Andrew Feenberg hosted a party the other night. His pad is in an old apartment building, built circa 1920s or so, but totally retrofitted in the way that Vancouverites have. Sort of moderne + contemporary inflected with appeals to nature and nice things. There was a yummy spread by Anne-Marie, who is one cool French lady, with a pasison for the novel, and dancing. I totally dig her – she’s so warm and funny, but totally hardcore sma-art. She asks me things like: So what’s going on with feminism and young women today? She calls Andrew “Andy” which freaks all us students out. Imagine! Once I asked Darryl Cressman, in jest of course, if les ACTants called him Feenie (I was sort of thinking it would be a natural shortening, plus there’s Vancouver’s Feenie’s). Darryl responded with his usual quick wit, no, we just call him F-Dawg. That was funny.
Anyway, we drank wine from 1.5 litre bottles, Heineken out of cans, or for the sophisticated and worldly, there was scotch. I went with My Friend who had never met Feenberg before, yet in a weird coincidence, had seen him at a talk at SFU Harbour Centre that very afternoon! Director Michael Goldberg discussed his new documentary film A Zen Life – DT Suzuki, screening in the Vancouver International Film Festival. I guess Andrew is into that stuff – Zen, I mean; My Friend, too. But, really, who doesn’t need, wouldn’t like, couldn’t benefit from a little balance in their life? That’s my thing lately too – the work/school-home/family-me/sanity balance. I have one word to describe it: elusive.
Anyhoo, it was a nice gathering, and the only one hosted by one of my prof’s since my time here at SFU – that’s telling, no? Andrew’s a cool cat and I’m glad I’m working with him.