Last Call

“Adventure is a path. Real adventure – self-determined, self-motivated, often risky – forces you to have firsthand encounters with the world. The world the way it is, not the way you imagine it. Your body will collide with the earth and you will bear witness. In this way you will be compelled to grapple with the limitless kindness and bottomless cruelty of humankind – and perhaps realize that you yourself are capable of both. This will change you. Nothing will ever again be black-and-white.” – Mark Jenkins 

These last four months have been a wonderful ride.


Some things I've noticed upon my return to Ontario...

1. I can taste the air here. It has texture. Is it supposed to?

2. Running in Ontario is harder than in Victoria (see point 1).

3. I have slept on a mattress on the floor for over a year.

4. Food is so cheap here! I've never been so happy to go grocery shopping.

5. Just when you thought they couldn't do anymore construction on campus...

6. Hamilton needs to learn what qualifies as a "mountain".

7. In Victoria, you can stand at the edge of a street - no crosswalk, no nothing - and cars will stop to let you cross. Only in Victoria...

8. Giving my brother Call of Duty: Black Ops for Christmas was probably not as smart an idea as I originally thought.

And one last item of business -- checking off the to-do list!

- go downtown and make tea in the middle of the street
[X] do groceries w/o going to a major grocery store
[X] join an activist group
- act on an opinion
[X] live out your third chance
[X] knowingly make a mistake
[X] tell a stranger the truth
- draw a portrait of one of your housemates -- there was an ongoing joke with my roommates that they would approach me with a bike helmet saying, "I want you to draw me wearing this. Only this." It never happened.
[X] go kayaking -- Thank you to Jake's inflatable kayak.
[X] take a walk off the beaten path (literally)
[X] perform a song to someone
[X] write a manifesto of Franzi's musings
[X] allow yourself to feel intense, constructive emotion in the rain
- skydiving
- skinny dip in the ocean -- I should get partial points for swimming in the ocean several times, as well as a lake.

All in all, it's been an experience for me, and I thank all my lovely readers for taking the journey with me. Much love to you all and have an exciting year!

Cheers,
Franzi.

PS. All names are fake. Try figuring out who you are.

Like a Roulette Wheel

[X] live out your third chance

This last week has been bizarre.

Things are moving fast right now - a lot lot faster than anticipated. Everything has changed since this morning. I'll keep you all updated as things go and I have time to digest them, but it looks like I might be returning sooner than planned.
I gotta ask - with all respect to my wonderful friends - that you give me a couple days to work things out before the hangout sessions and tea parties begin (I would love a tea party, that's not sarcasm by the way). I've missed you all terribly, and I can't wait to see all of you and share stories. I'll be in touch and I hope things are going great for everyone. Enjoy the last few weeks of summer!

Cheers,
Franzi.

Boys and girls, come out to play

Things to bring to a cemetery at night for a ghost walk:
- flashlight -- you probably won't use it. If you do, you will see exaggerated shadows everywhere. Also kills your night vision. But hey. It could be useful.
- phone -- fully charged. Tell people where you're going. Check in with them. While a paranormal kidnapping is not so likely, a fully human one is.
- digital recorder -- with fresh batteries. Well, why not? I mean, that's why you're there, right? Besides, it's cool to listen to it later on and see what you missed.
- med kit -- if you're going off-trail.
- an extra person -- because it'll be quite a bit more scary alone.

* bolded items = things I actually brought.

I have a 35 minute recording of my ghost walk, which starts with observing that it's a full moon and wishing I'd brought along a friend. Turns out going to the cemetery on a Saturday night is not just my idea of fun. There was a group of five girls there too, along with two peeps who were sitting in the middle of the plots and smoking up.

I also remembered the advice that Szálka gave in her Grade 7 Individual Research Project presentation on ghosts -- say a little "Hey spirits, I'm not here to disturb you, so let me pass in peace" spiel. You can laugh if you want, but in her wise words, "If there's nothing there, then you've wasted 17 seconds of your very busy lives, I'm sure." Also made me feel better.


Kind of a cool experience. Definitely better if you're walking on the paths than meandering through the plots. My respect for the dead is high enough that I don't like the idea of treading over people's bodies while looking for the main path. Also, full moon is the way to go for sure. Much better vision and you don't need a flashlight throwing shadows of crosses everywhere.


Also - mausoleums are creepy in every light. They have gates, for goodness' sakes. I mean, what for?

By the way...

It's been brought to my attention (cause I'm blind) that some of you lovelies got a little bit miffed and/or offended about this post. I did not intend to say "f*** you, Ontario", and I certainly regret if that's how it came across. While travelling itself is not a new experience for me, I do believe the dynamics - for me personally - of how and why people stay in touch have changed. I was trying to explain what I've been experiencing in that post, but it seems I alienated a few people and ticked off a couple more.
Don't underestimate how much you guys mean to me :) It's only a trip if you've got somewhere to go home to.

3 weeks and counting.

The Zeitgeist Movement

[X] join an activist group.

Worst feeling is getting called out by your friends.
"Franzi, you have all these opinions but... I've never actually seen you act on them."
This was what led to "act on an opinion" and "join an activist group" getting put on the list. And yeah, I'm not super proud of it, but it's definitely true. Partly because the activist groups I hear about always seem to be completely unwilling to compromise on their own opinions, often leading to violence and open threats. (I won't post examples, but a few of you out there have had this discussion with me before).
I believe that a group of people willing to change things cannot start by dividing the world into "us" and "them", "validated" and "misguided". The worst is when the word "justifiable" becomes involved.

Why are you bringing this up now, Franzi?

One of the guys I train with is part of a movement called the Zeitgeist Movement. (let's call him Jack). During one of our parkour meets, Jack started taping up pieces of paper with questions printed on them (generally in hard to reach places).
Questions such as, "Does nature accept mastercard or will we have to pay for what we take in another way?"
"Are you truly learning if you remain unchanged?"
"What is your greatest contribution?"
and my favourite (because I hung by a chain over the edge of the pier to tape it on the side) "Are we really hardwired for anything?"
This was part of Jack's own initiative, culture jamming, which is "trying to reach people with new forms of media". The questions were designed to get people to stop and think. It was strangely gratifying to see crowds forming around some of the posters.

 We had a discussion after one of the meets and he introduced some of the basic ideas of the Zeitgeist Movement, including the belief that our current socio-economic system is unsustainable and based off of an abused and fundamentally flawed value system. Throughout the critique on modern value-systems is threaded the idea that society should be based off of available resources, where sustainability, equality and efficient resource management. That sounds pretty heavy, and I was more than a little ready to start playing Devil's Advocate.

I'm currently doing some research and swapping emails with Jack in an attempt to understand and get an appreciation for what this group stands for and values. It's intriguing enough that I will most likely be posting a longer article about the group in the near future, including some of my own questions as answered by Jack.

Despite my questioning and poking, I will consider this as "joining", if only because I'm a member of the group for the Victoria Chapter on facebook.

Here's a little something by my favourite darkly sardonic comic writer Joey Comeau and Jess Fink. A cute illustrated story, We Are Become Pals!

"This DJ takes requests...

...and then throws them in the f***ing trash can."

I've achieved a new level of hardcore: injuring a tendon while fist-pumping at a concert.

Victoria's Annual Electronic Music Festival took over Centennial Square last weekend to showcase some of the most talented and prominent artists and djs of the Pacific region. It ran both Saturday and Sunday, with a daytime festival running eleven hours starting at noon, followed by an afterparty spread out over 5 night clubs. The Sunset Room had artists booked until 5:30 in the morning.
My roommate Devon and I got there bright and early - 1 pm on the Saturday where we paid $5 for a wristband and unlimited access for the entire day. Which is unreal. As the sister of someone intimately involved in the music festival shebang and its promotional activities, $5 is good. Some people were miffed. Used to be free, apparently.

In true Victorian fashion, people showed up in all shapes and colours. I say that with particular reference to the furry leg warmers that a lot of girls were wearing, but also to the crazy hair colours and tattoos I saw. Oh! And the circus-grade hula hoop artists and hackey-sack-ers. There was a stand that did some awesome body paint and a lot of people were walking around with leopard spots and feathers.

One kid had a Santa hat and beard.

And the music - DUDE. Mind-blowing. I arrived as Space Age (midtemp-glitch-dubstep, psychedelic-downtempo) was finishing his set, which was groovy. The guy I really enjoyed was next up - King Kornelius (electro house, dubstep). Super set with some awesome music. Check him out on facebook and the whole shebang. This is probably the music I threw my elbow out on.
Next up was a guy who looked about 16. ...Oh, apparently he's 21. This kid's got the smile of true shit-disturber. Especially when the "VEMF Dance Team" got up in front of his turntables to dance for the crowd. Ben Chemikal (speed garage, dubstep) from Duncan on Vancouver Island. Some serious talent. Some serious aviator shades.
Mazeguider (glitch hop, crunk, techno, progressive -- I'm not making this up, I swear) took us for a trip down some tribal tunes, which was like slithering through a jungle on meth. Wicked.
Check out the other artists that were there. Guaranteed you'll find something to make you sit up a little straighter, get up and start dancing.

My main tip for these festivals - bring earbuds! And arrive nice and early to get your ticket. An hour after Devon and I got our tickets, the line reached the length of the block. Even after they made a separate line for people who already had tickets and were just trying to get in.

Security was cool though. This discussion actually happened.
"Can you open your bag for me please?"
"Sure."
"Are you carrying any liquids on you?"
"Er, sunscreen?"
"No liquid explosives today then?"
"Nah, thought I'd leave off it for today."
"Gets heavy to carry around, I bet."
"Yeah, looking into alternatives."
"Aight, enjoy."
"Cheers."

Itadakimasu & Guten Appetit

Back in May, Nina - a German student - gave me a cute little nickname: Biotonne. Essentially, "Organic Waste Container". It started when I took the whipped cream from her Belgian Brownie that she had ordered (she didn't want it) and was perpetuated at work when I regularly offered to finish my colleagues' meals when they'd had their fill.
"Don't worry, Franzi will eat it," Nina would laugh. "She's a little Biotonne."

I love food. And since I also like to write, here it is. A review of several of Victoria's restaurants.

Penny Farthing
Location: Downtown Oak Bay
Occasion: Impromptu dinner with Gabriel and Nina after work
Victoria is a very British city. It's got the feel of coastal bay breeze and a mild tea obsession battling against North American coffee culture. (Tea wins. Just saying.) What it also has an overflow of "traditional" pubs, usually with an Irish / Scottish / tartan theme (see Irish Times, next to Bastion Square or Bard and Banker, across the street). The waitresses and bartenders all wear tartan kilts. Guinness posters all over the walls. You know, the usual.
Food wasn't half bad, actually. I ordered a curry (shocker), while Gabriel and Nina each tucked into Fish and Chips served on newspaper-print serving napkins. I laughed when I saw "Bangers and Mash" on the menu. And there was a Guinness Brownie for dessert - would have liked to taste a bit more of the beer but hey, chocolate is chocolate.
Nice place, but the atmosphere that I thought was unique and charming is practically identical to Irish Times (and probably Bard and Banker too). Right down to the Guinness dessert. Still a good place to go for a laugh and a pint.

Sizzling Tandoor
Location: Downtown Victoria, Johnson St between Douglas and Government St
Occcasion: Visit from Dad
Whenever my father and I go out for dinner, it is invariably Indian food. Having worked in London, my dad has spent many after-work hours recovering with a pot of curry. I just think it's delicious. We've amassed quite an index over the years of restaurants.
This one beats them all. Even though the decor is surprisingly... not (an Indian restaurant without tassels and murals on every square inch of the wall is just lacking), the food makes up for it tenfold. They had ten different types of naan bread alone, including rosemary naan, naan stuffed with potatoes and peas, and lamb naan, which we tried. My dad - after having said how tired of Italian food he was - ordered the Chicken Tikka Pasta Alfredo - "Sizzling Tandoor Style". I went for a Mango Curry.
Flat out amazing. Incredible taste, texture, colour, and presentation. I hadn't eaten for six hours and I was stuffed after half a plate. Even the sweet lassi (yogurt-based drink) was the best I've had. The pasta alfredo was also a nice surprise - Indian and Italian is not something I would have picked as a winner, usually. Mind blowing. And not even half bad on the prices. The kheer for dessert was a bit heavy on what I think was nutmeg. And pistachios. Still cool and sweet though.
Even the pappadum dipping sauce was amazing.

Rebar
Location: Twenty steps from where I meet the guys for parkour at Bastion Square
Occasion: It's a Wednesday
Hailed as one of the best vegetarian / vegan / alternative restaurants in Victoria, and with good reason. They offered the most amazing rosemary focaccia to start, spongy and oily, with large salt crystals hanging on like tears. The tazo chai tea latte (how redundant is that drink name, really) I ordered came with a whole cinnamon stick perched on the mug, with milk foam piled in and around it. Delicious and foamy. Yum.
I was introduced to Pacific salmon back in May - it's heavier and has a wilder taste than the Atlantic salmon we know so well in Ontario. The BBQ Salmon Burger I ordered kind of smothered the taste with house barbecue sauce, but made up for it by using a creamy dill-based slaw instead of onions or relish. Dill features heavily in my grandmother's cooking - and, in turn, my mother's. Always strikes me how quickly taste or smell brings back memories.
They didn't have any of the blueberry pie that I've been jonesing for all day - not to mention I barely got through the burger - so no dessert for me.

As students, we get bogged down with what's cheap and available - always worth it to switch things up and take yourself out for dinner sometime!

PS. For all you serious food-enthusiasts out there, read "Tongue" by Kyung-Ran Jo. Fiction novel that's centred around food with a semi-disturbing twist at the end for thriller gourmets.