name. This seems friendly yet slightly uncomfortable since I don't know his name. He always makes a point of waving to me and is always, ALWAYS, been in a 'happy' mood.

There used to be another employee, an older woman also of European origin sporting a beehive with the same hair clip attached every day, but I haven't seen her for a while and her absence has caused shorter shop hours and high employee turnover. I always assumed that she was the mother of the main guy there, their interactions seemed more than co-worker but not romantic. Both I find to be mysterious and hard to read in age, sexuality, relationship, etc.

The man drives a large burgundy van, similar to this, but more plush with curtains and some strange spoiler. It is parked outside the building all the time. At any hour. Occasionally it will not be there, and during those times I'm assuming he's at home, wherever that is. But I have walked by there at all hours of the night, and seen the van. Walking home from drinking on a weekend, it's there. One night I was working late on a project and had to print something off at 3am so I went to the office... it was there. On Tuesday around 12:30 I was walking home from having a beer with a friend, I saw him come out of the van and into the store.

Why does he need to be there at 12:30? 3:00? He has such a strange demeanor. And why the large van?
Recently I've started making up fantastical stories about him, like in some David Lynch movie where Treats is a cover for an underground network of people doing shady things that we will never understand. People who cause midgets to dance in the radiators and time to loop back on itself. The basement of the 13 story building in which I work in houses some sort of steamy workshop in which many workers are constructing something sinister that even they cannot comprehend.

Maybe each Treats store is a portal to another dimension. Maybe each store has a guy like the aforementioned who is really a guardian of the portal. This would explain why he is so difficult to figure out.

Maybe Treats is part of a giant social experiment, or government testing of a certain substance baked into their 'famous' carrot cake (which I have never eaten). 25 years into the future we will be astounded to find out that we have been unwillingly tested upon for many years without our consent without any ability to retaliate. It will explain the social decline of individuals into opinion-less drones, carrying out their daily tasks, meeting their daily consumer junk quotas, obeying commands to allow those in control to take full advantage of the community to meet their economic desires and suppress dissidents. There will be an inevitable war between those in control and those who resist (and didn't partake in the consumption of spiked baked goods).

Maybe him and Beehive are aliens.

not a good idea

2008-09-23T12:31:00.002-06:00

I've been trying to kick my coffee habit. I commend those who have quit hard drugs because I'm finding that this is HARD to do, and it's just fucking coffee. I endured several days of headaches and poor moods (being sick then having two long days of yoga helped, however). Today, I joined Chris for a trip to Starbucks and indulged in a tall dark roast.

I feel like I am on speed. I expect to crash and burn in 1.5 hours (give or take).

On the plus side, I've been quite productive. Or at least I think so. It could be like getting real drunk then coming home and drawing. You may think it kicks ass at the moment, but when you wake up dry-mouthed and nauseous, last night's masterpiece looks like it was completed by an 8 year old's non-dominant hand.

The Media and other Excitement

2008-09-19T16:14:00.002-06:00

Hot Damn! Today I was interviewed by Global TV, City TV, CBC, CBC Radio, CBC French, the Edmonton Journal, and U of A publicity to talk about the mask project that I've worked the past two years on. Wow, what a day. I've never spoken so much so constantly about the same thing, but it was fun. I wish I had TV so I could see it (even though I'm a little scared that I'll look like an idiot/fat). It was so exciting. The University of Alberta article is already up, so take a look if you like...

Tonight I start a three day Anusara Yoga clinic. I have been looking forward to it for a while. This also means a booze-free weekend and taking it pretty easy, which I'm sure will be good for me. Then Sunday it's picture time with Bryna, and I'm giving her creative control of the setting etc, the only thing I told her is that it should reflect me/how you see me/how others perceive me. I can't wait to see what she comes up with!

And if all that wasn't exciting enough, I would like to congratulate Pete and Ruth on combining their collective awesomeness into one single being now in the oven. Way to go, guys!

The National Parcs

2008-09-17T00:09:00.002-06:00

This is a similar idea to what I would like to get into: using unconventional sounds as instruments.

I love these guys. They're fun.

a lil' sample of everything..

some actual videos...

Sweet Potato Sesame Pizza with Green Tea Miso Gravy

2008-09-16T22:10:00.003-06:00

This is taken from Brendan Brazier's Thrive Diet book. For those of you who do not know, Brendan Brazier is a professional Ironman triathlete, vegan, and developer of Vega foods, a line of whole food supplements. His whole premise is whole foods, soy and dairy free, everything as unprocessed as possible. Sounds delicious? Well, most of his recipes are. Some of the most interesting are his pizzas, as they are very far from a traditional, bready thin crust pizza. These are often cripsier crusts made from a variety of veggies and seeds and often contain a lot of protein.
This is my favorite pizza I've tried of his. The miso gravy is unreal and can be used in other dishes besides pizza. For extra protein and vit B I sprinkled on some nutritional yeast over the crust after the gravy.

Sweet Potato Sesame Pizza
Crust

1 cup ground sesame seeds (grind in coffee grinder until a fine powder, but not until a paste)
1 cup grated sweet potato
1/2 cup chickpea flour
1/4 hemp or coconut oil
1 tbsp chopped garlic
1 tsp dried basil
sea salt to taste

Preheat oven to 300F
Put everything into a food processor until mashed up nicely. Spread on a pizza pan (that has been previously lightly coated with oil, preferably coconut) till desired thickness.

Topping
1 tomato, sliced
1/2 onion, diced
1 cup chopped red pepper
1/2 cup grated beet
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1 tsp oregano (or 1 tbsp fresh)
1 tsp thyme (or 1 tbsp fresh)

After spreading as much gravy as you see necessary onto the crust, throw the veggies on and put in the oven for about 45 minutes, longer if you want, but try not to overcook the veggies.

Green Tea Miso Gravy
As quoted in the book, "This flavorful gravy delivers probiotics for digestive health". How nice.

2 tbsp coconut oil
1 onion, diced
3 tbsp ground sesame seeds
1 tsp finely ground green tea leaves (do the same way as the sesame seeds)
1 cup brewed green tea
1 1/2 tbsp brown rice miso pastes

Heat coconut oil in frying pan over medium high heat. Add onion and ground sesame seeds, lightly fry. Add the ground tea leaves, brewed tea, and miso paste; stir well. Keep stirring until desired consistency reached.

Makes 2 cups and can be refrigerated up to one week.

I found that I needed to turn up the heat to get it boiling a bit more to reduce it quicker, and it turned out fine. Don't be afraid to do this.

work

2008-09-16T11:14:00.001-06:00

A new day, a new annoyance. Such is my life.

23 days and I'll be in a much better mood.

distance

2008-09-14T23:51:00.001-06:00

is sucky.

apartment stuff

2008-09-14T12:32:00.010-06:00

This was a very productive weekend. My mom came up from Calgary to help me buy a new couch and other house stuff to update my steeeez. There's still more to do (replace drywall and repaint the bathroom, for starters), but I must say that I'm very pleased with the results.
We had tried to avoid buying an ikea couch, but with not finding an EQ3 in Edmonton and the couch I liked Urban Barn being a little more than we wanted to spend, we ended up at Ikea buying this couch in a dark grey flannel. It's perfect and I love it and I hope it gets shipped before I leave for Europe.
I have this rug now in my bedroom, half underneath my bed. The colours work perfectly and it's nice and soft on the feets.

We spent a small fortune on towels for both myself and my mom. I have some cute green towels and large white bath sheets, and a new bath mat. I'm glad to get rid of the hot pink, I'm not 18 anymore. I also got a white shower curtain with a black tree silhouette. And this soap dispenser and matching cup.
I'd like to extend the mirror across to behind the toilet, but I won't do that until I fix the wall/repaint.
I also got this and a double sided basting brush of the same brand, and I think they're pretty cool. I found a 2-in-1 Cuisinart blender/food processor for $109 (!!) since my food processor is quite small and my blender has been sparking, but couldn't find any in a box, so I'll continue my search for one.

I love politics

2008-09-12T14:45:00.004-06:00

The Canadian Progressive Conservative Party is so mature.

woah!

2008-09-12T10:25:00.005-06:00

When did I start dressing like a female politician?! What was I thinking? Why didn't anyone stop me? I was trying to take a picture of a mask box I made with the computer web cam and caught a glimpse of myself... and yowza. I didn't think my hair was that nutso when I left the house.

The blazer and giant fake pearls aren't helping me any (isn't it fun to make fun of yourself?).
Also, check this out. It seems useful, and remniscent of des470.

candles holders made by me

2008-09-10T17:00:00.002-06:00

Today's lunchtime topics of conversation

2008-09-09T22:20:00.003-06:00

Alberta's tar sands and its relation to violence

Work

Anime

Marriage

Donkey fucking

Saag Panir (Indian spinach curry with homemade cheese)

2008-09-08T23:30:00.004-06:00

Like I said before, I love paneer. Its bouncy texture and delicate, slightly sweet taste compliments the heat in most Indian dishes. The following recipe is from Steven Raichlen's "High Flavor, Low Fat Vegetarian Cooking" and it has quite a few good dishes in there. It's similar to the Palak Paneer that Dana and I are in love with at Remedy Cafe, only this one has tomatoes and sour cream in it.
Here we go.

Paneer
First off, you have to make the paneer. You will need a cheesecloth. If you don't know what that is, it's a loose woven cotton cloth used for straining and it can be found at most grocery stores.

6 cups 2% milk
3 tbsp lemon juice

1. Bring milk just to boil in a large heavy saucepan. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the lemon juice. The milk will curdle in about 10 seconds.
2. Pour the mixture through a strainer lined with cheesecloth. Let drain for 10 minutes. Rinse the curds under cold water to remove the lemon taste and let drain.
3. Gather the corners of the cheesecloth together and tie the curds into a tight bundle. Place the bundle on a sloping cutting board in the sink. Place a heavy weight, like a cast-iron skillet (or a few textbooks on a plate), on top.
4. Press curds for 2 to 3 hours, or until firm. Unwrap the cheese and cut it into 1/2" cubes.

Saag Paneer (or "Panir", as spelled in the book)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 tbsp minced fresh ginger
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
1 cinnamon stick
salt, freshly ground black pepper, and a pinch of cayenne pepper to taste

2 ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and finely chopped
3 10oz packages of frozen spinach, thawed
1/4 cup vegetable stock or water
3/4 cup sour cream
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 cups diced paneer
1/4 cup chopped cilantro or green onion for garnish

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Lightly brown the onions over medium heat (4 to 5 minutes), adding the ginger, garlic, cumin, coriander, cinnamon stick, salt, black pepper, and cayenne after 2 minutes.
2. Stir in the tomatoes and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the spinach and vegetable stock or water and gently simmer for 10 minutes, or until most of the liquid has evaporated.
3. Stir in the sour cream and lemon juice and simmer for 3 minutes. Stir in the paneer and cook until warmed but not melted.
4. Correct the seasoning, adding salt and pepper to taste.
5. Garnish with cliantro or green onion and serve with basmati rice.

Enjoy!

(I hope musicpb from flickr doesn't mind me using their picture, it was the best looking one there! If you ever find out and want it removed I will most definitly do so. I just didn't have any pictures of it myself but in the future I will!)

Demons are my best friends

2008-09-08T23:22:00.004-06:00

I had a lovely dinner with my not-really-ma-in-law Joan down south on 34th ave at Maurya Palace and it was deeeeeelish. We had channa masala, saffron rice, naan bread, and MUTTER PANEER yumyumyumyumyum. Those that know me well know that paneer is one of my favorite culinary delights of all time, and one of the reasons why I could never be vegan (right up there with my weakness for breakfast burritos and huuuuuuevos rancheros). So paneer with peas and two other of my favorite things, curry and coconut, leave a recipe for disaster, or should I say... DELICIOUSNESS. I could orgasm from the goodness.

I decided that I am going to start a recipe tag, so I can share my favorite recipes (and for Dana to gather all the recipes while he's away from my fab cooking skills). So coming up soon, saag paneer....

well it's been a while

2008-09-08T10:05:00.002-06:00

So China was alright. I worked a lot. Everyone seems so excited to ask me how it was, and really, I didn't do much aside from hang out in an office, get driven to the house and back to the office, got sick, and got drunk once. The real highlight of my last two weeks was going here with my mom. We packed all our clothes and some food on our backs and made it up a 14k hike (and got a little lost) up to the cabin. It was beautiful and quiet, and the food was excellent.

I'm back at home now and getting used to not having Dana around all the time. It's weird but I've had time to keep my apartment impeccably clean for more than a day.

I went to a company golf tournament on Friday, and even though it was my second time golfing in my life, I won "Ladies' Longest Putt"! The prize was a $150 travel voucher for our travel agent! Hello New York!

2008-08-25T19:47:00.002-06:00

Sitting in the midst of potential food poisoning in a foreign country where you are expected to work is not my idea of a good time.
I am irritable and everything annoys me today. I just hope this is as bad as it gets.

chINa!

2008-08-21T05:59:00.002-06:00

Did I mention that I'm going to China? 'Cause I'm there right now.

byebye

2008-08-18T11:41:00.003-06:00

This morning I said bye to my baby as he starts his adventures in Eindhoven, Netherlands. I'm trying hard not to think of his absence, but focusing on when I'll see him in October and all the fun we'll have when I visit. This helps a lot.
Last night we stayed at his parent's house and hung out with them, Jacq and Tayber, all downloading Skype and installing their new webcams that Doug bought for everyone. It's funny seeing three people sitting in a circle, chatting on Skype to each other. Goofs.

Peng (one of Dana's cats) had been missing for a few days, we figured he had sensed something and taken off but still didn't give up efforts to find him. Last night a large thunderstorm rolled through, so Dana and I decided to head back to his house to see if Peng had decided to come home. And sure enough, after calling his name for five minutes, Dana found a very wet, scared Penger under his neighbor's car. He was happy to get inside and see us and his brother Ninja, although Ninja wasn't the happiest about Peng's return. I'll miss those kitties, but I know their going to a good home.

2008-08-13T15:45:00.001-06:00

I'm impressed with the tip of my left thumb's ability to regenerate itself.

2008-08-12T17:02:00.002-06:00

Lifting a bottle to find more beverage than expected

The delightfully irritating squeal of a kettle

small crisis big crisis

2008-08-12T09:38:00.003-06:00

I've discovered why one should properly eject an ipod... just pulling it out will freeze everything, corrupt your files, and if you do it enough times, let's say... three times, your ipod is toast and will have to be 'restored'. Such is the case with mine. I got as much music as I could off there, but not everything, including all the music I got off of other people's computers. It's been the backup drive for all my school, work, and some photos (some of last years Europe videos ended up a little corrupt). It's strange to think I have to clear EVERYTHING off. Like I said, I've saved what I could. This is my small crisis of this week. On the bright side, I've got a fresh new ipod!

The big crisis is, Dana's moving in less than a week. Bummer.

new computer smell

2008-08-06T16:19:00.001-06:00

I'm very much excited about my new macbook!

A few changes to life.

2008-07-31T20:59:00.004-06:00

So two weeks after starting Bacon (which I really enjoyed btw), I'm not working there any more. Why? Not sure. Not important. I still love the place and the people to death and it was a fun two weeks.
Coincidently, my design world was reawakened by a new job at Carbon Busters (designing, 3D and architectural modeling) and by good ol' priMED. Those kids just can't get enough of me. They're even sending me to China for 10 days. I will most likely leave the day after Dana leaves me for the Netherlands and get back, flying in through Calgary, the DAY BEFORE I have to hike my way up a mountain with a large backpack. Fuck. I had planned this backpacking trip for quite a while now, priMED springs a trip on me, and Bossman acts all irritated about my time constraints. Here is what transpired:
"When are you available to go?"
"Well I have to be back for the long weekend, I have this backpacking trip planned, deposits paid, everything. So I want to be able to have a day to recover from the flight inbetween and drive to Calgary, then we hike out on the Saturday."
Annoyed face from bossman
"How about we fly you to Calgary on the Friday?"
"Thursday would be better. I would really like a day to rest."
Still annoyed look.
Other people sitting with us chime in "One extra day in China isn't that big of a deal"
"Yeah, and I need to be hiking up a mountain, carrying all my possessions Saturday morning."
"You're strong. You'll be fine."

Sigh.

I also have a feeling that I didn't ask for a high enough wage from them. They jumped too quickly on my offer (I hadn't even finished my sentence... I gave them the industry standard for my skill level, and got interrupted before I could say "But since this is a two month contract I would like more than that"). I'm not going to worry about it though because what's done is done.

lately!

2008-07-18T13:32:00.003-06:00

So I got a job! I'm serving at Bacon part time. I love it so far. I get to interact with people and be on my feet (I realized I need some comfier shoes) instead of in front of a computer. Since it's only part time I'm still looking for design work but I think there's something around the corner.

I've recently developped a cold. I blame the weather and my staying-up-too-late. I think my body is telling me to stop drinking till the wee hours of the morn. I think I will.

I have two boxes in my place full of stuff that I don't use but can't throw away. Things like journals, sketchbooks, postcards, plane and concert tickets, etc. The past few days I've been going through these boxes and trying to do something creative with the contents. It's a very interesting process.
Today I made a box out of these notebooks that my friends and I shared in grade six to write notes to each other in class. I read through these notebooks, and man, we created some serious dramatics out of every day life. Boys, broken hearts, betrayal, lies, wow. I think it takes a certain amount of creativity to be able to create such dramatics. The perfect storm of childhood imagination and pre-pubescent emotions.
I also found an old journal of my mom's which made me get all emotional. It's weird to have this sort of insight into her. She has a very analytical approach to difficult situations, I've discovered. There's all sorts of lists, charts, rating systems, etc to help her express and deal with stress. It's a little sad, I wish she shared more of these things with me when she was going through them, but I don't even know if I would've understood. There were good things in there too, so I cut out the bad. The bad is in the past, and as it's helped shape who she is now (which is a better, happier person than before), it's of benefit to no one that is remains existing. I also stuck in little other notes and sketches she did that I found. It's now my record of her. Maybe some sort of gathering of forensics, sort of, because she's a tough one to figure out.

My apartment's in bad need of reorganizing and redecorating, so I've been quite addicted to these sites lately for inspiration.

Any suggestions from those who've been to my place?

Just when I think it can't rain any harder...

2008-07-08T20:34:00.002-06:00

... it rains harder.

And I'm inside!! HA HA! Not today rain! You won't get me this time!!

fire and water

2008-07-07T12:54:00.003-06:00

How cheesy does that sound? Ha!

But it's true. The past few days have been filled with both.
I had an interview at Bacon on Friday, but the manager had to run out so I had to talk to some other girl and I don't know if I've got the job yet. I'm calling them today. I also scorched the front of my neck (prime hickey territory) with a curling iron minutes before I had to leave for the interview as well, which was awesome. Now I have an "acute triangle" on the front-right side of my neck.

Friday was also Dana's birthday. I got him a journal, some pictures that I had ordered from a professional photographer taken at the Vancouver 1/2 marathon, and a double flask resembling binoculars. No more sock beers for us! Only binocubeers!
We invited a bunch of people over for a fire but got rained out for a while at the beginning, so Dana and I took his skate downstairs and I tore up my shoe (a little black flat) doing ollies. This impressed me because a) I haven't skated in about... three years? and b) I was in girly shoes.
Once the skies cleared up we rocked a fire in Dana's mobile fire pit (a drier drum on a retired lawnmower), and burned anything wood we could find. We even took it for a walk down the alley (against Jeff's incoherent protests, haha).

The next day Ruth and I had a lovely time at the downtown farmer's market, eating cupcakes and tacos and any free samples we walked by. Right as we parted ways the sky decided to open up and unleash a monsoon on top of me as I walked home. I scurried for shelter but still managed to get soaked. Like, SOAKED, as if someone sprayed me with a firehose. It cleared up as quickly as it came on and I made it home to dry off.
Then yesterday I managed to get caught in the rain AGAIN, but this time it was in the middle of a 9k run, right after I turned around to head home. This time there was no where to hide, and the rain wasn't as had but I still ended up dripping wet.

I'm really glad today is sunny.

A nice day and the joys of unemployment and maybe too much drinking

2008-07-02T22:46:00.004-06:00

A great thing about not having a job is that I can do whatever I want, whenever I want. And today was spent sleeping in then strolling along Whyte ave with Beck and her incredibly adorable son Felix. It was the first time I've seen Felix (and Beck for that matter) since a few weeks after he was born and it was nice to chat, catch up, and drink some booster juice. Felix is four months and already a lady killer with his coy little grin and smiles and giggles. It's neat to see Beck as a mom too, she loves her boy so!

Yesterday I pulled a disturbingly long shift of patio-sitting at Earl's, different people just kept coming and going yet I was there throughout the whole thing. Then we went to Jacqueline's and watched fireworks on her balcony. We could see both Millwoods' and Downtown's fireworks. It was one of those perfect moments, listening to the right music with the right people and the right scenery with everyone in a good mood and enjoying the night. I've been feeling a little bummed lately about not having a job, computers not working and people being lame, and last night picked up my spirits.

Friday is Dana's birthday and we're having a fire in his backyard. I hope we get good weather and for it to be another night of good conversation and good times. Although the next few days I need to dry out (so to speak), I'm a little boozed-out. Let's see: Thursday we saw a caberet/play/musical thing called "Pig" in the basement of Chez Pierre (yum!) and had a few too many beers afterwards at Martini's. Friday Dana and I went to his friend Mike's place to look at his recording set up, play instruments, watch old Think Not Think videos and sit by the fire. Dana had to drive home but I felt fine the next day. Then Saturday, following a nice day at the market with some girlfriends (and not enough food) we went to Dana's friend Brad's birthday where I drank WAY too much and splashed around in his pool. Good fun, but I was ILL the next day.

Poor liver of mine.

Could it be...?

2008-06-24T10:29:00.005-06:00

Click it

Seeing this gets my heart racing and my rage going. I've lost so much respect for the person I feel this secret applies to (if not written by) and I hope one day someone takes action to remove him from the academic community. He has no business being there, teaching for his own advancement not for the betterment of his students and the design community. Yet no one steps up and says anything. We all resent in silence.

Thanks, Post Secret, for bringing this to light.

movies and metal

2008-06-11T00:56:00.004-06:00

I went through a small movie binge lately, I haven't rented any in a while (due to a Six Feet Under addiction and late fees). I recently rented Wristcutters, 2 Days in Paris, and Maxed Out (documentary about America's debt, both personal and government). All very good. Especially Wristcutters, it has Tom Waits in it and the kid from Almost Famous (he grew up nicely...) and everyone's in purgatory due to suicide. Very good. I'd probably be able to talk about it more if it wasn't 1am and whatever shitshow that's happening on the radio wasn't distracting me so much.

I've also come to the realization that I like Mastodon. Dana, you should be proud of me.

Happy International Heavy Metal Day!

2008-06-06T16:50:00.000-06:00

Now let's celebrate with watching one of my favorite metal videos of all time, She Rides by Danzig.

Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwyeah.

There are so many awesome parts of this video I don't know where to start.
Well, let's start with the beginning. It begins with a girls ass. There you go, right off the bat, you know it's gonna be a good'r.
Secondly, a close up of Danzig, so close in fact, that his face won't fit the frame. His seductive rocking to and fro suggests to the viewer of what one would experience having intercourse with Danzig. And seriously, who doesn't want to fuck a metal god? (I mean anti-god. Anti-christ. 666. \m/)

Other notable parts:
2:24 The chest puff. The ladies can't get enough of his manly torso.
2:49 Handcuffs
Then everything from 3:10 onwards is pure gold.

I used to have the album this song is off of, but some shitface stole it from me. Thanks, jerk.

RIP Bo Diddley

2008-06-02T22:07:00.000-06:00

You were a man of great music.

You will never know how hard my cousin and I tried to get your autograph during your 75th birthday tour.

May the afterlife be full of 21 year old girls lining up for you.

bye bye bme

2008-06-02T16:52:00.000-06:00

I feel like I've grown up a bit.

lovely!

2008-05-30T08:36:00.002-06:00

So to answer Liane, no I don't have a job yet. There's a few things that look like possibilities, and each one of them sounds neat. I will more than likely work occasionally on the mask project from my old job as it's not completely done and I'm the key architect of that mask. A facial reconstruction place that my old work was talking about starting a project with has expressed interest in having me, as well as an architecture firm that I sent my resume to would be interesting. I would like to get experience in another field of work too. Having the lack of attention span that I have, I think I would enjoy doing consulting work for a few different projects. I would be able to charge out my time, work as much and as little as I would like, and make my own hours. More importantly, I would be able to be flexible enough to go out to Calgary, Vancouver, Mexico (for my cousin's wedding) and Eindhoven to visit Dana!

To celebrate my final day a few of us spent the hours between 4pm and 11pm drinking beer at a pub near work. Time just flew by. I had quite the hangover the next morning but after laying around for a while I walked down to the farmers market and bought a bunch of plants:
red leaf lettuce
catnip
basil, dill, chives, other stuff mix pot
"apple blossom" begonia
dark red impatiens
purple and yellow pansies
and I bought some dark red/green coleus the weekend before. It's a challenge planting anything on my balcony because it's mostly shade with just a bit of sun in the morning and late afternoon/evening, but I think everything will do well as long as I rotate the pots around to sunny areas. I also need to replant my aloe vera because it's getting too big for it's pot! I'm so proud.
The rest of my weekend was spent helping Bryna move, hanging out the Ivory Club watching birthday and bachelorette parties dance to dueling pianos (and being quite tired and cranky from over boozing myself the night before), then chilling at Dana's cabin with his parents this morning/early afternoon.

Now I am going to go for a run then meet up with Bryna and her mom. Fun!

2008-05-29T08:35:00.001-06:00

I have two days left at my job, including today. One thing that makes me a little sad is my notebook. I'm about 20 pages away from filling it, and it's so thick and heavy from adding in notes and papers. A few pages are wavy from spilling water on them and the spine is just about to fall apart. It has so much character now, I don't want to leave it behind (but I need to because it'll become part of a design history file).

Battles last night = amazing. Nice small, intimate show at Starlite with great sound and the sweatiest drummer in the land. He was dripping after the second song. I liked it better than the MIA show. Edmonton Event Center sucks and it was full of drunk 18 year old girls who thought MIA was an "East Indian Rapper Chick". uhh.... no. Get learned bitches! The amount of ignorance and complacency surrounding me these days is frustrating.
Back to more positive topics, I want to learn how to sample and mix music.

In other news.

And I find this interesting

2008-05-28T15:19:00.001-06:00

Tonight I get to go to my third concert this week! Tonight is Battles. Last night was MIA. Sunday, Jael gave me a last minute ticket to Taj Mahal Trio and the Blind Boys of Alabama.
What a week.
It's also my last week of work. I have two days, one hour, and ten minutes left at this job. I'm sad to leave, but at the same time I'm SO excited to start something new and possibly have a bit of time off. I'm so tired of sitting at a desk. I just envision my ass flattening with every sitting moment.

I just need a break from this.

first post

2008-05-28T12:37:00.003-06:00

So yeah, I made a blog. Why? I don't know. I guess enjoy writing although I don't write as much as I'd like to and I think having a place to "express my inner dialog" will encourage me to do so. And all ya'lls can read it and hopefully enjoy it.
It feels incredibly cliche to have a "blog". I don't even like that word much. It sounds gross, and squishy. And fat. But whatever. I want one. I want people to read it. And comment.