the future is coming on...

♪♫ Clint Eastwood - Gorillaz

Its been over a month since David Lynch passed away. The grief has been up and down. It still feels hard to believe that he is gone. He has had such a major impact on my life. I have been honouring him in different ways since my last blog post. For starters, I re-watched the first two seasons of Twin Peaks (which I typically do every February since that is when the story begins in the show). I am going to watch the third season and movie too, but I got caught up in school work, so it won't happen until April. In addition to watching Twin Peaks, I also gave myself Twin Peaks themed nails!

After the news of his death, I had ordered myself a few items that I didn't yet have for my David Lynch collection. Prices for David Lynch items began to soar after his death, so I had to jump on a few major items from my wishlist to secure them before I couldn't afford them. Those items were: On The Air on DVD, Lynch on Lynch, and Twin Peaks: The Final Dossier. They finally all arrived and I'm thrilled! I just wish I was able to find the book Catching The Big Fish for a reasonable price. Prior to his death, it was around $40. Now the book is around $125, which is way too much in my opinion. I do need it to complete my collection of books about David's life. Hopefully I come across a cheaper one!

I also just recently ordered Hotel Room on Blu-ray. Hotel Room, like On The Air, was never released on anything other than VHS because they were both shows that were cancelled before they even reached the midway of their first season. The VHS tapes are also quite rare, and often expensive. I do own Hotel Room on VHS, which was only $30, but VHS is not a stable form of media and will degrade over time. There are a couple companies in California that convert rare media onto DVD and Blu-ray, which is where I got On The Air. I recently chose a second company (mainly because it was cheaper) to purchase Hotel Room on Blu-ray, so that I'll have a long-lasting and stable copy of this rare piece of media. I am expecting it to arrive in the mail any day now. The tracking says it has reached Canada, but it may take a day or two for the mail carrier to pick it up.

I also jumped on ordering this because of the Tarriffs that the United States government is putting on Canada. I have no idea how this will impact things like purchasing DVDs and Blu-rays, but I am just being safe. I have shifted entirely to purchasing DVDs and Blu-rays in Canada for the past month or so, but due to the rarity of Hotel Room, there was no other option aside from California to buy it from. Going forward I am limiting my purchases of DVDs and Blu-rays from the United States to only very rare ones that can't otherwise be purchased (or are highly unlikely to be purchased) here in Canada.

In general, I am avoiding purchases of items from the United States, as are many Canadians. It turns out that most items I purchased for groceries were already Canadian (with the exception of fruits that are from Mexico & South America), so I didn't need to make many changes. The only items I am having a hard time finding alternatives for are salad greens (spinach, lettuce, & argula), makeup (I use ELF, Nyx, & Maybelline mostly), and coldbrew coffee (I'm working on making my own at home). I suppose it isn't about perfection, just doing what I can. I may still need to continue buying American makeup. There are many non-American makeup brands, but I have sensitive and difficult skin, and I spent years finding the perfect products that work for me. It would be highly challenging to go through that process again. I don't wear makeup everyday anyways, so I only really purchase makeup a few times a year.

I am giving up my mini addiction to Bath and Body Works products, because they are American. Instead, I'm focusing on Lush. I already love Lush and buy products there often, so its not a hard switch at all. Not every item and store is as easy to simply label as American or non-American. I shop at Winners (the Canadian version of TJ Maxx), and I recently purchased a Juicy Couture dreamer bag. The bag said it was made somewhere other than the United States (I think it was the United Kingdom). American brand? Yes. Created outside of the United States and supports jobs of a country friendly to Canada? Yes. My rule is that if it was made outside of the United States, even if the company is American, I'll buy it (unless the company has been vocally pro-Trump, then its a hard no). I also made the exception for the Tupperware heritage collection because Tupperware has gone out of business and the heritage collection is my only chance to have Tupperware that looks just like vintage ones, but without the lead/other chemicals. I have collected six pieces so far.

I don't plan on visiting the United States either. Honestly, I'm too scared. Tourists have been detained by ICE for no good reason, and the pro-Trump crowd seems to think Canadians are evil. I loved visiting the United States and I have met many lovely Americans, but the risk has become too high for me. I'm glad I got to see New York City, Salem, Bangor, and all the other places I visisted before all this political stuff happened. My next trip is to Europe (Ireland, Scotland, England, France, & Norway), and after that, I'm focusing on Montreal, Quebec (here in Canada), and either Cuba or the Domincan Republic. In a way this is good for me, because it pushes me to travel outside of my comfort zone. The United States felt familiar and most Americans couldn't tell I was Canadian, so there wasn't a culture shock or much difficulty in figuring things out. I know that'll be different in Europe. I think It'll be especially challenging in France with the language barrier and the much higher standards for everything.

I wish the world was an easier place, and I wish people were more caring and respectful of each other. Its a shame that hatred has taken over so much. I am trying to remain optimistic, but its hard. I do hope everyone is taking care of themselves and taking breaks from the news. That is all for now!