I had another night of adventure on Saturday. I had talked with Sam about getting together earlier in the evening... that didn't happen.
What did happen is a series of rather convoluted events that make up wonderful memories. I was making pies and having supper with my parents when Sam called. We had planned to get together and do anything really, to hang out before he leaves, but he had some tear down to do for his cousin's band later. He invited me out to a restaurant to meet up with him and his friends until he had to go help.
The guys (Chris, Mitch and Sam) were all in suits when I got there and discussing China in a world market setting. That is, Sam was expounding on how it was setting itself up to be a larger market than the United States with an even greater amount of middle class and with more disposable income... and his friends Mitch and Chris looked bored. Maybe I just don't know them well enough to read their faces but it seemed like this was not the conversation they were looking for. Interesting, but it needed to move on. Sam thankfully was the one to change it by asking about my pie making. He had foolishly said he would bring a home made pie to his work the next day, and didn't know how to make one. He wanted to buy one of mine, but they were both spoken for. As Kaela came in I explained I had some extra pastry, it was decided that he would buy some pie filling and we would go over to my house and make one at some point in the evening. Mesel came in a few minutes later in a suit and we the girls found ourselves woefully under dressed with all the guys looking so great. However Kaela's Captain America t-shirt was pretty kick ass. Mitch tried to get a limo to take us around for the evening, as it was his birthday, but they were all taken for grad.
Sam and I slipped across the road to pick up some pie filling. There were a lot of people dressed up in there. It was strange to see people in suits shopping. I felt like I had fallen into a classier time. I think I should dress up more, as it just makes things better. I decided to go home and suit up. I went with a black and white dress, dark grey suit jacket, red heels and long red earrings. I met them after tear down, where the band's gear is stored and helped haul in. I was feeling rather Utilicool to be hauling while dressed up. Sam noticed I was carrying a keyboard almost as long as I am tall (5'7").
"Is that heavy? Probably too heavy for heels."
Yes, I suppose it was. We shared a laugh and he took it off my hands, I'd proved to myself that I can be helpful even with heels so I was happy to let him take it. I've never had a heel snap on me but I'm sure that was a good recipe for disaster. We chatted out in the alley with Andrew, Sam's brother and decided the next stop should be their house and then possibly a bar.
I drove Chris home as he had work the next day and headed over to Sam's. Just as I pulled up Sam called and told me he was running down the street from Mitch's house where they had really ended up. I picked him up along the way and found that the group was stalling on going out. We managed eventually to get everyone out the door. I drove Mitch's huge SUV and Mesel was right when he said, "You don't drive this car, it drives you." Foolishly we had thought that our suits would stand out... again we forgot grad night. Suits everywhere!
We danced, people got drinks and I ran into my friend Lydia. We had a great time while we were there and then headed back to Mitch's. Suits had been displayed to the world and compliments received. Success! Mesel and I had a dance party all ourselves for a good portion of the evening, starting at the bar and continued to Mitch's living room where we kept the music going all night and into the morning.
It was nice just having some fun and hanging around, and even better getting to know Mesel more. We had a really long discussion by ourselves for almost an hour about everything and nothing. Mesel, Mitch and I were alone for a bit and we were talking about the guy Sam had picked up. Mitch thought it was going to turn into a boyfriend thing and he was really upset by how little we knew about the guy and how much he knew about us. I could see his fear but more so that the guy didn't know Sam at all. There was this great moment of Sam-ness when he was talking about how Bob Dylan was amazing even if he was conceited. Sam used some phrase that was more elaborate than necessary but captured his point, and the guy tried to get us to laugh at Sam... no... Just because you find it funny that he's smarter than you doesn't mean that he's going to dumb himself down, or that we will respect him less. Piss off. We love him and don't even know you, we're not siding with you on this unless you can make witty comments. He seemed nice enough but just chose a poor moment to try and be funny. I think the guy might have picked up on it as there was no reaction to his comment and I encouraged Sam to finish his point.
The guy eventually went home and we teased Sam a bit about it all. People just have different standards for friends vs relationships. It was nearing 6am and we were feeling the lag. Kaela had gone to sleep (presumably in Mitch's bed as they're dating). So it was down now to Mesel, Mitch, Sam and Me. So what to do? Suit walk!
We went for a walk around the south end of town with all the morning dog walkers and joggers out. We looked like an anachronism. But maybe I just looked bizarre as I had borrowed some huge thick skate shoes from Mitch. It looked like I had cartoon feet. I loved it! We had an interesting walk with all of us tired and trying to have discussions. Mitch kept having ideas that would trail off in the middle and Mesel couldn't stop himself from trying to get the ideas to finish. He constantly felt like Mitch was subconsciously on the edge of a breakthrough or revolutionary thought.
We got back to Mitch's around 7 and started talking about time perception and measurement with Mitch's dad. Sam told us about measuring time with cesium oscillations. A very informative morning. But as it got on to 7:30 I headed home for sleep.
So no pie was baked in the end and I've met a few new people, had some great chats and danced till I could dance no more. A great evening.
Monday, June 28, 2010
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Yesterday was a nonstop thrill ride of adventure and discovery!
I don't think I can possibly hype this day up any more.
I got together with Joc in the afternoon. We wanted to have an adventure that was as cheap as possible. My mom suggested that we go for a walk around the Government House grounds looking at the flower beds. It was great. The grounds are something I've never explored during the day; there were all sorts of flowers coming up. I think another trip out is necessary after the weather has calmed down enough for the plants to not drown, and get some sun in their systems.
We then went and looked around Gov House itself, there was a type of guide in costume who seemed really familiar but I have no idea where I knew her from. Joc and I did the self directed tour and reminisced about all the childhood field trips out here. Highlights included the rocking horse for the pet monkey, the parrot that only spoke french, the chair that was specially designed to be as uncomfortable as possible for door to door sales men and the day bed for catching ladies who fainted after having their corsets tightened. Some of the furniture was just fantastic and we both found items that we'd love to have in our own homes some day. She found a neon green chair, while I found a rose couch that was all swirls and curved lines. We had great fun listening to all the ambient audio that has been added to rooms to give you a real feel of what the room was for. I appreciated immensely that they refrained from putting a laughing child track in the children's play room, that sounds creepy no matter how hard you try. We found former Lieutenant-Governors conversing together in a side room dinner party and we had a great time giggling at the various conversations. Nothing like a man from 1805 talking with a woman from 1988. Also just really interesting to hear about their lives.
We went out for raspberry lemonade and then back to her house to watch Top Gear. The after noon was like a mouse dancing with a flower in a museum with a bit of lemon on its head.
We were about to start our supper when Sacha called and asked if I could bring him out his spare keys. He was at Lumsden beach, and suspected that his keys were locked in the trunk of his car. It was too funny an opportunity to pass up. We ate, headed over to his parents and then an hour out to them. Joc and I were our own radio on the way out. We sang Bohemian Rhapsody and I'm a Believer, complete with musical interludes. Very fun, with much laughter on the way out. We were on high alert for any deer that might be wandering, as it was dusk when were were leaving the city, finally just as we got to the last turn off there was a deer. It was one of those moments where you can see how someone would give up vigilance for just a moment at the end of their trip and get screwed over. But we were fine, and the deer made its way off to the golf course.
Emily, Sacha, Sam and Jordan were very happy to see us and especially happy to see the keys. They had just been out for a few hours but Sam and Jordan were ravenously hungry, having not had anything to eat and being restricted from food at Emily's cabin. Which meant that they had eaten all the food they had brought, they had cooked potatoes and now were waiting on a German pancake to be finished baking. They told us of their search for food and how they had needed to steal scraps they found around the house. Their strange concoctions of butter, mayo and pickles in a tortilla shell. And how you knew they were hungry because even that tasted good. Sam while we were there ended up slowly eating away at a watermelon rind, until it was just a sliver of green and then he ate that too.
After a couple of rounds of cards, joc got the ball rolling on heading back into the city so that the guys could get some much needed sustenance. Restaurant picked we packed up and drove back. As we were nearing the edge of the city, once again we encountered an animal. Coasting up to a red light there suddenly came this rabbit running across our path. Had we not been slowing it wouldn't have made it. Good luck to you little rabbit! You are one ballsy little guy!
Sacha and Emily went home while Joc and I helped a friend on the phone talk out some worries about her boyfriend and money. Sam and Jordan tried to get a seat in the restaurant but the kitchen was closed. Joc started planning a girls night and Jordan messed up. He was talking with his girlfriend on the phone (his girlfriend's name is Sarah and she is Emily's best friend), and said "I'm so hungry Emily". So Joc was talking about relationships on one cell while Jordan was on another exacerbating the situation with his girlfriend. Sam and I watched as they paced in the exact same way back and forth parallel with each other. Is this the relationship walk? Sam said that the only good thing was that they weren't talking to each other on the phone.
We tried Subway but it was closed. Ended up walking over to McDonalds and being joined by Jordan and Joc when they had figured things out as best they could with their respective conversations. Food acquired, but still they needed something more. We drove over to Dominoes and the guys ordered a pizza. The teen at the till asked for a name and Sam just got this look. He gave his name but you could see something was sitting in his head. I said that I half expected him to debate "what is a name". Without missing a beat the guy at the till gave almost a textbook answer. I liked him instantly. While we waited, we went over to TimHortons' for some coffee and on our way in saw Jordan's twin, doppelganger, future self... we didn't know what we were seeing. He had the same hair, shirt, shorts, body type and similar-ish face. We forced Jordan in and he almost refused, claiming he didn't know what would happen if they were in the same room together. He insisted that they couldn't touch or the world would implode. The guy instantly noticed Jordan and deliberately walked by to get a second look. It was far too funny. He definitely didn't have Jordan's 110% jolliness... more of a 70% Jolly, 30% disdain.
As we were heading off to pickup the pizza our friend Sydney and Chris walked in. I was meeting Chris for the first time, I'm glad that I've seen his face before he, Ben and Sam take off on their 3 week hike to the ocean through the mountains. Crazy! But that's another post all together. Sam made me really happy that he introduced me as one of his favourite people. I'm glad the feeling is mutual. We got the pizza and sat out on a picnic bench as the weather was so gorgeous even past midnight. After a lot of talking and being eaten by mosquitoes Joc took us to Sam's and headed home.
I was going with Sam for company up to Jordan's and back as it is pretty far. We walked around Jordan's area and I found myself completely twisted around. I thought we were heading in one general direction when I suddenly found myself back at Sam's car. I've never experienced that much disorientation. It was a very cool feeling. The walk up in Jordan's area was very shenanigans filled with a variety of topics. It was fun to talk about some mutually known people and be able to say a line that I think sums up my personality.
"Do you know him?"
"Well... I've hugged him"
Jordan headed for bed and Sam and I still felt restless. We drove down to my end but realized that Sam was more tired than he thought. We chatted in my driveway watching the lightning flashes turn into a lightning storm with none touching down. Of course we rolled down the windows for some fresh air and there was an instant downpour. So our walk was out but we had a great chat. Eventually I stood to get out of the car. We started another interesting discussion so I got back in. Eventually around 3:30 we came to a close with Sam saying another line that just made me incredibly pleased.
Me: "No more talking you need sleep."
Sam: "Damn it Randene, you're just too interesting."
Thanks :)
And thanks for a great day everyone.
I got together with Joc in the afternoon. We wanted to have an adventure that was as cheap as possible. My mom suggested that we go for a walk around the Government House grounds looking at the flower beds. It was great. The grounds are something I've never explored during the day; there were all sorts of flowers coming up. I think another trip out is necessary after the weather has calmed down enough for the plants to not drown, and get some sun in their systems.
We then went and looked around Gov House itself, there was a type of guide in costume who seemed really familiar but I have no idea where I knew her from. Joc and I did the self directed tour and reminisced about all the childhood field trips out here. Highlights included the rocking horse for the pet monkey, the parrot that only spoke french, the chair that was specially designed to be as uncomfortable as possible for door to door sales men and the day bed for catching ladies who fainted after having their corsets tightened. Some of the furniture was just fantastic and we both found items that we'd love to have in our own homes some day. She found a neon green chair, while I found a rose couch that was all swirls and curved lines. We had great fun listening to all the ambient audio that has been added to rooms to give you a real feel of what the room was for. I appreciated immensely that they refrained from putting a laughing child track in the children's play room, that sounds creepy no matter how hard you try. We found former Lieutenant-Governors conversing together in a side room dinner party and we had a great time giggling at the various conversations. Nothing like a man from 1805 talking with a woman from 1988. Also just really interesting to hear about their lives.
We went out for raspberry lemonade and then back to her house to watch Top Gear. The after noon was like a mouse dancing with a flower in a museum with a bit of lemon on its head.
We were about to start our supper when Sacha called and asked if I could bring him out his spare keys. He was at Lumsden beach, and suspected that his keys were locked in the trunk of his car. It was too funny an opportunity to pass up. We ate, headed over to his parents and then an hour out to them. Joc and I were our own radio on the way out. We sang Bohemian Rhapsody and I'm a Believer, complete with musical interludes. Very fun, with much laughter on the way out. We were on high alert for any deer that might be wandering, as it was dusk when were were leaving the city, finally just as we got to the last turn off there was a deer. It was one of those moments where you can see how someone would give up vigilance for just a moment at the end of their trip and get screwed over. But we were fine, and the deer made its way off to the golf course.
Emily, Sacha, Sam and Jordan were very happy to see us and especially happy to see the keys. They had just been out for a few hours but Sam and Jordan were ravenously hungry, having not had anything to eat and being restricted from food at Emily's cabin. Which meant that they had eaten all the food they had brought, they had cooked potatoes and now were waiting on a German pancake to be finished baking. They told us of their search for food and how they had needed to steal scraps they found around the house. Their strange concoctions of butter, mayo and pickles in a tortilla shell. And how you knew they were hungry because even that tasted good. Sam while we were there ended up slowly eating away at a watermelon rind, until it was just a sliver of green and then he ate that too.
After a couple of rounds of cards, joc got the ball rolling on heading back into the city so that the guys could get some much needed sustenance. Restaurant picked we packed up and drove back. As we were nearing the edge of the city, once again we encountered an animal. Coasting up to a red light there suddenly came this rabbit running across our path. Had we not been slowing it wouldn't have made it. Good luck to you little rabbit! You are one ballsy little guy!
Sacha and Emily went home while Joc and I helped a friend on the phone talk out some worries about her boyfriend and money. Sam and Jordan tried to get a seat in the restaurant but the kitchen was closed. Joc started planning a girls night and Jordan messed up. He was talking with his girlfriend on the phone (his girlfriend's name is Sarah and she is Emily's best friend), and said "I'm so hungry Emily". So Joc was talking about relationships on one cell while Jordan was on another exacerbating the situation with his girlfriend. Sam and I watched as they paced in the exact same way back and forth parallel with each other. Is this the relationship walk? Sam said that the only good thing was that they weren't talking to each other on the phone.
We tried Subway but it was closed. Ended up walking over to McDonalds and being joined by Jordan and Joc when they had figured things out as best they could with their respective conversations. Food acquired, but still they needed something more. We drove over to Dominoes and the guys ordered a pizza. The teen at the till asked for a name and Sam just got this look. He gave his name but you could see something was sitting in his head. I said that I half expected him to debate "what is a name". Without missing a beat the guy at the till gave almost a textbook answer. I liked him instantly. While we waited, we went over to TimHortons' for some coffee and on our way in saw Jordan's twin, doppelganger, future self... we didn't know what we were seeing. He had the same hair, shirt, shorts, body type and similar-ish face. We forced Jordan in and he almost refused, claiming he didn't know what would happen if they were in the same room together. He insisted that they couldn't touch or the world would implode. The guy instantly noticed Jordan and deliberately walked by to get a second look. It was far too funny. He definitely didn't have Jordan's 110% jolliness... more of a 70% Jolly, 30% disdain.
As we were heading off to pickup the pizza our friend Sydney and Chris walked in. I was meeting Chris for the first time, I'm glad that I've seen his face before he, Ben and Sam take off on their 3 week hike to the ocean through the mountains. Crazy! But that's another post all together. Sam made me really happy that he introduced me as one of his favourite people. I'm glad the feeling is mutual. We got the pizza and sat out on a picnic bench as the weather was so gorgeous even past midnight. After a lot of talking and being eaten by mosquitoes Joc took us to Sam's and headed home.
I was going with Sam for company up to Jordan's and back as it is pretty far. We walked around Jordan's area and I found myself completely twisted around. I thought we were heading in one general direction when I suddenly found myself back at Sam's car. I've never experienced that much disorientation. It was a very cool feeling. The walk up in Jordan's area was very shenanigans filled with a variety of topics. It was fun to talk about some mutually known people and be able to say a line that I think sums up my personality.
"Do you know him?"
"Well... I've hugged him"
Jordan headed for bed and Sam and I still felt restless. We drove down to my end but realized that Sam was more tired than he thought. We chatted in my driveway watching the lightning flashes turn into a lightning storm with none touching down. Of course we rolled down the windows for some fresh air and there was an instant downpour. So our walk was out but we had a great chat. Eventually I stood to get out of the car. We started another interesting discussion so I got back in. Eventually around 3:30 we came to a close with Sam saying another line that just made me incredibly pleased.
Me: "No more talking you need sleep."
Sam: "Damn it Randene, you're just too interesting."
Thanks :)
And thanks for a great day everyone.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Friends not of the city in the city
I find it hilarious to write that as a title... because of the 3 people who might read this... and I think at this time, they are the only friends who know I have a blog at all - Estelle, Emily, and Sarah. All of them are friends who lived in the city for years but then moved away. Estelle and Emily for school and Sarah for missionary work. So really this could be about any of them but this is focused on Estelle coming back for 3 nights and my friend Christine coming into town for 2 days.
Estelle came back into town and we swarmed together in large groups, trying to catch up on life. I feel I got the best of the whole 3 evenings that she was around. Mostly in ratios of time spent with her vs how much time she was in the city... Her dad might have got a bit more... but of her friends I'm victorious! It was really great to see her, refresh our knowledge of each other and just spend time together. All the typical, what are you doings, and how are things that get asked on the phone but more relaxed. Plus we haven't had many phone calls to each other as of late so it was good to get back into the flow and be able to have those little silences that get missed because life gets too busy.
I picked her up from the bus stop the evening she arrived, drove her home, toured her yard with her and her dad, and took her out to meet up with people bowling. After much chatting and relocating the group twice, I took her back to her house. I wish I could capture how funny and wonderful it was that she fell asleep as she talked and woke up and was in mid sentence as if she had dreamed a conversation in the inter medium. The next afternoon and evening was a bbq that was full of chatting and memories from highschool. The end of that evening I drove her home and we chatted for a few hours in her driveway. That was when we really got the chance to talk. The last night was spent at a bar chatting with her, her friend and the friend's boyfriend. I walked with her out to her bike and felt like I was sending her off into the night to bike to Calgary. More a hilarious end than anything and a great way to leave each other laughing.
Christine came into town a couple of days ago to drive her mom to the hospital for surgery and then take her back home. We spent an evening as kids and parents catching up, all together. The next day Christine and I went off thrifting and had a lot of fun. Picked up my friend Joc and went for lunch and ice cream. Oh Ethiopian food how I love you. I said goodbye to them both as Christine needed to get back, to pick up her mom from the hospital. That was 2pm.
I went home and slept for a bit and got a call around 7 and we decided to have an in night as it was raining so much and I wasn't feeling up to go anywhere. We were just going to end up where Christine was staying, so we jumped the middle and just hung out in her grampa's basement all night. We chatted for almost 7 hours, using the game scruples for whenever our conversation got too... ranty? We would get stuck on a topic and one of us would pull a card to say "Ok, that's enough.". Approximately from 7:30 - 2am we talked. Absolutely fantastic! Christine pointed out that I was say goodbye exactly 12 hours apart. A very fun full day.
Anyways for future me, hope this was enough information to remember this little chunk of your life.
Estelle came back into town and we swarmed together in large groups, trying to catch up on life. I feel I got the best of the whole 3 evenings that she was around. Mostly in ratios of time spent with her vs how much time she was in the city... Her dad might have got a bit more... but of her friends I'm victorious! It was really great to see her, refresh our knowledge of each other and just spend time together. All the typical, what are you doings, and how are things that get asked on the phone but more relaxed. Plus we haven't had many phone calls to each other as of late so it was good to get back into the flow and be able to have those little silences that get missed because life gets too busy.
I picked her up from the bus stop the evening she arrived, drove her home, toured her yard with her and her dad, and took her out to meet up with people bowling. After much chatting and relocating the group twice, I took her back to her house. I wish I could capture how funny and wonderful it was that she fell asleep as she talked and woke up and was in mid sentence as if she had dreamed a conversation in the inter medium. The next afternoon and evening was a bbq that was full of chatting and memories from highschool. The end of that evening I drove her home and we chatted for a few hours in her driveway. That was when we really got the chance to talk. The last night was spent at a bar chatting with her, her friend and the friend's boyfriend. I walked with her out to her bike and felt like I was sending her off into the night to bike to Calgary. More a hilarious end than anything and a great way to leave each other laughing.
Christine came into town a couple of days ago to drive her mom to the hospital for surgery and then take her back home. We spent an evening as kids and parents catching up, all together. The next day Christine and I went off thrifting and had a lot of fun. Picked up my friend Joc and went for lunch and ice cream. Oh Ethiopian food how I love you. I said goodbye to them both as Christine needed to get back, to pick up her mom from the hospital. That was 2pm.
I went home and slept for a bit and got a call around 7 and we decided to have an in night as it was raining so much and I wasn't feeling up to go anywhere. We were just going to end up where Christine was staying, so we jumped the middle and just hung out in her grampa's basement all night. We chatted for almost 7 hours, using the game scruples for whenever our conversation got too... ranty? We would get stuck on a topic and one of us would pull a card to say "Ok, that's enough.". Approximately from 7:30 - 2am we talked. Absolutely fantastic! Christine pointed out that I was say goodbye exactly 12 hours apart. A very fun full day.
Anyways for future me, hope this was enough information to remember this little chunk of your life.
Saturday, June 12, 2010
What's a Bieber?
I find it funny how much of the whole pop culture and internet memes I missed out on. While away on my trip, I couldn't really tell how much of the collective consciousness I had been cut off from, but let me just say that I'm only NOW hearing the name Justin Bieber. I just saw him in a clip in the UK a few minutes ago and said "What? Why is he on this show?" A bit of a back story on how this monumental storm of pop-ness missed me.
The first time I ever saw this kid was on Funny or Die maybe 2 months ago? and saw a couple of his videos. There was this joke about making the site Bieber or Die, with a bunch of people having backgrounds with his face or hair... I honestly thought he was just a kid who made funny videos and that taking over the site was a joke that had become a popular meme. So then to suddenly see him come on a random British show, and have these girls absolutely screaming their heads off, well... I was a tad confused.
Hop to Wiki and I find out he's Canadian, well points for him... and he's a singer? And then I see the all important phases. Discovered in the fall of 2009 with a cd out in November... riiiiight about the time that I was traveling through the outback and we were not listening to radio or watching tv. I had to laugh at the absurdity of it all. I'm also incredibly happy that THIS is the thing I missed.
For some reason, when I'm out of contact with news sources I return to find out horrible things have happened. Like the Tsunami, Hurricane Katrina, the Haiti disaster and most recently the huge oil spill. Usually in a very confused manner people will be talking about it and I'll be left in the dark. The weirdest sensation I have ever had was finding out about the Tsunami and thinking that everyone must be making a joke. Things like islands disappearing just don't really enter my scope of the probable. I left my city for about 5 days this spring, only to be driving back into town just as a swat team was evacuating people from a hotel on the street I was driving on. Its like the world goes mad when I'm not watching it.
So yeah, bizarreness.
The first time I ever saw this kid was on Funny or Die maybe 2 months ago? and saw a couple of his videos. There was this joke about making the site Bieber or Die, with a bunch of people having backgrounds with his face or hair... I honestly thought he was just a kid who made funny videos and that taking over the site was a joke that had become a popular meme. So then to suddenly see him come on a random British show, and have these girls absolutely screaming their heads off, well... I was a tad confused.
Hop to Wiki and I find out he's Canadian, well points for him... and he's a singer? And then I see the all important phases. Discovered in the fall of 2009 with a cd out in November... riiiiight about the time that I was traveling through the outback and we were not listening to radio or watching tv. I had to laugh at the absurdity of it all. I'm also incredibly happy that THIS is the thing I missed.
For some reason, when I'm out of contact with news sources I return to find out horrible things have happened. Like the Tsunami, Hurricane Katrina, the Haiti disaster and most recently the huge oil spill. Usually in a very confused manner people will be talking about it and I'll be left in the dark. The weirdest sensation I have ever had was finding out about the Tsunami and thinking that everyone must be making a joke. Things like islands disappearing just don't really enter my scope of the probable. I left my city for about 5 days this spring, only to be driving back into town just as a swat team was evacuating people from a hotel on the street I was driving on. Its like the world goes mad when I'm not watching it.
So yeah, bizarreness.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Time with Sam
First thing, I have to get a memory down so that I can remember Sam's observations for years. I had been sharing a story of a woman who had come up to me and been a frightening kind of crazy. I have many a good friend who I would, and they would themselves, describe as unbalanced but she set every alarm in my head ringing.
She asked me my name. Sam said they always do. I told her it was Cathy. And Sam laughed. He followed by saying that you can always judge how unnerved people make you, by your unwillingness to give them even a real name, as if they could do anything with your first name alone. That you would want to be able to walk away with no feeling, if they were suddenly attacked by wolves and were calling out to you. CATHY!!!!
So yes. Sam has been in my head for the past couple of days, and has been filling it up with great amusement and fun stories. We spent a few days together recently for Mosaic... and any internet stalker worth their salt, that I might some day acquire, will now know what city I live in... or did at the time of this writing. Mosaic is a cultural festival in my city, where various organizations, dance groups, singers, musicians and artists come together in their own pavilions to showcase aspects of their cultures. Traditional costumes, foods, songs and performances make up the weekend. A lot of drinking takes place and there are buses that ferry people to various pavilions all around the city. A good time is had by all.
On the Thursday I found Sam and a couple of friends in the Ethiopian pavilion. He made me so happy, saying that it wasn't Mosaic until we had run into each other. We always start out separately each year but usually find one another. Our groups cleaved together and then cleaved apart in a new formation. We went around to the Hungarian, South American and ended the first night of Mosaic at the Scottish pavilion. Sam drove me home after some time at his friends' apartment. We chatted for a couple of hours and it was almost a relief to connect with him after so long. A great van talk, where you feel time as a quick thing you pass over with a variety of topics and then flit back saying: "What?! Has 2 hours passed already?" It was really late at night, we had a great cd on repeat that was just the right mix of interesting (a Latin America version of Stairway to Heaven) and not distracting.
Friday I went for a great long walk where I saw a friend I've known for years and 2 people I'd met the night before (the renters of the apartment). I had a small nap on the back of a large frog statue and then went over to Sam's for a barbecue. Music and dancing all afternoon with an exuberant zest for life. Off to Mosaic again. Ended up leaving Sam as he had had a bit too much to drink to leave his house at the moment, and got picked up by people. At the Chilean pavilion I saw 2 women I'd worked with last summer and at the Philippine pavilion, my group met up with 2 other people who joined us. The webs of connection are way to tangled in this city.
Throughout the night we called Sam's group to find out their progress to see if there was any chance of meeting up with them, but all we managed was to have some hilarious conversations on the phone.
"What are you saying? ....I think he just yelled incoherently and hung up"
"Are you anywhere near _____? Well we're leaving _______."
5 minutes later
"So you're now heading for ____ ? What happened to _____? Why did you get kicked off the bus?"
The group disbanded when Mosaic ended at midnight. Emily and I made our way to her house and we checked in to see if Sam and his group wanted to go for a walk now that the pavilions were closed. Turns out he and 2 friends were a block away. We ended up walking around in the area and then all the way back over to Sam's house... maybe over an hour's walk in total.
We got to his place and he made everyone tea after setting up his computer to play 3 things: a recording of rain, a variety of jazz and a looping video of a fire burning merrily. We all looked at each other and shared a laugh at this delightful quirk of our friend. Messel asked a question that has me still laughing. "Which of us is he trying to seduce?"
She asked me my name. Sam said they always do. I told her it was Cathy. And Sam laughed. He followed by saying that you can always judge how unnerved people make you, by your unwillingness to give them even a real name, as if they could do anything with your first name alone. That you would want to be able to walk away with no feeling, if they were suddenly attacked by wolves and were calling out to you. CATHY!!!!
So yes. Sam has been in my head for the past couple of days, and has been filling it up with great amusement and fun stories. We spent a few days together recently for Mosaic... and any internet stalker worth their salt, that I might some day acquire, will now know what city I live in... or did at the time of this writing. Mosaic is a cultural festival in my city, where various organizations, dance groups, singers, musicians and artists come together in their own pavilions to showcase aspects of their cultures. Traditional costumes, foods, songs and performances make up the weekend. A lot of drinking takes place and there are buses that ferry people to various pavilions all around the city. A good time is had by all.
On the Thursday I found Sam and a couple of friends in the Ethiopian pavilion. He made me so happy, saying that it wasn't Mosaic until we had run into each other. We always start out separately each year but usually find one another. Our groups cleaved together and then cleaved apart in a new formation. We went around to the Hungarian, South American and ended the first night of Mosaic at the Scottish pavilion. Sam drove me home after some time at his friends' apartment. We chatted for a couple of hours and it was almost a relief to connect with him after so long. A great van talk, where you feel time as a quick thing you pass over with a variety of topics and then flit back saying: "What?! Has 2 hours passed already?" It was really late at night, we had a great cd on repeat that was just the right mix of interesting (a Latin America version of Stairway to Heaven) and not distracting.
Friday I went for a great long walk where I saw a friend I've known for years and 2 people I'd met the night before (the renters of the apartment). I had a small nap on the back of a large frog statue and then went over to Sam's for a barbecue. Music and dancing all afternoon with an exuberant zest for life. Off to Mosaic again. Ended up leaving Sam as he had had a bit too much to drink to leave his house at the moment, and got picked up by people. At the Chilean pavilion I saw 2 women I'd worked with last summer and at the Philippine pavilion, my group met up with 2 other people who joined us. The webs of connection are way to tangled in this city.
Throughout the night we called Sam's group to find out their progress to see if there was any chance of meeting up with them, but all we managed was to have some hilarious conversations on the phone.
"What are you saying? ....I think he just yelled incoherently and hung up"
"Are you anywhere near _____? Well we're leaving _______."
5 minutes later
"So you're now heading for ____ ? What happened to _____? Why did you get kicked off the bus?"
The group disbanded when Mosaic ended at midnight. Emily and I made our way to her house and we checked in to see if Sam and his group wanted to go for a walk now that the pavilions were closed. Turns out he and 2 friends were a block away. We ended up walking around in the area and then all the way back over to Sam's house... maybe over an hour's walk in total.
We got to his place and he made everyone tea after setting up his computer to play 3 things: a recording of rain, a variety of jazz and a looping video of a fire burning merrily. We all looked at each other and shared a laugh at this delightful quirk of our friend. Messel asked a question that has me still laughing. "Which of us is he trying to seduce?"
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Whirlwind visit
My grandmother and great aunt came by the house yesterday. This is a big thing as they both live over 6 hours away. They were down for their sister's birthday... which is today actually. They came by in the evening and we had supper. After dessert I spontaneously decided to take my grama for a ride around town. It worked out great. We saw everything that she loves: sculptures, birds, spring flowers, fountains and interesting houses. It was wonderful to just do something with her. I don't think I've ever really had the opportunity to just experience a moment in her presence. All family gatherings are such a production and a carefully choreographed event that even going for a walk almost needs to be agreed on by comity.
We got back and she was so happy. We looked at photos from her 80th birthday on my laptop and she was beaming and practically giddy the whole time. She said she was beginning to understand how people could love being on the computer for hours.
We said good night. And this morning I woke up a little with a kiss goodbye from her on my forehead. Such a lovely visit.
We got back and she was so happy. We looked at photos from her 80th birthday on my laptop and she was beaming and practically giddy the whole time. She said she was beginning to understand how people could love being on the computer for hours.
We said good night. And this morning I woke up a little with a kiss goodbye from her on my forehead. Such a lovely visit.
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