Get Mommy Some Gin

Do you ever spend time wondering what your city will be like in 20 years? I think about this possibly more than most people, because the city that I grew up in is so incredibly new. Calgary is only 100 years old, and has changed so much since the first time I moved there. Seeing how things change, it impossible not to wonder how things will be in the future.

For example, a number of high-rise buildings in downtown Calgary were built with very little parking, as there was land/empty parking lots in every direction. How short-sighted were the people designing those buildings to have not been able to imagine a future where there would be other high-rise buildings where those parking lots were?

Where I live now, there are amazing, beautiful buildings that have been abandoned for years, covered in graffiti and hiding all kinds of terrible secrets. These buildings though, they have presence. Within walking distance of me in Philadelphia, is The Divine Lorraine, a building with enough character to write a book and one of those buildings that you just can’t get out of your head. I look at it, all broken and weary, and imagine what the lives were like of the people who lived there. What the neighborhood was like, what people wore and what they ate for dinner.

I then look to the new buildings I see going up, from the mirrored, smooth high-rise across the street, to the cookie cutter houses in the suburbs where I work. I see them and consider that they are nice enough. Nice enough to live or work in, but not good enough to inspire.

In comparison, I see the new building for the Barnes Foundation and I want more. I want to explore it, to look at the art and hear about how the building was designed. I see the peace bridge in Calgary and I feel pride. I imagine people crossing it every day, going to work and coming home. I wonder if they stop to consider how interesting it is and how it has created this bond with other cities that also have Santiago Calatrava designed structures. I want to visit Milwaukee now, solely because of the Peace Bridge in Calgary.

I like how these buildings and structures make me think and I like that they push us forward. If we aren’t striving to build something unique, something taller, more efficient or more beautiful, we are stuck. We are saying our city isn’t worth being inspired, nor is it worth being inspiring.

I believe in my city. I want to invest in its future.

*I totally stole this photo from @streetsdept Follow him on Instagram to fall in love with Philadelphia, and check out the Streets Dept blog so I don’t feel like such a jerk

“I fear that most contemporary people are answering questions not because they’re flattered by the attention; they’re answering questions because they feel as though they deserve to be asked. About everything. Their opinions are special, so they are entitled to a public forum. Their voice is supposed to be heard, lest their life become empty. “

-Chuck Klosterman, Eating the Dinosaur

Dear team,

I’ve been making lists to cross things off. WHAT? Don’t look at me and my 5 million lists like that. I like to keep track of stuff. And prioritize it. And then make it into a new list. It is easy and makes me feel like I’m getting stuff done. However, looking back at all the lists, it seems the daily tasks get finished and the big picture, future looking goals get tossed aside.

While I’m definitely getting things done, it seems as though I’m not moving towards the direction I want to be going, even though I clearly know where I want to be going and what is important to me.

Last year, I wrote out my 2009 New Year’s resolutions. It seemed incredibly silly at the time, but it blows my mind to read it now, remember what I was going through then and think about how much I’ve grown. Interestingly, I wrote about what I love, what I love to do and how I want to be doing it, but not in an actionable format, more of a “wouldn’t it be great if…” kind of way. Well fuck that, I don’t see very much similarity between what I love and me right now, even though I’ve had a year to work on bringing my life closer to my passions. So even if it’s lame, I’m writing it out.

5. I love to help, connect and organize people. As soon as you say hello to me, I’m thinking about who else I would invite over for dinner if I knew you were coming ’round. I can’t help it. I like smart people and the interesting discussions that come from being around them. Either when they are with their peers, or with people who have backgrounds that are completely different.

4. I’m a music addict. Sourcing rad music is probably one of my top 3 skills. I haven’t figured out if this could ever be a paying gig (I doubt it), but I’m happy to just have it be a big part of my life. Every moment has a soundtrack and I want to ensure that I’ve got the time to enjoy it and share it with others.

3. I am enamored with mobile/tech/web. This is 50% shiny gadgets, 50% my love of connecting with people. Show me a new phone and I will want to touch it, figure it out and integrate it into my daily routine. Show me a new use for current technology and I’ll want to tell all of my friends. Show me something that is completely innovative and you’ll have my heart forever.

2. I am an idea pump. If you tell me what you want to do, I will give you three options to do it right away. Give me a few days and I’ll have a laundry list of possibilities. I like to think about people and what makes them tick. Then think of ways to tap into that. There’s nothing quite as cool as putting a smile on someone’s face (well, putting a smile on someone’s face, plus getting them to open their wallets might be the coolest thing – hey, a girl’s gotta eat).

1. I like to write. I’m not about to write a novel, nor is any of my writing hanging out in the deep end of the pool. I write like I talk and when I talk, sometimes I ramble However, more often than not, I find it is the best way for me to communicate. I get nervous and I’m kind of shy when it comes to talking about me. It is so easy to share stuff with people by writing it down.

So there they are. My five things I’m passionate about. If you catch me doing things that aren’t on this list, call me out on it. I’ll need a little help from my friends on this.

Dear Team,

Whenever I encounter something strange while travelling, I inevitably hear the calming voice of my best friend saying, “not weird, just different.” She know what she is talking about, having lived all over the globe and takes in differences in culture with a grace and style that I can only dream of.

That being said, no matter how different things are, there are a certain number of things you can count on when abroad. For example, I’ve never been lost in an airport, I love the familiar fizz of Coca-Cola on my tongue and of course, the smile and laugh when someone realizes you are trying ever-so-hard to communicate, but cannot speak the language.

It makes me wonder, why are some of us obsessed with travel? This mix of seeking different while seeking same? Why is it when more than a month or two goes by, my feet itch and I long to once again wheel out my little carry-on and the awkward, hard shampoo I only use if a trip through security is required? Is it dissatisfaction or unhappiness? I hope its something with less discord. A sense of wonder and curiosity? Last year’s existential crisis aside (let’s not bring that up), I like to think that I’m quite happy…

My mother once said, “you’ve been here before, but you must look out the window, I promise you these mountains never look the same way twice.” It sounded rubbish at the time, but I believed it and still do. There is nothing more beautiful than climbing up to see the sunlight hit the icy blue water of a mountain lake. Or turning one more corner in a museum to unearth a hidden painting that one can briefly pretend is secret treasure.

My parents carted our family all over as a child, never wasting a Saturday, always driving to Cathedrals, castles and museums. “I’ve seen enough.” my brother says, now happy to be at home. He says his travelling days are done and prefers the company of his friends in the comfort of his own home to dingy hotels and back-aching plane rides.

I envy him, but remain a wanderer at heart. There’s nothing I love more than being in yet another city, drinking a coffee and watching the world go by.

5. “I’ve always been interested in what’s left out. I’ve always wanted to understand” Judy, talking about how she chooses to work on projects. Her genuine interest in these things seems to have shaped her career. 

4. “It’s the cultural contributions that are missing from art history, it isn’t just the visual retelling.” Judy, explaining how so much is missing from the curriculum that students learn today.

3. “I see it as a fauilure of the institutions that young women don’t respect the feminist movement. They take what they’ve got for granted, without understanding the context behind it.” Judy, explaining how it’s great that young women today feel like they can do anything, but her concern for them not knowing where that feeling came from.

2. “Museums need ot allow multiplicity of forms and artistic expression and allow them to be next to each other.”Judy, explaining how institutions are hurting themselves by having such a narrow definition of what is acceptable as art.

1. “The media was my method of distribution.” This struck me as her most interesting comment of the evening. Art critics didn’t like her, but people learned about her work as journalists wrote about her. What is the equivalent of those news outlets now? Is it social media, or is it still traditional media?

bonus quote: “I never cared about money until I turned sixty and got a mortgage.” 

- Judy Chicago

I was spending some time visualizing my goals this evening post existential crisis moment #683 and gosh darn it, I think the voice of GOD* came into my kitchen this evening and said, “We can’t all be Dooce.”

Duly noted, big guy. Duly noted.

*I am assuming this because it kind of sounded like James Earl Jones.