Word

1. One book that changed your life. The Bible...not! That's a pretty high threshold, but I would say "Man's Search for Meaning" by Viktor Frankl. Suffering need not be pointless. You can choose to take something good from your worst moments. To a lesser extent, I could add Stephen Lewis' "Race Against Time", but not necessarily because of the content, which, although powerful, isn't as compelling as the passion of Lewis himself.

2. One book that you've read more than once. Well, obviously "Man's Search for Meaning", but also "The Colony of Unrequited Dreams" which made me a voracious reader again after I finished school and recovered from overexposure to words in books. I think I've reread many Mavis Gallant stories. There's probably many more that I can't think of right now.

3. One book that you would want on a deserted island. Geez. Um, well it would have to be something huge or I'd get bored really fast. How about the entire library? I suppose that if I had nothing but time, I might read the Bible. But I'd also want to read the Bhagavad Gita, the Koran, etc. Definitely not "Don Quixote". I've been trying to read "The Rights Revolution" by Michael Ignatieff for years, but it's such a snooze...maybe the island would concentrate the mind.

4. One book that made you laugh. I went through an Erma Bombeck phase that brought forth many guffaws. Nowadays when I need a laugh I go for Augusten Burroughs. "Magical Thinking" is pretty good. You can also cheat and get a podcast on iTunes that's hilarious.

5. One book that made you cry. "The Russlander" by Sandra Birdsell.

6. One book that you wish had been written. The autobiographies of all my ancestors.

7. One book that you wish had never been written. Not a one. I think freedom of speech is that important. Although I've never read Mein Kampf I'm sure there's something we can learn from it.

8. One book that you are currently reading. "The Autobiography" by David Suzuki.

9. One book that you are meaning to read. Everything else. Elizabeth Kubler-Ross but I'm not in the right frame of mind yet. "The Custodian of Paradise" by Wayne Johnston - it just came out.

Continuum

Happy Turkey Day. I'm currently enjoying my second piece of Frozen Mocha Cheesecake after finishing the first season of Arrested Development on DVD. I think I like the show because it has that same narrator feel that I've loved about Sex and the City and some other show that I can't remember at this moment that I really love. This is what family togetherness does to you...makes your mind go numb.

Which brings me to thanksgiving...and John Mayer. He's my new *mwah* since I've been too tired to watch Anderson Cooper lately. When he (John Mayer) grew his hair longer and curlier and started to get a bit politic with the lyrics I fell in love. With the music, of course. Whatever. I really like "Waiting on the World to Change" - it feels like it's music that isn't too old, or too young, but just right. For me.

Shit, I just read his wikipedia bio and he's younger than me. Shit. It's just depressing that's all. I was thinking he was the same age, maybe slightly older. Somehow that would be more comforting when thinking about his lyrics. Which brings me to the point...almost.

So I remember a time when I enjoyed family gatherings much more than I do now and I think it's because I bore no burden of having charge of anything having to do with them then. Mom took care of picking people up at the airport, coordinating when different dishes would be ready...driving Grandpa to the corner store to get cigarettes. And even though Dad did the turkey and ham, and Alex took Grandpa to the convenience store....it's not that I don't trust them with these things, but it seems like I have to be more conscious of them, which is probably my own fault anyway...

But this afternoon it made me think of a lyric from Mayer's "Stop this Train", which I really like:

"One generation's length away from finding life out on my own"

By the way, the "be your own fridge" reference in the last post isn't as cryptic as some people seem to think. See the opening line of this post...as I finish my Frozen Mocha Cheesecake.

be your own fridge

be your own fridge
Originally uploaded by raysto.

Wish you were here

So I was listening to a friend talk about her son's first year at university and thinking about mine. I wasn't partying and stuff, because I'm the boring chick, but I did feel free. Now that I know what it's like to get paid biweekly, I'm not sure I could ever find that "free" again.

But anyway, at least now I'm doing stuff in the 8:30 to 4:30 prime time slot that isn't so incredibly suck-the-life-out-of-a-person dead boring. I feel like there's an academic aspect to what I do now. Which may not be the case in the traditional sense, but I'm learning and it's a challenge and I guess I equate that with school.

I still remember what I wore to university on my first day. I remember sitting on a concrete ledge outside university centre. I remember thinking that I wouldn't like English as a subject. I remember it was hot and I was wearing a hoody and I felt free. There was a string quartet in front of Fletcher Argue. I don't think the Robin's Donuts was there yet...

Balzac's Cafe - Sept. 3, 2006 @ 4:22 p.m.

Belated

So the thing is that the longer you put off doing something, the harder it becomes to climb that mountain again. It just seems taller and the expectations seem less surmountable.

And that's really my only excuse.

Now I'm online, loading pictures from my trip to the Distillery District with Nancy yesterday on flickr. We went because I have always wanted to go there and because they supposedly have a farmers' market every Sunday. For some reason, a farmers' market can mean something as little as a table and half of questionable produce. Actually, these guys did look legit, but it really wasn't anything to brag about. However, this might serve as an explanation to those of you looking at my pictures and finding the several shots of the outdoor handwashing station. You never know when this info could be useful...

I bought an awesome pair of bronzite earrings from Ku Jewelry.

It wasn't bad, but it would have been better if it was sunny. So much for summer....I'm wearing socks this very instant. I'm starting to think about my flannel sheets. September can be depressing.

For an interesting little read, check out Catherine's tale of Bill the Koala.

"Murder" or a "Lamentable Side Effect"

In a world with George W. thank god for Jon Stewart. Just saw a video of him skewering the hypocrisy of vetoing stem cell research because "every being counts" but estimating that the loss of life among Iraqis is "about 30,000 or thereabouts."

You can see it yourself here.

Canadian paper-clip blogger travels to Kipling, Sask., to seal house trade

A Canadian blogger who ambitiously aimed to swap a paper clip for a house arrived in Kipling, Sask., on Wednesday to complete the trade. Read more from CBC.

I actually sent this guy an email ( because I was bored, and because I believe in rewarding such a simple, yet brilliant initiative) and my god he actually responded! Okay, nothing huge, but I'm still impressed. Gosh, it says a lot about us Canucks, eh? Here's the message:

----- Original Message -----
From: kyle macdonald
To: Lise Conde
Sent: Monday, July 10, 2006 9:31 PM
Subject: Re: congrats!

thanks!

have fun,

kyle

Kyle MacDonald oneredpaperclip@gmail.com

On 7/8/06, Lise Conde <liseconde@sympatico.ca> wrote:

Just read an article about you on cbc online. Awesome story! Brilliant idea! Have fun in Kipling next week!

Lise

From paper clip to house, in 14 trades

"There's people all over the world that are saying that they have paper clips clipped to the top of their computer or on their desk or on their shirt and it proves that anything is possible and I think to a certain degree it's true."

...click here for more from CBC

And he's going to paint the house red! Check out the whole history at Kyle MacDonald's website, one red paperclip.

Bonne Fete du Canada!

Happy Canada Day - from the Newmarket Farmers' Market. I went there, then the Markham Farmers' Market (twice) ate my favourite Mediterreanean Lasagne from Boston Pizza in the backyard for lunch, had a long nap, cuddled with the dog, updated my iPod.... Not bad for such a great holiday. My favourite holiday really...no pressure involved.

Ciao and welcome to July.