Be on Television

Ok, well I kinda new this one was gonna be accomplished since it was filmed in August. But I was kinda hoping that they might get cancelled before the episode aired and I would gladly not have had the accomplishment. But no, the show as not cancelled... so, yes I was on TV last night.

Essentially, one of my good friends set me up on a hidden camera reality show. The concept, play an elaborate prank that puts me in a really bad situation, and then see if I forgive her. So, she told me I was gonna be screening a dating show with her. The day of, however, she informs me that as a favour to the producer, we would be helping them out by filming the pilot. So, when I arrive, I'm told the show is called Master Dater and that I would have two dates and then decide which one of them was the Master Dater. My first date, a total disaster. A chauvinist who took calls during the date and asked me to pull his finger. My second date was nice, brought fresh flowers and gave me a massage... all great... except, well, it was a woman! So by this point I'm sure that something is going on, but I don't know what yet.

The funny part is, they tell me that my friend told them I would participate in jello wrestling with my two dates, and then proceed to have me change clothes and climb into a rubber pool! Yes I did it, but only because they told me my friend said I would, and I wanted to know why. So after I'm covered in cold red jello, they tell me it's time to choose my Master Dater. What's a Master Dater? The person who can "close the deal" at the end of the date, meaning: go back to a hotel for the night with me! At this point, I lose it, I refuse to choose, and explain to them that I don't "close the deal" on the first date. This is when my friend enters.

I "converse" with her for a minute and she asks me if I'm mad, which I am! Then she asks me if I will forgive her. After some consideration, I decide to. No sooner have a I said the words "I forgive you" then another set of cameras and a host comes out of hiding. Guess what? They tell me I'm on a hidden camera show, and since I forgave my friend I won a trip for two anywhere in North America.

It was amazing! I still haven't decided where to go. But at least I got the jello out of my hair, and accomplished something else from the list. Yup, the show aired at 9pm yesterday on Much Music, hilarious!

Oh yeah, and I HAVE to find a way to get my friend back.... Any ideas?

New Accomplishment!

• Finish learning spanish
• Learn another language (like Mandarin, or Japanese)
• Visit all 5 major continents (so far, I've never left North America):
• See Cairo (Egypt, Africa)
• See Paris (France, Europe)
• See Dubai (UAE, Asia)
• See Rio (Brazil, South America)
• Participate in a group Guiness world record breaking event - November 9, 2006
  
• Break or set my own Guiness world record
• Be on television - First air date: November 20, 2006 NEW!!!!
• Visit my sponsored World Vision Child
  
• Learn how to flamenco dance
• Get a tattoo - October 7, 2006
  
• Ride on the back of a motorcycle
• Learn to play the guitar
• Write "The Book"
• Skinny dip under a full moon
• Own one pair each of: Manolo Blahnik, Jimmy Choo, and Christian Louboutin shoes

The Details (as promised).

Ok, so it seems like the list has been pretty successful so far. I'm actually kinda proud of how well I'm doing, I know of at least one more on the list that well be crossed off before the end of the year.

Get a tattoo: I promise, once I have a good photograph of it I will post a picture of my new healed tattoo. It's on my upper back, behind my left shoulder blade. I'm not going to lie, it hurt, but I actually am looking forward to getting another one. This one is a blue thelymitra orchid, symbol of beauty and wisdom and femininity. The plan is that every time I reach a new milestone in my life, I will acquire a new tattoo. This one commemorates my turning 25! I know, I'm old y'all!

Participate in a Guinness World Record breaking event: Yes, I did it. The Radio City Rockettes wanted to break a record to publicize their first run in Toronto. They were calling on anyone who would come down to participate in breaking the record for the world's longest continuous line of dancers. So, I with about 1200+ of my closest friends and fellow citizens, did a kick line for about 5 minutes. The previous record was 1150, and I'm told we had at least 1200 so the record was officially broken. As a result, I also get to see the Rockettes for free on Saturday. I'll post about that when it happens.

There's a real sense of accomplishment in completing things on this list. More to come!

The list revision

An update to the list!

• Finish learning spanish
• Learn another language (like Mandarin, or Japanese)
• Visit all 5 major continents (so far, I've never left North America):
• See Cairo (Egypt, Africa)
• See Paris (France, Europe)
• See Dubai (UAE, Asia)
• See Rio (Brazil, South America)
• Participate in a group Guiness world record breaking event - November 9, 2006 (see next post!)
  
• Break or set my own Guiness world record
• Be on television
• Visit my sponsored World Vision Child
  
• Learn how to flamenco dance
• Get a tattoo - October 7, 2006 (details to come)
  
• Ride on the back of a motorcycle
• Learn to play the guitar
• Write "The Book"
• Skinny dip under a full moon
• Own one pair each of: Manolo Blahnik, Jimmy Choo, and Christian Louboutin shoes

Wicked Performance!

Last night I went to see the musical Wicked. It was, to pardon the pun, wicked! Fantastic in fact. It's not my first musical, but is by far one of the best that I have seen, and I would highly and easily recommend it to anyone. The costumes are great, the singers unbelievable, the story is fabulous and you end up looking at the Wizard of Oz a whole new way. What a wonderful evening, what a great show!!!! Ok, that's enough... wait...!!!!!!

It's Over NOW!

I'm starting to feel a little bit of sense of accomplishment, because I finally asked my ex to pay me back the money he owes me from long ago. It's been almost 2 years, and he hadn't made a move to make even a 1 dollar payment towards the amount.

Finally, I arranged to meet up with him and we talked it out, I told him what I wanted an we arranged payment. He was angry, even a little scary, but I held my ground. In fact, I would say a lot of closure came from that meeting, and I'm starting to feel a little bit better about how everything ended.

In fact, I feel two things, lucky that I experienced it, and lucky that I got out when I did. Don't get me wrong, I'll always love the guy, but that guy doesn't exist anymore, and I've known that for a long time. That's a growth point for me!

The List - Additions and my first completion!

I actually completed something! And, I had to make one addition.... there will be more.

• Finish learning spanish
• Learn another language (like Mandarin, or Japanese)
• Visit all 5 major continents (so far, I've never left North America):
• See Cairo (Egypt, Africa)
• See Paris (France, Europe)
• See Dubai (UAE, Asia)
• See Rio (Brazil, South America)
• Participate in a group Guiness world record breaking event.
• Break or set my own Guiness world record
• Be on television
• Visit my sponsored World Vision Child (Emily Gabriela Urena Duarte of Costa Rica)
• Learn how to flamenco dance
• Get a tattoo - October 7, 2006 (details to come)
  
• Ride on the back of a motorcycle
• Learn to play the guitar
• Write "The Book"
• Skinny dip under a full moon
• Own one pair each of: Manolo Blahnik, Jimmy Choo, and Christian Louboutin shoes
  

Happy Birthday to me!

Well it's my birthday, so I have to write something. So far it's been a good day. Got the really cute call at 12:01 am from the almost boyfriend. Wanted to be the first and he was, did a great impression of a man doing an impression of Marilyn Monroe singing happy birthday. Told me that I have so many things that I can be proud I've accomplished and made me feel really good.

Parents have been super nice to me, everyone has been real sweet. Getting a TON of text messages from friends all wishing me happiness and love and all the rest.

Co-workers took me out to lunch and then surprised with a whole homemade cake and rice krispy treats. Even had a candle in it.

I'm having dinner with my family, but I suspect this isn't the last surprise of the day. Almost boyfriend said very cryptically today that he felt like he might see me today... which typically isn't possible unless something is up! We'll see if I'm right....

At this point I've already had way too much sugar and will probably eat excessively, well your birthday is always the best time gain back some weight, right? AND Thanksgiving is this weekend - yikes! More food? I don't know if I can take it!

The List - first revision

Thought of something to add, it's a little thing but a nice thing.

• Finish learning spanish
• Learn another language (like Mandarin, or Japanese)
• Visit all 5 major continents (so far, I've never left North America):
• See Cairo (Egypt, Africa)
• See Paris (France, Europe)
• See Dubai (UAE, Asia)
• See Rio (Brazil, South America)
• Participate in a group Guiness world record breaking event.
• Break or set my own Guiness world record
• Be on television
• Visit my sponsored World Vision Child (Emily Gabriela Urena Duarte of Costa Rica)
• Learn how to flamenco dance
• Get a tattoo
• Ride on the back of a motorcycle
• Learn to play the guitar
• Write "The Book"
• Skinny dip under a full moon

The List (first draft)

My one reader is constantly complaining that I don't blog anymore. I know, I'm terrible at this, but I've been thinking about this entry for a long time. I'm making a list (and checking it twice), but it has little to do with being naughty and more with what I do with my life. This is my ultimate "To Do" list. So, I present to you the first draft of things I would like to accomplish before I leave this life. I don't expect to do all of them, but I would like to do at least a few.

So here goes, first draft of The List! Oh yes, and I'm excluding the mundane, traditional, and/or obvious. Please assume that get married, have children, be a millionaire, be happy in my career are a given...

• Finish learning spanish
• Learn another language (like Mandarin, or Japanese)
• Visit all 5 major continents (so far, I've never left North America):
• See Cairo (Egypt, Africa)
• See Paris (France, Europe)
• See Dubai (UAE, Asia)
• See Rio (Brazil, South America)
• Participate in a group Guiness world record breaking event.
• Break or set my own Guiness world record
• Be on television
• Visit my sponsored World Vision Child (Emily Gabriela Urena Duarte of Costa Rica)
• Learn how to flamenco dance
• Get a tattoo
• Ride on the back of a motorcycle
• Learn to play the guitar
• Write "The Book"

Ok, that's all I have for now, I'm being distracted by other things. When I think of some more, i will add them. Feel free to suggest things!

Ciao!

Shoe musings....

After the shoe hunt was over, I spent a little time perusing the aisles of the very posh Hazelton Lanes shopping mall.

I cruised through the stores pretending that I could, on a whim, purchase anything I wanted. Clerks with exotic accents told me they had the "perfect" belt or jeans for me, all grossly out of my price range, but the clerks seemed oblivious! I sauntered between the racks and laughingly admitted that I would "have to consult with my other half before I came home with yet another designer belt!" The clerks happy about the potential sale, giggled as though they knew how that felt, never realizing that I had no ring on my finger.

After doing this for a while, and seeing how outlandish, extravagant and downright pretentious it all was, I realized.... I wouldn't mind this. I wouldn't mind truly walking into a store to buy a belt without giving it a second thought, even at $425. I would love to own multiple pairs of Manolo Blahnik shoes without wondering where I could get a loan to pay for them. I want to be able to shop at Holt Rentfrew. Buy Jimmy Choos when they are NOT on sale AND damaged! I WANNA BEAT IMELDA MARCOS!!!!

Ahem... but now that I know what I want, I just have to figure out how I can get it. Any ideas?

The Shoeaholic Strikes Black!

Last week I met a shoe that I absolutely fell in love with and had to have. My boss had gotten a pair in fabulous blue, and after trying hers on, I had to have them. So, I called the nearest Betsey Johnson shoe store and the clerk (named Erica) offered to help me find the shoe in as many colours as were available in my size. She called stores, check inventories and even sent out a mass email.

Well, yesterday I went into my local Betsey Johnson store (located in the posh Yorkville area of Toronto) and bought the shoes. And though it's a frivolous purchase, I was practical, and decided to by in a practical black. I feel like Cinderella when I wear them, and I pick them up next week!

Yay!!!!!

By the way, this is Glitter Polly!

12 Steps.

Hello, my name is Shae and I'm a Shoe-aholic.

I glad I can be here to share this with everyone.

My problem with shoes started early, I was never comfortable in old shoes and hated wearing ones that didn't match my outfit. I can't remember when I stopped being able to walk by a shoe store, but it's been a long time since I did that. If there's a shoe sale on, it can be a very very bad scene.

I once had to give my best friend a standing order to body-check me to keep me out of a shoe store if he had to. And he had to on more than one occasion.

Yesterday, I laid all my shoes (that I could find) out on the floor. I counted 54 pairs and could easily think of at least 4 or 5 pairs more that were missing. Most people would be overwhelmed when looking at more than 100 individual shoes, but the only thing I could think was: "Damn, I don't have a single blue pair do I? I need blue shoes...."

I buy on average a new pair of shoes at least once a month, sometimes more. I'm wearing a new pair of shoes right now. Incidentally, I will be at the outlet mall this weekend, I still need a pair of blue shoes.

They say the first step is admitting you have a problem. I have a problem. I'm hoping someone out there will help me. So, if you or someone you know can help me find that perfect blue pair of shoes, please do leave me a comment!

Thank you!

I've Got a Story to Tell

I've always said that every little choice you make can alter your life experiences considerably. As with all things this story begins with a simple choice to sit on the patio at a restaurant rather than sitting inside.

We were waiting for friends and I was hungry, so we chose to sit at a Thai-style grill restaurant on College street. The lady said "Sit where you want," and being that the patio was empty, I opted to sit facing the street and do some people watching. It was a warm night, the kind where it was just perfectly comfortable to sit outside, and as the sun set, the city went about making the transition from daytime metropolis into nighttime hotspots. The other seats on the patio were quickly filled.

The restaurant is on a strip of restaurant/grill places and is situated almost right next to another bar/grill patio. On the next patio were a group of middle-aged latin men of different origins and they appeared to be having a heated discussion. My knowledge of spanish, while certainly not rudimentary, was not enough to know what they were talking about.

We ordered drinks, a string of various iced teas and my cocktail, and some food. The waitress set about making our orders and we talked.

At some point, my peripheral vision caught my attention. The argument at the next patio had come to a head, and one man had stood up and punched the other squarely in the head. The other men had managed to separate them; they did that classic testosterone dance. Both men wanting to attack but being barred, making mocking attempts to hit the other.

As I said before the men were middle-aged and latino. The attacker was slim, easily 50, with a belly that betrayed that this was not his first night of beers. Though my knowledge of latin culture is limited, I could easily guess that this man was from the Dominican republic. This conjecture is based solely on the fact that almost every Dominican (from the republic) that I know comes in the same deep dark chocolate hue, reminisant of the slave ancestors that were brought to the island generations ago. He was obviously upset at the other man, and at some point my spanish knowledge recognised him saying something about hitting the other man in the head.

The other man, the attackee, at that point made an almost comical attempt to back-kick the other man, his stout legs barely bending at the knee, confirming for everyone that he was in fact already drunk. He was a different type of latino, very broad; not just in frame, but even his features were broad, his nose and eyes wide. These characteristics I've always associated with Hondurans, based only on this one women I used to know, who easily could have been his sister.

As I said, the Dominican hit the Honduran, and so the others in the group gestured for him to go away, which he did hurriedly. I imagine they must all live in the area, none of them were really dressed for a night on the town. It appeared that they were just relaxing on a warm day at their friendly neighbourhood bar. The men who remained shook their heads and patted the Honduran on his back, a manly gesture I interpret as "what the heck was his problem." The Honduran said in english "I don't know" many times.

My friends and I returned our attention to our own patio. The drinks had arrived, and people sampled drinks they hadn't ordered, and chatted in the warm twilight air.

Some time passed, when my peripheral vision noted something coming with purpose from the other direction. A quick look to my left confirmed that the Dominican had returned and as he marched, quite determined, by our patio, we all noticed that he was carrying something: a 2x4 and a brick. I immediately knew what was going to happen, and looked over in a panic at the Honduran who didn't see it coming. The Dominican pounced on him, passing others on the same patio, and hit the Honduran over the head with the 2x4 in his right hand.

I know that's what he did, but I didn't see it. I watched in horror as the large piece of wood came down, but at the last moment, I turned away. I heard it come down a second time and yelling coming from all directions. The other men on the patio managed to pull the Dominican off, just as his left hand began raising the brick.

The Honduran jumped out of his seat, holding his head, his facial expression conveyed what I imagined him to be feeling. It's similar to how one feels, for the first few seconds, when they stub their toe, the pain so excruciating for that all you can do is hold the affected area and wait for the pain to subside. In fact, he looked as though he might cry.

As this point, I sprung into action. I asked my friend to hand me a phone and noting that no one else seemed to be on their phone, I called 911. When the emergency operator came on the phone I hurriedly explained the situation. What else could I say? I exclaimed: "a man just hit another man in the head witha 2x4!" She told me the police would come and did I think we needed an ambulance. Through a series of questions she determined from me that the Honduran was 50-ish, not bleeding, was indeed conscious and talking, but she sent the ambulance anyway, to my relief.

The operator also asked me about the assailant, the Dominican. Again, through a series of well-trained questions she determined from me that he was about 5'7", mid-50s, medium build about 175 lbs, wearing a dark blue shirt and blue jeans, and a blue hat with a red insignia. My friends supplied some details, where I couldn't fill things in. The operator was patient with me, but had to tell me several times, to speak slower and directly into the phone. Someone pointed out that the Dominican hadn't gone far, he had crossed the street a bit further down and was sitting on a park bench, 2x4 still in hand. I conveyed this information to the operator.

All the while, I kept a watchful eye on the Honduran, making sure he didn't collapse. The operator thanked me and the phone call was over. In the distance we heard sirens. I got out of my seat, and went over to the Honduran who was standing with a bewildered look on his face. I told him that I hoped he was ok with me calling the ambulance because he was hit in the head, and though it probably wasn't serious, he should be checked out. He appeared to understand, but his response was incoherent.

At that point the ambulance arrived, they pointed at me as the one who called, and I directed their attention to the Honduran. They began assessing him and I went back to my seat. Without me noticing, my food had arrived. I couldn't really eat, my hands shook as I tried to appreciate my lemongrass chicken and steamed rice. I know the food was delicious, but I couldn't pay it the attention it deserved.

Someone from the patio kept an eye on the Dominican, reporting he was still there every few minutes until the police arrived. They came out of their cars, and asked around, eventually an officer made her way to our patio. We told her what little else we knew, and that we didn't know what they were arguing. One of our friends pointed to the Dominican, and the policewoman asked us quite clearly if that was "the bad guy." It was comical, but the comedy of it registered only later. She thanked us and she and her partner took their cruiser to the other side of the street.

The Honduran went with the ambulance. I was glad about this, I really wanted him to get checked out. My worst nightmare would have been doing nothing and hearing that a man had died after being hit in the head. Nonetheless, my friends had to reassure me that I had done the right thing by getting involved. Years of living in Scarborough, a place where one rarely gets involved had frightened me.

The police car remained a long time across the street with the Dominican. The police took the 2x4 and placed it in the police car. At some point when we were not looking they loaded him into the car as well, and when we looked back, the police car was gone.

As with any city, once the sirens and lights were gone, it returned to its business, almost unaffected by what had happened. I asked the waitress to pack up my almost untouched meal. We paid our bill and left.

I still can't believe that this happened right in front of us. It's the only time I ever remember being witness to such a thing. I'm sure I'll tell this story over and over again in the next few days.

Nigerian Money Scam

I had never heard of this before, until a friend of mine was selling her furniture online. She posted it everywhere and set up an email address to sell her furniture and was excited when she got a note offering the asking price for her sofa set. The email read like this:

Message By smith: hi, seller i saw ur ad for the sofa,my charity org seach and buy used items for less poeple such as victims of war ,my org is inrested in buying this sofa set for $600 only ,pls reply asap.

Contact details of smith

Email :	simpsongeorge001@yahoo.com
Phone:	2348029683954

Immediately I was uncomfortable with this because of a few things:

1. He never mentions the organization he works for
2. The spelling is horrific
3. The name and email address don't match. This would be ok if the email was a recognized/famoud name, but the email address isn't something like xenawarriorprincess@blah.com.

She emailed him, and not recognizing the phone number, wisely asked him to call her.

Smith got back to her and she received this:

michael james simpsongeorge001@yahoo.com wrote:

hi, am most happy to see u mail me back for response for ur ad ,i would have coll u but am very busy right now ,and perhaps my phone network is engaged ,but not withstanding i will not hesitate to coll u ,pls could u mail me the ad price for those items ,and asap that u would want me to effect the payment ,cos right now i can afford to pay with my check asap , let me know if u are ok by this .pls let me have ur feedback latest by today or tommorow pls,cos now am mobile or better still u can try and call me today,on 2348029683954,THANKS for ur co-operation.SMITH

Notice how now we have 3 names, the name on the email address (Michael James), the name in the email address (simpson, george) and the name in the email (Smith).

She replied back, asking a few questions not the least of which being how to dial that number from Canada.

michael james simpsongeorge001@yahoo.com wrote:

HI, pls sorry for the inconviniences it was due to my job ,i do switch off my phone ,whenever am in the security radio active area,pls as i have told u i can afford to pay by check ,a well certified check,since u have agree to accept check ,i will need to contact my shipper to start making neccessary arrrangement .pls u have to mail me ur personal data ;address ,city ,name in full, and i promise to incure the shipping cost ,added to the ad price ,that is when i have meet my shipper to know the cost of shipping this items to the u.k ,pls i suggest u coll me now, or umail me as soon as u get this , mail or u pls call me , cos of u i will switch on my phone.thanks CLEMENT

Okay, now we have four names, who is CLEMENT?

She asked me so I looked the number up on an area code decoder that fishy feeling I had, grew. The number according to the site was from Nigeria.

Again, I'd never heard of this, but I googled "michael james fraud" and one of the first results was Nigerian Advance Fee Fraud! Coincidence - I think not!

It's a version of what's called a 419 scam. It's called 419 due to the section of the Nigerian penal code regarding fraud. Basically they do a variation of this:

Find someone online who's selling an item, anything, a house, a car, something on ebay, furniture whatever, and agree to buy it. They tell the person they are not in the country and would like to have the item shipped. They always pay with some physical instrument, never cash, usually a cheque or money order of some kind. When the payment arrives, it is for more than the amount owed, with instructions to send the remainder via wire/Western Union to the buyer as a favour.

This is where my knowlege of banking helps! Sometimes it takes a few days for a fraudulent item to come back to the bank where it was deposited. Which means that even if your bank says the cheque or whatever is ok, and it looks ok, it could still come back in a week, or a month from the bank it's issued one to your bank as fraudulent. The way the scam works is that by the time you wire the money away (which you can't get back once it's sent), the cheque won't have been returned. When it does come back fraudulent, you're stuck covering for the whole amount of the cheque, including what you sent away. People lose thousands this way!

There are many variations. Sometimes, they claim to be government contractors looking for bids on a job (this is more for businesses) and ask the bidders to pay advanced fees for the bidding/registration, sometimes they claim to be charitable organizations collecting furniture for schools/hospitals. Always they are from Nigeria. I told my girlfriend all this and we decided it was best just not to get back to the latest email and forget the whole thing.

Today she received this in her inbox, not to my surprise.

hi, i hav not heared from why ,pls am supose to have koll u but am in a business summit in the u.k ,of the commonwealth ,cos am not in the state rigth now ,pls i want u to do me a favour and help this is very urgent,my wife called me this morning that she is in a deep shit and got stranded in west africa ,nigeria to be precise ,where she went for her archeaologist tourist excursion trip, unfortunatly for her the course has just been extendend till 20th of dis month ,and she had accumulated hip of bills to pay the hotel lodged and she can,t make use of her amex platinum card over there cos its is a remote area ,and she hav to pay up her bills up till 20th of july at the experatin of her course ,and also to extend the date of her return ticket to the state ,she has exhusted all her money ,as i hav told u that am in a summit inthe u.k where she called me .pls u are the closeset person that can help me of this situaton pls, all i need of u is to kindly spare me a sum of $300, to settle her bills and also do other neccessary things ,i shall honourably refund this money back to u ,if possible with an intrest ,if u demand ,i will add it up to the bargain price of the items ,which my shipper will deliver the check to u by hand by this u hav full course to smile to the bank .N.B pls if u are sending this amount to her ,pls use western money transfer , so that she can get it easily ,her data is;PITT SMITH ,pls try to coll me on my mobile phone if u will do this favour for me on +2348029683954, THANKS for ur co operattion.SMITH.

So we were right all along, and thankfully listened to our guts! My point, don't let this happen to you. If you ever are selling something online, please don't ever, ever send money in a way that you where not sure if you'll receive the item, use escrow where possible. And never send money by wire to Nigeria!

Lastly, if your gut tells you something is not right. Go with your gut, you may not always be right, but you'll always be glad you did.

Italy in the World Cup

I know I'm not the only person who is upset about Italy being in the World Cup. I know it. Anyone who is not Italian knows it. Some people who ARE Italian know it. It sucks, it sucks, it sucks.... Why? Because you shouldn't be able to cheat and get away with it like that! You shouldn't be rewarded for taking a dive and the ref should be ashamed he fell for it in the first place.

I know they won the Germany game fair and square, but they wouldn't have gotten to be in the game if they hadn't cheated before.

The World Cup has been suffering from this for years, and not just at the hands of the Italians. The famous "Hand of God Goal" by Diego Maradona of Argentina (WC 1986) is another perfect example. Right away he knew what he'd done, but once the ref makes that call, there's no going back, even if a player quite blatantly punches the ball while making a heading motion, making it look like he headed the ball into the goal. He admitted later that he knew right away it wasn't a valid goal and encouraged his teammates to hug him to make it look real!

So, the Italy team may win the World Cup this year, but if they do, believe me, only the Italians will be smiling.

I say we bring instant replay into the World Cup and allow each team one disputed call per game, add the time it takes into injury time, and make it possible for unfair calls to be recalled. OR have multiple Refs make the call (much like in baseball, where one ump can confer with the others when he's not sure). Either way, something's got to change to make the world's most popular game more fair!

An Involuntary Cold Shower

So, last night my hot water heater after 20 years of steadfast servitude, breathed it's last. Should I say more precisely, it leaked it's last onto my basement floor.

Luckily my dad discovered the leak almost immediately, but nonetheless we're stuck with the annoyance of either a) boiling water to have warm water to bathe in, or b) using very very cold water. Neither option is that appealing but we're coping.

So you figure something like this, they've got a top notch system over at the gas company for fixing such things. I mean no Canadian should have to live without hot water, summer or no summer. This is NOT the caribbean here, we are not all year around warmed by the sun, looking forward to the cool water as a respite from the heat.

Besides that, for some reason this water from the tap is colder than any other water known to man, I'm convinced it somehow manages to be below freezing and stay liquid.

Anyway, I learned that the gas company in fact does not have a well oiled machine equipped to quickly repair this problem in a reasonable amount of time. They're coming tomorrow a full 2 days later, and they won't even say when they're coming, they've given us a "window" of six hours in which they could come at any time. Which means they could show up at 10 or at 4 and it's the same to them. Well not to me! I have two more showers in the frigidity before this will come to an end and that's IF they fix it when they do come.

For this kind of thing it should be routine in and out and we'll be there at 10:23 ma'am no later. They should have teams of people dedicated to making sure water heaters are repaired 'round the clock, as they are reported! I mean, have THEY every tried taking a shower in water so cold it makes your bones hurt? Maybe if they did, they wouldn't be so damned nonchalant about their "window" and I wouldn't have to be convincing myself I won't catch pneumonia tonight.

I know I can go to a family members or one of my friend for a shower. But there's something to be said for being in your own home for these kind of things. Same reason I hate showering at the gym. It's not my shower, I feel out of place and I'm almost guaranteed to forget something crucial to my shower success. Nonetheless, I might mooch some hot water off my Aunt anyway, there's no use in dying over the principle of the thing, right?

In the depths of Scarborough.

Ok, so I'm a posting fool right? Well here are some photos I took in Scarborough. This is beautiful Lake Ontario at a little known park....

Squirrel's Gone Wild

One of my best friends in the world has been mentioning for some time that he is helping raise some baby squirrels. One fell down his chimney, and when he went to the vet with him, the vet managed to get him to adopt some more. He's going to set them free once he's sure it's warm enough. But in the meantime, the older one is just a riot. So, here's some video of Momiji in action.... Oh yeah, Momiji, that's his name....


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That's a fur cap....


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Tickle, tickle....

Hell Hath No Fury.

I have to ask a question of the world! Specifically 1/2 of the population. Those that have a Y chromosome. What makes you think you can get away with anything? Even your most accomplished liars eventually are found out. So why do it, why attempt when you know the best you can hope for is eventual, deferred, failure?

I ask this question because of late I've been watching my best friend peel away the layers of a very thick web of lies. Things found, often in plain sight, that he never thought would be found. Things left innocently as though they have nothing to offer hide dusty grey secrets. Things said that appeared to have no meaning are thick with implications. And it just makes me wonder....

What is it about you guys that makes you think you can fool us? You see our good-hearted loving nature and long for what? To see how much you can get away with, just because you can? For the most part, we always know something is up. We always know on some deep level. It may not be apparent to us, but once the gate is open, we can show you exactly how far down the fence goes.

So I offer this piece of wisdom: don't try. No matter what you think, you can not get away with it. Eventually you will slip up, and we are swift and quick-witted enough to know when you do.

A Dream Deferred....

A very thoughtful man in my life posed a question to me recently and I decided it to put it out there. It's something that should be given much thought, discussed and debated.

So, for Jac, I present:

A Dream Deferred
by Langston Hughes

What happens to a dream deferred?

Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore--
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over--
like a syrupy sweet?

Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.

Or does it explode?

Holy Moly

It's been a month! It seems like much much longer than that, but it works out to be a little more than a month. I have updates coming soon I promise. Right now, just dealing with what life has thrown my way. Please lookout for: the funny BBQ story, an upsetting story about how ungrateful your family can be, a squirrely family and what I hope is the final chapter in a love saga that should now be over.

Actually, let's do that one now. No details, just that a dear friend of mine, one of my best friends in this crazy world had her heart broken to pieces by a man that I can only nicely describe as a fool. She's suffering because she has a good heart and she loves him in spite of his flaws, which means the greatest tragedy is that he doesn't see what a gem he could have had. To her I say, though it may be dark and grey now, eventually you begin to see light again, believe me as I have been there! I do plan on talking to him myself, and at first I was just going to curse at him, but I changed my mind. What I will do is curse him.

I'm putting out here online too, so it's in writing somewhere.

TO A.N. :

Until you do right by she that you have hurt, everything that you touch will turn to dust.
Every hope, every dream, every attempt will fail miserably and almost without reason.
Until you make it right by her and by me every overture will fall flat, every effort be a waste of your time. And though at times it may seem like you have found some luck, you will always discover that whatever or whomever you have depended on secretly abhor and disappoint you. Until you have made ammends, the heavens are closed to you, no light will shine on your heart, and you will feel the same blackness that has overtaken those that you have hurt. And until that day when things are made right, I pity you for the fool that you are and the shame that you will always be.

---------------

I know that it's bitter and morbid, but a curse is a curse, may God do what he will with it!

Training a Super User

I am right now, as we speak, at work trying to train some colleagues on how to use the new tool I've been helping with. They have come here from overseas (Malaysia, Kladno, Italy) to use the tool while it's still in it's testing and debug phase. It's not the best, but the Super Users are great and I've made a couple of great new friends that I think I will keep.

There's :
Hani - who is the sweetest lady I have ever met, very smart and kind
Vim - the funny one, he's liking Molson Canadian beer though!
and Tommy - mi amigo italiano, who's teaching me how similar spanish and italian really are.

There are other students and they are just great - now, if only the tool would co-operate with us! Murphy's Law!

Ciao!

Laser Quest

My work had a "team-building exercise" at LQ today. Two sessions of
laser tag and the opportunity to shoot at your bosses. It was so much
fun!

On top of that, met a nice guy who works there and asked me for my number!

Then the team went for drinks at Boston Pizza and since the Director
came along he paid!

So: free games + possible date + free meal = what a good day! Wish all
days could be this nice.

Moving?

JS asked me to be his roommate, and I'm actually considering it. I think I can actually afford it and I'm excited about it.

It would be nice to have that independence to go out when I want, or have someone over at 10:00 on a Sunday night (which I'm apparently not allowed to do despite my age). Also, going out and not having someone make me feel guilty about it because she's gonna stay up worrying if I'm ok.

I have to of course get some final numbers about how much this will all cost. But it still seems like a great opportunity. I just have to think about it!

Ciao!

It's been a long time....

Wow, two weeks without a post, what am I on? LOL

I've been crazy busy and had not time to think about this blog. Sorry blog, I still love you!

What's been up? Craziness! A few dates, a few crises, living life!

My girl had her car stolen, then found, then had to fix it! Love you NA! Still say you should get a Honda!

Found a whole new hobby - googlewhacking, and as nerdy as it sounds, I actually like it. Read all about it on the web page. Look for Shae on the googlestack - yes that is actually me!

Went to the One of a Kind Show with JJ and JS, sister and bmf, lots of cool stuff, wish I was rich enough to buy some of it. Have to say my favourite booth was Fixeight I love MARLA!

Rented a few good movies. Just Friends is hilarious, especially if you have siblings.... Just trust me.

Other than that, it's been work, gym, eat, sleep, repeat!

I know I shouldn't have left you without a dope beat to step to! My bad, I'll try not to do that again.

Ciao!

St. Patty's Day Dance.

Went to a fundraiser for the Wexford 49 soccer team my cousin plays on. It was a dinner and dance themed in St. Patrick's day fare. And I actually had fun. Why?

1. Free drinks (enough said)
   
2. Two words - door prizes! I never win anything, my parents always win something. Sitting across from them, the family luck kicked in and I won a $100 gift certificate for Futureshop
3. Good music
4. Amazing five course meal!
   
5. Dancing with the fam - no stress that some guy is going to come and try to get with me on the floor.

Well ok, that last one isn't true because this one guy did show up, but I gave him an equally cold shoulder to what he gave me, he was out of line. But otherwise the night went well.

Actually, I just never knew that St. Patty's Day was such a big deal for people. I was downtown and there were people lined up to get into the bar. Like it was full to capacity and people were actually forced to wait to get in! Shoot, all I ever did for this holiday was wear green. Apparently it's a great excuse for some people to get drunk. Meh, maybe next year? I think it's a Saturday next year look out!

Fishy Friday Thoughts - All Kidding Of Course

I'm Catholic, and the season of Lent started a few weeks ago. It lasts 40 days and leads up to Easter the second biggest (but some would say the most important) holiday in the Catholic calendar.

It's traditionally a time of reflection, and most Catholics are obliged to give something up for the full 40 days (I gave up chocolate - a big sacrifice!). In addition, adults are supposed to abstain from meat on Fridays, allowing us only to eat fish. (Ever wonder why McDonald's always makes Filet O'Fish the special on Fridays?)

Anyway, so I'm eating my fish and chips at lunch today, and I'm thinking to myself that today I'm eating like most vegetarians do everyday. Apparently, today I had a weird train of thought to ride.

So, I start thinking about how vegetarians that eat fish are still eating an animal, just one that was killed in a "humane" way, essentially by drowning in air. I've never gotten why it doesn't count as meat.

So then THAT got me thinking, if someone is a vegetarian because they think it's unethical to eat animals that are killed inhumanely, and they still eat fish, would they eat beef if the cow were drowned in water? Probably not, but what would be the justification then? Essentially it's the same way we kill fish, just fish drown in air, not water.

Then I thought, if you're a vegetarian that eats fish (and doesn't eat other meat on the basis of cruelty to animals) , would you eat lobster? Because I think of all the ways to kill something - boiling them while they are still alive is among the least humane ways to do it. You wouldn't catch someone flash-frying a chicken would you? There'd be an uproar about that, there would be a coalition, a www.savethefriedchicken.com complete with petitions.

So, why are fish different? Does PETA have a fish preservation committee? Why is it we can catch and kill them en masse and there's no fight about it? They only argue that some fishermen kill too many at one time. It's volume that they worry about!

You don't see Pamela Anderson calling on Americans to boycott StarKist Tuna do you? Oh no! But she will ask Kentucky to take Colonel Sanders' bust from the Kentucky Legislature!

I say - Save the FISH! Throw them back! Say NO to fish! Call StarKist before a grand jury for cruelty! Do something!

Ok, really now, I think I'm gonna go back to eating meat. Lack of meat is obviously doing something to my brain. That and, well... Crack kills! People, stay away from crack!

Earth

Well, last night I sat down and watched Earth, the 2nd in the Deepa Mehta elemental trilogy.

Earth is all about the independence of India (and Pakistan) in the 1940's. Centering on the rioting, fighting, and ethnic killing that occurred between Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims while independence was taking its hold.

The movie, like Mehta's others is rich with meaning, beautiful cinematography, and attention to detail. It also doesn't have a happy ending (as the others don't - spoiler!).

I would highly recommend anyone to watch this movie, as long as you can appreciate a good film, even with out the Hollywood ending.

Water Signing

Months ago, I saw a wonderful movie with the most wonderful woman in my life, my best girlfriend. We watched it together and both cried at the end, the movie was beautiful and touching and perfectly done. It had been featured at the Toronto Film Festival, and was very popular, but not mainstream. 

The movie is called Water and it is set in the 1930's. It's about a girl who is married to an old man when she is quite young. He dies when she is 8, and as is custom, she is sent away to a widows house to spend the rest of her days. Ok, I'm not doing the movie much justice, if you haven't seen it, just see it!

Well anyway, the director, Deepa Mehta, is a Canadian, and one of the starring cast members, Lisa Ray, is a Canadian, so yesterday, Blockbuster held a signing for people purchasing the movie on DVD. My best boyfriend (not to be confused with a boyfriend - which I don't have one of) and I went and stood in line for the DVD signing.

The movie is actually part of a trilogy (not in the sense that one leads into another), there is a theme among Deepa Mehta's last three movies: Fire, Earth and finally Water. I purchased all three to be signed (only realizing that I'd actually seen Fire as well and that one is good too!).

I have so much respect for this director, that I was actually nervous (and my ankles were shaking), at meeting her. She signed my DVDs, I expressed my pleasure in meeting her and how wonderful her movies were. As they were signing I snapped a quick photo of them, and then my 30 seconds were up (that's all the time they gave you).

While I was waiting for my BBF to get his DVD's signed, I was so excited I jumped up and down. At seeing this, one of the Blockbuster employees asked me if I had gotten a photo with Mehta, which I had not. He offered to take one for me, even though my turn was over, saying that I was so excited that it would be his pleasure. They actually stopped the line, so I could take a picture with Deepa Metha and Lisa Ray, which came out relatively ok. But man, was it cool.

My only regret? I wish my best girlfriend could have been there with me, because I know she would have been just as excited, if not more excited, than I was. Not only to meet a great director, but to actually meet someone who has worked extensively with one John Abraham, famous and extremely handsome Indian actor (also a star in Water). To her I say - I love you and I thought of you the whole time. You will meet him yet!

Anyway, that was my interesting moment yesterday. I highly recommend seeing all three movies, to anyone. See them I tell you! Go, NOW!

A Bad Dream

What is it about a bad dream that can ruin your whole day?

I had a bad dream last night. Someone, who I love dearly, changed his
number and was refusing to talk to me.

So, I wake up in an odd place. I don't want to call, what if I'm
right? Better yet, what if I'm wrong? What would I say?

Loving something that you can't be near to sucks. My day didn't start
well, all because of a bad dream. :(

WORST DJ Ever!

I went to Chocolate Lounge with my friend last night for a party. The place is nice, once big room with couches and a few tables. I thought I was going to have a nice time.

When I came in, they had some nice reggae going. But I new something was wrong when one reggae song stopped dead before the other one started. The key to a good DJ is mixing songs so that they seemlessly mix into one another. So to summerize my horrible music experience, I'd like to present:

Top Ten Signs You Should Not Be A DJ (in no particular order)

1. You can't mix one song into another when they have the same beat.
2. You can't mix one song into another when they have similar beats.
3. The promoter has to interrupt to thank people for staying.
   
4. You have to "pulllll uuuupp" on ever song just to keep the crowd hyped.
5. Even the bouncers are talking about how bad you are.
6. There are less than 100 peeps in the club at last call.
7. Your reggae selections include "Could you Be Loved" by Bob Marley.
8. You cut the music to hear the crowd singing along and there's no one singing.
9. You play the same song twice in a row because you don't know what to play.
10. You choose Backstreet Boys to play at last call.

Yes folks, all these things occurred last night, and I am apalled. Luckily I had good company, otherwise the night would have been a total wash out. I told the promoter on my way out that if he ever wanted a real DJ I could find him one, but this guy should never play in this town again.

The Drive.

I have a bad habit of looking around at other cars to see who's in them. You never know if your future husband is in the next car and all you have to do is cause a collision! (ok, I'm kidding about the collision part).

I don't know if I take an odd route, or what, but I'm consistently noticing that on my way to work, I see very few black people driving along with me. I don't know what that's about, I mean, I'm black, I drive to work, but when I look around, it's not my peeps I'm seeing driving too. I mean, I know that most black people have jobs, but I don't see them on the street.

Are they all taking the bus? Is it true what they say about us not being able to wake up in the morning? I mean, true it's sometimes a little hard to roll my butt out of bed, but damn!

I've noticed this for a while, and it depresses me somewhat. I'd like to see more of my people on my way to work. So I can throw one fist in the air and say "yes, we're on our way to work!" It's just how I feel.

Don't Do This!

Ha ha, well I learned something new today, the hard way.

As part of this ever-expanding health kick that yours truly has been on, I decided to finally start taking my vitamins again. Woke up this morning, saw the bottle, read the instructions and decided that I would take it right then and there.

NEVER DO THIS! Almost immediately I felt a queasy feeling in my stomach. You'd think that natural supplements wouldn't affect someone like this.

My sister tells me apparently, that you should not take vitamins on an empty stomach. I know I never will ever again. My stomach has been in revolt mode all day! I think the Beta-Carotenes are out to get me! I've been fighting waves of Iron Nausea! I've been burping up Vitamin B!

OK, I'm exaggerating, but damn, it makes you sick!

All I can say is that should have been on the bottle in bold letters like this:
WARNING: Ingesting the contents of this bottle on an empty stomach will cause you to vomit all over your patent leather pumps!

Well I guess I just said it for them. Ooooohhhh my stomach!

Wanted: Someone to go to Paris with.

I decided I wanted to travel as much as I could, since I'm young and
single. Last year I went to Cuba and Vegas.

I want to get off this continent this year. Originally, I wanted to go
to Fiji, but that's mega bucks. Added to that, I don't know what I
could do there other than chill on the beach. Mind you, I like
chillin' on the beach but I like sightseeing too.

So, I settled on Paris. Why? Ha ha, mostly because of the DaVinci
Code. It described Paris so vividly I have to see it myself.

Here's the problem. I want to go in September. All my friends are
either in school (graduate school), broke, or crazy busy working.

I can't go alone. I'm hoping something comes through. I hear Paris is
beautiful in autumn!

Any volunteers?

The Devil on my Shoulder

I just found someone's cellphone in the ladie's room and turned it in.

For a split second though (a nanosecond really), I thought to myself, what if I just take this cellphone (which is practically new) and use it myself? Call long distance or get the number changed....

Sigh, being good sucks, because if you're a good person you do the right thing, even when you could get more benefit from being wrong. Like turning in a wallet you found with all the money in it.

But then I have to think: if it were me, wouldn't I want to find out that my cellphone or wallet got turned in, and in tact?

As a side note, I believe the security guard has a secret side business selling lost belongings... I don't know he just seems shady to me....

Sorry - this is just a random thought!

What's up with that?

What is it about business people that makes them too important to read their emails. You'd think these would be the people that would carefully read each email to ensure that they know what they're getting into before they reply.

In my work I send out lots of emails with specific instructions, sadly, the majority of the time people send them back incomplete or simply wrong because they didn't take the time to read the email. Even a quick skim of the email would bring attention to the important instructions as they are bolded and often  **starred** in order to stand out from everything else.

It bothers me! Grrrr....

IJustWannaThink

Ok, so I needed a place to put down my thoughts before they got all crammed up in my head and I ended up saying them. I had a whole bunch of things I was gonna say, but now that I can say them I can't think of a single one.

Except: after 2 days, I'm suddenly the worlds biggest blogging fool! I can't stop thinking about what I'm gonna write next.... It feels really good to just be able to say what I think about something. I was never good at keeping a diary, mostly because it meant having to sit and handwrite! Who does that? So, usually, my thoughts just stay in my head until I end up ranting to one of my very patient best friends.

I'm so lucky to have two of the most wonderful best friends a person could ask for. Just thought I would say thank you for that from the top of this blog. Hope they get to read it sometime. Just makes you feel lucky, because I know that most people don't even have one best friend that they could count on. I've got two! Yay!

Ok, so I'm gonna go back to work, and probably remember all those things I wanted to say. When that happens there will be more.

Cheers!