more culture...

Ken and I had the chance to catch Beyond Eden yesterday at the Vancouver Playhouse. It was very well done. John Mann of Spirit of the West, and Tom Jackson, from North of 60 and Relic were the leads of this moving masterpiece. It is a shame that last night was the end of its' run, otherwise I would heartily recommend getting out and seeing this play.

I believe this play has an important place in BC arts and culture. At the end, Jackson commented that this is the first time Haida has been spoken on stage. Beyond Eden brought an important piece of BC history to light. Although the main characters are fictional, this play was inspired by the controversial 1957 expedition by Bill Reid and Wilson Duff to Haida Gwaii. The staging, lighting, and sound effects were awesome. I found that it moved at a really good clip, and I was sad to see it end. Mann's voice is definitely unique, and it was cool to see him act instead of front SOTW. Jackson has real stage presence, and I almost wish his character, the Watchman, had more scenes so I could listen to his deep baritone. I felt pretty fortunate to have made it out to such an amazing play.

It has been strangely exotic in my life - I never would have dreamed that with two young kids I would actually have the opportunity to see not one, two, or three, but four amazing plays in short order. Amazingly enough, it is Phantom that is at the bottom of the four that I have seen but each has had it's merits and have been wonderful experiences. It feels great to get back in touch with that part of myself and to be with someone who also appreciates live theatre as well.

Memory

It's been a long time since I blitzed through a novel as fast as I have read Still Alice. It is, (insert pause, as I search for the right string of words here, ironically enough) a powerful read. It is also not an easy read, but it is also an accessible read, if that makes any sense.

Now that I just finished the book, and it is 1am - what do I think? Reflectively, Alzheimers is a scary, progressive, degenerative disease. Alice ruminates that being branded with the big "A" is worse than being diagnosed with cancer, because with cancer you have a chance of winning the battle. There is something obscene about Alzheimers, how it robs you of yourself, your memories, your being. Still Alice is powerful because it is written from the perspective of someone who is diagnosed young, whom is still at the top of their game, so to speak. I think Alice's children have a nice character arc to them, but I am a bit lukewarm about her husband John. I think that is how it is meant to be, the ebb and flow of relationships as a loved one slips away and life still continues on.

This almost reminds me of reading a book by Mitch Albom. Not a book that you will place high on the big L literary shelf, but one that has meaning, and evokes an emotional response from the reader. Contemplating a degenerative disease is down right sobering. Scary. A potential that is hard to take beyond the initial stages of acknowledging it's existence and how it can unfold over time. Diagnoses like Alzeimers rob one of their innocence, and all the lives that this person touches.

I feel melancholic and reflective having read this book, I think we will have an interesting discussion at book club about it. I feel a little sad, and I think of the women I know whom have had and have Alzheimers. I feel for them, for their families. I think of my Uncle Roy (my grandfather's brother) and my Auntie Kittie, whom passed away a few years back from complications arising from Alzeimers. My Uncle Roy used to visit her all the time in the hospital, and he told me that even though she wasn't his wife anymore, she was his girlfriend now, and he found comfort in that. What do you say? Are there words? It is just so important to reach out.

This book affirms my position on trying to live without regrets, living life to the fullest, and speaking truths, a little carpe diem thrown in for good measure. You can never afford kids, you can never afford to travel, you can never afford to take time off and do the things that are important. Then again, you can't afford not to do these things. To weigh matters, and then go back to the first comment, and live without regrets by making your peace with your decisions.

This is a good book, a touching book, one that is hard to ignore. It is a fast read, a poignant one, and an important one.

You win some... you take some back to the library

Over the years, there have been a few literary greats I just couldn't get in to. I tried, really I did, and with some of them, a few times. A few examples are: the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Henry Miller's work , War and Peace, She's Come Undone, a PD James novel (really recently) and seemingly the majority of Margaret Atwood's books.

I gave it the old college try with Never Let Me Go. I couldn't get in to it. I read some reviews (love that big book seller website with lots of feedback) and it does sound like it deals with a profound, relevant topic (human cloning, the book was written shortly after Dolly was cloned in the UK) but it wasn't happening for me. I have read hundreds, nay thousands of books and it always surprises me when I come across one that I stumble through in the beginning and just cannot get myself up to reading. Where I look at the book, and find housecleaning to do instead of diving in between the pages.

I liken it to how you tend to at least like or be indifferent to most people you meet. About 2% of the folks out there, you will just not like on sight, and the feeling is usually mutual. (Weird tidbit I learned in a conference a few years ago). Well, it wasn't that this book was poorly written (it isn't) but I just couldn't work the will up to continue it. I asked myself - do I need to work this hard to enjoy reading? And the answer was an easy no, especially since I had Ian Rankin's latest novel lined up.

This is another perk about being friendly with the library again. It makes taking risks with books painless. Oh well, I didn't like this novel so I took it back early.

I am just about done The Complaints, and although I miss reading about the somewhat crotchety Rebus, I have enjoyed this newest offering. Amazing that you can blitz through 300 pages in a few days that you enjoy, and cover about 20 pages in that time of a book you can't be fussed by. Next up, Still Alice.

On the same vein, Brandon and I have been picking out kid's books at a rapid pace. We are not winning the battle. It is amazing how many terrible, boring, uninteresting kids books there are out there! Once again, nice to be able to take out a bunch of books, and when you are done, take them back!

Another month closer

Connor is seven months old. How did this happen? It was only yesterday....

I have rounded the midway point of my inevitable return to work. Hopefully every month doesn't go nearly as fast as this one has. Hard to imagine a week ago at this time I was in a cab heading to Fremont Street... it is equally hard to not to start dreaming about where next!

I sat down thinking I would have more to say, but nothing profound is percolating. I have a Lescroart book on the go, hopefully to finish off tonight. A week ago I had a dearth of books lined up, and now I have a pile of books to read. Have I mentioned that I am glad that I have rediscovered the joys of heading to the library? The selection, the fact that I don't have to pay for a book it really doesn't take me all that long to read, and really, I have so many now, I really don't need more on the shelves (unless I deem it to be one of those books needed for future re-reads), and just being able to see what is out there. I remember all the other times over the years I have spent lots of time in libraries. Old friend, it is nice to reconnect.

So, after this one... I have one called Never Let Me Go that looks like it should be a good read.. and then I will delve in another pocket book...

Home, sweet home.

It is amazing how much one can accomplish in 48 hours without kids. It is also equally amazing how quickly you can fall out of parenting mode, only to find yourself exchanging that attitude again once you are greeted with your kids!

We had two glorious days in Vegas. I couldn't imagine us having had the chance to do more than we did. Saw the Phantom at the Venetian, it was okay, we went to the Outlets, once again, they were decent. Got myself a swimsuit out of desperation (recall one Penguin Plunge in awkward fitting and ego killing suit) and a few new pairs of shoes. I love my shoes. A balance of practical, a little edgy, and just damn cool. We went to Fremont Street and had a big shrimp cocktail (paired with a guinness, quite lovely I must say) and watched the show, we saw the Bodies exhibit at teh Luxor, which was cool in a way that is hard to describe, hung out at the House of Blues, and we saw the Lion King at Mandalay Bay.

Lion King blew my socks off. It made Phantom seem very average. Lion King was awesome. The opening scenes brought tears to my eyes, and the singing, oh la la, the singing was amazing. It was one of the top three shows "big" shows I have ever seen in my life. Wow. Every little detail was really well done and choreographed. The costumes were great, our seats were great, the characters were right on. Just magic.

We ate a little, we gambled a little, we walked a lot. We just enjoyed being us together, no kids. It was a great time to connect and do something out of the ordinary for us. Highly recommend as good for the soul.

Winter on the West Coast.

Enough said.

I lurve books.

I have a few boxes that I have ready to go to the used book store as trade ins for futures. I figure this will be a weekend trip in the next few weeks, and since I am planning to check out a new, used book store, it should be an adventure. I love the smell of old book stores, they have a life of their own. Lots of memories from being in used book stores. You never know what you are going to find - I think it is an adventure, and I never really seem to stick with the alphabet. I am all over the place as ideas and titles hit, and I attempt to chase them down.

It would be nice to have a local used book store, the ones I really like, one is in Victoria, one is Sechelt, one is in Seattle, another two are in Bellingham. Somewhat closer would be nice.

I just combined my chapters card with my mom's... and we have 6 books waiting to ship once a pre-order book is available! WOO WOO!! New books! I even got a smattering of literature (Curious Incident of the Dog in Nighttime and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn) to tradebacks (not as memorable titles but they are new books from some of my favourite authors) to a deck of kid's yoga poses so me and the kids can stretch! COOL!

Open letter to folks at the pool

I don't think I have spent this much time at a public pool since I was a kid. We were lucky enough that we had a pool for my teenage years (side benefit of parents running a pool and woodstove store, even if it took us three years to build said pool in the backyard... not kidding, we had one of those great gaping holes in our backyard that collected water for a long, long time) and living on the coast, there was always a lake or the ocean to go swim in.

Between Brandon going twice a week, and Connor once a week... we are at the local pool A LOT. It is a nice, new facility. I don't like where they get the parents to sit, it is like the half circle of ogling. On the plus side, they do have a huge unisex area with lots of closed change rooms with showers. I usually head here because of the lockers, and the locked in shower area, are really important when you have a three year old on the go-go-go.

My pet peeve, besides the parent watching area (which just makes you feel lame, and the only folks who really get to watch their kids are those on that first row of the half circle of ogling), would be those folks without kids that use the unisex area. Um. Hello. There are two nicely appointed gender specific change rooms you could use, why are you taking up the space that folks with kids could be using??? Nothing like standing there with a dripping kid clinging from you and your backpack full of clothes behind 2 or 3 single folks without kids. Especially folks that are just getting changed in to their suits!!! Go to your appropriate change room folks and the leave the unisex rooms for the folks who actually need them!!!

/rant over