meanwhile, elsewhere

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Friday’s online finds: Cozy up and dig in.

  • MAYA / MATANGI / MIA (Vulture)
  • Bad menus, bad hotels, just bad design (BuzzFeed/BuzzFeed)
  • Movies for Bad Days, Weeks, or (Let’s Be Honest) Years (Wit & Delight)
  • The Museum of Magic (NYT)
  • I was raised by CBC (just saying) (The Atlantic)
  • Insertions of the best method of birth control can be blindingly painful during and after, but all women get is a single over-the-counter painkiller. Why? (The Outline)
  • Another Bad Man or just the creator of Mad Men? (Vanity Fair)
  • Yo Amazon, isn’t this what Etsy already is? (Amazon Handmade)
  • Sorry, not sorry (The Week)

Happy weekend! It’s fall y’all; accept and proceed. (image)

i am an early morning runner

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I like to get up and run at 5:30 am. When I tell people that, I mostly get comments like: “that’s not safe” or “that’s not smart.”

And yes, they’re right. I know this because I was assaulted on an early morning run.

Back in 2006, living in Montreal, I woke up and ran almost every morning. And nearly every day, I ran through the McGill Ghetto and rarely saw a soul. One morning, however, I ran past a guy – at a quick glance, I distinctly remember not being concerned about my safety as he appeared to be a drunk student, stumbling around. Poor guy. I ran by. The next thing I knew, he was right behind me and grabbed my waist/butt.

Luckily my knee-jerk reaction was to scream and run like hell… which I did, all the way home. Before I entered the door, I calmed myself down, wiped my tears and went inside determined not to tell Mike. I got ready for work. Worked all day and didn’t say a thing. Why? Mostly because I didn’t want to hear: I told you so OR No more morning runs.

When I got home that evening, however, I told Mike. Thankfully, rather than telling me I couldn’t run… he got up almost every morning and biked behind me. Shortly afterward we got Henry – the timidest Golden Retriever in all of Quebec who darts from his own shadow but running together gave me the courage to keep going.

Henry no longer runs with me. I no longer live in Montreal. But every FUCKING morning when I get up at 5:30 am to go running, I think about that day.

It could have been so much worse. I am so fucking lucky. And to feel violated but lucky that it wasn’t that bad fucking sucks.

Be safe.

***

Meanwhile, elsewhere:
  • I watched a rape. For five decades, I did nothing (The Washington Post)
  • I Went To Kavanaugh’s Alma Mater, Georgetown Prep, And It Was A Case Study In Misogyny (The Establishment)
  • Fury Is a Political Weapon. And Women Need to Wield It (NYT)
  • Dear dads: Your daughters told me about their assaults. This is why they never told you (The Washington Post)
  • Nobel Peace Prize for anti-rape activists Nadia Murad and Denis Mukwege (BBC)
  • Reflections from a Hashtag by Jian Ghomeshi (The New York Book of Reviews)
  • All the men who never assaulted me (vox)
  • I Thought Men Might Do Better Than This by Roxane Gay (NYT)
  • Relax, Ladies. Don’t Be So Uptight. You Know You Want It (The Medium)
photo by me on a morning run

meanwhile, elsewhere

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Friday’s online finds: Cozy up and dig in.

        

  • These places are often described as “Instagram Museums,” and the real experience plays out only after we post photographic evidence on social media. (NYT)
  • This camera strap is so lovely (Etsy)
  • Stop Giving Lobsters Cannabis Before Boiling Them (NPR)
  • This tool is cool (Runner’s World)
  • How Maya Rudolph Became the Master of Impressions (NYT)
  • A Decision Tree for Designers (Medium)
  • Seoul loves a good theme (Colossal)
  • A little less plastic (Design Milk)
  • You Should Be Eating Pie for Breakfast (Eater)

Thankful it’s the weekend. Make it good.Photo by me, Thanksgiving weekend, 2017.

hello autumn,

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It’s going to take me a bit of time to warm up to you and don’t bother trying to persuade me with your pretty colours and pumpkin-flavoured BS… It’s not gonna help. I miss summer.

100 Days of Summer 2018

It’s time to tally up the score and see how many items I accomplished on my #100DaysofSummer bucket list.

  1. see Shakespeare by the Sea**** 
  2. ride a slip & slide***  
  3. hike Cape Chignecto** 
  4. have a water balloon fight**
  5. go to a concert*

    Design Canada movie premier in Halifax – these guys are rockstars so it counts
  6. hike the Skyline Trail*

  7. start designing my 2019 calendars*

  8. sleep in a tent*
  9. play croquette*

  10. dance in the rain* 
  11. tie dye*

  12. clean my office*

  13. go tidal bore rafting*
  14. run the full Rum Runners Trail (but not all at once – it’s 119 km!)

  15. buy a pair of white jeans

  16. buy a silk blouse

    it’s in the mail, Everlane.
  17. apply sunscreen every freaking day

  18. host a cocktail potluck (with biscuits)

    We ended up at Amanda’s instead, a little Georgia reunion.
  19. make pickles

  20. change a tire. change the oil. learn these skills.

  21. paddleboard

  22. tube down a river

  23. picnic in a park

  24. hangout in a hammock

  25. dinner on the waterfront

  26. dinner on a patio

  27. and drinks to go!

  28. relay once, relay twice

    Cabot Trail Relay Race + Rum Runner’s Relay
  29. read a magazine outside

  30. visit Kouchibouguac National Park

  31. bike to the market

  32. bike across the bridge

  33. bike a trail

  34. ride a ferry

  35. get bangs

    this counts.
  36. high five all seven of my nephews and nieces (but not all at once)

    Joel, Evan, Celeste, Margaret, Sam, Edith & Katherine
  37. have a Butterbeer

  38. swim in the Lido Pool (Chester)

  39. go to a drive-in
  40. dinner at The Canteen

  41. go antiquing
  42. eat from a food truck

  43. go for a beach walk

  44. eat corn on the cob

  45. run through a sprinkler

  46. wash the windows
  47. hear bagpipes

  48. have a campfire

  49. smores and (veggie) dog roasting

  50. run the trail to Laurencetown beach

  51. day trip to Lunenburg (eat at the Salt Shaker Deli)

    Went to Lunenburg twice, both times the Salt Shaker was 30+ minute wait so I didn’t go.
  52. eat strawberry shortcake for supper

  53. explore a new country

    Germany + Netherlands
  54. swim in the lake

  55. swim in the ocean

  56. swim in the river

  57. run a marathon

  58. run through the Brandenburg Gate (Berlin)

  59. lay in the grass

  60. travel by train

    Berlin > Amsterdam > London
  61. travel by plane

  62. get a pedicure

  63. have a lunch date

  64. have a brunch date

  65. night swim
  66. bake for a friend

  67. buy flowers for a friend

  68. host a bbq

    (forgot to take a photo)
  69. eat peas from the pod

  70. watercolour

  71. run the 30km trail to the Tatamagouche market and celebrate with a beer at the Tatamagouche Brewery

  72. go strawberry picking

  73. make jam

  74. make rhubarb pie

  75. eat a lobster roll

  76. family-time in PEI

  77. run and jump off a dock without knowing the temperature of the water
  78. only use the clothesline

  79. mail a card or letter every week (life list goal)

  80. buy a cuckoo clock in Germany (life list goal)

  81. drink my morning coffee outside

  82. drink beer from a cooler

  83. oysters with a cocktail

  84. build a sand castle

  85. go for a walk in Shubie Park

  86. go for a walk in Point Pleasant Park

  87. go for a run and jump in the water right after

  88. go prom-watching in the Public Gardens

  89. after work meetup at the Stillwell Beer Garden

  90. outdoor pizza party

  91. learn and perform the full Footloose dance

    I performed a mid-season show for Sarah and Amanda but I am ready for the next big event.
  92. run the gulf shore loop in Pugwash

  93. plant some flowers

  94. yoga on the beach

  95. go sailing
  96. go to a yard sale

  97. run up the Needham hill stairs with David… 3 times in a row

  98. watch the sunrise at the beach

  99. watch the sunset at the beach

  100. play hooky

88/100. Not too shabby. Here are the ones that didn’t happen – I mostly blame blue algae for my failures.

  1. see Shakespeare by the Sea
  2. ride a slip & slide
  3. hike Cape Chignecto
  4. sleep in a tent
  5. dance in the rain
  6. go tidal bore rafting
  7. go to a drive-in
  8. go antiquing
  9. wash the windows
  10. night swim
  11. run and jump off a dock without knowing the temperature of the water
  12. go sailing

Sure, this is all a little cuckoo but trust me, there are so many fun things that happen which would not of if I didn’t write it down. To all who joined me in the fun, it’s been a blast. Let’s do it all again next year!

Here are my lists from 2017 / 2016 / 2015 / 2014

meanwhile, elsewhere

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Friday’s online finds: There are some long but good reads. Cozy up and dig in.

  • Everything You Know About Obesity Is Wrong: Our shitty attitudes toward fat people. (HuffPost Highline)
  • The daughter of Mia Farrow and wife of Woody Allen stayed silent for decades. No more. (Vulture)
  • I can’t keep up (CNN)
  • Mental note: Do not order avocado toast. P sure that’s not ‘deconstructed,’ that’s ‘lazy.’ Munchies()
  • The only good thing about turning forty next year… no longer applies (Boston)
  • The Skin-Care Glossary: A Comprehensive Guide to Everything You Need to Know (allure)
  • Soccer Mom Hate: The disdain toward motherhood is the logical extension of misogyny (Medium) While we complain about what mothers do, or look like, we neglect to ask what they feel, or need.
  • 21 Completely Subjective Rules for Raising Teenage Girls (A Cup Of Jo)
  • Kids Don’t Damage Women’s Careers — Men Do Stop blaming motherhood for a problem created by fathers (Medium)
  • The Beast Made Dog Bed (Best Made)
  • Nope, not me (NYT)
  • “This man raped me a long time ago,” we say, “But that was in the past. He can’t change the past.” When a girl says, “This boy raped me last night,” we say, “But his future! We can’t wreck his future.” And there she stands, suspended between his past and his future, with no value of her own except for how much she’s worth to whichever political party is feeling desperate today. Hell yes, an attempted rape accusation matters. Even a very old one. Even though it was just a girl. (Simcha Fisher)

Have a great weekend – it’s the last one in September which means it’s the end of my #100DaysofSummer adventure. Spoiler alert, despite what you may think, I did not do as well as I had hoped. But, don’t be sad for me, Summer was still very awesome. (image)