Saturday, November 19, 2005

saturday night. It's foggy outside -- not the kind where you can't see your hand in front of your face, but the kind that makes lights glow like fireflies, that turns the sky a dark amber-tinged blue, that leaves a soft, sultry dew on your face as soon as you step outside. Nights like this are the stuff of mystery novels -- harbour scenes lit by a single streetlamp, with a brusque hero in boiled wool and a fiesty heroine in wide eyes and a trenchcoat. A match flares... a cigarette is lit... and the plot thickens. Nights like this are the stuff of seaside poems -- stark verses full of dark, jagged cliffs and white-tipped waves. I can recall, on a night just like this, a winding drive down a country road -- swerving to miss rabbits stealing onto the pavement -- with plenty of smiling glances, furtive hands sneaking into a warm clasp, and a reluctant arrival at a late-fall party, cheeks flushed with the future. Tonight, it is a couple candles lit on the coffee table, a red bowl full of dark-orange autumnal roses with jade leaves, a cup of hot tea next to my put-up be-socked feet, and dreams of Christmas. Here's hoping you are warm and safe, too. 5:34:01 PM    well, yes, but...  [] Catherine and Meg's Co-Post Because my friend Catherine is here (sitting on the couch next to me, as a matter of fact), I've decided that we should write today's post together (with some possible inclusions from my roommate Kerry, who is flitting in and out doing laundry and errands). We're going to interview one another. I will type a question and Catherine will type an answer for it... then vice versa. Meg: Hi, Cath -- thanks for joining me on today's post! To start us off today, can you tell us what you've appreciated about being in Vancouver on this trip? Catherine: Vancouver is arguably the best city in the world. I am still a Vancouverite at heart, though I have lived in Calgary for more than a year. I have enjoyed leaving the house without a jacket, Robson Street, and looking at a stunning, serene backdrop of mountains, blue sky, and snow while grocery shopping. All are experiences that I don't get in my ultra-brown and dry city in the barren lands of the prairies. I just love Vancouver. Meg, what is the best thing that you remember about living on the prairies? Meg: Well, my dear, I was a big fan of the snow and the cold. I know that a great many of the people reading this blog won't quite understand that, but the world takes on such an incredible clarity in  -30 C weather. The sky and the ground sparkle, the air is crisp and fresh, and you get to bundle up (which covers over a multitude of figure flaws). I love the wide open spaces, too -- Big Sky Country, the Canadian version! Nothing like a prairie sunrise. Okay, Catherine, if we end up living together in the same apartment one day, what do you think will be the best part about cohabitating? Catherine: Laughing. I have laughed more in the last three days than I have in the last three months. Laughing is good for the body and spirit so maybe I'd become a kinder and happier and skinnier person for laughing daily. I will enjoy having you jump in my bed in the morning to wake me up. I will enjoy having someone to watch hockey with that loves it as much as I do. I will also enjoy sharing my magazine fetish -- with someone to help my budget. Now Meg, if you could be any type of Christmas light or ornament or figurine, what would you be? Meg: I think I would be a string of really defective series circuit Christmas lights, with at least two bulbs burnt out. Or a Singing Christmas Tree, belting out 'Holly, Jolly Christmas'. Whatever might be the most annoying to men. Catherine, what is the best advice that you've ever received? Catherine: It is easier to ask for forgiveness than permission. One of my managers at the bank told me this once and it has proven very useful in all aspects of my career. "Really? I can't give my best friend a 2% discount on a mortgage rate? Oops. Sorry. Already processed. Well, good thing I'll know for next time!" Next question for you... if you won a hundred thousand dollars in the lotto (tax free because we're in Canada), what would you spend it on? Meg: I would first pay off my student loan -- the little that's left, of course. I would invest about 20,000 in a medium-agressive mutual fund, too -- that seems responsible. Beyond that, a lavish trip across Europe for my parents; a trip to Ireland for me and a friend; a trip somewhere fun for my brother and his girlfriend; a girls' week away at an all-inclusive for Kristy, Kerry, Ashleigh, you and I; some fun gifts for my friends (things they would not normally buy themselves); and some items for me (a KitchenAid mixer, some tall black boots, a really gorgeous cashmere coat, etc.). And for you? Moving costs to Vancouver! Catherine, what five things do you want to accomplish in the next two years? Catherine: Hmm. This is a good thinking question for me. I'm trying to think of things that I want to accomplish, but I keep on thinking of things I want to do, that aren't necessarily accomplishments. But they kind of are for me. 1- Move back to Vancouver and say goodbye to the prairie lands. 2- Become a student at university again. More education is always a wonderful thing to me. 3- Find a man that would put up with me. And ask him why. 4- Have some good, mind-blowing, body draining, mental capacity robbing... rum. 5- Run a marathon. In the Caribbean. Leaving from an all-inclusive hotel, that I didn't pay to stay at. Leaving an adorable man named Julio in my room. And where marathon means lying on the beach and getting a tan. Now, Meg, let's get some dirt on you. What was the most embarrassing moment you had between the ages of 17 and 23? Meg: I think it was probably the time I was singing in the Jazz Choir in the twelfth grade and my friends behind me (during a performance) decided to undo my bra. Due to the uniforms we were required to wear, this was not an inobvious change in my appearance. I pinned my arms (and what was left of my undergarment) to my sides and soldiered through. When the lights went out on our portion of the stage, I slugged them both and ran off to the bathroom. Catherine, what is the most annoying thing I do? Catherine: You are a habitual apologizer. Really, beyond this, you aren't very annoying. I think it's because I am fairly annoying, but we are annoying in the same ways, so we don't find each other annoying. This is a good reason for continuing our friendship. I don't know that any one else will like us separately. Meg, what is your favorite type of raindrop? Meg: I am a big fan of the fine mist -- the kind that falls right near the ocean. When you stand on the rocks, soaking wet with the spray and the fog... that's bliss. So, my dear, we should probably wrap this up. To close out the interview, let's both answer a question from Kerry: If you were to pick any favourite children's book, which book would it be, and why? (Kerry teaches Grade Six... ) Catherine: Anne of Green Gables -- because she is a kindred spirit (and because I loved Diana's raven hair and always wanted to have the same kind). (Meg's editor's note: Is this why she is my friend?) Meg: I didn't really read kid's books past age six, so I don't remember. But I loved Charlotte's Web -- sweet little piggy... though spiders still freak me out. Well, everyone, Catherine and I should get on with our day now. She has a date tonight, and I have a date with some work I need to get done. We both send our love! 2:54:00 PM    well, yes, but...  []

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