a relay of sorts - January

from my neighbourhood walks, taken a few weeks ago

Last week was eventful  in comparison to any other school week. As I've mentioned in the previous post, Monday was stressful due to school applications for abroad. And consequently, Twitter was bombarded by obscenities fueled by frustration and despair, mainly directed to the university and its unreliable tech service. But at the end of the day, all was well after being cheered up by two of my favourite people and finally having my application go through successfully (eight hours later). Now, all I can do is wait until April! Fingers are continually crossed.

The following day was much better. I had some alone time before my 3-hr class, so I picked up my reserved copy of the latest issue of Lula (featuring Charlotte Gainsbourg on the cover). Lula always manages to put together a visual dream in material form. I feel like floating whenever I flip through the pages. (Take a peak here.)

And that night, my friend Amanda and I had an interesting time with The Vaccines. At one point, Freddie and Pete were singing "Blue Jay Way" by The Beatles to us for no given reason. They played a pretty good albeit short set at the Horseshoe. But the highlight of the night was definitely going home to a mass of tweets about "Angles" - The Strokes' fourth LP. I was restless all night and couldn't sleep. I sent so many people delirious text messages that I ended up receiving a slew of concerned responses in the morning.

Wednesday to Friday ensued with much gushing and excitement. (The Strokes have that effect on me.) Saturday came, and Shantel and co. picked me up for a joyride to the west. We had an impromptu snow adventure at High Park, where Shantel, her brother, and her roommate went tobagganning down a very steep hill that led to the lake. I opted out of the tobagganning venture, though, and was perfectly happy to assume the role of audience for the feat. It was also bitingly cold. I feel like it's been -35degrees since last week with non-stop snow since Thursday. But I've actually been enjoying bundling up and dressing warm. Layers all the way!

boxful of cheers

I was having a trying time on Monday due to school complications. And in an effort to lift my spirits, pals Melody & David met me after my last class and handed me this wonderful box of treats:

All the chocolate-types of sweets were picked by Melody, while the fizzy, weird ones were from David (of course). Said school complications have been ironed out now, though, so 2011 still hasn't disappointed. In fact, things are looking up!

consideration.

“No days, perhaps, of all our childhood are ever so fully lived are those that we had regarded as not being lived at all: days spent wholly with a favourite book.” — Marcel Proust

Currently reading: The Reveries of a Solitary Walker, Jean-Jacques Rousseau.

These days, reading at home seems to be a great past-time. The weather constantly seems to dip, and leaves me blasting on the heat.
Me + Toasty room [bed] + Coffee in favorite mug = Time well spent.

Holiday cards '10

This past holiday, I made it a goal to create my own set of cards to give friends.
Using pages from an old French book and various cutouts from Ikea catalogues, buttons, deco tape, type letters, acrylic paint, etc, I came up with the following:

Next set to make: Valentine cards?

empty nostalgia

Whenever I go into shops that sell antiques and olden sundry items,

I tend to gravitate towards the boxes of photographs and letters from years passed.

Often taken out of discarded albums and scrapbooks,

these mementos were once kept and shared intimately between families, friends, and lovers.

What are we to make of these forgotten keepsakes, proofs of existence, fragments of being?

It's sort of impossible not to wonder the fate of one's memories frozen in such images.

Will they, too, end up merely as curious objects in boxes?

requiem.

Every exit is an entrance somewhere else.
It's not until you get to know people that you begin to find out what it was in the past that made them who they are today, and why they do things they do, or think the things they think.

You can choose to blame your circumstances on fate, bad luck, or bad choices.

Or, you can fight back.

Things aren’t always going to be fair in the real world. That’s just the way it is.
But for the most part, you get what you give.
The rest of your life is being shaped right now.
With the dreams you chase, the choices you make, and the person you decide to be.

The rest of your life is a long time.
And the rest of your life starts right now.

new year fodder

photo by Shantel Z.

The new year is coming to a fore, and by extension, so does a boatload of resolutions and promises. The blank canvas-associated notions of the start of a year are irresistibly attractive, and rightfully so, because of the hint of so much potential. In essence, we all selfishly want a year better than the last. And this idea of renewal is resonant for us internally because of the sole reason that it gives hope for change and improvement.

Sometimes, I privy myself to these overarching thoughts about the things that are deemed Most Important in Life: love, happiness, hope; and it's a little weird to realize that such things are merely human constructs and are therefore quite intangible.