This shall be the final post of this here blog. For more from me and my increasingly confused mind, check 09/11/81-?. For alternate perspectives, browse through the links to the left of these words.

loose ends

the end of my 2005 post-MA reading list:

27. Midnight's Children by Salmon Rushdie
read this book!!! strange on all accounts but compelling. my favourite book of these last five.
28. Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
not bad but i say read love in the time of cholera first.
29. A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth
(well, to be honest, i only made it up to page 1070 or this 1400 page novel and then lost patience and skipped to the end - yes i do feel ashamed). still, i loved it! (i just ran out of time). very victorian in a modern indian setting.
30. Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi
obviously written by a scholar with some amazing experiences and not by a skilled novelist. but still, worth it. i never knew much about iran before this. eye opening. especially interesting because she is an english critic and talks about austen, james, and other great writers in the context of her own experiences.
31. Mai Pen Mai by Carol Hollinger
a fitting last book for me to read. about thailand. brilliant. hilarious. not sure if it's accessible to those who haven't travelled. but if you've even been to thailand you'd love it i'm sure. and even it you haven't, it's worth it.

ok, that's it. this blog is now officially over until i begin wandering again.

ciao

well, i've decided this new stage in my life requires a new blog. a fresh start. something with no history. these wanderings have served the purposes intented. i'm starting to feel less transient. the path is getting straighter and i'm feeling less scattered. this might change within the week but for now, farewell to snowy florimell. i shall miss her.

ottawa!

having been in close to 30 different countries, and many of these countries' capital cities and airports, i pride myself in being a knowledgable airport critic. naturally, as i landed in our nation's capital, i was prepared to be wowed by the welcome of the best country in the world. imagine my disapointment when i had to walk from the plan over the tarmac into a sidedoor of the terminal. i then ascended a sort of windy fire-exit staircase and proceeded to wander my way down an extremely long temporary looking hallway. all this with an over-weight carry-on in my dry hand. so much for the "first impression"!

i was relieved when i entered into the main part of the airport and discovered that my experience was due to "construction" and was presumably not a permanent situation.

mum and i were then picked up at the airport by friends and driven around ottawa. this city is unbelievable! i had no idea there were so many big old buildings. and castle-like too. and lots of green. and walkways. and a river. and then we went to quebec. right over the river! man i'm ignorant about my own country!

highlight of the day: driving past an odd protest on parliament hill blaming canada for religious persecution. turns out it was falong gong (you know, the cult). complete with meditating monks and a handful of pot-smoking activist types on the sidelines trying to get in on the "en-vogue" protesting.

as i usher you to your death - ha!

yesterday i went to say goodbye to joel. as he drove me home from lunch he put in a cd called "music to die for". it was basically a compilation of classic funeral dirges. it was also raining. so here we were within minutes of farewell sitting silently in a car listening to melancholic foreboding music as rain drops splattered the windshield. it was so intensely dramatic that the two of us could not help but laugh. so goodbye was humourous and therefore manageable.

i have resolved to overhype every goodbye from now on. in the past i attempted to make goodbye flippant. but this was just interpreted as crass and callous. however, if you make goodbye as painful as possible, it will end in absurdity without the feelings of "did i really mean nothing to them?"

kingston is beautiful

i was going to rant about how annoying the "prolonged goodbye" is but i've just discovered that the "actual goodbye" is worse. today has been full of actual goodbyes - from breakfast to church to later. actual goodbyes are difficult. i am emotionally drained. there is the "i wonder when i will ever see this person again" as well as the "even if we do meet again, things will be different". change is good. it can even be better. but the thought "now will never be again" is enough to make me sad. i've had a fantastic august back in s'toon. seeing "old" friends, meeting some "new" friends, getting to know "old" friends in "new" ways, including 20 "quotation marks" in a relativily short blog.

i officially leave thursday morning at 6 am. so if any of you want to, we can always say goodbye for the 10th time in the next 3 days... i think i'll tell people i've already left. write a mass email saying "well, kingston is beautiful" while i'm hiding in my saskatoon basement. just so i can avoid the final "cheers".

ugh. good bye is strange.

yes, it's me

this appeared on page 16 of the august/september 2004 issue of pure woman.

the article read thus: "Rochelle is an active U of S student and in her spare time is devoted to camping and other athletic outdoor activites. She devotes her summer to working at camps running the canoe challenge programs and lifeguarding. In the fall she's ready to have a change from her low maintenance hair and style. She wanted something short and fun that can be styled wild and funky for evenings but a littl etame fo the day. She had dark hair and I thought wiht her skin tone this chocolate colour would really liven her up. Adding chunky highlights of bright copper really brings out hte texture of the haircut. For a fun, flirty look we gave her false lashes and funky canary yellow eye shadow. Finally we added some balck liquid eyeliner to give her eyes a more dramatic look. Rochelle is an attractive woman in her early twenties and is ready to look as good as she feels!"

i'm not even joking, that is what it said. sadly, i have returned to my "low maintenance hair and style". luckily i still feel "great"!

p.s. this is clearly the "after" photo. no, none of you are allowed to see the "before" shot that is sneaking into the left side of the picture. yes, it was as hideous as most "before" shots are. no, i didn't have any say on the makeover. yes, it was a favour to a friend. and yes, i did love it - mullet and all!