Kate in Bloglandia

2011-06-25T11:13:00.000-07:00

Versailles, France

2011-05-06T02:52:00.000-07:00

Bray Dunes, France

insane seeing old nazi bunkers in the dunes...

2011-03-20T16:12:00.000-07:00

2011-01-14T16:03:00.000-08:00

Good times at home :-D
I miss you Mum.

2010-12-23T06:19:00.000-08:00

More Monschau!

2010-12-23T05:52:00.000-08:00

A cute little snowy German town, Monschau!
Dec. 2010

2010-12-18T12:28:00.000-08:00

Mi amiga Isa...not only is she a Doctor, but esta mujer can paint!!!!

This was her first painting in a while, so she says, and she is giving it to her Father :-)

Isa Cardona
Nude Woman.
Cali, Colombia.
2010

2010-12-15T14:45:00.000-08:00

Photos from Bruges, Belgium...a lovely little Belgian town with canals (Mum, there is a gorgeous Christmas market here with stands that sell hot wine, hot cider, ornaments, tartiflette aka potato yumminess...you name it, they got it!):

2010-12-12T08:38:00.000-08:00

The Ferris Wheel they put up in the Grand Place in Lille for the holiday season...you can see the whooooole city from up there!

2010-10-15T01:29:00.000-07:00

A few pictures so you can see what it's like (and me too for that matter).

2010-10-15T01:14:00.000-07:00

Mum and Dad,
We found a place! 100 metres from the main square in Lille!
Pics of the apartment (Living room and kitchen...with the previous tenants personal effects...although the furniture belongs to the apartment).
Now...must get through the bureaucracy!

2010-05-25T06:55:00.000-07:00

TELL ME A STORY...
was the title of the event. The story: 'Little Red Riding Hood' in English (!) at Ubik bookstore in Cosenza, Italy on Sunday, May 23rd 2010.
The team:
Nica Federico (Little red riding hood), Laura Gennaro (Wolf/Grandma), Fragolino (Fragolino aka Stelio Marano) and Kate Price (Narrator/Mother).

As Nica, Laura and I headed to the bookstore to meet Stelio, the rain poured down.
"Well, if no one shows up, we'll eat the cookies and read the story to the walls" we joked.
BUT, when we got to the bookstore, set up and sat down...the pitter patter of little feet overcame our sad whispers.
The day was a success!
Tonnes of kids, parents and wolf-shaped cookies!!

Thanks to our team and to my Mum and Dad for always reading me stories...you were the inspiration for this day and it rocked!

2010-05-14T01:13:00.001-07:00

Changing what you have, Kate, comes from changing who you are.

And changing who you are comes from changing what you think.

Which is why I made the latter so easy.

Hey, I think it's Friday...

The Universe

Because changing what you think, Kate, ultimately changes your words, your actions, the kind of music you listen to, the movies you watch, the places you visit, the friends you hang out with, and, yes, even how you look in jeans.

2010-05-13T03:34:00.000-07:00

German Philology actually rocks.

2010-04-21T08:06:00.000-07:00

And finally...the pics from when we went to Brussels (my birthday) :-)
MUM: notice my lovely coat!!!

2010-04-21T07:51:00.000-07:00

When Courtney came to Italy in December!!!!!
COCO MARIA DI COSENZA!!!!!!!!!

2010-04-21T07:45:00.001-07:00

Some pics from Christmas (I know, I'm behind).

2010-04-21T07:28:00.000-07:00

Mum,
I can make CANNELLONI!! Why don't you come here and I'll make you some!!!????

When our friend Joan came from Toronto, we took him to Catania and Siracusa in Sicily...

I'll take you there too!!!!

Mammmmmmaaa: Vieniiiiiiiiiiiii, daiiiiiiiiii!!! (Mum, come here, come on!!!)
Love,
your daughter,
Kate

2010-01-06T11:28:00.000-08:00

I'm really far behind...on posting photos for my Mum...on communicating...on...on...on...it feels like everything.
Hope that in this new year I'll organize time well enough so that I can do all the things that make me happiest ie) REST, talk to my family and friends, read, play the guitar...

and now I back-track...
BRUSSELS
Oct.26/2009

2009-12-05T05:05:00.000-08:00

"The Law of Love" moving us to action...

http://www.saintjameswestminster.ca/sermons/090201.pdf

It's Saturday afternoon and I'm home alone...DANCE PARTY! Err...I mean, I need to clean the bathroom, iron a mountain of clothes and vacuum. BUT, before I accomplish the impossible at home today, I'm relaxing and reading.

I'd love to be able to take a drive with my Mum on Sunday morning to London to visit St. James and take part in the service... alas, Cosenza is a bit far for that and so, I'm reading a few of Father Ken's sermons online in PDF format...yay for Father Ken and technology!

I'm reading "Serendipities and surprises" and thinking about how we all have those days where we get a piece of news and are unsure whether it's positive or negative and so, in a state of fear, we panic and feel like a mega death bomb is being dropped on our happy little bubble...obviously, yes, I am talking about myself. Instead, if we attempt for a moment to be rational, we can live the serendipities of life as the unexpected blessings that they are.

http://www.saintjameswestminster.ca/sermons/090510.pdf

2009-11-30T02:35:00.001-08:00

Go freaking figure that when I lived in Gainesville, Florida...I lived on the only side of Gainesville where you have to go UP A HILL in order to get to the University on foot.
UP A HILL.
I taught EVERYDAY for 50 minutes.
That means, take the bus...if you have the patience to wait for it, or WALK UP A HILL IN 50 degree weather!!!!
WTF?
I walked. often. cutting through the hospital for temporary relief (air-conditioning)...before trudging up the hill and arriving at class sweaty and disgusting.
In order to mentally prepare, I filled my Ipod with songs that INSPIRE one to walk up a hill in such conditions...and, often, there was a SONG OF THE HILL...sort of like a song for the day.

This is my SONG OF THE HILL for today. I miss you too Joy and Alberto.

U2
Where the streets have no name

I wanna run
I want to hide
I wanna tear down the walls
That hold me inside
I wanna reach out
And touch the flame
Where the streets have no name
Ha...ha...ha...
I want to feel
Sunlight on my face
I see the dust cloud disappear
Without a trace
I want to take shelter from the poison rain
Where the streets have no name
Ho...ha...

Where the streets have no name
Where the streets have no name
We're still building
Then burning down love
Burning down love
And when I go there
I go there with you
It's all I can do

The city's aflood
And our love turns to rust
We're beaten and blown by the wind
Trampled in dust
I'll show you a place
High on a desert plain
Where the streets have no name

Where the streets have no name
Where the streets have no name
We're still building
Then burning down love
Burning down love
And when I go there
I go there with you
It's all I can do

Our love turns to rust
We're beaten and blown by the wind
Blown by the wind
Oh, and I see our love
See our love turn to rust
Oh, we're beaten and blown by the wind
Blown by the wind
Oh, when I go there
I go there with you
It's all I can do

2009-11-28T06:54:00.000-08:00

Bourree

2009-11-28T06:49:00.000-08:00

Oh the days when I could pirouette without falling on my...

2009-11-28T06:48:00.001-08:00

When balance is on...my favourite...Adage

2009-11-28T06:46:00.001-08:00

Grand jete

2009-11-28T06:45:00.002-08:00

Petit Allegro

2009-11-28T06:45:00.001-08:00

Petit Allegro

2009-11-28T06:43:00.001-08:00

Grands Battements

2009-11-28T06:38:00.000-08:00

Developpes passes davant

2009-11-28T06:37:00.001-08:00

Battement tendu

2009-11-28T06:36:00.001-08:00

Rond de jambe

2009-11-02T08:23:00.000-08:00

It felt so good to be home, see my Mum, walk around...and I got my little Canadian flag so I can march around at home in Italy.
Enrico and I have paraded around the house twice already...he just needs to improve his OH Canada anthem.

MUM,
Dr. Asher will not approve of these stitches...sorry, but you have to show him.
Love
Kate

2009-09-30T09:24:00.001-07:00

It's like that sometimes. Without warning, you run into someone and find yourself so pleasantly surprised by a heart communicating directly with your heart...just when your heart was quietly saying...hey owner what about me? I need a little attention.
Josephine. you're marvelous.

2009-09-24T10:09:00.000-07:00

A few pictures from our trip to Sardegna.

2009-09-24T09:51:00.000-07:00

I managed to pass two more exams, with only a month to prepare, in order to renew my visa for Italy....
the marks are out of 30.
I am pleased.

2009-09-24T09:33:00.000-07:00

Hey Joy and Alberto,

Remember when our Dove chocolates used to tell us what to do with our days/months/lives (they had the little saying on the bottom of the wrapper)??!!!

NOW MY TEA BISCOTTI WRAPPERS ARE TELLING ME THINGS!!!! But I must admit, they are pleasant things...on the contrary to the Dove wrappers which would sometimes say "TAKE A BUBBLE BATH TODAY"...screw you Dove...I don't feel like a bubble bath! jk.

So, today my biscotti wrapper said:

Ricordi la magia di quel giorno
accaduto per caso,
perfetto come la nostalgia
che ancora ne provo.

loosely translated with my excellent knowledge of Italian, hahaha:

Remember the magic of that day
which happened by chance,
perfect as its nostalgia
which I still feel.

Let's see what the next wrapper says...

2009-09-03T08:43:00.000-07:00

Ok, I'm not going to lie, I'm very interested in knowing more about Michael Ignatieff. I need to know more...yes, he's been out of the country for a considerable amount of time, but the gain from that time abroad has my eyes and ears open to learn more about the leader of the Liberal party...

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/we-can-do-better-liberals-declare/article1273297/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Ignatieff

"In The Rights Revolution, Ignatieff identifies three aspects of Canada's approach to human rights that give the country its distinctive culture: 1) On moral issues, Canadian law is secular and liberal, approximating European standards more closely than American ones; 2) Canadian political culture is socially democratic, and Canadians take it for granted that citizens have the right to free health care and public assistance; 3) Canadians place a particular emphasis on group rights, expressed in Quebec's language laws and in treaty agreements that recognize collective aboriginal rights. "Apart from New Zealand, no other country has given such recognition to the idea of group rights," he writes.[21]

Ignatieff states that despite its admirable commitment to equality and group rights, Canadian society still places an unjust burden on women and gays and lesbians, and he says it is still difficult for newcomers of non-British or French descent to form an enduring sense of citizenship. Ignatieff attributes this to the "patch-work quilt of distinctive societies," emphasizing that civic bonds will only be easier when the understanding of Canada as a multinational community is more widely shared."

2009-08-28T13:58:00.000-07:00

Sicily.
Finally. Ten years of waiting.
The cities:
Palermo: dark streets, kind people (our friend Samuele showed us around...A plus for Samuele...and by the way, the corpse is from the Cappuccini catacombs...a little morbid but very interesting), fried foods, a cultural vucciria (confusion...in a good way)...I absolutely loved this city and its chaos.
Agrigento: Beautiful ruins, home of Pirandello, gorgeous alabaster sea steps, and a very nice bed and breakfast called "Arco Ubriaco".
Catania: Culture, history and a touch of Granada, Nicaragua at lunch time when there is no one out on the streets...
Taormina: a wild, little cliff-top town...full of designer stores and precious side streets...packed with people...so much to look at all the time that it was mildly overwhelming.
I love love love Sicily.

2009-08-22T15:44:00.000-07:00

A bit slow, perhaps un poco melancolica...pero me gusta mucho el sonido...

http://www.musicroom.it/articolo/neffa-testo-di-lontano-dal-tuo-sole/6757/

Lontano dal tuo sole
di Neffa

Sono pronto per rialzarmi ancora,
e il momento che aspettavo è ora
nonostante questo cielo sembri chiuso su di me
nessuno mi vede
nessuno mi sente,
ma non per questo io non rido più.
Io son qui in un mondo che ormai
gira intorno a vuoto
lontano dal tuo sole
e piove, ma io qualche cosa farò
per sentire ancora
tutto il calore che ora non ho
e avere un po’ di pace che ora non ho
e luce nei miei occhi che ora non ho
una direzione giusta che ora non ho
…che ora non ho

Sulla strada
troppe stelle spente
la tua mano ora servirebbe
troppa gente alza il dito
e poi lo punta su di me.
Nessuno mi crede, davvero innocente,
ma non per questo io non vivo più.
Io sono qui in un mondo che ormai
gira intorno a vuoto
lontano dal tuo sole,
e piove mai io qualche cosa farò
per sentire ancora
tutto il calore che ora non ho
e avere un po’ di pace
che ora non ho
e luce nei miei occhi
che ora non ho
una direzione giusta
che ora non ho
E avere un po’ di pace
che ora non ho
e luce nei miei occhi
che ora non ho
una direzione giusta
che ora non ho

2009-08-08T02:09:00.000-07:00

I've got a friend.
I met her at the lunch table my first day of University.
I was that annoying girl asking her seven thousand questions. Lucky for me, she didn't mind and we started a friendship that I'm pretty sure will last longer than our teeth will hold out.

She's something quite extraordinary...everybody says that about their friends, but I mean it. Some of the most interesting and memorable conversations I've ever had have been with her.
I'm not going to lie that I would love to pull up a chair with Kafka and chat for hours, but it would be a thousand times better if my friend were also there to teach Kafka a thing or two. Surely they'd become friends.
Just about the only thing she isn't good at is putting up curtains...although she is a fiiiiiine Macgyver with duct tape.

Her Dad passed away on Sunday.
I never had the opportunity to meet him due to distance and lack of funds...
but I know a fair amount about him, and I also know how much my friend cared, respected and loved her Dad.
She read me his eulogy yesterday. I could perfectly imagine him through her words. Exactly the same individual she had been telling me about for the past 9 years.
This woman is solid, but her father was her rock.

I remember calling her once a few years ago, worried because I hadn't been able to reach her for 2 or 3 days...she said, oh, I had a minor operation at the hospital. WHAT? I said. Yeah, no worries. she responded. HOW DID YOU GET HOME??? I drove, she told me, non-chalant her tone. YOU ARE A MANIAC.
That's her.
Spitting image of her father, I believe.
She once told me she was thinking about quitting her phD and becoming a DJ...and she could do it, but, she would hold out and complete her studies, make her Dad proud since he had impressed upon her the importance that her education would have.

I'm worried about you.
I've never seen you in a situation that you couldn't handle.
I didn't want to be the one on the telephone hearing you say, I don't know what I'm going to do.
If you don't know, who the hell else can know...you are the only one I know who seems to make sense out of everything and anything.
So, I think this is the one moment.
I hope you heard me.
What I said to you.

This is your time. You get to have all the support around you. You don't have to worry about helping anyone else right now...you get to grieve the loss of your father for as long as you need. You don't have to answer to anyone.
I hope you reflect and think about that life that has been an important part of your own. Think about your Dad, and think about yourself.
And when in doubt, flustered, surrounded by the buzz of useless chatter...hit a pub and have a guiness, cheers your Dad and breathe...look at the sea and relax...go to where you feel best.

when you're ready, think about that home that you associate with your Dad, and think...is that home tied to a physical location...will maintaining that physical location mean the maintenance of a place of solace or is it just the site of memories that are better preserved in your mind.

Nobody is going to pressure you into anything because you aren't going to let them.

I heard the same person on the phone yesterday as the person I met 9 years ago...a few more titles added after the name, but the same person.
I don't think you really need it, but I sure wish I could be there to stand with you.

2009-07-23T07:42:00.000-07:00

So the 'Preside' says to me today, here, in Italy, you are in a maternal society whereas you are used to a paternal society...
hmm.
I'm in one and from another...
this equals problems.

I was in shock after my meeting today...

Il codice materno sembra privilegiare la soddisfazione sollecita del bisogno, in modalità anche sacrificali; si caratterizza per la valorizzazione di comportamenti che privilegiano l'appartenenza, oltre alla risposta ai bisogni, orientando verso l'onnipotenza e l'appropriazione.

… il codice materno è fondamentalmente autarchico. Nella relazione di allattamento il bambino prolunga la situazione intrauterina sostituendo il capezzolo al cordone ombelicale. Il bambino è cioè un'appartenenza interna della madre che è diventata esterna, e che può suggerire la fantasia dell'autosufficienza di un sistema autonomo che non ha bisogno di ricevere apporti dall'esterno: un sistema onnipotente… ha la funzione di generare al bambino l'illusione di onnipotenza.

La potenza generativa del padre sembra assorbirsi nella sola potenza generativa della madre; ecco perché, durante la gravidanza, ogni marito diviene un po' un San Giuseppe, un cavaliere inesistente. Nel rispondere ai bisogni, si nota quel atteggiamento di sacrificalità tipico della funzione materna (dare tutto senza volere niente in cambio) che tende a trasformarsi in dominio sia sul bambino che sul partner. Questo non è affatto una svalutazione del codice: al contrario, il codice materno è estremamente importante, affettivamente, per la crescita del bambino, come osserva Corinna Cristiani:

Fornari dice che il codice materno è come l'acqua: senza l'acqua la terra non darebbe frutti, senza codice materno nessun neonato umano potrebbe sopravvivere. Ma come l'acqua diventa oltre un certo limite inondante e distruttiva, così accade anche per il codice materno.

L'evento simbolico a carattere universale che caratterizza l'uomo è rappresentato dalla vita prenatale e dal parto; la violenza insita del parto occorre sia esportata all'esterno del rapporto tra madre e bambino, per rendere possibile l'instaurarsi del codice materno, e questo compito viene svolto dal padre, la cui funzione è quella di "ammortizzatore e mallevadore dei pericoli che minacciano la nascita del figlio dell'uomo" (Franco Fornari). Il padre assume così una parte violenta che in realtà non è sua, che appartiene alla relazione naturale madre-bambino, per permettere l'instaurarsi positivo del regno della madre. Il nome assegnato a questo processo è quello di paranoia primaria. Tutti i fantasmi sono conseguenze del fantasma originario, ossia della vita prenatale e del parto; essi sono gli eventi centrali per la vita affettiva, essi costituiscono la rappresentazione dell'anima come prima realizzazione degli affetti, la situazione perduta per eccellenza. La nascita degli affetti non sono altro che il prolungamento di quella vita intrauterina che ci è stata negata dall'evoluzione quando, attraverso la posizione eretta, si è verificata il contemporaneo restringimento del bacino e l'ampliamento delle dimensioni del cranio per lo sviluppo dell'intelligenza; i significanti originari degli affetti, perduti nel parto-nascita, trovano così una seconda saturazione nelle relazioni familiari, per poi rendersi disponibili per nuove relazioni.

VERSUS

Il codice paterno prescrive la separazione del figlio dalla madre e la sua crescita in nome della genitalità; esso valorizza le capacità e la prestazione, l'efficienza e l'autonomia, l'indipendenza nella crescita, per Franco Fornari

privilegiamento del principio di realtà e di prestazione… favorendo così sia la progressiva e graduale separazione del figlio dalla madre prima e dalla famiglia poi, sia la sua introduzione nella società più ampia... Contrapposto al codice materno come autocentrico, il codice paterno si costituisce come fondamentalmente eterocentrico, e porta la famiglia ad aprirsi verso l'esterno… Il codice paterno rompe… tale simbiosi autarchica e rivela il carattere illusorio dell'onnipotenza che la sostiene… elabora fondamentalmente, nel soggetto, la propria mancanza di essere orientandola verso l'esterno, in un altro essere, preoccupato della creazione di aggregati sempre più vasti.

2009-06-19T10:43:00.000-07:00

Two memories:

One.

After every night shift that my Mum worked...as soon as she got home in the morning, she would come to my room, open the door, check on me, and then go to sleep.
I would always wake-up at this moment and be glad she was checking on me...she did this even when I was 18...hahaha. so sweet. Mothers.

Two.

Tell me a story
tell me a story
you promised me
you said you would
you gotta give in
so i'll be good
tell me a story
and then
i'll
go
to
bed.

My Dad used to sing this to me when i would beg to read another story before bed...
i loved reading bedtime stories with my Dad.

2009-06-16T02:11:00.000-07:00

When I moved to the US for my studies, little did I know that the American people would actually RE-ELECT Bush. Then, while I was in the US, the Canadian elections took place and my one vote was unable to save the Liberals from a Conservative win.

Bush in the US.
Harper in Canada.
great.

Now, I live in Italy and surprise, surprise...Berlusconi is the leader.
How is it possible?

This being said, the Democratic win in the US will hopefully be a beacon of light for that nation...and perhaps Canadians will find themselves looking inward and start questioning whether or not the Harper-way reflects the socialist heart of Canada.

As for Italy...such a beautiful place, such wonderful and intelligent people...so much to improve here and yet...this is nearly impossible with Berlusconi in power...wait, elected into power.

Will the Italian nation wake-up and realise that Berlusconi has no place in Italian politics? He doesn't help the poor, he doesn't help the wealthy (?), he certainly doesn't help the average Italian...so, how is he still in power?

The Italian people are subjecting themselves to Berlusconi's rule as they continue to allow Berlusconi and his party members to be elected and re-elected.
Please, wake-up...disapprove, with your voices, with your actions...with your votes.

"Ahora veo, como en una pesadilla, que los italianos, que a mí me habían otorgado el placer de la libertad de información y expresión, tienen que leer EL PAÍS para poder saber las desvergüenzas cometidas por su Cavaliere. ¿Dónde quedó aquella Italia a la que el mundo amaba y admiraba?"

Juan Arias
El Pais
15/06/2009
http://www.elpais.com/articulo/opinion/triste/Italia/elpepiopi/20090615elpepiopi_13/Tes

2009-06-09T03:22:00.000-07:00

Time time time: vuela...

Me gustaria estar alli para veros crecer...hablaros todos los dias, bromear, correr por la casa, gritar, pelear...

Sois preciosos, de verdad. Mas orgullosa no podria ser.

Siempre estoy pensando en vosotros y espero poder ayudaros en la vida...ser un apoyo.

Troublemaker #1 and #2: os quiero tanto.

2009-05-11T07:08:00.000-07:00

Venezia...oh man, have I got things to say about Venezia...but right now, surprise surprise, I've got to go teach. Oh and one photo of Padova...more to come.

2009-05-03T10:55:00.001-07:00

Mum, the Baby Gorilla, out and about in Cosenza...just waiting to take you on a tour!

In the photos you can see, the main theatre (or a part of it...baby gorilla preferred a close up, the best gelato place in the historic centre, one of the rivers, a view of the historic centre, and Enrico and I with Baby Gorilla).

MAMMA, vieni qua! (Mum, translated...MUM, COME HERE!)

2009-04-27T09:08:00.000-07:00

At a staff meeting the other day, Sayuri nudges me and points at her notebook...I read the following:

Did you ever imagine that one day you'd be at a staff meeting, in ITALIAN?

...

ha. No Sayuri, I definitely did not.

The best part was when I had to ask a question, in Italian, in front of 25 people...and I got so nervous that I threw in a few verbs in Spanish. great fun.

2009-04-20T09:35:00.001-07:00

I don’t remember specific locations or occasions of eating fig newton cookies, but I do remember being with my Dad and eating them until the trays were empty. Now, before this sounds too much like an advertisement for Fig Newton, let me state that not all kids like fig newton cookies. I mean, they’re made of figs! Most kids don’t even know what figs are in Canada (or at least I never knew what the fig Newton was made of…FIG, duh!).

My Dad use to say, and I paraphrase “Let me show you a trick”. He would then break the cookie nearly in half and then piece it back together. Seems like nothing special BUT the cookie actually looked like it had never been broken apart!!! This is really freaking unbelievable when you’re six. I think I thought fig Newton cookies really were magic until I was 16…17…errrr…whatever.

Italians spend hours enjoying lunch. Me and my Dad spent hours enjoying fig Newton cookies. Ah, the small joys of life.

I heart my Dad and fig newton cookies.

2009-03-05T02:28:00.000-08:00

The first couple of months that I lived in Atlanta, I was pretty much alone in the evening during the week after work, lonely and bored. I only knew Joy and Alberto and they lived 20 minutes away in Decatur. They weren't far...but we were all so busy getting used to our work schedules, new schools, work work work...that the weekends were the best times to visit until things calmed down at school.

When I would come home from work in the late afternoon/early evening, I would put on my running shoes and either go for a run or just walk around the neighbourhood.
In order to reach the 'Sandy Springs' neighbourhood, I had to first go OTP.

What does that mean, OTP?...let me explain: going 'Out of the perimeter' refers to the action of leaving the unofficial Atlanta city limits by crossing the highway that encircles the city called the 285...once you cross the 285, you are OTP or OUT OF THE PERIMETER, and on your way to the 'burbs. Most Atlantans highly discourage going OTP.

So, since I lived just inside the perimeter (in my Mexican 'hood, which I loved), I had to cross the 285 on foot into the lovely burby area of Sandy Springs.
The biggest danger was not being hit by an angry commuter arriving home after his 3 hour commute in the worst stop-and-go traffic you can find next to Los Angeles, but rather, the Chick-fil-A that was just down Roswell Road.

I ran almost everyday just so that I could enjoy the happiness that is the Chick-fil-A Chicken sandwich..........HEAVEN. JOY AND ALBERT I AM SO JEALOUS I WILL KILL YOU.

In anycase, I didn't know anyone other than Joy and Alberto, Stacy was still deciding whether or not to trust me enough to become my friend (naturally, I'm a bit scary and overwhelming at first) and Georgia had not yet whirl-winded into my life from the gymnasium (Oh sweet Buckeye Georgia from Ohio, mad love)...so, I walked.

I didn't want to sit in my cute little apartment doing nothing. I mean, I don't mind being alone, in fact I like my alone time, but sitting around is not for me...I am no couch potato...and I don't like working all night long...so, I walked.

What did I do on these walks? I went through stores, parks, by the cinema, to the grocery store, stopped in local bars for impromptu amateur guitar sing-alongs, read in Starbucks... anything...

The weather was great and I needed to be outside roaming around, not stuck in my apartment glued to the tv or looking at the walls (THEN AGAIN, I did have a pool)!!

I remember one of my first runs...I was heading out of my 'gated apartment complex' and just before I reached the gate I saw flashing lights: the police. They were arresting a man who had robbed a local store. Excellent. I felt very safe.

Every now and again I would ask myself...how did I end up here? Ah yes, school- Florida, Optional practical training for one year-Atlanta...I had turned down a position in Brooklynn, New York to be in Atlanta so, Police outside my gate actually wasn't so bad...was it?

I used to love taking the 20 minute drive over to Decatur to see Joy and Alberto. Often times we would sit around and watch tv together, do laundry (yes, sometimes I would bring my laundry all the way to Decatur and do it at Joy and Al's complex) and even stroll around Decatur. I always felt more at home in their home than in my apartment, like I was visiting family in another part of the city.

Now, Atlanta is the biggest city in the dirty south. It is a city mainly of transients. If you want to have a life in Atlanta, you've got to make it so you better get involved in SOMETHING!
I joined the Rotaract club, I found a co-ed soccer team (which led to a co-ed drinking team!), Stacy finally became my friend (my charm won her over hehehe), and I got settled into school and had more time to spend visiting with Joy and Alberto (my main reasons for moving to Atlanta, yes, it's true).

This proved to me that even in a strange transient city like Atlanta, if you are pro-active, you can have a meaningful existence...and a fun time...(if you are reading this and feeling very confused, the only thing I can say is that you have to spend some time in Atlanta to know what I'm talking about).

I remember the first time that Enrico and I spoke about Atlanta. We both commented the same thing...we felt suffocated there...not close enough to the water (in my case, the lake, in his the sea)...it does have the 'hoochee, but it just didn't cut it...regardless, for what it gave me, Atlanta was cool.

Ramble ramble ramble blah blah blah full stop.

2009-02-21T10:47:00.000-08:00

'Happy'...I was thinking about you just now. You touched my soul that October day in 2006 and I still feel it. I hope you are still travelling from group to group telling your story and sharing the rocks.

When Keisha gets a little older, I'll tell her your story too.

Are you where you want to be?

What do you have to do in order to be your happiest...
do you share?
do you listen to yourself?
are you too attached to things?
are you living life honestly?
do you have goals? are you reaching them?
can you smile everyday and mean it?
do you know how to 'pay it forward'?

Are you doing your personal best everyday knowing that it will always be worth it...

You're the best.
Be happy.
I love you.

'Dare you to move'
by Switchfoot

Welcome to the planet
Welcome to existence
Everyone's here
Everyone's here
Everybody's watching you now
Everybody waits for you now
What happens next?
What happens next?

I dare you to move
I dare you to move
I dare you to lift yourself up off the floor
I dare you to move
I dare you to move
Like today never happened
Today never happened before

Welcome to the fallout
Welcome to resistance
The tension is here
The tension is here
Between who you are and who you could be
Between how it is and how it should be

I dare you to move
I dare you to move
I dare you to lift yourself up off the floor
I dare you to move
I dare you to move
Like today never happened
Today never happened

Maybe redemption has stories to tell
Maybe forgiveness is right where you fell
Where can you run to escape from yourself?
Where you gonna go?
Where you gonna go?
Salvation is here

I dare you to move
I dare you to move
I dare you to lift yourself up off the floor
I dare you to move
I dare you to move
Like today never happened
Today never happened
Today never happened
Today never happened before

2009-02-15T11:12:00.000-08:00

I wake up. Something is strange: the light in the room. I know this type of brightness. I run to the window and before I can realize that my mouth is moving, I say "HOLY SHIT, look at it!". Enrico wakes up and casually responds "Snow?", I snap back "YES! IT'S SNOWING!! BIG SNOWFLAKES EVERYWHERE!"

A snowball fight went down that day in the DEIS parking lot...unfortunately, I was out of practice. The battle scars run deep. I got a snowball in the ear (I mean SNOW IN MY EARDRUM). I did manage to nail Enrico in the thigh and soak through his pants...that was sweet. I need it to snow again. I MUST EXACT MY REVENGE.

In case anyone doubted it, I am Canadian...I can smell a snowy day before it happens. Enrico, you better hope it doesn't snow again...I am lifting weights and training to injure you with the fastest coldest snowball this side of the Atlantic.

*evil laughter*

2009-01-30T07:43:00.000-08:00

2009-01-30T06:49:00.000-08:00

11 years ago (I think I was sitting in my highschool OAC Geography class), as the morning announcements sounded over the PA system, I heard mention of 'Rotary club' and ' International student exchange'..."please go to guidance for more information and an application form". As soon as class ended, I basically sprinted to guidance, got an application form for a Rotary International Student Exchange and starting filling it out.

I don't remember if I asked my parents or told my parents, but they weren't against it, so we went ahead.

'Please write the top three countries you wish to be considered for'

1. Spain
2. Italy
3. Costa Rica

I was first accepted into the program and then around December I was told..."You'll be going to Costa Rica!".

I think I should have been happy...tropical paradise, eco-tourism central, CENTRO AMERICA! But I wasn't. My dream for Spain was crushed. Italy, crushed.
Somehow, tropical paradise didn't seem right.

Enter Cristina. Spanish exchange student to RIDGETOWN (pop. 3000, maybe)...poor girl. The compensation for her was that she could bus into Chatham and attend the Pines, my much larger highschool.

We became friends and through a twist of fate, her Mother spoke with Silvia who is the niece of the man who would become my host-father, Fernando.
Fernando's daughter, Patricia, wanted to do an exchange and her family needed to take-in an exchange student...many strings pulled and pushed on later...
Adios Costa Rica, HOLA ESPANA. Majadahonda. Madrid. Espana.

One of the best years of my life. The only thing missing was that I didn't get to spend it with Patricia (who was in New Mexico), one of the coolest people I've ever met.

Meet the exchange family:

Fernando - host father
Belinda - host mother
Patricia - host sister abroad in New Mexico, USA
Iris - host sister
Fernando - host brother
Naiara - host sister

...not to mention Uncles, Aunts, cousins, extended cousins, extra-extended cousins....

So this year, after 4 years of not having visited this family in Spain, Enrico gave me as a birthday present a ticket for me to Spain and a ticket for him...we would spend Christmas break in Majadahonda! And.........after some planning, we added our good friend Giorgio in the mix and away we went.

Not only did I have a beautiful first Christmas in Italy with Enrico's family, but I got to share all the wildness of the Romero Navarro / Gomez Sanchez home with Enrico and Giorgio.

NON-STOP FANTASTIC TIME.

Thank you Mum and Dad for trusting me, tolerating me and supporting me to go to Spain. I gained a language and a family that also keeps putting up with me everytime I go back and that keeps waiting for you both. I'm the luckiest.

Mum...the beach...southern Spain is calling you...and so is Belinda, oh wait a minute, she is screaming happily :-)

2008-12-12T07:46:00.000-08:00

2008-12-06T14:06:00.000-08:00

PSS- SHASTA, MONDAY IS CHRISTMAS TREE DAY IN ITALY!!! CAN'T WAIT TO HANG OUR NEW ORNAMENTS! Enrico's Mum said she was only going to hang your ornaments on her tree...I will photo-document and display here!!!

2008-12-06T13:31:00.000-08:00

OH, btw Shasta, try putting your shirt on first and THEN your seatbelt. baci! hahahaha

2008-12-06T12:57:00.000-08:00

"There is no such thing as a "self-made" man. We are made up of thousands of others. Everyone who has ever done a kind deed for us, or spoken one word of encouragement to us, has entered into the make-up of our character and of our thoughts, as well as our success."

-George Matthew Adams

I admit it...after three months I finally set foot in the library. My thesis is a ticking time bomb...I must begin it and finish it immediately. BUT, I didn't go to the library for my thesis. I went to see Raffaele "MEEEEGGGGLLLIiiiooo". His Father passed away recently, so I went to say hello. He was so sweet, he smiled, spoke softly and at a surprisingly understandable rate...said he was doing well and then he called his wife so i could say hello! He asked me how everything was and what he could do to help me 'conquer' the library...starting by making a library card! ha!

After I left, I thought about Shasta. I walked to my Philosophy class and passed the places where she had stopped to snap pictures "Kate, the view is AMAZING! Keep walking, I'll catch up". She is my shining star. She flew into Italy, showed me around 'my town', caressed and hugged me up and then flew on her way to Australia to also start a new adventure of life.

Shasta, you warmed my heart...thinking back, maybe I seemed less chatty than normal? I think that anytime I wasn't talking my head off I was just listening to you and watching you, trying to take in your goodness and positivity...you said you thought of me as an older sister...but funny enough, I think you played that role for me this time.

I don't doubt that you are meeting every new experience and challenge with that beautiful smile of yours...I promise you that I thought about everything we talked about and I'm making the changes to make sure that I am also smiling that smile of mine that you know.

Why does Australia have to be so freaking in AUSTRALIA?! Mad love to you.

“If in our daily life we can smile, if we can be peaceful and happy, not only we, but everyone will profit from it. This is the most basic kind of peace work. “

-Thich Nhat Hanh

2008-11-23T03:44:00.000-08:00

Oh Shanesya, this picture...it wasn't just any christmasy hallway...it was a direct path from me to you...(not to mention, a way to escape the noise from the construction on ST. CLAIR AVE WEST, which is now completely done and a lovely street car transports people in a timely fashion to the St. Clair West subway)

BLOODY TTC FOR PUTTING US THROUGH HELL!!! hahahaha

Am I bringing about Christmas cheer?

hahahahahahahaha

:-)

Love you,
Kate

2008-11-13T03:33:00.000-08:00

This morning, during a 'coffee run' with Pasquale, Barbara and Mariangela ('coffee run' meaning, you stroll to the closest coffee shop, drink in .003 of a second your itty bitty espresso and then you stroll back to work or wherever you are going)...Pasquale said to me "Kate, tell me the truth, what is it that makes you happy like this all the time".

I replied, "Do you want the PG answer or the Rated 'R' answer?"

Rated 'R' it is....

1. Minimum of 6 hours of sleep
2. Coffee (even though I am not a heavy coffee drinker...so, you can substitute coffee for your favourite food. In my case, chocolate. Is chocolate a food? oh well.)
3. Take the approach "Don't worry, be happy"...whenever I start to worry too much about anything, eventually my brain kicks into RED ALERT, CALM DOWN mode and I remember no amount of stress is worth feeling physically or mentally ill.

Pasquale then asked, "What part of that is 'R' rated?". I respond "I'm not done yet...a fourth element can certainly aid 1 through 3..."

4. Three letter word...starts with s and ends with x.
(I added this fourth element for humour, but that doesn't make it any less valid)

The very last thing I had to add to this conversation was that I am probably just chemically imbalanced and therefore appear happy all the time.

Apart from this....I'd like to add that:

I'm pretty much convinced these days that there is some universal decree that if I feel sad...something will happen to brighten me up....and with good timing also (this is evidence that I am either ridiculously optimistic or chemically imbalanced).

Lately it has been food. I feel down and then I get a call. It's Enrico's Mum. Coincidentally, she's made my new favourite pasta and says, "...don't cook, come here and eat". Amazing, like I'm going to say no to that offer!!!
It is capable of changing my entire mood. I know, you're thinking I'm crazy, right? wait...

A couple of days ago a package arrived...for me. It was a book that Enrico got me as a present. As he unwrapped and revealed the book, I actually started crying. Joy, I finally have it...'eat, pray, love'.
The arrival of that book had the best timing...ever, of anything.
That day, I thought I was going to self destruct and one little book filled me with so much joy.

Speaking of which, on a completely unrelated note (more signs that I am C.I.), I wanted to note the things that I have yet to blog about...:

1. THE VESPA GETAWAY FROM VICIOUS RABIES DOG.
2. ROAMING, best hobby ever. I win first place at roaming.

NOTE FOR MY MUM: I missed you a lot on your birthday. In fact, I was downright sad and missing you. How is it that you are so amazing? LIKE, REALLY...why is it that Mum's are always right about everything, or almost, and they like touch something and make it perfect. I bake a cookie and it is like eating a rock and my Mum can whip up perfection from nothing (in case you are wondering, I will continue to rant, randomly, on this subject).

2008-11-11T13:27:00.000-08:00

"Che rumore fa la felicità..."

I'm not going to lie, I'm falling in love with the italian language. I was resistant at first. I felt like I was betraying my spanish soul...but...there is space for il dolce stil nuovo...
Enrico knows, like my Mum, like my friends, like my Dad...I am testadura...so stubborn you might want to throw rocks at me....
but as I sat today having a coffee before work, talking to Antonello (the barman) and the kind waitress...i realized....it's happening. yup. i admit, it's beautiful.

A new song among my favourites....

Gianluca Grignani
La mia storia tra le dita

Sai penso che
Non sia stato inutile
Stare insieme a te.
Ok te ne vai
Decisione discutibile
Ma si, lo so, lo sai.
Almeno resta qui per questa sera
Ma no che non ci provo stai sicura.
Può darsi già mi senta troppo solo
Perche' conosco quel sorriso
Di chi ha già deciso.
Quel sorriso già una volta
Mi ha aperto il paradiso.

Si dice che
Per ogni uomo
C'é un'altra come te.
E al posto mio quindi
Tu troverai qualcun'altro
Uguale no non credo io.
Ma questa volta abbassi gli occhi e dici
Noi resteremo sempre buoni amici,
Ma quali buoni amici maledetti.
Io un amico lo perdono
Mentre a te ti amo.
Può sembrarti anche banale
Ma é un istinto naturale.

Ma c'é una cosa che
Io non ti ho detto mai.
I miei problemi senza di te
Si chiaman guai.
Ed é per questo
Che mi vedi fare il duro
In mezzo al mondo
Per sentirmi più sicuro.

E se davvero non vuoi dirmi
Che ho sbagliato.
Ricorda a volte un uomo
Va anche perdonato.
Ed invece tu,
Tu non mi lasci via d'uscita.
E te ne vai con la mia storia fra le dita.

Ora che fai,
Cerchi una scusa
Se vuoi andare vai.
Tanto di me
Non ti devi preoccupare
Me la saprò cavare.
Stasera scriverò una canzone
Per soffocare dentro un'esplosione.
Senza pensare troppo alle parole
Parlerò di quel sorriso
Di chi ha già deciso
Quel sorriso che una volta
Mi ha aperto il paradiso.

Ma c'é una cosa che
Io non ti ho detto mai.
I miei problemi senza di te
Si chiaman guai.
Ed é per questo
Che mi vedi fare il duro
In mezzo al mondo
Per sentirmi più sicuro.

E se davvero non vuoi dirmi
Che ho sbagliato.
Ricorda a volte un uomo
Va anche perdonato.
Ed invece tu,
Tu non mi lasci via d'uscita.
E te ne vai con la mia storia fra le dita.

2008-10-24T03:51:00.000-07:00

THE FRIDGE PICTURES ARE SERIOUS.

Dad, this is very serious. if you don't send me a picture from christmas...i will do one of two things:
1) I will call and wake you up everyday...at 5 am your time
2) I will scream so loud you will hear it from here.

thanks,
Love,
Kate

PS- Enrico told me this morning that last night i put my hand on his head and started tapping with my fingers...JUST LIKE KEISHA!!!!
OH MY WORD...how can we be so much alike when we live so far apart...
genetics.
wow.

2008-10-24T03:35:00.000-07:00

Mum,
The clothes drying on the line with the mountains in the background...view from the balcony...our towels smell gooooooood...so far, surviving wihtout a dryer isn't so tough. It just requires a little bit of planning, patience and good weather.

(PS- Everytime I iron a piece of clothing, I swear to God that I thank you for being my Mother and making my clothes so nice...I swear!! Right now there is a mountain of fresh clothes calling my name to iron them...)

Oh! And check out the grocery cart Enrico's pulling...fun, eh?!

2008-10-24T03:25:00.000-07:00

THIS IS FOR YOU FRIEND.
YOUR CHURCH :-)
(Church in Settimo di Montalto Uffugo, Cosenza, Calabria, Italy ... aka right around the corner from our place)

I stopped traffic that day in the middle of the intersection and said...(in italian) I'M SORRY, but I'm VERY BUSY...I have to take a picture for my friend of this Church right now...and yes...it trumps whatever task you are trying to achieve in this moment.
Thank you kindly...you may now resume your traffic pattern.
TA DAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
ha
ha
ha
Whether it was my fine italian or my stunningly short skirt...the long line of cars allowed me to take these two pictures...and then they all honked and made the hand formation...you know the one, friend..."ma che cazzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.........."
ha ha ha

2008-10-24T03:00:00.000-07:00

WE WILL OWN A MEXICAN-CALABRIAN RESTAURANT.
(this pictures show how successful our mexican-calabrian burritos turned out...it's not easy finding tortillas in southern italy...high five Enrico)

Amanda, we're very busy. We need an interior designer. we will pay big dolla dolla bill....once we make it....what do you say?

Alberto & Joy...are you up to the task? Without your mexi'can selves...we're done for.
We need you!

Mum, what role would you like in the restaurant? You know you have to take part...it's a family establishment.

SPECIAL NOTE: The picture of Giorgio where it appears that he is cooking is in fact FALSE....Giorgio is the entertainment staff...FABIO is CO-HEAD CHEF / CUISINE ADVISOR

RESTAURANT NAMES ANYONE??? IDEAS????

2008-09-29T04:16:00.000-07:00

Perspective:
"You have to learn another way to deal with things"
-E.N.

Imagine a very stressful moment in your life... got it? Now times it by ten, twenty...ummmm....add this visual...signs. signs with pictures. and sometimes with text in a language you don't understand. wait. add a voice...the voice is telling you in english to forget everything you've learned in your life thus far...

Instead of your standard 1 + 1 = 2...
think more along the lines of
-1 + 3 = 2
or
1.5 + 0.5 = 2
orrrrrr
2 x 1 = 2
and/orrrrrrrrrrr
the square root of 4 = 2

got it?

Think, Alice in Wonderland. yes, Alice...you are Alice and you don't know what the crap is going on. but, you go with it.

This is my attempt to describe to you how I felt saturday while driving in Rome, for the first time, under the direction of Enrico. Of course, it pales in comparison to the reality that was.
By the time we got out of the car in central Rome, the back of my shirt was covered in sweat. sexy. ummm. who cares...We were alive. I was triumphant. still confused. ever suffered from vertigo? I imagine the feeling was similar.

Some more detail? Indeed.

As I was zooming along the street that runs parallel to the river Tevere in Rome, I nearly clip a vehicle...the reason? I tried to switch lanes, with my signal. Enrico explains to me (and I paraphrase):

"Kate, you cannot switch a full lane in Italy, much less in Rome. You must think of the street as divided in quarter lanes. As for your signal...you are only confusing them...if you don't go like your signal shows, they won't know what you are trying to do...just GO. They will stop or react if you are confident. Prepotente. Now, get into the 'left', pass in the middle up there and DO NOT USE FIRST GEAR again until we leave Rome. OH, and show no fear."

Now, I wonder if you are thinking the same thing I am still thinking...
"QUARTER LANES?" (as a reference, please see, Indian Masters of lane division: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjrEQaG5jPM)
!£%/ ()& %$%°ç@@ %£/@!!!

Driving in Rome is not for the faint of heart. If you are a passenger in a car in Rome and you wear a pacemaker, you must also wear a blindfold. Got it?
Pacemaker = Blindfold
Weak bladder = Blindfold
Pregnant = Blindfold
Nervous = Blindfold

What the crap, you might even drive better with a Blindfold...

PERSPECTIVE
Main Entry: 1 per·spec·tive
Pronunciation: \pər-ˈspek-tiv\
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English perspectyf, from Medieval Latin perspectivum, from neuter of perspectivus of sight, optical, from Latin perspectus, past participle of perspicere to look through, see clearly, from per- through + specere to look — more at per-, spy
Date: 14th century
archaic : an optical glass (as a telescope)

2008-09-17T05:50:00.000-07:00

Joy hand-painted these 'nichos' herself...I know, freaking amazing!
-------

It's amazing to me when I think about our three years together...the three of us became a fun and funny little family, didn't we. My happiest memories of those three years involve you. Didn't matter if it was just across Gainesville or Atlanta...I was always ready to come and see you (if I lacked motivation, food joined the plans and on my way I went!).
Our times together, by lake Alice, on y'alls porch, walking through the Decatur cemetery (morbid, I know), sitting on the monster sofa...the bunny sleeping with me, are among my favourite times, in life...where I was just happy, so happy and that's from just being with you both. listening to you. learning from you. talking with you. It's hard when I love two people as much as I love you both, to be far from you. The truth is, I don't want to spend my life in the US, but had I been able to get a visa for another year, I would have stayed just to be close to you. Sounds crazy to anyone else, but I am a little crazy anyways.
How could I express it in any other way to make you understand how much you both mean to me...
love.
knowing that if I call and talk to your answering machine long enough for you to know it's me, you'll pick up...
knocking on your door unexpectedly and always feeling welcome...
sharing tragedies and drama and not feeling embarassed...
hugs just because...
telling me how it is...
and and and and and...
love.

I so naturally love you both. You are a part of my everyday life, wherever we are. that's awesome.

2008-09-15T07:58:00.000-07:00

'...be worth more in your own eyes'

When I act in a way that doesn't reflect who I feel I am or who I want to be...when I do something that I want to hide because it would be embarassing to admit...
it's time...
...past time...time to evaluate my behaviour. myself.
go back to the root of the root of myself.

I was reading one of Father Ken's sermons from August...
the point i found most useful...
i need to 'raise the bar' of what I expect of and for myself.
...continuously evaluate...not leave it for when things go 'wrong' or poorly...

http://www.saintjameswestminster.ca/sermons/080824.pdf

2008-09-12T03:54:00.000-07:00

Hi Mum, I miss you. everyday. always did before anyways.
Madrid, Gainesville, Atlanta, Toronto, Cosenza...
Always in all ways. Even when you are sassing me around because I...(insert any number of things here that I do that might be annoying).
Although, I especially like it when you aren't sassing me and instead prepare fruit for me :-)
Love,
Kate

2008-09-12T03:42:00.000-07:00

I heard a saying in the summer in Italy and it came up in conversation last night...

A little bit of Italian wisdom? Here we go...

L'acqua vudde e lu purcu è alla muntagna.
(Dialect from Pasquale Pace from Castrovillari)

L'acqua vuddra e u' puarcu é ara muntagna.
(Dialect from Enrico from Cosenza)

L'acqua gujja e u' porcu e a la muntagna.
(Dialect from Gianluca from Catanzaro)

L'acqua bolle e il maiale è alla montagna.
(Italian)

The water is boiling and the pig is on the mountain.
(English)

Translation...when you want to do a certain task but you skip almost all of the steps to get there and then you don't have the basics to complete the task.

DON'T JUMP THE GUN.
First, you have to catch the pig, then prepare the pig, of course boil the water and 'EVVIVA'....cook that pig!!!

;-)

2008-09-10T09:09:00.000-07:00

They (the italian people who set standards for foreign students) said I had to be here Sept.2, without fail, to take a national 'language test'...some language test: It had history, math, italian grammar and english questions!

Of 130 multiple choice questions, I answered 73. Of 73, I only got 52 correct.

Thankfully...this doesn't count, at all.

phew...

2008-09-07T13:08:00.000-07:00

Progress...
First you disassemble, donate, divide, distribute, return, store or safeguard...
then you pack...in my case, all you can fit into 3 bags...
with the help of friends and family, who are supporting you even if they think youre brave and kind of nuts...
next, lots of hugs, love yous, thinking am i really going to move far away from all these people i love and of course plenty of visiting before heading to airport....
getting on a flight and waking up in a plane thinking...holy shit...allo Enrico, guess what, Im really on my way, finalmente, an opportunity to build.
oh but wait, then, you get out of the plane, remember you dont speak italian and think...shit---i hope i packed my italian grammar book in one of my 50 pound bags, or perhaps in my 20 pound backpack, or possibly in my 16 pound guitar case...&/%$&$(!!!!!

growing is real, and hard, and exciting, and wild, and wait....really really real.
for the past week, Ive woken up next to the person I love and not had to think, oh shit, the vacation is almost over, see you in 2 or 3 months, maybe.

in one week ive already learned that he hates things on the bed, asks me things ive probably forgotten about or havent done, and makes sure i drink enough water at lunch...
he also prepares the breakfast table, is always looking for the best solution to progress and to move forward and helps, with everything...
one week is nothing, but starting something real, en vivo, is a great way to move forward...the best.

2008-08-15T18:32:00.000-07:00

The luckiest.

Go figure that nothing in life works out the way you picture perfect planned it in your crazy little mind...I knew that, but did I really know it? It bloody amazes me when life comes around and spanks me, teaches me...

I think a wound is finally healing and that I'm finding some peace about a deep loss...and that loss isn't so lost and surprisingly, pleasantly holds my hand and covers me in love.

How did I feel? I thought, what an ass I was/am. So I got hurt, really hurt and decided to walk...I got hurt and left a friendship...lame, I know...and then I suffered and dreamt about it for years. sometimes "some type of peace" just isn't enough...We both suffered, a great deal I think and for what?

In any case, that peace, her peace took my itty bitty peace and opened the door, brought us face to face, holding hands.

How I used to pray for this moment. God please take this poison out of me and fill my heart with love, help me abandon my pride, help her forgive me for not being there. I lost. we lost moments. 6 years of them. How could I be so selfish?

And there it was, the hug I'd dreamt of for six years...

i'm the luckiest.

Thank you for having no limit to your love.

boy, in life, i've still got a freaking lot to learn...and, I might lack discipline but i dooooooooooo lovvvvvvvvvvvvve to learn!

Amen.

Drops of Jupiter
Train

Now that shes back in the atmosphere
With drops of jupiter in her hair, hey, hey
She acts like summer and walks like rain
Reminds me that theres time to change, hey, hey
Since the return from her stay on the moon
She listens like spring and she talks like june, hey, hey

Tell me did you sail across the sun
Did you make it to the milky way to see the lights all faded
And that heaven is overrated

Tell me, did you fall for a shooting star
One without a permanent scar
And did you miss me while you were looking at yourself out there

Now that shes back from that soul vacation
Tracing her way through the constellation, hey, hey
She checks out mozart while she does tae-bo
Reminds me that theres time to grow, hey, hey

Now that shes back in the atmosphere
Im afraid that she might think of me as plain ol jane
Told a story about a man who is too afraid to fly so he never did land

Tell me did the wind sweep you off your feet
Did you finally get the chance to dance along the light of day
And head back to the milky way
And tell me, did venus blow your mind
Was it everything you wanted to find
And did you miss me while you were looking for yourself out there

Can you imagine no love, pride, deep-fried chicken
Your best friend always sticking up for you even when I know youre wrong
Can you imagine no first dance, freeze dried romance five-hour phone
Conversation
The best soy latte that you ever had . . . and me

Tell me did the wind sweep you off your feet
Did you finally get the chance to dance along the light of day
And head back toward the milky way

2008-08-13T19:06:00.000-07:00

You are, you really, really are.

2008-08-13T17:00:00.000-07:00

...so I resigned from my job today. I was pretty nervous about telling my boss since we're coming into High Holidays. She read my resignation letter and said, wow, you're going to Italy, this is great. we're sad for the loss but this is bigger than us, this is an opportunity for your future...She smiled, told me about when she moved to Israel, how she taught English and how she acclimated to life in Israel...said she'd go back in a heartbeat, in fact, she only came back to Canada because her husband wanted to. Her daughters and son all live far away and sure, she'd love to be closer together, but this is life.

do you have family or those friends that live far, but you see them again and it's like they just got back from a coffee run?

i miss some of my dearest friends everyday and we live in the same city.

were you raised and encouraged to live, i mean really, really live...learning, growing, sharing, being joyous, following your heart and dreams...achieving your goals...

i believe i was.

when you feel sad or lonely because the people you love the most are far away from you, don't you already know that they are loving you with every inch of their being wherever they are in the world and wishing you'd smile the way you do...laugh that way the makes your eyes light up and pick up the phone or a pen or open a computer and let them know you love them back times infiniti.

i read somewhere that you should keep your family and friends within hugging distance...that's ideal, true, but real is not letting your thoughts, memories and feelings toward family/friends fade because they're not right beside you...

I think I can count the number of times that I got to visit my Grandma Anderson and yet she sent me a handwritten note every year of my life since I could read even if we also talked on the phone.

I remember one of my down days in Madrid...I felt so homesick I thought my chest would cave and I didn't want anyone to know or feel bad (especially the family I was living with)...I got ready that morning and then skipped school, got on a bus and roamed around the city all day, by myself. I thought, how selfish was I to leave my Mum all alone for a year. What would she be doing right now (it's clear I didn't have a cell phone or i would have rang up a crap load of charges just to say hi and then she would have kicked my ass through the phone for skipping school).

In the end, the day ended. nobody said anything about me skipping school (miraculously because Belinda would have tore a mean strip off of me had she known), I didn't get to talk to my Mum...I did see a few new areas of Madrid, take a walk through el Parque Retiro, practice my spanish at some news kiosks where I bought a lemon fanta and some candy...and then made it home before my host parents got back from work.

life doesn't stop. and it's ok to feel sad, for whatever reason, but your more loved than you know and everyday that your breathing, walking, fed, safe, it's better to focus on being thankful for your well being and live life doing the best you can as though you were surrounded by your loved ones and setting an example.

"I don't care how poor a man is; if he has family, he's rich".
~Dan Wilcox and Thad Mumford, "Identity Crisis," M*A*S*H

"The great advantage of living in a large family is that early lesson of life's essential unfairness".
~Nancy Mitford

"If the family were a fruit, it would be an orange, a circle of sections, held together but separable - each segment distinct".
~Letty Cottin Pogrebin

2008-08-06T19:24:00.000-07:00

sometimes we all need a tender conversation like a lullaby.
relax, we're on the same side...yes, we are.
one salty breakfast coming up (ummm, who am I kidding, with a jar of nutella and a spoon on the side, seriously).

2008-08-01T11:33:00.000-07:00

It is a fair, even-handed, noble adjustment of things, that while there is infection in disease and sorrow, there is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good-humour.

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

2008-07-26T20:17:00.000-07:00

The Art of Climbing Mountains
René Daumal

My observations are those of a beginner. As they are completely fresh in my mind and concern the first difficulties a beginner encounters, they may be more useful to beginners making their first ascents than treatises written by professionals. These are no doubt more methodical and complete, but are intelligible only after a little preliminary experience. The entire aim of these notes is to help the beginner acquire this preliminary experience a little faster.

Alpinism is the art of climbing mountains by confronting the greatest dangers with the greatest prudence. Art is used here to mean the accomplishment of knowledge in action.

You cannot always stay on the summits. You have to come down again . . .

So what’s the point? Only this: what is above knows what is below, what is below does not know what is above. While climbing, take note of all the difficulties along your path. During the descent, you will no longer see them, but you will know that they are there if you have observed carefully.

There is an art to finding your way in the lower regions by the memory of what you have seen when you were higher up. When you can no longer see, you can at least still know. . .

Keep your eyes fixed on the way to the top, but don’t forget to look at your feet. The last step depends on the first. Don’t think you have arrived just because you see the peak. Watch your feet, be certain of your next step, but don’t let this distract you from the highest goal. The first step depends on the last.

When you take off on your own, leave some trace of your passage that will guide your return: one rock set on top of another, some grass pierced by a stick. But if you come to a place you cannot cross or that is dangerous, remember that the trace you have left might lead the people following you into trouble. So go back the way you came and destroy any traces you have left. This is addressed to anyone who wants to leave traces of his passage in this world. And even without wanting to, we always leave traces. Answer to your fellow men for the traces you leave behind.

Never stop on a crumbling slope. Even if you believe your feet are firmly planted, while you take a breath and looking at the sky the earth is gradually piling up under your feet, the gravel is slipping imperceptibly, and suddenly you are launched like a ship. The mountain always lies in wait for the chance to trip you up.

If, after climbing up and down three times through gullies that end in sheer drops (visible only at the last moment), your legs begin to tremble from knee to heel and your teeth start to chatter, first reach a little platform where you can stop safely; then, remember all the curse words you know and hurl them at the mountain, and spit on the mountain; finally, insult it in every way possible, swallow some water, have a bite to eat, and start climbing again, calmly, slowly, as if you had your whole lifetime to undo this bad move. In the evening, before going to sleep, when it all comes back to you, you will see then that it was just a performance. It wasn’t the mountain you were talking to, it wasn’t the mountain you conquered. The mountain is only rock or ice, with no ears or heart. But this performance may have saved your life.

Besides, in difficult moments, you’ll often surprise yourself talking to the mountain, sometimes flattering it, sometimes insulting it, sometimes promising, sometimes threatening. And you’ll imagine that the mountain answers, as if you had said the right words by speaking gently, by humbling yourself. Don’t despise yourself for this, don’t feel ashamed of behaving like those men our social scientists call primitives and animals. Just keep in mind when you recall these moments later that your dialogue with nature was only the outward image of a dialogue with yourself.

Shoes are not like feet—we are not born with them. Therefore we can choose them. Let yourself be guided in this choice first by experienced people, then by your own experience. Very quickly you will be so used to your shoes that every nail will seem like a finger, capable of testing the rock and gripping it firmly; they will become a sensitive and reliable tool, like a part of yourself. And yet you were not born with them; and yet, when they wear out, you will throw them away and remain what you are.

Your life somewhat depends on your footwear. Care for them properly, but a quarter of an hour per day will be plenty, for your life depends on several other things as well.

A climber far more experienced than I told me, “when your feet will no longer carry you, you have to walk with your head.” And that’s true. It is not, perhaps, in the natural order of things, but isn’t it better to walk with your head than to think with your feet, as often happens?

If you slip or have a minor spill, don’t interrupt your momentum but even as you right yourself recover the rhythm of your walk. Take note of the circumstances of your fall, but don’t allow your body to brood on the memory. The body always tries to make itself interesting by its shivers, its breathlessness, its palpitations, its shudders, sweats, and cramps. But it is very sensitive to its master’s scorn and indifference. If it feels he is not fooled by its jeremiads, if it understands that enlisting his pity is a useless effort, then it falls back into line and compliantly accomplishes its task.

(excerpt)

2008-07-25T17:25:00.000-07:00

It was almost exactly a year since I'd seen Stacy last at my apartment in Atlanta.
She thought she wasn't going to be able to come to Canada, she tells me through a message...I laugh, a few encouraging words and one evil plan later...on her way to Indiana she was and then straight through to Canadian customs! Armed with her Tim Horton's gift certificate (which she would not give up so easily), Stacy was Toronto-bound! I met her in the parking lot....wait...I ran shreaking through the parking lot to greet her and after a long hug, yes Stacy, the kind that start to embarass you a little after too long, I was given 12-15 dresses and skirts to carry to the apartment. It felt like we had just rolled out of Pisgah and were getting ready for another weekend of debauchery!!! 45 minutes later, it was easy for Stacy to see, not too much had changed...she was dressed, ready, running on little sleep and food, helping me dress appropriately so we could make it to yet another social function! IT WAS GREAT. Partners in crime reunited on Canadian soil! Alas, unbeknownst to Stacy, she would soon be surrounded by...........a crap load of engineers....who were....VERY FUN!! hahaha WELCOME TO YOUR FIRST SUMMER NIGHT IN TORONTO STACY, SO GLAD TO HAVE YOU BACK!!!...to be continued....

2008-07-24T08:59:00.000-07:00

FÁBULA DE POLIFEMO Y GALATEA
Góngora
...
Donde espumoso el mar sicilïano
El pie argenta de plata al Lilibeo,
Bóveda o de las fraguas de Vulcano
O tumba de los huesos de Tifeo,
Pálidas señas cenizoso un llano,
Cuando no del sacrílego deseo,
Del duro oficio da. Allí una alta roca
Mordaza es a una gruta de su boca.
...

2008-07-24T07:53:00.000-07:00

When I was little, bedtime was prized because I loved to be read to by my parents. I also loved reading to them. We'd put on my bedside lamp (I'm sure they hoped I'd fall asleep quickly...I was what you call a 'high energy' kid), and read. They're effort at the end of the day to read with me is probably why I'd always raise my hand in class to read aloud, even in french class.
Thanks Mum and Dad.

PS- ohhhh Enricooooooooooo.......

Top childhood and still 'now'hood favourites:

-Alice in Wonderland
-The Velveteen Rabbit
-The Chronicles of Narnia
-Beatrix Potter series
(...with Dad, Stephen King)

The Mock Turtle (Alice in Wonderland)
"We called him Tortoise because he taught us"

2008-07-23T18:40:00.000-07:00

"A tiny bud of a smile on our lips nourishes awareness and calms us miraculously. It returns to us the peace we thought we had lost" Thich Nhat Hanh
--------

I read these points for the first time when Joy posted them and I enjoyed re-reading them today...

Instructions for Life in the new millennium from the Dalai Lama:

1. Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.
2. When you lose, don't lose the lesson.
3. Follow the three Rs: Respect for self, respect for others and responsibility for all your actions.
4. Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.
5. Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly.
6. Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship.
7. When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.
8. Spend some time alone every day.
9. Open your arms to change, but don't let go of our values.
10. Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
11. Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you'll be able to enjoy it a second time.
12. A loving atmosphere in your home is the foundation for your life.
13. In disagreements with loved ones, deal only with the current situation. Don't bring up the past.
14. Share your knowledge. It's a way to achieve immortality.
15. Be gentle with the earth.
16. Once a year, go some place you've never been before.
17. Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other.
18. Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.
19. Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon.

2008-07-21T12:31:00.000-07:00

As once the winged energy of delight

As once the winged energy of delight
carried you over childhood's dark abysses,
now beyond your own life build the great
arch of unimagined bridges.

Wonders happen if we can succeed
in passing through the harshest danger;
but only in a bright and purely granted
achievement can we realize the wonder.

To work with Things in the indescribable
relationship is not too hard for us;
the pattern grows more intricate and subtle,
and being swept along is not enough.

Take your practiced powers and stretch them out
until they span the chasm between two
contradictions...For the god
wants to know himself in you.

-R.M.Rilke

2008-07-20T20:58:00.000-07:00

"there are no shortcuts to any place worth going" carmela toninelo

will elaborate on:
1.bus ride next to/conversation with hungarian teenage girl on St. Clair Ave. Is there a 'simple' person?
2.you complain that I steal covers, big smile and evil grin. perfection is overrated.
3.which books to bring? anybody going to italy and got a spare suitcase?
4.carmela. in my thoughts almost daily. "why the world has to be so big?"

2008-07-19T11:39:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, friday, the Rabbi was away so they gave me his Hallah bread, which is the braided loaf baked for shabbat (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Challah). I used it for toast this morning!
Then, last night I went with Joan and Isabelle, Genevieve and Simon to the Italian consulate gardens to watch "Una moglie bellissima"...a comical life-gone-wrong-then-levelled out type movie. I had seen the signs for the movie back in January with Enrico in Firenze and been interested since then. There were so many people in lawn chairs last night though that it made it near impossible for us to read the subtitles. Thank God my level of italian combined with the humour of the movie allowed me to enjoy it, and the rest, well, they peeked in and out of chairs...and at times, even umbrellas as it sprinkled rain a bit.
I've included also a pic that I found through facebook of the Priceville footbridge from 1946! The year my Dad was born, wild!

2008-07-17T11:22:00.001-07:00

ITALIA
Highs and Lows

High: Our bathing suit gifts from Enrico

High: Getting into the subway washroom...for free...

Low: Having water jet out at my feet and almost ruin my shoes, in the dark, in the subway washroom because I tried to enter 'for free'...and then having an attendant look at me as i exited, soggy shoes and all...

High: Having a new pair of flip flops to change into after the subway-escapade

2008-07-16T20:21:00.000-07:00

JULY 13, 2008

FELIZ DIA DE TU SANTO!!!!!

AUGURI ENRICO!!!! tanti baci!!!

ecco amor...la tua maglia 'GO BLUE JAYS'!!!

2008-07-14T13:41:00.000-07:00

Stacy and Kate. enter subway. order sub. you know when you get that s-t-r-a-n-g-e feeling that sooooooomeone is looking at you? ya. I turn to the couple behind me and the older man starts stating, your Irish and British aren't you....I can tell from your ear pattern, there are only 42 ear patterns...and you are a professional, and....he continued to talk about my past and what I'm like....and....THAT IT IS LIKELY I WILL HAVE TWINS....whoa. He got some things right, and the rest...pretty obvious...Stacy told me this is a pseudo science called phrenology...judging characteristics based on physical features...wildness. And that was the start of our day!
HA!

2008-07-14T13:39:00.000-07:00

ITALIA
Highs and Lows

High: coming out from baggage in Roma and seeing Enrico (con wild hair)

High: our very late night art party with our art maestro, Amanda

Low: the loss of Amanda's arm warmers (known to some as, donkey socks)

High: Ludovica LOVED her bubble machine

High: Signor Pietro always bring oodles of fruit and dessert!!

High: Giorgio (mio fratellino e nostro fotografo personale) and Fabio (instant confidant, what a gaze...)

High: taking pictures in the CRAZY PASTA AISLE with Fabio and Amanda!

High: Enrico's matrix-like maneuvers about the soccer ball on the field

High: Amanda and Kate, digging through a trash can...then laughing hysterically and confusing the locals...we're very busy

Low: banging my head into a wall

High: what came before banging my head into a wall

High: having a BBQ with friends and Enrico's parents

High: getting to do the morning 'stretch' work out with the soccer team

Low: hearing more about the break in at Alessandro's and Maria Giulia's

High: Gaia telling me she loved me

High: spooning with the scemo

High: hanging out with Amanda, my door locking/drinking team mate

I've got more....piano piano...let your highs and lows roll please

2008-07-14T13:24:00.000-07:00

It was fun that during Father Ken's sermon he mentioned having met a charismatic southern Episcopalian pastor and I immediately thought of Benno, the pastor at the Church I attended in Atlanta, Georgia.
Father Ken spoke of how this Pastor's personality shone and his way to speak invigorated.
Effectively, Benno:
Talk of existentialism, a swear word every now and again and a passion for outreach. I thought after hearing Benno a few times, yep, we will get along.

Below is the link to the Sermon Father Ken gave when my Mum and I visited St. James in London July 6th.

It was great to see Father Ken again. I couldn't believe it as I sat there with my Mum...it had been about 9 years since we'd last seen him. Not only did I get to spend a few quality hours with my Mum on a gorgeously bright Sunday but we got to catch up with Ken and meet Mark, hear of Hillary and Richard....

http://www.saintjameswestminster.ca/sermons/080706.pdf

2008-07-14T13:22:00.000-07:00

A mirror never lies, Kate, and neither does time and space as a reflection of what you're thinking.
If you put it out there, it has to come back. No matter how much it weighs, glitters, or costs.
It's the law -
The Universe

You can have, do, or be anything, Kate: the fairest in the land, fearless at sea, popular among natives, capable of pulling ability to be realistics out of a hat... Why are you making that face?

2008-06-30T13:42:00.000-07:00

Come baby, rock me, come baby, lock me into the shadows of your heart.
Come baby, teach me, come baby, reach me, let the music start.
Bob Dylan

Il mio Canto libero
Lucio Battisti

In un mondo che
non ci vuole più
il mio canto libero sei tu
E l'immensità
si apre intorno a noi
al di là del limite degli occhi tuoi
Nasce il sentimento
nasce in mezzo al pianto
e s'innalza altissimo e va
e vola sulle accuse della gente
a tutti i suoi retaggi indifferente
sorretto da un anelito d'amore
di vero amore
In un mondo che - Pietre un giorno case
prigioniero è - ricoperte dalle rose selvatiche
respiriamo liberi io e te - rivivono ci chiamano
E la verità - Boschi abbandonati
si offre nuda a noi e - perciò sopravvissuti vergini
e limpida è l'immagine - si aprono
ormai - ci abbracciano
Nuove sensazioni
giovani emozioni
si esprimono purissime
in noi
La veste dei fantasmi del passato
cadendo lascia il quadro immacolato
e s'alza un vento tiepido d'amore
di vero amore
E riscopro te
dolce compagna che
non sai domandare ma sai
che ovunque andrai
al fianco tuo mi avrai
se tu lo vuoi
Pietre un giorno case
ricoperte dalle rose selvatiche
rivivono
ci chiamano
Boschi abbandonati
e perciò sopravvissuti vergini
si aprono
ci abbracciano
In un mondo che
prigioniero è
respiriamo liberi
io e te
E la verità
si offre nuda a noi
e limpida è l'immagine
ormai
Nuove sensazioni
giovani emozioni
si esprimono purissime
in noi
La veste dei fantasmi del passato
cadendo lascia il quadro immacolato
e s'alza un vento tiepido d'amore
di vero amore
e riscopro te

Love the highs and lows...they make and move us...
HIGHS...
and
LOWS...
coming soon
coming soon

2008-06-04T11:25:00.001-07:00

"Don't worry that your children never listen to you, worry that they are always watching you"
-Robert Fulghum

2008-06-01T22:33:00.000-07:00

Father Ken was my pastor growing up...even on those sunday mornings when I might have preferred sleeping in, I never dozed off listening to his sermons...I always thought it was remarkable how Father Ken could deliver a sermon that could reach a large audience, wasn't shouting religion or christianity rather goodness, kindness, respect and love. He's in London, Ontario now and I haven't heard him give a sermon in some time, but, he does post his sermons online and when I read them I can still imagine his voice and facial expressions...

...this said...
...I'm the most stubborn person I know apart from my Father...and his mother / my Grammy Price...but my heart and mind do welcome growth, even when they seem too stubborn...my biggest challenge in life to this point has been learning to trust.

"which one of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life"...M 6:27

The following is one of Father Ken's sermons from May...

http://www.saintjameswestminster.ca/sermons/080525.pdf

2008-05-30T20:00:00.000-07:00

...did I forget to mention as of late that I LOVE this city. I just showed some visitors around 2 weekends consecutively and I never tire of it. my feet yes, my mind no. the fotos are some of my tourist moments. and I don't know what it is that makes me love Toronto as much as I do, but one of the only other major cities that I love as much as Toronto is Madrid. I could roam them both endlessly...I'm still going to have to say that it is probably because my Mum used to take me to Toronto when I was younger as a getaway weekend...we'd wander and shop and eat breakfast in bed and chocolate mousse for dessert...just roam around Toronto. years later, i have to make my own breakfast to eat in bed...but, i still roam Toronto...Shanesya said recently that Toronto isn't her 'connect' city...she likes a smaller city...but me, I think me and Toronto are soul sistas. ha.

2008-05-30T12:03:00.000-07:00

YES....I actually used to live quite close to the Chattahoochee in Atlanta, GA. I kayaked a part of that river once and drove across it daily...then I found out, there is a song...oh my...

Chattahoochee

Way down yonder on the chattahoochee
It gets hotter than a hoochie coochie
We laid rubber on the georgie asphalt
We got a little crazy but we never got caught

Down by the river on a friday night
A pyramid of cans in the pale moonlight
Talking ’bout cars and dreaming ’bout women
Never had a plan just a livin’ for the minute
Yeah way down yonder on the chattahoochee
Never knew how much that muddy water meant to me
But I learned how to swim and I learned who I was
A lot about livin’ and a litttle ’bout love

Well we fogged up the windows in my old chevy
I was willing but she wasn’t ready
So a settled for a burger and a grape sno-cone
Dropped her off early but I didn’t go home

Down by the river on a friday night
A pyramid of cans in the pale moonlight
Talking ’bout cars and dreaming ’bout women
Never had a plan just a livin’ for the minute
Yeah way down yonder on the chattahoochee
Never knew how much that muddy water meant to me
But I learned how to swim and I learned who I was
A lot about livin’ and a litttle ’bout love

Way down yonder on the chattahoochee
It gets hotter than a hoochie coochie
We laid rubber on the georgie asphalt
We got a little crazy but we never got caught

Well we fogged up the windows in my old chevy
I was willing but she wasn’t ready
So a settled for a burger and a grape sno-cone
Dropped her off early but I didn’t go home

Down by the river on a friday night
A pyramid of cans in the pale moonlight
Talking ’bout cars and dreaming ’bout women
Never had a plan just a livin’ for the minute
Yeah way down yonder on the chattahoochee
Never knew how much that muddy water meant to me
But I learned how to swim and I learned who I was
A lot about livin’ and a litttle ’bout love

2008-05-28T10:12:00.000-07:00

Silvina visits Toronto from Atlanta with Paco and Marina, Rafa and Noelia, and the other Paco. It was a Spanish throw down fiesta! OLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

----
I don't bite or nibble my cookies. I devour them whole and then chew.
sometimes people are appalled or highly confused...they ask "but where did the cookie go?". ha.
----

tenacious
One entry found.

tenacious

Main Entry: te·na·cious
Pronunciation: \tə-ˈnā-shəs\
Function: adjective
Etymology: Latin tenac-, tenax tending to hold fast, from tenēre to hold
Date: 1607
1 a: not easily pulled apart : cohesive 'a tenacious metal' b: tending to adhere or cling especially to another substance 'tenacious burs'
2 a: persistent in maintaining, adhering to, or seeking something valued or desired 'a tenacious advocate of civil rights' 'tenacious negotiators' b: retentive 'a tenacious memory'

2008-05-22T07:32:00.000-07:00

This morning I open Stacy's email, the title reading:
"this is such a Kate thing to say...

Our greatest fear is not that we are inadequate, but that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, handsome, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be?
-Marianne Wilson, A Return to Love "

Stacy, I will read this probably daily, as a reminder...hope you do too ;-)

2008-05-19T17:59:00.000-07:00

Every morning in Africa, a Gazelle wakes up.
It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed.
Every morning a lion wakes up.
It knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death.
It doesn't matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle.
When the sun comes up, you better start running.
-African proverb

2008-05-12T11:33:00.000-07:00

Lena's Birthday (May 8th, celebration May 10th)
Tattoo Rock Parlour

----

Gordon Lightfoot Massey Hall
Kate, Paul, Deryk and his Mum and Dad
May 10, 2008 Set List

Triangle
Cotton Jenny
14 Karat Gold
Never Too Close
In My Fashion
A Painter Passing Through
Rainy Day People
Shadows
Beautiful
Carefree Highway
Hangdog Hotel Room
Ribbon Of Darkness
Sundown
The Watchman's Gone

Intermission

The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald
Alberta Bound
Don Quixote
If Children Had Wings
Waiting For You
Restless
If You Could Read My Mind
Baby Step Back
Early Morning Rain
Song For A Winter's Night
Blackberry Wine
Canadian Railroad Trilogy

2008-05-09T11:43:00.000-07:00

When you lay your lips on me
and breath, I begin to chime.

--

Outside ideas of right doing
And wrong doing,
There is a field.
I'll meet you there.

-Rumi