a thousand words

I love pictures. I'm that weird person who pretends they are PROFESSIONAL and lies down on the ground to get a shot. Unfortunately, I end up taking a traumatizing photo of the view under some woman's skirt. Whoops, sorry! Nice legs, anyway!

So, I realized that I don't have nearly enough pictures of my friends. *GASP*
Yes, you. I can see you right now. That would be weird.
I will I will I will get in the habit of carrying a wee camera around with me (honey, I love the polaroid but it is too bulky!) to capture those priceless moments...like the mastercard commercials are on about. Ramlin is a pro at this.

I want to put more recent snapshots of friends up to remind me to call them, harass them, pray for them, and for those days when I NEED to remind myself how many BEAUTIFUL people are in my life supporting me...where would I be without you?!

Here are some I took in NYC. I love the one with lights because it is at Ground Zero.

I'm Sorry...

As you may be aware, I've recently celebrated my 25th birthday. Now, I know that's not that old, but I'm certainly older than I used to be. The thing that made this more obvious to me than anything, is the change in my friends' listening habits. Of those with the ability to do so, I think I now have more friends that listen to BBC Radio 4 than those that don't.
As long as I've known, my parents have listened, almost exclusively, to this station. I've been listening to it by choice for some time too. For those not familiar with it, Radio 4 is full of spoken word programming. It features everything from politics to comedy, book readings to scientific discussions and radio plays to the shipping forecast.
It is a practically inexhaustible supply of intelligent programs. And extreme silliness. In my opinion, the best show by far is one of the longest running. for 34 years now, I'm Sorry, I haven't a Clue, has been providing what the producers of the show describe as 'the antidote to panel shows'.

Unfortunately, you can't download episodes of the show at the moment, but you can listen to last week's broadcast on the Radio 4 website. If you have a spare half hour, it's well worth a listen. Click here to go to the site. The first minute or so of the broadcast is a commercial for another show, and then the fun gets started. It's very British, and your enjoyment of it will add to my feeling of maturity...

International Day Without Art

While visiting the Art Gallery for yet another assignment today, I got talking to one security officer. She said I should come back tomorrow (Dec 1st) to view Rodin's 'Adam'. It is a large, exaggerated figure of a man displayed in the centre of a room along with other pieces in the permanent collection. Stunning.
She said to take part in the National Day Without Art, it would be draped in a thick, black cloth. How dramatic. This piece is meant to be a celebration of man, and viewing it in this way would change the meaning and reaction entirely.
Next year they will choose to erase something else. Hm.

It's not a competition...

Well, actually it is. It's my birthday tomorrow, and I was told that I should make a cake to bring into the office. We had a look online at some possiblities, and found the masterpiece that you see on your screen. My friend Sharon announced that she fancied making a cake like that, so she would do it. I wasn't hearing any of it. I wanted to make that cake, and I was going to do it. So my boss, Dot, came up with a plan.
'You both want to make the cake, right?'
'Yes,' we both replied.
'Well, why don't you both make one then? You can have a competition to see which is the best. And there'll be more cake for everyone.'
'Good idea,' we said.

So, it was settled. Today we arrived at work, each with a cake in hand. Lovingly baked and decorated, each with their own personal touch. We brought them into the office, and the principal of the school was called in to judge it.
There were five catagories on which it was judged: general appearance, taste, chocappealability, height, and how much they looked like the original. Sharon's effort managed 8/10 in the areas of appearance and taste (hers was, apparently, a little dry), whereas I received a very respectable 9/10 for these. I only pulled off 8/10 for height and chocappealability though, where Sharon got 9/10 (she had melted a big bar of chocolate over the top as well). There was only one catagory left, and there was no competition here...
The vote came in: Sharon's looked more like a castle than a volcano, and was only awarded 5 of the ten possible points in this area. The principal took one look at mine, and gave it the full 10! What a victory!

The event attracted a large crowd, and was enjoyed by all. The eating of the cake went down particularly well, it seems, with my boss.
The point of all of this, as well as being to remind you all to shower me with cards, gifts, drinks and cash (or at least some gestures of pleasantness) tomorrow, is to express my feelings of being in this job.
Some of you might remember how unhappy I was at the end in my last job, and how I was told that I was unable to do the job properly.
Here, I am working with people that appreciate me; that encourage my silliness. I'm working in an environment where I am valued, and I love every minute of it. If it wasn't for the fact that I'm moving to Canada in six weeks, I'd be staying at this job. It's brilliant.

It's been a while since I last blogged, and I have a number of other things to talk about, but I'll come back to those later. I think the competition is enough excitement for now. Oh, and the cakes were both delicious. I think I might go have a slice now...

winter and romance

It's getting darker earlier. Tonight it even snowed. It smells different.
Winter is my absolute most favorite season, and it is finally icing the city with its kiss. I am truly thankful to live in a country where we have such dramatic weather. Every season lends a distinct romantic flavour to my daily walk through the city. To/from the subway, to school, to the shops, and home again...or something like that.
I am so deeply in love...and a total mushball lately.
29 days to go...bear with me.

The Guillemots. Yes. I heard their cd in the summer. One of those times you sit in the driveway just to listen to it a bit more. They're sooooooo adding to the joy of the crispy gloves-and-hat early mornings. Get your hands on a copy of their album to have a listen. Fast, slow, fun and British.
Fab lyrics and lead male singer. Do dee do da...

Blue would still be Blue - Guillemots
It's not raining cats, it's not raining dogs
And pigs are not flying, or turning the cogs
The sun has no hat on, whenever it shines
And I've never seen a cat with nine lives
I'm not in a film, I'm not in a play
I saw no aliens today
I just saw you, and thought of me

And if I had you, all the stars wouldn't fall from the sky, and the moon wouldn't start to cry
There'd be no earthquakes
I'd still make mistakes
If i had you
Oh there'd still be day and night, and I'd still do wrong and right
Ooh
Blue would still be blue
But things would be easier with you

And this is no palace, the place that I live
And I am no king, but I've got things to give
And I waste so much time, thinking of time
And I should be out there, claiming what's mine
Any day I could die, just like I was born
And this bit in the middle is what I'm here for
And I just want to fill it all with joy

white and nerdy

Watch this

knives and tigers and bears, oh my!

Today was my first time ever under the knife with anaesthetic and the whole bit. It wasn't that bad...so don't ever be anxious about it. If I can do it, so can you...believe me- I avoid talking about needles, giving birth, blood, bandaids etc. at all costs. The doctors and nurses were unbelievably sweet- Mike, I'm so glad you're becoming a doctor because the humour and general talkativeneess makes a difference.
When I woke up I felt so comfortable and cozy, with no pain at all! Thank God that it's over! I did it! Yesssssssssss...

Rosa

'Sometimes there is no language, no language but a cry.
Sometimes there is no language, no language but a groan...'
Jason Upton

arrrrggggggggggggggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhrrrrrrrrrrr...
do you ever feel like this?

After spending time with an old friend today, I realized how
the poverty and sickness in this city overwhelms my heart-
until there are not even tears...
just deep, angry, determined groans.

If anyone is interested in an eye-opener, there is an organization I'm beginning to be more involved with through OCAD that do 'street walks'. Basically, safely exploring various areas of Toronto after dark. Giving students that want to make a difference a new perspective on Toronto...because as you know there is so much need RIGHT HERE!
Ahhhhhh, thank God there is hope. Oodles and oodles of hope sweet hope.


until next time, :)

Closing Doors...

I'm about to drive back up to Leeds. It's a bit of a trek, so I like to have a good reason for going up there. Today, I have a good reason. My band, The Salvator Darlings is about to release it's only album, and I realised the other day that one song is missing two words from the end of it. That means that I have to go on a 100 mile round trip, in order to sing TWO WORDS.
It's going to be worth it, though. When I return tonight, I should have in my possesion the master copy of the album, ready to send off tomorrow to the reproduction company. It's been a long time coming, but finally it's ready for release.

You might not care, but I'm excited.

needles hurt

Tomorrow, (Tuesday...wait, it's already Tuesday if you're British) Pastor Cleetus Adrian from Texas will be featured on Miami Ink getting a brand new tattoo! If you haven't heard this amazing punk preacha...well, you need to get the recordings from TACF's Freshwind Conference.
Watch channel 34 at 10pm.
I just saw the commercial for the episode...eeeeeeee!!!!!
I wonder what the design will be...what the artist will think...what the conversation will be like....

Mark, want to visit Miami for your next one? And will I EVER be able to face the pain?

carebears

hahahaha...check this out. you know i love this comic.

meow

I found a kitten. It wasn't hard. I returned to an empty house this evening, looking forward to some peace and some silence. Yes, actual silence (Mark, you are so blessed to be spending time in the country!).

Instead, I found a kitten who will remain nameless as to protect his identity.
What an adorable creature! Black, white, and fluffy. He looked quite cold, huddled against the brick of the house on our front porch. Judging by the size of our previous cats (whom my sister had found as strays), I think he is around one year old. Tiny little fellow...

I want it I want it I want it.

Normally a dog person, I think I'd do my best to save baby animals of any kind. They're just littlies... come on, you would too. That reminds me of this past summer. A baby hedgehog was found drowning in the Hardy pond. He was almost successfully nursed back to life over a couple of days, but he eventually died. Poor thing would have probably had nasty flashbacks the rest of his life at the sight of water anyway... R.I.P.

Soooo, I tried to approach as gently as possible with my one hundred thousand pound backpack on me, but at the one metre point I had crossed his boundary line and he vanished under the wooden fence. Awww, rubbish. So I left out some proper cat food and milk. I can't wait to see if he's eaten it in the morning...like Santa's cookies that you leave out Christmas eve. Except that Santa is a huge obese outright lie...thank God somebody had the guts to finally tell me last year...

Small towns and big parties...

I just got back from Retford. I was at the house of my friend James, who is a bit of a legend. We were using spray paint to turn white t-shirts into badger costumes for a party next weekend.
Now, I'm not complaining by any means, but it seems that since I've left Leeds, all I've done is go to parties. As you can see from the picture, we threw one awesome leaving party for me. Big crowd there, the band played an awesome set... A real good send off. Then last weekend we made the annual pilgrimage to Alton Towers for my best man's birthday. Next Friday, it's back to Leeds, where I will be djing at Sarah and Becky's British Wildlife party. Hence the badger costumes.

So, it's been a pretty hectic fortnight really. I've had just enough time to settle back here, and I'm rather enjoying country life. The scenery is certainly better than Leeds. I'm enjoying a quieter week life too. My parents love to do a crossword, so that works out pretty good (although it's no match for CCC with Mr Wolfson), and there's a lot more space in the house.
One disadvantage that I'm just discovering, however, is that we only have one computer in the house. That means that we all have to share it. So when I planned to blog the other night, I came in and found that my mom was using it for work. I came in a couple of days later when I had another chance, and my sister was emailing. Sucks. So, that explains the gap in my presence here. Never mind, now that Bethany has joined the Salivation Nation blogging ranks, she's been able to keep you all entertained while I've been desperately trying to access the internet.

Good news in my house - my little sister's getting married next year. That makes the both of us. It's rather pleasing for me, because she's been with her boyfriend for five years now, and we've become rather good friends. He's a really good guy, and I'm very pleased that he's going to be my brother in law. It also gives us a very good reason to be back in the UK next summer, which will be quite enjoyable after a lengthy absence. It all works out in the end.

And so I come to my point. I was worried that when I moved here I would be bored. Back in a small town after 5 years of city life; none of my bandmates here; neighbours that I don't know, and even if I did are proabably not really my sort of people; having to keep the noise down etc. As it happens, however, it would seem that I rather enjoy the peace and quiet of life here. During the week I spend very little money, which will come as a relief and a blessing to both myself and my wonderful future wife. I have time to do things (even if I am unable to do them). And if I thought that I might be at a loose end, someone is always having a party. I can't wait to dress up as a badger with James next weekend; I can't wait to dj at the party; I really can't wait to see everyone in Leeds again. Most of all I can't wait till next Sunday, when I fly out to Canada for a week. But, when all of that is over, I'm very much looking forward to the last few months of (relatively) peaceful, relaxing time here in Worksop with my family. And if the country life starts to become tiresome, I'm fairly sure that someone will be throwing a party to keep me entertained...

North

Today a bunch of us are driving a couple hours up to Wasaga in the Puddle mobile to have a Thanksgiving BBQ at the Crithley res. Yes, the food will be scrumptious and plenty, but for me it comes in secondary to the BONFIRE. Oh how I've longed for a hot, crackling fire to roast marshmallows in and sit round. Fire is good.
I can smell it now...


Aaaaaand, Thanksgiving weekend is also when Mark and I officially got to together TWO YEARS AGO. Woweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!



Love you, Hardy....
beth

i know i know...

going from NEVER blogging to blogging twice in a day?
you just haaaaaaaave to read this verse that I've been chewing on steady:

Matthew 11:12 in the Amplified
And from the days of John the Baptist until the present time, the kingdom of heaven has endured violent assault, and violent men seize it by force [as a precious prize--a [share in the heavenly kingdom is sought with most ardent zeal and intense exertion].
It feels so good to be zealous about something...are you?

a nest for the love birds...

Yipeeeeeee! So, we scored the sweetest place to live. I'm amazed :)
It really makes the whole getting married thing a whole lot more...real.

It's a basement apartment owned by my family- hook-ups! It was a deal we couldn't refuse, and holy smokes it's BIIIIIG. The best way to describe it, is very 'open-concept'. We'll get to clean/paint do stuff November 1st (you'll see our recruitment posters soon...haha)which leaves loads of time and I am sooooooooooooo FLIPPING EXCITED. I keep daydreaming about our little nest...it helps when you're trying desperately to procrastinate from doing assignments (pretty much like I'm doing now.Shhh!).
Yeah, lately spare time is spent looking at whacky home stores and paint samples...sigh. I can't pry myself away!



Now, the only thing missing? A neighbour named Kramer. That's our DREAM. Seriously.





One day...oh,one day...

NUIT BLANCHE

www.nuitblanche.livewithculture.ca

Saturday September 30, 2006

7pm-7am

downtown Toronto transformed by artists

don't miss it!

twenty three

That's the title of a beautiful Jimmy Eat World song, and also Ramlin's new response when people ask her how old she is :)

I've finally been to New York City. Man, it was the best. Ramlin and I drove down early Friday morning and arrived in Brooklyn at Casa Newall at supper time. The drive was 8 1/2 hours which seemed a breeze after New Orleans. The Newall (is that how you spell their last name?) brothers took us out straight away to see the sights. For an extremely short trip, we managed to see and taste loads of the city. These good times include:

Ground Zero, The Statue of Liberty, Battery Park, The Empire State building, china town, Soho, New York pizza....yummmmm, Radio City, Time Square, Central Park and a buttload more ( I saved the Seinfield cafe, Poet's Alley, and New York cheesecake to see with you, Markers :) . We travelled by subway and taxi, and even successfully parellel parked our car in the middle of all the chaos of the lively city. We didn't do the galleries or shows because hopefully I'll get to go with school, and they deserve a trip all their own...at least pour moi they do!

Jeez, God is so gooooooood! We had the best weather, and when it began to spit and cloud over we prayed and spoke to the clouds and the sun came out again! Woohoo! I'm always amazed when that happens. And what a blessing to have our own personal tour guides! We've got some great pics. It's so hard not to take picures of EVERYTHING there. I'll post some soon....

I fell in love with NYC. The lights, the cameras, the action... and the many many homeless broke my heart, but when we approached the Canadian border to return home, during the golden hour of an autumn day... it was breathtaking. It's like Canada hugs me somehow once I've crossed the border... as corny as that sounds....

Ok, I have to go to my last class for the day...until next time, let's all peer pressure Mark to blog.

love yourself. you're a masterpiece.
bethany

Very moving...

It's been an interesting month, that's for sure. First things first: my good friend J came to visit Bethany and I in Toronto; the first time I'd seen him since he left England in May 2004. J rocked it out with me on the turntables at Freshwind 2004, and also formed the band The Salivators with me. The guy had keys to my house for a year, you know? We hung out and saw the sights. We went to Smokeless Joe, and to the Ontario Film Board. We took him to the Panorama lounge, and we watched movies. We drank beer and went to church. We hung out with people and ate good food. We drank cocktails and we drank coffee. We spent time catching up.

Then came the tough part. I had to say goodbye to Bethany. We'd been together for two months by this point, and I was not looking forward to going to the airport. It would be four months before we'd see each other again, when she comes over to visit at Christmas.
There was something else making my forthcoming journey home a little daunting. Over the summer, I took into account my options; my thoughts on the teaching course I started in January. I thought about the things that I would almost certainly have to go through in my final term, and I decided that it was not going to be a good thing to continue. As a result, I left my job in the school, and with it, made the decision to leave my beloved Leeds, and move back to Worksop. Leaving Canada this summer meant leaving Leeds, and finding a new job.

So, this month has been an interesting one. When I got back, I found myself a new job - I'll be working with teenagers with behavioural problems. I found a replacement for my room in Leeds. I broke the news to my band, and organised a couple of farewell gigs. I've packed things and sold things. I've given things away. I've spent time sorting things out to leave. I've visited Worksop a couple of times, and been to the unit I'll be working in. I've met my sister's tortoise. I've caught up with some friends, and had band practices. My cell group got together with my old cell group to give me a send off; which was excellent.

If there's one thing I'll miss about Leeds more than anything, it's the level of silliness that ensues when my friends and I come up with an idea. Last night, we opened an art gallery in our BASEMENT. No, really. We had flyers for it and everything. We displayed work by Bethany and myself, my roommate Butch, and his girlfriend Katherine. We had free wine, and people came to look around. Some pieces have been sold, and we expect more to go during the week. It's the sort of thing that can only happen in a big city. I'm going to miss that in Worksop.

Having said that, there's some benefits to living back with my parents, and I'm not talking about low-cost rent (although that is a major bonus). They pretty much live out in the country, and some clean air won't do me any harm. There's not that much to do at night, so I might find some more time to exercise. My dad likes to build fires in the garden. I like to build fires in the garden. We can build fires in the garden. And it's not too far from Leeds, so I can pop back for a visit.

Oh, there was one other great thing that happened to me this month. My wonderful friends Ben and Kelsey decided that they wanted to bless me. Having told me how much they remembered hating being apart before they got married, they checked some dates out with me, and bought me a ticket to Canada for October. So, my three months in Worksop is nicely divided with an excursion to see my wonderful girl. That's what I'm talking about.

It's good to be back. Love.

sometimes it sucks

to have to socialise without your best bud and other half.