-

this is what my friday was setting up to look like:

oh well.

ugh.

.frustrated.

katie.

free vintage-inspired cross-country skis just sitting there.

this adorable girl had made mini snowmen with arms too!

the ominous location of the marché du puces

I was captivated by this vintage electrical teapot. sneaky!

sweet finds - a desk lamp, a mint-condition sartre (i think?) and a beautiful brown and flower tin box [not pictured]

culinary surprises

that's beef, cheese, rice, tomatoes all stuffed into a bell pepper. mmm!!

checking for strep (negative)

dealing with my new haircut (i ended up cutting my bangs more)

our snazzy shower curtain that deserves some time in the limelight

multitude of wires with precarious raindrops

living together results in dressing the same. note the colours.

some flattering snap of the two of us 

Nico received a certificate...His BA diploma!!!

in an obscure, nearly poetic sense, the next day I received a certificate too! My new birth certificate....

I love this old mysterious skeleton key that lies around the apartment.

Nico's bike, lying in wait. Does anyone else see a bird in this?

cleaning the bike...pringtemps est ici!

à bientôt

katie.

01.23. March 15, 2011

i'm so full of myself.

BUT!

With good reason. I got my haircut and dyed today [apparently, it's unnoticeable]. 

i want to go shower so I can straighten it (I asked her for a bit of wave and said outloud : definitely no curls. Crazy hairdressers keep wanting me some Southern belle. Don't they know I already was that once?! 

Ba-Geez! 

The hairdresser did notify me however that I really ought to invest in:

-fancy shampoo

-fancy conditioner

-fancy product

-fancy hairdryer. period.

Anyway, I think I'm going to go back tomorrow and request front bangs. They just err on the side of annoying.

But the salon was amazing!

I walked in, they greeted me by name, asked about me a bit, took my jacket, offered me tea, coffee, or water.

Had the dye put it. Sat reading W for 30 minutes.

The hair sinks were actually leather beds that I got to lay on, and I received a for-real head massage (wowzas!)

Then I received the trim.

Then walked out. It cost me a ton, but I did receive a first-time guest gift-card. For how much you ask?

$95.

what.

the.

heck.

I wanted to cash it in right then.

Anyway bang-follow-ups are free. errr....did that sound wrong?

Not much else to report here. But I will, soon enough. I'm feeling better:

 (neocitran extra strength x 2 = remedy for life.)

à bientôt

katie.

01.23. March 13, 2011

I must admit...reading about Forever21 arriving in Winnipeg today excited me.
I even just went on their website hoping to find some cheap stuff for my first-ever spring in Montreal. While their stuff is fruity, flirty, flowery and fabulously inexpensive, I decided to do something that every consumer ought to.
A simple google search of "Forever 21 and child labour" yielded the following article. It's quick to read and very realistic in its analysis of the Forever 21 generation.
Needless to say, I quietly closed my browser window in Forever 21 - I'll take the thrift stores any day, and I hope you will too.

Forever 21s alluring site:
http://www.forever21.com/category.asp?catalog_name=FOREVER21&category_name=whatsnew_all&Page=1

The Other side of l'histoire:
http://www.39thandbroadway.com/hate-21/

Don't let the notion of "Made in the USA" fool you - remember, there are still whole communities in the American South who have yet to experience electricity or running water. Don't believe it?
http://www.american-pictures.com/gallery/usa/index_apathy_1.htm

This isn't to ignore Canada's own despicable track record of providing for many communities in our North (and even some in our urban areas).
Connecting the dots is not hard to do - in the time it would have taken me to do a credit card payment online for some Forever21, or the time to take the metro to browse Montreal's store in person,  I was able to look into the child labour involvement, and put a blog post up about it. I hope the effect is a ripple one.
I encourage you to delve deeper into the stores and brands that are making your clothes or home appliances.

Feeling too lazy? I'll provide a list for you!

I feel better (but also worse). I think I need a nap...Nicolas has passed onto me his mean-spirited flu/cold.

à bientôt!

katie

01.22. March 12, 2011

Okay here’s the thing.

I really want to start up with some serious photography. I have been deriving inspiration after inspiration and yet I still approach my camera as…well, some creative muse/instrument that needs to be used but is too good for me.

Honestly, it’s like being at a highschool dance and trying to ask your crush to dance. I’m nervous. I always try to dress nicely around it, wear a little make up, bat my eyelashes at it, in hopes that it will tumble into my hands and teach me its craft! (or even slow dance with me)

However, I feel like I’m at this point now where it’s do or die. Minus the die part. The other daunting task is it isn’t just about the pictures themselves  - I have to figure out Photoshop, layout patterns…the whole shebang.

I really, really want to do photography as a sort of professional hobby. I’d love to one day have the skills to be called up by people to do a quick family portrait session, or to capture a baby shower, or do a backstage photo session with local bands. Aside from this, then there’s the obvious benefit of using it for Kwagala.

How great would it be to properly capture and thus convey smiles, progress, illness, happiness, drought, melancholy…I don’t want photographic boundaries.

But I have to get good. I want to harness this craft but I have no idea how to – trial and error? Setting my camera to automatic settings and then taking note of the settings? Poring over a textbook? (Consequently, Nico has a Photoshop manual though it’s entirely in French).  Anyway, this personal battle is one I’ve possessed for some time. Nicolas pointed out that when one harnesses a craft, one ends up fighting against one own’s vanity. I thought that was a very practical and great point.

I just want to be the best at something. Now, I know that sounds a bit far-fetching, and I should settle for just being pretty good at something, but I must admit, I don’t even really feel  “pretty good” at something.

Things I know I can do:

• ·         Make cappuccinos
• ·         Karaoke
• ·         Writing
• ·         Phlebotomy
• ·         Organization
•       Caring. Especially for the sick.

So you see, I know I’m not useless. Dear friend Kelci once or twice, or even three times, has advised me to stand in front of a mirror naked and find three things I like about myself…everyday.

I don’t think I could do that, and not only in a self-deprecating way…well, okay, maybe in a self-deprecating way. But seriously, there’s not that much to like in ourselves is there? Maybe there is. Maybe I’d feel better if I kept started shaving my legs.

Despite what this might suggest, I actually am in a terrific mood these days. I’ve decided to stay in Montreal for the foreseeable future. How long you ask? At least a year. I don’t really want to pinpoint it anymore exact than that, but I know at least, I’ll be here until December as I’m going to do my fall term at Concordia. Maybe Mum was right – M really is my city.

While I’ll continue to write regardless of feedback, it would be nice to get comments from my readers. Since Google lets me know what country/computer program my readers are coming from/using, I can only guess who’s reading this. I love the mystery, but I’d prefer the commentary.

Maybe I need to evoke (invoke?) some more participation: does anyone have any photog tips for moi? Can anyone explain aperture, without getting scientific? How, when the aperture is large, and the shutter speed is low, and the ISO is high, can I possibly allow enough light in? How do I avoid camera shake?

Lastly, I need to congratulate my dearest brother Moses who far exceeded his own school’s expectations in his finals, and has opened up so many doors for himself. With the grades he received, he is now free to study any topic he’d like, which, in his heart, is Law. I couldn’t be more proud of my dude!

Song du Jour: Generosity by Mirah [Track 1 off (a)spera]

á bientôt!

katie.

01.21. March 10, 2011

A prelim post

1) snowfall and rainfall warning...seriously Montreal?! The result: literal puddles in my boots. the sloshy squishy kind.
2) Figuring out  my life in fallow swoop? Kinda feels amazing.
3) New apartment in July? Yes please!
4) Chances of finding my birth certificate for aforementioned fallow swoopness? nil. If I tell them I fell from a coconut tree, do you think they'll still need my birth certificate? MUM: HELP?!

I'm dressed like a hard-boiled egg right now. Yellow on grey. It looks surprisingly good.

I feel so on track! As on track as this air-kiss I once blew!

á bientôt!

katie

01.20. March 8, 2011

I'm having a crisis  issue.
But I think I fixed it.

I thought I would "clean house" - in terms of my camera's memory card of course - since I have photos on there from last May. However, I deleted photos that I thought I had already transferred. Alas...

BUT. I'm pretty sure I am okay with it. That's such a lie. I immediately downloaded questionable software that promises me the world. I think that's the best way to go about such a potential-nostalgic crisis.

So as I (obscurely) mentioned, I randomly visited Winnipeg this past weekend. There were certain situations that really needed tending to (in my heart, soul, body, and mind). I'm really thrilled to have fit in at least some time with my dearest friends, though I know I am really disappointed already about missing out on certain coffee & wine dates.

I luckily saw my family and old room mates, my best friends, and even had time to meet some new people as well. I didn't "go out" so much, but I did end up with:
-a new phone. I brought my ex-roommate (sad) with me to the store to talk me out of anything stupid, and he gave me the OK to go ahead and upgrade/purchase. My cell phone, whether I want to admit it or not (but I think I do) is a necessary investment. If I'm tracking lives in Winnipeg, working in Montreal and keeping up with instantaneous developments in Uganda, it's necessary. Not only that but I feel glamourous! I wore all black on the plane ride today and felt more cosmopolitan than gothic. This, I feel, is a definite step forward in most aspects of my fashion sense.
-two new dresses. Look, I know I do the whole dress-thing too often, but this was different. It was floral printed. Now do you understand!?
-a terrible headache Saturday, but that hardly needs elaborating on.
-a date with my Mum and brother at Rae & Jerry's. Notedly, even though we all arrived separately, apprently we all had the same reaction arriving there: fits of giggles. Don't know why? www.raeandjerrys.com
geez.
-a kidnapping of my grandmother from her office downtown with my Mum. It reminded me an awful lot of being a little kid and going out with the feminine generations. We went to The Grove, my past locale, and saw an old family friend. He bought me a drink which I "had to finish with him so Granny doesn't see it" and then later sent a nice Sauvignon Blanc to our table. The result? A 23, 50-something and 80-something year old all a bit tipsy at 2 in the afternoon on a Monday. Unexpecetedly this was the last time I saw my Mum and we didn't have a proper goodbye.  (Instead she was grumbled at early this morning when she called to say goodbye. Sorry Mum)
-a lovely brunch at Fresh Café. I have to give this place more credit - I really do love the ambience (somehow it wasn't packed on a Sunday) and their food is quite good, though I'm still on the hunt for the perfect Eggs Benedict. Suggestions? So my step mother and I enjoyed a thorough catch-up while sipping on a near-perfect cappucino. The service was something to balk at, but although I dress glamorously, I don't think I've earned the rights to scoff at waitresses my age....yet.

There's more I could go on about, and I wish I had pictures to accompany all the fun I had (including singing Happy Birthday a full two octaves higher than its usual pitch, and being introduced to great new music until the wee hours of Saturday morning, while also listening to some old favourites...)
Parentheses are a procrastinator's best friend. I'm not in a rush to leave either - from the airport I had to take a taxi directly to work, catch up on 5 days of missed stuff, and then take the metro home in the rushiest rush hour. When I came home, I ate pizza and immediately fell asleep for 4 hours. Oops. So I doubt that I'll be nodding off anytime soon.

I also took the time to decide about where my desires lie and I already know I'll end up being torn with what to do in terms of city to live in starting next September. Luckily I don't have to think about that for a little bit still.
Speaking of school and September, Nicolas found out today that he was in fact accepted to Concordia's Translation Masters Program!!! He was a shoe-in, in my opinion, but still it's exciting.

If I retrieve any photos from my card mishap I will immediately put all 4300 of them up on the blog. Or at least my computer.
Friends & Family: Thank you for making this such a wonderful visit home. Your turn!

Following: some of the people i was able&ecstatic to see. <3

á bientôt!

katie.