my dad

Yesterday evening I invited my Dad to come visit. I don't get to see him that often except at my sister's place, where my attention is often taken up by Sara and Annie.

My Dad turns 71 next week. I never remember how old he is, mainly because he seems so much younger, at least to me. He travels to Japan several times a year to visit with a friend and do volunteer work at a school. He's constantly working on improving his fluency in Japanese; he was born in Vancouver, and Japanese was not his first language. I bought him a rosewood flute a couple years ago, and he practises it everyday. During his last trip to Japan, he bought a handmade lacquered flute that I'm lusting over ("hey Dad, are you sure you didn't buy that for ME?").

He uses his computer all the time to keep in touch with friends in Japan and has a much better digital camera than I do. He works out at the gym 5-6 times a week. He babysits Sara and Annie 3-4 times a week. He's one of the most active retired people I know.

"Relax, Dad. Enjoy your retirement," I'll say to him.

"But I am!" he'll reply, and then he'll be off on another trip.

My Dad's been through some rough times in his life including having his family's hotel business taken away during the war when he was a kid, losing his wife to cancer, losing his son and daughter-in-law in an automobile accident. He was one of the first (if not the first) Japanese schoolteachers in Toronto, and his first teaching assignment was in a particularly rough area of the city. He's also one of the most positive people I know.

He and I played flute and harp together when he came to visit, which was fun: Ode To Joy (which was one of my brother's favourites) and Plaisir d'amour. We had dinner at Fune, and both of us ordered the sashimi dinner. We talked about his life, my life, the future, had green tea ice cream for dessert.

Then we strolled over to Chapters, where I bought the Fellowship of the Rings DVD. Yes, I caved; I had originally toyed with the idea of waiting until November until the full version comes out. I blame Rand and Allison and the guy behind the counter in Chapters. I'll buy the November version, too, of course. I was pushed over the edge of indecision into buying the DVD by a brief conversation with the Chapters guy, who is obviously a Tolkien fan. Like Allison and Rand, he assured me that none of the special features on the DVD I was buying would be on the November DVD version. He also said that George Lucas bought a copy of the DVD in the store last week (!).

After we came back to the apartment, my Dad asked if we could watch part of the movie before he drove back home despite the fact that he's already seen the movie twice in the theatres. While he watched the movie, I gloated over the leather bookmark that came with the DVD and pored over the list of special features.

And marvelled over the fact that I have such a cool Dad. :-)





I've updated Waiting For Frodo.

poll: signature smells?

I used to know someone who always smelled wonderful. She wore a particular type of perfume (sadly, I can no longer remember the name) all the time, and after a while, it was impossible for me to smell that fragrance and not associate it with her.

Even Jeff has a signature fragrance, though I suppose "fragrance" is too feminine a word for a guy. He doesn't it wear it as much now, but I still strongly associate Ralph Lauren's Polo cologne with him. I could be standing on a crowded subway platform, catch a whiff of Polo, and immediately look around for him. Seems to be a popular guy cologne, sadly, so these days I find it's more often NOT Jeff.

Chanel No. 5 reminds me of my Mom, who used to wear it on special occasions. My father got that for her every year; I remember saving some of these elegant-looking small glass bottles as a kid, pretending I was dabbing my own neck with a few drops of perfume just like my mother.

Years later, I decided that I wanted a "signature fragrance" of my own, so I started researching, combing perfume departments of large stores, accepting samples from eager saleswomen with atomisers in hand. Sometimes Jeff would come with me, since it was obviously important that he like the fragrance.

I wanted a fragrance that was feminine but not heavily floral, playfully sexy but not sleazy. Despite the zillions of perfumes available, it was a tougher choice than I expected, mainly because after sniffing only a few samples, Jeff and I started getting headaches and our eyes would start watering. Some of those atomiser-wielding salesclerks were a bit over-enthusiastic in their spraying.

Finally we found one we both liked: Simon Chang's Kimono. Ecstatic, I bought a bottle and started using it, but almost immediately was worried about wearing too much. I've always hated it when you walk into an elevator and almost keel over because some woman is wearing too much perfume (or was recently). I also kept forgetting to put it on.

In the end, I quit wearing it. Maybe my sense of smell got more sensitive over the years, but I find most perfumes too overwhelming these days. From time to time I'll wear a bit of White Musk from The Body Shop (and I still love that fragrance), which is pretty mild. Usually I put on just enough so that only I can smell it. :-)

Do you have a favourite fragrance/cologne?

Also, what perfumes/colognes do you associate with what people in your life?

Answer in Blatherchat

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I've updated Waiting For Frodo. Thanks to Rob Wynne for his help with this particular strip! :-)

Ever wonder why people are searching for on Google? Check out Google Zeitgeist. (Thanks, Jeff)

Today's Blatherpic:

My ancient Smith-Corona typewriter at the cottage (the one I use to type each issue of The Outhouse Daily News).

waiting for frodo

Misty on the lake this morning (today's photo was taken a few minutes ago). Jeff and I are packing up to go back to the city very soon.

For those who haven't noticed yet, I now have an MP3 recording and lyrics for Waiting For Frodo online, linked up to my Waiting For Frodo comic. The song was recorded at Conchord earlier this month (sound engineer: Gerry Tyra) and will, after final mixing by Chris Conway, be included in our upcoming CD.

Our new CD, by the way, now has a tentative release date of next year's Worldcon in Toronto! (Labour Day weekend)

If you want to receive a notice when the CD is ready, please add your e-mail address to our mailing list:

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Thanks to TheOneRing.net for mentioning my comic strip yesterday (twice, even!). From the e-mails I've been receiving, looks like a bunch of new LOTR fans have discovered my comic as a result.

cottage storm

Thanks so much to Beckett for sending me today's Conchord photos!

I've updated Waiting For Frodo again. This cottage air is inspiring me. :-) As are the e-mails and postings that erupted when I finally updated the comic strip after about three months of silence. ("Thank god you posted a new comic! I was beginning to worry the comic was over!" "YAAAAAAAYYYY!!!" "Yay!!!! Waiting For Frodo is BACK!")

It's nice to know people were enjoying the comic strip that much. :-) I've also been getting e-mail and postings suggesting I sell the comics in comic book format when it's over (after the third movie comes out and Sam doesn't have any lines to wait in anymore). Hmmm...must think about this. Two problems with this idea: I've been creating the comics in low-res, which isn't really good enough for professional printing. Also, I suspect Tolkien Estates would not be happy.

Still, the positive feedback is nice, and I'm also getting a lot of idea suggestions for future strips (thanks, everyone!).





Mega-thunderstorm last night. It was exciting to watch the black clouds roll in. I love storm-watching. Lots of impressive thunder and lightning, and a much-needed downpour (there's been a fire hazard warning in the park for ages).

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Today's Blatherpics:

Thanks to Beckett Gladney for the following photos!

	Jeff Bohnhoff and Scott Snyder helping us perform "California Dreamin'", the first song in our concert.
	Allison, Jodi and I as runners for the Interfilk auction, trying to convince Kathleen Sloan place a higher bid for the Urban Tapestry Interfilk package. Kathleen ended up winning the bid.
	Attendees from our songwriting workshop at Conchord help us perform If Everyone Ate Some Chocolate, a song they wrote during the workshop.

cottage

Happy birthday to Mark Osier today! (photo above)

I've updated Waiting For Frodo (yes, again). I'm having fun working on this comic again, must think about updating My Life In A Nutshell, too.

At the cottage right now with Jeff, JBR, Harry, Jean and Mackerel the cat. Much activity planned; I'm hoping to squeeze an afternoon nap into the agenda. :-) We're here until Monday, back to the city, then back to the cottage on Wednesday for the 30th anniversary of the Canoe Lake sailing regatta.