five full seconds.

Phew March.

This month was moving along at a pretty...slow pace and then all of the sudden things have gotten very busy. At times I feel like a chicken running around with my head cut off, but I am grateful for not sleeping in until 12pm and then spending an hour to figure out what to do with my day. I don't do well with that amount of time on my hands.

I've also always felt that I am better in the Spring. I always feel like I make most of mistakes, am at my worst in the fall and winter, and then somehow Spring always works out for me. Maybe that's why it's my favorite season. And also the air smells nice.

One thing that kept me busy this past weekend (for Straw):




Holy crap those circles for the tops killed my hands to do. I made it so hard for myself and there were moments where I just held the little labels in my hand and just wished it would just unstick itself. But I'm not a wizard, so oh well.

At the beginning of this month I watched...hahaha 3 seasons of Lost straight (I had lots of time as explained before). And there was this part where one of the characters, Jack, a spinal surgeon, was telling this other character Kate about this time where he was doing surgery on a patient and he screwed up really bad. He was scared, and he said to himself that he will give himself 5 seconds to let the fear completely envelope him and when those 5 seconds are up, to get back to what he is doing. I have been thinking about that a lot lately. Not just in terms of fear, but in any sort of extreme negative emotion, like boredom, annoyance, being tired. I think it's a good way of putting things behind you, letting everything hit you for a brief amount of time in order to move on. Because people and things need you to get on with things, you need yourself to get on with things.

Anyways.

Hi April, nice to see you.

some of it:

Hmm I was going to wait and make a long epic post after I finished a lot of things that I have on the go, but I am too excited and really want to show you some of it now:

Andy helped me photograph this. Woop thanks Andy. I wanted to photograph it on a nice day, and I had researched it and everything, SATURDAY WAS SUPPOSED TO BE SUNNY! But it was overcast, but whatever, first day of spring, it's a hard day to live up to, so I understand Spring if you just weren't up to being awesome on your first day. You're still my favorite season hands down.

Aw my gawwwd, LITTLE HILLS WITH LITTLE BUNNIES! Okay Andy and I did the photos at Jericho and as many people in Vancouver know, there are many rabbits there, and in so many different colors (grey! white! caramel! dark brown!) and they are so incredibly cute and we watched them for a bit and I can't wait to go see them again. 

And hooray! The book I designed (Centrism) for Jared's collages is done! If you'd like a copy, you can contact Josh at strawbooks@gmail.com.

I am especially happy with the accompanying essay at the end and how it was treated:

Another project that I am working on for Straw. It's a pill bottle that treats...when you are walking down the stairs and you think there is another stair but there isn't. The whole idea stemmed from Jared and Josh when they were thinking of what to submit to a friends' magazine, Palimpsest for their second issue, Medicine. So it was kind of funny, we only needed 50 bottles for the project, but Shoppers Drug Mart (where I bought these from), would only give me...200. So the rest of them will be sold at the book launch for Jared's book which is happening April 2 at Comrad Sound in Calgary, AB. So yeah I am busy trying to get like 1oo of those done with my impatient and clumsy hands (but don't worry! They don't look shitty! I think at least!)

Okay that's it and I hope you are well as well.

#18

March so far:

Went to this place, Simply French (at Alma and W.10th) with Maggie. It was nice, you should go. 

Prints I have made and that are available in ma store.  The whole time I was making these prints, it was like, man what am I doing. I had these x's on a page that looked terrible, or a flower that looked like it was done in a junior high art class and I just couldn't make myself patient enough to just finish the thing before making such harsh judgements. I needed immediate satisfaction for every second of the process (and that never really happens, as I so often forget) and it took a lot to keep pushing myself and convincing myself that what I was doing wasn't completely dumb and to keep going. And here we are. And I'm pretty glad we're here.

No Country For Old Men

A few sentences from the first couple of pages of "No Country For Old Men" by Cormac McCarthy. Those pages absolutely kill. I read it like 50 times, it is so well done, time stops, it is just so good.

If you haven't read it, read it. If you've seen the movie, enjoyed it, read the book, the movie is missing so many things that make it so much better. 

BADASS.

Witnessed/Ruled

The last bits of February:

Vancouver 2010 Party city is over. :(

Pal from Calgary, Adam Zendel came down to see some of the Olympics. This is at W2 in gastown. 

Okay many of you must have been here:

Wasn't it insane?!

Thanks Vancouver Winter Olympics 2010 for Wilco, fireworks, all the gold medals (and other medals), intense game and competition watching, people, and being here, it sure was fun and I feel so lucky to have witnessed and experienced all this. Safe to say, you ruled.