Little Troubled Girl

I've been wanting to write dissonant sounding riffs on the guitar and I was able to do that yesterday during band practice. However, it has proven to be extremely difficult to come up with vocal melodies without sounding sour.

Speaking of which. The little band I play in, Scrambled Debutante, has been making some headways in the promotion department. Without even really trying ourselves, we have somehow garnered more recognition over the past two weeks than we've ever imagined we could in such a short span. Some person in Italy made a Youtube video of Self-Loathing Love Song and I wasn't even aware of the fact that our music had crossed national boarders.

Another interesting titbit: I am officially a woman of the 21 century in terms of consumer technology. I've opted out my shitty Samsung slide phone and got myself an iPhone5. Having this thing is like owning a magic wand. I can literally get almost anything the internet offers with a few clicks. Just like owning a magic wand, I can do all of this with just one hand and the power is definitely slowly luring me to the dark side. I've already signed on with Instagram and started sharing pointless pictures on every single social media sites I've connected myself to via my phone, and so far it's just been such a novel and thrilling experience.

There's always an excuse for not doing things but countering that I've now found a reason or a better way to finally set up my Etsy shop. Remember those fruit necklaces I've been promising everyone? Yes, I've got my Etsy app ready and it's almost business time. Of course, I'll have to get going on that...tomorrow.

Dress like Grimace

It's not winter yet and I'm already sick. Pretty sure I ran an all-day low grade fever yesterday and yet I still went for a run for an hour, did some heavy lifting and had children scream in my face while defencelessly threw my arms around my head, trying to muff out as much of everything as I can.

Today, I'm taking a day off.

To make up for me feeling shitty, I think of these boots. No, you don't have x-ray vision. They are in fact see-through.

These are the Vancouver hipster version of Cinderella's glass slippers. Except they will never fall off my feet because they are rain boots. Come to think of it, if Cinderella wore these she would've never had her prince coming to rescue her from her shitty home. She would've had to think of a way to break out of that room, somehow elude her evil step mother and sisters, start a new life and become a feminist then later join an all-girl hardcore punk band.

Jeremy was looking super lumber-jackish and I found it stylishly hilarious so I asked him to pose for my blog.

I must say, he's a natural at modelling.

Sweater Time Again

When it's cold enough to showcase my sweaters on blogger, there really is no need to be loquacious. Plus, I've also been at a loss for words lately so I'll just let my photos do the talking.

I'm whipping out all the knitwear for winter and I'm getting quite stoked about that prospect.  Just think about how much easier it would be to get ready every morning when you know exactly how frumpily stylish you want to be, swimming in a different sweater, everyday.

Sometimes a toque does the trick when you're aiming for the "cozy and lazy thus ironically hip" look. This is how this outfit came to be.
Oh dear readers. I really wish I could share some profound writings with you all, but like I said,  my opinions are not so readily springing into life and translating well into cohesion that can be published on "web paper". However, I'm still full of angst, and what I think are sensible and well-thought out analyses surrounding some of the most titillating problems of my modern day life, so I guess that's good. Perhaps I've been video gaming too much...

Scrambled Debutante

I have been rendered completely useless by the incessant heat, emanating from everywhere. Including from my cats. I swear, I tried to pet one of them yesterday and a bit of my skin got singed off.

I haven't been in the mood to write much lately (because of the heat wave) so I'm going to leave you with a poster I designed for my band: Scrambled Debutante. We have a show on the 11th and look, we even have a Bandcamp.

Down with Patriarchy

Here's something infuriating, get ready.

I was on the skytrain heading home yesterday and had the unfortunate view of a drunk and sleazy man making vulgar remarks at several women. This fucking clown was THE slime ball of the century, not only was he completely insufferably obvious while ogling these women, he also very vocal and made kissing noises and various disgusting facial expressions. The situation was an example of power imbalance. The women looked beyond uncomfortable, they looked extremely distressed and perhaps felt very vulnerable too (I know I would). They tried their hardest to keep composure and exited the vehicle as fast as possible when it was their stop. 

To make the matter worse, this man was not alone. HE WAS WITH A WOMAN!!! This woman (also drunk and obnoxious) seemed totally aloof about how her date was making passes at other women. At some point, the man turned towards two girls sitting behind him and started gesturing at them with his hand and touch them. At this point, the girl was trying to dodge his hand all the while telling him to stop. Upon hearing this, the drunk woman became hostile and turned around and said, "hey, don't start shit. You're suppose to say 'please and thank you'".

Without getting too deep into the social significance of this whole thing, I think we can all agree that this is just another example of how some men feel that they are entitled to treat women however they see fit. (ie. with less respect thus as less than them) At the same time, some women perpetuate this inequality by not only submitting themselves to the subjugation of men but also broadcast such beliefs externally, unto other women. Thus, we (women) are disadvantaged by two sets of taken-for-granted assumptions which does not help the cause of equality at all. 

I, in the past, have been criticized by other fellow feminists as "contradictory" and "victim blaming" (victims being the women who are discriminated against) because my notions can sometimes seem a bit harsh towards women. My defence is usually that I hate to see women as victims of patriarchal circumstances and by seeing woman as the people who have been subjected to sexism and unfairness sort of implies that "that's just the way it is, we women are always the passive recipients of the shitty end of the bargain". To that I say "FUCK THAT" because whenever I hear anybody (men and women) talking about anything with any a shred of gender undertone, I tell always say to them, "it doesn't have to be that way, gender roles are the status quo, yes, but it doesn't have to be." Thus I try to change as much of our societal expectations as possible, starting at the most basic level by rejecting everything coloured by gender rather than sex. To subvert gender, I believe both men and women are responsible but since most gender stereotypes hold more negative standards about women, women need to work extra hard to reverse them. This means, by only defending ourselves against external sexism coming from others is not enough, we also need to recognize our own schemas of gender and reverse them. That is usually the hardest part but it can be done. 

School's Out

Growing up is exciting. I know that because I literally experience it every day. Both in myself as well as vicariously through the kids I work with. That's the other cool thing about hanging out with kids is that you never really introspectively think about just how much your own self have grown until you see it in others. Being the outsider looking in on the lives of these children serves as an alternative perspective which can some times provide valuable information about the self or makes you feel very, very old. 

Some kids graduated today and some moved onto a higher grade. For the sentimental and attentive ones, I say onto thee, "hey kids, congratulations, enjoy the best years of your life then start a fashion blog and rant about things in the most esoteric and sporadic way possible."