K I T S C H — Cate's Blog

Sunday, December 19, 2004

George Bush is so dreamy!

Man, that was a weird dream I just had. For some reason, I was part of a festival involving both George Bushes. Yeah, I don't get that either, but let's just gloss for now.

So I was in charge of keeping people out of George Sr.'s house. Frankly, I don't know why anyone would have wanted to come into this house anyway, as it was a falling-down slum. But whatever. Anyway, I had no Secret Service backup, and the two phone numbers I'd been given to use if I had any concerns were not working. In fact, one of them ended up disconnected by the end of the afternoon.

I don't exactly need a course on dream interpretation to figure out this one so far, seeing as I and so many others have so very much faith in the Bush administration. What comes later in the dream I'm not so sure about. I suspect it was just my subconscious trying to make me laugh after a difficult week, though.

At first I tried to keep people out of the house, but since there were no locks on any of the doors, that proved rather a challenge. Then I made half-hearted efforts to keep people from vandalizing a portrait of Barbara Bush.

"Hey, you! Quit drawing that moustache on-- Heh. Okay, carry on."

By the end, I was encouraging people to grab tchotchkes to keep as souvenirs on their way out.

:: posted by Cate 10:43:00 AM

Friday, December 17, 2004

Should I worry?

The bunny has a piece of wood she likes to chew on. Lately it's been looking more and more like a spear with a really, really sharp point.

Seriously. Should I be worrying?

:: posted by Cate 10:10:29 PM

Thursday, December 09, 2004

Twenty questions

You know what I've never done on this site before? Put up a meme. I got this one from Mike via Gwen via Nyarly, all of whose sites I enjoy on a regular basis.

But enough about them. This is all about me. Me!

Yeah, let's go.

1. Tell me something obvious about you.

I'm lazy as all hell.

Check it out: I ripped this off from friends who answered the questions well over six weeks ago.

So, let's recap. Me? Lazy.

Not so much at work. There I actually enjoy being busy and occasionally even volunteer for stuff I don't need to do.

At home, though, I don't seem to be getting much done these days. I rarely update this site; I don't answer email. If you've sent me a nice email in the past four months or so and I haven't got back to you yet, please don't take it personally. It's not you. It's me.

No, it really is me.

2. Tell me something about you that many don't know.

I have downloaded not one, but many, ELO songs off the "internets."

Also, I'm addicted to the Gossip Girl book series.

3. What is your biggest fear?

It used to be my father dying.

Now it's myself almost dying in a fiery car crash on the highway but instead ending up functionally brain-dead somewhere that my loved ones will feel obligated to visit.

4. Do you normally go the safe route or take the short cut?

I guess I should do my best to be extra-careful on the highways, shouldn't I?

Actually, I'm not sure I understand this question. Is it about risk-taking behaviour? Because my sister majored in Psych, and something she worked on had her group investigating risk-taking behaviour as part of the experiment. They lifted a questionaire from some old Psych textbook that asked, "Would you enjoy being a 'Swinger'?" The best answer they got was from one guy who wrote, "Okay, I guess, but wouldn't all the other 'Swingers' be in their 60s by now?"

Anyway, if this question is about risk-taking, I'll say sure, love to, but I'd like to think I'm smart and selective about it these days.

5. Name one thing you want that you can't buy with money.

Time travel.

6. What is your most treasured possession?

Had you asked a few years back (before we knew each other so well and were able to enjoy these long, comfortable silences together), I would have said my entire book collection.

Then Peeter and I moved into a smaller apartment, and I had to get rid of a lot of stuff. I mean a lot of stuff. Like a fuckload of stuff. It was easier for me than it was for Peeter, so I figured, hey, why not? I can do this.

I followed my friend Heather's advice and got rid of most of the books I own that are easily replaced -- you know, the classics you can always find at the library and the other books that you expect will be reprinted for a while.

That reasoning depleted my stash of "English major" books down to virtually nothing. It still stings a little, but I stand by Heather's advice. And at least now I know that if I had to pull up stakes and leave my home with nothing (as both my parents had to do during a war), I could do it. You know, it's only stuff, right?

That said, I'd have a tough time leaving without the inlaid wood box my dad brought back for me from Dubai. And I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't miss the earring collection I store inside there also.

7. What is the one thing you hate most about yourself that you do often?

I'll use twenty words when two would suffice.

8. What is your favorite lie to tell?

"That sounds like fun."

9. Name something you've done once that you can't wait to do again.

Attend a Blotto concert on the grounds of some government buildings in Albany.

Seriously, sign me up.

10. Are you the jealous type?

You'd think so, wouldn't you? But oddly enough, no. This is one of the few vices that has pretty much passed me by.

And I'm just being practical. Honey, if I'm not interesting enough to you, chances are that either you bore me already or else you'll have that goal checked off on your to-do list in the very near future. It's only logical, right?

Incidentally, I'm also not a real fan of envy, and gambling just leaves me frigid.

Most of the other vices totally rock, though.

11. What is the one person, place or thing you can't say no to?

An easy joke.

12. What is the nicest thing someone has ever done for you?

Wow, I've been lucky to have known a lot of really nice people throughout my life.

I have a friend who left me an amazing long, comforting voicemail full of wisdom and the sincere offer to help me out with cash when I had to take time off from work after my father died.

One of my father's best friends came by the house before the funeral and told great stories about my dad that made us laugh for a while.

Damn, is that gloomy enough for you?

Okay, on a cheerier note, my friend Dan Brody hooked me up with a tape of Aquaman cartoons I couldn't hope to find on my own. (And if you're in Toronto this weekend, check out his band at the Joe Strummer tribute at the Horseshoe on Saturday. Come on out; I'll be there.)

And Gwen talks to me halfway through the night, cheering me up over the phone and making my life a much better place to inhabit. (And I assume you don't need me to tell you that her book is fucking awesome.)

13. If you could do something crazy right now, what would it be?

I'd have taken a last-minute wicked-expensive flight down to Houston for the weekend to attend Gwen's Quinceanera You Were Too Poor to Have.

(Keep in mind, please, that this was pertinent when I originally started answering these questions...)

14. When was the last time you cried?

Yeah, that would be just a couple days ago. I don't keep exact track, but I still cry for my dad at least a few times a week.

For the record, I think he would be utterly appalled by that.

15. When was the last time you felt so good that nothing else mattered?

Driving down the 401, listening to the Pet Shop Boys much, much louder than is possible in my apartment.

I'm easily entertained.

16. Do you feel comfortable in public with no shirt on?

You mean like swimming at the cottage or just walking down the street?

Because I don't think I know any women who would feel comfortable walking down the street in Toronto shirtless. That sort of thing is legal here, though. And good!

17. Name something embarrassing you did while drunk.

You'd think there would be plenty of material, but I tend to pride myself on being a boring, moderate drunk.

[Yeah, that's usually the case. Normally, I can hold my liquor just fine. Okay, but at a recent function, I'd had so little to eat, and so very much to drink, that I actually needed to be propped up. Even through a haze of Rolling Estonians, that's just wrong. And sad.

Dude, at that point you're just duty-bound to pour yourself into a cab and be done with it. Which I did. I know, but it's still embarrasssing.
]

18. Name one person, past or present, with whom you’d like to spend the day.

My dad.

Duh.

19. Name one place you’ve never been and would like to go, and tell me why.

Los Angeles, c. 2019 -- you know, like Blade Runner. Of course, we're closer to that now, timewise, than when the movie came out. I'm not sure of the book. Did the book even take place in LA?

Most of what I remember about the book is that almost all the lifeforms were artificial. That really freaked me out one time when I accidentally drowned a spider in the shower and then started worrying that Han Solo would never fall in love with me.

20. What’s the story behind your online persona/name?

Nothing, really. I just don't like most of the other permutations of my name, and I'm far too lazy to type out "Catherine" all the time. (See question 1.)

:: posted by Cate 11:09:09 PM