Photo: Antwerp - Church Reflected #3

Impetus

Since the beginning of 2010 (I still can't adjust to typing that without staring out the window to see if there are flying cars in the sky) I've felt change is imminent for me. Whereas last year seemed to be a boat load of life coming straight at me, the inverse seems to be conjuring its way into this year - I feel more connected to surroundings, and better able to manipulate (if I may use the word manipulate in the best possible way) the outside world, the not I (to quote Krishnamurti).

This is not to say that I've got all of the problems with life, the world, or myself sorted out (ha!), but rather I feel a greater impetus to direct energy outward to affect change; to raise my own hurdles rather than wait for life to throw me hers.

I just don't know the details of how this energy will manifest yet - I'm listening intently. Perhaps small steps: publishing my short fiction to this here blog, and/or showcasing others'? Alternately, putting a cap in this blog entirely and moving on to something different. Shifting to work more with my own media rather than with others'. Sparks. You see: the light of change. Inarticulate still, but pulsing with activity, from the inside out.

Photo: Millennium Bridge Self-Portrait

Photo: Nassau Street

Tripping

So we went on a trip, an idea first posited by Ingrid which we polished (oh who am I kidding, she polished - I was just a witness) into an eleven-day, three-city, three-country vacation at the end of 2009.

London was the primary location seeing as our friend Shannon (member of the Z-Rays and now a music teacher) had moved there a couple of years ago - it's always easier when you have a friend in a strange town, especially when it's a massive place like London. Ingrid had gone there for a visit in late-Spring (it was during this time that we bought our first house...without her ever having walked into it). In the summer, Shannon came over and stayed with us while we renovated and had the electrical pulled out. It only seemed natural that she be the person we see to end the year (and decade) and since I'd never been to London, it was the perfect choice.

Thing is, it was also an opportunity for me to visit relatives in Holland - and when I say "relatives", I specifically mean my second cousin who lives outside the city of Leiden (notable, aside from its aged beauty, for its university - the second oldest in Europe).

Seeing as how the Eurostar train made its way from England to the continent via Brussels, Belgium, it occurred to me that it would be an excellent reason to check out a city I'd always wanted to investigate: Antwerp. Why Antwerp? Well...it's between London and Leiden and neither Ingrid nor I had ever been there, with the exception of a couple of instances in past visits when I had to switch trains at Antwerpen Centraal station. The city always looked like a gothic gem from the station, which is quite a complement seeing as Antwerpen Centraal is one of the most beautiful train stations in the world - seriously, it's dubbed "The Railway Cathedral" and worth the trip, if only just as a stopover.

The plan was set. And, regardless of the various chaotic things happening around (thankfully not to) us (the halted airline terrorist attack on Christmas, the stranded Eurostar trains just before then, a snowstorm in the UK just as we were leaving) it all went remarkably well, save for one missed train to The Hague.

Antwerp is a wonderful place to visit, with a mind-blowing mix of architectural styles, including some stunning Art Deco neighbourhoods. We stayed at the Mabuhay Lodgings, a conveniently located and very comfortable B&B with two very gracious hosts (and their two very cute cats). It's a gorgeous city with much to offer and I look forward to spending more time there. I tried speaking Dutch, but between my elementary knowledge of the language and the dialect spoken in Antwerp, it was easier just speaking English.

Leiden, in the province of South Holland, is a spiritual home-away-from-home for me. 15 years ago I had stayed with my cousin and her husband, just outside of Leiden (in the village of Zoeterwoude), after I'd graduated from college. Like Antwerp, we were a little rushed for time (the aim was to celebrate New Year's with our friend in London), but it was great to see the city again and spend time with my cousin (not to mention introducing Ingrid to her and her friends in the neighbourhood). We both look forward to returning, particularly when it's warmer. If there was one drawback to our trip, it's that it was unseasonably cold at times (and one can only flex one's Canadian-ness in the cold so often before you just want to wimp out and stay inside all day).

London surprised me. It was the one place I had no ideas or preconceptions about - I never had anything against it, but alternately never had much of an understanding about it beyond the clichés. It's a big, bustling, maze-like place which still somehow retains a convivial vibe; facing colder-than-normal temperatures while we navigated from place to place, I never felt the "silent sneer" you get from people in Toronto. I loved the pubs, I loved the beer, I loved Brick Lane (which reminds me of Kensington Market), I loved (again) the architecture, and was happy to have visited the Tate Modern (which had - coincidentally - curated a retrospective of artist Theo van Doesburg at the Stedelijk Museum in Leiden while we were there) as well as other sites and sights of interest. And yes, we even managed to hop onto one of the few remaining Routemaster buses in operation. We also met some of Shannon's friends and enjoyed a lovely Sunday roast with them at the Carpenter's Arms (a pub the notorious Kray brothers had bought for their mother). So much more to say, but that's it in a nutshell.

Not bad for eleven days (mind you, at least one full day was spent travelling). Photos to follow...

2009: This is Naught a Love Song

It wasn't even close to New Year's Eve before Ingrid and I were swearing that 2009 could not end fast enough, like a vampire-queen freshly staked that we wished would stop spitting blood and just fucking die already.

It's not that it was such a *bad* year, so much as it was filled with such a dense and dramatic amount of events that by early December I simply had no room left in my head; my brain's capacity was supersaturated with fragments of information without the ability to reflect anymore (reflection, I feel, being the way we digest information, the same way our stomach digests food in order to allow more food to come later). I tell you: such a state of mind is not healthy.

Among the highlights of 2009, this last year of the naughts: I completed work on two feature films, one MoW (movie-of-the-week), bought a house (without Ingrid being in the same country at the time!), moved into said house, started teaching post-graduate studies in film post production, and completed a major revision on my novel (which I'm becoming very happy with). Lastly, we managed to insert a three-country whirlwind vacation after Christmas. I must say, there was some cruel justice in having abandoned the country while the decade died. And what a decade it was...

Our friend, Shannon, who we met in London, upon hearing how things had gone for us in 2009, showed no surprise. "It's the Year of the Ox." she said "I can't wait for it to end!". According to Shannon, Years of the Ox are denoted by their eschewing of joy and relaxation for the throes of head-down labour and development. I'm not exactly sure how accurate this is - was it this bad twelve years ago, the last time there was an Oxen year? I ask myself - but one thing I do know: I certainly don't want to go through another Year of the Ox for another twelve years.

And so, to my readers, and to those just visiting, when I say "Happy 2010" I really mean it. The Oxen year is not quite over yet - the Chinese New Year is not until February 14th (at which point, 2010 will be the Year of the Tiger). I wish you all the best for the coming year, and offer the following synopsis, taken from a website who took it from a website, who took it from another website (so it must be true):

Drama, intensity, change and travel will be the keywords for 2010. Unfortunately, world conflicts and disasters tend to feature during Tiger years also, so it won’t be a dull 12 months for anyone. The Year of the Tiger will bring far reaching changes for everyone. New inventions and incredible technological advances have a good chance of occurring. For all of the Chinese horoscope signs, this year is one to be active – seizing opportunities and making the most of our personal and very individual talents. Everything happens quickly and dramatically in a Tiger year – blink and you could miss an important chance of a lifetime!