one 2-3-4, two 2-3-4
Requisite information for understanding what’s going on here: (warning in advance, this is heavily stream of consciousness, hence any random non sequiturs and/or confusing bits)
I’m twenty-one years old. A displaced Vancouverite living in Calgary, I’m somehow managing to survive as a vegetarian in a city ever so concerned with cattle production (however Calgary does become more granola-friendly every day as hipsters descend upon the city en masse. It’s an affordable place to live and party, I guess). I have a tendency to be frighteningly domestic at times, and am completely in love with my house and its glass doorknobs. I live in my house with my best friend, his boyfriend, and another friend– four of us in a two-floor house can make for interesting occurrences from time to time, but for the most part it works out really well. I finally have an oven that works, that doesn’t need a chair propped against the door in order to stay closed, and this fills me with glee. We have fish a thirteen-inch TV, and hardwood floors, and all of these things make me happy (although I could happily part with the TV for everything except DVD watching). There are about six or seven neighbourhood cats that greatly enjoy our front yard and front steps, and I greet them whenever I can (we can’t have pets, so I have to live vicariously through other peoples’ pet ownership – fish are really difficult to cuddle, and they don’t much enjoy it). See? There’s a reason that I have a blog-topic category called “domesticity”.
I’ve been doing the whole “post-secondary education” thing for five years now (and what a whirlwind five years those were. How is it possible that it’s been five years?), and all I have to show for it is a pile of useless textbooks that the bookstore wouldn’t take back and an Associate of Arts Degree in general humanities. That and $12 will get you a latte in Vancouver. Starting in September 2005 I’m taking a year off from University (of Calgary) in order to figure out what I want to do with that. I’ve changed my majors about six times (highlights of my many majors: English, Anthropology, Philosophy, Women’s Studies, International Indigenous Studies, and briefly Political Science. Somehow without trying I was three credits from being able to get my Associate of Arts Degree in “Peace and Conflict Studies”…at the time I didn’t even know what “Peace and Conflict Studies” was…), and that’s a waste of time and money. Currently I’m thinking that when I go back it might be a combination of English with a Creative Writing specialisation and Socio-Cultural Anthropology. Except for the Creative Writing specialisation, those are exactly the majors I started with five years ago.
In the mean time I’m going to put that AA behind my name to good use: wine. Currently it’s kind of my passion, and the only thing besides art (visual, literary, you name it) that I care about. I’ve just finished my Level One with the International Sommelier Guild, and plan on finishing my Level Two and Level Three diploma in as short a time as possible. I grew up in a “wine-conscious” family, so when I saw an ad in the classifieds for a job opening at a local wine store I jumped on the chance and wrote up the greatest cover letter I’ve ever made. It got me in, and I’ve been here for almost two years now, and I love the industry. It excites me, it fascinates me, it keeps me interested, and it’s given me the opportunity to meet so many amazing people that I otherwise never would’ve met. I don’t know exactly where I want it to take me just yet, but I have a strong feeling that wine might be my place in the working world for a good long time to come. Yes, that means that if I want to BS somebody and impress them for my amusement, I can switch in to “Wine-geek-ese”. It can be fun.
And, yes, I knit, a lot. I sit on the C-Train and read Interweave Knits and get the odd strange look. Seeing something created by my fingers and some yarn makes me very happy, however it’s an extremely expensive habit, and has this bad result of taking over every free spot of your house. I do have a finishing problem, things tend to be put to the wayside while I pick up a new project that’s destined to remain unfinished for a good long time. I’m sorry, I’m kind of ADD like that sometimes.
Art is paramount for me, because really that’s what it all comes down to:
Music: My iPod is my best friend, her name is Lola, and she goes with me everywhere. Miraculously I’ve managed to not yet even half fill her 15GB capacity (I know, I know, how is this possible?), but I can assure you it will happen sooner rather than later. I’m one of those annoying people that says their iPod changed their life, because I really cannot imagine not having Lola around. Except when I’m sleeping, I’m hardly ever without music playing somewhere, and I do like a bit of everything. Yes, my new music focus mostly rests in that weird “indie” realm, and yes I spend too much time at Pitchfork, but I have no guilt over the fact that sometimes it’s just a Britney kind of day. That may also be because I spend far too much time at the gay bars, but who cares? The one genre that I have loved for as long as I can remember and never gets old to me is vocal jazz; I dream that in another life or another Universe I was/am a glamorous jazz singer in front of a piano, my hair perfect, my voice even more so. Unfortunately that hasn’t happened yet. My all time favourite musical artist is Joni Mitchell. High Fidelity is my favourite movie, and I buy way too much vinyl. I go to shows as often as I can, and I love to find new music.
Graphic art: I can’t paint, I can barely draw, I am basically forced to live through the work of those around me. I like to take photos, I hold aesthetic beauty in form in high regard, I try to draw (charcoal and pencil for me, thanks) and do not too badly. It is important to me.
The written word: I’ve been reading since before I was four years old, and have never stopped once. When I moved in to the new house I had somewhere around 25 boxes total, and over half of those were books. They take over my soul. I’m the kind of person who is hit by an intense sadness when a book that I love ends, I’m almost despondent, and I tend to try to drag out those last few chapters and pages for as long as possible. I do write, but not as often as I should, especially since I’d like it to play a bigger part in my life. A short list of some of the many books that have changed my life in some way:
Yes, I have a soft spot for magical realism.
That whole art thing is another part of this year off from formal post-secondary education, I need to understand fully the place of art in my life. As cheezy as I know that sounds, it feels painfully important.
Welcome to my nutshell, it’s really quite cozy.