dearest c...,

today while riding the bicycles (teresa borrowing yours... i hope you're not angry), we were stopped at a corner by a red light. teresa, being an inexperienced cyclist and slow with the starting and stopping process, i decided it best we wait until the light turned green to cross the street. while there, we were approached by what clearly was a drug induced drunk man with cut off denim shorts (i think?) a plaid shirt and long hair. mumbling he muttered the words, "youz girls have the best bikes going around here" (or at least something like this....) and then looked at t and said "especially yours". she thanked the kind gentleman and we were on our way. i would have 'thunk' he'd prefer my skull and crossbone handle bars?

and the aids committee interview was a blast... i was asked to role play. the situation was this:
pretend i'm a caller and i've asked you how to put on a condom. please tell me in words what you say to the caller.
it was, hands down, the most interesting interview i've ever participated in!

see you next week. we'll be sure to have an asparagus and wine feast!

the london tourist

i think perhaps i've had an overdose of vitamin d. at the present moment, i feel as high as a kite despite not having any tokes off a funny cigarette since my 'drop by' on clay earlier this afternoon. where to start... hmm...

well, i suppose i should begin at the beginning. after waking up early to conduct my regular job search, i had a surprise call from a broker that i attended french class with. he was calling to invite me to a company party... not to mention, check in on me to see if i've gained employment since we last spoke. he gave me a nice quick lecture and told me to get outside to enjoy the nice weather. i took his advice and decided to get outside all afternoon and feel no guilt in doing so. it started with my meeting ash for a coffee in victoria park only to return home to get on more comfortable shoes and tie up the long hair for what i knew was to be a long walk in the hot sun. oh yeah... i left ash at the park as he's the man in black who lives a bit like a vampire, enjoys the night and darkness and hates the daylight and sun (and if you ask me... he's even got a nice set of fangs on him too).

back to the story... i ended up walking aimlessly for 4 hours... mostly with my head snuggled in other people's gardens. after the four hour walk i grabbed c...'s bike and took a ride around the north end. by the way, c..., the peonies are just about ready to burst! oh yeah... about your bike... I treated her well giving her the loving she so deserves, never leaving her side once!

anyway, the result*******

i felt like a tourist. it was wonderful. i guess this city is what you make of it. it is possible to avoid the students... i witnessed that today. my goal now is to try harder to love london while i'm here. it has sucked up 6 years of my life (well, on and off at least)... i wouldn't want to leave her with a sour taste in my mouth.

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one more thing c...,

asparagus is ready! i need to slow down on the stuff... my pee smells all the time now... i need a vacation from the odour i think. AND, the fig tree will survive!

burning badly

i've recently visited with my sister and her boyfriend at my parents place. it was an excellent weekend occupied mostly with long bicycle rides, Baileys, gardening, birding, and a little trampoline. yes indeed... it was nice until:
1) my sister broke her ankle and we were stuck in the hospital for some hours after. it happened on the trampoline, some time between her warning her nephews not to hurt themselves on it, and then her shouting "jesus christ... fuck, shit, etc., etc.".
2) witnessing my father take out a slingshot to shoot large rocks at starlings in order to scare them away from one of his hundreds of backyard feeders. when i asked him what his problem was with the starling... he just shrugged his shoulders and said, "i don't like them, that's all".
3) i burned badly.

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i also picked up my beta machine i was storing. i'm currently hooking it up to my entertainment unit so that i can watch some old Bill Murray, John Candy and Chevy Chase movies. maybe i'll even watch my first communion to witness the time i sold my soul to jesus christ. i wonder how someone might go about becoming unbaptised.

breeding doctors

today while listening to cbc's as it happens, i developed a real liking for it. in fact, so much so, that i've have decided to label it "the best cbc program on radio one". even if one denies the supremacy of its content, mary lou finlay has an undeniably distinctive voice and personality that 'outdoes' any other radio show host.

but its content is what grabs me really. for instance, today's discussions included:

"'social allergies' lead to numerous divorces" (mabye this is my problem... i'm highly allergic to people)

"the ruins of a ming dynasty possibly found in Cape Breton by an architect who believes it to be chinese due finding a winding road that was of standard chinese width and protected by two brick walls that would open to what appears to be the remains of an ancient chinese community"

and then finally, but not least,

talk back concerned itself with a small community in manitoba that has decided to (read this next part over carefully) breed its very own doctors. it's really quite clever and absurd due to the hindering fact that it boils down to issues of trust. the program is called be a med friend and it works by asking every household in the small community to pay a minor fee of $10 per month for 4 years. this money would then be offered to a manitoba medical student graduate. This money goes towards the medical student's existing loans hereby, attracting new doctors to the small community who are eagerly awaiting to pay off debts. the contract is a 4 year committement by that doctor to remain in the community. if the new doctor does not complete his/her contract then it is expected that he/she repay the money. if they complete the contract, they may at that time, if they so wish, move from the community no strings attached. wow, talk about trust and setting your goals a little high. it makes me want to move to manitoba to practice medicine.

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a side note,
the famous pop shoppe people have returned to selling their deliciously colourful pop in their clearest of bottles! i can't believe it. oh, how i've missed thee, dreaming of its return over the last 15-20 years (give or take). i had a friend, whom being from deep river had never had the opporunity to try the southwestern ontario soda, in my presence. i encouraged him to try one. i watched as his lips met the bottle and i watched his every facial expression as the love affair began, as i knew it would. it must be intoxicating and highly addictive, as i'm not even a soda drinker. i thought i hated the stuff. perhaps i was just holding an internal protest.

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dear c...,
i hope things are well. i've been watering your plants and checking the mail... I've even been lazing around on your sofa as it's a pleasure to escape my telephone and responsibilities every now and then. once i was even thinking of taking your bike out for a brisk ride before realizing that it wasn't there. i was a little heartbroken and left home with bullet sized tears. well not really... but i was a little disappointed. i know, i know, i have my own bike. it's just not the same with a mountain bike. i hate being so practical sometimes. marcus made me feel bad once for wanting two... i've decided to feed the greed. once i'm in a position to, i'll buy another bike, this new one to be 'old school' style of course.

take care and give the boys my best

people galleries

so i've just returned from an friend's photography show at a local art gallery. the place was filled with familiar faces scanning the crowd trying to make it look as though they weren't really looking at anything particular other than the art. it's strange how functions such as that can turn from an art gallery to a people gallery. i'm the first to admit that i too become distracted from the art itself and quickly advert my attention to the massive audience. as a people watcher, i find it difficult to resist, i always have been one to cave in to temptation.

speaking of which... i have my written exam tomorrow and should return to my books.

Anti-Mothers Day

Today has left me wondering why some people have children at all. While studying in the park downtown, I noticed an overwhelming amount of fathers with their children. After assuming that the first two I laid eyes upon were there merely as some kind of 'pick up' ploy... you know, using their cute children as women bait... I noticed a third and decided that it wasn't possible that all three had poor 'pick up' techniques. At that moment it became clear... ah, yes, it's Mothers Day. The one day that is a constant reminder that lets me know that I am, by far, too selfish to be anyone's mother. The thought of receiving only one day each year that allows me the freedom to put myself first, makes me quiver.

Some better findings;
While talking to Paul, the café manager, I mentioned that I was preparing for two french examinations; one oral and one written. His eyes sparkled as he proceeded to tell me about his long term goal of moving to Spain to work as a chef. He said the only thing stopping him has been his inadequate mastery over the Spanish language. I informed him that my french courses were indeed free and so too are the Spanish. I'll be taking him the telephone number the next time I return and perhaps, if he is a highly ambitious character, changing his life forever ... who knows.

Note to the other underwear changer, though probably doubtful to return;
It's not that I don't appreciate the finer details in everything, because I do. I believe that I suffer from both a desire to experience everything, while also remaining the 'perfectionist' and the 'expert' at anything and everything. When learning to knit... I needed to knit beautiful scarfs, not just purely functional. While learning to play the guitar... I needed to learn to read the music and understand the physical workings of the instrument, not just feel my way around it. And when I first move to a city... I need to get to know the occupants and its secrets... rather than living somewhere blindly remaining nothing more than a stranger. However, after a bit of time, or even years, everything gets stale.

Speaking of which, I have yet to post a french entry on my livejournal blog. Even the french is beginning to grow tiresome. I should get back to studying...

Note to c...;
I'm trying to make it to your show tonight. Keep your toes and eyes crossed, and maybe just maybe, I'll make it there.

changing underwear

about ten minutes ago i paid my rent a day late. i've been contemplating giving my two months notice as i'm finding myself in desperate need of change... especially in the physical sense. the simple fix of colouring or cutting one's hair just seems so superficial now. i'm sick of walking into a bar and knowing the regulars... i'm sick of knowing the coffee shop attendants names while having them serve me my coffee before i order... i'm sick of walking around this city and recognizing when a tree has been removed and then wonder why it has. i'd like to move. where to? what for? would i like it? when does it stop?

my parents accuse me of fearing commitment. at 27 going on 28, their daughter is someone who doesn't seem to enjoy stability of any kind. they say i change cities, career directions, apartments, and boyfriends like they're underwear.

they blame society for the pressures put upon us as generation x'ers. i mostly blame those greedy baby boomer bastards who won't retire and share the wealth.

either way, it makes me happy that i'm born into a generation where it is socially acceptable to blame others for your failure.