port elgin

[8:30 pm] Just got home and am braindead tired, so am going to post a few photos in lieu of a regular Blathering. In the photo above, from left to right: Jeff (crouching), Craig, Parki, Elspeth, Andy, Christine, Doug, Jennifer. No, the deer is not real.

Had a WONDERFUL time in Port Elgin...many thanks to our friend Craig for organizing the event (see photo below) and to his parents for letting us use their house for the weekend.





Below: living room scene. Christine is watching Elspeth jump up off a footstool, Andy's watching Christine, Doug's reading a magazine, Jennifer is wandering out from the kitchen, Jeff and Parki are chopping things in the kitchen. The atmosphere in this photo is exactly what it was the entire weekend: very laid-back, relaxed, comfortable, low-stress. I napped, read a bunch more of American Gods by Neil Gaiman.





As I mentioned in Blatherchat, I did finally get to try a Krispy Kreme. It was pretty good but I didn't find it spectacularly better than Tim Horton's, maybe because it was a day old and was nuked in the microwave.

More on Port Elgin later this week. Hope you all had a great weekend!

And hey, check out this story by Reid's and Luisa's youngest son, Ronnie.

post-relay

Short Blather today, sorry. I'm leaving in a few minutes for a 3.5 hour bus ride to Port Elgin to hang out with Craig, Jeff, Parki and some other friends.

Jeff drove up to Port Elgin yesterday evening, and he and Parki visited the Krispy Kreme outlet on the way to pick up some doughnuts for our friends in Port Elgin. Jeff told me on the phone last night that the set-up at the Mississauga outlet was very cool. He has promised to keep one Krispy Kreme for me to try when I arrive this afternoon. Can't wait to finally try my first KK!





Our set at Relay For Life went well last night, though we ended up having to cut several songs because of time constraints, including Viewmaster, I Want To Believe, Twinkle In His Eye, and Neurotic Love Song.

Many thanks to Luisa, Reid, Michael, Ronnie and Luisa's mom for coming to see us last night! One of my very favourite moments was when I was greeting Reid or Luisa with a hug; Ronnie launched himself at one of my knees and hugged my leg and wouldn't let go. He's such an affectionate kid. :-)

This makes them my first non-filk friends who have ever seen Urban Tapestry perform. Even Jeff has never seen us in live performance before.





It was a wonderful event. Much more emotional than I expected; it was wonderful to see so many people out to support cancer research. The Survivors' Lap was especially moving, where anyone who had survived cancer walked a lap around the track while the announcer read out the names of each person. Survivors' ages ranged from children to the elderly, athletes and those who had had limbs removed.

Reid took a ton of photos of our performance, so hopefully I'll be posting next week, and I'll also post more details.

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Today's Blatherpics:

	Thanks to Reid, Luisa, Michael and Ronnie for coming out to the event!
	The Survivors' Lap.
	Volunteers at the Artists' CD table.
	Allison and Jodi.

jean-luc

(UPDATE: Just got an update from the Relay For Life people. Our timeslot has been changed to 8:45-9:30 pm, after a hip-hop band and just before Salome Bey)

The Real Diary Critic posted a review of my journal today. My score: 5 out of 10. :-)

Hey, Chow Yun-Fat is filming Bulletproof Monk in our neighbourhood this Saturday. The notice in the elevator says that this movie is a comedy adventure about "a monk that teams up with a thief on a spiritual quest to defeat evil". Sounds like a brilliantly original plot, doesn't it? I'm surprised Chris Rock isn't hidden away in the cast list somewhere.

Our neighbourhood seems to be a popular spot for movie companies, mostly for scenes involving cars: car chases, car crashes, people getting out of cars, people standing in front of cars and talking. Sometimes the film crew will scatter garbage along the street and the cabs will have New York plates.





Roy Thompson Hall and Metro Hall are also popular spots. The council scene in the first X-Men movie was filmed across the street, and sometimes I used to see parked spaceships and blue-skinned aliens in Metro Square from my office while scenes from a Gene Roddenberry tv series was being filmed (can't remember the name, sorry; I did try watching it once). Yes, PATRICK STEWART was within spitting distance of my apartment! (*swoon) Luisa and I brazenly infiltrated the set area one day but I did not catch a glimpse of my heartthrob, sadly.

The apartment down the hall was rented out to film a scene for a Vince Vaughn movie; I came home after doing errands one day to find a film crew huddled along the hallway, motioning for me to be quiet.

Practised with Allison and Jodi last night. We went to Swiss Chalet with Jeff for dinner. I've been in Chalet sauce heaven since a Swiss Chalet moved in a one-minute walk away from our apartment. Yes, I know...it's not fine cuisine. But I find something comforting about the sameness of the food, the bland mashed potatoes, the limp lettuce, the perkiness of the waitstaff. When I'm feeling melancholy or stressed, I always find myself craving a visit.





Last night, we had an especially perky waiter. He seemed to have a thing for Jeff, though Jeff denies this, and called Allison and I "darling". We gave him a nice tip.

My only complaint about that particular Swiss Chalet are the washrooms. First off, you have to wander down a winding and half-lit corridor to find them (I half-expected to be eaten by a grue). I hate that, when you spend more time looking for the restrooms than you do actually eating your meal.

Then when you finally find the restrooms, you discover that the stalls were built by anorexic contortionists. Finding a way to shut the door after entering the stall without climbing into the toilet bowl yourself becomes an exciting challenge.

Ok, maybe I exaggerate slightly. Having the smallest bladder in the world, however, I'm always aware of this sort of thing.





Anyway, we went back the apartment after dinner and shared some chocolates kindly sent by Rika Koerte and David Peek from the UK. These chocolates were AMAZING. The flavours included: Milk chocolate shell with Cardamom, Dark chocolate with thyme, Ivory Coast dark chocolate with aniseed filling, Vanilla and Colombian cocoa filling, Pink pepper filling, Milk chocolate shell with cinnamon, Sao Tome chocolate with ginger filling, Grenada dark chocolate with licorice filling. We each had one, and plan to ration them over the next few practices: I chose pink pepper, Allison chose thyme, Jodi chose the white chocolate. YUMMMMMM.

Thank you, Rika and David!

We ran through our entire set for tomorrow night, including the Neurotic Love Song in which I act like a fool YET AGAIN. For those of you are lucky enough not to have witnessed this song, it's basically about an obsessed Patrick Stewart / Jean-Luc Picard fan, and I use props while Jodi and Allison sing. Each time we do it, I swear up and down that I'm NEVER DOING THIS SONG EVER EVER AGAIN.

But then we do, just because it seems to be such a crowd-pleaser. Whether it is in a non-filk venue remains to be seen.

I can't believe it's already June.

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Today's Blatherpics:

	Me.
	Jeff at Swiss Chalet, having just ordered his Chicken and Shrimp Combo Special.
	Allison studiously ignoring me. >:-)
	Urban Tapestry practice last night, in preparation for our Relay For Life gig tomorrow night.
	Me.

running

Worked on my novel yesterday, for the first time in what seems like ages. CCRA audit stuff seems to have quieted somewhat, though I'm still gritting my teeth and waiting for the final blow.

I heard from someone working with the U.S. Forest Service who wanted to know if he could use my "famous wood stacking photo" in one of their publications. I'm assuming he means the photo at the top of my Woodpile Philosophy page, but I've written to confirm. I'm highly amused (and flattered, of course). Apparently the guy was doing an online search for any photos of properly stacked firewood.





Went for a run yesterday, and this time went as far as Ontario Place for my halfway point. I'm jealous of Reid's scenic running route; there aren't many trees along mine. Lots of water, though. :-)

I checked out the H.M.C.S. Haida and a swan family paddling nearby. My running music today: Elvis Costello & The Attractions, "All This Useless Beauty".

I still like running, unbelieveably. I never thought of myself as a runner; the sport had utterly no appeal to me until this year. And realistically, who knows? Maybe it'll have no appeal to me next year. But right now, I love it. I love the fact that I can go anywhere I want. I love the fact that I don't have to worry about dodging around downtown Toronto traffic (which I had to worry about when I was biking regularly), that I don't have to focus on the mechanics of what I'm doing.

This leaves me room to think about other things, to reminisce, to dream, or to focus on the music I'm listening to. No laptop, no cellphone; there's something incredibly liberating about being unreachable by anyone. I don't think I'll ever be a social runner.

Most of all, I like having the space to think. Sometimes it's too easy to let myself get caught up in the barrage of stimuli that is day-to-day life: e-mail, telephones, Palm scheduling, rush hour people and car traffic, the constant input and processing of information.

On a good run, I find myself slipping into almost meditative state. Work stresses suddenly seem very far away. I'm aware of the rhythm of my feet hitting the pavement, my breathing, my heart pounding in my chest. I feel the breeze off the lake, hear the cries of the seagulls as they circle overhead. And I feel as if I could run forever.

Not every run is a good run, of course. Some days I feel like I weigh a million pounds, and every pound is inexorably pulling me down, sapping my strength. I don't feel as if I could run forever; I don't even know if I can make it another few feet before throwing up. ;-)

But as long as I'm having more good days than bad, I'll keep running.

:-)





Links/sites of interest:

Amazon is planning to launch a Canadian site on June 25th. Yay, hopefully this will get rid of the seemingly random duty fees we Canadians have to face with our Amazon orders.
(Source: Globe Technology)

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Today's Blatherpics:

	Lilacs in the Toronto Music Garden. I love the fragrance of fresh lilac blossoms. If I lived out in the country and had any kind of green thumb, I'd plant lilac bushes everywhere.
	Entering Ontario Place.
	Swans just outside Ontario Place and the Molson Ampitheatre.
	The H.M.C.S. Haida historic naval ship exhibit.

niecevisit

Went to my sister's place last night for dinner, and she showed me an advance copy of her newest book, I'd Know You Anywhere (Annick Press, text by Hazel Hutchins, illustrations by Ruth Ohi), which comes out this fall.

Annie was the model for the little boy, and Kaarel posed as the model of the father. She changed the facial features, of course, but you can still still elements of their expressions in her drawings. It's so wonderful to flip through the pages and see Annie's face peering out at me everywhere! Here's an example of the original photo where Ruth had Annie and Kaarel pose:





And here's the resulting illustration:





I have such a cool sister! Here's a picture of her from last night:





She hates having her photo taken, so I generally have to either take stealth photos, or so many in a row that she can't possible hide from all of them. I chose the latter route last night.

After dinner, Jeff and I put Sara and Annie to bed. The current ritual is for us all to pile on top of Annie's bed for bedtime story reading. While Jeff and Sara were talking, Annie started reading a picture book to me. She just started reading on her own within the past few months; I get such a thrill out of hearing her sounding out words herself.

It's hard for me to concentrate on her reading as she sits cross-legged beside me on the bed, though; I just want to hug her all the time, and kiss her head over and over. When she was younger, she used to let me cuddle her as much as I wanted but now that she's getting older, she's mastered the trick of making her body ram-rod straight when I hug her, so that she slides out of my arms. Triumphant in her escape, she giggles and runs away.

Sometimes, though, she'll clamber into my lap and lean against me. I hug her very gently, feeling as though I'm trying not to scare away a small bird that has hopped up to take food from my hand. Those are the kind of moments I treasure most.

I am crazy about those girls. :-)





Thanks to Margaret Bumby for letting me know that the name of the guy with the drum is David Rozian (also known as "Davroz" in techie circles). Supposedly he makes a great chocolate chip and cinnamon cookie. :-)

A couple of you have asked about Urban Tapestry's Relay For Life gig this Friday (a Canadian Cancer Society charity event). We're going to be performing from 9:15-10 pm at Birchmount Stadium in Scarborough. Here's the full entertainment line-up for the event that evening:

7-Jun RELAY FOR LIFE
6:30 -7:00 Warmup
7 - 7:30 Opening ceremonies
7:30 - 8:15 Salome Bey
8:15 -8:30 Dance
8:30 - 9:00 Luck Fool
9:00 - 9:15 Comedian
9:15 - 10:00 Urban Tapestry
10 - 10:40 Luminary Ceremony
10:40 - 11:30 Beautiful 2000
11:30 DJ

Here's our tentative playlist, which will likely change during the performance depending on the audience and the timing (we've been warned that we may have our performance slot expanded or shrunk by 10 minutes):

Cuz He's A Guy
This Island Earth
Alien Jellyfish
Marvin
Library Boy
I'm A Believer
Friendship Song
Technonerdboy
Another Story
70s Song
(I Want To Believe)) -- may cut this
Neurotic Love Song
Twinkle In His Eye
Viewmaster
Hockey Monkey

We suspect the venue will be very casual, with people talking and walking around while we're playing, with the main focus being on the relay itself.