Week One

One week since I moved in.  It feels like so much longer.  I've met a lot of new people, and hung out with some old friends.  I've gone bowling, square dancing, zumba dancing, and bike riding after midnight.  I've read textbooks and written letters and attended lectures.  And through it all, I've worn dresses.

Making Friends

Self-explanatory.

The Dress Challenge

So, I've decided to wear dresses for an entire year.  Why?  Because I want to.  So there.  Yes, I have enough dresses to do that (not a new one every day, but nearly (except not really)).  Skirts count. Today, Sept. 18 2011, marks the beginning of the challenge. This photo documents my first outfit (I don't know why I'm wearing a hat inside... because it's awesome?  Reaction to college madness?  Huzzah!!!)

College

September 18, 2011

So, college has begun.  Sort of.  I've moved into my dorm, put clothes in the drawers, hung up all my dresses, pinned my pictures on the wall.  Getting to know my new roommates, Angelica and Regina.  They're very cool.  Angelica and I are both Hufflepuffs, hence the drawing (Regina is a Gryffindor). Pictures!!!

Day Nine of Vacation 2011: Stanley Park and Home

August 8 continued

   After visiting the Vancouver art museum we took a stroll through Stanley Park along the seawall.  There were a lot of people walking or riding bikes, and the seawall had a lovely view of the ocean, and a stretch of green with yellow flowers on the other side.  My family hopped down onto the sand beside the sea wall for a bit.  There was a man throwing a ball for his dog to receive from the water, and bits of broken shell all along the beach.
   We left the park to go for lunch at Aphrodite's, one of Ginny's favorite restaurants, then Gin and I walked down 4th street to look in shops.  I didn't find anything I wanted, but Ginny got a cool jar and some plates. When we returned to the B&B, we put swimsuits on and the four of us walked to the Kitsilano saltwater pool.  It was a pleasant temperature out (though all the Vancouverites think this is a heat wave!)  There's an amazing view of the mountains from the pool, and swimming was quite refreshing.
   Mom, Dad, and I went to Indian food for dinner at the same place that we had dinner the night before, and the staff recognized us.  They laughed :)

   I said goodbye to Marmalade, the friendly cat who adopted us.  He's sweet but I really miss our kitties.  I'm glad to be going home.

***

This concludes the "Vacation 2011" portion of my blog.  I'm not sure how the blog will evolve from here, but I hope to continue postings.  Thank you.

Day Nine of Vacation 2011: Mirrors

August 8 continued

I continued to look around the surrealism exhibit, and Dad showed Ginny and I a "hall of mirrors."  It was very disorienting -- you really couldn't tell which way was real and which way was just mirror.  Mom thinks it was a metaphor for depression: it makes the person going through it understand how it's possible to feel trapped and uncertain, like there's no way out.  I liked this part of the exhibit more, probably because, even though it was strange, I could understand it.  I believe that good art can tell us something about ourselves or the world, and this exhibit did both.

Day Nine of Vacation 2011: Surrealism

August 8

   This place reminds me of somewhere people go to be insane.  I'm in a Vancouver art museum, and the theme is surrealism.  I learned something about myself today: I hate surrealism.  Or at least dislike it.  It's... disturbing.  The 3-D art and photos and video scare me more than the paintings.  I can appreciate paintings, I can appreciate the unreal.  It's when the unreal steps out of the painting that I feel its fingers on my arm, its breath on the back of my neck.  Some artists would call that a successful piece of art, one that haunts the viewer.  I call it creepy.
   Wandering through this building, I feel like I'm in a surrealist painting myself.  It's a classy old building with ornate architecture, marble staircases and a vaulted glass dome.  However, there are also escalators, which contrast oddly with the building.  Then there's the exhibits themselves.  Riding on the escalators is like being shuffled through a different world.  There're plastic sculptures with no heads, a giant painting of a man behind bars, and a whole room full of lights that move oddly, glowing and receding to create the illusion of movement.  Then, through it all, is the hum of the air conditioner, the irregular squeak of the escalator, and the occasional far-off, indistinguishable babble of human voices.  I feel like I'm in the Department of Mysteries.
   Right now I'm in a room full of mirrors.  Wedged into the mirrors are photos, new and old -- I think this exhibit is about memory, how individuals are full of these random snapshots of life that come to reflect who one is.