How To Care For Introverts

Written on the Forehead

Polar Bear

                                  

I did it! I ran into that frigid water, fell immediately, panicked that I would be trampled, got up and ran further in, dove, stood up to run back to land then seeing no one else running back just stood in place and hopped up and down flapping my hands until I finally saw other people leaving the water. What a way to start the year, my heart only stopped once! I feel like it is a sign of things to come; that the year will be spent giving back, following through with things I want to do, doing things that scare me and gaining bragging rights. 

Rebekah came along, as did my aunt, uncle, cousin and grandma (a family that watches people torture themselves together, stays together) and she took these amazing pictures despite the rain and crowds and crazy-thick fog. 

Happy New Year!  Pictures after the jump!

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My REAL New Year’s Resolutions

(via)

1. Eat more trans fats and high fructose corn syrup.
2. Be less present, daydream often.
3. Embrace messiness.
4. Listen to more top 40 radio.
5. Watch more Ghost Whisperer.
6. Be selfish.
7. Wear socks with sandals.
8. Ignore advice.
9. Cultivate laziness.
10. Use Comic Sans for everything.

010111

A round-up of my favourite 2010-related things on the Internet, some are very negative, and should be taken with a grain of salt, (big surprise, Jezebel) and some are a bit more optimistic.  Life lessons, bests, resolutions, inspiration, and a big Fuck You to 2010, what else could be more appropriate?

• Fuck 2010
• What I Learned
• Uncluttering resolutions
• More resolutions
• Inspiration for a New Year's to remember
• It's Party Time
• Best of 2010

Adios, 2010. Don't let the door hit you on the way out.

"Growth is a painful process."

- Wilma Mankiller

OMG, guys, it's totally New Year's Eve!  Hallelujah!  My first reaction to learning that this year would soon be coming to an end was complete and utter relief.  Good riddance 2010, so long and thanks for all the fish!  But why was this year so universally awful?  Well, as it happens, it was not really so terrible for everyone, and for some it was probably even the best year of their lives thus far.  I've seen my little brother get married, get a great job and buy a new condo, I've seen friends bring babies into the world and go back to school.  Heck, I guess even I quit a job that was making me miserable.  Yet, overall, nobody seems that sorry to see 2010 go.  I've been trying to make sense of this discrepancy, and based on many observations and conversations I've had with friends and family, it has become pretty clear that 2010 was indeed a fairly tumultuous year.  For some, it just. plain. sucked.  For others, it was simply amazing.  But the common denominator in every single experience was, for better or worse, Change.  Yeah, capital-C Change.  And that's never easy.  Even when it brings better things, the adjustment that is required of us can be painful, to say the least.  Some of us are more resistant to transformation than others, and that, obviously, makes the transition all the more difficult.  The biggest lesson I learned this year is how to let go, to see uncertainty and upheaval as opportunities, rather than tragedies.  And that Change and Growth are one and the same.
So, yeah, I'm happy to see 2010 go, but I'm also grateful for all that it brought, and, most importantly, looking forward to what 2011 will have to offer.

via Beverly13

31 for 2011

2011 Planner (via)

The number makes sense; I turn 31 next year, and 20 + 11 = 31.  I've been meaning to make a list like this for a long time- maybe I should have put it on a list.  Nevertheless, I'm making my list now, and will do my best to keep you all updated as I make progress on it.  I think I would consider it a success if I check off even half of these...

1. Find a job I love.
2. Get an apartment and move back downtown.
3. Paint a room in that apartment pink.
4. Apply to schools for next year.
5. Cook and bake more often.
6. Set up a crafting space.
7. Start knitting again.
8. Sew my own clothes.
9. Sell my old clothes.
10. Visit Edinburgh.
11. Take a yoga class.
12. Get a dog.
13. Name it Dorothy Barker.
14. Call my friends and family every week.
15. Write them letters, real letters.  And send cards.
16. Write and draw daily.
17. Get film for my Polaroid camera and use it.
18. Get film for my Minolta camera and use it.
19. Actually get my pictures developed.
20. Consciously buy handmade, thrifted, and fairtrade items.
21. Volunteer.
22. Give a loan through Kiva.
23. Watch more movies.
24. Read more books.
25. Visit a museum or gallery (at least) twice a month.
26. Learn to drive.
27. Get my license.
28. Throw more parties.
29. Less time on Facebook, more time face to face.
30. Get a new record player and listen to my records often.
31. Make more lists and check something off every day.

Oh, my gosh, That's a lot of stuff to do.  I guess I should get started...

28 for 2011

Because I am a total follower, I've also come up with a list of things I'd like to do this year and since I will be turning 28, my list consists of 28 things. A lot of my things are the same as Rebekah's (Dorothy Barker, Edinburgh, pink room in our next apartment, throw lots of parties, volunteer, Kiva...) but an identical lists does not make for fun reading so I will not be repeating those (except *bam* I JUST did).

This year I am going to visit my brother in Copenhagen. I am going to try out for the Pillow Fight League and if that doesn't pan out, then Roller Derby. I am going to read a book a week. I will write everyday; fiction, reviews, posts, letters; anything that involves putting words to (cyber) paper.

I will cook more and eat more vegetables. I will train for and run the Toronto marathon. I am going to support local artists, artisans, musicians, restaurants, stores and shun the corporate overlords.

I am going to get a banjo and learn to play it. I'll join a squash league. I want to be a better, more present friend. I'm going to engage in more culture -- rock shows, art exhibits, plays, the ballet, the symphony, the opera.

I want to take better care of myself, mentally, emotionally and physically (drink more water, definitely). I will get on the honour roll at school and hopefully get a scholarship (that's two goals for those who are counting). I really want to get to know Toronto better.

I want my writing to be published and I will submit my work like crazy to make that happen. I want to put on mystery-guest dinner parties. I will use less electricity -- read by candle-light, why yes, yes I will!

I want to be able to complete a Thursday NYT crossword puzzle. I'll swim at least once a week. I will be an artist's model. I want to have a pop-up shop. I want to do more things that scare me, that are out of my comfort zone.

I need to learn to deal with my stress-levels and keep those migraines and stress-rashes away. I want to be more positive and in general, a happier person.

I'm going to finish the damn Paint-by-Numbers horse scene I started this summer. I also want to document this whole year and keep lists for all the things I do: books, movies, bands...

Most of all, I want to do the things that I say I want to do. So much of what I want is at my finger tips, completely within reach, and there is no reason in the world why I can't accomplish any of these goals. This past year was pretty damn awful but this year is gonna be the best ever!

What do you want to accomplish? Change? See? Do?

Good Riddance

So long, 2010, take care and don't come back. We had some good times but for the most part you were a pretty crappy year and that's ok, some years have to be bad so that the good years really shine. You got me on the road I'm on today and for that I'm grateful, I just hope you hang back and let 2011 be the best it can be; say less Eric Roberts' nipple and more, well, just less Eric Roberts' nipple.

Goodbye 2010, welcome 2011; this year is going to be fantastic.

Conversation Overheard

Here's a conversation I overheard walking out of True Grit (!!!!)between a drunk girl (I don't know how that is possible sine the movie was two and a half hours and she was totally blotto - she seems to have discovered some sort of drunken worm hole, but I digress) and her friend.
Tipsy LaRoo - If my dad was murdered, I would totally avenge him.
Tipsy LaRoo's cardboard cut out boyfriend - Oh yeah?
Tipsy LaRoo - Yeah. I wouldn't avenge my mum but my dad, yeah.
Tipsy LaRoo's dead moth boyfriend - There isn't anyone I'd avenge 'cause I'm an adult.

How to Shop and Be a Decent Human Being

I've spent the last six Christmas' working in retail and I have some lil' pearls of wisdom that I'd really like to pass on. Spoiler alert! Every scenario is a true story, your fellow human beings can be real dick holes.

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Ba Da Da Da Da Da Da Da Daaaaa

Deliverance is on and I'm watching it again (well, that and Celebrity Rehab. Seriously, what is going on there? Eric Roberts is wearing a saggy tank-top and I can see his nipples; that is something I can never unsee) and hot damn, that is a fine movie. A fine movie AND a gorgeous novel.

The novel, by the poet James Dickey, flows like the river at the centre of the plot; lush and vivid, it is an achingly beautiful story about survival and the disparate nature of urban life and our more primal instincts. The kind of book that compels one to write things like, "an achingly beautiful story about survival and the disparate nature of urban life and our more primal instincts".

And, the movie is almost, like super close to being just as good as the book. So good, I forget that Jon Voight is a total dick-hole. So good, it makes me think that maybe, just maybe, I could love movies. 

But, alas, I don't love movies. There are movies that I love but as a whole, I rarely opt to watch them and when I do I'm so very often disappointed. Although, I do find it really difficult to stop talking for two hours  the reason is a bit more complex.

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2010 Habitat For Humanity Toronto Polar Bear Dip

This year I'm going to be doing the polar bear swim (I will be submerging, willingly, my bathing suit clad body into Lake Ontario on January first)

to raise money for Habitat for Humanity's Toronto branch. Best hangover cure ever! Donate and win my admiration -- a priceless commodity!

2010 Habitat For Humanity Toronto Polar Bear Dip

oh Boy, this is good...

City of Craft has a Boxing Week Giveaway going on right now, and just look at all the lovely things you can win!

The prize includes a copy of Adrian Tomine's Shortcomings from Drawn & Quarterly, Tickets to Sundat Night Live at the Comedy Bar, a discount coupon for music boxes or supplies from Tuned Teeth, a mini print from Hieng Tang (1% Talent), a mini craft tutorial and pinback button from Sewing School, an embroidered spore pinback from Leah Buckareff (Coldsnap Bindery), a 2011 letterpress wall calendar from Etsy & more.  Just leave a comment on their blog to enter, good luck!

10 Days of X-mas songs-Bonus

New Kids on the Block - Funky Funky Christmas

I couldn't resist.