The Kat's Table

I am so punny.

I semi-impromptu attended an event held by the Vancouver International Writer's Festival this evening. I say semi-impromptu because I had looked into attending a few weeks ago but then with life the event slipped my mind.

I'm so glad I remembered though!

Tonight I heard Micheal Ondaatje read from his new novel "The Cat's Table" and then have a nice q&a and book signing.


The event didn't quite start at 7:30 as the start time promised but that's what happens with these sort of things!

I sat alone but had lovely discussions with the folks around me. The lady to my right told me I looked "very avant garde" and "Very French." I was wearing my Banana Republic Beige Trench and my Paris beret! Oh la la!

But back to the event, it took place at St. Andrew's Wesley Church on Nelson Street @ Burrard. The church was pretty big and it was packed!!!

As Ondaatje read from his new novel in his authoritatively soothing voice the audience laughed at appropriate times.

When the question period began he remarked "I have to think and talk at the same time?"

Although, Ondaatje took the ship in the 50s from Sri Lanka to England just as his character Micheal did, he does not remember the journey and so was able to invent it.

The title "The Cat's Table" came about while he was having a phone conversation with someone in Germany who remarked she had been sat at the cat's table. Ondaatje had to ask what it was and his phone partner explained it was the worst table at an event. For a while it seemed to hold the novel together for him.

The audience question period went fairly well despite the acoustics in the church weren't all that great (odd for a church) and the one person who felt they needed to hear themselves talk and told an exceptionally long story that wasn't relevant to The Cat's Table. Luckily, Ondaatje was very diplomatic and guided this person to sit back down when she tried to ask a second question by pointing out the line behind her.

One of the best parts of the Q&A was when he discussed the two landscapes that have shaped him and his craft. He gives dues to his roots and where he put down roots. I think that's very noble and very true to his literature.

I got in line to have my book signed and was it moved along I looked around and noticed who I thought was David Chariandy. One of the VIWF staff walked by me so I asked just to make sure.

It was him! I had to make a decision and I decided that the line would still be there and David might not. Hoping out of line I went and introduced myself to him. Reading his novel Soucouyant for my Fourth year English class helped me huge to deal with my Grandfather's dementia. I even passed the novel along to my mother for her to read and understand further.



I am so very glad that I jumped out of line. My heart was such a flutter and I was so starstruck!

I got my book signed by Ondaatje and floated home.

The past is still, for us, a place that is not safely settled.
Michael Ondaatje

Fall Fashion

I had been scouring the new Vintage shops in my area. Which was overwhelming for many reasons.

1) The sheer amount in Vancouver is INSANE!

2) Though the clothes are vintage the prices reflect Vancouver. Not what my little Ontario self is used to.

3) I was lost in SO many wonderful things!!

My head spinning and after trying on closets of clothes. I figured it out. I wasn't looking for anything specific. I wasn't focusing.

Key to vintage shopping: Know what you are looking for.

That being said, I have decided my next purchases will be.

A) A Leather Skirt. Ideally, this will be black or red and fitted. BUT I will consider a dark purple or blue. And vintage of course.



B) A giant bulky sweater. Something a bit tacky will be best.



That one can be found at Forever21. I think the colour is brilliant and perfect for Fall!

c) I need flat over the knee boots. I'm kicking myself for not buying the Kate&Mel's I found last year. I'm thinking a Grey or Cognac would be great!

I like those but the have had trouble with Quality from Aldo before.

Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months.
Oscar Wilde

I love Oscar Wilde!

Laundry Tip!

Allo all!

I ran into some mess at work last week when I spilled so much tomato soup on my white work shirt! One of Two! Which meant it needed to be washed ASAP!!

However, due to moving pains I'm still in the process of getting all the "essentials" in my apartment and did not have laundry detergent OR coins for the laundry machine.

Uh oh!

What is a girl to do????

I filled my bathtub with hot hot water (I rinsed the shirt in question off at work, luckily I had brought one to change into!) and threw the shirt in.

I then used Dawn Dishsoap where I had spilled, rubbed it in, and let it sit.



Came back a little bit later and the stain was almost gone! So I rubbed, rubbed, rubbed where the stain was (just the shirt against the shirt).

Voila! Stain gone!

I really felt this tip should be passed on, just in case!

It's better to have loved and lost than to have to do forty pounds of laundry a week.
Laurence J. Peter

Toodles!

One Step Forward.

Two steps sideways.

I've made a really big move in my life for various reasons. It was a long time coming and leaving home whether for good or bad needed to occur, however, everyone knows that cat's don't adjust well to change and are very stuck in their ways.

This move has been really hard for me in more ways than I imagined. And I'm not going to pretend I don't end up crying myself to sleep most nights or that I am thrilled I decided to move so far out of my comfort zone.

I still don't see these potholes as steps back though. Two steps back would be where I was a year ago, in the same position but living with no fear of failure and looking no where but back.

I have moved forward and to the side. My life has never followed any traditional path to anything, so why would it start that now.

I also decided to try my hand at painting, to ease some of the extra stress, anxiety and sadness that I'm experiencing. I have "completed" four paintings so far and each is so different from the rest but each one calmed me down and focused my mind.

I'm not sure I could make a living off painting but I am sure that I need to get back to my creative roots so I can continue on my forward march.



"This life is what you make it. Not matter what, you're going to mess up sometimes, it's a universal truth. But the good part is you get to decide how you're going to mess it up. Girls will be your friends - they'll act like it anyway. But just remember, some come, somg go. The ones that stay with you through everything - they're your true best friends. Don't let go of them. Also remember, sisters make the best friends in the world. As for lovers, well, they'll come and go too. And babve, I hate to say it, most of them - actually pretty much all of them are going to break your heart, but you can't give up becuase if you give up, you'll never find your soul mate. You'll never find that half who makes you whole and that goes for everything. Just because you fail once, doesn't mean you're gonna fail at everything. Keep trying, hold on, and always, always, always believe in yourself, because if you don't, then who will, sweetie? So keep your head high, keep your chin up, and most importantly, keep smiling, because life's a beautiful thing and there's so much to smile about."
— Marilyn Monroe

Yogini Don't Got No Problems.

While in Kingston I was introduced to Bikram's Hot Yoga. A 90-min yoga class completed in a heated room. I fell in love.

However, due to money (and excuses) I only went to classes once a week when the money was donated to charity-so the cost was reduced.

Unfortunately, my fourth year became too busy for me to continue to practice. Between classes, work, and synchronized swimming (usually 4 times a day) there just wasn't room to fit yoga in.

Moving home I tried to find a Bikram's Yoga to restart my practice. The problem lay in the fact that Hamilton was not yet "up to date" on these practices when I was looking and fear got in my way of trying something new and different. (Kathleen is pretty good at sticking to things she knows...though she is trying to break this habit)

There were a few "hot" yoga places but nothing really got me excited. Then out of the blue? I'm not even sure how I found it but I discovered Moksha Yoga Hamilton in May.



Signing up for one month unlimited to get me started, I wasn't sold the first couple times. It is calmer and more serene than Bikram's yoga. Which is what I was used to. The classes also range in length. So walking out of the 60 minute class I felt a bit "ripped" off so to speak.

Then something changed. I let go of the expectations I had and stopped comparing. This isn't just exercise but it's living in the moment, breathing out the negative, finding your intention for an hour, for a day, for a week, for your life, and it's moving with that breathe to get you where you want to be.

Unfortunately, I got pretty sick for a while and missed out on the last week or so of my monthly pass. But I had planned to continue and resigned up for their Summer Unlimited package despite leaving in August.

I've now gone to yoga 8 days straight, tomorrow will make 9 and even though some days I do "better" than others in regards to the postures I stop worrying and focus on my breathing. So long as I'm giving 110% of the energy I have THAT day, I feel good about my practice.

The series is similar and different from Bikram's but I take it as it is. I try to slow my movements and take my time getting into the postures, being aware of my entire body and when things get tough...wait for it..wait for it...getting back in touch with my...wait...wait...breathe!

I'm trying to take this breathe approach with life. I'm also trying to soak up everything the Yogini's tell me about postures and yoga. I also love when they correct my postures. I like knowing my practice isn't "perfect" but it's me.




Standing Tree.

Time to get ready to Shavasana. ;) (See what I did there??)

Namaste [The God/Goddess Spirit within me recognizes and honors the God/Goddess Spirit within you.]

Oh Canada!

I have been very quiet the last month and a half. Truth is, I got rejected to my Graduate programs (Thanks Creative Writings UBC and UVic) and it shook me up. Rejection, even when you know it is probable, is hard. It is even harder when it is based around your hopes and dreams.

So here I am. Trying to force myself back into the swing of things.

I have finished working at the shoe store (and my shoe collection is happy for that). June 30th was my last day, which meant I could head to (another entry) Moskha Yoga, pack and head to my friend's house for a sleep over before OTTAWA!

Yes, I did get up at 5am in order to celebrate Canada's birthday in Ottawa with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

We arrived around 11am, got ready and headed downtown getting to Parliament Hill to see the empty carriage that carried Will and Kate being pulled away.



On the way down we stopped for some tasty, unsweetened aka perfect, lemonade thanks to a life-long friend and her silliness (but really here awesomeness).

Upon arriving at the Hill the amount of people was overwhelming and moving through the crowd my friends and I held hands like in kindergarten in order to stay together. We got in front of the big screen and I oohed and awed over Kate's fabulous fashion sense and outfit. Then I "ewed" at Stephen Harper. We tried to get some photos off the screen and a few were successful!



The crowds.



Will and Kate singing "God Save the Queen"


I will say this though, the amount of infants and dogs was ridiculous. Crowds and heat of those proportions are NO place for the young, elderly (who really weren't present) and animals. On top of that, the overly rotund pug that needed to do his business on the sidewalk in the middle of the crowd...was not amusing.

HOWEVER, we had a tasty lunch at Dunn's and then headed to the National Gallery (Free admission!) to get out of the heat. We wandered through the gallery and I got to "teach" my friends a little from my first year Art History knowledge.



Outside the National Gallery.

Honestly, we were tired and Mother Canada smiled on us. We walked out into a gorgeous atrium where we had a nice 20-30 minute nap...that was interrupted when a security guard came to check on us. I'm assuming they were getting some intoxicated persons wandering in and wanted to keep everyone safe.

At this point though we figured we could keep going and headed outside to the "club." The amount of energy some of the dancers had was off the wall so we soaked up some rays and enjoyed their dancing until I spotted the Quality Street Street team and we all know I love chocolate....and Quality Street is one of my favourites!

I trotted over and asked what was happening...taking handfuls of the orange cream chocolates. Turns out if you followed them on Twitter via your mobile and showed them they'd give you a free limited edition tin with Will and Kate on it!! Obviously my cell was not cooperating but the lovely Street Team let me have a tin and so I followed them once my mobile complied. :D

Lots of tasty treats for me! (I still have a few left, don't you worry ;))

We ended up slowly making our way back to our humble abode through the market, and along the canal, got showered and rested and then headed back downtown for the concert! Well, really we missed most of it BUT we caught Great Big Sea and the night matched our day. Completely perfect.



Analicia's First Beaver Tail in the Market.



The Fireworks were sensational and we headed to the market and ended our night at one of their great pubs saluting Alexander Keith!



I really just had the most perfect Canada Day. Thank you Ottawa and lovelies for that!

To end. Let's all look at how cute my outfit was. :D

Keep Calm and Carry On

I have a lot of blog posts running around in my head but I thought today I'd do something a bit short and then leave a list of what's to come. Partly so I don't forget and partly to keep myself accountable.

I've been feeling better about life lately and I'm not sure if that's just a change in attitude based on discussions and interactions with the wonderful friends I have in my life. Or if it's because I recently caved and purchased one (then a second) Mala from Tiny Devotions- http://www.lovetinydevotions.com/

I first got the Mala of Intuition and Dreams to help bring me back to a place of calm and ease. Get back in touch with me. I've always been really intuitive about life and had intense dreams but the past year has been rough for me being home and cluttered in life. And the previous couple years were just tough for many reasons. My friend also pointed out that the colour would go wonderful with my eyes. Fashion and spirituality!

Then I got the Creative Catalyst. I've been working on a novella for too long it seems and just in general my creative energy has been lacking. Tie it together with the connection to the heart chakra and it was as if this Mala was designed with me in mind. How lovely.

The two go perfect together and are wonderful apart.Whether this is 'just the Mala's' or a combination of wonderful friends, change of perspective and the Mala's. I have not felt so much like me in a very long time. Let's just see if this sticks once all my big plans get set into true motion. ;)