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.