Saturday, May 29, 2004

Hippie chicks and the crisis of consciousness

This quotation may explain something about the contradictions of my character. Must meditate on this ...

"On the one hand you had the politics of revolution and equality and liberation and on the other hand you had silent women in long dresses, gathered in the kitchen, preparing great meals of meat, which were brought out and served to the men — who ate alone. The men and women didn't eat together. The men ate before a gig or after a gig. They'd come home and pound on the table like cavemen. And the women were very quiet. You weren't supposed to hear from them. Each one was supposed to service her man quietly." —Danny Fields in Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk

Happy Birthday, Dave!

Sunday, May 23, 2004

Because I used to draw ghosts in my spare time

Howdy howdy,

It's been a while, huh? Sorry about that. Apologies to the Taureans whose birthdays I missed announcing this month — the time of year or the time of man? We'll just say that I don't know who I am and life is for learning.

Moved all my detritus from my parents' basement last week. One accumulates a great deal in 30-odd years (that works without the hyphen, too). Most of it I'm giving back for the purportedly giant garage sale. Perhaps there is something of value for someone else. If not, plan B is a big donation to a garbage fair. I don't know anything about it, but my brother does; he'll make sure my stuff finds a new home somewhere.

Did I mention that I'm teaching two spring courses? One of the startling discoveries of this reality is that I need the ritual of dinner. Grabbing a muffin and a carton of milk is just not satisfying (not to mention not nutritious). If I don't sit down to eat with others now and then, I get rather lonely and crazy. What else? The weather is still frightfully cold and the garden is shivering, stuttering. Zak tried to make an impression on Bellerose Drive earlier this afternoon. For his efforts he'll have a scar to match the one on the right side of his face, from when he tried to go head to head with a tree of indeterminate species. Guess who won?

Haven't gone climbing in weeks and weeks — didn't make it enough of a habit, I guess. Did I mention that we're going to Newfoundland this sumer? Daily more complex. Hmm. We're renovating the basement so Doug can move in. Next Sunday is the Super Cities Walk for MS — if you have a donation to send my way, please let me know soon! We fixed the washing machine! A tiny plastic spoon was making all that noise and finally jammed up the drain pump. But now the Bosch works perfectly again and restores my perfect place to meditate (in absence of the pergola). Did I mention that I got ill from having the furnace cleaned? Strange toxic chemicals, I think.

Sorry this is dull dull dull dull — rather like the dimes that I also found in the washing machine. My creativity reservoir is down a couple of litres. More later, I hope.

From a windy, craggy place,
Leslie

Thursday, May 20, 2004

Grumpy grammar girl

Grammar is an x-ray and your head is made of lead!

Now reading: Eats, Shoots and Leaves by Lynne Truss (incidentally, when I first heard the panda joke, it involved a prostitute, not a waiter), The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester, and Book Business: Publishing Past, Present and Future by Jason Epstein