The return of the search

And so I'm interested in diving back into the past again...

I did a quick search for Sips after having re-read some previous entries and found a link and another link off of that link which eventually led to this man - who was actually this person - crazy. I remember that guy.

Other people I remember;
When Val and I were in university, we both got lockers in one of the underground passageways - the best spot was actually between the Loeb buildings and Southam hall. We enjoyed putting notes and stuff in each other's lockers, using the little whiteboard that I got as part of orientation to tell each other where we were, etc.
There was one bad thing about our lockers (other than the crazy slopping floor which we couldn't comfortably sit on)... the fake-goth guy and his girlfriend. We had a great name for that guy - "the guy next to us" (egocentric? not us!) and his girlfriend was (you guessed it) "the guy next to us' girlfriend". What bugged us so much about them was that the guy, in particular, was just not goth. A trenchcoat and tall boots do not a goth make. He had a stupid short hair cut for god's sake. His girlfriend was a bit more goth, she did have lovely curly red hair if I recall correctly - but she dressed up too much for school; I mean, she did the whole shebang - velvet mini-dress, fishnets, big boots, gloves and makeup - I mean, come on; you're going to class, not Rocky Horror.

A few other notable characters around school includes "the most beautiful guy at Carleton" who was indeed a handsome delicate-featured tall guy with weird facial hair/beard line that just was right at his jaw line and met with his sideburns; our good friend Carsten, his buddies (and then ours) Bob, Mike, and others; and then I later found out that I had english class with someone who I later met when I moved out west here. More on that later.

Going back earlier, there were some people we met once or twice which we never really saw again... like the two guys we met at Savanah's who disco danced with us to Offspring... that was so fun.

Ride the 95

This stupid bus was our lifeline to downtown.
I hate the 95. The bus drivers are always so rude, the people are always the weirdest you can find, and this bus, more than any other in Ottawa had people who don't understand bus etiquette.
But for $1.75 at the time, we could go to the market.

It was a long ride out, actually, about 30 minutes or so each way. There were lots of stops at other shopping centres and stuff, but there were only one or two highlights on the whole trip. The first being the Jean D'arc overpass where we could see if Adam was going to be there, or this poor kid named Chris who we called "Mom" (because he once gave us money when we went around asking kids in the hallway for "our allowance"). There would also be other treats like Dave V. who would often be going to Algonquin or the the Carleton radio station for one reason or another, and who knows whom else from school.

The second highlight would have to be the Puzzle grafiti gecko on a block by the Ottawa river outside of Lee's station. It was an orange and red gecko that covered an entire 8x8 foot block of cement. You had to get up or stretch to see it from the bus. Dave V. showed it to us first when our religion class went to see Schindler's list in a downtown theater... I think, or when we went to see Crowded House with him at the convention centre. Not sure.

The last highlight was getting out at Rideau Centre. Once a weird bus driver said "Next stop: Rideau centre rendez-vous" which was/is the cheezy slogan for the mall. We'd walk right through to Sussex and Rideau, sometimes checking out Mrs. Tiggy Winkles (the toy store) or Le Chateau.

Getting the bus during the winter was hell. Especially when wearing cute little outfits (like the crushed-velvet black wrap mini-skirt I once wore with a short black "wool" peacoat). Whenever the was a heated, enclosed bus shelter it always smelled like pee. The buses would also get so covered in snow slush that it would be hard to see outside, especially when it got dark. The ugly ham-coloured vinyl seats would be especially uncomfortable in the winter (but to be fair, they were disgustingly sweat-inducing in the summer too).

I think I have two favourite bus stories to add here:

The first was after an improv competition orientation at the National Arts Centre in, was it March? of grade 12 or OA. We were heading back home after the orientation when this crazy man with obvious developmental and mental deficiencies came up to our loud, and rather annoying group. He tried to tell us something - not sure what. But he couldn't really talk - he just did strange things like circle his index finger around his ear (like the "crazy" signal) and point at us, or breathe in Adam's ear, or kiss this girl Amy's hand. He was also starting to freak out, and I didn't know what to do. We'd see him every so often on the bus or around town after that - we called him "Crazy Improv Guy". Not a happy memory, but one that I will never forget.

The second story would have to be one summer, where I think Val, the boy and I had been out in downtown for either a movie or something else. Anyhow, we were walking to get the 95 from the business downtown edge with the market area (Elgin street and Bronson?) when someone, some guy, yelled out from inside the bus at Val saying "KAT!" to which she turned around, and they waved frantically and I think turned to tell their friend that that was Kat. We had no idea who this person was. Bizare.

return of the man

I suppose I was feeling most nostalgic before my birthday - it was a hard time actually, kind of depressing to be 26 and once again not sure where I would be going next. But, it seems like this is a site that others feel good about too, so I won't ignore it further...

Today I remember the taste of red wine in my mouth and the smell of tacky dollar store black candles in the air. Wearing long crushed black velvet dresses and fishnet pantyhoses, black eyeliner, and dark dark dark red lipstick (the black ones always faded and tasted like crayons) Kat and I would sit in her basement watching The Crow. We must have seen that movie 50 times together, easily. We watched it incesantly after it came out on video and every halloween after that. We were enthrawled with the gorgeous Brandon Lee and how beautiful and dark the whole film was. It was an environment, like everything we wanted put into a movie.

Looking back, yes, it was cheezy at bits with Michael Wincott as the mob boss (in a hideous wig) and the cheezy lines like "drugs can hurt you" or whatever. Still, it takes me back.

I bought the special edition VHS tape at a used book store about 4 years ago. It wasn't the same watching it in shorts and a t-shirt in my 3rd storey appartment. I would have felt silly to dress up to watch it on my own. Heck, the last time I gothed up for halloween even was 3 years ago. Things have changed so much.

another link...

Here's something I found just google-ing.

This guy was a photographer for Carleton's paper and some other local rags.

Good memories of punk rock bands, venues in Ottawa, and so many shows I just never went to.
Shawn Scallen

BBS-ing

So back in the day, we had BBS's instead of the internet and e-mail. It was fun, completely non-productive, and a sometimes worrysome way to meet people.

And people we met!
Off Tattlenet, the BBS run by Bonehead and Vanity Flair - we met characters like Wurm, Purple Haze, Nobody, Spawn (who had his own BBS), Console Cowboy, Black Plague, Prince of Darkness, and others.

My group of girlfriends had romances started through BBS-ing (oh so sad!) There was Crowbar, Iokamizzilion (or whatever), and I dated three; 'Lumi, Pink Cigar, and I can't remember Barry's handle - something regarding the number 9? I think there were others that my friends met too, but whatever. BBS guys make bad boyfriends.

They sure were fun to hang with though - we had Tattlenet Awards, Flame Fests, Vanity's Vicious Volleyball tournaments, there was also the Ottawa Freenet picnic, but we never ended up going to that. Then there were the stupid 2600 meets every first Tuesday of the month (I think) at Cafe Wim. I loved Cafe Wim.

Once we met the people in the flesh, we then hung out with some rather frequently - in the market, at anime fests, going to shows at Two Steps Above, hanging in Savannah DeVille's and once in Living Colour Tattoo, the "secret bridge" at Rideau Centre, Sips, and later Zaphods and Barrymores.

You'll get to read about all these places and things later too.

I think the most charming thing about hanging with most of these guys (and they were mostly guys) was the fact that they were crazy and rambunctious, needy and so thrilled to go hang out with us. It was great.

And speaking of where are they now...

Linda Seccaspina & her store Savannah DeVilles has an e-bay store:
Savannah DeVilles Patterns and More

Poser Mike

This is not necessarily one of my closest friends, indeed I barely knew the guy except for the fact that he was part of the scene...

Poser Mike was this gay punk kid with piercings and the old-style deep burgandy satin bomber jacket. He would come to gigs and hang at Savannah DeVilles. Crew cut and glasses. I'm not sure why he was labelled "Poser" - he seemed the real deal to me.

I saw Poser Mike last summer at the used record shop on Rideau. Same hair cut, newer glasses and much more mainstream look. Unmistakable nasal voice and large-gauge earings.

Sips Cafe

I think it used to be on George street... this cute cafe with burnt-red velvet couches in the back, cobblestone floor and a huge bright copper cappucino machine.

I can't remember the name of the owner - he was part-Indian I believe. One time he showed us a picture of him and his wife/girlfriend and two huge white tigers.

There were two other noteable staff at Sips - Lina and Derek. Everyone hated Lina, everyone loved Derek. Lina would try to turn over the customers quickly, getting them to pay and get out if they were just hanging around. She did make a mean sandwich though.

Derek was such a sweetie. He would flirt with everyone and get orders wrong, or really really slow, but he would let people hang for hours on just the one cup of coffee. Derek's one of my favourite memories from Ottawa in this time... I'm sure I'll post many more stories about him.

I was so sad when I was told that he had died of some freak accident - it didn't sound real and I still feel like it wasn't, really.

WAY back, gosh, I think in 1993 we started going downtown to cafes and shops to just hang out. Living in Orleans was rather dull, so as soon as we were able to get to downtown, we'd be on the 95 heading to the market. Sips was our place of choice to spend a Friday night. There would be great people watching and given that we'd be ariving at around 4 pm, we were almost guaranteed the couches.

In a way, we always felt like the outsiders looking in, but there were a few times where I felt that we were actually considered as part of the "Sips scene" - this one guy, Aaron with really long hair pulled back in a ponytail who would play guitar or write poetry and skate was another regular. Val and I saw him once outside of Sips, he nodded to us - we knew him and he knew us. It was wierd.

My favourite two things at Sips were the couches and the art - specifically one photograph they had up on the wall. A closeup of a Mickey mouse shovel in the grass. I think I had one of those when I was little - it looked fabulous too - fantastic colours and textures. Had I the money then I would have totally purchased it.

beginnings...

I've been feeling very nostalgic these days - I'm not sure why, perhaps it's because I am most definitely an adult now, perhaps it's because I'm finishing grad school and am moving on to yet another big stage change in life.

I've been thinking a lot about Ottawa in the 1990's, the high-school years where my friends and I would wreck havock on the capital. Or so we thought. I mean, to look at it now, we were just silly kids. But we had really good times and made some great memories.

I hope that in this blog I will be able to post stories and pictures from way back when - perhaps this will reach some of my fellow trouble makers from that period. Who knows...