Friday Afternoon in Islington

I stumble on the patchwork pavements as I scan the window of Canal women's clothing chop on Cross Street for that startlingly red dress of the softest and most diaphanous of cottons. It's no longer there and in it's place are the tweedy fabrics of fall. A breeze enviously grabs at my shopping bag filled with a loaf of fresh bakery bread and a couple bars of luxury imported chocolate. Shop windows in this eighborhood are filled with tempting items on offer; designer goods, kitch at designer prices and lots of cafes, restaurants and bars with names like 'Kinky Mambo'. Today is a good day in London. On worse days, I notice instead how horrid it is to be poor in London. In North America, the poorer parts of big cities seem dirty and gritty... in London, they are moldy! And by 'mold' I don't just mean that greenish fungus-y stuff growing in damp corners.

Dalai Lama - Proud to be Canadian?

Seems the first center to bear the Dalai Lama's name will be founded in Vancouver (the Dalai Lama Center for Peace and Education)... and the Dalai Lama will be the third person (after Nelson Mandela and Raoul Wallenburg) to gain honorary citizenship! Needless to say, China is not happy...

Milestones

Just in case you are confused by the title of this entry, it is not about the restaurant at English Bay, Vancouver (although the goat cheese, strawberry, slivered onion and spicy pecan salad is special). Milestone in this entry refers to turning points. While working on my dissertation, I read some books on how to analyze interview data. The sample interviews in the book had elderly respondants trying to identify turning points or milestones in their lives. It got me to thinking about mine... what have mine been... or am I too young to have REAL onese yet? I was thinking that our lives really are just stories that we are writing and milestones are the the signposts that indicate the different sections of the story. I thought I might note some of mine to return to later to see if I still agree that these really were significant points in my life. When I finally turn my hand to fiction, I guess the milestones in the protagonist's life will be more astonishing and interesting than these. And anyway, I am not really sure what the difference between MILESTONES, TURNING POINTS and EPIPHANIES are.

1. finding out that boys cry too... 3rd year of university.
2. finding my voice.... 5th year of university
3. discovering that ethics and morals are not the same thing, are not universally shared, and are possible to renegotiate (standing at a Jizoo shrine devoted to aborted babies somewhere near Yokohama, Japan)
4. experiencing financial freedom (1996 after working in Japan 3 years to pay off debts)
5. discovering a little inner power/beauty (upon achieving all the goals I set for myself for 30th birthday)
6. experiencing my first real loss (my brother - summer 2004) and learning empathy

Don't know what the next one will be...

Genie in a Teapot

Taken Thursday on the Southbank at impromptu farewell to A. before he heads off to the West Bank!

Note plastic giraffe at A's right hand is blue, too.