Hurricane Katrina

I can't believe it's been one year since that terrible storm!

All that money that was raised to help the people affected, and one year later, it doesn't look like a lot of progress was made.

It is very disturbing to think how many people, and how long it takes for any decisions to get rubber stamped! Especially with all the fiasco the first time round when the evacuation was happening. I'm sure noone wants to get into trouble now, yet, at the same time, nothing is moving to progression and closure for many of the affected people.

Taking way too long to make a decision, implement and execute in these devasting situations just makes things worse!!!!

I should be running the project, as we sure would be seeing results by now! Mind you, I'd be pissing off a lot of people, but things would be moving and quickly (and for the BETTER!!!)..............

Reality Show Addict

Okay, I admit it (unlike a lot of other people).......I really like reality shows! I'm a huge fan of AMAZING RACE (that's my favorite). I'm also a fan of Hell's Kitchen, Big Brother, American Inventor, The Apprentice, Dancing with the Stars, So you think you can dance and Rockstar-SuperNova (I hope Lukas wins!). I sometimes watch American Idol (just to see Simon in action). When I'm bored, I watch some of the stupid MTV one's: Surreal Life, Flavor of Love and Kept. I'll admit I like Pimp My Ride (Xzibit is so funny and so are all the guy's fixing the vehicles) . I've also watched Queer Eye for the Straight Guy a few times which I think is hilarious. Wife Swap and The Nanny sure make me glad I'm not hooked up with some of the guys on the show or have those terrible kid's!

Well........that took a lot of guts!

After reading my list- I'm thinking- I have a problem- until... I googled all the reality shows that exist- WOW! Good thing I only have basic cable!
http://www.realityshows.com/

Presents and Movies

This morning I met up with Jr, who brought me back a few presents from Portugal and Spain! I rarely get presents, however....like mostly everyone else in the world.......I LOVE getting presents! She had a great time with Tony and his family AND she shopped and shopped..coming home with a lot of bling bling!

I rented another great Canadian film this weekend. A film I missed seeing at the Globe- my usual routine. "Eve and the Firehorse". It's mostly in English, with a bit of Chinese. I really enjoy foreign films.

Another great Canadian film I saw several months ago was "3 Needles". It's about AIDS. I'm always recommending movies and books to my friends......so I might as well continue on my blog!

You know......watching a great movie is a way of giving yourself your own FANTASTIC present!

Kinko's or Kinky?

This morning while I was at Kinko's using their computer for the print service they offer, I see this shady looking guy sitting a few computers away from me. He kept looking side to side to see if there was anyone coming up behind him and when someone did, he would change his computer screen. Well.........this got me thinking....what is he hiding? So of course, I kept looking his way, until I saw what he was TRYING to hide. Porn! Very disturbing triple XXX rated stuff. AND...he was printing it to the color printer!!

Usually I mind my own business when it comes to sicko's, but this morning I felt very brave. As I was paying at the till, I whispered to the cashier "Do you monitor what people do in here?", she answered, "No, not really". I then whispered back that the fellow in the back was using Kinko's computer for triple XXX rated stuff and printing the photo's on their printer. I paid and left.

Just call me a concerned citizen........

People Come Into Your Life for a REASON

I'm cleaning up my email's, and I see one that I saved from my friend Sue. It was actually one of those chain letter type things I don't like receiving and never respond to.......I did read this one and then saved it!

People come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime.

When you know which one it is, you will know what to do for that person.

When someone is in your life for a REASON, it is usually to meet a need you have expressed. They have come to assist you through a difficulty, to provide you with guidance and support, to aid you physically, emotionally or spiritually. They may seem like a godsend and they are.They are there for the reason you need them to be. Then, without any wrongdoing on your part or at an inconvenient time, this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end. Sometimes they walk away. Sometimes they act up and force you to take a stand. What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled, their work is done. The prayer you sent up has been answered and now it is time to move on.

Some people come into your life for a SEASON, because your turn has come to share, grow or learn. They bring you an experience of peace or make you laugh. They may teach you something you have never done. They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy. Believe it, it is real. But only for a season!

LIFETIME relationships teach you lifetime lessons, things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation. Your job is to accept the lesson, love the person and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas of your life. It is said that love is blind but friendship is clairvoyant.

Thank you for being a part of my life, whether you are a reason, a season or a lifetime.

Truth

Once you start judging, you twist the truth.

Public Transportation vs Paying for Parking

And you wonder why I take the bus? It's not only the insane drivers, construction, traffic, lack of parking and drive by shooting neighbourhoods of late........

"Statistics show at a median price of $375, the rate for a monthly parking pass in Calgary is the highest in Canada, and more than what drivers in Los Angeles and Paris pay for the same service.

At an average of $22 per day, the daily rate in Calgary is also the highest in the country and higher than Atlanta, Miami and Munich. "*

A monthly Adult bus pass costs $70.00. You can also buy bus tickets- a book of 10 is $19.50.....OR you can just pay as you go at $2.25 per trip (with a transfer can be valid for 90 minutes).

Let's not even get me going on how lazy people are with their walking skills............everyone likes to park right up to the front door of where they are going......better yet........make it a drive-in! Why even leave your car...........

Oh......on that note..........who has a car these days anyways.........all I see is BIG trucks and SUV's. Show-off's. It must be nice spending $80.00 to fill up your vehicle every week or two.

Boy....people have money to burn!

I've got to stop reading the Calgary Sun................... * stats are from today's paper.

Social Butterfly.........that's ME!

I love not working!

Yesterday I met up with my friend Brad who is visiting from New York. Chambour Royal MARTINI'S in the afternoon ROCK!

Today I treated my goddaugher Isabelle (and no, she is not named after me), her sister and mom to lunch at Earl's. A girlie lunch. Didn't go quite as planned with the 4 and 6 year old. Oh well, at least the adult's ate!

I have a daytimer to keep up with all the social activities on the go! Paper based of course.

Job's I Would NOT Excel In

1. Pole Dancing. I need to wear knee pads. Not very sexy.
2. Black Jack Dealing. I don't know how to speak Mandarin.
3. Landscaping. I can't lift anything heavy.
4. Golf Pro. You can't talk and plus it's boring.
5. Watercolor Painter. My colors run.

How to be an ARTIST

I saw this poster in a classroom way back in May when I was taking a class...and of course, I had to write it down cuz' I loved what it had to say!

HOW TO BE AN ARTIST ( Sark)
Stay loose. Learn to watch snails. Plant impossible gardens. Invite someone dangerous to tea. Make little signs that say "yes" and put them all over your house. Make friends with freedom and uncertainty. Look forward to dreams. Cry during movies. Swing as high as you can on a sunset, by moonlight. Cultivate moods. Refuse to 'Be Responsible'. Do it for love. Take lots of naps. Give money away. Do it now. The money will follow. it will. Believe in magic. Laugh a lot. Celebrate every gorgeous moment. Take moonbaths. Have wild imaginings, transformative dreams and perfect calm. Draw on the walls. Read everyday. Imagine yourself magic. Giggle with children. Listen to old people. Open up. Dive in. Be free. Bless yourself. Drive away fear. Play with everything. Entertain your inner child. You are innocent. Build a fort with blankets. Get wet. Hug trees. Write love letters.

Vanilla

What a great scent vanilla is! I love it in bubble baths, incense, candles, soaps, and perfumes. I find it very calming and relaxing. I just took a bubble bath with it- and that's why I'm probably not in the mood to write as I want to go and just read my People magazine.

I'm a magazine junkie- especially when it comes to entertainment news! I love to know what the stars are all up too. Especially when it's "newsbreaking".............ha ha!

Oil or Acrylic

That's a debate many artists have an opinion on. I personally don't have one....YET! I just took one class this afternoon- Oil painting. I like it. Paint doesn't dry as fast as acrylic, and I still have touch up's to do- but it was a fun afternoon. The last time I took a painting class it was with MT about 10 years ago (acrylic). I think all we did was laugh.

I am determined to keep at it and practise my colors- yellow, blue, red and white are all you need.

A color wheel might be of value as well!

Landscaping is HARD WORK!

Lifting concrete, rocks, dirt and using shovels, wheelbarrels is a whole new world to me! Even going to the Landfill was a new experience (dump in my world).

I've never been to a dump in my whole life (a real dump) so I found it very interesting. It's a very organized "business". You drive in and they weigh your vehicle and ask you what you have (taking a quick look to make sure you aren't lying). Then they tell you what section to go to and they give you a number. Basically, you follow all the other vehicles (mostly trucks) and the flying Seagulls. Yuck......... tons of those ugly birds. Garbage pickers. How do they stay white is my question. Anyways..... you get to the spot and dump away. You then go back to the booth and they weigh you again and you pay. Cheap. It cost us $5.00 (but we didn't have alot of stuff). Very interesting. I don't think I ever need to go back there. Mind you, there was a really cute City boy worker making sure everyone was dumping their stuff in an orderly fashion....could this be a new "dating spot"??????

The landscaping started on Sunday with Val & Dennis and then carried over with Harry and Ben on Monday night. Harry's back is out now. I'm sure Gorete is wondering why I've never asked for help before, and now this. Throw Harry's back out! Gee's those sidewalk blocks weigh over 80 lbs each............. I certainly can't lift them.

I have enough of a problem just lifting a shovel full of limestone rocks!

THANK GOD for GREAT FRIENDS that know I'm useless when it comes to this sort of thing and don't laugh at me when they look in my garage and see nothing they can use.

Ikea and Space

I love Ikea! It's the kind of furniture and everything else for my style.

When you walk into an Ikea store, the show rooms are always put together in such a nice clean way....always optimizing the small space that many Europeans have to live in. The space used never looks crowded and it always looks balanced for great energy flow.

Well........... I keep everything and find it hard to declutter my space. I have tons of clothes, shoes, CD's, books, Video's.......you name it- and I probably have lots of it. I think everyone I know has far too much of everything. I'm not sure why we are like that. Is it because we want it or need it?

I remember once while volunteering for United Way, having a tour of the old Calgary Drop In Centre. I had never been there before, and really didn't know what to expect. The tour didn't "shock" me- but one part did. It was when the Director brought us to the 10 or 15 lockers that the homeless could use for a 48 hr period. If it was not emptied out by that time, the items were destroyed. The space was about 12" by 24" and described as the space the homeless use for "all their worldly possessions". That was a real eye opener for me. Wow! I'm sure all my bubble baths, soaps and lotions wouldn't even fit in there!

I have too much stuff.............but I continue to "Feng Shui" my space..........I need more than one week!

World News

In the past I subscribed to the Calgary Herald on a daily basis. As I found the news far too depressing, I cancelled this daily delivery several months ago. Mind you, I still need my weekly fix, so I get the Friday and Saturday edition (as well as the odd Sunday).

Nothing has changed- still sad news with very few uplifting stories.

My horoscope however, was PERFECT on Friday:

All the areas that you natually like are beautifully favoured now: travel, dealing with foreign countries, studying new subjects, exploring philosophy, spirituality, politics and big questions. After all, you're a truth seeker.

I LOVED it!!

I'm off to mail 4 envelopes containing 9 books and 2 magazines to my friend Monica via her Mother in Winnipeg. I'm breaking down and using Canada Post once again.........let's see if they get it right this time.......hopefully all 4 envelopes will arrive to their destination!

The Meaning of Butterflies

I've noticed quite a few pretty butterflies lately, just flying around enjoying themselves. I've never really been a huge fan, as I'm the type that ducks when a flying insect comes by!

However, I stopped to think about this last night on what the meaning of a butterfly was. So...I looked it up:

Humans have always projected their own beliefs, hopes, and emotions onto butterflies.

The ancient Greeks used the same word, psyche, for both the butterfly and the human soul or spirit. The Romans carved butterflies on tombstones to represent the departing souls of the dead.

The Hopi Indians set aside one day a year for a ritual butterfly dance to ensure a good harvest.

Carried on the wind, consorting only with flowers, brilliantly colored, the butterfly seems to symbolize innocent, natural beauty; it has inspired poets for centuries.

Moralists have looked at the same butterfly and seen frivolousness, shallowness, and lack of purpose . . . in strong contrast to the busy, constructive bee.

(As you can see- it's going to be a bit tough for me to honour my "I promise to not cut & paste out of the internet" comment I made a few days ago...........OOPS!)

I'll leave you with this- a comment by Chuang Tzu (Chinese Philosopher) :

"I do not know whether I was then a man dreaming I was a butterfly, or whether I am now a butterfly dreaming I am a man."

Perfectionists and those that AREN'T

I am trying to be a much more patient person, especially when it comes to other people doing things WRONG the FIRST time.

Is it too much to ask for Canada Post to send an Express Post envelope within the 24 hours they say? Would this not mean that a Tuesday AM drop off by me, is to be received by Wednesday PM by the receipient NOT Friday AM. This was the conversation I had to have with their friendly 1-800 we don't care line.

I also had to have another conversation with Telus, after another service I have with them was cancelled by me. Voicemail. An overcharged monthly fee ( $ 6.95 compared to an answering machine I just bought at Wal-Mart for a one time charge of $19.00 and it does the same thing (well almost)). The conversation I had to have with the other 1-800 we don't care line was that my phone was still beeping to indicate I had messages BUT I was not allowed to pick them up due to cancellation of service mid day by Telus and the messages were left on my phone in the morning. Oh, I get it now............BUT this should perhaps go into a whole new topic of LACK of SERVICE.........

Did I mention that I'm still looking for a Female Family Doctor due to mine retiring end of March???

We won't even go there.............I think you get my drift on this whole confusing conversation............. The FIRST time always HURTS!

The Power of Goal Achievement is in the Habit

I'm working on a gift for a friend of mine, and my theme is around 21 items. Of course, while I was thinking on how I can make this work in a romantic kind of way (it's for Dawn's bridal shower), I thought about centering it around HABITS.

I've been searching the Internet to get some ideas on this and came across this comment:

"Much in the same way that negative habits transpire in our lives, so too can we choose to introduce positive ones. The thing you have to remember is that habits are formed through repetition. Clearly defining your goals is just one step towards attaining them. Equally important is forming habits that go along with the dreams you've set for yourself. "How do I form habits," you ask? It has been said that after 21 days of solid repetition we can create habits around what we desire. That's correct - just 21 days, but it has to be a solid 21 days (give or take a few). If you find yourself skipping the intended event right before it becomes a habit, you've missed the pattern it often takes and you should plan on starting over as though it were day one again. In the grand scheme of things, 21 days is not that much of a sacrifice. It may be a bit inconvenient, but the vast number of gains you'll receive should be well worth it. So the next time you can't quite figure out why you couldn't stick with your intended goal, ask yourself if you were able to stay with it long enough to truly make it a habit. If the answer was no, now is as good a time as any to get on the ball and develop that habit pattern that will lead to your eventual achievement."

I'm trying to remember when I had repetition for 21 days solid. Of course- it's my HABITS!

I think you know where I'm trying to go with this :)

Not sure if I was allowed to just cut & paste someone else's comments (and title) in my blog.... I promise to not do this for the next 21 days, so hopefully it won't be a habit.

My Friend Monica

#1 on the Netherlands Times Bestseller.

Working on being a gansta ( a wanna be thug ).

Monica is not my imaginative or embellished friend.

I hope to get to Toronto in the next few weeks to hang out with her for the day and meet her boy Sanders.

We'll get the other gansta Vince to hang out us. Vince is also my friend.

Feng Shui

Today I was reminded of some of the principles of Feng-Shui by my good friend Siu Yin in Vancouver. After the conversation, I pulled out my book (I have a book on just about everything) and then googled this topic to refresh myself. I also pulled out my notes of a weekend course I took on this several years ago. Believe what you will, but I will be uncluttering my living space this week. I'm going to attach a link that is a great source of info:
http://www.fengshuitips.co.uk/health.htm

Some of my notes on the course I took:
When you change yourself, you change your space. Changing your space is a reflection of inner change. Therefore, physical space is a reflection of who you are at any given moment.

Wherever you go is where you are.....................

Lightweight

It's Sunday and I'm still in my PJ's at 6:00 pm. I'm suffering from a night out at Moose's and then Kate's after hours party! People are crazy out there (and I'm not just talking about the Riders fans). Crazy Crazy..........

Everyday is a long weekend/weekend for me right now, but I do notice that a lot of the folks in the City leave during the 3 day one's........especially when the weather is great. BC has many Albertans that own a summer home there. It's true that there is a lot of money kicking around right now in our fine city......so people like to spend it!

Friday was a great day for a facial and for visiting with a few friends. I have great friends.

Tip: Football players are not very nice people to chat with.

So I think I can dance

What a great day today! My Goddaughter Abigail spent the day with me. We started out at 8:30 am- breakfast at Humpty's, then off to Petland to visit all the pets, next Starbucks- for what else- tall non-fat Tazo Chai's and then off to Michaels' craft store. After I convinced the "Kid's summer craft" Leader that I was 11 years old too, she let me paint a flower pot as well. We then hit the movie theatre for a chick flick (I'm still not sure the movie was age appropriate for an 11 year old- but what do I know.........) . All this fun.......so we had to stop and eat at Subway and then go shopping. Jacobs, Winners, Le Chateau, Payless Shoes & Wal-Mart.......we love you! Oh.....Indigo books also rocks.

Man I'm tired. All this in 10 hours. I love being 11 again!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Definition of all this!

A blog is basically a journal that is available on the web. The activity of updating a blog is "blogging" and someone who keeps a blog is a "blogger." Blogs are typically updated daily using software that allows people with little or no technical background to update and maintain the blog.

They usually include philosophical reflections, opinions on the Internet and social or political issues.

Hmmmm................. opinions????? Me????????

I CAN

I've wanted to set up a blog for months! I know I will make tons of mistakes- but oh what fun it will be! Hopefully it will be a fun experience for those reading it. For those of you that know me, you know that I try all sorts of stuff, so blogging should not surprize you. You may even wonder why it's taken me so long to get this going. Answer: 1. I suck at technology. and 2. I've been super busy not working. I can't wait to see what this looks like................I'll be calling Luigi often to help me with this I'm sure- especially if I will be posting pictures. I still don't have a digital and I have no idea how to use the scanner that I bought years and years ago. Here we go...........