counting the things I've done pt. 2

Once again I have totally blanked on my blogging duties.  I do have a few reasonable excuses – I spent much of February traveling.  And then quite a bit of March sitting on my ass doing nothing.  But what else is new?  So here it goes – another list counting of things I’ve been doing whilst not updating my blog:

1. A trip to NYC - really, you ask? That seems like kind of a big deal, why haven’t you mentioned it until now?  See excuse number two above.  Went with the guy mentioned in my 1997-1998 journal – the boy in question who I planned to break up with even though we weren’t actually dating.  We’re still not dating, so why would we go to NY together you wonder?  Not sure really, except that for some reason we are still friends and seem to see each other every 4 years, in kind of awesome locales – Chicago, Banff, Paris, St. Moritz and NYC.  Was a super fun trip – not much to report really.  Hit up some good restaurants, wandered the streets of Soho, walked across the Brooklyn Bridge (pictured here in blurry instagram glory), went to the Met, watched the skaters of Central Park, etc. It's still not clear to me how we've managed to stay friends these past 15 years, whilst living in 10 different cities on 2 different continents, but we have, and it's pretty cool.
2. A few days of skiing – not enough really, but still good.  Two of the days were with the bride who prompted the ultimate wedding dos & don’ts list (and yes, I'm going to hell for continuing to bash it almost 2 years later).  At any rate, there have been a few snowstorms in the past month and so I’ve had a couple of powder days which were fab.  Hope to get a few more days in before the end of the season.
3. Work trips – to really exciting places like Wallaceburg, ON, Fort Nelson, BC and Wetaskiwin, AB.  On the first one I had some angry farmers question my integrity.  On the second one I went for drinks at a Boston Pizza where we were the only women in the bar.  On the third one, one of the SWAG items was a little case holding mints and toothpicks.  Those really are the highlights.
4. A drag show – self-explanatory.
5. Watching Friday Night Lights – I’m a late convert to the show, which means I’m watching all 5 seasons on itunes and on my PVR.  AH has been talking about it for years, but I never managed to watch it live, which is probably a good thing.  Watching all episodes back to back to back is awesome.  I’m slightly obsessed really.  I almost feel like I live in Dillon, TX.  And it makes me sad that I could never date Tim Riggins.  It also makes me sad that Taylor Kitsch’s  John Carter movie was so horrible.  He still looks good though.  And because he looks so good, I will forgive him for choosing another stupid movie to star in (Battleship) and go see it, if only because both Landry and Eric happen to be in it.
6. Wine – a few weeks ago we had an impromptu gathering for post-work bevies that went completely off the rails.  I met a Dutch guy who had just moved to 4 weeks previous and I’m pretty sure I impressed him with my ability to answer his skill testing question – how many Hollands fit into Alberta.  My answer was 20.  Everyone else guessed 4-6.  The real answer is 16.  So I won.  If I hadn’t had 5+ glasses of wine by that point, I’m pretty sure that I would have answered exactly 16.  SS met a guy who seems like a good guy, but he was uber-drunk and so when exchanging numbers, he gave her the wrong one.  Luckily they have a few friends in common.  One of the being Rat Guy (see – this blog always comes full circle)and so Drunk Jeff (also known as New Jeff and Good Jeff) emailed him to get SS’s contact info.  Rat Guy then had to swallow his pride and send her an email inquiring if it was ok for him to pass along her number.  They’ve had one date – the jury is still out, but it could be promising.
7. Research – AZ is going to NYC this week for work but whilst there is going to a “housewarming/birthday/magazine cover celebration” party.  It is being hosted by the mother a famous gentleman, who happens to be both single and a billionaire.  Sadly said gentleman won’t be there, but I still looked into his history and it’s a shame that he’s unavailable because AZ is already blonde and so could potentially have become the next Mrs. Musk.  Plus he’s building a spaceship to Mars (because that's a totally normal thing to do) and if she did some interplanetary travel, that would make a really great blog entry.  One that wouldn't take me two months to update.

on laziness and vampires

I have been remarkably bad at updating my blog this summer and so on this Saturday night as I lie here on my couch catching up on True Blood - which as a sidebar, I think we can all agree went super downhill this year - I don't know about you, but I don't care about witches. At all. Also, Eric in sport shorts and hoodies? Me no likey - give me back the black leather and tank tops. At least in tonight's episode he was back ... when he ripped that dude's heart out and then licked his finger? Well, come on. Just beautiful.

Ok, back to the task at hand. Now that September has arrived and the fun of summer is slowly coming to an end (more on that later), I vow to get back to the blogging on a more regular basis. Because I know my 7 readers have missed me, I will write something at least twice a week! Oh and I will also eat fewer carbs and exercise more regularly. I find I need to set more than one goal, because then if I only meet one, I don't feel so badly about totally failing at the others.

on weddings and swedish berries

It's been awhile since I went on my wedding rule rant (found here). And since then I've been to 3 weddings. For those keeping count, that makes 4 in 8 months. And I just RSVP "no" to one in August. Seriously. This is my life.

I don't really have too much to add to the rules that were previously discussed as all 3 weddings actually followed them very closely. They all had great food, open bar, and very satisfying guest gifts (tea strainer spoon, candy loot bags and cake balls). The speeches were short and sweet at all of them (although at wedding #2 there was errant speech by the mother-of-the-bride read by the aunt-of-the-bride that was not quite as touching as she probably had hoped for), flowers and decor were lovely and not-at-all over the top, and the only ceremony to symbolize their love for each other was the actual ceremony (yes, I'm talking to you mr. made up candle and/or sand ritual).

The groom in wedding #3 was Indian, which made for some fantastic music. I've decided that no matter what ethnicity the man I marry is, we will have definitely be having some of this music playing in the background during dinner and then for a few dances as well. I'm sure it will seem perfectly normal.

Unsurprisingly I didn't really meet any new men at the various weddings. That whole "weddings are a great place to meet singles" is truly a fallacy. Only once in the 17 thousand weddings that I've been to has that actually happened to me. He was cute. He was South African and he wore a kilt as the groom was Scottish. We are now facebook friends and I thoroughly enjoy all of his rugby and cricket updates. At wedding #1 I was the only single girl there. Actually I take that back, HG was there and she was on her own, but only because her husband works in Syria. Yep, you read that right, Syria. Because that's a safe place to be right now. So she was my quasi-date - I got the fish, she got the red meat, we split the dessert. You know the drill.

At wedding #3 I didn't drink enough to hit on any of the young men there (and I really mean young - we're talking mid twenties - tops). At wedding #2 I had kind of a funny moment, especially as it relates to this blog. And the post from June 7th of last year in particular (click here). As pictured above, there was a candy bar at this wedding, which included swedish berries. There was also a Swedish guy there. So I asked him "what do you call these tasty treats in your homeland?" His response? "Candy." Smart ass.

my younger self

On my recent trip to "home" (where my parents live), I found a couple of diaries, hidden in plain sight in my bedside table. Am guessing my mom has probably read them, which is pretty embarrassing because the diaries themselves are somewhat mortifying. Running intermittently from September 1997 to December 1999, they are an account of my inner most thoughts as well as the events and travels that happened when I lived in France in 97-98, back in Halifax for my last year of university in 98-99 and then back to France for a year of teaching in 99-2000. I was a young 21 year old ... I was always thought I was quite mature for my age, but looking back, not so much. Naivete is a good word to describe my mindset. Although it's interesting because the majority of the entries happen as I'm taken far out of my comfort zone, living on a different continent, speaking a different language and meeting people from all over the world, so I probably shouldn't be too hard on myself. A few gems are below, as well as what they mean to me now are below (there is also plenty of introspection, but I think I'll keep those entries to myself for now):

• October 11, 1997: "Last night we had so much fun ... our wine only cost $4. Then we went to Bugsy's and everybody was there. We got a beer and hung out but we decided we wanted to dance - so we went to Honky Tonk's to bust a move." Um, everybody? I have no idea who would be considered everybody. Nor would my 34-year old self drink $4 wine. And what kind of town has bars called Bugsy and Honky Tonk? Although I do still use the term "bust a move."

• November 11, 1997, discussing a boy I had a crush on: "I broke off our relationship, not that we really had one, but after the events of the weekend, my crush has faded, although I still like flirting with him - he is a great friend even though he's a slut." A little harsh perhaps? Also, I love that I broke up with him even though we weren't dating. The funny thing is that we are still friends. I wonder if I should tell him how mean I was.

• November 23, 1997: "Last weekend we hopped on a train and went to Barcelona. Wow - it was so much fun. I couldn't believe how many people were out on just a random Saturday night - 8PM looked like Ottawa on Canada Day or general admission at a U2 concert. Shopping was like the last hour on Christmas Eve - absolute chaos. But I got some new boots and a sweater." I'm guessing we also saw all the Gaudi architecture and went to a few museums, but I obviously wasn't that interested. And I still own those boots.

• December 21, 1997: "We went to Paris and KM peed on the eiffel tower." I laughed out loud reading this entry. In her defence, she has a very weak bladder and I was probably taunting her.

• January 23, 1998: "Wow, it is so beautiful out right now. I am sitting on a park bench - it is 4:30 in the afternoon, in the middle of winter, I am wearing only a sweater (well, pants too), the sun is shining, there are people and dogs frolicking in front of me, I'm listening to that cool Bjork song and wishing I were in a movie." Cool Bjork song could be any of her songs really, I'm gonna go with "It's Oh So Quiet."

It goes on and on, but is really only funny to me. So let's just leave it there and ponder the all important question: what the hell ever happened to Bjork?

May the best men win ...

So I haven't really discussed the World Cup, not sure why really. But I have been watching. As has the rest of the world apparently. I was super stocked when Landon Donovan scored in extra time so the US moved on. I enjoyed watching the Ghana - Uruguay shoot out on high def TVs at the Sony Store at Market Mall on Friday afternoon. I watched Spain beat Paraguay Saturday afternoon at the Ship ... When Spain scored on the penalty shot (which was then called back) a grown man did a cartwheel in front of me. Awesome.

So while I do enjoy soccer - it is actually one of the only sports I stuck with my whole life - I also enjoy the fact that the World Cup is played by hot, fit men. And so, as there are 4 teams left, below are my top picks for hotness on the German, Spanish, Dutch and Uruguayan squads

1) Germany ... from left to right: Marcell Jansen, Pitor Trochowski and injured captain Michael Ballach

2) Spain ... from left to right: Cesc Fabregas, Xabi Alsonso, Iker Cassilas

3) Holland ... top row from left to right: Maarten Stekelenburg, Michel Vorm, Stijin Schaars, bottom row: Rafael van der Vaart

4) Uruguay ... Andres Scotti and Diego Lugano (I think, there are like 4 Diegos on the team - it gets confusing)

Of course, Sweden didn't make the final four ... well didn't make it to the World Cup period, otherwise you know they would be my top picks. So while there are four very well matched teams, I am cheering for Holland to go all the way. In addition to the hotness of Schaars and Van der Vaart in particular, I also really like the colour orange, generally think that Dutch people are very nice, and they are probably one of the best teams to have never one the World Cup (see, it's not just about the men, I do sort of know what I am talking about). So get out your vuvuzuelas and cheer on your favourite! May the best men win!

I hear the water in Arkansas is ... very hard

These were the words uttered by Bill to Sam in the second most amazing scene in last night's season premiere of True Blood. The most amazing scene was of course the one where Eric was naked.

I am really not a fan of the vampire phenomenon ... my utter hatred of Twilight could take up a post of its own. I read the first book in an effort to understand the pop culture zeitgeist and once I finished it, I vowed not to read anymore. The writing was horrible, the circumstances ridiculous, and the characters wooden. The message it sends to young girls is horrible too - Bella can never be complete unless Edward is around? And it's ok to get engaged before you are out of high school? I think not. If I was really interested in the principles of your Mormon faith Stephanie Meyer, I would talk to the guys who wear the ill-fitting suits and wander around getting doors slammed in their faces. Plus the whole phenomenon of grown women lusting after 17-year old Jacob Lautner is just creepy (yes, I'm talking to you RB).

So back to True Blood - campy adult fun with telekenetics, shapeshifters, werewolves, meanads and vampires. And this guy. Highly recommended.

game six

Tonight is game six between the Hawks and the Flyers. The Stanley Cup could potentially be given out tonight. Often times I am all over the finals, but I gotta say, this year I couldn't care less. Probably because my two teams (the Flames and the Sens) lost early on and then the cinderella-story Habs couldn't quite complete the fairy tale ending. Last year was much more exciting, for a variety of reasons.

First off, the Red Wings, a team I appreciate because of their continued dominance and longevity, was once again in the finals. The fact that they have a whole bunch of Swedes who play for them helps too. Sadly, this year, instead of Zetterberg's handsome playoff beard, we get Patrick Kane's mullet. Secondly, Sid the kid took home the cup, cementing his status as The Next One. I'm sorry, but I just can't root for Chris Pronger. Finally, and dare I say most importantly, during the 2009 finals I was involved in a rather steamy bet that as Christie so deftly pointed out, had no losers. This year, I have no such luck.

swedish vs swedish

So today at work someone brought in a costco-size bag of Swedish berries. I ate quite a few. Maybe even half the bag. It got me contemplating the age old question ... which do I prefer, Swedish berries or Swedish men? Looking at the evidence, I'm not entirely sure.

exhibit a: tasty treat (aka candy)


exhibit b: tasty treat (aka Alexander Skarsgard)



I will definitely have to think on this one.