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August 22, 2009 12:41 PM

endings and beginnings

The blog incubator has been empty for the past few weeks, partly because my brain is at capacity in other regards and I don't have the free CPUs to even begin to formulate much in the creative (i.e., blog) department. Work has been crazy and my life has been full of changes and distractions, namely endings and beginnings.

Our lives in Vancouver, at least for the next year, are coming to an end. We've made the decision to move to San Francisco at the end of October so that Kevin can make the most of the opportunities available to him in Silicon Valley. Kevin calls it the geek equivalent of Hollywood (substitute geeks for actors and code for scripts) - it's the place to be if you're a programmer with entrepreneurial tendencies. In my preferred terminology, Kevin has found his niche - the place where the conditions are such that he can thrive and flourish. And, seeing as he gave up his job and moved here five years ago solely because I wanted to pursue a graduate degree at SFU, it's my turn to uproot and go along for the ride. A new beginning.

Kevin has been living in San Francisco for the summer, and we've both had enough of the long distance. I've concluded that the saying "home is where the heart is" is entirely true. Without Kevin here, our apartment in Vancouver is not a home. Since Kevin left, I've had a feeling in the pit of my stomach that I have diagnosed, based on my terrible experience at summer camp, as homesickness. My home is in San Francisco right now. Kevin moved into it yesterday. I'm really looking forward to being home again.

I've been granted a one year leave of absence from work given that my spouse has relocated for work. Another ending. And a chance for a new beginning. Although I have the option of returning to work after the year is up, I've been unable to provide any guarantees. I like my job and the people I work with, but I really have no clue what the future holds. My move to San Francisco comes with the opportunity to evaluate the direction of my career and what the next phase holds for us.

The next phase. The next chapter. Full of excitement and fear. Like our move from Montreal to Vancouver, there are butterflies flittering in my stomach at the prospect of such a big change. The butterflies would be unbearable but for one thing: we're doing it together. When I think about being in San Francisco with my husband*, the butterflies settle down. They're still there, but they don't beat their wings quite so fast.

* Yes, despite all the reasons I had for not getting married , we tied the knot. A small, simple, intimate ceremony on Third Beach in the rain. Very Vancouver. I will assure you that, despite the romantic elements of our wedding, rationality was a driving force. So maybe, it doesn't have to be rational versus romantic. Perhaps the rational is the cake, providing the foundation for a sweet layer of romantic icing. In that case, I can have my cake and eat it too :)

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August 16, 2009 10:01 AM

meow

Chances are, you're either a cat person or a dog person. I, for one, am most definitely a cat person.

When talking to those in the dog camp, they don't get it. How could someone prefer a moody (perhaps catty is a more appropriate synonym?), independent, useless creature to a happy, loyal, entertaining (aka can be trained to do tricks) animal? My response: they've never taken the time to get to know a cat. Sure, they may have met one, but they've never known one.

By 'know', I mean taking the time to allow the cat to get to know you and let their guard down. Unlike dogs, cats are not eager to please and they approach the unfamiliar with caution. They don't befriend strangers immediately. Some people think that cats are standoffish as a result. I think that they're street smart. Think about it: you can let a cat outside and they're perfectly able to fend for themselves. Not so for a dog. This, in and of itself, is one of the reasons I like cats.

Part of the reason many people don't take the time to know cats is because they had one bad experience with a particularly evil cat that has forever tarnished their view of cats. Strangely, those that are cat-averse tend to think that all cats are the same. That felines, unlike canines, don't have unique personalities. If one cat is evil, all cats are evil. Perhaps this generalization has to do with the lack of clearly recognizable cat breeds (besides a few exceptions, like siamese). If people have a bad experience with a german shepherd, for example, they might hold a grudge against german shepherds but still like other breeds of dogs. In contrast, if someone has a uncomfortable encounter with a generic house cat, all generic house cats are given a bad name.

The best example I have of cats having unique personalities and being able to be loving and affectionate companions is Barney. Barney died a few years ago, but he lived a long life. We adopted him because my parents wanted a cat to hunt the mice and other rodents that infested the barn. The idea was that he would live in the barn, which was an idea I wasn't fond of. I remember pleading "can't Barney come in the house?". The answer was no and I had to go to the barn to visit and cuddle with the cute marmalade kitten.

Eventually, Barney was allowed in the house but it wasn't the result of my whining. We discovered that Barney wasn't meant to be a barn cat. He was a social cat and was obviously unhappy being alone in the barn. He wanted to be with us, not with the barn animals. Wherever we were, Barney wasn't too far away. If we went on a walk in the woods, he'd follow. If you called his name, he'd come running. I fondly remember doing homework and looking up from my notes to my textbook to find Barney sitting on the page I was reading, staring at me and wanting attention. Barney wasn't the cat people typically think of when they think of cats.

Sure, he had his flaws. He had a weakness for butter and margarine and we would sometimes catch him licking the butter if it was left out on the counter (he would look rather guilty). He was a bit daft (he misjudged the height of the coffee table and often bumped his head hard on the underside when walking beneath it). He had a very scrawny tail and often got large abscesses that we had to treat by putting antibiotic cream on and trying to prevent him from licking it off, once with very hilarious results (imagine a piece of blue pantyhose being used as a cat leotard).

I can't have cats now. Partly due to the clause in our lease but mainly due to Kevin's allergies. I miss cats a lot and make a point of stopping to meet cats that I encounter when walking through the neighbourhood, but I miss Barney more. When I go home, I almost expect to see him since he was part of our family for so long.

Click here to download:

meow.zip (1521 KB)

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August 13, 2009 8:16 PM

fruits of my labour

Click here to download:

fruits_of_my_labour.zip (2221 KB)

Filed under // food

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August 5, 2009 8:23 PM

fantasy fiction

Recently, I finished reading the His Dark Materials trilogy, which includes The Golden Compass, by Philip Pullman. John gave me the book for my birthday last year and I finally got around to reading it. Quite honestly, I wasn't too keen on committing to reading a 933 page, three part volume. But, being a book written for children, I decided that it was reasonable to include on my list of summer reading. I was looking forward to finding out what all the fuss was about.

Prior to the release of the film version of The Golden Compass, which I haven't seen, I didn't know much about the novel. I only became aware of the controversy associated with the book when the film came out. During the media coverage of the debates surrounding the film, I was shocked to learn that the Chronicles of Narnia had strong religious undertones — I was quite young when I read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and all of the religious references obviously didn't register. Quite honestly, I'm not sure I'd catch them all now given my very rather superficial understanding of Christianity [1]. Of the Narnia series, Pullman has said: "It is monumentally disparaging of girls and women. It is blatantly racist." (via The Guardian)

Needless to say, as an atheist, I was intrigued by Pullman's literary rebuttal to C.S.Lewis (and was thinking that I should re-read some C.S. Lewis to get a better appreciation of its racist and sexist undertones).

And the verdict? I enjoyed His Dark Materials quite a bit and would recommend it. I found the plot a bit slow in places, but generally captivating. I appreciated that the anti-Church sentiments were unmistakeable yet embedded in the story and presented in such a way as to create suspense and keep the reader guessing. Pullman's re-branding of the notion of Original Sin was brilliant as was his rendering of the afterlife. And the female characters were strong and smart, which I loved. I also enjoyed the author's presentation of scientific theories alongside fantastical concepts throughout the trilogy.

Many of the themes explored His Dark Materials are not those that a child would necessarily understand. Although Pullman's books are so very much different than the Chronicles of Narnia series, they share one thing in common: any person who reads them in their childhood should re-read them as an adult.

And, finally, when it comes to fantasy fiction, J.R.R. Tolkien still takes the cake in my books.

[1] Religion has not played a central role in my life — I learned most of what I know about Christianity in MRE (Moral and Religious Education) in elementary school. MRE involved separating the Catholics from the Protestants. For this purpose, I was classified as Protestant (the lone Jew in my class had to spend MRE sitting in the Principle's Office, which I didn't perceive as being wrong on so many levels until much later in life). We learned the main stories from the Old and New Testaments and we watched religious movies, like the Ten Commandments, and we made decorations for the teacher's church at Easter. Very instructive.

Filed under // books & art

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August 2, 2009 9:15 PM

somewhere over the rainbow

To cap off a perfect weekend of sunshine and good food and fireworks and hanging out, we wandered down the street this afternoon to watch the 2009 Vancouver Pride Parade (we're about ten blocks from the heart of the Village and the parade route runs along a street a block from our place).

While the tone of the parade was cheeky (figuratively and literally) and vibrant and fun, there were undercurrents of the ongoing fight that is at the heart of it all. One float was dedicated to drawing attention to the 40 years that have passed since the Stonewall Riots of 1969. The riots could be described as the insemination of the gay rights movement that was born one year later when the first Gay Pride march took place. Forty years is a long time to be fighting for equal rights.

And the fight continues, on many fronts and for many important humanitarian causes. Amongst the lighthearted floats for Davie Street nightclubs, local GLBT clubs and associations, GLBT-friendly businesses and politicians were the following cause-oriented parade participants:

Amnesty International
Greater Vancouver Native Cultural Society
BC Persons with AIDS Society
AIDS Vancouver
Healing Our Spirit BC HIV/AIDS Society
Street Youth Job Action
BC Compassion Club Society
BC Civil Liberties Association

In essence, the basis for the parade is nicely summed up by this element from one of today's floats:

Photo owned by agaumont (cc)

Love is the way. Once we're all at the intersection of Respect Road and Equal Rights Road, we can be proud.

Filed under // Vancouver

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August 1, 2009 7:35 PM

in lieu of a balcony

Our apartment lacks a balcony. Given the climate here, a balcony would only be useful for a third of the year - part of May, June, July, August, and part of September. Needless to say, a balcony would be nice right about now. Especially since, with the poor ventilation in our apartment, our place feels like a sauna even though the heat wave has ended.

I proved earlier today that a window ledge is a poor substitute for a balcony. Sure, I was able to make contact with the fresh outdoor air, but I was also uncomfortably perched and the thought of dropping to the ground below, seeing as there is nothing to prevent me from falling out the window, was not a pleasant one.

(I shared the ledge with my very scrawny yet fruit-yielding tomato plants)

Filed under // Vancouver

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July 30, 2009 5:48 PM

dog days of summer

Anyone following anyone living in, visiting, or from Vancouver on Twitter is probably very much aware that it is abnormally HOT here. I for one, am not complaining too much, for the following reasons:

It's summer. I'm from Montreal. Summers are supposed to be hot.
The heat provides the perfect excuse for doing nothing but sitting and eating ice cream. (I enjoy sitting and I love ice cream).
There is AC at work.

Unlike some people, I don't find the heat so bad. Maybe it's my Montreal roots, but I've been able to sleep like a baby despite the heat wave. Also, I'm not an incredibly active person so the heat isn't disrupting any kind of running or biking schedule. Sure, it's unpleasant to get to work all sweaty after a 20 minute walk at 7:30 in the morning, but it's not worth complaining about.

In some ways, my being not too fazed by the current climatic conditions is ironic. I tend to burn like slivered almonds under the broiler if I spend any significant time in the sun. I've suffered from heat stroke (and can attest that a heat-induced fever of 103° when it is 95° outside is horrible). The sun may be the source of all life on earth, but it is not my friend. Hats and sunscreen and shade are my best pals from May to September.

My issues with the sun are likely rooted in my complexion: pale, very pale (not unlike slivered almonds, untoasted of course). And many birthmarks/moles. Not a good combination for risks related to skin cancer. The recommendation of the dermatologist to monitor my birthmarks and moles for changes is quite an onerous task. Keeping track of them all is stressful. Some have changed and I've had a few removed (not pleasant - I have the scars to prove it). All were found to be benign... I think. Either that or I didn't get the message from the hospital. Is it just me, or is the "we'll call you if we find anything of concern" approach a bit too prone to error for communicating important health-related results?

Unfortunately, I don't live in a place where being pale is desirable. Chinese immigrants in Vancouver can be spotted with their sun parasols and not-so-attractive face-shields while most people born and raised here seek out the sun and "work" on their tans in an "effort" to transition from creamy to bronze. And when the sun isn't readily available, the tanning salons are the next best alternative. Until yesterday. Time to invest in the spray tan industry? Actually, given the population of China, perhaps face-shield manufacturers are a better investment...

Filed under // Quebec & Montreal Vancouver

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July 27, 2009 5:54 PM

hey ladies

As a woman, am I alone in not appreciating being called a lady?

The topic came up when I was camping with a bunch of women recently. A little boy and his mother came into our campsite because the kid wanted to show us the toad he had found. We humoured him as he timidly showed us the toad and, afterwards, his mother instructed him to "say goodnight to the ladies", to which I cringed. If we had been a bunch of guys sitting around a campsite, would she have said "say goodnight to the gentlemen?". Probably not. That said, when I raised the point, not many of the others felt strongly about it.

I have the same adverse reaction when male athletes are called men by the commentators while the female athletes are often referred to as ladies. The inequality inherent in the use of the word lady is at the heart of my dislike for the term. If men are men, then why are women ladies? According to Wikipedia:

Advocates of non-sexist language recommend not using the word at all, whereas others permit its parallel use in the same circumstances in which a man would be called a gentleman or lord (for example, titling washrooms Men and Ladies would be considered sexist, but using either Men and Women or Ladies and Gentlemen would be acceptable; as is landlady as the parallel of landlord, or Lady Mayoress for Lord Mayor.)

The same way the word gentlemen evokes men wearing tuxedos, lady conjures up this type of image in my mind:

And in this regard, I don't consider myself a lady. Elegant and demure are two words I've never heard used to describe me. I think that this disconnect contributes to my aversion - someone calling me a lady feels as weird and absurd as someone referring to me as a kiwi.

And, having given it some more thought, I also dislike the term because I associated it with meat-markets, which I also dislike. "Hey ladies", said in a pseudo-suave tone, is a phrase I've grown to associate with clubs and other venues where men think it appropriate to interrupt a girls night out with awkward conversation or really bad/sleezy dance moves. Ugh.

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July 25, 2009 1:42 PM

anglicisme

(I initially wrote the post in French and then thought that content might also be interesting for those that don't read French so I've translated it. The English text (with a few minor additions) follows the French)

Hier après-midi, en route pour la croisière de Horseshoe Bay à Departure Bay pour aller visiter un ami, j'ai remarqué un panneau de signalisation indiquant que la compétition de 'Surf des Neiges' aura lieu à Cypress pendant les jeux Olympiques février prochain. J'ai fallu lire la parti anglais du panneau pour comprendre que Surf des Neiges = Snowboarding.

Au Québec, je n'ai jamais entendu parler du surf de neige. Comme toast et tire et small et loose et t-shirt, snowboarding est un mot anglais qui est devenu parti de la vocabulaire Québécoise. Un anglicisme, si vous voulez.

Au Québec, les anglicismes sont fortement découragés mais très commun.

Je comprends que ceci est un sujet sensible et que, pour protéger la culture Québécoise et acheminer son mandat, l'Office québécois de la langue française fait le tout pour éliminer les mots anglais du vocabulaire français. En consultant leur Grand dictionnaire terminologique, j'ai confirmé que planche à neige et surf des neiges sont des synonymes, mais que snowboard et snow sont de "terme(s) à éviter".

Mais, cependant, si les propres mots français ne sont pas biens connus, j'imagine qu'il y existe une risque que le français autoriser par l'Office deviendra un français plutôt académique et non pas très utile pour communiquer. Mon exemple de snowboarding et surf des neiges ci-dessus souligne mon point.

En examinant la vocabulaire anglaise de plus proche, on découvre qu'il y a beaucoup de mots ayant une origine française. Determine, examine, entrepreneur... la liste continue et (au moins au Québec) il y a toujours des additions (comme dépanneur).

Les langues sont vivantes - elles évoluent constamment. Essayer de préserver une langue comme elle est aujourd'hui est comme essayer de mettre fin au dérive des continents en espérant de préserver la géographie physique de la terre. C'est futile. Dans le fond, "surf" est un anglicisme, non?

~~~~~

Yesterday afternoon, on my way to catch the ferry from Horseshoe Bay to Departure Bay to visit a friend, I noticed a sign indicating that 'Surf des Neige' competition would take place at Cypress during the Olympics next February. I had to read the English portion of the sign to understand that Surf des Neige = Snowboarding.

In Quebec, I never heard anyone use the term surf des neige. Like toast and tire and small and loose and t-shirt, snowboarding is an English word that has become part of the French vocabulary. An anglicisme, if you will.

In Quebec, anglicismes are strongly discouraged but very common.

I know that this is a sensitive subject (especially in Quebec) and that, to protect Quebec culture and fulfill its mandate, the Office québécois de la langue française (which, I just discovered, does not have an English name - the English portion of their website is pretty limited and, uh, slightly antagonistic) does its utmost to eliminate English words from the French vocabulary [1]. When consulting their dictionary online, I discovered that planche à neige and surf des neiges are synonyms, but that snowboarding and snow are terms to be avoided.

But, if the proper (aka accepted) French words are not well known, I imagine that there's a risk that French authorized by the Office will become fairly academic and not useful for actually communicating. My example of snowboarding and surf des neiges, above, supports my point.

When reviewing the English language closely, one discovers that many words originate from French. Determine, examine, entrepreneur (contrary to claims made by George W. Bush)... the list goes on and, at least in Quebec, keeps growing (like the addition of depanneur)

Languages are alive - they are constantly evolving. Attempts to preserve a language in its current state is comparable to trying to stop continental drift in the hopes of preserving the world's physical geography in its current state. It's futile, really. In the end, isn't "surf" in the context of surf des neiges an anglicisme?

[1] For instance, all traffic signs in Quebec are unilingual French (stop signs read Arrête) and French text on any bilingual signs must be at least double the size of the English text. Unilingual signs in any language other than French are illegal, which certainly gives a different feel to Chinatown.

Filed under // French Quebec & Montreal

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July 22, 2009 11:03 PM

chemistry + physics = beauty

I presume that the environmental impacts of fireworks is probably high. The impacts of the noise and the smoke and the chemicals on the surrounding environment is the one thing about fireworks that I don't appreciate.

I do enjoy the bright colours and the grandeur and the magic of fireworks though. Kevin can attest that I get pretty excited about fireworks. I am drawn to the combination of an explosive substance with chemicals to create huge, awe-inspiring, fleeting art installations. Being rooted in scientific principles (and reminiscent of a high school chemistry experiment), fireworks are an art form that appeals to me. Chemistry + physics = beauty.

Every summer, Vancouver hosts a fireworks competition between four countries. The venue is English Bay and the best seats are on the beach five minutes from our place. As a result, our neighborhood is flooded with fireworks spectators each of the four nights. The main streets are closed to traffic and vehicles are replaced by crowds flowing towards the bay, not unlike water flowing in rivers towards the ocean.

The restaurants are packed, the line ups at the grocery store are huge, and every patch of sand and grass with a view of the barge (from which the pyrotechnics are launched) become completely covered by blankets and chairs (to the extent that the city has to erect giant blue fences around gardens in the vicinity of the beach to prevent people from trampling the flowers). To stifle any spontaneous post-fireworks festivities (or stabbings, as have been know to occur), the police presence in the West End during the event is huge. Cops on horses, cops in helicopters, cops on foot. It's surreal.

Every spring, the fireworks competition is cancelled for the lack of sponsors and I am simultaneously relieved (our neighborhood won't be invaded) and disappointed (there won't be any fireworks). Every year, a new sponsor steps up and I re-live the emotions. It's a love-hate relationship, really.

Tonight was the first of the four nights of the aptly-named Celebration of Light. I found a patch of grass with a good view despite only going out a half hour in advance of the show (living in the area provides good insider knowledge of less obvious vantage points). I waited in eager anticipation with thousands of other spectators for the show to start. An I marveled at the spectacularly exhilarating combination of light and sound. The theme of tonight's show was The Wizard of Oz (which made me think of one of Tommy's recent posts).

And now I'm home, listening to the sound of noisy crowds making their way home as the police helicopter (complete with spotlight) circles overhead. The drown will persist for another few hours, long after the joy I've derived has faded somewhere over the rainbow.

Click here to download:

chemistry_physics_beauty.zip (4164 KB)

Filed under // books & art science & technology sustainability Vancouver

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