Occasionally my 7 & 9 yr old niece and nephew come over to my house to hang out. They tend to like arts and crafts so I bought them this pack of modelling clay because I thought it'd be better than playdoh, which tends to dry out. So I leave them alone to do their thing and when I come to check on them, they're both giggling away and they point to a little man that they both worked on. My nephew made the man, and my niece thought it was too ordinary so she decided to add a couple of middle finger salutes to it.
What's hard is when you're trying to scold the kids for being bad, but you actually think it's pretty funny so you're laughing while you're yelling at them. Yeah, that's not really the most effective thing to do. But what can I say? It's a pretty good piece of art and they definitely seemed to inherit their parents' sense of humour. Of course the parents blame me for the bad influence, but I swear it's not me! Those kids are born badasses. hehe
I went to The Pendulum to grab some lunch and they had a bunch of salads so I got the one called hominy salad. The sign said it was corn and a bunch of stuff. I just opened the container and took a few bites. Who the heck knew that hominy is like corn nuts? Or should I say, corn nuts are made of hominy? I always wondered why corn nuts were so much larger than normal kernels of corn. Had to google hominy and found out that it's a dried corn that Native Americans eat a lot. It's also what grits are made of in the South. I had no idea.
It's not bad. It's not as crunchy as corn nuts obviously, but I kind of wish it was. I mean, imagine eating corn nuts without the crunch - that's exactly what this salad is. It's not that satisfying. It'd be good if they threw in a few actual corn nuts. That'd be good. I had like 3 bites and now I'm full though. This is not a light salad. I'll save it for tomorrow. Maybe I'll have a couple of bites for breakfast. It's totally hearty and filling. But now I've got the biggest craving for some bbq corn nuts.
The jeans I'm wearing kind of suck because they're giving me a massive muffin top. Plus it's kind of hurting my stomach it's so tight. They weren't like this in the store. Maybe I'm just bloated today. I dunno. But I feel gross today. Ugh.
Had an interesting conversation with a couple of coworkers about what it's like to be American in Canada, and vice versa. Since I've got duo citizenship and have lived on both sides of the border, I know that for me, it's pretty damn annoying sometimes.
I remember being in some poli-sci discussion class as an undergrad where people were talking about American foreign policy or something, and then before you knew it, everyone started trashing Americans. And I felt like a retard and I remember sitting there thinking, 'okay, so now is probably not the best time to interject and say that not all Americans are stupid and ignorant - in fact, look at me! I'm American!' Um, no.
If you're an American living in Canada, the last thing you want to do is to bring that up, especially when people are in the middle of a trashing session. Sure, they themselves are thinking and acting with the same ignorance they accuse Americans of having, but who wants to be the lone devil's advocate in the middle of that? Actually, I have interrupted to say something before. What usually happens is they all stop talking suddenly and then look at me with this, "what? you're American?!" kind of look. And then they'll say, "oh, but that doesn't count. You're the exception to the rule." And it's like, okay, I'm not going to bother.
On the flip side, being a Canadian in the States is annoying in a different kind of way because as soon as someone hears that you're Canadian, all of the stupid questions come out: "oh, so do you say 'aboot' and 'eh' all the time? do you like hockey and maple syrup and live in igloos?" And then I'm so over the conversation. First off, I don't say, 'aboot'. I live on the west coast and over here, we say 'about'. But even if I said, 'aboot', like they do on the east coast, so what? It's regional, and is it any stranger than people from Minnesota or one of those states?
So I don't really bother to mention either thing. If I'm in the states, then I'm American. Over here, I'm Canadian. End of story. But really, it's like anything else. If you're from a certain place and you go somewhere different, you'll notice differences, large and small. I noticed that in California, most people say, "uh huh" instead of "you're welcome" when you thank them. They also drink sodas whereas I drink pop. And they prefer chili and cheese on their fries, while I like gravy. Beanies to them are toques to me, and so on and so on. It's all small things and I think it's pretty interesting.
But still, when people ask where I'm from - it depends where I am at that moment. If I have the energy to endure igloo questions, then I'll be Canadian. If I'm not in the mood, then I'm American. But really, who cares? The only time I'm interested is when I hear a UK accent of any sort. hehe - but that's another post.
Yet more evidence that I'm turning into a crazy cat lady. Love it.
Okay, finally got to see this movie too.... like 3 years after it came out. lol. It really is pretty lame of me, but whatever. I'm sure I read it as a kid, but I only vaguely remember the story. I only recall that I was freaked out by wardrobes/dressers like that for a while.
Anyway, what a pleasant surprise to find that my favourite Scotsman was also in this movie as Mr. Tumnus. How friggin cute is he dressed up in his faun outfit? hehe. Seriously, love that man! Ewan McGregor had better watch out because James McAvoy is so totally stealing his thunder.
Alright, back to the task at hand. I really liked the movie. Even though it's a children's book, it's not just for kids at all, which I like. I'm not going to spend time reviewing the movie, so much as I wanted to discuss something interesting that I heard about it. Maybe I'm out of the loop and just never heard this before, but apparently the entire series is based on The Bible. It makes sense though when you think about it. Aslan, the lion, and the whole sacrifice and resurrection thing. And how Edmund, the brother, betrayed them all.
I'm no expert on the Bible, but from what I do know, it does seem to draw some parallels. After I googled it though, C.S. Lewis claims that he didn't write it that way at all and that the claims are just claims. But he could see where the comparisons came from. I dunno. Maybe people just see what they want to see. Either way, it's a classic story story of good vs. evil, if nothing else.
Hmm... what out-of-date movie should I watch next? I still haven't seen or read any of the Harry Potter series, but I'm not interested, to be honest. And every time I see pictures of Harry Potter, it reminds me of this guy I used to work with who looks like him, glasses and all. Very distracting. I'm babbling now so I'll stop.
I finally got around to seeing Atonement. I've hardly watched any movies this year, so I'm totally behind on everything. But this looked like the kind of movie I'd like, so I had to see it. First of all, I love James McAvoy. There is something completely charming about him, not to mention his Scottish accent, which is awesome. Keira Knightley is okay, but I'd like to go to lunch with her and force her to eat a burger and fries. I think she'd look good with an extra 15 lbs on her.
I haven't read the book, though typically novels are always superior to the movie versions. The good thing about not having read the novel is that I don't have expectations and won't be disappointed when something is slightly different. Anyway, I liked the movie but I can't say that I loved it. It's just that I felt it moved too slowly in certain parts, and that they could've eliminated entire scenes altogether to keep it more concise, imho.
For those who haven't yet seen it, here's the plot in a nutshell: 13 year old girl Briony witnesses a series of misinterpreted events that transpired between her sister, Cecilia, and their housekeeper's son, Robbie. She falsely accuses him of something and he winds up in jail. Cecilia and Robbie were in love, but have obviously been torn apart. The rest of the story is about what happens to each of them over the next 5 years in wartime England. It's about love, guilt, shame, heartbreak, redemption, and yes, atonement. I thought it was going to be like some Jane Austen chick flick, but it's not a chick flick at all.
I'd recommend this to anyone who likes a good drama with lots of twists and turns. It's a little long, but I guess they wanted to show exactly how one lie or decision can tragically affect so many people in so many ways. Oh yeah, and James McAvoy is hot.
I thought I'd slip in a restaurant review now and then. Here's the first one. Indigo Bistro is located at the Sheraton Wall Centre on Burrard Street near Davie downtown. As you can see below, it's a very modern, colourful, whimsical-looking restaurant.
It was only half full, which was nice, because I don't like places that are so loud that I can't hear what the person sitting across from me is saying. Service was friendly, efficient, attentive but not intrusive - in other words, great.
I started with the Cioppino, which is a seafood soup in a tomato broth. Full of really fresh pieces of fish, shrimp, clams, mussels, and a large scallop. Excellent start. Oh - also, a sign of a really good restaurant in my book is when the bread in the bread basket is piping hot, crisp outside and soft inside. Also a nice touch is that the butter was softened at room temperature rather than the cold, unspreadable lumps you usually get at a lot of places.
For my entree, I ordered the pan seared sable fish, served on top of a bed of creamed leeks and potatoes. On top of the fish were 2 pieces of lobster. Very decadent. The fish was just barely cooked and it was perfect that way. Melt-in-your-mouth fork tender sable fish - a.k.a. rock cod. Yum!
The only thing is that I'm not one of those people who take pictures of their food all the time, so I don't have any pictures of my soup, or the the other stuff, but I'm kind of kicking myself for not taking pictures now. But it feels kind of weird to me to take so many photos of food in restaurants. Plus, I'm too busy eating to think about taking photos! I took this one photo of the sable fish with my camera phone. Not a bad photo from a camera, huh?
We shared a duo of chocolate desserts as well as some walnut ice cream, and it was a nice finish to the meal. I would definitely recommend this restaurant. However, it's not cheap so it may not be for everyone. But if it's a special occasion or you've got some extra money to spend, I think you can't go wrong here.
It's not exactly how I envisioned spending my Saturday. Was on my way to meet someone in Richmond around noon, and I was driving on the Knight Street Bridge when I sneezed. Then, next thing I knew, blood was gushing out of my nose like a faucet. I was like oh crap!!
I normally have a big box of Kleenex in the car, but I ran out last week. So I was frantically scrounging around for any sort of tissue. Finally I found one napkin. Thank goodness for that. But it was kind of a nightmare trying to drive with one hand while holding a napkin up my nose with the other - simultaneously trying to tilt back my head a little to stop the bleeding. But that only made the blood go down my throat. Gross, I know.
Every time I moved the napkin to see if it stopped bleeding, more would come out. This was a really bad one. I made it across the bridge and couldn't really find anywhere to pull over so I had to drive into the Richmond Auto Mall to park there. Had to call my friend to say that I couldn't make it because I was a literal bloody mess.
I was so pissed off too because it completely ruined my makeup. Seriously, I was having a good hair and makeup day, but it was ruined with the blood all over my face. Nasty! By the time I got home, I finally removed the tissue and the biggest piece of clotted blood came out. ewwww.... Yeah, I'm being far too graphic and it's totally TMI, but I don't care. I need to spread the misery a little to make myself feel better. Lucky you!
I think I need to get a humidifier or something though because I can't be having bloody noses all the time. I had a small one yesterday, and typically have it throughout the winter, but it's almost May and I'm not about to suffer through the summer with this. So yeah, that's my Saturday so far
Ever seen a guy that works out too much? Sure you have. You know what I mean. Their biceps are so huge that they can't put their arms down at their sides because the muscles are in the way. This means that they're forced to stand there with what I like to call "ape arms". It's exactly what it looks like. Their entire body stance is like an ape - or at least like that those guys in that SNL skit with the whole "I wanna pump - you up!" thing. Yup, ape arms. I know that some guys work hard to achieve that, and on that level, I can appreciate the fact that they're physically fit. But honestly, I don't find that attractive at all. Like, at all. It's pretty much a turnoff for me.
I went to a police fundraiser thing and what struck me immediately was that all of the men in the room looked the same - whether they were white, asian, indian or whatever. They all had the same body type - ape arms and all. And several of them had some serious mustaches going on. Even saw a couple of handlebar mustaches reminiscent of Starsky & Hutch or TJ Hooker. Funny stuff. You could tell which guys weren't cops because they were the normal looking ones. They were the I/T guys. lol
Anyway, my point being, fit = yes, ape arms = no.
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