Bri, Live From the Red Carpet

The big night is here. I've eaten every bit of junk food in my pantry dinner, donned my expensive frock (yes, thank you, my dress tonight is a shapeless nightie made by wal-mart) and gave some thought to doing my lesson plan for tomorrow.

But all that was thrown out the window when Ellen declared that "without gays, blacks and jews, there would be no Oscars". What a statement! I'm hooked. Plus, she looks pretty hip in her velvet tux and special Oscar-ready running shoes.

Can I just say that I LOVE the Academy Awards? If I were Ryan Seacrest, I would have told Gweneth exactly what I thought of her orange-y copper-y dress with red lipstick. Sorry Gweneth.

Let the games begin!

Long March Towards a Job

I normally wouldn't be up before 11 on a Saturday - for any reason. But the promise of 35 local private schools in one place was enough to drag me out of bed at 8:15, put on my nicest "I'm a professional but fun teacher" outfit and head down to the Toronto Science Centre for the Independent Schools Employment Fair.

I'm a bit skeptical. I imagine that it's going to be like a little science fair; each school sets up a bright and shiny display, and we walk from booth to booth, hearing about how great their extracurricular programs are. Am I going to walk away with a job today? I'm not counting on it. But if my name and face gets out into the private school world ... if even one person remembers me, it will have been worth getting up so early for.

A Couple in Calgary

In Calgary, my brother pulled out his new digital rebel camera (a professional digital SLR versus the crappy point and shoots that most of us use) and took a few pictures of Steve and I at Eau Claire Market after dinner. The light wasn't that great (clearly, it was night time) but I think a few of them turned out really well! The pics above were two of the best

Words of Wisdom For A New Teacher

February 14th

Valentine's Day makes me happy. If I were to have one true reason for being on this planet, I'm sure it would have something to do with loving other people. I try my hardest to love openly and honestly and to love people before judging them. I'm not always successful but I'm mindful of how important it is to me, most of the time. I'm a lover. When I teach, I love my students. When I nanny, I love the kids I work with. I love the girls I mentor. I love my boyfriend. I love my friends. I keep people close and tend to nurture my friends and family.

Valentine's day is, therefore, a good holiday for me because it's about loving other people. Traditionally, you would send a message to someone you cared about asking "will you be my valentine?" If they answered "yes", then - well, you know. A relationship begins. But it's that initial expression of desire that I love so much. The fact that love, my favorite emotion and my guiding star, has the chance to be centre stage for a day. The people on the subway with bunches of flowers, hurrying home to greet their wives and husbands.

I know that a lot of people think it's an obligatory holiday, and I suppose it is made to feel that way. "It's Valentine's Day, and you have to spend money, or your girlfriend will feel unloved" is the message that we get. But that's the wrong way to look at it. If you strip away the malls and think about how wonderful and refreshing it is to have a day -a holiday- that celebrates lovers ... well, it feels nicer and warmer and more personal. Other people argue that if you're romantic the other 364 days of the year, it's better than only being romantic on Valentine's Day. This is true, of course, and I can't imagine being in a relationship with someone who only expressed themselves once a year. But again, for me, I get excited about this day in particular.

I'm not expressing my arguments very well because they aren't logical and easy to put into words. I feel genuinely positive about being in love and about the culture of love and about sharing my feelings with others. Because of that, Valentine's Day, with or without the chocolate, resonates with me.

So here I am, on Valentine's Day. Despite how much I look forward to it, it has never really lived up to my expectations. I have put so much energy into making cards for boyfriends, packages for friends that are far away, even baking intricate cakes and writing poems and trying to learn songs on the guitar and buying sweet gifts... and I have to stop and think, "am I the only one that cares?" And what does all this effort and hard work mean when it isn't reciprocated? I feel lousy, usually. I spend hours working on projects only to wind up with a bit of a hollow pit in my stomach.

So here's my plan. I'm going to start making Valentine's day for me. I'm going to pick out and wrap up a beautiful pair of earrings or some expensive lotions and soaps. I'm going to make myself a card and write a great note inside about how great I am. I'm going to bake a batch of cookies in the shape of hearts. And then I'm going to open my present, read my card, put on my favorite pajamas and eat every single cookie. And then I think I'll feel more loved than I ever have before.

It's Great, If You're Not Driving

Today is my day off. After a rather lofty promise to my housemate last night that I would work out with her today, at which point I assumed that I would be going to bed some time before 3 in the morning, I woke up at 7am, put on my gym clothes and was ready to go.

This in itself is unusual for me. I am a champion sleeper and quite content to spend my day off lounging in my bed for as long as possible. I also have grown to love my nice, soft belly. Not only can I do impersonations of women who are 5 months pregnant, Steve loves my tummy; he calls it Buddah and talks to it. Seriously. So the point is, it's clearly time to start a gym routine.

What was more unusual was that Toronto was hit with a pretty awesome snowstorm last night. And what better time to walk the 8 blocks to the gym than in -25 weather and knee high snow? When we trudged out this morning there was a good 15cm on the ground and drifts on the sidewalk above our knees in some places. Because I don't own a car, I love it. It was one of those mornings where you can walk right down the centre of the street (out of necessity ... you have to follow the tire tracks) and the snow looks like it swallowed the world like a giant marshmallow.

Here are some not so ambitious pictures from my venture this morning (my camera battery died right away).This is the snow fall accummulation on my garbage can. Very artistic, I know.
Our path out this morning was block by snow almost up to our knees!

Happy snow day, friends. I think I might sneak back to bed for a nap.

Whimsical

This is a neat video - it's a commercial made by Sony. They actually used 250,000 bouncy balls and released them on a hill in San Francisco. There is a documentary on how it was made and filmed which is equally fascinating, but for the time being - enjoy the bouncing balls! I found the whole thing very relaxing (and I wonder who had to do clean up after, and if there are still bouncy balls hiding in peoples' garbage cans, etc!)



Like No Other - video powered by Metacafe

Back Home

In four days, I'm taking Steve home to Calgary to meet my family. (Not all of my family, actually - my mom lives in Coquitlam BC and my Dad lives in his parents' basement in Victoria, but most of my family).

I'm feeling both excited and nervous about our trip. Firstly - it's only 3 days, which doesn't give us nearly enough time to enjoy the city and the company. Secondly ... Calgary isn't the kind of city that bowls someone over the minute they land. It's the kind of city that grows on you. For me, it's home and every street and every store and every building is part of my story. But for a visitor, it's cold and sprawling and has a poor excuse for a tower downtown that feigns as a tourist attraction. In fact, it has a poor excuse for a lot of things. But still, STILL, despite the fact that it really isn't a metropolitan centre like Toronto, that it isn't as vibrant as Montreal, that it isn't as beautiful as Vancouver ... something keeps calling me back.

Maybe it's the mountains. Maybe it's the schools, which are first class in the country. Maybe it's the family. Maybe it's the 'small town' feel in a big town environment. I don't know. But I love that place. I loved growing up there, I loved playing soccer there, and I would love to live there again.

That being said, one thing I have learned over the last 7 years (where I have called Calgary, Vancouver, Victoria, Coquitlam, Kingston, Mississauga and Toronto "home") is that home really is where the heart is. I've loved every single city I've lived in and I know, in my heart, that wherever I end up, it will become home for me and my family (okay, my future family).

With the pressure off, hopefully Steve will get along with my sisters and brother and stepmom (who is actually no longer my stepmom, but I'm not really sure what to call her otherwise). I hope he enjoys himself there with me. And most of all, I hope he understands a little bit more of my story.

Purge Purge Purge

It's clean sweep time here in the Little Calgary household. Both my housemate Kelsey and I have been motivated lately to go through our things and think about what we REALLY want. For me, the big things are my makeup, nail polish and shoes. For her, it's the three drawers of tee shirts.

Regardless, one of my favorite things to do is to de-clutter my life. I would rather 75% fewer things that I love and use all the time, than more things that simply take up space. My wardrobe is a good example. I wear the same core staples almost every week. How much "extra" do I need?

Two rules that are GREAT for purging are:
1. If it doesn't fit the vision of your home, or the vision of your life, it has to go.
2. If you haven't used, worn, loved or enjoyed it in 1 year, it has to go

This goes for clothes, collectibles, shoes, purses, old letters, memorabilia, furniture, kitchen utensils .. everything! If you don't love it, wear it or use it ... get RID OF IT!

I think a lot of people keep things because of the memory attached to them. I know that I have things that I don't really need/love, but I love the memory of how I acquired them, or the memory of who gave it to me. But I think we have to ask ourselves - is the memory more important than the item, and if it is so meaningful to us, why not display or use it?

I dunno. I've always been a "clean sweeper" and go through my papers, letters and clothes at least once every six months. It feels SO good to open my closet or my drawers and see only things that I want to be there.

okay, I'll get off my soap box. I have a sock drawer to go through!

Look at my Cute Boy

Uh..., originally uploaded by NWOntario.

Sometimes I fall in love with him all over again

... seriously! I'm not being sarcastic!