DEFINITELY NOT ALICE

You know you're officially a nerd when one of your favourite - and most inspired - moments of the summer is when you receive and start to tackle your fall reading list (you also know you're a nerd when you Google "university nerd" and your picture literally comes up on the 15th page or so - my family assures me that this actually happens, although I can't seem to find myself). In any case, and notwithstanding the aside, I am really pumped so far with what I've read for my courses this fall. 

This year's reading list is especially notable because I'm starting a new chapter in my life, so to speak (and if you'll excuse the pun). I'm starting my Master's degree and moving to a new city. In this new city I'm going to be focusing on Rhetoric and Communications as opposed to my undergrad focus of English literature. So I'm going to be reading a lot more non-fiction, which makes me happy-sad. I love fiction, but I'm ready for a new challenge and a more "real-world" topic of study.

To start with I've read Plato's Phaedrus for my Rhetoric class and for my Memory and Techne class (two birds, one stone - awesome!). The part I found the most interesting in this work is Socrates reference to writing as a tool that will lead to the deterioration of human memory, because we will begin to rely on this external aid, rather than our own internal cues.This point also ties in to a book I just finished today: Nicholas Carr's The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains. Carr's book examines how the malleable human brain is literally being reshaped by Internet usage. There's also an interesting section at the end of the book that addresses Socrates remark in Pheadrus in relation to the World Wide Web. Essentially, some scholars argue that we're beginning to rely too heavily on external sources rather than our own internal cues, which is wreaking havoc on the human brain. According to Carr's novel, the compression of long-term memories are key in order to improve one's overall level of intelligence. The internet not only makes it more difficult for us to compress short-term memories and turn them in to long-term ones, it also prevents us from achieving our full intellectual capacity which is reached through the use of memory. Furthermore, according to Carr, the Web also encourages us to read superficially and not delve too deeply into any source.

In 2006, my best friend and I had a revelation about the social media site that we had both recently joined. I think that this idea still holds strong, seven years later. I should probably preface this comment by explaining how as teenage girls my friend and I were avid readers of those smutty paparazzi magazines – you know the ones I mean. Especially during the summer months, we would devour them by the lake at the cottage, gleaning celebrity gossip and picking out what clothes we’d wear on the first day back to school. In any case, my friend and I realized that Facebook essentially fulfilled the same function as these smut magazines. It provided you with a page and news feed where you could become your own paparazzi, advancing a certain image of yourself in the photos and information you choose to share with the world. The reason why this project was so sad, to us at the time, was that many of the celebrities who are featured in the trash rags would prefer not to have their images there. And yet here we were purposefully signing away our privacy. Why? How did this website have such an allure for such a vast number of people?

In any case, we decided from then and there that Facebook was a sad and desperate project, and yet we both still find ourselves members of this same site today. On top of that, I’m now also the proud owner of a Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram and Tumblr account to boot. What are the merits? Why stick with these sad technologies, that encourage me to overshare with a slew of people, many of whom I have little to no contact with in my day-to-day real life? Part of the pro, of course, evolves from the fact that at least on Facebook you’re able to choose the photos and images that you put forth, as opposed to having them selected with the motive of gaining a profit through embarrassing photos (ie. As in the gossip magazines). What I’m trying to get at here, is that a big part of the main incentive, for me, goes back to identity formation. You are the one who ultimately decides what gets posted on to your Facebook timeline, or what gets pinned on to what board on Pinterest. I like being able to curate and select the information that the world receives about me. I like being able to create an identity for myself that makes me feel cool, hip, and savvy (although possibly I’m not so cool, hip or savvy, if I use words like cool, hip and savvy). I think that a large part of the allure of these social media technologies emerges from having the ability to create and advance the identity that you’ve always dreamed of, even if it’s not necessarily the identity you would be able to otherwise establish in everyday life.

It also allows for the opportunity to create a more stable identity, because all of your friends from different social groups see the same page, advancing the same information. In pre-Facebook, pre-MySpace times, people would act differently and form unique identities in relation to different groups of people. If you don’t believe me, think of the way you act around your friends from high school (if you’re still in touch), versus the way you act around that brainy new set of friends you just made in your poli. sci. class. Pretty differently, right? And yet both sets of people ultimately have access to the same information and are thus more likely to perceive you in a similar way, rather than seeing you in two completely different lights based on the environment in which you interact with them in. As another example, consider that person who you’ve added on Facebook who completely blew you away with their profile. I’m sure you have at least a hand-full of people who were completely different online than they were in person. You were maybe expecting a docile, laid-back profile, judging by the person’s behaviour, but instead found a profile plastered with hard core partying photos. And is that person really the party animal that their Facebook touts them to be, or the laid-back, intellectual that you have gotten to know in the “real world”? All in all, what I’m trying to say here is that social media is much more about identity formation and creation then a lot of people consciously realize. The internet gives you the opportunity to not only mould the identity (even if it’s only a fantasy one on that anonymous blog that you have) that you dream of, but to also change your identity as your opinion towards yourself shifts. Really it’s all sort of a mind twist if you think about it too hard, but that’s what makes it fun (for nerds like me, anyway).

Love these colourful images by Britt Bass.

I'm warning you, reader, this is going to sound a little bit odd, but every year when the IKEA catalogue comes out I'm completely inspired. I know this feeling is silly, and artificially constructed by marketers and graphic designers employed by the mega-brand - but I still can't help feeling inspired for my future when I look at the catalogue. Their obvious attempts to try and sell their products through the advancement of a "lifestyle" is ridiculous. Their website even advances the slogan "be inspired," and I totally fall for their ploys; hook, line and sinker. 

Why? What is it about their beautiful, bright lofty spaces, that makes me feel excited for my future? I think it's the wonderful and balanced set of aesthetics, in part, that draws me to their catalogues. I love pretty things, as you can probably tell from the selection of artwork posted on this blog, and I can't wait to spend my time in a space that reflects my sense of aesthetics (if only I could keep my spaces as clean as theirs!). I know that I have the eye to create these types of rooms for myself, and I find the thought of putting together a beautiful space to be exciting. I can't wait until I have my own space and the money to decorate it accordingly. But more than that, I can't wait until I have the life that will permit to do so. Well, sort of. Part of me can't wait to have a  "big girl" job, and the lifestyle that goes with it.

And there's that word again: "lifestyle." Which is exactly what IKEA is trying to sell. These rooms all advance a certain lifestyle. And while I cannot yet quite imagine what my future lifestyle might entail, I could certainly see myself being happy in almost any of these fake and perfect lives advanced by the homes that these individuals are able to create. View the following images as example:

As IKEA states on their website, we are all trying to tell stories through the rooms we create, apparently. Which of course is complete marketing genius to get people to go out and buy to reflect their ever-changing identities. It also reflects the late capitalist consumer culture ideology, in which our identity is formed and re-established through the consumer goods that we choose to buy. In any case, while I'm able to step back and see more or less what's happening here, it doesn't stop me from wanting to do exactly the same thing. I want to create a place that reflects my identity. So sue me for buying in to this whole marketing ploy.

Just for fun, and to further prove my point, I wanted to do a quick lifestyle analysis of a few IKEA rooms, from their 2013 catalogues:

1. The outdoorsy couple.

Their house is presumably in a countryside locale, or, if in the city, you can bet your socks that they escape to a more isolated location every weekend and holiday. This couple is "down-to-earth" and likes to hike, fish, swim, hunt, etc. Despite this outdoorsy connotation, they are of course sophisticated, wealthy, and full of interesting tales from their travels and adventures. 

2. The young art student/fashionista.

She spends her days scouring vintage shops and looking for deals and steals to wear to her classes at NYU. If you're able to go out and reconstruct this room, you will certainly be perceived as trendy, artsy and young as well.

3. The Sophisticated World Traveller

A couple or bachelor(ette?) who travels the globe many times a year for work and play. Their abode is filled with souvenirs, photos and remnants from their various trips, and if you come over for dinner, be prepared to hear all about their latest adventure in Bali. Their spaces reflect how cool and sophisticated they think they are, and they have accrued this sense of sophistication from their travels. They believe their experiences abroad have set them apart from their peers who live more sedentary lives, and their environment certainly reflects this mindset.

4. The artsy young parents

Married and settled down, this charming young couple has not sacrificed their "cool factor" for their married with children life. They in fact are still able to celebrate the best of both worlds, and feel their lifestyles have only been enhanced, rather than restrained, by their settling down. They do not want to seem like the dull, old couple to their friends, and go to excessive lengths to keep things fresh and fun in their marriage and social lives.

With all of these scenarios it is apparent that the surroundings reflect the way the fictional people perceive the world and the way that they want to be perceived in turn. This is part of IKEA's project of marketing to a diverse array of "individual" consumers. In neo-liberal societies, the individual is held as the most important unit in society, and IKEA capitalizes on this knowledge and markets to our all of our desires to create that unique and different sense of self.

Living in the capital of Canada, there are a lot of great and interesting things that do crop up from time to time in this city. Usually I never take advantage of these options for a multitude of reasons. Although generally I totally intend to. After last night I feel inspired to branch out more often, to go and check out cool cultural and social events happening in my city, and to make the most of what's happening around me.

This sort of inspiration actually hits me fairly often, although I usually don't end up acting on it as much as I'd like to. In any case, the activity that got me motivated last night was a night of winter festivities. In Ottawa, each winter there are two main events which occur, and which many people frequent. The first is skating on the Rideau Canal, which is the longest outdoor skating rink in the world. The second big winter event is Winterlude, which consists of two weeks of outdoor winter celebrations. Without trying to my boyfriend and I happened to hit up both last night.

Skating on the canal was a lot more daunting then I remember as a kid. Especially at night. The ice was pitch black, and I was really afraid that some unforeseen bump or hole in the ice was going to send me flying. Why do people not wear helmets when they skate anyway? It's mandatory to wear one for bike-riding, so not why for skating on a hard icy surface? In any case, eventually I was able to overcome my fears a little and then things became really fun. Gliding along the dark icy water with the glittering city lights on either side of the canal was a surprisingly picturesque experience. One that I had not expected to feel in the middle of tame, and sometimes dull, downtown Ottawa. I'm looking forward to lacing up my snazzy new skates and checking out the vibe during the daytime too sometime soon. Despite living in Ottawa my whole life, I haven't checked out the canal in over a decade. It is a completely new experience now, as a 22 year old, then it was when I was a kid. Anyway, I'm looking forward to getting out and experiencing another day out in the chilly, fresh air soon. I'm also really happy that I finally got out and experienced the canal again - as I've been meaning to do so for the past few winters. I go to school at Carleton University, which is right next to the canal, so I'm always able to see all of the skaters and nostalgically wish that I might join their ranks. Mission accomplished.

Accidentally, on the way home, we also managed to stumble upon the opening festivities of Winterlude 2013. My boyfriend's friend was working security at the event, so we stopped by to see him. We took a walk around beautiful Confederation park to observe all of the ice sculptures and sculptors (many of whom were still in the midst of completing their sculptures). We grabbed a drink of apple cider and rum, listened to the concert and watched the fireworks over city hall. Despite the fact that it was a really chilly night, it was awe-inspiring to feel like a part of something so much bigger. We were surrounded by a whole crowd of strangers, also out to brave the cold, in order to experience an event that was out of the ordinary realm of the everyday. It was the type of event that made you really feel a part of something bigger, both culturally and socially. Of course, as someone who minors in Sociology and has taken many Canadian Studies courses, I can't help but to be cognizant of the fact that much of this "something bigger" feeling is constructed by a team of cultural experts and government workers in order to advance Canadian nationalism for a set of specific objectives. However, at the same time, I think that it is entirely possible to be aware of the broader factors influencing specific cultural texts, and to also appreciate them more objectively as an observer and participant, wrapped up in the thrill and excitement of the moment. And part of the fun, for me anyway, is to be able to step back and later interpret these experiences through the lens of different cultural and sociological theories. Yep, so maybe that makes me a nerd. But I'm pretty much okay with that.

Sundays: the perfect excuse to curl up in a nook and pass the day away with a good book and hot beverage.

My happy-time photo set. Because who doesn't like balloons and San Fran.?