hamilton mountain

notes:
-i don't want to sleep, because we have no bed. since our old bed was discarded in BIOHAZARD bags two months ago, we've been sleeping on an inflatable camping mattress. last night it deflated as we tried to sleep, and by the morning we were sleeping on the floor. we went to ikea this afternoon and found a new one with a metal frame; see, bedbugs can't live in/on metal, and don't like to walk on it. if we put it in the middle of the bedroom, taking care to keep all of the sheets from touching the floor or any walls and place the feet in dishes of soapy water, we should be ok. however, we can't fit the bed in out car and my dad's van will not be avaliable until tomorrow afternoon. tonight, i'll be trying to sleep curled up on our old loveseat. jan is using an small old foam mattress. by tomorrow night i will be barely functional.

-i have failed in my efforts to have jan take an intro canadian history course, even after promising that i'd effectively write her papers for her. here's my quick guide to thesis statements in intro canadian history:

• 'the arrival of europeans in north america led to conflict with first nations people' = C = you grasp the basic result of colonialism, but have barely expanded your knowledge beyond heritage moments.
  
• 'european settlers in north america always exploited first nations people' = B = you know how to challenge the traditional history, and are well on your way towards being an insufferably smug and rebellious second-year-university-student
  
• 'the relationship between european settlers and first nations people has always been complex, and interactions have often been very dependant on specific situations' = A = hooray, you've understood the point of intro history, which is that there is never one answer, as a counter-example can be found to almost any statement. you have some grasp of how subjective history is, and are willing to engage in revisionism. for an intro course, you win!
  

my fucking ten!
1. an undeveloped roll of film from several years ago. anything could be on it!
2. kate bush, aerial!
3. working for a candidate who is consistently validating both me and my partner!
4. dusty in memphis, by warren zanes. a 114 pg. book all about dusty springfield's dusty in memphis album, written by a guy who really likes the album. my dad, who lent it to me, was unhappy that the second half talks less about the record and more about cultural appropriation, so i pointed out that the author has a doctorate in cultural studies. there's a whole series, called '33 1/3', each a short book about one specific album. incredible!
5. a long argument with sam about whether barbara ehrenreich's nickel and dimed is morally reprehensible!
6. last plane to jakarta, written by john darnielle of the mountain goats! especially good are the old archives, where the format is half the fun.
7. MORRISSEY!
8. LEONARD COHEN!
9. so many books to read!
10. no papers to write for my HIST 335 course, just midterms!