timeline

Inspired by Andy Brown's speech to Ephram in this week's episode, I decided to close my eyes and visualize where I would be in five years and figure out what I had to do to get me there. Well, as I closed my eyelids, the first thought that came to mind was, "In five years, I'll be thirty...well, twenty-nine, going on thirty. Holy crap! I'm too old for this visualization stuff. I need to get a life. That's what I need five years from now...a life." With that, my eyes flew open as I burst out laughing. Moment gone.

With that, I bring you stuff stolen from other people's blogs and modified for my own purposes...

10 years ago today, I would have been...
1. A tenth grader with ambitions of becoming the next Frank Lloyd Wright
2. Looking forward to my two week stint shadowing a much cooler third-year engineering student as part of a high-school/university co-op exchange program.
1. Shy and insecure.

5 years ago today, I would have been...
1. In my third year of University, officially having declared my intention to major in English Literature, after ditching the whole science thing and thereby dashing my parents' hopes of me entering the medical, dental, or engineering professions.
2. Living with my sister in a great little apartment on campus.
3. Getting ready to move to Victotria for my first job...and learning to be comfortable with being alone in a new place.

3 years ago today, I would have been...
1. Working at BC Hydro, trying to decipher my cube-mate's Portuguese conversations with her nanny while writing too many long e-mails to a girl that I evetually dated months later.
2. Figuring out that I probably wanted to be a graphic designer when I graduated.
3. Really giving serious consideration to the question of what I was going to do with the rest of my life.

1 year ago today, I was...
1. Just returning from a two-month long business trip in Toronto.
2. Itching to get back on the road.
3. And out of the house.

So far this year, I have...
1. Become more jaded and cynical, much to my dismay.
2. Been offered opportunities in Greece, Saudi Arabia, Minneapolis, and Texas, only to be forced to turn them down. (Only the last one was my decision.)
3. Travelled to New York. Alone.

Yesterday, I...
1. Started to wrap my head around my sister's upcoming wedding.
2. Went to the movies. Alone.
3. Started writing a handwritten letter to a friend.

Today, I...
1. Overslept.
2. Nodded and smiled a lot while the boss man yammered on with his hands flailing around madly in front of him as he gesticulated. I tuned him out after the first sentence. I don't think he caught on.
3. Finished several ads and crossed off many an item on my to-do list.

Tomorrow, I...
1. Will go to work early and give my "wife" a big welcome back hug.
2. Will give an orientation to my new assistant and b/s my way through his training.
3. Will carpe the diem a little more, and find out what the future holds for me.


Day Dreamer :: Donovan Frankenreiter

case of the existential detectives

Had a lunch meeting with my sister, her faince and my friend C, the wedding planner. I ordered the Indian lamb curry, which tasted like Irish stew...with beef. Should have known better than to order a curry from a wannabe British pub chain located in Vancouver and expect it to be authentic.

After lunch, I decided to go watch I *heart* Huckabees. It was a little zany, but I enjoyed it. Not exactly Oscar-worthy performances, but thought-provoking in a light-hearted presentation. I probably would have enjoyed it more if the theatre hadn't been so suffocatingly hot. In the middle of the movie, I started stipping of any removable layers that could be taken off without crossing the boundaries of common decency. Although in hindsight, the theatre was pitch dark, so nobody would have batted an eyelash at my exposure - indecent or otherwise.

Check out the corporate website, if you have time. It's a piece of work in and of itself. Reminds me of Sam Walton's place, only more upscale. Speaking of which, I found out yesterday at the exhibit that Walton has more people in uniform than the entire US Army. Scary!


Blackbird :: Sarah McLachlan

change is good

....or is it?

Went downtown today to check out the Massive Change exhibit, which is making its world permiere at the VAG. Visually delicious, the exhibit traces the multiple interconnections between design and human existence, and the ways the two interact and affect each other. More importantly, it showcases the bounds of human inventiveness and discusses the dystopian possibilities that could lie ahead.

That Bruce Mau, he's amazing. After walking through the gallery, I decided that I wanted to be his disciple. Thing is, I can't really afdford to shell out $12,000 for tuition without going into debt. I just paid off my student loan debt. I'm not exactly looking to go through that again. Maybe I'll just buy the book.

Finished off the day with some window shopping along Robson Street and a dinner of Chicken Shawrama on Rice, Tabouleh, and Pita wedges with Hummus. A scrumptious end to a crisp fall day. I had a craving for something fruity and sweet, so I made myself some fresh raspberry sorbet when I got home...from scratch. Believe it!


Shooting Star (In Spite of it All) :: Jeremy Fisher

bursting at the seams

I almost lost my thumb today.

Okay, perhaps that's a little melodramatic. I was cropping down a proof at work today, and without paying attention, i sliced the top of my thumb open. It was one of those weird moments where you realize what's happenening while it's happening, but are powerless to stop it. Kind of like a car wreck. I could have kicked myself for being so stupid!

Anyway, bleed, bleed, bleed. Gush, gush, gush. It was a messy sight. I had planned on just bandaging it and sucking it up, but when I realized how bad it might be, I made a mad dash to the first aid guys in the office. Luckily, I was greeted by Rob, one of my favorite firast aid guys. He cleaned and wrapped my finger in a cool pressure bandage (which was complimented by the nurse who did my initial examination a few hours later), then called and got someone to drive me to emergency to get it stitched up.

I don't think he actually told them why I needed to get to emergency - just that I needed to go, so when Britta got the call, a bit of a panic ensued. They tried to find Terry, because he drives like a madman, they rationalized, and could get me there faster. But it would take forever to track him down, so it would probably be faster for her to send Katie.

Katie ended up being my personal ambulance and rushed me to a walk-in clinic nearby. We reasoned that I'd probably get stitched up faster and have a shorter wait than if I went to emergency. Plus, Katie has a bit of a crush on the the doctor at this particular clinic, so this plan wasn't without its ulterior motives.

We made fun of people in magazines while we waited, and as we shuffled through the stack of magazines, we found a pad of viagra stationary. I took one quick look at it and knew that I had to steal a sheet or two for posterity. My favorites are point four and point five.


how to make viagra work for you

4. You need sexual stimulation in order for Viagra to work.

[Followed by a picture of a man puckering up.]

5. Viagra doesn't work for everyone the first time they take it, so try again another day.

[Accompanied by an image of calendar pages flying off as they are being torn. "If at first you don't succeed, try, try, try again?")

Anyway, when I finally went it, Dr. H decided to shoot me with a bunch of needles. Tetanus, lidocaine, sutures... The Tetanus booster was cake, but lucky for me, I cut myself right where the nerve endings are, so I was howling in pain by the time the last two needles went in. Dr. H gave me this explanation and then then said, it's gonna hurt real bad, but it doesn't make you any less tough..."

As the needles went in, I holwed back, "I don't care how tough or simpy I come across...that hurts like HELLl!!!" Followed by, "Ohgod! ohgod! ohgod!" in rapid succession.

Because one of the stitches was near the nail, he didn't use any lidocaine for that one...just went straight at it. I was warned ahead of time, but I still cursed under my breath in every language I could conjure up!

As brutal as he sounds, Dr. H was actually pretty great throughout the whole thing - joking with me as we went on. I never understood Katie's crush on him before, but now that I've met him. I totally get it. He is, like, the nicest man ever. As Dr. H walked me back out to the waiting room, I spotted Katie peeking up from behind the pages of her magazine, all flustered and excited to catch a glimpse of him.

"Wasn't he the greatest?" she gushed as we walked out of the clinic.

I have a hunch that she'll volunteer to drive me back next week when I have go back to get my stitches taken out.


Between Signal & Noise :: Elvind Aarest

neither half-empty nor half-full

Just finished mediating an argument between my sister and our parents about the wedding guest list. She wants to keep it to a manageable number so that she and the husband-in-waiting can stick to budget. The parental units want to invite everyone who ever said hello to them in passing. Asked where he expects the money to come from for all these extra guests, my dad responds in a sing-song voice, "God will provide."

Aggravated, I almost stormed out of the room with clenched fists, a furrowed brow, and thunderclouds circling my head.

Lord, forgive me for being a realist.