December 23, 2008
I actually took this quiz to prove that I was a granola dyke, but hey, whatever. Who needs labels?
The ‘Vaginal-Reference-Making Dyke’ made me snort my soy chai latte through my nose… I guess I am a student dyke.
I love love love that the picture that came with it was Darlene… oh Darlene. If I’d realised why I liked you so much on Roseanne I might have figured out things much much earlier.
December 12, 2008
Here are some photographs:
Watching american football in central Pennsylvania with Julie and Ben Jumper and Crayjack (sp?)
Later we played Didgeridoo.
The ice skating rink was closed so we went BOWLING. Hellz yeah.
Julie hopeful:
Julie dejected (notice gutterball on the right):
Julie angry:
Yes that is a chair.
Dana risking her life for christmas lights
Can you say, Righteous Babe?
Then she tried to strangle me. It was festive, at least.
This is her dog Sydney.
Very Happy Dog.
December 11, 2008
Plans for the day:
Message from: Julie 12:31 pm 11/12/08 =============== Pina coladas and ice skating? =============== Message from: Tae 12:33 pm 11/12/08 =============== God yes ===============
December 9, 2008
I feel like I should blog more, so here’s the low down on what I’ve been up to the last few days.
I sleep during the morning and Dana works during the day, so mostly we chill at night and eat Oreos and chocolate soynut butter while we have deep and meaningfuls about love and life and fest… mostly fest.
Tonight she dug out some astrology books and sorted out my life for me, which was helpful. And I’m not even being flip.
Dana freaks me out, sometimes, when she’s like ‘Let me look at these cards and tell you about your problems’ or ‘Let me consult this chart and explain your personality to you’ because there are no carnival Tarot reader warnings about strange men, and no newspaper horoscope promises of career advancements.
As an atheist, to have a book tell you that having planet x in sign y means you react to criticism by doing x, and realising that the whole page is you more perfectly than even you could describe yourself… it’s scary.
I mean that in the best possible sense, of course. In a shaking up your world view, making you think analytically and keeping your mind elastic and open kind of sense.
Good stuff.
The last two days I’ve been hanging out with Julie (of the christmas tree decorating) and her girlfriend Monica. Monica is friendly and sane and says things like ‘We probably shouldn’t drive to Baltimore to play arcade games.’ and I’m grateful for that. Julie… Julie sings Queen songs at the top of her lungs, explains honestly that she has never killed anybody with her car and tries to talk me into last minute jaunts to stripclubs.
‘No, seriously, they LOVE lesbians there.’
They seem to balance each other out and for some reason, even though I manage to be stunningly unfunny and socially awkward for no particular reason around them, they still hang out with me.
The other day we went to Monica’s sister’s school basketball game – complete with real live cheerleaders. They both apologised for ‘dragging’ me there, but seriously I loved it. Hanging in the halls in my skinny jeans, chilling outside with Gay George and Black Sam, or whatevertheir names were. I felt like I was in a movie.
Americans don’t seem to understand that things that seem normal and boring to them – yellow school buses, cheerleaders, white christmases, grape soda - blow my freaking mind.
Today we went to a funky op shop and then got some burritos. We almost went bowling but I decided instead to come back and hang out with Dana who is, after all, who I came to visit. At any rate, my amazing lack of co-ordination and fear of public humiliation probably would have led me to decline the invitation anyway, even if for some reason I didn’t actually care for Dana’s company.
But of course I care for Dana’s company because she’s practically a saint. Case in point, this morning, she made me macaroni and cheese. I didn’t even ask her to. In fact, I wasn’t even awake. She just did it, out of the goodness of her heart, and left it warm in the oven for me for when I finally decided to drag my ass out bed. Macaroni and cheese, there ought to be some sort of award for that.
I’m being jocular, but I’m totally serious.
December 8, 2008
Woohoo I made it to Pennsylvania!
Dana’s place is even more fantastic than I imagined it would be – it’s full of dark wood furniture, and houseplants and tapestries and celtic knots and books about astrology. My favourite thing in Dana’s place though is Dana, it’s so good to see her again.
Last night her friend Julie came over and we decorated the christmas tree. Today I am apparently going to see a basketball game with Julie… or maybe it’s a party. Whatever it is, I agreed to it, because she made it sound like fun.
Spontaneity ftw
December 5, 2008
I held off on posting because I wanted to put some photos up. There’s no real reason I didn’t put the photo’s up and follow it with a post, I just wanted to do them together but I was too lazy to find my camera cord so I didn’t.
Now that doesn’t sound like me at all, does it?
Whatev, I’m back in the US of A now. Vancouver seems like maybe I dreamed the whole thing, but my mediocre bank balance says I must have done at least some work.
I’m writing these words from Missouri, and as I type I have to keep stopping to smash off the layers of ice that are forming on my fingers. In fact, I’m sitting in a house made entirely of ice, under fifteen feet of snow, and I’m so cold that I’ve actually set fire to my jacket and my pants to stave off frostbite.
Actually it’s only snowing a little bit, but FUCK IT IS COLD. Seriously, I was in Vancouver and I was all like ‘Nerrrrr, the rain, it’s so rainy, my shoes are wet and I will never be warm again. Nerrrrr.’ … Did I just FORGET? Honestly I do not understand why anyone would ever live anywhere it snowed. Rain is my favourite.
Tomorrow is an exciting day. Tomorrow I’m going to Pennsylvania. PENNSYLVANIA.
The response I usually get when I say that is a screwed up face and the question ‘Why?!’ But there is a simple answer to that question: Dana
I’m going to go and visit my fest friend Dana for a whole week and I’m HELLA excited. It’s going to be fabulous because she’s the best, and also because it’s not snowing in PA (WOOHOO), but mostly because she’s the best.
It’ll be weird, though, because when I think of Dana( or any of my fest friends) I think of us running around in the woods with thousands of women covered in body paint, with no electricity, tents for shelter and wild blueberries for food – which is a fabulous state of existence, let me tell you, but a world away from chilling (warmly) in a nice house with walls and appliances and technology.
The end.
November 21, 2008
Ok, so
My last day of work was fun. James took Dev aside who passed on the message to Corynne and I that even though it was my last day, we were not to slack. Then – and I might have been imagining this but I’m fairly sure I wasn’t – James went out of his way to make sure I had more work to do than was humanly possible, and no chance to slack. I didn’t start facing until after 8.
But whatever, I still had fun because I chilled with everyone before and after my shift.
For weeks and weeks Dave and Chad have been inviting me out drinking with the choices crew and for weeks and weeks I’ve been saying no becase a) they go drinking at the Two Parrots, where Rosie works and where I therefore never want to go and b) I’m boring when I drink, I usually just tell everybody to fuck off and I take a nap.
So instead of drinking we did a Choices crew breakfast at the Templeton, which is this fabulous fifties style diner with some seriously good food.
I showed up early because I thought it was a longer walk than it actually turned out to be, then Corynne and Dev showed up and while we were sitting there discussing Dave, a bleary eyed, unshaven drunk stumbled up to a ‘Sidewalk Closed’ sign accross the street, stood there for a good thirty seconds looking confused, then stumbled over to the diner. It wasn’ta drunk, it was Dave! Who had literally just gotten out of bed and apparently forgotten to wake up first.
Talking amongst ourselves we decided Wes probably wouldn’t come, Chad would bail because he was sick, and Rebecca had probably just forgotten, so we ordered and started eating.
Halfway through my pancakes Rebecca showed up and there was no room so she sat on a bar stool kind of near the table and it was kind of awkward, but funny so it doesn’t matter.
We were done with breakfast with like two and a half hours to spare before we had to work, so we walked across the bridge (don’t ask me which one) to Granville island where Rebecca bought a very trippy poster, Corynne spent several years talking to a woman in a store about tarot cards and I bought lots of postcards and two little silver charms. Dev just kind of walked around going ‘This is awesome! ‘ like he usually does.
Rebecca worked earlier than the rest of us so she left early and we hung around for awhile, looking at cedar sculptures and things then caught a bus back and worked for eight and a half hours.
When the shift ended I broke out my camera and so I have a lot of footage of Dev, James and Rebecca doing their best Steve Irwin impresonations, only Dev is HORRIBLE at impersonations, James was doing Crocodile Dundee and Rebecca didn’t really seem to know who either of them were. I also have some nice footage of Dev dancing. The guy is not self concious at all, I love it.
I meant to get a video of him giving me the thumbs up and saying ‘Tae, nice work!’ because that’s what I see him doing when I think of him, but I forgot.
Then we all went home the end.
I seem to have managed to lose my USB card reader thing, so youse all will have to wait until I get back to MO to see the video’s and pictures.
Today is my last day in the city. I’m supposed to catch up with Josef and Blair at some point, I also have to go to London Drugs and BMO and I have to call choices and I have to figure out tax stuff and I have to figure out health insurance stuff and I have to… I have a lot to do and I only have until like six to do it because Lynda is throwing me a going away get together with her crew at Bixie’s Bar, which is in her lounge room.
She’s designing me a customised drink which I will probably not like because I am yet to discover an alcohol that I DO like, but I’m ridiculously excited anyway. My OWN drink! I wonder what it will be called.
Well, it’s 12:32 now and my stomach is so hugry it’s sizing up my lungs, so I’ll leave this here and go get oraganised I guess. I fly out tomorrow, and I need to shower and pack all my shit up AND accomplish everything else on my list before then.
November 18, 2008
OK, sorry, but before I write anything remotely relevant I just have to share with you the gayest picture I have ever seen:
That’s Sara Quin, Tegan Quin, Amanda Palmer and some other queer I don’t know but apparently should.
I’d be surprised if any of you straight ladies out there reading this are still straight. I mean seriously, look at that photo! I am!
So anyway, tomorrow is my last day at work and shortly after that I’m getting the hell out of dodge Vancouver.
Vancouver has not been at all what I thought it would be. I had a great time, don’t get me wrong, and I regret nothing – save my innability to get the girl I’ve been chasing – but it’s time to go.
I fly out saturday, but before then I’m having a Choices breakfast with the grocery crew and some others, I’m going shopping with the Blair Man (though I suppose he’ll do most of the shopping while I count pennies), spending a night at Bixies Bar where Lynda has promised to create a sugary drink in my honour, and I’m going to eat my WEIGHT in poutine and Tim Hortons doughnuts.
Should be good.
November 13, 2008
Today was beautiful an sunny. I meant to bike around Stanley Park, because it was the first day in forever that it wasn’t crappy and raining, but I’m not organised enough to do things ever.
Some construction in Yaletown, on my way to work.
Leaves in the park by work.
Oh look, I am Josef!
Josef managed to show up for work two hours early, so we got POUTINE!
With vegetarian gravy!
This thing drove past us. I have NO idea what it was about, but it didn’t even look big enough to fit a person in it.
At work, fooling around before Josef started his shift and I left for the buffy marathon with Lynda (buffy!!!), we decided to go downstairs. Then Dev showed up with the cardboard recycling bin and there was only one thing for it: we got in.
Dev! I don’t think he has been featured on my humble blog before, but this is him. Pushing us around, singing theme music. I think today’s theme music was Star Wars.
Josef Vs. Deven!!!!!
Happy endings: All of us in the bin.
November 13, 2008
How I woke up the other day. A parade of soldiers past my dorm room window, there were japanese soldiers, scotsmen, navy guys, some other kinds I didn’t recognise, and my favourite – MOUNTIES!
Room 215. My junk, Miete’s junk, Kierstie’s junk. we are slobs.
My bed is the top bunk on the right.
Some bad photography of a pretty tree last night near Langara College
Josef and myself waiting for the skytrain
The J man, jus chillin on the skytrain
The fourteen year old boy, jus chillin on the skytrain
Remio? Romio? Something. Josef likes graffiti and this inexplicably impressed him. He insisted on a photograph.
Josef and the Caramel Asshole. The boy’s got class, what can I say?
This is at the Tim Hortons near my hostel. TIM HORTONS!
