Sunday, February 23, 2014

The Law of Inertia.

Is it Spring Fever? Newly-gained confidence from learning difficult things?  Looking good in my new, smaller-sized clothes? Cycles of the moon?
Whatever it is... all day today I've been feeling like a cat on the prowl. Singing, bus-riding, taking my martial-arts class- I notice men again for the first time in what feels like weeks.
I was doing a recording session this morning, singing for two hours about putting on my dancing shoes. When the car pulls up this evening I run to meet it, stepping gingerly though, because it's snowing. I'm going out, after a long week learning about blood, and trauma, and deadly bleeding, and all the other million stressful things that make up first aid. What I really want to do is grab the first tasty man I see and pull him into a long, slow, sexy kiss. What I do instead is go out for drinks with 2 of my exes. I must be a masochist.
It is actually lovely that I can do this. I may not be exactly a fizzing firecracker on the ol' dating scene these days, but I can have drinks with 2 men who love me dearly (and are good friends themselves, which makes life easier). We go to a tiny bar because a band I love is playing, but it's so busy that we end up being upstairs, where we can talk but not hear the band at all. Ex One and I catch up: my Occupational First Aid course, my new home, some upcoming jobs; his kids, wife and new band. He is anchored; I am a drifter. From time to time we run downstairs to check out the music (and so I can drool over the drummer). Ex Two arrives straight from work and we have one final drink all together. There is so much love here between us all, love that isn't one night stands or Spring-Fever kisses but it's there nonetheless. Rock-solid love.
It's the law of inertia, I say to Ex One as we walk back to his car. I'm in motion again, so I want to stay in motion. I was stuck, earlier this month. I was inert and lazy, overwhelmed by financial confusion and no work and yet another move. Now I get up at 6:30 to learn how to deal with fractures and head wounds and CPR. The ball rolls: Boom! I get a sudden job offer. It picks up speed: Bam! I get gigs and recording sessions. I've had to wear latex gloves and sweaty yoga pants all week, so tonight-Whee!- I put on makeup and even curl my hair with my sister-in-law's curling iron until my hair is snaky and twisty and sexy.
I like how this feels, the slow picking-up of speed as the ball starts rolling again.

Saturday, February 8, 2014

Arts and Crafts

I have been very bad about taking photographs with my sweet new camera lately. I can't even blame the weather for it- it's been sunny and gorgeous this week. You know what? I'm going to put down this laptop for a minute and take a picture of something. Then I'm going to upload it to this blog. Don't say I never did anything for ya.
Okay, I'm back.  Look! I made a toque!
And that lipstick is quite fetching too, I believe. Ben Nye's Cinnaberry. I've never found a shade to match it in any other brand.

This is actually the, oh, fourth toque, maybe? Two I just don't wear. They were more like experiments. Practice toques. The third one is a pretty nice design but I don't love the yarn. I can't remember what this yarn is comprised of but it's light, so I'll be able to keep wearing it when it gets warmer. And you can't see here, but I made it long and didn't bring it to a point, so it kind of flops over in the back. It's also got flecks of purple in it which I love. Although the yarn I like is expensive and this particular hat seemed to take a while to make, I really like how I am learning new things every time I make the effort to crochet something. In this case, new stitches (half-double-crochet and crossover double crochet) and a new design (slouchy). 
In terms of learning a totally new design and following a pattern successfully, these were a high point:

Socks! These are the product of almost exactly 2 balls of Noro yarn, which is Japanese and woollen and absolutely gorgeous combinations of colours. I made these for my friend Megan who is one of my inspirations in all things crafty. It's hard to give a homemade item to someone who's so good at crocheting (and sewing. and quilting) but on the other hand I knew she'd appreciate all the work that went into them. 

Hey, guess what else I've been making? Music, that's what. 
I don't always look like a slack-jawed moron when I play. Honest.
An actor who I'd never met asked me to play some squeezebox on his new album. It was a freebie, which I try and avoid unless it's for friends, but since I wasn't doing much anyway I figured it'd be good karma to say yes. And it was. I got to play, and sing, and meet Torquil Campbell who heads up the bands Memphis and Stars, two faves of mine. He played trumpet on one track and my accordion gets to harmonize with his trumpet line. Kind of magical. I love spending a day in the studio, feeling as if I was born to do this. That's worth more than a paycheque. 

Speaking of paycheques, I'm also doing Standardized Patient work this weekend (roleplaying for medical students). Which means I need to get to bed SOON 'cause it's an early day tomorrow. I can't tell you what my role is because we sign confidentiality agreements (if the students find out our roles ahead of time it spoils the surprise element and it's usually for a medical exam so it would be kind of like finding the answers for your test). But this role is going to be very fun. The kicker is that it takes about 6 weeks to GET paid. Which is hard because I need money NOW. 

Finally... I also did my first Fight Like Sherlock Holmes class today which was amazing. And hard. It's a Victorian martial art called Bartitsu, which basically combines Ju-Jitsu, boxing, and stick fighting. We did the Ju-Jitsu part today. It takes me a while to get stuff into my body, so I wouldn't say I'm a natural at it, but I really enjoyed it. And after 2 hours I felt rubbery, as if my arms and legs had been stretched quite a bit. Which they had. 

Okay, that's all for now except that I should add that I also saw a lot of theatre this week; 1 play sucked and the other 2 were fabulous. And now, goodnight.


Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Mis-Propane Radiation

This morning I'm stoked to head over to Galiano Island, where my mom is cat-sitting for the week.
The transit choices seem to be: Get up and get there super-early or
Get up later and arrive right on time (if you're lucky and the bus is on time. Being a good Virgo, I get up super-early. There's a cold snap happening; it's crisp and sunny and cold. I arrive at the terminal and enjoy my cappuccino and oatmeal in the morning sun. For over an hour.
Then, just as I'm getting ready to gather my things and board, the announcement: "Due to high waves, the ferry will NOT be stopping at Sturdies Bay this morning." That's it. No alternatives, no apologies. Just a refund, and the knowledge that the next ferry (if it runs) isn't 'til after dark tonight. 
I take the bus. Again. I phone my mom- she's sad. I pay-in total- eleven dollars to do a round trip right back to where I started from. Three-and-a-half hours later. 

When I was watching tv at the ferry terminal the closed captioning on the news reported that some Canadian senators are guilty of "mis-propane radiation of funds". This day feels misappropriated. Or mis-propane radiated. It's a free day: I want to do something unpredictable and fun and maybe slightly slutty. Like take the skytrain to the airport, buy a ticket somewhere and just...take off. Or call someone hot and suggest an impromptu roadtrip. Or go hiking and have a deep conversation with someone. But there's no money, no car, no hottie. I kind of have to hang around in case the ferry's running tonight and I decide to try again. So I go home to my brother's house and walk the dog instead. Halfway home from the park he does what he always does and loses interest entirely in his muddy, slobbery toy so I pick it up with a grimace. As we walk home along a busy street I glance down and realize that the thing I am carrying for the dog looks exactly like a large sex toy. 
Mis-propane radiation. Out there in the sunlight I am content, with a small top-note of melancholy. 
Not today. Maybe tonight?