Day 3 in "30 Days of Blogging"

Day 3: a picture of you as a child

It was a bit of a difficult assignment today, because I don't have too many digital photos of myself as a kid. This photo may have been featured on the blog before, but it was a long time ago.

That picture is pretty classic Kid-Sharelle in a lot of ways. First of all, I have my pigtails, which was one of my favourite hairstyles. I often got referred to as "Pippy Longstocking" when I was a little girl. My hair was so red then, I had lots of freckles and I was always wearing pigtails.

The other thing that characterizes me in that picture is my bear Scotty. I think that is Scotty 1.0, and now I am on about 4.0. Yes, I still have a teddy bear. Poor Matt. It actually really affects how well I sleep, which is bizarre but true. My current Scotty is falling apart at the seams (literally) so it might be time for me to finally move on.

And that's about it for today.

Day 2 in "30 Days of Blogging"

Day 2: the meaning behind your blog name

When I originally thought of what I was going to write for this post, it was going to be simple. But then I did some research (shocker).

I got the name from an advertisement I saw for liquor a long time ago. It had the tagline "and they say poetry is dead", insinuating that poetry lived on through their liquor.

The tag line stuck in my head for some reason - the way the words were strung together and the connotation that many people do believe that poetry is dead. It was especially poignant because at the time, I spent a good part of my days reading and analyzing poetry, so it was very "undead" to me.

As I was explaining the story to Matt yesterday, he started looking for the advertisement. And then through the wonder of the google machine, there it was (or at least a variation of it).

Kind of silly right? The funniest thing is that the reason we could find the image was that people absolutely hated the ad. The white space! The copy text! They ranted and raved, but thanks to them, there it was.

The final piece of irony in all of this researching, I found an online journal called Poetry is Dead which is actually centered in Vancouver! Their main goal is to keep poetry from actually dying. I scrolled down to read some articles, and there was this fantastic essay from a couple weeks ago about poetry's death. One of the main reasons cited:

Advertising.

Poetry is not linked to economic gain, or dollar values. It is about slow reflection and savoring words in detail. That process isn't really valued in our social media, twitter-paited, 30 second clip culture.

And I got my title from an advertisement and I used it because of how much I love poetry.

What lovely irony. Almost poetic even.

Day 1 in "30 Days of Blogging"

Day 1: a recent picture of you and 15 interesting facts about yourself

On a recent visit to Seattle to see Spiro and the Harry Potter Exhibit.

Well they really start ambitious don't they? Okay here we go.

1. I secretly (or maybe not secretly) have been loving Bruno Mars recently. I don't know what it is - but it's been Top 40 glory for me recently.

2. I love the sound of laundry tumbling. I find it very comforting.

3. Matt and I's first purchase as a couple was a record player. I am still learning how to make it work properly but I really love it.

4. I love the "outside comes inside" motif in decor. Trees, leaves, forest being represented in furniture and prints. Amazing.

5. I love the sound a spoon makes when it hits the side of a teacup. Sometimes I give an extra stir to hear it one more time.

6. Matt and I have a cross-stitch picture by our front door that says "God Bless Our Home and Empire". Lindsay found it while cleaning out my Grandma's apartment and figured it should be bequeathed to us.

7. I read Harry Potter two years ago, and I was captivated. I am so, so sad that it all ends this year.

8. I really like M&M's but I think Smarties are over-rated.

9. I have a deep unexplainable love for Britain, and I'm not British.

10. In the past two years, I have switched my base colors from being brown/neutrals to black/grey. I feel good about it.

11. Green is my favourite color.

12. I love warm orange, brown tones in light. I hate bright white light.

13. I was tomboy when I was growing up. To this day when people buy me things like clutches, nail polish and makeup I am so thankful because I never think to buy it for myself but I love it.

14. I always mess up "complicating" and "complicated". I don't know why.

15. I am pretty obsessed with having straight hair. The straightener is both a delightful invention and a vice to me.

30 Days of Blogging

This week I was thinking about the time a couple years ago when Ang did "things I love" leading up to Valentine's day. I had this blogging goal, and I ended up writing everyday for two weeks.

I was thinking I might do it again this February, and then I saw that my friend Spiro's sister started "30 days of blogging". A bigger goal yes, but I'm going for it.

As you know, comments are always appreciated, or if you'd like to start it yourself, check out the 30 days blogging list.

Here we go!

"Best of the British Oldies"

Thanks Ashley for the "Promo Pic"

Two weeks ago, Lavonne and I went to Water Running at South Surrey Pool. As we walked in, the front desk lady shouted "are you my aquasizers?" and enlisted us for a special event that was coming up in a few weeks from then. She didn't have a hard time - we had seen the poster on the way in and we already were sold.

So tonight (along with the lovely Ashley Gagnon) we went to "Candelight Aquasize" at South Surrey Pool. But better than that, it was "Best of the British Oldies". We walked in to see British flags everywhere, Beatles posters, British collages, and blue, white and red balloon clusters. Inside, there were giant balloon arcs, and tiny candles lining the pool. The pool was packed with at least 50 people of surprisingly varied ages. Before it started there was spontaneous cheering.

The instructors were super keen - wearing themed t-shirts, and jumping around. There was an excellent compilation that included the Zeps, the Beatles, the Ramones. At one point, one of the instructors came to the edge of the pool in a trenchcoat. It "suddenly" came off, and she was in this crazy nude colored swimsuit. She wrapped herself in the flag, and strutted around the pool. Drama even!

I just love thinking of all the staff at the local pool blowing up balloons, cutting out flags and creating little dramas for a night like this. And I love that people go for it - get involved and sing along, dance around in a pool and generally just make fools of themselves. There are few places these days without irony or cynicism, just pure enthusiasm. It's nice to find them sometimes.