the tracey fragments

i get really influenced by the hype and critic reviews of movies. so much so that if i see a movie that someone has recommended b/c it was brilliant/amazing/awesome, i end up watching it very critically and am usually disappointed and underwhelmed. it's gotten to the point where i can't read movie reviews anymore and i usually don't go to see mainstream movies in the theatre. instead, i wait for all the talk surrounding a movie to die down and watch it in it's dvd format. so coming from that perspective, i in turn, try not to over-hype or give super enthusiastic recommendations of films to people.

.. but i have to write about the tracey fragments tonight (even though i should be madly coding some html), which was part of the canada's top ten of 2007.

i'm not going to over-hype it. i'll just say that it made me really proud of our canadian art scene and it is the first movie in a long time that made my heart palpitate. if it gets distribution in theatres or is shown through a film festival, please go see it.

happy coincidence

my table (close up), originally uploaded by happy d.

so andre and i have slowly started a search for a house (a home with a little plot of land to garden and preferably a two car garage. ha!).

this past weekend, we went to check out a house that was listed at a low price for parkdale. the double garage peaked andre's interest and the super close proximity to queen st. and a bus route gave it two check marks from me. so despite the super sketchy intersection, we went to take a peak, even from just the outside.

my heart sank a little as we walked towards the house. usually parkdale houses are kept up really nicely, but the houses on this block were dumpy with litter strewn everywhere, rusty abandoned bikes on porches and garbage bags left on front lawns.

as we were snooping around, the super of the house saw us and invited us in for a tour! the whole house is currently rented out to many people. it is a mess and quite run down. despite the mess you can see the house has so much potential. it has super high, beautiful victorian vaulted ceilings and mouldings, a nice wood banister, plus it is huge.

it also has a great attic-turned-third floor (which would make for such a lovely art studio).

and this is where my happy coincidence happened. as we walked around, next to a mattress on the floor i saw my 'i say love' notebook that i sold at craft fairs last summer. MY NOTEBOOK!

what are the chances? is this more than just a happy coincidence?

perhaps we should listen to dear old deepak:

When you live your life with an appreciation of coincidences and their meanings, you connect with the underlying field of infinite possibilities.

ps: i was soooo tempted to pick up the notebook and see how the new owner was using it!!

hello again

a happy (belated) new year to all!

following happy-d's example, i began to think about resolutions of my own. i feel as though christmas and new years (and most of january) have passed in such a whirlwind, and i now realize i've been neglecting so many things that i'm normally on-top of. christmas cards? late. resolutions? late. emailing the parentals? not as often as i should.

so here they are:

1. drink more water
2. drink less coffee
3. start drawing again
4. take a proper lunch break and go for a walk
5. be firm
6. write more
7. wake up earlier on the weekends
8. get a bike

picture: a crisp autumn day at kew gardens. tree on the left is a ginko tree.

finally!

, originally uploaded by happy d.

here we are with a new format (finally!). we've amalgamated our 2 blogs and hope to start blogging more regularly again.

in addition to trying to blog more in 2008, i've made a resolution where i will try to put everything away the minute i'm finished with it. finished with my pen? put it back in my pen stand. finished with my tea? put the mug in the dishwasher or (i can hear ms. b gasp!) wash it and place it in the drying rack!

hopefully this will curb my slobby tendancies.

so a belated happy new year and here's to a tidier 2008!