from a charles bukowski poem

air and light and time and space

"–you know, I’ve either had a family, a job,
something has always been in the
way
but now
I’ve sold my house, I’ve found this
place, a large studio, you should see the space and
the light.
for the first time in my life I’m going to have
a place and the time to
create."

no baby, if you’re going to create
you’re going to create whether you work
16 hours a day in a coal mine
or
you’re going to create in a small room with 3 children
while you’re on
welfare,
you’re going to create with part of your mind and your body blown
away,
you’re going to create blind
crippled
demented,
you’re going to create with a cat crawling up your
back while
the whole city trembles in earthquake, bombardment,
flood and fire.

baby, air and light and time and space
have nothing to do with it
and don’t create anything
except maybe a longer life to find
new excuses
for.

© Charles Bukowski, Black Sparrow Press

[posted on this blog: http://www.christinefletcherbooks.com/blog.html]

Squeegy for President!

Speaking of monkeys. I thought of this song today. When I was little we had a couple albums of funny country songs, and this was my favourite. My favourite stuffed animal was a monkey named Squeegy Alamonzo--he was very expressive looking, and was voiced by my brother in a baby-lolcat-voice that drove my mother insane.

This was Squeegy's theme song. He used to act it out.

"Nobody dared to meet him in an open press debate
He was nominated by the folks from every state
Yes a monkey was the president, though maybe not the first
And there was peace and harmony throughout the universe."

Now someone needs to make a good video for the song.

I pity the sock!

My brother posted this Mr T Sock Monkey as his facebook profile pic, and is determined to make one. And so here, withOUT his permission, I paste for you his last email to me:


I'm positive if I bought one I'd just need a vest and some hair and some bling.

And maybe some angry eyes.

I may have to give this a go.

Maybe I have discovered a new hobby. I could make a whole collection of odd-ball sock monkeys!

There's a distinct possibility that I'll die a bachelor.

[I just found this posting which I never posted.]

One of the facebook applications I enjoy is the one that asks you for "lists of 5 things". The one I did today was 5 songs that remind you people, but I could have done more than 5! I could probably think of a song for almost everyone I know.

I chose...

Theme to Jeeves & Wooster
(1) Because my sister-in-law was the first person I knew who loved the Jeeves and Wooster series as much as me, including the music.

Paradise By the Dashboard Light - Meatloaf
(2) Because my brother and I loved this album as children and knew all the words to the baseball scene, so it reminds me of him.

Jennifer by the Eurythmics
(3) My childhood best friend (M) had this album so it reminds me of her, listening to "Jennifer" in her kitchen.

Free Love on the Freelove Highway by David Brent
(4) Gilby sang this alllll through Oxford when we visited.

Au Bal Masqué de La Compagnie Créole
(5) My step-mother: We used to listen to La Compagnie Créole when on road trips.

I could add...

This Land is Your Land - Peter, Paul and Mary
Any of the early PPM I enjoyed makes me think of my dad, cause they were his albums.

Bootylicious - Destiny's Child
Friend Mae, since she was into the song when it came out, and we started exchanging Stevie Nicks music as a result.

Take a Chance on Me - Abba
Friend Swiss, since she pointed out the "take a chance take a chance take a chic-a chance chance" line of the male background singer, which I'd never noticed.

Love (Over and Over) - Kate and Anna McGarrigle
My mum intro'd me to a lot of the bands I love. This was an early example. She had to who "Emily, Anne and Charlotte" were.

Do What You Have to Do - Sarah McLachlan
Friend Cher, ever since she told me it was on her post-Fuckwit-breakup tape.

He's So Shy - Pointer Sisters
One of my ex-coworkers. His hated ex-girlfriend used to reference this song and say how cute and shy he was.

Strangers in the Night - Sinatra
My boss has been doo-bee-doo-bee-dooing since I met him 11 years ago.

Mandy - Barry Manilow
One of my ex-coworkers used to sing: "Oh [insert my real name] you came and you told me a story." And it wasn't until I heard Mandy on the radio, years later, that I realized what he was riffing off of!

The Girl from Ipanema - various
Friend Alfonse, since he's the first person I've met who loved the song. (The only version I ever really knew was the Rick Moranis.)

Okay I'll stop now.

Kitchen?

So the kind of kitchen I actually like is an old looking one. The new style is to have the dark cabinets and they're very attractive, but I tell you... they're going to look uber-dated in a couple decades. And I'm not the rip-out-and-re-do type. I want to get a home for life, and I'm not going to constantly remodel it. Worse would be 80s style cabinets. Bleh! I didn't even like them in 80s.

I feel like these Sexy Dark Cabinet Kitchens will...

...one day look like this (to my 2030s eyes.) And no amount of Mad Men fashion will make me love these.

Old cabinets come with old homes, which Fernando doesn't want. But maybe I'd be willing to rip out 80's cabinets and install old second-hand kitchen cabinets. I assume that's a possibility, if I could be bothered.

Look what these fools did! They had great 1960s cabinets, even a silly trim on top! Out. I would happily repaint & jollify such cabinets.

I also like jolly colours in the kitchen.

I think the kitchen of the old summer cabin we went to when I was a child had yellow cabinets or something, and this imprinted on me, which is why I have a bright yellow kitchen curtain (but GRAY cabinets. Super yuck.) And I do love my red chairs. We had old brown wood chairs, so I took off the seat, painted them in red lacquer, and reupholstered the seats with a 1930s style pattern. The only furniture in my home that I love.
Alright, now let's check out some kitchens from the Nanaimo listings I looked at today (in the 150 000 - 350 000 range.)

Mid 80s cabinets. Ohhh meesa hates!

That's better.

Woah! A bit modern for me, but punchy!

Hm I like how these counters go on forever. Good exercise.

No. ...No. ...It would have to be the most superbly perfecto amazing
home before I'd settle for this size. Okay yes, there's some counter space but, like... how do you even bend over and open a cabinet??

This is nice. Quite weird.

Boring, but alright.

An example of the current style.

House of the Day... or week... or, well nevermind that.

Here's the cutest house listing I saw tonight. It's above $300 000, which the mortgage calc says would be $1894 a month, which if of course before EVERY other cost. So... not in my price range unless F or I have better paying jobs.

It's on Bush street... which isn't a great address, I admit, despite it's dirty undertone.
But it's by the hospital and college and city.

It's the windows that caught my eye. Ooooh! I suppose in
Quebec the cold air would be an issue, but not in Nanaimo.

These cupboards look alright. A good amount of them, and check out the big counter.
Plus lots of light. And the kinds of floors/counters that don't show dirt!

This bathroom is very much my taste, actually.

The basement.

House of the Future!

Where?
I'm trying to convince Fernando to move to Nanaimo if we move to the Coast. ...He hasn't lost interest in The Move to begin with, which is impressive--he talks about it like it's a fact. I planted the seed years ago, so maybe it's come to fruition.

But he's all about living in a big city. My problem with a big city is that, to get a big-gish house like I want, we'll end up in the suburbs or hell-and-gone. And I'm too lazy to go into town. Whereas he goes downtown all the time.

In Nanaimo I could afford to live in the neighborhoods around the "downtown." Now, the downtown is a far cry from Vancouver or Montreal, but it's cute and by the water.


If I'm finally in College Teaching Land by then, Vancouver would offer way more opportunities. But... the teaching things doesn't feel very *real* at the moment. Oh well. This is why I like the 5 year plan; because it gives us lots of time to think and dream and plan and save.

I'm trying to come up with excuses to get Fernando *in* for Nanaimo. There's no all-night eatery, which disturbs him. I told him my parents can drive us around when needed! Help us look for a home! (Or will they be So Aulde we'll have to drive them around and help them into their nursing home? Okay not that old.)

My other argument: Nanaimo has cute street names. I said: "Wouldn't you love to live on Jinglepot Road?" He was so enthusiastic, he said we should only buy a home on Jinglepot Road. (Or was it Buttertubs Marsh road? Or Dingle Bingle Hill Terrace?)

NN's
So on to the Dreaming/Planning part. I get regular updates on Nanaimo homes in the area I want, and it's fun to look at them and think about what I want. A basement, or faux-ment, is a non-negotiable. Fernando has to have his own floor, physically separated from mine by a staircase. Even a split level would make me nervous... the staircases between levels are so short. (Anyway the split level is more of a Montreal thing.)

My mother pointed out that on the coast they often don't have basements, but an entry-level floor which they call the basement. That's fine. As long as there's a big staircase, and a bedroom on the main level for me. I don't even want a house with a big second floor, if there's no bedroom on the main floor. If I take up room in Fernando Land, then he'll insist on taking up room in mine!

Fernando's non-negotiable is he doesn't want an old house. I admit old houses are beautiful but a PAIN. My parents had a couple, and they're always full of structural/plumbing/wiring freakiness. Fernando's watched too much Holmes on Homes to want anything older than 10 years.

Those are the only NN's that have so far turned up. Besides the general desire for a decent amount of space. (I don't know the square footage. I can only say I know it when I see it. Swis: How big is your house? It's perfect.)

Bedrooms: I don't care what the bedrooms look like. The biggest one will be my office-library, the smallest one for sleeping in. I do like big windows. (Fernando doesn't, which is why I can relegate him to a basement.)

Bathrooms: I don't care much about bathrooms either. Maewitch has a lovely bathroom with a bath right under a big window and such--definitely a nice place to hang out in. But not an NN. If everything else was right, and the bathroom was tiny and ugly, I'd be fine with that. I don't even need two bathrooms, though they're common in two-level homes anyway.

Kitchen: More mixed feelings about a kitchen. I can live with any type of cabinetry, because at least if I owned the place I could paint over crap and change doorknobs. Ideally I'd like lots of storage room, and a bigger counter than I currently have. Those are the only two almost-requirements. I can function in a small kitchen like I now have, but I do like to cook, so...

Living room: Just not tiny and cramped. I already know the couch I want, so it has to fit. :-)

Yard: The smaller the better. All I need is a wee garden and a compost pile. And if possible, zoning for a cat run. ;-)