b. April 29, 1982

You might be wondering why I chose this particular picture for your first annual birthday bloggy post. That's an easy one! First of all, I heart it very very much because, well, it has YOU in it. Secondly, I think it perfectly captures elements of some of those things I love best about you.

Here are those things in a nice, tidy, and convenient list:
1. Your bravery. This picture was taken sometime during the 9 amazing months you spent in Africa, and while I may be moved to begrudge you that long time away from me, I'm so glad that you went and experienced something so fantastic. I know I will still be hearing new stories about those months for the years to come.
2. Your ingenuity! Finding a comfortable place to sleep when they were few to come by is no small feat, though I'm not sure HOW comfortable those accommodations were for you ;)
3. Your commitment to fashion, even under rough conditions. Isn't that the fancy watch Gerome got you?
4. Your love of music, and of the iPod, which has become an important tool of living to our generation. Some of my favourite memories of our friendship are when you've fitted one of your iPod earbuds into my ear, and the other into yours. Sharing something as everlasting and all-encompassing as music with you has been bliss.
5. Your adorable-ness. Hands-down, you're pretty much the cutest, something that is obvious to everyone - just look at you! Cutie-pie ;)
6. And lastly, your vulnerability. In this picture I see the sweet, soft, and childlike heart of you that I love so much, and that keeps me wishing that I could protect you from all the sad and heart-breaking things that you have, and will, encounter during your life.

There are dozens of other things I could list, other qualities you have in abundance that make you someone so close to my heart. But, you know I've already written all about them, in poems, notes, letters, emails, and Facebook comments. Oh yeah, and I've probably mentioned a few of them to you in person, too. There's no way you don't know that I love you, and that you're my best friend, and that you are someone who keeps me sane by keeping me laughing. But just because you already know those things doesn't mean I can't keep bringin' em up, and thanking you for them.

Thank you.

Oh, and happy birthday, Joshie.

Love Natalie

PS
One more thing... you are so much better of a hugger now than you were when we first met. Can I take credit for that?

Owl City

Happy (belated) Thanksgiving!

On Philip Marlowe

So, I'm working on my third Raymond Chandler in so many days... I finally requested the few novels of his that I hadn't yet devoured from the EPL and am spending much time losing myself in the wealth of words that man so graciously gave to the world.

Below is a passage I read this morning on the bus to work… I was almost completely thrown over by how perfect a passage it is. Philip Marlow is waiting to meet his client in a country-club bar when a beautiful woman walks in and stuns all the attendant men into silence.

“I stared. She caught me staring. She lifted her glance half an inch and I wasn’t there any more. But wherever I was I was holding my breath.”

I love how with such a careful hand Chandler tells me how his lead character is swooning over a woman he’s not yet met, while maintaining Marlowe’s absolute and indisputable masculinity. This latter achievement is especially important, as Philip Marlow is pretty much the epitome of manliness. He is strong, physical, and assertive when he needs to be, smart, funny in a sarcastic fashion, honest, and surprisingly moral. Naturally,  he doesn’t swoon. He holds his breath, which is more than he’s done for any of the other dames he gets tangled up with. I know it won’t work out for ole Marlow because this lady is already married to the man he’s just been hired to find. But I’m curious to see if he’ll steal a kiss or two before the end of the case.

As a side note, I was just thinking about who would make a perfect Philip Marlowe on the big screen... I know Humphrey Bogart has played him, which is alright, but so has Elliott Gould, Danny Glover, and James Caan. Who made those decisions!? So, the first actor who comes to mind for ME is Clive Owen, of course. And, who is apparently already been tapped to play Philip Marlow in a screenplay by Frank Miller that is currently "in production"? Clive Owen! Yesss! I mean, YES PLEASE! Now, all that's left to do is hope that the movie actually gets made!

Year of the Flood

I am really excited for the release of Margaret Atwood's new book. Even though it's precursor, Oryx and Crake, was never at the top of my reading list due to the uber-depressing subject matter (I'm no fan of post-apocalyptic futures), Year of the Flood sounds really interesting and I'm probably going to pick it up on its release date. Until then, I've been tiding (heh heh) myself over with visits to the website:

http://yearoftheflood.com/ca/

Wake Up!

The amount that I love this song cannot be measured by human means.

LoveLi

Shine On

For those days you just don't feel so special...

Sign-ian Slip?

The first time I saw this sign I thought it said "PLEASE SOD OFF" so now every time I pass by it I giggle quietly to myself. 

Up On the Roof

Work is a little taxing today... much to learn this week, as I take on Rotation 4 for the first time. I like learning new things, in theory - but man, tackling new information is exhausting! That, and I'm approaching my third month back with the government and that familiar restlessness is slowly taking form. Times like these lead me back to one of my all-time favourite songs. I've loved it since I was a kid, when it took me out of my world and into another more wonderfully solitary one.

Enjoy!

Pretties

I woke up earlier than my alarm this morning, and after a quick potty break was about to dive back under the covers for another blissful 45 minutes of slumber when I my eyes were treated to the most beautiful sunrise coming through my window. It was one of those types of sights that is so unbelievably gorgeous you literally cannot move your gaze away without feeling wracked with guilt for taking nature's natural beauty for granted and knowing in some mysterious way that at some point in the subsequent hours of the day you will be smote down by god, having been deemed unfit for life. So, no going back to bed for me.

Then, on my way to work, I passed by some very pretty flowers, and again, pretty sure that if I didn't take a pic it would be the last time I'd ever see a pretty flower AGAIN, I made a fool of myself in front of the construction workers and city maintenance men wandering around near City Hall looking for something to do, and snapped a couple of shots. Love the lovely colours on what is, for all intents and purposes, a Monday morning.

Copyright!

I am making this following list of my very favourite girl names in order to prevent my brother and his very sweet and extraordinarily lovely girlfriend Abra from stealing "my" names for use on their own currently-imaginary future children. I've already lost two names to my cousin Erin, and in one fell swoop (Olivia Claire IS an adorable little girl, though, so no hard feelings), and I can't let that happen again! In no particular order after Grace, here are my five favourite girl names that I am considering for my future female offspring:

1. Grace
2. Ivy
3. Madeline
4. Anne
5. Lily

Bleeding Love

This love thing is trickier than I thought it would be... 

So long, summer...

I Want One!!!

Sweet Tooth

b. July 8, 1983

If someone had told me back on that fateful day when Dani interviewed me for a job at Carlton Cards that we would one day be best buds, that she would be someone I share all my secrets with, and that we would even travel to VEGAS together, I don't think I would have believed them. But, sure enough, that's what's happened. Working in retail again would not have been bearable if it hadn't been for Double Deuce, and life as I know it would not be halfway as fun if she wasn't a part of it.

Dani, you make me laugh with your crazy sense of humour, and of course, all those times you're just being your unintentionally amusing self ;) You are so sweet to me, and all the little thoughtful things that you do and have done to make me smile are appreciated more than I could ever express. You have the most beautiful smile of anyone I've ever known, can BS with the best of 'em, rejuvenated my appreciation for BSB, and are the perfect mixture of maturing adult and child-at-heart. If this was a yearbook, I'd write "never change"... and I'd mean it. I love you, pretty girl! And if you ever change our plans for an imaginary date again, I'm going to scratch your new blue iPod! And tell Nick Carter that you have Syphilis.

Room With a View

I got to work early this morning - as usual - only to spot my coworker thoughtfully decorating my work station in celebration of my birthday (is that today?)... so, as not to spoil the surprise, I went and hung around outside for a bit and enjoyed the quiet of the early hour. This was the view from where I was sitting... yay for sunshine!

On Music

As a lover of musicians who are always evolving, growing, reinventing themselves and their sound, I find it absurd to think that one song could encapsulate the soul of a band. This is especially true regarding any band who has released 8 studio albums, a greatest hits album, a music video DVD collection, and a live DVD. But, I’m feeling ballsy and emboldened in my soon-to-be-even-older age. I’ve been a fan of The Tea Party since that fateful day in 1997 when I stumbled across a MuchMusic showing of their video for “Temptation” , and after falling instantly in lust with the song, and the incredibly attractive (to me) lead singer, life as I knew it changed forever.

Am I being a littler melodramatic? Sure, but while my tastes in music may have changed over the years, and while my love for the group has ebbed and flowed, their albums have remained the mainstay of my music collection. I could identify major emotional highs and lows over the past 12 years solely by going through the playlist for each of The Tea Party’s albums. The ties between the band and I constitute the most committed relationship I’ve been in, to date! And, it is this that I feel allows me to offer as a précis of The Tea Party’s musical personality one song:

Mantra

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkO4P2fuScc

I can remember seeing The Tea Party perform this song live at the Shaw Conference Center. My brother and I were right at the front, mere feet from the stage. Our arms were bruised from being looped over the metal barricade and gripped tightly as we fought the rest of the people jostling for our prime position.

And then... Mantra came on and everyone else ceased to exist. The video above doesn't do the song justice, but then again, neither does the album version. It's a song that needs to be heard live... which, sadly, is no longer an option.

Snapshots from the Clarke Family Holiday

Lianna, her son Nikoli, her sister Dejah, and her brother Logan, all came in from the Northwest Territories to visit this past week. The days and nights have been so full I've barely come up for air to check in with real life, and I'm definately not complaining (though my somewhat neglected kitties might be). We walked Whyte Ave (though Dejah kept us in the same store for literally over an hour!), checked out the shifting festivities at Winston Churchill Square, took on West Edmonton Mall, investigated City Centre, rode the LRT, went to a movie, danced a night away at Play, watched the Canada Day fireworks, experienced the consequences of a misbehaving child and then got to see him be genuinely remorseful, withstood sibling conflict, lost a hotel room card, sang some songs, watched some cartoons, did a lot of laughing, saw a real English Sheepdog, utilized our cellphones fully, and most importantly, really got to know eachother.

I don't know how I'm going to say goodbye tomorrow...

Dejah and Nikoli on the big boat at Galaxyland

Logan and Dejah posing at the bus stop

Mom and son walking down Whyte Avenue

Cheeky monkey!

Nikoli, watching for fireworks from Auntie Dejah's shoulders

The Clarkes, on our way to Canada Day fireworks :o)

Nikoli's "Blue Steel"

Pleeeeeeease, Mom?

Lianna and her young man on the rollercoaster at Galaxyland (for the 3rd time)

Dejah enchants another Edmonton admirer

The Legislative grounds on Canada Day