Settler words&music in S'ólh Téméxw, (leanpub.com/upsun) living where privilege meets precarity in MST country. she/her/they———– Novels: Midnite Moving Co., Upsun; Sweep Off Those Waves coming soon, Hair Sinister after that. —Restore All Indigenous Lands!
Paul and Katie BOTH dropped by for lunch and now Paul’s going to drive her to a friend’s place for some schmergurrl time. Katie got to see Jarmo, and Peter T, and reacquainted herself with Mike McG and my beloved bossy and few other folks.
Everybody is doing well. And Katie got her learners! She is taking her first drive into a wider world.
Tom and Peggy and I sang Hall of Remembrance through last night. Tom picked up his twelve string and I wuz doomed. I can no longer hear it without guitar. He is an evil, evil man.
So Paul dragged me out of the house for a walk yesterday (I wore my cloak, as it was the perfect weather for it) and while we were walking up Davies Dave the Plumber and his wife tried to run us down in his truck while we cowered in fear.
Uh, no, but I can imagine somebody watching thinking that. Dave, a devout Sikh and one of the best plumbers and pipefitters in the lower mainland, has a puckish sense of humour. We chatted for a bit and continued on with our walk, much amused by our ‘near miss’.
When Paul and I first got this house outfitted for a gas stove, Dave did the work. I came back from my first interview with (previous x 2 company) all bubbly and happy and then I got all sad face because when I asked how the work was coming on and both Paul and Dave with straight faces said “Terrible, it’s not working”, and then when I got testy they burst out laughing. They had not actually prearranged this little gag so you can see why Paul and Dave were two peas in a pod. I am thankful to know such good tradesmen, and I particularly thank him for the amazing work he did when the ‘spring’ happened in the back yard at the Augur Inn.
Paul’s on course for six weeks and has weekends off and no nights. I’m sure he’ll enjoy that.
Jeff is still feeling crappy but he took some small amount of food yesterday.
The idiot ex has quit harassing Katie.
Keith came in to the office on Friday and we played Forbidden Island with the D-man.
I made borscht for the Sasamat soup lunch this morning. It is FREAKING AWESOME, but I betcha I’m gonna be musical in the office tomorrow.
I have one more load of laundry to do and then all my laundry will be clean.
I told the Worship committee Easter will be my last homily for Beacon, as I am going to have a stressful 2012-13 year at church (I am taking on a much bigger role in terms of governance) and I need to reduce stressors big time. I think King Jesus is a great topic and I’m going to be going out with a ‘bang’ so to speak.
I have decided that I am going to write a book about customer service. mOm is going to help me with it.
I took food to Sue on Friday; her knee is ow-ie. I asked her how the hell she’s going to be in two plays between now and the middle of May and she laughed and said that the roles require her to be in bed for most of the shows. I thought this was a stupendous coincidence and congratulated her on what appeared to be prescience.
I have pulled so much fur off Margot in the last three days (she’s doing the spring shed) that she’s having existential angst as it appears to her I’ve pulled a Margot-equivalent of fur off her already and she doesn’t understand that she can still be here.
Well, it’s that time again. I’m doing the coffee in church today so I won’t be upstairs listening to the service. Tom’s friend is being memorialized this afternoon so no rehearsal for my new song to be performed in church, we’re hoping Monday night now.
If you don’t have a will please write it up now.
Puddled last night with Tom, Peggy, Paul and Katie. Feel MUCH better today in body, although my schnorker is still rather congested.
Got irksome news from Katie. Since people I really don’t like read this blog I’ll leave it at that except to say that she has it under control and she’s taking it as seriously as it needs to be taken.
Keith has interesting developments in his personal life of which I can say no more.
My personal developments consist of telling guys who want to have sex with me without reference to anything resembling a relationship to come the fuck out as poly and work on their goddamn communication skills. But nicer than that, I’m occasionally capable of compassion.
2020 says how badly I wanted to out this dude but I dint
A total stranger watched me drop my phone and returned it to me via the restaurant I dropped it outside. Paul fetched it for me. How can I think I live someplace uncivilized under those circumstances?
I have to sell Ziva. She’s going on Craigslist as soon as I get my ass home tonight.
Cindy and I will sing on Friday, about time. I have three count’em three new songs for her since the last time I laid eyes on her.
Work continues breathlessly along. The pulled pork ciabatta sammich in the caf today was like a religious experience. Had a lovely chat with the D-man about economics and the revenge of unintended consequences.
Haven’t heard from Katie in days. But her shit’s still at my house, sigh.
Sunday dinner we’re having the Planet Bachelor folks over for Roast something and assorted veg, and then some kind of new cool board game afterwards.
Last couple of SG1 episodes entered the meh zone. Oh well. It still has ‘moments’.
Margot has gotten into the habit of bear hugging Eddie as he walks by. The visual effect is peepantsingly hilarious.
Paul (streaming nose and all) and I feasted her at the Mad Greek in Richmond last night. She’s debating, having broken up with her most recent beau, whether she’s leaving Haida Gwai’i for the lower mainland or Victoria. She’ll be closer than Haida Gwai’i either way so that’s okay with me. Her kids are all doing awesome, which was lovely news; for a while there, much like me, she was getting heaping helpings of disappointment and fear of the future and all of that appears to have resolved. I was a tad resentful that I didn’t get a ride home as I am now underslept and exhausted. (Paul stayed for a soak in the hot tub at the hotel, and while that was great for him I’d had WAY too much to drink to borrow his car.) Fortunately the hotel was close by a Skytrain station.
I am working on a song for Apophis. And the rest of the system lords. Hathor’s demise was particularly welcome.
Why won’t you die X3
You bastard
Apophis was a god of note or so the legends say, til SG1 got up his nose and elseways in his way, they tried to kill him a hundred times and each time he survived, you should have heard me shout for joy at the start of season 5.
Mike took me out for prime rib at the Oliver Twist. Jeff came with but didn’t enjoy the meal and complained about some loud barflies on the way out. The Twist comped his meal and I brought him home some free dessert, so he was somewhat mollified.
Then Katie turned up – and promptly left again. And briefly, the place smelled like gurl.
You know, I’m not going to talk much about Conflikt. It was awesome, let’s leave it at that. I got demonstrations of everything that’s good and bad about my people, and you just gotta roll with it. The Bad: domestic breakup, but the good buried in that is that I sang “Invective” to all the appropriate people. The Good: Lark the Cello took a spill after a concert. And broke scrollwork. How can that be good? After we made sure the owner was okay we took up an instant and enormous collection for her repair, and the cello got a filk to Mary Ellen Carter written for her. There’s more than enough money to fix her and buy strings and upgrade the gigbag, and a competent luthier was instantly located, and beauty will continue to sing through her elegant wooden frame. My peeps, they are phenomenally amazing.
Last night just as I was leaving work Tom called and asked if I had dinner plans. Then he and Peggy invited me over for PRAWNS om nommm nommmm. Then I had to scooch back to my place because Cindy came over for filking filking filking hot damm. And I wasn’t expecting to have the Tom and Peggy show as well, but Tom shortly thereafter showed up with his guitar in his hand and Peggy showed up shortly after that after having dropped the Beanpie back at his folks’ place. We wound it up around 10 – if John was still alive he just would have gone back to Cindy’s and kept singing. But me, my pumpkin carriage was outside my bedroom door, honking.
Beanpie is so adorable! he makes the same sounds Keith did at that age, but his voice is if anything even more musical. He’s also mothering strong and very, very enthusiastic about food. Like me! Prawns, omg om nom.
And because I am eployed, comfortably domiciled with my bro, and undeservedly lucky, we’re going out to brekky and making wit da flapjacks.
Up again at 6:30, after a dream during which a cop with a hot dog stand style radar gun pulled me over and I said to him in annoyance “My car is supposed to go fast”. And then I woke up.
Weather is pleasant today, with many many crows.
Katie and Jeff and I had a very pleasant evening.
There’s going to be a Housefilk at Casa Libra! I loves me those folks, the last housefilk over there was stunningly awesome. And resulted in Jeff and I getting Al Jazeera in the house, so it’s amazing how the tentacles of filk affect all of my daily life.
The Bean is walking! Also climbing, chortling and being a very mobile Beanpie. I am looking forward to my next chance to chase after him.
Poor Tanya, my coworker. She’s got a pinched nerve in her back and is feeling dreadful. All I can say is thank god it’s slow on the phone or it would be insane around here. Hope she’s back on Monday but if not I hope she feels better soon.
Katie gave me a new top that wasn’t fitting her properly and I’m wearing it to work today. She’s going to go look at another apartment tonight. She has started to take my advice about dressing up to go look at apartments. Yeah, kid, your mother ain’t a total frikkin’ moron, but whatever.
I leave you with cute video… http://icanhascheezburger.com/2012/01/05/funny-pictures-videos-cat-and-deer-snuggle/
Katie dropped by briefly at Mike’s place before partying elsewhere; Paul and Keith and Jeff and I hung out for a while. We basically laughed, ate, talked and drank. Just before midnight Keith and Jeff headed out on foot; just after midnight Paul gave me a lift home. It was all very convivial and relaxed. Tom U was there! it was so nice to see him. I took bubbly and coconut curry chicken with onions and taters in a crock pot as well as two six packs of beer. Other folks provided fresh cooked salmon with tons o garlic, awesome corn bread, lasagna, meatballs etc. Trent thanked me for cooking something with no added salt as he isn’t supposed to have any. He also gave me underwear (but I forgot it at Mike’s). (He gave some to all the women – it’s folded and packaged to look like a rose. Katie pounced on hers and pronounced it awesome.)
Today there’s the New Years drop in at Cindy’s place which will involve music and singing and playing and yummy cookies. Also lots of boring laundry and cleaning before I go.
I consulted the tarot about which vice to attack this year and the result was an extremely annoying “Whichever is the most burdensome, and you have a few to choose from, have fun, and quit whinging.” Sometimes I wonder about that deck. Anyway, it’s clear to me what it was trying to tell me and I’m just pouty.
Patricia just showed me a lovely Art Deco platinum and diamond engagement ring. Yup, her wild Australian laddie has made it official; they’re getting married later this year.
I wore my cloak to work.
I paid Katie $50 to call me when she’s gone from the house for 24 hours. I was not worried (seriously, I wasn’t), but I prefer my housemates to not make me wonder at what point I’m obliged to call the police.
I will be singing “Dandelions Dreaming” at the Christmas Eve service at church. Sue is worship leader.
Friday night Cindy took me out to dinner and then we came back here and sang and played. I had given Paul a heads’ up that we were inbound and he was waiting for us. We sang and played until midnight. Katie poked her head in for part of it and insisted her pop play Ramboing. Yeah.
Yesterday I did NOTHING except run the dishwasher, watch a couple of episodes of Rome, run Katie in to work and a small amount of shopping. Oh, and I made tea dyed cotton gloves and got steampunk findings as part of my hat making plans. Today, church, feeding Sue some lunch after church, and then an afternoon of real chores, as I’ve already had my day of rest. Right now I’m going to work on songs.
The guy with whom I had “My worst ever coffee date” attempted to contact me again. The excuse was that he enjoyed talking to me. (He was fine on the phone and, uh, how shall I put it, how about enthusiastic and inconsiderate, and in legal terms, assaultive, in person. In public. I had to lie like a cheap rug to escape from his company.) I thanked him for the sentiment and said, it wasn’t going to happen. The response was happy holidays and ‘can’t blame me for trying lol’. Honestly. Now that I have a little distance I’m forcing myself to see it as yet more horrifying evidence that dating over 50 is hazardous to your health. I whined to one of my coworkers afterwards (LTGW) and he fixed me with his unblinking stare and told me that he was sorry to hear I had such a horrific experience but that I need to ask more intelligent questions prior to dates. After that conversation – which was very helpful – I swore a mighty oath to find more productive uses for my time than trying to date. After all, I’ve got a concert to practice for.
My coworker just got back from NZ. He said he saw it hanging in the shop and the sweet and thoughtful expression made him think of me.
BWA HA HA!
I earnestly hope everything comes out okay.
Shaddyr is the interfilk guest of honour at OVFF. I am ‘assisting’ her with her concert, which means that either I shut up completely while she performs a song which needs no assistance, noodle on the mandolin, play guitar so she can really get into interpreting the song (also giving the carpals a break), or sing along with.
I talk about going to rehearse, but I haven’t said much about her, and I’d like to. Mention should first be made that she is awesome… smart, big-hearted, hospitable, tolerant without being a pushover, funny without ever being mean-spirited, and an absolute joy to play with. We haz fun, get better, and then there’s tea and talk. Friday night rehearsals have come to mean a lot to me, and I’m very glad that after OVFF there’s my own concert to plan at Conflikt V because it means we’ll still have an excuse to plan. Set list ahoy!
