New Ventures

In the upcoming year, I'll be reading A LOT. I have almost 1800 books on my Kindle but am hopefully getting the new Kobo Vox for Christmas... There is a good chance I am as well.

But also, I am now an associate reviewer for Novel Escapes! Between that, my blog tour posts for Chick Lit Plus and also my two new book clubs, I'm going to be reading a lot.

But I am so happy about it. Lots of great stuff out there and I prefer reading to any other activity. Was time for a change in my life anyway... But maybe I will also get some inspiration for my own writing as well. Here's hoping.

Ka-Boom!

So last Friday night, I was sitting on the couch watching a movie at about 4 am (with the boyfriend). All of a sudden, there was a terrible BOOM and suddenly huge chunks of burning things were showering our way. Then again BOOM and another BOOM!

Three huge explosions in a row. I grabbed shoes and ran out as I could see flames very high in the sky... A place about a half a block away had flames shooting about 40 feet above the roof. I knew the place was in construction but WOW... I've never seen or felt anything like it.

Even emergency personnel arriving would get out and swear... Quite intense.

The sad fact though is that three more apartment blocks were badly damaged, so many people seem to now be homeless.

The place where the fire originated had burnt originally in August 2010 - quite curious.

Poetry

I'm not a huge fan of poetry though some of it just touches me.

Tonight while writing postcards for Postcrossing (a most awesome & addictive site you should ALL join!), I included this one on an art card since the person indicated they likes sayings and poems...

For Anne
Leonard Cohen

With Annie gone,
Whose eye to compare
with the morning sun?

Not that I did compare,
But I do compare
Now that she's gone.

Irony being that my lovely bf's ex before me is called Annie and I don't like her very much. (Obviously, but for many many reasons)

Friendship

When times get tough, you really find out who your true friends are. They're there to help you move, to offer to make voodoo dolls for you, to generally ply you with food and alcohol and make the pain go away, or at least numb it for awhile.

Friendship is really a concept I've been thinking about a lot lately. I have a lot of people in my life, though not may I consider true friends. And some that behave badly as friends, even though I do consider them friends anyway.

What it comes down to is that you can't expect people to be something they're not. But you can expect and demand respect. There is no shame is saying you are hurt or hurting and asking for a hand to hold.

In the end, you have to count on yourself first but everything else falls into place. Good people will find you if you want.

Goals & Lessons

Many lessons, most of the difficult ones, have been learnt by me these past three or so years. First, to not take loved ones for granted and to not waste time on people who don't matter. So easy to lose sight of that though.

I went for a wander around the poop filled spring like weathered city today. Saw things and places that reminded me of people past and present in my life.

It really is about making yourself happy, keeping your dreams alive and treating yourself right.

Everything else falls into place.

My New 'Hood

Under duress, I moved. Over 5 years in the same apartment in the Plateau, I was stuck in a rut. Happy with my little cave of a place, with the outside "cage" area that was highly amusing and fun in summer. The past few years have been very hectic with lots of stressful situations, so moving never even occurred to me.

I knew there were issues with the building, but every time I spoke to the landlord (when I could even reach him), he assured me they knew there was a problem but that it would be fixed in the spring and was not that serious.

Apparently not.

Got a call around 3 pm on a Friday at the end of January 2011. Firemen were there to put a LOCK on my door and I would have NO ACCESS. Say what? I had 10 minutes to arrive.

Needless to say, I got there quickly. Red Cross volunteer followed me inside while I packed to take my details and very kindly offer me food and shelter for the weekend. The first thing I packed? My alcohol. A drink was very badly needed.

To summarize: I was able to find a kick ass place in the village, east side, less than five hours later after landlord offered me a more expensive place in a CRACK HOUSE, spent the weekend in a hotel and organizing moving on Monday. Monday worked out due to my family & friends. Took a couple days off of work and am still unpacking.

LOVE LOVE LOVE my new place, the location and the possibilities. Things do happen for a reason. This is what I see now from my windows.



This blog will be about my new adventures with this new start.