The Adventures of DragonFlyer

What a day...

2007-03-24T06:39:57Z

Two posts in two days - don't get used to it people ;)

But what a day it's been - I want to record it all here, if for no other reason that for me to remember it all.

First, the day started by sleeping through statistics class, which, I can assure you, is the best way to get through that subject *grins* So I had a lie-in, which was wonderul, got to school, handed in an assignment (for Soils class), then proceeded to learn (by talking to classmate, and from that day's lecture) that I had done a superb job on it.

Soils was quite fascinating today. We're talking about classifying soils, and we're learning all 10 of the soil orders. Thankfully we don't have to know the 31 soil Great Groups, the 231 families, nor the more than 10,000 sub-groups or 100,000 series! Wow. It's neat, though - very linear and analytical.

and THEN I found out my GIS midterm got scaled. So instead of 92.1, I get ninety-seven point four!!! YAAAAY! WOOT! Third highest in the class! (Happy happy tiger dance). For all the long days studying and preparing, and for doing ALL THE READINGS!!, wow it's worth it. Tee hee. I've been really happy with my grades this term; its nice to be reminded that when things are going well, and I'm in my prime, I can accomplish a lot scholastically.

From soils class I had to dash dash DASH away to work. I was hoping to make the 12:30 seabus to get to work for 1pm. But, I got downtown by 12:32 - drat. So to pass the time I went to Sophie's Books. It's a multi-lingual bookstore, and they sell all sorts of fun stuff. I was so pleased! I haven't been in there for quite some time. They had some very cute cards, so I bought some (in French, too!), and also a book of Haiku (the Sound of Water). Finally there was a graphical novel by a local writer, set here in Vancouver! It's called "True Loves" and I flipped through it - it's wonderful. So yay new manga! I probably didn't need to spend $50 on stuff, but it's a good cause, right? Right? And I haven't had a new book in so long. And many people in my life will love getting a cute French card! Yay. I don't have to be a tight-wad all the time.

But oops - it was now like 12:47, and I had missed the 12:45 seabus - icky! Oh well - I wandered down to the SeaBus station, and go figure - there's a theatre performance in progress! Some Christian outreach group was doing an interpretative piece on the meaning of God. In the rain. In T-shirts. Wow, that's brave - I'll applaud pretty much any cause that is willing to do that! One of the kids came up and talked to me, and was very friendly. No preaching, no moralizing, just 'what do you think?' I was caught off-guard; there's almost an expectation that religious types will be, well, dogmatic. So I had a nice dialogue with the young lade about this beautiful, wordless theatre piece in front of set. It was set, appropriately, to the song "it's my life."

A young man, dressed in white, stood in the centre of a circle of other kids, in blue. He was supposed to represent God, and then the people on the outside would alternately shun or prasie the man in the middle; they would love or hate him, or each other; they would be joyful or sad; each time, when they finished an action, he would reach out to them, whether they accepted his touch or not. It was an interesting perspective, and I like how they presented the divine as immanent and present on this plane rather than strictly transcendant.

Their piece concluded (they weren't asking for money, either - more bonus points for them! Though I actually wanted to give a donation because the piece was so beautiful, but they told me no. Cool.), I went into the terminal. There were still a few minutes before the 1pm sailing, so I stopped to watch some pigeons from the overpass that connects the station to the wharf.

The overpass crosses the CPR (Canadian Pacific Railway) marshalling yards, so there are about a dozen tracks that all converge together. Some are fillied with long trains of boxcards, waiting to be loaded or unloaded at the nearby port. In one track there was a series of empty boxcars - that is to say, the frame and wheels, with no box. The pigeons were roosing in these empty, open frames.

Just then, a Fluotist started playing (buskers often sit at the far end of the overpass and play for the commuters). And as he did, the pigeons, as if they had heard him, all took off and swooped around in circles. The piece he was playing was light, and dance-like, moving fluidly from one mode to another, like rushing water. And each time he changed tones, the birds would land, take off, flit about, circle, and dance in the air. As they played, I noticed there were some doves mixed in, and as the music continued more and more doves seemed to be added to the mix (the sun was also hitting them), and by the end of the piece it was like this cloud of tiny angels flying around the tracks. It was magnificent.

I get to work, and it's a zoo - at one point there were at least 144 people in the pool! Gong show. I got to rise to the challenge, and deal with a few minor first-aids and other minor problems, while still keeping everything clean and all the other tasks accomplished. We all came together as a team, and the time flew by. It was exactly the way a group of co-workers at the pool should spend their day: busy, active, interacting with the public, and supporting and helping each other.

Later on, in the evening, there was a more singicicant incident. But, it is probably the subject of a post all to itself, so I will sign off now and finish this tale another night.

One final note - I got to talk to Buck when I came home, which was glorious - icing on the cake of a beautiful day!

Cheers, y'all

Michael

a rare update!

2007-03-23T01:12:27Z

Hi all!

I seem to never post here anymore - actually, I am hardly online at all. It seems I got in brief periods of online activity, then I lose interest for six months. Oh well =)

Lots has been happening. School and work are both progressing nicely. I'm due for an evaluation soon at work, so that will be, hopefully, constructive and positive. My bosses seem to like me, as do the kids and their parents, so I'm optimistic.

I'm still head over heels in love, for those of you that recall, I have a wonderful boyfriend named Buck who lives in Kansas. He came up to see me for New Year's. We went to a private retreat centre on Bowen Island, where we rented a cabin and explored the beautiful land there. There was even an old piano in the lodge, so I was able to serenade my love. We ate delicious food, went for walks, and spent rainy days inside, warm with each other.

I'm excited: I've been meeting a lot of new people, as well as reconnecting with people I haven't seen in a while. I have board games nights about once a week with Terry - my ex and very dear friend - and some of his friends. I still babysit once a week (mostly) for my Godson. His parents (my good friends, Ken and Cin) are moving back to Ireland, so I won't get to babysit anymore come end of may ='( I get to go see my wonderful James this Sunday, when I will finally introduce him to Granville Island. Plus tonight I get to hang out with my new friend Mia, whom I met in November at a co-worker's birthday party. She's awesome. Yay new friends!

I've found a piano I can use, too - of all places, at UBC, at Hillel house. They have kindly let me use it on occasion, and it's a grand, too! Woot! Maybe in summer I can take lessons =)

For reading week (last week in February) I made my 2nd trip to Kansas (the first was in July, where I met Buck for the first time). I stayed in Buck's new place, and had an absolutely fabulous time. We went to Gaie, a beautiful park land, and hiked up to the university in town. I got to see the world he lives in, and meet some of his people. They have a magnificent movie theatre! Real butter on the popcorn! Painted murals on the walls! A real curtain! Wow. It was classy. We saw Pan's Labryinth, which was... eerie and spooky. I'm hoping to return to KS in late May.

So that's the last six months in a few paragraphs; and you all thought I was verbose, eh? (I still am). I will try, oh so very much, to read everyone else' page and comment! So for now, it seems, I'm back!
Huzzah.

~Michael

Dammit - I got tagged

2006-12-17T03:20:35Z

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<<Each player of this game starts off with 10 weird things/habits about themselves. People who get tagged need to write a blog of their own 10 weird habits/things as well as state this rule clearly. At the end you need to choose 6 people to tag.>>

I thought I'd escaped. But, looking back in time, I see that a loooong time ago James tagged me. I don't LJ often these days, so when I do I go backwards and time. And sure enough he tagged me. The clever beast.

Note this is probably the only time I'll post twice in one day, so savour it!

Weird things, huh? Hm. Not sure what direction to take this in. Here goes, in no particular order. I'm sticking with things I've done, rather than say medical stuff, or school stuff, or family stuff. I need some focus here!

1. For New Year's 2006 I drove to California with a man (at the time one of my boyfriends) I'd only known since Octobet 2005. It was an amazing trip. It's not that long a drive
2. As a result, someday I want to drive across Canada, along the #1. Anyone want to come with me?
3. I was a really socially awkward, precocious, verbose, introverted child. Not much of that 'me' remains.
4. I used to have a very violent temper; a product of being badly bullied in Elementary school. I once hacked at a kids arms with a metal ruler, causing him to bleed and cry. I would one person in particular around the classroom after school, whacking him with my lunchbag, which was filled with tupperware.
5. I once took a limousine to an airport to take a helicopter to land in the Grand Canyon to have Champagne breakfast. I went with my mother. It was amazing.
6. The only time I used my journal in grade 12 was to write, some time in June, the date for my planned suicide. I was going to bring a large knife and stab myself messily in English class. (refer to #3 above and add 'sometimes depressed =P). I forgot the knife. I've missed my date with death. So to this day, death doesn't scare me - either thinking of myself or others. There are notable exceptions - but by and large the whole thing has lost it's mystery to me, and thus it's power to be worrying.
7. I've probably spent a grand or two over the past few years buying wands and crystals and other metaphysical stuff. I'm a rather rational guy, it's true - but I have a very strong spirituality. Only a few people know any details. And no, you can't join =) It's mine, and mine alone. I may tell you stories, but you need to find your own God(s).
8. I have a Godson. His name is Tom Pierre Blackmore. He was born July 22nd (I'm pretty sure?) 2005. I love him very much, and I take the role very seriously. His parents are very very good friends of mine.
9. I was in French Immersion as a child, until half-way through grade five. I had to transfer at that point because the bullying became too bad. It was shorty thereafter that I really *really* devleoped my violent temper. I can still converse in basic French. I need to go live in a Francophone country for a whil to pick it up again.
10. I'm a published poet and journalist, albeit not very widely distributed as such.

What a beautiful day - with Santa, too!

2006-12-17T01:52:28Z

Hello all

It's been ages since my last update. Some news bulletins for those keeping track:

-two more exams to go - the 18th and 19th, then I am done school
-this is the last week of work for lessons, after this Friday I work on-and-off until Jan 8. Woot! Time off!
-Buck, who is now my boyfriend *hooray* we just started using the word - is visiting from the 28th until Jan 4th. If you want to meet Buck, let me know - our schedule is tight, as we're on Bowen Island for several days, but I definitely want the people in my life here to meet him - he's fabulous =) So let me know if you wanna go for lunch or tea or some such
-I'm happily settled into my new place. Emily and Rida are excellent roommates. There is a New Year's Eve party here, though I will not be in attendance (I'll be on Bowen).

Now you're all caught up.

So yesterday, I didn't go to school (I was due to study with some friends). I slept right through my alarm, which was OK as the buses on Broadway leading to the University were out of commission anyways. A major storm- with 100kph winds - struck Vancouver Thursday night, leaving about 1/2 a million people without power. Two major malls on the North Shore closed; SkyTrain was very limited in terms of service, and one of the SeaBus boats crashed into a terminal. And Lion's Gate Bridge was closed. And much of downtown shut down.

And the pool I work for was closed! So I had the whole day off. What did I do? Well besides sleeping till noon I ate, hung out with Rida, studied for maybe 90 minutes, and spent like seven hours playing The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. I love it so much! Yay! I was really in need of a day spent indoors with yummy food, sitting around in my house coat and relaxing. It was very good therapy. Also, Thursday night I was feeling very depressed and tired and lonely, so it was nice to have a fun day on Friday.

Today, I had heard, there were still power outage problems with my workplace. But, buses were running and the pool was at least open, so I showed up for the last day of lessons.

And what a day it was!

One child of mine, who has been a *terror* was really good today. For most weeks, he'd yell, scream, splash, and say "I hate you I hate you I hate you" etc, all because he wasn't getting his way, and I would make him go underwater and swim and learn. He wasn't impressed. Over the past few weeks, however, he has been steadily, albeit slowly, improving his attitude. Today, in fact, he was positively enthusiastic. He was floating all by himself. He was asking "can we do rocketships? Can we dunk? Pleaaaase?" which *never* happens. A kid volunteering to practice a skill? Wow.

It was very pleasing to see that my gentle tutelage, and my firm, some would say even harsh, teaching style paid off. For 11 weeks I was kind and empathetic and gave him no wiggle room - he had to listen and behave and try his best, that's all. And now he's turned a corner and loves to swim, and has realized that if he tries he can accomplish a lot.

Oh, and another kid gave me a bunch of scratch-n-wins. I won four dollars!

Right after lessons one of the guards I work with asked if she could braid my hair. So I am now sporting lovely French braids - it's actually quite fetching. I don't think I'll have it braided often, but it feels comfortable, and it certainly keeps everything of my face. Yay fabulous new hairstyle!

Next came the busy time for the pool - as in over a hundred people, sometimes up to 125-130. Wow. With a few first aids happening, of course, and intermittent power failures here and there; nothing major just and outlet or two.

Then the phones went down. Dellbrook, the main HQ facility that handles call routing, lost power. So no computers, no Point of Sale terminals (i.e. to record who pays, register people, etc), no phones linking outside the building, except the emergency lines (which are wisely on a totally separate system). Front office staff had to keep track of everything using *gasp* paper!!!

In the midst of all this chaos, I run into a dad who is looking for his son. We search the change rooms - no sign. He's getting a little panicked. We check with his wife, and front desk, no sign there either. So Front desk gets on the phone to the pool to tell them the scoop, and I head to the arena to look for him.

As it happened, there was a Skate with Santa event. So brilliant that I am, I think - 'I'll get Santa to help!' If you're a kid, and you're lost, and you see Santa, of course you'll go see him. And it was a skate shop attendant under that beard anyways, so he was on point. I thought that was a clever idea *pats self on back*

Still no sign of Quinn (little tyke who's lost). So the boss blows her whistle and we clear the pool to look for him ever more extensively. Just as people are leaving the water, his mom comes in, tears streaming down her face, with Quinn in her arms. The whole pool erupts into 'hooray!' and such and cheers and claps. The little guy had locked himself in one of the single-stall family change rooms and was busy seeing how much paper towel he could shove down the toilet.

I gave him a firm talking to about 'hiding,' and that it was dangerous, and we all thought he was hurt or kidnapped. He totally didn't get it. But his parents were very appreciative.

Then we had some little buggers that were lipping off and being turds. So my boss decides to put them outside! Brilliant! Soaking wet, in their swim shorts, bare feet, she pushes them out the emergency exit (a clear glass door leading directly outside to the snow), and closes the door behind them. Hilarious. The mom commented that she thought it was a great idea, and why not leave them out there longer? It was only a few minutes, but they were pretty cold, and were much better behaved.

And as if our busy pool status wasn't enough - I had to stay several hours late to accommodate all the extra people - the relief guard due to arrive at four got into an accident. She's a paramedic as well as a lifeguard, and her ambulance got rear-ended in Squamish. So that was another wrench to the puzzle. But it all worked out in the end, hooray!

After work the on-duty supervisor (who was also coming off shift) gave me a lift to SeaBus, and we chatted, and she's been talking to the Big Boss recommending me for supervisor training! yay! So that may be happening soon. I hope so.

As I got off at Broadway SkyTrain, there were about a half a dozen Santas. So I call out "who's got the cloning machine?" and some laugh and some mutter and I think 'oh well'

Then I turn the corner and *wham* it's a whole fucking army of Santas. Like a score of more of the guys. Some girl-Santas, too. Some just have the hat. Some have garter belts. Some have pigtails (white, of course). Some hold sings like "boycott venison" or "Free coal, limit one per stocking" or "got eggnog" or "now do you believe?"

It was awesome. I have no idea what their purpose was, but they all filled towards the SkyTrain platform. As they passed me, one yelled out "Santas, gimme a ho!" and they all yell "Ho!" and I join in too, cause they're so awesome and it's fun. And a really cute Irish-looking Santa with a long red velvet cape comes over to me and says "Santa likes your style" and gives me a candy cane. So I tell him "happy Yule" and we exchange winks and away he goes.

And I'm laughing all the way home. So amazing. Wow.

That, my friends, was my utterly wonderful Saturday.

Family

2006-11-11T08:42:58Z

I ran into a distant relative today, rather randomly, on skytrain.

It was late at night, and it was rather busy for that hour. A vet gets on the train, in full regalia - lots of medals and chevrons and things. Some sort of officer. And he has a name tag - it read 'More'.

I do a double take. 'More?' With only one 'o'? To my knowledge that's quite rare. Moore is a rather common name, but More, according to my fahter (who has done geneological research into our family) tells me there aren't any More's outside of our 'tree.' We're all at some point from near Inverness, as an offshoot of the Leslie clan of Scotland.

So I strike up a conversation with this man, whose name turns out to be John More - same as my dad, and his dad, and his dad before him. John is the default name for men in my family, it seems ^ ^

John was born in Scotland, just East of Inverness, his mother a More of the Leslie clan! So we're probably distant relatives. My closest link to Scotland is several generations ago, so we'd be very very distant cousins.

Add to that, his nose - very like my brother's. And his eyes were the same shade of blue as my own.

Kinda creepy -

All in all that makes for a very... odd day. Inoui, as the French would say - full of odd events, coincidences and the like, but that could have meaning. Inoui can also mean ironic, I think.

Cause last night I had a most horrible nightmare, and while I don't think it will come true, it was... oddly relevant right now. Needless to say I went back to sleep and changed the ending, but still - it was unsettling. I very rarely get nightmares. And this dream involved my family, too

So there's the theme of the day - in different ways, at leats. What defines my family? Does it have edges? How broad can I draw the roots of the tree?

Fly killing and piercings

2006-11-06T07:49:50Z

There are flies in my unit. It started with one, whom I skooshed. Then today there were like four flying around. Grr! So I sprayed the whole place with tea-tree oil infused water to slow 'em down. I tried to catch them, but they were too crafty.

But now I've come home, and they have landed! And they are sluggish from my earlier natural insecticide attack! AND THEY ALL PERISHED! It was a lot of fun.

I'd use the spray bottle to douse them in mid-air, and see them drop in altitude or panic and try to fly away. With one, I used the focus nozzle setting and killed it mid-air with my spray bottle. Sweet.

The others I polished off with shoes, kleenex, etc once they were soaked with water and couldn't fly.

The best part was when they had just started to try to escape - flying and buzzing quickly around the room. And I'd swap at them with an open hand, making air currents. They would be buffeted by my tempestual attack and veer all over the place, crashing into things like a WWII plane that didn't recover properly from a barrel-roll. Better yet, now and again when I'd swap at them I'd hit them and they would totally flip upside down and such. Sooo much fun.

So if you ever would have said "Michael? He'd never hurt a fly!" Well, you may want to retract that statement. Fly-killing is an entertaining sport. No biting insects, mind you - it's most fun when they can't fight back. All they can do is run. *evil grin*

Oh and I saw someone with a pierced abdomen today. No, not belly button. She had two approx. 1.25'' long thin barbell type piercings, one on each side of her (rather flat) tummy - say 3-4'' to the side of her navel. And all you could see was the ends of the barbells - the bars inside were, well, beneath her skin. Of her stomach . That's a new one for me. Gross!

And that's all for now folks. Next update should be less graphic ^ ^

Griffin and Sabine

2006-11-03T06:46:28Z

I just got home from a fabulous day.

Class was interesting and engaging. In my Linguistics tutorial, there was a presentation of unique dialects of English, so we had fun trying to sound like Kiwis or Southern belles. Later I had lunch with a friend, and we cracked nerdy jokes at each other. In the afternoon, while it was raining, I made a new friend (from Linguistics class) who showed me around Southlands - we took her dog and went for a long walk in the rain. We share a lot in common, and I hope we get to hang out some more.

She dropped me off at Granville Island, where I spent about an hour at my favourite store, having a heart-to-heart with a staffperson whom I know there. It's a crystal store, so I got to play with shiny stones too - bonus.

Then I met up with Sam - a supervisor at the pool. We work together Wednesday nights, closing until 10:30 or so. She's been driving me home a lot, so I took her to see 'Griffin and Sabine' (the play adapted from the popular trilogies by Nick Bantock). We met on Granville Ilsand (the play was at the Arts Club Theatre on the Island), and had dinner at a fabulous seafood restaurant, The Sandbar. She had Sable Fish - divine - and I had a beautiful pasta with oyster mushrooms, lamb, and tomatoes. Oooh and we had California Rolls made with real Crab! Mmmmm.

The play was equally delicious. The stage was brilliant, with several interesting elements. The furniture was all hand-carved, and while utilitarian in one sense and rather plain, there were interesting angles and hand-wrought details to, for instance, the legs of the chairs that made it seem very surreal.

The rear wall of the stage served as a screen for projections of some of the art from the books. Music was live - a cello and some sort of Marimba. I tell you, I had no idea a cello could make so many sounds! At one point it accurately mimicked the sounds of Spitfires dogfighting in the sky, and also birds cawing. Beautiful sounds.

And of course the words were fantastic - most taken straight from the books. Many of them are really, really appropriate for me right now - in ways that I don't fully appreciate.

"Pain and beauty, our constant bedfellows"

But soon I will know - tomorrow I paint. Creativity abounds. I will try to pain words, with my smallest brushes to coax out the greatest joy.

p0wned!

2006-10-27T20:30:48Z

One of the reasons this week has been so tough (see yesterday's entry - 'lonely') has been the huge amount of school work, as I mentioned

But today it got a lot easier!

First, I got a midterm out of the way. I think I aced it. I even remembered how to code the 'go to last entry' funciton in Java image viewer. Woot!

But the big success was in the Linguisitc group assignment. I had been kinda down about it - I like linguistics, and it's usually fun and not too *too* challenging, but this data set is... pretty hellish.

But, today, at our (quick) group meeting, turns out one of the group members had a euraka last night (we met yesteday for a few hours), and after workshopping his rules we nailed down an analysis that explains the entire data set. It took like 45 minutes. Score! LING = p0wn3d. l337.

And we did it with only five rules!
-rounding agreement for +back + high vowels
-height/backness agreement for +low VC/V/C - right to left
-low raising: -high vowels become +high when followed by +high, but their backness is retained
-final vowel harmony: final +low vowel becomes +high when preceding vowel is +high
-BIPA RULE! Bascially, when a -low consonant is followed by ACA, the first A beceoms a palatized i.

The order, or course, is crucial, and we nailed that, too. So now we don't need to meet on the weekend; we're just gonna meet monday to write it all up formally. Whee! I'm very pleased.

Well, my mom should be here any second. We're gonna get food, then she's going to drive me to a laundromat.

Cheers y'all!

Observations

2006-10-27T04:29:18Z

My fingers have hair on them. Formerly white-blonde, now the hairs on the backs of my fingers - in beween the knuckles - is a bit brown. And even darker now because I have egg, brown sugar, and flour stuck there.

Needless to say I won't be bringing home-baked cookies to the party tomorrow.

Ah well. I tried an alchemical baking experiment, it went horribly wrong, and so I tried to fix it. I think the fix worked - but now the dough has to set and I don't feel like putting the damn things in the oven.

Plus, I think I at too much cookie dough. Oh and my throat is hurting. I have no idea why. And though I've very sleep-deprived, I'm a bit of an insomniac right now.

Joy to be me.

I think I'll curl up in bed and just read or something. I really wanted to do something productive and creative tonight. I'm too tired for poetry, I think - but I'll attempt some anyways.

Tonight my tiny apartment is lonely. I don't often get lonely, but when I do, it's really aggravating. I'm looking forwards to living with Emily. I won't be prone to these infrequent blue periods.

There is of course a sure-fire guranteed way to perk me up, but... it requires several thousand km of travel. Seeing James and the kids tomorrow will help, and getting laundry done. Also I get to explore the stream I'm researching for Geography.

Ooh! My throat just felt better. It's not a bug. I had some bread stuck back there.

Aren't I attractive? lol. Plus my red night shirt has flour down the front.

I really miss Mexico. And Camp Gaea. And the people that reside at each of those places. I dreamt of a convergence of those two places last night - Buck and I at Monte Alban, the sacred city of the ancient Tzapotecas. Someday.

I'm very glad to have wonderful people who love me in this city, too - and I get to see lots of them in the next few days. On the bright side, the week from hell is almost over. The two projects get handed in next week, the quizzes were today, and the mid-term is tomorrow.

Namaste.

Home changes and birthday

2006-10-20T05:31:33Z

It's been a busy fall.

My new place is... more or less working out. There was a domestic disturbance in the upstairs unit last night. Another tenant had a major row with the manager. The police were called. The tenant is being evicted. He's a raging alcoholic. He punched a hole through the wall, and slammed a door shut on the manager's leg, and it's not the first time he broke a hole in the wall, either.

My manager is clever.

Thankfully, Emily has asked me to move in with her. She lives in a small house which I will share with her and one other friend of hers. I've lived with her before, so this will work well. The location is 100 times better, there's laundry on-suite, my room is a sunny yellow colour and faces south with a big window, and it's 100$ a month cheaper than where I am now.

For those qualities (and others too numerous to list here) it is foolish to hang on to my 6'6'' celeing 1-bedroom dingy place. I'll move end of November. Whee!

On the plus side I had a fabulous birthday.

It started out crappy. I was cold and lonely. My brother, for the second year in a row, hadn't called me on my birthday. So that hurt a bit. Also I was starting to feel... dissastified with my new place at that point - I had seen Emily's place the Thursday previous (i.e. a week ago today), and was already picturing myself there. It was just a blue kinda day.

But some e-mails and phone calls from friends helped. Also thinking back to the weekend before really helped too - what a magnificent birthday present that was. A visit. Also visiting with Terry (my ex) a few days prior was really nice. He thoughtfully gave me tools to help me make more jewlery (I've experiemented with making some necklaces), so that was a score.

Plus I had lots of studying to do.

But, I instead dedicated a day to doing nothing, spending time with myself, and played some video games, ate food, read, and so on.

My parents took me out to dinner. It was fun, but.... akward. My mom gave me rice and a microwave rice cooker. My dad promised to take me to IKEA and buy me something. Woot!

The next day I skipped school and did the homework I didn't do on my birthday, and then I worked. I had a birthday gift there, too - as of Saturday, Oct 14 (the day before my birthday) I've made step 3 pay grade, which is like 60c more an hour. Which means I'm at like 18.90 / hr or so now. Hooray!

Also on Saturday I babysat for my cousin's kids, which was fun - I don't see them very much. I also hung out with Ken and Cinammon, who gave me some fascinating books on celtic lore. Yay for reading!

Tonight my friend Majeed took me out for dinner and a play to celebrate, and I got a funny whodunit novel from him, as well as a Tintin lithograph thing to hang on my wall. Score.

School is interesting enough - I am enjoying my classes a lot this term, more so that I have done in previous terms at UBC. I'm also connecting with a lot more people. I share classes with several lovely girls, and am making friends, all in all, with about a half a dozen new people. So my lunch hours are often filled with hanging out with friends, both old and new.

Overall, I am at peace. I write a lot in my journals these days (the paper ones). When there are more thoughts I'm ready for the world at large to read, I'll post some more here. Until then, y'all, don't fret - I probably won't post too much, and it's not from sadness or anything like that. I'm really quite happy right now, just darned busy. Plans abound - moving hither and yon - school - work - and much fun and merriment.

By the same token, apologies if I'm not reading / commenting on the LJ's of others. I would love to, but... studying has to come first for a little while.

With that, I'm off to read computer science stuff - I have a quiz in 10.5 hours

*grins*

Michael

emmorium @ 2006-09-19T23:15:00

2006-09-20T06:15:51Z

I escaped from the Dungeon of Roaneskin!

I killed Mollymcevil the kobold and Grayson100 the floating eye.

I looted the Shield of Vcooke, the Dagger of Deletrious, the Crown of Wolfy79, a Figurine of Hundun, a Figurine of Isthmene, the Wand of Tarot and 56 gold pieces.

Score: 231

Explore the Dungeon of Roaneskin and try to beat this score,
or enter your username to generate and explore your own dungeon...

Overdue for an entry

2006-09-20T05:47:45Z

Hello all

I need to update about a lot of things that have been going on - my life has been eventful (mostly in a positive way) over the past few weeks. I have not the time nor the oomph to go into huge details here. Also certain events are a tad too recent to go into minutae about.

The long and the short of it is that I am single, and moving out on my own Oct1st or there abouts - possibly a few days before or after that date, but it's definately a go. I have paid a deposit on a place not far from the Drive, and close to bus routes to school. I will be sure to tell y'all about it once I settle in.

And indeed I am single. I have separated from both Terry and Hagrid. I am still living with Terry until the end of the month. He and I are OK, and so far are still comforatable with each other. It very much looks like we will remain as close friends for quite some time. He has also offered to donate some kitchen things for my new place, which is very generous.

My family has also volunteered to help out, so already I have a table, some chairs, and a bookcase. I am still in need of a few things, though, so if there's furniture around that needs a home, I can take care of it.

The sad/ difficult part about these transitions has been the ending of the relationship with Hagrid. I don't think he's taking it very well, and it may be a very long time before I hear from him. Possibly never. Hagrid, I hope you find peace.

Needless to say a lot of these decisions have been difficult to make, but I beleive with all my heart things will work out. All I have done is taken my own advice - "to thine own self be true"... as I sign my e-mails. It does me good to read those words these days.

emmorium @ 2006-08-17T00:59:00

2006-08-17T08:10:00Z

A quick update so I don't feel so guilty about not updating so much!

I went canoeing with my friend Mia on Friday last. It was lots of fun. We went 11km round trip, from under the Burrard Bridge to Spanish Banks and back, in just under four hours. Minus on-board snacks. Mia brought delcious Tuna Sandwiches, and juice. I brought summer salad and cookies. It was lots of fun. Though my hands are still a little sore - I'm more used to kayaking, and it uses your hands in a different manner.

Also Friday night, I went to see Bard on the Beach's production of Measure for Measure with my good friend Balin. It was an interesting piece. I wouldn't call it a play, so much as an argument. In the same way Orwell's "1984" isn't really a novel. Though 1984 is more of a novel than M for M is a play.

I enjoyed it, I really did. And it made me think. About the nature of power, and if sin can cleanse further sin, and by what sin may we attain virtue? I won't go into the plot - but for those of you that know that play, what do you think? Would the play function if the central issue was some 'sin' other than fornication? Does Isabellas protests seem overmuch? In this day and age, is chastity really seen as a treasure to be held higher than a brother's life?

Some thoughts to ponder =)

I'll do a better update in a few days, when I have time @__@

Michael

MMF Extravaganza

2006-08-06T06:42:41Z

Oh Gods where to start. Such a transformative event. I may not be able to live my life as I was before ever again. I am more myself than I have ever been, and I hope to continue spiraling towards to true self as the years go by.

For those of you who didn't know, I just got back from the 25th Anniversary Mid West Men's Festival, held at Camp Gaea, just outside of Tonganoxi, Kansas. It ran from the 18th until the 27th of July. 108 men (107 of them gay) were in attendance. While it is not defined as a Radical Faerie gathering, I would say the majority of attendees were Faeries. I was accompanied by my American Boyfriend, Hagrid.

Rather than a blow by blow, this post will just be an overview and summary of what happened. As more events unfold and as time goes by, I will explain more things in more detail as necessary. However, if you wish the full version of a story, talk to my privately and I will share what I am able to, while respecting the confidentiality of those involved.

For 10 days the festival is run co-operatively, by consensus. No-one is in charge. In fact, when the FBI raided the place several years ago, the agents asked the first man they saw 'who's in charge' and they were quite flummoxed at his apparent answer, 'we all are.' But that is very true. There are indeed people 'in charge' of certain areas: registration, the kitchen, communications, and so on, but really, all Big Decisions are handled by the Circle.

Circle meets twice a day, before lunch, and before dinner. Any and all are welcome to attend, but it is by no means mandatory, though it is considered by some to be the Heart of Festival. Beyond serving as a place to share with each other, grow closer, bond, make announcements, deal with housekeeping and etc, Circle is, for lack of a better term, the governing body of festival. If there is a conflict or issue of some kind, and it can not be resolved successfully by the parties involved, it can be brought before Circle and the group will resolve it, however long that may take.

More often than not Circle simply deals with policy issues - changes that need to occur to festival, or things like menus, event conflicts, procedures, whatever. Occasionally Bigger Issues will come up, and in my limited experience those are handled relatively effectively, though the process of consensus itself can be rather laborious, to the point of being arduous.

Other events of note were the Auction, the No Talent Show (an entire evening of Non-Start entertainment!), the Chocolate Salon (a Chocolate Disco this year), as well as various workshops / playshops and other events. The Auction and no Talent I am sure you can imagine - hosted by Drag Queens, attended and fueled by five score and eight gay men. Really, there was glitter and feathers for blocks. 'Nuff Said ;)

For me, there were several significant events outside of these. Swimming in the very warm lake was one. I got to share that experience with many wonderful men, which was truly a delight. A very healing and invigorating experience. I would highly recommend nude swimming in a warm lake with good friends under the hot Kansas sun. Cures what ails you.

I led some workshops of my own that were quite successful. I hosted two StoryTime parties, where people read works of fiction, poetry, even sang songs and told jokes. I had brought some First Nations myths with me, which I shared, and both occasions were very rewarding to me, and I think to those who participated as well. Of course *someone* <> had to bring smut to the 2nd StoryTime, which, er, 'coloured' subsequent stories. Hey, we're gay men. Once you get us into the gutter, it's pretty hard to leave. So that was fun, too, though we quickly veered away from stories and eventually settled in on a discussion of anal sex. Whee! So thank you Hagrid, for that. Kisses! =)

I also experienced a sweat lodge for the first time, which was ***Magick***. Wow. As in I had visions. Totally transcendental. Amazing. Indescribable. After two rounds of sweating and intense visions, you get cold water poured all over you - as in a couple gallons of the stuff. Woosh! Wow.

I met a special friend at the sweat, too - his name is Buck. He was of great help in leading me through my first sweat, helping me deal with the visions that came up. Though we exchanged few words, he was a source of great strength to me. Many thanks! Later we went for a swim together under the stars. What a magickal evening.

Of course there were lessons to be learned, too. Though there were not huge amounts of drama, there was some, to be sure, and I had my fair share. That same night I went starlight swimming and hung out with Buck? Poor Hagrid had been waiting up for me all night. And he was understandably quite hurt when I didn't come home. So I'm sorry for that, though it proved to be a learning experience for us both, which I suppose is good. It was a challenge for me to keep track of time, place, and commitments throughout the gathering. Being consistent was not always easy. I know there were a few men - including Hagrid - whom I hurt, but to my credit I tried my best, at festival and afterwards, to make amends. And I know more for next time, too.

It was great to spend time with Hagrid, too - I know he didn't have the best of festivals, and that I wasn't always around (and that I was a source of drama, too, in my own way!), but we grew closer, and I am grateful to him for sharing his community, his home festival, with me. And though we had some serious talks, both at festival and since, I am glad for it, as I certainly understand him better now, and I hope he feels the same about me.

(NB – this is written before I’ve read Hagrid’s post RE MMF so maybe there will be an addendum later *grins*)

Also of note during the festival was my healing with origami ritual. That went very well. Not too many people attended, but since then, several have expressed interesting continuing over the year. Basically, we were making paper cranes, as in the Japanese tradition of 1,000 paper cranes for healing, wish-granting, etc etc. So several of us have pledged to make 100 cranes before next year’s festival, and we will craft a ritual around the cranes we end up with. So, while I have no expectations about what this origami thing may bring in the future, I am enjoying sitting back, and watching whatever is to occur happen (or not ^ ^)

I also got to take part in a larger ritual, called the reading of the beards. There is a beaded talisman belonging to the festival that we take every year, which gets added to and changed as the group grows and evolves. There is a section for our ancestors, another for gods and other mysterious ones, for our hopes, dreams, and so on. Sort of like a rosary, very loosely. We go through each bead, read out what it means, and are thankful for the person / energy / thing that the bead represents, and what it means for our community. I got to read the section of the beads dealing with our hopes and aspirations for the future, which was very powerful.

I also got to be a firetender one night. That was very hot. Actually, we Faeries call it Fire Fucking, and it’s not an inaccurate term.

So:

Drummers
Didgeridoos
Singing Bowls
Chanting
A steady, rhythmic, trance-type beat

The elders and the young ones are dancing around the fire. No other light is present, save the vast stars in the clear sky overhead.

The smell of roast chicken fills the air – a heavy, manly, meaty smell. A BBQ stands off to one side, where a man with no shirt prepares meat for us to enjoy. We call it a PETA workshop – not People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, but People Easting Tasty Animals. We’re Faeries. We’re radical that way.

Beautiful men, in various states of dress and undress, surround the fire on blankets, benches, and the cold grass. The drum beat heats up, as does the fire

(We were fueling it with waxed cardboard and lighter fluid)

We two firefuckers (Buck and I, of course) have each a long shovel. We circle the fire, winding between the dancers. I have a hunk of BBQ smoky chicken in my mouth, and my vision is full of shadow and flame. The heat from the fire is enough to singe my leg hair, but I plunge in anyways, thrusting my shovel deep into the ember. Breaking up logs at the centre of the fire, moving embers from hot spots to cool ones, spreading ash on the lee side so embers don’t take to the wind. Constantly moving, sweating, lifting logs, almost dancing in out own meditative way.

Of course, we fire fuckers are completely naked.

More wood is needed. I plunge my shovel into the earth, it stands upright and I leave it. A log as big as my torso – carried between two arms, then flung on the fire. A shower of sparks. Embers go up, the dancers jump back from the fire, Buck and I chase embers in the wet grass with our shovels, smothering them. The new wood isn’t catching. So I throw on a piece of waxed cardboard where the wind will catch it, and seconds later the blaze streaks up, lighting the darkened sky.

The BBQ was having trouble starting, so Buck takes a log in his shovel and carries it over, dumps it over the goals to kick-start the cooking.

Hot. Very hot.

Needless to say a few hours of this were tiring. But I love every second of it. I danced, too, in my own way, when the fire didn’t need attention. Danced and listened, watched, drummed some, played the singing bowl, did martial arts in front of the fire. Such an intimate encounter. With fire, earth, and fellow men.

Fire tending was Tuesday night, and we were to leave Thursday. So the rest of festival more or less wound down slowly. We each took away something special. I take away a stronger connection to my boyfriend, many new friends, and a special bond with my fellow fire-fucker, Buck.

So there ya have it, folks. I’m back. Mind you guard your hearths, I may take a shovel and poke them severely, to make them burn. Grrr!

*evil grin*

Coursing with courses!

2006-07-11T14:43:20Z

Registration for Winter Semester at the University of British Columbia is now complete. Please form a line to your left for the removal of your choice of limbs as down payment. Kidneys also accepted, with a valid credit card. Organs can be reclaimed at year end with sufficient GPA, and the performance of a stylized jig on top of the clock tower.

Seriously though - I'm glad to have had registration go so smoothly. Got my first choice of courses, too! Nothing was full. Amazing. Pinch me. On second thoughts, don't.

Winter: Comp Sci, Linguistics 200, Geog of Vancouver, Atmospheric Environments.
Spring: Soil 200, Linguistics 201, Intro to Geog. info systems, Statistics 200.

Sounds like fun to me!

The Son (of R.T.E.)

2006-07-09T06:22:17Z

Moving on to Rescue. Wednesday last (the 28th of June) I went out with my mother to celebrate her birthday (which was on the 27th). As is our custom, Wednesdays this summer, we went Kayaking.

First we had a lovely bistro-style late lunch, and I gave mom her present. An onyx/sterling silver pendant, with a moonstone accent. It's an oval piece, a slab of onyx surrounded by silver. A woman / goddess figure is laid on top of the onyx, in silver, with a long flowing dress and long hair. In her arms, to the side, is a small moonstone half-sphere, twikling like its namesake. She cried. I was tickled she liked it, and she was very moved. *score one for good presents given by Michael* and from early reports she loves the piece, and finds it very powerful.

So after this lovely lunch / gifting, we went out onto the water for our two hour Kayaking sessions. Now as luck would have it, this was the same day one of the pools I work for had planned a staff Kayaking trip - Mom and I were due to go 3:30-5:30, while my co-workers were to start at 5:30. So I had hoped to see them, and introduce my mother.

Away we go, paddling out of Deep Cove and, since we did part of South Indian Arm last time (i.e. 30 minutes worth south of the cove) we decided to turn Northwards instead. Add some variety, eh? Ha. Ha. Ha.

Merrily we paddle our way for about 20-25 minutes, pause and eat something, snap some photos. It's getting on towards 4:45 ish (we had a slow start), so we think about turning around.

*wham*

Mr Wind decides to make his presence known to us. Unbeknownst to us, we had been merrily paddling in a tailwind... bloody fecking shamninashermina *bleep* Had no clue of it until we turned around - it seemed gentle enough at our backs, eh?

So stoically we paddle our way towards Deep Cove, with about an hour to spare. Ten minutes in, Mom is getting tired. We've gone like 50, 60m? Not very much. We haven't even cleared the property we were adjeacent to when we turned around. For joy.

Mom is none too happy - she's frustrated, so we take a pause, I reassure her, and we continue on. Another ten minutes, pause again - she wants to phone the marina and get a tow.

Which is valid - we're a ways out, no realy clue how strong this wind is, how long it will last, or what our overall maximum endurance is. I mean, this is like our fourth time out. But, as I point out, there's lots of boats passing we can flag if need be, it's not stormy, and I've got oomph left. So I throw her my tow rope and get to it - workout time!

Landmark after landmark goes by - "mom, I think the cove's just around this lighthouse....or not. Ok. We'll pause here anyways" (damina shermina tick-friggering *bleep*) Whee. Not pooped yet, but double weight is slow going. Mom paddles as she can, but I'm doing the Lion's Share of the work.

Metre by slow metre we crawl back to the cove - about an hour over our expected return time (oops). Now shelered from the wind, it's only another kilometre or so before we reach the marina (which is now in sight).

Who do I see leaving the cove, on the opposite side? A group of rather rowdy hooligans, racing each other and hooting an' hollering. I check the watch - 6:30. Time enough for orientation, and getting started. My coworkers. Whee! They don't see me, but I point them out to my mom.

Paddle Paddle Paddle PADDLE OK here's the marina yay we made it whew. Ok now I'm pooped. Michael to the rescue! Woo-hoo!

Strictly speaking, I probably could / should have phoned for help, or gotten a tow from a passing boat. But, it was a challenge, eh? A let's-see-if-I-can-do-it. And if not, that's OK - I can call for help. My ego isn't so overlarge that I wouldn't ask for help if I got tired or there was danger, eh? And afterwards, I wasn't exhasuted - tired, yes - but not really much more so than after a serious session or two at the gym. And I get to feel really proud that I helped my mom out of a tight spot, and hey - through crisis you grow closer, right?

And a parting note - the kayaking place didn't even notice we were late. So much for bothering with itineraries and late fees, eh? How long do they wait, I wonder, before phoning my emergency contact number?

Oh, and I did call Terry from the water, when it first looked like we were going to be late. He's the emergency contact and all, and I wanted him to know we were OK if the kayak company asked after us. Ha. Ha. Like they noticed. Not that it mattered, but Terry was having a nap anyways. Go, uh, team?

He did wake up after a few tries, though, and to be fair he wasn't feeling well. So we had the talk about, 'if you're not feeling up to it, if you might no be able to be awake / alert while I'm on the water, please say so when I ask you to be the contact, so I can find another one if necessary.' Like the company bothered with emergency contacts, sheesh.

And for why Terry wasn't doing well? Asthma again, which flared up last weekend. Which bring us to, the Emergency module of this VLP. (Very Long Post)

Next time!

*dun dun dun DUN......*

Rescue Toast Emergency!

2006-07-08T02:31:26Z

I was listening to CBC this morning. Usually, when I don't have to wake up early, I like to wake up to The Current (8:37 am, weekdays). I just love "the Voice" they use to start the show. So sexy. Anyways: for the summer they have shortened the programme by 30 minutes (grr). Instead of running until the start of Sounds Like Canada at 10, it ends at 9:30. The extra time is being filled by a (new?) show called The Thing.

A week or so ago The Thing did a great piece on Gays who are opposed to Marriage. Which is grand, as that's a point of view we don't often hear. Don't get me wrong, I will defend equal access to all public services until I am blue in the face, but really - do we want in on an institution that has been used to opress and marginalize women for centuries? In my opinion (radical though it may be), 'there will be no more marriages / those that are married already...shall live' (thanks Hamlet). Let's do away with this ambiguous thing - religious? Secular? In Canadian law it is a legal contract, and any relgious trapping are at the discretion of the spiritual organization in question. So there's really no debate over same-sex marriage, as 'marriage' is only a name for what has become, in essence, a secular affair.

But I digress. In short, why not just make a new agreement, for everyone, that's adaptable to our modern civic views on relationships, and let the Christians have marriage back? Really, if they want it so bad, they can have it! Sheesh.

So anyways this week The Thing did a programme on Toast. Seriously. As in the bread dish served with butter at breakfast time. The host talked to an historian, a chef, a chemist, and a toaster designer in his quest to, um, demystify this...thing. Riiiiiiight.

WTF?

The historian was interesting though - she talked about the temperature of toast, and that in the 18th century cold toast was a sign of upper class. You see, the servants having made your toast downstairs, they then have to cart it upstairs, by which time it was cold. Everyone (or so this historian claimed) knows re-heated toast is mushy, so the rich suffer through cold, albeit crunchy, toast, to bask in the knowledge their food was prepared by someone else and then deliverd to them.

On the other hand, the servants could eat as much fresh, hot, delicious toast as they wanted. No waiting.

The chemist was commenting on the aparent complexities of the toasting process (!!!) Dude, WTF. Doesn't it just, um, cook? And burn a little, and dry out, hence becoming crispy? As a lay-person, I cannot say for sure, but it seems to me toast is...certanly not something to write a dissertation about!

The toaster desginer talked about his, uh, revoltionary toaster. As in he's a scientist at Princeton, and he makes frigging toasters. Go figure. He was talking about the importance of the colour of the selection knob, and that the lever be squishy to the touch.

*slooooooowly backs away from toast-crazy mad scientist!*

Of course then The Thing went on to talk about toasts, as in speeches, at weddings and such, and Toastmasters, the club.

Overall, this show seems to be a mixed bag, though there certainly are some... new... topics. Ones you won't hear anywhere else but on good ol' National Radio, CBC.

Oh, it's 7:30. I have to go on deck (I'm at work, and it's my turn to watch the pool). Stay tuned for the "rescue" and "emergency" portions promised in the subject line in a subsequent update.

M.

Quick update

2006-07-02T22:51:42Z

Hi All!

Lots going on right now - Hagrid is up for the long weekend, until Tuesday, which is grand. We did faerie coffee today, and then are hanging out with friends this evening. Tomorrow we're doing Granville Island, as Hagrid has never been there! He's a Granville Island VIRGIN!!! OMG. *evil grin*

I also need to update about my kayak rescue on Wednesday (Michael saves the day!) plus a trip to the hospital yesterday =(

A bientot!

Michael

New couch!

2006-06-27T02:51:33Z

Appropriately enough, on this, the day of our anniversary, Terry and I have a new couch. We love it! And all our old pillows just so happen to co-ordinate with it. It's almost as if it was planned! So it's like my anniversary present to us. As I think I mentioned, Terry bought us a new printer / scanner a while ago, so he gets points too.

Plus, it has a 'neath, so the cat can now hide under the couch. She appoves. All are happy =)

anniversary and other festivities

2006-06-25T05:52:46Z

Terry and I are celebrating two years since we met this coming Monday, 26 June. And two lovely years it has been. Incidently, Hagrid and I are nearing 9 months, so either relationship would break my previous longest-boyfriend record. Go me!

I hope to take Terry to Granville Island to hang out. I have a little present for him, too. Oh and I'm buying us a couch, so that counts, eh? He bought us a scanner / printer dealie, so in a way we've already celebrated, gift-wise. Both items sorely needed, so why not take on a celebratory note to them as it's so close to our anniversay anyways ^ ^ we can't afford huge presents anyhow, so... hooray for new furniture and gadgetry! This makes the Michael happy.

In other news after Wednesday I will be working a lot less, so if you want to hang out with me, that will actually be possible *shock and awe*. Then come the 16th of July I leave for the US for two weeks, and in August I work nearly full time. So get your Michael fix while he's avaialable! This offer not valid with any other discount. Management reserves the right to tickle any and all James who apply for this special offer. Offer void on weekends, as like the geek I am I will be working 14 hours or so each weekend, and babysitting. So set aside some weekday time, yay!

So *yay* for two years in a relationship. I be happy. Life is good.

Financial success

2006-06-18T05:52:51Z

I just got a credit card, doo-dah, doo-dah, I just got a credit card, oh-diddy-doo-dah-day. Wheee!

*cough* seriously though, this is good news. I can make online purchases and such, as well as build my credit rating. Case in point, I bought a phone card and a cake, charged them to the MasterCard, and paid them off later that day. No interest for me! Yay for a credit rating! Power and wealth shall be mine! *evil laughter*

Hopefully I'll be good and not abuse it. I think I've demonstrated fairly good financial decision-making over the past years, so I'm not worrying. Nice to have as a back-up, and to help secure my long-term financial needs.

There, don't I sound all adult now?

Trip to Bellingham

2006-06-09T23:54:20Z

Hi all!

Just got back, again. And this time the trip to the US of A was *not* to see Hagrid *shock and awe* Looking over my past few LJ posts, most of them have been "I was in the US and Hagrid and I did so-and-so". While those have been *fab* trips to see my darling Hagrid! I hope I have not conveyed the impression that trips to the US are the only noteworthy events taking place these days.

Really, I just need to update LJ a little bit more, but meh - big events like going away somewhere prompt me to get off my ass and log in ^ ^

So here we are - another trip to the US!

My mother and I were visiting friends we had originally met in Oaxaca, Mexico. I had seen the mom (Patty) a few years back, and her hubby (Jeff) and son (Zach). But their daughter, Julie, had always been away at school whenever Karin and I had visited. This time, however, she was there, and she and I were able to renew our friendship. So that was really special.

She is a wonderul girl - and I won't go into too many details here, but suffice it to say she and I have a lot in common, in terms of family situation, and so on. Neither of feels we can be 100% open with our parental units with respect to our romantic lives. Not that I really hide anything, mind you, or lie, or am closeted. But I haven't volunteered to my parents that I am polyarmourous. Meh. None of their business, really. And though it's immature of me to say it, I don't think they'd Grok the idea. I know my mom wouldn't be impressed. When it's right, I'll tell them. Soon.

So Julie and I got to talk about those kinds of things, and we both decided that we want to travel some more together. She's going to work for her new company for a while (she just got her Bachelor's degree), while I finish up my programme, and then when she can take some time off we'll travel like mad! Hooray for more travelling companions! There are now several peple with whom I want to tour the world. maybe we could end up doing it all together?

I was really glad to reconnect with their family. As many of you know, I'm not super good at keeping in touch with people. I don't write often, I am often slow in replying to e-mails, and though I may care about a person a great deal, I may not speak to them from one month to the next if they live in another country, far away, etc etc. I feel bad about that, and I'm taking steps to rectify it.

It was neat to just pick up on our close friendship, like we were kids in Oaxaca again.

Interstingly, she told me yesterday that while in Mexico, the first time together (our families were there together in ~93 and ~98) she could tell I was / was going to be gay just by hanging out with me. At that point, I only would have self-identified for a few months. So she is now officially the first person ever to know I was gay, that I know of. Not the first person I told, mind you, but the first to know. So that's kinda cool.

Travelling with my mom is...interesting. We hardly talked in the car ride, there or back. We didn't hang out much while on the farm, either. She mainly talked with Patty, and me with Julie. Which was great, because I think we both needed to talk to our respective friends. I think (I hope!) my mom talked to Patty about her recent trip to Mexico with my father. She needs some closure on that.

While I enjoy the weekly kayaking seesions my mother and I are starting to do together, for some reason, we didn't bond at all on this trip. I think I know why, and it doesn't bother me at all, it's just more food for thought. For example, kayaking is great 'cause we're on the water, and together, but not really interacting with each other. We are simly sharing the same wonderful, watery space. That works well. My mom has taken a someone closer role in my life, and I'm OK with that for now, but baby steps. It's going to continue to be baby steps until I trust her to respect my boundaries. That may take a while.

So there's my tale :)

LongHouse Gathering

2006-05-31T00:07:58Z

I have safely returned from the land of the free and the home of the brave. It has been an amazing weekend.

It had a rocky start - on Thursday eve, I was due to take the train down to Everett to meet with Hagrid, with whom I was going to the Longhouse Gathering. But AmTrak, in their wisdom, messed up the trains. The train to take us South failed to make its Northward journey that morning, so we had a bus instead. Whee. You pay a little extra for the comfort of riding a train instead of a bumpy, irritating bus, and then.... blah. No refund either. We were mollified by a free bottle of apple juice, and a complimentary blueberry muffin. Which, incidentally, I have not eaten yet - the packaging seems very challenging, and the ingredients list is almost larger than the muffin itself.

Once I met with Hagrid things went wonderfully. Friday we went and visited a friend of his, which was fabulous, then we made our way to the campgrouds to set up our tent.

This was not roughing it. There is a full kitchen, complete with 12 elements and four ovens, three huge restaurant-style frdges, a sink, a freezer, microwave, toaster, even a dishwasher. The 'out house' has four flush toilets. There are two showers to accompany the large hot tub, and another three showers to accompany the 15m heated (~90' f) pool =) We were spoiled rotten.

However, the entire campsite was marshland - froggies and snakes and mud and water and reeds everywhere - glorious. Except when the floor warning came. Whee. It rained a helluva lot, and so the dry(er) land on which the buildings had been built (and where we camped) started to revert to its bog-like origin. This resulting in some muddy going. I also discovered my shoes are not waterproof. Not even water-resistant. Water absorbant is more like it. So me feet were perpeutally wet. Ah well - the things we put up with to commune with nature =)

Thankfully, the site Hagrid and I chose for our tent stayed dry. It was actually under a sort of open-air shack-roof thing. Basically a little hut thing with no walls. From the rafters hung heavy chains, and from those hung a platform large enough for our tent. Two ground-affixed platoforms flanked us, which we used for storage.

Needless to say the tent-sling was an interesting experience; kind of like sleeping on a boat. The frogs made very strange noises at night, and the rain pitter-patted on our roofs almost incessantly. Quite relaxing. And with a subtle sway of one's hips, while lying in the tent, one could make the whole platform swing gently this way or that. Lots of fun it was indeed ^__~

The property itself is huge - I don't know how big, probably dozens of acres. Most of it is unadulterated marshland, and therefore not really useable. Hagrid and I went exploring a bit, along planks and boards than had been lain here and there, but we could not go too far before our non-amphibian nature proved too much of a disadvantage for further progress to be made.

Towards the northern end of the property lies the longhouse, which contains the pool, as well as the living quarters for the permanent residents. About a dozen people live at the LongHouse year round - or the Venusian Church, as they call it. Spiritual groups of all kind use the space over the summer, for various gatherings. In fact, there is even an eight-stone circle, which was very magickal. Wow. I had never been in a stone circle before, and it was quite the experience.

Activities consisted of making smores around the campfire late at night, telling jokes (most of them naughty) till all hours, and cooking / eating really good food (ingredients bought from the Albertson's Supermarket - kinda like a Safeway - literally across the street). There was also a Dark of the Moon Cleansing in the big pool, which was wonderful. I got to be an alter-faery, as did Hagrid. Whee!

We also made a run to VV - Value Village, where we all bought some fabulous things for us to wear. I also found a superman outfit for my Godson, Tom, who is almost one year old. He will be so cute! Copious time was also spent in the hot tub, of course, and in the pool. It was deep enough to dive into, so I was in my glory. There were all sorts of pool noodles, balls, and toys, so needless to say we got into some playful sparring and splashing. Great fun.

Even though the LongHouse space is across the street from suburbia, it really is in another world. A long winding road leads down from the main thourouhfare to the campgrounds, and the thick lines of trees along the way completely hide the sight of any civilization. The noise of traffic could sometimes be heard, or sometimes a plane flying overhead, but apart from that it was the sounds of nature.

Overall a wonderful experience, and a magickal gathering. I made many new friends, and I was also able to re-connect with some that I had not seen in a while. I definitely want to attend next year.

World of WarCrack, writing

2006-05-21T05:22:08Z

More money being spent... yee haw.

So Thursday, under the recommendation of my dear friend Douglas, I purchase and MMORPG. For non-geeks, that's Massively Multiplayer On-line Role Playing Game. It's called World of Warcraft. It's fun, I admit it. I am enjoying the game. Not the best game I've ever played, but it's fun. Worth the monthly charges? We'll see. Probably.

People around me are already saying it's too late - three days with WarCrack is four days too many, or that I may already be addicted. While addiction has reared its head in my family and, as a small child with my GameBoy I did indeed have problems turning it off, I don't think that will be a problem for me.

As some of you may know I'm not exactly disciplined. Things get done when they get done. I have a tendency to procrastinate, and while it is *very* rare I fail to make good on, say, a scholastic committment, I don't exactly do homework the minute I get home!

Now with friends and family I'm Mr Reliable. But school work, writing, medition, exercise - why is it I am readily willing to put all kinds of effort into helping those around, but tend towards a 'why bother' or 'mabye later' attitude when it comes to myself? Discipline, I think, is the answer.

For istance, as a teenager I had bad tooth-brushing habits, but thanks to a coating put on my teeth at an earlier age I had no cavities. So I was all proud about perfect teeth and undisciplined dental hygeine habits. Towards being 18 or so, I did have some cavities, as the coating had worn off, and now I'm a better brusher. Fastidious, even. Go me!

Why did I have to take the hard road? Meh. Call it my nature. Maybe it's just easier helping others because it means I can delay doing work on myself.

A psychologist might say I self-sabotage. A cousnellor might say I have esteem issues. A doctor might say I'm uncomfortable with myself. To hell with them all, I say!

It really all boils down to discipline - not laziness, as evidenced by my willingness to pitch in where I can for others. See? The shedule is out of my hands, I'm helping them until the job is done or I am able to continue. But given four hours in which to do an hour of homework? I'll do it in the last fifteen minutes.

So starting today I am embarking on an hour of writing everyday. No exceptions, as much as I can help it. It's a contract with myself. LJ counts, journalling counts, homework does not, writing for work does not. Meditative writing or dream logs count. Basically any writing that is primarily for me counts. Of course the goal here is to plough through my Book, write more poems, finish my abandoned play, and get on with being a writer, if that is indeed what I am going to become.

And it means in every day, no matter how busy or how many commitements I have, I am certain of at least one hour in which I can enjoy my own thoughts and do work for me. It's not about being selfish, it's just about setting a better balance.

So do I love myself? I always did. No question there. Solitude? I'm very happy to be alone in the woods in my cabin, or in the bath thinking of things, whiling away the hours. Self-sabotage? Perhaps, if you count often finding other tasks to do besides what must needs be done! But no longer.

So while I do have new shiny distracting software, hey - it's summer. Get offa my back already! And if you play WarCrack, let me know and we should campaign! I have both Alliance and Horde characters, on two servers - ProudMoore and Silvermoon (those bastards at tech support had better fix silvermoon!!!)

Anyways, you all can lemme alone for a bit - I'm gonna write some poetry or summin' for another 47 minutes.

Thanks for listening!

Seattle trip for Easter

2006-05-14T05:47:25Z

Seattle!
It was a fabulous time. I left Wednesday evening on the 6pm train, on the 19th of April. Thursday and Friday I got to spend by myself, where I had plenty of opportunity to write, read, medidate, and do some serious thinking. I grokked some new things, and it was good.

Thursday evening Hagrid and I went to a full moon circle (a Radical Faerie gathering - ask me what that is if you don't know of wiki it - their entry is decent). It was very free form, which was a lot of fun. I had my first drumming circle, which was AMAZING! I want a drum. So badly... *sigh* We danced, too, and chanted a bit, a drummed some more - bliss.

Then came bear soup (i.e. lots of sexy naked men in a large hottub). The cool rain fell softly on our facaes, while our lower halves where made warm by the fresh (no Cl!) water, and the company of each other. It was heavenly. Yes, there was a little bit of playing, too, but nothing serious, and nothing without consent. No hurt feelings either. Afterwards Hagrid and I headed home.

Friday night we went out to see V for Vendetta, which I have already updated about (which means maybe I already told the bear soup story? Sorry if it's a repeat!). Saturday we went first to Faerie coffee, which was fun, and then we did Pike's Place Market! Which, for you information, is aparently the 2nd- most popular tourist destination in the greater Seattle area (the first naturally being the Space Needle).

Think of it as Granville Island times 10. Or maybe 15. Same eclectic mix of shops, restaurants, and fun funky places to explore. But it takes over a much larger area, sprawls up several floors and down to the docks, and to a warehouse marketplace that makes the Public Market of Granville Island seem like a fruit stand. That being said I still love my Granville Island - intimate, familiar, and a bit more friendly - but Pike's was nevertheless amazing.

We didn't really buy much *grins*- we had Russian food for lunch, which was excellent. We found a vendor who made fruit-roll type things, all natural and with real fruit, which were delicious. I brought some back to Canada, even. The aprocot almond is particularly nice. We also found a neat collector store, with all sorts of TV and movie memorabilia. No purchases there, though we both eyed the V for Vendetta graphic novel lacshiviously.

I also undertook to buy us fixins for dinner - white fresh wild Alaskan Salmon steaks, vegiies for a salad, some fruit also to go in it (Pluouts - Plums bred with apricots - very tasty!), mint leaves and spinach, and a few spices, as well as balsamic vinegar. Dinner purhcases made, we checked out the artisans stalls, where made a fine hand-craft was being sold. I bought a neat wooden puzzly-type thing for Tom - it it a wooden cube, with two holes drilled into each face. Sliding doweling is in each hole, with a colourfol ball on each end of those. So it slides back and forth and up and down a bazillion ways. Tom loves it. Also, it was made by special needs people and the profits benefit the down-and-out Seatte folk! Huzzah!

I must say the highlight of the artists was the Legend of Zelda lady (pictures of this and other Seattle notable things to come later). As I approached her stall, she recognized a familiar look in my eye and starting playing 'Zelda's Lullaby' from 'Orcarina of Time', one of my most favourite games ever. She hand-makes pottery orcarinas, and then sells you a booklet so you can play all the tunes from the game. She also had lucky triforce rocks, and figurines. I'm not sure if I was more scared or highly amused that a woman old enough to be my mother (maybe even grandmother) was so keen on Zelda as to make and sell orcarinas... either way, it was special, and Hagrid and I had a good laugh. I was good - no purchases. Also I know from experience orcarinas are damn hard to play. I'll stick to the piano.

There was also an amazing gem store, where I saw more Labradorite (my favourite stone) than I would know what to do with! Huge luminescant, rainbow spheres of the stuff, a table(!!), chucks as big as your hand - wow. There was also a huge assortment of other stones - *drools* But amazingly, no purchases *Yay for not spending money!!*

The dinner I made for Hagrid was wonderful - we both enjoyed it, and had a quiet evening together.

Sunday (easter Sunday) we went for a pincnic at Green Lake, which was wondeful. We chatted, and I went tree-climbing. Whee! Later we met up with Kodiak (one of the bears who lives in the household with the hot tub where we had the bear soup Thursday night), and had more hot-tubbing.

Monday morning I took the train home, and resumed work and so on - whee =)

And I leave for Seattle again in two weeks, for the Longhouse gathering! yay!

Love to all

DragonFlyer