Friday, November 13, 2009
Monday, November 9, 2009
more than one inch of fun
the most fun i've ever had at an art show : "hot one inch action: the button show". i was skeptical at first but by the end, the 5 of us found ourselves fully engaged with our hands sticking out offering buttons for trading. our favourite buttons, some more coveted than others, took place on our jackets. not only do we get to take something tangible home, we got to interact with people we probably never would otherwise while sipping on wines, and the artists have people actually look and pay attention to their art rather than stand around feigning interest. it was pretty cute seeing what buttons were favourite to other people.
interactive art shows = great idea
look how cute this girl who walks in at 0:22 is!
Saturday, November 7, 2009
the thrill of dreaming
i love entering contests. i always have. i used to call into radio stations as young as 11 to win concert tickets. i didn't win anything on the radio until i was about 20 or 21 and i won tickets to see henry rollins spoken word show. kind of disappointing but i still won nonetheless.
i try as often as possible to enter the contests online when you get a code under the cap of your pepsi, or complete customer satisfaction surveys to be entered in a draw. and i still call into radio stations, at least once a day. i have the beat 94.5 on speed dial and have been showing up to sponsored radio events where you enter your name in a draw and win a condo or whatever. i am a club member to most of the a.m. and f.m. radio stations in the city for their random giveaways. my most recent win was a cooler with built-in ipod speakers full of pepsi and coke products and an esso gas card.
now more than ever i really feel like i'm going to win. big. but then again, doesn't everyone who plays the lottery? "someone has to win"... true, it's just highly unlikely that someone will be you. though my friend cecelia is extremely lucky when it comes to winning money, i remember a photo of her with a cheque for $5000 of winnings. and my little cousin in switzerland just recently won $60,000 on a scratch ticket!
so last week i took the plunge. i spent $100 on 3 tickets for the variety children's lotto. i REALLY REALLY want to win this one, mostly because it's always senior citizens well into retirement who win these things (proof: look at photos of past winners). how sick would it be to be 27, single, and childless and win the lottery! my chances are pretty good i figure, way better than the 649 since there are only 182,000 variety children's lotto tickets sold. i am hopeful.
a few days after i bought these tickets, i realized that even if i don't win, it's ok. half the excitement of getting lottery tickets is the anticipation in the weeks or days leading up to the draw - the possibility of winning and planning what you'd do with all of your money. it's a fun thing to daydream about. and if you don't win, no problem, you can just buy another ticket next week and dream all over again. just maybe not a $100 ticket; i figure $2 is enough to keep the dream alive.
i try as often as possible to enter the contests online when you get a code under the cap of your pepsi, or complete customer satisfaction surveys to be entered in a draw. and i still call into radio stations, at least once a day. i have the beat 94.5 on speed dial and have been showing up to sponsored radio events where you enter your name in a draw and win a condo or whatever. i am a club member to most of the a.m. and f.m. radio stations in the city for their random giveaways. my most recent win was a cooler with built-in ipod speakers full of pepsi and coke products and an esso gas card.
now more than ever i really feel like i'm going to win. big. but then again, doesn't everyone who plays the lottery? "someone has to win"... true, it's just highly unlikely that someone will be you. though my friend cecelia is extremely lucky when it comes to winning money, i remember a photo of her with a cheque for $5000 of winnings. and my little cousin in switzerland just recently won $60,000 on a scratch ticket!
so last week i took the plunge. i spent $100 on 3 tickets for the variety children's lotto. i REALLY REALLY want to win this one, mostly because it's always senior citizens well into retirement who win these things (proof: look at photos of past winners). how sick would it be to be 27, single, and childless and win the lottery! my chances are pretty good i figure, way better than the 649 since there are only 182,000 variety children's lotto tickets sold. i am hopeful.
a few days after i bought these tickets, i realized that even if i don't win, it's ok. half the excitement of getting lottery tickets is the anticipation in the weeks or days leading up to the draw - the possibility of winning and planning what you'd do with all of your money. it's a fun thing to daydream about. and if you don't win, no problem, you can just buy another ticket next week and dream all over again. just maybe not a $100 ticket; i figure $2 is enough to keep the dream alive.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Pete from North Bay
There was the stale odour of alcohol on his breath as he talked to me with hope in his eyes. I really don't know why I stopped to talk to Pete, an old nickel miner from North Bay Ontario. My grandpa was also a nickel miner, not far from Pete in Sudbury Ontario; except Pete was closer to my dad's age. Whatever the reason, I was glad I did.
Pete was sitting outside the liquor store I frequent at least several times a week and I don't think I've ever stopped for anyone there. He had a sincere look in his eyes and an endearing smile on his face as if he was entertaining himself with his own inside joke as he sang his own tune "nobody cares" that persuaded me to look back and say "I care...but sorry, I don't have any change." He asked me to come back and then mumbled something else, to which I repeated, oh sorry, I don't have any change. I instantly felt bad because this was a lie. It was ok though, he needed something other than change at that moment.
We all have at least one of these stories, but so easily they cascade into backstage of memory, but sometimes it's good to remember that we're all just humans.
"Oh no, I asked you if you need any change."
I was startled at first but I knew what he meant. He verbalized it anyways.
"Well, you never know who people are or where they are coming from. You never know who needs help these days"
He continued to talk to me, offering small details about his life, his daughters (who were my age), his job, and why he was sitting outside the liquor store asking for change; all the while riffling through his pocket of change to show me and asked if I was sure I didn't need any. He was just genuinely happy that I talked to him. He told me so.
I could tell right away Pete was a good man. For one reason or another, he had fallen through the cracks and couldn't make his rent and his wife, he said, would be so embarrassed if she saw him out there. Times are tough, and more and more people are closer to being in Pete's situation. But you never know, it could happen to you, you just never know who might screw you over, he reminded me. And he's right. I know people my own age that are teetering on edge of sustainability.
He asked me what I do and I lied for the second time. I told him I was a student, which is my usual fall back "occupation" when I don't want to talk about my job. It's not that much of a lie I figure, I mean, I used to be a student, I still look like a student, and I claim to be taking the same thing as when I was in school.
Pete said rarely stop to talk to him, they instead look at him like he's a drug addict, which he isn't, or just pretend he's not there. Don't worry about them, I told him, every single one of them has their own issues they are dealing with and most of them refuse to face them and pretend they aren't there. That's why they are afraid to look at him. This seemed to make him feel a little better, and he got it.
"Yeah you're right, and here I am out here facing my problems!"
Pete was an understanding guy. Though after a few minutes I said I had to go (lie #3). I wished him well and told him to hang in there. He told me he was about to cry because all he needed was someone normal to talk to and he was so grateful I stopped. As I walked away wondering if I should have hugged him or shaken his hand, I heard him tell the next people walking past that I was an angel and if they wanted to meet an angel that there was one right there.
I'm just a human, and once in a while, when I let it, my heart bleeds. I felt like such a fucking jerk as I wandered around Urban Fare with my 4 pack of wine spritzers. I wondered if I should go back and give him $20, or a roasted chicken, or just something. I couldn't tell if I felt more happy that I had stopped and acknowledged his existence, or more awful that I didn't really do much about it and had even lied.
I hope Pete is ok.
Pete was sitting outside the liquor store I frequent at least several times a week and I don't think I've ever stopped for anyone there. He had a sincere look in his eyes and an endearing smile on his face as if he was entertaining himself with his own inside joke as he sang his own tune "nobody cares" that persuaded me to look back and say "I care...but sorry, I don't have any change." He asked me to come back and then mumbled something else, to which I repeated, oh sorry, I don't have any change. I instantly felt bad because this was a lie. It was ok though, he needed something other than change at that moment.
We all have at least one of these stories, but so easily they cascade into backstage of memory, but sometimes it's good to remember that we're all just humans.
"Oh no, I asked you if you need any change."
I was startled at first but I knew what he meant. He verbalized it anyways.
"Well, you never know who people are or where they are coming from. You never know who needs help these days"
He continued to talk to me, offering small details about his life, his daughters (who were my age), his job, and why he was sitting outside the liquor store asking for change; all the while riffling through his pocket of change to show me and asked if I was sure I didn't need any. He was just genuinely happy that I talked to him. He told me so.
I could tell right away Pete was a good man. For one reason or another, he had fallen through the cracks and couldn't make his rent and his wife, he said, would be so embarrassed if she saw him out there. Times are tough, and more and more people are closer to being in Pete's situation. But you never know, it could happen to you, you just never know who might screw you over, he reminded me. And he's right. I know people my own age that are teetering on edge of sustainability.
He asked me what I do and I lied for the second time. I told him I was a student, which is my usual fall back "occupation" when I don't want to talk about my job. It's not that much of a lie I figure, I mean, I used to be a student, I still look like a student, and I claim to be taking the same thing as when I was in school.
Pete said rarely stop to talk to him, they instead look at him like he's a drug addict, which he isn't, or just pretend he's not there. Don't worry about them, I told him, every single one of them has their own issues they are dealing with and most of them refuse to face them and pretend they aren't there. That's why they are afraid to look at him. This seemed to make him feel a little better, and he got it.
"Yeah you're right, and here I am out here facing my problems!"
Pete was an understanding guy. Though after a few minutes I said I had to go (lie #3). I wished him well and told him to hang in there. He told me he was about to cry because all he needed was someone normal to talk to and he was so grateful I stopped. As I walked away wondering if I should have hugged him or shaken his hand, I heard him tell the next people walking past that I was an angel and if they wanted to meet an angel that there was one right there.
I'm just a human, and once in a while, when I let it, my heart bleeds. I felt like such a fucking jerk as I wandered around Urban Fare with my 4 pack of wine spritzers. I wondered if I should go back and give him $20, or a roasted chicken, or just something. I couldn't tell if I felt more happy that I had stopped and acknowledged his existence, or more awful that I didn't really do much about it and had even lied.
I hope Pete is ok.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
master of disguise
an older asian man at capers asked me if i went trick or treating on halloween. i said no. he asked me if i went to a party. i said yes. he asked me what i dressed up as and i said the crow.
then he told me next year i shouldn't dress up at all. when people ask me what i am, i should tell them "i'm sherlock holmes, master of disguise."
wtf.
then he told me next year i shouldn't dress up at all. when people ask me what i am, i should tell them "i'm sherlock holmes, master of disguise."
wtf.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Saturday, October 31, 2009
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