On Friday I reunited with one of my favourite people ever, my cousin Dann (who doesn’t normally look so serious) and met his adorable girl, Eleanor Olive. They came all the way from Ottawa to see me!
Month: April 2013
So much love (and drinks) last night. Delighted to see @adalinemusic @nadinemariesimard @realryangullen
My sister is a professor of anatomy and today I visited her lab. This is a cow’s eye. Gross!
My sister is a professor of anatomy and today I visited her lab. This is a sheep’s brain.
Found in my childhood home, pretty sure I’ve never seen this before. I was born at 8:35am, who knew!?
Reunion with one of my favorite people ever. She was only 1.5 when I last saw her, now she’s almost 3! Thanks to Skype, we have remained buds.
Greed Waltz
Today, while sampling various new tracks on Soundcloud, I discovered this previously-unheard gem from one of my favourite bands – and possibly Canada’s most underrated/under-appreciated group – Do Make Say Think. This beautiful song captures how I’ve been feeling lately. Enjoy:
The farther he goes the more good it does me. I don’t want philosophies, tracts, dogmas, creeds, ways out, truths, answers, nothing from the bargain basement. He is the most courageous, remorseless writer going and the more he grinds my nose in the shit the more I am grateful to him.
He’s not fucking me about, he’s not leading me up any garden path, he’s not slipping me a wink, he’s not flogging me a remedy or a path or a revelation or a basinful of breadcrumbs, he’s not selling me anything I don’t want to buy — he doesn’t give a bollock whether I buy or not — he hasn’t got his hand over his heart. Well, I’ll buy his goods, hook, line and sinker, because he leaves no stone unturned and no maggot lonely. He brings forth a body of beauty.
His work is beautiful.
Harold Pinter on Samuel Beckett
My Ideal Job
I haven’t been writing because I’ve been working on many different projects, as summer – the busiest season for festivals and events – is approaching. Despite working on some very cool, very big events – some of which I can’t talk about yet – I’ve been in a rut, emotionally and professionally.
Part of my malaise is because I’m visiting Canada soon – my first time back since moving to the UK fifteen months ago. Going home will give me a much-needed break from and a better prospective on my current situation, plus I’ll get to see some of my favourite people. Another part of my malaise is the consistent reminder that London is a tough city to start a career in and I may not be able to stay in the country much longer (due to visa issues, which I’ll get into another time or never). Plus, I’m getting tired of not having much money (despite what I said a few weeks ago). I am still happy and I have many positive elements in my life, but sometimes I just wish things were easier.
Because I love making lists – and writing, in general, is an excellent form of therapy – I’ve come up with the 8 qualities that would encompass my ideal job. I’ve had many amazing jobs over the years but none have felt like they were exactly suited to my personality and strengths. Maybe it’s one of those things, like love, that’s easier to achieve as a theoretical idea than in practice. But just like love, you have to believe that the ideal you’re striving for exists, otherwise what’s the point? I’ve always believed that in order to manifest your goals, you have to put them out into the world, so here goes:
My Ideal Job Description
- Leadership
- Making key decisions
- Generating and evaluating creative ideas
- Collaborating with smart and talented people
- Building new/emergent creative projects
- Ownership
- Value
- Exposure to new places and experiences