A Picture Says A Thousand Words

(This picture is from the BBC) I don't say too much about the crisis in Lebanon because, quite frankly, I'm not well enough informed. I'm reading and listening and trying to learn, but I still feel I'm not equipped to comment.

I did, however, come across this picture that tore up my heart. It's two boys who are watching as their mother is taken by boat to an evacuation ship. They apparently missed the boat.

This just kills me.

Me, The Poker Super Star

So I'm fairly groggy this morning, having stayed up until 3 am playing online poker. Ahem, finished "in the money" and collected my big 6 bucks. I don't put any in, I play what's known as "freerolls", which are tournaments that are free (makes sense?!). I'd never play for money - work too damn hard for it. Plus, then it gets nerveracking, instead of enjoyable and leisurely. I should've won, had 500,000 chips to the other dudes short stack...an all in caught him a flush on the river and bingo bango, roles reveresed.

I really enjoy it - especially the people and the "banter" back and forth. Last night I was pretty nasty and rude actually. Oh well, it was the slurpee deal that started that mood. I loved it though, 'cause these two guys were kind of ganging up on me, and being very rude and obnoxious, so I knocked them both out (which left them without much to say). They were all "you don't even know how to play" (I've played for years), "blah, blah, blah" so I gave a few little snide comments here and there to distract them, then took 'em out...sweet justice!

But today I'm dead ass tired, as I had to be up at 6 and three hours just is not enough sleep, no matter how you look at it. Probably going to have to crash for awhile at some point.

Oh, another stolen pic, not by me. Some dude on flickr. Will post his name later, as I've already forgotten it - bullish or something like that. See, told ya' I was tired. ZZZzzz.

Making Slurpees Isn't That Hard

O.K., I have to go on a bit of a raymierant here. I'm afraid it's the only way to do this. I'll do it without capitalization or much punctuation, just for effect. Here goes:

dear abdullah the 7/11 worker. please have at least 3 slurpee flavours ready that i like when the weather in my condo is 900 degrees and i venture out to get one. i don't like grey watermelon or runny coke with one ice hunk spinning around in it or any kind of 'roided mountain dew blue bursts thank you very much for not trying. you didnt have coke OR pepsi which clearly indicates your lack of enthusiasm as the slurpee clerk. don't fake it out like youre "oh so busy" at 10:06 p.m. and that the mad rush at 9:30 was the reason the floor is sticky and the slurpees are in flashing light not ready yet mode. please quit stuffing those two for one donuts down when noones looking and get to work slackass. the floors need cleaning and there are half eaten old big bites on the counter which is not appetizing at all even if im starving ethiopian style which I am not. REMEMBER GLOBAL WARMING? and two for one means ones free hello not one for regular price and another one minus a buck something. FREE MEANS ZERO so you should learn that already.

I know, not nearly as entertaining as the queen of rants, but I'm tired and just felt like a slurpee and wasn't even going to blog tonight. This is my best effort.

Brain Verification

First of all, this picture belongs to Jill Greenberg and is part of her "End Times" exhibit in LA (that's a story in itself - will do that post later).

Having established that, here's my point for this post. I get so frustrated here sometimes and it ultimately ends up being hilariously funny as I try and act all computer pro. There are just some things that quickly have me realize that I'm not all that NOR a bag of chips, for that matter. I was trying to reply to someone's comment here and when I encountered the word verification for my own blog I couldn't figure out the letters!! I had to try 3 times before I got one right and I had a damn good laugh at my inability to do the simplest task (once again). Do they intentionally make it so I can't tell??? While others are commenting on my blog, I have to try and try again like an idiot?! Oh my god, I'm truly pathetic sometimes. Maybe I'm on "Candid Webcam" and you're all having the last laugh? Just thought it was funny.

Patience Isn't My Strongest Point

(First of all, I like this pic. Found it somewhere, it's not mine. But I like it...now, back to the point). Hooray!! I did it - look to the right to see that Alana's blog did arrive (fashionably late). I just don't have any patience and expect it to *POOF* be there. I'm learning, with a little help from my friends (wonder if the Beatles were blogging when they wrote that - oh yea, guess not, huh?).

Messed Up

I just tried (as I have before) to link to Alana's blog on my sidebar, which I've done successfully before. It wouldn't take!! Have tried 3 times now and have done it exactly like I did the others. WTF!!

Yep, something's messed up alright. Just tried to upload an image here and it wouldn't do that either. AAAARGH!

Not Much To Say (*gasps*, it can't be)

This is my fuzzbox for the day. As I said earlier, I fell in love with his pics. I haven't even put my pics on the computer yet, I'm pathetic. I'm waiting for my son to get back from vacation to help me out. I'm generally a fairly intelligent person...I'm just so intimidated by anything computer related. Once I know what I'm doing I'm o.k. But, having crashed a few machines, my new philosophy is don't fucking touch it until you know what you're doing or have someone who does nearby. So I've taken 8 zillion pics that I'm dying to post, but don't know how. Maybe I'll draw them for you, to hold you over??! Nope, not doin' that either.

Fuzzbox, Alana and my kids have all inspired me to get into photography - you all have cool pics and that's prompted me to get into the action. Mine seem to suck already (color isn't very vibrant??), but I'll learn - trial and error for now. The manual is confusing, is it secretly in spanish and they're just not telling me? 'Cause I really don't get it. So I just push buttons and hope a picture is the end result. So far, so good.

This pic is gorgeous. My dad is a fisherman and this is his favorite fishing spot (Tofino), which is probably why it jumped out at me. One day I plan on going there, just to see for myself. I spent time at the fisherman's memorial at Garry Point in Steveston today (took pics). There is a circular wall around a net mending needle and the walls are inscribed with all the boats that have gone down and the fisherman who have been lost/killed at sea. I know a lot of them. The boat my dad fished on for years is there and his friend's name is on it, as he died. My dad was there when it happened - it wasn't a "sinking" but their huge net, full of fish, snapped and took out two of them. It just missed Dad and Bob died and another guy broke his hip. But Dad's also been on a boat that sank - his leg was crushed in 16 places and he swam to shore like that (luckily they were close). Still, quite a feat - he's my fucking superhero. Funny, for many years I never really heard much about his fishing - he just went away for a month at a time "to work". I didn't really think much of it, until now. The stories are just starting to surface - another involves a "rogue wave" (I'd never heard of them) that went right threw the cabin of the boat. I find the stories fascinating and never really knew how much Dad had been through. Just makes him that much more awesome to me.

For someone with nothing to say, I guess I said alot, huh?!

Go Check Fuzzbox Out.....

His photos are spectacular. I still am lame, so don't know how to link you there just by clicking here (help Alana!). I'll put a link in the sidebar (hopefully, doesn't always work out either). It's worth checking out his pics. Gorgeous. This is a sample.

my united states of whateva! - George W. Bush

I found this thoroughly entertaining, how 'bout you?

Will Ferrell Earth To America

Love him...SNL's just not the same without him.

Israel Attacks

The internet can be a powerful tool. Thanks to MG's blog for directing me here.

How Fucking Fitting

Oh my god, at a time I really need a laugh, a "sign", or anything positive.....

Anyone who's gotten to know me also knows by now that my good friend/next door neighbour died recently, right? Her place has been up for sale for some time now (they're asking about $70,000 too much for it) and my kids and I are very much aware of the fact that Joan will be an extremely hard act to follow. We were great friends who respected each other's privacy, space and lifestyles. Rarely (if ever) was there a problem between us. And, if and when there was, we'd "hash it out" and get over it.

Lately a lot of prospective buyers are looking at the place. And I cringe when I see them. It just magnifies the fact that she's gone and we'll soon have to start all over again, with someone new. That's not such a bad thing - but some of the people looking are starting to really piss me off and I know they won't "fit" here.

All the people in our complex get along extremely well, because we don't judge or bug each other. We're all really friendly and there's a wide range of ethnicities and ages and we have everything from the relatively poor (aka "me") to those fairly well off, this being their second home or an "investment". We all accept each other based on respect and nothing more.

Here's where the fun begins. This morning I needed "space" - a quiet corner on my deck to reflect and brace myself for some inevitable anxiety. Normally (when Joan was here), I'd go out there and have a nice spot to think, cry, or whatever. Today was different. I got out there and a whole lot of yelling from room to room, door slamming and window opening and closing was happening next door. It's the middle of a sunny afternoon so, I really can't complain. But, in this foul state of mind I'm in, today just wasn't the day for it. And there must've been 10 people crammed on the adjoining deck, all trying to get a (loud) word in edgewise - outyelling each other is how I can best describe it. Now understand, the people causing all the commotion don't LIVE here yet, you'd think they'd have some consideration for those of us who do. Not a good introduction really. My first impression of them was when I saw them this morning as I took out the garbage - they were congregated in my carport, eyeing up MY stuff and still jabbering, very LOUDLY. I felt like saying "get the fuck out", but I bit my tongue and went back in. I'm not a cranky old bitch (yes I am). Today, for sure I am.

I don't want busy bodies next door. I don't give a shit what they do and I'd like that to be mutual, if they are in fact to be the new neighbours. So, bad start with me. I did a (phoney) hello as I walked by, also trying to give them "the staredown", as my daughter's coined it.

So I had a solution that my son and I devised when we encountered this same situation last week. Another family (very large - the units are 2100 sq. ft., meaning they could accomodate "boarders" or extended family) had arrived to view the place, "peering" in through our windows as they entered next door. Again, oblivious to the fact that they weren't the only ones in the world and their loudness and nosiness was disturbing (this was in the morning and some of us were still sleeping). We turned on Nirvana's "School", pointed all the speakers towards the open windows and cranked it. You should've seen them - it was priceless. You could almost hear them say, "we're outta' here". I must confess, it was a hell of a lot of fun. Immature, but effective, to say the least. As I said, normal, respectful people wouldn't get this from us - these people we don't want around anyway. I'm sorry - I'm a very nice person but stay the hell out of my business. We need to set that straight, right from the "get go".

Today I nearly died, as a really appropriate song came on as I unleashed my music "bomb" once again, this time using the radio as my ammunition. It was BNL "Old Apartment" (which I love - how appropriate) and the part about wondering how the woman downstairs is doing and turning up the TV really loud and stomping on the floor "just for fun" - which was basically, exactly what I was doing. And the few times (not often), when Joan had morphed into a momentary bitchzilla early on in our relationship, my ex and I would play that song for her benefit. And laugh. So it brought back memories, as well as served a really great purpose. How fitting. We'd quickly managed to work out some "ground rules" with Joan after that - some being hers and others ours. I wonder if somehow it wasn't a message from her and she wasn't laughing somewhere, knowing exactly what I was doing here today. Suddenly my very bad, somber mood has lifted into a "lighter" one. Oh, how fitting, MG's "It's Been Awhile..." just came on (the radio). Which also totally takes me back to (good) memories of my ex (our music was Zepp - namely IV). It's gonna' be a good day after all.

Chappelle's Show: MTV Cribs

I really needed a laugh...priceless.

Crazy guitar solo

Dude rocks!

Thanks Guys

Well, a quick minute here to "de-stress" after work. The deal with Dad is an abdominal aortic aneurysm that needs attention. He's had it for over 3 years and it's been fine as the docs have monitored it. But, since he was t-boned at a red light and ICBC has been doing the dick around with him, his blood pressure's shot up and the aneurysm is bulging beyond 5 mm, which is the danger zone. Mom had a brain aneurysm nearly 20 years ago and we just about lost her - she pulled through but is paralyzed on her left side. Dad's just been through chemo and we're not sure if he can endure any more surgery. So another bout of shit for us it seems. Actually, I think I will continue to blog, 'cause if I don't have somewhere to "vent" I may explode. My Dad's my world (other than my kids, of course) - he's the best. So pray if you believe that shit or do a wicken style dance or whatever. We could use the help right about now. Thanks for the support.

Priorities

We've just had word about my Dad that's going to mean I'll be unavailable for all this fun stuff for awhile. No one's reading anyhow but, just in case today was the day you were gonna' start, I won't be around much. Some things are just more important, and Dad's about as high on the list as you can get (other than the kids). Wish us luck, we'll need it!

Boyfriend #2

Oh, this is my other boyfriend - he's the best there is, the best there was and the best there ever will be. Something like that.

Just A Reminder Of Who My Boyfriend Is

Incredibly Unbelievable

I just saw a story on the news that blew my mind. Apparently there is a gadget for people who are completely paralyzed that will enable them to do things by THINKING about them. It's a computer that processes their thoughts to do things like change the tv channel or open their email. WOW is all I can say. That's awesome, but also kind of creepy. Just imagine the possibilities and what's coming next.....

Thirty Two Bucks For Fruit??

The hot sunny weather means that noone in this house feels like eating much. Not that that's a bad thing - especially for me (who's trying to drop a few). My daughter, however, can't afford to lose weight - at 5'4" and 100 pounds or so, I get concerned when she's not eating...it's been five days of "I'm not hungry". So I went and stocked up on fruits and veggies, figuring that at least when she DOES decide to nibble on something, it'll be of quality and she'll get some nourishment out of it. I've also been buying the Safeway equivalent to "Boost" drinks.

Now, here's the problem. What happened to the good old days, when going to the market meant taking a ten? And then you'd get change back!! Done, those days are gone my friends. Dreaming. Put twenty bucks of gas in, then head to the local market and drop thirty more. That's what I did - and I didn't even get everything I needed. No lettuce. Onions. Just a few things to tide us over for the week. I don't mind - it's good local stuff and we're extremely lucky to have some of the best seasonal produce here in Richmond. Ladner (a small town just a hop, skip and jump away through the tunnel) still has a fair amount of "farming". Even my street has farmland at the south end (which is where I bike). Quite funny - the other end is total development, RAV line and high rises. It's like two totally different worlds. Back to fruit though.

I'm going to enjoy my fresh pineapple now. That WAS a steal - at $2.99 each I should've bought a whole room of 'em. Yum.

Nice Little Place, Huh?

Photo 172
Originally uploaded by loves vcr.

The inside of Tamara's place. See the next post for details.

(Speaking of "details" - when I get a camera later today I'll photograph this - it's so very cool. Every single detail is included - "Wonder" bread on the table; fishing rods with actual teenie little hooks; coffee mugs with their names on them; case of pepsi on the floor, etc.)

Nice Little Place, Huh?

Front Porch of Tamara's Retreat (Miniature Work)
Originally uploaded by loves vcr.

This little cabin is actually a "miniature" made by my friend, Tamara (one of two friends that I inherited this computer from). Cool, isn't it? The "inside" will be the next post (remember, I'm just "learning" here!). I don't yet have a camera - this was taken with Photo Booth on my mac.

I'm Baaaaack!

Well so much for "relaxing". Tried, couldn't do it. Boss called me Friday, needing a "favor". Had to bath Mom (which neither she nor I enjoy much - just reality when someone's had a stroke). Drove my son to Surrey and my daughter all over Hell's half acre. And now that I have three blogs (just because each one facilitate's a different thing), I spend a lot of my "free" time there.

Did eat chocolate though - thanks Alana, for reminding me to do so! Then I biked (hard) to "work it off". I guess if I didn't eat so much chocolate I wouldn't have to work at it so hard. I used to be qualified as a fitness instructor - have let it "slide" a bit lately. Too many other things seem to take priority over "me" stuff. But I'm getting back to it, as I quickly realized that when music or fitness are "stripped" from my life, I get awfully cranky and something's just "missing" then.

I always love my rides - we have beautiful dyke trails here that go on forever. The fantastic scenery includes mountains, water, flowers, kites, and nature (including blue herons, sea lions, eagles, etc.). It never gets "old" to me. Every direction points to something spectacular - to the west, the "islands" and water; the north reveals planes taking off and landing at the airport, with magnificent mountains as their backdrop; the south is the mighty Fraser (my favorite) and beyond that Tsawwassen, more water and ferries departing and arriving at the terminal; the southeast has Mount Baker in all her magnitude and glory. The only little spot that doesn't offer much of anything is due East, which quickly fades into either mountains or water with a slight head turn. I can stay up there all day just to soak it all in. I love it - it's my "home" for sure.

I was born and raised in Steveston, right at the most western "edge" of Canada (discounting Vancouver Island, of course). A few steps and I'm on the west dyke I've described, facing out to nothing but islands, water and mountains - a spectacular place (I already said that, didn't I?). It's just everytime I'm there I think, "geez, I wish I had a camera and could SHOW people how gorgeous it is here". Then I stop and think, "na - it's my little secret...don't want people to flock here and ruin it" (which they already are - the little "kept" secret's been let out. It's quickly becoming a very sought after tourist destination and movie shoot location and is drastically changing - some for the better, some not). I know, selfish of me to want to "hog" it, but it's not worth spoiling with a congestion of people and traffic. When I'm there I sometimes feel it's "mine and mine alone". Kind of like I could erect a "No Trespassing" sign. The redneck in me wants to pull out my 12 gauge and say "git off my property". *Sighs*....guess I'll have to "share".

As I've stated on one of my blogs (not sure if it was this one), my bike rides on the dyke have really prompted me to buy a digital camera. I'd planned on getting it a few days ago, but this was delayed, as something always manages to "suck" the cash before I get to spend it. This time it was a mortgage payment (damn condo). But there is so much to "capture" here - from the contrast of farms and barns on one side of the street to bulldozers and development on the other. The many diffferent "faces" of this town. The fishing boats and wildlife. The places that are "heritage" sites (where my grandparents worked), intertwined with trendy new shops full of out of towners, all taking it in.

I'm leaving now to finally buy that new camera. I've already described (in one of my posts, entitled "Missed Photo Opps") how many times I've seen the perfect "shot" and cursed not having one. So count on these pics coming to you soon - I can hardly wait! Be back soon.

It's OK

Taking A Rest

I have two days off, in which I plan on doing a lot of putting my feet up and going "aaahh". So not much to say about that, is there? (I don't know the source of these pics I'm using - they've come off this computer, which I inherited from a friend who passed.)

It Was A Beautiful Day, Except.....

I'd been looking forward to Canada Day since last year. My kids are older now and have lives of their own, so last year I was all alone and biked down to the local fair (that's turned into quite an event). I've been going for 30+ years and, although it used to be a little community festival, it's now gone big time. Even CBC radio was there, capturing some of the entertainment. This year I'd decided that I really wanted to make it a "family affair" and had arranged for us all to go together. Sounds great, right?

It started out disastrous, right from the word go. My daughter had a very sore throat, which now has her looking like a strepasaurus rex. She wasn't going to come along, but I persuaded her (before I realized she was as sick as she is). We picked up my mother-in-law and niece and headed out. My son and his girlfriend were also with us. That makes 6 of us (4 adults) in my 5 seater Volvo. Hot + Cramped = Cranky. We made our way down to Steveston and parked at my parent's house. This was because they'd been advertising "no parking anywhere" on the radio - making our plan to walk the mile or so from my parent's house to the event. We got about 18 steps before my mother-in-law decided "she'd had it" - it was too hot and she couldn't go on (she's a bit of a drama queen). We made it up the street to DQ and went in, to try and come up with "Plan B". She ordered a cheeseburger and we'd decided that I'd drive her home, as the intense heat was unbearable for her (she lasted 8 minutes, I think. This was despite the fact that she had the world' biggest fucking sun hat/umbrella on).

I walked back to my parents to get the car, then returned to DQ to pick up "mum" and drive her home. The kids were going to wait at DQ for me to get back, then we'd proceed to the fair. As I pulled into the DQ parking lot, my daughter came out, informing me that the woman working behind the counter was a mean old bat who'd refused to give nannie a seedless bun and was just downright being rude. Mum (Joyce) can't have seeds (allergic), so I was upset by this. I went in to the restaurant and confronted the woman. Her attitude stunk and she was very smug and cocky, so I explained that her rudeness and refusal to cooperate was total crap. By this time my kids and mum had stepped outside, as they'd had enough of "Cynthia". I made my point and turned to leave when I heard her mumble about me to her co workers. Then they all laughed. I stopped, looked back, then exercised good restraint in carrying on out the door. When I got outside to my family, they then reported that they were now pointing at us and laughing from inside. My son's girlfriend also told me she'd witnessed the same bad attitude when she noticed there was no tp in the washrooms and had asked for some to be placed in them.

Ha, ok. Back in I stormed (I'm not real good at anger management). I tore a strip off Cynthia, who seemed to enjoy every single minute of it. I told her I'd lived up the street for years and had watched as that DQ was built - that this was home to me (why that mattered?...don't know but, at the time, I felt it did). Her attitude was one that I would've loved to wiped the floor with, but again I used good judgment, vented and stormed out. In a move I'd never see myself doing and would look down at others for, I unwrapped my food and threw my wrapper on the ground as I left. "Hhhmm, take that". (What an idiot I am)

We got in the car and drove my mother in law home and then to the fair (by this time we were able to find a viable route and parking and the vent was nearly over!). We finally parked and got out of the car, at which point I asked my son where "my stuff" was (meaning my bags of extra clothing, water bottles, etc.). I'd asked him to watch them at DQ while I went to get the car and we quickly realized we'd left it there, back at DQ hell. After my big commotion and Oscar deserving garbage performance, we had to return to the DQ. I considered leaving the stuff there, but wouldn't as my son's Pearl Jam t-shirt (from the concert) was in there and damn if we're giving that up. An exercise in humility was about to unfold.

As we drove back I imagined what they'd done to my bags. Stuck 'em in the grease trap? Used them to wipe around the garbage? I also ran through how I'd handle it. Would I go ninja on their asses and jump the counter? Is murder still illegal?

It was a long drive back (or so it seemed). We arrived to find my bags still sitting on the seat, right where we'd left them and so, slinked in and back out with them.

We finally arrived at the fair about an hour before closing. Rides were five bucks each and I splurged for 4 before I had to put the reins on. Property tax time means a tight budget. When my daughter and niece found a way to "freeload" on the rides, I went along with it. Normally I'd lecture them on how that "isn't right" and "people should pay for things they want". This day I said "fuck it, go for it". And I sat on the curb and watched them make themselves sick on twisters and loop-de-loops. I burnt to a crisp and we went home dehydrated (the water got hot) and headachey. Yeeha.

We'll do it all again next year.

bush

My God, that just clarifies everything, doesn't it?

I'll Be Right Back

I'm watching what's shaping up to be one hell of a tennis match between Andre and Nadal....be back later.

By the way - Happy Canada Day!!!