it's SO HOT OUT

well, i just recovered from a sweaty hot basement at meow from the lovely lady night where we got to see carolyn mark and her lovely "c" band perform to a room full of hot pg ladies who had more tattoos than a group that they performed to at a jail in the UK. hahahaha. and not only was the music absolutely fantastic, the stage presence and traveling band-like show was engaging, funny as fuck, and a treat to spend with my lady friends. (of who are all wonderful and pg is so lucky to have all of them). enjoy the pictures! (more here). i'm drinking white wine, trying to cool down, and going to be asap. while it's hot i still remember how shitty cold winter was and my motto is "bring on the heat", oh yeah.

if i were to fall

oh my god, i got my thunderclouds finished up and they are just searing searing with heat and pain. i'm exhausted and need to lie down before stew gets home. i'll do dishes and we'll eat fried eggs then i'm off to the secret ladies only carolyn mark show and clothing swap tonight (pictures later). i'm not looking forward to getting my mom heart on saturday because of the pain. yikes.

i got my passport today.!! yay!! so excited to hang out with girl of the north country in about 5 weeks! okay, going to lie down now. no more words....

task #27: buy all of devendra banhart's albums

i'm changing this to acquire, not buy. i already have a few of them on cd: cripple crow, and smokey rolls down thunder canyon. based on allmusic.com i still need: oh me oh my..., rejoicing in the hands, nino rojo, and love above all. eta: i've downloaded four of his albums and are listening to them right now. woop! another task completed.

task #15 (completed) + task #54 (still in progress).

task #15 Today at work we had a psychic fair and i read cards for a handful of youth as well as some community partners and staff. it was a lot of fun. and though i needed my book for some of them, for the most part i did it from my head and heart. so very impressed with myself. scratch that one off my list! i still have a lot to do with my cards and have to get to know them better, but there's a start.

task #54 i've given away one thing i couldn't live without (my grey chucks...so sad, i miss them ALL THE TIME) and i thought of the second item. it's hard to think of something to give away that i can't live without...i mean, will i replace it? not sure...and if i can give it away does that mean i CAN live without it? so confusing..let me tell you...but i've picked the second item! can you believe it? my pink pashmina.

i will send it to the first person who comments saying something like "i want that scarf!" also, leave me your email so i can get your addy. i'm sad to let this go as it's been such a part of me for the past 3 years, but i think it's time.

ETA: i just read through my list "go canoeing" and said, poo!! i just had an opportunity when i was in new aiyansh and turned it down, mainly because the boat was full of kids... i need to make this one happen!! anyone have a canoe??

Qui est cette fille dont tu rêves tant ?

i'm so tired from my trip, it's still crashing time. i need to suck up some energy, get some cleaning done and go to fusion at the y. so tired, though. yikes. maybe i'll have some energy shake....i wonder if there's any left. snooze. >> i'm gonna miss this girl so much: i already miss her dearly. i haven't built a connection with someone that intensely and that fast. we'll see eachother soon, i know it. i just wanted to honour her awesomeness. off to tidy and yoga. xo

exhaustemated is another word for, "i've had the trip of my life"

again, can't post pictures of work trip on this one, but you can read the blog here: http://yxchange.wordpress.com there's some cool pictures and commentary from the participants. below are the pictures i took of things and scenery and activities with friends. am going to hit the hay immediately after this. all the youth leave back to their communities tomorrow at noon. and i'm not sure i could go another day after this. (more info on photos at flickr).

this morning sucks so far.

the good part was that i slept in until 7:20am and i'm on a non-shower day so I just need to wash my face, have my shake, and throw some clothes on and GO to work and get gas and coffee. the shitty parts are that i didn't get paid on one of my contracts like i thought i would this morning. (boo). there's been a change in management and they want to meet before they want to renew my contract and pay me for all the work i've done previously (it's an hourly student contract, not a "real" contract). and then, i got an email from one of the places i submitted an abstract to to be published in an academic journal and, well, i'm too vague. boooo. i should submit my rejection via essay to the rejection compilation they're putting together. that'd be funny. so i've emailed the people putting together the text and asked for clarification as it's a teaching point. what did you think was so vague? did i need to say, "my thesis is.." blah blah. and, for fun, my abstract is below. i'm going to work. boo.

“If Music Could Cure All That Ails You”: Youth Resistance and Music in the Wake of 9/11
Submitted by: Diandra Jurkic-Walls
For “Catastrophe and the Cure”: The Politics of Post-9/11 Music

The era of the youth subculture heroically resisting subordination through “guerrilla warfare” is over. As a response to 9/11, young DIY musicians in the United States have integrated political and theoretical arguments into their music and texts by engaging with their communities through shows/performance, the internet, free-access to their music/material, and community-based projects/art rather than traditionally resisting “the man”.
The post-pop sounds and actions of such groups as YACHT, Peachcake, and Pan de Sal have shown an applied DIY punk politic and attitude. Throughout this essay I will engage with a variety of theoretical models (including post-subcultural, third-wave feminist, and DIY) to interrogate the role of these bands in creating resistance and the mobilization within post-9/11 indie-music communities. Further, I will argue that the DIY, feminist, post-subcultural approach of these bands to their lives/communities/country post-9/11 and the politics they engage with not only reframe the binaried argument of artists-as-“politicians” but also youth as resistor.
I am particularly interested in how these bands interrogate and explore the role of individualism, success, and capitalism in their texts, performances, and music. Through interviews and an examination of their textual and music-based works I hope to wrestle with their approach to community building through their politics and actions. Overall this essay will attempt to stake a claim for youth voice and the remodelling of resistance through music post-9/11.

pretty excited.

i'm listening to quadra, getting more dehydrated by the second. must take smelly clothes off and do a final load of laundry and begin packing. wooo!!! stew's home all week while i go off galavanting to new aiyansh with the kids and the peeps from work. so great times... can't wait.

better be givin' me all the respect all y'all

i have to run out for a hot date with a., but have found a new camera charger for free from freecycle and uploaded my toronto pictures. i've also separated the work ones from the me ones! if you're interested in following my work trips with the youth exchange you can go to their blog: yxchange.wordpress.com. more me photos on my flickr!!

Task #36: yoga, 10 weeks straight

Week one: Fusion at YMCA (7pm)
Week two: Hatha Yog at YMCA in Metro Central (Toronto)
Week three: Fusion at YMCA (7pm)
Week four: Leora and I threw down stretches on the living room floor at the group home in New Aiyansh
Week five: Fusion at the YMCA (7pm)
Week six: Fusion at the YMCA (4:30pm)
Week seven: Yoga at home
Week eight: Yoga while on Holiday
Week nine: Yoga at home
Week ten: Fusion at the YMCA (7pm)

Task #85: Own only five pairs of shoes

i think i left my camera charger in toronto. where, im not sure. so i had to take this picture with my phone. bugger. the top row are the ones i'm keeping.

TOP ROW
1. my owl eleanor keds. i got these through trade from urban colour summer 2006. i washed them the other day and they're as new as can be. i love them.
2. burgundy rocket dogs, maryjanes, semi-wedge heel. these are new (last fall) and i don't wear them much but can't yet give them away/rid of them. if i do i will give them to caitlin gilroy.
3. my moccasins. i will destroy these this summer by wearing them so much.
4. my rocket dog flats. silk insides. they're pretty wrecked. but i love them. my new knitty dirty girl maryjanes will replace them. i don't know if i can part with them though. it will be hard.
5. my pink chucks from sendai, japan. i have to keep at least one pair!

MIDDLE ROW
1. grey chucks from japan, first pair ever. giving them to michelle d.
2. metallic flats from kalin. she was destashing and gave them to me. i've never worn them.
3. red heels (wood stacked) from the bay. bought these for the pg women's dinner at cimo in 2007. don't think i've worn them out of the house since. waste of $$ definitely.
4. black flats from value village, 2006. i wore these a lot. they're a little big, though. (someone already claimed these)
5. vans bought on sale when a sports store in the mall was closing. $14 or something. was with a. she bought a pair of eleanor keds that day. i saw them in her closet last time i was over.

BOTTOM ROW
1. pink and black checker vans from wedding 2007. i wore the shit out of these and they are completely blown out along both sides of both feet. i'm not getting rid of them but putting them into storage. they're my wedding shoes! i have to keep them!!
2. puma flip flops. i wore these a lot in japan but since have adopted a "no flip flops in public" attitude. i blame stewart for that one.
3. fancy slip ons that stewart wore for a year and recently gave them to me. these ones will go in the garbage. they're smelly.
4. my $10 pumas i got brand new at value village in blue mountain in 2003. i wore these when i worked at starbucks all the time.
5. my black rocket dog flats. i bought these when i bought the pink ones and don't like them. they stretched out pretty bad. (someone already claimed these)

you'll notice that these are NOT winter boots (which include my etnies, vans boots, my short fluffy boots, and my slouch boots). i hope to get one more pair of winter boots (leather ones this time) to round out my winter collection. the same 5 pair rule applies, i think. i've also not included my working out runners and my slippers (boots).

all pairs that are going will be up for grabs for one week (size 10 or 9.5 most of the time). you just have to email me (ohsweetie (at) gmail (dot) com) and be willing to pay up to $10 shipping.

love!

the shining star

well, i'm back from my whirlwind work trip to toronto this week. i was on a youth exchange as the leader/coordinator and it was such a good week but i'm just so tired. my camera's battery is dead and i need to unload the pictures off my camera for work (they're all of participants) and then take a picture of the few things i bought (very cool though) and the things i received in the mail recently.

while in toronto i was obsessed with finding a pair of shoes, which i didn't do. i bought yarn instead (from lettuce knit, it was so nice to finally go there) to make a shrug. i'm pretty excited about it (photos soon). and a few things from old navy, as well as a few pouches/zipper clutches, scarves, etc.

but, the minute i get home and log into my flickr i find that knittydirtygirl is making/upcycling shoes!!! so i just bought these (pictured above). i'm pretty excited to feel like a princess while wearing them. speaking of wearing things this week i did a lot of walking and it was SO HOT in toronto, so i ended up wearing leggings (shorter/calf length) with shorts mainly to keep my shorts up, but also to stop long-day chaffing. haha. i think i like the look and can finally pull it off! woop! i've been wanting to wear this look for a while, so i'm happy. i think now i just need a nice pair of boots, but should wait until i pull out my winter ones, b/c i've got a good collection.

so, i'm gonna roll this up, keep knitting, and probably take on dinner in a few minutes (freezer pizza, spinach salad. i'm so tired. i've napped this afternoon but can't get hydrated enough to think. i need more vitamin water! ha!

you never get back what the magpie took

socks for kat at i <3 tattoos (aside, omfgg, this project is so cool)

this week so far has been awesome. i haven't worked very much (i'm on holidays and today is canada day so no work either) and have caught up on my contracting (almost, i have about 1 hour of work left) and met with my thesis supervisor (it's going to committee and i shot some of her requests out of the park and integrated brilliantly, etc, yay! and she's excited for me to do my phd, blah blah) and crafted and rollerskated and went to yoga and hung out with friends and stewart and made yummy food, etc.

yesterday i hung out with a and we talked at length about buying things and how we both get this mutual feeling of disgust in ourselves/the world when we're in a place of shopping. we both over the past year have stopped our mass consumer attitudes (which could be because we have no money, but i'm not sure) and are just shopping less. and our wants have dropped too. i don't troll etsy or craft blogs with the i want i want i want like i used to.. and i've pretty much stopped yarn shopping in the past 2 months. which is a feat in itself. regardless, i'm wanting this right now and have distracted myself by looking at the le creuset website. guh. the other non-consumer thing i'm rolling around with right now is that my clothes are in dire need of replacing. i've been wearing the same denim skirt since japan, only bought 1 pair of new flats this summer (i usually blow out 3 pairs a season), and am sewing up tights rather than buying new ones. hrm. i'm excited though because stewart has blown out two pairs of slip ons and he's giving them to me!! yay!!!

now, i'm off to finish kat's socks, have a shower, and put together burritos for dinner. yummers.