Red Cedar
More apocalypse, less angst
writing and doing
i’ve been feeling a bit too worn out to write seriously the last couple of days – had a meeting last night with the resist! collective at the wise and then drinks with some of the local radical girlies who happened to come by. that was fun. the ferry-commuting post is still in the works, awaiting my energetic attention (perhaps tomorrow?)
i’ve been thinking i would really like to participate in nanowrimo this year which starts next tuesday – and i’m even thinking it would be worthwhile doing sans plot and character outlines – just to force myself to write 1660 words a day of fiction (was thinking to use the collapse of civilization as a jumping off point – i’m so into apocalyptical fiction these days). i don’t really have any free weekends in november or anything, so it might be a tad foolish to believe i can write 50,000 words in 30 days without any extra free time – i will only know by trying i suppose.
this is part of me attempting to take my ability to write a little more seriously, develop it somewhat and perhaps eventually turn out something a little more grand than a blog. i would really like to find some writing instruction on the sunshine coast i could fit into my schedule in the new year. however, i know it is more about the willingness to just *do it* (and edit later) than anything else. how true that is for all of life!
so many things to do — as my kayak instructor said to me on saturday — how can anyone possibly be bored in this world? mostly i can’t even stay on top of the list of things i *want* to do.
kick-ass
was too tired to blog yesterday, and then because of an accident on the bridge, didn’t get home until late – so quick post and instead of writing a word essay today, i thought i might write something about ferry-commuter-culture instead in honour of the fact we got a new boat today which highlights everyone’s neuroses.
mostly the reason i wanted to write this update is to report that i just swam 40 laps – a whole kilometre – on my lunch break. 28 laps freestyle (no backstroke), and 12 with a kickboard. i’ve also noticed lately that 1) my limbs seem longer, which i am chalking up to some muscle-lengthening effect and 2) my ankle is much straighter, which i owe to the work on the kickboard – it might hurt now, but it will do good in the longterm. i’m really happy with my progress in the pool so far, and am definitely going to invest in some dive lessons in the spring to take advantage of my developing water skills.
when i got back to my desk, there was an email waiting from a commuter-friend (who will hereon be known as “the hunter”) which was pretty unmistakeably asking me on a date (want to go for a walk, maybe have dinner, maybe watch a movie this weekend?) i have responded in the affirmative, though as i have expressed to people around me, i am hesitant if only because he recently had a partner who returned to her home country and i’m not sure that the relationship has really ended formally yet. i’m also uncertain about whether he’s really the right type of person for me – but that i’m willing to test out a little before making my mind up. in the meantime, i think discretion (when it comes to other people on the coast) is the key – it is a small town after all, and the ferry-riding population is pretty gossipy. talk about high-school dynamics!
i'm no seamstress….
but i did manage to turn this beautiful piece of brocade:
into something resembling a tablecloth for the small table in the kitchen:
finished it today – now onto the curtains for my bedroom…..
match (sketch)
she strikes the match against the rasp on the cardboard cover, bringing the flame up towards the cigarette, united in a plume of smoke before she shakes her hand to drop the cardboard stick onto the sidewalk. feet moving, away from the scene, away from the sounds of sirens directed towards this block. she tries to scrub her mind of what she has just seen, bloated with blood and tires slick against rainy pavement – two moments of reaction, to realize the man isn’t getting up again, and to get as far the hell away before the police show up and she is forced to relive it a hundred times in statements and courtrooms and anecdotes.
traffic has slowed to a crawl in both directions on the humming street, either those impeded because of the body sprawling limbs on the ground, or those slowing to get a glimpse before the clean-up crew comes. she turns away from them, left into the alleyway two blocks south, takes a few steps into the concrete corridor, and leans her back against the mossy brick of a supportive building. knees soft, cheeks flushed, she takes a drag off the cigarette, shielding it from the wet to make it last until the filter. here is safe for a moment, smoking and looking up at grey sky overhead moving the shapes of rain, the lip of the roof across from hers, the siren-song dulled in the distance, perhaps now arrived at the intersection. but safe will soon give way to a throng of suits and reality on the sidewalk six feet away. once the cigarette is finished, she knows this moment will have to be reconciled with all the others, and so she dawdles with it as long as possible.
she wishes she could plug her mind or shut it, so what has just happened in front of her will not seep back in. a flame shook and put out, extinguished in the damp streets of november. a cigarette she did not need.
cold water and house paint
before i get into my essay of the day (word today is: match), i need to brag a little about my badass accomplishments over the weekend.
first off – i finally got my kayaking basics course completed – after having it cancelled on me twice – the scrd went ahead with this weekend anyways despite the low number of participants (3). although i have paddled a little bit before, it has always been without any knowledge of different strokes or any safety procedures. this course gave a basic run-down and at the end we did two types of rescues – assisted and solo. for the assisted, we had to be rescued by someone else and then rescue another person, and of course solo, as it implies, consists of getting oneself back into the boat without outside help. luckily the weather wasn’t as bad as predicted – but ocean-swimming in late-october is not for the faint of heart! i was the only partipant to do both the assisted and solo rescue – the other two women were too cold/tired for the solo (though i found it much easier than the assisted). i feel a hell of a lot more confident now about kayaking on my own then i did before – and a lot more keen to get my own boat (something else to save up for).
then on sunday – along with two other people (jon and sean from the ffa), i helped to paint the whole interior of sean & michelle’s new house in sechelt (it was primed on the saturday) – which took all day and sure felt like a major accomplishment. i was beat by the end of it – but really happy to be able to help my friends to save some money on the building of their house by providing a little of the labour. it looks really great, and on its way to being finished for the end date of november 16th – i’m really excited for them as i think it’s going to be gorgeous when all finished.
besides that, i went to a party where i knew no one (except the hosts) and was the only person there without a partner or a child. it was a good test of my self-confidence, and i met a bunch of sunshine coast school teachers who had just come back from voting on the return to work decision which made for lots of good anti-government talk. sunday night i caught up with duane from the ffa since i am feeling like a bad friend – i haven’t even been to see him and his partner since they had their twins in the spring, and since that time both of his parents have passed away (which i just found out) as well – so we had a *long* catch-up conversation which was really past due, and i’ve arranged a day to go and visit the family in a couple of weeks.
and if you’re wondering (which you might be with all this talk of ffa hanging-out) – it looks like we might be playing a show december 2nd in vancouver. as you might recognize – we aren’t playing many shows these days – so you’ll want to come out for some crazy dancing if your jones tells you to. there’s no guarantee we’ll be playing again anytime soon. more details on that when i confirm them.
Red Cedar 