Keira-anne.com

When Vancouver and Whistler were first awarded the 2010 Olympic Winter Games seven years ago, I was less than enthused. I’ve never been a fan of the Olympics generally and wasn’t pumped for them to be held in British Columbia specifically. My sentiments spent the next near-decade snowballing, tangling up in an avalanche of over-spending, criticizing reports, suffering social programs and homelessness to name a few. While you can talk to me until you’re blue in the face, I will never, ever agree that athletic facilities trump any of the problems within our Province that are rapidly deteriorating. That said, I also can’t deny the fact that the Games are very much here.

This is where I admit to waving the white flag, eat my words and declare my own hypocrisy. Despite it all, I am very, very excited for the celebrations at hand.

I suppose it began last Thursday. I made my way to 49th Avenue in an attempt to catch Steve Nash carry the torch and felt entirely unpatriotic. In a sea of red and white, I stood out like a sore thumb in my purple basketball jersey. I intended to get Nash’s attention and, seemingly, it worked. Without red and white, I felt entirely alienated so made the decision that I’d actually sport Canada’s colours the next day as the torch made its way past my office downtown.

The excitement on Georgia Street Friday morning was incredible with a sea of proud Canadians stretched, quite literally, as far as my eyes could see. And as we cheered, applauded and shouted, everyone was speculating who’d ultimately light the cauldron that night at BC Place Stadium. I had to admit that even I, the Olympic Cynic, was curious. [Cue that white flag I was telling you about.]

Curled up on my couch that evening, I sat mesmerized as so many of the beautiful elements of our country’s culture unfolded before millions of eyes around the globe. British Columbia is only a fraction of the rich tapestry that is Canada, made up of people, images, songs, history and events that have shaped and transformed the home in which you and I live today. Perhaps the hydraulic issue served as an unintended measure of proof that, despite how breathtaking Canada is, it is not perfect. We’d be fools to deny such flaws exist but can instead unite in the pride that threads through us all and hope that one day we’ll see a country in which the final pieces click into place.

I’ve been called many names in the past: Homebody, Little Miss Anti-Social and even Not A Joiner. While those labels can certainly ring true at the best of times, now is not one of them. The movement and spirit of Canadian pride has spread across this city like wildfire. Think of Vancouver as being likened to Zombieland – minus the fleshy tenancies but instead with a healthy dose of infectious patriotism.

The ’round-the-clock music, cheers, screams and partying no longer cause me to roll my eyes but instead stifle giggles. If anything, this event has served as a personal reminder of how truly magical British Columbia is. It’s easy to take the mountains and ocean and blue sky and fresh air for granted each day when it’s on my doorstep. To be given the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see those elements of our nation through the eyes of countless international visitors is a gift. While I certainly refuse to turn a blind eye to the critical needs on the streets of my city and in the towns of my province, it would also be a shame were I to miss out on such an amazing opportunity in my own front yard.

The strangest thing about this all is the notion that in a few short weeks, the streets will have emptied out, Robson Square will be once again quiet on my early morning walks to work and we will all be left wondering if it was just a dream…

Author’s Foreword: This post is lovingly dedicated to my dear friend Andrea, a woman who shares many of my compulsions. Language is only one of them. Reading thesauruses may be another.

While earlier pondering this blog post, I was formulating what I thought would be the perfect opening anecdote. Upon further consideration, I realized that whether it related to my topic or not was moot, so I’ve decided to drop it altogether and cut to the chase.

“What’s the deal with language these days?”

When ICQ made its first appearance in 1996, chat speak was born. Words and phrases became abbreviated and emotions were instead expressed through cleverly strung together punctuation marks. Further still, punctuation itself was completely thrown out the window. It’s a slippery slope, my friends, and since then we’ve been inundated by way of MSN, AOL, text messaging, MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, e-mail, e-cards, blogs, webcams and smart phones.

While technology has certainly made the world a smaller place and brought people closer together (though that is still open to debate), it has also turned us into incredibly disgusting and ridiculously languid communicators.

Photo: MrPhilDog on Flickr

It can be assumed that the majority of Canadians have been taught, generally speaking, a basic education in the public school system. Many more of us have been fortunate enough to attend post-secondary institutions. The expectation concerning our quality of work only increases as we pursue higher levels of schooling. Words – both written and spoken – are arguably the strongest method of communication no matter which language one speaks.

Have I missed something along the way? I was by no means the most scholastic student in any given class. I made efforts when warranted, pulled off a consistent ‘B’ average throughout most of academia and never gave one subject more attention over another. Yet somehow I’ve still managed to walk away with an understanding of spelling, grammar and punctuation.

An alarming rate of educated adults still mix up contractions with possessive words. “A lot” has always been, and will always be, two separate words. When joining two thoughts with “and,” why use a comma? The “and” in the middle is the conjoiner. Run-on sentences are never acceptable and the only exception to this rule is if your name is Ernest Hemingway or Raymi. Though, even those two know what’s what.

The truth is that this unfortunate phenomenon is not restricted to chat windows and Facebook walls. Glaring blunders are popping up in grocery store fliers, newspapers, magazines, work-related correspondence and on billboards. I can’t help but wonder if our educations have failed us or if we simply no longer care. It’s time for the lost art of language to make a triumphant return.

I’ve been more prayerful this year. When people ask me if I consider myself religious, for some reason I take offense. No one, however, asks me if I consider myself spiritual. I consider myself spiritual. By that it can be construed that I’m deeply aware of the spiritual aspect to my whole self. It’s as much a part of me as my mental well-being, my emotional quotient and the health of my physical body.

I believe in God; yup, the supreme Allah. He’s who I pray to, who I believe in and who I share it all with. Not out of a sense of duty or of obligation. It’s born out of the simple desire to feel connected to Him and to keep my spiritual heartbeat strong because without either then… what? Exactly. I never want my life to read like a guilt-inducing slogan on the neon sign of a church. I’d rather it resemble the sensation of a breeze in a tree or the roll of a wave.

Man takes immense and incredible pride in knowing that he is the most evolved species on the planet, yet the way in which he views lives and loves and heartbeats is far more vulgar and barbaric than any other species on the planet.

Photo: dtcchc on Flickr

When girls get together on a Saturday night over fruit-infused cocktails, the conversation always finds its way to men and dating. It’s an inevitability. And so was the situation that Andrea and I found ourselves in this past weekend. However, more specifically, it was online dating that was the topic du nuit.

No one ever wrote the rules of etiquette around it. How much are you supposed to reveal about yourself? What’s a reasonable level of expectation? If someone messages you that you’re not interested in, do you tell them so or just ignore the e-mail altogether? And what’s worse is those that send messages after clearly not having read your profile (such as a 22-year-old sending an e-mail when it’s clearly stated that you want someone over 30).

Photo: Andrew Coulter Enright on Flickr

Recently I signed up for one of the many online dating services. I posted a few pics of my flashing grin in my profile, some witty quips about my personality and a small list of likes, dislikes and what I’d ultimately like to find in a potential partner. And so, a few e-mails started trickling in, but instead of deciding whether or not I was potentially interested in these men, I found myself questioning if I even wanted any potential partner.

The thought of being “tied in” to a relationship is enough to induce anxiety while seeing wedding photos on Facebook brings on full-blown nausea. I stepped back for a moment and envisioned my life in the future; there’s no one else in those pictures. Many people pair off and get married for the right reasons – and I’m pumped for those people – while others do it simply for the self-validation. Neither suits me.

I have plans, goals, dreams, ideas, places I want to see, things I want to do… and while some would love to share those with a significant other, I feel it would only stand in my way. Aside from the obvious steps of going to NYC, buying a car and potentially buying a home in the next several years, I have other plans including a somewhat monumental two-week trip. In none of these do I see someone beside me. I want my absolute independence and losing it frightens me.

Now, Andrea and I both agreed that every girl needs a decent jam session once in a while – a “part-time lover” as she put it. However, that doesn’t mean I need to compromise on what it is I want and what that means. It means that my life is my own and the only things that terrify me are complacency and sticking to convention.

I am absolutely open to the idea of meeting someone great if that someone great came along and managed to fit into my life like a favourite pair of jeans. While I don’t believe in fate, soulmates or any of that other idealistic romanticism, if it should happen, it will happen. And if it shouldn’t, it won’t. But finding a companion is the very least of my goals.

I deleted my profile.

“When a man wantonly destroys one of the works of man we call him a vandal. When he destroys one of the works of God we call him a sportsman.” – Joseph Wood Krutch, Literary Naturalist, 1893-1970

Some people seem somewhat shocked initially. Others are in disbelief and others still feel it necessary to dish out mild jabs in good fun. While at the same time, some people have simply exclaimed “finally! I was wondering how long it would take you…”

While I previously went through a two-year period of vegetarianism when I last lived on Vancouver Island, I had long been a big fan of meat. I loved eating it, cooking with it, creating new recipes with it, smelling it as it baked or broiled or barbecued. April 12, 2009 was the last time I ate meat.

A little over three months without meat seems like a short time for most and, while some may doubt the genuine intent behind my decision to cut meat entirely from my diet, that time is irrelevant. I’m still new to this “vegetarian thing” and know that there’s still a lot to learn. I’m constantly educating myself, researching the lifestyle I’ve undertaken and finding new recipes and ways at which to keep myself healthy without eating meat. My choice didn’t come about because I decided it suddenly tasted “gross”. In fact, my diet still includes eggs and dairy products from humanely-obtained local sources.

With so many questions being bounced around between my family, my friends and even my blog readers, I’ve felt the time is right to deliver my vegetarian’s manifesto, if you will. I can’t necessarily pinpoint the “how” but I can definitely articulate and expand on the “why”.

It’s no secret that I’ve long been a lover of animals. This includes everything from cats to dogs to chickens to birds to whales and every other living, breathing creature under the sun. To me, they have always been beautiful, abundant and gentle beings, each possessing somewhat of an innocence that we humans dropped along the way at some point. What was missing in my own life in this regard was a connection.

There was no particular incident that spurred on my decision to shed animals from my diet, my make-up bag or my closet. I know that I can honestly say that, although it may have been an idea floating in the furthest reaches of my subconscious, I truly did wake up one day and realized my perception had changed entirely.

It was Easter Sunday and my mom was out of town, so my aunt and I were left to our own devices for dinner. Rather than cooking a large turkey for the two of us, I found a recipe for Cornish game hens and planned for that instead. Easter Sunday was also the day I decided I was done. I carefully prepared the meal, as well as the vegetables to go along with it, and then sat at the dinner table with my aunt that evening. “Today is the last day I’m going to eat meat,” I told her without batting an eyelash. It was simply that matter-of-fact.

What caused that connection or that proverbial light bulb to illuminate is beyond me, but perhaps it was simply an inevitable culmination of my personal beliefs. If I love animals as much as I purport to, then why do I have no problem at all throwing parts of their carcasses on a grill or in a pan and proceed to devour them?

This is where the problem lies: animals are living, humourous, loving, emotional, intelligent beings that eat, breathe, sleep, feel, think and move. Food, on the other hand, is completely inanimate. A hot dog just sits on your plate without movement or sound. The only thing meat will do if you leave it long enough is decay. But making the connection between the living and the non-living isn’t easy. What joins the two usually involves a sharp blade, inhumane treatment and much pain.

It isn’t my endeavour to shock each of you through facts or unbelievably disturbing details of how the animals make it from the farm to the plate. Many of you have seen the PETA videos while others still may have witnessed it first-hand.

It’s my belief, as a woman and an individual human being, that we are all here on the planet by the design of something greater than all of us. Animals have personalities and feel, experience and understand many of the same quotients and emotions we humans do. If you have met Jordy, you know what I’m talking about! We are all species and none of us can say that one is greater than the other. Animals feel physical pain, experience the emotion of fear and feel the natural urge to flee when threatened just as you or I do.

Something as simple as a backyard BBQ with family is deemed more valuable than the life of the pig whose ribs are being devoured. Dispute that if you will, but actions always speak volumes above words. Last month, an Oklahoma woman and her friend were charged with killing and skinning a seven-week-old puppy with the intent to make a belt [source]. While the community was outraged, I couldn’t help but wonder how this was deemed to be a “despicable” case of animal cruelty, yet if the belt had been made of a cow, it would be okay. Something doesn’t add up.

I’ve heard a million arguments made to justify the consumption of meat. While some will say that the production of meat is actually good for the environment and the economy, others still will tell tales of the astronomical impact it has on the global environment. The point can also be attempted that eating vegetables is also killing living things, but it is scientific fact that plants do not possess both the central nervous system and brain required to feel and register pain [source]. But instead of respecting these beings, we assume we own them by locking them up in zoos, keeping them confined to large tanks at city aquariums and corralling them until they’re ripe for slaughter.

All of that is besides my point. The irony is that humans take such pride in being a group of beings so incredibly evolved as a species that our lives are seemingly worth more than those of animals. Yet, we rely on the idea that eating meat is our primitive right.

The truth about us humans is that yes – we are evolved; so much so that we no are longer required to consume meat to ensure a balanced diet and live a healthy and wholesome lifestyle. While at one point in time, eating meat and testing on animals may have been essential, it’s no longer necessary. Technology has moved us past that, and the choice to eat an animal is no longer premised on a need but instead on desire.

Very recently, I was discussing the beauty and gentle nature of cows with someone close to me. “I love cows too but I could never look one in the eyes – I’d just feel too guilty!” was what they told me. That, right there, is precisely the reason for my choice. I can no longer look at what is literally staring me in the face and deny it any longer.

I have made a decision and declaration to live a vegetarian lifestyle. I now make every single effort possible to use products that have not been tested on animals. No longer will items purchased for my wardrobe be made of leather products. By making these choices I am not claiming to be perfect, just as I do not attempt to describe those that eat meat as imperfect.

However, no matter what kind of argument anyone attempts to make against my choice, there can be no argument against compassion. There can be no argument against equality or love. I believe that every living being, whether toes, heels or hooves, has the exact same right to live a normal, happy and healthy life.

In 2007, Academy Award winner (and bonafide babe) Joaquin Phoenix passionately contributed to a film called Earthlings. It is as incredible as it is intense. In it, he points out the direct correlation between all of the Earth’s species and their individual values. While containing compiled videos that are not isolated events, but instead the norm, Earthlings is perhaps the most violent and graphic film you will ever see. Except it’s real.

Earthlings can be viewed online in its entirety here.

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When Peter Griffin’s welfare cheque on Family Guy was accidentally written out for $150,000 instead of $150, he built a moat around his home and rented the Statue of David. The kids of The OC spent cash like it was going out of style and were seemingly in constant competition with each other. Al Bundy dressed the part of a man made of money when his bank account temporarily swelled on Married… With Children.

So what’s the deal with our compulsion to spend-spend-spend instead of save-save-save?

Photo: Loadtr

A few months ago I wandered into Chapters looking for a book for women on financial management. I was starting from the ground up, so I knew that a little bit of leadership in my budgeting goals would be necessary. It’s easy to say “I’m going to stop spending money and start saving it,” but we all know that actions speak louder than words. One thing the book emphasizes is that understanding why we spend is the key to learning how to stop.

The last man in my life that I was constantly trying to impress – whether subconsciously or not – had incredibly particular tastes and expectations. Though unspoken, it was implied that my hair always needed to look somewhat luxurious, my nails needed to sport a specific type of manicure, my clothing needed to be as stylish as the labels in the seams, a tan was preferable and I wouldn’t dare go to bed at night without my legs shaved. Ghosts are tough to compete with.

Feelings of inadequacy or insecurity can reveal themselves in countless ways, but in women they generally rear their ugly heads in the form of spending. Whether we’re trying to impress a man, stay neck-at-neck with our girlfriends or keep up with the Joneses, the results are the same. “Retail therapy” provides a quick fix, but the high often crashes as soon as it starts. And sadly, until we can identify our personal reasons, any changes we attempt in an effort to better our financial situation will come back like a boomerang and knock us upside the head. This applies to women and men, and can concern alcohol abuse, unhealthy relationships, drug use or sexual habits.

While only a week into my strict and self-imposed budget, I have quickly realized how much I actually enjoy this new lifestyle. It’s become apparent to me how much I craved a structure I simply didn’t have. While I initially assumed living within a tight budget would cause me great stress, I’m surprised to learn how stress-free it has instead made my life.

Reaching a place of understanding, self-acceptance and personal peace in my life has given me an incredible freedom that’s causing a ripple effect. Does this mean I won’t still purchase so-called finer items? Certainly not. But if and when I do, the only person I’ll be purchasing them for is myself.

On May 19, 2009, I sent an e-mail to BC Ferries. Aside from the Customer Service office, I also sent this e-mail directly to the Captain of Fleet Operations for routes between Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland, the Manager of Community Relations and the Liaison Committee contact for the Horseshoe Bay to Departure Bay route. A week passed and I received no response in any manner – not even so much as a confirmation that my concerns were being forwarded to the appropriate persons for review.

I then re-sent the e-mail and asked for a proper response by end-of-business on Friday, May 29, 2009. Friday came and went with not a word. I have just e-mailed all the materials to Chris Olsen of CTV’s Olsen On Your Side. Here’s hoping that he will contact me.

Until then, for your reading and viewing displeasure, here are the photographs and the letter sent to BC Ferries to which I received no response.

BC Ferries Corporation
1112 Fort Street
Victoria, British Columbia
V8V 4V2 Canada

To: BC Ferries Customer Service

To: Captain Dale Phipps, Marine Superintendent, Fleet Operations

To: Jason Bowman, Horseshoe Bay/Departure Bay Liaison Committee

To: Sarah Cotton, Manager of Community Relations

Re: Customer Service and Pet Policy on BC Ferries Vessels

I am a member of the public and a lifelong resident of British Columbia. Travel on BC Ferries has always been a part of my life and will continue to be. The service provided is essential to all British Columbians and is an important means of travel for those visiting our Province.

What has always been apparent to me is that exceptional customer service is of penultimate importance to BC Ferries, second only to passenger safety. This is evident in the planning, staffing and expert operation of the corporation and its fleet.

I have long been aware that BC Ferries has upheld a pet policy stating that pets can be transported on the vessels but that they must remain on vehicle decks at all times during the voyage (with the exception of guide dogs). Until recently, I was never a pet owner and was therefore unaffected by this policy. As I travel frequently on BC Ferries – up to several times each month – and now own a pet, I believe that this is something I need to very clearly address to BC Ferries Corporation.

Several weeks ago I was a passenger on the new and beautiful Coastal Renaissance ship and, as expected, stayed in the pet area with my small dog. While the room is bright and enclosed to avoid engine exhaust and cold air, I found it far less than comfortable. Many of the very basic amenities that BC Ferries passengers have come to expect were entirely unavailable to me. There was no washroom for me to use, no water fountain to provide fresh drinking water for my dog or myself (the installation of a vending machine for food might also be thoughtful), no heat or other electric source, wire-mesh chairs that were unbelievably uncomfortable for a near two-hour voyage and – most importantly – I was unable to hear any safety announcements and was therefore completely unaware of what to do or where to go in the event of an emergency. With the new luxury vessels that BC Ferries has recently welcomed into its fleet, the corporation had a great opportunity to ensure that an adequate area for pets and passengers would be installed, but it has failed in this regard.

For the time being after that trip, I had resigned myself to this as being my only option as a passenger, but still found it incredible that I was being charged the exact same fare as the numerous other passengers who were able to enjoy not only the most basic of amenities, but also the abundant passenger services that BC Ferries offers on its vessels. All this while my dog and I were essentially quarantined to a steel-walled room on a vehicle deck.

Over the recent long weekend, I was a passenger once again on the Departure Bay to Horseshoe Bay route, this time riding on the Queen of Oak Bay (this was, to the best of my recollection, the ship making the 2:00 p.m. voyage). Upon viewing the pet and passenger area on this ship, it was plain to see that the area contains a vast number of gross inadequacies including, but not limited to, the following:

• A floor that was entirely covered in a flakey layer of rust. I refused to allow my pet to even set foot on this floor. Any animal not properly vaccinated could easily be subjected to illness or disease;
• No part of the area had been sanitized within a recent period of time, if at all;
• One of the safety gates was entirely missing from the 1-foot gap between the wall and the exterior of the ship. Any smaller dog such as a chihuahua or terrier could have easily slipped between the bars and quite literally into the ocean;
• No source of running water for animals to consume;
• No speaker through which to hear safety announcements;
• A confined space not large enough to accommodate more than two or three dogs;
• Exposure to excessive exhaust and toxic pollutants from vehicles; and
• A lack of basic amenities that all passengers should be able to access, including a washroom, drinking water, comfortable air temperature, comfortable seating, et cetera.

I have attached a number of photographs that I took yesterday to further illustrate the points and conditions outlined above. Were any pet owner to continually maintain such conditions at home for their pet, I have no doubt that said animal would be seized by the British Columbia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (BC-SPCA).

After about 30 minutes of cold, rushing air and sea spray entering the pet and passenger area, I moved towards the inside area of the vehicle deck for some respite. A crew member came up to me and my dog soon after and told me I could move to one of the stairwell landings between vehicle decks because, in his words, “at least you’ll be a little bit warmer.” I cannot even begin to imagine how much worse winter trips will be when temperatures dip well below zero degrees.

While the gesture offered by your crew member was incredibly kind, I have one question for you: do you feel these are really and truly accommodations deemed appropriate and sufficient for paying customers of BC Ferries?

Another British Columbia transit authority operating out of the Greater Vancouver area, TransLink, also provides essential transport services for residents and tourists in British Columbia. The pet policy as stated on TransLink’s official website is as follows:

“Travelling with a furry friend? Welcome aboard! Pets, including dogs, cats, rabbits and small fur-bearing or feathered animals are allowed on transit as long as they are in small, hand-held cages. The cage or container must fit on your lap or at your feet.”

I think it is fantastic that TransLink welcomes pets, within reason, on buses, Skytrains and the Seabus. Guide dogs, naturally, are also always welcome. However, that being said, a dog is a dog is a dog. If BC Ferries prohibits pets with the exception of guide dogs on the basis that they are either: 1) allergy-inducing; or 2) a potential for mess through urination or bowel movements, then these grounds are moot. A guide dog can cause the same potential issues as any pet, so the reasons behind the policy would be irrelevant.

Like TransLink, I would encourage BC Ferries to amend their pet policy to allow small, well-behaved, contained animals in some passenger areas (with the exception of food services areas and childrens’ play areas) in the interests of passenger and pet comfort as well as to maintain the top-notch customer service that BC Ferries has become known for.

While a policy amendment would be most ideal and, in my opinion reasonable, what is most crucial in the immediate circumstance is that the alarming and horrific safety and sanitary deficiencies be remedied immediately. I believe that this truly is in the best interest of BC Ferries.

I can’t imagine that I am the only BC Ferries passenger who has ever raised these issues. Having discussed this with a few close friends – including some new residents in British Columbia – I was told “I’ve yet to be on any of the ferries and definitely would not ever consider taking [my dog] on one in the Summer – forget about Winter – after seeing what you have had to put up with.” Should an adequate response from BC Ferries not be received, I am very well prepared to extensively highlight these issues through strong local social media connections, as it has already proven to be a buzzed-about topic on blogs and Twitter. Should the issues require further media awareness, I would not hesitate to do so.

I truly appreciate the attention paid to my letter and my concerns and trust that BC Ferries Corporation will do what is best and in a way that will clearly display the integrity and ethical operating standards expected by the general public from BC Ferries.

Yours truly,

Keira-Anne Mellis
Vancouver, BC

Needless to say, the conditions were so disgusting that I would not let Jordy set-foot on the floor of the pet area. I could not identify a source for the bucket of water, so he wasn’t allowed to drink from that either.

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I’ve been there and done that. I’ve tried a whole gamut of different skin care products and, while I normally end up settling on Clinique, the seven-month itch has hit me again. Clinique is a great line, but I feel after several months’ use, my skin becomes immune to it and craves something new.

Photo: jay.tong on Flickr

In recent years I have, in fact, tried no less than the following:

• Clinique
• Aveeno (Never. Again.)
• Neutrogena
• Kiehl’s
• Ren (Love this but it’s quite pricey…)
• Noxema
• Stella McCartney PURE

I’m sure there are more but I can’t recall. I’m overwhelmed by department stores at the best of time and really don’t know which direction to head in next. While I’m leaning towards trying Aveda, I’m hoping for some input.

The skin care line needs to leave my skin feeling fresh, ideally needs to be under $100 for a cleanser, toner and moisturizer and, most importantly, needs to be a line found on PETA’s list of companies and products that do not test on animals. (You can check if your brand tests on our furry friends here.)

Okay ladies (and gentlemen)… the floor is yours. Tell me what you use.

I have always gone through spurts when it comes to reading, putting books away for months at a time and burning through a handful for many months more. After finally reading Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert earlier this year, my hungerlust for books was reignited, and I’ve decided that I will read a minimum of 10 books between now and December 31, 2009.

I found both Star and Star Struck by Pamela Anderson (no judgment) in the bargain bin and got through each in record time. You know how sinfully delightful it feels to peel through a tabloid? Yeah, they’re like that. Last weekend I grabbed Anthony Burgess’s A Clockwork Orange and The Old Man And The Sea by Ernest Hemingway. Ever since reading A Farewell To Arms a decade ago, he has undoubtedly been my favourite author.

I cracked open The Old Man And The Sea tonight and found myself restlessly bursting with pleasure over what I read. Only 35 pages in, I know this old man. I can see him, I feel the rough fabric of his well-worn shirt, smell the faint sea salt on his sun-leathered skin and see the stories in his face. I have sat in the boat with him and understand what he thinks and what he feels and how his experiences have configured the man that is sitting in the tiny skiff amongst the lapping waves.

I read this paragraph three times in a row because I was simply astounded at how I felt reading it.

“He always thought of the sea as la mar which is what people call her in Spanish when they love her. Sometimes those who love her say bad things of her but they are always said as though she were a woman. Some of the younger fishermen, those who used buoys as floats for their lines and had motorboats, bought when the shark livers had brought much money, spoke of her as el mar which is masculine. They spoke of her as a contestant or a place or even an enemy. But the old man always thought of her as feminine and as something that gave or withheld great favours, and if she did wild or wicked things it was because she could not help them. The moon affects her as it does a woman, he thought.”

Ernest Hemingway, The Old Man And The Sea, 1952 Simon & Schuster

Photo: D.B. Blas on Flickr

Hemingway never, ever fails to pull me into his stories from word-one – even if the story is about nothing at all. His words truly make me want to jump up and down, run laps and make gleefully giddy sounds. The vividly descriptive words employed by Hemingway should make any and every writer jealous.

Ernest Hemingway’s talent is incomparable and I am so grateful to have discovered his works.