Be Proud

From A Field Journal

I think New Year's Eve is one of the strangest times of the year. We draw lines in our smartphone calendars for this party or that party, all on some unsaid urge to have fun and make tonight special. As if sparkles and alcohol could accomplish that properly.

What I do love about New Year's Eve, though, is that these lines help us re-evaluate the past 12 months. If anything, it's a good way to allow ourselves to truly analyse what made us happy, what made us sad, and what we can change by the time 2014 rolls around.

People always forget to be proud of their accomplishments. It seems that there are those who claim we're entering a generation of wimps, where parents and elders constantly look out for us to make sure we don't get hit too hard by real life. But I think there's more than that to us. Maybe because we aren't faced by certain hardships that past generations have, we can allow ourselves to enjoy different things, things that they weren't allowed to before. We can travel. We can cast our social net wider than ever before, and make friends who are more diverse than ever. We can allow ourselves to be more creative, drawing inspiration from just about anything we see.

There's so much to do, and it seems that I always fall prey to the same things as anyone else when it comes to being proud.

Here are some things I'm proud of this year. I hope that this inspires you to take a look back and see what you're proud of too.

• While I lost some good friends, I reconnected (very happily) with a few old ones.
• Finally found a writing style that I love.
• Read a lot of great books, like this, this, this, and this.
• Learned to love knitting and love tea.
• I cooked more than I did the year before!
• Did school work (curricular and extra-curricular) that I'm proud of.
• Saved money for a Reading Week trip, hopefully somewhere down south.
• Learned how to wear red lipstick and not feel like a clown.

Have a great new year's eve, whether you're at a huge party or cuddled in bed watching a movie. And countdowns are always exciting, so make sure you say 3-2-1 out loud.

To the Holidays

I hope your holidays have been as relaxing as mine. I've been spending most of my time with random things around my house (my Playbook, W. Somerset Maugham's The Painted Veil, the black pepper bergamot candle recently purchased in a frenzy at Bath & Body Works) while hanging out with family and the boyfriend and, perhaps most importantly, the cat. 

Christmas was especially kind to me this year, with a new teapot, clutch, and NARS blush in Orgasm (drooooool) so I can only hope that everyone else's were delightful. Or that you saw a good movie, at least. (Les Mis was amazing, but less so when you have people CONSTANTLY TALKING DIRECTLY TO YOUR LEFT. My most passionate pet peeve.)

Have a happy new year, everyone, and remember to take time to read books and watch good TV during the break.

A Distant Vantage Point

I first wrote about Carl Sagan's Pale Blue Dot here but, upon coming across this video today, I thought it best to mention this wonderful spoken word piece yet again.

Pale Blue Dot from ORDER on Vimeo.

Something to Think About

I was struck by the above photo on reddit today. Watch this video to learn more about these gorillas, orphaned by poachers and the like, who are raised in the jungles of the Congo. 

In the past few years, I've developed more of a compassion towards animals. It began with studying biology (my minor) and learning about all the species that inhabit this planet. Growing up, I didn't have any pets, but my parents were always incredibly good about teaching me how to respect animals and exposing me to wildlife through trips to the zoo and various books that still line the shelves at home. About a year and a half ago, I began volunteering for Toronto Cat Rescue, a charity which helps stray cats by placing them in foster homes and arranging for their adoption through a rigorous screening process (starting with places like the Adoption Centre at any Petsmart!). I've heard it described as something like adopting a child.  

Now that I'm nearly graduating, I can't help but think about what to do with a gap year. I know of friends who are travelling to far-off places to teach schoolchildren English, or to help out with a not-for-profit charity in a developing country. It's something that's been on my mind lately and, while I don't see a future in wildlife preservation per se, I think that it's important to expose myself to more species conservation efforts.

The research process will be an ongoing one, but I'm excited to see where this desire to help out takes me. The effort will always continue, but I can't wait until I can take part.

Tea and Wontons

It's exam season, so that means I'm indulging in way too much of the title foods. Contrary to what the title might suggest, I've been doing a lot of random home cooking that requires ELABORATE PREPARATION AND THOUGHT. 

Just kidding. I usually text my dad and ask him for recipes that will enter my mind after a bout of nostalgia. That's why I went on a tiring search for tamarind soup base the other night which, I now realize, was probably sprinkled on all dinner foods ingested in my formative years. I just marinated two chicken breasts in half a package of tamarind soup base (found at your local Asian grocer!) along with salt, pepper, and a chopped onion for fifteen minutes. Bake at 350 F for half an hour and voila - you have a savoury, Filipino dinner.

I think exams set off a weird homely tic in me. I've been spending more time knitting and lighting scented candles which, if you haven't guessed, half the girls my age are indulging in nowadays. Maybe we're all searching for some sort of comfort normally found at home in the comfort of free rent and a well-stocked pantry. I don't much care. I'm just glad I found a (crappy) balsam fir candle at Dollarama.

This is my latest knitting creation - a white circle scarf that came out a bit too large. Trust me to be an overzealous knitter. Also, let's appreciate the fact that this is the first time this week that I've worn contacts and mascara. Appreciate.

And if you're looking for some creative holiday music, look no further than Jimmy Fallon, The Roots, and Mariah Carey...

Anything Could Happen

The new Girls trailer is up, which means I'm only counting down the days until I get to go into full torrenting mode every Sunday night. Even though I frequented (too) many tourist areas in New York City last weekend, I loved the way that city felt in the way that most metropolitan places feel - full of motion, cynicism, and sound. It's exhausting, I imagine, but I'm also of the school of thought that if you're not exhausted, you're doing something wrong.

For example, Friday was the annual holiday party for overtired, school newspaper staffers like myself. I spent way too much time getting ready (aka precariously applying red lipstick) but I think the result was wonderful. It was good to go out and good to eat real food and good to spend time yelling at friends in a noisy, but mostly-deserted, nightclub.

Anyways, happy exam time all. While you're all studying, I'm neglecting 300-page novels in order to knit my sister a winter headband. 

Before you go, though, check out this trailer for Sarah Polley's documentary Stories We Tell. It premiered at TIFF, the film festival that highlights one of the many reasons I'm excited to move back to the city. I first loved Sarah Polley in Road to Avonlea. I really liked Canadian Maritime junior fiction when I was a preteen, for some reason, and I was reminded of her talents upon seeing her film Away From Her. Her screenplay for that film was nominated for an Oscar a few years back.

Anywho, here's the trailer for Stories We Tell.