This Week in Review

Reading… Just finished reading The Know-It-All: One Man’s Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World by A.J. Jacobs. The author recounts his quest to read the entire Encyclopaedia Britannica (all 14 million words of it). If you’re a trivia buff (like me) and enjoy quirky humour, this book is a must-read. I so thoroughly enjoyed this book that I look forward to reading A.J.’s other books.

Listening to… This playlist featuring covers (in every imaginable language) of Jacques Brel’s classic song, Ne Me Quitte Pas. I can’t get enough of it. This cover by Nina Simone is one of my favourites:

Watching… Old episodes of Fantasy Island on Netflix. I vaguely remember watching this show as a kid, but I couldn’t remember the premise of the show. Now that I’ve watched a few episodes, I can’t get over how creepy and badly made this series was, yet I can’t stop watching – it’s mesmerizing!

Discovering… Kid Koala all over again, after seeing his show last night as part of the Luminato Festival. I saw Kid Koala’s Space Cadet Headphone Experience a year ago, and it was magical. Although I’m not really into DJs/scratching/electronica, I truly enjoy attending his shows. He is fascinating to watch in action – his hands never stop moving, not for a moment. And he’s such an amazingly sweet, down-to-earth guy. Here’s his remix of the classic song Moon River:

Learning… To live with a neurotic cat. Lulu came into my life approximately two months ago, and although we’ve made a huge amount of progress, she still has her quirks. Lots of them. Thankfully she’s pretty adorable.

Miss Lulu (the adorable but slightly neurotic cat)

Loving… Making books, including a few new types of journals created from upcycled children’s books. I feel like I’ve got my mojo back – now the challenge is to keep it going through the summer months…

Hating… All the rain we’ve had this spring. I hope summer is on the cool side, but sunnier than the past several months.

Feeling… The need for some R&R. Haven’t taken a significant amount of time off in about a year. I’ll be on vacation in less than a month and look forward to a week-long master bookbinding class, time with my parents and family, and lots of catching up with close friends!

Wishing… I could get rid of the clutter in my apartment once and for all. I’ve made progress over the past few months, but I feel like there’s still a long way to go… I’ve got to be patient, but resilient.

What have you been up to this week?

A Few Things I Discovered This Week

1. Gin + tonic flavoured marshmallows are pretty darn yummy (even if they really taste like lime marshmallows).

2. Nadège Pâtisserie makes the most adorable and treats ever invented (see item #1). Here’s further proof:

Nadège Pâtisserie – Le Marie Antoinette

Those macarons were about the size of a quarter. Seriously.

3. I love oysters – the raw kind! – after an amazing meal at Oyster Boy. For years and years I resisted eating oysters because I had a not-so-great experience 15 or so years ago. Not anymore. Bring. Them. On.

4. Watching live, professional basketball games is so much fun – who knew? After seeing the Toronto Raptors vs. Detroit Pistons game on Monday night, I am hooked. This is a sport that I could totally get into. Definitely.

Raptors vs. Pistons action

5. Being a brunette isn’t so bad. It’s definitely an adjustment from being a blonde my entire life, but I’m kinda liking it:

The not-blonde me

Did you discover anything new this week?

End-of-Year Survey

Photo courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net

At this time of year, I like to take a moment to reflect on the past year and look forward to the upcoming one. I record these reflections in a journal (written or visual), and to help me along I’ve been using the following questionnaire for several years now. Some years I’ll answer all of the questions, whereas others I’ll just pick and choose a few questions. They serve as a great reminder of all that I’ve accomplished and am grateful for, as well as areas for improvement.  This holiday season has been so busy that I haven’t yet had a chance to complete the survey, but my plan is to work on it this coming weekend.

Feel free to steal these questions!

1. What did you do in 2012 that you’d never done before?
2. Did you keep your New Year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
4. Did anyone close to you die?
5. What countries did you visit?
6. What would you like to have in 2013 that you lacked in 2012?
7. What dates from 2012 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
9. What was your biggest failure?
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
11. What was the best thing you bought?
12. Whose behaviour merited celebration?
13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed?
14. Where did most of your money go?
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
16. What songs will always remind you of 2012?
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
    1. happier or sadder?
    2. thinner or fatter?
    3. richer or poorer?
18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
20. How will you be spending Christmas?
21. Did you fall in love in 2012?
22. How many one night stands?
23. What was your favourite TV program?
24. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
25. What was the best book you read?
26. What was your greatest musical discovery?
27. What did you want and get?
28. What did you want and not get?
29. What was your favourite film of this year?
30. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
31. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2012?
33. What kept you sane?
34. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
35. What political issue stirred you the most?
36. Who did you miss?
37. Who was the best new person you met?
38. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2012.
39. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.

This Week in Review

Reading… Recently finished reading Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke (it’s like Harry Potter for adults) and The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill. Both fantastic reads – highly recommended. I’m now onto slightly easier reading: Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. Not exactly fine literature, but entertaining nonetheless. Scottish warriors – need I say more?

Listening to… Lots of music in French – it’s nice to go back to my roots. The music site 8tracks allows you to stream playlists that others have put together, and I’ve discovered lots of great music this way. One of my favourite playlists was created by…Nikki Yanofski, of all people. She’s compiled a list of her favourite French songs, and they’re all pretty awesome. Have a listen here.

Watching… Flight of the Conchords’ newest endeavour: a song they wrote to raise funds for a sick kids charity in NZ. They interviewed kids to get ideas for song lyrics (with brilliant results), and even reunited with Murray for a band meeting. My heart is so happy to see them together again.

Discovering… This great blog called 5 Things To Do Today. Appeals to the incurable list-maker in me, and tons of great ideas to boot. Very inspiring.

Learning… About emotional intelligence. I’ve been on two separate courses on EI this summer, which have helped me become increasingly self-aware of my emotions and how I react to people and situations. I definitely want to keep exploring this topic more deeply and meaningfully.

Loving… The fantastic new haircut I got last night. I feel like a million bucks.

Hating… The lingering hot and humid days – I want fall to be here NOW!

Feeling… Excited about a night out with friends tonight. It will include Bridesmaids (the movie), a tasty meal, cupcakes, and copious amounts of wine. It’s all good.

Wishing… I didn’t have to clean my loft this weekend, but it’s quite filthy. I know I’ll feel better afterwards, though…

What have you been up to this week?

This Week in Review

Reading… The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach. I was intrigued by the book after reading a great article about it in the October 2011 edition of Vanity Fair magazine. Although it’s a novel about baseball, it’s not really about baseball… I’m really enjoying it so far.

Listening to… Spanish Harlem Orchestra’s United We Swing album. It has definitely helped bring up my energy level while making books and other lovely items.

Watching… 8th Fire – Indigenous in the City on CBC Television. A fascinating documentary on some of Canada’s Aboriginals living in our cities, how they got there, and how they are coping. I loved the story about rap group Winnipeg’s Most, but the explanation about the Indian Act, 1876 made me very angry at the injustices inflicted on Aboriginal peoples.

Discovering… Toronto’s lovely Roncesvalles neighbourhood. I had never really had the chance to look around the area until this afternoon, while on a fun date. The traditionally Polish neighbourhood has lots of funky little shops, cafes and restaurants that I’m looking forward to exploring further.

Learning… To let go of the need to always be doing something and to just listen to my body when it’s tired. For several weeks now, I’ve been rediscovering the joy in guilt-free naps. Fantastic.

Loving… The birthday wishes from friends and family this week. I felt surrounded by so much love and warmth.

Hating… Constantly cold feet. Despite the thick woolly socks and shoes that I wear inside my loft, my poor toes are always freezing because of the cement floors. Thank goodness for heating pads and hot water bottles, I tell ya.

Feeling… Exhausted after a long week on the road for work. Ten-hour days, too much night driving, and very little sleep made for a somewhat cranky birthday girl!

Wishing… I wasn’t having to do so much travel in Ontario during the winter months…although I am grateful not to have to do it on crutches with a broken ankle this year.

What have you been up to this week?

This Week in Review

Reading… Caravaggio: A Life Sacred and Profane by Andrew Graham-Dixon. After seeing his painting The Deposition (which moved me to tears) at the Vatican, as well as the Caravaggio and his followers in Rome exhibit at the National Gallery in Ottawa this past summer, I’ve taken an extra keen interest in the talented but troubled artist.

Listening to… Cary Brothers’ cover of “Something About You”. I have always loved Level 42’s original song; this version is a bit more mellow, but just as beautiful.

Watching… The Walking Dead. After a friend raved about this AMC show, I made the mistake of watching the first episode just before going to bed. But I still got hooked.

Discovering… The fun in crafting again. The past few months were so busy with prepping for craft fairs and filling orders for shops and customers that I was too tired to really enjoy it. After a wonderfully restful holiday (with many naps), I am enjoying staying up late and making a mess with art and craft supplies again. It’s great to have my mojo back!

Learning… So much from my recent adventures in online dating. I keep discovering new things about myself (in a good way) every time I interact or meet someone new. It’s been a surprisingly pleasant experience, so far… I’ve even gone so far as to recommend online dating to other friends (which I never thought would ever happen!).

Loving… Handmade Ryan Gosling – This site is like porn for crafty girls. Without the nekkid porn shots. 

Hating… The dread I feel about my work schedule – 11 events to organize and implement in 7 weeks means travel in winter conditions, sleepless nights in hotel rooms and back pain from too much stress. I hope I make it to March in one piece.

Feeling… Melancholy after spending 2.5 hrs on the phone with my oldest friend, who lives far away. So many of my closest friends live in other parts of the world, and I miss them dearly. I wish we could see each other more often.

Wishing… The mild weather could last all winter: +5C in January? Yes, please!

What have you been up to this week?

This Week in Review

Reading… Just finished reading The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides – brilliant. I love everything this man writes – now, if he published more than once every 10 years, I’d be completely ecstatic. Now I’m on to Caravaggio: A Life Sacred and Profane by Andrew Graham-Dixon.

Listening to… Fitz and the Tantrums – Groovy tunes that make you want to dance all day:

Watching… Saw Sherlock Holmes 2: A Game of Shadows this week. The chemistry between Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law is amazing (and I don’t even like Jude Law). Guy Ritchie has done a fantastic job directing this film, and I hope there are many more to come.

Discovering… Lots of new music, especially with all the “best of 2011” lists floating around the internets.

Learning… Italian (and loving it). I definitely need to apply myself and practice more, but I am picking it up fairly quickly (being fluent in French certainly helps). 

Loving… The calm after the storm. The past few months have been so crazy with a heavy workload and travel related to the pesky day job, teaching bookbinding workshops, preparing for and selling at craft fairs, and trying to keep the local shops stocked with merchandise (I could barely keep up with the demand!). I’ve been resting, relaxing and reflecting this past week, and it feels wonderful.

Hating… The thought of having to go back to the pesky day job on Tuesday morning.  😦

Feeling… Grateful for the amazing people, adventures and opportunities that came into my life in 2011. May 2012 be even more amazing!

Wishing… I could come up with a great plan to quit the pesky day job once and for all. I will definitely keep working at it…

What have you been up to this week?

Back on the Radar

I haven’t been very active on the blog lately (in case you hadn’t noticed). The demands of the pesky day job have left me burnt out and lethargic. Other health issues in recent months (i.e. broken ankle, back pain) haven’t helped the situation. I feel like I’ve been living passively, always too busy or tired to really enjoy much of anything.

Now that there’s a [slight] lull at work, I’m finally catching up on my sleep. I hadn’t realized how sleep-deprived I really was.

I’m also creating again. Working on some new projects – easy projects, mind you – but creating nonetheless. I’m playing with paper and fabric and my sewing machine. And I’ll be offering workshops again really soon. I promise (it’s in the works)!

I’ve also been reflecting on changes I need to make in my life so that it’s more balanced. As much as I love certain aspects of my job, I can’t honestly keep up this pace and workload. And I’m happy to announce that I’ve taken concrete steps towards making big changes (I’ll talk about these more in a later post).

It’s all a little scary. But exciting. We’ll see where it leads.

In the meantime, I’m feeling more energetic, creative and hopeful. And I look forward to sharing with you all again.

Ciao for now!

So Much For Good Intentions…

I had resolved to do something creative every day in 2010. And things were going well. I was converting these:

Into these:

I was practicing my calligraphy skills:

(Can you guess which movie I watched while I practiced?)

I was sewing new curtains and designing a card for a friend’s top-secret surprise birthday party.

Indeed, things were going well. Until day 5 of 2010, when I decided to go to the walk-in clinic to get my sprained ankle checked out because it wasn’t getting better. Four hours later, I came home with this:

Turns out I’d been walking on a broken ankle for the past week. When the doctors told me it was broken, I thought they were kidding (because doctors like to play practical jokes on their patients…right?). Even when they showed me the x-rays, I didn’t believe it. And even as they were putting the cast on, I was still skeptical.

So for the past few days I’ve been trying to wrap my head around this whole situation. The doctors have said I’ll need the cast on for 6 to 8 weeks. They’ve scared me into staying off the broken ankle with threats of surgery if I don’t comply.

Getting to and from the office is a huge struggle in the ice and snow. And to make things worse, I need to travel extensively to implement 13 events in the next 7 weeks. Yikes. I’m still trying to figure out how I’ll get it all done.

Although I’m quite happy to be single and living independently most days, I could sure use my very own Mr. Darcy right now!

So that “creative every day” resolution I was talking about earlier? Out the window. The good news is that I’ve been catching up on my reading. Right now I’m enjoying “Through Black Spruce” by Joseph Boyden (isn’t he a cutie?) and “When You Are Engulfed In Flames” by David Sedaris – exactly what I need to cheer me up.

Dream Job

As I sit here downloading music from my favourite music site, it suddenly dawned on me: If I could dream up a crazy life for myself, you know what I’d love to do?

I’d love to be that person who matches songs to commercials, or to movie & tv scenes. Not sure what that job title is called (any ideas, anyone?), but I’m sure it’s something cool and important, like “Executive Song Matcher”.

When it’s well-done, a scene and its associated music can be brilliant. Take this example:

Or these commercials:

Or this scene from the West Wing:

Freaking brilliant.

What’s your crazy dream job?

Musings on… Reconnecting

I’ve been reflecting on a theme that’s been recurring in my life for the past several months. I’m sure you’ve heard of this exercise before: At the start of the new year, you identify a single word that sums up what you want for yourself during the year. It could be a word such as love, discover, create, or something along a similar vein. But although I’ve always loved the idea of this exercise, I’ve never been able to pick a single word I could commit to for a whole year.

I’ve come to the conclusion that for 2009, the following word chose me instead: RECONNECT

Once I started paying close attention, I discovered that the theme of “reconnecting” has been coming up over and over again in my life, mainly in the form of old friends.

In the past several months, I’ve had the pleasure of meeting up with countless friends that I’d either lost touch with, or hadn’t seen in way too many years. I estimate that since January, I’ve reconnected with at least 15 friends!

And you know what? It’s been damn good for my soul to hang out with people who have known me since forever.

Sure, there was often apprehension at first: Will they have changed? Will I have changed? Will we still have anything in common? Will we have anything to say to each other? Will it be awkward?

And in every case, I’ve come away thinking “We should have done this a long time ago. I never realized how much I missed {insert name here}.”

And so I’m trying to make a conscious effort to reach out to long-time friends and spend time with them. Not always an easy thing for a solitary person.

But for the first time in a long, long time, I feel really good – physically, mentally and emotionally. I’m convinced my friends have lots to do with this.

And it shows – in the past week, I’ve have no less than three people tell me that I look really good and seem really happy. Wow.

What I’m Up To…

Reading… Snow by Orhan Pamuk

Listening to… I’m Yours by Jason Mraz

Watching… Dexter (season 2 on DVD)

Discovering… This blog (it’s hilarious – watch the SNL skit with Beyonce and Justin Timberlake found within this post)

Learning… To speak Greek (at least, trying to without much success)

Loving… The sun finally making an appearance more than once in a blue moon

Hating… The freakin’ cold (will this winter never end? What’s up with -27C windchills in March, forgodssake!)

Feeling… Creative (got some ideas brewing, just gotta find the time…)

Wishing… I can really afford a trip to Greece for an old friend’s wedding…sigh.

What have you been up to lately?

Too Much Excitement to Handle…

Since arriving in Ottawa on Saturday I’ve been having a grand time – taking in Winterlude festivities, (almost) seeing Obama, reconnecting with old friends…it’s all good.

Once upon a time when I lived in Ottawa, I was coordinator of the Canada Snow Sculpture Competition (since renamed the National Snow Sculpture Competition). We had teams of sculptors from every province and territory (13 in all) spending a week in the capital, competing for the national championship. It was hard work and long days spent outside in the cold, but I relished the time spent with such a motley, creative group comprised of musicians, jewellers, potters, ceramicists, wood carvers, painters, welders, cartographers, and chefs (to name but a few).

On Saturday I arrived in Ottawa just in time for the awards ceremony for this year’s competition – Team Alberta won first prize with their carving:

 Way to go Brian and team!!!

Keep in mind that these sculptures are 16 feet high and weigh 40 tons  – scary and impressive at the same time. I was honoured to be invited to join the sculptors at their closing dinner and was thrilled to reconnect with several old, familiar faces. I always feel deeply nostalgic when I remember the competition and sculptors – I can’t believe it’s been over 5 years since I last coordinated this event…

I’ve been spending lots of time meeting up with old friends, reminiscing about good times (and not so good ones too!). It’s been a nice break from the constant frenzy of the pesky day job, although I did spend two days this week actually working (hence the reason I travelled to Ottawa in the first place). Tomorrow I plan to visit the Bernini exhibit at the National Gallery, and Saturday I hope to go back and take some better photos of the snow and ice sculptures at Winterlude. Saturday night I’m looking forward to spending time with dear, dear friends from a former job.

Today was President Obama’s visit in Ottawa, and everyone was abuzz with excitement. After a long lunch with a friend, I drove over to the ByWard Market to hang out for a few hours (and to stock up on beads and paper). I was walking around, when I noticed that police had blocked off several streets in the area, and 3 or 4 helicopters were hovering low. I figured they must be getting ready for Obama’s departure toward the airport, so I didn’t really make much of it.

Until two ladies walked into the store where I was browsing, telling everyone that they had just seen Obama buying a cookie in the market! By the time I ran outside, the President and his entourage were gone. Only later did I find out that he had bought the cookie at the Moulin de Provence, which is where I had parked my car! Obama stood right beside my car and must have seen it – sigh… This is just too much excitement (and disappointment) to handle in one week.

More later…

Another Year with New Opportunities

It’s hard to believe that today is already Day 4 of 2009… Time continues to tick away, when there is still so much to do. I’ve spent the past several days just vegging out and thinking about what I want to accomplish this coming year. Although I haven’t posted on this blog in several months, I’ve been very busy creating in other areas of my life. In December alone, I:

·         Took part in a craft fair (while recovering from a nasty bout of food poisoning)

·         Made no less than 6 custom books and 3 boxes for special commissions

·         Taught 3 bookbinding workshops

·         Wrapped up a weekly web design course I was taking

·         Made a bracelet as a Christmas gift for my mom and started a second one for myself (Found a new hobby – oh, joy!)

·         Made a painting (18”X24”) of Jim Morrison as a Christmas gift for my brother

·         Organized and delivered three events in three different cities for my pesky day job

I think I really overextended myself this time…no wonder I’m feeling so burnt out. For months I’ve been working long and stressful hours at my pesky day job, and on my crafty endeavours every evening and weekend.

Despite the current economic downturn, it is my greatest hope to start working for myself. Being a realistic person, I know it won’t be possible just yet. But in the meantime I have decided to set the wheels in motion so that when the timing is right, I’ll be ready. One example of this is the web design course I recently took – I started with the intention of learning to design my own website, but I can now see myself selling my services to others one day. With this in mind, I’ve signed up for a course to learn Adobe Photoshop, which will in turn help me to design better websites. I also signed up for a full-day workshop on Starting Your Own Business, so that when the timing is right, I’ll have the tools and skills in place to get things done quickly and correctly.

When I came back from my Christmas trip in Switzerland a year ago, I had decided I wanted to learn a new language (meeting so many Europeans who could speak several languages really inspired me) but I never did anything about it… Now one of my closest friends, Neil, is getting married in Greece this coming May, so I registered for a Greek-language course to keep me focussed on my goal of saving enough money to attend the wedding (and impress my friends by speaking Greek!). Living in the Greektown area of Toronto will no doubt help me learn the language more easily. I can’t wait until next week, when the course starts…should be fun!

Part of me feels that I’m again overextending myself by registering for all these course during my busiest time of year at my pesky day job (I will be organizing and delivering 5 events in January and 6 in February), but the other part of me feels that I really need to do this for myself if I want to improve my life in the long run. If I can get through the next two months, I can get through anything! I just need to stay focussed on my goals, get lots of sleep, and enjoy every free moment I have.

Here are a few photos of some recent projects:

 A notebook I made for a swap that never took place…

 A wedding album & box commission (I made 5 albums and 3 boxes for this couple)

 Another commission – a large journal for a Bluenose aficionado (like me!)

 The Jim Morrison painting I made for my brother

 The half-finished silver & teal bracelet I am making for myself (I made a similar one in gold & cream for my mom)

So tell me, what do you have planned for 2009?

Working On…

…moving out of the old place and into the new loft. Although I’m very excited about the new place, I’ve completely lost momentum when it comes to painting and cleaning… I now figure if I’m living in the middle of the chaos, I’ll find the motivation to just get everything done. Moving out this weekend – yay!

…somehow finding the time to make books. Made three LP books on Thursday night – they are now at the Great Northern Arts Festival in Inuvik, Northwest Territories (in the Arctic Circle!). Hoping they will sell there – otherwise I may be able to trade them for artwork.

…making new connections. Last week, B. and I had a few brand new aquaintances over for dinner – two ladies from Findland and one gentleman from Guatemala. Although I was reluctant to have them over at first, I had the most fantastic time that evening, connecting with the most fascinating people from the most extraordinary cultures! It made me realize that I really need to push myself out of my comfort zone and meet new people (I am very much an introvert and painfully shy with strangers).

…making additional connections at work. I have offered to present a basic bookbinding class to my colleagues at the pesky day job, and 6 people have signed up already! I’m very excited about launching this new “Lunch & Learn” initiative and hope other colleagues will offer to share their special skills and knowledge as well. I’m thrilled so many people are interested in learning about bookbinding!

…pushing more boundaries. As I mentioned earlier, connecting with strangers made me open my eyes to new possibilities and made me realize that I need to push myself more out of my comfort zone. One way I can do this is by reading books that I would never normally touch. I have a certain style of books that I tend to gravitate to (Canadian or British literature), and I now realize that it wouldn’t do harm to try a genre that I would never typically be interested in (i.e. mysteries, science fiction, etc.). Do you have any books to recommend? Please share – anything goes!

…developing new workshop projects. I have one project that I desperately want to develop but am struggling to turn it into reality. I have the general gist of what I want to do, but I have no idea what the final project looks like! Argh – so frustrating! But I know that I need to push myself until I finish putting this idea on paper because I truly believe it’s worthwhile…more to follow!

I am looking forward to moving into the new loft this weekend – hopefully the new environment will inspire me to make more art and handmade books, without the many distractions I’ve had to deal with in the past several months. Wish me luck!

A Good Year…in the Making

If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you’ll know that the past few months have been extremely busy and stressful for me at work. Since mid-November, I’ve travelled on business no less than 23 days, planning and implementing events as well as conducting site visits for upcoming events. I’m tired, bitchy and frazzled. I feel fat and gross from all the restaurant food I’ve been eating while on the road. I don’t sleep well in hotels, which means I’m seriously sleep deprived. Although I want to create in my down time, I don’t have the mental or physical energy to put into projects, which makes me bitchier because I’m so frustrated at my lack of creativity/productivity.

Because I have been travelling so much and working so intensely during the week, I have tried to unwind as much as possible on the weekends. Unfortunately, this means I’ve been vegging out in front of the tv or spending countless hours on the internet, not making art or books or anything else productive.

Then last night I watched “A Good Year” starring Russell Crowe. And it got me thinking about living a much simpler, more pleasurable existence. Although living in Provence would certainly be conducive to such an existence, I started thinking about small things I could do to live “a good year”, despite the challenges I’m facing at the moment. Firstly, I need to be more mindful of the food I eat and make my meals a happier daily ritual. And so tonight, instead of ordering takeout as I would normally do, I went to the grocery store and bought a myriad of vegetables, fruit, cheese, dips and breads/crackers. I figured I’d have my own version of a Provençal meal, complete with a glass of red wine. It was wonderful to savour the small bits and pieces of food, instead of scarfing down the usual heavy, super-sized meal.

Reading Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert has also got me thinking about slowing down and taking care of myself more. So I won’t be taking off for Italy, India or Indonesia anytime soon, but I can certainly be more aware of what I eat (and only eat what brings me pleasure), take better care of my body (I think taking up yoga would be good to help ease my back pain), and just be more mindful about loving and enjoying my surroundings more.

Even though I can’t change the nature of my job (working as an events planner will always mean a crazy and hectic lifestyle, no matter how organized I try to be), I know that I need to utilize the slower periods of the year to plan, plan, plan in order to minimize the upcoming craziness and to recharge my batteries. And during the crazy periods, I need to take care of myself as best I can (by living the Provençal, or Italian, or Indian, or Indonesian way…).

I know the craziness at work will slow down considerably in about a month, at which time I’ll be able to take some much-needed vacation days, so until then I simply need to take small steps to preserve my (and B’s) sanity.

Baby steps. That’s what it’s all about.

End of Year Questions

While showing off my chunky advent book a few posts back, I mentioned that on each of the tags I planned to include a self-reflective question. Although I haven’t decided upon each and every question yet, this end-of-year survey will give you a good idea of what I’m planning to use:

1. What did you do in 2007 that you’d never done before?
2. Did you keep your New Year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
4. Did anyone close to you die?
5. What countries did you visit?
6. What would you like to have in 2008 that you lacked in 2007?
7. What dates from 2007 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
9. What was your biggest failure?
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
11. What was the best thing you bought?
12. Whose behaviour merited celebration?
13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed?
14. Where did most of your money go?
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
16. What songs will always remind you of 2006?
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
i) …happier or sadder?
ii) thinner or fatter?
iii) richer or poorer?
18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
20. How will you be spending Christmas?
22. Did you fall in love in 2007?
23. How many one night stands?
24. What were your favourite TV program?
25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
26. What was the best book you read?
27. What was your greatest musical discovery?
28. What did you want and get?
29. What did you want and not get?
30. What was your favourite film of this year?
31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2007?
34. What kept you sane?
35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
36. What political issue stirred you the most?
37. Who did you miss?
38. Who was the best new person you met?
39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2007.
40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.

I’ll pick and choose from this list, and add some questions specific to personal goal-setting for 2008. My plan is to answer one question each day and keep a record of the process in a new journal used just for this purpose. This seems manageable to me, considering my lack of spare time and low energy level these days…

It’s your turn to share…
– Do you go into a self-reflective period at the end of the year?
– Do you set new goals/resolutions for yourself?
– Do you record this process in a journal?
– Do you have any other special end-of-year rituals?

Stuff

I can’t believe it’s been three weeks since my last post. Although I’ve been busy with bookbinding projects and work, I’ve mostly been busy dealing with stuff. Un-fun stuff. Tough stuff. Some days are good, some not so great. Like today. But I’m trying to plug through, keep busy and productive, and hopefully things will get better soon.

I’ve been doing fun stuff, too. Just over two weeks ago, B and I visited my brother in Ottawa for a few days. We went to the Ottawa Bluesfest and caught Van Morrison and Bob Dylan in concert. How could that not be good? And I had lunch with one of my favourite people in the world, a former boss who is more like an over-protective big brother to me. Good times.

B was back home for barely more than two weeks (after two months away). Just as I was getting used to having him around again, he took off to participate in an arts festival. Gone for another three weeks. This is certainly part of the un-fun stuff I’ve been dealing with.

Work has been a challenge too, for the past few weeks. Although I love my new job, during the course of the summer I’m in the planning process for all the events that will take place in the fall and winter. As much as I love organizing events, to me the planning stage is the not-so-fun-and-exciting part. It’s the boring and mundane part of the process, unlike the implementation stage when you’re actually in the middle of the event and your adrenaline is rushing and you can see the concrete results of your hard work.

So to help me get through all this, I decided I needed a goal of some sort. And I decided that reading through (and implementing) Getting Things Done by David Allen was going to be my goal. You see, I’m a very organized person at work. And at home, to a certain extent. Where I struggle is in synchronizing the two together. I’m hoping to develop a system that will help me better keep track of my home and work stuff better.

Aside from reading the book, I’ve also been surfing the web for related websites. Here are a few I’ve been enjoying:
– Lifehacker
– 43 Folders

There are too many more to list here, but these two are the best sites. Just getting through the book and the websites has given me more energy, and I already feel my creative juices starting to stir. This system greatly appeals to the anal-retentive side of me that loves lists, order, time management, and organization.

Not done reading the book yet. I’ll let you know how it goes…

Melancholy Musings…

Sunday afternoon I went to see the new movie Waitress with my friend C. I had never heard of the film, but she really wanted to see it because a) it looked good and b) the director gained cult status due to her tragic death before the film came out.

It seems that Adrienne Shelly, who not only directed the film, but also wrote the screenplay and played a part in the movie, was murdered by a construction worker when she complained about the noise he was making in the apartment below her. If that wasn’t bad enough, he (an illegal immigrant) then hung her body from a shower rod to make it look like a suicide.

Not knowing that Adrienne was also in the movie before I saw it, I was able to enjoy it (and her performance) for what it was. Otherwise I would have been so fixated on the fact that she is no longer here, I’m not sure I could have appreciated it as much.

I highly recommend this film – it’s certainly a chick flick, but I think even a few guys will enjoy it…

***

C, the friend with whom I saw the movie, has had her own tragedy to deal with recently. Her brother passed away last week at the age of 33. It was a senseless death, really, the result of a freak accident during an epilepsy seizure.

When I received her email on Friday night telling of her brother’s death, it unleashed a flood of memories – of my own brother’s death. Although my friend C and I now live in Toronto, we were actually roomates in Ottawa when I got the news of my brother’s death, and she was there to help me deal with everything. It’s sad and ironic that we now share something else in common.

My brother’s death was also senseless and preventable; he was a schizophrenic who chose not to take his medications. Unfortunately his personal demons continued to harass him and when he couldn’t deal with the strange voices talking to him anymore, he took his own life. May 20 will be the third anniversary of his death.

This post is dedicated to the memory of Mario, Dan and Adrienne.