Red Cedar
More apocalypse, less angst
violins, children and maple cream ale
i had a fine evening last night at the home of giles and darcie (and munchkins) – hanging out with them and our friend norman nawrocki from montreal.
for those of you who don’t know – norman is a fine and gifted musician, writer, actor and all around trouble-maker – and is responsible for my favourite album of 2002 (the debut of DaZoque), among other works both provocative and beautiful. he plays the violin like a madman, giving me something to look to for inspiration – and about once a year i get a chance to hang out with him when he is visiting from montreal.
so last night we gathered at the lore krill co-op to drink of some fine home-made beer by giles (maple cream ale – a fine beer he has brewed), listen to a violin recital by jacob and kira (small violins – big ideas), and get a sneak preview of two of the new albums norman is about to release (i’m excited and you should be too!)
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prisoner's justice day
it’s prisoner’s justice day today – so if you know someone inside the prison system make sure to let them know you are thinking about them and say a blessing for their safety inside the machine.
don't read this if you are cynical about love
i started writing a post this morning that was yet another complaint about living in the city (air quality is poor this morning, making me ill etc. etc. ) – but i have decided to delete that post for an entirely different snapshot of my life.
as much as i don’t want to be one of those softy-annoying-inlove-people – the fact is – i am startlingly taken with my new relationship and quite happy to declare it. i keep hearing that it is too soon for me to know anything about nathan, it is too early to settle into something, that i shouldn’t rush into things – but i don’t believe that about love and never have. my belief borne out in years of practice is that when i meet the right person, i know quickly the possibilities that exist – and i see no reason not to act on that knowledge.
and by acting on that knowledge, i mean pursuing this relationship with all the commitment and passion i require of myself when i am serious about having someone in my life. the reality is that we will be living nine hours apart from each other for the immediate future which enforces a period of separation at the beginning that is very healthy, and gives us time to get to know each other before making life-changing decisions.
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work
try as i might, i can not get a good opening line going for this article i’m supposed to be writing about the legal requirements of dfo employees aboard commercial fishing vessels….. i mean the regs are straightforward (someone else did the research on this), but i’m having trouble making it sound “newsy” rather than dead boring.
for some reason i am having a fretful day, not getting much done but making a lot of lists of things that have to get done – and they are long for work, union and personal stuff right now. i think all i need is a nap and everything will come back in perspective.
i have an appointment with my nd after work today though so it will be awhile before i make it back to my abode to resume with the march towards moving day which has been booked for the 25th of august. i am thinking drinks at the wise as some sort of east van farewell on the 20th or so. i will email folks the details if i get them figured out in time – but it’s not like i’m really going anywhere so it’s not essential to have a party – i would like to mark it in someway though because i don’t think i’m ever going to live here again.
with margot’s help i got stats set up on this blog today – so i can see how many people actually come to visit me on this site over time. i know people read it, i’m just curious how many – it’s a little vanity – i know.
bored – i need to get back to this article – i have to submit it tomorrow.
grit and poverty
urgh – monday morning.
there was a woman working the stroll in front of my apartment building this morning, just by the bus stop which is a bit strange given that sex-trade workers in the neighbourhood don’t tend to work that far up from hastings at 7 in the morning. after midnight and before 5, yes – but once people start going to work, they tend to go back down to the other part of the neighbourhood.
she seemed out of it, weaving a bit as though intoxicated – and i wondered if she was simply not paying attention to the unspoken rules about the sex trade in the neighbourhood because of it.
the unspoken rules are those followed by the women working the street in order not to raise the ire of the pure-minded community folks – in order to be allowed to exist without too much police interference. they include things like keeping a low profile on commercial drive during daylight hours, and keeping sex acts themselves to the industrial zones that ring the neighbourhood. these are the games we play with each other in urban areas – games of rules and denial – so one group can pretend the other doesn’t exist and in that way we can give space on the margins.
Red Cedar 