First

Hello

I'm a long-time listener, first time caller to the blog-o-sphere. I've been thinking a lot about starting a blog over the years, but could never think of a theme to write about frequently & worried that no one would read my blog. I've realized that it doesn't matter. Most of the blogs I appreciate are totally random & I see this as an outlet for ideas & creativity. If no one else reads it, at least I wasn't wasting my time on facebook!

A little about me:
My name is Genevieve (anglicized nickname: Genna), a young woman at the ripe age of 22. I've lived in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada my whole life. I have a love/hate relationship with this city. The more I travel, the more I experience, the more I realize how lucky I am to have grown up in a community that breeds such diversity & acceptance. The city is nearly a million, but feels like a village. I never pay for Bridgehead coffee. I see someone I know around every corner. It's bitterly cold in the winter, & swelteringly humid & hot in the summer. I can see the stars clearly from my back yard on a clear night & white-tailed dear have eaten every tulip bulb I've planted in the fall. The government offices block out the sun on the sidewalks downtown, but their employment keeps the city's economy from crashing during times of recession.
I live in a happy little bubble where everything bad in the world seems detached & far away, yet protests & politicians are at my doorstep.
& I love it.
I also love contrast filters (for developing black & white photos in a dark room); unnecessary scarves; vocal harmonies; vegan baking; big socks; hot yoga; sleeping in (although I'm finding it difficult to sleep past 9:00 these days); bamboo knitting needles; & being in love. I could go on, but many more things about me will become evident through my posts (I don't want to give away all my secrets in the first post)!

How I See This Blog:
As you may (or may not) have suspected, the title of my blog "Land of Gawk" is a tribute to a Montreal band that I'm really into right now: Land of Talk. Ah, Montreal... what a great city to have as your neighbour. I chose the word "gawk" as it means "to stare stupidly" which is what I image most people will do should they happen to stumble across my internet ramblings. "Gawk" can also mean "to rubberneck" which is apt, given the traffic situation in this lovely, urban-planning nightmare of a city I live in. It can also mean "an awkard or foolish person" as I can be. I'm probably going to use this blog as a place to collect ideas & creativity. I see myself posting photo projects, shows from around town, interesting links, home decor, recipes... just anything I gawk at really.
& most of my entries will be much, much shorter than this one. Promise.

I'd like to find other Ottawa bloggers to swap ideas with. So if you like my blog, & you live or blog about Ottawa, contact me.

Thanks for reading.
-Genna