Rediculousness

New Blog - Foxoon.org

2009-03-22T20:19:00.002-07:00

Hi All,

I know that it's been a long time coming but I hope it will be worth the wait. I've created a brand new blog over at Foxoon.org

I've been working on the design for awhile and most of it is up and running. I'll be leaving all the old posts from this blog up and starting fresh over at Foxoon so come over and visit.

Around Canada in 40 days (lots of it anyway)

2008-01-22T12:31:00.000-08:00

About a month ago, I was asked if I wanted to join the training team for the project I've been working on. I thought, hey, that sounds like a nice relaxing way to wrap up what has been a pretty intense project for the last 6 months. So two weeks ago I had my first glimpse at the schedule and realized what I thought would be a little rest and relaxation was actually a marathon of around 20 flights in 40 days to all the hot spots in Western Canada from Calgary to Vancouver to Victoria to Regina and Brandon Manitoba. I've decided to keep you up to date best I can and to let you know what is going on across our country.

The first part of my trip was a couple of weeks ago when I headed off to pilot our training program in Halifax, NS. I must admit that I had high hopes of getting out to see more of the town but instead of seeing the sights of Halifax, I saw the culture of the maritime. I was there for two days and upon catching a taxi to the airport I did the math and realized we had spent more time in the Triangle pub with our group than we had in the training room. I like to think this speaks to how good our training was.

Halifax is a great little city with a real old town feel. Short, colonial style buildings line downtown and the people are amazingly friendly. I had great seafood, drank more Nova Scotia beer than I knew existed and had some strange version of poutine with curry for dinner while in the background a band played Irish jigs and sailors from the Canadian Navy tried to get women to dance. The trip convinced me that I need to do a maritime road trip sometime soon

Last week I headed out to Mississauga just outside Toronto for a couple of days which was pretty much the exact opposite of Halifax. The Toronto traffic comes to a stand still pretty much as soon as you hit the highway and once you reach the tech parks in Mississauga it's one big shiny box of a building after another. On the plus side, they had their very own Tim Horton's in the building I was in.

Best Cover I've Heard this Year

2007-11-18T10:13:00.000-08:00

This cover of Nelly's song "Hot in Here" by one of my favorite artists from last year, Jenny Owen Youngs, is fantastic. Pretty much looks like the last party I was at in Edmonton. It's almost as good as human tetris.

Lactic Acid Burns

2007-10-15T18:05:00.000-07:00

It dawns on me today that Chariots of Fire never even entered my mind yesterday. Surprising since I used to play that record all the time on my parents stereo. I guess the focus required to not curl up into a ball on the pavement as I ran my first ever half marathon took most of my mental energy.

Not that it was that bad, the pain mostly came after the race when my legs became solid tree trunks as they remain a full day later. Don't let that deter you if you're training for a long run, it's actually pretty fun. Getting up at 6 am, jumping on a school bus up to the start of the Toronto Marathon. I sat beside a pale and stubbly man from St. Loise who had huge bags under his eyes, though I'm sure I had chinchilla like luggage under mine. It was a very collegial run with orderly lines for the port-a-poties at the start line and cheering squads with signs like "Go Mommy Go!" down most of the race course.

It was a cool morning on Sunday and I have to say I was feeling pretty good. At around 17 km, Jodie found me and I got to hand off the long sleeved shirt I'd taken of 1o minutes into the race. Somehow in the hand off a threat caught on me sending Jodie to the ground but as I stopped to help her she just looked up and yelled keep going. What could I do? I turned around and kept running. The guy beside me turned and with a spittle filled smile said, "I think she's falling for you." Well that earned some serious respect from me. Cracking jokes at 19 km into a half marathon shows true character.

I kept running and next thing you know there was the finish line. Every step took a little more concentration but I made it and with my last ounces of effort I managed to not toss my cookies at the finish line. A couple Gatorade's later and Jeremy and Jodie (aka Cheer Team) were off to Fran's Diner and a BIG breakfast.

The pain continues but I think I did pretty well.
Half Marathon (21.1 Km or so): 1:44:40 (that's 1 hour, 44 mins and 40 seconds) and worth it I think... hopefully I can walk better tomorrow. The question is what now?

I Feel Like Willy Lowman, but you know, happier and I don't sell stuff.

2007-09-14T11:38:00.000-07:00

I've spent much of the last month cris-crossing the US. First there was a flight to Seattle that started off the cross country road trip to repatriate my brother Jeremy. A relaxing weekend of moving him out of his apartment led smoothly into five days of driving across the Northern US. Washington, Montana, Idaho, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, South Dakota. It was pretty amazing to see and the seemingly endless supply of truck stops and faux family diners were only topped by the down home charm of the people in Montana and South Dakota. We had a true patriotic experience at Mt. Rushmore, Amish cheese from a gas station in Wisconsin and a large amount of what I think is the modern day equivalent to American apple pie, Starbucks. Then after a few short days back at home it was back to the west coast for my cousins wedding in Portland.

Portland is an alternative town to the core. Bumper stickers that say keep Portland weird pretty much cover it and it comes as no surprise to me that the place is the home to many great bands. It was a beautiful ceremony in the woods just outside the city and a great reception that spiraled into a very late night hotel party at The Doug Fir. Actually it was more of a motel party since The Doug Fir is an old 50's hotel that someone poured a bare minimum of money into and created a funky little boutique motel if there is such a thing. It's overpriced but totally fun and the restaurant/bar are worth checking out even if you don't stay there. While having a hung over breakfast in the restaurant and refilling our water with a wine bottle the waitress left on the table, I felt oddly like the classiest trailer trash in the world.

After saying farewell to the newlyweds it was back on the plane to Phoenix where I spent an hour in the airport eating a very tasty burrito and then on to Atlanta where I've spent the last two weeks doing some training for work. So was hot, humid and full of accents that make me giggle. We hit up CokeWorld to drink 60 different soft drinks from around the world and rode the sugar buzz through a CNN studio tour. The next day was filled with vintage shopping, a beer with a guy named David who wore a surfer outfit and acted suspiciously like I would expect a modern day Jesus would, and a concert where we say The National, Doveman and The Rosebuds.

Just a couple more hours and I get to go home!

Music Post

2007-07-13T12:26:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile since I've done an all out music post and it's about time I get on it. Here are some great artists that I wanted to share.

Rossie Thomas

I'd not heard of Rosie Thomas before but somewhere I read that she was collaborating with Sufjan Stevens and I had to check it out further. Her new cd, These Friends of Mine, was apparently recorded in Sufjan's apartment and it is great for a rainy day inside as it was here last weekend. With covers of The One I Love and Song Bird that will make you melt this is a great cd if a little heart breaking.

Rosie Thomas - 'Much Farther to Go' (MP3)

Hello Saferide

Hailing from Sweden where there seems to be a never ending supply of indie-pop talent these days, Hello Saferide is a great summer band. I must confess I've only heard a few songs because I can't seem to track down a cd anywhere but I like what I've heard. They remind me allot of the Australian band, The Waifs who are also great and hit the Canadian folk circuit most summers. Search them out and hope that it will be up on iTunes before the summer ends.

Hello Saferide - Highschool Stalker (MP3)

The National

Everyone and their goldfish has written about The National and their very, very, very good cd, Boxer so I won't. However I will point you in the direction of something interesting. Daytrotter, a great site that brings in a new band every week and does a 4 song stripped down recording session with them has a few songs from The National up this week. Among them is a cover of Pretty in Pink that is work getting your ears on.

The National - Pretty in Pink (MP3)

New Buffalo

New Buffalo put out The Last Beautiful Day in 2004 I believe and I've been meaning to get a copy of it for a couple years now. I stumbled across it on Zunior, a great place to download legal MP3s. They have lots of Canadian acts on available... Anyway, I'm glad I finally got this cd because it's a great listen. Very quirky and whimsical. New Buffalo has a new cd, Somewhere Anywhere coming out in North America soon so I'll be watching for it.

New Buffalo - I’ve Got You and You’ve Got Me (Song of Contentment) (MP3)

Los Campesinos

I heard a couple of singles from this Welsh band a few months back and they are infectious. I remember sending one to a friend when she had a bad day because that's the kind of music it is. Their EP Sticking Fingers Into Sockets is available from one of my favorite labels, Arts&Crafts. You must download this song and play so loud that all the neighbors start dancing, or you know, whatever it is they do.

Los Campesinos! - You! Me! Dancing!

Canada Loves You

2007-07-09T13:29:00.000-07:00

The White Stripes as closing off their cross Canada tour next week and I have to say I'm a little sad about it. I actually missed their concert here in Toronto but I've been following their tour and the stories as they crossed our great country. I read about their plan to visit every Canadian province and territory back when they first announced the tour. It's ambitious to say the least and something most Canadian bands couldn't boast having done. Plus it meant that The White Stripes would be playing places like Iqaluit and Whitehorse which probably have a smaller population overall than most of the stadiums they play in the US. But they played them all and played them with style. Not only did they win over the hearts of Canadians coast to coast by playing every province and territory, their now famous secret shows while they crossed the country are the things of legend and I'm pretty sure there will be a lobby to give Jack and Meg honorary citizenship.

With notices going up on their message board only minutes before the shows, only a few lucky people saw the secret shows. From a bowling alley in Saskatoon to a city bus in Winnipeg to strumming the blues with a busker, a youth shelter in Burnaby and the Hope Centre in Edmonton to singing with little kids at the YMCA in Toronto, The White Stripes dove into Canada and we love them for it. Below are some clips that I think are pretty cool. If you're Canadian and didn't love The White Stripes before I don't know how you could not love them now.

The Tour is Back

2007-07-07T10:29:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year again. My parents are getting up at 5:30 am and flipping on the sports channel to watch the Tour de France. It's hard not to get caught up in the spectacle of it especially after years of Lance dominating, last year marred by allegations of drug abuse by Floyd and this year, a wide open field of riders.

I can't claim to be a long time tour fan but I have to say, it's easy to get caught up in the pain, glory and spectacle of it all. Just this morning I read that last years winner of the prologue, O'Grady, was flying halfway through the course when he clipped a barrier and went down. He got back up and finished the race, crossing the finish line with his clothes ripped and hanging off him. Still 10.13 Min to ride 7.9 km is pretty amazing especially after falling. The Tour has it all; pain, drugs, sportsmanship lacking from most other sports these days and days and days of it.

I'm too cheap to get the huge cable package so that I can actually watch the Tour but this year. I turned on the sports channel this morning with the hope that there might be a clip but nothing but football was on. Luckily the Tour partnered with YouTube and there's an official Tour de France 2007 YouTube page so hopefully I can still catch the highlights.

Sleeping In

2007-07-06T09:07:00.000-07:00

I've been what they call "on the bench" for awhile now which basically means that I am not assigned to a project, aka, I'm not working 10-12 hour days. While this is pretty nice it's also a little boring at times. I've been on and off reading Leah McLaren's Continuity Girl for awhile(yes, I like Leah McLaren) and came across this line that made me laugh since I've been getting an extra bit of sleep lately too.

"It was five in the afternoon on a Saturday, but she barely stirred.... Meredith was pleasantly surprised to notice she did not feel remotely guilty for being in bed. This must be what depression was like, and upon reflection she decided, it did not seem so bad."

My New Sweet Ride

2007-06-28T09:26:00.000-07:00

With summer crowds on the street cars and subway and the humidity in Toronto slowly creeping up to levels I’ve only experienced in tropical countries, it was time to find a breezy new mode of transportation. I haven’t had a bike since I got back from India where my sweet ride with its non functional brakes and crooked front tire that hinted at a past affair with a car, let me cruise through the chaotic traffic circles and police blockades. So off I went to the bike store with my budget in mind and hopes of finding a nice little road bike. Next thing I know my budget is blown out of the water and I’m test riding a bike that is worth more than anything else I own. Luckily I came to my senses and settled on a pretty sweet ride, the Lemond Etape. Since I live in the bike theft capital of North America (there are apparently more bikes stolen in Toronto than in New York…), I opted for the ridiculously expensive lock that guarantees it’s unbreakable and weighs enough to make you believe it.

I’ve been out for a few rides and I like the freedom or cruising around on my new bike. The street car tracks that criss cross downtown Toronto make riding interesting since they’re the perfect size to grab your front tire and send you flying as Jodie found out her first day on the road. She is still alive by the way just with a few scabs to look hardcore. But, in downtown at least, riding a bike is faster than transit in the summer.

This weekend will put the new bike and my ass to the test since we’re heading out to ride around the wineries and the falls at Niagara.

Happy Canada Day Weekend Everyone!

Movie of the Year, So Far

2007-06-19T10:11:00.000-07:00

I went on a date to a movie on the weekend that I didn't really know anything about. After sushi and a beer on patio it just seemed like the right thing to do so based soley on the movie poster we walked in and sat down. The movie that I ended up seeing was "Once", an Irish film that got good reviews at Sundance this year. The interesting thing about this movie is that it is basically a musical though not in the traditional sense. I say it's a musical becasue at least 1/3 of the film is music. Upon doing a little research when I got home, it turns out that the movie's main character is played by Glen Hansard who is apparently the front man for an Irish band, The Frames. The writer and director of the movie, John Carney used to be in the band before going on to make movies.

So that explains why the movie gives you this amazing feeling of walking around town watching a love story unfold infront of you while your iPod plays the soundtrack.

The movie is pretty low budget but there are some interesting tecniques used that highlight the music making what would normally be annoying shaky, grainy camera work into an intimate experience. The two main characters are both singer, song writers so it's a good thing that most of the movie is them singing. The unpolished acting really works with the style of the film and I found it endearing.

The music is an absolute highlight and I've already got my hands on the soundtrack which features mostly original music by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, a czech singer. In the movie they are both caught up in lifes struggles and happen to find eachother at the right time to record a cd.

That's all I'll say but see this movie and then get the soundtrack.

You might be able to get "Falling Slowly" here.

My Retinas are Melting

2007-06-13T16:46:00.000-07:00

When I was in Montreal recently we ended up walking by the Musée d'art contemporain and feeling a little tiered of walking around and intrigued by a big poster with a neon man we headed in. What was inside was a playful land of neon lights with fast food messages for life rather than consuming. It was an exhibition of Bruce Nauman's work mostly from his early years in the 1970's I believe though don't quote me. Truthfully, I'd never heard of him before and some of the installation pieces like a rotating singing head projected on the wall were a little beyond my grasp or maybe they were just bad, with art I never know. But the neon light exhibits were fantastic. I love the idea of using something so bright, fast, electric and inextricable connected with modern advertising to make thought provoking or just intrusive life suggestions.

There was also a trippy room lit only by green neon light which for some reason gave the illusion that the whole thing was crushing in on you. Have a browse through some of these an look for more if you're interested. Here's a review of the show that reminded me to write something about it.

TTC, How you pain me

2007-06-13T06:47:00.000-07:00

Actually it's the Missisauga bus system that pains me more than the TTC. So this morning I get up, albeit a little late, but hey I'm not on a project right now so I think sleeping in a little is ok. I get on the subway and ride out to the sataion where I have to catch a bus to go to my home office with is in Missisauga. I don't go out there much because I really have no reason to when I'm on a project.

I went up to the platform and found it deserted. When I checked the bus schedules it seems that the last bus going out there is at 8:45. Serioiusly! I went down and asked and yes, there was no bus going to where I needed to go until 12. Obviously I was not going to wait around for that so I headed home to work from my apartment for the day.

I think a new shedule needs to be put in place that includes a, "I slept in Bus".

Updated; About Time!

2007-06-12T15:55:00.000-07:00

I've been meaning to make my blog look a little nicer for some time now and only got halfway through the revamp last time which was the reason for the bright colours slightly similar to the Oilers jersey. But finally I sat down and spent a good hour finding some nice background images and figuring out how to do transparency in CSS. Hope it works in both IE and Mozilla. If not then download firefox because it works fine there.

And yes those are samples of retro wallpaper I useds graphics! Pretty I know.

Moving Again

2007-06-12T14:32:00.000-07:00

It feels like I haven't been here that long but I guess it has been six months in my apartment now and it's time to move on again. While this cozy little spot has been nice it might be a little cramped when my brother moves to Toronto in the fall to go back to school so after some frantic clean up and showing off the place to a few people I've found someone to take over my lease. Yey! Now to find a new place to live for August so that I don't have to sleep on the streets.

J'aime Montréal and What I Learned

2007-06-08T15:03:00.000-07:00

Apparently I look French because within 10 minutes of getting off the shuttle bus in Montreal I was asked by 4 people for directions in French. Luckily my impressive language skills shone through and I quickly came up with, "parlez vous anglais?". So I had a great trip and will be going back again soon I hope.

Following are a few things I learned on my trip to Montreal. Yes I know this sounds like a school project for grade 3 but hey, it's been awhile since I got to do one of those.

Montreal has more strip clubs and peep shows than anywhere I've ever been and they welcome all.

There is a place in the world for everyone, even those who want to dress up in chain mail and beat each other up with padded weapons. Seriously, this actually looks like fun but I'll need to grow my hair out to a proper ponytail before I can join a team I think.

The Tam Tams Rock and are worth moving to Montreal for. Where else do hundreds of people gather to sit in a park, smoke a variety of things, play drums and dance.

In Montreal, paperbaging in the park is as respectable as wine in a cafe. At least that's how it seemed to me?

Bruce Nauman's neon light exhibits are kinda creep and a white room lit by green neon makes you look like Shrek and a bit light headed.

It's hard to sleep when your girlfriend pulls an all nighter studying for an exam in the same hotel room and you volunteer to help quiz at anytime.

Celine still has some fans; in Quebec.

New Photos in My House

2007-06-01T12:50:00.000-07:00

When I first moved into my apartment back in January I bought a 3 bigger frames from IKEA with the idea of framing some of my favorite photos from my travels. They of course sat in the corner of my living room on the floor until last weekend when I finally decided something had to be done with them. It was difficult to select just 3 photos because to tell the truth I have some really good photos but hey so does everyone who's been traveling. I ended up going with three from India and two of them are from one of the highlight trips I took when we rode the bus over the Himalayas for two days. These now hang in my living room and remind me everyday that I need to go traveling again and for god sakes, I need to go back to India!

These are prayer flags in the highest memorable pass in the world which happens to be in the Himalayas on the way to the Nubra valley, there are praying monks from the same area and a man dressing his camel in Pushkar at the camel festival. Ok, who wants to go traveling again? Me, me!

Montreal Here I Come

2007-06-01T10:58:00.000-07:00

I've been feeling a little ebarassed when I tell people here that I've never been to Montreal. I mean it's bad enough to be a Canadian who doesn't speak french but to top it off by never being to Montreal is just crazy. Although to be fair I grew up in western Canada so for all those Torontonians who look with staring disbelief when I say I've never been to Montreal, I'll ask have you ever been to Edmonton, Calgary, Banff, Jasper, Vancouver, Victoria and everywhere in between? Let alone done a road trip through Saskatchewan.

In any case I'll be rectifying the situation this weekend as I head off to Montreal in a few hours for a fun filled time. I'll be doing rediculous touristy things, partying and maybe I'll even catch a concert or something while I'm there, that'd be fun. See ya on the other side, au revoir.

Fun Music Video

2007-05-30T19:16:00.000-07:00

I never did like Cats

Summer Lovin

2007-05-25T12:14:00.000-07:00

Summer officially came to Toronto last weekend and it then flipped back to spring and rained most of this week but before the rain I managed to summerize the patio. It’s a small 2Mx2M triangle jutting off my apartment that used to be home to a few empty pots and a dead plant left by the last tenant. Now it’s an urban oasis with a couple camping chairs, some geraniums and pansies and a camping BBQ. On the grill Saturday night, 14 floors up with a view of the CN Tower (that's it in the background) were some nicely marinated steaks, grilled eggplant with parmesan and peaches and cream corn.

I must confess to being a little nervous about bothering my neighbours with the rather large amount of smoke that pours off while grilling marinated steaks. I’m also not sure if there are any laws against grilling 14 stories up? Luckily we had made a stop by the LCBO to pick up a few interesting beers so I wasn’t too worried about it by the time the meat hit the grill. Mmmmmm, my urban patio is shaping up nicely.

Sweet Home on the Praries

2007-05-25T12:11:00.000-07:00

The last couple of weeks have been very full hence the blog neglect. I headed back to my Alberta roots for the first time since leaving more than 6 months ago. It was nice to be back, though for a sad occasion. I forgot how much open space there is and how amazing it feels to look out and see for miles instead looking out to see the apartments across from me as happens in Toronto. It was nice to be back and see my friends and it made me think, I don’t want to live in Alberta anymore but I do need to visit.

Quick Post

2007-04-26T19:33:00.000-07:00

Ok, I'm procrastinating becuase I'm supposed to teach a class tomorrow and not feeling in the mood to actually prepare right now... and I wanted to share with you two great things I've discovered in the past couple of months that came together tonight. Both are music related.

So first is Andrew Bird. I'm sold in him and I love his music. The fact that I didn't hear about him sooner hurts a little. I think he's from Chicago, plays the violin among other things and is a great song writer. His latest cd just came out "Armchair Apocrypha" and it's marvelous so get it.

Andrew Bird - Heretics.mp3

He was also featured on blogotheque.net which is a site I ran into a few weeks ago. This is the coolest thing and you must check it out. Along with a great music blog (in french...) there is a weekly video on generally an up and coming indie band. This week was Andrew Bird. You can also get these on video podcast but my computer is too crappy to handle it right now but if yours can I suggest you subscribe. Check it out.

http://www.blogotheque.net/concertaemporter/

I'm An Artist!

2007-04-21T09:06:00.000-07:00

I think it's impressive for a first try... and next was a joint effort with my co artist but I'm taking full credit for the pink. Not sure if I'll put them up for auction or not but I'll open the bidding at $1 million if you're interested.

Spelling

2007-04-21T08:56:00.000-07:00

Most of you who know me know that spelling is not my strong point. After spending some time with the kids that eat glue in the "special class" in grade 3 I discovered that I wasn't all that slow, that glue doesn't taste good and that somewhere in my brain where things are spelled was a busy doing something else.

It should come as no surprise then that I've never played Scrabble. In fact the very thought of a game of spelling is repulsive and sounds way to much like when teachers try to pass off math as a game. So I was a little horrified that my girlfriend claimed it as one of her favorite games. So a couple of weeks ago I decided to surprise her and picked up the game despite my gut reaction to run when I see those little wooden letters.

As it turns out I'm not half bad at scrabble. I wouldn't say it's super fun but there was definitely a thrill when I put down "hipster" for 30+ points. In the end I lost the game, or did I. See Jodie was using the internet as a dictionary which I quickly realized would allow her to use any combination of letters and claim it was a word. I'm pretty sure I won but you be the judge. Words that are not words tend to be hers and I'm not sure I'll ever trust her again if she cheats at spelling. Right up there with stealing lollipops from babies while they're sucking on them.

Blog Me Please

2007-04-15T11:02:00.000-07:00

So it's awful. I've been slowly killing my blog. I got half way through a revamp a couple weeks ago and haven't had time to finish it yet. I've sadly been neglecting writing in it because work has been so busy but I've decided to make a renewed effort in the next couple of weeks to turn it all around so I'll do what I can for my adoring public.

I will save you blog!

Rediculous

2007-04-07T15:42:00.000-07:00

Yes I know I created a whole new spelling with rediculous.

I'm coining it the way Colbert did truthiness and if you don't like it watch this video. Actually it's just a seriously cute song from a little french group Soko.

If you search for it the mp3 single is available to download.

Random Things that are Awesome

2007-03-23T16:54:00.000-07:00

I was trying to think of a Thursday review for this week and it was just too difficult to find one thing to review out of my life recently so I've decided to take a decidedly optimistic stance to counter some kinda sad things going on these day and tell you about a few awesome things I discovered recently.

1. The Teenagers remix of Au Revoir Simone's Fallen Snow

I heard this, loved it and proceeded to buy Au Revoir Simone's cd, Verses of Comfort, Assurance & Salvation and then hunted the internet for more of The Teenagers who are more than entertaining in their own right. Search out their song homecoming for a little ridiculousness in your head.

Possibly still downloadable here: http://gvsbchris.com/Fallen%20Snow%20(Teenagers%20remix).mp3
http://www.summerloversunlimited.com/mp3/homecoming.mp3

2. Excel Spread Sheets
Yeah, super geek I know but I'm on a new project at work and crunching through data like crazy. Excel drives me nuts but seriously what did people do before it?

3. The Wind That Shakes The Barley

While I was a little disappointed in this movie it is pretty thought provoking and worth watching just to get some history on Ireland and a fantastic inside look of what it must be like trying to form a country out of a resistance movement. There are some great scenes of debate that force you to think about which shade of grey you'd be willing to stand up and fight for.

Tuesday Review - Near Death & Detox at Bikram

2007-03-06T08:49:00.000-08:00

Bikram Yoga Class
Near Dundas West, Toronto (the studio name has been omitted for reasons of anonymity)
**/5

I didn’t get around to doing a review of anything the last couple of weeks so even though it’s not Thursday I think it’s about time to write one. Plus I’m currently not on a project and looking for a new role at work which leaves me with the strange and relatively foreign sensation of boredom…

Jodie recently got a job at Lululemon which is a big chain of stores selling yoga and athletic wear. As a side note the company was originally started in Vancouver and is now a huge chain across North America. As part of her job she is encouraged to go to yoga a couple times a week so on Saturday night I accompanied her and her friend Emily to my first ever yoga class (I don’t count the one I got in India where I learned all about the philosophy of yoga in a dark and slightly creepy basement and had a chai with the instructor who never actually got around to teaching any poses).

I was warned before the class that it would take place in a hot room and I should bring a towel and a change of clothes. I disregarded the towel comment, how hot could it be? So I headed out with an extra tshirt in my bag. At the studio we quickly got changed and headed up the over crowded room. It was pleasantly warm and as a lay there with the lights off I thought, This will be a nice relaxing class like a day at the beach or something. When the lights came up I looked around and saw everyone one laying on towels and the instructor shirtless turning up the heat and cranking up the 4 space heaters that were in each corner of the room. I was luck enough to be in the back corner right next to one of them.

The instructor was a tough looking guy from some Mediterranean country I’m guessing and he timed out our poses making sure no one was cheating while he went around the room adjusting us. As we moved through the first few poses my clothing began to slowly change color along with my face. On the third pose I was about ready to pass out when the instructor gave us an encouraging pep talk about how well we had done and that the warm up was almost over! An hour later in a pool of my own sweat the class ended where it began with me lying in the dark room on my back. After litres of water and some recovery time I went out into the winter wearing my soaked through capris workout pants hoping to cool off. With my tshirt seeping through my bag I froze on the way home but it was a welcome reverse from the dizzying heat of the past hour.

In the end I enjoyed the yoga but the heat seemed a little unnecessary. Apparently my body is now detoxified which left me with an overwhelming urge to have a beer afterwards.

The Daily Commute

2007-03-05T11:19:00.001-08:00

After finishing Virginia Wolfe’s, Orlando, a couple of weeks ago I decided to pick up a book I’ve been meaning to dig into literally for years. I wrote an essay on T.E. Lawrence (aka Lawrence of Arabia) back in high school after seeing the movie and reading about him. I got a book that is a shortened form of his diaries originally published in 1923 called, Revolt in the Desert. It says in the forward that it’s a shortened version of his more famous writings, The Seven Pillars of Wisdom. It’s an interesting read and makes me wish I was with my friend Kent over in Egypt to so I could get a little taste of the desert life and what it used to be.

For those who haven’t seen the movie or heard of T.E. Lawrence he was a young British Army officer, trained as a linguist I think (oddly enough, I noticed my copy of The Odyssey was translated by him). He was posted to what is present day Saudi Arabia / Syria … during the First World War to help with the Arab revolt against the Turks. He became a bit of a leader in his own right among the Arabs despite having no real combat experience. His descriptions and what I’m sure are exaggerations are very amusing to read and it’s a whole different kind of military autobiography compared to some of the writings from people in the trenches. His comments on Arab culture, tribal warfare, long desert caravans to bomb train lines and trying to find your place as a foreigner are very interesting and can’t help but make you romanticize the whole thing a bit. At least if like me, you think it would be pretty cool to go for weeks riding a camel hoping you’ll have enough water to reach the next well and eating nothing but bread baked in hot sand with the odd lamb and camel who didn’t make the trip.

It’s worth reading if you’re interested in TE Lawrence or that whole forgotten part of history. But then again the movie is pretty spectacular so might as well watch it, especially if you have a huge plama TV. I think I’ll pick it up and see how it looks on my little LCD.

Wet and trying to tell people 0*C isn't cold

2007-02-26T11:10:00.000-08:00

Here's my team for the two weeks I'm in Chicago. We represent Italy, Canada, England, and the US via India and Lebanon. We are known as "THE HOFFS" and if you look close you can see our team mascot and mentor on the stick there, David Hasselhoff.

After a half day of class on Saturday I got to escape what we're affectionately now calling our prison and head to Chicago for a day. As I put on my jacket I came to the sad realization I hadn't worn it since I got here almost a week ago because the only time I'm outside is running over to the pub 100 meters away.

We headed to Chicago in style in a limo, or at least it probably looked like style from the outside but inside we stuffed 10 people in the back on each others lap for the hour long trip. Chicago was a mess of rain, sleet and snow hovering around 0. While I'll freely admit the weather sucked I spent much of the weekend explaining that it really wasn't that cold to people who were wearing layers upon layers of sweatshirts or parkas if they had them.

It was a quick trip that felt like it was over before it began. We didn't do a ton but the highlight was drinks in the Hancock Center. A lounge on the 96 floor looks out over downtown and Lake Michigan. Drinking a martini looking at at the swirling snow and sporadic ice on the lake made me think life is pretty good these days. However walking back into our prison for another week last night was a little heart breaking. But the waffles, pancakes, fruit and coffee all spread out before me for breakfast mended it.

Stop the Buffet!

2007-02-21T19:39:00.000-08:00

I've now spent 3 days in what is essentially a giant hotel and conference center an hour outside Chicago going through trainings with my company. It's been pretty intense but by far the most intense thing has been the meals. The Q Centre has a giant dining hall complete with three full buffets for every meal. While the food changes daily, it pretty much tastes the same everyday. We've run through Italian, Indian, Cajun (a nice salute to carnival), and pretty much everything else you can imagine. Every meal is accompanied with dessert and Starbucks coffee.

As if that wasn't enough, at breaks they have free candy machines, cookies and pop machines. The novelty of just getting pop for free out of a vending machine has led to line ups of people who mostly just want to press the button and then look a little sad about having to drink their free pop after.

I'm not sure exactly what the strategy is with this yet but I'm sure there is one. Maybe they're working on getting us to a suitable size that it would be hard to leave our desks. In the end it is slowly killing us but I've noticed after a couple days of indulgence everyone is starting to back off in the buffet line and leave at least a little room on their plates for some thing green.

Catching Up

2007-02-18T20:38:00.000-08:00

It's been awhile since I've been able to get on here to post. The drawbacks of working so much the last week including a 24 hour day last week and completely working through valentines day. I got some making up to do :-). A relaxing weekend with my brother in town has now segued into my first out of town business trip. I just got into Chicago, the windy city for two weeks of training.

The flight down was delayed of course but Air Canada came through with flying colours to salvage the situation. I know, you could literally taste the shock and amazement on the plane as they passed out free snacks and bar. As I stretched out in my over sized seat normally reserved for basketball teams and rock stars on the Air Canada jet I enjoyed my red wine and cashews while cruising to Chicago. When I got in I met up with another Accenture trainee and we managed to find the bus that was booked for us. The movie the Guardian was playing and my review of it, well let's just say I'm glad the trip was only an hour long and that's all I'll ever have to see of that movie.

Have a great week all and I'll let you know how things are going here in this rediculously nice conference centre / hotel I'm put up in for the next two weeks. Can't complain with a 24 hour fitness center and a yoga class on Wednesday...

Daily Commute - Beirut

2007-01-31T07:22:00.000-08:00

Beirut - Gulag Orkestar

I got this cd not long ago. I’d seen it in a store last summer with a sticker on it that said “The Best cd of the 19’th century” and that peeked my interest but I promptly forgot about it until I recently stumbled upon a track I must have downloaded at some point and that spurred me on to get the cd.

Beirut seriously does sound like some old school mish-mash of music. It’s as if a bunch of gypsies rolled into town and started playing music one night. The next thing you know Jose’s cousin and his mariachi band join in and you’ve got some really interesting music flying around your living room complete with trumpets and accordion.

Being from New Mexico and a trumpet player I guess explains the interesting mix if styles on the cd. When I play the disc I can’t help but think about Gabriel García Márquez, “100 Years of Solitude”. The songs have a sound born of the past but part of the present with a creeping influence of folk music and atmospheric stuff like Sigur Ros. And while I haven’t played my trumpet in awhile, I can certainly appreciate the trumpet work on the cd. Often when horns are in music these days its simple little background stuff with bad tone because the piano player just picked up the trumpet a month ago. This cd has great trumpet on it and I think even my old snobby high school band teacher would have trouble calling this disc McDonalds pop music. Postcards from Italy is the stand out track for me so check it out.

Postcards from Italy mp3

Furry

2007-01-25T18:33:00.000-08:00

It's become a little wintry in Toronto the last week which has led to the discover of a whole new species of urban animals. Albeit they're dead but still furry. Fur hats are apparently all the rage this year and it seems everyone has one. My working theory is that living in this fast paced urban life we don't have time for pets so we wear comforting furry substitutes.

Jodie was sporting fur and Christmas and I must admit I mocked a little and named it. Sebastian looked very good on her. Very KGB agent and wow was he soft so I take it all back. At least half anyway. Fur is fashionable!

So fur is apparently back. There are dead animals on everyone's heads and around their necks. Now don't get me wrong I'm not like a rabid anti fur person. I'm sure it's warm. I take a practical approach to such things as we were a country born out of the fur trade and I have yet to see anyone walking around with an endangered species on there head. They're probably just made out of cute little bunnies. I'm not sure I'll be jumping on the furry wagon but I do enjoy walking around feeling like I'm in a bad cold war era movie so I'm going to encourage this trend by directing you to a very nice website I found where you can get a fur hat. It says the store is closed for trapping season so you know when you get a hat, it'll be fresh.

Thursday Review - Jay Brannan

2007-01-20T09:32:00.000-08:00

First off the Shortbus soundtrack is awesome. A great companion to the movie. It's right up there with the Hedwig soundtrack in terms of best ever movie soundtracks though it's not all original music made for the movie (or musical as Hedwig was). There's a bunch of little indie New York bands on the cd including the absolute highlight of the disc, Jay Brannan singing his song Soda Shop. You can see the youtube of him above singing it in his bathroom.

The song has an infectious guitar line with the bass strings making you hum along with it and Jay's voice and lyrics make you want to pick up a guitar and write something just as great about that last Friday night when you over did it at the Soda Shop. Jay stared in the movie Shortbus and when I saw the scene where he plays this song I almost fell out of my seat in the theatre it was so great. I've got a couple other songs of his from his website and they're true acoustic song writing. While not as catchy as Soda Shop I can definitely see a great cd coming out soon which by the way it is. You can even vote for the title of it on his website. I'm looking forward to hearing more so keep an eye out for when the cd is released.

Half Boyfriend mp3
Ever After Happily mp3

Commuting

2007-01-18T19:34:00.000-08:00

Working in Toronto likely means you will commute to work in some shape or form and being an environmentally minded person I’m trying to do my part to save the planet. That’s how I like to frame up taking public transit despite the fact that it would simply be ridiculous to live downtown Toronto and have a car. And by ridiculous, I mean ridiculously expensive. And so I am now a proud public transit pass holder and I grace two different regional transit systems on a day to day basis. My project right now has me using the always pleasant TTC and the impressive YTS VIVA. All in all it takes no less than an hour to get to work and again back home.

This is a pretty long commute that initially I was pretty disappointed about and I’ll admit that there are days I just want to work at the Starbucks a block from my house. I’ve discovered though that the key to commuting is doing something. True there are mornings when doing anything but nod off looking out the window is a task but when the commute feels productive I don’t resent it. I’m typing this on the bus while listening to a new cd.

This morning I typed out some personal emails on the way while other mornings I read. The key is to not get home and feel like the commute was a waste of time. If you’re driving, well, it pretty much is a waste of time plus there’s green house gas guilt. But public transit, while taking a little longer (not much in rush hour though) lets me at least lets me feel like two hours weren’t robbed from my life everyday. Not a nice feeling. I’m a fan of top 5 lists ever since High Fidelity and I’m working on incorporating them into life in general. So here are the top 5 things to do on public transit that keep me from going postal.

1. Get some sweet noise reduction headphones (Thanks Brother) and become a music connoisseur. Lately I’ve been looking for music that is a perfect sound track for the ride. This has led me into some new musical territory including a ridiculously good album by a harp player, Joanna Newsome. See my last post on I’m From Barcelona for a recollection of how the perfect soundtrack leads to a bus full of singing, happy passengers even if it is only in your head.

And now I’m on the train. Admittedly a sweeter ride than the bus.

2. Get your personal or work email before you leave home or the office. Now you can actually respond to email instead of ignoring people and getting on their email black lists.

3. Sit and Be Fit: I’m working on an exercise routine for the commute so I’ll keep you posted. It will involve spandex and sweatbands because that’s a hot look on public transit will ensure you make new friends.

4. Read magazines you might otherwise just skim through or maybe not even touch. I actually have read magazines like The Economist (shut up, economics are cool), Walrus, Runners World... I’m amazed at what I’ve been missing in the world. There was a particularly heart breaking / warming article on Terry Fox in the last Runners World that had me teary on the subway.

Well actually that’s all I’ve found to entertain myself so far so please give me more ideas before this commuting thing drives me insane and I end up one of those people who give up and just sleep on public transit.

Thursdays Review - I'm From Barcelona

2007-01-12T07:07:00.000-08:00

Listening to I'm From Barcelona makes me wish I was from Barcelona. Actually it makes me wish I was from Sweden where the band is truly from. The band itself is a great and inspiring story. Emanuel Lundgren, a struggling singer songwriter wrote a few songs and then got a totally random group of friends and various other people together with the musical qualifications being, you must love music and began performing and recording.

If that sounded a lot like The Polyphonic Spree, you’re right, similar story and I had read a review that compared I’m From Barcelona to them. I don’t know if the comparison is fair though. The Polyphonic Spree always makes me think of a church choir on e while I’m From Barcelona is more like that time you were at your friends house and a few guys started playing guitars and singing and the next thing you know the whole group is jamming regardless of musical ability.

Their debut disc, “Let me Introduce my Friends” is a wonderful upbeat poppy record just rough enough around the edges that when you hear it you think, “wow these guys rock and I could probably join that band”. It drips with a love for music and friendship between the musicians. Every now and then you hear a voice stick out of the crowd or someone yell in the background and at the end of some songs a little chatting in the background. The atmosphere it creates is absolutely infectious. On the bus this morning I was wishing I had some tambourines, shakers and my guitar so we could just jam. Not sure it would come together as great as I’m From Barcelona does but that’s the feeling this disc gives you.

This is a must have cd and I hope that they get popular enough to support such a huge band to make a couple more discs or maybe cross the ocean for a tour because a live show would probably be pretty amazing and maybe then I could join the band.

I'm From Barcelona: We're From Barcelona

The Daily Commute - Double Double?

2007-01-11T14:45:00.000-08:00

I’ve been working in a new office for the past few weeks which means I have a whole new commute to the northern reaches of what the still call Toronto though I think when you have to pay to transfer to a new transit system you can consider that leaving the city. A half hour on the subway followed by another 25 min on the bus gives much time for contemplation. This morning I was pondering Tim Hortons or Timmies as most people call it.

For any non Canadian readers, Tim Hortons is a Mecca of donuts and watery coffee well loved across this country. It’s a national symbol even though it’s not a Canadian company anymore. The reason I was pondering Timmies is that in the Finch subway station there is a store. With 3 little cashiers on the three sides, the line ups block the rest of the station. It’s actually pretty amazing to see this tiny little store underground with people circling it like they’re giving away golden bricks.

I enjoy donuts and coffee as much as the next person and their donuts are not bad but they’re certainly not gold bricks and a double double (coffee with two cream and two sugar) makes me want to die. That was my random observation this morning. Maybe I’ll get a donut tomorrow morning but I’d have to leave abit earlier so I could stand in line.

I'm Back

2007-01-07T19:42:00.000-08:00

Hey all. Happy New Year, Merry Christmas ... I know it's been ages since I've been posting. Needless to say life has been pretty busy with the holiday season, a new job and just moving into a new apartment.

I won't bore you with all the details but I've spent the better part of my waking hours lately hanging with family at Christmas time and working at making my home livable. I have a wicked bruise on my thumb from those evil little IKEA alan keys but things are staring to come together in my apartment and the real plus is I have a bed to sleep on tonight. I've deffanitly gotten soft since my months on the floor in India because a week on an air mattress and my neck felt like i was being hammered by tiny little workers with tiny little sledge hammers. It may not have been just the bed though. There was the skiing over Christmas and countless over loaded trips to and from various stores pretty much every night this week. It all paid off though and I bought some tulips today to spruce up the place.

I've checked the tracking numbers on the various FedEx shipments coming my way and looks like the next couple of days are going to be Christmas all over again with things arriving from Edmonton, Kelowna and wherever Dell ships from. That's right, sweet new tv/computer monitor is on the way. Once I've got that I hope I'll be up and running on my own computer again so the blogging can get back to normal.

Here's a a couple shots from my holiday's. Hope yours were all as fun and loving as mine was! Check out the hot ski bunny I found!

Thursdays Review - MI5

2006-12-08T15:44:00.000-08:00

I've been living out of a suitcase in a friends place for a couple of weeks now settling into Toronto and my new job. It's not so bad really and the giant TV he has makes it a comfortable place to pass away the evenings after long days of training at work. I was pretty excited last week when I found Series 3 of MI5 in the video store across the street.

MI5 (called Spooks in the UK) is a BBC production that started around the same time as 24. I was hooked on the show when I lived in Hong Kong and Series 1 was running there but I haven't seen it again until recently when the DVD's started coming out here. The show is a more political and character driven version of 24 minus the over the top action and real time strolling. Don't get me wrong I love 24 but this show does it for me because of the British touch. Kinda like James Bond if he had a flat in London and sat at a desk doing surveillance and research half the time and security services were constantly trying to remain independent of the political masters. Using MI5, the domestic security services in the UK, lets the show focus in on everything from techno terrorism, IRA, dealing with the CIA ...

They killed my favorite character in the last episode which was sad but means almost a whole new cast for Series 4 when it comes out here. They're already starting on Series 6 in the UK. So if you're just waiting around for 24 to start in January check out MI5 (Spooks).

The Daily Commute

2006-11-28T15:58:00.000-08:00

In honor of my stupidly long commute to my new job that currently utilizes 3 modes of transportation, I've decided that now and then I'll let you know something interesting I noticed when I don't completely zone out. This morning as the sun began to peak its little shiny head up over the 401 and I boarded my bus out to Missisauga, an amazing little song came on my Ipod. I found this site a little while ago, Indie Mp3.com, and downloaded a best of playlist of tracks that had been featured on the site.

It was while listening to this playlist that a cute little song came on that made me want to take my earphones out and take them around to everyone else on the bus so we could all hear it. I get that urge sometimes but I realize it may not be a socially acceptable form of musical enthusiasm so I've yet to actually do it.

I've decided to pull my earphones out and offer them to you however so enjoy.

Laura Cantrell & Gordon McIntire live on BBC Radio 1 Christmas broadcast from 2003
I Lost You (But I Found Country Music)

Oh The Places I've Been

2006-11-28T15:50:00.000-08:00

It's been awhile since I've blogged and in that short time there's been many adventures. Too many to try to recount really but there was London then there was a surprise trip to Paris, then there was London again and then there was another airport good bye leaving my girl standing there with about 20 pounds of books she had to take out of the suitcase she sent home with me. Then there was arriving back in Edmonton in a blizzard, feeling like I was going to lose my fingers to frostbite while dragging suitcases through 6 inches of snow. And next it was a quiet farewell with some close friends before getting on a plane to Toronto and wandering the streets with my ridiculously heavy bag slung over my shoulder trying to find my friends apartment. A bruised shoulder and a short sleep later it was off to my first day of work.

I've settled in now after a couple days of work though the hour or more commute will need to be addressed. Hopefully I can find an apartment a little closer but for now I can't complain about a free place with a Starbuck on my way to the street car. Thanks Ryan!

I know that was random and badly written but hey give me a couple tried to get back into this bloggin thing. No pretty pics yet either since my computer is in a duffle bag but don't worry there's some good snoggin pics from all over Europe.

London Calling

2006-11-17T07:31:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago I found out I had a new job in Toronto and I'd be leaving the service industry, Edmonton and my current life of living out of a suitcase in a friends condo all in the past. Now I'm not one to sit back and relax so I quickly gave my notice at my jobs and bought a ticket to London to see someone I needed to see and have a little vacation before two weeks a year becomes a reality of corporate life for me.

As my mom said,

And, here I had been thinking that after your solo adventures in Indonesia, northern China and India that this trip would be so very tame and civilized for you! Silly me! Amazing that you found a way to spice it up a bit!

Apparently a damaged passport, in between jobs, an electronic ticket and going to visit a girl friend is pretty suspicious. Imagine that. But after hours of waiting, them calling my new company, interrogating and freaking my airport pickup we finally got out of there with just a bag search and a few smiles that eventually became laughs. Eventually!

All good now though. A little rain, the grey that is apparently a London winter and no end of great times. It's only been a day and a half but feels like I've been here forever.

Thursday Review - Get on the Shortbus

2006-11-03T22:25:00.000-08:00

I've been watching a lot of movies lately. My schedule has left me with lots of cold, dark nights off lately so when I was invited to watch yet another movie with a friend I didn't hesitate to jump at the opportunity especially since it was at one of my favorite little theatres, The Princess II. The theater is in the basement of the larger Princess and is more like a large living room with about 30 big theatre chairs. There were only about 10 of us in the place to catch the movie and this made it the perfect was to view Shortbus.

If you haven't even heard of this movie you are clearly living in a box in Siberia. Actually the buzz about this movie probably even got there. Basically it's John Cameron's new movie (aka Hedwig and the Angry Inch) and the big buzz is all about how all the sex in it is real and not your usual simulated Hollywood stuff. I've read differing reviews on the movie but pretty much everything has focused on that aspect of the film which seems odd to me. Knowing that the sex is real changes how you look at those scenes in the film which is the point I think and while I don't think it's for every movie or even that it should become a standard this film in and of itself is not as sexually provocative as a movie like say, The Dreamers.

In the end, sex is not what you will take away from this movie. It's a beautiful weaving of lives, stories and characters and how sex is part of that. It's a very blatant look at modern society and what relationships have become. At first I thought this might be a movie only really relevant to a younger generation but as I thought on it more I've changed my mind. The message here is not about sex, it's about how we live our lives, how we love, the search for happiness and the search for companionship, love and some kind of contentment.

Shortbus touched so many nerves for me I left feeling a little raw, exposed but as the film says, permeable to the world. Watch this movie with people you feel ridiculously comfortable with and then let it stew. I'm going to be looking for the soundtrack if only to sit back now and then and think about it sometimes and hope there's room for me on the Shortbus.

Winters Here and Special Coffee's at Work

2006-10-29T15:32:00.000-08:00

Before you read this you should know that I like winter. Now I'll complain about the cold as much as the next person but when it comes down to it I love winter and when I've been in places that don't really have it I feel like something is missing. Some people find that attitude annoying so there's the warning.

Winter always feels like a time to retreat into your warm home, your friends, your mind. It's been snowing here on and off for the last couple weeks but in the last two days we finally got that first snowfall that stays on the ground blanketing the whole world in a white wrap that muffles everything except the crunch under your shoes. As it usually goes the cold and snow came right before Halloween leaving me running around as a zombie cheerleader freezing while trying in vain to catch a cab, But that's a story for another day.

The spirit that comes out of people with the first snowfall was in the air at my restaurant today. A big table came in and were clearly coming down off a party last night. Aren't we all! Wearing pj's and all talking about the night before, a guy asked us if we had baileys. We didn't but we suggested he walk down to the liquor store and grab a bottle if he wanted it. He promptly did that and when he got back he not so discretely went around the restaurant helping out anyone who wanted a little warm up in their coffee.

I stood behind the counter taking a quick break from the busy restaurant sipping my baileys and coffee from a stranger and watching the snow fall out our fogged up windows while all the customers did the same. Something about cold, snowy winters creates these surreal moments and you can't help but love them.

Thursday Reviews - La Double vie de Varonique

2006-10-26T09:05:00.000-07:00

The Double life of Veronique is an older movie from Krzysztof Kieslowski. By older I mean 1991 so I could only find it in VHS at my local video store. Not having watched a VHS in a very long time I was surprised how bad the quality seems and how faded the colours looked so I would like to track down a DVD copy of the film to get the full experience.

In any case I've been wanting to see this film for months ever since seeing The Three Colours Trilogy earlier this year. The story plays off the idea of having a double in the world. Basically there is a Polish Weronika and a French Veronique who have lived similar lives and are inexplicably connected. Both are talented singers, young and in love and both have this odd sense of connection like neither is alone in the world. When Weronika in Poland dies, Veronique in France suddenly feels alone and lost for no particular reason. I won't give you all the details but you can get the gist of it from that.

The story telling in the film is like a fairy tale with a narrative that weaves, almost unreasonably, the lives of it's characters together while exploring the strange connections between family, lovers and some unseen unconscious connection between some people. Irene Jacob's plays both the Polish and French versions of Veronique and is captivating. I fell in love with her a little in Red from the Three Colours Trilogy which is another film where Kieslowski dives into the strange connections between people and the even stranger ones that go unseen to most of us.

The cinematography in the film is beautiful with shadow heavy lighting and shots emphasizing a duality of perspective. The music is beautiful as it must be with both Veronique's being talented singers and the repeated song throughout the film that both characters happen to be working with will be stuck in your head for days.

I'm not sure why but I love Kieslowski's films. They're heavy with imagery and dream like story telling and always seem to give a stark but hopeful look at what it is to be a person these days.

Thursday Reviews - Songs For Snow

2006-10-19T11:08:00.000-07:00

Well I think I was a little abitious thinking that I could do a weekly review of on Monday's. I've failed to get my act together on the last two Mondays so I've decided to move my reviews to Thursday. Thursday is a much more manageable day for me as it leads nicely into the weekend giving all or you time to check out the review and me a few weekdays to find something to review.

It started snowing here this week and with the grey sky, cold weather, scarf and mittens I find myself looking for some music to suit the mood. I have to thank everybodycares for introducing me to both these singers this summer. He runs one of the best music blogs you'll find if you like great music. I didn't pay much attention to either of these at the time but I think this music likes the snow.

Husbands, Love Your Wives is a Seattle based singer who seems to do acoustic home recording of pretty much the most adorable little songs ever. They're romantic, heartbreaking and they dance with the snow. I don't think she has a cd out yet but I'm waiting for it and have already told my brother in Seattle to keep his ears open. You can hear and download a few tracks off her myspace and if like me you're looking for something to play while you walk to work at 5AM while it's snowing this was made for you.

As Your Lady.mp3

Bobby Baby is a Swedish singer that would fall into what I would call electro pop. I like her songs and cruising through her website you'll find a ton of downloads. A plus since I doubt you'd find her cd in Canada. There's something very simple but piercing about the sound and lyrics and I love her voice. I'd love to hear this playing in a lounge someday soon but for now I'll have to settle for it playing in my bedroom.

In Ten Years From Now (acoustic).mp3
Bye Bye Snow.mp3
Later.mp3

This music video for her song Goodbye Love seems fitting for the season. Enjoy it all.

I Guess It's Morning

2006-10-18T15:03:00.000-07:00

So that's what 4:30 AM looks like.

It's been a very long time since I've had to set my alarm clock that early but today was the day. Actually the last time I remember seeing that time was in the summer and I was still awake from the day before, needless to say having more fun than this morning. I've rediscovered that setting a 4:30 AM alarm as you go to bed at midnight may actually be more painful than getting up the next morning. But, I had to do it because someone has to make coffee for the masses. I hope they appreciate it because it was cold and snowing as I rode my bike in and I get to do it again on Friday. Thank God it's a coffee shop. I took home my free pound of beans for the week today and it will be going to good use.

The Stars Are Talking to Me

2006-10-15T20:11:00.000-07:00

I don't really believe in horoscopes but I do like to read them because I think they're kinda fun and sometimes are just vague enough to be applicable to life.

This one was mine in Vue Weekly this week and I like it so I've decided it's true. Being a horoscope skeptic allows me to pick and choose which ones I believe. It's handy, you should try it.

Sagittarius
The phase you're entering may prove to be ridiculously confounding - ridiculous both in the sense of absurdly extreme and very funny. Yet the immediate future also promises to provide you with unprecedented opportunities to outgrow limitations you may have imagined were permanent. To honor this synergistic blend of slapstick confusion and juicy potential, I'm offering you two pieces of advise. The first is from Eleanor Roosevelt. "You must do the thing you think you cannot do." The second is from Edward Teller; "When you get to the end of all the light you know it's time to step into the darkness of the unknown, faith is knowing that one of two things shall happen: either you will be given something solid to stand on, or you will be taught how to fly."

While I would prefer the last line was, "either you will be given something solid to stand on, or you will learn how to fly" it's still pretty good and I'll take it for this week.

Chai Talk - The New Barista

2006-10-10T21:48:00.000-07:00

Location: Whyte Ave Starbucks
Rating: **/5

I like to have odd jobs. Some people think it's strange that I worked in a bakery and made muffins all summer, that I serve in what has got to be the strangest little greasy spoon restaurant with giant 20 year old fish in a tank and now I'm a barista at Starbucks. I won't lie, I thought the job was going to be pretty easy but man was I wrong. Luckily Starbucks steps up with the most intensive training program I've ever seen including e-learning and I have a complementary life insurance plan to boot in case one of those steamers explodes in my face I guess.

After my fourth training shift today I picked up my free drink. I've been trying a few different things but today was a day that required chai. I've had the Starbucks chai before and knew what to expect so decided to mix it up a little with a Grande, half sweet, no fat, tzao chai. And yeah that's how you would call it, I think, I get a little mixed up on the order of it still sometimes. As I headed out the door into the construction zone that is Whyte Ave these days, I was glad I opted for a chai. It's been a cold and rainy day and with night the slight drizzle was turning into ice crystals as it fell. Luckily I could keep my hands warm on my chai since I didn't bring mits to work today. Seriously it's the beginning of October and I wished I had them. As I passed the pan handlers wrapped in blankets asking for change I enjoyed the warm milk and foamy texture. Half sweet is the way to go with a Starbucks chai but it really just comes out like a steamed milk and I think next time I'll just get a vanilla cream (steamed milk with a shot of vanilla syrup).

As I walked home I popped in my headphones and listened to M. Ward's cd, Post War. With the late night walk home from work, my breath clouding out into the ice crystals falling on the wet street it seemed the perfect soundtrack. I finished my chai mainly because I didn't get to eat diner and needed something to fill my stomach. In the end I still have trouble calling any store bought chai I've ever had an actual chai. Still it was nice to have on a dark, cold walk home and free so who's complaining? Not me.

So Much to Give Thanks For, Where to Start

2006-10-08T22:29:00.000-07:00

I'm not gonna lie, this Thanksgiving weekend did not start out particularity special nor did I have anything remotely special planned. I work the whole weekend at two different jobs and was hoping to make time for a little sleep. Today it came together for me though. I work everyday this long weekend which is a little sad but also means I get to serve a bunch of people in the same situation. This meant today a slow restaurant full of Brits, exchange students, and a few people from South America. We chat about the weather, which has been ridiculously nice and fall like, and talk about family and friends far off.

Another server remembered an open bottle of champagne in the back of the cooler that needed to be used up so mimosas with pink grapefruit juice toasted thanksgiving morning. It seemed fitting to me for some reason looking out the window on Whyte Ave, seeing the leaves falling and the chill in the air blowing in our open door. I know I'll be moving on soon but that mimosa at work on a Sunday morning at one of the craziest and most nonsensical places ever will stick with me.

As always on Thanksgiving I miss my family and my friends who are in many ways part of my family. I was looking back to last year when I was in India and saw I said pretty much the same thing but in any case enjoy your turkey, wine and friendship. That's what this weekend is all about!

And don't worry Mom. I got my Thanksgiving diner thanks to Jill and her family so I'm full of turkey and ready for a nap as it should be.

Monday Review (On a Thursday) - Fast Food in my Belly

2006-10-05T08:26:00.000-07:00

In the last week I've eaten more fast food than I did all summer. I ended up at Wendys twice, A&W, and eating one of my sinful pleasures, mall Chinese food. Most of this was outside of my control as my busy week and impaired decision making caught up with me. After having such an unlikely culinary treat I've decided it's time for a Fast Food review.

Wendys has always been one of my favorite fast food stops. For one thing there's one only two blocks from my house and those Jr. Bacon Cheese Burgers have got to be the tastiest and cheapest fast food out there. After the Shout, Out Out..... concert on Friday as I stumbled home Jessica and I had to stop to sample them. After working all day and missing a couple of meals I needed my 2AM lunch otherwise I'd probably not be feeling so good as I tried to serve customers the next morning. As always my little Jr.'s did the trick and I left happy and full. My next Wendys stop was on the way back from Calgary. My Mom and I had a rental car and 4 hours until her flight out of Edmonton so we decided lunch would sadly be the Wendys drive through in Airdrie. As we pulled in to the drive through we saw a sign that is popping up all over Alberta these days. "Drive Through Closed Due to Lack of Staff". So we jumped out of our budget car only to find a line, 20 deep waiting for their burgers inside. They moved the line along amazingly fast and people were in good spirits partly because there were about four signs apologizing for the inconvenience but that Wendys was operating with only minimal staff. I elected to have the big brother of the Jr. and ordered the Big Bacon Classic. While tasty the fries were not fresh and eating fast food while in a car when you'll be sitting for another 3 hours is never the best plan. In the end though Wendys quality and service under difficult oil boom conditions were impressive.

A&W was another story. After getting to Calgary on Tuesday I had a couple of hours before heading to my job interview. My Mom and I searched but could not find a Subway which left us walking into the tinniest A&W ever. The fry cooks were having a very loud conversation about there partying that everyone could hear and it was about 10 C in the place so my fries and toes were freezing by the time we bolted for the door.

szechuan Chinese in West Edmonton Mall has long been a guilty pleasure of mine. Last night I had to run off and buy some new pants. At around 8pm I realized I had not eaten yet and the allure of the food court was calling me. I loaded up the plate with sweet and sour pork, ginger beef, shanghai noodles and a spring roll. While it was far to much food and had clearly been sitting out for a few hours, it seriously met my craving and left me feeling full and a little sick for hours after. Just the way I remembered!

Seriously?

2006-10-05T08:13:00.000-07:00

This website is pretty cool. They let you try out their facial recognition software to see what celebrities you look like. It asks for a straight on picture with a straight face. First, I realized I have no pictures of myself with a straight face. I always have a huge grin or am doing something ridiculous. Second, I realized that every picture I have of me is one of me at a party. Below is me partying in India and my friends Tomoe actually took the photo. I think this was the night we tried to make mohito's but the Indian mint we bought in the market ended up tasting like skunk. Mmmmm!

So apparently I'd make a pretty girl and can I tell you how much it hurts that Paris Hilton is on there but I also got Madonna so for sheer coolness factor I'm cool with that. I'm waiting for the day when someone comes up to me and says, "hey, you look a bit like Madonna you know."

Corporate Canada Begins to Answer My Call

2006-09-30T15:38:00.000-07:00

I've been hunting for a job for awhile now and it's tough work. I was starting to feel a little disheartened. After all, I earned a commerce degree, bought a couple suits, got some work experience and all those other great things that Corporate Canada is supposed to look for in a guy.

Lately I've been courting Corporate Canada pretty intensely. Calls, letters, emails, and all with no response. I was starting to think I had been left out on my own with just a degree and a couple service industry jobs. pondering where our relationship went wrong. Finally this week Corporate Canada noticed how cute I am. We'll be going on a date next week to see how we fit together. A little flirting and probing personal questions and hopefully at the end of it all things will work out for us. Fingers Crossed!

Monday Reviews - Grey's

2006-09-25T16:01:00.000-07:00

I've decided to make Monday a weekly review day. I'm not sure exactly what I will review. It'll be different every week but I just like reviewing things because you all know how important my opinion is. Movies, music, food, TV, the weather, hair cuts ... all is fair game. I'm a gerneralist so I figure I shouldn't confine myself to reviewing only certain things.

This week on review is a show that's been running for way too many hours in my house lately. My room mate introduced me to it since I had completely missed it last year. I heard that Sandra Oh was on a prime time show and I thought that was exciting. I always remember her from Don McKellar's "Last Night" because she really stuck out in the movie and it's good to see her get a little fame. Anyway, I hadn't seen any of it and in an attempt to catch up before September TV premiers Jill and Stacy and I started an intensive program to get through the entire second season before the premier. It was last week and we didn't make it. I didn't see it yet so no spoilers please.

In the past three weeks or so I've watch 27 episodes of the show. Judging by how hard it was to find the dvd's every time we tried to rent them, there are a few other people doing the same thing. I don't blame them though. After a couple episodes I wasn't that impressed. The show seemed to just rip off the good things from other great shows. The monologue and funny yet dramatic medical show from scrubs, the edgy topics and intro taken straight from Nip Tuck, fast back and forth writing from West Wing, obvious rip offs from ER but really how could they not, it is a medical drama.

After a couple episodes though the show really started to grow on me. The funny parts interspersed with serious drama are great and make the show more fun to watch than ER was/is. The real strength of the show is in the relationships and that's what the focus of the show is. The fact that they're all surgical interns just throws them in a high pressure and generally dramatic set but the focus is on the characters and relationships rather than the surgery.

Their portrayal of dating, marriage, love, friendship, sex, it's all so good, funny, sad and complicated. True it's corny sometimes and definitely overly dramatic but it is television. Seriously you can't help but get drawn into the characters and feel the tension between them. I actually found myself talking to the characters on the show a couple of times and I am not a crazy soap fan who does that when Passions is on too.

The show has some big story arcs so you have to give it a couple of episodes to figure out what's going and get involved with the characters but after that you'll be hooked. I love Izzy and Dr. Bailey currently. If you watched the show ever let's play the game of which character you're most like.

Adding to the Collection

2006-09-22T13:20:00.000-07:00

I'm collecting jobs these days. It's a fun hobby and a job in itself really. I apply all over mostly to jobs I want though lately I've been getting less picky and then I do follow up phone calls. Finally though I got my Edmonton in-term work sorted out. I was looking for jobs that would be fun, pay at least a little and provide just a little more stimulation than making muffins for 8 hours a day. As you read in my last post my most recent addition to the collection is Friends and Neighbors.

Well I just added another Whyte Ave institution to my collection of odd jobs. Starbucks. That's right I'm following in my friend Sando's foot steps and will be starting at Starbucks in about two weeks. I'm now a Whyte Ave institution in my own right. Between working at Friends and Neighbors and Starbucks it's pretty much impossible for anyone who comes to Whyte Ave not to see me and get to know me. I already have customers call me by name at Friends and Neighbors and I know it won't be long before most of the Ave just waves and says., "Hey Nicholas" when I walk by. Good for now I guess but thank god I'll be moving soon. Just as soon as I find that perfect job to finish my collection.

Friends and Neighbours

2006-09-20T21:29:00.000-07:00

My time in Edmonton has been a little longer than I expected. Not a bad thing though. I had a great summer and now that fall is here I know I'll be moving on soon. As some of you read I was working at a bakery making muffins. Elf work really and while fun I did eventually go insane and start dreaming of muffins filling up my bedroom and suffocating me. I left that job about three weeks ago now. Luckily after applying to pretty much every restaurant on Whyte Ave I got a call from Friends and Neighbors. If you've visited me in Edmonton chances are you've been there. If not, it's a family run diner on Whyte with all day breakfast and if you go on Saturday or Sunday you will wait at least 10 minutes to get a table because every person who lives in the area is hung over and telling stories of the previous night over seemingly bottomless cups of coffee. I am now a happy member of the small but important Friends and Neighbours family.

Working there is a little like working in the circus I think though I've never been a carnie before. It's completely laid back, the owners and cook are Vietnamese and very hard to communicate with and the clientele is anything from drunks, pan handlers, students or the regulars who have been coming for 30 years and learned my name on my first day so they can shout it across the restaurant when they need more coffee. A day there consists of about 5 hours of slow chatty serving and 3 of running around like an idiot trying to keep people from getting to agitated at how slow our kitchen is, how long it takes me to get them their coffee, and how often I forget to make them their toast. Ooooppppps. Really though, I forgot how much I live serving and, modesty aside, how good I am at it. So stop by Friends and Neighbors Sat - Tues and grab a coffee with me although if you come between 11-2 I'll probably completely ignore you while I wear holes in the carpet delivering food, taking orders and refilling coffee. However I will still expect a tip.

Jobs, Jobs, Jobs

2006-09-18T08:42:00.000-07:00

Trying to do follow up phone calls to online job applications may be the most annoying and frusting thing in the world. Actually it comes right after doing a million impersonal online job applications.

Grey Go Away

2006-09-16T08:20:00.000-07:00

The last week has been the gloomiest I can remember in a long time. I should mention that Canadians talk constantly about the weather and we are barely ever satisfied. A side effect of having to deal with the most unpredictable and extreme weather I guess or maybe we're all just very hard to please. In any case, seriously gloomy. It's been grey, freezing and rainy for a week now and doesn't look like it's getting better anytime soon.

Got me wondering if the weather effects my mood. Judging by the last week it does but the week also included a ton of work searching which is never fun so I'm not sure where the gloom comes from.

I'm not a big fan of in-between seasons like the one right before spring when the snow is all melting and it's cold but the winter wonder is gone. Or right after fall when the leaves are mostly gone and rain is not quite snow yet but the days are getting shorter and darker. At least we have seasons though. When I lived where there is less of a season it feels like you never get to have those transitions in life that are mirrored by your environment. We sure get that here. The weather has been a manifestation of my own head for the whole summer. Not that I can control it but just seems we get eachother.

The International Food Blog

2006-09-09T09:55:00.000-07:00

My friend Kent and I share a love for food and cooking and in this spirit he has created the International Food Blog. Some members of the blog are traveling or live in various countries around the world while others of us are back at home and just have a passion for food and cooking. Posts are about food in general; from restaurants, seen on the street, stuff we've made... and posts can be recipes, reviews or any other style you like.

Check it out now and then. Here's the link http://worldfoodculture.blogspot.com and it is listed under My Friends on the left side of my blog.

If you are interested in joining send me an email (nhandcock@{don't-spam-me}gmail.com). Jeremy and Jodie I think you should get on this so we can have some input from the glutinous USA and the most put down foodies in the world, the Brits.

Happy Eating and Cooking!

Chai Talk - The Movie

2006-09-08T16:21:00.000-07:00

I've been hitting my To Do List with a vengeance today and this is the result. First of all I wrote the list which was a good start I think. Some may say this is procrastination but making playlists and uploading movie clips for Chai Talk are an important part of my To Do List. Right below Find a Job but that seemed a bit ambitious to tackle today. So for the first time ever, Chai Talk on the Big Screen.

Chai Talk: Discovering A True Chai Stand Master
Kent Babin Teaches Chai 101
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=naSUBW8zZz0)

Chai Talk: Interview with A Chai Stand Master
Kent Babin Talks India While the Chai Boils
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yawlHHwwVcA)

Chai Talk - A Good Bye

2006-09-07T09:48:00.000-07:00

Location: Booster Juice, Edmonton International Airport
Rating: 0/5

It's been a long week prepping up for a goodbye that I've been trying to ignore all summer. After some busy days helping my Traveling Broad get organized to flee the country again it was time to say farewell. Luckily my room mate came through for me as she always does and lent me her car for a morning drop off at the airport. I've done far too many of those lately it feels like.

We threw the amazingly few pounds of luggage into the car and headed off. Luckily there was a cd of mine in the car and as we headed out of town on Highway 2 towards the airport The Gossip, "Standing in the Way of Control (Le Tigre Remix)" came on. It was a perfect mood lifter for both of us because we couldn't help but turn it up and pretend we could sing that high.

I missed the turn into the parking lot, maybe a subconscious slip but we had tons of time so circled around and found a parking spot. After checking in we headed for Tim Hortons to hang out for a few more precious moments but the lineup was ridiculous so we walked across to Booster Juice. I guess I should've known since there was no line and it took about 10 min. to get our chai but still I held out hope. All hope was dashed on the first sip. A sweet milky taste finished with a chemical bite so strong that I think they must have spiked my chai with bug spray.

I was saved from drinking my chai by a goodbye card that came all the way from the Tate Gallery in London. It had Rodin's sculpture "The Kiss" on it and needless to say I forgot all about my chai. I dropped the chemically mixture in the garbage as we said our last farewell at security. There was potential for it to be emotional but luckily the airport security saved us from that as Jodie was forced to empty out half her makeup into my pockets because she couldn't get on the plane with it.

So the chai sucked but it was probably the best airport farewell you can have so maybe it's worth trying the chai to see if it does the same for you even if it tastes awful.

So Long Sweet Summer

2006-09-05T09:21:00.000-07:00

Summer is coming to an end and it's sad for alot of reasons as friends move away, couples seperate and the cool chill of fall captures the air every morning and evening. Every fall feels like this because it's always a time of moving on and transition but this summer has been particularily special for me because it was a surprise in everyway. The last few days have been a desperate attempt to capture all of the life and love of the summer and I think it worked. A Bring Your Own fashion show with catwaling on Whyte slipped into a going away party with Jodie with her family which blurred into a going away party for my friend Mandy. The whole weekend was great and felt like a warm and nostelgic farewell to the last summer I'm likely to have in Edmonton. So, so long sweet summer. Thanks for the sun and the love. It's been fun and I can't wait to see you next year somewhere new.

Cyclin on the Praries

2006-08-30T14:17:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was a test of endurance in so many ways that I think it'll take a few weeks to recover. Friday night of course found me at what has become the summer hang out, Black Dog pub on Whyte Ave looking to cheap beer. For once I had to limit myself to only two because I knew the next day was going to be trying. Jodie and I rolled out of bed at 8am and after a quick breakfast geared up for a marathon bike ride to her Dad's place near Sangudo. I did feel like I was slightly tricked into the trip as evertime I asked the distance and estimated time it would take kept getting longer. But I was committed and with since my friend Sando left me his cheap bike when he moved last week I had a sweet set of wheels. After pumping up our tires and fixing my broken brakes we headed out, Jodie on her old school one speed and me on a bike I wasn't sure was going to make it out of the city let alone Sangudo.

We got out of the city quickly and hit highway 16A heading for Jasper. The first few hours flew by as we discussed cycling and Jodie went on various rants about how people have to get used to having bikes on the road. While I agree I don't think the highway is the best place to try to teach drivers a lesson. We stopped at a gas station to fill our bottles and had a nice break behind the fountain at a golf course before putting in our Ipods for a little pickme up for the last few km's. As we turned off the highway and hit the back roads towards her Dad's house we started to fade and I totally died at the top of what felt like a mountain. We picked our selves up and finally turned on to the gravel road that headed out to the farm. Luckily Hilda had a huge meal with buffalo steaks waiting for us when we walked in the door and I eat more than I thought I was capable of.

As we talked it came out that the rodeo was on and lucky for us there was a rodeo dance that night. Jodie's Dad generously lent me the keys to their diesel Volkswagen golf and off we went to see some bull riding and dance up a storm with some true cowboys. I broke out my best 2-steppin moves and wowed them all as I ran into people and crushed Jodie's feet. After hours of excitement and me almost falling asleep in a chair we managed to find the car nuzzled in between two giant trucks and head home exhausted and laughing with shimmering northern lights over the prairies guiding us.

The next day was spent playing with the dogs on the farm. A border collie that played fetch for hours without tiring and a mini-doberman who just wanted to cuddle. We walking around seeing cows, elk and the places where Jodie grew up. It was a true prairie weekend for me and I guess I am an mostly an urban boy even though I beg to differ sometimes.

Chai Talk - Discovering A True Chai Stand Master

2006-08-16T18:36:00.000-07:00

Location: Casa de Nicholas
Rating: *****/5

This is a big day in chai talk. As far as I can remember this is the first ever five star rating received by a chai and definitely the first in North America. I've wandered the world from the home of chai in Kolkata to the largest commercial purveyor of chai in Seattle and finally this weekend a five star chai has been discovered.

It came from an unassuming young man who I met in India. He cut his chai teeth on the mean streets of Chandigarh and honed his skills while traveling from one end of India to another and then perfected his technique back home in Canada.

I knew I was going to be receiving this rising star in the chai world and picked him up at the bus station in downtown Edmonton last Friday afternoon. After catching up, Kent was put to work putting our house back together now that our renovations are complete. We had to clear the kitchen so there would be room to make chai but that would have to wait, first was vodka and beer. A night of dancing later Kent stumbled to our apartment and unfazed by a lack of sleep, headed straight for the kitchen. Together we tackled omelette's for ourselves and the other four occupants of our house that night who slowly emerged.

With breakfast out of the way it was time for chai. My current living conditions do not provide many facilities for chai production but luckily Kent came prepared as any good chai chef would. He brought his tea, cardamon, ginger and strainer with him. He set to work making chai for three of us. I watched carefully and had a brief in-service myself as my chai making skills have been notably rusty of late. As the tea boiled on the stove memories of chai stands all over India came flooding back. The milk swirled in with the black tea and foamed up almost to the top before Kent's skillful hands lifted the pot off the stove stopping the blizzard of chai before it could bubble onto the burner. Such chai is not for the faint of heart as it takes time to thicken and Kent was in no hurry. We bantered while the tea did it's tantalizing dance with spices, milk and sugar.

Finally the chai was ready and Kent skillfully strained the now earthy mixture into our waiting cups. The aroma was intoxicating but not overpowering. As I swirled, the layers of spices came through and licked at my senses. I took a sip and knew instantly, this is chai stand chai. In case you are unaware this is the highest compliment that can be paid to a chai.

Our second taster, Jodie, was a virgin to real chai but agreed that this was something special. You could tell by the warm afterglow that rose to her face after a first sip that there would be no more Starbucks chai in her future. As if that wasn't enough Kent went on to prove his chai mastery with another two batches including one for Jodie's mom. All this after spending a night with me and some of my friends. A special experience for anyone and as Kent saw and I thought it might throw him off his form but true as a champion must be he rose to the challenge.

Such consistent performance under pressure and in difficult conditions are the mark of a true chai stand master and I think Kent is a rising star we should all be watching. I for one can't wait to taste another drop of what amounts to liquid bliss. Sadly the chai master is off to Egypt leaving us to boil for ourselves once again. A loss for Canada and a gain for Cairo. If you're in Egypt be sure to look Kent up for a chai.

*A video of Chai Stand Master Kent creating his five star chai will be available soon on youtube. Check this blog for updates.

Manual Labor and Killer Muffins

2006-08-10T21:37:00.000-07:00

So it's been a long time. I've been neglecting my blog of late because I've been busy. I know it's no excuse but my computer has been unhooked and set back up twice in the last week while we ripped out carpet and prepared for the wood laminate flooring I'm now sitting on. I think this weekend will be the end of the endless renovation...

So, funny story to share. I was laying around with a friend of mine when she pointed out I have calluses on my hands. Needless to say I was a little surprised as I'm not big into physical labor. I have my nice guitar calluses but these were a little more hardcore than tough finger tips. We thought about it and decided that maybe all the painting and ripping up carpet and throwing it around and carrying a billion pounds a laminate has given me worker hands. Masculine, callused, worker hands.

Could be. However the next morning as I was mixing up the batter for my muffins at work using a huge wooden spoon I was like, hey my hands hurt. That's when I realized where my calluses are from. I'm unsure if I should let this little truth out or stick with my manly worker story. It might sounds better than, "I have callused hands from mixing muffin batter in a bakery I work in. Yep, it's killer making muffins." Luckily I know a girl who thinks that's hot, haha!

So this week I'll be moisturizing.

Water

2006-07-26T20:40:00.000-07:00

With my one year anniversary of leaving for India coming up in a few days I've been thinking longingly of the country. When I left I never thought I would, not that I didn't love my time there but I was done and ready to move on. But like people say, India gets into you (in more ways than your stomach) and makes you miss the adventures and the insanity of diversity and seemingly endless inconsistencies that begin to make sense the longer you stay.

So with my thinking about India I decided to rent Deepa Mehta's film, Water .

After making a splash when they first tried to film it in India and caused riots and death threats the movie was almost dropped but in 2004 they went off to Sri Lanka to film. I guess that explains when the supposedly 1930's holy town on the Ganges looked more like a modern day, clean mock up of Varanasi. Despite some of the set looking a little to clean and contrived the movie was amazing and Lisa Ray, a Canadian who plays one of the main characters, was heart breakingly beautiful.

The movie is the story of a group of hindu widows who are ostracized from Indian society with Ghandi's rise in 1930's India as the backdrop. It's a fantastic movie and I read it will be coming out in India around diwali. It's gonna be a controversial movie in India I'm sure. Maybe even more than the DaVinci Code (haha). For one there's no singing or dancing and the controversial stuff actually happens in India unlike say, Salam Namaste where audiences could easily brush off topics like abortion and premarital sex because it's set in Australia.

So if you're in Canada I know you can rent it and if you're in India watch for it in a few months and let me know how you like it and how you think Indian audiences will respond.

Chai Talk

2006-07-18T20:41:00.000-07:00

Location: Casa de Kent (near University Station on the Calgary C Train)
Rating: ****.5/5

The Casa de Kent is a quaint and hospitable home with one of the most forgiving and generous hosts you are likely to find on the face of the earth. After an hour long C Train ride through the Calgary Stampede kick off crowds I was ready to see a friendly face and the old women who was drunk and sitting beside me on the C Train didn't count. My host met me at the C Train station and despite me being an hour late he was still there standing in the sun slowing roasting. Actually it was very reminiscent of our meetings in India where one of us was always at least an hour late.

We embraced back on home soil for the second time since leaving India and it quickly was like old times. A stop at the liquor store for beer later we arrived at Casa de Kent. A homey bungalow that makes up for a lack of furniture with a bbq in the back yard that I understand was rescued from an uncaring owner in an alley not far away. We quickly got to making chicken tikka which Kent had marinating in the warm sun, Chandigarh style. Then it was fun and sun as the shirts unwisely came off as they always seem to when I'm with Kent as we got the bbq warmed up and the beer chilled in the backyard. The chicken tikka was done to perfection and literally melted in my mouth. The side of an aged cheddar cheese, fresh bread and tomato gave the meal a north american twist though I did miss the mint sauce and raw onions of the traditional meal. After reminiscing, talking future plans and generally taking trash over what some might say is too much beer for 4 in the afternoon, we headed in for chai and and Indian pop music.

I knew that Kent had picked up some prime ingredients and I was not disappointed when I saw him whip out fresh ginger, green cardamom and I believe Dajeeling tea (correct me if I'm wrong). As the mixture bubbled the scent of far off adventures filled the room and the sounds of almost forgotten parties filtered down from Kent's computer speakers. On first sip the chai threw me off with it's milkyness however we quickly realized that it was because Kent forgot the sugar. A small but vital misstep which cost a half point however understandable since India is becoming a memory and we both had more than enough beer and sun for the afternoon. Once it was fixed I allowed the chai to take over my senses. A perfect mix of spicy ginger, the tang of green cardamom and the subtle dark seduction of truly fine Indian tea. One cup was not enough but another is a pleasure that will have to be saved for a later day since both Kent and I had to move on. The memories of the chai and the sunburn have stuck with me and reading the tea leaves in the bottom of the chai pot I know that our fates will come together again for more Chai Talk in the future.

I'm Thinkin About You Mumbai

2006-07-12T21:26:00.000-07:00

Mumbai was one of my favorite cities in India. It is more than any other city in the country a world city. Like Toronto, New York or London, Mumbai is filled with people from all over it's own country and from around the world looking for the opportunities that only mega cities provide. The city embraces it's colonial past but has created an urban feeling that is all it's own. While shanty towns surround the city it is these people who make it run. From wandering the hanging gardens, sunset on Chowpatty beach and just walking along the peninsula it's a great city that everyone should visit.

I was very sad to hear that once again there was a senseless terror attack in India and again in Mumbai. My friends were telling me that they thought it was strange that India was attacked but I told them about how there is actually a terror attack of some kind in India at least once a month but we don't often hear about them. It's heart breaking to think about all the people killed and injured in any terror attack but in India where attacks are frequent and will likely lead to some form of retribution it's doubly sad. I've read that Mumbai has had some trouble times lately even before the attacks with fundamentalists stirring up trouble but I know the city will get through it. Anyway this is just note to say I'm thinking about you Mumbai.

The Long Weekend

2006-07-10T19:05:00.000-07:00

Last weekend ended up being a long weekend for me which was exactly what I needed after last weeks break and enter and then hearing I didn't get a job that I desperately wanted. It was a spontaneous weekend which grew out of my aunt calling to let me know she was going to Calgary to visit my cousins and my brother and his family from Hong Kong who were visiting. So I got off making muffins early and jumped in the big caddy and we were off to Calgary. We arrived just in time for a huge hail storm and a glass of wine before the kids woke up.

It was a fun family night with my nephews and cousins trying to play nice in a giant inflatable castle (yes I did get in for a jump)

The next day after being mercilessly beaten by my little nephews playing playstation I hoped the unbelievably crowded Stampeded C-train to get to my Indian buddy Kent's place. I was running on Indian time an hour late and I think I made Kent get a sun burn standing in the sun waiting for me. Nonetheless he we grabbed beer and he had chicken tikka and some sweet Indian tunes waiting for me.

After being drunk at 4 in the afternoon I had to go to bed early before having a free Stampede breakfast at the Coop and heading to Red Deer.

I found my friend Mandy (again I was late) and we started off and the quintesenssial summer drive in Alberta down gravel roads sourounded by canola fields looking for a lake. Gull Lake turned out to be a night around the camp fire with beer and BBQ. After a round of bachi ball I realized this whole weekend was a truly Canadian event.

I got me thinking about what I've been told while traveling, that family is less important in North America than other places in the world like India or China. I've decided I'm not sure it's true. We have the luxury of not having to be closely tied to our families if we don't want to be but that's because of the economics of the whole thing. After spending the weekend with my family and seeing hundreds of other families out I think family is just as important here as anywhere there are just fewer obligations tied to being family.

The Sad Tail of a Break and Enter

2006-07-01T10:24:00.000-07:00

So this hasn't been the greatest week ever. Actually it was alright generally except for Wednesday. I got home from work and put my key in the lock completely oblivious while contemplating the lyrics to a Sufjan Stevens song that was on my ipod (which thank Shiva I had with me). So I turned the key and the lock was open, that's when I noticed the crowbar marks on the door frame and I was like, crap, we got robbed. So I pushed open the door and looked around. Put on my macho face, if you haven't seen it I assure you it's very intimidating. With keys in fist I headed in to check it out pushing open doors including closets and the shower curtain because I think that's where I'd hide. No one was there luckily but neither was some of our stuff.

When my room mate got home we made our list which included digital cameras, laptop, jewelry, shorts and socks... Guess they were stocking up for summer but I'm pissed about the socks because they were nice dry fit athletic ones.

Anyway I've decided to pretend that it was a super poor person who had to feed their kids and 2 dogs that way in my head it's like a Robin Hood story except they didn't know we're not rich. If they knew they stole from a poor kid who just got back from India and a second year law student (aka been paying for university for 6 years) I think they probably would have felt bad.

So if anyone hears about a cheap laptop or digital cameras for sale around whyte ave let me know because I'll need to do some ass kicking. And by that I mean I'd call the cops.

Muffin Man

2006-06-25T12:34:00.000-07:00

So I just got a job in a bakery now and I've had allot of trouble taking myself seriously. The whole thing is starting convince me more and more that my friend was right when he said that some of us live in a Trueman Show world where our lives are really sticoms. So first of all I get a nice white apron and a little paper hat like the ones you get at Krispy Cream and then we started up. It's a serious factory in there with a freight elevator to the basement where you use a dolly to get all the muffin mix. Next you bring it up and mix in various fruits and vegetables with giant wooden spoons and then the assembly line starts with guys making muffins and I was the new guy so I was on topping duty putting on cranberries, chocolate chips blueberries... all in my apron and hat. It was totally hilarious and I kept smiling to myself because I'm not sure anyone else I worked with would get how ridiculous it all was. I felt like an elf or an umpa lumpa or something. The muffin team is one Canadian high school kid, 2 Chinese guys and an old guy from Serbia who speaks almost no english.

I looked around and there were two little old ladies rolling out the 8 foot long piece of dough that would become cinnamon buns while I kept making my hundreds of muffins. I think I'm definitely in a sitcom... or maybe hell?

Oh Edmonton, I missed the chaos you bring me

2006-06-19T09:45:00.000-07:00

Returning to Edmonton was like falling back into the strange and only slightly different world I left a year ago. Most of my friends were here and thanks especially to those who drove to Edmonton, it was a great weekend. As soon as I got off the plane I knew it was going to be good with three friends meeting me at the airport we navigated around the police barricades and oilers fans to get a beer. That's how the long weekend started. From there it steadily descended into the chaos that once was my usual life in Edmonton. First was a diner party (balsamic sesame crusted salmon, dill fries, and Sando's pear salad) which led to a competitive round of Cranium before going to Halo where we dances, got pepper sprayed and then danced some more.

Before I could even recover we were off to the Pride parade on Saturday which ended in the beer garden in Churchill square. While the music was pretty sad, the drag queens and beer tents made up for it and before I knew it we had missed the first period of the hockey game. After that killer game (Go Edmonton!) it was off to one of the most interesting places you are likely to visit in the world, a place where small town charm meets big city eyeliner, The Roost. The bar was hoping for pride and I ran into lots of old friends between dancing to 80's and trying to escape the human created humidity on the patio. As usually happens, the night didn't end there. There was a 4 am stop at Dennys with the most surly waitress I've ever seen followed by me limping around in bare feet trying to catch a cab home before the sun came up any further.

I know there were lots of blanks in that convoluted story but they're for you to fill in as you see fit. Thanks for the good times back in Edmonton, now to get a job!

In Purgatory, I mean Edmonton

2006-06-14T10:03:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I started packing my bags for yet another voyage. It's funny because I'm starting to be immune to the usual excitement of packing I think. I guess it's probably because in the last year and abit I've lived in five different houses in two different countries plus a little side trip to the US... Actually looking at the word different doesn't come close to describing the contrast between living in Canada and living in India but that's another story. In any case packing is becoming easier each time probably because I seem to be living out of a continual suitcase.

So I'm leaving what is apparently monsoon season in Kelowna for the bright lights of Edmonton. And while some people I'm sure are saying, "they have bright lights in Edmonton?". But the lights probably will be pretty bright, at least for another few days while the Edmonton Oilers are in the Stanley Cup finals for the first time in like 15 years or something and the city borders on riots of despair and celebration. Plus there is all that oil money to burn these days in Alberta. Actually it might be blindingly bright even if it is just the reflected light of Calgary's money inferno.

My new adventure is revisiting my old life to see what's there. Hopefully I'll become underemployed instead of unemployed and spend a few months in purgatory before moving on. Actually summer and fall in Edmonton are much like what I would expect from purgatory. We know a calm, cold winter is coming but in the meantime there are street performers all over in strange costumes, people get this unfamiliar summer glow to otherwise ghostly pale skin and it's never quite nice enough to be mistaken for heaven.

See you on the other side.

Now This is Good Marketing

2006-06-12T13:49:00.000-07:00

I think I will only buy organic from now on.

http://www.storewars.org

Tekkie or Trecker

2006-06-08T22:27:00.000-07:00

My friend had a link to this on her site and when I saw it I almost died. Seriously it's probably the best thing ever

The Funniest Thing Ever
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o47kY3ZBL3A

I also made a little flash movie. It's not Star Trek or and it's not so funny but check it out if you're interested.
http://www.deviantart.com/view/34500945/

So after I watched that clip with dancing Picard I spent like an hour on youtube watching Star Trek stuff and then I turned on TV and TNG was on so I had to watch it. It's amazing how much better I always feel after watching Star Trek. Ok you can kick my ass now if you want. Here's a few more clips, the claymation ones are the best.

Claymation Trek
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVov6NJU2tk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-N6Cwhoh_s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyZ6oo0ktJQ

Borg Music Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4ra4IpbF3s

Kirk and Spock Love Edit
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewXkzqQR5yA

Star Trek Vs Star Wars
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNxhrPaaCA4

Busily Unemployed

2006-06-05T16:38:00.000-07:00

Seriously this last week has been so busy I'm thinking about not getting a job because it's so exhausting not having one. I'm to tired to write about it so here it is in pics.

100 K bike ride with my dad on my moms bike that's way to tiny for me and to boot a flat tire I kept riding on for 5k followed by two faulty tubes!Rowing at the lake with my buddy Beth just before our day at the beach go rained out.

Beth and I catching up on some partying I haven't been doing lately.

Breakin in my parents new BBQ with everything from beer can chicken, chicken satay with peanut sauce and chili, lime and cilantro shrimp kebabs.

My friend beths website revamp. Her post punk jazz style (I've decided to tell people that's your genre Beth) is hard to create a theme for and it took awhile but not gonna lie, it looks good! Check it out.

The Leonardo The Da Vinci Code Left Behind

2006-05-19T15:45:00.000-07:00

There has been lots of press lately for The Da Vinci Code and despite the fact that I've heard the movie kinda sucks, I'll go see it and so will everyone else because seriously that's what people do when Tom Hanks and the ridiculously cute Audrey Tautou are in a movie.

I've also been seeing just about every ploy imaginable to capitalize on the book/movie. Christian groups are either putting out prayer discussion DVD's or picketing theatres (or both). Every single television channel has some kind of look at Da Vinci or the myths in the book. The History Channel in particular has capitalized on the whole thing with no less then 3 shows I've seen advertised and there are a host of DVD's for sale and in the rental stores uncovering the Da Vinci Code. There are board games and don't even get me started on the number of religious books that are coming out right now. Seems like the talk shows are overrun by authors writing about God and the Church and Government ...

This got me thinking, someone has been left behind is all this hype? One of my childhood hero's has been sadly overlooked and deserves a place in the Da Vinci come back. Leonardo himself.

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have a long history tied to Da Vinci and in fact their leader, Leonardo, takes his name sake from Da Vinci himself. I don't think it's a stretch to say that he may in fact be the incarnation of the great master and under the teachings of Master Splinter Leonardo has grown into a legendary figure in his own right. It is also little known that Ninja Turtles have a long and colorful history with the church that dates back to the Second Crusade when they were said to be the preferred bodyguards of Louis VII of France.

So marketers everywhere take note, a great hero of our time who can easily be tied to The Da Vinci Code has been left behind. Leonardo is a figure everyone can get behind and heal wounds caused by The Da Vinci Code. I expect people everywhere to put aside their differences and right this wrong by supporting the creation of a new saga for the Leonardo and The Ninja Turtles cowritten by Dan Brown and Pope Benedict XVI and directed by Steven Soderbergh.

Happy Mothers Day

2006-05-16T13:39:00.000-07:00

Mothers Day is always a special treat and this is the first time in years that I've actually been with my Mom for the special day. I admit, I'm awful with dates but luckily the commercial world as always was there to remind me with sales and specials that mothers day was coming.

I spent a lovely day with my Mom started by a homemade breakfast because turns out the place we were going to go for breakfast takes reservations on mothers day, ooppppps! I think it worked alright and it was topped off with red wine poached pears with goat cheese on the patio, mmmmm!

My Mom wanted to go and check out the Kelowna arts fest that was on downtown so off we went. I was a little disappointed by the fest but the food was great. So while the morning started with class it quickly descended into grease.

We rented a movie to finish off the day and of course my Mom took the opportunity to rent something I had vetoed during many rental negotiations before. It was only later she reminded me that Jennifer Lopez and Robert Redford were in the movie which led to a long discussion about how Bart the bear who's also in the movie might eat them. To my disappointment he didn't but it was a surprisingly good movie even though Bart went hungry.

Anyway Happy Mothers Day to all you Moms out there!

Creation, And There was Bread

2006-05-11T14:38:00.000-07:00

It's been exhausting playing God to my little sourdough but finally it's over and he has slid out unto the world to be eaten.

Day 4, I did nothing and the dough was happy.

Day 5, I was supposed to add more flour but instead I drank beer with Kent. Some creator I am.

Day 6, I added flour and water to my yeasty starter and shaped it into a loaf. The shape it will have for all of it's days.

Day 7, I looked unto the dough and it was good and ready to be cooked. It took an hour of intense heat and trial but the dough emerged a loaf and looked unto its creator and it was good.

Creation, And Then There Was Yeast!

2006-05-08T18:19:00.000-07:00

With my spare time recently I've taken to the kitchen in a big way. A couple of days ago I went a little crazy and made four loaves of whole wheat bread and started on a sourdough. I came across the recipe when I was flipping through one of my favorite cookbooks by Jamie Oliver trying to figure out how to use up the lemons that my mom keeps buying because they're pretty. The dough actually takes 5 days to make so I was pretty excited to try it because I have a strange affinity to doing things that are hard. We're at day 3 already and like the recipe says it's old school bread, practically biblical.

On the first day I said, "Let there be yeast", and there was yeast. Not just any yeast but yeast from the clean clear Kelowna air. The recipe has you set the dough outside for an hour to gather yeast and who knows what else from the air. If you're in India I wouldn't suggest putting the dough outside though, not sure what would happen to the bread if exposed to that much pollution. I think some freaky mutant sourdough that could walk might be created.

On the second day I did nothing and the dough was happy.

On the third day I said, "let there be water and a handful of flour" and there was water and a handful of four. The whole thing is smelling abit like beer so I've definitely created life. I'm thinking tomorrow I'll create mountains and seas for my little sourdough and then start tempting the yeast with more sugar to see if they bite the apple but we'll see.

Blogsmetic Surgery

2006-05-04T22:14:00.000-07:00

I've not had a ton to do lately with resumes floating around and me waiting for eager calls. So I've decided to tackle the long awaited Cosmetic Surgery on my blog. She has held up well and her rugged good looks suited my writing from India but now that I'm back I felt she needed a more elegant face for the world. And before my Mom gets mad at me for being sexist and assuming my blog was female I will add that actually I decided she was to be a she. Something about a voyeuristic diary seems feminine to me so my blog is a female though I'm still working in her name.

Anyway, I took a nice template and made some careful incisions with my recently developed photoshop and CSS skills. I pulled back the forehead abit, fixed the nose, abit of lipo and sent her to the tanning salon. I realize that this metaphor is getting freaky but I was thinking about NipTuck a lot today for some reason.

I think she's come back looking fairly good. I'm particularity excited about the implants that have made the menu much more busty with a weekly chart of what I've been listening to on my iTunes from LastFM and some deviantART of the day.

Let me know what you think but watch your comments she's very sensitive about her looks.

Stephen Colbert - The gutsiest fake reporter alive?

2006-05-03T16:46:00.000-07:00

I don't normally watch the annual White House Press Dinner where the press and current administration sit around and make little pat on the back jokes about each other. For one thing I don't think we get C-Span in Canada and for another, if we did I would delete the channel from the TV. But when I heard that Stephen Colbert of the Colbert Report was giving the closing speech I had to find a copy of it. Lucky for me the internet is around and it's already posted all over.

If you've ever seen the Colbert report he does pretty much the same thing he always does pretending to be a crazed right wing interviewer (you might recognized his style from Fox News) only this time Bush is two seats over and the generals he is mocking are in the room. It's priceless. The uncomfortable silences after cutting down pretty much everyone in the room from the press to the President are the thing of legend and I hope it will go down in history as one of the gutsiest and greatest displays of political comedy. I seriously was waiting for a secret service person to shoot him. Check it out and remember, I'm not an American so it's ok for me to questions their government.

Video - http://movies.crooksandliars.com/WH-Dinner-Colbert.wmv
Torrent (this is the whole thing, the last 20 min are Colbert) - http://www.mininova.org/tor/296239

Everybody asks for personnel changes. So the White House has personnel changes. Then you [the liberal press] write, "Oh, they're just rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic." First of all, that is a terrible metaphor. This administration is not sinking. This administration is soaring. If anything, they are rearranging the deck chairs on the Hindenburg!

Yo hoho, it's a pirates life for me

2006-04-19T11:13:00.000-07:00

Well I was very excited by the strong response to my plan of becoming a pirate and heading south. As it turns out this is a common dream and we have the beginnings of a strong crew assembled. While I will be captaining the ship, mainly because I like the idea of a big hat with feathers in it, I've decided that I will be spending most of my time in the ships galley preparing delicious meals with the fresh catch of the day. First Mate Murray has been practicing being a pirate for years and with a strong liquor store management resume backing him up I've decided that he will be taking care of most day to day operations. If you are interested in a specific position on the boat please let me know your qualifications and the reason you think you would be good at the job.

The planned route is going to be starting in Victoria, BC, stopping in Vancouver to pick up a crew and supplies before heading down to Seattle to pick up the remainder of the crew. I've mapped a general route below.

Clearly since we're passing California and Mexico we will need to make a few stops on the way to pillage so that by the time we get to the Caribbean we will have a good word of mouth reputation. I'll plan the route in more detail and let you know the itinerary. Once we get to Panama we'll go through the canal and find ourselves in the warm Caribbean waters. I'm not sure exactly where the Panama canal is because Google Maps doesn't have great definition for the country but I think it's pretty big so we'll probably just run into it. Please pack your bags and be ready to go on a moments notice as our First Mate is actively searching for the right boat for us to commandeer. I've requested one with a hot tub and stainless steel appliances in the galley. Please let me know if you have any special requests. Looking forward to sailing with you. Cheers Mates!

PS. I found a treasure map on ebay but I'm not sure if it's real. See if you can authenticate it.
http://cgi.ebay.com/HISTORIC-BURIED-TREASURE-MAP-PIRATE-GOLD-X-LARGE-40x26_W0QQitemZ7407040910QQcategoryZ66638QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Why was I not Born a Pirate?

2006-04-09T15:09:00.000-07:00

Last night over wine, my Mom's peach pie and port my brother and I lamented once again upon fact that we were not pirates. Maybe it's a family thing because my Dad then told us about a pirate show that was his favorite when he was a kid. There is something about pirates (and super hero's) that make everyone want to be them. When I was a kid I wanted to be a fireman, not a pirate, but for some reason lately I've been thinking the pirates life is for me. Not so much the rape and plunder but the parties and treasure and maybe a parrot. I'm drawing up a business plan for a joint venture with my brother and a friend of mine who also wants to be a pirate. We'll buy a sugar cane plantation in Jamaica, make rum and try to break into the pirating business.

Let me know if you want to join us or have a pirate ship we could "borrow".

The United States of Big Cars and Bad Chocolate

2006-04-03T15:46:00.000-07:00

So I've been in Seattle for a couple of weeks now and while I have to say this is a very Canadian American city there are little differences that pop up now and then. Chocolate is a particularity evil difference between Canada and the US. I always wondered why when we went to visit my family in the US we always brought boxes of chocolate from Canada. It's not like you can't get most of the same brands; kitkat, Snickers ... however the exact same chocolate bar in the States will taste like crap. I'll define crap more precisely as waxy, crunch and generally not very chocolate like. Apparently this is because in Canada the legal amount of cocoa that must be in chocolate is higher than in the US so American chocolate bars actually have less chocolate in them than Canadian ones. I was rudely reminded of this yesterday when I bought a Snickers bar that might as well have been coated in wax rather than chocolate. Now I can't claim that Canadians don't also drive big cars especially being from Alberta where the car of choice is generally trucks that make driving down the highway feel more like you somehow ended up in the middle of a monster truck rally. However Americans still love their big cars and these commercials made by someone for a contest hosted on the GM website were shown to me at a party the other night where I drank way to much red wine. Check it out before they get taken down.

[Ok they took them down but I found some that are up still One Two Three Four Five Six

and if you go here: http://www.chevyapprentice.com/apprentice.php

you can make your own. Haha, I love it and even though Chevy says they meant to do it, hmmm hard to belive. but at the risk of being a marketing vehicle for Chevy I'm posting the link because it's a great chance to vent SUV frustrations.]

Mmmm it's nice to have wine again and my brother reminded me of just how nice food can be by taking me out to a tapas bar on the weekend for mint marinated scallops, beef serlion with truffle oil and a bottle of Spanish red! I might never leave Seattle to get a job.

Live Music and indie kids, We're not in India anymore

2006-03-26T13:08:00.000-08:00

A week in Seattle and I was starting to wonder what this city was all about besides tourists and drug dealers around Pike Market and a seemingly endless choice of art galleries and furniture stores around my brother loft. I took a trip to the suburbs but they looked like any other suburb in North America. I have to say thought beggars on the street here know how to do it and should hold training classes in India. There are guys singin motown songs acapella, waving cardboard signs that say SMILE and if you say you don't have spare change they generally say, "That's cool have a good night." These tactics could go over well in India and I'm thinking of starting a consulting business on "The Art of Friendly Begging".

So after being somewhat disappointed with the city it's now starting to grow on me. The turning point was last night when after a hot chocolate from the original Starbucks store, my brother Jeremy and I walked up to Paramount Theatre to see The New Pornographers and Belle and Sebastian. The theatre itself is fantastic with big old chandeliers hanging from the gold walls and ceiling. We were on the floor about 10 feet from stage and surrounded by the hip indie kids and adults. There were enough converse sneakers to pile to the roof and I loved every second of it. The New Pornographers who if you didn't know are from Vancouver and kick ass. Electric Versions, their first cd is still my favourite and despite lacking Neko Case, their co lead singer the concert was great.

I was set to be a little disappointed by Belle and Sebastian because they just didn't seem like they would be a good live band but damn was I wrong. The set got off on the right foot when they walked out and said, "So how is everyone feeling tonight? Sexy, good, well we'll try to play some sexy numbers for ya." Remember this is with a Scottish accent. The show was great and just when it started to slow down they almost started a riot with "I'm a Cuckoo".

The concert and the people at it made me think that Seattle may have more to offer but I'll have to dig to find it. A women wearing a pin stripe suit with a mohawk seemed to say, there's more to this place then yuppy software developers. I'm going searching today so I'll let you know what I find.

Home sweet home, wherever it is

2006-03-16T10:48:00.000-08:00

Sorry to my faithful following, I am back in Canada and I've had the craziest weeks since being back. I haven't been in the same place for more than five days for almost 3 months now and I have kept up the pace in Canada. Once I got my feet on the ground in Kelowna I had a day to do laundry and wash the smell of India out of my clothes before packing up again and hitting the road for an 11 hour drive to Edmonton. Of course it snowed the whole way and Edmonton which was beautiful the week before was now -15c with about a foot of snow. I love winter though. There's something about it that just freezes time and makes everything slow down.

Edmonton was almost like I never left. Some of my friends were still there and I hit up West Ed, the biggest mall in the world to pick up a new pair of jeans. The mall seems a little over the top and rediculous but I love that there is a water park, submarines, a replica of Columbus' ship, a roller coaster, an ice rink, two movie theaters, a hotel, flamingos, and every single store you could ever want. Mmmmm, rampant consumerism, it's nice to be back home.

First on my Edmonton stop was trying to surprise my friend Beth Arrison at her cd release party for her first cd, "Modest Charms". It was a great show at an old jazz club, The Yardbird Suite. Her sets were amazing and her choice of covers inspired with Rufus Wainrights' Poses, Leonar Cohens' Hallalujeh, Girl from Ipinema and a Beck song I don't know the name of. I have to update her website once I stop moving for a day or two but her cd is great (hopefully this week). You'll be able to buy it off the website soon when I get my shit together, www.betharrison.com

On Saturday I slept in after crawling around in the snow from bar to bar. Then it was time for what I consider one of my favourite Alberta times with my friend Sando. Driving down the highway to a dance show with snow blowing all around lisening to music so loud you end up singing along to Sigur Ros.Edmonton still feels like home and I miss my friends like crazy. It was nice to see you all and congrads Andrea on your engagement!

Then it was one day skiing back in Kelowna, I know I look like a pro in this photo thanks to my Dad's great photography skills. Now I'm in Seattle for a couple weeks of rest and relaxation with my hospitable brother. Hahaha, no acutally I have to find a job, fun I know!

Chai Talk - Hong Kong

2006-03-07T22:50:00.000-08:00

Location: MIX (IFC location, Central HK), Uncle Russ Coffee (Discovery Bay, Lantau Island)
Rating: 0/5, ***/5

Stepping off the plane in Hong Kong and riding the comfortable bus out to Discovery Bay was a little like falling down the rabbit hole, hitting my head and then having a seizure. The first thing I noticed was it was freezing, 8c the day I got there and I swear the humidity felt like -8c. Right away I was astounded, the bus came on time, no one even attempted to steal anything from me or carry it and the bus ride cost more than I would pay for a hotel room in India.

Over the next few days of hanging with my nephews, meeting my sister in laws friends and enjoying the city I began to notice a few things.

1. I'm pretty sure I went at least 50 years into the future on that plane to Hong Kong
2. Modern architecture is really cool and shiny
3. Some places in the world are clean?
4. Things actually cost money, lots of money!
5. No one can make chai like India

I had two chai samplings while in Hong Kong both thanks to my brother which was nice since they cost the same as about 50 chais in India. The first was from Uncle Russ Coffee in Discovery Bay. It was a typical coffee shop chai made from a mix that is combined with hot milk. The flavor is nice but lacks the ginger and cardamom of an India chai while focusing on nutmeg and cinnamon for strength. With a heavy frothy texture it's more of a meal than a refreshing drink but nonetheless it was tastey in it's own right but not what I would call an Indian Chai. The egg tart and pineapple bun from the chinese bakery near the coffee shop were great even though I got the wrong bun and it was filled with sweet red bean paste. Somehow my western tastebuds have trouble with sweet beans? The creamy warm chai was perfect for a cold rainy day looking out towards Disney Land and then wathcing my nephews soccer practice.

The second chai was from MIX, a health food chain in Hong Kong. I hit up the IFC building location (International Finance Center). The chai, like the thai chicken wrap I had, lacked flavor. Maybe it's because it's a health food place but there was no sugar and it was basically milk with nutmeg. Knowing that my bad review might break their business I tried to chalk it up to a mistake and asked them to fix it. The second attempt was hotter but no better. I've never rated a chai at zero before but MIX earned it. The saving grace was the location. The IFC building which was under construction when I lived in Hong Kong is now a massive and beautiful building filled with expensive stores and attached to the anime like sky walkways that run all over central and up the elevators to Soho and also to Central station of the MTR (underground metro).

Hong Kong was a great stop on the way back from India though the beer from Lan Kwai Fung and hot and sour soup from Causeway Bay left my stomach going, "where am I?". I love the city and thanks Todd, Karla, Jericho, Brayden and Christopher for the good times enroute to Canada and trying to 'save' me. Maybe one day.

Chai Talk - It's Not You, It's Me

2006-03-01T19:10:00.000-08:00

On my last night in India I had my last chai in the country that, for me at least, invented it. It was a sweet chai with a nice mix of ginger and cardamon with was surprising from a street stand in front of the Vivek Hotel. It left me refreshed and talkative with memories floating through my head. As I talked with the chai guy and a few other people who inevitably stopped to chat I couldn't stop thinking about India and all the times we had together. We started out on the wrong foot I think with her leading me to rip off travel agents in Delhi and then throwing me into the middle of nowhere of Mohali with no furniture and no hot water. The first month while we got acquainted we were constantly fighting leaving me sick more than once.

Once we got better acquainted though our relationship began to blossom. I learned how to argue, fight and bargain with her to come out on top. She took me out partying with all my fiends and introduced us to the local police and liquor store owners and ensured that a night with her was never boring.

Traveling with her was always a highlight and it never ceased to be an adventure. The week in Leh was beautiful and amazing while the 37 hour trip to and from Pushkar to see the camel fair for 24 hours was a test of stamina but rewarding. In the end it was a somewhat abusive relationship with marks left mostly on me because she's too big to notice when I got mad at her. I saw amazing things and it was everything; good, bad, painful, relaxing, stressful and fun but in the end I think it's the good things I'll remember most like the people that she brought together and the unbelievable experiences she makes possible.

As I rode through the streets of Delhi towards the airport I couldn't get John Denver, "I'm leavin on a jet plane" out of my head. It is strange to be in Hong Kong because India is so different from other women. The rest seem so foreign now compared to her but at the same time a little more gentle. Really though it's not you, it's me and while it's good to be leaving on a jet plane, I don't know when I'll be back again but I know there will be a day when I'm ready for more of your abusive lovin.

I couldn't sleep the night before I met India and she kept me up most of our last night together. Thanks India, for the good times and the bad and let's just call what we have is an open, nontraditional relationship. Call if you ever need to talk.

Back in Punjab and Goodbye India

2006-02-28T08:19:00.000-08:00

It's strange to pull into a city in India and have it feel homey but after two months away it felt like that pulling into Chandigarh. It was nice to be back in the Punjab or at least the UT where I quickly remembered how ridiculously expensive rickshaws are in Chandigarh. It was a nostalgic visit with my favorite paneer tikka butter masala and naan from Kumars in sector 37. I took all of 2 minutes for me to be joined by three guys who work at an IBM call center who proceeded to tell me about all their friends in Canada and how one of them was planning to move there in three months, yep, back in Punjab!

Thanks to Jean and Nacho I had a great sleep and woke up to the nostalgic sound of the polyphonic silent night that is the reverse noise for so many annoying little cars here. So bright and early I went to the FRO office to check out thinking that I'd find it fast since I've already been there twice and both times had a nice tour of the neighborhood getting wrong directions from people. I was wrong and realised at the first wrong building it was a problem. Wrong directions were again given by two people but luckily I recognized the fortified barbed wired building after 2 tries and got everything taken care of. It's hilarious because my papers were literally sitting in a file in a drawer where I'm sure they have been since I gave them to the office 7 months ago.

So now I'm back in Delhi and to kill time I've been actually responding to people who try to sell me stuff and ended up having a nice chai with a guy from Kashmir who owns a shop just off the Main Bazzar.

On that note farewell India. I'm off to Hong Kong ridiculously early so goodnight and good bye. It was good, It was bad and I have scars (especially on the inside) to prove it but I know she hits me cause she loves me. Check back soon to see if India and I are breaking up or just seeing other people.

Chai Talk - Rishikesh

2006-02-25T21:19:00.000-08:00

Location: up the lane from the green hotel with a yoga teacher
Rating: */5

So being in Rishikesh I decided that I have to try a yoga class. I don't think any self respecting person can come here and not at least try a class. I asked around for a beginner class and ended up in the basement of a hotel that smelled like a barn, waiting for a yoga teacher. He came late but apologized that he had another class and couldn't teach me. Great, ok so they called another guy who came 2 hours later. A very nice old man who spoke broken english and I was excited because he seemed like a great guy and even promised that he does not charge to teach because it is not the way of yoga. While I was also initially sceptical he actually stuck to it!

The let down however was my misunderstanding of yoga. I thought we'd get right to doing some streching and a light workout. Nope, turns out I have to understand the essentials of yoga first. This proved to be rather difficult as apparently the essentials are written in a book in sanskrit and my teacher could barley speak english. Two hours later I understood the seven major elements of yoga and mediatation (I think?), had a chai that I'm sure was instant powder with the teacher and went on my way. At least I tried.

Also if you're in Rishikesh, get a shave at the barber shop halfway down the main street in Swarg Ashram area. The posters of "Male Therapy Treatments" and "New Hair Cutting Styles" are priceless. Really, I tried to buy one off the guy but he wouldn't sell. I'm particularily glad to see that the 6 inch mullet, perms and huge glam rock hair for men and going to be the next raging styles across India if these hair dressers have anything to say about it!

Tourists in India

2006-02-25T03:02:00.000-08:00

With only a few days left in India I've been getting rather reflective on everything here. Being in Rishikesh surrounded by people seeking spiritual enlightenment or just getting high also helps. I've been thinking about the different types of tourists that you find floating around this huge country and trying to categorize them. Here's what I've come up with. Please feel free to expand the list.

1. Where's the beach
There are many people, especially in south India who came here for a relaxing vacation only to quickly realize that there are few things about traveling in India that are relaxing. Perfectly representing them were the couple I sat with having dinner last night. They were debating over what cheap hotel to stay at and the women said, "Is there one with a heater and a fireplace we can stay in?" and the guy then said, "well whatever, we need a tv because I'm not going to spend the day in little chai shops again."

2. I found myself
There are many all over India taking meditation and yoga classes or staying in rural areas talking about how the Lonely Planet is the devils book. I saw a guy yesterday who had dirty dreads, spit on the sidewalk and then peed right beside it. Hmmm, maybe I don't want to be enlightened?

3. You have health insurance right?
I figure this is where myself and most of us fit in here. We are having fun, traveling and willing to try anything once or twice. While occationally in trouble with the local police we generally blend (blend is obviously a relative term) into Indian society and can carry on a conversation in Hindi if it doesn't go beyond hello, what's your name and a bartering.

It's a little sad to think I will not be a tourist for much longer :-(

Identity Crisis

2006-02-23T07:58:00.000-08:00

Yesterday a kid asked how old I was and I said guess. He guessed 17 or 18 because I didn't have a beard or a moustache.

Yesterday a guy asked me if I was Korean or Japanese?

This morning a bus driver got mad at me because I couldn't read the hindi sign on the bus saying that it was the conductors seat?

Who am I? I think I must be starting to look a little Indian. Now if only I could grow that moustache.

Chai Talk - The Amritsar Mail Take Down

2006-02-21T07:44:00.000-08:00

Location: The Amritsar Mail Train between Kolkata and Varanasi
Rating: **/5

It was I high risk take down from what I could tell. I had just fallen asleep an hour before when at 3:30 am I was awoken by lights and a loud commotion in the sleeping area next to mine on the train. As I came to and looked around men were all rushing to look and there was the sound of flesh being hit. I made out that the guy in the next sleeping area over had caught a thief and was beating him up with the help of a few other passengers. It was quite a stir and every male passenger in the train car and probably the next two were crowded around watching and giving a helpful kick now and then. Luckily with my upper berth I was out of the action but also had front row seats. The mob was actually rather gentle with the thief but I think it was mostly because there was not enough room to get a good swing or a kick in.

I learned the next morning that he was stealing shoes but none the less I was happy that I had heeded my hotel managers warning of that particular train line and chained my bag to the seat the night before.

Eventually the guy stopped fighting back and things settled down to a negotiation of if the police would be brought into the fray at the next station. As the train slowed 5 minutes later and pulled in the thief started to try to get away only to be beaten back with the shoes of the man who had caught him. Only in India can mob mentality still maintain Karmic irony. At the station he was escorted off the train but from what I gathered the next morning the police didn't get involved.

So an eventful morning on the train and suddenly at 4am after everything died down everyone decided that it was morning now and turned on the lights and started talking. Next thing I know there's a chai guy on the train yelling chai and it's only 4:30am! It was instant mixed with hot water, not the best. Ouch, not much sleep but the chai in Varanasi while sitting on the ghats has already made up for it.

Problems with Authority

2006-02-19T05:23:00.000-08:00

My day started innocently walking around the polo grounds and being invited to spontaneous cricket games that seem to pop up on every patch of grass, gravel or road on Sunday's. I caught a few stragglers finishing the Kolkata Marathon, congrads to Bimal Mahato who finished in an impressive 2.23.11 on a warm day and a city filled with dust and pollution, impressive.

Anyway my first run in with authority was when I had wandered all the way back to the Horwah bridge and decided to take a walk over it and get a few photos of the flower market from above and the impressive view of the river below. It took all of 30 seconds and 2 photos before a cop was on me tapping my shoulder with his big stick to get my attention. Apparently photos of the bridge are not allowed, opppps. I swear this photo is off the internet and not taken by me, please don't hit me.

So then I wandered around for awhile watching a couple street cricket games before heading back to Park Street. Somewhere I got a little lost and ended up in front of what I guess it the police headquarters. I tried to walk down the road and was quickly whistled at by the guards in their sandbagged machine gun positions saying that the road was closed. Mmmm, k so, finally I made it to the gardens around the Victoria memorial where I was so excited to settle on the nice lush grass and read my new modern history of India book when again whistles were blowing at me. The guard rushed over and was frantically pointing at my sandals I had taken off and my bag and at the grass. Finally I understood that people are not allowed on the grass in the park (which is almost all grass and a few walkways). While that was about all the authority I could handle for the day so I settled back on a bench at the park and watched the guard whistle at at least one person every 2 minutes for the next 2 hours. It's strangely relaxing watching the blind enforcement of rules in India, it could actually be a sport I think.

Well I'm off to find chai as my level is getting dangerously low. The temperature above one of the metro stations said 40c this afternoon and I was having trouble getting in the mood for hot chai but now that night is here I have to stock up.

Chai Talk - Kolkata

2006-02-18T04:37:00.000-08:00

Location: A stand on the road somewhere north of the New Market in Kolkata
Rating: ***.5/5

It's been a hectic week of traveling. Getting to Orissa took me 25 hours instead of 17 because the train was late and I think I might have been on a slow one. The train ride was long and after about 10 hours the cars started to fill with garbage. I ordered lunch and got a prisonesque meal of rice and some spicy red water in two different shades. Yum! On the second night I was walking around trying to get the blood back into my legs after begining cramped on the top bunk most of the day because people kept sneaking on the train and taking my seat when I noticed cockroaches crawling all over the place and then a rat ran past my foot into the next peoples area. In any case Orissa was worth it. It's a very nice place full of temples and nice people. The Sun Temple at Konark was amazing. Kinda like a carved porn magazine / sex manual for Hindus I guess.

After Orissa I was off to Kolkata again on a train that was 3 hours late. I've read allot about how dirty and awful Kolkata was so I had to see it for myself. I've been amazed at how nice it is in fact. It's dirty just like everywhere else in India but the people are very friendly and there are tons of great things to see. It also has the biggest garden and most public space I've seen anywhere in India. Outside the Victoria Memorial there is a beautiful garden, a polo ground and just down from it Tata Steel has a nice public garden and at night there are street stalls with behl puri and peanuts all over. It's great. The flower market under the Horwah bridge is amazing and I got lost for an hour wandering around all the flowers and down to the ghat under the bridge.

And the chai. As I'm sure you read the chai in the south was sadly lacking in flavour and masala. However as I was told by my fiend Kent, Kolkata is where the chai is at. Mmmm, I've been having one about every 3 hours I think. Generally it comes in a porcelain cup that you throw away after using. This gives an earthy flavour even if it is only in my mind. The chai is pleasantly sweet but not overpowering and tea is nicely flavoured with cardamon. It's good to be back in the north.

Bored and waiting for a train

2006-02-12T06:42:00.000-08:00

Well I'm bored and waiting for a train. Chennai had been abit boring actually. Not much to see or do in the city that I've run across. The sites were less than stellar and the city itself is a large mess of dirty old streets and a couple of churches. While the rickshaw driver I had touring me around claimed that the beach I saw is the second biggest in Asia I found it tough to enjoy having just crossed a river that fed into the bay. The river, while not unlike any other Indian river, was filled with garbage but it also had a very strange smell. I think it was a mix of chemical wate and sewage, also not unlike everyother river in India, but in any case it kind of killed the mood at the beach.

Fort St. George was interesting to see with British and French memorabilia on display. It was a major British fort and apparently the French took it at one point in one of their many wars. Half of the fort is offlimits though as with many forts in India because the military has decided to use it as a barracks and training facility. I was trying to find the oldest Anglican church in India which is inside the fort and no less than three times did army officers blow whisles at me a wave that I was some where I shouldn't be. Not a big deal but stop pointing that gun in my direction hey. After finding the church it turns out that it's complely ripped up for renovations so not much to see.

The best thing about Chennai is that unlike other places in the South, they don't seem to get many tourists so I'm a celebrity again. I had a family who might as well have been sitting in the bleachers at a cricket game watching me eat a dosa for breakfast today, a guy at the art museum followed me around and talked to me in broken hindi-english and when I relaxed and read the paper in a garden a guy came and stood right by me reading over my shoulder for awhile before popping the question, "What country?". Feels good to be famous again. I'm not sure my ego can take going home.

Tamil Nadu takes the first annual Most Annoying Public Bus Award

2006-02-11T04:22:00.000-08:00

Well Tamil Nadu State buses did it, they clinched a victory in the coveted "Most Annoying Public Bus I've ridden in India" award. It was a tight race with state buses from all over the country competing. Back in my old backyard the Haryana, Punjab and Himanchal Pradesh buses put up a strong showing with unbelievably tiny seats that leave bruises on the knee caps of anyone over 5'9'' and having absolutely no where to put a bag if you happen to be traveling with anything larger than a purse.

However Tamil Nadu pulled ahead to take the prize. When I fist got on a Tamil Nadu public bus in Bangalore heading for Trichy I was initially surprised at how spacious they seemed and with seats that actually support your head rather than leaving it to flop around as you invariably fall asleep from an intoxicating mix of heat and exhaust fumes. I put my bag right up front and settled in. As soon as the driver got on he looked disgusted that I had put my bag at the front of the bus and motioned to the back where the ticket taker showed me I could shove it under the back seat. Fine, this happened on every bus I rode here and I always ended up in the back seat shoved between 4 other sweaty men being thrown at least six inches into the air on every bump.

That wouldn't be so bad except none of the buses here seem to have a back door on them. I think they spend the money on dvd players instead. So anyway, bumps sent me and my bag hurling towards the ditch while the bus went along at 50 km an hour. Trust me though it feels allot faster when you are sitting right behind an open door being sand blasted by the dirt of the road.

The real toppper though is that somehow the government decided a good way to spend money would be to install dvd players and a sound system on each public bus. This allows for Tamil movies and music to be played at a deafening volume for the entire journey, yey. Now these are not like big budget hindi productions. The movies are like bad kung fu with chubby Indian guys doing the worst fight scenes you've ever seen and sporting Tom Selek mustaches. The music that is generally played is a piercing high pitch woman and the lyrics for one song were literally five minutes of, lalalalalala, in various pitches over a synth line. Actually the whole thing feels a bit like your in some kind of postmodern installation piece. While entertaining for about 10 minutes it wears thin quickly and today I had to restrain myself from ripping the speakers off the roof of the bus and beating the dvd player with them.

Stay tuned for photos, stupid iway wont let me pull their cpu out and hook up my ipod.

Chai Talk

2006-02-09T01:21:00.000-08:00

Location: Sweet Shot beside the Meega hotel Trichy, Tamil Nadu
Rating: */5

First I must apologize to my faithful blog readers. I've been neglectful the past two weeks while I was touring around with my parents. I enjoyed living a slightly more comfortable life in India traveling through Rajasthan with a car and driver, flying to Goa and spending a couple days in Mumbai. I think was a good guide and for the most part I kept my parents out of trouble while introducing them to the wonders of India including a stop at the post office on the morning of their first day where they saw first hand how many people and bribes it takes to mail a package to Denmark. Thank God, I just heard from Mads he actually got it to!

So after the tour with my parents they were nice enough to fly me back to Bangalore to start my travels in the South again. I went straight from the airport to the bus stand and hoped on the first public bus to Tamil Nadu. It felt good to be uncomfortable and have Tamil movies blaring over the bus again as I made my 10 hr trip to Trichy. After asking numerous people which bus I should be on and trying a few I finally made it at 12:30 at night and settled into a decent hotel near the bus stand. Yesterday I saw the extremely disappointing rock fort temple which was really just a bunch of stairs going up an 80m piles of rocks with some stands selling fruit and an obviously recently "reconstructed" temple on top. Reconstruction seems to have meant adding railings and a marble interior reminiscent of a hospital. At least the second temple was cool. The Sri Ranganathaswamy Templa is huge and actually still in use. It was filled with Hindus walking around a praying, having lunch, and an elephant moving logs around. The large brightly painted gateways were amazing and the atmosphere was fantastic. Of course it also had the standard temple shops selling crap and priests asking for donations but it was one of the coolest hindu temples I've seen and the least annoying for tourists.

After diner I was craving some sugar so I went the sweet shop near my hotel. Their limited menu of sweets seemed to be gulab jammin and halwa. I went for the gulab jammin which I think must have been package because it was awful. My masala chai came after the gulab only to had no masala and a thick skin on top. The milk was heavy and the tea light giving the feeling of drinking whole milk. I left unsatisfied especially after being spoiled with good chai in Delhi and Rajasthan when traveling with my parents. I have to say the best chai in India is in the north. I think I might just stick to fresh juice and lassi's down south. Luckily when I got back to my hotel I realized I had a couple english channels and one was playing Clueless, ahhh perfect way to end a day in Trichy