‘home’.

I’m been home on the farm for more than a week now, and almost everyday I’ve gone to write blogs about my time here, but have stopped myself.

Truth be told, I’m not sure what to write.

Do I write about how I have found a new appreciation for the heat/humidity in light of the cool summers I experience in BC?

Do I write about dredging out our family basement, taking 6 old computer printers (yes, 6) to the dump?  After how I worked for 2 days with the help of my nephew Trent, and it looks like we were never down there?

Do I write about how I’m realizing how bizzare I must appear to my family sometimes?  Like how listening to sermons, ‘This American life’ podcasts and indie rock are weird to them on a road trip?

Or, do I write about my parent’s cat Floyd, whom as some of you know, sends out the occasional email?  He has his own email signature and fax number.  He’s a tom cat extraordinare, or so says his emails.

It’s been strange being ‘home’ this time.  Much is familiar, but not in a nostalgic or endearing way.  Almost everything serves as a reminder of how much I don’t fit in.  I’m not a small town girl.  Knowing that now, at 27, helps put my country high school experience into perspective.  I had great friends, and a good go of school, but I know now what I was fearful of believing then.  As the Sesame Street song goes “…one of these things is not like the others….”

It’s my challenge now to guard myself against even a hint of superiority.  Any taste of snobishness.  Any reason I could give people here for resenting city life elsewhere.

Back to Vancouver in less than 2 weeks.

McLovin’

On the last leg of our 5000km road trip out east, my sister, nephew and I stopped at the last McDonalds before our exit off the 401.

After dashing to the ladies room, I stepped back out and narrowly missed a pile of barf. My nephew saw the culprit, a cute little Asian child who apparently barfed after he ate.

This story gets interesting as I’m standing in line to get an ice cream, and can over hear the McDonald’s staff argue over who’s going to clean it up. No one wants to do it. The manager is going up to her friends and sharing the disgusting development while I watch them each give a look of horror.

What is amazing me about this though, is that not one of them is over the age of 20. Not even the manager.

As soon as I noticed, I peered around and saw 20 or more teenage employees busily frying and flirting. A girl passes a little too closely by a guy, both trying to get ice cream. She giggles, he blushes. There’s a playful exchange between the older ones–the girls insisting that its the guys turn to clean up the ’spill’, while the guys persuade the female manager to assign an intern to do it.

I could have watched the drama unfold for at least 22 minutes.

This is the kind of place where Kendal is dating Brittany, but secretly messing around with Jasmine after their late shifts finish. Kevin and Petro, both forgotten nuggets in the coolness frier, are both not-so-secretly in love with Sarah, while Katrine and Christy are obsessed with the cute older guy who comes in to fill the vending machines.

All this set in a bustling backdrop of the world’s most famous highway pit stop.

As long as they didn’t cast it with 28-32 year olds, and set it in Orange County, I would watch this maybe. Especially if punctuated with mini-threads dealing with the gloriously mind-numbing goals a chain sets out for its employees.

And as long as there wasn’t barf in every episode.

A vacation post that doesn’t have to do with TV

I’ve realized that most of what I’ve found to write about recently has had to do with television.  So here are some thoughts sans la toob.

There was this guy, well tanned and blazer wearing, in the lobby of the Delta Halifax yesterday.  He strode up to the prestige desk and smiled loudly in his announcer voice “MAX POWER–HELLO.”  We looked over at him and he flashed these neon white teeth.  I was simultaneously drawn in and repulsed.  This guy’s last name was ‘Power’.  For real!

I’ve noticed a lot of decorative lobster around the maritimes.  Little lobster plush toys with a nor wester hat and little yellow rain jacket.  Lobster t-shirts about getting boiled to death, and what I feel to be the piece de resistance–Nova Scotian lobsters that have red shaggy hair under a plaid beret, while wearing the little yellow rain jacket.  Ha!  They just look so happy to be out here in New Scotland, staying dry and feeding the touristy masses.

Will I bring home such treasures for family and friends?  Possibly.

Those Scottish lobsters just make me giggle.

This vacation brought to you by cable

Being on a family vacation is less nebulous than regular I’m-on-my-own vacation time.  I know where the time goes.  I’m in the car.  I’m in our hotel, eating roomservice (my sister loves it), and cable-binging.  I’m wandering around Canadian touristy things.

Things I’ve liked:

1.  I survived a Japanese game show.  Have you SEEN this?!?  I just watched a segment where someone had giant crane arms and had to pick up gigantic stuffed animals while being electronically controlled by their teammates.  Why hasn’t north America found this sooner!?!  Love it.

2.  Wipeout.  I know, I know.  This show is shamelessly embarrassing for the people on it.  But I can’t help but laugh when grown adults through themselves onto giant red balls only to bounce off like a rag doll into a pit of mud.  Not a sophisticated TV palatte, but who cares!  Dessert for breakfast!

3.  The hotel gyms.  No one is in them this time of year, and I can linger on cardio machines regardless of posted 20 minute warnings.  I did have a bit of a dark thought yesterday when it was just me and one other guy.  I started planning my escape if he tried to attack or something.  I think thoughts like these stem from my dramatic increase in TV consumption.

4.  Movies!  I’ve seen Interview with a Vampire and Hellboy on TV; Spiderwick Chronicles, and Wanted in the theatre.  (don’t see Wanted if you’re sensitive to the f-bomb or gratitious violence.  This one is like Fight Club’s younger, less cool cousin.)  But one I really loved was, and prepare yourselves to mock me, was Step Up 2. The dancing was AMAZING!!!!!!   Plot–thin and predictable, but the dancing.  Oh the dancing!

5.  Oh, and all the Canada stuff we’ve seen.  (ha!)

Moncton and a surprising number of motorcycles.

So, after a long day in the car, most of which I spent napping, we’re here in Moncton.  I’ve never really been to New Bruinswick, so this is cool to see.

We’re staying downtown in a nice hotel, but to be honest as we drove into the city, I didn’t really see anything..well….that interesting about Moncton.

What isn’t as interesting as it sounds is the biker festival that is happening directly out our window.  Have you ever noticed that most bikers who go to these things look middle aged and maybe, like they’re dentists during the day?

The band right now is covering ‘I can’t get no satisfaction’ by the Stones—and I’m sad to say this, kinda badly.  (sorry to poo poo on things a la internet)

I’m sure that nature and stuff will redeem my first impressions.

So you think you can dance!

I’m in Quebec city right now, about to leave for Moncton in the morning.  I’ve enjoyed wandering around the touristy bits of Old Town and watching my sister exclaim that ‘everything is so old” and ‘no one here can merge properly!!!’

But, what I really want to blog about is a show that I’ve watched this week in what is turning out to be a mini hotel-cable binge.

Karen Ho, a woman with taste I also greatly admire, *loves* this show.  And what is this show?

So you think you can dance?

I’m hooked!  These people are so talented!  I find myself saying things about their performances like I know something about dance.  I find myself popping and locking a little as I chair dance.  I find myself having to reach down deep into the patience well when the channel gets changed.

I find myself becoming attached!

There may be future posts on this, I don’t know.  I’m just so excited to visually partake in this dance-y goodness.

Once

On the behest of Joshua Murray Robinson, a man with taste I admire, I rented the movie ‘Once’. A tale of two drippingly talented down-and-out musicians who find one another, set in Dublin as its back drop.

The two lead actors are actual musicians and I found myself most in awe of their talent.

The movie does seem a little rough around the edges visually at times, but I think this may be part of its charm.

The disarmingly beautiful thing about this movie is its soundtrack. Watch the movie and then give it a listen, that’s all I can say.

Sometimes vacation is like a black hole

I’ve been home in Vancouver for a week, and it literally feels like the time has been forcefully sucked away into some nebulous vacation black hole.

This sounds dreary.  Anything being forcefully sucked away into a black hole sounds dreadful, but vacation black holes are different.  They should be called ‘passion fruit smelling-soft breeze-can’t say no-fun centres’.  That sounds more accurate, but its a bit long.  I’ll keep working on it.

The concept is this.  I have a week plus some change, of free– largely unstructured days where my goal is to chill, go to Vancouver specific appointments (orthotics!) and do whatever I want.  I wake up late, wander downstairs, chat with housemates for an hour or two, go to an appointment, get home later than I thought, have random dinner party, stay up late socializing, and wake up and do it all over again the next day.

I have had a week of such wonderful sounding days.  Yet, I feel that vacation’s  “gravitational field is so powerful that nothing, not even light [or my best intentions to read, exercise, clean, or blog], can escape its pull after having fallen past its event horizon.“

Despite my having loved this past week I am left with this nagging feeling that is akin to having been duped in a car purchase or having gone on a date that as it turns out, wasn’t a date.  And THAT feeling, is killing my passion-fruit smelling vacation buzz, just a little.

If you don’t agree, don’t take it up with me.  Write a strongly worded letter to black-hole vacations, and let me know if you hear back.  It could be insightful.

My mom loves Miami Ink

Things have come full circle.

My mom–the same mom who gasped ‘what have you done!’ when she saw my newly pierced nose in first year University, admitted to me today that her TV vice is watching Miami Ink and LA Ink a tad obsessively.

The conversation came about as I had to admit to my mom that as a present to myself for my 27th birthday, I got a tattoo.  That’s right, you read that correctly.  I got a tattoo.

LA Ink is actually my mom’s favourite.  She loves Kat Von D and her team of women tattoo artists, and actually asked me today if I’d ever thought of becoming a tattoo artist.  And.this.was.her.idea.    Amazing!

She told me all about how Kat had set herself the goal of setting the world record for doing the most tattoos ever in a period of 12 hours.  She did 400 small ‘LA’s’ –the design from her show, and made the Guinness Record books.  Mom was amazed to hear that my tattoo only took about 20min to do, and was delighted to hear that the best guy in the city was able to fit me in, when normally people book a year in advance to see him.  She sounded proud of me.

I have the coolest mom ever!

It was a great conversation.

Oh, you’re probably wondering what the tattoo is of, and where it is on me and other such tantalizing details.  It’s a large black tattoo that says ‘Calgary Project 2008 RoXX’ across my chest.  The tattoo guy suggested my ankle or shoulder, but I was set—its across the chest or NOTHING.

But seriously, I did get a small tattoo–its beautiful, of something I love and makes me smile when I see it.  I promise I’ll post more about it and what it is to get your first tattoo when you’re 27, later.

Basketball, beaches and boys.

Having just arrived last night back into Vancouver after a longish drive from Calgary, I’ve already visited my neighbourhood starbucks twice, laid on the beach at Spanish banks and hung out with housemates Andrew and Dan pretty much non-stop. Oh, and I’m headed to sushi for dinner.

It’s so good to be back!

On thursday, the night before all the staff from Calgary project went on their separate ways, me and the boys happened to catch game 4 of the NBA finals.  I had forgot how much I like an exciting basketball game.  I was on the edge of my seat….about sports(!), and felt the adrenaline surge as the Celtics made a 24 point comeback to beat the Lakers.  I also felt like I could be a good ‘guys girl’ in that moment.  This made me think that if I took up golf, I’d be practically irresistible.  But then I remember how much I like Art history, not getting dirty, NOT camping, and sharing my feelings.

Oh well.  On to game 5 this Sunday!