Hey folks.
So the blog got killed, and I thought better and resurrected it. A temporary reprieve, as I'm trying to figure out what to do with it. If anything, I feel like this project has done its job over the last few years, and it's time to start anew, or at least reformat it, beyond changing the template. 420-odd posts is a lot to sift through, though---I'd like to keep some old faves--- so stay tuned.
Quick update:
The piece I wrote on Jeremy Shaw's work in PHG's Moodyville exhibit is done and the co-publication with Capilano Review launches next week. Looking forward to it. After sending the final edit of the final edit of the final revised draft of the final edit, I decided to take the month of May off, and most importantly, some much-needed time away from taking on any new projects.
I've mentioned it before, but it's the freelancers curse: nevermind having a fulltime (crappy)day job, the fact that one has to make work- written, visual, etc- and deal with the constant looming guilt-spectre that tells you you're not pitching and submitting when you're not at the day job or writing or making work----damn, it can be exhausting. There's been a constant nagging feeling of "YOU'RE NOT DOING ENOUGH. EVER." for too long--- And that completely destroys your ability to relax.
You know, relaxing? Chilling out on the PS2, watching a whole season of a TV show in one afternoon, reading books, listening to records, doing nothing except for crosswords....yeah, I forgot about it too. And it's nice to be reminded.
Anyways. I'm back. For now.
The only other new update is that my trip to Japan got scuttled. Well it wasn't set in stone, but JAL had a sweet seat sale and it was all systems go and then Swine Flu/H1N1 hysteria broke out.
Nevermind dealing with that short blast of everyone in North America going
"ZOMG OH NOES I E-MAILED SOMEONE WHO KNOWS SOMEONE FROM COSTA RICO OR MEXICO OR WHERE-EVR AND NOW I'M'A CATCH TEH SWINE FLOOOOZ!!!1!!!", but Japan, the Island nation that is---how do I put it politely?-hmmmmm....a monoculture and, well an island with a siege mentality when it comes to things like respiratory illnesses (See Tuberculosis and the Spanish Flu back in the day) tied with lingering sakoku mentality as part of its heritage ----well, we'll just call it fair that they'd want to protect their interests.
M. and I both agreed that, thanks to older conservative folks in her neighbourhood grumbling about irresponsible people travelling abroad during Golden Week, Japan's national holiday time and possibly bringing back plague, that it would be best to put things off. It's one thing to deal with the "gaijin stare" but, following the H1N1 threat to Japan in the news, I realized that I didn't really want to deal with being scanned by someone in a hazmat suit at Narita Airport or wind up quarantined and twiddling my thumbs because someone two rows ahead of me sneezed. It was best to let the panic subside, let it arrive and become something tangible to deal with(and it has) and let things cool down a bit.
So, July it is, and another trip is on the horizon. Given my blogging record over the last while, expect no further posts til I start sending dispatches from there. Or who knows, I might actually feel like there's something to say.
Posts
