zero_design

It used to be that I could tell you the interval between two notes by ear. It was a skill labouriously acquired over a semester at SFU. I thankfully had a floor-mate in the same class who was a music major, so she was willing to drill me constantly, which was especially possible due to her having a full keyboard in her room.

And now it's gone. I'd be lucky to be able to _name_ all the intervals, much less know them to hear them.

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It was my second semester at that school, and in a lot of ways, it was the best. I was busy as all hell, trying desperately to drag my grades back to the point where they would let me come back the next year. I was surrounded by people who cared deeply about me and wanted to make sure I was going to be okay. A good couple months, that was.

I used to be a gymnast.

Oh, I wasn't an especially _good_ gymnast, but if you do anything for close to 6 years, you're going to become at least vaguely competent.  I had competed and worked on all 6 men's events: Floor, Rings, High Bar, Parallel bars, Pommel Horse and Vault.  My favourites were vault and high bar, with any of the non-balance/flexibility stuff on the floor coming next.  The other three were just insanely hard and painful... though I did come to enjoy rings a bit.

One of my favourite memories of that time is when I was practising handstands on a set of low parallel bars.  It was an exercise in forcing your body to use your shoulders to keep balance rather then moving your hands around.  And one time, I really pulled it off - went up into a handstand and just... held it.  For once, it wasn't gravity that decided I was done, it was me.  It was pretty much the definition of awesome.

A random list of things that frighten me:

-ladders (not heights, mind you, being on a ladder)
-being trapped
-going deaf
-Alzheimers
-having to do a backflip

A history of accessories:

- The first "jewellery" I ever had which wasn't made of candy was my house key, kept on a string around my neck.  I would have been about 10 at the time.

- Not long after that I got a cross with low relief religious scenes etched into it.  I have almost never worn it, but it is in my tin soldier bank with many many pennies.

- When I was sixteen and foolish, I decided getting engaged was a good plan.  I got a pair of green jade engagement rings for us to wear.  When it ended (badly), I crushed mine in my hand, shattering it into three pieces.

- My next girlfriend wanted to help me move on, so she got me a haematite ring to wear instead.  I kept that ring past our breakup, until I lost it... somewhere.

- Fast forward a number of years to when someone I was sorta kinda seeing made me a few hemp necklaces which I became rather fond of, once they stopped being so damn itchy.  I'm pretty sure I still have them, though I have no idea where I cleverly put them.

- In jewellery class I made a wide silver ring with a spider design cut into it.  I wore it on my pinky until I got the ring below.

- My lovely wife got me a silver version of the One Ring as my engagement ring, to go along with the wedding ring I helped design.

- A few years back, I decided I wanted an ear-ring.  After a good 3+ months of searching, I found one that I actually liked and had my ear pierced.

I know that there is more I would like to have, some items more specific then others.  However, to me these kinds of accessories are something that should be a gift, not something one gets for themself.  So, it might be a while...

A short and random list of things I would like to do at some point:

-Jump out of a perfectly good airplane, trusting a silk bag to keep me from squishing
-Write, direct and design my own video game (that someone other then me would play)
-Stand in the Grand Canyon and scream as loud as I can
-Design and have built a Las Vegas casino, inspired by the work of A.Gaudi.

I like it when things are organized and ordered.  I'm at my mellowest when my life is following a regular and steady pattern.  My collection of Magic cards is meticulously sorted according to multiple layers of organization.

I also adore chaos and the spontaneous.  I'm at my happiest when I am figuring things out on the fly, working on instinct and impulse.  I can't stand being bored.

I have yet to find a true balance between these things.

Honestly don't know if I really want to.

I am of two minds on the subject of zoos.

On one hand... PRETTY ANIMALS!  All in one place for me to ogle!
On the other... It would be so much better for them if they could, you know, live in their own environment.

I understand the need to care for the dis-possessed... but not all the animals there are there for that reason, I'm fairly sure.

Perhaps the thing that really brought my concerns to the fore was when I saw a lone Hyena curled up in a cage.  It just seemed so damn cruel - here is a creature for whom loneliness would be a harbinger of death, put in that position so humans could gawk...

For interesting clothing, I currently have my kilt, a pair of sarong pants with flame designs and some light Balinese pants. I have figured out a couple of the things I'd like to add to that collection:

* A latex shirt or top of some kind. I got to try one on recently and I want one of my own.
* A "Howie" style lab-coat (as in the kind that Dr. Horrible wore). I haven't completely decided if I want to go with the white, the red or something different (heh, tie dye!)
* something with a round collar, like this

I have no tolerance for intolerant people.

When I'm feeling depressed, one of the things I'll do to make myself feel better is mess around with my hair. If I have a full beard I'll cut it down to a goatee, if my hair is long I'll cut it shorter, if it's short I'll shave it off, if I feel like keeping my hair I'll dye it a different colour (usually burgundy).

I think the main reason I do this is that it is a non-harmful way of being self-destructive.

There are some movies that I'm continually surprised that I _don't_ own on DVD. Here's a partial list, 'cause I'm sure I'm forgetting some...

Ferris Bueller's Day Off
Galaxy Quest
Willow
Star Wars 4-6 (!!)
Fantasia
Fantasia 2000
The Breakfast Club
Some Kind of Wonderful
Sleepers
Cube
Pitch Black

Ahhh, the halfway point. Taken longer then I had planned, but not longer then I had expected.

I have three main reasons for wanting to get a smartphone (probably an iPhone).

1) I want to have access to my google calendar when I'm not at home. I am getting surprisingly good at double booking myself these days.
2) I want to be able to check IMDB or Wiki whenever I like.
3) I want a GPS map on hand. I am incredibly good at getting lost and would dearly love to have a trustworthy map on me at all times.

Whether I actually get one is another question entirely.

When I was younger, one of my favourite authors was Gordon Korman. And my favourite book by him was "Son of Interflux". There are many many reasons to like that book, but it was the main character's painting teacher that I really loved. If you haven't read the book, Querada is the epitome of crazy art guy. He rants and raves and breaks things and has had soundproof tiling installed and is utterly brilliant.

Querada is actually a big reason for why I decided to take a chance and go to art school.

My poor cats... They're cleaning the carpets in the hallway outside our apartment, which means there is the terror of vacuum on the loose. A vacuum that they know is near. But that they cannot find, so they don't know where to hide. So they're a weeeeeee bit jumpy.

I have spent a rather significant amount of time in school.

In addition to the traditional Kindergarten to Grade 12, I've done the following:

* 3 years at Simon Fraser University (a double major of English/Philosophy with a minor in Music)
* 3 years at the New Brunswick College of Craft and Design (a Diploma of Fine Craft in Graphic Design)
* 1 year at the University of New Brunswick (a Bachelor's Degree of Applied Arts)

It's been a good 5 years since the last time I was in school...

and I'm starting to miss it. I have this crazed urge to finish up the Philosophy side of my first university stint, with a focus on Logic and maybe Existentialism.

Though of course, through that path lies madness...

I have decided on my next body modification.

I'm going to be getting a brand of a spider, as a representation of Anansi. I have yet to figure out exactly where I'm going to put it - it will be on the right side, preferably somewhere I can see it. I'm also still trying to pick out the exact design, I think I'll be going through some tattoo designs to see if anything can be converted.

Interestingly enough, this is the second time that I've planned to have a spider added, though the first one was going to be in tattoo form, as part of the design on my right forearm.

I kinda want to be a cyborg.

I want to have internet access from my brain. I want to be able to write emails in the shower, check IMDB in the middle of a movie to see what that actor has done before, listen to internet radio whenever.

I want to not have to worry about my teeth or joints or carpal tunnel or failing senses.

I want to not get sick.

I want to be able to physically move the cars of the idiots who don't comprehend crosswalks or pedestrians.

I kinda want to be a cyborg...

7am should exist only as a theoretical concept or as something you find by staying up too late.

That is all.

It's not all that often that I see the dawn. This is one of those days.

In a good way *grin*

Inspired by a comment made on a friend's blog:

One of the worst things about dentist visits is that I'm not allowed to safeword.