enfinblue's Bluey (credit to Fifi for the nickname!) Diaryland Diary
"I am seeking, I am striving, I am in it with all my heart." -Vinc3nt V@n Gogh
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Oh my throbbing head
Work was hell this week. But I enjoy working like a dog to the extent that busy days make the days pass by more quickly.
The week slipped by in a flash.
And now it is the weekend and I'm free and feeling quite good.
I'd prefer that I did not have a pounding Guinness headache, but last night evolved quite spontaneously and was heaps of fun so I'm not going to chastise myself for it.
I left work last night at 7. At 7:30 I met C. for a run up the canal. Following the run, I met friends for dinner and a drink.
And as luck would have it an extremely bright and interesting and opinionated Newfie joined us for a beer. He straightened me out with a list of activities and interests that I should/WILL actively pursue.
We like to call this guy the fish gynaeocologist.
Because that is essentially what he does. He got his Ph.D. by manipulating fish genes to enable the production of fish containing only female genetic material.
I mean, female genetic material only strikes me as a great idea. ;)
Joking.
So the thing that is interesting about this guy is that on the surface you would never think that this guy does or is much. He's the kind of guy who fades into the background.
Until he opens his mouth.
And then you realize that he never stops DOING things.
First, I asked him for advice about buying a good bike. I want to start training on the bike, I think, so I'm going to invest in a good one. We have this amazing, giant nature park called the Gatin3au Hills here in which everyone trains--and in which there are many lakes, on one of which I canoed on Wednesday evening--and the entrance to which is less than 30 minutes by bike from my house.
So the guy bought an expensive bike. Looking at him you'd never in a million years think that he would own a bike or be particularly athletic.
Well, to be fair, I think that he bought the bike to get back into shape. He's riding all over hell's half acre with a friend these days.
And his advice to me was to buy a really good bike--an investment bike--since apparently they depreciate slowly (i.e. retain good resale value).
But more importantly, his perspective on the matter reflected his philosophy when he moved to Ottawa, which he did at about the same time that I did last year.
He was making a big life change at the time and so he decided that he would move to Ottawa as an experiment, living an experimental life at the same time.
He told himself that he would not sit at home watching tv.
He told himself that he could join anything he likes and then embrace the word "quit" if ever he had overextended himself.
He told himself that he could spend as much money as he liked.
He is still waiting on a permanent contract, as I was several months ago. And when he gets that permanent contract he is going to settle down a little bit and "be normal," as he put it.
And the advantage will be that he will really have DONE things in the city, embraced the city by the time that he does. In a sense, the money spent is an investment in getting a LIFE here.
I've done a little bit of this, to be sure. There's no need to beat myself up entirely. But I could learn from this man, I could.
SO I'm going to go down to the Ottawa Art School either today or tomorrow and register for a course in September. I'd like to do one much sooner but I think that time spent outdoors in the summer is time better spent. Two nights a week inside is too much. The fall will be good.
And for now perhaps what I'll do is find a bike store and a bike club and get on the trails.
So for some reason I've now run out of steam. Must be the subtle hangover. Oops.
After S., the now-from-Ottawa Newfie left the bar I lingered with the two remaining guy friends. I was rather surprised that they wanted me to stick around. I mean, I specifically asked if they wanted to have a guy chat only. It had struck me before that that's what they do after the girls leave on Friday nights.
But they did not and I had one of those rare experiences when guys really open up about what they like and what they want...and the advice was extremely constructive and instructive as pertains to me. I don't know. It was nice. I felt a part of a club.
And it was weird to me to hear from them that I'm not too skinny. I've been having weird experiences lately on this front. Probably because I'm not particularly tall in addition, I've found that the styles of this summer look AWFUL on me. Perhaps I'd do better if I were to buy short, but the dresses all look like maternity wear on me, or make me look like a child in a big nightgown. Just not my look.
But the thing is that--and perhaps this is reflective of the fact that the younger generation is getting bigger--but even size 0 in more fitted clothing these days often swims on me. I may have to start buying petites.
Tough to believe. And frustrating. Anyhow. Yet another good reason to not go mall shopping.
So my liver is claiming fat for itself in the form of a bag of roasted peanuts. This munching will undoubtedly lead me to feel ill in a short while, so I think I'll get up and cook a proper brunch.
And endeavour to go out and accomplish something concrete in moving my life forward this weekend.
|10:13 a.m. - 2007-07-21
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Come al solito - 2011-04-16 unfettered spending - 2011-04-15 How does it go? - 2011-04-14 Whirlwind. - 2011-04-13 bleak that flips over to daffodil - 2011-04-08 |