bowlerAWESerama

If there is one thing that is better than always having the manifesto of living in the moment, it's friends that surround your life with this mantra.  And it's even more inspiring when they work so hard to make sure that the energy is shared via human osmosis with "totes. awes. energy."

You may have friends that consistently try and bring everyone together to play board games or have dinner parties.  And while admirable, I'm one lucky muther-fucking-cock-sucking-son-of-a-bitch to have friends that don't just suggest a different idea in order to live in the moment but they take it up about 25 notches.  From Karaoke X 2 this summer, to the incredibly AWES Bowlerama.  As if the event ideas alone weren't enough, this is the invite which required a secret password to reply.

Sam & Cherylese, again you make my world a better place.  Thank you for ensuring we all enjoy the very moments that pass so quickly. 5 minutes worthy each of xoxo's each.

green with envy

I realized today that I never feel jealousy or envy for another human being. Ever. 

Except in case of running. 

I don't look at people and compare material goods and feel jealous that they have nicer homes, cars or clothes.  I never feel like I dislike someone because they are beautiful and perhaps seem to have 'it all'.   And when I witness remarkable acts of pure love in relationships, I never feel a longing or envy for it in my own life.

But today was the Scotiabank Waterfront Marathon here in Toronto.  Traffic was nuts because so many streets were shut down.  And that's when I felt it - pure, green envy to be one of those runners.  The irreplaceable feeling at the beginning of a start line, the pride, anxiety and fear. The sound of all the sneaks pounding on the pavement underneath our feet.  Passing kids on the sidelines holding signs that say, "go mommy, we love you".  The incredible inner strength that builds over every step in every kilometer.  Pure Envy.  Whether they were running the 10km, Half Marathon or Full, I just hope they realized how lucky the are to be able to participate. 

I'm still dealing with the nerve damage in my foot almost 3 years later now after the Chi-town Marathon.  Sure, I can go out for a 5, 6 or 7km run but it's not like it used to be.  I'm always conscious of every step and it's so very tough to release my mind in the way I used to. I want to run.  I miss it in the same way you'd miss family if you moved away from home for the the first time.  I'm homesick for running.

After physio, metatarsal lifts and orthodics, today made me realize that it might be time to go under the knife.  I need you, running.  There, I admitted it.

and as a huge PS - congrats to my dear friend Brendan Jeffries who ran his very first Half Marathon today in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1:47.  Amazing run time!

rock witcha

the month of September is almost over and I feel like the recent days of my life have been so rich with love.  My life experiences of late have really been an extension of my friends' lives.

It started back in August when Rita & Jay asked me to look after their first 'born', Tonka.  And to also take care of their home while they were in Hawaii.  That week was immediately followed by an evening of hanging with sweet Jake at my house for an eve.  Jake is my friend Leslie's beloved pooch and she was in need of immediate doggy sitting services. Diggers and I were happy to oblige.  During this entire time, I've spent every day searching for cheap flights to New Brunswick for Thanksgiving to spend it with AK and Kirst (and their sweet chitlin's and hubbies).  In the meantime, Toni is working diligently out in BC to find me a flight to Castlegar for Christmas.  And on her points, no less.  This way I get to experience Christmas again with my friends but on a different coast (last year was magical in Boutsy's Point with the Hennessey's).  Now I'm prepping to head to Kingston on Friday night to meet up with Rhonda who is there for her version of homecoming with her Queens girlies.  She's flying in from Van and I'm going to meet her little baby boy who's only weeks old.  He and I will hang in the hotel room while his mommy has an reunion night out on the town.  And finally, I can't forgot last weekend (touched on in my last blog post) - not only being asked to be Adrienne's wedding photographer, but on the eve of her wedding being called by Matt at 2:30am.  Matt is Kelly's hubby...baby 3 was on the way and they called (as I was on the emergency list) to watch the kids while they went to the hospital.  Being that close to the birthing 'process' of one of my closest friends was incredibly moving.

All that said, guys - I'm honoured to be your friend.  You prove that water can be just as thick as blood.

You guys rock my world.

be present

I just finished the Time Traveller's Wife last night. Yes, I know it's in theatres and highly cliche to dig into now, but this book was given to me as a gift on my 33rd birthday (if you're keeping track, that's 2 years ago). What is pathetic is that I had it on my reading-to-do list for 24 months and finally tackled it this past August.  I attempted it once before, wasn't in the head space and then put it back on my bookshelf.  This time I fell in love with it...that said, the love didn't really start to grow until page 400 (which is 80% into it).

Last night, with 15 pages left, one of the most beautiful statements in the entire book was when Henry said to Clare (I'm not giving anything away, the title of the book takes care of that):

I hate to think of you waiting.  I know that you have been waiting for me all your life, always uncertain of how long this patch of waiting would be.  Ten minutes, Ten Days, a month. Please, Clare, when I am dead, stop waiting and be free.  Of me - put me deep inside you and then go out into the world and live. Love the world and yourself in it.

Is it just me or was that god-damn breathtaking? 

The simple importance of being truly present in our short life.

On Friday, my girlfriend Kelly (aka KZ) sent me an email after we had both experienced the U2 concert on separate nights.  Her email said, "I particularly enjoyed the song Stuck in a Moment and for the first time I really heard the lyrics 'it's just a moment. this time will pass'."

On Saturday, my girlfriend Adrienne (aka Ady) got married.  I was honoured to be their wedding photographer.  In turn, and very unexpected, her and Kev gave me the most beautiful necklace. Totally my style and she had it engraved with the words:

BE PRESENT.

this was my favourite 'be present' moment with KZ and Ady in Halifax, NS. 2006

On Sat, Sept 19th - KZ gave birth to her third babes and Ady got married to an amazing guy.  

To many more present and ever-changing moments. Love you both. xo

our home and native land

On my morning drive to work today, I was listening to The Dean Blundell Show on 102.1 The Edge. The show can be almost as entertaining and crude as Howard Stern.  Sometimes they cross the line where I'm slightly turned off the show for a couple of days, but they always suck me back in because more often than not they make me laugh in the morning. 

no. small. task.  

So today, Dean, Jason and Todd were interviewing Bob Probert (the once fighting goon of my beloved Detroit Red Wings) and figure skater Kristina Lenko.  Bob and Kristina were promoting the new CBC show Battle of the Blades.  I realized that through most of the interview I was either smiling or laughing. I was convinced that if anyone saw me as they passed would have known I was listening to the show, if they were too of course. He was hysterical, mostly because he is now completely out of his comfort zone, showing his more delicate, feminine side.  So classic.  The thing that impressed me the most (aside from Probert's bravery to put himself in this very public and live arena) was that this was a CBC show.  Nice work.  

Then tonight as I was watching The Hour, I was (as always) enamoured by the sweet styles of Strombo.  It got me thinking about how incredible it is that we have The Hour, our own unique approach to tragic, depressing news.   Aside from Strombo, the next best newscast is Amy Poehler and Seth Meyers and 'we' certainly and sadly can't take cred for that....wait a sec, yes we can...thank you, Lorne Michaels.

Just a fun simple day in a pretty remarkable country.

By the way, you can find the Edge interview here, about 1/3 of the way in.  Oh, and did I mention I was drinking a Tim Horton's coffee at the time?

my neverland

Thanks to a recent episode of Little Britain, where Marjorie of Fat Fighters referenced "Pigs in Space", I almost forgot about a significant portion of my childhood happiness.

Aside from Hockey Night in Canada and Larry King Live, two other shows that dad and I would watch together were "The Wonderful World of Disney" on Sunday nights on CBC and "The Muppet Show".  The thought of both of these shows literally warms my heart with wholesome family goodness. To dig a little deeper into the Muppet Show itself, I was a HUGE fan of Animal, Statler and Waldorf, Beeker and Pigs in Space.  But more specifically there was one key Muppet Show episode that will forever go down in history in the Munroe household - when Shields and Yarnell were the guest hosts.  Dad and I absolutely LOVED this one segment where Shields and Yarnell are a Robot couple living together.  This breakfast scene is priceless, brilliant and somewhat creepy.  But it's the moment when Yarnell loses some of her functionality and ends up face first in her cereal.   This three minute segment was hours, in fact ...years, of entertainment for dad and I.  We killed this joke - not only with our own food (never fully hitting the plate), but even better - when we would silently mock others acting out our own private robot scene.  Tired babies and drunken friends and relatives were our highlight and muse.

This little find is for you, dad.  

As for you dear internet, I never underestimate your amazingness...this might be my favourite discovery yet.

he loves me, he loves me not

I love love.   I love when people fall madly, crazy head over heels in love. I love when people take a risk to chase love.  I love when people make plans on a whim in the spirit of fun and love. This week I was reminded how much I love this feeling when a co-worker decided to quit his (very good) job, sell his goods (home included) and move to the other side of the world for l.o.v.e. Breaking convention and going for it.  Totes. amaze. 

I'm a fan of all of the above because it's in my nature to change my environment often - other than my dog, my longest commitment was 4 years. I've never lived in a place longer than that, had a home longer than that, a car or a significant other.  I bore quickly and I love a challenge.  I love someone that calls me on my shit and that will always make me laugh.

I'm always on the quest to ensure my ongoing happiness is maintained, which is not to be confused with always searching for happiness. I'm not looking to settle. I don't think I'm unrealistic or in denial.  I know 'they' say you're not suppose to have your cake and eat it too, but really - why buy the god damn cake if you're not going to shove it in your face?

Crazy in love + a lifetime = super moist cake with thick icing.  Yep, one large piece right here, please!

(legal disclaimer: this is not a personal advert)

eyes wide open

This morning on my way to work, I was trying to turn left off of Yonge Street onto the side street where I park everyday.   This is no easy task at 8:30am when the sidewalks are swarmed with human bodies and the lane you're trying to cross is lined with traffic.

When there was finally a gap in the cars, I faced my second blockade - all the pedestrians were walking with heads down, staring at their feet and ipods fastened to their ears. But, there was one sweet little boy, probably 9 or 10 yrs old, that stopped. He pulled out his earphones, looked at me and waited...while all the adults kept walking.  I looked at him and smiled.  It was a moment - 2 seconds, no more - where I felt like he knew I was grateful, not so much for the brief pause in his step, but his wherewithal to demonstrate a greater courtesy among his adult peers.

That impacted me all day today.  

So, here's to the kids that give us hope, have direction and compassion for their world around them - whether it's a tiny Toronto street corner or beyond.

sweet bird of youth

I'm in Ottawa hanging out with my niece and nephew for the last few days while their parents are in Paris and London.  It's actually my favourite thing to just hang with the two of them solo. We've had an action packed weekend of glow-in-the-dark mini putt, hours of Rock Band, movies, watching vids on YouTube, making pizza, walking the dogs, working out to my DVDs and just being plain stupid and funny.  They really couldn't have picked a more immature aunt if they tried.  So, it's been jackpot good times for all of us.

But lately when I'm around them, even though I'm living in the moment, I can't help but wonder what bits of this time in their life they'll remember most.  When I think of my life at 10 and 13 there is very little I can remember, which is kind of sad - knowing they won't look back on the finer details of weekends like this, in the way I will.  

In my life, when I was their age, it would have been 1985 - 1987 and I'm pretty sure I was doing exactly what they were doing right here.  Dancing with all my heart to music, specifically Michael Jackson.  Albeit the technology has and will change in this setting, but the feeling of being youthful and spontaneous is consistent.  My one hope is that they remain youthful throughout life and remember to live as free and happy as they are in this one tiny moment.

So, here's to their fun collection of memories that will hopefully sum it up as one big amazing experience.

sigh

I had two different conversations today, with two different people but they both ended up in the same place. The energy and power of love and hate. I believe in human energy, it's impossible not to believe in it because when you (rarely) share it with someone it is electrifying.

My point was this: love is easy, free, remarkable and insane fun. When you're in it, it's a moment and it requires zero energy.  And hate...well, it is exhaustive, useless, pointless and depletes all good energy.  So, why do we work so hard to hate, when we all just want to be loved. 

one flew over the cuckoo's nest

Last night the doorbell rang; such a foreign sound.  Who randomly drops by anymore without warning? Unheard of and almost insulting, yes? Or perhaps I'm just a crusty cow. I knew it couldn't have been the gaylords because if they want me they just yell up or ring the bell incessantly.

So, with Diggers savagely barking behind me, I opened the door and there he was...the sweetest most endearing face.  He was a young man in his early 20s wearing a CAMH shirt and holding a clipboard. Ah, the sweet purity of door-to-door marketing.  Just as archaic as the doorbell-ring itself.  His name was Mark and by all accounts appeared "normal", if you don't count his wide-open eyes full of expressive enthusiasm for the topic at hand - the people that live in the CAMH hospital.  Normally my 'go-to' would be to immediately tell him "no, thank you" or "can you leave me some information?", but I wanted to listen to what he had to say.  Why?  1) I'll spend hours listening to someone talk passionately about something they believe in and 2) because crazy people hold a special place in my heart and 3) I know and love(d) people with mental illness.    

Ironically, his little speech was in reference to the huge stigma against people with mental illness and addictions, so I probably shouldn't throw around the word "crazy" so loosely.  But if you know me, you know I mean it in the most endearing way.  Because hell, on some level, we're all crazy.  In fact, if you look up 'crazy' in the dictionary it's defined as "mentally strange". I rest my case. But, we just need a greater understanding for those that can't control it. Moral of the story: whether people are labeled as small crazy, medium crazy or large crazy - they all have one thing in common.  They make the world a more poetic, artistic and interesting place.

So, for Mark, I'd like extend his door-to-door message to you. 

Empathize. Don't Criticize.

love is in the air

Good morning! Welcome to my monthly PMS post, where you never know what emotion you're going to get. And since you're friends, I'll warn you. Sappy. That's what you got right here, right now.

I just finished working out, checked email and started to surf (morning procrastination ritual). I came across this image and it made me stop, albeit momentarily.

It wasn't so much the photo, but it was more the moment itself. A tiny moment where (staged or not...and I'm really hoping it's not) these two are so in love that they stopped in a crowd to share a mutual energy. And my favourite part, his hand preparing to caress her neck or face.

'Outsider perspective' can be a very schizophrenic thing - when you're in the throws of PMS. Today, I look at these two and feel longing for a similar moment and I feel happy to have witnessed their love. Try showing me this picture next month and let's see what happens. Warning: Stay Back.

to see lots of enviable love, you should go here.