Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Every once in a while I have a dream/nightmare about the end of the world, or the beginning of the end. Just last night I dreamt that the whole planet had become engulfed in cloud. The first day it happened, people were concerned, but hoped it would disappear by the following day. But it stayed the same, and people began to panic. It was enough for the US administration to make the statement, "The United States acknowledges the seriousness of this phenomenon and we have assigned our best staff to investigate."
Interestingly, with this unusual, misty cloud cover, one was able to see a rainbow no matter where one stood. But that wasn't enough of a consolation for most people.
I suppose my dad's recent postings about climate change cover-ups on Open Eyes were an influence on my subconscious.
Interestingly, with this unusual, misty cloud cover, one was able to see a rainbow no matter where one stood. But that wasn't enough of a consolation for most people.
I suppose my dad's recent postings about climate change cover-ups on Open Eyes were an influence on my subconscious.
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Monday, January 30, 2006
Thursday, January 19, 2006
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
Monday, January 16, 2006
YADD. Yet Another Derek Dream.
Well this one was pretty short; I guess I woke up a little prematurely, as usual. I was in my house here in Cobourg, and there came a rapping at the door. My dad got it, and this being a dream, I knew who it was without him having to tell me. My dad called me, saying "Paul, it looks like someone's here to see you..." Sure enough, there was Derek, smiling, actually in a surprisingly good mood, maybe in a better mood than I'd ever seen him, and he gave me a big, long hug. It was really nice. Funny, that's such an unDerek-like thing to do. To smile and be in a really good mood and give you a nice, long hug. No offense, real Derek. Not that you'd take offense. You obviously know yourself much better than I do anyway.
Dream Derek said, "So I heard you met this girl, Janice or Janey or something... How is she?" He was referring to a some girl I guess I met earlier in the dream, but I wasn't actually interested in her. So I said, "Oh, there's nothing going on really, I don't actually like her that way." And he just smiled and sat down. I think he might have said it was good to see me. Then my dad came into the room with my uncle and started talking to Derek about some park nearby where trees were getting bulldozed or something. It was almost as if they were resuming a conversation from earlier, as if my dad had been in touch with Derek already. Typical, I guess. :)
Anyway, it gave me a really good feeling to see Derek again in such good spirits. He had a very warm smile on his face not unlike the smile Gavin has whenever I see him upon returning to Everdale.
Well this one was pretty short; I guess I woke up a little prematurely, as usual. I was in my house here in Cobourg, and there came a rapping at the door. My dad got it, and this being a dream, I knew who it was without him having to tell me. My dad called me, saying "Paul, it looks like someone's here to see you..." Sure enough, there was Derek, smiling, actually in a surprisingly good mood, maybe in a better mood than I'd ever seen him, and he gave me a big, long hug. It was really nice. Funny, that's such an unDerek-like thing to do. To smile and be in a really good mood and give you a nice, long hug. No offense, real Derek. Not that you'd take offense. You obviously know yourself much better than I do anyway.
Dream Derek said, "So I heard you met this girl, Janice or Janey or something... How is she?" He was referring to a some girl I guess I met earlier in the dream, but I wasn't actually interested in her. So I said, "Oh, there's nothing going on really, I don't actually like her that way." And he just smiled and sat down. I think he might have said it was good to see me. Then my dad came into the room with my uncle and started talking to Derek about some park nearby where trees were getting bulldozed or something. It was almost as if they were resuming a conversation from earlier, as if my dad had been in touch with Derek already. Typical, I guess. :)
Anyway, it gave me a really good feeling to see Derek again in such good spirits. He had a very warm smile on his face not unlike the smile Gavin has whenever I see him upon returning to Everdale.
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I told Tarrah today that I'll commit to the April 15 start date for the Everdale internship, if she'll have me as an intern. I expect she will. It's a pretty big commitment - 6 months or so - but I've thought it through a lot and I know I want to do it. I know I want to do farming-type stuff this summer. If not Everdale, then I'd probably end up somewhere else on some random farm or farm-like place. But at the moment, I really have no idea where and what that would be and whether I could even find one that would get me as excited as Everdale does now. And Tarrah kind of needed a decision soon.
Plus, it will give me an excuse to get driving experience, and more tractor experience. I'll probably get my G1 again pretty soon.
Let's have a couple more good ol' flashbacks now, shall we?
Plus, it will give me an excuse to get driving experience, and more tractor experience. I'll probably get my G1 again pretty soon.
Let's have a couple more good ol' flashbacks now, shall we?
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Sunday, January 08, 2006
Saturday, January 07, 2006
"THE world is too much with us; late and soon,
Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers:
Little we see in Nature that is ours;
We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!
The Sea that bares her bosom to the moon;
The winds that will be howling at all hours,
And are up-gathered now like sleeping flowers;
For this, for everything, we are out of tune;
It moves us not.--Great God! I'd rather be
A Pagan suckled in a creed outworn;
So might I, standing on this pleasant lea,
Have glimpses that would make me less forlorn;
Have sight of Proteus rising from the sea;
Or hear old Triton blow his wreathed horn."
- Wordsworth
Just seemed fitting to my mood. The news gets me down sometimes. It never fails to pop me out of my bubble, if only for a fleeting moment.
Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers:
Little we see in Nature that is ours;
We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!
The Sea that bares her bosom to the moon;
The winds that will be howling at all hours,
And are up-gathered now like sleeping flowers;
For this, for everything, we are out of tune;
It moves us not.--Great God! I'd rather be
A Pagan suckled in a creed outworn;
So might I, standing on this pleasant lea,
Have glimpses that would make me less forlorn;
Have sight of Proteus rising from the sea;
Or hear old Triton blow his wreathed horn."
- Wordsworth
Just seemed fitting to my mood. The news gets me down sometimes. It never fails to pop me out of my bubble, if only for a fleeting moment.
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Thursday, January 05, 2006
I never thought I'd see the day... actually, I knew I would, just not so soon...
McDonald's to Start Selling Organic Coffee
I just saw a commercial for it now, so naturally, I had to check it out.
McDonald's to Start Selling Organic Coffee
I just saw a commercial for it now, so naturally, I had to check it out.
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I said I'd post pictures and I did it. I said I'd do it and I did it.
Meta, me, Kara with our three new jackets
Karalien
Jonson
Oh, Alyse!
SIGFOODnation
Kara holding one of Elyse's kittens
Buying juice and marzipan yoghurt at Sobeys
Working out in the loft at Everdale
Oh Kara
Oh Alyse
Meta, me, Kara with our three new jackets
Karalien
Jonson
Oh, Alyse!
SIGFOODnation
Kara holding one of Elyse's kittens
Buying juice and marzipan yoghurt at Sobeys
Working out in the loft at Everdale
Oh Kara
Oh Alyse
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Wednesday, January 04, 2006
Okay, okay. I know I haven't been updating y'all. So here's the scoop:
On Tuesday, Dec. 27, Meta and I took a VIA train to Toronto to meet Kara, our dear friend from BC. She is probably the most active commenter on this blog right now. Hi Kara! And surprise surprise, Jon had returned from the good old southern hemisphere and landed right on our doorstep (our doorstep being Toronto). So we all met up and talked and wandered and it was all so much fun. We did a great variety of things: trying on make-up (the females, that is), clothes, sunglasses, buying jackets, eating in cafes and restaurants, buying CDs, taking lots of photos, pretending to be very interested in skis - the whole bit. Jon had to disappear in the evening for very Jonlike reasons, but Meta, Kara and I stayed the night at the Global Village Backpackers hostel at King and Spadina.
The next day Meta had to leave for very Metalike reasons, but Kara and I met Elyse at Union Station, who also happened to be in Toronto, and then the three of us met Jon, who just so happened to be on the same train to Oakville as we were. The four of us met Luke at Clarkson station, who drove us to the annual Christmas Snaggle dinner in a pub. A good number of people came besides us five: Woo-Jun and his girlfriend Rosa, Andrew Carryer, Evan, Aislinn, Elaine, Carley... (Nathan couldn't make it, and nor could Justin.) We ended up playing boardgames in Andrew's basement. Scattergories was so friggin' fun. I hadn't laughed that hard in quite a while. I felt like such a goof.
Kara and I stayed over at Elyse's that night, apparently much to the disdain of her mother, so we couldn't stay there again after that. Kara ended up going to Toronto to meet Jon again, while Elyse and I pretended to have a reading party (it was really more of a talking party) and then joined Kara and Jon in Toronto. Then the four of us ventured to the Science Centre to see BodyWorlds 2, a big display of human bodies and pieces thereof in a variety of configurations. It was fascinating. We ran into Nathan, Tarrah, and Nathan's mum, who were just about to go to the earlier opening. Afterwards Jon and Elyse had to disappear to their respective homes, and Kara and I had to stay at the hostel again. But it was quite enjoyable nonetheless, as the bar actually had a bit of a party atmosphere that evening, and we talked late into the night.
The next morning Kara and I had some tasty but slightly gross pancake and waffle breakfasts on College, and I led us to Kensington Market. We bought walnut bread and lots of expensive cheese, and Kara bought a pomello for her friend. We wandered around a bit, wondering what else to do. Elyse was having difficulties in Oakville arranging a car for us to drive up to Everdale that evening. Kara and I finally just decided to come back to Oakville and meet her and we'd figure it out then. So we did, and met her and Jon at Maplegrove Village in Oakville (funny how Jon kept popping up everywhere; I suppose he really must have wanted to see us, even though he couldn't ever stand to spend a night with us). We listened to all kinds of terrible cellphone ringtones as we wandered back to Elyse's house.
When we arrived, we helped Brenda make pizzas, ate them, and darted off to LaserQuest, one of those indoor activities kids play instead of bowling or video games. Kara, Elyse, Elyse's brother Nick, his buddy and I went. It was fun, but I think it could have been more fun if there'd been more people there in our age group. Afterwards we went to DQ and came back to Elyse's. Jon had gone to sleep and into ignore mode (oh Jon...). There was no chance in hell he was coming to Everdale for the New Year's party. Elyse, Kara and I decided to take a train, then a bus, then a taxi to Everdale. It came to about $25 each, so it wasn't horrendous. It was a fun ride. Luckily there was a place for us to sleep at Everdale that night. (I hadn't warned anyone we'd be coming until the last minute.) We had the whole "new building" (which still has yet to be named) to ourselves that night.
The next day we made food and helped set things up for the party. Elyse and Kara did most of the cooking, but the result was a delicious squash-apple soup and an incredible cheesecake with strawberry sauce that had some vanilla vodka in it. I can still remember it...
And then there was the party. I was a little surprised how quickly the drinks were affecting me. I guess I hadn't had much experience with party drinks until then. They were really good. All the permanent Everdale folks minus Lynn's family were there. Rachel, Ben, Carolyn and Peter came (Peter was a volunteer), but Alex and Melissa were mysteriously absent. Coral and John Stevens couldn't make it for distance reasons, as couldn't Andy, Patty, Jeff or Leslie. (Very sad that. I do miss them all, and Andy still isn't replying to any of my e-mails.) It was a good crowd. There was too much food, a lot of dancing, fantastic tobogganing down a candle-lit hill, and good music. We and the interns/volunteers slept in the new building upstairs. And then we were all off the next day.
I'll post pictures all in good time.
On Tuesday, Dec. 27, Meta and I took a VIA train to Toronto to meet Kara, our dear friend from BC. She is probably the most active commenter on this blog right now. Hi Kara! And surprise surprise, Jon had returned from the good old southern hemisphere and landed right on our doorstep (our doorstep being Toronto). So we all met up and talked and wandered and it was all so much fun. We did a great variety of things: trying on make-up (the females, that is), clothes, sunglasses, buying jackets, eating in cafes and restaurants, buying CDs, taking lots of photos, pretending to be very interested in skis - the whole bit. Jon had to disappear in the evening for very Jonlike reasons, but Meta, Kara and I stayed the night at the Global Village Backpackers hostel at King and Spadina.
The next day Meta had to leave for very Metalike reasons, but Kara and I met Elyse at Union Station, who also happened to be in Toronto, and then the three of us met Jon, who just so happened to be on the same train to Oakville as we were. The four of us met Luke at Clarkson station, who drove us to the annual Christmas Snaggle dinner in a pub. A good number of people came besides us five: Woo-Jun and his girlfriend Rosa, Andrew Carryer, Evan, Aislinn, Elaine, Carley... (Nathan couldn't make it, and nor could Justin.) We ended up playing boardgames in Andrew's basement. Scattergories was so friggin' fun. I hadn't laughed that hard in quite a while. I felt like such a goof.
Kara and I stayed over at Elyse's that night, apparently much to the disdain of her mother, so we couldn't stay there again after that. Kara ended up going to Toronto to meet Jon again, while Elyse and I pretended to have a reading party (it was really more of a talking party) and then joined Kara and Jon in Toronto. Then the four of us ventured to the Science Centre to see BodyWorlds 2, a big display of human bodies and pieces thereof in a variety of configurations. It was fascinating. We ran into Nathan, Tarrah, and Nathan's mum, who were just about to go to the earlier opening. Afterwards Jon and Elyse had to disappear to their respective homes, and Kara and I had to stay at the hostel again. But it was quite enjoyable nonetheless, as the bar actually had a bit of a party atmosphere that evening, and we talked late into the night.
The next morning Kara and I had some tasty but slightly gross pancake and waffle breakfasts on College, and I led us to Kensington Market. We bought walnut bread and lots of expensive cheese, and Kara bought a pomello for her friend. We wandered around a bit, wondering what else to do. Elyse was having difficulties in Oakville arranging a car for us to drive up to Everdale that evening. Kara and I finally just decided to come back to Oakville and meet her and we'd figure it out then. So we did, and met her and Jon at Maplegrove Village in Oakville (funny how Jon kept popping up everywhere; I suppose he really must have wanted to see us, even though he couldn't ever stand to spend a night with us). We listened to all kinds of terrible cellphone ringtones as we wandered back to Elyse's house.
When we arrived, we helped Brenda make pizzas, ate them, and darted off to LaserQuest, one of those indoor activities kids play instead of bowling or video games. Kara, Elyse, Elyse's brother Nick, his buddy and I went. It was fun, but I think it could have been more fun if there'd been more people there in our age group. Afterwards we went to DQ and came back to Elyse's. Jon had gone to sleep and into ignore mode (oh Jon...). There was no chance in hell he was coming to Everdale for the New Year's party. Elyse, Kara and I decided to take a train, then a bus, then a taxi to Everdale. It came to about $25 each, so it wasn't horrendous. It was a fun ride. Luckily there was a place for us to sleep at Everdale that night. (I hadn't warned anyone we'd be coming until the last minute.) We had the whole "new building" (which still has yet to be named) to ourselves that night.
The next day we made food and helped set things up for the party. Elyse and Kara did most of the cooking, but the result was a delicious squash-apple soup and an incredible cheesecake with strawberry sauce that had some vanilla vodka in it. I can still remember it...
And then there was the party. I was a little surprised how quickly the drinks were affecting me. I guess I hadn't had much experience with party drinks until then. They were really good. All the permanent Everdale folks minus Lynn's family were there. Rachel, Ben, Carolyn and Peter came (Peter was a volunteer), but Alex and Melissa were mysteriously absent. Coral and John Stevens couldn't make it for distance reasons, as couldn't Andy, Patty, Jeff or Leslie. (Very sad that. I do miss them all, and Andy still isn't replying to any of my e-mails.) It was a good crowd. There was too much food, a lot of dancing, fantastic tobogganing down a candle-lit hill, and good music. We and the interns/volunteers slept in the new building upstairs. And then we were all off the next day.
I'll post pictures all in good time.
| [ 1 comment ] |
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