For the Love of Writing

I'm going to steal a quote from the movie Stuck in Love (which I love because it's about love, writing, and Logan Lerman...okay it's technically not about him, but he's in it!) in order to justify why I am such a bad procrastinator when it comes to something I love the most...writing.

"Rusty, a writer is the sum of his experiences. Go get some."

And me, with my love of writing and my lack of committing to it, tell myself that this is what I'm doing–getting experience. I'm living. So that when I have the time to sit down and finally commit myself to my work, I'll have something to write. Alas, this is why my blog is filled with not enough. Filled to its brim with not enough. I know that's impossible, but still.

I'm sad that younger me went and destroyed younger younger me's random notes on Facebook that were meant to put my soul on display even though it more or less just made me look like a self-absorbed kid. What kid of kid in North America isn't self-absorbed at 13? 

Since I sabotaged myself those years ago, I'm going to now fill out on of these random answer things and then follow up with a review of 2500 Random Things about Me Too.
Let the self-attentioning begin!!!

Question 1: Do you have any pets ?
Yes and no. I grew up on a farm, and will be moving back there with all the farm animals. However, I, myself, am not a lover of animals. Maybe a liker...

Question 2: Name three things that are physically close to you?

Is it strange that I thought of the people who've held me the most? Like my ex, my niece, and my nephew. But physically near me in the sense of things are a rabbit stuffy named Mojo (after my best friend and I's nicknames for each other),  a candle, and the pamphlet given out at my friend's funeral.

Question 3: What’s the weather like right now ?
Full of promises; hinting at summer but the air is drenched in spring.Questions 4: Do you drive ? If so, have you crashed?
I drive, and I pray I won't be crashing. I hit a ditch once at 4 am. But drove out of it like a pro ditch driver.
Question 5: What time did you wake up this morning ?
9:58 am 'cause I sleep in like that.
Question 6: When was the last time you showered ?
10:00 am 'cause I wash my body like that.
Question 7: What was the last movie that you saw ?
Five seconds of Sin City 2. Ten minutes of Pitch Perfect. Half of Birdman. That's like 5/6 of a movie.
Question 8: What does you last text message say?
You?!!! you mean your? "There's fritters, sausage rolls, ham and cheese croissant, cinnamon twists blah blah blah :) it is Friday though so idk how much stuff will be left by the time we go through"
Question 9: What is your ringtone ?
Normal one: Nirvana's Heart-shaped Box Mother's: Pearl Jam's version of Last Kiss The BFF's: Let's Fall in Love by Mother Mother (he hates the band :D)
Question 10: Have you ever been to a different country?
France, Mexico. Space.Question 
11: Do you like sushi?
Do I ever.
Question 12: Where do you buy your groceries?
Where I want to at the time?
Question 13: Have you ever taken any medication to help you fall asleep faster?
No.
Question 14: How many siblings do you have ?
4+1 who is like an adoptee, and then there's the brother-in-law that is like a brother anyways.
Question 15: Do you have a desktop computer or a laptop?
Laptop
Question 16: How old will you be turning on your next birthday?
200000000! or just 20
Question 17: Do you wear contacts or glasses ?
Four eyes
Question 18: Do you colour your hair ?
:) yes, with henna. Haven't been all natural since I was 8
Question 19: Tell me something you are planing to do today:
Meet BCIT students for dinner, probably be awkward.
Question 20: When was the last time you cried?
Last weekend. I'm a girl. It's okay.
Question 21: What is your perfect pizza topping?
Goat cheese!!!!!!!
Question 22: Which do you prefer, hamburger or cheeseburger ?
cheeseburger, no bun because that shit gives me heartburn
Question 23: Have you ever had an all-nighter ?
Did you pee your diaper as a one year old? Duh.
Question 24: What is your eye colour ?
Grey, but that's not an option according to the jerks at the license place. So according to them, they're blue.
Question 25: Can you taste the difference between Pepsi and Coke?
Stupid question.

2500 Random Things about Me Too is a book of poetry by Matias Viegener. Reading it initially, I couldn't catch on to the link between the old posts people would write on Facebook and the work Matias has done. Maybe it was because a lot of the 'random' things became not so random, but rather created a narrative between the lines. Maybe it's because I'm dense like that. 

I did very much enjoy this book (unlike most of the other books we read....) because of that strange narrative it'd take on sometimes. Humans are bad at being random, I think. We are driven by reason, by needs and wants and so it's hard to truly write something that falls under the 'random' category. Unless you're Kevin...I feel like Kevin can be very random. 

One of my favourite lines is "Many non-human sounds are nice, and almost all nasty sounds come from humans somehow" (line 12, X). It's written like a simple truth, a fact more than a pondering observation. This is a line that made me pause and think it through, to examine the noises around me and find the beautiful ones and the ugly. Most human voices spew ugliness, anger. The way a crane moves, with it's grinding and metal parts, is made from humans. Ugly ugly ugly.

I feel like I get off topic easily.

Matias does a good job of slipping in those facts he's created, these perfect lines that read like quotes that have been well designed to hit you hard and fast. To stick to you. But it's mixed among all these other things that are personal and impersonal. Unlike Disclosure, I feel like I do get a sense of who Matias is, not just because it's a book about him technically, but because how  he wrote the random things. He doesn't always explain, give reason, but there's enough there to build an image of a human being. I feel like if we were all to do a large scale project like this the end result would be surprising. That we wouldn't know how much of ourselves we've given until we came to the end, when at that point you're having to dig deep to not repeat yourself over and over. This is the poetry I want, the confessional kind redone in new ways. We give away this info about ourselves freely as if we want to make our mark in the world, but how can we do this if we stick to the small talk. Maybe it's the same for our work...how can we possibly make our mark in the world of poetry if we aren't willing to dig up ourselves and write work that doesn't just look at the skin of our words, but the intestines, the liver, and maybe even the blood that pumps our hearts.