Remembering Trent: Architecturally

I was at the National Art Gallery the other day with my friend Jen. We were walking through a corridor that was made of smooth concrete. In fact, alot of the halls were made of smooth concrete. It made me think of the architecture of Trent University, where I spent 5 years of academic life. There were definitely years where I spent more time on campus than others, as my transcript will prove, however, I always loved walking around the space and finding new and exciting nooks to appreciate. Much of the university was made of concrete, some of it smooth, some of it looking like someone threw rocks at the wall while it was drying.

In any case, I really liked this style. I think it may have introduced me to another way of thinking about space and material. For instance, take the Bata Library photo courtesy of http://www.flickriver.com/photos/richmann/tags/water/:  

  It was built between 1967 ans 1969 by Ron Thom, who pretty much designed the entire original Symons campus. I love the way the building sits on the river, literally, and the juxtaposition of the vertical and horizontal lines of window and concrete. The library has a real vinatge feel to it, something that no interior renovation can really take away. I really like this picture of students in the library. What year do you think it is from? 

It is from 1988. Cool, eh? It looks like the early years of the library to me! I found this link that looks at the chairs of the library:  http://trentu.ca/admin/library/archives/ztjacobs.htm Who knew someone researched that. Neato.

In any case, the Bata Library was one of the first real places that made me visualize myself as living in a different decade. Sometimes that is a game I play with myself, and for some reason, as much as I love the 50's, the Mod style of the 60's really gets me. The stairs are so big and made of wood and carpet, it's like the biggest awesome staircase I've ever had the pleasure of walking up and down. I love how the stairs are short so you can run down them really fast if you want, and it is way easier to go up them. 

  

Anyways, I think I am through waxing poetic about the library. All that concrete made me think of it, and how I wish I could sit on the stairs beside Bata and dangle my feet in the river while watching the fishing boats go by, looking for the big musky in the canal.

PS thanks to the Bata Library archives for the pictures.

ROAD RAGE! First Post!

OK. So I know I promised to write about my ROAD RAGE, or rather, How To Drive by Sara D. I wanted to start off my first post by using this disclaimer: I am in no way a traffic or traffic law expert. What I am going to suggest may contravene existing laws governing speed and signaling. If you get a ticket, or into an accident, because you were following my advice, it is by no means my fault :)
So. Where to start?
I think we shall start with my most hated of all Road Rage instigators: driving under the limit on a 400 series highway.
SERIOUSLY. SEEERIOUSLY.
There is nothing that ticks me off more than someone going 80 down the 417 at 10 in the morning when there is no traffic. Especially when I get into said lane because I have to exit the highway shortly. IF YOU CANNOT DRIVE THE SPEED LIMIT DO NOT DRIVE ON THE HIGHWAY. I know that 100 is the maximum speed, technically, by law. HOWEVER, you must also follow the flow of traffic. Traffic is usually around 100 in the "slow lane". If I have to brake and slow down by 20 km/hr you are guaranteed to get a middle finger, or a shaken fist, or at least me swearing at you in my car and while you may not be able to hear me... my anger shall travel the wavelengths over to your car and make you have a really bad day.

Further to this, DO NOT DRIVE UNDER 100 IN THE MIDDLE LANE EVER EVER EVER
How many times have I been driving at the speed limit in the middle lane, when some asshole in a Dodge Caravan is driving 90 in the middle of the highway????? THAT IS WHAT THE SLOW LANE IS FOR. AND DON"T DRIVE UNDER THE SPEED LIMIT THERE  EITHER!!! I think that this problem is potentially worse than the first. WHY are you driving there??? Why??? I think it is just to piss me off.

If this were in Toronto you would be run off the road. I hate you.

Tim Hortons Ettiquette

If you are ordering more than 4 coffees, or 2 meals, GO INTO THE STORE TO DO IT. There are other people in the drive-through line, waiting to go on with their days, who can't afford to wait for 8 minutes to get their coffee while their baby screams in the back, because you are too damned lazy to get out of your car!!!!!!
URGH. This goes for all fast food restaraunts. If you have a large order, don't place it in the drive thru. Remember that you are not the only person alive in the world.
As a matter of fact, to ALL the rude people out there... you are not the only other person who is alive and has important things to do. When did common courtesy get thrown out by so many people? Seriously????

Enough rant.

PS always say "have a nice day" to the Tim Horton's drive-thru peson. They will probably appreciate it.
Or we could do it Romanian style.

Bluesfest

I bought a festival pass this year, on account of being on mat leave and having tonnes (ha ha) of time on my hands. Because of the heatwave, we did not go to see Iron Maiden or the Gypsy Kings, but we braved the heat and humidity to see the Moody  Blues and the B-52's. The Moody Blues were a band my mom listened to like, all the time, when I was a kid. They were pretty good, especially for 70 year olds! They played all the hits, which was pretty cool, cause I had forgotten alot of the songs. It was a nice nostalgic moment for me, and everyone else in the crowd. The B-52's were another story. They were totally great, even though I didn't know half the songs they played and they were mostly slow, not the kind of B-52 song I usually like. However, they played Planet Claire which is one of my favourites, and Love Shack, which is one of my most hated songs of all time. Seeing Love Shack live made it more tolerable but not by much. The last song was Rock Lobster, which was AMAZING live!! Everyone was dancing, like idiots, and this one old dude with a big hobo beard was rocking out by himself, shaking some kind of maraca in his hand, which was really cool to watch. Else totally had a good time, though the beginning of the B-52's was a bit loud for her. I was going to buy her some ear muffs but they are really hard to come by, expensive anyways, and I'm not convinced they are a great idea for outdoor concerts. It was just too hot yesterday to put muffs on Else's head. So, we sat in chairs instead and that was way better. We could see the big screen so we could see them being weird on stage.
Tonight is Hole, and Joan Jett. These should be fun shows!!! I am going to see if I can get some earplugs for Else at least, because I think it's going to be loud!!!!!
I think everybody is surprised to see a 3 month old rocking out to the bands, but I say, why not? One man told me I was brave for bringing her, but I'm not sure why he thought that; was it because of the crowds, and noise, or because a baby might freak out at a concert? In any case, I think more people should try it! I think you'd be surprised. Of course, everyone knows their baby and what their limits are, but so far I have not found Else's limit. She is pretty easygoing and adaptable. Which is great for me cause I can take her out to do the things I want to do, like go to 12 days of music! I just hope she likes Rush and Weezer because those are the next big ones I am excited to see! Wish us luck :)

Something I Love

I love the feeling of warm milky baby puke running down my cleavage. Thank you, Else, for giving me this gift nearly every time I burp you, you are the best.

Here's a lovely story

I had posted this on my Facebook page but I wanted to put it here, so it is easier to come back to. I just love the way Jesse wrote this, because I think it is so true.

Things Are Going To Be Different

The Internet Is My Mom Friend

So, I don't have any mom friends in Ottawa. I have LOTS of mom friends in Aylmer, and Peterborough, but none who I can go for a walk with, go to a matinee, or a coffee. I keep myself pretty busy but as summer comes on, I am feeling the pinch of loneliness that only a mom friend can unpinch. I am looking into taking Else to the mom and baby swimming classes, or doing some other crafty thing, but do not suggest Strollercize otherwise your life is over :) In the meantime, I have turned to the Internet. There are a lot of fun blogs to read about being a mom, lots of cute pictures to look at, stories to follow... yeah that's great, while I sit in front of the computer and nurse my forever hungry Else.
The internet is actually what keeps me in touch with my mom friends who live far far away, so that is a nice benefit. I feel at least somewhat connected to my peeps out there, cause we can still talk about the trials we are facing and the cute things our babies are doing. We can post pictures of our little ones as they grow up. But I wish I could reach out and hold that cute baby! I wish I could make friends with that mom blogger I've been following and we could go to the crappy Starbucks in the industrial park by my house! Or maybe step it up and go to one in the Glebe... oooh :) Too bad she lives in Oregon...
Anyways I was just thinking about how nice it was when I came home to see everybody. Maybe I'll have to make an extra effort to meet some sweet chick friends up here. And we'll be great forever friends, not just cause we're moms, but cause we're cool moms! And maybe we'll go to a patio and have a drink!! Take that!