Zub Tales

A fun and frantic week in Zubland…

I finally got a call from Glenn. If you’ll remember, Glenn is my friend from Toronto who had come out to Banff for the summer. With September slipping away, he’s finally on his way back east. He called me up on the weekend to let me know he’d be in Calgary for a few days. It was great seeing him and his sister. We went shopping and wandered downtown Calgary with no real plans or commitments.

I think that’s the best kind of relaxed day. As we were walking down through the Eau Claire market, the weather was gorgeous and I had enough time to actually look around and enjoy the city all around me. It was a great calm moment in my rapidly paced schedule as of late.

Describing to Jenn and Glenn my summer helped me put it all into perspective. Although it went by so quickly, a lot of things have happened. It’s hard to keep track of it all when you’re in the midst of it. I tried so hard to dig at Glenn with ideas of staying in Calgary. I was merciless. He brought a much-needed connection to all you guys back east and it felt great. We didn’t get drunk or make asses of ourselves. We just hung out, wandered and talked. I couldn’t have asked for a better visit.

Sunday was me letting loose with a bit of my cooking instinct and making some prime French Toast for Glenn and his sister. I think it’s the only food and I can cook consistently well. My Grandmother showed me the perfect French Toast recipe and I try to make it the same way she did (no measurements, a dash of this and a spoonful of that). Instinct cooking works better for me than ingredients. Or at least, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

School has been incredibly good. The new class is hitting the perfect balance between fun and also hard working. They’ve been putting out great stuff for their first two weeks and I’m doing my best to keep the energy level high. Tomorrow’s their first Life Drawing session with a model. I’m crossing my fingers that it goes well.

I’m a bit scared about the Christmas holidays. I have to nail down those dates and book a flight, but I’m just not sure how it’s all going to work out. Tanya won’t be coming back, and I’m not sure how I’m going to juggle all the days and make sure I get done everything I want to do. I wish I could afford to just throw a party with all of my friends there at once. If only They Might Giants came back into town, maybe we could gather everyone and go see them like we did two years ago…

I was talking to my Uncle Iain the other night and he asked if I had gotten off my butt and tried the comedy thing yet. Of course, I haven’t. I thought writing it into the Newsletter would give me a little more momentum to do it, but I haven’t worked up the courage yet. Maybe that should be a New Year’s resolution or something. Maybe I should do it before New Years…

I also found out from my family that my younger cousin Tammy is pregnant. I’m so happy for them. Mind you, it also makes me feel the squeeze of everyone around me getting older while I desperately cling to my youthful and silly adventurous ways.

It dawned on me that I’m entering a scary phase of my life. That strange transition between random student-like lifestyle and a full blown adult routine. It really ate at me recently. I don’t want to give up the little adventures and discoveries. I refuse to be completely mature and dull. Whatever responsibilities life heaps on me, I’ll fulfill them and keep a tiny spark deep inside. Dramatic: yes…True: also yes.

Do you think it’s like Interview With The Vampire where Louis is turned into a vampire and Lestat says “Your body is dying. Pay no attention…” Maybe I’m just having the last little coughs of student life before I accept the adult schedule. Okay, the analogy wasn’t that strong and the vampire thing is dumb. Oh well, you know what I mean. I guess it’s more a choice than anything else. If I choose to be dull, I will be. Doing my job well and paying my bills doesn’t mean I’m not having fun or being silly anymore. I’d like to think there’s room for all of it. There will always be times when you feel like you’re getting ground down. I look back at Animation at Sheridan really fondly, but thinking deeper, it was so insane when I was living it. I’m sure the same thing’s happening here. In a year, I’ll think it was perfect 🙂

Okay, too much pondering and not enough info.

Otherwise, things are good here. Hectic, but good. The mornings are frosty and the afternoons are filled with blazing heat. I wear 3 layers when I head to work and strip them away on the train ride home. It’s sort of amusing.

If you’ve made it this far, I appreciate your patience 🙂

That’s the week here,