My good friend Helen is visiting from Australia, and though Edmonton isn't the most fascinating Canadian city, she gets to hang out here on the cheap for the next couple of weeks. She's on vacation in a nice, warm Canadian winter. I picked her up from the airport in Vancouver last Friday. We hung out in the city for a couple of nights, but decided that it was time to get the show on the road. While I was laughing with fascination at the green grass and blooming flowers, she stared at the mountains in the distance. I could live in Vancouver; if ever I come back from Australia to "settle" somewhere, I think it might be there.
Even though I am working this week, I've managed to dig up some energy to show her some of my favourite hang outs on Whyte Ave, whether it be only for a quick pint or a night out with friends and a band. In fact, I've been out every night since we've been back and we've had a great night every time.
Last night we played Punk-Rock Bingo at Filthy McNasty's where we watched a cheap swill drink-off tie-breaker through straws; the night before it was "Dringo" (Drinking-Bingo?) with two guys dressed up as a Tomato and a Carrot, who heckled Helen once they found out she was Australian. Oh, I won that one! My prizes: children's books from days long gone: Getting Ready and Games to Play. Entertaining Stuff!
This kind of entertainment at a pub isn't uncommon during the week. It's a regular event at both venues, year round. And yet, it's something completely unique to Helen. Is it the winter, the cold, that these places come up with interesting and entertaining gimmicks to get people to frequent their bars instead of staying home where it's warm and cozy? It's easy enough to stay at home with a movie -- and cheaper. But then we wouldn't have the joy of seeing two grown men jovially calling out number-letter combinations, trying to rhyme them with some turn of phrase! If this is a uniquely Canadian form of entertainment (or is it more localized to the prairies, or Alberta even?), I think I'll miss it. Or else, I've found a niche market for a business venture abroad.
I'm sure I'll be posting more observations on differences when Helen points out "We don't have anything like that in Australia!" The subtle differences in everyday things that I would normally pay little attention have become a cultural phenomenon. I'm so glad she's come to visit Canada!
Tonight I cooked some vegitarian chili for dinner (and lunch and dinner and lunch and... well, you get it: I made a lot), loosely following a recipe I had downloaded from the internet. The chili tasted good, so I let it sit and simmer while I cleaned up my mess. I then realised that I had a package of spinach in the microwave which the recipe called for in the last step. I stirred it in, meticulously breaking up the clumps. Then I tasted it, only to discover the addition of spinach had ruined the entire pot of chili! It was disgusting!
My options were clear: either pick out the spinach, or throw out the whole pot of chili. Not wanting to be wasteful, I began to pick out strands of spinach that were now evenly stirred into the mixture. At first it was easy enough, but it soon became tedious. I knew I had to continue until the chili tasted reasonably edible again. I stood at the stove for the better part of an hour (possibly more; I didn't really want to know how long...) and so had time to contemplate this result. I recognised my behaviour in this small incident reflects a part of my nature in general.
I followed some advice and made a mistake. Having recognised my error, I then looked at my options and decided to do whatever it is that I could to remedy the situation, even if that meant tediously fixing any details that I had the ability to correct.
When I told this to a friend, he claimed I was going too far to extract meaning from this situation, but I rather think of it as a metaphor. Instead of extracting meaning, I'm seeing from a perspective that he cannot. I am using chili as an example/analogy of my character/personality.
I just drove to Vancouver and back in the last few days and kept track of the kind of fuel mileage I was getting. Doing the calculations and converstions, I get about 26 miles per gallon on the highway - and that's going fast, on mountain roads. Or, if you prefer litres and kilometres, I get about 9.05L/100km. Why it's not a straight conversion from mpg to lpk I have no idea, but I know this is how it's measured. Not a very straight forward conversion, but it is much easier to figure out
The more I drive my car, the more I like it (but I still hate the seat belts! Damn seat belts!)... which isn't necessarily a good thing considering it could just eat up my cash!
I've made my decision a while ago: I'm going back to school. I know what I want to study next - the questions remaining are where? and when? and how? I still have to deliberate on those, but plans are forming, new information forcing me to adapt and reform those plans...
My choice of field? Science, Technology and Society. This is apparently a "new" field, and emerging field of study so new that few Canadian Universities even offer education at the postgradute level. It also appears that western civilization is beginning to feel the need for this kind of field. As Daniel H. Pink writes in "Revenge of the Right Brain:"
To flourish in this age, we'll need to supplement our well-developed high tech abilities with aptitudes that are "high concept" and "high touch." High concept involves the ability to create artistic and emotional beauty, to detect patterns and opportunities, to craft a satisfying narrative, and to come up with inventions the world didn't know it was missing. High touch involves the capacity to empathize, to understand the subtleties of human interaction, to find joy in one's self and to elicit it in others, and to stretch beyond the quotidian in pursuit of purpose and meaning.
This paragraph excites me, entices me, lures me into a world in which I know I can thrive. I feel that humanity/society will be facing major changes in the near future and I want to be there, directing the flow when it happens.
I am SO glad I graduated from elementary school! The skills I learned in the first grade are essential to my work these days. If my employers didn't trust me with sharp scissors and sticky glue, I couldn't actually do this work! And the colours! If I make the colours wrong, nothing would make sense to anyone who looked at my work. Yes, cutting and gluing, colouring and drawing. This is what I do. I can't wait for snack time (pretty soon this morning) and nap time, later in the afternoon. I hope I get to go outside for recess today.
