better than a monday

[Over 5 years later, I came across my old blog. I'm just as awesome now as I was then :) Here's my last never-published post, posted as it was saved and never fully completed:]

so it's thursday.  this means half my week is done, one and a half weeks of working at the pub left, two weeks until summer work kicks in, and three days late on music monday.
i haven't really come across anything i fancy lately.  i was stoked at oj's last night when the boss came on and within a few notes i nailed it.  so then it brought to my mind this amazing musician/songwriter.  and i hadn't shared this yet.  and i wanted to.  i'm trying to procrastinate less so i am going to share it with you.  enjoy.  it's brilliant from the first note to the last.
and back to my ten in ten list (which quickly became my ten in eighty six or something like that....)

[no video was attached, procrastination proved]

day seven: four turn offs

1. over-apologizing

2. douche-baggery 

3. 

4. 

day eight: three turn ons

1.  simple: make me laugh.  it's just the best.

2. i have one ideal first date idea.  it's not conventional but pull it off and it could be perfect. 

3.  one little thing.  it's always different - whether it's a laugh, noticing the old couple by the river, following text with your finger while you read a menu, how you make coffee.... anything really. whatever grabs my attention and makes you different from the rest, i like it.

day nine: Two Smileys that describe your life right now

day ten: one confession


[And that's it]

a smile

i simply love things.
i love that i am able to be happy on my own in my own way.
i love that i can find just one thing that will make me genuinely smile and love every day.
i saw a man at the bus stop on my way home from work earlier this week. he had on a corduroy suit jacket and a tie of sorts and he was holding flowers. i assume they were from the flower shop on the corner - perhaps the most amazing flower shop i've ever been to. seeing him stand there, looking quite handsome and content holding the flowers.... i decided he was on his way to a date. perhaps a first date. and it made me smile all the way to my core. that is one lucky girl.

i have been quite lame in the music monday realm of things. so today, i bring you this. my latest favorite. so honest and amazing, everytime i listen to this, i get shiver a little and am very glad that there are talented and beautiful people like her that share their abilities and life with me.

 

music monday

SHOT AT THE DARK - Jocelyn Alice and Calvin Locke from Shot at The Dark on Vimeo.

Music Monday

Post Fernie.... beautiful friends and memories that will never fade.

Countdown to summer... stampede.lisa's wedding.the big 2-7.trips to the park with my favourite man in the whole universe (little LJ).wicked dented legs.maybe a trip out east to see my homegirl Mari & one up west to see my beloved Andrea.visiting baby c.perhaps a return to the armstrong ipe.target comes to canada.convocation in june.fun in the sun in a truck all summah.long weekends back down for floating golf dancing cliffjumping & bikerides.shakespeare in the park with a picnic.please come soon. but not too soon.

Lesson: Sometimes happiness is not knowing the whole story.
 

Music (Monday)

Monday came and went. It will be back.

someone buy me these.

please.

Etsy

A. Long. Weekend.

I like lists. Here is one of what I managed to accomplish this weekend (despite Sunday being a day I barely left the couch due to activities the previous evening that left me feeling a little wobbly and rather sick). two nights out with friends - long overdue. viet food in the dark with a friend. hair cut (finally). fabric shopping. fruit and veg restocking. rotisserie chicken. sewed shirts that needed sewing. made jean shorts. drank 3L+ of water. washed Edward. had a nice chat with my dad. hunted down some 5/8" rope and made a knot door stop (which is by far the coolest thing EVER). laundry. found the coolest rubber boots and trench coat so I am ready for spring. bath soaks. listened to a lot of Ryan Adams and Taylor Swift. maybe they should date. clean sheet Monday (because Sunday was a write-off, remember?). cleaned the kitchen. colored some vases. watched six-too-many episodes of the Kardashians. I think that about covers it.

Music Monday

Day Six: five people who mean a lot to you

(in no particular order):
my dad
leona
marlee
andrea
mari

Music Monday

Last week? Busy? Most certainly.

Day Five: Six things you wish you'd never done

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

i regret nothing.  i've thought long and hard about this one.
if i hadn't done something or met someone or chosen a certain path...
but i kept coming back to "well, actually, then i never would have..." done something else, met someone else or continued a journey.  it's so easy to regret __ in an instance but with a bit of thought, there is always some good that comes out of something that seems initially bad.

the best way to illustrate this is by giving you six amazing things that have happened to me since moving to Calgs four years ago.  the move meant giving up an opportunity in the nursing program at gprc - a choice that i find myself nearly regretting, especially recently given the whole i-have-a-degree-that-is-really-hard-to-utilize-damn-it state i find myself in.
-i met m.  and all the awesomeness that came with her.
-i gots myself a car. it's blue and is named after a fictional vampire character.  could life be more amazing?
-i attended my first nhl game.
-i discovered hidden talents - harmonica, knitting, yoga, fixer-of-all-that-can-break-in-an-apartment
-i have had the privilege of watching my nephew grow up given the close proximity to edmonton
-i learned the recipe to the best carrot soup. ever.  and the best waffles.  i bet my first cat on it.

Music Monday. On a Wednesday because it's how I roll this week.

Day Four: Seven things that cross your mind a lot

powerlines
kittens
lalalala
how can i fit a piano in my place?
boys boys boys
i love my hair
no pants

Music Monday

Not new.  But love.

Day Three: Eight Ways to Win Your Heart

say hello and don't ask me what I do
teach me something
call don't text sometimes
hug because it's more than a kiss
gift me a used copy of your favorite book
make me laugh so my stomach hurts the next day
take me two steppin'
take me to a gun range

(or be Bruce Springsteen circa 1984. He defined sexy, daaaaaayum)

Music Monday!!!

the video posted here was removed. sad panda.

Day Two: Nine Things About Yourself

1. I like liking stuff and things and people.  A lot.  I probably like you.
2. I eat my macaroni and cheese with ketchup.
3. I live like an old lady - with a cat, doing my morning crossword with coffee, knitting away the afternoons, wishing I could bake pies all day.
4. Laughing is my favorite.
5. I have an obsessive personality that's been my downfall more than once.
6. I've never been in love.
7. I feel entitled to take as many single-use jam, Splenda and peanut butter at diners as my purse will fit.
8. I have three secrets I have never told anyone.  That's why they are still secrets.
9. I am good at being alone but I don't like it.

Music Monday!!!

A beautiful concert last night with three very talented and amazing people.

Day One: Ten Things You Want to Say to Ten Different People

 1. (i'll leave this one blank for now)
 2. Maybe.
 3. You remind me every day that true love exists.
 4. We need to get a cat. It's that simple.
 5. You keep me coming back.
 6. You will always be remembered for your wit and charm. You should have been unstoppable.
 7. I know I should let this happen, but I can't.
 8. We should grow old together in cottages beside one another, knitting scarves and going for long walks and doing yoga on our porches and watching our grandchildren build tree forts.
 9. I should've visited you more and cherished every moment.
10. You are so giving and so amazing. I am pleased as punch we're friends.

Change of heart.

Scratch that last bit: Change of direction may be a more suitable title.
I have decided that saving the world and making a difference is hard.  Really hard.  Even heading in the direction of making a difference that matters is hard.  Really hard.  What does it even mean, "make a difference"?  I've said it umpteen times.  Dozens of people I know have said it.  Don't we all end up making a difference, somehow someway?  Maybe the standards are set too high for what making a difference is.  Maybe I've set those standards too high on my own... what a tangled web I find myself in.

5.5 years.
Thousands of dollars in student loans (some forgiveness, a-thank you, Mr. Government)
Copious amounts of learning - history, political science, sociology.....
How can one expect to make a difference that "matters"?  Matters to who?  How much?

In light of all of this, I keep finding myself back at my first choice nearly six years ago.  Nursing.  Maybe physio, even.  It really does seem to be a smart career move, if nothing else.  Is a change in direction like this going to fare well for me?  Am I willing to accept defeat if I need yet another alternative? Oh, life.  Who welcomed you to the table.  Another year has ended, summer is around the corner.  And life is hitting me hard in the face.  Boourns to the max.  Just the worst.