* not with ink

I have been thinking about jobs and careers and money a whole bunch lately. I have a job, but not the career I want. I have money, but not enough. It surprises me to say both those things, but they are true. I am not highly career-oriented, but I have realized that if/since I will spend 40 hours a week contributing to some sort of business endeavour, I want it to be something that I fully buy into, somewhere I would recruit my friends to join me, where the vision is to accomplish something bigger than ourselves. I don't care about being overly-rich, but I have come to value three things that I am not currently able to afford; living debt-free, saving money for the future and being able to travel. The first two seem obvious. The third: I'm not a big spender in most areas of life, and am most likely to "indulge" myself in a trip to visit far-away friends or see a new part of the world. I feel okay about this. As I have been thinking and talking about my ...

It may not feel quite as spring-like this week, but I have started doing a spring-clean of my closet (also in preparation for the May move)... and what I've found is this: I need some new clothes. I have a love/hate relationship with buying new clothes. Things I love include: - new things! new colours, no pilling, no fading. - hiding my inner awkward with the external trappings of "cool" - anticipating the first-wearing of a new purchase and saving it for a special occasion. - taking risks and feeling successful (like my new red jeans! beet red, not cherry red.) Things I hate include: - dressing rooms. - all the clothes that don't fit right when I want them to - the line between fashionable and faux-pas can be very thin - I often feel I compromise on either budget, quality, or ethics - clothes that only fit/work for 2 washes. ugh. bitter disappointment. With that preface, I am asking y'all to give me some input: 1. What fashion styles do you ...

Sat in a cafe yesterday morning with a whole bunch of people, but I was so distracted by the song going round and round in my head. I wanted to drive down a country road with my windows down and the music loud and my voice belting out the chorus as exuberantly as the lead singer does in this video. My body tells me no! But I won't quit Cause I want more, cause I want more* * in typical hipster/indie fashion, I am not sure exactly what this song is about. The music video only confused me further.

I have showered, journalled, and now am scrolling through some of the Lenten reflections at The Painted Prayerbook : Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. —Psalm 51.2 Creatures of dust and mud that we are—as we were reminded on Ash Wednesday, at the outset of this Lenten pilgrimage—it’s not that God needs for us to be all tidy in order to come into the presence of God. We are already there. Yet we carry so much that can serve to insulate us from recognizing and being present to the God who is always present to us, and who still perceives our beloved shape beneath the layers of grime that cling to our souls. The distractions we build our lives around; the harm we cause others or ourselves; our inability to see ourselves as God sees us: how might we allow God to wash all this away, not so that God can see us more clearly, but so that we can see the God who makes a home within us? (from Day 25 ) Daaaaaaaang. I need these thoughts. Restore ...

a. I like to eat my lunch on the front step of the office. As a result, my freckles are returning and I got a slight sunburn yesterday. b. I am going to Vancouver at the end of May for a weekend reunion/wedding. c. It is time to fix my iPod so I can plug in my headphones while walking through the city. d. Tonight I am going to do some art! Haven't done any photos in weeks, as my schedule keeps filling up with other good things and great people. e. Jesus and I have been walking to work most mornings this week. I want to make this a habit that lasts. f. The music exchange is making me really happy. I am so hopeful that my friends will discover new music they love through me. I am excited to see what perfect songs they send me. And why aren't more of you begging to get in on this!? g. Here is a sample of what I'm currently singing along to: h. New friends are delightful, especially when they are the same kind of crazy as I am. It's reassuring to know I...

I am done my mixes. The Great Music Exchange is underway, and I have just added my albums to the mix. One for each category: Late Night Cocoa and All the Bells & Whistles . Now I want to share them with ALL OF YOU! Do you want to hear my tune selections?  Just let me know.

I would very much like to be in the crowd at this concert right now. I keep telling myself that it'll be fine You can't make everybody happy all of the time

As I've mentioned before ,* I sometimes mark things as unread in my Google Reader so I can keep coming back to them. Currently, I can't get enough of these: from Dallas Clayton. Amazing poet & artist. from A Softer World . Sometimes inappropriate. Sometimes profound. Always random. from Marc Johns. Another randomly hilarious art-maker. from Jackiedrawswhat , my friend. Whom I adore. *holy crap that post was almost a year ago where has time gone and what has even happened in between now and then and oh goodness what will this next year hold... (yes, that is a major run-on sentence, but it's how it was in my head.)

Had an impromptu sleepover with my friend Katie last night. After a flight cancellation left her "stranded" in Toronto for 24 hours, she filled her day visiting friends... I was honoured to receive an invite, but was out of town for a wedding shower (fun times were had by all ) until late at night. So then I packed an overnight bag and headed to the Marriott. Besides envying her fashion and valuing her commitment to learning, I love Katie's wit. Here are two brief bites of our conversations: me: (telling story) ... I'm the Queen of Awkward. her: I think I could give you a run for that crown. We should have a Pageant of Awkward. me: Yes, yes we should. her: We live in different provinces though, so you could be Miss Awkward Ontario and I will be Miss Awkward Alberta. this morning, as she walked me out of the hotel: her: I'm going to give you an awkward goodbye in the lobby, like I paid you to stay overnight with me. me: I am the least-believable-l...

These three artists I used to listen to came across my ears this past week, each in a different context. Now I'm feeling an unexpected and welcome wave of nostalgia, youth and happiness. Weezer - El Scorcho I clearly remember my friend SJ introducing me to Weezer when we were in grade 7. Via her cassette tapes. Arctic Monkeys - Fake Tales of San Francisco Not sure how I discovered them, but the Arctic Monkeys played often on my first mp3 player in 2007. The Format - If Work Permits 2006, free downloads from emusic.com (do they still exist?) Strong memories of the early Vancouver days.

We are now a good chunk of the way into Lent. For the most part, I have kept my resolutions, and I feel fine about the few moments when I blurred the lines/made exceptions. (it's hard to go to a bridal shower and avoid all desserts without being rude) But even though I've been successful this far, I don't believe I'm actually "doing Lent" well. A few weeks back, my church talked about the disciplines of Lent. They were listed as: 1. to reflect intentionally on our patterns of life. 2. to pray and communicate with God more deliberately. 3. to repent for the things we have done, and the things we have failed to do. 4. to be generous to those in need. I'll be honest, I've done none of these things. I've only had baked goods/candy/dessert twice in the last three weeks; but does that matter at all, if it's not leading me into deeper, less superficial interactions with God? I am tempted to throw in the towel and return to my sweet t...

It's Sunday night and I am multi-tasking. Paid some bills, catching up on free musical downloads from the past month, thinking about the mix-tape I need to make and planning my last assignment for writing class. Shortly, I will abandon the laptop to write my first draft by hand. But until then, I am thinking about music. This song played for me earlier this afternoon, as I attempted to nap. I woke up somewhere between 5 and 5:30 this morning, then lay in bed until 8 o'clock flipping sides and thinking about every part of my life that exists. It wasn't stressful, but it wasn't quite restful either...This past month, I have spent a lot of time rebuffing lies and refusing to believe that the inside of my heart and mind can never change. I feel like Florence + The Machine 's song "Shake it Out" captures many of these feelings & thoughts. (addendum: is the line "I like to keep my issues strong or drawn ?" Lyrics sites have it as "stro...

Bach + Mandolin = amazing. This song has been circling my head for days now. I just love it. (If you also love it, you like Alasdair's taste in music, and should probably participate in our Great Music Exchange . Wealready have half a dozen mixologists working on their lists!) The night outside is five below His heart is pumping blood On his lips a perfect smile His eyes begin to flood

On Friday, I had SO MANY ideas and thought for blog entries. This morning, most of them have slipped my mind, and the 2 remaining feel like they would take far more energy than I have to write them. It's amazing what three days can do. --- Among other things... On Friday, I wrote my second-to-last writing assignment. I'm feeling pretty sad about finishing this class. I need another writing challenge/opportunity. I made a new friend on Saturday, and she is great. I was nervous about an hour-and-a-half drive with someone I didn't know. On Sunday, I drank a mimosa while listening to an unreal story about a friend's very exciting & secretive creative project. --- I am falling behind on my music listening, because I still have not repaired my iPod headphone jack. I need to change my phone plan. Hopefully, I can do it in person this afternoon. I refuse to do it by phone; I'd honestly rather just change providers in person. Doing business by phone is so muc...

For the past several years, my friend Alasdair and I have exchanged mix CDs across the ocean. He would send me the newest and best in European indie music, and I would scrape through my resources for at least a few North American musicians he didn't yet know. But it is getting tricky. We've shared our sources for new material, and rarely wait the full year to suggest new artists to each other. So we're changing it up this year. We are going with a themed album, and we are opening it up to all kinds of participants. Like YOU!! Here are the guidelines: Tell one of us, and we will hook you up with Dropbox if you aren't already using it. Choose which theme you want to go with - All the Bells and Whistles or Late Night Cocoa . (or one for each!!) Select twelve-ish songs. (10 min, 14 max) Songs and artists don't have to be "new," but you cannot include more than 2 songs that appear on other albums (incentive to submit early!!) Upload your album ...