An addiction to the 80s is not punk rock
Hot Topic is not Punk RockNo, but it is useful for 80s nostalgia; culture-crap-mecca Hot Topic is the lovely retailer responsible for:
- my Strawberry Shortcake clutch; and
- the now-famous I Heart John Cusack t-shirt.
The song makes me laugh out loud. But that John Cusack t-shirt is a classic.
God Speed, Hot Topic.
I'll Believe in Anything
aka The Valentines Address
(hey, it seemed appropriate...)
Whenever my mum tells the story about how I was born she always says brings up the same details:
1) I took so long (26 hours) she was worried that something was wrong,
2) but once I did decide to join the world, I was the most alert baby she'd ever seen.
The other evening I was headed to some party with Stephen and Marsha, a newish couple, when I stopped to get dinner. While waiting for my signature 99cent pizza, I looked out the window at the two of them and something just clicked. It dawned on me that somewhere in the last few weeks, I turned a corner and am finally ready to end the "focus on making myself happy" phase and share my life with someone again. To properly support someone, not just entertain him. To learn from someone, not just humour him. To disappoint and be disappointed and have that be okay.
Yes, I know it's taken me absolutely forever to get here and I know I may have even started to worry some loved ones, but I guess I'm just naturally a slow mover and latebloomer. But if history is any indicator, I'll come out this gate swinging, without the doubt or abandon that would have inevitably emerged had I pushed myself because I felt I "should"/because I didn't want to be the loser/because I wanted the singleton drama to end/because I was scared of losing someone dear.
Of course, James pointed out that now it's barely a stone's throw from 'ready' to 'desperate', from 'open to anything' to 'blind dates from hell'. But hey, I'm celebrating this all the same.
...where everybody knows your name
Today for work, I had to track down some old budget documents for a conference SCARP held six years ago. Which meant heading over to AMS archives and digging through old reimbursements from the year 2000 and recognizing
far too many of the names that would pop up on these 'historical' pages. And realizing that although almost every student around the AMS Business Office now has no idea who I am, the entire staff there greet me like an old friend.
"Good Lord, I have been here forever - will I ever get off this campus????" I thought to myself at the time.
But a few hours later, I'm reconsidering my position. Those people haven't seen me for months - for some, years - but I seem to have made enough of an impression that they still remember me and likely will do so for years to come. How many people can say that about their experience at UBC?
p.s. - a morning pages update: despite all my good intentions, it's been only 3 days and I've already fallen off the wagon. My lack of self-discipline astounds sometimes...
The 2006 comeback
Just when you think this blog was totally over, I decide I'm bringing it back -
call it the Chinese Democracy syndrome...
Well, things have picked up over the new year. I have not one, but two jobs at UBC - and netiher are at Brock Hall! I am organizing an academic conference for March as well as the Planners for Tomorrow planning conference in June. It's been a while since I've done event planning, and I've really loved getting back into that groove.
But maybe that's because I am just so not keen on the actual "writing" part of this whole thesis task that looms. I am petritfied of producing something so non-creative that people won't read it, and I seem to have put a fair bit of pressure on myself to write a really engaging report on a not-necessarily engaging topic...
To help with that, I've started writing
morning pages again. Hopefully I can unblock my mind of all the pointless crap that eats up far too many of my thoughts these days.
Listening to:
Wraith Pinned to the Mist (and other games) - Of Montreal
