. . . Tupperware Cities . . .

Thursday, September 30

 

The passage below is written by my bosom friend, Candice Fryda. A copule of days ago, in a moment of sheer boredom and hatred for our places of employment, I lightly suggested that she and I take a Anne Shirley-themed vacation on Canada's Prince Edward Island. After I mentioned it I was amazed at how instantly agreeable we both were to the idea....

My bosom friends,
I am writing this mostly for Bender and myself so if it bores the crap out of you tough sh*T.
A wonderful thing has happened. Anne of Green Gables and Anne of Avonlea the movies based upon the wonderful books have finally been released to DVD. Bender and I are sh*tting our pants. We have watched these movies repeat times always while eating Wise Guys hot and bbq wings and chocolate ice cream . Every time we watched we cried, we laughed, we felt elated and we fell in love with Gilbert Blythe again. Oh Gil, if only you were a man in the flesh, I would freak you wild and then revere you with only the holiest of sweet, tender loves. And you will feel the same way after you watch these two movies. And you will watch them, and they will move you and you will want to join Bender and I on our trip to Prince Edward Island.. the home of Green Gables and Avonlea where we will chase each other in green green pastures in handsome frocks of days gone by and fall to the earth giggling and then maybe chase a pig or two out of a local townies garden like Anne and her best friend Diana did on many an occasion.
Bender and I are a just teensy weensy little bit obsessed with Anne Shirley, the orphan girl who came to live with Marilla and Matthew (who were brother and sister and wanting a boy to work the farm as they were getting up in years) when she was a young lady at Green Gables. There are a definitive number of female characters in literature that are role models for young girls everywhere and for whom grown women look back upon as having changed their lives such as Elizabeth Bennet of Pride and Prejudice, Jo March of Little Women, Laura Ingalls Wilder of the Little House on the Prarie series, Frances Hogdson Burnett's lead characters in The Little Princess and The Secret Garden and of course Anne Shirley of the Anne of Green Gables series. This is why the first book I ever bought Sedonah was a rare copy of Anne of Green Gables with hand tipped illustrations for I knew that that when she was old enough to read it she would treasure it as millions of little girls did before her and set her dreams upon the wandering feet of the red headed girl with a love for life and words a flair for the dramatic. Anne is everything I always wanted to be, right down to her ability to hoe a field.
Why is Anne Shirley such a memorable and well loved character you may axe. Well Im gonna tell ya see. She's a spit fire, she's supremely intelligent, she's excited, she's passionate, she's eloquent, she's appreciative, she's vivacious, she's independent, she's outspoken, she's fun, she's funny, she's compassionate, she's empathetic, she is deeply grateful for every moment of life she is given and uses it to its full advantage. To sum it up she has a beautiful heart. If Anne Shirley was real Id be stepping all over myself to be her friend, or "bosom friend" as she calls her best friend Diana cuz man, I think we'd have ourselves a blast. Anne Shirley refers to friends and the ones she's close to in her life as "kindred spirits". I love that term so much, it is also the title of one of my favorite paintings by the early American painter Asher Durand and both the image and Anne Shirley saying the title.. it warms me. Anne Shirley is always saying stuff like "kindred spirit" and "bosom friend" without one speck of irony or self consciousness for sounding corny or weird. Anne is a writer and fills her writings with all kinds of far flung ideas.. the b*tch has an imagination that surpasses the entire collective imaginations of every customer to walk in my door today. And Anne Shirley is also WEIRD. Which is why I love her. The townsfolk think she's dun cryajee cuz she's always going on and on about how beautiful everything is and speaking in a way that glorifies the use of language and of big pompous glorious words. And ya know.. most people dont talk that way. She's also a trouble maker. Not cuz she's necessarily naughty but cuz she's curious. To put it in Anne's own words "Theres such a lot of different Anne's in me. I sometimes think that is why I'm such a troublesome person . If I was just one Anne it would be ever so much more comfortable but then it wouldn't be half so interesting." Straight up sister.
And here's somethign I havent' told you about yet. And its about Gilbert Blythe. Who used to be Anne's enemy when they first met when they were very young and he would tease her and call her Carrots (Anne has bright orange hair and looootttts o freckles) and he was also more of a "dull boy". But then they became friends.. and then Gil fell in love with her but she didnt fall in love with him cuz he was too dull and too good . Anne wanted a life and a man of excitment and Gil was a good good man who was going to be a doctor who loved everything about Anne, but she didnt see that. So what she did see was strike out on her own, taught school to a bunch of rich brats and in the process met a very rich exciting older gentleman. But then she learned the lesson that everyone must learn.. exciting ain't everything if that person doesnt understand you and doesn't put you first in their lives -especialy if that person asks you to marry them. She decides to strike it on her own so she leaves him and pursues the dreams of becoming a professional writer and she goes back to Green Gables where she finds that Gil is on his death bed. Girls, you will be weeping at this point.. sweet sweet Gil.. about to kick it and still able to call his beloved Anne "carrots" oh man. Im gonna lose it. Anne realizes that she is in love with Gil , that what she needs and what she wants is this good ,faithful ,gentle man who loves her and her only and who understands and appreciates everything about her. She at this point is as ready to freak Gil wild as I am. Of course Gil makes a miraculous recovery and this is the passage that where they get their mutual love going on- prepare to get swoony: "For a moment, Anne's heart fluttered queerly and for the first time her eyes faltered under Gilbert's gaze and a rosy flush stained the paleness of her face. It was as if a veil that had hung before her inner consciousness had been lifted, giving to her view a revelation of unsuspected feelings and realities. "Perhaps, after all, romance did not come into one's life with pomp and blare, like a gay knight riding down; perhaps it crept to one's side like an old friend through quiet ways; perhaps it revealed itself in seeming prose, until some sudden shaft of illumination flung athwart it's pages betrayed the rhythn and the music; perhaps... perhaps... love unfolded naturally out of a beautiful friendship, as a golden-hearted rose slipping from its green sheath."Then the veil dropped again; but the Anne who walked up the dark lane was not quite the same Anne who had driven gaily down it the evening before. The page of girlhood had been turned, as by an unseen finger, and the page of womanhood was before her with all its charm and mystery, its pain and gladness."
Oh yeah yall it is THAT good. See I know you are all rushing to your video stores right now.
So yeah next year Bender and I are going to take a trip to Prince Edward Island and take long beautiful bike rides along the coast and go for long long long long walks along the scenic trails and eat 267 lobsters and numerous crab legs and wear handsome frocks and go to all the old haunts of Anne Shirley. I truly can't think of a better vacation right now. I also plan to find a surly long shoreman and make out with him in one of the many lighthouses that dot the PEI coast. Bender, you can ya know go find seashells while that is all going on or something. It sounds amazing . Just to walk and walk and walk and walk and walk and walk in such a gorgeous landscape..oh that I had a plane ticket right now. And also the lobster. I love the f**k out of some fresh sea food yall.. aint no stopping me. And below are some of my fave Anne quotes which just further proove how kick a** she is.
"Isn't it splendid to think of all the things there are to find out about? It just makes me feel glad to be alive-it's such an interesting world. It wouldn't be half so interesting if we knew all about everything, would it? There'd be no scope for imagination then, would there?"
"Next to trying and winning, the best thing is trying and failing"
(THAT IS THE F**CKING SH*t WORDS TO LIVE BY B*TCHES)"When I left Queen's my future seemed to stretch out before me like a straight road. I thought I could see along it for many a milestone. Now there is a bend in it. I don't know what lies around the bend, but I'm going to believe that the best does. It has a fascination of its own, that bend."

Lynnette 8:26 AM

Monday, September 27

 

Someone hit my reset button...please

Tonight I want to restart. Yes everything. Chalk it up to PMS, or maybe a sudden dose of reality. But I want to throw caution into the wind and just let everything blow up in my face, look down upon the smoldering wreck, and then walk away. Just walk far, far away.

Lynnette 8:37 PM

Friday, September 24

 

Gessoing of the canvas...

P.S. this morning on the way to work i had the window all the way down. it was almost cold and the wind held a definite winter chill. i became overly aware of the fact that winter is literally right around the corner. it snowed in utah last week, what's to stop all this rain from getting a tad colder, and falling as little snowflakes? i axe you. but it's just as well. the winters here aren't terrible, at least the two i have experienced. they say this one will be terrible, unbearable, and i constantly hear natives of this state complain about the weather. winter is cold, it's death, it's the gessoing of the canvas.

Lynnette 10:51 AM

Monday, September 20

 

DREAM: SCUBA Flying through Seattle

They say that when you dream you're flying, or weightless, that you possess an overall happiness and contentment in your waking life. I find this to be especially true for myself. Last night I dreamt that I was wearing my SCUBA BCD jacket that worked in air, as it should have in water. A short explanation: when you inflate a BCD you (surprise) float, or rise. When you let air out you sink. Simple enough. In my dream, however, this worked like a flying device. I found myself on a short trek through Seattle with my mom and my brother, and when the view from ground level was suiting me, I inflated and took a flight around the skyline, the Space Needle, above the locks, through parks. I had my camera with me, but most of the time I was moving to quickly that it was difficult to focus. The highlight of the flight, aside from the famous Space Needle was a huge ionic pillar, standing solitary in the middle of a park.. Just gorgeous.

Lynnette 8:27 AM

Friday, September 17

 

Owls, Kerry

Unfortunately, not one of my dreams, but a brush over reality. Last night my friend Margarita and I went to see a free show from the band the Owls at the Mill City Museum. We were trying to figure out where they were from; they play in the Twin Cities so often I assumed they were local. Their look, however, was definitely unprovincial. Margarita suggested they looked Swedish; I agreed, then countered with "maybe it's just that they're from western Chicago..." We had a good laugh.

Oddly enough, I just looked on the web and they are indeed from Chicago. If you haven't heard them, I would suggest seeing them live. A quartet who change instruments every few songs (as in the drummer will sing and play lead guitar, and teh keyboardist will drum, and the tamborine player will be on bass, rinse, repeat...) I wouldn't say they have a completely original sound; sort of a mix of Beatles, Sundays, and Stereolab vocals (at least when the 2 girls are harmonizing). Members of the Owls have played in other Chicago bands such as the well-known Joan of Arc and the lesser-known American Football. Check 'em out.

We also discussed the waning Kerry support, and wondered what the hell is happening to our country. How could people purposely vote for George W. Bush? I'm so confused, and hurt, and worried. I've talked to all the people I know, who were undecided and talk to them about voting (yes, for either candidate). I, too, want to share the importance of voting with everyone I know. However, I haven't been able to convince anyone to vote for Kerry, except for my mom. I simply educated her on Bush's stance on gay lifestyles and the fact that he wants to amend our constitution to take away more of their rights, and she was convinced (I hope)!

The next several weeks will find me placed firmly on the edge of my seat. I'm definitely looking forward to the televised presidential debates, and hope that my fellow citizens will open their ears and chose with their brains.

Lynnette 8:09 AM

Monday, September 13

 

PADI certified!

As of yesterday I am a certified open water scuba diver. Aaaah, step one down! Advanced classes begin in the springtime, and you can bet I'll be there. Diving is one of the most amazing things I have ever done... that is once you get passed the fact that you aren't going to drown or choke and die. Over that hump is all peaches and cream (and sunfish and catfish, as it were...).

I had the last week away from work, while I spent time with friends and family in Omaha and Lincoln. This morning when a coworker asked me what I did with my time off, and I replied that I became a certified scuba diver, she laughed. Well, that's just too bad. I'm sorry you work 75 hours a week, but tough shit cookie.

And now I am here again, back at the work site, loving every minute of it......

Lynnette 8:53 AM

Tuesday, September 7

 

I just took an online personality test where the first question reads:

Does the thought of midgets and monkeys make you laugh? (A) Yes or (B) No

Holy shit. It took me awhile to stop laughing before I, naturally, answered A.

Lynnette 9:32 PM

Monday, September 6

 

Never starbuck...

So mother nature is never starbuck, I don't know if you knew that before; it never is. Yesterday, after a impromptu bbq at my folks' house, Amy (my crackbaby) and I went driving around and ended up seeing a double, complete rainbow. This past March while Steve and I were in Iceland was the first time I can remember seeing a complete rainbow; from one end to the other. Amy and I saw two of them, two of them!

Needless to say it was breathtaking.

Tomorrow is my Lincoln visit, lunch with friends, and probably shopping. It's great not to be working.

Lynnette 5:08 PM