I sort of knew this day was coming...

This time it's Carey Mulligan.

I absolutely adored her in An Education, and she's been all over my celebrity radar this awards season, wandering around with Shia Labeouf, looking adorable with her goddamn super-hot cropped hair.

I really thought I had made it. In the recent past, I even thought to myself, wow. I'm really pleased that I'm enjoying long hair. I haven't missed short hair at all. 

And now this.

Before Carey it was Michelle.

And before her, countless others, winding on to way back when, the one who started it all, Drew.

Sigh. I've had this feeling before. Many, many times. It comes on so suddenly. I'm wandering along, perfectly content, then wham: short hair short hair short hair short hair. It looks so cute. And gamine. And free.

I haven't fully 100% given up on long hair yet, but I think you can tell where my heart lies.

お誕生日おめでとう to me

The grammar of that is probably completely off, but it apparently means Happy Birthday in Japanese. This year seems to have become the Japanese birthday, and it was delightful. A few of my friends and I went for sushi after work, which was delicious, and then we came home and watched Cherry Blossoms while eating Chai creme brulee (okay, maybe the multicultural birthday: I also had spicy thai noodles for lunch).

 Cherry Blossoms is a really beautiful movie. I loved it. It's about love and grief, and about how hard it is sometimes to connect, even with the people we love the most, but also how important it is to connect, to really try. It's about aging and family and romance and living and dying. Made by Buddhist director Doris Dorrie, who also made Enlightenment Guaranteed (which I loved), this film is... sometimes slow, sometimes sad, moving, funny, pure, natural, ephemeral... so many things. Recommended.

8/10.


And while I know it's not my birthday anymore, I decided to keep celebrating myself today, given that I had to spend most of yesterday in work, and didn't get a chance to buy myself the ever-important birthday gift to self. I kept on in the Japanese theme, and finally wandered into a little store that opened in Halifax recently, the Ikebana Shop. All kinds of adorable Japanese things were laid out beautifully, and the store was so peaceful and colourful. I was at a table looking at the various teas, when the man at the counter asked me if I was familiar with Japanese teas. I told him I knew a little bit, but not a lot, and he told me he was preparing some tea if I'd like to join him. Ferdy explained to me about pouring the hot water into a separate bowl to cool it (apparently 80 degrees is ideal for tea), and steeping the tea for about a minute so it doesn't get too bitter. He then poured it, switching back and forth between two cups, pouring a little bit into each at a time, and handed me a cup. It was delicious, subtle and slightly sweet. I had a really great time chatting with Ferdy, and found out that his wife teaches Ikebana classes in their upstairs studio. I really want to go try a class (or two or twelve), so I think that might be one of my birthday gifts to myself. I also picked up some Genmaicha Matcha-iri (Green Tea with Roasted Brown Rice and Matcha), a gorgeous cherry blossom notepad, and a couple of cute little buttons.

Yay for cherry blossoms. Yay for Japan. Yay for Japanese themed birthdays. 

This makes twitter worth it

So, I've been on twitter for a while now, and I stillllllll haven't really connected to it. But the other day my sister told me she was following the baby-sitters club members, and it made my... month? So, in case you need a better reason to join twitter (or check it more regularly) here are Kristy Thomas, Claudia Kishi, Mary Anne Spier, Stacey McGill, Dawn Schafer, Mallory Pike, Jessi Ramsey, and, for good measure,  Logan Bruno.

So it's my birthday

And yes, this post is just a pathetic attempt to get people to wish me happy things.

Last night I dreamed that my favourite teacher failed a paper I wrote. In her comments she wrote, "You are too old to be dancing around subjects like this." It scared me. So apparently I need to get to the heart of the matter.

Oh! Also! (probably) Happy Birthday Apple Tablet! Here is what the world says about us:

You possess creative and verbal style, an analytical mind, and a broad tolerance of others' differences. Many of you are excellent at teaching, whether or not you do it for a living, as others readily respect you and follow your lead. As well, you are good at encouraging and motivating people. You are an especially trustworthy person. You value your personal freedom more than most and don't easily accept restrictions. Your thinking is progressive and way ahead of your time. Famous people born today: Wolfgang Mozart, Lewis Carroll, Bridget Fonda, Mordecai Richler.

Last night I had a dream

Last night I had a dream that I wrote a short story, and was going to give it to my dad to read. I was reading over the last bit, and it was awful, like bad Bukowski.

I am loving and Capable

Today's Cat and Girl = practically perfect.

100 things I love

I asked Sally for a list of 10 things she loves (searching for birthday ideas), and then I gave her mine, but we both decided that 10 things is not enough. So we're expanding to 100. Here they are (in no particular order):

1. Spicy food
2. Books
3. Movies
4. Sex
5. The Internet
6. Creme Brulee
7. Alternative Pop Culture-y things
8. Simple but cool jewellery
9. Anything made of awesome wood
10. Black pens/blank pages
11. Noodles
12. Dim sum
13. Food (ha)
14. David Burdeny's photographs
15. Japan
16. 30 Rock
17. Graphic design
18. Libraries
19. Television
20. Metallic eyeshadow
21. Pantone notebooks
22. Teen movies
23. Tea
24. Dark chocolate
25. The idea of having a pet
26. Journalling
27. Jezebel.com
28. Chopsticks
29. Prawns
30. The number 9 (and the number 27)
31. Modern quilts
32. Androgyny
33. Black tank tops
34. Black jeans
35. Black
36. Grey
37. Vancouver's glass skyline
    
38. Hot dogs
39. New York
40. Asian photo booths
41. Teal
42. Nerd glasses
43. The ocean
44. Hot tubs
45. Crossword puzzles (only when I have a mechanical pencil)
    
46. Almond croissants
47. The Decemberists
48. Candles that make the whole room smell like... warmth and love
    
49. Graphic novels (/comics)
50. &s
51. Typography
52. Rachel Maddow
53. Jemaine Clement
54. Orange juice with lemon squeezed in
55. Giant bowls
    
56. Daikon
57. Cherry blossoms
58. Reading to kids
59. Bacon
60. Pasta with garlic and anchovies and red pepper flakes
61. Paul Simon
62. Musicals
63. Beatniks
64. Floating on my back (usually in water, but on air would be cool too)
65. Amazingly supple leather
66. Learning cool computer things
67. Paper cranes
68. Spicy Caesars
69. Watercolours 
70. Modern Embroidery
71. Ballet flats
72. Moleskine planners
73. Going to see matinees by myself
74. E.E. Cummings
    
75. Stories of Hollywood's Golden Age
76. The Academy Awards
77. Photography (especially portraits)
    
78. Dancing
79. Listening to Joni Mitchell alone in the afternoon while drinking tea
80. Fresh, clean sheets
81. Algemarin foam bath
82. Hugs
    
83. Speaking French
84. Woody Allen movies
85. Listening to the rain before I fall asleep
    
86. Cooking while listening to music and drinking wine
    
87. Trying new foods
88. Raw silk
89. Rock and roll haircuts
90. Coffee (with cream)
91. Singing along with the radio while riding in cars
92. Great conversations
    
93. Blogs and blogging
94. Favourites (mine and other people's)
95. Soup spoons
96. Spicy scallop rolls
97. Fashion
98. Michelle Williams's 2006 Oscar dress 
99. Astrology/new age awesomeness
100. Love
     

Very annoyed

I've been thinking about tattoos for a long time. I would consider myself a tattoo person, if I weren't so wary of committing myself to one forever and ever and ever (well, till I die. Or have it removed. I guess it's really not forever at all). And given that I think of myself as somewhat Buddhistic (is that a word?) at my core, if not in practice, I feel conflicted about the idea of doing something so inherently... materialistic. Still, I am very drawn to the ritualistic, symbolic aspects of tattoos, and the idea of claiming my body, and to the base aesthetic appeal.

I go through crests of time when I'm more interested in getting a tattoo, and right now I'm in the riding along in one of them. I think it's because I'm turning 28 in a couple of weeks, and I feel kind of like 28 is my 30. When I went to the awesome psychic a few years ago, she talked about the Saturn Return, and how I needed to get myself together by that time, otherwise I'd be working on the same issues for the next 30 years. Suddenly I'm really feeling that. I want to find my place in life and just be. Probably with a tattoo. Or tattoos.

I've been searching for a tattoo artist who matches my imagined aesthetic for years, to no avail. And then, somehow, I came across Nomi Chi. Whose aesthetic I looooove. Who, miraculously, is based in Vancouver. As was I. For years. And over Christmas. But I find her today, as I decide I want a birthday tattoo. Now. And live in Halifax. (Where she has apparently tattooed before, and may again. But not now.)

And I am very annoyed.

My favourite 21st century movies (so far) (including the year 2000)

I read A.'s top ten films of the last decade and immediately had to run out and write my own list. Here goes:


10. Irreversible
9. The Wackness
8. After the Wedding
7. Gosford Park
6. Rachel Getting Married
5. Stranger than Fiction
4. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
3. Amelie
2. Kissing Jessica Stein
1. Monsoon Wedding

This was really hard for me to narrow down, and there are so many movies I want to cram in there (Murderball, Wall-E, Let the Right One In, City of God, and on and on). And some of the movies I think might make it in there, I haven't seen yet (namely The Hurt Locker). Here's to even better movies in the next decade. Imaginary clink of glasses.

Dear Teens

Dear Teens,

Welcome.

Ange