Has the world changed or have I changed?
As I was sitting here typing up my latest entry, my hallmate Kat (who reminds me strikingly of Chris Eaton...) (in personality, not appearance) leaned over and, in a puzzled voice, asked, "'Effervescent in Pink'? Why pink?
You always seemed like more of a brown person to me..." I looked down and realized, she's right.
So I've just gotten back from dashing upstairs to take a photo of what I am wearing to work today...
Somewhere along the way fun-pink Aleks has given way to work-friendly shades-of-brown Aleks.
What is happening to me?
But this is only half of the transformation - wait till you see what I just bought for my feet:
"Are those brown flats, Aleks???????" "They've got a cute mini-heel, but yes, Daphne, Catherine and Gina, they are. They're super comfortable and still stylish."
"Stop Aleks! You're freaking us out! Good God, what have they done to you over there?"
The Skytrain isn't looking so bad these days...
Call off the Mornington Crescent game you had
scheduled, because nobody is getting to
MC anytime soon...
I believe I have already mentioned how much I despise the Northern Line.
First it was limited service that seemed to be happening all time, forcing me to switch branches every time I took a train. Then severe delays.
Then this - see those black lines running up and down the middle of London's tube map? That's the Northern Line.
Which has been shut for almost a week. That's right. Nada. Northern = No Run.
You see, it turns out the severe delays were due to signal problems and then braking problems.
I repeat, braking problems. So who can blame the drivers for refusing to drive these death trains until all of them were checked? But see how the upper branches of black have no other lines around them? That is where I live. No wonder North Londoners call it the Misery Line.
I've never been happier to live next door.
Music:Response
Warning: this entry is my response to a discussion regarding matters of the music-loving heart. If you are an avid music lover, or involved with one, please read on. (It may be a good idea to brief yourself first.) Otherwise, I apologize for my music geekiness – regular entries shall presume shortly (well, shortly after my Goldfrapp and Go!Team reviews…)
Watching England play an international football match is actually quite stressful when you’ve an Englishman beside you. Seeing Matt physically cringe in my peripheral vision the other day was honestly not a pretty sight. I finally understood what Nick Hornby meant and was secretly relieved - although I will never feel the infinite glory of a hard-earned win, at least I don’t have to endure 90 minutes of dread every time my team takes the pitch.
Matt is quite easily my favourite person I’ve met here in London. Enough of a ‘geezer’ without being too ‘lad’-ish, he’s incredibly easy to talk to as we share all the same tastes. And going out to a bar with him is a special treat, as we share the ability to recognize a song about a nanosecond into it. Take for example the other night: Our ears perk up at that lone guitar chord that opens ‘Love will Tear Us Apart’. Our eyes instantly find each other to see mirroring grins.
Matt: Great song!
Me: It’s one of my all-time favourites, I think.
Jocelyn (turns to me with a short confident laugh): Man, he should be dating you, not me!
And according to Ken Nopzak, he should. The other day, my friend Quinn posted a response to this TinyMixTapes article which suggested that Matt pack it in right now before Jocelyn tries to sell him on Sugar Jones and instead slip his affections into something more comfortable. But I understand why the upcoming ‘mix tape exchange’ with Jocelyn is infinitely more romantic for my Britshit-loving kindred than a chat with me about Ian Curtis - because Matt is a music-sharer.
In my opinion, there are two types of avid music lovers. There are the "music-melders" – those who, like Ken, need you to understand and love a song for the same reasons he does (a mindmeld over music, if you will). But I’d argue that more of us are "music-sharers" - curious people who don't find it a chore but instead exciting to both teach and learn, to see what bits of beauty you can introduce to each other's lives.
No, being in a music-sharing relationship isn’t always easy, for either side – like the time I cried out, “I’m sorry, but I just don’t get The Holy Bible, so could you please stop playing it in the car?” But I'd like to think that the many “hey, could you bring along The Queen Is Dead/Pet Sounds/Sigur Ros?” moments more than made up for it. And yes, the connection we shared over Jeff Buckley and the Chemical Brothers was electric. But nothing touched me more than a short note I got once saying, ”thankyou thankyou thankyou for introducing me to Bjork”.
To be honest, it was Quinn’s response that surprised me – that one of the greatest music sharers I know would rather avoid a deep interpersonal relationship with someone of similar musical taste, for fear of ‘losing ownership’ over something he loved so much. That music-sharing paired with emotion is a dangerous combination. Read his thoughts and the comments made afterward – they're great and they did lead me to muse, Carrie Bradshaw like, "in a world where we place so much value in our cultural choices, are beloved songs the new virginity?"
But I can’t help from feeling that it’s not the concept of music-sharing that has let them down, but rather a disregard for certain 'rules of engagement' one should obey in a music-sharing relationship. Since Kate Spade likely forgot these in her book on manners, I'll put some forward to fill in the gap. Fellow music-sharers (I'm definitely looking to Erin, Neil, Mark, Margaret, and of course, Sean here) please let me know where something needs tweaking (or if I'm full of crap). And for all you who, like Jocelyn, have found themselves in a relationship with a music-sharer, take notes.
Respect me, respect my music.
There is definitely room for gentle teasing, but a mind open enough to respect and appreciate is key. In the end, we don't need you to love it, but at least put forth some sort of effort. And this must go both ways - if you humour my ELO revelries, then I promise I will at least try to appreciate whatever the hell it is you find appealing about The Darkness.
Note: If you two can find absolutely no musical common ground, in my experience that's likely a symptom of a greater incompatibility.
Credit your sources.
The music-sharer's motivation was to make your world a slightly better place, so even when it's over, give them their dues. (Yes, you can do this even if it was a bad breakup, as in: "I can't wait for the new Beck CD. Dave may have been a pathetic loser in the end, but at least he was good for something...")
If you've shunned a band, you can't suddenly give it another chance after the relationship fails.
Sure, people grow and change, but nothing wounds more than for your ex to hear you say, "I never 'got' Bowie until [insert not-your-ex here] played some stuff for me". That's just cruel - and you know it. A moratorium of what, 6 months?
If it was a beloved band that was introduced to you, then I am sorry, you must give us leave to love the band more.
No, it's not fair. But life isn't fair. For us music-sharers, introduced bands are like children from a previous marriage. When things end, you may still love them dearly, send them birthday gifts every year, and even secretly consider yourself the better parent, but the fact is God gave them to us first and that must be respected. Case closed.
If you both liked a band before hooking up - or worse, discovered a band together - maturity is paramount.
If introduced bands are previous children, then these are the mutual friends or the children you had together. Remember: though it may feel good at the time, claiming mutual friends for your own is dangerous and expect karma for whatever slipups you may make. If you show up at that Stars concert with your new guy, you better be cool with seeing Quinn get his new gal the setlist at the Sleater-Kinney show.
It's this last rule that Quinn dreads, and I concede, it is definitely the most difficult to handle even when both sides are sensitive and respectful. It took a good six months before I could listen to the Beatles again. But does that mean that upon reflection I would rather they had just stayed out of things for four years? No. God no.
I admit, when Bjork’s Medulla came out, I couldn't listen to it right away. I suppose I was worried that maybe I had given too much of her away to him. But upon hearing even the first song, I realized that if these "friends" are worth keeping, you'll find you have a connection with each that is all your own, that is un-losable. Medulla was my favourite album of 2004, and I am truly glad if he enjoyed it as well. When in doubt, give.
Getting Random with Sov...
It's a wideheld belief that every once in a while, you have to push yourself way outside your boundaries to in order to see just what you are capable of. Most people test their limits by going on kibbutzes or training for decathalons.
The other day, I was in a rap video.
Yep, that is me above hanging with the Lady Sovereign, 19-year-old grime sensation here in Britain, taken at the end of a very looong day of shooting. The experience was nothing short of surreal, which was only exacerbated by sleep deprivation and the typical chaos of video production. "Woah, woah, wait. Back up. How the hell did you, Miss Aleksandra, end up in a rap video???"
Chosen to be in it, no less... well, I must thank Quinn (the king of music mailing lists) for forwarding the email saying that anyone in the London area and available all day on Wednesday could email their photo and details in the hopes of being chosen to be in Lady Sovereign's new video, 'Hoodie'. I was in Oxford at the time, but thought it too funny to pass up, so I took some ridiculous photo in a mirror and sent it from the library at Linacre College. Nothing about the picture said street-wise hoodrat, so I wasn't surprised when I didn't hear back from the production company.
Until Tuesday afternoon. When Maria called to tell me I had been chosen to be in Sov's 'gang', and would spend the whole day with her. Oh, and could I get to Lewisham Shopping Centre tomorrow morning at 4:30am? (to equate into Vancouver terms: if Hampstead is London's Kerrisdale, Lewisham is London's Surrey. And about that far away...) So....no, don't think that's possible. "6am, then?"
Hmmm. 6am I cannot pass up - I still had no idea what I was supposed to do in this 'gang', but I said yes. Sure, I still had to tell my boss and bail out of all next day's meetings, but if you can't play hooky on an unpaid internship, when can you??
Fortunately, they were still looking for shorter girls for the extra bit in the afternoon (Lady Sovereign is only 5'1") so hilarious housemate Monique from Cape Town was more than willing to tag along. (She loves hip-hop, plus wants to be a director, so she was superjazzed about going.) We managed to drag our asses out of bed at 4am to get to there by 6am and meet the 'gang':
- 'Shocks' - Lady Sovereign's biggest fan, with whom she *believes* she is pretty tight;
- Danielle and Simone, whom Sov calls "The Stalkers";
- Carly and Esther, two tough looking ghetto-candy girls from Brighton;
- ....and me.
They like Monique's look, though, and decide to add her as a seventh gang member, which was great. Now. we were told to come without hair or makeup done, as all that would be taken care of. Turns out no hair gets done, and makeup consists of concealer, eyeliner under the eye, and clear gloss. See, what they *meant* was that it wouldn't matter as we'd have our hoods up the entire time.
So here we are, we look like crap and we're tired as hell. Then some photographer girl asks "The Hoodies" for a promo shot. As we huddle up for the photo, I realize - I am not the most photogenic person (as most of you know) and I've only come as far as I have by copping a few signature poses. All of which are cute and smiley.
Cute and smiley ain't gonna cut it today.
The photo flash goes off with my face in the most ridiculous of expressions.
Oh, I am so screwed today.
So it's pretty clear early on that I am going to look like absolute crap in this video - good thing she's only big in England... "Oh well, at least the gang will be dancing, and I can look cool in that..."
At about 9am, The Hoodies have our first scene in the mall and the video storyline is finally explained to us - basically, we're Sov's gang and we spend the video chasing this lady through the mall.
They want me to run.
Like a gang member.
Oh good lord.
It never got worse than that moment, but it didn't get much better either. The girls were sweet as hell, but it was pretty obvious I was "not like the others" - ie, I'd finished high school. To be fair, some of them hadn't finished high school becuase they were only still 17 - why it blew their minds that I was in my mid-20s. But we all got along, the shoot was hilarious, and I got some great photos of those bright red hoodies. Though needless to say, us few 20-somethings - me, Chris (the website diary camera guy) and Katherine (the producer's intern) - gravitated towards each other.
The extras came in the afternoon, and were suited up for the big final scene. Which was - yep, you guessed it - more running. Basically, the extras were all the people who signed up who weren't chosen for the gang (which baffled me anew - what about me was better than some of these girls who were shorter than me?...) and they were a ton of fun as well. There was one peculiar extra - a supershy girl who wore her hoodie tied up tight a la South Park. She wouldn't talk to anyone, so Sov named her Kenny. So if you start to see British hoodlums tying up their hoods, you know who started it...
Lady Sovereign (or 'Sov' as we all called her - that was surreal in itself) was super cute. She had been up late recording, so she was pretty good-natured for an overtired hoodrat celebrity. Unfortunately, what with all the worrying about how to look tough and sprint without looking like an ass, I only spoke with her a few times the whole day - and every time forgot to mention about her coming to Vancouver. Oops. But I did find out that she was going to be opening for The Go!Team that Friday, so I'd see her in concert for sure. (Edit: Which I did last night - she was trashed in a super-amusing way, played with a live band that really doesn't do much for her sound, and yes, she did recognize me when she played Hoodie.)
So there, my big claim to British celluloid fame. The next day, I was back at work in posh Hampstead, putting together outcome-based evaluations and it felt like it hadn't even been me running (and running and running) through the Lewisham car park 18 hours earlier. But I've still got that red Adidas hoodie like a badge of honour to remind me that if I was able to make it there, I can make it anywhere...
The video for Lady Sovereign's 'Hoodie' comes out in November. It will likely be posted up on the S.O.V.'s website, along with the video diary that Chris shot. Hopefully, I will not be too embarassed by either...
A Canadian transit queen in London
(another of Amanda's pictures)
So I have this thing for the buses over here. Not because they are double-decker, or cheaper, or because I am now so tired of the bloody Northern Line's constant delays and branch limitations, but because I think that if you can navigate through London by bus, you've got London down. Yes, the bus can be slower and not good for long journeys with switching, but quite honestly, the Underground is for sissies with no sense of adventure or imagination. In my humble opinion...
Oh, and I cannot stress how much I love my Oyster Card here. Transportation planners, listen up - Oyster rocks!! It's basically a transit debit card, allowing you to pay for your tickets or passes in advance or online, allowing you to bypass the ticket machine or kiosks - plus, you can register your Oyster Card and freeze it if it ever gets stolen! Even cooler is my Oyster Pre-Pay (for more sporadic bus-users) that allows me to just put money on my card and use it up as I go along. Best part is, the Pre-Pay fares are lower than just paying cash and they cap the rates so you never pay more than the price of a daypass, so no more worrying about how whether or not to get a daypass - it's brilliant! Oh Oyster, how I love you so...
Maybe it's this acknowledgement that things do go bump in the night over here that makes Halloween over here a tad more serious. I have yet to see a (usually ubiquitous) French Maid costume - instead of princesses and fairies, every girl I saw today was dressed up as a zombie, Dracula, or witch. Though thecommercialism has yet to take hold, the spirit of Halloween is very much in the air today. 
