The curious case of Benjamin Button, but it’s my dog
By: Nadia Tudhope
Over the years of taking my dog on walks, people have often asked if he’s a puppy. I’m not certain my dog has ever been a puppy.
Brutis is 16 years old and, in the seven or eight years we’ve had him, has been beset by old man face. For years, his primary facial expression was that of a dignified old man who owns a luxurious study, an elderly king sat atop a pillow throne, looking out over his kingdom. He’s gotten so white that I have to question how anyone could look upon his wrinkled, disgruntled face and wonder if he is anything other than ancient. I have seen one single photo of him as a puppy, and even then he looked like an old man.
Weirdly, in his extremely old age, his demeanour has gotten more youthful. He still sleeps 10 hours a day and is now too arthritis-ridden to jump on the couch (or handle stairs half the time), but his rich old man face has melted away, and he’s much more likely now to trot after you with his ears up, or stare at you with the big round eyes of a puppy begging for affection.
The worst thing about prison was the dementors
By: Andrea Sadowski
I can usually gauge how depressed I am by how much time I spend watching The Office. I binge-watched the entire series (up to season seven because once Michael leaves the show goes downhill significantly) during my first month in self-isolation. It started with an episode here or there, but it slowly became the only thing I would watch, and the only thing I would fill my time with; I would even just have it on in the background as noise. Not only that, but I have watched every season’s blooper reel, and every episode’s deleted scenes on YouTube. I have even binged all of the Office Ladies podcast, where the actors who played Pam and Angela recap every episode and what it was like on set.
The Office provides all the necessary comfort and nostalgia I need to get through this season of worldwide turmoil. I’m always wondering what Michael Scott would have done in a situation like this one. I would pay any amount of money to see Michael attempt to cure COVID-19 with a fun run he brainstormed during a conference room meeting.
Being creative is hard
By: Nicholas Ashenhurst-Toews
If you are a creative or you’ve been friends with creatives, you may have heard of the term “creative blockage.” Whether you’ve heard it in the context of writer’s block or artist’s block, most of the artists I know occasionally struggle with this. I am not exempt from feeling uninspired in my creative life. Whether it be that I have too many ideas and am paralyzed in the face of starting any of them, or have burnt myself out on creative projects due to school, I go through creative blockages every once in a while.
Now is one of those times. I feel creatively stagnant in a way that I haven’t really felt before. I still have ideas, but working on anything doesn’t bring me much joy right now. I’m not sure if it’s because of the continued state of the world, or the fact that I’ve been looking at the work of great artists leading to self-consciousness.
Being creative is hard sometimes. I think it’s important to remember that creative blocks won’t last forever.
Tools on Facebook
By: Carissa Wiens
It seems like every time I check Facebook now, I unfollow a friend or two. When you unfollow someone on Facebook, you’re still their friend, but none of their posts end up on your News Feed. It’s an excellent tool because now my hyper-conservative relatives live in bliss thinking I still watch all of the videos (of middle-aged moms sitting on lawn chairs talking about how public schools shouldn’t include trans students and the government should ban abortion) that they post when, really, I don’t and probably never will. All the while I’m still their Facebook friend, but my day isn’t ruined by seeing that people actually believe the world would be a better place if there was less gun control.
If you’re tired of seeing people from high school post about how terrible COVID-19 is because they’ve had to postpone their wedding when they’ve only been engaged for a few weeks, unfollow them. Hell, if you’re feeling it, just take the bold move and unfriend them. I’m not there yet, so I’ll keep unfollowing and check the ’Book less often. Do what you need to do to stay positive these days, even if it may seem a bit savage.
Illustrations: Rain Neeposh/The Cascade
Andrea Sadowski is working towards her BA in Global Development Studies, with a minor in anthropology and Mennonite studies. When she's not sitting in front of her computer, Andrea enjoys climbing mountains, sleeping outside, cooking delicious plant-based food, talking to animals, and dismantling the patriarchy.
