milkring.com

Happy anniversary (and a week late, because I’m a jerk and forgot) to my gorgeous sister, Leslie and her oh-so handsome husband, Nathan. Here’s to many more years of happiness n’ stuff!

French artist Pierre Maraval calls his photo exhibitions ‘‘human landscapes,'’ each a collection of 1,000 portraits of individuals linked by a common characteristic or shared passion. Athletes, AIDS workers, Internet pioneers, and women from some of the world’s greatest cities are among those whom Maraval has celebrated since he began his project in ‘93. Now he turns his lens on Toronto and the women who enrich the city’s flourishing cultural scene through Toronto’s Mille Femmes. Toronto’s Mille Femmes is a tribute to 1,000 artistic, creative and inspiring women from Toronto and their protégés, who embody the passion and heritage of the city. Architects, actors, dancers, designers, journalists, musicians and others have been chosen in recognition of their achievements and leadership in their field. Joined together, the 1,000 portraits will become a visual network, a chain of recognition that celebrates not only an extraordinary community of women, but also the creative character and diversity of Toronto.

This exhibit can be viewed at BCE Place in Toronto.

If you would pray for my Uncle Bill and family, I would appreciate it. He’s not doing so well, and needs all the good vibes he can get. Thanks.

Decided to be a little proactive this weekend, and created an online shop for my photography! Swing on by, lemme know what you think.

Or buy. You know. You can do that, too.

So, internet. I’m kinda curious to know your thoughts on these top ten rules of dating. You think it rings true, or do you think it’s a load of crap? Check it out:

1. Be a creature unlike any other. Being a creature unlike any other is really an attitude, a sense of confidence and radiance that permeates your being from head to toe. It’s the way you smile (you light up the room), pause in between sentences (you don’t babble on out of nervousness), listen (attentively), look (demurely, never stare), breathe (slowly), stand (straight) and walk (briskly, with your shoulders back) When a relationship doesn’t work out, you brush away a tear so that it doesn’t smudge your makeup and you move on!

2. Show up to parties, dances, and social events even if you do not feel like it. Realize that you may not meet Mr. Right naturally and that you therefore must take social action immediately even if you don’t want to. Get a manicure and go out on another date or to that singles dance — do something to increase your chances of meeting men.

3. It’s a fantasy relationship unless a man asks you out. Don’t waste time on a fantasy relationship. You may have a good rapport with your doctor, lawyer or accountant, and you may find yourself wondering if he is interested in you romantically. How can you know for sure? If he’s never asked you out, then he’s not interested!

4. In an office romance, do not e-mail him back every time he e-mails you unless it is business related. On all nonbusiness e-mails, responding once for every four of his e-mails is a good rule of thumb. Remember, you never know who has access to your e-mail, so keep all romance off the screen and save it for Saturday nights.

5. If you are in a long distance relationship, he must visit you at least three times before you visit him. Remember, the first three visits are really nothing more than three dates… and on the first three dates we don’t have sex with a man or have him stay at our place overnight.

6. When considering whether to use personal ads or other dating services, you should place the ad and let the men respond to you. It goes back to the basic premise of The Rules: Man pursues woman. When writing your ad, remember that every man has a type, a voice or a look he likes. There has to be a spark for him that attracts him to you, something that makes him find you unexplainably special.

7. If he does not call, he isn’t that interested. Period. We know this is hard to accept, but it’s not that he hasn’t called because he’s busy, or because you didn’t smile or talk enough (or did too much). It’s not that he lost your phone number. The bottom line is, if he hasn’t called, he’s not that interested.

8. Close the deal - Rules women do not date men for more than two years. If you’ve followed The Rules, your man probably loves you and wants to marry you. Your problem is not if he marries you, but when! If it’s been more than a year, see less of him and think about dating others. You’ve already spent more than a year waiting for him to propose; do you have another year to wait?

9. Buyer beware - observe his behaviour as to not end up with Mr. Wrong. Love may be blind, but Rules girls are not stupid! How does he act in the relationship? Is he cheap on dates? Is he critical of you? Remember, The Rules are not about marrying the first man you are attracted to who calls you by Wednesday for Saturday night and buys you flowers. It’s about marrying your own personal Mr. Right — a man whom you love and whose character you admire and can live with.

10. Keep doing the Rules even when things are slow. Take care of yourself, take a bubble bath and build up your soul with positive slogans like “I am a beautiful woman. I am enough.” You must learn to accept that, as an adult, you can’t always rely on a friend to do things with you. Even if you don’t meet Mr. Right, going out — whether it’s a restaurant, lecture or party — is a chance to meet new people and practice The Rules.

Now, a part of me is like wow. Some of these kind of ring true. I mean, I’m guilty of doing some of this stuff. The other part of me is like, isn’t this a little biased? I mean, it’s written by chicks. I’m sure they’ve done their research and taken some sort of guy poll on what guys think about all this, but I can’t help but wonder how many of these Ruler Makers have been on dates recently? I mean, seriously? Make him visit you three times before you visit him? Yikes. I dunno, internet. I’m not sure that all guys fall under such blanket statements. I can tell you if I was a dude, and some chick didn’t write me back after two e-mails, I’d think she’d want me to get bent and wasn’t interested. That, and I’m not into games, so. I’d probably write it off. But maybe I’m missing part of the whole intrigue. Hit me up with your thoughts.

A photo I took near the nature trail I walk.

Edward Hartwick: on 2/24/09, i turn 11,000 days old
Jennifer Shindley: You’ve got entirely too much time on your hands.
Jennifer Shindley: Calculate mine!
Edward Hartwick: i cant, it took me like 15 mins
Edward Hartwick: and yours is more difficult cause youre farther along in the year.. its easy for me to take my 1st year into account cause i just have to subtract 12 from 365
Edward Hartwick: but about 7:30pm eastern tonight, i turn 10,709 days old
Edward Hartwick: and thats taking into account daylight savings too
Jennifer Shindley: You’re like the biggest nerd ever.
Edward Hartwick: ya wanna know what got me to do it?
Jennifer Shindley: ?
Edward Hartwick: i’m listening to the Tool album, 10,000 Days.. and so im like.. how many years is that? and it turns out to be a little more than 27 yrs
Edward Hartwick: so i’m like.. damnit, i missed it, i wanna know by how much and when 11,000 will be
Edward Hartwick: thats what made me do it
Edward Hartwick: the big thing is making sure you account for leap years and the “end cap” years
Edward Hartwick: 366 * # of full leap years, 365 * # of full non-leap years, along with the number of full days you lived in your birth year, plus the number of full days youve lived so far in 08
Edward Hartwick: and dont forget that 2000 was not a leap year
Edward Hartwick: but your leap + non-leap should be 1 less than your actual age (cause you havent had your birthday yet)
Edward Hartwick: so adding all those days up gets you what you’ll be at the time of your birth today
Edward Hartwick: if you count today in the 2008 mix
Edward Hartwick: Ed FTW

Me: Now you have to tell me something in french.
G: Hmm. Ma petite chou.
Me: What’s that mean?
G: My little cabbage.
Me: Your… cabbage?! What is that, like.. ‘Tell me something in french. Oh, okay. Umm.. The pink flamingos fly out at midnight!’ ? BWAHAHAHAHA!
G: It’s a term of endearment in french.
Me: Well, I kinda blew that moment, didn’t I.

(Via Cam)

I’ve been on a cleaning streak today, getting ready for (is it here yet?!) spring. Yesterday and today were gorgeous. My apartment’s been open to a welcome breeze. I decided in lieu of the season change, I’d best clean out my closet. And dust. Maybe do some dishes? Oh, and mop. I also organized. Okay, so it was an afternoon of really boring house cleaning, but I can stand back and be pretty okay with how things turned out. I’ve got a black trash bag of things to go to Goodwill. I’m also in a “simplify my life!” mode, so I’m going to sell stuff. Got a couple of Mac computers for sale - I’ve got a Macbook and an iMac. Let me know if you’re interested.

Heading back to Montreal for May long weekend. This time, I plan on taking some more photos than I did last time. And kick Garret’s ass in pool.

Life’s a-changin’ for the better. I feel excited about stuff, particularly my photography. I think it’s coming along alright, and I’ve been tossing the idea around of putting it up in some local galleries. I just gotta find out how all that works. Maybe earn a few bucks on the side.

Been listening to some good tunes lately - this guy (via Cam) posts some good stuff once a week. It’s sort of a mixed tape set up, 90 minutes of different stuff. Lots I’ve never heard of. I’ve been really into checking out new stuff lately. I’ve found the stuff I’ve hung onto for so long has gotten dull; I’m wanting fresh n’ new. If you’ve got some suggestions, I’d be open to checking new stuff out.

I also wonder how many times I can say the word ’stuff’ in a given paragraph. I count five in the span of six sentences. That’s a pretty awesome use of the English vocab, wouldn’t you say? And stuff.

Oh. Made pesto and salsa today. Forgot to tell ya up there, somewhere, in my rant about crap I did today.

What’d you do this weekend?