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Saturday, December 21, 2013

KIOS Days 20 & 21

First of all: Happy Winter Solstice, Everyone! 

I think my work has slowed down enough that I'm going to be able to post daily for the rest of KIOS! And have time to read and comment more on other Blog-a-Thoners posts. I am very happy and excited about this!

Here are my last two days' worth of posts:

Day 21: Today, share with us a quote you love.

I love quotes.

When I lived in university residence, I covered my res room door with all the quotes I loved. I couldn't bear to part with them and still have them in an envelope somewhere. (One more thing that will need to be thrown out with the move to the Tiny Home - Arg!)

My ex was not a fan of random pieces of paper stuck up on the wall. So when we first lived together in a small and open-concept apartment, he devised a home improvement project to solve the problem: a divider screen that would be pretty on one side (the side facing him, the TV and sofa) and covered in my quotes on the side facing my sewing/studio area.

I still have the screen:

My "quote" screen. Not the best photo, taken in the 4am winter solstice darkness, but you get the idea.

As you can see, there are still empty spaces on it. I am always open to adding quotes. (My ex asked me when I was going to "finish it" so he could put a few coats of varathane on the quote side. I just looked at him like he was crazy. I should have known in that moment, but it took me 9 or 10 more years to figure out that we were just fundamentally not suited to one another.)

Anyway, a quote for today. I think I'll go with an old favourite. From the movie Moonstruck, written by John Patrick Shanley (and directed by Norman Jewison), these lines, spoken by a young Nicolas Cage in a beautiful Brooklyn accent: 

"Loretta, I love you. Not like they told you love is, and I didn't know this either, but love don't make things nice - it ruins everything. It breaks your heart. It makes things a mess. We're not here to make things perfect. The stars are perfect. The snowflakes are perfect. Not us. Not us. We are here to ruin ourselves and break our hearts and love the wrong people– and die! I mean the storybooks are bullshit."

Wow, that comes off as being really heavy when it's written in print. I mean, I guess it is heavy, but spoken out of a man's desperate love, its honesty and directness have always gripped me and it pulled up in my heart this morning when I was asked for a quote. If this quote gets you down, I recommend you go watch Moonstruck, it'll all make sense and you'll be lifted up :-).

Day 20: My First ... (the Meme Edition)

Firsts are so much fun, let's share more in a meme-a-licious kind of way.
Let's share the following firsts:

  • Your First Job
    Not counting babysitting, which I hated, my first job started when I was 15 - working evenings from 5-8pm at a British imports shop in the little tourist town near where I grew up (my big sister worked the day shift). The shop was owned by a middle-aged Cornish couple. I worked there for 3 years, taking over the day shift from my sister when she went to university. My boss used to call my "My Flower" and "Petal" and I can still hear the sound of her husband tapping his pipe against the stone wall outside of the shop. They were ideal second parents to me, all the praise, none of the hassles. And the shop was full of treasures to dust and fold and smelled of pot pourri and scented oils. And we had about 6 cassette tapes we were allowed to play - including Zamfir. Oh, Zamfir.
  • The First Thing to Your Left
    The first thing to my left is a bag full of yarn and knitting needles. My mom gave me the yarn when she was cleaning out her own stash and I'm slowly working through it.
  • Something You Remember About First Grade
    I remember struggling to learn how to read. I had a hard time saying my Rs and Ls properly when I was 5 (I skipped a grade) and I remember my first grade teacher being impatient with me, sitting in a circle with all the other kids in my class. I still cringe thinking of that. 
  • The First book you ever read
    A Nancy Drew book, also in Grade 1. After I mastered reading, I jumped right into chapter books. It took me almost the whole year to read it. I hated it. I never read another Nancy Drew book.
  • The First Thing You Do In the Morning
    I check the time on my phone and then, pathetic as this is, I check my email and facebook.
  • The First Food You Knew You Didn't Like
    Mayonnaise. Hated it for years. *shudder*. It took me until I was 28 to get over it and now I can even enjoy Mayo in some contexts.
  • Your First Memory
    This is very sweet. I was 3 and I remember going for a walk with my Nana. There was snow on the ground. She was visiting us in rural Quebec (where we lived that year). She was a writer and storyteller. And as we walked along, we made up stories about the things we saw: the trash on the ground, the burned skeleton of a house. It was a very happy walk and I love knowing that the first thing I can remember is creating stories and sharing them.

13 comments:

  1. I just watched Moonstruck for the millionth time. What a fabulous movie! The writing and acting are phenomenal right across the board.

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  2. Cool board! I've always loved that Moonstruck quote--the way Nick Cage says it is spot-on and hilarious!

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    1. Thanks, Kelly. I agree - Nick Cage is aces in Moonstruck.

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  3. Oh how fun to have a quote screen! And the Moonstruck quote is perfect - just as we're all perfect in our imperfection. ;-) Enjoyed your firsts list as well - that job sounds like such a delight.

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    1. Thanks Deborah! I'm looking at that screen with new eyes - I've had it for so long, I take it for granted, but it is cool. I love your phrase: "perfect in our imperfection". Exactly!

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  4. Love the quote screen! I want one. And love the walk with your grandma creating stories. Brings a smile to my face. Thanks!

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  5. That quote screen is an awesome idea! Might steal it from you. :)
    And your quote would definitely be on it.

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    1. Thank you, Tink! You know, I'm not sure that quote from Moonstruck is on my screen (I should add it) - another Moonstruck quote is on twice: "I ain't no freakin' monument to justice!"

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  6. Oh... I love all these moments and memories. What a beautiful idea to have the quote screen! And John Patrick Shanley is so masterful. When I was studying acting in university, we did many scenes from his plays.

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    1. Oh, cool, Jamie! He is a truly great scriptwriter, isn't he? I bet it would be so fascinating to act his words!

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  7. Love the quote you chose. Makes me realize that love isn't perfect, and it's the imperfections that make everything work...

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