I read a beautiful blog called Sixth in Line. Recently Elisabeth won the Kreativ blogger award. It is not difficult to see why when you read her writing. Go and do so!
The wonderful musician and writer, Mike McClaren from Annotated Margins has honoured my efforts with a Kreativ blogger award. My second ever. I am grateful for his recognition and will respond as I must but only in part. I will list the mandatory things about me but I will leave it up to all those wonderful bloggers whom I follow - I cannot choose among them - to take it upon themselves if they so choose to list seven things about themselves, here in comments or on their own blogs.I am willing to take up the challenge, although there is a level of reality I do not quite feel I can attain in listing things about me. It seems like the things I list are simply the things that everyone would write in one of these lists. They evoke the same feelings, call in the same memories, share the same sense of belonging or not belonging. It is good to know I am in the same place but it makes this somewhat redundant.
1. I have a phobia of helicopters and airoplanes flying over my head. Even as an adult try to hide under a building or a tree until they pass. My boyfriend suggests that this is because I grew up near a military base. It might be true. I sometimes have nighmares about our harbours being full of ships at war.
2. My name is Jessica but I have gone by Jesse since childhood. For years I regretted being born a girl.
3. I could not read until grade seven.
4. I realise that there are certain people in the world who are very fashion conscious. I have sympathy for those people but also enjoy subtly breaking fashion rules in order to drive them crazy.
5. I've never been drunk.
6. The moment I can pinpoint as a freedom is riding over a hill on my bicycle and seeing the Olympic mountains. I like to pretend that if I peddle fast enough I can get there.
7. I started to take philosophy in order to understand it so that I could defend myself against it. In Spring of 2008 ingested such a quantity of philosophy I became a different person and I can no longer remember what I found so threatening.
2 comments:
Well, Jesse, if I may be so bold as to call you by the name you have used since you were a child, or would you prefer Jessica?
I'm flattered that you have taken a lead from me, and then fascinated by the extent to which you choose to identify yourself by some of the things you do not do, or have never done, like getting drunk.
Most impressive. I cannot boast the same.
Your list reminds me of an essay by one of my favourite, though not so well known Australian writers, Gerald Murnane, who writes in 'The Breathing Author':
'I have never been in an aeroplane...
I have never owned a television set...
I cannot recall having gone into any art gallery or museum or building said to be of historic interest.
I have never worn sunglasses.
I have never learned to swim...' and more besides.
Thanks Jesse. What a delicious list, full of intrigue and questions that keep popping out and begging for more information. If this were a conversation we would be asking many questions.
Thank you, Elisabeth.
The first time I read something from your blog I felt like that. I regretted that. That blogging is a conversation only indirectly. If ever we happen to be in the same city I should very much like to meet you.
I noticed that I was defining myself by 'nots' and tried to avoid it as much as possible. I think I shall look into Gerald Murnane.
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