| One Year In Canada |
[Aug. 29th, 2009|10:38 am] |
So one year ago (yesterday) I first crossed the border into British Columbia. I know because it was the same day as Obama's DNC speech. My dad and I watched it at a hotel downtown.
It has been difficult being away from DC and from certain people. But what do I think of canada? Here are some answers.
LIfe - man things are okay here. Currently it is very sunny but it will probably rain later. It does rain a lot in the fall/winter but the summer here is fantastic. Anywhere you look you see these mountain views and the Straight of Georgia. It's pretty fantastic.
People - mostly okay! I mean I have made friends here, it's a good community.
School - I like it here. I am currently working on my thesis, as well as a secret project, and hopefully those will be done or something soon. I like my program and the people in it. I am also now the executive editor of a literary magazine.
Socialized medicine - Horrors! Just kidding. It's actually awesome. I sprained my foot, I went to the hospital, they x-rayed it, they told me I was fine. They gave me some pills too. None of this cost anything.
Food/beer - generally good. Sushi i mean is pretty awesome, it turns out. The beer is great (strong) but a little expensive. That is okay though, it is good quality beer.
Money - Even though it isn't "real money" as some might say, it is expensive to live here. Which is too bad because generally I want a lot of things, but I cannot have them. Oh well - I still have some money to get me through the year. Looking forward to crushing debt!
Other things - I have been to clubs, parties, nude beaches, workshops, fireworks, parades, and so on. I've been to Vancouver Island. I have eaten seafoods. I have been on many buses.
One extra rant is that I can't even look at American news anymore, it is just too depressing/batshit crazy. Come one people, seriously, get your act together. It is more or less going to be okay! (I think.)
Well, those are my thoughts.
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| 23 at 23 |
[Jul. 23rd, 2009|08:29 am] |
| [ | mood |
| |  okay | ] |
| [ | music |
| | ponytail - late for school | ] |
Oh no, I'm 23.
I am doing okay! I am here in Vancouver for the summer, where it is beautiful. I go down to the beach, I walk around. Sometimes I try to go hiking. It's really pretty cool.
I'm actually heading down to Eugene, OR this weekend to see my brother.
In the meantime I work at my job, play music, drink, try to get by. Not many birthday plans, just going to get a fancy lunch and then drink heavily tonight. Should be okay?
I am grateful. |
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| june |
[Jun. 23rd, 2009|11:49 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  good | ] |
| [ | music |
| | story from north america | ] |
Hey, I haven't posted in over two months. Sorry bout that. I'd suggest following my twitter, but honestly i'm not much interesting there either? Oh well. At least you'd know (mostly) what I was up to.
Basically I've been working, at my magazine job and at my thesis. I really want to get a first draft done by the end of the summer. Now whether this will happen or not is another story, but it will work if I keep at it. I don't know, how do you motivate yourself to write? Not to mention that there are other projects I want to work on.
Also? It's summer in Vancouver, and it's beautiful outside and hey I'm in one of the most gorgeous places on Earth, but I feel like I am staying in my room/on campus and not going exploring! What the fuck. I do spend a lot of time indoors, at a computer. I realize this is bad. I'll do my best to remedy this. I don't know, I want to get out and do shit and appreciate nature and etc. but I guess I don't know how to go about it or what to do. It is okay to do things? I guess it would be better if I had someone to do these things with.
Speaking of which, I came back to DC for a week and saw Betsy, and well it was a very good week.
Anyway, those are my concerns/thoughts I guess, maybe this livejournal still is useful after all. |
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| march-april report |
[Apr. 7th, 2009|01:09 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| | good | ] |
| [ | music |
| | noah and the whale - five years time | ] |
This might be a long post, I will number it for your convenience.
1. Why is livejournal running ads on my friends page?
2. You guys it's like spring has finally come to Vancouver. Today and yesterday the sun has come out, it's actually gotten above 50 degrees (F), everyone is wearing shorts, and things feel allright. It is good to be outside! It is also a coincidence that my parents arrived here yesterday. They are spending a few days in Victoria before coming back to hang out with me. Hopefully its allright.
3. So today, if all goes well, will be my last class in the first year of my MFA. Awesome times. I've been having a pretty good time, and working hard on stories and other things. i'm working on my thesis, which will hopefully be a book of linked short stories. I'm also working on other projects, some of them which might produce results! I'll keep you posted.
4. Last weekend, unbeknownst to most, I went to Emerald City Comic Con in Seattle! And guess what, it was a lot of fun. I met a bunch of my favorite comics writers and artists, got a bunch of signatures and sketches in a notebook, went to a few panels with certain celebrities (though I missed Jewel Staite's unfortunately, but did see Wil Wheaton's and the BSG one), and had an awesome time! Man people who make comics are generally pretty good people. So yeah it was really cool but I'm not sure if I'll go to another one anytime soon, cause it turns out comic cons are a great place to lose hundreds of dollars.
5. I didn't even talk about skiing, but this post is so long that I will not mention it. Questions? Concerns? |
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| nostalgia? |
[Feb. 28th, 2009|11:38 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| | okay | ] |
| [ | music |
| | the strokes | ] |
So for some reason, I started looking through the back entries of this journal right here. It was interesting. I started this livejournal in March of 2003, during my junior year of high school, and right when Bush started invading Iraq.
I read through all the entries from 2003. It got me feeling all nostalgic for some reason, but also curious. My posts had a lot of cryptic sentences, talking about something going horribly wrong and me fucking up all the time. What was it? Part of me wants to remember what kind of high school drama I got into, but part of me is okay with letting it go. Is this still the part when I realized I was a horrible person? Something probably happened, yet I can hardly remember.
Another theme is constant loneliness, out of school, because I was never good at calling people or talking to them. Maybe that's where some of the sparseness of my entries came from, basically not wanting to talk about things. Another theme is music - I would post tabs on here, and talk about marching band or jazz band or pit. I also started writing Fishboy at this time, so, that makes an appearance as well.
I might do a longer post later about nostalgia, especially about music. For example - why does everyone think that Room on Fire was a bad album? Maybe it was because I listened to it basically all the time back then, but it still has an effect on me now. It is an okay album!
Allright, enough high school times. It's just interesting to think about, that's all. It made me appreciate being out here in Vancouver.
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| bowls and other things |
[Feb. 1st, 2009|10:42 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| | okay | ] |
| [ | music |
| | schubert - erlkönig | ] |
So I'm thinking of starting a series of posts where I talk about one of the songs that I have called "the greatest song ever written," and then maybe start to talk about why? It might be of interest. I was listening to Ratatat's "Seventeen Years" over and over again, and I thought maybe I should write it up, see if I can do that. It would take some work though, I don't just want to half-ass it. Maybe I'll think about it.
Today was a day of making nachos, eating chips and watching the Super Bowl, which was actually exciting and interesting. I'm not sure about the 2nd to last play, though. Other than that it was cool. (Note: Here in Canada we don't get American commercials, so all of ours were for CTV and the 2010 games pretty much. Not that it really interests me, but that I should make a note of the difference.)
I have been more or less trying to get by, I hope that is okay.
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| (no subject) |
[Jan. 27th, 2009|08:36 am] |
| [ | mood |
| | okay | ] |
| [ | music |
| | little boots - meddle | ] |
Happy birthday, ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) leeflower! |
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| island |
[Jan. 25th, 2009|11:47 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| | okay | ] |
| [ | music |
| | battles - race: in | ] |
So I just spent the weekend in Sidney, BC, on Vancouver Island, for a conference relating to my new job as a magazine editor. It was pretty cool. I got to go on the ferry to the island. The place where the conference was is an old 70s lodge that is closing. Apparently it used to be a rehab center for rich alcoholics. In that case I feel fine that I got plenty drunk there. I might put up some pictures somewhere because, damn, there were some spectacular view from the hotel of the valley and the sea. It was actually a pretty good weekend.
But while I was away, there have been things going on campus. I walk by Buchanan Tower and it has been made up to look like a prison? All barbed wire and "restricted" signs and guard towers. Apparently, they are filming reshoots of the upcoming Wolverine movie here on campus. So, uh, that's pretty cool. And also this happened? http://flickr.com/photos/tyfn/3224963304/in/set-72157612918073599/
Lastly: I have joined the ranks of those who twitter, after holding out for so long.
www.twitter.com/djfs |
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| new day |
[Jan. 21st, 2009|11:59 am] |
| [ | mood |
| | okay | ] |
| [ | music |
| | ida maria - oh my god | ] |
Well it's a new day. I was talking to a friend the other day about Canada-U.S. relations, and it came around to the phrase "disenfranchised younger brother." What she said was, roughly: all the movies you watch growing up take place in the U.S., and specifically they all take place in New York. Thus, New York is the place where Things Happen. This sentiment reminded me of my own anti-NY feelings growing up, basically that everything happens in New York and nothing happens in DC. My views have changed slightly and I am no longer bitter, but. Anyway the point of what I was trying to say got away from me. I hope that with President Obama that we can have better international relations, and that we can go to a place where Americans aren't entirely hated worldwide.
Anyway.
It's been foggy the last week or so, but today it looks like it has cleared up. I have never lived in a place with so much fog. But it looks like its getting somewhat sunny.
Also, I haven't mentioned this (I've been meaning to write more) but: I lost my job two weeks ago. Coming in to UBC I was supposed to have a TAship in this term, teaching a creative writing class. Unfortunately, this class is the exact same time as a course that I was already taking. As I cannot drop the course, I had to give up the job. This really bummed me out for a while. It had me wanting to go home. I got upset and my mental health was in question. But I think I am okay with it now? I am looking for a new job, anyway. I might be a bar server. Or a copy clerk. We'll see.
I think that working - and by this I mean writing - would help me feel better.
Also: how awesome is this picture?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/49664168@N00/3216058492/sizes/o/ |
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| president obama |
[Jan. 20th, 2009|10:07 am] |
| [ | music |
| | seeger, seeger & springsteen - this land is your land | ] |
Wow. I watched it starting at 8:30 PST in the common TV room, where a crowd of people had come in. I am still amazed. |
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| snowed |
[Jan. 4th, 2009|10:10 am] |
| [ | mood |
| | okay | ] |
| [ | music |
| | hold steady - lord, i'm discouraged | ] |
When it is all snowing and cold, as it was yesterday, I think you have a tendency not to want to go outside. So I spent most of yesterday indoors, on my computer, or reading a book. It was more or less succesful. It is not snowing today, but I think I might keep up with this track.
The second term, as it were, starts tomorrow. (I mean my first class isn't until Tuesday, but yeah.) Tomorrow I've got to go clear up a scheduling conflict. Hopefully my friends will be back in town by then, and things here will be back to what passes for normal.
If all goes well I should be taking: the fiction class, the writing for children class, and a class on graphic novels and comics. I'll also be a TA for a class on new media, so I am excited for that. Hopefully it will be okay?
That is what is up with me, today. |
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| early |
[Jan. 3rd, 2009|09:32 am] |
| [ | mood |
| | okay | ] |
| [ | music |
| | the national | ] |
So I'm going to try something new, at least for this first part of the year anyway, which is "posting more than once a month." I feel a bit silly that i still have this blog but i don't use it. I mean I always read my friends page but I don't usually talk about myself all that much. Strange.
One thing I am concerned about is that I am rusty from not writing. I feel like I have been slacking. I'm in a fucking creative writing MFA program, I mean really, why am I not writing more. I should be writing every day. Here's the thing, though - that is difficult.
Allright, now I am just whining. Enough of that. It is time to focus on writing. I think that means I might have to bring back the Land of Bad Decisions, if that is what it takes. Just to get back. This is what I will be doing.
Last night I succeeded in making pasta with onion and bacon, it was tasty. And the good thing is, I have leftover bacon for breakfasts. That's pretty cool right there I think. |
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| happy new year |
[Jan. 2nd, 2009|12:05 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| | okay | ] |
So! It is 2009. I started 2009 with an awesome new years party, and then a less-awesome saying goodbye to Betsy and getting on a plane back to Vancouver. (Actually, that wasn't awesome at all. It was sad.)
The other thing is one of my bags didn't make it, but hopefully they will deliver it today.
Now I am back and there are things I have to do, such as be a TA, train for a new job, finish writing a story, start writing other stories, and also live and eat and such. I mean I am looking forward to this year, hopefully it will be allright.
I will try to make pasta tonight.
Also:
I won my fantasy football league this year, which means I won an amount of money. Now I know what I should do is save it and maybe pay rent or buy food, but - um - I kind of want this? |
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| 2008 the year of things |
[Dec. 31st, 2008|12:29 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| | good | ] |
In the year 2008, I:
-Went to the south of France, staying in Nice, and visiting Marseilles and Monaco.
-Went to Israel for a ten-day trip.
-Got accepted into grad school.
-Spent a few days in the Outer Banks of North Carolina.
-Played the first and last show with St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and then the reunion show.
-Had a good formal.
-Went to Six Flags a few times.
-Ate some good foods.
-Graduated from Maryland, a motherfucking Bachelor of Arts, thank you.
-Stayed with Betsy.
-Went to Indianapolis for the Grand Arch Council, which was awesome.
-Had an amazing summer (I thought.)
-Performed with Zack and Mandy as the BOXCAR KIDS.
-Tried new drinks.
-Sang karaoke with Heather and Zack and friends in Madison.
-Drove across the country.
-Moved to Vancouver, Canada.
-Made some new friends in a new place.
-Tried sushi.
-Enjoyed my MFA program and its peoples.
-Tried new things.
-Bought a tuque.
-Helped elect Barack Obama for president.
-Read a story at an MFA reading.
-Accepted a job to be the executive editor of finance for PRISM international.
-Returned triumphant to the U.S. for the holidays and spent the last part of the year with my friends and family.
And other things, which I can't remember right now. I did a lot of things this year.
Hope you had a good or okay 2008. Happy new year. Here's to 2009.*
*According to the song "Citizens of Tomorrow" by Tokyo Police Club, 2009 will be the year when robot overlords will enslave humanity. It could be! |
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| back in the ussa |
[Dec. 23rd, 2008|01:16 pm] |
Question: Wouldn't every song be better if Tom Waits sang it?
I am back in America and I am having a great time! I have been hanging out a lot with Betsy, of course, and it has been wonderful. I have also gotten to see my family again, as well as some of my friends from college. It would appear that all is well. I have had Hannukah dinner with my grandparents, gotten drunk with my brother and sister, and went to my friend Craig's graduation party. I also ate Chipotle again (hooray) and went to Roy's Place in Gaithersburg last night, where I had a bacon-wrapped Polish sausage sandwich, which was awesome.
To do: Christmas dinner, maybe a movie or something, more hanging out with friends, awesome new years party.
I am here until Jan 1, where I will take an afternoon flight back to Vancouver. |
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| a few thoughts on music |
[Dec. 15th, 2008|11:50 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| | good | ] |
| [ | music |
| | mountain goats | ] |
1. Is "Dinosaur on the Ark" by Esau Mwamwaya & Radioclit the best song of the year? Possibly. I mean I enjoy it. It might be a tie between that and "Celebrate The Body Electric (It Came From An Angel)" by Ponytail. Or Ponytail might be on top. I don't know. I haven't made my top 10 list this year yet, and I am wondering.
2. But the reason I haven't made my list is because I haven't listened to many songs from this year. For example, I haven't heard TV on the Radio's new album yet. Talk about an album that I really want. There are a lot of songs that I haven't heard that are probably really good. So, I'm not sure if I'm going to do a top 10 list or not.
3. I got kind of sidetracked by the musics project, and I think it is clear that I am not doing that anymore. To be honest, I kind of ran out of things to say - I couldn't find different ways to describe things. (That's been my problem for a while.) Also it was tedious work. So I stopped. Now I am listening to whatever I want and it feels good.
4. You know that song "Skinny Love" by Bon Iver? I think it's really good.
5. I listened to Tallahassee today, and it made me ask: What is the bleakest Mountain Goats song? Not necessarily the saddest one, but the bleakest one. Right now "No Children" has my vote. But I have not heard every Mountain Goats song, of course. I hear Get Lonely is a bleak album. So basically I am saying, point me to some depressing songs.
UNRELATED TO MUSIC: Have I mentioned that I am due to be coming home on Wednesday, and will be in Maryland until Jan. 1? |
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| yay |
[Dec. 3rd, 2008|11:54 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| | good | ] |
Happy Birthday ungemmed !!!
To the sweetest person in the world.
Everyone should call her and wish her a happy birthday. Everyone.
Love,
-Dan
P.S. In semi-unrelated news, I'll be back in MD in less than two weeks.
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| turkey |
[Nov. 27th, 2008|04:24 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| | good | ] |
Happy Thanksgiving, Americans. I think this is the first year I am not celebrating. (Canadian thanksgiving is in October.) Well, enjoy anyways. Have good times! |
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| President-Elect Barack Obama |
[Nov. 5th, 2008|08:28 am] |
| [ | mood |
| | happy | ] |
Yes.
Oh, allright: Yes we can.
We fucking did it, man.
America, you did something right. |
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| vote |
[Nov. 3rd, 2008|09:52 pm] |
You know it! Vote!
I voted already. I got my absentee ballot up here in Canada and sent it in. I voted for Barack Obama.
Vote Obama and I'll come home some day! |
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