In Search of Gilbert Blythe*

Growing up, one of the few things I can recall loving to death was the Anne of Green Gables adaptation of books by Lucy Maud Montgomery. It's been a really long time since I've watched the full series, but apparently Georgia's version of PBS and TVO did the world justice by playing the entire series over the Thanksgiving weekend. Tonight my friend Ru Fru reminded of a time long past. Observe figure 1: Gilbert Blythe


Figure 1: Gilbert Blythe

I think many women who have grown up with Anne will agree when I say that Gilbert Blythe ranks in the top 10 of dream men little girls wish for when they pray for a prince charming. Okay, well at least that was case for girls back in 1989. You may think I'm crazy, but I am not. Ladies, how many of you out there can honestly say that you know someone as fantastic as Gilbert? How many men will give up a teaching post in Avonlea for his one true love and travel all the way to Carmody? Not many. How many men would stand up alone clapping wildly and give a standing ovation in a poetry reading for the woman he really loves (Anne) while pissing this shit out of his girlfriend (bitch) who is sitting next to him? Not ma... wait, don't answer that one. Okay, so how many men would stick around and be a complete gentleman to someone like Anne Shirley-- a woman who is smart yet incredibly stubborn and hot tempered, make it through medical school, and then marry the woman, have 8 kids (8 kids!!) with her, and still maintain a medical practice and give a tremendous amount back to his community? Only one. Gilbert Blythe.

I believe I am correct in asking, "Why is it so hard to find a Gilbert?". Of course, this can only be responded with Ru Fru's, "Because guys have become jerks and less gentleman [like]". In all seriousness, what SHOULD the solution be? What we need to do is send these jerks back to turn of the century PEI. That ought to teach them how to behave like proper men. Then we will see a re-emergence of old fashioned courtship and love.

Exhibit A: YouTube clip
Instructions: click on link, and fast forward to time 6:55 and observe. I can hear all of the women swooning as we speak!

http://youtube.com/watch?v=aIv19zTNu3Q

Need I say more?

* If someone says he's fictional, don't listen to them!!

Heima

Friday night I found myself standing in line and freezing my bloody ass off with my sister and her friend Steve. The reason? As a birthday present, my sister picked up a ticket for me for the first Canadian screening of the much much praised and anticipated music doc Heima by Sigur Ros. Meaning "at home" or "homeland" in Icelandic, Heima is a film documenting their 2006 summer tour, marking their triumphant return to Iceland. Playing unannounced free shows in some of the most populous and also in some of the most remote places in Iceland-- they wanted to give a back to the nation who had shaped both them and their music.

I guess I've never quite known how popular the band actually is, but what I do know for certain is that they are a particular favourite of ours. Despite the freezing cold, looking at the number of people in line to see the movie, and the other significantly longer line of people hoping to get an abandoned ticket showed how large their following is in Toronto at least. I started to listen to Sigur Ros in high school, not sure how I came about to discover them, but I fell in love with not only the organicism of their sound, but also the band itself-- a group of 4 humble young men from Iceland. Their sole purpose was to make music and as a side effect a great deal of fame came their way.

Within the first few minutes of the film, I instantly felt like it was the year 2000 and I was sitting in Massey Hall watching them live in concert for the very first time. We were all entranced with their music-- no one uttered a sound, no cell phone went off, and everybody's undivided attention was directed at the stage. Only this time, everybody's attention was directed at a screen eagerly watching a film that captured every essence of the band's desire and joy in touring their homeland.

If you've never heard of the band Sigur Ros, or of the film Heima, I strongly strongly suggest you go and watch it. It's filled with some of the most beautiful and breath taking images you will ever see. Perhaps I'm biased because so much of it looks like Newfoundland? From glaciers, to mountains, and the rolling ocean waves hitting the dark sands of the coast, I almost expected to feel the cool breeze and to taste the salt air. Overlaid with the unearthly sounds of Sigur Ros, much of the film gives you a sense of the forbidding nature of the raw and untouched land, while visits to the remote parts of the island either leave you with a haunting feeling of sadness when they play in abandoned spots, or an innate sense of togetherness when communities spanning generations come together to see Sigur Ros play live.

So much of Iceland reminds me of Newfoundland that I'm almost convinced Heima is for me too.

Sweet Sweet 25

And so the aging bliss continues. Similar to the experience of voting for the first time at 18, or having your first legal taste of booze at 19, it must be a right of passage where at 25 you can call the insurance company and request a new quote. Today I finally had a chance to call my insurance and ask for a lower fee.

With the exception of the long wait to speak to a representative, and the terrible music they played during the wait, it was a painless effort that resulted in a reduction of $50 per month and many belated birthday wishes. If only everything were so simple and easy!

The next major savings will be when I get my first home, and when I get my P.Eng designation.

Overall, who can complain when they're able to save money? (we'll just ignore the fact that I've purchase 5 CDs in the past few days :S Patrick Watson is soooo worth it.)

Birthday Buzz....

It's 11:55 pm as I'm starting to write this. Only 5 minutes left to my birthday, and all I can say is that it's been one of the best birthdays ever. I had a big party at Free Times Cafe, food was a vegetarian buffet, and then dancing afterwards at Tiger Bar. Good company, good food, good music, and way too much booze really was the perfect formula for a fantastic evening. Ha ha ha.

I'm not sure if people actually know how much this birthday really meant to me. After all the bullshit that's happened this past year, not to mention past few years, I wanted to start fresh on my 25th, leaving behind the people and issues that were bogging me down. I wanted to be able to start fresh and look at this coming year as one for me to grow even more, spend more time with my family and friends, and to just have some fucking good fun. I'm at the point where I'm fortunate to be happy with work, be blessed with so many good friends, and of course be blessed with such a caring and loving family (although I think the means by which we express it aren't conventional...). I hope that the people in my life are as lucky as I am to feel the same way.

Anyway, I am off to begin the arduous task of writing thank you notes, and messages back to all the people who sent their love, regards, and birthday wishes. I know that by the end of this night, my hands will fall off at the wrists, but it'll be worth it! Ha ha ha.

And no posting from Patsy + birthday could be complete without a list of lessons learned:

What not to do on 26th birthday:

- vegetarian buffet. I think people will be more happy with a bit of meat
- do a large insane party at a restaurant. Hopefully, next year I'll finally have my condo, and I can host my party there.
- NEVER EVER DO 7 SHOTS IN UNDER AN HOUR
- try and keep eyes open during pictures. I guess being drunk puts me out of sync with the camera :P Bha ha ha!!

Thanks again to everyone who helped make this the best birthday ever..

The Laws of Love

I firmly believe that the universe has its own idea when it concerns the ways of love. Everyone knows them—1) when you like someone, that person will never like you back; 2) when you don’t like someone they will like you, and of course 3) there is a 0.00000001% chance that both people will like each other. N.B- these “laws” are based on 50% fate and 50% human intervention.

Fine, fine, maybe that’s a load of horse shit. But for me it seems to have proved correct time and time again. Honey, we are talking theory tried, tested and true (definitely #2).

Most recently, I’ve had to decline a marriage-ish proposal from a much much older (like 50’s), not to mention creepy, gentleman at one of our sites. As a quick re-cap, I made the mistake of noticing he was a Newfie, and should not have mentioned that I had once visited the small town he was from. Negative effect: somehow these two pieces of information granted me a one way ticket to his heart. All I can say is no thank you. I’m not used to flattery and compliments, but I’m also not used to someone following me on his fork lift around a facility, or in his pick up as I’m walking back to my car.

Yesterday, as I was at my car getting ready to leave, he came up and asked where I had been. “I fall in love with a girl, and then she disappears!” [insert confused and worried reaction on face]. He asked if I was going to the Christmas party, and all I say was that we had our own to go to. I thought he was about to leave, but then he asked if I was single. I paused for a minute and considered that maybe all of this was some big joke and he was just having fun. My third mistake was saying that I was single. I guess I didn’t think too much about it when he asked me. Until… he turned his cap to the side and said it was the second time I got him so excited. “You know, you should really consider me, because I’m still a bachelor. Never been married” [insert moment of awkwardness and then a slow and cautious, “yes… thank you”’. Frankly, I don’t know what weirded me out more—his strong interest in me, or the thought that the turning of the cap and the second time of getting excited perhaps meant something else. As I pulled out of the site, I saw his pick up in my rear view mirror and hit my gas hard so it would be impossible to meet at the red light.

QED for #2

That’s only one of many stories that could substantiate the theories on unrequited love. Some divine being has better things in store for me, right?

*******
On a side note, everyone should listen to Magique by We Are Wolves, as well as the track Fight & Kiss. In my opinion, they are the hottest songs right now.