the little things

june 19 2005

Originally uploaded by sa_ku_ra.

I had aspirations to become a sumo wrestler.

Spent the last couple of hours scanning pics from my childhood and also some photos of my parents when they were younger. It’s a funny process, visually cataloguing your life, putting the chaotic bits into a semblance of order. Some images jogging stronger memories than others (while other images have created lives of their own, even if I don’t remember exactly what was going on when they were taken. You’d think that I could put off doing something messy and complicated like this until a day when I actually have the time to do this, right?

I think these images I have been looking at would have provoked a different response a little while ago - as close as a few months ago. Today, they are from a time in its own compartment. If anything, they remind me that I have been pretty darn lucky in my life… but I don’t long to return there. Today, I’m realizing that I’m pretty happy to be where I am, who I am, at age 37.

june 17 2005

Originally uploaded by sa_ku_ra.

This picture has almost nothing to do with my day. Except for the fact that I’ve been dealing with my accumulated crap over the years which I have to move in a few weeks. The end result… a new home, a new job, a new life… is happily anticipated, but I forgot how much of a pain in the ass moving is. I should be working on my writing, but the need for stuff to get organized and put away nags at me to pack yet another box. Even though I’ve been thinning out my belongings over the years, 37 years’ worth of stuff is a lot to haul around. I hate moving.

june 12 2005

Originally uploaded by sa_ku_ra.

This pic was taken yesterday on Ward’s Island, but the weather is basically a continuation of what it’s been like for something like a week. Humid, hot, smoggy, hints of thunderstorms that never happen. I went out to the island again with Sarah, Gayla, and Davin - which was such a great idea for yesterday - to bike around, look at bird and wildflowers, and take a lot of photos. Just getting away from the city across the water was awesome. If I knew I wouldn’t be kicked off, I’m thinking taking my work with me and sitting on the ferry going back and forth between Harbourfront, Ward’s and Hanlon’s Point might be a great way to spend a hot day the next time it comes around. Today, for instance, I was useless with work. I would have been far less cranky if I had spent the day on the water.

I’m starting to get the hang of the LC-A. This shot and its variation were two of my favourites of the day. The sky looked magical and the images came out exactly the way I wanted them to.

june 6 2005

Originally uploaded by sa_ku_ra.

Yesterday, I met up with a bunch of people I got to know through gardening and went to the herb fair at the Harbourfront. I promised myself I wasn’t going to get anything - I should know myself better by now. After that, we walked around the water’s edge, then went to near Gerrard St. in the East End where my friend lives - three of us poked around Little India, took photos, and ate at an Indian buffet.

Today was not quite as exciting. I took the car in for a thorough check-up and planted all the herbs I got yesterday. You’d think that with the cold, late spring, they’ll hold off on the heat and humidity, right? But no. It’s cooled down some tonight, but the smog was back. All day, I was waiting for a thunderstorm that never happened.

Someone very dear to me is having a rough time. I hope he pulls through. All I can offer right now are words, and at the moment, they lack power to do, to change anything. Not that it helps a thing, but I am sending positive thoughts.

may 31 2005

Originally uploaded by sa_ku_ra.

I suppose it’s necessary to have days like this once in a while. Got my hair cut for the first time since… late December? Has it been that long?… and ended up hanging out downtown all afternoon. Ate a deli sandwhich in the park while watching other people taking their lunch breaks in singles and groups. I felt girly and giddy so ended up purchasing a skirt, which is somewhat out of character. Met up with my friend Shal after she got out of class and talked over coffee and cheesecake.

Back to the grind tomorrow