Today's Charms

Besides the fact that every single paper towel dispenser that I encountered today was empty, this was a rad day. Namely because I bought a new calculator: 

It is plastic. And gigantic. and was 9 dollars. I won't lie. I've been in a significant slump for that last two years, work-wise, and have accomplished next to nothing, but with this (above): holy crap. I'm going to get some serious workage done. Serious. Subtractions. Serious. Science. I plan to calculate stuff everywhere: on the bus; in the bathroom; while I'm waiting in line to get coffee. I also got my hands on some polaroid film! It says on the instructions that this film (779) is ideal for crime scene documentation. Step 1: find my polaroid camera. Step 2: generate crime scene. Oh what FUN! Step 3: get back to work. I swear. 87.5% probable. (I used my new calculator to calculate that.)

How to: make a memory

Decide: I don't give a shit about the Olympic Torch that is coming through town at 6:30 pm. Arrive home: 6:35 pm. Decide: hey wait! I want to see it!! Bust in the door and Yell, KIDS GET YOUR CLOTHES ON LETS GO SEE THE TORCH FASTER FASTER. Throw Lew on my shoulders, walk as fast as we can to the end of our street, repeating, we probably missed it, we probably missed it all the way. Arrive at the bottom of the street just in time to see the torch running by, and decide to Run With The Torch (with one kid on my shoulders and two running behind me) and get swept away with the crowd. Run all the way to Market Square. 

Feel Fucking Triumphant. 

Decide I'll remember this forever.

Things found

"...the only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones that never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn..."

2010: I'm going to murder you with awesomeness!

(warning! this post will be constantly evolving over the next 3 weeks)

It's hardly the middle of December, but I'm over 2009. Yawn. Skip christmas. Fast forward past New Years. Let's GO already. Jesus. Did I accomplish everything from last year's list? hm. My handstand is still not perfect. And I have not run a marathon (although, I did run 20 km cold with some guy last January). Nor have I become a gourmet chef. Fuck the fucking cat. Sometimes I expect too much of myself. Am I a better person? Debatable. Probably not. No. meh.

Top 20 to-dos this year:

1. ride a rollercoaster

2. expect less

3. taste-test LOTS of wine and discover five that I love. know them by name.

4. climb a real-live mountain on another continent

5. drive to the desert. 

6. go to a strip-club (never been)

7. go to NYC: practice hunting for apartments (for when I retire and live there)

8. become awesome at high-kicks

9. and punches

10. go skiing at least twice

11. stop drinking so much (which directly conflicts with #3)

12. learn to read minds, better

RAWR

Blame it on my wild heart. 

July, 1979

That's what the back says anyway: July, 1979. I think this was at the farmhouse in Nova Scotia and I think that's Dad's arm. And the story goes: someone made a joke that I was going to stay with Lloyd Forever and I cried because I thought it was true. But I was two. And Lloyd knew better: he's laughing! And when Dad called this morning and woke me out of a deep sleep, so deep my muscles forgot how to work, the last thing I thought he would say was that Lloyd had died in the night. Dying is strange. And when people die, it makes the memory of them (and them in your life) seem so much more fragile and slippery.  

My second Real Regret in life is that I didn't name a child after him. 

FYI

My kids are pretty fucking rad. 

I hope they'll want to hang out with me when I'm old.