Things That Are True - List the Fifth. And BlogHer.

I keep sending iphone photos like this via text message to HWSNBN (who is stuck at home, working) with witty captions like, "Hey, the Chrysler Building! No big deal."

Despite my assertions that I am really only here on his behalf to do some advance scouting for his two-years-away milestone birthday trip to New York, he remains unimpressed. He simply doesn't recognize what a giver I am, taking time out of my busy work and child-rearing schedule to research the best restaurants in New York. For him. It's all for him.

Oh, that little conference I'm going to? The one where I meet new friends and share long hugs and earnest conversations with some of the people I admire most in the world? Pure coincidence. Honest.*

In keeping with my rule of packing light, I brought only a carry-on bag and a laptop/large purse-ish bag, which left not a lot of room for excess stuff. There are a ton of posts out there about what to bring to BlogHer. Here's my list of things I didn't have room for:

1) Cynicism. Despite all my travels and city living, there is always hidden inside a young girl from Watson Lake, Yukon, pop. 1000 on a good day, who is startled and amazed at this incredible life I get to live. Jetting across the continent to spend time with all these gobsmackingly awesome people? And hearing Katie Couric, and Martha Stewart, and (for real, yes, not in person but by live video, uh, wow) Obama speak? Yeah. No room for cynicism in this suitcase.

2) Insecurity about how I measure up. This is a thing that has held me back my whole life. I refuse to carry it around with me anymore.

3) Worries about what to wear. I have clothes. They fit my body. Some of them are even cute. The end.

4) Guilt for leaving my husband and child for a week. There were brief moments of feeling bad, especially when The Imp had a total meltdown as I left, but remarkably it dissipated rather quickly as I enjoyed my surprise-free-upgrade-to-business-class pre-takeoff beverage. Funny how that is.

5) Obligations. So much of my day to day is filled with things I have to do. I have plans, and schedules, and lists, and all the necessities of parenting. This trip is entirely unencumbered. I've carefully not bought tickets to a Broadway show, not made dinner reservations every evening, not made plans at all. Spontaneity is a luxury I am going to enjoy.

6) A desire to shop. New York, I'm doing it wrong. Maybe. I just have a lot of stuff already, you know? Although stopping in at Strand today made me seriously consider just fedexing a box of things home.

7) Time for negativity. I try and make my way through my day inclined to be pleased with things, and I find that for the most part, things live up to my expectations. New York does not disappoint, which is hardly surprising.

Statue, Rockefeller Center

8) My DSLR. A radical act, for me, to travel without my big camera. Last year I brought it with me, lugged it everywhere, and barely used it. This year, I brought my iphone as my camera. So far so good.

9) Fear of not belonging. Of all the places I don't belong, I don't belong here the least.

10) My guitar, which makes me sad. But a week in New York can make up for a lot.



*Fingers crossed means it's ok to lie, right?

Things That Are True - List the First

I don't know the first thing about building a readership for this space.

Well, that's not entirely true. I do know a few things. I know I'm supposed to write keyword-rich post titles, I'm supposed to know what my niche is, I'm supposed to post new things here on a regular schedule, I'm supposed to reply to every comment, I'm supposed to strategically hit publish at the right time of day on the right day of the week, and pimp out my posts no more than three times a day on each of my social networks.  I know what I'm supposed to do. And yet, I blunder along, not posting for weeks at a time, not writing post titles that are in any way google-friendly, and not having any idea what my "niche" is. I don't have one. Sometimes I write about food, sometimes about the absurdities of parenting, sometimes about social issues. Mostly I just write.

Actually, mostly I just avoid writing, but I'm working on that.

Hell, I'm still surprised and grateful that there are people who bear no familial relation to me that come to visit these pages from time to time.


I know that writing a new post and hitting publish at ten o'clock on a Friday night is completely useless.

Yet here I am. More often than not, here I am. Since I seem to love the quiet wasteland of the Friday night post, instead of berating myself about my ridiculous writing habits, I'm going to celebrate them. Celeberate! Hey everyone, it's a CELEBERATION! A hybrid of congratulatory self-loathing!

(Cue Kool and the Gang, y'all. There's a party going on, right here.)

For the last few weeks, I've been making lists on index cards (I know. Pens! Paper! How delightfully Neo-Victorian of me!) as a sort of personal project, an exploration of subject matters and aspirations and other things that make no sense to anyone but me. So from now on, I'm going to type out those lists on Friday nights, and publish them after ten pm. To embrace (and also mock, a little) my own eccentricities.

I love arbitrary rules that I set in place for myself - an idea I totally stole, by the way, from Schmutzie. (I mean, she talked about it publicly in a session at Blissdom Canada last year, so it was an idea ripe for annexing is my defense, your honour.)

The arbitrary rules I just made up are simple:
1) 100 lists
2) 10 items each list
3) 1 list published every Friday, after everyone's shut down their computer for the day and will never see it


And here's my first list:

I've Done a Lot of Stuff in My Life But Here Are Ten Things I Want to Do But Never Have*:

• spontaneously join a street musician/busker and sing harmonies for no reason at all
• successfully knit somethinganything
• have read all the books I own
• take an introductory photography class
• take fencing lessons
• post every day for a year at Vancouver Daily Photo
• get past week 3 of The Artist's Way
• make ravioli from scratch
• live in Paris for a year (and yes, even I gag at the cliche of it, but there it is)
• climb the Grouse Grind in under an hour

Feel free to join me, if arbitrary rules are your thing too. 

*See? That title is not google-friendly. Not even a little bit.

Things I Know Are True - 41st Birthday Edition

Me, at an unapologetic 41 years of age.

On the occasion of my 41st birthday, I thought I'd sit down, take stock, and write a list of things I know are true.*

1. I don't need more storage space, I need less stuff. The battle against clutter must be vigilantly waged.
2. I don't understand boots with open toes, or sandals with ankle cuffs.
3. I'll never be one of the cool kids. Even the cool kids aren't the cool kids.
4. The best way to save money is to stop buying stuff. When you do need to buy stuff, never pay list. (That being said, I'll never buy cheap ice cream, makeup, or toilet paper.)
5. There are no flaws. (Thank you, Karen Walrond.) When I stop worrying about what other people think of me, I start to appreciate the beauty all around me. This song's been on constant repeat in my head the last few days.
6. As I get older, I care less about looking foolish and I make less apologies for who I am.
7. "Let's dance, Mommy!" is my cue to drop everything, pick up The Imp, and get my funk on. Best use of five minutes on any given day, and he'll be embarrassed by it soon enough.
8. Nothing gives me more satisfaction than seeing my friends and family enjoy a meal I've prepared.
9. Wheaton's Law always applies.
10. Leggings are not pants.

 Let's see what's on this list a year from now, shall we? In the meantime, what's true for you?



*These are things that are true for me. Your mileage may vary.