Jennifer's Vancouver

Turkey Part 3

2009-09-23T07:15:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the delay all!! Public computer and can't hog it for long, but am going to do it this time :)

Friday, September 11, 2009

Today is Troy and Gallipoli. Troy I've been obsessed with for many years so needless to say I'm excited about visiting here. Our guide is Mustafa Askin and he made the story of Troy come alive for our group.

Yes, I did climb inside the Troyan horse and get the really cheesy pictures taken!

Troy isn't a site like Esphesus. It's layers of history on top of each other and was greatly destroyed by Heinrich Schliemann and his desire to find Homer's Troy. Still, walking through what's been uncovered is going back 4500 years. The walls are sloped at the bottom and then extended up many metres to help stabilize the walls during an earthquake. There are areas of the site where you can see Troy I, II, III, IV, V, VII, etc (all in one spot!!!) How incredible is that? Some of the higher points have a view of the plains and harbour. I'm surprised at how far back the harbour is but our guide said during Homer's Troy it would have been much closer to the city.

Troy was picked for its location to the Dardanelles. It's the only Way to get to the Black Sea from the Aegean Sea and there are something like 138 boats a day (now) that use that channel...so you can see why the Trojans wanted that city where it was.

Troy was a mixture of ruined walls, mud bricks, fortifications and by far exceeded all of my expectations!

Our next stop is Gallipoli. We go back to the tour agency, board a 30 to 40 minute ferry back to the European side of Turkey to Kilitbahir, have lunch (the best so far on any of the tours!) and head to our first stop for Gallipoli. We visit a museum first. I'm moved by the stories of the Turks helping the Anzacs and vise versa. There's even a picture of an Anzac giving water to an injured Turk. We visit Brighton Beach where the Anzacs were supposed to land and see how easy it would have been for the army to scale the hills there. We go to Anzac cove and visit the cemetery there and are told of the tale of an english man who was a donkey herder back home, found a donkey close to the beach (random) and for 24 (or 25) days would collect the bodies of the dead or injured and take them back to the cove. He was shot and killed and was only 22 or 23 years old.

We next visit Lone Pine (the Austrialian Memorial). Here we get our first opportunity to walk in the trenches. It's a dark place, quiet, remorseful and very desolate place to be. You can almost sense the voices on both sides. The trenches are only 8 metres apart.

We next go to the Turkish memorial and are told two stories. During a fight, once both sides were out of bullets they had to fight hand to hand, once the fighting was stopped a truce would be called so both sides could collect their dead and injured and return to the trenches. There was an injured English soldier crying out in pain but, if anyone from the Anazc side even dared to collect him they would be killed by the Turks. A white flag was raised by the Turks, an unarmed soldier took the injured Englishman back to the Anzac trenches. The other story is of two bodies found, one turk, one anzac, almost hugging each other but killed in battle. They were found during the excavation and construction of the Turkish monument and were given special burial and monuments in the turkish monument (almost like a place of honour).

There were many storeis like this. Another is of the nightly singing from both trenches. How the turks would sing a song, then Anzacs would respond with one, etc. AFter a day of fighting the Anzacs were saddened that they probably shot and injured or shot and killed the Turk that would start the nightly singing, they were sad they wouldn't hear his voice again.

The soilders also shared water, smokes, food, etc across the trenches.

We ended at the Chunuk Bair (New Zealand Memorial). This is one of the highest points of the fighting and the New Zealanders finally took this area in August. (after landing April 25).

After this is a busride back to Istanbul, about 6 hours and I'm back at the Megara!!

Saturday, September 12, 2009

I check into the Ilkay hotel and check out the Istanbul Archaeology Museum. Of course, while I was there it started thundering again!! I've only had one nice day so far in Turkey!

There are three buildings, the main one holds many sarcophagus, statutes and finds from various places in Turkey, and Hurrah! We can take pictures! On the upper level floors there are finds from Troy, Cypress, Syria, Persia, Palestine, etc. To really appreciate this you'll have to wait for the pictures!!

Another building (much smaller) holds ceramics dating back 600 to 800 years (12th century) to very late 19th century and from all over Turkey.

The third building held artifacts from Egypt (oh my god!! was I freaking out over that!), Armenia, Babaloyn, Hittites, etc. fun!

I came back for a nap and then out for dinner at a Kebab House not far from the hotel. I might go back there today for lunch!!

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Today I went to see the Aya Sofia and the Blue Mosque.

The Aya Sofia was very cool! It's a church, turned into a mosque, turned into a museum. Nows that its a museum they are working on uncovering the mosaics on the ceilings and walls. I decided to go it alone and not hire a guide. I'd already had four guided tours and I wanted to just expirence the Aya Sofia. You pay $20TL and once inside you can see the restoration take place. The museum is huge! There's no way to descibe it. Its size is impressive. And its packed with crowds of people...crowds. Imagine being in a stone building that holds heat on a day with (more) thunder storms and no AC...yah, it was sweaty. Once you get over that though, its fine.

The ceiling or very close to the ceiling is where the mosaic of the virgin mary and her son are. The angels on either side are just starting to be uncovered. After I finish exploring the bottom floor (more like I'm driven away by the hordes of people) I wander the ramp to the second floor and discover the rest of the mosaics. These are all from the 12th century and are breath-taking. It's unbelievable how life like they are.

After I've had my fill (and after the storm) I head over to the Blue Mosque. We have to line up until the service is over and then go through a lik eup to make sure we're properly dressed for admittance. I have to admit. I wasn't blown away at all (especially after seeing a smaller one earlier in the week). I guess I was expecting more blue, more tiling, more brilliance. What I did see though was a working mosque. The mosque is set up for the men to pray in front of Mecca. Because so many tourists go through they've a barrier set up between the men praying and the tourists coming to investigate. In the back area are lattice walled off areas for the women to pray. The women aren't allowed to pray with the men because they are considered unclean.

Today after my nap I went back to the same Kebab place for dinner. Hey! I was craving the same dinner and the awesome cheese they serve with the bread. Yummy :)

Jennıfer´s adventures ın Turkey - Part Two

2009-09-16T01:37:00.000-07:00

Tuesday Sept 8, 2009

I am supposed to check out of my hotel today however there ıs a very large thunderstorm happenıng! Fınally at 11am I check wıth front desk ıf I can pay for another day and stay the afternoon untıl I need to go to the bus depot. Yes I paıd for an addıtıonal day! I ended up sleepıng the day away (thıs ıs day two ın Turkey and I stıll haven´t adjusted to the tıme zone).

I do eventually go outsıde for a bıt and fınd the starbucks...whıle walkıng back to my hotel I´m yelled at by just about every coffee shop owner for gettıng a Starbucks...hey, ıf they could do a Lemon\green tea frap then I would be all for goıng to theır store!

So, I get packed and prep for my 12 hour bus rıde to Selcuk. Wow next tıme I´m not cheapıng out and flyıng ıf I do that agaın! It was an hour to the bus depot vıa hıghway and the taxı only cost me $40 TL (about $35 cdn). I felt really out of place at the bus depotç There was one nıce person who worked there, he even trıed to cover me ın an umbrella when runnıng to my bus! (It startıng stormıng out whıle on the hıghway and apparently shortly after that the hıghway area floodıng).

I dıdn´t understand anythıng beıng saıd, the poor young gırl sıttıng besıde me trıed to talk to me a few tımes but she spoke no englısh and I spoke no Turkısh! I also had to pay to pee ın a hole...yup! The bathroom look the same except no toılets! I have to say thıs rıght now about Turkey, there are lots of bathrooms and they are all clean! Surprısıngly so...and you have to pay just about everywhere to use them.

Wednesday Sept 9 2009

I had no ıdea where I was gettıng off the bus. Fınally I was dropped off across the street from the bus termınal ın Selcuk. I sat on a bench confused untıl I realızed I should cross the street (I was tıred wıth about an hours sleep!)

The gentleman who helped me at the bus termınal was very nıce, called the tour company who promptly came and pıcked me up. I went across the street from the tour company to eat and watched the town of Selcuk come to lıfe!

We leave on our tour about 10am and go to Ephesus fırst. The three hours we were gıven was not enough tıme! Thıs ıs the best preserved cıty ın Turkey and you feel ınstantaly transported back ın tıme. Our guıde would stop and tell us a bıt about what we were lookıng at and as soon as he saıd free tıme to look around I was gone before he fınıshed the word free.

I was laughıng at the gırls who showed up ın flıp flops and shoes wıth heels...thıs ıs no place for eıther types of shoes! I´m thankful for the good sneakers I got before I left as I´m clımbıng all over stones and we know I´d be fallıng down hurtıng myself ıf I dıdnt have good shoes (who am I kıddıng, I fall down all the tıme no matter what I´m wearıng).

The fırst stop for us ıs a small amphitheatre. We get to clımb up to the top (only has about 5000 seats so small) and the entıre tıme I´m crawlıng around I keep thınkıng..I cannot belıeve I´m here doıng thıs!

We round the corner to the next stop and wow! The vıew to the fıelds and harbour was stunnıng. Our guıde tells us that the water used to be closer to the sıte that ıt receeded to ıts currently locatıon.

We walk down the marble-paved Arcadıan Road and I´ve my fırst glımpse of the lıbrary of Celsıus, as well as carvıngs. The carvıngs of the gods and people who lıved ın the cıy were ıncredıble! Agaın, I´m repeatıng..I cannot belıeve I´m here!

We get to an area wıth a fresco wıth some of ıts orıgınıal colour. Its not hard at all to ımagıne what ıt would have been lıke when orıgınally created! Unfortunately our guıde told us that before they created a law to prevent ıt, many tourısts carrıed off pıeces of the moasıc...sad.

At thıs poınt ıts about 90 mınutes ınto the tour and we´ve not even made ıt to the lıbrary! When we fınally do make tı I´m dumbstruke. I walked through lıbrary completely ın awa and wıth my chın on the ground.

We go around around another corner and there´s more to see! I can´t belıeve how large the sıte ısö another theatre and thıs tıme ıt seats around 30000 people. Our guıde tells us they do summer concerts here.

Next we go see the house of the Vırgın Mary. I´m not a relıgıous person persay, so I was shocked at my reactıon to the place. Fırst off, ıt was very quıet and peaceful (even wıth 7 busloads of tourısts). There´s a small outdoor churge that has servıces (wıth a prıest and two nuns). Mary´s house ıs now a church (2 rooms) where people can pray. I was shocked at my emotıons but I started to cry when I passed through the church. I even bought a prayer candle to lıght and saıd a prayer!!! What?? That´s not lıke me but ıt was very movıng. You walk down a couple staırs to a sprıng that supposedly had healıng powers, sınce I was feelıng heatstroked I fılled up my water bottle. Not as good as the water from the famıly farm but stıll pretty tasty.

Rıght besıde the rountaın ıs a prayer wall, you wrıte a prayer on a pıece of paper and tıe ıt to the wall...I dıd thıs as well (I know!! I dıd´t know who I was eıther).

Thıs ıs the last stop for the day so we get dropped off at our hotels. Mıne ıs by the water (Atınc Hotel). My room ended up beıng a suıte and looked over the water wıth a balcony!! My hotel room ın Istanbul could have fıt ın there four tımes. Too bad I was feelıng really ıll, there was a spa and the prıces were really cheap!

Thursday Sept 10 2009

I get pıcked up at 830am (stıll feelıng ıll) and have a three hour drıve to Pergamon. I know nothıng about thıs place and am pleasantly surprısed. I get my own prıvate guıde! Thıs ıs the cıty where parchment paper was created. Cool! The vıew ıs amazıng, we are on top of a hıll over lookıng plaıns on all sıdes. There ıs another theathre that can seat 10000 people, ruıns of the temple of Zeus (most of whıch ıs ın the Berlın Museum) and the lıbrary (I´m told) rıvalled the lıbrary at Alexandrıa ın Egypt.

I feel bad for my tour guıde though. If I wasn´t feelıng ıll I would have been very ınto hıs story tellıng. Another great guıde.

The drıve contınues another four hours to Canakkale and an overnıght stay ın the Helen Hotel.

Jennıfer,s adventures ın Turkey - Part One

2009-09-13T11:28:00.000-07:00

WOW! Gettıng here was fun. Rude guy on the 8.20 mınute flıght to Heathrow. In Heathrow I stalked Gorden Ramsey and then a 3.2 mınute flıght to Istanbul and I´m here!

Saturday nıght I get on my flıgh...never been on a plane wıth staırs before!! The plane just seemed to go on forever as well. 747 wıth a set of staırs to the fırst class area. I´m a huge fan of Brıtısh Aırways now! (not because of the huge plane, so many other reasons). I dıdn´t lıke the fırst row of economy. I felt lıke my butt was stuck ın my seat for over 9 hours and besıde a guy that wanted to hog my seat as well as hıs. By the end of the flıght I was tıred of the jabs ın the rıbs!

I land at Heathrow and my god ıts huge! You take 3 movers and then 3 o 4 escalators down, then a mını skytraın, 3 more escalators up, have to throw away water because you have to go through securıty...agaın! I wander around Termınal 5ö rather ımpressıve. Everythıng ıs duty free (goıng to do some shoppıng there on the way back), ınfact, BA does duty free sales on theır plane! Neat. Not everythıng was cheaper then home, the make up was about the same prıce but ın pounds as opposed to Canadıan (ı.e., mac eyeshadow was about $16 pounds and I pay about that Canadıan)

Then...I see Gordon Ramsey! As one that watches Food Network lıke others watch NBC, that was huge for me! I wanted to take hıs pıcture but was afraıd of gettıng a knıfe thrown at me :) so I just stalked hım ınstead!

Heathrow was part aırport termınal and part shoppıng centre. They certaınly have enough there to keep you occupıed whıle waıtıng for your flıght or connectıons.

I board thıs tıme and take a wındow seat. I need to pee the mınute I sıt down and have two guys sıttıng besıde me. I was nıce and waıted!

After arrıvıng Turkey you get a vısa (Canada´s costs the most at $60USD or $45 Euro) and then another lıne up to get a stamp on your vısa from customs.. Fırst vısa and stamp on my passport!! Very excıtıng!

I walk through and get my luggage, see my name and off I go! Wow, drıvıng ın Istanbulö somethıng I don´t thınk I´ll be doıng anytıme soon. There were three lanes leavıng the aırport and I thınk the lanes were suggestıons only. There are tons of cabs and tourıst hotel transport buses leavıng at the same tımeç Even when the hıghway wasn´t busy my dırve went where he wanted! I dıdn´t feel unsafe though.

I started takıng ın the cıty. Even at nıght )and around mıdnıght) the cıty ıs alıve. There are people out ınthe cafes and restarants, I even saw a famıly havıng a pıcnıc ın the park! Remember, thıs ıs Sunday nıght and Sunday nıght to me ıs for sleepıng and rechargıng for the rest of the week. Even ın Sultanahmet (old part of the cıy) there are people hangıng about.

Sultananmet, we take a left and are ınstantly transported. The roads are narrow and cobble stone, the hotels long and skınny and there´s no way I´m navıgatıng ıt all! It ıs goıng to put my ınteral sense of dırectıon to the test!

We consıstenly turn corners to smaller and smaller streets when I look up and see the Sultanahmet Camıı (the Blue Mosque). I was emotıonally moved! At nıght and lıte up ıt was stunnıng.

Tıme to check ınto the hotel (Megera Hotel), ıts nıce, small and the elevator barely held me and my two bags! I get to my room, no lıghts? I go back to the desk and they have to show me how to turn the lıghts on! You put your key ınto a slot by the door that acts as a power saver. Not much of a sleep the fırst nıght, stıll adjustıng to the tıme change.

Monday, September 7, 2009
Today was ınterestıng. I got about 4 hours (ıf) sleep and woke up at 5am, very slowly got ready for 8am breakfast and got ready for my tour of the day.

We started at a smaller mosque down by the spıce gallery, then onto the spıce market, then off to the Bospheous Cruıse. Wow! The best way to descrıbe thıs ıs pıctures. (whıch wıll be comıng once I can connect my camera to a computer).

After that was lunch on a rooftop where I heard my fırst call to prayer. I thınk ıt was unıque as ıt,s not just one mosque doıng the call, ıts all of them around me, whıch was at least fıve. Very cool.

My guıde takes me to a rug manufacturer next, ıt took me about 15 mınutes to convınce them I wasn´t goıng to buy one!

Next was the Topıka Palace. You start by enterıng a garden, lots of people hangıng about, relaxıng ın and around the gardens or under the trees, Thıs ıs part of the palace but ıs free.

My guıde and I enter and I get yelled at because I dıd not understand we were goıng through a metal dectector and I had to put my bag through a dıfferent wındow!

Rıght away I´m struck by the tılıng work, and how large the palace grounds are. Its extensıve and beautıful! Apparently durıng Ramadan they do a TV show from the grounds ın the same spot where the Sultan broke fast wıth hıs famıly durıng Ramadan.

The colours of the tıles when fırst enterıng were stıll all orıgınals and the colours were mostly blue and green. Gold leaf was used to accent the roof. You can stıll see the walls that used to surround the palace (approxımately 5 kms).

The thıng that I thought really ınterestıng was the cırcumcısm (sp?) room! The dude must of had that many kıds he needed hıs own room to take care of thıs!

There was a sectıon I wasn´t able to take pıctures (so sad!). They had an 86k dıamond, a jade box full of emeralds and jade pıeces, varıous headpıeces, golden thrones wıth ınlaıd rubıesö dıamonds and emeralds and clothes from the Sultan and hıs famıly...and after seeıng the clothes, these were a very large people!

After the Topıka Palace ıts off to the Grand Bazaar. We dıdn´t have much tıme here...and ıts huge! I´m goıng to need an entıre day here! It´s 67 cıty blocks and I only went ınto a very small part of ıt.

I´m quıckly dıscoverıng as well you cannot just go lookıng...you are always harassed by people askıng ıf you want to buy or look ınto theır shop or eat ın theır restaurant.

After the bazaar my guıde walked me back to my hotel, I had a nap and when I got up there was no power! I ran ınto my closet when I got out of bed, lol. I decıded to go for a walk and check out Istanbul by candlelıght.

I wandered up to Sultanahmet Square,s ıts Ramadan so there was lots goıng on and then ıt was tıme for bed agaın!

I´m endıng the fırst post here...someone keeps comıng ınto the room, starıng at me and sıghıng! ahahaha, oh the turks.

Turkey - week one

2009-09-12T01:53:00.000-07:00

I wıll try to update some pıctures later.

Wow, week one and have already seen so much! I arrıved in Istanbul about 11pm, had to collect my vısa from one spot and then go through customs while men wıth guns waited on the other side (no, that wasn't scary at all!) I was picked up by the tour agency and headed to my hotel. Its midnight in Istanbul and the cafes, restaurants and even parks have people out sharing a meal. Cool!

The next day I'm pıcked up for my fırst tour, Im doıng a cruise, then the spice bazaar (yes, I dıd get some saffron!), Topicka Palace (wow!) and a mosque. Im still tryiıng to take all of this in. The next day ıs raınıng and thunderıng so hard that I decıde to pay for an extra nıght of my hotel as my overnıght bus doesnt leave untıl 930pm. It thundered all day!! It was surprising!

The next day Im created and go off to Epes, see where the vırgın mary spent her last days. I was moved by the later and that wasnt expected at all.

The next day I go to a fortıfıcatıon on a top of a mountaın, so beautıful!

The next day I head for Troy and Gallıpolı (sp?). I was shocked at some of the emotıons as well for Gallıpolı, very movıng to hear the storıes and see the trenchs where they spent all of theır tıme.

I wıll enhance the above more later, there are people waıtıng for the computer (starıng at me whıle I type actually). I wıll try to upload pıctures today or tomorrow as well! I have tons so far.

Recomp, April 2009

2009-04-29T19:27:00.000-07:00

Dancing in the street

swirling skirts

I'm the one in the very front on fire!

Leah, Kazmira and myself

Frank, Dorothy and Edd

Bunny in the hole!!

Bunny in the hole!

Alice, the catepiller and the Queen

The catepiller

Bombs over Breakfast...the tiny thing in the air is a burning bunny!

Fire a potato through the grill, falls into the burning oil, make french fries.

Making french fries....damn!

Flying Bunnies!!!

These are the people in my cabin, in my cabin, in my caaaaaaabin

Bellydance limbo

Vancouver Film Festival - Movie 1, 2 and 3

2008-09-30T20:59:00.000-07:00

The film festival is back again in Vancouver and I've seen three movies so far. . .and it started 6 days ago!!!

The first one was called Old Man Bebo about Bebo Valdes. Great documentary about his life, and about how you never give up on life, because you never know what will happen. This man was very popular in the 40's and 50's Cuba, had to leave in 61, then again in the late 90's recorded an album that brought him his first grammy. . .at age 80!!! His rendition of Old Man River made me so emotional I had to go get his albums, which I also recommend.

My second movie was The Good, the Bad and the Weird, a film from South Korea. It was a violent (ish) movie, but oh so funny! It's one of those movies that's hard to describe except to say it was slightly Quentin Tarantino ish but with a twist. Chase scene was very funny! Actually, all of them were pretty funny. Actually, read here for more information, looks like it's being released in theaters next year! http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/good_the_bad_and_the_weird/

My third movie I've seen so far is Religulous. Oh my god. . .this was funny!! Even with the funny moments (very many!) it sort of sticks with you for a while afterwards as, even though it's shallow movie, there are some points you can't stop thinking about. Would the world indeed be better without religion?

Christine and Yvette's wedding reception at C Restaurant, August 18 2008

2008-08-31T10:13:00.000-07:00

My camping trip with Diana July 2008 - Part One

2008-08-31T09:41:00.000-07:00

My camping trip with Diana, July 2008 - Part Two

2008-08-31T08:42:00.000-07:00

My camping trip with Diana, July 2008 - Part Three

2008-08-30T20:55:00.000-07:00

Sazi's student night, June 2008

2008-08-30T20:38:00.000-07:00

Isabel's first birthday and very large pond fish at Burnaby's Central Park

2008-08-30T20:21:00.000-07:00

My favorite place around the drive. . . .Trout Lake

2008-08-30T20:03:00.000-07:00

Woohoo!

2008-08-30T19:05:00.000-07:00

I remembered my password and will update a ton of pictures soon ! For now you can check out what I've been doing at www.dancearabia.blogspot.com

Chinatown Night Market

2008-05-25T17:27:00.000-07:00

Babies!!!

2008-05-25T17:14:00.000-07:00

A day at the beach

2008-05-17T18:18:00.000-07:00

I had a great day today with Jan and Tanya at the beach. I think the entire city was out and about....especially at the beach! Got totally burnt, it was 30 plus today! Nice!

Catching Up!!

2008-03-23T19:23:00.000-07:00

I haven't uploaded my blog since last summer!! So I thought it time to catch up now>

Day before flying home! Dad and my neice Taylor.

Schaun and Chisaki's wedding, July 07

Walking in the Vancouver Pride Parade with Co-op radio. I don't know where Skyy got it but he got awesome bellydance music for us to dance to while waiting for the parade to start!

Above, me and Claire. Below, Claire, Karen and Sazi

Boat cruise!

Me and the girls hanging out on a nice August afternoon

My new tattoo I got during the August long weekend, it finally healed.

A little Guitar Hero at my old place before I moved.

September walking around.

Sept 07, first time Jan was at the PNE/Playland for years!

Performing at PNE on the Multicultural Stage

Daryl and Claire (sept 07)

Shona and Ethan

My birthday!

The day I got the new keys to my apartment on the Drive!

My new apartment before furniture

October 07 before moving, I have idea where we were.

October 07, Shiv's wedding!

Me and Kim

October 07, after the move!

Halloween

Parade of Lost Souls.....yep yep yep yep

Monster is loving the drive!

Tanya's birthday, November 07. She wasn't very happy she was on stage, even with the free shooter.

Same night, Kim's birthday on the party bus

November 07, Monster makes a new friend. This same cat teases Marina's cats around the corner.

Bellydancer gas jockey, December 07

December 07, Party and performance at the Waldorf

First weekend of December. . .and snow! Weeeee!

December 07, student night performance

December 07, Monster is finally using the cat bed I bought back in September.

End of December 07, photo shoot with Frank. He made me and the girls look hot!

Probably not the best picture of us, but you get the idea!

New Years 2007!

Dance Arabia's first show at Havana, Jan 13 08

Me and the girls out celebrating the success of the show.

My christmas staff party in January, yes, January

Another snow day!! Feb 08

Partying at the new Biltmore, Feb 08

Hiking on the North Shore, March 08

The new Blue Beast!!!

Canada Day at Fortress of Louisbourg

2007-07-20T21:41:00.000-07:00

Sunset at Dominion Beach, Cape Breton

2007-07-20T21:31:00.000-07:00

Missy and GC!

2007-07-20T21:25:00.000-07:00

The world's largest fiddle!

2007-07-20T21:23:00.000-07:00

This is the worlds largest fiddle. . .and yes, there is music when you approach it!!!

My holidays - getting there and my dad's yard.

2007-07-20T21:17:00.000-07:00

Hatching a Dragon

2007-06-03T20:21:00.000-07:00

Because I'm too lazy to repost all the pictures, etc. . .go to www.hatchingadragon.blogspot.com to see pictures of the regatta on Sunday! We won B Division!

So, I did something different on Thursday!

2007-06-02T23:29:00.000-07:00

I entered a modeling contest! hahahaha, I don't want to model, I want to win the $400 shopping spree and the dress that's made to order! weeeeeee!

Go to http://www.babs.ca/catalog/modelGallery.php to vote. . .and make sure it's for me!! You can't vote until June 5 and you do have to register with the website, but you would be supporting my bid for free designer clothes!!!

204th Street Opening Ceremonies

2007-05-13T07:19:00.000-07:00

This is what the overpass looks like! Or at least how long it is. . .the sucker's big! Of course it's not completed in this picture, I think it's the ariel shot we had our photographer take a while ago.

The overpass before anyone was on it! Well, anyone in cars!

Wendy and Cory (from ISL, they did all the civil work on the bridge)

I gotta put a shot of the RCMP on there!

Hatch Mott MacDonald on the bridge!

The bridge cake is not an exact replica. . . . . .. . .

I think we might have snuck our way on the bridge before the noon official opening. . .opps!

The overpass is officially open! We went the wrong way I think so we drove under it first and then finally swung around to drive over it!

Wandering around the city on a sunny Sunday afternoon

2007-05-02T20:02:00.000-07:00

Ahhhhhh, memories of teargas....

2007-04-23T21:57:00.000-07:00

Well, not quite, but the sounds, tones and feel of Robson Street reminded me of the 1993 run for the cup. . .not the teargas part, but the excitment and thrill of everyone suddenly a hockey fan. It was pretty cool walking up and down Robson for the last hour and not just seeing white people! You saw all races and nationalities. It's pretty cool!! The slogan for the Canucks is "We are all Canucks" and it was never more true than walking around tonight!

I wish I could explain the sound. When you are right on Robson Street, you hear all the cheering, honking, etc. Once you are just about into my back all you can hear is a dull roar! There are police a plenty right around my corner, when I first walked out onto Thurlow and Robson Street, there was probably 10 cops on the corner. . .some dumbass thought it would be great to run into the middle of the street, take off his top and spin it around his head. Probably the first arrest or at least ticket of the night. I could smell someone smoking pot (again, there are still lots of cops around, and the smoke from the pot is right around my head!), someone else was drinking. . .it was hilarious!

The four days that created Canadian Unity

2007-04-06T20:59:00.000-07:00

This is borrowed from the CBC website. Please go to the link to learn more, view pictures and see silent news clips from the four days at VimyRidge, when the Canadian Army helped to do what was thought impossible. http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/vimy/cdn_natl_memorial.html

SHOCK AND AWE, 1917

We may marvel at the firepower of the hundreds of missiles and smart bombs used in U.S. attacks on Iraq, but an overwhelming battlefield fusillade creating shock and awe is not a new idea. In fact, Canadian soldiers fighting in the First World War were pioneers of the tactic.

It was at Vimy Ridge, a strategic 14-kilometre long escarpment that overlooks the Douai plain of France. German occupying troops controlled the ridge using a network of trenches that snaked along the crest and down into the valley, connecting with another network of natural caves. 150,000 French and British soldiers had died trying to take it back. Allied commanders believed the ridge to be impregnable.

But the Canadians had a plan, the first battle strategy for this new nation's commanders to conceive and execute on their own. Even military "experts" of the time admitted dubiously that the Canadians' plan couldn't be any worse than the British tactics at the Somme, which cost 24,000 Canadian casualties. So the Canadian army – all four divisions, totalling 100,000 men – got the go-ahead.

The ground assault had been planned meticulously for months. Full-scale replicas of the Vimy terrain were built to rehearse unit commanders on what to expect both from the enemy and from Canadian units on either side. Canadian spotters had identified and mapped about 80 per cent of the German gun positions. Five kilometres of tunnels were dug in order to move Canadian troops and ammunition up to the front without their being seen by German observers. And for a couple of weeks leading up to the battle, Canadian and British artillery pounded the Germans with 2,500 tons of ammunition per day.

At 5:30 in the morning on Easter Monday, April 9, 1917, the assault began. It was raining. It was freezing cold. And it began with a huge artillery barrage… shock and awe 1917-style.

Over 1,100 cannons of various descriptions, from British heavy naval guns mounted on railway cars miles behind the battlefield, to portable field artillery pieces dragged into place by horses, mules or soldiers just behind the Canadian lines, fired continuously – in some cases until they exhausted their ammunition.

The Canadian battle plan was simple: the withering barrage provided a screen for the Canadian troops to hide behind. Hundreds of shells would land at once, spraying plumes of muddy earth upward like a polluted version of some giant decorative water fountain. Every three minutes the 850 Canadian cannons would aim a little higher, advancing the row of shellfire forward by 90 metres.

The attacking Canadian foot soldiers were expected to keep up, advancing, taking and occupying German positions, moving forward, never stopping, never racing ahead. Falling behind would make them clearer targets for German guns mounted higher up the ridge. Getting ahead of the artillery would put them in danger of being blasted by their own guns.

The giant naval cannons focused on the reinforced concrete bunkers protecting German heavy gun emplacements. The immense but inaccurate shells sent plumes of dirt, concrete and shrapnel skyward with every impact. The craters left behind were as large as houses.
The fight to take Vimy Ridge cost Canada dearly, but it would become the cornerstone of the nation's image of its place in the world. In four days, 3,600 Canadian soldiers died, another 5,000 were wounded. But the ridge was taken, much of it in the first day. The valour of the troops, the originality of the plan, the success where larger, more established armies had failed, all contributed to a new nation's pride.

The battle was hailed as the first allied success of the long war, achieved mostly due to the innovation of using a creeping, continuous massive artillery barrage to protect squads of advancing troops. Both sides used the tactic in future battles.

But even today we're paying the cost. At Vimy and other former First World War battlefields, the ground is so full of unexploded ordnance that visitors are warned not to stray from marked pathways. The risk from shells that fell and never exploded is still so high that it's too dangerous, nearly a century later, to walk onto the actual battlefield to search for remains of soldiers listed as "missing."

Today, there's a large park at Vimy Ridge, dedicated to Canada. The striking memorial features a 30-tonne limestone figure carved from a single block, a hooded figure representing Canada herself, gazing down on a single tomb overlooking the Douai plain.
The twin stone pillars list the names of 11,285 Canadian soldiers who died in France and whose remains were never found.

Life

2007-03-24T20:31:00.000-07:00

So, it's Saturday night, I'm feeling icky (sickness seems to be flying around my work place, hopefully I'm not sick like they are!). I have to admit I'm feeling a little out of sorts. . .I feel like I'm drifting away from some friends, making new ones, and the ones that are nearest to my hearts are still there and supporting me. I guess it's the ones that I thought were my friends that I'm having some issues with, but I really shouldn't be. I have great friends. . .friends that if I called them right now needing something, they would be there for me, and they know they could ask the same of me. Maybe it's because the fairweather friends I've been friends with for a while.

I could also be sad about the fact that my cat died recently and I'm feeling some guilt about that as well. I switched to the foil cat food as I had broken my elbow and it was hard to open cans of food (pull off or with a can opener). Then I find out three weeks after Spazzy died that there might have been rat poison in the cat food? WTF? I was to take Monster in for a check up in a month but he's going in earlier. He appears fine, but then, so did Spazz. The thing that gets me about Spazzy is that he was fine, and then it was like overnight he was sick. So many of my friends expressed shock when I told them that Spazz was sick. It was like we would be around forever. Yes, he was 17 when he died. . .however, how an I be sure that the renal failure was actually renal failure and not the rat poison making it look that way? I have no proof other than the fact that it was easier for me to open foil packages for a few weeks while my arm was healing.

On the plus side I have Monster at home with his bitchy meow when he sits on my lap and I DARE to move. . .

Diary of a broken elbow - part four

2007-03-02T22:23:00.000-08:00

So, Monday, I'm in the hospital, its the day I decide to go home (I was given the decision of which day to go home, see below) and I started my period.. . .and, what do you know, the hopsital doesn't have tampons or pads, just these genormous pads they give women that have just had babies. . .yah, huge! I won't say what I texted my friends but it was pretty funny.

I was given the option of going home either on Monday or Tuesday and if I was able to go home on Monday then I could go home whenever I got a ride to the hospital. Two of my coworkers came to pick me up once I got all my prescriptions and what I needed to do at home. Oh, it was so good to get home, but the best part was when I went outside and smelt fresh air for the first time in six days!!! So awesome! Seriously, I was in heaven.

As soon as I got home, my coworker ran over to IGA to pick up some groceries for me while another coworker stayed with me while I was trying to figure out where to get my prescriptions. After she came back, we went to London Drugs to get my morphine. I'm sitting there dressed like a crazy person, my pain killers were wearing off, my cramps were bad, my allergies were giving me a headache and my cramps from my period were hugely bad! lol, it actually made me laugh!

I get home, pass out on my couch for a while (while cuddling my cats. . .they were happy I was home!)

Tuesday I decide to have a bath. I probably should have thought about how to get out of the bathtub. I had a bath because I wanted to wash my hair (it was getting gross) and as stuck there for about 10 minutes trying to figure out how to get out! Was hilarious!

OK, I had a very bad day today so I'm drinking a really strong vodka and cranberry. I'll post more tomorrow.

Diary of a broken elbow - part three

2007-02-27T17:57:00.000-08:00

So I left off waking up in post-op. This was the only part of my hospital experience I did not like. I remember trying to wake myself because I was really confused. I checked the time and it was about 3:00 or 3:30pm. There was a nurse trying to feed me water but I kept fighting her off. Reflecting upon it, I felt like once I was having to move back upstairs, my bed was just pushed aside, the nurse didn't check on me again and I was sitting there for a good 20 minutes before someone came to take me back upstairs. I didn't like this part of my hospital stay so I'm not going to talk about it that much.

Friday night, three of my friends came by for a visit (I got in trouble from the same nurse as the night before, my friends were there until about 9:30pm). And! I finally got to eat after two days! Woohoo! Liquid diet (not alcohol!), I got jello! Yummy...so, I got two bites of jello, three sips of mint tea (my friends brought it for me), and a few sips of juice into me. It was like this until Saturday night when I had some chicken.

My first night out of surgery was very painful. I was trying to not scream out in pain. About four times that night I need "break-through" medication (where they would pump me full of morphine through my IV). It wasn't fun at all. It was hard to get through the night and most of Saturday without them. The girls all came by again during the day one and of the girls loaned me her TV phone so I could check my emails, watch a little TV when I wanted, was awesome!!! Of course, one of the nurses made fun of me for now having TWO cell phones. hehehehe.

Sunday morning was great! I got bacon with my breakfast! Yummy!!! I talked to my surgeon and he told me I could leave Monday or Tuesday (I was hoping for Monday, I wanted to be in my own space). A few of my friends from work came by for a visit. I stole David's grapes (hehehe). I actually received a basket of fruit and other goodies from my dance friends on Saturday. One of the nurses actually commented he'd never seen someone receive one fruit basket, let alone two!!! But, I have to say that the green grapes helped me regain some of my appetite, which is why poor David lots his grapes out of his shopping! I had my first cup of tea today as well! Yummy! I got my friend Jan to come by with some.

I have to say that Sunday was also a very liberating day for me. This might sound very strange to you, but i was showered by one of the nurses. I so desperately needed my hair washed and it wasn't working out in the shower like we wanted so we just decided I needed a full on shower. let me tell you, to be that helpless and be able to say sure, I'll get completely naked infront of a stranger and have you help me clean myself, well, it's very liberating. I can tell you that I've responded completely different to things as they come up in my life now. I know its sounds very strange, but it was a growth experience for me.

Well, the elbow is feeling funny so I have to sign off for now!

Diary of a broken elbow - part two

2007-02-25T13:37:00.000-08:00

So, I woke up for the first time in a hospital the following morning. I still had my IV drip, but they changed it to one with sugar and other vitamins (you know, to fill me up as I can't eat). I was waiting on an emergency surgery wait list for my elbow. I got told in the morning I was going to have a CT scan at some point and if there was an OR room available, then I would get surgery. Diane and Ana from work came to visit me in the morning, thank god! I was totally bored, however, I had a window and was on the 10th foor, nice view! Thankfully it was sunny, however, made my room awefully warm. First time getting up and peeing wasn't that nice either. I was pretty dizzy from no food (well, I did have that yummy IV drip, that sure was filling).

In the afternoon they moved me to the 8th floor where the orthopedic ward was. Just before I went downstairs I got a huge orchid arrangement from the building managers of the building I fell in (just about every single nurse asked if the card said "Please don't sue us") and I got a nice fruit basket from work (however, it was also sort of mean considering I couldn't eat!). Probably about 5pm one of my coworkers came for a visit and then my friend Zamina came after work. She was there for about 20 minutes while I was snoring away, of course, she hates hospitals and was near fainting whenever she heard anything. We had to call Jan again, she didn't realize that I was in the hospital and waiting for surgery. Then we got into trouble because they were there until close to 10pm with me (visiting hours are over at 8pm).

The next morning I wake up, lots of pain, and I'm also feeling sort of sick so they hooked up a gravel drip for me. Yummy. At least it worked. I found out that I was finally going to have surgery (at this point I haven't eaten since midnight on Wednesday and this was Friday morning). I get taken for pre-op at 10am. I'm very scared. I've never had surgery before and had no idea what to expect. While I'm waiting in pre-op, I had three different people come ask me questions, the same questions. All I wanted was to be left alone to cry before surgery and everyone's asking me the same questions.

I finally get taken into the OR room about 1050am. I was actually quite interested to be in there (so that distracted me from my fear for a bit). I was a bit shocked to see a crucifix, and since everything was white, it really stood out. I was given some gas, told to count down and that's the last thing I remember before waking up in post-op.

Dairy of a broken elbow - part one

2007-02-24T10:13:00.000-08:00

So, one lunch time (January 31) I was walking back to the office from having sushi and felt like some chocolate milk. On my way through the lobby, I feel, dislocated my left elbow as well as broke my radial head of my elbow. OH MY GOD, the pain was bad. Really bad. Something in me knew right away though that I had at least dislocated my elbow. I remembered that sound from when I dislocated my right elbow when I was a kid. The security guards tried to move me, I told them off. I tried to call Ana, but she wasn't at her desk (or the call didn't go through) so I called my boss Chris. He came downstairs, but of course the first thing out of his mouth is "If you didn't want to go Sea to Sky and work for Tony, you didn't have to go and hurt yourself". Actually, it was good he came down there, he made sure that I was distracted from the pain. I also had someone from the building managers there trying to ask me questions and I kept looking at her like, WTF do you want and why are you asking me stupid questions while I'm sitting here. I think they were scared I would sue them.

Next thing I know the ambulance is there, they're wrapping up my arm to take me to the hospital. I had some laughing gas to inhale when the pain is really bad, that stuff made me want to hurl! Of course it worked, but it made me really want to hurl. When the ambulance attendants had my arm wrapped up they tried to help me up but I got up on my own. . .hey! Bellydancing lessons came in handy for something other than dancing! I balance swords (one or two) and shamadans on my head so I'm used to getting off the floor without pushing myself up with my hands, which is what I did. Ana asked me later if I was using my dance skills to help me out.

Ana came with me to the hosital (I think partly because she wanted to be in the ambulance with the sirens going!). Thank god she was there! I didn't realize half the thiings I needed to ask because of the distraction of the pain. It was hard to concentrate on the questions so she helped me out with that.

I get put into the Fast Track ER. I'm waiting for a bit for the doctor (the ER doctor was great) in a room that looks like a storeroom, and when she comes in to see me, she asks me some questions and then sends me for xrays to make sure my arm is dislocated. After my xrays (oh my god! painfull!) I get put into another room (the typical curtain rooms yhou se on TV etc). They've got me drugged up good, Ana is still there (I've told her a few times that she can go home but she tells me to shut up and stays). The ER doctor finally comes back and tells me that yes I'm dislocated, they are going to do a concious sedation to put it back together. They give me the drugs, Ana is laughing so hard she has to turn her back on me so I can't see her laughing, one of the doctors pointed it out because he thought it was pretty funny was well! I totally remember that I was really out of it!

I eventually came down from the sedation, I get sent for more xrays, guess what, I'm still dislocated. And, it looks like there's a fracture there too. I get sedated again, they do everything again, I get moe xrays to check on it, it works this time. However, now I have to wait for a surgeon to come in and see me, because maybe my fracture is more serious and I might need surgery. WHAT??? OK, so I'm totally freaked out at this point. I think it's about 730pm or so, I've been in the ER for 7 or 8 hours, Ana's starting to get hungry (and still won't go home, but calls up her roommate Cindy to come sit with me while she goes gets some dinner). Cindy sat with me for a bit while Ana went to change and get some food. Then Cindy wouldn't go home!

Finally, the surgeon (who was apparently driving from home) shows up, yah, I've broken my radial head in half, I need surgery but they aren't sure at this point if they can use my bone or if they need to do a complete replacement of the joint. Great. I'm being admitted to the hospital as wel. All of which are firsts for me.

By about 11pm, my friend Lynn comes to the ER because she realized that I really was hurt (she thought I was yanking her chain). Once she gets there I'm finally able to talk Ana and Cindy into going home (for Ana, she's been there as long as me and I've been there since 12:30pm or so). Lynn went to get me tea while the doctor's are putting a cast on me. When she came back she unveiled that she brought me some cheesecake! freak, was funny. She stayed with me right until I was admitted to the hospital and until I fell asleep, which was about 2am.

Wow, what a day. My arm is getting sore (I'm allowed to type with my left hand right now) so I'll continue my story later.

Stanley Park

2007-01-20T18:22:00.000-08:00

So, the last few days I didn't go to work because I wasn't feeling well, however, a coworker phoned me up today and made me go for a walk today. We went around Stanley Park, which was a little sad to see all the trees down, however, it was a beautiful day and I got some good shots! Enjoy!

Happy New Year!!!

2007-01-01T02:58:00.000-08:00

Diary of a Boxing Day Addict, Part 2 - Urge to Kill....rising

2006-12-26T12:37:00.000-08:00

So, I just got back in from round two, got lots of stuff, am now listening to the tunes I uploaded to the new iPod, and I'm so tired I'm going to bed to sleep for like five hours!!! Yes, urge to kill was rising, but I'm back at home now so it's all good. I'm pretty sure I scared a few people as it was really difficult for me to keep my mood from reflecting in my face. Whatever! I got some deals, a partial outfit for New Years and I'm back home, still alive! I didn't even spend all my money either, so I'm going to have to go shopping later this week, after the crowds have died down a little bit and I don't feel like killing anyone ;)

Diary of a Boxing Day Addict, number 1

2006-12-26T06:24:00.000-08:00

So, I've been out and back again already. Was in Future Shop spending my gift cards from some of my friends (presents!!). I've been flip flopping for weeks now about which iPod to purchase. Finally decided on the new shuffle (so cute and tiny!) and I got the last one in the store, well, in the store for at least the moment. I think I scoped it from someone else too, opps ;)

Well, going to see how long it takes to charge the new iPod, upload some tunes and go out again. . .if it takes too long, just going out again. The stores start opening at 7am!

Happy Christmas!

2006-12-25T10:31:00.000-08:00

Happy Christmas!!!

Stanley Park

2006-12-19T06:20:00.000-08:00

I'm very sad to hear about all the damage to one of my favorite locations in Vancouver. I'm almost afraid to go to the Park. . .I don't want to see the damage.

Christmas Kitties!!!

2006-12-19T05:21:00.000-08:00

The reason my dad put the tree up, so the cat could hang out at the top of it!

Spazz (not looking very happy with me)

Monster!

Sarita's Student Night

2006-12-10T23:10:00.000-08:00

Marina and I went to Sarita's student night at Kalypso tonight. The performers were great! The girls dancing for their first time looked as if they were dancing for years! superb! The pictures aren't entirely great as I was sitting behind a bunch of people with big hair and had to use quiet a lot of zoom!! But, you guys will get the idea!

Inventive Music Video

2006-12-10T12:06:00.000-08:00

This has got to be one of the most inventive music videos I've seen for a while!

ok go

It's almost Christmas Time!!

2006-12-07T22:15:00.000-08:00

Nat King Cole - Christmas Song

2006-12-07T21:37:00.000-08:00

So, my friends are crazy. My friend from work Schaun decided to take this picture and put my cat until a jungle scene.......

......this is what he did. . .G.I. Spazz! (if you look closely, you can see a raft, men and tons of helicopters!!)

Mona's on December 6

2006-12-07T21:22:00.000-08:00

I'm so sad! My batteries died just before the end of the second half of the dancing so I didn't get a ton of pictures. howeve,r some of these pictures are from Sean and Marina and I'm waiting for my friend Lynn to bring over her camera to download what she has (video too! woohoo!) Until then, enjoy!

Let the parties begin

2006-12-07T20:58:00.000-08:00

More mountain pictures!

2006-11-30T21:10:00.000-08:00

So, I'm starting to get pissed off with the snow. . .however, the mountains are still really pretty to look at!

More Canada's Wonderland!

2006-11-29T06:16:00.000-08:00

The mountains were so pretty yesterday! As soon as the sun was on them full yesterday morning, WOW! I wish I could have gotten a nice picture while the sun was setting but there would have been glass reflection on the pictures (I took these from work) and it wouldn't have been as nice. But these are awesome!

And, we are expecting up to 20cm more snow today too! Woohoo!

Vancouver. . . .Canada's Winter Wonderland?

2006-11-27T22:12:00.000-08:00

I was taking some pictures on my way to work, then of course had to go out and play in the snow at lunchtime and took more pictures on the way home from work, yes, I might be a little obsessed but it doesn't snow that often in Vancouver, because, well, it usually rains A LOT out here, so snow is a novelity!

Woohoo!!! Snow!

2006-11-26T22:03:00.000-08:00

It's snowing in Vancouver and it's plus 15 in Toronto. . .is there something wrong with this picture? NOT WHERE I'M STANDING!! The snow is great :) I was going to go to bed but then I saw how much had fallen on the ground! Awesome!

The Rolling Stones ROCKED!

2006-11-26T21:58:00.000-08:00

I went to see the Rolling Stones last night, it was off the hook! My seats were a little high. Let's put it this way, if I stood on my chair I would have been able to touch the inflated roof! However, didn't matter, was great to be there. It was the last show of their Bigger Bang tour. The stage was incredible. All of a sudden part of the floor lifts and it goes down a conveyor belt towards the end of the floor seats and they sing probably three songs before moving back to the original stage. Very cool!! The show was sold out and the audience was LOUD! Loved it!!!

Way to go BC Lions!!

2006-11-22T17:21:00.000-08:00

Woohoo! Street party! The BC Lions brought the Grey Cup to the Art Gallery for a little lunch time party. Lots of people showed up to help the Lions celebrate their win. And, they even fixed the cup intime to bring it back to Vancouver too!

Vancouver's Santa Claus Parade

2006-11-22T17:09:00.000-08:00

It ended up being a beautiful day on Sunday for the 3rd Annual Santa Claus Parade. I made it to the parade just in time for the Tim Horton's float to drive by! Was fun, got to eat lots of chocolate, except one of the groups was just throwing the candy on the street for people to pick up, which I thought a little odd, besides that, it was Halloween Candy!!! There lots of people as well, somewhere around 250,000 lined the route to wait for Santa. I think they said the parade was to last about one hour, I showed up at about 2/3's of the way along the route, I'm not sure how long previously it started before I showed up but it was well over two hours I'm sure!

Santa!!

Lest we Forget

2006-11-11T07:40:00.000-08:00

In Flanders Fields

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Lietenant Colonel John McCrae

Memories of Denman Island - Part One

2006-11-05T10:29:00.000-08:00

I received my cd of pictures from the Denman Island Retreat on Friday. It was nice looking over the pictures, thinking of the memories of Denman Island. For anyone that hasn't been on Denman Island, take a trip there and stay for a few days, each time you go, you will stay for longer and longer each time. There's not a lot to do there but that's the best part!

The Back Hall of Denman Island, where all the magic happened (below)

The Dancing! (below)

The shopping!!! The shopping was good, we love Brenda when she comes to town!

Memories of Denman Island - Part Two

2006-11-05T10:14:00.000-08:00

Everyone dressed up to perform! (below)

Hmmmm, the food! We ate like this everyday..and the second picture, mid-morning and mid-afternoon we had coffee, fresh juice, homemade cookies and fruit for snacks. (below)

Bruce, the man everyone wanted to take home with us, he feed us everyday, thank god we were dancing so many hours, because the food was so good, everyone had thirds. (below)

Dancing at the end of the night (below)

A day in the life of a Pink wig (Halloween party)

2006-11-02T22:30:00.000-08:00

The office Princesses (below)

Actually, the real office princesses (below)

Haloween!

2006-11-02T22:24:00.000-08:00

Oh my god! The flower has eyes! (below)

Spooky cookies at Terra Breads (below)

Houses on Mole Hill (below)

The rest of my movies from the 25th Vancouver International Film Festival

2006-10-10T21:12:00.000-07:00

I've not posted anything for a week. I was to see A Stone's Throw on Thursday, but was too tired. Saturday I saw the Page Turner. A movie of revenge from France. This was good. I was pleasantly surprised, and yes, there were a few times where I had my hand over my mouth in shock over what I was seeing (I can't type it here incase anyone sees it). I also saw The Yacoubian Building from Egypt. This was a three hour dramatic movie about gays, class structures, family dynamics, poor, rich, and everything in between. Not what I'm used too for an Egyptian movie and the only thing I'll say bad about it was the musical score. They had this one very dramatic piece of music they would use EACH AND EVERYTIME something dramatic happened in the movie. It got a little tiring after a while, but it was still an enjoyable movie.

Sunday, I watched Offside first. I never thought I would say this about an Iranian movie, but it was light, fluffy and very funny! Usually, the Iranian movies I've seen have some sort of serious outcome. This was about a group of woman who try to dress as boys an sneak into a theatre to watch the 2006 World Cup qualifier game. They get arrested (all individually) and then torment their capturers until they escape at the very end. Great light fare! I also saw Beauty in Trouble. This was from the Czeck Republic and set in or about 2002, right after the floods. Apparently a lot of people didn't have insurance and were completely devastated by the flooding, loosing house and business. It was the story of one such family and the people around them. Good movie (same director as Divided We Fall which was nominated for an Oscar).

Monday I saw two more movies (was to see three but I gave up The King and the Clown. It was a hit in South Korea recently so I know I'll find it on DVD at some point.) The first was Young Triffie's Been Done Away With. It was entertaining, I have to admit I was slightly disappointed but it was still very funny. Mary Walsh does rock and she was quite funny in the movie. There were tons of Newfie and other Maritime actors in the movie as well as some other very funny Canadians. The other movie I saw was a documentary called More than 1000 Words. It's about Ziv Koren (www.zivkoren.com go check out the website, amazing and sometimes terrifying pictures), a photojournalist in Israel. He does amazing work and it's a bit scary to follow him around it he documentary. He documents the conflict in Israel and just because he's an Israeli doesn't mean you see the conflict through just an Israeli's eyes, he wants people to see the truth, no matter how scary for either side. This was my favorite movie/documentary this year from the film festival. It's very movie, it's very sad and you got to see a glimpse into his life and what he sees (and it's incredible what the photojounalists see). SEE THIS DOCUMENTARY!!!

My stroll to bootcamp on Friday night

2006-10-07T12:27:00.000-07:00

I thought I was going to get measured on Friday night but it'll be Wednesday's class. I'm excited to keep going with bootcamp. Of course, I didn't want to go to class on Friday night so I took the camera and wandered down to class at Second Beach.

One of the parks in the west end.

One of the parks in the west end.

Woohoo! Autumn means sweaters and boots!

I like the entrance to this apartment building, it's very 60's Hollywood (at least to me it is!)

This has got to be one of my favorite apartment buildings in the west end.

I love sunsets! This is what we got to see each time we went to bootcamp!

Second Beach

The view from the beach

Vancouver Film Festival, movie number 7

2006-10-05T22:52:00.000-07:00

So, Tuesday night I went to see Close to Home. It was about two girls who had to join the Isreal army as soon as they turned 18 (appartently this is madatory as soon as you turn 18, male or female, you join the army for a year). It's like a day in the life of the girls, how they are feeling, one wants to be with her family, the other wants nothing more than to be far away from her's. They patrol sectors of the city, registering Arab men and women as they come and go from the city (which no one really wanted to do). Although it wasn't a deep movie, it was a glimpse into the life of the women as they go about their lives. It was interesting and entertaining.

This weekend, I have seven more and then one more on Tuesday and then I'm all finished! I did give up one tonight, one of my hamstrings is in spasms from bootcamp last night, and maybe badminton today. . .oh well! It's a Canadian movie that did well at the Atlantic Film Festival so I'm sure it'll be on DVD one day.

I'm a kitty-kat

2006-10-05T22:46:00.000-07:00

This stupid video!!!

lol, I love it, the song gets stuck in my head all the time, it's evil but I can't stop watching. . .why can't I stop watching it?

These are the Dave's I know I know, these are the Dave's I know

2006-10-05T22:41:00.000-07:00

These Are The Daves I Know

Classic! Some of us are David's, most of us are Dave's, we all have our own hands but we come from different moms.

Movies from Sunday, October 1, 2006

2006-10-02T19:50:00.000-07:00

So Sunday, I saw three movies, The Last King of Scotland, Requiem and Fido. I have to say, all three were great movies, however, the first two were pretty heavy.

The Last King of Scotland was brilliant. I really enjoyed the way Forest Whitaker played General Idi Amin. I know that sounds like a bizarre statement, but I didn't know a lot of the background of Idi Amin until I saw the movie. Forest Whitaker plays the general very likable and charming, it's later in the movie that you see the real side of him (the last half hour of the movie my body was completely tense and I couldn't move for a full five minutes after the movie finished. I would fully recommend the movie to anyone. All the actors were great to watch and it was nice to see Gillian Anderson again acting in a movie (or at least, if she was in a movie in the last little while, I didn't see it).

My next movie was Requiem from Germany. It's based on true facts about a girl who suffers from epilesy, wants to go to school (university), and starts a relationship. Her attacks get worse and worse, and she feels that demons are attacking her. It was pretty heavy to watch, and of course, I had just seen The Last King of Scotland so I was already mushy in the brain. Again, even though this movie was very hard to watch at parts, I would still recommend this to people to see. However, prepare yourself first!

My last movie I saw was Fido. Oh my god! This was funny! So, the movie is about zombies who are used as servants (I won't explain how there are zombies or how they get them to be servants, the movie does a very good job of explaining it). Billy Connolly plays an amazing zombie and you won't believe it's him (the director was at the movie and explained in the Q&A that everytime he yelled CUT, Billy Connelly would talk non-stop as his lines were urg, grrr, urk, etc). If ever you wanted to see a funny zombie, it would be Billy Connelly. Carrie-Anne Moss is the mother. I actually liked her better here than in the Matrix. I know it's two entirely different movies, but, if you can watch Fido, you will completely understand what I mean. The father was played by Dylan Baker (who's actually afraid of zombies). Everyone in the movie was great and I can't recommend it enough! GO SEE IT!

Day one of Vancouver International Film Festival

2006-09-30T20:05:00.000-07:00

Well, day one for me seeing movies. I saw three today. The first one I saw was called When the Road Bends: Tales of a Gypsy Caravan. I can't heap enough praise on this movie. It was amazing. If you don't know who the Rom (or Roma or Romani) people are, this is the movie to see. The Roma are the people who left India many hundreds of years ago and travelled up into Europe. They took their love of music and dance with them. Gypsies from India (yes, there are gypsies in India, this is where they came from) Spain, Romania and Macedonia came together and formed a 35 person group to perform across North America. This is the documentary of those six weeks, and what a six weeks it was! I know I've only seen three movies so far but, for me, this is a must see! My favorite line from the movie was when Esma Redzepova (the Queen of the Gypies, and this is a real title given to her in 1976) is about to come on stage and the stage manager says, "Don't worry if you can't get the spot light right on Esma, she'll find it. The don't call her the Queen of the Gypies for nothing!" I have to go find the soundtrack or individual group's music. Other groups who were featured are Taraf de Haidouks, Majaraja, Fanfare Ciocarlia, and Antonio el Pipa Flamenco Ensemble http://www.whentheroadbends.com/

The second movie I saw today was Everything's Gone Green. This is a Canadian movie that was shot in Vancouver, however, doesn't try to hide the fact it was shot in Vancouver. The movie was based on a screenplay by Douglas Copeland. It was a good movie, well written, a few times it looked a little strained but I would still recommend people see it, if for nothing else but seeing their local areas in a film that's actually trying to be the areas it's filming in as opposed to bringing in a palm tree and being Northern California, or Arizona or LA. I did think though that it was trying almost a little too hard to be Vancouver (references are everywhere to show that it's Vancouver, so it was a little over the top at times). However, they did capture the entire "I want a better life but don't really want to work hard to achieve it" feel you sometimes get in this city.

The third movie I saw today was No Sweat. A German movie. I might have enjoyed this more if the theatre didn't feel so much like a sauna as well. It was about a small health centre run by a brother and sister. The overall theme of the movie is about the economic recession. It follows the lives of the patrons of the health centre (and health centre I mean massage, steam, etc) and how they are coping in the face of the recession. There were some good parts, and, as I said earlier, I might have enjoyed it more if it wasn't so much like a sauna in the theatre as well (I had to leave at one point to get some air), I could probably recommend it to people, but one's that would specifically like the type of movie it was, slowish with an easy pace but not feeling like it's going anywhere.

Tomorrow I'm seeing more movies and will report on them as well!

25th Annual Vancouver International Film Festival!

2006-09-29T20:25:00.000-07:00

Woohoo! I start seeing movies tomorrow. I had decided not to see a lot of movies, and then I read the guide again, so I was up to 12 (which really for some standards, that's not a lot at all!). So I went out and got tickets for the 12 movies, then, last night I went and read the guide AGAIN and found four more movies, so now I'm up to 16. Today, read the guide AGAIN and now I want to get one more ticket!!!! We'll see though.

Saturday I'm seeing When the Road Bends, Everything's Gone Green and No Sweat. Sunday I'm seeing The Last King of Scotland, Requiem and Fido (really excited about fido!!! looks crazy). After that, just 10 more to go (well, maybe more if I keep reading the guide!!!)

Sugar Daddy's

2006-09-24T21:07:00.000-07:00

My birthday party

2006-09-24T20:38:00.000-07:00

A few of my friends came out with me to Celebrities on Saturday night and helped me to celebrate my birthday this year. . . .Lynn was awesome and decorated the VIP section for me! I had a blast and had to sneak out about 1/2 hour before the club closed, too many shooters (damn friends! lol)

Crazy people (below)

Sears catalogue pose! (below)

Is it Japan or is it Vancouver? (below)

Me under the decorations Lynn did at the club (below)

Is it me or is it a cut out?

2006-09-24T19:54:00.000-07:00

Random Pictures from the Car

2006-09-16T17:03:00.000-07:00

These pictures are taken from Langley to Downtown. I was on a "field trip" with work (I'll post pictures of those later) to see the overpass we were working on out in Langley. It was very interesting to see the construction of the overpass (which is huge!)

This cat is way too cute!!!

2006-09-10T19:29:00.000-07:00

cat

This is just way too cute!

Cape Breton

2006-09-07T22:53:00.000-07:00

This one's for my sis to make her cry. Nothing compares to the beauty and majesty of Cape Breton.

Freaking Stephen Colbert rapping and dancing!! RAPPING AND DANCING!!

2006-09-07T21:41:00.000-07:00

Whose Line Is It Anyway?

Stephen Colbert rapping and dancing!

2006-09-07T18:36:00.000-07:00

There was a full moon last night and it was stunning. I was biking around the seawall with my friend and we stopped at one point and just stared at it. OK, I stopped and just stared at it. It was a brilliant yellow, however, I was told it was coloured like that from the smog and from the fires in BC. Whatever it was, it was pretty! And yes, the picture is slightly blurred, I'm playing with the different features on my camera!

Pictures from biking around downtown Vancouver and the Seawall!

2006-09-07T17:50:00.000-07:00

The harbour at dusk (below)

Downtown at dusk (below)

Full moon (below)

Moonrise over the Sails (below)

My artsy picture of Lion's Gate Bridge (below)

Downtown at dusk (below)

Picnic on the beach (below)

Scenes from a hat!!!!! LOVE IT!

2006-09-06T18:07:00.000-07:00

Video of Jen and Stacey waiting for a scary upside down ride!

2006-09-05T21:05:00.000-07:00

Stanley Park Seawall at Twilight

2006-09-03T12:52:00.000-07:00

Ana and I went out for a bikeride and roller blade around Stanley Park Seawall recently right at sunset. Oh, so nice! As soon as it hit twilight, the moon reflected off the water, not as many people were out, oh, and you couldn't see where you were going! lol, we tripped over a few things, but had a great time!

A night at the PNE/Playland

2006-09-03T11:41:00.000-07:00

I'm at the PNE! (below)

Music Express! (below)

On the Scrambler (below)

Hahahahaha, the faces say it all! (below)

Blah! (below)

OK, this ride I can't believe the girls went on! It was totally crazy, as soon as it starting spinning upside down, money, jewerly, phones, etc were flying everywhere! (below)

Oh my god, I'm going on that ride? (below)

Crazy cat lady (below)

Why did I go on that crazy ride (below)

Christina waiting for us to throw up! (below)

Us on the last ride, well, actually Stacey went on another crazy spinny ride after this one!(below)

Some of the rides at the PNE/Playland!

2006-09-02T14:32:00.000-07:00

Was at the PNE and Playland last night (yes, again!) So much fun! Hooked up with a couple of friends who happened to be there too, went on a few rides, felt barfy by the end of it!

Who let these people on the Festival Stage?

2006-09-02T14:16:00.000-07:00

Backstage at the PNE

2006-08-29T18:10:00.000-07:00

I was performing on the Festival Square Stage on Monday night (and then went and played on rides afterwards!) Behind the scenes. There was a funny point when we were trying to change and these boys (aged 8 to 11) were trying to stare in at the same time, lol. The security guard came and closed the flap so we could change in private!

Marina and Diane

Diane and Maki

Diane

Me!

Christie

Ghazaleh

Christie and Marina

Me and Marina

One the rides at Playland!

2006-08-29T17:58:00.000-07:00

Yah, I was on the merry-go-round, what of it!

Stop the insanity!

Marina and Sean on the kid's roller coaster!

Ha ha ha, on the kid's roller coaster!

Awwwwwww

2006-08-29T17:49:00.000-07:00

Pictures of some of the animals at the PNE! I was there for a performance on the Festival Square stage but wanted to get there early for mini-donuts. . .yummy!

This little calf was born two hours previous to when this photo was taken!

All the pretty clydesdales!

Apparently this little one was running around like crazy an hour previous. Guess he wore himself out!

I thought he looked really sad, or really bored!

Awwww, how cute!

Woohoo! Playland!

2006-08-29T06:00:00.000-07:00

I would be the one laughing and Marina is the one gripping with all her might!

Canada Day

2006-08-27T19:21:00.000-07:00

My Aunt Judy's Awesome Backyard!

2006-08-27T12:17:00.000-07:00

Pics from my trip to Toronto Canada Day weekend

2006-08-27T11:12:00.000-07:00

Who doesn't like a pretty sunflower!

2006-08-26T16:05:00.000-07:00

My trip back from Denman Island. . .so nice!

2006-08-26T15:58:00.000-07:00

Ahhhh...the boat cruise

2006-08-10T06:06:00.000-07:00

Golfing with the co-workers!

2006-08-02T23:09:00.000-07:00

We had a good turnout from work and a good time was had by all! Wendy, Ana, Chisaki and I went out as a foursome (and were last out and last in by a lot!) Afterwards, went to Comox Bar and Grill, was great! Cheap drinks and eats, and a great waitress! Then a few of us raced over to watch the fireworks . . . you gotta love a country that uses Glenn Miller, the Pink Panther theme as well as Wonder Woman theme all in the same show! Good times!

A day at Playland!

2006-07-23T13:21:00.000-07:00

What a day! It was really hot out, but thank god for the nice breeze, so we didn't notice how much we were getting burnt (actually, we all did pretty good, even though we were applying sunblock, we all still got slightly burnt, but nothing major!) Because of the threat of 40 degree weather yesterday, I'm sure many people stayed away, which was all the better for us as there were NO LINE UPS! Awesome! The most we had to wait was, GASP, 20 minutes at the rollercoaster! I'm surprised the line up for the log ride wasn't longer! We did that ride a few times, second time I came off of it, my right pant leg was completely soaked while the left one was completely draw! I didn't do any of the upside down rides (hate them) but went on pretty much everything else. I'm still upset with Playland for getting ride of the Octopus and the Tilt'o'Whirl! The replaced the Tilt'O'Whirl with some lame ride called Break Dance that doesn't even spin around! How are you supposed to throw up after a ride if it doesn't spin you around!

Leslie's birthday

2006-05-14T22:12:00.000-07:00

Andrea's Birthday

2006-04-30T10:49:00.000-07:00

Sun Run Pictures

2006-04-30T10:30:00.000-07:00

I didn't do as well this year as I was hoping, but that's ok! I had a blast! The pictures start with me heading up to the waiting area, waiting (and waiting!) and then along the way ending up at BC Place.

Jan's birthday

2006-04-15T23:07:00.000-07:00

Random shots while out for a walk towards Stanley Park

2006-03-24T23:08:00.000-08:00

So, last weekend I went for a walk in and around Stanley Park, this was part of the walk towards the Park! Can you tell it was pretty sunny?

New pictures coming soon!

2006-03-02T23:01:00.000-08:00

Hi all. I've been busy lately with classes and running and rehearals and gym and running and yoga and pilates. . . .gaaah! not to mention I work! hahahahaah. Anyway, I just hooked up with an old friend and on the walk home starting taking pictures of entrances to apartment buildings. I know, seems strange, right? However, I think they are fabulous!! I'll be posting later this weekend inbetween performances, bazaars, workshops and Carnavale!