EMC Editorial - Two weekends ago, my husband Steve and I attended a wedding in Welland, Ont. Steve's inability to find his way around the Niagara Region - where, for the record, he grew up - never ceases to amaze me. I will spare you the details of our frenetic 45-minute journey from his godparents' home in Chippewa, where we were staying, to the church in Font Hill, other than to say that it gave new meaning to our own wedding song, Lost Together by Blue Rodeo.
Over the course of the day, I got thinking about wedding songs and what a strange and wonderful thing it is to even attempt to choose a song that represents who you are as a couple.
Personally, I never really thought too much about our choice. Steve and I share similar tastes in a lot of things, but music is not one of them. As a result, the song to which we shared our first dance as a married couple didn't seem all that important. Steve is a big Blue Rodeo fan and I thought Lost Together was a nice song for a wedding and that was that.
Looking back, however, I find it interesting how we as a couple have grown into and out of the song over the years. On our wedding day, we knew exactly where we were going and what we were going to do to get there, and saw ourselves as anything but lost.
Then, we realized that much of the world is, in fact, "controlled by so few", and that landing our dream jobs, purchasing our own home and arriving at a place in life where we felt ready to have children wasn't going to be as easy as we once thought. Wrong turns were taken, forcing us to live in different cities at various points while we desperately clung to any job prospect that hinted at a half-decent career path.
Yes, there were disasters, but they were our disasters, and all of our endeavours - foiled or not - were for the growth of us as a couple. We worked, and still do work, as a team, combating life's obstacles together.
The path we are on now is very different from the one we had dreamed of, but at least it's a path as opposed to a dark and lonely forest. And in many ways, you could argue things worked out for the better.
For instance, I always dreamed of being a young mother and having at least three children - perhaps as a way of ensuring my kids don't inherit certain odd personality traits of mine, which I'm sure are the result of being an only child. Now, I'm quite happy to be childless at this point in my life, and feel that I will have different but equally positive things to offer my future children as a more mature mother.
I thought about all this as we made an unexpected turn that brought us into familiar territory on the way to the wedding. Getting there took a little longer than expected, but we arrived - about three minutes before the bride.
I thought about it again later when Lost Together was played at the reception hall. It wasn't even the official dance at that point -the song came on as part of the background music that was playing during dinner - and yet Steve insisted we get up and dance. (Yeah, we gave up trying to be cool a long time ago.)
During the dance, I said a silent thank you that for the time being at least it looks as though we have found our way. I'm not so naive as to think that we will never again stumble off the beaten path, but if we do, we will be lost together, and together we will find a new one.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Wedding Fun!
Is there anything better than a wedding? Personally, I don't think so. Our friends John and Megan got married on the weekend, and it was so much fun! Here are some highlights...
First dance as married couple...
The next to be wed....
The old married couple...
The soon-to-be parents...
Best of friends...
Tossing the garter...
Caught garter, wore as crown for remainder of evening :-)
Dancing!
Good times were had by all!
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Words, Words, Words
EMC Editorial - Last week, I came across a piece in New York Times Magazine that captured my interest; the article referenced a list of words and phrases that annoyed former magazine editor Kurt Andersen, which he did not want to see used in his publication. Some, such as “hubby,” “celeb,” “eatery” and “a who’s who of” I agree with completely and try to avoid at all costs. Other list-makers, such as “overly” and “lifestyle,” I realize I am guilty of using all the time, and feel a certain duty to stand by.
Either way, the article got me thinking about language, and why we describe things the way we do. At the risk of sounding like a hopeless cliché, I have always been fascinated by the English language. I love how the right word can turn an otherwise boring sentence into something that is powerful and memorable. I also love how, unlike other languages such as French, English is self-consciously malleable, and relatively welcoming of change.
Indeed, fresh words emerge all the time to describe new fads or technologies. Many, like “smartphone,” are pretty much universally accepted as being necessary to describe something that did not exist in the past.
Others are more controversial. Every time I see or hear the word “foodie,” for instance, I feel as though someone is scratching their very long, sharp fingernails along a chalkboard. Don’t get me wrong – I do recognize that our culture needs a new word to describe one who participates in the recent fad of intense food appreciation – I simply find the look and sound of “foodie” distasteful. (No pun intended).
Interesting too how definitions of long-established words can shift to meet the needs of a new generation. I find it amusing, for example, how unfortunate situations can now be labelled “ironic” so long as the speaker qualifies that Alanis Morrissette brand of irony is being referred to. My head begins to spin when I try to calculate just how many levels of intentionality are present in such statements. I think it has to do with alluding to an ironic appreciation of a song that ironically does not reference any pre-existing version of irony– or something like that.
Furthermore, I believe that using “epic” to express something so ever-so-slightly grander than “great,” and “hot” to describe someone ever-so-slightly sexier than “good looking” really does add something to the language.
Other words, it seems, are collectively offensive to our culture. And I’m not just talking about profanity. Society’s curious fear of the word “me” is notable. If I had a dime for every time I’ve seen somebody on Facebook incorrectly describe a photo of being of “[friend’s name] and I,” I could retire tomorrow. Think about it, friends – if the photo was of you alone, would you write “this is a photo of I?”
The sheer ubiquity of this error has got to stem from countless, well-intentioned parents and teachers pounding into everyone’s head that “Jimmy and I are going to the store,” as opposed to “Jimmy and me,” etc. For some reason, the complete version of this rule never got told, and poor little old “me” was unjustly left with a less-than-favourable reputation.
My husband suspects that our aversion to the word may relate to a lingering cultural bias, and that we stay away from ‘me’ because it smacks of distasteful haughtiness and greed. I’m not sure I totally agree with him, but I certainly think that studying the way culture affects the language of personal pronouns could lead to some very exciting findings – at least for English nerds like me.
Thus, if I were to start my own list of objectionable words and phrases, it would undoubtedly include “I” when used as a first person object pronoun, as well as “foodie” and certain other abominations like “staycation” and “gamer.” But certainly not all new words are bad. What do you think, dear reader? What would be on your list?
Monday, June 6, 2011
Oh, Kingston!
This photo epitomizes why I love my hometown...where else can you find random people in 19th Century clothing just chillin' in a graveyard?
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Pretty little birds...
Today I took my bike down to the swamp near my house... here's what I found there....
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Radio Gaga
EMC Editorial - What's your favourite local radio station? These days, there are certainly enough of them to choose from.
I've done a lot of moving to and from Kingston over the last decade, and have witnessed many changes in my hometown over those years. To my mind, though, few things have transformed so dramatically as the greatly diversified musical selection that can now be found on local airwaves.
For a while, it seemed like every time I'd come home from university for a weekend a new radio station had emerged. While some of them seemed to fold just as quickly, I think it's interesting how we in the Limestone City have gone from having perhaps three or four radio stations 20 years ago, to nearly a dozen quality choices today.
I distinctly recall two main stations from my childhood - 1380 CKLC and Oldies 960 - that we seemed to listen to all the time in my family's car. The former was basically a pop station with a substantial dose of early '90s cheese - lots of "been around the world and I-I-I....I can't find my baby" and "walking on, walking on broken gla-ass" - that sort of thing.
The latter featured the sort of '50s and '60s bubblegum music that is simply delightful to the ears of an eight-year-old girl, and I would have a ball singing along to The Archies, Roy Orbison and Manfred Mann. Often they would play some of the earlier tunes by my dad's and my favourite band, The Beatles, and we would get all excited and crank up the volume.
I think there was a country station in those days too, but my parents would have none of that.
As I approached my teenage years, it seemed more and more stations began popping up from all the different cities around Kingston. There was one from Watertown that my friends and I used to listen to called Z-Rock. It played a lot of Smashing Pumpkins, Cake, Pearl Jam, etc., but rarely came in without a good deal of static. It was always such a treat when we actually got to listen to it without straining our ears.
Another favourite was the top 40 station The Border, which used to come in on both 102.7 and 106.7 FM. Today, of course, it can only be found on the latter frequency. In fact, The Border may well be the region's only surviving radio station from those days, although I can't remember exactly when 98.3 Fly FM came into the picture - it could have been around that time as well.
Then there was the Brockville-based station called The River that played some great classic rock like Queen and CCR. Unfortunately, it also played a boatload of Rush and '80s hair metal, which meant that it was usually not the station of choice for my crowd.
Notably, however, none of these stations were actually based out of Kingston. Compare that to today, where we can find everything from Frank Sinatra to Rage Against the Machine broadcast right here in our own backyard.
More often than not, my own dial can be found on either The Drive, Fly FM or - I'm not ashamed to say it - The Lake. Even though I was born in the mid-'80s, that station never fails to make me nostalgic for the '70s, if that doesn't demonstrate the power of the music they play, I don't know what does. I'm also not ashamed to say that I absolutely adore the standards, and was over the moon when I realized we have a station that will play them.
As for my other two favourites, perhaps they indicate that my tastes have not evolved quite as much over the years as I sometimes claim they have. After all, I still crank up the volume whenever a Beatles song comes on.
I've done a lot of moving to and from Kingston over the last decade, and have witnessed many changes in my hometown over those years. To my mind, though, few things have transformed so dramatically as the greatly diversified musical selection that can now be found on local airwaves.
For a while, it seemed like every time I'd come home from university for a weekend a new radio station had emerged. While some of them seemed to fold just as quickly, I think it's interesting how we in the Limestone City have gone from having perhaps three or four radio stations 20 years ago, to nearly a dozen quality choices today.
I distinctly recall two main stations from my childhood - 1380 CKLC and Oldies 960 - that we seemed to listen to all the time in my family's car. The former was basically a pop station with a substantial dose of early '90s cheese - lots of "been around the world and I-I-I....I can't find my baby" and "walking on, walking on broken gla-ass" - that sort of thing.
The latter featured the sort of '50s and '60s bubblegum music that is simply delightful to the ears of an eight-year-old girl, and I would have a ball singing along to The Archies, Roy Orbison and Manfred Mann. Often they would play some of the earlier tunes by my dad's and my favourite band, The Beatles, and we would get all excited and crank up the volume.
I think there was a country station in those days too, but my parents would have none of that.
As I approached my teenage years, it seemed more and more stations began popping up from all the different cities around Kingston. There was one from Watertown that my friends and I used to listen to called Z-Rock. It played a lot of Smashing Pumpkins, Cake, Pearl Jam, etc., but rarely came in without a good deal of static. It was always such a treat when we actually got to listen to it without straining our ears.
Another favourite was the top 40 station The Border, which used to come in on both 102.7 and 106.7 FM. Today, of course, it can only be found on the latter frequency. In fact, The Border may well be the region's only surviving radio station from those days, although I can't remember exactly when 98.3 Fly FM came into the picture - it could have been around that time as well.
Then there was the Brockville-based station called The River that played some great classic rock like Queen and CCR. Unfortunately, it also played a boatload of Rush and '80s hair metal, which meant that it was usually not the station of choice for my crowd.
Notably, however, none of these stations were actually based out of Kingston. Compare that to today, where we can find everything from Frank Sinatra to Rage Against the Machine broadcast right here in our own backyard.
More often than not, my own dial can be found on either The Drive, Fly FM or - I'm not ashamed to say it - The Lake. Even though I was born in the mid-'80s, that station never fails to make me nostalgic for the '70s, if that doesn't demonstrate the power of the music they play, I don't know what does. I'm also not ashamed to say that I absolutely adore the standards, and was over the moon when I realized we have a station that will play them.
As for my other two favourites, perhaps they indicate that my tastes have not evolved quite as much over the years as I sometimes claim they have. After all, I still crank up the volume whenever a Beatles song comes on.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Spring Cleansing
EMC Editorial - For several years now, I have witnessed numerous friends and blogging colleagues extol the virtues of juice cleansing. Basically, this entails subsisting on juice alone for several days while your body expels all the unnecessary "toxins" it acquires by way of your regular diet.
I never thought of myself as a person who would be a good candidate for such an endeavour. As a self-diagnosed hypoglycaemic and one who leans more toward living to eat than eating to live, the idea of a juice cleanse always seemed a little far-fetched for my lifestyle.
Last week, however, my curiosity got the better of me, and I decided to take the plunge. It also helped that after nearly a month's worth of too much wine, way too much chocolate and candy, and a downright appalling amount of coffee, I had had about enough of the resulting insomnia and brain fog, and was willing to try just about anything to rid myself of all the badness.
After doing some research online, I decided on a three-day cleanse from a Toronto-based company. I was quite impressed by the efficiency with which the juice was delivered right to my door the day before I began, and was surprised to find myself excited to start cleansing.
Day one on the cleanse crept by at a snail's pace, as I found myself constantly looking at the clock wondering when the first hunger pangs would set in. Strangely enough, they never did. The juice I drank diligently every three hours seemed enough to keep me satiated, and although I did long to have some of the delicious-smelling food my husband made for dinner, I did not desire it for hunger's sake.
It helped that the juice itself was actually quite tasty. That said, I am one of those weird people who regularly enjoy green juices and smoothies, so the cucumber, celery and kale juice you're required to drink at meal times was probably not as much of a chore for me as it might be for some. However, it's hard to imagine anyone not liking the maple syrup-sweetened lemonade with cayenne you have mid-morning and again in the afternoon. Admittedly, the cashew milk they have you drink before bed tastes a bit like chalk, but overall it's not that bad.
Days two and three passed in much the same way, albeit with slightly more delirium and fatigue in the evenings. On the second day, I made the mistake of going for a run after work, which no doubt contributed to these feelings. I tend to get a little antsy if I'm not able to get up and move around every few hours, and it's a difficult task to park myself on the couch all night long.
The most unpleasant part of the three days for me, though, was without question the absence of coffee from the juice cleanse menu. I'm a little embarrassed to fully disclose the tender age at which I began drinking coffee. Let's just say it was well over a decade ago. The first day of the cleanse was the first day in recent memory that I did not have at least two cups of coffee. I'm not going to lie - it was hard. A dull headache began at about noon each day, and lasted until bedtime. It was not so bad, however, that I was wasn't able to function properly. Thankfully, you're permitted to have a small amount of green tea, which supplied at least some caffeine.
Nevertheless, contrary to how days usually go for me, mornings during the juice cleanse were by far the times when I felt my best. I was also tired when it was time to go to bed - a rare and wonderful phenomenon.
Happily, these trends seem to be continuing in the days following my return to solid food, and I really do feel healthier, lighter and more clear-minded. My husband insists it's all in my imagination, but what does he know?
I never thought of myself as a person who would be a good candidate for such an endeavour. As a self-diagnosed hypoglycaemic and one who leans more toward living to eat than eating to live, the idea of a juice cleanse always seemed a little far-fetched for my lifestyle.
Last week, however, my curiosity got the better of me, and I decided to take the plunge. It also helped that after nearly a month's worth of too much wine, way too much chocolate and candy, and a downright appalling amount of coffee, I had had about enough of the resulting insomnia and brain fog, and was willing to try just about anything to rid myself of all the badness.
After doing some research online, I decided on a three-day cleanse from a Toronto-based company. I was quite impressed by the efficiency with which the juice was delivered right to my door the day before I began, and was surprised to find myself excited to start cleansing.
Day one on the cleanse crept by at a snail's pace, as I found myself constantly looking at the clock wondering when the first hunger pangs would set in. Strangely enough, they never did. The juice I drank diligently every three hours seemed enough to keep me satiated, and although I did long to have some of the delicious-smelling food my husband made for dinner, I did not desire it for hunger's sake.
It helped that the juice itself was actually quite tasty. That said, I am one of those weird people who regularly enjoy green juices and smoothies, so the cucumber, celery and kale juice you're required to drink at meal times was probably not as much of a chore for me as it might be for some. However, it's hard to imagine anyone not liking the maple syrup-sweetened lemonade with cayenne you have mid-morning and again in the afternoon. Admittedly, the cashew milk they have you drink before bed tastes a bit like chalk, but overall it's not that bad.
Days two and three passed in much the same way, albeit with slightly more delirium and fatigue in the evenings. On the second day, I made the mistake of going for a run after work, which no doubt contributed to these feelings. I tend to get a little antsy if I'm not able to get up and move around every few hours, and it's a difficult task to park myself on the couch all night long.
The most unpleasant part of the three days for me, though, was without question the absence of coffee from the juice cleanse menu. I'm a little embarrassed to fully disclose the tender age at which I began drinking coffee. Let's just say it was well over a decade ago. The first day of the cleanse was the first day in recent memory that I did not have at least two cups of coffee. I'm not going to lie - it was hard. A dull headache began at about noon each day, and lasted until bedtime. It was not so bad, however, that I was wasn't able to function properly. Thankfully, you're permitted to have a small amount of green tea, which supplied at least some caffeine.
Nevertheless, contrary to how days usually go for me, mornings during the juice cleanse were by far the times when I felt my best. I was also tired when it was time to go to bed - a rare and wonderful phenomenon.
Happily, these trends seem to be continuing in the days following my return to solid food, and I really do feel healthier, lighter and more clear-minded. My husband insists it's all in my imagination, but what does he know?
P.S. I broke the cleanse with a delicious vegan gluten-free cupcake from the new local bakery Nessie Cakes. You can read my feature on Nessie here!
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