3 wishes

I had this dream last night - in that miniature window of time when I was actually able to sleep - where I came across this homeless man on my way to work who was asking people passing by for change. When this happens in real life, sometimes I’ll have the time or money to spare, sometimes not. In my dream I didn’t have any change in my pockets, but I had a fair amount of cash in my wallet (does not happen in real life! I also don’t stop to check my pockets either, thats just asking for trouble) so I gave him a fiver. Naturally he was eccstatic, he jumped up and did a little dance, and then grabbed my hands and told me he was a genie and would grant me three wishes in return for my kindness, starting tomorrow.

Oh, if only it were true.

thanks for the letter

I received this letter yesterday from someone with whom I used to be very close. I think that while I’m trying to work my way through difficult stages in my life, I should try to remember it and look back on it for inspiration (edited for privacy):

“… There is hope and if you keep up with believing in yourself and hoping for the best then you will begin to realize the changes in yourself that you need…

“I believe you can do this, I know you have the ability to face your demons and defeat them and become a better person than you ever thought you could.  Don’t give up on yourself, use time to attack things with a passion and a desire to [make things] better and where you can be happy… I love you and have been there for you and will be there [for you]…  Don’t give up.”

Don’t give up. Powerful words, and I hope that they will help me travel over the many bumps in the road I’m sure to encounter as I continue to live my life and move forward.

baby steps in the kitchen

This was not the Turkey Sandwich, the Soup in a Box, or even the Mac n’ Cheese I used to make while at university. I was taking baby steps. The first dinner I had made all on my own – I felt so proud, so accomplished then. It was only some chicken, perogies, and a salad (granted, it was of the Salad in a Bag variety, but a salad nonetheless), yet at the time I had felt like I had passed some test, some domestic right of passage. I can see you laughing right now, but for me this was a monumental event. I could cook! Me, for which the kitchen was my least favourite room in the house, me, the girl who always had scrambled eggs because the omlete never turned out right, the girl who was afraid of cooking meat because that meant you had to touch it when it was raw… and probably the most disgusting tactile sensation ever. It took me back to the days of highschool biology when we dissected rats and cow eyeballs and fetal pigs. 

At any rate, I’m sure I am still that girl. In fact, I know I am: I use the rice cooker to make rice. And just the other day I made a bowl of pasta for dinner because it was easy and I wanted to get back to The English Patient that was waiting (dare I say it) patiently for me on my bedside table. It was only two weeks ago when I made my first “meal”, and I haven’t made anything remarkable since then. But one day I will be able to make something spectacular. Next on my agenda is a vegetable stir-fry. Or possibly something with shrimp. Baby steps.

my first western experience

So, I just watched Tombstone with a friend of mine. It was an… educational experience, if you could even call it that (if you didn’t know, don’t worry, I didn’t either: it’s a movie about Wyatt Earp and the showdown at the O.K Corral). Before seeing this, I’ve generally steered clear from anything classified as a “Western”, which is a shame because this wasn’t as horrendously bad as I imagined it would be. I know, I know. I shouldn’t fall prey to Hollywood stereotypes, but for whatever reason that shoot-em-up-cowboy style has never appealed to me.

Those Western stereotypes  staples are unavoidable, however, but with the exception of a couple gratuitous lovey-dovey scenes with a particularly unattractive actress, and once you get used to that southern drawl (for some of the actors it took much longer than others) Tombstone is actually kinda fun to watch. The shootout scenes seemed a little… bland and unexciting though. But perhaps that was just me and my lowered expectations. I mean, we’re talking about the O.K Corral here, I thought that there would be some more embellishment - a little more blood, some drawn out scenes – but it was over pretty quickly in my opinion. A couple people got shot, some of them died, and that was that. Not bad. The film was also rife with cliche, but this is apparently the way Hollywood does Westerns, according to The Friend. I just thought that there would be more shooting involved.

In short, I didn’t hate watching Tombstone, but I didn’t like it all that much either. It didn’t change the way I view the Western genre, although I admit I may be more open to watching similar films in the future. Maybe. I did, however, get to see Kurt Russel and Val Kilmer in really neat suits. So 0.5 thumbs up from me.

so, the lord of the rings…

For the past week I’ve been playing Lord of the Rings Online at the request of a friend (hooray for those free 10 day passes!). Initially I wasn’t going to bother with another MMORPG as I had literally just quit WoW (thats World of Warcraft for those of you living in boxes/oblivious to the PC gaming industry) due to the ever increasing guild and server drama issues, as well as the general “burnt-out” feeling I came to experience every time I logged on to play. Our guild was the furthest along on our server, the best geared and so on, but it was beginning to become a chore as the required hours for raiding per week kept getting longer and longer. Ugh. But I digress.

After all the hassle that was The Burning Crusade, playing LotRO was a breath of fresh air. I’ve already got a loremaster up to level 10… and I think I might have to get a copy of this game for myself. It’s extremely pretty, no one is pressuring me to level my character or group with them for quests and the like… I’ve just been taking my time soloing, or playing with my friend and exploring. You can even smoke pipeweed and make your own music in the game, though I have yet to figure out how to do those things. I haven’t found a fishing game either, which is a little disappointing as fishing is practically an RPG staple! Well, as far as minigames go, anyway. In my opinion. Even if theres no fishing, LotRO just might be what I need to get over my failed relationship with WoW. We shall see.

so, about the new ROM…

It looks like a giant spaceship has crashed into the streets of downtown Toronto. Oh wait, that’s just the Lee-Chin Crystal at the ROM. What was that architect on when he designed that thing? It looks fantastic, but so… out of place next to everything else on Bloor Street. Apparently his first sketches of the design were on napkins.

At any rate I would like to check it out, and the Ukiyo-e exhibit too. I think I will try to make a trip out there one day next week.

procrastination at it’s finest

I know this may sound impossible, but I think I’ve been procrastinating about procrastinating. Yes, you heard me – or “saw” in this case. I haven’t written anything in days (well, that’s not completely true, a couple father’s day cards, a shopping list or two…) and I just can’t seem to motivate myself to work on my book or even this blog. I created this thing so that I could jot down random thoughts and whatnot when I didn’t feel like writing, and yet here I am, putting it off. Or I was. I’m writing now, aren’t I?

Anyway, a few random things that are completely unrelated to my WiP lest I forget:

• Taro icecream is amazing! Did you know “taros” are actually yams? I had some last night after a tasty Thai dinner. It’s bright purple in colour and has a bit of a sweet, coconutty flavour to it. I must learn how to make this from scratch at home. And then possibly sell it, if I don’t decide to keep it all for myself. Hm. And then I could create other interesting veggie flavours like sweet pepper, or carrotstick. Hmm.
• On another food-related note, I made my first cheesecake ever yesterday. I had some supervision, of course, but it was surprisingly easy. It took maybe twenty minutes to put everything together and then cover it and shove it into the fridge. That will be our Father’s Day Dessert tonight. I think I’ll take pictures… it will be a momentous occassion should it taste not half-bad.
• What is with the fascination cats have with bags? Be it plastic, paper or otherwise, whenever there is an open bag left on the ground (nevermind if something might actually be inside it) my cats will be sure to dive right in and make themselves at home. My Dad’s presents were almost ruined this way – my one cat enjoys chewing on the corner of big books…
• My cats also love to curl up or play in the sink. With the water running. One of them even tried to jump into the shower with me… an odd story, to be sure. One that I may recount later. Maybe. If I’m not procrastinating again.

last night, i had a dream

I was in front of the mirror in my bathroom, having a conversation with myself. Well, my reflection really. I don’t exactly remember what I was speaking about, but that wasn’t as significant as the fact that when I finished talking, my reflection told me I had better write everything down before I forgot. It was eerie, but at the same time my dream self wasn’t too bothered by it. Of course, by the time I woke up I had already forgotten what I was talking about in my dream, and there was nothing I could do to get myself to recall any of it. It bothered me for a little while, but then I forgot about that too. Except for the part about not wanting to forget.

The point of this story is not that I have a really bad memory (although that is very true), but that I decided I should get back into the habit of making writing down my daily musings – and there are many. Okay, so maybe it has a little bit to do with my memory… At any rate the things I’m thinking need to be written down, and I don’t like wasting paper unless I’m drawing. But that’s another story in itself.

tada!

Test, test…

I am by no means new to blogging – I have been since about 2001 – but due to some server issues, lack of time with schoolwork and whatnot among other things, I had to put it on the shelf for a while. Now I’m ready for a fresh start. Bring it on… er, Me!