Just because the sun sets at like, 8 o'clock, doesn't mean we have to start thinking about jeans and sweaters and boots and falling leaves.
Monday night.
Sunset Beach.
STUNNING.
Apparently this is my last summer of 'evening walks'.
All the cool people are riding bikes these days.
Friends are acquiring wheels.
Facebook is filled with stories of people going on urban adventures on their bikes.
I've been warned.
I haven't ridden a bike in years. Like, many years.
Since I was a kid.
(Well, OK. There was that brief moment when I was a new mom that I rode a bike. I'd requested a bike for my birthday so that I could take Clint out for rides. He hated the stroller, so I thought a bike was my ticket to freedom. Alas, it was not so. He objected to being strapped into a seat; stroller or bike. Didn't matter. He wanted to walk. Thus ended my biking experience. Haven't sat on one since.)
So now that I know I'm going to start biking next year, I am hyper sensitive to all the Facebook posts and real life conversations that take place around me regarding bike rides. Holy moly. Everyone really IS doing it. Everyone.
And next year? I will be cool too.
On this:
The blog posts next summer are going to be amaZING.
SO many biking adventures. NO MORE HIKING.
In the meantime, how about another sunset pic:
I wonder.
If I was married, would my husband want to walk along the seawall with me?
Do guys enjoy this type of activity?
None of my friends' husbands do. As far as I know, my kids don't.
So maybe that's an unrealistic expectation?
Wouldn't be my first one.
I am so thankful for summers.
Warm air just feels festive.
Like, warm air = holiday feelings.
Everyday is a vacation, even if I go to work. Because.
Warm air.
Outdoor evening activities.
Tuesday night was Maureen's and my annual visit to the PNE.
We went on Tuesday because this guy was the entertainer at the Summer Nights Concert:
Did you listen?
Didja catch the words? Love'em:
Take those boots off the shelf
Wipe that dust of yourself
Even if you’ve been through hell; you’re back
It’s time to separate the men from the boys
And the women from the girls
And the tools from the toys
Even if you’re freaking out: just relax
Hey, before it gets too late
Before the night is over, before the world’s awake
Everything will change
Hey, I feel it coming on
Starting like a fire, tonight you lit the flame
Now everything will change
Back when it used to hurt
Took you a little while just to find the words
Losing, well, it sometimes burns, but you keep moving on
You’ve got to grow strong like you’re leading the nation
Got to make the best out of this situation
Get your hands up like it’s a celebration
And you keep moving on
Singing hey, before it gets too late
Before the night is over, before the world’s awake
Everything will change
Hey, I feel it coming on
Starting like a fire, tonight you lit the flame
Now everything will change
Inbetween the following PNE pics, I'll post totally unrelated thoughts and links. Because I can.
For example, this is a good link to click on.
Didja click?
It's a TED idea... How to turn small talk into smart conversation.
I suck at small talk. Bores me to death.
SO obvs I love this.
Here are some suggestions:
Ask for stories, not answers
One way to get beyond small talk is to ask open-ended questions. Aim for questions that invite people to tell stories, rather than give bland, one-word answers.
Instead of . . .
“How are you?”
“How was your day?”
“Where are you from?”
“What do you do?”
“What line of work are you in?”
“What’s your name?”
“How was your weekend?”
“What’s up?”
“Would you like some wine?”
“How long have you been living here?”
“How are you?”
“How was your day?”
“Where are you from?”
“What do you do?”
“What line of work are you in?”
“What’s your name?”
“How was your weekend?”
“What’s up?”
“Would you like some wine?”
“How long have you been living here?”
Try . . .
“What’s your story?”
“What did you do today?”
“What’s the strangest thing about where you grew up?”
“What’s the most interesting thing that happened at work today?”
“How’d you end up in your line of work?”
“What does your name mean? What would you like it to mean?”
“What was the best part of your weekend?”
“What are you looking forward to this week?”
“Who do you think is the luckiest person in this room?”
“What does this house remind you of?”
“If you could teleport by blinking your eyes, where would you go right now?”
“What’s your story?”
“What did you do today?”
“What’s the strangest thing about where you grew up?”
“What’s the most interesting thing that happened at work today?”
“How’d you end up in your line of work?”
“What does your name mean? What would you like it to mean?”
“What was the best part of your weekend?”
“What are you looking forward to this week?”
“Who do you think is the luckiest person in this room?”
“What does this house remind you of?”
“If you could teleport by blinking your eyes, where would you go right now?”
Jenn and I talk every evening, round midnight, via Facebook message. She introduced me to this band earlier this summer. Kinda loving them:
You'll be okay
You'll be okay
The sun will rise
To better days
And change will come
It's on it's way
Just close your eyes
And let it rain
'Cause you're never alone
I will always be there
You just carry on
You will understand
You'll be okay
You'll be okay
Just look inside
You know the way
Let it go
Fly away
And say goodbye
To yesterday
'Cause you're never alone
And I will always be there
You just carry on
You will understand
And I will be strong
When love is gone
I'll carry on...
You'll be okay
You'll be okay
The sun will rise
To better days
You'll be okay
You'll be okay
Just close your eyes
And let it rain
When you need it the most
And all you've got is a prayer
You must carry on
You will understand
You will understand
You will understand
You'll be okay
You'll be okay
You'll be okay.
Great Big World.
Theme song to that new movie: If I Go:
Haunting.
I love summer evenings.
So hard.
It was a perfect night.
Noisy, happy people everywhere.
Good music.
Excellent snacks.
Blinky lights.
Ahhhh.
PNE - such a good tradition.
Speaking of traditions...
This one? In Spain? LOOKS AWFULLY MESSY, but colourfully fun:
Overripe tomatoes were hurled in a massive red food fight today in the town of Bunol, Spain. The La Tomatina festival -- held each year on the last Wednesday of August -- evolved from a street fight in the 1940s when a group of young men who wanted to participate in the "gigantes y cabezudos" parade used tomatoes from a vegetable stand as weapons. An estimated 22,000 people showed up this year for the food fight.
Click here to see pics. SO awesome.
And this event, also, an annual tradition, is like the total absence of colour, but just as beautiful:
Last night, over 3,500 people showed up in white at David Lam Park in Yaletown for the annual Dîner en Blanc Vancouver.
Twenty-five years ago, the event began in Paris and has since spawned to hundreds of other cities around the world. The Paris event now draws accommodates 14,000 participants while New York City’s event is capped at 4,000 participants.
Vancouverites were introduced to Dîner en Blanc in 2012 when local organizers held an event at Jack Poole Plaza for 1,200 people. In 2013, the event was held at Creekside Park adjacent to Science World and had a capacity of 2,500, with a waiting list of 12,000. This year’s waiting list soared to 35,000.
Following tradition, attendees last night were informed of the Yaletown location at the very last minute.
With incredible demand, organizers continued to increase the $35 ticketed event’s capacity, raising it to 3,200 this year. They also greatly improved the calibre of this year’s event with extravagant decorations, performances by Vancouver Opera, acrobatics, stilt walkers and a finer menu package catered by David Hawksworth.
One last link.
No pics this time.
Just words.
To single men.
"Man Up"
Here’s some brutal honesty for you: if you ‘aren’t ready for something serious,’ then you need to go get yourself ready and leave these ladies alone until you do. You can’t go out and have sex (I mean, ‘hook up,’ as the middle schoolers at the lunch table might call it) and then claim that you ‘aren’t ready for something serious.’ It’s too late, friend. Sex is something serious.
No matter what anyone does, or says, or thinks; no matter what we tell ourselves; no matter what society insists, romantic relationships are always serious business. Call it what you want — hanging out, talking, dating — there’s a woman’s heart involved in it. That means you have a responsibility, alright? You have a duty as a human being, as an adult, as a man.
She’s making herself vulnerable to you. You need to honor that, protect it. And if you aren’t looking for anything but cheap sex and another trophy of sexual conquest to hang on the wall in your studio apartment, then you need to protect her from yourself, because you’ll be bringing nothing but disappointment and chaos into her life.
If you’re hanging out with a woman and you feel like you might be into her, tell her. Call her on the phone. Take her out on a date. Say the words: “I’d like to take you out.” No ambiguity. Plan the date yourself. Women want you to be decisive. Lose the whole “so waddaya wanna do tonight?” schtick. Take charge. Pick her up at 7. Pay for the meal. Have a conversation with her. Go mini golfing or something. Go somewhere. Open the door for her. Put your phone away. Open up to her. Share your ideas, your dreams, your fears. Get to know her. Pursue her. Pursue her. Invest yourself in the process, as scary and unsure as it may seem. Take a risk, gentlemen. Go out on a limb for once. Be purposeful. Be desirable. Be a man.
Three things I'm thankful for:
1. Blue cotton candy
2. Warm cinnamon mini donuts
3. Chocolate fudge
Shalom friends,
xo
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