Not Thinking Outside the Sandbox .............. << previous // next >>

Sunday July 2nd, 2006. - 8:13 PM

Alas, my vow to my readers has been broken, even though my intentions were good. I promised my readers that I would write an entry in here once a month, but June came and flew by like the colours in the wind. Perhaps it's a good sign that I've been really busy having a life or you might just think that I've become a stuck-up snob. Hey, it could be worse, y'know? At least I didn't use hair tonic to grow my nose hair and decorate them with dainty, metallic beads and tiny bells.

Still, I hang my head in shame because I prided myself on keeping my promise for over a year. It challenged me to get OFF my butt, only to get back ON my butt and type on the computer to you and the Pink Elephant in the room.

So much has happened since my last entry and I was planning to write a new entry on the last Thursday in June, but I felt too mentally exhausted after work, so I put it off until Friday night. As you can see, that didn't happen.

Although I was originally supposed to go to a restaurant with a co-worker, that plan fell through like Ricky Martin off the face of the earth, but thankfully, I still had plans for Friday night, but elsewhere and with other people. One of my boyfriend's best friends, Daniel, had just split with his girlfriend of about 8 years. To celebrate his freedom (and to have an excuse to drink lots of alcohol and eat great food), Mike, Daniel, and Anthony were going to have a barbeque at Anthony's place.

Daniel really knows how to cook a lot of amazing food. He's Italian and his family is stereotypically large. I guess he grew up learning how to make dishes from scratch. At the barbeque, we had steaks, chicken legs, and grilled vegetables. For booze, we had tequila, Amaretto, this butterscotch-flavoured alcohol, and some other strawberry cream-based drink (but we didn't open it in the end).

I had two tequila shots, a cup of the butterscotch stuff, and one cup of the Amaretto. For flavor, I like Bailey's or a Bellini. For "effect," I like tequila.

I think that I stayed at the barbeque until midnight and then Anthony drove the rest of us home, since he drank significantly less on purpose for that very reason. That night, I got one of the best rests of my life and the next morning, I didn't get a headache, nor did I feel sick.

Have you ever tried Drambuie? I did once and that stuff probably burns a hole in your stomach and your brain. I drank just a bit and I swear, my entire tongue began salivating like mad. Plus, it tasted disgusting! I also dislike dry martinis; they smell like nailpolish remover to me.

Earlier in June, I went to Buffalo with Fiona (one of my co-workers) for a weekend. We hit up Walden Galleria, Boulevard Mall, and Prime Outlets. Our main purpose was to shop until we dropped. I didn't go as crazy as I expected, but I did pick up some great items, such as fitted polo shirts for about $10 USD and a white purse that was normally $29 USD for only $12 USD.

We took the Greyhound to Buffalo and wow...when we had to go through the U.S. Customs, they seemed so mean. Of course, it's not their job to be friendly, but I have no idea how someone could do that kind of job day-in-and-day-out without getting either a hernia or a severe case of constipation.

After answering the officer's questions, I had to talk to another guy and this second guy asked me the exact same questions that I answered earlier, except he fired them at me like a bullet, in a different order, probably trying to "trip me up." I had nothing to hide, but it was kinda de-humanizing to be treated like that. I never thought that they'd be friendly, but I also never thought that they would be so robotic and indifferent. They seemed to have Flat Affect too. It was bizarre.

At the end of the weekend when we came back, I really noticed the difference with the Canadian Customs officers. The guy (who by the way was super hot - spikey hair, gorgeous eyes) began by asking, "How are you?" He even smiled! You have no idea how glad I was to be back in Canada!!!!

In Buffalo, Fiona and I taxied everywhere and yes, it was super expensive. It really opened our eyes to the incompetence that exists. While there are some great, trustworthy drivers, there are also a lot of crappy and just plain stupid ones. We had a driver take the roundabout route, go on the highway, then get off the highwary, then get back on the same highway and go the opposite direction, and then drive right by the motel! Obviously we weren't going to pay our hard earned money on his stupidity and dishonestly. The ride on the meter said $45, but since he wasted our time and drove along a ridiculous route, we told him that we were just going to pay him $30. He inconvenienced us and was trying to cheat us out of our money. We held our ground and the taxi driver didn't protest. He knew he was wrong. He apologized, but we were so disgusted with him that we just paid him and left. He got no tip because quite frankly, he didn't deserve it.

While in Buffalo, we ate at this burger place called Fuddruckers on the first day for lunch. Curiously, they actually sold ostrich burgers (EWWWwww..It just sounds gross, but it probably tastes like chicken...much like everything else). Later on, we ate at the Olive Garden. It was okay, but I wouldn't say that the food or the service was outstanding.

There were many more events that happened, but I want to talk about this trip in a very small allergy-free nutshell so that I can move on to topics that are currently tickling my corpus callosum.

*Brain fart*

Being in my father's car is like being in a time machine that has its gears stuck in the 1950s and 1960s. Nat King Cole, Pat Boone, Dean Martin, Peggy Lee, Elvis Presley, Connie Francis, and other similar artists fill the small space with easy-going melodies. Thanks to my dad, I grew up with songs like "Rubber Ball," "Love Letters in the Sand," and "Girls, Girls, Girls." While I can't say that I like all those old songs, there are some that to this day, I love, such as "Don't Sleep in the Subway," "One Tin Soldier," and "Let's Have a Party."

When I was in junior kindergarten, I was already watching classic musicals such as "The Wizard of Oz," "The Sound of Music," "West Side Story," "Oklahoma!," and "Carousel." Of course this was in addition to Winnie the Pooh, Carebears, Rainbow Brite, etc. I have my father to thank for bringing good old classic culture into my upbringing. To this day, I have a very diverse set of tastes when it comes to music and movies. Instead of thanking insanity, I can thank my dear parents...*Smirk*

The other day, I was watching the movie "Soylent Green" with my boyfriend. It boggles my mind how Charleton Heston was the "Hottie" back then....."SOYLENT GREEN IS PEOPLE!!!!!!" Anyway, it was the second time I saw the movie and it was my boyfriend's first time. Although it paints a dismal view and emphasizes a decline in the environment, of society, and of morality, it helps you to appreciate what you already have, such as clean running water, fresh fruits and vegetables, and books.

I was anxiously awaiting the pre-order opportunity for Emm Gryner's album "The Summer of High Hopes." When I found out that the first 500 people who pre-ordered the album would get a free re-worked and re-recorded album of "Public" (an older album of hers), my excitement only heightened. I checked her website daily, religiously because she hinted that in a few weeks, she'd post up information on how to pre-order her CD. Of course, the few days when I forgot to check her website (*gasp*...I don't know how I could forget such a thing! *frowns*) then she posted up the information (on June 29th). So it looks like I won't be getting that free album, since so many days elapsed. Nevertheless, I obviously want her album, so I pre-ordered it this afternoon. I think that it's supposed to be out in September. I can hardly wait!

From indie music, we go to mainstream stuff. I am also looking forward to Christina Aguilera's "Back to Basics" album that should be out in August. She has powerful vocal pipes and the balls to try something that's unconventional. Although I already heard her "Ain't No Other Man" single and didn't care much for it, I want to give her album a chance. Apparently it's supposed to be jazz-inspired, with trumpet and horn bits, having an old-school flavour.

I've been using my credit card like no tomorrow on a whole slew of t-shirts, polo shirts, and fleece hoodies from Abercrombie & Fitch. I probably mentioned in an earlier entry how I absolutely despise the company, what they stand for, their snobbery, and their annoying store layout, but the clothes that they make fit me like a glove because they make size 0s and extra smalls that AREN'T vanity labels. They actually ARE tiny sizes.

Once I remember talking to a co-worker about how the store had size zeros that were truly size zeros. He laughed and said, "Who would wear that?" He somehow misinterpreted my delight for sarcasm. I replied, "I would. I'm a size zero and sometimes smaller than that." It's interesting how all these campaigns for beauty and companies claiming to embrace all body types seem to treat us slender folk like the label (Size Zero) would suggest: We don't exist. They are all for "curvacious" and "voluptuous" women, but they turn a blind eye to the women who are naturally small and thin, having highly active metabolism. We aren't any less voluptuous and we DO have some curves. We are women too.

I saw a dumb billboard almost a year ago that said: "Real women have curves." It depicted a woman who could be considered as "chunky." Sure, she had enough curves that could be paired with a warning sign that said, "Dangerous curves ahead." Men have curves too, the last time I checked. Even animals have curves. The point of the ad was obviously to tell us that you don't have to be as thin as a model to be beautiful. I found the ad to be offensive because it implies that if you don't have comic-book-temptress curves that are exaggerated more than the expressions on Jim Carrey's face, then you are somehow not as desirable.

If we want to get the message out that people are beautiful no matter what body type they have, then don't put down thin people in the process. I have my own self-esteem and body-image issues to worry about and it doesn't help. Some of us ARE actually built this way and we DON'T diet, we AREN'T anorexic or bulemic, we DO eat like pigs, and we DON'T exercise until we pass out. God made your body that way and God made mine this way.

Hmmm...I could go on forever about this topic, but I won't since I know that my temper will flare up and it will lead me to a circle of frustration.

Yesterday was Canada Day! This year, July the 1st also marks lower taxes in Canada. The government has put into effect a new policy. Instead of paying 15% tax, we now pay 14%. This is great, but in comparison to places like Buffalo with approximately 8.75% tax, it still is heavy. However, considering that we have a group of socialized health insurance plans that provides coverage to all citizens in Canada, I think it's worth it.

*Beginning of another brain fart*

Once upon a time in a castle made from Jello, a popsicle moose lived with a Cadbury Creme bunny. They lived out their days by listening to music composed by the farting goat, the itchy-and-irritated Soccer Mom, and the yodelling cat with the rainbow-coloured mohawk. One day, Boris the Butcher warned them that if they kept on eating fried cotton candy, snake droppings, and the ears of innocent piglets, they would suffer the wrath of being forced to eat his mother's concoction of sardines, processed cheese, and pasta with guacamole for as long as they lived. The moose and the bunny, not wanting to endure such torture, quickly modified their diet to include candied porcupines, salted claws from the komodo dragon, and saliva from a singing walrus.

*End of brain fart*

What was the point of that brain fart? I dunno, but it was a sharp one, so whatever you do, don't sit on it.

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SONG STUCK IN MY HEAD: "War Child" by The Cranberries

LAST FEW SONGS I LISTENED TO:

+ "Alpha and Omega" by Boards of Canada

+ "Lay Me Down" by The Wreckers

+ "Hollywood" by The Cranberries

+ "Vindicated" by Dashboard Confessional

+ "I Miss You When You're Gone" by The Cranberries

+ "The Boogie that Be" by The Black Eyed Peas

+ "While We're in Love" by Ivy

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