| |
|
|
.:Thursday, September 30, 2004:.
|
Boldness breeds... more boldness...
Just told my boss this morning I am going away next weekend, and will be "a couple hours late" on Tuesday. No explanation at first... but then he said that he would be away on the Friday which works since I will take the holiday Monday off (normally I work stat holidays to bank for days that are more suitable for me). Then I felt I had to qualify why I'd be late on Tuesday, "because I am flying in on a 7AM flight..." at which point I got a mocking dirty look and the comment, "I think we pay you too much."
Hmm.
Perhaps I am just being sensitive because I bought the ticket back in August on the assumption that it would be fine with my boss... and in actuality it is, I'm just relieved. Tonight supposedly having dinner with the owners and other management staff... sort of a congratulatory "thanks for a good summer/hard work" thing. This should be interesting. Perhaps I will ask for another raise.
10:08 a.m.
posted by tre
.:Wednesday, September 29, 2004:.
|
Old Habits Die Hard...
My younger brother has decided to go back to school, to go into mining technology. To get into his program at BCIT he has to complete some math courses. So he has enrolled in Math 11/12 at J.O., came back last night after the first class proclaiming that MATH SUCKS.
I think it stressed him out. So much so, when he came home yesterday I could distinctly smell the odour of MJ on him. Ahhhhh, to be back in school again...
Disclaimer: I mean ahh, for him to be back in school. I scraped by in Math, and circumvented stress with "group work" e.g. copying formulas from the genius I sat with. No MJ involved.
11:24 a.m.
posted by tre
.:Sunday, September 26, 2004:.
|
Domestic Showdown
...Just read recently that Martha Stewart has signed a development deal with Mark Burnett to produce/star in a prime-time series, presumably about home decor/entertaining. Mark Burnett, who has produced some of this decade's more memorable reality television programs such as Survivor and The Apprentice, is apparently going to work with Martha after she gets out of jail.
Knowing Burnett's style and type of show he brings to network TV, I wonder what's in store for Martha. A "Restaurant" like show, where cameras follow her as she re-sets up her marketing and lifestyle business? Or will it be some kind of competition like Survivor/Apprentice where she picks Who Wants to Be a Domestic Goddess? Hmmmmm.
Speaking of Domestic Goddesses, I went to Caban this afternoon and almost bought a copy of Nigella Lawson's "How to be a Domestic Goddess" - such yummy recipes with very good pictures. Mmm, fattening.
Speaking of pictures, got the photos back from vacation... not bad! Will be scrapbooking this week. No word on when they will be online.
Speaking of online... er.. nevermind... I thought I was on a roll there.
10:02 p.m.
posted by tre
.:Saturday, September 18, 2004:.
|
Mental Note...
...if you are ever in a position to want to impress/woo Blondie, be sure to include an encounter with dolphins and/or Usher. Preferably both. On an island with white sand and turquoise water.
Memorable phrases heard in the last two weeks:
"D'you want some juice? Soup? Bacon sandwich? Beans on
toast?"
"Oh, for f*ck's sake"
"Posh" out of context; and "fab"
"Do you want me to wake you up in five more minutes?"
"GET UP!"
Today we went to Notting Hill/Portobello Road Market this afternoon, and visited the Wimbledon tennis museum. Good times. What I realized today about London's little neighbourhoods is that essentially they are all the same, with mostly the same shops and high streets, just different layouts.
Oof. Went out to "trendy" Fulham this past evening (Saturday night) to celebrate our last night in London, just the girls - AttnwhoreUK and two of her work colleagues Geri & Hena, plus DMuss' sister, Blondie, and myself, went to a bar/pub called Luna. Was pretty sedate for the first hour or so until we had our multiple drinks and the music was pumping. In between good dancing songs we sat at our table and someone thought up on their own to pull a "Whistler" by making signs to post up against the window to attract passerby's attentions, such as "NICE ASS!" and "ME LOVE YOU LONG TIME" which did draw a crowd at one point...
But after that we headed home. Man I am tired. I am going to have a slow-ish morning and try and fit all my stuff back into my suitcase and take the long two-tube ride back to Heathrow. Oof. Tired. Buzzed. Going to have weird dreams for sure.
Also surprised my digital camera's battery lasted two weeks. Granted we used reg. film mostly, but I am still impressed. Next post will most likely be back in Vancouver with a re-cap and hopefully some pictures. If I am so inclined.
PS Wow, such lucid comments from one supposedly so out of it. No speeling herrors either.
5:48 p.m.
posted by tre
.:Thursday, September 16, 2004:.
|
When did it suddenly become autumn??
Man, it sure got chilly in a hurry. Still in London but the weather has been sunny, but on the cold side. E.g. it is windy, and colder than when we arrived almost two weeks ago, when it was 30 degrees Celcius... now it is more like 15 and everywhere we go people are wearing scarves. Surely a winter thing, no? Well apparently it's a big fashion accessory here. I've bought one for myself but that's because I've had an eye out for a green scarf for a while... but now I am going to look for a pink one. Possibly pashmina. Scarf. Not those fad poncho thingees.
I have done quite a bit of shopping... and sightseeing!! Really!! We went to Westminster Abbey yesterday and had a guided tour by Count Dracula (in a cleric's robe), then crossed the Thames to the London Eye. We passed Big Ben and the Parliament Buildings, where there was a big protest going on about the ban on fox hunting. The protesters were pro-hunting, and there were "thousands" apparently... they even had Jeremy Irons speak. Personally I don't give a rat's ass about the fox hunt debate, I'm sure there are other matters before Parliament that are of relative more importance, but for some reason this issue is a big deal in the UK. Heh.
Ya, so after the London Eye we walked down to Oxford Street and found a whole bunch of shops! I think I restrained myself, having only come out with two new pairs of Clarks, a jacket and a necklace from Next, and 5 postcards, 3 of which will be sent this week to various people.
Today I REALLY restrained myself, only bought a t-shirt at the Tate Modern Museum. But before that we went to St. Paul's Cathedral, which I liked quite more than Westminster Abbey. Mostly because the guide was more amiable and not ready to go for my neck. We also walked 570 steps to the top of St. Paul's for views that rival the London Eye's. Quite the hike. I was dizzy when I got back down. Both Tanya and I wore new shoes out and both of us got blisters. I think I was in more pain than Tanya, having popped two blisters while walking, but when we stopped at Boots to pick up some bandages (they call them plasters here), the back of Tanya's ankle was bloody. Gross. So we patched ourselves up and headed further.
Tomorrow I am supposed to meet my cousin at Earl's Court. She doesn't know it yet but we're going to visit The Temple (a Knights Templar monument), possibly Sir John Soane's Museum (for Niko's sake), and meeting up with the gang at Covent Garden for lunch.
Big plans. Ciao for now!
4:14 p.m.
posted by tre
.:Wednesday, September 15, 2004:.
|
I have a hot ass!!
But that's only because it's burnt.
Just got back from Portugal today, back in London. Man, what a production!! First of all... our transfer didn't come to pick us up at 5:10 in the morning. We woke up at 4:30 in the morning to be ready for this ride that never showed up. Figuring the guy was just running late, we waited a few minutes but then started getting agitated and phoned the company... of course there was no answer at 5:25 in the morning... so David called the Expedia rep and gave him hell ("Listen mate, it says so right here, 5:10 pick-up, you'd better send a car straight away or I'll...) (Well, something along those lines...) Anyway after about three phone calls the guy finally sent us a taxi.
Nice taxi... Mercedes taxi complete with climate control and DVD player. The driver (who spoke pretty good English), was previously blasting Pink Floyd and continued to do so in our pre-dawn trek to the Faro Airport... David thought to make nice with the driver and talked about Pink Floyd and other like musicians... then afterward David said, "I don't even like Pink Floyd..." (to us, not the driver).
So we made it to the airport in time... checked in and everything... boarded and everything, and were waiting patiently whilst everyone settled in. After a while we became very aware of some crying going on in the plane that would just. not. stop.! Turns out this little boy did not want to fly, and he was flying with his brother unaccompanied (e.g. without adults)... so this crying went on for quite a while until the cabin crew decided to take him and his brother off the plane. The captain told us the boy wanted to get off the plane so they had to send the big truck with the staircase on it back to the plane, and get his luggage off the plane... and guess what happens? The truck with the staircase HIT the plane causing some outside damage which had to be assessed and repaired. At one point we were told we might have to de-plane and get re-routed or something, but thankfully the damage was minimal and was fixed and we were ready to go... three hours later... ugh. Not happy people were we! But I guess we managed to make the most of it. Junko & David played hangman and Human Pillow, Blondie caught up on her Z's, and I read, slept, and mostly fidgeted my way through the three-hour flight. Finally got back to London, trained it to Wimbledon, then headed out to Harrod's, where we had a great couple hours in the food floor alone. Mm, Krispy Kreme. Mm, Neuhaus. Mm, olives. (For Blondie & Junko.)
Okay so the rest of our time in Portugal was pretty good... rented a car and drove out to Seville on Saturday with the mission of buying shoes - none were bought unfortunately, but we came across some cool surprises... namely the Cathedral of Seville - the third largest Cathedral in Europe, supposedly... (Third largest Gothic Cathedral? Third largest cathedral with a tower? Meh.) Oh, and we took an open-top bus tour of downtown Seville which was narrated by Colin Firth! The English translation that is. I'm pretty sure it was him. So I had a rather good time listening to that ;0) Also, it was 42 degrees Celsius in Seville that day - we were literally dripping sweat.
The next day after the morning sun tanning we went to Lagos, which is about 30 min. west of our resort. Sort of a similar town except a bit larger... but mostly everything was closed because it was Sunday - except for the "Snack-bars"and the tacky tourist shops. Which we had to enter for lack of anything else to do. It was a nice drive and change of scenery for the afternoon. On Monday, our last day, we did our own thing in the morning (tan, Pilates class, massage), then headed out to Faro... except we didn't get as far as Faro... we ended up at a shopping mall in Albufeira... three shopping queens and our driver... eeek.
So for the rest of this week I'm going to be in London sightseeing and filling up the empty pockets in my suitcases... will update eventually...
12:30 a.m.
posted by tre
.:Friday, September 10, 2004:.
|
In Portugal...
...at a beachside internet café. It is a way of fulfilling my 'need' to check my e-mail and also get out of the heat. It's quite hot and dry and where I was an hour ago there was no breeze. Oof. Quite like it here in Armação de Pera where it has been sunny since we got here, beach great and the food is damn cheap. But you can read Junko's Blog to see her enthusiasm. I am just chillin'. Nothing spicy to report except last night I had a swordfish steak that was excellent, so now I can add swordfish to the list of seafood I do like. The other night Junko and Tanya ordered 'fried squids' thinking it was calamari, but no... it was fried squids. Little squids, nasty looking buggers. They both disliked it so David ate it instead. Then they came around and figured that they weren't so bad after all... I focussed on my lettuce and tomato salad.
Going to Seville tomorrow! Yay! Having a great time relaxing. Even checking e-mail. It is air conditioned which is nice. But now I am cold. Going back to the pool. Check ya laters. Don't be too jealous.
5:55 a.m.
posted by tre
.:Saturday, September 04, 2004:.
|
Tre is officially on vacation...
Let's go already!! I'm packed and primed to go. It is 7:45 AM and I'm waiting for my ride... I'm NOT EXCITED AT ALL already. Stop asking.
Also noticed a bunch of people telling me to "take lots of pictures." Come on dudes, I only have three cameras...
Anyway, vacation #2 on the horizon... will probably post something in the next few days if I have internet access.
Wooooooohoo!
Later!
7:42 a.m.
posted by tre
.:Wednesday, September 01, 2004:.
|
Are you there, God? It's (Teresa), Margaret...
Went to the cemetary this past weekend - not my most favourite thing to do on the weekend but not the worst thing I suppose - a nice hour-long drive with my mom, aunt and uncle whilst listening to them gossip about the family and visit departed relatives... but that and other recent events had got me thinking about prayer, religion, and spirituality in general. (Be forewarned, long-ass post.)
As it happens I am what is considered a nominal Catholic - e.g. Catholic by baptism, but not actually practising. I have always said that I am not a regular church-goer because I was force-fed religion for most of my formative years but I don't necessarily think I am disillusioned about religion so much as perhaps confused about 'spirituality' in general.
What is it about religion that is so contentious? (Why can't we all just get along?) Why is there a need to denominate and define belief? Can a Zen Buddhist be a High Anglican at the same time? Can they have two passports, like dual citizenship?
As a matter of fact I rather like being Catholic, as far as religion goes it has its good points - documented history, interesting rituals, cool role models... but of course it has its not-so-good points - e.g. corruption, scandal, imperialism, slow-to-adapt... to name a few. I think my lapse in devotion has come mainly from laziness (Sunday mornings? Come on!!) and not agreeing with the Church on several key issues. If not for those two reasons perhaps I would have a more steadfast faith, and this blog entry would look quite different.
I find religion/spirituality a strange creature. Some people wear it on their sleeve and feel the need to Spread the Word to each and every person whether they are receptive to it or not, and it disturbs me to see people who take an en masse approach to conversion rather than thoughtful contemplation on what one would like to model their lives upon. Then there are those people who only need religion when it suits them. E.g. during election time, or when they want something really really badly.
Which leads me to my thoughts about praying. I'm not big on praying, because I don't do it on a regular basis although I suppose I should (damn you Catholic guilt!)... but in a way I think I have banned myself from allowing myself to pray because as a person who recognizes/overanalyzes her own actions I noticed I only 'prayed' when I wanted something to go my way.
Like any relationship, I think a relationship with God (or Higher Spiritual Being, or Bob, or whatever you want to call it) is a two-way street. You ask, He/It gives... you praise/give thanks, He/It makes a note and passes it on to the Karma Police. So I noticed that all I was doing was asking, but not thanking (much)... if I were God I'd feel pretty peeved, that's not fair is it? Always put upon and not getting anything in return. So if I can't pray half-heartedly, how can I expect God to be sincere? I haven't stopped praying, but now I am doubly aware that when I do, it had better be good. E.g. not "Please God let me magically lose 10 pounds so I will get laid on my beach vacation"
(BTW I did NOT pray for that!)
The good thing we learned about God/His Omnipotence is that he is all-seeing and all-forgiving and lives through/in people, alive or not so. (Good thing, too, otherwise asking my grandfather/dad/aunt/cousin and others buried at that cemetary to um, "look over us all" might have looked a little foolish. Not those exact sentiments, but something close anyway.) So as self-centred as one can be, one can always expect God to be a source of comfort, and the human race's collective sense of optimism. Why make it more complicated than that?
12:56 a.m.
posted by tre
|
|
copyright? what copyright? (2005)
guess what?
... webstats provided by:
...with...
|  |
|
