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.:Tuesday, December 31, 2002:.
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The old year...
Click below for a list of words that ought to be banished from use, "as per" the Lake Superior State University website. Most of them I agree with. Buzz words are silliness.
Banished!!
3:57 p.m.
posted by tre
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Happy New Year!!
Things Teresa is looking forward to:
:: my margarita party
:: getting my brake pads replaced
:: learning how to snowboard properly
:: David Gray concert in Seattle
:: getting a digital camera
:: adding photos to this blog
:: paying other outstanding debts - heheh.
:: FRI!!
:: travelling to Amsterdam, Edinburgh, and London
:: buying a PFD and going kayaking at least twice this summer (anyone game??)
:: going to Las Vegas
:: learning graphics software
:: Joe and Tracy's wedding
hmmm... that's all I can think of for now. Good year it will be, said Yoda.
10:01 a.m.
posted by tre
.:Sunday, December 29, 2002:.
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It's all fun and games until somebody loses an eye...
I really need to do something about my errant contact lense. Stupid thing makes my left eye funny after 8 hours of partying and being in a smoke-filled environment.
Enough about me, though... Niko's birthday was great fun. We started off at the Irish Heather, in Gastown, and it was very cool. They had a separate building for us in Gaoler's Mews. Very Irish. Highly recommended. I will not copy it for my birthday though. I'm having a margarita party in the Lower Lobby entertainment room of N & J's building. Hopefully, anyway. Have to put a deposit on use of the room but hopefully that's not a problem!! If not we'll have it at my house. Coo.
According to Junko, 2003 is going to be Year of Teresa. I hope she's right.
11:00 a.m.
posted by tre
.:Friday, December 27, 2002:.
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Vegas, baby, Vegas!
So Clarkdale failed to wash my car for me. It's just as well. Made it back in time to go to my mom's surprise party. She actually was surprised! Considering David was making plans a couple weeks ago and talking really loudly on the phone with Mom in the other room. Good thing she wasn't wearing her hearing aid. Anyway, she really was surprised, and for her birthday gift? A trip to Vegas. How nice is that? Everyone's pitching in. Should be a cinch.
Talked to cousin Tim re: digital camera. May be able to score a deal on a Canon... should be good if it goes through. I give it a couple weeks. Going to get my Lomo tomorrow... or at least put in an order for one... woo-hoo!
10:50 p.m.
posted by tre
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my car had a boo boo
So I was quite prepared for a fun day at the office, and decided to stop at McD's for a Hot Chocolate. For some reason my car's power window decided to stop working and wouldn't close! Well doesn't that just suck for a morning drive in Winter Rain?? So I went back home and called Clarkdale in an emergency, and had them look at my car. At least it's covered under warranty. I also suckered myself into a check-up: rotating tires, check oil, wiper blades, etc. Was just told that I'm going to need new brake pads soon. That's about $250 more. I was impressed with Clarkdale today, though. Usually their service is a little snotty but they took me in with no appointment, and no problem. And offered to wash my car for me.
It is a grounding thought when you realize your car is not immortal. Looks like I might have to put off getting that new digital camera for a bit... we'll see...
I also got to drive my younger brother's beast of a truck to work. Scary. No creature comforts like drink holders and an emergency brake that works. Ho hum.
5:21 p.m.
posted by tre
.:Thursday, December 26, 2002:.
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Croatian Volkswagen Club
Props to Niko for the awesome t-shirt. I am flattered to be considered as an honourary Croatian. Can I make fun of the Serbs now, too? We should all be cheesy and have our pictures taken together!
2:26 p.m.
posted by tre
.:Tuesday, December 24, 2002:.
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Halfway around the world...
Oh yes, it is Christmas all the way over in China... and further parts. I remember this time of year last year, I must have been... packing. Oh right. Heinous flight to Manila!
Which reminds me... there is a family site whose link I have yet to add, and will do so now. The site is maintained by Tim Staples, and includes all of the Pagalilauan Family in Western Canada. Well most of it. It sections off into specific last names, has pictures from family trips to Las Vegas, New York, and the Philippines. Pag-West.com Good place to find Jaedinn and Dylan pictures. There is a bad picture of me in there, but obviously Tim hasn't updated it recently :)
Hey, you know, my birthday is coming up in ... less than a month. What are we going to do??? What do I want for my birthday?? Traditionally odd-numbered years are very good for me, so I'm looking forward to a good year. I want a Lomo CyberSampler camera! The one that takes four pictures on one slide! They aren't even that expensive - like $30 US. Plus shipping and handling. And maybe taxes. Ironically, it's Russian-inspired. Ask Niko.
I'm having fun at my new job. It's kinda quiet right now, not fielding any calls at the moment. Got a call from Australia yesterday though, that was fun.
9:45 a.m.
posted by tre
.:Monday, December 23, 2002:.
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Stop me before I start playing Free Cell
Fri... there were no problems. You may have already fixed it before I had a chance to look at it. If not, it still looks fine. I am jealous of your shorts wearing right now. This morning I had to scrape ice off my car - boo! In a skirt, no less. Oh well, at least it wasn't snowing. I have to contemplate wearing nylons now. What a pain in the ass. Nice to be so professional though.
Had a look at my bank account balance today. Red. Not good. Thank heavens for employment. I hope everyone likes their Christmas gifts!!
A note on the progress of getting pictures on this site: My credit card has been declined for the time being so I can't buy anything online. Next month I should be able to. I am trying to decide on what I should do first: digital camera, scanner, lomo camera, vacation... too many choices. Anyway if this site is too boring for you, maybe I am too boring for you. Which would be a sad state of affairs, now wouldn't it?
3:49 p.m.
posted by tre
.:Saturday, December 21, 2002:.
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Christmas Shopping
I am amazed at how good I am at power shopping. It's all about prioritizing. And rock-star parking.
3:32 p.m.
posted by tre
.:Tuesday, December 17, 2002:.
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Comments to Fri's last postings
First of all, Fri, you really have to be careful when you use the bold and /bold brackets... because your last post you typed it in wrong and bolded the whole page!!
Secondly, I will update your website in my links. Looking forward to seeing it develop!!
Thirdly, I forgot what Tanya got from Michelle. But it was something that she really wanted because it was on a list she sent us all in regards to Christmas presents. Funny thing, Tanya's been wanting a neoprene walkman holder for like, the last three years but has yet to get one. And really, Tanya, if you work at LD and can buy it at LD, why do you want it for Christmas?? Hee hee.
Fourthly, you can write pussy here, if you are referring to a cat. Pussy Posse?? Where did that come from??
Sadly, I may not be able to meet you right away at the airport. However, I will have to clear it with my NEW BOSSES. Which brings me to the obvious news... after three and a half months of job searching, low self-esteem, and days in my pajamas, I am finally fully employed. In the tourism industry. Doing something that encompasses all my school and work experience. Wooooooo hooo. But damn it, there goes the free afternoons of jogging and hanging out in the West End. Maybe I will just have to move there. Hee hee.
Okay I just found out what Tanya got. She got hair products. Hair repair conditioner and clips and hair ties. She really needed them.
9:04 p.m.
posted by tre
.:Monday, December 16, 2002:.
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Ahh, Whistler...
Saturday Highlights:
- picked up The Girls without incident... although I was a little alarmed at the size of Tanya's 'luggage'.
- stopped by Tim Ho's and Wendy's in Squamish where Tanya decided to pick up two hundred TimBits for the weekend...
- proceeded to drive to Whistler in the driving rain and fog and have to admit, it was kinda scary... only to be made worse by backseat drivers.
- got to the Coast ok... checked in and everything and even got an upgrade, and found that our neighbours were smelly snowboarding dudes. It was a good thing their smell didn't emanate through to our room. We were at least armed with enough chocolate, wine, and TimBits to last through a nuclear winter, and Tanya was good enough to share with our neighbours. And get the Room Service to store the rest of the TimBits for later
- got ready to go to Buffalo Bill's.
- Michelle wanted to take a cab to Buffalo Bill's. Little did she know that the club was like, two seconds from our hotel.
- went to Buffalo Bill's. Discovered they were filming some MTV Canada speecial - turns out to be the New Year's special. Can't wait to see myself on TV. Ha ha. Met some pretty interesting people... like a med student from Kansas, or Chicago, he couldn't decide... a couple Dutch KLM pilots, and a stuntman from Vancouver who was up here working on an East Indian soap opera. Okay, this white guy named Dylan who was like, 5'9" max, was the stunt double for this brown guy who was at least six inches taller. Hmm. Dylan was cool but his actor friend was weird. "Why're you shy? We're just dancing!" Ugh. Lena kept calling herself a superstar, and I impressed the med student with the fact that I knew who Jeb Bush was. "Oh yeah, I'm really smart!" Must have been the alcohol talking. Michelle slapped a guy who was being naughty. Oh yeah, there was also a guy that was lurking around us while we were dancing but didn't have the nerve to talk to any of us but I swear he looked like Chris Martin from Coldplay. I'm sure Lena will have more to report later about this.
Sunday
- slept in.
- went for afternoon brunch in the Village
- did a little shopping, met up with the local Tony =0) who we went for drinks and snacks with at Citta, also in the Village. We spent a couple hours on the deck (under cover and heat lamp) people watching, when Tanya thought it would be a capital idea to put up rating numbers. Of course she didn't have a proper pen or paper, so she used a napkin that no one could understand. She flashed a wet napkin with a barely visible '8' to guys that walked by. Then Tony ran to the Pharmasave and picked up a pack of flash cards and a felt marker for Tanya... which was a great idea and a nice thing to do! We spent another hour with them holding up 'rating' signs to guys that passed by. No one got less than an '8' or more than a '9', although we did embellish with signs that said 'Meow!' and 'Why?' and 'Number?' and 'Nice!' It was a good afternoon.
- the drinking continued as we made plans for the hot tub and a late dinner at the Crab Shack. Didn't spend as much time in the hot tub as we'd expected it to, but it was really hot and it was making us tired. We had dinner at the Crab Shack but weren't that keen on staying there all night for the band... decided to check out the other clubs... which seemed to be what everyone else in Whistler was doing. BB's was having a private function, Maxx Fish was dead (but the door people were really nice)... we went to Garfinkels' which was getting busy but we weren't into it... then made it to the Savage Beagle which was promising but the drinks were outrageously expensive, so we left and went to Tommy Africa's... that was just terrible. The strobe light made my contact lenses go all wonky and made my left eye delay blinking... Lena and I called it a night because, well, the club hopping was getting too stressful... but Tanya and Michelle went back to the Maxx Fish and apparently had a great time.
Monday
- 10 o'clock, time to get up and check out already... I flick on the light and Tanya screams... screams, "Let me wake up naturally!" Sheesh! We checked out an hour and a half later than we were supposed to, but whatever. Went back to the village for 'breakfast' and then headed home.
All in all, a good time. The 200 TimBits were actually a box of TimBits and a cake for Michelle... Tanya needed a cover story. The gift exchange went well - Lena got books from Tanya, Tanya got something from Michelle that she really wanted, Michelle got a metal wire photo hanging thing with funky paperclips and a compact mirror from me, and I got pajamas from Lena. Woo!
10:34 p.m.
posted by tre
.:Saturday, December 14, 2002:.
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Running...
...you know, it's a testament to working out when you can hoof it to the shuttle bus without losing your breath.
YES!
Coming soon... My weekend with The Girls in Whistler...
9:51 a.m.
posted by tre
.:Wednesday, December 11, 2002:.
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The Whatever Manifesto
By Teresa Reith
23 March 2002
Transcribed 10 April 2002
Have you ever been in a total write-off situation, where every avenue of thought has been explored, every detail picked apart, until it becomes meaningless? All too often it seems to happen, whether in looking at current events or personal relationships. Reduction to ‘whatever’ is appoint where an issue has been hacked to death. However, reducing to ‘whatever poses problems insofar as it is a coping mechanism as well as a sign of apathy. I don’t think everyone wants to; it’s just easier to.
A classic example of reduction to ‘whatever’ in current events: as war wages in other parts of the world, we here remain relatively unaffected in our daily lives. Certainly we hear updates on the nightly news, and newsmagazines such as Dateline and 20/20 cover these issues as well. There comes a point where, even though a nation is at war, and troupes of our countries' armies are out protecting global interests, people stop caring. Celebrity boxing and pro-wrestling captures the attentions of the nation. So the US may or May not invade Iraq – who cares at this point, the Rock is taking on Hulk Hogan! Whatever.
‘Whatever’ is a sarcastic remark to any situation deemed moot, or without resolution. Many a personal relationship has been reduced to ‘whatever.’ Said we needed a break for the moment? Why?? So he could pursue other interests? What?! How does that make you feel? How long will this go on? What’s going to happen next? What about all the plans we made? Sorry, that was how many months ago? Ach, whatever. There are many, many relationship scenarios ranging from big blowout arguments whose content fades over time, to growing-apart scenarios that reduce to ‘whatever’ quietly. There are also the relationship ‘whatevers,’ usually associated with compromise:
“I feel like I have no control in this relationship.”
“Don’t you think you guys should talk about it?”
“Yeah, but whatever.”
‘Whatever’ happens in the healthiest of relationships, and is not confined to the dysfunctional.
Reducing to whatever is not intentional, I don’t think. At least I hope it isn’t. There are just times when life is just a tad too stressful, and the only way to cope is to procrastinate in dealing with your situation until such time that it is possible to comprehend the complexities of your problem. Of course it can be difficult after hours and hours of contemplation, but without a solution there seems to be nothing left to add, or there are just too many factors to consider, the issue becomes meaningless.
In today’s society it is tempting to want to reduce to ‘whatever’ – this coping mechanism seems to play on our society’s very short attention span. Out with the old issue, ‘get over it’ – and in with the new: whether it is focussing on another part of the world’s wars, to forgetting your last unsuccessful relationship and browsing new avenues for the next bit of drama you so desperately want, and want to avoid. To counteract this requires a great deal of self-evaluation, of what is important and why some issues get a ‘whatever’ status, and a need for different coping mechanisms and solutions. Easier said than done, though – I can’t say I have all the answers. Actually I don’t know if I have any. I don’t know. Well, whatever.
11:25 a.m.
posted by tre
.:Tuesday, December 10, 2002:.
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Underemployment
The best thing about being underemployed is going to the gym when it's not hugely busy and seeing all the other underemployed folks working it. I belong here.
Ahhh.
6:12 p.m.
posted by tre
.:Sunday, December 08, 2002:.
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Jesus of Montreal and unwanted Christmas Cards
Really, they are totally unrelated. First the Jesus of Montreal thing. I was watching Law & Order: Criminal Intent this evening, and noticed one of the guest actors on the show as having a distinct accent. Could it be French? Could it be, Quebeçois?? The guy looked awfully familiar. It took me a while. Then I realized it was the guy who played the Jesus character in Jesus of Montreal. Toots to that guy... haven't seen him in ages, but I guess based on his still-strong accent that he mostly acts in French-language stuff. Anyway I thought that was pretty cool. Way to go, that guy. (No idea what his name is.)
The other thing: unwanted Christmas cards. I recently got a Christmas card from a certain Barrie City Council Alderman whom I haven't spoken with since, seriously, 1997. When we were at French camp together. I mean, I understand the thoughtfulness of reaching out to your 'public' but really. I haven't talked to you buddy in that many years, and you SPELL MY NAME WRONG on the address label... You have to question one's sincerity when that happens. And a budding politician ought to know that it's British Columbia, not British Colombia. Anyway my whole beef about the thing is that Christmas cards should be sincere if you are sending them to friends, otherwise it's time to give up the ghost and save paper. I know who you are, I'll see you at the next Tory convention. Heheh.
11:17 p.m.
posted by tre
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Fri's Blog
Hi Fri! You can post pics if you have Blog Spot Plus. That is not a shameless plug for this outfit, but they have to make money somehow, right? It's not terribly expensive, like $50 US per year... but then that's how much in $CDN? Hmm. Well, you could set up a separate sight to post your pictures, like on MSN or something like that... and then link it to your blog... heheh, what's one more link, eh?
This is the link to Fri's Blog. Will put a link in the left column shortly. HTML is cool!
10:45 p.m.
posted by tre
.:Friday, December 06, 2002:.
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Snowboarding
Ouch. Think I bruised my knee. Took a 2-hour lesson and spent most of it on my ass. Not because I fell a lot, but because I had to sit down and put the bindings back on after going down a short hill and walking back up again. The time I actually spent upright and standing was a little nervous until I got the hang of things. I can almost turn!
It was fun.
But I need more practise. Looking forward to more snow. And a job that will give me money to pursue this rather expensive sport.
6:43 p.m.
posted by tre
.:Monday, December 02, 2002:.
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:: pictures on this site ::
I've just been informed that the pictures I have included on this site do not show up, as they are not uploaded to some space on the internet.
booooooooo.
well, until I decide to pay for Blog*Spot Plus, you'll just have to use your imagination.
The ad for J Smith's Bile Beans reads "Bile Beans Cure Biliousness, Dyspepsia, Torpid Liver, Sick Headache, Malaria, Indigestion, Sour Stomach, Bad Breath, Vertigo, Dysentery, Jaundice, Enlarged Spleen, Drowsiness after meals & o. Without Griping, Sickening, or Weakening the System." That is some bean!!
12:09 a.m.
posted by tre
.:Sunday, December 01, 2002:.
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Bile Beans
So a couple of days ago I figured out what Bile Beans were. They are not your traditional beans, as it were. They are, in fact, a product of the late 19th/early 20th Century.
When I was in on my Geography Field Course in York, England, we passed by this building quite a few times. The advert on the side intrigued me, so I took a picture of it. You tell me: would you buy this product? Sounds pretty nasty - I mean, beans as they are - kidney, lima, whatever, are an odd vegetable/legume... but dressing it up with a silly name as 'Bile Beans' will not make it any more appetizing. "Nightly, Bile Beans, keep you HEALTHY, BRIGHT-EYED, & SLIM"
So not too long ago it struck me that perhaps Bile Beans were something other than... well, regular beans. Actually, it was a bored moment that prompted me to look for this... Bile Beans were a pill of some sort, from what I gather, that 'aided' in curing what ails you. I found this clipped ad online:
Eeeeenteresting.
9:36 p.m.
posted by tre
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Happy Birthday Marko (who doesn't read this): My account of Saturday night...
I've looked forward to Marko's birthday this year because in the past, no matter where it was or who with, it was damn fun. This year, no exception. The Croatian Crew/VW Club met up at Niko's downtown for pre-drinking festivities and cake... one knew that these guys were slightly drunk when a.) they became much more friendly with each other; and b.) the Croatian National Song had to be sung.
Among the revelers at 1331 Alberni were myself, of course, our gracious hosts Niko and Junko, the birthday boy himself and his girlfriend, Marko and Anna. Also arrived were Ante and Chris, Jason Murray, Tom, Alex Bettencourt (sp?) and his brother Mark, plus Tony (Tony!!!) the lone Italian. Oh yes, and Cassandra. Joining the festivities a little later were Karin and then Trevor. 6 Golfs and 2 Jettas. Baja Rosa, Malibu, Rosé wine, Absolut, Jagermeister and a little bit of Absinthe ("this stuff made Van Gogh cut off his ear!")... and you wonder why the singing after all? Hee hee hee.
The party moved on to Voda, a trendy nightspot at the Westin Grand. We were joined by Trev's other half Sammy, Jonathan Fast, and quite a few other people whose names have escaped me. I've been known to be detail-oriented but I don't think it counts when there's drinking involved. To my surprise, the only other one of the Fab 5 showed up, Lena (welcome!), with her hair as straight as... straight hair can be. Glad to see her there. The music was mostly good - a lot of top 40/R&B/Hip Hop from the last ten years... brought back a lot of memories. "This song is so 1996!" referring to a certain Montell Jordan song... "This is how we do it..." Too bad there was no 112.
Anyway, much dancing, drinking, talking really loudly to your neighbour went on. Quite a few, "Can you hold my purse?" And as well, a sudden noticing of all the people wearing... shall we say... skanky clothing. Quite a few try-hard Blind Date wannabes. Picture this Winter Wonderland outfit: white lace midriff-baring, see-through top, white mini skirt with both a zipper in front and back, PLUS white gogo boots. As Cassandra pointed out, "No white after Labour Day!" To top things off just as we were leaving we narrowly escaped a brush with Whitie himself, Pasty M. Not looking worse for wear from our quick glance... but who walks into a bar 10 minutes before closing? Unless he was there the whole time... but then who cares... we were already outta there.
What ensued afterwards was about 15 minutes of standing in the chill waiting for stragglers in our group to get the phone numbers of whoever they were hitting on, and deciding on where to go for after-club noshing. I would have gladly just left if it weren't for my excrutiatingly painful shoes... which should not be worn for more than three hours if I'm going to be standing. One word: "ouch."
But thanks to Lena, who drove me to my car, I eventually got home in one piece and crashed. Despite my aching feet I had rather pleasant dreams of which I can't recount at the moment. I think camping was involved. :)
12:42 p.m.
posted by tre
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copyright? what copyright? (2005)
guess what?
... webstats provided by:
...with...
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