Carly Milne

"The 80s didn't come to Canada til like '93."

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 21:35:16 -0800

And so it's Canada Day. I don't usually trot out a homeland-specific blog on Canada Day, but this being Update Wednesday and all, I figure why not? Plus, this one marks a milestone for me, 'cause it was 10 years ago today that I celebrated my last Canada Day in Canada. And that fucking blows my mind. I can't believe it's been 10 years since I left... and I can't believe how much has happened in those 10 years! But that's a post for late August. Tonight, I'd rather share five things I both adore and cherish about my homeland:

"I suggest you focus your energy into achieving closure on this matter."

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 20:19:03 -0800

Warning: long-winded woo woo entry ahead.

"Here I am all depressed, when I'm surrounded by the happiest people in the world, writers."

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 23:29:58 -0800

Ooh, squeaking this one in under the wire.

I'm gonna be honest and tell you I really don't know what to write about today, because my life as of late has been the following: hike, write, eat, sleep, lather, rinse, repeat. Thankfully there were some social moments in there, or else I probably would've come completely unhinged. Actually, I think this past weekend taught me why a lot of creatives develop substance abuse problems. Spending that much time in your head writing about emotionally ugly things can really screw with you, and yet can create some of the best material.

"The question isn't who is going to let me; it's who is going to stop me."

Wed, 03 Jun 2009 22:39:10 -0800

Alright, so here's the deal, in case I haven't made it clear: I'm kind of working on a career change. I say "kind of" because it's still writing - that's never going to change. Writing is like breathing to me - not doing it would make zero sense (and, duh, would kill me.) So maybe I should say that I'm looking to change genres from journalism to film and TV.

Can I just say that this is equal parts shit-your-pants terrifying and scream-your-guts-out exhilarating?

"In their resting state, our actives are as innocent and vulnerable as children. We call it the tabula rasa, the blank slate. Now imagine the imprint process filling it. Creating a new personality, a friend, a lover, a... confidante in a sea of enemies. "

Wed, 27 May 2009 21:58:45 -0800

I decided this morning that I need to take a mini-vacation. The reason for this is simple: in the past month I have written more than I ever thought I was capable of in a 30-day period, to the point where I ran myself down enough to get another round on that cold (for those keeping track at home, this is round three.) And despite that, I still kept working. Fast forward to this morning when I tallied up how much work I've been doing (and how little I've been sleeping), multiplied by the amount of mucous my head has been creating, and I figured it might be wise to take a little leisure time.

There's just one problem - I really suck at this.

"I kinda always knew I'd end up your ex-girlfriend."

Wed, 20 May 2009 18:30:01 -0800

One of the things I promised myself when I decided to start blogging in earnest again was that I should write about the things I think I shouldn't write about. And this is one of those things.

I've been having dreams about my ex-boyfriend.

"So then I said, 'In that frame of reference the perihelion of Mercury would have preceded in the opposite direction.'"

Wed, 13 May 2009 22:53:28 -0800

So I'm sitting here knowing it's Update Wednesday, as I've decided to call it, and I'm drawing a total blank. I was up to the wee hours of the morning working my fingers to the bone, and while it was incredibly productive and fruitful, my brain very meanly woke me at 8:30 and insisted I get on with my day. And I've done so quite successfully, but the upshot is I'm feeling a wee bit brain dead. I just can't pull the all-nighters like I used to (oh, pitiful whine! Being a grown up is so hard! Whatevs, it's fun.)

So. What to write about. Oh, I know: a tale of girl getawaying and the joys of Mercury Retrograde!

"I'm writing a paper with soul. It's got lots of soul."

Wed, 06 May 2009 18:58:15 -0800

As an answer to the economic downturn (and, selfishly, my own concern over not being social enough when I essentially work in a vacuum), I contacted some of my favorite female colleagues and friends for what one has termed a Freelancer's Cabal. It's fitting, really. We each bring a dish (or a bottle of wine) and sup, then chat about our work, share contacts, solve gripes, what have you.

At last week's Cabal we didn't do anything overly constructive (on purpose, anyway - one of us had a rad breakthrough on some writer's block), but we did discuss what each of our work days are like. As one put it, "It really helps me to know what it's like for you guys to work versus what it's like for me to work, because I already know what it's like for me to work." This prompted one colleague/friend and I to exchange glances, as just the day before we'd discussed how much we enjoyed having the opportunity to work in our ginch, or - if it's particularly swelteringly hot - naked.

"If you have a one-night stand with a guy and don't get a case of the clap, you consider it a success."

Wed, 29 Apr 2009 18:19:43 -0800

Dudes. Can we be honest with one another? Although you might say otherwise to your fellow dudes, admit it: being coupled up isn't such a bad thing. But if, in between relationships, a good one-nighter comes your way, that's cool too, right? Problem is, some of you lose your minds somewhere between the bar and the bedroom. So I figure maybe it would help if you had some tips to offer some helpful hints. (Understand that this in no way comes from personal experience, of course. I just... hear things, you know?

Oh, and it probably goes without saying, this is way NSFW. I'm gonna get crass up in here.)

"No other city ever made me glad except New York, I love New York."

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 22:05:38 -0800

(Actually, I seriously adore L.A. to the ends of this earth, but I couldn't not quote Madge for this.)

I'm in New York while I write this, greatly enjoying the silence that has followed an evening of catching up with friends (and making new ones - Brian, I'm looking in your direction...) So while I'm technically late on my deadline, it's only 10 in California... so I'm still keeping up on my promise! But because I'm up so late on a school night - and one where I have meetings in the morning and afternoon - I feel it necessary to keep it short. Why? Because I've been up since 4am.

"Somehow he has cobbled together a random assortment of other brain waves into a working mind."

Wed, 15 Apr 2009 20:33:27 -0800

Okay, it's time for Random Thoughts Wednesday! (I don't think there's a trademark on that, right?)

"This is my comeback. All right, let me take that again... So this is my come - Jane, I'm sorry, the, um, camera keeps moving in and out."

Wed, 08 Apr 2009 21:44:46 -0800

So. I'm dealing with round two on this stupid cold, which has seriously put a cramp in my social calendar. Big foo foo, Hollywood red carpet, $500 a plate dinner thingie that I was going to obsessively Twitter through? Nope, not while I'm a snot factory. Girl's night out for the first time in forever? Nope, not when I can't finish a sentence without coughing. Instead, I sit in my apartment and work my tukus off while alternating hacking fits with hot baths designed to loosen the death grip that mucous seems to have on my entire head.

And you know what? I couldn't be happier. But man, did it ever take a long-ass time to get to this point.

"It is teaching kids to fornicate, teaching people to have adultery, every kind of bestiality, homosexuality, lesbianism - everything that the Bible condemns."

Wed, 01 Apr 2009 09:38:14 -0800

So blogging in Honduras didn't work out as planned, largely due to what little post-NyQuil coma free time I had being spent napping in hammocks in the rainforest, but also because I was spending quality time with Jessica, catching up. And though the entire trip was a fabulous experience that I will likely recount in parts in a handful of different publications, there is one experience that stands out from the crowd - that of snorkeling with dolphins. But what made it so wasn't just the actual activity, but the mayhem leading up to it that left me wishing I'd brought along an iron-clad wetsuit for the experience.

Allow me to explain. (And no, this is not an April Fool's thing.)

"Oh yeah. What's the capital of Honduras?"

Fri, 20 Mar 2009 17:59:09 -0800

So allow me to paint a picture of where I am right now. It's delightfully humid, and lush green hills and mountains abound. Cobblestone streets give way to charming little restaurants and shops wearing Spanish-tile roofs. The fruit is so fresh and flavorful that you nearly fall out of your seat when you eat it, the chicken tastes the way chicken is supposed to taste when it's not pumped full of noxious crap. But I have seen and experienced very little of the above because I have spent my first day in Honduras holed up in my hotel room asleep in the hopes that I can once and for all banish this cold that's threatening to take over my body.

"Well, I know that, but insane people can change their minds from time to time. I want it all... now!"

Mon, 16 Mar 2009 22:18:00 -0800

I don't even know where to start.

The past two weeks have been such a roller coaster that I wish I'd had a barf bag with me, but alas, no such luck. (For the record, I don't get sick on coasters. I love them. But when you're stuck on one for two weeks straight, it tends to fuck with your equilibrium.)

I don't really have the time to explain right now, and I don't really feel like I'm ready to. I'm still processing. But suffice it to say, I had a moment this evening where I looked around my apartment and realized: my life isn't just changing, it's changed... and a lot of things that previously seemed so distant in possibility are now suddenly within reach. Or maybe they're already in the palm of my hand. Yeah, I like the sound of that better.

Tomorrow is meetings and packing, Wednesday is Miami, Thursday is Honduras. I'll definitely be blogging from there. But for now, I need to spend the rest of my time kicking this potential cold's ass before it threatens to take me on hardcore. I refuse to be ill while ziplining through the rainforest and swimming with dolphins, dammit. Not gonna happen. So it's back to the couch for me.

More soon. How's your week so far?