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!