Completist Aspirations

Hi, hello, welcome, are you ready to come with me on a little diversion? I know you're all here for my hot library takes, but I'm shifting my focus slightly, and thought I would bring you along for the ride. If you want, it's not like there's an actual vehicle that I'm refusing to stop. Free will, baby!

(Image Credit under Creative Commons: Franklinz01)

I've started working on an essay about my adolescent feelings for the late River Phoenix, actor, musician, and my first and strongest celebrity crush. As a result of this essay, I've been going down a few Google-holes and searching IMDB to establish timelines, and I have decided, in the interest of very professional research, that I need to watch all of River Phoenix's movies. I will then be a Phoenix Completist, and you better believe that I will include this information in EVERY bio I am ever asked to submit in the future.

I prepare to embark on some Very Serious Research

And so, to make best use of this important research (since not all of it will end up in the essay), I have decided to blog my journey of watching River Phoenix's movies here for you all. I have also enlisted the company of my husband to come along with me. At this point, he believes it will only be feature films, and that is how we'll begin, but I have plans, upon completing all the movies, to dive into Phoenix's television and mini-series work, which means we'll be watching titles such as It's Your Move, Backwards: The Riddle of Dyslexia, and the television remake of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. You'd better believe that alllllllllllll of these will be poor quality YouTube videos that someone uploaded from a nearly worn out VHS version. Hopefully I'll be able to tell which actor is River! My husband doesn't need to join me for these, as they will likely be very trying, but I may lord my Completist title as being superior to his if he doesn't. Which he likely won't care about at all. 

And so, with great excitement (on my part), we began the journey with the 1985 family-friendly movie Explorers, Phoenix's first feature film. He plays Wolfgang Müller, a barely pubescent nerd who provides all the science in the movie. He's friends with less-nerdy (but still nerdy) Ben played by Ethan Hawke. Quick summary: Ben dreams in mid-80s video game special effects, and discovers some formula or equation in his sleep, which Wolfgang programs into a computer, and it becomes a sphere of blue light that they can use to travel through space. A third boy who is "cool" joins them. They trash a drive-in concession stand, and are momentarily chased by the police, but the stakes remain low throughout. Eventually, they make it to space, but not after pursuing their first impulse upon gaining this power which is to look at boobs. To be clear, this movie in no way even attempts to pass the Bechdel test; it's a story for the lads. Once in space, there are aliens, and some problematic inter-species flirting with young Phoenix. Also, James Cromwell plays Wolfgang's dad!

Lights! Tunnels! 80s! Video Games!

I had not only never watched Explorers before, I hadn't even heard of it. Phoenix's bowl cut and aggressively 80s glasses likely wouldn't have appealed to 13 year old Amy who, I'm now remembering, was a little shallow. 1992 River Phoenix was peak Phoenix as far as I was concerned, so this is proto-Phoenix. I wondered, would 13 year old me have been more impressed with Ethan Hawke? He certainly had the right hair. To be clear, this Completist project is mostly about reflecting on my teenage feelings and superficiality, but I will point out that even in this movie which doesn't give him much, Phoenix is a very good actor. I'd like to believe that at least some of my feelings had to do with his great talent, not just his great face.

Phoenix Face (photo by Alan Light)

As the movie progressed, and the kids ended up in space, Sam turned to me and said "this is basically the same plot as Flight of the Navigator," another 80s movie that I had not seen (also a "boy movie"), so we paused to watch the trailer. Yes, they are very similar, and Explorers clearly paved the way for Navigator. Also E.T. would have been influential. This has been my very thorough movie analysis of 80s space travel movies. Nothing has been left out.

And so, the first movie in Phoenix's filmography has been watched. Would I have enjoyed it as an early teen, when I would have been close to Phoenix's age? Probably not, there was precious little for the girls in it. Also, Phoenix was convincingly dorky, and I had access to dorky guys at that age (when I say access, I mean that they sometimes spoke to me), so there was no fantasy there. Will all this change with our next film, the 1986 classic Stand By Me? You'll have to...stand by to find out! (Sorry.)

(image by mo68kl, Creative Commons)

Bad Deal

I am very bad at making deals. Thankfully, for the last decade or so, I have worked in a unionized environment where salary is standardized and not negotiable. At least, I don't think it's negotiable. I don't know because I've never asked because I'M BAD AT DEALS. I have accepted every starting salary ever quoted to me without question. I pay sticker price.

13 years ago, my husband Sam and I were planning a trip to Cuba. A friend who had been there before mentioned that they'd had to escort frogs out of their resort room each night; the frogs would jump in through the open windows. I have a problem with frogs. They're fine when they're just sitting there, all squat and warty, but then they release their spring-loaded legs and sproing right onto your face which I don't care for. I find them startling. I wasn't interested in removing them from my room on a nightly basis.

Those tucked in legs are a LIE!!!

And so I approached my husband with a deal, a deal that I thought was particularly generous to him. I told him that he would be in charge of dealing with any and all frogs that got into our room. I, in turn, would be responsible for dealing with any bugs. There were bound to be more bugs than frogs, including potentially unfamiliar and strange (read: creepy) ones, and, I told him graciously, I would take care of the disposal of all of them.

He pondered my proposal for longer than I felt necessary. What was there to think about?  He was clearly getting the better end of this arrangement. Finally, he spoke.

"But I don't mind bugs."

"Right," I answered, panic creeping in, "but you wouldn't have to worry about any of them!"

"I don't worry about them now," he said, his preternatural calm and composure, quite frankly, getting on my nerves. "You should have to deal with something that I don't want to deal with."

My husband, I learned in this moment, is good at deals.

"Well, what don't you want to deal with?" I asked. Would I be tasked with lizards? Small rodents? Recon missions to find the cleanest bathroom stall?

Sam considered this question for at least a minute before he said "you have to deal with talking to any people on the trip that I don't want to talk to. You have to be the buffer."

Well played sir.

I agreed. I took the deal that I knew was a bad one because I really didn't want to have to remove frogs. Also, I secretly believed the internal pressure to be a polite Canadian would be too much for Sam, and he wouldn't enforce that side of the deal.

I was wrong.

There was a team of French Canadian hockey players at the same resort as us, with some very over-bearing personalities among them. A couple approached us the first night, and after about two sentences, Sam just turned and left. No "excuse me", certainly no attempt to also extract me, just a straight shot to delicious mojitos at the bar. 

Drink of choice the whole trip!
(Photo from bbcgoodfood.com)

I continued nodding and murmuring little noises at this couple before I was also able to leave, a good five minutes later. Thankfully, Sam had a mojito waiting for me when I finally arrived at the bar.

We didn't see a single frog the entire trip.

An Update No One Has Asked For

Hello Possums! I'm just popping in to bring you all some news about Paul. You might remember Paul as he's been with me from the beginning, and was also the subject of a 2019 update, but you haven't heard about him in 2020 (probably because I've barely written anything here this year!).

This may be a short post, because I'm here to tell you no news is good news when it comes to a bunion. Paul has been in remarkably good temper these days, barely ever causing me to whimper in pain. At first I thought it was because my body clearly has remarkable healing abilities, but then I realized my lack of foot discomfort is all due to the pandemic.

On March 16 my office got sent home to continue our work there for the foreseeable future, and so March 16 marks the last day that I spent any kind of significant time in shoes. Paul (and I assume all bunions) doesn't like the confines of footwear, and without that constant pressure on him, turns out he's not as much of an asshole (there's likely deeper symbolism there...).

Now I'm not working in my pjs (although no judgement if you are), I'm changing into "work clothes" (a loose criteria, admittedly) every morning, but putting shoes on never occurred to me. Then I read an article on social media (okay, I read the headline, who am I trying to impress?) that recommended wearing shoes during your work day, even at home, to, I don't know, boost productivity?  It could have been an article like this one, or maybe like this one, but whatever it was, it featured a photo like this:

BAHAHAHAHA!!! (The sound of Paul and me laughing)

Now I don't wear shoes like that under any circumstances, but the idea of anyone putting those on to GO NOWHERE is, scientifically speaking, bananas.

When the weather was cold, Paul and I mostly hung out in these through the day.

Basically foot sleeping bags

Now that it's quite a bit warmer, Paul is free range, and I spend most days barefoot. Even when I leave my house for a walk or an errand, it's usually in sandals that afford Paul maximum comfort. 

There may end up being a lot of difficult adjustments when work-from-home ends and we have to go back into our offices, but for me, forcing Paul back into shoes might just prove too much. I may be a foot nudist from here on out, or at least a year-round sandal wearer (I can rock a winter socks and sandals look like you wouldn't believe). There's a lot of chaos and anxiety swirling around right now, mixed in with rather a lot of uncertainty and fear, but Paul has never been better. Small victories, wherever we can find them.

Return to the Library

On Friday March 13th I sat with my colleagues sorting out how we would move our work online and home as it seemed inevitable that we would soon be called to do so. Rumours began trickling in about other businesses and services that might also close.

"I need to get to the liquor store," my colleague said, just as I said, in the same panicked tone, "I need to get to the library." He gave me a look that made me understand our quarantine experiences would be very different.

The next day I had planned to take my kids to our library branch, but I came down with a brief and ferocious cold. Given that we were entering a pandemic state, I didn't think it wise to take my dribbly face out of the house, so my husband took our daughters to the library. They came back with two very full bags, beaming. "We took out 40 books!" my eldest told me proudly. "Excellent," I replied, although I wondered how long those would last.

True to form, a week later all the library books had been read. Thankfully we were able to set the girls up with Overdrive from the library, and their school provided them with Epic accounts, so the reading could continue. I also ordered online from a spectacular used book store in Elora that offered porch pick up.

The delightful Twice Loved Books, photo taken from their Facebook page

Flash forward to mid-June when I was chatting with my good friend and work-wife Lauren, and she casually mentioned that she'd heard the library would begin offering curb side pick up. All other discussions immediately stalled as I confirmed on the library website that my friend was not cruelly pranking me; library books were returning! I began putting titles on hold as Lauren tried desperately to return the conversation to its original intention. I wasn't much of a conversationalist after hearing the news I'm afraid (to be fair, she should have known. I believe she is one of my 7 blog readers).

Finally, the day arrived when I received my first (in a long time) email notification that a book I'd put on hold was ready for pick up. I arrived at the library and was greeted by a friendly librarian who walked me through the safety procedures before I entered. I gushed about how exciting the day was, overful with joy.

All you have to do is follow a few very reasonable safety precautions, and they will give you books! BOOKS!!!

I entered that wonderful building and waited for my turn to present my card and receive my book. I had expected to feel elated to be back in the library after 3 months, and I was, but an unexpected feeling began to creep in. As I looked around the space, usually bustling with people, I became melancholy in its stillness. There were only a handful of librarians hard at work, maintaining distance and wearing their protective gear. The beautiful atrium area, normally a place to sit down with a coffee and reading material, was of course empty. Don't get me wrong, I was (and am) thrilled to be able to get books again, but standing there I felt how much more the library is than just books. Even the books, as a collection, were unavailable, as when I'm feeling overwhelmed I like to just be among the books in the stacks, possibly the nerdiest thing about me. (That's not true, the nerdiest thing about me is the fact that I have my 14-digit library card number memorized for efficient hold management. Or maybe it's the fact that I have this blog.)

Not a gathering place for a while still.

The shelves of books that I cannot run my hands across.

It's going to be a very different summer for us with the library only available for brief pop-ins to pick up our material. There won't be any stops in after a hot summer walk to cool down, maybe join in an activity, or just sit together and read. And, of course, it'll be much harder for people who depend on that space as a cooling centre in the stifling heat of July and August. I'm so thankful for all the librarians working hard to bring us back books. And I can't wait until we can return to the space for more than just books, for the community it provides.

I'm Finally Writing About My China Trip!!!

Hello patient possums!

It's been four months since I was in China on a professional development trip, so I've owed you a post about it for about 3 months and 3 weeks (giving myself a little jet-lag recovery). What I'm saying is, this is very late in coming, and my apologies.

I visited Beijing and Xi'an with two of my lovely colleagues from work to get a better understanding of the Chinese student experience. We spent most of the trip touring university campuses and talking to colleagues there. The campuses were lovely, and many included a water element.

Beautiful pagoda

Series of bridges

I snapped a picture of the library at Beijing Jiatong University, but sadly our schedule didn't allow for a visit.

University library that I didn't go into

Our schedule was pretty packed, but we did manage to visit some incredible sights.

Yup, that's me on the Great Wall of China. You better believe I rocked that fanny pack the WHOLE trip!

The Forbidden City

Breathtaking Buddha in the Lama Temple

Having a sit at the Summer Palace

Either the drum temple or the flower temple in Xi'an

But what, I hear you ask, about the libraries? I'm slightly ashamed to admit that, even though our hotel in Beijing was quite close to the National Library of China, I didn't make it inside. This omission was partly because we did have a very busy schedule, but I also found the entrance requirements to the library a little intimidating. Our lovely tour guide Jack (Tao) told me that I would need to bring my passport and exchange it for a temporary card before I could enter the building. I was a little concerned about navigating that process in a non-tourist destination where, in all likelihood, my lack of Chinese language skills would be a problem. So the closest I got was this shot of me in front of the building.

Fun fact, that umbrella was pretty flimsy, but made for very lovely pops of colour in photographs

I don't feel too badly, though, because it turns out that I found little libraries everywhere! In the lobby of our first hotel in Beijing, I found this.

Mystery library?

To be clear, I don't know what the sign says, so maybe this isn't a library at all, but I suspect it's a "need a book, take a book, leave a book" kind of arrangement for travelers. Because I wasn't sure I didn't take anything, although there were a few English books that were tempting.

We popped into a convenience store/bubble tea emporium close to our hotel, and bam! Another library.

Surprise library

People were working, parents reading with their kids, it was great! No English titles that I could find though, so I just soaked up the atmosphere.

Another library snuck up on me when we were getting some coffee and tea for the bullet train ride back to Beijing (and yes, the bullet train was very cool).

A few customers were reading while they sipped their coffee

We also visited an INCREDIBLE bookstore in Xi'an. 

So many books!

Look at all the books!

They had a small section of English books, mostly classics, so I picked up a copy of Edith Wharton's The Age of Innocence as a souvenir.

That's some good reading right there

The bookstore featured, obviously, lots of books for purchase, but also had some library qualities, such as the children's area where staff members were reading books to the assembled little ones. (There was also, inexplicably, a substantial bulk popcorn area.)

Children being read to, not popcorn

And so I managed to find libraries throughout my travels, and got to spend some time among my beloved books.

Also, the food was pretty spectacular.

Everything in this meal was NOM NOM NOM!!!

Update

Hello dear readers!

I owe you a post because 1) it's been a while, and 2) I went to freakin' CHINA(!) and managed to visit a few libraries and bookstores, but I'm not here today to talk about that. Today I need to update you all on a situation. And that situation is named Paul Bunion.

Avid readers will remember  Paul from my very first post. At that point Paul was just an obtrucance (obtrusion nuisance) that contributed to the Hobbit-like appearance of my feet, but wasn't a source of discomfort. Well, Paul's getting uncomfortable.

I went to the doctor and was told that, if things got significantly worse, the treatment is a horrific-sounding surgery where the bone (AKA Paul) is shaved down, which is terrible enough, but then you have to stay off of your feet for quite a while to recover. Turns out, I use my feet pretty much daily. So the doctor recommended I wear shoes that are spacious at the top, which was easy in the summer (hello sandals at work!), but is more difficult now that the weather is cold. So basically, I've done nothing to improve the bunion situation.

So I really shouldn't be surprised that Paul is now letting me know, in tiny little spurts of stabbing pain, that all is not well. Right now I'm able to push through and (mostly) ignore Paul, but I have a feeling he isn't going to like that. He had settled down a bit, enough that I had pretty much forgotten his recent displeasure, until I went ice skating today in very structured, toe-constrained figure skates. Less than one lap around the rink and Paul reminded me he would prefer I NEVER DO THIS AGAIN!!!

I wonder if they make wide-toed iced skates...

Paul June 2018 - the early days

Paul Nov 2019 - have things gotten worse?!?!?

 

Actual Pilgrimage!

Possums! I'm here to tell you that I went on an actual library pilgrimage! Well, a pilgrimage in the sense that I traveled a great distance, but in truth, only one library was visited. But it was lovely!

In June we went on a family vacation to Ponta Delgada in the Azores, a wee, picturesque island in the Atlantic.

The Azores are part of Portugal

Although our intention with this trip wasn't solely to visit a new (and European!) library, I will let you know that I confirmed there was a library in Ponta Delgada before I booked our Airbnb. I'm no fool.

Now I could go on and on about the views in the Azores,

or the natural wonders,

the interesting sights,

or the local flora,

but you're not here for all that (yawn!). You're here for the sweet, sweet library talk.

Conveniently, the library was about a fifteen minute walk  from our apartment, which we discovered our first night on the island when we went on a gelato mission. From our favourite gelato shop (we tried many) we could see the library. As it was after dinner, a plan was made to return the next day.

And return we did. The unassuming entrance to the library did not betray the beautiful design housed inside.

There was colour to be found in the library as well.

Tile art on the stairs

Since we had been out walking in the sun, the first stop was the library cafe which had a courtyard (how civilized!) where we enjoyed some cool beverages.

Then we were off to explore the children's area. My older daughter quickly found a book on her favourite topic - didn't matter that it was in Portuguese.

All cats, all the time

My younger daughter was interested in the board games and puzzles that they had, so we grabbed Guess Who and took it to our table.

As we were getting the game set up I noticed how many teenagers there were in the children's area (turned out the library was crawling with teens; I think they were preparing for end-of-the-year exams). "They probably find it so babyish in this section," I thought, hoping the sound of our playing wouldn't disturb them.

After we finished our game, as we were putting it away, one of the teens came over to us, and in broken English asked if she could have the game. She took it back to her table and set it up to begin playing with her friend. Not so babyish after all.

We made our way up to the second floor once the games were done and all the cat pictures had been observed. Here we found more teens, but also some beautiful natural light and wood flooring.

What a stunner!

All libraries should have a sky light

And as we were wrapping up our visit, I looked down to the floor below me and saw a man reading possibly the biggest and oldest book I had ever seen.

I don't know what he was looking for, but it was clear that the history that was being housed in the library was put to good use.

It was a beautiful trip, and a lovely library. I hope to return one day. If you're ever there, stop in and have a peek.