a perfect storm

i got sucked into californication recently… lately. hank moody makes me love myself. the easy 20-30 minute episodes make it a good thing to watch while I’m making dinner, jewelry, whatever. it's a great show.
it's hard to decide whether to love, or hate, hank. and i think anyone who watches it feels a bit of both - feels envious that he speaks what he feels, makes bad decisions, has fun, and is blunt to the point of honest transparency. but he hurts people with those decisions - and we can't help but hate him a bit for it.
though. i don't think i'm the only one who sees a part of him that you can't help but love. and that we all want to be a little bit like. to continuously tell the truth, no matter how far in it gets you. to love to the extreme - through whatever gets in the way. and to be totally transparent.
and, have a little fun. 
but above all else, this moment is my favourite hank moody moment. he loves with so much of his heart, and this moment shares that with the audience.
anyone who has loved, can know that this is like. 
hank writes a letter to karen (his life love) when they first begin dating. they've sort of had a casual relationship to that point, and she finds out she's pregnant. they have a discussion about terminating the pregnancy, and that what they're doing is casual, so they can't possible continue on. he then drops this letter in the mailbox...

dear karen, 
if you're reading this, it means I actually worked up the courage to mail it, so good for me. You don't know me very well but if you get me started, I have a tendency to go on and on about how hard the writing is for me. this, this is the hardest thing I've ever had to write. there's no easy way to say this so I'll just say it. I met someone. It was an accident, I wasn't looking for it, I wasn't on the make. It was a perfect storm. 
she said one thing, I said another. Next thing I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life in the middle of that conversation. 
now there's this feeling in my gut: she might be The One. she's completely nuts in a way that makes me smile, highly neurotic, a great deal of maintenance required. she is you, karen. that's the good news. the bad is that I don't know how to be with you right now. and it scares the shit out of me. because if I'm not with you right now, I have this feeling we'll get lost out there. it's a big, bad world full of twists and turns and people have a way of blinking and missing the moment, the moment that could have changed everything. I don't know what's going on with us, and I can't tell you why you should waste a leap of faith on the likes of me. but damn you smell good. like home. and you make excellent coffee -- that's got to count for something, right? call me.                                                     
unfaithfully yours, Hank Moody


i think sometimes we're all looking for reasons - in love, life. we're looking for a tangible, a logical, a realistic response to the things we encounter. i'm not sure if it was the time i watched this, or if these ideas will forever resonate with me, but hank says... 

It's a big, bad world full of twists and turns and people have a way of blinking and missing the moment, the moment that could have changed everything. I don't know what's going on with us, and I can't tell you why you should waste a leap of faith on the likes of me. But damn you smell good. Like home. And you make excellent coffee -- that's got to count for something, right?

.... and it reminds us, sometimes the timing is wrong. but if the feeling is right, then sometimes you just have to take a leap. it's never a waste.

our words in pictures

epic frequency has done some really really really awesome. 
after some time in studies - publishing monthly podcasts - nathan moore and bill seaver together, decided that the sound waves created from patterns of speech, were a pretty awesome thing. so much so, that maybe the visual of speech wave patterns may be something that could be beautiful and meaningful. nathan and bill developed the idea, and in 2012 started epic frequency. they took words and sound that was meaningful and beautiful, and made them into images. a different medium for art. 

most basically, these canvases are the visual representation of historical speeches and audio clips. they take audio from speechs - such as john f. kennedy's 'ask not' - and the picture that it creates, and wrap it on a canvas. only 5000 of each design are printed, and all of the prints come with a unique QR code, which brings you to a mobile view of the print image, and the audio of the speech… pretty cool. 
on a more abstract level (badum ching), they are images of history. documentation of what has been done before. a way to make the knowledge which has been shared before, a physical, and beautiful thing. 
i immediately thought of those who are hearing impaired.

 to make visual, that which is audio... 
my three favourites: JFK's inaugural address; FDR's 'The Only Thing We Have to Fear is Fear Itself'; Neil Armstrong's 'One Small Step' quote after landing on the moon.

these guys are onto something. in their own words....

(found via my modern met)

what i wore.

anyone who knows me, knows i'm not into flashy fashion. and yet, coloured pants and patterns are all over the place.. it's becoming unavoidable. so, when i walked into h&m to buy a birthday gift the other day, and saw THESE lovely pants, i figured... why not? they're neutral, mostly black, and would give me a good step in the right direction.
so i packed them in my suitcase for an entire weekend, and had NO choice, but to wear them. and mix and match with my clothes already in my wardrobe.
and they did it. they obtained rave reviews - from friends, boy, my butt, and my calves (who are normally peeved because i wear clothes that they get lost in... they're skinny little minnies, and hard to accomodate!). and i gotta say - they managed to wiggle their way both into a fancy pants (ha!) restaurant, AND a legion style dance party avec band tshirt. so. not too shabby!

this is how i wore them

my weekend in summary

this weekend was straight up exhausting. which also equates to fun. i could sleep for years.
mail from a niece - BEST thing to get in the mail (other than money... which it also came with!); a saturday afternoon hike; photographer on a cliff; i'm a risk taker; pre-party snacks; the bride and groom's (second) first dance; the high school ladies; sunday afternoon cuddles.  
thursday: i begin the weekend on thursday for a few reasons - worked from home friday, got some fun mail when i arrived home on thursday evening, and i had dinner made for me and got a good visit... so it felt like a weekend. arrived home from work, and had a perfect bumble bee painting waiting for me from my little niece. then, i packed up, and headed home - driving through post-rush hour traffic for a good meal. arrived at jeff's place with dinner already made for me. watched some dexter, and then early to bed.
friday: spent the day working from home (with a feline assistant - scamper the cat was on standby for purring and cuddles), including a rather promising eye drs appt, and consultation for a (perhaps coming soon) zapping of mon yeux (that's corrective laser eye surgery, for those of you who don't speak 'jamie'). then, came home for a nap, and to get ready for a fancy schmancy dinner at the ancaster old mill to celebrate jeff's birthday. we drank fancy beer, ate fancy foods, dressed in fancy clothes, and talked about fancy things (and our server - who said to jeff, 'well, you've finally made it to 16" even brought us fancy birthday drinks). it was fancy and fun. then, we went home, drank fancy wine ($9 a bottle), and watched fancy tv (dexter) in fancy clothes (sweatpants). it was fancy free.
saturday: slept in a bit, and then after breakfast, went out for a hike - along with the rest of the world (apparently). it was the busiest i've seen a hiking trail in a LONG time. and though it was frustrating, and we were looking forward to a quiet, lonely hike, i couldn't complain much that people were out enjoying the weather. i also approached the edge of the cliff, as i've been trying to ween my way away from the fear of heights i've recently developed (see: driving ATV off mountain). success! 1 step closer to jumping from an airplane. went home, made some lunch, and then napped in preperation for a big night. once we were up and going, i packed for the evening, and en route to my parents, grabbed some snacks, and a band tshirt for jeff. the wedding reception/party/celebration we were going to that night was rock theme.... and for that, i am indefinitely in love with the couple. a few of the high school girlies and respective partners showed up pre-wedding, and we have some quick bites to eat, and a drink, before heading down the street. spent the rest of the night dancing to great music, amongst great friends, AND i got to wear blundstones. to a wedding. dare i say, i enjoyed myself most due to the shoes. it was a blast... so happy i got to join them in celebrating, as they hail from england, and we were all very lucky they decided on a canadian celebration as well! walked home afterwards, had some late night catch ups, and then went to bed WAY too late.
sunday: woke up earlier than wanted (aka. i would have loved to sleep until 4pm), and had some breakfast with fresh air (as the weather was GORGEOUS), then went over to a friend of jeff's who was arriving back from a year in australia - with his newly important lady friend. watched the crazy man jump out of space and then headed back for a straight up nap (told you i nap a lot). afterwards, ventured out for some grocery store adventures (that dubbed in for a walk, as it was raining), and had dinner of couscous and tempeh... and crashed hard (after a few moments of learning on the internet).
it was a CRAZY exhausting weekend, but we celebrated. i promised we would.
hope everyone had a great weekend - and enjoyed the rain (that apparently most of the people i hear from had!)

celebrate 'cause life is short but sweet for certain

this weekend i get to celebrate.
photo from weheartit
i get to celebrate the birthday of a very handsome man.
i get to celebrate the wedding of a dear, long-time friend - in a rock tshirt, nontheless.
i get to celebrate a step forward in future business ventures.
i get to celebrate another step forward in the future of my eyes (hurrah!).
i get to celebrate home grown food, warm bedtime covers, and new polka dotted pants.
and i get to celebrate this all being surrounded by amazing friends. and for that, i am a lucky LUCKY girl.
"do not cease to drink beer, to eat, to intoxicate thyself, to make love, and to celebrate the good days" - egyptian proverb
hope everyone has a FANTASTIC weekend - celebrate with sprinkles and glowsticks! (because... why not).