Helping the economy ?

Today I decided to take myself shopping and I bought two amazing items, both of which were a tad expensive and neither of which I could actually afford. But hello:

Item #1 Adorable, flattering, summery BCBG dress - bought in a pink/tomato-y colour... and on sale!


Item #2 The ubiquitous skinny jean, with a designer label (thank you J Brand) and in a dark wash - always appropriate... and a size smaller than I used to be!




All in all, a successful day - save for the damage irrevocably suffered by my Visa card.

It has been grey, cloudy and damp for 2 solid weeks now. Here's hoping summer is just biding its time until July when it will burst forth onto the scene with sun and warmth. Until that fateful day, I will post pictures of wonderful beaches where I would rather be. This one is in Italy and it is probably the most beautiful beach I've ever been to.

I like it when I feel like quotes are talking solely and directly to me

"Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness, concerning all acts of initiative (and creation). There is one elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that never otherwise would have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favour all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance which no man could have dreamed would have come his way.

Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. BEGIN IT NOW."


- Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

Song of the Day!

I really like this guy. I find his lyrics to be poignant and honest, his voice raw and soothing and is songs plain great to listen to.

Case and point (and my current fave):




Another fave is "Be Here Now"

The night is not quiet;
It is not still.

The sun will not settle down.
She refuses to let her feverish energy be dampened by Moon’s cruel darkness,
And so she bounces off tree tops and dances through blades of grass.

She likens herself to Moon’s soft mists and drifts her way into heads and hearts,
Causing minds to stir and bodies to rustle.

“Sleep not!” insists the tenacious sun.
If Darkness continues to make the world weary, Sun will merely shine her magnificence upon the moon
So that the sky will brighten as though it were day.

Crickets chirp in accord with Sun’s brilliant thoughts
And owls sound their approval of her wisdom.

For such creatures know Sun’s obdurate ways
And understand that she does not permit
Night to be quiet or still.

Working Hard? or Hardly Working?

Spring in Nova Scotia means pot holes. (And boy, do I mean Pot Holes). As such, summer typically equates to Road Work.

Since the glorious summer equinox this past Sunday, Mother Nature has kindly bestowed our fair province with fog, dampness, grey skies and rain. This morning however a true sign that summer has arrived appeared outside my window: construction workers.

When I woke up there were no fewer than 7 trucks of various sizes and shapes parked outside my house. From this collection of vehicles emerged a dozen or so city employees decked in their reflective vests and hard hats. This is all fine - I live on a busy street and appreciate that it is in horrendous shape at the moment, and I can calmly deal with the fact that I am barely able to back out of my driveway. What I find interesting is that these workers don't seem to actually do anything.

Granted I am nothing if not ignorant of what it takes to patch a road. Perhaps it is intrinsic that 6 men stand on the corner and watch while their coworker backs up a dump truck; smoking and spitting could be an fundamental cog in the road construction machine; maybe part of the job description is to ogle residents as they stumble half asleep out of the house, tea in hand, to drive a roommate to work. If so - excellently done gentlemen. You are a shining example of tax payer's money being put to good use.

I don't want to sound like a complete nag, I truly appreciate that the road in front of my house is getting some much-needed TLC. I'm just saying that there are many a pothole desperately waiting your comprehensive attention, dear construction workers, and that perhaps if you spread yourselves out a bit - a little less 'standing and watching' and a little more 'doing' - our roads could be restored to their former glory (aka smoothness) in a much more timely fashion.

Indecisive

So I picked this blog name on a whim. As mentioned in post #1, I couldn't for the life of me come up with a name, so in my haste to start blogging I picked a happy-go-lucky (and/or sappy, take your pick) musical lyric. I don't like it already. Darn. Further brainstorming has commensed and (fingers crossed) I will come up with something that has a bit more oompf to it.. or at least something that I won't tire of after 10 days.

To be continued...

Happy Father's Day!

This is the quote on the card I gave to my grandfather today. It is acutely appropriate for him as he is/has accomplished all of these things, and I think it's a good quote regardless.

"To laugh often and much, to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children, to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends, to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others, to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch...to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded." - Emerson

A Revelation!

This morning, when I woke up (far too early) and looked around in disgust at my pig sty of a bedroom something occurred to me: The cleanliness of my room is directly related to my sense of mental clarity.

As I mentioned, lately my life has been "up in airs". I am struggling with what I want to do with myself, and how I should best spend my summer. Long term planning is one of my weaknesses, and try as I may I cannot figure out what direction I want to take my life in. It is extremely stressful and confusing and as I preoccupy myself with musings of this nature, little room is left for any or all thoughts of organizing, tidying, cleaning or otherwise improving the state of my current war-zone of a bedroom.

Last month I had a much clearer picture of what was happening. It was short-term perhaps, but I had the foreseeable months planned out to some degree. My room was spotless. Everything was in its place, my bed was made, clothes were away, shelves were organized, I even did some closet-pruning.

Now that some of these plans have been realized (and others, unfortunately, have dissolved) my room - as my sense of self-assurance and forward motion - have fallen into disarray.

Behaviour has been observed - now must work on reconditioning to procure more satisfying results... Hmm.

Here's something else amazing:

Wise Words

Today someone told me, "life is amazing". Not in a sarcastic, corny or overly idealistic way but in the factual way one would say "my name is Alex" or "the red light means stop". In hindsight it is a bit of an odd thing to say but it is exactly what the most inner parts of me needed to hear.

Lately I've been feeling a bit like I'm treading water. Those three words were like a branch to grab on to, or a boulder to stand on. Something to give me a minute to pause, catch my breath and look in awe at my amazing life.

"Life" is an extraordinary thing: sleeping, breathing, loving, learning, molecules, DNA, dreams, history, art, sex, magnificent friends, family, choices, water, air, growth, evolution, brain, heart, mind, soul, a future and capacity for infinite possibilities..

How truly, breath-takingly, amazing.

Long day today. Blog entry is desired but not likely. In the meantime I will "borrow" someone elses:

Check this out. Pretty cute.
I think my favourite is #14

Song of the Day!

This morning drove my younger brother to work. In the car I had CBC Radio 2 on (as I usually do) and was listening to Radio 2 morning. On the drive back home this song came on. The sun shone, I drove along, I listened, I loved, and decided that it was a perfect way to start my day.

As an aside, and in reference to yesterday's anxieties:

Catering at my brother's graduation reception turned out to be rather painless. Set-up was easy, the food was great, reception started late (due to stereotypically long-winded graduation speakers..), and there were no awkward moments to be had.

This, I'm certain, is due to the fact that I put myself in charge of wine.

No one wants to burn bridges with the gal giving out the free booze.

Shake Your Groove Thang

This afternoon I went to the Public Gardens for ice cream and capuccinos. The ice cream was for my niece and the cappuccinos for my sister and me. We lucked out because not only did the sun manage to come out (coerced by my photos perhaps?) but there happened to be a band playing swing and rock-and-roll classics in the much-underused bandstand.

The music was fun and the coffee delicious, but the best part about the excursion was watching two women - whom I imagined to be old, dear friends - get up and dance. They had white hair, ice cream cones, and what looked like a lot of fun. They laughed, twirled, spun, swayed, and made me smile as I wished that half a century down the road I could be so lucky.

The Woes of Being a Cater-Waiter

Catering is by and large a pretty good gig. I only work the functions I want / are able to work at, free food is usually involved and it means an extra cheque for the bank every now and then.

Catering is torture when I am catering an event whose guest list includes people I know. It is the worst: "Oh hi friend/acquaintance/neighbour/former teacher/former classmate - would you care for a bacon wrapped scallop?" Ugh, horrifying.

Point #2 is why I am dreading this afternoon. I agreed to cater at a super easy function - couple of hours, setting out some platters and passing some wine, [much needed] money in the bank. Simple. Awesome. Then I realized that the function in question is the reception following my younger brother's high school graduation. That's right. My 17 year-old brother and all of his cronies are moving on up, being promised greater things while I, 2 years out of university, serve them and their families crostinis, chocolate dipped strawberries and cheap white wine.
Awkward? Check.
Degrading? Check.
Last thing I want to do today? Check.
And all for a measly cheque.

Congratulations class of 2009 - may I offer you another mini quiche?

Spring in your step?

So it's been gray, cold and rainy all week long. How dreary (and sadly typical of a Maritime Spring).

I just got back from a 2 week stint in England and Spain, where spring has actually sprung, the sun shines, and the temperature rises ABOVE 10 degrees centigrade. My knowledge and experience of this makes the current weather that much more depressing.

SO

If I can't make the sun shine outdoors than I can at least brighten up my blog with photos of all things spring-y and fair:

Picnics are spring-y (and delicious)

as are orange trees! (And hot bright afternoon sunshine of course!)

Nothing announces spring like blooming wildflowers...

...or roses in a meticulously manicured garden.

Ahh the memories of indulging in such vernal persuits...sunshine please don't be a stranger!

I Heart Movie Trailers

So Twilight is overrated... too bad because my inner nerd really wants to get behind a movie about teenage vampire love.

A movie that I believe will be significantly better is Away We Go. The cast is fantastic and quite frankly it looks too cute for words. Here is the trailer.

So today it's rainy and cold out. All I have to do today is clean my room, which clearly (or typically) I am going to put off as long as possible. I've spent a sufficient amount of time blogging and browsing so now I'm going to head to my basement with a large mug of tea and watch Twilight. I haven't read the books nor have I seen what all of the hype is about but my little sister is obsessed and I'm pretty curious.

And she's off!

To all of you 'bloggers' who have clever, interesting, witty and 'punny' names: I commend you. I have wracked my brain for an embarrassing two weeks or so to come up with "My Blog Name" and found it to be inexplicably difficult.

This name comes from the lyrics of a wonderful song called "Seasons of Love". It's the theme from Jonathan Larson's musical "Rent". When I was in High School, my friends and I were obsessed with this musical. We knew every lyric, almost every harmony and listened to the Soundtrack regularly. In Grade 12 my best friend and I went to England for March Break and saw the shows finale in London's West End. We truly believed that evening was the pinnacle of our young lives.

I digress.

This song asks "how do you measure a year"? In daylights? In sunsets? In midnights? In cups of coffee? Daylights and sunsets seems to me to be decidedly more optimistic than midnights and cups of coffee - although all four are quite enjoyable. I don't know what shape this blog will take, but musing on the "small stuff" of life - inches grown, minutes endured, funny jokes, sad circumstances - seems like a good place to start.

Thanks for visiting - hope you enjoy!