Foxymoron

You spent the first five years trying to get with the plan

This is not a list of resolutions. Resolutions are empty promises. This is a list of five things I want to do this year and the general theme is to simplify my life:

1) Purge things: CDs, clothes, things I've not used in the past year. I have too much furniture and too much stuff right now. For the next month or two, I will be decluttering and will soon have boxes of things I am donating or throwing out.
2) Keep track of my spending: I've started recording everything I spend my money on and I hope this practice will help me find ways to reduce it once I see bad habits forming in my expenses.
3) Make my home my home: This is related to the Great Purge. In the past three years, I've moved eight times (including moving twice in Hong Kong alone). It's time to settle down and make my apartment my own. Last night, three months after moving into my current apartment, I attempted to put curtains in my room. Turns out the drill is broken and I failed, but it was a step in the right direction. Anyone have a working drill?
4) Walking: Of course, no New Year's goal list is complete without a reference to exercising. Yes, I plan to play squash more regularly (anyone need a partner?) But even more than that, I'd like to walk around the city more. I've been pretty good with it lately, even in the colder weather it feels great. It's about the physical activity but also the interaction between pedestrian and environment. I feel much more a part of the city when on foot than I do in a vehicle.
5) Stick to my schedules: This is the hardest because it relies on other people but I guess I have to be a bit of a bummer and say no more often. I like to map out my own schedule days in advance, whether it's in my head or in my agenda. Unfortunately, with the way people make appointments with each other, they're rarely concrete plans. I blame the cell phone, people just say "I'll call you later" instead of making a plan that moment. I need to balance the spontaneous with the schedule and the key, I think, is to stick to my priorities, which are, more or less, mapped out above.

[mp3] LCD Soundsystem - All My Friends

Sure, I'll have more wine

I haven't been writing much, I know. It's not that I've been too busy, I just avoid the task because I don't feel like I've got anything to say. Maybe it is busyness that has kept me away because I can't string together sentences or thoughts to create a coherent entry. Instead, I've been reading other people's words and stories. I consider this a little victory since I've previously written about wanting to read more.

The book club is to thank, in part, but the irony of the club is that we speak very little about the book and more about food, public vs. private education and who we should kick out/admit into the group. Still, I'm encouraged to read even outside of our reading list. I've admitted myself into Vincent Lam's Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures, a book I've always wanted to read and finally am because I want to better understand Helena's med school experience. Last month, I read Rex Pickett's Sideways for pleasure and because I found it in the Chapters bargain bin for $5. Incidentally, my wine intake has increase since the purchase.

I guess this is all a step towards becoming the person I want to be. Someone who is better read, organized, more frugal and cooks healthy and fulfilling meals. I do miss my music. I've been spending less time searching for mp3s and more time researching recipes. I blame my external hard drive which has kidnapped my iTunes library and refuses to negotiate. I'm only really sad about it when I want to make mix CDs. The rest of the time I'm enjoying CBC Radio podcasts and the occasional Jazz FM programming.

Stay warm.

On the Street with a Little Love

The summer was good to me. Cottage-country sunsets, windy boat rides, French fries, Sauvignon Blanc, Lullabies for Little Children, dodgeball defeats, softball hopes, Robin Hood costumes, my pirate, roasted tomatoes, barbecue, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and love, love, love. Yes, summer was good to me. Was it good to you?

[mp3] Tegan & Sara - The Con
[mp3] Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Phenomena
[mp3] Two Hours Traffic - Heroes of the Sidewalk

Like a waterfall in slow motion

I've been keeping a journal I call Summer Journal. I'm not sure if it's just me but as soon as I am able to take off my winter coat, I call it summer. Not spring, summer. This Summer Journal has been inspired by some of my favourite blogs like Pink of Perfection, Wish Jar and Miranda July's websites. It is basically a disorganized book of ideas, mostly about food I'd like to cook/prepare (quinoa casserole, caprese salad, scoobie do and cheese, spring risotto), music playlists for certain occassions ("songs to make out to" and "ode to the Don Valley Parkway") and businesses I would start if I was free of student debt and suddenly had money.

Sorry I have been neglecting this blog. You know, I've been preoccupied with thinking about green things and moving into a little basement apartment with a friend and her slightly insane cat. If you like the environment, you can find me writing about (mostly green) things here and here. Now get away from the computer and go outside, it's be-yu-tiful!

You cannot run or ever, ever escape

On one of my long flights to Toronto from Hong Kong, I was introduced to the sport of Parkour (aka free running) through the BBC documentary, Jump Britain. These brilliantly fit people jump off buildings and bounce of walls into flips and somersaults. It's all pretty insane, but beautiful to see. As I watched the film, jaw down in amazement, I made a mental note to a) get fit enough to one day try some moves and b) learn more about this sport. I'm still working on the former. In the meantime, I'm going to watch more clips on You Tube, like the one above set to Bloc Party. Enjoy!

[mp3] Bloc Party - Positive Tension (Blackbox Remix)
[mp3] David Bowie - Jump They Say

I make stuff now

Over noodles and spring rolls with Maggie at Pho Hung last week, I came to the realization that I have not been as active as I claim to be. "Doing stuff" should extend beyond going to bars, dancing and drinking beer. At the end of the night, there's not really much to show for it and so, I've been taking the initiatives to do things I've always wanted to do: make t-shirts, more photography and start a book club.

Yesterday, Claudine and I attended a fabulous screen-printing workshop at Popfuel where we learned how to make our own screen-printed t-shirts and posters. I made three shirts, two of which are above (the third is just like the black one). The design is based on a photo I took. I now understand while screen-printed shirts and posters are so damn expensive. What a tedious process! All the cancer-causing chemicals and long wait time was worth it, I like what I came up with. We're both going to join the studio and create more goodies. Everyone's getting handmade t-shirts and underwear for their birthday this year. I'll be writing more about the Popfuel experience on BlogTO later. That's another thing I must do, blog more.

I can't connect to my server, therefore there's no music in the entry. The good news is that I caved and bought a new digital camera. It's not the DSLR I've been eying, but something to hold me over until I make the (very expensive) plunge into DSLR heaven.

Oh my, what happened to the time?

And suddenly, it was December. The month rolled in on the heels of unseasonably warm days and now it's frozen puddles, wind chill factors and red cheeks. As I drove home Friday night, I felt the wind force its power on my car, shifting it to the right on the Don Valley Parkway. It was a disconcerting introduction to the month, but I made it home safely. After all, this is the way it's supposed to be — chaos wrapped in scarves, tuques and over sized jackets.

[mp3] David Gray - December [Buy]
[mp3] Tilly and the Wall - The Ice Storm, Big Gust, and You [Buy]

City and colour

I'm sorry. I've been too busy spending money to blog much. But I'm glad to be back in the city. It's only been three weeks since my return and few things have changed in this great city. I've taken a temporary job at my former place of employment while I search for a more permanent position in media. If anyone has any job leads, please let me know. I'm a nice, enthusiastic, hard-working and well-educated girl.

Last week, we saw Cat Power and the show was lovely, though perhaps slightly too long for a weekday evening of standing room only. I love her haircut and was amazed that she still sounded perfect even while inhaling the Camel cigarettes on stage. She wouldn't agree with me as she constantly apologized to the crowd for performance. Don't be so hard on yourself Chan! The jury's still out on who has the loveliest voice: Cat Power or Feist. Thoughts?

Monday night, I watched Fast Food Nation and although I haven't read the book, I've heard a lot about it. I guess I was expecting something wonderful since one of my favourite directors/writer Richard Linklater was the director and co-writer. It was just OK but it was a reminder to eat less fast food. I got free passes to see this ridiculous film tomorrow night. Don't be jealous.

More music to come later...

Don't fake real beauty

Dove's ground-breaking campaign for Real Beauty is worldwide. The above advertisement was created as part of the North American campaign, by the Ogilvy office in Toronto. It's great to see the beauty myth spotlighted in the mainstream and by such an influential brand, but I wish the campaign was as honest in other parts of the world.

Selva, show us that Hong Kong's Real Beauty campaign is all talk no action with images like this:

Those models look no different to me than the ones in "fake" beauty campaigns: thin, fair-skinned, flat stomached, long hair. Simply put, they all look the same. Real beauty is conformity, according to Dove Hong Kong.

I wonder what the marketers were thinking when they chose the images for the local campaign. Did they say, "let's give that one on the left a tiny bit of pudge for some edge to show we care about real beauty and self-esteem — but not too much." As a consumer, it's insulting and as a result I trust Dove less because of its Hong Kong campaign.

mp3: Hawksley Workman - "Your Beauty Must Be Rubbing Off"

Give'r!

This week's CBC Radio 3 podcast is one of my favourites, in large part because of Peaches' appearance on the Canadian Dictionary segment. The queen of rocktastic raunch explains the awesomeness of "give'r," a favourite of all respectable Canadians, (even if we haven't seen Fubar).

In Hong Kong, the local slang for encouragement is the Cantonese equivalent of "add oil." I'm told it has less to do with vehicles and more to do with stir-frys. Can anyone confirm this?

I had forgotten about "give'r" (which in my opinion is superior to "add oil" for its versatility) and I'm looking forward to telling my ESL friends (and students) about the new word they should know. It certainly beats bootylicious.

mp3: Peaches - "Give'r"

Photo caption: Ivy said, "Open bar? Give'r!"