Friday, December 5, 2008
Sox in the City
Hey. Here's a great way to help out. Drop off some socks for the Vancouver Coastal Health's drive for fresh socks for the homeless. Check out their link for places to do the sock drop. Their biggest need is for men's white tube socks, but I don't think they'd style you care to contribute. Feel the Santa love...
Monday, November 24, 2008
Letting Go
Lightening up, letting go, giving up, quitting, these are not such popular cliches in my world. Not big on the quitting of anything. However, the neck spoke louder than my usual discipline and I have officially fallen off the National Novel Writing Month (aka NaNoWriMo) bandwagon. Too much time on less-than-ergonomically perfect laptops and busted chairs made for interesting spasms down the right arm and perpetually buggered neck. So.
Now I'm just doing the VanMag job and some freelance stuff and it's feeling better. I did no computer stuff except for a few emails on the weekend, which is the first weekend that I really let myself not write something intensely.
I have to say, I could get used to giving things up. It's quite a load off. Went to see the movie Happy Go Lucky last night at Tinseltown. Poppy was a tad annoying with her endless optimism but I really liked the movie and can relate. Make your own happiness. It's hard work choosing to be happy. Anyone can rant and rave and me perpetually pissed off. That's the easy default position. It takes work to focus on what's good. I liked that message. Two thumbs up on that one.
Today I'm meeting Wendy Weir with her new LibreTea drinking glass. I will upload a photo later but the prototype I saw earlier was really cool. She's starting with selling it at Murchies in Vancouver & Victoria. I'm hoping we'll position it in the Jan/Feb 09 issue.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Bunching NaNoWriMo
I'm perilously close to letting the whole NaNoWriMo thing go. It kills me to think I'd quit something. Not very good at the quitting or giving up schtick. However, the neck is screaming louder and louder that it wants relief dammit. I finished up the two newspaper stories for Travel Writers' Tales syndication, so maybe I'll have more free time, but then I think I really want to do my "real" writing which does not include this very cheesy novel I'm creating.
Quite honestly, this whole working all day thing is getting in the way of my writing life. HA. But I really am enjoying the opportunity to work with other writerly types and it was fun to get to know of them a little better last night. The Vanmag website launch party was at Nu. Great snacks, probably too much wine and fun conversations.
I'm going to go meet my husband at Lolita's now. Perhaps a margarita and some fish tacos will switch things up a little. This much I know. When I go to sleep. I really go to sleep. Not quite sure I can keep this social thing up too much longer. I'm used to sleepy old Stalashen Drive, where the biggest action is the waves.
Quite honestly, this whole working all day thing is getting in the way of my writing life. HA. But I really am enjoying the opportunity to work with other writerly types and it was fun to get to know of them a little better last night. The Vanmag website launch party was at Nu. Great snacks, probably too much wine and fun conversations.
I'm going to go meet my husband at Lolita's now. Perhaps a margarita and some fish tacos will switch things up a little. This much I know. When I go to sleep. I really go to sleep. Not quite sure I can keep this social thing up too much longer. I'm used to sleepy old Stalashen Drive, where the biggest action is the waves.
Dad's Summer Visit
This was in late August or early September. Sean came to visit his Grandpa for a bit. This picture makes me smile, thinking about how much healthier dad is and that Sean has finally had a chance in the last few years to get to know his Grandpa. I get downright sappy looking at this picture in fact, because of course it seems like everything has that bittesrsweet tinge to it. That whole mortality thing for a start...Sunday, November 16, 2008
Sunday night
It's 9:45 pm. I am semi-caught up on the NaNoWriMo world. 22,000 plus words. Sadly, I can't remember the exact number and I'm too whipped to go look it up again. Actually, I think it's 23,000 yeh, yeh, that's it. I want to get to 30,000 words by Wednesday. That was the suggested number by the little pep talk email sent 'round by Chris Bay, the organizer of NaNoWriMo.
Since I'm too lazy to do the actual math, I'm just accepting that 30,000 is key. The good news is that I have at least got my main character out of the Santa Fe hospital. She has no choice now but to be laid up and write her book. She has a broken leg that she can't put any weight on and a wonderful benefactor who has provided a nurse and her own New Mexican casita. Talk about projecting one's own fantasies...well, except for the nurse and the broken leg part. But I do love New Mexico....
I seem to have slid into quite a lot of deadlines and writing projects over this next week. The trick will be if I can move my neck at all by the time this is all over. I do have the name of a great physiotherapist that can do miracles in 30 minutes. I'm sure this neck and shoulders can provide a great challenge for her. Laptops, crappy seating arrangements and ridiculous word count goals are starting to add up. Saturday morning yoga is not enough to undo the week of abuse it seems.
I think ibuprofen is one of the world's wonders. I plan on getting a couple of those mommy's little helpers and propping myself into bed with the wonderful Tell It Slant book. I'm slowly working my way through it, between my other books.
The veal shanks are thawing while I sit here and by tomorrow morning Kevin will be prepping them for our dinner of shanks and lentils tomorrow night. I'm guessing Mr. Wine Geek has already figured out the appropriate red for the occasion.
It's a calm and crisp night outside the deck. The Molson brewery digital sign scrolling across on its forever spin. Can't quite read it, though I probably could if I got off the sofa and stood on the deck. But why?
Instead, I will sign off. Give my fingers a break. I'm looking forward to the week. I was asked on Friday to do the Shop with a Chef column and will be checking out the chef of Lolita's and their other Mexican eatery on Commercial Drive called Julio and me...or something like that. Since Mexico is one of my favourite places on the planet, I'm quite looking forward to the assignment.
Adios, Muchachos.
Since I'm too lazy to do the actual math, I'm just accepting that 30,000 is key. The good news is that I have at least got my main character out of the Santa Fe hospital. She has no choice now but to be laid up and write her book. She has a broken leg that she can't put any weight on and a wonderful benefactor who has provided a nurse and her own New Mexican casita. Talk about projecting one's own fantasies...well, except for the nurse and the broken leg part. But I do love New Mexico....
I seem to have slid into quite a lot of deadlines and writing projects over this next week. The trick will be if I can move my neck at all by the time this is all over. I do have the name of a great physiotherapist that can do miracles in 30 minutes. I'm sure this neck and shoulders can provide a great challenge for her. Laptops, crappy seating arrangements and ridiculous word count goals are starting to add up. Saturday morning yoga is not enough to undo the week of abuse it seems.
I think ibuprofen is one of the world's wonders. I plan on getting a couple of those mommy's little helpers and propping myself into bed with the wonderful Tell It Slant book. I'm slowly working my way through it, between my other books.
The veal shanks are thawing while I sit here and by tomorrow morning Kevin will be prepping them for our dinner of shanks and lentils tomorrow night. I'm guessing Mr. Wine Geek has already figured out the appropriate red for the occasion.
It's a calm and crisp night outside the deck. The Molson brewery digital sign scrolling across on its forever spin. Can't quite read it, though I probably could if I got off the sofa and stood on the deck. But why?
Instead, I will sign off. Give my fingers a break. I'm looking forward to the week. I was asked on Friday to do the Shop with a Chef column and will be checking out the chef of Lolita's and their other Mexican eatery on Commercial Drive called Julio and me...or something like that. Since Mexico is one of my favourite places on the planet, I'm quite looking forward to the assignment.
Adios, Muchachos.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Good Movies
Well, I'm a little short on the NaNoWriMo goal tonight but my excuse is that I was at the TMAC event at L'Hermitage. It was all about the importance of an on-line presence. And there was great snacks and fun conversations and wine. Yes. Lovely Syrah.
Margaret Deefholts thanked me for recommending the amazing movie, Edge of Heaven. It is a Turkish/German film that Kevin and I watched at Tinseltown. It's out on DVD and I still think it's one of the best films I saw in 2008. I want to rent it and watch it again. Amazing scenes, tight script with strange twists and turns in time and overlapping motives between mothers and daughters, and a son and his father.
On the subject of movies, the other really great show I saw a few months ago was The Visitor. It was so rife with social commentary without being overt and obnoxious with it. And it was hopeful in a very poignant way.
Alas, the same can not be said for the rather trite piece we watched on this very laptop last night. Can't even recall the name, it was so forgettable. A shame as it had Helen Hunt which is usually a good thing. But Bette Midler who was supposed to be her long-lost mother ended up looking weirdly younger than Helen because Bette's face is so bee-stung with Botox that she has absolutely no expressions and tight doll-like skin. I spent more time, trying to see if her face had any elastic in at all, than listening to what she had to say. Rather surreal...
Margaret Deefholts thanked me for recommending the amazing movie, Edge of Heaven. It is a Turkish/German film that Kevin and I watched at Tinseltown. It's out on DVD and I still think it's one of the best films I saw in 2008. I want to rent it and watch it again. Amazing scenes, tight script with strange twists and turns in time and overlapping motives between mothers and daughters, and a son and his father.
On the subject of movies, the other really great show I saw a few months ago was The Visitor. It was so rife with social commentary without being overt and obnoxious with it. And it was hopeful in a very poignant way.
Alas, the same can not be said for the rather trite piece we watched on this very laptop last night. Can't even recall the name, it was so forgettable. A shame as it had Helen Hunt which is usually a good thing. But Bette Midler who was supposed to be her long-lost mother ended up looking weirdly younger than Helen because Bette's face is so bee-stung with Botox that she has absolutely no expressions and tight doll-like skin. I spent more time, trying to see if her face had any elastic in at all, than listening to what she had to say. Rather surreal...
Mid-Week Shift
Wednesday. Kind of a strange week with yesterday's holiday. I worked on NaNoWriMo and hit the 18,200 word count at 3:05 pm after a morning and afternoon spent writing, emailing, cleaning and, avoiding as much as possible, the 3200 words I needed to paste down before I would allow myself out of the apartment. Felt good to step out into the air. Had a much needed cappuccino treat at the Starbucks on Denman and Davie. Actually scored a chair!
Good news? The word count was reached and the little space is rather spotless as a result.
And last night was our second dinner together in our new world - not bad for 3 1/2 weeks of living there...
Sunday, November 9, 2008
NaNoWriMo
Oh my. I'm feeling rather daunted by this NaNoWriMo thing. I'm at 11,472 words and I need to hit 15,003 tonight to be on goal for the 50,000 word finish at the end of the month.
I have lots of reasons why I really don't have time for this. And truly? I don't have time for this. I should be doing the two assignments that are do by November 20th. I should read my book, Three Cups of Tea, for our November 15th book club and I should be working on my memoir.
And what do I chose to do? Write a totally crap novel where the damned characters can't seem to get themselves out of a Santa Fe coffeshop, called...wait for it.
Espressorito.
Uh Huh. It seems a gay couple got together, one a swarthy, thickset Mexican named Juan (who also happens to make kickass Mexican food) and his lover Gianni who is a barista extraordinare and a pastry chef. Naturally, they open an espresso bar, Mexican eatery and saddlery. Forgot to mention that Juan is a true cowboy and leather worker. Of course. And they aren't even the main characters.
I must say that one of the reasons the woman Colette and her new friend David can't leave the place is because it's the perfect coffee shop/cafe that I would never leave either. Juan and Gianni post questions on the bulletin board and in the Santa Fe Herald asking people to come discuss them every Saturday afternoon. People of every background come out of the woodwork so that you have blue-haired pierced-up punks with purple hair discussing this stuff with soccer moms. What's not to love? So, it is a salon pondering existential questions. You can see why I can't get them to leave.
Apparently, this blog is also a way to avoid getting to my goal. Onward. Etc.
I have lots of reasons why I really don't have time for this. And truly? I don't have time for this. I should be doing the two assignments that are do by November 20th. I should read my book, Three Cups of Tea, for our November 15th book club and I should be working on my memoir.
And what do I chose to do? Write a totally crap novel where the damned characters can't seem to get themselves out of a Santa Fe coffeshop, called...wait for it.
Espressorito.
Uh Huh. It seems a gay couple got together, one a swarthy, thickset Mexican named Juan (who also happens to make kickass Mexican food) and his lover Gianni who is a barista extraordinare and a pastry chef. Naturally, they open an espresso bar, Mexican eatery and saddlery. Forgot to mention that Juan is a true cowboy and leather worker. Of course. And they aren't even the main characters.
I must say that one of the reasons the woman Colette and her new friend David can't leave the place is because it's the perfect coffee shop/cafe that I would never leave either. Juan and Gianni post questions on the bulletin board and in the Santa Fe Herald asking people to come discuss them every Saturday afternoon. People of every background come out of the woodwork so that you have blue-haired pierced-up punks with purple hair discussing this stuff with soccer moms. What's not to love? So, it is a salon pondering existential questions. You can see why I can't get them to leave.
Apparently, this blog is also a way to avoid getting to my goal. Onward. Etc.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Obama is President
I knew I was anxious about this election but I can't believe how emotional it has been. I look at pictures of so many black, white, young and old voters lined up for hours and hours to vote and I am just overwhelmed.
Thank you American voters.
Thank you for making democracy real again.
I will not dilute this with thinking about all that this new 47-year old president must deal with. For now, it is time to congratulate him and his incredible abilities.
And now, I'm listening to McCain's speech and I am grateful for his class and grace in this speech. These are the best words he's said, well, except for this end acknowledgement about Sarah Palin.
Whatever, it sort of cures my romanticism about the whole affair. Onward. McCain should have shut up while he was ahead.
Thank you American voters.
Thank you for making democracy real again.
I will not dilute this with thinking about all that this new 47-year old president must deal with. For now, it is time to congratulate him and his incredible abilities.
And now, I'm listening to McCain's speech and I am grateful for his class and grace in this speech. These are the best words he's said, well, except for this end acknowledgement about Sarah Palin.
Whatever, it sort of cures my romanticism about the whole affair. Onward. McCain should have shut up while he was ahead.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Sunday at the Seaside
Ahh...I haven't been home in ages and the sea and the wind were here waiting. Doing that timeless thing they do, of rush and retreat, rush and retreat. Does everything have to be metaphorical? It feels like that is life.
Last week was so full, with events, and dinners, and theatre right after work so there was no point in going home to the apartment and it was busy, busy, busy, but in a good way and then I got on the last ferry on Friday night and fell asleep in the car until another car's alarm blasted me awake and I was cursing even bothering to come here and then I pulled in to our dark gravel drive, opened my car door with my arms full of all I needed to schlep and there it was - Timelessness.
Calm. Sea. Breeze. Salt. Trees.
Breathe.
Breathe.
Breathe.
And this week I plan on being smarter. Less after work stuff. More hang out and read and regroup stuff. Dare I suggest a more balanced approach?
And then on Tuesday, like the rest of Canada, I will await the results of the U.S. election. I am usually so optimistic, but I feel like I don't dare believe Obama will really win because I think my heart will break if it doesn't come true. Not that it won't anyway.
Dear U.S. Citizens,
Please vote. Please don't vote for the scary old pretend maverick or Tina Fey's clone.
The rest of us are depending on you to help shift the direction of your world, and consequently, ours.
Sincerely,
A Concerned Canadian
Last week was so full, with events, and dinners, and theatre right after work so there was no point in going home to the apartment and it was busy, busy, busy, but in a good way and then I got on the last ferry on Friday night and fell asleep in the car until another car's alarm blasted me awake and I was cursing even bothering to come here and then I pulled in to our dark gravel drive, opened my car door with my arms full of all I needed to schlep and there it was - Timelessness.
Calm. Sea. Breeze. Salt. Trees.
Breathe.
Breathe.
Breathe.
And this week I plan on being smarter. Less after work stuff. More hang out and read and regroup stuff. Dare I suggest a more balanced approach?
And then on Tuesday, like the rest of Canada, I will await the results of the U.S. election. I am usually so optimistic, but I feel like I don't dare believe Obama will really win because I think my heart will break if it doesn't come true. Not that it won't anyway.
Dear U.S. Citizens,
Please vote. Please don't vote for the scary old pretend maverick or Tina Fey's clone.
The rest of us are depending on you to help shift the direction of your world, and consequently, ours.
Sincerely,
A Concerned Canadian
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Writing Again
I feel like tonight I'll finally be coming up for a little air. I have an invitation to "celebrate the debut of Loden Vancouver" tonight, but it'll be a short event and I can get home and work on the piece I want to do for my writing group on Sunday.
I'm loving this whole downtown life, but it is incredible how little free time I suddenly have, not just from the job, but generally.
I've gone from hanging out, writing, reading and walking to doing none of the above. Why is it so hard to find some sort of a balance? I almost had too much free time before (not really, but almost) and now I'm missing all that time to meander and just think.
So. The plan is to not book so many evening things and free up some writing time for real projects. I need to polish up some chapters and send the proposal off to the agents I met at the Surrey International Writers Festival. Time's passing...
Monday, October 27, 2008
Fact Checking R Us
Tonight we're heading off to India Bistro on Davie for dinner. It's had some great reviews so we're going to see what it's like.
Somewhere in between now and then I need to get another query out...Maybe tomorrow.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Trying to get in the Groove
I keep waiting for things to get "normal". I'm not sure why I think that's even possible. When was the last time I knew what a week was going to look like? But it does seem like this month has been a little busier than usual.
We moved into our new-to-us apartment in the West End...all 500 sq ft of it. That's been a bit of an editing procedure but I really quite love it - aside from the Barbie and Ken-sized kitchen and that Kevin has to crawl over me to get out of bed. Somehow, I just really like the whole play-house-ness of it.
And of course I started my new job. That is too funny. I am the new intern at Vancouver Magazine. Being the new intern does not translate to being the young intern. Au contraire. I am the old lady that is in the position normally reserved for keen-twenty-something-year-olds not forty-eight year old ladies. Ah. But therein lies the beauty of it. I am old enough not to take any of it too seriously. This doesn't mean, I'm not doing my very-darned-best to be the best fact checker ever (!) and learn everything I can, but I am just not into the game of it. But hey, I remember what the burning-hot ambition felt like, so it's not that long ago....
I'm just back from the marathon event of the Surrey International Writers Festival. What an intense long weekend. Met some really cool people that I hope to see again. I'm going to stay on the SIWC RSS feed and hope to get involved in a weekly critique group. http://www.siwc.ca/rss.xml
The SIWC, and specifically, Darren Barefoot's - http://www.darrenbarefoot.com/ -workshop, is what inspired me to get back onto my blog. My goal is to keep this up on a more consistent basis.
Two of the books that I'm planning on picking up this week are as a result of this conference;
Save the Cat by Blake Snyder and Tell it Slant by Brenda Miller. The Snyder book was recommended by Wally Lane http://www.screenwritingtostandard.com/ and the Miller book by Cricket Freeman http://www.augustagency.com/
Just finishing my edit of the early retirement piece that will be in Homemakers Magazine some time in 2009. Working with Janet Rowe is a real treat and a great way to learn better writing skills.
That's it. I've done my first post since July. Going to finish up with some reading and call it a day.
We moved into our new-to-us apartment in the West End...all 500 sq ft of it. That's been a bit of an editing procedure but I really quite love it - aside from the Barbie and Ken-sized kitchen and that Kevin has to crawl over me to get out of bed. Somehow, I just really like the whole play-house-ness of it.
And of course I started my new job. That is too funny. I am the new intern at Vancouver Magazine. Being the new intern does not translate to being the young intern. Au contraire. I am the old lady that is in the position normally reserved for keen-twenty-something-year-olds not forty-eight year old ladies. Ah. But therein lies the beauty of it. I am old enough not to take any of it too seriously. This doesn't mean, I'm not doing my very-darned-best to be the best fact checker ever (!) and learn everything I can, but I am just not into the game of it. But hey, I remember what the burning-hot ambition felt like, so it's not that long ago....
I'm just back from the marathon event of the Surrey International Writers Festival. What an intense long weekend. Met some really cool people that I hope to see again. I'm going to stay on the SIWC RSS feed and hope to get involved in a weekly critique group. http://www.siwc.ca/rss.xml
The SIWC, and specifically, Darren Barefoot's - http://www.darrenbarefoot.com/ -workshop, is what inspired me to get back onto my blog. My goal is to keep this up on a more consistent basis.
Two of the books that I'm planning on picking up this week are as a result of this conference;
Save the Cat by Blake Snyder and Tell it Slant by Brenda Miller. The Snyder book was recommended by Wally Lane http://www.screenwritingtostandard.com/ and the Miller book by Cricket Freeman http://www.augustagency.com/
Just finishing my edit of the early retirement piece that will be in Homemakers Magazine some time in 2009. Working with Janet Rowe is a real treat and a great way to learn better writing skills.
That's it. I've done my first post since July. Going to finish up with some reading and call it a day.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Travellin' On
Looks like I have a travel plan. Not exactly a trip to Africa but it should be quite an adventure nonetheless. I am taking my 15-going-on-16-year-old nephew on a road trip down the Pacific Coast. We'll head to Vancouver on August 2nd to spend the night watching the fireworks with my lovely husband Kevin and then Sean and I will hit the road in the morning. Car camping/cheap motels and perhaps the odd hostel is the plan. Head for San Fransisco and then turn around and come back. Kinda cool that a woman I recently met on the Croatia cycling trip lives north of SF, so we can visit her for a bit. As well, Liza and Paul are living down there so there will be a couple of familiar faces. I love the Pacific Northwest Coast and I know Sean will think it's cool too. It'll be good to get him out of all that is familiar. Time to shake up his known world a bit...and mine too.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Croatia
It was only a couple of months ago. Actually late May/early June I guess...Looks so far away from here and now. Viola (on the left) looks so Kodachrome with the yellow sign as a complementary graphic to go with her shirt.
It was such a good trip.
Beautiful riding, cool people on the tour and great guides.
Here's a link to some photos from the trip...
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Catching Up
It's summer in Sechelt and I'm just finally going through our February photos from Morocco. Why is it that as soon as a trip is over, it is SO over? Gone. Gone. Gone.Tagines, oranges, mint tea, dust, donkeys, minarets and rug salesmen...some of the stronger encounters still resonate.
I'm trying to catch up with what's happened this past year but I'm not really sure if it's possible or even necessary but I'm happy to at least add this entry.
Next plan is to throw on some photos from my Croatia/Italy trip this past May but first things first. It's a sunny evening. I want to make a little dinner and enjoy it on the deck.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Spring with Flurries
Spring is here-ish. The daffodils are almost finished, the tulips are coming on, the blossoms have just started on our backyard cherry trees and I've been weeding like a madwoman AND they are predicting snow flurries this weekend.
Yes. Life is like that. All or nothing. And then sometimes - everything at once. Is absolutely everything a metaphor for life with a capital "L"? I believe it is.
Haven't done this blog thing in a long time. So much has happened.
Cancelled the trip to China due to their ice and snow storms. Quickly rebooked for a month in Morocco ending with a week in Paris. Good thing I brought one tiny little stuff sack with cold weather gear cuz that's mostly what I wore the entire 5 weeks. So much for seeking warmth. Somehow it just didn't work. I'm beginning to find the whole mobile home in Florida schtick very appealing. Maybe I could learn how to lawn bowl or something.
I hate to whine but I'm really sick of being chilled and thick feeling. OK. The whining moment is done. The garden is starting to look pretty groovy and I've been playing with taking some photos of some of the stuff that is embedded among the plants. Like this photo of the old rusty underwood that sits beneath our arbutus tree between the bunches of salal and crumbling leaves.
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