Honk if you love...whatever...

First of all, MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY NEW YEAR'S!

Just before xmas, Claude and I went to Mental Beast, a super concert of I don't know how many bands over at the Biltmore. It was awesome. My friend Burnside and his band, Tight Solid, played a couple songs (on his 'lunch break'... his shows are always on his 'lunch break'! So crazy!) including "I Hate Christmas" which I've been driving Claude crazy with by playing over and over. :p

Here's the link where you can download the music... check it out!

The Eggnog Experience

That Wednesday (23rd?), we hung out with Ian (Dad's girlfriend's son) and his girlfriend Chrystal and her family. Went up to Grouse to see their Winter Wonderland set-up. It was a bit pricey but fun and definitely one of those experience things. It was really nice to have an activity with a family feel to it since I'm in Van for the holidays minus one family.

Favourite moment? Defintely the drive up to Grouse... haha.

Chrystal and Ian picked us up at my place (Kits/False Creek area) and we took Burrard through downtown to Georgia then up through Stanley Park. Ian got a little impatient and directed Chrystal to take the completely open right lane.

*Now, before we go any further, a little commentary on the dynamics of Chrystal and Ian's driving relationship. Ian's a bit of a side seat driver (aren't we all?), Chrystal is relishing the fact that it's her family that they're visiting out here so therefore their vehicle, therefore she gets to drive. Make sense?*

Okay, anyway, Ian's telling Chrystal to get into the right lane over and over, I don't know if it's quite a good idea because I think it's the lane that goes straight into the road around Stanley Park and has no access to the Lion's Gate Bridge (where we're supposed to be going) but can't seem to vocalize this, Claude's enjoying her cafe Americano, and Chrystal's trying to not get frazzled while trying to decide whether to take Ian's advice.

She ends up getting into the right lane, which turns out to be the on-ramp for Stanley Park. She's trying to get back into the left lane, which is of course jammed up. Flicks on her blinker and waits for someone to let her in.

Someone behind us honks. Of course. It's Vancouver... that's what they do here. Obviously this person's in a real rush to get to Stanley Park (the trees and the ocean might not be there by the time they round the first bend) because they're just laying on the horn - one long, sustained honk. It reminds me of either a movie car crash where the hero has smashed into a tree/other car/side of the building/boat/the Incredible Hulk/statue/whatever and their face is mashed up against the steering wheel.... or they've fallen asleep at the wheel and their face is mashed up against the steering wheel.

Either way, I don't get it. I don't like people honking like that - I think it just upsets the person that you're honking at more and creates frazzled people on the road, creating more accidents. I don't think that's was the intention when the horn was put into cars. I never use my horn unless someone's backing into me and just doesn't realize. In which case, I give it a nice little love tap...

Things I learned when I googled 'honking':

1. Worldwide honking is on the rise... (duh)

2. Cairo is the unofficial honking capital of the world...

3. In 1912, a Londoner wrote in to the Times arguing that honking shifts the burden of evasion and responsibility from the honker to the honkee... which makes sense as it reinforces the entitlement that cars have on the road... :s

4. People honk more when it's hot, on weekdays, if they're male (surprised? I think not...), at beater cars than Bentleys, and more likely if they believe they can do it anonymously.

5. BUT, people also kinda just suck at honking... a survey in the UK found that people take 2-3 times as long to honk as they do to steer or brake. I couldn't find Canadian stats because, well, we're too damn polite to honk, right? :p

Anyway, back to my story... Chrystal obviously abandons her plan to get back into the left lane and we're off on a scenic route through Stanley Park.

As an afterthought, Ian rolls down his window and sticks his middle finger high for our impatient friend. For some reason, I could not stop laughing about it. And every now and then, when I think of it, I burst into laughter, which gets me strange looks if I'm just walking down the street minding my own business...

Pic du Jour:

Is actually a video from our skating adventures at the newly reopened Robson Square... Starring Claude as our narrator (haha) and me as the one who nearly plows into a couple of people. Gimme a break, it was busy! And I get so nervous in front of the camera... :p

Music du Jour: Went over to Alistair's last night and he was recently introduced to Band of Horses' The Funeral. If you haven't heard it already, you should definitely check it out.

Quote du Jour:

"A kleptomaniac is a person who helps themselves because they can't help themselves."

Muse

Learn something new everyday...

Chocolate chip cookies: invented by Ruth Wakefield when she attempted to make chocolate drop cookies. She did not have the required chocolate so she broke up a candy bar and placed the chunks into the cookie mix. These chunks later morphed into what is now known as chocolate chip cookies.

The Slinky was invented by US Navy engineer Richard T. James after he accidentally knocked a torsion spring off his work table and observed its unique motion.

The 57 on Heinz ketchup bottles represents the number of varieties of pickles the company once had.

Karaoke means "empty orchestra" in Japanese.

The names of the two stone lions in front of the New York Public Library are Patience and Fortitude. They were named by then-mayor Fiorello LaGuardia.

There are 10 human body parts that are only 3 letters long (eye hip arm leg ear toe jaw rib lip gum).

The word "lethologica" describes the state of not being able to remember the word you want.

Every year about 98% of the atoms in your body are replaced.

When snakes are born with two heads, they fight each other for food.

Police dogs are trained to react to commands in a foreign language; commonly German but more recently Hungarian

There are twice as many kangaroos in Australia as there are people. The kangaroo population is estimated at about 40 million.

Charlie Brown's father was a barber.

You burn more calories sleeping than you do watching TV

Canadian researchers have found that Einstein's brain was 15% wider than normal.

The citrus soda 7-UP was created in 1929; "7" was selected because the original containers were 7 ounces. "UP" indicated the direction of the bubbles.

The word "nerd" was first coined by Dr. Seuss in "If I Ran the Zoo."

Dueling is legal in Paraguay as long as both parties are registered blood donors.

Clans of long ago that wanted to get rid of unwanted people without killing them used to burn their houses down -- hence the expression "to get fired"

Nobody knows who built the Taj Mahal. The names of the architects, masons, and designers that have come down to us have all proved to be latter-day inventions, and there is no evidence to indicate who the real creators were.

It was discovered on a space mission that a frog can throw up. The frog throws up it's stomach first, so the stomach is dangling out of it's mouth. Then the frog uses it's forearms to dig out all of the stomach's contents and then swallows the stomach back down again.

The average person falls asleep in seven minutes.

That's all I've got so far... boredom has obviously set in. :p

Pic du Jour:

Quote du Jour: Two losts do not make a found...

Music du Jour: Extreme Music Library - Pure Roots (makes me laugh every time!)

Sin in the City

So, I started to write a couple weeks ago because I knew I hadn't updated in awhile but then my browser crashed (stupid Safari...) and I just got lazy then got distracted... haha

Anyway, lots of stuff went down...

Went to Vegas. Celina's 24th b-day on the 15th so I caught a cheap flight and headed down for four days to chill and party and experience the City of Sin...

It was everything and nothing like I thought it would be. Busy, dirty, loud, tons of obese Americans, fake sexy all around, went to clubs celebrities go to sometimes and wasn't impressed, paid 30 dollars for three drinks, wore silly shoes, was taken to dinner by a sugar daddy, watched pretty much naked Aussie men prance around shakin' it, got handed hooker cards (collect the whole set!), watched people wander the streets with alcohol, got hit on by men of all shapes and sizes, jumped some lines, hung out with a bunch of wax celebrities, had mimosas, walked around a lot, watched peoples' lives draining away with every push of the spin button. Scary and exhilarating. I don't think I'll ever go back.

My favourite part though? Flying back from Vegas. I'd finished my book so ended up picking up two at the magazine shop to keep me occupied in a two hour layover. I apparently still got it because I was able to pretty much finish McCormack's The Road before I stepped on the plane. Sat down on the plane. Girl that seems pretty chipper in a Cheerleader College Barbie type of way (but darker hair) sits down next to me. We chat for a bit but I open my book, wanting to see the end... Out of the corner of my eye I notice she's got a pretty nicely bound book - pretty old-school looking. Something a bit off about it but sure, fine, whatevs. Finish The Road and pull out book #2 Nicholas Sparks' Dear John (heard good things about it. Sparks is a good writer despite his proclivity for the extreme romance. I think it's as close as I'm going to get to Drugstore Harlequin romance novels... :p). Girl next to me, Melanie, strikes up a convo. She seems pretty normal - we talk about her degree (nutrition), my degrees (English, Psych, Education, Journalism... haha), her sister (eat disorder), futures, society. It starts to feel like she's steering me into a direction that I may not be equipped to handle myself in... and then...

WABAM!

Jesus.

Have I thought about Jesus? Do I believe in God? Do I go to church. Do I believe in Heaven? Do I think I'm going to Heaven? What do I think Heaven will look like?

I looked down at the book in her lap.

The Holy Bible.

Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuu...dge.

Essentially, she ended up telling me that I was going to burn hell because I had not let Jesus into my heart and did not have a relationship with Jesus. Apparently, being a good person and just trying to do the right thing is just not good enough these days. Gotta be proactive in your post-mortem future. Go figure.

She said she'd been 'saved' when she was five years old. FIVE years old. I don't even remember being five years old let alone making huge life-shaping religious choices.

And don't get me wrong - I respect the fact that she has belief. I respect, even envy, that she has so much passion and has something that she believes in so completely. I don't have that. I have never been that certain about anything in my life and it is such a powerful thing. You could see it in her face, in the way she talked. It was amazing. What I didn't appreciate was the fact that she was essentially force feeding me this idea that I was completely and totally fucked if I didn't do something about it soon. God/Jesus/Whoever is going to come back and take those that are 'saved' with him and God was going to judge the rest of us and it wasn't going to be pretty.

All I could think of was Dogma and Matt Damon.

"Organized religion destroys who we are by inhibiting our actions, by inhibiting our decisions out of fear and some intangible parent figure who shakes a finger at us from thousands of years ago and says, 'Do it... do it and I'll fuckin' spank you."

Sigh. Then I was wishing that Delta had TVs in the back of their seats and that Dogma were one of the choices.

And that made me feel a little better of my punch ticket at the end of it all...

I think in the end... I respect people who are religious, I am jealous of that passion... but the moment you try to convince me of it all, even if it's something that I'm a little okay (the notion of God, for example), I shut down. I don't want beliefs, ideas, anything forced on me - no one does - and so when you try to convince me of it, I will fight it tooth and claw. I am not down with the preachies... :p

Whew, that was long... oops.

Finished off the semester of school. Pretty death month of December. Lots of work got piled on, final projects, week of Dailies (which were fun because you only had to focus on the story(ies) of the day and nothing else). It was kinda not so great. Training suffered (dropped off to nil), social nights out became I-wanna-forget-school-time-of-death wind down sessions (thank you karaoke... :p), eating and sleeping habits took a nosedive (which, let's be honest, made things worse...). It was ridiculous. I need to get better at this stress thing.

Funniest thing about this cartoon? A court reporter came in to give a talk and the people who went to hear them thought IT was a total snooze-fest. Oops.

I met some Canucks... Andre managed to get him and myself into one of their practices and then into the dressing room afterwards. It was for one of our radio broadcast sessions. I took a silly approach and asked about Battle of the Blades and Movember. Fun times. Rome accused me of making up Movember (yeah, like I'd make up a month in which guys try to grow the most hideous patches of hair on their faces... ugh), Glass was the nicest - my first interview (They are freaking intimidating!) and also funny.

I got to go skiing twice. That was awesome. Once up at Cypress with Tom McCarthy and once with Kajsa and her fam at Callaghan. It was beautiful. They've closed up the Olympic trails for 'security' purposes (who's going to want to blow up the Olympic trails? Seriously!) but the rec trails are still just as beautiful.

Also, got an internship with one of my profs. I'm thinking it might be because of nepotism (I sold him a bike this summer... and he seems to have a soft spot for me because of it... :p) Some work over the holidays, actually getting paid well for it (sweeeeet), and it's not looking like it's going to be hardcore, which is nice. Though perhaps I'll be surprised and end up working my ass off. :p

I'm not going home for Christmas. Doing the postal service package exchange... though I'm not quite on the ball. All my stuff's going to get to Ontario post-Christmas. Ah well. I tried.

Trying to get back on the training wagon. Going to spin with Louise (yay!), hike with anyone who's willing (haha), try to haul around town at least once a day on the bike (errands with a roundabout route?), climb with some friends soon (bouldering, I have missed you), pre-breakfast runs, and two core sessions a day. That'll hopefully combat the idiocy of the past couple months... perhaps.

Anyway, I'm sure there's tons of other fun stuff that has gone down but I can't remember. Going to post this before it bonks again...

Pic du Jour:

Quote du Jour:

"I am tired, Beloved, of chafing my heart against the want of you..."

Song du Jour:

Pete Yorn - Thinking of You

Emotions of the day:

Nostalgia and that achy feeling in the pit of your stomach when things remind you of people and things you'd rather Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind away forever. Like you've been punched in the stomach and can't quite catch your breath. Don't know why and kinda really wish it would go away.

Feeling Mopey, Dopey, and Five other Melancholy Dwarves today... Arg.

Perhaps tomorrow I'll write something a little more insightful. There are things running around in my head that I want to put down on paper and just can't settle myself down to do it. Fail.

Intimeresting...

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/debunking-our-fetish-of-the-fresh/article1375159/

Sort of sad to think about it.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/tiff-names-top-30-films-of-the-decade/article1374746/

Very polar, I know... too tired to comment tonight... perhaps tomorrow? At least in the next week anyway... lotsa stuff going on, went on, whatever.

:p

Taking Chances

Well, raining like a mofo here... obviously, right? It's Vancouver, Linnaea. Hmm... perhaps I need to revisit the whole rain gear situation. Need booties for sure.

Weekend was awesome... Friday night's Prohab Bike Calendar Release Party was awwwesome. Burnside's band, Tight Solid, was awesome, as was Rodrigo's The Good News. Also, sweet DJing of the retro variety by Dustin et al.

Saturday was booooring at work - slow and rainy. I don't think I've worked a full Saturday in awhile. Saturday eve was spent with Josh and Paul and pizza and beer (well, no beer for me... ugh).

Sunday - went to visit the Nana with Jane. Sad to see her as she is now - in a wheelchair and unable to speak with the progression of Alzheimer's. Had a good chat with Jane though, so that was cool.

Then homework homework homework.

Wish my throat wasn't so yuck. Having some problems doing radio interviews with people and also feel like belting out Don't Stop Believin' for some reason. haha.

School's school's school... busy, still a little uncomfortable in places but getting better, boring at times (I know this stuff already/could figure it out on my own in 15 mins, why do I have to sit through a three hour class for it?), fun getting comfy with a good group of friends though.

Training? Nil. Annoying, frustrating. I seem to get the urge to go running at very odd times - this aft as I was walking to the Skytrain to go downtown to pick up my package via Jeff at Phantom from Claude (which was awesome by the way - Cog Magazine, Philly courier manifest, gorgeous earrings), I suddenly wished I were wearing running shoes instead of sandals and wish I had three hours off to go for a jog rather than not. Wish I had those urges when I got home.

But, bonus? Ran into Corporate Geoff outside of Phantom and he's agreed to do a clip for my voicer project for Broadcasting class - awesome.

Biked home in the rain down Broadway. Loved it. Totally thought I was getting the hang of fixed. Thought as I rolled up to the apartment, "Hey, I think I feel confident enough to try some trackstand practice in our underground parking garage." Rolled in, went to turn left to go around a pole and my tires slipped out from under me and I went down hard on my left side, somehow scratching my hip and dinging my elbow, which might turn the colour of blueberries, as per the usual... sigh.

Well, back to homework homework homework...

Photo du Jour:

Attacked by mini-Wolverine... that jerk...

Quote du Jour:

For Becky... erg. Sorry babe...

"There is a certain relief in change, even though it be from bad to worse; as I have found in traveling in a stagecoach, that it is often a comfort to shift one's position and be bruised in a new place."

Music to check out:

Snow Patrol ft. Martha Wainwright - Set Fire to the Third Bar (very chill)

Royksopp - Royksopp Forever (also chill... good song to train to on a z1 workout)

Anya Marina - Whatever You Like (sweet accoustic of the T.I. song - thank you GG for presenting this...)

Music from Glee (good redos of hits... amazing voices...)

O My Heart

Well, I've got another lung infection (which is just awesome... [where's that sarcasm button for the internet?]) so I decided to stay home and catch up on work to get a jumpstart on the week...

So, Sunday day sort of sucked. Becky's dad finally left and after having him here for two weeks and change and dealing with the stress of that on top of school stress, work changes, and life being, well, life... Sunday was a bit of a sit back and regroup kind of day. Take stock, deal with what you can, shuffle what you can't to be dealt with by Future Linnaea (which is probably not a good idea but y'know...)

When the evening rolled around so did the indecision of whether to show up to Bad Party or not. You know when you feel sort of awful and going out to be around people can go either way - be really crap and make your life worse or completely turn your mood around? That's where I was. Feeling sort of like I was coming down with something in addition to being Dopey, Mopey and a couple other melancholy dwarves. I hummed and hawed and finally decided to go. Filled up a thermos with Neocitrine, my bag with several layers of warm clothes/gloves/buffs, my mind with happy thoughts and away I went.

This month's Bad Party went down at Andy Livingston Park with an Alley Cat called the Figure 8 of Death. A quick figure eight loop race with entry to fixed brakeless bikes only. Apparently the guy who won was on a fixed cyclocross which was a smart move on his part as it could get a little dicey and slippery...

After that was a skid contest where people hammer up to a line, lock their back wheel and try to skid as far as they can in a straight line without bailing. Impressive to watch as they all lean forward so far that their thighs are resting on their handlebars. Yeah. Sounds crazy, I know, but they look so intense:

Picture borrowed from Travis Jutson's Flickr stream of Cody from a previous Bad Party... you get the picture...

Two guys from Vancouver - Wayne Morhart and Tom Briggs - made a movie about the bike scene in several cities across North America. Really well done stuff. They had the premiere of it on Sunday night at the Rickshaw over on Hastings.

Moses ran goat sprints before with the really good idea of having grudge matches. People could call people out to race. Or people who'd never raced before could try it out no pressure with their friends.

Mitchell wanted to race someone quick but ended up racing a very courageous frou frou girl. Guess how it ended up? Haha. I challenged my friend, Sean, but he'd decided he was a little tired from some sort of sketchy flesh eating disease he got from Pub 340 at Gastowns (kidding, sorta) so he nominated a friend of his who "spent his day standing up on a BMX so go easy on me." I didn't.

After the film, they had a raffle and my karma must've been good because I won two prizes! A saddle, which I'm trying to decide whether to update the Miele or sell in order to eat for the next couple weeks. Decisions, decisions... Oh, and a stem, which I made Moses go up and get because I was a little embarrassed to go up twice. I let him keep it in exchange for a future favour that I can call in aaaanytime. Bwahaha.

Then Hooper's band, Three Inches of Blood played:

Goatriders Hoard Sneak Peek

Looottta screaming. And that was about the time I went home.

Yesterday was fixie day. Brought the Green Machine in to West Point Cycle and James fix'd it for me. Then we spent twenty nerve-wracking minutes coming home downhill. Nerve wracking for me because I have to deal with feet moving all the time. Nerve wracking for James because he took his brakes off for the Figure 8 of Death race and didn't put them back on then had to go down the hill after me. Eep.

Good thing we made cake to cushion the fall. haha

It's tough to unlearn a life of freewheeling to go fixed. I think I've got the hang of starting and going... it's the stopping that I'm not quite sure about. I learned a bit on how to skid last night but with traffic... well, we'll see...

I still have both brakes attached (I know, I know, a huge faux pas...) but haven't touched the back and am trying to not use the front. I just really like my knees, y'know... :s So, the Miele, which is no longer a Green Machine as it no longer has gears... I'm thinking of renaming Danger Bay. Which makes sense as when I get on, I might die... but props for doing it to save our relationship here by changing himself to become what I want from him and keeping me from running off with the mistress - Soma (she is fast and easy... could you blame me? :p). Then there's ol' reliable Winter Bike that Andrew gave me when he and Kia moved up to the Kootenays. He's old and beasty but oh-so-sturdy, like a parent trying to keep me safe?

Anyway, getting off-track here... I really want to learn to trackstand - I obviously don't trust myself to balance, which is really frustrating. I also want to learn to do some tricks. I mean, all these videos that I keep watching about cycling, the only girl shots I've seen are girls ripping it down the streets... which is cool but what's up with that? I mean, I've seen some girls at Bad Party do some stuff, seen Claude do some stuff... why aren't they filming it and celebrating it?!

Pic du jour:

Quote du Jour:

"Everything has its beauty, but not everyone sees it..."

Karaoke tonight but I don't know if it's a good idea to go out as I should really be sleeping and healing things. Buuuuut, it's Karaoke! Oh, also Nite Rider PK at work. :s Kinda don't want to go but I guess so...

p.s. Addicted to Mother Mother's album "O My Heart" (as obvious from my title... haha) and that song from Gossip Girl that I totally recognized but couldn't figure it out because it was being sung by a girl instead of the usual boy: Anya Marina - Whatever You Like. So good.

Don't Stop Believin'

Wednesday. Gastown Sprints.

Full-kitted Dustin and Ced. Safety first guys... haha

There were two theories behind Gastown Sprints going into the winter:

1. The place would overflow because it’s awful out. During the summer, it’s gorgeous and amazing to be outside in the good weather so people don’t think to go inside. So, therefore, if it’s shitty out, people are going to migrate inside. Right? Apparently not.

2. It’s so awful out that no one wants to leave their houses to go anywhere. Couriers start to hate cycling so the last thing they want to do at the end of the day is slog through the wet to show up to a bar to ride more (a friend’s theory), and students start to believe that they don’t (or can’t) have a life because of their work. After not even a month in the rainy season, I kind of feel like leaning towards this one considering what went down Wednesday…

Which was very few people showed up. Which is too bad because it’s such a cool idea and could be really big and more fun than it already is with more competition…

I still get so freaked out before. My body goes into overdrive and adrenaline kicks in an hour or so before I head down because I am terrified that this time I’ll be revealed as an imposter and my spinning legs will just be blocks of cement and just get owned in my first heat. Haha. One ticket to Crazytown.

Showed up and was quite unimpressed with the lack of people. Hung out with Moses, Louise (who apologetically told me she’d told her roadie friends… pfft. I think in my head I responded with ‘Bring it, Bitches…’ even though they WOULD probably own me as they do this sort of thing on a regular basis. haha), James and Craig (former Bike Dr. manager). We had six on the girls’ side and 14 on the guys’ side. Raced heats and my first head to head was against… Moses. I guess the girl I was supposed to race took off so he graciously stepped up and jumped on a bike to own me. Haha I think Moses is a secret kick-ass roller racing ninja. For a guy who says he doesn’t do much, he threw down a solid 24 and change, which is sweet. I think Louise and I should start racing the boys because I really think it would make us faster, just like in skiing if you race faster people, you get faster.

So, final showdown, Louise and I. I put it in my head that this time, I’m going to put down as much as I can on the line, check my seat to make sure it won’t drop mid-race, and focus. Scary countdown and hammer… should’ve checked my hair as it came half out of its elastic and went EVERYWHERE. But, I continued on. We were closer than I’ve ever been to her and the little blue line was slipping in front of the yellow one here and there and suddenly it was over and the name that flashed on the screen was mine…

Have your name in lights? Exciiiiting.

Pretty schweet, eh? Haha. It was quite fun. We were looking at pictures last night and James mentioned that we should try to get more picture like this one… it’s almost like tennis (there we go again – tennis similes, I know, I know…): the winner seems to stay on the venue just a little longer, letting what just happened sink in, basking in the win. Pretty cool.

What did I win, you ask? A free beer, free haircut, and 40 bucks. Awwwww yeah.

I think my favourite part of the night, win or lose, is when you leave Pub 340, get on your bike and do a lap of the city. Nice and relaxed casual urban fare.

Thursday morning woke up snuggled up and full of endorphins with a Big Stupid Grin on my face. Bonus? Classes were cancelled so I didn’t have to head up to Langara for the day. So I went back to bed. Ha. Got a nice ride in the afternoon in the gap of no rain.

Friday night headed down to Gastown with the Jounalism crew. Tons of fun because we ended up at the Chill Winston, which is Moses’ favourite bar so I got to hang out with everyone and enjoy some classy martinis.

After we left the bar, we somehow got separated with some miscommunication. Geoff and I hung out on Water St. waiting for the others to get back to us. Started a game of Spot the Pirate. Pretty easy rules:

1. Watch groups of people as they approach.

2. Pick out who is the mostly likely to be a pirate. Use your own descriptions here… so long as you can back up your choice with hard evidence, it will be accepted.

3. Proceed to give voice to your pirate/make fun of them? in a pirate accent. Which inevitable turns into an Irish accent for some reason. So long as you throw in a couple ‘Yarrs.’ or other pirate-oriented words, you’re fine.

4. Bonus points for picking out No Pants Girls. A.K.A. the girls of Gastown that wear dresses where their jackets are longer than said dresses so it gives the illusion that they are, in fact, not wearing any pants. Yeah, got made fun of a lot by us.

Worked all day Saturday. Tired. Rainy. Depressing. Very strange and different dynamic to have Pol back in the store and to have so few of the people I started with not work there anymore.

Last night headed over to James/Brodie's place. Enjoyed some homemade chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream (amazing), The Hangover (fuuuunny), and Brodie's pictures from travelling. Makes me want to travel.

Now it’s Sunday. I’m stuffed up. Sick? Confused because normally I have a pretty good immune system but this fall has sucked, health-wise. Maybe because I’m not training? Too much stress? Not enough sleep? I don’t know. Sigh.

It sucks though because I’d really like to go out and do something… hike, rock climb, whatever but I’m scared, as I’ve already had one lung infection, to push things too hard in case I screw things up worse. But I have this fuzzy idea of a little bit of activity might be able to boost your body and it just throws down on you being sick and wins. And then you’re fine. I don’t know. Maybe it’s the cotton in my head talking?

Pic du jour (click to see full awesomeness... haha):

Quote du jour:

“You must learn from the mistakes of others. You can't possibly live long enough to make them all yourself.”

Tonight's a showing of The Revival - bike movie made in Vancouver - at the Rickshaw at 8:30ish? So, if you're reading this and live in Vancouver, you should come down to 254 E Hastings and get ready to have your mind blown. It's going to be awesome.

Teaser #1

Teaser #2

Oh, and I got hit by a car last week... not a big deal. I'm fine. Keep on the DL. Tell my mom and I'll kill you. haha

L'Article

So, for this week's Voice article, I was told to write on the dating scene in Vancouver in 400 words or less...surprisingly, I was able to keep to that number... haha. I don't know if it's any good (it feels a little all over the place...) or if it'll be considered fluffy or silly but ah well. Here you go...

Someone once told me that Vancouver was like a bowl of granola – if people aren’t fruits or nuts, they’re flakes. I like the metaphor of Vancouver being like a pie or a pastry. Flaky at first glace but once you get through, there’s a little more substance. It seems that people out here are spending so much time convincing others and themselves that they are the West Coast embodiment of oh-so-casual and laissez-faire, it takes a little more work to get to know the real person underneath without them running for the door screaming in fear of commitment.

Sitting here typing on my laptop, I’m trying not to sound like a version of Carrie Bradshaw from Sex in the City but it’s hard not to remember and use many a conversation with friends about dating. At this point in our lives, it is a very popular topic.

Trying to demystify the world of relationships is a very fascinating, if frustrating, endeavour. Dating in general, dealing with the confusion of feelings, he said/she said, why men/women think the way they do, how to play the Game – the list goes on, and on, and on.

Sometimes it feels that you’ve covered just about everything, talked yourself in circles, yet there is always more to say. More What Ifs…, more Maybe It’s… Everyone is different and that’s what makes them so interesting and so infuriating.

The most interesting thing that I’ve run into lately is this idea of ‘the Game.’ Acting casual is the best way to go about getting a partner. Be assertive but also play hard to get. You get a text, a phone message, an email from someone you’re interested in. Well, wait a bit and let the person sweat. If you’re too interested, if you answer too quickly, you give away the Power. You give away control of the Game. Don’t be too eager because they’ll lose interest because you’re too easy, there’s not enough mystery. It all makes my head spin. Trying to figure out what to say, when to say it, whether it sounded silly, too eager, too aloof is exhausting to say the least. Talk to people who are already married or already in fully committed relationships and they all sigh and thank god they don’t have to deal with that sort of thing.

Whatever happened to being simple and straightforward and telling people how you feel? If they feel the same way, they should be mature enough to be able to reciprocate your feelings. If not, well, who wants to date a manchild anyway?

 -30-

In other news, hiked the Grind yesterday... it was wet, it was cold, and it was AMAZING. My first real workout other than the slogfest that was the Cambie/Granville loop Mitchell dragged me around on Friday night... ugh. That was more than a little embarrassing. But anyway, the Grind was pretty fun. We didn't realize that they closed the gates at 4 when we got there at 4:45ish so we had to sneak our way through the BCMC trail. It definitely got dark by the time we got to the top. Chilly though. Good thing I'd brought my big bag with, according to Cedric, everything under the sun, which included a change of clothes. 

The Starbucks at the bottom of the mountain is the most cozy and inviting-looking place as you shiver your way off the tram. 

 Picture du jour: 

Quote du jour: 

"All truth, in the long run, is only common sense clarified." - Thomas Huxley 

Random sniped poetry...

Lines

Martha Collins

Draw a line. Write a line. There.
Stay in line, hold the line, a glance
between the lines is fine but don't
turn corners, cross, cut in, go over
or out, between two points of no
return's a line of flight, between
two points of view's a line of vision.
But a line of thought is rarely
straight, an open line's no party
line, however fine your point.
A line of fire communicates, but drop
your weapons and drop your line,
consider the shortest distance from x
to y, let x be me, let y be you.

“Do You Have Any Advice For Those of Us Just Starting Out?"

Ron Koertge

Give up sitting dutifully at your desk. Leave
your house or apartment. Go out into the world.

It's all right to carry a notebook but a cheap
one is best, with pages the color of weak tea
and on the front a kitten or a space ship.

Avoid any enclosed space where more than
three people are wearing turtlenecks. Beware
any snow-covered chalet with deer tracks
across the muffled tennis courts.

Not surprisingly, libraries are a good place to write.
And the perfect place in a library is near an aisle
where a child a year or two old is playing as his
mother browses the ranks of the dead.

Often he will pull books from the bottom shelf.
The title, the author's name, the brooding photo
on the flap mean nothing. Red book on black, gray
book on brown, he builds a tower. And the higher
it gets, the wider he grins.

You who asked for advice, listen: When the tower
falls, be like that child. Laugh so loud everybody
in the world frowns and says, "Shhhh."

Then start again.

After Us

Connie Wanek

I don't know if we're in the beginning
or in the final stage.
-- Tomas Tranströmer

Rain is falling through the roof.
And all that prospered under the sun,
the books that opened in the morning
and closed at night, and all day
turned their pages to the light;

the sketches of boats and strong forearms
and clever faces, and of fields
and barns, and of a bowl of eggs,
and lying across the piano
the silver stick of a flute; everything

invented and imagined,
everything whispered and sung,
all silenced by cold rain.

The sky is the color of gravestones.
The rain tastes like salt, and rises
in the streets like a ruinous tide.
We spoke of millions, of billions of years.
We talked and talked.

Then a drop of rain fell
into the sound hole of the guitar, another
onto the unmade bed. And after us,
the rain will cease or it will go on falling,
even upon itself.

Publication Date

Franz Wright

One of the few pleasures of writing
is the thought of one’s book in the hands of a kind-hearted
intelligent person somewhere. I can’t remember what the
others are right now.
I just noticed that it is my own private

National I Hate Myself and Want to Die Day
(which means the next day I will love my life
and want to live forever). The forecast calls
for a cold night in Boston all morning

and all afternoon. They say
tomorrow will be just like today,
only different. I’m in the cemetery now
at the edge of town, how did I get here?

A sparrow limps past on its little bone crutch saying
I am Frederico Garcia Lorca
risen from the dead–
literature will lose, sunlight will win, don’t worry.

The Meadow

Kate Knapp Johnson

Half the day lost, staring
at this window. I wanted to know
just one true thing

about the soul, but I left thinking
for thought, and now -
two inches of snow have fallen

over the meadow. Where did I go,
how long was I out looking
for you?, who would never leave me,
my withness, my here.

She Didn't Mean to Do It

Daisy Fried

Oh, she was sad, oh, she was sad.
She didn't mean to do it.

Certain thrills stay tucked in your limbs,
go no further than your fingers, move your legs through their paces,
but no more. Certain thrills knock you flat
on your sheets on your bed in your room and you fade
and they fade. You falter and they're gone, gone, gone.
Certain thrills puff off you like smoke rings,
some like bell rings growing out, out, turning
brass, steel, gold, till the whole world's filled
with the gonging of your thrills.

But oh, she was sad, she was just sad, sad,
and she didn't mean to do it.

Article #2

Yoga enthusiasts pursue healthy living at no cost

Yoga instructor Gina MacKay (without mat) leads a Sunday morning yoga class at Lululemon in the Oakridge Centre Mall.

by Linnaea Kershaw

Langara students might be missing out on one of the best-kept secrets – a cheap and easy way to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Right down the street from Langara, Oakridge Mall boasts one of many Lululemons around the city that hold weekly classes for the low, low, price of “free ninety-nine”.

“We have so many connections to teachers because of the nature of our business,” said Kristin Lautrup, Lululemon’s community leader for the Oakridge store. “It allows us to run a whole bunch of classes that people are interested in and promote what we believe in as a company. A way to get people active and promote a healthy active lifestyle.”

There’s no need to sign in ahead of time, as the classes are all drop-in. This makes for a more comfortable, relaxed, and accessible atmosphere. Attendance for the yoga classes are usually between 10 to 20 people.
According to Lautrup, because Lululemon started as a yoga company, the yoga classes are better known but other classes are starting to become more popular as well. A run group, led by a local staffer, every Wednesday night at 6:30 p.m., is starting to grow in popularity.

If anyone has ideas for a session, they can bring them into the store and get put on the calendar as suggestions for future classes. Past classes have included a food workshop to inform the public on how to eat a balanced diet and a cleansing workshop to teach people who are looking to learn more about cleansing their bodies.

A class is going to be held on the Oct. 26 called a Financial Seminar, something never done before on the Lululemon calendar. In these economic times, Lautrup thinks it could be a valuable class for those that want more information on how to keep on top of their financial records.

For more information, people can go to the Oakridge Lululemon mini website, which can be reached from the main Lululemon site. They have a monthly calendar of events. They run a yoga class every Sunday from 9:45 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. and have the running class on Wednesday nights at 6:30 p.m.

Article #1

Oh, and I forgot... my article... Second one down. Look for the name. :p Don't know what I think of it... Feels a bit rushed. And they cut out a lot because they thought it was too flowery but ah well. Good or bad that it's front page of the website?

But then, I'm not exactly ever happy with my baking either. haha.

http://www.langara.bc.ca/voice/

Idiocies of the Less than Coherent...

Yesterday was pretty hilarious. My lack of coherence added to the general tomfoolery. I'm impressed I didn't walk into a wall, really. Went to school, blah blah blah. Normal. Came home, did some cleaning up because Camille was coming over from Whistler and we were heading down to Gastowns, which I hadn't decided whether I was going to race or not.

Went to take the garbage outside, grabbing the keys from beside the front door. As I'm walking outside, I have this thought of, "Ha, wouldn't it be funny if the house keys weren't actually on this chain and I'm now locked out and Becky's already gone out to dinner and I don't have a phone or any way of getting back in..." Chuck the garbage out and look down at my hand and I'm actually holding just two bike lock keys.

Awesome. Just awesome.

As it turns out, Becky took the house keys off my extra set to give to her sister who's visiting. My own fault though really. I definitely think my instincts have been speaking up lately and I just catch on too late or ignore them completely then later think, "A ha! Thaaat's what you were talking about... Sheee-it..."

I almost sat down and cried - that's how great my day was going. After a few minutes of contemplating trying my hand at Parkour to get up on the back deck (Mitchell can do it and he's only, what, a foot taller than me? No sweat. :p), a guy comes down towards the garage and I beg him to let me in. Whew. Thank goodness. Meanwhile, Camille is out front calling my phone to get me to let him in. I tell him my sad story and he kinda just laughs at my sad state with a shake of his head. Yeah, I know... that's going to happen only once, trust me.

Get geared up and head out, returning to the house three times to pick up stuff I've forgotten. Idiot. Thinking we're going to be late, we hammer down to Gastown and find that we're early because everyone's on Vancouver time and don't show up til about 9. That was annoying in kind of a shrugging 'Why do I even bother' kind of way...

I'm humming and hawwing, wondering whether I should race sick, kind of knowing that I can still do it sick and probably still do well sick (that's how dismal the girls' side can be...sigh...), and end up signing up because there aren't enough girls to race a full bracket otherwise.

Strangely enough the bar was full of people I knew, half because most were friends I convinced to come/already were coming, and half because I'm starting to branch out and make new friends in the community (helping out with the race Friday, I take pictures of people and they get tagged on Facebook and therefore want to be my friend [at least on Facebook, haha] so they can see all the pictures). Kinda cool.

End up racing and beating the pants off some girls. :p I have this annoying habit of sitting up at the end of the race if I'm ahead, which I think probably looks awfully egotistical but I can't help it... usually it's because my hair's falling out and I need to fix it. haha.

I kinda do that til I hit the final against Louise, which is again a Roddick/Federer match of stepping onto the court and just having the thoughts of, "Shit. There's no way I'm winning this." Bad thoughts, I know. She's just got so much experience on me and bikes a heck of a lot more. The really unfortunate part this time was that my seatpost wasn't tight enough so it dropped halfway through the race so I was way too low. That sucked. I kinda wish it hadn't because I was doing alright. Ah well, next time. November's the last one so if OSAP comes through, I might have to invest in a wind trainer. :)

Now? Two stories to finish for Tuesday a.m. - One on the H1N1 hysteria at Langara, Second on the Lululemon free events. Meaning I have to go to yoga on Sunday. It's a tough life. :p

Pic du jour:

Aww yeah, cyclocross! I will upload the rest of the pictures, I swear! haha

Quote du Jour:

"Truth often suffers more by the heat of its defenders, than from the arguments of its opposers."