wordgoddess collab: hobbies

Today's entry is part of a Wordgoddess collab. The topic: "hobbies."

The word "hobbies" itself could be the subject of some debate. I decided to go with the Wikipedia definition of hobby: "Hobbies are practised for interest and enjoyment, rather than financial reward." So though I'm a writer for interest and enjoyment as well financial reward (though the latter is not as spectacular as I would like yet), I'll omit it from this entry.

Drawing

I've always loved drawing. Probably because I hated colouring when I was a kid, could never stay inside the lines. My friends back in early grade school used to ask me to draw pictures so they could colour them.

You can see some of my doodles on this page.



Comics

This is related to the above hobby, of course, but I now consider it a hobby on its own. Some of my comics:

Waiting For Frodo: A three-year trip I did about a avid fan and his friends waiting in line for upcoming Lord of the Rings movies. I even had fans at Weta Digital. :-)



My Life In A Nutshell: Semi-autobiographical comic.



Inkygirl comics: These are comics related to the writing life. I posted some during Nanowrimo a while back, posting others to Inkygirl from time to time.



Gardening comics: Just started this collection. :-)



Music

Jodi, Allison and I perform at Confluence in 2004.
Photo by John Hall.

I've been a member of the filk/folk trio Urban Tapestry for almost twelve years now. Jodi, Allison and I get together to practise for upcoming gigs (hey, we're performing in a castle in Germany this October!) and just to hang out. We have a tape and two CDs. We all write songs for the group, and some have aired on national radio.



This definitely fits the definition of hobby, since we don't make nearly enough money to call it anything else. We're happy if we make enough from CD sales to enable us to get to conventions where we can hang out with friends and make music. :-) I have fun playing music on my own, but I find I get far more pleasure out of playing with other people.

If you're wondering what filk is, do check out my site, The Dandelion Report.

Instruments I play:
Piano (I taught piano for about 25 years part-time), flute, Celtic harp, penny whistle, guitar, assorted bangy percussion things. My tendinitis has made it tough to play some of these instruments in the past few years, but I'm confident that my tendons will eventually recover to that point I'll be able to pick them all up again at some point.

This past year, I also started to get into Irish session music with my penny whistle, attending biweekly sessions in Toronto.

And above and to the right you can see a studio picture of my harp, custom-built by Larry Fisher (click for bigger version).

Urban Tapestry keychain figures created by Michelle Bottorff. I'm the one in the middle!
Our friend Kathleen Sloan bought these for us at an Interfilk auction.

Collections

When I was a kid, I used to collect autographs. I was too shy to ask for them in person, so usually researched contact info in the big Who's Who in our local library, then write to the person with a letter and a self-addressed stamped envelope. My collection includes autographs from Robert Heinlein, Ray Bradbury, Zenna Henderson, Michael Crichton, Mort Walker, Anne Murray, Isaac Asimov, the Carpenters, Jean-Pierre Rampal, and Bill Gaines (MAD magazine).

One of my favourites was a hand-typed letter from Stephen King. It even had liquid papered corrected mistakes.




I also used to collect stamps; I'm sure my stamp collection is sitting in some box in our storage locker right now.

Postcard from MEW.

I currently collect postcards, and have started posting them in my Flickr postcard collection. I recently added postcards from Mary Ellen (Vermont) and Alexa (Germany)...thanks so much! If you feel like sending me one, please mail it to: Debbie Ridpath Ohi, 34 Eglinton Ave W., P.O. Box 189, Toronto, ON Canada M4R 2H6.

I have a weird food collection (non-perishable items) which I plan to display on Flickr once we get settled in our new house.

I also collect bookmarks. This is one of my favourite collectible item because they're small, relatively inexpensive, and I use them all the time. At the end of Waiting For Frodo, I sent out a shameless plea for bookmarks and was gratified by the response. Here are a few that I received from around the globe:



Crafts

The photo below is of my first attempt at painted ceramics. I was quite pleased with how it turned out (a gift for Jeff) but want to experiment more with paint colours and textures.



One thing I'm really looking forward to in our new house is having a home office large enough to turn one of the corners into a craft area. When we lived out in the country, I used to be involved in all kinds of crafty-type activities, and even made a bit of money off some freelance work. I tend to give most of my craft projects away to friends and family, and my few still-surviving projects are in the storage locker, so I'll just have to describe them in text instead of posting photos:

Papermaking
Watercolor painting (I handpainted our wedding invitations and programs)
Wreath-making (woven entirely from materials I found outside)
Fimo sculptures (tiny animals I'd do for fun, then give to friends)
Christmas ornaments made from felt (I had fun creating unique ornaments)
Rubber stamping
Beading (Allison showed me how to make earrings)

As for needlework, I've never had much luck due to lack of patience. My one and only completed needlework project was a crocheted baby blanket for my niece Sara, started when I heard my sister was pregnant. It ended up being the size of a large misshapen handkerchief rather than a blanket, but I did still proudly sew a "MADE BY YOUR AUNT" label into one corner.

Gardening

This is a very recently started hobby inspired by our purchase of a new house that came with an established perennial garden. Here's one of my favourite views of the garden (along side of the house), which I'm currently using as a desktop image:



Yikes. This entry is way too long, and I could easily keep blathering on about other hobby-type activities like photography, canoe trips and cooking and chocolate and learning languages and food movies and office supply stores and tea and and and

But I'd better post this now before it gets unmanageable. I guess what I've learned most from this entry is that there are so many interesting and exciting things to do in the world and too little time to do them. :-)

June 2005 comments: Read Blatherchat | Post in Blatherchat | Livejournal comments

always, sometimes, never

The images below are part of a collab for Wordgoddess. Our assignment: "Always, Sometimes, Never" (use each word five times, any format). Also did some more experimenting with the Digital Watercolor set in Corel Painter 8 as well as portrait drawing from photo reference. I usually colour with Painter's Gouache, but I quite like the Digital Watercolours. They "dry" faster than the regular Painter watercolours and though they're not quite as realistic, they're more forgiving of mistakes. :-)

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Received a nice e-mail yesterday from someone who recently stumbled across my Reading Lord of the Rings: A Final Attempt:

"I just happened to run across this today on an unrelated google search. I came in towards the end, but I immediately saw what was happening, and quickly found my way back to the beginning.

In short, it was wonderful. *Everyone* wishes they could read this book again for the first time. Your blog was literally the next best thing for me.

Although you wrote it nearly four years ago, I simply had to write you today and say 'thanks' for the entire effort. It was a great read.

Thank you! -- Charlie H."

:-)

April 2005 comments: Read Blatherchat | Post in Blatherchat | Livejournal comments

Wordgoddess collab: questions

An Illustration Friday collab. This week's topic: "Sorrow."

Today's entry is part of a Wordgoddess collab. Each of us came up with a question for the group.

1. "What would your My Little Pony name be?" - Alicia

Joni Rigatoni Pony. See Figure 1B later in this entry.

2. "What do you think of when you look up at a brilliant night sky?" - Athena

If I look long enough, I feel as if I'm falling into the stars, with arms outstretched, imaginary solar wind tugging at my hair and clothes. I feel small and insignificant, one with the universe, at peace with myself and everyone and everything in the cosmos.

Then my head explodes from the vacuum of space.

3. "Have you ever felt prejudice towards anyone, or felt it aimed at you? Describe/explain." - Becky

Though I was the only non-Caucasian in most of my classes through much of my grade school years, I only experienced direct prejudice occasionally. A friend commented that it really wasn't fair that I got good marks since it was a well-known fact that all Japanese people were smart, so I had an unfair advantage. I remember being called "Chink" and "Jap" and "Slanty Eyes."

Yes, I've felt twinges of prejudice towards certain groups of people in the past. But I'm always aware of when it happens, try very hard to think of people in terms of individuals instead of the group because I know how I hate it when anyone makes sweeping statements about the Japanese, no matter how innocent.

Fig.1B: Joni Rigatoni Pony

4. "You suddenly notice a doorway in your home that you've never noticed before. You open it and find *your room*! Describe it." - Carrie

It's comfortably cluttered, with colourful fabrics and crafts and photographs. Nothing matches; an interior designer would be horrified. Every wall is covered with bookshelves, from hardwood floor to cathedral ceiling; I use a rolling ladder to get to the top shelves.

One corner of the room is my writing corner (mega-computer, high-speed access, etc.), another is my music corner (with my harp, guitar, keyboard, other instruments), another for crafts and drawing, another set up just for reading, with a cozy armchair and a reading lamp.

5. "Pick a song that can make you cry every time you hear it and explain the reason why it does." - Cricket

I don't know of any songs like that, though I do know of songs (and have written songs) that will make me cry, depending on my mood. See my entry on sad songs for more on this topic.

6. "If you could, in retrospect, change one thing about your childhood, what would it be?" - Danielle

I wish I had been more adventurous.

7. "What was your first job?" - Debbie

First parttime: either babysitting or teaching piano or doing cartoons for a Christian kids' newspaper. Can't recall the exact timing.

First fulltime (summer job): Selling hot dogs at the Shopsy's booth at the Canadian National Exhibition food building. It took me years before the smell of cooking hot dogs didn't make me vaguely queasy.

8. "Explain the name of your journal. How'd you come up with it?" - Heather

I chose "Blatherings" because it gave me the flexibility of talking about anything I'd like, didn't tie me down to a particular mood or style or theme.

9. "Describe your bedroom when you were 17. And now?" - HMW

When I was 17:
Small, pale blue walls, blue and white macrame lampshade that my mom made hanging over the bed.

Now:
Jeff and I are temporarily staying at my mom-in-law's condo while we're househunting, so our bedroom is her bedroom (she's not here). Exquisitely designed, white and pale sea-moss green. My bedside table is not nearly as neat and organized as Jeff's. :-)

10. "What does being a woman mean to you?" - Jenn

Independence and strength without losing an awareness of my own femininity, compassion and empathy, vulnerability mixed with courage, complexity.

I've never been what many men would consider a "typical woman." I don't wear makeup, dislike clothes shopping. "Doing my hair" consists of a quick wash/rinse, letting it air-dry.

And I'd much rather get computer hardware than jewellry.

11. "Name one thing you to did today that made you step outside your comfort zone." - Jolene

I've been working through these questions gradually throughout February and the night I came to this one, I had just come back from a session at the Tranzac. Tonight I introduced myself to two new people I had never met before (I'm generally shy so don't tend to do this), chatted with them: a concertina player on my left named Patricia, whistle player on my right named Tim. Through Tim, I found out about Patricia's father's Web site; he was sitting on the other side of Patricia and playing an accordion. When I got home, I checked out the Durham music Web site and was delighted to discover a page of tunes commonly played at the Tranzac, each tune with sheet music and MIDI file!

12. "If you could do anything, knowing that money, opportunity, talent, etc. weren't considerations, what would you do for a living?" - Katherine

What I'm doing now: freelance writing.

13. "When you're feeling down, what can you always count on to cheer you up again (even if only temporarily)?" - Kathy

Reading one of my comfort books, usually a childhood story like Heidi or The Little Princess or The Phantom Tollbooth.

14. "When you're having a bad day, what do you find most comforting?" - Lissa

Reading a comfort book (see above).
Taking a bath. Reading a book in the bath until the pages wrinkle.
Good friends: hanging out in person if possible, else chatting on the phone.
Taking a walk outside, preferably in the sunshine.
Having a good long cry to get it out of my system.
Browsing a bookstore.
Talking with my sister.
Ordering in food with Jeff and watching a rented movie.

15. "Have you ever had a friendship go sour? If so, describe what happened to tear you apart." - Lynda

For me, friendships start drifting apart (I've never had a friendship "tear apart") when the communication breaks down for one reason or another, when I feel as if I'm putting more effort/interest in maintaining the friendship than the other person, when the number of "things we can't talk about anymore" makes the relationship too complicated, when unresolved issues start building up, when I feel as if every conversation is a complex dance around potential landmines.

The ability to be upfront with each other is vitally important to me, as well as open communication, even about difficult subjects. I would MUCH rather drag a touchy topic into the open, hash it out, then put it away for good than pretending it doesn't exist or evading it. I hate conflict, but I've realized that sometimes it's much better to have a good ol' fight and then make up. And if you don't make up, then perhaps the friendship wasn't meant to be.

Of course all the above applies to me as well in any friendship; one of the reasons I feel so strongly about this is because I've been guilty of the same, and have been making an effort to change over the years.

The fact is that I have many friends, but very few truly close friends. I see this as a Good Thing.

16. "Using MapBlast or MapQuest, find the distance between your current home and your hometown (or, if you moved a lot while growing
up, your birthplace). How many miles or kilometers separate you from that place now?" - Melissa

About 25 miles.

17. "What would be your ideal job?" - Nance

What I'm doing now (freelance writing).

18. "Do you Google people you know or come in contact with, and do you think Googling people is a good thing?" - Noreen

Yes, I Google all the time and see nothing wrong with Googling people.

19. "If there was one thing you could change about yourself, personality-wise, what would it be and why?" - Reb

Less guilt.

20. "How does your current life differ from what you thought it would be like when you were 10? How (if at all) is it the same?" -
Robyn

I didn't really think that far ahead when I was ten. I guess I vaguely figured I'd be married with kids, like my mom, but was hazy on the process since I had zero interest in boys at that point. Had no clue about what I wanted to do, except that I knew I'd always be writing.

Now? No kids and no plans to have kids, but I'm married. And I'm still writing. :-)

21. "If someone were to gossip about you, what do you think they would say?" - Say-Say

Geez, I have no idea. Gossipy-types could pick anything, including my obsession with compartmentalized food, the secret lesbian affair I had with my friend Luisa back in university days and the little gnome in my nightstand drawer who quotes Lovecraft.

22. "If you could spend 24 hours living the life of one other person, just for fun and the sake of seeing how someone else lives and
feels, who would it be?" - Sherry

Thursday Next in the Jasper Fforde series: a fictional character in a fictional story about fiction.

February 2005 comments: Read Blatherchat | Post in Blatherchat | Livejournal comments

cheap liposuction

Today's Blathering is a collab entry for Wordgoddess. This month's challenge: to write a letter to a company.

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Friday, January 21st, 2005

Dear Acme Bulk E-mail Co.,

I believe I was mistakenly placed on your mailing list. I'm sure it was an innocent error, made in simple ignorance rather than a misguided (and, I must say, rather moronic) conviction that I can be tricked into opening an e-mail message with a misleading subject header, and then somehow surprised into buying something I didn't want.

To be clear:

- I am not interested in liposuction, particularly CHEAP liposuction.

- I don't need new toner, thank you.

- If I want quality meds, I'll ask my doctor for a prescription.

- I do not want a bigger penis.

- I have no interest in becoming an ordained minister. Okay, well maybe I considered it in a brief moment of ennui, but I've moved on.

- If I've won a lottery, just send me the cash.

- Go ahead and suspend my eBay account, see if I care.

- I said, I don't need new toner.

- I don't want my own casino.

- Even if I needed Valium, why would I want to buy it from someone who can't even spell it correctly?

- I don't want to Boost my Male Muscles, thank you.

- I don't want to look at your profile.

- Why would I want to say good-bye to my stomach?

- I said, I DON'T NEED NEW TONER!!!

- I don't want to send my bank account numbers to a total stranger in Nigeria, prince or no.

- I'm glad you like my site but I still have no interest in seeing you naked.

Sincerely,

Debbie Ridpath Ohi

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Wednesday, January 26th, 2005

Dear Acme Bulk E-mail Co.,

Sending me those unsolicited e-mail messages was one thing, but breaking into my apartment last night and vandalizing my inkjet printer and office supply cabinet is another.

The wallet inadvertently left behind by one of your incompetent toadies is undoubtedly being closely examined by the police. Reverend Igor Glotz should also expect a visit soon from my friends Hector and Gomez, who owe their intimidating physique and charming personalities to one of your e-mail offers last year (in particular, the Male Muscle Booster and Cheaper Unlimited Meds).

Sincerely,

Debbie Ridpath Ohi

January 2005 comments: Read Blatherchat | Post in Blatherchat | Livejournal comments